Brain and Brawn

Chapter Two: Following

"Gajeel I'm still confused," Lily whispered to the iron dragon slayer as they kept to the shadows. "Why didn't you just offer to walk Levy home instead of sneaking around like this?"

"Tsk 'cause the Shrimp is stubborn," Gajeel hushly replied. "I would've asked, she would've said she's fine, and we would've fought about it."

"She's not the stubborn one in this relationship," Lily grumbled.

"Oy what's that supposed to mean?" Gajeel exclaimed. He yelped and ducked behind a corner when Levy paused ad turned around at the outburst. She frowned then shook her head and continued on her way. Gajeel glared at his Exceed partner. "Are you calling me stubborn?"

"That's exactly what I'm calling you," Lily crossed his arms and flew in front of Gajeel, stretching out his wings to block his view of the blue haired bookworm. "I'm not blind Gajeel you obviously have feelings and a strong protective instinct with her yet you still refuse to let her be aware of these feelings."

"How do you know I like her?" Gajeel asked, peeking around his partner to make sure Levy was still safe."

"It's a well known fact that you can be a bit of a jerk to your guild mates despite your devotion to the guild itself."

"Gee thanks buddy," Gajeel scoffed and started to push around his partner but Lily just blocked his path again.

"I wasn't finished," he continued. "You've warmed up a bit over the last few months but you've been noticeably softer towards Levy ever since I joined the guild. I'm not the only one who noticed either; Mira brought it to my attention just last week."

"The She Devil is just looking for an excuse to play match maker," Gajeel said, glad the white haired bartender wasn't around to hear him. Despite her outward appearance her alternate form scared him a little.

"Either way it's been noticed. So why then, if you have feelings for her, do you not act on them?"

"'Cause she can do much better than me," Gajeel's voice was soft and had a small amount of pain in it. "I'm shocked she even wants to be near me after what I did so for now I'll just accept that she can at least tolerate me."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked. "What did you do that was so bad Gajeel?"

Gajeel shoved past his partner to continue watching his bookworm from a distance to make sure she made it home safe. "I'll tell you sometime buddy just not tonight."

He almost forgot Lily was never fully filled in on the whole of his actions in Phantom. Sure he knew Gajeel was in a rival guild that fought with Fairy Tail and he knew Gajeel was even more of a jerk then than he ever was now but he never told him about that night. The night he came close to ending her life, the night he broke her and then displayed her for all of Magnolia to see. He didn't know her then but that shouldn't have mattered, she was still a person, a human being, and her life should have mattered to him but because of the monster he was then it didn't.

"See she got home safe and sound," Lily's voice temporarily brought him back. "Is something wrong Gajeel?"

"Just thinkin'," he replied and dove deeper into his funk as they turned to walk home, their mission now complete. Lily followed a few feet behind his partner, worry etched in his face.

"Is Jose's word so absolute? Would you kill for him if he asked it?" Gajeel thought back to when the master found him in an abandoned scrap yard and helped him out of the darkness. If Makarov had asked him that before the war Phantom had had with Fairy Tail he may have answered yes. He had so much anger built up in him from when Metalicanna left that he took it out on anyone who got close enough to him. Jose saw that and conditioned Gajeel to be hallow, to have no feeling for anything so he wouldn't ask questions for the sake of morality whenever Jose asked him to do something. Destroy a rivals guild hall? Sure. Kidnap the Heartfillia heir? No problem. Beat an innocent woman unconscious and display her crucifix style for the whole town to see? He didn't even have to ask. Jose may not have asked Gajeel to do what he did to Levy but he did create the monster who did do it. He thought he had everything he needed in Phantom. Power and fear were the heart of that guild and Gajeel reveled in it. It wasn't until seeing the heart Fairy Tail had did he realize how wrong he was. Seeing them crash through Phantom's doors after finding Levy, Titania taking that direct hit from Jupiter and still continue to defeat Aria and take on Jose for the sake of her guild and friends, Salamander fighting with everything he had even when he had no energy to do it just to save Lucy, it was all of that and more that made him realize he wanted what they had, a family.

Gajeel shouldered through his front door, threw his jacket on the couch, shed the rest of his clothes down to his boxers, and flung himself on his bed. He stared at the ceiling, unaware of his partner watching him carefully from his spot on the small bed Gajeel made for him out of, of course, iron. Lily sighed and wished his partner would tell him what was bothering him.

"And she still somehow forgave me," he muttered to himself. After all he did to her and her guild she forgave him. When he joined the guild he told himself he would protect her to atone for his sins against her. He even braced himself for the attack her fan boys planned and didn't fight back against them. He deserved every hit they had to throw at him. He kept his eyes trained on Levy the whole time they wailed on him, expecting her to get a few licks in, but even then she defended him, telling her teammates to stop, that the master wouldn't have let him in the guild if he thought he was going to hurt anyone again. But when Laxus showed up and carelessly fired at her with his lightning he felt fear for the first time since Metalicanna left. Fear that he wouldn't be fast enough to save her. The lightning shot up his arm and burned like hell but he would do it a million more times if it meant her safety. She approached him on her own after that, she even sat down and joined him for a drink. She said that she wanted to put Phantom in the past, that she knew he was clouded in darkness from Jose and that she harbors no ill will against him. She smiled at him for the first time that day too and he found himself smiling back at her, really smiling, not smirking like he usually did.

"I don't deserve her," he whispered, staring at his hands, hands that once had her blood on them. "I could live a thousand lives and never deserve someone that quick to forgive a monster like me."

Lily continued to watch his partner long after the dragon slayer fell asleep. "When will your past stop haunting you Gajeel?"

Authors Notes: End of chapter two! The next chapter will probably be a little shorter than this one. The trio finally get their job but before they leave Lucy drags Levy off in a little bit of a panic. What has her so freaked out? Hmmmm....