"Gajeel!" Nyx exclaimed as she ran towards his back corner table. The dragon slayer looked up, at the sound of his name, then quickly looked down. She sat herself down beside him, looking him over. "Is something wrong?" He glanced down at her. Her blue eyes were clouded with concern. He couldn't help but smile. He ruffled her hair.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Her face split into a grin. He looked away, scratching the back of his head. "So uh...you made it home last night?" She nodded.
"Yeah...I'm sorry. I caused you a lot of trouble yesterday…"
"Don't worry about it Jewels," he grumbled, flushing at the thought of the previous day's events. Her brow furrowed.
"Where did you go yesterday? I was hoping I could get Gray to talk to you, but you ran off." Gajeel's jaw tightened. "Gajeel?"
"I figured I should let you have some time with your brother," he said quickly. "I mean, you've been with me with the past few days. I'm sure you needed a break." She shook her head vigorously.
"No, not at all!" He chuckled, turning to look at her. He was surprised to see how close her face was. He bit back the temptation to take her lips, and sighed as Gray's warnings reverberated through his head.
"Actually Nyx, I need to talk to you, I-"
"Hey guys, over here!" She suddenly jumped up and began waving. Gajeel looked across the guild to see her group of friends making their way over, including her brother.
"Damnit Jewels!" He grabbed her shoulder and pushed her back to the bench, but it was too late. The blue cat, Happy, flew around Nyx's head excitedly.
"Good morning, good morning!" She laughed.
"Good morning Happy!" The others, Natsu, Erza, Lucy, and Juvia approached with smiles and warm greetings, though, other than Juvia's, none were aimed at Gajeel. Gray, who was trailing behind, caught Gajeel's eye. At first he looked surprised to see the iron dragon, then his face contorted into a hateful scowl. They sat around the table, and Gray took a seat across from Nyx. Natsu slammed his fist to the table eagerly.
"Anyone up for a job today? Come on Nyx, what do you say?" She laughed a little, but before she could answer Erza hit him in the back of the head.
"You idiot, she still has injuries she needs to recover from," the red head snapped, crossing her arms.
"Yeah Natsu, lets just take a break today," Lucy chimed in. Natsu looked disappointed, but let the topic go. Gajeel tuned out the rest of the chatter as he held Gray's steady glare with his own. The longer he looked at the navy eyes, the more his rage began to boil. Nyx picked up on the palpable tension and rested rested a hand on Gajeel's arm, hoping to calm him. Her brother's glare was a challenge. He was just waiting for Gajeel to prove himself as the monster that everyone saw him as. Waiting for him to hurt Nyx. His eyes quickly darted to glance at the girl in question. She was still on his side, despite her brother's disapproval. Her comforting hand showed her trust in him, despite what he had done to her. Suddenly Gray's threats and Gajeel's own doubts meant nothing. Gajeel got to his feet, eyes still locked with Gray's. The others went silent.
"We already have plans, come on Nyx." She blinked, confused.
"Wh-" Before she could finish, he grabbed her hand, brought her to her feet, and pulled her out of the guild. "Gajeel! Gajeel, slow down!" She was jogging in an attempt to keep up with his stride, but still fell slightly behind. "Stop!" Her voice finally got through to him. He stopped, back still to her. She let out a sigh. "What did Gray say to you? Is that what you needed to talk to me about?" His grip on her hand tightened reflexively.
"He told me I should stay away from you. To tell the truth, I almost agreed with him." Nyx bit her lip.
"You're not actually going to listen to him, are you?" she questioned incredulously.
"Of course not!" he snapped, a little more forcefully than he had meant to. He turned to face her. For the first time he felt that he could actually meet her eyes and hold her gaze. "Of course not," he repeated in a gentler tone. "But…" Nyx cocked an eyebrow.
"But?" As his eyes went over her scars, the doubts began to return. Once his eyes moved to her bandaged wounds, which she only sustained due to his recklessness, the doubts became hard to ignore. As his eyes once again locked with her icy blues, he was able to push them aside once more. Taking a quick glance around the area, Gajeel pulled her close and kissed her deeply. He pulled away from her, wearing a confident smirk, fueled by the stunned bliss in her expression.
"But nothing. You're sticking with me. Who else is going to keep you out of trouble?" He rested a hand on her head, then leaned over so he was eye to eye with her. "Got it Jewels?" Beaming, she nodded.