CHAPTER 1

"Fairy on the Run"

"Wait!" I could hear his footsteps drawing closer; he was right behind me now. I'd been running from him since this afternoon's performance, but he was persistent. I'd never been able to hide myself for more than a minute or two at a time—just enough to catch my breath really. That stupid nose of his would always find me. And as soon as it did, then it was back to running in these stupid heels.

The whole situation wasn't fair. "I still don't understand how I even got roped into dancing up on stage with Lucy. She must have begged me. Apparently no one can say no to a blonde with big tits—not even straight girls like me." I chuckled to myself.

I ran down the stone steps as quick as I could. "If only there was some way to throw off that nose of his." I worried my lower lip, looking at the canal. "I've read enough fantasy novels to know that water messes with tracking dogs. Maybe I should throw myself into the canal! " I think it was at that moment I realized I had lost it.

"So much for being the smart one at the guild. Maybe I can learn to fight. That way I wouldn't need a brain. Natsu makes it work somehow…"

Who was I kidding? I couldn't swim through the canal! I could barely stand as it was. I braced my arms on my knees, trying desperately to catch my breath. White flashed in front of my eyes followed by the sound of heavy boots hitting the cobblestones.

"How long are you going to follow me?" I nearly shouted through labored breaths.

"And you? How long are you going to keep running?" He looked straight at me, with those piercing eyes of his. I'll admit, his white suit was a little garish, but he pulled it off somehow. His red tie matched the color of his crimson eyes and his wide brimmed hat made the shadows dance off his harshly angled face. I couldn't hold his gaze and so I turned, trying to look anywhere but into his eyes.

"It's that…you…" I trailed off. I didn't really know how to answer his question. Why was I running from him? Was it really because Lucy had bigger tits than me? That didn't make sense; it's not like I hadn't figured that one out already. I was the brains of Fairy Tail, after all. It was more than that—more than being merely self-conscious. It had something to do with Gajeel, but I didn't know how to express what I was feeling. So I just brushed it off. "Don't you think I look strange in this costume?"

My shoulders tensed as I waited for his answer. What would I do if he said yes? "This is ridiculous! I shouldn't even care!" I reasoned with myself.

"Huh?" I heard him lean back against the stone steps. "It's me. I'm not interested in the costume on others." He said it so matter-of-fact. Like it was a universal truth. I couldn't understand it. "What does he mean, he's not interested in the costume on others?" My emotions were spinning out of control. I just couldn't wrap my head around what he said and how he said it. And that just pissed me the hell off. I was always able to understand things. I might not be the best fighter, but I was smart. I always got the right answer. So why couldn't I figure out Gajeel?

I had to know what he was thinking. I had to figure him out. I turned on the spot and yelled, "Why not?"

But before he could answer, the jeers of drunken men filled the air. "Let us see!" One yelled. "Too many clothes!" Another. "Come back, beautiful!"

I was shocked. Few men, Jet and Droy excluded, had ever shown much interest in me.

"I don't understand why no one ever asks me out." I huffed, taking a seat at the bar. Cana was in her usual state—chugging from an overly large barrel while sitting cross-legged on the counter.

"You're what you call 'unapproachable,'" Cana slurred as she put her barrel down and wiped her mouth with the back of her wrist.

"I am not!" I vehemently replied. "That's so mean, Cana. How could you say such a thing?" I curled in on myself a little. I never thought it was my fault. Leave it to Cana to just lay it all on the line, feelings be damned.

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing, babe. It's just that," she sighed, searching for the right words. "You're so damn smart. It's intimidating for most guys. Guys have such fragile egos, deep down," she mused. For a fleeting moment, she had a sad, far off look in her eyes. But when I blinked, it was gone, making me question whether I'd really ever seen it. She picked up her barrel again. "And that's why I've sworn off dating," she smirked before taking a swig.

I rolled my eyes. Likely story-Cana swearing off men. "I've seen you with plenty of guys, Cana."

Cana gave me a saucy grin and said, "There's a difference between dating and fucking, my dear." She winked when she saw me blush furiously.

"Why does it always end in sex with you?" I chuckled lightly, not really expecting an answer.

"Because it's what I'm always thinking about," she smirked into her barrel.

The increasing volume of the strangers' heckles jolted me out of my daydream. As the catcalls continued, I saw Gajeel's features turn. A thin frown replaced the small smile that danced across his lips earlier. And while his eyes were hidden behind dark glasses, I could still see the muscles on his face scrunch, a result of narrowing his eyes.

There was something about the hard angles of his face that I just loved. Most people found him downright scary. I suppose I did at first, but, there was something damn sexy about a brooding male. He was such a bad boy, the complete opposite of me. I never broke a single rule. From the day I was born, I lived by the book, and even collected them for that matter. I was a nice girl, through and through. While the other girls in the guild jumped at the first chance they could to wear skimpy clothing, I always kept myself covered—by Fairy Tail's standards at least. I never went on dangerous jobs, opting for translation gigs instead. And if there ever was any fighting involved, I always made sure Jet and Droy were with me so I wouldn't get hurt. "I'm just a boring bookworm…a boring, unapproachable bookworm, actually." I thought sadly.

Strong arms wrapped around my waist and before I knew it, I was upside down, staring at the cobblestones. Wriggling was futile. Gajeel's large hands were—

"Oh my Mavis, his hand is on my ass!" I was too shocked to even know how to respond at this point. That's when his words broke me out of my daze.

"This is not a show. Get lost!" he yelled as he shooed the men away. His voice was so deep. It really was gorgeous. I tried to look up at him as much as I could from my angle. Ever since he joined the guild, he'd always been good to me. "Almost too good. He saved me from Laxus' lightning attack, he helped me with the S-class trials, not to mention put his life on the line so I could get away from that chicken guy…"

It's not like I forgot about his Phantom Lord days, but he had made amends and the guild had forgiven him. I had too. It wasn't right to hold a grudge. Plus, his behavior since joining was so different. I kept going over all the times he risked his safety on my behalf since joining the guild. Why was he doing it? Why should he care about me at all? I'm just a little bookworm who can't fight. But for some reason, he always seemed to be there when I needed him.

"Gajeel…" The whisper of his name escaped my lips unintentionally. I blushed a deep red. Good thing he couldn't see my face or he'd know just how much he was affecting me.

"Fuck," he cursed under breath as he watched the throng of drunken men retreat. He turned his attention back to me, or to my ass more correctly. It must have been at that point that he realized how he was holding me. He let out his signature laugh while he gave my rear a squeeze.

I squeaked, not expecting such a bold move from the man. I tried to climb off his shoulder by pushing my hands against his back, but his hold on me was absolute.

"Gajeel! You can put me down now!" I huffed.

I felt him let out a low growl. "His growling does not turn you on, you stupid pervert. Get a grip," I internally chided myself.

"Those guys may come back," he said quietly. "And besides," his said with increasing volume as he hoisted me higher on his shoulder, causing me to let out another squeak, "You've been running from me all afternoon. No chance in hell I'm putting your ass down you so can flaunt it all over Magnolia again."

I let my arms hang limp down his back in defeat. I sighed loudly, "Gajeel, I just want to go home and change. It's been a long day and all."

"Sounds like a plan to me, Shrimp." He chuckled. "I'll walk you home so you don't have to worry about those guys."

I felt his grip slide from my rear to my upper thigh as he started walking. God his hand felt so warm and large, splayed across my thigh like that. I had to wonder just what he could do with—"Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop! No, no, no, no, no! Quit thinking your nasty thoughts," my inner good girl chided.

"If you put me down, I promise I won't run away," I said hopefully. He didn't really think he was going to carry me all the way to my apartment, did he?

"Not a chance, Shrimp," he said mirthfully, as he gave my thigh a squeeze.

"The pervert's enjoying this!" I thought. Then I realized, deep down, so was I.

"Fairy Hills, right?" he asked.

"No, actually. I moved out a while ago. Found a place cheaper and closer to the guild. It's near the Cathedral, just off the central path," I informed him.

He whistled loudly. "Pretty expensive part of town there, short stuff. Seems like your little Team Shadowgear does alright." He turned around to walk in the right direction.

"I suppose so, " I reflected. "I take a lot of independent translation jobs that pay pretty well. Other than Freed, I'm the only one at the guild who can take those jobs. Plus Freed does pretty well with the Thunder Legion and all, so I usually have more than enough work on my own," I explained with pride. I was proud of my translation abilities. I learned everything I needed to know for those jobs on my own. While all the other Fairy Tail orphans were off learning how to fight, I was always in the basement library, engrossed in a book. "Most of the others didn't even know there was a library at the guildhall until I told them," I reminisced.

"That little brain of yours sure is something special, Shrimp," Gajeel said flatly. "Oh no. Did he think I was bragging or something? Dammit, Levy! This is what Cana meant. You scare off any guy you meet cause you're just too damn full of yourself sometimes. Why can't you just be normal like everyone else? Why do you have to go around trying to prove how smart you are? So what if you can't fight as well as the others. You don't need to try and make up for it by proving how smart you are." My mind was going a million miles a minute. I didn't know how long I stayed silent but it must have been a while because when we stopped, I realized we were near my apartment.

"Earth to short-stuff," Gajeel singsang, shaking me lightly. "Did I break you or something? I know! You got so turned on by me holding you like this that you passed right the fuck out. That has to be it," he joked as he moved his hand further up my thigh.

He wasn't far off the mark. The way his hand gripped me the entire walk had me pretty excitable, despite my internal ramblings. "I hope these stockings and leotard are thick enough to hide my arousal," I silently prayed. "Oh my Mavis, he's a dragon slayer. Can they smell that? Does it have a smell? How turned on am I? Maybe it's not enough for him to notice…" My internal panic continued until I felt myself moving side-to-side, a bit rougher than before.

"Seriously, Shrimp. Which way's your place from here?"

"Oh, sorry," I apologized, internally kicking myself for losing focus again. "Go up this first street and turn right. I'm the first building on the left," I said timidly.

We walked—or rather Gajeel walked and I bounced on his shoulder—in silence until we finally got to my door. Not many people were out this late at night, but the few that were gave us some odd looks.

I felt a second hand placed on my other thigh and I was about to say something when I felt myself being lifted again and gently placed on the ground.

"There," he said, wiping imaginary dust off his hands. "Home safe and no more running." He gave me a wink as I looked up at him.

I blushed a deep red from ear to ear. "I really need to get this whole blushing thing under wraps," I thought. I was just about to say goodnight when the Cathedral clock tower rang out across the night sky. While I loved being so close to the guild, being so close to the tower had its drawbacks—the main one being the slow loss of one's hearing.

Gajeel covered his ears quickly and a scowl took up residence on his face. He looked at the clock tower like it had done him some great evil. I laughed internally as I pictured him squaring off with the clock tower. "You killed my father. Prepare to die." He said as he lunged towards the tower.

Large hands took up residence in my field of vision, waving back and forth. "Geez, Shrimp," he laughed when I finally looked up at him, pulled out of another daydream. "People say you're so smart but you're totally blonding out tonight."

I stomped my foot and crossed my arms while giving him a dirty look. "Am not!"

"Ok, Shrimp. You're right. People don't say you're smart." He gave me a smile full of mirth and then let out his signature laugh.

I looked at him dumfounded. "Is he teasing me? Is he teasing me, and winning?!" I couldn't believe it. Not only did the pervert get his feels in, but he was also giving me the business!

I pursed my lips together and kicked an errant stone with my left foot. "Awe, come on, Shrimp. Don't be like that. I was just kidding around." His eyes said he was serious and it broke me out of my mini-temper tantrum.

"Thanks, Gajeel." I said softly. "Today was weird, but I think I had fun," I reflected, looking sideways towards the clock tower. That's when I saw how late it was. "Oh my Mavis!" I nearly yelled.

Gajeel instantly shifted into a defensive position, trying to push me behind him. His eyes narrowed and he looked out into the darkness. "What is it?" he said with a gravely voice, almost a growl.

I tugged on his jacket to try and get his attention away from the street. "No, Gajeel. Nothing like that. Everything's fine. I just was surprised by how late it is, that's all." He still wasn't looking at me, so I grabbed his chin with both hands to turn his head towards me. I don't know what possessed me to do it—it just happened. Those crimson eyes focused on me and I was lost in their depths. My hands lingered on his face a moment too long. He reached up and cupped my hands in his, then slowly, as if he was fighting with himself, brought them down. He didn't let go of my hands and just continued to stare at me with those intense eyes.

I laughed nervously, breaking the mood and he grabbed his hands back quickly, sticking them into his pockets and directing his gaze out into the street again. "Yeah, I should probably start heading home." His voice was quiet.

"How far of a walk is it for you from here?" I asked. I didn't know where Gajeel lived. I'm not sure anyone did, actually.

"I've got a place over by the train station," he said. "It's about a 35 minute walk from here."

"That's so far!" I gasped. "You walk from there to the guild every day?"

"Yeah. But when I get back from missions, the short commute more than makes up for it," he reasoned, giving me a small smile.

"Well, if you wanted," I trailed off. Should I really be asking him this? "Yes! Imagine what it would be like for him to be in your bed! Rubbing all that glorious muscle all over your body!" My face turned bright red again. "You stupid scarlet. Put a lid on that damn estrogen of yours!"

"Huh?" he cocked his eyebrow at me, clearly waiting for me to finish.

I shook my head. "Sorry. I just, it's late and all."

"Yep, we did establish that. You sure you're the smart one at the guild, Shrimp?" he chuckled.

God what was wrong with me? Why did I get like this around him? Apparently I don't even know how to speak proper English around Gajeel. Why did he have such an effect on me? "Well it's late and you walked me home so…"

"Sooo…" he quirked his lip, giving me a crooked smile. "Damn, he's sexy."

"So, you're welcome to crash here, if you want!" I all but blurted out.

Gajeel cocked his right eyebrow. "You work fast, don't you, Shorty?" I was about to lay into him, but before I got the chance, he continued. "Actually, that'd be pretty cool, if you really don't mind. I'm pretty exhausted from chasing this crazy chick all over Magnolia for the entire afternoon."

I turned on my heel and pulled my fob out of the front of my leotard to buzz the lobby door open. "Maybe she didn't want to be caught if she was running away from you," I said with a smirk.

He followed me through the door, and then let out his signature laugh, adding, "Oh, she definitely wanted to be caught."

"Dammit."

END CHAPTER 1

Hello Lovelies!

So this is my very first fanfic. I'm actually really surprised that I'm even writing or posting this! But alas, my life has been so structured lately that I think this is my mind's form of creative rebellion.

I've had the idea for this story for quite some time now and I haven't seen anything like it yet (trust me, I look. I am all about the Fairy Tail smut).

Not sure how long this story will last, but I promise you that I WILL finish it. It is one of my great pet peeves when I read many chapters into a story written years ago, only to find out that the author never finished it. I will NOT do that to you, future readers who are crazy enough to spend time reading the inner ramblings of my mind ;)

I hope you enjoyed this fluffy chapter one. I PROMISE there will be smut. Oh yes, there will be lots of it. As I said, I am all about the smut. I mean, come on, it's the only reason the majority of us are really here anyways. As amazing as Fairy Tail is, it is the one thing missing from the series and so we find other ways to seek it out. It's actually missing from the majority of anime…So sad. Just have sex people!

Okay, enough of that. Feel free to leave comments and feedback. If you want, you can tell me what you would like to see happen and I may be able to work it into the story.

Hugs and kisses!

Musicera

*This author does not own Fairy Tail.