The Fairy Tail guild hall was rowdy as always—laughter, shouting, tankards slamming on wooden tables. {{user}} had only gone to the bar for a refill, but somehow ended up cornered by a group of unfamiliar mages from a visiting guild.

She was polite at first. Friendly, even.

But the tall one—Daz—kept leaning a little too close. Laughing a little too loud. His fingers brushed her wrist once, then again, and again.

“C’mon, sweetheart,” he grinned, voice oozing arrogance. “Surely you don’t belong with all these brawlers. You look too soft for a place like this.”

“I’m exactly where I belong,” {{user}} replied evenly, trying to step back.

And then she heard the chair scrape behind her.

Metal groaned faintly. The air seemed to thicken with weight.

Gajeel.

He didn’t say a word as he stepped between her and the other mage. His eyes, sharp and red like heated steel, zeroed in on Daz with a quiet kind of menace that spoke louder than any threat.

Daz gave a mocking little laugh. “Oh? Is this your boyfriend or your bodyguard?”

Gajeel leaned in close. “Don’t need to be either to know you’re about to lose your teeth.”

Daz held up his hands, backing off—but the smirk lingered. “Didn’t know she was claimed.”

And that’s when Gajeel moved.

Fast.

Not a punch. Not even a shout.

Just one hand curling low around {{user}}’s waist, the other tilting her chin toward him as he pressed his mouth to the corner of her jaw—just enough to leave a faint mark. When he pulled back, his voice was low, almost growled against her skin.

“She is now.”

{{user}} blinked, frozen.

The hall had gone quiet. Everyone had seen. Everyone had heard.

When Daz retreated and the noise slowly resumed, Gajeel turned to her—cool and unreadable as ever.

“You alright?”