AN: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima!

Sorry this is a little late, but I have been hardcore writing for the last couple of days...0:) I'd like to thank my wonderful BETA makeithale for helping with this! (Trust me, she managed to fix so many errors and mis-phrasing!) Ch6 was uploaded yesterday, so make sure you haven't missed it or you'll be lost! I'll post next week's update dates on my profile before midnight (British time, GMT) on Sunday! ^_^ So, without further ado, please enjoy Ch7! ^_^


Chapter Seven

Levy walked silently next to Gray, feeling Gajeel glaring at her back as they walked. He had done it the whole way from the estate. She did not even need to look at him to confirm it. He was also surprisingly light on his feet, but that did explain how they had managed to mistake him for her aunt a week earlier. Gray had stayed just as quiet during the walk, but now they were in town and he was clearly beginning to search for something.

"Oi, Gray!"

Levy watched as the pink haired boy ran towards them, a wide, sharp-toothed grin aimed in their direction. She felt the giant tense behind her; apparently a fifteen year old boy running towards them is a threat. She turned and smiled reassuringly at the male servant. Instead of relaxing as Levy had expected, Gajeel glared at her in response. Why had he not been glaring if he had seen Natsu as a threat? He had clearly tensed, so perhaps there was more to Gajeel's line of thought than she had assumed? He did keep proving that he was not really a barbarian.

"Natsu! You are still coming with me then?!" Gray called back, a smirk across his lips.

"Of course!" Natsu replied, still grinning as he reached them. "Is this the new servant you were telling me about?! He really is as big as you said! I am really surprised your father is not forcing him to enlist!"

"Are you being forced to enlist?" Gray returned, shaking his head at his over-enthusiastic friend.

"No! You know I am going to the moment I turn sixteen! I cannot believe you have waited this long!" Natsu snorted, punching Gray's chest. "You seriously waited until your father came back – you are such a baby!"

"I am not a baby, moron! My father told me to wait since he did not want my mother and sisters left at home without a man there!" Gray growled, punching Natsu back.

"But they have that guy!" Natsu argued, pointing at Gajeel as he watched the two of them arguing with no emotion at all. "He looks pretty strong!"

"He is! That is why my father did not want them to be alone! The servant is new and clearly some sort of barbarian! Who would trust their family with him?! We do not even know how much we can trust him yet!" Gray exclaimed, kicking Natsu hard enough in the stomach to send him stumbling back a few steps.

"So can we try sparring with him then?" Natsu grinned, shaking off Gray's kick as if it had been nothing.

"No, Natsu, we cannot – he is here to accompany Levy to the bookstore." Gray sighed, rolling his eyes before smiling to Levy.

"And we really should get there soon or Aunt will lecture me about spending too much time there." Levy smiled back, gesturing to Gajeel to follow. "It was nice seeing you again, Natsu – you should visit the estate more. You always seem to brighten the atmosphere."

"Sure! I have not seen your cousins in over a month! Is Luce still as bossy as always?!" Natsu laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Do you want me want me to let her know you asked?" Levy replied, a sweet smile across her lips.

"No! Em, I will come visit myself...She will probably be angry that I stayed away this long." He replied sheepishly, before adopting a perplexed expression. "Any idea why she is always so angry with me? She gets angry if I just suddenly turn up uninvited, but she never invites me and then gets angry because I did not visit. It really is not fair – I just cannot win with her."

"Perhaps you have already." Levy laughed, walking away from the two friends, one smirking while the other looked impossibly confused.

She could feel Gajeel watching her as she continued along the street, wondering why he had stopped glaring at her. She turned her head to smile back at him. He looked away from her, his expression completely unreadable. What was he thinking? Should she ask him? Would he understand if she did? Would she even understand his reply? The answer to the last one was most likely 'tea'. She would though, they just needed the right books.

"Here we are." She sighed happily, stopping outside the olive painted shop window.

"Ti. E up tir hieth et rkara." He growled, backing up slightly as he looked into the shop.

"All I got of that was 'no'; but unfortunately for you, you have no choice." Levy replied, making sure to add plenty of irritation to her tone. "You. In. Now."

Gajeel grunted before lowering his head to allow himself to walk in through the door. Levy followed him in, a happy smile across her lips as he did what she told him to. He was stubborn and liked to tell her 'no', but she would win. He had no choice. He was going to learn from her whether he liked it or not. She turned to look around the dark, book-crowded room with glee, glad to be amongst her wonderful friends once more. It had been too long since she had been allowed in here.

"Have a look around and let me know if you find anything you understand." She ordered quietly, not wishing to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere. "And stop being so tense."

"Rii knivag et." He grumbled, glancing around himself warily.

"You are talkative today." She smiled, starting to walk towards the section that held books written in foreign languages. "What does 'et' mean? You have said it twice in a row, so I guess it must be a common word?"

Levy watched as Gajeel rolled his eyes and sighed, making it obvious that he had, once again, not understood everything she said. She had not expected it to be easy, but some of his reactions were proving to make it interesting. She wandered off, keeping him just in her sights. She giggled as he jumped after bumping into a pile of books. He was so out of place there and clearly very far out of his comfort zone. What had he said to her? Ree nivvage et? Well, she had a few more words to look out for.

She browsed along the bookcase, searching for books on farming. There had to be some. Magnolia may not be a big town, but even it should have some books from other countries on various topics. She grinned as she spotted a green leather-bound book with a cow imprinted on its spine. That would certainly be a start. Hopefully the other books next to it would be on the same topic! She looked up at the book, trying to work out how to reach it. She could try to stand on the shelves, but they already looked like they were straining from all the books that had been over-packed onto them.

She noticed a tall wooden crate that reached halfway up her thigh under a pile of Boscan dictionaries, beginning to wonder if it would hold her. She moved the tomes, pleased with herself as she studied her find. It looked sturdy enough, so hopefully she could push it over to the bookcase and then climb onto it. She was not going to go find Gray at the Barracks. She did not need her cousin, even with his height advantage.

She began pushing against the crate with all her weight, barely stopping herself from falling as it shot across the floor in front of her. Apparently it was empty. She sighed as she righted herself, looking around her for any onlookers. She smiled and placed her hands on her hips, admiring her handiwork. The crate had stopped right under the section of shelf that she wanted to look at. She walked up to the crate and began climbing up the side, using the gaps as footholds.

She stood up, groaning as she realised she would still have to stand on her toes. Why was she so short? She reached up, trying to wrap her fingers around the book. She heard a crack under her, snapping her attention to the crate. She tried to pull on the book, wishing the shelve had not been as tightly packed as it failed to budge. An almighty crack resounded from under her, her world falling into slow motion as everything began to tilt. She closed her eyes as she waited for the pain of hitting the floor to shoot through her body.

She felt an arm wrap around her waist and pull her against something warm and solid. She held her breath, not daring to open her eyes. She could feel a heartbeat pulsing through the solid wall she was being held against. She inhaled through her nose, trying to calm herself as her own heart pounded in her chest. The scent of hay rushed into her nostrils, surprising her. Her eyes shot open, finding only dust-coloured white cloth in her field of view. She felt herself being lowered, blushing as her small body slid down an unbelievably toned, masculine one.

"Th-Thank you." She uttered, still in shock's grasp as she stared up into two stern pools of liquid rubies.

"Rkur rara oio rketmeth?!" Gajeel snapped, waving the book in her face. "Oio vkiong kuxa uvmag!"

"Gajeel, I can tell you are angry with me, but I have no idea what you are yelling at me." Levy explained, trying to stay calm through all his growling and hissing.

"Oio." He began, pointing angrily at her. "Vkrepr." He continued, holding his hand by his waist, making it painfully obvious what he was trying to say. "Oio." He repeated, pointing at her again. "Taag. Pa." He finished, jabbing his thumb at his chest.

"Oioh tag pa...'You need me'." She mumbled, fighting back tears as she accepted that he had just basically called her short and useless, someone who would always need the help of someone like him.

"Oi-o ta-ag pa." He sighed, rubbing his forehead before leaning back on the bookshelf. "Ura oio imuo?"

"Oi-o ta-ag pa." She repeated, forcing a small smile. "And I have no idea what you just asked."

She waited patiently while he continued leaning against the bookshelf, watching her thoughtfully. He stood back up, only to crouch back down in front of her, suddenly running his hands over her arms. She pulled back slightly in surprise, only to receive a growl in return. She let him continue searching her arms for something, before forcing herself out of his grasp as he began to run his hands over her body. What did he think he was doing?!

"Do not do that." She ordered, taking another step back, finding herself up against the other bookcase.

"Oio ura imuo." He replied, a small smile flickering across his lips before it was replaced with a stern, warning gaze.

"You were checking if I was okay? Was that what you asked?" Levy questioned warily, still feeling the echo of his hands on her body.

"Oav." He answered, nodding.

"Oio urah immuoh – you are okay. Say it." She ordered, standing firm as she fought the urge to cower from him.

"Oio urrra i-mu-o. Hrirn." He sighed, shaking his head before releasing another heavy sigh and looking her straight in the eye. "Your arre orkay."

"Oio urah i-mu-o. And you have too many 'r's again – you are okay." She replied, mimicking his sigh.

"Urrra. Hrirn, Vkrepr." He smirked, apparently enjoying her attitude. "You arre orkay."

"Urrra." Levy growled out, trying to copy him. "And what are you calling me? Virkreper?"

"Gihe, oio ura u Vk-rep-rrr." He grinned, ruffling her blue waves.

"Okay, I am sure you just said that I am a 'something', and what is 'gihe'? You keep making that noise, and I do not know if it is your laugh or if you are saying something?" Levy moaned, puffing out her cheeks in annoyance, earning another 'gihe' from him. "You really are laughing at me."

"Oav."

"That is 'yes', right?" Levy asked, nodding her head as she said the word 'yes'.

"Oav." He replied, nodding his own head, a smirk across his lips.

"Say it." She puffed, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Yres."