Day five: Together, Forever

"You need to let go!"

"No!"

"I ain't fucking joking Levy, fucking let go!"

Levy simply shook her head as the tears streamed down her face. Her sobs barely moved her chest, as her entire body was practically crushed against the ground by Gajeel's weight. She was already wincing in pain at the strain it put on her shoulders and wrists.

She wasn't sure when everything had gone wrong. It was supposed to be just a normal quest; just a routine 'taking out a bad guy' kind of thing. They had not expected to discover a mad scientist's laboratory. Gajeel had taken out a few weird creatures, probably the scientist's creatures, while she stayed behind carefully, ready to jump in should he need it. She had no problem letting him shine; she knew he didn't like it when she got too involved, and it was just fine with her. She could be the brain while he was the brawn. They worked well like that.

It hadn't taken her long to notice the cameras and to destroy them, but she guessed it either had been too late, or she had missed some, and now she regretted it bitterly. One way or another, the mad man behind all this had found out that Gajeel was the Iron Dragon Slayer. And apparently, he just so happened to have a gigantic magnet right there.

He had lured them both inside his base. Levy had insisted then that it looked like a trap, but Gajeel had shrugged it off. Considering what they'd faced so far, he hadn't thought there would be much worse inside.

Now, he was hanging above what looked like molten metal, the irresistible attraction exerting itself on him with all its strength, and Levy's small, weak arms as the only thing that kept him from dying.

But she had to let go. He was way too heavy. She would injure herself badly, or worse, fall with him, and he refused that. It was metal burning down there — there was a small, ridiculous, pathetic chance that he might survive falling in it. Levy absolutely wouldn't. He'd tried to stay calm at first, but her repeated refusals were making him completely lose it now.

With the heat, he didn't even know how she managed to keep a grip on him. He was impressed at his girl's will, but… But now wasn't the time. Now was the time to say goodbye.

"Hey," he said, trying to keep it together, "it's been nice, shrimp."

"D-Don't you dare, Gajeel," she begged. "I'm getting you out of here. We're getting out of here. I j-just have to think of something."

Shit. He was tearing up now. Because he didn't want to say goodbye. He finally had her, like he'd wanted for what felt like forever now. He regretted the kisses he hadn't had the time to give her, the laughs they hadn't shared, the life they hadn't had. He regretted all the times he'd hurt her, and he regretted not being able to tell if he had managed to make up for it.

"Y'need to let go of me now angel. I'm not taking ya with me."

Levy stared at him. She could barely see his face with tears. She hated the tone in his voice. She could deal with him being mad and shouting at him, but she hated that he was giving up. How could he? How did he dare?

She needed an idea.

Now.

The second the idea struck, her brain started working again. Her left hand let go of him, and she cried out in pain as all his weight went on her right arm. She saw the worry on his face, but slowly, very slowly, she managed to move to grab one of her pens, not without letting out new grunts of pain.

"You've done half the work now. Let go."

Oh, God, he needed to shut up.

She managed to open it with her thumb and held it in front of him. She noticed his surprise. Her movements were clumsy, as she wasn't used to writing with that hand, but she still managed to form the word. Once she was done, he stared at the word dumbly for a second.

Helium.

What…

Before he understood it, the balloon-word was under him, pushing him up, slowly but surely. He could still feel the magnet's powerful grip on him, but it seemed that he was progressively getting further from it. Once he finally arrived on Levy's level, she dragged him on the ground, where he remained, laying down. He still couldn't move, but he was safer.

For a few moments, they laid there, her head on his shoulder, before she finally pulled herself up.

"I'm going to find a way to stop the magnet," she said softly. Her voice was broken, still hoarse because of her tears. He grunted in approval, and he watched her standing up. It wasn't like he had any way to help her right now.

"Levy." She turned to look at him. She wasn't used to hearing him say her name instead of one of the nicknames he usually used. "Y'need to listen to me. If I tell you to do something, you need to do it."

She stared at him for a few seconds, and he felt himself practically shiver under her cold eyes. "If you want me to do that, don't ever tell me to let go of you again, Gajeel. Because I will never."

With that, she walked away quickly. He could tell she was mad, and he understood. It would probably drive him insane if she told him to leave her behind, even if it was for his own good.

He snickered to himself. She really cared that much about him, didn't she?

Well. He'd have to check if he still had that ring in his pocket. He hoped it hadn't fallen down.

He had a question for her.

Almost there, two days left! (and I'll finish one day late) Reviews are greatly appreciated :) Not gonna lie, it's a bit depressing for an author not to get feedback at all...