I have written a grand total of four fics (including this one), but if you look closely, three-quarters of it are crackships.

In other news, this is for gsut's birthday! Y'all should totally check her fics out.

I hope you like this, and as always reviews are appreciated immensely!

The first time Minerva sets eyes on him, it's in the corridor leading to the princess's chambers. No doubt he was replacing one of the guards placed outside the room.

Which is idiocy in the first place, since Minerva and nearly everyone on the staff knew that the princess was the kind of person who'd make a rope out of towels and sheets and escape through the window. If you asked her, Minerva would suggest guarding the windows as well.

She couldn't see his face, but she was sure by just a glance that this was a man not to be trifled with. He was dressed in dull green robes, as though he hoped that he would blend in inconspicuously.

Unfortunately for him, Minerva notices everything.

In the kitchens, she feels more at home. The heat is stifling, but it is nothing that she hasn't experienced before. She is good friends with the other cooks, even if she can be stand-offish at times.

As she walks in and takes up her usual position at the counter, she sees Lisanna and Laki chattering away at the stove. Minerva smiles and nods at them, and returns to her work.

As she kneads and rolls the dough in front of her, she takes a look around the kitchens. It is a huge room, with stoves and ovens and a neat little corner for all the dishes to be washed in. Seeing as dinner was just over, Minerva pities the boy doomed to wash them all.

Out of the corner of her eye, she notices a flash of movement. When she turns around, she sees that it's him again.

He is still dressed in his green clothes, but Minerva can now take a better look at him. He has long unruly black hair, and if she squints, she can make out a little mark on his shoulder. He's talking to Max Alors, the sweeper who occasionally graces the kitchens with his broom.

He finally nods goodbye to Max, and walks stiffly out. Max quickly follows him, his hand outstretched, like he's calling him back. But before he leaves, he catches Minerva's eye, as though he noticed her assessing him.

Which couldn't possibly be true, right?

Minerva sighs loudly and returns to her work.

"Be careful on your way home, Minerva!"

"I will! Thanks, Lisanna!" Minerva yells back.

The sun is slowly setting, and Minerva needs to hurry. Because Yukino needs to go home to take care of her sister, and that would result in the bakery being closed early.

Minerva picks up her pace a bit.

Luck is on her side, and she reaches her bakery in time. A bell signals her arrival as she enters the little shop.

Yukino looks up from the counter and grins at her. "Oh thank goodness, I thought I'd have to close up early. Do you mind if I go ahead now?"

"Thanks for not leaving sooner. But yes, go ahead. I'm sure Sorano needs you." Minerva says as she nudges Yukino out from behind the counter.

Yukino smiles gratefully at her, and pulls her scarf from the hook behind her on the wall, and hurries out the door.

Minerva glances around, and is relieved when she sees that there's only a single customer perusing her confectionery stand.

As soon as the customer pays and leaves, a peaceful silence settles in her quaint bakery. Minerva basks in the quiet, and decides it's time to close up shop.

As she puts out the torches in their brackets and clears up the counter, her thoughts race back to the unfamiliar man she saw today. She'd asked Lisanna and Laki about him, but they had merely shrugged their shoulders.

She doesn't know a thing about him, but Minerva can feel in her gut that she's about to.

The next day, Minerva shows up bright and early to her bakery. Around noon, Yukino arrives to take the shop off her hands, and Minerva makes her way to the castle grounds.

When Minerva pushes the door to the kitchens, she nearly runs over Max, who's loitering just inside. A rush of apologies takes place, and Minerva suddenly remembers the unfamiliar man.

"Max, do you know that man who came in yesterday?" she asks immediately.

Max, for his part, looks confused. "Who?"

"Long black hair, scary-looking man?"

"Oh!" Max cries. "You must mean Gajeel."

Gajeel. As far as names went, it wasn't bad.

"He works for the princess," Max continues. "He came in about a week ago. I'm not completely sure what his actual job is, but I do know he runs a couple errands for her."

So he was just an errand boy?

"Thank you, Max." Minerva smiles, sincerity transparent in her voice.

And Max seems to have heard it too, because he immediately ducks his head and says,

"I have to go. Goodbye, Minerva."

Minerva watches him walk away with his broom over his shoulder and sighs audibly.

"Minerva, hurry up! We need your help here!" Laki calls.

Minerva doesn't waste a second.

Yukino's sister – Sorano – had broken her foot in a nasty fall, and it had claimed Minerva's friend into a five-month servitude.

"The healer says that it should've been better in four months, but it's been five, Minerva, five!" Yukino rants. "I'm very sure that she's just faking it at this point."

Minerva suspects that Yukino is very near to banging her head against the wall, but she doesn't comment, and simply lets her friend ramble on.

"Also, she had the nerve to ask me-" Interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell, the pair whip their heads towards the entrance. Like clockwork, Yukino bows – her previous annoyance disappearing – to their customer and says cheerfully, "Welcome to our bakery!"

Minerva, meanwhile, is speechless. Because their newest customer is none other than the elusive errand boy – Gajeel.

Yukino elbows her – very discreetly – and Minerva realises that she has been staring.

"Welcome to our bakery,"she says politely to him. Gajeel stares at her curiously in return.

Then he turns around and walks out of the bakery.

Yukino can't believe his audaciousness, and she proceeds to let Minerva know.

Minerva merely shakes her head and tells Yukino to go home early.

Gajeel probably came by to find out who she was. He must have caught wind that she was asking around about him. Somewhere deep inside her, Minerva realizes that even if he is a simple errand boy, he is someone not to be trifled with.

The next time she sees him is a week later. And once again, he is her customer.

After she bites out a welcome to him, Gajeel steps near the counter and goes straight to business.

"I hear you've been asking about me," he says.

"And I hear you're an errand boy to the princess," Minerva snarks back.

Gajeel smiles wryly at her response. "I'm Gajeel," he says, leaning his elbows on the counter. Minerva isn't intimidated, and she neatly pushes his face away from hers with a finger. "I know."

They glare at each other for a good while, before Minerva decides to be civil. "Minerva," she says simply.

Gajeel replies, "I know."

Minerva has a sneaking suspicion that they're going to be very good friends.

"Minerva Orlando of the Magnolia Bakery has been requested to appear before the princess tomorrow morning," the messenger reads out loud from his letter

Minerva is confused, and so is Yukino. But Yukino is the only one who is vocal about it.

"What do you mean 'before the princess'?" She asks. "Like a summons to the castle?"

"Rightly so, Miss Aguria." The messenger has short hair, a scar over his cheek, and wears an earring. Minerva's seen him around the castle often – if memory serves right, his name should be Mest.

And it seems that Mest also has guards with him. Gajeel smirks annoyingly from behind Mest, and looks up at the other guard at Mest's side. Minerva only has two words to describe him – blond and big.

"I'll be taking my leave now. Please don't be late, Miss Orlando."

And with that, Mest turns on his heels and exits, his guards right behind him. But before

they leave, Gajeel looks behind one last time and catches Minerva's eye.

He fails to see her smile, however.

The princess is the kind of person who held no grudges and is friendly with everyone. As a result, this isn't the first time Minerva's met with her. She's met her several times before when the princess had decided to break out of her rooms.

She rarely ever succeeds, but Minerva has hope that one day she'll be triumphant.

"Princess Lucy, how may I help you?" The sound of sincerity in Minerva's voice is not false. What is false, however, is the humour in Gajeel's grin as he stands behind the princess.

Minerva finds nothing funny in this situation.

"Minerva! I need to hire your hands." Lucy is smiling at her, but Minerva's long since learned how to tell the difference. Lucy is worried. Minerva is sure of it.

"As you may know, a week from now is the ball commemorating my" – Lucy spits the word out – "engagement. So I need your help to escape."

The princess's words aren't shocking in the least. The ball was the talk of the town. It would be a surprise if their princess actually agreed to the wedding. Minerva reckons her hope in Lucy may not be futile.

So Minerva is totally and utterly sure of her answer when she says, "Of course, Your Highness."

By the princess's order, Minerva and Gajeel are to work together. The plan is already in the works, but Minerva needs to work harder than ever in order to pull it off. Gajeel tries his best, but they both understand that Minerva knows better.

So instead, Gajeel stands by, being mildly irritating.

"If you hadn't become a baker, what else would you have become?" He asks, sitting on the stool she's provided him, casually leaning against the table behind.

Minerva takes a minute or two to reply, and when she finds the answer, she makes a big show of it. "Well, I suppose…I would have…still become a baker somehow," she finishes with a grin.

Gajeel groans and she laughs at him.

And as Minerva scoops something out of her bowl and tastes it, she suddenly realises that she knows nearly nothing about what Gajeel does for a living. Sure, he was known in the castle as the princess's errand boy, but exactly what kind of errands would a princess need done?

Minerva wastes no time in asking this. In reply, Gajeel laughs at her, and Minerva decides that she doesn't like him anymore.

"I'm surprised that you haven't figured it out yet. I was hired specifically for this plan." Gajeel's eyes are full of mirth as he looks at her.

"This plan? As in, helping the princess escape from her engagement plan?" Her voice betrays her incredulity.

"Of course. I thought that must have been obvious, especially after you were told about it."

Minerva wants to smack herself for not realising it sooner. She chances a look at him, and smiles sheepishly. Gajeel returns the grin.

Perhaps they were better friends than she realised.

The stage is set. Tonight would change a few lives.

Minerva just wants to go home.

What was she thinking? She can't pull off something as dastardly as this. This is treason. She could lose her head for this!

It was all Gajeel's fault. He was a bad influence. After all, he was the one who recommended her to Princess Lucy.

The very same princess who was depending on her to play her part so that she could escape.

Minerva sighs loudly.

"Whatcha sighing for, Minerva?"

The voice startles her. Badly enough to nearly let the tray in her hands topple over.

"Woah, careful!" Strong hands help her to her feet and she recognises who the voice is – Sting Eucliffe, one of the celebrated soldiers of the country. And also unfortunate childhood friend of hers.

She raps her knuckles on his head. "I thought I told you to stop sneaking up on people."

"Hey!" He cries. "It's not my fault you didn't notice me sooner," he adds. This earns him another rap.

"What are you standing around in the servants' corridor for? Soldiers like you should be out in the hall. Can't you go dance with someone and annoy him?" Minerva's tone is sharp.

"You know I've never liked those kind of things, Min."

She nods her head at his comment. It was true – give Sting a sword and he'd be happy to hack off someone's head. But dress him up and ask him to dance, and he'd sooner dismember himself.

"I need to go now, Sting." Minerva says lightly. "If you want, you can sit in the kitchens. Just sit in one of the corners and don't bother anyone." She pats his head, shifts the tray steadier in her hands, and walks down the corridor.

When she enters the main ballroom, she is floored by the amount of work that went into decorating the place.

Glass chandeliers hang from the ceiling; girls in uniform offer drinks in crystal flutes; men and women are heavily made up and dancing on the floor – Minerva would be lying if she said she wasn't intimidated. She scans the room and promptly finds the princess, beautiful in her blue gown, but her eyes land on the man behind her.

For some insane reason, Minerva actually thinks that Gajeel sees her among this crowd of people. Even better, she thinks he actually winks at her and points to something.

It's the stress, she decides. Her anxiety is acting up.

But just in case, she glances at the place where she hallucinated Gajeel pointing and sees the princess's family. The king has a cruel smile on his face and though Minerva hasn't seen him up close, she already knows that he is untrustworthy. She longs for the day that Lucy might take the throne.

But of course, if she runs away tonight, that would mean it'd be a long time before she actually became queen.

Minerva shakes the thought from her head.

It's her time to shine.

She's dressed in server clothes, so no one will take a second look at her. Mustering up all her courage, she exhales and pushes out into the crowd. The tray in her arms wobble slightly on her arms in nervousness, and she somehow makes it up to the dais in one piece.

The royal family sits in front of her.

Smoothly, effortlessly, just like she practised, she gently says, "The Magnolia Bakery offers you this as a token of our appreciation." Minerva sets the tray down on their table and whips the covering off, revealing pure white icing on what seemed to be a simple layered cake. But when Minerva picks up the knife and gently removes a slice, the insides of the cake are stained blood-red.

From the corner of her eye, she can see Lucy nearly jumping with excitement.

"The royal family of Magnolia thanks you for your thoughtfulness. You may leave now." The queen smiles at her, and Minerva cannot tell if it is genuine. The queen has spent so long perfecting it that she doubts whether the queen herself knows if it is false.

Minerva bows once again, and she does not dare to look at Gajeel as she walks away.

One she is a safe distance away, she watches them eat the confectionery; Lucy politely refuses the slice offered to her.

"It's something I picked up on one of my travels. A healer by the name of Wendy."

"Is it dangerous? Because I refuse to add anything lethal in this batter!"

"Calm down. It just a sedative. Even if the entire army comes banging on the king's door, he won't wake up."

Just because Minerva had agreed to the plan didn't mean that she had to like it. And she hadn't. Not in the least.

When Minerva wakes up, she feels worried. As though something's about to happen and she has no way to prevent it.

The town is still buzzing about the gala two days later. This is mainly because the princess has been declared kidnapped. The royal family is, understandably, in tears. The king has announced that he'll be sending search parties to look for her. He apparently has certain suspects in mind.

Minerva snickers, because everyone knows that if Lucy disappeared, it is only because she wanted to. Their rulers are the only ones left to realize this little fact.

Minerva sends Yukino to the castle kitchens in her stead as soon as noon approaches. And almost as soon as Yukino leaves, Gajeel steps in.

"Were you waiting for her to leave?" Minerva asks incredulously.

Gajeel brushes off the comment, and gets down straight to business. "I need to leave."

"By all means, the door is right behind you." Minerva's tone is fatal.

"I mean Magnolia. The king is sending a search party for Lucy."

Minerva makes sure to keep her face impassive. "Why do you have to go? You know exactly where she is."

"I do. She's safe. She's staying with my…brother."

A brother? She didn't know Gajeel had a brother.

"We don't share blood. We just know each other from a very young age."

Oh. She'd said that out loud.

"Then are you going to go visit him?" Minerva's mind is running amok with thoughts of him leaving for good. She doesn't like any of the possibilities she comes up with.

"I might. I'm not quite sure. I need to make sure that my troop stays far away from them as possible." Gajeel blinks a couple of times. "The king wants me to report my findings after three months, if not before. I might visit Erik to update him and Lucy on our progress." Gajeel exhales through his nose loudly.

Meanwhile, Minerva has stopped functioning. "Th-three months?"

"You'll be the first person to see me when I come back. I promise."

Minerva doesn't answer. Instead, she nods numbly.

"I'll be back soon. I promise."

It has been four months since the stupid idiot left her.

Minerva stopped expecting him at her doorstep a week after three months. She has accepted the grim reality that he could be dead in a ditch somewhere.

Her bakery is at the peak of its glory. People flock to it like pigeons to breadcrumbs. She and Yukino have become well-off.

Yukino still lives with her sister – her foot's all better, thank the good lord, Yukino says to her during work. They take turns working in the castle kitchens each day. Minerva does not particularly like the arrangement, mostly because it gives her too much time to think.

And Minerva hopes that Gajeel thinks about her as much as she thinks about him.

Minerva imagines what her reaction would be if he steps in out of the blue into her not-so-little shop. She's through the second hypothetical situation when Yukino bursts in through the front door.

"H-he-" she wheezes.

"He? He who?" Minerva tries so hard to extinguish it, but a small flare of hope lights inside her chest.

"Gajeel – he's in the castle." Yukino is bent over, hands on her knees, exhaustion clearly written in the way she's gasping for breath.

"Did you run all the way here?" Minerva asks worriedly.

Yukino mumbles a reply, but Minerva doesn't hear it as she suddenly realizes something. Gajeel came back, and she had to hear it from another person?

Minerva angrily kicks a chair near her, and then promptly pulls her knee up, wincing in pain. She's so incredibly angry at Gajeel, and she knows it's unwarranted, but it's just been so long, and he promised!

So, after Minerva hands her friend a glass of water, and shoos her out the door, she sits in a chair in front of the counter, waiting for his inevitable arrival.

And sure enough, he does arrive.

And by the heavens above, Minerva has missed him.

His hair has grown out and has now become a wild mess. He's dressed in – Minerva notes his with surprise – the dull green robes she first saw him in. She nearly smiles at that, but then pulls herself together. She doesn't say anything, just stares him down.

Gajeel takes one look at her and sighs, like he already knows that this is going to be a long conversation.

He pulls up a chair and sits opposite Minerva. She still hasn't stopped glaring.

"Hi." He says it tentatively.

"You said you'd come visit me first. You promised." Minerva can hear the hurt in her voice as she replies.

"I know. I just had to pick up a few things." At his words, Minerva's eyes flick to the bag he's set on the floor. But she doesn't let the issue go yet.

"At the castle?" She can feel her old self in those words again – her old snarky self. She's been too depressed to snark lately.

"I needed to tell the king that I was leaving the castle. I won't work for him anymore."

Minerva had suspected that that might have been the case, but she doesn't let on to that fact.

Gajeel stirs, and picks up the bag by his feet. He scoots his chair nearer and sticks his hand inside. He pulls out a few things in rapid succession and drops them into Minerva's lap.

MInerva looks at them in surprise. He'd given her a bag of flour and sugar.

"They're from Hargeon, the port town. I got them from a woman who claimed she was from Alvarez."

Alvarez? Provisions from Alvarez were practically unheard of!

"This couldn't have been cheap." Minerva declares.

"Quite possibly. But I wanted to make it up to you. I've been away too long." He admits,

head drooping. "I've missed you."

Minerva smiles for the first time. "Me too. Thank you for these," she adds.

Gajeel lifts his head up and smirks. "Aren't you going to ask about Lucy?"

Minerva groans out loud, and Gajeel chuckles. She had clean forgot about Lucy. Even though it was because of her that Minerva hadn't seen Gajeel for more than four months.

"She's happy. Euphoric, even." Gajeel says anyway.

"That's nice." She comments. After a while, she adds, "I hope you aren't too hurt."

Gajeel straightens. "Just a couple of scratches. I came close to losing my arm-" Minerva's eyes go wide "-but that's a story for later."

Minerva scoffs loudly, and gets up from her chair and heads to the kitchen. Gajeel follows her, his presents to her in his hands.

He sets them down on the tabletop, and turns around only to crash into Minerva, who'd been standing right behind him. And then suddenly, he's kissing her. Something Minerva thinks is long overdue.

When they break for air, Gajeel's first words are, "I hope you wanted to do that. If you didn't, then this going to be very awkward."

Minerva giggles – unbelievable – and weakly thumps his chest. "Of course I did, idiot," she reprimands.

Minerva has never been good with words, but then neither has Gajeel. And Minerva thinks that, maybe – quite possibly – she'd rather have her crass errand boy than someone articulate.