Yay! I finally got this done! I worked really hard these past couple days to get this uploaded before I go away for a music festival. It's been a little while since i last updated. This is another fluff chapter, but the actiony stuff begins to unfurl in the next chapter. There is something important here though, so watch out! ;) Enjoy!

Chapter 4

The next afternoon Levy was getting ready to head to Gajeel's. Mira had given her directions to his house, though with a rather smug expression on her face. Levy hadn't even gone into the guild today, not wanting to be bombarded with questions. But as soon as Lucy had heard she demanded that she come over after her "date". Levy had spent the day debating whether or not to cancel with Gajeel. True, she wanted to go, but what would come of it? She realized that she was starting to have feelings for him; though she didn't know whether he felt the same. If he didn't... Levy shook herself. She needed to stop being so negative. She would go and whatever happened, happened.

Mira's directions led her to the woods surrounding Magnolia. There she found a path that wound among the trees. Levy had never been in ths part of the forest before; as she walked she marveled at the beauty of it. It was a peaceful place, with colorful flowers and moss covered rocks. Her surroundings were so enchanting that it felt like no time at all before Levy reached Gajeel's cabin. His home wasn't quite what she had expected. It was rather cute actually, except for the piles of scrap iron littering the yard. Those kind of took away from the charm of the old cabin. She adored the dark green trim and window boxes adorning the little wooden house. She was standing, taking it all in when Gajeel came around the side of the building.

"Hey, shorty!" he called, pulling on a shirt as he walked.

"Oh, hi Gajeel. Did I interrupt something?" Levy was uncomfortable seeing him like this, all sweaty and... hot.

"Naw, I was just movin' some scrap around in the back."

"I noticed you have quite a bit of it... I thought you said your house was clean?" she said teasingly.

"I said the inside is clean. I never said anything about the outside." He made his way to the front door and led her inside. Gajeel's house was small, but it was homey. There was a large main room, a bedroom. and a bathroom. In the main room there was a fireplace with a couple of couches in front of it, a desk, and a kitchen along the back wall of the room. The thing that caught Levy's attention immediately was a tall bookshelf full of tomes. Her eyes lit up immediately.

"You didn't tell me you had so many books, Gajeel! I thought you didn't like to read?" Levy looked at him curiously.

"I never said that. I'll read a book every once in a while, I just ain't a bookworm like you. Most of these were from Metalicana. The old lizard loved books. I was still a runt when he taught me to read and write. I think you would've liked him, shorty." Gajeel was smiling slightly and he had an almost nostalgic glint in his eye. A warm feeling rose up in Levy's chest and she couldn't help but smile a loving smile, a few tears pricking at her eyes. She tried to hide her face.

"So which one is your favorite?" she asked briskly.

"I haven't read a lot of 'em because they're in other languages. Metalicana only ever taught me the common tongue. I guess my favorite is this one." Gajeel pulled a thick, gilded volume off of the shelf. "It's just a bunch of fairy tales but Dad used to read them to me when i was a kid." Gajeel didn't know what was wrong with him. He had never told anyone but Lily about his childhood, not even Juvia. Why was Levy so special? Why did he have the urge to pour out his soul to her?

Levy took the heavy book from him and carefully flipped through it. The yellowed pages had beautifully colored borders and pictures. This ancient book was definitely valuable. Near the end Levy noticed a slip of paper with writing in between the pages. It wasn't in the common tongue, but the same ancient language as the code from her last job. Her curiosity was immediately piqued. She was going to show it to Gajeel when she noted that it was only a few words. Oh, it's probably just a scrap that got stuck in here. Her excitement faded a little. But I think I'll investgate anyway.

"Gajeel, would I be able to borrow this book for a couple days?"

He looked down at her and shrugged. "Sure. I haven't read it in years anyway. Do you want the rest of the tour before or after we eat?

"You don't have to cook for me." Levy said hurriedly.

"You cooked for me. I'm just returnin' the favor. So, before or after?"

Levy thought for a minute. She had to go to Lucy's later so before was probably best. "Before." She smiled up at him.

Gajeel's heart skipped a beat as he nodded. "This way then, though there's not much to see." He showed her the bedroom and bathroom before leading her to the backyard. There was lots of scrap iron here too, though it was stacked neatly as opposed to the front yard. "Well that's it." Without another word Gajeel walked back towards the house with Levy following. The whole place fascinated her. It really was very clean. She had expected it to be more like Natsu's place since the two of them were so similar. Maybe it was his desire to be different from Natsu that drove him to be neat?

Levy sat at the kitchen table while Gajeel started making dinner. She noticed that he worked pretty quickly and efficiently. She doubted he was as bad a cook as he said. "Can i help with anything? I hate just sitting here."

"Naw, this recipe is easy. Idiot proof, really. Even Salamander could do it without burning down the house."

Levy giggled. "You shouldn't call him names," she chided. "Everybody knows that you two actually like each other, no matter how much you fight."

"tch." Gajeel seemed to disagree but he didn't deny it.

Their dinner of chicken and roasted potatoes was simple but delicious. They were quiet at first, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. Levy was thinking of about a thousand different things a minute, and her mind focused on one thing.

"Do you know when Lily is coming back?" She had felt like something was missing since she had arrived, and she now realized what it was. Levy and Pantherlily had a special bond. The Exceed didn't like being treated as a toy, and usually wouldn't let himself be held. The only person who could hold him was Levy. He must have recognized her caring nature and been impressed by it.

Gajeel shook his head. "Lily will come back when he's ready. He likes to do his own thing." Gajeel didn't want to let on to how much he really missed his partner.

Levy nodded. "I understand. Would you let me know when he comes home? I miss him." She could tell right away that Gajeel missed Lily even more than she did. She thought it best to change the subject after Gajeel grunted his agreement to her question. She looked around for inspiration and saw his guitar in a corner. "You haven't performed at the guild in a while."

"Tch. It's cuz the others don't like my singin'. My playin' isn't bad though." He seemed to be rather insulted that the other guild members didn't like his music.

"I've read a lot of books on how to play guitar but I"ve never been able to get it right." Levy admitted sheepishly.

Gajeel looked at her appraisingly, and seemed to come to a decision. "No book is a substitute for a good teacher. If ya really wanna learn I'll teach ya."

Levy was ecstatic. She had always wanted to play an instrument, but she had never told anyone this. Very early in life she had discovered that she did not have a talent for singing. Trying to sing a song for her kindergarden class had led to her running out in tears. After that she had decided an instrument was her best bet for becoming a musician. Of course, after she learned she was a wizard the desire to be a musician had lessened considerably. "Really? You'll teach me?" she asked as they cleared the table.

"Yeah. Do ya wanna start now?" Gajeel figured teaching her might actually be fun. She would be a good student at least.

Levy nodded, her eyes bright with glee.

A couple hours later Levy lifted her head, smiling. She had finally learned to play a scale. Gajeel nodded approvingly, not showing how impressed he really was. It took me almost a week to get that scale down.

Levy glanced at the clock and realized how late it was. "I have to go!" she exclaimed, jumping up. Gajeel looked taken aback, but only for an instant. "I promised Lucy I would come by tonight. She said she had something for me. Thanks for dinner and for being my teacher." She smiled up at him, and his heart fluttered again. Damn.

"No problem, shorty." he said, ruffling her hair.

"Bye! And thanks for mending me the book!" she called as she ran out.

Gajeel stood in the doorway and waved after her. When she was gone he went back inside and headed to bed. The little house suddenly felt really empty.

Hope y'all liked it! Arigato gozaimas! 3