~Gajeel~

It had been three days since Jet and Dory were attacked. They were still in a comatose-like state, and no one knew if they would ever wake up. For Levy's sake, everyone had agreed to give them at least a month before losing hope.

I sighed, thinking about the Shrimp. I had barely seen her since she ran off after seeing Jet and Droy. She came to the infirmary every morning and sat with her teammates for about an hour before disappearing to the library again. I wonder if she's eating. She looked tired this morning when she got to headquarters. I had been worrying about her non-stop since she had told me to leave her alone.

"Has Levy gone to the library again?" Lily asked, sitting beside me.

I nodded, never lifting my head from where I had it laying on the table.

"I think you should go see her," he told me.

To that, I lifted my head and frowned at him. "Why should I go?"

"You're bonded to her, so you can understand better than anyone what she's feeling. For the last three days she has been burying herself in books to distract her mind from reality. Because the one who attacked Jet and Droy was Astaroth, I'm sure she's blaming herself for what happened to them. Although she won't admit it, she needs someone right now."

"What makes you think that someone is me?"

"She came to you the last time she was upset, didn't she?" Lily sighed.

"Last time?" I asked.

"After she found out the truth about her parents. I smelled that she had been there when I woke up that morning, but I never said anything because it wasn't any of my business what you two do. I'm not saying that would be the best way to comfort her right now, but your presence would help her."

"What?" The longer he spoke, the more confused I became.

He frowned at me, obviously confused that I had no idea what he was talking about. "You don't remember that?"

"Stop beatin' around the bush," I snapped, "just tell me what the hell you're talkin' about."

"The night Levy found out Makarov had been hiding the truth about her parents," Lily sighed, "she came to you for comfort." He paused, giving me a knowing smirk, "you definitely comforted her."

My breath caught in my throat, and my lungs constricted to the point where I thought I might pass out. That wasn't a dream? She really came over that night? We— I was out of my chair in a heartbeat, running in the direction of the library. Why didn't she say anything?! And why in the hell was she already gone when I woke up the next day? I was furious. It had been four days, and she hadn't even brought it up.

I came to a halt just outside the library, suddenly nervous. She probably thinks I'm an asshole for not bringing it up and just acting like nothing happened. And then I thought about what had happened, and I almost turned around and ran for it.

"Damn," I cursed. I had thought it was all a dream. So I didn't hold back at all. "No wonder she left before I woke up," I groaned, sitting on the ground beside the library entrance and putting my head in my hands.

I sat up and leaned my head against the cool stone wall, sighing. I should have known that wasn't a dream. How in the hell could it have been? Everything felt so—real. Every little touch had been an eruption of sensation unlike anything I had ever felt, so I should have known. Had I known, what would I have done? That was the question. Honestly, I don't think I could have brought myself to do it. I would have been too afraid of hurting her—which I now knew I had.

Through all of the guilt and self-loathing I was feeling, some other emotion began to seep through. Was it, joy? Knowing that it really hadn't all been a dream caused something in my chest to buzz. I thought of all the things I had felt during our time together, and realized that the fact it wasn't a dream made me really, really happy.

Just as soon as the happiness came, however, it was once again chased away by self-loathing. I had pretty much ravaged her. Like a demon. I groaned again, knowing she must hate me. Maybe that's why she hadn't wanted anything to do with me. She thinks I'm some damned beast.

I shot to my feet when another thought came to my mind. I thought it was a dream, so I didn't use— "Shit!" I ran inside without thinking, going straight to her study room.

"Gajeel?" She asked with a start as I came through the door. "What are you—hey!" She snapped when I grabbed her left arm and looked at her wrist.

Nothing. I let out a sigh of relief.

"What are you doing?" She asked, angrily, snatching her arm away.

My anger returned as she frowned at me, and I grabbed her wrist again. "We need to talk," I growled, dragging her from the library.

"Wait just a minute! Where are we going?" She asked, fighting against me.

I marched straight to my house, shutting and locking the door behind us.

"What are—ah!" I slammed her against the wall, clamping a hand on each of her arms to hold her in place as I glared into her wide hazel eyes.

"Why the hell didn't you say anything?"

"About what?" She asked, trying to match my anger but failing miserably.

"You know damned well about what," I snarled.

"You're the one who thought it was a dream," she snapped, throwing the blame at me.

"You're the one who came to me!"

"You could have said no," she said.

"Yeah, well, I didn't."

"Because you thought it was just a dream." She sounded kind of hurt as she spoke, causing my self-loathing to swirl around.

"I know," I sighed, "but maybe I wouldn't have if you hadn't skipped out on me the next morning."

"What were you expecting? For us to wake up and eat waffles together?!" She shot at me.

"No," I said, "but anything would have been better than believing it was all a dream."

"It was better that way," she said, looking away from me.

"No it wasn't!" I snapped, unconsciously tightening my grip on her arms. I don't know why I was so pissed. Sure, it was crappy of her to ditch me and not say anything, but that wasn't what made me so mad. It was the fact that she hadn't wanted to say anything. "Why the hell would it be better for me to believe it was a dream?!"

"Because I regretted it!" She shouted, meeting my eyes as hers shined brightly with tears.

My arms fell to my sides as I stared at her. "You...regretted it?"

"I barely know you," she said, wrapping her arms around herself, "and I wasn't thinking clearly that night. I was being selfish, and came to you as a way to distract myself. I was just using you." She whispered the last part, looking away from me again.

As much as I wanted to argue with her, I knew she was telling me the truth. I could feel how much she regretted it through our bond. So, doing the only thing I could think to do, I grabbed her arms, shoving her against the wall.

And I kissed her.

~Levy~

I just stood there, stunned, as Gajeel pressed his lips against mine. I had just told him I regretted ever having sex with him, so his immediate response was to kiss me?! When my initial shock wore off, I tried to push him away. Unfortunately, he had a solid grip on both of my arms, and refused to budge as I struggled against him.

My head felt a little clouded when he stepped closer, pinning my body to the wall using his own. He finally let go of my arms. One of his hands gently cupped the back of my neck while he put the other around my waist to pull me even closer. There was something urgent in the way he was kissing me, primal even. It felt good.

My eyes shot open when I realized I had been kissing him back. "No!" I shouted, balling my fist and punching him as hard as I could. We both cried out from the pain of my blow.

"What the hell?" He asked, holding his jaw.

I held my own jaw, breathing hard as I attempted to catch my breath. "You—you—" I punched him again, cursing when pain coursed throughout my face. He stumbled back, obviously not expecting me to hit him a second time.

"Would you stop that!" He growled.

Angrily, I tried to punch him again. He was anticipating it that time. I yelped when he grabbed my wrist, using it to pull me towards him. For the second time that afternoon, he kissed me. I swung my other hand at him, but he wrapped his strong arms around me, effectively pinning my arms to my sides as he crushed our bodies together..

His emotions were all flowing into me, causing my skin to come alive with electricity. I grabbed his shirt for support when I felt suddenly dizzy. Why am I so dizzy? My legs gave out, and I was grateful Gajeel had his arms around me.

He quickly pulled away, holding onto me so I didn't fall. "Shrimp?" He asked. His voice sounded far away. Everything in the room seemed to be fading into blackness as all of my muscles went limp.

I awoke to the sound of worried voices. Where am I? I opened my eyes and worked myself into an upright position, looking around. When did I get to the infirmary?

"I'm glad you're awake," Wendy smiled, standing beside my bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Light-headed. What happened?" I asked.

"You were dehydrated and over-exerted yourself," Master frowned, appearing on the other side of my bed. "You need to take better care of yourself."

I blushed when he mentioned over-exertion, wondering how much they knew. "Y-Yeah," I nodded.

"We'll leave you alone to rest," Wendy said.

"Could you send Gajeel in?" I asked as she was about to walk out the door. She gave me a quick nod before disappearing with Master. Gajeel entered the room a moment later, looking relieved when he saw that I was sitting up.

"You okay?" He asked.

"What did you tell Wendy?" I asked, not answering him.

"That you had been going nonstop at the library," he said. "Don't worry, I kept our little secret." He said it almost bitterly, which made me angry.

"Would—would you sit beside me?" I tried to hide all hints of anger as I patted the bed beside me.

He nodded, walking over to the bed. When he was within reach, I punched him. He stared at me, dumbfounded, as we both cursed and clutched our jaws. "Why do you keep doing that?!" He growled.

"That was for pinning my arms down and forcing yourself on me, you asshole!" I snapped.

"I didn't force myself on you," he retorted.

I gaped at him. "You did it twice!"

"You kissed me back," he shrugged.

"And then I punched you," I said.

"You—"

"What made you think I wanted to kiss you?" I asked, trying to get him angry. I hadn't spent three days at the library doing nothing. After I had completed my research on Astaroth, I began researching bonds. I think I had found a way to break our bond, but I first had to make sure he would want our bond broken.

"I—"

"I had just said I regretted ever going to you that night, so you kissed me? What were you hoping for? That I'd realize it wasn't a mistake, and that maybe I'd like to do it again?" I hated myself for being so cruel, but it had to be done. If he hates me, then this will be easier. I thought of Astaroth as I yelled at Gajeel, focusing on that anger so he would think it was directed towards him.

"I don't know," he frowned.

"Follow me." I got out of the bed, leaving the infirmary. I didn't want to keep going inside of headquarters. If things got loud, I'm sure someone would interfere. Just as I knew he would, Gajeel followed me out the doors and into the forest near Magnolia.

"What are we doing out here?" He asked, when we finally came to a stop.

"I didn't want to have this conversation at Fairy Tail."

"You didn't want them to hear you talking about sleeping with me," he frowned.

"With a demon," I said. I put as much venom in my voice as I could, wishing there was any other way. "You're a demon, Gajeel, and I'm a demon hunter."

"You didn't care before," he grumbled.

"I wasn't thinking clearly!" I shouted, glaring at him. "Don't you get it? I was just using you to comfort myself! If there had been anyone else, don't you think I would have gone to them, instead?"

Hurt flashed across his face as he stared at me. I watched as it slowly turned to anger, and his eyes narrowed. "Is that so?" He asked.

"Of course it is," I snapped. "I bonded us to save your life, because what the council wanted to do was wrong. That doesn't mean I have any special feelings for you. I may have forgiven you for what you did, but I still hate you. All this time I've been researching Astaroth made me realize something." I took a deep breath, then met his eyes. "You're a lot alike."

His eyes widened, then narrowed to slits, gleaming with hatred. It was rolling through our bond like lava, so I knew it was time.

"If I had it my way, we wouldn't be bonded. I would have secretly broken the bound without the council's knowledge a long time ago if I could. Especially now that I can only think of Astaroth when I look at you."

Again, hurt crossed his features before it turned to pure hatred. He stepped towards me, radiating so much fury that I found myself actually stepping back. Be brave, Levy. You have to break your bond so that Gajeel doesn't get hurt! "No one said I ever wanted this damned bond," he snarled. "You were the one who brought this on yourself! If it were up to me, we never would have been bonded in the first place, and I'd be free of these damned feelings for you!"

"What?" I asked, completely forgetting about my objective as I stared at him, wide-eyed. He seemed just as shocked as I was. "You have feelings for me?"

He cursed to himself, pacing in front of me. "Ever since we were bonded, I've felt strange. All I do is worry about you. Damn it, I can't even sleep without you showing up in my dreams!"

"W-What?"

He suddenly stopped pacing and stood directly in front of me. "I don't think what happened the other night was a mistake, and I don't believe that you regret it. I sure as hell don't. Ever since that day you were sent to recruit me to Fairy Tail, you're all I can think about. Why is that?"

I wanted to cry. I had been feeling the same way, but had never been willing to admit it to myself. Oh my god. I'm in love with Gajeel. And I think he just admitted to loving me, too! I wanted to wrap my arms around him, and never let go, but I knew I couldn't. No. I can't let myself get distracted! Until Astaroth has been defeated—or I die—I can't move on. Honestly, I didn't think I'd ever be able to move on with Gajeel, anyways. In the council's eyes, he was still a demon.

So, using that, I pulled myself together and focused on what I had to do. I centered my anger, and channeled a disgust into my voice as I smirked at him. "So, what are you saying? That you love me?"

His brows furrowed, contemplating what I had said. "Ye—"

I cut him off with a laugh, walking away from him. "Seriously? You think you love me?"

"I don't know," he growled, becoming frustrated.

"I'll tell you what I know," I snapped, narrowing my eyes at him as I came to a halt several feet away, "I know that you must have been lonely before Fairy Tail, to have convinced yourself that you were capable of love. Demons can't love. Even if they could, do you think I would feel the same way?"

"I—"

"You're pathetically trying to be something you're not," I said. I felt like throwing up, not knowing if the feeling was coming from me or him. "I could never even like something like you, let alone anything else. I hate the fact that we're bonded, and that I have to feel what you feel."

His former fury returned with a vengeance. "If it could be undone, I'd gladly help you break it," he snarled, storming towards me.

Now's my chance! Before he had taken three steps, I pulled my gun out, aimed, and shot him in the heart. He stared at me, shocked, as the bullet hit him and broke through the iron scales now covering his body. He fell to his knees, looking down at the small hole in chest, obviously wondering why he was still alive. As he looked up to ask, that's when it started.

I fell to the ground, screaming, as waves of pain consumed my entire being. The tattoo on my scapula seemed to be the source of the endless onslaught of pain, sending it through my body in blinding pulses. The book had said it would be painful, but I never imagined it would have been so excruciating.

From somewhere far away I could hear Gajeel crying out in pain, but my mind only had a second to worry about him before it was taken over once again by my own pain. Please, let me die, I found myself thinking. It felt like I had been swimming in my ocean of pain for an eternity. I didn't think it would ever end. For a moment, I imagined the rest of my existence just being that pain, and I wanted more than anything for it all to end, for someone to come along and kill me.

And then, it stopped. With one final wave, it disappeared, leaving me breathless and weak. "G-Gajeel," I gasped, trying to lift my head to look around. I couldn't even manage that. I laid on my back, staring up at the pink and orange sky. It's already evening. We must have been writhing around out here for at least three hours. It had only been three hours. It felt more like months, years.

I closed my eyes, trying to sense Gajeel. When I felt nothing, tears stung my eyes. It worked. We're not bonded anymore. I felt so sad, thinking about never sharing anything with him again. To make matters worse, he would hate me. At least he won't get hurt.

~Gajeel~

I stared up at the sky, catching my breath when the pain finally eased away. What just happened? Shrimp shot me, and then she fell to the ground screaming. Next thing I knew, I was too. Worriedly, I checked our bond to make sure she was alright. My eyes widened when I felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. Is she—? I tried sitting up, but couldn't move. I was too weak to even lift my damn head.

"G-Gajeel?" I heard her gasp. She sounded only a few feet away. Relief washed over me, but I quickly pushed it away. I didn't answer her, hoping my silence would cause her to suffer a little. After what she had said to me, I refused to let myself worry about her, or care about her at all.

After several minutes, I heard movement to my left. I could hear the Shrimp's unsteady breathing, and figured she was trying to stand up. I tried looking towards her, and was grateful when my body did as I asked. I sat up in order to look around, my eyes falling on her immediately.

Her porcelain skin was pale, and her eyes had lost their shine. She looked on the verge of passing out, and when she collapsed, I rushed to her without even thinking. "Shrimp," I said, looking down at her pale face, "stay still."

"You're alright," she smiled, lifting a weak hand to touch my face. "I'm so glad that worked."

"What?"

"I just broke our bond," she said.

"I didn't think that was possible," I frowned.

"I found an old book at the library, and it told me how. It was risky, and hard to pull off, but I had to try."

"Do you realize how stupid that was?" I snapped.

She chuckled, "I know. Sorry." Some of the color was beginning to return to her cheeks, but I didn't let go of her as he sat in my lap leaning against my chest.

A long time past with neither of us saying anything. Once the sun had fully set, Levy pushed herself out of my lap and stood. I stood as well, stretching my aching muscles.

"I meant what I said," she murmured, causing me to freeze.

"You what?"

"I meant what I said," she repeated, "about how I feel."

"I know you just said all of that to get the bond to break, right?" I frowned, turning her around so we were face to face.

"I only had to shoot you with a special bullet to break the bond," she said. "I said what I did so you could tell before the bond was broken that I had meant it."

I let go of her arm, feeling like I had been shot in the chest again. "But—"

"I need to go," she told me, walking away.

I stood there like an idiot for a long time, staring into the darkness where she had disappeared. She meant it? So, she really isn't any different from the others. A demon. That's all anyone saw when they looked at me. Sure, I hadn't given them a chance to see anything else, but I had thought Levy was different. The night we first met she had smiled so warmly at me, even when I had been hateful and cruel to her. And since I had joined Fairy Tail, she had shown me nothing but kindness.

I vaguely remembered the shitty confession I had made to her about my feelings right before she had laughed in my face and called me disgusting. For a moment, I had felt the same feelings inside of her. So, why is she acting so cold towards me now? Her personality was the complete opposite of what I had grown accustomed to. To what I had— No, I shook myself, don't you dare think it. Even if she was lying about hating you, what she said was the truth. She's a demon hunter, and you're just a— "And I'm just a demon," I sighed. I sat on the ground, leaning my back against a tree as I put my head in my hands. "The great Black Steel Gajeel," I scoffed at my old title, "has fallen completely, insanely, in love with a little girl."

"Isn't that sweet," someone said, chuckling softly. I jumped to my feet, readying myself for a fight. When my eyes landed on him, my body went rigid.

"Astaroth."