Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of the characters
Levy slipped the magic glasses on top of her head as she dragged the sliding ladder to the end of the bookshelf. Tucking her quill behind her ear, she peaked at the reference number written on the paper in her hand and made her way up the ladder. She had finally found some old reference materials for embedding living creatures with new magical properties. It wasn't a practice that she agreed with, since it was mostly used for experimenting on live subjects.
I just don't understand, Levy thought to herself as she pulled the first volume off the shelf, I feel like if someone was actively experimenting with magic, we would know by now.
She had put out a notice for people to keep an eye out for new reports of purple fireflies. If it was possible to catch one, maybe she would be able to see what type of magic was being used. Levy flipped through the book, slipping her glasses over her eyes, "It says here that it isn't possible to use insects as tests subjects for magic. They just don't have enough of a mass to maintain the magical energy-"
"Hey, shrimp, what 'cha doin way up there?"
Levy glanced down to see Gajeel staring up at her. The book slipped from her hand and she yelped as he caught it, "Sorry, Gajeel!"
He glanced at the book and she climbed down the ladder, "Testing the Exponential Properties of Magical Energies and Enhancements. Shit, what you readin' this for?"
"Heavy stuff, huh?" she chuckled, "I'm looking into a weird case."
"Yeah?"
"People have been finding these fireflies around town that glow purple. The magic is really strange, so I'm looking into it, but I haven't been able to find anything. Maybe these old texts can point me in the right direction."
Gajeel watched her sit back at the desk, "You need any help?"
"You want to spend the day going through the rest of my task tickets or catching purple fireflies?"
"Hell no."
Levy laughed and turned back to her desk, she pulled a few new sheets of paper out and began to write furiously, "What brings you here to visit me?"
"Lily is trainin' some of the recruits that just came in today. I got a pending assignment that I'm waitin' on."
"Ah."
Gajeel flopped onto the sofa in the office, spying another book on the coffee table, he scooped it up, "So, do you have any ideas about this case you got?"
"Well..." she trailed off, making a few notes as she flipped pages in the book. She spotted some information that applied to a different task - noting it down, she folded the information into a square and slipped it into an envelope to give the assigner. "I think there might be a magic source somewhere in town that the fireflies are coming in contact with. A different type of magical energy."
"What kind of magic?"
"I won't be sure until I capture one of the fireflies," Levy looked over at the couch, "Hey!"
Gajeel blinked at her as she snitched the book from him that he had been flipping through, "Geeze, shrimp, what bee got in your bonnet?"
She dumped the book on her desk. The book was on martial arts. Levy felt her face heat up, "I've been looking into getting some additional training."
"For what?"
"My solid script technique," she sighed, "There's a secondary part to it, but I'm going to need to be a more coordinated and nimble than I am now. I've been trying to study up and I've been going to the fitness center-"
"You goin' to that dump? You'll never get in shape there."
Levy slammed the pen back on the desk, "Well, what do you purpose I do, then? It's not like I'm some super magical beast fighter like the rest of your squad, Gajeel."
He sat up on the couch, leaning forward with his arms hitched on his knees, "Hey."
She didn't look at him, finishing another ticket, she scribbled furiously on the letter.
"Levy, look at me."
She didn't want to see whatever expression was on his face. If she looked over here and saw that smirky, arrogant look of his she would just hate him. Sealing the envelope shut, she yelled as the paper nicked her finger, "Damn it!" she snapped, looking at her hand, "Freaking paper cut."
A large hand reached over and gripped her wrist. Gajeel leaned over and scowled, "Come on."
"What-"
"Stop complaining."
He dragged her over to the washroom in the corner of her office. Since she was the only one in that wing of the building she had her own kitchen and washroom for when she worked late. If she had a staff they would have all shared it, but it was just her for the time being. She squeaked as Gajeel lifted her up to set her on the counter. He turned the water on.
"Gajeel-"
"Quiet." She bit her lip as he shoved her hand underneath the water, "Now hold it there."
What the heck was he upset about?
She was silent as he dried her hand off and expertly wrapped a bandage around her hand. Levy look at him, "What's wrong with you? Why are you mad at me?"
Shoving stuff back in the cabinet, he leaned over her, his hands on both sides of her legs on the counter. Levy had no choice but to press her back against the wall as he looked down at her.
He was so much larger than she was, sometimes Levy found it intimidating. There weren't many people that she allowed to get this far into her personal space, but Gajeel always got right up in her grill and didn't give a damn. She took a deep breath and tried to ignore the fact that her cheeks felt like they were on fire.
He smelled like soap and the woods. There was always a hint of metal and leather, but it was mostly his clean scent that she smelled. She wished she could curl into it and stay there.
"I've known you long enough to know what something is legit bothering you, Levy," Gajeel growled at her, "Why you think I would judge you for it, I'm not really sure."
She hunched away from him, "I don't like being weak, okay? It makes me really self conscious around you."
"Why?"
"Because you are so...not," she said, her fingers twisting, "Because I'm really jealous of you sometimes and the strength that you have."
He stared at her for a moment. Levy gasped as he reached up and snatched her chin, tilting her head back. She tried to keep her voice steady, "Gajeel-"
"Eleven tomorrow night. Enforcer training hall."
"Wh-What?"
"Wear something easy to move around in, and you'd better be on time or your cute ass won't save you from me kicking it."
Levy's mouth dropped open. Gajeel stepped away from her and stomped out of the room and she flinched as he slammed the door to her office.
As much as Gajeel put up a touch-guy front, Levy suspected that what she said hurt his feelings. The last thing she wanted him to think was that she didn't trust him - she just felt ashamed that she couldn't keep up with him. If sometimes happened, she wasn't strong enough to protect him. He always had the strength to defend the things that he cared about.
She didn't have the strength to defend anything.
Way to go, Lev. You sure messed up this time.
He sat at the bar and took a sip of ale as he scribbled in a notebook.
"Hey, that's some interesting language you're writing there," the bartender stepped by to refill his mug, "You from outta town?"
The voices and laughter of the other people in the bar filled his ears - he knew that it was the bartender's job to make small talk and try to make everyone feel welcome. He didn't hold anything against the other man for interrupting his work.
"Yes."
"We're gettin' a lot of folks in for the festival - hear and see a lot of things, but I've never seen that kind of writing before."
"It's an ancient language. Most people don't know it - I learned it on my travels."
"You one of those guild wizards?"
"Archeologist."
The bartender nodded, "Well, good luck on your travels, mate."
He watched the man walk off to tend to the other patrons before turning back to his notebook.
The language was a long dead text - there were only a handful of people in the world that had ever researched it and he was one of those few. He had made it his life's work to research the city of Zoras and the culture of the people that once resided there.
It was fascinating - studying a people that worshipped life as well as destruction. There was the belief that death and destruction were the catalyst for life and new beginnings. People were imperfect, and the idea was that perfection was attained by removing imperfections. Those who survived the culling would rise from the ashes as new entities, free of sins and with the strength of gods.
All beings, no matter the creature, experienced life and death. There was no escaping it.
Looking around the bar, he frowned.
All people were like a plague on the world. They were so full of themselves and their own desires, they didn't care about others or how their actions effected their surroundings. People would kill and rip into the land without any sort of concern on what it was doing. He scribbled a couple of extra notes with the curved script from the long-dead Zoran culture. It was a beautiful language and had been difficult to master.
There was still a lot of work left to be done. The scripts were completed on the east and south regions of the city, but the west was only half done and he hadn't touched the north yet.
It was two weeks until the festival. More than enough time for him to complete his task.
"Hey, mate," the bartender walked past, "You want a refill?"
He smiled and sat back in his chair, "One more and than I'd better cut myself off. In my old age, I'm finding that I can't hold my liquor like I used to."
The bartender chuckled and refilled his ale once more.
Levy slammed the locker shut. She hadn't spoken to Gajeel in almost two days. Scratch that - he hadn't come by her office in almost two days. Lily had visited, but Gajeel had stayed away. Now it was almost eleven, and she was trying to work up the courage to walk out of the women's locker room into the Enforcer's training hall.
The whole wing of the building was specifically for magical and physical training. It wasn't unusual that she would be there to work out and stay in shape, but she stuck to the regular fitness hall. Only the most advanced officers went to Gajeel's neck of the woods - she was wondering what it would be like. Taking a deep breath, she stood up and tugged on the bottom of her t-shirt.
She wore shorts, a t-shirt, and sneakers. Since she wasn't sure what Gajeel had planned for her, she didn't know what to expect. Levy made her way out of the locker room, taking a left down the hall.
It was a massive auditorium - there were areas for physical training and warded areas to practice magic safely. She had thought that Gajeel would set up shop over in the warded section, but she spied him sitting in the middle of the mats on the other side of the massive hall. She held her head up high and made her way towards him.
"Gajeel?"
"Good. You're on time."
"Say, Gajeel, I-I just wanted to say...I'm sorry."
His head tilted to the side for a moment but said nothing. Levy bit her lip, "I really appreciate that you offered to help me and I'm sorry I hurt your feelings. I didn't mean to imply that I didn't trust you."
Gajeel sighed and stood up, "It's not a big deal, short stack."
"It is a big deal," Levy looked at him straight in the eye, "Because I do trust you, Gajeel."
He stared back at her for a moment and there was something unspoken that passed between them.
When she had spoken to Juvia previously - the woman had told her that Gajeel still felt uneasy about Levy and what had happened when they first met. He had many friends and allies now, but Gajeel considered Juvia like a sister. Since they both had been in Phantom Lord, Levy was glad that Gajeel had someone he could talk to about his past, but she didn't like the idea that he still felt guilty.
Gajeel smirked at her and the moment was gone, "You might not be saying that when I'm done with you."
She scowled, "What is that supposed to mean?"
"I'm going to whip you into shape and I'm not going to go easy. You ready?"
She stared back at him, his eyes were dancing.
He was over it. Just like that.
Levy smiled, "Bring it on."
