Chapter 7

Levy stared at Gajeel with wide eyes. He was a totally different person in public. Well, to an extent. His speech patterns and nonverbal cues were still the same. But he smiled politely to the waitress that took their orders, and he was just overall very friendly. It was really odd for her to see. And then, the icing on the cake, the staff at this restaurant all knew him... but they all called him Gregory, for some reason.

"It's an alias." Gajeel's hushed voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She blinked at him in confusion before understanding what he meant. "I come here too often. Can't have them knowing my real name, now, can I?" he smirked at her.

"That makes sense, I guess." Levy quirked her head. "Do you always go by Gregory?"

"Un. Gregory Robertson." He told her. "Remember that; it'll probably come in handy." Levy just nodded and they stopped talking as their food arrived. They ate in comfortable silence until about halfway through the meal. "Oi, pops wants me to run an errand for him today, so I'll be gone for a while." Gajeel told her as he took a large gulp of his coffee. "One of my guys is going to meet us here with his wife in a little bit. They'll take you back to my place and keep ya company til I get home."

"Ah... okay." Levy fidgeted slightly. She was starting to feel like a child who needed a babysitter. If Gajeel wasn't constantly watching her, apparently someone else would be. Would she ever be able to have her normal life again?

"Hey. Don't pout, shrimp. I'm just tryin to keep you safe."

"I-I know." Levy sighed, looking down at her lap. "Gajeel... am I going to be able to go back to work?" She was honestly afraid he'd tell her it was too dangerous. What would she do then?

"If I got any say about it, you will." Gajeel assured her. "I told you, shrimp, I'm trying to make your life as normal as possible. You might have a few extra pairs of eyes watching you while you're at work, but you'll get to go back." Levy let out a sigh of relief at hearing that, and she gave Gajeel a genuine smile.

"Thank you. That really... means a lot to me."

"Hey there, metal head!" a man's voice came as Levy and Gajeel were walking out of the restaurant. They turned to see a man with flamboyant pink hair and a white scarf heading their way with a young woman holding onto his arm. The woman was beautiful, with long blonde hair and a cheery smile. She was also quite heavily pregnant, Levy noticed.

"Oi, Salamander, I told ya not to call me that." Gajeel rolled his eyes as the couple approached them. He looked down at Levy. "This is the guy I told you about, and his wife. You two, this is Levy."

"The name's Natsu. And this is Lucy. And this..." the flamboyant man put a hand on Lucy's stomach. "Is Natsu junior!" Levy couldn't help but giggle. This man was, er, extravagant but very amusing.

"It's a girl, you moron. Man, why did I marry you, again?" The woman, Lucy, rolled her eyes as she shoved at her husband.

"I don't know, Luce, I guess I got something you like." Natsu laughed loudly at his own joke. Lucy giggled a bit before turning to Levy.

"Hello, there. It's nice to meet you. Don't mind my husband; he's a child trapped inside a man's body." Lucy smiled and Levy giggled at this. She could believe it. "Mr. Robertson, we will take Miss Levy home, if you have to get going." Levy still found his alias really strange. She just couldn't see him as Gregory Robertson...

"Good. Pops is gonna get mad if I don't show up soon." Gajeel sighed heavily. He gently shoved Levy in their direction. "Go with them, shrimp. They'll keep ya safe. I should be home by morning." He looked at Natsu now. "Call me if anything happens, got it, Salamander?"

"Right-o, boss-o." Natsu saluted with a grin. He gave Levy a smile. "Don't worry. You'll be safe with us." Levy didn't really have much of a choice. She looked to Gajeel, who gave her a reassuring smile, and then she nodded to Natsu. He and Lucy led her away.

"You really don't have an OBGYN?" Levy asked Lucy with wide eyes. They had arrived at Gajeel's home a few hours ago, and Lucy had been keeping Levy company while Natsu was in the security room, monitoring the cameras that were apparently everywhere inside and outside the house.

"Um, well I've been to one for check ups and stuff... but the actual delivery is a problem." Lucy scratched her head with a small laugh. "You see, when I joined Fairy Tail I was kinda young and stupid. I got several tattoos, cause I was super pumped about being an official member. The one on my hand I can hide easily but..."

"But what?" Levy questioned.

"Er, well, I have one on my inner thigh, and it's pretty big. I was able to cover it up during checkups but... during labor, the makeup would come off. Just having the fairy tail tattoo is incriminating. Hospital protocol would be to call the cops and arrest me on the spot. They would take away our baby and lock both Natsu and I up." Lucy sighed heavily. "So we're kinda stuck with having a home birth, and getting the family's doctor to be there to make sure things go smoothly. But she's not trained for this kind of stuff."

"Well... I could do it." Levy offered, surprising the woman. "I know I'm young but I'm an OBGYN. I could deliver your baby for you, in a hospital setting. And, given the circumstances, it's not like I would be calling any authorities... cause I'd end up in jail, also. Or, ya know, I might be silenced before that happens." Levy laughed nervously at that. She'd harbored a criminal and lied to police. Sure, her crimes were light, but she was certain she would have to be more afraid of the mafia than she would of the police.

"Gajeel wouldn't let you be silenced. He's totally into you. I've never seen him this interested in someone before, you know." Lucy smiled at her. "Anyways, that would be wonderful, if you'd be willing to do that for us. I would feel much safer in a hospital than at home with nobody who can help if something goes wrong."

"Of course. It's my job, after all." Levy smiled back. "So when is your due date? You look pretty far along."

"If all goes well, I've only got three weeks left." Lucy smiled as she rubbed her belly lovingly. Levy smiled and made a mental note of that. She would talk to Lucy more about it later. "Ne, I'm sure you've got a lot of questions Gajeel hasn't answered for you yet. I know how intimidating being new to this world can be. Feel free to ask me anything you want." Lucy suddenly offered, surprising Levy.

"Really? You won't just tell me that it's better I don't know?"

"Well, some stuff you'll probably never have to experience, in which case it's better you didn't know it was going on." Lucy smiled apologetically. "Honestly, telling you that it's better not to know is the truth for a lot of cases. For instance, if you for any reason are questioned by the police. It's not like you can accidentally reveal incriminating evidence on stuff you don't know about."

"Ah... I see." Levy understood now why Gajeel kept telling her that, especially whenever he left for 'work.' It was honestly better for everyone involved if she didn't know where he was or what he was doing. "Er, well, then what about this? Will you tell me what it's like, being in a gang?"

"Well, the word gang makes us sound like a bunch of mindless criminals doing whatever we want whenever we want to." Lucy smiled. "Fairy Tail is a family. We are more organized, and have more rules to protect the family and everyone in it. Honestly, we are doing a better job at protecting this city than the police are. Without us, Phantom Lord would be in control. And trust me, they may call themselves a family like we do, but they are definitely just a gang that does whatever they want." She explained to Levy, who took it all in with curious eyes.

"I see. That makes sense. I've heard what living under Phantom Lord's rule was like, before I even came to this city. It sounds awful."

"It is. I was just a teen back then, and it was terrifying. You couldn't leave your home without being afraid of getting caught in crossfire between the gang and the police. You avoided banks unless absolutely necessary. Jewelry stores had to hire mercenaries just to keep their inventory safe. Many people stopped watching the news, because there would just be more reports of civilians being killed, or beaten, or raped." Lucy shuddered at that. "I first got in with Fairy Tail when they were just growing. Don Redfox doesn't look it, but back then he was this suave charismatic guy who could smooth talk a serial killer into giving up his ways and opening a flower shop. True story." Lucy snickered a bit at this, and Levy giggled as well, mostly because it was so hard to picture Don Metalicana that way.

"Anyways, the Don started recruiting men. Even got some guys from Phantom Lord to get on with his cause. He promised wealth and prosperity with less war with the cops and little to no civilian casualties. To the men in Phantom Lord that didn't like the idea of civilians getting hurt, that was a pretty easy choice." Lucy went on. "Eventually, Fairy Tail had enough men to go to war with Phantom Lord, and push them out of the city for good. It took a while, almost a full year, but we did it. Within months the violence in the city was down to next to nothing. Don Redfox had men and women infiltrate every large business in the city, to keep an eye on things and to be first responders in case Phantom Lord decided to attack again. This was a good strategy, too, because we've stopped them from doing lots of damage over the years... and even the police don't know that."

"Really? That's impressive." Levy said with wide eyes. She never would have known that Fairy Tail was doing so much more to protect the city than the police were. "If that's the case, then why are the police going after Fairy Tail so hard?"

"It's simple, really." Lucy snickered. "We've lowered the crime rate so much... they don't have anything else to do." She laughed. "Well, that and we are still heavily involved in crime, ourselves. We're loan sharks, we collect on protection money, we deal in the black market... plus, there are a few new gangs popping up that we have to take care of. Traitors to silence, corporations to blackmail, the list goes on." She paused and smirked at Levy's shocked face. "I never said we weren't criminals, dear. Just that we weren't mindless thugs who like to bring civilians into the mix."

"Fair point." Levy laughed nervously.

"Don't worry, Levy. You're family now. We take care of our own." Lucy gave her a wink.

"I'm... family?" Levy asked with wide eyes.

"Sure are. Gajeel's made a claim on you, a pretty big one, too. So long as he's got that claim on you, you're part of the family." Lucy explained to her.

"I, er... I really don't understand. What claim are you talking about?" Levy asked with confusion. Lucy just giggled.

"Silly, he asked you out. Until you reject him, you're his girl. That's his claim on you. It means he's going to protect you as is expected of him to protect his girl. It's pretty rare for anyone in the family to do that, so Gajeel putting that claim on you is a really big deal." Lucy told her with a smile. Levy blushed at this. So, him asking her out really was that important that the Don even questioned it?

"Why is it so rare? Does nobody date, or something?"

"No, it's not that. It's just... we mostly date within the family. And for those that date civilians, they just don't let them know anything about the family. It's pretty rare for civilians like you to be in the know, and it's only cases like yours where those claims are placed." Lucy explained. Levy still didn't understand. "Okay think of it like this. A fairy tail member is dating a civilian. The civilian doesn't even know her date is a fairy tail member, and he makes sure it stays that way, for her own protection. She still has protection of the family, indirectly... but only once she is married to the member. Aside from that, it's her boyfriend's job to keep her safe without letting her know anything about the family.

"Now, a scenario like yours. A member is dating a civilian who knows nothing. The civilian learns too much and is in danger that way. The member either has to stop all contact with the civilian to keep them safe, or he has to place a claim of protection on her. If she rejects his claim, he drops all contact with her. If she accepts, she's part of the family for life. She can stop dating the member, but she will still have constant ties to the family, and potentially have responsibilities, as well. But, with these ties and responsibilities, she still has the protection of the family... so long as she doesn't turn traitor and needs to be silenced." Lucy shrugged at the last part.

"S-so you're saying... if I accept Gajeel's claim, I will always be considered part of the family?" Levy asked with wide eyes. Lucy nodded. "What if I reject his claim?"

"Well, he still owes you that life debt. But once that's repaid, you'll never have contact with him or anyone from the family again." Lucy explained. "But... Phantom Lord will still go after you. They won't care if you don't have any contact with us anymore. All they know is you helped one of us, and kept one of their members from doing their job. They want your life, and they won't stop until they get it." Levy stared down at her lap now. This was a very touch decision to make. Either become part of a gang or risk being killed by another gang. And, to top it off, if she chose the first option she would have to date Gajeel. Did she even want that? He was very handsome, and he treated her kindly. She'd never once been afraid of him, and he made her feel things she'd never felt before. She felt safe around him and nervous when he wasn't nearby... and she'd only known him for about five days. This was a lot she needed to think on.

"If it helps you make a decision, Levy..." Natsu's voice came as he walked into the room. "Since you're a civi, you're not going to be expected to break the law or anything, and you're not going to be exposed to the really bad side of this life. The boss might want you to keep an eye on people and report some stuff, but you'll get to have your normal life and live mostly in peace. You'll just have added protection from the family, is all." He told her as he went to sit by his wife.

"Natsu, you're supposed to be monitoring the grounds." Lucy looked at her husband.

"Virgo's giving me a ten minute break. Besides, I missed my wife. Gonna chew me out for that?" he grinned lopsidedly at her. "Seriously, do it, cause you're hot when you're nagging me." He winked. Lucy just smiled and gave a little laugh.

"Dammit, this is why I love you, ya big oaf."

I'm on a roll. Just pushing out chapter after chapter. All for you, my lovely readers!

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-Everythingnerd12