Chapter 65 - Arch 8

Ah, peaceful times were nice. Levy almost had forgotten what it was like to not be in constant danger, to be carefree as you go about your life. True, even in peaceful times, there was a chance she would be targeted simply because of who her husband was. But that was why she had a personal body guard at all times... even at work.

Ah, yes, working again was wonderful! Levy had forgotten how fulfilling it was to tend to her patients and do some good for the community. She loved working with these expecting mother and the little newborns. She loved working with Wendy and Charla. She loved working again.

Though... being a don's wife had a few perks. She didn't have to work nearly as much these days, because she could afford not to work. What's more, in her absence, the hospital had finally hired more doctors to distribute the workload more evenly, so she didn't feel pressured to work long shifts and avoid taking time off. It was wonderful! She worked four eight-hour shifts a week, and was never on call (though that was mostly due to Gajeel having a 'talk' with the hospital CEO). Levy finally felt like she could enjoy her work, unlike before where she'd dreaded the long shifts and horrible hours.

Ah... peaceful times were great! Levy wished they would last forever!

The mansion was in a bit of a stir when Levy returned home from work today. Lily followed her closely, picking up on the energy in the mansion. Something was going on. Curious, and a bit worried, Levy headed for Gajeel's office... Metalicana's old office. She walked in without knocking, knowing Gajeel didn't mind her doing so, and was surprised to find Gajeel sitting at his desk, looking rather annoyed as Lisanna was apologizing profusely over something over and over.

"Um... what's going on?" Levy questioned, startling Lisanna while Gajeel just turned his annoyed gaze to his wife.

"Had a little situation with her siblings." he grumbled. At her confused look, he sighed and addressed Lisanna. "Tell her what happened."

"U-um..." Lisanna fidgeted but nodded. "M-my big brother and big sister have been pestering me about my job, wanting to know where I worked and who I worked for. I... I didn't tell them, honest. They followed me to work this morning, and tried to, er, sneak onto the grounds..." She trailed off and looked at the floor in shame.

"They were apprehended?" Levy questioned, earning a nod from her husband. "Well, do they know anything just from being on the grounds and being apprehended?"

"They know enough to make this annoying." Gajeel grumbled, which led to Lisanna apologizing profusely again. "Look, Lisanna, I know yer sorry. Stop apologizing."

"I... I just... please don't kill them..." the poor girl started crying then. "Please, they're the only blood I have left..."

"That's their choice now, Lisanna." Gajeel said with a heavy sigh.

"But Gajeel..." Levy protested with wide eyes. He would really kill her siblings over something like this?

"No buts, Levy." Gajeel turned sharp eyes to his wife. "Having outsiders know where our headquarters is... it's fucking dangerous, and you know it."

"But they're Lisanna's family..."

"And it was her job to protect them." Gajeel said sternly. "It was her responsibility to keep them from learning about us. Now they know too much, and now they get the same choice that everyone else does. It's their choice to make now. End of story."

"But-"

"I said no buts!" he interrupted sharply, his voice harsh enough to make Levy flinch. Tears visibly pricked at her eyes. He let out a heavy sigh at that and looked to Lisanna. "Look, Lisanna, you know the choice is theirs. If I were you, I'd go down and try to persuade them before I get down there." She took the hint and hurried out of the room, leaving Levy and Gajeel alone in the office. Gajeel turned his gaze to his wife, who was looking like she was about to cry.

"C'mere." He opened his arms and she quickly moved into them. She buried her face in his chest as he embraced her. "I'm sorry I snapped at you, shrimp, but you know good and well that this is how things are." She said nothing, but she sniffled a bit as he held her.

"I'm the Don, Levy. I gotta keep the family safe, no matter what. Sometimes that means I have ta kill potential threats before they become dangerous. You know this." He felt her give a small nod against his chest, followed by another sniffle. He could feel dampness on his chest. Tears had soaked through his shirt. "Aw, shrimp, are ya really that upset?" he sighed softly, rubbing her back soothingly.

"You've never yelled at me before." she cried against his chest. Indeed, he'd never really even been angry with her before. Annoyed, yes. Frustrated, for sure. But never upset with her enough to raise his voice at her.

"I'm sorry, Levy." Gajeel apologized, holding her closer. "I really am. I didn't mean to shout. But you gotta realize that I am the leader of this family. When it comes to stuff like this, my word is final." He took a deep breath before gently prying her from his chest, taking her chin in his hand so she'd look him in the eye. Mavis, he hated seeing her cry. But she needed to understand... "Shrimp, you can argue with me all you want over our marriage, our kids, whateverelse. But with family matters you need to respect me and my decisions. Yer more than welcome to add in yer two cents, but at the end of the day, it's my call, and you need to respect that, even if ya don't like it. Especially in front of family members."

"I'm so-" Levy tried to apologize, but Gajeel shook his head and silenced her with his thumb.

"It's alright, shrimp. It ain't completely yer fault, so don't apologize." he sighed softly. "Yer still learning how things work. I know it's hard to separate our little family," he motioned between the two of them, "and the family," he gestured around them, "sometimes. So it's okay. If this was some decision I decided for us, you could protest and argue to yer heart's desire. That's completely okay, baby." he assured her. "I want you to argue with me, cause I want you to stand up for yerself and not just let me control our marriage. Don't just let me take the lead all the time, shrimp, that ain't how a happy marriage works. Got it?"

"Y-yeah..." Levy sniffed, her tears slowly drying.

"I ain't ever gonna raise my voice at ya in those situations, shrimp. I swear it." Gajeel promised gently. "So don't be afraid ta argue. I only raised my voice this time cause this was a family issue, not an 'us' issue. See the difference?" He smiled gently at her as she nodded. "I love you, Levy. I really am sorry for yelling."

"I forgive you." Levy said quietly, earning a relieved smile from her husband. He really didn't want her to be upset with him, after all. As much as he liked to see her angry, seeing her hurt and truly upset with him was a different matter entirely.

"Good. Now, go take a shower and change into somethin nice, shrimp. I'll take ya out for dinner. Anywhere ya want." he gave her a soft smile.

"G-Gajeel, don't spoil me j-just cause you yelled at me..." Levy protested lightly, coaxing a gentle chuckle from her husband.

"I'm too predictable, huh?" he smirked at her, cupping her face gently in his hands. "Too bad, shrimp. Yer gonna let me spoil ya a little tonight." He grinned as he saw a tiny blush creeping onto her cheeks. "Hop to it, shrimp. Be thinkin of where ya wanna go." He released her and gently shooed her away. She hesitated a bit, knowing what he was going to do once she was gone. He knew she knew it, too, and his eyes told her not to push it. This was a family issue, and his mind was made. His eyes told her to drop it, and he was glad when she silently left the room to go get ready.

Gajeel waited until she had been gone for a few minutes. Then, with a soft sigh, he put himself back into work mode. He checked his gun to make sure it was loaded, just in case. Then, standing from his desk, he pulled on his jacket and walked out of his office to take care of business. It was hard to be the boss sometimes.