Hey guys! I'm sorry it's been awhile, I've been dealing with a lot recently and I'd rather not get into it. Anyway, enjoy the chapter! I hope you like it!


I continued running throughout Magnolia, witnessing the mess that was caused by Laxus and the Thunder Legion. Fallen Fairy Tail members were scattered throughout the city, most of them beaten, bruised, and unconscious. There was a horrible fluttering in the pit of my stomach at the memory of Laxus giving me a kiss, how he tried convincing me to join him in all of this chaos, this absolute madness. It wasn't that I didn't like Laxus, it was just that...

All of this was wrong. How he's making us turn against each other so easily. What does this say about the guild?

It was upsetting how Laxus thought he was doing the right thing, and how misguided he truly was. It was obvious that Laxus' father still had some influence in his life, even though he was no longer a member of Fairy Tail.

I should be mad at Laxus about all of this, about having my sister and my friends turned into stone, but...why wasn't I?

As I passed more unconscious Fairy Tail members, there were a lot of murmurs of concern amongst the civilians of Magnolia, all of them staring at me in confusion and worry, asking if this was all part of the festival. I tried shaking the thoughts of doubt, of conflict, but it was proven to be extremely difficult. I finally stopped running, glancing up at one of the rooftops after spotting a flash of green, leaving behind a trail of sparkles.

Evergreen is nearby.

I quickly got to the rooftops and using a move I learned from Erza, I managed to grab Evergreen's attention. Evergreen smirked as she turned to face me, not looking alarmed whatsoever as she stood there with confidence.

"For a moment there, I thought Erza had caught up to me. Oh that's right...she can't even move, being turned to stone and all." Evergreen taunted.

I felt anger course through me from Evergreen's little quip, but managed to remain calm, knowing that she was only trying to provoke me into a fight.

"What? Got nothing to say? Poor little princess." Evergreen cooed.

P"Evergreen. As humorous as your attempt to provoke me into fighting is, I'd rather just skip the bullshit. Turn the girls back to normal. And that isn't a request." I spoke seriously.

Evergreen's smirk faded as she scoffed and folded her arms.

"You've got some nerve. I hate to break it to you, but your big sister is more intimidating than you are. Stop trying to play with the big kids, okay sweetheart?"

I sighed deeply and relaxed my shoulders after cracking my neck.

"Alright fine. Don't say I didn't warn you." I said.

Evergreen gave me a look of surprise before she began grinning again.

"Once this is over, I'm taking that title as Queen of the Fairies. You Scarlet sisters need to be taught a lesson."

"Who gives a shit about some title? Are you serious right now?" I raised an eyebrow.

Evergreen gave me a look of disbelief before she huffed in anger.

"Why I never! I don't even understand why you deserve the title of Princess of the Fairies! You're so crude! Both you and your sister don't deserve any praise! If anything, I deserve it!" Evergreen shouted.

I stood there in surprise, not certain why Evergreen felt this way about Erza and I. I always admired the woman, and since she was part of the Thunder Legion and worked alongside Laxus, it was obvious that she held some power.

"Are you jealous of Erza and I? I don't...I don't understand." I frowned.

"JEALOUS?! YOU BRAT!" She shrieked. "HAVE FUN JOINING YOUR SISTER!"

Evergreen's face tilted down until her glasses moved down to the bridge of her nose, her eyes glowing instantaneously as she was filled with anger towards me. I grew nervous quickly, hoping that my eyes would be immune to her magic because I didn't have enough time to look away.

Shit...

"W...what?" Evergreen gasped.

Evergreen took a step backwards, pushing her glasses up once her eyes returned to their normal state. The look on her face would have been amusing, but I felt a flutter of guilt from the look of fear on her face, so I felt that now was the time to negotiate.

"HOW?! How are you not turned to stone?!" She questioned me.

"My eyes are laced with magic, I think they're immune somehow." I shrugged.

I began walking forward, using some Requip magic I learned from Erza to conjure five swords. The blades hovered around me, all taking aim at Evergreen. I was intending merely to intimidate Evergreen, making sure that she wasn't harmed in any way. Hopefully, my plan would work and Evergreen would come clean.

"Now...how about we come to an agreement, hm?" I asked.


Makarov, Natsu, and Gajeel watched the broadcast of Evergreen and Ember in amazement as Ember used Requip magic, something that her sister was well known for.

"When the hell did she learn to do Requip magic?! That's Erza's thing!" Natsu shouted in surprise.

"I can tell she's struggling with it. She's probably been practicing for quite awhile now." Makarov noted.

"How can you tell?" Gajeel asked.

"The look in her eyes, they look strained. There's a trail of sweat rolling down her face, meaning that she's deep in concentration. She's also only managed to conjure five swords, so it's a little obvious that she's not as familiar with this type of magic. No matter how confident she appears." Makarov explained.

"I don't think Evergreen can even tell. She looks ready to pass out." Natsu smirked.

They all stood in the guild hall in pure silence after watching the intense battle between the two women in Fairy Tail. Evergreen's power was impressive, and it showed as she managed to land a couple of critical hits on Ember. However, Ember seemed to be holding back, as Gajeel noticed. Gajeel observed the red-head's movements, her defensive attacks, and he finally came to a conclusion that the younger Scarlet sister was trying to conjure more swords, but not to harm her opponent.

She was trying to pin her down so that Evergreen couldn't fight.

Ember continued to get hit by Evergreen's attacks, her jaw clenched tightly along with her fists as a bright aura began to form around her body. Finally, after ten more minutes of Evergreen's brutal attacks, there were at least fifty swords hovering around Ember. Ember finally raised her arm, sending all of the swords in Evergreen's direction. Evergreen looked shocked as well as terrified, but was too stunned to do anything else. Natsu and Makarov expected the worst to come of Evergreen, while Gajeel smirked knowingly. The smoke cleared around them, showing fifty swords piercing the stone structure of the chimney behind her, and effectively pinning Evergreen down, making her immobile.

"Incredible." Makarov breathed out.

"You can say that again, I half expected Ember to kill her..." Natsu muttered softly.

"It's obvious that something in her has changed." Gajeel spoke up.

Natsu and Makarov glanced over at Gajeel in curiosity, waiting for him to finish.

"She's afraid you know...when she lost control at that Tower...she doesn't want you to ever see her like that again." Gajeel said.

Natsu's eyes widened when recalling the event.

"W...what?"

"She thinks you and Erza see her as a monster." He clarified.

"She thought that...that she's a monster? Why would she- -?"

"Before you say something stupid, take a minute and actually think about it. Do you honestly think she's been fine since you guys came back? All she remembers is seeing someone she loved die, and then nothing else but the looks of horror on your faces. I don't know what the hell happened considering I wasn't even there to begin with, but she's not okay. She's been a wreck since it happened. I can tell that she's thinking of quitting Fairy Tail, to give up fighting in general." Gajeel confessed. "Though I doubt she'll admit it if you ask her directly."

Makarov and Natsu were completely taken by surprise at Gajeel's comment, unsure of what to say in return. Once hearing someone behind them, they quickly turned around to see Erza unfrozen as she looked around in confusion.


"Please! I'm sorry! I- -" Evergreen sputtered.

"Evergreen. Calm down. I'm not going to hurt you. Not unless you truly give me a reason to. Now..."

I knelt down, until the both of us were at eye-level.

"Turn Erza and the girls back to normal." I ordered.

Evergreen nodded frantically, tears springing into her eyes. I felt guilt almost instantly for scaring her, and sighed deeply.

"Listen...I'm sorry. And...about the jealousy comment, I didn't mean it that way. I just...help me understand because I don't know why you care about some lousy title. As far as I'm concerned, you made a name for yourself all on your own. You're in the freakin' Thunder Legion for crying out loud. Laxus saw something in you...You also have ambition and class. I've always admired your grace if I'll be honest here." I gave her a small smile.

I turned around, not giving Evergreen a chance to reply, hoping that she'd dwell on my words.

"Laxus...he's at that Cathedral isn't he?" I asked.

"How did you..." She mumbled softly.

"I saw some lightning in the distance over in that direction. Plus...I think I remember he used to go there a lot when he was younger..." I recalled. "I'm trusting you'll do the right thing and turn the girls back to normal."

And with that said, I ran off, heading towards the Cathedral on the other side of Magnolia.


My hands hovered over the large door handles at the Cathedral as I contemplated my next move. It took me awhile to get to the Cathedral to avoid Freed's traps scattered across Magnolia, but in all that time, I wasn't sure what to say to Laxus. I knew the fight between us would be inevitable, and so I tried thinking about what to say to him very carefully. Deep down, I knew Laxus was hurting just as much as I was, though we were hurting in different ways.

I just have to try...I have to try to reason with him...

Finally, I opened the doors to the Cathedral, walking in slowly to see Laxus several feet away. Sparks danced around his body in a threatening manner, showing that he was ready for a fight. When seeing me, Laxus smiled smugly and stood up from his spot.

"You feeling better?" Laxus teased.

"Honestly I'm still trying to process the fact that you kissed me before knocking me out." I blushed.

Laxus laughed from my bluntness and honesty, finding it amusing as I averted my gaze.

"I understand, you know...about why you're doing this." I told him.

Laxus' laughter ceased as he gave me a small glare.

"Oh yeah? And what the hell do you think you know?" Laxus questioned.

"Part of me thinks it's because you want revenge for Makarov kicking your father out of the guild. Another part of me also believes that you really care about the future of the guild. You're just...misguided by anger. And it's understandable." I murmured.

I slowly approached Laxus, trying to keep my guard up for any surprise attacks that he might throw at me.

"Makarov...he...part of the reason for my return to Fairy Tail was to give him an update on your father's whereabouts." I confessed.

Laxus' eyes widened from the confession, before he let out a growl and grabbed me by the front of my jacket. I could hear the fabric from my jacket ripping, and glanced down to see how white Laxus' knuckles were.

Shit...I made him mad.

"You know where he is?! Tell me. NOW." He demanded.

"I wasn't able to find him, Laxus. I promise you that. Though I did find out something interesting about you...your father put a lacrima in you. You're a second-gen dragon slayer right? I'm impressed at how well you hid it for all of these years."

Laxus loosened his grip on me, the look in his eyes almost deadly before he began smirking again.

"Well. Looks like you know then. Guess the surprise is ruined. It's too bad though..."

I quickly moved away as Laxus summoned a bolt of lighting down upon us, managing to dodge it before it struck the ground.

"I'm done playing games. Either join me or fuck off, Scarlet." Laxus glared at me. "You can quit pretending like you care, like you suddenly know me."

"I'm not pretending to care!" I suddenly shouted. "Just stop this before it's too late! I don't want you to get hurt! I don't want you to get in trouble!"

"WHY THE HELL DO YOU CARE?!" He hollered at me.

Laxus sent another bolt of lighting in my direction and I darted over to the side to avoid getting hit.

"Because you deserve so much more! I don't want to lose anyone else damn it!" I yelled.

Laxus stopped, staring at me in disbelief before lowering his arms.

"I know we didn't see eye to eye in the past, but I never hated you. No matter how much I wanted to. Makarov always told me that despite our differences...we're still nakama. I didn't understand what he meant until now. Please stop this Laxus, if you want to make the guild stronger, it's better that we're united instead of being divided." I lowered my voice.

I slowly walked over to Laxus again, putting my hand on his shoulder. Laxus tensed up immediately, but didn't move away. It was just like before, thinking I'd gotten through to him, but I was in the wrong again.

BANG!


There was a lot of shouting when I woke up again, and I found myself being held in someone's arms protectively. I was surprised to find that it was Mystogen himself cradling my body as he confronted Laxus.

When the hell did he get here?

"Mystogen...?" I muttered in confusion.

"If you continue to push people away, you'll always be alone." Mystogen told Laxus. "To attack someone with their guard down is just pitiful."

"She shouldn't have been going on about that nakama crap to begin with, she doesn't know anything about what family is. It's all about bloodline and anyone who says otherwise is a fool." Laxus spoke grimly.

"So she's a fool for believing in different concepts of what family is? You forget who she is and what she's been through. You're the only fool here, Laxus." Mystogen glared at him.

I groaned softly, moving to get out of Mystogen's arms. Mystogen and Laxus were surprised to see me conscious, but I could care less about their reactions. I finally stood in a fighting stance, glaring down Laxus, blinking away tears.

"I tried warning you. I know we're in the same guild, but I won't hold back." I spoke seriously. "Fool me once, but fool me twice? I'm gonna kick your ass."

"It's about damn time, Scarlet." Laxus grinned smugly. "Let's have some fun shall we?"

Mystogen held up his hand to prevent me from going any further, and I glanced over at him in confusion and anger.

"What?" I snapped.

"Allow me. You're still shaking, just take a minute to recover and I'll let you finish him off." Mystogen told me.

"Oh...alright then. Have at it. Kick his blonde ass for me." I smirked.

"With pleasure." Mystogen nodded.


It wasn't even five minutes before Laxus and Mystogen were in an intense battle. It was almost breathtaking watching the two Fairy Tail members fight, but I had to think of a strategy, to make sure I had an idea of how to beat Laxus and end this battle of Fairy Tail. I could try figuring out Laxus' weaknesses and his strengths, watch his fighting patterns, and try to predict his moves. Laxus suddenly stopped moving, his eyes widening drastically as he let out screams filled with fear. I had come to realize that Mystogen had used his magic, making Laxus see an illusion that wasn't truly there. Mystogen tried using that time to prepare for an attack that would hopefully put a stop to Laxus, but Laxus was quick and managed to break out of the illusion just in time. It all happened so fast though. After Laxus managed to get a hit on Mystogen, his mask had been burnt off, and I was able to see his face for the first time since meeting him.

It's...it's Jellal.

I felt myself shaking, tears springing into my eyes as I recalled the horror I endured at the Tower of Heaven. Here I was, thinking I'd killed someone I thought to be like a brother, and he was right here in front of me, alive and well.

He killed Simon though...Simon...

The name echoed into my head until I stood up, screaming in anger from the memory of Simon's death. Mystogen's eyes widened once he glanced over at me and saw the murderous look on my face. Laxus looked pleased somehow, and stood idly by as he knew that something was about to go down. Before I make a move, someone gripped my shoulder tightly, whirling me around until my face was pressed against their chest. I glanced up to see Erza, tears coming out of her good eye as she stared between Mystogen and I.

"I know I look like him. But I am not Jellal." Mystogen spoke up.

Erza let out a shaky breath she'd been holding in, but nodded in understanding as she saw the truth in his words.

"Ember. Look at me. It's okay." Erza spoke to me in a soothing tone.

Erza placed her forehead against mine, rubbing my back to comfort me in attempts to calm me down.

"That's a shame. I was on the edge of my seat. I have faith that Ember would have won, she's got that fire in her eyes." Laxus taunted.

"You sick bastard." Erza glared at him. "My sister won't be used for your amusement."

Erza pulled away from me as Mystogen vanished, explaining that he had to leave just as Natsu and Gajeel arrived.

"Erza. Me and Gajeel have this. Go take Ember and destroy those lacrimas." Natsu told Erza.

I was shaken out of my thoughts when I saw Gajeel's hand on my shoulder.

"You alright, Red?" He asked.

I nodded slowly as I wiped away my remaining tears, giving him a small smile.

"I'm...I'll be okay. Just...kick sparky's ass for me and I'll be good." I joked lightly.

Gajeel smirked as he gave me a small pat on the shoulder.

"Can do, Red." Gajeel nodded.

I followed Erza to the entrance, as Laxus glared at the two of us. I then gave Natsu and Gajeel a smug smile as I saw the angered look on Laxus' face.

"Guys, just a warning so you're not completely wasting your time. Laxus is a second-gen dragon slayer. Just so you're not thrown off by anything he throws at you."

"Well thanks for ruining the surprise." Laxus growled.

"No problem, sparky." I winked at him. "Have fun boys."

I followed Erza outside as she changed her armor, going into her tough Titania armor that made her almost resemble a goddess. Erza had ten swords hovering around her and as we continued to walk forward, we looked up to the sky, seeing the millions upon millions of lacrimas that were set up around the entire city. I stared at Erza In awe, blushing when I saw how graceful she was in her movements.

She's so cool.

"I didn't even notice these things. Holy crap, there's so many of them." I muttered softly.

"They're set to go off at any moment now. We have to destroy them before they wipe out Magnolia. Though I have to warn you, once we hit them, the energy from the lacrimas are set to hit us straight on. Except it'll be twice the energy. It'll hurt a lot." Erza warned me.

My eyes widened from the information.

So hit those things and get hit back ten times harder? Interesting...

"Well shit." I chuckled. "Let's get started then, huh?"


Erza and I struggled as we continued to conjure up more swords to take out each lacrima in the sky. We nearly had two hundred, though our magic was quickly being drained from the effort. Erza had never conjured so many swords before, and as for me, I was fairly new to this form of magic, and was doing worse than Erza was.

"Holy fuck, this is...this is so exhausting. I hope this is enough. I'm almost out of energy, Erza." I panted.

"Just a few more." Erza breathed out. "We have to save the city. If even one of those lacrimas goes off, it could be very threatening to the citizens."

I nodded as my legs finally gave out, causing me to fall to my knees.

"This is really gonna hurt." I groaned.

"Believe me, I know." Erza chuckled.

After hearing what resembled a dragon's roar, Erza finally gave the word.

Was that...Natsu? He beat Laxus, huh?

"NOW!" She yelled.

Without hesitation, we sent the conjured swords to the lacrimas and destroyed the majority of them. Erza and I fell to the ground in exhaustion, smiling in relief when we noticed that our fellow guild members had helped us out in destroying the remaining lacrimas.

"Holy shit. I can't believe we actually did that in time." I laughed weakly.

"I was worried the others wouldn't work together after Laxus turned us against each other." Erza muttered.

"Same here...I had faith they'd pull through though." I smiled.

"This is gonna hurt." Erza winced.

"Wait- -what?- -"

BAM!


It wasn't long before our guild mates had found us and brought Erza and I back to the guild's infirmary. That dragon roar I thought I heard had turned out indeed to be Natsu when he beat Laxus in their intense battle. I felt bad for Laxus, but even more proud that Natsu was able to defeat him. It proved the fact that Natsu was a fast learner and fighter, and that it wouldn't be long before he made it as an S-Class wizard. Erza and I managed to recover enough for the Fairy Festival, and as much as I didn't want to participate, the girls had finally managed to persuade me. Lucy turned out to be the one that gave a heartfelt speech that made the remaining members of Fairy Tail take out the lacrimas that Erza and I weren't able to destroy, and that alone made me incredibly happy that Lucy was here to save the day. I nearly lost it when I heard Makarov nearly died from his heart problems, but was relieved to know that he was now out of the danger zone and was now recovering.

"Hey!"

I yelped when Lucy nearly jumped onto me, feeling her breasts graze the side of my arm as she hugged me.

"What are you looking so down for? You alright?" Lucy gave me a small smile.

"Yeah. Just got a lot on my mind is all." I replied.

"You excited for the festival tonight? Mirajane picked out your costume. Said it looked very fitting for you!" Lucy teased.

"I can only imagine what she has in store for me." I chuckled.

"Oh my god! You can smile!" Lucy joked. "And here I was, thinking you were cursed to frown forever!"

"Shut up!" I laughed.

Lucy and I silenced when we noticed how quiet the guild hall suddenly became. My eyes widened as I saw Laxus himself standing in the guild hall, asking to see Makarov. It wasn't long before everyone was shouting and cursing at him. We were all surprised when Erza silenced everyone and told Laxus where to find him, and it was even more surprising as Natsu got up to confront Laxus after the beating he took. Laxus shocked us all when he left Natsu and gave him a warm wave goodbye. I averted my gaze and turned away from Lucy before attempting to walk away, though it wasn't long before someone grabbed ahold of my wrist.

"Ember."

My eyes widened when I saw that it was Laxus preventing me from leaving.

"Yeah?" I muttered softly.

My heart nearly dropped when I was then pulled into an embrace, feeling the sincerity and warmth in Laxus' actions and words.

"You were right about earlier...about being united as a guild...I'm...I'm sorry about the things I said and did to you. Would you...would you ever be able to forgive me?" Laxus spoke lowly into my ear.

I blinked away tears and felt myself shaking against Laxus.

I can forgive him...but I won't be able to forget. That should be enough for now, right?

I slowly raised my arms and wrapped them around his waist, feeling him tense up in return. I could sense in his movements and soft-spoken tone that he was nervous to be around me, probably afraid to hurt me.

"I do. I forgive you." I cracked a small smile.

Laxus pulled back slightly, glancing down at me in complete shock before he too, began smiling at me.

"You're something else Scarlet. I never thought I'd ever hear you say those words to me. I don't deserve it...but thank you."

"Could you actually call me by my name, you ass?" I shook my head punching his uninjured arm playfully.

It probably would have been the first or second time Laxus ever said my first name, but instead of being really condescending like in the past, he was...kind. It was definitely weird, but a nice change.

"I'll be seeing you around...Ember."

With that said, Laxus walked away to the infirmary, ignoring the looks everyone had given him.


"Well, that was certainly interesting." Lucy muttered. "I've never seen Laxus so...gentle before."

"He's not a bad guy. He's just...misguided at times." Erza spoke up. "Are you okay, Ember?"

I snapped out of my daze as I glanced back towards my sister and Lucy.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I mumbled softly. "Laxus just...he confuses me."

"I can understand why. You two never got along before, but now...he seems more kinder towards you. He must have realized how hard he was on you." Erza nodded in understanding.

"That's one way of putting it." I gave her a weak smile.

"Come on. Let's get you ready for the festival, Mirajane has your outfit ready. She wants you to be a princess." Erza said with a smile.

My face grew warm and I shook my head frantically.

"Yeah, I change my mind! I don't feel that well and- -" I stuttered.

"Nonsense! Let's go!" Erza smirked deviously.

"Lucy help!" I cried out.

"Sorry, I don't wanna get in your way!" Lucy laughed.


I woke up in the morning with a hangover, instantly regretting getting into a drinking contest with Cana and Elfman. I got out of bed, taking a half-hour long bath before I heard a crash outside in my living room. I snapped out of my daze, quickly getting defensive and wrapping a towel around my waist before charging out of the bathroom to attack whoever it was. I screamed when I saw Gajeel rummaging through my refrigerator, his mouth full of ham. I would have found his face to be hilarious had I not been scared at the sudden intrusion. Gajeel screamed in surprise as well when he heard my shriek of fear and turned to see me grabbing a potted plant and throwing it at him. Gajeel dodged quickly before he came over to stop me, grabbing my wrists and trying to calm me down.

"Relax, Red! It's only me!" Gajeel yelled.

"YOU ASS! YOU NEARLY GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK!" I glared at him.

"YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO THROW SHIT AT ME!" Gajeel retorted.

"HOW THE FUCK WOULD YOU REACT TO SEEING SOMEONE IN YOUR KITCHEN UNANNOUNCED?! I ACTED FIRST AND DECIDED TO ASK QUESTIONS LATER, YOU ASSHAT!" I shouted angrily.

"WHY DID I EVEN COME HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE?!"

"I DON'T KNOW! YOU TELL ME!"

Gajeel and I then fell silent as we glanced at each other, out of breath from our shouting match. Suddenly, Gajeel's face became a bright red when he glanced down, now noticing that I was only in a towel.

"Whatever." Gajeel quickly released me, folding his arms quickly as he backed up an inch. "I was just comin' to see if you wanted to go on a mission or somethin'. I got bored."

"Oh?" I blinked at him in surprise. "What kind of mission?"

"Just somethin' about fighting a monster. It was S-Class though, so I was hoping you'd tag along with me since I'm technically not qualified to take the job."

"How did you manage to get the flier? The S-Class jobs are on the second floor." I gave him a look of suspicion.

"I don't have it. I've got enhanced sight, smell, and hearing. It's all part of being a dragon-slayer." Gajeel smirked.

"Alright." I nodded. "So...why me?"

"Because you're the only one in this damn guild I kinda like." He blushed and averted his gaze. "You don't make me wanna bash my head against a wall."

I gave Gajeel a small smile, relaxing a bit when I saw the sincerity in his words.

"I'll choose to take that as a compliment. How much is the reward?" I asked.

"2 million jewel. I'm pretty confident we can handle it though." Gajeel replied with a smirk.

"Well shit." I chuckled. "I guess I got myself a partner then, huh?"

I turned towards my bedroom but glanced at Gajeel over my shoulder.

"Next time, knock on my front door instead of rummaging through my refrigerator. I'll be right back and we can go."

"Message received." Gajeel rolled his eyes.


Gajeel closed his eyes, humming quietly as we sat on the train together out of Magnolia. Mirajane looked confused when she found that Gajeel and I would be partnering up for a job, but didn't question me because she knew we would be more than capable for this job together. She reluctantly approved the request, while demanding that Gajeel listen to me considering he wasn't S-Class. So here we were, going to a small village that was about 100 miles away from Magnolia. I didn't know much about this 'monster' other than what the flier described. The description of this monster was very vague, and left me suspicious of the job and what it would entail. It said to get rid of the monster and kill it, but it didn't mention anything more about what this monster was capable of.

"You look upset about something." Gajeel peered at me out of one eye.

"Who says I'm upset?" I frowned.

"You just got that look on your face. What's up?"

I handed the flier over to Gajeel, watching him examine it more.

"I'm getting a bad feeling about this job. The description is very vague, it doesn't even tell you what the so-called monster is or what it looks like. I don't know...I'm just getting a bad vibe is all." I confessed.

Gajeel perked up at this, nodding in understanding from my explanation.

"I get what you mean. I think we'll be fine. Just gotta stay on your toes and be alert, Red." Gajeel smirked.

I huffed and folded my arms.

"Stop pouting before I bite that bottom lip." Gajeel warned in a low tone.

Did his voice get deeper? Damn...

Gajeel realized what he'd said and his eyes widened slightly before a blush broke out across his cheeks.

"Sorry, I don't know what came over me. Part of me has instincts of an animal, I just say and do things on impulse sometimes." He averted his gaze. "I literally have an inner dragon."

"Oh right. I remember reading that in a book about dragons and dragon-slayers." I nodded. "I get it. You don't have to be sorry about it, it's part of you, you know?"

Gajeel looked surprised at how sympathetic and understanding I was about it and averted his gaze quickly once more.

"Damn do I hate trains." Gajeel grumbled.

"Because of your motion sickness?" I raised an eyebrow.

"H- -how did you?!- -you know what? Never mind..."

"Well you're handling it better than Natsu can, that's for sure." I chuckled.

I came over and sat right next to Gajeel, finding his reaction amusing as I reached out and brushed a stray hair away from his face.

"You can lay on my lap if you'd like. I know something that might help with your motion sickness. It seemed to work with Natsu. You wanna try?" I suggested.

Gajeel reluctantly laid his head on my lap, wincing when my hand began to pet his hair and rub his arm soothingly.

"You alright?" I asked in concern.

"Y- -yeah. 'M fine." He mumbled softly. "You can keep going if you want."

I smiled and resumed, going back to gently running my hand and fingers through his surprisingly soft hair. It wasn't long before Gajeel's body began to relax, his eyes closing slowly as he fought sleep.

I feel...nice and warm inside. But...why?


Hey guys! Thanks so much for waiting! I've been all over the place lately! With my job and with my classes, it's insane. Anyway, I've been thinking about making this either a GajeelxOC or even a LaxusxOC. I don't know, tell me what you think! Let me know if you enjoyed the chapter, if I see any mistakes, I'll go back and fix it. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and again, I'm sorry it took so long to update. Thank you!

-bellas2silly