In Secret (Sequel to Behind the Scenes)

End of the Night

"Gihi, yeah Shrimp. We all learn differently." There was silence again for a little bit longer.

"Thanks for doin' this---"
"So do you want to explain---" she laughed as we started talking over each other. I gestured for her to ask her question first. "You're welcome, of course! But do you want to explain what exactly that was?" When had she started trusting me so much? She did all of this, gave up her almost entire day, and she didn't even know why.

"Well, it started as a job. The bastards st- uh, saved jewel to hire a mentor so they could learn magic to protect themselves. I agreed to do it." I didn't want her turning them in for theft. Or thinking less of them.

"They saved. By stealing it from others." There wasn't really a question in her voice, but I answered it with a slow nod anyway. She stopped walking and rocked from her heels to her toes, swinging her arms a little. It was adorable. I snapped my wandering eyes to her face, but she hadn't noticed. "Do you mind telling me why you don't want anyone to know about this?"

I just stared at her for a minute, surprised at her acceptance of their delinquency. "I-I don't trust easily." I started slowly. Her head cocked sideways a little as she listened, kind of doglike. "I don't want someone to take them away from each other. They need the family community that they've built for themselves. It's all they have left, really." I stopped, realizing I was babbling, and saw a weird look on her face. Is that... Pity? I turned and kept waking. She'd be fine on her own, we were out of the bad neighborhoods by now. I heard her stepping quickly to catch up with me, but she didn't say anything else.

As we finally neared the guildhall, noise pouring from inside, she paused again. "Gajeel, wait." I turned towards her, but didn't really look at her. I didn't like this unsettled feeling she gave me. "What do you want me to tell people if they asked where I've been?" Again, surprise hit me like a battering ram, and I couldn't think. "I dunno, Shorty. Whatever ya gotta to keep them from asking questions. Remember yer word not to say nothin'."

"Anything, Gajeel. I gave my word not to say anything. And I won't. I'll, umm, hmm. I'll just tell people I was reading, if they ask." She furrowed her brow in thought, then nodded. "Yeah. I was reading today. That's pretty normal for me. Plus it's the truth." She suddenly smiled, a blindingly bright thing, and said, "See ya!" As she walked into the guild. I made to grab her, a part of me desperately wanting to see that smile again. Then I realized where we were and stopped myself. I leaned against the building instead, crossing my arms over my chest and watched her from the shadows as her hips swayed. She threw herself against the doors and they flung open, releasing a cacophony of noise.

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Levy's P.O.V.

The look in his eyes was so vulnerable. He was like this. Before his dragon found him. He was wandering with no family. And probably after Metalicana disappeared, too. My sadness for him must have shown in my face, because he seemed to get irritated and walked away again. I had to run to catch up. Finally, I couldn't keep my jogged pace anymore, and I realized we were almost back to Fairy Tail. "Gajeel, wait." I called. He stopped, but wouldn't look at me. I took a moment to catch my breath, and then asked, "What do you want me to tell people if they asked where I've been?" He looked at me then, like I'd just struck him. "I dunno, Shorty. Whatever ya gotta to keep them from asking questions. Remember yer word not to say nothin'."

I couldn't resist correcting him. Not this time. "Anything, Gajeel. I gave my word not to say anything. And I won't. I'll, umm, hmm. I'll just tell people I was reading, if they ask." I thought, then nodded. "Yeah. I was reading today. That's pretty normal for me. Plus it's the truth." I smiled and added, "See ya!" And then I turned and walked into the guild.

The usual chaos was running rampant through the hall, so I skirted around the edge of the room. "Lu-chan!" I called to my blonde friend. "Levy-chan!" She yelled back, turning from the fight she'd been watching. Natsu and Gray were yelling insults at each other every time one of them struck the other. I laughed as I came up to Lucy. "What set them off this time?"

"I don't even know. Does there even need to be a reason for those two? Hey, where've you been all day? Jet and Droy were sulking. They thought you decided to do a job without them, even though Mira said you hadn't." I sat at the table next to her, both of us turning back to the fight. It was always a good idea to keep an eye on them, or you might get hit by flying debris.

"I was out reading. I can't believe I forgot to tell my team I wasn't going anywhere! They really should know me by now though... There aren't a lot of jobs someone like me could do alone." I looked down at my hands as I blushed. I wasn't lying, not really. I'd done a lot of reading today. And I'm not really strong enough to do jobs on my own. Wait, little Sam said Gajeel's going to train them... Maybe I could get him to train me too? I could tell the kids that was how they're paying me, by letting me learn to be strong too!

I looked up as the doors to the hall banged open again, Gajeel thudding inside. I almost leapt up to go ask him right away about training me, but remembered at the last minute that most people thought I was still afraid of him. They didn't understand that I had forgiven him. I'm pretty sure Lu-chan had too. We were the ones he hurt most directly, so if we could forgive him and move on, why couldn't the others? They didn't know about this softer side of him I'd seen today, either. That's really sad, actually. He's not as bad as everyone thinks. There were a lot of glares leveled at the big lug as he walked through the hall. Even after everything he did during the Festival, a lot of our guild mates didn't trust him yet.

I realized I was staring, and pulled my gaze back to Lucy. She was watching me, worry on her face. I smiled at her and asked, "So Lu, what did you do today?" Her face brightened as she started telling me about a job she, Happy, and Natsu had gone on. Those three got into more trouble than anyone else in the guild. I laughed when she started whining about her rent money again. Oh yeah, I'd better pay mine too!