Shall it be Lima or Stockholm?
Intro; AU. He was a rival, an enemy, but still… why did she love him? Gajeel, the Hitman for Phantom Lord, the seedy bastard wheedled his way into the very heart he had shattered. Levy, the informant for Fairy Tail, captured and held for ransom. As the two war, who shall be killed, and who shall be saved?
Info: Contains mature themes, gang violence, and torture.
Opening the Locked Doors
5
Levy sat before him, her wide eyes taking in his dark frame as he approached her. The last time she had seen him, he had stormed unceremoniously out of the room. The door had slammed and she had cried out as her father's friend had left her in this unfamiliar room that nagged the back of her mind. Her unruly blue locks spilled from her shoulders.
He faintly remembered the orange ribbon that had once tied it back.
Her nearly nonexistent shorts barely covered an inch of her skin and blood stained the material. He knew there was no hope of cleaning it out. He wore black clothes because of that, no need to try and wash the deep stains that perforated his clothing. That tiny bikini was slipping from her shoulders as she sat with her legs splayed under her. Her hands fit snuggly between her knees.
He sat on the cot and held his head between her hands; he grumbled and groaned about how much of a hell this entire gig had been. It was supposed to be easy, but no! She had to be defiant even after he had beat her senseless. The proof stood before him, a child in the body of a woman who didn't understand the situation she was in.
He felt a gentle hand brush his forehead, her jerked in surprise.
Those wide eyes were inches from his as her fingers traced the metal studs that lined his skin. She bumped into each one in turn. She puckered her lips in concentration as the metal that shifted with his very few expressions mesmerized her.
"Does it hurt?" She asked, he had flinched and she was worried. "Mommy would say that if you kiss it the pain would be all gone." She leaned in a pressed her light pink lips against his scarred skin.
He sat there, shock coursing though his system.
"See! All better!" She skipped back and folded her hands behind her. Her wide eyes gazed upon him; the innocence contained within those deep depths had no measurement. She didn't know the difference between friend and foe yet, the world was of people who would always help you.
"Did it work?" Her small face contorted into worry, her cheeks inflating as she was slightly annoyed at the fact the thing her mother had told her hadn't worked.
He took a deep breath and stood up, his eyes shadowed once again. She shrank back; waves of menace seemed to roll off him. She fell back against the wall, her arms crossing over her head to protect herself. That was the primal instinct.
A new shadow loomed in the doorway, the stench of alcohol rolled off him in waves that mimicked the menace Gajeel was directing at him.
"Wha? ~ N, no luck yet?" He huffed a great breath, his greased eyebrows disappearing into his greased hair. "Now now!~ This isn't how it works. You gotta beat it outta her!" He stumbled towards her, strands of his greasy hair falling into his eyesight and he blearily brushed them away only to smack himself in the eye.
Levy cried out in fear, the alcohol reminding of her Father.
"No." She murmured and tried to backpedal away from him. "NO!" She curled into a ball, her eyes squeezed shut to block out the man who tormented her. She whimpered and flinched as his shadow blocked out the orange light that permeated her lids.
It was an ancient language she was speaking, the language of childhood and innocence. He could hear those tiny words whispered into his ears, for he himself had at once also spoke this language.
He moved without meaning to.
"She lost her memories." He gripped Jose's shoulder, his anger breaking around the drunkard. The single light bulb illuminated the intent in both of their eyes.
"Pfft! They all use that as an excuse!~" He happily chided Gajeel he misunderstood the situation completely. Adrenaline coursed through Gajeel, settling his mind on the matter.
"She is not making this up, you may try to think of it that way but it's not possible for her to fake to this degree!" Gajeel lapsed into his well-groomed manner of speaking, his anger pushing him into a corner he didn't want to be caught in.
Jose began to raise his fist above his head, ready to pummel the girl into speaking.
Just as it began to fall, Gajeel caught it, his voice soft, "She's mine, remember?"
Levy jerked in response, the man who had scared her before was now protecting her from this man who was but wasn't daddy. She peeked at the dark man from between her fingers, her eyes poking him with her curiosity. She wished to know more about this protector, a thing she hadn't known existed.
"Humph!" He his arm away. "You deal with her then, take care of her, be her little keeper and see if the memories come back!" Jose screamed furiously before making a dramatic exit from the room.
Gajeel shook his head, knowing his actions would bit him in the ass later.
"Look what you went and did, geeze." He rubbed the back of his neck, his teeth clenched tightly.
The bare bulb began to flicker.
Levy curled into a ball and slid into the corner further, Gajeel was still dangerous to her.
His breathing returned to normal, he hadn't even noticed when it had begun to escalate during the small fight. Adrenaline began to leave his system, the rush no longer there. He sat heavily upon the bed, and rubbed the bridge of his nose furiously.
The thought of how to care for her was running around in his mind, chasing its own tail until it began to devour itself. He abruptly sat up and gazed down upon her, she had crept foreword.
His eyes followed the lines of her spine, how it dipped so gracefully before rising into the hump of her shoulders. She had unknowingly put her breasts on full display, the top barely containing the small globes.
He gulped and licked his lips.
He may be one mean son of a bitch but he never took advantage of a woman with her innocence still intact, he knew for almost certain that, she was still whole.
He finally concluded that if he left her here Jose would be back and meaner than even since he had stood up to his surrogate father.
He didn't know why he wanted to protect this girl, he couldn't decide if he wanted to smash her brains out with his fists or if he should hold her and love her like Nanny would have. His morals have long since declined in this field of work. It was the only place he could find a paying job, and damn did it pay well. His morals were creeping back into the front of his mind, prioritizing what was right or wrong.
"Come on." As he stood, he let his hand fall directly over hers, "We're leaving." His voice didn't shake, nor did it reveal the turmoil within his mind and body.
She gazed up again, her eyes seemed to probe him; asking why.
He bent down and crouched before her, his hands resting on his knees. The ends of his hair barely brushing the ground behind him.
"We need to go to a different place, okay?" He gently asked.
"Mmkay." She answered, but she was almost in a daze as she took his hand. "I'm sleepy." She rubbed her bleary eye with the other fist. She yawned widely, the mean man was gone and she trusted Gajeel to keep her safe like he did before.
Her eyes began to close even as he lifted her up.
"Come on." He muttered quietly, but shifted her so he could easily lift her legs and supports her head. He shut the door behind him with a fluid motion, she had nothing in the room to keep.
The hallways were empty, he didn't know the time but guessed it to be nearly one am. He took the right turns and came to his plain door, nothing distinguished it from the rest that lined the hall. He knew those were empty and didn't hold even a single piece of furniture within. They were dummy doors, used to confuse the enemy in case one even made it down this low in the levels.
Gajeel juggled her legs so he could slip the key out of his pocket and into the lock, he turned it and listened to the oiled gears slip past one another. He toed the door open and shut it with his left foot.
Lily was nowhere to be seen, probably on his pillow.
Her limp form clung to him, her knuckles fisted around his black outer shirt. Her head lolled gently against him, moving with each step and sway of his wide gait. Small breaths puffed against his chest.
Her face neared the picturesque of those Angels he had seen in old books Nanny would read to him. She would sit there and read those books to him as many times as he wished each night before he retired. She would sit on the edge of his bed and let him hold onto her finger until long after he had fallen asleep.
He shook his head, those happy thoughts hadn't risen in a very long time. This job had made him numb to the world of emotions. Curse his father to hell and back for that.
He bumped into the couch, his senses had been clouded that far! He growled deeply, she shifted in her sleep and murmured something unintelligible. She smiled gently, the angelic reference came to the front of his mind once again.
"So breakable." Gently he lowered her to the couch before him, her hands refused to release their death grip upon him.
She whimpered when he broke the contact.
He quickly maneuvered to the closet to grab a spare blanket to cover her with. He turned on his heel only to turn back to grab a pillow. Rushing back to her side, he moved with inhuman speed.
The blanket was draped over her and the pillow was secured under her head. She shifted and whimpered, her lip quivering in her sleep. She cried out for an unknown object, she was barely intelligible as it was but muttering didn't help her case in one bit.
She reached out, her grasping hands trying to desperately cling to something.
Her eyes opened slowly and rested at a hazy half lidded look that settled upon him.
He stood above her, dumbfounded by her next action. She rolled to look him face one, her pupils shifting in sizes as the constricted and grew slowly but noticeably. She couldn't focus them correctly. Her lips moved, making words without sounds. Her jaw opened ever so slightly, her full lips framing them. Her dark curls of blue hair spilled over her shoulders. She reached for his hand.
She gripped his pinky tightly, a small smile graced her lips once again.
She licked her lips, "Night night." Her eyes once again closed, a peaceful look returned to her façade. Her breathing evened out, but her grip remained as firm as ever.
"Really?" A slight groan escaped his lips as he lowered himself to the floor besides the couch. "You aren't going to let go are you?" He let his free hand run through his nest of hair.
He felt sleep tugging on his own consciousness. He felt it but didn't recognize it quite yet. He was pulled under before he even realized how tired he had really been.
Lily padded out of the shadows, his green glass eyes fixated upon Gajeel.
"Fool."
The shadows engulfed him again, only to allow him to grow in piece and quiet.
He stalked out of the darkness, nearly larger than Gajeel now. His great head swung back and forth, as he viewed the pair before him. His eyes pierced the gloom around them. A smile tugged on a single corner of his mouth, he didn't let it rise further than a thought.
A great paw settled on her forehead, his velvet fur rubbing her gently.
"Take care of him." He voice grated against their sleeping ears. His eyes fell upon Gajeel, pupils constricted to mere slits, anger rose within him. A snarl rose within his chest, he chocked it down to keep the two of them in a peaceful sleep.
How dare he raise a hand at this young woman who didn't deserve this treatment. Lily usually chose to stay as far away as possible from Gajeel's work life, Gajeel would do what he did and stay out of Lily's life as well.
Lily was grateful, don't you dare doubt that, but Gajeel had crossed a line with this one. Very people knew of Lily's existence, Gajeel had a job that involved the man who had at one time owned Lily as a failed experiment. Gajeel had just taken Lily with him when he left, promising a place to stay and food.
He casually removed his touch and glanced back as he walked away, that faint smile made it to his lips.
"You take care of her too."
Iight, got this chapter done. Not as long as I wanted it to be, but oh well….
Review or die.
O_x
