Chapter 16 Long Time Coming

The first thing he noticed was the strong ache in his shoulders. Just the thought of even attempting to move them in any way had his body screaming in agony. The next was that he was on something soft, and had his hand locked around a much smaller one. The smells were next, the sterile smell of chemicals, wind, sheets, ink, and old books.

'Levy?' He thought quietly, his hand curling further around the one in his own.

'I'm here Gajeel.' The reply whispering across his mind like that of a soft caress had his eyes shooting open in shock. His eyes darted around, taking in familiar stone walls, and multiple pre-made single beds. Managing to shift his head and eyes ever so slightly, he found Levy stretched out on the bed next to him, her hazel eyes warm and calm.

'Y-you can hear me?' He stammered in his head, locking eyes with her. The small smile that she gave him was all the answer he needed, though the voice in his head, her voice, helped soothe him further.

'Yes I can, just as you can hear me. I think it's part of the bond.'

'Bond? You mean-'

'Yes baby, we have the soul bond, and we survived it. Now you're really never getting rid of me.' Mischief crinkled the corners of her eyes, even as her smile morphed more into a smug smirk at his flabbergasted expression.

'As if I would ever really want to.' He huffed back with a smirk.

"You're awake!" The exclamation had them both jolting then groaning in pain as they shifted their gazes to the door of the room they were in, identifying it as an infirmary. Standing at the door was Yukino, hands holding a couple of glasses of water before her.

"Y-Yukino? Wh-" Levy broke off to cough harshly, her throat flaring in pain.

"Oh no, don't say anything yet, you're still recovering!" Yukino hurried forward with the water, setting the glasses down on the table beside them. "You've been here for a few days now, and actually kept us from coming to you. Rogue, Sting, Kagura and I were about to head to Fairy Tail a few days ago, when Team Natsu and a few others showed up carrying the two of you. Wendy had done what she could to help, but you both still needed rest and some healing so you're in Sabertooths infirmary." She explained quickly, helping to ease Levy then Gajeel into a sitting position. Picking up the water, she handed them each a glass, watching as they gulped the cool liquid down. "Apparently we were the closest guild to where you guys were, so that's how you ended up here instead back in your own infirmary."

"And apparently Levy can be a very strong willed, stubborn woman when her mate is in danger and refuses to take 'no' for an answer of any kind." Another voice spoke from the doorway, and they saw Igneel step into the room with a small smile. "I personally am very glad that you're both alright, and healing nicely."

"How are the two of you feeling?" Wendy asked as she stepped from behind Igneel, her anxiety to check on her patients coating the air lightly. When all she got was a shrug followed by a groan of pain from Gajeel, she quickly stepped up to their beds, her hands already glowing. "You shouldn't move your shoulders for a bit longer Gajeel, you were in pretty bad shape when we found you." Seeing his hand tighten reflexively around Levy's, she smiled. "She's fine, definitely in better shape than you are." Wendy assured him as the glow in her hands eased away.

"I-I remember- something…a-a sword?" Gajeel muttered, his voice still rough. Seeing Wendy cringe followed by feeling Levy wincing had a darkened look crossing his face.

"Um…there was a sword…yes….when we found you, you were still chained up, barely conscious, and had spit a bitten off thumb at Natsu before passing out again from blood loss. As for Levy….well…she had been run through with a sword, and was at your feet when we got there. I healed her first while the others got you down, and then I worked on you. A lot more damage was done to you, but it looked like the sword that had run her through had also been stabbed into you, as your heart was pumping out a lot of blood. We almost lost you, but got to you just in time." Wendy explained, while Igneel grabbed a chair to sit on to watch the young dragon slayer work.

"The two of you definitely work well together as you're both very strong willed." Igneel commented with a smirk to the two of them, smiling fully at the hint of pink that stained their cheeks.

It was at that moment that Gajeel sat up quickly, biting back a moan at the flare of pain when he caught a whiff of someone he hadn't seen in a long time. Someone he had started thinking he would never see again. Heavy footsteps could be heard coming down the hallway, and Igneel couldn't help but watch in amusement as Gajeel's nose started twitching. His next words only had him shaking his head is resignation.

"METALICANA YOU SORRY EXCUSE FOR A GODDAMN BUCKET OF RUSTY NAILS! WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF PARENT ARE YOU TO LEAVE YOUR OWN SON!?" Gajeel roared, his teeth gritted and his pain and injuries obviously no longer as important as confronting the dragon he had seen as a father. Even as Ley tried to pull him back into the bed, he was shaking her off to stand on trembling legs, taking one shuffling step after another towards the door. The sight of his father in his human form, and not looking a day older than when he had left had Gajeel snarling as he threw the first punch.

He ignored the fact that his fist was caught and he was looked at steadily, with no sympathy, or apology shining in Metalicana's eyes.

"The kind that was trying to protect his son." He answered smoothly. He was quick to catch Gajeel under the arms when his legs gave out on him. "Now get your stubborn ass back into bed." He said gruffly, shifting to help drag, then dump him once more next to Levy.

"Why?" Gajeel snarled, panting heavily as the pain settled over his body again.

"Because at the time we had no choice." Igneel answered. "And that is all the answer you need for now."

"Calm yourself down, if not for your sake, then for your mates. Nice soul bond mark by the way. I'm honestly glad you found eachother." Metalicana muttered, running his gaze over the dragon that had wrapped itself around Gajeel's neck much like that of a necklace or scarf. At the blank gaze his son gave him, he let out a bark of laughter. "Forgot about that didn't you?"

Feeling a light touch that tapped on his left forearm, followed by a trail of vibrations along his skin, Gajeel looked down in time to see a white and black speckled dragon move to wrap itself around his forearm. Hearing a giggle, he looked over to find that Levy was looking at him with an understanding look on her face, only to follow her pointing finger to her own iron dragon snoozing away on her arm. He could tell it was snoozing only because of the rise and fall of its sides as it breathed deeply.

"Well I'll be...the great Black Steel Gajeel speechless? Let me mark that down on the calendar…" Levy murmured, scooting over to press against him. "Why don't you take a closer look at your own dragon…"

Letting his gaze shift back to the dragon that now decorated his lower arm, he stared at it for a moment before realizing why it looked so odd. It was a white dragon with what he had thought was black scales, however as he looked closer, he realized they were runes. And on closer inspection he found a stack of books peeking out from under a folded wing, and a tome held open by careful claws.

"A book wyrm? Seriously?" Gajeel asked incredulously.

"Yes, a book wyrm, which in all honesty fits if you think about it." Levy said with a laugh. Taking that moment, he realized she was right. She loved books, and her specialty was research, so it really did fit.

"There's also something else you two should know about the bonds." Yukino spoke up, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to Levy. Seeing the two older dragons exchange an amused smirk, the newly bonded couple turned to her.

"And what would that be?" Levy asked, reaching out to lace her fingers through his.

"Being soul bonded allows you to tap into a portion of eachothers magic. You can tap into some of Gajeels dragon slayer magic now, and Gajeel, you can tap into hers." Igneel picked up with a small smile.

Frowning at the dragon on his arm slightly, he took a deep breath and focused on the new energy and knowledge he felt filling him. Following instinct, he spoke. "Solid Script: Water!" About a bucketful of water appeared out of nowhere, to douse the two older dragons, leaving them spluttering.

"Dammit boy!" Metalicana cursed, shaking himself as he glared at his son through dripping bangs. He couldn't fight the small twitch that pulled at his lips as Gajeel started laughing hard at their sudden wet appearance.

Choking on her own laughter, Levy waved a hand and managed to squeak out "Solid Script: Dry!" to help the dragons from getting sick.

"Thank you for that Levy. Now why don't you show Gajeel one of the things you can do with his own magic?" Igneel requested with a knowing look in his eyes. Smiling back at him she nodded before turning back to Gajeel.

"Close your eyes, please? I want to surprise you with this." Levy requested softly. Staring at her in confusion, he bit his lip before nodding slowly and letting his eyes fall shut. A few moments passed as he waited, and he could feel the magic pulse from her. It was his, yet hers at the same time, different in a way, and he could feel it grow gently, caressing against him in a familiar touch.

When she finally said he could open his eyes, what he saw was the last thing he expected, and he could feel his jaw drop in awe.