Gajeel Redfox woke up in a contented fog of memories from the night before. His skin tingled with the touches shared between he and Levy. His body, already morning hard, began to ache in a very pleasant manner.
Last night hadn't been a dream. He'd slept with Levy McGarden. Sex. Even in the shower. And his bronze-eyed beauty had been as eager for him as he'd been for her.
Humming absently under his breath, Gajeel stretched. Levy wasn't in bed with him right now, he could sense her absence. Not a problem though, he could hear the pipes and running water from the bathroom. So domesticated.
Gajeel frowned slightly, more worried about how he wasn't panicking over the term 'domesticated' than over the word itself. Metalicana had warned him though. Dragons mated for life. The large dragon hadn't been sure about his adoptive foster child, being a dragonslayer and all. Would the humanity in him rule this part of his life? Or ….not?
Gajeel sat up, blinking even as he grinned, the thin sheet pooling over his bare assets. Without a hint of shame he climbed out of their shared bed, heading toward his Levy. His. His grin widened to include a hint of fang. No, just because he was possessive didn't mean that Metalicana had been right to worry. Only time would tell.
Without bothering to knock, Gajeel threw open the bathroom door with a leer. "I could use another shower." He purred suggestively.
Gajeel's announcement was met with a wide eyed look of shock, a dropped jaw, and a scream loud enough to wake the dead. He got the briefest of glances of Levy's bare toes peeking out from the walled partition where the toilet was situated, then he was cursing and shivering under a blanket of ice and snow.
The solid script magic had a word floating over him, sifting the icy concoction down over him as Gajeel's bare feet slipped and he landed to stare up at the ceiling, confused.
"Get out, get out, GET OUT!" Levy screamed-chanted.
Gajeel stared up at the word 'snow' floating over his head and raining down ice-cold flakes all over his bare body. He blinked and shivered. "Levy?"
The woman he'd spent the night making love with, muttered under her breath. The word 'snow' disappeared, only to be replaced with 'air wall' and 'push'. That was all he had time to see before he was unceremoniously shoved out of the bathroom gliding over ice on his back to slam against the side of the bed as the door slammed shut in his face.
Gajeel blinked a few times, then chuckled. "Feeling shy?" He called out in a teasing manner.
Nothing for a moment, then Levy's voice came through meekly, though he had to strain to hear her. "I'm sorry."
Gajeel picked himself up, swiping the melted droplets of snow from his bare chest. "We saw everything we have to offer last night." He grumbled loudly.
"It's not the same." Levy yelled back, still managing to somehow sound shy and apologetic.
"We showered together." Gajeel leaned up against the bathroom door, bracing himself on one forearm over his head as he peered at the cheap wood separating the two of them. "I was inside you. I had my …."
"GAJEEL!" She sounded horrified and embarrassed.
He chuckled. "…hands all over you." Gajeel amended at the last moment. "And your sweet little hands drove me wild too. You found every single piercing I have." He licked his lips at the memories.
"Please!" It was a plea.
Gajeel frowned as he realized his own body was feeling the need to eliminate things. And the more he thought about it, the less this was an act he wanted to do with an audience. Especially Levy. He decided the shrimp might have a point about this privacy thing, though he'd not admit it.
"I'm getting coffee." He yelled out to her, grabbing his pants to dress quickly. And to find a bathroom down in the lobby. No way was he going to let his body give off embarrassing sounds and smells when he was more interested in being romantic.
In the end, Gajeel found relief in a richly appointed bathroom down near the lobby. Yet he'd been denied coffee. Or more accurately, denied entry into the chic café due to his lack of a shirt. And Gajeel was pretty sure the matron in charge had turned her nose up at the indelible ink message still emblazoned across his abdomen. When his Levy put a spell on something, it stuck.
Luckily the poolside bar was open and being shirtless next to the pool wasn't considered rude. Not that Gajeel cared, but they were here on a mission.
"Kiwi juice."
Gajeel smiled, his eyes closed as he sat in the morning sun, savoring his coffee and his memories of last night. He heard Pantherlily slide into a chair beside him and the wait staff bring the Exceed cat his drink. The staff were getting used to a talking cat it seemed.
"No one screamed." He said idly.
Pantherlily sipped his juice, contemplating the words. He didn't think they pertained to what Gajeel and Levy had gotten up to the previous evening. So he applied it to himself instead. "I'm glad."
"What? You don't enjoy fainting maids and bellhops that run screaming from you because you dare to be able to speak?"
"They like me now." Lily sounded a bit smug.
"You tip them." Gajeel pointed out.
"They'd treat you better if you'd tip them."
The dragonslayer shrugged easily. "My tip? Don't get in my way." Interestingly the old Gajeel might have said the same thing back in his Phantom Lord days, but the tone would have been harsher.
"They bring me things." Lily said quietly.
"That's their job." Gajeel smirked.
"No. Other things. Information." Pantherlily was the one smirking now, as Gajeel opened his eyes to look at the black cat questioningly. "Turn over used to be rather steep here. The matron isn't well loved. You remember Ms. Milestone? The woman from the train?"
"Not fondly." Quipped Gajeel with a sneer. He remembered her fox fur and assumption that animals held no rights, not even talking ones. "I wouldn't work for her." He said, then sighed as he realized that technically he did, since she'd put out the job for the magic guilds.
"Then about a year ago, no one has quit."
The words weren't alarming by themselves, but it was Pantherlily's tone that seemed to place an emphasis on the unspoken meaning. Gajeel gave him a questioning look.
"About that same time, the resort guards tripled. Not locals either. Some seem to have military training."
Gajeel grunted. "Mercenaries?" He guessed, glancing around casually. There were discretely placed men and women at all entry ways in and out, all with matching uniforms that looked deceptively casual. Security for the staff? Or something more sinister.
"It's about that same time period when the first couple went missing." Pantherlily shrugged, sipping on his juice. "Nothing too unusual. People skip out on bills all the time. But family came looking for them. The maids say the family seemed embarrassed that the youngsters ran off without paying and accepted everything at face value."
Gajeel grumbled. "Young runaways the family was ashamed of, perhaps?"
"Perhaps." Lily agreed. "But then there was a second couple about two months later."
The dragonslayer frowned, ignoring his cooling coffee. "I don't like Ms. Milestone, but why call in and pay a reward to a mage guild if you're the one behind the disappearances."
"I tend to agree." Lily sighed, shaking his little kitty head. "Yet, there may be more that we don't know yet." He suddenly looked up, alert. "Here comes the activities lady, Sally."
Gajeel groaned, sinking into his seat. "Not another day of silly games. Where is Levy anyway? She should be down by now."
Pantherlily made a slurping sound as he finished off his kiwi juice. "Saw her heading into town on my way in here."
Gajeel sat up, every muscle tense and his eyes flashing dangerously. "What?"
o.o.o.o.o
Shagon smiled becomingly at Levy as they stopped to admire some lace in a shop window. "I'm glad you suggested this. I love Phen, but sometimes a girl just needs a moment or two on her own."
Levy smiled, catching the reflection of a book seller's in the window. "Ooh! I want to see if Tatsuo has a new book out!"
Shagon grinned and shook her head, but appeared game as she too headed for the book seller's shop. "Not since he finished the Moresong trilogy last summer."
"Moresong?" Levy sounded wistful as her pace quickened. "I don't know that one!"
Shagon's pace followed suit as she laughed at her companion's enthusiasm. "Where have you been for the past five years? It was all over the best seller's lists."
Levy clamped her lips shut, not explaining she'd been caught up in a spell for the past seven years and hadn't aged in that time. Then she squeaked slightly and jumped back to avoid a collision with a large delivery man with a barrel who as trying to hurry through the crowd. "Watch it!"
The man blinked vapidly at her, his face blanching when he caught sight of her magic guild peeking out at him on her left shoulder blade. Suddenly he relaxed. "Oh! Sorry miss, thought you was some high wizard or something. Yer just Fair Tail. Maybe you should watch were yer going!" He winked at her and moved past.
Levy stared after him in some shock. Beside her, Shagon put her hand on the shorter girl's shoulder. "Don't mind him. He doesn't belong to any magic guild. I'm sure you know lots of useful magic."
Levy had to bite her tongue. It was taking more getting used to than she'd thought possible. In the seven years she'd been gone with the others, their guild's reputation had suffered mightily. They'd gone from the top ranked guild, to the very bottom. And while she'd like to argue the point, there was some strategic value in letting others underestimate you.
"Levy! Levy! Are you okay?"
The young voice startled her and she turned, smiling as she caught sight of Wendy and Lucy running towards her. She greeted her friends warmly and introduced them to Shagon.
The woman looked back and forth between the magic users with a look of uncertainty. "Is Fairy Tail made up of cute young girls?"
Wendy laughed and shook her head. "Natsu's on the train, he's still motion sick and didn't want to come with us into town."
Lucy grinned, hand on her hip. "More like we couldn't rouse him, he's feeling so badly. Wendy's spell to help with travel wore off and is ineffective now."
Shagon's smile turned encouraging. "You keep at it, I'm sure with practice your spells will improve." She said in what was obviously meant to be reassuring, but came off a bit condescending.
Lucy and Wendy both blinked, looking to Levy instead. The blue-haired wizard shook her head slightly. She didn't want to explain spell dynamics to a novice. Wendy's spells were stronger than most wizards since she used dragonslayer air magic. But Troia was a spell that if used continuously on the same person, then the effects lessened each time it was cast.
"Er. Thank you." Wendy curtsied politely, but not warmly.
"What are you lot doing here?"
The gruff, grouchy voice had all the ladies turning to find Gajeel standing in front of them. His arms were across his chest and his hard, large biceps were clearly evident in a menacing picture of a peevish male.
"Shopping." Lucy said tartly. "What are you doing here, Gajeel?" Her eyes moving to read the words emblazoned with ink and magic across his abdomen. Words that claimed him as belonging to Levy. She shifted her weight uncertainly. What kind of joke was this?
Wendy smiled winningly up at the other dragonslayer, quite fond of him despite his rough exterior. "We're on a job. Stopping over in Burlone for lunch before we move on south. Nothing big. Nuisance job, really."
Gajeel nodded, he knew what she meant. As the lowest ranked mage guild, they weren't getting the high paying jobs right now. The Master had them working on the smaller jobs, not just to pick up cash, but to start to rebuild their guild reputation.
"Can't let your new bride out of your sight?" Shagon teased, not knowing how her words would go over.
Wendy's mouth dropped open wide and Lucy stood up straight, her eyes showing clear signs of shock. "BRIDE?" They both shouted, their eyes moving automatically to Levy's left hand the pretty wedding band resting around her finger. The one made of iron.
Lucy was left reeling, her head whipping back and forth between Levy and Gajeel. Wendy though, clapped and congratulated them prettily, though she was no less surprised.
Gajeel though, had eyes only for Levy McGarden Redfox. His blushing bride was red with embarrassment and mortification. His mood plummeted to a cold, dark place in his soul. His teeth ground together audibly.
Lucy began to calm down as she noted the tension between Levy and Gajeel. Suddenly, in her mind, it clicked. They were on a job. On assignment. Pretending to be married.
Shagon was smiling at the two girl's reactions, she leaned over toward Levy. "I guess they missed the wedding announcements."
"We ran off. It was sudden." Levy said in a small voice, not daring to look in Gajeel's direction.
"I hate to have missed it!" Wendy said cheerfully. "You couldn't have waited until everyone was back? We need a good celebration now that we're home from the island."
Wendy suddenly yelped and when everyone looked, she was inspecting her toes. It was obvious that Lucy had stepped on her foot as the blonde was apologizing all over herself.
Shagon looked confused, as if wanting to ask about the 'island' but focusing instead on something else. "No, they couldn't have waited. That's what happens when you can't keep your hands off of each other."
If possible, Levy turned even redder. If he wasn't so angry and hurt, Gajeel might have gone to her.
"Lunch!" Lucy shouted, trying to drag a protesting young Wendy away from the trio. "We need food!"
"But we just had breakfast. And Carla wanted us to pick her up a new ribbon for her tail…."
"Yes, yes! We will!" Lucy interrupted, abruptly and rudely dragging Wendy down the street. "Bye Levy, Bye Gajeel, happy marriage!"
Levy stared after the departing girls, Shagon stared Gajeel's Fairy Tail guild mark …or his impressive muscles, it was hard to tell which. As for Gajeel, he was busy glaring at his wife.
Suddenly Shagon giggled. "A ribbon for her …tail?"
"Carla's a cat." Gajeel said dryly.
"Oh." Shagon nodded, stopped, then shook her head. "They were acting like the cat could talk. Is she like …your cat then?"
"Yes." Levy said without further explanation, and without looking up.
Clearly feeling uncomfortable, Shagon made some excuses and headed into the book seller's shop, leaving Gajeel and Levy alone on a busy street.
o.o.o.o
Sorry to be so late in updating. Exciting news (for me) though ...just got an original short story published in an anthology. No, I won't try and sell it to you. However, if you want to know more, I'll be glad to share.