"Sally? Don't be ridiculous. I didn't hire you to propose lunatic fringe theories, I want you to find the missing couples!" Mrs. Milestone glared at the three members of the Fairy Tail wizarding guild.
Levy's smiled dimmed slightly, and Gajeel's snarl didn't change one bit. Pantherlily yawned and peeked outside the window to gauge the time they had remaining before they were supposed to meet up with Sally, the resort's activities director.
Gajeel opened his mouth and received a kick from his bride as she sat in the chair next to him. Matching chairs with thin little legs decorated with fanciful sea creatures and upholstered in one of the ugliest fabrics he had ever seen. He shifted his weight slightly and the chair creaked ominously. It might not survive this meeting. The thought that if he were still in the Phantom Lord guild then their client might not survive the meeting crossed his mind. Ruthlessly he tried to shove his anger and frustration to the side and focus on the matter at hand.
"There was an attempt to capture us." Levy repeated, for the third time. "We feel this means that we are on the right track." She lied. They had very few leads and the only hope she could see of gaining information was to be taken, just like the missing couples.
Mrs. Milestone waved one hand in the air while holding a handkerchief smothered in a vaguely floral scent. Gajeel's frown deepened. The perfume smelled more chemical than natural to his over-sensitive nose. Maybe that's why he wanted to kill her?
"So you say. But if anyone tried to take you, why weren't you captured?"
"Because they were weak as shit." Gajeel grumbled, moving his foot slightly so that Levy's toes didn't connect. Not out of fear for any bruising to himself, but for her poor foot.
Levy's smile brightened and she leaned forward, trying to hide her own annoyance at having to explain things yet again to their rather dim employer. "As I told you, the spell sheet they used was old and had been used before. It must have weakened."
Gajeel rolled his eyes and turned his head, only to wince at the garish painting hanging on the wall. The ornate frame was prettier he supposed, but too fancy for his tastes. And why would anyone want to paint a picture of fruit and flowers anyway? Much better to be out in a field with the real things. A flash of memory, laying on a blanket under a tree while sweet little Levy did very unladylike things to him. His body tingled pleasantly and began to stir.
Mrs. Milestone pasted a smile on her rather doughy face and leaned forward, her cleavage making an ample display that killed Gajeel's reaction to Levy's memory. He groaned and leaned back in his chair, making it creak again.
"Sit up, Gajeel." Levy said sternly. "These chairs are expensive to replace, at least 700 or so."
"More." Mrs. Milestone crossed her hands on her desk, her eyes glowing with unpleasantness. "But more importantly, do not mistake me for some simpleton. Couples have disappeared so thoroughly there was no trace. Fit young men and women, one even a Fiore guardsman and fighting instructor."
Levy's attention sharpened. "That wasn't in the details given to us."
Mrs. Milestone waved off the comment as of no account. "It wasn't important."
"That should be our call to make, not yours." Levy snapped.
Gajeel's mood lightened a bit, hearing the temper rising in his wife's voice. "Yeah." He muttered, and this time no one tried to kick him to shut him up. "We can't do our job without good intelligence." Well, not really, they could of course. But it was the principle of the matter.
"If these mysterious people can take that well-muscled young man, and so polite, then surely they wouldn't have had any trouble taking you two." Mrs. Milestone gave them a falsely sympathetic look that appeared to call into question their truthfulness.
"Now see here you old …" Pantherlily stopped as Gajeel's hand came down gently on his head. "Why did you stop me?"
"If I can't, you can't." Gajeel crooned in a threatening manner, speaking to his cat though the words were meant for their employer.
"Bat. Old bat." Levy smiled in a way that bared her teeth, drawing surprised looks from the two male members of their team. "And I would hazard a guess that this Fiore fighting instructor, no matter how fit, would be no match for my Gajeel, er …for Gajeel, I meant to say."
Shocked, Gajeel's eyebrow ridge, studded with iron, rose.
Pantherlily scratched one ear. "I wasn't going to say bat. I was going to say fence post, as in dumb as."
"Dumb ass?" Gajeel suggested instead.
The Exceed cat shrugged. "Works too."
Mrs. Milestone stood up behind her desk, leaning on her arms for support, her eyes glaring hot temper. "I could fire you!"
"It would take time to rescind the job from the guild, and cost you money." Levy responded coolly. "We're already here, and close to finding out the truth." That was a bit of a stretch, she knew. "And you're getting a bargain. Low pay for high quality wizards due to the changes in the Fairy Tail circumstances."
Gajeel nodded. Ever since their seven year hiatus being spell-bound on Tenrou Island, their guild had dropped from the ranked position of number one to dead last. It meant they were taking the lower paying jobs until they could build back their guild's reputation.
"So rumor says. But rumors can so often be flights of imagination, or wishful thinking." Mrs. Milestone said between gritted teeth. "You have three days, make them count." She reached for some stationary, I'm starting the letter to cancel the job. If I don't have satisfaction within three days, you're out of here and will owe for your stay here at the resort."
"Go ahead and try." Levy stood with grace and dignity, her nose up in the air. "We have signed contracts. Legal ones. You have a right to cancel, for a fee, but if you do not meet the terms of the original agreement then you are forfeit, not we. All expenses will be assumed by you."
Mrs. Milestone growled. "Get out there and find those couples!"
Gajeel grinned and turned to look at a riled up Levy. "If I break the chair is that an expense?"
"No." Levy gave him a warning glare. "That would not be covered by the contract."
"Too bad." Gajeel murmured. Suddenly there was a loud ripping sound and then a tell-tale odor that had Levy going green in the face.
Mrs. Milestone's shocked expression turned queasy and she yelled at them to vacate her office immediately.
The moment the door slammed behind them, Levy turned and swatted Gajeel's chest and pointed up into his face. "You did that on purpose!"
"The chair didn't break." Pantherlily offered as consolation. "And the fabric on the seat was ugly."
"Gihihihi."
"Disgusting." Levy snarked, walking away from the two males, stalking back toward their rooms.
"Wrong way." Gajeel crooned. "We meet Sally in about 15 minutes. Remember? Possible suspect. The one we just talked about with our other suspect."
"She's our employer." Levy commented, though not in rejection. "We can't think it's her just because she's …"
"An old bat?" Pantherlily finished the sentence helpfully. A random bellhop, innocently passing by, choked and dropped the folder of papers he was carrying. The Exceed cat generously assisted in gathering up the scattered pieces of paper and handed them back to the young man who looked shocked that a cat was not only talking, not only insulting his boss, but helping him out.
Levy waited for the young man to leave and nodded at Pantherlily. "You did that on purpose."
The Exceed cat merely blinked and smiled.
"Give." Levy held out one hand and the cat gave her the papers he'd managed to snag.
"Anything interesting?" Gajeel asked, his arms crossed over his chest.
Levy's brow furrowed as she scanned the sheets. "Employee schedules. Hours worked. Lot of names listed under guards. Too many, like we thought. We don't see nearly that many people around the resort, but they're getting paid. Good work Lily."
The Exceed cat smiled and preened a bit under the praise.
Feeling a little left out, Gajeel frowned. "Doesn't that mean Mrs. Gallstone is a suspect? She's too cheap to pay people who aren't working, so what are the guards guarding, if not the resort?"
Levy nodded, still reading the sheets, as if searching for something. "Exactly." Then she shook her head. "It's not here."
"What's not there?" Gajeel took the schedule from her as Levy held it out.
"Remember? Sally said her friend Kerri saw us return, made it sound like this friend worked in reception. No such person listed." Levy's hands to her hair, straightening her headband. "Something to follow up on at least."
Gajeel shook his head. "This Kerri might have worked earlier, but has this week off. Or been fired."
"Or it might be a nick-name. You just called me Lily, but that's not how I'm listed on the guild rolls." Pantherlily pointed out.
"Anyway, let's go meet her." Levy motioned for the men to lead the way out the west side of the hall.
Gajeel and Pantherlily pointed the other way, turning and walking, leaving Levy to trail behind them. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Laundry building is this way." Gajeel smirked and pointed ahead. "Trust my nose, the stink of the perfumed soap is unmistakable."
Levy stopped and crossed her arms over her chest, tapping one foot in irritation. Pantherlily stopped first, turning to look back at her. Gajeel took three more steps before stopping to gesture at her to follow.
"The guest door on that side of the hall doesn't have an access door that leads anywhere near the laundry, you'd have to walk around the pool, the cabins, the volleyball courts, and the garden." Levy smiled and pointed in the opposite direction. "The service door leads to the back loading dock for supplies, and the laundry."
Gajeel's eyes widened.
"You may have the nose, lover. I memorized the map."
*.*.*.*.*
"Sally isn't here." The cat sniffed the air as if sniffing out prey.
"Way to state the obvious." Gajeel sighed, still grumpy at having Levy be right about which way to go. "We're early."
"Only by five minutes." Levy rejoined, ignoring his mood.
"What if Sally's been taken because we told Mrs. Gallstone who you suspected?" The Dragonslayer peered up at the moon. The clear skies here at the beach really were something. Good visibility too. "You called me lover."
"It's Milestone." Levy corrected him. "And you are."
Pantherlily gave the two long looks, turning away, "this is a private conversation between you both. I don't need to hear this."
"It's our cover." Levy explained softly.
Gajeel stilled, hearing a slight stilted tone in her voice. Had he hurt her feelings? "Yeah, it's fine, and I am. But don't get in the habit, you know, for when we get back home."
Levy smiled sadly, happy to hear Gajeel call Fairy Tail 'home'. Still. "Do I embarrass you?"
"Other way around." Gajeel denied, pointing out what was to him extremely obvious, and seemingly surprised she didn't immediately grasp his meaning
Pantherlily covered his ears. "Private. Please."
"Gajeel, I …" Whatever Levy had been about to say trailed off as she slid down to the ground in a heap.
Shocked, Gajeel stepped forward when a small dart hit him out of nowhere. Hit him, but didn't pierce his armored skin. "Lily?"
The cat had already scampered, gone within the blink of an eye. A moment later he returned, looking chagrinned. "Five of them. They disappeared into the resort employee building. Got a good look."
Gajeel had already scooped Levy up in his arms, pulling out the small dart that had stuck her left arm. Anger rolled off of him in waves, even Pantherlily backed up a few steps though he wasn't afraid for himself. "You didn't kill the bastards?"
Pantherlily shook his head. "No. We wouldn't have anyone to trail back to the missing couples. We can't torture them for information."
"Says who?" Gajeel growled, pulling Levy tightly to his chest, her face cradled next to his rapidly beating heart. Murder was dripping from his voice.
The Exceed cat sighed. "Take a deep breath, Gajeel. Think. Levy's knocked out, but not poisoned. Use your nose. If you go ripping through all the employees, a lot of innocent people would be hurt, injured."
"So?"
Time for the trump card. "Levy would be seriously pissed off." The cat pointed out with firm resolve. "And you'd have to put her down."
Gajeel's arms reflexively pulled the smaller woman even closer. No way was he letting go of her right now.
*.*.*.*.*
Levy woke up slowly, feeling groggy. Her mouth has bone dry and achy. She ran her tongue over her teeth and the inside of her mouth desperate for moisture. She groaned and tried to lift her arm, it wouldn't move.
Irritated, Levy blinked open her eyes to find herself the subject of a very close and intense gaze. "Gajeel?"
"Levy? Levy? Are you okay? I don't have any healing magic. But I could track down where Lucy and Wendy went after we saw them in town."
Levy waved her fingers, but only managed a weak petting motion against his arm. "Gajeel?"
"There is a doctor for the resort, but I don't trust him." Gajeel grimaced. "I mean because he works here, not because I met him. Should I have?"
"Gajeel?"
"Yes?"
"Let me go, I can't move." Levy pushed at him, weak because of lack of leverage and the way he was holding her. She realized they were back in their room, and it wasn't the only thing she was struggling with.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine, let me go, Gajeel."
"Are you dizzy? In pain? Anything?"
He wasn't letting her go. Levy sighed and shook her head, which made it hurt, which made him notice her wincing and the end result is he held her tighter.
"Gajeel?"
"I'm not letting go." He promised.
"I have to pee."
Gajeel blinked slowly, three times in a row. He grunted and lifted her without letting go. It was awkward because she'd been in the middle of the bed, but he managed. She moaned as the Dragonslayer used his foot to push the bathroom door open.
Once inside the bathroom, she felt him still and stand there, as if weighing every possible scenario. "I could …."
"No." She interrupted.
"You didn't let me finish, I could …"
"No." Levy insisted. "Put me down."
The two stared at each other face to face as if measuring the resolve of the other person. Finally he grunted, but let her feet go and allowing gravity to bring them to the ground. He held her around the shoulders to steady her.
Levy fought not to sway, knowing that even one stumble would have him all over her again. It was heartwarming and very irritating at the same time.
Levy braced herself with the towel bar and turned toward the toilet, though she didn't raise her dress or drop her drawers. "Go."
Gajeel gave her a glare, but backed off to the doorway, he turned his back to give her as much privacy as he could. But he couldn't bring himself to leave her. "What if you fell?" He offered as an excuse.
Levy smiled and sat down gingerly, knowing that he wasn't going any farther. "Why am I here?"
"You said you had to pee."
Levy sighed, taking care of business. "I mean, here, in our room."
Our room. Suddenly Gajeel felt lightheaded himself. Relieved Levy was alright, and pleased she considered their room as well, theirs. Like a real couple. "Where else would I take you?"
Levy nodded. "Why weren't we captured? Did they miss you?"
Gajeel grinned darkly. "My skin turned to iron the moment we were attacked."
The sound of the faucet told him that Levy was done with the private part and he turned in time to see her face frown. "I thought we agreed to LET them capture us?"
"Oh shit." Gajeel leaned against the wall, his arms going defensively across his chest. "It was instinct."
"And we were attacked at the place we were supposed to meet Sally." Levy said with some grim satisfaction. "Sally."
"Right." Gajeel ground his teeth together. "Lily followed five of them back to the employee area. He could recognize them again, no problem."
"That's something, at least." Levy filled a glass of water, grateful to take a drink, her mouth still felt like cotton.
"Shrimp."
Levy turned to scold him for the nickname, for failing to allow themselves to be captured, for not giving her privacy. But what she saw in his face stopped her cold.
"When you fell …"
Levy's hand went to his face and she frowned as he flinched away from her. She dropped her hand to his shoulder, then let it trail down his arm to one of his strong hands. He didn't pull away as she grasped his palm.
"I'm fine." She offered some reassurance. "I'm really fine. Gajeel." His name was a caress.
The larger male took a deep breath, taking in her scent and leaning into her warmth. He bent his head, and then froze when she jumped back hastily. He stared as she waved her hands in distress and reached for …. Her toothbrush?
"Give me a second!"
Wide-eyed, Gajeel stared as Levy brushed her teeth and used mouthwash before turning to smile sweetly at him.
"That is not romantic." He teased, his eyes lighting up as she stuck her tongue out at him. "Am I allowed to kiss you now? What if I don't want to anymore?"
"Don't be a jerk." She whispered, reaching for him. He stepped in to meet her, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close as their lips met and clung. "And next time? Let them catch us."
*.*.*.*.*
Levy fumed and poked at her perfectly rolled omelet.
Gajeel laughed and dug into his own food with gusto, he and Levy had used up a lot of calories that morning. A lot of calories.
"I thought we were supposed to let them catch us?" He teased her mercilessly.
"The net dropped down from the stairwell roof, it took me by surprise!" Levy protested with a small wail. "I didn't mean to shred it."
"Gihihihi."