Chapter Three: A Game
Levy
Levy McGarden stood at the sink, washing Gajeel's blood off of her hands. The run of water muted the sound of Gajeel's footsteps. So the preoccupied Levy didn't hear him approach.
"Oi, you okay?" she heard Gajeel ask from behind her.
Levy jumped at his voice from so close. "Huh? Oh, yeah I'm fine... why?"
"Just wondering," Gajeel replied, a hint of his usual grin returning to his features.
Levy cocked her head in confusion, but she was happy that he was starting to act like his normal self.
Gajeel looked to the side. "Sorry 'bout that... whole thing," he apologized.
Levy turned toward him. "You have nothing to apologize for." she protested.
Gajeel shrugged, "If you say so."
"Really," Levy added, "It's not your fault that knife was poisoned."
"Well maybe not," Gajeel conceded, "But it's my fault for worrying you."
Levy's eyes softened at his consideration and she blushed slightly. She tried to cover it up by rolling her eyes and saying, "You always worry me, Gajeel."
The dragonslayer grinned. "Oh so I worry you when I do this?" He reached out and wrapped his arms gently around her in a proper hug.
Levy blushed more. "Yeah, this isn't how you usually act. But..." she paused, "But I like it." That last part was significantly quieter than the beginning of the sentence, but still audible.
Gajeel
Gajeel Redfox grinned as he felt Levy's arms wrap around him to reciprocate the embrace. After a couple seconds, he loosened his grip on her, and she stepped back to look at him. He remained silent for a few seconds, looking back at her. He then proceeded to suddenly break the silence by saying, "So anyways, what now?"
Levy's eyes drifted to the dark stain on his shirt. "You're in no state to go anywhere at the moment, so that's out."
"Mh," Gajeel grunted his agreement grudgingly.
"You should sit down, too." Levy was silent for a second then she said, "We could play a game... or watch a movie... or" she added hopefully, "read?"
"You got any good movies or games?" Gajeel asked, completely ignoring the last option she proposed.
"Hm..." Levy thought, "Well... I have an idea."
"You do?" Gajeel asked as he looked at her. "What is it?"
Levy stood as tall as she could and kissed his cheek. Drawing back, she looked away.
Gajeel blinked, then turned to look at her with his eyes wide. "What...?"
The small girl bit her lip, still looking away, and muttered a faint, "Your turn."
What did she mean by saying that it was his turn? Did she want him to kiss her too...? Gajeel bent to her level and gently put a hand under her chin, turning her face so he could look at her. When she only seemed curious, and not opposed to his actions, Gajeel closed the distance between them and pressed his lips against hers.
Levy
Levy closed her eyes as she felt the warmth of Gajeel's lips against hers contrasting with the cold of his metal studs against her chin. He pulled away after a second or two and she could feel his eyes scanning her anxiously for her reaction. Levy smiled at him. She couldn't remember how long she had wanted him to do that. Gajeel grinned back happily at her. He didn't seem quite sure what to do next, so Levy took initiative.
"My turn again," she whispered, and pulled him closer.
Gajeel
Gajeel's heart skipped a beat, though he'd never admit it. He did nothing to stop her. Levy brought her lips to touch his for a second time, closing her eyes as she did so. Gajeel closed his eyes too this time, and pressed back. He felt her arms settle over his shoulders and he wrapped his arms around her waist in return.
Levy moved her head back, ending the kiss but leaving her arms around him.
Gajeel grinned and straightened up to a level that was more comfortable for him, keeping his arms around her. Now that he'd stood up taller, Levy wasn't completely blocking his view of the window. Something moving caught his gaze. It was long and blue with a white tip, and it was waving back and forth from behind the window. Levy must have noticed something was off, because when he looked back at her, she had her eyes fixated on the window too.
"Is that...?" Gajeel wondered out loud. It sure looked familiar.
Levy finished his sentence, "Happy?"
The tail froze, then disappeared below their line of sight. Gajeel let go of Levy and leaped to open the window.
"Oi, Cat!" Gajeel yelled in annoyance. "What are you doing here?"
Levy
Happy offered no explanation, he merely said in a singsong voice, "I knew it! I'm gonna go tell the guild that you guys finally got together!"
Gajeel's face contorted in an odd combination of embarrassment and anger. He opened his mouth to say something but he was cut off by Levy.
"Wait, what do you mean 'finally?'" Levy asked. That one bit had caught her attention. Of course Lucy had said once or twice that she and Gajeel would be cute together, but was it really that obvious that she liked him?
"I mean that you guys have both been beating around the bush for a long time!" the blue cat voiced in a tone to match his name.
Levy gave a quiet squeak and Happy managed to escape. As he flew away he shouted that he was going to tell everyone. Levy sighed.
"I'm gonna kill 'im," Gajeel growled angrily.
"We should probably go to the guild." Levy said, "It'd likely be less trouble to be there while he is, than to put it off and have everyone bombarding us at once."
Gajeel grumbled his agreement and followed along with her as they exited the house. Levy walked along the sidewalk towards the guild. Too much walking, she thought. As an added bonus, Gajeel seemed to have forgotten that a normal pace for him was a jogging pace for her. By the time they were at the guild, Levy was out of breath from keeping up with Gajeel.
Gajeel
Gajeel stomped through the door without sparing a backwards glance towards Levy. It wasn't that he didn't care, it just didn't occur to him. Lots of things didn't occur to him. Levy followed, ready to hide in case people started attacking them with questions. The dragonslayer stared around the room. Naturally eyes were turned towards them, they were towards anyone who entered. He glared at them all suspiciously. Every giggle in the background felt like it was directed towards him. He stalked around the full tables, headed for his usual seat in the land of the Back Corner and the town of Don't-Come-Near-Me-I-Bite.
Levy
Levy looked around, less embarrassed than Gajeel but still slightly pink. Her eyes searched for Lucy but didn't find her. Levy glanced over at Gajeel then went to the bar to ask Mira for a drink.
"Hello Mira!" Levy said to the snowy haired barmaid. "Could I have my usual?"
Mira turned towards the voice. When she saw who it was, she offered a sweet smile. "Sure!" she chimed. With practiced ease, she prepared a drink and set it in front of the short girl. "So," she began as she gathered a few nearby glasses onto a tray, "Is what Happy said true?"
Levy took the drink with a resigned sigh. "What all did he say?"
"Oh not too much," Mira practically sang. "He was just saying that you and Mr. Grumpy over there finally got together!" Mira lifted the tray she held up a bit higher as she offered a smile. Not her usual airy smile, the kind of smile that clued people in as to what she was truly capable of.
Levy laughed at Mira's name calling. "Well if that's all he said then I'll verify that it's true. If he said anything else you'd tell me, right?"
Mira nodded, "You're right, I would tell you. So I'll also say that he said he flew in on you kissing."
"That's not exactly true." Said Levy, watching Mira's face fall. She paused, savoring in the payback she got, even if it was indirect. Then with a smile she explained, "He didn't fly in on us, he was just kind of watching from outside my kitchen window."
Mira's face brightened right back up at that comment.
"So you did kiss?" She pried, completely disregarding how stalkerish Happy had been.
"Yes, Mira," laughed Levy, blushing.
Mira couldn't help but to fangirl squee and set the tray down so she could clasp her hands in front of her. Levy rolled her eyes, embarrassed. Mira patted Levy on the shoulder, still giddy, before picking up her tray and continuing her work.
Levy gave a smile as she picked up her drink and stood to go over to Gajeel. The iron dragonslayer hadn't seemed to have heard any of Mira's and Levy's conversation. Levy didn't think he'd even been looking their way.
She took a seat next to him and sipped her drink. Mira had mixed it perfectly. Gajeel looked over at the tiny girl next to him, and remained silent.
"What's up?" Levy asked.
"Nothin'," Gajeel answered, stoic. Levy could tell that he didn't want to be here any longer than necessary, so she finished her drink quickly.
"Shall we leave?" She asked to Gajeel. Gajeel nodded his agreement quickly.
Levy stood, the height difference between now and when she was sitting barely noticeable. Gajeel led the way back through the still-crowded tables towards the exit. Levy followed close behind, careful not to be blocked off be the crowd.
Gajeel
The iron dragonslayer finally made it out the exit. He walked for a little bit, then remembered to glance back to make sure Levy had made it out of the guild hall too. He was a lot bigger than her and still had to push several people out of the way. Levy was several steps behind him and gaining in distance as her stride was so much smaller than his. Gajeel didn't pause, but he did slow almost unnoticeably.
Levy caught up to him finally, then started walking funnily, jumping between every step.
"What are you doing?" Gajeel inquired in amusement.
"Trying. To keep. Up with you." The shrimp huffed in between hops.
"Do you want me to slow down?" Gajeel offered and Levy nodded.
The dragonslayer slowed his pace to the point where she only had to speed-walk to keep up with him.
Gajeel felt a small, warm hand slip into his and his eyes snapped over to Levy. She was looking straight ahead, a slight pink tingeing her cheeks. The thought crossed Gajeels mind that she was damn adorable like that. The fact that he thought that only embarrassed him more, and he tried to shake the idea away.
Levy
Although she would have understood if he had, Levy was pleased that Gajeel didn't withdraw his hand. A smile crossed her already flushed face. The pair paused at an intersection and Gajeel spoke up.
"D'you want me to walk you home or something?" Levy nodded.
"Okay," Gajeel said as he turned towards her house.
The pair reached Levy's front door and she slipped her hand out of Gajeel's. He started to turn away but Levy spoke, causing him to pause.
"Before you leave... do you want to continue our game?" She asked.
"Sure," Gajeel responded, a large grin spreading across his face. "Where were we?"
"I think it was your turn." Levy smiled and Gajeel leaned in closer.
A/N: There we go! Didn't I promise this chapter would be more laid back? Well I hope you liked it (Thanks for reading! We really appreciate it!).
Ahahaha I was worried we wouldn't have this chapter up by the end of the day as was promised. I was super busy this morning but luckily, Kat was able to write it while I was gone. Our next update is Wednesday with Chapter Four: Paint Wars. See you then!