The Iron Dragon's Mark

Teaming Up

Levy smacked her hand on the bar after taking a seat. "Inconsiderate, rude, boorish..." she muttered.

"You okay, Levy?" asked Mira, concerned. It wasn't too often she saw the script mage so worked up. A noise caught her attention, and she saw Gajeel coming up the stairs, his eyes on Levy. Hmm, so that's what it is, she thought with a smirk.

She brought Levy some hot tea. "Here ya go. This will make you feel better."

Levy stopped mumbling under her breath - having run out of synonyms anyway - and smiled gratefully at Mira. "Thanks, Mira. You always know what to do." She glared over where Gajeel was talking with the master. "Unlike other people," she grumbled.

"Problems in paradise?" Mira asked with her usual bright smile.

Levy sighed. "You know it's not like that, Mira. It's just that he seems to know which nerve to pluck and how to slowly wedge underneath it and...." she paused, not sure how to describe it.

Mira nodded. "Oh, I understand! Don't you remember how Erza and I used to be as kids?"

Levy smiled. "Dangerous times back then," she chuckled. She imagined back to the days when they had all been kids in the guild hall. "And there I was, with my nose in a book, Cana with her cards - and you, Natsu, Grey, and Erza always picking a fight."

Mira nodded, smiling. "The good ol' days, huh?" She gestured over at Gajeel. "He hasn't stopped staring at you, even though he's talking with the master. I think he might be coming over to apologize," Mira leaned over and said in a loud whisper.

"Ugh! I can't deal with him anymore tonight. Thanks for the tea, Mira, but I think I'll be going."

"No problem, Levy! See ya tomorrow!"

Levy waved, gathered her satchel of books from a nearby table, and started to leave the Guild Hall. Of course Droy and Jet offered to walk her home, but she shrugged away their offer. "It's okay," she lied, "I have some stops to make on the way home." Right now, she just wanted to be alone.

The idea of curling up in pjs with a good book sounded very appealing. With Lucy gone to the Magic Library with Natsu, she really didn't want to hang around anyone else right now.

Lucy. She hoped her friend found the book to help understand the whole dragon mate/dragon mark situation. It had come to no surprise to anyone in Fairy Tail that Natsu had finally "claimed" Lucy. I mean, it had only been a matter of time. The whole Guild - with the exception of the two of them - had been placing bets on when, not if! Turns out, Erza and Happy were the big winners. Big surprise, she smirked, being that Natsu and Lucy hooked up during one of their missions with the team! The two "winners" had probably set up the whole scene!

She sighed. As much as Gajeel drove her nuts, though, she still had this weird strong attraction to him. It was kind of like a book she read, only all the little "signs" she kept seeing turned out to be nothing. He was very protective of her - but then called her names like "shrimp" and "short stuff." When they were thrown together in situations, like Tenru, they worked well together, but not once had he ever asked her to go on a job request with him. Maybe what she was seeing was simply not there.

She felt the satchel being lifted from her shoulder and looked up to see Gajeel walking next to her.

"What do you have in here, rocks? How can you carry all these things?" He gave what passed for a smile for him. Sometimes it looked more like a grimace, she thought, but at least he was trying.

"Just a few books for tonight," Levy shrugged, replying in an aloof voice. She was NOT going to let him know how much she had been bothered by him.

"Look, Shrimp," Gajeel said, after they had walked along in silence for awhile, "sorry if I upset you with the whole library comment. I just think you're more talented and could be put to better use than arranging books, ya know?"

Levy looked up at him, surprised. "What kind of better use?"

Gajeel scratched the back of his neck and shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know. Maybe a job or something. Instead, you spend time researching things for other people when you could be out kicking butt!"

Levy couldn't help it, she giggled. "Kicking butt? Really? You remember who you're talking to, right?"

Gajeel looked down at her and frowned. "Hey, mighty things come in little packages, right? You're a pretty strong mage and a good partner to have around, if you'd only have a little more confidence in yourself. I mean, Master chose you for the S-Class trials, right?"

"A good partner, huh? Then how come you've never asked me to go on a job with you?"

Levy's cheeks reddened. Did she really just say that aloud?

Gajeel gave an awkward chuckle. "Well, um, usually it's just something Lily and I do. But if you want," he said, looking down at her, "you pick a job tomorrow and we'll do it together! I mean," he laughed awkwardly again, "you, me and Lily....if you want."