Hi all, no Upward Spiral chapter this week so have this fic I wrote for my dear friend for her birthday. Just as a disclaimer, I still haven't watched Fairy Tail so if anything here seems off please try not to be too hard on me. :) Have a good weekend.
After a long, arduous essay period, there's little better Levy can think of than a night in with Lucy, alcohol and a terrible DVD. Whenever she's stressed or annoyed or just really, really done with campus life, Levy knows if they make some time to have some drinks she'll relax considerably – not least because when they drink together they usually end up getting up to some kind of mischief. Once they went on a spontaneous walk down to the uni lakes and went skinny dipping, and another time they entered a karaoke contest on a whim before quickly being disqualified when they changed all the lyrics to be about pegging. Even without doing anything like that, Levy always enjoys drinking sessions with Lucy; they end up with their sides and cheeks aching from laughter, and tonight is already shaping up well.
About two and a half beers into the evening, Lucy's phone trills with a snap from Juvia: it's a picture of her in a club with a glass of wine in her hand and a rainbow vomiting filter on. The caption reads 'things are about to get messyyyyyyyyy hahahahaha'.
"How basic are we feeling?" Lucy asks. "Like dog face filter basic or mirror selfie basic?"
Levy snorts, stretching on the sofa. "Dog face filter basic, I'm too lazy to get up and go to a mirror."
"You're a genius," laughs Lucy, finding the filter and holding her phone at arm's length.
They take the selfie, Levy winking and sticking out her dog tongue on the screen while Lucy puckers up, both brandishing their bottles. With giggles and slightly wobbly fingers, Lucy adds the caption 'beer timeeeeeeee bitch' and sends the picture to Juvia.
They go back to the film they're half watching, settling on the sofa once more and sipping their beers. Lucy's phone pings again a little while later and she picks it up, leaning in to show Levy what Juvia has sent back.
The snap, however, is not from Juvia. The username is metaldude666, for one thing, and for another, when Lucy opens the snap the picture is not of Juvia. They both burst into laughter at the picture: two guys – one large, muscular and pierced with long, dark hair and the other smaller but still built and sporting pink, spiky hair – are in the same pose as they did for their selfie but with cans of lager and a cat face filter instead and the caption 'u no it bih'.
"Who are they?" asks Levy through giggles as the picture disappears.
"I think I met the big guy in a club," says Lucy. "I remember being like 'holy shit you're humongous' and kind of annoying him until he added me on Snapchat. No idea who the hottie with him is though."
"You don't think Mr Metal is hot?" asks Levy.
"Well he's not bad to look at but the piercings are a bit much for me," replies Lucy. "His friend though..."
Levy grins deviously. "Let's say we try and find out a bit more about them."
They send another snap: an equally silly selfie with their heads framed by a slice of bread each and the caption 'names?'.
Soon, a snap war ensues: every time Lucy and Levy send a selfie in a daft pose, the guys send one back in a similar composition, to everyone's amusement. They find out that the guys are Gajeel and Natsu, that they're art and physics students respectively and that their Snapchat game is strong. Not only that, but when Lucy jokingly and slyly suggests they both take off their shirts, they comply, and the sight is impressive. Levy wolf-whistles and Lucy practically purrs before downing the last of her fourth beer. As though it were some kind of trigger, Lucy starts getting more daring in the captions she sends on the snaps, stuff that would normally make Levy blush right up the back of her neck but which now make her roar with laughter at Lucy's tenacity. The guys respond in kind, their own captions growing steadily more flirty. Eventually, after a discussion on sex positions, Lucy turns to Levy with a sly grin.
"What do you say to a little field trip?"
Twenty minutes later, Gajeel opens the door to the two girls he and Natsu have been accidentally Snapchatting all evening. The blonde – Lucy – is holding a nearly empty bottle of wine that they've clearly been passing back and forth on the walk over (a pretty normal practice for the girls on campus) and both of them are swaying a little where they stand. Levy, the small one, is stifling giggles into her hand, but when she sees him she gapes at him in open-mouthed wonder.
"Woah you're huge!" she squeaks, her words dissolving into fresh peals of laughter. She stumbles a little despite not moving and Lucy catches her, laughing too.
"Hi," Lucy grins, her eyes heavily lidded as she takes in the sight of Gajeel and Natsu beside him. Her gaze lingers on Natsu, flicking down to his chest and then back to his face; judging by the way Natsu is looking back at her when Gajeel glances at him, there's only one way this night is going to go for them.
Having said that, even Gajeel is amazed at how quickly Lucy ends up in Natsu's lap and their tongues in each other's mouths. Then again, given the tone of the captions that he was sending earlier and Natsu's propensity to think with his dick even when he's not blind drunk, he probably shouldn't be that surprised. He shakes his head to himself and takes another sip of his lager; it'll take a lot more to get him anywhere near as drunk as the rest of them due to his size and he thinks it might be best for him to slow down a little in the interest of one of them being vaguely sensible.
Levy keeps staring at him and exclaiming over how big he is before laughing afresh. He's not entirely sure why she finds his size so hysterical but then again she herself is pretty hilariously tiny. Between her diminutive stature stature and her small hands and feet, Gajeel doesn't think he's ever seen someone so miniscule in his life, but he also couldn't miss the soft flare of her hips and satisfying curve of her ass. He noticed it in some of the snaps earlier, but in person, even as drunk as she is, he can't help but be a little bit enchanted by her.
"Your arms are like... the size of me!" she giggles, putting her hands around his bicep and squeezing a little. Her fingers don't even come close to meeting one another. "You must bench like... I don't know, entire buildings or something!"
She laughs again before looking into his face, her brown eyes wide and staring. After a long moment of silence, he frowns at her.
"What?" he asks.
"You're so serious," she says, her face bright with mirth.
On his other side, Gajeel feels a tap to his arm. When he turns to look, he sees Natsu and Lucy tangled together so tightly that he wonders if they'll be able to extricate themselves after. Natsu is grinning at him as Lucy nibbles on his earlobe, her hands roaming his chest.
"Gajeel," he stage whispers, his voice carrying over Levy's continued giggles. "Gajeel I think I might get lucky!"
"I mean probably," says Gajeel as Natsu returns to kissing Lucy, his hands cupping her backside.
Meanwhile, Levy gets up on her knees on the sofa and grabs Gajeel's face between her hands. "You should loosen up!" she declares, squeezing his cheeks. "You got any tequila?"
Gajeel flinches a little in her grip – her hands are pushing his piercings uncomfortably into his face – and shakes his head. "I shouldn't drink any more," he says. It's not a lie: even without the consideration that he should be the sensible one here, he gets aggressive when he drinks too much. Last time he got properly drunk he ended up in a fight and nearly broke his friend Gray's arm. Gray isn't a weak guy either – if Gajeel were to reach that point with someone as small as Levy, she could get seriously hurt. Instead, he has a brainwave. "Hey fairy, you hungry? There's a bag of tortilla chips in the kitchen."
"Ooh food!" she chirps, getting off the sofa on wobbly legs to go into the kitchen. Gajeel can't help the glance he gives her butt as she goes – her shorts are very short indeed, hugging the ample contour of her backside as it jiggles. Even so, he won't try anything – he knows how much more sober he is compared to her.
Natsu, however, seems not to be having any of the same thoughts; he's just as plastered as Lucy and both seem enthusiastic. As Levy crashes about in the kitchen, Natsu rises from the sofa, lifting Lucy in his arms as she wraps her long limbs around him. Moving as one furiously kissing unit, they disappear into Natsu's bedroom, closing the door behind them. Gajeel hears a squeak of springs as they land on the bed before Levy returns from the kitchen with a bottle.
"I found your vodka!" she crows triumphantly, waving it and two egg cups. "Couldn't find your shot glasses though."
Gajeel shakes his head, suppressing the need to take the bottle from her (and probably put it on a high shelf). "They smashed a while ago," he says as she sits back down beside him and hands him an egg cup. Despite himself, and despite knowing that she's three sheets to the wind, he feels himself softening a little at her bright grin.
"You know there's cats in there right?" she asks as she unscrews the vodka lid.
"Yeah that's Lily and Happy," he says. "They like sleeping by the hot water pipe."
Levy starts pouring them each an egg cup of vodka but before either of them can say anything, they hear a loud moan from Natsu's bedroom.
"OH FUCK NATSU YES!" Lucy cries, her voice carrying through the paper-thin wall.
Gajeel freezes and Levy snorts with laughter.
"It's started," she giggles, her hands jogging a little so that she sloshes vodka down her hand, prompting further giggles. "Oops!"
"Here, I'll do it," says Gajeel, reaching out to take the bottle from her. Dutifully, he finishes pouring the shots as the sounds from Natsu's bedroom continue.
"FUCK, EAT ME NATSU!" Lucy moans and Levy laughs again.
"Is this a pretty regular thing?" asks Gajeel, handing her an egg cup.
Levy takes it with a grin. "The Snapchat thing isn't, but she's always super loud in bed when she's drunk," she giggles before raising her egg cup. "Bottom's up!" She throws it back, her throat moving as she swallows, before slamming the empty egg cup on the cheap coffee table and looking back at him with an expectant grin. "You not drinking?"
"I don't really need any more," Gajeel says.
"Pussy!" Levy laughs. "Can't you keep up?"
Gajeel quirks an eyebrow at her before necking the contents of his egg cup to a delighted whoop from Levy. As soon as he puts it down again, she grabs the bottle and refills them both. The pair of them take the next shot wordlessly, listening unavoidably to Lucy in the next room.
"OH MY GOD YES YES YESSSS!"
"Is she easily impressed?" asks Gajeel as Levy wobbles her way through pouring more vodka. "Not that I'm judging but I know from previous conversations that Natsu isn't much of a Casanova when he's had a drink."
Levy giggles once more, vodka splashing around in her egg cup. "She's not super fussy when she's been drinking and she likes praising people anyway."
She shuffles a little closer to him on the sofa and clinks their cups together, spilling more vodka on their hands before she downs hers. With a little frown, Gajeel drinks his own, but when he looks down again he finds her staring at him. "What?"
"You're so big!" she laughs again, kneeling up beside him so they're eye to eye, her face close to his. "Have you always been so big and scary?" With a dainty finger, she prods at one of his nose bars. "Did you get these to scare people?"
"No," says Gajeel, his eyebrows drawing down again in another frown. "I like how they look."
She leans in closer, her alcohol-soaked breath fanning over his face as she peers at him. "Did they hurt?"
"Some of them." Gajeel's voice lowers automatically at her closeness and he can feel her knees against the outside of his thigh. He watches her gaze flitting over his face like a butterfly before meeting his own. Her eyes are brown and wide and he suddenly feels very aware of the warmth of her body near his own.
For a long moment, largely silent but for the sound of Lucy moaning away next door, they simply look at one another and then – he doesn't know who leans in first – then their lips are on each other's and she climbs into his lap, her arms wrapping around his neck as his encircle her waist. A distant part of Gajeel's mind tells him to stop – she's hella drunk and he can't claim the same – but then her tongue drifts over the seam of his lips and he finds himself wholly unable to break the kiss. He won't let it go too far.
"OHHHH YEAH NATSU FUCK ME HARDER!"
Levy pulls back and Gajeel opens his eyes to see her looking at him slightly dazedly. As he watches her face, a little frown passes over it and she sits back further in his lap.
"You okay?" he asks.
She nods but frowns again. The only warning Gajeel gets is a little tremble in her lips and a widening of her eyes before she doubles over and vomits down his chest.
Half an hour later, Gajeel stands awkwardly outside the bathroom, passing a spare clean t-shirt through the slightly open door. Levy's fingers brush his own as she takes it from him.
"I'm so sorry," she groans. He listens to the sound of fabric softly rustling as she swaps her stained top for the spare. "I made such a mess."
"No worries," says Gajeel. He himself is wearing a clean pair of gym trousers and fortunately was still shirtless from earlier. "We've all been there."
The door opens to reveal Levy looking pale and rather sorry for herself, Gajeel's t-shirt (fitted on him) falling almost to her knees. Her hands tremble slightly by her sides as she looks up at him, her eyeliner smudged down her cheeks from where she teared up earlier.
"Um... Gajeel, I..."
Gajeel's reflexes are faster this time – he lunges forward and catches her as she collapses, lifting her in his arms.
"Er, hey, titch?" He shakes her gently, watching her face but seeing no reaction. Her chest rises and falls steadily and he can only assume she's unconscious. The consternation is gone from her face, as is the mirth, and now instead she looks peaceful. Moving slowly so that he doesn't wake her, Gajeel carries her to the bedroom and (thanking his lucky stars that he changed the bedding this morning) puts her down in his bed. Once she's tucked in, he heads back out to the living room to finish cleaning up.
When Levy wakes the following morning, the first thing she notices after the pounding headache is the fact that she's not in her own bed. As she starts to look around herself, the room is entirely unfamiliar to her and for a moment she panics but then she sees a black cat curled up on the bed beside her hip and remembers seeing the same cat in a kitchen last night... which must mean...
She sits up slowly, her head protesting, and looks over the edge of the bed to see the huge, prone form of Gajeel asleep on the floor by the bed. Her memories of last night are fuzzy and blurred after the first shot of vodka but the sour taste in the back of her throat suggests that things did not end well. She shifts in the bed, thankful that she can feel her shorts still on under the oversized t-shirt that swamps her.
A frown comes to her face – why is she wearing this t-shirt? She's never been one for randomly taking her clothes off when drunk and she's pretty sure nothing happened between herself and Gajeel last night. But then why...?
All at once, her face floods with colour, blazing suddenly hot with the memories of last night. The sour taste and weird texture in her mouth suddenly make sense and she feels the sudden weight of shame settle upon her. She throws another glance at Gajeel and then the dozing cat before slowly standing and trying to find a way to leave: Gajeel's room is not huge and he himself is sleeping on the floor between her and the door. Before she can really make a decision, however, his bedroom door suddenly opens, hitting him in the shoulder and making him grunt, before a very flustered Lucy appears.
"Levy!" she exclaims, a relieved smile on her face. "Shall we – oh my god are you okay?"
Gajeel meets her shrill concern with a look of groggy surliness as he sits up. "I'm fine."
"Okay good," says Lucy, turning back to Levy. "Shall we go?"
Throwing a quick glance down at Gajeel, Levy feels a fresh flush in her cheeks. His expression reveals nothing and she can't stay here any longer.
"Yeah, let's get going," she says hurriedly, letting Lucy grab her by the arm and drag her from Gajeel's bedroom and the flat, both of them picking up their shoes as they go, calling 'thank you's and apologies over their shoulders.
Behind them, a slightly groggy Gajeel and Natsu watch them go, matching expressions of curiosity and amusement on their faces.
Lucy and Levy go home to spend the rest of the day nursing their hangovers and trying to get over the embarrassment of last night. Thankfully, they still have a good supply of painkillers and electrolyte tablets, as well as bread, so the hangovers pass within a few hours. Unfortunately, not though lack of trying, the embarrassment proves harder to expunge, even after that first day.
Despite going to a pretty small university, Lucy has never really run into any previous one night stands, so when she starts seeing Natsu everywhere in the weeks after their entanglement, she's more than a little thrown. First, she starts to notice him in her astrophysics lectures – which makes sense, given that he studies physics and it's an optional unit for him, but she's never been aware of him being there before. He gives her a grin and a wave that first time and she can feel herself blushing as she nods to him and sits down on the opposite side of the lecture hall. For the whole lecture, only half of Lucy's brain can concentrate on the subject of supernovas; the rest of her is entirely distracted by Natsu's presence, despite their physical distance. Afterwards, she beats a hasty retreat, the prospect of a conversation with him making her rush out of the hall as fast as she can.
It doesn't stop him turning up elsewhere though: Lucy soon realises that they not only share some lectures and classes but also a gym and a bus route. After the first week she starts to wonder if he's stalking her, but when she mentions it to Erza after they finish a punishing workout together, Erza says he's always been there (and that he's the guy who makes stupid faces at and talks to himself in the mirror when he does bicep curls). Accepting that she simply hasn't noticed him before, Lucy marvels that she failed to try and sleep with him earlier.
It's not that she regrets it – she enjoyed herself and Natsu still looks pretty hot without the beer goggles – but she knows how weird she gets when she's drunk and him popping up in her classes only serves to remind her of how stupid some of what she said to him was. The fact that he seems to be acting pretty friendly towards her makes her think that he must be either stupid or forgetful.
When she mentions it to Levy, Levy says she's been seeing Gajeel around campus a lot too and that all she can think of is how she threw up all over him. The pair of them curse their bad luck together and wonder if they'll spend the rest of their university careers being reminded of that wrong number Snapchat.
Things change one afternoon when Lucy is in a coffee shop getting an iced mocha after her Tuesday afternoon lab. Her nose is in her book as she waits for her drink but when she feels a hand on the small of her back she turns to see a guy with blue spiky hair and a strange tattoo on one side of his forehead. He gives her a grin, quirking one eyebrow at her and standing close, his hand still on her back.
"Hey," he says. "Do you think you can help me?"
"Uh..." Lucy steps back to try and put some distance between them; he seems not to care about personal space too much. "What... seems to be the problem?"
He gives her a look of practised sadness. "Well you see, I lost my number," he says, "so do you think I could have yours?"
"Lucy!"
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Lucy takes her drink from the barista and flashes a forced smile at the guy. "Yeah, I don't think so, have a nice day."
She goes to step around him but he sidesteps her and leans closer again, smirking at her. "Come on baby, you don't mean that," he says. The hand returns to the small of her back and it feels entirely too warm through the fabric of her top, her heart thudding madly with adrenaline. "My name's Bora. How about you come back to mine? We could have some real fun together..."
Lucy squirms,wanting to get away from him but having no free hands with which to push him away. For a mad moment, she thinks about throwing the drink in his face and running, but she can't muster the courage and simply says, "No thanks..."
She meets Bora's eyes, getting another smirk in response, and knows he won't back down.
"How about it sexy?" he asks. "My place isn't far."
She doesn't understand the sudden paralysis this this guy has caused in her: why can't she just step away from him and leave the coffee shop already? She's dealt with plenty of creeps before, and often when she's been significantly inebriated, so why can't she deal with Bora now while stone cold sober?
"Babe, there you are!"
The new – but definitely familiar – voice snaps Lucy out of her paralysis as Natsu appears beside her. She looks between him and Bora before quickly stepping out of the unwanted embrace and coming to stand beside Natsu, giving him a wide, grateful smile.
"Hey sweetie," she says brightly, "I was just getting a drink while waiting for you."
She steps close into his side and he puts an arm around her before kissing her forehead. Throwing a quick up and down look at Bora, Natsu asks, "Friend of yours?"
Lucy shakes her head and Bora gives Natsu a tense grimace, saying, "I was just leaving."
"Great," says Natsu, the arm around Lucy's shoulders tightening protectively. Despite the tension in Lucy's body, the feeling of it flush around her is making her stomach do a strange kind of flip-flop. "See you around buddy."
Bora slinks away and Lucy smiles gratefully again. "Thank you so much."
"No problem," says Natsu, letting go of her as they leave the coffee shop. Lucy slides her book into her bag and he glances at his watch. "You looked uncomfortable and he looked creepy." He gives her a smile. "I'm just glad I could help."
Lucy feels her heart skip a beat and when he turns to go she moves without thinking, putting a hand on his shoulder. He turns to look at her and she feels a flush in her cheeks.
"Um... are you busy?" she asks. "I've finished class for the day – we could go for a walk maybe?"
He looks her up and down briefly before grinning. "Sure, sounds good."
An hour later, the two of them walk through the front door of Natsu and Gajeel's flat, laughing at the memory of a joke their astrophysics professor made the other day. Lucy's chest feels light and there's a fizzy, happy feeling behind her bellybutton; she never would have expected such good conversation with Natsu. Really she should have realised given that he's studying physics (and not sociology) but Natsu is a lot smarter than he first appeared and talking to him is genuinely enjoyable. A little bit of her feels strange about being back here, but Natsu's easy manner dissipates that feeling significantly. As she puts her bag down and toes off her shoes, she hears an obnoxious meow and looks down to see a cat rubbing against her leg.
"Is this Happy?" she asks, scratching him behind the ears.
"Yep," says Natsu, kicking off his own shoes.
"Um... why is he blue?" she asks, looking up at Natsu again.
Natsu rolls his eyes. "Long story. Don't buy super value pet shampoo."
Lucy laughs and Happy meows loudly again. The bathroom door opens and Gajeel emerges in a towel. He pauses for a moment before nodding to Lucy.
"Alright?" he asks.
"Yeah," says Lucy, straightening up and giving him a smile. "You?"
He nods again, seeming to debate something with himself momentarily before asking, "How's your tiny friend?"
The penny drops and Lucy's grin changes on her face. "Levy's good – I'll tell her you said hi."
Gajeel says nothing, simply nodding once again before going to his room, but Lucy's fairly certain she can see the barest hint of a smile on his gruff face.
Gajeel's t-shirt seems to stare at Levy from where it sits, clean and neatly folded, on her desk. It's been there for two weeks already, and she's been trying to ignore it, but when she gets into bed each night she feels strangely aware of it, sitting a few feet from her in the dark. She has been meaning to give it back – she can't very well keep it – and it's not like she hasn't been hyper aware of him every time she's seen him on campus since that unfortunate emetic incident, but she isn't sure how she can face him. Which is why it's been sitting on her desk for so long.
As well as all that, her memories of that night have come back to her and now she remembers kissing him (while straddling his lap no less) and how much she liked it. The feeling of his lips against hers and his body against her own (as brief as they were at the time) keep coming back to her and she's been finding herself longing to relive them. If she has to see him again and give him the t-shirt back she isn't sure what might happen – or what she wants to happen.
She's sitting on her bed going over a draft for an assignment when she hears the flat door open. Getting up to take her empty mug from earlier to the kitchen and greet Lucy, she finds her flatmate with a smile on her face and a pleased flush in her cheeks.
"You look happy," says Levy, putting her mug in the sink while Lucy takes off her shoes.
Lucy grins wider. "I am – I got hit on by a creep."
"Um... Levy raises an eyebrow at her. "Yay?"
"Well no, it wasn't great," says Lucy. "He used the worst chat up lines and I really was kind of worried he wouldn't take no for an answer."
"So..." Levy frowns at her in confusion. "You met an arsehole and now you're happy?"
"Well I wasn't," says Lucy. "But then Natsu showed up and helped me out."
"Natsu as in 'fuck me harder Natsu'?"
"Oh god I did say that didn't I?"
"A little bit yes."
"Well either way, he helped me out and then we went for a walk and then back to his and it was really nice!" Lucy grins.
"Okay..." Levy says. "So are you, like... a thing now?"
Lucy shrugs. "Early days but we're going out for dinner tomorrow night so... maybe?"
She giggles and Levy marvels at the change in attitude. Part of her would be sceptical about the whole white-knighting thing but she also knows that if Lucy seems to have changed her mind suddenly, in reality she must have been thinking about it for a while. Evidently seeing Natsu around campus has kept him in her thoughts enough that she no longer feels embarrassed around him.
"Gajeel says hi by the way," adds Lucy, and Levy feels an immediate flush in her cheeks.
"Huh?" she asks, stalling for time but knowing that Lucy can see straight through her.
"Gajeel, you know, that humongous dude with the face full of metal who you vommed on?" Lucy says with another grin. "I saw him at theirs – he asked after you."
Levy frowns at her. "He did?"
"Yep," nods Lucy.
"He probably just wants his t-shirt back," Levy says, shaking her head and folding her arms.
Lucy stays quiet for a long moment before shrugging. "Either way, I'm sure he'd love to hear from you."
Levy fixes her with a suspicious look before eventually sighing. "Fine, give me his number."
A couple of days later, Levy pushes open the door to one of the art workshops. She knows Gajeel will be here – this is his time to use the workshop – and she said she'd come to see him today. When she messaged him she made herself sound calm and confident but now, with the actual prospect of seeing Gajeel in person very imminent, she can feel herself starting to lose face. She doesn't get time to turn around and leave however, as soon after she closes the door behind herself the drilling noise she could hear from outside stops and she sees Gajeel look up from the large workbench in the middle of the room. Taking off his goggles and dust mask, he reveals his metal studded face and gives her a nod.
"Uh... hi," says Levy, stepping further into the room. Her stomach twists under his scrutiny even as she opens her bag and reaches inside. "I... brought your t-shirt."
Bringing it forth, she looks at the workbench. What surface of it isn't covered in bits and pieces of metal is littered with metal shavings and sawdust, the side effects of his craft. Behind him is a massive sculpture made of pieces of metal that she can't help but be impressed by – but she sees nowhere to put the t-shirt where it might stay clean. She glances at Gajeel again, who gets up and pulls off his work gloves, holding out one hand.
"Thanks shrimp."
He goes to take the t-shirt from her but she steps back out of his grasp again.
"Don't call me that," she grumbles.
"Why not?" he asks.
"Because," she says.
"That's not a reason fairy." He raises one eyebrow at her.
"Then because I don't like it," she frowns. "Because I asked you not to."
He considers her for a moment before shrugging. "Fine."
She steps forward again, holding out the t-shirt; he takes it and bends over to shove it into his bag.
"I washed it," she adds as she takes in the sight of Gajeel's dusty trousers tightening across his backside – and she knows her voice is a little weak. "Not that... that it was really dirty but I... guess I thought it would be a nice thing to do."
He straightens up and looks at her over his shoulder – she can't quite tell if the look on his face is a smile or not. "Thanks," he says again. "I appreciate it."
Levy feels her face warming more as she adds, "I um, also wanted to apologise."
"What for?" asks Gajeel, sitting down again.
"For throwing up on you," she replies. "I still don't really remember everything that happened so I have no idea if I said sorry for that or not."
"You did," he says. "You were very apologetic when you were crying."
"Oh god," cringes Levy, her cheeks blazing afresh. "Sorry."
"It's fine," says Gajeel. "Everyone's been there."
She nods, twisting her fingers together and leaning against one of the workbenches near the door. After a long pause, she says, "Thank you."
"For what?" asks Gajeel again.
"Looking after me," she replies. "It was really nice of you and I appreciate it." Her stomach twists nervously. "And for... not taking advantage."
Suddenly realising that she's now looking at the floor, she lifts her gaze to Gajeel again to see him nod grimly.
"Yeah, I... I've heard some things about guys doing stuff to girls like that but..." He trails off, making a face. "That's... not okay. Not that I wouldn't have liked to but you weren't in a position to say yes even if I was so... I didn't."
The two of them gaze at each other for a long moment before Levy finally feels the words sink in properly.
"You... you'd want to... uh..." She stumbles on the words, watching a slight colour come into his face too and wondering if he meant to admit that. When the silence weighs too heavily again, Gajeel clears his throat.
"Fuck it," he rumbles, straightening a little. "Yeah, I... I haven't stopped thinking about you since we met."
"Really?" Levy knows she sounds incredulous; Gajeel nods.
"It's fine if you don't feel the same," he adds. "I'm not going to try anything funny and I won't assume that just because we kissed it means you'd want to do it again."
Levy's heart thuds madly in her ears at his words, her stomach giving a strange lurch that she quickly realises is is hopeful. She pushes herself off the bench behind her and moves towards him, coming to stand in front of him. With him sitting down, their faces are just about level and it almost makes her laugh. Instead, she can feel her face warming again as he stares at her.
"And what if I said that I'd want to do it again?" she asks, her voice soft.
One of his studded eyebrows quirks upward before he sits up straighter again, his arms opening to her. As she steps forward into them, she tilts her head to one side, lips opening just a little, and then he kisses her, pulling her close to him. Levy feels swept away, her senses overwhelmed by the warm press of his chest against hers and the gentle sweep of his tongue over her lower lip. When she opens her mouth further, he follows her lead right away, and she notices a hard, round feeling against her tongue that tells her his tongue is as decorated as his face. She lets him hug her closer, melting into his embrace and feeling his hands roaming her back, one moving up into her hair and the other lowering to her ass.
When they part for air, Levy realises she's clinging to the front of his t-shirt, her fists wrapped in the fabric, and his breath is coming a little faster than before. She lets go of his collar, running her hands over his shoulders and cupping the back of his neck to pull him in for another kiss. A squeak passes her lips as he squeezes her backside, making her move even closer to him until she's pressed against his front and she realises how warm he is. The hand in her hair moves down her back, resting in the curve of her waist as she feels her knees weaken.
"Gajeel," she murmurs when they separate again, her voice low and husky in the silence of the room.
"Hmm?" Gajeel's eyes flutter open, darkened red by his widened pupils, and there's a hunger in them that stirs something inside her. "You okay?"
Levy nods. "Yeah, I..." She looks between his eyes and lips for a long moment before her hands tighten around the back of his neck. "I want you."
Without a moment's hesitation, they're on each other again, their kisses growing instantly hungrier and the press of their bodies more insistent. Gajeel tugs gently on the back of Levy's hair, urging her head back so he can leave open-mouthed kisses up and down her throat and draw soft groans from her. Meanwhile she feels his hands start to roam: the one that brought her head back comes down, slipping up under the hem of her top so that his fingers brush over the skin of her back, and the other creeps up to join it. She sighs softly, letting her own hands drift down to tug at his tank top too (as much as she can reach).
When he runs his hands up her body, she raises her arms, letting him take off her top and toss it to the floor before he removes his own too and pulls her close once more to kiss her deeply. Without clothes in the way, his body feels almost too warm against her own, his breath over her lips making her forget about everything but Gajeel and the feeling of his fingers deftly undoing her bra and slipping it from her shoulders. He wastes no time in lowering his head to litter kisses across her collarbone and chest, his lips eventually brushing over one of her nipples.
Levy stiffens in his embrace, a shiver going up her spine at the light touch of his pierced tongue. "Gajeel," she whimpers, sinking her fingers into his hair as she feels his hands slowly inching up her thighs and it almost hurts how badly she needs him to touch her more. Gajeel doesn't let up, still licking that slow tongue over her nipple, but he glances up at her, their eyes meeting just as his hands cup her ass under her skirt. With a tug on his hair, she murmurs a quiet, "Please."
Gajeel lifts his head again and she pulls him in for another soft kiss. His hands knead her backside and she feels a low growl against her lips.
"I couldn't stop thinking about this ass," he breathes, hands warm on her bottom. "'S fucking sexy."
His words bring more of a blush into her face but then one of his fingers dips down between her thighs and she jolts, an unbidden gasp leaving her lips as he rubs his finger over her underwear. Levy's knees shake again and she clings to him to keep her balance, her voice lowering to a groan in the quiet workshop as he continues his ministrations.
"Gajeel," she says again, scarcely able to form his name in her mouth. "Gajeel please – I... need more."
She meets his eyes again and he stops what he's doing, instead putting his hands under her backside again to lift her, and she automatically wraps her legs around his hips, kissing him furiously once again. It's impossible not to grind forward a little as he straightens and carries her, and she moans into the kiss as she feels how hard he is through his jeans. When he puts her down on the edge of the workbench and moves his hands up again to thumb over her nipples, she pulls out of the kiss on a gasp, her nails scraping over his shoulders. He hisses in pleasure, one hand slipping down between her legs again.
"Lie back," he urges, and she barely hesitates before doing so, his warm hands running up her calves and then her thighs. Levy knows her skin and hair will be getting grubby with sawdust, metal filings and wood shavings, but with Gajeel's inquisitive fingers lifting her skirt and pulling down her underwear she can't quite bring herself to care. A moment later, he lowers his head and she forgets about the mess entirely.
"Oh fuck!" Her thighs twitch either side of his head, her hands grabbing onto his hair hard as he licks a slow, deliberate tongue over her clit. Quiet moans and whines leave her as he continues licking her, eventually sliding one finger into her. "Oh my god!"
"You okay?" he asks, lifting his head to meet her eyes once more. His breath fans across her skin, making her writhe on the workbench as he continues working his finger in and out of her and she shakily nods. With her affirmation, he carries on, going right back to it.
Between his fingers and tongue, it doesn't take long before Levy is crying out louder, her hands in Gajeel's hair pulling harder and her body jolting uncontrollably.
"Oh god Gajeel, fuck!" she chokes out, grinding up into his mouth as best she can from where she's lying. "Gajeel, I'm – ah!"
With one final cry, Levy comes, riding out the pleasure on the continuous movement of his tongue and hand. Afterwards, she flops on the workbench, her limbs feeling boneless and her head light with pleasure, and he lifts his head again, wiping the corner of his mouth with one thumb.
"You have fun half pint?"
She goes to scowl at the nickname but the afterglow of orgasm keeps her face relaxed as she gazes up at him and gives a lazy nod. He gives her a little half smile before leaning down to kiss her once more. She pulls him in for an embrace, curling her arms around his neck and feeling his erection against her thigh through his jeans. When they part again she gives him a smile.
"Want me to return the favour?" she asks.
"If you like," he says, brushing her hair back from her forehead. "Shall we head back to mine though?"
She nods, sitting up slowly as he straightens before going in search of her clothes.
A ping sounds from Lucy's phone and she picks it up to see what the snap is, grinning when she sees it's from Natsu.
"It's the boys," she calls to Levy, who comes out of her room to see what they've sent.
When Lucy opens it, they both giggle at the sight of Natsu and Gajeel with twirly moustache filters on their faces and matching duck face expressions. The caption says 'will you fine ladies be gracing us with your lovely presence this evening?'
"Come on," says Lucy, putting an arm around Levy's shoulders so they can send a selfie in response. They choose a filter with balloons all around their heads and take the picture, sending it with a caption of 'there soon, just about to leave xxxxxxxx'.
"You got the cake?" asks Levy as the snap sends.
"Yeah, right here," says Lucy, going over to the counter and grabbing the large, cylindrical tin. "You got the keys?"
"Right here." Levy shakes them. "Let's go."