Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay, life has forced me to put writing on hold for a while. I'll try to post as much as I can while I have the break. Thank you for reading! Please feel free to leave any comments or criticism!

Nyx stood for a moment, eyes locked with Gray's. Confronting him was something she knew she couldn't avoid, but her impulses took over. Without thinking, she turned and began walking in the opposite direction.

"Nyx!" she heard him call. It was only moments before he caught up to her and took a tight hold of her arm. "What the hell is going on Nyx? What was that about?" She tried to pull away from him, but to no avail.

"I- I don't know. Leave me alone Gray," she said quickly. He forced her to turn around, and took hold of both of her shoulders.

"Just talk to me Nyx," he pleaded. "You took off with that guy. You tried to do it behind my back. Then you come back and I see...that. What am I supposed to think?" Nyx couldn't meet his intense gaze. She wasn't even entirely sure what had just happened, let alone how to go about explaining it to her brother. "Nyx?" He shook her slightly.

"I...I…" She shook her head, mind buzzing. "He's not a bad person!" she finally snapped, unsure of what else to say. "I like him...a lot. He's not what you make him out to be."

"Then what is this?" he questioned, looking at her bandaged arm.

"It wasn't him, it was the quake mage. He saved me Gray. Whether you can believe it or not, I'm okay thanks to Gajeel." Gray's brow furrowed, then suddenly he embraced her. Nyx was stunned for a moment, then hugged him back. He rested his chin on the top of her head.

"I'm just glad you're alright. Watching you walk out of the guild with him...that was the worst feeling." Nyx remained silent as she remembered the circumstances under which they had parted.

"He...he was just looking out for me, he didn't mean to hurt you." Gray sighed.

"I don't care." Nyx smiled.

"You mean-"

"I don't care what his intentions were. I don't care what kind of a person you'd like to think he his. I think it's best if you stay away from him." Nyx stiffened.

"Wh-what?" She pushed her brother away. "No. You're not dad. You can't dictate what I do Gray," she said, voice rising.

"He's dangerous." Nyx scowled, shaking her head.

"You're unbelievable." With a huff, Nyx turned on her heels and stormed away. She needed desperately to sort out her thoughts. Gray could do nothing but watch as she left.

Gajeel sat in his small, dim appartment, head buried in his hands. He kicked himself mentally. He couldn't quite grasp what had come over him in that instant at the docks. He couldn't understand why being with Nyx seemed to change him, or why he wanted more of that sensation. Furthermore, he couldn't understand why he had just walked away. He should have stayed, tried to explain himself. He couldn't though. Fear wasn't something he was used to, but in that moment he had never been more fearful. With a grunt he fell back onto his couch.

"Damnit…" His mind buzzed. He was tempted to go find the nearest bar and forget the whole thing, but he knew Nyx probably wouldn't approve. Why did he care? He sighed. He knew that by now she must be confronting her brother. She had been so worried about him when they left, he wondered how her brother would react to seeing her again. He wondered if he should have gone with her, or if he would have made things worse. He felt like he was about to drown in his thoughts, so he simply closed his eyes and allowed them to overtake him as he fell asleep.

The guild buzzed with chatter as Gajeel walked in the next day. As usual, nobody really paid him much mind. He scanned the hall for Nyx, but saw nothing. He figured he would just wait for her. He walked up to the bar, where Mirajane was watching over the members of the guild with her usual warm smile. As he approached, her smile grew.

"Ah, welcome back. Did the job with Nyx go well?" He was surprised for a moment. She had never really made a point of starting a conversation with him. To his frustration, he could feel his face flush.

"Uh, yeah. It went alright I guess," he muttered, not really sure how to answer. She smiled as if she knew something he didn't. With little else to say, he dropped a few jewels on the bar. Mirajane quickly grabbed him a plateful of scrap metal. Food in hand, he made his way to his usual table in the back corner of the guild. As he ate, he kept an eye on the doors, waiting for the raven haired fairy to make her entrance. At last he saw the familiar face of her brother. He perked up, sure that she would be following close behind. He noticed that Gray was making a straight path for him, and Nyx was nowhere to be seen. His brow furrowed. Within moments, the ice mage had arrived, slamming his hands on to the wooden table across from the dragon slayer. Gajeel saw a thin layer of ice form on the table around the other man's hands.

"Where the hell is she?" he demanded. Gajeel swallowed the bite in his mouth.

"What?"

"You heard me! Where is she damnit?" he roared. The whole guild seemed to go quiet as they became the center of attention.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Gajeel growled.

"Nyx! Where is Nyx?" Gajeel's eyes widened.

"What do you mean where is she? She went home yesterday." Gray shook his head. For the first time, Gajeel noticed that his eyes weren't burning with anger, they were swimming with worry.

"After I saw you two at the dock, we...she ran off after we spoke. She never came home last night. I figured she went to you." He spat the last part with venom. Gajeel gritted his teeth. Without a moment of hesitation, he leapt to his feet, knocking his plate to the floor, and ran out of the guild.