Chapter 7: Concern is Heart Melting
Lucy POV
I sighed, walking quietly behind Gajeel. He was killing me here with the silence that felt deadly. And it didn't help that I was all jumpy, expecting him to ask me what I was going to say earlier. I can't believe I even opened my mouth in the first place, it just sprouted out of me, and I didn't even get a chance to stop myself. Now here I am, paying the consequences for my annoying brain and my loud mouth. Get a hold of yourself Lucy, I thought you said you were going to try to do amazing on this mission, my thoughts screamed, and I realized they were right. Here I am, paranoid just about when Gajeel was going to bring it up, when I should be paying more attention to the mission we currently were on. I needed to stay alert. These woods were infested with bandits, who would love to steal so rare, antique, and most of all, expensive jewels.
Suddenly, I felt my body collide with Gajeels back, and when I looked up to get mad at him for not announcing he was stopping, the iron dragon slayer raised a hand as if to say 'quiet.' I nodded my head against his back since Gajeel couldn't see me, so at least he could feel that I understood. We waited quietly for a couple seconds, and I tried to have my ears focus on the sounds around me, trying to hear what Gajeel was hearing. I then heard the faint sounds of twigs and sticks snapping, like someone was stepping on them. Gajeel glanced back at me, and I nodded in return; I knew that look in his eye, and it said 'get ready to fight.' I touch my keys, ready to call upon either Loke, Taurus, or Virgo, but that all depended on the amount of people attacking us.
Then, I heard a loud yell and turned to a group of guys, who stood all behind a muscular, bulky man with dark purple hair. "Well, well, well boys, look what we have here. A sexy blonde, and a monstrous guy, quiet the duo, don't ya think." He said, walking up to us.
"Finally, some asses to beat; I've been waiting all day for this," Gajeel grinned evilly, cracking his knuckles, but not before handing me the case with the jewelery, giving me a look that said he was trusting me to protect them. I nodded seriously at him. Then, in a split second, Gajeel attacked the right of the group of bandits, while I leaped into attack on the left side. "Open, Gate of the Golden Lion, Leo," I yelled, and Loke popped up in a cloud of gold dust, and instantly helped me with the fight. I used my whip to wrap around a couple of the guy's legs, flipping them over and sometimes flipping them far behind me, making them land roughly on either the ground or against a tree. This made me inwardly wince, wondering just how hard the must've hit, and how hard it must've hurt.
I quickly glanced at Gajeel, having a surge of concern for him, only to see he was currently fighting off three guys; completely fine. Then, suddenly, hands wrapped themselves around my throat, and I felt my air get cut in half. I panicked at the shortage of oxygen, clawing at the person's hand. I then remembered that if you had control of their wrist, you controlled their hands, so I gripped the person's wrist, and dug my fingernails into their skin, using all the strength I could manage to rip their hands away from my throat. The person chocking me let out a strangled cry of pain, and released their hold. I collapsed onto the ground, sputtering, and then glanced at the man who had been holding me throat and as quickly as I could, I flung my whip at him, capturing him by his torso and flinging him as far as I could.
"Dang Bunny, you didn't have to throw him that hard. He'll probably end up in the hospital for a month because of you," Gajeel's voice said. I jumped around behind me and found him with a cocky smirk while he stood calmly with his arms crossed around bodies of unconscious bandits. I felt my eyes widen largely when I noticed just how hard he fought them. I wonder why he fought so hard? My thoughts questioned, but shook it away; he could of just forgot how powerful he it.
"Humph, I didn't throw him that hard," I muttered, feeling suddenly embarrassed. My partner in return let out a familiar chuckle, and I then remembered that he probably heard me due to his heightened senses. "Anyways, we should continue forward before more of them come."
Gajeel nodded, taking the necklace case of my hands and walking forward. I then felt my earlier conflict come back into my brain and groaned inwardly. The iron dragon slayer has yet to mention about the whole 'about to ask him a question, but decided against it' thing.
Gajeel POV
I was okay with just fighting the bandits, wasn't expecting to knock them out, just rough them up some and leave with Bunnygirl. Then, I saw that man chocking my blonde partner, and it strangely struck a chord with me. I was going to help her out, but I could saw her easily take control of the situation and I then focused on fighting the guys around me instead. Before I knew it, released the power I was holding back before and let it out on all those bandits. I wasn't sure what was the reason was as to why I suddenly was violent like that, but what I knew for sure, was that it was somehow tied back to Bunny. I wasn't stupid; just confused as to why I was feeling like that. But once I saw and heard Bunny was alright, I felt myself calm done, and sense of pride as to how well my blonde partner took control of the chokehold and then flung the man like a slingshot.
I continued forward, making sure to take the case for me to hold. And I knew full well that Bunnygirl was fidgeting nervously behind me, and I knew full well as to why. She was nervous about me forcing her to ask her what she was going to ask earlier, and was waiting for the moment when I did. I couldn't help but roll my eyes and smirk at her actions. If I was some insecure school girl, I would be worried about Bunny fidgeting nervously and assume that she was scared of me. However, I knew she wasn't afraid. We may have been in the guild, but due to the fact that most of the guild doesn't really care about my actions, and was currently ignoring Bunny, we were basically alone whenever we were in the guild, except for Mira of course, and sometimes Lily. And I knew that she stopped being scared of me the second she forgave me for everything I did to her, Levy, and the guild.
A pull on my forearm pulled me from my thoughts and looked down to see the familiar blonde who had occupied my thoughts staring up at me. "Uh…" she said, her cheeks dusting with a blush. I raised an eyebrow at her actions but then pushed them away. "Do you think we should try to push towards Crocus, or should we camp out in these woods?"
I glanced towards the sun and saw that it was nearing sunset, and we wouldn't be able to make it to Crocus unless we walked in the dark. "Let's camp out," I said simply. "We should find a cave, that'll keep us warmer that camping out here."
Bunny nodded seriously. "I saw a cave about a couple meters back. We could use it for tonight." I agreed and the two of us made our way over to the cave she had seen. I had to admit, Bunnygirl was quite handy. If it wasn't for her, I would've fought two times as much as bandits, and I hadn't noticed the cave, so, I would've spent the time looking around for the cave. I decided I like her as a partner, and wanted to do another job with her again. Or possibly make her my partner; my mate. She's mine; my inner dragon growled and felt confusion prick at me. Why does my inner dragon keep repeating that phrase? I ignored my inner dragon and noticed that Bunnygirl and I were standing in front of a cave.
In a comfortable silence, the blonde and I set up camp. Bunny offered having her spirit Virgo do it, but I stated that we should just go set up the camp. Bunnygirl was strong, no doubt about that, but if she just got a little one-on-one training, she could be so strong she could put the sword lady to shame.
"Wait, Gajeel, there's only one tent." Bunny pointed out.
"It's big enough for the both of us. It would've been too heavy to bring two tents instead of one. And don't worry, I ain't 'going to make a move on you," I snorted, noticing the suggestive look on the blonde's face. A golden flash then appeared and out came the lion boy.
"No, I refuse for my princess to sleep in the same tent as you," he said, glaring his fullest at me while trying to block Bunnygirl from me.
"Loke!" Bunny yelled. "What are you doing?"
"I'm trying to protect you from him, I was barley fine with you doing a job with him, but I cannot accept you sharing a tent with him," the lion answered, and almost like a time bomb, that seemed to set the bunny off.
"Loke, I don't belong to you, I'm not even dating you. I understand that you are just trying to protect me, but you are going too far," Bunnygirl answered, starting off with a calm voice and ending with an almost yell. The lion flinched back, looking in pain from the words thrown at him from Bunny.
The lion sighed. "I'm sorry my princess. I just… wanted to protect you," Loke said small like. Bunny sighed back, placing a hand on his shoulder, and accepted his apology. I clenched my jaw, trying to hold back a punch I wanted to throw at the lion while my inner dragon growled. Loke then left, leaving Bunny behind to apologize to me for her spirit friend's outrageous behavior.
3rd POV
Lucy sat next to the fire, holding out her chilled hands. The cave was indeed warm and provided shelter, but the cold, moist air from the rain outside flew into their current shelter. Gajeel on the other hand, was lazing around, lying near the fire with his arms crossed behind his head and his eyes shut, intently listening to the sound of Lucy's breaths. The black haired man had been angry at a certain lion spirit who had made it clear of his dislike of the blonde beauty staying with him and, had before, disliked the fact that they were on a mission together.
"Gajeel," the blonde said lightly. The iron dragon slayer hummed in response.
"If you're going to sleep, you should go into the tent. I don't think it's a good idea to sleep here, you might get sick," Lucy blurted out genuinely. She knew Gajeel's attitude wouldn't give a flying crap about the possibility of getting sick, but she didn't want him to get sick.
The iron dragon slayer grunted in return but nothing, him and his inner dragon was still trying to comprehend the fact that the blonde beauty cared about his health. "We should hit the sack soon, give us enough rest for tomorrow," was all he said after a pregnant silence, then headed over to the tent. Lucy sighed, but not sadly or embarrassed. I was just a sigh from thinking about just how much she and her iron-eating partner did today. Slowly, the blonde mage rose to her feet, and headed over to the single tent the two shared. She went inside, finding Gajeel already snug in his sleeping bag, and went over to her own. Lucy then realized that watching his face while he was sleep on the train, wasn't going to be the last time. Even though his back faced her, Lucy could imagine the rare, yet familiar peaceful expression on his features, and she then smiled absent mindedly to herself before wrapping herself up in the warm, comfort-filled sleeping bag that seem to pull her instantly to sleep land.
After a couple hours, a noise woke the dragon slayer up. "Urg," Gajeel mumbled, sitting up in his sleeping bag. These were one of the moments when he hated the fact that his senses were heightened because the littlest noises seemed to pull him from his slumber, and that always seem to put him in a cranky mood. Gajeel clenched his fists, ready to hit the person or the thing that ruined his sleep, but released his tension when he realized that the noise was in fact, his blonde partner, who was shaking and sniffling, probably due to the cold. He then realized that the fire must've went out earlier than he had thought, and from the rain that still poured outside, the cold had gotten to her.
If it had been anybody else, Gajeel would've just yelled at them for waking him up, not giving a care about them. But for some reason, the iron dragon slayer felt his features soften at the sight of Lucy shaking. Gajeel moved to the bag at the corner of the tent, and grabbed out the blanket he packed just in case, and drapped it over the blonde, finding himself smirking in pride when he saw her almost instantly stop shaking and subconsciously snuggling more into the blanket that was probably horded his scent. The black haired man then went laid down once more, finding sleep lulling him to sleep.
Lucy POV
Zipping up my bag, I repacked and shoved the pajamas I wore last night inside. Gajeel was nearby, taking down the tent despite my earlier protests. I remembered he said something like I would pack it up next time, which made my heart flutter. It was twice he had stated some kind of reference as to us going on another job, which also made my soul fill with pride thinking that he wouldn't take anybody as a partner.
When we finally finished packing, and after I had Virgo hold onto our bags in the spirit world, I held onto the necklaces this time, thinking that it was only fair that we trade off holding it. "Alright Bunnygirl, let's get a move on," Gajeel said, already making his way to Crocus. I followed behind him, making sure to be wary of the sounds of the forest. After yesterday, and how I didn't manage to hear the footsteps of the ambushing bandits, I decided to train my ears to hear the littlest things, but I wasn't sure if I possibly could since Gajeel mainly could hear it because of his dragon slaying senses.
But I soon found myself distracted. I looked up at the sky, I saw the pretty colors of red, orange, yellow, and slight pink water painted together. Although I liked the sight, I preferred when the sky was dark and filled with a bunch of twinkling stars. It reminded me so much of my mother, and of my magic. I looked away, trying to rid my mind of the thoughts of my mom, because I feared that I would start crying even though it was so long ago, and I continued to follow the iron dragon slayer in front of me.
"Bunny, hear that."
"…Yeah, it sounds like civilization."
"We're nearby, let's keep moving and finish this request."
"Aye!" I said in mock salute, smiling when Gajeel grunted in return and continued our path. Although I knew this job wasn't as hard as others were, I already felt like this mission tiring me. My feet was starting to ache, my knees started to prick with a sharp pain, but I wasn't going to use Horologium to help me; I was far from the girl who used her spirits just to help her travel painlessly.
"And here we are," Gajeel said, pulling me from my thoughts. I looked up to find the familiar land of Crocus.
"Finally," I blurted, not being able to hold back a sigh of relief. Gajeel chuckled at me, eying my slouched posture due to the pain. I couldn't help but glare at him. "What?"
"Sheesh Bunny, we didn't walk that much," he answered followed by his signature laugh.
"That's only because you're in shape," I mumbled with the same glare on my face, looking down at the ground in embarrassment because I knew he would hear me.
Gajeel laughed again, ruffling my hair a bit, which caused me to pat down my now ruined hair. "C'mon Bunny, let's go take you and your unfit body and go find the Buford residence." I glared up at him, not being able to retort since I had admitted earlier I wasn't as athletic as he was.
"First, we should ask someone where they arm. From the sounds of it, the Buford's are a family of wealth which would mean somebody around here would know where they are. And since they are rich, then it wouldn't be uncommon other people would ask about them," I stated thoughtfully, pressing my index finger against my chin. He nodded in what it seemed like not only agreement, but also in almost like a compliment with the glint in his ruby orbs.
I glanced around, my eye's settling upon a man about a couple years older than myself who looked non-threatening and friendly enough with the smile on his face, so, I went up to him. "Excuse me sir, I just want to ask you a question," I said, patting the man on his shoulder. He turned to face me and smiled brightly at me.
"Sure honey, what is it," he asked.
"I'm looking for the Buford family residence, and just was wondering where it was," I said.
"Ah, actually, you're pretty close. See that street down there, there's a giant mansion on that, and that'll be the Buford residence. Can't miss it."
"Thank you!" I said, turning back to Gajeel only to find his nostrils slightly flared with anger. "Gajeel, what is it?" I asked, feeling concern filling me.
"Nothing Bunnygirl, let's just go," was all he said, not looking at me. He then walked off, heading in the way of the street.
I couldn't help but feel like there was something important that he wasn't telling me, so, trying to not be pushy, I softly placed a hand on his arm, which made him stop right in his tracks. "You know, if there is anything you need to talk about, you can tell me," I said softly, looking down in order to push away the blush that grew onto my cheeks and lingered there. He didn't say anything, but I had a feeling he knew and slowly, I removed my hand, and started to walk to the Buford mansion, fantasizing about a nice, long, hot bath, but then inwardly groaned, realizing an important aspect: we have to go back through the woods to get to Jukina to get our reward.
3rd POV
"Ah, so you have brought the necklaces from the Jackson family," the head of the family, an elderly woman, said. She smiled softly at the two mages in front of her, who seemed like such an odd pair, that they might actually work.
"Yes, here they are," Lucy said, handing out the case of fine jewelry.
"Thank you so much."
"Of course," the blonde answered the elderly woman, smiling her brightest. The head of the family noticed she did all the talking while her gruff looking partner stood on the sideline, looking indifferent and detached.
"Anyways, I think that since it seems that the whole truce between our two families is only directed from the Jackson side, I decided that I am going to pay for your reward so the two of you can get home already," the head of the Buford family said, noting the barley there yet still there look of exhaustion on the blonde's features.
Lucy didn't even want to say no. She was too tired to try and not to intrude on the lady. "Thank you so much, that would be much appreciated," the celestial mage said, smiling a wry smile.
What Lucy didn't know, was that all hell and Zeref kind of madness would break lose when she got back to the place she called home.
To be continued…
A/N: I am so sorry this is sort of a crappy chapter and is rushed, and it's also extremely long. I hit a small writer's block and just wanted to get the mission over with even though I was trying to use the mission to show how in sync Lucy and Gajeel become when working together. Reminder: I don't own Fairy Tail, but I do own Jukina because it's an imaginary place I made; if I did, Gajeel and Lucy would've been together. By the way, the whole thing about controlling the wrist when someone is trying to choke you it actually correct in real life; you control the wrist, you can control them. And the thing about caves giving the best shelter is also correct in real life because caves can hold in moisture and heat and also can cover you from the weather.
To Reader 56885: Thank you so much! I am glad it pleases you especially since I know some people dislike GaLu since they like GaLe.
To FW Wandering: Well, I can't tell you anything yet, but, let's just say they aren't exactly jerks, just, don't understand at the moment is all I can say, but yeah, if I was master, I would probably be extremely mad at my guild for how they are treating they're so-called "nakama."
To Ezramafuni: Thank you, I hope this chapter was good, to me though, it doesn't seem as good, but if it is bad, I can promise you the next chapter will be better!
To All-american rejects: No it's quite alright, if you want more of something in the story whether be more Levy thoughts about Gajeel and Lucy, or more GaLu moments I'll be happy to oblige, except when it interfers with my plot for this story. But the reason I didn't put very much GaLu fluff in the last chapter was because I was trying to catch how the two sync together when fighting or just when they are together.
To mariawalker112: Yes! Thank you! I'm trying to make this different than the earlier chapters and change up the plot more.