In Secret (Sequel to Behind the Scenes)

After the Party

A/N - So, this chapter might possibly be sad. Maybe. It came to my attention that there really wasn't any struggle in this fic, and while there isn't necessarily anything wrong with that, I felt the need to spice things up a little. Sorry in advance... Much loves!

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Levy's P.O.V.

"So... you're from another world. Sort of parallel to Earthland?" I looked down at the black Exceed sitting in front of me. He was cross legged on the tabletop, a small sword strapped to his back as he watched the Fairy Tail guild waking up after a party in our typical chaotic fashion. I was trying to get all of the information I could out of him, since Lisanna had been shanghai'd by her family. Understandably, of course. Gajeel and the others could probably tell me more too, but they were all pretty well entrenched in a fight at the moment. Well, and Gajeel still wasn't the best with details.

The Exceed known as Pantherlily nodded, his eyes still roaming around the guildhall for a moment before he looked back up at me, smiling softly. "You're very different from the Levy on my world. Well, different and yet the same. She was incredibly intelligent like you, which was a source of constant frustration for us, of course. But she was a bit more... aggressive, at least from the reports I heard. I never met her, although your profiles are identical."

I nodded, that's what Natsu had said too. It was still strange, and somewhat disappointing that they had all been to another world and I'd missed out on everything. There was so much knowledge, so many things I would have loved to have seen! But no. I spent the time as a lacrima, apparently. Unless this was all just some elaborate dream or something. Well, no. That wasn't very likely. There's no way Gajeel would have humored Natsu for this long. It had to have actually happened. I sighed, writing a few more things I remembered Natsu telling me about the other Fairy Tail guildhall. Maybe I could get a good description from Lucy too and have Reedus sketch it out for me. That would be cool.

I glanced up and saw Gajeel watching me from across the room. Maybe he was watching Pantherlily. I don't really know. He HAD claimed the Exceed as his own. I laughed to myself a little, shaking my head. The scratches he'd had the other night had been his attempt to find a cat so he was like the other two Dragon Slayers in our guild. He just hadn't wanted to tell me. I saw him grin, a secret little grin I'd only seen a few other times and knew he was watching me. Raising an eyebrow, I gestured at the door with my pen. He nodded slowly and turned his attention back to the conversation in front of him. He was with Juvia, one of the only people he actually devoted any time to, but I had seen his patience wearing thin with his best friend. I smiled a little, turning back to Lily. That's what he'd said we could call him for short.

"Well, not much else is likely to happen at this point, aside from maybe a fight. Everyone is likely to be nursing a hangover from last night. You'd think as often as we do this we'd have built up more tolerance, but that's not the case for most of us."

"Gajeel told me where his house is. If I feel the need for some quiet, I might head there. But I've spent a good deal of time in solitude. I find this guild highly amusing, and the amount of love you all have for each other is plainly apparent." I smiled wider, nodding in agreement. "We definitely do have that. We're just a big family!"

I pushed up from the table, stuffing all of my notes into my bag and tossing it over my shoulder. I looked around for Lucy, but she was leaning against a table, fully entranced in Wendy's retelling of the fight against the dragon machine. It was more interesting when Wendy told the story, she added more details that Natsu tended to overlook or embellish. There was a chance the story had changed now that nobody was drunk, and we'd all slept most of the day away. I shook my head, knowing I would get trapped if I wandered over to listen, even though I'd already heard the girl tell the story once. It was just so fascinating, but I'd told the kids we'd be by last night to spend some time with them. Then everything with Edolas had happened, and we'd been delayed. I'd sent them a note, but still.

I crossed the hall, waving at people as I went, making my excuses and slipping out the door. Jet and Droy didn't notice, they were too busy laughing and trying to act like their tough counterparts from the parallel universe. I walked a short distance away, stopping in the shade of a tree and leaning against its trunk. I knew he would find me. Within a few minutes, I smiled, hearing the familiar thud of his boots on the ground. I contemplated trying to jump out and startle him, but I was sure he already had scented me. A moment later I still jumped when his finger traced a line down my arm, giggling as I turned to face him. Gajeel grinned, ducking his head down to kiss me quickly before straightening and holding out his arm. I hooked mine through it, leaning my head against him as we walked towards the warehouse.

"I hope the kids aren't overly concerned with the fact that we didn't come by." He chuckled, that little "Gihi" of his, shaking his head. "They're fine, Shrimp. They probably don't even realize what time it is. You know they're just enjoying a little break, and at least half of them were sleeping. That carnival was almost more fun than they knew what to do with." I laughed again, remembering the sugar and excitement buzz that the entire group had stumbled back to the warehouse in. Well, minus Saki, she'd stayed passed out on Gajeel's back. Hadn't even budged when they'd transferred her to him from Juvia, aside from both of her hands tangling into Gajeel's hair. It had taken me almost five minutes to untangle them. I giggled again as I remembered the whispered complaints and grunts from the big man. He was such a baby when it came to his hair.

We walked around a corner, heading down the lane towards what had kind of become a second home when Gajeel suddenly straightened. I glanced up at him, seeing his nostrils flare, a panic in his face. "Shrimp... I smell fire. Look." He raised his free hand, pointing at a plume of smoke rising into the air. "Gajeel, there's a lot of abandoned warehouses in this area... right?!" I heard myself getting frantic as we both broke into a run, my bag thudding painfully against my back. He quickly outdistanced me, yelling over his shoulder. "But fires spread!"

The Dragon Slayer disappeared around the last corner before the warehouse, a cloud of dust in his wake. I coughed, sliding to a stop as I cleared the building, waving a hand in front of my face. No! All I could see was a wall of flame and a flash of black hair disappearing into the building. 

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A/N Sorry again... I promise I won't leave it as long before I resolve this cliffhanger.