This is just a fun little idea I had the other day and decided to write it. A teacher of mine once said that writing lists of things helps get the creative juices flowing. The list I was writing at the time was 5 ways to win my heart. That is where this story is inspired from. Anyways have fun reading it, I know I did.
Five Days to Win a Heart
The University of Fiore was located across the country from the quaint little town she called home. It was widely known for schooling every archaeologist, anthropologist and history guru top in their field. The prestigious school focused on uncovering the secrets of the past world, delving deep into understanding the construction of modern civilisation. And it was the place she had dreamed of since she was a little girl. This wasn't even acceptance into the University. No. This was one step better. The professor who taught the ancient languages classes had urgent family issues and resigned without notice leaving the University with an open slot for a teacher.
Levy was still wet behind the ears, fresh out of grad school, but her best friend had talked her into taking a chance. And if there was one thing that Levy did, without a doubt, was not take chances. She liked knowing when the odds were in her favour. She liked when she was able to work through problems and find an answer. And she definitely didn't like the unknown. So when Lucy pulled up the article online about the University's need for a new teacher at one of their weekly coffee dates, Levy had outright refused. The odds weren't in her favour. But that didn't stop Lucy- if anything it made her even more determined to convince her friend to apply. It got to the point that Lucy was threatening to burn every book in her house, but still Levy held back.
Then Lucy stopped bringing it up all together, at the time Levy just supposed that she had finally gotten the message, but then she got the phone call. It was the Dean's secretary saying that they were impressed with her grades, her achievements in the history world, and her understanding for dead languages. She said that they would love to fly her down to see her in person and talk about the position.
A couple emails, a packed bag, and a phone call to Lucy- who admitted to sending in her application for her- later, she was on a plane to Crocus to see the Dean. Three days after that, she was on her way back to pack her bags to make the move across the country.
That was in January. Now in August- a month before the new semester starts- she had five days until her moving day. And he had five days to change her mind.
Day 1
"Lu-Lu, can you pass me those books over there?" Levy asked, waving her hand towards the bookshelf that ran along the length of the back wall.
"I can't believe you're leaving me to fend for myself in five days," Lucy sighed, heaving an armload of books off the shelf.
"We've been over this. I thought you said it would be okay," the blue-haired girl said, looking up from her box.
"I'm happy for you. I am. But how am I going to survive without our weekly coffee dates? Who else am I going to complain to about my obnoxious coworkers?"
"I promised, everyday on skype. And just remember, you're the one that got me this job."
"Ya, 'cause I'm a great friend who puts her friend's dreams in front of her own happiness," she said, dumping the books next to her.
"You'll always have Natsu," Levy teased.
"Oh, don't even get me started on him. Yesterday I found him snooping through my pantry as if I had enough money to feed him as well as me," Lucy sighed, collapsing onto a tissue paper covered chair. "And did he even bother using the key I gave to him? No. He had to come through my window like some trained monkey. One day he is going to break those trellises and my landlady is going to add it to the rent I can barely pay."
"Well, why did you give him a key?"
"Because I thought he would use it like a civilised human being."
"We are talking about Natsu you know," Levy laughed, scribbling language textbooks across the top and taping it closed.
"I know," Lucy groaned. "But sometimes I wish he would mature a bit. You know, grow out of childhood development."
"If you don't like him barging into your house, then lock the window." Standing up, the small girl stretched her arms above her head until she felt her spine pop back into place. "Aaaand, I'm out of boxes."
"Do you want me to come get some with you?"
"No. I need to get some fresh air. I've been cooped up in here too long."
"Well have fun I guess. My shift starts soon, so I'll swing by tomorrow to help more," Lucy said, climbing to her feet and giving Levy a hug. It was one of the things she was going to miss most when she left, the feeling of family. "I'm going to miss you."
"Me to Lu-Lu. Me too."
XOXOXO
He stood in the bathroom, tugging on the collar of his shirt he wore over his usual band t-shirt. It was a goddamn neck trap that he tried to rearrange again. He didn't know why he cared so much, she definitely didn't. But that didn't stop him from going to the store after his shift at the garage and buying the black button up he now wore.
"You done in there metalhead?" His roommate yelled, pounding on the door.
"Cool your flames, Salamander. I'll be out when I'm ready to get out." Gajeel growled back. He listened until he heard the footsteps retreat before releasing the breath he held. His reflection didn't replicate the turmoil he felt on the inside, it was cool and collected as he always was. It was because she was his friend that he cared, or at least that is what he told the mirror before walking away. A friend.
Natsu took one look at him as he walked into the kitchen before he burst out laughing. "Who you trying to impress, Bolts for Brains?"
"Just 'cause I take pride in my appearance, don't mean I'm dressing up for anyone. I just don't want to look like a slob like ya."
"Are you saying I don't care what I look like? Say that to my face!" Natsu challenged, raising his fists and leaping from the armchair he was lounging in.
"I did say it to your face. You're just too dim to realise it." He stalked towards the door.
"Hey! Don't run away! That's the coward's way out! Come back and fight me!"
"You ain't worth my time, Salamander." And he walked out the door, leaving a fuming Natsu behind him.
XOXOXO
The grocery store was located right around the corner from her apartment. Since she had started packing, the owner had been kind enough to set aside any boxes for her. That was something she was going to miss too. In Magnolia, everyone knew each other- knew names, remembered birthdays, smiled on the streets to one another. When one person fell, there were two there to catch them. Crocus was a larger city. She would become nothing more than one of the millions that walked the streets, and that was something that would be hard to get use to.
"Shrimp."
"Gajeel?" Levy startled from her thoughts and quickly looked around for the source of the voice, finding the bigger man walking towards her. "What are you doing here? Not that I'm complaining. I always like to see you." She ran down the street to catch up to him.
"Ya do?"
"Of course. I gotta get my fill of friends in for a while. I leave soon and won't be able to see any of you for a couple of months." She missed the long look that he sent down the street with her answer. "What's got you out in this part of town?" She repeated.
"Just walkin'."
"Then you can help me!" Levy laughed, grabbing his arm and pulling him down the street towards the store. He allowed himself a small smile at the antics of the smaller woman as he followed in her wake.
"Watcha doin', Shrimp?"
The girl looked over her shoulder and laughed at him, as she continued to lead him down the sidewalk, weaving between people and forgetting that the man she dragged behind her was larger than she was. "I need some of those big muscles of yours to cart some boxes back to my place. I can't carry them back all by myself."
He pulled up sharp in front of the store, but Levy didn't seem to notice as she continued. "Jet and Droy helped me out last time, but I seem to have underestimated just how many books I have."
He tugged his hand out of her grasp and crossed his arms. "Then why don't you just have 'em to help you." He snarled.
"Is someone jealous?" Levy teased.
"Naw, just don't understand why ya keep yapping about such pathetic men as them. They couldn't help ya none."
Something flashed in her eyes. "Don't talk about them like that."
"They are poor excuses for men."
"And what would you know about proper men?" she snapped. "They at least have tried to help, you on the other hand, I haven't seen in weeks."
"I've been busy."
"And I'm leaving!" Their argument was starting to draw attention from the customers that were leaving the store, but Levy was on a roll. "In five days I'm leaving and you don't seem to care."
"'Cause I don't, Shrimp."
"You Boarish!" Levy shouted. "Pig-headed. Simple minded. Brute!" Each insult was punctuated with a punch to his chest. When she looked back up at him, it wasn't only anger that he saw in her eyes, it was hurt too. Her fists were clenched by her side as she slung one last slur at him. "I hate you!"
It was the final punch that she didn't throw that hurt the most. It was the guilt he felt threatening to crack his exterior mask that clawed up his throat, but he had spent years perfecting the art of concealing. While is was true that he hadn't been around, it was not true that he didn't care.
A couple weeks ago, his sister had told him about the school trip her friend Chelia was going on. Though Wendy wasn't his true sister, she was his sibling in every way but blood. As soon as he had turned eighteen and got himself a steady flow of income, he had adopted her from the filth the government called an orphanage. When he first brought her back home, from her birth town Cedar, she had been a small, scared child. And only recently had she been opening up and making friends such as Chelia. The move was hard on her and even though he tried to hide most of it from her, she knew they didn't have the money to send her on the trip. So she didn't ask. But he couldn't help but remember the way her eyes shone with excitement when she told him about it. And with her birthday in only a month, he thought he would surprise her with an early gift, so he had asked for extra hours at the garage he worked at.
So when Levy stormed off down the street, without her boxes and with the stares of many curious onlookers, he wanted to call out to her. He had the story he wanted to tell her mapped in his mind but he silenced it. Maybe it was better this way, because his excuses were not what she wanted. And what she wanted, he wasn't able to give to her. Whenever she brought up those friends of hers, something burned inside of him.
He wasn't sure if it was the fact that they were there for her when he wasn't, or the way she was able to rely on them in a way she would never be able to rely on him, or maybe it was the smile she wore whenever she talked about them. Maybe it was all three of these things, or maybe it was one, but something stopped him from opening his mouth. So he watched her walk away. And even with his resolve, he heard the voice in the back of his mind begging him to call out to her. But he ignored that as well, and turned the other way, letting the tickets he held drift to the ground behind him. Because there was no point in seeing Shakespeare in the Park without the little woman beside him to watch.
Day 2
"What happened? I thought you were going to get boxes yesterday." Lucy said as she opened Levy's door and eyed her friend curled up on her bed surrounded by books and ice-cream. "You haven't done anything."
"I plan on getting them today. I decided to take a break from packing," Levy huffed, scooping another spoonful of ice-cream and turning the page.
"What really happened?" Lucy sat on the edge of the bed and pulled the book from her hands.
"Oh, nothing really." Levy sighed. "Just Gajeel being Gajeel. I don't know why I let him get on my nerves, but he just… Argggg!"
Lucy picked up the discarded spoon and took a spoonful for herself. "I don't know how you stand him."
"He's not bad most of the time, but oh how I hate him!" Levy cursed snatching the spoon back.
"Hey! I wasn't done with that!"
"Well I bought this ice-cream for myself."
"Well I didn't come here to watch you sulk like a four year old."
"Like a six year old at best," she responded, waving the spoon at Lucy. "And that's not all I'm doing. I'm also reading up on the best ways to properly dispose of a body in a place that no one will ever find it." Levy continued, grabbing a book off a nearby stack and opening it.
Leaning back on the bed, Lucy let Levy her book. "So what did he do that's got you all worked up?"
"First, he called Jet and Droy 'pathetic men' and then he said he didn't care whether I moved away or not," she growled, forcefully shoving the spoon back into the container.
"You can't really blame him. Jet and Droy aren't the most intimidating men, and they do sometimes cling a little too much to your hand."
"They are nice and work really hard!"
"I'm not saying they don't. I'm just saying that I see where he is coming from. Compared to him everyone is on the small and wimpy side."
"Well, not everyone wants to be like him. He doesn't have to be mean about it."
"He doesn't, but this is Gajeel. He doesn't do nice."
"He was a disrespectful pig. Don't expect me to say sorry to him for how I reacted."
"I'm not saying he is in the right at all. I'm just saying that what he did might not have been bad enough for you to take up arms against him. Where would you hide a body that large anyways?" Lucy asked, taking the spoon back from Levy, who seemed for the moment to forget that she didn't want Lucy eating it.
"Well you see. I went through some of my criminology books and charted how most bodies are found. I then ran a parallel check against the easiest ways to kill a man without getting caught. I removed all the ways that were not feasible to me, like hand to hand combat and came up with this beauty," Levy explained, pulling out papers of hand scribbled notes and charts. "I will stab him through the eye with an icicle and then make myself an unregistered boat, chain him to a cinder block and dispose of him in international waters."
"That's a great plan and all, I just see a couple of flaws."
"These calculations are flawless, there are no mistakes," Levy argued.
"Mistakes in the calculations. No. Mistakes in the practicality. Yes. First, it's summer so you won't find any icicles and even if you could get your hands on one there is no way you could reach his eye. And second, there is no water, let alone international water, anywhere around here. I just don't see this plan of yours working." Lucy checked off on her fingers, before finishing the container of ice-cream and standing up. "So can you please stop planning murder and get some of this packing done? You leave in four days and you have done more unpacking then packing in the last day."
XOXOXO
They stared at each other over the kitchen table. She kept her eyes on his, accusing him, as she casually took another sip of her tea. He returned her look with one of his own, both unwilling to give up the fight to the other. Their glares to each other speaking more than most people's conversations could. Was this anyone else that sat across from him, he would have raised his fists, but it wasn't anyone else. This was her. And she wasn't phased by him at all.
"Juvia can do this all day," the blue-haired girl said, taking another sip from her cup, but never once breaking eye contact with him.
"Get out of my life woman," he growled, tearing his eyes from hers, unable to keep eye contact with her anymore.
"Juvia can't! Because every time she turns away, Gajeel gets himself into another situation where his fists can't get him out of," Juvia accused, slamming her cup on the table.
"I never ask for ya help."
"You don't need to. As your friend, Juvia knows when she is needed and when she is not," she started, reaching across the table to grab his hand. "And Juvia is needed now."
"Howdja know what I need?" he growled, tearing his hand away and placing them in his lap, away from her reach and knowing touch.
"You have been in a foul mood for a couple of weeks now. Juvia noticed when you were over at her house for dinner last Friday. And then yesterday, you phoned Juvia. Gajeel never phones Juvia."
"I phone ya all the time."
"To wish Juvia a Happy Birthday, or a Merry Christmas. If you want something, you come over to ask."
"So I'm lazy."
"Or you need help because you are having problems with a girl and Juvia is a girl," she stated, once again fixing those twice damned eyes on him.
"You were always too nosy for your own good, woman," Gajeel growled. His chair scraping across the ground as he pushed back from the table.
"So who did Gajeel anger?"
"If I tell ya this, your lips are sealed, Juvia. Ya got it. No blabbing to that ice prick boyfriend of yours," he relented.
"Juvia's lips are zipped and locked. Swear it," she replied, holding up her pinky in a childlike promise. One that her and Gajeel had used since they were children themselves. When he locked his finger with hers, he told her everything.
Day 3
"Are ya sure that this is going to work?" Gajeel asked the blue-haired woman before him. She just smiled and brushed some of the hair out of his face before handing him the package she carried.
"If you do as we planned, all will be good," Juvia reassured him. In all the years that she had known Gajeel, never once had he ever worked for a girl like this. Never had she seen him swallow his pride and ask for her help over matters of the heart. She had spent years worming her way under the shields he surrounded himself with; this girl had captured his attention in the year since they had met.
His whole life he had been building the perfect bullet proof armour to protect himself from ever feeling. Because in the life he grew up with, feeling led to weakness and weakness left you abandoned on the street. Juvia knew something about being regretted. Her parents had wanted a boy, been told by the doctors they were getting a boy, and were left with her. She was a regret that had to live her life knowing she was never what her parents wanted, that she was a mistake.
But when Gajeel found her, he never once thought that she was anything but what she was supposed to be. He was there for her when she ran away at sixteen, tired of pretending she was something she was not. Juvia felt as if she could never pay back this kindness he had shown her. The same kindness that made him adopt Wendy as a sister. She saw the light in him that everyone else overlooked because he kept it so covered beneath his leather jackets and dirty looks. She hoped more than anything that this woman that had caught his attention saw it too. And so even though this would never begin to cover the debt she owed to him, she would help him with this.
"Remember, the apology isn't the gift. You can't hand her it and think you are forgiven. You have to ask for her forgiveness. That's what makes apologising hard," Juvia reminded him, before stepping back to take in his whole appearance. "Juvia will be here when you are done and we will prepare for step two, but first, you have to succeed with this."
"I don't talk well."
"You don't have to. Girls just like men who try, so go. Gajeel's princess has waited long enough," she teased, waving him towards the door.
"She ain't my princess," he protested, looking away from her before he gave her any other ammunition to work with.
XOXOXO
"Are you sure that's all the books from over there?" Levy called from the other room. Lucy looked across the shelves once more before answering.
"We are definitely finished," she sighed, wiping her hand across her sweaty brow. It had been a long day, packing- and repacking in some cases- all of Levy's books had taken all day. There hadn't just been books on the bookshelves that lined all four walls of her room, but under her bed, in kitchen drawers, in the linen closet and any other place where she may have accidently put one and forgot about. Walking onto the adjoining room, Lucy collapsed on the chair, draping herself across the arms.
"I guess it could be time to take a break," Levy laughed, poking her friend in the exposed part of her stomach.
"Hey! That's not nice." She glared at Levy who was trying her best to look innocent. "And we have been working all day. We deserve a break."
"Why don't we go down to the cafe and get us some lunch then," Levy suggested, leaning back on her knees and brushing her hands off.
"I'm down. I'm so hungry, I feel like I could eat as much as Natsu right now," Lucy said as she staggered to her feet, on her way to the door. "I'm thinking the hungry man lunch combo."
She pulled the door open to a man on the other side with his hand raised to knock.
"Hello Gajeel," she greeted, her voice cold.
"Did you say Gajeel, cause you can go away I don't want to talk to you right now!" Levy called from behind her.
"Bunny Girl, could you move aside? I have to talk to the Shrimp."
"Move aside? You heard the lady. She doesn't want to talk to you. So maybe you should leave before you make things worse," Lucy advised when she heard the approaching of her friend's footsteps. Gajeel could hear them too, because he peered above her head to catch a peek at the head of blue hair.
Levy pushed her way past Lucy so she stood nose to nose with the man in the door- or more precisely, she stood nose to chest with him, which she pointed her finger at. "You don't just get to come here after what you did."
"Shrimp we need to talk." He made eye contact with Lucy over Levy's head, a silent plea in his eye. She studied him, her cool glare running up and down his body as if looking for a weak spot, undeterred by his size.
"Well I don't want to talk. Lu-Lu and I were just heading out for lunch, weren't we Lu?"
"Actually, Natsu just texted me that he is coming over, so I have to get to my house before he eats me out of my food for the week. See ya tomorrow Levs," Lucy called, walking down the steps from her apartment.
"You better come back here Lucy!" her friend called at her retreating back. But Lucy didn't turn around, because she saw something in his eyes when he silently asked for her consent. And she hoped to any god who was listening that she didn't make the wrong decision.
"I'm going to kill her when I see her next," Levy muttered under her breath as she turned to close the door.
"We ain't done talking yet Shrimp." Gajeel caught the door with his foot, stopping her from shutting him out.
"I am." Levy looked over her shoulder. "Leave. Please."
"I ain't leaving. Not till you hear what I have to say."
"If you are going to insult my friends again you can walk down those steps and don't bother coming back."
"Can I come in?" He knew he was pushing his luck, but he didn't think this was a conversation that he wanted to have on the street.
She looked at him and sighed. "I guess it would look bad if I left you on the doorstep." She walked further inside, leaving him the open door and her retreating form. The only thing repeating though his mind was the one word that Juvia had drilled into him before he had left. Apologise. Apologise. Apologise. The mantra repeated in his head in rhythm to his footsteps as he followed her into her apartment.
He looked around, taking in the stacks of boxes that filled the room, each one labeled in her neat handwriting. Each one another step closer to moving away.
"What do you want Gajeel?" She seemed defeated. And tired. Weary of the conversation that they hadn't started yet.
He shoved the wrapped package that he had carried under his arm, towards her. "This is for ya."
"You came to give me a book," She deadpanned as she took it from his hands. And promptly threw on the counter. "I don't want some stupid gift."
"The gift isn't the apology."
"I didn't come to give ya that."
"Then what did you come for? Other than to annoy me," she muttered.
"I friend of mine said what I did was wrong."
"A friend of yours? So you don't even think what you said was wrong in any way!"
"I never said that."
"Then, what did you say?"
He took a deep breath and looked around her room. This wasn't something that he did normally. He had only ever said sorry twice in his life. The first was to his roommate Natsu, though they acted as if they hated each other, they treated each other as brothers. The second time was to Juvia, who was the only person who seemed to stick with him, with him being who he is. Both of those times seemed hard, this time though was ten times worse. As if he cared more for what she would say then what both of the others had said to him. He finally stopped looking at the boxes and looked back to her.
"I'm sorry."
"What did you say?" Levy asked, looking back to his face.
"Don't expect me to repeat it, Shrimp. I won't say this twice." He started. "Yesterday I said somethings I shouldn't've. I guess I can sometimes speak without thinking."
"Yes, you can. You better watch that tongue of yours before someone decides it's time to cut it out," Levy agreed, moving to sit on one of the stools that sat at the counter. She looked at the book on the counter before picking it up. "And this?"
"That's just stupid. Ya don't have to keep it if ya don't want to."
Carefully, she unwrapped the book to reveal a leather cover gilded in golden script. It was written in ancient gaelic and the title translated to 'The Seven Silver Stars'. She ran her finger along the print and then along the metal corners that protected the cover.
"This is amazing," she breathed, slowly opening the cover. The inside page was hand painted in colour, a scene of the night sky. As she flipped through the book, she examined each cramped page of text, each detailed picture. Every page was a new work of art and she didn't know what to say so she didn't say anything.
"I told ya it was stupid," Gajeel muttered, shaking his head and retreating to the door. He stopped with the small hand that brushed his forearm.
"This is not stupid. This is beautiful." The little girl looked up at him with her eyes brimming in wetness. They were drunken words on weathered pages, and he was lost in their stories. She gently placed the book on the counter and reached for him, for his hand that rested at his side.
It was soft a soft touch, a barely brush of skin as she raised his palm towards her. It was such a weird sight when she put their hands like that. Their hands flat together, the tips of her fingers sitting in the crooks of his second knuckle. "I guess I can forgive you. I friend of mine pointed out to me that you don't do nice. I see now though, you just have to wait for it."
"Then I'll see ya later Shrimp," he said, pulling his hand away from hers, clenching it in a fist as if to savour her heat.
"You're going?" Levy asked, staring at the hand she gently cradled to her chest.
"I don't have any other business with ya."
"I guess."
"See ya Shrimp." He walked out the towards the door but she stopped him when he placed his hand on the handle.
"You'll come see me before I leave right?" Her voice so soft and unsure.
He just grunted as he pushed his way onto the street. Her voice followed him and his palm burned. And there was something else there that he wasn't willing to look too closely at. So he shoveled away the feeling to take out and examine at another time. For now he allowed himself a small smile before he continued down the sidewalk.
XOXOXO
She had been staring at the closed door for a while now. Staring after the man who in one second had her riled up and the next made her cry. The book was a work of art, not something he could have walked into any store to buy. And not something he could buy for a reasonable amount of money.
Something of the quality of the book had to be looked specifically for, and that's why she had wanted to cry. Because no matter the amount of times in the last year they had known each other for, one thing she could always count on was on him not listening. But then he did something like this and she felt bad for ever thinking that he didn't.
She opened the book again. It wasn't anything special, more of an ancient children's book then anything, but it was beautiful. All the pages were handwritten, all the pictures, inked with a careful hand. It was something that should have been on display somewhere, but she held it in her hands.
Something caught her attention on the last page, flipping to the back cover, she revealed a note tucked into the back pages. It was written by Gajeel and that alone made her hesitate to open it, but she still did.
"Shrimp," she read outloud. "I remember you saying something about this book you saw in the window last time I saw you. Decided to get it for you. You can thank me for it later."
It wasn't signed, it was nothing special. But it did make her start to cry, because she had misjudged the bigger man as someone who didn't care about anyone but himself, and then he did this. Well, now she knows better.
XOXOXO
"So how did it go?" Juvia asked, as Gajeel made his way through the door.
"It's done."
"Did she read the note?"
"Don't know."
"Gajeel was supposed to make her read the note. It was part of the plan!" She lectured, turned back to writing something on the table.
"What ya got over there?"
"Just a little list of things so Juvia won't forget," she coyly answered, folding the paper and tucking it into her pocket.
"What was that?" He growled, stalking towards the table and caging her within the chair with his arms.
"Is Gajeel ready for part two of the plan then?" Juvia asked, not batting an eye at his act of intimidation. She had learned long ago that he was never able to carry out his threats when it came to her.
"Ya damn woman."
Day 4
"That's everything. I think we're finally done," Lucy sighed, looking around the room at the stacks of boxes that surrounded them.
"Ya, we are. I can't believe I'm leaving tomorrow," Levy agreed, coming to stand at her friend's side. She pulled her hair back from her neck, twisting it into a ponytail at the top of her head.
"I can't believe you're leaving either. If I didn't have to work today I would stay with you all day, but my shift starts in an hour."
"Don't worry, you promised to hang out with me all day tomorrow before my flight in the evening. We'll have plenty of time to say goodbye then, so let's not think about it now," Levy suggested, placing her hand on Lucy's arm and pulling her close for a hug. "Now I don't want you to lose your job because of me, so get your butt moving Lu-Lu."
"I'll see you tomorrow, bright and early to get the whole day in," Lucy promised, holding her friend close. She promised herself she wouldn't cry. To not make this any harder on Levy then it already was, but she felt the tears coming. So she blinked them away. There would be no tears until she was safety alone.
When Lucy left, her house seemed too empty. Too quiet. Almost as if the walls were children and the air was singing then to sleep. It was such a silence that she started to feel anxious. Her bones begging to be exercised. So she grabbed her purse and headed out for a last walk around her home.
XOXOXO
He timed it perfectly. For the last hour he had been standing just inside the café, black coffee in hand, watching the street for a certain blue haired girl. He figured sooner or later she would make her way outside. And within the hour, his waiting paid off.
She had on a short orange skirt tied at her waist with a bright yellow bow and a pale yellow blouse. He would be lying if he said he didn't notice the way her hips caused the material of her skirt to sway alluringly against her upper thighs. Or the way the buttons of her blouse were stretched across her chest to expose a sliver of pale skin. He would also be lying to say he didn't see the way she had her lower lip pressed tightly between her teeth and wasn't thinking dirty thoughts. Like how sweet her lips would taste, or how soft her tongue would be.
Just the sight of her sent heat coursing through his body. Heat he didn't want to think about the meaning behind. He just had a plan for today, nothing more than a plan.
"Gajeel?"
"Shrimp."
"Two times in two days, you're smothering me," she laughed as she entered the coffee shop. "But honestly what are you doing here?"
"Waiting."
"For anything in particular?" Levy asked, dragging him into line so she could order her own drink.
"A friend who couldn't make it."
"That blows. I'm sorry."
"Didn't realise my friend's problems are yours too." Crossing his arms, he looked at the little girl who was pouting.
"I was only trying to be nice," she said, puffing out her cheeks and looking at the ground.
Gajeel looked up to the roof and took a breath before he started on part two of his and Juvia's plan. "You doin' anything today, Shrimp?"
"Not really. Just too cooped up at home, all my stuff packed and nothing to do." The line inched forward and they moved up together.
"Then go put on a pair of pants," he ordered.
Little fists curled at her sides. "Excuse me? You don't get to tell me what to wear."
"Ya can wear a skirt if ya want. Hell if I care," he said, turning towards the door.
"What are you even talking about?"
"Ya'd be givin' everyone else on the street a show if ya went like that," Gajeel said, walking away. "I'll be outside."
Levy looked out after the hulking man wondering if she should be mad or curious. Her brain was screaming at her to question him about his actions, but her heart was telling her to trust him.
"Next please," the annoyed voice of the barista called, as if she had already asked more than once. So Levy shook her head at the door and went to order.
XOXOXO
With a tea clutched between two hands, she headed outside where- true to his word- Gajeel was waiting, leaning against a slick black motorbike.
"Oh no," she warned when she saw the helmet he held under one arm and his orders to wear pants made sense. "I'm not going anywhere near that death trap."
"Not like that ya ain't," he laughed, a deep gihihi sound. He reached behind him to grab the bag that was resting on the seat and handed it to her.
"What's this?" She asked as she peered into the bag.
"Just change and we can be on our way."
"Change? I never agreed to go anywhere with you. Take it back." She pushed the bag back towards him but he refused to take it, instead crossing his arms again.
"Ya said to come see ya before ya left."
"Ya, come see me. In my house. Like a normal person. Not kidnapping me in front of the café."
"Change."
"I'm not going to jump when you say jump. Tell me at least where we're going."
"Change."
Levy huffed and made to argue some more, but that little voice in her head- the one she usually shut out- begged for a chance to be let free. Just once she wanted to not do the predictable, to not be herself for one night. And that's what she would have told anyone who asked why she did it. But in her mind, she knew it also had something to do with the man across from her. So she swallowed her words, handed him the tea she was drinking and headed back inside to change.
XOXOXO
She didn't want to know how he knew what size she was, and she definitely didn't want to know if he picked out the outfit himself, but as she looked in the mirror, she couldn't help but to smile. And that wicked little voice in her head told her she wouldn't be the only one appreciating her outfit. A blush worked it's way across her cheeks at the thought. The last person who she had dressed to impress was the Dean at her job interview. But something about this just felt right.
Digging through her purse, she grabbed the lipstick container at the bottom. It wasn't a colour that she would have bought for herself if she was alone, but she went shopping with Lucy and Lucy convinced her that it suited her complexion. And now she was glad she had, because Lucy was right. It looked as if she had bitten into a strawberry and the juices stained her lips. Levy felt sexy, and it added that little bit to her look that she was sure she would turn his head.
XOXOXO
He was contemplating storming the cafe and barging into the bathroom to get her when she finally walked out. And at that moment, he had never felt so thankful for Juvia's help in this plan, because without her, he would have never been able to pick out this outfit.
Tight leather jeans, clung to her hips and ass as if they were her skin. She still wore her yellow blouse with its peekaboo glimpse of her breasts but it was accented with a black leather jacket that matched her pants. Somewhere she had scrounged up some lipstick and it made him think of nothing more than sucking it off her lips. In one word- she was sexy. In another: alluring. He had seen her in skirts and jeans since he had met her, even the occasional dress, but she looked alive today. As if the clothes set something burning inside her.
"Finally," he growled, tossing his hair over his shoulder and slamming on his helmet. "I thought ya'd drowned and I'd havta save ya."
"I wasn't that long," she snapped, storming over to the bike, which he had thrown his leg carelessly over. "You need to learn a little patience."
Gajeel looked back at the small woman, all smoke and leather. "Ya gonna get on or do ya need help with that too." His voice echoed through the speakers in his helmet.
She gasped and her cheeks flushed red as she studied the beast. He revved the engine and she jumped at its roar. "I'm not getting on without a helmet."
"I won't hurt ya," he laughed.
"No. No helmet, no me."
"Gihihi." He reached beside him and pulled up another helmet that was sitting on the ground next to the bike. "Here ya are princess."
Instead of replying, she just stuffed the helmet on and climbed on behind him, her arms tentatively reaching around him to grab at his arms.
"You're gonna havta hold a little tighter than that if ya want to stay on," he suggested, taking both her arms and pulling them in front of his body to link them across his chest. She was pressed flush against him- her breasts crushed to his chest and her cheek resting against the wide expanse of his shoulders. She made to pull away again but he stopped her. "I wouldn't do that if I were ya."
She didn't get the chance to reply as he rolled his wrist and took off onto the street. As they surged into the flow of traffic, the bike rumbling beneath her, she curled further into his size. The wind snapped the ends of her hair, causing them to fly into the visor she wore. She tensed her legs until every bounce in the road started to hurt. The cold rush of air cut at her exposed hands and she dug them closer to his warm chest. "Slow down!" She called over the anger of the bike and the screams of the wind.
"Speed up?" He chuckled, leaning forward further and giving the engine more gas. As she screamed, her speaker cut out and all she was able to hear was his crackling laugh over his microphone. "Just enjoy the road. We're almost there."
Hanging on for her life, Levy finally willed herself to open her eyes, which for the beginning of the ride had been pressed closed in an act of self perseverance. What she saw caused her to gasp in surprise. They were gliding along a winding road above the river, no other cars in site. Trees lined on side of the pass, while a cliff made up the other. The sun was just dipping low against the backdrop of mountains and was casting its glow across the clouds painting them pinks and oranges. It was a side of Magnolia that she had rarely seen in the main part of the city. Maybe a couple bird chirps in the morning, or a fresh breeze in the early afternoon, but nothing compared to this. The open road, with no car surrounding them. As if she could reach her hands out and touch the clouds. As if she could cup the sun's reflection in her hands.
"This is amazing," she breathed as she took in the sights they passed.
Gajeel allowed himself another smile and again thanked the perfectionist Juvia for this. She had been the one to suggest taking back roads to their destination rather than the packed main streets. Something to do with being a little more intimate.
A short while later, he pulled up into a empty parking lot. He had found this place by accident a couple months ago after he drove off in anger after having an argument with his housemate, Natsu. When he suggested it to Juvia, she had thought it perfect.
"Where are we?" Levy asked, loosening her grip on his body, enough to look around, but not enough to put any space between them.
"Nowhere."
XOXOXO
They had been sitting under the same stars for hours now. Neither one willing to move as the moon made its way across the sky.
When he had first led her to the blanket on the riverbank, the sun was finishing its descent behind the mountains. Its warm glow causing their shadows to draw long behind them. On the blanket sat a basket of food and a small radio. There were also some candles and matches for later.
That was Juvia's part in the plan. She drove up here earlier in the day and set this up for them. Everything had been as he had asked for it. The rest of the night was up to him.
"What's this?" She had asked, as she saw the display.
"A going away gift," his voice gruff when he responded.
"Oh, Gajeel. You didn't have to."
"But I wanted to, so stop your yapping. The food is getting cold."
They had settled onto the blanket, eating warm chicken and potato salad as they watched the the sun desperately cling to sky, coating the heavens in his blood.
"In so many myths the Sun is seen as a hero," Levy said, leaning back on her hands, eyes on the horizon. "But the way I see it, every night the Sun dies and gives birth to the Moon, who in turn lives her life in remembrance to him. It's a never ending cycle of death, where one is always giving their life for the other. The one they will never be able to reach."
"They aren't alive. They ain't dieing," Gajeel stated, staring at the woman beside him.
"Just imagine them as people for a moment. The Sun is this powerful burning life, while the Moon is a delicate shell, they could never be together because the Sun would destroy the Moon. Even if they could reach, it would be doomed from the start."
"How'dja know they are in love. Maybe they just hate each other."
"He's clinging to the sky in a desperate attempt to see her before he sets."
"Or maybe he doesn't think the Moon is worthy enough for the Sky and he's tryin' ta keep it from her."
She turned to him to find him watching the sun finally disappear from the heavens and be replaced with dusk. He didn't even realise what he said, or maybe he did and she just had never seen this side of him before.
"So you think they are both in love with the Sky and are fighting each other for its time?"
"I'm saying there is always more than one way to look at a story."
Levy rolled the idea around in her head, seeing his logic. His carefully cultivated thoughts and words. She didn't know what to say to him, so she opted for silence. And she guessed that was what he decided to, because they both laid back on the blanket and watched the stars appear in silence.
When all the light had faded from the sky, and with only the moon to guide him, Gajeel slowly pulled out the candles and lined the blanket in them, lighting them one by one. Soon they were the only beacon of light in an otherwise dark surrounding.
"I'm going to miss the quiet. This peaceful sleep of the wind," Levy sighed, leaning up on one elbow and looked at Gajeel, who laid on his back with his arms behind his head.
"Then why would ya leave?"
She sighed again and just looked around, seeing nothing but the reflection of the moon on the river's surface not to far from their spot. "Have you ever had a dream."
"I gave up on those when I was a kid. No use in dreaming for things that ain't going to come true."
"Well I always had this dream. When I was a child, my parents traveled around the world to different dig sites and ancient ruins. Every time they came back, they would bring with them a different piece of history, whether it be a rock from an old church, a bent metal spoon or even just bits of stories from worlds long past. I drank up this knowledge, always having my face in a book, always lost in my own head." She shivered as a cool wind began to blow from the water. Sitting up she clutched her jacket closer around her. "When I was twelve, they didn't come back."
He didn't dare breathe as he watched her blink back tears as she choked on her words. When he asked her why, he didn't mean to make her cry. "I'm sorry Shrimp." The words slipped out before he realised the importance behind them, it was another tally for the the amount of times he had apologised.
She looked at him with such wide eyes, the colour of sweet honey reflecting in the candle light as she repeated what he had said earlier. "I didn't know my parent's problems were yours too."
"I meant ya didn't havta tell me."
She stared straight ahead for a minute before looking back to him. "But I want to," she said, shivering as another gust of wind made her shiver.
"Here," he said, shrugging out of his jacket and placing it around her shoulders before pulling her close to his chest and his warmth. When she didn't resist he took it as a good sign. It took her a while to start talking again, but as she did, she loosened her muscles and relaxed into his heat.
"I was so lost without them. Bounced from one orphanage to another until I ended up here and checked myself out when I turned eighteen. I made this my home. But I had loved my parents and there was always something drawing myself back towards the depths of history." She took a breath and leaned her head back until her ear was resting against his chest and she was able to hear the stable beat of his heart.
"I don't remember the first time I heard my parents talk about the University. All I remember was their goal in life was to make a breakthrough big enough to be allowed to hold a seminar there once. They spent their whole life working towards this breakthrough of theirs, but they never got to go. I found out years later that they were working in Egypt, digging up a grave of an ancient lost pharaoh, when one of their support beams broke and they were buried in the rubble." She closed her eyes tight against the tears that threatened to slip past her walls. She felt Gajeel slowly lower them backwards until they were lying side by side on the ground, her head still resting in his chest and his arms securing her tightly to him. She never thought she would feel so safe in someone's arms. Not when she knew how easily they could slip away.
"I worked so hard to try to get accepted into the University when I graduated, but even with my letter, I knew I would never be able to afford going there. So I thought this dream of mine had vanished. So when Lucy showed me the job, I didn't want to even try, because it hurt so much last time giving it up. I didn't want to hurt again." She couldn't stop the tears from falling, so she let them fall, turning herself so she could bury her face into his t-shirt. Gajeel didn't even flinch, just held her close and rubbed circles across her back.
If she hadn't been crying she would have been wondering to herself when she had allowed him so close. She would also have been asking herself when she started being okay with what was between them. But mostly she would have wondered why she told him what she did. She hadn't even told Lucy and they shared everything. But this was something that she was never able to speak, one of her private memories held in a secret. It was so raw, so rough around the edges, she never felt like the time was right to tell her. But there was something about this night. Something about the way he told her about the sun, his carefully thought out meal, full of her favourite foods- foods she didn't remember telling him he liked, and his comforting silence that allowed her to open up. And now she lay in his arms, surrounded by a dozen candles and sung to by the lap of the water on the river bank. She felt warm for the first time in a long time, as if something in her life slept until she met him and then was finally ignited. She felt loved.
Day 5
It was the bright burning of sunlight that pierced her eyes that caused her to wake up. Blinking a few times, she went to rub her eyes only to find that they were restrained. Blinking a couple more times, she focused down her body until she saw the arm wrapped around her.
"Ahhh!" She screamed, leaping away from the body. "What do you think you are doing in my bed!"
"Does this look like ya bed," the voice growled.
Levy looked at her surroundings for the first time and realised she definitely wasn't in her house, she wasn't even in a bed. The night came flooding back to her as she remembered the stars, and the candles and her telling him why she needed to go.
"Ohmygod! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep on you. You could have woken me up and we could have left."
Gajeel just shrugged and stood up. "I wasn't bothered. Fresh air is nice for a while."
"I still feel horrible. And gosh, I have plans with Lucy in-" she looked down at her watch. "Less than an hour."
"It's okay Shrimp. I'll get ya back to your house before Bunny Girl knows ya were gone."
"Thank you so much."
The ride back was quiet, but not uncomfortably so. In a way that seemed that they didn't need to say anything else, as if all the words that needed to be spoken were already between them. They had left the basket and blanket where they had slept for the night, Gajeel saying he would come back for them later after dropping her off.
It was all too soon she was standing in front of her apartment handing her helmet back to him and hoping words would form in her mind. "Thank you. Not just for the ride, but for last night too. It was the perfect way to spend my last day."
"Have a safe trip Shrimp," he said, pulling his helmet back on and turning back to the road.
"Wait," Levy called, waiting for him to turn back around before embracing him and giving him a kiss over his heart. "Thank-you."
She turned and disappeared through her door, not once looking back, but Gajeel watched her the whole way. It was a minute before he pulled his eyes away from her door and sped off down the street, letting the wind carry him thoughts for now.
XOXOXO
Juvia and Wendy were sitting at the kitchen table when he walked in. Tossing his helmet at the door, he walked straight to the fridge and grabbed a beer, cracking it open before he greeted anyone.
Juvia eyed him with a worried look. "Did the plan go good?"
"The plan was great."
"So she is staying?"
"No, I'm letting her leave."
Wendy looked up from the homework she was working on and she held Gajeel's gaze before smiling and turning back to her work. Juvia just stared at the ceiling wondering what could have changed. And Gajeel downed his whole beer before disappearing into his bedroom.
XOXOXO
Lucy didn't know what was going on with Levy. Every time she asked, she got a half answered reply and a faked smile. She wrote it off as sadness for leaving her home behind to start a new life a country away, but still something didn't feel right. Still, she let the issue drop and welcomed her last day with her best friend.
It wasn't until she was dropping Levy off that she allowed her tears to fall, as she have her one last hug and promised to personally pack all her boxes into the moving van that was coming at the end of the week to bring the bulk of her stuff up.
"And promise me, skype everyday," she ordered past the tears as she clutched at Levy.
"Everyday," Levy promised, breathing in the scent of strawberries that seemed to follow Lucy around.
"Then see you tonight." Lucy finally let her go and stepped back to allow her some room.
"It's a date."
"I'm not saying goodbye."
"I'm not either. I'll call tonight. Love you Lu-Lu," Levy called as she walked towards the security check.
"Love you too, Levs," Lucy whispered to herself as she watched her disappear into the mass of vacationers and businessmen.
Day 6
She woke to a pounding on her door. She hadn't gotten a lot of sleep last night with the amount of tears she shed into her mattress. Her eyes still felt puffy as she stretched her arms above her head and rubbed her eyes.
There was pounding on her door again. Stumbling to her feet, she braved a look in the mirror as she passed the bathroom, not shocked to find her eyes red and her cheeks hollow.
The pounding continued as she walked into the main part of the apartment and crossed the floor to the door. Opening it, surprised didn't even begin to cover how she felt. Shocked. Happy. Bewildered. Joyful. Curious.
Gajeel stood in the other side of the doorframe.
"Ya can't leave Magnolia."
"What?"
"That dream ya talked about. Was it your dream or was it theirs?"
Levy stared at him. She wasn't sure if she should have been angry. Should have been frustrated. Should have been something. But in all she just felt weary.
"How did you even get here, Gajeel?"
Gajeel recalled last night, how after he had locked himself in his room for a few hours there was a tentative knock on his door. He was just about to curse at Juvia to leave him alone when a small voice spoke up.
"Gajeel? Are you okay? Juvia is worried about you. I don't know why, but I think she thinks she has something to do with why you are so angry." Wendy's voice had been so soft and worried. "Can I come in?"
When he didn't respond she opened the door and slipped in through the crack. She studied the mess of the floor before she carefully made her way across it to perch in the edge of the bed he was sitting on. He just watched her make herself comfortable.
"Celia was talking about that trip again. She was wondering if I could go shopping with her on the weekend to pick out a new outfit or two for her for it."
He just stared right through her as she continued, not looking as if he had heard what she had asked. "I know you didn't want me to know, but I know that you have been working more hours at the garage. Juvia told me it was a surprise, so I put them together. I know that you want to send me on that trip, but I never asked to go. I've never asked you for anything. But I'm asking you this. Please use that extra money you earned to fly to her and make yourself happy. I know you think you don't deserve it. But I think you do. So do it for me please?"
She didn't say anything else as she stood and made her way back across the floor, stopping only at the door to smile at him again before disappearing into the other room, letting the door click shut behind her.
"I flew like anyone else."
"Why?" She breathed.
"To stop ya from making a mistake."
"What mistake?"
"Ya didn't answer my question. Is it for them or for yourself?" he asked, entering the room and closing the door behind him.
Levy watched him walk up to her until he was pressed almost flush against her. Her mind still trying to comprehend that this was him in front of her.
"Answer me," he demanded placing his hands in either shoulder. "And I want ya to think about it. If ya say it's for yourself then I walk out that door, by ya have to tell me honestly."
Words crushed against her skull as she tried to clear her mind. So much of him was in her senses she couldn't process another thought. It was doubt that started to clog her brain as she tried to justify her dream as her own. It was her own. It wasn't. It was. It wasn't. Inandoutandinandout, until finally the dam broke and she crumbled to the floor, covering her eyes with her hands.
"I don't know. I don't know."
Gajeel followed her down until he was resting on his knees in front of her. He cupped her chin in his hand and forced her to look into his eyes. "Well it's a good thing I know then. Ya made this dream your parents had a dream for yourself so ya could feel close to them again. But I don't think they'd want ya throwing away ya family at home for them. Cause this ain't ya home. This is a house."
She knew what he said was true because it was as if he had lifted the weight off her shoulders. It was as if she was a mouse blindly following the maze, but never knowing there was something she was leaving behind.
"Bunny girl, those two nimskull pals of yours, even that stray black cat ya feed in the alley next to ya apartment. That's ya family. Ya can't walk away from them. Not for this."
Her tears stopped and she looked into his eyes. "And you? Are you part of this family of mine?" She asked, leaning in closer to his heat until they were breathing each other's air.
"I'm what ya make of me," He replied, eyeing her lips as they pulled even closer to his.
"I'll make you the Sun to my Sky then, every dawn and dusk fighting for my hand."
Her lips just brushing his as she whispered the words to him.
"I want more than that."
"What is it you want?"
"I want your love," he growled, pushing their lips together to kiss her like he should have the other night. How he should have when he dropped her off at her house. He kissed her because he had too many missed opportunities not to.
Wrapping his arm around her, he pulled her against his chest, his other hand was anchored to the back of her head, keeping their lips locked together. He tasted the soft planes of her mouth before slowly sucking that pillow of her bottom lip between his teeth. She didn't respond at first, but that didn't stop him from his slow exploration of her lips. When he breathed his invitation against her lips, she parted them to grant him access to the warm cavern of her mouth. Their tongues danced against each others as she began to kiss him back. First in her mouth, then in his, then back to hers. They kissed until she had her hands under his shirt and they were both somehow lying on the ground. They kissed until oxygen became more important than the taste of each other's lips and then kissed some more. The kiss continued until she lay panting across his chest and he held her to him.
"I guess I could give you that."
So that's the end of this very long one shot, it wasn't supposed to be this long but oh well. Hope you enjoyed it and I love you all for reading it.