Warning: This might contain spoilers.

AN: This one-shot fanfic is set on the inter/after events of "Faeries' Punishment Games" which is a special chapter of Fairy Tail canon that took place right after the Magic Games arc. I was wondering what happened when Levy rushed out of the guild and Gajeel chased after her. So, now, here's the result of that thought. I may or may not weave another possibility based on this. Who knows? Some things are better unplanned. Unpredictability has its beauty.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of the story and characters. Fairy Tail and everything in it belongs to Hiro Mashima.


SCRIPT DRAGON

CHAPTER 1: A Night Worth Remembering


Clenched fists. Rigid shoulders. Swollen eyes. Rushed steps. This is stupid. Incredibly stupid.

Who else, besides her, in this whacked up Earthland storms out of a guild hall, bawling, just because of insecurity over chest size? It's embarrassing to admit but she can't think of anybody else. She's supposed to be that kind of girl who doesn't care much about curvatures, wasn't she? She's the book-smart, spell-wise, script mage Levy McGarden. She's the epitome of that perky intelligence. And for that matter, it's absolutely ridiculous of her to be crying over stuff as trivial as this.

But still, she does. The stinging sensation on her eyes is enough evidence. And it's not even Lucy's fault—definitely not. Her best friend knows nothing of her current predicament nor is she to blame for being endowed with right sized breasts. Likewise, it would be unfair to put the blame on that metal-studded jerk, though if Levy puts more thought on it, he's the main reason for her embarrassing stunt on stage.

A sudden chill runs through her spine at the thought of him. Gajeel Redfox. Back then, she'll know that chill as paralyzing fear. Right now, it's a different kind of paralysis. There's panic alright, but then, there's also warm excitement. And whether she admits it or not, it feels good.

Stupid.

Levy halts her steps and wipes her scrunched up face with her arms. Looking around, she wonders how long she had been fast-walking. She's standing directly under the large tree at the South Entrance of Magnolia Park. This park can't be reached with five-minute leisure stroll from the Fairy Tail guild hall. Realizing that, Levy suddenly feels tired and resolves on sitting under the tree. The ground's cold and her skimpy bunny outfit barely covers her but she's too upset to mind.

It's been a tiring night, physically and emotionally. Does Gajeel even know how crazy she's been going because of him? Maybe not. He might have changed from being that sadistic Black Steel from Phantom Lord to the much righteous and companionable Fairy Tail mage but that doesn't make him more sensitive to people's emotions, much less to hers.

She tries hard to hide it anyway. It's not that easy considering he's the same guy who beat her and her friends senseless and pinned them on this very tree after branding her torso with Phantom Lord's symbol.

Despicable acts of cruelty. And yet, here she is, slowly falling for the same man who hurt her. Yeah, she's freaking stupid.

But Gajeel's also the same guy who saved her from getting hit by Laxus' lightning bolts. And he did it twice. He's the same guy who readily volunteered to be her partner during the S-Class Mage exams, promising to make her big. He's the same guy who told her that it's hard finding someone as small as her so she should never leave his side when they were attacked by the Grimoire Heart. He's the same guy who held her hand before Tenrou Island was hit by Acnologia's roar. He's the same guy who awkwardly danced with her after their return to Magnolia.

Sure, Gajeel's mostly an inconsiderate ass, prone to annoyance especially everytime he bickers with fellow dragon-slayer Natsu over callow things. But despite of his rough edges, he won her attention. She learned to care for him. She learned to forgive him for his past wrongdoings against Fairy Tail.

Levy thinks he deserves it. Because underneath that cold bad guy-esque he shows, he's not all that terrible. There's a side of him that cares, that's capable of love and being loved.

A rustle behind the tree snaps Levy out of her thoughts and before she can stand up from the ground, a white coat drapes over her bare shoulders. A familiar scent of something metallic yet spicy invades her nose. She looks up and meets the unreadable stare of the iron-dragon slayer. Gajeel doesn't say anything though. After securing the coat on her, he stands up and starts walking away with his hands on his pockets.

Did he follow her here?

Levy's face burn in embarrassment as she realizes she's wearing his coat. She notices he's still sporting the rest of his silly white get-up, even the hat. Thankfully, he ditched the glasses.

"Uhh...Gajeel..." Her hand slightly raised, Levy calls out to him.

Gajeel stops walking but doesn't look back to her. When he didn't say anything again, Levy musters up her courage to speak.

"Thanks but...what are you doing here?"

Gajeel makes a noise somewhere between a snort and a grumble. His voice, deep and hard, resonates through the silence of the park. "Beats me. I should ask ya' the same."

"I'm just thinking. About...stuff," she replies shyly.

"Well, get it over with. Yer fanboys will be all over my face if I don't bring you back soon."

Levy frowns at the way he mentioned Jet and Droy. "Please don't call them that," she says almost sternly.

Jet and Droy might be a little smothering but they're her teammates. Her friends. They're the ones who she can rely on almost anything.

Gajeel looks back at her, sporting that annoyingly sexy smirk only he can master the effect on her. "Whatever," he says and strides off.

Levy sighs in exasperation.

"Yo, shrimp. You coming or what? Let's get you home," he calls to her.

Her eyes thin out at his razz. She decides to decline.

"No, thanks. I think I'll stay here for a while. Take your coat and go back. I'm not cold."

The idea of him walking her back to Fairy Hills is charming but somehow, a bit of stubbornness has crept into her. No way she'll let him dominate her emotion again tonight. She had enough to last a lifetime.

"Yeah, right. Not cold, you say. Your lips are almost the same shade as your hair," he says.

"I said I'm not cold. Just leave me alone, Gajeel." She takes off his coat.

Grinning, Gajeel walks back to her and ruffles her hair the way he always do whenever he mocks her. The bunny headband on her head moves out of place at the gesture. Levy sighs again in frustration.

"Wanna argue on that, squirt?" He bends down close to her face. Levy tries to control the blush and hopes its dark enough so he won't notice anything.

"My name's Levy and I said I'm not leaving here."

Gajeel squints. "Let's go. If you ain't going home, at least go back to the guild."

"If you want to go, just go. You don't have to bother about me."

Gajeel scoffs. His breath smells like mint. "Look. There's no way I'm leaving you here. If you don't want to go home, fine. But at least find a better place to hang out."

"Why? What's wrong with this park?" she asks absent-mindedly but stops when Gajeel's expression changes from playful to something indescribable. What is it? Remorse?

"What?" she asks rather ignorantly. Gajeel straightens up and looks past her. Levy follows his gaze and sees the large tree behind her. The very tree where he nailed her, Jet and Droy, crucifixion style.

Levy looks back to him. His face is dark with emotion. His pierced eyebrows are drawn towards each other with his upturned mouth forming a frown.

"Ain't you unnerved? Not even a little?" he asks, almost accusingly.

And she realizes, after all this time, after everything they went through, after all the things he did for the guild, those weren't enough for him to forgive himself. He'll always have that weight on his shoulders. He'll always look back and see shadows of his past.

Levy casts down her eyes. "That was a long time ago, Gajeel..." she says softly. "I already forgave you. All of us did."

He stares at her like what she said was the most confusing thing he ever heard.

"Like you didn't know that," Levy adds meeting his gaze. Those eyes. They rarely show confusion. The crimson irises always exude an aura of confidence and smugness with hints of boiling temper.

"You're all nuts, did'ya know that?" he remarks.

She shakes her head. "Yeah, right. Forgive someone and be called crazy. What else?"

Gajeel shrugs. "Fairy Tail's one crazy guild anyway."

"That coming from one if the craziest member there is."

The wide grin creeps back to his face though the indications of doubt didn't really leave his eyes. He takes the coat from her hands and puts it onto her again. The metallic spicy scent reaches her nose again. She likes his smell. Somehow, she had associated it with a mixture of trouble and security. Fun and protection.

"Don't take that off 'til we reach the guild," he tells her and when he begins to walk away again, Levy follows behind him albeit her earlier decision that she'll stay.

She struggles to keep up with his pace as they tread the way back to the guild. It'll be a long walk but it might be worth the effort. She feels silly. They're just walking. They're not even touching but she feels somewhat happy. It's very tempting to show extra hints of her hopeless crush on him but she holds back. This isn't the time, she decides. Anyway, they'll be back to the guild and she has to concoct some kind of explanation to Lucy and everyone else why she cried and ran away.

A smile plays on her lips as she remembers the ridiculous performance they did tonight. Gajeel has a penchant for singing and playing guitar onstage, sometimes stealing Mirajane's spot, though it's quite apparent he's terrible at it. What's funny is his resilience extends to their guildmates' constant booing and thrash-throwing whenever he performs.

"What's with the creepy smile?" he asks and Levy immediately wipes her face off it.

"Huh? Nothing. I just remembered something."

"What is it?" he asks suspiciously.

She racks her brain for an answer and comes up with one. "Oh, just the Magic Games at Crocus. Fairy Tail did great. I'm just happy for everyone. We did our best, didn't we?"

"Yeah, the best." He nods mournfully. "You cheered loudly; I could hear you from the arena."

Blooms of shame rises up to her face. "I was cheering for everyone," she says defensively.

"I heard you yelling my name during my fight with that shadow dragon slayer."

"I-I...of course, we're all worried..." Levy feels lame but she can't let him one up her on this one. It's obvious he's teasing her anyway. "Don't be too full of yourself, Gajeel Redfox."

Gajeel smirks, baring his fangs. "Whatever you say, shortstuff. What were you doing at the park anyway?"

Her back stiffens at the question. He's not gonna ask why she ran, is he?

"I told you. I was thinking." No way she'll tell him she's becoming more and more self-conscious because of his presence. Too shallow for her taste.

Gajeel doesn't answer. They just keep on walking, steps clanking on the Magnolia pavement. Levy thinks he might have fallen bored over her company and starts to cower in disappointment. But after a long pause, she hears him speak again.

"You gotta keep that low confidence in check, ya' know," he says in a dead serious tone that she stops walking in shock.

"W-What are you...?" she asks, startled.

"You know what I'm talking about. Since I joined the guild, you've been whining how weak you think you are." All of the sudden, it's not about her chest anymore. He saw through her. Deep, deep down, her insecurities are more than just physical. And somehow, he noticed it.

Levy bites her lower lip and sighs. "Easy for you to say." She looks away while Gajeel waits for her to continue in silence.

"You're a dragon slayer," she adds. "You possess the magic that's meant to kill dragons. And me, what can I do? I read books. I interpret old languages. I write runes. That's nothing compared to you."

Gajeel strokes his pierced chin and stares intently at her. "Look, shorty. I ain't good with words but what I know is it was you who found a way to let Salamander and I out of that green-haired lackey's runes. What happened if we didn't? Ya don't want to know either, I'm sure. Not everything goes down to combat skills."

She can still remember that. Fried's runes were never easy to dispel and Gajeel's right for telling her that if she didn't found a way to get through it, that might be the end of Fairy Tail.

"B-But..."

"You're a script mage," Gajeel continues, cutting off her protests. "You can create almost anything out of thin air. You can create fire, fucking boulders, water, even that silly iron. If that's nothing fer you, ask yourself then, why did you become a candidate for S-Class then?"

Her eyes begin to water. Hearing those words coming from the man she secretly adores, she must be dreaming.

"Yer strong. Yer smart. Yer pretty..." Gajeel hesitates then adds. "...amazing. You get that, shorty? Maybe, yer size can't compensate for how much worth you are inside but honestly, get it over with."

Levy's mouth twitches with a lopsided smile. She's too happy to mind his banter anyway.

"So much for the encouragement. You're such an ass, you know that? And my name is Levy. Quit calling me names," she says while wiping her tears away.

He scoffs. "I didn't mean it as an insult."

"What then? An endearment?" she snaps at him. When Gajeel doesn't answer, Levy gapes at him in disbelief. Is he kidding?

But his expression says otherwise. He doesn't look like he wants to delve into the topic deeper though. And Levy's too surprised to ask more about it. She contents herself with the idea that 'shrimp', 'shortstuff', 'squirt' and 'shorty' are really his endearments of sorts. Somehow, it make her feel more special in addition to his declaration of belief on her abilities.

They continue the walk in silence. Not long thereafter, they reached the front yard of their newly rebuilt guild. Inside, loud laughter erupt every now and then, with Natsu's voice the loudest. Both Levy and Gajeel stop outside the door.

"Ya better go in," he says. Because it'll be weird to see them walk in together, a pierced guy in white tux and a messed up girl in bunny outfit. That'll spell awkward.

Levy hesitates but nods. "Yeah." She takes off his coat and hands it to him which he accepts wordlessly.

She turns to the door but before she pushes it open, she gathers her guts and faces Gajeel again. She then throws herself into his body, earning a suprised 'O-Oye, Levy!' from him. Endearment or not, it's good to hear her name from him.

She wraps her arms on his midsection and rests her head on his chest. Her hands clutches tightly on the fabric on his back with few strands of his long hair entangled with her fingers. She can hear his uneven breathing and the hesitation of his arms on both sides.

"Thank you, Gajeel. For everything," she murmurs and finally lets go of him.

Judging by his awkward expression, he's still shocked by her gesture. Obviously, he's not the hugging type. Feeling extra brave now, Levy stands on tiptoes and plants a small kiss on his cheek. It lands on his jaw though. Freaking height difference.

Levy turns away from him without waiting for reaction and heads for the door, pushing them open. Light pours out on the pavement. Several of her guildmates calls her name, asking where she had been. Jet and Droy rush to her side asking if she's okay and informing her that Lucy was chained by Mirajane at the backstage. A beat-up Erza in a maid outfit is crouching under Mira's legs. Elsewhere, she can hear Juvia forcing Gray to drink some water. Laxus continuously orders Natsu and Elfman around while his Raijinshuu gawks at the scene. The three Exceeds aren't around, as well as Cana and Wendy. The rest were on the drink-binge with the Master who loudly yells for everyone to drink till they drop.

Levy smiles at the beautiful chaos around her. This is Fairy Tail they all know and love. Gajeel's right. This is one crazy guild after all.


Outside the guild, a lone shadow stands while looking up at the starless sky. He absent-mindedly stroked the skin of his jaw where Levy McGarden lips landed. It caught him off guard. He knew she tends to have outbursts, just like when she smacked him with her purse back at Tenrou Island, but he didn't expect her to be this bold.

Stupid girl. She should've known how that'll affect him. When she hugged him, he instinctively closed his eyes to savor the scent of her hair. Peppermint and a mixture of old paper and ink. Now, the memory of it clings stubbornly to his senses. He feels like he's on the verge of being crazy, with emphasis on the desire to take her home and hold her in his arms in his sleep.

If only things weren't as complicated as they are...

Smirking to himself, the dragon slayer allows a moment for him to feel the elation that little bookworm caused. It's out of character for him. He's the terrifying iron-dragon slayer Gajeel Redfox. He's ruthless. He's cold. He's anything but romantic nor compassionate.

After Metalicana left him, he never planned to warm up to anyone else ever again. That is to avoid the pain of being left alone at the end. Having your dragon-parent abandon you was enough as it is. Even when that vow broke when Pantherlily came, Gajeel did not expect it to be broken for the second time around. And this time, for someone he didn't expect to be. But then, who says plans work out these days? Ever since he joined Fairy Tail, his life's been inclined to unpredictability.

So far, it's been good. Sure, there are few close calls but who cares? It's been one hell of a ride and he's looking forward for more. And the best thing out of everything? That midget blue-haired script mage who just gave him a night worth remembering.

"Crazy, ain't we?" he says while looking up to the sky.