~~~~ This fanfic in dedicated to the ever talented Rhov. If you don't know her go check out her profile she is AMAZING. Anyway this is my first fanfic so be gentle ^^ I rated this M because there will be lemony goodness in the future so bear with me on that one. If you find any spelling errors let me know and I'll fix them. I am just terrible with spelling…. OK enjoy! ~~~~~

The rhythmic thud of large boots against cobblestone echoed down the back allies of Magnolia, accompanied only by the relentless snapping of rain on rooftops. Shrouded in darkness, a lone figure gracefully moved through the shadows cast by the glowing yellow street lights. 'Graceful' was rarely a word used to describe Gajeel Redfox, but when it came to this; to hunting, there was no better. It had been his job for years. His past time for longer. Silently watching, waiting for the perfect moment to strike down his prey. It had given him joy once, made him feel powerful. Until he met her. Now it just made him sick.

Gajeel stopped abruptly and sniffed the air. The damn rain was making it difficult to track. It was also stinging his eyes for some reason. He caught some in his hand and cautiously stuck out his tongue to taste, only to hastily retract it in disgust. It was salty.

"Fucking rain woman!" Gajeel mumbled harshly.

He could always tell when it was Juvia's rain. It also allowed him to gage her mood. Right now it wasn't hard to tell she was upset, hence the saltiness. When Juvia cried, the sky cried. Anyone in the guild could see she was an overly emotional person, but Gajeel knew Juvia could take harsh words. She wouldn't have been his friend otherwise. When it rained like this however, it meant she was genuinely upset. Most likely crying silently in her room. She never liked to burden people with her problems. It was the only time when the normally talkative water mage would be silent, and just let the tears fall. He thought it looked disturbing really, like she was just waiting for it to pass.

But he would have to deal with that later. Right now there was something more urgent he needed to take care of.

Closing his eyes he sniffed deeply once again, searching for that unique scent. But which direction….

There!

Gajeel took off down the alleyway then turned right so sharply down another he almost lost his footing on the slippery streets. The splash of his boots hitting the rain soaked path went unnoticed to him as blood thundered through his ears. He skidded to a halt once again as the scent got weaker and muddled by the persistent onslaught of rain. Franticly sniffing the air he tried to zero in on his target. For the longest time, nothing. Gajeel ground his teeth in frustration. He was a dragon slayer for fucks sake! What use was an advanced sense of smell if it couldn't handle a little god damn rain? He was about to start cursing out loud when the unmistakable smell of musty old paper and ink filled his nostrils. Found her.

At a pace that would have almost rivaled Laxus, Gajeel sped off in the direction of his target. By now he was drenched, his clothes clinging to him like a second skin and coal black hair sticking to his face and neck. What the hell was she doing out this late at night for fucks sake? Why didn't she at least have her stupid entourage with her? And why wouldn't this god damn rain stop?! Fucking Fullbuster was probably behind Juvia's depression. When he got back to the guild tomorrow there would be hell to pay. But for now he'd have to get over it and focus on the task at hand.

By the time Gajeel tucked behind a dumpster his lungs were burning and his legs were screaming at him to stop. As he tried to catch his breath he surveyed his surroundings carefully. He was somewhere near the outskirts of magnolia. He vaguely remembered this being close to the way to get to that medicine woman's hut. Not like he went to see her often. Grouchy old hag. A cold breeze sent a shudder up the iron dragon slayer's spine, the water and sweat drenched through his clothes only making it worse. It was then he noticed the rain had stopped and the streets were now eerily quiet. His ragged breathing might as well have been a gunshot in contrast to the silent stillness around him. Her scent was getting stronger though, which meant she was coming this way. Gajeel took deep breaths in an attempt to calm his erratic breathing. It didn't take long however and within a few seconds he was completely recuperated and ready. Straining his ears he listened for the telltale shuffle of her footsteps. She always dragged her feet when she was preoccupied with something, mainly reading. And she was always fucking reading. Nose always stuck in a book, usually so big she could barely lift it. He had been her pack mule on more than one occasion to the book store and while he was no weakling, she still got some damn heavy books.

What was she even doing out this late at night? It was well past midnight which meant the bars had closed just a couple of hours ago. Drunk freaks could pop up anywhere and give her trouble. Although he supposed she wouldn't really consider this seeing as he took care of each one before they got within ten feet of her. He didn't even need to get close to know what they were after. He could smell their arousal from a mile away, and it pissed him off to no end. The most recent one was just a few blocks away from the guild for Christ's sake. She was walking home (face buried in a book of course) and he was skulking behind her with that stupid grin on his stupid face. The man screamed sleeze. It was when he almost got close to her he noticed the cloth in his hand. Gajeel made sure to torture him slowly. Seven broken bones including a fractured femur and a broken jaw. The dumbass even tried to go to the police before they apprehended him on charges of sexual assault. The police called him a lolicon, sick freak.

He was brought out of his reverie by the soft patter of footsteps. Hm, that was different. Peeking over the dumpster Gajeel caught sight of Levy McGarden, walking quickly down the street and soaked to the bone. He posture was hunched in resistance to the cold wind and her arms crossed over her chest. This didn't concern him nearly as much as what she was focusing on. She was staring intently at the ground, seemingly lost in thought. No book, no entourage, and no smile. In fact if he looked hard enough he could see her frowning. Something was wrong.

The initial plan to follow her home in secret went out the window as he abruptly stood up and made his way over to her. He made sure his boots hit the ground loudly as to announce his presence, making sure he did his best not to scare her. He hated when he did that. She didn't fear him, not anymore at least, but when he startled her, the expression on her face was reminiscent of a time when she had been petrified by just the mention of his name. More disturbingly, of the expression she had made the night he held her up by her throat, her screams and pleas ringing in his ears as he chained her up-

Gajeel nearly gagged, squaring his shoulders as he shook his head in an attempt to rid himself of memories of past sins. Even this went unnoticed to the petite script mage as she hurried forward down the street, requiring him to jog after her. As he got closer he decided just to walk beside her in silence, taking the opportunity to look her over. Her hair was a complete mess, a wild tangle of wavy sky blue locks. She obviously hadn't been expecting the sudden rain storm seeing as she had decided to forgo her usual orange sundress for a light blue tank top and a very short denim skirt. Honestly it looked like something that celestial chick would wear. Not that he was complaining. It gave him a view of her long shapely legs and perfectly rounded little a-

"Gajeel?!" Levy squeaked loudly causing Gajeel to jump backwards and almost lose his footing.

"God damnit shrimp!" Gajeel swore gruffly. He hated being caught off guard, especially when his mind started to wander near the gutter.

Levy had uncrossed her arms in favor of covering her mouth in surprise, bearing her very see-through top and adorable lacy bra to the elements. This did not go unnoticed to the iron dragon slayer as his mouth shifted into a smirk. Levy looked down and immediately re-crossed her arms with a squeal.

"Gajeel, what are you doing here?" Levy asked, quickly trying to shift attention away from her obvious embarrassment.

"I could ask you the same thing shorty. It's late, what the hell are you doin roamin' around?" Gajeel was honestly starting to get frustrated. He had come back from his mission only to be attacked by an onslaught of rain and a certain blue haired mage who was going to get her ass into one hell of an ugly situation this late at night, forcing him to forgo his soft welcoming bed in favor of tracking down said pain in the ass to make sure she didn't get hurt. Now here she was defiantly staring him down with those adorable puffy red eyes. Wait, what? Why were her eyes puffy? He should have been able to smell the telltale saltiness of her tears from a mile-

Juvia. Juvia's god damn emotional rainstorm had muddles his senses and caused him to unwittingly walk into a very uncomfortable situation. He didn't know how to console people! Hell his social skills were on par with a rock. A socially awkward rock. And even then the rock would probably be better at comforting people.

Levy shifted uncomfortably under Gajeel's intense stare. She always felt so bare under gaze of those blood red eyes. The slayer could put on one damn good poker face, so good that sometimes not even she could read him, but his eyes were always a dead giveaway. At least to her.

Another swift breeze crept up Levy's skirt, her skin erupting into goose bumps. It was around this time she harshly regretted taking Lucy's advice and wearing the outfit she got her. It was warm enough when she left, but Juvia's turn of mood had brought down quite the downpour, much to the water mage's embarrassment. But it was understandable. She hadn't fared much better when Porlyusica relayed to her what was now the worst news of her life. But that would have to wait. At least for now.

"I was just going out on a walk to clear my head. And I can go out whenever I want! I'm a Fairy Tail mage and I can take care of myself!" Even to Levy the excuse sounded weak. She knew she wasn't strong. Well read? Most definitely. Cunning? She liked to think so. But when it came to physical strength and endurance? She sorely lacked any kind of talent in that area. She could barely carry home her own books for heaven's sake. But she wasn't about to tell him where she had been or why. Not now at least. Preferably not ever.

Gajeel could tell she was lying to him. While it bothered him she wouldn't tell the truth, he wasn't going to pry. Her secrets were her own. He sure as hell had no right to ask. So he just grudgingly accepted the explanation and walked towards her. With what he refused to call a flourish, Gajeel draped his cloak over Levy's shoulders and pulled her close to his side. He arms were freezing. And when he looked down at her face he was sure her lips and taken on a blue tint. Fucking idiot not going out in more than a god damn sheer tank top and that cursed sexy denim skirt. It looked so flimsy he could probably rip it right off. Wanted to rip it right off. With his teeth.

Gajeel stopped himself mid thought. He had no right to think about her that way. Not now, not ever. He was a lowlife. Nothing more than a broken toy. All he knew was fighting and darkness. She was the epitome of light and innocence and goodness. Even after all he had done to her… She still looked at him with such affection.

He didn't deserve it.

Levy blushed a deep beat red that spread all the way down her exposed neck and shoulders. While she was grateful for the warmth, she doubted he knew what he did to her. Her magic was the power of words but somehow when it came to him he rendered her completely speechless.

"What are you doing?" She whispered, barely aware now of the cold as he rubbed his warm hands over her shoulders.

"Yer fucking freezing shrimp. If you pass out from hypothermia I don't want to have to drag your ass to Fairy Hills. That armour chick would kill me." Gajeel supposed it wasn't that far from the truth. Erza had made it very clear the last time she caught him following Levy home that Fairy Hills was no man's land. Literally. And while Gajeel appreciated a good fight, he didn't have a death wish. He wasn't doing this because her skin was incredibly smooth and soft and perfect. No. Definitely not.

Levy just stood there dumbly as Gajeel tried to warm her up. When it seemed like he was satisfied he set a slow pace so she could keep up with his long strides. They stayed that way for some time. It was the way they were. Most of their time spent together at the guild hall was filled with content silence. Just enjoying each other's company. Now was no different as they shuffled through the empty streets of Magnolia. It was Levy who broke the silence first.

"You're back early." She honestly hadn't been expecting him until tomorrow. It was the reason she had come out tonight to see the medicine woman instead of waiting for Lucy to get back from her mission with team Natsu.

"The mission was simple. God damn boring. Defeat a monster for some rich snob with more money than he can count. He gave me a good tip though. Said I could put it towards getting some new clothes. Prick." The last word was said with more venom than he'd meant to put in and he felt Levy tense beside him. Damnit.

"He had a nice pair of iron cufflinks sitting on his fireplace mantle."

"That's odd. I've never seen iron cufflinks before. Must have been expensive."

"I ate 'em."

"Gajeel!"

"Geehee!"

She shoved her elbow into his ribs playfully as they kept walking. Again a comfortable silence settled between them. That was until Gajeel had remembered she had been crying. He was unsure whether or not to bring it up. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her. So he kept silent. The rest of their walk remained likewise.

When finally Gajeel could see the peeks of the dorm's roof he shrugged off his cloak and draped it around Levy's shoulders. She looked at him confusedly for a moment.

"Return it to me later. My place isn't far and you look like you're about to turn into a shrimpcicle."

Levy stuck out her bottom lip in defiance, but wrapped his cloak tighter around her all the same.

"Thank you for walking me home. I know you must be tired from your mission, you really didn't have to."

"Che. I was in the area. Don't really matter much. Now go get inside before Armour Chick tries to skewer me."

With that Gajeel turned around and began his walk home, leaving a slightly stunned script mage in his wake. Levy smiled and snuggled deeper into Gajeel's cloak. It smelled like him. A mix of metal and rain and a scent that was all Gajeel. She scurried to the front door of the dorms and fished for her key. However no matter how hard she searched there was nothing but an empty gum wrapper and a book store receipt. Oh no. Did she leave it at Porlyusica's? And Erza wouldn't be back for another three days! Just as she was contemplating waiting it out until someone got there a raindrop landed on her cheek with a small 'plip' and rolled down her face. Gathering up the end of the long cloak she took off in the direction of its owner.

Gajeel had just felt the first few rain drops hit his shoulders when he heard Levy running after him. Odd. He turned just in time to see her slip on a small mud puddle and careen towards him at top speed, colliding and sending them both splashing into a larger puddle. God damnit he hated rain.

"What the fuck shorty? I thought I told ya to get inside!" He said while trying to wipe the mud off his shirt. He helped her up and noticed just how adorable she looked with much smeared across her nose.

"I lost my key. Can-….can I stay over at your place tonight? I mean if it's no trouble! I don't mean to intrude and you can definitely say no it's just- mmph!" Gajeel had clamped a calloused hand down on her mouth, silencing her rant.

"You can stay. Come on, it's this way." He took her hand and led her in the direction of his apartment, ignoring the way her hand fit so perfectly in his and the blush threatening to creep onto his face.

It was gunna be a long fucking night.

Ok rate and review everybody! I want to know what you think :D