I wrote this as a Secret Santa gift for somebody on Tumblr, I'm really sorry if they're OOC
I love Gajevy, though I'm not sure if I have their personalities down quite as well as I'd like
"My name is Levy. How many times do I need to tell you that?" The bluenette was pointing at the name tag that was located above her heart. Her name was written in large black print, so there was absolutely no way that this guy was missing it.
"Oh, is it?" The large man with all the piercings leaned over the counter, forcing Levy to take an uncertain step backwards while he squinted at the spot she was pointing to on her uniform. "I think Shrimp suits you much better, you should consider having it legally changed. It might do you some good."
The short girl puffed out her cheeks at the customer who always seemed to enjoy picking on her.
She was the only worker in the whole cafe that wasn't afraid of serving him though, so she never really had a choice when he walked in through those doors.
Which he seemed to do every single day that she worked.
There was a rumor going around the workplace that this guy had a thing for Levy, which she denied every single time it was brought up.
No way that jerk could like her!
"Are you going to order or am I going to have to play the guessing game?" The bluenette decided to change the subject back onto the real reason that he was there, she was thankful that no other customers were around to witness this banter.
The man often would continue this charade whether or not there was a growing line behind him, the thoughts and opinions of other people when it came to himself didn't seem to matter in the slightest.
Levy couldn't help but admire that about the strange man. Of course, she would never admit to something like that. The guy already had an ego the size of a horse, she definitely didn't want to go about making it any bigger.
"Aw Shrimp, I thought that by now you would have my order down to a science."
Levy placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow at him, "How can I possibly do that when you change it up every single time you come here? It's as though you have something against consistency."
The man grinned before bursting out laughing, "What can I say? I guess it's a lot of fun getting you all riled up. I kind of think of it as a game now, on my way here I find myself wondering how I'm gonna get you to look at me with that expression. I'm always pretty successful."
Levy only looked at him expectantly and he sighed before turning his eyes up towards the menu that hung above her head. "Alright, today I'll go for a triple espresso, a honey dip donut… and your number."
"Triple espresso, honey dip, and my- wait... what?" Levy stared up at the man, shock evident on her face. Had that really just happened? Did this guy seriously just ask her out like that? She had only seen cheesy things like that happen in the movies or on a TV show.
"Your number, can I have it?" He asked again, this time his cheeks actually flushed a bit as he looked away. "I've been kind of trying to figure out a way to ask for it, that was the coolest way that I could think of."
"U-um..." Levy trailed off before looking over her shoulder in time to see practically all of her co-workers quickly turn their attention from the two onto something else.
They were all watching. She wasn't really surprised, everybody was strangely invested in the… interesting relationship that Levy and this customer had formed over the months.
"I-I don't even know your name!" She said finally, her face was beet red. She was sure that steam would be rising from her head if it were humanly possible.
"Oh? Yeah, I guess I kind of forgot to introduce myself." The man chuckled before folded his arms across his chest, and tilted his head, "My name is Gajeel Redfox."
Gajeel.
It was a strange name, though Levy found herself actually quite liking it. It felt… familiar somehow, though she had no idea how that was even possible. She knew for a fact that she'd never met anybody by that name before. As a bookworm… she had the tendency to remember names and faces pretty well.
"Its um… nice to meet you?" It felt strange saying that after having had all of this interaction with him before. "But uh… I'm not sure I can just give out my number to a customer. I don't think my boss would allow it, safety precautions and all that."
Gajeel frowned at this news before his gaze landed on a blonde woman that was hovering a bit too close for her own good.
"You! Bunny girl!" He pointed and shouted, effectively shocking both his target and Levy. "Get me an application!"
"Wh-what?!" both the blonde and Levy exclaimed in unison.
Gajeel slammed his hand down on the counter, drawing the attention of other customers in the cafe as well. "Ya heard me!"
Lucy yelped and hurried off to do as he asked and Levy glared at him.
"You can't be serious," the indignation in her tone was clear, "You can't just ask for an application like that! Who would want to hire a man who screams at the other employees? You've got to be some kind of crazy."
Gajeel seemed to consider this for a long moment before he nodded in understanding, "I guess you have a point."
When Lucy returned with a few pieces of paper, he offered a sheepish smile at her and a gruff 'thank you'. Levy's best friend squinted at him before returning to the drive-thru where she began to take the order of somebody who had just pulled up.
"Better?" Gajeel asked Levy who only sighed and threw her hands in the air.
"Did you still want that triple espresso and donut or..?" The man sighed before he pulled out his wallet with a nod. He paid for his order before asking for a pen which Levy begrudgingly supplied him with.
She hadn't actually expected him to fill the application out, so she was entirely surprised when he returned a half hour later and handed her the completed application.
The guy had surprisingly nice handwriting.
"I'll see ya later, Shrimp. How about you pass on a good word about me to the boss man, hm?" Then he was gone.
Almost immediately the small bluenette was flocked by all of her co-workers. Each one talking nearly a mile a second, it was clear to Levy that everybody was thrilled about what had just happened.
"I can't believe that somebody would say something so cheesy like that these days," Lucy was saying as she sighed and touched her cheek, "So romantic! My inner writer is just itching to write about what just happened, talk about an interesting person. Am I right Levy?" Lucy elbowed Levy playfully and the latter puffed out her cheeks in agitation.
She didn't like all of the attention that she was receiving on the matter, though she knew that there was really no way she could avoid it. Especially after he had so forwardly asked for an application to work there.
Levy had a feeling that things weren't going to be quite as simple as they had been up until that point.
Of course, she was right.
The next few days passed by relatively eventless, it wasn't until exactly one week later that she saw Gajeel again.
This time, he was wearing a uniform that matched her own.
"Yo," he said with a shit-eating grin, "guess who got the job."
From behind her, Lucy was giggling. Levy would have glared at the blonde had she not felt completely frozen in place as she stared at the man who appeared even taller than he had before now that he was behind the counter.
He was big. Her neck actually hurt a little with how she had to crane it in order to see his face.
Of course, this wasn't necessarily an uncommon occurrence with Levy. She was definitely on the short side, though their height difference felt even more substantial due to the relationship that they had.
She felt like a small dog that had barked up the wrong tree.
"Congratulations," she muttered before crossing her arms over her chest and pouting at the register, "Do you know how to punch in?"
"Yup, I've been here a couple times actually. Though I requested to be put on this shift, naturally. I didn't get to see you while I was working in the early morning."
Levy sighed loudly as she watched the man punch himself in.
"Did you think I was just messing around?" The question was unexpected and Levy actually blinked in surprise as she turned her gaze onto the man who was now watching her with a certain curiosity in his eyes.
"Oh um..." Levy hesitated before she nodded sheepishly, "I didn't really think that you would actually try to seriously get the job. I'm not sure why getting my number would be so important to you, I mean… it's not as though we've had very many real conversations or anything. I didn't even know your name until last week for goodness sake! Why would I have a reason to believe that you weren't messing around?"
Gajeel was watching her with such intensity that Levy actually had to look away so that her face wouldn't heat up unnecessarily.
"Don't you feel it?" He asked after a long moment, effortlessly drawing Levy's attention to him once more. This time she was the one with a curious expression.
"Feel what?" She asked hesitantly. Though before Gajeel could reply… they were attacked by the usual crowd of people who came around that time.
It wasn't until nearly three hours later that the two had a moment to breathe. This was mostly because Lucy had called in, she hadn't been feeling very well as of late… so Levy wasn't frustrated with her blonde friend.
"What I meant earlier," Gajeel began as he casually walked up to Levy who had been just making a fresh pot of coffee to have ready for whenever the next customer came in. "I was just wondering if I am the only one who feels like we are supposed to know one another. Like we are supposed to be together."
Had it been any other person talking to her about this, Levy would have been completely creeped out. Who says something like that to somebody who they hardly knew?
Unfortunately for her… she completely understood what this guy meant. She had felt that way practically from the start, which was the main reason she had been open to dealing with him while the rest of her co-workers preferred to keep their distance. It was also why she secretly enjoyed it when he teased her. She had quite a lot of fun with their short banters, it was strange to say in the least.
"I… you aren't the only one who feels that way." She reassured with a soft sigh, "It's just weird though, don't you think it's weird?"
Gajeel released a breath of air that sounded as though he'd been holding a long time before he shrugged his shoulders, "I've kind of learned to not second guess these kinds of things. I suppose you could say that I've learned to trust my gut when it comes to the good things. And Shrimp, you really seem like you're a good thing. Why would I want to question it?"
Levy's face heated up again and she had a feeling that if she continued to stick around this guy… she very well might permanently have a red face.
"I um..." Levy trailed off and looked away, deciding that it would probably be for the best if she avoided eye contact. All of a sudden she wasn't sure she could trust her own actions around this guy.
It was all so strange.
Levy was practically the epitome of self control, she always had been. Lucy often went to Levy for advice for such things.
"I guess I can understand where you might be coming from, in a way."
"So… does that mean you will give me your number? I've come this far, don't you think it would be cruel to keep it from me now?"
Levy opened her mouth to argue, though quickly decided against it. Despite how he was smiling, she could see the nervousness behind his question.
He actually wanted her number, no matter how much he tried to make it look like he couldn't care less.
"… Fine." she said begrudgingly with a sigh as she used a small piece of blank receipt paper to write down the ten digits. "Just, take this seriously, okay? I don't usually give my number out to strange guys who ask, so I'm asking you to not make me regret this decision."
Gajeel chuckled before he swiped the slip of paper from out of her hands.
"Sure thing, Shrimp. You definitely won't regret it." The dark-haired man then ripped off his name tag and tossed it into the nearest garbage can and turned on his heel with his hand in the air as he bid them farewell.
"I'll be taking my leave now, I called Natsu earlier and he said that he could come in. Thanks for everything!"
Then he was gone.
Levy stared at the door that the guy had left through, her jaw practically touched the ground.
"Are you kidding me?!" She demanded after the shock passed over her.
"What happened?" Natsu asked as he secured his own name tag in place, he'd come into the shop through the back most likely. "Where is Lucy? Gajeel told me she'd be working..."
"Yeah?! Well Gajeel said a lot of things!" Levy exclaimed angrily before she stomped off towards the back of the store, leaving behind a very confused looking Natsu to stand in her wake.
That idiot! She should have expected something like that right from the start! What was she thinking? Just because she found him a little bit attractive didn't mean she had to go ahead and lose all of her common sense!
The bluenette wound up in a pretty grumpy mood for the remainder of the shift. Not only because of what Gajeel did, but because Natsu wound up complaining a crap ton about how Lucy wasn't there.
Levy would have to remember to talk to the blonde about this. Lucy had been low-key obsessed with knowing about whether or not the pink-haired young man was interested in her. The bluenette definitely had an answer to that inquiry now.
"I'm gonna punch out, you gonna be okay on your own for the last half-hour Natsu?" Levy felt a little bit guilty for leaving like this, though she really wasn't in the mood to deal with anybody.
That… and the store was always pretty dead around this time anyways.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Feel better Levy!" Natsu waved enthusiastically before he turned around and started to brew a fresh pot of coffee. Levy watched him for a moment longer, making sure that no customers were coming while she was still on the clock before she punched out and went to the back of the building where all of her things were.
It didn't take more than a minute to bundle up and leave the building. She was relieved to see that there were still no customers, she could only pray that Natsu wouldn't be bombarded before the next shift workers came to relieve him.
It had just begun snowing when she stepped outside.
Just as she was struggling to unlock her car, her phone began to ring. Effectively shocking her. Who would be calling her at this hour? It was almost midnight.
Frowning when she didn't recognize the number, she decided to just let it go to voicemail. She was too focused on struggling with her keys, her fingers were already getting cold which was making it difficult for the girl to actually get the door unlocked. Curse poor circulation!
When the phone began ringing again, Levy sighed and answered against her better judgment. "Hello?" She asked as she brought the cell phone to her ear.
"Having some troubles Shrimp?"
Levy froze, she'd finally managed to wiggle the car key into the keyhole.
"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"
Levy spun on her heel when she realized that she was hearing this voice from the phone and from behind her.
Of course, there he stood not a full ten feet away. Gajeel was leaning against a fairly sleek looking black car. He chuckled as he watched Levy's face twist from confusion into rage. "Hey, no need to get all riled up Shrimp."
"You got my number and quit the job! Of course I am going to be 'riled up'! It wasn't fair to bring Natsu in just because you were going to quit on the spot like that!"
"Aw, I'm sure he was fine. He's tough." The smirk on the man's face never wavered, "I had some very important things to attend to Blue."
Levy would have flushed if it weren't for the fact that she was freezing, so all of her blood was already in her cheeks. "Don't call me that! What could have possibly been more important than staying those last few hours at the least?"
Gajeel pushed off from where he'd been leaning and began to walk slowly towards her. Levy was very much aware of the fact that he held his free hand from her view, what was he hiding?
All of a sudden she felt as though it wasn't wise to provoke this man in the cafe's empty parking lot. A cold wave of fear washed over the bluenette as she watched him approach.
He was too close, even if she ran he would probably catch her before she could make it into the cafe. And her car was always so fussy when it came to unlocking, so she definitely didn't think she could make it inside her car before he reached her.
Perhaps if she screamed loud enough, Natsu would be able to hear her and come to save the day.
Another part of her felt as though there really wasn't anything to worry about. That she was being silly for even thinking of Gajeel as a threat.
Levy couldn't help but feel as though that part of her was extremely stupid. She'd read horror novels, she'd even seen horror movies… it was almost always the girls who were alone at this time of night who got kidnapped.
"Oh I dunno… I had to convince a couple of people to let me get a booth at Fairy Tail. And let me tell you, on such short notice… they practically say no to everybody. So it took quite a bit of convincing on my part." He continued to speak into the phone, despite the fact that he was close enough to talk to her without it.
Levy wasn't sure why she continued to speak through the phone either as she watched him with wary eyes.
"Fairy Tail? Isn't that the really fancy place a few blocks down? Why would you be…?"
The pieces were coming together, however and Levy's brown eyes widened as she stared at the man who came to a stop directly in front of her.
His smile was almost contagious. Almost.
"Yeah, I actually wasn't expecting you to be out for another thirty minutes. I guess I got lucky in getting here early." He pulled his other hand from where it had been hidden behind his back, revealing a single red rose. Even in the poor lighting of the street lamp that shone above their heads, it looked shocking against the white of the snow that continued to fall around them.
Levy said nothing as he twirled the flower a bit between his index finger and thumb.
What on earth was even happening? Levy couldn't seem to wrap her mind around the current situation that she was in, every single thing about it seemed… magical. Like something out of one of the many romance novels that she would read.
Was she dreaming? No! She most certainly wouldn't be dreaming about the man who always seemed to enjoy pushing her buttons!
"I figured now would be a great time to go out for some nice food, you were saying earlier that you no longer eat the food that can be made in the cafe. You were also complaining about being hungry, so… how about it Shrimp? Will ya let me take you out? I managed to get us the best spot in the whole joint, you definitely won't regret it."
At these words… Levy couldn't help but burst out laughing. Her angry facade immediately shattered in the process, but she couldn't even bring herself to care.
Gajeel watched her with a surprised expression etched on his face, clearly this hadn't been the reaction that he'd been hoping for… or even expecting.
"I… why?" Gajeel blinked at the girl who was now clutching her stomach with the hand that wasn't holding the phone to her ear. Her enthusiastic amusement to his words effectively shocked the large man to his core.
"I-I'm sorry..." Levy trailed off as she struggled to get ahold of herself, she wiped at the tears that had begun to fall from her eyes. "It's just that… not once in my whole life has somebody told me that I wouldn't regret something. That completely cliched line… yet here you are, standing here with a red rose… and you have said it to me twice! Twice today!" She covered her mouth in an attempt to keep from laughing again. "You are definitely some kind of romantic and let me tell you… I was not expecting that at all."
Gajeel's mouth was hanging open and it appeared as though he were struggling to figure out something to say.
"Yes, I'll go out with you… you jerk!" Levy giggled again as she took the flower from his loose grasp and brought the blossom up to her nose, giving it a tentative sniff.
"Gosh… I really hate the smell of flowers in winter."
"W-wait… so you'll go out with me?" The man seemed genuinely confused as to whether or not things were going the way he wanted them to.
Levy snapped her phone closed and pocketed it as she gazed up at him, watching as he slowly lowered his own when it beeped at him.
"Yes, I'll go out with you Gajeel Redfox."
Once more, the man donned an earth shattering smile that effectively forced Levy's heart to beat even faster within her chest. A strange effect that she had never felt before.
Before him.
She still couldn't help but feel as though somehow… some way she knew him from somewhere. These strange feelings that he forced to her surface… they felt old. They felt familiar.
"Great, because I'm pretty awesome… but it definitely did take quite a bit of effort to get us into Fairy Tail. I had to pull a few strings… it would have been pretty humiliating if I didn't show up with a date. I'd never have been able to hear the end of it."
Levy laughed again, "Oh… then I guess I'll have to take back my 'yes' then. Maybe another time, I think you deserve a little bit of verbal torture for leaving me here with Natsu!"
"Hey!" Gajeel frowned, "C'mon don't be like that…"
Levy laughed once more before she finally managed to open her car door, "I'll meet you at Fairy Tail… don't make me wait Mr. Piercings." By the time the door was closed again, Gajeel was already hurrying back to his own car.
As she pulled out of her parking spot and put her car into drive, Levy couldn't help but feel as though her whole life was about to change now that she had this man inching his way into it.
Perhaps… that was a good thing.
Jumping a little when somebody honked at her, she looked into her rearview mirror and couldn't help but chuckle a little when she watched Gajeel wave at her from behind his own wheel.
Yeah… she definitely had a feeling that this was going to be a very good thing indeed.