Chapter 38
Levy watched as Gajeel and Morte put their power together to raise a whole building from scratch.
Shuri stood beside her, admiring the opals and amethysts in the new sign she'd had Morte make last night.
Lily settled over her head and Levy reached up to pat his fur.
The family had decided that staying was good and the location, while out of Magnolia proper, was still good for setting up shop.
Hence why they were standing in the road as Gajeel and Morte put up a long, narrow building next to the gate just a foot from the wall.
It had a small workroom for them to craft in and a large display room for jewelry and other things.
"You're really sure that we won't be a bother?" Shuri asked.
"Of course!" Levy said. "You're family."
Lily nodded. "If they can accept me as family, then surely someone who actually is blood related can be family."
"In Fairy Tail, family takes a whole new meaning." Levy said.
Shuri nodded and smiled as their mates finally stood back.
The place looked pretty good.
Levy used her pen to write up some silver for them both and Gajeel grinned as he ate it.
"Thank you." Morte said as he held his large coin of silver. "Both of you. This is very nice."
"Well...you're family." Gajeel said. "If there's one thing I've learned in Fairy Tail, it's that family are the people you choose."
Levy slipped her hand around his waist.
"Hey!" They heard voices from just down the road.
Levy turned to face them as her arm fell.
Around Morte and Shuri, she didn't mind being affectionate with Gajeel, but the guild still had no idea in general.
She saw Jet and Droy coming up the road.
"Hey!" She called out to them.
Gajeel scowled.
Her partners came up to them as he headed for the gate.
xXx
Gajeel didn't want to stick around.
"So this is where you've been?" Droy asked her.
"Yeah. It's bigger than my old room and I have a real library to work with." Levy said.
Gajeel motioned for his cousin to follow and opened the gate.
He growled as Levy started to lead her partners in as well.
"Come on, you guys will like it." She said.
He sighed.
"So who are these people?" Jet asked as he looked at Shuri and Morte.
Morte finished the coin of silver and Jet frowned.
"Not another Metal Dragon Slayer..."
"No." Morte laughed. "I'm Gajeel's cousin. I'm a Dark Metal Dragon and this is Shuri, my wife, a Gem Dragon."
Jet stumbled backwards away from them.
Levy motioned for them to come in.
"Wait, you're living with actual Dragons?" Jet gaped.
"Does Natsu know?" Droy asked.
"Does the Wendy know?"
"Does the Master know?"
"Does it matter?" Levy countered them both.
She led them into the building and Drake came downstairs and tucked his jeweled wings away as he ran to hold out a roughly cat shaped lump of silver.
Levy knelt to inspect it as Lily jumped down to look closer.
"Kids?" Jet asked.
"My child." Shuri said.
Gajeel moved towards Drake and snatched him up.
"Gajeel, be nicer to kids." Droy chided.
"I am nice. Just not to you two. Or anyone other than family and very close friends." Gajeel held Drake under his arm as he looked at the cat sculpture.
He held it out to Morte to look at.
It was a resemblance to Lily aside from the roughness of the curves.
But it was a fine start.
xXx
Levy looked at Gajeel as he shifted his hold on Drake and the boy wrapped his thinner arms around her mates neck and held himself up.
He had taken to Gajeel fairly well since the train station.
Once Morte and Shuri were assured Gajeel was really quite gentle with children, their son had become his shadow.
She watched the two men note on the purity of the metal and the attention to detail. Granted it wasn't perfect, he hadn't missed anything of Lily.
Shuri moved to take Drake and her mate joined her, while Gajeel put up his armor again.
"So why are you two out here? How did you know where to find me?"
"Well, Mira told us you might be out here helping Lily..." Droy said.
"But we came to tell you the Master is going to be choosing candidates tonight." Jet said.
Levy gasped. "It's that time of year already?" She frowned.
"What?" Gajeel tilted his head.
"S-class trials. You and Juvia might get chosen this year, since you're both so strong." Levy said.
"Anyway, let's head for the guild. We can see who all shows up." Jet said.
Levy nodded.
"Great." She reached for the leather jacket on the rack by the door and turned to face Morte in the doorway. "We'll be back later."
"Of course. We'll hold down the fort." He smiled.
xXx
Gajeel yanked on his jacket as he followed them out the door.
He saw Jet glance back at the house.
"How is that man your cousin and a Dragon? He looked pretty damn human to me." Jet frowned.
"He's related to Metalicana, which makes him my cousin. Most Dragons can actually hide in plain sight by looking human. Young like Drake tend to be born human and taught to change into their Dragon forms as teens." Gajeel shrugged.
"So there could be Dragons here in Magnolia already?" Droy asked.
Gajeel scoffed. "Wouldn't Flame Brain have found them by now? No, there are none anywhere near here other than my family and us Slayers."
"Great, more people like you." Jet grumbled.
Gajeel reached out and picked Jet up off the ground by his collar.
"Don't you ever talk bad about my cousin and his family. Morte will kill for his family. I do it for fun." Gajeel growled.
Levy glared at him.
"Put him down." She snapped.
He dropped Jet and the Speed Mage staggered.
"Play nice." She pointed at them both.
Jet nodded and hung his head in shame.
Gajeel just grinned.
"I'll play nice later."
He had to admit that tweaking her was amusing. Especially because Droy knew now that Gajeel wouldn't hurt them intentionally.
He was just screwing with Jet because it was fun.
But he was serious about hurting those who hurt his family.
And the devil have mercy on anyone who hurt Levy.
Because he'd be showing them hell.
Levy scowled as she turned her back to them all to lead the way to town.
Droy looked at him as Jet passed and met Gajeel's eyes.
He made a slight laughing sound, but not enough that his partners could hear it.
"You're going to get in some serious trouble with Levy one of these days, and everyone knows that she gets scary." Droy walked beside him.
"I'm not too scared." Gajeel said.
"You should be."
Gajeel scoffed.
xXx
Mira watched as the hall filled up.
It was getting close to dinner time and everything was ready for the usual feast after selections.
As much as the guild fought and argued, when someone was chosen for the trials, the whole guild partied in celebration of their recognition.
Even the current S-class members.
She looked as Master Makarov sat on the counter beside her.
Cana was handling drinks with Lisanna, so she was using her break to be as observant as possible.
"So who are you going to pick this year?" Mira asked him.
"I'm thinking it's about time Juvia gets some recognition, Natsu has earned it, as has Lucy, so I'm thinking of separating them and putting them both in. Gray has been doing his fair share of work. Elfman seems to be about ready to test himself." He frowned.
"What about Gajeel?" Mira asked. "He's quite powerful. We all know he's technically stronger than Laxus. I mean, Laxus himself has admitted that Gajeel scares him sometimes."
Makarov nodded. "I can see your point in it. But he's not someone I can choose this year. It would be too far of a leap for him right now. He'll be upset maybe, but he's not considering all the angles either."
Mira looked at him questioningly.
"Levy however, she could go in. And since it'll be partners this year, Gajeel can team up with her. I was also thinking about Wendy. If she can pass, that means all the 'Slayers' of Fairy Tail would be qualified at minimum to be S-class."
Mira looked down the counter at an almost sullen Cana.
Every year she thought about quitting because she never got chosen. But Mira encouraged her to stay, to keep trying to work up the courage to put herself out there. Her potential was so much greater than she thought.
"What about Cana?" Mira asked.
Makarov looked to her as well.
"She has had that bet with herself for a while now..." Mira frowned. "I think she's ready for it. So there you have it. That's my selection." Makarov nodded in finality. "I suppose Freed has earned his chance this year too. He's stepped up quite a bit as leader of the Thunder Legion."
Mira nodded as she thought of how the team had been heartbroken when Laxus left, but how they had put their full effort into becoming true members of Fairy Tail.
xXx
Levy couldn't believe it.
She had been chosen for S-class.
She glanced down at the floor before looking up to meet Freed's eyes.
He gave her a smile of encouragement.
Of course he didn't feel like a consolation prize. He was powerful. He had real control. She was barely dabbling in Dragon Script and hadn't begun to master traditional Solid Script.
"Everyone can choose a partner this year, as usual." Master Makarov said from the stage.
"I'll be your partner." Jet said from beside her.
"No way, I'm a better partner for her." Droy said.
She tuned them out as she contemplated. Gajeel looked pissed that he hadn't been chosen. She watched as he went from angry to thoughtful, then to understanding. Something between him and the master was preventing him from being chosen. He hadn't told her his secret yet, but she had a feeling it was involved.
He stood up and she looked up as the other seven candidates collected their partners.
Elfman looked shocked and Levy had to stifle a laugh as Evergreen partnered with him. He had no one to really pick, given that the ones who complemented his Magic were either chosen or not really familiar with his style.
Ever was familiar, but she wasn't a perfect complement like Freed or Bickslow would have been. Those two were their own kind of powerful team.
She felt along her bond with Gajeel as he came up behind her.
"I'll be your partner." He said.
She tilted her head back to look up at him.
"What?" Droy and Jet both looked at him.
The members around them turned to look at them all.
She thought about it for a moment.
Her perfect match was Gajeel. He was the physical to her mental. Not to mention it would prevent him from draining her supply by working on the house in his frustration.
But then Lily would be left out...
"Alright." She nodded. "But I'm not very good at these things. I'm pretty small-time in my skills still..."
"That's alright by me." He said. "I'll make you big."
She tuned out her arguing partners as she looked at the stage.
"Alright you brats, we meet at the docks tomorrow morning." Master Makarov said.
The guild began their celebrations on who had gotten chosen. It caused some tension between members to not be picked, but Fairy Tail was a family that got over these kinds of things easily enough.
xXx
Gajeel was proud of her. His little Script Mage was going to learn that she had real potential for power.
And not just because he was her Mate.
Lily excused himself to talk to Carla about what they were going to do since both their partners had been either chosen or partnered.
Levy decided to cut out of the party and with a quick goodbye to the guild, he followed her out.
The rest of the guild stared as he walked beside her, away from the open doors.
Then the party got their attention and he turned the corner leading to their house.
It was a quick but silent trip home.
She seemed to be lost in thought as she mumbled about what to bring with her.
He was already packed for such things.
Clothes, food, and gear were all in that magic bag.
He pushed the gates open and Drake came running out of the house to meet them.
He leaned down and picked the boy up as the young Dragon showed him a silver carving of himself.
Gajeel could admire the level of detail the boy had with diluted silver. Half tin, half silver was easier for him to mold, but he needed to learn how to work with pure metals.
Morte was in the kitchen as they walked in and Shuri was setting the table.
"We figured you'd show up." She said as Gajeel set Drake down.
It still felt strange in this kind of situation.
He was used to Lily cooking, but not to the feeling of having a family.
Levy sat at the table as she was writing down a list of things she might need for the exam.
"I take it she got picked?" Morte turned to look at them.
"Yeah, and I'm partnering with her, so we'll be leaving the house to you guys for a bit. Maybe a couple days tops." Gajeel said.
Morte nodded as he pulled the pans from the stove.
He set them on metal frames on the table.
"We were wondering..." Shuri started as they all sat down at the table.
Gajeel tilted his head as he portioned out some food for himself and for Levy.
Levy absently wrote up a word of gold that crumbled to dust on the napkin beside her plate.
Gajeel scooped it up in the napkin like a little bag and sprinkled some of it on his food.
He handed it to Morte who accepted it with reverence.
He wasn't used to the way Levy practiced her magic with metals at meals.
She figured that way, Gajeel could test it for strength or purity and it was a treat.
"We were wondering if we could decorate the house." Shuri spoke again.
Levy looked up finally.
"Sure." She frowned. "It's your house too."
Gajeel nodded. "I know I didn't seem like I wanted you guys here, but I'm just not used to having family who stays."
Morte winced. "We understand how you feel, really. But we won't leave you alone anymore. Family should stick together."
"Yeah. Uncle Gajeel is family, so we have to stay close." Drake said as Morte sprinkled his sons' food with the rest of the gold dust.
Gajeel nodded and they talked about things that should go in the house as they ate.
It was the first time since he was a little boy that he'd had such a feeling of peace and acceptance. Four of five at the table were Dragons, yet no one would know to look at them.
They looked like an ordinary family.
He enjoyed it.
xXx
Levy stood at the side of the bed, still fretting over whether she had packed everything needed for the exam.
She didn't notice Gajeel behind her until he wrapped his arms around her.
He leaned down and kissed the side of her neck.
"You've got everything you need Levy. If any one of us is prepared for this exam, it'll be you and Freed. You're both geniuses who have more information in a single hair than a lot of us have in our whole bodies. I swear you should have been born an Archive Mage. You've got so much in that head of yours it's ridiculous." Gajeel said.
She nodded.
He was right about her being ready. She needed to stop worrying about it.
Unlike Freed, she had her entire library collection stuffed in her bag still. Everything but the couple books Lily had by his bedside.
She felt her stress easing from her as Gajeel ran his hands down her arms.
She let him lay her on the bed and realized he had nothing on.
He was gentle as he pulled her shirt off, but the moment she was stripped, all that gentleness was gone.
He was never rough with her, but Levy knew his Dragon instincts were in full control.
She felt loved, worth something, and strong as she pushed back at him.
He growled at her and she gasped his name in return.
When he finally laid beside her and pulled her to snuggle against his side, she didn't think there was a molecule in her that was worried about the exam.
More like how she was going to get up in the morning.
But she'd worry about that when it came.
For the moment, Gajeel was sated, her stress was gone, and everything was warm and peaceful.
She drifted off in exhaustion as she listened to his slowing heartbeat.