Hello lovelies~! Great to be hearing from you, it seriously makes me so happy and brings life to me. Well, here we have the next chapter of Embrace.

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Self editing so sorry if I missed something:)

The port bustled with life as early risers scurried about, some hauling cargo to the nearby ships or others trying to get the nearby vendors for their fresh produce. Levy adjusted her bangs, a few strands falling free from her bun as she tried her best to keep up with her brother. Every now and again he would glance at her to make sure she was still close, occasionally yanking her arm to move her from getting ran over by men carrying boxes and were therefore unable to see her over their cargo. As the approached the ship they would be taking, Loke stopped short with Levy colliding into his back with a squeak. She grumbled a bit, adjusting her light yellow dress, dusting herself off. She looked up to find Loke glancing around as he adjusted the white jacket of his suit, his expression nervous.

"Ah well, I guess that guy isn't going to be showing. Boat is going to be leaving soon, after all." She let out a soft laugh, placing her suitcase down beside her. Her gaze scanned the area as best she could but being so short, she couldn't see very much by all the taller men and women that surrounded them. She took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of the water.

"You're just afraid he's going to kill you at some point during this trip," Levy replied with a sly grin, enjoying her brother being such a nervous wreck. He instantly locked eyes with her while fixing his glasses, raising a brow at her,

"And you seem to want him for more than just directions," he countered. She stomped her foot, shaking her hand at him in a scolding manner.

"You… you are such a pig," she spat back, watching him grin devilishly, "You honestly think I want someone who is so rude, unkempt, rowdy, and… and…"

"Gihee, hope it's not someone I know," came a gravelly voice, causing Levy to turn bright red before spinning on her heel to come face to chest with their raven haired companion. He was wearing a navy blue, long sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, showing scars on his right arm and metal studs on both his forearms. His hands were covered with maroon gloves, his wrists covered by metal bracelets that seemed to be attached to the gloves themselves. His dark brown pants were tucked into black combat boots, metallic studs bordering the top of them. Over his shoulders and across his back was a gun holster, two silver pistols tucked away on his hips. His face was clean shaven and his hair was groomed and tied in a low ponytail, a slight wisp of his hair in his eyes as he gazed down at a stunned Levy. The librarian failed to find words as she peered up at the gentleman before her, her mouth slightly agape. Loke leaned in a bit, letting out a rough cough into his fist which had her shaking her head and sputtering a few words out.

"G-good morning, Mr. Redfox," she blurted, turning her head away. He let out a deep chuckle, reaching down to grasp her chin, facing her forward.

"I told you, shrimp: Gajeel is fine. Gihee." The sounds around them seemed to drone out as she stared into his eyes, the feeling of his hands on her making her shiver and completely miss his little nickname for her. "You did save my life after all." Another cough from her brother shook her free from her trance, feeling Gajeel release her. Crimson eyes shifted over to the orange haired man beside her, watching him flinch. "Tch, ya got something to say?"

"Just that the boat is going to be leaving soon if you two are done swooning over each other," Loke replied blankly, turning to board. Gajeel scoffed, looking down to see Levy with her head turned away again, her features scrunched and a bright blush over her cheeks. Snagging her bag from beside her, Gajeel walked ahead, hearing her sputter about his help as she followed after him.

Most of the trip was uneventful, the sun setting in the distance as Gajeel found Levy on the boat deck with a book in hand, her focus completely on the text. He stole a glance at the title, reading it say 'Seti the First.' A grin plastered itself on his face as he quietly walked up, slamming his ammo bag down on the table beside her, enjoying the shriek she let out. Catching a look at his smug face, she scowled before pulling her book up again, ignoring him. Her hand came up to absentmindedly play with her bangs as she tried losing herself in her reading once more. Unfortunately for her, the real world was becoming more and more distracting as she spied the crimson eyed male opening his satchel and checking his weapon stock. At the click of him pulling back the chamber on a pistol, she set her book down completely, gazing at the assortment of handguns and knives in his arsenal. She peered up at him, noticing his hair was now loose from the tie, spilling over his shoulders and down his back.

"Oh my, is there a reason you have so much of this with you?" She motioned to touch one, poking the smooth metal.

"Well…" he started as he checked the next gun, taking a cloth to wipe it down, "what you don't know is that your brother found me when I was drinking to forget having ever been at Hamunaptra. I didn't exactly have a nice visit the last I was there." She went to say something, her mouth open and hand coming up until he suddenly dropped the gun and turned towards her, leaning his arms on her chair. His closeness silenced her, her eyes wide. "I want to make one thing very clear. I am only doing this to pay you back. Otherwise you would never catch me dead there. I don't know what's out there but it almost got me killed." He leaned back slowly, crossing his arms over his chest, "Which also has me wondering what exactly it is a shrimp like you is looking for there." It took a good minute but Levy finally focused on him again, letting out a breath she had no idea she was holding. She peered up at his expectant gaze as he waited patiently for her response.

"Well, if you must know, there is an artifact I am hoping to find. My brother thinks there might be treasure. Always looking for the easy way out, that one." She stood, collecting her book from the table and placing a bookmark in it. She brought it to her chest as she turned towards him again, finding him staring intently. "What?" He let out a grunt, turning back to his guns. After about two minutes, he glanced up at her, noticing she was fidgeting while looking towards the water.

'She's adorable,' he thought. Instantly, he rubbed his forehead, wondering where that came from. Her small voice brought him back, the tone of it making him worry.

"Why…" He shook his head a bit as if to clear it, giving her a confused look as he checked one of his switchblades. "At the prison… why did you kiss me?" She moved to look at the floor, missing him freeze at her words. For a split second, Gajeel pondered his options before placing his blade down and sauntering over to her. Once he was in range, Levy jumped at his close proximity, backing up until her back touched the wall. He brought his arms up, caging his body around her, a sly grin on his face as he peered down at her.

'She's so small. It's cute.' Having her so close now, he realized she was barely up to his shoulders, currently not wearing any sort of heels. She clutched her book tighter, her wide eyes meeting his. Her heart pounded in her chest, her breathing becoming ragged as adrenaline started making her behave in a twitchy manner. Just before he could say anything, a loud noise from his left had his head snapping in the direction, giving Levy the chance to duck out from under his arm and run away. Looking at her retreating figure, he let out a snicker, turning to where the noise came from again. Walking down the back a bit, he scanned the nearby cargo that was tied down on the deck, his eyes finding nothing of worth. Letting out a sigh, he turned around, a slight movement behind one of the boxes causing him to dive back and grab whoever it was. A whiney shriek was his reward, pulling the person forward and slamming them against the boxes, his gun that was on his side already cocked and against their chest.

"Redfox, you're alive!" He recoiled at hearing his name, a glare crossing his face.

"Zoldeo? The fuck…" his brows creased in confusion, wondering what exactly it was his old partner was doing here. He pressed the cold steel further, earning a pained yelp. "Last I saw you, you were leaving me to get shot! Any reason I shouldn't kill you right now, you sonova bitch?" Zoldeo whimpered at Gajeel's seething anger, afraid he wasn't even going to give him a chance to answer as he brought his hands up to poorly cover his gaunt face.

"I- I didn't mean to, my friend! I'm sorry for what I did. I shouldn't have left you alone," he sputtered. Gajeel gave him a once over, enjoying the amount of fear that was displayed throughout the man's entire shivering form.

"What are you doing here?"

"I- I've been hired as an escort to Hamunaptra!" The crimson eyes male rolled his eyes, waving the handgun around a bit as he spoke.

"So what, you take their money and them leave them to rot in the desert?" An actual sad look came over the smaller man, his head looking away in disappointment.

"No…," Zoldeo frowned, "these guys are smart. They pay only half now, half when I get them back." Studying him a bit longer, Gajeel finally let him go, watching him straighten out his clothing. The sound of the water and crickets were the only source of noise for the moment, both men staring at each other. Zoldeo flinched at every motion the raven haired male before him did, hoping he didn't change his mind about not shooting him. "So who was the girl?" He let out a whimper at seeing Gajeel's head snap towards him, his face stern.

"No one you should concern yourself with. I see you go near her, you're dead." Even though he was still afraid, Zoldeo couldn't help but let out a nervous chuckle. In all the years he'd known him, he'd never seen Gajeel so defensive about a woman.

"Thinking with your other head, Redfox? That's not like you at all." His mouth snapped shut at the death glare he was receiving, his fear of being injured renewed as he began taking a few steps to the side to try and bolt. A sly grin crossed Gajeel's face, making the other man all the more nervous. "What are you-" A fistful of his shirt was grabbed, feeling the larger man lift him with ease and toss him overboard. A faint 'Gihee' escaped him as he casually walked back over to his arsenal, hearing the thin man sputtering and yelling for someone to get him back on the boat. As he began rolling up his weapons, a faint trail of waterlogged footprints caught his eye, his brow creasing in confusion. He stopped a moment, glancing over the edge of the rail to still hear Zoldeo crying. Pushing his guns in his bag, he slung the weight over his shoulder, hurrying over to the main area. Others who were traveling were drinking and playing cards, smoke filling the air from cigars, causing Gajeel to make a face of disgust. He scanned the area, spotting Loke playing cards at one of the tables.

"Oi, thief, you see anyone strange," he inquired, grasping at Loke's shoulder and giving it a squeeze. The others at the table could almost hear the bones crunching as the orange haired man cringed at the grab.

"N-no, sir, Mr. Redfox. Just keeping my eyes on my cards here. I didn't see anyone," he replied, shuffling his cards around as though he was suddenly in the mood to put them in some particular order. Gajeel glanced up at the others around them, earning hurried head shakes.

"Tch, useless," he muttered, letting Loke go. He moved to walk away when he heard the word 'Hamunaptra' spill from one of the other card players at Loke's table, causing him to pause and turn back. He noticed that Loke's shoulders were scrunched up as if he'd been caught. Gajeel leaned, his hair spilling over as he brought his arm to rest on the man's shoulder as he looked over at his gambling buddies. "Did I just hear what I thought I heard?" One of the three men pulled his cigar from the corner of his mouth, moving his long bangs out of his face before adjusting his cowboy hat.

"Yeah, we're going to Hamunaptra!" he boasted, examining his cards too much to notice the glare he was getting. "Got us a man who's been there and everything." A slight scowl came over Gajeel's face, feeling these men were going to be a thorn in his side somehow. He noticed another man rather close, his nose buried in a book as he smoked a pipe. He was occasionally looking over at him, making Gajeel feel like he was being studied. He had a similar book to what Levy was reading, making him feel he was this group's brain of the little excursion. At a quick glance, the three others didn't seem like they had a brain cell between them to understand what they were getting into.

'So these are the fools that Zoldeo is bringing. Wonder if they know he's in the water,' he mused, watching one of the men throw back a shot of liquor while the third polished his glasses.

"Guess we'll be seeing who gets there first," said Glasses as he replaced the object on his face. Gajeel blinked slowly, his expression showing confusion as he watched the morons in front of him continue their game with the cigar smoker pulling all the cash towards himself.

"First?"

"We know you're going too. Daniels, it's your deal," the man murmured towards the drunk.

"Says who?" At that, Gajeel could feel Loke shudder, knowing he was in hitting range. "Ah… I see…" He leaned up, studying the men before him. He gave a devilish grin, crossing his arms over his chest. "Gihee!"

I decided to leave the three explorers and the egyptologist the same... cuz I don't know who I'm looking to kill... Yeah I don't need that kinda hate haha. So if you think there was someone I could have put there, feel free to suggest it. Still early enough to alter things if needed.

Thanks to BanRedfox for talking to me about some suggestions for later ^_~ Had fun chatting~!

Be sure to let me know what you think and remember to check out the FAN ART (links in my bio)