In Secret (Sequel to Behind the Scenes)

Plans

Levy's P.O.V.

"Welcome home." Gajeel grinned at me, just a little thing that made my heart skip, and kissed me quickly one last time before lowering my legs to the floor again. I felt the heat in my cheeks starting to fade just as he reached a hand to brush my hair back from my face. I caught his hand and pressed my cheek into it, looking up into his crimson eyes. "I really would never do anything to hurt or endanger these kids, Gajeel. I promise." He sighed, stroking his thumb against my skin. "I know, Shrimp. Jus' panicked a bit."

He dropped his hand from my face and glanced towards the door, stepping back slightly. "That was some interestin' trainin' ya had goin' on out there." Raising an eyebrow, he looked back at me. I twirled some hair around my finger, looking down at the floor. "Well, they're still children. But most of their fun and childhood has been stolen from them. I was just trying to give a little back. I've actually got another plan, but I wanted to wait until you were back to do this one."

"Alrigh' Shrimp. Whatcha got?" He walked over to one of the pallets the children used as beds and sat down, crossing his ankles and folding his arms over his chest. Nodding, I began to pace as I outlined my plan. "Well, some people around town could hold clues, I want to set up a scavenger hunt. I want it to challenge the kids' abilities, PLUS make them interact with society. Some of the tasks in the hunt should maybe be small jobs. For Rat or Kasai, who were stuck here with me while the others were working." I paused, resting my chin in my hand for a moment as I thought.

"Oh! Also, they'll be in teams of three or four. James and Steven aren't the only two I had working together, but teamwork is always a good thing for them to work on. They do all work together wonderfully." I trailed of again, noticing Gajeel was just staring at me. I blushed a little and rushed out the end of my plan. "And there's a carnival on the outskirts of town. They should have some time to just be children. And they've earned money, so they can play to their heart's content. What do you think?" I clasped my hands behind my back and looked at him, rocking back and forth on my feet just a bit. Gajeel regarded me solemnly for several long minutes, and just as I started getting uncomfortable, he nodded. A small grin broke out on his face and he nodded at me. "Gihi, I like it, Shorty. An' I think the brats will too. When?" I sighed in relief and beamed at him, bouncing on my toes. "I can have it all set up to start tomorrow night! Well, if the party tonight doesn't go too late, that is. Maybe I'll plan it for two days from now." 

I saw confusion cross his face and giggled. "Gajeel, you haven't caught on yet, but we like to party around the guildhall. Natsu's team should be back tonight from their team up with Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale and Cait Shelter. They said they have news, and naturally everyone is primed for a party!"  

"Alrigh' then, we'll do it. I trust ya to set things up for the bastards, ya know more about havin' fun than I do." I let out a squeal and flung myself at him, throwing my arms him as I buried my face in neck. He chuckled as he rocked back a little and I felt his right arm wrapping around my legs to pull me so I was sitting sideways in his lap. I pulled my head back to look at him again, beaming at him. This man makes me so happy... I don't think he even knows. A wicked grin lit up his eyes, and his left hand slid up the back of my neck, pulling me into a gentle kiss. It had none of the urgency we'd had before, but all of the same warmth. His hand began tracing nonsense shapes on my leg, making me shiver. He started moving his mouth down my neck again, and I gasped as I felt his teeth graze my skin. 

"Miss Levy?" We both jumped at the yell and loud thump on the door to the room we were in. I felt my cheeks burning, as if I'd gotten too close to Natsu while he was being an idiot, and I leapt up off Gajeel's lap, brushing off my clothes and refusing to meet his eyes. "Y-yes?" I coughed to clear my throat, walking over to the door as Gajeel groaned. Before I opened it, I glanced back at the Dragon Slayer and almost laughed at the expression on his face. He'd thrown himself back on the bed with an arm over his eyes, although he wasn't quite pouting... Muffling a giggle, I turned back to open the door to James. 

"Is everything okay, Miss Levy?" He tried peeking over my shoulder, but he wasn't quite tall enough. "Yes, James, everything is fine. Gajeel and I were just discussing some plans we have for more training." I smiled down at the boy, slowly stepping out of the room and pulling the door shut behind me. "Come on, why don't we go tell the others to gather so they can go over what we worked on last week with Gajeel? I know Sam wasn't the only one excited to tell him." He slipped his hand into mine and we started back towards the main room of the building. "Miss Levy?" I barely heard his words and stopped walking, tugging his hand to turn him towards me. "James, what is it?" He looked down at his feet, cheeks reddening. 

"He... he didn't hurt you, did he?" I was speechless, wide eyes just blinking at the small boy in front of me. "What?" I placed a hand gently on his chin, lifting his face to look at me. "James. What on earth made you think he would hurt me?" I regretted my question almost immediately as his eyes filled with tears. "That's what Father would do to Mother if she made him cross... they would go to their room so I didn't know. But I still knew. I always knew where the bruises came from." I threw my arms around him, cradling him to me as he started crying. Glancing over my shoulder, I noticed Gajeel standing in the shadow of the hallway behind me, his face impassive. I knew he was protective of these kids... if James wasn't already an orphan, he might have been soon. 

"James. Honey, Gajeel would never hurt me." I heard Gajeel's sharp breath behind me and shoved the memory of when that wasn't a true statement out of my mind. I trusted Gajeel completely. There was nothing that would make him hurt me. "Here now. Look." I carefully pushed him back, making sure he wouldn't see Gajeel standing behind us until he was convinced I was okay. I held my arms out to the side. I was wearing a tank top without my usual attached sleeves, so James could see my arms completely. "No bruises, see? Here either." I pulled my shirt up just a little so he could see my stomach. He studied my face and ran a finger down my arm, watching me for a reaction. I laughed a little and smiled at him. Smiling back, he nodded. I held out a hand to him again, leading him out to the rest of the kids. 

After a few moments, Gajeel followed us out into the room. I had the kids sorted and ready to tell him their stories, so they didn't try all at once. "Alright guys, don't forget! Take turns! And I'll see you tomorrow!" I was attacked by several of them for hugs, almost falling over as they collided with me. I felt Gajeel's large hand in the middle of my back supporting me and grinned over my shoulder at him. The goof looked pointedly away from me, causing me to giggle before I stepped away. Waving at the kids, I walked out, practically skipping down the street towards the guild hall. Hopefully Lu-chan would be back soon!