A/N: Important! Sorry if there was an error with the email. I posted it earlier but it never sent out an email, so I'm trying it again! Sorry if you got 2 emails!


It was warm.

So, so achingly warm. Not in a bad way, though. It was like lying in the sand on a warm beach. Like someone was reaching into his heart and pulling out the battered piece of him that he kept tucked away for no one to see, cradling it close in the shelter of their embrace. Gajeel could feel a breeze on his skin, but it wasn't cold. He felt light, weightless. Comfortable. His body was free from pain and aches. Wherever he was, it was nice. The air felt like all the good feelings and emotions combined. Happiness, comfort, serenity.

Safe. It felt safe.

Gajeel's fingers twitched as a gentle wind blew his hair over his face, and he reached up to smooth it back. He nearly gasped when he felt his face. There were no studs, no scars. Just skin. He was free from the sins he'd carried for so long, the visible marks of the bad he'd done. Finally, he was free.

He must've made a sound without realizing it, because he heard a voice. Gravelly and warm, and somehow soothing. "Ah, so you're waking up, I see."

Gajeel cracked his eyes open, instantly wincing at the bright light. So bright. Where the hell was he? Everything was white, and so brilliantly, radiantly bright. Once his eyes adjusted, he opened them fully, looking beside him to see a short old man smiling back at him. He was sitting cross-legged in a field of white flowers, waiting patiently for Gajeel to wake up.

Groaning, he pushed himself off the ground. He was a bit alarmed to discover that getting up didn't hurt. In fact, he felt better than he had in years. He pushed himself up into a sitting position across from the old man. "Who are you? Where the hell am I?"

The man laughed and twisted the ends of his mustache. "My name is Makarov, my boy. You're in Heaven."

Scarlet eyes snapped open. Gajeel couldn't tell if he was relieved or saddened by this. If he was here…then he was dead. And Levy was alone. Gajeel looked around at the field of flowers around them. It stretched out for miles and miles, as far as the eye could see. Cherry blossom trees dotted the landscape, and once his eyes cleared enough and his vision adjusted, he looked up to a sky so blue it was unnatural. White, puffy clouds drifted across the sky. He took a shaky breath in. Even the air was clearer, somehow sweet.

"This…isn't Hell?" he asked.

Makarov chuckled. "No, this isn't Hell." His eyes narrowed, the wrinkles framing his face tightening. "You've made many mistakes in your life, Gajeel, but it's all in the past. The man you've become is one to be proud of. That has earned your place in Heaven, my boy."

Gajeel swallowed, nodding slowly. "I don't even remember… I guess the cancer killed me."

"Not quite," Makarov said gravely. "A former acquaintance of yours shot you. Right there." He pointed to a spot on Gajeel's stomach.

Gajeel looked down and lifted the shirt he was wearing. There was no blood or tender flesh, only a small scar on his skin where the bullet pierced him. He blinked, the memories rushing back to him. He'd jumped in the way to protect Levy when Aria showed up, saving her from the bullet.

Levy…

"You remember?"

He nodded. "So why… Why are you here?"

Makarov crossed his arms with a smile. "I am your guardian angel."

Instead of reassuring him, this knowledge made Gajeel angry. Guardian angels didn't exist. With all the crap he'd been through in his life, there was no way. Clenching his fists, he looked away. "My guardian angel, huh?"

Makarov could see the tightening of his jaw, the anger, the pain. His expression softened, and he straightened his posture, his white cloak brushing the flowers. "I can sense your anger. What's on your mind?"

"If you were my guardian angel then where the hell were you?" he bit out. "I've been through so much shit in my life. Even when I tried to straighten up and make things right, it only got worse. And just when I thought things were starting to get better, I got this shitty disease! I've had to watch everyone I care about suffer because of this. Levy, my friends… Where the hell were you then, huh?"

He was so angry, so hurt. Gajeel didn't even notice the emotion choking him up until it was too late. Angrily, he reached up to wipe underneath his eyes.

Makarov stood and looked around at the field nostalgically. "My dear boy, I've been here this whole time. I have never abandoned you. Haven't you noticed the flowers?"

Gajeel blinked and looked up at him, confused, then he glanced around at the flowers beneath him.

Makarov smiled. "The day you met Levy, do you remember the flower petals that went into the studio with the papers I stole from you? Or the flower tucked into her hair when she was working? The field of flowers you and your friends went to after dinner that one evening?" He watched Gajeel's expression shift. "How about the vase of flowers on the counter in the break room where you work? The one you broke when you threw the empty beer bottle when you told your friends you couldn't get treatment. Or the vase of flowers in your hospital room when you collapsed? That was all me."

Gajeel remembered everything. The morning he met Levy, a strong wind had pushed flower petals into his hair, and then blew his chemotherapy papers right inside the studio Levy was practicing in. There was the other time she wore that headband with a white flower tucked into it, and he couldn't take his eyes off of her. And the field— It was the night they all went to Blue Pegasus after Levy's first performance.

Makarov came to sit across from him again, tears shimmering in his eyes. "I've been there all along. You just didn't know it."

"I don't understand," Gajeel said. "Why?"

Makarov's smile broadened as he laughed. "My boy, you aren't the only child I watch over. I've been watching Levy since she was born. Your friends, too. They're all my children, and I've been watching over them, waiting for the day I could bring you all together. You were the missing piece."

Gajeel swallowed thickly. "Me?"

"Of course." Makarov leveled him with a pointed look. "You've always thought your life was dispensable, Gajeel. You've always thought that no one needed you, that you deserved to die, and you just couldn't be farther from the truth. That's why I brought you all together—to show you that there are people who need you in their life."

The air left Gajeel's lungs in one steady exhale, and he blinked as he processed those words.

"They all need you, Gajeel," he said. Then softer, he added, "Levy needs you. Why do you think I sent your papers into the studio that day? I brought the two of you together! Levy needs you just as much as you need her."

Gajeel.

His eyes widened. "I can hear her. She's calling me."

Makarov nodded. "She's waiting for you."

Tears slid down Gajeel's cheeks as he looked up at Makarov, who was also crying. "It's been a long, hard journey for you, my child. For that, I'm sorry. You've learned everything I wanted to teach you. You've made friends, you've found love, and I'm so proud. But you're not done yet. You've finally reached the end of your suffering, Gajeel, but that doesn't mean it's the end. You have more to do in life."

Gajeel.

Gajeel felt lightheaded. The warmth surrounding him was pulling away, leaving him cold. His vision was darkening, and he looked back to Makarov. "Go back and live, my boy," he said. "Go home."

Gajeel!

Suddenly he was submerged in darkness. It was quiet, and cold. So, so cold. Except his hand. A warmth was pressed into the palm of his hand, tingling against his skin. He felt so at peace, but someone crying sparked his interest. He could just sleep… He could sleep forever, but the crying was getting louder.

"Gajeel… Please, come back to me!"

Levy.

He forced his eyes open, blinking past the bright light overhead. Then he saw her, holding his hand tightly in hers as she cried by his bedside. Nurses and doctors scurried around the room frantically when he gasped out a breath. Levy jumped, looking up at him desperately.

Their eyes met and her hand flew to her mouth, and she cried harder. "Oh god… He's alive!"

Gajeel barely heard the gasps and relieved cries coming from the crowd of their friends in the hallway as her arms circled his neck.

Home. He was home.


A/N: PLEASE READ...

He's alive, guys! So how many of you noticed the flowers? A few of you mentioned them, but not one guessed correctly as to what they were for. This whole time, Gajeel's guardian angel was watching out for him! This chapter should answer most of the questions you may have, but the next one will answer any other questions you have after this chapter, hopefully.

AND SUPER IMPORTANT... We still have one more chapter to go, and then an epilogue! :) You guys have been so incredibly supportive and wonderful...

Some of you have asked if I have anything published (dear lord you are SO sweet *sobbing*) and my answer is not YET. I am writing a book at the moment!

Thank you so much for reading! I'll see you Monday with the finale!