Chapter 1

The early morning sun pushed through the curtains, the warmth of the sun-brushed his skin and he sighs in bliss. He blinked a few times, the rays of the sun landing directly in his line of sight. Though the sun always felt great on his skin he wasn't a fan of being blinded so early in the morning. He groaned and rolled away from the window. Levy insisted on the sun being her natural alarm clock, "it's a healthy way to start the day," she always said. He reached his arm to the other side of the king bed running his hand across the silky black sheets hoping to feel the warmth of his partner sleeping soundly beside him. Yet he was met with more silk and no Levy. He sat up slowly letting loose a big yawn and looked around the room. Books littered the floor as well as small piles of scrap metal that he would snack on throughout the day. He tried to kick his legs free from the blankets that he had somehow gotten himself entangled in. Levy swore that he would steal all the blankets in the night. Maybe she was right.

"Levy?"

He called her name hoping to hear her call back, again there was nothing. Allowing his eyes to focus he scanned the room not seeing the bluenette anywhere. Gajeel shrugged and was finally able to free himself from the trap that was his bed he flung his legs over the side of the mattress stretching and releasing a loud groan. Where the hell was she? Maybe she decided to start her day early? She did it often enough, but she would usually wake him before leaving. Why didn't she wake him up today?

Finally rising to his feet he sleepily sauntered around their cozy home checking the guest room, bathroom, and library stepping over the scrap metal and precious leather-wrapped tomes. He made his way to the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee. Maybe this would help him wake up and get his head on straight. The kitchen was tidy, nothing out of the ordinary except, ``The coffee pot was empty.

"She didn't even have coffee this morning?"

Now he was really confused. He knew the woman had at least a cup every morning. Was he overthinking it? Maybe? He decided not to worry, maybe she was already at the guild, it was already almost 10:00 in the morning after all. He also had just gotten back from a job the night before. Maybe this was Levy's way of forcing him to sleep in and rest. He got ready and began to head out the door and started his usual walk towards the guild hall. The walk wasn't too far. They lived about a block away from the Bunny girl in the middle of town. He hoped that one day they'd be able to live in the woods somewhere. Gajeel smiled to himself, he couldn't wait for the day when he could finally have Levy all to himself with their little family in the middle of nowhere.

Gajeel arrived at the guild hall to see that it was just as rowdy as ever, the salamander and bunny girl were staring at the request board looking for a job to do. The stripper was running around in the nude again and Juvia chased after him like it was nothing. Cana was already drinking her weight in alcohol. But still no levy. He strolled up to the bar trying to catch the attention of the white-haired bartender.

"Hey, Devil woman!"

Mira looked up at the iron dragon slayer with a smile, "oh good morning Gajeel, you're here earlier than usual!" Gajeel rolled his eyes not knowing if Mira was being serious or sarcastic, the woman had a way of making it hard to tell with her voice being as sweet as it was.

"Have you seen Levy this morning? I can't find her anywhere."

Mira smiled, nodding her head and pointing to the master's office on the second floor.

"Levy did come in rather early this morning, but she went straight to the master's office, I haven't seen her since then.''

Gajeel looked to the office, why would Levy need to see the master? Was everything ok?

"You wouldn't know why she's in there, would you? Haha is the shrimp in trouble or something?" Gajeel laughed at the idea, he could never imagine the shrimp being in trouble let alone doing something wrong. Mira giggled along with him "I doubt that Gajeel, maybe they're just chatting!" The white-haired woman continued to polish the glass mug she held in her hands. Gajeel sat at the bar thinking long and hard. He was trying to remember what he had done the night before. When he got home Levy had made him dinner while he showered and got settled in. After they ate things got a little steamy in the bedroom which was normal, it always happened when they were apart for long periods of time. Then they went to bed. Did he say something stupid that made her mad or something? He did have a problem with not thinking before speaking.

"Gajeel." the strong but gentle voice of Makarov called out to him. The short mage stood strong with his hands clasped behind his back. That's when he spotted exactly what he was looking for. Levy was standing next to him, but she wasn't smiling; she looked tired, and her eyes were puffy and red. Gajeel could feel it right away; he could almost sense that something was wrong. He immediately started toward the two with a sense of urgency. As Gajeel walked away from the bar Mira went on cleaning the bartops as she watched the three mages intently.

"Hey what's going on?" Gajeel bellowed the words loudly, his voice shaking with worry.

Makarov raised his hand to stop him in his tracks.

"Not here my boy if you would follow us. Levy has something she'd like to share with you." Gajeel looked into the eyes of his girlfriend, his partner, and his friend. He could smell the salty tears that had stained her cheeks. She reached for his arm, wrapping her own around his squeezing it tight. He didn't even think twice as he walked with her following the master up the stairs and into his office.

Gajeel and Levy walked through the door and into the small office space, there were some papers strewn about, and a mug of what seemed to be tea was steaming on the mahogany desk. The two red chairs that faced the desk were handcrafted but worn from the years of use. As the two took a seat Levy gave Gajeel a small smile as she patted him on the hand.

The two mages sat across from their master who was carrying a folded piece of parchment. He handed it to Levy. She turned to look at him, her eyes already welling up with tears as she held the parchment close to her chest. He reached out and tugged on the paper in her hands she held on tightly. Gajeel gently forced the page from her fingers. The parchment felt old and worn almost like it would fall apart if the wind were to hit it just right. He unfolded it to see the beautiful cursive writing.

My dearest Levy

My love, please allow me to explain myself for what I'm about to do. You are the love of my life and my heart aches to realize that I will never be able to hold you in my arms as I do now ever again. I don't want to do this. I don't want to go without ever seeing your beautiful blue hair or gorgeous brown eyes but it is something I must do. My precious levy you deserve so much more in life than a daddy who hits, and a Mommy who can't protect you. I no longer have the strength to go on knowing that this is what you will endure for the rest of your life unless I set you free. I'm hurting, all I have ever wanted was to see you grow into a beautiful young woman. However, I know that I must keep you safe. Please know that I love you and I always will. Even when my last breath escapes from my lips I will be thinking of you, my precious baby. Be strong, be wise, and be bigger than you've ever been. I pray that the world is kind to you, and that you find someone who will love you just as much as I have loved you.

Your mother,

Amelia

Gajeel turned his head to Levy and watched a tear trickle down her soft cheek. He reached up to wipe the tear away as he made eye contact with the master. Makarov sighed, sitting atop the desk in front of them crossing his arms over his chest before he started to speak.

"20 years ago I had traveled to the town Hargeon because I had been informed that the adoption home held a promising young wizard. A young girl no older than five had been living there and that was our dear Levy. I had talked to the home mother about Levy and she was very adamant that she be put into a guild. At first, I didn't know much about Miss Levy; just that she was very shy but also a happy little girl and she held very powerful magic in her. There was no evidence of magic that I could tell but I decided to take the home mother's word for it. I took her under my wing and brought her to Fairy tail. Months went by before I even saw what kind of magic she could produce. And of course, it was a type of holy script magic, a magic that you would only see in stories and books. She was a rare gem indeed. When going through the things she was sent with I found this letter. I thought it would be best If I waited till she was old enough to understand."

Levy quickly stood from her seat, the chair flipping over in the process, she seemed angry, angrier than Gajeel had ever seen before.

"I wish I had known sooner! I wish you hadn't kept this a secret from me master, I would have understood! My whole life I thought my parents had abandoned me for no reason other than they didn't want me! What if she's still out there, what if she's alive and looking for me!"

Makarov walked to the young woman and took both her hands in his.

"My child, I did this for your safety, please let me explain further. I would never hurt you on purpose, you know that."

Gajeel decided to speak up

"Then why? Why couldn't she know?"

Makarov sighed picking up the flipped-over chair, "a year after levy was integrated into the guild a man came, a man I could only assume was her father, his name was Micheal. He was looking for her, but I could feel the evil rolling off him in waves. He began to cause a scene and even threatened Gildarts. I never realized that he could be so destructive. He nearly brought Gildarts to his knees, however, the two of us together were able to put a stop to him for the time being. We made sure he was arrested and placed behind bars. We thought everything would be ok if he were in maximum security but we couldn't have been more wrong."

Levy finally took her seat resting her head in her hands.

"He….escaped?"

Makarov nodded, removing a file from his desk drawer and handing it to the script mage. The file explained every graphic detail of what he did to the guards in the prison. He had killed every single one of them and left without a scratch. "What about Gildarts, he could beat him again, right? Or if we all fought him together I'm sure we would be able to pull through!" Levy was terrified, Gajeel could only sit there as she tried to choke out a solution to this tremendous problem.

"And he knows where you are. I know for a fact that he will return. My dear, we don't know why he wants you, but it can't be good." Makarov clasped his hands behind his back, his normally calm features being replaced with anger and fear.

Gajeel was shocked he took the file from Levy's hands. He saw a man in his late 40s who had blue hair and brown eyes, he looked just like Levy. In all honesty, the man didn't look all that powerful. He seemed well…normal. Gajeel scoffed he wasn't scared he could handle this fucker if he had to. He didn't see why the master was so scared of him. He would never let anyone hurt Levy.

"Master, I can handle this guy. He doesn't look all that strong. I mean he is just a script mage." Gajeel immediately realized his mistake as he looked down at his girlfriend. Levy had scooted herself away from him, crossing her arms over her chest with a huff.

"You're an idiot Gajeel, could you at least try to be sensitive." Gajeel Let out a sigh, he knew when he was in trouble with her.

"He isn't just a script mage Gajeel, He specializes in a type of magic that is so evil and so terrible I don't know how anyone could beat him. He can play God, He can easily speak your death into existence the same way he did Levy's mother." Levy's eyes widened.

"She's dead… what did he do to her?"

"He used a dark spell, a spell that compelled Amelia to take her own life. She was a strong woman however and was able to save your life before she took her own."

Levy was scared, a man who could tell someone to take their own life and they just listened to him? It was impossible she hadn't even read about it. She knew nothing about this side of her script magic.

"I can protect her. I can take this motherfucker no problem."

Levy turned her head quickly to the iron dragonslayer as he stood up from his seat, his brows furrowed with determination.

"Gajeel please calm down. I don't know anything about this, he sounds dangerous, I think we should hide for a while until he's caught." Levy was always a cautious person, she seemed terrified but in reality, she was worried for her boyfriend, knowing him he wouldn't hesitate to put himself between her and the dangerous man.

"I couldn't agree more with Levy. I think this will be the best course of action at least for now." Makarov opened the door and the two mages followed him.

"I think Levy will be safer at home with you Gajeel, at night I will have PantherLilly and Erza guard the perimeter in shifts." Gajeel huffed and nodded, he felt he could protect the shrimp on his own but the fact that the master felt they needed more protection made him feel uneasy.

Makarov went straight to Erza explaining to her the situation. Ezra made sure to keep the guild on high alert explaining to the other members the seriousness of this situation specifically to Natsu.

"Natsu you can't just run into this fight, we need to be careful and remain calm, do you understand." Erza laid down the law with the fire dragon slayer. Levy giggled at the fact that she still had to talk to him as if he was a child. "I can breathe fire! What can this guy do that I can't!?" Lucy chimed in with a scolding tone in her voice "Natsu just listen geez. What on Earth am I going to do with you?" Everyone laughed in unison at the pink-haired mage. Gajeel took the moment to peer down at his beloved taking her hand in his, 'hey, don't worry we got this, are you going to be ok." Levy smiled at him and nodded "I'll be ok, I'm just a little scared that's all, I had no idea that script magic could be so dangerous, it makes me wonder if I could do those things I would never want to but the idea kinda freaks me out." Levy sighed, "I think I'm ready to go home."

Gajeel nodded toward Erza and Lily letting them know that it was time to head back. The four began the walk to Gajeel and Levy's house. When they arrived Erza and Lily immediately began to walk the perimeter looking for anything out of the ordinary. The two stepped through the door, the creaking floorboards announcing their presence.

"I think I'm going to go lay down for a bit, it's been a crazy day, and Being JUST a script mage makes me tired."

Gajeel held the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb, "Levy you know that's not what I meant. Sometimes I forget to think before I speak." Levy turned away with a huff making her way down the hallway. Gajeel continued to follow her as she tried to shut the door behind her.

"Aye Levy come on let me come lay down with you please." Using his puppy dog eyes he whined behind the door. Levy sighed, "can you at least say you're sorry?"

"I'm sorry Levy, forgive me? Please?" With a soft smile and a roll of her eyes, Levy cracked the door open allowing Gajeel to slip into the bedroom. He followed her to their bed where they laid down. Levy turned her back to Gajeel and took in a deep breath and exhaled letting herself sink into the mattress. Gajeel spooned her from behind, taking in her scent, the smell of citrus filled his nose. He kissed the back of her neck and shoulder letting her know he was there and he would stay close.

"Gajeel?"

"Hmm?'

"You don't think he'll come looking for me do you?" Gajeel squeezed her a little tighter.

"He would be crazy to try." he smiled down at her and she turned to look at him. Levy let out a loose laugh.

"You're crazy Gajeel but I love you for it."

"Levy, you know you can talk to me, I'll listen." Levy again turned away from him. She didn't know what to think. She had found out so much about her past in one day. And it was a lot for her to handle.

"How could he Gajeel. Why would he do that to her? I don't understand."

Gajeel frowned "I don't know Levy he sounds like he's messed up in the head."

"Well yeah duh I mean who does that, who convinces their wife let alone the mother of their child to take their own life. Why did he do it? I mean it's also crazy to me that all this time my father was alive and I had no idea."

"I wish I knew Levy. How about ya sleep a little? Maybe you'll feel better after you rest."

"And you'll stay with me?"

"Psh it would be a crime to not be in bed with you" he bent down kissing her on the head Levy giggled and he wrapped his arms around her squeezing her. He could just lay here forever with her.

"God Levy, I love you." Gajeel blushed while saying it, it took the dragon slayer a long time to utter the three words to her. Now after being together for so long the words rolled off his tongue as if it was his second language. Levy reached her hand up to his face stroking his cheek with her hand "And I love you Gajeel."

He leaned down pressing his lips against her soft pink ones pulling away for a second to look her in the eyes.

"I will protect you with my life, my love. I won't let him get anywhere near ya. I swear it." The two drifted off to sleep in each other's warm embrace.

A day went by, then two days went by, and soon a week went on with no issues. Gajeel was slowly becoming a little stir crazy as he tinkered with things around the house, things that he had needed to do that he was always putting off. At least the leaky bathroom faucet was no longer a problem, Levy could finally get a good night's sleep, the dripping noises that echoed through the halls drove her mad. He took it upon himself to finally build that bookshelf that levy had been needing. So many books had been left with no shelf after the last one fell from the extensive weight of the encyclopedias and tomes almost squishing Lily in the process.

Levy tried her best to think about other things, she avoided using her magic, she felt weird about it lately she was almost scared of it. She tried to bury herself in her books, but she soon ran out, of course, she was always free to reread her favorites but those wouldn't last long. Her eyes darted across the pages of each book as she took in an insane amount of information each time storing it in the vast columns of her brain. She even read to Gajeel sometimes when he wanted to listen.

The two also had the rare opportunity to spend some real time together, they were always busy, and they never got to have a full day to themselves. Let's just say things got steamy real quick. The two had a hard time keeping their hands off each other, Gajeel swore it was like a second honeymoon phase but of course, Levy didn't mind. Being trapped in their home together was a new kind of sexy that the two never had time to explore. Levy even forgot the whole reason they were there in the first place. She was however always brought back to reality when Erza or even the master would arrive with updates and sometimes groceries.

"They still haven't found him?" Gajeel was frustrated, he hated that the fucker was just wandering around with probably not a care in the world. Levy slipped into the living room carrying a pot filled with lavender tea and a few tea cups. She poured a cup for everyone and set a little dish with sugar cubes to the side. Erza sipped her tea and took a small bite of the strawberry cake that she had surprised the couple with. Placing her plate and fork on the coffee table before her, Erza crossed her arms over her chest, her armor shifting, the metal pieces clanking together.

"They haven't found him I'm afraid, but there have been some sightings of him here and there but no one has the balls to get the guy in cuffs. By the time we are alerted he's already made a break for it. But we are keeping an eye out. I can promise you that. The last time he was seen he was 5 towns over. It makes me wonder if he even wants to come here like we thought he would."

Levy dropped a single cube of sugar into her tea, stirring with her spoon watching the swirl of the beverage dissolve the sugar into nothing.

"Maybe he's uninterested now? What if he just wants to get as far away from here as possible, he could have even forgotten about me."

Gajeel turned to her, raising his hand to his chin and closing his eyes thinking hard.

"Hmmm I don't know. I doubt Micheal would forget the whole reason he went to prison in the first place. Let alone the fact he has a biological child living in the same town he was imprisoned in."

"Then maybe it's time we stop hiding? Maybe we can find a way to get him back to Magnolia, Yes it could be dangerous, but Gildarts is supposed to be coming back next week right?" Erza and Gajeel nodded at her as Levy continued with her possible plan "If I made myself available maybe we could get him into town willingly and capture him here."

"HELL NO!" Gajeel shot up from the sofa, his tea spilling over the cup and crashing to the hardwood floor. "I will not allow it, I refuse to make you "available" to that fucking psychopath! Also, how would we even get a hold of him in the first place?"

"Gajeel please just listen to me! I can't take care of myself! I can do this!" Erza sighed

"Both of you need to calm down! This is just an idea, that's all it is. I will add it to the list to give to the master." Levy looked down to her feet, tears of frustration filling her big brown eyes. Moving closer to the script mage, Erza placed an armor-clad hand on levy's petite shoulder. "Levy we will figure something out I promise, try not to worry. You're not the only one with a crazy parent I've been there." Erza laughed a little. Levy wrapped both her arms around the red-haired woman.

"Please think about it, Erza."

"I will ok, I will. Just try to enjoy your time with Gajeel for now, I just want you to relax sister." Erza turned her attention towards the pierced man giving him a stern look "Gajeel if you would walk me out I think it's time I go relay this information to the master." Gajeel walked her to the door and the two strolled outside Erza closing the door behind her. "Gajeel, try to be supportive, she needs you to just be there for her right now, you know you're not gonna be able to fight her on this." Gajeel nodded he didn't want to say it but she was right. He had been a little harsh on Levy but he just wanted to protect her. Gajeel watched Titania walk down the cobble street road straight towards the guild hall.

Gajeel locked the door behind him as he went back inside, Levy was on her hands and knees cleaning up the mess he had made on the floor.

"Aye babe let me get that for you." Gajeel pulled the rag from her hands, wiping down the floor and picking up the ceramic shards from the ground, as he threw them in the bin he could hear the sniffles of his girlfriend behind him. "I'm sorry I yelled Lev, I know I don't look it but I'm just scared for you ok." Levy sat at their dining room table as Gajeel washed the teapot and unbroken cups. He turned to face her. As she rested her chin in her hands. He sauntered over to sit across from her taking her left hand into his. "I don't know what I'd do without you, I don't think I'm ready to let you leave me just yet." Levy let a whisper-like laugh escape her lips as she wiped away a stray tear rolling down her cheek. "Gajeel, can I be honest with you?" Gajeel nodded and she took in a deep breath exhaling slowly. "I kinda want to meet him, and I know it's wrong, it's just... I want to know where I came from. What if he doesn't want to hurt me, what if he just wants to talk or dare I say have a relationship with me? I know it's dumb to think, he's a stranger let alone a murderer and I shouldn't feel this way but he's…..well my dad ya know?" Levy squeezed his hand as Gajeel looked into her eyes, he thought back to what Erza said, be supportive. "Lev this is normal, it's normal to want your parents to see who you've become. It's normal to want them, I remember the feeling of when Metalicana left and just wanting him. Like a child who just wants their mommy or daddy. It's not bad that you feel this way. But we need to be careful still we don't…know him and he did kill your mother."

Levy let a cry escape her throat, why does she feel this way? "Oh Gajeel, why does this have to happen? I feel like I would have been better off if I didn't know who they were. The master was right to have me wait. I honestly don't even think I was ready for it now." Gajeel stayed silent, he was never good at talking like this, he felt nervous to accidentally do something wrong, he was never great with words anyway.

"In the end, this is your decision, this is your life, not mine, but I will be here, everyone is on your side, don't forget that."

Levy smiled at him as she leaned forward across the table kissing him on the lips. It was a short peck but it meant the world to him. He was supportive and she felt better. "Gajeel thank you for listening I love you"

"I love you too."