Chapter 1: A Team Once Again
"Where is that shrimp?" Gajeel growled irritably. The Iron Dragon Slayer currently sat at the Fairy Tail bar, leaning on his crossed arms resting on the surface in front of him. The clock hanging on the wall behind their bartender, Mirajane, appeared to be the sole object of his attention. Every minute his eyes would return to the ticking device currently reading 6:08, only to immediately growl and, once again, question the location of his blue-haired guildmate.
"Calm down," Lily sighed, flying over to sit on the bar and face his partner. "It hasn't even been ten minutes."
"We're supposed to be at the station by 6:30, and we haven't even gotten our damn money ye-"
"Sorry I'm late!" Levy burst through the guild doors, hair messily tied back in her favorite orange headband. On her back rested a bulky, blue backpack at least two-thirds her size. The young girl walked over to Gajeel, dropping the large pack on the ground and plopping down onto the barstool next to him. "I had to grab a few more extra books at the library before heading up to the guild," she relayed, struggling to catch her breath.
"Mavis, how many books do you need?!" The Dragon Slayer questioned. He and Lily exchanged looks of astonishment as they examined the bag which appeared to overflow with books.
"Well, I didn't know what language these tomes are going to be in, or what tools I may wind up needing to decipher it, and I wanted to be prepared… I just wound up bringing a little more than expected…" she trailed off sheepishly, a pink tint to her cheeks as she noticed the increasing number of appalled looks aimed towards her and her backpack.
"And you carried all of that?" Lily inquired with awe.
Gajeel reached down, grasping one of the straps on the bag and just barely lifting it off of the ground. "Holy shit! This thing weighs a ton! How the hell did you manage to carry this, shrimp?!"
"It was tiring, but it's not the first time I've carried these many books at once. How else would I get new reading materials to keep me occupied at home?"
"Yeah, but for this big of a trip? No way. Some of these have got to go."
"But what if I need one them?" Levy asked, beginning to panic as he lifted the bag. The Dragon Slayer ignored the comment and began to empty the contents of the pain pouch onto the bar in front of them. Each book landed on the wooden surface with a loud thump, and Levy struggled to save them from tumbling off and onto the floor. Once the mass had been completely ridded from the bag, Gajeel helped her organize them into three, neat stacks.
"Alright, shorty. Get it down to ten or less so we can get on our way.
"Ten?!" she exclaimed, "I have no idea what language these things are written in! Hell, it could even been a language no one has discovered yet. How do you expect me to translate ancient tomes in a potentially unknown language with just ten books?!"
"We can get ya' more books once we get there and you have a chance to check it out, but there is no way we are taking all of these," he retorted stubbornly, gesturing towards the stacks in front of them.
The bluenette huffed, reluctantly accepting the daunting task of limiting her resources to a measly ten books. A mental reminder of the promise of new reading material worked well for encouragement, however, and within a few minutes she had her ten selected. As she hesitantly and carefully placed the final book in her bag, Gajeel released a relieved sigh and rose to his feet. "Alright, ya' ready?"
"Yeah," she sighed, grasping the now much lighter bag. She then turned to the barmaid who had stopped to watch the amusing scene unfold. "Mirajane, would it be too much trouble for you to bring my books to my dorm when you head home?" she asked.
"Not at all! I'd be happy to drop them off," she agreed with a smile, beginning to gather the remaining books and placing them behind the bar. "If you're done, the Master is waiting for you in his room with your pay."
Levy gave Mira her thanks and turned to face Gajeel, but her gaze instead fell on Pantherlily, who now rested on top of Gajeel's shoulder with a small bag of his own resting on his back. "Are you going with us?" she inquired, tilting her head.
"Yeah," Gajeel answered, sharing a look with the Exceed. "I told 'im it wasn't necessary, but the cat wouldn't listen. He got permission from the Master this morning."
"I hope my presence won't be a bother," Lily admitted, a sheepish smile forming on his lips.
"Oh, no! Not at all!" she held her hands up defensively. "I just hadn't expected you to be coming along. I always love your company," she commented with a grin, reaching out and gently petting his head.
"Are you done yet, or can we get on with it?" Gajeel growled, tapping his foot impatiently.
"Ah! Yes, sorry," she apologized. With that, the trio left to enter the Master's office one last time before their departure. Following a brief recap of the mission and distribution of their share of jewels, the group was on their way to the train station.
"Ugh…" Gajeel groaned, taking his seat across form Levy. After only half an hour on the train, his stomach had been unable to take the swaying motion of the train and forced the Iron Dragon Slayer to empty its contents into the on-board restroom.
"Feel any better?" Levy asked, concern embedded in her features.
"Hardly," he muttered, slumping down against the window in a sluggish manner. The two sat at a booth in a secluded room on the train, separated by the simple wooden table serving as a seat for Lily. The Exceed currently snacked on a single kiwi, a suspicious gaze aimed toward his partner perchance he suddenly feel the need to vomit once more. Levy eyed the man with more concern, not as used to seeing him in such a sick and weakened state.
"We could've had Wendy cast a Troia spell on you had you not been in such a rush to leave," Lily noted, taking another bite of his favorite fruit.
"We barely had any time left to spare after shorty finally got 'er shit together," he retorted with a scowl. Gajeel noticeably cringed as the train jerked around a corner, and every muscle tensed in a vain struggle against the rugged motion. As the ride smoothed out, he allowed himself to relax just a bit, finally taking note of the strange, yet urgent look Lily was directing towards him.
His eyebrows furrowed. "What?" he snapped.
Lily's eyes flicked toward the direction of the Script Mage, and Gajeel's eyes followed suit. For the first time he noticed the sudden change in her demeanor. Her shoulders had slumped forward, and a grimace now painted her lips as she stared at her fidgeting hands, deep in thought.
Panic and confusions shot through Gajeel like electricity. He turned to Lily, eyes agape and seeking some insight from the wise Exceed.
"Say something...!" he hissed the words almost silently through clenched teeth.
"What the fuck am I supposed to say?!" he hissed back angrily, panic and confusion enveloping him as he cast another worried glance to Levy.
"Say you're sorry." The quiet words carried the tone of a disappointed parent scolding a child.
The Iron Dragon Slayer's jaw dropped, clearly offended. What the hell had he done to be sorry for? He opened his mouth to snap that he hadn't done anything wrong, but the comment was bit back as his gaze fell on the obviously saddened girl across from him.
"What am I supposed to say sorry for?" he questioned silently, his hands clenched into a tight fist as he fought back his instinctive desire to refuse.
"I don't know, take it back, say it wasn't her fault?"
"But it wasn't the truth!"
"It was rude and it obviously hurt her feelings."
Gajeel grimaced, struggling with the waves of nausea and utter confusion regarding what he should do. A low growl escaped his lips as he contemplated what he should be doing.
"Gajeel!" Pantherlily hissed impatiently, but before he could respond, the attention of the two males were immediately drawn to the almost inaudible whimper sounding from Levy. At he sight of her now hunched over, shoulders lightly shaking, all anger shifted into an alarming wave of confusion, worry and panic.
"Levy, I-...I didn't-.. I mean-" he struggled to find words to comfort her, the action seemingly foreign to the man. However, he was interrupted as she suddenly through her head back, hands clutching her stomach as she burst into a fit of laughter.
"I'm.. so... sorry..!" she practically wheezed in between spurts of laughter. "I'm sorry for making you late, but your face, you just looked so baffled!"
The Dragon Slayer shared a look with his partner, both blinking in confusion, neither sure what just happened.
After a few moments of wiping her eyes and catching her breath, she turned to Gajeel, an amused and sincere grin on her face. "I'm sorry for being troublesome and making you worry."
The motion caught him off guard, and he snapped his head to face the window in a desperate attempt to hide the sudden onslaught of emotions attacking him at the bookworm's smile and acknowledgement of his worry over her. "Tch, don't worry about it," he answered with a flustered scowl, still refusing to look at her. He knew that if he did, he'd be caught in her kind and apologetic smile, something few had ever directed to him. He knew that if he did, his face would turn that ridiculous shade of red that seemed to infect him so often when he was around her. He knew that if he did, he'd feel confused, lost, and unusually pleased, all because of that goddamned smile.
Levy's response was a simple giggle, and she turned to reach into the smallest pouch on the outside of her bag. Gajeel allowed a single eye to peak in her direction, curiosity getting the better of him. Her hand shuffled around the items inside, and her eyes lit up as she found the object she was looking for. Pulling out her magic pen, she began to write in the air, "Solid Script Make: Iron Bismuth Alloy."
His face shot forward, eyes alight with surprise and excitement as a large word of iron appeared on the surface between them. Although it was far from the size of the word created during the Tenrou incident, it was still large enough to cover around a third of the table. "Hopefully this will help get food back into your system and make up for making you late," she stated with a chuckle as he immediately begin to dig in. "Also, the bismuth alloy should help calm your stomach, at least for a while.
Gajeel simply replied with a brief nod, far too occupied with his meal to speak. This appeared to suffice for Levy as she lightly chuckled once more before digging into her bag, pulling out one of the books from her and beginning to read.
Lily watched the exchange with a bemused smile, shaking his head. For such a unique and obviously different pair of mages, the relationship they shared was amazing. Despite the awkward interactions and occasional bickering, their care for one another only appeared to be growing. He grew curious as he contemplated just how much the journey would affect his two, oblivious companions.
This chapter has been beta-read by Catwho.