~Levy~
I was so tired. It felt like I had been running for days... maybe even moths... but I had no way of knowing how long it had actually been. I couldn't tell where I was going, either. Everything was pitch black. It stretched out for as far as I could see—in every direction. I could have been running in circles for all I knew. Hell, maybe I wasn't going anywhere at all. But, even with those thoughts of doubt filling my mind, I continued running.
I have to reach Gajeel. I need to make sure he's alright. I need to tell him that I love him. The thoughts ran through my mind like a tape, helping to chase away my doubts. If it would lead me to Gajeel, I would run forever.
Suddenly, I seemed to run off the edge of a cliff. I fell down...and down...and down. I tried screaming, but nothing would come out. It was hard to breathe as air whipped around my face, so I took short, ragged gasps. Everything was still black, so I had no idea if I was nearing the bottom. Or if there even was a bottom.
It feels, so warm. The air around me suddenly wasn't as cold as it had been, nor was it leaving me breathless. For the first time since I had fallen off the cliff—since I had started having the repeating nightmare—I took a deep, filling breath. That's when I felt it. I finally hit the ground. It wasn't painful, like I thought it would be, but I felt heavy. I could also feel all of my limbs, something I hadn't been able to do in an eternity.
Am I going to wake up for real this time? Or am I just having another dream? I heard shuffling, and I cracked my eyes open. I was in the Fairy Tail infirmary. I'm not dreaming. I'm really alive.
"Goodbye, Shrimp," I heard someone whisper. When I turned my head and saw Gajeel, tears stung my eyes. I tried to call out to him, but I couldn't get my voice to work. Finally, when he was almost to the door, I managed a small croak. "Ga...jeel."
His head whipped around immediately. His red eyes were wide in shock as he stared at me, almost as if he didn't believe what he was seeing. "Levy," he said, tears running down his face. I knew something was terribly wrong. Gajeel didn't seem like the type to get emotional, so if he was crying, there was something wrong. Maybe I really am dead.
"You—you were—" He slowly walked over to my bed, the look of disbelief never leaving his face.
"Sorry," I smiled, reaching out to grab his hand. He wrapped his fingers around it and squeezed. With a shout of joy, he pulled me into his arms, burying his face in my hair as he held me. I cried against his chest, knowing I wasn't dreaming, that I really had woken up. I don't know how I managed to survive that, but I did. And Gajeel's alright, too. I had been so worried that something had happened to him during the explosion, but he seemed to be fine.
"Gajeel, what are—" I heard Master gasp, but I didn't look up from Gajeel's chest. I never wanted to let go of him. There were suddenly a few footsteps running into the room, and several reactions very similar to Gajeel and Master's. They act like I was dead and came back to life.
Then I really thought about. Why were they all so shocked to see me? I knew I had to have been in really bad shape, but they act like they're seeing a ghost. All too soon, Gajeel pulled away. He sat in a chair beside my bed as Lucy's arms wrapped around me. She sobbed on my shoulder, mumbling things I couldn't hear all too clearly.
"How—How are you feeling?" Lucy asked, wiping snot from her face as she stood up.
"I'm—huge!" I gasped, noticing her bulging stomach for the first time. "When did you get so big?"
"You've been in a coma for over three months," Wendy said, standing on the other side of my bed.
"What? Is that why you're all acting so shocked to see me?"
"When your condition plummeted last night, we decided that it would be best not to keep you in the coma anymore," Master explained, looking sad. "A few moments ago, we removed the oxygen which had been keeping you breathing all this time. You went very still after that, and we thought—"
"We thought you were dead," Lucy cried.
"Sorry," I told them, still a little overwhelmed.
"Don't be," Makarov smiled, patting my hand, "you're alive and talking to us. That's the best news we've gotten in a long time."
"Jet and Droy?" I asked, looking around. I didn't see them among the teary-eyed group standing around me.
"Happy's on his way to get them," Lily said, hopping onto my bed. The fur on his face was soaking wet, and his eyes were all puffy like everyone else's.
Smiling, I pulled him into a hug and scratched his ear. "I missed you, Lily."
"You two," he mumbled, looking slightly embarrassed, though, he hugged me back.
"What happened to Astaroth?" I asked, looking at Gajeel.
"Dead," he told me, giving me a small smirk, "you blew his ass to bits."
"That's good," I sighed, suddenly feeling so tired.
"We should let her rest," Makarov said when I yawned. He ushered everyone but Gajeel and Wendy out of the room. Wendy stayed behind to check on me with her powers, and Gajeel simply refused to leave.
Wendy checked all of my vitals before giving me a clean bill of health. "I'm so glad you're awake, Levy," she smiled.
"Thanks for everything, Wendy," I said. She nodded, then left Gajeel and I alone.
"I don't know how ya did it, Shrimp, but ya did," Gajeel told me. His eyes had returned to their normal size, but he still looked a little shocked. "I was worried there for a second."
I leaned my head against the pillow and looked up at the ceiling with a sigh. "I wouldn't have blamed you for losing hope, you know," I said. "I was in a coma for three months."
"If it had been me laying there, would you have lost hope?" He asked.
I met his red eyes and gave him a smile. "Not even if you laid here forever."
He chuckled, ruffling my hair with his fingers. "I knew you wouldn't die. You're too damn stubborn."
"You're calling me stubborn?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Now that's rich."
"Shut it, Shrimp," he grinned.
"You—" A yawn cut me off, and he chuckled again.
"Get some rest."
"Stay," I said, grabbing his hand.
"I ain't goin' anywhere, Shrimp."
~Gajeel~
It had been four days since Levy woke up from her coma. Although Wendy had advised her to take it easy for a while, she was already up moving around. She waved as I entered the cafeteria, smiling brightly. God, I had missed that smile.
"Did you hear the great news?" She asked, still smiling.
"I just got here," I said.
She frowned at me, "I wasn't sure if Lily had told you."
"What's the great news?" I smirked.
"I get to go home today! Master has banned me from missions for another week, but I get to go home and sleep in my own bed! I can't wait. I'm going to take a nice hot bubble bath, read a book or two, and just lay in my bed." She was practically glowing with joy as she spoke, which made me smile.
Natsu snickered at me, puckering his lips and batting his eyelashes like some idiot. Lucy suppressed a giggle as she gave him a hard jab in the side with her elbow. "Oh, that reminds me!" Levy suddenly gasped, getting all of our attention.
"What?" I asked. Before I could react, she smacked me on the top of the head with a book. "What the hell?!" I exclaimed, shielding my face as she hit me again.
"That," she huffed, sitting back down and breathing hard, "was for agreeing to follow Astaroth just to protect me." She hit me again, "and that was for—something else." Her face suddenly turned scarlet and she grew quiet.
Lily raised a questioning eyebrow at me, but I shrugged. "For what?"
"Never mind," she said, turning an even darker shade of red—if that was possible.
"If you're gonna hit me, you could at least tell me why."
"For shooting me, right after..." She trailed off as she whispered, giving me a meaningful glare.
"Wha—oh," I said. For some reason, my face even heated up a little. For shooting her after we had sex. Yeah, that'd piss me off, too.
"What are you two whispering about?" Lucy asked, smirking.
"Nothing!" We both shouted, causing her to laugh.
The rest of that day went by like all of the others since Levy had woken up. We sat at the same table for a long time, just talking to everyone. Mostly we were catching her up on everything she missed while in a coma. Then, as everyone started to head home for the night, I sat beside her and grabbed her hand under the table.
"I'm going on ahead," Lily told me with a yawn. I knew it was probably close to midnight.
"Yeah. See ya."
"Goodbye, Levy," Lily smiled at her. For some reason, he looked almost sad as he left, but I shrugged it off, figuring he was just tired.
"Gajeel, would you walk me home?" Levy asked, staring up at me with her wide hazel eyes.
"Sure, Shrimp," I nodded. I held onto her hand as we walked along the path to Fairy Hills. It felt strange, walking beside her. I hadn't gone anywhere with her since the day our bond was broken, and that hadn't really been the best situation.
"Well, we're here," she said.
I looked up, sighing. We had already arrived at the gates of Fairy Hills. I didn't want to leave. Honestly, I wanted to ask her to just live with me forever and take her home with me, but that was a stupid thought.
"Um, Gajeel?"
"Hm?" I looked down at her.
"I know you already walked me all the way here, but would it be alright if I went to your house for a little bit? There was something I wanted to talk to you about, but I didn't want to do it at Fairy Hills. If it's too late, I—"
"Let's go," I said, grabbing her hand as I turned around. "If you wanted to come over, you should have just said so. I wouldn't have cared."
"I didn't want to impose—"
I cut her off with a smile. "You'd never be imposing, Shrimp." She returned my smile, nodding. There was something sad in the way she was smiling, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was.
"Lily's probably already asleep, so we can talk in the living room," I said, opening the front door for her. She went inside and took a seat on the sofa after taking off her shoes, looking nervous. "Want some tea?" I asked as I threw my boots to the ground beside hers.
"N-no," she said, staring down at the clenched fists resting on her knees.
"What is it, Shrimp?" I asked, not liking how nervous she seemed.
"Gajeel, I—I wanted to apologize to you."
"For what?" I sat next to her, frowning.
"It was wrong of me to come here after I learned the truth about Astaroth—and even more wrong of me to act like it never happened. I was being selfish, and only thinking of myself, and you got hurt because of it. I made you think it was just a dream. I'm sorry. I should have just apologized after it happened. Or I never should have come in the first place—"
"Hey," I said, lifting her chin with my hand, "you don't have to apologize for that."
"Yes, I do," she said. She met my eyes, looking on the verge of tears. "What I did wasn't right."
"Do you regret what happened that night?" I asked. She looked caught off guard, but then shook her head.
"No, I don't. Nor do I regret what happened the night before Astaroth made you shoot me. I—I love you, Gajeel."
~Levy~
"I—I love you, Gajeel." There, I said it.
He just stared at me for a long time. I sighed when his hand dropped from my face, thinking it was too late. After everything that happened between us, I wouldn't blame him for not feeling the same way anymore.
"Say it again," he said, quietly.
"What?" I looked at him, startled.
"Say it again. I want to hear you say it again." He put his hands on my shoulders as he spoke, meeting my eyes with a searing gaze that made me feel hot all over.
"I love you," I whispered. His lips were against mine before I had barely enough time to finish. I immediately tangled my hands in his hair, pulling him closer.
When he pulled away to breathe, he pressed his forehead against mine and closed his eyes. "I wanted to make sure I wasn't dreaming," he said.
"No," I smiled, putting my hands on his face, "you aren't dreaming. I love you, Gajeel."
"I love you, too." He opened his eyes and met mine, smiling.
I pressed my lips against his, gently. His kissed me back just as gently, wrapping his arms around me. My hands traveled down to his chest, and he inhaled sharply when I parted his shirt to explore his abdomen with my fingers.
He pulled me into his lap, rubbing my thighs as he slowly pushed up my dress. Just as he was about to pull it over my head, he let it fall back into place and pulled away, placing me back onto the sofa. "Sorry," he mumbled, looking embarrassed. "You're still recovering—"
"I'm fine," I smiled, kissing him again.
"But—" I cut him off with another kiss, this time crushing my mouth to his. He responded with a small moan as he kissed me back. For several minutes we sat there, absorbed in the feel of each other's lips. Finally, Gajeel seemed to reach his breaking point, because he picked me up off the sofa, and carried me out of the living room.
As the night ended, and we both collapsed onto the bed, Gajeel pulled me into his arms and kissed me. He moved bangs off of my sweat-drenched forehead, smiling at me. "I love you, Levy."
"And I love you," I smiled, kissing him back. He chuckled when I yawned. Pulling the blanket over us, he told me to get some sleep. Almost immediately, I had fallen asleep against his chest.
I awoke with a small groan in protest. My entire body ached as I climbed out of Gajeel's arms and got out of bed. I overdid it. My body isn't back to full strength yet. I threw my clothes on before going to the living room to grab the bag I had been carrying the night before. As quietly as I could, I returned to Gajeel's bedroom and sat beside him on the bed.
I smiled down at his sleeping face for a long time, a painful throbbing in my chest increasing with each passing second. I placed a small envelope on the stand beside his bed, then bent over him. I pressed my lips against his as tears ran down my face in hot rivers, and gave him one final kiss. Then, I left.
~Gajeel~
"Morning," I grinned as soon as I was awake. I went to wrap my arms around Levy, but was met with an empty bed. I opened my eyes, staring at the empty space. I sat straight up, looking around for her. "Shit," I cursed, noticing her clothes were no longer in the floor. I threw my boxers and pants on before running out of my bedroom. Her shoes were gone, too.
I rushed back to my bedroom, intent on putting on a shirt and going to find—and question—her, when I noticed the envelope on my nightstand. "What's this?" I frowned, picking it up. The words "To Gajeel" were written on the front in neat handwriting that I immediately recognized as the Shrimp's. I sat down on my bed as I ripped it open. Inside were several pieces of paper, folded neatly and addressed to me. I unfolded them, realizing it was a letter from Shrimp. Curious, I sat on the bed, leaned my back against the headboard, and began reading.
My Dearest Gajeel,
It has been three days since I woke up from my coma. Which means tomorrow will be my last day in Magnolia. Hopefully, there will be no need to even give you this letter because I have already told you everything I wanted to. If I haven't, then that's why you are reading this. I'm sorry it's such a long letter—I know how much you hate to read. I just...there are so many things I want to tell you...that I want you to know.
First of all, I want to thank you. You came into my life like a storm, changing it faster than I could keep up with. When I finally realized that I had fallen in love with you, I had already fallen too far to come back. At the time, that frightened me. I have spent my entire life pushing feelings like that away. I told myself that, until Astaroth was dead, I wasn't allowed to love anyone. Well, as you always seem to do, you crashed right through that barrier I had set for myself. And you have knocked down every one I tried to set for you since then. I don't know if you realize it, but you are a truly amazing person, Gajeel Redfox.
I also wanted to clear up a few things. When I say my last day in Magnolia, I mean it quite literally. Before you came to Fairy Tail, I had been doing research on a certain clinic in the Northern part of Fiore. They are a special sanctuary for demon hunters who wish to leave their old lives behind and start a new one.
That's where I am going. Please, don't come after me. I decided on this the day after I woke up, and this is what I want. Now that Astaroth is dead, I can no longer bring myself to be a hunter. After the worry I caused everyone, I know that I don't want to put anyone through that again—especially you. You have shown me a love that I will never find again, and I have caused you great pain. I know you would tell me not to worry about it, or to stop blaming myself, but the fact still remains that I caused you pain. If I stay in Fairy Tail, I will only do it again. I don't want to ever see that look of worry in your eyes again, so that is why I must go.
The sanctuary I am going to will take good care of me, so don't worry. Once I arrive, they will give me a new identity, somewhere far away from Magnolia. Then, before I leave to start my new life, they will erase my memory.
I can imagine how shocked you probably feel as you read this, but I am telling you the truth. They have developed a special system to erase people's memories—as far back as you'd like. I am having them erase everything. All the way back to the day before my parents died. I don't know what kind of explanation they will give me in the form of new memories to fill the gap, but at least that pain will be gone, right? You must think I'm foolish or a coward to choose something like this, but please understand that it is what I want.
While I don't want to forget anyone in Fairy Tail, I need to do this. Everyone else has already been made aware of my plans, so don't worry about them. Also, please don't be mad that they kept this from you. I couldn't bare to tell you in person because I knew it would hurt too much, so I hid the truth until I could give you this letter.
I can understand if you hate me after this, and I am sorry. Hurting you is the last thing I want to do, so that is why I have to leave. I beg you to remain in Fairy Tail and let me go. By the time you read this, I will probably already be on a train, anyways. If you love me as much as I love you, then please, trust me.
Although my memories of you will be erased, I don't believe I will ever forget how happy you have made me. In such a short amount of time, I fell in love with you, and I will never let that feeling go. If we do happen to meet again in the future, would you do me a favor? I know it's a lot to ask, considering how much I am already putting you through. But, if we should ever meet again—even though I won't remember you—would you let me know you're doing alright? I think that, even if I am a little confused, it would still make me happy deep down to know you are doing well.
After all of that, I don't really have anything else to say. I know that I could never apologize enough for hurting you like this, but know that I love you. Gajeel Redfox, I love you more than I can even put into words. When I think of you, my entire soul seems to spin with happiness, and I feel like I can do anything, as long as you are beside me. I hope you feel the same way I do.
So, this is goodbye, Gajeel. I hope we get to meet again some day, and I hope you find true happiness.
I love you, forever and always,
Levy McGarden
I stared down at the last page of the letter, unable to move. I was having difficulty even breathing. She left? She's going to have her memory erased? I couldn't believe it. Even as I went into the living room, I couldn't believe what I had read.
When I took a seat next to Lily on the sofa, I noticed he looked like he had been crying. "She's really going to leave?" I asked, pleading for him to tell me what I wanted to hear. Tell me this is all just a sick joke.
He nodded, sadly. I was out of the house in one quick movement, racing towards the train station. If I'm lucky, the train will still be there. When I got there, and didn't see a train, I searched for a man in the train station uniform. When I found one, I grabbed him by the front of the shirt. "When does the first train out of Magnolia leave?" I asked, desperately.
"F-Four hours ago, s-sir," he said, looking frightened.
I dropped him and sank to my knees. I punched the ground hard, feeling it crumble around my knuckles. "DAMN IT!" I shouted, punching the ground again. Four hours. She had been gone for four hours already. She's gone.
A few drops of water hit the cement around my knuckles, and I realized they were tears. Like a damned fool, I was crying again. Worse, I was in the middle of the train station. After my little explosion, I'm sure there were more than a few people staring at me, too. Oddly enough, I didn't care. I was overwhelmed with so much grief that I had no room inside of me left to spare them a thought.
Levy is gone. Forever.
"Gajeel." I felt Lily's paw on my arm. I lifted myself off the ground, trying to get back any sense of dignity I might have still had. "I'm sorry," he said, looking down. "She asked us not to tell you."
"I know," I told him, scratching his ear, "I'm not mad at you."
"We should go to Fairy Tail." He looked up at me as he spoke, and I could tell he was sad, too.
"Yeah," I nodded, "I'll catch up to you in a minute."
"Alright." He walked towards Fairy Tail, allowing me to be alone for a little while longer.
I turned back to the train tracks, staring at them as though that would somehow bring Levy back to me. Knowing it wouldn't, and that she wouldn't want me to mope around, I took a deep breath.
With one final glance at the tracks, I thought of the small blue-haired hunter, and I smiled. "I love you, too, Levy."