Author's Note: Phew, it's gotten late already. Hope not too late, but hey, timezones n stuff.

I polished the dialogue, I noticed, that it felt a little rushed these past chapters and I want to give you guys the best reading experience ;)

We spontaneously went to a zoo yesterday (2h drive spontaneous, lol). It's fun, but also sad when you see a leopard pacing in his enclosure. We hope that the zoo will get some money and fix it in the future. But we could also hear a lion roar, so that was cool.

Hope you like this one, have fun reading :3


Chapter 6 – Water

The occasional splish when Levy made a step or picked up a rock in the water, the rustling of the trees, the rushing of the river, small animals and the stray buzz of a bee or the singing of a lonely bird. Gajeel loved listening to the forest. Leaned against the tree, he sat with his eyes closed and his arms behind his head. When a soft breeze whispered across the clearing and through his hair, he opened his eyes again, watching Levy bent over with both arms over the water. Her pants rolled up to her knees, she stood completely still, a few stray blue curls falling down to frame her concentrated face, illuminated by the glistening of light hitting the water flowing around her ankles. Gajeel would have marveled at the almost ethereal picture, if not for the confusion he felt.

He turned his head sideways, trying to figure out what she was doing. Her shawl left over the now empty basket, she had ceased picking rocks and waterplants and was now standing in the middle of the river…waiting? Suddenly, her hands snapped downwards and Gajeel finally realized what she was doing.

"Are you trying to catch us dinner?" he called over and she turned back to him, her hands closed around something "No, I just want to get a closer look at them." She answered and Gajeel snickered, realizing she didn't have the title of head scientist for nothing. This woman was after knowledge like rich men after gold. He walked over to her while Levy carefully looked into her palms and sighed, opening them to let out some water. "I'm just not fast enough" she grumbled and shook some duckweed off her finger. "Well, what are you trying to catch?" Gajeel asked and squinted at the water, until Levy pointed into it "There are these really small fish and I wanted to know how they look so I can look up what they are," she explained and Gajeel crouched down, squinting again before he realized which fish she meant.

"Those are called minnows and I think I can get one for you. I used to catch them for agility training and fun when I was younger." He explained, slipped out of his own boots and waded into the water. "Oh, well, you don't have to do that." Levy answered, startled by his eagerness to help her with such a silly task.
"Come on, I want to go home sometime today. With you, if possible and I think you won't give up so easily." He laughed and got in position, now mirroring Levy's position from before. "Also, there's a simple trick to it." With that, he lifted a big rock and thrust his right hand into the water, closing it around the contents rushing out with the currents.

When he brought his hand up again, he could feel movement inside and grinned. "Open your hands." He told the smaller women and she did as she was told, her face reminding him of that of a child about to receive the most wonderful gift. He carefully let the small fish drop into her cupped hands and her eyes grew even bigger as she examined the minnow wriggling on her palm. When she was finished looking at it, she released it back into the water.
"Thanks little guy!" She called after it, even doing a little wave and Gajeel felt his heart jump weirdly, wondering if it came naturally to her to be this cheerful.

She turned her head around and smiled at him, not really helping his heart problem "Thank you for helping me, your majUA!" she yelped when her foot slipped, making her loose her balance. Gajeels reflexes caught on, his arm darted forward, pulling her up to his chest in an effort to keep her from falling. "What did I ask you before?" he joked and she just looked up at his face, squished against him, cheeks red, breathing heavily from the adrenaline "Thank you, Gajeel," she gasped and he desperately hoped she wouldn't notice just how hard his heart started beating at that. The stumble from before was nothing compared to these acrobatics.
"Sure thing." he grinned, carefully hiding behind a nonchalant facade, then released her and waded back to the river bank, sitting down on a large rock.

"So, are you getting your fill of researching? We still have to ride home and we've already been gone for about five hours." He remarked and Levy turned around, wiping her wet hands on her breeches. "Yeah, I think I am." she started wading towards him and slipped again, falling into the river this time without him to catch her.
"Oh, are you okay?" he asked and she crawled back up in a sitting position, water still flowing around her, seeping into her clothing. "Yeah, I'm fine, just feeling like a wet cat." She chuckled and Gajeel joined her "Why did I even keep you from falling earlier? Should have told me you wanted to bathe!" she laughed even more at that and stood up. Gajeel quickly averted his eyes, "Uh, erm. You might want to cover up. I promise I didn't see anything." Or rather, didn't see everything. He scolded himself for even thinking that, even if it was the truth. Oh how thankful he was to all the old gods that he decided to open his hair earlier, at least she couldn't see his ears which should be giving away how flustered he was by their colour right about now.

Levy was confused for a second, then she realized that her white blouse had just gotten wet and she had disregarded any undergarments to stay cool this morning. And the fact that the river water was cold didn't really help the situation either. She started blushing furiously, mirroring Gajeels sheepishness, who was suddenly very focused on putting his shoes on "Could you maybe get me my scarf? I left it on the basket," she muttered and covered herself as good as possible. The iron king just nodded and went to retrieve it.

He came back and held it out to Levy, who now had her arms crossed over her chest. Her pointed look directed him to close his eyes while she tied the scarf around herself. "Finished!" she announced and Gajeel cautiously opened his eyes again. "Fashionable." he snickered "I think you'll dry when we reach the fields, are you okay riding in wet clothes?"
"Do I have another choice?" she asked, shrugging and Gajeel decided he'd keep his thoughts about the only other choice to himself.

"True. I'll go saddle the horses." He went to the tree and called Tinto on the way. The gelding and Scenja had been wandering around the clearing to graze, but now they perked up and trotted back to their master. Levy slipped her shoes back over her wet feet and skipped over to him as well "I've been meaning to ask; is there any way we can ride a little faster on our way home? It's been a while since I could really let loose speedwise." Levy asked and fastened the belt on Tinto's saddle. Gajeel saddled Scenja as well, wondering if the petite woman would keep surprising him like this.

"Sure thing. We'll leave the basket at the waypost in front of the forest so it won't hinder you. Some of the servants come here to worship, they'll take it back." He smiled and handed her the basket to fasten it to her saddle. They hopped up onto the horses and Levy gave the clearing one last longing look before the group slipped into the bushes.

"First!" Levy yelled out breathlessly when they arrived on castle grounds, startling some servants, who had come out at the sound of hooves thundering onto the cobblestone. Gajeel arrived just moments after, reigning Scenja in to slow her down. "Impressive! I didn't think you'd be this competitive, Milady Levy de Jardin!" he laughed and lead Scenja over to her. "Well, I didn't think you would challenge me just because I wanted to let the horses run!" she laughed back.

Gajeel turned towards the servants "Could you prepare hot scented water for each of us?" he received a bow and nodded before he followed Levy to the stables. After they finished grooming the horses, Gajeel accompanied Levy to her room again, bidding farewell to her with a handshake, which she insisted on, in her words from winner to loser.

Levy closed the door behind her and untied the scarf before peeling off her clothes. She sat down in the huge tub and let herself get soaked, letting the itchiness of being in wet clothes and the ache of the many hours on horseback seep away. The scents of rose and lavender mingled with the scent of the sheep milk soap she now used to wash herself before sinking back into the hot water to continue her soaking. Gajeel, on the other side of the castle preferred a quicker scrub, washing himself thoroughly before he got dressed in a fresh tunic.

He was about to lay down on the bed to think when a knock on the door interrupted him and he went to open the door. "Lily! Back already?" He grinned and gave his friend a hug. The large cat went inside, patting his king on the back as he passed him "Yeah, wasn't much to do. I heard you caused quite the ruckus outside!" He let himself fall down on his usual spot and Gajeel sat down in his chair.

"Just a little race." The iron king shrugged and Lily gave him a surprised look "A race? And Lucy was okay with that?" he asked, wondering what had gotten into the empress "She wasn't with us, chose to stay with Natsu instead. And Levy wanted to let the horses run, I thought it could be fun for them, too." Lily was downright flabbergasted after that "Wait, you call her by name now? Next time I'm not here you'll…"

"Don't finish that sentence, cat, or I'll kick your ass." Gajeel threatened half-heartedly and Lily just snickered "You know we're equal if you're not trying to actually kill me. And I know for a fact you like her." He added slyly and Gajeel felt his ears growing warm in something between anger, confusion and embarrassment. He decided they did that way too much on this day.

"Huh? What're you yapping on about?" he barked at his general, trying to cover up his unease. "Drunk Gajeel told me: 'she's so cute and nice and pretty, and I like her!' Your words." The exceed snickered and his friend looked like he was trying to evaporate into thin air.

"What, no! Argh, damn Booze! And damn you, cat!" he yelled and Lily tensed at his tone. The memories of past Gajeel were still fresh in his mind and the line between banter and violent outburst still blurry at times. He still hadn't fully shaken the habit of being ready to defend himself around his king.

Gajeel noticed his friend tensing up and his heart did a painful squeeze as he realized what had happened. He hung his head in shame, feeling like the worst friend on earth "Relax, Lily. I'm sorry." Now he tensed, old memories bubbling to the surface of his mind. Things he'd pushed away crawled back, made themselves known to him, excruciating and merciless. He pressed the nail of his thumb into his middle finger, trying desperately to keep his composure, while his breath ran horribly short.

Suddenly, another memory washed up between the others, a short blue-haired woman smiling at him, a small fish in her hands

Levy…?

He jumped a little when Lily laid a paw on his shoulder "You relax too, Gajeel. It's fine. Listen, I have to go see Shagotte, I want to make sure she's settling in fine." The king gave him a confused look "Wait, you asked me only yesterday, and now she's already settling in?"

"Well, erm, you see, I had planned that with her and Kofu for some time, I just needed to ask you. And I wanted to get her inside before the festivities start, so I'll know she's safe." Lily explained and Gajeel smirked "I knew it. You're only on my tail because you want to distract from your own romantic interests in a certain exceed." He remarked and Lily rolled his eyes as he made his way to the door "No, I'm just nice."

"Yea, sure!" Gajeel laughed as Lily closed the door. After that he went out into the garden, making his way over to the stream, where he sat down in his usual spot to try sorting through his feelings. Llys words left him wondering if he himself was merely nice and more importantly, if she was just nice as well. He growled in frustration, his own feelings confusing and scaring him. The memory of her had startled him, he simply didn't expect a positive memory, let alone Levy. But as much as it had surprised him, it was also comforting and likely fended the upcoming panic attack off. Her positivity and hunger for life was something that made her stand out to him as soon as they met, it comforted him greatly when they spent time together, so it was most likely the reason it helped him earlier. But why her specifically was the question that bothered him.

He had been with some women during the war, but there was never any place for feelings, never mind love, just mere moments of comfort. He'd also thought of himself as being unable to love until now, so this was entirely new territory and it sure as hell was making him uneasy. Another frustrated grumble escaped his throat when soft voice spoke up:

"Oh, bad timing?" Levy asked and emerged from between the bushes.
"No, good timing, actually. I could use some company." Gajeel lied and patted the grass beside him. It came so naturally to him to invite her, when he'd have chased any other person besides Lily away. Even though she was the reason for his inner turmoil, her presence was calming and refreshing, so he decided to just bask in it for a while.
Levy smiled happily and sat down beside him, producing a book from the folds of her dress before carefully putting it beside her.
"Ah, have you been reading?" Gajeel asked her and she grinned "Yes, nothing better than a book while getting soaked in the tub! It's one of my favourites actually."
Gajeel raised his eyebrows and gave her a curious look. As not much of a reader, he didn't even have an idea what kind of book it could be.
"And, what is it about?"

"It's a collection of Tales and Legends from the magic age. About fawns, fae, magicians and even dragons! It was the book that I used to teach myself how to read, too, so I know most of the stories by heart, but I still like to reread it." She smiled fondly and let her hand rest on the soft leather of the book.
"Wait. You taught yourself how to read?" Gajeel was genuinely surprised and Levy became flustered at the undertone of admiration in his voice. "Ah, yes, I was bored. Sorry, I didn't mean to brag, it's just second nature to me to assume it to be normal since I learned a lot of things that way. Even though my parents are rather privileged, I wasn't really allowed to go to school. I'm too meek to work with the horses all day, but our name wasn't important enough for me to get married for privileges, so I was just left to myself," she explained, trying to hide the way her voice broke a little at the last sentence when sadness and memories of isolation washed over her.

"I can imagine that to be quite lonely, but it seems to have worked out well for you." Gajeel remarked and she looked up at him with a bright smile, the sadness vanished like clouds revealing a sudden ray of sunlight.
"It did! I have wonderful friends, a great position at the Palace and hey, I'm talking to a king like we're friends!" she listed, getting nervous at the last statement, desperately hoping that she didn't overstep any lines with it.
"Oi, I hope we are friends!" Gajeel laughed, faking offense at her hesitancy and she let out the breath she'd been holding in anticipation.
"Me too, I mean, I'd like to be friends, if you want to," she stuttered and Gajeel laughed again, amused by her consistent unease around his title and position "I said that, didn't I? So, friends?"
He stood up and held out his hand for her. Levy grabbed her book and took his hand "Friends." She smiled before he pulled her up. He'd overestimated her weight, though, and almost pulled her into him, stopping here mere millimeters in front of his chest. For a moment, they just looked at each other, surprised and breathing fast with sudden excitement. The moment was broken when Levy's stomach decided to grumble and they broke out in laughter. "I see someone is in dire need of dinner." Gajeel chuckled and offered her his arm to walk her to the dinner hall.


/

Aren't they just the cutest? I love 'em.

Feel absolutely welcomed and invited to leave reviews, I really enjoy reading them! And on the topic of reviews:

DragonflyFriday: Nice to see you back, love your assessment ;) The Frisian instantly popped into my head when I thought about a horse for him, these dark beauties are just so gorgeous! Fitting for another dark maned beast ;P

Livalibus: Hi again :) Your reviews are always so uplifting, I like your evaluations, they're so on point! I'm glad you look forward to the chapters :3

trienniagala: Oh, I just love your enthusiasm, it's so motivating ;)

And also thank you to the nice guest who left a review as well, I greatly appreciate it :)

Have a wonderful week, you amazing people :3