Hey guys it's Mslead!

I have to hustle and finish writing this! Sorry guys notes on the bottom!


CHAPTER 24

Sprites

Considered to be the most common type of faerie, they are known to live in deep woods. Some make their homes high in the branches of trees while others prefer to live near ponds and streams. They particularly love to live in the forests inhabited by treefolk and other fey and enjoy cool weather and a calm, serene environment.


Gajeel wandered back towards his private lair, debating if he should go by the guest lair Chelia and Levy were sharing. Given how few visitors they had to the nest it had been necessary for them to double up a little. However, he didn't want to disturb them if they were already asleep. He knew from experience that a badly awoken Levy tended to fling fire or lightning at whoever had disturbed her sleep.

The lightning in particular was fairly painful.

However, he quickly found out that Levy wasn't in her room at all.

He supposed, in retrospect, he shouldn't have been surprised. It was the communal library after all, and Levy was considerate enough not to keep a light on and disturb her roommate.

Her blue head was easily visible from the door, and he couldn't help smirking fondly at the sight of her pouring over one of the tomes his father had collected over the centuries. She was a center of peace and warmth in the otherwise cold library.

He sometimes wondered if she was part dragon herself with her instinct to hoard books.

"Find somethin' interesting shrimp?" He rumbled in amusement as he pushed away from the door frame and headed over to join her.

His father's words were still fresh in his head as he dropped down in front of her.

She held a book that was twice the size of herself on her lap. Lips were curled up at the corners and her expression was relaxed. At his approach however, she carefully marked her page and pulled her attention to him.

"You could say that," Levy smiled and tapped the brim of her reading glasses, "I wish I had enough time to read through everything here. The dragons have such an incredible collection, but these are more books than even I could find. Freed would be so jealous right now."

Gajeel supposed the other script mage would be jealous if he found out Levy was in the midst of ancient volumes of magical knowledge that dragons had kept hoarded away. It was quite the achievement to say the least.

Especially since Levy was the first human to even touch such things since his own mother.

The reminder of his mother had his stomach twisting again, and he carefully leaned forward on the table, his fist curling up under his chin.

"Guess so, hope you rub it in his face," He smirked instead, pleased to see her roll her eyes in a bit of exasperation.

"That's just mean!" Levy laughed and put the book down on the table. She tilted her head at him instead, "I thought you would be asleep by now. You really weren't looking good earlier today when we landed. Are you sure you should be up right now?"

Gajeel snorted in amusement as he shifted to sit down next to her, for once not worried about the couch not being able to withstand his weight, "I'm fine." He replied, "Pops' metal cleared most of that up, an' dinner did the rest."

He canted his head a little as he eyed her, "I'm more worried about you. You damn near paddled your arms off tryin' to make it here in one day."

Levy's expression brightened, "Ah! Chelia was able to help me out with that." She explained, "A hot soak and some of her healing helped clear it up, but she fell asleep right after, so I think she might've overdone it a bit after spending all day keeping her own strength up."

Gajeel's expression cleared and his lips twitched upwards, "Handy hatchlin' to have around. Wonder if she'll be interested in stickin' around for the rest of the trip."

Levy laughed a little and shrugged, "I have no idea, but we should definitely ask. At this rate we'll really need her."

Gajeel nodded and felt his heart speed up as he looked at her. Did she have any idea how beautiful she was? It never failed to amaze him that so much strength, sass, and intelligence could be wrapped up in such a tiny, seemingly frail, frame.

She was more than worthy to be a queen, and there was no one else he wanted at his side.

Maybe he should take his father's advice.

"So... what're you reading?" He asked softly as he took advantage of his height to curl around her a little and look over her shoulder.

Levy started a bit in surprise. Was he actually interested?

Gajeel had made his respect for her intellect clear, but not once had he ever asked her about what she was reading. Not once had he ever expressed any curiosity. Was it because he'd been holding back because of his secret? Whatever it was, she was going to seize it with both hands and hope it wasn't a one time thing.

"It's actually an adventure story." She laughed brightly, willing him to know by her smile just how happy she was he'd asked, "It's about a merchant prince that discovered a darkness in the heart of his city."

Gajeel's expression cleared and he grinned toothily, "I remember that one. It's one of my favorites."

"Is it?" Levy looked up at him eagerly, her eyes lighting up in surprise he had read it. She leaned forward towards him, settling back against his strong arm to shift the book in his direction.

"I never took you much for the reading type. You don't do much at the guild," Levy observed shyly, her eyes flicking to his.

Gajeel just smirked and he tugged the book towards his body with one hand, cracking it open with a well placed thumb against the spine.

"I know enough to be dangerous," Gajeel rolled a shoulder, "Besides, when I lived at the nest, all I did besides fighting and brawlin' with the other dragons was read."

"At the guild, my job ain't to read. It's to fight and plan a war," He murmured, but settled himself in behind Levy enough he could drop his chin over her head. He craned forward an arm circling around her waist.

His fingertips brushed against the brittle page and Levy squirmed at his proximity, a blush painting her cheeks.

"I forgot how much I missed this place," Gajeel grunted, "Does good to quiet the mind."

Levy swallowed, and summoned up a shred of courage to twist around to him. Her knees bumped against his thigh, but he didn't budge, merely turning his attention to her.

"You know when we get back to Magnolia, you don't have to stay in the thick of it all the time," Levy was proud over how she somehow managed to speak without stammering, "My library isn't as vast as this one, but it's quiet and you're always welcome."

Gajeel's eyes widened a little in surprise, "You'd let me into your private hoard?" He asked, a hint of awe in his voice.

It suddenly dawned on Levy what her book collection must look like to him. And really he wasn't far off. She did hoard books like a dragon. She hadn't really thought about it like that before, but she could see how he would interpret it that way.

"Of course." She smiled, "I'd love the company."

Gajeel eyed her intently for a long moment before chuckling softly, "You're somethin' else." He rumbled with such affection her heart started doing little backflips in her chest, "I'll take you up on that." He smirked, "Might even let you see my hoard."

"I'd really like that." Levy replied sincerely as they settled back in to read together.

Hours passed as they sat curled up together, the occasional comment passing between them, until Levy's eyes were starting to burn as she tried to keep them open. She wasn't just interested in what happened next, she truly did not want her evening with Gajeel to end. It was easily the sweetest moment she'd had with him, and she hated the idea of it being over.

Eventually, however, Gajeel gently plucked the book from her unresisting hands and closed it as he scooped her up into his arms, "Time for bed shrimp." He rumbled softly around her soft noises of protest, "We can finish tomorrow."

"Wha- Gajeel, I can walk," Levy protested feebly, but seemed to melt around the band of his arm anyway. Her head dropped onto his shoulder, her eyes falling partially closed.

"Shrimp I'm not even sure you can stand up," Gajeel smothered a wide yawn himself and marked their place. He dropped the book carefully on Levy, whose free arm curled around it.

Protective as always over her books of course.

He smiled as Levy mumbled something into his neck, and he was able to see her glassy brown eyes slide a little further closed. She wasn't even trying to put up a fight anymore.

Knowing Chelia would be still sound asleep, Gajeel diverted the direction he was going and made his way back to his quarters. The cushions were wide and far enough they could have their privacy, and it wasn't like they hadn't been sharing inns and other places lately.

He was beat too. After all the talks with his father and the subtle information gathering with Natsu, relaxing with Levy was just what he needed. However now, he was barely able to stand up straight himself.

He only managed to blow out the candles and settle Levy down for the night before face planting in a pillow himself.

-::-

Levy shifted slightly as consciousness slowly started to seep into her. She normally tended to wake up all at once, her mind already starting to buzz with thoughts for the day, but this time was different. She was snuggled up in a warm cocoon of blankets and the most comfortable pillows she'd ever encountered, and the light wasn't shining in her face.

It made her want to stay snuggled up right where she was. And why not? Gajeel had mentioned they would head out after a day or two of rest and preparation. Whatever preparation meant to dragons. She was perfectly justified in sleeping in a little.

It wasn't like Chelia was likely to care anyw-

Her thought came to a screeching halt as a large, well muscled, and decidedly not feminine arm slung itself over her stomach.

She snapped her eyes open with a soft squeak and gawked at the appendage draped over her. And it's owner curled up next to her and still out cold.

She was sleeping in Gajeel's room?! How had that happened?

She calmed almost immediately as the memory of them talking about books and reading together came back to her. It got blurry after a while, which she supposed probably meant she'd started falling asleep, but the more she strained the more she could remember bits of him carrying her to a room.

She'd thought at the time it was the room she'd been given with Chelia, but apparently not. He'd taken her to his instead.

Unable to resist, she eased away from him, hoping she didn't wake him up, and sat up to look around. This room was all Gajeel. The version that acknowledged his dragon half, and didn't hide. The same room that held his personal hoard.

There was no way she could resist taking a peek.

Making sure he was still fast asleep, Levy tip toed away from the pile of blankets to investigate his private room.

Perhaps it was sneaky to do this while he was out cold, but Levy couldn't find it in her to care. She was happy to learn about him...

And it's not like he would be shocked by her snooping either. In fact he would probably be more disappointed if she didn't!

At least that was her reasoning as she looked at the wide room, covered in roughly cut black stone.

In some areas the jagged rock was textured and rough like sandpaper, but in others it was buffed and polished like marble. Levy thought it suited his personality very well.

She looked around, finding several string instruments of various ages all laying carefully in cases or makeshift hooks.

It was well known in Fairy Tail that Gajeel had a rather unfortunate love of singing, but Levy had no idea how far it ran.

And personally, she really enjoyed his singing. Even when he donned a silly suit and got embarrassingly into his impromptu performances. It seemed like he had a long time of music under his belt.

That suited him too. It was nice to know he hadn't hidden everything about himself from their friends. Though she wished he hadn't had to. He was a truly complex man, and the more she learned about him the more fascinating he became.

On the surface he was built to be simple. A rough man with rough tastes and rough attitudes. But this was the same man who wrote poetry in the form of songs and poured his heart into them. The same man who had professed to a love of reading, and had a truly magnificent section of bookcases on one wall.

Levy couldn't figure him out, but she had no intention to ever stop trying either.

She worked her way around the room, careful not to touch anything, as she inspected the rest of his hoard. Her hands itched to look at some of the titles he had on his shelves, but she resisted knowing he hadn't given her permission yet, and her eyes continued on.

The room itself was large. Not dragon large since as a half dragon he apparently couldn't shift the way the others could, but still at least ten times the size of her room back in Magnolia, and it was clear he'd spent a lot of time personalizing it and organizing it the way he liked.

It made her wonder if other dragons did the same.

"Takin' a tour?"

She nearly leapt out of her skin at the sleep rough voice and spun around to find him smirking at her in hazy eyed amusement.

He reminded her very acutely of a sleepy, entertained, predator at that moment though she wasn't sure why. Maybe it was the way his eyes were tracking her in a way that almost looked hungry?

It might even had something to do with the fact his hair was falling over his eyes, giving him a look that blew right past adorably dishevelled and fell right into the category of 'ohgod.'

He propped himself up on his elbows, forearms sinking into thick pillows. Levy swallowed tightly and shifted awkwardly. It wasn't fair for him to look so good after being all sleep-mussed. Slowly, almost as if he sensed the directions her brain was beginning to turn, a smirk darkened his face.

Combined with that hungry look in his eyes, Levy felt like a rabbit about to be devoured whole.

"Maybe," Levy hedged, hands dropping behind her back as she rocked on the balls of her feet.

"Can you blame me for wanting to get to know you a little better? You brought me to your room, and I've already learned something about you," The last part was said in a whisper.

She walked back to him a conspiratorial gleam glowing in her eyes.

"Oh yeah?," he challenged, "Like what?"

She bent in closer still, enough that her face was filling his vision.

"You're a pack rat," She smirked.

Gajeel snorted in amusement, and his smirk widened into a toothy grin, "I'm a dragon Levy." He rumbled darkly, "I hoard what's valuable to me the way you hoard books." He resisted the urge to pull her close, "There's nothing in here I don't value."

His grin widened at the surprise in her eyes, "Course, some of it I value more than other stuff."

She blinked at him a little and the sassy little smirk that made him want to either kiss her or throw her over his shoulder and slap her bottom reappeared.

"Maybe, but you're still a pack rat." She teased.

He shrugged easily, seeing no reason to deny her claim, "I guess that's how come dragons collect enough to make a hoard in the first place." He retorted, and rolled her eyes as he noticed her shivering a little.

"C'mere Shrimp." He grunted and slung an arm around her waist to pull her back into their little nest. He wasn't sure how they'd managed to create one while they were both asleep, but apparently some instincts wouldn't be denied.

"Ain't late enough to be hot in here." He rumbled into her hair, "We've got a couple hours at least before breakfast."

"And how do you know that sir snores a-lot?" Levy complained, but slowly relaxed in his hold. She sank back in the covers being warmed by his body.

His arms also felt so nice and secure around her, which made her relax all the more against him.

"It's cold as the devil in here," He coiled her to him, fingers pressing into the small of her back. He made a pleased noise in the back of his throat, unable to stop it when she practically seemed to melt in his arms.

So what if he was a bit of a romantic? After all he had gotten it from his father himself, even if Metallicana would deny it.

He felt Levy's agreement before she ever even voiced a comment.

"Yeah, okay," Levy murmured into his neck, "We can rest a little more before we have to race Natsu for some breakfast."


Please don't go to other writers and tell them to give us their fic if they have chosen to stop posting it. Don't be rude and tell them their idea is wasted on them. This happened to a friend of mine the other day, and it was frankly shocking and a little offensive to see. I know Kytrin and I write often and update frequently, but that's just the style of how we write our stories. That's not for everyone. Please be considerate, that's a fast way to lose a good writer in the fandom.

Maybe I'm not in the best state to address this, I've been having some severe family issues so far, and I find it more exhausting than usual to see things like that. To any author, not just someone who happens to be a friend of mine.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who was kind and reviewed for us! I won't harp any longer.

Here's your sneak peek.


He eyed Cancer for another moment and nodded as he settled on a stray pillow, "Alright crab man, let's see what you can do."

He had no reason to distrust Lucy so he would let them try it. Though part of him was pleased that Cancer's magic could fix it if he wanted. He didn't know about like or dislike in this case, but he knew instinctively that change made him twitchy, so being able to go back to the familiar if he wanted was comforting.

"You got it baby!" Cancer replied and slashed his scissors through the air at Natsu's head. In moments hair was sent flying everywhere and Cancer was holding up a mirror to show Natsu what he looked like with his new style.

Natsu blinked, his head feeling suddenly a hundred times lighter. His fingers groped through the short locks, his head tilting at the sight of his reflection in the mirror.

"Whooooooa," He propped his fingers through it, clutching at his locks of hair between his hands and standing up quickly, "It's so light!"

His cheeks flushed and he grinned at Lucy so wide his smile was in danger of breaking off his face.