Author's note: Hey everyone, I know this chapter is very very very late ^^'. I dropped the story quite a while ago, but my writer's brain has been going crazy lately. Sorry if this doesn't quite match up with the first couple of chapters. Thank you for reading, and feel free to leave any comments or criticisms!

Nyx charged into Gray's room to find him sitting up, holding his head in his hand.

"Gray…" she said gently. "Is everything alright?" With a slight gasp, the ice mage looked up at her, his eyes wide. Without warning, he got up and threw his arms around her.

"Nyx...it was just a dream…" She hugged her brother back.

"I'm sorry Gray...for earlier." He laughed as he pulled away from her and sat on the edge of his bed. "What?" He shook his head.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't treat you like a little kid, we're the same age after all." He sighed. "But after what happened, you're wanting to go and make friends with that bastard." She could feel her frustration bubbling again, but she kept it under control, not wanting another argument to ensue.

"I know you don't trust him...but please, for me, could you apologize to him tomorrow?" He looked up at her, a scowl on his lips and his dark blue eyes ablaze. He didn't even have to say anything for Nyx to understand his answer. "Gray please, just-"

"Go back to bed Nyx." With that he laid down and turned his back to her.

Nyx stood in front of the guild's mission board, staring blankly at it. She was in no mood to complete any sort of mission that day, after Gray had left her in a sour mood. She and her brother had always been as thick as thieves, ever since Gajeel had joined Fairy Tail, they had had countless little spats. With a sigh, she turned away from the board. Not paying attention, she slammed right into something solid, getting knocked to the ground.

"Watch it idi-" Gajeel began to growl, but stopped when he saw Nyx on the ground. She stared up at him, eyes wide. She felt so small next to him. "Sorry…" he grumbled, holding out a hand to help her up. For a moment she just sat there, unmoving. Her gaze went from his crimson eyes to his extended hand, and she shook her head. Her hand trembled slightly as she took his.

"No, I'm sorry, it was my fault," she said getting up. He scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, well...just be more careful Jewels." With those words, he began to walk away.

"Gajeel, wait!" He turned, but didn't look at her. "I want to apologize for my brother yesterday," she began, her confidence coming back. "I hope he didn't hurt you. The scars are just a bit...touchy." His eyes widened, and he looked at the ground.

"It's no big deal, I didn't even feel a thing." Nyx's brow furrowed. She sensed something was off.

"Are you okay?" He scoffed.

"Of course I'm okay. Just leave me alone," he snapped. With that he, he stomped away to his usual lonely table in the back corner of the guild.

Gajeel sat, brooding, as he kept his eyes focused on the raven-haired nymph across the guild. She had turned back to the job postings after he had walked away. He hated her. Not for anything she had done or said. He hated that no matter how much he did to make things up to the guild, he could never make things up to her. The one person that tried her damndest to care about him, and he couldn't do a thing. He tried to act indifferent, ignorant even, but just looking at her infuriated him. He could see the fear clear in her icy eyes, even when she smiled. He could see the tensity in her muscles when she waved cheerfully. And of course he'll always see the damage he'd done. He hadn't even been angered by her idiot of a brother yesterday. He knew he had deserved it for trying to bring the scars up as if he had no idea what the hell he was talking about.

"Damnit…" he growled to himself. He was further frustrated by the fact that it bothered him as much as it did. Once upon a time he cared about nothing but fighting and destruction. Now he was concerned about what he had done to some girl in the past, and couldn't, for the life of him, figure out why. He watched her until she walked away from the board, looking somewhat defeated, then he let out a huff, laying his head on the table.