Ch.1 - F.A.I.R.Y. T.A.I.L.
Day: 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, that privilege belongs to Mashima-sensei.
Genre: Sci-fi (I think…)
Summary: F.A.I.R.Y. T.A.I.L. is a crime-fighting organization run in the small town of Magnolia. Levy McGarden is what they call a 'techie' — someone who directs a team on their missions from the safety of the HQ. What happens when she goes on a mission for the very first time — and with Gajeel Redfox, no less?
Levy stared at the wall. It was a nice wall, painted a shade somewhere between grey and blue. She ran her eyes over the ridges where paint had dried unevenly, the spots where color had slowly faded away. She wondered how much longer that color would last.
The clamor of the people talking into their earpieces and the clacking of fingers on dozens keyboards drifted into her ears. Levy closed her eyes and let it flow over her.
A sense of home filled up her core. She sighed blissfuly and leaned back in her chair. A corner of her mind told her that this was not the time to be daydreaming, but still, she let herself be lulled into bliss. Into—
"Oi! SHRIMP!" The coarse voice boomed through her comm, and Levy shot up. So that was what her mind had been urging her not to forget; she was supposed to be helping Gajeel and the rest of the team on their mission. Oops…?
"S-sorry Gajeel!" She squeaked, and quickly woke up her computer. The home screen — a group picture of the entire team (her, Lucy, Natsu, Gray, Wendy, and of course Gajeel) in front of the Kardia Cathedral — flickered to life. "But please stop it with that nickname." She said the last bit with a hint of annoyance. Ever since they had met, not once had the studded man called her by her real name. When he was still new was 'girl', but at some point along the way it had developed into 'Shrimp.' Levy could not honestly say which she preffered.
"Gihihihi," he laughed. "Just don't do it again. Now, what's the briefing?"
In the background noise Levy could hear someone else call out, "What's with that creepy laugh, metal-for-brains?" From the nickname, she could tell it was probably Natsu.
Gajeel ignored him.
Levy cleared her throat and opened up the document containing the information she needed. After a few hurried seconds of reading, she opened her mouth and began to speak.
"Why don't you ever go on missions, Levy?" Lucy looked up from her smoothie to ask. The team was at one of the best restaurants in Magnolia — 8-Island — to celebrate their success.
"Yeah," Natsu grinned. "It's fun! You can come with us on the next one! Even Freed goes on missions from time to time!" Freed Justine was another techie. In fact, he was one of the best in F.A.I.R.Y. T.A.I.L. He worked with Laxus Dreyar, the Master's grandson, in a team called the Raijinshuu. They were the elite, the big shots of the entire organization. Levy was most defiantly NOT Freed.
"Yeah, but…" Levy bit her lip nervously. How did one say that she was just too scared to go? Too scared that she would mess up and ruin everything?
"Natsu is right, it would be fun!" Wendy Marvell grinned up at her. Though the girl was no more than twelve, she was already one of the best medics in Fiore. Levy had seen her bring people back from the brink of death.
"But…" She bit down harder, trying to come up with an excuse. She couldn't say that she had to stay to support them from HQ, there were more than enough techies to go around, plenty of people that could do it for her.
"You really should," Lucy pressed.
"We could ask the Master to give us an easy one." Gray pointed out.
"Gray, your clothes." The blonde girl said dryly. Juvia, a newer member of the agency, drooled from her hiding place in the shrubbery (Seriously, that girl needed some help. Or some lessons on how to hide better. Gray was the only one who never noticed her).
"I really shouldn't." Levy managed to get out.
Gajeel blinked with the laziness of a cat sunning itself. He hadn't spoken yet in this entire conversation. Levy looked at him, brown eyes pleading. Surely he would understand and back her up.
"Back off," He began, and Levy sighed in relief. "I'm the one taking Shrimp on a mission tomorrow. Alone."
"WHAT!" Levy screeched. This was not what she had meant! And why was he still using that stupid nickname?!
"No arguments." Gajeel said. He threw a few dollars down on the table before standing up and walking off. The bell above the door jingled as he went out.
Levy stared, wide-eyed, at the place where he had exited.
Natsu sniggered. "He lllliiiiiikkkes you!" The short girl gave him a glare that would silence most anyone, but he kept on chuckling. Levy's eye ticked. She growled under her breath. The chair screeched as she pushed it back underneath the table, then quickly walked away before she took that same chair and hit Natsu over the head with it. Preferably multiple times.
As she walked away she could hear Gray speak in a monotonous voice. "Moron."
"What did you say, ice princess?!"
"You heard me!"
Even with the certain doom awaiting her the next day, Levy could not force down the tug of a smile at her lips.
Levy needed a cup of coffee. She really needed a cup of coffee.
At 4:30 in the morning (yes, the MORNING), Gajeel had shown up at her apartment and dragged her out of the warm comfort of bed. Before she was even awake enough to worry about how he had gotten in, she had been forced out the door.
Now she stood, dressed awkwardly in her loose orange pajamas, at the entrance to Master Makarov's office.
"Do I have to do this?" She asked for what might have been the fifteenth time. Levy hoped Gajeel wouldn't recognize the tremor to her voice.
"Yes." He replied shortly.
"Can I at least get dressed first?" She pulled at the baggy sleeve of her pajamas. They were not going to make a good impression.
Gajeel looked at her intensely. A few weeks ago, she would have crumpled under that stare, but now Levy just stood firmly, arms crossed. He laughed softly under his breath. "Fine."
She blinked. "Huh?" The bluenette had not expected that. Levy could not remember a time when Gajeel had ever given the smallest bit of leeway in an argument.
"You heard me, Shrimp."
"Don't call me Shrimp."
The large man just smirked in reply.
Levy smiled inwardly. Maybe this mission wouldn't be as bad as she had originally thought.
Ten minutes and a shower later, Levy emerged from her apartment, dressed in a long, black coat, an orange tank-top, white-washed jeans and a worn pair of gray Converse. The door closed with a click behind her, and she took a deep breath.
"Okay, Gajeel," she began, "I'm ready."
Makarov looked surprised. It was not an expression often seen on the Master of F.A.I.R.Y. T.A.I.L.
Levy nodded, forcing down apprehension. Was he not going to let her go? Was that a good thing? In truth, she didn't know the answer to the second question. At first, she had dreaded going on a mission, but if she didn't go now, was she ever going to?
Then, so fast Levy could have missed it if she blinked, a wide grin grew on the Master's face. "Excellent! I was wondering when you would finally decide to go on a mission!" He paused for a second, as if in thought. Then, he snatched up a piece of paper resting at the top of one of the many piles in his office and handed it to her. "Here. This one seems easy enough for a beginner."
Levy looked down at the sheet in her hand. There were words spelled out across the top of the page: WATCH MY STORE FOR A NIGHT.
"This is a… mission?" She said questioningly. All the missions she had helped with had been to investigate things that could determine the future of entire nations. The words on the page in front of her did not exactly scream 'life-threatening.'
Gajeel read it over her shoulder, then looked up at Makarov, one eyebrow (if you could call it that — more like a line of studs) cocked up. "Really, Old Man, I didn't know we were taking requests from civilians."
The Master coughed into his hand. "Well, we are short on money right now, so we have been accepting some jobs from the townspeople just to raise money. It would be a good way to start off, Levy." He said the last bit with a bit of desperation in his voice.
The bluenette tilted her head to the right. "But aren't we supposed to be a secret service?"
"Ah," Makarov replied. "That is where our cover comes in handy. The outside world thinks that we are Fairy Tale — a job-taking guild conveniently placed in the center of town." He looked at Gajeel out of the corner of his eye. "And you don't have to be connected to a mic this way, either."
The red-eyed man grabbed the paper out of Levy's hands, ignoring her complaint. "We'll take it."
Time passed. Levy read, talked, worked, but nothing could distract her from what was coming. When the clock read 9:00, she threw on her coat and rushed out to the parking lot where she was supposed to meet Gajeel.
"We are going… on THAT?!" Levy stared at the motorcycle in front of her. It was huge, black, and most certainly deadly. Gajeel grinned at her from his perch on the seat.
"Yep."
"…"
"I have a helmet."
"…"
"I've done this before."
"…"
"It will be faster than the bus."
"…okay." Why not? Why the hell not?
"Gihihihi." Gajeel smiled wider, and Levy couldn't help but do the same. What was it about this guy? What made her trust him enough to do all these things, all these things she had never done before? Levy forced the helmet over her still-wet mop of hair. When he offered his hand, she took it and swung her leg over the leather seat. A small gasp escaped her as the engine roared to life, and she wrapped her arms tightly around him, only loosening her grip slightly when she heard him chuckle.
Of course, she tightened it again once they started to move.
There was only one word that could describe what she felt at that moment. As the motorcycle sliced through the frigid night air, and cars sped past on either side, exhilaration took over Levy's senses.
She laughed, not knowing what else to do, and heard Gajeel doing the same in front of her.
When they finally arrived at the address, Levy rigidly slid off of the bike, stretching her arms over her head. Gajeel followed soon after, taking off his helmet and tucking it under one arm.
They stared at the shop in front of them. It was small, with a single door off to the right, the glass of which was labeled Magnolia Bloom. Through the window they could see plants of many shapes and sizes lined up in neat rows. They looked at one another. Gajeel shrugged before walking forward and opening the door. Levy hurried in after him.
As soon as she set foot inside, a blast of warm air hit her face. It had the thick, humid qualities of the air inside a greenhouse, and smelled faintly of orchid.
There was a tall woman wearing a smock standing behind the counter, strands of wispy white hair falling over her eyes as she bent over to pick something up. When they entered she quickly looked up from what she was doing and spun to greet them.
Her eyes passed over Levy to the man beside her. She knew what the old woman was seeing - the studs, his glaring red eyes, the black hair pulled out of his face by a ragged red bandana, and the motorcycle helmet still clutched under one arm. If he noticed the woman's stare, Gajeel didn't care. He just grinned, letting abnormally sharp canines be seen, and held up the job request.
The woman made a choked noise from the back of her throat. "Y-you are here for the job?"
"Yes, ma'am." Levy said with a small nod and a reassuring smile.
The woman took a deep breath. "Alright then. My name is Theresa Cowl, and this is my shop and home. Because there has been a scattering of thieveries in this neighborhood as of late, I was hoping that someone could look after this place while I go over to a friend's."
Gajeel wrapped an arm around his partner's shoulders, not budging when she immediately tried to shrug out of his hold. "That's what we're here for," Levy said before sending a glare up at the larger man.
Theresa hurried to pick up a handbag. "I'll just leave you to it." She brushed past them and out the door.
"That was fast," Gajeel commented, looking down at her with those unusual red eyes that somehow managed to fit his face perfectly. Her eyes were drawn to his gleaming metal studs, which would have seemed out of place on anyone else, but gave him an odd kind of beauty. As Levy took him in, she realized that everything about him was odd, and everything about him was beautiful. Odd and beautiful…
Suddenly, the room seemed too large, and the man next to her seemed much too close.
Levy nodded.
"I'll find us some chairs."
Levy nodded again, and Gajeel walked away, opening any doors that seemed like they may lead to closets. Soon, he had found two rackety folding chairs and had set them down facing the door. He sat, and Levy followed suit, drifting over and settling into the one on the left.
Together they sat like that, watching the townspeople as they walked by.
"Do you ever wonder why people are always in such a hurry?" At the sound of his voice, Levy looked up to see Gajeel staring outside with a contemplative look on his face. "I mean, what is so important that they never even stop to take anything in?"
"Well, why do you ride a motorcycle?"
He looked at her with a small frown. "That's different."
"How so?"
"Riding a bike like that… it gives you a whole new experience, a new set of glasses to look at the world through." Levy put her head on his shoulder, not noticing the stiffening of his muscles. Her lids were beginning to grow heavy, and the thick, sweet air was not helping to undermine her tiredness. Hesitantly, Gajeel continued, "When I ride, it's all about the journey, the way there. Those people out there, the only thing they're thinking about is where they are going next. I don't understand it. I mean, sure, the future is something to look forward to, but what's wrong with enjoying the present?"
Levy drowsily agreed. "Nothing. The present is the best part." She closed her eyes, and slowly, the darkness lulled her into it's embrace.
Gajeel looked down at the small bluenette, and sighed, realizing she was thoroughly out. He rested his head on top of her's and decided that nothing was going to happen that night.
When Ms. Teresa Cowl walked in the next morning, she would be surprised to find them both fast asleep, curled up against one another in those two chairs with expressions of pure bliss on their faces.
GaLe. You gotta love it. Please read and review my FIRST CHAPTER OF 365! I have been putting this off for WAY too long and I am so happy that I have finally been able to pull it off.
Natsu: Because you're LAZY.
Am not.
Natsu: Are too.
What are you even doing here?
Natsu: See you tomorrow!