Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

"Keep still."

"I am."

"Listen up, teacher's pet, it was your ridiculous 'By the Book' brilliance that got us here in the first place. So just do as I say."

Gajeel regretted the words the second they left his mouth. He may have held their ticket to slicing the ropes holding their wrists together, but it was her uncharacteristically manicured nails bound close to the pulse point in his wrist.

Instead she slumped in the unforgiving chair their captors had had the decency to tie them up on, head falling and her heavy sigh echoing in their pitched prison.

"I know." Levy McGarden wasn't one to admit her faults easily, especially when it came to her job. Admit defeat or have regrets and you become a welcome mat.

It didn't matter in the end, her pride and polished record had meant nothing to the rogue, Gajeel Redfox. For once, she was glad he had been her partner on this assignment and not one of the company's regular bodies. They never would have let her lived it down.

Not that Gajeel would, but it was easier admitting it to someone who thought the rules were crap and never followed them to begin with.

"Don't turn into a sap on me now, we've still gotta get out of this place and I don't plan on hauling you around on my back. Just be glad you're not dead and that it's me yer stuck with and not someone like Salamander."

She scoffed, a melancholic and gruff sound that would be the closest he got to a laugh from her while they were three levels below the ground in an enemies' bunker and tied up back to back.

They lapsed into silence, Gajeel's occasional curses being the only thing to echo in the big room they were kept in. Levy gasped and cringed when his knife slipped over one of her knuckles. They were in deep and he'd hack off either her hand or one of his own before the enemies even had a chance to touch their precious prisoners.

"Damn." He did his best to angle the sharp object away from her and back toward his own hands, his fingers brushing over the small amount of blood that had started to seep through the cut and somehow managing to bend his hand to hold her wrist. He squeezed her much smaller hand in his. "Sorry."

Levy swallowed the stinging pain and relented, cautiously gripping his hand. "It's fine, 'm hangin' in there. Besides, I've had worse. Everyone's gotta survive a spar round with Natsu before they can get an assignment."

"Tough break." A smirk had replaced the grimace on his face at the idea. "So this is nothin'?"

"You have no idea."

Gajeel inhaled and released her wrist, her hand involuntarily flexing from the loss. "I almost had it, though."

Levy chuckled, a lighter sound from the previous one, "Don't let me stop you, Redfox. Haven't been able to before, so nothing should stop you now."

He rolled his eyes, but set the blade back to the place he had been calculatingly sawing at. "You make it sound like I go out of my way to spill yer blood. I'm feelin' a bit slighted you think so less of me, McGarden."

"Careful, blood loss and an extended vocabulary might get you more than just me having to be piggybacked out of here."

Gajeel made an unintelligible noise of triumph when he managed to cut through one rope, it only left three to go before they were that much closer to freedom.

"I highly doubt you'd be that easy to sway."

Levy tilted her chin up, the motion only visible in the farthest corner of his peripheral. "And what makes you think that?"

"Heard rumors."

"Really now. Wasn't aware Gray and Natsu had such limited conversation pieces in the mens' locker room. You talk about the next sale on high heels too?"

Another rope loosened around their chaffing wrists, Levy's retort ruined from the shiver of relief twitching her back and hands against his. Gajeel snorted and repositioned her hands away from the knife.

"Hell no." The third level of rope snapped in half, filtering an added sliver of satisfaction into his tone. "Cana's a regular canary when it comes to you. 'Specially when she thinks she sees possibilities."

It was Levy's turn to roll her eyes. "Of course."

"Don't be too mad, only reason why she said anything to me was to make sure I had a clear understanding of what would be waitin' for me if I even so much as put one toe out of line."

"How clear?"

Gajeel sliced the last part of rope and freed their hands, neither wasting any time to stand up and stretch their legs. She turned to him and nodded, there would be time to egg her about praising his work and giving going rogue a chance later. He ditched his blazer, rolling the sleeves of his dress shirt up and rubbing at his sore wrists.

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers and somehow, somehow, managed to get the unusually sharp canine to gleam right at her in the darkened hole.

"Crystal."

#35; one character freeing another, or the other way around

originally posted: 9-30-13

A/N: Spies? Spies.