Chapter 11: Monsters Will Be Princes

Bora slumped into a corner in the hallway. Bruises covered his arms and legs, and his cheek was turning black-and-blue. What kind of 'message' is this? he thought, groaning. First had come the pink-haired boy's furious punches; then the blond-haired girl - why did those two look so familiar, and what was it that girl had mentioned earlier about Jose? - had summoned a big bull of some sort who mooed perverted sayings and beat him up like a steak. Then he was frozen in an ice cage, and attacked by needle-sharp icicles. Finally, Erza kept zapping him with some kind of electro-sword. Would his body ever heal? He moaned again.

"I think it'd be safe just to leave you here. But you'd best be on your way to Jose soon, or we'll come back and check on you," Erza said, giving a hint of a smile at the last part. The four Fairy Tail mages and the blue-furred Exceed turned to leave.

Just as they were about to walk through the front door, the blonde-haired one turned.

"Oh, by the way... Do you remember? I'm Lucy Heartfilia, and this is Natsu Dragneel!" She grinned teasingly, and Bora frowned as he recalled that miserable day when...

"Hey!" Natsu's voice broke into his thoughts. "Next time we meet, I hope you've sharpened up those nasty-tasting fire skills of yours." He grinned, and the mages left. Bora gritted his teeth.

~ o ~

Gajeel sat down at an empty table and stared at the job offer in his hand. It wasn't very exciting at all, but it was the best he could find among all those lame requests. Lost ring, it read. Ownership of my sister, Rose. Reward: 2,000 jewels.

"Foolish owner, to be giving away so much money," he muttered to himself.

"You're the foolish one," said a voice. Gajeel jerked his head up and looked around. There was no one there... I must have been imagining that, he told himself warily.

He looked back down. "What in the world-" There, on top of the job offer, was a pale lavender envelope, dusted with deliciously-scented iron shards. A wax stamp sealed the envelope flap. Gajeel picked it up. The envelope was heavy, as if something inside was weighing it down. With only a moment's hesitation, he ripped the seal and dumped the contents onto the table. There was a small, envelope-size sheet of iron, a few iron nails and bolts, and a note. He paused, then opened the note first.

Dear Gajeel,

I'm not asking you to open up to me, or to be my very best friend, but I want to be able to say hi in the hallway, do some jobs together even. I know you don't want to be extremely friendly and cozy up to anyone, so I'm not going to ask that. I just want to be your friend, someone who you can come up to and feel comfortable around.

Please consider this, OK?

Love, Levy McGarden

PS. I've enclosed a small friendship gift.

~ o ~

Levy glanced eagerly toward the request board.. or at least, in that direction approximately. Jet had gone over to the bar to get a glass of Mountain Dew, and Droy was still picking out a job. Rather, she was looking at the tall, gruff man sitting at a table alone. He had picked up the envelope and was now reading the note inside. She was worried. Was the note too cheesy? Was it too butter-warming for an iron-souled man like Gajeel? Should I have sent the envelope at all?

"Hey Levy! I'm back." Jet sat back down with a glass of Mountain Dew for each of them. Levy sighed, pained to have to turn away from the scene by the request board

~ o ~

Gajeel stomped down the road, his fingers in his pockets. He could feel the rough, tempting surface of the iron nails, jingling in his right pocket. Should he eat them, or not? They were, after all, a gift... but a friendship gift. Others would think he was weak and soft-hearted if he ate them... Well, I did eat the iron sheet already...

"Gajeel! What are you doing here?" a voice exclaimed. He looked up. The pink-haired dragonslayer again.

"Firebrain..." he hissed.

"I just asked a question! But," Natsu added slyly. "If you want a fight, I'd be glad to take up the challenge..." Glowing jets of flame ignited his fingertips.

"Cut it out, Natsu," Erza said, stepping up. Gajeel also noticed Grey, Lucy, and the blue-furred Exceed, Happy.

"Yeah. I'm on a mission to find some lost ring," grumbled Gajeel.

"Lost ring?" Natsu said, his eyes looking strange.

"Yeah, it's worth 2,000 jewels. Now if you'll excuse me-"

"Sorry, we already handled that job," Erza said, hinting a smile. "It wasn't really a job, just a trap to kidnap... a member of our guild."

"Wait. What?" Gajeel paused. "This isn't a joke, is it?"

"No, I'm serious. Let's get back. We can walk together, back to the guild," Erza offered.

"..." Gajeel turned stiff.

"Yeah, and along the way we can-"

"No, Natsu!"

"SIGH." Natsu pouted and trudged along behind Erza. Gajeel paused, then, for some reason unknown to him, he followed them back to the guild.

~ o ~

Levy followed her friends down the alley, back to the guild. After a mere ten minutes of chasing some runaway cat, they were plainly exhausted. At least, the boys were. They hadn't let her really work at all, saying it was too messy and everything. That wasn't unusual. She was the brains of the team, and those two worked it out. She was what they'd call a backup, who not only came to the rescue sometimes but planned the strategy and boosted her teammates' powers. Fortunately, they'd earned 200 jewels each for all of those ten, hair-raising minutes. Levy rolled her eyes, thinking about it.

"That was some adventure!" Droy exclaimed.

"Yeah. Remind me never to let you pick again!" Jet said, jabbing his friend with his elbow. Levy smiled. At least team Shadowgear was back to normal. She sighed, remembering Gajeel's almost immediate departure for a job. What was his reaction? Was he affected at all by her letter and gift? Maybe he would think her too lame and compassionate and be even more distant from her, not to mention everyone in the guild, too.

They entered the guild. Jet went to train, and Droy excused himself to go to the gardens just beside the guild. Levy sighed and sat down at a table, taking out a book to read. Coincidentally, it was The Beauty and the Beast. As she lifted her Wind Reading glasses out of her handbag, she whizzed through the pages. At the end, the Beast grew to love the girl and became a dashing prince.

Maybe... he'll soften up a bit, she thought with renewed hope. Just then, a chorus of voices sounded outside in the guild courtyard. She closed her book and stepped outside.

"I'll get you this time!" Natsu hissed.

"Just try and get me!" Gajeel grinned. Levy's heart skipped a beat.

"Aren't you going to stop them?" Lucy said to Erza.

"Nah... boys will be boys," Erza replied coolly. Levy paused. What was that she said? Right. Boys will be boys, and monsters will be monsters. That's what Levy was determined to change. Monsters will be princes. Monsters will be princes. Monsters... She waited until the battle ceased. Natsu shuffled angrily back to his friends, having lost, and Gajeel only paused a moment, then turned and walked away. Levy rushed after him.

~ o ~

Why, even thought that flameboy lost, everyone's crowding around him, teasing him, patting him on the back... and I won, and yet no one even congratulated me... Gajeel shifted uncomfortably in his hideout in an alley. He leaned against the wall, which was the side of the guild, and kicked an abandoned cart, frowning.

"Hey." Gajeel looked up. Blue hair, large brown eyes.

"Levy."

"Did... did you get my note?" she whispered solemnly, crouching.

"..."

"I wasn't sure if you, you know, understood it." There was an uncomfortable silence. Levy looked down at her feet, and suddenly all Gajeel wanted to do was run his fingers through that hair and pull her close and apologize.

"Levy..."

And that's what he did.