#also her tail has like an iron grip on his arm. literally cannot get it off of him (not that he tries very hard to)

[archersartcorner]

Okay back to some regularly scheduled father&daughter posting. I know it’s kinda OOC, but I was thinking this is after Saavik has a particularly bad nightmare and can’t help but go to Spock for safety.

[catcodemon]

i FINALLY finished the inky n marauder fluff. please clap.

[ao3 link]

The creature is, in his opinion, very...perturbing.

He is accustomed to creatures of similar size. Even his loyal wolf is to scale with him. The demons he has confronted and has since abandoned were sizable. Even the Slayer himself was proportionate to him--albeit, shorter. The mech, Vega, is taller than the Slayer, but still barely reaches the Marauder’s shoulder height.

The pet is only approximately the size of his head, he estimates. Something so small and fragile should not exist in such a hostile environment. Though, he supposes, the haven of the Fortress provides the needed safety for the fragile thing. 

The first time he follows the Slayer back to the Fortress, the jet-black, furry thing runs up to the man and practically wrapps itself around his legs. A long tail, curled at the tip, slides around his leg as the little thing weaves between the marine’s legs. 

He physically wrinkles his lip at it, glaring at it intensely. “What the hell is that?”

Vega hums, amused, as the Slayer stoops over to pick up the creature. “That,” his warm voice informs the Marauder, “is our loyal feline. Inky.”

His eyes squint at the wriggling black mass in the Slayer’s arms. The man seems oblivious to the warrior’s scrutiny, instead focusing on rubbing the cat’s face with bulky, gauntlet-covered fingers. The cat--he refuses to give that thing a name--wiggles happily, batting at the fingers and rubbing its face against them.

“She has residency seniority over you,” Vega teases. “She has the right-of-way.”

“She will have no issues with me, should she leave me be,” he grunts out, looking pointedly away. 

“I cannot guarantee that,” Vega warns. 

The Marauder glares at the mech. “I cannot guarantee that thing’s safety, if it comes near.”

Immediately, the Slayer tenses. His head whips around to lock onto the Marauder’s form, eyes damn near glowing with restrained anger. His body tenses, Inky sensing the change in his disposition as well and wriggling out of his suddenly-tight grip. 

He curls his lip. “Does she really mean that much to you two? A measly animal?”

“Well,” Vega tries to reason, purposefully placing himself between the two warriors, “Inky is very good at easing the Slayer’s thoughts when they delve into uncanny valleys,” he proposes. “She is a good distraction and source of comfort for both him and myself, truth be told.”

Something reluctantly clicks in his mind: if he wishes to stay with them, it is positively necessary that he grows used to her. 

“Fine,” he snarls. “Do not expect an overwhelming welcome to her,” he adds. “I’ve no time for such a feeble, fragile thing.”

Vega chuckles affably. “With your bristly exterior, I doubt she will even want to bother you,” he offers. “Perhaps that is a good thing?”

The Marauder huffs petulantly. 

⁂

He grows accustomed to seeing the cat wandering the Fortress. While her coloring oftentimes leaves him squinting into the shadows to see if she’s truly there, he does notice her. He notices that she slinks around after the Slayer when he is present, then waits patiently with Vega in the main room until he returns from a mission. She spares him no attention, at first--just how he likes it. 

The cat’s behavior is both predictable and erratic. He knows what times she will start to fuss as she waits to be fed. He knows what places she likes to curl up and sleep in. He knows what toys she prefers to carry around and play with, by now. 

He also knows that she is growing interested in him. 

At first, she would skitter away from him, were he to approach. None of the times were him necessarily approaching her; rather, something different that she was between. Claws would scrabble on the hard floor as she struggled to get traction enough to tear away, her feet making soft thumps as she ran. 

Now, however, she grows braver. He catches her intently watching him as he makes his way around the Fortress. He notices that she only scoots to the side enough to let him by as he walks. 

Against even his iron-will, he feels some part of him soften to her advances. Acknowledging her questioning sounds, idly flicking a toy for her to chase when it stops near him--little things that he desperately hopes go unnoticed.

He is cleaning his armor one day when he first feels it. Something...ticklish, brushing against his exposed arm. Reflexively, he goes to swat away whatever it is, but pauses when the thing lets out a familiar mrrp!

Ah. She’s finally gotten brave enough.

When he looks over, her eyes meet his. Piercing green, even in the dim light of the armory. She lets out another questioning sound as they lock gazes, rubbing her head more firmly against his arm. 

He looks to his hands. Blood-stained, battle-worn-- tools of death. How many lives has he claimed with them? He frowns at the ragged claws at the tips. Does he have the delicacy to respect her, with a body meant for destruction?

Of course he does, he decides. The Slayer is a bloodthirsty killer as well, and he manages to be gentle enough on her. Hands that quite literally ripped demons in halves could still be controlled enough to allow gentle caresses.

One clawed hand extends to her. Her ears perk up at the gesture, her neck stretching as she leans forward to sniff. He barely feels her whiskers tickling his fingertips before he’s baffled.

The cat leans fully into his hand, preening and standing on her tip-toes, eyes slitting closed happily. 

He is taken aback, at first. How long has it been since he was gentle with something, apart from his wolf? He supposes there have been a lot of changes lately, and this is no different. Gently, he drags his nails down her spine, feeling the thick, black fur ruffle underneath. 

Suddenly, a rumble starts up from within her. A growl? A snarl? Regardless, he snatches his hand away immediately. She looks to him, confused, head slightly tilted to the side.

Scowling at her, he puts his armor aside and goes to find someone.

***

“Your...feline,” he starts. “Is she normally so aggressive?”

Vega and the Slayer look at him curiously. The Slayer’s brows knit together as he listens to him continue.

“I attempted to ‘soothe’ her, earlier,” he explains, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “And she immediately started growling. Does she do this to you?”

“‘Growling’?” Vega queries. “She is not known to be like that. Did you upset her somehow?”

“Of course not!” the Marauder snarls petulantly. 

‘What were you doing?’ 

“Simply touching her,” he grumbles. “She came up seeking attention. I gave it to her.”

Vega’s face positively lights up when he finishes. “Oh! Marauder, she was not being hostile towards you,” his voice is bright and excited. “That’s her way of expressing happiness and pleasure--she purrs!”

He knows what purring is. Hell, he’s been accused of purring when content. He ponders it for a moment while Vega continues.

“Purring means she feels safe and happy,” he chortles. “She was not growling--she was pleased!”

As if on cue, Inky trots into the room, tail high and curled at the tip. When she sees the three of them, her ears straighten, and she starts to chitter excitedly.

‘Watch this,’ the Slayer beckons. He leans over, wiggling his fingers to her, drawing her over quickly. When in range, he picks her up, cradling her against his chest, scratching her chin. She does the same thing she had done with the Marauder just before: her eyes slit closed, she wriggles into the touch, and the low rumble starts up once more.

“You’re telling me,” he blurts, “that she ‘growls’ when happy?”

“To put it simply, yes.”

He steps over to the Slayer, gently laying a hand on Inky’s back to feel the rumble for himself. Her entire body seems to vibrate with the ferocious purring.

“How backwards,” he grunts, taking his hand back. 

“Different creatures have different ways of expressing happiness,” Vega offers. “Your wolf wags its tail when happy. The Slayer smiles. Inky purrs.”

A quick glance proves that yes, the Slayer is smiling smugly at him.

With a final flustered huff, he bids goodbye and goes to the main control room. Gazing out the bay windows, he considers what had happened. So, she was not being irritable...which meant he was doing something right.

⁂

The next time she appears to him, he’s prepared. 

This time, he is just returning from a much-needed outing. The Slayer and Vega had stayed at the base, leaving him to his own doings. 

As he enters the portal back to the Fortress, he immediately spots Inky. She is sitting on the console, tail curled neatly around her paws as she watches. As soon as she spots him, she lets out a chortle, tail straightening up as she stands. At first, he walks by her. She voices her displeasure with a pitiful whine, following after him.

He lets out a grunt, waving a hand at her. “Let me clean off first.”

She persists, following him to the armory once more as he puts his axe aside. A quick scrubdown removes any gore and viscera from his armor and body, leaving him suitable, at least to his standards.

In the doorway, she waits patiently. When he approaches, she stands, arching her back excitedly. Almost automatically, he stoops over and gently scoops her up off the floor, cradling her in the crook of one bulky arm. His free hand moves to ruffle her fur, which she leans into wholly.

He carries her out, intending to sit down in one of the chairs circling the data consoles as he mulls over his day. She does not fight his grip, going slack like putty. He settles down, now placing her in his lap. Instantly, she curls up into a ball, once again rumbling--purring--happily. His claws run through her fur smoothly, relishing in the way she squirms contentedly against the touches. 

He supposes he could get use to this.

[arriyire]

Learn to Fly - A Fairy Tail Fic Ch. 14

Summary: The world is split into two realms - the mortal and the spirit. In this world, demons attack humans and the winged protect them. When Levy gets shoved headfirst into the spirit realm, she will have to adjust her whole way of living and learn to deal with a moody dragon winged Gajeel. AU vaguely based on the manga plot.

Rated: T

This was one of two scenes that inspired this whole story, and it was inspired by How to Train Your Dragon and the songs ‘Where No-one Goes’ by Jonsi and ‘Into a Fantasy’ by Alexander Rybak

Chapter 14

Levy stumbled and fell forward again, barely catching herself before hitting the ground. Nearby she heard the concerned shouts of Jet and Droy and a manic laughter of Natsu as he chased Gray through the sky. Yes, today the guild had decided to teach Levy to fly. And it was going about as well as she had expected. All morning she had been following the variety teaching methods of the many guild members as they tried to gently (or not so gently) launch her into the sky. Apparently after a winged had shown they could use magic they would be ready to fly. Levy disagreed heavily. Repeatedly she had fallen after barely getting a foot off the ground her wings refusing to compromise or listen to her demands that they move in the way she was being shown.

Levy sat on the ground defeated as Droy tried to rouse her with cheers of encouragement, “You did really well! Maybe you just need some food?” Like a flash Jet was next to Levy with a sandwich and some lemonade, grinning like he won first place in a race. Droy looked rather dejected and decided to make Jet know that food was his idea! Lacking the energy to break up other one of their spats, Levy dove into the lemonade enjoying the cool sourness on the hot day.

During her rest Levy tried to formulate her escape before someone attempted yet another flying lesson. Maybe she could use her magic and escape in a puff of smoke? Testing her abilities she whispered the word smoke and used her finger to spell it in the air. After a minute it was clear nothing had happened and she sighed heavily ‘something else to add to the list of things I cannot do’ she thought rather depressingly.

Gajeel sat on a nearby tree branch, with one leg dangling off the edge and his back resting against its strong trunk. Eye’s closed and enjoying the day in the comfortable shade, Gajeel kept his ears trained on the hilarity going on beneath him. He sniggered as Levy repeatedly tried to get airborne and use her magic to escape her gruelling teachers; this was never going to work. Magic was an instinct all winged had not something that could be taught. She had stopped Jet before because she felt she had to, without that strong will to do something she wouldn’t be able to call it forth when she wanted to. Same with flying, she needed a situation where she needed….

Gajeel’s ruby eyes snapped open and a sinister grin grew on his face as his absent thoughts became a rather effective plan to get Levy in the air. Sure to some people it may be harsh, but it was guaranteed to work! Standing on the tree branch Gajeel blended into the shade the canopy above provided he waited for his opportune moment. Sure enough as the two cheerleaders ran to help their reluctant leader stand, they had stepped back just enough to give Gajeel a clear shot at the bookworm. Shooting forward, the branch he had been standing on nearly broken from the power, Gajeel grabbed Levy from literally under their noses and took to the sky without ever touching the ground. The sound of Gajeel’s laughter mixed in with Levy’s surprised scream was the only trace that either of them had been in the field.

Jet braced his wings ready to follow only to be stopped by Natsu who was also laughing wildly. “Let him try and get her flying, never know ol’ iron butt might have a good idea!” The fire dragon’s cheery demeanour did nothing to calm the panic within Jet about leaving Levy alone with Gajeel for any amount of time – even if he had protected her from Laxus. However when Natsu dragged him away from where he was standing with the desire to brawl, he tried to trust that she would be fine; after all he needed to worry about himself right now.

Levy’s panic lasted only a few moments when she realised who had grabbed her, fear quickly turned to anger as she listened him laugh uncontrollably at her terror.  Not thinking clearly, she tried to struggle out of his grip as he sped across the sky unaware he was the only thing right now, keeping her in the sky. It was no use either way, the man’s grip was ironically iron tight. Sensing her clear distress Gajeel merely laughed again and slowed his wing beats as he reached the human city.

Gajeel dropped Levy on top of a huge skyscraper in a nearby city. Levy stumbled barely landing on her feet, the footing was so narrow one false move and she would become a blue pancake on the pavement below. “Gajeel! Y-You asshole! What are you doing!?” Levy rarely cursed aloud but she felt circumstances justified it here.

Said asshole, landed much more gracefully on the roof leaving even less room for standing. “Alright shrimp, time for a real flying lesson.”  Now there was a set of words that scared Levy without a doubt.

Gajeel blatantly ignorant to the terror she was feeling continued. “All you gotta do is jump off this building – instinct will do the rest. Like riding a bike! Kind of...” Gajeel looked perplexed at his own comparison, while Levy searched for a ladder, rope or glider anything to get her down from here without use of her wings.

But Gajeel was having none of it quickly blocking her path with a muscled arm “Oh no you don’t short stuff you’re doing this now – even if we stay here all night” Truth be told Gajeel wouldn’t nearly be that patient. There was always Plan B if she didn’t start flying before his patience ran out.

“Gajeel. While I appreciate the help, I am clearly not ready to fly!” Levy tried to plead with the man, hoping her words would sway the kind man that she knew must be under there somewhere. The one, who had defended her from demons, took her flying and saved her from Laxus’ attack.

“You’re a winged now Levy, flying is lesson 101, besides your putting yourself at risk, if you can’t fly you can’t use magic and if you can’t do that you can’t protect yourself – someone isn’t always going to be there to save yer ass you know.” His words were harsh but true, their guild mates would do all they could to protect one another but she would quickly become a burden on everyone if she didn’t buck up and join the fray.

Still Levy protested “But what if I can’t fly!?”

Gajeel wanted to roar with laughter, can’t fly she said – this woman had wit and intelligence beyond compare, yet nothing in terms of self-confidence. Well it was time to fix that, actions speak louder than words they say and Gajeel is definitely a man of action.

“Do ya trust me?” Gajeel extended a rough hand out to Levy, a rare show of compassion and an even rarer invitation to the dragon’s personal space. Levy wordlessly took his hand, tiny fingers held to his palm looking for the reassurance he was trying to give. They stood side by side on the ledge of the building nothing but the open sky above them but all Levy could focus on was the unforgiving earth below, threatening her with a second untimely demise.

“Oi don’t look down.  Keep your head high and close your eyes.” His voice was soft but commanding, and while Levy wanted to argue; she was caught between the unforgiving ground and an unrelenting Gajeel who softy squeezed her hand. She breathed deeply calming her heart and did as he said, he felt her move his hand away from hers so she stood independently, but he was still nearby.

“Gajeel I’m still not…” A small voice began…

“Just do what I say a’ight?” Gajeel cut her off before she could protest again.

“Feel your wings on yer back, feel the magic in them and in your veins.” He stood firm overseeing Levy as she tested her wings, the overlapping pages quietly ruffled as they moved. She felt the magic humming in her veins as she focused, begging to be released with her wings, dying to fly. It was almost like they were alive, a separate entity from herself but still apart of her.  Levy steadily grew excited, the whispers from her wings pushing her further and further; but the moment she felt ready to try, the sight of the ground threw away her confidence and she would falter, clinging to the wall for safety.

Gajeel’s patience grew thin as he watched her nearing the edge and almost going for it, only to take a step back. After several repeating motions, he had finally had enough. Letting go of her hand he put his hand on her lower back, he briefly considered if what he was doing would be inappropriate but then decided he didn’t really care.

Levy froze at the motion, unsure what he was doing and even less sure if she should stop him. He gently pulled her closer to his side; hot breath reached her ear as she heard his signature ‘Gihi’ laugh followed by a single word.

“Sorry.”

With that she felt the pressure on her back increase and her body tip forward – in the heat of the moment it took a while for Levy to notice – the bastard pushed her off the building!

A scream escaped her lips as Levy’s body hurtled to the ground face first, the wind roared in her ears as she flailed her limbs looking for any kind of purchase; something that would halt her fall. Her mind raced trying to figure out how to fly, trying to make her wings move as she wanted them to but to no avail. The ground was racing towards her, Levy’s mind went blank as she waited for impact – the magic in her body quietly began to hum within her. Just as Gajeel said, her natural instinct finally kicked in and her papery wings snapped open and halted her decent. The feeling of lightness accompanied her body as her wings caught the air, without a second thought she pushed her wings downwards. With a single powerful flap and she had control – no longer nose-diving but soaring higher and higher, wing beats in symphony with her racing heart. As she reached the top of the building once again Levy gracefully twisted, steadily wing beats kept her hovering eye-level with a smug-ass dragon slayer who was about to get a piece of her mind!

“Gajeel! What the hell is wrong with you!? I could have died! Of all the irresponsible, pig-headed brutish things you could have done! I swear when I get my hands on you-“Levy’s rant died on her lips as he watched the man before her roar with laughter, he was practically bent over in tears the bastard!

Finally regaining some semblance of composure he said “Looks like I was right eh shrimp?” The smirk on his face might have been considered sexy if she wasn’t so pissed off.

Levy refused to acknowledge any semblance that Gajeel might be right about her or about her ability to fly. Saying that, she was flying just like he said, deny all she might she was proud of herself and somewhat thankful that he had pushed her. That didn’t mean he was going to get away with it though!

“You wanna punish me?” A sadistic grin grew on his face, sharp teeth smirking playfully. Levy felt her cheeks heat up at his suggestive wording and the way he casually eyed her up as his spoke.

“Better come and catch me then shrimp!” And he was off, launching off the building and straight past Levy into the horizon.

“Oh no you don’t! Face me like a man Gajeel!” She forced herself after him, homing on his dark form in the distance. Surprisingly it didn’t take long before he was in arms reach, Levy went to grab him only for him to dive out of the way, looping under her he was now flying above the smaller woman; he roughed up her hair before speeding off yet again. The force of his wing beat through Levy off balance as she growled at the man.

Their game of cat and mouse continued for hours, the desire for revenge slowly becoming one of friendly play. Gajeel was greatly enjoying tormenting the small bluenette, staying just in reach for her to try and grab him before acrobatically avoiding her at the last minute. As he broke through the cloud cover, he heard Levy gasp and halt completely in her pursuit. In a brief panic Gajeel turned to see large brown eyes in awe of the sight in front of her.

The sun cast orange and yellow into the blue sky forming purple streaks across cream clouds. It was a masterpiece, a symphony of colour that no picture, no words would ever do justice to try and describe. Even Gajeel couldn’t help but be enamoured by the sight alongside the bluenette, more so due to her own reaction to it. The two winged slowed their flight along the clouds quietly enjoying the sights, everything else forgotten – it was just them owning the sky before them.

Levy put her hands into clouds feeling the cool water vapour condense on her skin. Suddenly she knew what Gajeel meant by flying was ‘alright’; it was definitely something he couldn’t explain, even flying on his back was nothing compared to the way she felt now. She was alive with magic, it sparked invisibly on her finger tips like it had during the fight with Laxus. Testing herself she tried the word smoke again from her previous attempt at escaping, sure enough a tiny smoke word formed and rapidly dispersed. Levy grinned wildly and quickly checked Gajeel hadn’t seen; sure enough he was lazily flying nearby not really focusing and enjoying the sky.

Time for pay back.

Levy gracefully flew above Gajeel, as predicted he turned upwards to face her flying parallel to her. Levy smiled sweetly and released her magic dropping the word ‘iron’ on the unsuspecting dragon slayer’s stomach.

Levy now roared with laughter as Gajeel fell though the cloud cover, after several minutes however they become nervous giggles as she couldn’t see him coming back up. She peered down the hole in the clouds to see if she could spot him and began to panic – surely that hadn’t been enough to knock him out of the sky!

A loud cough behind her startled Levy as she momentarily lost control, fortunately her now experienced wings caught her again and she span round to see Gajeel holding the iron word in one hand with an amused grin on his face. Levy became increasing nervous realising that getting revenge was probably not her best idea.

Gajeel took a huge bite out of the word and finished it off with another, Levy stared completely dumbfounded as she watched the dragon winged eat metal. “Wh-what?!” She exclaimed in disbelief.

“Thanks for the meal, shrimp” Gajeel winked at her and began laughing as she continued to stare like Happy when you held a fish in front of him. Taking advantage of her stupor he closed the space between them and gently placed his hands on her upper arms. “You really shouldn’t challenge a dragon” He said closing his wings against his back, his weight dragged the pair downwards through the clouds towards the ground.

Instead of the scream he expected, Gajeel heard Levy laughing joyfully. The sound was contagious and soon enough he was laughing too! Letting go of her arms the pair nosedived like synchronised swimmers towards the ground. Soon a river came into view and became too close for comfort; they simultaneously snapped their wings open and skimmed across the water surface following the twists and turns at incredible speeds due to the momentum from falling.

Watching them was like watching a waltz, they twisted and turned in harmony never touching but always close grinning like it was the only thing they knew how to do. The tips of their wings broke the water surface, a trail of ripples the only proof they had even been here. Gajeel boldly barrel-rolled in front of Levy as the river dropped into a waterfall, following it down she followed without hesitance as they once again dived towards the lake below them.

Gajeel snapped his wings open once again and halted himself on the water’s surface and looked up to see Levy smirking wickedly. Instead of doing the same to meet him on the water surface, she barrelled straight into him knocking both of them into the water.

The water was freezing on their hot bodies (flying was hard exercise!) and the quickly crawled out onto the bank. Heavy breaths were interrupted with laughter as they both struggled to contain the euphoria in their bodies.

Happily they lay on their backs recovering for some time, before Levy just had to ask “How did you eat the metal?” She didn’t bother looking at him, remaining lay down staring at the slowly darkening sky.

“Dragon thing” He replied easily, however soon he realised that wouldn’t be nearly enough information to satisfy the shrimp so he added “Dragon’s and Dragon slayers have an element they associate with, one of the perks is being able to eat it”

“Does it taste good?” She probed further, hoping Gajeel would provide the answers to her questions

“Yea if the quality is good, that iron you made was the pure stuff. Might have to make you m supplier Gihihi” Gajeel entertained the thought of an unlimited supply of tasty iron courtesy of the bookworm; it could be payment for the flying lesson!

Soon the night air began to set in and Levy began to shiver against the cold.

Gajeel noticed immediately and stood up first cracking his legs as he went, “C’mon shrimp I’ll take you home”. Wordlessly Levy got her feet and the pair took off once again at a much tamer pace towards the guild. It only took them a few minutes to land outside of Fairy Hills, Gajeel grunted and turned to fly home when Levy caught his sleeve.

“Gajeel, Thank you” She smiled sincerely at his shocked face and threw her arms round his neck in a quick hug before running into the apartment block.

Gajeel stared at her back as she retreated before laughing once again. He loved it when he was right.

Full fic here - I own nothing except a vague plot, feel free to review/ask/be inspired and share with me anything you find :)