Pheromones, yanderes, and lemons. Oh my!

Chapter Nine

Gajeel's POV

Gramps really shoulda thought this plan through. His house/office has one guest bedroom and he has six people and five exceeds stayin' with him. The exceeds aren't a problem, but there really isn't enough room for all us humans. Little Wendy, of course, was given the guest bedroom, despite her protests, and all the cats are sleepin' with her. The rest of us were left with the couch, armchairs, and a surprisingly comfy window seat thing. Flaming Moron was forced to sleep on the floor because he couldn't control his stomach and ate three days worth of food.

Food. That's why Lils and I were wandering around Magnolia right now. He was originally sent to guard me, but he'll probably end up helping me carry stuff 'cause of how much shit was on this list. Food, of course, but also locks for the kitchen. And board games and crap 'cause Gramps has nothin' to do. And sleeping bags. And...well, you get the point. So why were Lily and I doing it? Lucky us, our apartment is close enough to the market that we could pick up a "few" things when I get some extra clothes. Again, bad planning. Charla and Happy had flown off to their dragon slayers' houses to grab extra stuff for them, thank Mavis. I can't even imagine trying to sneak into Fairy Hills or try to buy Lil' Blue some clothes. Yeah, that's the best way to get slammed in jail for acting like a pedophile. Mavis. Raios and Sting already had a change of clothes, 'cause they thought they'd end up travelin' somewhere with some of our guild members.

So, there we are, walking around with me carrying a backpack full of clothes and a shopping bag full of miscellaneous stuff and Lily floatin' along behind me with a couple of sleeping bags. We must have looked pretty strange. We're headed towards the market when something hits me.

A scent. The scent. My inner dragon immediately poked his head up. Mate! Mate is near! Find Mate!

Fuck. I grumble to myself. Since the scent leads where I'm already heading, I keep ambling along, ignoring the dragon's insistence to run. As we walk, my eyes pass over the next building and stop. I've spotted my mate, the person I hoped and dreaded it would be. Shrimp.

She's sitting at a table, on the patio of what looks like a tea shop, completely focused on a small book in front of her. Her blue hair is tucked behind her magic glasses and her face is adorably scrunched up in concentration. I let out a dreamy sigh the exact same time my inner dragon does. A light breeze blows toward me, bringing more off her delicious scent.

There is Mate. The beast sighed again. Go to her. Go to Mate!

I shook my head quickly. "Lily." I say, trying to ignore the creature's demands. Lily follows my gaze.

"Ok, let's just take the next road before she notices us." The nearest anything was the path down to the park, where I left her bleeding and in pain. There's some irony here somewhere. Unfortunately, the path was almost directly across the street from her and the street wasn't exactly wide. Another breeze blows past, causing me to let out a whimpering growl of longing.

"Gajeel." Lily said warningly, looking down at me.

"I can't help it! Her scent's gettin' to me!" I hiss, looking down to hide my slightly warmer cheeks. Goddamn it, I sounded like a dog! My inner idiot ignores me and continues to chant Go to Mate! Go to Mate! incessantly.

Another breeze decides to make itself known, but this one blows past me towards Shortie. I see her perk up a little and- what the hell?! -sniff the air with a confused look on her face.

"New plan." Lily promptly shoves me over the knee-high fence surrounding the park and I fall into some tall bushes. Just in time too.

"Lily, is that you?" I hear Shrimp call. There's the sound of a chair scraping and light footsteps coming closer.

"Oh, hello Levy-san." The cat answers.

"Why do you have sleeping bags?" She asked. Damn, she's literally within arms reach. I could just reach up, pull her in here with me, and- NO! What the fuck am I thinking?! My dragon helpfully continues the scene where I left off. You're not helpin' me resist, here!

You shouldn't be resisting. He scolded. That is our mate. She should be with us.

She doesn't wanna be with us!

Yes she does.

No, she doesn't!

He played my memory of my telling Gramps about dragon season and the memory of how weird she acted at the guild. Yes, she does. He insisted calmly.

That's just 'cause of the pheromones! She doesn't really want us.

He played the memory of me talking in Gramps' office again. If she didn't love us, she wouldn't have reacted to our pheromones.

I-I.....

I was interrupted by Lily flying into the bushes with me. "She's gone." He said. I nodded. "She said to tell you she was sorry for hurting you." He added. Hurting you.... I stared up at the tree, seeing a totally different scene in my head. "Gajeel?" Lily asked.

"Hng." I grunted, standing up and wading out of the bushes. "Let's get this done. If Salamander eats all the food again after we went through this much to get it, I'm pounding 'im." I grumbled, shaking leaves out of my hair. As we walked on, I couldn't help but glance behind me, the way Shrimp's scent led. I thought I caught a glimpse of blue hair, but I could've just imagined it. My inner dragon was radiating smugness. "Shut up, you ass." I muttered to myself. He just got smugger and I stomped after Lily.

I was inspired by some hilarious conversations Gajeel has with his inner dragon in the book Monster of the Mountains by @Nerdy_4_Life . It's an amazingly good read and I strongly encourage you to check it out. Best part is, it's completed, so you don't have to wait for updates from someone like me.*sigh* Draft for the next chapter is partially written, so hopefully that'll be added in a couple days!