A/N: Hey everyone! Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews that were left on the last chapter, they made me sooo happy and I could never thank you enough for reading. You guys spoil me, you're so wonderful, please enjoy!
Chapter 13
The small shot glass nearly shattered as it was slammed down onto the rich, honey wood of the grand desk. An exasperated sigh rocketed out of Cana as she exclaimed "ahhh" and slung herself backward against her seat. "Oh wow!" Cana cheered enthusiastically as red streaked across the apples of her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. "That was great— oh, I really needed that! The master always has the best stuff!"
Cana grinned cheekily as she bounced her head side to side to a happy tune that only she could hear. She was on her second bottle, and Levh hadn't ever seen Cana so easily under the influence, perhaps the Master had snuck something else into the once ferocious woman's drink. She was seething when she had first initially walked in, but knowing Cana since she was an orphan, the Master knew exactly how to ease her emotions.
"I would hope it was good, considering what you just gulped down nearly cost me three hundred dollars," Makarov sighed as he rubbed one of his temples, and he tried not to kick off the many shot glasses littering the desk he sat on top of rather than behind. Besides a joyous Cana who was opening her third bottle— which was even bigger than the last one— the Master's attention turned to behind the drunk's shoulders and to the sullen couple that stood many feet apart with their heads hanging low.
Levy's lip quivered as she played with her hair nervously, red as a beet, but more flushed than usual. She was more nervous than flustered however, and she remained silent and to herself during the netting. Gajeel on the other hand only looked inconvenienced, and he kept his hands in his pockets and stared at nothing in particular, he looked bored even. Still, the Master knew that the man had lots of wondering thoughts on his mind, and even Gajeel's threatening glare couldn't hide that.
"Levy," Makarov started, which made the blunette visibly jump where she stood. He gave her a pitied look, as he tried to be sympathetic, but his migraine was intensifying by the second. "There's no beating around the bush with this one. You're bad at this, Levy. I mean, really bad at this."
Levy felt as if she'd been stabbed in the chest, and now with every pair of eyes in the room glued on her she felt herself melt into the floor. Perhaps she wouldn't have been so humiliated if it were just Cana and Mira here, but that wasn't the case. Having Gajeel only feet away from her as she was getting lectured was beyond embarrassing; it was already hard enough that everyone in the room knew they had something going on, and after hearing what Mira told her the night before, Levy couldn't bare even looking at him.
"I had to tell Cana, she was going to kill him otherwise." Levy defended herself, and she stood tall as she spoke her mind. She tried to suppress her emotions so her feelings wouldn't be evident in her voice, but it was futile. She might as well had confessed her burning love for Gajeel, given how passionate her claim was. Mira and Cana exchanged looks, and Gajeel stiffened up significantly, now less inconvenienced and bored than he was prior to Levy's outburst.
To hide how effected he was, Gajeel scoffed from beside her and Levy's immediate attention turned to the man who failed to suppress his grin.
"What's so funny?" Levy asked sharply, with her hands balled into fists at either side of her.
Gajeel flashed her a smile that made her heart flutter. "I find it insulting that you think someone like Cana could kill me," he answered.
The drunk slammed her shot glass down. "What the Hell is that supposed to mean? I can still kill you right now if I wanted too—," she pulled out her gun and aimed it at Gajeel— "how about I prove it to ya right now!" She hiccuped and turned to the Master with a lopsided grin, "Master, may I?" She asked, and her polite was unsettling given Levy hardly saw it nowadays.
"Huh." Gajeel started, not the least threatened by Cana. "Fucking do it, you drunk, I dare you." Gajeel's voice was menacing, and if Levy wasn't panicking before she was ever more on the ledge now. Luckily, however, Makarov spoke up.
"Now, now, enough of this. If you're gonna kill each other do it outside, the repairs here would cost a fortune." Makarov spun a finger in the air to reference to his office space near the top floor of the towering building. "I mean could you imagine?" He cleared his throat, and Cana rolled her eyes before facing Makarov and turning her back to the couple. "Anyway, we've bickered long enough. C'mon Levy, its time for your punishment. C'mere and get your spanking and then we can all go home and forget this ever happened." He started with a cheesey grin and a hand patting on his lap.
Levy covered her face with her hands, mortified, but luckily she was defended.
"Master, stop being such a pervert, you're making me angry." Mira pouted as she crossed her arms over her chest. She winced slightly from the wound near her shoulder, but just slightly. "Besides, even if Cana is someone we can trust, her knowing about Gajeel has complicated everything!"
"Well what do you want me to do?" Makarov asked lazily, not taking this whole situation as seriously as everyone thought he would. Levy was grateful for his calmness, any more pressure on her and she'd crack. Levy sighed in relief, but it caught in her chest when she heard a snicker escape the man next to her.
"Don't go easy on her Master, I think she deserves it," Gajeel wiped his grin off and crossed his arms over his chest. "You need to put the big mouth in time out, or else the blonde will eventually know too."
Levy was on fire then; Gajeel really wasn't helping. Little did she know, Gajeel was only trying to get a rise out of her, and it was so painfully evident to the others in the room that he was flirting with her. "Oh do you ever shut up?" She practically screamed, taking his bait and reacting just how he wanted, which made the Master pinch the bridge of his nose and for Cana to sigh. "You're in just as trouble as I am! Maybe if you wouldn't worry about me all the time and didn't risk your life to make sure I was okay, Cana wouldn't have seen you in the first place!"
Gajeel was speechless, he couldn't believe Levy would put him on blast like that. That was some crucial information she was spitting out, had she no idea how hard it was to even admit he cared about her? And to make things worse he didn't want to just deny it, either. It was the truth.
"I have no idea what yer talking about," Gajeel mumbled with an obvious blush, and he refused to look her in the eyes.
"How about I refresh your memory then?!" Levy offered with a furrowed look, and now the two of them were really bickering.
"Yeah," Cana turned away from the scene and nodded at Mira and Makarov who were in front of her. She swished the remaining alcohol in her glass around in a circle. "They're an absolute lost cause." She sighed as she leaned sideways in her seat and wrapped an arm around the back of her chair. "Looks like you're gonna have to lock Levy up in the office before she tells all of Magnolia about her and Gajeel."
"Cana you're not helping!" Levy screamed out as she finally snapped out of Gajeel's taunting. "If it weren't for you being such a tattle-tale we all wouldn't even be here!"
"You should be thanking me," Cana started, with a tone in her voice that hinted she was a tad bit insulted. "I was looking out for my friend and making sure she wasn't getting head-over-heels over a murderer! If you randomly found out Lucy and I or anyone for that matter was falling in love with some from the Mafia of all damn places, would you just nod your head and be okay with it? We're police officers, Levy, and you're dating someone who I assumed was associated with the largest crime lord in Magnolia."
Cana knew she was right because Levy and everyone in the room went quiet.
"Besides the point," Cana continued as she finished her drink, "it was Laxus who snitched on you. I was getting ready to shoot the jerk down again— successful this time —but Laxus stopped me. Kinda gave me the inside scoop while you were checking on Lily. I'm not the one who got you in trouble, trust me, if the alcohol wasn't good Makarov would have never heard from me and I definitely wouldn't be here."
"That's kinda rude..." Makarov started sheepishly but he was easily ignored.
Mira placed her hands together as she cheerfully smiled, overlooking Cana's bitterness and her drunken state that made her brutally honest. "Cana's right! Lock me up with Levy too, I wanna learn more about her scandalous tales! I can't wait to gossip to Lily about all of this! I mean, he kinda knows but there's so much I have to catch him up on when he's feeling better!"
"You've got to be kidding me," Levy pressed a hand to her face just thinking about all of this. Mira wasn't surprising, but to find out Lily had participated in his fair share of gossip was a shocker for Levy.
"Okay, okay, perhaps things are getting a little out of hand," Mira started as she waved her hands in front of her, pushing her excitement aside and taking a more professional turn on this situation. "I think things could be worse, I mean, Cana is on our side and she's very responsible. I think she'll keep it a secret for sure."
"30,000 Joules a month from the both of ya or I'm reporting it to Sorcerer Weekly," Cana started as she half-hiccuped, half-chuckled.
"Yer so fucking full of it," Gajeel snapped, but he was silenced when Makarov raised a hand.
"We're all aware that we have to keep this a secret," Makarov nodded at his crew, and now that the Master was glowering and serious everyone stood up a bit straighter and took the situation more seriously. "This isn't a joking matter, the relationship Gajeel and Levy have could be detrimental for our case. If Gajeel is found out, that's it for our inside intel on Ivan. Not to mention, it could very much end both of their lives, and to our knowledge, not peacefully."
The mentioning of the couple's fate made everyone in the room stiffen uncomfortably. Cana had tensed up the most, and it was obvious that Levy was very important to her. She set her glass down gently this time, and with a calm matter spoke up. "We'll make sure that doesn't happen, sir. I'll do everything in my power to make sure Levy is safe."
"Cana..." Levy started as her chest warmed up at how sweet that was. Cana flashed her a smile that the two of them shared happily.
Gajeel was bitter. "Yeah, keep Levy safe, sure. I'll just go ahead and die 'cause fuck me, right?"
"Shut up, Gajeel, I'm still onto you. Something about you is fishy, and I'll take ya down myself if I have to," Cana huffed, but it wasn't that she necessarily disliked Gajeel. Deep down her attitude for him probably had to originate from her over-protectiveness of Levy, and she honestly couldn't shake the feeling that her little sister was finally growing up. It terrified her, but she wouldn't butt her head into Levy's life. She just couldn't shake that anxious feeling. Gajeel's scowl didn't ease her nerves either, and the glowering, tall, closed off man looked menancing and bad news for her friend.
Makarov shook his head as he realized this wasn't getting the group anywhere. For the first half hour they had all taken it very seriously, but now Cana was intoxicated and the couple couldn't stop flirting, so all the Master was left with was Mira who gave him a sweet, sympathetic smile. "Well, brats, for now you're all dismissed." Makarov decided to end things here, and Gajeel and Levy immediately pushed away from each other and stood alert as if their little scene had never happened.
ooo
Although the meeting was over and the couple left with only a small scolding, Gajeel still had to deal with Levy's anger. Clearly she wasn't amused, even when he tried to be extra kind to her by holding the door open and asking if she wanted to go anywhere, just nice things that he could think of at the top of his head. All was in vain, however, given she put her nose in the air and stormed right past him without even a thank you.
"C'mon Shorty, lighten up a little." Gajeel teased. Levy was stomping out of the office and slamming her frustration into the elevator's control panel. Gajeel caught the doors just before they closed shut between them, and he stepped into the elevator where Levy was steaming in a corner. Her arms were folded tightly against her chest and she scrunched her face up as she scowled at the wall, and all Gajeel could think was how cute she was when she was angry. "Shorty, why are you so upset?" Gajeel asked with a cheesy grin, but when something saddened her simmering look and softened it a bit, Gajeel wiped his smile off. "Levy," he started with a more delicate voice.
"You embarrassed me," she grumbled and a blush flushed over her, and she hated how childish she sounded, with her voice all grumbly and cute. She was being serious, but she couldn't help but feel so lightheaded about the whole ordeal. "You weren't any help back there, you really made me mad."
"I'm sorry, Lev, I was just picking on ya to lighten the mood a little. Ya looked like ya were gonna self destruct." He watched her carefully when she didn't look at him, and he released the breath caught in his chest. "Is that really what this is about?" Gajeel asked. Sure he teased her, but it wasn't Levy's typical behavior to react so sour about it.
Levy bit down on her lip; Gajeel knew her better than she thought he did. She walked towards him, her stomach flipping from the elevator descending through so many floors, and stopped only inches away from him. Her hand came up slowly and her fingers grazed over his shirt. She could feel the gauze, and Gajeel flinched so slightly that many wouldn't have caught it, but Levy didn't have to look at his face to notice how his eyes narrowed when he winced. All she observed was her slender finger against his dark clothing, glowing almost in contrast, and the nasty injury that laid behind it.
"I'm gonna be okay, Shorty." Gajeel asserted, already understanding her discomfort. "This is somethin' I've been through before, so there's really nothing to worry about."
"It's a little too late for that. I'm the reason you got hurt." Levy's teeth clenched, and the sharpness to her voice made Gajeel's eyes widen.
"No, yer not." Gajeel replied just as sternly. That was the last thing he wanted her to think, he got hurt on his own, and it's because he wanted to protect her. He placed his hand over her's, and pressed her palm against him a bit tighter. "I got hurt because I wanted to make sure you were safe. Ya worry too much, Lev, ya worry yerself sick when ya shouldn't."
"I do not!" Levy defended herself. "I-I'm not even that worried, I just feel bad because it was my fault." Levy crossed her arms and turned away from him.
"Earlier in the office you blamed this whole thing on me. Why the change of heart?" Gajeel asked her, and Levy visibly tensed up in front of him. "Ya don't have to say it in front of yer friends, but ya can admit in front of me that ya worry yer head off about me."
"You're being absurd!" Levy practically yelled, and she pushed past him once the elevator doors slid open. She tried to walk away from this confrontation, but Gajeel caught up with her quickly.
"Am I lying?" Gajeel asked, and he stepped in front of her once Levy made it to the parking garage. "Ya risked yer life to stop Cana from shootin' me. What would I have done if ya actually got yerself hurt?"
"All you have to do is thank me, you don't have to make such a big deal about it!" Levy bit, and she tried to walk past him, but again Gajeel stepped in the way.
"The last thing I want is for you to get hurt because of someone like me," Gajeel admitted then, and Levy's angered expression changed to something more surprised. "I'd rather take the damage for ya. You... you don't deserve it. Ya... ya don't deserve anything bad, Levy." Gajeel's voice crumpled down and he almost mumbled it, but what was important was that he spoke from the heart. Levy was practically speechless, but she knew she had to say something, she couldn't look at him completely shocked forever.
"I did it because it was right," Levy explained, not sure of how to truly express her feelings. She was used to being the one who had more control of how she felt, so now that Gajeel was being so open about this was scaring her. She wasn't ready to confess anything, and now her heart was beating so hard she didn't know what to think or do.
"We almost died, Levy. There's no more beating around the bush with this kinda thing. Ya care more about me than you'd like to admit, don't you?" Gajeel started, and he focused on Levy and the way her eyes deepened at his words. There was silence as everyone observed the way Levy's mouth dropped to the floor. Levy couldn't tell if he was pestering her or really prying for some type of confession. Either way, this was not the place for it.
"I was just concerned for your safety, I don't worry about you all the time, don't be so full of yourself." Levy argued, and she was completely oblivious to how deep that cut him, and he felt his body simmer with both humiliation and surprisingly pain. Levy lied right through her teeth, but why else would she tell Gajeel she worried about him every second? He wasn't her lover, her boyfriend, they hadn't established anything, and if she did claim that she did tremendously care about him what would he do with that information? He'd be burdened by the fact that he'd worry her to death, from the sound of it he already felt bad.
"I don't believe ya." Gajeel started, and he closed the distance between them until the tips of their noses barely brushed. "I don't know, Lev, a part of me finds that very hard to believe. I think ya care a lot."
"You don't know that," Levy started, completely at a loss for words now that Gajeel was so close to her. There was no way in Hell she was going to admit that so openly, not when he was prying at her like this. She had that nervous look again, where her eyebrows furrowed sadly and her face blossomed red. Gajeel sighed at that, she really did overheat herself constantly. She flinched when Gajeel's hand landed on her head before ruffling into her waves.
"Yer cute when yer in denial." Gajeel smiled then, and Levy's eyes widened considerably. "Hhmph. It's fine. I don't want ya caring too much about me anyway, so you have nothin' to worry about."
"Yeah, well good cause I won't!" Levy cried out sadly, and all her emotions were evident on her face, she couldn't hide anything with him. "I hate you," she pouted, and she pushed away from him. "I really hate you."
"Ya don't," Gajeel challenged, flashing a smile she refused to look at, but knew existed given she could hear it shining in his voice as she walked away from him.
"If this is the case then... I don't want to worry you either, Gajeel. Please don't worry about me." Levy stated, and she flashed him a saddened look. This felt like a breakup more than anything, and the two of them weren't even an item.
"I could never promise you that, Levy." Gajeel admitted, and his honesty shocked both of them. Levy stood there with wide eyes, and her heart was beating so fast she didn't believe there was any way she could calm it down. They could go back and forth forever at this point, admitting to each other how they felt without confessing anything at all. It was dangerous to be out in public like this, but nothing in Levy wanted to leave him.
Her heart was tugging in so many different directions, she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs that yes, he was so important to her, she did worry herself sick when it came to his safety; the other part of her wanted to crawl up into a ball and hide, bury her face in her pillow to steam off how flustered she was from this entire conversation. She was so torn between confessing her love and denying it, all because she simply feared how Gajeel would react to her feelings. Now wasn't the time, her knees were buckling and her breathing hollowed, and she just couldn't find the strength to tell this man how she felt, even though he gave her every opportunity to do so.
"Gajeel," Levy spoke sternly, enough for him to stand straight in alert as if he'd just gotten caught getting into trouble. He jumped then, startled by her tone of voice.
"Y-yeah?" He asked worriedly to the woman a few yards away from him. Levy turned around slightly to look at him fully, and her eyes hardened.
"Don't get hurt again." She started, and her lip quivered slightly. "Please."
Gajeel felt breathless when her eyes pleaded him to stay safe, it clearly showed that she cared for him, and now his heart was racing too much for his own liking. There were so many things he could have said in response to that, but he fell speechless, and his hands tightened at his sides as he nodded at her shortly. . "S-sure thing." He replied, and suppressed the urge to palm himself in the face.
Levy's hardened expression softened then, and she even managed to crack a smile. She smoothed her hair out for a second but stopped when she realized she liked he way her hair came out after he ruffled it up. She continued onwards to her car.
Later on that Day
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you snitch," Levy started as she turned her back to Cana, which was a bit difficult to do in the shot gun seat of the police car. They had been arguing about something pointless, and it was more of a debate if anything. Cana scoffed at the low blow and began bickering with her, but Levy was too busy shoving her nose into a book.
"—and by the way, you're on the job, so reading your dirty novels really isn't a good idea," Cana added to the argument.
"Huh, gonna tattle about this too?" Levy asked, getting a kick out of how annoyed Cana was getting.
"You're so full of it," Cana started. "You're lucky I'm even looking out for you, and you're lucky I convinced Laxus it wasn't all your fault. You coulda seriously gotten into trouble, and honestly I wouldn't be surprised if Laxus shot both of you."
"Yeah, Yeah, I know, I know. Laxus wants to kill me even when I'm not getting into stuff." Levy sighed as she licked her thumb and turned the page of her book, "he's such a big lump, I wish he wouldn't breathe down my neck all the time."
"Well with how nosey you're being with this mafia stuff, who'd blame him? I think he needs to watch you better." Cana groaned as she placed a hand to her forehead.
"Huh, I could say the same about you." Levy said with a big smile, and she leaned back and got comfortable as she tried to find where she left off in her book before Cana distracted her. "Laxus needs to keep a better watch on you, especially since you like to sneak alcohol into the station when he's not looking. I could remember how red he turned the last time he caught you— oh my God, and when you said—," Both Levy's laughter and Cana's outburst cut off her story telling.
"Hey, fuck you, Lev, you promised not to ever bring that up again," Cana cried out with an obvious blush on her face. "Ugh, stop pestering me, please, I'm trying to drive us safely."
Levy's laughter subsided as she successfully won the conversation. "Whatever, you started it." She chirped, in which Cana rolled her eyes. However, both of the girls snapped into a serious demeanor when the radio started reacting like crazy, and now Cana was adjusting in her seat and Levy was pushing her book into one of the car's compartments.
"I'm going to need back up," A familiar voice filled the vehicle. The two girls exchanged looks.
"That's Lucy," Levy was alerted, and she turned the volume up higher, and her eyes widened as she heard Lucy's very quick and vague "details" to what was happening, which couldn't be good. "Sounds like she's really in trouble."
"No kidding, girl sounds like she's about to have a break down..." Cana listened intently, "That's right around the corner," Cana mentioned, and the two girls gave each other firm nods before taking things into action.
"We're only a block away," Levy spoke into her transceiver, and she gave Cana a thumb up when they were granted permission to investigate.
In about two minutes their vehicle pulled up to the curb of a cute, humble neighborhood hidden within the heart of Magnolia. Brick walkways and iron fences led to what would have been an adorable family home. Unfortunately, the two-story light green house was swamped by cop cars and the ruthless, violent flames reaching out of the left-open windows did not add to it's sweet, modern charm.
Levy's eyes widened at what she saw, and before Cana could cut the engine she immediately spotted Lucy's golden hair illuminated by the nearby flames. She was assisting a man that was crouched over on the ground, his hands making fists as they clawed the raw Earth before him. Levy ran as quickly as she could to shorten the distance between them, and once she made it to Lucy, the man had retched up the contents of his stomach, which caused both girls to instinctively turn away.
"Oh God, Levy," Lucy sobbed, taking Levy's attention away from the sickly man. Lucy shook her head as she tried her best to squeeze away tears, but it didn't prevent a few drops from rolling down her reddened cheeks. "What they did— it's horrible."
"What happened?" Levy asked, and she silently gasped when the man was turned over and revealed his horridly swollen face. "Oh no..." Levy started, and she fell to one knee and tried to assist the man who was growing weaker by the second. He could hardly hold himself up.
"It was a home invasion gone horrible wrong, or maybe they'd wanted it to go this way all along." Lucy explained with narrowed eyes, simmering at the injustice of it all. "How anyone could do this is beyond me."
"Did anyone catch the guys who did it?" Levy asked with a hopeful tone in her voice.
"That's what Juvia and her partner are doing right now." Lucy explained as she moved out of the way for the paramedics. "This is bad, really bad."
Levy gulped at the sound of that, and she turned to the man who had now fallen unconscious. She couldn't recognize him even if she wanted to. Lucy's eyes widened at something behind her shoulder, and she cried out, "Natsu!"
Levy looked behind herself to find Natsu carrying a fair skinned woman outside of the burning house. She was sobbing hysterically, so badly she could hardly speak, and Lucy immediately ran over in hopes of assisting the woman. The green haired woman kicked out of Natsu's hold with all her might, and he allowed her to spill over the freshly mowed grass, right in front of Levy.
"No, stop, stop! I have to go back! Let me go back!" She shrieked out, but Natsu stepped in front of the woman and refused to let her re-enter the home.
"Please ma'am, it's not safe to go back in there, the house is completely in flames!" Lucy shouted the obvious, but she had no idea what else she was supposed to tell the woman to make her not bolt right into the building.
"The fire departments on their way," Natsu explained, hoping this would convince her to remain where she was on the front lawn.
"My baby is in that house!" The woman sobbed, and her dark eyes pleaded them to let her through, her nails clawed into Natsu's uniform shirt and tears strummed her eyes. "Asuka is in there—," she sobbed even harder, and she fell to her knees just thinking about it. "Asuka is—," she wailed, and her shoulders hunched in defeat.
"Where is she?" Natsu asked, but his voice was uncertain, and from the flicker in his eyes he looked almost hopeless. There's no telling how long the fire had been spreading, clearly long enough for the entire place to be a ticking time bomb before it lost all structure and caved in.
"I-I don't know, she was hiding during the break in," the woman stumbled, and her eyes widened at all the horrible scenarios rushing through her head. "I don't know where she is— I don't know," she sobbed, and she covered her face as she wailed loudly, so loud that even Cana could hear it from her spot on the curb where she gathered information from the other officers. "I- I put her in the closet," She cried as she could clear her head momentarily.
"You have to go back in there," Lucy started as she turned to Natsu. "You used to be a fire fighter, you know what you're doing."
"I hate to break it to ya, Luce, but that house is only seconds away from caving in!" Natsu yelled. "I barely got out alive with her— there's no telling what could happen in there—," but Natsu ceased when he spotted Levy bolting towards the entry way of the house.
"Levy, no!" Natsu shrieked as he reached out for her, but it was too late. Her blue hair disappeared behind thick, threatening smoke clouds that bellowed out of the doorway. Levy ignored Cana's distraught cry, and Levy only stopped once she reached the stairway which led her into four different directions. She felt as if someone had swiftly punched her in the chest, and she hunched over as she gasped for air and coughed uncontrollably. She covered her mouth and nose with her sleeve and weighed out her options.
She could go up the flight, or she could search the bottom floor first. The left was the dining room, the right the sitting room, and if she went straight, she'd find the living room and kitchen. As Levy picked her route, she picked up a high pitch squeal from behind her.
"Levy, it isn't safe in there! You have to come back!" Lucy shouted.
"Lucy, get out of here!" Levy ordered, but her message was not successful as a large supporting beam had crashed between them, and now even if Levy wanted to escape the flames of the home she'd have a rather difficult time doing so. The ceiling had collapsed in front of her, and the front doorway was completely cut off by shattered boards and hungry flames that quickly engulfed them. Levy gulped and turned back to her options; now with the fresh air closed off, she could truly embrace the sweltering heat of the home. She felt as if she was being baked alive, and she tucked her face into her shirt as it was painful to even breathe in, the heat left her mouth dry and parched, and her eyes teared up as she felt as if she were breathing in fire.
She fell to her knees quickly as she grew light headed, and she knew she was going to have to work fast unless she wanted to be a victim to the fire as well. She climbed the stairs as quickly as she could, and the carpet lining the wood was burning to the touch. She hissed as she made it all the way up, and now she was left with an even more terrifying scenery. Thick smoke conquered the upstairs hallway, and in the depths of night the house was already dark enough as it was. A few lights remained on, but did little justice as Levy remained close to the floor in hopes of searching for a small girl.
"Asuka—!" Levy cried the girl's name before screaming as more fire fell down towards her.
She used all her might to push open the door to a small bathroom. No luck, and now she was feeling exhausted from the heat, and sweat slicked her skin wet as she was almost drenched, the liquid stinging her eyes as she continued to move forward. She couldn't imagine being in here any longer than she had been, which so far was only five or so minutes, and now she was feeling hopeless like Natsu had earlier. It was just that bad, but she refused to let herself give up, not after she saw the way that woman cried, the fear in her eyes when everyone refused to rescue her child.
"Asuka!" Levy shrieked out. "Asuka, can you hear me? I'm here to help!" Levy tried again, hoping her voice could reach over the crackling flames and whatever structure the child was taking cover in. Her hands were burning as she pushed through doors, and although she followed all precautions in her training it was no use. She dropped to the ground and used all her might to kick open the door, but she was at a lost, there was something blocking it, and now if she didn't use the door knob she wouldn't be able to get in.
Levy knew it was a stupid choice, but she was running out of time. She rammed her shoulder into the door, and grabbed the metal of the knob. Her fingerless gloves were useless in this case, despite protecting her palms she clenched her teeth as her finger tips made contact with the scorching heat. She cried out as she fell to the ground, and she pushed pass the pain and felt relieved when the dresser pressed against the door spilled to the floor.
Levy picked herself off the ground, and she winced and fell into a silent cry as pain shot up her hands. Everything around her burned to the touch, and although she felt as if she'd pass out any second from the smoke inhalation, she was still very aware of the excruciating pain. She cradled up into a ball then and tensed every muscle in her body, anything she could do to seethe out the agony of her burnt hands. Every surface in this home was melting hot, and she knew she'd have to take a lot more damage if she wanted to save the young girl.
"Asuka!" She shrilled our desperately, and miraculously she heard the faintest cry coming from down the hallway.
"Mommy?" A little voice barely reached her ears in a whimper, and now Levy's eyes were widening as hope filled them. There was another door within the bedroom, and she could almost swear she'd heard it from there. The pain subsided as adrenaline rushed through her, and she picked herself off the floor and crawled towards the sound.
"Asuka, keep calling out! Where are you?! Let me know where you are!" Levy screamed out as she checked another doorway, which led to a little girl's room. She braced herself for the fire that rushed out towards her, begging to drag her into their flames. Levy squeezed her eyes shut and turned her face away from the blistering heat, and as things subsided, Levy was in another restroom, which connected to another bedroom. Even in the destruction she could pick out the soft pink carpet, and she knew she had found Asuka's bedroom.
"Asuka!" Levy wailed.
"Mommy!" The little girl cried out, and the cry had come from the sliding white doors of a closet. Levy slammed them open to find a little girl on the floor, her knees tucked to her chest and her face red from the heat. "Mommy," she sobbed when she looked up at Levy.
"I-I'm not Mommy, I'm sorry," she started. "I'm here to help, cmon, we gotta get out of here."
"No!" The little girl shrilled, which completely threw Levy off guard. "Mommy told me to stay in here no matter what!" Asuka cried out as she pulled back. "I swore to her I'd stay in here, no matter what I heard, no matter what happened," Asuka cried heavily, "I- I heard Mommy crying, and Daddy crying, and the bad guys, and—," Asuka cried harder. "I'm not going!"
"But Asuka, sweetie," Levy started as she tried to stop herself from swiping the sweat off her face. "Your Mommy is outside worried about you, I know she meant what she said, but now the house is too dangerous for you to hide in. It's okay now, you don't want her to keep worrying, do you?"
The little girl tucked herself in harder and her shoulders shook as she sobbed. She hugged her knees to her chest and shook her head violently left and no.
Levy tried a different approach. "You miss her don't you? She misses you so much, and if you don't come down stairs to see her, she'll be sad." Levy felt the heat scorching her skin and the room around her started spinning. "Asuka, please." Levy begged weakly.
"I made a promise to Mommy," Asuka argued, anchoring herself to the floor and fighting Levy with everything she had. If Levy hadn't felt so weak and disoriented this would have been so much easier. Levy latched on to the little girl, but there wasn't anymore fighting, Asuka had already fallen over unconscious. Every alarm went off in Levy then, and she was slightly grateful that she wouldn't have to drag a kicking, resistant child down the stairs. Levy cradled Asuka to her side and began crawling out of the bedroom.
Levy had to stop shortly and catch her breath. She couldn't cover her face in this predicament, and her lungs burned as she breathed in the smoldering air, fresh fire and burning debris. She had to push forward, she had to do it for Asuka, for the crying mother downstairs. She gritted her teeth and pushed past the stinging in her eyes, her chest, fire— everything in her body felt as if it were lit on fire. "Don't worry, Asuka, we're gonna be okay." Levy reassured the lifeless girl, hoping that the encouraging words could reach her own ears as well.
She scraped down the stairs, trying her best to crouch all the way down to the main floor. Levy was grateful as she heard a banging sound, and the doorway was being broken through. Levy's vision was growing hazed as she saw the room spin around her, and everywhere she looked she found flames, dark, consuming clouds and no escape. She lost her balance and she fell down the remaining steps of stairs, holding Asuka tightly to keep the little girl safe. She was on glass and broken, splintering wood, and as she stared upwards at the ceiling a mask overcame her vision.
Levy's eyes fluttered as her body felt weightless, and strong hands lifted her up and dragged her out of the house. The fresh air that hit Levy's face physically stung as it was so sharp in contrast to the element she was engulfed in. Her lungs felt raw as she breathed in, and she coughed roughly as her whole body collapsed onto the lawn. The trembling mother tore Asuka out of her arms, and although she chanted "thank you" over and over, Levy couldn't acknowledge her over her coughing fit. She felt like she was going to retch, and she exploded in agony once her mind cleared and she could fully comprehend how much damage she took in that house.
"You saved her, you saved my baby, Asuka..." the mother sobbed as she pressed the child's face to her chest. "Oh, thank you so much, officer. Thank you." The woman cried, and she nuzzled her cheek into Asuka's dark, forest green hair.
Levy was on her knees and palms at this point, and although Natsu, Cana, and Lucy were all surrounding her and gathering paramedics to assist her, all Lucy could do was watch the way Asuka was cradled in her mother's arms, safe and sound. She was still breathing and that was all that mattered.
"Levy," Cana cried as she crouched down to her. "Please, please tell me you're okay." Cana begged, and it was the first time in a long time that Levy had seen her friend's strong, beautiful eyes ever swell with tears. "Levy!" Cana cried again when she was left with no response, and she gasped as Levy's body grew heavy and she fell sideways, just in time for Natsu to catch her before she hit the ground.
ooo
It was late that evening, and Gajeel had made it just in time for visiting hours. He marched through the sliding doors swiftly and kept his stare forward, avoiding any eye contact with the workers at the front desk, which made the middle aged women in scrubs whisper to one another uncomfortably. His shield was on again, as Lily called it, which meant he sent off an unsettling aura that warned people not to speak to him. His eyes were darkened with something sinister and his jaw jutted and teeth clamped shut as he scowled at nothing in particular.
The elevator seemed to take ages, and Gajeel pushed through the doors before they even fully opened. He didn't stop for a second until he was rapping his knuckles on the door for room 507, and he allowed himself. He sighed in relief to find Lily sitting in bed, reading a novel of all things. At least he was awake and able to comprehend the complexities of a story, and that alone made Gajeel's tense nerves ease up.
"Good evening," Lily greeted with his usual smirk before looking up to find Gajeel in his room. "See you broke a sweat on your way here, you must really care about me." Lily teased with a big grin, hoping that he could smack off Gajeel's pitiful look by saying something snarky.
However, Gajeel's pained look didn't lighten. "I brought ya somethin'." The man announces as he lifted he plastic grocery bag in his hand. The clear plastic displayed an abundance of Kiwis, which anyone who knew Lily knew was the key to his heart.
Lily acted extra shocked and emphasized this with a dramatic gasp. "Gajeel you shouldn't have."
"Stop making a big deal out of it and just take it," he chewed out, returning to the Gajeel that Lily was accustomed too.
"Thanks," Lily smiled shortly, "but you really didn't have to waste your time coming out here. I know it's out of the way."
Gajeel let Lily's words sink in before he responded. It was hard for him to admit to his wrongs at times, but when it came to people that meant a damn to him he had his exceptions. Putting his pride aside came naturally with Levy, but with Lily it still had its challenges sometimes. At least this sort of thing did.
"It's my damn fault yer in the hospital, anyway." Gajeel started, not sure of where he was going with this. "I... I don't really know how to apologize."
"How about starting with a little 'I'm sorry'," Lily said with another grin.
"Yer pushing it, Cat," Gajeel growled his nickname for Lily's old alias, but he did feel a bit better that Lily was taking this less seriously than he thought he would.
"How's Levy?" Lily asked, pushing the attention off of himself. "I know Makarov must have been furious with her." He closed his book and sat it on the bed side carefully, he didn't want to knock over the flowers on his bedside table.
"At first..." Gajeel agreed, but his voice trailed when Lily adjusted and the bandages covering his chest revealed. Now the whole scene was replaying in his head, the bullet that rocketed through Lily, and the way his body fell backwards into the destroyed debris beneath him. It was enough to kill him, and for a moment Gajeel wasn't exactly positive that Lily could make it through that kind of damage.
Lily caught the disturbance in Gajeel's face. Lily's eyes narrowed sympathetically and he placed a hand over the bullet wound. "I understand why you did what you did. I'm not angry."
"I coulda got ya killed," Gajeel protested. "If I weren't so reckless I— you—," Gajeel was losing the words as they caught in his throat. It took a lot of pride for him to admit that, but for fucks sake it was the truth.
"You were protecting Levy," Lily said, and he glanced over at the lilies that sprouted out of the vase beside his novel. "I'm sure if it was Shagotte in Levy's place, I'd have done the same thing. No, I'd certainly have done it, that's why I'm not mad at you. At least... that way I'd be able to save her somehow, from something... at least I'd be able to do that." Lily's eyes tapered and it didn't take much for Gajeel to understand where he was going.
"That's why yer safety is important, Shagotte needs you." Gajeel reminded. "That's why I feel so bad, well, it has something to do with that." Gajeel didn't know exactly what to say. He was sure that last thing Lily wanted to talk about as he was trying to heal up was Shagotte's stage three cancer. Her days were spent mostly in the hospital, and it was why Lily refrained talking about her. Now this led him to another thought he meant to bring up to Lily, but he'd never find the right time.
"Ya never thought about dropping this whole Makarov business? Y'know... since Shagotte needs you? Don't you wanna be safe for her?" Gajeel asked then, testing the waters and settling on a more dangerous topic.
"A lot of people need me," Lily huffed. "I've been in the military, a body guard, security... every role I've played has been for the sake of defending those who need me." A smile came to Lily's face then. "That's actually how Shagotte and I met. With her being so famous and all, I find it so coincidental that I was hired as her security guard. She knew what she was getting into the moment she fell in love."
"I know that, but..." Gajeel leaned against the window feeling a bit more defeated that he did when he walked in the door.
"If you're contemplating dropping the double agent stuff for the sake of Levy, I'm very sorry to tell you it won't be that easy." Lily sullenly informed.
"Yeah, Yeah, unfortunately I've already thought of that part." Gajeel explained.
"You love her a lot, don't you?" Lily asked then, and his eyes followed Gajeel's as he tried to pinpoint what the man was observing in the distance. All there was to see was the Magnolian River and the twinkling stars. He was surprised when Gajeel turned to him with a calm face, not even much of a blush like he usually sported at the mentioning of Levy's name. He was so peaceful, so secure in his answer that Lily was genuinely proud of him.
"Yeah," Gajeel agreed. "I really do."
"So then you did the right thing," Lily started as he lied back against the bed and crossed his arms with a slight wince. "I'm really proud of you, Gajeel. It's as if you turned a new leaf."
"Something like that." Gajeel stated with uncertainty. "I don't really think so. I think deep down I'm still the same degenerate bastard that I was when she met me. I ain't changed at all. Truth is, I don't think Levy could really return feelings for a guy like me. I don't have anything good to offer her, just problems..." he admitted sadly.
"Of course she won't like you, girls like guys with confidence, and all I hear is a big baby complaining." Lily replied, obviously joking.
Gajeel rolled his eyes. "I shoulda let ya bleed out like a pig back there," he replied as he referred to Lily's near death experience at the club.
"Maybe. Then you'd realize how short life is and would finally admit your feelings to Levy." Lily tried a different approach. "I know the hard part is yet to come, ya still gotta tell her how you feel, but after that there'd be nothing else left to do. You've already done everything." Lily smiled when something lit up in Gajeel's eyes. "At this point, you don't have else to worry about."
"Huh. Wisdom really does come with age, does it old man?" Gajeel and Lily exchange half assed grins. "Now all I gotta worry about is her rejecting me."
"Highly unlikely," Lily shot down Gajeel's concerns. "And I'm sure you're the only one who thinks she would."
Gajeel was silent for a moment. "Thank you," he replied, and Lily gave him a soft smile.
It was at that moment of peace that someone abruptly burst open the door, it frightened the both of them, and Gajeel stiffened up considerably as he prepared himself for the worst. However, it wasn't anyone the two of them were expecting. She looked a bit rough on the edges in comparison to when Gajeel had last seen her, it was clearly the heavy doses of chemo going through her and thinning all the hair on her body. Her face was pale, lips chapped, but her gray eyes still shined brightly as ever. Shagotte was clearly distressed, and now Lily was trying to drag himself out of bed to assist her, but he was physically unable to.
"Shagotte?" Lily questioned, eyes widened. "Love, you should be resting, what's wrong?"
"Lily, it's your friend. I think she's seriously hurt," Shagotte cried out, hands trembling as she clenched the the neck of her hospital gown. "It's the sweet little girl you've told me about. It's Levy," Shagotte explained, and every fiber in Gajeel's body responded, and his eyes deepened as the horrible feeling in his stomach worsened.
ooo
Levy was uncomfortably cold, so chilled to the bone that it woke her up. She wish she hadn't been disturbed, her head felt as if it would roll off her shoulders, she couldn't adjust to the light of the room not matter how hard she tried. Everything in her felt tired, and even adjusting in bed was a chore. Levy looked around and tried her best to figure out her surroundings, and it didn't take her long to remember the events of that night, so she was surprised to find herself in a hospital gown.
The first thing Levy noticed was the bandages wrapped around her hands; she worried about how bad the damage would be, she couldn't help it when it came to clawing her way around the house, her fingers against the scorching door frames and handles and she searched for Asuka. She wasn't thinking right, with how much smoke she was inhaling she couldn't keep her head on. Levy was startled when she looked up from her injury to find Laxus sitting in the chair beside her bed. She turned away slightly, but no matter what she just couldn't rip her eyes off him.
"Good morning," he greeted her with a soft smile.
"Laxus," Levy started, and she immediately pushed a bandaged hand against her neck. She began crying immediately, but not cause she was sad, it was because she felt as if her throat was on fire. "God," Levy whispered out. "That hurts like Hell."
"You burned your throat," Laxus explained. "The doctors said it's from breathing in all that smoke, talking during the fire," he kept his arms crossed over his chest like he usually did. "Luckily for you it'll clear up in a couple of days. Just need some antibiotics and rest."
Levy squeezed away the tears, and her voice came out hoarse and dry. "How's Asuka? Is she okay?" Levy kept her voice as soft as she could, which made her sound as if she was physically weak.
"You mean the little girl?" Laxus assumed, given rescuing the child was the entire reason why Levy was in the hospital. "She's in pretty bad shape, but she'll manage. Not so much on the outside, but internally. Her lungs are burned pretty bad from being in the house so long, but it's nothing the doctors can't fix. You shouldn't worry about her too much."
"Thank goodness," Levy smiles, and she brushes a few tears away from her eyes. "I'm so happy."
Laxus smiled softly at her then. "Levy..." he started, and he waited for the girl to make eye contact with him. "What you did," he stopped then as he didn't know exactly what to say. "What you did out there was amazing."
Levy was surprised then. "Wait... you're not mad at me?" She asked a little louder, accommodating to the scratch in her vocal chords and handling the pain better.
"A part of me is," Laxus admitted with a dark demeanor that made Levy's stomach flip. "The part that cares about you is livid." His eyes narrowed and Levy felt her smile melt into a heavy frown. She nodded softly, acknowledging that she had done wrong.
"But," Laxus started, which made Levy's ears perk, "I'm more proud of you than anything." He smiled just in time for her to see it. "You may not be the strongest, or the most experienced, but you're the best damn officer I've ever had. You put your life in danger and saved that little girl in a time where everyone thought of their own safety," Laxus reminded her, and he stood up to close the gap between them. "You have the heart of what it really means to be an officer. You care about your people, you fight for what's right— you're amazing, Levy."
"L-Laxus," Levy cried out then, and now she was really tearing up emotionally. "Th-thank you so m-," she stopped herself short and Laxus sighed.
"Don't force yourself to speak for my sake, Levy. I just had to tell you what everyone's thinking." Laxus rubbed Levy's back soothingly, the way he did whenever she was sick. It was a comforting feeling that brought nostalgia to her, and she didn't ask him to stop.
"Laxus..?" Levy tested, and his rubbing slowed down as he looked at her. "What... what happened? What happened... to the parents ... during the invasion?" Levy's words shook, and she couldn't push the thought out of her head, a traumatized Asuka shrieking about hearing something and having to hide no matter what.
Laxus exhaled the breath he was holding after a moment. No one in his life was more curious than Levy, so he should have expected this. Clearly Mira was a curious girl given she always wanted the inside scoop and juicy details to things— mostly rumors and gossip — but Levy was different. Levy craved knowledge, information, and Laxus was foolish if he'd think he'd get away without informing Levy what exactly she'd had risked her life for. Levy waited patiently with her injured hands carefully laid over her lap, and her eyes darkened as she grew very serious.
Laxus lied back in his seat and threw one leg over the other. Truth be told the violent nature of the crime would steal many hours of his nights and haunt him in his sleep. He didn't want to talk about it, but this wasn't Levy's fault and she deserved to know. As much as he wanted to keep babying her, keep her on the most innocent of assignments where he could monitor and ensure her safety, enough was enough. Laxus could keep her as safe as he wanted, and they'd still go after her. Ivan would would make sure of that, and he proved that tonight.
"The parents to the child you rescued are Alzack and Bisca Connell. They used to be part of our law enforcement, just normal skilled officers like yourself, except they turned their badges in a few years ago once Asuka got older." Laxus noticed the way Levy's brows furrowed, the look she made when she had too many questions to sort through. He decided to answer the main one she was most likely wondering. "You're no stranger to the harsh realities of the job, no one's life is guaranteed when you're working the heart of Magnolia, they knew what they were risking. Once Asuka turned three they started new careers, something less active to ensure living a safe life their daughter— that was four years ago."
"So then... the home invasion was..." Levy started, and her eyes widened in horrible realization. "Don't tell me... that... that—," she cleared her voice and squeezed back tears again.
"Go easy on yourself, Lev, you're not gonna get better at this rate," Laxus half-scolded. "It's exactly what you think. Ivan's picking off members of the force— even the ones that aren't active anymore. He's doing it to prove a point, knocking people down at their weakest. He attacked you because you're significant to Makarov and I, Mira is the same situation." Laxus brushed a hand through his hair and exhaled heavily, and Levy could see just how all of this pressure was effecting him. You could see it in his dull skin and dead eyes, and more than ever she wanted to console him.
"What exactly happened?" Levy asked softly, surprised Laxus was giving her so much information and so easily. It's been a while since he's trusted her, sat down and even talked with her, really.
Laxus grew pale. "Well, from the crime reports Evergreen handed me..." Laxus grew cold for a moment just thinking about it. "I'll keep things short and spare you the atrocities. They wanted to sell Asuka in Ivan's trade, but Bisca hid her especially well. When the couple told Ivan's members that they hadn't an idea where Asuka was, they were tortured until they spoke up. Alzack took the worse of the beatings, Bisca a bit of damage. Instead of hurting her themselves, they drenched the home in gasoline to lure Asuka out, or to allow her to perish with her family if she was taken down by the flames."
"Oh my God..." Levy croaked out just thinking about it. "Th-they were just gonna let them burn alive? Just like that?"
"Alzack and Bisca were tied to their dining chairs in the middle of the living room when the fire started. A neighbor reported it and fortunately for them Lucy and Natsu weren't too far away. It's a miracle they're even alive."
Levy shook her head in shock. "No... no it's not right. That's so cruel of them. I can't believe this happened to their family. It's not fair, it's not right! Alzack and Bisca haven't been officers in years, they shouldn't be the ones targeted. They shouldn't have been through something so horrible. Why? Why them?" Levy cried out, and her voice cracked every so often and her coughing got in the way of most of her speech.
"Like I said, it was to prove a point. Ivan's telling us that as long as we're not on his side he can hurt any one of us." Laxus stared Levy cold in the eye. "He's drilling fear into everyone. Alzack and Bisca are only one out of the many invasions that have happened in the past few months, yours included. You don't know how many badges have been placed on my desk, everyone's scared shitless they're going to be murdered."
That news was enough to make Levy's lips press into a firm line. She noticed a few faces disappearing from the office, but she never stopped to wonder if people were really quitting their jobs. "Will the couple manage?" Levy asked worriedly.
"I can't say much for Bisca's mental health, but Alzack... Alzack has a long way to go. His recovery will take a while, that's for sure."
Levy's head shook in disbelief. A flashback of Alzack severely beaten on the front lawn haunted her. "I'm going to stop him, I'm going to stop Ivan." Levy swore, and tears prickled her eyes as she made this promise.
"Levy, you really shouldn't try anything rash while you're healing," Laxus started, trying a different approach with the stubborn girl. Levy fought for what she believed in, and by now Laxus knew well that if he ordered Levy not to she'd do it just for the sakes of rebelling against him. His theory was right because Levy simmered down then, and her eyes saddened as she looked rather hopeless, an expression on her face that Laxus didn't want to see. "I know you're angry, I know you want justice for what happened to them. I know that feeling better than anyone in the world..." Laxus started slowly, and his mind rushed through images of Levy hospitalized five years ago, the stitches zigzagging along her sternum and ribs. "But you can't run head on and arrest every man in that Mafia. You just can't do it, Lev."
"I know I can't, Laxus." Levy hiccuped, her logical side sprouting underneath her emotion. "I'm just upset. I know I can't take down everyone, but I've gotta do something! You praised me that one night, you said I had the skill and experience to work the front line. I can be more help, Laxus. "
Levy grew cold when she saw the saddened look on Laxus's face. He didn't know where this was exactly coming from, but he had to tell her. "Levy, I know Gajeel was in that apartment that night, I knew it the moment I entered the scene."
Levy felt every hair on her body stand upright at the mentioning of Gajeel's name. Her mouth grew dry and her eyes widened, and now every sense in her was heightened now that she was put under the spotlight.
"You really shouldn't look so surprised," Laxus reassured. "I saw him escape, I knew you two had just left from Gramp's, and I knew that no matter how well you trained at the academy there was just no fucking way in Hell that you could have taken down men those skillful. Natsu couldn't do it, Juvia couldn't do it, Mira couldn't do it. Not fresh out of training, so don't take it so personal, Levy."
Levy felt her chest tighten, but deep down she knew he was right. Those enemies posed as a threat to Gajeel, and when Levy had left the living room for only a moment, Gajeel was fighting for his life.
"Then why didn't you say anything?" Levy asked. "Why did you praise me and put my on the Front line?" Her voice was harsher than, and now the sting in her throat was nothing compared to the ache in her chest.
"I knew you'd be safer there, surrounded by the best we have." Laxus started. "And I hoped that maybe if I gave the jobs you wanted, you'd stop going out looking for trouble yourself."
Levy blushed brightly then. This entire time she had tried to be so clever, so under the radar with her schemes, but now it seemed that Laxus already knew everything. A majority of her conscious wasn't that surprised, but she still felt embarrassed.
"Y'know... I've only been hard on you all these time because I care about you." Laxus started, and this soft side of him made Levy's blush grow brighter. "I... I already failed to protect you once, and if you were to get hurt again on my watch, I wouldn't be able to live with myself." Laxus admitted, and his head ducked down some as he didn't look at her.
Levy instantly understood what he was referring to, and now she was softening up and letting go of the heat that settled in her core from their previous argument. "Laxus, you cant't blame yourself forever. That wasn't any of your fault."
"I should have gone with you that night," Laxus yelled then, his emotions getting the best of him. Both of their eyes widened at his sudden outburst, and he lowered his tone a bit for only the both of them to hear. "I should have been there with you. I shouldn't have been so selfish. If you weren't alone that night, no one would have hurt you— you wouldn't have been hurt!" Laxus looked up then, showing the most emotion he had in years. "I couldn't stand seeing you hurt again, I couldn't fail you like I had back then. That's why it killed me when I gave you the front line, because I knew it would put you at risk for doing things like this. Like Ivan! But now, after Alzack and Bisca... I don't think that mindset matters anymore..."
"Laxus... we can't change what happened." Levy reminded him, and when he looked up with miserable eyes she gave him a soft smile. "If you blame yourself every time someone important to you gets hurt, you're gonna worry yourself sick."
Laxus kept his eyes down as he knew what Levy was saying was the truth; he just couldn't help but feel as though he carried such a heavy responsibility. Levy could manage herself now, she's proven it countless times, but he still couldn't allow her to get herself hurt, it just wasn't in him.
"I know I always want to protect you, but... I do believe you saved Asuka's life, Levy. It was a death wish running into that house, but I'm glad you did it anyway." He smiled a soft, genuine smile. "You're a hero."
Levy's eyes sparkled then, and the two of them shared deep eye contact that sparked some kind of connection; it was so sharp that Laxus broke it off and rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "I should probably start
heading back. It's already almost eleven and I haven't finished filing any reports. The councils definitely gonna wanna hear about this, as if I didn't have enough superiors to worry about." Laxus groaned just thinking about the Hell the city council would give him about this, even if it was out of his control, Jura still wouldn't be happy. Things like this led to city panic, and it was up to Laxus to paint a pretty picture to a horrible situation and pretend that everything was under control.
"Laxus," Levy called out a bit too loudly, and she cleared her throat. When she finished her fit, she looked up to see his calm gray eyes swirl with worry. "Thank you for visiting me," Levy smiled confidently, hoping her optimism could soothe his apprehension. Laxus visibly relaxed, and he smiled with relief.
"No problem, I'll check on you in the morning and see how your shaping up," Laxus offered kindly.
Levy grinned brightly, "that would mean a lot," She chirped, but Laxus's silence made her look up with a worried expression. Her eyes widened when the door opened before Laxus could reach for the handle, and immediately someone Levy hadn't expected had pushed his way past the threshold, despite Laxus blocking the way.
It was Gajeel.
A/N: Writing FanFiction and trying to succeed in nursing school is a million times harder than I thought it would be, lol. I'm trying to update I am, I'm failing classes cause all I do is day dream about what I'm going to write next! Sorry for the whole "confession tease" towards the end. Don't worry, Gajevy's romance makes a big step forward in the next chapter. No seriously.
Also, I didn't want to go too in depth with Lily's background because I don't think I could fit a good place for it in this story. So, to keep things short, Shagotte is like a celebrity and Lily was her assigned body guard. Eventually they fell in love, and that's just some background on how they met. Lily holds a great sadness because as he has worked long jobs for Makarov, he's hardly home, and during his absence Shagotte found out she had cancer. It's why he's always associated with flowers, because he replaces new ones for her bedside at the hospital consistently.
In addition, I thought it would be cute to add some songs that helped my creative flow for this story.
Slow Dancing in The Dark -Joji
The less I know the better - Tame Impala
Electric Love - BORNS