Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. All rights belong to Hiro Mashima.
Hello again and here you are. As I mentioned before, there are going to be fewer GaLe moments for the next couple of chapters. As for Wendy and Laxus, the remaining two Dragon Slayers, I hope you are all agreeable to my mate choices for them... enjoy~!
Levy awoke to a fuzzy face staring right at her.
"Ah... wha?" She mumbled, shoving the thing away and rolling over, directly into something rock solid. "Ow!" She whined, rubbing her nose.
"Oi, Shrimp. Watch where you're rolling." Gajeel grumbled, wrapping his arms around her waist and somehow remaining blissfully unaware of the cat perched on his head. Levy cocked a brow at Pantherlily before letting out a squeal of pure joy and snatching him off of Gajeel's head in one swift movement.
"Lily!" She screeched happily, hugging him tightly. "You haven't been around lately." Pantherlily smiled and nuzzled his head into her neck, closing his eyes and purring softly.
"Oi, Lily! Getcher own woman." Gajeel growled, pulling Pantherlily out of Levy's grip and immediately pulling her up to his chest. Lily snorted and curled up at the end of the bed.
"Why bother? You already have one for me." He teased, quickly jumping backwards as Gajeel threw his fist wildly. "Calm down Gajeel, I'm just joking." Gajeel glared halfheartedly at his exceed for a few moments until Levy kissed his cheek lightly, breaking his concentration.
"I'm hungry." She exclaimed, wiggling around and trying to escape his iron grip.
"Course ya are... when aren'tcha?" Levy smiled happily up at him.
"Never?" She offered, eliciting a chuckle.
"Yeah, yeah. Let's go then. Lily, I believe you are the chef. To the kitchen with you." Lily rolled his eyes.
"And I believe you are the stubborn headed bastard whom I joined on a team for some ungodly reason." Lily shot back, flying out of the room. Gajeel growled in annoyance and glared at the door for a good thirty seconds before turning back to Levy.
"Whaddya wanna do today?" He questioned, tossing her over his shoulder and sliding out of bed.
"Go to the guild I guess..." She mumbled into his shoulder-blade. Gajeel laughed and bent over, gently placing her on the ground.
"Sure Shorty." He agreed, ruffling her hair affectionately.
"Pancakes are ready!" Lily shouted from downstairs and Gajeel smirked at Levy.
"Race ya!"
(^.^) (^.^)
Rolling her eyes at how simple-minded drunks could be Mira picked up a rag and wiped down the counter while listening to Wakaba tell Romeo that to be a man you must drink like a Cana.
"Really?" She heard Romeo exclaim excitedly.
"Well of course!" Wakaba answered heartily, albeit it sounded a bit slurred. Mira smirked as she wondered how this would go over with Cana and Macao. Probably not too well... but that was okay, they needed some reason for a brawl today, just for fun. Giggling slightly to herself Mira watched as Romeo boldly walked up to the pile of barrels and painstakingly pulled one down and rolled it over to a vacant table. He had just grabbed the cork holding it shut when Cana's outraged shriek echoed throughout the guild.
"Where'd my sixth barrel of beer go!" She shouted angrily, glaring at all the males. Someone in the back squeaked something about Wakaba and she immediately turned her gaze to him and he shuddered, flinging a finger in Romeo's direction.
Flinching under the glare Romeo watched as Cana stormed over and hefted the barrel out of Romeo's reach.
"Little boys can't have beer!" She bellowed, placing the barrel back with her stack. Romeo's eyes pricked with tears. She thought he was still a little boy. Everyone did. Mira, Wakaba, Gramps, his dad... even Wendy. No, especially Wendy. Trying his hardest not to make a big commotion Romeo silently made his way to a dark corner of the guild where he sat down and allowed his tears to stream down his face without alerting any of the guild members.
"Stupid Cana... I'm not a little boy." Romeo whispered to himself, clutching his knees close to his chest. Burying his face in his knees Romeo sobbed heavily, for once grateful that a guild brawl was making it almost impossible to hear anything.
"Hey..." A voice whispered softly as a hand came down on his head. "I'm sorry Romeo. I didn't mean it like that." Romeo pulled his tear streaked face up and quickly wiped his runny nose. He didn't want to be seen like this.
"Cana?" He mumbled, willing himself to not blow up about how he wasn't a little kid. He didn't want to throw a tantrum and have everyone think that he was a little kid anymore than they already did anyways.
"Yeah... I'm so sorry Romeo... really, I am." Romeo stared shaking with suppressed sobs and Cana held her arms out invitingly. Letting out a cry Romeo flung himself at her, winding his arms tightly around her and soaking her jacket in his tears. "I'm sorry buddy." She murmured, rubbing his back consolingly.
Just then the guild brawl picked up and Cana shifted herself so that she was sitting against the wall and Romeo was curled up in her lap. Smiling softly at how much she thought of Romeo like a son Cana removed her hand from his back to ruffle his hair. "You're not a little boy." She whispered, grinning guiltily as Romeo looked up at her.
"Thanks Cana." He smiled, wiping the tears off his face and cuddling into her shoulder.
"Anytime kid." She smiled in return, resting her head on his.
"Cana!" Mirajane cried worriedly and Cana glanced up to see a film of light purple smoke winding its way towards Romeo's back. It was literally a foot away as she pulled out her cards and threw one at the ground by her feet.
"Prayers Fountain!" She screamed, jolting to her feet and hugging Romeo close to her body. The spell activated immediately and several streams of water shot at the purple mist, dousing it completely. Her chest heaving with panic Cana bolted over to Macao and shoved Romeo into his lap for safety before turning and sprinting towards the doors. Jerking them open Cana managed to glimpse a retreating figure who disappeared before she managed to run ten feet. Slowly entering the guild Cana slid onto a bar stool and allowed her body to shake with fear and adrenaline.
"It's okay, he's gone and everyone's okay." Mira reassured her, patting her shoulder softly.
"I know." Cana whispered in a daze. Realizing that alcohol might be the only thing to help her right now Mira grabbed a barrel from the pile and dragged it over, letting it thump on the counter in front of Cana. Nodding gratefully Cana popped the cork and lifted it to her mouth to take a much needed mouthful.
"No!" Laxus bellowed, slamming his fist into the barrel and watching it hit the far wall as its contents poured all over the wooden floor.
"What the hell Laxus!?" Cana screamed, punching his chest with as much force as she could muster. Without a word Laxus grabbed her shoulders and turned her around, forcing her to watch the floor as it sizzled and smoked beneath her ale.
"It was poisoned." He muttered, allowing his hands to fall back down to his sides and slipping them into his coat to hide their trembling. She almost drank it... she would've died. He cursed himself for allowing her to almost drink it. He had smelled the virtually scentless poison in time but just barely. Screwing up was not an option here. He was brought back to reality as Cana turned back to him with terror filled eyes and fell forwards.
"Laxus! Catch her!" Mira cried out anxiously from behind the bar, still shaken from watching the poisoned ale burn through her new flooring. Not needing to be told twice Laxus' arms shot out almost instantaneously and his hands grabbed her waist, pulling her up to his chest.
"Thank you." She murmured, tucking her head into the crook of his neck before completely losing consciousness. Laxus ducked down slightly and hooked his one arm under her knees, bringing her up against his chest in a princess-style hold. Cana's legs swung gently with his movement but other than that she stayed inert against his chest and he felt a lump of terror and uncertainty plant itself in his throat. Did she actually manage to swallow some before he could smack it away?
Two small hands found their way into his shirt and he glanced down to see Cana clutching his shirt tightly. With his thoughts thus interrupted Laxus made his way to the infirmary while Erza blocked everyone else from following and Mira hurried to get Wendy from the bakery where she happened to be picking up a cake for Erza.
Upon entering the infirmary Laxus attempted to lay Cana down but she would not relinquish her hold on his shirt so he just sat down on a bed with Cana curled up in his lap. Her breathing was heavy and yet shallow and just listening to it had his own breath behaving erratically so he started humming a tune to distract himself.
Moments later Wendy stepped in and Laxus stopped his humming as Wendy quickly examined Cana as she was, not bothering to move her as there really was no need. The blue light from Wendy's palms lingered over Cana's face for a moment or so before Wendy withdrew her hands and offered Laxus a meek smile.
"She's okay... there are no traces of the ale in her body. You don't need to worry about her. She just got scared and I guess she doesn't normally have to deal with fear so it was a bit too much to handle." Wendy explained, smiling reassuringly.
"Thanks Wendy." Laxus choked out, his voice thick with emotion. The sky Dragon Slayer nodded and exited the room as quickly as she had come in.
"Fearless, eh? That'd be nice." Laxus muttered, staring down at Cana's sleeping form.
(^.^) (^.^)
"Romeo?" Wendy called softly upon exiting the infirmary. The violet haired boy was instantly at her side.
"Y-yeah?" He stuttered nervously, a light blush adorning his cheeks. "It Cana okay?" When Wendy nodded Romeo let out a sigh of relief and glanced up to see her staring intently at him.
"What is it?" He blurted out then, his blush darkening heavily. Suddenly she flung her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest. Romeo froze as she did so and his breathing became quick and heavy.
"I... I was so scared. When Mira ran up screaming about Cana and the ale and you and the purple mist-" Her voice cracked then and Romeo felt her arms tighten their grip on him as he finally wrapped his arms around her in return.
"... I... I thought I'd lost you." Romeo froze as the words left her mouth and felt a sense of joy. It wasn't right for him to feel happiness about the fact that she'd mourn his death but he did feel happiness. While everyone in Fairy Tail cared about one another everyone liked to move on and not live in the past so that they wouldn't feel burdened. To think that she'd go beyond everybody's concern for him... well... he wasn't sure what to think.
Almost as though he was moving by instinct Romeo felt his one arm wrap tightly around her waist while the other stroked her hair. "It's okay Wendy." He whispered soothingly, thankful for the second time that day that the guild was in a brawl to keep their minds off the attack and therefore were busy and didn't notice him and Wendy.
Wendy's breathing was erratic from her sobs and she kept blowing hot puffs of air on Romeo's neck as he attempted to calm her down.
"It's alright Wendy. Don't cry, I'm here." He tried again and Wendy sucked in a breath harshly.
"But what if you weren't?!" She cried hysterically, shaking precariously back and forth as her knees threatened to give out on her.
"No what ifs. I'm here and that's all that matters." He murmured softly, moving his hand that was stroking her hair to her chin and pulling up her face so he could see her eyes. Eyes, he thought, were an amazing thing. They showed your emotions and they hid your emotions while they also allowed you to see things and allowed others to see much more than your body showed. They allowed people to see your soul which, Romeo thought, was a wonderful thing. It let you understand much more about a person then they could ever tell you.
Right now Wendy's eyes were rimmed in red from crying and still filled with unshed tears yet they held many emotions other than fright and worry. There was relief, gratefulness, concern and... love?
Wendy in turn, was looking into his eyes and noticing all sorts of things about Romeo that she hadn't noticed before. There was the burning need to be accepted as Romeo, not as a kid, not as Macao's son, not as a mage, but as Romeo. There was also a certain protectiveness about him and yet a need to be protected at the same time. As for his emotions, well, Wendy didn't know where to start. There was a certain calmness but at the same time fear was evident while there was worry and concern as well as protectiveness and love.
"Romeo... I-"
"It's alright Wendy, I'm okay." Romeo cut off her hesitant words, smiling bravely. Wendy allowed a smile of her own to bloom and she slowly released him from her grip, backing up in embarrassment. Romeo smiled at her behaviour and reached out, grasping her hand in his own. Wendy let out a little gasp and attempted to hide her face as it lit up but Romeo just laughed and pulled her closer.
Kissing her cheek lightly Romeo let go of her hand and smiled abashedly. Blushing heavily Wendy let out a little squeak before dashing off to find Charle.
Twining his hands together Romeo placed them behind his head and returned to his father, sitting down and hoping that all of these attacks on his Nakama would stop.
(^.^) (^.^)
When Gajeel, Levy and Pantherlily arrived at the guild Makarov was sitting at the counter and attempting to gain everyone's attention.
"Shut yer faces!" Gajeel bellowed, making his way over to the bar with Levy in tow.
"Thank you Gajeel... now, as I was trying to say, I have an announcement." Everyone who hadn't shut up after Gajeel's initial bellow now quieted down and Makarov brought himself to his full height, which wasn't much, clearing his throat for emphasis.
"As of today, Fairy Tail will no longer have Dragon Slayers." Everyone froze as the Dragon Slayers turned to stare at Makarov in shock. Nodding at each Slayer in turn Makarov uttered a final sentence before making his way to his office.
"The time has come so go now."
A/N: Love it? Hate it? Too OOC? Let me know in a review! So this was more of a filler I suppose but not really at the same time. The action will be starting up again in the next chapter, somewhat at least, so be ready. Also, again I hope you were okay with my mate choices for Laxus and Wendy, I felt as though the scene with Romeo and Wendy wasn't as good as it could have been but then again they are younger so I worked with what I had. Hope it worked for you and again, please review~!