This was inspired by Rusky's fall artwork from back in the...fall. Heh. Enjoy!
"Levs, we're goin' camping."
Levy paused, turning to face where the deep voice came from and raising a well groomed eyebrow, "Camping? I mean, that sounds great but what brought this on?"
Strolling forward, Gajeel shoved a folded up brochure into his wife's hands, beaming from one pierced ear to the other. "I found this the other day and I think we'd enjoy ourselves. You, Lily, and me, let's go this weekend!"
Unfolding the brochure Levy glanced through the various activities Oak Town National Forest held for them; hiking trails, a hot springs, mountain views and a lusciously wooded camping area just beckoning visitors to its grounds.
"This looks wonderful, and last I heard the weather should be good this weekend." Levy twisted to face the large black shepherd lounging lazily on his oversized dog bed, "Lily! Do you want to go camping?"
Her reply came in the form of a loud bark and a tail wagging with enough force to knock over the end table. Levy laughed as she quickly caught the table, righting it on all fours before turning back to her husband.
"Camping it is!" She cheered.
…
"That should be the last of it," Gajeel mumbled to no one in particular as he shut the tailgate of his truck. Shifting his gaze towards Levy he caught her as she readjusted the bag on her shoulder to lock the front door. Tracing his eyes over her body he smiled in appreciation at the brown leggings she had chosen to put on this morning, the way they were currently hugging her ass nearly had him drooling.
Trying to remain as casual as possible, he watched his wife climb into the truck, biting back a snort as she grunted and finally heaved herself into the lifted vehicle. Pushing himself off the tailgate he rounded the truck to the driver's side and as gracefully as any large man can, stepped up into the truck and settled himself behind the wheel.
It didn't require him needing to actually look at Levy to know of the glare she was currently sending in his direction nor did he have to actually see her to know her arms were currently crossed across her chest and her delicious pinks lips were pursed in frustration. He couldn't hold back the grin.
"Was the lift kit really that necessary, Gajeel?"
Gajeel laughed in his most peculiar fashion and flashed his toothy grin at Levy, "When ya have a cute little wife with an ass gifted by the Gods, yes, it is very much necessary."
Levy rolled her eyes, turning to stare out the window and failing to hide her smirk, "You're incorrigible."
The drive to the campgrounds wasn't terribly long, but long enough that when they finally arrived and exited the truck the couple stretched their stiff limbs and took a few moments to enjoy the crisp fall air before beginning to unload the truck.
"I want to go hiking first! There are some really great looking trails according to the map!" Before she was able to point out her first trail of interest the map was instantly plucked from her hands.
"Oi! We don't need a map!" Gajeel snorted while unsuccessfully trying to fold the damned piece of paper back to its original size. "Ya got me and Lil, why would ya need a map?"
"That is exactly why we need a map. Need I remind you of our honeymoon?" Levy questioned with her hands on her hips and a knowing smirk on her face.
Gajeel huffed and quickly turned away, "I'm gonna go unload the truck."
Levy snickered when she overheard Gajeel grumbling to himself as he shuffled his way towards the tailgate of his truck and began hauling out their weekend supplies.
Taking a moment to soak in her surroundings, Levy honed in on the sound of the wind rustling through the trees and the vibrant autumn colors soaking up the environment around her; this time of year was definitely her favorite. There was nothing she enjoyed more than snuggling up close to her brute of a husband, warm drink in hand, with a book and a blanket, and in the months to come she could add a warm fire in the fireplace to that list when the snow starts to fall outside.
"Oi Levy! You want the tent up now or later?" Gajeel bellowed from where he was still standing near the truck.
"Let's do it later, I really want to go on that hike!"
Smiling she skipped over to him and grabbed her hiking boots from where he had set them on the edge of the tailgate. She traded out her flats for the boots and while Gajeel fidgeted with his bag and boot laces Levy quickly grabbed the map and snuck it into her own bag before slinging it over both shoulders to settle on her back.
Once ready the couple headed off in the direction of the trail Gajeel had insisted they take with Lily running along just far enough ahead for him to explore while waiting for his humans to catch up.
Just as the sun began its descent they reached a point in the trail where the trees were sparse, standing atop the hill overlooking the valley below they had a breathtaking view of the mountains in the distant and the sky illuminated with pink, yellow, and orange streaks.
Strolling forward Levy sat on a patch of grass while Gajeel fished out a bowl from his bag and poured water in it for Lily. Levy heard the crunch of leaves behind her and soon she was being pulled into her husband's side as he wrapped a strong arm around her. Snuggling in closer she laid her head against his shoulder as her arms wrapped around his bicep.
"It's so beautiful, I'm glad you had the idea for us to come here, Gajeel."
"It's been awhile since we last just enjoyed some time to ourselves outside the house. This is nice."
When Lily had finally had his fill of water he joined the two of them, snuggling under Levy's free arm and resting his head on her legs. As the sun continued to set behind the mountains Gajeel reluctantly unwrapped himself from Levy's warmth and stood with a grunt.
"Let's get movin' family, don't wanna be out here past dark and miss out on my ghost stories!"
Levy's expression dropped, "Babe, you tell some truly horrendous ghost stories. How's about we just make some smores?"
"My ghost stories are awesome and you know it. Let's go."
Levy shook her head as she followed behind Gajeel who was stalking away in a direction that did not look too familiar to the blue haired woman. After a short while Levy stopped and began digging through her bag for the map she had thankfully managed to grab and bring along.
"Levs, what'r ya doing? We're trying to beat the dark here, if yer thirsty I have some water-" Gajeel stopped short as he witnessed her unfold that familiar piece of parchment. "What the hell are ya doin with that damned thing?!"
"This thing is going to get us back to the campsite before you get us more lost than we already are!" Levy said in defense as she stamped her foot into the dirt path.
"We ain't lost!" Gajeel howled.
Levy's eyebrows scrunched together as she pointed to an oddly shaped oak tree on the opposite side of the path, "Gajeel, darling, we've passed by that tree three times now. Just admit that you have no idea where you're going."
Gajeel huffed while stepping forward to swipe the map out his wife's hands with a frustrated snort. Stretching the paper out his eyes skimmed over the brownish parchment. With growing irritation he turned the paper to one side and then flipped it to another.
Levy had to stifle a laugh as she watched his eyes begin to twitch and mumbled under her breath, "It's upside down."
Gajeel growled in response.
Sighing with a smile Levy reached for the map, turned it to its proper reading direction and stood on her tippy toes while pointing to a location, "This is around where we are, and we need to get back to here." She said tracing her finger across the map to another location.
Leaning around the massive build of her husband Levy spotted another hiker slowly making their way towards the two of them, a small smile ghosted across her face as she reached for the paper and successfully snatched it from the grumbling man's hands.
Skipping down the path a few feet she waved down the lone hiker, "Excuse me!"
With a smile on his face the man proceeded to walk towards Levy and stopped beside her, "What can I do for you?"
Unbeknownst to the enthusiastic woman as she stretched out the map in hopes the man could help get them back on the right path, her husband was silently stationed behind her drilling holes into the man with his eyes and a snarl on his face.
When the hiker suddenly began acting strange and gave a rather pathetic excuse as to why he could no longer help the petite woman, he took off in the opposite direction she had watched him come from. Levy huffed and crossed her arms, "Well that was just rude."
Levy grabbed Gajeel's hand and started down the path, dragging the large man behind her as Lily followed along, "I guess it's up to me to get us back before dark!"
As the first group of stars made their appearance in the sky Gajeel caught sight of his truck and their campsite.
"We never put up the tent." Gajeel realized as he pulled their sleeping sacks from the bed of the truck.
"That's okay, it's such a nice night tonight we don't really need it." Coming up behind Gajeel she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him close, "Plus, I've got you and Lily to keep me safe and warm."
Turning into her and wrapping his free hand around her he smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Ya got that right, ain't nothin' gonna get ya while I'm here."
Levy reached up and pulled his face down to meet hers in a kiss. The innocence of it was brief, though longer than she had expected given who her husband was, and when she felt his hands squeeze at her backside she knew that innocence was long gone.
"I could always set that tent up…" Gajeel suggested as he nibbled at her neck.
Wiggling out his hold and pecking his cheek with another kiss she tsked him and shook her head with a smile before skipping off to gather supplies for the fire while he arranged their sleeping conditions for the night.
More stars began to litter the sky when the oddly matched couple finally snuggled into their lone sleep sack. Gajeel's arms were wrapped tightly around Levy, pulling her in close. Levy rested with her head on his arm, a perfect pillow as if made just for her and her hand resting against his expansive chest.
"I had a lot of fun today, I'm glad we did this," she whispered as her fingers traced the lines on his flannel shirt.
"Me too, we should do this again before the weather gets too cold."
Levy twisted herself to sit up, both arms propped against his chest as he idly played with a strand of blue hair, "On one condition."
Gajeel raised a studded brow, "And that would be?"
"Admit you have no sense of direction and agree to use a map." She answered.
Gajeel laughed in that odd manner Levy loved so dearly, "I take offense to that ya know, one of my greatest discoveries I found without ever using a map."
Now it was Levy's turn to raise an eyebrow as she stared down at him in perplexity.
"I found you all on my own," his smile was smug but still showed all his love and adoration for the woman situated above him currently rendered speechless.
"That was probably one of corniest things I have ever heard you say," she replied back with a straight face that quickly morphed into a full on blush, "And I love you all the more for it."
"Damn straight." Gajeel muttered as he pulled her against him and met her lips with his.