~*Hello all my fans and followers. I've been brooding a short piece for some time now, especially since not seeing my favorite duo on the screen for some time now. This is a one shot with no lemons (sorry!) but one that gave me the feels nonetheless. Enjoy! *~

I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters

Gajeel hummed quietly to himself as he stepped out of his bathroom. Steam rolled out around him into the cool air of his apartment. He tiredly grabbed an end of the towel that was draped over his shoulders and absently dabbed at the moisture on his face. A yawn escaped his lips as he twisted a pinky inside his ear to relieve an itch. He stood there a moment, debating staying up or curling up to succumb to sleep.

He had just returned on the midnight train from a completed mission. Pantherlily was already curled up and snoozing away at the foot of Gajeels enormous bed. The longer he stared at it, the better it looked. Finally with a shrug, he made up his mind to at least lie down and relax. Sleep would soon follow. He donned a loose black hoodie that matched his thick cloth pants and slipped beneath the cool sheets, sighing contentedly as the pillow top mattress seemed to suck him in, his muscles relaxing instantly.

Gajeel raised his arms to cross behind his head and he closed his eyes, lost in silent musings.

Levy cried out in her sleep. Sweat beaded on her exposed skin, dampening the bed where she lay. Her sheets were twisted taught around her legs, evidence that she'd been thrashing around for a while. Her nightmare was escalating. Within her darkened dream world she was being chased by shadows with brilliant green eyes that pierced the blackness. Shrill screeches echoed behind her as they pursued her relentlessly. Suddenly, it felt as if her body could no longer move in forward momentum. The hairs rose on the back of her neck as she grasped forward with her hands, leaning down and clutching at the ground in an attempt to continue running, but she remained in slow motion while the creatures closed in. She couldn't conjure any magic and a wave of panic slammed through her as she realized that she was helpless. She turned to look over her shoulder and the dark creatures were closing in slowly, savoring the hunt.

In her sleep, Levy quietly cried for help.

Gajeel's eyes shot open and his body stilled, his breath caught in his throat. A feeling washed over his body; a feeling he had hoped to never feel again. It pooled over him again and collected in the pit of his stomach, causing him to sit up with a jerk.

Fear...Levy's fear.

In a sudden flurry of limbs and sheets that sent Pantherlily streaking away as a startled black blur, Gajeel sprang from his bed and raced out the front door of his abode, heading straight towards Levy's apartment across town.

There was once a time when he enjoyed feeling others fears. He particularly remembered taking extreme pleasure experiencing Levy's. She was so small and pathetic and helpless. He reveled in the sensation of her fear to the point that he knew he'd never forget it. It haunted him now and he wished that he could cleanse it from his mind and soul. He did everything that he could to protect her now so that he'd never feel it again; never be reminded again of the monster that he had been to her.

His bare feet padded hard on the sidewalks and concrete as he sprinted full tilt, only slowing to stop beneath the window that he knew was her bedroom. He held his breath between panting, listening intently for any sign of why she'd be in danger. The lights were off and the window was cracked a quarter of the way open. Then he heard a faint hoarse cry for help. Not hesitating another second he shifted into shadow form and raced up the side of the apartment building, slipping easily through her cracked window and to the floor inside. He backed himself into a black corner as he regained his full form, his crimson hues glowing in the darkness with murderous intent for the poor soul who dared to hurt the bookworm.

But within her bedroom it was only her, twisted and tangled in her sheets. Her eyes were closed and her face was contorted in pain and fear as she faced whatever demons pursued her in her dreams.

Gajeel moved towards her then, not sure what to do now. He didn't want to startle her by his sudden intrusion, but he wanted her nightmares to cease; needed her fear and pain to stop as much as she did. He watched as she rolled to her side towards him, her eyes squeezed tightly closed and her hand reached towards the edge of the bed blindly.

"Levy", Gajeel's deep voice gently cut through the dark.

She didn't hear him and her panicked panting continued. Another plea for help escaped her parched lips. Gajeel reached out then and cupped his hand around hers gently and Levy stilled.

"Levy," Gajeel tried again to wake her with his voice, trying to stay distanced in case she was suddenly startled and attacked him in a daze.

But no attack came. He watched as her features slowly relaxed and he was startled to feel her fingers close around his hand, gently at first, then more firmly as if she had finally reached her salvation.

Suddenly, Levy rolled the opposite direction, pulling her arm and consequently dragging Gajeel down onto her bed. He gasped and held his breath as he was pulled down to his free hand and knees beside her. He still leaned back as far as his arm length allowed without disturbing her.

Her voice filled the silence then, her words making his eyes wide with surprise.

"Please stay with me," she had whispered as she pulled his hand close, cradling his with her own in the crook of her neck, the back of his hand brushing her cheek. He bit his tongue to refrain from a reflexive and fearful "no", and managed a hard swallow and a deep breath before he dared to move.

She had curled up on her side away from him and he found it easy to curl the length of his body around hers, tucking his knees up behind her own so that their feet tangled intimately. He laid his head on his arm above hers and buried his nose in her hair, breathing in her scent.

"I never have nightmares when you're around." She confessed in a whisper, her voice already sounding lazy with the sleep she'd been denied until now.

Gajeel grinned into her hair and tightened his arm around her, pulling her back to cradle firmly against his body. He lay there listening to her breathing slow and felt her heart pulsing faintly against the hand she held cuddled against her neck. She succumbed quickly to peaceful dreams, safe in his protective embrace.

It was true. He never did recall sensing her having fear or distress in her dreams when they slept near each other on the few missions that they had shared before.

He'd never felt more important than he did in that moment. He certainly felt like a big scary misunderstood dragon curled around his precious treasure. Levy, his little bookworm, saw more in him than he saw in himself and it gave him hope that one day; he could rise above his past and be the man, the hero that she more than deserved.

Tired from his own late night and long mission, Gajeel relaxed in the peaceful aura that they shared and closed his eyes to give in to sleep.

Sometime later, Pantherlily slid into the opened window and landed gently at the foot of the bed. He stood there a moment, his gaze sweeping over his two friends with a wide grin parting his lips. After he'd seen his fill and pondered about their future, he moved to pull Levy's comforter over the sleeping pair and curled up in his own spot in the crook behind Gajeels knees.

They couldn't recall a time when they'd all slept so soundly.