Follow up to Never Enough and Just Enough (by Nicole4211)

So I'm not sure why this came to me out of the blue, but honestly, I really didn't even question it. After the months of writer's block, I was just happy to have something come to me. And I'm not sure how great it is, but it's something. And something's better than nothing, right?

Please don't think I've forgotten my other stories, because I haven't. I've just really been struggling with writer's block and my busy schedule. Just bear with me. I will be back to work on them as soon as my muse decides to cooperate. I promise.

Thanks so much for continuing to support me. It means the world to me. I love you guys!

More Than Enough

Lucy watches as Gajeel stands to his feet, his broad shoulders drooping as if under the weight of the world, and she wonders just what pains him. She wants to help. She's desperate to. She's seen that look on his face more times than she can count over the last couple months, and today, it's simply too much.

She slips from her chair, offering her team a vague excuse about forgetting something at home, and then she follows him out the door.

His long legs eat up the road before him, expanding the distance between them so fast she's not sure she can keep up. Perhaps she should call out to him. She's almost certain he wouldn't ignore her. But does she really want to have this conversation so close to the guild, where anyone could overhear?

She shakes her head immediately.

If something really is wrong with him, and from the tragic expression he has worn over the last few days, there must be, he wouldn't want anyone to know. So she holds her tongue and pushes her legs into a faster pace, but try as she might, she can't catch up. In only a handful of moments, he is cresting the hill before her and disappearing from sight.

Huffing, she pours on a burst of speed, all but running in her haste to reach him.

Where could he be going in such a hurry?

She approaches the top of the hill and comes to an abrupt halt when she sees him collapse heavily onto a park bench. His back bends, and then his head drops into his hands. Even from where she stands, a full 50 yards away, she can see the agony he's in, and it breaks her heart. He wouldn't want her to see him like this, she knows; and yet, how can she leave him? How can she walk away when he looks like his world has fallen apart?

Heart thudding painfully in her chest, she moves toward him, her steps soft and slow, until she is there beside him.

She's stunned when his head remains cradled in his palms, and she can't help but wonder if he even realizes she's there. Quietly, she eases herself down onto the seat to his left and reaches out a hand to him.

"Gajeel..."

She utters his name as her fingers come to rest on his arm, and he jolts. His head shoots up, and she barely registers the startled look on his face before he whispers her name.

"L-Lucy...what are you doing here?"

The blonde watches him, taking a moment to scan his eyes for the sadness she's been seeing for weeks. She finds it almost instantly, and it brings a twang of hurt to her chest.

"I followed you," she tells him freely, unashamed at this point to admit the truth.

He blinks fast, brow wrinkling. "Why?"

"Because something's wrong."

Her words are simple and vague, and yet she can see he understands. But he drops his head, causing his hair to fall from his shoulder and shield him from view. "It's nothing."

"It's not," she presses, sliding her hand further across his forearm. "I know it's not."

She waits for him to respond, waits for some sign that he's heard what she said, but as the seconds turn into a full minute without a single sound from him, she realizes she might be waiting for eternity.

"Gajeel, please...talk to me."

Throat tightening, she edges closer. She's not sure why this hurts so much, why the sight of him in pain affects her so desperately, but it does. And she'd sooner cut off her own arm than leave him to such a fate.

He releases a shuddering breath, then abruptly stands to his feet. "There's nothing to tell."

It's then that she realizes he intends to walk away. But that is no longer an option. She's too invested in all this, too invested in him to just let it go.

She hops up just as he begins to leave the area and rushes the three steps to his side. Quickly, before he can escape, she reaches for his hand. "Please don't leave."

He halts almost immediately, and Lucy watches a flash of pain cross his face as he looks down at their hands. "Stay," she pleads, pressing her fingers ever so gently into his calloused palm. "Please, Gajeel. I know something's bothering you. Let me help."

Once more, silence descends upon then, and Lucy begins to wonder if he'll ever speak when his head lifts and his eyes meet hers. "Why?"

Shaken, Lucy draws back a step. "W-What?"

Gajeel shakes his head. "Why would you want to help me?"

"Because..." It's all so simple to her. He's in pain, and she can't bear that. Slowly, she moves in closer. "You're hurting."

He doesn't bother denying it. There's no point in trying. Lucy can see it all there on his face.

'It doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters," she argues. "I hate seeing you like this."

For a moment, she's sure she sees something, hope maybe, and then, before she even has a chance to encourage that small spark, it's gone in a flash. His expression changes so fast, it takes her a moment to realize what he's about to do.

Wincing, Gajeel shakes her hand from his and stumbles back, turning his head all at once. "Then don't look."

Stunned by his complete rejection, Lucy reacts slower than she'd have liked, but she's determined. "Gajeel, wait!" she calls, rushing forward and putting herself right in his path. "Don't do this. Don't push me away."

With only those words, her eyes fill, and before she can conceal how important this is to her, the tears spill over. Gajeel gazes down at her as if he's never seen her before, his eyes holding something she can only describe as awe, and then his hand is reaching out, calloused fingertip brushing at the wetness coursing down her cheek.

"All this, for me?" he questions softly. His eyes fix on hers, uncertainty swimming in their red depths. "Why?"

It feels like minutes pass before she can find her tongue. She can't understand why it would so surprise him to know that his sadness hurts her. He's a Fairy, same as her. He's family. Why wouldn't she cry for him?

"W-What do you mean?"

He shakes his head, scanning her face. "Why are you doing this?"

"I told you...I want to help."

He studies her, his gaze heavy as though he's searching for something. What, she doesn't know, but apparently he doesn't find it, because in the next moment, he draws in a slow breath and drops his eyes again. "You can't."

Before she can even register that he's once again rebuffed her, he's walking away, head down and shoulders hunched. And the image of him so broken strikes her hard like a blow to her heart. It's like he's giving up, walking away from not only her but life itself, and the very thought of that sends a wave of panic shooting up her throat.

"Gajeel!" She's running in the next instant, her heart beating frantically as she rushes to stop him. But in her hurry, she fails to notice the uneven ground, and she goes down not even two steps into her journey. She hits hard, her knees trilling with pain, and all at once, she's crying.

They're part tears of pain and part tears of frustration. Her knees hurt! But even worse is the growing twang she feels there in the vicinity of her heart. Now that he's walked away from her a second time, it's become almost unbearable, and she's not even sure why.

It's ridiculous. She knows it is. But as she sits there, clutching her bloody knees, she's beginning to realize that she'll never be able to catch him now.

It pains her in a way she hadn't expected, hurts deep down in her chest, and for a moment, it's hard to breathe.

She knows she's being dramatic, and she can't explain it. She has no words to justify this frightening ache in her chest. It's unbearable, and she can't seem to shake the foreboding feeling she gets every time she looks at Gajeel.

And now, it feels hopeless. He won't listen to her, won't tell her what's wrong. She was so sure she could help, so sure he would let her. Now...now, she has no idea what to do.

"Lucy..."

His voice is soft, pained almost, and she nearly misses it in her shock at his return. She hadn't thought he'd come back. She looks up, unable to speak as he drops down beside her, his rough hands brushing hers away.

"Damn," he curses quietly, taking in the state of her knees.

His touch is gentle as he probes the area, the hardened pads of his fingers sweeping across the edges of her scrapes. When he hits a particularly tender spot, she barely even hisses, but he hears anyway and instantly jerks his hands away as if he'd been burned. She watches as something flashes in his eyes, something she hadn't expected. Guilt. But why would Gajeel feel guilty for this? She's done it to herself, being so clumsy like always.

And yet, she can't help but feel like it's more than her scraped knees.

"It's not your fault."

His head whips up at her words, and she can see he's shaken that she knew what he was thinking.

"Yes, it is," he denies quietly, "It's all my fault."

She nearly doesn't catch it, he says it so low, and even when she does, it makes no sense. "What do you mean? All of what?"

But Gajeel is already backtracking. "I...it's not-"

"Gajeel," she pleads, her hand once more going to his. "Please, tell me what's going on."

She sits quietly and waits, and for once, he doesn't try to run. He stays right there beside her and takes a shuddering breath before finally meeting her eyes.

It hits her full force, stealing away her breath and leaving her shaking like a leaf. There's so much pain in his gaze, so much despair, and she struggles to find something to say. How can she possibly find the right words to say to take away that much sadness?

She feels so adequate in the face of so much agony, but the thought of him continuing to live this way is more than she can bear.

"Oh Gajeel..." Another wave of tears springs to her eyes as she reaches up to cup his cheek. "What is it? What's put that look in your eyes?"

His head dips abruptly, and his voice comes softly, almost broken, "You..."

He shakes his head and tries again, but hearing what he's started saying, Lucy can't help but respond. Her hand begins to drop, her heart sinking. "Me? I did this to you?"

Gajeel looks up at her so fast, she almost expects to hear his neck popping. "What? No, that's not-"

"It was me?" she repeats, her lip trembling. All the time she's spent worrying about him, agonizing over the pain he was in, and all along it had been her. Her chest aches, and the tears come in earnest. "I...I'm so sorry, Gajeel. I don't know what I did, but please..." She chokes over the words. "I-I didn't mean to hurt you. Please...forgive me."

He looks at her, horrified. "Forgive you? You want me to forgive you?"

"Please," she whispers, wiping furiously at her cheeks. "Please don't hate me."

Suddenly, he grabs her, tugging her straight into his arms, and she notices almost instantly that he's shaking nearly as much as she is. At least she thinks he is, but it's all peripheral to the warmth she finds in his arms.

His voice comes, that deep rumble she's become so fond of, right next to her ear. "I could never hate you. Not in a million years."

"But I hurt you," she whimpers, eyes closing as she draws in the scent of him. It's strangely comforting to her, something she doesn't spend too much time considering. At this point, she's not sure she cares why, only that it is. Just now, she finds she needs it. Needs him.

"You didn't...I..." He stammers, then cuts off with a growl. "That's not...it."

Lucy, hearing his frustration, pulls back just enough to see his face. "I don't understand."

Breaking his hold, he sweeps a hand roughly through his dark hair and forces his eyes to meet hers. "I know. I just...I'm not sure how to say this."

His statement is so vague, she can't help but be confused. But she supposes it's not all bad because the confusion also helps to calm her tears, and she figures he's seen just about enough of that. Still, she can't stop wondering what's got him acting so nervous. "Say what?"

He eyes her like any minute she'll up and run, and she waits as long as she can stand, then adds, "Gajeel, just say it. Whatever it is...whatever I did-"

"You didn't do a damn thing wrong," he says gruffly, his stare firm.

"Then what?"

He eyes her fearfully again, and now he's getting her exasperated. "Gajeel! Just tell me!"

He draws in a deep breath, then lets it out, expelling both air and words in a heated rush. "I'minlovewithyou!"

"Huh?"

Were those even words? Try as she might, she can't figure out what he said. She picked out 'I'm' and 'you', but other than that, it was like he'd spoken another language. She frowns at him. "Gajeel, what-"

He waves a hand to cut her off. "Just...just hang on. Let me get this out." At her nod, he blows out a breath, then starts talking. "I'm sorry. I-" Lucy opens her mouth to ask what he's talking about, but he silences her with a look and continues, "I've wanted to tell you that for a while, but...I could never find the fucking guts to say it. And so I figured the best thing to do was to stay out of your way. After everything that happened, everything I did to you...I knew you wouldn't want to be around me, and I didn't want to hurt you any more. So, I kept my distance."

Lucy had to bite her lip to keep from asking. She had so many questions, and part of her wanted him to hurry up and get to the point. But another part reveled in this uninhibited side of Gajeel. She'd never seen him like this - talking, explaining his feelings - and she found that she was enjoying it. Even if he was taking the long way around this story.

"But I felt like shit for what I did, so I tried to keep an eye out for you. I thought if I could protect you, even if it was from something stupid like your idiot partner tossing a chair in your direction, it could help make up for what I did to you. I know that's stupid and doesn't even come close to making shit right between us, but I didn't know what else to do to earn your forgiveness. And I wanted it...I wanted that more than I wanted to breathe."

Her heart pulsed at his candor, and Lucy felt tears well up in her eyes again. She wanted so badly to tell him he never had to work for her forgiveness. He'd had it all along!

Gajeel closed his eyes and shook his head. "But you can't watch out for someone without watching them, without learning about them, and I learned a lot about you. A lot of really wonderful things that made me want to spend time with you, but I didn't deserve that. I didn't deserve your friendship or anything else. So I just kept a lookout for you, just in case you ever needed me."

By this time, Lucy's cheeks were drenched and her heart in pieces. How could he believe something so horrible? Of course he deserved friendship! He already had it even if he didn't realize it.

"But...I didn't count on what that would do to me. I didn't count on..." He paused there, his eyes flashing for an instant before he looked back down. "Falling in love with you."

She's so stunned by his words that the tears instantly shut off, and she sits there dumbly, staring at him.

Does he expect her to say something? Do something? She's not even sure she's breathing right now. But she needs to say something! She knows that, but even with the knowledge nudging at her, she can't think of a single word!

She watches as his face closes, his expression shuttering to shield her view of the hurt he's been carrying recently. "I knew you wouldn't want that, so I kept it to myself. Figured I'd never have to tell you. You'd never have to know."

His hurt is just what she needs to snap out of her stupor. "And you'd what?" she asks quietly, studiously watching his eyes. "Live right there alongside me, watching me date and never saying a word until you finally got over me?"

"Getting over you was never in the cards."

Lucy freezes at his matter-of-fact statement. He can't possibly mean that he intended to watch over her for the rest of her life, loving her for the rest of his and never saying a word while she moved on with someone else. What a terribly awful thing for him to do, sacrificing his own happiness all because he didn't believe he deserved the chance. What nonsense!

"That's...that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"

Gajeel drew back as if she'd slapped him.

"You say you watched me, learned all this stuff about me, but did you learn the important things? Like my character? My heart?" Lucy demands, anger coloring her cheeks. "Do you know nothing about me?"

Brow furrowing, Gajeel shakes his head. "I-"

"Did you really think I wouldn't give you a chance? That I would refuse you outright because you made a mistake in the past?"

He blanches at that. "A mistake? That's what you call it? A mistake? I beat the shit out of you! I nearly destroyed you! That's not what I'd call a fucking mistake!"

Frustrated, Lucy hisses, "You messed up, Gajeel! You got lost for a while, and you did things you wouldn't normally have done. What the hell would you call that?!"

All at once, the anger evaporates, leaving his shoulders slumping as if his strings had been cut. "Unforgivable."

That one word strikes Lucy right in the chest, and it dissolves everything but the immense need to ease his guilt. "Oh Gajeel, you're wrong," she says, raising up on her knees to throw her arms around him. "You were never unforgivable."

His arms come up slowly, as if he's afraid to hold her, but Lucy doesn't rush him. She just tightens her embrace and waits for him to realize he can do the same. And he does after a few seconds, not only wrapping his arms tight around her but tucking his head in next her to shoulder as well, and she can't help but smile. "I forgave you a long time ago, Gajeel. Nearly from the beginning of your time at Fairy Tail."

Gajeel draws in a sharp breath, and Lucy is surprised when his body start to shake. It takes her a fraction of a second to realize that he's crying. He's quiet, making no sounds as if he's pressing his lips together tight enough to seal the noise away. And it breaks her heart all over again.

"It's okay," she hums, raising a hand to stroke his head. "It's alright now. I've got you."

But her words seem to make it worse, his shoulders shuddering against her. She hates it, hates sees him hurt this way. She cares for him, more than even she realized. Hearing him talk about their past, seeing how haunted he was because of it nearly kills her. She never wanted this, never wanted him to pay for his mistake with his life.

She wants to help him, to heal him. She's desperate to do so.

Lifting her head, she gently brushes his hair back from his forehead and presses a kiss there. He stills as her lips make contact, and encouraged, she lifts his head and adds another kiss to his cheek. He watches her like a frightened deer, unsure what she might do next.

Offering him a small smile, Lucy leans in again, placing another brief kiss further down, a scant few centimeters from his mouth, and he shudders.

He shakes his head. "Lucy...you don't have to-"

She hushes him with another kiss, this time across the corner of his lips. "I want to."

So he stays still, waiting for her to approach, and she does, slowly. She touches her mouth to his, only just making contact. And as he's pulling away, she's tugging him back in with a soft, "Again."

That one word seems to wake him up, and with one final scan of her face, he leans in and presses his lips to hers. He's gentle, leaving her plenty of room to get away if she wants, but she discovers fairly quickly she doesn't want to do that. No, she wants to be right here, to have his lips on hers just like this.

They separate only long enough for him to angle his head to kiss her deeper, and it's everything a kiss should be and so much more. Sweet and sexy and everything in between. His love for her is there in every brush of his lips against her, and though her feelings for him aren't as strong, she thinks maybe one day, they could be.

And she's okay with that. She's in no rush, and considering how long he'd waited to tell her he loved her, she figures he's not either. They've only just begun, and now, they've got all the time in the world.