Eventually, you always have to
Wake Up
Sunday, November 1st, 2020
-Magnolia City-
Levy was having the most pleasant dream.
She was wrapped in a golden cloud of warmth. Soft tendrils of starlight embraced her as she slept, entwining themselves about her body and limbs. She felt safe, cozy, tucked in, and warm, oh so warm - hot, even, almost hot.
And more than anything there was that smell. The scent that was deep and heady, like leather, but almost spicy, and slightly metallic, it wound its way up her sinuses in the most pleasant way. She inhaled deeply as morning light tickled its way under her eyelids, its warmth dusting her cheek.
She sighed and dug her nose further into the pillow.
The more she breathed, the more aware she became of the way her chest expanded and contracted with each breath. How the air travelled into her lungs, how the scent travelled into her thoughts, how it stirred up her stomach with the thrill of certain memories with a certain someone.
She began to feel an ache inside her, a need.
She smiled, her eyes closed, and rolled over, nuzzling further into the source of the smell, wanting more.
"Gajeel?" she hummed softly, her eyes closed as she sought out his warmth.
She wrapped her arms around him, pulling herself into him, inhaling deeply. Her stomach stirred, she wanted more. She wanted to be closer. She ran her fingers over his chest, trailing them down the curve of his waist, and she almost felt his fingers as they ran through her hair, tugging at her chin to angle it up towards him, eagerly she leaned forward, wanting to feel him, wanting to be close and-
Levy sat up with a gasp, blinking as she glanced around the room.
It took a moment for her breathing to even out again and slowly she realized that she was alone in the bedroom, a bright patch of sunlight shining on the wall through the window over her head. She glanced down, seeing that she'd been practically humping a pillow in her sleep and she blushed bright crimson before the hard truth finally set in.
She was alone.
Gajeel had left, like he did every year, and Levy was all alone.
She swallowed hard, wondering why she suddenly felt like crying.
She should've seen this coming, right?
It was like it was every year – he showed up when she needed him most, on Halloween at the Midnight Hour. He helped her to safety, and then he left.
He'd told her himself he was a Devil, right? Why had she thought this time would be any different?
The night had been a crazy, wild series of events but whether it'd all been a dream or a nightmare…
"-sooner or later, Levy, you always have to wake up," she said, whispering to herself in the cold silence of the room.
Her head hurt from the drinking and she swallowed thickly, distinctly aware that she'd fallen asleep without brushing her teeth. Her face felt grubby and she glanced down at herself.
The bright light of the morning made her feel naked, in nothing but last night's clothes.
She hadn't the faintest clue what to do about anything else but she decided, first thing's first, she needed to clean herself up.
She slipped from the bed and padded barefoot to the chest of drawers in the corner. He wouldn't mind if she borrowed a shirt, right? She felt embarrassingly exposed in nothing but a sports bra, that skimpy skirt of hers riding up.
Hesitantly she tugged open one of the drawers and glanced through the disheveled mess inside, pulling out a plain black t-shirt and slipping it over her head. It was almost like a dress, falling to her knees and obscuring the skirt.
She swallowed, wondering if this was worse. It almost looked like she wasn't wearing anything at all underneath…
A noise from the other room made her spin around, heart pounding in her chest, and she realized it'd been the sound of the front door opening and closing, and now she heard footsteps in the kitchen.
Her mind raced. Was it Gajeel? Maybe he hadn't actually left, like she'd thought? Obviously he wasn't actually a Devil, right? He wouldn't actually disappear, just because it was no longer Halloween?
She swallowed thickly, her heart racing with the nerves. Part of her desperately wanted it to be him, but part of her was terrified if it was. Could she face him, after everything that had happened last night? She was blushing already from the memories of the kiss, and getting drunk. God, she'd been such a mess!
She poked her head out the bedroom and hesitantly traversed the hall, but when she saw the figure in the kitchen she froze with new terror.
An icy shiver ran down her spine when she met eyes with the man in Gajeel's kitchen because he was extremely muscular, ridiculously tall, and most definitely not Gajeel.
"I just liked the way it smelled."
"My bed?"
"Sure," Natsu shrugged. "But then you kicked me out-,"
"Quite literally," Lucy chuckled, and Natsu winced at the memory of one of Lucy's powerful kicks.
They were snuggled up under the covers of the hotel bed, having woken up together, their noses almost touching.
Now that he'd brought it up, Lucy remembered how often Natsu had snuck into her bed in the first couple years of college. She'd always been mortified, for one because she shared the room with Levy, but also because it just felt so… intimate. She felt herself blushing again by habit.
But this must've been what he'd been referring to last night, when they'd been on the roof of Fairy's Fate. When he'd told her he thought they were moving slow because she'd said one time she needed space. She remembered now saying that exact thing every time she'd found him in her bed, yelling at him for invading her space. He hadn't done that in a while, but he still had the habit of entering her room from the window, something she'd realized over the years she'd just need to live with. She supposed Levy had gotten used to it, too.
She sighed, fluttering her eyes shut and inched closer to the man, pressing her forehead against his.
When he'd talked about coming to bed last night, it turned out he'd really only intended to sleep. Which was perfectly fine with her, any thoughts of… anything more made her stomach twist with uneasiness. It wasn't that she didn't want to but, maybe not quite yet…
Cuddling was more than enough for now. Just being close to him was more than enough for now. It was the best feeling in the world.
A loud banging on the door interrupted her peaceful thoughts and Lucy yelped in surprise, glancing over at it.
"NATSU!" someone shouted, banging on the other side. Natsu groaned and Lucy glanced over at him, her heart racing from the surprise.
"NATSU! WAKE UP! GET OUT HERE! NOW!"
"What?!" Lucy whispered frantically, pulling the sheets up to her chin and turning to him, flustered. "Who in the world is that?! What is going on?!"
"Ugh," Natsu groaned, glaring at the door. "GO AWAY!" he shouted back, but the person on the other side only grew more agitated.
"NATSU! GET OUT OF BED THIS INSTANT AND GET OUT HERE! YOU HAVE FIVE SECONDS OR I WILL BREAK THIS DOOR DOWN AND COME GET YOU MYSELF!"
"Natsu?! Who is it?! What do they want?!" Lucy whispered.
"ONE!"
Natsu groaned again, covering his face with a pillow.
"TWO!"
"NATSU?!" Lucy whispered furiously, tugging at the pillow in his hands.
"THREE!"
"Natsu, maybe we should just open the door!"
"FOUR!"
"No! Just ignore it, she won't actually break the door down," Natsu whined, and Lucy glanced between him and the door, flabbergasted.
"FIVE! NATSU! LAST WARNING, I'M COMING IN!"
Lucy yelped as a loud noise came from the door and then suddenly Natsu was wrapping her in blankets and pushing her off the other side of the bed, such that when she fell she was hidden from the mysterious intruder.
"Natsu! Get up!"
Lucy heard the door click open and someone strode in.
She poked her head out of the blanket burrito Natsu had wrapped her in to listen breathlessly, heart pounding in her chest, hair awry.
"Good morning to you too, Erza," Natsu replied, and Lucy grinned as she heard the yawn in his voice.
"Master Makarov wants to see you. Now," the woman said firmly and Natsu groaned again.
"Come ooon, it's so early," Natsu complained, but Erza didn't seem to care about the time and Lucy listened as Natsu yelped, presumably being dragged from the bed by the mysterious woman.
"Let me change at least!" Natsu yelled, but all Lucy heard was a brief scuffle, then another yelp on Natsu's part, and then the sharp sound of the door slamming shut. Then silence.
She shuffled onto her knees and poked her head up above the edge of the bed, glancing around the room. The sheets were a mess, with one looking like it'd been dragged halfway across the room to the door, but the room was empty.
Lucy sighed, eyes wide. What in the world was that? But she found herself chuckling.
He'd said, Erza? So… the woman with scarlet hair she'd met in the lobby yesterday? She shook her head, wondering what the old man Makarov could possibly want with Natsu so early in the morning, but she figured he was probably fine. He'd said the man was like a grandfather to him, right? Practically family.
So she shrugged and untangled herself from the blankets, standing with a stretch.
She yawned. She supposed she should get cleaned up. And then she should get a new room key, for herself and Levy. And coffee. She should definitely find some coffee.
She hummed, moving to the bathroom, her sights set on a nice hot shower. She supposed Natsu would be back when the Master was done with whatever he needed from the man.
"-ayy. Pst, Grayyy."
Gray frowned, wrinkling his nose. He turned his head in his sleep, trying to ignore the voice tugging at his consciousness, but it was harder to ignore the finger poking into his side and with a grumble he opened his eyes, wincing in the light.
"Good morning, Sleepy Head," said an amused voice and Gray blinked in confusion before he registered the bleary image of Mira, leaning over where he lay on the couch. He sat up, rubbing his eyes, and glanced around. He must've fallen asleep on one of the topaz blue couches last night. He was still in the lounge he'd found, with the pleasant Jazz music.
He scratched his head, a little embarrassed while Mira chuckled in amusement.
"Fun night?" she asked, eyeing his bare chest, and he glared at her.
"I suppose," he said. "Hey, what time is it?" he asked, and she hummed, glancing at her phone.
"A little past nine?"
He nodded, realizing he should check his own phone and glanced around the couch, finding it stuck between two of the cushions.
"My brother said he saw you guys last night," Mira said, smiling at him brightly.
Gray shrugged, "Sure, we spent some time at Fairy's Fate."
"Not too hungover, I hope? I heard the Magic Hour got a little wild," she winked.
"Uh, I didn't have too much to drink so… I guess I can handle my alcohol pretty well, anyways," he said, scanning through his notifications.
"Ahh, lucky you," Mira said. "Well I hope you and your friends will stick around tonight though," she continued, and Gray glanced at her, before back at his phone.
"Eh? And why's that?" he asked absentmindedly, re-reading the last couple messages he'd exchanged with Juvia the night before.
"Well today is the Day of the Dead, don't you know? The big events were at Fairy's Fate last night, with the Magic Hour, but there's a Masquerade Ball tonight here at the Casino, for the Day of the Dead."
Gray glanced up at her, then back at his phone. He figured Cana and Lisanna and the rest of the girls had probably already known about this. He shrugged.
"Sure, yeah, I bet we'll stick around for it. But a Masquerade? I didn't bring a mask."
"Not a problem, there will be extras. It'll be fun!"
"Sure, yeah," Gray said, moving to stand, and he stretched.
"I should go take a shower. Thanks for waking me up."
And Mira nodded cheerfully, waving as he left.
Gray didn't care too much about what they all did, he'd always been fine with just going along with whatever his friends wanted to do. But as he re-read the last messages he'd exchanged with Juvia the night before, he couldn't keep from smiling a bit.
Sure, he'd probably end up at the Masquerade with his friends. But there was still an entire day ahead of them. And in the meantime, he had plans.
Lily was having the strangest day and it was all because of Gajeel.
It'd started with a text from the man at 5 AM, asking what size clothing Wendy wore.
He'd scratched his head, blinking blearily at the text, when Shagotte had sighed softly in her sleep and he'd rolled out of bed quietly, kissing her on the brow before leaving their room, not wanting to wake her.
'Idk, small?' he'd replied, before asking, 'Y?'
Gajeel had meant Wendy Marvell, right? The young girl who sometimes volunteered for Porlyusica?
The old witch was the go-to doctor for the men at the gym. She was crotchety and had quite the temper, but she could patch up almost anything, as if there was magic in her fingertips. Well, as long as you didn't offend her first, and get beaten up worse than you'd been before.
But what the hell was Gajeel asking about Wendy Marvell for? At 5 AM on a Sunday?
Lily's curiosity was never sated since Gajeel never replied, and he was forced to shrug it off, going to the kitchen to make an early morning protein shake and get ready to go to the gym. Just Gajeel being weird, he supposed.
But then he'd gotten to the gym and things had gotten weirder.
He'd immediately run into Gajeel but before he could say "Hello" or "Good morning" or ask "Why did you want to know what size clothing Wendy Marvell wears" Gajeel had looked him dead in the eye and asked if it looked like he had a dead body in his gym bag.
Lily had eyed the bag with confusion, and no small amount of concern, which was flung over his friend's shoulders and bulging at odd angles.
"I suppose?" he'd responded, to which Gajeel had grunted as if satisfied.
"But… there isn't actually one… right?" Lily had asked, just to be sure, and Gajeel had shook his head nonchalantly, grunting, "nah, boxin' supplies."
"….Huh," Lily had said, completely dumbfounded.
But then, to Lily's disbelief, things had gotten even weirder.
Gajeel had turned to him with a look Lily had never seen before and, to Lily's shock, had asked him for a favor.
Lily had always made it known to Gajeel that if he needed anything, he'd be there for him. He'd always offered to help the man, in any way he might need, whenever he needed it. But despite constantly telling him this, Gajeel had always shrugged him off. He'd never actually taken Lily up on it and he'd certainly never asked him for a favor.
At that moment, he couldn't've fathomed how anything could be weirder than that, but now, as he stood in Gajeel's kitchen and stared wide-eyed at the petite bluenette who had just wandered out of Gajeel's bedroom, he truly wondered if he was actually still asleep and this entire morning had all been a dream.
Because… what in the world?!
Levy felt like she couldn't breathe again.
She was starting to panic, heart pounding in her chest, mind racing as she stared back at the strange man in Gajeel's kitchen, who looked just as surprised to see her as she was to see him.
Who the hell was this? What was he doing in Gajeel's apartment?! Was he another gunman?! Had the people chasing them last night finally found them?! Or no, was he Gajeel's roommate, maybe? Or, did Gajeel not exist at all, and she'd ended up in some random stranger's apartment?! Was she actually crazy?!
Levy felt like she was going insane, her mind whirling through an endless list of possibilities, but the man seemed to have regained his composure and now he was eyeing her with worry, seeing that she was starting to hyperventilate from shock.
"Woah, it's alright," he said, holding his hands up in a placating gesture. "Where are my manners? My name is Lily! I'm a friend of Gajeel's. He sent me, I'm sorry to have scared you!"
Levy frowned, processing this. A friend of Gajeel's?
"Oh, wait, he told me to tell you something, so you'd know for sure that he'd sent me. Let's see, what was it exactly…"
Levy's frown deepened suspiciously. She and Gajeel had never agreed upon any safe words or phrases. How could she trust this strange man?
"Let's see, he told me you'd recognize your three friends: a mean girl, an angel, and a hood rat, in that order. He said the order mattered. Does this… mean anything to you?"
Lily watched the petite bluenette curiously as she seemed to be thinking.
When Gajeel had asked him to do this favor earlier that morning, he'd figured it had something to do with Phantom Lord. After all, it was all around peculiar: pick someone up from my apartment and help 'em get where they need ta go.
As long as he'd known Gajeel, the other man had never been very social. Lily couldn't imagine him with too much of a life outside of Phantom Lord and the gym. The illegal organization simply took up too much of his time, and any of it that he had leftover he spent whacking away at punching bags with Lily.
So naturally, if Gajeel was asking a favor of him and it didn't have to do with the gym, he'd assumed it had to do with his job. But he also trusted Gajeel, and he knew that even if this favor was somehow connected to Phantom Lord or Jose, he trusted that Gajeel deemed it safe for Lily to do. He didn't think Gajeel would ever ask anything dangerous of him.
Which is why he'd readily agreed to do it, even if it was all-around mysterious and possibly related to Gajeel's line of work.
But now, he wasn't so sure. How could this small girl possibly have anything to do with Jose or his illegal activities? The thought seemed a bit ridiculous to the large man.
But if she didn't, then what in the world was she doing in Gajeel's apartment? In one of his shirts? With embarrassment, Lily found himself wondering if this girl was possibly… that is to say, if she and Gajeel were possibly…
Well, frankly he was starting to wonder as to the nature of their relationship. Although he supposed, given how weird everything was already, maybe he wouldn't be surprised at this point if it turned out she was a ruthless killer, or another one of Jose's henchmen. Who knew?
Gajeel had said he didn't have enough time to take care of this himself, which is why he'd been asking Lily for the favor. But Lily eyed the disheveled girl, with curiosity and confusion and no small amount of sadness. He noticed the bandages on her arms and it made him frown.
Sure, Gajeel was often busy with his work, but Lily couldn't help from wondering if the other man was simply… running away. He sighed, and crossed his arms over his chest. What had this poor girl been through?
She was frowning in thought, and then a realization seemed to come across her face and she puffed her cheeks out in frustration.
"Stupid Gajeel!" she exclaimed, in a way that made Lily chuckle. Well it certainly seemed like she knew his friend, in one way or another. The man could certainly be stupid.
Levy felt a blush beginning to creep up her neck.
She'd realized he was referring to her Halloween costumes, each year they'd met. The first year she'd told him she was dressed as a character from the movie Mean Girls, and the second year she'd been dressed as an angel. But the third year she hadn't been trying to dress up as anything at all! She'd just thrown on a hoodie to go to the convenience store and he was calling her a hood rat?! That jerk!
"I take it that means something to you, then?" Lily asked, smiling warmly at the girl and she eyed him, still a bit suspicious, but nodded.
No one other than her friends would've known what she'd worn each year for Halloween. And not even Lucy knew what she wore when she'd run into Gajeel at the convenience store last year.
She supposed then that Gajeel really had sent this man, because how else would he have known that information, if Gajeel had not told him himself? And it didn't seem like the mysterious man knew much else about the 'friends' Gajeel had mentioned, he didn't seem to understand it at all.
She felt she could breathe easier now, but she still had no idea who this man was. And she couldn't deny that she was also sad to hear that Gajeel had left. He really had left her, eventually…
"Can I ask your name?" the man asked politely, and Levy blinked.
"Ah, I'm sorry, I'm Levy. It's… nice to meet you… Lily."
"Likewise," he said, smiling warmly, and Levy found herself smiling back. He certainly seemed like a gentleman. Surprising, considering Gajeel. She'd never much considered what kinds of people Gajeel might be friends with, but she wouldn't have expected someone like this.
Well, but she supposed the man was tall and muscular, he obviously worked out. That made sense.
"Before I forget, he also asked me to give you this," Lily said, proffering a small duffle that had been at his feet before setting it down on the kitchen table.
Levy eyed it curiously.
"What's in it?" she asked, moving over to the table and Lily shrugged.
"I have no idea, he just asked me to give it to you."
"Huh," she hummed, zipping it open and peering inside.
On top was the jacket Gajeel had lent her multiple times last night and she blushed, glancing up at the other man. He shrugged and she pulled it out, setting it to the side.
Underneath she found some clothing shoved in and she pulled out a dress, holding it up in confusion. It was tiny, far too small for her, and she noticed the tags read that it was a child's small.
Beside her Lily snorted with laughter and she glanced at him again, altogether confused.
"Now it makes sense, why Gajeel was asking me what size clothing Wendy wears!" Lily said, chuckling.
"Who is Wendy?" Levy asked.
"She's an acquaintance of ours, she does volunteer work for a friend."
"How old is Wendy?" Levy asked darkly and Lily couldn't keep the bemused smirk from his face.
"Twelve."
"Ugh! That stupid jerk! Is he calling me a child?!" Levy said, tossing the dress onto the table with the jacket, and quickly pawing through the remaining clothes, getting more and more annoyed to discover they were all ridiculously too small.
Okay she knew she wasn't as curvy as most other women, but seriously? He just assumed she was as small as a twelve year old? Levy's cheeks burned with embarrassment as the man beside her laughed, but also, underneath it all, her stomach twisted with uneasy sadness. Did he think of her as a child? Had he been disgusted last night, when she'd kissed him? And is that why he'd left?
She was so caught up with these thoughts that she didn't fully consider how it was also thoughtful of him, to have gotten her something to wear since she'd lost her cloak last night and her shirt had been ruined.
She didn't have shoes anymore, either, and underneath the clothes she found a pair of black boots that looked like miniature versions of the ones Gajeel wore.
She frowned in anguish, prepared to read that they were a child's size too, but was altogether flabbergasted to discover they were exactly her size.
"Are those too small, also?" the tall man asked, amused, and Levy shook her head in wonder.
"What the hell?! No! They're not! They're exactly my size! A Woman's 6.5! How the hell could he think I'd fit child's clothes, but then he knew my shoe size perfectly?! Does he think I'm some sort of child with massive feet?!"
Lily guffawed as Levy's cheeks burned, angry and annoyed and thoroughly confused.
She glanced down at the duffle again, and she was about to start shoving everything back in when her hand grazed the corner of a box and she tugged it out, wondering what could possibly be next.
It was small, about the size of a small book, and Levy flipped it over in her hands curiously before her eyes widened in shock.
"…What the hell?" she gasped and Lily peered down at it curiously.
It was the newest model of a certain famous phone brand. She didn't keep up with tech, but she knew this had been released a couple weeks ago, it'd been a big deal. These phones cost thousands.
"Wait, no way, this has to be a prank…" Levy muttered, turning the box over in her hands, but it was plastic wrapped and factory sealed, and her heart thumped, realizing it was real. Gajeel had really just bought her the most expensive phone on the market, and just thrown it into a duffle bag with children's clothes for her…
Yeah, sure, she'd lost her phone last night and she figured Gajeel had known that but this… this was too much, wasn't it? She couldn't possibly accept this.
She glanced up at Lily in shock and he seemed surprised as well, but simply shrugged again.
"Well, money has never mattered much to Gajeel," he said.
"But can he afford this?! How can I accept this?!" Levy gasped, glancing around the man's apartment. It wasn't very flashy. It was totally normal. But now she was remembering the car he'd been driving a year ago, how sophisticated he'd looked in his suit. Was he some kind of secret millionaire, and she'd never even known?!
"I'd imagine that in Gajeel's… line of work…" Lily said, scratching the side of his head awkwardly, "Money isn't a big deal for him. He just isn't someone who'd want to flaunt it, he's never really cared about that kind of thing."
"Gajeel's line of work?" Levy asked, meeting Lily's eyes questioningly.
Lily glanced back, uncertain.
"Levy, do you… not know what Gajeel does for work?"
She shook her head and Lily realized that answered the question he'd been mulling over earlier, about whether this favor of Gajeel's had anything to do with Phantom Lord. He supposed now that it did not, but that didn't make this woman being in his apartment any less mysterious.
"How long have you known him?" he asked curiously, and Levy bit her lip, thinking.
"Well we met years ago but… I suppose I've also only known him a couple of days…" she said, and Lily blinked in confusion.
"Hmm? How did you meet?"
"Uh, it was an accident, really, in Hargeon. I was lost and there were these men… and well, Gajeel randomly showed up and helped me out. It was on Halloween, actually…"
"Hargeon Town?" Lily asked and Levy nodded.
"Well, I suppose he has been sent there, on occasion," Lily mused and it was Levy's turn to eye him curiously.
"'Sent there'?" She asked. "What does that mean? Does that mean he was there for work? Do you know what he does for work, Lily?"
Lily hesitated.
On the one hand, it seemed dangerous for Levy to be mixed up with Gajeel when she didn't know he worked for a dangerous and illegal crime organization. And she was certainly mixed up with him in some way, given that she was in his apartment and wearing one of his shirts. Lily didn't think anyone other than himself and Juvia even knew where Gajeel lived, he was usually quite secretive about these things.
But on the other hand, it wasn't his place to be telling people about Gajeel… And maybe the man had his reasons for not telling her? Lily wasn't sure, but he didn't think it was his place to say anything.
"I'm afraid, Levy, that it's not my place to say. Gajeel will have to tell you himself."
Levy frowned deeply, wondering what that possibly meant.
But would she ever even see Gajeel again, anyways? Given their prior track record, she'd have to wait until Midnight on Halloween of next year, if she had any hope of seeing the mysterious man again. He'd left, after all. She swallowed thickly.
"I-," Levy started, but just then a loud growl could be heard in the room and Lily couldn't help from laughing as Levy blushed, clutching her stomach.
She glanced down and for the first time also fully realized what she was wearing, her blush deepening. Oh man, and her hair! She probably looked like some tramp, with bed head, wearing Gajeel's shirt! How embarrassing!
"Are you hungry?" Lily asked kindly, turning around to poke through Gajeel's cupboards. "Let's see if we can scrounge up something edible from this grumpy metal dragon's kitchen, hm?"
"Uh, if you don't mind, Lily, I uh, I think I might wash up first..."
"Sure thing," Lily said, smiling back at her politely.
Levy nodded then retreated back into the hall, grabbing the duffle off the table as she went. She had no idea if the annoying clothing he'd gotten her would fit, but first things first she desperately needed a hot shower. And she needed to do something about her hair… ugh!
Gray knocked on the door of the hotel room he shared with Natsu, but as soon as he did it swung inwards, apparently not having been fully closed.
"Natsu?" he called, poking his head into the room. The bed was a mess but the room was empty, and he could hear sounds from the bathroom.
Figuring Natsu was in the shower and that Lucy must've gone back to the room she shared with Levy, he sauntered into the room and tugged off the remainder of his clothes.
"Natsu, I'm comin' in!" he hollered, and pushed open the bathroom door, intent on taking a shower next.
But before he could process anything a loud shriek pierced his eardrums and he fell over backwards, staggering into the bed, a shampoo bottle slamming into his face.
The bathroom door slammed shut and Gray was left rubbing his nose, blushing fiercely as he realized he'd been wrong. That had definitely not been Natsu. Shit!
Lily had managed to find the ingredients for pancakes, despite the fact that Gajeel's fridge was practically barren, and by the time Levy had showered and dried her hair she could smell a delicious scent wafting from the kitchen.
The shower had been wonderful, leaving her rejuvenated and refreshed. Her stomach twisted a bit from the smell of his shampoo, which she'd hesitated to use at first, but there'd been nothing else. She could close her eyes and place just how it was a part of his scent, like the way his sheets had smelled like him, and even the way his towels smelled a bit like him.
She had to hurry when she dried herself off, so as to not get too distracted by it. Her cheeks were flushed, but it was probably from the warm water.
None of the clothes he'd gotten her fit, so with much embarrassment Levy slipped his shirt back on, this time tucking it into the skirt so it didn't look like she was naked underneath.
That blasted skirt was the only article of clothing that had survived the night, which kind of pissed her off, but she figured there was some kind of amusement to it.
She poked her head back into the kitchen and Lily smiled at her warmly as he flipped a pancake. He seemed like such a gentleman, such a polar opposite from Gajeel, but she smiled back warmly as she realized she was beginning to like the other man immensely.
"Pancakes?" she asked, and Lily nodded.
"It's a bit of an experiment, since I couldn't find everything I'd normally use, but I pride myself as a skilled chef," he said with a wink and Levy giggled. "If they go as planned, they should have a nice pumpkin flavor."
"I'm sure they'll be great! Everything smells amazing."
"Thank you," Lily said smugly, and Levy moved about the kitchen, looking for plates and silverware.
They found themselves falling into an easy atmosphere with each other, chatting warmly over breakfast. Levy discovered that Lily had known Gajeel for many years, ever since Gajeel had been a young teen at the gym. Lily told her hilarious stories of his rambunctious youth and Levy found her stomach hurting from laughter.
She was starting to develop a fuller image of the mysterious Devil, in a way that made him seem more real. It's not that she'd actually thought we was a Devil, haunting her on Halloween, but she'd known so little about him over the years that it was nice to finally be learning more, especially from someone who was clearly his close friend.
She smiled back at Lily brightly, thankful that they'd had this chance to meet.
"So, tell me about yourself, Lily," she said now, leaning forward to grab another pancake from the middle.
"What would you like to know?" he asked, smiling mischievously and she hummed in thought.
"Well, what do you do for work? I-," she said, pausing awkwardly. "I know you said Gajeel should tell me what he does himself, but what about you? Do you… work in the same field?"
"Nah," Lily said, with a shake of his head, and part of Levy was a bit disappointed. In a way she'd been hoping to get some clues from the man, but she was definitely still interested either way.
"I'm a veterinarian," he said, smiling when she widened her eyes in surprise. She hadn't really been expecting that. "At the zoo," he continued. "That's actually how I got my nickname, 'Panther Lily,' since I work predominantly with large cats."
"Wow, that's so interesting! How did you get into that?!"
"It's just something I always wanted to do," he said, shrugging. "I have a bit of a military background and I suppose I did well for myself there, but it wasn't something I wanted to stick with, especially after I met my wife," he smiled. "Her name is Shagotte."
Levy smiled, sipping her coffee. "How did you two meet?" she asked.
"It's a long story," he said, winking. "But I suppose you could trace it back to that military background I talked about. Now we like to lead a quiet life, we have a couple of cats. It might surprise you, but Gajeel is actually a cat person, himself. He loves them."
"Oh?" Levy asked, raising an eyebrow at that. She was learning so much about him today. Who would've thought he had a soft spot for cats, as well?
"So how about yourself?" Lily asked and Levy looked at him questioningly. "Are you dating anyone?" Lily elaborated, with a twinkle in his eye, and Levy blushed.
"No, not at all," she said, shaking her head. "I'm still in college! I don't have time for that!"
Lily nodded, but almost as if he didn't entirely believe her and Levy caught him glancing at the shirt she was wearing. She blushed more deeply.
"Wait, it's-! It's really not like that, b-between Gajeel and I!" she said, suddenly flustered, and Lily let out a deep rolling chuckle. "I know it might look like, that, but I swear n-nothing has happened between us! We're just friends! He just let me spend the night, when I needed a place to stay!"
"Alright," Lily chuckled and Levy felt like her head would pop right off her shoulders in embarrassment. "Well it's lovely to be meeting another friend of Gajeel's," he continued. "Other than myself and Juvia, I've never known him to have many friends. I'm glad he's meeting new people," he winked and she nodded numbly, sipping at her coffee.
She knew he probably didn't believe her, especially after finding her in Gajeel's apartment, wearing one of his shirts. What made it worse was that she hadn't technically told the truth, she supposed they had… done something…
Remembering the kiss at Element 4 did nothing to lessen the blush dusting her cheeks and she sipped at her coffee more, trying to evade the sparkle in the other man's eyes.
Would the embarrassment never end?
Lucy's face was hot as she securely wrapped a complimentary hotel bathrobe about herself.
What the hell had Gray been doing, back in the room?!
Well, she supposed it was his room, too. Gah! She should've predicted this might happen!
She stared at her reflection in the steamy bathroom mirror and slapped her cheeks, mentally preparing herself.
"Okay, Lucy! You got this! It's just Gray! He didn't even see anything anyways!"
She nodded to herself once, firmly, then slowly pushed open the bathroom door and glanced into the room.
"Gray?" she called, walking into the room, but it was empty. He must've left.
She sighed in relief, and snatched up her clothes from where she'd left them on the bed. It was her costume from last night, since she hadn't been able to get back into the room she shared with Levy yet, but it was better than nothing.
Like a ninja she darted back into the bathroom, before Gray might have a chance to reappear, and she changed quickly.
The sooner she got a room key for herself, the better. Man, if only they'd each had their own to start with! This was turning into such a pain! And who would've expected Levy would stay out all night?!
But she realized, with a hint of her Perpetual Blush, that she didn't really have room to talk.
"Thank you so much for everything, Lily!" Levy called, pushing open the passenger side door of his truck.
After breakfast they'd cleaned up and he'd driven her back to her hotel. He was pulled up outside the doors of the lobby and Levy tugged at the duffle Gajeel had given her, slinging it over her shoulder as she hopped out.
She turned, smiling back at the man and he nodded politely, with a warm smile of his own.
"It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Levy. I'm happy to help anytime. Be sure to get in touch if you need anything else while you're in town."
He'd helped her set up her new phone too, convincing her once more that it probably hadn't been a big deal to Gajeel. Lily's number was the first one she'd put in and she was so thankful to the kind man for all that he'd done.
After a shockingly wild night, she'd had a surprisingly pleasant morning. Who could've known what a nice shower and little bit of sunlight could do to one's peace of mind, not to mention a good bit of company.
And she enjoyed learning more about Gajeel from the other man, even if it'd mostly been stories of his past and interesting tidbits about his likes and dislikes. She was still as curious as ever about what kind of job he did, but she supposed she'd have to look into that herself.
She waved as Lily drove away, then turned and walked quickly towards the doors that would lead inside, to the lobby.
Speaking of research, she wanted to figure out what the hell had happened last night, and why those gunmen had been shooting at herself and Gajeel.
She may be feeling calmer and more put together, but that didn't diminish the cold fear that lingered at the back of her thoughts, the anger she felt at what had happened to them. She still had every intention on getting to the bottom of it all, and for that she needed to do some serious research. She was hoping she'd have a chance to get to the Public Library today, more than just sightseeing. She couldn't wait to be back in her element.
First she'd need to change. She couldn't go out in this outfit, she felt a bit like she was doing a walk of shame, wearing last night's skirt and Gajeel's shirt, under the leather jacket he'd given her.
She pulled open the doors to the lobby and stepped inside, hoping she could make it to the room she shared with Lucy before anyone really noticed her.
Absentmindedly, she tucked a hand into one of the pockets of the coat and frowned when she felt something, deep inside. She pulled it out and realized it was the napkin she'd written notes on last night. She tugged at it, reading some of her scribbled writing, and chuckled at herself.
Her memories of being at the bar were a bit hazy, since she'd gotten so drunk. But she appreciated that her past self had tried to take detailed notes, while the memories had still been fresh.
She skimmed over some of them, shivering as she remembered the details of what happened. But one hastily scrawled sentence stood out: 'Jose should be pleased.'
She frowned at it now, and just like before found herself wondering who in the world Jose was…
"Levy!"
Levy glanced up, her name echoing across the wide space, and before she could fully react she found herself pulled into a tight hug, by none other than her roommate and best friend.
Levy blinked, before wrapping her arms around Lucy's shoulders, a rush of emotions sweeping through her but mostly feeling overpowering relief.
Thank god, it was good to be back. She almost felt teary.
"Oh my god, Levy! Where the hell have you been?!" Lucy cried, pulling back to glance over her friend. "And oh my god, what in the world are you wearing?!"
Levy chuckled, it was ridiculous, wasn't it? She didn't even know where to begin.
Lucy's discerning eye immediately noticed the large leather jacket that her friend was practically swimming in, and the large black t-shirt that she distinctly knew was a mens shirt. She also noted, with some humor, that the only article of clothing Levy still had from her costume was that itty bitty skirt she'd helped her pick out, only a couple of nights ago.
Lucy adopted a wolfish grin as she glanced over her friend, and Levy's chuckle turned nervous.
"Wow, so, did you and Gajeel have a nice time, then?" Lucy asked, a twinkle in her eye, and Levy glanced away.
"Uh, yeah, I suppose you could say it was pretty… eventful," she said, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly. "But not in the way you're thinking," she added, trying to cut off Lucy's snort of laughter.
"But wait, what about you?" she asked, glancing over Lucy, noticing that her friend was also still in her costume from last night. She raised an eyebrow at her and it was Lucy's turn to avoid Levy's gaze, a light blush on her cheeks.
"Uh, well it's not my fault, really. You have the room key, I wasn't able to get back into the room last night!"
Levy felt a rush of guilt and she remembered that, well, she didn't have the room key anymore. She'd lost it, in the Haunted House, along with her cloak.
"Oh man," she groaned, rubbing one hand over her face. "I'm so sorry Lucy, I actually lost it last night, I don't have it anymore…"
"Oh really?" Lucy asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise. It was unlike Levy to lose things. But, "no biggie," she said, holding up another white key card. "I just got a new one from the front desk. I suppose we should try to get another one for you too, huh? It's been really annoying, that we only had one to begin with."
"Sure," Levy said, nodding.
"And then, afterwards, you have to tell me everything," Lucy said, grinning at Levy devilishly. "I want to know all about what happened with Gajeel, and why you're coming back so late. I'm so glad you're back though, I was beginning to get immensely worried, especially after you lost your phone…"
Levy nodded, wincing. She didn't really know what she was going to do… She still felt guilty that she hadn't told Lucy the truth, that Gajeel had been the one to beat up Natsu in the fight… and she didn't know if she should even tell Lucy about the shooting or the gunmen… Maybe she should wait, until she knew more about it herself.
But wait, Natsu. That's right, Natsu!
"Oh my god!" Levy said suddenly, clutching onto Lucy's hands. "Natsu! How is Natsu! You guys went to the hospital last night?! What happened?!"
Lucy nodded, "Yeah, we did, but he's fine, really. Apparently his shoulder got dislocated, when that asshole from the fight pulled his arm…"
Levy swallowed thickly.
"But the doctors told me he was lucky nothing was broken or torn. They just had to reset the bone and he should be good to go in a couple of weeks. He's just got a sling on until then…"
Levy sighed in relief.
'That asshole from the fight.'
Oh god, how was she ever going to tell Lucy the truth!?
"Levy!?"
She glanced up again and noticed Cana and Lisanna, strutting down the stairs in the lobby and walking over to herself and Lucy. Oh god. She blushed preemptively, just knowing they were going to tease her about her attire. She pulled at her hair self-consciously, readjusting her grip on the duffle.
"Levy! You're back!" Lisanna said, smiling warmly.
"Wowza, looks like you had a fun night," Cana said with a wink. Yep, there it was. Levy felt like folding into the floor.
"You're getting back pretty late, huh," Lisanna smirked. "Or, I suppose we should be saying early?"
And the girls giggled, Lucy included, much to Levy's chagrin.
"It really wasn't like that," she argued, in spite of their giggles. "Really. Nothing happened. It was just really late and Gajeel's place was close by and he offered to let me stay…," Her excuses seemed to be backfiring as her friend's laughter increased and Levy groaned. "Really! I swear!"
"Right, right," Cana winked. "Well you'll have to tell us all the details over breakfast. You too, Lucy," and she winked at Lucy now, whose cheeks brightened.
"Lucy?" Levy asked, turning on the girl, intrigued when Lucy suddenly looked incredibly embarrassed.
"Looks like you've got something to tell me too, then, eh?" Levy teased, nudging her friend with an elbow. "Ahh but I'm not hungry, I already ate. I'd just like to get changed and…"
She realized her slip up as they turned to her with wide eyes.
"You already ate?" Lisanna asked. "Omg, did you get breakfast with him?! How romantic!"
"No! It wasn't like that!" Levy cried over the squeals of her friends. "It wasn't with him, just his friend, I-!"
The girls eyes widened further and Levy realized she really needed to shut up.
"Crap," she muttered, glancing away in embarrassment.
"Wait, you got breakfast with his friend?" Lucy asked. "What in the world? You really have a lot to tell us!"
And Levy nodded, knowing she wouldn't be able to get out of it, especially now. She'd need to figure out the best PG version of the story to tell, if only to quell her friends' curiosity.
"Well we were looking to get breakfast," Lisanna said, and Levy was thankful to turn the conversation away from herself, if only for a moment.
"Right," Cana nodded. "The Casino seems to be closed for the most part right now, looks like they're getting everything set up for the Masquerade Ball tonight."
"There's a Masquerade Ball tonight?" Lucy asked, and she turned to Levy who only shrugged. She'd been too caught up in her crazy night, she hadn't really remembered. She supposed it was handy though that she already had a mask. She'd taken it from Gajeel's apartment, grabbing it from where she'd left it the night before on his table and tucking it into the duffle, along with the ridiculous children's clothing he'd seen the need to give her.
"Well we have plenty of time to do stuff before that, though. It won't start until late," Lisanna was saying, glancing around the group. "We haven't heard from anyone else yet, but we figured we should discuss what we wanted to do today."
Lucy shrugged, "I'm easy, I didn't have much in mind. Levy, you wanted to go to the library, right?" she asked, turning to her friend, and Levy nodded.
"Yes, that's big on my list."
"Wait, Levy, didn't you lose your phone last night?" Lisanna asked, and Levy nodded hesitantly.
"Oh right, we should go shopping then, too," Lucy said. "You should get a new one, ASAP, especially since we're in a city we aren't familiar with. I wouldn't want to lose you again…"
"Uh, actually," Levy said, hesitating as her friends looked at her. "I uh… already have a new one…"
She'd spoken so softly the other girls almost hadn't heard, and they blinked a moment before realizing what she'd said.
"Really?" Lucy asked, furrowing her brow. "Already? That was fast."
Levy nodded, not really wanting to look at them. She was pretty embarrassed that Gajeel had done something so flashy as to buy her a brand new expensive phone but… she figured it was like pulling off a band-aid. It'd be better to just show them all now, and maybe they wouldn't make a big deal of it.
She tugged the shiny new phone from the pocket of her coat and held it up to show them, wincing when it was silent for a moment then-
"Oh my god," Lisanna cried. "Levy, when did you get that? Do you know how expensive that brand is?! That model literally just came out!"
Levy nodded, blushing with embarrassment. "Uh yeah, I know..."
She glanced at Lucy, but her friend seemed to be frozen in shock.
"What in the world?" Lucy muttered, glancing between the phone and Levy and back at the phone. It was entirely unlike Levy to buy herself something like that, especially when Lucy knew she was struggling already with her student debts.
"Levy? When did you get that?" Lucy asked, and Levy cringed.
"Well, the thing is, uh… Gajeel gave it to me."
And just as she'd predicted the girls gasped with new shock.
"Woah, Levs, holy shit!" Cana smirked, with a little bit of envy in her eyes. "No one said your mystery man from last night was rich! When can I meet him?!" she joked, and Levy rolled her eyes as she blushed.
"No, you guys, it really isn't like that. I never expected him to buy me something like this, it's honestly a surprise to me too, I guess he just, has more money than I would've expected?" she said, rambling a bit. "I guess it's just, like, not a big deal to him-?"
But she was cut off as a cold voice behind her said, "Huh, so you 'lost' your phone last night, right?"
Levy frowned and glanced over her shoulder, smiling when she saw who it was.
"Jet! And Droy!" she cried, spinning towards her friends. Droy walked up to her happily and gave her a big hug, but he glanced back at Jet nervously as he pulled away. The other man was glaring at Levy sharply, his arms crossed over his chest. She frowned, concerned.
"Jet? Is something wrong?" Levy asked.
"I don't know, Levy, you tell me."
"…what?" she asked, glancing back at the girls in confusion. They looked on edge. "What are you talking about, Jet?" she asked, turning to her friend.
"Well don't let me interrupt your little show and tell," Jet snapped, nodding his head towards the shiny phone in her was confused by her friend's hostile tone, and she couldn't figure out why he seemed so upset. Had something happened last night? Something she wasn't aware of?
"Jet, what's going on? Are you okay? How was your night?"
"Oh my night? How was my night? Thanks for asking, Levy, my night was great. But what about your night? Weren't you just talking about it? Did you have fun? Was it everything you'd wanted? When you were off with another guy?"
"Jet…" Droy said nervously, trying to calm him down.
"I don't… I don't understand. Are you mad…?" Levy asked, and Jet seemed to grind his teeth.
"Am I mad? Why would I be mad? Actually, Levy, if anything I'm happy! Happy I finally understand why you turned down every single guy that approached you in college!"
Levy's eyes narrowed.
"Happy that I finally understand your type, Levy! Because now it seems so obvious. What, are college guys just too poor for you?"
"Jet, you've misunderstood-," Levy snapped but he scoffed, cutting her off.
"Oh no, I think I understand perfectly," he snarled. "I understand perfectly that you 'lost' your phone last night, and that's why you couldn't get in touch with us. What, is it something about a credit card that just makes your panties drop-?"
"Jet!" Lucy snapped, finally sick of his rant. "That is enough!"
He scowled, but turned away, his body rigid with anger.
It was an anger that had built up slowly over the course of last night. An anger that had culminated in him getting shit faced at one of the bars of the Casino and making out with other girls. He'd woken up that morning with a splitting headache, in the hotel room that he and Droy shared, and he'd figured the other man had managed to drag him there sometime the night before because he'd blacked out after the third girl.
He was furious that Levy had abandoned them the night before, and while part of him knew he was taking this too far and part of him had wanted to believe there was a reasonable explanation for her absence, it'd been too much when he'd seen her there in the lobby, dressed in men's clothing, waving about a fancy new phone.
It'd finally just been too much.
The group was silent, and there was tension in the air. The girls glanced at Levy, but her face was dark, her hands in fists at her sides.
Just then, Gray happened to walk by.
"Gray?" Lisanna called and the man paused, wincing as he glanced over, as if he didn't really want to talk.
"Where are you going?" Lisanna asked, noticing he was fully dressed and headed towards the doors of the lobby.
"I have plans," he stated.
"Plans? With whom?"
"Uh, with Juvia."
"Whaaat?" the girls gasped, and Gray winced again, itching to leave.
Jet scoffed. Gray glanced around at them, he didn't really know what had just happened but he could sense the tension in the air.
"What kind of plans?" Cana asked.
"We're going to the Aquarium," Gray snapped, and just then a voice yelled out from the other side of the lobby and they all turned, seeing a grinning Natsu making his way over to the group.
"Where are we going?" he asked brightly, and Lucy felt a wave of calm wash over her, thankful he had returned. The tension in the air had been so thick, she'd almost thought she could cut it with a knife.
Gray's appearance and then Natsu's return seemed to breathe a breath of fresh air into the group, even though Jet was still scowling and she could tell that Levy wasn't okay…
"The Aquarium!" Lisanna cried, and Cana nodded. Gray scowled.
"Wait- I'm going to the Aquarium, not you guys-," but he was cut off as the girls started to chat excitedly.
"This'll be fun! I've never been!" Lisanna cried, Lucy nodding in agreement.
"The hell?!" Gray snapped. They were hijacking his plans!
"Gray, where are you meeting up with Juvia?" Lisanna asked and Gray glared back at her sharply, but begrudgingly replied, "The Café across the street."
"Perfect! We wanted to get breakfast first, anyways!" Cana said.
"Levy and I will go get changed, first," Lucy said, glancing at Levy from the corner of her eyes. The girl was silent, her eyes narrowed. "We'll meet you guys over there in a sec, alright?"
"Sounds good!" Lisanna cried, and Gray's glare darkened as the group began walking towards the lobby doors, Cana and Lisanna chatting with excitement, Jet and Droy following a little bit behind, all heading towards the Café across the street where Juvia had suggested they meet.
What the hell?! How the hell had this happened?! He knew he should've snuck out the back!
Juvia was nervously nibbling on a croissant, her eyes fixed on the massive building across the street.
The Fairy Tail Hotel, Casino, and Suites.
Master Jose would kill her if he knew she was there. She shivered, glancing around, and pulled her hat further down her head.
She'd discovered, over the course of getting to know Gray, that the man had some kind of connection with Fairy Tail. Normally this would be enough for her to cut all ties with him but… he was Gray.
She'd only met him the night before but he'd enchanted her. How could she possibly let him go now?!
When he'd suggested they meet at his hotel and go to the Aquarium together from there, she'd quickly suggested the Café across the street instead. She didn't dare go inside Fairy Tail's headquarters. It was bad enough that she was meeting someone who may or may not have some kind of affiliation with Fairy Tail.
But, he lived in Hargeon Town, right? How strong of a connection with the other Guild could he really have?
She took another bite, chewing thoughtfully, eyes glazed over with worry when suddenly the doors of the giant building across the street and out strutted the most beautiful human being she'd ever seen in her life.
Her worries seemed to melt away as she watched him look both ways before crossing the street.
She was so distracted by him she almost didn't notice the posse of people following closely behind until they were already at the Café doors. Gray strode in, glancing around, and he waved when he saw her. Her heart skipped a beat.
"Hey, Juvia," he said when he neared her table in the corner, in that insanely deep and sexy voice of his. She practically swooned. Sure, texting last night had been fun but it was nothing compared to this.
"Uh," he said nervously, glaring at nothing in particular as he scratched the back of his head. "These are my friends," he grunted, and she glanced them over briefly, really only wanting to look at Gray.
But she realized it'd be rude if she totally ignored them, so she politely introduced herself, listening to each name in turn. She frowned when she discovered that the two girls with him were neither of the ones he'd mentioned last night.
Seriously, why was he friends with so many other women?!
But she didn't have to wait for long, when the white haired girl who'd just introduced herself as Lisanna started waving at the door of the Café.
"Lucy! Levy! Over here!" Lisanna called, and Juvia eyed them curiously as they neared the table.
Levy had changed into her own clothing, something that felt much more comfortable than anything else she'd been wearing, and something that actually fit. But she'd kept on the boots that Gajeel had given her, to her own surprise. They were actually pretty comfortable, and fit perfectly. And she kinda liked the weight of them when she walked. They made her feel strong.
She glanced curiously at the other bluenette by Gray and the woman's eyes seemed to widen at her approach.
"Juvia did see Levy-chan last night," the strange woman said, and Levy blinked in confusion as everyone glanced between them.
"What?" Lucy asked.
"At Element 4," Juvia said. "Levy was dancing."
Levy's eyes widened in surprise, and she stared back at the other woman with new interest. She'd been there too? She'd seen her?
"Levy?" Lucy said, turning to her friend in confusion. "You were at Element 4 last night? Dancing?"
"In your sports bra?" Lisanna added, recalling the description Juvia had texted them when they'd been in the cab, and Levy blushed now, unable to meet their staring gazes.
"Uh, yeah," she said, nodding. There was no use denying it, not after this new acquaintance of Gray's had seen her. "Yeah, I was there…"
"Damn, I can't wait to hear the whole story," Cana grinned, and Levy winced. She glanced at Lucy, whose expression seemed to say, We need to talk about this all later!
A loud snort came from the corner.
"Sounds like you had a really wild night…," Jet said under his breath, and Levy glared at him.
"Jet…," Droy said nervously, but Jet just went back to scowling at the wall.
"Wait, where is Natsu?" Lucy asked, looking around, unable to spot his distinctive hair color anywhere.
"Ahh he got held up as we were leaving the lobby," Lisanna said. "Erza wanted to talk to him."
Lucy frowned thoughtfully. Erza? Wasn't she the woman who had dragged Natsu out of bed, just earlier that morning? The scarlet haired woman they'd met just yesterday in the lobby?
"Speak of the devil," Cana said and Lucy turned to the doors of the Café, surprised to see not only Natsu but the red-haired woman herself walking in.
"Hey, Erza," Lisanna waved at their approach, and Gray's eyes bugged out in disbelief. Erza?! Erza was there too?! Could this go any worse?!
"What brings you here with Natsu?" Cana asked, and the red-haired woman adopted a strong stance, crossing her arms over her chest and nodding to them in greeting.
But before she could respond, Natsu groaned, flinging his good arm behind his head.
"The Master is pissed at me for fighting or somethin'," he complained. "Says I need an escort! Completely ridiculous," he scoffed, only to wince as Erza slapped him over the back of the head.
"I am here to keep an eye on you," she said firmly, and Lucy's eyes widened, unsure of this dynamic. But Cana and Lisanna seemed to be chuckling as if it was entirely normal, and Gray seemed to be trying to avoid eye contact with the scarlet haired woman.
But unbeknownst to all of them, Juvia was beginning to freak out.
Now way, Pinkie?
Her eyes were wide as she stared at the pink-haired man, who'd just last night been fighting in the Dragon's Den under the name Salamander.
Juvia shivered. This was bad. She'd really be in deep shit if Jose heard word that she was hanging out with the rookie from last night's fight. And didn't that red-haired woman seem familiar, too?
Juvia swallowed nervously. She wondered if she should bail and leave, but then she glanced at Gray from the corners of her eyes and her heart sped up.
No, there was no way she could abandon Gray-Sama!
She watched from the sidelines as the friends all chatted amongst themselves, her mind racing as she tried to decide what she should do. She glanced around, and noticed that the other bluenette – Levy, was it? – was standing somewhat closer now.
She thought back to how she'd seen her dancing last night, right before Gajeel had disappeared, and actually, now that she thought about it, hadn't Meredy been complaining about Gajeel leaving with some cute bluenette? Could that have been this girl?
"Does Levy-chan happen to know Gajeel?" she found herself asking the girl, and to her surprise Levy glanced over at her in absolute shock.
Levy hadn't been expecting that. Sure, the other girl had apparently been at Element 4 last night but… she knew Gajeel?
"How…?" Levy found herself mumbling, but now Gray was saying something loudly and the other bluenette was glancing back at him, practically with hearts in her eyes.
Levy was deeply confused. Wait, hadn't Lily mentioned something earlier that morning? About a girl named Juvia…?
"Well, Juvia and I had plans to go to the Aquarium!" Gray was saying loudly, "and I don't remember inviting any of you!"
"I-it's alright, Gray-sama!" Juvia piped up, glancing around nervously at the group. "Juvia doesn't mind! B-but, maybe Gray-sama and Juvia will go on ahead!"
And Levy was left blinking as she watched the mysterious bluenette, with a bright blush on her face, grab a surprised Gray's hand and race towards the doors of the Café, leaving the group of friends at the table by the window.
"Guess we'll meet them there," Cana laughed, a look of bemusement in her eyes.
"Should we follow?" Lisanna asked, and they began to walk towards the doors, Levy trailing behind in thought. She'd wanted to go to the Library immediately, she'd wanted to start doing research immediately but… how did this other bluenette know Gajeel…? And… was this a chance to learn more about him?
"Levy, you wanted to go straight to the Library, though, right?" Lucy asked, and Levy glanced up between her friends.
"Well, actually… Actually I think I'll go to the Aquarium with you," she said, Lucy raising an eyebrow in surprise. "A-after all, how often are we all on vacation together? Wouldn't it be more fun to spend more time with all of you?" she said, smiling, but it soured when Jet scoffed under his breath, "Ya certainly didn't feel that way last night…"
"Jet," Lucy snapped, a warning in her tone.
Levy glared at him, wondering what the hell his deal was, but honestly she was too distracted now to care, her thoughts on the strange bluenette Gray had somehow met.
What were the odds the woman knew Gajeel? What could she tell her about him? Did she happen to know what he did for work? And could she tell her Jose was?
But most of all, Levy found it odd that she'd gone years knowing almost nothing about the man, but here she was learning so much in a single day, and meeting not one but two people who knew about him and his life.
How strange indeed. Maybe, in order to solve the enigma that was Gajeel, she should've come to Magnolia City sooner…
Gajeel felt like shit.
He'd spent an hour or so laying on his couch, glaring at the ceiling, and he'd maybe managed to get fifteen minutes of fitful sleep before he'd had to get up and face the day.
No rest for the wicked, after all. There was too much shit that had built up from the night before. He hadn't had the luxury of sleeping in.
Now, he scowled as he pushed his way through the stiff door of the izakaya, immediately feeling the warmth of the dimly lit hall after the chill outside. He'd been here a couple of times before, but not often. Traditional Japanese bars weren't unheard of, but they weren't common either.
The first thing he'd done that morning was get his car. He'd left it outside the Dragon's Den, where it'd been parked before the fight, and he couldn't do jack shit without it. It'd been a long walk, in the pitch black right before dawn, and the sun had only just begun to peek its rays up above the horizon by the time he'd gotten there.
He reached up, pushing aside the curtain that separated the hall of the izakaya from the restaurant inside, where low tables were spread out, surrounded by stools and cushions for sitting. The place was noticeably barren. It was early in the morning on a Sunday, after all, and the morning after Halloween. Only a couple of old men were seated at one of the tables to his left, presumably regular drunkards. He snorted. They were probably there the majority of the day anyways, drinking their health away.
After getting his car, he'd had to go back to the Haunted House, to get his duffle. If he wanted to convince Jose and the others that he'd only had boxing supplies in his bag after the fight, he'd need the original bag to help with the convincing.
He glanced around, noticing the Japanese art that decorated the walls, beautiful ceramic vases arranged on stands around the room. Some kind of Japanese music was playing, but Gajeel wasn't cultured enough to know what kind of instrument it was. The melody was haunting.
He'd raced around, finally ending up at the gym, where he'd run into Lily. He hadn't wanted to get the man involved in any of his shit but… the morning meeting had been coming up soon and… Gajeel would be lying to himself if he claimed that was the only reason he'd sent Lily in his stead…
He glared, finally spotting what he was looking for. A woman seated primly at one of the tables in the back. She was turned away from him, perfectly poised as she sipped sake from a small glass. He couldn't see her face, but he knew who she was.
Found ya.
The Master hadn't apparently cared anymore about Gajeel's duffle by the time the morning meeting met, which was fine either way to Gajeel. One less thing to worry about. But Jose had been pissed about the break-in the night before, and he'd tasked Gajeel with hunting the blue-haired rat down, something Gajeel was also perfectly fine with doing. If anything it meant he could prevent Levy from getting further entangled in all the shit. He just needed to find the real one, the one who'd broken into the back office and stolen something from their databases, when he'd been with Levy in the locker room.
But first, he'd wanted to find her.
The bitch that had shot at he and Levy in the Haunted House.
Minerva Orland. A detective for the Magnolia City PD.
He strode across the room and stopped directly behind her, glaring down at the back of her head. But his sudden presence didn't seem to disturb the woman, who continued to casually sip at her sake, as if she didn't even notice he was there. But he knew she did.
"…would you like to join me?" she finally asked, and Gajeel was silent, staring daggers into her back. He had half a mind to snap her neck right there. But he knew he probably shouldn't, not with witnesses. He glanced at the drunk men, wondering hopefully if they were drunk enough, maybe they wouldn't notice…
"Here, sit," she said, gesturing now to the cushion opposite herself. "Join me."
"I shoulda shot ya when I had the chance," he said darkly and she seemed to pause.
"But you didn't. And here we are. Come."
Gajeel watched her through narrowed eyes as he circled around the table, sitting heavily on the cushion.
She met his eyes with her own, narrowed into slits, and once he'd sat she pulled forth another glass, pouring sake from the carafe at the table into it and sliding it across to sit in front of him.
He glanced at it suspiciously.
"Little early in the day ta be drinking."
"It was a long night, wouldn't you agree."
"Heard yer partner was in the hospital."
"And I am praying for his swift recovery."
Gajeel glared at her.
Her eyes were nearly closed. From a distance she might appear tranquil, meditative, but he knew she was watching him carefully…
As soon as the morning meeting with Jose had ended, he'd spent his time tracking her down and he'd finally found her, at a Japanese bar, drinking sake well before noon.
The way he saw it, she was the biggest threat right now to Levy. She'd seen Levy with him the night before. And every ounce of his being wanted to kill her right then and there, for pointing a gun at Levy's head less than twelve hours prior…
"Are you praying for his swift recovery as well? I seem to recall you're the one who put him there, after all..."
Gajeel scoffed, reaching out to pick up the glass of sake in front of him. He sniffed it.
"Ya don't seem ta be too broken up about it."
"He was new," she said, as if that was explanation enough.
She took another sip, sighing as she set her cup down. She glanced up at him, meeting his eyes.
"And he was jumpy," she continued. "The amateur shot at almost everything that moved. He didn't know what he was doing."
Gajeel narrowed his eyes.
"But you did?" he asked, his voice dangerously low.
"Listen. I made a mistake."
Gajeel snorted. No shit.
"The Dragon's Den was broken into last night," she said, and he glanced back at her swiftly, suspiciously. What the hell did she know about that?
"By a girl with blue hair, correct?" Minerva continued, glancing back at the man. "I'm sure your Master wants her dead. The thing is, my Father wants her dead too. The enemy of your enemy is your friend, right? We both have the same goal. Let's work together."
Her Father..? It took only a moment for the pieces to fall together and Gajeel realized that, of course, Minerva Orland. She was the Mayor's daughter.
Mayor Jiemma Orland. He was the official Mayor of Magnolia City and the Unofficial Guild Master of Sabertooth. Gajeel narrowed his eyes. He didn't know all the details, Jose and Jiemma weren't exactly friends, but they had some kind of agreement, which Gajeel had largely assumed was built off whatever blackmail Jose had on the man.
But, the Mayor was involved in this? Gajeel vaguely recalled the Mayor had called Jose last night, right before he'd left his office.
But even if Mayor Orland and this bitch shared the same goal as Master Jose, that didn't excuse the fact she'd just…
"Ya tried ta kill me."
"Yes, and that bitch you were with."
Gajeel growled deeply, and Minerva glared back.
"Like I said, I made a mistake. I couldn't care less about whatever bitch-," Gajeel's growl cut her off, and she glanced him over with annoyance. "-girl," she corrected, "you were with. I was looking for the other one. The one that had broken into the Dragon's Den. In a momentary lapse of judgement, I assumed you might've been helping her. I see now I was incorrect."
"And why should I trust ya? After you've put such little trust in me," Gajeel ground out, sipping the sake as she took another sip of hers.
"I've taken care of the Haunted House," she said, leveling her gaze at him. "I destroyed all evidence you were there. The whole thing will be pinned on someone else, and I've gotten rid of the car. It was my mistake, so it's only right I don't let it come back to haunt you."
"And yer partner? The one who's swift recovery yer currently praying for?"
"If he survives… I will take care of him. Plus…"
She paused, pouring more sake in her cup before taking a long sip as Gajeel waited, glaring at her the entire time.
"I know who she is."
Gajeel scowled. Did she mean Levy?!
"Not whatever girl you were with last night, I couldn't give a fuck about her. No. The other one. The one that broke into your back office. The one our Fathers want us to kill. And the one half of Magnolia City is now looking for. She's a cop," she said, meeting Gajeel's eyes once more, firmly.
"And her name is Yukino. Yukino Agria."
Totomaru smirked, pleased with himself. It'd almost been too easy.
The meeting had been nearing its end, and Totomaru had been furious when Gajeel was so easily let off the hook with his "boxing supplies."
But he'd managed to figure out the true identity of the Salamander from last night's fight, and Master Jose had indeed been satisfied to learn this information. Natsu Dragneel. A novice from Hargeon Town.
"And the girl?" Jose had asked, when Totomaru had shown him pictures of the pink-haired man, frequently seen with some blondie Totomaru couldn't quite pin down.
"Uh, her name is Lucy," he'd said, but scratched his head nervously. He couldn't find much else about the girl, not even a last name. The Salamander had been much easier, since at some point he'd been in the foster care system.
It was so easy to find stuff out about people, once you knew where to look.
But luckily the Master hadn't minded that he knew little about the girl, Jose had simply nodded, pleased, and told him, "Good work, Totomaru. Be sure to send him a message, so that brat won't fuck with me again."
And Totomaru had nodded, thankful for this chance to move back into the Master's good graces.
And Jose had glanced across the room, to where Gajeel was talking to another one of his men, and he'd called out to him, garnering the attention of the room before glancing back at Totomaru one last time.
And he'd said, in that silky smooth voice of his, "I trust that, by the end of the day, anyone who's fucked me over… I trust you'll ensure that they'll soon be swimming with the fishes…"
A/N
Ack! Haha, here I am, already struggling to meet my self-imposed deadline T.T
I'm so sorry! I'll try to be better next week! I'll try to get the next one out on:
Monday Sep. 20 – Chapter 14: "Swimming with the Fishes"
.-.-.
Notes on this Chapter:
- Y'all remember how Yukino had a super short segment way back at the end of Chapter 5?
- Everyone loves it when the love interest is secretly wealthy, right? ;) I figure, with Gajeel basically working for the Mafia, he's probably got a lot of cash. But he doesn't seem like someone who'd really care about spending money, other than on his car, I suppose. And on Levy. I figure when he bought her a new phone he hadn't really been thinking about how expensive it was at all. He just knew she needed one, and he probably felt super fucking guilty about everything that had happened to her, so he was trying to help make up for it somehow, in some way…
- Is Jet a little out of character angry? Possibly… I'm not quite sure, but he's def pissed at Levy, in a way that he usually would never be…
Kind of another random reference: the movie Avatar (by James Cameron) starts with the line
"When I was lying there in the VA hospital, with a big hole blown through the middle of my life, I started having these dreams of flying. I was free. Sooner or later, though, you always have to wake up."
I love that movie and I've always loved that line and naming the chapter "Wake Up" made me instantly think of it. I was thinking about it when Levy said to herself, "-sooner or later, Levy, you always have to wake up."
A song for this chapter: Freaking Me Out by Ava Max
"Like a spider, there's a web that you have wove
"There's a heart now, where there used to be a ghost…
"Now I hear sounds in the hallway, Rocking chairs are moving on their own,
"I'm falling for you, So much so that it's freaking me out…"
Does this song truly fit this chapter? Honestly, I'm not sure what song would fit this chapter best. But I like the Halloween-y imagery, and I imagine they're all falling deeper and deeper into some kind of large web, that none of them are even aware of…. So much so, that it's freaking me out ;)
Thank you for reviewing! It always makes my day reading them!
rao hyuga 18 - Thanks so much! Haha I'm kind of surprised so many people liked that drunk Levy spoke French! I feel like I could totally see it, maybe even see her mixing it up and speaking other languages too, depending on how drunk she is or the setting. I've been wanting to include the "make you big" reference from the beginning. It felt most natural to include it in this way. Thanks so much for still being around! Always love hearing from you, cheers!
Ushindi – I like the new name! Is there a reason behind it? Is it a reference to something? Or does it mean anything in particular? Forgive me for not knowing, but I'm curious if it does! Thanks for the review! And yeah, I know, even in the anime/manga I feel like Gajeel has had to deal with tons of trauma in his past. Why do we always do this to characters? :(
Guest on Sep 4th – Haha thank you so much! I've had so much fun with the Easter Eggs! ;D
Copperreign12 – I'm so glad you caught some of the references! That's always fun! And thank you so much for reading and enjoying this, I'm so happy ^.^
Perwrinkle – Oh my gosh, I love Lord Huron! So interesting that you'd suggest that song, since it's such a meaningful song to me! I listened to a lot of Lord Huron several years ago, but that song in particular has always stood out to me, the lyrics are so haunting – "I had all, and then most of you, some, and now none of you…" so sad. I can def see how that's a good song for Gajeel. Haha when you said bondage reading, did you mean binge reading? Lolol xD Thanks so much for reading! I'm so glad you like it! I love Halloween and gajevy too, and it's such a good mix, ya know. Hope you enjoy this update, too! Cheers!
Lucy H Lover – Oh my gosh! I forgot about a couple of those! Haha what a great list, thanks so much! xD I was already thinking of including at least one of those references a bit later, but you've given me some great ideas. Muahaha thanks!
piranha pk – Haha I know, I made myself a lot of work T.T but dude I really want to finish this up, so ya, gonna try my best! Thanks for much for reading ^.^ good to hear from you!
Have a wonderful rest of your week! Cheers!~