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ft-platonicweek · 5 months ago

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Written for @ft-platonicweek Day 5: prompt "Nobody hurts my friends!"/"Injury"!

Based on this art @pencilofawesomeness did for the same prompt!! I saw it and got really inspired by it, so I decided to do a little fic for it!! ~.~.~.~.~.~.~

tw: kidnapping, mentioned/referenced torture, very mild descriptions of blood. Summary:

It happened during their return from a standard mission. A simple, careless mistake on their part. Natsu was the one to pay for it.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~ Erza let out a sigh, a small smile appearing on her face. Natsu was having trouble with his motion sickness again and everyone laughed it off while helping him in any way they could. It was their routine at this point, making the travels as comfortable to Natsu as they could.

After full two hours of suffering in a train, Natsu finally managed to fall asleep and get a little rest from his illness. Lucy soon followed him, still a little tired from the use of many of her spirits in quick succession she had to do for their mission. Grey was sitting closest to the window and looking out, deep in his own thoughts.

Erza stretched out and lifted her hands behind her head. She was a little tired from all the fighting they did too. She yawned and closed her eyes. A quick nap seemed like good idea and she already could feel the pull of sleep tugging at her. Suddenly, without any warning, the train window shattered and three people in dark clocks invaded their cart with weapons in their hands. “This is for our leader!” screeched one of them, swinging his sword straight at Lucy, who woke up in the commotion but whos eyes were still muddled with sleep and confusion. Erza moved quickly, already moving while summoning her sword. She could see Gray already making something with his magic, focusing on a different enemy and moving In a way that would protect her back. She repelled the sword that almost took Lucy’s head off and positioned herself in between her and the attacker. She charged at him, ready to take him down, when the doors of the cart behind them got thrown off its hinges and more enemies walked in. People around them started screaming and panicking, trying to get as far away from the fight as they could. Erza cursed under her breath. Normally, she would have no problem with defeating mooks this weak but she could not risk hurting the innocent people around them by going all out. Even worse, they were in a closed, small space so she couldn’t use her larger armors or swords. She could hear Lucy summoning Loki behind her and taking out her whip, getting ready to battle.

Even worse, they were in a closed, small space so she couldn’t use her larger armors or swords. She could hear Lucy summoning Loki behind her and taking out her whip, getting ready to battle. Even worse, they were in a closed, small space so she couldn’t use her larger armors or swords. She could hear Lucy summoning Loki behind her and taking out her whip, getting ready to battle, already smacking somebody in the face with it. Erza could see that the tight space they were fighting in also impacted their enemies capabilities. It wasn’t long before ten of their members fallen to her friend’s attacks. Fairy Tail members were winning and everyone could see it.

“Dammit!” cursed who Erza assumed was a leader of the attacking group “Retreat! We got what we came for!!” he shouted and suddenly all the attacks stopped and the enemies took out some weird, purple lacrymas and were gone the next second, in a blink of an eye.

“What was all that about?” asked Gray, looking weirded out and confused at the unexpected retreat.

“Natsu is gone!” suddenly screamed Lucy, waving her hands around frantically at the armchair Natsu was previously sleeping on “They took him!!”

Erza could feel the chill making its way down her back, the helpless feeling of dread mixed with panic making her heart stop for a second. They took Natsu? Was it something they planned from the beginning and the rest was just distraction? She shook her head, her hands clenching into fists. It didn’t matter. She had to focus. Natsu was in danger. She couldn’t allow herself to panic.

“Lucy, Gray, focus!” she barked out, snapping them out of their momentary panic “Did you notice any symbols on their clothes? Or maybe a guild mark?” Both of them shook their heads, Lucy looking at the verge of tears.

“I saw something.” Said Loki suddenly, making them all flinch with how cold the tone of his voice was. He emerged out from behind Lucy, his teeth bared and his pupils almost gone with how narrowed they were “I think one of them had the Narrow Void guild mark on his neck.”

“Fuck.” Cursed Gray. They were all familiar with Narrow Void guild. Not even two months ago they were the ones who captured their leader during one of their missions. He was a horrible man, kidnapping and experimenting on helpless children. When they uncovered the depths of that man’s depravity, Natsu almost beat him to death. Luckily, after a month of observation in the hospital, most of the children were let out with clean bill of health. But some, the ones that were in captivity the longest, still had a long recovery road ahead of them.

And now the guild of that awful man got their hands on Natsu. The thought alone dame Erza’s blood boil. If they even charm one hair on Natsu’s head… She looked up at the faces of others and could see the wrath in their eyes.

There would be hell to pay.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

It took them two long, horrible hours to locate the place they thought Narrow Void was keeping Natsu at. It took them another hour to get there. By that time all of them were on the edge of snapping from the worry and ready to annihilate a dark guild until nothing was left of it.

Erza didn’t think she ever saw Lucy looking this murderous, her face distorted in rage and worry. Loki haven’t left her side, his more inhuman features more visible than ever before. Grey had a blank look on his face and the only thing betraying his fury was the shroud of ice surrounding him. She didn’t think she was any better, her own eyes glinting with intent to harm and maim.

They didn’t waste any words when they got there. They immediately started attacking. Erza didn’t care about the terrified shouts of dark guild members as she send her swords to swat them away from her way. She didn’t care how they screamed for backup and attacked in groups. She reequipped into her strongest armor and charged ahead, uncaring of the damage she left in her wake. But soon, the dark guild members were surrounding them and Erza didn’t have time for that.

Natsu was already in their disgusting hands for too long. She wanted to get to him as soon as possible. It seemed that Gray and Lucy felt the same way, because soon, they started to make the way for her to break through the enemy line.

“Go ahead Erza!” shouted Gray while bashing a guy on the head with an ice hammer “We got this! Go find Natsu!”

Erza took a second to look at him and the way his ice attacks were more pointed and aimed to impale and main than usual. Then she looked at Lucy nodding at her and swinging her whip around with a feral look on her face. She glanced at Loki’s not quite human expression full of rage, his hands more of a clawed light blur than ever before.

She nodded, making her decision and rushing ahead to where they thought Natsu was being kept. She swatted away few more enemies who blocked her way, but soon enough she was on her way to the center of their base, where she could already feel Natsu’s magical energy. She ran as fast as he could, until she got to her destination. She kicked the door to the room with enough force to throw it at the wall behind it and entered the room with a shout.

“Natsu! Are you here?”

Her eyes roamed across the chamber, trying to locate her friend. Not even after a second, she could feel her blood freezing in her veins. Sitting in the corner of the room, with both his hands and legs restrained in magic suppression chains, was Natsu. He was covered in bruises and cuts, each one slowly oozing blood. His head was slumped down, his chin resting on his chest, his usually pink hair covered with deep crimson.

He wasn’t moving. “Natsu!” Erza shouted once again, this time alarmed. She ran across the room as fast as she could, holding her breath and fearing the worst. (There was so much blood around him.) But it seemed that her voice reached Natsu, who flinched a little and then raised his head with great difficulty. “Hi Erza.” said Natsu weakly, a small smile appearing on his face “You are late.” “Oh Natsu.” Erza whispered, her heart breaking and her eyes filling with unshead tears “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here sooner.” “Not your fault.” Natsu huffed and gave her a side eye “No blaming yourself.” he muttered, which seemed to take the last of his strength away as he slumped back down against the wall. It was a push Erza needed to get it together. She quickly checked if he was still breathing and let out relieved sight what she saw his chest moving and that he just lost his consciousness again. She summoned one of her swords and shattered the cuffs around Natsu’s hands and ankles as gently as she could.

(She didn’t think, she didn’t want to think, about what the chains reminded her of. This was not the time for that. She could ponder her traumas later, when Natsu’s life was not in danger.)

Natsu let out a tiny, relieved moan after that, finally able to feel his magic again after many hours without it. Erza then gathered him in her arms, trying to jostle him as little as she could. She carefullyevensettled him on her back, deeming it the safest position for him in that situation. “Hang in there Natsu, we will get you some help soon.” she choked out, one stray tear making its way down her face as she started walking out of the room. She didn’t get far before a group of the members from the black guild blocked her path forward. “You are not going anywhere, Titania!” one of them shouted, brandishing his sword at her. Erza narrowed her eyes, her mouth twisting into an even deeper frown. She didn’t have time for this. She didn’t have time to fight, even if everything in her screamed to mutilate the people who hurt her friend. She wanted to murder them in the most painful ways possible. But. She had to get Natsu to help as quickly as she could. She took a deep breath and steeled her resolve. Natsu’s health was so much more important than venting her rage on those vermin. “Move.” Erza ordered, her voice filled with seething, ruthless rage “If you do, I will spare your lives.” “If you don’t…” Her whole body seemed to tense up, getting ready for carnage, teeth bared in a clear treat, eyes glinting with protective fury “I will make sure you will die in agony.” The people standing before her flinched away, instinctively putting more room between themselves and her, getting out of her way.

With that, she started walking away as quickly as she could while taking care as to not move Natsu around too much. He already lost too much blood. Nobody dared to stand on her path.

#ft platonic week 2024 #fairy tail #ftpw24 day 5 #fanfic #cw implied torture #cw kidnapping

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ft-platonicweek · 5 months ago

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@ft-platonicweek Day 4 - Silence

AO3

GET YOUR TISSUES READY, THIS IS SAD

They have only each other to rely on, to find comfort in.

CW: child abuse (mostly psychological, some physical), manipulation, dehumanization, disassociation, reliving past trauma, implied ableism, victim blaming, Jose is a piece of shit

Gajeel whump taglist: @heartonxions , @bambamnesiac , @grayseyebrowscar , @ostensiblyfunctional , @blackberry-bloody

“Easy for you t’say, he always goes easy on ya!”

“And Juvia is sorry about that, but we still cannot leave. There is nowhere for us to go!”

“Fine! Then you stay! Clean his boots while yer at it! But I'm leavin’!”

Three days it's been since Juvia last saw Gajeel. Three days since their argument.

She'd thought she'd been doing the right thing, trying to convince him not to run away. He'd been angry, nerves frayed after a bad scolding from the master. Anger never made anyone think rationally. But she must have not explained that well since trying had only further aggravated his temper.

Perhaps her fear had also influenced her judgment. Gajeel had been so confident the two of them could make do on their own. Live off of the streets, in the woods like he had done before. Just them, no Master Jose, no rules, no punishments. He thought it'd be a good plan.

Juvia had said no.

The floorboards remained quiet as the girl ascended the staircase. She had long learned which spots would creak and stepped to avoid them. The chatter from the main hall offered somewhat of a cover, but she wasn't taking any chances. She didn't want to be discovered with a bowl clenched in her hands and lose the fresh fruit she swiped from the kitchen. Her friend would be hungry.

Master had given the guild a revised story, she was sure there were details missing or twisted out of context.

‘ “The little brat thought he could run off and neglect his responsibilities. Live in the woods again like some animal. Guess the cold was too much for him to handle, cause all I had to do was wait for him to come crawling back to accept the consequences.” ’

It had been cold that night, and Gajeel hated the cold. Which was why he'd been wearing that thick jacket and scarf when they talked. That should've been enough to keep him warm. If he had returned, as the master claimed, it would've never been for a reason so trivial.

For as much as he hated the cold, Gajeel hated Master Jose even more.

‘ “I know he tried pressuring you to run away as well, Juvia. You did the right thing not listening, I'm very proud. But next time, you must come tell me. Understood?” ’

The revelation that their argument had been spied on, used as a means to punish, had dropped a rock into her stomach. Master Jose praising her should've made her feel good. No adult had ever told Juvia they were proud of her. It should've been good but instead it only made her feel sick. Master only wanted to use her against Gajeel. To hurt him. She would not do that. He was her friend.

The door to his room stood tall before her. She raised a hand and gently rapped her knuckles against the wood. “Gajeel, may Juvia come in?” she whispered.

It was enough for him to hear. Should've been enough. But only the silence met her. She knocked again, repeated her request for entry, just a tad louder. But no answer came, and a twinge of anxiety twisted in her gut while the Bad Thoughts wormed their way into her head.

Was he still mad at her?

Was he angry she didn't go with him?

Did he blame her for him getting caught?

The door thankfully wasn't locked, as she'd feared. The master often locked them in their rooms when they've been bad. Gajeel had a talent for picking them.

Juvia opened the door.

The bedroom was darker than usual, and when she looked up, part of the window had been recently bricked up. Gajeel's jacket laid on the floor, ripped and torn beyond mending. The scarf tossed aside. His bed looked untouched, empty save for a familiar misshapen bundle of wrappings.

She took a step into the room. “Gajeel?”

Still nothing.

She would've thought the room was empty until a shape caught the edge of her peripheral vision.

Her friend sat curled up far in the corner, scrunched into a tight ball. Knees clutched against his chest, face buried between them, hidden under unkempt hair. Bundled in a dark gray sweatshirt with the hood pulled up.

“Gajeel? Are you okay?” she asked, walking towards him.

He did not speak, didn't even move, made no sign that he acknowledged her presence. Juvia knelt down next to him. His chest rose and fell slightly, so he was still breathing. But as she listened, the more labored it sounded. Shaky. And even under the warm garment, his figure shook with faint tremors.

He didn't make a sound. Not when Juvia said his name again. Nothing to break the suffocating quiet.

A few times his stomach growled loudly and Juvia asked if he was hungry, told him she brought food. But still he didn't respond. She almost reached out to tap his shoulder but thought better of it.

‘Maybe he's asleep?’

The silence stretched. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Twenty.

Until Juvia thought it might be best to leave. Perhaps Gajeel wanted to be alone, to not be bothered. She placed the bowl down on the floor and rose to her feet, making way to the door.

“...‘Via?”

The voice was so uncharacteristically small and hoarse. She turned around.

Gajeel's head had lifted just enough for her to see his face.

He looked awful.

A strange ring of bruises dotted his jawline and the bridge of his nose a mottled purple. The scars she always remembered seeing him with looked newly inflamed, as if he'd been scratching at them too much again. Dark circles hung under vacant, bloodshot eyes.

Juvia had never seen Gajeel cry, but now there were telltale streaks of tears down his cheeks.

“What happened?” she couldn't help but ask, even though she already knew part of that answer. What had the master done to him for him to be like this?

Gajeel lowered his gaze again and shook his head. “How long were ya here?”

So he didn't notice when she came in. Did he just realize she was even there? “A little while. Juvia tried talking to you.”

“. . .Oh.”

He didn't elaborate, so neither did she. Though part of her was a bit relieved that he hadn't intentionally been ignoring her. He wasn't mad at her.

“Why were you crying?”

At that, he rubbed his face against the heel of his hand, erasing most of the tear tracks. “I wasn't.”

“Gajeel-”

“‘M fine.”

By the small trembles that shook his figure, Juvia could easily tell the lie. Whatever the master did, it was bad. Not even the cane ever reduced him to such a state. She sighed, defeated. He never did like talking when he got hurt. She tried not to take it personally, even though she always went to him whenever something troubled her. She trusted him to listen and he would. Was he too embarrassed? Did he not trust her? Did he not know he could trust her? Perhaps she should-

“How much did ya hear?”

“Hear? You were very quiet, Juvia didn't hear you say-”

“No, I mean, from when I was . . .not here.”

Oh, he must be referring to what everyone downstairs is saying about him. He could likely hear them from up here. “Master Jose told everyone that you ran away, and that he punished you when you returned.”

He buried his face into his arms again, curling his knees in a little tighter. Once more, the silence swallowed the room for a few minutes.

“‘M sorry,” he eventually murmured. Before Juvia could question what for, he added, “for gettin’ mad at ya the other day.”

Their argument. She'd nearly forgotten. “Juvia is sorry too. She was scared, of things changing too quickly. She wasn't sure how to explain it at the time.” He seemed to understand that, something she would always be thankful for, someone who understood. As simple as that, they forgave each other. “The thought of being on our own to fend for ourselves is scary, but Juvia wishes things were better here. That people were nicer.”

“Yeah, me too. This dump is full of fuckin' assholes. Yer right though.” The sadness in his admittance worried her. “We can only trust ourselves, no one else. As shitty as this guild is, would any other place be different?”

That was something she hadn’t thought about. Had he planned to find another guild to join? She could see herself doing that, a smaller change that kept to the familiar. But Gajeel did make a good point. Would other guild's treat them any differently than Phantom Lord? No one except her appeared to bat an eye when someone left Master Jose's office with new bruises, so perhaps that was just a normal expectation. Would they even be accepted elsewhere? At least staying in Phantom meant the security of assurance, that they've already earned a place amidst the rankings. No matter the discipline and bullying, they were legal wizards with the various privileges that bought them under the law.

“Juvia, do- do ya think I'm a monster?”

Her train of thought derailed. “What? No, of course not,” she replied immediately. Why was he asking that? He was human just like she was. Of course he wasn't a-

Oh, Master Jose probably said something to him.

“You're not a monster, Gajeel.” Another tear fell, and a cold wave swept through her body as she realized she couldn't tell if he believed her or not. “May Juvia hug you?”

The question clearly caught him off guard, if the surprise in his widened eyes was anything to go by. For the several long seconds he didn't say anything, Juvia almost expected him to refuse. He'd never been too keen on being touched. That's why she always made sure to ask or to let him initiate. But something told her at this moment that he needed to be held.

So when he leaned towards her, ever so slightly, it was all the acceptance she needed, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. A safe touch. He rested his head against hers.

The two sat embraced in the silence for a long time.

Three nights ago

Even before he climbed out of the window of his room, Gajeel was having second thoughts. By the time the edge of Oak Town was in sight, his heart was fighting him to turn back.

Juvia should be here with him.

They were the Freaks Club, they were supposed to stick together. They should both be going. Ditching Phantom Lord and Jose and taking back their freedom. They could do whatever they wanted, be whatever they wanted. No Jose to force them to fight each other, or lock them in their rooms, or deny them food, or beat them when they did something he didn't like. No obnoxious, creepy adults making fun of how they looked or spoke.

He knew how to survive. And the two of them had powerful magic to protect themselves. They could've made it work.

Why didn't Juvia want to leave?

Sure, Jose didn't hurt her as often as he did the dragon slayer, but she still hated being there, right? All the ridicule she got for causing the rain? For her unusual manner of talking? Did she not want to be rid of that?

With each step his feet felt heavier. Until they refused to go any further.

He didn't want to leave without her, the only person he was willing to consider a friend. He couldn't leave her behind with all those assholes. Couldn't stand the thought of being all alone on the streets again.

Not after what happened last time.

Gajeel turned around.

If he returned quickly enough, maybe no one would notice his absence. Juvia wouldn't snitch on him, even if she was mad. It hadn't been that long since he left, Jose wouldn't know.

No one else would know. He would go back. He and Juvia would talk. He would apologize for snapping at her even though he hated saying sorry. Or maybe make her something with one of those recipes she gave him. They'd figure out something else.

No one else would know.

The bushes surrounding the guild hall were easy to hide in. It wasn't like a grand castle, guarded with an array of waiting archers or a moat filled with giant crocodiles. Just a simple building with stone walls that were no trouble for the iron dragon slayer to climb.

The window to his room stood dark up above. He could hear no noise coming from within. Good. That meant his escape wasn't discovered yet. He still had time.

A hope that got dashed about ten feet from the opening, when his nose caught a scent.

‘Fuck!’

He didn't get the chance to think of a new plan. To retreat back down and wait for them to leave. To think of some story to give that may save him. Because the stone beneath him liquefied.

There's not many words that can adequately describe the viscosity of dry rock. Unnatural can be one. Mud and clay at least had moisture to them. Lava was its own thing. Magic was the only thing that could make solid rock look wet and act wet but not actually be wet.

It's not a pleasant feeling having it snatch your body like a giant hand.

Gajeel yelped in alarm as a tendril of stone burst from the wall, seizing his torso and limbs like a constricting snake. Squeezing tight. Allowing no room for resistance against the threat of crushed bones. It didn't even give him a moment to breathe before bolting up, shoving the captured dragon slayer through the window and onto the floor of his own room. But even then, it did not release him yet.

The end of the tendril reshaped, reforming into a body, a face, brown suit, green hair, that stupid monocle.

“Tiens tiens, seems I've caught quite the naughty petit renard, haven't I?”

“Sol, ya creep! Get off me!”

His protests get cut off, for a light suddenly filled the room, revealing two other men. Master Jose stood in the center, face neutral but eyes glaring. Behind him, Aria stood by the door, his wide frame a blockade.

In his mind, Gajeel cursed every god he didn't believe in.

“Care to explain what you were doing out of your room?” the master began interrogating.

“I-” Fuck, he didn't know what to say. He hadn't thought of a cover story. No need for one if you didn’t mean to return. “I was… just takin’ a walk. I couldn't sleep.”

“A walk, is that so? After curfew, when you are strictly forbidden to leave?”

If he can hide that he almost tried to skip town, maybe he can get away with just being punished for breaking curfew. It's not like he's never done that before. “I wanted some air. It's stuffy as hell in here.” Sure, Jose will lock him in some dark, tiny closet somewhere for a day or so, but he can handle that.

“You seem to have this false belief that my rules only exist when you deem them convenient,” the man said, disappointed but not surprised by Gajeel's insolence. He should be used to it by now. “This defiance of yours is getting out of hand. Curfews are important for safety and maintaining order. Keep breaking them and I will find new ways to keep you inside.” Probably a couple days in the closet. He'll be fine. “That would've been the case if you were not lying to me.”

How-?

“I ain't lyi-”

Gajeel's iron scales were durable. He could brush off hits that downed most people. Metallicana made him spend hours honing his defenses until a strike no longer hurt, no longer did damage. His normal human skin retained a bit of that resilience, but not to the same degree.

Which is why Jose made sure to wear rings whenever he slapped him. The backhand whipped his head to the side and the room spun. The rings left harsh scratches across his cheek, not deep enough to break skin but definitely enough to sting.

“Sol, why don't you show him?”

“Bien sûr, Master.”

Still reeling from the slap, helpless to do anything but watch, Gajeel sat frozen as the stone walls morphed. Twisted and sculpted themselves into new shapes, figures, a boy with long hair and anger in his face, a girl with a furred hat looking worried. Familiar faces. A scene copying a memory not even two hours old.

And voices.

“We don't have t'stay, Juvia! We shouldn't have t'put up with their shit. We can leave and start over somewhere else.”

Incriminating voices. A perfect replica.

“The earth remembers all, petit renard.”

Gajeel's mouth felt full of lead. Nothing to say. What could he say?

Jose spoke instead. “Sol heard everything about your little runaway fantasy. Shame on you for trying to force Juvia into your scheme.”

“Miss Lockser is a respectable young lady. Polite and dutiful.” Aria sang praises Gajeel knows mean nothing. If they actually gave a shit, all the bastards who harassed her would actually face consequences. “You are a terrible influence on her.”

‘You fuckin' know nothin’. Ya only think that cause she stands up fer herself now.'

“I know all about your little nightly excursions too, the many times you sneak down to my kitchen to steal food,” Jose added. Gajeel's blood ran cold. “Is that what you thought you'd do upon running away? Stealing from people again? Did you learn nothing from the last time that got you in trouble? It's only thanks to my generosity that you're in a guild and not a prison.”

Something snapped, sending all thoughts of pretending out the door. How dare Jose bring up that memory. “Fuck you! Like yer any better! Generous my ass, y’all treat me like shit! The scraps ya give me ain't ever enough.”

“Not this again,” Jose shook his head. “Lying to make excuses for selfishness will not work.”

“And taking such foul language with the master is a big non non,” Sol added, like he did every single time he heard Gajeel swear. “Where I come from, children would have a bar of soap shoved into their mouths for talking like that.”

It was so damn frustrating. Gajeel knew he wasn't lying. Everyone seemed to believe he could just eat scrap metal and be fine but it wasn't enough. He needed real food too, but the tiny portions he was allowed always left his stomach gnawing for more. Hunger became a constant pain that refused to go away. Jose never believed him.

“I've been patient enough to tolerate those grievances, but this disrespect has crossed a line.” Jose moved his arms to his front. Gajeel expected to see the thick discipline cane the man kept in his office, hung looming on the wall. It was a tool he utilized often.

But when Gajeel saw what Jose had actually been holding, he wished it'd been the former. The blazing pyre of anger extinguished, smothered by the icy grip of dread. “Why… do you have that?”

This was not supposed to happen. Jose wasn't supposed to have that thing. He wasn't supposed to be like those other people.

“I have used various methods of disciplining you, and if tonight has shown me anything, it's that those have proved ineffective. Perhaps this will get the lesson through. Aria.”

Gajeel didn’t pay attention to what the air mage did. His vision had tunneled in on the item in Jose's hands. Not that. Anything but that.

Sol held fast until the sharp scales snaking over the boy's skin - tearing the warm fabric of the jacket - forced him to retreat. Gajeel managed one step before Jose's shadows snatched him instead. They did not falter as he writhed, kicked, pleaded for them to stop, for them to not put him in that awful thing.

But then Aria raised his arm, fingers dancing across a magic circle, and the air was sucked out of his chest.

When his eyes opened next, it was cold. And he was no longer in his room.

Stone walls, a lashing wind, and the inky black of night beyond.

He was in the Sky Prison.

With the stiff leather straps of a fucking muzzle enclosed around his face.

No.

No no nO NO NOT AGAIN!

He lurched up, a panicked roar muffled to almost nothing. His balance nearly faltered but his mind wasn't there enough to register the absence of his leg prosthetic. Jaws sealed shut. He tried to claw at it, shred it to pieces, but he could not pull his hands free of the freezing shackles bolted to the floor behind him. Could not call his magic to protect himself.

And with those two simple tools, his mind transported him elsewhere. A dark and grimy jail cell. These same restraints stealing any agency he had. The phantom pains of bleeding gashes cutting across his back and arms, placed by a sharp belt buckle. A nightmare taking shape. A memory returning to haunt.

History repeating itself.

It was cold yet sweat formed on his neck. His ears rang with his own pounding heart. He heaved down breaths of air through his nose because he couldn't open his mouth, he couldn't breathe, the muzzle wasn't even around his neck but somehow something must be choking him because it's hard to breathe. Why can't he breathe? The cold air is stinging his lungs but it must be a lie because there is no air, he isn't breathing, his throat is closed, he can't get the muzzle off, he can't breathe.

“Control yourself, Gajeel. You're acting like a rabid dog.”

Jose and Aria stood a few strides away. The lingering residue of the air mage's magic still hung in the surrounding space.

‘Take it off!’ Gajeel tried to yell through the muzzle, but anything that came out was unintelligible. He let the sound ground him back to reality. Made him aware of the air that was in fact moving in and out with the rise and fall of his chest. Or was that just the shivering? His jacket, scarf, and boots were left behind and the short sleeved shirt he wore was not a suitable wind buffer.

“It’s saddening that I have to do this, but your behavior has left me little choice,” Jose chastised, ignoring the protests of his charge. “You will be spending time up here until you prove to me you've learned your lesson.”

“Tis truly tragic, trapping one of our own up in this prison, but it is the only way you'll learn.” Aria's tears soaked his mask, Gajeel always doubted if they were genuine.

“These are the consequences of disobedience, Gajeel. You've only yourself to blame. I've sheltered you, kept you fed, protected you from the Bureau, and look how ungrateful you are. You should know there's not many people willing to put up with an animal like you as I've had.”

‘I'm not an animal I'm not an animal I'm NOT an animal!’

“What did you expect to happen once you left? Did you think you'd find people who'd want to help you? People more patient and generous than me? You'd sooner find yourself on display in a zoo.”

It couldn't be true. There had to be some who would see he's still human despite everything. People who wouldn't care about the scales on his face and shoulders, the pointed ears, the sharp fangs and claws.

Jose had to be wrong. He had to be.

“You remember Nerium, don't you?”

At that name, the boy flinched. How could he not? He could only dream of forgetting that horrible place. Where all this began. He had learned its name months after leaving, while learning the language of this country, for the sole purpose of remembering never to step foot there again.

“You remember how they treated you. They saw your draconic physicality and thought you a monster, a demon. Normal humans don't have scales or fangs. They don't growl at things they don't like or eat metal. Magic is not supposed to change a body like that. You're an anomaly, and most people do not like anomalies that aren't under control.

“That's why I brought you here. Unlike many, I can see you for what you can become. A strong wizard. One whose name can become synonymous with the strongest guild, the prestigious Phantom Lord. People won't dare to disrespect you then, no matter what they think about you. They will fear our retribution too much to even think of crossing you.

“But that only happens if you're under control. Under me, your master. Leave and there will be no one to protect you. And the only treatment you can expect is chains and a muzzle just like that. Or perhaps they'll hand you to the Bureau to be turned into a science experiment, just as those in Nerium planned. So consider this lesson a sneak peek into the so-called freedom you wish for.”

Gajeel didn’t notice the tears running down his face until he saw droplets falling to the floor. He turned away, wiping them off against his knee.

He didn't want it to be true.

But he noticed how people looked at him. At his bizarre appearance and mannerisms. The glares and raised voices whenever he got too angry, whenever he looked like he lied because he didn't like making eye contact, whenever he overheard a conversation he shouldn't have because tuning out the noise was so hard.

The people of Nerium had called a demon slayer to deal with him, as if he were a pest to exterminate. And she'd nearly done it. Turned back not due to him being a terrified child but only because he wasn't her chosen quarry.

And the Bureau again. The town's plan b before Jose showed up.

Is that really all that he is to people, some wild monster? Something to be chained and caged? Would-

Would Juvia be in danger traveling with him? If not from him, then by the people who hunt him? Would they see her being friends with a monster and think she's one too?

Gajeel turned back and the two men were gone, transported back to the Oak Town hall with Aria's magic.

All alone.

Left to his thoughts and tears in the cold, cruel silence.

Gajeel hated the silence, so he tried to fill it.

If it weren't for the muzzle, anyone within proximity to the tower would've heard the young teen screaming himself hoarse. Thrashing in his bindings until one shoulder dislocated. Carving grooves into the stone beneath him until his claws broke. But the biting winds drowned him, sapped at energy until they forced him to the floor, curled into a crumpled heap. Trying to stifle a sob.

No one could hear him. They wouldn't help even if they did.

Now.

Gajeel had sat beaten and bloody in Nerium’s jailhouse for less than a day before the master of Phantom Lord arrived to collect him.

Jose forced him to endure the Sky Prison for three.

The shoulder that'd been dislocated protested the pressure, but he didn't tell Juvia.

Hugs, he decided, were okay, but only if it was her. The thought of anyone seeing him so pitiful made his skin crawl, but at least he knew Juvia wouldn't judge. Wouldn't think him weak. He could think about this and not think about how humiliating it was begging the master to be released, with desperate apologies for running away.

He would not think about that.

He would not think about how he'd spent the last couple hours crying in his room, ignoring his parched throat and pleading stomach because he was too damn scared to walk down and face the other guild members.

He can hear them gossiping. Laughing about the ‘little dragon brat’ who tried to run. Who ran right on back because he couldn't handle it, even though that wasn't why he returned at all. Who got what he deserved. Several theories were flying on how he was punished and while none were accurate, they made his ears burn.

He couldn't go down there. They'd be on him like a pack of hunting dogs with an injured fox.

Gods he was hungry.

He didn't know when Juvia entered the room. Those past hours felt like a blur, an emptiness. The pain dulling to a consistent buzz and then numbness. He didn't remember when the tears began falling, didn't even notice they had until Juvia pointed it out.

What was wrong with him? He usually noticed things like that.

He pulled away from Juvia, stretching out his arms and legs to get some feeling back into them. Then took in the state of his room.

The window had been altered. It had already been only barely wide enough for him to squeeze through. But now the middle was filled in, bricked up and blocked, leaving only two small holes letting in minimal light.

No more escaping.

Aside from that, the rest of his space appeared untouched. The cloth he used to bind his chest still lay bundled at the foot of his bed. He's glad he took it off before venturing out, thinking he'd find a better one on the road. It probably would've been bad if he'd worn it the entire time in the tower.

His boots and prosthetic sat on the floor. Bracing with a hand on the wall, Gajeel slowly rose, his left leg sore but holding his weight. Following his eyes and seeing where he intended to go, Juvia stood up as well to offer assistance. Too tired to even use his magic, he accepted it.

He just wanted to lie down.

He collapsed onto the mattress as soon as they were close enough, nuzzling into the soft fabrics. His stomach growled, the emptiness like a monster's claws hacking at his insides.

“Are you hungry? Juvia brought some food.”

His ears perked up. “Ya did?”

She walked back to the corner they'd been sitting and picked up a bowl that'd gone past his notice. Several cut fruit, including a few orange slices.

The memories of getting sick from eating too much after periods of going hungry were all that stopped him from wolfing down the bowl by the handful. Juvia risked punishment by sneaking that up. He wouldn't let them go to waste. If she noticed the dried blood on his fingers, or the ripped up state of his nails, or the scabbed abrasions and dark bruises encircling his wrists, she didn't point it out.

"Did you? Did you actually run?" Juvia eventually asked. Gajeel paused, then nodded, hoping she could catch the regret in his expression. "But you came back, and Master Jose caught you?"

He can still see the man's face, that cruel smile haunting his mind whenever he thought about that night. He hoped the bastard dies slowly and rots in the deepest hells. Gajeel nodded again, and mentally prayed to be spared having to explain how he'd been punished as a result.

For once the heavens listened, for the next question Juvia presents is, "why did you come back?"

'Cause I didn't wanna be alone.'

"Cause I didn't wanna leave ya behind.” It wasn't even a lie. “If I left, ya wouldn't have anyone else fer the Freaks Club.”

And now he could never leave again. But maybe that was for the best if it wouldn't be worth it.

#ft platonic week 2024 #fairy tail #fanfic #cw child abuse

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