Chapter 45

Gone

Jade decided to stay in Magnolia for the night and gather more information on the Dragneel family to avoid suspicion. She wasn't dumb. She figured the tribe will have sent someone to spy on her to make sure she wasn't doing anything to compromise the mission. She thought it would be better for her to actually look like she was doing what she was supposed to do.

Morning came and she still had to find their actual place of residence. She kicked herself for not following them yesterday when she found them walking home, but she supposed it gave her something to do.

After an hour or so of searching, she succeeded in finding their small hut that was situated on the other side of Magnolia, opposite the iron dragon slayer.

"Oh?" Jade said upon seeing Levy and Lucy walking down the path back to her hut. "What's this?"

"I can't believe this is happening! Such terrible timing," she heard Levy say to the celestial mage. "I miss him so much, but I'm still too upset."

"Well, you are more than welcome to stay with me as long as you'd like," Lucy said, a comforting hand on her sad friend's shoulder.

"Maybe just a few more days."

"Sure." Lucy opened the door and the girls entered the hut.

Jade was alarmed by what just occurred. Levy and Gajeel were fighting, and if she knew any better, it was because of the slayer and his big mouth. Levy would not be returning home for a few days, which meant the Tribe would have no issue taking the child. They now had the upper hand.

"This is not going as planned," she said to herself.

Ryn found Jade gathering information on the fire dragon slayer and his family as was requested, and it didn't look like she was doing anything suspicious. 'I knew we could trust her!'

While she was watching, she came across some very interesting news. The script mage was not at home and wouldn't be home for a few days, which excited the brunette to no end. Her plan was coming together beautifully, and it looked like they were going to be able to complete the first phase with no issue. She needed to tell Eli immediately.

Gajeel didn't know why he decided to get drunk, and he was starting to think it wasn't the best idea. He was more impulsive when under the influence and didn't have the ability to tell right from wrong. He just wanted to do.

He left Zeke in Mira's care and left the guild to avoid wrecking it any further, looking for something to punch. His eyes darted to a patch of trees and immediately made his way over to destroy them.

He was so angry. He felt like he did the right thing by not telling her. He didn't want to stress her out or harm the baby. The more he thought about it, the more he was starting to feel like she was blowing this way out of proportion. Nothing happened between the two. He was alive and untouched, but he guessed that wasn't good enough for her.

He growled and destroyed another tree, getting angrier for letting the alcohol consume his thoughts like this. He loved her to death and would do and say anything to make her happy, and today, it was bad. He had this undying urge to be around her, to protect her, to go over to Bunny Girl and Flame brain's house and snatch her up and take her home, and he didn't know why. He needed to be with her.

It took every ounce of control in his body to not go to her and bring her back, and it was impossible to get his mind off her right now. He also didn't get any sleep, so he was a bit wired, as well.

Lily saw the show his partner was putting on and decided to try to talk to him.

"Gajeel," the exceed said as he approached the raging slayer. "Come on."

The angered man looked at the cat, steam almost coming from his nose.

"Get any angrier, and you'll start shooting flames like Natsu," Pantherlily said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Come fight with me," he said as he changed into his battle form.

"Lily…" Gajeel fell to the ground, his hands creating fists around the dirt. "What did I do wrong?"

After Lily came back from dropping Levy off at Lucy's, they stayed up and they spoke about what happened all those years ago and the exceed understood both perspectives. Unfortunately, it was not his place to shed light on the situation.

"The only thing you can do, Gajeel, is give her time. She won't be gone forever."

"It's just… today, I have this… this… urge ta be with her. I mean I always wanna be with her but… today it's like I'm gonna lose my fuckin' mind if I don't see her."

"You guys are bound to each other in more ways than one. Maybe it's the fact that you guys are fighting and apart from one another," Lily suggested.

"We've fought before, Lil. She's left ta go stay at Bunny Girl's before. But she hasn't even been gone a full day and I'm ready ta destroy everything I see 'cos I'm not with her."

"Let's go relieve some of that anger, eh?" Lily said, extending a hand to help his grumpy slayer off the ground.

He and Gajeel trained for the better half of the day, and he was sure to take him someplace where the trees and rocks were plentiful. The more anger he let out, the better he'd feel.

"Sir!" Ryn almost broke the door down trying to get into Eli's office.

"Sir?" She asked, not finding him anywhere.

She looked around and determined he was not in his office and turned to exit when she collided with something hard.

"What's so urgent that you've almost knocked me down, Ryn?" Eli said, his hands on her shoulders to keep her from falling.

"Oh… I…" The words caught in her throat as her eyes met his shining silver eyes. She'd never been this close to him before and it was doing nothing but sending impure thoughts through her head. Her hands were on his chest, which she noticed was very sturdy. 'Oh my gosh, he feels so good!' He clearly worked out in his free time. She couldn't stop her hands from inching across his broad chest.

"Ryn," he said with a smirk as he grabbed her wrists. "Business before pleasure."

"Oh… yes, um…" she mumbled, quickly distancing herself from him. "S-sorry."

"No worries." He flashed her that grin of his and sat down at his desk. "How can I help you?"

She briskly pulled herself together as a wide smile appeared on her face.

"I have reason to believe that the first phase of the operation will go smoothly."

Eli took in her expressions; he liked seeing her plans succeed, but he'd never tell her that. The only thing on his mind right now was the feeling of her tits pressed against him, and he most likely would have broken his rule if he hadn't stopped her from rubbing his chest.

"Yeah?" He wanted to hear this.

"The script mage won't be home for a few days, which means it should be smooth sailing," she said, hardly able to contain her excitement. "I mean, at least until he notices, but by then we'll almost be in the clear!"

"Smooth sailing, huh?" He could see why she was so excited. This was good fucking news! "You know, Ryn. You have the qualities of someone who would do well on top." His thoughts immediately went to the gutter.

"Th-thank you, sir," she tried to hide her blush but failed miserably.

There was a short, tension-filled silence between the two. Sexual tension, to be exact.

"So, tell me what you found on your friend," he said, needing to change the subject.

"That's the thing. She was doing what I requested when I found her."

"She was watching the fire dragon slayer?"

"Yes. That's how I came to find out about the script mage. She's staying with the Dragneel family." The busty woman explained.

"Any idea why?" Eli stroked his chin.

"I'm not too sure, maybe they got into an argument or something? All I know is that we need to act while we can."

"I like the sound of that."

Levy was holed up in Lucy's spare bedroom, attempting to get her mind off everything that's happening. She was thankful that her tall friend let her leave some books just in case she needed to occupy herself whenever she came to visit. She was nose deep in one of her languages books when she heard Lucy talking to someone. She got up and poked her head through the crack of the door.

"Lu?"

"Levy! I'm just talking to Natsu and Nashi through one of Cana's cards," she said, showing the blue-haired girl the small card.

"Oh. Hey, could you check something for me, Natsu?" Levy asked.

"Sure thing, what's up?"

"Is Gajeel there?" she asked, her voice small.

Natsu sniffed around for a few seconds. "Nope! But Zeke is here. He's with Mira!"

Levy let out a content sigh. That meant she could go see Zeke without being seen by Gajeel.

"Luce? Can we go to the guild?"

"Sure, let me get my things," the blonde mage said, getting up and throwing her shoes on.

They arrived at the guild, and Levy let out a breath of relief noticing he was nowhere to be found. She found Zeke playing with Nashi in the hallway by the library.

"Mom!" The dark-haired boy ran toward his mother, happy to see her.

"Zeke," she said, hugging him tightly.

"Dad's looking for you," he said, his hazel eyes gleaming.

"I know. It's ok, though. He'll see me soon. I missed you!"

The boy sniffed the air around his mom. "You smell different."

'Oh no.' Levy totally forgot that her scent changed when she's pregnant which meant Gajeel was going to figure it out as soon as he saw her. 'So much for telling him when I tell him.'

"What did you do today?" She asked, avoiding the topic.

"Well, Dad gave me pancakes and strawberries today! Then he broke some stuff. Then we came here, and he told me to look for you. I couldn't find you and he got sad. He left with Panther and Auntie Mira is watching me now," the boy explained.

"What did he break?"

Zeke shrugged his shoulders.

She missed her big grump, but her little grump was enough for now.

"Do you miss Dad?"

Levy was taken aback by that question. She sometimes forgot how smart he was and how in tune with her and his dad he was. She nodded, not wanting to tell him they were fighting.

"I miss him a lot," she said with a soft voice. She wanted to cry right there, and lean on her son's shoulder, but he was just a kid, and she didn't want to put that stress on him. What child needed to see their parent cry?

"It's ok, Mom!" The boy exclaimed, holding her hand. "Come play with me and Nashi!"

She stayed and hung out with Zeke for a while. After a few hours, the sun started setting, and it was getting close to Zeke's bedtime, meaning Gajeel would be back any minute to pick him up. Lucy and Natsu left with Nashi not too long ago and told Levy to come back whenever she was ready. She hugged and kissed her son, wishing him a good night and made her way back to Lucy's.

It was getting dark out, and Lily had successfully worn his grumpy partner out.

"You ready to call it a night?" He asked, surveying the area for any excess damage done.

Gajeel grunted in response, his body sore from exertion. "I gotta go get Zeke."

"I'll meet you back at the house. You gave me quite a run for my money," Lily said, changing back into his smaller form.

"Anytime."

Twenty minutes later, Gajeel and Zeke were on their way home.

"Ya tired, bud?" He asked his clone.

"Yeah."

"Ya must have found Flame Brain's brat, then."

"I saw Mom today!" The smaller slayer exclaimed.

"Really?"

"Yeah! She came to play with me and Nashi," Zeke said, bouncing around.

"Did she say anything important?" Fat chance, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Zeke shook his head.

"I didn't think so," Gajeel mumbled.

"She said she missed you. She looked sad."

"I hope ya made yer Mom feel better," Gajeel said, a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had a feeling he'd be seeing Levy very soon.

"I told her it's ok!"

"Good," Gajeel said with a smile.

The two walked back home mostly in silence, Zeke making random noises for a portion of the walk until they got home.

"Go wash up and get ready fer bed," He said, plopping down in Levy's reading chair. 'Another restless night…'

He looked around, her books scattered everywhere, her scent strong in the chair he was in. He noticed her house key on the side table. 'Shit, she must have forgotten it when she stormed out.' It didn't matter, though. He'd be there to let her in whenever she decided to come back.

"Dad!" Zeke came running into the living room in all his naked glory.

"Oh, come on, bud! Put yer pajamas on!"

Zeke giggled and ran around the house, prompting his dad to run after him. Honestly, Gajeel didn't really mind chasing his son around, especially late at night. The little tyrant was hell to put to bed from time to time, so he'd let him tire himself out and put him to bed after.

Once he was able to snatch him up, he took him to his room and put him in his bed.

"Ya want the window open?" He asked Zeke, knowing it could sometimes get stuffy in there.

The boy nodded his head, eager to sleep to the peaceful sounds of the night. He'd sleep outdoors if he could. He was just like his dad in that aspect.

"Alright, bud," Gajeel said as he cracked the window ever so slightly. "Good night, I'll see ya in the mornin'." He bent down and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

"Love you, Dad," he beamed at his father.

"Love ya too, son," the older slayer said, leaving his room and closing the door behind him.

Gajeel was exhausted, but he knew he wasn't going to get any sleep. Knowing his mate was not home because she was mad at him was a bit stressful. He laid down, in an attempt to get some rest. Surprisingly, he fell asleep pretty quickly.

A few hours later, he was up again, his need to be around Levy stronger than ever. He groaned as he buried his face in her pillow. He wished he could smell her, the real her. He got up and trotted through the house, looking for something to do to get his mind off her. He checked Zeke's room and saw him sleeping soundly, then walked down the hallway and heard Lily snoring. 'I must have really worn him out, he usually doesn't snore,' he smirked to himself.

He went to the kitchen where Levy had some of her iron stashed and helped himself to a few pieces when he smelled her. He quickly looked around, then realized the smell was coming from outside. Right as he figured that out, there was a knock on the door.

"Levy!" He bolted to the door with a grin on his face ready to hold her tight, that grin dissipating when he opened the door.

What he saw was a stranger. She had long brown hair that was pulled into a braid and large pink eyes. She looked lost and unsure of what she was doing.

"Who are ya and why are ya at my house in the middle of the night?" He asked a little harsher than intended. In his defense, he was expecting Levy, and it seemed like women showing up in the middle of the night was starting to become a normal thing. He was going to have Levy redo her enchantments when she got home.

"I-I'm sorry," the girl said quietly. "I'm just a bit lost… would you mind telling me where Magnolia is? My map got destroyed a while back."

Gajeel grunted.

"Please? I'm sorry to bother you, but this was the only place I could find," she said, trying to look her saddest.

"About a mile north," he said, getting ready to close the door.

"Wait!"

"What?" He practically snarled.

"A-are you sure? That's the direction I came from…"

"Well, I dunno what ta tell ya lady, Magnolia is that way," he said, pointing. "If yer comin' from that way, ya either passed it or yer lookin' for somethin' else."

"Hmm… maybe so…" The girl stopped to think for a second, hoping to stall just a little more for time.

Gajeel went to close the door when she asked another question.

"So, what town is to the south of us right now?"

"I don't fuckin' know," he said, ready to slam the door in this nuisance's face. "Do ya mind? I'm tryin' ta get some sleep, here."

The girl zoned out for a second, further annoying the dragon slayer.

"Oh! Sorry! I was trying to figure something out in my head, but I think I got it now! Thanks! Sorry to bother you, again!" The girl walked off into the darkness, leaving Gajeel slightly confused, but he didn't think too much of it. He closed the door and went back to his room to try to get some sleep, missing his mate.

Morning came and Gajeel felt off. He couldn't put his finger on it, and he maybe thought it was the lack of sleep. He'd waken up several times throughout the night and didn't really fall into a slumber until early in the morning, but he had to get up and take care of Zeke.

He went through his usual morning routine, which consisted of showering, brushing his teeth, and making breakfast. He or Levy would then wake Zeke up and get him dressed and ready for the day.

After he made breakfast, he went to wake a sleepy Zeke.

"Bud?" He knocked on his door, awaiting his son's usual complaints about getting up. He knocked again with no answer.

"Come on, Zeke, time ta get up. We're gonna go find yer Mom today." Gajeel was tired of life without Levy, and he was going to her today to hash this shit out so she could come home, and they could be happy again.

He opened the door and was horrified when Zeke wasn't there.

"What the fuck?!"