2 - Glasses
Pantherlily stood in the doorway of his partner's room, his arms crossed as he smirked while unknowingly watching the hardened dragon slayer as his girlfriend took a bath. The man sat on the edge of the bed as he thumbed through one of the novels Lucy had brought over. She had assured him that it was an amazing book and that she thought he would enjoy it, the man had then scoffed at her. Now he sat there with his nose buried in the book and he wondered how long the man had been secretly reading the books she had brought him and if he would ever let her know that he had read them.
Despite his appearance and what everyone thought of the man, Gajeel wasn't all fighting and weapons. He actually enjoyed a good book here and there, the only thing he refused to read was one of Lucy's romance books. Though he was pretty sure that she had gotten a few of her ideas and moves in bed from those books, which he definitely wasn't complaining about. He wasn't going touch those books.
"You know, there are easier ways to hide that you're reading the books she brought you?"
The dark haired man jumped at the sound of Lily's voice before he slammed the book closed and stuffed it under his pillow, a scowl set firmly into place. "What the hell are you talking about, Lily? I'm not trying to hide anything."
The little black cat just smiled at the man as he uncrossed his arms and spread his wings, flying to the bed. "Is that so? Then why hide the book?" The cat reached under the pillow and pulled out the fantasy book with a large black dragon on the cover and smirked. Leave it to Gajeel think he could easily hide the books under something as simple as a pillow. He wondered briefly if Lucy had already found some of the man's stashes of her hidden books and just decided to keep quiet about them.
The man just crossed his arms over his chest before he eyed the book, snatching it out of the cat's hands and tossing it carelessly on the night stand where Lucy had left it for him – something both she and Levy would skin him alive for, books were to be treated preciously. After a moment of silence, the man finally stood and walked out of the room, eying the bathroom door cautiously as he walked past it grumbling to himself and the cat that was on his heels. "Damn Bunny's always rambling on about different stories and their characters. I never have any clue what the hell she's talking about; at least this way I'll be able to keep up with her. That woman confuses the hell outta me when she gets going."
"She's your mate, Gajeel."
Pausing the man looked over his shoulder with narrowed eyes as he scowled down at his partner. True Bunny Girl was his mate, he had yet to mark her as his, but he had made his claim on her. She wanted to wait on the marking and he couldn't really blame her for that. There was a lot to it and a big step. If it wasn't done just right or with the right partner, if either of them had any doubt in their mind, then it could be dangerous. He wanted her to make sure this is what she wanted, he knew she was the only woman for him and that they were destined for each other, but she still had a choice in this. They could still go their separate ways, the only consequence would be their overall happiness. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
The cat lifted his brow as he walked past the man into the kitchen. "Exactly as I said. She is your mate. There is no way any simple woman would stick with you Gajeel. I can assure you, you are just as confusing as she is…sometimes more so."
"Tch…whatever cat."
Following the cat into the kitchen, Gajeel moved past Lily as the he drooled over his kiwis before he pulled some of his stash of scrap metal out of the cabinets and took the seat opposite him. He used to just keep all his metal lying randomly around the house until Lucy came over for the first time and about had a panic attack over it. Just another one of the things he found strange about her. Regardless of her strange behaviors, he agreed to keep it put away and out of sight, though it made it a pain in the ass to get to when he was across the house and wanted a snack. Was he whipped? More than likely. Did he care? Fuck no. He's the one that got to go home with the blonde beauty every night and he was the only one allowed to share her bed. He had put an immediate stop to the Salamander's sleeping over bullshit. If he just insisted on staying at the blonde's apartment, he had set a few ground rules for the man: First – and most important – the bastard wasn't allowed anywhere near Lucy's bed. Gajeel had just gotten it to not smell like ash and burnt fabric and he didn't want to have to go through that pain again. The last thing he wanted to think about when he was trying to sleep or when he was pounding away at his bunny was the damn Salamander. Second, there was to be absolutely no more 'accidental' peeks or walk-ins on Lucy when she was in the bath. He had threatened to murder both Natsu and Gray if either of them ever saw Lucy naked again. He was the only man that would ever have the privilege to see her like that ever again. Third, no more climbing through the window, if the door is locked, then there is probably a reason for it and Gajeel didn't want them interrupting; because he wasn't going to stop until he was done. Lucy didn't like that so she had immediately threatened Natsu about the window. Lastly, but definitely not least, if the man just had to sleep over either he or the Titania was to be present, preferably Erza; he didn't want to have to be around the fucker that long.
"Gajeel…"
The dragon slayer paused as he threw another piece of metal in his mouth and looked up as his Bunny made her way down the stairs. He choked as he swallowed harshly, forgetting to chew the screw he had just thrown in his mouth. He'd seen Lucy in just about everything and nothing. Hell, he'd seen her in a skimpy little barely there bunny suit, that he was determined to get her in again. But he had never been so turned on by her as he was in that moment…and she wasn't even flaunting anything.
Dressed in one of Gajeel's too large shirts that ended at the top of her thighs with her hair piled messily on top of her head with a few wet strands clinging to her neck, she watched the dragon slayer carefully as he fought to swallow the still intact screw. She didn't know what she could possibly do for him if there was a severe problem and he needed attention. The most she could do was summon Virgo and have her fetch Wendy, but she didn't even know if there was enough time for that. "Gajeel!"
The man just waved her away as she ran at him, desperate to help him in some way. The last thing he wanted was to die from swallowing a fucking screw because his mate walked in the room and made his blood boil, the Salamander would never let him live that one down. "I'm fine," he rasped out as he grabbed the glass of water sitting on the table.
"Gajeel that was my water."
The man just rolled his eyes at his cat's obvious statement. He needed something to wash down the stray bit of scrap that was lodged in his throat and that was closer and a hell of a lot easier for him get a hold of than to get up and get a fresh glass. "So what, I was dyin'!"
The scarred exceed just raised his brow as he eyed the man before him, holding half eaten unskinned kiwi between his hands. "You were hardly dying." The cat smiled at Lucy as she sat a fresh glass of water down for him. "Thank you Lucy."
"You're welcome, Lily."
The dragon slayer rolled his eyes as he grabbed the woman around the waist and pulled her down into his lap before he reached around her to grab another piece of metal and slinging it into his mouth. He bit down, getting the first and loudest crunch of the scrap before he spoke around the metal in his mouth to the woman. "What'd you need, Bunny?"
The woman turned to wrap her arms around the man holding her in a warm and loving embrace, despite the current chomping of metal. The man before her was everything she had been missing in her life. He was her safe haven, her sanity-believe it or not, her warmth, and her heart. But most importantly, he was her home. He was what she had been missing since she was ten, when her mother had died, he was everything she lost as her father turned his cold shoulder on her as a child, when a child needed their parent's guidance most, and he had been the one to show her how to love someone with every fiber of her being. He had been the one to bring out all of her passion, the one who pushed her to endure and succeed…he was also one of the few to annoy her to the extent that brought out her slightly more violent side, though that seemed to be a dragon slayer thing…and a Gray thing. But he was the only one of them who seemed to set her at ease with nothing more than a few words.
She wanted everything she could have with him, and while she was excited for their future marking she was hesitant and scared as well. Gajeel had gone over everything about it with her, as had Natsu for some reason. Gajeel had made sure that she understood the meaning of it all, what it would mean for them as individuals and for them as a couple. But she knew deep in her heart that she would never love another man the way she loved him, he was it for her. She was afraid of the pain it was supposed to cause as his magic flowed into and through her and wondered if she could handle it, and the small portion of her brain that told her this man was too good to be true kept her mind thinking about what would happen if she wasn't really meant to be his mate, and then there was the opinions of the guild. Would they think her easy for sleeping with Gajeel before they actually became a couple, would they look at her differently for allowing him to mark her so soon? Granted she knew the answers to all her questions, but it didn't ease her mind. She couldn't help but think about other's opinions of her, she had grown up in a society where others opinions of you were all that mattered. If a person's reputation was ruined then their family's name was ruined and it was next to impossible for those in the higher class society to forget about who had an affair with whom, as if that was the worst thing they had to worry about. It was a hard habit for her to break, but she was trying.
"Lucy…" She shook her head at the sound of her name on his lips, knowing that it wasn't the first time he had tried getting her attention if he was calling her by her name and not by the nickname he had given her. She smiled at him before pressing her lips softly to his. "…what's wrong?"
"Nothing. I was just trying to remember where I left my gale force glasses." She moved to stand, only to feel the arms around her tighten even further, refusing to let her up until she divulged what had been on her mind.
The dragon slayer knew better than to believe what she was telling him. While she may have misplaced her gale force glasses, whatever the hell those were, he knew that there was something else on her mind; that and it was extremely unlike Lucy to misplace things. The woman was so organized that if he didn't know any better, he would think it was part of her magic, and it could be with the way she had to keep track of each of the contracts and the details of them that she had made with each of her spirits. But he would let her think that he bought her story, for now. "What the hell are gale force glasses?"
Lucy just sat back and stared at the man with wide eyes. She knew she shouldn't be surprised that he didn't know what they were, but she couldn't help it. Her glasses were like her lifeline, without them there would be no way she could keep up with Levy, Erza, and Freed on books. Each of them read a different genre and she liked them all and she loved discussing them. Every now and then two of them would cross over and know the book or series the other did, usually Erza and Levy with their romance novels of some variety, or Levy and Freed with their mystery and adventure novels. "They allow me to rapidly read through a book within minutes that would otherwise take me all day."
Lily could see the gears moving in Gajeel's head as he thought of the possibilities of using a pair of those glasses. He wouldn't have to hide that he was reading the books Lucy brought him because he would be finished with them before she would ever notice. "Did you leave them at your apartment Lucy?"
The blonde thought for a moment before she shrugged and managed to get Gajeel to let her up long enough to move so she could grab her keys off the counter. She held out a single golden key as she chanted the opening incantation. "Open gate of the Maiden, Virgo!"
"My princess! You look more dazzling than ever…" The lion spirit grabbed her hand as he leaned over it and pressed his lips to the back side of it before he stood back to appraise his key holder's appearance. "…though I must say, you'd look even more dazzling if you were wearing my shirt, my love."
"Watch it kitten!" The dragon slayer narrowed his eyes as he pulled his bunny away from the spirit, wrapping his arm around her tightly as he pulled her back down to his lap.
Lucy just rolled her eyes at her dragon slayer's reaction. She knew that Loke only acted this way around him to draw a reaction from him, and he always got one. The lion's heart truly belonged to a certain pink-haired ram and Lucy was all for their love. "Loke, why are you here?"
The spirit frowned at her before he held his hand to his chest with a mock cry before a smirk appeared on his mouth. "I thought my princess needed to be saved from the horrendous dragon by her handsome and loyal knight in shining armor, so here I am."
Gajeel stiffened as he tightened his grip on Lucy even more as he pulled her further into his lap. "Oi, who are you calling horrendous you overgrown fur ball?"
"So you don't deny that my princess needs to be rescued?"
"Yeah she needs rescued, from the knight that can't keep his damn hands to himself; and if he ain't careful, that dragon's going to eat is shining armor." The growl that came from the man's chest behind her reverberated through her body and she shivered at the possessiveness of it. As much as she enjoyed knowing how much he wanted to keep her for himself, she knew that if she didn't put an end to Loke's teasing now he'd end up going back to the spirit world by force and it wouldn't be from her performing a forced gate closure.
Deciding to get to the point of why she had summoned Virgo in the first place, Lucy jumped in to the conversation, cutting off both Gajeel and Loke's insults of the other. "Loke, can you go to my apartment and get my gale force reading glasses? I think I left them. They'll either be on the coffee table or on the table next to the couch."
The lion spirit stopped as she spoke to him before he crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her incredulously. "Isn't that a job better suited for Virgo, Princess?"
The blonde smirked as she leaned back further into Gajeel's bare chest and crossed her arms over her own. Sure the job was more of Virgo's thing of trying to do everything to please her master, but Lucy knew that Loke would do as she asked. Just like Gajeel, the leader of the zodiacs refused to see her upset and would do whatever he could to put a smile on her face. "You're right, it is…" She grinned evilly as he smirked at the thought of getting out of the task. "…but, you are the one who showed up when I summoned Virgo, so I had assumed that you wanted to be the one to carry out the task I had intended for her."
The man opened his mouth to speak before he immediately closed it again with a frown, knowing that she was right. He had been the one to jump through Virgo's gate when she was summoned. Letting out a defeated sigh he nodded his head before he gave her a low bow and looked up at her with a coquettish smirk. "Very well my love, I shall return for you soon."
Gajeel growled as the spirit left in a shower of golden falling stars. "I really don't like him when he does shit like that."
The blonde just smirked at the irritated man. While she knew that Loke had no true romantic interest in her, not that it would matter if he did, there were celestial laws against that, but she could understand the nature of Gajeel's irritation. Dragons were territorial creatures which would also make dragon slayers slightly territorial by default. She was pretty sure that even without Gajeel's slayer magic he would be slightly possessive and protective over her, it was just in his personality. The man hadn't had all that much growing up, let alone people he cared for and the only person he did have that had ever given a damn about him was his dragon, even if the stupid lizard never outright said it, he knew. So it made sense that when he found someone that meant more to him than anything or anyone else that he would guard and protect them from others, even if those others were their friends. She believed that he was so afraid of losing her that he was unintentionally pushing everyone away. The only thing that brought her relief was Natsu's words that as soon as they were fully mated and her marked he would relax a bit. She smiled at the thought. "Hey Gajeel…"
The man just grunted at her in acknowledgement as he scooped his arms under her legs and stood, walking toward the stairs. She had promised her friends that she would be at the guild at a certain time, and if she wasn't there Erza would come looking for her, and he did not want that bunch in his house. Lucy's possessions and home got destroyed enough that he knew how much damage they could cause, and he was having none of it. He knew eventually it would happen, especially when he finally got the nerve to ask the angel in his arms to move out of her apartment.
Lucy bit the corner of her lip as she smiled at the man's concentrated expression. Gently moving a piece of his unruly black hair out of his face, she reached up and kissed the corner of his mouth to get his attention. "…if Loke's flirting bothers you so much, why don't you challenge him? You know, like a dragon does when another encroaches upon his territory."
The man paused at the top of the stairs as he looked down at his woman, a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. "Are you saying that you are part of my territory, Bunny?"
The woman just grinned as she wiggled enough for him to gently set her on her feet, her smile never fading as she turned her back to him and looked over her shoulder as she reached for the bedroom door. "Every inch of me, dragon boy."
Gajeel stood still with a lopsided grin on his face as he watched the door close slowly with Lucy smiling seductively. He never would have thought that Lucy would willingly insinuate that she saw herself as property, not that he believed she did, nor would he ever see her as such. It just wasn't who she was, after a life of being treated as nothing more than an object, bargaining chip, and a tool to be used, Lucy had resolved to never be thought of as such ever again. But in a way she was right, if she did decide to carry through with her decision to allow him to mark her she would in essence be his and he hers. He was just glad that he hadn't had to explain every fine detail about being a dragon slayer's mate to her. Natsu had taken care of that for him, his only assumption was that the man had tried to prepare his best friend for the outcome should he ever meet his mate.
Like his dragon parent, Gajeel didn't really have the patience for teaching anyone. Between the two of them, it was amazing that he had managed to learn anything about dragon slaying magic; one of them didn't want to take the time to teach while the other didn't want to bother with taking the time to learn, yet both wanted him to possess the magic the dragon said he was capable of wielding. But despite his poor teaching and learning skills, he was trying with his bunny girl. He was willing to listen and answer any question that she may have about their impending marks. Luckily she seemed to grasp it better than he had expected. Perhaps her understanding had something to do with her own magic and the stories she claimed were written in the stars.
"As creepy as that smile is on you, it's good to see you actually happy Gajeel." Pantherlily stood next to his partner's feet with his arms crossed as he looked up at the man. He liked Lucy, she was a sweet girl and she seemed to be exactly what the hard and gruff man next to him needed in his life.
"Tch…whatever." The man's smile immediately fell as he realized he was making a fool out of himself. Taking a step toward the door where Lucy was changing clothes, he decided he didn't care how much of a fool he looked like, his smile reappeared.
"What the hell?! Get out!"
Quickening his steps to the door, Gajeel pulled the door open just as the lion tumbled out, one of his metal studded boots thrown at the spirits head before the door was slammed shut again. With a growl Gajeel grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt before he shoved him against the wall roughly. "What the fuck were you thinking, house cat?"
The spirit just held his hands up in surrender. As much as he liked to mess with the couple he wasn't going to be disrespectful to the best master who'd ever own his key, nor was he suicidal by provoking the dragon slayer like that. "Hey…hey! I didn't mean to pop in on her like that; how was I supposed to know she was changing?!"
"It's okay Gajeel, let him go." The small woman who had rapidly thrown Gajeel's shirt back on placed her delicate hand on his forearm, easing his anger. She wasn't happy that Loke had walked in on her while she had been changing and she was even more unhappy with the fact that he stood there staring at her, but Gajeel didn't need to know that. Right now she just wanted to get her glasses from her spirit and send him back to his own world.
The dragon slayer begrudgingly dropped his hand from the man before he turned and punched him once in the face. He knew it wasn't going to be enough to send the man back and he couldn't just let such an infraction against Lucy go unpunished. He walked away from the duo as he heard Lucy let out a frustrated sigh, but she didn't say anything to him…it would have just been pointless and she knew it. Stalking to the dresser in the bedroom, he listened to the lion speak and immediately knew something was wrong. He wasn't he normal cocky self and he was trying to ease something on her.
Lucy saw Gajeel lean against the doorframe from the corner of her eye as she spoke with Loke. She wasn't too sure about the look of concern on his face as he watched her. Between his look and Loke's tone, she knew something was wrong.
"Lucy, I went to your apartment as you requested and I found it in disarray. The apartment itself is not totally destroyed and your bedroom seems to be untouched, as is your bathroom; but your living room is a mess. It seems that Natsu managed to demolish your coffee table as well as burn part of your sofa."
Her eyes widened at the thought of her apartment being damaged once again. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was more wrong than what he was saying, but at the moment all she could think was the last warning her landlady had given her. She'd be lucky if she had an apartment to go home to. But what she didn't understand was why Loke hadn't given her the glasses she requested as he was telling her about her demolished apartment. It would have seemed like the smart thing to do, right? Offer something that meant a great deal to the person as you told them terrible news? "Loke…"
The lion spirit sighed as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the glasses she treasured so much. The look on her face alone at the sight of the broken glasses made him want to beat the shit out of that little pyro dragon slayer. He wanted nothing more than to hold the woman in comfort, but he knew that it wasn't his place to do so anymore. As much as she believed him to not really love her, she was mistaken and he wished for her to stay that way. Anything with her would be a breach in his agreement to be a summoned celestial spirit and broken celestial laws, but for her he would do that; but that was no longer an option for her anymore. She had found her hero…and it was the dragon instead of the knight. Sure he had feelings for the pink ram spirit, but they paled in comparison to what he felt for Lucy…hell, Aries paled in comparison to the Princess of the Celestial World, as she had become known as.
Lucy held her hand to her mouth trying to stifle the sob that still managed to force its way out at the sight of the glasses. Next to her keys, those were one of her most cherished possessions. Sure she could go out and buy another pair easily, fairly cheap too. But nothing she could buy could mean as much as those the lion held in his hand. She felt the large arms wrap themselves around her body before she turned and buried her face in the bare chest of the dragon slayer she loved, taking in his metallic scent; it was the only smell in the world that could calm her down at times like these. She felt it as he leaned against the wall and slowly slide down it into a sitting position, carefully maneuvering her into his lap so she could let all of her tears out against him comfortably.
Gajeel didn't know why the usually unshakable blonde was so worked up over a single pair of glasses and he really didn't care, she was upset and that was what the only thing cared about at this point. He looked down to the floor next to where he sat with Lucy cradled against his chest to see the broken glasses where he had left them after they were handed to him. One of the lenses were covered with spider webbed cracks while the other was missing entirely, the frame around the empty space where the lens should be was broken and bent and the arm of the opposite side was missing. He could see the faint traces of scorch marks along the one remaining arm, which was bent to hell. He was just grateful that the lion knew when to leave things be, unlike many of Lucy's other friends. There was one thing he was sure of at this very moment, Natsu was in for the beating of his life. "Lily, go tell the guild that Lucy's going to be late showing up and for her team not to show up here."
The little exceed nodded seriously as he glanced at the sobbing woman before he turned and headed out of the house. Like Gajeel, he didn't know why Lucy was upset over broken glasses; she usually wasn't the type of person to become extremely attached to material possessions, unlike her dragon slayer boyfriend who tended to hoard anything and everything that was made of metal, only to eat it later. For the woman to become upset over the glasses meant something and he was sure she would divulge what that was eventually. Right now the best thing for they could do for her was to allow her to let her pain out before they left for the guild and he'd make sure that she was able to do that in peace.
The man gripped her tighter as he sat on the floor with her, hating the feeling of her tears running down his chest. Tears of sorrow were not supposed to fall from her beautiful honey colored eyes and sobs as painful and heart wrenching as hers were not supposed to pass the angelic pink lips that he loved, nor were her eyes supposed to be as red as his. She was in pain and it was a pain that he could not take away from her. Whispering softly in her ear, he belayed how much he hated seeing her like that, telling her everything about her that he loved and why he would make sure she never cried like that again.
It had taken Gajeel nearly an hour and a half to calm the distraught blonde down enough to convince her they were expected at the guild, and he was sure Lily was having a hell of a time keeping others from coming to check on their beloved celestial wizard. He didn't know if Lily had told them what had happened or if he just gave them a vague reason as to why they weren't allowed to come searching for them at the house. Regardless of what he had told them, he only hoped that they could wait a little longer before storming his house…and they would eventually storm his house if the blonde didn't show up.
She had done the best she could at cleaning herself up after her physical and emotional breakdown without taking another shower, the only evidence left was her red bloodshot eyes. With a deep breath she pushed open the guild doors before Gajeel reached out and held it open for her as she walked through in front of him, a firm frown set on his face as he looked around the guild hall. A small weak smile crept onto the girl's face at the man's unexpected and unusual chivalry. It was something she had learned not to expect from anyone within the guild, except for Freed, though the two of them had a similar upbringing.
"Lulu!" She fought the grimace as Levy, Erza, and Mira all looked in her direction, all watching her with wide eyes before Levy ran to her and wrapped her arms around her. It felt nice to be embraced by those you cared for, especially when you were upset. But the warmth and the feeling of the embrace of her best girlfriend was nothing compare to how Gajeel made her feel with his arms wrapped around her, and that was what she wanted right now.
Her eyes shot up to the man as Levy pulled her toward the bar, no doubt to get to the bottom of what had her so upset. It was not something the blonde wanted to speak about at that moment. The man just nodded his head for her to follow her friends and she knew that he was going to find her fire breathing best friend and possibly beat the crap out of him, she really couldn't bring herself to care about that at the moment. But she knew that the man wouldn't ever willingly leave her alone for long and he would always come back to her when he did.
Gajeel watched as the shrimp pulled Lucy to the bar, all three sets of eyes watching him carefully. He knew what they were thinking and he knew that Lucy would put a stop to it. He stood in the doorway as his eyes surveying the guild as he subconsciously listened in on Lucy's conversation before following the scent he was looking for. He was just making sure she was okay before he left her here alone for a few hours. It didn't surprise him that she was unwilling to talk about why she was upset with the three women and he smiled when she vehemently denied that he was the cause of her distress, like he would ever do anything to cause her this much pain. But he was going to find the little bastard that did. He knew the pyro was here, he could smell him. There was no doubt he was hiding from the wrath of Lucy, unless he knew what those glasses meant to his bunny, which he had finally managed to coerce out of her, in which case he was trying to hide from him…a moot point since the iron slayer could smell him.
Heading toward the back of the guild, Gajeel stopped as soon as he was out of range from most of the guild. The last thing he wanted was for Lucy to receive more attention about this than she wanted, which meant that no one else needed to hear this conversation. "Erza."
The woman stood behind him, holding a single sword tightly in her right hand as she glared at the iron dragon slayer. "What did you do to her, Gajeel?"
The man crossed his arms over his chest and stared back at the woman trying his best not to lash out at her for her assumption the he was at fault. She was like a sister to Lucy and the fact that he could respect anyone else who got almost as worked up about Lucy's tears as he did were the only things that were keeping him from attempting to knock some sense into her. "I didn't do shit to Bunny Girl. I picked up the pieces and calmed her down after her useless piece of shit best friend broke into her apartment again and destroyed her glasses."
The woman's sword vanished as her eyes widened at his words, which he took to mean that she knew. He could only assume that if she knew then the Salamander knew. Good…the bastard knew he was coming. "Natsu destroyed Lucy's gale force glasses?"
He gave the woman a single nod before he turned on his heel and continued on his path, the woman close on his heels. "I'm getting the first punch in, then he's yours. I got things I need to do today."
Erza watched the man's back as he stalked ahead of her with a smile on her face. She knew what he was planning on doing and she couldn't approve more. Perhaps she had been mistaken about the grumpy dragon slayer not being good enough for Lucy. He was quickly proving that he deeply cared for her and would doing anything for her, pulverizing mountains if they got in his way to make her happy. "I find those terms acceptable." She had doubt that it was Natsu alone that had damaged the blonde's apartment, the man didn't usually set things on fire without provocation, but the last thing Gajeel needed at this moment was to have his anger pushed even further at the thought that Gray had also played a part in Lucy's tears. At this point she didn't know if she would be able to stop him if he lost control. She would deal with Gray after the dragon slayer before left.
Kicking the door open to the storage room, Gajeel stood in the doorway and inhaled to make sure he had the right room. True to his instincts, the man was hiding. "Salamander! I know you're in here." He glanced over to Erza and nodded for her to remain outside while he got his licks in.
He heard a squeak of fear before he stomped over to the stack of crates, only to find a wide-eyed and terrified Lisanna scramble against the wall before Natsu jumped out and stood in front of the woman in anger. The iron dragon slayer looked between the two of them, grinning as he thought of the shit he could get the bastard in with this information. But at the moment his concern wasn't on the woman cowering behind Natsu. "Get the hell outta here kitten, unless you want me telling demon woman about your little booty call."
"I-It wasn't like that!"
"Gee Hee. She doesn't know that. Scram!" He watched the pink haired man closely as Lisanna scrambled out of the room, waiting for him to make a move. It seemed that his assumption that the Salamander had known he was coming for him was wrong. The man didn't even look the least bit sorry that he had broken into Lucy's place and destroyed her possessions again, and that pissed Gajeel off even more. Growling deep in his chest, Gajeel threw his fist out, creating a large iron pole to throw Natsu into the far wall as he moved a single inch from his original position. He walked over to where the pink haired nuisance was shaking the daze away and looked down at him. "You really don't care whose things you break do you?"
"What the hell are you talking about, metal face?"
He growled again as the man moved to get up, only to be kicked back down by Gajeel's iron studded boot. "You broke Lucy's glasses."
The fire dragon coughed as he fought to catch his breath. He sat still as he panted and looked up to the irate man. "What the hell? She's worried about a pair of glasses? It's not like they're irreplaceable. I've broken more valuable things than that and she wasn't mad. Just go buy her another pair and she'll be happy."
"Natsu!"
Both men looked to the door to see the red headed knight stalk in, her long bangs shadowing the top of her face and her mouth set into a cold firm line. Gajeel shivered, glad that she wasn't aiming that deadly aura at him. Sure he had taken more than his single hit, but he really didn't care. If you asked him the bastard deserved more, though he guessed that Erza would take care of that for him. Turning Gajeel nodded at Erza before he headed toward the door. She held her hand out to stop him before she looked up at him and med his red eyes. "Get the twenties Gajeel." He just raised his brow at the woman before she elaborated. "The shop keeper will know what you're talking about."
With a nod she let go of him, allowing him to continue on his way. He stood outside the closed door for a moment as he listened to their conversation. "He is buying her another pair Natsu. But you were wrong, those you destroyed were not replaceable. Now, face your punishment." He grinned in satisfaction as he heard a squeal of fear from the fire dragon slayer and made his way back to the bar where he had left Lucy with Levy.
"Mira! You have to help Natsu!"
The three women looked at Lisanna as she ran behind the bar to her older sister for help, grasping the older woman's hand desperately. After hearing Lucy's story, neither Mira nor Levy had any sympathy for the man. Erza was missing and they were pretty sure she had found out about Natsu's transgression somehow. "Calm down Lisanna. Now, tell me what's wrong."
The girl took a breath as she looked straight at her sister, ignoring the other two women at the moment. "Gajeel, he's angry and he sought out Natsu. I think he's going to hurt him."
"Lisanna, Natsu and Gajeel fight all the time. He can handle himself against Gajeel, and I promise Gajeel won't come out without bruises either."
The youngest Strauss sibling turned to see Lucy, angry at her casual dismissal of the confrontation her boyfriend was initiating, only she stopped in herself from lashing out at the woman as she laid eyes on the blonde's appearance. "Lucy! Oh my gods, what happened?"
The blonde just looked away, trying to fight off the fresh wave of emotion as yet another person asked her about why she had been crying. So far she had been able to keep from breaking down again since she was here, but she didn't know how long that would last. Honestly, what she wanted right now was to just go home with Gajeel and be alone. "Natsu happened." A large scarred arm with four iron studs wrapped around her. Leaning in close to her, Gajeel whispered into her ear, "You okay Bunny?"
Lucy took in a deep breath as her heart raced at the deep sound of his voice and leaned into him with a smile as he kissed her temple, only to frown at his next words. "Good. I have a few errands to run, do you want Lily to stay here with you?"
At his name, the black exceed hopped onto the counter and watched her closely with crossed arms. He didn't know how much good he would be to her, but if she wanted him to stay with her he would. She just shook her head at her boyfriend's words. She didn't know where he was going or why he wouldn't ask her to go with him like he usually did. Both he and the cat nodded at her answer, figuring that to be the case.
He felt her soft hand grip his arm as he moved to pull it away and he looked down at her. "Can I go?"
"No." He saw the pain in her eyes at his simple answer and he hated it. But for this to go as he wanted it to he needed to do this alone. Letting out a sigh, he ignored the prying eyes of the three women around them and turned Lucy around on her stool and held her face in each of his hands before leaning down to press his forehead, wrapped in his green bandana, against hers. "I'm sorry, I can't take you with me this time Lucy." She just nodded against him as a few stray tears fell from the corner of her eyes. The man leaned back and looked at her with a creased brow. The smell of her tears hitting him hard. "Hey…" As she looked up at him as he softly ran his thumb under each of her eyes to brush her tears away. "…I'll be back for you in a few hours, then we'll go check out the damage to your apartment and then head back home. Okay?"
Nodding her head, she gave him a soft smile as she sniffled, refusing anymore tears passage. "I love you, Gajeel."
At her words, the man leaned down and captured her mouth with his in a firm unyielding kiss. While he may not be one for constant public affection like other couples in the guild, he knew when she needed it, and this was one of those times. The fact that she was being so emotionally clingy was enough proof to him that those glasses had meant a great deal to her and the emotional stress was effecting her in ways she didn't know how to deal with, so she grasped for the one person who made her feel good at the moment. Pulling back, he looked into her honey brown orbs surrounded by red. "I know, Bunny. Me too." She watched as he turned and walked out of the guild, the black cat flying close behind him.
"So Lucy, which books have you gotten caught up on?"
The blonde tried hard not to think about the glasses she usually used to keep up with all the books her friends were reading and discussing, she knew the women were just trying to cheer her up and get her mind of off what had happened that morning. She just gave a weak smile as Mira set a fresh strawberry smoothie in front of her and leaned against the counter with a smile. "I've finished the dragon chronicles Freed recommended and passed it on to Gajeel."
All eyes around her widened at her words, unwilling to believe that the hardened dragon slayer was a reader. She fought a large smile at the thought that there was more to her dragon than most people knew; and she was the only one, next to Lily, who knew the more about the man than anyone. "Wait, you're saying Gajeel reads?"
She just nodded her head and giggled at Lisanna's surprised reaction. Sure the man didn't look like he was much of a reader, and he wasn't, but that didn't mean that he didn't read every now and again. Granted he was trying to hide the fact that he was reading the books, but he was reading them none the less. "But keep it quiet. For some reason he doesn't want people knowing." A wistful smile spread across her face as she thought of her dragon's strange quirks. "He even tries to hide that he's been reading the books I leave for him. I found one of them stashed in the pantry. I can only assume he was reading in the kitchen and I walked in."
Gajeel grumbled as he walked out of the fourth magic shop at this rate he would end up either going home to Lucy empty handed, which was not an option, or doubling back and catching that dreaded contraption most normal people called a train and hitting Clover Town. The only magic shop in Magnolia was surprisingly scarce. One would think that the home town of the strongest guild in Fiore would have a better stocked shop. He was currently in Hargeon and while there were several magic shops here, none of them had the 20x gale force glasses Erza had suggested. After completely making a fool of himself at the first shop, the Guarding Magic Shop in Magnolia, the little old shop keep had taken pity on him and explained to him what he was looking for.
"I believe there is only one shop left, Gajeel."
The man just grunted in affirmation as he walked down the streets before looking up at the darkening sky. It was much later than he had thought. Initially he had anticipated already being back with Lucy by now, but he needed those glasses. Hell, at this point he would settle for those eighteens that he had seen at the first store. He felt bad for taking so long after he had promised Lucy that he'd only be a couple of hours. He stopped outside of the polished door and frowned as he looked up at the sign, The Eye-Q Magic Shop. The sign in the front window advertised several different types of magical items, ranging from magic pens to magical mirrors, but his eyes zeroed in on two phrases in particular…New Twenty Magnification Gale Force Reading Glasses and Celestial keys. "Finally."
The shop keeper looked up as the bell rang when Gajeel stepped in, the look of surprise and repugnance lingered on his face as the scruffy dragon slayer and his cat made their way to the counter to speak with him. "Good evening sir…" The man sneered at the rough looking man. "…are you here for anything in particular?"
Gajeel didn't care for the tone the man was speaking to him with, that mixed with the acrid stench of this too clean shop, and the prolonged absence of a woman he promised hours ago that he wouldn't be too long made him a little irritable. "Yeah, I am. You're sign said you had celestial keys, how many you got?"
"You don't seem like the type to be a celestial wizard, sir."
The dragon slayer raised his brow as he crossed his arms over his chest and smirked, only to be stopped by Lily flying in front of his face. "Gajeel, we are here for glasses, not keys."
"Yeah, I'll get to those. Bunny likes keys too. I'll get her both." The exceed just shook his head as he moved out of his friend's way, knowing that if he was determined to get Lucy both new glasses and a new key there would be no stopping him. The man spoiled her, he knew it and Lucy knew it…now he just needed to get Gajeel to see how over the top he was on some things. Gajeel looked back at the shop keeper and raised his brow again. "The keys, which ones ya got?"
The shop keeper let out a disgruntled breath as he opened the cabinet containing the boxes of keys. Gajeel and Lily both were surprised at the amount of keys he held. "I'm afraid I only have silver keys. The gold are…"
"Yeah I know, all twelve are spoken for. My Bunny Girl holds ten and the tiger girl holds the other two. Those all the keys?"
The man just stared at Gajeel in surprise. He knew the tiger girl he was speaking of, Yukino came in regularly to browse and check to see if he got any new keys in. But the other, Miss Heartfilia, was only known to him by reputation. If he were to take this man's word at face value, then that would mean that this…brute, and Lady Heartfilia were an item; but he just couldn't see such a refined lady with him.
"Okay, how about I tell you what she has and we can go from there on which I want to buy." Gajeel spoke slowly so the man could catch up to him. He didn't know what he had said to make the man so dazed.
"Right…" The man shook his head and waited for Gajeel to give him a list of the silver keys Lucy already had. "…which keys does she have, sir?"
"She's got that little snowman thing she calls Plue…"
"It's a dog, Gajeel."
The dragon slayer looked at the cat that was sitting on the counter waiting on him to finish with the keys so they could move on to the glasses and go home. "I know what Bunny says, but that ain't no dog."
"Right, Canis Minor." The man had no clue what a snowman called Plue was, but a little dog he could work with. "Now, what else?"
"The clock that she likes to ride in…the cross with the snot bubble that gets her information…"
Lily face palmed at Gajeel's description of his mate's spirits. "Gajeel, just stop. She has the clock, Crux, he's the cross, and a harp."
The shop keeper nodded as he wrote down each of the spirits. "Horologium, Crux, and Lyra, got it."
"Wait…she's got another." Both the other man and the cat looked at Gajeel, waiting for him to elaborate on which other key she had. Honestly, the only ones he ever saw were her gold keys, Plue, Horologium, and he'd seen the cross once. Everything else was just from her speaking of them and despite him not remembering their names, he knew how many she had and what they did. "It's a bird, a compass I think."
"Pyxis." The man was impressed with Gajeel. For someone who was not a celestial wizard, the man knew more about the spirits than most. He may not have been completely accurate in his descriptions, but he knew the basis of each of them. After forty-five minutes of discussing spirits, which Lucy had and which she didn't, which the shop keeper had and which would benefit or Lucy would enjoy the most, Gajeel had finally moved down to look at the glasses displayed in the glass case.
A single pair immediately caught his eye. "Those."
Lucy stared at the guild doors with a frown on her face. It was bordering on eight hours since Gajeel left her with the promise that he wouldn't be gone too long. She didn't know whether she was upset with him leaving her alone so long or if she was just worried about him. He had never said what he was going to do and she could only assume that he was going on a job that she couldn't help him with, and if that were the case then for him to be gone longer than he had anticipated was not a good sign.
"Lucy, I'm sure he's fine. Come on you need to relax, have you had dinner?"
Looking up at sweet barmaid, Lucy shook her head. She had wanted to have dinner with Gajeel when he came home, but she supposed that it was getting late and she needed food. But she really didn't want to leave the guild, there was no telling when he would come back for her. Despite the time she had spent here all day with Mira, Lisanna, and Erza, she still didn't really care to be around too many people, lest they ask her why she had been so upset earlier. Though by now the entire guild had heard about her apartment's damage.
"Luce!" Her eyes narrowed as the familiar head of pink hair came into sight. She wanted nothing to do with him at the moment and she had no intention of talking to him until she had calmed down. He had apologized to her earlier and she had said that she forgave him, but she was still upset and didn't want to be around him. That hadn't changed within the past two hours. Turning her back, the blonde moved behind the counter and waved at Mira to continue her conversation with Kinana as she moved back into the kitchen, intent on making herself a salad. Mira would keep the dragon slayer out of the kitchen, none of them would ever forget the last time the pyro had been in the kitchen. Luckily he had been able to eat the fire that he had caused, but not before there was a little damage.
Unwilling to head back out into the guild hall and facing everyone, Lucy began washing the dishes that Mira had used that day along with straightening up what she could. She had been tempted to go ahead and head home, but she knew her apartment was in disarray and probably a disaster and she didn't have a key to Gajeel's place on her.
"Where's Bunny Girl?"
She didn't know why his voice alone filtered through her mind while she had been blocking everyone else out. But as soon as she focused in on his voice, everyone else's came too, Natsu's being at the forefront of them all. But it was his words that made her blood run cold. "Hey Metal Head, I can't believe you're reading books Luce brings for you. I never would have pictured you as one to read those kind of books."
Lucy stood in the doorway of the kitchen, watching as the entire guild hall stopped their conversations to listen to the two dragon slayers. She sent a hard glare at the man, knowing that he had heard her conversation with Mira, Lisanna, and Levy. "Natsu!" But it was Gajeel's next words that made her smile.
"You mean books about slaying dragons, fighting demons, and adventures? Yeah, I am." The fire dragon slayer tilted his head to the side as he creased his brow, thinking. Of course all he had ever seen Lucy read were the sappy romance books she and Erza spoke about.
"Natsu!" Her best friend looked at her with wide eyes, knowing that tone was never a good thing. "If you overheard my conversation, then you also heard that I requested that they not say anything about it. It wasn't directed at just them, but anyone who heard it."
The male lowered his head in shame, knowing that he had upset his friend twice that day, granted the second time wasn't nearly as bad as the first, but it was still there none the less. He had just wanted to get the iron dragon slayer back for not only interrupting his time with Lisanna, but for attacking him as well. Turning her head from the pouting dragon slayer to the dragon slayer of her dreams, she smiled brightly as she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist with her head resting on his chest. The feeling of his arms wrapping around her shoulders settled somewhere in the center of her, warming her in places she didn't even know she was cold. "Did you go on a job?"
The man just looked down at her as she burrowed her head further in to his chest before looking up at him and shook his head. "No, I had a personal errand I needed to take care of. You knew I was reading them?"
She smiled up at him and nodded. "Yes, they were never in the same place I left them for you and you were the only one who would have moved them. Lily never really comes with you to my house and I doubt he would hide a book in my underwear drawer."
Leading the girl over to the bar, Gajeel sat down just as Mira brought out his usual plate of metal and a bottle of beer. He grunted his thanks before turning back to the blonde as he bit into his scrap. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"
With a small shrug she gave the first bright smile since she had been given her broken glasses. "I figured that you would tell me when you were ready. Besides, I enjoyed trying to find and predict where you would leave them all. It's like a puzzle." Jutting out her lip in a pout she looked into his red eyes. "I'm still trying to figure out where you left the last book of the dragon knight."
The man grimaced at the mention of the book, that was one he hadn't cared for and he didn't even bother finishing it. "Try the garbage, I didn't like that one."
The blonde just stared at her dragon, unsure whether or not the man was serious as he shoved more metal into his mouth. It wasn't a series she had intended for him to read, knowing that he wouldn't like all the romance in it. It was one of those books that Natsu was referring to. "Gajeel Redfox…you did not throw one of my books away!"
The man grimaced at her tone before he looked at her with a smile, ignoring the questioning eyes that had lingered on them. "There's my Bunny Girl." The man lifted his bottle to his mouth as he drained half of it in one pull before setting it back down and looked back at the still irate blonde. "No, I didn't throw your damn book away. Even though I thought it was shitty, I know you like it."
Her anger fading away she smiled. She could handle it just being hidden, she'd find it eventually. "Why'd you try reading it anyway? I hadn't meant for you to."
He pushed his plate back toward Mira before he picked up his bottle again and turned to his blonde. "It had a dragon on it. No book about a dragon should be that sappy."
She smiled at him as she leaned in close, whispering in his ear. "So if I were to write a book about you and me, it can't be sappy? No romance? No sex?"
Stiffening, he reached out and grabbed Lucy from her bar stool and deposited her in his lap before he pulled her in close, growling lowly at her. "I said it shouldn't be in there, not that dragon's don't fuck. I'm pretty sure this dragon has proved that he can easily keep up with his Bunny."
The girl giggled as a blush crept up in her cheeks before she looked around to make sure they weren't drawing too much attention to themselves. She needed to get her head on straight, at least until they left to head home, or to her apartment. Clearing her throat, she leaned back to look at him with a smile on her face. "So did you get your errand taken care of?"
"Yeah. I had to go all the way to Hargeon to find them, but I found what I was looking for." He gave a devious smirk as he ignored the questioning gaze of the girl sitting in his lap. "So, are you about ready to leave Bunny?" She nodded with a smile before he stood up with her and turned to the door.
"Wait!" Both Gajeel and Lucy turned to see Erza standing behind them, a frown on her face. "Gajeel, I would like to see what you found today while you were out. It must meet my approval before hand."
The blonde looked between one of her best friend's stern and serious gaze and her boyfriend's answering glare, she was getting the feeling that she was missing something or that someone had left her out of the loop of something important. The last time she had checked, Erza didn't necessarily care for Gajeel or approve of their relationship. With the tension between the two of them building as they both just stood there staring at the other, Lucy stepped between them. The last thing she wanted was for these two to go at it. She didn't know what Gajeel had gone out to get or why Erza supposedly knew what it was, but she did know that Gajeel wasn't like Natsu and Gray and wouldn't easily back down from the fierce woman. "Erza…"
"Fine." The dark haired man pulled a box out of his pocket and tossed it to the woman, a smile on his face as she caught it deftly. "You want to see what I found, have a look."
The woman looked down at the box in her hands, knowing that it wasn't big enough to hold the glasses that he had supposedly gone to buy. But judging by the cocky smirk the man had in place it was obvious that it was definitely something for Lucy. "I thought you were going…"
The man snatched the still closed box out of her hands and held it out to Lucy, his smirk still firmly in place. "If you ain't going to open it, let Bunny do the honors. It's hers anyway, no one else can get any use out of it."
"M-Me?" The blonde looked down at the small box in her hands before as she ran her finger over the gold embossed letters of the store it had been purchased from. "Why did you..."
"Just open the damn box Bunny."
With a silent nod, Lucy lifted the lid off of the white box and that brilliant smile that he loved to see on her erupted from her, lighting up the entire guild hall. He was proud of himself, if he could get a smile like that from a single silver key then he had no doubt that her glasses would make her even happier. "Gajeel you got me a new key?!"
He chuckled as she threw her arms around his neck, the box still held tightly in her hands. Reaching behind him, he grasped her hands and pried them away from himself and kissing each of her wrists before he took a step back. "Yeah, thought it would cheer you up some. Which one is it? The guy wouldn't tell me, only that you didn't have it."
Creasing her brow, she looked back down at the name of the shop and frowned. She had never been in that shop before, which was surprising. She had thought she'd been in all of the shops in Hargeon. "How did he know which keys I had?" The first thing that ran through her large over-active imagination was that she had some crazy fan that had seen her from the Grand Magic Games was stalking her. Just as quickly as that thought came, it went. She hadn't put on much of a good show at the games and had been severely defeated and humiliated every time she went out.
"I told him." He smirked down at her surprised face before he stepped toward her and kissed her forehead. "Yeah Bunny, believe it or not I do listen when you're talking…even about your spirits. The man heard me call you Bunny Girl and laughed when he pulled this box out and told me you didn't have it.
A chuckle made its way out of her mouth as she fingered the key, reverently. Taking in the shape, design, and feel of its magic. "It's Lepus, the hare. Not the same as a bunny, but it's close."
The dragon slayer laughed loudly at Lucy's statement. The toffee-nosed shop keep bastard had a sense of humor that was for sure. The man had started out their conversation as if he were disgusted with speaking to him and by the time Gajeel had left, he was making jokes with him and told him to bring Lucy with him next time he came in. "A bunny for my Bunny, huh?" He wrapped his arms around her shoulders before he maneuvered her toward the door. He was ready to get home and relax…and give Lucy her new glasses so she could read, and maybe he would too.
He smiled as they walked down the street and Pantherlily flew toward them and into Lucy's arms as he nodded to Gajeel. The dragon slayer just grinned before he looked down at Lucy and noticed her soft smile as she held his cat. He could still see the pain in her eyes, but he could tell that she was trying to be strong and move past it. He had to give her credit for that, he didn't think he'd be able to so soon. "Hey…" Nudging her shoulder to get her attention he grinned down at her. He'd been debating on asking her something for a while, but this thing with Natsu breaking into her apartment again just sealed everything for him. "…I got a question for you Bunny."
He paused when she looked up at him and nodded, waiting for him to continue. Now he just had to figure out how he wanted to word what he was asking. He didn't know why it was so hard for him, he'd already asked her to mate with him and allow him to mark her and there shouldn't be anything harder to do than that right? He supposed it stemmed from the fact that he knew how much she valued her independence. "When we get your apartment fixed again, I want you to move in with me."
"Gajeel that isn't a question."
"I know, it's just that the Salamander and the Iceman ain't gonna to break into my house like they do yours and they definitely aren't going to destroy shit. All of your things would be safe, you'd be safe, and I have a bigger bathtub."
Lucy laughed at the man's argument and shook her head at his words. She didn't see why it mattered, they had been spending every night with each other since they had come out about their relationship a month ago, save for jobs that took them away. "Are you trying to convince me there dragon boy?"
"Gee Hee." The man grinned as he wrapped his arm around her waist as they continued forward. "Is it working?"
"The larger bathtub is pretty convincing all in itself. Maybe I'll stick you in my little apartment and I'll just take over your house and the large bathtub." A mischievous smile settled on her face as she teased him. It really didn't matter where her things were, the man next to her was her home. He had taken residence deep in her heart and she in his, there was nothing that could keep her from staying with him. "Okay."
"Yeah?"
She couldn't help but smile at the hope and excitement in his voice as he reached out to open the door of his…no, their house. It was like he almost expected her to tell him no, that she didn't want to officially live with him. Technically as far as the dragons and dragon slayers were concerned, they were already engaged. They had both agreed on him marking her, which was the equivalent to a marriage when it came to the dragons. There was no reason for them not to live together. "Yeah. I'll let the landlady know and turn in my key once we fix Natsu's mess."
Flipping the lighting lacrimas on, Lucy's brow creased in confusion as a single brown package sat on the coffee table, her name sprawled across it in neat cursive handwriting. "What's that?"
Leaning down to her ear to quietly whisper to her, Gajeel grinned as she shivered from the sound of his deep voice. "A welcome home present for my Bunny."
She turned to look at him in surprise as she held the white box with her new key up for him to see. "But the key?"
The dragon slayer shook his head as he took the box from her hand and set it aside before he leaned into her and buried his face in her neck, taking in her sweet strawberry scent mixed with his own scent of metal before his lips brushed against the pulse in her neck and his warm breath cause goose bumps to spread down her arms. "No, that was to cheer you up. This is to welcome you home."
Lucy fought to keep her breathing steady as she gripped the front of his shirt, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of his lips brushing against her neck with each of his words. She knew the man threatened her sanity, or what little of it she possessed anyway, but right now she was teetering closer to the edge than he had ever taken her before. She didn't know if it was this sweet side that he didn't let out too often or if it was all the emotional stress she had been plagued with that day, but she was ready to jump over that edge if it meant she continued feeling his mouth against her. "So if I would have said no?"
Gajeel paused in his motion against her neck at her words before he smiled against her and continued to nuzzle further into her neck and hair. "Then it would have been a welcome back gift." Regrettably, he pulled away and smiled as she whimpered from the lack of contact, only to push her toward the box with her name on it. "Open it."
Kneeling down on the floor next to the coffee table, Lucy pulled at the paper only to pause and look up at her iron dragon. "Is this the personal errand you went to do today?"
"Just open the damn box Bunny. You're the one who's supposed to be dying of anticipation, not me; so get a move on. I got other things I wanna do to you tonight."
Rolling her eyes, the blonde continued to pull at the paper. Yet despite her dismissal of his words, she felt her gut clench in anticipation. "It's all about the sex to you isn't it?"
"Nah, that's just a big part of it."
"Gajeel…"
The blonde's eyes watered as she looked into the box at the single item. "Lily took them to Freed and had some anti-destruction runes put on them or something. I know they don't compare to your mom's, but I wanted you to have another pair."
Lucy held the pinkish-red frames in her hand and smiled at the shower of golden stars that lingered along the arms. They were perfect for her. While she had loved her mother's gale force glasses, these were more her style and fit her perfectly. "They're perfect." Gently laying them down as if they were the most precious thing in the universe, Lucy launched herself at the man she loved and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. She couldn't stem the tears that fell and at this point she didn't even bother trying. "Thank you Gajeel."
The man wrapped his arms around her and smiled as he buried his face in the top of her hair. "Anything for you Bunny."