"I'm going to fucking kill you," Gajeel shouted ahead to Rogue as he roughly pulled Levy along the narrow hallway.
Gajeel's arms were pinned behind him by one of the brutes from before, he bucked against the large man violently but his burley grip was too tight.
Rogue had only whispered a few words to Minerva when she had climbed up the stairs to meet him, but that was all it had taken. At a snap of her fingers the two strongmen had grabbed Gajeel, pushing him up the stairs to be taken away.
Now Gajeel raged at the idea that Rogue had betrayed him. He had almost thought that their past could be put behind them. Almost thought that maybe they could simply be brothers again, even if it was only half blood. It shouldn't matter. But this… this Gajeel would never forgive.
"Inside," Rogue spat at Levy as he pushed her through an open doorway into a dark room. Even in the dim light Gajeel could see Levy land hard on the ground inside.
The man holding Gajeel gave a gruff snort as he proceeded to push Gajeel through the door as well. Rogue stood at the entrance for a moment, peering in at them.
"Betrayal," he said slowly, "is always rewarded in kind."
With that Rogue slammed the door shut. The sound of a heavy steel lock fell loudly into place. Gajeel stormed the door throwing his weight against it, but it didn't budge even an inch.
"Gajeel," Levy's small voice came from behind him. He whipped around him to see her still crouched on the floor.
"Levy," he said, rushing forward and kneeling next to her. "Are you hurt?" He asked as he placed a gentle hand on the small of her back.
She rubbed the side of her head as she moved to a sitting position.
"Yes, just a bruise," she said. Her voice sounded oddly clam. Gajeel noticed her expression was equally relaxed and he narrowed his gaze at her.
"What happened? You shouldn't have come in here. What were you thinking?"
Levy looked up at him fiercely, a fire kindled in her eyes that not even the dark room could quell.
"You have no right to tell me what I should or shouldn't do," she snapped. "I did what I had to for the mission. You're signal went dark and I wasn't about to sit out in that van and leave you on your own."
"You still shouldn't have come in here," he countered. He was equal parts furious and impressed by her seemingly iron hard will. She seemed to exude a level of confidence he had never seen in her before- even more than earlier today when she had decided to proceed with this operation and go against her superiors.
"Gajeel, the whole system went dark. Besides that damn watch we had nothing, no connection for audio, video, nothing. What is the point of being undercover if we can't get the hard data we need to bring these people down?"
Gajeel dropped his hand away and rested his arms on his knees.
"Sure," he said more evenly, "but you know we're both fucked."
Levy shifted away from him at his words, her confident posture bending ever so slightly.
"Last night," she began to say, but stopped. "Never mind."
"It wasn't what you think," Gajeel said quickly, hoping she would believe him.
Levy's eyes flashed.
"I don't want to hear it," she said, pushing away from him and standing up. She moved to the wall, leaning her small frame against it and resting her head on the cold steal.
"It was Juvia," Gajeel said, a weakness in his voice that he didn't recognize. "The text, it was from Juvia."
"And that's supposed to make it better?" Levy's words shot out at him like a bullet. "I need you," she quoted with a sneer. "Stay with me? Were you seeing her the whole time?" Levy waved her hands, as if brushing away the words he was about to say. "No, we're not doing this."
"I'm telling you, Levy, it wasn't like that," Gajeel stood and almost growled the words out of frustration. "Juvia is just a friend."
"Right," Levy scoffed.
"I've been helping her, since she got free of Ivan's. She stayed with me because she wasn't well. She has nightmare, she… It was a hard time for her." Levy watched Gajeel intently as he spoke, but said nothing in return. "I found her a place when she was ready, rented her an apartment so she could try to get back on her feet. But sometimes the nightmares come back, like they did last night. She was scared, scared of being alone. She needed a friend, Levy, that's all it was."
Levy's eyes examined him, searching through his explanation to judge its sincerity.
"Lucy mentioned she was having a hard time since the raid on the club," Levy observed, thinking aloud. "Gajeel, I want to believe you, but…" She trailed off.
Gajeel took a step towards her.
"Levy, I've never lied to you, about anything. I've told you more truths than I thought I would ever share with anyone." He reached out to her slowly, touching his fingers to her chin her brought her eyes up to meet his. "I couldn't lie to you even if I tried."
Levy's eyes welled with an unnamed emotion as she looked up at him.
"I should have told you about Juvia sooner. Then all of that never would have happened. I never wanted to hurt you, not you, ever."
Gajeel hesitantly let his fingers brush along the line of her jaw. She closed her eyes for a moment at the touch then looked up at him again.
"Gajeel you idiot," she said with a quite laugh that surprised him, "don't keep things from me. I told you, I don't hold your past against you. You don't have to hide from me."
Gajeel nodded, a knot swelling in his throat.
"Levy, I…" he started to say before faltering. He tried again. "I'm in love with you."
Levy's smile went wide and her eyes glittered.
"I love you too, Gajeel."
Without waiting for another word to escape Gajeel swept her into his arms and kissed her. He kissed her long and deep. The touch of her lips shot raw heat across his skin and into his bones. Her body reacted sharply, pressing into his with a fierce desire and he responded in turn. He pressed her into the wall, one hand running up the length of her neck as the other grabbed her waist tightly.
Levy let out a small moan as he pushed against her and it shook him. She wove her fingers into his hair as her tongue slid along his lower lip, urging him to take the kiss deeper. He did. She tasted sweet and he reveled in the feel of her mouth opening to him. Her hands clawed feverishly at his back.
Without a thought for their circumstances, Gajeel let his hand travel from her waist down to her hip, and then lower still. Gently, he pulled up the delicate hem of her skirt and slid his fingers along the smooth skin of her inner thigh. She moaned again. Gajeel let his palm press against her core, brushing against the lace that barred his path.
"Gajeel," she whispered him name as if it were a precious thing. "We have to stop."
Gajeel growled against her lips. "I owe you an apology. I think you deserve it to be repaid." He released her mouth, laying kisses along her jaw and down her neck as his fingers worked to pull the lace aside. He felt as she spread her legs ever so slightly and he took the invitation, letting his fingers slide along her slit before pushing inside her warmth.
Levy's body shook beneath him. Gajeel's muscle clenched, he was rock hard.
As if reading his thoughts Levy reached between his legs and pressed against his length through his pants.
Gajeel wanted to take her to the edge, to make it all about her, but his resolve broke. He pulled his hand away from her body and reached for his belt, undoing it in a swift flick of his wrist. Levy clawed at the button and zipper of his pants and pulled, releasing him.
Lifting Levy off her feet he pressed her back to the wall. She curled her legs around his waist, her arms clinging to his shoulders with all her strength. He pushed himself into her and his breath caught at the tight feel of her as she took him in.
"Levy," he whispered her name in need. He needed her, needed her body, needed her precious heart.
He tried to move slowly but the urgency in her kisses and the bouncing of her hips against him only drove him harder. He felt her body spasm and tightened around him. She bit into his shoulder to stifle a cry. He came undone as she pushed him right over the edge with her.
For a moment they held each other, panting, and then Gajeel carefully moved away and set her back on her feet. He wrapped his strong arms around her and held her tightly. She leaned her cheek to his chest.
Levy righted her skirt and Gajeel
"I don't know how we're gunna get out of this, shrimp. But I swear I will keep you safe."
Levy suddenly pulled away, righting her skirt. She flashed him a surprising grin, her blue eye sparking mischievously.
"Let me see your watch," she said quickly.
Uncertain what she was doing, Gajeel dressed and then turned his wrist so she could look at the face of the watch.
"It's almost time," she said, escaping the circle of his arms and moving back towards the corner of the room where she had fallen. She reached for something that moved with the sound of hard metal. Returning to him, she held two 9 mm pistols in her hand. She turned one over to him.
"Where the hell did those come from?"
Levy pulled the slide to check if it was loaded and then released it, chambering a round.
"Rogue passed them to me before he threw me in here," she said, matter-of-factly.
Gajeel checked the gun and slid it into his pocket.
"I think I'm gunna need a lot more of an explanation here shrimp."
Levy reached over and slipped the watch from Gajeel wrist, toying with the buttons.
"We don't have a whole lot of time now, Gajeel. Rogue got me in here so that I could get what we needed and get you out. He took me through Minerva's office and I was able to set up a download of their systems, it should almost be done so we need to get going."
Gajeel stared at her blankly. Had she really done all that?
"In about three minutes we need to be heading back to Minerva's office. Rogue will have her in another part of the building. We need to grab my equipment and we should be able to slip out the front door. These," she said, nodding to her pistol, "are in case we meet resistance trying to get out."
Gajeel shook his head, smiling. "You're a good agent Levy," he told her. She gave him a confident smile.
"I had this set up with a feature to take back-up audio," she said looking down at the watch, "it's a little archaic so it may have gotten past their system. We'll have to check it back at the lab."
"Let's hope so," Gajeel replied, "if it worked it should have Mard Geer's confession to making and distributing Lullaby."
Levy's eyes went wide. "He's here? He admitted to it?"
Gajeel nodded.
"That's seals it! If we can get those files from Minerva's office, Tartaros is over. They won't be able to worm their way free again."
She took a deep breath, calming her excitement. She glanced at the watch again.
"Let's go," she said, moving to the door, her pistol held at the level of her chin. "Rogue should have doubled back to unlatch the door." She pushed into the steel door and it opened a crack.
"Right behind you," Gajeel said to the beautiful, confident woman. The woman that he loved, and who loved him back.
