Chapter 19

Danger

"Is anyone in there?"

Gajeel had to cover Levy's mouth to prevent her from freaking out. He quickly pulled out and adjusted his clothing.

"Shit, shit, shit," he whispered, ducking beside the door, so he would be hidden just in case it was opened, leaving Levy out in the open.

"Hey! What about me?"

"It'll be suspicious if she opens the door and doesn't see anyone," He said. "She already heard you!"

Levy's face reddened at the thought of her activities being heard. While it was a turn on for Gajeel, he didn't want to get caught.

"Hello? I know someone's in there." Mira said, sounding impatient.

"U-Uh, it's me, I-I just… n-needed something and I couldn't find it!" Levy stuttered over her lies, straightening her dress.

Mira opened the door, Gajeel still hiding behind it. "Levy?" Mira studied her carefully. "Do you need some help?"

"No, no!" Levy said, waving her hands rapidly. "I got it, thanks!"

"Alright," Mira replied, walking off.

The pair exhaled, relieved that Mira didn't come inside or question any further. Gajeel snaked his way back to Levy, trying to go for round two.

"We can't!" She said, swatting him away. "We literally just almost got caught!"

"And?" He said. "It was kinda hot, wasn't it?"

Levy did agree that it was pretty thrilling. "She left the door open! If I close it again, it'll be suspicious!"

"Tch. Whatever," he said, exiting first. "See you at my place, Shrimp." He flashed a grin at her before blending in with the shadows in the hallway, leaving Levy to compose herself.

Mira was no fool; she knew something was up with Levy. Something about her seemed… different. She lingered around for a bit after she "walked away", missing the slayer as he crept past her.

Levy grabbed a box, planning on using it as a cover for her escape. She left the closet, relieved that she didn't see Mira and decided to go the opposite direction down the hall and cut through the Library to avoid being seen.

"What's the box for?" Mira asked, startling the mage.

"O-Oh, uh… I plan on finding a bigger place to live, a-and I'm just packing things up," she stumbled over her words.

"Oh! Where are you moving to?" Mira asked, interested.

"Well, I haven't found a place that I like yet, but I will pretty soon."

"Well let me know if you need any help!" She said, cheerfully.

"Thank you," Levy said, walking away.

"So why can't I say anything?" Natsu asked, annoyed.

"Because Levy asked me to keep it a secret! I wasn't even supposed to tell you! How did you figure it out anyway?"

"Well, for starters, Levy smelled like him. I realized it when I saw them together. Then when he pulled her away, I caught a glimpse of her neck," Natsu laughed. "That sly dog!"

Lucy was a little jealous. She planned on telling him how she felt on the last job they went on, but she chickened out. She just couldn't see Natsu feeling the same about her. Natsu looked at Lucy, noticing her slightly saddened look.

"Lucy," he says, a serious look on his face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" The celestial mage blushed, turning away.

The truth was, Natsu did see Lucy that way, he just wasn't sure if he was ready to be serious yet. He thought about it, thinking Bolt Face didn't seem so different after he mated, but he didn't get a decent chance to talk to him about it. For now, he just decided to go with the flow, and if Lucy ever made her move, then he'd see where that would take him.

Levy walked home, finally able to breathe. She felt she needed to take a little bit of time away from the guild for the day. Stepping into her apartment, she found an envelope on the floor. 'Someone must have slipped this under my door while I was gone.' She opened the envelope and the color on her face drained when she read what was written.

Just how I killed your parents, I'm gonna kill you too. The McGarden family will be completely erased from existence.

Levy dropped to her knees, trying to hold back sobs, but failing. She felt dumb. This whole time, she thought her mother's death was a shitty accident, but it turned out to be orchestrated. But why her? She'd just been able to relax from that very stressful job, and now she was going to have to be on her guard again. She wanted to move, but her body wasn't responding. She was angry and scared. Someone was after her, and she didn't even do anything.

She needed Gajeel. She didn't want him to see her like that, though. She wanted to be strong for him, but every fiber of her being was telling her to go to him. She stood up shakily, trying to catch her breath. Wiping her face, she went to the bathroom to splash some water on her face.

She stared in the mirror, a million questions running through her head. 'Why me? What did I do? Who is this dick? Am I going to have to go into hiding? Should I draw him out somehow and try to take him head on?' She tried to muffle the thoughts in her head, but it didn't work. She needed to get her mind off this, asap.

She packed a suitcase and started toward her mate's home, only to be greeted by him and Lily outside of the front doors. He immediately took her into his arms, sensing her distress.

"What is it?"

"Can we just go?" She asked, her tears soaking his shirt.

He nodded, motioning for Lily to fly her to his apartment. "Take Levy home, I'll meet you guys there."

Lily grabbed Levy, quickly flying her away.

Gajeel knew something fishy was going on. What happened between the closet and her going home? He snuck in through her window, smelling the air in her apartment. It didn't smell like anyone had been inside. He got closer to her apartment door and smelled the faint smell of a man. It smelled like it originated from the outside of the door. How did he get in the building?

Gajeel kicked himself for not keeping better track of her. It seemed like every time he took his eyes off her, she was in danger. Looks like he's going to have to be on guard. He left and quickly went home, finding a very drunk Levy.

"I tried to keep her away from your cabinet, but she insisted," Lily said.

Levy just wanted to be stress-free for a full day and she thought alcohol was the answer. So far, she was right.

"Levy," Gajeel said, holding onto a wobbling Levy. "Tell me what happened."

She giggled, almost falling over, but he held her upright. He needed to get to the bottom of what was happening, and it was going to be difficult with her in this state of mind.

"Levy," he said sternly, holding her shoulders. "What's going on?"

She drunkenly dug in her pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, handing it over to the slayer.

Gajeel grew livid after reading the words. This douchebag clearly didn't know who he was messing with.

"You are not to leave this apartment without me." He growled.

"Silly Gajeel," Levy slurred over her words. "They're gonna find me soon. They foun' my mom, they foun' my dad, hell, they ev'n foun' me!"

"Yeah, and I'll kill 'em."

Levy plopped down on his bed, the room spinning. "Drink."

He looked at her. "Me?"

"Yeah, you. I wan' you to drink with me."

That didn't sound like a bad idea. He could go for a drink.

Levy walked through an open field, a breeze gently blowing her blue locks around wildly. She spun around, her dress flowing with the wind, stopping to see Gajeel standing in front of her. She smiled as he took her hand leading her through the field. She closed her eyes, her heart full of joy, enjoying the beautiful moment. She opened her eyes, surrounded by nothing but whiteness, it was almost blinding. Confused, she looked around, only to find a small boy who smiled brightly when he saw her.

It was late when Gajeel woke up. He glanced down and saw Levy still in a drunken sleep. He went outside for a bit of fresh air, his guard instantly going back up when he smelled something faint, but familiar. He tuned into his senses, trying to pinpoint the smell. He darted back inside when he realized what it was.

"Lily!" He said to the cat sleeping on the couch. "Wake up!"

"Gajeel," the exceed said, rubbing his eyes with his paws. "What is it?"

"Someone was here. Whoever they are, they want Levy."

"What? How do you know?"

"It's the same smell from Levy's apartment," he said, pacing back and forth.

"What do you want to do?" Lily asked, still waking up.

"We need to get outta here, but I want to do this right."

Gajeel knew if they left now, that would look suspicious, so he decided to stay on guard until morning. He knew they weren't going to attack any time soon, and that they were just watching… planning. They needed to strike at the right time. Gajeel smirked. Two could play at this game. He would never give them the opportunity. That meant them having to be joined at the hip, which unfortunately for Levy, meant she was going to have to come clean about their relationship.

He went into the bedroom, surprised when he saw Levy awake, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"They're after me, aren't they?" She asked, quietly.

"Don't worry," he says, sitting next to her. "I've already come up with a plan." He turned to face her. "We're leaving in the morning. I'm going to stay awake so I can stay on guard."

"Where are we going to go?" Levy asked curiously.

"I haven't figured that part out yet." He took her hands in his. "Do you have any ideas?"

"Well, I was originally going to find a bigger place for all my books, until you asked me to move in," she said.

"Well let's look for a place tomorrow. I've been wanting a change of scenery."

Tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm on the run, I can't settle down."

"I'm not gonna run from some asshole. I'll ruin his life."

Dawn came and Gajeel woke up with Levy laying on his chest, his arm wrapped around her. He jumped up, angry at himself for falling asleep. He checked the apartment, nothing seemed off. He went outside and surveyed the area, checking for anything unusual, finding nothing.

He went back inside to pack what few essentials he did have. He glanced at the sleeping beauty, grateful to be her protector. Walking over to her, he leaned over, kissing her gently to wake her up.

"Hey, gorgeous," he beamed.

"Good morning, handsome," she said reaching up for a hug.

He took advantage of the hug, leaning her back down and crawling on top of her, encasing her body in his. Levy was getting all hot and bothered when Lily called for them through the bedroom door.

"What?" Gajeel snarled, swinging the door open.

"I'm sorry if I interrupted anything, but Lucy and Natsu are here. It sounded urgent."

"What the fuck does Salamander want?" He mumbled under his breath.

"Don't tell them I'm here!" Levy whispered.

"Don't worry about it Levy, I already know," Natsu called from the living room.

Levy sighed. The last thing she wanted was for Natsu to find out. Everyone knows he can't keep his mouth shut. She rolled out of bed, sad to leave the warmth, slipping into a pair of shorts and a tank top.

"What's going on?" She asked, emerging from Gajeel's room.

Natsu's eyes widened at all the marks the iron dragon slayer left on the script mage's body, grinning wildly.

"Who knew Levy liked it rough?" He said, laughing as he clutched his stomach.

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed, elbowing him in his side. She saw her friend's embarrassment and put a halt to Natsu's shenanigans. "Be serious!"

"Alright, alright."

"Levy," Lucy starts. "This morning, there were loud crashing noises coming from your apartment. I had Wendy listen to see if you were ok, but by the time she'd gotten to your door, it was silent. She told me you weren't there so I assumed you were here."

"Yeah," Natsu said. "Something serious is happening."

Levy knew it was most likely the same person who left that note. She shuddered at the thought, leaning into Gajeel for comfort.

"Alright, here's what we're gonna do," Gajeel said, taking authority. "Levy, go to your apartment and pack everything that's valuable. Lily and Lucy, go with her. Me and Flame Brain here will trail behind and stay outside the building just in case anything happens."

"What about me?" Happy said, flying in through the open window.

"Hey! I told you to wait outside!" Natsu said.

"I got bored."

"Happy can go with you guys," Gajeel said, looking at Levy. "Everything is gonna be alright, Shrimp."

Levy, Lucy, and the two cats got to Fairy Hills, astonished by what they saw upon entering Levy's apartment. Her whole place was trashed like a tornado had ripped through. Her books had been ripped to shreds, and glass was broken everywhere. She darted off to her room, finding a similar mess. She collapsed face first on her bed, sobbing into her pillow.

"Levy," Lily says, placing a paw on her shoulder. "Come on, we should get going."

Levy nodded, sitting up to wipe her face. "Did anyone else hear what happened? Erza, more specifically, I guess," she asked Lucy.

The blonde shook her head. "I don't think she was here when it happened."

Levy was a little relieved, she didn't want to get anyone else involved in whatever mess she was wrapped up in.

"You know, you guys don't have to get involved in my mess."

"Oh, hush and pack your things. We'll help," Lucy said.

Unfortunately, Levy's load lightened when she saw that her books were torn to shreds. She was devastated but at least the books she cared about were safe in the guild's library. They packed her things and left the building, heading back to Gajeel's place.