Recovery

The closer the wedding got, the less sure Levy grew that she wasn't making a mistake. It was like the last two years had never happened, the progress they'd made and everything they'd gone through forgotten, the promises made already broken. Levy let it go for weeks. Weeks of screaming matches and slammed doors, of shrugged shoulders and Gajeel being cold and distant, disappearing at all hours and coming back in the early hours of the morning, when all was quiet in the world but deafening inside her head. And it wasn't only their relationship that was suffering, Natsu now refused to speak to the man he had spent so much of his life idolizing, opting instead to pass everything through Levy or his uncle, who was frankly more fed up with his son's behaviour than anyone else. Levy sighed, resigning herself to another night alone, not knowing where her fiancé was, as the door opened to reveal a very haggard looking Gajeel leaning heavily against the doorframe.
"Gajeel?" There was no answer, just the shuffling of boots against tiles, and the thud of a shoulder colliding with the wall. "Where have you been, Gaj?" She had to make a real concerted effort to keep her voice neutral, knowing that he would take it as an accusation regardless.
"Out. Goin' ta bed". Steeling her nerves, she followed him into the bedroom and watched him struggle out of his leather jacket, tripping on the boots that were still half on his feet.
"Gajeel, where were you? You've been gone for hours! I never know where you are, who you're with, what you're doing, if you're safe. I don't know what is going on with you lately!" Levy knew she was yelling, felt the hot tears of anger prickle her eyes and scorch her cheeks, but she didn't care any longer. "Why won't you talk to me? Am I so repulsive to you that you have to go get drunk every second of the day now?"
"Not drunk." He mumbled, tripping and sliding to the floor. "Jus' tired."
"Who is she?" Levy's voice was barely a whisper.
"Ain't no one, kitten." Gajeel still wouldn't look at her, head back against the wall and titled to the ceiling.
"Bullshit!" Levy screamed, her face red in anger even as her heart was breaking. "You were like this last time, don't belittle me by pretending there's nothing happening here! I'm not an idiot, Gajeel. Don't you insult me like that!"
"Promise Lev', ain't sleepin' with anyone 'cept ya."
"Then what the fuck are you doing Gajeel? And don't you dare say nothing!" She interjected when he opened his mouth to protest.
"Fuck".

Levy watched stunned, as all six foot of muscles and piercings that made up Gajeel Redfox turned green, then grey, his eyes rolling back in his head as he slumped to the floor twitching.


"Yer a goddamn idiot."
"Pops?" Gajeel winced at the sound of his voice, his throat feeling distinctly like sandpaper. "Wha' yer doin' 'ere?"
"Sittin' with yer dumb ass so yer girl would finally leave." Metalicana's scowl deepened at the complete lack of recognition on his son's face. "Yer at th' hospital, brat. How long ya been usin' 'gain?"
"Fuck".
"Yeah, fuck 'bout sums it up. Ya tryin' to kill yerself boy? Because I'll do it now an' save ya some time, so help me Gajeel. Thought we were done with this shit, huh?"
"Does Levy know?"
"Well I'd fuckin' say so, given ya tried to overdose in front of her, ya absolute moron".
"Fuck".
"That all ya got ta say for yerself?"
"Shut up Pops." But his heart wasn't in the cuss, red eyes thankful as his father helped him sit up and sip at some water. "How long?"
"Few days. Yer bloody lucky ta have that woman, boy. Wasn't fer Levy, yer'd be wakin' up with a tube stickin' outta yer neck an' no hope o' singin' ever again. Hell, she's the reason yer even made it ta hospital".
"Fucking hell." Gajeel groaned, rubbing his hands over his face and scowling at the stubble he felt.
"I think yer facial hair is the least o' yer worries, son." Metalicana smirked as he saw the flash of blue hair in the doorway.
"Gajeel?" Levy's voice was hushed, the way everyone spoke in the quiet of hospital rooms, and Gajeel had to stop himself flinching at the deep purple marks underneath her doe eyes, bright amber dulled with exhaustion and worry.
"Hey kitten." He kept his eyes fixed on his hands, fiddling with the tape holding his IV line in place, not brave enough to meet her gaze. "Can we get a minute, Pops?"
"I'll be jus' outside." With a squeeze to each shoulder, Metalicana left the couple in the heavy silence.

"I'm sorry, Lev's. I don' know else ta say, but I'm so fuckin' sorry."
"How long?" her tone left no room for argument.
"Coupl'a months. Been hard, y'know? Bein' away from yer, tryin' ta work, everythin' else..." he trailed off.
"And you thought putting God knows what into your body was a good idea? For Mavis' sake, I thought you were smarter than that!" Levy felt bad for half a second as she watched him flinch at her words, but she carried on regardless. "Why would you do this to yourself? To your family! Don't you know how many people love you? Don't you know how much I love you?" she was near screaming, uncaring about the scene she was surely causing, and wondering why no one was coming to check on them.
"I do, Lev's. I love ya so fuckin' much, I never meant ta hurt ya, scare yer like that."
"Scare me? Scare me? Gajeel, I was so far beyond scared I don't even have words for it. Me! You stopped breathing, Gajeel. Did they tell you that?" She paused for breath, seeing the shock dance across his face gave her all the answers she needed. "I had to keep you alive until the ambulance arrived. And when we got here, I refused to let them do a trach because I know, I fucking know how important music is to you, what it would do to you if you couldn't do it anymore. And I have sat watch over you for the last four days, kept your secret even though it's killing me to keep everyone in the dark, not being able to tell your own family what is going on with you. Your own fucking family Gajeel. I would give anything to have mine back, and you're laying here continuing to block out everyone in the fucking world who loves you because why? Your pride? Because there's nothing wrong? You're obviously doing so well with everything!" Levy stopped, trying to calm her breathing. Her heart racing inside her chest as she swiped angrily at her eyes, and the tears that were silently flowing down her cheeks. When Levy spoke again, her voice was barely a whisper. "I can't do this again."
Gajeel could only watch with a heavy heart as she took off her engagement ring and placed it softly in his calloused hand, gently closing his fingers around it with her own.
"Levy, no. Please."
"I can't, Gajeel. I can't stand by and watch you slowly kill yourself." The tears were flowing freely down her face as she hiccupped, and gently kissed his dry lips. "I will love you for the rest of my life, but I can't do this. I'm sorry."
With one last longing glance she was gone, her cries echoing inside his head as they faded down the corridor, and Gajeel could feel his heart breaking the entire time.

"I'm sorry, Gajeel." Metalicana kept his voice soft as he gently sat on his son's hospital bed, watching him stare at the tiny ring in his hand.
"Dad".
That was the moment the dam broke, and Metalicana wrapped his arms around his son's broad shoulders, holding him to his chest as sobs wracked Gajeel's entire body. He kept holding him, long after his shirt was soaked and Gajeel was out of tears, and Metalicana shed a silent tear over the entire situation and the pain he couldn't take away for his boy.


Seemed to stop my breath
Gajeel was at rehab, physically, but much to the chagrin of everyone around him, his heart just wasn't in it. Still too broken up over being left practically at the alter, and with no one to blame but himself, Gajeel spent his days refusing to participate, instead sulking in his room and smoking in the gardens. No amount of stern lectures from his father, or pleading from his aunt had any effect on him, and as his mandatory stay was growing to a close, everyone who knew and loved Gajeel grew more and more concerned about his potential release back into an environment he was woefully unprepared for.

Every second I'm without you, I'm a mess
"No, Lu. I already told you, I don't want to come out tonight. Or tomorrow, or any other night! Can't you just leave me home to be miserable and single? Go bang your fiancé or something and leave me alone, please." Levy knew she was pleading down the phone, as useless as it was. Once Lucy made her mind up about something, there was no stopping her.
"Come for dinner, at least. Then you can go home and wear that disgusting old jumper until it falls apart, but for the love of all things holy, please put on some actual clothes?"
"Fine. Dinner and proper clothes. Then you get to leave me alone for another month, deal?"
"Pick you up in an hour Blue!"
True to her word, exactly an hour later there was a knock on the door, followed by a head of shiny blonde hair letting herself in.
"Levy! Let's go, you know how Natsu gets when there's food involved" she laughed, poking her head into the bedroom and shaking her head at her friend wobbling precariously on one leg.
"Are these 'actual clothes' enough for you?" Levy laughed, shrugging on her favourite leather jacket and twirling slowly for her friends approval.
"Yes, and for Mavis sake woman, would you please eat something? You look like you'll blow away in a stiff breeze girl!" Lucy wrapped her arm around her friends bony shoulders, squeezing warmly. "I know you miss him, Levs, but you deserve better. And you need to take care of yourself, okay? It's not just about you anymore".

In your eyes, I lost my place
Three towns away, a man with bright aqua hair was creeping through the shadows, surprisingly stealthy for a man of his size and appearance. No one heard him cut the alarm, or sneak into the town house unseen by the cameras, and his unsuspecting victim had no idea of the danger lurking in her bedroom, carefully arranging the gift he bought her.
"Who's there?" She was tall, and he supposed you could call her beautiful, with her raven hair and striking features, but he knew the soul that laid beneath the porcelain exterior, and that alone was enough to disgust him, let alone the things she had done, the way she had taken advantage of his favourite nephew.
"You don't have to worry, love. I'm not here to hurt you." He kept his voice smooth, low, the way he knew put everyone instantly at ease. He might be an old man, by some standards, but Acnologia knew he didn't look his age, knew how to talk and carry himself to charm every girl he met. "Open it, it's for you after all" he gestured to the small gift box on her bedside table, smiling softly from his dark corner when she opened the lid and withdrew the syringe. "Little present, from me to you. To make you feel good" he eased his way to the bed, kneeling in front of the wide dark eyes, and caressing her arms softly. "I can make you feel good, Minnie."
"I don't even know your name".
"My name doesn't matter. Only the bliss matters." He waited until her eyes were wide with anticipation, laying her back onto the pillows as he eased the needle into her arm. "Relax, love. You're going to feel incredible."
"Oh God" she moaned, reaching up to kiss her mystery man, but was stopped with gentle fingers. "This is incredible, please." She begged, already riding the waves of euphoria that came with a good high.
"This is for Gajeel" he whispered into her ear, as he pushed the remaining liquid into her veins.
Outside, he carefully disposed of the almost invisible gloves into a fast food dumpster three blocks away and made a call, walking a different, very visible path home.
"Yes?"
"You know, the trouble with women is that they always want more than they actually need."
"I understand. Thanks, brother."

Just stay with me now
"Minerva's dead, Gajeel."
"What?"
"Dude, everyone with eyes could see what was happening. We all know how crazy she was over you, fucked if I know why though. Hey! Don't throw shit at me!" Natsu ducked in time to avoid the cushion hurled at his face. It was his first time seeing his cousin in weeks, since he'd dropped off the face of the earth and Natsu had strung together as assumption that was completely wrong, as usual. It took a serious conversation from his father, his uncles and Levy before he finally understood what had been going on, surprising everyone by providing a few astute observations and filling in the blanks. "Anyway, like I was saying. Your side piece OD'ed so like, get your shit together? We all miss you, and your dad is going super grey."
"Pop's been grey for years, dummy. How's Levy?" Gajeel didn't miss the way his cousin began fidgeting at the mention of his ex-fiancé. "Natsu, yer a shitty liar. How. Is. Levy?"
"Look, man, it's not my place. And Lucy made me promise I wouldn't tell you!" Natsu rushed out, bracing for another pillow attack.
"Made ya promise not ta tell me what?"
"Nope, nothing in the world is going to get me to break this one. But Gajeel, you gotta get yourself right. Before it's too late, before you miss the things you've been wanting".

Let's sleep 'til the sun burns out
"How are ya, little one?" Metalicana swept the small bluenette up into a tight hug, pushing the door shut behind her. "It's good ta see ya, Levy."
"It's good to see you too, Metalicana. I hope it's not weird that I'm here?"
"Listen, tha' brat o' mine is a colossal idiot, an' yer welcome here anytime, alrigh'?"
"Thanks, Pops. I've missed you." Levy reached in for another hug, welcoming the warmth that seemed to ease her aching bones.
"Missed ya too, little Levy. Yer lost weight? Course ya have, still can't cook can yer? Come on, I'll fix ya somethin' an' we can chat." The look on his face let Levy know she had absolutely no say in what was about to happen, resigning herself to her stool at the bench as she watched the man who was meant to be her father in law bustle around, looking more at home than Levy ever had in a kitchen. It seemed like no time at all before he was sliding a plate in front of her.
"French toast and fruit, only thing Em could stomach. Does he know?"