A New Friendship

"Since you asked," Lily started, wondering where she was taking him. "Maybe every other day or so, I spar with my best friend. Just for practice purposes, of course."

"So, you train together," Levy concluded. "Are you guys officers, or something?"

"I suppose you could say I fall into a similar category," Lily put a thumb to his chin in thought. "Though, he's much higher in rank than I am."

"I can't wait to learn more," she looked over at him with a smile. "Will I get to meet this infamous best friend of yours?"

At that time, Lily saw that they were passing by one of his favorite restaurants, and he considered it his favorite solely because of their kiwi juice. "Actually… yes. You will get to meet him. In fact, I think we should talk about that now before we get any more distracted."

"Oh yeah! We were meeting up to talk about this teaching job, right?" Levy too, got caught up in the friendly atmosphere and had forgotten what they were originally there for. It was nice talking to someone outside her friend group for once. "Do you want to talk before we shop?"

"You took the words from my mouth! How's there?" He pointed at the café across the street. "They have excellent kiwi juice."

"Okay! I'll keep in mind that your fruit of choice is… kiwi!" She used a finger to scribble in the air as if committing his favorite fruit to memory.

This woman… she was an extremely thoughtful and wholesome person. A near-blinding ray of sunshine that still shone during any dull day. She was just what Gajeel needed to smooth out those rough edges of his! Now he would play matchmaker, but with his disdain toward humans, he wasn't sure that was a good idea. He just decided to let it play out on its own.


"So, I have kind of an odd question."

They were sitting in a booth inside the café, and Levy would usually prefer sitting outside, but since she had to do some reading and maybe some writing, she figured it'd be best to stay away from the wind.

They were only there for drinks, neither of them particularly caring to eat anything. They were both just eager to get this – interview of sorts? – done and over with so they could go and blow a bunch of money on things they surely didn't need.

Levy ordered a strawberry banana smoothie, and Lily ordered his kiwi juice with an extra one for the road. He took a sip of his drink, wondering where to even start. This girl was under the impression that she was going to be teaching him. How would her mood change once he told her it'd be someone else? "What's on your mind, Levy?"

"How did sparring with your friend remind you of the teaching job?" It was a genuine question, and she wanted to understand how he connected the dots.

Hm. That wasn't a question he expected her to ask. He was going to have some fun conversations with her! Well, if she took the job. And even if she didn't, perhaps they could keep in touch. "It reminded me of the job because he's the one you'll be teaching."

Oh. She sat back in her seat, clearly bummed. So, she wasn't going to be teaching Lily. But he did say they were best friends, so she'd likely be seeing a lot of him. "As unfortunate as that is… I don't think it'll be that bad! Right? I mean, you guys are friends, so I assume he's a good person, no?"

'…define good.' Gajeel was a generous and kind being, but you had to know him to see that side of him. For a first impression, he came off as brash and rude, uncaring of others and ignorant of one's emotions, but he was by far the opposite. He just had to put on that tough exterior so he wouldn't seem weak to the other leaders.

But Lily couldn't tell her all of that.

"I'll just say this," Lily clasped his hands together and put them on the table, leaning forward. "Don't let the first impression dictate how you feel about him. I promise you, he's a genuine guy."

That definitely gave her something to think about, but it didn't put her off as much as Lily thought it would. In fact, she really wanted to meet this person. How could someone like Lily befriend a terrible guy? He just didn't seem like the type.

"Okay, I'll trust your judgment," she said, taking a notebook and a foreign book out of her bag and placing it on the table. "You haven't given me any bad vibes yet!"

"I don't plan to. I'll cut to the chase, Levy. I really think you'd be a good fit for the job," Lily said, a hint of determination in his voice.

"But you haven't even seen my skills, yet!"

He laughed heartily; she was right! "I'm sorry, I think I just got caught up in such good conversation, it keeps slipping my mind that I need to make sure you actually know the language. Though, there's no need to demonstrate your script abilities. I can't imagine a scenario where you'll need to use it during this job."

"Okay," Levy put her pen back in her bag. "Easy enough!"

"Actually…" Lily rubbed his whiskers in thought. Sometimes Gajeel would eat iron to replenish his energy, but finding it was difficult for the Exceed from time to time. Perhaps Levy could make some with her script magic. "Can you make a small piece of iron?"

Iron? Why iron? Maybe this was a test! If so, she'd make her best iron! She pulled out her pen again and wrote the word iron in the air in small letters. It landed on the table with a soft clang, and she watched as Lily inspected it. "So? What do you think?"

"This is high-quality iron! It must have taken years for you to perfect your magic!"

"Not really," she shrugged. "It just comes naturally, I guess. Kinda similar to languages and stuff."

Lily didn't know much Dragonic, but he knew a few words here and there. He knew well enough to determine if she was a good enough teacher for Gajeel. Now, he was curious as to how fluent she was in it. "Show me."

Levy pulled a book out of her bag earlier and Lily couldn't help but notice it was a pretty thick book! He got a quick glance at the cover before she opened it to a page she had bookmarked; it was written completely in Dragonic! This didn't look like a beginner's book in the slightest! She clearly knew her stuff.

Levy looked up at the Exceed who was nodding in approval. She gave a cocky smile. "Impressed? This book took me many years to master, but it taught me nearly everything I needed to learn about the language. It was one of the first books I bought when I decided to teach myself, but I couldn't read it for quite some time."

"And now?"

"Oh, this is a piece of cake! I want to read to you an excerpt from what I considered to be the hardest chapter to learn."

Lily watched and listened as she cleared her throat and began reading from the intimidating-looking book flawlessly as if it were her first language. He may not have spoken the language, but he heard it enough from the other dragons to know what it was supposed to sound like. Her enunciation and inflection were perfect, her ease in reading it was apparent and her confidence spoke volumes.

He didn't need to hear much more after a bit, but she looked so enthralled by the information she was reading, he didn't want to interrupt. He could tell she truly loved what she did. There wasn't anyone better who could have responded to the ad. 'I just hope those two will get along.' He knew they would in the long run, but… He was about to ask her a question, but she opened her notebook and slid it in his direction. His eyes grew big as he flipped through the pages. This had to be years' worth of studies! "How… long did it take to compile all of this?"

"That's just a few months, maybe half a year's worth of notes," she replied nonchalantly. Goodness, if he thought that was a lot, he should have seen how many books and filled notepads she had at home! "I honestly didn't know which notebook to bring. I debated on that for twenty minutes before I left!"

"Well, you've certainly proved yourself with just the reading you did," Lily was most definitely impressed! "It's like you've spent your entire life studying Dragonic."

"Most of it," she smiled sheepishly. It was kind of embarrassing to say she spent her whole life studying instead of having a proper teenage and adult life, but maybe all of this would pay off in the end. "It was purely for my own enjoyment! It was something I wanted to do!"

"No need to defend yourself, Levy," Lily chuckled, holding up his hands. "This is a great thing! I stand by my earlier statement and think you'd be a great fit! Though, you told me not too long ago you were having doubts about this job. May I ask why?"

"Well," Levy didn't want to sound like she was a money-grubber or anything, but it was a valid concern. "I just put a lot of thought and consideration into this, and this isn't anything simple. This is going to take a long time and a lot of effort! And I guess it just raised a few questions when I saw that there was no pay listed. I was hoping that it was negotiable since this is a lot to ask of someone."

"That is completely understandable," Lily nodded. "It is only natural to be concerned about that, and it is something that I have taken into consideration. Now, should you decide to accept this job, we are prepared to offer you one million Jewel, paid over the course of time it takes to complete the job, regardless of the hours you choose to work per day. There is no time frame, as this can take as long as it needs to, allowing you to choose your own days and hours."

Levy's jaw dropped, one million Jewel?! No wonder there wasn't any pay listed! That was… There had to be a catch! This only raised many more questions like, why was learning this language important enough to pay that much money? Who was important enough to even acquire that much money? But more importantly… she'd be able to live her life doing whatever she wanted after this! She wouldn't have to take another job, ever!

But… what was the catch?! This was entirely too good to be true!

Lily saw the look of surprise on her face and knew she was surely wondering if there was a catch by now. He thought it was a good idea to have another casual conversation before she asked that question. "Would you like to continue our trip while we talk a bit more?"


Lily had to say, Levy was brilliant at finding small, mom-and-pop shops! She was currently helping him pick out some armor that suited his tastes and was doing an amazing job pairing things together for both style and functionality. Perhaps this time around, it would last longer than a few matches with Gajeel. He watched as she fluttered around, pulling things off racks and shelves before handing them to him to try on.

"I think I'll go with this set," he said, standing in the long mirror with a content look on his face.

"It's the most expensive one!" Levy exclaimed, wondering why he was willing to spend so much on armor that would get replaced in such a short amount of time.

"Money is not an issue," Lily stated plainly. He took his items to the counter, before digging a small bag of Jewel out of his pocket.

'Oh, that's right.' This was the same one whose best friend was offering her a million Jewel just to teach him another language. Of course, money wouldn't be an issue. And pretty soon, money wouldn't be an issue for her either!

She waited as he paid for his things and followed behind him as he exited the shop. She noticed the wide sword he carried with him was sheathed in expensive-looking casing and wanted to inspect the actual blade. It was then that she got a good look at his attire and noticed it was all high-quality material! This was stuff only the nobles would wear! 'He did say he and his friend were officers of some sort. Maybe they work for the council?' Most likely. But she'd find out eventually.

"Are you interested in my sword?" Lily could feel her inspecting him, amused that she found him so interesting. Wait until she met Gajeel!

"I am, actually," Levy said shyly. "Sorry if I overstepped or if I'm making you uncomfortable."

"Quite the contrary," Lily laughed, locating a nearby park so he could show her his sword without scaring anyone. "Follow me, I'll show it to you."

Levy followed him eagerly until they reached a small park, stars in her eyes when he unhooked the sword from his body and handed it to her, still in its casing. She sat on the nearest bench and laid it on her lap, taking in the beauty of the craftsmanship of just the hilt. Upon further inspection, she noticed that the casing was wrapped in fine iron chains that added an elegant touch to the entire thing. She almost didn't want to unsheathe it! But if the casing was this beautiful, she could only imagine what the actual blade looked like! She held the grip and tugged on the case, surprised at how much force she had to use to dislodge it. He must have been amazing in combat if he could easily whip this thing out in battle! She pulled it out slowly, amazed at the intricate engravings and the quality of the metal.

"Wow, Lily! This is beautiful!" Her eyes glistened in the reflection of the metal, going over the engraving of his name. He even had this custom-made! "This must have cost a fortune! It has your name on it!"

"It was a gift from the king," Lily answered proudly without thinking. "He made it himself."

It was when he saw her face that he knew the weight of his words. 'Uh oh. I shouldn't have mentioned him!' But it did make it easier for him to ask her how she felt about him.

"The king himself, huh?" Levy averted her eyes, focusing on the blade again. Normally that would be huge news, but she despised the ground he walked on! It was extremely unfortunate that Fiore had to be run by a man-dragon like him! Or whatever the hell he was!

She looked at how much detail went into crafting this weapon and how personalized it was. Did… Lily know the king personally? If so, why didn't he despise him as she did? There was nothing that could make her think he was a decent being!

"I actually wanted to pick your brain a bit, I hope you don't mind," Lily sat next to her after seeing the clear contempt she seemed to be currently feeling.

"I don't mind," she said, still inspecting the sword. As much as she hated the king, she had to give credit where credit was due. If he made this with his bare hands like Lily said he did, then he was amazing at his craft. But if it were her, she wouldn't believe a damn thing that came out of his mouth! Seriously. What was the likelihood of the king actually making weapons out of the goodness of his heart? There was no good in him.

If there were, the people of Hargeon wouldn't be suffering.

"What are your thoughts about the king? When I mentioned him, you seemed to emanate negative feelings toward him." This could pose a problem. It was one thing for Gajeel to not like humans, that was something he could likely look past, but Levy? He could tell that she was very strong-willed and set in her ways. She might need a lot of convincing.

"I hate him," she said simply. "I think he's a cruel and selfish being that only cares about wealth. Not the prosperity of his people or land."

Lily actually had to hold back a chuckle. She listed off things that were the exact opposite of who he really was! How could he soften her view of him? She had to take this job! She was perfect! But the issue was that he didn't want to give her any information that needed to come from Gajeel himself. Maybe he could convince him to wear a disguise. "Do you have any concrete proof of why you feel this way?"

Levy whipped her head to the side, a determination in her hazel eyes. "The people of Hargeon. They're suffering, but does he even care? I haven't seen him once approach the public with ways to clean up the streets! He makes the dukes do all the work while he gets to laze around in his castle! Not to mention, he slaughtered thousands of humans a hundred years ago just because he didn't want them in his space! What kind of being would do that? Why would he let the Dukes of Hargeon run the city that way?!"

Levy was literally shaking with anger, her eyes welling with tears. Lily loved how passionate she was about things she cared about, even if she had it all wrong. The unfortunate thing about this was that he couldn't clear any of this up with her. It had to come from Gajeel directly for it to mean anything, but she likely wouldn't believe him anyway.

"These are some pretty strong accusations, Levy," Lily said, shaking his head slightly. There was absolutely no way she'd be willing to teach him once she found out who he was. He just hoped she took his advice to not let the first impression let her dictate how she felt. 'Now, I'm going to have to offer Gajeel something in return for making him wear a disguise.'

"Did he really make this sword for you?" She asked, handing it back to him.

Lily nodded, draping it on his shoulder so it was slung across his back. "He did. You know, he might not be as bad a guy you think he is. Perhaps you should give him another thought."

"As if!" Levy scoffed, standing from the bench. "I'd rather not think about him at all! I like to pretend he doesn't exist, personally. With that being said, I believe we have some more shopping to do?"

"Ah, yes," Lily stood, also wanting to find a suitable gift for Gajeel in return for him having to disguise himself to a human. This was going to be tricky. "I actually need to get some paint, as well as find a present for my friend."

"Lead the way!" Levy said happily. "Is this the same friend I'll be teaching?"

"Correct," he replied, sighing internally. How could he even disguise himself? He had extremely noticeable features, not to mention those studs on his face! Were those retractable? He was going to have to ask him.

"So~ tell me about him! What's he like?"

'Let's see…' How could he describe him? "At first, he'll come off as brash, but once you get to know him, you'll see that he's a kind soul. He'll lead you to believe that he doesn't care about anything when in reality, he cares deeply about almost everything."

"He sounds like he's protecting himself from something," Levy deduced quietly. She wanted to learn more!

"You're right," Lily agreed.

"Why does he need to learn Dragonic?" That was one of the questions that were burning in the back of her head, but she'd wait and figure out the answers to the other ones on her own.

"I'll have to leave that up to him to answer," Lily said, stopping inside a general store for the red paint Gajeel wanted. 'Red. Of all colors. He couldn't have gone with something more regal? Like blue, or something?'

"Paint," Levy started, looking around for any souvenirs or knick-knacks she could buy. "What are you painting?"

"Oh, it's not for me," Lily said, pulling down cans of paint from the shelves in front of him. "He's painting his house. It's a fixer-upper, so he's been throwing himself into project after project until he finds a teacher."

"Okay, I'm tired of calling him 'your friend'," Levy giggled. "Does this friend have a name?"

"Kurogane."

"Kuro…gane," she repeated slowly, committing it to memory. "Wait, doesn't that mean something like… 'black steel'?"

"That's what I was told. Don't shoot the messenger," he gave a small laugh. "I think it sounds silly, too, but hey, what can you do?"

"I just want to put a face to a name! With a name like Kurogane, I imagine a big, tough-looking guy, especially with the description you gave me of his personality."

"You aren't wrong in that aspect," Lily confirmed, taking his cans of paint to the register. "He's a pretty big guy."

"I'm really excited to meet him! When can I start? I know you said I can create my own hours, but I'm not sure if there was a specific date I needed to start by."

"He told me to leave it up to you," Lily paid for his items and exited the store, Levy close behind. Now, off to a weapons store. There was a pair of brass knuckle gloves Gajeel took a liking to, and Lily wanted to get them engraved and maybe add some modifications. Hopefully, the store could get them done before the end of the day. It was pretty short notice, but with Lily's rank, he could have it expedited. Though he didn't want to disclose his rank to her just yet or it could give everything away. "He said you can start tomorrow or in a week, you could even start today if you wanted."

"Wow," Levy thought aloud. She truly had full control over her schedule. Okay, that was a plus. But it was time to address the other concerns that were plaguing her. "And where exactly will this job be taking place?"

"Honestly, it takes me about twenty minutes to get here from the house, and it's on the outskirts of Crocus, maybe a mile or so away from the mountains."

Levy sighed, it already took her a little over an hour to get to Crocus by train. "Ah, the mountains are further out, past Crocus. That's a pretty far distance to travel each day."

"Well, there is another option," Lily said, stepping into the store he was looking for. Now, to find the gloves. "He is willing to pay you double if you stay there for the duration of the job."

Again, it was something he knew she most likely wouldn't do since she hated him so much, but he could at least offer.

Levy's mind blew for the second time that day. Two million Jewel. She couldn't even wrap her head around that! She was looking for a change of scenery anyway, and she was tired of being smothered by Jet and Droy. This was like a dream come true! "I guess it would be easier for me to stay onsite… and I'd have my own room, right?"

"You would have your own room, and anything you need would be provided to you at no cost."

"What about meals and stuff?"

"You would just write down what you need and I'd get it for you," Lily offered. He was trying to walk around the fact that she wouldn't be able to come and go freely if she decided to stay, and if she decided to go with the commute… actually, both he and Gajeel were banking on the hope that whoever took the job would stay on premises. It would make things a lot easier.

"You're making it seem like I can't go and get it myself!" Levy laughed, finally noticing they were in a different store, now. "Oh, is this where you're buying the present? What are you getting him?"

"There was a pair of knuckle gloves he had his eye on, and I just wanted to purchase them for him," Lily explained, holding up the gloves in question before looking at them confusedly. "Actually, I thought I saw a grey pair on that table over there."

Levy followed his finger in the direction it was pointing. "Oh, let me go see if I can find them, one sec!"

Lily knew she'd offer to go find them without him asking, which was perfect because he needed to talk to the cashier about using their expedited service. He approached the counter, placing the gloves on the flat surface. "I'm in a hurry, and I need these engraved and fit with these modifications."

Lily gave a piece of paper with instructions on what to add to the lady at the register, who looked all but impressed. "I'm sorry, but the soonest I could get this done for you is next week."

"I thought you might say that," he pulled out a bag of Jewel along with the coat of arms he had engraved onto a badge several years ago, proving his rank as the king's personal knight. Generally, he hated using his rank to get things done, but this time, it was needed. "I'm hoping this might be able to speed things up."

The woman perked up quickly upon seeing the badge, taking the gloves and the paper with haste. "Oh my goodness! My apologies, Sir Lily! I'll get this taken care of right this second!"

Lily cringed inwardly as the lady bowed at him. He didn't like when people treated him like royalty. He was a normal being who put his pants on one leg at a time just like everyone else. He also didn't really care for the attention, even more so now since Levy was not too far away. How would she react if she saw some woman curtsying at him?

"No need to do it this second," Lily said with a forced smile. "Just by the end of the day, if that's alright with you?"

"Oh, no! Someone of your importance gets the best treatment! Give me about two hours, and I'll have this done for you!"

Levy approached as the lady walked away with the gloves, wondering why she was so chipper. "I couldn't find any grey ones."

"Apologies, Levy. But that's alright, I just decided to go ahead with the black ones," he said, wanting to head out before the cashier came back and blew his cover.

Levy was a step ahead of him, exiting the shop and looking around for somewhere else to go. It was now in the early evening, and they'd walked around all day, shopping and talking. Who knew she could have fun during an interview? Speaking of, she craned her head up to look at the tall Exceed. "So, I've come to a decision!"

"What'll it be, Levy?"

"I accept! For a start date of tomorrow morning, and I will stay, under two conditions," she said, holding up two fingers.

"Anything. You've proven you're more than worth any investment," Lily said with a smile.

"First, I must deem the place comfortable enough to stay in, and second…" she grinned. "We must shop together, once a week!"

Lily dropped a hand on her shoulder with a hearty laugh. "Well, maybe we can meet up at the same park and go and buy things for your room tomorrow before you start."

"You wouldn't be bored, shopping for girly things?"

"Of course, not. Especially now that I'll get to have some scintillating conversations with someone intelligent."

"What's it like talking to Kurogane?"

"He's just as smart as you and I, he can just… be a little abrasive at times. Lately, he doesn't really like to talk so much. Maybe it's because we've known each other for so long and have run out of things to talk about. It's just nice to speak with someone else for a change."

"I completely get that," Levy agreed. "How long have you guys known each other?"

Gosh, that's something he hadn't thought about in quite some time. He met Gajeel before he became his personal Knight when he visited Exceed Village. 'Wow.' That was probably around… "I want to say a little over fifty years?"

Whoa. How old was the guy she was teaching? She knew Exceeds had maybe double the lifespan of humans, but this Kurogane was still a mystery. Who were these two? Though, she had all the time in the world to get to know both of them. "That's a long time. Goodness."

"It has its ups and downs, but I truly couldn't ask for a better friend. He's always there for me in my time of need, and vice versa. I hope you stick around long enough to get to know him as well as I do."

"Don't worry, I don't scare easily! Especially since you vouched for him, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt," she said reassuringly, unaware of just who she was teaching.

'Let's just hope you feel the same way when you meet him.'


"What's the big surprise?" Cana asked, being hurried into Levy's apartment.

Levy would have stopped by the bar before going home, but she and Lily had done some damage while shopping and she didn't want to haul all of her stuff into Cana's establishment. She was so excited, she already began packing the things she decided to take. Maybe she could get Lily to come to Magnolia and help!

"So, I took your advice," Levy said, shutting and locking her front door. "I went to go see about the job."

"I'm guessing it went well?"

"I'm gonna take it!" Levy gripped Cana's arms excitedly. "Cana, he wanted to hire me before I even showed him my skills! I made a new friend!"

"Uh-huh. So is Lily the one you'll be teaching?"

"No, but with how much they're paying me, I don't care who it is!"

"And how much is that?" Cana asked, a hand on her hip.

"One million Jewel! And they'll double it if I stay on site! Can you believe that?! I'll never have to work again!"

Holy shit. Blue got lucky with this one. Cana plopped down on the couch, ready to poke a needle in her best friend's excitement. "This is obviously a big deal, and we'll definitely have to spend a few hours talking about this, but… how are ya gonna tell Blondie? Screw Speedy and Fatso, you don't see them every day and you can come up with some excuses for them, but not Lucy."

Crap. She was right.

Levy mimicked her actions, falling onto the couch next to her. "I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there."