Okay guys, there are six chapters left, with about 8,000 words. I'm sorry I haven't gotten more out, things have been rough at home the last couple days. I'm running on fumes and the hanging on by the skin of my teeth as far as patience goes. Doesn't make for a good head space to work on my story. I'm still hoping to get it finished up this weekend, though.
dareaderreads: I have heard of Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon (no idea what it actually is though .) and I know Percy Jackson is a book series, but I have not read it, so I can say for certain they did not inspire anything here. The only inspiration I have for a god/ human relationships is from the book Styxx from Sherrilyn Kenyon (the series is amazing, highly recommend.) In it, they mentioned Ganymede, who was a mortal who was so beautiful, Zeus abducted him to be a cup bearer on Olympus. In the story Styxx, some of the gods have relations with humans they find particularly attractive and some offer to share with each other. I didn't intentionally pick it as inspiration, but it's the only reference I have.
Am I rambling? I feel like I'm rambling. I'm too tired to condense my thoughts right now. Let's get to the story.
Oh, also, more Gajeel time, yay!
As always, thanks for all the love and happy reading.
Gajeel rubbed his face hard with both hands as he readied himself to enter Lucy's house. Levy had told him there was no way to know how things would progress with Lucy and had asked that he not tell her anything while she focused on her work for the war.
He had hated the idea of keeping it from her, but he knew it was for the best. She had been up all night, stressed out and worried as she tried to find a way to save Natsu, but she'd been unsuccessful. She already knew what was going to happen. A play by play when she had so much on her plate right now would just distract her and make her feel worse.
With one last steadying breath, he knocked on the door, surprised when the door opened nearly instantly. A flicker from behind the door drew his eyes to Scorpio, who was unwinding his tail from the door handle. The constellation clicked his pincers at him before floating towards the living room, no doubt towards Lucy. With a sinking feeling, Gajeel shut the door behind him and followed.
When he entered the living room, he was surprised to find Lucy up and sitting on the couch. She smiled at him as he moved to sit opposite her. "Good afternoon," she said.
"Ya look like hell," he said without preamble. She was almost completely wrapped up in a thick blanket, with a cup of tea and small bowl of soup in front of her. Her hair was a mess and she had dark circles under her eyes.
"Yeah, I haven't been feeling the best since this morning," she said. She grimaced as she rubbed her chest over her heart. "Not sure why. I haven't had much luck sleeping yet."
"Ya want me to get ya something?" he asked.
"No, it's okay," she said. "I made my mother's special tea so I'll be fine in time to hang the sky tonight." She reached forward for her cup. "I'll catch up on sleep tomorrow." After she took a sip, she looked up at him. "Are you okay? You seem a bit tired yourself."
"Yeah, Lev had a bad night so I was up with her," he said. He'd done his best to support Levy while she'd taken on the responsibility for saving Natsu, but there hadn't been much he could do.
Not that he could tell Lucy that. He and Levy had agreed to wait until everything was over to tell her what happened. He had told Lucy in the beginning he wouldn't be keeping track of the fighting well enough to keep her informed of Natsu's movements, and she'd grudgingly respected his decision. She still asked occasionally, but he never answered.
He planned to keep avoiding those questions, but he'd have to keep on his toes to avoid tipping her off in other ways. She was extremely effective at noticing when someone dodged a question and always knew when someone lied. If she caught wind that he was trying to keep something from her, he wasn't sure how long he would be able to keep his promise to Levy.
Lucy frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that." She pulled her blanket tighter around her. "I know she doesn't like helping with all the fighting, so I hope she's taking time to keep herself in a good head space."
"I try to make sure she reads or something every few nights so she can relax," he reassured her. "Not that she listens to others' opinions very well."
Laughter filled the room and the two spent a couple hours together chatting, then sitting quietly when Lucy finally managed to fall asleep. He cleaned up the tea and fixed his cushions before leaving.
"Keep an eye on her," he said gruffly as he left her house. Leo, who had taken up post on the couch, watched him go with a critical eye.
If Lucy noticed his increased presence in her home, she didn't mention it. He was there every day now, watching her as she went about her usual chores, and working on new stars to keep herself busy. Some days they'd chat, other days they were silent the entire time. She was never sick after the first day, but he noticed the changes on only the third day.
She began to zone out like she used to, going short stretches of time without doing anything. Just… existing. On the fifth day she welcomed him into her home with that vacant smile he hadn't seen in years. Gajeel watched as every day she lost a little more and a little more, wondering how long it would be before all of those emotions were gone and she was back to what she'd been before.
After a month, Gajeel went off on his own after visiting Lucy. He usually went straight home to check on Levy, but that day he'd needed some time to himself. Lucy had said goodbye to him without much more than a smile before returning to her work. Gajeel knew that her stars had noticed, and Leo had been glaring at him for almost a week. For whatever reason, they had chosen not to tell Lucy either, but it was clear Leo expected him to.
After wandering around a bit, he found himself in the woods near Lucy's home. He liked the stretch behind her house more than the others. It had more life to it, since she actually spent time there, clearing the paths and interacting with the creatures, making them friendlier than the ones in the rest of the realm. They even approached him, which was a strange experience for him.
He and Lucy had always had a rather strange friendship. She was Shrimp's friend, which meant he'd always made an effort not to piss her off, but nothing more than that. Even Lucy hadn't tried very hard to make friends.
However, she'd given him exactly what he needed to open up that door.
It had been during the second war after he'd marry Levy, where he'd found himself wandering aimlessly again outside their home, bored because she'd been busy. He could have gone to his own home, but the trip between pantheons took a while and he wanted to be around at night to keep her company. So, he wasted his day walking around, bored with nowhere to go, since her pantheon didn't like him and vice versa.
Lucy had walked by and said hi. After a short conversation, she'd offered to let him crash on her couch. When he'd refused, she'd said it was an open invitation and left. Three days later he'd knocked on her door.
He'd been awkward at first, not knowing how to act without Levy there to carry the conversation. It became clear that he was a worse conversationalist than he thought, and after a few days he'd apologized for not doing a better job talking to her. It wasn't until that conversation that he realized just how well she understood him.
She'd never expected anything from him being there, which was why she'd continued to go about her days when he visited. It had been him most of the time initiating conversation, because he felt awkward being there. He'd expected to have to perform, to be an engaging guest, when he should have taken her at her word. She really had only offered a space for him to be while he waited for Levy. No expectations, no discomfort, just a seat and cup of tea or a snack.
No one had ever allowed him his space like that before. Even his own pantheon poked their noses into his business, wanting to know about everything. Her respect of his space and comfort had drawn him in, and he'd quickly come to consider her a very close friend.
That had been centuries ago, and while he'd thought he knew her well, everything had changed when she'd gained her emotions. He'd found it fascinating to watch her consideration grow and be amplified by her stronger feelings. She'd changed in so many ways while also being the same, and he'd come to enjoy the new side of her.
Now he didn't want the old version. He didn't want the version who went about her days, quietly maintaining her home and creating new stars. Silently avoiding her pantheon and ignoring their complete lack of interest or care.
He wanted the version that smiled all the time. The version who's eyes were always lit up, who welcomed him at her door, who still gave him his space, but in a way that made him feel included in her day. It wouldn't be the same, and he found himself annoyed and angry about their pantheon's rules. If he could, he'd go out and find her a hundred followers, but gods weren't allowed to sway followers away from other gods. Being from a different pantheon, the fall out would be even greater if he intervened.
Too angry to go home, instead he decided to return to his own pantheon. He needed a little break from their war and Lucy's regression. It was just too much, and he needed some time to himself to recharge. He returned to Lucy's home to leave her a note at her front door. Once he'd dropped it off, he left in a flash, hoping he'd return before she completely reverted.