A Price to Pay
A GaLe Fanfiction
Author's Note/Disclaimer: This story contains some spoilers from Chapters 449-453. I accept any and all reviews, so any constructive criticism is welcome. I also apologize if they seem too OOC. The characters in this fanfiction belong to the marvelous Hiro Trollshima. Had I owned them, most of my many ships would be canon by now.
P.S. Bonus points in the form of bragging rights and virtual cookies to anyone who figures out what the translation is referencing.
The guild was quiet for once, as everyone had gone home for the evening. Well, not everyone. In the basement of the guild hall was one Levy McGarden, reading and translating manuscripts for research. Even after so much time had passed since First Master Mavis had founded the guild, most of its archives had yet to be translated. Much of it was Mavis's handwriting in her native language from her village on Tenrou Island.
Levy squinted at the line she was currently translating, trying to make sense of the words. Everything up to this line had made sense so far, so why was this line giving her so much trouble? She muttered the words to herself. "The darkness…fire… holy light…in the end…magic one…", she groaned in frustration, her head hitting the table with a bang.
"Oi, shrimp, you down here? You ain't hurt, are ya?" Levy picked up her head quickly as she heard the rough voice of Fairy Tail's resident iron dragon slayer. Turning to confirm, she saw Gajeel stomp his way down the stairs, pierced face in his signature scowl. Turning red, she huffed and returned to her page, staring at the line of text with renewed interest. Why was he still here? Didn't he ever go home?
"I'm not hurt, Gajeel. Well, not physically, anyway. There's just this one line that isn't making any sense," she sighed, still looking at the book fervently. He grabbed a chair next to her and spun it to rest his arms on the back, putting his head in his hands. He looked between the foreign text in the book and her face. He noticed the way her small nose crinkled in concentration coupled with her eyebrows turned downward. The expression she wore could only be described as "cute". The need to punch a wall (or Salamander, basically the same thing) to feel manly again followed shortly after that thought.
He felt his face flush slightly and coughed into his arm. "So, shrimp, what are you doin', translatin' so late? Aren't you tired?" As he asked, her mouth opened in a wide yawn, sapping away more of his manliness. He turned away, absently scratching at the back of his neck, determined to hide that stupid blush on his face.
"I'm just going to finish this line, and then I'll head home. I've been at it for," she paused, lifting her head from the book and tilting it to one side. Alright, make that wall cement and have a keg of alcohol nearby…with lots of red meat, and Elfman screaming "MAN!" repeatedly. She gave up trying to put a length of time to her progress and shrugged. "I've been at it for a while now and I really want to translate this last line. It'll be like a small victory, right?" She gave him a small smile, which he answered with a straight face, doing his damnedest to keep up the expression.
"Squirt, everyone else has gone home. We need to rest up. Master said so." Really, he understood she wanted to find solutions in her way, but even the shrimp needed to sleep. Instead of answering, she pouted at the book, her lower lip jutting out over her pencil in concentration. He looked from her to the book, suddenly jealous of paper and ink. Was she even listening to him anymore? He glared at the pages, willing them to suddenly combust. He immediately corrected the thought so Levy wouldn't get burned…maybe if the pages vaporized.
Meanwhile, ignorant to Gajeel's inner torment, Levy puffed out her cheeks in irritation, still trying to make sense of the text. Perhaps it was a metaphor? The book was about Mavis's time with Zeref, so it was quite obvious the line was pertinent. Maybe it was about Lumen Histoire? But Mavis wouldn't have known about that. She had even said Purehito had not been trying for such a weapon, just to bring his beloved master back from death. But what else could "holy light" be referring to?
The passage also made mention of 'brother', further throwing the line into more obscurity. Was Mavis referring to Zeref having a brother? Or was she referring to him as a brother? However, as Levy blushed, Mavis definitely had not seen Zeref as a brother. Reigning in her blush, she returned to the page, scowling at the words. The last two in the line caught her eye again: "magic one". Her eyes brightened in realization.
"Oh!" The exclamation caused Gajeel to jump back slightly, still lost in his ideas of gaining Levy's attention from some fucking piece of paper. He stared at her, waiting for an explanation. He go his wish when she turned and smiled, clarifying, "It doesn't say 'magic one'. It's referring to the One Magic! I remember Lucy telling me about it! But what does One Magic have to do with Zeref, of all people?" And, with that, she was back in her mind, contemplating the different meanings behind Mavis's words.
Call him ridiculous (however, he would probably sock you in the jaw), but Gajeel was feeling very out of the loop. It usually happened whenever he hung out with the bookworm for too long, what with her being loads more knowledgeable about languages and manuscripts than he ever could be. However, this book was taking way too much attention away from himself than he liked, especially when it came to Levy.
"Oi," he deadpanned, hoping that would be all it took to shake her concentration. However, she seemed more entranced in the book than he gave her credit for as she hadn't even looked up at the sound. He scowled, before a devilish grin spread across his face, coming up with the simplest plan. Really, it was sad he hadn't come up with it sooner.
Levy was in the middle of decoding what 'holy light' could refer to, when the book was whipped out from under her nose by a tanned and pierced arm. She turned her head to pout at Gajeel, who held the book high above his head out of her reach. "Gajeel," she sighed, exasperated, "give me the book back." He simply smirked at her and stood, placing the book further out of her reach, even if she copied his movements.
"You need sleep, bookworm. We're up against some pretty tough guys and you're gonna need all the rest you can get. Screw the research and go home." He wasn't going to put the book down until he was sure she would leave the archive room. Instead, she stood and pouted and…did she just seriously stomp her foot?
"I'm serious, Gajeel. I've almost got it figured out. It might be really important to bringing Zeref down! Give it back already!" Levy reached for the book, prompting him to raise it a little higher, even if she couldn't already reach it. She began to jump, grabbing for the book each time. The action was so adorable, he almost gave in and let her have it. Instead, he placed it on the table behind him, blocking her hands when she reached around to try and retrieve the book.
"Gajeel, give it back, or else," Levy threatened, leveling him with a glare, face flushed red from trying to get the book back. The jerk probably lost her place, too! As she stared him down, she started to realize just how late it had gotten, so it was probably better for her to head home. However, getting that book back was now a matter of pride. And Levy McGarden would not admit defeat!
"Or else, huh? What are you gonna do, short stack?" Gajeel taunted her, enjoying how her pout made her cheeks puff out and how adorable she looked when angry. Really, there were no other words to describe Levy except 'cute' and 'adorable'. Unless he was taunting her. Those words tended to lean more towards cracks at her height, even if they were still meant in jest.
Out of patience, Levy began thinking of ways to get the book back that didn't use brute force. She could always distract him. Her face went red at the idea, but she glared up at him anyway, resolute in her choice.
She dragged him down to her level by the collar of his shirt and, before giving him time to say anything, she planted her lips on his. Now, of course, Gajeel was stunned that Levy had even considered such an option, but he certainly was not complaining in the slightest. Her mouth was soft and warm, even if it had been a sudden mashing of faces together. He closed his eyes and responded to the kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer. It was when he slanted his mouth to get more into it that she pulled away from him with a 'pop'.
"Ha! I got it!" She grinned widely and crowed her victory, holding the book up in his face. When did she…? Oh, that sneaky little… His thoughts kept throwing him unfinished sentences while he stared blankly at her, watching her smile in his arms with that damn book. He removed one arm from her waist to pluck the book from her hands and moved to capture her lips again, catching her by surprise. She gasped, but didn't move away, confused he had initiated a second kiss.
He slanted his mouth on hers again, giving himself better access and taking advantage of her gasp. She began to respond, matching the movements of his mouth. As they stood there, kissing in each other's arms, they quickly realized that tomorrow would be the final battle. It could be all or nothing for them, and she was here in the archive room, researching of all things!
Levy backed away first, eyes at half-mast. To say she was dazed was an understatement. She had dreamed of that moment for a long time, dreamt of doing just this during their stint in as part of the Magic Council. It was fear he didn't reciprocate her feelings that kept her from doing so; what a silly, girlish reason!
In an attempt to return things to normal, Levy looked down, clearing her throat. "Uh, I guess I should go home nOW!" Levy squeaked as she was hoisted fireman-style over Gajeel's shoulder, a mischievous grin on his face. "Gajeel! You jerk, put me down so I can go home!" She pounded his back with each word, doing her hardest to ignore the attractive curve that was his backside. Her face burned at the thought (because, oh Mavis, she was admiring his butt), making her more embarrassed.
Gajeel simply chuckled and playfully slapped her butt, making her squeak indignantly. "No way, short stuff, you ain't gettin' outta this. Not after what just happened. Even someone as smart as you should have known there'd be a price to pay for getting your book back." Internally, Gajeel rejoiced at having finally kissed her, wanting to do so for so long it made his head hurt trying to remember when the feeling first originated. And now she wanted to go home? After that? No way in hell was he letting her.
"Gajeel, I'm serious, put me down," Levy squealed, covering her red face with her hands. Was his butt always this cute? She must not have noticed before, not having been this up close and personal for such a long period of time.
"Levy." The blunette stopped squirming, having noticed Gajeel had called her by name for the first time since he came down here. "Tomorrow might be the last time we see each other. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't tell you…how I feel. And I…I don't…I just can't stand the thought of you…getting hurt…or…or…" He didn't finish the sentence, but he didn't need to: she felt the same about him. He pushed down those emotions in favor of his previous grin. "So, tonight, you're staying with me. At my place. Oh, and don't worry, if you can't sleep, I got other plans in mind." He laughed, causing Levy to resume her squirming, even if it was only halfhearted now. He walked out of the room, Levy on his shoulders and a smile on his face.
The book was left on the floor of the archive room, open with the pages down. If it did hold answers, no one would know but Mavis. However, she had told them everything they needed to know…right?