OH MY GOD!! I'm so sorry it's been so long since I've updated this, Fairies! I kind of lost my spark for it there for a while, but it's back now! So, hopefully I'll be updating it more now! (:
Also, sorry the chapter is so short, but I wanted to update something for you awesome readers! So, here you go! ^_^
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~Levy~
"Alright," Erza said as everyone gathered back into the conference room that evening, "we need to make a decision tonight on what to do."
"Our priority should be to protect Magnolia," Gajeel said.
I glanced over at him, knowing that the angry tone in his voice and the scowl on his face were all my doing. He had been angry with me all day, barely speaking a word to me unless he absolutely had to. Ever since our argument after the meeting that morning, he had been fuming. I'm sure most of it has to do with what happened between us last night, I thought, sighing.
"Of course," Erza nodded, agreeing with him, "but how will we do that?"
"We need to convince Zeref that Levy is somewhere else," Laxus said. "Maybe spread rumors within those circles he'll most likely come into contact with that she heard he was after her and went into hiding. This will lead his searches elsewhere and give us time to come up with a plan of attack."
"But Zeref isn't a fool," Mira said. "If he hears she's gone into hiding, I'm sure he'll still check Magnolia for her, making sure she actually left. If she's still here, people from Magnolia will see her around, and that will get back to Zeref. Then he'll know the rumors were false."
"No," I said, causing everyone's eyes to fall on me, "the rumors could work. But, only if I actually leave Magnolia. I could go into hiding somewhere, and just misdirect the rumors."
"But we already discussed why it's a bad idea for you to go into hiding," Lucy frowned. "You'll get sick—or worse—if we keep you isolated and holed up in a safe house somewhere. And it will be too dangerous for you to go out to seek sustenance, or to have anyone come to you."
"I have a few loyal contacts here in Magnolia," I said, "I'm sure one of them would be willing to come with me until we get this sorted out."
"No," Laxus said, immediately, "we can't get any humans involved with this. Then we'd have to tell them what you are, and I can't allow that."
"And what other options do we have?" I snapped. "I have to leave Magnolia." I looked around the room at everyone, my face stern. "It's too dangerous for the citizens, all of you, and myself if I stay here. The safest thing would be for me to go into hiding. In order to do that, I need someone with me who is willing to—"
"I'll go with her," Gajeel said, shocking everyone.
"What?" I asked, incredulous. "Gajeel, I need someone with me who can fulfill my needs."
"I was sent here to protect you," he said, meeting my eyes, "and I intend to do that. If you're getting shipped off somewhere, then I'm coming."
"Absolutely not," I frowned. "No."
"Levy," Mirajane said, quietly, "this is actually the perfect solution if he's willing to do it. I think you should consider it."
"No."
"Listen, Shrimp," Gajeel snapped, stepping towards me, "we don't really have a lot of options here. Trust me, I'm not too keen on this plan either. But if it means the humans living in Magnolia will be kept safe, then I'm willing to do it."
"It isn't up to you," I said.
"I agree with Mirajane," Erza said, "I think you should consider his proposal. It's the best thing we've got so far."
"Laxus," I pleaded, looking at the blond for support, "Gajeel is your subordinate, right? Tell him what a terrible idea this is."
Laxus exchanged a long look with Gajeel before sighing heavily. "We were sent here to protect the leaders of Fairy Tail. If you go into hiding, Gajeel is duty-bound to go with you. Ordinary humans can't get involved with this at any cost, so this is our best option."
"It's settled then," Erza said. "Gajeel will accompany you to a safe house tomorrow morning."
Furious, I stormed out of the conference room, marching up the stairs and straight to my bedroom. I made sure to put the red tag on my doorknob before slamming the door closed. "I can't allow this!" I snapped, stomping around my room. "Gajeel acts like he hates me half the time, and after last night he's barely spoken a word to me, so why would he volunteer to go into hiding with me? He must know what it will mean—"
"I'm well aware of what going with you will mean."
"Gajeel," I turned with a start. The shock was quickly replaced with rage, and I punched him square in the jaw before he could say another word.
"What the hell was that for?!" He asked, clutching his face and staring down at me in shocked anger.
"This isn't up to you! I can find someone else to go into hiding with me! I don't need your help!" I shouted, throwing another punch at him, though this time he dodged it.
"I'm your protector," he snapped, grabbing my wrists as I lashed out again. "It's my job to keep you safe. If that means doing something like this, then so be it. Deep down you know this is our best option—and the safest. We can't allow any humans to get involved in this. Not only is it against the law to tell a human what you are, it would put that human in immense danger.
"Besides, what's so wrong with me going with you, anyways? I'm familiar, right? And I have training so I can help you fight if it comes down to that. So what's the problem?"
"You're the problem!" I shot, pulling away and pacing around my bedroom. "Up until now you have been so determined not to like me, so I figured you'd celebrate the chance to finally get away from me. And after what happened last night, it was pretty clear you were furious. And I don't need your protection. If we can take care of this Zeref situation quickly, I might not even need someone with me, anyways. I've gone a week without sustenance, so if we can—"
"You and I both know this isn't going to be resolved in a week," he frowned. "It's going to take weeks, maybe months, before we can make a move against Zeref. You'll die in that amount of time if you don't have someone with you."
"So why does it have to be you?" I asked, losing steam. My anger was slowly ebbing away, replaced with a strange sadness that I couldn't quite explain.
"Because I'm the best option," he repeated with a sigh. "I might not like you, but I can't let Zeref have you, either. So I'm going to do my job and keep you safe."
"Gajeel..."
"Now, let's go back to the conference room," he said, grabbing my hand and leading me towards the stairs. "Everyone is waiting for us to get back with your answer. They all want to keep you safe, Shrimp, and so do I. Let me do my job this time, alright?"
"Alright," I answered, quietly. That sadness swirled in my gut, causing me to sigh. While some selfish part of me was giddy with excitement at the thought of having Gajeel all to myself, the other part was torn with guilt that he was doing what he thought his duty was—even if he didn't want to.
~Gajeel~
"You two will leave before dawn," Erza announced, bringing the meeting to an end. "You'll want to reach the forest before the sun comes up; that will offer the most cover and ensure no one spots you leaving."
"We can be ready in an hour," Levy said. She had been unusually quiet throughout the rest of the meeting, so I was a bit surprised she had replied.
"If that's all," Mirajane said, "we'll end the meeting here. The rest of us will come up with an excuse while you two pack your things and prepare for the travel. It will take around two days to get there by foot, but the cabin is surrounded by all kinds of barriers so it'll be the safest place for you."
After everyone had been dismissed, Lucy pulled Levy into a tight hug. "I'm sorry things turned out like this," she told her. "We'll throw a big party when all of this is over and you return, alright?"
"Yeah," Levy nodded, offering the elf a smile I could tell was fake.
Before releasing her, Lucy whispered something in her ear that caused a deep blush to cover her neck and face. I frowned inquiringly at her when she turned to face me, but she merely shook her head and kept walking.
"Care to explain?" I prompted.
"No."
I sighed loudly, shoving my hands into my pockets. "You're going to have to talk to me, you that, right? We're going to be crammed in a little hidden cabin in the woods for God-knows-how-long, so we're going to be the only company each other will have until the end of this."
"You aren't coming along to keep me company," she said, quietly.
"Maybe not, but at least being friendly towards each other would make this situation a little less uncomfortable."
She stopped walking and turned on me, her sharp gaze meeting mine. "Uncomfortable?" She snapped. "No, Gajeel. This situation isn't uncomfortable. I am going into hiding because my life is in danger, and by being in Magnolia I'm putting everyone else's lives in danger too. And now I'm forced to go into said hiding with a man I hoped I'd never see again, and who hates everything about me, but is going along with all of this idiocy because he feels duty-bound to protect me. But, in reality, if Zeref does show up, it isn't going to matter. You'll be killed for simply being there, and I'll be taken and used however he sees fit. So no, Gajeel. This situation isn't just uncomfortable. It is life or death, and I'm stuck in the middle of it." She turned and marched away, leaving me staring after her like some stupefied idiot.
I wanted to go after her, but I knew I should give her some space. Volunteering to go with her into isolation surprised me just as much as it did her, in all honesty. Everything she said had been true—I hated everything about her. So then, why had I so readily agreed to go with her?
I grumbled to myself as I returned to my room to pack. The other eradicators were already there waiting for me when I arrived, and I had to repress an annoyed sigh.
"Are you sure you're up for this?" Laxus asked as I began packing my things, trying to ignore the fact that they were all staring at me.
"No, not really," I admitted. "I'm not even sure why the hell I volunteered in the first damned place."
"Because you're good at your job," Laxus said.
"Sure," I scoffed, sarcastically.
"Take one of the secured phones with you," he went on, ignoring my sarcasm. "Make contact at least every three days. I'll keep you updated on the situation here, and you'll keep me updated on the situation there, alright? If things go South and it seems Zeref is going to show up, you're to get yourself and Levy the hell out of there immediately."
"I know that," I frowned.
"While you're gone, we'll investigate the Academy a little more, see if we can find out who ordered this mission. We'll also make up something to tell Makarov in the meantime," Jellal told me.
"Remember," Laxus said, meeting my eyes, "Zeref cannot have Levy—under any circumstances. I don't care what you have to do to prevent that from happening, but make sure it doesn't. We're at an advantage for now because of how long he's been asleep, but if he gets Levy we'll have no chance."
I nodded, understanding what he meant. I can't let Zeref have Levy, even if it means killing her before he can get his hands on her. The thought made me feel slightly sick, but I shook myself. I was an eradicator first and foremost, and I would put those duties above anything else. If Levy was captured by Zeref, she would become a threat to everyone. So, it would be my job to eliminate that threat. If that meant killing her before he could get to her, then so be it.
Now I just had to convince myself that was the right thing to do.
~Levy~
I wanted to slam my door when I reached my room, but I stopped myself. Doing that wouldn't help anything, and it wouldn't make me feel any less shitty.
"Levy?" Lucy asked, knocking gently on my door. "Can I come in?"
"Sure. What is it?" I asked.
"I didn't get to everything I wanted to at the end of the meeting," she explained, "since everyone was there."
"What else did you want to say?"
Without speaking, she pulled me into another tight hug. We were silent for a while as she hugged, and I cursed myself when tears filled my eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Levy," Lucy told me, gently. "I know how much you hate causing anyone pain, so I can't imagine how you must be feeling right now."
"Zeref won't come here if I'm gone, so it's better this way," I mumbled against her chest.
"That's not what I'm talking about, Levy," she said.
Those annoying tears filled my eyes again. "He volunteered, so I had nothing to do with it."
She pulled away and stared at me with her large brown eyes. "Levy," she said, "you know as well as I do that you're lying."
I sighed, giving up. "He's doing what he thinks is right," I told her. "Even though he hates me for what happened all those years ago, he's still doing this so that the citizens of Magnolia aren't in danger."
"And so that you can go into hiding without starving," she reminded me.
I shook my head, offering her a sad smile that threatened to allow my tears to escape. "He isn't doing this for me, Lu-chan."
"You really do love him, don't you?" She asked.
"Yeah," I nodded. "Despite everything, I do. That's what makes this so painful. I know he doesn't want to do this, but he is because he feels like he has to. I don't want that. It's only going to make him hate me more than he already does, and I can't stand the thought of that."
That was it. After fighting them for several minutes, I lost the battle and the tears rolled down my cheeks. It had been a long time since I had cried real tears, and they stung my eyes and cheeks. I hated myself for getting so upset, but I couldn't stop them. My heart was torn, and I didn't know what to feel.
I wanted to be happy that I'd get to spend this time with Gajeel, but I couldn't help but feel guilty.