More Christmas Shenanigans

Levy watched Gajeel closely out of the corner of her eye while Cana opened her presents. His eyes roamed the group, alert but not panic filled like she had expected. She would need to thank Gray later for his wonderful suggestion; sitting in the hallway had been the perfect way for them to give Gajeel a chance to recover after all of the activity outside.

It was tradition to wait for each Fairy to finish opening their gifts before the next one started. Levy fiddled with the bow on a present. Cana finished opening her gifts and they had already finished gushing over the new tankards and purse. Gajeel simply sat, staring at his gifts as if they would run away if he didn't keep a close eye on them.

"Aren't you gonna open them?" Natsu leaned around Gray and poked Gajeel's knee.

"Y-yeah, sure. Um, thanks everyone. I...I wasn't expectin' this." His hushed whisper filled the hallway and Levy perked up when he reached for one of her presents.

She bit her lip to hold back a smile, resting her chin on her hand while she watched Gajeel methodically and carefully unwrap the present. It was a stark contrast to Natsu, who had small pieces of paper littered around him from his erratic tearing.

Of course Gajeel would be a cautious opener.

The last piece of paper fell from Gajeel's gift and he shook out the large throw blanket she found for him. It was thinner than the comforter for his bed and the forest-green fabric with golden swirls reminded her of the first book she helped him read. His sharp canines flashed in a smile and he immediately wrapped the blanket around his shoulders before reaching for the other presents.

His hand quickly, but carefully, untucked the paper. He opened the two books, smiling at the one about iron.

"That'll be perfect," she heard him whisper, watching his fingers lightly trace the title.

The socks were tugged onto his feet and the scarf was wrapped securely around his neck. Lucy's slippers slid over the socks and he held the red, fuzzy pillow from Natsu in his lap. Panther Lily chose that moment to investigate all the noise and Gajeel had to place the pillow onto the ground when the cat refused to move from his lap. Cana handed Gajeel an entire tube of hair ties; he used a bright green one to pull back the rest of his hair.

Levy giggled. Between the bandana, hair tie and all of his fuzzy accessories, he looked positively festive. Cana pushed her last present across the floor and Levy watched her dragon shake out a light grey shirt. Blocky words were stamped onto the front, saying "enjoy your gifts, because now I'm broke."

Gajeel laughed and stood, turning away from them while he pulled his shirt over his head to change into his new one. The smile died on her face, the jovial laughter and warm atmosphere fading into blackness at the sight of Gajeel's scarred back.

Levy's ears rang with the sound of the whip and his cries of agony. All she could see were the scars, every inch of his skin covered in slashed lines, most as thick as her finger. They were raised and puckered...but not red. No longer red and angry and burning like they had been months and months ago.

She took a shuddering breath, averting her burning eyes, and pretended to look through the book he so painstakingly created for her.

"Breath, Levy-girl. It's alright." Cana whispered while Gajeel was distracted by his next gift of new fingerless gloves from Gray.

Lucy held up the kitten poster she received from Natsu, blocking Levy's view of the boys so she could wipe the tears spilling down her cheeks.

"Remember," Lucy looked her directly in the eyes, "he's no longer at that place...that monster can't touch him anymore."

Cana rubbed her back, smiling softly. "Look at how happy he is. And it's all because you got him out of there."

Levy nodded and wiped the back of her hand across her cheek. She took a deep, shaking breath and nodded again, pushing aside the painful memories. She rested her head against Cana's shoulder, needing just a few more seconds to remind her heart that her dragon was safe and sound.

Gajeel realized his mistake the moment Lucy lifted the cat poster to block his view of Levy. He smelled salt and pulled his new shirt over his head as quickly as he could. He made sure to wholeheartedly thank Gray for the new leather gloves; his had become threadbare and he was glad to be rid of the old ones that he had used back in that place.

He glanced at the poster, still smelling the salt of Levy's tears. To be honest, he had completely forgotten about the scars covering his back. He never spent time staring in a mirror and the guys had become accustomed to seeing them whenever he changed in the room.

Whispers drifted from behind the poster and reached his sensitive ears. He was so grateful to Levy's friends and when they finally lowered the poster back onto the ground, Levy's smile was firmly back in place and her eyes carried only a hint of her tears.

When all the presents were open, and the group was entertained by Natsu and Lucy's bickering, Gajeel finally managed to catch Levy's eye. He tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. She smiled softly, the dimple in her cheek deepening, and with a sigh pointed to her back and jutted her chin in his direction. Gajeel pursed his lips and grabbed his discarded scarf. He made a show of twisting his torso and stretching his arms above his head while he wrapped the scarf back around his neck.

When he was finished, he shrugged both shoulders up to his ears. Levy coughed into her hand, a sparkle replacing the last of her tears. Mission completed, he pulled his blanket around him and settled into a more comfortable spot on the floor, content to sit and listen to the conversations around him. He was amazed with how often his voice joined in on the conversation.

Smells drifted up the stairs while they sat, signaling just how long they had been enjoying each other's company. All too soon they heard the Master's voice calling everyone down for dinner. Doors opened and footsteps pounded on the floor.

"First one back downstairs saves everyone a table, alright? And don't forget the rest of your presents." Gray looked at each and every one of them.

Arms full of opened gifts, the group nodded and separated to their designated sides of the hallway. Pausing to adjust his blanket, Gajeel took a final glance over his shoulder, ears warming when he saw Levy doing the same thing. He smiled and quickly turned his head, heading straight for his room.

He opened the door to Natsu and Gray's arguing voices and carefully deposited his gifts onto his pillow. Grabbing the crate at the foot of his bed, and ignoring the guy's argument of who needed more space for their gifts, Gajeel left the room and followed the savory smells of dinner. Not seeing the familiar patches of blue or blonde hair in the common room, he chose a table near the wall and placed his crate at his feet.

Lily hopped onto the table, grunting in displeasure when Gajeel grabbed him and placed him back on the floor. The rest of the guild slowly trickled down the stairs. They found their seats and set bags and boxes in front of them. Gajeel waved to the girls, who looked around the room with a puzzled frown, and soon everyone in their small group had joined him at the table.

Makarov jumped onto a table near the back counter and the room grew silent. "Well, I haven't heard any complaints so that must mean that you all behaved yourselves today." He grinned broadly, giving Natsu and Gray a long, lingering look. "Before we tuck into Mira's wonderful dinner that she and Wendy prepared for us this evening, I just wanted to tell you again how much I care about each and every one of you."

The master jumped from the table and walked around the room, small baggies with names on them in his hand.

"We're an interesting bunch. A few of us are related by blood, but most of us drifted to this place by sheer chance. Some of you have never known the hardships of what it's like to be alone while others," the master set a small bag in front of him with a sad smile. "have seen enough pain to last for a dozen lifetimes. Our magics are different, our likes and dislikes are different. But we each have one thing in common..."

All the bags had been passed out and the Master leapt back onto the table. "We are a family because we...are Fairy Tail! Merry Christmas, my annoying brats!" He raised his hand into the air, pointing to the sky.

The guild's cheer could have put a thunderstorm to shame. Gajeel resisted covering his ears and looked around the room at the cheering Fairies. Mira shouted directions and one by one the tables stood to grab their food. Other Fairies roamed the room, placing small items in each of the baggies sitting on the tables. Levy jumped up from her spot next to him and bustled around the room, placing a colorful bag in each of the larger paper ones sitting on the tables.

She passed out her gifts in record time, panting slightly when she collapsed back into her chair. She had promised to always stay right next to him and Gajeel wasn't ready to leave her side quite yet.

"Um, Shorty?" He waited for her to look at him, "you...wanna help me pass out my gifts?"

"Of course!" She beamed a stunningly bright smile at him and scooted out of the way so he could grab his crate from beneath the table.

He pried open the lid, eating the nails before they fell to the ground, and began to pass out the metal pieces to their table first. He heard Levy gasp next to him, staring at the metal figurine in her hand.

"It's nothin', just a little something I came up with. The blacksmith in town let me borrow his forge and showed me how to bend the metal."

Gajeel studied the miniature, metal Fairy in Levy's hand with a critical eye. The narrow pieces of metal had been shaped into the basic form of a head and body. Creating legs had been impossible, so Gajeel opted to give each metal Fairy a simple skirt to save on time. Two wings connected behind the figurine's torso, the twisted metal adding a bit of texture to the design. The wings turned out larger than he originally intended, but Mr. Darren insisted that it helped balance the entire look.

It had been a struggle forming the first Fairy, but once he became familiar with the testy forge, making 40 of the tiny figures had taken only a fraction of the time Gajeel originally thought he would need.

"It's absolutely beautiful, Gajeel!"

He ducked his head at Levy's praise and quickly passed out the rest of the figures. The master reached out his hand and Gajeel placed his Fairy directly into the old man's palm. The wise Fairy twisted the figure in the air.

"You've got a gift, my boy," he said, placing a hand on Gajeel's shoulder, "You could really do something with this talent of yours."

Gajeel set the empty crate on the floor. "Actually...Mr. Darren offered me a job after I finished the last one."

"What!?" Levy turned small and hovered in front of his face, her eyes wide.

He pushed her away with his palm. "Well, he said it's more of an apprenticeship, but if I do well then he might be willin' to leave me the shop. Said to come back when I'm ready to start settlin' down."

Levy squeaked and Makarov's eyes twinkled. "That's a good deal, son. I hope you really think about it."

"Yeah, I have been."

"Good for you. Well then, go get your food. I think it's finally your table's turn."

"Yessir."

Gajeel nodded to the Fairy who seemed more a mentor than a guild master and took his place in line at the back counter. He shoveled food onto his plate and sat with the rest of the group at their table, eagerly tucking into the delicious smelling dinner. Their small group filled the room with their chatter and the occasional bark of laughter when they played with the small items in their baggies.

The large Christmas tree stood proudly in the corner of the room, its lights twinkling and reflecting around the room. Mira strummed on her guitar and Wendy hopped and skipped around the tables, blue pigtails flying. Group games broke out in all the corners of the room and tables were cleared to make room for cards. Gray and Natsu moved off to join an arm wrestling competition; Jet and Droy stood cheering for the competitors. Lucy joined Erza and Evergreen's card game at a back table and Cana moved to the counter where a group of guys poured drinks.

The windows grew dark and the winter wind rattled against the glass, but the room was filled with the warm glow of the lights overhead. Gajeel watched Levy study the activity around the room and wondered which group she would join. Instead, she sighed, yawned and stretched her arms high above her head. When she finished, Gajeel was certain her chair was a little closer to his.

Pretending to look around the room as well, Gajeel scooted his chair closer to hers. She peeked at him from the corner of her eye and gave a small giggle before leaning against his arm. Lips twitching, Gajeel scooped another heaping spoonful of potatoes into his mouth, completely and utterly agreeing with Levy's statement from earlier that morning.

Best. Christmas. Ever.