Levy woke up the next morning with a yawn, stretching. Then she shivered as cold bit at her skin. White light was flooding through the foggy window, and she peered outside to see thick snowflakes falling.

     "Eep!" Levy got cold just thinking about it, and she ducked hastily back down beneath her covers of the couch in the room they were renting.

     Succubi had a deathly fear of snow. As they originated in warm climates, they got easily cold and could freeze to death in 40 degree weather in minutes. It didn't help that it numbed their wings so that they couldn't fly.

     Snow wasn't usually a problem back in Magnolia. It got cold, but snow was a rarity there. But in Rauberia, they were famous for their copious amounts of snow in the late fall, winter, and early spring.

     Levy shivered, rubbing her arms in a failed attempt to warm up.

     Gajeel rolled over on his bed, mumbling something about carnivorous rabbits, then fell out of bed. Levy smiled as he instantly woke up, grabbing at the hilt of the sword he always kept somewhere near him.

     His eyes landed on her, and he frowned, getting to his feet. Gajeel brushed himself off, then glanced out the window, "Crud. I knew it would snow." he wasted no time in pulling on his boots and sword belt while Levy remained bunkered down on the couch.

     "I-it's st-still snowing n-now," Levy stammered, unable to keep her teeth from chattering.

     Gajeel scowled, turning away, "Suck it up, shrimp, it ain't THAT cold."

     "I-I'm a s-succubi! I-I'm not used t-to the cold," she managed, wrapping her arms around herself.

     "Then get used to it."

     Levy quickly looked away, biting her lip. Why did she even try anymore? He didn't care. There was no compassion ever shown to her, rarely even a hint that he cared at all. She sighed, seeing her breath in the icy room.

     "Shrimp, go ahead and turn human again," Gajeel said, oblivious to her inner turmoil as he tied his long hair back with a red bandana.

     Levy closed her eyes and morphed into a human, and she quickly wiped her eyes. She frowned as she saw Gajeel staring at her, "What?"

     "W-were you just...cryin'? " he blinked.

     "No, 'course not," she hastily looked away, rubbing her face, "J-just cold."

     Gajeel scowled, but pulled off his jacket and threw it at her, "Deal with it. I ain't complainin'."

     Levy took his jacket, surprised, "Wh-why did you give me this?"

    "So you don't freeze to death," Gajeel rolled his eyes, getting to his feet, "And before you ask, I'll be fine without it. Now let's go, dead weight."

   Levy pulled the jacket on, frowning at him. It was much too big for her, but warm and comfortable nonetheless. She pulled it tighter around herself.

     Gajeel jerked open the door, "Now let's go. And shrimp...stay close to me."

     Gajeel didn't say another word to Levy as they walked through the cold snow, and Levy's teeth were chattering too much despite the jacket for her to even begin to speak.

     So they walked in silence for awhile until Gajeel said, "Okay, so we're meetin' this guy and his girlfriend at the fountain in the town square. Any clue where that might be?"

     Levy gave her head a small shake, trying to keep from shivering.

      "Then what're you waitin' for? Fly up there and take a look around," Gajeel frowned.

       "I-I'll freeze," Levy managed, shaking.

     "Then you'd better make it fast," he growled, crossing his arms, "Faster you do this, the father we can get outta the cold. So move it."

     "I-I can't."

     "Do it." he gave her a small push, but she lost her balance, and she was too stiff from the cold to move fast enough to steady herself.

     Levy found herself face down in deep, icy snow. She gasped at the cold and struggled to get up, but her arms and legs weren't moving properly. Now not feeling any kind of cold, she relaxed slightly, her eyes closing.

     Suddenly, she was jerked to her feet and heard a voice snap, "Shrimp! Can you hear me? What's wrong?"

     Now she was too numb to feel his grip on her arm, but she could tell when her feet were lifted from the ground as someone picked her up, and was jolted about.

     Then, after a long moment, she twitched a finger. And she felt something shift around her, holding her tightly. And with a jolt, she opened her eyes, finding herself growing warmer and warmer.

     "Shrimp," she was greeted by the familiar gruff voice, and she saw Gajeel's crimson eyes above her, glinting with concern.

     Some feeling returned to her body, and she glanced around blearily to find herself in some sort of building, perhaps a shop. It was small and cozy, and most importantly, warm.

     "You can hear me, right?" Gajeel prompted.

    Levy glanced up at him and realized he was hugging her to his chest, trying to warm her up. Warmth spread through her, and her face heated up as she found herself blushing red.

     But his expression was hard as he growled, "Idiot shrimp! It ya can hear me, then answer!!"

     "G-G-Gajeel," she managed, sitting up, still shivering. She realized she was bundled up in a red blanket, held tightly in Gajeel's arms. He let out a sigh of relief, hugging her close, "You idiot. I thought you were gonna die."

     Levy's eyes suddenly narrowed, and she pulled away from him, "I-I told you," her voice was shaky, but her eyes blazed, "I told you succubi got cold easily! You nearly killed me!"

     Gajeel knew he was in for a fight, but said, "Yeah? You shoulda told me you were about to kick the bucket!"

     "I'm sick and tired of it," Levy shouted at him, "All of it! You can't give me orders that'll kill me!"

     "I wasn't tryin to kill you," Gajeel snapped back, "I was trying to finish the mission! It ain't my fault you're so susceptible to cold!"

    "Well you could've refrained from pushing me into the snow! You nearly killed me!" Levy was still shaking, but now she looked furious.

     "But I didn't," Gajeel snarled, "And we still have a mission to do. So let's just forget about this and go," he turned towards the door, resting a hand on the brass handle, "C'mon, shrimp."

     Levy stared at him as he opened the door, then set her jaw, saying bravely, "No."

     Gajeel paused, turning slowly around and saying coolly, "What did you just say to me?" his voice was deadly calm and his eyes hard.

     "I sad no. I'm not going with you," her voice began to rise into a shout, "All you do is yell at me, scold me, order me around, and I'm sick and tired of it! I'm tired of feeling like your puppet, like my opinion doesn't matter!"

     The entire store that they were standing in had gone silent, listening to the heated argument.

    Tears began to fill Levy's eyes, but she wiped them away, "I'm t-tired of feeling like you don't care, and I'm tired of being alone like this!" she bit her lip, dropping her gaze as she let tears run down her cheeks, "When we were kids, I felt like I was the luckiest person in the world to be teamed up with a kid so cute and sweet as you were. But when your mother died, it..." her tears were now flowing freely down her face as she stifled a sob, "...it felt like you blamed me. You acted like you blamed me, and I began to blame myself! We were best friends once... and now I feel like I don't know you at all."

     Gajeel stared at her, unsure how to react, but she backed away, saying, "I'm not going to take this anymore. I quit. And I'm going to find someone who actually cares about me." She turned into a succubi and gave him one last look over her shoulder before zipping out the door.

     "No, wait!" Gajeel shouted after her, then stared numbly at the door. "What the hell...just happened?"

     He scowled. He didn't need her. Even if she was his only friend. But the loneliness bit into him, and he shoved his hands into his pockets with a sigh. Then something crinkled as he turned away, and he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. He unwrapped it and read:

     "Wanted: all unicorns, fairies, sorcerers, witches,succubi and magical creatures of any kind. Wanted for extinction. Signed by Joseph Conrei and Julio Gracielle."

     It was as if an icy hand clenched his heart as he read it again. He'd forgotten. Levy was in trouble, and he had just let her go.