Read to me

Chapter 3

"Gajeel!" Levy said strictly as she closed the book with a 'thud'.

He was laying on his bed, listening to her read, as always. He picked up head from its place above his hand and furrowed his pierced brows at her.

"Don't you dare scowl at me! I've been talking to you for three weeks now and you haven't even said a word! It is getting annoying and frustrating. It is like I'm reading to the wall."

With a groan he sat up and approached the bars, behind which she was pouting like a child. He looked down at her, maybe waiting for her to be intimidated by his intense glare, but he couldn't contain himself and burst out laughing.

"Gajeel! This not funny! Talk to me."

"Gi hee." He smirked and lowered to her level, the only thing between them being the cell bars. "You want me to talk? Fine, I'll talk. But you cannot complain, because if you do I will grab you and never let you go. I'll have you in my arms and kiss you to my heart's content. Maybe if I was out of here, I would kidnap you and lock you into my house, where all day and all night we'd make passionate love."

To say Levy was stunned was an understatement. Not only his speech, but also his passionate eyes and the fact he was twirling one of her blue strands of hair around his index finger, were making her weak in the knees. He was so close, closer than he had ever been and the longest he had ever spoken to her. Even though she did not even understand a word, somehow her heart fluttered, making her want to hear more and more.

She couldn't wait any longer. He was so close and her feet worked for themselves, as she got up on her tip toes and half-closed her eyes. She could see his lips, the previous cut now healed, and could feel his warm breath on hers.

His hand shot up and covered her mouth, stopping her an inch away from her goal. "Not this time, Levy." His voice low and smooth, rumbling to her ears. She pulled a little to the back and looked at him wide-eyed.

Finally he had spoken words she could actually understand. "You can speak?"

"Gi hee, I always could speak, Shrimp. I just needed to be reminded of the language. I haven't spoken it in fifteen years."

"Wait, you knew it? Then why did you stop speaking it?" She sat back at her chair and waited patiently for him to explain.

"I was born in the capital and lived with my mother here until I was seven years old. After she died, I started searching for my father. I traveled through the whole continent, with no luck, so I moved permanently to the country north of here and ended up speaking only their language."

"And you wanted me to read to you out loud in order to remind them to you."

"Exactly."

Levy looked at her hands that fumbled with her dress. She tried to take in what Gajeel had just said and the fact that he said them.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. It's just, I've been coming down here for three weeks and this is the first real conversation we had. I mean, all this time I was the only one talking and after a certain point I waited no answer. And suddenly today, you start speaking so fluently and so carefree...."

"I...just liked...listening to you...read. And I too, after some time, got used to the schedule." He turned the other way and rubbed the back of his head. Luckily for him, the absence of enough light hid his blush.

"I see. Then I'm glad we finally got that out of the way."

"The princes are back. You better go." Gajeel heard the cluttering of horse hooves.