Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. All rights belong to Hiro Mashima.
One week longer than I thought but it's here! More of a filler chapter I suppose but it'll do. The action 'restarts' next chapter when they finally get a lead. :) So excited! (Even though I'm writing it and know what's going on... ;P)
Gajeel was frozen in place. He couldn't think. Hell, he could barely breath. Troy had escaped and was now out roaming who knows where, possibly in search of Levy. But she was perfectly safe. Laying in bed in a house currently occupied by five other very capable wizards. The only thing that could pose a problem is that she is alone and asleep. Gajeels eyes widened as he realized his possibly grave mistake. Hearing multiple sharp intakes of breath he assumed the others did too and so he bolted up the stairs and right into his room. His eyes immediately went to his bed where she lay, completely unmoved from where he had left her. The others rammed into him from behind and he turned around, raising an accusing eyebrow at them all.
"That would not have helped anything had she been going through the doors." He accused the piled up heap of wizards. Natsu stood up suddenly, bringing Lucy with him.
"Heh..." Natsu muttered, looking down with his bright red face. Lucy's face was even redder, if possible, and she grabbed Natsu's arm.
"Sorry... Natsu and I will sleep in the hall tonight for safety; yours and ours." She murmured to Gajeel while exiting the room, dragging Natsu behind her.
"We'll go warn the guild to keep a lookout and get Mira to post a notice to all the guilds." Jet stated once he had picked himself up off the floor. Droy scrambled up then and followed a clearly embarrassed and worried Jet out to the guild. Gajeel sighed and pulled his gaze back to the gently sleeping form on his bed. Shaking slightly from the rush of panic that had swooped over him he silently walked over to the bed and slipped under the covers beside her. Levy slowly rolled over and snuggled up to his natural body heat.
"What is it?" She murmured sleepily. Gajeel's breathing hitched, he could have sworn she was fully asleep. Tilting his head so that he could look into the depths of her deep brown orbs Gajeel answered her in a halting tone that implied that he really didn't want to tell her.
"Troy... well apparently Troy escaped." Watching her eyes harden and narrow into a frightened and worried frown killed him inside. Instantly curling up into the fetal position and rocking herself back and forth Levy muttered random words in a terrified panic. "Hey, it's alright." Lifting her gently he pulled her onto his lap and hugged her. "I'm here. I won't leave you again." At those words Levy relaxed partially and looked up. When Gajeel just nodded his head and tightened his grip on her Levy wrapped her arms around his torso in return and jammed her nose into his collarbone, breathing deeply to relax herself. Eventually the two laid down and fell asleep, waking up a few hours later to a painfully bright morning.
"Shorty, you up?"
"Hn?" Came the groaned response.
"Okay good. Let's go downstairs, I'm hungry." Levy rolled over and pulled the covers up to her nose, glaring at Gajeel.
"No." She declared, completely covering herself with the blanket.
"C'mon. I've got coffee." Gajeel tried once more, laughing as Levy shot up.
"Coffee?" Gajeel nodded solemnly, as if swearing his allegiance to the magic council. Muttering gibberish about how coffee must be evil since it tempts even herself out of bed early in the morning Levy pushed the blankets down and jumped off the bed, ignoring Gajeel's laughter about her insane but cute tirade about the java demon. Pulling open the door Levy gasped and stumbled backwards, fighting hard with her inner mind not to start squealing right then. On the outside she stayed frozen with wide eyes and a gaping mouth while on the inside the were at least fifty chibi Levy's running around carrying banners proclaiming 'Coffee you idiot! Ignore the fluff!' However another fifty chibi Levy's were running around with banners proclaiming 'You don't need coffee. This fluff is cuter than a baby bunny!' While Levy's mind argued and struggled with itself Gajeel rolled his eyes and picked her up, placing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"Really Shorty? I told you about them yesterday, why is them curled up on the floor any different than them curled up on the chair?" Levy didn't answer. Instead she mumbled random words which allowed Gajeel to draw the conclusion that her mind had broken. Kicking Lucy on his way by he told her to get Natsu up and bring whatever they could of Levy's over to his place in the afternoon. Without waiting for an answer he trudged downstairs and placed Levy on the counter beside the coffee pot so he could keep an eye on her.
"Oi, wake up Midget." He grumbled, opening various cupboards until he found the coffee beans. Now for the grinder. His mind prodded as he glared at his kitchen wondering if the grinder was alive and had hidden itself.
"They're so oblivious and adorable." Levy suddenly cooed, making Gajeel pop his head up only to slam it into the counter above for he had been crawling around looking for the demonic grinder.
"Shorty? You back?" He winced, rubbing the painful lump that was forming on his head. Levy nodded at him, smiling briefly.
"Grinder's back there." Levy pointed to a space on the counter behind him. Standing there dumbly for a moment Gajeel let out a breath and turned around, promising himself he wouldn't eat the grinder later for its ability to escape him. Levy chuckled softly as she watched him from newly alert eyes.
"Mornin'!" Natsu called out, walking into the kitchen with Lucy behind him. "We're going to your place to pick up some stuff, any book requests?" Levy blinked. Once. Twice.
"All of them?" Lucy started laughing and pushed Natsu outside telling Levy they'd grab as many as they could. Levy let out a huff of disappointment and jutted her bottom lip out, assuming the puppy face pose.
"Not that again! Here have the coffee!" Gajeel shrieked like a little girl upon seeing her expression and instantly averted his gaze, thrusting the coffee into her outstretched hands.
"Gajeel?"
"..."
"You're adorable." Then Levy started taking long, heavenly sips of the warm brown brew and ignored Gajeel's shocked expression.
"Adorable? No, I'm not adorable." Levy smirked upon hearing those almost pleading words.
"You're right..." She began, almost regretting the blow he'd receive to his pride when she was through. "You're not adorable, you're more adorable than a dog and a cat putting aside their differences to sleep together out of the rain. Or maybe even more so." Gajeel's face had broken into a smile when he thought he was winning and now his expression was, well, less than happy.
"Well aren't you just a ray of sunshine..."
"Very much so. Want some eggs?" Muttering about the injustice of it all Gajeel nodded and viciously ripped the head off of a tin soldier with his teeth, spitting it out again once he realized it wasn't iron. Levy laughed at him for a few minutes before taking pity and magicking up an iron for him. Munching on the slightly spicy, slightly sweet iron made the time fly by and Gajeel soon found himself staring at a mouth watering array of food in front of him. Steaming eggs with little flecks of silver-which Gajeel assumed were iron shavings-were artfully laid out on a large blue plate with a bacon lining and still sizzling home fries in the center. At the side of his plate was a large mug filled to the brim with coffee-black of course- and on the other side of his plate were two small bowls. One had fresh maple syrup while the other had a rich gravy.
"Shorty... whoa bro." Gajeel managed to spit out after staring at the meal for more than ten minutes. Levy smiled a thanks and pulled up a chair next to him, folding her arms across the table and resting her head on the back of her hands.
"So now what? Another mission? I feel like Troy is right behind me at all times." Gajeel, who was in the middle of a bite, swallowed heavily and looked over at her.
"We could if ya want. But whether we do or we don't remember it's not just you anymore, kay? I'll be with ya and accept that cuz I'm not really good with mushy stuff." Levy's eyes widened considerably, giving her an appearance much like an owl, and Gajeel took that as his cue to shove more food in his face before she could worry anymore.
"Mission it is." Gajeel's eyes shot over to Levy as she sat up with a determined sparkle in her otherwise clear brown eyes. His face broke into a grin so wide that it showcased his fangs and would've scared virtually anyone else off and he was extremely glad he had swallowed his last bite before he decided to smile.
"Leeeeeevy!" Natsu yelled out, barging into the kitchen. Snapping her gaze over to Natsu Levy rolled her eyes and gave him a questioning look. "We got a bunch of your stuff and put in in the closet upstairs."
"Yeah." Lucy suddenly chimed in, walking up to Levy and giving her a hug. "Are you guys going to be okay today?"
"Of course. We've decided to go on another mission." Levy nodded at Lucy, ignoring the expression of disbelief and terror on her best friends face. "We'll be careful, I promise." She added on in hopes of calming everyone down. Lucy nodded slowly and took a step back.
"Okay then... Team Natsu has a mission today so we'll see you later." Lucy told them, walking out the door with Natsu jumping around behind her. Levy let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and shook her head slowly.
"Those two always get so worried about me... oh well, at least their hearts are in the right place."
"Hn... wanna bring Pantherlily along with us? Everyone will feel better about letting us go on a mission that way." Levy nodded her agreement and stood up, grabbing their now empty plates.
"I'm going to go and put some real clothes on then and I'll meet you back downstairs in a minute." She told him, already heading towards the stairs. Gajeel nodded at the air where she had been and made sure that he had some spare jewels and an extra shirt-which he found on the back of his couch for some odd reason-for the mission. Making sure his boots were tied up nicely he went over to the front door and sat down on the hardwood floor, absentmindedly munching on his fork from earlier. Just then Pantherlily flew in through an open window in the living room and perched himself happily on the bag Gajeel was bringing for the mission.
"I heard you wanted me?" Gajeel looked at him in confusion.
"How the hell did ya hear that?" Pantherlily chuckled.
"I am the all knowing!" He exclaimed, launching himself up in the air. When Gajeel gave him a look that clearly said 'you're retarded' he landed and smiled. "Actually, a little bird told me. Literally." Gajeel shook his head at the absurdity of it and stood up briskly, dusting off his pants.
"You are such a weird cat. Aren't ya supposed to eat them or something? I mean, why would you talk to them. It's inconceivable." He muttered, not noticing Levy walk up beside them.
"Ready?" She chirped animatedly beside his head. Falling backwards in surprise Gajeel let out an unintelligible curse and flipped himself over so he could cushion his impact with the heels of his hands.
"The fuck Short Stuff!" He exclaimed, jumping up and glaring at her.
"Were you scared?" She asked innocently, batting her eyelashes. His glare remained focused on her for a good couple of minutes before he finally gave up and muttered a string of barely intelligible curses while turning around and exiting his house in what both Lily and Levy deemed to be highly dramatic and childish.
"Ah shaddup! I'm not childish!" Gajeel whined, looking back to pout uncharacteristically at Levy.
"Suuure you aren't..." She muttered, stroking Lily's fur as he laid comfortably in her arms.
"Tch..." With that the three settled into a more or less happy atmosphere and walked quietly the rest of the way to the guild.
Upon arriving at the guild everyone was surprisingly... subdued for lack of a better word. They were chatting and all but there weren't any brawls or bets going on. It actually took them a few moments to notice that Levy had just walked through the doors.
"Levy?" Mirajane called out uncertainly.
"Hi Mira-San!" Levy greeted happily, waving to the stunned mages sitting around her. Suddenly the guild erupted into the fast-moving, chaotic, loud state that they were normally found in, congradulating Levy on her 'return from the dead'. Mirajane walked up then and hesitantly placed a hand on Levy's slim shoulder.
"You're okay..." She whispered with unshed tears glistening in her eyes.
"Of course I am. I couldn't get away from you guys if I wanted to." Levy teased, shifting Pantherlily to one arm so she could hug Mira gently. "Speaking of getting away however, any news on Troy?" Mira shook her head sadly.
"Sorry..." She muttered, her bottom lip quivering in shame.
"It's okay Mira-San." Levy cooed, attempting to bring the eldest takeover mage out of her depression. "I have Gajeel, Pantherlily and you all to protect me, ne?" Mirajane nodded her head profusely, allowing the tears to stream down and etch tracks along her cheeks.
"Always!" She choked out. Gajeel, who had been standing back and watching the theatrics, stepped forwards then and somewhat gently removed Levy and therefore Pantherlily from Mira's grasp.
"We'd like to go on another mission." He informed everyone gruffly. "But we'll get an easy job and we'll take Lily with us." His tone of voice implied that there was to be no argument and when nobody objected he turned towards the request board and grabbed a simple, library cleaning one with a reward of 30 000Ԓ and a book of their choosing. "Here." He stretched out his arm and shoved the paper in front of Mira's line of sight. "We'll be back by nightfall or early tomorrow. See ya." With that he stuffed the paper into a pocket on his bag and took hold of Levy's wrist, practically dragging her after him to the train station.
"What exactly is this job?" Levy questioned abruptly as they were waiting in line for tickets. The midday sun was shining down and casting mini rainbows over everything while the steaming train sat silently, waiting for its next passengers to board. Gajeel shuffled around until he found the slip of paper in his bag and handed it over expressionlessly, watching the line shorten as Levy read.
~~~Help Fix Library~~~
We have an old library in the town of Hargeon that is old enough to be historical so
we cannot destroy it, nor do we want to, but we need to do something about it. It could use
a good cleaning, resorting, restocking, re-everything and we would very much
appreciate some help to bring back some meaning and hope for this derelict building.
The people here use many of the newer libraries but never seem to notice this one.
Hopefully you can help. Should you take on the task please report to Mindy in the
Bright Fish bar near pier three. She will take you to the library and show you around.
Reward: 3o oooJ and a book of your choice
Sincerely, Cayliene- Head librarian of Hargeon
"Gajeel you really are a softie, no matter what anyone may say." Levy told him, happily pocketing the mission paper. With a blush burning his ears he managed to grumble a 'shaddup' before the ticket vendor called out.
"Next please. The train is scheduled to leave in fifteen minutes. Both booth four and seven have been opened to speed up your waiting time. Thank you for your cooperation." Levy took a step forwards and placed 16ooJ on the blue counter before the cheery woman.
"Two and a cat for Hargeon please." The woman nodded briskly and handed over the tickets before swiftly ushering them on their way with a smile.
"She's almost too happy." Gajeel grumbled once they were out of earshot.
"Oh hush. She didn't complain about you so don't complain about her." Levy retorted, picking up Pantherlily and boarding the train alongside Gajeel. The two quickly spotted a vacant compartment and settled in on a bench together, with Pantherlily stretched out on Levy's lap, soaking up the sunlight through the partially opened curtains. With a slight creaking sound the door to the compartment opened once again to reveal an elderly couple.
"Oh, sorry dears. We'll go now." The woman stated, reaching for her husbands arm.
"Oh no, it's quite alright. You can stay with us, we don't mind. Right guys?" When Gajeel shrugged and Pantherlily just offered a light snore Levy smiled back at the couple in the doorway. The woman looked hesitant to intrude but the man took a few steps forwards and lowered himself comfortably into the nicely cushioned bench before beckoning for his wife to follow. Taking light steps forwards she closed the door gently and sat down, thanking Levy softly. Levy smiled happily back at her. Just then the ticket checker came around and the announcement sounded for the start of the ride. After handing over their tickets the door closed once again and the woman carefully shifted her carry-on bag before pulling out an old book -which she handed to her husband who happily accepted and started reading- and some knitting- which she then proceeded to work on. Levy's smile finally dissipated as her mouth opened in a huge yawn and she closed her eyes, leaning back onto Gajeel's chest. Gajeel blinked slowly and tilted his head so he could look at her without disturbing her. Smirking lightly he laid his head back on the headrest, trying -and succeeding- to ignore the old woman's pointed smirk. Eventually his eyes slid shut as well as he was lulled to sleep by the train's clicks along the track and Levy's steady breathing on his chest.
A/N:
So what do you think? Too OOC? Anyways, there you go! I have the next chapter already half written since it's a simple one. As I mentioned before (If you bothered to read it, that is) the action will be starting up again next chapter and yeah. Also, answering a question from a reviewer... No. Gajeel's room has no windows. There is a french double door (Which is glass) and a window in his bathroom (Which I haven't described since I had no reason to) but no windows in his room. Hope you enjoyed it and please review~! :3 I love you all~!