Author's note: Hello! I hope you enjoy the chapter, and thank you again for all the faves, reviews, and follows! :)
Chapter 25
Cuddles
"Hey dudes, want to grab a drink tonight?" Kasai asked abruptly as she returned to the Guild Hall, having made a beeline for Gajeel and Lily as soon as she'd arrived. She had been doing nonstop missions with Natsu and his team for the past two weeks, and after the utter chaos that ensued, she could use a drink and some space.
"Did you just get back?" Gajeel asked, looking up at the dirty and tired looking woman.
"You would not believe what I've been through the past two weeks." She said, sighing. "So, drinks? I need to shower, but I can meet you in a couple hours."
"Sure, it seems like forever since we hung out." Gajeel commented, and Lily nodded.
"I'm in. This place is too loud with Natsu here." He said, glancing at the pink-haired boy yelling at the top of his lungs across the room.
"The Bolt, 7 sound good?"
"See you there." Gajeel replied, and went back to sipping on his soda.
1.
The three wizards met up at the poorly lit bar, laughing at the stories Kasai told about her recent adventures, along with some of their old ones. They'd all changed into more comfortable clothing to blend in with the crowd more, Kasai and Gajeel wearing jeans and simple t-shirts.
"He did what?" Gajeel asked in disbelief, Lily laughing his ass off at his side.
"He set a priest on fire, tried to put out the fire by throwing glue on him, and then somehow-" Kasai had to stop talking from laughter, having to set her glass down to prevent it from spilling. "Somehow feathers got in there."
"What an idiot."
"In Natsu's defense, the glue was watery and was mislabeled." She said, and took a sip from her drink, smiling at the memory.
"You need to start taking a camera on your missions with them." Lily said after calming down, tears in his eyes.
"When's your birthday? I'm buying you a damn camera." Gajeel added.
"I don't celebrate my birthday anymore. When I went into hiding, I got out of the habit."
"Well that's stupid." The man snorted, chugging the last of his whiskey. It was his fifth drink, and it was nearing 10 PM now.
"I'm also thinking of taking a break from missions with Natsu… I love him, but goddamn, the power of the team is overkill. They destroy entire buildings on a weekly basis."
"Hey Gajeel, long time no see." A new voice spoke nearby, causing the small group to turn their attention to him. A larger group, 15 people were rising from their seats and glowering at the iron dragonslayer.
Gajeel moved to stand, but stumbled, and fell to the ground.
Kasai and Panther Lily immediately stood, the sound of their chairs skidding across the ground causing the bar to still into silence. "Do we have a problem?" The cat asked, jumping onto the table as the red head moved to stand next to the groaning Gajeel.
"Nothing that concerns an old hag and her cat." One of them spoke, causing cocky smirks to appear on many of their faces. The two wizards suddenly realized that the entire bar was against them, and they were surrounded.
Upon closer inspection, they both realized that each person was adorning large amounts of metal jewelry and a matching star symbol tattoos.
"Gentlemen, I don't know what your business with Gajeel is, but you're not doing anything with him. We're wizards of Fairy Tale and don't take kindly to threats." Kasai spoke, a small smile on her face and polite tone in her voice. Laughs rang out around her, and she turned to look at Lily. "Would you like to take these guys down, or should I?"
"Since we get free drinks, we should cause as little damage as possible." Lily answered, and she nodded, putting her hands in her pockets as her blood magic rose from beneath her skin. Within seconds, she had her bloodmagic hand cuffs draining their magic and leaving them passed out on the ground.
Lily looked around, nodding in approval at the lack of damage that had occurred. All of the men, which had totaled to maybe 40 people, were on the ground passed out. "Any idea what that was about?
"None." Lily answered, watching as Kasai reached over and turned Gajeel onto his back. She pulled at his eyelid to see his pupils, and checked his pulse.
"He's out. You two can sleep on my couch tonight in case they attack again." Kasai told him, and with effort, pulled him onto her back.
2.
"What the hell does he eat? He weighs a ton."
"Most of his body is iron. He's basically a moving statue." Lily answered, chuckling at the red head moping at having to carry the large man. "If he's too heavy-"
"No, I got it." She replied defiantly, causing the cat to chuckle.
"Kasai?" The new voice caused both of them to look up, and were both surprised at the sight of Levy. She had two grocery bags in her hands, and she stood in front of them, eyes wide. The two wizards stopped walking, looking up at the woman in surprise.
"Levy! Long time no see." Kasai grinned, her cheeks slightly red from the alcohol. "How's it going?"
"So… you and Gajeel…?" Levy asked awkwardly, her cheeks turning red.
"We went out for drinks, and this lug drank too much. I don't know how you put up with this dolt." She commented, chuckling at the end.
"Are you okay, Levy?" Panther Lily asked after jumping onto Kasai's head, ignoring her glare and focusing on the blue-haired girl. She was looking into her bag of groceries, and even though it was dark, he could hear a quiver in her voice.
"I just, um… Gajeel canceled plans with me tonight… he said he was going to catch up on sleep." She spoke, but before the two wizards could reply, she ran past them and continued down the street.
Lily and Kasai stood there for a moment, trying to figure out what happened, and sighed. "Gajeel is a dumbass. When he wakes up, I'm kicking his ass."
"I'll join you." Lily stated, and with another sigh, Kasai started walking again.
"You both need to lose some weight."
3.
"Why the hell is he here?" Natsu asked, his nose wrinkling in disgust at his rival. The red head walked past him, walking into the living room as her boyfriend closed the door behind her. Lily jumped off of her head and landed on the coffee table.
"Someone spiked his drinks. I don't want him to be alone tonight." Kasai told him, and dropped the heavy man onto the couch. He snored loudly, but otherwise didn't stir.
"Everyone at the bar was from a different Guild. For some reason they wanted to take Gajeel." Lily added, taking the chance to look around the small living room. "Nice house."
"Why couldn't you leave him at his place and let Panther Lily watch him?" Natsu asked, crossing his arms and taking a step closer to them.
"Natsu, don't be mean. He's a member of Fairy Tale and he needs help." Happy stated, flying over to Lily. "It'll be like a sleepover!"
"Ugh, fine. Whatever." Natsu finally conceded, too tired to argue. "Let's just go to bed."
4.
Throughout the night, Kasai checked on Gajeel to make sure he was alive. Whatever they drugged him with was likely just a sedative, but on the off chance it was something else, she didn't want to gamble on his life.
At 6 AM she was up and moving around, making coffee and breakfast for herself. Everyone else was still asleep, which was normal, and she tried to stay quiet at the early hours.
Her mind wandered to Levy. How awkward and sad she looked, how she ran off after telling them that Gajeel had ditched her to hang out with them.
When Gajeel wakes up, he'll have the lovely surprise of a sharpie mustache, unibrow, and glitter on his face.
Kasai smiled as she cracked the eggs shells and let the insides fall into the bowl. As she added seasonings and continued her morning routine, the thoughts of her first 'mission' with Gajeel came to mind.
She had learned a lot that day. When she hacked the system of her Edolas counterpart, who went by the simple name of 'The Doctor' or Taiyo, she'd learned a great deal about her activities. Kasai had learned about the horrors and atrocities she committed, that she was still committing, and the thought of it made her stomach churn.
Aside from the research notes, Kasai had learned valuable information about the mysterious woman's background, namely from her notes on torturing her mother. The Doctor grew up in an abusive household, where her mother was weak and beaten on a regular basis; when she was a teenager, she killed her parents and continues to torture and control Kasai's mother.
The Blood Guild wants power and immortality. At this rate, the dragonslayer doubted there was any morality line they hadn't crossed.
They were evil.
"Whatever you're cooking… smells like organic shit." Gajeel spoke from the doorway and causing Kasai to jump, almost causing the frying pan to fall. She turned, glaring at him, and instantly trying to recover from her embarrassing jumpiness. "Did I scare you?"
The woman couldn't help but smile, seeing her handiwork from the night before. He was leaning against the frame of the kitchen doorway, hands in his pockets, and trying to look cool. "Nope. Want some eggs?"
"Sure. I'll take some coffee, too."
"Help yourself." She said. "Mugs are in that cabinet."
"Thanks." He muttered, voice gruff and low. Upon further inspection she noticed bags under his bloodshot eyes, and his movements were sluggish.
"Who were the guys that attacked you?" She asked as she continued cooking the scrambled eggs, watching in the corner of her eye as he poured himself some coffee.
"I don't remember much… I remember someone saying my name, but then everything went black." He muttered. "Sugar?"
"Next to the coffee maker. Cream is in the fridge." She spoke. "They wore a lot of metal."
"Could be an old group I used to hang with… The 'Metal Heads'."
"Why are they after you?"
He shrugged. "Fuck if I know. They had a stupid rule of killing anyone that left the group, but they never acted on it. They've attacked me a couple of times, but I took care of them."
"Apparently not." Kasai commented. He grunted, annoyed, and took a seat at the dining room table. The dining room was an extension of the kitchen, only a countertop separating the two rooms.
"Eh. They got a cheap shot."
"Speaking of dick heads, we ran into Levy last night." Kasai spoke as she got out a plate and put the scrambled eggs on it. Luckily she'd made extra, in case anyone woke up hungry. "You canceled a date with Levy to go out drinking?"
The dragonslayer groaned, cursing under his breath, and pinching the bridge of his nose. "She's going to hate me."
Kasai put his plate in front of him, set her plate on infront of her chair, and then went to pour herself a cup of coffee.
"Yesterday morning she asked to go on a date, but I wanted a night to myself, so I told her I needed to get some sleep instead…. But then you came to town, and we haven't hung out in forever, so I forgot."
"She seemed pretty upset."
He groaned, again, his eyes closed and hand moving to his forehead. "I feel like shit."
"I need to return a book to Levy. I'll stop by her place at noon and talk to her. In the mean time, eat some food, drink some coffee, and then get your ass home and sleep."
"Natsu must have been pissed that you brought me here."
"He understands." She said with a shrug, and the pair fell into silence as they ate their breakfast.
5.
Later that morning, Kasai did as she said and found herself in front of Levy's apartment door. She had been waiting for almost a minute after knocking, listening to the young woman stumble around her apartment. The red head had a large book in her arms and bounced on the balls of her feet as she waited.
"Who is it?"
"It's Kasai." She replied, and an awkward silence followed. The lock clicked, doorknob twisted, and door opened. Kasai smiled and held up the book. "I was in the area, and thought I'd return your book."
Levy was wearing a simple orange dress, and eyes appeared red and swollen. "Oh, thanks…. I was just about to make tea. Would you like some?" She asked, and Kasai smiled.
"That sounds awesome. I'd love some."
Kasai entered the young woman's apartment, not surprised at the lack of change. It was tidy and looked just like she remembered, even though she hadn't been there in months. The apartment was mostly shades of blue, and had interesting paintings hanging on the walls. One of them was a flamingo driving in a car with sunglasses, the words "books are the gateway to flamingos" printed along the top.
"How are you?"
"I'm good. You?"
"Pretty good."
Kasai set the book on a night stand and sat down on the couch, her companion sitting across from her on a matching love seat.
"I'm sorry about last night. If I had known he had canceled a date with you to catch up on sleep, I wouldn't have pressured him into drinking." Kasai apologized, watching the female become further awkward.
"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have run off like that. Don't worry about it." She replied, bowing her head.
"He really likes you, you know." Kasai commented, and Levy sat up with her cheeks red. "He talks about you a lot."
"He talks about you, too." She replied, looking at the ground and causing an awkward silence to fill the room.
Trying to choose her words carefully, Kasai paused before speaking. "If you're worried about Gajeel and I hooking up, don't. We're just friends. He saved my life a while back and helped me through a lot of issues. I'm also happily in love with Natsu."
Levy looked up at the mention of Natsu, and diverted her gaze when the sound of the tea kettle met their ears. "Tea is ready." She stated, and stood, walking over to the small kitchen to pour their tea.
"You were my first friend when I moved to Magnolia." Kasai spoke, raising her voice so that she could hear her from the other room. "I know that I've been busy lately, but I'd like us to be friends again. Natsu nor Gajeel are much intellectuals."
Levy laughed from the other room, and when she emerged from the kitchen, handed her the cup of tea. She was smiling, tears falling down her face, and she returned to her seat. "I would like that. I missed you."
6.
"I never took you for a drinker." Kasai commented later that evening, facing the blue-haired woman with her legs criss-crossed and back straight. Her hands were on her knees, eyeing the woman across from her and glancing occasionally at the bottle of rum between them.
"I'm not. I've never actually been drunk before." She admitted, and Kasai raised her eyebrows at her.
"Never?"
"Never."
"It's a good thing you never told Erza. She would have destroyed you." Kasai told her, and reached out to open the bottle. She poured each of them a shot.
"After what happened to you, I made sure not to." She laughed, and raised her glass. They gently tapped their shot glasses together. "To getting drunk."
"Amen, sister."
They downed their first shot, Levy grimacing and almost gagging at the taste. Kasai smiled behind her glass of orange juice, her action reminding the blue-haired woman to do the same. "These are called chasers?" Levy asked after gulping down half of the glass.
"Yep." Kasai said, and poured another shot for each of them. "If you want to stop, I'd be fine with-"
"No, I am determined. This is our bonding moment." She said, and raised her shot glass again, clinking it against her companion's. "To penguins!"
"Penguins?" Kasai asked watching the woman down another shot, but then shrugged and did the same.
7.
The next morning, Kasai sighed annoyingly at her predicament.
Despite her extensive martial arts training, brutal past, and extensive magic knowledge… people liked cuddling her. Natsu, Gajeel, Lily, Kana, Sarah, Star, Comet….
Levy was no different.
Except, she was naked.
The red head opened her eyes, looking up at the white ceiling and thinking back to the previous night. She had been mostly sober for the evening, only tipsy for most of the night, and had the opportunity to see Levy drunk for the first time.
Like Kana, Levy had a habit of stripping when drunk, but was much more clumsy. The wizard, strangely, had tons of energy and absolutely no coordination whatsoever. Kasai had saved her from hitting her head several times, but knew that when she woke up, would be in lots of pain.
At the end of the night, when the red head tried to get her into bed, the naked woman latched onto her and pulled her onto the mattress with her. It wasn't sexual, and instead Levy treated her like a giant teddy bear, muttering "comfy" over and over again until she fell asleep.
I come over to fix things between her and Gajeel, only to get her drunk, naked, and cuddle.
Despite the awkwardness of it, it felt nice. Everytime Kasai had tried to get away, the girl tightened her grip, so Kasai eventually stopped trying to escape and allowed the little nude girl to cuddle up to her.
Given the red head's track record of having her female friends/family die, she liked having her so close.
8.
"Should we be concerned?" Natsu asked Gajeel two days later, both of them watching their girlfriends on the edge of the field. They were on a blanket enjoying the sunny weather, Levy reading her large book and leaning against Kasai, whose arms were wrapped around her waist. The red head was asleep, resting the side of her face against the nape of her neck; her dark green cloak was wrapped around them, keeping them warm against the cool breeze.
"Nah." Gajeel said with a shrug, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"According to levy, Kasai is super cuddly and comfortable." Lucy said, walking up from behind and stepping between them. "I think their new friendship is more like sisters than anything."
"I guess as long as Kasai gets some sleep, I shouldn't complain." Natsu commented with his own shrug.
"Yeah, she gets so mean when she's sleep deprived. Ever since the dark spell, she's sleeping at really odd hours." Lucy commented, groaning at the memory of Kasai almost killing her for unknowingly taking her donut.
"That explains a lot." Gajeel spoke, chuckling. "There aren't many people that Levy can talk nerdy with…. Levy gets intelligent conversation, and Kasai gets sleep. Seems like a win-win situation."
"It's kind of funny. Most of the Guild is scared of Kasai, yet she's more like a giant teddy bear." Lucy commented, smiling at the two girls across the field.
"Eh? Scared?" Natsu asked, making a face. "Why?"
"She's beaten all of the S-ranked wizards without even trying. Even I'm scared of her sometimes." Lucy admitted.
"I'm going to join them!" Kana said happily and starting to run towards Levy and Kasai, but was stopped when Gajeel grabbed the back of her shirt.
"You are going to stay away from Kasai or I'll break your neck." Gajeel spoke, staying cold and stoic as the brunette pouted at him.
"I second that." Gray spoke after overhearing the last part of their conversation.
1.
"Why aren't you training?! We need to prepare for the competition!" Natsu yelled at his girlfriend, standing next to her with his arms crossed and shadow preventing sun light to reach her tanned skin. She scowled, looking up at him.
"I train on a daily basis, not just when we have a competition coming up." She spoke, and sighed as she tried to sink into the sandy ground and ignore him. He grunted, annoyed, and not leaving. "I'm meditating, Natsu. This is training for me. I need a stable mind in order to use my magic, not to mention repair the damage from that dark spell."
"How long are you going to use that spell as an excuse?"
"It literally shattered my mind, Natsu. I'm not in danger of turning dark anymore, but that doesn't mean that the spell has completely broken. There are side effects, and if I don't rest and-"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." He said, and started to walk away, but yelped when Kasai grabbed his ankle and caused him to fall. As he fell, she maneuvered him to fall next to her, and jumped on him to straddle his waist with her legs.
"We'll fight later, okay?" She asked, sitting on his lower belly.
"Can we do something else?" He replied, wiggling his eyebrows and smiling.
"Get a room, you two." Erza stated as she walked past them, hitting Kasai on the head as she passed her, causing the woman to stick her tongue out at the retreating form.
2.
"The Celestial world is in grave danger, we need your help!" Virgo told them, the group gasping and staring at her with wide eyes.
"What?! What happened?!" Lucy asked. "What can we do to help?"
"You must come with me to the Spirit World. There's no time to explain." Virgo spoke, and without giving them much time to think about it, they were all transported to another realm.
When they arrived, and after they announced that the group had been tricked into entering the spirit world for a party, Kasai was surprised to find that the Celestial King knew of her. "You must be Kasai." The enormous man asked, his voice booming.
The red head raised her left eyebrow, arms crossed, and shifted her weight. "You know me by name?"
"Yes, I have heard a great deal about you. We have many things to discuss." He told her, his voice turning slightly more serious than before. "But we can talk later. I have a surprise for you." He said, and nodded his head towards the group of celestial spirits, encouraging the young woman to look at them.
Kasai turned her head to look at the crowd of spirits, not sure what to expect, and her eyes locked onto two in particular.
She forgot how to breathe.
Her mouth gaped slightly, entire body frozen in place, and it took her a moment to comprehend what she was seeing.
"She probably doesn't recognize us. I told you we should have worn our birthday suit." One of them spoke to the other, and at the sound of his voice, Kasai's face burst into a smile.
"You're alive!" Kasai screamed and ran towards them, happy tears flowing from her eyes as she launched herself at them. As she was pulled into a fierce hug and inhaled their familiar scent- lavender and incense.
"Holy crap, they're alive?!" Natsu asked.
"Star and Comet are the only humans to possess pure celestial magic. Their bodies were killed, but I managed to save their souls. They're celestial spirits now." The King explained, smiling at the happy trio.
"Let's get this party started!" Natsu yelled out, pumping his fist into the air and then running straight for the food.
2.
"So you've been alive this entire time?!" Kasai asked them sometime later, finding herself sitting between the twins. They were both well over two feet taller than her, extremely fit and tan, and unlike last they met, were wearing pants.
"Well, not exactly." Comet spoke. "The Blood Guild slaughtered our village, and we were taken prisoner to be experimented on. When we were killed, the Celestial King was able to interfere and save us."
"Did he save anyone else?"
"No, unfortunately." Star answered, and although it saddened her, it couldn't keep her spirits down. "We've been gaining intelligence on them over the years, though. Thanks to Lucy, it's been easy for us to transport to Earth land and investigate."
"What have you learned?" Kasai asked.
"They're using celestial magic to improve their necromancer magic." Star told her.
"As long as they have a piece of a wizard's body, they can summon and control them. The celestial King told us that if the body part used to summon them is destroyed, he can guide their souls to safety." Comet explained, and Kasai nodded.
"We haven't been able to learn very much," Star said sadly.
"Unfortunately." Comet added.
"But we did find something interesting in our investigation," They both said in unison, their sudden change in enthusiasm caused the red head to chuckle; but then they pulled out a picture from their pockets, and her face paled. "Who is this cutie?"
"Give me that!" She yelled, reaching for them but missing as they held it out of her reach.
"It doesn't look like Natsu,"
"I'd let him handcuff me any day." Star commented, causing the blush on Kasai's cheeks to redden. It was a picture of Gajeel and her on Halloween, posing for the cameras, and in one picture Gajeel was showing off his 'GUILTY' butt.
"Does Natsu know about this?"
"That happened when we were broken up- please don't show him!"
"I don't know…" The twins said mischievously, and the game began. The twins teased her mercilessly, and they wrestled trying to keep the pictures in their grasp.
"Star, that is quite undignified." One of the celestial spirits spoke, his shaded eyes looking down at the childlike actions of the trio on the ground. Kasai was in the middle of getting Star in a headlock, while Comet's back was beneath her knee and arm twisted in her grasp.
"Want to join us?" Star asked, winking up at him.
"Your name is Capricorn, right?" Kasai asked, smiling up at him cheekily.
"Yes, and that's my boyfriend that you have pinned down." He spoke, and she gasped, smiling widely.
"You two have boyfriends!?" The red head exclaimed, and screamed when the man beneath her jumped to his feet and caused her to launch into the air. When she fell back to the ground, Comet caught her in his arms while his brother gave his boyfriend a peck on the cheek. "Whose your boyfriend?"
"Cancer." He replied, blushing slightly.
"The crab spirit? He's cute!" She said, and then managed to twist and go back to fighting, managing to headlock him on the ground with her thighs.
3.
"Ha, I don't think I've ever seen you get your ass kicked in martial arts before." Natsu jested as he poked her leg, smiling at his girlfriend. She was sitting on Comet's shoulders, still smiling, and seemed perfectly at ease. The party had just ended and the group of wizards had gathered, getting ready to return home.
"I haven't been able to practice in… 7 years, I think?" Kasai replied, frowning when she felt a pair of hands grab her from behind and lift her from Comet's shoulders. After Star set her down, she pouted, causing the twins to laugh.
"You practice with me all the time!" Natsu yelled, regaining her attention.
"I mean with another martial arts enthusiast… most of the time I can just take someone out with my blood magic. It was awesome to finally be challenged in a fight." She chuckled, causing Natsu to frown slightly, but after a second of consideration, smiled.
"We'll try to visit soon. We don't have keys yet, but when we do, we're going to give them to Lucy." Star spoke, and both of them gave her one last hug.
"I'm so glad that you both are alive." She said softly, and after giving both of them a hug, Star ruffled her short hair.
"And we're glad that you're okay, too. You better stay that way, okay?" Comet told her, and she nodded. As they walked away, she jumped onto Natsu's back, causing him to chuckle as he gripped her thighs to keep her up.
"Thanks for wearing pants." Natsu told them, and they burst into laughter.