Greetings dear Reader!
Here's another small one-shot before I start writing the last chapter of The 3 Hearts of a Demon.
I honestly have no idea where this story came from. I wanted to read a GaLe fanfic. and at the same time I was thinking about a conversation that I had with a friend, how Cerberus was supposed to be a big badass guard dog of Hell… and that in every movie I've seen, he ends up getting tamed by the hero (usually in a humiliating way). So I decided to write this short story because :
1 – I really like Gajeel x Levy stories
2 – Try giving back this Hellhound's name all the glory he deserves
3 – I hope that you'll enjoy reading it!
Side notes :
Narration
"Talking"
*Thinking*
Disclaimer : I do not own Fairy Tail or Cerberus (but if you so happen to know a half-breed giant that has a giant three-headed dog going by the name of Fluffy, and who is willing to give me a puppy, please say so! P.S.: I also accept dragons eggs. :p )
Levy
When I was nine, I saw a small black furred puppy fall into the ditch in front of my parents' home. The water was murky, but it didn't seem deep, so I used the old ladder running along the gully's stonewall to get to the dog's level. As I reached the top of the water, I tried calling out to the flailing puppy, hoping that he would come near me so that I could pull him out.
After a few minutes of coaxing him over, he finally got close enough for me to catch him. As I started lifting him up from the water, the rusty ladder broke off from the wall, sending me and the dog into the ditch's cold waters. I fought through the muddy liquid, keeping the dog above my head so that it wouldn't drown, but the current was too strong. As the cold seeped into my bones and I felt my strength leave me, I couldn't keep my head above the water any longer. So I did the only thing I could do to not drag the puppy down with me, and released my hold on him as I started sinking.
I still remember how my muscles ached from the shivers, how my eyes stung from the filthy water, but the most painful part was how my lungs burned and my throat clamped, pleading for air I couldn't get.
After that, I dreamed of red eyes in darkness, and a low voice telling me that they'll watch over me. It was one of the strangest dreams that I had ever had.
When I came to, I was in the hospital, my parents sleeping on each side of my bed. But the weirdest thing was the little boy, with wild black hair and red eyes, at the foot of my bed, staring intently at me. He held my gaze for a few seconds, then left the room as if nothing had happened.
But that story happened over ten years ago. Since then, I had befriended the strange boy that came to visit me every day at the hospital. When I was released, I found out that he also lived in the same neighborhood as me, and that the puppy that I had tried to save was his dog. Unfortunately, the dog disappeared into the waters that day but, apparently, I had managed to drift near a shallow end of the ditch, where I was found alive and still breathing.
o.O.o
A tall and imposing figure was looming over the small boy. Piercing red eyes glared at the poor shivering child while the sunlight shone off the piercings marring the face of the menacing looking man. He had wide shoulders and strong arms pierced by metal studs, long unruly black hair, and an evil looking smirk as he leaned over the young boy whose eyes were starting to fill up with tears.
"Here kid, your baseball."
His voice was gruff as he lifted his arm to hand over the dusty little white and red ball that the kid had missed to catch, and thus had ended up at Gajeel's feet.
"Gajeel!"
The tall man's head perked up at his name, eyes locking on a girl about half his size that was running and waving at him with a smile. Today, Levy was wearing an orange dress with a matching bandana that held her blue locks in place. As she arrived next to the tall man, she plucked the baseball from his hand and handed it over to the petrified little boy, giving him a warm smile before turning around and grabbing Gajeel's hand.
"Come on, we're going to be late, Gajeel! You promised that you'd help me out with the assignment that I have for my Mythology class."
"Who the hell, in this day and time, still takes courses on Mythology?"
"Baka Gajeel! Myths were used to explain things that, at the time, humans didn't understand. Like why the sun rose every morning and set every night. For the Egyptians, the sun was Ra journeying through the sky. For the Greeks, it was Helios that would drag the Sun through the sky during daytime, with the help of his chariot pulled by blazing horses..."
She prattled on, eyes shining as she explained different myths from different cultures and time periods, practically skipping up ahead of him without looking where she was going.
As Levy continued counting her stories, an arm shot out and gripped the back of her dress, lifting her off the ground as a car sped by without slowing, almost running her over.
"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya Shrimp. But watch where you're goin'."
"Ga-Gajeel! Put me down!"
Holding on to his hand, so that he wouldn't damage her dress, she started blushing, embarrassed that he had saved her… again. She was such a klutz sometimes, but every time Gajeel was there to save her right before she got herself hurt. She let out a small 'thanks' as he lowered her back on the ground and crossed the road, ending up in front of Magnolia's National Library.
"So, what are you gonna work on this time?"
She looked up at him, a smile coming to her features, making her eyes shine with excitement.
"It's in the Greek mythology section, I have to do a report on a mythological creature."
"Nice, who did you pick?"
"I was thinking Hades' Hellhound. Kerberos."
"Gihi, nice pick."
He gave her one of his toothy smirks as they entered the library. Splitting up, Levy went to settle down at her usual table while Gajeel started searching for the books that she might need. They had done this hundreds of times. Gajeel would go get all the books that he could find on the subject that she was researching, then she would pick-out the ones she didn't need for him to put back. Once she had all the books she wanted, she would start jotting down notes while he slept or watched her work. When she was done with a book, she would pile them up until Gajeel woke up, cleaned them up, and went back to his nap. Of course, once she was done collecting all the information she needed, she would invite him out to eat, as a thank you.
He didn't look like it, but Levy knew that he loved Greek mythology. By Mavis, the only reason she had taken the damned course on Mythology was because she was curious to know just what he saw in myths.
As the hours passed by and the pile of books dwindled, she started frowning more and more. After about ten minutes of seeing her glare a hole into the same page, Gajeel spoke up:
"Oi, Shrimp, what's wrong?"
"This is the last book."
The way she said it made it sound almost like a question, so he kept his mouth shut and waited for her to continue.
"Kerberos, or Cerberus, was a giant three-headed dog that guarded the gates of the Underworld. His job was to let the dead in, but also keep the ghosts from escaping Hell. Then, during Heracles' twelfth and final labor, he was asked to bring the three-headed dog to Eurystheus, but Hades would only allow him to take Kerberos if, and only if, he managed to bring the giant dog to the surface without using any weapons. Of course, Heracles succeeded, but thing is, I can't find a single damned book that tells me what happens AFTER that."
"Gihi. That's because his story is over Shrimp. After being pulled out of the Underworld by a mere demi-god, Hades didn't need a Hellhound that couldn't properly guard the gates to his kingdom, so he bound the dog's soul to Earth."
She looked at him with wide eyes, amazed that he had given her the answer her books couldn't, then started to note it all down frantically, not wanting to forget any of it.
The rest of the evening passed as it usually did. Once she was done, she gave him a bright smile, thanking him for his help, and by the time they left the library, they were ready to have dinner. Entering the nearest restaurant, they ate, Levy paid the bill, Gajeel walked her home, and they promised to see each other the next day at the park.
Later that evening, Levy's mother wanted to bake a cake for the guests that they would be having the next day, but noticed that she wouldn't have enough milk. Not wanting to take the risk of not finding an opened store on a 4rth of July, she sent her daughter off to get some at the nearest shop. One of the perks of living in a big city like Magnolia was that most of the shops were open practically 24/7, and the streetlamps were always on.
Wanting to go back to the book that she had been reading before her mother had interrupted her, Levy decided to use a shortcut and pass through the park. Of course, at this hour there wasn't much light, but this neighborhood was pretty safe; so she went on without thinking, not noticing the large shadow tailing her.
On her way back from the grocery store, a gallon of milk hanging at the end of each arm, she passed a group of youngsters in the park. They were laughing and pushing each other around, obviously pretty drunk. One of them noticed Levy, and they started circling her. The young girl put on a brave face, even if they were all at least a head taller than her. Maybe hanging out with Gajeel really had made her reckless? Closing in on her, Levy's heart started to thunder through her chest, cold fear seeping in just like when she was nine and sinking into the ditch's dark waters, knowing that she was trapped.
When one of the drunken guys grabbed her arm, bruising her skin, she threw one of the heavy bottles towards him, startling him enough to release her. She let go of the other gallon and ran. She ran as fast as she could, adrenaline keeping her legs from giving out on her. Levy's plan was to try and lose them in the woods, then head straight home. Even if she was pretty smart, and could manage stressful situations quite well, at that instant the only thing her brain could come up with was : Run!
As she started passing the first trees, she could still hear their catcalling and heavy footsteps. Not slowing down she started weaving through tree trunks, relief coursing through her as she felt that she was losing them.
Passing behind another tree, she felt her foot hit a root, and fell head first as she saw the ground rushing up to her. After that, her world went black.
The teenagers chasing her caught up to Levy's unconscious form, laughing stupidly around her after the thrilling, drunken chase they had just given. The guy that had grabbed her earlier reached out for her, his hand stopping a few inches short of her blue locks as a menacing growl was heard.
"I wouldn't touch her if I were you."
The small group of boys turned to the tall figure that was slowly walking towards them. He looked strong and huge, but they outnumbered him five to one, so the leader, the one closest to Levy, got up from his crouch and looked at the new guy with defiance in his eyes.
"Yeah? What's she to you, big guy?"
"Gihi… you could say that I'm her watchdog."
As another menacing growl surrounded them, Gajeel strode towards Levy's sleeping form, a feral smile on his lips. It was dark, but the drunken teens swore that they had seen a giant three-headed dog, with fur as black as night, and crimson glowing eyes, ready to shred them to bits. Of course the authorities booked them up for underage drinking, not bothering with their alcohol-induced nightmare.
The next time Levy woke up, she was in a hospital bed with a pretty bad headache, but her gentle guard-dog was there, sleeping in a chair by her side.