AN: Dun Dun DADUUUUUUN! *dodges the dangerous things people are throwing* I'm back you guysh. I haven't updated for a long time and I'm very sorry about that. This story is kind of hard for me to write, since it was originally some random one-shot. BUT FEAR NOT, I'm not abandoning this story. I'll try really hard to find an appropriate updating schedule so I won't leave you guys hanging again.

Please excuse the writing; I obviously haven't touched the story for a long, LONG time so it's rusty.

I do not own anything. EVERYTHING belongs to Hiro Mashima.

And a few weeks later, Levy had grown quite accustomed to having Gajeel around. It changed her daily routines and added a little adventure to her boring life.

Before, her life was quieter, simpler, and borderline boring. She would wake up, get dressed, read a book, eat, read a book, clean, read a book, practice her magic, translate tomes, eat, read a book, take a nap, eat, read a book, go out for a midnight walk then go to sleep. Seldom would she venture out into town, only when she needed food or to find discarded books.

Now, almost every waking hour was spent with Gajeel. She woke up at the crack of dawn, got dressed and went to check up on Gajeel. Sometimes he was awake and exploring the house, other times he would still be sleeping. She would make breakfast for the both of them, happily humming all the while. They'd make small conversation while eating. She discovered that the dark haired man ate material containing iron, to replenish his strength. After breakfast, Gajeel would help with chores around the house. She found quite hilarious to see the large man forgetting to duck down through the smaller doorways, since the house was created to accommodate one-relatively short-person.

"Damnit shorty, can't you do something about these doors?" he would complain.

"Not unless you do something about the names, Gajeel," she would reply, amusement in her tone.

In addition to having someone to talk with, Levy started gaining the courage the venture outside her safety square, a.k.a her house.

*. *. *.

One afternoon, Levy was relaxing on her couch with a nice book. Despite the rejection from the other villagers and the isolation, there was a glimmer of hope for the small mage-books. Books were portals into other dimensions, ways to escape her harsh reality. Books were her friends, her solace, her comfort. She'd completely immerse herself in a book, forgetting about the environment around her. Sometimes when the book was especially entertaining, she'd go for hours without moving from her spot.

Normally, nothing would faze the blue haired maiden until she finished reading her book. She almost missed the sound of a certain man preparing to go out. She had heard Gajeel putting on his boots and assumed he had left. Levy considered putting the book down to prepare dinner for when Gajeel got back.

He won't be back for a few hours. Maybe just one more chapter...

"Shorty!"

Startled, Levy yelped in surprise. When she looked up, she was met with an impatient Gajeel.

"Gajeel! You almost made me drop my book!" she complained. She marked her place in the book and placed it carefully on the coffee table. She stood up and tried giving him a stern look. Gajeel rolled his eyes at the small girl.

"Well, I tried to get yer attention but, you were so interested in that damn book that you didn't her me,"

It was his turn to give her a look. She faltered a bit.

"W-well, what's so important that you had to disturb me reading anyway? I don't know about you but, I usually know not to bother someone when they look like they are concentrating very hard on something," Levy's tone was smug.

She crossed her arms in front of her chest and stared up at Gajeel. He rolled his eyes at her attempt to scold him.

"Get dressed shrimp, we're going out," he said in a dismissive tone.

Shock, confusion, anger, and fear flitted across Levy's face.

"W-wait, Gajeel I don't-"

"I'm giving you 5 minutes. I'll be waiting outside," he said as he closed the door behind himself.

Levy stood shocked for a second before she hurried to get changed. After grabbing the essentials and putting her sandals on, she stared at the front door. Taking a breath, she opened the door and stepped outside.

"Shorty, why are you dressed like that?" questioned Gajeel.

He stared at the cloaked figure standing in front of him. The cloak was obviously not meant for such a small person like the shorty; it covered her figure entirely, her feet barely peeking out at the bottom. A large hat covered her head. It seemed that she had tucked her hair in. The girl looked up at Gajeel.

"This is what I wear when I go out," she looked down at her feet. "it's so none of the villagers will recognize me. It's the only way people will do business with me." She looked back at him and smiled, but he could feel the sadness behind it.

"Tch," he grunted. He grabbed the hat from her head and ruffled her hair. The sounds of annoyance were ignored. He grabbed her hand and started marching towards the village.

"If any of those idiots touch you, I'll beat 'em up," he said gruffly.

Levy stared at Gajeel. He faced forward, not looking back. His back was huge, she thought. His raven hair flowed freely down his back. She smiled. No one had ever shown any signs of care for her like Gajeel had just done. She gently squeezed the hand that held hers.

Thank you.

"Gajeel,"

"What?"

"People are staring," whispered Levy, trying to hide herself behind Gajeel.

Indeed people were staring. As the duo walked through the streets, completing errands, all eyes were on them. What a strange looking duo they were; the small cloaked figure of Levy walking alongside the tall, fearsome looking, foreign Gajeel. Levy could here people whispering as they passed, no doubt assumptions about their reason for coming to town. She pulled her hood down to try and cover her face more.

"Gajeel, can we please leave now?" said Levy in an exasperated tone. She really wanted to go back home. Where she could relax, finish her book and not have people watching her every move.

"Relax short stuff, remember what I said earlier?

Levy blushed slightly. Turning her head upward to retort, her eyes met the red irises of Gajeel. She quickly cast her gaze to the ground, hoping Gajeel had not seen the blush on her face. They continued walking in silence. As Gajeel walked on, Levy suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"One more stop and then we can go home shorty," Gajeel said. When he heard no response, he huffed. "Oi, I-" he started, only to find that he was talking to no one. "Where did she?" As he looked around, his eyes landed on the small mass standing in front of the town's bookstore. He made his way towards her.

"Look at all those books," he heard her say when he was close enough.

When he looked at the girl, her eyes were shining with yearning. He placed his hand on her head, opting for just resting it on top instead of ruffling her hair.

"You go inside," he told her. Gajeel's eyes widened when Levy looked up at him like he was a god or something. Her entire face lit up.

C-cute.

He turned away. "I'll be at the bar, so just go there when you're done. I'll be waiting,"

Levy watched Gajeel walk away. Her smile faltered slightly, silently wishing that Gajeel would have stayed with her. However, she knew a man like Gajeel wouldn't feel comfortable in a stuffy old bookstore. Remembering the place of wonder in front of her, she opened the door and entered.

The bar Gajeel had entered was small. There were people drinking and dancing and doing other stupid drunk people things. He sat down at on a free stool, facing away from other people.

"What'll you have sir," asked the bartender.

"Strongest shit you got," he said gruffly.

The bartender was about to say something when Gajeel glare cut him off. Closing his mouth, the bartender rushed to find a drink that satisfied the intimidating man's order.

"You're obviously not from here, sir," said the bartender as he set down the drink. "What brings you to this little town?"

Gajeel took his time answering the question. He took a swig from his drink then set it down. Glaring at the man again, he responded,

"I heard there was a monster endangering the town,"

Suddenly the bar became quite. All eyes and ears were on the strange man.

"You mean the leviathan?" said an old man.

"No man has ever seen the monster and lived," responded another.

"I heard it's a huge monster. 100 feet long and as thick as the entire town," said one of the entertainers.

"It drags it's victims to the bottom of the lake so they'll drown,"

"It's got three rows of razor teeth,"

"It lives in the water but it can move on land,"

"It strikes with an incredible speed,"

"The skin of the leviathan is like rock, regular weapons can't pierce through,"

"Some say it has human intelligence,"

Everyone in the bar was talking about the monster now. Retelling of sightings of the beast, stories of people who had tried fighting it, rumours of how people were killed by the leviathan.

"The leviathan has been bothering us for years now; stealing our cattle, wrecking our crops" said the bartender. "It eats all those who wander into the forest, near the edge of town,"

That's where shorty lives thought Gajeel, as he sat silently and listened.

"The mayor has sent requests for someone to kill the monster. None have succeeded so far. Many brave knights and warriors from kingdoms afar have come to try and tame the beast,"

There was a pause.

"No one has ever returned," the bartender said solemly.

Gajeel drank the last of his drink then slammed the cup down. The sudden action scared several people.

"Well," he started, as he stood up to stretch. "I guess it's your lucky day then,"

There were murmurs of shock and confusion. Gajeel smirked.

"I'm here to slay the leviathan,"

AN: aaaaaannnnd done! Gajeel's reason for coming to town has been revealed. What will happen now? What will happen to our dear Levy? Please review please, because your reviews give me life. Again, I apologize for not updating this. For now, you just have to wait for the next chapter

Ri-san~~