WARNING: There's some mild cursing here (it's Gajeel we're talking about, after all!). Also there's a mention of Lissana x Bixlow, a crack!pairing that I particularly like for some weird reason. Other than that, it's safe for the kiddies to enjoy.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail. If I did, there would be plenty of Lissana x Bixlow love to go around.

Stormy Weather

by dee430

Rain pelted the scarcely populated streets of Magnolia. People weren't used to the gloomy weather, but they'd become more acquainted with it since a certain Rain Woman found a Card Mage and Ice Maker trapped in Fairy Tail's basement under a pile of old supplies a few days ago. Cana had been fast to reassure Juvia that she'd just asked him to help her find a few old albums, but Juvia being Juvia, she'd added the other woman to her list of rivals for her Gray-sama's love. Since then, rain had plagued Magnolia nonstop.

Levy huddled under her new umbrella, shivering. She didn't have anything against rain. In fact, she loved skipping under the occasional rain showers that sometimes visited her hometown, but this constant deluge was having a rather depressing effect on her. It was what led to why she was now walking home from a three-day mission, Jet and Droy having opted to stay at the guild for a while after coming back.

Thunder roared and lightning flashed across the sky. They never had natural thunderstorms in Magnolia, and the thunder only meant one thing: an irate Laxus. Levy sighed. Lily was going to be huddling down for a while.

As if conjured by her thoughts, the black Exceed flew around the corner, furs standing on end, his little paws clamped over his ears. He was visibly shaken by the storm, but the determined look on his face let Levy know that he wouldn't be taking shelter till he finished his task.

She decided to help out. "Lily! What are you doing out here?"

"Looking for my idiot partner. Have you seen him?" Another crash of thunder sounded, and both woman and cat jumped a little.

"Well, he's not at the guild. I just came from there," she explained when Lily looked curious.

"I see. Well, there's only one place I can think of that he'll go to with this weather."

"Eh?"

"The park. For some reason, he's been going there almost every day for the past two weeks." The ex-military looked as confused as Levy felt. Then he sighed, silently hoping that Laxus would calm down. "Well, I better go get him before he's rusted to the spot."

The blue-haired mage giggled at the image. "Why don't I come with you? I'm going that way anyway; I have to pick up some supplies."

"If you're sure..."

She just smiled. "It's no problem. Why don't I carry you? We can share the umbrella so you don't get wet."

He knew that she was aware of his phobia, and was trying to help him out without bruising his pride. He smiled gratefully. "Thanks Levy."

They walked—well, Levy walked while Lily covered his ears (Laxus must have been really pissed) —to the center of town. The cat spotted his partner first, sitting under the large tree in the middle of the park square, his face set in the familiar scowl. The dragon slayer looked up as Lily flew over to him.

"What?"

"It's raining, you big idiot, and if you haven't noticed, Laxus is mad." Another crash of thunder emphasized his point, making him flinch.

"Yeah, noticed that. What about it?" The scowl never left his partner's face but that wasn't what concerned the Exceed. It was the lost, almost sorrowful look in his eyes. In all the time since he'd joined Fairy Tail, he'd seen plenty of sides of Gajeel, but never this dark, brooding mage. Lily opened his mouth to demand they get home and talk, but another voice interrupted him.

"I think what Lily's trying to say is, you should get out of the storm before you get hit by lightning." Gajeel jerked his eyes from his partner to the solid script mage. The surprise, although quickly hidden, told Lily all he needed to know on just how deeply Redfox had been immersed in his thoughts. His dragon slayer senses should have picked up on the bluenette's presence long before then, but his distraction, coupled with the weather, served as good a camouflage as any.

He pulled his attention from his thoughts to watch the interaction between the big dragon slayer and the small, lighthearted mage. It had become a favorite pastime, watching the big lug trying not to show his feelings to the obviously infatuated pixie. Anyway...

"Oi Shrimp. Whattya doing out in this weather?"

"I could ask you the same. And I'm not a shrimp! My name is Levy. LE-VY!" She pouted as she emphasized the syllables, as if talking to a child. Which, in Lily's opinion, his partner sometimes was.

The trademark smirk appeared. "You're small, so you're Shrimp." His grin only widened at the obvious vexation on the small woman's face, and Lily almost smacked him upside the head. Really, did they think they were in kindergarten?

He decided to intervene before Gajeel did anything more stupid, like dip her hair in ink.

"Gajeel. Let's just go home before we get hit by lightning, ne?"

"Fine, fine." The dragon slayer grumbled but stood up, knowing his Exceed's fear of thunder. "What about you Shorty? Fairy Hills is on the opposite way of our place."

"I'm going to the market. My place doesn't have any decent food left." Without being asked she took Lily into her arms and started towards the market. Gajeel fell into step beside her after taking the umbrella but kept at least two feet between them. The cat took notice of this, since usually Gajeel would be using any opportunity to "accidentally" brush up against Levy.

"So what were you doing out here in this weather?" Levy asked with her usual cheerfulness.

"Tch. Can't a man have some privacy?"

She just smiled. "If you wanted privacy you shouldn't have joined Fairy Tail." A giggle escaped her. "Even everybody's love life is a topic for bets. Did you know that Cana bet against Evergreen that Bixlow and Lissana would end up together?"

Curiosity got the best of Gajeel's strange mood. "Oh? What did Demon Barmaid say about that?"

Another giggle. "She just smiled and said, 'They're already on their third date.'"

That stopped her companion in his tracks. Even Lily had to cop to surprise. Lissana and Bixlow?

Gajeel echoed his thoughts. "What the hell?! Lissana and Bixlow? They don't even talk that much!"

And Levy thought, Aha, so you do take notice. "Apparently they met each other while they were in separate individual missions. Bixlow helped her out, and hasn't left her side since. He even skipped going with the rest of Raijinshu to 'help her out' on another mission."

"Well shit." The dragon slayer frowned deeply, and Lily had an idea of where his mind was going. After a while though, he seemed to remember they were still in the rain and resumed walking.

They reached the market just before the stores closed, and Levy rushed through her shopping. As she was paying for her items as well as Gajeel's and Lily's dinners —"You walked me here, it's the least I can do!" —the rain suddenly grew stronger and lightning flashed through the sky madly.

Gajeel looked out of the shop's window. "Looks like rain woman and lightning head are going at it. Wonder what happened?"

Lily could only stare outside with wide eyes from his perch on his partner's shoulder. He hated Laxus.

When the wind started picking up, Gajeel let out a curse. "The hell did those two do? Even the runt joined in!"

Levy joined him and Lily. "It's probably Cana, not Wendy. The rain is also probably Cana's, since I can't see Juvia fighting with anyone... Except her love rivals." When he looked at her to as if to say 'She uses cards, not wind magic' she sighed and reminded him, "Cana can summon any magic as long as it's in her cards, remember? She used Prayer's Fountain, and conjured girls against Freed during the S-Class exams."

He just grunted and went back to glaring at the now full-out storm. "You can't go to Fairy Hills alone in this weather."

It took her a minute to realize what he'd said. "But Gajeel, I need to go home, I can't just stay here! This is a shop, not an inn, and the nearest one is farther than Fairy Hills or Fairy Tail."

"You're a little shrimp and in this wind you'd end up flying halfway to Crocus. And no way in hell am I gonna walk you all the way to your dorm then walk back here." He glared down at her.

She glared right back. "First of all, I'm not so small that a little wind would sweep me away. And secondly, you're not responsible for me, so you should just forget about always thinking that you are, and—GAJEEL!" Her tirade ended on a squeak when the iron mage suddenly swept the bag of groceries from her and used the other arm to toss her over his shoulder saying only, "Get the umbrella, Lily."

The Exceed silently obeyed, flying over to his partner's shoulder. The last thing Levy saw before the wind shut the shop door with a bang was the old shopkeeper's smiling face. Well, no help from there, she thought. She'd just have to handle this on her own.

She tried the verbal approach first. "Gajeel, put me down." Nothing. "Gajeel!" Still nothing.

Well, it was obvious that he wasn't going to listen to her. So she tried the physical way, although she knew she had no hope of beating him in a proper fight, let alone when she was slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.She beat her small fists against his broad back, tried kicking her legs to make him let go, and even tried biting, all of which barely made the big man grunt.

Next she tried appealing to the Exceed, but he just looked at her and smiled—although it was a bit forced, given that thunder still occasionally roared—as if in reassurance that she wouldn't get hurt. She knew that already, so she just gave up, resigning herself to thinking up revenge plots she knew she would never use.

After a few minutes she detected a change in his pace just before he entered a small building. He climbed up to the second floor, shifted her a bit to— she assumed— reach for his key, and entered. He dropped her bag of groceries on a small table and continued on. She caught glimpses of piles of scrap metal, some metal sculptures, and a few pieces of furniture as he continued carrying her. Finally he dropped her on her feet inside a small room containing a bed, a chest, and surprisingly a bookshelf cluttered with books and more metal sculptures.

She glared at him indignantly but he either didn't notice or was just ignoring her as he turned away saying over his shoulder, "Towels in the bathroom. Go take a shower or whatever; I'll go find some dry clothes." He was out the door before she could say anything else.

She thought about following and demanding that she would return to Fairy Hills, but the worsening weather outside curbed the urge. Instead she turned to the only other door, finding a small closet-sized bathroom with a small mountain of dirty clothes in one corner. She ignored it, and instead focused on the shower. She stripped off her damp clothes and turned on the water to the hottest setting she could stand. Groaning in relief that warmth was once again spreading through her, she thought of the dragon slayer.

Ever since their return from Tenroujima, something had changed between them. Well, to be perfectly honest, the change had started when he'd saved her from Laxus after taking a beating from her teammates, and had furthered when he'd picked her up by the scruff of her dress and stated that he'd be her partner for the exams. In the week following that announcement she'd grown less wary and more used to his gruff and less-than-gentle ways of training her, and had come to know, respect, and even like the man inside the tough exterior. By the time they'd arrived at the guild's holy island, the fear had almost completely disappeared, leaving behind mostly only trust, and of course irritation at his condescending attitude towards her short stature (a particularly sore point—could she help it if both her parents weren't so tall?)

And then during the exam, she'd gotten fed up with his treating her like a child, and had run away from him. She'd regretted it almost immediately, especially after the strange duo from Grimoire Heart had attacked her. When she thought she was facing her end with no way to escape, he'd saved her. He'd come out as if from nowhere, blocking the attack meant to kill her and telling her not to leave his side. At that moment, whatever fear and doubt that hadn't yet fled from his saving her from Laxus and their time together training had dissipated. She'd given her trust, maybe recklessly, perhaps too fast, but she'd given it.

When he'd told her to run, to warn the rest of the guild, she'd been torn between doing what he asked and staying with him to fight. In the end she'd run (but only after providing him with what she could, some iron to increase his chances against two opponents) not because she was scared but because she trusted him to watch her back, to win, and to come back. To her. When she'd encountered Juvia and Erza she'd never been more glad, not because it meant she'd be safe but because she'd fulfilled her part—warning the rest of the guild—and she could finally get back to him. Instead of finding him still fighting, he'd been heading towards the rendezvous point, battered and weak. But still she knew he'd won, and knew he'd done it for the guild, for their nakama, and for her, to keep her safe. Somehow she'd known that last part even without being told.

When they'd won she'd stayed by his side, tending to his injuries. Most of the time he'd been unconscious, but once or twice he'd opened his eyes and said her name—her name, not Shrimp or Shorty or Bookworm. She'd felt something then, something different from the friendship she'd already given him, something different from what she felt for her other guild mates or even her teammates. Her heartbeat had sped up, and her cheeks flushed with color. And when the rest of their guild mates had recovered thanks to the Tenrou Tree's revival, she'd been the one to assist him to Grimoire Heart's ship along with Master Makarov, Cana, the Raijinshuu, and all the rest that hadn't been part of the final battle.

And then the nightmare that was Acnologia arrived. She'd felt the tension in him moments before they'd heard the dragon's roar. Unlike Natsu and Wendy, he'd already known that the dark dragon was different from their "parents" and had been wary. He'd been the one to push her to run, and had stayed beside her as they'd tried to flee while Master delayed the great beast. He'd also been the one to run beside her as they'd headed back to their father figure, and he'd been the one to grab her hand as they'd formed the circle in a desperate hope for protection.

When they'd awakened seven years later she'd been lying on top of him, his arms still wrapped protectively around her and Pantherlily as though to shield them from harm. After her initial blushing and confusion she'd relaxed against him, thinking he was still asleep. Only when he'd muttered that he heard people approaching had she realized that he'd been awake the entire time, and had done nothing to push her away. In fact, he'd seemed reluctant to let her go, but Jet and Droy had tackled her, crying their eyes out. Confusion once again took over until the rest of what had been dubbed as the "Tenrou Group" had been found and Mavis explained to them what had happened.

For the next little while everything between them had gone back to normal, except that she no longer ran out of the room when he entered. In fact they'd shared more time together, often with him munching on some pieces of metal while she had her nose buried in a book in their own little corner of the guild. He'd been more active in joining guild brawls, and would come to her for a fix of iron after. It had become routine, and eventually Jet and Droy learned to accept that neither of them had the chance to become her special someone anymore.

When Gajeel and Lily had opted to stay away from the rest to train for the Grand Magical Games, she'd been somewhat hurt, but she'd also understood that he was taking his training seriously and she would only hold him back if she came with them. So instead she'd been dragged along to the Spirit World for what had seemed like a day, only to find their time for training nearly to an end, Earthland side. She'd gone to see him, and they'd spent some time together before the Games. At one point the thought had crossed her mind that they were acting like a couple, but she'd dismissed it quickly. Gajeel wasn't like that, and although she'd begun to wish otherwise, she knew that it would be a long time, if ever, before they reached any kind of commitment.

She pulled out of her thoughts when she heard him shout that the clothes were on the bed and that she better hurry up before the damn water turned cold. Giggling—she'd become immune to shouts and curses soon after joining Fairy Tail—she turned off the shower and stepped out, grabbing the only clean towel she could find (at least she hoped it was clean). She dried herself and wrapped the towel around her before stepping to the bedroom, where a pair of white shorts and an old black shirt with its sleeves torn off waited on the bed. Both garments were way too big for her, but the shorts had a cord running through the waist, and she tied it as tight as she could to ensure that it wouldn't fall off. She checked her reflection on the only available surface—the back of an old metal container—and felt dismayed at the rat's nest her hair had become. Oh, well. She'd just have to deal with it later.

She headed out of the room, thoughts still on the dragon slayer that waited on the other side of the door.

A/N: I finished this one a long time ago. Basically it's a mix of how Lily views the interaction between Levy and Gajeel, Levy's thoughts on Gajeel, and if you squint, some you could see a little of Gajeel's thoughts.