Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. All rights belong to Hiro Mashima. I do own my OC, Troy.
Whack! Gajeel awoke to what he assumed to be a brick to the head.
"Wha...?" He questioned sleepily, sitting up. Once his eyes were opened he noticed Levy standing in front of him, wielding a large branch. "Short Stuff... what... uh, whatcha doin'? Ugh... and what happened to my head...?" He asked her, quite annoyed and groggy. Then his brain seemed to wake up and his eyes widened, realization hitting him like a speeding transport truck. "What the fuck Shorty? Why'd ya hit me?" He questioned incredulously, motioning towards the large branch. Levy glared at him and he just noticed the hot blush covering her cheeks.
"Why don't you explain to me first, hm?" She exploded venomously, smacking the branch on the ground for emphasis. Gajeel cocked his head at her. What made Munchkin so worked up...? I didn't do anything to her... did I? Let's see... Yesterday she joined me, was worried about me... liked my house, read a book... uhh... I dragged her around... she got a grass stained nose... we both laughed our asses off, heck, she's still got a green nose! But enough of that... then we ate... hung out and went to bed where she grabbed me so I wrapped my arms around her in ret... oh shit. He thought, glancing up at the fuming Bookworm.
"You grabbed me first..." He told her weakly, realizing she was asleep and it couldn't really be blamed on her. Levy's mouth made a little 'o' and she dropped the branch, falling to her knees.
"I... I did... didn't I? Oh my gosh... I'm so sorry, I didn't... I mean I did but I... uhh... you know cause when... agh! I'm so sorry! I really only... I mean... please don't be mad at me!" She wailed, blushing madly. Gajeel smirked but winced at the pain it caused in his forehead.
"Nah... it's cool I guess." He grunted, standing up and walking out into the morning sunshine. Levy immediately followed him.
"Gajeel...?" She began hesitantly, reaching out a hand to grab his shirt. He turned around slowly, scrutinizing her every move. "I... uhh... I'm really sorry... let me make it up to you..." Gajeel snorted, once again wincing at the pain. Levy acted instantaneously, grabbing her pen and a pad of paper. She quickly wrote out the word 'heal' and allowed the glowing green word to sink into Gajeel slowly. Gajeel went stiff as an iron pole, em, iron anything for that matter, as soon as the words passed through his skin. Letting out a low growl he told Levy to take it out. Levy frowned and shook her head, walking over to shove him down so he was laying down on his back and sit determinedly on his chest, making sure that he didn't touch his head. He only grunted in annoyance and tried to buck her off without hurting her. Levy just laughed at his feeble attempts, pushing on the word to speed up the process. Gajeel groaned and tried to wiggle away. Levy just offered him a hand and laughed when he took it and tried crushing the life out of it.
"Who would've known Gajeel is a wimp when it comes to healing." Gajeel gave her a weak glare, earning himself another bout of laughter.
"Don't laugh at me you wimp. I'm not afraid of healing. Tch... just no needles, kay?" He said, brushing away her laughter.
"Yeah yeah." She giggled, pinching his nose. He just growled at her but allowed her to fix his head. Mere minutes later Levy finished and stood up, brushing herself off. Gajeel sat up and glared at her, offering a slight snarl even though he had to admit his head felt much better now. Levy smirked and danced off to pack up their stuff. The two suddenly froze and turned to look at the other, just now realizing the position they had been in. Gajeel's face was completely blank until he allowed the shadow of a smirk onto his face, watching Levy's face go up in flames. Levy then let out a squeak and twirled away, launching herself into action. Gajeel laughed and silently moved to help her, ignoring her attempts at getting away from him. Not even five minutes later they were packed and ready to head out again.
"Uhm... I... uhh... never mind..." Levy mumbled awkwardly, frowning slightly as she grabbed her stuff and started walking. Gajeel groaned.
"Oi! Shorty! Wait up... I'm... uhm... not good at this... but," He started slowly, watching her look up in shame and curiosity. "I am really sorry and as much as you did grab me first I could have pried you off but I didn't cuz well I didn't and fuck! Apologizing is so over rated! I'm sorry okay?" He finished in a rush, huffing and storming off. Levy smiled and called out to him, running after him.
"It's alright... I understand... and I'm the one who should really be sorry... so let's just... forget about it, okay?" Gajeel grunted in acknowledgement and the two continued their journey in a more or less companionable silence.
"Oh look! It's the forest!" Levy shrieked excitedly, jumping up and down. Gajeel couldn't help but smile at her, she looked so damn happy. Pulling his gaze off of her and onto the forest he let out a grunt of surprise and displeasure.
"Somebody's there Shrimp..." Levy snapped her eyes to the forest, gasping slightly.
"Who... who could it be?" She asked hesitantly.
"Well I smell magic, so they're a magician no matter what... but I don't think they're very strong." Levy breathed a sigh of relief and called out.
"Hello? Who are you and what are you doing? There are bandits in that forest!" Gajeel motioned for her to be quiet then and they stopped moving. They were now roughly thirty feet away from the forest and therefore the person right in front of it.
"Why hello there, my name is Troy. Also I am fully aware of the problems this forest is experiencing." The newly identified male stated calmly, stepping forwards to reveal himself. He was wearing black jeans with a deep purple t-shirt and black boots. He also had a black cloak on and Levy was extremely confused as to why he wasn't literally boiling. However she did notice that the forest was somehow giving off cool gusts of air every few seconds. It was quite refreshing. As Levy sat down and luxuriated in the shade and cool air Gajeel questioned the stranger some more.
"Then why're you here?" He asked gruffly, moving to stand in front of Levy. Troy continued to smile, seemingly unfazed by Gajeels gruff question.
"Why, to defeat them of course." Gajeel glared at the man.
"Which guild are you from?" Troy seemed to pale slightly at the question.
"Oh... you know. That new one that opened up in Clover town." He stated breezily. Gajeel snorted.
"No, I don't know. Where're you from? Show me your mark!" He retorted, raising his voice. Troy flinched but didn't answer or show his mark.
"Well well, who's this lovely young catch? Your girlfriend?" Levy snapped her head up.
"Huh?" Troy smiled seductively at her and brushed past Gajeel, earning a sharp glare.
"I asked who you were my dear..." He repeated, grabbing her hand and planting a kiss on her fingers. Levy gasped sharply and pulled her hand back.
"I... I'm err... Levy..." She told him slowly, standing up and shuffling over to Gajeel.
"Ah, Levy! What a wonderful name. Are you dating this monstrosity?" Troy questioned, his hazel eyes hardening almost imperceptibly. Gajeel growled and Levy gasped.
"He not a monstrosity..." She mumbled earning a pat on the head from Gajeel, who was still glaring at the newcomer. Troy's smile dropped slightly.
"So you are dating?" Levy snapped her eyes quickly to Gajeel, who was resting an arm on her head now, and then looked at Troy.
"N-no." She stuttered, looking down at the ground.
"Ah!" Troy trilled, twirling Levy away from Gajeel. "Good, now nobody will mind if I decide to join you two on your journey, right?" Gajeel growled a no but not before Levy gave Troy a hesitant smile along with a small nod of her head.
"Sure... It'll be nice to have your company..." Levy murmured, extricating herself from his grip and flitting over to stand beside Gajeel. Gajeel was still extremely miffed but decided to play along for now, he didn't want to upset Levy, her mind had to be clear for her to battle properly.
"If we're working together then we need to know what you do, what have you found out?" Gajeel asked, his face completely serious aside from a noticeable frown directed at Troy. Troy cleared his throat and motioned for the two mages to sit as he promptly did so himself, fluffing his coat out behind him. Levy smothered a giggle while Gajeel raised an eyebrow. This guy sure is a freak. He even tried making moves on Levy! That little pervert. His face is gonna get beaten in if I have anything to do with it...but first I need any info I can get. This is so fucking retarded. He thought, his frown increasing in size. Levy noticed the change in his expression and tugged on his arm, snapping him out of his thoughts long enough for him to sit down beside her and listen to Troy.
"Well," Troy began slowly, pausing almost immediately to make sure the two sitting in front of him were listening. "I know that they are definitely holed up in this forest. From what I have been able to gather they only work at day so night would be the perfect time for us to make an ambush. I believe they make a maximum of five raids a day. They are currently stalking the other side of the forest since this side is too hot on the road for many travellers so we don't currently have to worry. Their main camp is more on this side than the other though... probably four to six miles northeast of this spot. There are roughly four camps I think. Their main one that is roughly in the heart of the forest, one small one at both ends and a medium one positioned between their main one and the other road that they are currently raiding. I estimate ten men at both small ones, twenty five men at the medium one and at least forty at their main one." He finished, glancing at the now pale Levy. Gajeel let out a snort.
"That's all there is? Ahahaha! How have they been able to hold this forest for so long? This is fucking hilarious!" Levy let a soft smile grace her face as she lightly punched Gajeel in the arm.
"Don't laugh, they could be strong." Gajeel stared at her incredulously for a moment before breaking down laughing.
"First off Shorty, I'm a fucking Iron Dragon Slayer! Secondly... your nose is still grass stained." He broke off laughing. Levy let out a squeak of embarrassment and covered her nose, glancing back at Troy only to find him laughing just as much as Gajeel. Slowly she lowered her hands and joined the males, letting out little giggles that soon turned into actual laughter. Troy stopped laughing soon after Levy joined in and watched the pair. It had been easier to fall in with them than he had originally thought. A few minutes later the other two stopped laughing and laid on their backs on the grass, clutching their sides.
"I forgot... why don't I go fix that... can you guys set up camp?" Levy asked, poking Gajeel in the cheek. Gajeel had closed his eyes so that he wouldn't see her and start laughing again but his eyes immediately snapped open as her finger came in contact with his cheek. He sat up abruptly, remembering where he was and who he was with.
"Uhh... sure." He responded awkwardly, watching Levy jump up and skip off. "Wait... where is she going to fix that?" He mumbled to himself.
"Probably at the creek just inside the forest." Troy answered. Gajeel turned to stare at him. "What? Didn't you want to know where she was?" Troy asked with a slight smile. Gajeel grunted at him.
"I... whatever..." He mumbled as he grabbed his and Levy's bags and followed in her midst.
(^.^) (^.^)
Hours later they had made their camp near the creek and just finished dinner.
"Oh look!" Levy exclaimed, pointing towards the sky. The stars were just coming out and the moon was peeking out right above them. It was really beautiful. The moon was a creamy bronze colour and looked twice as big as normal. Levy crawled over to her sleeping bag and picked it up, dragging it over to Gajeel. Once she was within five feet of the curious Dragon Slayer she laid it down and curled up, watching the sky. Gajeel smirked and sat back against a tree, leaving only his bottom half on his sleeping bag. Shortly after laying down, Levy passed out and rolled over so that her back was pressed up against Gajeels left leg. Gajeel just watched in amusement. Troy let out a little cough, instantly gaining Gajeels attention.
"What?" Gajeel growled. Troy just stared at him, seemingly unfazed.
"Well, I was wondering why you actually came here... I mean, if it's so easy for the two of you to clean this mess up then why come? It doesn't really offer good pay." Troy stated in a matter of fact tone. Gajeel was watching Troy with an unreadable expression.
"For starters, it's not about the money. Let's get that straight." Gajeel said, Troy nodding in understanding.
"Sure, I didn't mean it in a bad way." He said swiftly, earning a grunt in response.
"Hn... of course you didn't. Anyways... you haven't exactly earned the story so I'll give you the quick version. Didn't start out too great, now I'm fixing that. My cat was too scared so I got her and a get rid of bad guys job suits her so I got this one. You have a problem with that?" Gajeel finished gruffly.
"Absolutely not... just a question... Are you the famous Kurogane then?" Troy answered, not hesitating in the slightest. Gajeel was silent.
"I see... just as I thought." Troy murmured, staring at Gajeel with a newly found interest.
"Whatever, just... go to sleep. We'll need it for tomorrow." Gajeel stated, sliding down the tree so that Levy's back ended up resting against his side, one of his arms sneaking into the crook between her neck and the ground. Troy smirked.
"Of course... and, if you aren't averse to it that is, I will be heading out tomorrow morning to scout around and double check all of their positions. We can strike tomorrow night." Troy told Gajeel.
"Do what you want, just be back by sundown." Gajeel told him sleepily, pulling Levy up to his side and waiting until he heard Troy's breathing deepen and slow before sliding into the nothingness that is sleep.
A/N:
So there you have it. Chapter two! Please review, no matter your opinion. I appreciate it either way. And I love all of you who reviewed Chapter 1! See ya next time!