Hello everyone!

Here's a chapter in which our characters get the chance to know each other a little more.

Enjoy! Lily xx

Levy kept her eyes looked on Gajeel's. She really believed what she told him. While her first impression of the guy, only a couple of days before, was disastrous, she was now seeing him in a completely different way. No profoundly bad person would have helped her the way he did. For a reason she didn't quite understand yet, she was determined to believe in him even though he didn't himself.

As for the problem in which she had unconsciously dragger him and Juvia in, she planned to set things right, at least the best she could. If he thought she would stay here, waiting whit her hams crossed, he was sorely mistaken.

"There must be someone I can talk to!" she insisted.

"For God's sake! You really are stubborn!" Got upset Gajeel. "Keep that in your head once and for all!" he yelled, bringing his face closer to hers, "no one in Phantom will help you! No one!"

"What if I speak to someone above Phantom?"

"Good luck for that."

"The king?" She suggested, destabilizing him. "The organisation may be independent, the king certainly has an authority on it, right?"

Gajeel stared at her for a moment, seeming to think about it a little.

"That idea is stupid" he growled.

It was obviously the only answer he had found, told herself Levy. Whatever, it was her only hope to help them.

"Like you so kindly remind me every ten seconds, I'm small and can't really defend myself. If there's something I'm really good at, it's using words."

"And you are using way too much words right now" he complained.

"You really are unbearable!" She exclaimed, punching him in the chest.

Her fist was sore, but that, no way she was showing it.

"Gihi! It's not hard to believe you can't protect yourself with such lame punches! I bet it hurts you more to punch than the one you actually hit."

"Well show me how to fight if your so good!"

"Why would I want to waste my time on a shrimp like you?"

Anger quickly took over the young woman. Who does he think he his? Yes, she was puny and weak! She had been an idiot thinking he would give her some importance.

"Stupid Gajeel!" she shouted, turning back, making a few quick steps towards the exit.

Then she stumbled once more in her hurry because of her still wounded leg. That was really not the time to fall, she blamed herself, her cheeks on fire, trying without success to rise like nothing just happened.

"Hey! No need to get all worked up like that", sighed Gajeel, reaching her in only two steps. "You'll hurt yourself."

"Why don't you say that I'm too weak to walk, while you're at it!"

"You really are annoying! I'm just saying to calm down. Right now, there's no training possible in your state."

Levy didn't answer. For one of the first times in her life, she was out of words. Had he really just mention training?

"Don't look at me that way!"

"You'd really agree to train me?"

"Jeez! It really is complicated in there" sighed the young man, gently tapping her forehead. "Wasn't it what you just asked?"

"You're the one who complicates things!"

"Gihi! Yeah right..."

A pout appeared on her face against her will, enlarging even more Gajeel's grin. That only had the effect to irritate Levy more. Well... it wasn't annoying her that much. Something behind that provoking smile was... charming. That last thought nearly made the young woman laugh. Charming was probably the last word she could associate to Gajeel, but even so...

"See you shrimp" he then said, bringing her back on earth.

Without waiting for an answer, he opened the door. However, a water column was waiting for him behind the later. Since when was it raining this much? Asked herself Levy. Decidedly, her thoughts were taking much more of her attention than she thought.

"Don't tell me your planning to leave with all this rain!" she exclaimed noticing that Gajeel seemed to be ready to get outside no mater what.

"Don't think I'm afraid of a little rain" he growled, staying however inside.

There was a short silence before Levy spoke once more.

"W..why don't you stay a little while" she said in a small voice. "Anyways, I suppose Juvia isn't alone in the room you share with her" she added to his hesitation.

Her last sentence had for effect to immediately trigger a disgusted frown in the young man's face. This time, Levy was the one who couldn't help herself from laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"You know, Gray isn't a bad guy" started Levy, barely containing her burst of laugh.

"She can do whatever she wants" he grumbled, his ton in contradiction with what he just said.

"Yeah right!" She laughed for good this time. "You look like an older brother ready to chase off all of his little sister's suitors!"

"I dare you to say that again"

"You look like a big brother!" She laughed.

However, she had to run a second later, Gajeel answering her provocations by walking in her direction.

"Gihi! Were do you think you're going shrimp?" he said, catching her by the waist before throwing her on the shoulder that wasn't injured.

"Let go of me!"

"Not before you take back what you just said"

"No way"

"Too bad" he said shrugging his shoulders, making Levy jump a little by the action.

Then he made a couple of steps towards the door, pretending to step out.

"No!" she complained, while the torrent of rain was falling right before her face. "I take it back! I take it back!" She exclaimed quickly.

"Gihi! Way better".

"Stupid Gajeel!"

***

"I should have left sooner" complained Gray, only wearing his boxers while he sat on Juvia's bed, stocked inside for now. "I hate rain".

As for the young woman, she had a hard time to have a decent conversation. Normally, she also hated rain, more than anybody and that even though she adored water in general. But that rain was for her a sort of benediction. Her good looking, gorgeous, perfect Gray was practically naked on her bed! Her heart was beating so fast. But wait! She thought. What if he was the enterprising kind of guy, he may want to... The young woman was lost once again in her confabulations, her hands on her scarlet cheeks.

"Eum... Juvia?" Gray tried to wake her up from her daydream with a bored tone. "You're sure you're all right?"

"How could I not be?" She answered.

"It's raining" he said flatly.

"But Juvia is in such great company!" She said with the sweetest smile.

He looked at her for a moment, still serious, his forearms laying on his knees, before his expression softened by a smile.

"You always have that tendency to see positive everywhere. It's nice t have a point of view like yours once in a while...Hey!"

It was too much for Juvia's heart who got carried away once more, now close to Gray in a split second. Without seeing her come closer, her arms were now circling one of his.

"Juvia loves Gray so much!" She couldn't help herself to say.

"Okay! It's fine!" He tried to calm her down. "A little too positive to me now!"

"Juvia is so sorry" she said letting him go instantly, looking nervously at her hands. "Juvia didn't want to..."

"Would you calm down a minute? He sighed.

A growl from Juvia's stomach caught their attention.

"Eum...When was the last time you ate something?" Asked Gray, giving an intriguing look to her belly.

"Juvia ate before leaving this morning and..."

"You had nothing to eat since then? Why didn't you say so when I took my lunch brake?"

"Juvia had not brought any meal and she didn't want to deprive Gray from his so..."

He sighed again.

"I'll be back" he said.

Juvia didn't have time to add a thing before he left, running outside. He came back a couple of minutes later, completely soaked, dropping a kitbag on the table. When he opened it, he took out some cheese and bread.

"It's not much, but it's all I had home", he explained to her dumbfounded expression. "Go ahead, dig in!" He encouraged her with a smile.

At that moment, Juvia's heart melted, seeming as liquid as the rain that was still ravaging outside. She would never stop loving that man, she told herself. Never.