"What the fuck are you doing here?!" Lucy screeched. She marched up to Gajeel and hit him in the shoulder.
"Excuse me? I fucking saved your goddamn ass and you thank me by hitting me? Some fucking gratitude would be nice," Gajeel snarled.
"I didn't ask for your help. And I had the situation under control. I had already called Loke," Lucy stated with a defiant flip of her hair.
"Right, okay. Under control. Sure. I heard you screaming bloody murder inside your tent. Those suckers would have ripped a hole through your tent and had their claws elbow deep inside you before Loke could have even reacted. The only reason they didn't was because I got to you right as that one fucker ran its talon over your tent. I heard you call Loke and I heard Loke show up, and I know that, had I not been there, that split second would have been enough for you to become monster chow," Gajeel ranted.
Lucy rolled her eyes. Gajeel seemed to be giving himself too much credit, but she couldn't deny that it was a close call. She was grateful that he took care of the monsters, but her ego was bruised too deeply for her to admit it.
"Fine. Thanks," she said flatly. She didn't want him thinking that he was some sort of knight in shining armour.
"Whatever," he huffed back.
"What are you even doing here?" Lucy snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. She was freezing, but she hoped Gajeel hadn't noticed the way her body was gently trembling. He had noticed, but seeing as he lacked a coat of any kind, he didn't know what to offer her. So he decided to ignore her shaking for the time being.
"I'm- I'm just-" Gajeel blanked.
So much for coming up with a believable lie, Gajeel thought to himself.
"Natsu sent you, didn't he? Natsu, and Gray, and Erza. They sent you. I can't believe this… I can't believe that they have such little faith in me. Fucking brilliant!" Lucy threw her hands up in frustration. "My own friends think I'm a useless weakling and so they send this big, burly bodyguard to watch over me and protect me from the monsters. Goddamnit... Fucking astounding," Lucy let out a low, sardonic whistle.
"I offered," Gajeel said carefully.
Lucy's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
"They were worried about you, but they didn't want to follow you. They knew it would break your trust. So I offered. They didn't ask, and they sure as hell didn't send me here, like some fucking guard dog. I came here because I wanted to," Gajeel squared his shoulders.
Lucy barked out a short laugh. "And why do you care, huh? What's it to you that I'm here alone in the Woods?"
"I've been here before, Bunny girl. I know these Woods and I know just how nasty they can be. I wasn't going to let you fend for yourself."
"But why do I get this special treatment?" Lucy probed.
"I'd have done it for anyone," Gajeel replied instantly.
"Even Natsu?" Lucy asked.
Gajeel nodded.
"Erza?"
Another nod.
"Wow, even Erza, huh? Okay, what about Gildarts?" Lucy's eyes twinkled as the conversation began veering towards humour.
Gajeel chuckled. "If Gildarts was coming to the North Woods, I'd tell the monsters to run and hide. That man is quite something."
Lucy's eyes softened with admiration and respect. "He really is," she said dreamily.
"Woah, stop fantasizing about him while I'm still standing here!" Gajeel stuck his tongue out in disgust.
Lucy's eyes widened in horror. "I'm not fantasizing about him! Don't be fucking gross, Gajeel! He's old enough to be my dad, and contrary to popular opinion, I don't, in fact, have daddy issues!" she shrieked.
A wicked thought crossed Gajeel's mind and the words were tumbling out of his lips before he could stop them. "So, there's no one you'd call daddy? Not even in the bedroom?" his voice was low and seductive, his eyes glinting sensually.
Lucy's face flushed and her mouth began gaping like a fish. Gajeel instantly felt a little embarrassed.
"Calm down, Bunny. I was kidding," he mumbled awkwardly.
"I know," Lucy huffed indignantly. "I am calm. And I'm exhausted. I have a long day ahead of me, so I need to sleep," Lucy spun on her heel.
Then, quickly turning back around, she looked at Gajeel. "Where's your tent?" she asked.
Gajeel shrugged. "I don't have one. I was gonna sleep in a tree or against a rock or something," he said with a vague wave of his hand.
Lucy's features rearranged themselves to reflect her extreme and utter bafflement. "A tree?! Are you out of your mind?! God, Gajeel, why would you sleep in a tree?!" she asked, jaw hitting the floor.
"I don't get cold easily, and I don't like lugging around a tent. I'm fine in trees," Gajeel reassured.
But Lucy wasn't having any of it. She shook her head violently. "Absolutely not. In my tent. Now," she ordered firmly.
"I'm not gonna share your tent, Lucy! That's hardly appropriate!" Gajeel began backing away. He desperately wanted to make a crass joke, but it didn't seem like the right moment.
Lucy strode forward and gripped his arm. "Firstly, it's not like we're gonna do anything. Secondly, you won't be in my sleeping bag, dummy. You'll sleep on the floor. And third, who's here to see us share a tent? Stop being a fucking prude," she chastised.
Gajeel frowned. "I'm not a prude," he grumbled, but let Lucy drag him to the tent.
"Maybe I should stay up and take the first watch? In case the monsters come back?" Lucy suggested tentatively. She was curled up in her sleeping bag, lying on her side. Gajeel was pressed against the tent wall, having put as much space between them as he could. Lucy's blanket was draped over him, with her bag under his head as a pillow. He too was on his side, facing Lucy.
"Not after the massacre. They won't be back tonight," Gajeel assured confidently.
Lucy nodded. Several moments passed in silence.
"Are you sure you're not cold?" Lucy asked. She was chilly, even inside her warm, insulated sleeping bag.
"Yep. I'm good," Gajeel replied gruffly.
"Okay. Uh, goodnight Gajeel," Lucy whispered into the darkness.
"Goodnight Bunny girl," Gajeel replied awkwardly.
It took Lucy many minutes of tossing and turning in the dark, but soon, sleep washed over her. Maybe it was the knowledge that Gajeel was just a couple feet away from her, but Lucy slept incredibly restfully.
At some point in the middle of the night, Lucy woke up to hear the sound of teeth chattering. She blinked as her eyes adjusted, and she saw Gajeel's shadowy figure curled into a tight ball. It was ridiculously cold, and Lucy's three coats and two pairs of socks were not helping as much as they should have. Still, Lucy's sleeping bag was warm, and when inside it, she didn't feel too bad. In comparison, she couldn't imagine how cold Gajeel was. Half asleep, she slipped out of her sleeping bag, shivering at the sudden cold air. She shrugged off one of her coats and gently placed it over Gajeel. Within seconds, his teeth stopped chattering and his body began unfurling itself. He pulled the coat around him tightly before a soft, content sigh left his lips.
Lucy smiled gently, crawling back into the warmth of her sleeping bag. With a final look at Gajeel, Lucy let sleep take her once more.
"Rise and shine, Bunny girl! The quicker you get a move on, the quicker we can leave this damn place," Gajeel boomed.
Lucy jolted up, rubbing her eyes. Gajeel was kneeling down and tying his laces. He looked wide awake and fully ready. Lucy pouted at having been woken up so early. It was still dark outside.
"What time is it?" she mumbled sleepily.
"It is 4:30am, so if we get to walking, we can stop for breakfast and still make it to the river before noon," Gajeel said.
Lucy wasn't going to comment on why he knew so much about her mission. She didn't doubt that he'd probably overheard everything she'd said since they entered the Woods. What she didn't know was that, in reality, he'd heard everything she'd said since they left Magnolia.
"We can afford to sleep for another hour, Gajeel. And plus, what makes you think you're coming with me? It'll be daylight for the rest of my mission, and I don't need your help anymore. I promise to be safe. So thank you, but I will see you back at the guild," Lucy declared before laying back down and turning away from him.
Suddenly, a rough hand grabbed her shoulder and flipped her. Gajeel's face was inches from her own, his deep red eyes intently looking into her brown ones.
"Not a chance, Bunny. I made a commitment to keep you safe, and I don't intend to break it. So the only way I'm going back to Magnolia is with you, whether you like it or not. I won't interfere with your mission unless I have no choice, and I won't get in your way. I will sit in the trees and keep an eye on you, because, like it or not, these Woods are a death trap. Day or night doesn't matter, you're at risk either way. I swear, I will only step in if you're a second away from death, but there's no way I'm leaving you alone. Got that?" he dropped his voice to a whisper at the end, bringing his face even closer to Lucy's.
She felt his breath ghost over her lips, and a delicious shiver ran up her spine. Swallowing thickly, Lucy nodded. Her gaze involuntarily flicked down to Gajeel's mouth and she poked out her tongue, lightly wetting her lips. Gajeel smirked when he saw her lick her lips and he held back the deep, appreciative growl that threatened to emanate from his chest. With a final, gentle exhale across her face, Gajeel stood up.
"Get dressed," he ordered firmly before ducking out of the tent.
It was still cold as Lucy and Gajeel trudged side by side through the forest. And it was still dark. On more than one occasion, Gajeel's hand shot out to grab Lucy's arm and stop her from falling face first into the ground. And on exactly two occasions, Gajeel roughly shoved Lucy to the side before turning his arm into a sword and driving it into some ugly creature's stomach.
The sun had begun peeking over the horizon as they walked towards it. Faint streaks of orange painted the sky, and Lucy no longer feared tripping over a root and hurtling towards the forest floor. The leaves crinkled loudly under their feet, but besides that, the forest seemed incredibly peaceful. Walking like this, in comfortable silence, Lucy almost forgot that monsters lurked mere feet away. She turned to look at Gajeel. He noticed her movement and met her gaze. She smiled softly when their eyes connected, and Gajeel began to return it when his eyes snapped up to above Lucy's head. Before Lucy could whip her head around and look, Gajeel grabbed her waist and pulled her into him. Lucy looked over her shoulder just in time to see a leopard with the face of a bear leap out of a tree. Gajeel spun them both, shielding Lucy with his body. His body turned to iron and Lucy pressed her face into his cool, solid chest. The sound of claws scraping against metal grated Lucy's ears and she shuddered. Still holding Lucy to his chest, Gajeel threw an ironed arm behind him, hitting the monster in its side. The man quickly spun again and slammed his foot into the creature's back and Lucy heard the sickening sound of bone breaking. A feral cry tore through the creature and purple ichor dripped from its mouth. Gajeel raised his foot again, this time bringing it down on the creature's neck. Again, Lucy heard bones snap, and the monster wheezed shakily. It looked up at the pair with night-black eyes that were filled with mindless rage. But it didn't move. It stayed on the ground and Lucy watched that rage drain out with the blood seeping from its mouth. Within a minute, the creature's eyes went blank and its breathing stopped.
Gajeel was still holding Lucy as his body changed back to warm flesh. Lucy's hands were fisted in his shirt and her cheek was pressed to his collarbone. She didn't know why she was shaking. It wasn't the first time she'd seen a monster killed in front of her. Maybe it was the incessant assault of monster after monster, or the frightening thought of what might have happened to her had Gajeel not been there, but in any case, Lucy was rattled. She didn't let go of Gajeel until he delicately stroked her hair.
"You okay, Bunny?" he asked softly.
Lucy pushed away from him and pressed cool palms to her face. She nodded numbly.
"Thank you, Gajeel. I- I didn't even hear it. I could have… I could have died," she whispered, in shock.
Gajeel laughed. "Lucy, this is not the first time you almost died on this mission. Between me and your spirits, we've been saving your ass since minute one."
Lucy glared at him half-heartedly. "Whatever, smartass," she grunted before marching away.
Gajeel strode alongside her, briefly draping an arm over her shoulder. "Consider it me repaying the favour. It was nice of you to give me your coat last night," Gajeel looked down at her and winked before removing his arm from around her.
Much to Lucy's displeasure, she blushed. "You were cold. I wouldn't have left you to freeze," she mumbled.
"And I'm not gonna leave you to die. Let's call it even," Gajeel smirked before facing forward.
The pair fell back into their easy silence. They soldiered on towards the river, walking far enough from the other so as to not intrude in each other's space, but close enough for their hands to occasionally brush. They were both telling themselves that it was happening by accident. They were both hoping that they were wrong.
The sun was right above them and all the chill from a few hours ago was long gone. The Woods had turned into a sweltering, humid, hot nightmare.
"No wonder none of these damn monsters have come for us over the last couple hours! They're all hiding in bushes, trying to get away from this fucking heat!" Lucy grumbled agitatedly.
Gajeel didn't have the heart to tell her that he could hear the monsters all around them, lurking behind the trees, watching the pair's every step. He wasn't sure why they weren't attacking, but he was anticipating quite the showdown when they reached the river. Instead, he huffed his agreement. It was absurdly hot.
"How much longer to the river, Gajeel?" Lucy whined.
"How should I know? Ask your damn spirit," Gajeel snapped back. He didn't like humidity. It made his iron feel weird.
"Jeez, no need to be so fucking grumpy… I asked because I thought you could smell this shit, and I need to conserve my magic energy," Lucy said with a roll of her eyes. She subtly took a step away from the irritated man, but he noticed, and it only irritated him more.
"I'm not fucking grumpy," he growled. "I just don't like humidity. And the river is maybe an hour away, since obviously I'm not only your bodyguard but also your personal compass."
Lucy stopped in her tracks and glared at him. The heat wasn't doing much for her mood either.
"I fucking told you to go back to Magnolia! But no! You needed to be a bull-headed asshole and crash my job! And now you're whining about it? If you hate it so much, it's not too late to leave!" Lucy screamed, stomping her foot in anger.
Gajeel looked at her with burning eyes. "And what? Leave you to die?! Because I think we've proved it enough times that, without me, you'd have been dead! So you know what? You can deal with my fucking grumbling because, in return, I'm keeping you alive!" he shouted back.
"I don't need your bloody charity! If I die, I die! It's my mission, and my life on the line, and no one is asking for you to go out of your way to protect me! So please, if you hate the humidity so much and if you're going to bitch and moan about it, then leave! I hate the heat too but I'm not letting it spoil my mood!" Lucy screeched. And then, with a defeated sigh, her shoulders slumped. "It's hot. I feel gross. I'm scared. I'm tired. I'm trying to save my energy. I can't fight with you, Gajeel. I'm not gonna hold it against you if you want to leave. No one will blame you. And if I'm not back in a week, you know what's happened. At least I'd have died trying. So it's fine. Just go. It's fucking stupid to have a screaming match about the weather, and I can't waste my energy on it."
Gajeel's eyes widened in shock. He hadn't expected her bluntness.
"Wha- what? How can you even say that? I'd never leave you alone here. Fuck the heat and fuck my discomfort, none of that matters. I'm sorry I was bitching, but asking me to fuck off? Hell no, Bunny girl. And what the fuck are you on talking about you dying and shit? No fucking way. Fuck you, Lucy, don't ever say shit like that to me, understood? You and I are gonna deal with the heat, and we're gonna deal with each other whining, and we're gonna fuck up some bastard rogue spirit, and then we're going home. And we're doing all of this together. Cool?" He looked at her intently.
Lucy searched his eyes for several moments before nodding. "I'm sorry for shouting at you and asking you to leave," she said softly.
Gajeel's face relaxed into an easy smile. "No big deal, Bunny," he said with a wink.
Once again, they resumed their tedious walk towards the river. Lucy took a step closer to Gajeel, and Gajeel responded by subtly taking a step closer to her, and this time, their hands didn't just occasionally brush. Instead, their pinky fingers were just barely intertwined - close enough for both of them to be aware of it, but still loose enough for either to pass it off as an accident.
A/N: I know I'm not updating as often as I normally do (that whole one chapter a day thing is exhausting!). I have a ton of work that's cropped up so I only write a little bit every day, and also, as with all my fics, I have no idea where this is going. We're just making it up as we go, but hopefully you are enjoying it and to those of you patiently waiting for smut, I will deliver on that, I promise. But I kinda want to draw out the tease so it may be another few chaps before we actually get to some sexy times.
Anywayyyy please please please review! it just truly makes my day!