Bad Day

Summary – After having a bad day, Levy tries to drown out the world with a good book. Her plan, however, fails when a certain Dragon Slayer shows up at her door with a plan of his own.

Author's Note – It's been a long time since I've written anything at all. I apologize in advance for any errors and a strong thank you to anyone taking the time to read this. I don't own Fairy Tail.

"Levy?"

Her own name barely registered in her ears as she walked through the guildhall, Droy and Jet trailing closely on her heels. The voluminous chatter merged together with each step she took, becoming noticeable only after a pair of hands reached out and shook her shoulders. With surprise, her head popped up toward the celestial mage before her.

"Oh, Lu," she said softly, her lips curving into a faint smile. "Sorry, I guess I must've been in my own little world just now."

"That's an understatement." Lucy gave an exasperated sigh and tilted her head off to the side as her face contorted with worry. "You don't seem like yourself since this morning. Did everything go okay with the job you were on?" She dropped her hands to her sides and glanced at Jet and Droy, who appeared as confused as she was about their guildmates behavior.

"Well, sort of," Levy started. Her voice lowered as her chocolate hues glanced around the guild, catching brief stares from Cana and Mira across the way. It became blatantly obvious in that moment that it wasn't just Lucy that had noticed her offset mood. "I had a bit of trouble."

"Trouble?" Jet exclaimed, suddenly moving in beside Levy's right side. "What kind of trouble? Who do I gotta beat up?"

"Like you're gonna beat anyone up!" Droy interjected, pushing Jet. "If anyone's gonna defend Levy's honor, it'll be me!"

"Oh, lord." With another sigh, Lucy grabbed Levy's hand and led her toward the back of the room, her eyes shooting daggers at the male members of Shadow Gear. With a unifying gulp, they remained where they were as the two women made it out of earshot. "Now that those two are dealt with, you wanna talk about what happened?" Lucy inquired softly. Her features softened when Levy's gaze fell to the floor.

Where to even start? Levy wondered to herself. She drew in a sharp breath and removed a small handbag she had on her shoulder and provided a crumpled piece of paper for the blonde mage to take.

Curiously, Lucy smoothed out the paper, blinking in confusion. Written in bold lettering across the top, the paper read 'Translator urgently needed' and just below had a large sum of jewels listed as the reward. The celestial mages eyes popped, her hands gripping the paper tightly. "I didn't know translators made such good money," she exclaimed. Her gaze lifted back to Levy. "But I'm guessing the reward isn't what has you down."

"I normally don't do solo missions. I figured it was just a translation gig, easy enough, right?" Levy explained with a faint laugh, fooling no one. Tears welled in her eyes as she took back the paper and looked it over. "The son of the family had wanted someone to look over an heirloom necklace that had a strange engraving on the back. No one was familiar with the language. Neither was I, for that matter." She crumpled the paper back up and tossed it toward the nearby garbage can, watching it bounce off the edge before falling in.

"Were you able to translate the engraving?"

"Yeah, but the client wasn't happy with my work. He was sure I had gotten the translation wrong." The blue haired bookworm clenched her fists at her sides, swallowing hard to keep herself from crumbling. "He called me a terrible mage, unworthy of being apart of Fairy Tail. I know it isn't true, but it stung to hear something like that." She wiped her eyes and gave Lucy her most convincing smile. "I'll be alright, Lu. It's just been an off day."

It was rare for the celestial mage to be at a loss for words. She had been insulted and knocked down several times, but through the years she learned to let it fall off her like water. It never occurred to her until now that not everyone had the same hard skin to insults. Hell, anytime Erza was insulted she let loose on the poor unfortunate soul who spoke the words, but she hardly let it define her mood for long.

She returned Levy's smile and put her hands on her shoulders. "Don't let some scumbag bring you down. You put your heart into everything you do, so if some snobby client can't see that, then to hell with him!" she exclaimed. "Hey, why don't we go out and do something fun?"

Levy shook her head, though her smile remained. "As much as I appreciate the offer, I think I'm going to head home, find a good book, and just spend the rest of the day in some other world."

"That works too. Lemme know if you find a good book to read!" Lucy stated as she began to walk away. She waved to Levy, who waved back as she made her way toward the exit. Jet and Droy had been watching the whole display, arguing over who was more accurate in lip reading than the other, but neither ran after their teammate. Instead, they resigned to giving the blue haired mage her space.

Everyone did, except one.

Sitting at the far end of the guildhall, Gajeel had also been keeping an eye on Lucy and Levy's conversation. Unlike Jet and Droy, he had heard every word with ease, and although his features remained an emotionless mask, his insides were in a twisted mangle.

Panther Lily had been discussing something with the other Exceed's, stopping as his partner rose from the table. "Gajeel?"

"I gotta run out and do something. I'll be back later." Without further explanation, the Iron Dragon Slayer took his leave of the guildhall, taking in Levy's scent and heading down the path her was certain she had taken.

Upon arriving home, Levy discarded her handbag near the doorway of her apartment, kicked off her shoes, and made a b-line toward the kitchen. It was hard for her to believe how something so small had her feeling so down about herself. She knew full well that her skill was not lacking when it came to being the guilds biggest bookworm. Sure she might not be the most powerful, but she was far from useless.

With a large, exasperated sigh, she removed a mug from the cupboard and then began filling a nearby kettle with water. "C'mon, Levy… Get it together," she murmured to herself, lighting the stove. As the water heated, she wandered into the other room, taking in the sight of row upon row of books that had no room on her shelves. Her small couch sat in the midst of the mess, creating a cozy cove that to her, she found to be the most comforting thing about this place. It was here in this very room that she was able to lose herself in another world, to just forget everything and everyone, even if just for a moment. It was here that…

The silence within the room broke as a sharp knock came at the door, startling Levy enough to make her jump. Her head darted toward the door, her heart racing. The last thing she wanted were visitors right now. It was the whole reason she decided not to stick around at the guildhall. She hadn't turned any lights on, letting only the thin lines of sunlight to illuminate the place, so if she were lucky, whoever was at her door would presume she wasn't there.

"I know you're in there," Gajeel said loudly, giving the door another knock.

Well, so much for that, she thought bitterly. Wait…Gajeel…? She blinked several times in surprise, unable to move. What on earth was he doing here? Of all the people to show up…?

Slowly she moved toward the window beside the door and peeked out from behind the curtain. Sure enough, Gajeel stood in front of her door, his brows furrowed, arms crossed, looking every bit as pissed off as usual. Levy let out a small squeak when he knocked again, this time much louder.

"You going to let me in or just keep watching me from the window?" he stated, without so much as a glance in her direction.

Levy's cheeks flushed and she darted away from the curtains. How did he know? He wasn't even looking at me! Despite being flustered, she raised herself up and jogged toward the door. As soon as her hand twisted the knob, Gajeel gently pushed the door open, brushing past her and entering her home without the slightest bit of permission.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" she exclaimed. Her eyes narrowed and her cheeks puffed out in frustration. "I didn't give you permission to enter, ya'know."

Without looking in her direction, Gajeel walked further inside, letting his crimson hues fall over the seemingly endless supply of books the word mage owned. "Sorry, Shrimp. Couldn't give you a chance to slam the door in my face."

"So you just barge in?" she said heatedly.

Gajeel turned his head in her direction, those crimson pools catching her off guard.

Her breath caught in her throat as she watched him stare her down, noticing just how big he looked in her cramped home. Internally, despite her annoyance, the sight made her giggle. "So, now that you've invaded my home, what brings you here? I had plans."

"To what? Read all day?"

Levy puffed her cheeks out again and clenched her fists. "As a matter of fact, yes!" Just as he was about to rebut, the kettle gave off a shrill shriek, silencing the Dragon Slayer entirely. To the smaller mage's surprise, Gajeel took no hesitation in removing the kettle from the stove and setting it aside, if only to cease the noise. He glanced at the cup she had taken down and slid it toward the edge of the counter toward her.

Relenting to his intrusion, Levy entered the kitchen next to him. She focused her gaze on her cup, pouring in three spoonfuls of sugar before adding in a teabag. "So why did you come here?" she asked again, this time more gently. She carefully lifted the kettle and pouring the searing water into the cup, watching as the teabag changed its color. "Of all the people that could have followed me home, you're the last one I expected."

"You shouldn't be."

"Why's that?"

"You may be apart of your little Shadow Gear clan, but you and I have been through a lot more than you realize," Gajeel said, his voice unusually soft. "I overheard your conversation with blondie."

Levy froze in place, unable to respond. Gajeel had heard everything? She lifted her head to face him. True as his words were, it was still unexpected to see him show up on her doorstep. It was just a bad day; it wasn't as though something life changing had happened during her job. Him being here made no sense, but even so, it made her heart race, her cheeks flush in embarrassment. Why was having him inside her home such a big deal?

"Gajeel, I really just want to be alone," she said, finally looking back at him. His stare was so penetrating, so difficult to decipher at times. Her eyes averted once more, but as soon as they had, the Dragon Slayer did the most surprising thing yet. He moved in behind her and placed his hands on either side of her small shoulders and pulled her in close.

"Do you really want to let one bad moment take over your entire day?" he asked. "The shrimp I know wouldn't just let someone define her. She'd brush it off, know she's better than that."

"Gajeel…I…" Her words trailed off, unfinished. Levy couldn't wrap her head around his words or even this moment for that matter. For as long as she had known this man, he had been ill-tempered like Natsu, a brute who enjoyed fighting. Yet despite such qualities, he had also been the one who protected her from Laxus, who stood beside her during the S-class trials. In truth Gajeel had been the one to lift her up in her most unexpected times of need.

It was Gajeel's turn to be surprised.

In one fluid motion, Levy turned on her heels to face the Dragon Slayer and wrap her arms around him. She nuzzled her face in his chest, breathing in his metallic scent and feeling the warmth of his body against hers. "Thank you, Gajeel," she whispered, her voice muffled against him.

Like a man possessed, Gajeel wrapped his arms around Levy, holding her tightly against him. He didn't know what it was about this girl that made him lose his mind in so many ways, but it felt like each time he had any interaction with her, the more he wanted to stay beside her. Hearing her voice so low when talking to Lucy earlier, how her chocolate hues filled with tears, it made him angry. He didn't want to see this woman hurt over anything, no matter what it was.

"Are you…crying…?" he asked, his words hesitant. He could feel the warmth of her tears seep into his shirt. Slowly his took his hand and lifted Levy's chin, making her look up at him. Those beautiful eyes were certainly full of tears, but her mouth was curled up in a smile revealing the utmost happiness he had seen her display. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just so happy right now."

"And that's bad?"

Levy laughed and playfully punched his arm. "No, you dummy. I'm happy you came by."

Gajeel felt his heart leap for an instance. He wasn't accustomed to people enjoying his presence other than Panther Lily. "Shrimp…"

Levy pulled away and grabbed her tea, taking a sip of the now luke-warm liquid. "Would it kill you to use my name at least once?" she inquired with a smile.

Shrugging, Gajeel leaned back against the counter, turning his head toward the ceiling. "Shrimp just seems more fitting."

With the back of her hand, the female mage wiped away her tears and set her cup back down. Since Gajeel's intrusion into her home, she had found very little desire to curl up with a good book. Something about the man before her appealed to her attention much more. Her cheeks flushed nearly as dark as Gajeel's eyes. "Did you want to hang out here for a little bit?"

"Actually, I have a better idea," he said, his lips curling into a devious smirk. "Close your eyes."

For fifteen minutes, Levy groaned with unease as Gajeel led her from her home to an unknown destination. His hand had her eyes covered, as though he already knew she would attempt to sneak a peak of where they were going at any given chance she had. "Gajeel," she whined, "can I look yet? How long are you going to lead me around blind?"

Gajeel let out his signature chuckle. "We're almost there, Short-stuff." He kept Levy balanced by holding one of her hands in his while the other remained over her eyes. The place he wanted to take her wasn't far, but given that he had to walk slowly to keep her from tripping, it took much longer than usual. The sun had nearly set over the horizon and the sky was becoming blanketed with stars with each passing minute.

"Are we there yet?"

"We are now."

Ever so slowly, Gajeel removed his hand from Levy's eyes. The blue haired mage opened her chocolate hues and immediately let out a surprised gasp. "Gajeel, this is…" Her voice trailed as she took in the sight before her. Over a rolling hill lay millions of tiny lights from Magnolia down below. The city glittered in the setting sun, becoming almost livelier than it was during daylight. But it wasn't just the city that had made Levy breathless; it was the expanse of sky that surrounded them and the stars beginning to make their appearance.

She had passed by this hill every day she had gone to the guild, but not once had she ever come here. She reluctantly pulled away too look at Gajeel, and to her surprise the Dragon Slayer didn't seem the least bit interested in the view before them, but rather with her. Her cheeks flushed red and a smile lifted the corners of her mouth. "How did you know about this place?"

"Before I joined Fairy Tail, I used to come here. Sometimes to think, sometimes to just be away from all the noise of the city," he explained. "When I look out over the city, I know I'm different than everyone down there. I know who I am, and sometimes it takes looking out over everything to remind myself of that." It was as though his eyes were penetrating her. "So remember, Levy…the next time someone tries to tell you you're not good enough, remember this moment and know you're one of the most badass mages in Fairy Tail."

It was the single sweetest thing she had ever heard Gajeel say. She was so used to him spewing out taunts and curses when it came to 'uplifting' teammates. This was apart of him she didn't know existed.

"I'd say this beats sitting around reading books all night, don'tcha think?"

Words couldn't explain how happy she was in that moment, no amount of thanks could she provide this man for making such a bad day turn into something she would never forget. So, instead of trying to voice her adoration for Gajeel's actions, she took a few actions of her own.

Levy lifted herself up on her tiptoes and rested both her hands on either side of Gajeel's face, pulling him toward her until their lips met in a soft, hesitant kiss. She didn't have the slightest idea of how he would react to such bold actions.

It took Gajeel a moment to regain his composure once Levy's lips met his. At first he couldn't tell if he had let his imagination get the better of him or if the woman he had come to love so dearly over the years was truly there, sharing in this moment with him. Did she feel the same way? He leaned in, deepening the kiss and move his arms around her waist, cradling her against his body.

The kiss felt almost too perfect. Levy could taste the metal on the Dragon Slayers lips, relishing in it, wanting more. Her lungs burned for air, and reluctantly she pulled away and gazed up at him, gasping. "Sorry," she murmured.

"Don't be," he said, placing a kiss on the tip of her nose. He couldn't get over how truly beautiful Levy was when she was happy. He let himself revel in the pride he felt for being the one to make her smile, for lifting her confidence up again.

"Thank you for today, Gajeel," Levy said softly, letting a content sigh slip through her lips as she leaned her head against his chest.

"No problem, Shrimp." He pulled her in close, taking in one last look at Magnolia and the night sky, his own lips forming a smirk. Maybe it wasn't just her day that had gotten better by being here.

It was definitely a day neither of them were going to forget.