Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of the characters
Three days later, Levy wasn't sure the whole 'Gajeel helping her train' thing had been a good idea.
He had grilled her every night - jogging, sparring, meditation - every single thing he put his own trainees do, he was made her do it too. The first two nights were hell, but a part of her was enjoying it. Breaking a sweat and working hard in that gym with Gajeel made her feel like she was really challenging herself and accomplishing something.
It was starting to get easier. Levy knew that she wasn't as out of shape as she thought, and after a month or so, who knew how much she would advance. She had always trained on her own, and even though it wasn't a fraction of a pace that Gajeel probably went at, he seemed to know how much to push her without going to far. Although, getting barked at to pick it up or to fix whatever thing she did wrong was not always fun.
She was so sore she could barely sit at her desk. Assignments were coming in faster than ever, and she was stuck hobbling around the office like she was an old woman.
Ther was a knock at the door, "Levy?"
"Mest," she turned around in her chair, "What can I help you with?"
"I come baring gifts."
He held the door open as two young students stepped in.
The young girl had short blond hair that curled around her shoulders and she looked friendly. She smiled as she walked into Levy's office, brimming with excitement. Next to her was a young man who looked a little out of his element - he stood ramrod straight with a stoic look on his face.
They were both dressed in the robes from the Royal Scholar's Academy. Levy had tested out of the academy when she was young and never had to go to school, so she was a little envious. She loved research and learning, so there was definitely part of her that wished she had gone anyway.
"This is Moen and Jakan. They will be joining the Research Division today as interns. Both of them tested at the top of their classes."
Levy grinned, she finally had help! "Welcome to the Magic Council Resarch Division. I'm Levy McGarden," she shook the hands of her new staff members.
"I'll leave you to it," Mest waved the students into her office. "Come find me later, Levy. There's a few things I would like to speak to you about."
"Of course."
There was a strange look on Mest's face, but she filed the information away later. There was definitely something serious he wanted to talk about.
"I'm so happy to get to work with you, Master McGarden!" Moen practically bounced, "Everyone at the academy wants to work with you. You're one of the most famous scholars of our time and you were in Fairy Tail."
The "were" in the sentence made Levy's heart squeeze. She missed the Guild every second of every day. If Fairy Tail ever reformed, she would drop everything and join back up. Even now, the mark on her back shoulder seemed to comfort her when things were really bad.
"It is an honor," Jakan bowed to her slightly, "Please assign us any work that you deem fit."
Levy almost laughed, they were complete opposites. She took them around the library stacks - her own reference library was a fraction the size of the Magic Council library, but it held most of the older and more complex magic texts. Making their way to the rows of empty desks in the back, and she set them up with their own area and supplies.
"We receive and process reference requests from the Magic Council," Levy told them. "Requests are delivered every morning. The critical ones are kept separate and will usually have a due date for that day, the rest of them are done in order of date. Use whatever resources you need - research, libraries, your collegues, even the local residents in town. Our job is to find the answer."
Moen grinned, "Where should we get started?"
Levy chuckled and pointed towards the door. There were four rows of filing boxes, stacked five feet high.
Her two assistants gaped at her.
"Don't worry about the critical ones - I'll take care of that," Levy laughed, "Let me know if you see anything interesting though."
Jakan snorted at the papers as he ruffled through the box, "The correct recipe for a pork roast? What do we consider interesting?"
"I'm working on a personal project right now. Purple fireflies."
Moen dropped a stack of papers on her desk, "Purple fireflies?"
"I haven't been able to find the cause yet, but I think there is a source of magic in the city that is causing fireflies to glow purple."
"That's impossible," Jakan frowned, "Insects don't have enough mass to be endowed with magical properties."
"That's what I thought too, and that's what the texts all say, but it doesn't explain the reports. I'm trying to catch one of them so I can look into it a little more closely."
"Is it just the fireflies?"
Levy stopped for a moment and thought, then she turned to Jakan, "I don't know but...it would make sense that people would only notice the fireflies."
"The magic is causing a visiual reaction with the fireflies because of their natural and biological functions. Most likely there are other insects in the city that are experiencing the same thing, but without the same ability to glow-"
Levy pointed at him, "No one would notice," she stood up from her desk and limped slightly towards the bookshelf ladder. Dragging it back over to the section she had been in a few days ago, she carefully edged up the rungs, "That reminds me of something that I saw when I was here the other day."
"Pardon me from asking, Master McGarden, but are you injured?" Moen looked over at her.
"Call me Levy," she waved the title away, "Not at all. Just sore from extra training with one of the captains of the Magical Enforcers."
"What? That's amazing! I heard that you were a master of the Solid Script, but I have never seen it in practice. No one really wants to learn it anymore because they say it's not as powerful as other magics."
Levy sighed, "It's not necessarily the strongest type out there, unless you master it the way it's supposed to be done. I've got another training session tonight - hopefully I'll be able to make so more progress."
"That's so cool. Us Scholar Academy students are a laughing stock. No one from the academy has ever been able to win the Year Festival Match. The enforcement custody divisions make fun of us all the time."
The Year Festival Match was a friendly, community-wide magic tournament where anyone could participate. It was supposed to be for fun during the festival week - similar to the Grande Magic Games without so much monsters, explosions, and well...situations where people might die. There wasn't a cash prize or anything quite so extravagant, it was more about bragging rights and plaque that people could hang on the wall. Usually someone from the Enforcers or the military divisions won, it had been years since anyone else had claimed it.
The winner of the matches also got to do an exhibition match against one of the captains in the enforcement units. Last year Mest had been the one to fight the winner, but Levy wondered if Gajeel would do it this time. The Magic Council was pretty smug about having a Dragon Slayer in their ranks - and his flashy way of fighting would definitely bring a big crowd.
The community didn't seem to really care who won as long as they got to see an interesting match - but at headquarters, Levy knew that her department was definitely at the bottom of the totem pole. Normally it didn't bother her because she worked hard and she took pride in her work, but it did bother her that people seemed to be picking on her new staff. They had enough going on, they didn't need some muscle-bound morons giving them a hard time too.
Lowering herself back down the ladder, Levy smiled, "Well, I'm not going to claim to be a master, but I'll do my best. The guy training me is putting me threw the wringer, that's for sure."
"You have someone to train with-"
The question was cut off as the door swiftly opened. Moen yelped at the person standing in the doorway. Jakan seemed to freeze in place, his gaze pointed in the same direction.
Gajeel was glaring straight at her new assistants.
Oh boy.
"Gajeel, these are students from the Royal Academy - they're going to be helping me out for a while," Levy motioned to the two terrified people in the corner. "Moen, Jakan, this is Gajeel Redfox. He's the head captain of the Custody Enforcement Unit."
"Sup."
There was an awkward silence.
Levy sighed, people who were not used to Gajeel were usually scared of him. It didn't help that he did his best to look as intimidating as possible. Even on a good day, his social skills were not great. "Excuse me, guys, I'm going to step out for a second. If something comes up, I'll try to come back as soon as I can."
She guided Gajeel out of her office and through the door that lead to the back gardens. Before she could berate him for scaring the holy hell out of her new staff, Gajeel nodded, "Good, I'm glad Mest was able to get you some help."
Levy tilted her head to the side, "What to you mean?"
He stopped for a moment, as if he realized he said something that he shouldn't have. She had known him long enough to know that he didn't usually blurt everything out that was on his mind, but sometimes when he was nervous he wasn't as careful. With all of his tough-guy exterior, she enjoyed the fact that when he was embarrassed the top of his ears turned red.
"Well, uh...don't be mad."
"Be mad about what?"
"Shit," he dragged his hands into his hair, "Lily and I took a little trip to the Administrative offices and gave 'em hell for leavin' you alone for so long. They knew they should'da hired someone a long time ago. They were just noodlin' around doin' shit all about it."
She gaped at him, "What did you do?"
"Nothin' too extreme. Threatened a coupl'a people."
"You threatened a couple of people."
"It wasn't a big deal."
"Not a big deal," she had a bad feeling but was trying really hard not to laugh, "What did you do, Gajeel?"
He looked contrite for a second and mumbled something.
"Pardon?"
"I told 'em they better get you some help or I was goin' to kick their pencil-pushin' asses," Gajeel scowled, "Maybe a few other things...but that was the gist of it."
Even though they worked for the Magic Council, that didn't erase the fact that they were Fairy Tail and tended to cause havoc wherever they went. Levy could just picture Gajeel storming into the Administrative offices and making a huge scene about her not having a staff.
"But," she blinked at him, "Why would you do that?"
"Why?" Gajeel stared at her for a moment, "You're goin' to make me spell it out for ya?"
"Gajeel, I don't understand what you're trying to say."
"I remember everything. Everything from the fight with Tartaros."
"Everything? What do you mean-"
She stopped for a moment, and then she gasped as her face heated up. Levy knew exactly what he was talking about. Hers hands instantly covered her face and she wanted to to sink into the ground.
"Levy."
She was so embarressed, she felt like she was going to die right there. There had been so many things going on that they never talked about what happened during the fight with Tartaros. Frankly, Levy had been hoping that he would have either forgotten about it.
He had been drowning and she knew that she couldn't let that happen. Diving into the battle had been a stupid thing to do, even when she knew she was no match for them. She had given him all the air she had because he had to live. Levy wouldn't stand by while he was dying. "U-Um...It wasn't a big d-deal! I-Its all okay-"
Levy jumped as she felt his hands touch her wrists.
"Stop hidin', shrimp."
She let him pull her hands away from her face, "G-Gajeel-"
"There's somethin' goin' on here, Levy."
That was it. She knew her entire face was on fire.
"You look out for me, I look out for you," Gajeel told her, "We got eachother's back, you and I. That's the way it's gonna be."
She loved him so much in that moment, it was hard not to just throw herself at him. His mouth than quirked at her like it always did, "Diddn' think the first time I got to kiss ya, I'd be half dead."
Levy's fingers curled around his wrists.
"Don't be late for practice tonight, we got some sparring to do."
"Sparring?!" She gaped, "What makes you think that I can take you on and have a chance?"
He moved forward.
She froze completely still and fell silent.
He pressed his face into the crook of her neck, and she heard him take a deep breath, "Fuck, you smell good. Can't get over it."
She was still holding onto his wrists.
He nuzzled the side of her neck, his nose pressing into her hair, "Tonight, Lev. Eleven sharp."
"Eleven."
Gajeel stepped away from her, "Needed that. Later, shrimp."
She stood in the garden as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and strolled to the door.
He needed it.
Oh my.
"Come in."
Levy let herself into Mest's office. He was known as Doranbolt in the Magic Council, but it was hard to switch after calling him Mest for so long. As much he he wanted to deny it, Mest would always be Fairy Tail.
Letting herself quietly into the office, she shut the door behind her and tapped her fingers on the wood. Silent scripted over the door - it would stay there until she left. Although she wasn't confident about her physical abilities, there wasn't a soul in the entire building that could break her seals. If anyone tried to listen in, they wouldn't hear a thing.
It wasn't uncommon for Mest to invite her to his office to speak about private, non-Magic Council business. Sometimes it was about the status of their comrades, Zeref, or any manner of sensitive topics that their employers would probably be less than thrilled about.
"Levy. How are your new charges fairing?"
"I think they'll fit right in," she took a seat in front of his desk, "It's okay, Mest. I know the reason why you sent them was because Gajeel had a hissy fit."
"That man," Mest scowled, "I spend way too much time trying to convince the higher-ups that he's a valuable asset and not some feral beast."
"Oh, he's definitely both of those things," Levy chuckled, "So, what was it that you wanted to speak about?"
"A few things," he told her, setting a book on top of the desk, "This is the information I recently received from Erza and Gray."
Levy took the small book from him - her fingers brushed over it like it was made of spun glass. The Lock runes spread from her fingers as her eyes glowed a bright yellow. Mest had told her once that her ability to simply absorb information was frightening. It made her valuable for espionage and the trade of secrets.
Avatar.
She filed the information away for another day. When she lifted her fingers away, the runes warped into Burn.
The book vanished before their eyes. She had the ability to remember every detail that she ever read - it would not be difficult to reproduce the information on command. While some wizards fought face to face, the underground was her battlefield. She was suited for secrets and whispers.
Mest told her once that she would be a bad enemy to have. He was not wrong.
"There's a man doing a lecture tomorrow," Mest scribbled some information on a critical task ticket. "I would really like you to attend personally."
"What kind of a lecture?"
"His name is Nolan Frier. He is one of the most well-known scholars of ancient research in our time - his speciality is ancient cultures and languages."
That peaked her attention, "I don't mind. I probably would have gone on my own, anyway. What makes you interested in him?"
"It's possible that he might have some information that we can use in our plans to fight Zeref. With his experiences, he may know something that we've never thought about. I would like you to go specifically because no one has the ability to ferret information out like you do."
"I would be happy to go. I'll let you know if I learn anything valuable."
"I knew I could count on you, Levy," Mest sat back in his chair, "I heard that you were doing some extra training with Gajeel."
"There's a new phase of the Solid Script I'm trying to learn. Gajeel offered to help me with my physical training."
Her co-worker's eyebrows shot high in the air.
"It's not what you're thinking!" Levy felt her cheeks heat up, "He's just helping me out."
"That implies that he's a nice guy. Gajeel is never nice," he grinned, "He just wants to help you."
"It's not like that-"
Fuck, you smell good.
His voice still rang in her head, and she could feel his warm breath on her neck.
"Uh-huh. I hope you know what you're doing, Levy."
She did too.
"Your stance is sloppy. I could push you over if I breathed on you."
She shifted her back foot, straightened her back, and held her fists in front of her face. Like everyone who was in Fairy Tail, she had hand to hand combat training, but this was on a whole new level for her.
Levy held still as Gajeel walked around her, hands on his waist.
He was clearly in work mode.
"Okay, we're going to try this again," Gajeel flexed his hands, "All you have to do is hit me once."
They had spent the first few nights going over what she already knew and relearning some of the basics. He had been patient, but that didn't mean he wasn't strict.
Levy stepped towards him.
Gajeel stopped her first punch like it was nothing, raising his forearm to block the next. Lunging towards her, Levy backed off, sliding back on her back foot but keeping her fists in front of her face.
"Good. Keep your guard up."
A large hand came towards her, and she blocked it, following up with an upper cut. He blocked it with his other arm, stepping back once to brace himself as he grabbed her forearm and yanked her off her feet.
She yelped as he tossed her flat on her back.
"You've got too many openings. Stop trying to throw me and use your size to your advantage."
"You're twice as big as me! How is that to my advantage?"
"I never thought you were dumb, Lev," Gajeel cracked his knuckles, "But that's a dumb thing to say."
She scowled at him.
"What are you waiting for?" He held his arms out to her, "I know that you can fight. I've seen you do it."
"Not the kind of fighting you do-"
"That's bullshit!" he roared, "I've seen you face off enemies bigger than me! You're still here and they aren't."
"That's was different!"
"The only thing holdin' you back is your own fucked up head, Levy."
"That's not true!"
"Well, I'm not seein' it, shrimp," Gajeel turned away from her, "You wanna shoot yourself down and then look for sympathy, you can find someone else. I got better things to do than waste my time at a pitty shit party."
She pushed herself back, flexing her legs and flipping herself outright. Running towards him, he turned to block the first couple fists. She saw his body shift and the kick that was following his movements, and leaned back to plant both hands on the mat before flipping herself upright. Gajeel stepped towards her and she blocked his punch with her forearm, her other hand following through with the familiar signs, "Solid Script: Sword!"
There was a smirk on his face as he dodged it, and she stared back at his face as the blast slammed into the wall. There was a slight rumble as a chunk of plaster from the wall hit the floor. She noticed that he had blocked with was now partially covered in iron-plated scales, "Not bad, shrimp. I knew you had it in you."
"You baited me. That's a cheap shot."
He chuckled, the scales sinking back and reverting to his tanned skin, "I said I would help you. Never said I'd be nice about it."
She sighed.
"I think that's enough for tonight," Gajeel stretched his arms. "I'm beat. Go get some sleep, shrimp."
She reached out and grabbed the back of his shirt. He looked back at her, "What?"
Levy stared at the floor for a moment, and then she looked up at him, "Thanks for believing in me, Gajeel."
He grinned, "I trust you, Lev."
Her face heat up, "Gajeel-"
"Don't sell yourself short, shrimp. Ya got a lotta potential that yer wastin' on yer own fears," Gajeel turned around, he reached for her arm to rub it. Her skin was turning red from where she blocked him. He never actually hurt her, but he definitely hit hard. "When you gonna show me this new Solid Script that yer workin' on?"
She looked away, "I don't know. I haven't really shown anyone yet. It's always just been me training by myself."
"Well, yer not by yourself now. How 'about tomorrow? After work, meet me and Lily at the front gates. We'll stop by the house and then go train in the woods. No one'll bother us there."
"It's not perfect yet, I still make a lot of mistakes."
"That's fine."
"B-But-"
His hand touched the side of her face and she looked up at him.
"Don' hold yourself back, shrimp."
She bit her lip and then looked up at his ruby eyes. Did she have the courage to show him when she would probably mess up? Sucking in a breath, she nodded, "Okay, Gajeel. I'll do it."
He grinned, "See ya, Shrimp. Go get some shut eye."
She walked him walk out of the training center, her gaze moving over to the section of the room that was protect by magical wards. Now that everyone was gone, she could practice without anyone knowing. If she was going to show Gajeel tomorrow what she could do - it wouldn't be a bad idea to go over the new seals before leaving for the day. Besides, she could always take a nap on her lunch break like she was used to do doing anyway.
Stepping into the wards, Levy stood in the center of the room, eyeing the target on the other side of the wall. People usually came here for target practice since it was a safe zone.
She would be using those targets for a different purpose.
Solid Script, Secret Art...
