The Iron Dragon's Mark

The Surprise

With Levy and Gajeel:

"Where are we going, Gajeel?" asked Levy, glancing at the sky above them. It would be dark in about an hour and she could already feel the temperature dropping. They had been walking for some time and had almost reached the limits of the city.

Gajeel chuckled. "Just a bit further. Didn't realize you were so impatient."

"Am not," muttered Levy, crossing her arms and frowning. She was still worried about Lucy, although she knew there was nothing she could do. She gave a sigh and leaned against Gajeel's side.

He glanced down, giving a half smile as he wrapped an arm around her. Looking ahead, he saw their destination and raised his hand to cover her eyes.

"What? Gajeel!" Levy spit out, surprised.

"Hold on, Short Stuff. Don't lose your temper. I promise you you'll like your surprise."

"Surprise?" she repeated, her lips curving into a smile. This was the playful, romantic side of Gajeel the others in the guild definitely did not see - and he would be embarrassed if they did! "What is it?"

"Shorty, you know what a surprise is, right? Gosh, sometimes you're dumb!"

Her hands went automatically to her hips as she stopped. He could see her frown. "I am not dumb!" she protested.

"You're cute when you're insulted - do you know your nose does that wrinkle up thing?" He gave a laugh as she stomped her foot. "That too."

She was about to verbally assault him when he uncovered her eyes. She blinked, then looked up at the store they were standing in front of.

"What is this place?" she whispered, fascinated. "I haven't been here before!"

Gajeel laughed. "Considering you haven't come back to our place with a whole new stack of books, I figured you hadn't! The owner just opened today. I happened to see it when Lily and I came back the other day from a job."

"Gajeel!" she squealed, giving him a tight hug. "You're the best!"

Humming happily to herself, she started exploring the inside of the store and the books they had stacked to the ceiling. Gajeel watched her, arms crossed, leaning up against one of the few walls that didn't have books stacked against it. A smile played across his face as he watched her, shaking his head. He had never met someone before who was so obsessed!

It grew dark outside, but Levy didn't notice. It wasn't until Gajeel's stomach growled that he awoke from his half slumber, seeing Levy with a stack of books beside her.

"Don't you think that's enough to start with tonight?" he asked her, patting her on top of her head.

When Levy went to go pay, Gajeel leaned over and handed the clerk his money. "It's on me, shrimp," he told her as she started to protest.

He let her keep one book in her hand and carried the rest for her as she flipped through it on their way home. Yeah, was he a great mate or what? He thought, grinning to himself.