The medicine on her back helped cool her sunburn and Levy stretched in the grass with a smile. They had a wonderful day at the beach and had made it back safely to the guild. Much to the girls' delight, Mira had roped the guys into helping prepare a late dinner. Levy helped a few other mages string lights and spells around the field and the area was illuminated in a soft glow.

Her eyes strayed to Gajeel, who was put on grill duty. She was shocked with how much he relaxed and opened up over the course of the day. He joined in all of their games during the ride to and from the park and even went on the water slide as many times as she asked. She was still trying to figure out how he managed to make them both slip and tumble down the slide almost every time, but he had laughed so heartily that she didn't mind, not even when the attendant banned them from the ride. She had never seen Gajeel have that much fun.

She rested her cheek on her knees and smiled as she watched her friend. Natsu bounded over to him, his loud voice asking to help with the grilling. Properly warned about the fire mage and any sort of flammable material, Gajeel immediately pushed him away with his iron club.

Natsu kept a safe distance away from Gajeel's fist and gave the Draak grilling tips. Gajeel just barked at him to get lost. The threats were laced with a healthy dose of familiar insults; the guys were definitely a bad influence on Gajeel.

Hiding her chuckle, Levy turned back to Cana and listened to her story about a contest she had won at the park. Something about "drinking those boys under the table."

Footsteps crunched the grass near them and Levy looked up to see Gajeel striding toward them. His hair was still tied back and his bangs were pushed out of the way with his ever-present bandana. Libra already lowered the spell on him, so Gajeel's scales and pointed teeth were visible once more. Levy was glad; this Gajeel looked more like himself.

"Hey, Shrimp. Can I ask ya somethin'?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"What does my apron say?"

"Huh?" Her friends mirrored her confusion.

"The guys made me wear it, but I can't read it when it's upside down."

"Oh, um…" her cheeks grew warm at the words written on the fabric. "It-it says 'kiss the cook.'"

Gajeel frowned. "Is that why Gray keeps asking me if I want a smooch?"

Levy giggled, Cana snorted out her drink, and Lucy answered "probably."

They all jumped when Gajeel hollered across the field. "Oi, Ice Princess! I'll give ya a smooch...with my fist!"

"Bring it on, Metal Man!"

"Tch...so what does my shirt say then?" He asked, lifting the apron but still glaring in Gray's direction.

The black shirt must have belonged to Laxus at some point. The sleeves looked as if they had been torn off and the black material was faded on the edges. Lucy took one look at it and burst out laughing, and Cana sprayed more of her drink.

"What! What does it say?"

Levy managed to hold back her laughter enough to answer. "It says 'I flexed and the sleeves fell off.'"

"Flexed?"

"Yeah, um, like this…" She stood and raised her arms, tightening her muscles.

Gajeel dropped the apron and copied her stance. Levy did not take her eyes off his face and focused all of her effort on holding back her blush.

Miss Izumi was right...he definitely wasn't eating enough before he came here.

"Ha, I get it now!" Gajeel laughed, looking at his arms. "That's pretty funny. Thanks, Shrimp!"

"Y-yeah," she stammered to his retreating back.

She sat in the grass, catching Lucy's wink in her direction. Levy flipped open her book and huffed.

"You have something in your eye."

The two girls laughed and Levy decided she was going to ignore them for the rest of the night.

"Alrighty men, gather up! It's time for our annual arm wrestling contests!" Mira flew over their heads and made the announcement to the entire clearing. The field was filled with whoops and hollers.

"Didn't we just do one of these a couple months ago?"

"Contests are the marks of men! There are never too many!"

All the guys agreed with Elfman and in a matter of minutes tables were moved and set up to accommodate the contestants. Levy rolled her eyes at the good-natured insults being thrown every which way.

"Wait, no, I'm workin' the grill!"

"Sorry big guy, it's a guild tradition." Natsu and Gray drug Gajeel away from his post, relieved him of his apron, and plopped him down on a chair. Max and Warren moved behind his chair, forming a four man barrier to prevent Gajeel from escaping.

Levy and the others shrank and flew to the tables where the other girls were already calling out encouragement to their favorite guys. Gajeel frantically looked for her and she gave him a wide smile and a thumbs up. He took a deep breath and glared at the Fairies blocking him in.

Mira hovered above everyone's heads. "Ok, boys, the rules are simple. Use one hand, defeat your opponent and you move up to the next round. Lose, and you get a bucket of water dumped on your head. Levy, would you do the honors?"

"Sure!" She eagerly answered, turning big and making a show of stretching her fingers. The guys groaned, knowing from experience that she loved putting chunks of ice in her WATER magic. They took their positions with renewed determination.

"Begin!" Mira cried and the field was filled with laughter, grunts and taunts.

Mages dropped one by one and Levy became immersed in her task of forming magic water and dumping it over them. Most accepted their defeat good-natured and begrudgingly went back to work preparing dinner, while others quickly learned not to complain. Two buckets of ice water was an excellent teacher. Throughout the mayhem, Levy kept tabs on Gajeel, not surprised to see he was almost to the head table.

"Our final two!" Mira called out, drawing everyone back to the tables.

Laxus and Gajeel thumped into their seats, stretching their arms and twisting the kinks from their shoulders.

"You think you're ready for this?" Laxus asked with a smirk, his eyes flashing.

Gajeel returned the smirk, a fire in his own gaze. "Are you, old man?"

Gasps and whistles rolled from the waiting crowd.

"Our dragon's got some bite to him!" The guys cheered, thumping each other on the backs. Laxus' grin widened and Levy's heart filled with pride.

Mira raised her hand. "Ready?"

Laxus and Gajeel clasped hands and shifted their feet.

"Begin!"

The crowd roared and cheered, an equal number calling out each of their names. Levy wrung her hands against her chest and watched the deadlocked battle. Neither opponent wavered, neither of them even flinched. Their arms seemed as if they weren't moving at all, but she could see the strain in their necks and a vein throbbing on their foreheads. Sweat beaded and poured down their faces. Their arms quivered.

"Come on, Gajeel! You can do it!" Levy cupped her hands around her mouth and called over the cheers of the crowd.

Slowly, Laxus' arm drifted close and closer to the table. He shifted in his seat, his other hand coming up for a moment before settling back into the table. With a roar, Gajeel pushed the arm and it landed on the table with a loud crash.

The crowd erupted and Levy dumped the coldest water she could manage on Laxus' head. Gajeel stood and shook out his arm. He smiled widely at Levy, accepting Laxus' outstretched hand in a handshake.

"Nicely done," Laxus said, blowing water out of his face.

"Alrighty, you brats...my turn!"

The crowd froze mid-cheer as the master walked up and sat in Gajeel's empty chair. Gajeel went to the other side of the table and sat in the wet puddle Laxus left behind. The master placed his arm on top of the table and with a huge smile made his arm grow until it was the size of Gajeel and Laxus' combined. Everyone gulped and Gajeel visibly paled. His eyes darted to her and the rest of the guild. They all shook their heads and sliced their hands across their necks.

"It's alright, old man, I concede." Gajeel answered, standing abruptly from the table.

"Are you sure? I'd hate to deprive you of a fair fight."

"I know when I'm beat, sir." He darted around the table and hid...stood behind her.

"Well, ok then," Makarov shrunk his arm and bounced over to Mira. "Look, Mira! 5th time reigning champion!"

"Master, you really need to stop cheating."

"You gonna dump water on me?" Gajeel whispered, keeping a wary eye on the master.

Levy chuckled and leaned the back of her head against his chest to look up at him. "Nah, it wasn't a fair fight anyway."

"Dinner's ready!" Mira called and everyone filed over to the grill and other tables laden with food.

Gajeel made no attempt to join the group and she knew he was content watching the activity around them. The line grew larger and she jumped when a heavy arm landed on her head.

"Huh, the guys were right...you are the perfect height for an arm rest, gihee." His teeth gleamed in the magic light and her heart skipped a beat. She had never heard him laugh like that before.

She huffed and crossed her arms,trying to ignore her traitorous pulse. "Don't get used to it. You're messing up my hair."

"No I ain't. This is messing up your hair."

His arm lifted and his large hands raked through her hair, tousling it every which way. Levy squealed and batted his hands, kicking at him as she moved out of the way.

"Gajeel!"

"Gihee!"

He dodged all of her attacks and she chased him around the field. The girls cheered and encouraged her to run faster, while the guys warned Gajeel on how close she was getting. Gajeel stopped and spun, grabbing her around the waist when she almost ran into him. He twisted in a circle and she punched him in the chest, which only earned her another one of his strange, yet endearing laughs. Her heart thumped in her chest at their closeness and she wrinkled her nose at him, shrinking her size and landing on his shoulder.

"Ha!" She tugged on his ear and everyone returned to their dinners.

Only a few mages stood in line and Gajeel walked up to the grill to dish up his food. He grabbed an extra plate, asking her what she wanted to eat, and found an empty table near the edge of the group to sit. It was getting late and she knew her friend had had a long day. A very successful day, in her opinion, but he did look ready for a break from the crowd.

She turned big and sat next to her dragon. Levy loved being around people and the craziness of her family, but she was finding that she enjoyed Gajeel's quiet company just as much. She scooted over on the bench and tucked into her dinner. And if her shoulder just happened to lean against his the entire time, it was purely coincidental.