Chapter 5

"Oi, would ya chill out, already?" Gajeel huffed lightly as Levy worried her lip and fidgeted with her dress for the ten thousandth time. She was, understandably, nervous about being in a van full of mafia members, one of which was the Don's son. And, of course, she had due reason to be nervous about meeting the Don, himself, in just a few minutes. But Levy looked like she was about to have a panic attack. "Seriously, shrimp, you're stressing me out, just looking at ya."

"I'm surrounded by gangsters and I'm going to meet the most notorious crime boss in the city, and you expect me not to freak out?" Levy pointed out. He sighed, giving her that, at least. "W-why does he want to meet me, again? I-I'm just a doctor... I-I work with pregnant mothers and babies. I'm no one special."

"I wouldn't go questioning the boss, lady. That's one way to end up disappearing." The driver commented. Gajeel glared at him.

"Oi, the shrimp's under my protection. Treat her as such."

"Y-yes, sir." Gajeel still glared at him to get his point across, but the damage was done. Levy heard the driver and was now officially freaking out.

"I don't wanna disappear..." Levy all but cried.

"H-hey. Calm down, shrimp. You ain't in any danger." He assured her. "I wouldn't have agreed to introduce you to my old man if I'd thought he'd be likely to off ya. I know my old man. He just wants to see you and judge your character. Trust me, shrimp. If I like ya, my pop will like ya, too."

"R-really?" Levy looked up at him, slowly starting to relax at his words.

"Promise. You ain't in danger. If anything, he will probably reward ya for helping me." Gajeel told her.

"B-b-but I didn't do it for a reward, I-"

"I know that, shrimp. You're just a good person." Gajeel grinned, placing a hand on her head. She blushed lightly at the affection. "Look, just go with the flow, when you meet him, okay? Don't worry bout a thing."

Don Metalicana Redfox really stood up to his reputation as the most fearsome crime lord in the city. He was tall and muscular, with silvery-white hair that looked almost like metal. A strong, squarish face added to his fearsome stature, making him look incredibly strong and intimidating. His eyes were narrow and such a dark shade of brown Levy could have sworn they were nearly black.

He stood in the middle of what had to be the largest entry room she'd ever seen. To each side of the room, men in suits stood at attention. Levy fought the urge to gulp when she realized each man was heavily armed with various weapons. She followed Gajeel closely, feeling much safer next to him despite knowing that he was one of these members... and that he was also armed with several weapons. Thankfully, for her sake, his weapons were hidden from sight.

Gajeel led Levy across the room, stopping just in front of his father. Metalicana said nothing, merely nodded in acknowledgement of his son. Gajeel gave a brisk nod back, before moving a rather frightened Levy to stand in front of him, pulling her out from her hiding place behind him. Gajeel put his hands on her shoulders... to comfort her or keep her from running, she didn't know which. She looked up at the powerful mob boss and he stared back... and she felt as if those blackish eyes of his were searching her very soul. Several long moments passed before anyone spoke.

"So you're the woman that saved my whelp of an heir." The Don's voice was deep and loud... booming. Levy would have jumped in fright, had Gajeel not been holding her like he was.

"Y-yes, sir." Levy confirmed nervously. Metalicana stared at her a moment longer before he began to pace.

"Levy McGarden. Age 22. Profession, OBGYN. You graduated high school at the age of sixteen, and finished med school by the time you were nineteen. Perfect attendance, perfect grades, letters of recommendation from every professor, graduated top of your class... you have quite the impressive record, young lady." Metalicana stopped his pacing to grin at her, and Levy found out then where Gajeel got that particular trait from. "It's a shame you were dragged into this world, simply by being a good Samaritan. I'm sure my son has told you of all the dangers that come with simply knowing who he is, let alone having any interaction with him."

"Y-yes, sir, I'm well aware." Levy nodded shakily. He knew so much about her. It was positively terrifying to know that he had that kind of power, to be able to learn this much about her so quickly.

"I've been told my son promised you a life debt." The Don continued, looking at his son now. "He's placed you under his protection until a time comes when he can repay you for saving his life." Levy could only nod. She was terrified right now. The only thing keeping her from passing out from fear was the feeling of Gajeel's thumbs rubbing circles into her shoulders. He was... comforting her? "How do you feel about this?"

"I-I... I was just helping someone in n-need, sir. I never expected to be r-repaid and I don't know w-what to think of it. I would have been happy just knowing h-he was alright." she admitted to the Don. He stared at her for a long moment before smirking.

"You have a kind soul, Miss McGarden. I can tell. It is... refreshing to see, considering the company I keep." he gave a dark chuckle, and some of the men in the room laughed along with him. "I like you, young lady. Men, make sure to treat this young one with the respect she is due." A couple of grunts of affirmation filled the air. "Come, we will talk more privately in my study." That said, the Don turned and walked away. Gajeel gently motioned her forward, urging her to follow him, and then he released her shoulders in order to walk beside her. They followed the patriarch to his study, where he had both of them sit down.

"Boy." Metalicana addressed Gajeel now. "How much have you told this young lady?"

"Not a lot. Just who I am, who you are, and that someone was after me that night that might go after her if they knew she helped me." Gajeel shrugged. "Not enough to bring her too far into this lifestyle. Why?" He asked his father suspiciously. The Don grinned, and Levy fought off a shiver. That grin was pure evil.

"Wouldn't you say, boy, that that's already enough to have brought her into this life? She knows our faces, and now she knows where our base is. I'm afraid I can't simply let that slide." Levy swallowed nervously at his tone. G-Gajeel promised she didn't have anything to worry about. Why... why was his father acting like he was going to silence her?

"Pops, come on. I'm tryin to keep her life as normal as possible." Gajeel scowled at his father.

"Normal, huh?" Metalicana turned to his computer and pulled up a file. Then he turned the computer screen around. Levy gasped at what she saw, and tears started to fill her eyes. "They know who she is, already, and that she helped you. Not even ten minutes after you left, they sent someone to kill her." On the screen, Levy saw a picture of her apartment building, with smoke coming out of the bottom floor, specifically coming out of her own apartment unit. Cops and firemen were all around the place. "That, dear Levy, is a warning from Phantom Lord. When they couldn't find you, they set your apartment on fire. If my boy hadn't had someone watching your apartment, you wouldn't have found this out until you got home."

"My... my home..." Levy couldn't take her eyes away from the screen. What would she do? Everything she owned was in there, all her clothes and books, and her pictures... the only pictures she had left of her parents!

"I've gotten reports that the damage isn't as bad as it looks, and you'll be able to live there again. But you need to know, young lady, that you can't truly have a normal life anymore." Metalicana told her firmly. "You know too much, and you've been seen helping my boy. The way I see it, you've only got a few choices."

"C-choices?" Levy sniffed.

"For your own safety." he specified. "You can skip town and change your name. But you'd have to start from scratch and you couldn't be a doctor anymore." Metalicana rubbed his chin in thought. "Or you can join Fairy Tail. We take care of our own. But you'd have to understand what that entails, young lady."

"Pops, come on." Gajeel growled. "Why is my claim of protection not enough, huh?"

"Because it's nullified the first time you save her life. And Phantom Lord won't give up on her just because you protect her once." The Don pointed out.

"What if I change my protection claim, huh? I don't wanna protect her just cause of a life debt. I wanna protect her cause I just wanna protect her." Gajeel declared. Levy blushed a little at this. What... what did he mean by that? He wanted to protect her... even if he didn't owe her?

"Boy, do you realize what you're implying by saying that?" The Don raised an eyebrow at his son.

"Che, of course I do! The only reason I didn't make that claim from the start was cause I didn't want her to get dragged into this life. But since she's already in too deep, I might as well!" Gajeel huffed. He acted like he didn't like having to make this claim on her, but he was honestly rather happy about it. He hadn't pursued the shrimp because he didn't want to put her in even more danger. That's why he'd decided on the life debt. It was a way to protect her without bringing her in too deep. Now, however, he couldn't say he wasn't pleased at the chance to openly pursue Levy in a romantic way.

"I-I don't understand." Levy mumbled when the father and son had resorted to a stare down. What type of claim were they talking about? Why were they making such a big deal about it?

"Tell her, boy, if that's what your decision is." Metalicana sighed, giving in to his son's wishes. Gajeel smirked in triumph and turned to face Levy.

"Shrimp, er... Levy. Go out with me." He offered, holding out a hand to the surprised girl. Levy blushed as she looked up at him. He was... asking her out? "You'll have my protection for as long as you're my girl, and you won't have to worry about skipping town or joining a gang. Besides... I've wanted to ask you out since that night. I just didn't do it cause you're too pure for this life, and I didn't wanna drag you into my family's affairs like this."

"I... I..."Levy didn't know what to say, or what to do. She hasn't dated anyone since high school. She couldn't deny that she found Gajeel quite attractive, or that she felt unusually comfortable around him, despite knowing he was the Don's son. She supposed... it really couldn't hurt. But she didn't even remember how to date!

"Look, just go on one date with me, shrimp. If you're not sure by the end of it, my life debt still stands, and you can decide what you wanna do then." Gajeel offered to her.

"I-I... alright." Levy agreed with a blush. "One date."

Finally got out a little bit of a longer chapter for you guys. Sorry if this seemed like it jumped around a little bit. But things are picking up. Levy is in danger now, and Gajeel is her only form of protection for what is to come.

Tell me what you guys think! I want more reviews. Not getting a lot of reviews makes me sad.

Thanks for reading!

-Everythingnerd12