Gajeel x Levy - Nightmare pt.4

It must have been about one in the morning when Levy was suddenly jerked from her deep sleep as the bed bucked and trembled beneath her. She shot up in bed, immediately alert, thinking that the shaking was caused by an earthquake. What she saw after her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room shocked and scared her more than any earthquake could have.

Gajeel still lay next to her in bed, but his face was twisted in agony and his forehead gleamed with sweat. His body twitched and jerked beside her, his fists tightly clenching and unclenching as he growled in his sleep.

Levy sat there frozen for a moment, unsure of what to do and frighten out of her wits. Gajeel, the strongest and bravest man she had ever met, was...having a nightmare. She couldn't stand seeing him this way. Her heart twisted and felt as if it were about to break every time he growled or flashed about.

Not knowing what else to do, she began to slowly reach out her hand to touch his shoulder to try and wake him. Her fingers were centimeters from his skin when his eyes suddenly snapped open and he bolted upright, his hand shooting out and taking a painful hold on her wrist.

She gasped and fell back as far as the iron grip on her arm would allow her. He just sat there for a moment staring at her, a look of panic on his face, still encompassed by his dream world. When he finally began to emerge from his dream, the first thing he saw was the small, angel-like face of Levy, her face distorted in fear and tears prickling at the corners of her eyes.

It was then that he noticed the crushing grip that he held on her wrist and he quickly dropped it and turned away, swinging his legs off the bed and planting his feet firmly on the floor. He buried his head in his hands and began taking deep breaths, stoically listening to how the small women behind him would react.

At first he heard nothing but her deep, gulping breaths as she tried to calm herself. As her breathing slowed, he heard her shifting slightly on the bed as if she was unsure what to do next. The he felt the bed give way slightly beneath him as she moved closer.
"Gajeel?" she said quietly. "Are you alright?"

The kindness and worry in her voice only made him more angry and ashamed and he buried his fingers deeper in his hair.

Levy saw his whole body tense up, and she moved closer, reaching a hand out towards his bare back. "Gajeel?" she said again.

He felt the warmth of her hand slowly approaching his back and he stood swiftly, causing her to jerk back in surprise.

"Fine," he growled through clenched teeth. "I'm gonna crash on the couch."

"Wait," Levy exclaimed, kneeling on all fours on the bed and reaching out to him. "Why are you leaving?"

He said nothing, just stopped in the doorway, his fists clenched and his body still slightly trembling from the affects of the dream. He heard the springs of the bed creak and the pitter-patter of her bare feet on the floor as she came to stand behind him.
"Gajeel," she said again, trying to lean far enough around him to see his face. "If you're leaving because of how I reacted, please don't. You didn't hurt me. You only startled me a bit."

He growled and whipped around to face her. "But that's just it Levy!"  He practically shouted at her. "I may not have hurt you tonight, but I have hurt you. And if you keep hangin' around me I'm only goin' to end up hurtin' you again." he looked towards the floor, his eyes falling into shadow underneath his pronounced brow and waterfall of dark hair.

Levy just stood there for a moment. Then she reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist, her head leaning against his bare chest. "But you see," she said, turning her face up to smile at him. "That's just it Gajeel. I know you wouldn't hurt me. I'm not afraid."
He simply stared at her for a moment, not sure how to react. This woman. This beautiful, intelligent, funny, amazing angel of a woman who he had hurt so badly in the past wasn't scared of him. In fact, she had not only forgiven him, she trusted him whole-heartedly despite what he had done to her.

He couldn't help it, though he would normally never show weakness to anyone, this tiny beauty of a girl had the ability to pull emotions from him that he wasn't sure he was even capable of expressing. He didn't care, tears welled up in his eyes and he grabbed up the small, blue-haired mage and held her tightly to his chest, burying his face in her neck.

"I'm sorry Levy," he choked out, squeezing her tightly. "I am so, so sorry."

Levy smiled into the iron dragon slayer's well-muscled chest. She lifted a hand and began stroking his raven hair."Shh," she said softly, running her fingers through the soft strands. "It's okay Gajeel. It's all going to be okay." As she comforted the man she loved, tears began welling up in her own eyes as she realized that she had finally gotten through to him, her iron dragon slayer.