This was not going to be a fun trip, Gajeel decided as the shrimp walked in front of him, almost bouncing in her step. He couldn't take his eyes off her ass. He could feel his pants getting tight. He needed to take his mind off her. No, what he needed to do was turn around and go back to the Guild, tell Team Natsu or someone else to take the job. But he couldn't make himself do it. He knew it wouldn't end well, but he wanted to see how this adventure played out. A breeze blew her scent into his face and he nearly keeled over with desire, her vanilla and cloves scent surrounding his senses. But he caught something else, something unexpected. He brought himself a foot closer to her to confirm his hunch…was that lace…was it made of iron? He sniffed experimentally. No doubt about it. He felt a rush of heat as he realized that she must know. She was intentionally wearing iron, making her look even more delicious to an Iron Dragon Slayer. Thoughts started turning in his mind. Was she…trying to seduce him? It was the only conclusion he could come up with. She came on this mission wearing that tease of a dress, knowing it would drive him crazy. She wouldn't have done that in front of the two idiots. Meaning she must have convinced them to stay behind somehow. She sure was going to a lot of work. He grinned. And he was going to make her work even harder.
Levy
His eyes were on her butt. The. Entire. Way. To the train station. She felt her face heat in a blush, expecting to just spontaneously combust with how hot she felt. She added a little bit of an extra hop to her step just to drive him mad, smirking. If she was going to be uncomfortable, so was he.
Lily was waiting in his warrior form at the train station, two tickets in hand. When he caught sight of his two friends, he poofed back into his small form and flew straight into Levy's arms as she giggled, scratching behind his ears.
"Oi, Lily." Gajeel growled, tearing his eyes from the shrimp's perfect ass. "You get the good seats this time?"
The Exceed nodded, handing a ticket to Levy, and the other to Gajeel. "We have a private car, near the back. No one will bother us." Gajeel nodded and, before Levy could object, slung her bag over his shoulder, walking to their car. Levy shrugged and followed, holding Lily close and petting his head.
It was a beautiful suite, with a shower room hidden off to one side, and a huge leather couch, and a small kitchenette. A note on the fridge told them that the room was stocked with plenty of complimentary food, and there was a first aid kit in the bathroom. Levy thought it was a much better way to travel than the usual small tent and campfire she was used to. Plus, she was glad they had the extra room for the long train ride. She wondered if Gajeel had read the itinerary she had put together, and if he knew that they would be on a moving train for 17 hours traveling to the other end of Fiore.
"This place is great!" She said cheerfully as Gajeel slung their bags onto the floor next to the couch.
He mumbled something under his breath, and Lily laughed. At Levy's confused look, he repeated, "Yeah, just great." He said sarcastically. Then he spotted the bed in the corner and felt his ears turn red with a blush. It was a big bed with dark red sheets and a thick plush black comforter, and lots of black and red pillows. And it was the only bed in the room. He knew this would be a long train ride. He knew he was going to be a useless moaning lump of motion sickness as soon as the train left the station, just like he knew the Shrimp would have to sleep soon. He would just take the couch; she could have the bed.
Levy hid a chuckle at his blush. She could practically hear his thoughts; his face was so obvious. He was going to try to be gentlemanly, and take the couch. She wasn't going to have any of that, of course. She slipped out of her boots and shrugged off her pack, laying it with the others, "accidentally" brushing her body against Gajeel's arm. She felt him tense up, heard his breath stop for a moment. But the move backfired. At the touch, her own body seized up, urging her closer, stopping her own breath. They stayed like that for a few seconds, neither willing to break the electric contact, until Pantherlily cleared his throat. The spell was broken, and the two jerked away, not meeting the other's eyes and blushing furiously.
Lily could see what was going on. He had known something was up as soon as Mira sent Kinana to tell him that Jet and Droy were not coming on this job. Those two would never have let Levy and Gajeel go alone together, unless someone was meddling. Then Levy walked into the guild hall wearing a dress that looked tailor-made to tempt Gajeel, and he understood that she was the one meddling. He had watched the couple dance around each other for years. He was glad to see Levy finally stepping up and challenging him; maybe he would no longer have to deal with a sexually-frustrated Gajeel. He grinned evilly and decided to help her meddle.
He turned to his warrior form and without another word stretched himself out on the couch, daring Gajeel with his eyes to try to take it from him. Levy gave him a shocked look, then comprehension flashed in her eyes and she grinned back at him. This is going to be easier than I thought.
Gajeel, on the other hand, stared at his cat with a look of shocked betrayal. What does that fuckin' cat think he's doin'?
Levy clapped her hands together, straightening her spine. "Okay, we'll be on our way soon. I want to just go over the details of the job again real quick." Gajeel nodded stiffly. "We'll take this train for about 17 hours to Alabaster Village on the other side of Fiore. From there we take a boat for about 2 hours to Claw Island. Then we find the old palace grounds. Hidden under the ruins is what most people believe to be a tomb, sealed with powerful magic that supposedly only a very talented Script Mage can break through. Our client is interested in a scroll hidden in the tomb. It is supposed to hold some very dangerous secrets about powerful magic." Lily nodded. They had gone over the information and research Levy had given them. Or, at least, he had. "Our job is to stop the grave-robbers that have been trying to break into the tomb for the last 6 months, retrieve the scroll, and get back to Alabaster Village. There, we will translate the scroll and give the translated version to the Magic Council for safe-keeping." Gajeel frowned at the information.
"What's our guy get outta that?" Why would someone pay them to do the Magic Council a favor.
"Our biggest job is to take out the bandits—that is why you two are here—and to break the seals on the team so that our client, who is an archaeologist, can get his team in there for research—which is why I am on the job." Levy nodded decisively. "He believes, though, that the information in the scroll is too important and dangerous to be left in his hands. He also said that if we happen to find anything else that could be dangerous, we are to turn it over as well."
"How responsible of him." Lily said, his eyes closing as he relaxed on the couch. He ignored Gajeel's glare. "Once the items are in the hands of the Magic Council, the grave robbers are out of the way, and the archaeologist is free to do his work, are we returning directly to Magnolia?" he asked. He was actually impressed at the amount of work this job was going to involve. Was it a good idea to leave Jet and Droy behind?
"Our client would like it if we could stay for a few days while he and his team get settled, just to make sure that all of the seals are broken, and that the bandits are really gone. Once he feels safe and his work is under way, we can return to Magnolia with our reward."
"I don't remember you sayin' what our reward is, Shorty." Gajeel said after a moment. He hadn't asked. She had just come up to him with those big brown eyes and that sweet smile of hers and asked him if he would join them on a job, since they needed extra muscle. Of course he was going to say yes. Did she know just how adorable she was when she looked at him like that?
"Five million jewel." She said nonchalantly. Gajeel sputtered and Lily's eyes snapped open.
"Five million?!" Gajeel roared. She nodded. "Are these guys that bad? Five million to kick some ass and break a seal?"
"Well, he is very rich, and he knows how dangerous the scroll could be in the wrong hands. He wanted to give us motivation to get the job done right. Plus, an extra 2 million if we do stay until he gets settled." The eyes on her got even bigger. Honestly, she was kind of used to these kinds of paydays on her usual jobs. She was one of very few Script Mages that were even remotely powerful. Plus, she was a member of Fairy Tail, so the guild's standard reward amount went up considerably after their win at the Grand Magic Games. And most of the people who wanted scrolls translated and Script seals broken were rich and willing to pay extra for a good mage. That is why she had so much money squirrelled away, enough that she could finally buy the nice house on the outskirts of Magnolia that she had had her eye on.
"So yer tellin' me, when this job is done, Lily and I both walk away with about 1.5 million jewel?" She smiled as she realized he still included Jet and Droy in his calculations, nodding. He just shook his head and rubbed his neck. "Dang, Shorty."
Just then the train started moving. Levy could see his face turn green the instant the motion started. Concerned, she quickly pulled him over to the bed and laid him down on it carefully. He groaned as they picked up speed, curling a little and clutching his stomach. She stroked his hair and said comforting words that he couldn't hear over the blood pounding in his ears. Even with how shitty he felt, she was touching him. Her hands were in his hair, brushing his face, rubbing his back. She was sitting on the bed less than a foot from him. This would be one hell of a long train ride.
