Notes: I'm sort of doing a collection of AU fics on the fic blog and I figured I'd upload them here. So this is where I'll upload them. Unless stated otherwise none of them are connected.
Sum: Levy is having a truly rotten day.
The frustrated tears stung at her eyes and she thumped her head against the door. This was the perfect ending to an absolutely perfect day.
First she'd overslept and had to run to work and then it was six hours of customer after customer. Then she realized she'd forgotten her wallet at home and had no cash so she'd been unable to buy any food or take the bus home. So she walked, only to have it start raining halfway home. And of course she had no umbrella.
Now she was locked out of her apartment; hungry, tired, and soaking wet. And she couldn't even call anyone because her phone was dead.
She sighed and slid to the ground, pressing her back against the door and wrapping her arms around her knees. Tears began to roll down her cheeks and she buried her head against her legs.
Today couldn't get any worse.
"Are you alright?"
Oh no.
She peeked up, mortification coloring her cheeks when she realized that the voice belonged to none other than Gajeel Redfox. He lived in the apartment across the hall, although he rarely seemed to be home. They shared greetings when they happened to pass in the hall, but she'd never actually had a real conversation with him.
And she had the biggest crush on him.
"Fine. I'm fine." She jumped to her feet, quickly wiping the water from her face. Hopefully he wouldn't notice that some of that water was from tears.
He arched one of his eyebrows, the metal from the rings glinting in the dim hallway lights, and his eyes skimmed along her body.
"You sure?"
"Yep."
"Hmm."
He kept staring and she felt her cheeks heat. She didn't want her first real conversation with him to be like this. There was no doubt her makeup was running and she was positive she looked like a drowned cat. He probably thought she was pathetic. He'd probably never speak to her again.
"Are you locked out?"
And just like that the tears were back, spilling from her eyes and staining her cheeks. She didn't know what brought them on this time, but she couldn't seem to stop them.
"S-sorry," she hiccupped, covering her face with her hands. "I've just h-had a really bad d-day."
She wasn't sure she could get more pathetic. Stuck outside her own home in soaking clothes with nowhere to go. And her crush got to witness her breakdown.
"Hey, uh … there's no need to cry," Gajeel said, his voice rough. "You can – you can come stay in my place while you wait for the landlord to come with a spare key."
She sniffed and peeked at him from between her fingers. He was looking at the wall, his hand rubbing the back of his neck, and there was a distinct redness to his ears.
A smile tugged at her lips at the sight.
So cute.
She swallowed the rest of the tears and wiped at her eyes. "I don't want to impose."
"It's no problem." Then he grinned at her. "Besides, you're building a small lake."
She glanced down, and sure enough there was a small puddle forming at her feet. A blush scorched across her cheeks and Gajeel laughed.
"C'mon."
She followed him across the hall and into his apartment, trying to look around as discretely as possible.
It was the same set up as hers. A kitchenette off to the side, a larger living room with a door to the veranda, a small hallway that probably led to the bathroom/bedroom. Unlike hers, it seemed to be … empty. Levy's was full of bookshelves, with so many books that some were piled on the floor. She had a worn out armchair in the living room and a coffee table that was hidden under more books. Gajeel's had a TV and an uncomfortable looking couch. A card table was set up behind the couch, with a couple of chairs around it and a few papers scattered across it.
She didn't feel like anyone really lived here.
Gajeel had vanished during her examination and she stood next to the door, not sure what to do. Was she supposed to make herself at home? Was she just supposed to wait by the door for the landlord to show up? Which reminded her, she still needed to call him …
"What're you doing?"
She jumped and glanced at Gajeel. He stood in the hallway, a pile of something in his hands and a slight frown on his face.
"I – um – I need to call the landlord still."
"I'll do it," Gajeel said, coming towards her. "You take a shower and get out of those wet clothes." He shoved the pile towards her. "You can change into these. They'll probably be too big, but it's the best I can do."
She took the clothes from him, noticing the redness to his ears again, and smiled. "Thank you."
He grunted and disappeared into the kitchen. Levy didn't move for a moment, just pressed her face against the clothes and breathed a laugh. Then she kicked off her shoes and headed into the bathroom.
She couldn't wait to get out of these clothes.
x
It was amazing how much better things felt after a shower. It might not have changed the fact that she was still locked out of her apartment and hadn't eaten all day, but it got rid of the chill that had started to seep into her skin. Now she stood in front of the mirror and just stared at her reflection.
Her cheeks were flushed from the steam and her eyes were puffy, but she didn't look awful. Although her hair was a disaster, sticking up in all directions even after she dried it.
"Oh well," she muttered. Gajeel had already seen her at her worst. Dropping the towel she slipped the shirt over her head. It fell to just above her knees, appearing more like a small dress than a shirt, and the sight made her laugh.
"He's so big."
She was still giggling when she finished getting dressed and stepped out of the bathroom, but the giggles died when she saw Gajeel. He was in the kitchen, his hair tied behind his neck and an apron thrown over his clothes. He seemed to be humming under his breath as he stirred whatever was in the pot, and she almost didn't say anything, not wanting to ruin the moment, but then he looked up and saw her.
And the laughter that followed didn't even make her feel bad.
"You look better, Shorty," he said, still chuckling.
"I'm not short. You're just monstrously big."
He arched a brow and she huffed. "You can just put your clothes by the door," he said, motioning in that direction. She set them next to her shoes and moved to the counter, leaning against it to talk to him.
"What are you making?"
"Soup. Figured you were probably hungry."
"I am, thank you."
"It's just canned soup."
"Still," she said, smiling. "Thank you. For everything you've done."
He held her gaze for a moment before dropping his to the soup, his ears turning red again.
"It's no problem," he mumbled, stirring the soup. She smiled again when something glinted in the corner of her eye.
She turned towards it, seeing the small dragon for the first time. It was made of metal, dark iron, molded together to form the beautiful creature. She'd never seen anything like it before.
"Beautiful," she breathed, reaching out to stroke a finger along the spine. It was small enough to fit in her hand, but she was afraid to touch it more. She glanced over at Gajeel who was grabbing some bowls. "Where did you get this?"
"Made it."
She gasped and looked back at the dragon, her eyes wide.
"You made that?"
"You don't hafta sound so shocked."
"No … it's just … That's amazing."
He shrugged and set the bowls on the table. "It's just a hobby."
"Just a hobby? That's like saying that painting was just a hobby for Van Gogh, or Michelangelo." She sat in one of the chairs and Gajeel sat across from her. "You could sell that for big bucks I bet."
He shrugged again and spooned some soup into his mouth. When he just kept eating Levy sighed and grabbed her own spoon.
"Artists," she huffed. "So impossible."
He snorted and she swallowed a bite of soup, her eyes widening at the taste that exploded on her tongue. Maybe it was just because she hadn't eaten all day, but she wasn't sure she'd ever tasted anything so delicious before. And faster than she would've liked her bowl was empty.
"That was amazing."
"You musta been hungry."
She flushed and ducked her head, hoping to hide it from him.
"Did you call the landlord?"
Gajeel collected the dishes and brought them to the kitchen. "Yeah. He said he'd be over in the morning."
"What?"
Morning? But that meant …
"You can sleep here if you need," Gajeel said. "Or you could call a friend and stay with them."
"Lu-chan's out of town," she murmured, her thoughts rolling. Stay the night with Gajeel. She'd never, in a million years, expected this to happen. "Will it really be alright if I stay here? I can take the couch."
"Don't even think of it," Gajeel said, coming out of the kitchen. "You can sleep on the bed."
"But that couch isn't big enough for you!"
"I'll manage."
She huffed and glared at him and he stared back, his gaze unwavering. Clearly this was a battle she couldn't win.
"Fine. I'll sleep on your bed if it'll make you happy."
"Good."
"But you have to let me do the dishes."
"Why?"
"Because, I'll feel guilty and be unable to sleep if I don't do something."
Gajeel stared at her for a moment longer before shrugging.
"Fine. The dishwashers' broken so you've gotta do them by hand." He moved towards the hallway. "I'm takin' a shower." Then he disappeared and she sighed, moving to the sink to get started on the dishes.
She was surprised by Gajeel. When she first met him she'd be a bit frightened by the piercings and the tattoos and that scowl, but then she'd seen him with the apartment kids and the stray cat that lived out in the alley. She'd seen the softness in his eyes and the smile that he hid from others. That had been when the crush started, and it only grew the more she saw him.
And now she was learning even more about him. Like the fact that he made beautiful sculptures out of metal and called it a hobby. Or that he was an amazing cook, because there was no way that soup was from a can, and how he was willing to help a neighbor who was having a bad day. He was a true gentleman.
She sighed and glanced towards the bathroom.
It was official.
She was in love.
"Stupid," she muttered, scrubbing the pan harder than necessary.
After today she'd be lucky if Gajeel ever saw her as anything but his pathetic neighbor.
She hadn't noticed the shower shut off, but she did notice when Gajeel came out of the bathroom in nothing but a pair of sweatpants. Her throat went dry and her eyes bugged and she knew she shouldn't stare but it wasn't like she could just look away from that.
She may have imagined him shirtless before, not that she would ever admit to that, but seeing it was completely different. Six pack abs, dark trail of hair that disappeared below the waistband of his pants, and the tattoo. A dragon crawled up his arm, the tail wrapped around his wrist and the head curving to rest in front of his shoulder.
"Oh," she squeaked.
He glanced at her and she tried to force her eyes away from his chest, tried to look anywhere else, but she couldn't. He chuckled and pulled a shirt over his head, blocking the perfection and giving her a chance to look away. A blush stained her cheeks and she focused on the dishes left in the sink.
Oh god, oh god, oh god.
He chuckled again, but didn't comment on her staring and for that she was grateful. She wasn't sure she could feel any more mortified.
"What kind of movies do you like?" he asked, pausing next to a DVD rack. She was a bit surprised by the topic, but she answered anyways.
"Horror."
"Hmm."
"What?" She put the last of the dishes on the drying rack and wiped off her hands, coming into the living room. "Am I not allowed to like horror movies?"
"Just surprising." He looked over his shoulder at her, a grin tugging at his face. "You don't strike me as a horror girl." He turned back to the movies and she lowered herself to the couch, staring at his back. "Bloody or scary?"
"Either."
He grabbed a movie and put it in the DVD player, coming to sit next to her on the couch. She curled her feet under her, trying to take up as little space as possible. It really was a small couch, barely big enough for both of them to sit on it without touching. She had no idea how he planned to sleep on it.
The movie started and she barked a laugh.
"Friday the 13th? Really?"
"The original."
They watched the movie in silence for a while, laughing when they were supposed to be scared, and at some point Levy found herself spreading out on the couch until her feet brushed against Gajeel's leg. About halfway through the movie she turned to face him, staring until he glanced at her.
"What?"
"Thank you."
"For what?"
She shrugged and leaned against the back of the couch. "For helping me. Today just sort of sucked." She peered up at him, smiling softly. "But you made it a bit better."
She turned back to the TV, but movement made her glance back at Gajeel. He'd shifted closer, one of his hands on the back of the couch, the other next to her hip. Her eyes went wide and her lips parted in a small gasp, and Gajeel swallowed that gasp with his mouth.
It wasn't a deep kiss, barely more than a brushing of lips really, but it was enough. Levy felt like her heart was going to explode out of her chest and she stared at him as he pulled back.
"Sorry," he mumbled, his voice rougher than it had been. "I've been wanting to do that all night."
"I –" She was speechless. How did she tell him she'd been wanting him to do it for the past year?
"I understand if you want to call a friend."
"No!" He blinked in surprise and she lowered her voice, trying to sound calm. "No, I mean. It's not. You're not." She sighed and dropped her head, her cheeks flaming. "I liked it."
"You did?"
"Yeah."
He breathed a laugh and she shifted a bit closer to him, so close that if she wanted she could rest her head on his shoulder.
A comforting silence fell over them and they continued watching the movie, although Levy wasn't paying attention anymore. She wondered what the kiss meant. If it meant anything at all. Maybe he'd just wanted to kiss her, or maybe he wanted more than just a kiss. She glanced at him, but all his attention was focused on the screen.
"Hey Gajeel," she murmured and his eyes flicked down to hers. "Can I take that kiss to mean you like me?"
A slow smile curved his mouth and his arm wrapped around her, tugging her closer to his side. His mouth brushed across her forehead and she felt his cheek rest on the top of his hand.
"If that's what you want."
She smiled, snuggling closer against his side.
"It is."
He squeezed her once and she glanced back at the movie, her heart swelling in chest.
Maybe today wasn't such a bad day after all.
end.