When people say "running late" they usually mean they're a few minutes behind schedule. Levy was actually running late. She had promised to meet Lucy at the guild, but her inability to put down a book once she was in the middle of it had gotten her in trouble again.
That was why she was sprinting, head down, arms pumping, when she reached the guild. It was also the reason she didn't see the tall figure in black until it was too late to stop.
With a shout of surprise she tried to skid to a stop only to stumble and crash into Gajeel on the front steps of the guild.
"What's the rush, short stuff?" he said with a grin, catching her by the elbows as she ricocheted off his broad chest.
"Sorry," Levy panted, out of breath from her mad dash. Gajeel looked down at her and flashed his sharp smile and Levy lost her breath all over again. No fair, she thought as he released her.
"I'm supposed to be meeting Lucy," Levy said in answer to his earlier question. She pushed her hair back into place and straightened the headband that had been knocked askew.
"That bunny is inside," Gajeel said with a jerk of his thumb. "We're headed out."
"Oh, a job?" Levy asked.
"Yes. It's nearby," Lily said, flying at Levy's eye level. "It shouldn't take long."
"Good luck, then! Take care out there," Levy said. Lily gave her a confident smile as he went ahead toward the gate.
Gajeel scoffed. "I can handle it."
"I didn't say you couldn't! I just said be careful. You never know when something could go wrong, especially these days," she added. Gajeel folded his arms across his chest and regarded Levy with a solemn expression. Levy looked up at him through her lashes. "What?"
Gajeel finally cracked a bit of a smile, but all he said was, "Nothing."
"What's with you, sheesh," Levy said. "Anyway, I'll see you later." She turned to head into the guild but was halted when Gajeel cupped her head in his palm and ruffled her hair. Through the tumble of her curls she saw him grin at her.
"Bye, shorty. Love you," he said.
Then he turned and headed for the gates of the guild.
Levy was so shocked she took three steps before what he said had sunk in.
He had said, "love you." Hadn't he? It hadn't been her imagination? She hadn't misheard? But she could still feel the warmth of his hand on her head, and remembered the shape of his mouth as he said… love…
Levy was overtaken by a wave of dizziness as all the blood rushed to her head. She clapped her hands over her cheeks in a futile attempt to hide her blush. She was bright red from head to toe and there was no hiding that.
She shot a look over her shoulder and caught sight of Gajeel's back crossing the courtyard toward a waiting Lily. Before the thought of going after him had fully formed in her head her attention was caught by a shout.
"Levy-chan! There you are!" Lucy said, waving from her seat at one of the long tables in the middle of the guild hall. "Over here!"
Levy forced herself to walk over to her friend, even though it took conscious thought to move her feet. She managed to cross the room and sit down on the bench next to Lucy.
"Whoa, Levy-chan, you've got a weird expression. Is something wrong?" Lucy said, putting a concerned hand on Levy's shoulder. Levy turned to look at her, trying to organize her thoughts into words. Unfortunately her brain could barely be said to be producing thoughts so all that came out was a long, high sound.
"Heeeeeeeee..." Levy managed. She gulped and tried again. "He said…" That was as far as she made it before the memory overwhelmed her again and she gave up.
"Levy-chan!"
It had taken a second for Gajeel to realize what words had come out of his mouth. He had said "love you." He definitely had. He had said "love you" to Levy.
He stumbled for a second but caught himself before he face planted in the middle of the guild courtyard.
It hadn't been intentional. He had just been a little happy that somebody was worried about him, and he had also been a little bit more than happy that the one worrying about him was the adorable Levy. He had only really meant to say thank you, but he was terrible at that. The words always seemed to get stuck in his throat.
So why had it been so easy for the words "love you" to slip out?
Gajeel swiped a hand across his traitorous mouth as though trying to wipe the words away. He caught the scent of Levy's hair lingering on his fingers and pressed them against his lips before he could stop himself. The image of her brown eyes peeping through her tousled hair, the cheerful expression on her face as the words "love you" passed through the air between them, rose before his eyes unbidden. The memory made him dizzy.
"Gajeel!"
He refocused his eyes just in time to walk straight into the looming stone gatepost.
The pain helped clear his head a little. He was heading out on a job, and Levy was worried about him. He couldn't be spacing out now.
"What's wrong with you?" Lily asked, flying at Gajeel's shoulder. "Did Levy say something?"
Gajeel staggered around the gatepost and headed down the street. "No, Levy didn't say anything. It's nothing."
Gajeel was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't notice Lily's expression sharpen at his phrasing.
"Well, if you say so," Lily said skeptically.
For the rest of the day Gajeel was lost in thought. He walked mechanically to meet with the client on the outskirts of the city. Lily, in his large battle form, was the one who had to listen to the details of the job because Gajeel couldn't focus beyond making appropriate grunts when prodded in the ribs. Other than that he sat in silence, his thoughts elsewhere.
How had he not realized it? It had snuck up on him completely. One day Levy was his comrade, a guildmate, somebody he didn't mind hanging out with. The next day he was saying he l- l-...
Gajeel sagged in his seat, oblivious to the alarmed expressions of Lily and the client across from them.
How did you fall in love with somebody when you couldn't even say the word "love" to yourself? Because that was clearly what had happened. He had gone and fallen for the short mage, and her big eyes and her messy hair and her enormous brain and her sunny smile. He may have not realized it but his mouth certainly had. It had made the connection with his heart without involving his brain at all. That was why he had gone and told Levy he loved her.
Gajeel sighed with disgust. The client leaned back in his chair, eying Gajeel apprehensively. Dimly Gajeel realized that Lily was rising and stood to follow him, still lost in thought.
Now that he'd said it, what was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to walk right up to her later today and have a normal conversation as though nothing had changed? Come to think of it, maybe nothing had changed. He didn't even know if Levy had heard him say it. Maybe she hadn't even realized that he had said anything. She certainly hadn't reacted at the moment. She had probably heard his casual tone more than the actual words.
That was it. That must be it. She hadn't heard anything out of the ordinary. He would just act normal and if she asked about it he would…
Gajeel stopped himself. Unheeded, Lily plowed into him from behind.
He had thought he could just lie and tell her he hadn't said anything, but he couldn't do it. He had said it, he had admitted it to himself, he wouldn't lie about it now. Apparently, along with a family and sense of responsibility, joining Fairy Tail had also given him an unasked-for conscience. Damn.
"Gajeel, what's wrong with you?" Lily demanded, pulling his partner around by the shoulder. "You're not acting like yourself today."
Gajeel waved off the Exceed's concerns. "I said it's nothing, didn't I? Let's wrap this up and head back."
To the guild. Where Levy was.
It had taken a while for Levy to regain her equilibrium, but Lucy was happy to accept that her friend just wasn't ready to talk about whatever was on her mind. They passed a few hours swapping books and chatting, but the gaps in conversation grew progressively longer and more obvious. Finally Lucy couldn't ignore it any longer.
"Levy-chan, are you sure there's nothing I can do to help?"
Levy sighed heavily and drooped onto the surface of the table.
"I don't even know what it is I need help with," she said, resting her head on her folded arms. Lucy mimicked her pose, scooting close enough that they could talk in whispers.
"I'm here for you no matter what, you know," Lucy said with an encouraging smile. Levy smiled back.
"Well, today I bumped into Gajeel by the front door. He and Lily-san were headed out on a job. So I said bye, and he… He said… After I said good bye he said…" Levy muttered in an increasingly small voice. Lucy was forced to lean closer and closer to hear her. Meanwhile Levy's head sunk further and further into her folded arms.
"...he said 'I love you,'" she finally whispered.
"WHAT!" Lucy pushed herself back from the table so hard the whole bench rocked. Levy sat up to catch the table before she was knocked onto the floor. Lucy immediately grabbed her in a hug. "That's great! I had no idea you guys were doing so well!"
Levy pried Lucy's arms from around her neck. "That's just it, Lu-chan. We're not… well, we're not anything."
"Huh?"
"I mean, I kinda thought… maybe… I might…" Lucy covered her mouth and laughed knowingly. Levy flushed. "But the reality is that we're just guildmates! We're friends!"
"Hmmmm," Lucy said in the same arch tone.
"Lu-chan! I have a serious problem here!" Levy protested.
"Well, it doesn't look like much of a problem to me," Lucy said more seriously. "The guy you like just said he loves you." She ignored Levy's panicked expression and protestations that it wasn't like that and plowed on. "Shut up, you're definitely in love with him. Why not just tell him? You may say that you're guildmates and all, but if you love each other there's no reason he can't be your guildmate and your boyfriend."
"Lu-chan, I'm begging you, stop saying 'love' like that," Levy said weakly. "The problem is I don't think he meant to say it." Lucy looked shocked.
"You think he meant to say it to somebody else?"
"No! Maybe? I don't know, he just said it as he was leaving! Didn't you ever accidentally call a teacher "mom" or say, "you too" when someone at a restaurant tells you to enjoy the meal? It was like that."
"Yeah, once or twice," Lucy admitted.
"So I don't think he actually meant to say it. It was just a slip of the tongue. But I don't know what to do now. How am I supposed to act when he comes back later today?"
Lucy considered it while she fiddled with her half-full drink. "I guess just act normally, right?"
Levy sighed and shook her head.
"You don't get it! It's too awkward. Imagine if somebody said it to you." She paused, searching for a name. "I mean, what if Natsu suddenly said 'I love you' out of nowhere!"
Lucy's glass suddenly shot out of her hand and crashed onto the table, spilling its contents everywhere. Levy yelped and snatched up her books protectively.
"Lu-chan, what the-" Levy broke off at the expression on Lucy's face. "Oh."
Lucy, her face bright red, righted the toppled glass with a nervous laugh. Mira hurried over with a rag and helped them wipe the mess up. By the time she had bustled off Lucy's face had mostly gone back to its normal color.
Lucy cleared her throat and folded her hands tightly in her lap. Levy tactfully pretended that nothing had happened while quietly filing the information away for later discussion.
"Er, yes. I see the problem now," Lucy said with determined poise. "I still think it's not as big a problem as you're making it out to be.
"You know about parapraxis, right? The idea that things like a slip of the tongue reveals what you're actually thinking and feeling. I'd bet you anything that Gajeel feels the same way about you that you do about him. Of course he'd never admit it, but it slipped out."
Levy thought about it, but shook her head. "You may be right, but parapraxis is also when people mishear things the way they wish they could hear. Maybe I just misheard what he actually said."
Lucy took her friend by the shoulders and gave her a shake. "Levy-chan, what could he have possibly said other than 'I love you!'"
"I don't know! But it would be worse to assume he meant it than it would be to act like nothing happened!"
The two friends paused to consider the scenario of responding to a misheard love confession and shuddered in horror.
"Putting that aside, I really don't think that's what you're dealing with here," Lucy insisted.
"Well, it wouldn't hurt to wait, would it?" Levy said. "I'll just wait and see what he does. If he really did mean to tell me… to say that he'll bring it up again. And if it was just my imagination then I won't end up embarrassing myself."
Lucy gave the shorter girl a severe look. As she was opening her mouth to say something there was a stir behind them. They turned to look in time to see Gajeel and Lily re-enter the guild hall.
"Oh, welcome back Gajeel," Max said. "That was fast."
"Yeah, another easy one," Gajeel said with a grin.
"Hmm," Lily added. The dragon slayer shot the Exceed a look but no more was said.
Lily broke off to check in with Mirajane while Gajeel started to wind his way between the tables. Levy turned to Lucy with wide eyes .
"Lu-chan! What do I do?" she hissed.
"I don't know! You said you were just going to act normal. So act the way you always do!"
Levy tried to remember how she normally acted around Gajeel, but she drew a blank. All she could think about was how handsome he was, the way he teased her, the feel of his hand on her head, the way he had smiled when he had said "love you."
I can't do it!
Levy lurched to her feet.
"Levy-chan?"
"You know I think I really didn't get enough sleep last night," she said in a voice that was just a little louder than normal. "I'm going to call it a day and get back to the dorm." She quickly gathered up her things.
"Levy-chan, you coward," Lucy hissed at her in an undertone.
"I can't do it! I can't do it today!" Levy whispered back. "It'll be fine tomorrow but I just can't do it today!"
That said, she whirled to head for the door. For the second time that day she walked straight into Gajeel.
"Oh! Er. You're back," she said stiffly.
"Yeah, we just finished up. It was a quick job."
"Good work, Gajeel," Lucy said with an overly smile. "Levy-chan, I'm just going to…" She let her sentence trail off as she drifted away, shooting her friend a meaningful look as she went.
Lu-chan, you traitor, Levy thought, glaring daggers at her friend.
"Are you going somewhere?" Gajeel asked, snapping Levy back to her current problem.
"Oh, er. Yes. I'm pretty out of it today so I'm going to go home," Levy said trying to sound both cheerful and calm at the same time. Judging by Gajeel's raised eyebrow she hadn't quite pulled it off.
"You feeling okay, shorty?"
"Fine! Fine! Just kinda worn out!" Levy insisted, edging around Gajeel.
"Huh." She smiled tightly in the face of his glare. "Well, guess I'll see you later," he said after a moment of consideration.
"Yup, later. Love you," Levy said, waving as she turned away.
Gajeel moved without thinking. His hand shot out and closed around Levy's wrist. She whirled to face him, her expression startled. There was another layer to her surprise, though. As though she couldn't believe her own mouth.
Gajeel knew that feeling.
"Lev-"
"Oh wow, how embarrassing!" she blurted out. "I- I don't know where that came from, haha. Do- don't get the wrong idea or anything. It was just an accident!" Gajeel's gaze remained fixed on her face. Her eyes kept drifting towards his before immediately darting away.
"Just a slip of the tongue?" he suggested. He saw her eyes drop to his lips for a beat.
"Ye- yeah, something like that," she said weakly.
Gajeel leaned towards her. He was fascinated to see that the closer he got the harder she blushed. Gently, he began to pull her hand closer.
"Y'know, I heard somewhere that those little slips of the tongue can tell you a lot about what a person is really thinking," he said in a low voice. Levy licked her lips nervously before she replied. Gajeel followed the motion of her tongue with his eyes.
"I- it's a theory," Levy said. Gajeel gave her a little tug and she took a single step forward. He matched it.
"Just a theory?" he said. "I think it's probably true."
Her eyes locked with his and this time she didn't look away. Gajeel adjusted his grip around her wrist and slid his hand up until it engulfed Levy's.
"Don't go acting like you know what I'm thinking!" Levy said with some of her usual heat, but the effect was weakened by the tremble in her voice.
"You? I was talking about me."*
Levy's expression went blank with shock. If Gajeel thought she had been red before that was nothing compared to now. Her face was the color of a tomato. Heart pounding hopefully, Gajeel closed the final distance between them. They were only inches apart now.
"I said something earlier," Gajeel said quietly.
"So did I. Just now," she replied, her eyes still locked with his. Her voice was so quiet he could barely hear.
"I didn't mean to say it. But I meant what I said." He felt Levy's fingers close around his hand. Her lips moved and even his sensitive hearing had to strain to catch the words. He thought they were, "me too."
"Say that again?" he asked, leaning closer.
"I love you," she said firmly in a clear voice.
Gajeel choked on his own breath. Now it was his turn to be shocked. He had half-thought he had imagined it when she had said it earlier. There was no doubting it now.
"I didn't expect you to say it again," he admitted.
"Eh? You mean I didn't have to say it?" Levy blurted.
"Well now I have to say it again!"
Levy dropped her eyes. They were so close that her forehead rested briefly against his chest when she lowered her head.
"You don't have to," she whispered. "Only if you want to. It's kinda embarrassing."
Gajeel suddenly became aware of his surroundings for the first time. He was standing in the middle of the busy guild hall clutching Levy's hand. Every eye in the room was on the two of them. Gajeel saw Natsu's horrifically amused face over Lucy's shoulder. Next to a stunned Gray, a bug-eyed and blushing Juvia was staring at them jealously. Over by the bar Lily gaped at the two of them. A low buzz of whispered conversation filled the room.
A wolf whistle broke the sudden tension. Gajeel caught Laxus's eye as the blonde dragon slayer smirked knowingly. The room dissolved into friendly laughter.
Damn him! Damn them all!
"Oh nooooo," Levy moaned. She buried her face in Gajeel's shirt. Instinctively Gajeel wrapped his arms around her. With the difference in their heights Levy was almost completely enveloped in Gajeel's embrace.
"Geez, those idiots," Gajeel growled. He could tell his face was probably flushed with embarrassment. But he felt Levy's arms go around his waist and found that he couldn't really get angry. He felt her shoulders start to shake. "Levy?" he asked. Oh crap, is she crying?
Levy tipped her head back all the way to look Gajeel in the face. Her face was split in a wide grin.
"I think we're the idiots here," she laughed. "We did this all backwards."
"What are you talking about?" Gajeel pulled her closer. "It doesn't matter how we did it. The result is all that matters."
Levy laughed again. "I guess. We just had to say 'I love you' before we realized it was true."
Author notes: Hello, my name is Orange and I'm incapable of writing short fanfics. Once again thank you for reading the whole thing!
Did you know? Parapraxis is the technical term for a Freudian Slip. There's no Freud in Fiore, though, so calling it a Freudian Slip would have been weird.