#Gajeel whump

[caissa-scribbles]

Gajevy Week 2025, Day 3: Bleed

Fox Gardens, on the outskirts of Magnolia

August X793 

(a couple of weeks before Day 2: Cravings)

Gajeel groaned indignantly as the alarm clock ripped him from his restless sleep before he silenced it with a belligerent whump. Pale light was shimmering through the curtains, proving that a rose gold sunrise was just now pushing back the night behind the forest. Outside, the birds were trilling, completely undisturbed still by the noise of the nearby city, and the dragon slayer felt a keen urge to throttle every single one of them. It was far too early for his liking.

But the pharmacist who had advertised today's job insisted that the giant dragonfly wings he required had to be collected at noon, when the sun was at its zenith. Something about their effects, like medicinal plants, whose potency also depended on the time of day they were harvested - at least Wendy had babbled something like that once. Gajeel preferred not to know exactly why insect parts were used in medicine. A job was a job and put food on the table. However, he and Lily had a long way to go up into the mountains to get it. He got up quietly to get ready.

Levy was still asleep. Unusual, as she was typically wide awake and in a good mood at the first sound of the alarm. Unlike him, she was a true morning person.

She had bluish shadows under her eyes, her eyelids twitched and her hair stuck to her face; evidence of a restless night. Gajeel decided to let her sleep. She wasn't coming along anyway, so why wake her up? Besides, she could certainly use some more sleep, looking the way she did.

But when the dragon slayer returned from the bathroom, Levy was staggering towards him silently, as transparent as a ghost. She didn't seem to register him at all; she pushed past him without a word, without replying to his grumbled "Mornin’”.

Well, he was used to that by now. There were mornings when it was better if she didn't open her mouth until she was in close reach of the toilet.

Thoughtfully, he pulled his black T-shirt over his head, his mind already halfway through the assignment. Maybe he could speed things up somehow so he could get home earlier and she wouldn't have to wait into the night.

Just why was he so tense? Certainly not because of a few silly insects; he could take care of those with one hand tied to his back.

Something didn't feel right.

Suspiciously, he opened the window, extended his senses and checked the surroundings of Fox Gardens. Damp moss and pine needles. The pungent trail of a ferret that had run through the grass behind the house during the night. Jasmine, ribwort plantain. A hint of wood smoke. He heard a few mice rustling among the roots of the trees in their garden, a squirrel chittering in the distance, and above it all, the darned birds’ chirping. The forest was stretching peacefully under the gentle rays of sunlight, slowly awakening to life. The only people he noticed were their neighbors a good distance down the road, and they were just a grumpy old couple who were far too afraid of him to cause trouble.

No threat. No trace of magic other than his, Lily's, and Levy's. And yet his instincts wouldn't calm down.

He uneasily turned his attention towards the bathroom. Something wasn't right. The usual gagging sounds sounded rather feeble today. He'd better go and check on her.

Gajeel quickly fastened his belt and turned toward the door, for Levy's light footsteps were on their way back to the bedroom, but somehow - without a rhythm, as if she were staggering. When she appeared in the doorway a moment later, her face was ashen, coated with fine beads of sweat. One hand was pressed tightly against her lower abdomen. With the other, she was gripping the doorframe, her knuckles white with exertion.

Alarmed, Gajeel started, his nostrils flaring as he sucked in a sharp breath.

There was a faint, warm hint of iron in the air.

Blood.

Levy began to sway.

"Please... take me to Marika," she whispered soundlessly. Then her eyes rolled upward; her legs buckled beneath her like branches under the weight of too much snow.

With a single leap across the bed, Gajeel was at her side, catching her just before she hit the floor. The skin on her bare arms was ice-cold. His heart suddenly raced and pounded in his ears.

Blood...

He didn't need to look for injuries; the smell was enough. And as little as he knew about such things, he knew she shouldn't bleed while carrying his child.

Something wasn't right.

He had never seen her so weak, lying in his arms more unconscious than conscious, her head on his shoulder and her back against his knee. An icy lump suddenly formed in his stomach. Her breathing was far too shallow. She was shaking uncontrollably.

Gajeel carefully lifted Levy into his arms and slowly stretched out his legs to stand up without shaking her. Then he threw his head back and yelled, "Lilyyy! Go get that old hag! Hurry!"

He didn't get a response, but then he didn't need one. Just seconds later, he heard the rustling of Exceed's wings chasing over the house.

[pencilofawesomeness]

WIP Folder Ask Game

Rules: make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous and tag as many people as you have WIPs. People send an ask with the title that most intrigues them, then you post a snippet or tell them something about it!

OKAY OKAY. Who wants to see my unholy stack of WIPs? Clearly several people, as I have been tagged by @bumblebeehug, @xfangheartx, and specifically called out by @phoenix-before-the-flame. (Love yall)

I don't have a neat folder, and I'm not going to include things I never plan on touching again or completed works or notes, but uh. I have things scattered about, of the WIP variety. Oh dear god. Save me.

MAIN WRITING FOLDER

(aka things that have their own doc, including docs that store a collection of wips like a matryoshka doll. Those will be astrisked)

—22 AUs* —BAD THINGS HAPPEN BINGO* —Breaking Chains Extra Stuff —Everything to me —Fairy Tail FMA AU —Febuwhump 2025* —FTRB22 Fantasy Space AU —HTRYDS Runaways —JJK Hurt/Comfort* —JJK MHA Crossover —JJK What the Storm Brings —Jujutsu Wonderland* —Natsu Whump Fic —Random Stuff* —Random Stuff 2* —Random Writing Tres* —Sic Semper Tyrannis —Tales of Valor —Those Who Defy Death —Under the Wing

and now for the scarier part.... The things I have inside documents. Note that there are completed things in some of these, or things I won't go back to, so I'm only listing WIPs.

DOC COLLECTIONS / SNIPPETS

22 AUs —Fullmetal Alchemist: My Hero Academia —Fairy Tail: H2O

BAD THINGS HAPPEN BINGO —HIVES

Febuwhump 2025: —*each day's prompt and corresponding drabble, I ain't listing them all: those are the Fairy Tail ones I did the polls for —ORORON FIC: Used as Practice —TAPFU AU: Living Weapon

JJK Hurt/Comfort —Scars —The light turned red, and I ran it

Random Stuff 2 —SUPERGIRL: The Legion meets Mon-EL —SUPERGIRL: Mon-El and Elida —SUPERGIRL: Mon-El Returns / Visiting Clark —TALES OF VALOR: Imra and Mon-El Talk —TALES OF VALOR: Name Drabble —UMBRELLA ACADEMY: Batman Adopts the Hargreaves (Number 4) —FAIRY TAIL: HTTYD AU - Gajeel finds Natsu —FAIRY TAIL: HTTYD AU - Tiny Wendy —FAIRY TAIL: HTTYD AU - From the beginning, for real this time —SEVEN DEADLY SINS: Brother Talk —FAIRY TAIL / SEVEN DEADLY SINS: What it means to be human alive —GENSHIN IMPACT: Coffee and Candied Ajilenakh Nuts —TWISTED WONDERLAND: Trein and Leona —JUJUTSU KAISEN: My Gojo Manifesto | The Most Dangerous Thing is to Love

Random Writing Tres: —FAIRY TAIL: FMA AU Backstory Thingy —KINTSUGI: Ur Prequel Scene —TWISTED WONDERLAND: Leona and Malleus Snippet —JUJUTSU KAISEN: Within Infinity - Shoko —JUJUTSU KAISEN: The Sun Wonders of Us | Tsumiki Intro —JUJUTSU KAISEN: The Sun Wonders of Us | rip Gojo —JJK x MHA | MAY DEATH NEVER STOP YOU: Megumi AU —JJK THERE'S A PLACE FOR US: Aftermath Sequel

FINALLY, MY ART

(I'm actually pretty good at finishing things I start in a timely-ish manner so not many true WIPs. Mostly because I haven't made a doc yet for some of my ideas lmao.)

—Cover_DT —DragonFamBatfam —ExpressionSheet_Erik —HTRYDS_Expressions-and-Designs

There. That's most everything. Maybe. Some of those, particularly in the Random Writing Collections, are scenes of the same thing, potentially belonging to another document, but I just. Wrote the headers I have. For the sake of the game. So. Yeah.

Feel free to send in asks and bother me about WIPs. That's a good way to make me work on them lol.

I know this is a tag game but most of my usual suspects have been tagged, and I'm feeling nice, so I'm not going to willfully wish this on anybody. If you're brave enough to dig through your WIPs, feel free to pretend I tagged you and blame me for it. I support you fully o7

[ao3feed-gratsu-brotp]

Games

by Moonlight1234

Rogue and Sting thought this would be a normal job, but soon they're caught up in a death maze. The Fairy Tail members are also scattered across the maze, looking for each other and a way out. However, it's not guaranteed that they'll find each other at all.

Words: 2090, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Series: Part 15 of Whumptober 2023

Fandoms: Fairy Tail

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: F/M

Characters: Rogue Cheney, Sting Eucliffe, Gajeel Redfox, Levy McGarden, Gray Fullbuster, Juvia Lockser, Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, Jellal Fernandes, Erza Scarlet, Happy (Fairy Tail), Frosch (Fairy Tail), Lector (Fairy Tail)

Relationships: Rogue Cheney & Sting Eucliffe, Rogue Cheney & Frosch (Fairy Tail), Rogue Cheney & Gajeel Redfox, Levy McGarden/Gajeel Redfox, Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser, Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia, Jellal Fernandes/Erza Scarlet, Natsu Dragneel & Sting Eucliffe, Fairy Tail Guild & Sabertooth Guild, Natsu Dragneel & Gray Fullbuster, Natsu Dragneel & Erza Scarlet, Natsu Dragneel & Happy, Juvia Lockser & Gajeel Redfox

Additional Tags: Hurt, Angst with a Happy Ending, Near Death Experiences, Major Character Injury, Games, Blood and Gore, Whump, Whumptober 2023, Hurt Natsu Dragneel, Hurt Gray Fullbuster, Protective Erza Scarlet, Gray Fullbuster Needs a Hug, Oblivious Natsu Dragneel, Erza Scarlet Loves Cake, BAMF Erza Scarlet, Protective Gajeel Redfox, Minor Levy McGarden/Gajeel Redfox, Juvia Lockser & Gajeel Redfox Friendship, Poor Lucy, Hurt Lucy Heartfilia

Source: https://archiveofourown.org/works/50863189

[shadowseek3r]

Gajeel: Do I hate myself? Yes.

Gajeel: But do I also think I am a living GOD and superior to every human being on this earth?

Gajeel: Also yes!

[genavere]

February Whump Prompts – 2023, DAY 11: Fever

Content Warnings: Light Swearing, Drowning Fandom: Fairy Tail - Natsu x Lucy - Pixie x Dragon/Demon AU

Royal Trouble - Parts 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

Drowning in Hopelessness - Part 2

To say that the palace was in an uproar would have been child’s play. It was chaos in every hallway with the legendary Dragon Guard and Constellation Knights placed in every intersection. The place had been barred shut from all outsiders and none were allowed to leave. Spells had been placed to ensure that if anyone attempted either that they would be incapacitated and an alert would be issued.

The Dragon King and Queen had deemed the level of security on the matter to be set securely at the highest level until all enemies had been ferreted out. The Crown Princess of the Pixie Realm had nearly been murdered under their watch and no one had noticed her disappearance for hours. The implications of the event could still lead to all-out war if the King of the Pixies deemed it so.

Under normal circumstances, the Dragon King Igneel would have overseen the events as he made his heir, the Crown Prince Etherious Natsu Dragneel, but he was a father first in this regard. There would be no coaxing of his son to leave the Pixie’s side no matter the situation.

“Do you think he will be sane if she perishes?” Grandeeney, his wife and Queen, stepped next to him as they waited for the council members to arrive in the meeting hall. Even being woken from her slumber, she held an air of majesty that only the Pixie Queen, Layla Heartfelia, had managed to achieve.

“That is a question I know neither the answer or the solution to if his sanity slips,” he said. The weariness in his voice echoed both of their concerns for their adopted son. “It would be best to send a missive to King Zeref for his presence. Only he would know how best to keep Natsu’s demon side from wreaking havoc if he loses her.”

In a different wing of the palace, the head of the Constellation Knights and his second stood outside the entrance to the Crown Prince’s bedroom. Inside, Commander Gajeel Redfox stood guard as Wendy, the Dragon Guard’s healer and Dragon Princess, worked to bring the fever down in the delirious Pixie.

On the other side of the bed, Natsu held her bandaged hand to his forehead. His leg jutted up and down as he felt the heat roll from her normally cool skin. His wings and horns had yet to yield back into place in his body, and he doubted they would any time soon. Not when he realized how close he had come to losing her.

Since that Elf had arrived—Sir Dan Straight, Knight of the Zentopia Region of the Elven Realm, the voice of the arrogant male droned on in his head—He had, had no rest from either seeing him chase after Lucy in attempts to woo her, or from his constant nagging of their ‘inferior’ knight training.

Nights had worn on with the knight refusing to leave either of them alone, and his mouth had begun to run of grand delusions of how Lucy would be his perfect bride and produce the best children. Jealousy had consumed him, on top of his exhaustion, and the anger he felt at not being able to do anything to the obnoxious Elf.

His thumb carefully caressed the bandage on her hand. Another punch of guilt slammed against his chest. Salt had covered her natural scent he loved, and she had flinched from his hand. In his exhaustion, jealousy, and anger—rage, he had burned her. Had hurt her in ways he had never thought he could.

There were no excuses. No reason she should ever forgive him for acting out against her. None of it had been her fault, and she had been a victim of the knight, too.

He should have run after her. Begged on his knees before her to be forgiven.

No one, not even his father, was above begging if they had fucked up bad enough to require such acts. And he had. The eyes that had widened in fear at him. The way she cried out and her whole body recoiled from his reach.

A sob choked him. Never had he seen such a look from her. At least, not directed at him!

He moved her hand to his cheek and stared at her pale face. Sweat covered every inch of her, suggesting another sponge bath would be needed again. Her chest rose sporadically with puffs of air she gasped for.

Dark eyelashes contrasted against the pale skin that was not flushed from fever, and under the lids were wild movements. Already from her body and the words whimpered through airy breaths, he knew nightmares plagued her. Dragged her deeper into the depths of her mind. Took her further from him.

“Please, Luce…” he said, placing soft kisses on her wrist. “I need you. Come back to me!”

Silenced pants greeted him in answer.

At her feet, the large Demon War-Beast, Happy, mewled in worry. They had both raised him after she had come into his life, and they loved the oversized beast as they would their own. Knowing that, he had not been surprised when it had been Happy who had warned him that something was amiss before anyone else.

When he had realized how late it had become, he left the rest of the work he had left for another day to find his best friend. The way she looked, the scent of her tears, her cry in his ears…it had all been on repeat. It drove him to attack with a rage against the knights he practiced with, tore at him during his lessons, and sat heavy on his mind as he tried to deal with the paperwork Igneel left for him to work on.

When others had made her cry or picked on her, nothing stopped him from beating them up. Not the threat of punishment or scolding. Keeping her safe and happy had been his goal since the dragon side of him declared her precious.

How could he beat himself up to defend her? The only idea he had was to allow her to do it in his steed. When she had done self-defense training with him, she had learned well how to kick her opponents, and he could use one of her infamous Lucy Kicks to make him feel a bit better about the situation.

The first servant he found, he requested her location, determined to make up with her.

“I’m sorry, my Prince,” the servant bowed in apology, “but I have not seen the Crown Princess since breakfast this morning. She never arrived for lunch, dinner, or called for tea.”

Natsu frowned, an uncomfortable feeling growing in his gut. “Did she call for any food to be delivered?”

The servant answered with a shake of his head. “I fear not, my Prince. From what I heard from her head maid, the door to her main suite has been locked since late this morning.”

That had been the time he had seen her, he realized.

He thanked the servant and left to head for her rooms. If none had seen her since that morning, it was a safe bet that she had locked herself away there. Knowing how stubborn she was, there was a chance she would refuse to open the door for him.

It was a good thing that he was known to be just as stubborn, if not worse.

Yet, what greeted him at her door intensified that sick feeling. Happy paced outside her door, yowling loudly and standing on his back paws to claw at the wooden fixture. By the state of the door, he was near close to clawing his way through it completely.

Even if she were mad at him, she would never take it out on Happy. She even sided with the beast when she knew he was in the wrong, but knew it would drive him up the wall.

Every fiber of his demon and dragon instincts ignited. The door splintered against his force as both of them rushed in to look for her. The smell there hit him first. Roses nearly overwhelmed his scenes to the point he nearly threw up. There was no way any Pixie, even Lucy, would be conscious with so much of the flower scent in the room. With so much in the air, he could barely pick out Lucy’s scent, but it had been there. Faintly.

The balcony doors were wide open. Instinct pushed him and he felt the shift in his body as he took off in the air. With such an overpowering scent trail, he did not find it difficult to follow. Whoever took her would realize painfully not to touch what was precious to a dragon.

The scent took him miles out, over the tops of forests and through the plains until it stopped above a lake. No, it did not stop, it went toward the lake. Flying to the surface, he looked around, confused. Had they washed off the smell before continuing? That would mean he lost the trail!

He glanced around, his mind panicking at the thought of losing her. That he had help secure her capture by acting out this morning. No, if she were gone from his life…he would find her! There was nothing else to it.

Flapping his wings, he rose up to try to catch any other scent. Instead of a new scent, he heard what sounded like bubbles. Frowning, he looked at the surface of the water and saw the large bubbles that rose up from beneath the surface.

Normally, he would have been confused about the situation. Might have thought it was a large fish that was making the disturbance in the water. Seeing them, his body tensed as he folded his wing in and drove down into the dark abyss below.

With the help of his scaled wings and limbs, he reached came upon the sandy bottom quickly and felt his chest explode. Lucy looked ethereal with her golden hair flowing around her. She still wore the red dress from earlier that had done nothing good for his lightheadedness early by pooling his blood below. And she was still. Completely unmoving besides what the water did with her limbs.

He reached her in only a couple pumps of his wings. His arms wrapped tight around her as one hand clenched her head to his chest and used the sandy bottom to kick off towards the surface. They broke the through into the air with enough force he was able to catch air under his wings again and take them to the shoreline. Time was against him. The tightness in his chest felt ready to snap. What if he were too late?

Laying her on the ground, he forced her head back and breathed into her mouth. Her chest rose from his air, but nothing else happened. No pulse pumped against the icy skin of her neck. “Lucy! Come on!”

Entwining his hands together, he began pumping her chest, keeping rhythm to how he remembered her pulse would be. His was beating too wildly for him to ever dare to follow. “Come on, Lucy. Come on, you have to breathe! You can’t leave me!”

Again, he breathed into her mouth, his hands desperate to cradle her against his chest and cry out his anguish. But he went back to pumping against her chest, to watching her body jerk from his force.

Then she jerked herself, sputtering and choking up water. He pushed her to the side and patted her back. “Just cough, get it out. You’re okay…you are okay.” The need to hear those words for himself kept himself sane as he listened to her retch up the water that had tried to take her from him.

But he knew she was not okay. Her body shook violently, from the chill in the air, the water in her lungs, the lingering affect of the rose perfume. Unable to give her anytime to gather her senses, he scooped her up and took off again.

The week’s lack of sleep filled his muscles with a warmth that filled him and pressed at the back of his eyes. Working to keep his wings pumping harder than before became a challenge. Focusing became his top priority and the mantra of, “Get Lucy help” repeated over and over in his head.

Arriving at the palace with the unconscious Pixie in his arms had set everything into chaos. The Guards and Knights gathered quickly, the Dragon King and Queen rising from bed, magic placed to keep all those in the palace inside. None were allowed out, none allowed in. A detailed list of all those who had been on the premises was made up and a head count was being performed.

The enemy would be ferreted out. All of them had promised that, but he would make sure of it. If none of them could handle it, he would burn the entire world to ash to bring the one who hurt his Lucy to justice, he growled darkly.

Wendy watched her older brother in concern, understanding that both his dragon and demon sides were struggling with the current events. Nothing would calm him, not until Lucy was through the woods and safe. Unfortunately, that was a call she could not make yet. Not with her fever so high.

An Elf from the Ice region had been called for to help keep her temperature down, and she had received word that he would be at the palace by sunrise. Until then, all she could do was use her magic and wet towels to help keep the Pixie with them.

She just hoped it was enough to save both Lucy and Natsu.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just so it is known, I do not condone what Natsu did to Lucy, but the poor boy is feeling so bad, and he did save her! I just really wanted the deep, gut-wrenching emotions that you get when you feel you lost everything. I feel the first part of this really captured it. This one...not so much. I don't know, just don't think it came through as well.

There is one more part of this, and that will be with tomorrow's prompt!

Thanks for reading!

Links for AO3 | FF.net

@febuwhump | @millennial-star-gazer

[ao3feed-nalu]

Children's Day

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/OlxcGnp

by Genavere

When Makarov decides to throw a children’s day celebration at the Fairy Tail guild hall. Children's Day...With the most renown alcoholic and rowdy wizards in the kingdom.

Words: 1075, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 13 of Febuwhump 2023 - Tumblr Prompt Challenge

Fandoms: Fairy Tail

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, Levy McGarden, Gajeel Redfox, Mirajane Strauss

Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia

Additional Tags: Children, pranks gone wrong, Whump, Febuwhump, bad role models, Protective Natsu Dragneel, Established Relationship, Mild Sexual Content

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/OlxcGnp

[tuxiedjabberwock]

“The Not-Angels” - a Fairy Tail one-shot

Gajevy Week

The Not-Angels

Feb 17th — “Trouble Twins”

Gajeel didn’t like the idea of Levy going on a mission with Lucy and just her, but as long as he refused to go on a mission with Natsu (the prick) or Gray (the naked bastard) he had to deal with something equally as terrifying. So, he sat himself on his couch and made sure the brats’ faulty attention was trained on him and him alone.

 “Alright, kids, listen up,” he started, already breaking off when he noticed Austin’s eyes being drawn towards a silver mirror hanging on the wall. He snapped his fingers until the younger twin looked over again with a frustrated huff.

 “Daddy, ‘m starvin’,” he whined, brown eyes squinted with crocodile tears. Gajeel rolled his eyes in response.

 “No yer not—you two jus’ ate.”

 “Yeah but that was two million minutes ago!” It was actually an hour ago, but the five-year-old couldn’t tell time. Neither could his stomach apparently. But the fridge was pretty damn good at telling time, and at the moment it was peaking Not-enough-food-o’-clock.

 “Hush up, Stooge,” Angel reprimanded, glaring at him. For her name, she was as ballsy as Gajeel, and with a sharp tongue and sharper teeth to boot. And thanks to the brain surely inherited from her mother alongside her light blue curls and big brown eyes, she had the vocabulary to make a grown man cry. (No, Gajeel wasn’t crying that time, he just had some iron fillings in his eyes.) Austin, on the other hand, had the semblance of Gajeel’s sharp face beneath the baby fat, and although his hair was a slightly darker blue, it was just as unruly as his old man’s. He also had a far bigger craving for iron than his sister, or at least had less self-control.

 “Angel, ease off yer brother, would ya?”

 “It’s not my fault he’s a dummy,” she proclaimed, crossing her arms over her chest. Austin glared daggers into the back of her head while Gajeel wondered how their kids could end up as they did.

 “Alright, look: Mom’s out, so it’s up to me to keep you brats entertained for the day, alright? I’m not gonna hit ya with any rules or nothin’, but I’d like that our place stays as clean as it is now.”

 “But that’s not a rule!” With that, Austin leapt from the ground and to the wall right below the mirror. Before Gajeel could intervene, his forehead vulcanized and he slammed it into the wall, creating several miniature cracks but, more importantly, dropping the mirror. He caught it before it could shatter and immediately satiated himself with a huge bite of the ornately-woven silver. While Angel set off to chew his ear off as he chewed the metal, Gajeel just shook his head and wondered how in hell he was going to last another sixteen hours.

“You’re babysitting, huh?” Natsu asked, a slow grin spreading across his face as he looked from Gajeel’s narrowed eyes to the ankle-biters literally biting his ankles. He then proceeded to nearly fall from the barstool with his laughter. “Those kids aren’t gonna last the day!”

 “I know,” he said instead of punching Dragneel’s teeth in like he wanted. “I was hopin’ that yer kid and mines could burn energy off—and hopefully not literally.” It was no secret that Astrid, while as beautiful as her mother, was just as much a pyromaniac as Natsu, a fact that the Master’s hairline was well aware of. As Gajeel worked on prying the two from his legs, Natsu continued with having a ball until Gray thankfully shoved him away.

 “Austin likes Bellamy, maybe he’d be a good distraction,” he suggested. “And anyway, I need someone to watch him a few minutes. Juvia wants me to run to the market.”

 “Again? What’s she want this time?”

 “Dango and wasabi,” he said with a grimace. “And of course, she’ll change her mind by the time I get there.” Gajeel smirked at his dismay.

 “Well that’s the problem with wantin’ to make her yers. Where’s yer brat?”

 “Should be over there with Elfman.” He gestured with his chin to the other side of the guild were Mira and Lisanna were clapping and laughing as Elfman bounced around with the seven-year-old giggling on his large shoulders. Austin detached himself at the sight and ran over excitedly, leaving him with just one. Now, if he could only come up with an apt distraction for Angel, he could go and waste away the remainder of the day at the Guild and essentially come off scot-free.

 “Alright, I know I make jokes about you being a Dad and all,” Natsu started, wiping his eyes, “but it’s just too funny! Like, as much as I’ve imagined you—not that I make a habit of imagining your face, mind you—it was never like this.”

 “So, yer point?”

 “I’m pretty proud of you, Metal-head.” Gajeel raised his brows at the compliment as Natsu grinned.

 “Shut it. I don’t need yer praise.”

 “Sure, sure.” Gajeel didn’t have time to bash in the idiot’s face, however, as Astrid came running, growling slightly as she jumped into Natsu’s chest.

 “Daddy, Bell’s mad that I burned his ass!” she scowled. Gajeel looked at Natsu as he laughed awkwardly.

 “Does Bunny-girl know yer daughter talks like that?”

 “No, and I’ll be grateful if she never finds out.” He turned his attention to Astrid, who looked more excited than repentant, and ruffled her hair. It had been shortened to about Laxus’ length at her behest, which made it spike slightly from Natsu’s genes. “Good job, my little dragon! You’re learning well!”

 “Come back here, Astrid!” Bellamy called, stomping a foot crossly as a visible wave of cold built around him. His hair, while blue, was closer to Gray’s in appearance than Juvia’s, and his lean build was also certainly his father’s, but he took more to Juvia’s Water Magic than Gray’s Ice—in fact, from what Gajeel had seen, Bellamy used Ice Magic as his means of “going easy” on another. Astrid stuck her tongue out at him, then flashed her sharp teeth as he hissed in anger. She squirmed in Natsu’s grip and he released her, watching with wide eyes as she tackled Bellamy to the ground and had her fist buried halfway into his mouth with one move.

 “That’s a little demon you’re raising there, Dragneel,” Gajeel commented.

 “She’s a machine trained to snipe any Fullbuster within a thirty-mile radius,” he said very seriously. “The one person she can’t chew up and spit out is—”

 “What in the world is going on here?”

 The two children froze, eyes wide and jaws dropped in identical expressions of terror as the Guild doors crept open. Erza was there, decked out in just a silver breastplate, plain clothes beneath, but that wasn’t what Bellamy and Astrid were focused on. It was ten-year-old Merlin right in front of her with a plainer but still durable metal top and a double-edged sword clasped to her hip. Her long scarlet hair was pinned back to show the expression of a warrior prodigy that could cause anyone with two balls to wet their pants on sight.

 “U-Um, Merlin, we-we were just, uh, messing around,” Bellamy said immediately, a nervous smile crossing his face as he pushed Astrid away. She landed on her behind with a whump, shaking her head vehemently.

 “Yeah, uh we weren’t fighting or nothing, we swear!”

 “Hmph,” she huffed, “That’s what I thought.” Erza had a gleam in her eyes that was downright creepy as she took her daughter’s hand.

 “Come on, Lin, let’s go see if Mira has any strawberry cake left.” Which was an inane thing to say and they both knew it—although the Guild didn’t buy too much strawberry cake, nobody else dared eat it in fear of the two scarlet demons’ wrath if they so thought of it. The Guild members parted like the Red Sea to allow them towards the bar, and as they were treated to their favorite dessert things slowly returned to normal.

 “Haven’t seen Jellal in a while,” Gajeel commented. Natsu shrugged a shoulder.

 “I think he’s in Bosco? I don’t remember.”

 “Daddy,” Angel said, tugging Gajeel’s pants. “I’m hungry.”

 “Alright, we’ll jus’ go to the—” He cut himself off as he glanced at the Scarlets still occupying the bar and changed his tune. “—the diner downtown. Oi, Austin!”

 “Dad, look!” He ran over with a Tikki set on his hair, grinning. “Look what Bickslow gave me!”

 “One of his creepy dolls?” He wanted to tell Austin to throw it out before it cursed him or something, but he looked so happy he let the matter go. “C’mon, let’s go get something to eat.”

It was far easier to deal with the twins with food in front of them. It was actually the one trait they shared, and by far the easiest trait to deal with, unlike Austin’s tendency to chomp anything metal (whether it was attached to a body or not) or Angel’s mouth (which had gotten him in so much trouble he believed she could’ve gave Jose a run for his money). They sat together on one booth sat while Gajeel sat opposite, Angel tossing fries at Austin’s head while he worked on ripping a steak apart with his teeth. Gajeel actually found the show pretty amusing.

 “Daddy, how come Mama didn’t stay today?” Austin asked with his mouth full, barbeque sauce dripping from the corner. Gajeel, unlike him, waited until he swallowed his burger before speaking.

 “She didn’t want to say it, but she missed goin’ on missions, so I chose to stay back while she did.”

 “And you don’t miss going on missions?” Angel pointed out.

 “You two are a pretty good mission.” He grinned as they groaned, taking a gulp of his beer. “I don’t get to spend as much time with ya rug rats as she does, ya know, and there’s gotta be someone to help the little prodigy Austin with his Dragon Slayer Magic.” He beamed at the praise, eyes sparkling even as he gnawed on his knife. “And Angel can teach me all the words she knows and I don’t.” Angel smiled, then frowned.

 “We know you’re a great Daddy, but how come other people still look at you funny?” He sighed, leaning back in the seat and crossing his arms over his chest.

 “Well… I wasn’t always a great Daddy. I did some bad things before, things you two’ll never know if I have a say in it.” It wasn’t that he wanted to keep secrets from them, but he just didn’t want them to give him the same look. From random strangers, it was whatever; from his own children, he didn’t think he’d be able to stand himself. It was already bad enough when Levy used to give him that look.

 “Daddy!” they complained, but he softened it with a hand on their heads.

 “Don’t worry, alright? Jus’ know that I won’t mess up again, not while I need to keep an eye on you two menaces.” They pouted but continued to eat anyway. It was the truth in any case: he never planned on going bad, not for any reason, with Angel and Austin and Levy there behind him. He had never imagined himself with a family of his own, and now that he had it, he found it to be at the forefront of his mind most of the time, a driving force in everything that he did. It was amazing how much the three of them changed things, and he wouldn’t give them up for the world.

 “Home,” Austin said quietly, bringing Gajeel’s attention back to the two of them. Done with their food, they started passing out where they sat. He glanced out the window from the corner of his eye and noticed that the sun was halfway set—Levy had mentioned a naptime for them around sunset. Going over to pay for their meal, he returned to see them attempting to sleep on each other. He took Angel in one arm, but Austin decided to climb atop his head instead. “Comfy,” he murmured into Gajeel’s hair, wrapping his arms around his neck.

 “Yer pulling my hair, kid.”

 “Comfy,” he repeated, purring contentedly. So Gajeel decided to let him be, and followed that familiar road towards the edge of Magnolia where he lived. Angel nuzzled into the space beneath his chin while Austin clung to him with all the strength of an ape. The contrast between them was so funny he had to laugh aloud.

 Yup, wouldn’t trade ‘em for nothin’ else in the world.

 By the time Levy got back, it was late into the night and the twins were in bed. Gajeel was working on the silver mirror, trying to bend the metal to hide the huge bite mark, until she came in their bedroom with a wide smile. “Had fun?” he asked.

 “A lot! And the client was a book lover, so he spared Lucy and me a few new ones!” She clapped her hands excitedly as he chuckled under his breath. “So, how was your day?” she asked as she sat on the edge of the bed. He shrugged a shoulder with a smile.

 “Nothin’ special.”

[firapolemos05]

April is the Cruelest Month 2025

AO3

Day 3: Can't speak

Day 7: Panic attack

CW: implied past abuse, muzzles, panic attack, trauma, disassociation, verbal shutdown

"No incidences to report. The public seems engaged and I'm sure word will spread."

"Excellent work. This has been a tremendous help," Mr. Galloway praised, the copper bangles on his wrists jingling as he clapped his hands together. "Please follow me to my office, I'll have your payment ready for you."

Gajeel had to admit, the three day museum job turned out better than he'd thought it'd be. Levy had snatched the request flier the moment her eyes caught the words 'ancient artifacts', not batting an eye at the reward money. Droy didn't take much convincing either. Nerds, the both of them.

Their client, one Francis Galloway, inherited a large private collection of archeological finds from some cousin who recently passed. In an act that instantly gained the respect of Team Shadowgear's resident history buffs, the man wished to make the collection accessible for public viewing and research. But days before the museum's opening, some hired staff backed out, so Galloway called upon Fairy Tail's assistance while he scrambled to find more people to take the positions for the long term.

The exhibit with all the ancient tools and metalwork had been pretty cool. Gajeel had been posted to that room, tasked to guard and ensure no one got too handsy with the displays. Understandable, sure, but still a shame. Part of him wished he could be allowed to touch at least one piece. If only just to feel and smell the age in the metal. It wasn't everyday you encountered something about ten times older than Zeref, older than the first mages even. But he could already imagine the barrage of "Don't eat it!" commands coming from the rest of the team.

Which… okay fair.

A set of paintings decorated the walls of the man's office. Reaching under the desk, Mr. Galloway pulled up a locked briefcase. After a few clicks on the combination, the case opened to reveal several thick stacks of paper bills. "It should all be here. One hundred fifty thousand jewels. If you'd like to count to double check, help yourself."

Ever the responsible one, Droy skimmed through the stacks of money while Jet and Levy asked about the paintings. Apparently they were made by the man's husband, Dimitri, who the team had met briefly their first day on the job.

A sound began to approach from down the hallway. Gajeel's ears perked up, turning their head towards the doorway to listen. A set of padded footfalls, too many to be coming from a bipedal creature. A soft rhythmic rap of blunt claws against hardwood. Their nose caught the scent of fur and dirt. And soon a large brown dog nudged open the door.

"Oh, who's th-?"

The words turned to ash on Gajeel's tongue. Crumbling to dust like a parched plant in a desert. Clinging to the roof of his mouth and the walls of his throat until it felt like he'd just swallowed sandpaper.

"Oh this darling here is Rosie," Mr. Galloway replied, petting the canine's head as it sat down beside him. "Please excuse the muzzle, she often gets a bit nippy with new people. But that's mostly out of excitement, I promise she's a sweetheart."

Most of those words did not reach Gajeel. When Levy began to speak, nothing she said registered either. All eaten by the static growing louder in the back of his mind. Static bursting its way to the front until it overtook each one of his senses.

The world continued without him.

Where were they? The room was too small. Vision tunneling, eyes refusing to remove their gaze from the dog sitting a few feet away. Miles away. Too far. Right in front of them. Straps of leather around its face. Their face. Not a dog, a boy. A boy bound on his knees, familiar red eyes vacant. Empty. Devoid of any semblance of hope. Did they look that that too? Was the ice gripping their blood real? The ice digging into their ribcage clawing at their lungs? Was the pounding ache in their chest their organs being crushed or just their racing heart? It was too hot. Beads of sweat dripped down their back. It was too cold. A tremor crawling up their spine. They couldn't breathe. Dust and sand filled their throat. Burned cotton. Leather straps and chains constricting. Burrowing into skin. Melding into the flesh of their neck. Their face.

The dog, the boy, did not stop staring. Into them. Into nothing. They did not stop starting. Into themself. Frozen in place, in time.

You'll never escape.

The dog spoke. The dark static spoke. Words picked themselves out of the maelstrom of the hysteria. They sounded too much like Jose.

That thing wrapped around his face. His throat. Too tight. Echoes of several memories taking shape. A vice on his jaws. Voice stolen. Breath stolen. A scent of lavender in his nose.

…Huh? Lavender?

"Gajeel!"

The sound of his name jolted him from the cacophony. Broke through the static and the rest of the world flooded back in. Colors popped then blurred together as his vision swam. A short gasp too shallow for how long he'd been holding his breath without realizing.

"Easy now, just breath. You alright?"

Twin purple flowers sat under Gajeel's nose, accompanied by several other colorful blossoms entwined around Droy's outstretched arm. A calloused but warm hand stopping just short of contact, waiting for permission. The sweet aroma pungent, cutting through the haze to guide them back to reality. Taking the plant mage's hand, they buried themself into the fragrance. Filling lungs with flora. The mixing scents were strong, a welcomed obtrusion. A steadying root.

The room stood empty save for the two of them. They unclenched their jaw. The dog was gone. The others' voices filtered in from a different room. They pried their claws from where they'd dug into their biceps.

Wait. Droy asked them a question.

They should answer. Tell him they're fine. They are fine. None of that was real. Their lips formed the movement of words but the sound remained stuck deep in their throat. They tried again. Their body refused to listen.

Why couldn't he talk? He was fine now. The muzzle wasn't on him. The feeling had been a phantom. A memory. Not real. There was nothing wrapping a suffocating grip around his neck or mouth. Nothing that would prevent the passage of air. So why couldn't he fucking speak? Why did this always happen when this shit came up?

The frustration must've shown on his face for Droy cut in. "Levy's trying to barter for special access to the museum for the future, no surprise. I was planning on waiting outside to get some fresh air. Wanna join me?"

He didn't mention Gajeel's shutdown. Didn't mention the dog muzzle. For that the iron dragon slayer was grateful. The team knew the story, they'd be able to put two and two together. Getting out of this manor sounded great right now.

[firapolemos05]

April is the Cruelest Month 2025

Art

Day 17: Burned

Day 20: Suffocation

CW: aftermath of strangulation, burns, broken bones, panic attack

This is a scene that goes with another fanfiction I'm working on. That one will have the full context for what's happening but I wanted to write this part in Gajeel's pov since the main one has it in Jet's.

The awful smell accompanied Gajeel in his drift into oblivion. Heat laced with burning flesh cooking the inside of his mouth and nose.

He doesn't know for how long the world goes dark, how long he has until he'd be knocking on the Reaper's door. Both a moment and an eternity. He hopes they won't ask him for anything, he doesn't think he'll be able to answer. Or do souls need to talk to communicate? Guess he'll find out soon enough.

But his eyes open to fog.

They could've sworn they'd been in the middle of dying. Hell's ferry is not there to greet them.

Their body doesn't respond to their wish to walk. Iron now a slab of lead. Did gravity get fucked up or are they just on the ground? They can't tell. The fog hasn't lifted and direction makes no sense. Up? Down? Where the hell are they?

He's not breathing.

Like a switch being flipped, a system jumpstart, sensation returns all at once. Pain. Ember thorns blossoming around his neck. Gajeel is made painfully aware that his lungs are screaming.

He can't breathe. 

Direction doesn't matter when instincts take over. Gravity reverses. The dark mass they're facing is hopefully the ground. They press their hand against it to hold themself up and a bullet shoots up their arm. They both feel and hear bone fragments scrape against each other. 

Dark guild. Kidnapped children. A creature cloaked in shadow and flames. 

Recall comes in pieces. 

A creature cloaked in shadow and flames with searing talons at his throat. 

He can't see the creature anymore but the vice trapping him from air won't let go. He tries to claw away the phantom grip but all that's there is a collar of burns. Blood and burns that relight with molten agony at each touch, each futile scratch. An alarm screeches in his ears, pulsing in tune with a racing heartbeat and starbursts behind his eyes. Magma fingers dig through his ribcage and his chest seizes as they clutch. 

Shit, they really didn't want to die.

An impact smacks into Gajeel's upper back, and the wad of blood lodged in their windpipe splatters the ground with red. Air. Their lungs gulp it down between hacking gasps like someone finding water after days in the desert. Each breath a swipe of sandpaper, shards of glass, each cough a knife swallowed whole ripping up their neck from the inside. 

Inhale. Exhale.

Fuck it hurts.

His ears pick up new sounds. Voices. Shoving him back into awareness that he doesn't know where he is. Dark guild. Shadow creature. Who's talking? What are the blobs taking form in his still blurred vision?

He's hurt. Disoriented. A sitting duck.

Something touches his shoulder and his mind doesn't register its gentleness. Only a presence he didn't sense before. Fabric tears as iron scales stand into spiked pauldrons. His back arches and a line of razor sharp spines raise along the ridge of his vertebrae. 

Whatever touched them is quick to retreat, and the other shapes back further away when their lips curl to bare bone crushing teeth. But the accompanying snarl catches  in their throat like a fishing line snagged on a tree root. Black dots pepper their sight. The intimidating illusion breaks as they double over into another coughing fit. Their tongue tastes blood and bile. Acrid and metallic. 

They-

They need to get the fuck up and move.

“. . .-jeel!. . . .ook. . .me!"

Fragments of speech cut through the static. A tone of desperation that makes Gajeel pause.

". . .at's it. . .over. . . .safe now."

It's still painful to breathe, but at least the flow of oxygen to their lungs is somewhat steady now. Their chest no longer buried under blocks of concrete and brick. No unseen attacker comes. The voice continues to speak as the adrenaline fueled panic begins to slow, and gradually the world around them clears. The ringing echoing through their skull quiets. The shapes before their eyes become familiar. Faces.

“You back with us, dude?” Jet asks, Levy and Pantherlily on either side. Three matching wide-eyed expressions of concern.

Shit, he pulled that threat display on them.

Exhaustion and relief pull him to the floor, energy depleted. The arm that failed him before sports a circle of scorched skin and bends at an angle it isn't supposed to. Ah, definitely broken then. That answers that question.

Inhale. Exhale. 

The three crowd around, chittering above like a murder of crows arguing over a shiny trinket. Droy isn't in sight, nor is his scent close. Against his better judgment, Gajeel attempts to ask about the plant mage, but the only sound that leaves his mouth is a ragged wheeze that sparks up the embers again. 

Pantherlily's furred palm rests on their back. “I know you'll hate this, but it's probably best to avoid talking for now. At least just until we get you medical attention.”

“Yeah no offense buddy, but your neck currently looks like a pizza left in the oven for too long,” Jet comments, and receives an elbow to the ribs courtesy of Levy for the effort. 

If their throat looks anything like their burned wrist at the moment, the comparison wasn't far off. Damn, it's going to be a while before he can speak again. 

[firapolemos05]

WIP Folder Ask Game

Rules: make a new post with the names of all the files in your writing WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous and tag as many people as you have WIPs. People send an ask with the title that most intrigues them, then you post a snippet or tell them something about it!

Thanks @fearsomefairytailfan and @thewhumpywitch for the tag!💜

Oh Captain, Why Captain? (Aka the Egg fic) chapter 2 - Xitanae verse

Did you know an eagle's talons can crush human bone? - Fairy Tail

No Devil Hides Beneath my Bed chapter 3- Xitanae verse

Windows to the soul (A hook through your heart) - Other

Who says little siblings are the only ones who bite? - Fairy Tail

Learned Helplessness - Fairy Tail

Untitled Gajeel concussion drabble - Fairy Tail

Untitled Gajeel sensory deprivation fic - Fairy Tail

Not that much but only cause the other ideas haven't been started yet 😅. And yes, these are all whump.

Uhhhh who to tag, let's see.

No pressure of course: @inscrutable-shadow , @crash-bump-bring-the-whump , @ostensiblyfunctional , @lilyntlrs , @tormentum-ab-intra , @heartonxions and anyone else!

[firapolemos05]

Hi Fira :D I did not know eagles can break human bones with their talons! They can crush us like soda cans, if you will. I'd like to ask why that's a WIP title? And the last two untitled ones, the ones about Gajeel—are they about when he's with Scarlet?

They can indeed, which is why people who work with eagles and other birds of prey have to wear those special gloves. Both to protect against the talons and the pressure.

That's the fic title because Fira's Phoenix Magic gives her certain physiological traits of predatory birds. So she has an eagle's grip strength and then some. That power gets displayed in the fic, but not in a way she would've liked 🙂.

As for the two untitled Gajeel whump fics, no those are just from a couple random missions. The concussion one is when he's with Natsu and Wendy and gets a harpoon to the head, and the sensory deprivation he's with Shadowgear and runs afowl a magic artifact that's basically a flash/sonic bomb.

Learned Helplessness is the one with him and Scarlet. 😉

[ao3feed-gratsu-brotp]

Deleted Scenes - Break Him; Mend Him Series

by Prince_Ash_28

When Natsu is captured and carted off to a wizard slave-trade, he quickly realizes that this situation is one he cannot punch his way out of. When other lives become at stake, he must learn to accept the position he's in or carry them on his shoulders. And more than that, he must learn to accept the mistakes he had made along the way.

Scenes from my story that got rewritten / didn't make the cut. I thought it was a shame that some of it won't see the light of day, so I'm just posting it for fun!

Could work as a collection of one-shots if you haven't read the story (but you may be a little confused!). Context included at the beginning of the chapters.

Whether you're new or a fan of my series, please enjoy this bonus Natsu whump and angst, haha.

Words: 6198, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Series: Part 3 of Break Him; Mend Him

Fandoms: Fairy Tail

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: Gen

Characters: Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, Erza Scarlet, Wendy Marvell, Gray Fullbuster, Happy (Fairy Tail), Juvia Lockser, Gajeel Redfox

Relationships: Natsu Dragneel & Lucy Heartfilia, Natsu Dragneel & Gray Fullbuster, Natsu Dragneel & Happy, Natsu Dragneel & Erza Scarlet

Additional Tags: Angst, Whump, Protective Team, Injury, Injury Recovery, Kidnapping, Rescue Missions, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Graphic descriptions of injury, Fairy Tail Dragon Slayers, Hurt Natsu Dragneel, Natsu Dragneel-centric, Natsu Dragneel Needs a Hug, Protective Lucy Heartfilia, Protective Erza Scarlet, Protective Gray Fullbuster, Protective Happy (Fairy Tail), Hurt/Comfort, Survivor Guilt, Hallucinations, Recovery, Panic Attacks, Anxiety Attacks, Deleted Scenes, but its for my own fanfic lol

Source: https://archiveofourown.org/works/62327182

[ao3feed-gratsu-brotp]

Break Him

by Prince_Ash_28

A mission gone horribly, horribly wrong: Forced to leave a member behind in the hands of some kind of dark guild, Lucy and Happy frantically rush to Fairy Tail for backup. A plan of action is formed, but it's slowly falling apart. Caught up in a slave trade and at the mercy of a man whose namesake is a damn potato, Natsu has a hard lesson to learn: sometimes rushing into things without thinking can have dire consequences. "The human body can bear immeasurable pain and yet recover. Wounds can heal. But once your spirit is broken, everything falls apart."

Old fic I decided to finish after 6 years. Help, it never left my head, lol. Moved from Fanfiction.net because I literally forgot my login info. Big quality shift about halfway through.

Words: 133461, Chapters: 22/22, Language: English

Series: Part 1 of Break Him; Mend Him

Fandoms: Fairy Tail

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: Gen

Characters: Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, Erza Scarlet, Gajeel Redfox, Gray Fullbuster, Happy (Fairy Tail), Wendy Marvell, Charle | Carla, Levy McGarden, Juvia Lockser

Relationships: Natsu Dragneel & Happy & Lucy Heartfilia, Natsu Dragneel & Fairy Tail Guild, Natsu Dragneel & Lucy Heartfilia, Happy & Lucy Heartfilia, Natsu Dragneel & Gray Fullbuster, Natsu Dragneel & Erza Scarlet, Natsu Dragneel & Gray Fullbuster & Lucy Heartfilia & Erza Scarlet

Additional Tags: Angst, Kidnapping, Slave Trade, Master/Slave, Non-Sexual Slavery, Blood and Injury, Team as Family, Protective Team, Injury, Abuse, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Rescue Missions, Missions Gone Wrong, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Trauma, Guilt, Survivor Guilt, Hurt Natsu Dragneel, Natsu Dragneel Needs a Hug, Fairy Tail Guild Found Family, Fairy Tail Dragon Slayers, Hurt/Comfort, Dragon Slayer Magic (Fairy Tail), BAMF Natsu Dragneel, Natsu Dragneel-centric, Whump, Blood and Violence, Torture, Self-Harm, Hospitalization, Medical Conditions, Mind Control Aftermath & Recovery, Injury Recovery, Recovery, Eating Disorders, Starvation, Hallucinations, Drug Withdrawal, Withdrawal, Detox, Panic Attacks, Anxiety Attacks, Eventual Fluff

Source: https://archiveofourown.org/works/55817458

[genavere]

February Whump Prompts – 2023, DAY 5: "That’s Gonna Scar”

Content Warnings: Recovery from a serious wound

Fandom: Fairy Tail - Natsu x Lucy

Knife to the Throat - Part 1 | 2 | 3

A struggle ensued the moment she tried to open her eyes, like all the times she had argued with Natsu on taking the train to a mission instead of walking there. From the weight on her eyelids, she felt that convincing her beloved dragon slayer on a wagon would be easier.

When the weight had shifted enough, the first thing she saw was darkness. Not a complete darkness, but that of the nighttime hours and no moon or lights from the city flow through the window. If there were lights, it would have been hard to discern since everything was blurry.

The moment her eyes slipped shut again, exhaustion swept over her. The thought of pleasant dreams and sleep coaxed her to slip away into the nothingness her mind desired. But, the rumbling she felt through her stomach and the craving of water and salt pulled her back. Soup, she mentally sighed, soup sounded so delicious in that moment.

And water, she grimaced from the pain constricting her throat as she tried to swallow sludge.

What had happened?  

Pressure squeezed around her hand, pulling her attention to the side. The ache in her throat kept her from moving anything but her eyes that she slowly blinked in hopes to clear her vision. The dark blur by her moved in closer. Murmuring filled her ears, but they were as muffled as her vision.

A gentle warmth caressed her cheek with weathered fingers. She sighed in content, leaning into it as best as she could, and eyes sliding closed. The comfort she felt knowing Natsu was next to her filled her with the sense of safety and lulled her into a restful sleep.

The next time she woke, sunlight pierced through her eyelids and made the pounding inside her head worse. Everything felt so heavy and weak when she tried to pull a hand up to block the light. It frustrated her to feel so.

Before she could say anything, arms reached over and closed the curtains. Soft light from lacrimas lit the room instead and offered her a much better chance to look around. The puffed pink comforter that rested softly on her bare chest was the first and only hint that she needed to know she was in her apartment.

Of course she was in her apartment. Where else would she wake up, she chastised herself.

From her comforter, she glanced off to the side, fully expecting to see Natsu lounging in her living space with half of her food for the month consumed. What she saw was half right. Natsu was there, but he sat on a chair right next to her bed, his hands holding one of hers tightly. All around him was the rest of Team Natsu, along with Levy, Gajeel, and Lily.

Why was everyone in her apartment?

The question must have come across her features as Erza quickly spoke up. “Try not to speak, you have been in a coma for two weeks now.”

Two weeks?! She tried to push herself up, but it was Wendy that gently pushed her down.

“Please, don’t push yourself,” the young girl said softly. “Not only did you have a serious injury, but you lost a lot of blood and had a bad infection from your wounds and the blood in your lungs. Porlyusica and I have spent most of the time since we’ve been back trying to heal you.”

“The only reason why you are here was Natsu refused to leave you alone,” Carla added in, arms crossed. Even so, it was easy to tell that everyone there was worried about her.

“You really had us worried, Bunny Girl,” Gajeel said.

“Do you remember what all happened, Lu?”

Her eyes moved to Levy’s at the question. Did she remember? Her eyes trailed up to the ceiling as she sought to remember anything from waking up this morning. She knew her friends, their names, remembered her parents, and that she was a published author. At the thought of Fairy Tail, she could feel the mark on the back of her right hand, all the faces of her family.

Instinctively, her eyes met Natsu’s, felt the heat from his hands and the worry that stressed his features. Memories of running with Wendy came back to her, and telling Loke to get her away while she distracted the enemy.

Then the days of torture and pain. Natsu finding her and the heat that boiled the air around them.

Her free hand twitched and sluggishly moved up to touch her throat. Bandages were laid thick around the flesh. It made her worry…two weeks of healing from both Wendy and Porlyisica and she still had a bandage on?

Both Natsu and Wendy looked uncomfortable.

“Lucy,” Natsu said, clearing his throat in an attempt to make whatever he was going to say easier. “I didn’t have much of a choice, but I had to burn the wound. It was bleeding so fast! I couldn’t lose you!” The words were fast, practically tripping over each other as they left his mouth. Tears glossed his eyes over, bringing the dark smudges out from under them and their bloodshot state.

Wendy took over for him. “If Natsu had not done that, I am not sure if I would have healed you in time, Lucy. Though, you never should have been in that position. If I was stronger…if I had seen that trap before I fell into it…”

Tears fell onto clenched fists, sending droplets all around. It made Lucy’s heart clench to see the young dragon slayer so distraught, but not once did she remember ever blaming her for torment. The enemy had been skilled in tracking and trapping their prey, and it had come down to a choice. Once she did not regret one bit if it meant she saved her friend.

She opened her mouth to tell her so, but Gray suddenly spoke out, looking anxious. “Ah, water! We should get her water, dontcha agree?”

Erza jerked, eyes wide and nodding in agreement. “Yes! Yes, water would be best! Let’s get her some water!”

They quickly marched out of the room and into the bedroom, leaving her confused on what was going on. She looked between the three Exceeds, Levy, and the three dragon slayers left in her room.

Wendy pulled in a gasp of air and tried to clear her throat; an action that normally would have been chastised by Carla. Actually, she noticed the droopy ears of the cats standing along the edge of her bed, and the tension between everyone else. Something pulled on the back of her mind, warning her that something was not being told to her.

Natsu met her eyes. “Lucy…”

Wait…after they started dating, he never called her Lucy. Not unless something important or dangerous was happening. Thinking back, she realized he had yet to call her Luce. Her breathing increased. Everyone in the room jumped in panic.

“Please don’t panic, Luchee!” Happy cried, as Carla and Lily held him back from leaping on her and kept yelling at him to stop struggling.

“Just tell her what is up, Salamander!”

“Lu, it’s okay! Everything will be fine!”

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t do more to help you, Lucy!”

The only voice that had not been added to the chaos was her own and Natsu’s. She felt him tug at her hand gently and she met his stare. Everything blacked out around them, she took in breaths as he did, bringing her panicked mind down gently. When everything had quieted around her, she focused on his voice.

“The knife slit deep, down into your windpipe from what the old hag said,” he began, his thumb made circles on the back of her hand. “It also damaged your vocal cords.”

Wendy picked up explaining for him. “The wound on your neck, inside and out, has scarred really badly. I have been trying to heal the scar tissue, but…it might never be fully healed.”

Which meant....

“Lu,” Levy’s voice pulled her attention to the end of the bed. “No matter what happens, we will be here for you. And I have compiled a whole new section of the library to learn sign language and telepathy magic. Warren said he would also help, and Natsu said he would do everything he could to learn it with you, too.”

She looked at her partner and saw the stubborn look on his face. If he said he would do something, that meant he would pour his all into it. And never once had she seen him back down from a challenge. If he was willing to learn for her…her fingers brushed against the bandages along her neck again.

The possible loss of her voice still had not fully hit her yet. It would be a challenge to learn how to live without it, but…

She looked at those around her, and even those of her friends who hid in the kitchen, unable to deal with the issues at hand. Everything would be fine, at some point. This was just the beginning.

Pulling her arm away from her neck, she used every once of strength she had in the limb to gesture Happy forward. Giving a cry, he flung himself to her side and hugged her tightly. Her arm wrapped around him, using him as a rest for it as she did.

It would be all right. She had her nakama, her team, even her hands and keys, which glowed on her bedside table in acknowledgement. It would be one more challenge they would tackle together.

Natsu squeezed her hand gently and they shared a smile. Yes, everything would be fine, even with the future break downs and rough patches as the realization fully hit her, they would manage.

Because now, as she remembered that last fleeting memory from before, she knew that she would get to see his smile for many years to come.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The last sentence was the only part of this that did not seem to flow for me. Re-wrote it a few times before I settled with what is now.

Hope everyone enjoyed this!

At the end of the month, I will have a thread with a link to all of the prompts that I did for this challenge. Along with the prompt, the title, and summary.

Link to AO3 | FF.net

@febuwhump @millennial-star-gazer

[ao3feed-nalu]

yuánfèn

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/43TLnRd

by tiddiejoon

Lucy supposes it’s a little crazy to think of A-class missions as simple. Then again, when they have battled an empire, demons, a Dragon King, and a cursed immortal…finding a kidnapped girl doesn’t seem so challenging.

Words: 3069, Chapters: 1/10, Language: English

Fandoms: Fairy Tail

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: F/M

Characters: Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, Erza Scarlet, Gray Fullbuster, Wendy Marvell, Happy (Fairy Tail), Charle | Carla

Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia

Additional Tags: Graphic violence in later chapters, Explicit Language, some disturbing scenes in later chapters, nudity and fairy tail-esque shennanigans, Angst, Whump, Eventual Fluff, Humor, nalu are idiots in love but neither wants to take the first step, Action-heavy, actual plot????, picks up after the end of fairy tail, NOT compliant with 100yq, mild romance, Lucy POV, Background Relationships, Minor Levy McGarden/Gajeel Redfox, Minor Jellal Fernandes/Erza Scarlet, Minor Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/43TLnRd

[ao3feed-nalu]

Fairy Tail Whumptober 2022

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/23CilUq

by XFangHeartX

A series of Fairy Tail one-shots for Whumptober 2022!

Words: 541, Chapters: 1/31, Language: English

Fandoms: Fairy Tail

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: F/M, Gen

Characters: Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, Wendy Marvell, Erza Scarlet, Gray Fullbuster, Happy (Fairy Tail), Charle | Carla, Original Female Character(s), Original Animal Character(s)

Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia, Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser, Levy McGarden/Gajeel Redfox, Jellal Fernandes/Erza Scarlet

Additional Tags: Whumptober 2022, Whump, Fluff and Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/23CilUq