Pheromones, yanderes, and lemons. Oh my!

Chapter Twenty-One

Levy's POV

Gajeel flew through the air at the avian equivalent of a trot. I clung to his neck for dear life. I wasn't afraid he would drop me; quite the opposite, he was holding me very securely against his chest. It was just that I had never really flown before, except with Lily a couple times, and it was only half as high as we were now.

He began to gently spiral downward and, as we got closer, I recognized Fairy Hills. He landed with a thump in front of the door and pulled me inside by the hand. We moved quickly past some workmen, who let out cries of shock at Gajeel's appearance. When we got back up to my room, he let go and began pacing around in excitement. I sat down on the bed and he ran over, sitting on his heels so our faces were level.

He pulled my hand and covered it with his own, placing something small and hard in it. He let go and I inspected his 'special object'. It was a silver ring, plain in its design except for a small black etched line running all the way around.

"Did you make this?" I asked quietly, cradling it in my palm. He nodded, watching my face carefully. I gently stroked the ring with one finger. He looked at the ring, then back up at me, obviously wanting me to put it on. I put it on my finger, but as he had obviously originally made it for himself, it was a little too large and it slid off rather easily. "Hmm..." I pursed my lips. "I know. Can you hold this for a second?" I gave the ring back and walked over to my dresser and rifled through it. He watched me, looking confused and a little scared.

"Here we are!" I pulled out a small silver chain and walked back over. I slid the ring onto the necklace and fastened it around my neck. "There! Now I can wear it." His face cleared and he gave the brightest, happiest smile I had ever seen from him. He pulled me into a hug and cuddled me. I hugged him back and we stayed like that for a long time before finally breaking apart. I smiled up at him, stroked his face, and placed a gentle kiss on his nose. He grinned in response and I noticed something strange. His eyes, which had been blue earlier, had turned purple. I was confused. His eyes had been blue because of his dragon magic and were supposed to be more reflective when his instincts were strong, but there wasn't anything purple in my room. They should still be blue, at the very least, because of my hair.

He tilted his head sideways in confusion. "Your eyes are changing color again." I explained. He didn't seem bothered and just shrugged. "Come here." I tugged him over to my desk and made him sit while I pulled out my communication lacrima. This didn't seem to bother him either and he pulled me into his lap before wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder. I tried Mira's lacrima first, as she had the notebook last, but there was no answer. I got the same response with Erza. Starting to feel a little worried, I called Master and managed to get through, much to my relief.

"Levy? What's wrong? Are you in trouble?" He asked.

"No, I'm fine. Actually, it's Gajeel." Gajeel let a purr at the mention of his name and nuzzled my neck.

"He seems fine to me." Master commented dryly.

"No, that's not-!" I sighed. "Gajeel, can you look at Master for a second?" Dutifully, the iron dragon slayer looked up, giving a slow blink.

"Hmm. That is interesting."

"I tried contacting both Mira and Erza, but neither-" I was interrupted by the Requip Mage walking into the room behind Master. She was carrying the notebook and walked over when she spotted us.

"What seems to be the problem?"

"Gajeel's eyes have turned purple." I explained.

She studied the two of us for a long moment. "That necklace...is it from him?"

"H-huh? Yes, it's his. What does that have to do with-?"

"Have you given him a 'special object'?" She interrupted.

"Yes, my headband. But what-?!"

"Then there's nothing to worry about." She spoke over me again. "Now that you've completed the Marking ritual, Gajeel has been satisfied and is slowly going back to normal. His eyes are transitioning from blue to his usual red."

"Oh." I felt foolish for not figuring it out, but I was also a little hurt by Erza's attitude.

"His wings, scales, tail, and horns will most likely begin to recede as well." She paused for a moment. "Are there any other questions?" Mute, I shook my head 'no' and she placed the notebook by Master's elbow before quickly leaving the room. Gajeel growled after her and squeezed my waist briefly.

"It's alright, Levy. You did nothing wrong." Master said into the silence, noticing the hurt and confusion on my face. "She's just stressed, tired, and in pain." Master answered my question as to why before I could speak. "Laxus, and especially Natsu, are getting very restless from not being allowed to go search for their mates. The twin dragon slayers are starting to show symptoms too, but so far it's been limited to longings to return to Sabertooth and the occasional eye glint."

"I was actually going to contact you about something." Master folded his hands under his chin and stared me down. Gajeel glared back, tightening his grip on my waist. "Now that Gajeel isn't a threat, we're going to remove Guildarts and Gray from guarding you and have them help us."

"What about Cana?"

"She's still resting. However, Evergreen and Bickslow have recovered, so they'll take over her guild-guarding duties."

"Oh, okay..."

"Please don't feel like we're abandoning you, Levy." Master said, giving me a concerned look. "We simply need to move our forces to face the greater threat."

"It's alright, Master. I understand." I said quietly.

"Very well then. I'll be heading out now." The image fuzzed and winked out. Gajeel rubbed my arm comfortingly.

"It's alright, Gajeel. Now I get to spend more time with you." I smiled up at him and he purred. And that was how my day went. Gajeel and I stayed in my room, reading, cuddling, or just basically enjoying each other's company. As the afternoon wore on, I did notice the changes Erza had mentioned. His scales disappeared first, followed by his tail, wings, and horns. It was around sunset and I had left opened the door to use the restroom when I bumped straight into Jet in the hallway.

"Levy!" He hissed. "There you are! Are you okay?!"

"Of course. But...what are you doing here?"

"Shh! Not so loud! I had to sneak past Mira to get in here."

"Look, Jet-" I was interrupted by Gajeel pulling open the door behind me.

"Shrimp?" He looked extremely confused. "How the hell did I get here?"

To be continued...

Muwahahaha! More cliffhangers! Will Gajeel remember the promise his dragon made now that he's regained control? Or will poor Levy get her heart broken? I made Gajeel's 'special object' a ring for @i-will-find because she (I assume she's a she) was freaking out in the previous chapter's comments about Gajevy being engaged. You're welcome.