Chapter 18
Gajeel adjusted the headband keeping his hair out of his face and grinned at the feel of the little metal studs on it.
He absolutely loved his present from Levy.
He'd never thought about having one for himself, but she'd found it for Christmas last month and explained that it was enchanted with numerous Runes, including her own. Protection, healing, even one that would help mitigate his motion sickness on the train. Not get rid of it, but lessen it for him.
He had been happy with the new set of gloves too.
Same basic protection enhancements, but these had a physical power booster and if he scratched the Runes on the studs around his wrist off, they'd activate and drop metals for him to give him a magical boost too. Those were Levy's Runes, not the kid who'd done most of the protection ones.
"Um, sir, just out of curiosity, why are you here?"
Gajeel looked down at the woman who'd spoken.
She was a plain older woman, kind of grandmother like.
"Can I not be?"
"It's just...you obviously know how to cook just fine." She said.
"Yeah, but she doesn't." He motioned at Levy, sitting across the table from him, frowning over slightly overdone cupcakes.
Baking wasn't his forte, but he'd never burned anything yet. Unlike her.
He was honestly surprised she hadn't burned this too.
Probably because she couldn't get distracted here.
"I see." The woman looked at Levy as well. "You're here for support."
"And recipes." Gajeel shrugged. "She's doing better than she was at the beginning of the month."
"Very much so." The woman nodded.
"I can hear you." Levy sighed.
"I know." Gajeel leaned against the counter to pick up one of the cupcakes.
Levy narrowed her eyes at him as he stuffed half the thing in his mouth in one go.
"Well?"
"Tastes slightly burnt, but edible this time." He spoke after he swallowed, grinning at her little glare.
"Why can't you cook all the time?" She huffed at him. "I like your food better anyway."
"Because I need you to not starve while I'm on jobs. Elfman is going to take a job or two eventually and you can't keep going to the guild and putting it on my tab." Gajeel said.
"Why not?" Levy sulked as she started coating the cupcakes in frosting.
The rest of the class were all in various states of learning how to bake, and some were actually worse than Levy was.
He was glad she'd done up a Rune to decrease his sense of smell for this.
"Because it's expensive." Gajeel finished off the cupcake in his hands. "And besides, don't you want to learn how to not burn things?"
"I've survived just fine on what I cook."
"You're skinny." Gajeel said. "Trust me, you've only put on real weight since Fairy Tail has been feeding you."
"Not my fault." Levy mumbled.
He sighed. "Really Lev, this batch is much better than the last."
"Think I can actually give these to Mira and Lucy?" She asked.
"With the frosting, I think they're passable as real food." He teased.
She glared at him again and he just laughed.
Gajeel reveled in how he got scared looks from some of their 'classmates' around them.
xx
Levy held the box in her hands carefully as she carried it into the Guild Hall.
She smiled as she saw Mira at the counter with Cana and Kinana and Ever.
"So I'm thinking not white." Cana said. "Too...traditional."
"What colors did he say he wanted?" Kinana asked.
"Silver will work." Mira said. "It'll be great in silver. And with the metal threads he's making with the crystal dust in it..."
Levy came close enough to the counter that they noticed her.
"Levy!" Mira looked slightly surprised.
Cana mumbled something about needed the bathroom and Kinana blurted out having to go to work. Both hurried off and Levy frowned.
"You guys could've kept talking. I just came to give you this." Levy put her box on the counter.
"No, it's alright. We got what we needed to do done." Mira said.
Levy watched Ever stick a magazine in her bag and saw the title.
"Wedding magazines? You and Elf getting married?" Levy raised a brow at her.
"It's not for me." Ever said.
"Still, that one on the cover was pretty." Levy said.
"You like it?" Mira smiled as she held out her hand to Ever.
The Legion woman sighed as she handed over the magazine.
Levy pushed the box towards her. "I made these today at class. Gajeel said they're actually okay."
Ever smiled as she opened the box. "Hmm...frosting could be better, but it's taste that counts when practicing." She said as she pulled on out.
Mira laid the magazine on the counter.
"So, we were hoping to get some ideas from this magazine and a couple others about dresses." Mira said.
"For what? Who's getting married?" Levy frowned.
"No one yet." Mira shook her head.
xx
Mira watched Ever as she carefully bit into the spongy cupcake. When the other woman gave her a slight nod, Mira took one out for herself as Levy looked through the magazine.
"Any you like?" Mira asked.
"But what is it for?" Levy asked.
"A shoot." Mira said. The girl wasn't going to stop asking and Gajeel would be very upset if Levy found out about his secret from her. "Someone saw Juvia and Gray together and wanted the two of them to do a photo shoot. Her clingy behavior caught his attention." Mira lied. Juvia would forgive her. But if she had Levy looking, she needed someone who looked more like Levy than herself. Juvia wasn't much taller and had blue hair, so Levy would essentially be picturing herself.
"Ah." Levy nodded. "Juvia is pretty. I like the one on the cover personally, but that's way too much for me. I could never afford something that nice. But it would look very good on Juvia."
Mira watched her close the magazine to look at the cover again.
It really was the most expensive and most beautiful there. But then again, she was just getting a design idea to do it herself.
She could manage that style though. She would ask Juvia to be her model to create it.
"What do you like about that one?" Ever asked.
"I'm not sure. I've never really liked the idea of a big poofy dress because I'm so small, but it'd still be nice you know. And I like the sparkle of that one. It looks like it's covered in crystals."
"Diamonds, but yes. I think I get it." Mira said. "It's smooth and luxurious."
Levy nodded.
Girl liked bling eh?
Mira smiled. Bling was doable. She'd have to have a word with Gajeel's friend about the diamonds, but if the woman could make them, she could use them.
The design was already in her head. Something so nearly outrageous that Levy would have a heart attack if she thought of the price.
It'd make the one on that cover look like a cheap costume.
xx
Gajeel sighed as he walked into the shop. Levy had said she'd just head up to the Guild on their way home and give over the cupcakes to Mira. Which made it easy for him to sneak in and see Judy.
"Ditch your girl?" Judy smiled from the front counter.
"Hmm? Nah. I'll meet up with her at the Guild. I just had to come see you without her."
"Cheating on her? Sorry, you're not my type." Judy teased him.
"Fuck off." Gajeel rolled his eyes at her as he moved around the counter.
"What can I do for you?" She asked as he pulled the backpack off his shoulder and opened it up to start taking out the numerous boxes he'd stuffed in that morning.
"Well, I got these all finished, so if you want to put them up that's fine." He said as he shoved the pile towards her. "But what I'm actually in for is...well...it's a secret." He felt himself blush slightly.
"Secret eh?" Judy opened up a couple of the boxes and ran her fingers over the beautiful necklaces. Nothing like the one he'd done for Levy months ago, but these were still high class.
"Well...you remember the one I made Levy?"
"How can I forget such beauty?" Judy raised a brow at him. "I've never seen anything like it before."
"I'm going to make an even better one. Only, this time I want to use diamonds and the clearest dark blue sapphires you can make." Gajeel said.
"How dark are we talking? Like midnight or cobalt or do you actually have a thing in mind?"
Gajeel moved back around the counter as he scanned the shop. He reached for one display of a necklace he'd made months ago.
"This." He held it up. "Not dark really, just..."
"I get it. I can manage that."
He sighed as his phone went off.
He looked down at the screen.
"What the hell Mira?" He groaned.
"Hmm?" Judy frowned as she leaned over to look at his phone. "Damn, that's gorgeous. Levy's wedding dress?"
"Yeah. Mira says she wants to use diamonds on silver with some glowing clear crystal she has." Gajeel read the text portion of it.
"For that? Give me her number. I think I've got a plan to add the sapphires to that design there."
"She's hand making it, so it probably won't be that design per say. But between you two, I think you can figure something out." Gajeel said.
"But really, that many diamonds and sapphires..." Judy sighed.
"Can you do it?"
She snorted. "Childs play." She waved it off. "I was just thinking of how nice it'll look."
Gajeel pulled a scrap of paper from the pile near the register and wrote down Mira's number for her. "Well, you two collaborate on that. I've got to go pick up my shrimp before she realizes we're doing this for her."
"Alright. I suppose I can't expect too much from you in the mean time?"
"I can do some here and there, but I want to focus on hers." Gajeel said as he headed for the back to get more jewels.
"Alright. I can have the stuff for hers done by this weekend. It'll give me time to get with this Mira on the dress and match the colors."
Gajeel nodded as she stood in the doorway while he filled several bags with the gems scattered across the tables.
She really did do amazing work when it came to shiny things.
xx
Levy headed outside as Mira shooed her off to go do Runes outside. She stood at the gateway, leaning against the stone, really waiting for Freed but also for Gajeel.
She wondered if Gajeel was even done with his delivery yet. He'd done a lot of jewelry in the last week. He didn't normally take too long dropping off the jewelry he made for Judy.
He had said he wanted to drop it off before coming to the guild for the Dragon Fight this afternoon.
She'd yet to see anything as nice as her necklace again in his work, but he'd admitted that he had no intentions of ever doing anything that elaborate for someone else.
"Levy, ready to write?" Freed called out to her.
She looked up to see him hurrying down the street.
"Ready and waiting." She grinned.
He smiled and started to lead her to the back yard where they held the fights.
It was ten minutes of Rune writing before she spoke up. "So...are you okay with me marrying Gajeel?"
Freed paused and looked at her.
He finished the Rune he was working on before lowing his pen.
"Honestly...at first I was concerned. You mean so much to me Levy and I'm still sorry I left you like that..."
"It's alright. Things work out right?" She shrugged as she finished off their pattern.
"Still...I should have checked in sooner. Made an effort." He sighed. "But when Gajeel took you on, I was worried. He's not known for being gentle or caring. Juvia and Wendy being exceptions due to who they are to him."
Levy nodded. "He scared me a little at first."
"Exactly. But after you started going on missions with him and Lily, I was less worried. He showed no signs of harming you and seeing that necklace on your birthday, I knew he was serious about caring for you. At first I thought it was just because you fit in with Juvia and Wendy, but he never did anything like that for Juvia and he's known her for years." Freed said.
Levy touched the diamond necklace she felt more comfortable wearing. It was just a simple one compared to the one he'd made for her birthday, but it was still very nice.
"I mean, he gives you such beautiful things all the time for no reason." Freed pointed out. "So yes, I was originally concerned about his interest, but now? I couldn't ask for anyone better for you Levy. He is a friend to me and I respect him. I'm happy you're marrying someone you care about."
"I do love him Freed. A lot."
"Good. To answer your question: yes I am very okay with you marrying Gajeel." Freed grinned as he pulled her in for a hug. "My cousin deserves nothing less than Dragon royalty."
Levy laughed. She had nearly forgotten that Gajeel was essentially royalty among Dragons due to his strength and his father. She felt her smile fall a little.
"Levy?" Freed frowned as they walked away from the center of the field to go to where the rest of Fairy Tail gathered. Those that didn't join in the fight afterward anyway.
"It's nothing."
"Not nothing." Freed shook his head. "Spill or I'll ask Bickslow."
Levy sighed. Bickslow would ferret out any secrets and she didn't want to feel the way his green eyes looked through her. "It's just...maybe I'm not good enough for Gajeel." Freed started to say something. "I mean, as you pointed out, he is royalty. Among us he's just a brash, scary Metal Wizard. But he's really a Metal Dragon and I'm not sure I'm good enough for someone like that."
"Levy, Gajeel chose you. What I understand of Dragons, they don't care about origin or strength in their mates. They look for who matches them. If Gajeel picked you, then you are more than good enough. You are exactly what he wants." Freed said.
Levy nodded. "Just sometimes I feel like he's more than he tries to make people believe he is."
"It's who he is Levy. He's a selfish, egotistical, possessive, maniacal Dragon. He likes his secrets from the rest of the world and you know them all. That makes you special to him."
"Thanks Freed." Levy smiled. "I guess he can be my royal Dragon."
"Exactly. Keep that line of thought. You two are very good together." Freed smiled at her.