Three French Hens

"What in Mavis' name…"

Levy stared wide-eyed at the back counter. The turtles had returned to their home and in their place was a small crate with three chickens roosting inside. Baskets lined the wooden surface, each filled to the brim with eggs.

Mira bustled around her kitchen, barking orders to whomever happened to pass her range of sight. A quick glance out the window showed Natsu, Gray and several other boys organizing a wild relay game with eggs as projectiles. Judging by the shells on the ground, Levy guessed they had been at it for some time.

The front door creaked open, a gust of wintery air filling the room. Gajeel shouldered his way through the opening, the sounds of his grunts muffled by a large crate in his hands. Levy hurried past the tables and held the door open so he could maneuver his heavy load into the building. He smiled at her gratefully and Levy couldn't help but smile back.

It was so nice to see him content and happy. He had lived in darkness for so long that she was worried that he would have forgotten how to smile. But his lips always seemed ready to lift into a grin and it warmed her heart every time she saw it.

"Thanks, Shorty. That monster over there sent me out at the crack of dawn to get ingredients. I know she did it as revenge…"

Levy raised her brow at the muttered words at the end, but Gajeel quickly moved through the doorway. She shut the door behind him and hurried to the front, making sure chairs and tables were out of his way. She scooted a basket of eggs away from the corner and Gajeel set his crate down with a loud thump, causing the chickens to squawk in protest.

"There, ya happy? Enough ingredients for an army of omelets."

Levy stood on her tiptoes and watched Mira sort through the crate of goods. Onions, peppers, potatoes, mushrooms, salt, small packages of meat. The crate had everything they would need to make a delicious feast.

"Thank you! And don't forget, you're helping me at dinner tonight. Can't make all of these on my own." Mira smirked and winked, arms full of vegetables.

Gajeel scratched his head. "Yeah, yeah...I remember."

Levy chuckled at Gajeel's crestfallen expression. It had come as a surprise to all of them when they discovered that Gajeel was actually an excellent cook. Grilling, baking, making breakfast; it seemed he could do everything and no one else was allowed in Mira's kitchen. If she was ever away for a request, he was the only one she trusted to feed the rest of her family. And, if the whispers surrounding the guys were true, sometimes he even prepared late night snacks for his roommates.

"Well, gonna head upstairs now. See ya at dinner." Gajeel ruffled her hair, but Levy's arms were full of supplies and she couldn't bat him away.

"Wait, you're leaving already?" She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes.

They had hardly seen each other for days and she was beginning to miss her friend. They always spent time together when both of them were at the guild hall and not traipsing around on requests. It had become their routine...and one she greatly treasured.

"Sorry Shrimp, but I got somethin' to do. See ya at dinner though, kay?"

"Ok…" she mumbled to his back as he ran to the stairs.

With a sigh she rounded the counter top, glaring at the chickens. "I'm holding him hostage come dinnertime."

The three speckled hens just clucked at Levy's misery.

He sighed and scratched the back of his head with his pencil. Loose papers were scattered across his bed, all filled with his sloppy handwriting and a jumble of crossed off words. Balls of paper littered the floor as evidence of Gajeel's daunting task.

Man, writing is harder than I thought it would be.

With a soft growl, Gajeel wadded his latest failure into a ball and prepared to toss it at the door. The door burst open, a filthy Natsu and Gray tumbling inside. The paper projectile bounced off Gray's eggshell-covered head and the duo froze. Gajeel swallowed, collecting his papers slowly.

"My bad...I thought you were-"

"Oh it's so on!" Gray shouted, grabbing papers and lobbying them at the bed.

Gajeel scrambled to his knees and tucked the journal and notes safely under his pillow. Natsu joined the fray, their feet pounding on the wooden floor. The sound must have alerted his other roommates, for in a matter of seconds the room was filled to the brim with Fairies that had yet to shrink their size. Paper flew through the air and pillows followed soon after. Gajeel expertly ducked under a flying pillow, used to the guys' antics after months of living at the guild.

While the others were distracted with the new threats in the room, he slowly and carefully collected the fallen projectiles. He hoarded a pile of paper by the corner next to his bed and threw paper balls at his crazy roommates. He made sure to aim his throws in a way to make it seem as if they came from another Fairy, which made the guys turn on one another with a frenzy. Projectiles flew through the air and Gajeel's secret stash never ran out of ammunition.

The room turned into complete chaos, but the guys played to their heart's content; after all, it was only a matter of time before the master himself would come to investigate.