"What's wrong, Sunshine?" Marley asked, sitting a beer in front of me. I hadn't greeted him when I came in, and had merely taken a seat at the bar with a sigh. I could still faintly sense Gajeel's anger, even while we were so far apart.

"Marley, I've done something really stupid," I sighed, laying my head on the counter top. "I've been incredibly selfish."

"Hey now," he soothed, stroking my hair, "I'm sure you only did what you thought was best."

"That's what I told myself, but I was wrong. I didn't think about how he might feel at all." My voice cracked, so I stopped talking.

He rounded the bar, sitting on the stool next to me. "I can't say you've ever come to me with guy trouble before," he chuckled.

"I wish it were that simple." I lifted my head long enough to empty the mug of beer before laying it back down.

"Alright, so it's complicated guy stuff," he mused, "tell me what happened."

"You'll just tell me I'm an idiot. No thanks," I sighed, "I already know that."

"Don't be like that, Sunshine," Marley told me. "I hate to see you upset."

"It's my own fault."

"If you'd tell me what happened, maybe I can help."

"No one can help," I said, sitting up and smiling sadly at him. "This will effect me for the rest of my life."

His eyes narrowed slightly, and he frowned. "You didn't get yourself marked, did you?" He asked, his voice a mixture of worried and angry. I had received a lot of that emotional combination in the last few hours.

"What? No!" I said, immediately.

"That's good," he sighed, relieved. "If it isn't that, it can't be that bad."

"I bonded myself to a demon," I mumbled, proving him wrong.

"WHAT?!" His fist slamming on the counter caused me to jump, and I shrank back when he stood, staring down at me furiously. The bar had gone silent, and everyone was staring at Marley. Already a scary-looking man, Marley reflected the full deadliness of all his years as a hunter when we was angry. Even I was a little afraid of him. "To what demon?" He demanded.

"Gajeel Redfox," I said, quietly. His anger immediately deflated, and he sank back onto the bar stool.

"Sunshine," he whispered, looking stunned, "why'd ya go and do somethin' like that?"

"The council paid a visit to Fairy Tail today with the intentions of taking Gajeel with them to be executed," I explained. "I couldn't just let them take him to his death."

"So ya went and got yourself bonded to him?"

"It was the only way to convince them he wouldn't defect again," I sighed, realizing how stupid I sounded. "I thought I was helping him, but he hates me now."

"It'll take him a while to get used to it," Marley said, stroking my hair again, "just give him time." When a black and tan Exceed sat down at the end of the bar, Marley got up. "Well, I gotta get back to work. I'll have those fries and burger for ya soon."

I nodded, sitting quietly while he took the Exceed's order. He refilled my beer, then disappeared into the back to start our orders. When he left, I pulled a few thousand Jewel from my wallet, climbed over the bar, and slipped them into Marley's duffel bag.

"Why did you do that?" The Exceed asked, frowning suspiciously at me as I climbed back to my seat.

"It's a long story," I chuckled. I had been doing it for so long that I didn't realize how it must have looked to other people. The regulars at the bar all knew what I was doing, so they never asked about it. The small bar didn't usually have new customers, so I often didn't think twice about my sneaky behavior. "He doesn't let me pay, so I always sneak him the money for my food and drinks somehow."

"I see," he said, turning back to his drink.

I drained my refilled mug and returned my head to the counter top. I wonder how long Gajeel will stay mad? It shouldn't have mattered if he was mad at me or not, but it did. I barely knew him, but the thought of him hating me sent an odd feeling to the pit of my stomach.

"Here ya go, Sunshine," Marley smiled, handing me a plate full of food. "Eat up, because I have somethin' special for ya."

"Really?" I asked, eating a fry. "What would that be?"

"It's a surprise," he chuckled, ruffling my hair. I moved bangs out of my face, smiling. The smile disappeared when I realized I wasn't wearing my headband. Gajeel must still have it!

"Oh great," I grumbled, taking a large, angry bite out of my burger. I ended up finishing my food quickly. My training with Gajeel earlier that day had left me famished, so I shyly asked for seconds when Marley came to check on me.

"Anything for my best customer," he winked, going to get me more food. When he came back and handed me my plate, I noticed he was carrying a bowl filled with kiwi. He sat the fruit in front of the Exceed, raising an eyebrow at the demon when he thanked him and dug in.

"You like kiwi?" I asked, watching him with interest.

"Of course," he said. "Do you like kiwi?"

"I love kiwi," I grinned. "I've just never seen an Exceed eating them before. The two that I know usually eat fish or some other meat. Well, Carla doesn't eat as much fish as Happy does. That guy loves fish." I giggled, thinking of the blue Exceed who always seemed to have an abundance of fish wherever he went.

"You know other Exceeds?" He asked, curiously.

"I do," I nodded. "They are the close companions of two of my friends, Natsu and Wendy." Although Exceed were one of the few "peaceful" demon species which had a treaty of protection with the hunters, not many people befriended them. There were so many other species of evil demons that the kind Exceeds were often times feared in the same way as the other demons. Knowing two for such a long time, I had grown very fond of the Exceeds, and hated that they were still feared by some people.

"We usually keep to ourselves, so I'm a little surprised that two of my kind have become so close to humans."

"Dragon slayers, actually," I corrected him.

"What?!" He gasped.

"Natsu Dragneel and Wendy Marvel," I said. "They are two dragon slayers that belong to Fairy Tail. That's my hunters organization."

"You're a hunter?" He asked, looking at me skeptically.

"I have been for most of my life," I frowned, a little defensive. I was proud to be a hunter, and it bugged me when people assumed because I was so small I couldn't do the job.

"Sorry," he apologized, "I just thought you appeared too kind to be hunter, that's all."

"Too kind?" It was my turn to look skeptical. "Are hunters supposed to look mean?"

"Not necessarily," he said, grinning. "I meant your personality was too kind. I can't imagine you going out every night and exterminating demons."

"You'd be surprised," I said. Honestly, if my parents hadn't been killed by a demon, I may not have ever gone into this profession. I hated fighting, and only did it so that I could get one step closer to readying myself to kill the demon which had killed my parents. It was so powerful that I knew the only way I'd be able to kill it was to become a trained hunter and grow stronger myself.

Our conversation came to an end when Marley came back from the kitchen, carrying two slices of pie. He handed one to me, and the other to the surprised Exceed.

"This was the surprise?" I asked, staring at the beautiful piece of dessert in awe. It looked so delicious that I didn't even wait for his answer before taking a bite. "Kiwi!" I grinned, moaning a little at the heaven in my mouth.

Marley laughed, watching me with amusement. "I thought, since ya were havin' a bad day, that this might cheer ya up."

"You thought correctly," I giggled.

"Why did you bring me a slice?" The Exceed asked. He hadn't taken a bite yet, though his eyes were sparkling a little as he eyed the pie in front of him.

"You kept Sunshine company for me, and seemed to make her a little happier," Marley told him, smiling, "so it's my thanks to you. On the house."

After he left to tend to other customers, Lily devoured his pie, looking like he had been transported into some dream world. "So," he cleared his throat when he noticed me laughing, "I take it you are the owner's daughter?"

"No. Marley and I have just known each other for a long time. I took care of a pesky demon for him a few years ago, and I've been visiting this little place ever since then. That's why he doesn't let me pay, so I have to sneak him payment when he leaves to get my food ready. I catch hell for it about once a month when he finally goes through his duffel bag and finds the money, but I make him keep it."

"That's kind of you," the Exceed stated.

"I don't think so," I said. "I'm just paying him for my food. I'd hate to take advantage of his kindness like that, and I genuinely enjoy it here, so I come often."

Actually, I had been there just the night before. Gajeel was sitting next to me last night, though. I sighed, cutting our conversation short as I remembered what had happened at Fairy Tail. Gajeel and I are bonded now.

I fell back into my earlier depression, and ended up drinking eight beers. I knew it was foolish to bury myself in booze, but it felt better to forget for a while how stupid I had been. After a long time of laying my head drunkenly on the bar, I could feel myself sobering up. I glanced at the clock above the booze rack behind the bar, and gasped. It was nearly midnight.

"I'll see you later," I said, getting off my bar stool. I gripped the bar for support when my legs threatened to give out, but slowly steadied myself.

"You sure you're ready to leave?" Marley asked.

"Yeah," I giggled, blowing him a kiss. "Bye Mar-Mar!"

He chuckled at the old nickname I had given him a few years ago, and waved as I left. The night air hit me in the face with a cool breeze, sobering me up a little.

"I shouldn't have stayed so long drinking," I sighed, walking home. I walked slower than usual so that I wouldn't fall. I was still a little wobbly on my feet from the booze.

Though my senses were duller than usual thanks to my over-consumption of alcohol, I could tell that someone was coming up behind me. Something touched my leg before I could turn around, and I screamed. We were just outside of Magnolia, so someone should have heard me. If I can't take care of this myself, at least I know someone will be coming soon.

"I'm sorry!" I looked down as the black Exceed from before backed away, his hands raised. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"Why are you following me?" I asked, putting my hand on my gun in case I needed to draw it quickly.

"You forgot your wallet," he said, holding up my small white wallet as proof.

"Oh, thank y-"

Lily was suddenly hit with a familiar-looking iron club, sending him flying. I gasped, looking at a concerned Gajeel as he ran over to me. "Why did you do that?!" I snapped, glaring at him.

He looked completely shocked at my reaction. "What? But, I thought-" He was cut off when a large fist punched him right in face.

~Gajeel~

I walked around Magnolia for several hours, still fuming at how stupid that girl was. I was prepared to hand myself over to the council! Why did she have to intervene like that?! I've lived a fairly long life, and have done more than my share of bad things, so my punishment would have been deserved. I was ready to die.

But that girl had had other plans. Instead of just doing what she was told, she had convinced old man Org that bonding us was a good idea.

"Why did she want to protect me so badly?" I growled, kicking a stone hard enough that it embedded itself into a brick wall. "I almost killed her, so she should have celebrated the idea of the council taking me off to be executed somewhere!"

In the middle of my angry ranting, I heard a scream coming from only a couple blocks away. "That sounded like-" A sudden rush of fear flowed into me. My muscles tightened as I felt the strange sensation of the Shrimp's fear. It would take a while getting used to being able to sense her emotions like that. I didn't have time to contemplate it farther, though, because my feet were already moving in the direction the scream had come from.

Oddly, I could tell where she was, even without the scream to tip me off to her location. It must be because of this annoying bond. An inner voice snarkily reminded me that I didn't think it was annoying as I rushed to help her, but I ignored it.

I reached the Shrimp, who was apparently facing off with an Exceed, and attacked him immediately. I could tell she was drunk by the way she swayed slightly on her feet, so I rushed to her, wanting to be there to catch her if she fell.

"Why did you do that?!" She snapped, glaring at me as if I had done something wrong.

I gaped at her, totally confused. "What? But I thought-" A large fist suddenly hit me square in the jaw, knocking me to the ground.

I heard the Shrimp gasp in surprise, and saw her cup her own face. She must be able to feel that, too. "Damn," I growled. "That means I can't let him hit me again." I looked at the black Exceed from before, and my eyes widened. "You're huge!" I exclaimed, jumping to my feet.

"I'm a warrior, therefore I have this form I can take for a certain amount of time," he said, taking a battle stance. Damn, how am I going to avoid getting punched now?

Before either of us could move, Shrimp jumped between us, holding out her arms. "Wait!" She said. "I think there has been a misunderstanding."

"Was the dragon slayer not attacking you?" The Exceed asked.

I couldn't help but laugh, since I had been thinking the same thing about the Exceed. "I couldn't hurt the Shrimp even if I wanted to," I said.

"Sorry," she smiled, turning to face the Exceed. "Gajeel is in Fairy Tail with me, and was only trying to protect me. I assume he heard my scream and got the wrong idea when he arrived and saw you." I nodded, confirming her explanation.

"That's alright," he said, "I made the same assumptions when a dragon slayer appeared out of no where and punched me. I thought that maybe you would be his next target. I apologize."

"Yeah, whatever," I sighed.

"Thank you for returning my wallet," Shrimp told him, giving him that warm smile of hers.

Way to go, dumb ass. The cat was doing a good deed, and you attacked him!

She turned back to me, her smile disappearing. "Why are you here, anyways?"

"I heard you scream," I shrugged, "and this damned bond led me to you."

"You two are bonded?" The Exceed gasped, looking between us in shock.

"As of this afternoon we are," Levy chuckled, nodding. I would have been angry with her flippant attitude, had I not seen the small bruise beginning to form on her jaw. While the cat's punch hadn't affected me that much, mine and Levy's bodies were built differently. It took a lot more to injure my body that it probably did a normal human's. I'll have to be more careful.

"I'm sorry," the Exceed said, frowning regretfully, "if you are bonded, then that attack also hurt you."

"Don't worry about it," she said, "I'm so drunk I can barely feel it."

He smirked at her, and I involuntarily stepped forward. I lifted her off the ground, cradling her protectively in my arms as I frowned at the Exceed.

"Hey!" She gasped. I realized what I had done, and suddenly felt like an idiot. Why the hell did I do that?

"You need to go home and go to sleep," I said, making up an excuse for my strange behavior.

"What's your name?" She asked the Exceed, seemingly forgetting about me as she looked at him again.

"Pantherlily," he said, reverting back to his smaller size, "but you may call me Lily."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Levy McGarden of Fairy Tail," she giggled. "You know, you should consider joining."

"And become a hunter?" He asked.

"Yeah! You have that cool battle form and everything! I'm sure Master would love to have you join our organization. You could be Gajeel's partner! He's alone all the time, so maybe a cute Exceed like you could keep him company so he isn't lonely."

"Who the hell said I wanted someone to keep me company?!" I growled, seriously considering dropping her drunk ass onto the hard ground.

Lily looked thoughtful a moment before he nodded. "I would like that. I have been traveling to different places living off work I found here and there for several years now, so joining an organization might be nice. Would your master accept an Exceed hunter?"

"Of course!" Levy said. "Like I told you before, we have two other Exceed in our organization. You're the only one I know of that has that awesome battle form, though, so I bet he'll be really impressed!"

"Alright. I shall speak with your master in the morning," he told her.

She beamed at him, and I could sense her happiness. "You should really consider being Gajeel's partner, too. The other dragon slayers have Exceed partners, so it would only make sense for Gajeel to have one as well."

"And where do you get that that makes sense?" I asked.

"It just does," she shrugged, turning her smile to me, "besides, I think you two would work well together. You're both really strong."

"Tch." I frowned, not wanting to admit that the cat had a pretty deadly right hook.

"Lily, where are you staying tonight?" She asked him. "You just arrived in Magnolia right? Do you have a place to stay?"

"I was on my way to acquire one when I found your wallet," Lily said.

"You should stay with me!" She exclaimed.

"He'll stay with me. If we're going to be on the same team, he might as well," I snapped before he could accept her offer. I didn't like the idea of another guy sleeping in her room. Even if he is just an Exceed.

"You really don't have to-"

"It's no big deal," I grumbled, knowing I had no choice now. "Come on, let's take the Shrimp home."

"Look at you, coming out of your shell," she giggled, patting me on the cheek, as I began walking to Fairy Hills.

"Touch me again and I'll throw your ass down," I warned, not liking the way her hand sent electricity throughout my entire body.

She merely giggled again, returning her hand to her lap. I inhaled sharply when she leaned her face close to mine. "Gajeel," she cooed, smiling devilishly at me.

"What?" I asked, forcing my eyes to stare straight ahead.

"I got my headband back!" She squealed, holding up the ribbon and laughing. I had been so distracted that I hadn't even noticed her take it off my arm. Actually, I had forgotten it was still there after everything had happened that afternoon.

"Is she always like this when she drinks?" Lily asked, flying beside me.

"No idea," I shrugged. "I've only known her for a few days, so this is the first time I've ever seen her drunk."

"Is your bonding the reason you joined Fairy Tail?"

"No. That was just something that happened because the Shrimp can't mind her own business."

"Hey!" She snapped, frowning at me. "I can hear you!"

"Good."

She crossed her arms, looking away from me as she pouted. The way her eyebrows came together as she scrunched up her face made her look kind of cute, but I'd never tell her that. After a few minutes, she sighed, leaning her head against my shoulder. I inhaled sharply in surprise, which was a mistake, because as I did, I got two lung-fulls of her scent. She smelled like ink and sunshine, and something else that sent my head spinning.

"I feel funny," she said. She must have been feeling what I was, so I forced myself to keep it together. You're not alone anymore, Gajeel. This damned girl can feel everything you do, so stop acting weird.

"You're drunk," I offered.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, burying her face in my neck, "you probably want nothing to do with me, but now you're carrying me home."

There were plenty of things I wanted to do with her, but none of those thoughts came to me voluntarily. What the hell is wrong with me?! Never in my life had one tiny human had such an effect on me. Her hot breath against my neck caused me to nearly fall over for some stupid reason.

It's the bond, I reminded myself. I had heard that demons felt a strange connection to whoever they were bonded with, causing them to act differently. That has to be it.

"Don't worry about it," I managed to say.

"Are you alright?" Lily asked, looking at me strangely.

"Fine," I said. We walked in silence until we reached the gates surrounding Fairy Hills.

"Thanks for bringing me home," Levy giggled as I sat her on her feet.

"Let's not make a habit out of it," I grumbled.

"Nice to meet you, Lily," she smiled, scratching behind Lily's right ear. "I'll see you two tomorrow!" With that, she went unlocked the gate and went inside the building.

"Come on," I sighed, turning away from Fairy Hills once she was out of sight. "I'm tired."

"I will meet your master in the morning, correct?" Lily asked, following me.

"Yeah," I nodded, grinning at him. "Fairy Tail could use a bad-ass like you. Gihihi."