Is it Too Late for Magic?
Sunday, November 1st, 2020
-Magnolia City-
2 AM
In an apparent contradiction to the laws of physics, and the irrefutable fact that hot air rises, Atropos's Attic was quite cold.
It was tucked up close to the ceiling of Fairy's Fate, looking out over the other floors below, which, despite the late hour, were still packed.
The dancefloor of Clotho's Counter jostled as the crowd jumped and shouted to the music, and Lachesis's Lounge seemed to swarm as people ordered drinks, even though the Magic Hour had ended and Blue Moon Drops were no longer free.
The club was thrumming with energy but Atropos's Attic remained aloof, only slightly registering the never-ending party below, making itself a refuge for people who needed a moment to breathe, or for blacked-out couples to make out in the dark.
Or for people like Gray, to sulk.
He sat hunched at the bar, glaring into the darkness of his drink, as a group of technicolor cat-girls ordered tequila shots nearby. Since the space was lit primarily with black lights, the details of their costumes popped while their faces were shadowed, accented only by glittery eye shadow.
Gray ignored them, focused on his thoughts and trying to get drunk, trying to forget how shitty the night had turned out. He was tired and it was late and he couldn't imagine that there was enough time for anything else to happen tonight. He just wanted to get back to the hotel and get some sleep, and maybe his head would be clearer then.
For now, he was content to drink. He sighed.
Why was it that Gray always ended up alone?
Lisanna and Cana were still laughing somewhere downstairs, Levy was off with some random guy, Jet and Droy always had each other (by the way, where the hell were they?), and Natsu and Lucy were probably necking each other in the dark by now.
Or at least they better be, after Gray gave Natsu the perfect fucking set-up, he was gonna be so pissed if Natsu, the flame-brained idiot, managed to fuck this one up too…!
He sighed again. God dammit.
Natsu was so fucking lucky. He and Lucy were perfect for each other, as if they were the protagonists in their own story, written to be the perfect companions. They matched so well. But if they were the stars of their own show it probably wasn't something dopey like a romantic drama or comedy, Gray snorted at the thought. No, knowing Natsu it'd be some kinda action adventure shonen or something. Something with lots of fighting.
But either way, Gray wouldn't be the star. He was the sidekick, the quarreling friend. The fact that he was alone right now was proof enough of that. Off to the side, in the dark, sipping something strong, and trying to get back his chill.
He was a pretty chill guy. He liked to step back and go with the flow of things.
He downed the rest of his drink and lazily looked up to wave the bartender down for another, his eye accidentally catching Atropos's in the process.
Like her two sisters, Atropos had her own portrait hanging above the bar. She was depicted as quite youthful, despite being the Angel of Death. Her long black hair, dark as the night sky outside, hung past her waist and she smirked at Gray, the pair of scissors held daintily in her hands glinting.
He shivered, looking away, and luckily the bartender came over quickly to refill his drink. He nodded in thanks, the man quickly returning to flirt with the cat-girls who were asking for another round.
Gray snorted and took a sip of the new drink, but then he paused, glancing down at it. It wasn't the same thing he'd been drinking before. It was silvery in color, filled to the brim with ice, and he frowned in confusion. He'd never ordered a drink like this, but glancing back at the bartender made him quickly give up on saying anything about it. The man was in way too deep with those kitties. It must have just been a mistake.
Gray shrugged, taking another sip, and tried to swallow down the sense of loneliness that had settled in his stomach.
The drink was sweet, something Gray didn't usually go for, but it was also a little crisp, and with surprise Gray realized he kind of liked it.
And with just as much surprise, Gray was suddenly thinking back to the girl he'd met earlier that night, with the deep blue hair and the deeper blue eyes. A mental image of her face flitted through his head as he took another sip, and he realized that of course the drink reminded him of her, it looked identical to the one she'd ordered earlier that night. He snorted at the irony. What a weird coincidence.
Now that he was thinking about her, he rolled her named around in his head, going over each syllable.
Ju-vi-a.
Sweet and simple. Huh. Much like this drink.
And then there was that funny way that she talked about herself, in the third person, and how she walked as if she were gliding through water… How her hair curled just above her shoulders in just the right way, and how it was a deep shade of blue. And then of course her eyes, which were like looking into the depths of the ocean…
Gray's cheeks flushed and his eyes widened at the unexpected heat, glaring around as if he'd be able to see where the hot air was suddenly coming in. Why was he so hot all of a sudden, hadn't he just been enjoying how cool Atropos's Attic was?!
He shook his head before taking another sip, trying to clear his head as he enjoyed the taste. It was quite possibly his new favorite drink.
Involuntarily his eyes flickered back up to Atropos and he could sense her smirking at him. He knew rationally that it was just a painting, but something about the lighting and how she looked as if she could see into his soul made his stomach roll with uneasiness.
It was like she was laughing at him. What was that earlier, that Natsu had said about the sisters?
'Isn't it something about looking at yourself, where you're at in life, and thinkin' about if you're ready to die?'
Was he ready to die?
Well, no. But honestly, was anyone?
No one was ever truly ready to die. And come on, what a morbid theme for a bar! Why the hell did the Master have to make everything so deep all the time, when people were just out to have a good time?!
Gray glanced around the bar but realized that, well, everyone else was having a good time. The technicolor kitties were taking a third round of tequila, flirting shamelessly with the bartender, and over by the balcony a couple of pixies glowed brightly as they danced gleefully to the music floating up from below. A group of rowdy cowboys was in the corner by the felted pool tables, and a drunken couple was making out on a couch.
Everyone else was enjoying themselves, living in the moment, and Gray was the only one slumped at the bar. A spot of sour gloom amidst the rollicking fun, contemplating death alone.
Typical.
He took another sip of his drink, glowering. Why wasn't he living in the moment too? Living his best life, like his friends? God dammit, even Levy had managed to get with a guy tonight! She was probably off, having some kind of wild wonderful adventure, and here he was, ready to go to bed!
His heart clenched. He felt like shit, but he wanted to have fun too! So why wasn't he? What could he do, right now, in this moment, to feel better? If he could do anything he wanted, or be anywhere in the world, where would he want to be? What would he want to do?
The thought of Juvia flitted back through his mind for a second and a small part of him was convinced it was only because of the eerily similar drink he was sipping, but another small part of him realized that he did genuinely enjoy spending time with her. She was funny and cute and charming, and her calm disposition put him at ease.
He kinda wanted to know more about her, maybe talk with her some more. The thought of sitting at a bar with her was infinitely more appealing to being at a bar alone, and the more he thought about it the more he had a sudden urge to get up and go find her.
Maybe it wasn't as late as he thought.
The Magic Hour was over, but did that really mean it was too late for magic tonight?
He glanced back up at Atropos, meeting her eyes and seeing the challenge in them. But this time it wasn't a question of if he was ready to die, but if he was ready to live.
He couldn't resign himself to being the sidekick his entire life. Maybe it was time for him to take action, do something for himself, do something crazy and unexpected and completely uncharacteristic. Maybe it was time for him to make his own story, rather than go with the flow of someone else's. After all, the sidekick never got the girl.
With a sudden burning conviction Gray stood, slamming the glass down on the counter, his stool tipping over and crashing to the ground behind him. The bartender and technicolor cat-girls glanced over in surprise but Gray ignored them, meeting Atropos's smirk with a burning glare.
She was taunting him, but he wouldn't let the Angel in the Attic win.
He was gonna go find Juvia cause why the hell not. Purely because he wanted to, cause he could.
Carpe diem and all that shit, right?
The night air was sweet after the suffocating corridors of the Haunted House.
Levy breathed deeply as she leaned into Gajeel's chest. They'd gotten out a little bit ago and had since been traversing narrow roads and dark alleys, Gajeel's pace was clipped. Warehouses loomed on either side, allowing only a small strip of sky to be seen above.
For now, Levy was content to let Gajeel lead the way. He probably had a much clearer sense of where they were, and where he was going, and her heart was still beating a hundred miles a minute in her chest. But judging by the fact he was walking and not running, she figured they were no longer being actively chased. He kept a watchful eye, so hopefully they were okay…
Gajeel paused next to a bulky dumpster with rusting green paint, and glanced around again before finally setting Levy down.
She shivered a bit, suddenly cold, and winced as she accidentally stepped in a puddle, cold water splashing up onto her feet. Levy sighed, looking down forlornly at her beaten up and soaking sandals. They certainly wouldn't be usable after this.
She looked down at the rest of herself and sighed again. She was a bit of a mess. Her legs were smudged with dirt, her shirt was bloody and torn. She didn't even want to think about her hair.
Hilariously enough, the only article of clothing that still looked okay was that dumb skirt. Maybe it was because it had such little fabric anyways, there wasn't much to be destroyed. But that also meant it didn't do anything to warm her up and she was wishing she hadn't left her cloak on the ground back in the Haunted House. Ugh, and she'd already lost her phone tonight, too.
This night was not going how she'd planned it and Levy did not like feeling so unkempt.
And she'd certainly never in a thousand years thought armed gunmen would ever chase her down and try to kill her.
She shivered, glancing up at Gajeel. He'd been silent since they'd gotten outside and he was peering back in the direction they'd just come from. She glanced that way herself but wasn't able to pick out much in the dark.
"Uhm, Gajeel?" Levy asked hesitantly. His eyes flicked to her briefly, so quickly she almost missed it, but then he was back to looking down the alley. He didn't say or do anything else to indicate he'd heard her, and Levy swallowed nervously as her mind raced.
"Uh, do you think we're safe here?" she asked. Nervous energy was still coursing through her, she still felt on edge. It was likely remnants of the adrenaline from earlier, when she'd been shot at in the mirror maze.
Gajeel was silent for a moment, but then grunted and turned to face her fully, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Levy took his shift in body language to be a positive sign, that he thought they were okay, and she sighed with relief, placing a hand over her racing heart.
Gajeel looked her over, narrowing his eyes on her arms.
"Lev, roll yer sleeves up."
"Huh?" Levy was surprised to hear him speak, then she realized what he'd said and she glanced down at her arms. "Oh, right," she said, realizing it'd probably be good to see if she had any bad cuts, or if any of them were still bleeding. It was hard to see with the fabric of her poor sleeves in the way.
Gajeel simply watched as Levy began hesitantly pulling her sleeves up past her elbows, but she was still a little distracted.
"Gajeel, why do you think those men were chasing us?" she asked, looking up at him. His eyes were dark, he said nothing. Levy frowned in thought.
"It just doesn't make sense. I don't understand why we'd be a target… Do you think maybe it's because we were in a sketchy area, being by the docks? Maybe it was a robbery gone wrong?" Levy mused, her analytical mind taking over as she started to go over the facts.
"But that doesn't really make sense, because they started shooting us first, without even knowing if we had anything worth stealing. Maybe they just wanted to steal your car?"
"Lev, yer sleeves."
"Oh! Right," Levy said sheepishly as she realized she'd been so caught up in her thoughts she'd stopped rolling her sleeves up. She jumped back to the task, hissing as a finger brushed one of her cuts. Gajeel's glare deepened.
"But they shot at your car, why would robbers shoot at something they'd presumably want to be able to sell? So then… they only wanted it for parts? No," Levy shook her head, finally finishing with her sleeves and Gajeel crouched in front of her, gingerly taking one of her wrists and lifting it up, to better see the cuts on her arm. Levy shivered at the touch.
Gajeel let Levy keep talking. He wasn't about to mention that the car hadn't even been his, that he'd stolen it first.
"No, that must be a dead end. If they wanted your car they wouldn't have shot at it. So, they didn't want to rob us. So then… they just… wanted… us… dead."
Levy swallowed thickly as she tried to process the thought that someone she didn't even know might want to kill her. Gajeel was silent, moving to her other arm.
He was relieved to see that most of the cuts were thin scratches, already scabbed over. Only two looked deep, and only one was still bleeding. He'd need to wrap it…
"Okay, but why," Levy frowned, deep in thought. "Why would anyone want to kill us? I can't think of a single thing I've done that would warrant tha- Ga-Gajeel?! What are you doing?!" Levy cried, jumping when, with zero warning, Gajeel suddenly grabbed her by the hips and pulled her close, moving his face down toward her stomach.
Levy tried to push him away by the shoulders, his nose was so close to her belly button that it was surely going to touch, and a storm of butterflies flurried up inside of her such that when Gajeel finally pulled away only a millisecond later, Levy was left frozen in shock, her face on fire and her heart pounding in her chest. She was leaning on his shoulders and he was looking back at her with a totally neutral expression, his hands still on her hips.
"E-eh?! I-! What?!" Levy stuttered, frantically trying to figure out what the hell just happened when she noticed the long strip of fabric now hanging from between his teeth.
"My-! My-! My shirt!" Levy cried, glancing down and noticing that half her hem was missing. Her face fell as she tried to catch her breath. "You-! You ripped my shirt!"
Gajeel snorted, reaching up to grab one of her wrists so he could look at her cuts again.
"It wash alweady ripp'd," Gajeel grunted, the fabric between his teeth muffling his voice.
"But you made it worse!"
"Needed ta wrap yer cut."
He shrugged as if it was damn obvious, and Levy pouted as she looked down at her mangled shirt. Well, yeah, it was already ruined, but come on! At this rate, she'd soon be wearing tattered rags!
Gajeel stood swiftly when he was done wrapping her arm and before Levy could say anything else he'd swung his jacket around her shoulders, leaving her once again frozen in surprise. With his jacket around her shoulders, she was suddenly engulfed in his warmth and in his smell.
She looked up at him hesitantly but he'd crossed his arms over his chest and was glaring into the alley. Levy's cheeks burned with a new blush. It didn't help that he looked really good in just a t-shirt.
She realized maybe this was his way of apologizing for ripping her shirt, or maybe he'd noticed how cold she was. Either way, she figured it'd be rude not to accept it, and she slowly slipped her arms into the sleeves, pulling it tightly around herself. It was way too large on her, and Levy's heart fell as she thought about how childish she probably looked. But it made her feel safe.
Why had they chosen flimsy anime costumes? On that note, why did anime characters always dress so impractically? She was wishing they'd dressed in something more durable. Maybe next year they could all be Lord of the Rings characters or something, with pants and suits of armor. Then at least they'd be dressed to expect a journey. But that was the thing about journeys, she supposed with some reluctance. They tended to be pretty unexpected.
Not that this had been much of a journey, persay, really more of a suddenly-being-chased-by-strangers-trying-to-murder-you-for-no-apparent-reason thing.
And the big question was why?
She thought back to the mirror maze, forcing her breath to remain even as she remembered the sheer panic of that moment. With a clearer head she was able to recall more details and with a swirl of new anxiety she remembered noticing a body in the ground, among the glass, when Gajeel had carried her out. It must have been the person who'd been shooting at her.
She looked up at Gajeel nervously. As much as she couldn't wrap her head around the gunmen's actions, she also couldn't imagine wishing death upon anyone.
"Gajeel?" Levy asked hesitantly. He made no sign of acknowledgment. "Uhm, that man that was on the ground, in the glass. He wasn't, uh, he wasn't dead, right?"
Gajeel turned to look at her, his eyes dark, and Levy waited breathlessly for a reply. He said nothing for a moment, simply searching her face, and the seconds felt drawn out, until finally he grunted and shook his head. Levy sighed with relief.
But then…
"Do you think they'll come after us again?"
Gajeel said nothing. He was finding it hard to look at her.
It was obvious to Gajeel that this whole shit show was entirely his fault. It had everything to do with who he was and who he worked for, and it had absolutely nothing to do with Levy. He grit his teeth. A formidable anger was raging inside of him, just below the surface. It was his fault that he'd put her life in danger tonight, it was because she'd been with him. And it was Gajeel's opinion that the less Levy had to do with him, the better, which meant the less she knew, the better.
So he certainly wasn't going to correct her, and tell her it'd been a woman on the ground in the glass, not a man. And he hadn't lied, because no, that woman was not dead.
But he wasn't about to tell Levy about the guy he'd shot, just before he'd found her. That guy was probably dead. And he certainly wasn't going to tell her that when he'd searched that guy's body and found his wallet, he'd seen a police badge inside.
So, the police wanted Gajeel dead. They were probably detectives because they weren't in uniform. But why had they shot first? Seemed kinda sketchy for cops.
José had moles in the force, so whenever they'd investigated Gajeel in the past, he'd always had a heads up. They could never get anything on him anyways, he always got away, and he'd been pretty sure there were no active investigations right now.
Were these cops investigating him in secret then? Under the radar? Had they found something on him, something strong enough to bring him in? But they should've arrested him first, not tried to kill him. That wasn't proper procedure. So were these cops crooked? Maybe they had some kinda personal vendetta? Honestly he'd done so much shit to so many people, he couldn't really keep track.
Or maybe this had nothing to do with him personally, maybe it was only because he worked for Phantom Lord.
Sabertooth, one of the three main Guilds in the city, they ran the police. They had ties to every major branch of government, and even though not all the cops in the city pledged their allegiance to them, every cop in the city undoubtedly worked for them, knowingly or not.
Was Sabertooth sending cops after him to start a Guild war with Phantom Lord? Were they trying to piss José off? Gajeel dismissed this thought pretty quickly. He was fairly certain Sabertooth was in no position to challenge Phantom Lord.
They liked to pretend that the Phantom Lord Guild was only around because they permitted it, but the truth was they weren't strong enough to confront José. And Gajeel was fairly certain José had some dirt on Sabertooth's Guild Master, the Mayor of Magnolia City. They wouldn't risk a Guild War, especially not when Fairy Tail was equally as powerful and tended to be a bit of a wild card. The three Guilds navigated a rocky road, but Gajeel was pretty sure none of them were ready to start a Guild War.
Unless something had changed?
"We should probably call the police," Levy was saying now. "Gajeel, do you have a phone?"
Gajeel snorted. The thought of him calling the police was hilarious. And of course, Levy didn't realize it'd been the police who were trying to kill them. They couldn't trust anyone in the force right now.
Levy frowned up at him. "Gajeel, I'm serious, the police will be able to help us. And there are still lots of people back in the Haunted House, they could still be in danger."
"No, no police," Gajeel grunted, and Levy's confusion deepened.
"What? Gajeel, that's insane, we can't just abandon all those people!"
"I can assure ya, Shorty, that the police're already there."
Levy frowned thoughtfully at this. "Do you think it's been long enough that someone else has already called them?"
He didn't say anything, simply mulling over his own thoughts, when his cell buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out absentmindedly, flipping it open to check the notification and his blood instantly ran cold.
Like the flip of a switch, his mind was racing, but no longer about the police or why they'd been after him. A flash of fear was coiling its way back into his stomach again, and nervous sweat was already collecting on his temple. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
He didn't have time anymore, not for any of this, and especially not for Levy. It was time for her to get the fuck out of there.
"Shorty, we gotta go."
Levy gave a start when Gajeel suddenly took off, walking swiftly towards the end of the alley. She'd been so lost in thought, it took several moments for her to realize she needed to run now to catch up to him, and she definitely didn't want to be left behind. Why the hell was he suddenly racing to get out of there?
A flash of panic ran through her when she wondered if he'd seen the gunmen. Were they here, in this alley? Had they found them?! She whipped her head around, straining to see the other end of the alley, trying to spot them in the shadows, but it was too dark and she kept tripping as she ran.
"Where're ya stayin' Shrimp," Gajeel asked, throwing the question over his shoulder. Levy frowned, hugging herself as she ran to keep the oversized jacket from flopping around.
"What? Why are you suddenly in such a hurry, Gajeel?! What's happening? Is it the gunmen? Did they find us?" She looked back again but still nothing.
"Nah," he grunted and Levy was relieved to hear that, but it didn't explain why he was suddenly in such a hurry.
He reached the end of the alley and stepped out onto a sidewalk, surprising a couple who had been walking nearby. They looked him over warily and gave him a wide berth. He ignored them, stepping up to the road, already searching for a cab to flag down.
Levy burst out of the alley seconds later, panting as she glanced around. It was a busier than she'd been expecting. Groups of people, most dressed in Halloween costumes, strolled down the sidewalks. Gajeel had already managed to get a cab by the time Levy caught up with him, and she looked between him and the cab with confusion as she approached.
He pulled the back door open and pointed to the backseat. Levy frowned.
"What? Where are we going?"
"Yer goin'," Gajeel grunted. "Tell the cabbie where ya need ta go, he'll take ya."
Levy frowned as she grasped the full extent of his words.
"Wait, you're not coming with me?" she asked, looking up at him and noticing that his jaw was clenched in anger, that he looked on edge. His entire body language screamed that he wanted to run.
"Gajeel, what's going on? Why aren't you coming with me?"
Gajeel growled, he didn't have time for this. "Just get in the damn cab, Shorty, and tell 'em where ya need ta go!"
Levy felt anger start to flare up inside of her. What the hell? After everything they'd been through tonight? He was just suddenly trying to get rid of her? He was ditching her? Like hell!
"No," she said stubbornly, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "No, I won't get in the damn cab until you tell me what's going on."
"Somethin' came up, Shrimp. Just get yer ass in the cab, where the hell are ya stayin'?"
Levy was stunned, what the hell was his problem? Something came up? Something came up?! What the fuck could be more important right now than dealing with what had just happened to them!? The audacity!
"No, I will not get in this cab! Not unless you come with me or tell me what's going on! How dare you, Gajeel?! How dare you ditch me right now?! What possibly could have come up?!"
Gajeel felt his anger boiling to a breaking point, fueled by the anxiety and the fear that had blossomed out from that one little text.
'Mj4u E4n20'
In other words, Master José is looking for you, be at Element 4 in 20 minutes.
Why the hell was Master José looking for him?!
On the one hand, it could just be about the fight. But after all the other shit, Gajeel was finding it increasingly harder not to be paranoid about this. Did José know about what happened at the Haunted House? Did he know about Levy? Why the hell was he looking for him right now?!
Gajeel had figured he had the whole rest of the night to get his shit in order, but now he was low key panicking at the thought that he had to deal with the Master when there were still so many loose ends and things he didn't know.
He didn't have time anymore to get Levy back to wherever she was staying, he had less than twenty minutes to get to Element 4 and he'd be in even deeper shit than he already was if he was late.
And now Levy was being stubborn as all hell and he wondered if he could just throw her in the back of the cab himself and be done with it. He tried to breathe deeply through his nose.
"Shorty," he ground out, his teeth clenching in frustration. "Get in the cab."
Levy met his smoldering glare with one of her own.
"No."
"Get in the damn cab!"
"No!"
"Is anyone gettin' in my cab or not?!" the cabbie cried, and with purpose Levy strode forward, grabbing the door from Gajeel's grasp and slamming it shut.
The cab sped off without waiting a moment more and Gajeel growled deeply before looking up to wave another one down, but before he could lift his arm, Levy reached out and grabbed his hand with her own. He glared down at her fiercely but guilt was starting to trickle its way in as well, just from the way she was looking at him.
She was just so furious! How could Gajeel do this to her?! After everything they'd just been through?!
She'd lost her friends, she'd lost her phone, she was lost in a city she'd never been to before. Her clothes were ripped, her arms were bleeding, and she'd just been chased at gunpoint and shot at by people she didn't even know!
And Gajeel wanted to abandon her? Just like that? Because something came up?
"I thought..." Levy said, her voice breaking. "I thought I could trust you…"
Because for the past three years, on Halloween, whenever Levy somehow found herself in some sort of trouble, Gajeel had always somewhat mysteriously materialized out of thin air and helped her. He was more of a Devil than a Guardian Angel and he acted like too much of a jerk to be a knight in shining armor, but he'd always still managed to get her back safely, to wherever she needed to go. He'd never let her down.
She didn't even realize, until this moment, that she'd been expecting him to do just that again. She'd fully expected him to get her back to the hotel. And yeah, she hadn't been super thrilled when she'd first run into him tonight, in part because of their weird and fateful Halloween history, but that didn't mean she wanted him to just… abandon her.
She didn't realize that the corners of her eyes were tearing up, but the guilt inside Gajeel started to burn a bit deeper when he noticed and he hated himself all the fucking more for it, because he was in-between a rock and a hard place right now and he didn't have the fucking time to figure this shit out.
"Levy," Gajeel growled, his voice dangerously low. "I need ya ta get in a cab an' get back ta yer hotel."
"Why?" Levy asked stubbornly.
"I told ya, I don't have time."
"Oh," Levy said, her face darkening. "Oh, because something came up? Well, excuuuse me! I don't mean to hold you up! It's not like we were just targeted by mysterious gunmen or anything! It isn't like were almost just killed! Clearly something else must be much more important right now! And I still think we should call the fucking police!"
"I told ya, no police," Gajeel growled, narrowing his eyes.
"Why the hell not? Even if they're already at the Haunted House, we need to give them a statement! File a report!"
Gajeel didn't reply, glaring at her as if that was the final word on the matter, and Levy puffed her cheeks out in anger and frustration.
"Gajeel, if you won't let me go to the police, at least let me stay with you! You can't just abandon me here, in a city I don't know! I have no way to get in touch with my friends, or anyone, for that matter, and what if something else bad happens?! It'd be safer for us to stick together right now! What if those gunmen come after us again?! We don't even know why they were shooting at us in the first place! We have no idea who they were or what they wanted or- oh my god!" Levy exclaimed, her eyes growing wide as a lightbulb went off in her head.
Suddenly everything clicked into place.
"Oh my god, I think I understand why they were shooting at us! And why you don't want to go to the police!"
Gajeel's eyes widened in shock. How the hell had she figured out who he was and who he worked for?!
"It's because of the fight! It's so obvious! You just won an illegal fight! Oh my god, do you think there were bets placed on that fight?! Do you think someone lost a lot of money because you won?! Maybe someone is pissed at you for winning, and that's why they went after you?! That's fucking wild! And that's why you don't want to go to the police! Because you just fought illegally!"
Gajeel blinked.
Of course, Levy was completely wrong. But since there was so much she didn't know, it was a perfectly plausible explanation and since he didn't want to tell her the truth, he was more than happy to let her think this so that she'd stop asking questions. If he wasn't so desperate to get to Element 4, he'd almost find her naivety cute, because yeah there'd been a shit ton of money placed on that fight, but anyone pissed at him for winning would have to go through José.
And Sabertooth and the police didn't give a damn about the fight, they'd participated in it themselves.
Gajeel simply nodded, "Right, so I need ya ta getch-yerself far away from me, Shorty, this's my problem."
But Levy was shaking her head, "No, Gajeel, you're wrong. We're both in this together now. They targeted me just as much as they targeted you. I can understand why you don't want to go to the police, so I won't force it. But you can't just ditch me here, Gajeel. Even if something important came up, please, just, take me with you. We're still safer together than we are apart and I just… please don't abandon me here."
We're both in this together now.
She was right. She'd already gotten too caught up in his shit. What if that gunwoman had gotten a good look at Levy? What if she was able to track her down now? He was seriously wishing he'd stuck a bullet through that woman's brain when he'd had the chance.
But if not her, who else might've seen Levy with him tonight? There were simply too many things he didn't know, and he realized furiously that at this point Levy would probably be safer if she stuck with him, but how the hell could he keep an eye on her when he needed to be at Element 4 in less than twenty minutes?! He couldn't take her there with him!
Or… Gajeel grit his teeth in anger, aching with frustration. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to stuff down the emotions and think.
Maybe he could take her to Element 4.
It was a fucking crazy idea because he'd be taking Levy directly into the lair of one of the most dangerous men in Magnolia City. But, it was a public venue. Lots of people went to Element 4, people with no affiliation to José, and if José did somehow know about Levy, he'd never expect Gajeel to bring her there.
Plus, it was the police that were after him right now, and Levy by association. Since Element 4 was Phantom Lord's headquarters, other Guilds were prohibited. That meant no Sabertooth and that meant no police. Element 4 might be one of the safest places in the city. With José's henchmen guarding the place, the police would never be able to get in.
But he couldn't just let her waltz in there beside him, it'd be like putting a beacon on her face…
Gajeel hated this idea but he hated everything else and he was running out of time. He needed to make a decision and stick by it, and the more he weighed his options, the more he realized this could actually be the safest bet.
"Fine."
"I won't take no for an answer! You seriously can't just ditch me here, I-! … Oh," Levy said, her eyes wide when she realized what he'd said. "Okay, uhm. Cool."
Then she realized she was still holding his hand and with a jolt she pushed it away awkwardly.
"Gah! Uh, sorry!"
But Gajeel was spinning on his heel and Levy huffed as she realized she'd have to run to catch up again, his wide strides already putting him quite a distance ahead of her.
"Thank you, Gajeel!" she panted as she tried to keep up. Why did he always have to walk so quickly?! She couldn't help it that one of his strides was at least two of hers!
Gajeel was too busy glaring to notice, running through a plan in his mind. It was pretty shitty, but so was this whole night apparently.
"We'll need ta make another stop, Shrimp," he said, growling over his shoulder. And then he added, as if it was an afterthought, "And it's hard lookin' fer someone so small, so don't leave my side."
Lucy wasn't quite sure how long ago the fireworks had ended.
All she could think about was how Natsu was still holding her close, pressing her up against the railing, and kissing the living daylights out of her. She could barely breathe, much less think about anything else, and when he finally pulled away they were both left panting, their breath visible in the cold air between them.
Natsu pressed his forehead up against hers and she swallowed thickly as she once again tried to come to terms with the fact that this was real. Natsu really wanted her. Her heart fluttered in her chest, a blush dusting her cheeks.
Natsu's eyes were dark, filled with some kind of hunger, and she shivered as he stared deeply at her. Then he was leaning down again, ready to recapture her lips, and all of her desperately wanted that but the more rational side of herself was shouting through the haze of desire, insisting that they take a break and get their bearings.
She reached up with her hands and gently pushed him away by the chest, his brow instantly dropping in a frown as he looked down at her nervously, his good arm still slung low around her waist.
"Luce? You good?"
"Yes!" Lucy said quickly, not wanting him to think she was rejecting him. "Yes, no, I'm fine! I just-! Uh, I think we should take a moment to-! To, uh, breathe! That's all…,"
Lucy blushed deeply as she thought about what exactly they needed a moment to breathe from and Natsu smirked at her, his canines flashing in the light.
"How long do you think we've been up here?" Lucy asked, trying to guess the time.
Natsu shrugged, not really caring, bringing his hand up to move a lock of hair out of her face.
"Well," Lucy said, frowning in thought. "We should really go find our friends again, don't you think?"
Natsu made a face but moved back enough to let her to stand up straight and glance around at the street again. It was still packed with people, ready to party much later into the night. She figured it'd be busy at least for another couple of hours.
But that didn't mean they needed to party too, and she looked at Natsu's arm in its sling. She'd feel better once they were back at the Hotel, so he'd be able to rest, and she didn't want to keep ditching their friends.
"Come on, we should go find everyone," Lucy said.
Natsu sighed, but he reached down and intertwined his fingers with hers in that way he always did and led her back towards the door they'd come through to get up to the roof.
She gave the city skyline one last appreciative glance, it really was quite breathtaking. She hadn't realized, though, when she first came up here that she'd have her breathe taken away by, uh, other things.
As they neared the door a thought came to Lucy's mind and she was suddenly hesitating. Natsu looked back at her questioningly as she stood frozen, staring at the door.
"Wait, but Natsu, what are we going to tell everyone…?!" Lucy moaned, not knowing where they'd even begin. How could she possibly explain all of this to their friends?! That she and Natsu were suddenly dating?! Or, wait, that they'd been dating for three years? So how long exactly had they been dating and when exactly had it started?!
Natsu looked at her like she was weird.
"Whaddya mean?" He asked.
Lucy stared at him, baffled, "I mean, everything's changed! What are we going to tell them?!"
Natsu snorted, smiling easily, "Nothing's changed, weirdo."
But then he felt uneasy when she didn't smile back. "Or er, I mean, of course! Things, uh… have changed? Uh…"
Lucy watched him for a moment as he seemed to be trying to figure out what to say, and it was just so typical Natsu that she couldn't help snorting in laughter. Soon she was doubled-over and Natsu grinned, not entirely sure why she was laughing but he figured it was a good sign.
She straightened, brushing a tear from her eye, and smiled back at him brightly. All her fear and hesitation was gone, because she realized he was right. Nothing had really changed between them, nothing needed to.
Well, they'd kissed for the first time, and her gut twinged with excitement at where that part of their relationship might lead, but she was still Lucy and he was still Natsu, and just because they were officially dating now didn't mean that needed to change.
Everything would be okay, because he was with her and she was with him. It was them, together, like they'd been before.
"You're right, Natsu," Lucy said, squeezing his hand and stepping up closer to the boy. "Nothing's changed."
"Nice," Natsu said, his grin flashing as he turned back to the door. Everything was perfect again.
By the time Gray had made it to the front doors of Fairy's Fate, much of the conviction he'd felt earlier had dissipated.
The doubts were building up with each step and he was starting to think it through more rationally. After all, it had been an impulsive thought, to suddenly jump up and search out Juvia. There were too many parts that were just unpractical.
Enough time had passed since he'd left Element 4, who's to say she was still there? It'd be silly to expect her to be sitting in the exact same spot. She was her own person with her own schedule, she wasn't just going to wait around for him to come back.
So what, he was going to race all the way back there to not even be able to find her? That was ridiculous.
And then of course he had no way to contact her. He'd given her his number, but she hadn't given him hers, and she hadn't even texted or tried to call him yet. He pulled his phone out to confirm that, no, he didn't have any missed calls or texts from unknown numbers claiming to be Juvia.
That probably meant she didn't even want to contact him.
He sighed as he walked out of Fairy's Fate and looked at the bustling Strip.
He had no way to contact her and no way to find her. Might as well just give up. If she wanted to get in touch with him again, she could. But for now, he might as well accept the fact that Juvia probably wasn't thinking about him anymore.
They'd only met briefly and once he left town on Monday they'd probably never see each other again.
He scolded himself for getting caught up in some wild pipe dream, no doubt caused by the drinks and the fact that it was late.
"Hey man! Did ya have a good time?" a deep voice called and Gray glanced over to see Elfman, who had been walking along the line which still seemed to stretch around the building. It was a popular club after all, even if the Magic Hour was over.
"Yo, man," Gray grunted in greeting as Elfman came over, fist bumping him.
"You're still working?" Gray asked coolly.
"Yes, probably for a couple more hours too," Elfman said, crossing his arms over his chest. "The crowd probably won't die down until at least 4 am."
Gray's eyes widened. "Wow, really? But it's already so late! And it'd already be past three if it wasn't for the Magic Hour."
Elfman's laughter boomed, more than a little amused by the brooding man before him, who seemed to be wearing less articles of clothing than he had when he'd gone inside a little over an hour ago.
"Maybe for you, Gray! But people in Magnolia City like to party! It is Halloween, after all, and it's manly to stay out late!"
Gray snorted, that didn't even make any sense. But Elfman rarely did.
"This is what you needed to do so suddenly?" Levy asked, looking around in bafflement. "Go… mask shopping?"
Gajeel had dragged her into a tiny little costume shop, tucked between two booming clubs right off a broad avenue that was teeming with people. Glancing out the dusty doors she saw a constant stream of fantastical costumes pass by and she couldn't help from smiling a little. It felt good to be back amongst crowds of other people.
But she was truly mystified as she watched the stern man rummage through piles of face masks on one of the crowded shelves. They were the only customers inside the dim shop and the elderly shopkeeper seemed to be dozing slightly at the checkout. The clothes racks were bulging, the shelves overflowing, and the store seemed almost a little too small for how much merchandise had been packed inside.
Levy wondered if this was a costume store all year round, or if it was some kind of cute pop-up, only for Halloween. But with the amount of stuff, it seemed hard to believe it was set up just for this one holiday. Did people here like to dress up all year round?
Gajeel pulled out a fish mask and held it up in front of Levy's face, eyeing her with a serious expression.
"Hmm," he grunted thoughtfully, rubbing his chin as she looked back up at him questioningly through the eyeholes of the mask.
"Do ya think this looks enough like a shrimp?" he deadpanned, with such a serious tone that it took Levy a moment to realize he was mocking her height again and she flushed with annoyance, batting the face mask away as he chuckled.
"Fine! If you insist on cryptically mask shopping, at least let me pick one out myself!" Levy huffed, turning to peruse the masks.
"Suit yerself, Shorty, but make it quick," he grumbled, serious again, and Levy scoffed as she dug through the piles.
"Okay, okay, what about this one?" she asked, holding a blue and orange mask in front of her face, which was shaped to fan out across her face like butterfly wings. Gajeel hardly gave it a glance before snatching it from her to saunter over to the checkout counter, Levy puffing her cheeks in frustration.
"Did it look okay, at least?" she asked as she caught up and Gajeel shrugged in reply, tossing it on the counter, which caused the elderly cashier to startle awake.
Gajeel wasn't about to mention that the mask Levy picked out actually went with her hair quite well, and it made her impossibly large eyes look impossibly larger. But whatever, as long as it did the job it was fine, and they didn't have all night.
"What about you?"
"Eh?" Gajeel grunted, turning to look at Levy as she stared at him, still drowning in his coat. The sight of Levy in his coat did strange things to his stomach, but he'd never in a million years admit it.
She frowned, "Aren't you going to get one for yourself?"
Gajeel snorted. He really didn't need one. Even if he tried to wear a mask in Element 4, most people would know who he was by virtue of his hair and height alone. He was there often enough, it wouldn't do much. But he glanced at another rack of masks by the register and picked one out on a whim, tossing it beside Levy's for the old man to check out.
"A Guy Fawkes mask?" Levy asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"What?" he grunted, distracted as he glared at the old man, frustrated that he seemed to be the slowest cashier in the entire land.
"Ya know," Levy continued. "Guy Fawkes! The Gunpowder Plot! 'Remember, remember! The fifth of November! The gunpowder treason and plot!'"
Gajeel glanced down at her strangely.
"The Anonymous mask?" Levy tried, but his face remained blank and it was enough to make Levy snort with laughter. It was exactly like how he hadn't known what Mean Girls was. Seriously, how was it possible for someone to be so pop culturally illiterate? Did he live under a rock?
"Dunno it," he shrugged, turning back to the cashier who had finally finished ringing the two masks up and was now smiling between Levy and Gajeel with a warm glint in his bright blue eyes.
"Anything else I can get you, dears?" he asked kindly and Gajeel was about to insist that no, they were good, and they really needed to fucking go when he paused, glancing at Levy's arms. They were hidden by the sleeves of his jacket, but he knew her cuts would do better with something other than strips of shirt wrapped around them.
"Actually," he grunted, leaning forward onto the counter. "Do ya got any bandages?"
"Hey Grayyy! This is perfect! We were just about to call you!"
Gray glanced over and noticed Cana and Lisanna, and Natsu and Lucy, all walking out of Fairy's Fate and headed towards where he was chatting with Elfman.
"Little sis!" Elfman cried happily, and Lisanna ran over to give him a friendly hug.
"Did you have a good time?" He asked brightly, and Cana yelled out happily, punching a fist in the air.
"Abso-fucking-lutely! But time to mix up our venue, folks!" she cried, Elfman raising an eyebrow when he noticed the glass in her hands.
"Ya know, Cana, I shouldn't be letting you leave the club with a drink," he said, Cana winking at him mischievously.
"But you wouldn't tell on little old me, would ya?" she chuckled, quickly chugging the drink anyway in case Elfman decided to enforce the rule.
"Cana is right, we're thinking we'll head back to the Hotel!" Lisanna said, smiling up at her brother.
"Say 'Hi' to Mira for me then," he replied and Lisanna nodded happily.
As the siblings were talking, Gray glanced over at Natsu and made eye contact with the man. They hadn't exactly parted on friendly terms, but after a second of glaring at each other silently, Natsu gave him a sharp nod and Gray returned it in kind. And just like that things were good between them again, no need to talk it out.
"Alright, guys, lets get a cab!" Cana said.
"Do you think we should get two?" Lucy asked, looking at the group. "There's five of us, I don't think we can all squeeze into one."
"Hmm," Lisanna nodded sagely, "You're probably right. Unless we sit in the boys' laps," and she winked at Lucy, Lucy's face flushing brightly.
Cana and Lisanna didn't miss a thing, they'd both winked at her profusely when she and Natsu had found them again. And their winks were so dramatically obvious, Lucy wanted to die.
"Huh, but actually," Lisanna said now, looking around thoughtfully. "Anyone know where Jet and Droy are?"
Deep trance music pulsed through Element 4.
Levy felt it sweep through her as she snaked through the crowd after Gajeel. It was dark, people melting in and out of the shadows as they made their way between the different bars and the dancefloor. It was hard for Levy to distinguish faces in the dim lighting, only seeing snatches of color from costumes as they drifted past.
Gajeel had gotten them inside through a small nondescript door in the back and Levy was all the more curious as to why they were there. Before entering he'd insisted on covering her hair with the hood of his jacket, and he'd made her promise not to take the face mask he'd just bought her off. She'd agreed, but rolled her eyes at how dramatic he was being.
Now it seemed like he was leading her towards a small bar under some stairs and she looked around curiously as they neared it.
What could Gajeel have needed to do so suddenly at a club? It'd have to be something pretty important, if he'd been in such a hurry to get there, and especially since he'd initially wanted to ditch her rather than have her come, despite the fact they'd literally just been attacked by active shooters.
Did he need to meet someone? Like a friend? Or… or an ex-lover?
Wait, or a current lover? Levy frowned when she realized she'd never thought about Gajeel's relationship status before. And she chastised herself for thinking of 'ex-lover' first. But Gajeel being in a relationship was a little hard to conceptualize. Granted, he was a person, like any other, so it was a perfectly valid guess: to meet a lover. Of some kind. The thought made her feel a little queasy but she added it anyways to her list of possibilities.
What other reasons might there be?
Maybe he worked here? Did he forget he had to go to work? Levy snorted at the thought of Gajeel as a bartender, serving people drinks. Maybe he was a bouncer? That was easier to visualize, especially after she'd discovered how good he was at fighting. And, uh, how he had such a muscular physique.
Ooh, or maybe he was a drug dealer?! After all, she knew after the fight that he wasn't afraid to dabble in illegal affairs.
The more Levy thought about it, the more it was clear there was still much she didn't know about the mysterious man. It's not like they'd ever had much time for chit chat, whenever they'd run into each other on Halloween.
When they got to the bar Gajeel staked out an empty stool in the corner and before Levy could protest, he'd picked her up by the waist and firmly set her down on it. She pouted, blushing deeply behind her face mask. Even though she was sitting, the stool was tall enough that she was now almost at eye level with him.
He crossed his arms firmly and said, "Stay."
Levy blinked.
"I'm not a dog, Gajeel," she retorted, crossing her own arms and glaring back.
"Don't talk ta anyone," he continued, starting to list off more rules that made Levy's glare deepen.
"And don't take off yer mask."
"Is that all?" Levy asked defiantly, sitting on the edge of her stool. "Need I remind you, Gajeel, once again that I am not a dog?"
"I'll be right back," he grunted, eyes hard, and then he swiveled on the ball of his foot and left, leaving Levy to watch him walk away curiously until he'd disappeared into the crowd.
Once he'd gone, she sighed, deflating backwards to lean against the bar somewhat dejectedly. Well he'd kinda abandoned her anyways, but at least he'd said he'd be back.
She glanced around at the club, taking it all in. In the back of her mind she wondered if they were still safe there, if the gunmen were still trying to chase them. A dark club might be the perfect place for gunmen to sneak into, they'd followed them into the Haunted House after all.
But the surrounding crowds of people helped put Levy's mind at ease. No one would try to shoot her so openly in public, right?
And Gajeel had left her here, so he probably thought it was safe enough. She wanted to trust him.
She'd just have to entertain herself until he came back apparently, and she was already eyeing the many costumes with interest. Halloween was always a fun night for people watching. It really was quite crowded, even though Levy figured it was pretty late.
She had no way to check the time, without having her phone on her, but she imagined they'd probably already fallen back. Was it the Magic Hour right now then? Or had that already happened? It was a bit disorienting, not knowing what time it was. It made her feel even more like she'd walked into the Twilight Zone, a place she often felt like she was whenever she ran into Gajeel.
She hoped at least her friends were having a good night… This would be one hell of a story to tell Lucy. But which parts could she really tell her? How could she ever explain to Lucy who Gajeel was? What role he'd played in the fight? And could she really tell Lucy that she'd just been chased at gunpoint through a Haunted House?
Now that it was over, and she'd had more time to process the panic and fear, she was deeply curious about the why of it all. She wanted to know who they'd been and why they'd been chasing them. Maybe it'd be in the news tomorrow. Or maybe she could get information from the police somehow, on the down-low, even though she knew Gajeel didn't want to get involved with them. Was there a way she could contact them without getting him mixed up in it?
She didn't know how she felt about his involvement in the illegal fight, and she didn't usually condone illegal things, but she was also someone who recognized that there were always two sides to every story. She felt that the law existed with the best of intentions, but in practice it wasn't always perfect. No one usually thought of themselves as the bad guys, even those on the other side of the law. Morality wasn't black and white.
She wanted to be able to research this. It made sense that it might all be connected to the fight, and she figured Gajeel might know more about it than he'd let on. She wanted to ask him more about it, since they'd barely had time to talk once he'd spontaneously decided that something came up.
Once she could get herself cleaned up, and get her life back in order, maybe she could get some serious research done on all of this. Ooh, maybe she could even go to the library tomorrow. She'd heard that the library in Magnolia City was wonderfully large, filled with a glorious selection of books…
Levy was so busy daydreaming about how amazing the Magnolia City Library was supposed to be, she almost didn't notice the question until most of it had already been asked.
"Are you just gonna sit there or would you like to get a drink?"
Gajeel could feel Levy's eyes on his back as he left her at the small bar under the stairs.
He hoped she did ask he'd asked. She was so small, she should be okay as long as she stayed put and kept the hood up and kept her mask on and didn't talk to anyone and hopefully no one would notice her or try to talk to her…
He growled as he stepped up to the silvery doors of an elevator. It was honestly a straight shit plan, but he hadn't had time to take her anywhere else. Hopefully he could finish up with the Master quickly and then they could get the fuck out of there.
His stomach twisted in concern as he walked into the elevator, the doors sliding shut behind him and cutting off the noise of the club. Gajeel punched in the security passcode that would give him access to the upper floors.
Why the hell was Master José looking for him so suddenly?
Gajeel clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to force down the powerful emotions he'd been feeling all night so he could be calm and collected when he had to face José.
Never show weakness.
Just keep breathin'.
He started running through the facts to get his thoughts in order.
Erik had been the only one to see Levy at the Dragon's Den. Gajeel didn't think he had much to worry about there, though. The man didn't work for José, he only frequented the Dragon's Den because his girlfriend, Kinana, worked there.
Then he'd snuck Levy out of the Dragon's Den and they'd been followed. He still wasn't sure who'd followed them, it'd been an unmarked car, and he was fairly certain he'd lost them…
Then the cops had opened fire at the docks. They'd ditched the car outside the Haunted House. It was riddled with gunshots so the police would definitely take notice of it, but luckily since he'd stolen it first it wasn't tied to him. He'd smudged his prints, and gotten his duffle out, so there was just the possibility of DNA.
But in reality DNA testing could take several weeks or months. The police were too bogged down with red tape and paperwork to get anything done quickly. They simply didn't have the budget for it. That was plenty of time to find an alibi. Even if his DNA was found in the car, it wasn't a concrete link to a crime.
He'd stashed his bag behind a wooden coffin in the Haunted House, when running with it had gotten annoying. That shouldn't be an issue though, the police would assume it was used as a prop bag by the people running the Haunted House. Same for Levy's cloak, it'd just go into Lost and Found. They'd assume one of the guests had lost it.
So then there was the cop he'd killed. Well dead men tell no tales, right? No biggie. And even though he'd taken the man's gun with him, he could always safely dispose of it later. It was shoved in his pocket right now, where he'd moved it after he'd given Levy his coat.
He was confident that there was no way Levy could be physically linked to any of this. She didn't even live in Magnolia City, and he figured she'd never done a single illegal thing in her life so she probably didn't even have a file.
But the biggest hole, as far as he could see, was the woman in the Haunted House. Man, he'd been an idiot for letting her live. Eye witness accounts would be what would fuck them up the most, especially if anyone else he wasn't aware of had seen Levy with him.
The elevator doors slid open with a ding and Gajeel walked out swiftly into the dark red hallway that led to Master José's office on the fifth floor.
As he walked, he worked on focusing his mind and setting his face to his signature iron cast.
Never show weakness.
Just keep breathin'.
It was as if every interaction he'd ever had with Master José had prepared him for this, this moment when he was actually feeling scared about something for the first time in his life. More than ever, he couldn't afford to let the Master find out about anything.
He just needed to figure out what the man knew, and if he was lucky this was all just about the fight.
He approached the two ominously large doors that led into Master José's opulent office and with one last deep breath, he pushed them open to saunter in.
José was seated at his desk, his elbows on the surface in front of him and his hands held in front of his face. His eyes were dark as Gajeel approached and as always, he felt like a tiny little bug under the Master's menacing gaze, ready to be squashed at any second.
He focused on his breath, stopping halfway across the room and crossing his arms in front of his chest, glaring back as he always did, trying to act nonchalant. But the worry was creeping its tendrils through his mind because right next to the Master's desk, leaning against it and glaring sharply back at Gajeel, was fucking Totomaru.
Fuck, he'd run into Totomaru when he'd been sneaking Levy out of the Dragon's Den.
"Welcome, Gajeel, so good of you to finally join us," José sneered, no doubt chastising him for being late. Gajeel didn't react, just shifted his glare between the two men before him.
He felt confident he could get through this, but it was José's next words that sent a new spike of fear through his gut.
"Tell us, Gajeel, what was in your bag?"
A/N
Hey guys :)
So this chapter was originally going to be twice as long, but it started getting really hard for me to write, just very cumbersome and over 20k words, so I split it up to get an update out sooner. Good news is, that means I'm pretty far ahead on the next chapter, and I'm hoping to start updating more regularly again!
Happy New Year btw! I hope 2021 is going well for you all so far!
I had a Levy moment last month: I was housesitting for some folks, and I know there are women who live/have lived there normally, but I got my period and couldn't find a single tampon in the entire place. I searched all the bathrooms and NADA. Maybe this is the karma I deserve after putting Levy through so much.
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"And it's hard lookin' fer someone so small, so don't leave my side."
An obvious reference to that SUPER ADORABLE SCENE ON TENROU ISLAND, EPISODE 101 OF THE ANIME, WHEN GAJEEL SAVES LEVY FROM THOSE GRIMOIRE HEART GUYS.
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For LoTR and The Hobbit nerds, I've put a couple references in so far:
1. Chapter 9, Jet and Droy end up in The Prancing Blue Pegasus, which was a reference to The Prancing Pony, an inn in Bree.
2. This current Chapter, Levy's thinking about how journeys are unexpected, and the first Hobbit movie title is An Unexpected Journey. Pretty obvious, considering she thinks that after wishing she was a LoTR character for Halloween. Dude, I wish I was a LoTR character all the time, let me live in Rivendell, pls.
Even in Chapter 4, when Levy is thinking about "the promise of an adventure, the open road ahead," I was definitely thinking about all those wanderlust quotes from LoTR.
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And thank you as always for reviewing! I love hearing from you!~
rao hyuga 18 – Thank you so much! I'm glad it was too good to split, I felt bad it was so long. This chapter was starting to get just as big, at over 20k words. When they get that big I find it much harder to edit. But luckily this one was easier to split up, and I've got a lot of the next part already written. Hahaha yeaahhh the three years bit is def a bit much xD Thanks as always for sticking around and reading, hope your new year is going okay!
Amanny – Yay, I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for reading! It did seem pretty quick because it was all in one chapter, but there will probably be some more development as they get a sense of their new relationship throughout the rest of the story.
Firiare – No worries, there's no way I'm abandoning this. I'm far too in love with it myself to leave it unfinished. Gajevy are def my OTP too!
Guest on Dec 4th – Haha I'm glad you enjoyed reading it twice :)
piranha pk – You're right, about the random meetings! I honestly didn't even think about that until you pointed it out. I remember now there was that scene in Monster when Gajeel helps Levy as she's struggling to take out the trash. At the time when I read that I was working a min. wage job at an ice cream shop, and I would think about it when I had to take the trash out late at night. This is making me want to re-read Monster ! I added a shout out to it at the beginning of this story, because I think she deserves it and I'm more than happy to give MsKtK the recognition. Anyone who likes this would probably like Monster too.
I'm a sucker for bad guy turns good stories too, anyone who likes Gajevy is probably the same. I know the ship can get some crap because of how Gajeel attacked Levy when he's first introduced, but I think his insane character development is quite sweet. Thanks so much for reading and supporting me! I feel like the Fairy Tail community isn't as big as it used to be, I haven't been able to find as many new Gajevy stories recently either. Toni Morrison said, "If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." I have a lot of respect for her.
Lucy H Lover – I'm glad you loved it! ^.^ Thanks!
Guest on Dec 13th – Thank you! Hahaha that's been me so many nights, staying up shamelessly late reading fanfiction xD
Galven – Thank you! Yes, I'm trying to add lots of references to previous chapters as I go, and throughout the story I've been including details that are yet to turn up again later. Haha I thought what happened with Jet and Droy was kind of funny.
PinkPolkaDot – I've worked full time in food service, so idk what kinda work you do at the market, but I understand what it's like to work in a potentially similar industry full time! The only reason I have time to write this rn is because I'm not working full time atm. (haha not sure if that's really a good thing, ack) I'm glad you were able to finish it! Thank you so much, I'm glad you think it all goes together well and makes sense, hope you liked this one too! ^.^
Guest on Jan 22nd – Thank you! Thanks for your words of encouragement and thanks for sticking around!
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Cheers, everyone! Have a wonderful rest of your week!~