His phone vibrated on the table in front of him as he received a new text message. It read "Gajeel, I've got a new job for you. Come to the office after your performance for information. -Makarov"

He grunted to himself as he continued wiping down his guitar and listening to the ongoing performance in front of him. He was sitting towards the right of the stage in a dark corner, waiting for his turn on the stage. Currently a woman dressed in a long dark blue gown that matched her hair was singing in a low voice while a bass and trumpet player played a slow jazzy number, and couples slow danced on the floor to his left. Her voice was as smooth as the tide coming in, and he sung the words under his breath. He knew these words by heart, as he had written the song for the woman singing it on stage. Her name was Juvia, and she happened to be his adopted sister.

As the audience stopped dancing to snap their fingers in lieu of applause, Juvia curtsied in thank you, and a few red roses were thrown on stage for her. Her band members went to retrieve them as she spoke a word of thanks to the audience in the microphone.

"Thank you, Juvia thanks you all so much. Juvia would now like to introduce the next performance, please give a warm welcome to my brother, Black Steel Gajeel!"

Gajeel stood and placed the neck strap to his matte black bass guitar around him and walked onto the stage, the audience continued to snap their fingers rhythmically to welcome him to the stage. The bass player on stage set his instrument down and took his place behind a set of drums instead.

"Thank you, thank you." He quieted the audience down with his words, "I don't know about you guys, but I'm feelin' like a scat cat tonight, so I hope you'll enjoy this little number with me."

He signaled to the band which number he was going to play, and in a low chord started the song about in a jazzy beat as he scatted in a gruff voice.

"Shooby doo bop bop ska dooby doo, shooby doo bop bop my little baby. Shooby doo bop bop ska dooby dooby, shooby do bop bop, let me tell you about it."

The audience attempted to dance, but most just stood and swayed and shimmed to the beat, and a few whispers could be heard, "His sister definitely got the vocals of the family," "His voice is very... unique," "He's a very talented guitarist," "He seems like an acquired taste." But after another song the audience grew accustomed to his unique style and those on the dance floor started to swing dance to the beat.

His performance came to an end and the audience once again snapped their fingers in appreciation, and a rose was thrown on stage for him. He bent down to pick it up, and tucked it into his white suit lapel pocket. He gave a word of thanks as Juvia came back out to introduce the next musician and Gajeel exited stage right. He stood and waited for Juvia to meet him.

"The audience is really warming up to you Gajeel-kun! Juvia is very proud." She embraced her adoptive brother in a warm hug and pecked his cheek.

"Thanks." Gajeel all but grunted out, "Listen, the old man sent me a text earlier, he's got a new gig for me and asked me to meet him at the office. Have Grey drive you home."

Juvia nodded in agreement and wished her brother luck with the potential job.

On the drive to Makarov's office Gajeel wondered what kind of gig the old man had in mind. Gajeel worked as a professional body guard at the Seven Dragons Protection Agency run by old man Makarov. The last gig he had, he was set up to protect some prissy blonde heiress, but the girl drove him up a wall so he had his co-worker Natsu take over the job. Last he heard, they ended up dating, but the Bunny girl still paid Natsu for protection on her outings. What a job. Getting paid to hang out with your girlfriend.

He walked into the "office building," which was actually a office room on the inside of a popular bar known as Fairy Tail. It had a reputation, that was to say the least. Walking up to the bar, the platinum blonde barmaid greeted him with a bright smile. "Hey Demon," she glared at him for the nickname, "Sorry, Mira. Can you let the old man know I'm here? I'll take my usual when you're done."

She picked up the phone on the bar behind her and let the boss know, and then she served Gajeel a whiskey on the rocks in a special made iron cup he had left at the bar to serve him, and only him, with. He grunted his thanks and turned to lean against the bar and observe the happenings in the bar. Natsu was at the pool table with the Bunny Girl, attempted to teach her how to shoot. This amused Gajeel, knowing that she was actually quite good at pool and had hustled him out of a whole day's pay to prove that she wasn't just a pretty face. A shake of bright blue moved his focus from the couple to a kid standing near by.

"Good job Lu-chan!" the kid shouted, holding a pool cue in her hand, she moved to the other side of the table, and Gajeel noted that she was not, in fact a kid, but was a fully mature woman, of very short stature. He recognized her once he saw her face, he had seen her in photos at the Bunny Girl's house and knew that it was actually her best friend, though he didn't know her name or anything about her other than she was a deejay or something and traveled a lot for work.

He glanced to the other side of the bar to see Laxus walk out of Makarov's office and walk towards him. Laxus was Makarov's grandson, the bastard had a few ups and downs the past few years, and Gajeel wouldn't ever admit it, but he was glad that the Thunder Bolt had straightened his shit out and returned to the family business. "The old man is ready for ya," a smirk on Laxus's face made Gajeel quirk a pierced brow up, wondering what the hell shenanigans are going around that even Laxus would crack a smile. He guessed he would find out soon enough.

He walked across the bar, passing Natsu and his company along the way, the Bunny Girl glanced up at him and then over to her friend and giggled. Some shit was definitely going on here. He entered the office and shut the door behind him, collapsing into one of the leather chairs across the desk from Makarov and setting his drink to balance on the arm of the chair.

"Don't worry, my dear Yukino! Sting is a very nice young man who is very capable, I believe he will be the perfect match for you. Yes, we will see you tomorrow. Goodbye, now." Hanging up the phone, Makarov turned the man in front of him. "Gajeel, my boy, I've had a request for your services."

Gajeel almost spit his drink out, "A request? Who the hell made a request for... me?"

Makarov chuckled at his reaction. "Well, it seems that despite your job with Miss Lucy Heartfilia not working out, she put in a good word for you to a close friend of hers." The realization dawned on him why Lucy was in a fit of giggles when he walked past, and what Laxus had found so amusing. "The job requires being a full time body guard, includes a suite near her penthouse, a company vehicle, and world travel... on top of that... it pays one hundred thousand a year."

That time his drink most definitely came out his nose. Usually, he made 50-75k a year, but when benefits such as travel, housing, or car were involved it was on the lower end of the pay scale. To receive all three top benefits from a client, and make 25k more a year than his best jobs... this was unheard of.

"Alright, very funny." Gajeel stood and grabbed a tissue to wipe his face with, "I'll be taking my leave now, since this is obviously a prank." Gajeel made his way to the door and had his hand on the knob when Makarov interrupted his exit.

"Gajeel, I thought to myself the same exact thing. But the client is here, and she's demanding that you, and only you, provide body guard services. She's out with Lucy and Natsu if you would like to speak with her. Apparently, she has even more money than Lucy. Her parents died, leaving her with their entire estate, business, and bank accounts, and she invested it by starting her own record label and becoming a world famous disco-jocky."

"It's disc-jocky... and it's more commonly know as a d.j." Gajeel snorted at his boss.

"Whatever it is... this is a once in a life time opportunity Gajeel... one that could pay off your debt in less than a year easily." He spoke in a serious tone. "Not to mention... other opportunities that would await you." The older man's bushy eyebrows that were far too large for his face rose high, as he insinuated that something more could come of this job that Gajeel did not expect.

His lips formed a thin line, "Fine," he grunted, "But if she is anything like her friend, not even 100k a year is worth that." He walked out of the office and slammed the door behind him.

Gajeel sighed deeply and ran his fingers through his thick black hair. I could really use this job... I could repay my debt and start out new... traveling the world is a definite bonus...He started back towards the corner where his client sat doing shots with Natsu and Lucy. He made eye contact with the pink haired Salamander and he gave him a wide grin and a thumbs up. Natsu usually had a good intuition about clients... not that Gajeel would ever admit that to anyone.

"Um, I don't usually drink Lu-chan..." he overheard the tiny bluenett tell the Bunny Girl.

"Oh, Levy, you'll be fine! It's just one jell-o shot. I even got your favorite flaaaavooorrr! Raspberry!" The effects of the alcohol were already hitting Lucy as she slurred her words slightly and acted much more carefree than he knew the prissy blonde to be.

"Okay, I'll give it a... shot. Pun totally intended." Lucy and the blue haired girl giggled as she tipped the shot glass back into her mouth and Gajeel came up behind her, shadow looming over as he crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at the girl. She looked up and him, glass still to her mouth as she hung in the same position for a moment, before she swallowed the contents of her drink and sat back up. She stood and turned, cheeks flushed pink and moved a stray lock from her face to behind her ear with her tiny, delicate fingers.. Gajeel noticed.

She was much smaller up close... she was also much prettier. Her blue hair extended to her roots, showing no sign that it was a dye job, supported by the fact that not only her eyebrows but her eyelashes were in fact, blue as well. Her skin was creamy and smooth, though her cheeks were a light shade of pink from the flush of the alcohol. Her lips were the most perfect heart shape he had ever seen, pump in all the right places. They were coated with a interesting lipstick, that was pink in the middle and extended to yellow at the edges, reminding him of a sunset. Her eyes were dawned with a simple thick eyeliner, "cat eyes" (as he had learned from Lucy) and they were the most beautiful thing of all. They were large, round eyes. The color of honey, a shade he had never seen before, and they have speckles of brown and he soon found himself feeling lost in their pools... before Natsu interrupted.

"Are you guys just gonna stare into each others eyes, lovingly, all day, or are we gonna talk business?" Natsu and Lucy both laughed as they both jumped slightly and turned red at being caught in such a moment.

"I, uh, oh shit I'm so sorry," the one they called Levy laughed awkwardly. "I'm Levy McGarden, Lucy has told me a lot about you... she thinks you'll be a good body guard on my world tour... Oh, I'm a D.J., by the way.. D.J. Solid Script... I play music at clubs and festivals and the like all over the world. I've, uh," she kept stuttering her words, and Gajeel didn't know if was because the alcohol had entered her system or if she was just always this adorably awkward. "I've run into a lot of trouble lately, with party goers who seem to think because I'm a D.J. I must like drugs, I've had quiet a few people try to slip me drugs or who just don't take 'no' for an answer."

Gajeel scowled at this information, trying to drug her and take advantage of her, quiet obviously. A sudden anger built in his stomach, and for some reason he felt oddly protective over the small girl in front of him. He cleared his throat, turned to the bar to signal to Mira for another drink. "I guess," he cleared his throat and nodded to Mira when she handed him a drink, "we should probably go talk the details over with the old man."

Levy nodded her head and hummed in agreement, she took the lead towards the office, but Gajeel could see her reflection in the glass of the office door and she was blushing deeply. Levy knocked on the glass and Makarov immediately summoned them in.

The details were gone over and it was decided that Gajeel had three days to pack his things and move into Levy's penthouse downtown. He would have a few days to get settled before Levy had a show at a few local clubs on the weekend, before her tour branched out and they would be required to travel to shows. In a month they would be going overseas to start her world tour, and they would be gone for months before returning aboard and taking a short break, and then continuing with the national tour. They would basically be on the road for an entire year, which was no problem for Gajeel. He grew up in foster homes, and was used to being bounced from home to home... except one thing.

"This is all great and good, except for one thing, Shrimp." He took a gulp of his drink, though the ice had melted and watered down his whiskey.

Her eyes shot open wide, and with a baffled and angry look, she exclaimed, "Shrimp?! I'm offering you world travel, a company car, a penthouse suite, and a 6 figure income, and you have the audacity to refer to me as SHRIMP?!" Her voice reached a new octave on the last word and he couldn't help but grin and the adorable way her cheeks and the tips of her ears turned red when she became angry, but when she puffed her cheeks out in frustration he almost completely lost it.

With a cocky grin he decided to pester her further, "Oh, I deeply apologize, you're completely right. You're definitely more of a 'Shorty.'"

Throwing her hands up in exasperation and looking between Makarov and Gajeel as if to say "is this guy serious?" But Makarov simply chuckled.

"Don't worry my dear, if he gives you a nickname, it means he approves of you." Again, Levy's cheeks were tinted a rosy pink.

"Oi! Can it Old Man!" Gajeel threatened, only proving Makarov's point, as he chuckled. "Any way, back to the point. There's only one problem, shorty," Gajeel enunciated the nickname, to see Levy cross her arms and look away from him. "I've got a cat. And anywhere Lily can't go, I won't go either."

Her ears perked up at this information, "You have a cat? I love cats. I've wanted to get one ever since I met Natsu's cat, Happy!"

Gajeel rolled his eyes, "Well my cat is a million times cooler than Natsu's laboratory experiment failure," referring to the blue color of fur the cat had retained after being rescued from a facility that experimented with hair dye on animals.

Makarov pulled out some papers for Levy and Gajeel to both sign, and Levy pulled out a laptop edited her own contract so that Gajeel was allowed to bring Lily on all travels. And that's when Makarov decided to inquire about Levy's music.

"So Levy, dear, do you have a sample of your disco-jocky music for me?" Levy giggled at Makarov's mispronunciation.

"Sure! I've got a new single I haven't released yet here on my computer, and I also have a mix c.d you can have!" As Levy pressed play on her new song, Gajeel rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Oh great, you're one of those techno ravers." Gajeel quietly hoped that he could get away with wearing earbuds during her performances, so he could listen to his own style of music.

"Well, I'm not a raver, I just play electronic music that I've mixed together in my own style at raves. I don't participate in the... recreational activities that many take part in." They both happened to notice that Makarov was quiet enjoying Levy's mix and was doing a little dance behind his desk.

"Yeah, that's exactly what this is, electronic music, as in, not real music." Gajeel declared his opinion on the matter.

Levy rolled her eyes, "Yeah, and I'm guessing your taste in music is limited to heavy metal and screamo," she deadpanned.

"Wrong." Gajeel smirked. "I happen to be a real musician, and I play jazz."

"Yes, Gajeel and his sister are well known in the underground jazz world here in town... though Gajeel's singing voice is considered an... acquired taste." Gajeel shot old man Makarov a dirty look. "Well my children, I must say, I'm very glad this worked out. But if you don't mind, an old man like myself needs to get some rest. I expect you both to stop by for a visit before you leave for your big trip!" They both nodded in agreement, Levy gave Makarov a copy of her c.d and hugged the old man, whispering something in his ear that he chuckled at.