So this is our prologue to Parallels! There isn't a whole lot that crosses over so it's not necessary to read both! But Kytrin and I hope you enjoy it! We had a lot of fun writing it!

Perpendicular

Levy was going to skin her teammates. That was all there was to it. If they hadn't been screwing around trying to 'prove themselves' to her, presumably so she would fall for them or something. As much as she loved them they drove her nuts when they did that. She just didn't see them that way, and never had.

Unfortunately, despite not encouraging them in any way, the two blockheads couldn't seem to get that through their thick skulls, and had seized a chance to try and impress her by tackling a monster too strong for them.

Which... led to her current predicament.

Not only had Jet and Droy been hopelessly outmatched, but she'd gotten hit and thrown into the woods and straight into a whole nest of the creatures. A nest that had way too happy to see her.

Vulcans. Mouth breathing, perverted monkeys.

Which had, of course, led to her having to fight them off, but getting separated from the others and seriously lost in the process.

She pushed a tree branch out of the way, hoping to find a landmark or something to help her get back, only to yelp and glare balefully at the tree when the branch swung back to smack her on the back and dislodge what had to be every droplet of water it had collected in its life. All over her shirt.

"Man... what I wouldn't give for a cave or somewhere dry at least." She groaned as she kept trudging along.

She could keep herself reasonably cozy if she could at least find a place to hole up. A little wood and some fire and she would be in much better shape. Food was a problem, but hopefully she would be able to orient herself soon and get back to civilization of some kind before it became a big one.

For now she would count her blessings if she found water and shelter.

Well to be fair, she was not in short supply of water since there was snow everywhere.

She shuddered, arms wrapping around herself as she edged along a frozen river, peering over to the other side. How weird...

This side of the river, while covered in snow and isolation, at least had lush vegetation. The other side only had trees around the riverbank. The rest of the earth looked scorched and beaten down.

A shiver ran up her spine as her geographical knowledge kicked in.

The Badlands.

Just how far had she separated from Jet and Droy?

At least she was lucky not to have ended up on that side of the river. It was said a nest of vicious dragons lived there, only finding pleasure in devouring humans. Especially those who knew magic.

But still, she couldn't quite place where she was on this side... The North wasn't well mapped out.

Huddling down close to herself, Levy stumbled through the thicker drifts of snow. Thanks to her height, some of the drifts came up to her waist, freezing her toes and calves.

At this rate, magic or not, she was surely going to become a human shaped popsicle.

So it was with great relief as she stumbled on, finding herself at the opening of a cave, cut out in a thick mountain side.

She was saved!

Levy rushed into the cave, finding new strength in her legs. The temperature was dropping rapidly, and Levy was certain soon a blizzard would be rolling in.

So she ducked inside, not seeing anything at first while her eyes adjusted to the pitch black interior.

But as soon as they did, she was greeted with an odd sight.

"Fire." Levy whispered, drawing out the letters in front of her for both their warmth and light.

Casting light over only a narrow portion of the cave, Levy realized there was something fascinating about this place.

There was comfortable bedding pushed in a corner of the cave. There was a trickle of fresh water running into a collection of clay pots.

Across from which there was a pile of dried wood and what looked to be a makeshift smoke shed for meat.

"Well this is a first." A low voice rumbled behind her, and she spun around to find herself staring wide-eyed at a wild looking mountain of a man.

He flashed her a toothy smirk, seemingly amused by her reaction, "Gihi! Did I scare ya short stuff?" He leaned forward a bit, peering closely at her, "What's the matter? Cat got yer tongue?"

Levy blinked at that and gave him an irritated look, "My tongue is fine!" She huffed, "And I'm not that short!

Gajeel snorted disbelievingly and smirked at her, "Smart tongue you got in that mouth shrimp." He retorted, "Especially for someone invadin' my home."

Levy blinked in surprise, a little thrown by that, "Your home?"

Gajeel raised an eyebrow, "Ain't it obvious?"

Levy supposed he had a point. This was clearly a well tended home. The fact that it was in a cave didn't really make it any less of one, except maybe for the problems with closing the entrance. But there were probably ways of doing that too. And at least here he wouldn't have to worry about the roof collapsing during a blizzard.

She blushed a bit, "Sorry. I got separated from my friends and got lost. I was looking for shelter, and..."

Gajeel's eyes widened fractionally at that. That was why she was here? Did she not realize whose territory she was in? He studied her for a moment. No. He didn't think she did.

How very... interesting.

He'd approached her in human form just because he'd already been in this form and hadn't been assed to change into his larger one so close to dinner time. Especially with a storm coming.

He hadn't expected to stumble across a human that was clearly completely lost. It kind of brought him up short. He wasn't exactly easy to get to.

And he knew very well what would happen if he sent her back out into that mess. Something he wasn't willing to do. He might be a bastard, but he wasn't that kind of bastard at least.

So he sighed gustily, "Fine runt. You can stay til the storm clears." He nudged her towards the fire pit, "See if you can make a fire or somethin'. I'm gonna close up the entrance."

He turned and stomped towards the mouth of the cave where Levy could now see he'd rigged some kind of metal device that, when lowered, sealed the cave mouth perfectly, but still allowed fresh air in and a smoke hole to get out.

It was pretty impressive actually.

She lit a fire with her magic while he was distracted, trying to keep it to a minimum.

Mages weren't exactly common, and while there weren't witch hunts anymore, Levy wasn't too eager to show it off to a total stranger.

Much less one that lived alone in a mountain in the middle of nowhere.

She patted her hands off, using the kindling he had to stoke the fire into a hearty warmth while he worked.

Levy swallowed thickly as she watched him move, one arm dropping over the other as he yanked on a heavy chain. It dragged the gate down with a deafening screech, one that vibrated against the walls of the cave.

Until they were sealed in together.

Levy couldn't help but notice the curve of his face. Despite how wild he looked, the man was certainly attractive.

It was almost odd, with thick, long hair that hung down his back and intimidating metal studs buried into his skin.

Seriously, who was crazy enough to pierce their face like that?

But the look worked well on him. He was a fierce looking man to be certain. However he also seemed awkward and kind, so Levy found herself relaxing despite his grumpiness.

"My name is Levy," She said once he finished, catching his attention, "What's yours?"

Gajeel blinked, a little surprised she wanted to know, before belatedly remembering she didn't know who he was on sight. As far as she was concerned he was a normal human living in the wilderness.

It was kind of a novel and attractive thought.

"Gajeel." He grunted as he clumped over to the supplies and dug a few things out to make soup with. He wasn't sure how long the blizzard would last, having had to sit some out for a week or two in the past, but at least they weren't in danger of running out of supplies.

He joined her at the fire, privately impressed at how quickly she'd gotten one going, and sat down, "Name's Gajeel Redfox." He handed her some vegetables to slice, "What were you doin' out here anyway?" He asked, curious despite himself.

It was the first time in a long time he'd had company other than the few humans he traded ore or skins with in the local villages for supplies and maybe a night of drinking.

Though Levy looked about as suited to that kind of lifestyle as a hothouse flower with as delicate as she looked.

It made him wonder just how she'd managed to get out this far and then slog her way through the snow to his lair.

That wasn't exactly an easy climb even for the locals.

"I was traveling with some friends and they got into a measuring contest to see who could try and beat one of the Vulcans on the mountain," She sighed, taking the vegetables and setting to her task without comment.

"I fell and landed close to the river, but not without a number of bruises," Levy admitted to him, watching as he set up a pot of water over the fire to start boiling it.

"What about you?" She returned the question without batting an eye, "What makes a man like you live all by yourself in the mountains?"

"The quiet ain't bad," Gajeel grunted back at her, a crooked grin decorating his studded face, "But it makes life interestin' when I get a gate crasher."

Levy huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and huddling in closer to the fire, dropping the cut sprouts into the pot, "Well you didn't have to house me!"

Snorting out a laugh and an incredulous look, Gajeel just rolled his eyes, "Oh yeah? And what were ya gonna do when night fell shrimp? Trust me, ya don't wanna walk around alone around these parts at night."

"You're so small, a hawk might've picked you up and carried you off to its nest!" He snorted out a laugh.

"Would not!" Levy protested, "I'm not as helpless as you think, but I am grateful for you putting me up."

"Even if you're teasing me," She pouted.

"Gihi!" Gajeel cackled, "Teasin' a gatecrasher's half the fun." He replied with a toothy smirk and eyed her up and down, "There's a bathin' area in the back. Hot spring." He grunted, nodding towards a smaller opening further back, "There's warmer clothes there too. You're gonna turn into a popsicle without somethin' else on."

He huffed a little at her startled look and nudged her, "You gonna go or what?" He growled, "Food ain't gonna be ready for a while anyway."

Levy snapped out of her shock, hardly able to believe that he was willing to share such things with her. She'd hardly expected more than shelter and maybe a warm place to curl up. But here he was feeding her and allowing her access to a hot bath and warmer clothes!

She smiled at him as she got up. He really did have a heart of gold. Despite the impatient scowl on his face.

It was cute.

"Thank you." She replied gratefully and headed off, feeling his eyes watching her the whole time.

She supposed, distantly, that she should be concerned that he was a pervert or was going to demand certain things from her for his hospitality. But except for keeping his eyes firmly on her, which could've been anything from natural wariness to desire, he made no move to do anything except mind their dinner.

It was, honestly, a nice change.

What Levy didn't expect was for her stay to be prolonged.

-::-

The next day, when Levy had thanked Gajeel for his kindness and moved to the exit, they had both been shocked to find the metal door had been iced over.

With some adjusting and clever spying through the air holes, Gajeel had declared at least three feet of snow had piled up in front of the door, while the howling winds had only stopped for the moment.

"Looks like you're stuck here for longer than we first thought," Gajeel grunted as he dropped back down to the earth, his bare feet impacting on the ground.

Levy winced, but it seemed like he was unaffected by the impact.

In fact he just looked a little annoyed that he would also be stuck in the cave for an extended period of time.

"We've got plenty of food to last us, so we might as well make ourselves comfortable," Gajeel muttered, throwing a heavy pelt of fur around his shoulders for warmth.

His eyes dragged over Levy for a moment and he shrugged his shoulders.

He hadn't expected for her to be here that long. But what could he do? Send her into the storm? She'd die in a second.

And while it was true, he had no real love for humans, he couldn't just kill her on that alone. Gajeel wasn't like that twisted Salamander down south.

The north was bitter and friendless. There was no reason to make it a harder life than it already was by making enemies.

Levy blinked in surprise at the gruff proclamation, but smiled gratefully at him all the same, "Thank you Gajeel." She replied, aware that he didn't have to keep giving her food and shelter for the storm.

Gajeel just snorted, though it was one of amusement, "You sure you're up to sleepin' in my bed this long?" He teased.

His bed was huge. Not quite big enough for him to curl up on in dragon form anymore. Not since he'd hit his main growth. But still more than enough to sleep a dozen people comfortably.

More than enough space for her to sleep without either of them bumping into each other during the night. Which was a pity in his mind since he kind of missed curling up with others in a nest of dragons, but Levy wouldn't understand that impulse and would probably think he was a pervert trying to molest her or something.

He might not care about that particularly, but the enforced confinement would probably make that kind of misunderstanding a problem.

That wouldn't stop him from teasing her though.

Levy blushed and puffed out her cheeks at him, something he found hilariously adorable, "As long as you keep your hands to yourself." She huffed primly.

"Gihi! Trust me shrimp... you'd know if I was interested." He smirked and got up, tightening his grip on his pelt, "Life's gonna get real borin' real quick without anything to do except look at each other. I'm goin' to get some stuff out."

He stomped off without another word to slip into the back and grab a few books and a couple games. Nothing too fancy or she'd suspect something weird going on, but his hoard was big enough he had a little of everything.

He just hoped she didn't follow him into the hollowed out, hidden area where he kept his shinier treasures. That would be problematic.

He returned soon, much to his pleasure finding she hadn't moved much since he left her there. Slowly he made his way back up with a few thick books for them to read along with several games.

Although he wasn't too up to date with current human life as far as hobbies and the like went, he didn't think it would stand out too much. It wasn't like most humans would ever even notice something was amiss.

However he was not counting on Levy being an unusual human.

She took one look at the books under his arm and he watched her entire being light up in seconds.

"Oh my goodness!" She gushed, reaching out with eager fingers to grasp at the offered book.

"I haven't seen a book this old in ages! Where did you manage to get something like this?" She gasped, running a careful hand over its dusty cover.

Gajeel nearly swallowed his tongue in alarm.

Of course the one human who stumbled into his hoard would have the eye to tell apart one books edition from another. He landed himself a reader.

"Uh, I'm a collector," Gajeel grunted.

That was one way of saying it.

"All the way out here?" Levy asked in surprise, "I would've thought it would be harder to find rare books like this out here."

Suspicion began forming in her mind, but before it could truly take hold Gajeel snorted, "I don't stay out here all the time." He retorted.

He shrugged, "I mine. I hunt. Ain't flashy, but that stuff's worth good jewel in the bigger towns. I usually visit once every three months for stuff I can't get local."

Which... was entirely true.

Unlike that Salamander, he didn't really have a problem with dealing fair with the humans in his territory. He didn't want to live with them particularly, but he could handle working with them when they had things he didn't. And if living peacefully meant not robbing them then so be it.

It wasn't like he had a hard time collecting treasure from bandits or other human scum.

Levy blinked as she processed that perfectly reasonable explanation.

Gajeel was a big man. Carrying enough stuff down off the mountain to do what he said probably wasn't a big deal for him. And he was strong enough he could probably deal with most bandits without any trouble.

She smiled, her tendril of suspicion dissipating as fast as it had come, "Well, shall we read it together?" She asked hopefully, not wanting to just hog the book from him.

Part of her wanted to go find the other books in his collection, but she contained the urge. It was enough that he was willing to share a few with her as it was.

Gajeel gave her a curious look, a little surprised the little human actually knew what sharing was. He hadn't thought any of them really knew how to do it.

"Sure thing shrimp," He growled out a grinding laugh as he dropped down on the bedding. He sprawled out onto his back, arms dropping behind his head and his eyes fixating on her.

"You might as well kick us off," it wasn't hard for him to think of how staying in bed all day and reading a book became a strange and comfortable idea.

Levy piled up a mountain of furs, blankets and cushions, edging in daringly close to him.

He was surprised at first at how she was drawing in so close to him, but then realized she was trying to share the open book between them. She curled onto her side, propping it up on her turned knees.

"You ready Gajeel?" she asked, a teasing lilt to her voice, "I'll read nice and slow just for you!"

"That so?" Gajeel snorted and hulked down next to her tiny form to see the book. His shadow enveloped her small frame, blanketing her from the light of the fire.

"Then if you're such a fast reader, then why don't you read it aloud?" he fisted his fingers into a blanket and dragged it up to his chin.

Levy blushed a bit at the sudden proximity, and the awareness of just how much bigger than her Gajeel actually was. He was practically curled around her and he hadn't even touched her!

Surprisingly though, the thought didn't bother her. It was warm and cozy, and she found herself relaxing into the blanket nest they'd made.

She turned her attention to the book, "Once, long ago when the stars were young, and the spirits freely roamed the world..."

She quickly lost herself to the wonder of the story, a story she somehow hadn't heard before, as she read aloud. It was wonderfully intoxicating. A set of stories about the celestial spirits when they were young. She hadn't thought any existed outside the realm itself, but here they were. And it was clear that the author had quite a bit of exasperated affection for them.

It made her feel like she was truly there and watching their ridiculous antics face to face.

She was so absorbed, in fact, that she nearly forgot about Gajeel's presence as she passionately read each line. It wasn't until she coughed a little, her throat dry and feeling like sandpaper, that she realized just how long she'd talked.

That was when she also realized that Gajeel was no longer wrapped around her. In fact, he was crouched by the fire pit with a pot that smelled like... oh it was mulled wine!

"C'mon over here and grab a cup shrimp." Gajeel smirked in amusement, "You talked yourself hoarse."

Levy carefully marked their place in the book and eagerly slid out of the bed. She wrapped one of the blankets around herself, a sudden chill to the air telling her the sun was no longer up.

It explained why Gajeel was also ensuring the fire wouldn't go out.

The cave was still warm enough, but Levy gladly sat herself down next to Gajeel to steal as much as his body heat as he would allow without actually touching him.

"Thank you," she smiled at him, accepting the cup and taking a refreshing drink. Her throat immediately felt better and she sighed in relief.

"Oh that's great Gajeel," Levy smiled at him, "Did you make this yourself?"

"Nah, traded for it," Gajeel replied, but looked rather smug, "It's a pain to make, but whenever I do it, it comes out even better!"

Levy laughed. A soft, tinkling sound that caused Gajeel's throat to tighten with strange emotion.

"Is that so? I would love to try it some day," Levy teased.

Gajeel barked out a laugh of his own before his stomach snarled angrily at him, interrupting their conversation.

"I guess we better put the story on hold for a second and heat up some of the soup from last night, eh Levy?"

-::-

Levy slowly blinked her eyes open as light filtered in from the outside, and whined softly at the intrusion. She and Gajeel had stayed up late the night before playing game after game of cribbage and talking.

And drinking his mulled wine as her aching head attested to.

It had been a lot of fun actually. The wild mountain man had already proved he wasn't nearly as ignorant as his appearance would suggest. But last night they'd filled the air with debates on philosophy, life, and several other topics. It had been wonderful.

She'd never met a man who was able to challenge her. To make her think and formulate arguments. Most people, even in the guild, just sort of stared at her uncomprehendingly when she spoke. Admittedly, Gajeel did that too when she got into the more obscure parts of language, but when she kept it in layman's terms he was surprisingly articulate. There was something old about the way he spoke sometimes, which was something she had only seen in very aged wizards.

She shifted a bit on her pillow, trying to hide from the light for a little longer, only to get a nudge from it.

"Oy, Shrimp!" Gajeel's voice grumbled oddly close to her, "Either stop squirmin' or let go so I can get the hangover stuff."

He sounded less surly than she'd expected, but she was kind of a lightweight with alcohol anyway, so she probably shouldn't be surprised. And why was he so close to her ear?

She raised her head and yelped a bit when she realized her 'pillow' was Gajeel himself.

Levy lifted herself off his firm chest, arms getting caught in furs and blankets as she moved to get off Gajeel in a hurry. Her cheeks flushed as she stared down at his smirking face, just an inch away from her own.

"Oh my god I am so sorry!" Levy breathed out in a rush, pushing herself all the way to the edge of the bed until she toppled off it with a new shriek.

He scooted over after her, watching with only vague interest around the edge of the bed.

"You alright there shrimp?" Gajeel cackled, giving Levy a smug look. Although now that she was looking more carefully, he was squinting a bit against the harsh light of the day.

He slid out of the covers after her. Bare feet fell on the stone floor near Levy, and her eyes caught sight of the scars running along his calves, inching up his thighs.

Some were thick and shiny, others narrow and tan against his darker skin. Each one disappeared underneath the tied pants he wore, only occasionally visible through a hole that needed mending.

The scars across his right forearm were more visible, twisting around his wrist in a serpentine scrawl.

She hadn't asked him how he got them before, but she remembered seeing some of the wild cats out behind the back of the guild supporting similar scrapes and cuts. The ones that fought other toms for a patch of land behind the building in hopes of getting the best scraps.

Levy didn't say anything, distracted by his scars as she was, until he was standing over her, a slightly puzzled and mildly concerned expression on his face, "Shrimp?"

Levy jolted a little and blushed brightly as she realized she'd been caught staring, "Uh, sorry. Yes, I'm fine!" She exclaimed and tried to scramble to her feet only to get tangled up in the blanket she'd taken with her and trip.

Gajeel's arms shot out and wrapped around her before she could do more than start to lose her balance, and she felt a fresh flush work over her cheeks as she found herself pressed against his hard chest.

It was... nice.

It was really nice.

And he was warm, the cold air not having done anything to affect his warmth at all. Which probably explained how he'd become her pillow. Winter tended to leave her chattering and trying to bury herself under piles of blankets. Blizzards were even worse.

"Thanks." She murmured, looking up to give him a small smile, only to find him staring at her with an odd expression on his face. Like he couldn't quite figure something out, but was intrigued by it.

However, after a moment he shook his head and gently plucked her out of the blanket tangle before setting her steady on her feet, "Better get dressed before you catch somethin'." He grunted, "I'll get breakfast goin'."

The cold didn't bother him like it did her, and he needed a moment to gather his scattered wits anyway.

He'd...felt something. When he was holding her he'd felt something completely unexpected, but easily identifiable. He just wasn't sure how he felt about feeling it for the little slip of a woman he'd just let go.

It wasn't right to feel the way he did for a human. Gajeel wasn't likely to make the mistake of attacking humans, but he also wasn't fool enough to befriend them.

He grit his teeth and closed his eyes as he left the confused looking Levy behind.

He was born a human and raised as a dragon, following alongside Metallicana as they allied with the nest of the badlands in their fight with Igneel against the Black Wizard. So many things happened then.

He saw many human wizards at Fairy Tail, and even ran into the little dragon, Salamander at the time.

Despite how evil the fire dragon had become over the years, mercilessly destroying everything in his path, End hadn't been so bad then. He had been just a curious hatchling that loved his father and wanted to protect everyone.

But Gajeel knew what the humans, afraid of a dragon's power, were capable of doing. Twisting someone around, hurting his kin, and tormenting those who didn't do anything wrong. Gajeel protected his territory and eve traded with the humans in his lands, but he remained a respectful distance from them. Too many times had he found humans stumbling into his nest to try and steal his gold.

He was a fledgling in the Celestial War. A teenager. Old enough to fight on his own, but not yet old enough to lead. He was no stranger to the hard glares and suspicious snarls given to him by others.

Sometimes he wondered if he had perhaps attempted to help the little demon-hatchling, End, the badlands never would have been set aflame.

So he knew all about caution.

Especially around humans.

Was it really okay to feel such a thing for one?

Attraction. So small a word, but the implications were deadly. With Levy's sweet smile and fragile touch, she sent a rush of warmth into his heart that spread through his chest and settled in his gut.

"So! What's for breakfast?" Levy's cheerful voice interrupted his musings. He reflexively jerked to look up at her, and felt his heart tumble and thump traitorously again. This was not good.

He shoved the thought ruthlessly aside and flashed her a fangy grin so she wouldn't notice his pause. He'd noticed she was entirely too sharp eyed for his own good.

"Oatmeal." He rumbled, gesturing to the bubbling pot, "Add your own toppin's."

Levy smiled, and peered around him to find a surprising selection for toppings. It seemed Gajeel wasn't averse to luxuries when he could get them. Though she had to wonder how he could afford some of them.

Still, any man who could collect as many furs as she'd seen around here had to be and accomplished hunter. And she knew furs could fetch a very nice price. He'd also said something about mining, so for all she knew he had a gold mine out here.

Which... would explain a lot actually.

"Thanks!" She grinned as she grabbed a bowl and seasoned it, "Mmmmmm..."

That was almost as good as Mira's cooking when the guild was hungover. Certainly it was doing wonders for the lingering aches.

Gajeel smirked and grabbed his own bowl as he settled across from her, the heat in his gut tightening further as he watched her eat.

He was definitely in trouble.

Maybe... maybe it would help if he found out her attitudes about dragons?

There wasn't much that was a bigger mood killer for him than prejudice after all.

Deciding that was the best course of action, he stretched his legs out to get comfortable. Sighing quietly, he dragged his hand over his face.

Levy blinked at him curiously and poked a finger into his side, drawing a grunt from him.

"What's that face for?" She asked, but was unable to hide her smug look, "Don't tell me you're nursing a hangover too?"

Gajeel snorted, "You wish! I'm made out of hardier stuff than whatever lightweight material you are."

Ignoring her huffy 'hey!' he dropped his spoon into a the oatmeal and began to shovel it into his mouth.

"Still, makes me curious what a feather like you was doin' so deep in dragon territory," He went for a casual air, but his eyes peered intently on Levy.

She looked surprised, her spoon scooped around her lips. Levy swallowed and pulled it free with a wet pop that made something in Gajeel's stomach coil even tighter than before.

"I thought over the river was the badlands?" Levy asked him, her eyes curious, but seeming without fear.

Gajeel nodded, "sure. But there's another dragon that lives in these parts. The dragon of Black Steel."

Comprehension seemed to work over her face at that and she snapped her fingers.

"Oh that's right! There's another dragon around these parts!" Levy didn't look too concerned, "The villagers near the southern border say he's nice, and he keeps the Badland dragons out of their territory."

"I wonder what he's like," Levy looked thoughtful, but oblivious to the gaping expression on Gajeel's face.

That... was about the last thing Gajeel had ever expected to hear.

They said he was nice? And she was wondering what he was like? He blinked at her, trying to wrap his brain around the idea that his humans seemed to like him and Levy was actually curious about him.

He blinked at Levy in surprise, "You want to meet him?" He asked incredulously, "Why? Aren't you worried he'll eat you or somethin'?"

Levy blinked back at him, surprised by the thought, "No. Not really." She replied, "I mean... if he was a human eater he would be preying on the villages in his territory instead of protecting them." She shrugged, "So odds are he's not one of those. And if he's not one of those then it would be safe enough to meet him."

Gajeel couldn't really argue with that.

And the knowledge that she wasn't automatically fearful and repulsed by the thought of him warmed his gut further.

It had been a long time since he'd had anyone who could, or would, accept him around. Even in part. It was nice, and he wanted to know more. More about her and her interesting views.

Maybe, just maybe, she would turn out to be the exception that proves the rule. And maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing.

Though he wasn't going to tell her the truth about himself. Not yet. He wanted to get to know her first.

"Have you seen the dragon before?" Levy asked him, drawing his attention back to her. A gentle touch fell to his wrist, light fingers caressing one of the scars across his forearms.

He nearly jolted out of his skin at the soft touch.

"Is that how you got these?" Her voice was low, questioning as they looked at him.

Gajeel's eyes skipped down to where Levy's gaze was, drawing over the jagged scars decorating his arm. They littered his body like a patchwork quilt. Each scar a stitch in a memory better left forgotten.

Still, she asked, and he found himself wanting to answer.

He swallowed and cleared his throat, "Nah. Not that dragon at least." He shrugged.

Gajeel was unsure how to tell her how he got these scars. It was true, he had gotten them from a dragon. But not in his human form. If he had, he would have surely lost the arm.

"That's a story for a different time though. Black Steel ain't going to hurt either of us, so ya don't halfta worry about that," he settled on his final decision.

To just not talk about it.

And Levy, while her eyes burned with curiosity, gratefully did not seem as if she was going to pursue the question.

Gajeel allowed himself to relax under Levy's touch and gently covered Levy's hand with his own, trapping it lightly against his arm. His father would've laughed himself silly over the tender display, and anyone who knew him would've probably gone into shock given how he usually was. But he just couldn't help it.

Levy was different.

She didn't hate dragons. She might hate what they did to her people, and he couldn't fault her for that, but she didn't hate dragons as a whole because of it. He'd been able to read between the lines on that at least.

And while she didn't know what he was, and so could not decide for herself about him, the fact that she didn't indiscriminately hate was enough for him.

"You're somethin' different Levy." He rumbled.

Levy blushed at the soft, for him, compliment. She might not know everything about him, but she knew tenderness wasn't something Gajeel really did. Probably because he wasn't used to being around people.

So the fact he was making the attempt at all, however clumsy, made her smile, "Thanks Gajeel."

She tried not to think about how he was practically holding her hand now, but lost the ability to when he began gently caressing the back of it. Did he even know what he was doing?

She wasn't sure, but the wicked glint in his eyes told her he probably did. And he was enjoying it.

Levy swallowed, but did not back down. In fact she shyly gripped his hand firmer in return, leaning against his shoulder for security.

She could have sworn she heard him audibly swallow at her bold move, tensing up for a brief second before completely relaxing against her.

She grinned back at him as they fell into comfortable silence. Nursing her hangover, Levy was content to enjoy the simple quiet by the fire. It was almost soothing to just exist as they were.

Part two will appear soonish! We have it written but it needs to be edited! Until then! See ya!