Chapter 3

Need

Gajeel woke up in the middle of the night, his mind still hazy from the previous day's events. His eyes widened when he realized the position he was in. His left arm was tucked under Levy's body, hooking around her midsection. His right arm draped around her waist, pulling her body against his. Their legs somehow tangled together.

Levy shuffled, her body reacting to the slight movements he was making. 'Fuck!' Gajeel panicked, as her perfect ass slightly grazed his dick. He had to get out of this situation. He wanted nothing more than to just take her right then and there and leave her begging for more but he knew, in his right mind that he couldn't. If he stayed in that bed with the beautiful, blue-haired mage, there's no telling what would have happened.

Gajeel struggled with a fight between his inner dragon and himself. He wanted to stay in that bed and hold her close, but that wasn't an option. He slowly eased her out of his grip, carefully, as to not wake her.

After he broke free from Levy, he felt somewhat cold and empty, as if a piece of his soul was missing. He couldn't quite wrap his head around why he felt that way, but there were more important things to focus on –like getting out of there. He quickly put his clothes on, but before leaving, he stopped to admire the sleeping beauty that lie before him.

"God, you're so beautiful," He whispers, tracing the outline of her face lightly with the tips of his finger. He stepped back as she shuffled. Watching her, he contemplated the idea of staying and dealing with the consequences later. Knowing better, he decided to just leave, giving her one last glance as he exited through the window.

Gajeel stumbles into his apartment, still sore, as he sees Pantherlily in the kitchen digging through the fridge.

"Gajeel, you're back late. Do you happen to know if we have any more kiwis?"

Gajeel walks over to the couch, groaning as he plops down.

"What's on your mind, Gajeel?" Lily asks as he sits next to his companion.

"Don't worry about it. Why are you still up?"

"Couldn't sleep," He responds as gets up and makes his way to his bedroom. "If you need me, I'll be in my room."

Gajeel grunted in response. His head was swimming. All he could do was think about being cuddled up with Levy; it felt like home to him. He hasn't really felt welcome anywhere, except for when he was around her. He wanted so badly to unveil his heart to her, he just felt like he shouldn't. His previous actions haunting him. He feared rejection. Rejection from the only woman he'll ever love.

He knew he could never make up for what he did while he was in Phantom Lord, but he would try his damnedest to do any good he could to try to appease his guilt. 'I don't deserve her. I don't deserve to be around her. But I can't stay away. I can't let her go.' Gajeel grabbed the sides of his head in frustration. Why? Why did he fall for her? He hated it. He hated having to battle himself every time he saw her. She'd opened her arms to him and accepted him as he was, but he couldn't even fathom the thought of her possibly looking past "the incident". She couldn't have felt anything more than indifference for him. Yet, she was so good to him. She'd tend to him if he got injured on a job and occasionally use her script magic to make him some iron. Gajeel drifted off to sleep with Levy on his mind again that night, wishing he was holding her.

Daybreak came and Gajeel woke up with morning wood. He groaned as he stroked his dick while thinking of Levy. 'I guess it's another cold shower for me today.' He thinks to himself as he gets ready for his shower. All he could do was picture her in her nightwear. Those long legs, her perfect hips, and the camisole that barely left anything to the imagination. He didn't know why it was getting harder and harder for him to be around her; it seemed as though his inner dragon was urging him to claim her more each day. But why, though? He has always been able to control his urges before. Why were they becoming a problem for him now?

"I'm headed to the guild to look for a job," Pantherlily says as he notices Gajeel emerging from the bathroom. "Care to come along?"

"Yeah, I guess I should," Gajeel responds, wanting to do anything to get his mind off of the script mage. "Or…how about you head down to the guild and grab a job for us, and I'll hang back here?" He suggested.

His small furry friend noticed he was avoiding the guild. He eyed the tall man as he stood there with his hand behind his neck. Expressionless.

The cat narrowed his eyes. "Is this about Levy?"

Gajeel's eyes darted over to the animal. He snorted.

"You know," Lily started. "You can't avoid her forever. Eventually you're going to have to come clean about how you feel."

"You don't know what you're talking about, damn cat." Gajeel snarled.

"It's only going to get worse. You may be surprised at what you'll find once everything is out in the open."

Gajeel scoffed and left the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

The exceed was no fool, he knew Gajeel's feelings for Levy. He saw the way he looked at her. Although he never said it out loud, he loved her. Lily just wanted to see his companion happy for once. He suspected Gajeel was over at Fairy Hills last night, as he would sometimes catch him in the woods "training" as he would say. Convenient how he "trained" directly in the view of her second-story window. Lily chuckled to himself as he flew out of the open window to try and talk to the stubborn brute.

Gajeel stormed out because he knew Pantherlily was right. He couldn't avoid her forever. It was like everything on the planet was trying to bring them closer together. He sometimes felt like he was out of control when it came to Levy. He would find himself offering to go on jobs with her just to be around her, even when her fan club would follow her everywhere. Fuck, he hated those two. All they did was hold Levy back. She is such a strong, independent mage with strength that she doesn't even recognize. He would always like to test her limits when training or wait until she's had enough during battles to step in and take over. He loved taking her under his wing and watching her excel.

He found himself headed toward the very place he was trying to avoid.

"Gajeel!" Pantherlily calls out to him as he catches up. "You're going to the guild?"

"I guess so," he mumbled. They walked in silence for a few minutes.

"So about this job. I'm thinking we take a long one. I need to get away from this place."

"How long were you thinking?" Lily queried.

"I dunno. Maybe a month. Or longer."

"You're going to drive yourself crazy if you stay away that long."

"There's nothing keeping me here. I'll manage."

The black cat looked at his friend, seeing the pain etched in his eyes.

"You know, you're not really good at hiding your emotions," Lily joked, trying to lighten up the mood. Gajeel glared at him.

"I'm sure Levy knows you at least care for her," Lily said. "By the way, I know you went to Fairy Hills last night."

Gajeel stopped in his tracks. He didn't really know what to say to that. What could he say? The animal was right.

Lily and Gajeel had what seemed like a staring contest for a few seconds.

"Whatever." Gajeel grunted and proceeded to walk.

Lily knew what buttons not to push when it came to Gajeel. He knew he wasn't going to give up any info on what happened when he went over there, so he had to take another route. He needed to speak with Levy. He was determined to get those two together.

Gajeel entered the guild's dining hall and went straight to the bar. He wanted to drown out his thoughts with beer. It was early, but he didn't care. The method seemed to work so why not?

"Your usual?" Mira asks. Gajeel nods his head slightly and Mira sets down a large mug, almost spilling over.

Gajeel was pretty relieved when he realized Levy wasn't there yet. That meant he could get in, drink, grab a job flyer, and get the hell out of there. 'What the fuck is wrong with me?' He berated himself. 'What am I doing here? She could walk in at any moment and then what? How am I going to face her when all I want to do is make her mine?'

'Well that's an easy question.' A voice inside him spoke.

"What the fuck…?" Gajeel said, unknowingly out loud.

"What's wrong, Gajeel?" Mira asks.

"Nothing," he said quickly as he moved down to the end of the bar to be in solitude. 'I must be going fucking crazy…' he thought to himself.

'Oh, my friend, I can most definitely assure you that you are not crazy.' The voice said again. Gajeel took a huge swig from his beer, hoping to drown out the voice.

'How amusing. You can't get rid of me. At least not right now,' the voice said. 'You know who I am. Why are you in such denial, my partner?'

Gajeel knew all too well that it was his inner dragon. The actual 'beast within'.

'You've picked your mate. Why are you waiting?'

'Picked my mate'? What the fuck was this dragon talking about?

Mating was something Gajeel never gave much thought to. He was always busy working or training; his mind occupied by other things. He kept to himself. He was more at peace when he was alone, after all, he did spend most of his childhood by himself. After he gave it some thought, he realized what the dragon meant.

'Well, I've picked your mate, I should say. It's getting rather lonely.'

'It's not happening.' Gajeel retorted.

'Why do you think you keep going to her? She's the first thing you think about in the morning and the last thing you think about when you go to sleep. What do you think all of this means?' The dragon questioned.

'I don't know! She's a woman, I'm a man. It's only natural that I notice her.'

'It's different for us, and you know it. You've never paid attention to another in your life. It's not a 'coincidence' that this is all happening now. I've picked her. You will be bound to her eventually, no matter how much you try to fight it.'

Gajeel was livid. Why the hell would this dumb dragon choose the woman he hurt the most to be his fucking mate?!

'You're insane. Or I'm insane. Whatever the fucking case may be, it's not happening!'

'We'll see about that.'

Gajeel was about to order another beer when that familiar intoxicating scent flooded his nostrils. 'Fuck.' Levy had just walked in with Lucy and it took all his willpower to not let her smell take over his body. He had to leave. Immediately. For some reason though, his body was stuck. He couldn't move.

"I'm going to grab something to eat, grab a table for us!" He overheard her saying to Lucy. 'I can't look at her….I can't look into those sad eyes. Not again.' Gajeel felt weak, like he were going to break if he made eye contact with her. He was fighting to get control over himself. His inner dragon seeping out, ready to pounce on his prey at any moment, and his inner self, hyper-focused on not hurting her again. The thought of rejection creeping up in his mind. 'If I keep my distance, I can keep the both of us from getting hurt.'

Her smell grew stronger as she approached the bar. He kept his head down, as if that would make him invisible, hoping she wouldn't notice him. He panicked when he noticed her stop in her tracks. 'Fuck, fuck, fuck she saw me!' He was trapped. Unable to move or do anything. It seemed as though time stopped, it seemed like she stared at him for an eternity. Until she started walking toward him.

Levy sat on the stool next to his. He could sense her uncertainty. He kept his head down.

"Gajeel?"

He grunted.

"I-I'm sorry if I did anything wrong," Levy said softly. He heard the sadness in her voice. To know that the only person he loves in the world was very distraught….over him…was gut-wrenching. He wanted to grab her and tell her it was not her; it was him, but he was unsure of how his own body would react if he touched her. He couldn't take it.