Hello dear Reader!

Welcome back to another chapter. They are slow to come, but they are a work in progress.

Side notes :

Narration

"Talking"

Thinking*

Disclaimer : I do not own Fairy Tail

Gajeel

He was brooding. Lily had insinuated that he was pouting, but he wasn't. He was a grown ass man and a grown ass man didn't pout. So here he was in a small hotel room in the middle of Zinnia, brooding on a pretty damn comfy bed.

Thanks to the jewels Levy had shared with them, him and Lily had taken a room for the night in the town while they discussed things over. The hotel was small but clean, the room held two small beds and a separate bathroom with a shower, which was the most luxurious sleeping arrangement they've had in the past 2 years. The shower had been blissful in his human form. He had forgotten the wonders of warm running water and fluffy pillows. Freshly out of the shower in a clean black top and pants, he sat cross legged on the bed while waiting for Pantherlily that had taken over the shower.

Levy had asked Lily if he wanted to help her with hunting down a dragon. Not him. Lily. And for some reason that had irked him… alot. Lily had answered that he and Gajeel were partners, and as such, if they took on this mission, then it would be the both of them helping her. She had smiled brightly at them, seemingly pleased with the answer.

"I understand if you need to talk it over between yourselves. It would be great if you both could help. You'll be handsomely rewarded of course."

That smile and those words had made the irk fade away… a little. It was then decided that they would meet up the next morning in the town's square to share their that, Levy had left them in front of the museum while she rushed off to the nearest police station. She wanted to give an eyewitness testimony of the robbers and maybe a sketch.

He wanted to stay near Levy. She was bright, cheerful, stubborn, fun to tease… but she wanted to hunt down a 'dark scaled dragon'. She clearly hated Dragons and that did not sit well with him. Sure, some dragons were real pieces of shit that deserved to be hunted down by mages, but that wasn't true for most of his kind. Nowadays, most dragons just wanted to be left alone and raise their families safely. Like him and Metalicana. He had lived with his dad in the mountain range north-west of Fiore for as long as he could remember. Sure his dad had been an arrogant asshole at times, with a foul mouth and rough around the edges attitude, but he had never been unfair. He made sure Gajeel needed for nothing and taught him how to fight and control his magic. Because the stronger he was, the better he could defend himself against hunting guilds, like the ones that had killed his mother when he was just a hatchling.

Gajeel couldn't remember his mother, and Metalicana never talked about her. It was too painful. So painful that Gajeel suspected that the only reason his old man hadn't gone on a suicide mission to wipe out the magic guild that had killed her was that he needed to take care of their son, the last piece of herself she had left behind.

He felt anger rise deep in his chest as his thoughts turned towards his father. Hunting guilds were not the only thing he needed to be wary of. He had lost his father two years prior to another dragon. He had arrived too late, finding his father's bloody carcass near their home. He had lost it. Though he had been able to pick up the scent of the dragon that had attacked, he had been incapable of finding the bastard. Pantherlily tried to reason with him, but the grief had been too much. And the anger. So much anger. Anger at his father for not being strong enough, anger at this unknown dragon for slaughtering his only family, anger at himself for not being there to fight, for not being there in his father's final moments. It had ate at him, took over his mind, his every thought.

And so Gajeel had rampaged. Since he couldn't find the low life that had taken his father's life, he turned his frustration and grief to the nearest forest. He had leveled the trees bordering a small village at the foot of the mountains, and seeing the villagers happy and enjoying their families, he raged on at the unfairness of it all. He destroyed two villages before Pantherlily had finally stopped him.

"Well, that's a scary look"

Gajeel snapped back into reality. Pantherlily was looking at him with a worried expression, his fur still damp from his shower. The Iron Dragon did his best to relax his features as he lay back on the bed, arms crossed behind his head.

"What we gonna do about Levy?", Gajeel asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"You said you wanted to keep her", deadpanned Lily as he took a seat on his own bed and picked up his sword.

"Keeping her and helping her go after a dragon are two completely different things… and we still don't know who she's after."

"Come on Gajeel, a 'dark scaled dragon' is a very vague description."

Gajeel stayed silent. He wanted to help her, yes, but what if he was the one she was hunting? He sure as hell wasn't gonna just lay down and let her off him. Moreover, he had his own agenda. Finding the bastard that had killed his old man. Pantherlily started sharpening his blade, thinking out loud.

"How about we ask her? And if she is looking for you, then we decline and leave."

"Leave and go where? We haven't had a solid lead in over 6 months."

"I don't know. Crocus was a dead end. Maybe go back home~"

"We're not going back to that mountain Lily", Gajeel cut him off angrily.

"Very well. Then we can go back to Crocus to gather information on any dragon attacks and check those out?"

Gajeel started glaring at the ceiling. Now that he had been discovered and thoroughly kicked (wagoned) out of his cave, he couldn't really go back. Going to Crocus would mean walking among mages in the biggest city of Fiore, and that didn't sound pleasant at all. He heard Pantherlily let out a sight before putting his sword away.

"We don't even know if you are the one Levy's after, so let's not jump to conclusions. On the contrary, if you aren't the one she's after, then what?"

"Then we might as well accept."

Pantherlily chuckled softly before adding, "So now we'll have two dragons to hunt down."

"Nah, we can't get her mixed up in our sh*t, Lil'. That bastard killed Metalicana, we can't underestimate him." Gajeel suppressed the sudden urge to growl in anger. Perhaps he had stayed in his dragon form for too long.

"You don't know her skills, she could be a valuable ally."

"Doesn't matter, I don't want her caught up in this."

Pantherlily nodded once, indicating that he was dropping the subject. So, this was it. Either he had destroyed her home in a fit of rage two years ago and she was out for his neck, or he was going to have to play the dragon hunter for this feisty mage. He felt his lips twitch into a smile. That last option didn't sound too bad.

They had arrived at sunrise at the town's square, chomping down on some bread the Exceed had bought at the nearest bakery. They hadn't really agreed on a time, so Gajeel figured sunrise was as good a time as any. Not because he had been awake two hours prior to sunrise and had started doing push-ups to try and dispel his nervous energy. Levy arrived about an hour later, her large backpack in tow, a bright smile on her lips and a skip in her step.

*F*ck. If I really was the one to rampage her home, I'm never gonna forgive myself.*, Gajeel thought. He still hadn't forgiven himself for destroying these two villages, but if somehow it really had been her home, he just knew the guilt would be so much worse.

"Good morning Lily, Gajeel".

"Good morning Levy."

"Hn."

The Iron Dragon couldn't muster much more than monosyllables at this point, and internally thanked Pantherlily when the Exceed took over the conversation.

"I hope your trip at the police station yesterday was useful?"

Levy shrugged, "I did give them the description of the thieves, with sketches, but it might take some time before the information goes out to other towns. Since they weren't exactly the most threatening criminals, I doubt they'll be a priority or actively searched for.", she answered in a disappointed tone.

"Well, if we do ever come across them again, we'll make sure to catch them.", assured Lily.

"Speaking of work, have you discussed my offer?", Levy asked, her gaze going from Lily to Gajeel. She was practically buzzing with excitement.

*So f*cking cute.*

"We have, but Levy, hunting dragons is no small matter. Are you sure you want to~"

"Yes", she snapped, her tone was fierce and eyes burning with anger, "With or without you, I will track this beast down and kill it, even if it's the last thing I do."

"Alright, we'll help.", Gajeel spoke up. He hadn't meant to accept so fast, mentally kicking himself for the blunder as Lily eyed him wearily. The anger in her eyes, he just couldn't ignore it. He wanted to help her, and if he really was the one that had hurt her… well, he'll cross that bridge when he'd get there.

Levy was absolutely beaming at them "Thank you! I promise I'll make it worth your while!", now jumping from side to side with glee. Gajeel couldn't kill the smile that pulled at his lips… until the next sentence that came out of the bluenette was "I'll go buy us train tickets back to Magnolia!"

"Hum, Levy?", Pantherlily had spoken up, "Would you perhaps consider another option of traveling?"

"Another option? The train would be the fastest way, no?", Levy looked at the little Exceed with those clear hazel eyes.

Like hell that slow ass contraption is faster than a Dragon's wings., Gajeel thought grimly. But if he wanted her to cooperate he needed to play the honesty card, so he spoke up.

"Sorry shorty, I can't do train. I get sick. Like, real sick."

Levy seemed to ponder this. "You did look pale yesterday when we left the mines, and you weren't feeling well when we arrived at the museum! You should have told me Gajeel, we could have taken breaks!"

Gajeel looked away at her words, a slight blush spreading across his cheeks. It's true that he had been doing his utmost best to not throw up on the damn wagon yesterday. However, he wasn't going to admit that his pale look when leaving the mines was because of her questions regarding dragons.

"So what's plan B? We walk?"

He and Lily nodded while she crossed her arms in front of her, thinking to herself. From his side glance, he could tell she was hesitating. Afterall, two large men that she had met the day prior were asking her to walk a week long journey with them, with the possibility of having to camp out under the stars at night.

"... or you and Lil' can take the train and I'll just get there in my own time. I'm a fast walker", Gajeel offered, not wanting to pressure her, especially since he could just fly to Magnolia in a day's time.

Levy looked his way, she seemed… surprised? Slowly, the surprise morphed into a gentle and warm smile. "Thank you for saying that, really, but it's fine. I've been meaning to train my stamina a bit. A long trek will do me good!"

"Gihii, sure Shorty."

As they got up to leave, Gajeel grabbed his bag then walked to Levy's and slung hers across his other shoulder.

"Hey-hey! Wait, I can carry my own bag!", she said, seeming embarrassed.

"I know, but this is my insurance you're not gonna run out on us and leave us lost and stranded between here and Magnolia".

He turned away from her dumbfounded expression and started walking east-ward as she stuttered an incomprehensible "But.. That doesn't… We… I… what insurance?"

Thank you to all the lovely readers, and a big thank you to yunaff30 and Nitebreaker that have taken the time to comment, follow or review the previous chapter.