"We're going to have a... baby."

It hits Gajeel's hard when Levy told her the big news. His mouth gapes, his heart drops as a cold chill runs down his spine. He can't help the shivers that run up and down his body or the way his hands start to shake at the suddenness of what she'd said.

"A... are you sure?" The Iron Dragon Slayer forces himself to breathe steadily, trying to stop the trembling that shakes him from head to toe.

Levy nods slowly, eyes filled with tears.

A baby? That is so far away from everything that was supposed to happen, he didn't even think about it at all. Gajeel doesn't know if he wants to do this, if he wants to carry on this life with someone else.

"I..."

The words catch in his throat, and he feels like he can barely get them out, much less say something intelligent, anything at all.

Gajeel can barely speak, barely breathe around the lump in his throat, and all he manages to manage are choked breaths in between attempts at forming sentences.

Levy reaches over and grabs his hand, holding it tightly as her eyes begin filling with tears again. She looks at him, and her voice shakes as she speaks, "Gajeel, say something."

Her green eyes search his face. They hold fear, uncertainty, but also determination and something else, something she can't identify. Her fingers squeeze his hand gently. It hurts his wrist, but Gajeel can't find it in himself to care.

He pull away his hand, staring back into Levy's eyes without saying anything. There's no way this is happening.

"I'm sorry." Gajeel finally manages to get out his word.

The long haired man takes off running before Levy even has a chance to reply.


As Gajeel speeds across leaving the party the streets of Magnolia, he tries desperately to calm the storm of thoughts inside his mind. He knows he needs to cool down and calm down before he does anything stupid. But all he can think of is the baby. How he never thought about having kids, how he never expected to be a dad.

The dragon slayer slows his pace slightly and stops right before entering an alleyway. He takes deep breaths. In and out.

What should he do? Should he take Levy to a doctor so that they could confirm or deny her pregnancy? Or should he just tell everyone?

No, no. Maybe he should go talk to someone, anyone he knows, and ask for advice. Yeah, that's a great idea. Go find someone to ask, Gajeel, why don'tcha.

The raven haired man stands there for a few more seconds, contemplating his options. Finally, he decides against it, he will talk to someone later, or maybe tomorrow. After all, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Gajeel shakes his head as he turns around and heads back home. This isn't going to work. Nothing is going to work until he finds a solution. Maybe some fresh air will help clear his head.

He turns his back and starts heading back down the street.

His white suit seems suffocating, though. He pulls at one sleeve to ease the uncomfortable feeling, but instead he ends up tugging harder and harder, almost ripping the fabric. He sighs.

The dragon slayer turns a corner, hoping to find some sort of distraction, anything to distract himself.

--

Walking with no direction, Gajeel found his feet take him to one of the places he had been avoiding lately; the bar. He lets his feet guide him toward where he knows the familiar building is hidden from prying eyes and eyesight. He pushes open the door with ease and lets the cool air hit his face before making his way through the crowd.

There's no one sitting at the small table near the entrance, so he decides to make himself comfortable at a stool in front of the mirror on the wall behind him.

Most of his friends are still at Lucy's party. So the chance of running onto someone he knew is slim.

After ordering a bottle of whiskey to one of the waitress, Gajeel sighs once more as he settles into his seat, staring blankly into space.

He wonders how things have become so awkward between him and Levy. Sure, he hasn't exactly been the nicest guy towards Levy when they first met, but it wasn't until later after they became friends that he realised how much she meant to him.

It's true that she had come into his life when he needed someone most.

But it's too soon for him to settle down. They only had casual relationship over those past years and it still seems too fast to him.

After his drink is served to him, Gajeel takes a large gulp, feeling the burn as it goes down.

He then orders another drink, deciding it might calm the tension building inside him better than just drinking alcohol. As Gajeel sits nursing his glass, he looks down at the half empty bottle resting in the middle of the wooden surface. His fingers twitch, and he stares at the bottle for a moment longer.

It caught his attention when someone pulled a chair beside him, causing him to turn to see who it is.

It seems he is not the only one who left the party early.

"What are you doing here?" Gildarts Clive sat next to him. He sounds curious, as if he wants to know why Gajeel would want to be there alone when the rest of the guild are gathered.

"I want a drink," Gajeel answers truthfully. "Why aren't you at Lucy's party?"

"The same goes for you. A bottle of gin, please." He wave his hand to get the waitress's attention before turning his head to look at Gajeel again.

"So why are you drinking alone?"

"Not a very good reason."

Gildarts chuckles. "That much is true. I guess I'll just have to accept that answer."

Silence fills their seats for the briefest of moments. It's not a tense silence, it feels almost... companionable, Gajeel thinks.

Gildarts take a sip from his glass, his eyes darting to his surroundings. "It looks like Levy went back to the dorm. She left not long after you did," he informs.

Gajeel hums, nodding his head in understanding.

"Did something happened?" Gildarts asks curiously.

"Nothing," Gajeel replies quietly, not wanting to ruin the atmosphere with his usual loud attitude.

"Are you sure?" Gildarts says. When Gajeel gives a hesitant nod, Gildarts looks down at his drink. "Ah, well. I suppose it's fine if you aren't ready to discuss it right now."

Gajeel doesn't respond. He just keeps staring straight ahead, taking occasional sips from his glass and letting the warm alcohol fill his stomach.

But then it hit him that Gildarts may be the perfect person to ask advice to. He can probably figure out something that Gajeel may need to do since he is a father too.

He takes another gulp from his glass and clears his throat before speaking.

"Actually, something did happen between us." He pauses briefly, waiting for any reaction from Gildarts. "Levy is..." He pauses again for a few moments before continuing, "... pregnant."

Another small pause follows, and both men stare forward, not daring to break the silence that falls upon them. Gajeel doesn't move his head at all, and neither does Gildarts.

"Well, congratulations." The older man offers him a smile.

Gajeel frowns. That wasn't quite what he wanted to hear. He just wanted a bit more information before moving on.

"Thanks, I guess." He nods slowly before taking another large gulp of his drink, trying to ignore the burning sensation as it burns down his throat.

A short period of silence falls between them, before Gajeel decided to speak up again.

"...How does it feel to be a father?" He says slowly. He turns his eyes away, focusing on the glass in his hand.

"Honestly? It's weird," he responds after a while, and the dragon slayer feels himself frown again.

"I only found out about Cana years ago, so I guess I've been thinking about being a father a lot lately," he continues after a long pause. "At first, I wasn't sure I could handle it."

Gajeel swallows thickly, and nods. He understands that feeling alright. The feeling of uncertainty as to whether you're good enough for your child, knowing that you won't live up to expectations.

"But then I started to realise that I don't care, I'll do anything that I can do. I'm not going to let fear stop me from being a parent to my child, and that I love her, more than anything else in this world." He finishes.

Gajeel stays silent, listening intently to everything that Gildarts has to say. Even though they never really talked much about their personal lives, Gildarts always seemed to know what to say to him.

Gildarts reaches his arm and pat his back, as if telling Gajeel that he's happy for him. It makes the dragon slayer feel better.

"You'll do good. I know it," Gildarts states confidently.


Levy throw herself on the bed in her dorm room in Fairy Hills. Exhausted. Her eyelids start to grow heavy again, as she tries to fight off sleep. But she can't stop thinking about Gajeel.

Levy can still feels the warmth of Gajeel's hand. She wishes she had been able to hold it longer.

She wonders why he left so suddenly and ran off like that. Is it because of what she said? Why did she have to ruin everything?

She closes her eyes and tries to forget everything that happened. What if Gajeel doesn't want a baby? Will he leave her? Would he dump her? No, he wouldn't do that. She loves him, and he loves her too.

She opens her mouth as if to speak to him in her mind, but stops when she hears a knock at the door.

She groans in frustration and throws herself over in an attempt to stay awake. Maybe she should just ignore whoever is outside and pretend to be asleep.

When the knocks get louder she finally gets up, dragging herself out of bed and walking to the door. After opening it wide, she blinks her eyes a few times to adjust to the light coming from outside her dorm and immediately notices that Gajeel is standing in front of her door.

Levy is surprised at first, but she quickly recovers, "Gajeel?"

The raven haired man is panting and looking slightly dishevelled from having run through the streets of Magnolia.

He glances at her, giving her an exhausted and slightly sad look. "Can I come in?" He mumbles.

Levy nodded weakly and, stepping aside for him to walk past her. The raven haired male stumbles slightly, holding onto the wall to steady himself.

He grabbed one of Levy's hand and pulls her towards him, gently wrapping his arms around her waist as he nuzzles his face against her neck.

Levy freezes for a split second, shocked by the sudden affection.

She brings a hand up to his back, hesitantly placing her hands on his shoulder blades.

"...I'm sorry," He murmurs into the crook of her neck softly, tightening his grip around her body.

Levy's heart swell with emotion, and she wraps her arms tightly around him, turns around, and pulling him even closer to her. She can feel tears running down her face as she clutches onto his shirt, burying her face into his chest.

"I thought you were leaving me," she whimpers.

"I'm never leaving you," He speaks again, his voice strained. "I just needed some time to think."

Levy lets out a choked sob, burying her face further into his chest. She doesn't know what to say. She's lost all words. Instead, she tightens her grip around him.

They stay like that for a few minutes, until eventually, Levy pulls away.

Her eyes meet his, filled with a mix of emotions. Confusion, sadness, hope, and determination.

"What we are going to do now?" She asks softly.

He stares deep into her eyes, and he sees the desperation and the confusion that she seems to try and hide behind those clear hazel eyes.

His hand moves from her waist down to her, intertwining his fingers with hers. He stares down at their hands, squeezing his hand lightly, and lets out a shaky breath.

"Would you give me a chance?" He whispers.

Levy's eyes widen at his respond. "A chance...?"

He nods and let go of her hand. Now he rest his palm on her flat belly. His eyes scan over the area where their unborn child lies within, and he let out a sigh.

"I'm an orphan. I lived alone for many years before I found you... and found Fairy Tail. I'm a rough and violent person. I've hurt you before and I still have nightmares about that. Even us being together still feeling surreal until this very day." Gajeel explains slowly.

"You know I was raised by Metallicana. But the day he left... He never came back. It really hurts me back then."

The memory floods his head. The memories of that fateful morning replaying over and over again. That memory is still so fresh and vivid in his mind.

The pain and fear that he felt during those days, it all comes flooding back.

"I'm scared I'll hurt this child, too." He finally admits.

"Gajeel."

She puts her hand on his, bringing his focus back to her.

"You won't. You are the most loving person I've ever met." Levy replies with a shaky voice.

He closes his eyes and tries not to imagine what it would've been like if he didn't meet her.

How different his life could've been

He opened his eyes and fixated his gaze onto hers.

"Would you give me a chance... to be a father of this child?" He questions quietly.

Tears flooded Levy's eyes as she stared into Gajeel's. She gave him a slight nod.

"Thank you," He whispered as he brought his free hand up and wiped away a stray tear that fell from her eye.

Before Levy could react, Gajeel leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her once again, embracing her tightly in his embrace.

"We will work through everything." He promised, pulling back from her hug. A faint blush crept across his cheeks and a soft smile graced his lips. "I promise to take care of the two of you."

"Yes..." She murmured as a small smile appeared upon her face.

It's funny remember how it's all started but now, all of the pieces fit together perfectly. How it took them a little bit to figure themselves out but here they are.

They're gonna be parents. They're gonna make a family of their own, together.