Here we go here we go! Second fanfic.
So this particular fanfic is inspired by two things.
One, my profile picture of a coloring I did, where I wrote a quick summary of this idea. So that photo, and another one that I will be posting and I will tag both of them under #gajevyphotographs so you can see the corresponding art work.
Second, this is very loosely based on my own adventures with my fiance and our kids. All the places mentioned are 100% real and are places we visited. The stacking stone thing is also something my daughter and I like to do (and I stack four like a little family to represent our own haha) and I do actually own a instax camera that my fiance got for me so we could document our adventures! Mine is pink though.
It was also inspired by my own love for photography. My fiancee is not a talented photographer, and I always get excited when he rarely takes a selfie with us without making silly faces.
Personally, I feel like this story is kind of rambling on and repetitive, but it's something I've had stuck in my head for a few weeks and I really wanted to get it out.
"Okay, I have it all planned out," Levy started telling Gajeel. "First, we will take the 205 freeway south until we reach exit 22, where will will turn right onto Corbett Hill road, then left onto the Historic Columbia River Highway, and follow the road signs to the Vista House at Crown Point!" Her finger following the path that they would take on her new map. She took a tiny star sticker and placed it over their destination, then took a pen and traced the path they would take from their home.
"Then, after we go to Vista House,'' she continued, "we will continue on the Historic highway for six miles until we reach the Latourell Falls trailhead, where we will stop and hike the lower falls trail, and we can go under the waterfall! Then, we just continue heading east, where there are many waterfalls and trails to hike, until we hit the infamous Multnomah falls! Of course we won't be able to finish this all in one day... I think it will take a week to really enjoy each trail and waterfall." Again taking a sticker to mark another stop, and tracing the road they would take. Gajeel chuckled at her meticulous planning and scrapbooking of their adventure.
It all started after Levy and Gajeel had moved to the Pacific Northwest once Levy had completed her doctorate degree in anthropology, and Gajeel had found an opportunity to open a metal work shop in down town Vancouver, Washington. After they moved into their new home, on a little farm north of Vancouver, an exhausted Levy realized that they had no décor to hang on the walls of their new home together.
Their moving boxes were filled to the brim with books, books, books, books, instruction manuals, journals, and more books. Their clothing, kitchen ware, and miscellaneous items had taken up a small fraction of moving boxes in comparison to Levy's books. And it was as she looked around their empty home, (all her books, but a small bookshelf, had been moved into the beautiful finished attic of the house, that would serve as a library) devoid of pictures, trinkets, or memories of the last ten years she had spent with Gajeel. Most of those years had been spent by Levy completing her degree, Gajeel also obtaining a degree in metal work and welding, them both working, then coming home and cooking dinner together, cuddling, and passing out.
Sure, they had made so many wonderful memories together over the years, but it had never been a priority to document very much of it. They had a few pictures together in a scrapbook, along with pictures of all their friends from high school and college, especially from their going-away-party before they moved from the east coast to the west coast... and to be honest, Lucy had printed out and put together the scrapbook for them.
But now, Levy was determined to live a life full of adventure with Gajeel and their cat Pantherlily. She had researched all the best places in the Pacific Northwest to have adventures at, the best places to eat local food, all the best book stores, libraries, museums, etc. She was determined to have the most adventurous summer ever in their new home! And they were going to start with the many waterfalls along the Columbia Gorge.
As Levy packed their small back pack full of carefully portioned snacks, reusable water bottles, first aid kit, map, nikon camera, and celebratory beer to share at sundown, Gajeel placed a small box in front of her. At first, she thought it must be a new book since it was wrapped in the same paper that Barnes and Nobel wrapped all the books Gajeel had gifted her in, maybe a guide to the Pacific Northwest! But when she finished tearing the paper off, she found an adorable yellow camera in her hands.
"A camera?" She questioned, "But we already have a camera, Gajeel."
A smirk crossed his face, realizing she didn't immediately recognize what type of camera that was in her hands. "This isn't just any camera, Shorty!" Gajeel exclaimed, "It's a Fujifilm Instax 8, an instant print camera, like a polaroid!"
The realization dawned on Levy's face and she squealed with delight.
"Brilliant idea, Gajeel! We're so terrible at getting pictures printed... this is perfect, thank you!" Throwing her hands around his neck and squeezing him tightly as thanks.
"Since we have two cameras now, how about I can be in charge of this camera, and you can be in charge of the Nikon camera?"
Gajeel nodded in agreement, and started carrying their gear to pack into the storage container under the seat of their motorcycles. He had convinced Levy that getting matching street bikes was an awesome idea, since the new area they moved to had so many great places to ride together. Gajeel had picked out Honda CBR500R matching bikes for them. The only difference being the color. While Gajeel's bike was solid black and his helmet black with dragon wings painted on the side, Levy's bike was a pastel yellow and her helmet yellow with fairy wings.
As Levy walked out with her riding gear over the top of her hiking outfit, Lily secured in his special riding backpack, and her new camera in hand, she decided to take a pre-adventure picture of their bikes set up. She loved the way their matching bikes, which they lovingly referred to as Metalicana and Mavis, looked side by side with the rising sun behind them. As she aimed the camera and adjusted the aperture setting for the correct lighting, she snapped a quick picture and it printed out immediately.
She giggled with delight as the picture developed in her hand, showing Gajeel and then gently placing it into the carrying case the camera came with.
"Be careful to only take pictures of things you really want immediately printed with that thing, Shrimp. I bought a lot of film, but it's pretty expensive. We can use the Nikon to take pictures of everything else." Gajeel informed Levy, she nodded in approval and packed her camera securely under her seat, and fired up her bike.
…...
Despite the planning Levy put into their trip, it didn't perfectly go according to plan. First, they ended up stopping a local coffee shop to fuel up on caffeine, where Levy found adorable coffee mugs she insisted on buying. One had the shape of Washington state made by pine trees, the other was a reusable coffee cup in the same color as her new camera.
After fueling up on coffee, they got back on the road and ended up stopping at a local farm selling fresh cherries and buying a small basket to share. Then they stopped a few miles before reaching Vista House to a view point of Vista House and the Columbia River Gorge. Levy climbed up on the cement wall to get a better look. "Gajeel!" she cooed, "Oh, it's so beautiful here.. with the sun right above the hills... oh Gajeel, take a picture with the nikon!"
Although the view Levy had pointed out was indeed beautiful, he found the way she stood atop the brick wall, her back towards him, holding her left hand above her eyes as a visor, staring out over the cliffs and the way the sun rays wrapped around her body was a much more interesting sight. Gajeel aimed the SLR camera and adjusted the aperture settings and snapped a few pictures. Levy turned to face south, and he snapped a perfect profile picture of Levy, with the river gorge behind her.
"Did you get a good picture?" Levy questioned, Gajeel nodded his head and she skipped back to her bike. "Today is going to be a great day, Gajeel! I can feel it." He chuckled as he climbed onto his bike, following her a few more miles east along the river until they reached the Vista House.
The Vista House was not only an amazing piece of architecture, with a dome shaped roof, brick walls and large windows, grouped together in panels of three to create the octagon shape of the building, but it was also a museum of the history of the Columbia River Gorge. Levy let Gajeel take Lily's riding backpack and Gajeel secured the cat's carrier to his back while Levy skipped inside and started absorbing all the knowledge the building had to give. Inside the building was even more beautiful than the outside, so spacious that Levy's quiet voice echoed as she spoke.
"Oh Gajeel, look at these pillars... oh the ceiling! Look, there are brass faces holding up the arches! Take some pictures, babe." Levy instructed to Gajeel before running over to the information center. Gajeel took out his camera and zoomed in on Levy from where he stood. She was speaking to the lady at the information desk about the history of the building, asking more questions than the poor lady probably ever had from a single person. Glancing down at the screen on the camera, Gajeel spoke softly to Lily, who was perched on his back with his head over Gajeel's shoulder, "How did we get so luck, Lil? She is so passionate about everything she does..." On the screen was a photo he had snapped of Levy, intently studying a map on the wall of the area and pointed to where they were.
After Levy had sucked the all the information the lady at the desk had, read every piece of information in the building, they walked out to enjoy the view from outside. Levy hopped over the brick wall to stand in the grass and Gajeel stood behind her.
"Look Gajeel, that piece of water right there is called Mirror lake, because of the way it perfectly reflects the sun." Levy informed Gajeel. As he stood behind her, he took another picture of Levy, with her back to him. Her blue hair in a braid that lay between her shoulders, her camera strap around her next, looking towards the river and the lakes that lay by its side, separated by the highway below them. The sun was getting higher in the sky, and it reflected perfectly off the water.
As they moved along to their next destination, Levy noted that they should find a good place to eat their lunch when they got there. Just moments later, they crossed a small bridge and pulled into the parking lot of the trail head. Levy stripped of her riding gear, so she was wearing her green cargo shorts, a loose yellow shirt, converse, and the iron bracelet Gajeel had made for her when he first opened his iron forging studio in their new home. She grabbed the red back pack containing their food, and her camera, while Gajeel took Lily out of his pack and leashed the cat, and they set off towards the lower trail head of the waterfall.
The walk was incredibly short, they both had expected to walk for several miles before reaching a waterfall, but it was a short two minute walk down a slight incline before they were faced with a two and fifty foot water fall. The water barreling down from the cliff above, splashing and spraying in every direction as it hit the rocks below, before gentling trickling away in a creek.
Levy grinned, "This is amazing! I've never seen a waterfall like this before. Let's take a photo!" Gajeel picked Lily up to be included in the photo, and Levy stood on a nearby rock to even out their height difference. She turned the camera to face them, they both smiled and Lily gave a meow as she clicked the button. Gajeel grabbed the printed picture and shook it. "Did you know shaking the polaroid actually has no effect on the picture it's self?" Levy stated.
"Oh... I guess I didn't. Whatever, I just wanted to feel cool, like the Outkast song... 'Shake it like a polaroid picture.'" Gajeel sung and danced around with the photo in his hand.
Giggling at her boyfriend's antics, she took the camera from around her neck and set it in a safe place. "I'm going to get a closer look! But you should probably stay here so Lily doesn't get wet. Take some more pictures!" Levy set off, skipping over the bridge and carefully climbing the narrow pathway above the creek until she stood in front of the waterfall.
Gajeel knelt down to a better angle, snapping a picture of Levy with her hands in the air as the rush of the water sprayed her, soaking her clothes and skin. He chuckled and he heard her laugh and cheer before she climbed to the backside of the waterfall and stared straight up to where the water was falling from. He zoomed in on her, snapping another picture. When it appeared on the screen, it showed a close up of a wanderlust Levy, her bangs sticking to her cheeks, water droplets on her skin and in the air around her, and the sun reflecting perfectly off the waterfall, creating a rainbow glare throughout the middle of the picture.
Levy made her way back, soaked from head to toe with a grin on her face. "Want a turn? I'll take Lily."
"And come back a walking rusty nail? I don't think so. I enjoyed the rush from here, Shorty." He grinned.
"Suit yourself! Let's hike that trail and find a good place to eat, I'm starving!" They made their way across the log bridge, to a dirt path along side the creek. "Oh, look Gajeel! How sweet, someone stacked stones on top of one another. It looks like artwork. I want to make one too!" Levy made her way to the creek side, she found three flat rocks, one large, medium, and small. She stacked them in order of largest to smallest while Gajeel took pictures of her concentrating on her work.
"Look babe! It's a like a little family. You, me, and Lily. We should do this on all our little adventures, that way we can naturally mark where we have been." She smiled to herself, snapping a picture of her rocks with the creek leading to the waterfall in the background.
Again, they ventured on. Hiking about a mile before they found a large wildflower field near abandoned houses where the sun shone brightly in the afternoon sky. Levy spread out their travel blanket and set up their lunch, while Lily ran free chasing butterflies. Gajeel laid in the grass on his stomach, he took pictures of Levy sitting on their picnic blanket, watching Lily chase butterflies through the tall grass and wild flowers before he joined her for their picnic.
They laid in the meadow after finishing their lunch so Levy's clothes could dry before continuing their hike. She had shed her t-shirt and sat in her black bikini top and shorts, picking flowers from around her and weaving them into a flower crown. She picked the tall thick grass and ivy vines growing on the abandoned house near by and wove a more masculine crown for Gajeel.
"Fit for a king and queen," Levy giggled and she pecked a kiss to his cheek.
They stood to go explore the old abandon house with ivy growing on it's side. "I love when nature takes back over, especially ivy. Did you know that ivy has completely destroyed houses and brick buildings before? The roots will penetrate the cracks in the building and it grows so thick and heavy that it pulls buildings down."
Gajeel grinned, "Little but mighty, just like you." Levy blushed at his comment.
"Shut up and take a picture, stupid Gajeel."
Doing as he was told, Gajeel aimed his camera at Levy leaning against the ivy wall, flower crown atop her head, closing her eyes and enjoying the sun warming her skin. Her shoulders left a shadow behind her like wings, she looked like a fairy in her garden.
Pulling her map out of her pack, Levy explained the directions to the next waterfall before carefully placing their flower crowns in their seats and Lily back in his pack, they hopped onto their separate bikes. "Race ya there!" Levy challenged Gajeel. They both pulled out of the parking lot and checked for cars, camera still around his neck, he snapped a quick picture of Levy on her bike, in lieu of her riding gear, just shorts, bikini top and a helmet, it was one of the sexiest things he had ever seen, especially when she got the head start on him and took off before him.
They drove east until they came to a post office near their destination. A small pink box caught Levy's eye, and she steered off the road to the post office. Gajeel curiously followed her and balanced his bike between his legs as she hopped off and opened her seat, pulling out a book she had finished this morning. Cocking his eyebrows with curiosity, she pointed at the pink box and yelled over the roar of their engines, "It's a little library! I've always wanted to use one! Isn't it cute?" She skipped over and chose a book from the small box with a clear glass door, replacing the one she took with her own and aiming her camera, getting both her borrowed book and the library in the shot. Climbing back on she signaled that they were good to go, and around the bend they went.
Reaching the parking lot for Bridal Veil Falls, Levy pulled her shirt back on over her bikini top, the sun was below the tall tree line now and the shadows had turned too chilly to go without her shirt. This hike was harder than the one before, all down hill, it was steep and slick from the water dripping from the cliffs edge, trying to join the creek below. As they got closer, the louder the waterfall sounded.
Though it wasn't nearly as tall as Latourell Falls, and there wasn't anyway to get close to the waterfall, it was much wider. Instead of a straight drop, it was two cascading falls, with a break in between where the water flowed for a moment before plummeting down another fall. There wasn't much room to move and explore, except for a steep ridge that had a extremely narrow path carved that looked like it led to the top of the waterfall. A man-made wooden deck sat off the side of the main trail.
"We should take our picture here!" suggested Levy. She climbed up so she sat on the railing of the deck, and Gajeel wrapped his arm behind her and leaned toward her, holding Lily up in his other hand. The camera flashed, and the picture printed. There they were, snuggled close, Levy was crinkling her nose in a cheesy grin, and Gajeel making a kissy face aimed at Lily's head, the waterfalls in the background.
There wasn't much room to explore, so they stood on the deck and enjoyed the sight while Lily walked back and forth across the railing of the deck. Gajeel noticed that the wooden deck was decorated with names and initials within hearts, as couples who had previously visited marked their names on the deck. He found a blank spot on a large post that had the best background view of the waterfall, and grabbed his pocket knife to carve their names. Levy was off collecting rocks to stack, and returned to find Gajeel finishing the heart around their names and starting on a little cat head next to it.
"The great Black Steel Gajeel is such a romantic goober when he wants to be," Levy giggled, aiming her camera at him while he was still mid-carve.
"If you tell anyone, I'll have to silence you." He quipped over his shoulder as she giggled at him. Leaning down next to her boyfriend, she stacked the rocks she gathered underneath their names. Three rocks of different size, shape, and color, she balanced them neatly on top of one another. She then lay back on her belly, and snapped another photo of her rock stacks. With their names and Lily's cat head carved on to the post above the rocks, and a great view of the waterfall, slightly blurry in the background, she declared it a work of art.
"The sun is gonna set soon, what do you say we find a great spot to crack open a beer?" Gajeel suggested to her.
Levy hummed in agreement, "Let's climb up this path."
Gajeel cocked an pierced brow in question, "Lev, that's not a path, that's a death trap. It's like two inches wide and a 80 percent incline!"
"Aww, are ya scared ya can't make it up? You can take the other path back up if you want to!"
"Like hell you're going up that death trap without me to catch you when you slip."
Levy stuck her tongue out at him, and turned to start climbing the tiny path. Gajeel wasn't wrong, it was a death trap, just wide enough for her to place one foot in front of the other, Gajeel struggled a bit more with his motorcycle boots on. Using their hands to grab branches or stable rocks and hoist themselves forward, they struggled until they reached a break in the incline and decided to rest. They were directly across from the top of the waterfall and could now see over the top, and the bridge they had drove over earlier was visible up ahead, the path seemed to lead them that way.
After finishing off a bottle of water together, Levy continued the even steeper climb than before, having to use rocks to pull herself up, Gajeel thought it looked like she was rock climbing. Levy was completely focused on not falling to her death, (though she was only about a foot off the ground) when Gajeel snapped a picture of her. One hand reaching far above her head, the other near her face, while she looked down to make sure her footing was stable. "Girl's got guts, huh Lil?" Gajeel whispered to their cat.
"What did you say?" Levy glanced over her shoulder.
"I said get a move on, short stuff, or we're gonna miss the sunset."
…...
After reaching the top of the steep path, they found themselves exploring the area a bit more. Past where they parked, they found a trail that led to a look out over the gorge, with the highway they had taken below. A tall wooden fence had been placed close to the steep cliffs that protected visitors from falling. The sun was just starting to set in the west, and they found they had a perfect view both west and east to enjoy the last light stretching over the Columbia river. To the east, the hills were already turning a dark blue.
A daring Levy hopped up and threw her legs over the opposite side of the fence, facing the cliffs. She cracked open her beer and took a long gulp before sighing contently as she stared off towards the setting sun. Gajeel found it to be another opportunity to take her picture. Her hands stablizing herself on the fence, feet locked around one of the horizontal posts, and slightly hunched over, her beer balancing on the post next to her. The sun shined behind her as the clouds reflected it's last light of the day. Pastel colors painted the sky, and reflected onto the river below them, and darkness chased the sun away from the east. Gajeel decided that this particular shot deserved a wider shot in order to capture both the setting sun, and darkening land, so he exchanged lenses on his camera. He took multiple shots to ensure it came out just right, accurately describing the beautiful view before him.
"You gonna make your way over here and drink this beer with me, or am I gonna enjoy it all myself?" Levy's voice pulled him away from his concentration on the camera.
"Like hell you are." Setting the camera down and hopping up on the fence next to her, he gulped down the remainder of the beer before he noticed just how high up they were.
"You do realize that we're about one drunken slip from falling down a 200 foot hill and rolling into on coming traffic? Since when are you one to flirt with death?" Gajeel inquired, she would have never sat so close to an edge in the entire decade he had known her.
Levy furrowed her brow in a serious manner before responding to Gajeel's question. "I've spent my entire life working my ass off in school, getting straight A's in every class I've taken since preschool, always following the rules... and I think that it's time for me to start living on the edge. I'm almost twenty-five years old and there are so many things I've never done. I want to start experiencing things I've never done before, never felt before..." Her voice trailed off as she stared down at her knees as they trembled a bit as she confessed her emotions to Gajeel. "And... and I want to share it all with you, babe."
There were many stupid things Gajeel did in his life, many times he had risked it all for whatever stupid reason. When he had met Levy, that part of his life took a standstill, and he changed. He became reliable, cautious, protective. He had deeply believed that he shouldn't have to change his ways for anyone, if a girl wanted him to change, then that girl simply wasn't for him. But Levy had never asked him to change, he just did. He wanted to be better, to be stable, so that she could trust him with anything. He didn't believe that she had changed him, he believed that she had helped him grow as a person, as a future husband and father maybe. And here she was, pouring her heart out to him, that she wanted to change, to grow. Who was he to try to stop her from spreading her wings?
"You know," he chuckled, "I've always wanted to learn how to rock climb... and scuba dive. The local community college offers classes for both. And I've noticed lots of flyers for paddle boarding lessons and sailing. That way we can learn how from a professional, until we're qualified to do it on our own."
Levy's eyes lit up, knowing that he wasn't just willing to go on numerous adventures with her, but also understood her need for knowledge and careful planning.
"Let's register right away! Which class would you want to take first? Maybe we could take some other classes together too! Maybe pottery! I've always wanted to learn how to make pottery!"
Gajeel chuckled and kissed the top of her head, "Whatever you want, Shorty."
…...
A week later, they were all registered to take rock climbing and pottery together, and Gajeel had even gone so far as to register for a photography course, much to Levy's surprise. They had finished visiting all the waterfalls and hiking trails they could find along the Columbia River Gorge. They finished their trip by visiting the famous Multnomah Falls and hiked to the very top, where Gajeel had surprised Levy by proposing to her, with the most beautiful ring that he had forged with his own two hands with an engraving that read "I'm looking for someone to share in an adventure." From her favorite series of books by J. R.R. Tolkien. He had even hired a professional photographer to pose undercover as a tourist taking photos of the waterfall, and gotten every moment on film.
Levy had taken it upon herself to explore Pinterest for the best way to display the polaroids they had taken on their adventures, in a way that didn't scream "college dorm room." They ended up buying multiple frames in various sizes from a thrift store. She painted each frame the same color of white and took a plain white paper and carefully secured each polaroid nice and neatly in rows. She enjoyed the minimalist look it provided, by not being overly colorful or crowded.
While Gajeel was at work in his studio, teaching a woman how to weld in exchange for paddle board lessons for the two of them, Levy decided it was a good time to order prints of the photos Gajeel had taken on their adventure through the gorge. As she pulled up the SD card on their computer she was surprised to see he had taken hundreds of pictures... of her.
In each and every photograph he had taken over the span of a week, in multiple locations with beautiful scenery, amazing landmarks that neither of them had ever experienced before, she was the focus of. She scanned through each photo, from their first trip at Latourell, to their trip to the Saturday Market in downtown Portland on their way home, every single photograph contained a shot of Levy. In many photos her back was turned, or she was deep in concentration. In some of the photos, she was in the foreground and the landscape was in focus, but she was still the main focus of the photograph in an artsy way. In very few of the photos was she actually posing after requesting Gajeel to take her picture. She blushed deeply that he had taken a photo of her in shorts and a bikini top on her motorcycle, and that he had also photographed her when she had fallen asleep in a field of daisies.
But more than anything, she was deeply impressed at how good these photographs were. They looked entirely professional. They were just as good, if not better, than the photographs they had received from the proposal at Multnomah falls (which was already printed on a large canvas and the center focus of their living room.)
As Gajeel walked in the door holding a new sculpture in his hands. "You know," Levy quipped "you're either a really terrible photographer who constantly has an obstruction in his view point... or you're a hopeless romantic who spends his time worshipping the very air his fiancee breaths."
Stopping in his tracks and looking her dead in the eye, he deadpanned, "Terrible photographer, and if you tell anyone any different, I'll have to kill ya."
Levy laughed hysterically at her rough and tough fiance's sense of humor as he handed her the new sculpture he had welded in his studio, it was a decorative piece of large pine trees, and at the bottom a silhouette form had been cut out, of a couple, (one short and one tall) holding hands with their cat trailing behind.