It was just after noon when Gajeel walked into the guild hall. The place was almost deserted, with just Macao and Wakaba chatting in a corner, and Mira behind the bar. He also saw Levy kneeling next to a big wooden crate. The box looked to be almost as big as her and it sparked his curiosity. He walked over to her. "Sup, shorty?"
"Oh, hi Gajeel!" Levy looked up at him with the smile that always made his heart beat a little faster. "Did you just get back from a job?"
Gajeel nodded. "Didn't take as long as i expected. Juvia was supposed to come too, but she didn't show. Probably off following Salamander's team again."
Levy giggled, picturing Juvia crouched in a bush watching Gray.
"So what's in the crate?" He lightly kicked the corned of the box with the toe of his boot. It didn't move, so it was definitely something heavy.
Levy's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Ancient texts! A client sent them over. He wants me to decipher a code using these books as references. Only thing is, there are a lot more of them than I expected, and now I have to figure out how to carry them all!" She smiled sheepishly while running her hand through her hair.
"I'll help you out shorty. Where are you gonna take 'em?" He ruffled her hair, one of his favorite methods of teasing her.
"Really! thanks so much!" Levy's eyes lit up with gratitude, not even caring that he was messing up her hair. "I'm taking them back to Fairy Hills with me."
Gajeel rubbed his head uncertainly. "I thought guys weren't allowed at the girls' dorm?" He was reckless sometimes, but he wasn't stupid enough to incur the wrath of Erza or one of the other girls who lived there.
Levy peeked around him to see if Mira was still behind the bar. "Mira's not here and all the girls are out on jobs. There won't be anyone there to see you. We'll be fine, trust me!" She smiled such a cute smile that Gajeel felt his resolve melt away.
"Ok." He agreed gruffly, and bent down to hide the expression on his face. He picked up the crate effortlessly and rested it on his shoulder. "Lead the way."
He acts so scary all the time, but he's actually really kind and thoughtful. Levy thought as they made their way through the streets of Magnolia. Gajeel was smiling, which was something she used to never see him do. The Iron Dragon Slayer was indeed an intimidating person, but she had stopped fearing him long ago. I'm glad Fairy Tail has finally become his home. The entire guild has grown closer with all the things we've gone through recently. Even the two of us have been through a lot together. She blushed, thinking of all the things that had happened on Tenrou Island and at the Grand Magic Games.
Gajeel noticed her red face and frowned at her. "Hey shorty, ya got a fever or somethin'?
Levy jumped. "What? No! I'm fine!" she blurted out, flustered. "Look, we're here!" She walked on ahead, eager to get away from her awkward thoughts. He looked after her with an unreadable expression, but followed.
She led him to the second floor, and to her room. "Here we are!" she said, opening the door with a flourish and stepping in. The walls were lined with bookshelves, all of them overflowing. A bookcase divided the room in half, one side containing her desk and most of the books, and the other side with her bed, couch, kitchenette, etc. Gajeel stepped in and set the crate down on the floor. "Ya sure got a lot of books, shorty." he said, looking around at all the volumes.
Her voice came from the other side of the apartment. "I only keep the ones I really like. Want some tea? I can make some."
"Sure."
Soon they were sitting on her couch drinking tea and eating cake. Gajeel seemed unsure of how to hold the teacup, which made Levy giggle, and made him embarrassed. He crossed his arms and huffed, leaning back in his seat. "Here, let me show you." Levy said kindly, demonstrating how to properly hold the cup. She placed his cup in his hands, positioning his fingers so he wouldn't drop it. When she realized she was holding his hands she began to blush again and let her own hands drop, ending the miniature lesson.
"So why isn't Lily with you today?" Levy was suprised that Panther Lily hadn't gone on a job with Gajeel. It was unlike him to leave his friend's side.
"He went to do some special training in the woods. Wanted to go alone, so I let him be. What about your two pals? They helpin you with this job?"
Levy shook her head. "Jet and Droy got used to working together during those seven years, so they went on a seperate request. This is just a translation job anyway, so they wouldn't have been any help."
"Hmm." Gajeel noticed a sad tone in her voice and on her face. "You're still upset about all that time we lost, huh?"
She nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. "I know it's stupid. We've been back for months now, and everything is almost back to the way it was, but..." She bit her lip. still fighting the tears. "We still missed so much! Everyone was forced to go on with their lives; they probably even forgot about us at some points! I just..." Levy stopped aruptly when she felt Gajeel's warm hand on top of her's.
She turned to look at him, but he was staring straight down at the floor. "I can't pretend to understand how you feel. No one was waitin' for me, so it wasn't any different coming home. But we're all together now and it's like you said: everything's almost back to the way it was." He lifted his head and looked her straight in the eye. "So stop your damn crying."
Levy wanted to cry even more after that. She wanted to say that she'd always be waiting for him and to throw herself into his arms. But she didn't. Instead she smiled and wiped the tears from her face. "You're right. Sorry you had to see me be such a baby."
Gajeel grunted. He felt really awkward after that little speech. But at least shorty has stopped crying. He really hated it when she cried, even though it was kinda cute...
"I guess I should unpack those books now. Thanks again for carrying them for me."
He snapped back to reality. "I can help if you want."
"Are you sure? You already helped so much." Levy was suprised that he was offering to stay, especially after her outburst. Crying definitely wasn't attractive or pleasant.
"Yeah I'm sure. I got nothin' better to do." Gajeel wasn't totally sure why he wanted to stay so much. Maybe he didn't want to go back home without Lily, or maybe he just liked being around Levy. Whatever the reason, he was probably going to spend the next few hours knee deep in musty books.