Belonging

Premise: Pantherlily had always wondered what went through the minds of Iron Dragon Slayers and Solid Script Mages in love. The conclusion is thus far... nothing.

Pantherlily had been gone for a total of two days, two measly days. He had even told Gajeel to stay out of trouble while he had gone on a mission with the esteemed Titania, but no. Two days was too long to keep Gajeel Redfox out of trouble. Pantherlily rubbed his eyes as his jaw dropped at what he was seeing.

Team Natsu behind him tried to hold back their laughter but Miss Lucy was not succeeding very well and Natsu and Gray had given up within a second. Those two troublemakers were now rolling on the ground and kicking up a storm. The acclaimed Miss Titania simply had her eyebrow raised and a smirk on her face much like Miss Erza Knightwalker that he had known back in Edolas. They were one in the same after all, Pantherlily supposed.

But back to the issue in front of him, "Gajeel," Pantherlily growled in perplexity, "What are you doing?"

"I am sitting," Gajeel replied with a grumble in his voice. And indeed the Iron Dragon Slayer was sitting right beneath the East Gate Entrance of Magnolia.

Pantherlily sighed as Gajeel didn't look him in the eye. Good, at least the man knew that what he was doing was foolish and ridiculous and Pantherlily could go on forever. "What are you wearing Gajeel?"

"What I always wear," Gajeel mumbled with a hard head. He wasn't going to concede to his cat quite yet. Pantherlily would have to wrestle it out of him.

"You know that's not what I'm talking about."

"Well then, shouldn't it be obvious what I'm wearing?"

"I don't think you could get anymore obvious."

"Then you don't need to ask."

"The question is 'why' Gajeel."

Gajeel coughed slightly, "I asked the gloomy mage for advice."

Gray perked up from the ground, "You asked Juvia for advice. Have you noticed how creepy she is?"

"Well she managed to reel you in didn't she?" Gajeel growled at the stripper.

Gray shrugged his shoulders, "After how long?"

"With how many people questioning her methods?" Lucy decided to add.

"Shut up!" Gajeel mumbled.

"Take that off Gajeel," Pantherlily sighed as he rolled his eyes to the sky. He wondered for what proportion of the two days had Gajeel been sitting there wearing such an absurd garment.

"But she hasn't passed by yet," Gajeel mumbled.

"You should count your lucky stars that she hasn't passed by yet. This isn't how you get yourself to belong to someone," Lily chided, "Now take that off and go home and take a bath. Clean yourself up, go to the guild and try to gain back some of your dignity."

Gajeel glared as he picked himself off the ground and threw the offending object at his cat. "Fine, be that way."

"Grow up Gajeel," Lily snapped and Gajeel frowned, "I mean…" Lily tried to amend at the hurt look on his partner's face, "We'll find a better way to communicate your meaning other than… this."

"You will?"

"Haven't I always?"

Gajeel seemed to tear up as he scooped his cat up into a bear hug before dropping his cat back onto the ground and onto his feet, "I knew you were the coolest cat Lily."

"Sadly I can't say the same about you," Lily scoffed.

"That's right, I'm the coolest dragon slayer!" Natsu roared as he spat fire into the air with triumph.

"I said nothing of the sort," Lily said.

Erza and Lucy with their arms crossed and a nod of their heads, "He said nothing of the sort."

Gajeel laughed as he walked away to go do as Lily instructed. Lily sighed as Erza gently picked him up, "Want a ride?" she asked with a small smile on his face.

"I usually would not, but after that…"

Erza laughed, "He surprises us everyday."

Lily looked down at the sign he was holding and pulled at the string attached to it that had been around Gajeel's neck. "Me too."

"I sense you care deeply for him?" Erza mused.

Lily laughed, "Very much."

"I never knew that Gajeel had this kind of side to him," Lucy hummed as she skipped up to join Erza and Pantherlily while Natsu and Gray had a little spat behind them.

Lily huffed, "You will never know the half of it."

"Glad you keep him in line then," Erza said, "I'm sure that anyone who saw that probably had a good heart attack."

"Gajeel's a baby at heart," Lily murmured as he ran his hands over the words on the sign.

"For Sale… I can only belong to mages who can read the following ancient script!"

Pantherlily knew the moment he had seen it that if Fried had been feeling particularly funny that day, Gajeel would have ended up with a lot of grief.

The door to the large guild was pushed open with Erza's foot as the six of them stepped into the tavern. Happy went to greet Lisanna, and Mirajane waved at the group happily before she noticed the sign in Lily's hands. A pout sprouted on her face, "You made him take it off…"

"You didn't?" Lily inquired as he hopped out of Erza's arms and onto the table where he took the drink that Mirajane offered him.

"It was amusing. More people warmed up to him in the past two days than they have in the past two months."

Lily stared at her with one eye as he took a long drink out of his tankard, "Is that so?"

"And now Levy will be sitting out there all alone…" Mirajane sang sweetly as she twirled around and began to rustle through the drinks as Erza and Lucy also sat down.

Lucy winced slightly, "Levy-chan's out there?"

Pantherlily didn't say another word as he hopped off the bar and began to make his way back outside the tavern. "She's at the west gate!" Mirajane chirped as Lucy and Erza joined into a little laugh. They had long ago given up on directly interfering with the antics of Gajeel and Levy. Pantherlily was tied in by his sense of comradeship and duty.

When Lily got to the west gate he saw Levy sitting idly on the ground picking at the grass beneath her fingers. "You chose this place because this is how Gajeel usually comes and goes out of Magnolia even though most people, including yourself come and go out of the east gate."

"Welcome back Lily," Levy chirped as she nodded her affirmation.

Pantherlily nodded, "Glad to be back. Now I suggest that you take that thing off and go home and clean up and then go to the guild to try and gain back some of your dignity."

"Not many people have seen me," Levy smiled, "Though Jet and Droy did have a field day."

"Have you even thought about the fact that Natsu and Wendy both fit those conditions?" Pantherlily sighed.

Levy looked down in what seemed like shock before her lips turned into a frown, "But Juvia said…"

"You mean the stalker like mage?"

"I get your point," Levy sighed as she pushed herself to her feet, "Too bad that Gajeel decided not to take any missions for the past two days. Do you have any idea where he might have been?"

Pantherlily breathed in slowly, "I don't have a clue."

"That's too bad," Levy sighed as she took off the sign and handed it to Lily, "Here you go. Sorry for the trouble."

"Anything for you Levy," Lily smiled charmingly.

"Would you like me to carry you back to the guild?"

"Yes please… I've had enough for today."

"Your mission was hard?"

"That's only the half of it."

Lily looked down at the sign and the freakish familiar words: "For sale… I can only belong to mages who are dragon slayers!"

"What goes through your head?"

"Did you say something?" Levy questioned as she peered into Pantherlily's eyes.

"Just thinking about the world."

"Oh," Levy grinned, "Well the world is too vast and weird to ever be fully understood."

"It doesn't even need to be vast to be confounding."

"Hm?"

"Only needs two people."

"Hm?"

"Sorry Levy, just thinking."

Levy smiled, and cuddled her cheek into the crown of Lily's head, "Okay."

"Do you really want to belong to an idiot like Gajeel?" Lily asked suddenly. The answer was on the rosy cheeks of Levy's face. "Absolutely confounding."

This... is probably going to be the first in a series of Pantherlily like introspections of this couple. All of them are totally unrelated though so different fics for the whole lot. Haha hope you liked...