The First Time He Saw Her

The first time he saw her, he hated her. From the Symbol on her shoulder to her whole existence. He wanted the girl to disappear. Just like he wished for her Guild to do the same.

The first time that her hazel eyes met his eyes, he saw nothing but fear swimming in them. It made him feel powerful to see such raw fear in them.

The first time that he touched her, she got hurt. He could still feel her blood on his hands. Dripping between his harsh fingers. Sometimes he could still hear her screams for him to stop.
He never did. How he wish he had.

The first time he saw her again, after Phantom Lord had been defeated, and the Master of Fairy Tail asked him to join. There was a spark of determination in her bright eyes, they no longer held any fear in them, no fear for him.
He wasn't sure what to make of that.

The first time he protected her, he felt something stir inside of him. She was awakening something inside of him. Something that he didn't want.

The first time he made her smile, the metal that not only made up his Magic, but also his heart, began to chip away. Her smile was his undoing.
Damn it all if he didn't want to see that smile directed at him.

Gajeel Redfox, The Ruthless Iron Dragon Slayer, had never been around nor ever experienced the pure emotion of 'love'. And, Mavis knew, that he didn't want any part of that emotion. He much preferred more simpler emotions. Like, hate, rage, and the feel of power. The other emotions, happiness, joy, the feeling of being safe, or love, had never appealed to him. In fact, he loathed the emotions.

In his mind, there was no reason to have these useless emotions.
"They will only get you killed," his old Master's voice rang in his head, sending him into his violent past with a shove. "They are for the weak! Are you weak, Black Steel?"
Hell no, he wasn't, far from it in fact. Just ask anyone that had dared come across him. He didn't get his many scars and his nickname for being nice.

Gajeel couldn't really remember a time that he had been pleasant to anyone. That was a lie. He could remember. Even though he tried and tried to bury the memory, he couldn't. He was always nice whenever she was around. The Dragon Slayer couldn't help it.
He tried to be mean, he tried to be someone who others feared, and he tried to keep a low profile. Every since he had stepped into the very Guild that he had reduced to rubble, he had tried so hard to go unnoticed. Always preferring his little, dark corner where he chose to sit in the back of the loud Guild Hall.

He would sit back there for hours, alone, always alone. He even growled at the beautiful bar maid, Mirajane, who had only come to give him his bolts of iron that he enjoyed eating.
Even from the darkness, he could feel the many eyes on him, always holding hostilely in them.
But, he didn't care.
Let them stare, let them hate, let them be afraid.

It wasn't until that day that those two annoying boys from Team Shadow Gear called him outside, that things began to change for him. He let them punch and hit him. He let them call him names. He let them make him look like a fool. Not like he had anything better to do with his day. And somewhere, deep inside his metal incased heart, he knew he deserved this. Gajeel had done a great wrong to the two boys and the small, blue haired girl who had called out for Jet and Droy to stop their torment on him.

He had been surprised, to say the least, when she had spoken the soft words, "I don't mind."

She didn't mind? That he was there? The man that had hurt, humiliated, and beaten her and her teammates?Through the blood that had run down his face, into his already bloody eyes, he wanted to apologize. Gajeel Redfox, ruthless and feared Dragon Slayer, wanted to apologize to a girl who barely reached up to his elbow.
Before he could snarl out his reply to her unwanted kindness, that lightning bastard, showed up. Gajeel remembered the pain of getting zapped by the powerful Mage's lightning all to well. The memory still brought an unpleasant feeling to unfurl in his gut.

But, nothing compared to the flash of fear that he had felt when he saw that much to powerful lightning flying towards the petite girl that had stood up for him. The way his heart had stopped, the way his red eyes had widened, and the way that he had found himself racing after that deadly Magic. Desperate to beat that damned bolt before it reached the finish line, her.

When he blinked, he found himself in front of her shaking form, his arm already made out of iron, and shielding them both. The sheer force it took for him to stay on his feet when that crackling bolt hit his arm, was one of the most difficult things he had ever done. Gajeel, of course, had been wrong. Cause, as soon as the shock of what he had done settled into them all, the Shrimp that he had protected, tried to help him, even have the courage to thank him.

Gajeel did the only thing he knew how, he had pushed her away with a snarl and a snapping of teeth. He had limped away to slither back to his 'home' to bandaged, and clean his new wounds. He had done it so many times, that he could stitch flesh back together blind folded. Not like he had anyone to help him out when he got hurt anyway.

The next day, when he had come back to the Guild, change had already begun making its path for him.
And he was powerless to try to find and follow a different path. As usual, he went to his isolated corner, and sat there alone. If only for a moment.
Before a small girl with wild, blue hair sat down across from him. Red glasses perched atop her nose and her eyes already buried into the large, leather bound book she was holding in her little hands.

Gajeel's first thought, What. The. Hell?

He had no way of knowing, that this would become a regular occurrence. Until the day that the Shrimp, his nickname for her, would bring him out of the dark recesses of his corner, and into the light.
And, Gajeel, followed her into that light. For the shadows that had always been with him, were no longer as appealing without her.

The Shrimp had opened many emotions from him. Many of those emotions he thought would never even touch him. Let alone invade him.

What had she done to him?

The first time he realized he had strong feelings for her, he nearly had a damned heart attack.
The Dragon Slayer supposed he realized his feelings when he and the Shrimp were teammates when they both took part in the S-Class trials.
How was it that such a small girl, could have impacted his life so hugely? Gajeel didn't know what to do. The Shrimp had quickly become his most important person in the Guild, besides Lily of course.
And, oh, Gajeel Redfox didn't want to lose her. So, he kept his little secret from her, from everyone. Everyone, except for his cat.

Pantherlily didn't have to be told from Gajeel that he liked the Bookworm to pieces. Lily, being the observant warrior he was, had known for a long while now. One of the most biggest clues, was when Levy had given Gajeel a headband that she made for him, during the Grand Magic Games.
He hasn't stopped wearing them since, Lily thought smugly. But, like his Dragon Slayer, he kept it to himself. You're on your own, Gajeel. PantherLily left it at that.

The first time he fell in love with her was when she sacrificed her oxygen, and nearly her own life, for him. Gajeel's memories were fuzzy, due to him almost drowning, but he could remember enough. Like how soft her lips were when they pressed against his. Or how warm they were compared to his cold ones.
And he remembered the rage that rose up in him, given him more drive to fight. He had someone to protect after all.

He recalled the feelings that had entered into his cracking iron heart, the feeling of thankfulness, and something stronger.
Something that override all of his other emotions.
Crushed them into the dirt with a metal boot.
Love.
The Iron Mage had never felt such fear. All because of a small word and an even smaller girl.

So, here he sat, his warm eyes locked upon her face. Gajeel was supposed to be listen to what the Shrimp was saying, but he found that he could not. His attention had already been snagged, as his heart had, by her.
The Bookworm, even though she didn't know it, had all of Gajeel Redfox.

She could do with him as she pleased.
As long as she still had something to do with him, then she could do whatever she wished. It would be enough for Gajeel. Now, when his crimson eyes took her in, he doesn't hate her, for he could never hate the one he cares so much for.
Instead, and this would always be true, he loves her.

Gajeel Redfox, Black Steel Gajeel, The Ruthless Iron Dragon Slayer, and Mage of Fairy Tail, was in love with his Shrimp, Levy McGarden.

Yay, I love ya, Shrimp.

~The End~