Melting Metal
A/N: So Gajeel is a pretty cool guy and he clearly has a thing for Levi. Everyone knows that. What I didn't know until I checked about 20 minutes ago was that I haven't made a fic of them coming together. Now I don't know about you people, but I can't let that slide. Here I am then, writing a fic for them to atone for my sins. There will be a few other ships in this too but I'm going to try and keep it centred on those two. Thoughts are in italics. Enjoy...
Summer had finally came and past and the trees were starting to show signs of the changing season. It was still fairly warm in Magnolia, but everyone knew that this heat was not going to last. Most people in the infamous Fairy Tail Guild had methods of keeping warm though so this wasn't a huge problem. Natsu was a fire mage and could just heat up the air around him. Gray was used to the colder weather and so welcomed the change with open arms. Even Cana was ok now after discovering her fathers identity since not even the cold weather dared to fuck with Gildarts (no joke, that guy is crazy). However, some of the guild members were going to feel the chills right to the bone. Not that these people couldn't prevent the cold, just they had no one to warm themselves up next to. One of these people was Levi.
"Jet, Droy, how many times have I told you, I won't marry either of you!"
Her two friends were once again arguing over the petite bluenette, this time over who would end up taking her hand in marriage. Unlike Natsu's fights their ones usually involved straight out bitching since neither of them were very strong.
"Droy look at you! You're fat arse would crush her if you hugged her or slept with her! You have no right to be with her at all!"
"Yeah well I may be fat, but at least I'm not a little bitch like you! I can lose weight but you'll always be the weaker link!"
Levi sighed as the two continued to trade insults. This would probably continue for another half an hour before they ended up hitting each other in a slap fight. No matter how you looked at it, it was embarrassing for all involved.
"What are these idiots arguing over now?"
Levi turned to see Gajeel walk into the guild hall. He looked a bit beat up, but considering he had just went on a quest that was expected. The script mage blushed. "Oh...I dunno...erm..."
"...WELL SINCE I'M FAT I KNOW HOW TO EAT! WHAT WOULD YOU DO IN THE FOREPLAY SKELETOR?!"
Gajeel quirked an eyebrow. "Still fighting over you eh? Like either of them deserve you."
The pair stopped arguing and glared at him. "Oh really? Well who does deserve her then metal head?! You?"
Gajeel blushed slightly at the comment, but quickly regained his composure. "Well I'd certainly be better suited than you two losers."
"He didn't try to deny it..." Levi thought, her heart skipping a beat. She had liked the dragon slayer ever since the Fighting Festival and recently her feelings had developed into something else entirely. Levi had tried to keep this a secret from everyone else, but with Mira, Cana and Lucy around, it barely took them a week to spread the word. In all fairness to the three, they hadn't told Gajeel or the other two though. That wouldn't be cool.
"Prove it then! Come at us and we'll show you how true Fairy Tail wizards fight!"
Needless to say they were defeated in a single blow. As they lay in a crumpled mess on the floor, Gajeel laughed and turned to Levi. "Geehee they're even weaker than I expected! Why do you still hang around with these losers?!"
"Because they're my friends Gajeel." Levi said, suppressing a small giggle at how useless they were without her. "Besides; we're Team Shadow Gear!"
"If you guys were gear, you'd be rusty old junk geehee. Why you don't get a better partner I'll never know." He scratched the back of his head and looked at her.
"Well...nobody ever offers really..." She blushed slightly as he held his gaze.
"Well I'll be your partner if you want?" Although he meant a working partner, Levi almost collapsed in shock. The moment was beautiful for all 2.7 seconds of it. After the 2.7 seconds were over, however, a great laughter was heard from the Thunder God Tribe's table.
"FUCK YOU AND YOUR SHITTY BETS LAXUS!" Bickslow yelled at the laughing blonde. He practically threw the money in his face and stormed out of the guild hall.
"Always happy to take your money mate!" Laxus replied before settling down and folding his arms.
The couple in question looked puzzled. "The hell was that about?" Gajeel asked Levi.
While the question wasn't directed at him, Laxus was more than happy to answer it. "Oh we made a bet see. A bet as to how long it would take you guys to get together. I have to give it to you; I was losing faith in you Gajeel but today you knocked the ball right out of the fucking park!"
"Laxus you dick I meant as a work partner!" Gajeel glared at the older man, but his flushed face betrayed his true feelings. Levi just wanted to die then and there.
"Ohhh sure! I'm sure she'll help you work. Especially on that big metal pole between your legs!"
If it had been Natsu or someone else, Gajeel would have already started a frenzied attack on them. As it was, he had already had the displeasure of facing off against the Thunder God once before. He was not having a repeat of that. "Shut the fuck up Laxus." Was all he mumbled before tilting his head towards the ground to hide his blush.
The lightening mage took his feet off the table and leaned forward in his chair. "Aww did I upset you Gajey wajey and Levy pevy? I'd go tell you to suck on a dummy but I'm pretty sure you have other things to..."
"Hey is Erza in yet?" Jellal interrupted, poking his head out from Makarov's office. He'd been hiding there for over an hour waiting to surprise her when she got back and he was starting to get impatient. Thankfully his interruption prevented Laxus from driving Gajeel to suicide. And by suicide I mean driving Gajeel to attack his tormentor.
"'Fraid not lover boy." Laxus replied to his friend. Suddenly a great idea hit him. "Hey wait, you're going out tonight with Erza and her crappy team right?"
Jellal nodded. "Yeah and that water chick too. Its like a couples thing though so if you wanna tag along you'll have to get a date. Try asking Mira or some-..."
Laxus waved the comment away. "God no. I wouldn't be seen dead with Natsu and those losers. What I was suggesting was that you take these two love birds with you."
He grinned and Gajeel exploded. "Laxus I'm not fucking dating her!"
"Do you want to date her?"
"...That's not the point you..."
"Well now's your opportunity. Oh and you're fucking welcome." Laxus' grin widened as his victory was realised.
"You're a complete..." Gajeel sighed in defeat. "Damn it you win." He turned to Levi. "So...reckon you'd be up for it?"
The bluenette had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. "Erm...I guess..." "Play it cool Levi, play it cool!"
"Great! Well we're meeting tonight at 8 in the centre of town. I'll see you there." With that Jellal decided that he better go and find Erza instead of waiting for her to arrive. She'd be cool with the idea, but it was always nice when he gave her a heads up for stuff. Especially since he usually got a hug out of it. "Man she loves hugging me..."
Laxus stood up and took a bow. "Cupid at your service!" He then sat down and continued drinking. Gajeel went back to glaring at him until Laxus flipped him off. Realising that he wasn't going to get anything more out of this battle he turned back to Levi.
"I guess I'll see you later then." He patted her on the back and walked out of the room. Levi went and sat next to Cana, who had been listening to the entire event unfold. If there was emotional support to be had in Mira's absence, Cana was the supplier.
Jet and Droy had finally been lying in silence on the ground, still aching from their beating. After that episode they were fully done with life. "Droy..." Jet managed out. "...the fuck just happened?!"
-That night at 8-
Gajeel walked up the central street to the meeting point with his hands in his pockets. Since he didn't know how fancy the place was that they were going to, he decided he may as well just go all out and wear a tuxedo. For once the iron wizard was nervous for this date. With women in the past he had always been calm and relaxed, leading the way and setting the pace for the relationship or in most cases the night. However, every time he thought of going on a date with Levi his hands trembled, hence he had pretty much sown them into his pockets. "Just play it cool Gajeel. Be cool and get the girl."
"Hey Gajeel!"
He almost jumped out of his skin when he heard Jellal calling to him. He span round to face the blue haired man and glared at him. "The hell do you think you're doing sneaking up on me like that?!"
Jellal grinned. "I've been behind you for the past five minutes but you've been ignoring me. Are you nervous for your big date tonight?" Gajeel growled as he stuck his tongue out at him.
"Just shut up will ya?! I don't need your commentary on this."
"Aww I think he is Jellal!" Erza chipped in, stepping out from the alleyway she was hiding in. She'd been stalking Gajeel to make sure that he didn't chicken out.
"You shut up too Erza!" The iron mage gritted his teeth. "If this keeps up I'll never get to go on that date with her."
The couple laughed before linking arms with one another. "Well you're going to be late if you don't hurry up. Better get a move on there."
Gajeel looked at a nearby clock and realised they may be right. "Ah crap! Hey its your fault for stopping me. Besides, don't you have to be there for eight too?"
"...crap." The three spent the next two minutes sprinting to the middle of Magnolia.
"Wow you guys made it on time." Lucy said in a surprised tone. Despite the fact that they had clearly been running the last part of the journey the three were surprisingly well composed. That is to say none of them were panting too hard or had ties flung over shoulders etc.
"You seem...pant...surprised..." Gajeel wheezed then looked up to find a blushing Levi staring at him. Now he could pass off the red face from the running, but as he jaw hit the floor he realised that he'd given too much away. "Shrimp?!"
Levi was glowing red now. "I...well you see...Lucy chose it for me so..." The item of clothing she was talking about was a very short yellow dress. While the neck was fairly high cut, the bottom barely passed her thighs, which mean that pretty much nothing was left to the imagination.
"So you're happy with your date then?" Gray teased and Natsu laughed. They both received glares from the panting man before he straightened up and folded his arms.
"I can live with it." He quipped, trying to regain a cool demeanour. Sadly Jellal had promised Laxus that he would die before making Gajeel look like an idiot.
"Now now Gajeel, you should be ashamed of yourself! She's all dressed up while your tux is falling to bits!" Spinning him round, he showed the hole he had previously ripped in Gajeel's suit off to everyone standing there. Now when I say hole here, I mean there was probably more skin showing than suit/shirt. The worst part was Jellal hadn't even started yet...
"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!" Gajeel cried before backing up slowly to a wall. Once again, luck wasn't on his side, and Jellal gladly pointed to the restaurant they were going to. On the other side of the town centre. "JELLAL WHAT THE HELL MAN?!"
Erza had also noticed her partner's tricks, but simply put them down to Laxus. The lightening mage was usually the cause of all the mischief in the guild and so she was sure it was somehow related.
Steam was coming from Levi's face by now. "Wow that's a great body..." She murmured then clamped her hands over her mouth. Lucy nudged her side and winked. "I...I didn't mean to..."
"Play your cards out and you might get to see another iron rod." Lucy said slyly before hiding behind Natsu. While Levi was small, her wrath was almost on par with Mira's.
"C-can't you put a sleeping spell on them Jellal?!" Gajeel cried but the blue haired man just laughed.
"I could do it I suppose. But where's the fun in that?"
The iron dragon-slayer turned to Natsu and Gray next. "Guys...come on. I know we don't always see eye to eye, but you have to help me here!"
The pair shook their heads. "Nope we agree with Jellal this time."
"Juvia?! We've known each other forever man! Can't you...?"
"Master Gray has refused his help, so I too shall refuse mine."
He was running out of options. "Lucy? Erza? Please?!" The girls shook their heads. "Erm...Levi?"
The bluenette nodded. "How though?"
"Hop on his back and hold his clothes together." Jellal suggested and everyone laughed. Not because it was a bad suggestion, but because that was the best and only one. The two ended up awkwardly walking into the very expensive and fancy restaurant after receiving a lot of funny looks from passers by. Jellal of course filmed this all. There was no way Laxus wouldn't want to see this.
"...never speak of this again." Gajeel said gruffly before removing Levi from his back. She had unconsciously nestled into his back between his shoulder blades which was ok by him, but he didn't want to crush her when he sat down. He quickly sat down as to hide the hole and shot yet another glare at Jellal who was still filming. He quickly turned off the camera and pulled out a seat for Erza.
"After you my dear." She sat down and beamed.
"After you Juvia." Gray said, mimicking the master of romance. Juvia however fainted on the spot, and had it not been for Gray's reflexes she would have face planted on the floor. Natsu just sat down and put his feet up while Lucy sighed and sat herself down. She had learned that although he did love her to bits, Natsu had the romantic feeling of a dead cat. Her expectations were never high.
"So why the fancy place?" Gajeel asked, scanning the room. Everyone there looked incredibly rich and famous, causing him to feel incredibly out of place. His eyes then moved to Natsu and he realised that even if he had show up naked and covered in sewage he still wouldn't be half as bad as the salmon-haired mage.
"We have no idea." Lucy replied. "It was all Jellal's idea really. Why did you pick here by the way?"
Jellal started sweating. "Oh...no reason...Erm excuse me one moment." He sprinted out of his seats to the toilet and everyone turned to Erza who just shrugged. The iron eater cursed his bad luck. Had he not been wearing ripped clothes, now would have been the perfect time to take his revenge in the toilets. As it was though, he simply caused the Jellal's cutlery to become spiked and rough.
"So...why'd you decide to come tonight Gajeel?" He froze then turned to Levi, who was bowing her head with a shy smile.
"What's it to you? Want me to leave or something?"
"NO!" She shouted before blushing and repeating "No." in a quieter voice. "I...I think you should stay here."
The raven haired man looked at her. "...I guess I could." Levi sighed and looked down at the table. "He's probably only here because he was pressured into this. Maybe I should just go. I'll get Mira to get Laxus back tomorrow..."
Her thoughts were interrupted when a very familiar waiter came over to them. "Surprise motherfuckers. Here's your menu's. You have two minutes to find what you like before I start killing the other guests."
"LAXUS?!" They all shouted and the blonde haired man took a small bow.
"The one and only. Oh and no, I'm not a waiter here. I'm just here to make sure these two actually came out tonight." He leered at Gajeel and Levi who shrunk into their seats a bit. Jellal at this point returned to the table and gave a small shake of his head to Laxus who scowled at him in return.
"Why such an interest in metal-head here?" Natsu asked.
"Because fuck you is why. Now order some damned food."
The group all looked at the menu. "Jesus guys this would cost me a years salary!" Gajeel exclaimed, slamming down the menu. He promptly picked it back up again when he saw Laxus starting to grit his teeth. "...I guess I could go with a steak..."
"Perfect." The lightening mage growled and snatched up the menus.
"But the rest of us haven't ordered yet!" Gray protested, but was silenced with a glare.
"You're all getting steak and you're all going to like it. Deal with it." He stormed off, pushing several people out of the way. Jellal looked incredibly guilty, yet at the same time relieved.
"The hell was that about?!" Gajeel asked to which everyone just shrugged. "Well that kinda sucks. It was his idea to do this whole crappy thing in the first place so why mess it up for us?"
Levi stood up and rushed to the toilet, muttering a small apology. She was clearly upset so Lucy and Erza went after her. "What's wrong Levy?"
"Gajeel!" She was over the sink with her head facing the bowl. "He doesn't want to be here does he?" She looked up at her friends with tears in her eyes. "Why did I say yes? He'll probably hate me after all of this is over anyways!"
Erza went to hug the crying girl but Lucy stopped her before ribs were shattered. Instead the redhead just patted her on the back, creating several large bruises instead.
"Levy relax!" Lucy comforted her friend. "Let's face it here, Gajeel isn't exactly Mr Tactful now is he? He's probably just playing it cool so he doesn't seem desperate. Standard guy trick."
Levy looked up at her with tears glistening in her eyes and bruises swelling on her back. "You sure? How can you be sure though?! He said...he said this was crappy!"
Lucy smiled at her. "Exactly! That's the point; he wants you to freak out and make you think he doesn't care about you. Now come on, lets dry you up..."
Meanwhile, back at the table of cheer, Gajeel was getting a grilling.
"The hell's wrong with you man?"
"Why are you being so mean to her?"
"Juvia wonders why also!"
"Is the steak here nice?"
"Guys cool it!" Gajeel yelled, attracting several disgusted stares from the other guests. "I'm not being mean you idiots, I'm being cool! It's called playing it cool! C-O-O-L!"
"...Are you genuinely an idiot?" Gray asked, face-palming himself into next week.
Jellal sighed. "Gajeel...you're not being cool. You're being a dick."
"Juvia agrees with Jellal." The water mage added, shaking her head at her old friend. "That's a terrible approach to get girls."
"Well it worked on you didn't it! Besides, I don't even want..."
Gray glared at him. "You just admitted it in that previous sentence. Oh and you're on a date with her. Congrats, you're an idiot."
Gajeel blushed. "Well...fine. I guess I do want her. But I have no idea what to do! Usually I'm pretty good with women, but Levy is completely different some how!"
Natsu leaned over at this point to fill in for Happy. "He liiiiikes her!"
"ZIP IT SALAMANDER!" He roared and had to be restrained by Jellal.
"Just relax and show some emotion! The poor girl is probably crying in there so just be nice."
On cue Levi came out of the bathroom with puffy eyes, making Gajeel feel a pang of guilt as he realised what had happened. The iron magician stood up and looked at her.
"Shrimp...the hell is this all about?" While his words were rough, his tone was sympathetic. If they had been left a while something may have developed, but as it was Laxus arrived with the food.
"Here's your shit." He said, dumping the steaks on the table. Well, there were seven steaks. The last plate contained what appeared to be a dead cat. He pointed at the plate. "Hey look Jellal, it's me after Mira finds out about this."
As the tattooed man smiled sheepishly at his friend, Gajeel sat back down and stared at the plate in front of him. "Why'd you give me a dead cat you dick?!"
"I gave it to you to show you what you'll be like in five minutes." He snarled in response. "Now what do we say?"
"Go to he-..." Looking into Laxus' eyes at that moment, Gajeel figured it may be best to just eat the cat. "I mean...thank you."
"Thank you Mr Laxus Sir!" Natsu added before wolfing down his steak.
"Careful you don't choke you idiot." The blonde mumbled before walking out via the wall. "Christ I am turning into Gildarts..."
The girls returned to their seats and started their meals too. If they were left unattended, the steaks would vanish into Natsu's mouth faster than Erza could hand his ass to him.
"Well I may as well make a start..." Gajeel mumbled and went to touch his fork. He quickly pulled his hand back as he felt a sharp edge stab into his finger. "The hell is wrong with this?!"
"Oh I swapped our cutlery." Jellal grinned. "I figured you'd prefer mine to yours. Looks more irony than yours did."
Gajeel eyed the cat again before pushing it away from him. The thing was fully of maggots.
"...you gonna eat that?"
"Natsu you're not eating the dead cat!" Lucy yelled before punching him, sending him flying off his chair. Gray and Juvia laughed while Jellal sighed and looked at his food. Erza noticed something was up, but decided against saying anything.
"Shrimp..." Gajeel began, nervously fidgeting under the table. "About before..."
"It's ok Gajeel." Levi smiled and continued eating.
"No no it's not fine. I upset you and that's not cool. I never want to upset you..." By now his fists were clenched under the table and sweat was dripping down his back.
Levi looked up at him. "Gajeel honestly its..."
"What I'm trying to say is...is...I wanna be there so you don't get hurt."
Everyone else was watching the would-be-couple now intently. "But you're always there to help me. Is this you asking me to be on your team or something?"
Screw Natsu's fire magic, Gajeel's back was so hot and sweaty it was melting through the back of his chair. "Sort of I guess. Only not just for quests..."
Levi's eyes widened. "...what else do you mean the-..."
"HE'S ASKING YOU OUT FOR FUCKS SAKE!" Laxus shouted from outside, making everyone sitting there jump and blush. "JUST SAY YES AND WE CAN MOVE ON WITH OUR LIVES!"
Gajeel coughed and Levi started glowing again. "Well...yeah. That sound ok?"
She was on him as soon as the sentence finished. It had become pretty much a Fairy Tail tradition to show people how you felt rather than explain it with words, and this kiss from Levi was no exception. The passion in it was enough to ignite the entire town and thus gained them a standing ovation from everyone in the building and a sarcastic clap from Laxus. At that moment neither one of them cared about the rest of the world. They had each other. That was all they needed.
"Jellal stop recording this and give them some privacy!" Erza scolded, but her date kept filming.
"I can't though. The people of the world need to see this moment."
"The tape will never leave this room you idiot!"
Jellal grinned. "What tape? This entire night was a live stream of them getting together." As the others looked outside, they bore witness on not one but every billboard in the square to Gajeel and Levi's kiss. "Oh and its going global. And Mira's idea. You guys can't argue with that."
Indeed they could not. Mira would kill them all if they tried to prevent it. Still, at least the couple in question were happy and finally together. It had taken them many battles, quests and years to finally realise that the most important thing to either of them was the other.
A/N: Sorry this took so long but its been Freshers Week. I haven't been sober enough to turn on my computer, much less type this out for you all haha. Despite that and pavement high-fiving times though I survived and finished this. Also, since the week is over, I should be able to start picking up the pace a little again with my fics. The next one is going to be a Jerza one, although you probably picked up on that from the copious hints I dropped in this one that something was going on. I hope everyone enjoyed this :) Read, review and recommend how to improve for next time :)