Chapter 15

Bedside

As they walked down the mossy stone walkway, an uncomfortable silence fell over them all. Tension was eating the trio alive, and Kaomi felt it, although she kept quiet, knowing the dragon slayer wanted peace.

Gajeel had Levy in his arms, his gaze never leaving her face, keeping watch for any sign of movement. He was going to wait patiently and trust Kaomi until they got to their destination to ask what was going on with Levy, but he couldn't bear staring at her almost-lifeless body like this. It was driving him crazy.

"Oi! Lady!" Gajeel shouted to get the older woman's attention. "Ya wanna tell me what the hell is wrong with Levy?"

Kaomi smiled softly. She knew his anger was not directed toward her, he just loved. Hard. 'She is very lucky to have someone who loves her so much,' she thought to herself as she pushed through a few bushes.

"When you told me the mage had his hand on her head, I immediately knew what was happening." Kaomi paused to adjust an article of clothing that got caught on a shrub.

Gajeel glared at her, growing impatient. "Well?" He snapped.

"Gajeel," Lily says in an attempt to calm his friend. "Give her a second."

"Tch." Gajeel rolled his eyes.

"He was draining all of Levy's magic energy, or transferring it, I should say." Kaomi finally responded. "The universe he created was made to automatically drain everyone else's power and energy, he just sped the process up, is all. It is a deadly technique used by spatial mages who usually do not wish to fight. The process doesn't hurt, but it is extremely uncomfortable."

Gajeel was visibly confused. He looked down at the weakened woman in his arms, slowly getting angry again. The lavender-haired woman felt his rage bubbling and quickly put a halt to it.

"If she would have been left any longer, the world she was in would have consumed her energy. Thankfully, you made it to her in time to pull her out. Instead of being in a world that drained her energy, she was brought back to earth-land, where with rest, she will slowly, but surely regain her powers," Kaomi glanced at Levy. "She will be out for quite some time, unfortunately."

"How long?" Gajeel practically growled.

"Give her a few days, she should be fully rested by then."

The group finally made it to Kaomi's home, which looked small and insignificant. It was a ranch style cottage with small windows and a porch. The cottage was made of wood logs that looked really old, but taken care of. It was surrounded by uneven brush and forest terrain. The pathway leading up to the cottage was rocky and seemed unstable, as if the area hadn't had visitors in several years.

"I offer you a place to rest, until the script mage gets better, as I know traveling with the injured is near impossible," Kaomi says as she opens the front door, the cottage looking much bigger on the inside.

Gajeel wasn't great at showing his thanks, but he did the best he could. He tried to crack a genuine smile, and nodded his head, looking extremely awkward. Lily had to stifle a laugh as the dragon slayer tried to express himself. He had no problem showing his emotional side to Levy, but since she was down for the count, his walls went back up.

"Thank you so much," Lily says, extremely grateful. "This is a lovely home."

He felt it very homey, and always found comfort in places closed off from society. He and Gajeel were similar in that aspect.

"Thank you, small exceed," Kaomi says, motioning to the area where they can set their belongings. "It's rather small, but I have no family, and I get no visitors so it's perfect for me."

"Doesn't that get a bit lonely?" Lily inquired.

"No, no. I prefer it this way," Lily caught a glimpse of regret in her face, but he didn't want to pry. If she wanted to share any more information with them, she would.

"You can take the script mage down the hall there," Kaomi pointed down a small hallway behind Gajeel. "And she can rest in the first room on the right. You two may have the room directly across the hall to sleep. I am going to call it an evening, as these old bones can't keep up with you youngsters. We will discuss things in the morning, or when the mage wakes up if you prefer. There's warm water if you wish to bathe and you may help yourself to anything in the kitchen. Please clean up after yourself," She says, waving a finger at them and walking down the hall to what they assumed was her bedroom.

Gajeel gently laid Levy on the bed, taking a warm cloth to wipe the visible dirt from her face and body. He was so broken inside without her. He hadn't realized how much she had an impact on him. His whole world revolved around her, wanting nothing more but to give her everything she ever wanted and more. The innately cold dragon slayer couldn't fathom the emotions he was now overcome with. Metalicana never showed much affection other than providing the bare essentials for survival; a roof over his head and just enough food to live. If he ever wanted more to eat, he would have to steal or work for a little bit of change, even as a child.

He secretly wanted to settle down in the future. He wanted a wife and kids and the cliché white picket fence. He never imagined a woman would fall for him, with his brute look and guarded demeanor. He scared people off, and he sometimes used that to his advantage. Pantherlily was the first to not be scared off by him. Being used to people going the opposite direction when they came in close quarters with him, it intrigued Gajeel that Lily didn't treat him like the others. He actually wanted to be his friend. His partner. Lily wasn't one to judge, he was more of one to help you overcome. Too bad Gajeel wasn't much of a talker.

Gajeel still couldn't believe it when Levy agreed to be his mate. How could someone so beautifully out of his league want to be with someone like him? Levy was the epitome of perfect… at least for him, anyway. She was the most attractive woman in the guild, with an amazing body, a body that he could now call his. He smiled at the thought and squeezed her hand.

"Maybe if I talk to ya, you'll hear me and wake up," he says quietly to the resting bluenette.

"Levy," he cleared his throat. "This ain't easy for me to say, so I'll say it now and hope ya hear me…. I need ya, Lev. I can't do this without ya by my side." He hung his head low, still speaking quietly so only she could hear… if she was even listening.

"I wouldn't be able to handle it without ya, Shrimp. Please…. Please pull through." He paused for a second. "There are so many things I want to experience with ya, Lev…." The words were hard for him to say. He wasn't an emotional person, but this had been building up inside of him, he had to get it out. He would never let another soul, even Lily, hear these words. They were meant for Levy's ears only.

Lily had gotten up, noticing Gajeel was still tending to Levy and was going to see how she was doing, but heard him talking to her. The small cat stopped outside the door, listening. He heard everything from "I need ya, Lev" onward. Lily didn't usually eavesdrop, but hearing the slayer being so vulnerable…. Well, that's something he would never volunteer missing out on. It made Gajeel seem… human. Lily was smart, though. He would never bring up the fact that he heard him or ever try to use his vulnerability against him. It was just nice to see his partner finally feel.

Gajeel wanted to tell her so much more, he just didn't know how to. He knew that if Levy could hear him, she would understand exactly what he meant, but he wasn't sure if she could hear him, and he needed to get this off his chest.

"I never saw myself, ya know, ever finding a mate. I hit the lottery finding ya. I still don't know how ya could ever forgive me for what I did….." Tears welled up in his eyes. "I can never forgive myself." He stayed by her side all night, not even bothering to sleep. His body was exhausted and extremely sore from all the rage he experienced earlier.

Lily was an early bird. He'd always get up early to enjoy the sunrise and the crisp morning air. This time, he got up noticing Gajeel hadn't gone to bed. Opening the door to the room he and Levy were in, he rubbed his eyes with his paws, adjusting to the stream of sunlight pouring through the window Gajeel had opened.

"Gajeel," Lily says to the tired looking man. "You haven't slept."

Lily knew he wouldn't sleep until he knew Levy was ok, and that worried the exceed.

"You shouldn't put your body through this. You need rest."

Gajeel looked at the cat, an empty expression on his face. "I can't," he mumbled.

"You won't," Lily clarified.

Gajeel grunted. He didn't have the energy to argue.

"I can stay here with Levy and let you sleep for a few hours-,"

"I'm not leaving," Gajeel growled at the ball of fur.

Lily nodded, exiting the room and shutting the door behind him.

"He won't rest until he collapses from exhaustion," he says to himself.

Gajeel did want to sleep, but he felt guilty, guilty for her being the one who went through these hardships in this job. Sure, he and Lily had gone through their fair share of crap, but Levy shouldn't have had to experience what she did. Gajeel smirked, he knew his Shrimp. She would most likely take this and turn it into a lesson learned, and he'd admired that about her. She always saw the positive in things, no matter how negative they were. She never gave up.

He sat there for at least another hour or so, until his body could no longer take being awake. He fought it as long as he could, his eyelids feeling like they were weighed down by bricks. His head fell, resting on Levy's arm. Her hand still in his, he slept.

Several hours had gone by and Gajeel jerked awake, annoyed at himself for falling asleep, but feeling better that he was a little rested. He looked at his mate, who looked like she moved slightly. His heart jumped a little bit from excitement, feeling a small amount of magical power emanating from her body.

"Lev?" He said, caressing the side of her cheek hopeful that she could hear him.

A knock on the door startled him.

"Go away."

"Gajeel," Lily says from the other side of the door. "You should probably eat something."

Gajeel hadn't noticed that he was extremely hungry until the cat brought it up. His stomach rumbled in response to the exceed's mentioning of food. He still didn't want to leave Levy's side. He'd prefer to have some of her iron anyway and he'd wait patiently until he got it.

"I'm good. Thanks."

Pantherlily shook his head, internally cursing the stubborn dragon. He entered the foyer in search of Kaomi, who'd graced Lily with her company for the better half of the day.

"Excuse me," he said politely. "You wouldn't happen to have any iron around, would you? I know that's a rather strange question."

"For the dragon slayer?"

Lily nodded in agreeance.

"I shall go look," Kaomi says, closing her book and standing from her chair.

Gajeel was still seated at Levy's side, wondering what the future held for them. Even though their relationship was fresh, he felt like he'd known her his whole life. He knew all of her quirks and habits, he knew what made her happy and what made her upset. He knew her like the back of his hand and vice versa. He imagined them in their own house, trying to start a family. He imagined what she would look like pregnant with his child. He imagined what said child would look like, hoping they would have her wild blue locks, with his eyes.

He smiled deviously as he rubbed her stomach, planning on making sure she would never leave his side. He felt somewhat guilty wanting to trap her like that, but was it really a trap, though? She was already his mate, and she'd even mentioned having kids one day. He had no business being with this beautiful goddess, but since he was, he would damn sure make the most of it.

He was so caught up in his mischief, he didn't even notice Lily in the room, silently watching him.

"Shit!" Gajeel said, nearly jumping out of his skin. "The hell's yer problem, damn cat?!"

"I was just stopping by to bring you some iron…" Lily replied warily, eying the slayer thoroughly. "You look like you're up to no good."

Gajeel stared at him.

"What are you planning?"

Gajeel snorted. "Yer smart, you figure it out."

Lily was in the room long enough to figure out what his human friend was planning. He wondered if he should intervene, but realized that Levy probably wouldn't mind one bit. She was healthy for him, and he needed her in more ways than one. He placed a paw on his chin, pondering on his words.

"You don't think she'd mind, do you?" Gajeel asked quietly.

Lily smiled, placing the iron snack on the nightstand. "I think she'd welcome it."

Gajeel trusted Lily; he knew the exceed would never steer him wrong, so that was all the confirmation he needed.

"Good." He smiled, turning back to face the small woman, holding her hand and patiently waiting for her to wake up.