AU

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail

Part 1

Levy McGarden was standing just outside of a dingy apartment building, the walls a dilapidated red over the bricks, and did her best to squash the urge to leave.

She smoothed back her great blue tangle of hair and looked back at the text message Natsu had sent her only a few days ago. The address stared back was identical to the one she was at herself and the validation sunk her heart just a little. When she compared the name given to her with the one printed on her note. Levy pushed the note back into the envelope and moved, stalling only a little to pet the sleek black cat that drifted by the front of the complex.

"Hello, you," she cooed. The cat pushed its dark head against her hand and Levy reveled in the feeling of soft black fur. When it peered up at her, she could see a scar on it's face and smiled softly. "Well aren't you just a trooper. You must have come a long way," she said. There was a collar on the cat that gleamed silver against his dark fur and she thumbed the name that had been inscribed on it: Panther Lily. After a few moments of coddling she waved goodbye and headed for the door. She'd opened it and was surprised as the cat padded through her legs and into the building.

"Are you going home?" she asked. The cat continued forward and disappeared around the corner. Alone once more, Levy stepped in and headed for the elevator. Her stomach was a mix of nerves and misplaced courage that forced her up and out into the third floor hallway. Levy spared the text message one more glance before she walked over to the door with a swirling 77 gleamed back.

Levy knocked twice, the letter pressed to her stomach as the heavy music within was turned down fractionally. When nobody came out the door after a couple minutes, Levy tried to know again. This time, it increased and she bristled. Whoever was within knew she was waiting. A bit outraged, Levy thought about knocking again when she heard a tired mewl. Startled, she looked and saw the same black feline. "Panther Lily!" she gaped. "What are you doing here? And how?!" The cat stared at her thoughtfully, then looked at the door she was in front of. They scratched at the door in short rhythmic movements. At this, the music stopped completely and Levy could hear heavy footsteps approach.

The door swung open to reveal a familiar large man. Broad shouldered and somewhat burly, the man's curling silver dragon peeked out from under the strap of his tank top . His hair was a wild, spiky mane that reminded Levy of her own tangled mass of hair. Without a long sleeve or his signature leather jacket, Levy could appreciate his toned muscles, which seemed ridiculously firm. What she wouldn't give to just reach out and-

"Lil, why don't you just use the window-" he cut away and noted her gaping at him. His eyes were piercing; intense. "What're you doing here, shrimp?"

That snapped Levy out of her ogling and she coughed awkwardly. "Oh. I didn't know you lived here." It sounded foolish once the words were out of her mouth, but she had to ask. She had seen this nameless man a few times before. The first had been an unceremonious collision in her home town. Bumping into one another only to have her apology be swallowed by his harsh "Watch where you're going shrimp." Ever since then, thoughts of him left a sour taste in her mouth. It didn't matter if she'd found him attractive. No amount of attractiveness could make-up for a shitty personality. Their second interaction had been at a book store at which both Levy and the mystery man fought over something she couldn't even remember. And here he was now, looking at her again with a curious expression; awe perhaps?

"Why're you here, then?" Levy dismissed the idea. He was looking at her with annoyance. Definitely annoyance.

"I...I came to see someone."

"Who? Cuz Natsu's not here right now. he-"

"-moved in with Lucy last month. I know. That's why I'm here."

"Here?"

"Yeah. Natsu moved in with Lucy when he realized they were ink bound." The man snorted and Levy skin felt stretched tight. It was uncomfortable. She knew there were people like this stranger out there, people that scoffed at the idea of being Inkbonded, but it burned her blood to know that there was one so close to her. "You think it's funny."

"Being 'Inkbonded'? Yeah, I think it's a fuckin' joke, which you should already know."

"Well, I think it's very real. When you turn 18, you get the name of your Inkbonded sent in a letter. I got mine two years ago and I've been looking for them ever since."

"You shouldn't waste your time. Millions of people live their whole life perfectly fine, all without finding their Inkbonded. I think people are even calling 'em soul mates now."

"Lucy and Natsu are Inkbonded. They compliment each other so well. They were meant to meet each other."

"She could do better."

"Listen," Levy poked at the broad expanse of his chest with an angry finger, "I don't care if you don't believe in it. You probably threw your letter in the fire the moment you got it, but I haven't given up. I'm looking for him and Natsu told me that he lives here so I'm going to see him."

He was quiet, and in his thoughtful silence, Levy noticed how awkward it was to talk about this with him in the threshold of his apartment where all his neighbours could hear.

"What are you going to do if your Inkbonded doesn't want to see you?" he asked brusquely.

"He will." Levy was still filled with confidence, high on the feeling of telling this mystery man just what she thought. "Your Inkbonded are people that you must meet. They're people destined to teach you something amazing, someone that will help you unlock your true potential. We'll meet each other and we'll become even better people."

"You don't even know this guy. He couldn't be the scum of the earth. He might not even have your name in his envelope."

"I believe in him. He's a good person. Unlike you." He choked back a laugh.

"Really?" He leaned down a bit. "And how much do you know about me?"

Levy's face burned. There was something about his question, something cold and curious at the same time; as if daring her to respond with confidence. She called his bluff and tried to stand tall, although that only put their faces closer together. "I know that you're a skeptic," she said, "and that you've probably just bitter because you never met your Inkbonded."

That seemed to strike a cord in the man and he bristled, his face morphing into a scowl. "I'll have you know that I have, in fact, met my Inkbonded, and she's human."

"Yeah?"

"Which means that she has flaws, including the fact that she's a goddamn idealist all the time and assumes everything will just slot into her view of the world."

"Sound a little foolish."

"Can't help but agree," he said coldly, pulling away from her and keeping his arms crossed.

"Look, if you could just bring him out, I'll be out of your hair and you won't have to deal with me."

"Sounds like a fucking blessing to me," he murmured. "Alright, shrimp, what's his name?"

"His name?"

"Yeah? The poor sucker have a name? If you're lucky, Dragneel got the location wrong and it's somebody else entirely. Maybe they don't even have your name in return. Wouldn't that be fucking something?"

"His name is Gajeel Redfox," she said and watched his face grow even paler than before. The last vestiges of his bravado left him and she couldn't, for the life of her, describe the mystery man's expression. It was like... he had been expecting that name but hadn't wanted to hear it. "He is here. I can tell. Maybe he's changed his last name or something, but he's still Gajeel. Natsu roomed with him for years; he told me that he lives here. Can you bring him out."

"Can't," he choked out sharply.

"Why not?"

He seemed to be contemplating something in that pessimistic mind of his, and when he finally made it up, he sighed and wiped a hand over his face. "Fine. I'll go ask him for you." Levy scampered in after him as he turned. Pantherlily's tail brushed against her calf as he nudged her in. The cat pushed the door shut and sauntered into the kitchen, leaving Levy alone at the front door. The closet door was left wide open, and she could see a variety of large, dark jackets hanging within. The shoes on the rack below were large as well and appeared to have thick soles. Perhaps something a construction worker might use?

She could hear the mystery man rummage around in a side room with his voice set at a low rumble as he spoke to whomever was in the room; as he spoke to someone who was no doubt Gajeel.

When the man emerged, he seemed to be contemplating something.

"What did he say?"

"He said," the man began slowly, "that he doesn't want to see you."

"Wha- He doesn't?"

"No, he..." the man rubbed at his neck, eyes fixed away from her, "said he wasn't feeling well and just generally doesn't want to see you."

"But-"

"No. You can go. Maybe you found the wrong guy. There's probably another Gajeel Redfox out there."

"But-"

"Go out. Go find them if that's still what you want to do. Maybe they have your name in one of their letters because this guy doesn't have yours."

Levy was stunned. "He doesn't?" she breathed.

"No. And it's probably for the best. He's kind of a jack ass." The man ushered her to the door. "Off you go. It's never too late. Living without your Inkbonded is not the end of the world."

"Are you trying," Levy said slowly, "to comfort me?"

The man seemed to choke on air and walked her to the door with more haste than before. "Not a chance, Shrimp," he said, simultaneously shoving and leading her back into the hallway. "Good luck."

With the door shut, Levy's thank you went unnoticed, and any other softening of her features was in vain.

Levy tried not to slam the door when she returned to Lucy's flat. The moment she opened the oak door, she'd gotten the thick smell of curry and cat hair, the latter of which was muffled by the Frebreze canister plugged into the wall.

"Lev? Is that you?" Lucy called. Levy found her in the kitchen with Natsu both trying to set the table and see how many things he could carry over without dropping them. "Levy?"

"Yeah, it's me." Levy slumped into a chair and pressed at her temples.

"What's wrong?" asked Natsu. "You look beat."

"I am," she groaned. "I found out that my Inkbonded doesn't want to see me."

"What? Gajeel doesn't?"

"No, he doesn't," she groaned, "and I tried so hard to make everything go smoothly and for what? He wouldn't even see me."

"Oh." Natsu frowned. "What did you think of him? He must have told you he didn't want to see you, right?"

"I didn't get the chance to see or talk to him," Levy griped. "His roommate passed the message for him. He's such a jerk."

"Roommate."

"The guy with the black hair and dragon tattoo? Yeah, he's a nightmare. Every time I've seen him, we get into fights and it's infuriating."

"Was he the same guy from the bookstore?" asked Lucy curiously.

"Yes! And he's roommates with Gajeel Redfox. Can you believe it?" she exclaimed.

"I thought you said he was attractive."

Levy tried to smother her blush. "That was before I got to know him."

"You've met him three times," commented Lucy. "I don't think that's enough to get to know someone, right, Natsu?"

The boy was still sitting at the table, his brows furrowed. "Wait, Gajeel has a roommate? Already?" asked Natsu.

"Yes, aren't you following? His roommate is the guy who opened the door and was super rude to me."

"What'd he look like again?"

"Dark hair, tall, dragon tattoo, spiteful attitude. You know him?"

"Know him?" laughed Natsu." laughed Natsu. "That's Gajeel."

Levy choked on the food Lucy had just doled out and her blonde friend set to rubbing her back in large, soothing circles. "What?"

"I said that was Gajeel. Big with the tattoo. That's him."

"That has to be a mistake," she gaped in horror. Many of the stranger's words came together, revealing themselves as moments in which he knew with full clarity who she was and what she had come to say.

"Nope. That's one hundred percent Gajeel! I knew he was looking for a new roommate but it was way to soon for him to have found someone.

"Oh no."

"What's wrong? You met him. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"It was but," she wrung her hands anxiously, "not like this, Natsu. The things I said to him. I said cruel things to his face and then I denied him as my Inkbonded. No wonder he was so frustrated with me." Levy buried her face in her arms. "I'm a mess. I've ruined everything."

"It can't be that bad."

"I called him bitter and a closed-minded skeptic."

"Oh."

"Maybe," cut in Lucy, "there needs to be more damage control than I thought."

"I don't make too many assumptions, do I, Lucy?" Levy asked her mournfully.

"You made a lot of assumptions about Gajeel." Lucy shot Natsu a scathing look and made to kick him under the table. "What?"

She whimpered in the cocoon of her friend's arms.

"No. Now, Levy," soothed Lucy. "Think of it this way: maybe your Inkbonded is here to teach you patience."

"I don't know, Lucy, I just don't know." She sighed. "I think I just need to sleep."

"Okay. If you need anything, let us know," Lucy offered kindly, but Levy was already shuffling off to bed.

She couldn't wait for the day to be over.