AN: Chapter 29

For those of you who follow me on tumblr, you may have already seen part of this chapter as a preview that I posted today! Well… surprise! I ended up getting it all done! Yaay! It is on the shorter side but I think you all will really enjoy it. I ended up changing the ending twice because one way felt too rushed, and the other just wasn't what I wanted. So! I hope you all enjoy this very special chapter!

piranha pk: hahaha! The rollercoaster of feelings will never end with my chapters! Mwahahaha! But I'm pretty sure you are going to love this chapter more than anything :)

Dragonfly: oh no, don't die on me! XD how else will you get to see the ending of the story?! Hahaha I really think you are going to enjoy this chapter as well.. I wanted to make it lighter than the last few that I've posted. And I definitely will dabble back into Jerza moments in the next chapter for sure! Annnd I may or may not have answered your question about the plant levy may or may not have eaten….. and don't ever worry about ranting in a review! I love reading it all! It seriously makes my whole day when you guys leave such awesome or long reviews! :D

Please excuse any mistakes I may have missed!


Bacchus transformed his face back into a human as he squeezed Levy's neck, his hand wrapped around her waist moving up to her chin to hold her gaze in place. "Look at him! Look at what he's turning into! Can you still love a monster like him?!" His voice was loudly ringing in her ears and she looked at the centaur losing himself to his demons.

Hazel eyes watched in horror as the centaur standing in the doorway started to change his entire appearance. His entire centaur body changed into a jet-black color while his tanned skin turning a black hue. His centaur legs grew black steel plates of armor, trailing up to his chest and up and over his hind end. His dark fur coat had formed into these shapes and hardened. The plates of iron armor didn't stop there. They had formed over his arms, all the way down to his fingertips. His centaur chest formed a dark, iron spiked crest in the shape of a cross with the head and bottom stretched out longer than the sides, dark shadows swirling and twirling around the front of it. All of his metal studs on his body had turned into spikes as well. The ones on his arms were long whereas the ones on his face were short. His muscles bulged as his magic and his strength increased tenfold. Crimson color now covered the entire space of his eyes and some of his magic even spilled out the very corners of his eyes, giving off a red hue. His black hair and tail floated in the air, his magic within him overflowing and looking for an escape.

"Gajeel?" Levy managed to get out as the strong hand that was attached to the crazed wolf-man held her tight.

Bacchus let out a deranged laugh as he tilted his head to the side. "He can't hear you, my sweet! Once he gets into this fit of rage… there's no bringing him back! You might as well admit that you will forget him and just join my pack!"

The blue haired girl squirmed and struggled against his grasp. "You're… wrong! And I won't ever… join with you!"

Bacchus growled. He was past the point of frustration and if he couldn't have her… no one would. "So be it!" The crazed man jerked his head to the side as his bones cracked and started to shift once more, turning his head into a wolf. His jaws opened wide as his hand shifted Levy's head so he could get a clear bite of her neck, intending to kill her on the spot.

Hazel eyes shut tight, expecting to feel his fangs dig into the soft flesh. She felt a rush of air a second later, the tight grasp around her neck and chin was gone. Levy could feel a new tighter embrace around her waist. The blue haired girl opened her eyes and looked up at the centaur who held her close to his body. His left arm was stretched out and formed into an iron club that had shoved Bacchus away from the small girl. His body was hot to the touch and his burning red eyes stayed on the now fully transformed wolf across the room.

"Hands… off!" Gajeel said through gritted teeth.

Levy couldn't believe it. He saved her, even in this form. Was Bacchus really telling the truth about him? Maybe there was something still inside of the centaur that kept his sanity about him. Why else could he have saved her? Her thoughts were short lived as the centaur's armored scales started to prick at her soft skin. She winced and softly spoke to him. "Gajeel… come on… let's just go."

Gajeel growled and tossed the girl off to the side the moment he saw the indigo colored wolf stand on all fours and charge straight at him. He wanted blood to be shed. He raced towards the centaur; his plan was to go for his soft flesh that was his horse chest between his front legs. The centaur stood his ground with his arms stretched out as his side as Bacchus leapt into the air. Before he could reach Gajeels' chest, the centaurs dark swirling magic hardened and pierced the enraged wolf. The hardened magic moved up from the wolfs lips and scratched his red eye. Bacchus howled and jumped back, his giant paw moving to his newly received wound on his face.

As the blood dripped down his indigo colored fur, he panted as the pain only fueled his anger. His head dipped down and raised it with each frustrated breath. "You… damned… bastard…" Red eyes of the wolf slowly looked up to the centaur overflowing with magic. "I'm going to kill you for that."

Gajeel opened his mouth and let out dark shadow particles leave his mouth. He was beyond reasoning and just wanted to see anything he deemed a threat in his path, dead. He hastily rushed forward; his arms stretched out at his sides as he ran to meet the wolf head on. His arms transformed into spears, thrusting them forward he pierced the lunging wolf in both of his shoulders. Bacchus could only let out a loud yelp and cries of pain as he was being sent flying back by Gajeels' iron spears. As soon as the wolfs body hit the cold hard wall, the iron spears turned into a spike club and pushed the wolf deeper into the wall. From there, the centaur roared in anger as he started to turn his body, pulling Bacchus along with him against the wall.

Levy shook her head as she sat up on the floor from where Gajeel had tossed her. 'This isn't right… this isn't Gajeel… he's trapped in all of that anger…' Hazel eyes shut tightly. 'But what can I do?! How can I even begin to help him now when he's this out of control?!' The blue haired girl opened her eyes quickly to see Gajeel had made a complete circle with the wolfs body being dragged along the walls of the room. He used his spikes to hook his fierce weapons inside the smaller creature and brought him closer to his centaur form. From here, he stomped and stomped down on the wolfs body. His red eyes were wide a smirk came over his crazed and lost face. He laughed to himself as he was not thinking like a centaur protecting one of their own… he was acting purely on his emotions.

Levy clenched her fist as she watched Gajeel working away at the wolf maniacally. 'I can't just sit by and watch this happen anymore! I've got to do something!' The short girl stood up as fast as she could, forcing her body to run towards the scary beast beating down the wolf in front of him. 'Anything! I just have to try to bring him back!'


The small dark-haired child opened his crimson eyes slowly, looking around at the darkness surrounding him. His head lowered in sadness as his arms came up across his chest, holding the opposite arm tightly. "I'm here again…" His feet started to move on their own in search of anything other than the dark space around him. "Its so cold in here… and I'm alone…" Gajeel sniffled slightly, fighting back the tears that seemed to never end while he awoke in this place. He wasn't sure why or how it would happen; he would just awake sometimes and be in this darkness that never seemed to subside. "I hate being trapped in here. It always makes me feel weird and I just want to be let out." The small dark-haired boy stopped walking and kneeled down, curling himself up as much as he could like he always ended up doing. "Why wont someone help me? Please?" Crimson orbs shut tight as his tears started to fall down his tanned cheeks. "I don't want to be alone anymore."


Levy launched herself forward onto the centaur, wrapping her arms around his human torso as tightly as she could. Gajeel felt a new presence and whipped his head to the side, seeing nothing but a blur hanging onto him. He growled as his hand reached down to Levy's blue hair and gripped it, tugging at her to get her off of him. She winced at his pull, but kept her arms locked. "Gajeel! Snap out of it! It's me! Levy!"

Her words fell on deaf ears. All he could make out was a jumble of words that only angered him further. He kept his large hoof down on the almost lifeless wolf as his hand moved from blue hair to Levy's shoulder, his free hand moving to her arms wrapped around him. He groaned and growled in frustration. He was trying to free himself from her grasp.

The blue haired girl shook her head as she buried her face into his hot skin. "Gajeel! Can't you hear me in there?! Please! I just want to go home! Come back to me so we can just go! You don't need to do this anymore!" With tears filling hazel eyes, the girl looked up into completely taken over, red eyes that stared back at her. His struggling to free himself had stopped. She could feel her tears falling down her cheeks as she spoke louder to him. "You're not a monster like Bacchus said! I know you're in there! Just come back to me!"


The small boy wept as he brought his hands to his dark hair, gripping each side of his skull as the horrendous sounds of the monster outside laughed and continued on with his raging assault. "Please… stop! I don't want to do this anymore! I don't want to be like this! Why wont anyone help me?"

"Gajeel!" A faint voice called out. "Gajeel!" The voice was growing louder and louder each time his name was being called. The dark-haired boy sniffled and lowered his hands to his curled-up knees to his chest. Crimson orbs scanned the darkness around him.

"Who's there?" He asked in response. He looked to the dark ground in front of him, a small light started to form from up above. He was confused by this. Never has he seen anything but the darkness when he entered this beastly form. His small hand reached outward towards this new light that only seemed to be getting brighter by the second.

"Gajeel." Said a soft and gently voice from behind him.

The boy turned to see a shinning human girl reaching out to him. She had a soft smile across her lips as she floated towards him. Her hand looked so inviting and he could feel the warmth glowing off from her. She was the only source of light in this dark room he was trapped in. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

The woman of light touched the ground he now stood upon; her hand still stretched out to him. She leaned at the waist, letting her long bangs fall past her shoulders on either side of her head. "I'm here for you… to free you from this darkness. Won't you come back with me?"

Crimson eyes grew wide and seemed to light up with hope. Without another thought, the boy reached out to her hand, taking it with eagerness. The woman pulled him up to her chest with ease and held him lightly in her arms. She bent her legs at her knee so she could hold the small child as close to her body as she could. Her gentle hand rubbing his dark hair as she spoke to him. "I'm here now." She smiled as she rested her head onto his. "So, come back to me Gajeel."

Gajeel looked up to the woman holding him so carefully. Her shinning light had stayed but her true colors began to show. Her once golden hair slowly started to turn to a cerulean blue, her eyes turning into a beautiful hazel color. Her milky soft skin was engulfing him with all of her love that she had been harboring for him all this time. He was starting to recognize her. The one he came here for. She was here, with him in this darkness. She was his light in all of this. She could set him free. The way she said his name, made him feel at peace. Something he had not felt in such a long time. As he lowered his head and leaned it against her chest, his crimson orbs began to swell with tears as they closed slowly. He was grateful to have her now. She was his savior.


Levy could tell something inside him had changed. His red eyes started to shift from fully red, to his normal crimson orbs. Her hazel eyes started to form tears of joy as he was showing signs of coming back to her. She released her arms from around his waist and moved them up to his jawline. "Gajeel… just let all of this go. I just want to leave this horrible place. I want to go back home… with you. To Fairy Tail." Her hazel eyes let her tears roll down the sides of her cheeks as she shifted her gaze back and forth between his red eyes. "Come back to me, and we can just go."

The centaurs armored coat slowly started to recede and change back to just black fur. He could feel his anger, his frustrations, his abundance of magic power… all of it was slowly leaving his body, returning him back to normal. The large beast closed his red eyes and let out a breath. His black hued skin faded as tanned skin reappeared. Gajeel could hear the woman he loved loud and clear now. After returning his mind back to normal, he slowly opened his crimson orbs as a hand moved up to hers on his cheek. His voice was weak and low. "Levy…"

The small girl smiled and nodded her head. "Yes. It's me." She couldn't stop her tears from rolling. "You came back to me, Gajeel."

The centaur's large arms wrapped around the short girl and pulled her in close, his head leaned down to her shoulder. "I'm sorry." Levy gasped a moment later as she felt his warm tears fall onto her naked shoulder. His embrace grew tighter. He was afraid that if he let her go, he was going to slip back into the darkness. He just wanted to stay like this for a minute longer. "I'm sorry I got here so late."

Levy felt her own arms wrap around the centaur just as hard at his words. She still couldn't believe he was there with her now. But she was glad. Glad he had come to rescue her. "You idiot." She said softly into his shoulder. "You had me so worried about you… I didn't think you were coming back."

Gajeel nuzzled his face into her skin, breathing in her faint scent that was almost overpowered by the stench of the wolf. "I know… I wouldn't have been able to without you though… its all thanks to you."

"Can we just go home now?" Levy asked softly. "I don't want to be here anymore…"

With her words, the centaur released his grip on the girl before him. He leaned down some and scooped her up into his arms, holding her close as he made his way to the door. As they neared the main hall where Gajeel had taken out the whole pack, he held her head in place, close to his chest. "Don't look. It's not a pretty sight in here." Levy didn't disobey him. She could tell from the smell alone in this large room, that there was a massacre that had gone down. The centaur stopped for just a second and made his way to one side of the room. She could feel him reaching out with a hand and grabbing something to drape over her mostly naked body. It was the pelts from Bacchus's chair, but she didn't care. She would rather have something covering her battered body as they went back to Fairy Tail.

Her heart beat hard in her chest as she remembered the truth she discovered, and the thoughts that came along with it. She would have to talk to him about her father and decide what to do next. But for now, all she wanted to do was to leave this place and forget all about it. Her head subconsciously nuzzled in close to the centaur's chest, seeking his warmth to keep her mind calm as he carried her home. Hazel eyes grew heavy from the stress of it all. 'I don't want to think about what I found out about Gajeel right now. All I want… is to go home.' Levy shut her eyes and started to let herself pass out. Her mind letting go of the horrible truth about Gajeel and her father.


Levy awoke some time later, her arm stretched up across Gajeels' chest, and cupped his neck lightly as she slept. She gasped slightly as she took her hand back, holding it close to her chest. "Sorry."

The centaur kept his gaze on the trail up ahead. "It didn't bother me." Crimson orbs glanced down at the girl in his arms. She was looking at anything but him now. He frowned as he let out a sigh. "I guess I should tell you now so you don't have to keep hating me."

Levy's head snapped up his way. "I never said—" She blushed as she saw him staring at her. She quickly turned her head away. "We can just talk about what happened the other day, later. Can't we just walk in silence for now?"

Gajeel stopped in his tracks, his hands squeezing her lightly. "It can't wait." His red eyes looked off to the side, away from the girl in his arms. The blue haired girl looked back at him, seeing the pain in his expression. "I don't like seeing you hate me. Especially after you saved me from myself. You need to know the truth now." The large centaur looked around for a place to set Levy down for a moment. Once his eyes landed on a fallen tree off to the side, he made his way over to it. He carefully set her small form down so that she could sit upon it. He took a step back and lowered his own body down so he could be eye level with her, tucking his legs underneath his large centaur body.

Levy held out a hand from the pelt she held close to her body. "Gajeel, seriously. You don't have to do this."

The centaur reached out quickly and took hold of her hand. "Levy… after you stormed out from Fairy Tail… I thought back to the day I found that satchel I had in my tent." His crimson orbs looked at her bruised and bitten arm stretched out. His expression softened as his thumb ran over her soft knuckles. "It wasn't me who had killed your father. It was the thief I had killed, who did it. He was going around and robbing anyone in his path. When he came upon me, he already had the satchel from your father and whatever was in it. I tried to ignore him, but he kept on bugging me, annoyingly threatening me. So, I took care of him the only way I thought was right." He paused for a moment. "I was finishing up my patrol and I happened to see your father dying on the side of the road. As I passed… all I could hear was him saying your name. He looked sad, and full of regret. I only wish now, that I was not so full of hate towards humans. I could have—"

Gajeels' eyes went wide as Levy got up and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him tightly. "You didn't do it. Thank god. I'm so relieved you didn't kill my father. I'm sorry for what I said the day I left."

The dark-haired centaur chuckled slightly as he turned his head away slightly. "Well, to be fair, you had every reason to react that way. I just wish my temper didn't get the better of me. I tend to say stupid shit when I get worked up." His expression grew worried as he thought about something more serious. His hand moved up to her arm wrapped around his neck and gripped it lightly. "I am sorry for what I said to you back at Fairy Tail. I didn't mean one word of it. I reverted to my old self and I've been trying very hard to keep him suppressed. I guess being accused of killing your father brought him back out. And then again when I found you with Bacchus… that's the worst side of me. It has so much power, but at what cost? I can't control it or even hear or see my friends around me. I get the bloodlust curse when I turn into Black Steel. I never want to become that part of me ever again. The one that hates humans for just being, and that monster that takes over my very mind. You have shown me that humans can be trusted, that they aren't all bad. And… I never want to hear you say that you hate me. So please… forgive me and all that I have done to you."

Gajeel felt Levy unwrap her arms from around his neck, her soft hands moving to his face, cupping it lightly. He closed his eyes and moved his hand to her wrist. "Even though you did something horrible to a human… in a sense… he deserved what he got. I'm just grateful my father had vengeance before he died." Crimson eyes opened and looked up into hazel. Levy smiled as she leaned in close to the centaur in front of her. She rested her forehead against his own. "And from now on… I'll stay by your side. Should you ever change back into Black Steel, I'll help bring you back, just like before. You won't have to worry about it anymore."

Relief came over the centaur from Levy's words. Never before has anyone told him those words. The closest one to him was Lily, but even the satyr couldn't help him when his mind went to that dark place. His heart raced in his chest as he thought about saying the three words in his mind to the girl in front of him. He opened his mouth to say them but paused. 'Maybe now isn't the best time. She's been through so much already. I really should just get her back to Fairy Tail…'

"Gajeel…" Levy said softly, breaking his thoughts off immediately at her soft voice.

"Hm?" He responded as he looked at her. She smiled as she tilted his head back some, her lips moving onto his lightly. His tanned cheeks turned bright red. Levy held him there for a long minute before breaking off their kiss. His voice was nothing more than a whisper as she started to move away. "What was that for?"

"It was a thank you… for saving me from Bacchus." She said with a soft smile.

Before the blue haired girl could get much farther away from him, Gajeel reached around her waist and pulled her back in closer to him. His large hand found its way to the back of her head and brought her face close to his. "I should be the one to thank you for saving me back there. Who knows what I would have done had you not reached out to me."

Levy's lips curled into a smile as she slowly moved her hands to his broad shoulders. "You wouldn't have done anything bad to me."

Crimson orbs shifted from hazel eyes to soft pink lips. "How do you know? I couldn't control myself… remember?"

"I just know." The blue haired girl responded.

Gajeel smirked as his head dipped down for a moment before looking back up at Levy. "Let's get you back to Fairy Tail. I think you're dying to get washed up and healed up by Wendy by now." With a nod of agreement from the girl, the centaur shifted his weight and stood up quickly, his long black tail swishing from side to side, dusting off his black coat. "Would you like a ride or would you like for me to carry you again?"

A soft blush came over the girl's cheeks as she held the pelt close to her body. "Would you mind… carrying me again?" Her hand reached out quickly after she spoke. "Unless riding on your back is easier? I don't want to make things difficult for you. Or maybe I can just walk on my own?" Hazel eyes looked down the path they were on. "Fairy Tail isn't that far, right? I should be ok to walk on—"

Gajeel quickly scooped the girl up into his arms once more. "If you want something, just ask for it. You don't need to act like you're a burden to me." He said as he started down the trail once more. All Levy could do was nod as she moved in close to his body. He had a point though. She was ready to wash off any and all traces of Bacchus once they got back. She didn't think she needed to be healed by Wendy, seeing how she only received minimum wounds.

Her mind went back to the first night she arrived at Quatro Cerberus, and what Hisui had offered her. The weeping maiden herb. She can still remember the bitter taste of it and the everlasting effects it would have on her body. Levy's hand moved down to her abdomen, pressing down on it lightly. 'I wonder… if Wendy could find a way to reverse the affects… or maybe her powers would be strong enough to get rid of the forever curse.' Hazel eyes closed as she let her thoughts go as they headed back to their home. 'That's the only healing I would really want at this point.'


Gajeel snuck into Fairy Tail without anyone noticing. He wanted to make sure Levy wasn't going to be disturbed by anyone while she washed up. He took her immediately to the lake where they had played in once before. It was going to be deep enough in certain areas so she could go under the water fully if she had wished. It also had a few giant boulders off to the side in case she wanted some privacy after all she had been through. He reached the edge of the lake and set Levy down lightly. He held out his hand as he spoke. "Here, hand over that pelt. I'm going to go back to my tent and get you something to wear and I'll make sure that pelt is burned. You don't need anything that reminds you of that wolf anymore."

Levy half smiled as she turned her body to face the water, letting the pelt roll off her scratched and bruised skin and holding it out for Gajeel to take. He grabbed it and glanced over her backside, his lips forming a frown as he looked at the fading evidence of scratches and bruises from being dragged through the forest floor for such a long time. He turned his whole body and cleared his throat. "I'll be back in a bit. Just… take as much time as you need. I'll set out some clothes for you close to the bank and I'll wait for you down the path."

"Ok." Levy said in response. She waited until she couldn't hear his hooves walking away before taking off the last bit of clothing that was on her body. She took in a deep breath and exhale as she entered the cool and refreshing water around her. She walked in until the lower half of her body was completely submerged in water. Levy closed her eyes as she just stayed there in that moment. She could feel all of the dirt, grime, sweat, and whatever else she had caked on her naked skin, begin to float away from her body. The blue haired girl took a deep breath and lowered the rest of her small frame into the water, staying under for just a few seconds before coming back up to the surface.

It felt unbelievably good to be back in Fairy Tail. A familiar place where others around her were fighting over scraps of meat or woman to mate with, for that matter. Her hazel eyes looked over her skin, it was still covered in bite marks and bruises from the fangs that entered her flesh. Her eyes narrowed at the sight. It made her stomach churn in disgust. She didn't want to think about him every time she looked at these marks until they healed up, she thought. Levy looked around for anything she could use to help wash her up. The only thing she could see, were the small rocks and pebbles at the waters bank.

She made her way back over to the lakes edge where she had entered, her hand reaching out and picking up the smoothest rock she could find before heading back into the water. For a long minute, Levy stared at the rock in her hand. All she wanted was to forget all that happened to her. Forget what Bacchus had done, and what he would have done to her had help not arrived in time. Levy shook her head and quickly brought the smooth stone to her right shoulder where he had bitten her twice in the same area. She started to move the stone over her skin slowly, in a gentle motion. Her mind flashed images of him licking her, touching her body with his nails, his red eyes looking over her. She wanted to puke. She wanted to forget.

Her hand started to move faster and harder against her soft skin. Her warm tears made her hazel eyes swell as the images didn't seem to subside no matter how hard she was scrubbing away at her flesh. She wanted to rid her mind and body of any traces of that wolf left behind on her. She didn't seem to notice how hard she was rubbing the stone into her skin as she moved up to the nap of her neck. She cried as she thought to herself. 'I'm never really going to be able to forget about him, am I? He's dug his claws so deep into my mind… even in his death… I still can't stop imagining his touch and gaze upon me!'

Before she knew it, a hand pulled hers off from her neck and replaced the stone with a pair of lips. They were lightly kissing at her flesh from behind her as the hand that took hers away, lowered it to her side. The pair of lips stayed there for a long minute before moving away. Levy watched as a human Gajeel circled around to the front of her now. He looked into her eyes and saw the pain she was feeling. Crimson orbs shifted down to the right shoulder where she had scrubbed hard at two points. He leaned in and kissed each spot for the same amount of time each.

"What are you doing?" Levy asked as her eyes watched as Gajeel kneeled down in the water, his head close to her abdomen.

His crimson gaze looked up at her as his large hand reached up and touched her skin on the right side of her belly button, making her body shudder at his soft touch. "I'm giving these marks a new meaning so you won't be sad anymore." He looked to the small bite mark on her left side of her stomach and leaned in, kissing it just as gently as the other three marks he had already gotten to. He could feel her choking up and fighting back her tears as he did this for her. He knew it wasn't going to completely erase what had been done, but he wanted to help her any way he could. Gajeel suppressed his own desires and made sure she knew it was all going to be ok. He lifted his lips off from the left side of her belly button and moved to the last mark on her lower half. Her right outer thigh was the last mark he could see.

He slowly shifted his body around and planted his lips onto her skin. Levy could feel herself becoming overwhelmed by all of this once more. Her tears were overflowing uncontrollably. She quickly brought her hands up to hide her face. She didn't want him to see her like this. As he finished up with the mark on her outer thigh, crimson orbs looked up and saw that Levy was hiding from him. He stood slowly and moved his forehead to hers, his hands reaching up to grip her wrists lightly, careful not to pull them away from her face.

"Please don't cry Levy." He said softly.

The blue haired girl sniffled as she continued to let her tears fall. She shook her head slightly. "I can't help it. After all that I said to you… you still came looking for me… and now you're trying so hard to make me forget about Bacchus with your kisses. I don't deserve any of this…."

The man winced at her words. "I don't deserve you after all the times you've saved me. I'm grateful to have you in my world, and I don't ever want to lose you. Not again." Levy dropped her hands so her hazel eyes could look up to the man standing in front of her. Her gaze shifted back and forth between his crimson orbs. "You mean more to me than my own life, Levy. I'll do anything to keep you safe, or to make you forget anything that is troubling you. I know you'll be able to fend for yourself one day, but… until that day comes… I just want to hold you and keep you safe in my arms… where you belong."

Levy could feel her chest pounding at his words. "Gajeel."

The man smiled as he cupped the side of her face lightly, his thumb running over her tear stained cheek. His expression and voice were sincere. "I love you."

The blue haired girl couldn't stop the words from leaving her mouth. "I love you too."

Relief came over the man as he heard those words in return. He felt like such a fool for waiting so long to tell her, but he knew she needed to hear those words now. She needed strength to keep herself from falling into the darkness like he had so many times before. They were going to support each other no matter what came their way. Gajeel tilted Levy's head back just slightly so he could bring her lips to his own. Their sweet kiss they shared slowly started turning into one of fiery passion as both of their lips parted, allowing each other to better taste one another.

Levy moved her hands to his chest, as Gajeels' hands moved down to her hips, gripping her sides lightly as their lust was building up between them. The things he wanted to do to this woman in this moment… Gajeel thought as he deepened their kiss suddenly, causing a soft, quick moan to form from the girls' throat. It only made him want her more. Levy could sense things were going to start getting heated quickly and lightly pushed the man away from her, breaking off their passion kiss. She panted slightly from the lack of air during.

"Maybe we… can wait just a little longer? I don't want any of this to remind me of things that happened back there… I think for now; this is enough for me." She said with slight sadness in her voice.

Gajeel half smiled as he brought a hand to her blue hair on top of her head. "If this is as far as you want to go, then we can stop here."

Levy blushed as she looked down at the water off to the side. "It's not that I don't want to do anything… I just… don't know if I want to go all the way just yet. A lot has just happened and I… I just feel a bit tense still. I don't want that tension to ruin anything while we… well… you know!"

Gajeel chuckled at her frustration. "You're so cute when you're flustered!"

The blue haired girl shot a glance up at the man and gave him a pouted look. "Don't make fun of me!"

"I'm not tryin' to… I just can't get over how cute you look when you get frustrated or when you pout." He said with a smirk. "How about this… you can come back to my tent tonight and sleep with me—" Before Levy could protest, the man brought a finger to her lips. "Not like that! But… just so you can sleep easy and feel safe… you can sleep beside me in my tent." He chuckled as he ruffled her blue hair. "And also, so I can have a piece of mind knowing you won't run off on me again."

Levy giggled as she pushed his hand off from her head. She wrapped her arms around his waist as she looked up at him with a smile. "I promise I won't run away. Never again."

Gajeel wrapped his arms around her, returning her smile with his own. "Good. That's just what I wanted to hear. Oh and… I brought you one of my shirts and your ear cuff… should you still want to wear it…"

"Of course, I want it back! I was stupid to throw it away in the first place!" The blue haired girl responded.

Gajeel smirked and gave her his infamous laugh. "Gihi, yeah, you were pretty stupid!"

"Gajeel!" Levy shouted as she clenched her fist and hit the man in the arm. "I told you not to be mean to me!"

The tall man laughed more as he started making his way to the water's edge where he had left her clothes and ear cuff. "I said I wasn't gonna make fun of you, never said I wasn't gonna be mean to you anymore!" He teased.

Levy chased after him, cursing him out as she ran. "You're such a jerk!"

Gajeel stopped and turned, catching the girl in his arms as she reached the bank. He held her in place with his strong arms as he smiled down at her. She had a pout over her lips as she growled at him in frustration. He could only laugh it off as he leaned in and kissed her lightly, making her forget everything he had just said.

Levy shoved him away slightly, pointing a finger at him with warning. "Don't think you can just kiss me and make me forget about you being mean to me, Gajeel!"

"Why? It works so well in my favor when I kiss you… now that I know you love me in return." He said with a raised brow.

Levy buried her blushing cheeks into his bare chest. "Oooh! Why did I have to go an say that out loud?! I'm such an idiot!"

Gajeel kissed her head lightly and squeezed her in a tight hug. "Yeah… but you're my idiot now."


AN: I hope everything at the beginning made sense of what I was trying to say with Gajeel's transformation and what his inner self was going through. If it doesn't make sense, I'll try to explain it in the AN in the next chapter :)

I was going to have a bit of…. Things…. Happen at the end here.. but thought it was going to fast based on their relationship thus far. So please be patient with me, I promise more things of the sexy variety will be headed your way!

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, it was fun to write and I hope to get the next one posted by the end of this week! :D once again, if you would like to see previews for the next chapter, check out my Tumblr page: CrimsonWolfKo

I will be posting one random part of the chapter, or just the very beginning either a day before or couple days before the chapter will be posted on FanFiction (It all depends on how distracted it get)

Thank you so much for reading and if you review… you are the greatest! :D