Chapter 2
Gajeel lugged the lounge chair through the sliding door and out onto the deck. He grumbled as he maneuvered the difficult comptraption, cursing at Aria and Totomaru once again for ditching him at the hotel.
"If I'm 'aggressive' and 'too much of a liability,' then why did they bring me on this blasted trip anyway?"
He unfolded the plastic chair and dropped onto the deck, not even caring if he broke the stupid thing. He didn't understand why he had to be the one to stay back and guard the fort. The least they could have done was give him a pile of iron to hold him over until they decided to show their faces again. The chair creaked as he landed heavily on the seat. He leaned back and shielded his eyes with his arm.
At least I get a quiet moment to finally relax.
His body still ached from his recent squirmish with Eisenwald back in Oshibana Town. Being one of the few S-class mages in the guild had its perks, such as knowing there was no one who would dare challenge him to a fight, but it had its drawbacks as well. The Master constantly chose him to carry every random plan he concocted and normally Gajeel enjoyed the work. Butting heads with rival mages, knocking them down a peg or two, always left behind a satisfying feeling in his chest. But the constant fights Jose thrust him into seemed less like skirmishes and more like…training.
Gajeel knew he might not be the sharpest piece of iron in the shop, but even he knew that Jose was preparing him for something. The master was cooking up some sort of scheme, something that would involve the entire guild, not just a few select mages. And with all of the Master's blustering and hollering, Gajeel knew it had to involve those blasted Fairies in Magnolia.
"Might as well enjoy my nap while I can," he mumbled under his arm.
It would most likely be his vacation for a while and he wasn't going to let his two yahoo's for guild members ruin it for him.
The sliding door at the next room over scrapped upen. A chair screeched across the floor and muted footsteps thumped on the deck. Gajeel lifted his arm just enough to crack an eye open, then curled his lip in a smirk.
"Keep this up and I'll think yer stalkin' me, gihee."
The same blue-haired girl from the lake squeaked and dropped her chair and what looked like a book. Her hand clutched at her heart and an adorable blush rose to her pale cheeks. Gajeel quickly shielded his eyes once more, frowning to himself.
Why do you care if she's cute, huh?
"Really? Did you just have to scare me like that? And I'm not stalking you!"
Gajeel couldn't resist teasing her more. "Careful there, Shorty. Don't they say the strongest denial means the strongest yes? Or something like that…"
Hoping she didn't notice his blundering, Gajeel dropped his arm and leaned forward in his seat. The girl huffed and grumbled, shooting harmless glares at him while she set up her discarded chair. She brushed off her book and with a final dirty look in his direction, plopped into her seat. Gajeel didn't even try to hold back his laughter, which only grew when the girl quite literally shoved her nose into her book.
Sides aching, Gajeel leaned back and crossed his arms. When was the last time someone dared glare at him like that? Maybe when he first joined Phantom Lord when he was a boy, but certainly not after he became Jose's right hand man. And certainly not from someone as tiny as her.
"Must be a pretty good book if yer reading that close to it." He smiled in her direction, which barely earned him a side glance.
"Don't worry," the girl sniffed, turning a page, "I won't talk to you unless you really want me to."
Gajeel snorted. "Ya make it sound like you actually want to talk to me."
"Well," she shrugged, turning to another page even though Gajeel knew she couldn't have possibly read that fast already, "I'm stuck here by myself anyway, so I might as well talk to anyone I can."
She shot a quick glance in his direction. He could see the fear lurking behind those big, brown eyes and for some reason it made his stomach churn.
"Well, I ain't plannin' on leaving this spot for a while, so yer gonna be the one to move if ya get to annoying." He made a show of settling into his chair and his gut eased when he heard her soft laughter.
"I take it you're not a people person?"
"Yer the first person to see me and not run screamin' in the opposite direction. So no, I ain't what you call a people person."
"Well I'm always curious about meeting new people," she wiggled in her own chair, "especially people who seem to try and antagonize a complete, helpless stranger on purpose."
Gajeel's lips twitched as he looked at the girl. She might be puny and dainty as a flower, but he could sense the magical power coming from her.
"Pretty sure yer not helpless."
"Say that to my partners."
Gajeel hummed, giving the girl a silent nod of approval at the venom he heard in her voice. "So…what's wrong with your partners?"
He picked at his nails, looking at her from the corner of his eye. He shouldn't pry, it was none of his business and frankly, he shouldn't even care. But he was never going to see her again anyway, so what harm could there be in talking with a pretty stranger?
His heart thumped.
First she's cute and now she's pretty? Better get yer head back on straight, cause I ain't gonna see her ever again after this.
The girl slammed her book shut, startling him out of his internal lecture.
"There's nothing wrong with them, per se…" her brows turned down into an adorable frown, "other than their ridiculous notion that I'll expire on the spot if I do so much as look at something scary. I've gotten the two of them out of more trouble than I can count, but still they treat me like I'm made of glass!"
Gajeel bit back a smile at her apparently much needed rant. Her hands gestured widely, the frown never leaving her brow. Gajeel rested his chin on his hand, just watching.
She's like a kitten. An adorable, angry kitten.
"They barely let me do anything on my own!"
"Ya did get stuck on the lake today," he mumbled against his fist, just to see her reaction.
"That!" She thrust a finger in his direction, "Was not my fault! And I would have made it out on my own just fine, thank you very much!"
She sat crossed-legged on her chair and stared at the lake off in the distance. Gajeel tucked his own legs under him and simply watched. Her shoulders lifted in a heavy sigh, a thousand thoughts lurking beneath the surface. Gajeel crossed his arms, hoping the movement would help him resist the urge to pry into those thoughts.
"So," the girl started after a moment, "are you here for a mission? Or just a vacation?"
He shifted on his chair until he could see her clearly. "Well, my partners are off doing their own thing and they didn't want me comin' cause apparently I have anger issues or something."
"I could see that," the girl laughed.
"Oi! What's that–" Her twinkling eyes stopped his glare. "Tch, whatever," he huffed, staring off into the distance as he fought a smile.
"So tell me about these anger issues that you apparently don't actually have."
Now he did glare. "I don't! Just sometimes my guild members are stupid and they need to know it!"
Her laughter should have grated on his nerves, but for some reason it didn't. He growled and bellowed, but it hardly even fazed the girl. She kept up a steady stream of chatter, asking him what he would rather be doing, how often he takes naps, if he really needed a cat that badly. He surprised himself by asking questions of his own; why she joined up with her partners anyway, how she got stuck on the lake, if she realized how short she was.
By some unspoken rule, they never asked anything personal. No guilds, no hometowns. Gajeel stopped himself more than once when he was about to ask for her name, but the girl just smirked and moved the conversation along.
They sat and chatted until the air turned cool and the sun began to sink behind the lake. At some point her stomach growled loud enough to make him burst into laughter and he volunteered to grill them up some simple burgers. They chatted while they ate, their chairs somehow getting closer and closer together, but never venturing past the invisible line separating the two decks.
The stars were twinkling in the dark sky by the time their conversation trickled to a stop. Gajeel leaned back with his arms behind his head, watching the girl struggle with the large blanket she attempted to wrap around her shoulders.
It must have been the night air, or the lights from the deck making the girl's hair shimmer in the moonlight, but somehow Gajeel found himself opening his mouth to ask the one question lurking in the darkest part of his mind. "Have you ever…"
He bit his lip, crossing his arms. The movement next to him stopped. "Have I ever?" the girl prompted, her blanket finally settled around her shoulders.
He turned away. "Tch, nevermind."
"No really, what?"
"Nothin', it was stupid anyway!"
"Tell me! We're friends now, aren't we?" She blinked her big, warm eyes at him and he couldn't resist her smile.
"Have you ever wanted to leave yer guild?"
She blinked again, "Leave my guild?"
"Yeah, leave. Just wham," he threw his hands in the air, "abandon everything and leave everyone behind, no questions asked."
Why am I even asking her this? She doesn't care!
"Hmm," she tucked her knees to her chest and rested her chin on the blanket. "I can't say I have. My guild…well, they're my family. My home. I trust them and they trust me and I don't know what I would do without them."
Gajeel grunted, leaning back in his chair. "Must be nice…"
"Your guild isn't like that?"
"Ya kiddin'?" he scoffed, blowing a hard laugh through his nose. "Not even close! It's survival of the fittest there. If yer weak then you get the boot. Everyone's jockeying for a spot and tryin' to reach the top. There's no trust, I certainly don't have any family there, it's just–"
"Lonely?" She whispered, peering at him like she was the only person in the world who understood.
He crossed his arms, looking away from her warmth. "...yeah"
"You could always join my guild."
She smiled at him and Gajeel knew she would march him to her guild that very night if he said yes. His chest hurt. It was on the tip of his tongue to accept that warmth, the promise of family that she offered. What would it be like to actually have a place where he belonged? To walk into a home where people smiled and treated him as if they actually cared about him, not just trying to get on his good side?
His heart reached out to her, wanting to accept the hand she reached out, but his mind pulled back.
The girl smiled softly, picking back up her book. "You don't have to answer…but just think about it."
They lapsed into a comfortable silence, enjoying the cool night air. Gajeel draped his arm across his eyes, trying to close off the sincerity and comfort the girl offered.
He must have dozed off at some point, for the bright morning sun blinded him the moment he opened his eyes. His hand rasped down his face, his tired eyes reluctantly acknowledging the empty deck next to him. With a sigh he swiveled his legs over the side of his chair and lifted it to carry it back inside.
A small thump sounded behind him. Gajeel knelt to the ground and picked up a thick book he recognized from the night before. A note fluttered to the ground, the paper filled with a swirling script.
You were sleeping so peacefully that I couldn't wake you. Thank you for a wonderful conversation! And thank you again for helping me on the lake. My previous offer still stands…I'm sure my guild master would love to have you join us.
P.S. I think I accidentally left my book behind. Could you return it to me if we see each other again? Thanks!
Gajeel laughed, placing the note into the pages of the book. "Accidentally, my foot. And how am I supposed to find ya when I don't even know yer name, huh?"
Aria and Totomaru slammed the front door and with a sigh Gajeel headed inside. He headed straight to his room and safely stored the book in the bottom of his pack, hidden away where it would remain safe and sound.
