Summary: The girl's are out celebrating the release of Lucy's new book, when a bet it struck, who can get the most numbers? Lucy or Levy? One thing leads to another and Levy ends up in jail, who will she call to bail her out?

Pairings: Gajeel/Levy, slight Natsu/Lucy, Laxus/Mira, Bickslow/Lisanna, Juvia/Gray, Erza/Jellal, Alzack/Bisca, family Alzack/Bisca/Asuka, Cana/Booze, Lily/Gajeel friendship, one-sided guys/Levy

Warnings: Drunk girls going clubbing, mild adult themes.

A/N: This came to me whilst reading a Hayffie one-shot a while ago. Enjoy!

Numbers

Levy McGarden was a very respectable young woman.

If you wanted her; you would not find yourself having to look in shady bars or sultry clubs. You wouldn't find yourself having to push through a sea of men and women shamelessly grinding against each other in a sweltering dance space; and you certainly would not find yourself watching a completely wasted woman talking gibberish to a barman. And, no matter what the circumstances were, you did not ever find her getting caught by the police, completely intoxicated out of her wits with two seemingly passed out friends, in a jail sell. Ever.

Well... In any normal situation, you wouldn't, anyway.

It was a girls night out - celebrating Lucy's newly published book - when Cana had decided to spice things up a tad. They'd had a drinking contest (Cana, of course, had won) and now everyone was either hammered, on an all high or dancing particularly shamelessly, for some of them - Mirajane was known as a demon on the dance floor. Levy was one of the hammered ones.

"I don't see why," Levy told the barman, "I mean, you get it, right?" She then mumbled something incoherent before bursting out laughing, to which the barman just handed her another refill.

"Of course," He smiled politely and turned to another customer, chuckling slightly to himself as Levy carried on babbling. He was a tall, extremely well-built and dark-skinned man, who seemed to enjoy listening to the petite bluenette's drunken rambles. (Maybe that was why he owned the bar? Levy didn't know, nor really care, at that point) Down the side of his left eye ran a large, crescent-shaped scar - had Levy been more aware, she might've asked about it, however she was far too tipsy to really take an interest - and along his right arm a series of various tattoos.

"Levy-chan!" Levy turned her head, gazing at her best friend as she approached the bluenette, "Let's play a game! The person to get the most numbers tonight, wins!"

"And the prize?" She was slightly buzzed, yes, but not an idiot - there had to be a catch.

Lucy grinned, her eyes sparkling dazedly as she uttered, "The looser buys the winner a copy of Erika Tolyer's newest novel!" There we go; and a rather expensive catch at that.

Her eyes widened as she beckoned the bartender back over, "Can I get a shot? Any shot, I don't care, just put it on my tab." He nodded, smirking slightly, and within seconds a small glass was pushed in front of her. She knocked her head back, throwing the pungent liquid down her throat and grinned through the burn, "It's on Lu-chan!"

What she didn't realize, however, was that her rather rowdy yell had attracted the attention of a tall, black-haired man at the other side of the bar. He sat in the shadows, leaning with is back against the bar, an air of frigid arrogance around him. Metal piercings scattered his face and arms - adding to his already unapproachable atmosphere. He wore a pair of black pants and a thin, maroon shirt; the sleeves were rolled up to just above his elbows and the top few buttons undone; leaving a few of his elaborate tattoos on show. He scoffed, downing the rest of his beer, before calling the barman over.

"Oi, Lily!" He called, eyes trained on the small girl, who was now talking to some guy who'd sat next to her; biting her lip and ever so slightly tilting her head, so she had to gaze up through her lashes to look at him.

"What is it, Gajeel?" Lily - the barman - asked, coming to stand next to 'Gajeel', he followed his friend's gaze before snorting. Gajeel scoffed, having not noticed Lily's presence quite yet, and glared at the other side of the bar; the boy was obviously looking for something, something that Gajeel very much doubted he would get. All that girl (Levy, had her friend called her?) wanted was his number, nothing more, nothing less, "Gajeel?"

"Hm? Oh... That girl, ya know her?" He questioned gruffly, ignoring the devilish look on his friend's face.

"No, do you?" Gajeel shook his head, "Well, maybe you can get her number, eh, Gajeel?"

"Fuck that... Not my type." Sneering he jerked a thumb at his empty glass, "'Nother."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it." With a drawn out sigh and a roll of his eyes, Lily got Gajeel another beer, placing it down on the counter, "So, what're you gonna do?"

"Do 'bout what?" Gajeel's steely glare was latched onto the petite girl, her coy allure had already gotten three numbers scrawled along her arms. A low growl escaped his lips; there she sat, perched on a bar stool, idly sipping from a glass of wine, clad in nothing but a skimpy little piece of red cloth that barely covered up her ass! (A very nice ass, Gajeel mused, not that he'd ever admit it)

"About her." The barman smirked, following Gajeel's fuming stare, "You've been pining over her since she first got to the bar."

"Shut up." He bit, throwing a dark glare to his friend before taking a gulp of his beer, "I told'ya, she ain't my type, it's just funny ta watch her compete."

"So you heard Lucy's proposal, then?"

"Who the fuck's Lucy?" Lily groaned in frustration, Gajeel was such a piece of work sometimes.

"Seriously, Gajeel? She's the blonde who's always hanging out with Natsu." He explained, "You know, the one you call 'Cheerleader'."

"Well shit... I thought I recognized her..." He murmured, hardly hearing Lily's next comment, before cutting him off "-D'ya recon I'd get murdered if I tried Shrimp over there?"

"If by 'Shrimp' you meant Levy and 'tried' you meant asked out," He gave Gajeel a pointed look - which was missed because he was too busy squinting at the small girl, "Then I think the girls would let you off. Why?"

"Just wonderin'." He guzzled some more of his drink as Lily was called off, "What if I make a bet with ya, Shrimp?" He sniggered to himself, finishing off his pint before stretching his arms out, he smirked, "If I'm the last ta give ya my number, yer mine."

Levy was absolutely euphoric, and just a little more than plastered, however, she was yet to reach her limit. She actually had quite a high tolerance of alcohol, for being such a small thing; maybe Cana sneakily pouring drops of whiskey and beer into her coffee, albeit slightly disgusting and unprofessional, was paying off. She had more numbers than she could count scribbled on various napkins, a few on her hands and a couple along her arms, she'd lost track somewhere before her third margarita and after her second whiskey. Sighing she turned to the barman, who offered an apologetic smile, she had just finished another flirtatious conversation with yet another hopeful man (Urgh! She thought, rolling her eyes, That guy was so creepy, I hope I get my book for this!) all he'd done since sitting down was leer lustily at her and lace her with crappy pick-up lines.

"Having fun?" Lily placed down the glass he was cleaning and through the white dishcloth over his shoulder.

"Hm..." She hummed, the buzz of the alcohol slowly beginning to fade, "Lily, that's your name, right?"

He nodded in response, "You done for tonight then, Levy?"

"No, I doubt my score comes anywhere near Lu's!" She groaned and rested her head down on the bar, fiddling with a strand of her hair.

"I'll tell you what, since you've had so much to drink and aren't wasted, yet, I'll give you my number." He grinned and took out a napkin, Levy lifted her head, smiling warmly as he handed her another number to add to her pile.

"Thanks, Lily! You're the best!" She put her feet on the stool's stretcher and leaned up to place a sweet kiss onto Lily's cheek; he chuckled in return.

"Thank you, Levy." His eyes then flickered for a moment and his gentle smile turned to a mischievous grin, "I have another bet for you, Levy."

She raised an eyebrow, curious as to what would cause his mood to shift so rapidly, "And just what would that be?"

"You see that guy over there?" He bent down to the counter top so he was level with her, then carried on to point to the end of the bar. The bluenette followed his gesture, flickering past everyone until her eyes met a tall, pierced man, draining a mug of beer, he set the flagon back down on the counter and licked his lips.

"You mean Mr. Tall, Dark and Brooding?" She questioned dryly, earning a hearty chuckle from the barman.

"Yep, that's him, I bet you can't get him to give you his number." It was her turn to smirk now, and swinging around in her seat to face Lily, she gave him a roguish look.

"Get me another shot and you're on."

Again he laughed and reached under the bar, revealing an premade glass of blue liquid, "I had a feeling you'd say that." She grabbed the shot and tossed it back, slamming the glass back down on the bar and standing up.

"I have a number to get." And with that she sauntered off.

It hadn't taken her long to grab his attention, get him to order her another drink and snatch his number, he almost seemed a little too willing, but once Levy had another few drinks in her system she'd dropped the idea.

"Levy-chan~!" Lucy called, skipping drunkenly up to the buzzed bluenette, "Cana says there's another club down town that she wants to take us too! C'mon! Let's go!"

Levy giggled as Lucy linked arms with her, flashing Gajeel a wave good bye and gathering up the purse containing the numbers she'd acquired, "Bye-bye, Gajeel~!"

"See ya, Shrimp." He muttered, tipping back another gulp of his drink. Levy allowed her friend to drag her through the crowd, ignoring the blonde's suggestive eyebrow wiggle.

"Ooh~ Who's Gajeel, eh~?" She slurred, flashing Levy a lewd leer.

"Just some guy, Lu-chan." The bluenette tipsily waved her off as they met up with Cana, "Where'd every'ne go?"

"Lisanna found some guy with a weird bike helmet on, a friend of Laxus' I think, Mira met up Laxus, and went on a 'date', Juvia was stalking some guy, Erza heard Jellal was back in town and Bisca went 'cause Asuka had another nightmare." Cana took a sip from her bottle of sake - or at least tried to, before realising that she had already drunk it dry - and wrapped an arm around Levy's shoulders, "'Cmon let's party!"

And that was how the three had ended up there. Locked in a jail sell.

Levy wailed hopelessly, she had woken up with no recollection what-so-ever of what had happened; she vaguely remembered a tattooed barman, a load of random guys, and the barman's pierced, tattooed friend and a lot of alcohol.

"Urrghh." She groaned, turning to the guard who sat reading the paper opposite the cell, "Never... I'll never drink again... Hey, could you lower the brightness or something?"

"Oh, one of you are finally awake," He smiled apologetically, "Now that I can't do, sorry, Miss. However, if you want to get out of here you can call someone to come and get you and your blonde friend. Cana, I'm afraid, is well past the warning stage."

"Well I don't wanna just leave her here." She turned to look at the two sleeping girls, Cana was sprawled out across a small couch-like seat, a red blanket draped over her, whilst Lucy was curled up on a rather old-looking arm chair.

"I'm sorry but you can't take her out, she's been given enough warnings to last anyone else a life time."

The bluenette nodded and sighed, recognizing that there was no point in arguing, "Well, thanks... Um how many calls do I have?"

"Well seeing as it's your first warning, you can call until you reach someone who's able to collect you. I doubt many people will be up at 3am." She smiled, thanking him as he handed her the phone. She thought for a second before typing a well known number into the phone and holding it to her ear.

The line buzzed for about half a minute before someone picked up and answered with a drowsy, "Whoozat?"

"Hey, Natsu... Sorry to wake you up." She winced, hoping he'd be up working on a new design for the company he worked for. He was a pyrotechnic who made all sorts from bombs, to grenades to fireworks, if you asked her, Lucy would say he's the best in the business.

"Nah you didn't," He paused to yawn, "wake me up... Who am I kidding, I totally fell asleep... Damn I have to get this project done!"

"Well, glad I could wake you up... Could I ask a favour? Please?" She bit her lip hopefully, tugging on a piece of her hair.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Can... Can you come get me and Lucy from the police station?" There was a loud crash and a grunt which caused Levy to wince, before a few seconds of silence.

"Y-you... What?" She cringed, suspecting he'd be shocked, "You're at the police station? Why the hell are you at the police station!?"

"Long story short we got drunk and passed out and I don't know how we ended up here! I forgot!" She snapped, pouting frustratedly at the ground, "Anyway, do you think you could take us home?"

"Sorry, Levy, my car only has room for one, I could get Lucy, and come back for you?" He offered, a long yawn following after.

"No, I don't want to impose! Just, if you could take Lucy, either stay with her at hers or take her to your place, that would be great. I don't think she should wake up alone tomorrow, she'd going to have a killer hangover." The bluenette explained, smiling amusedly at Natsu's answer.

"Are you sure? I don't-," She cut him off, smiling at his concern.

"I'm sure, don't worry, I'll get another ride? Ok?" So, after saying their goodbyes, she hung up and turned back to the policeman. She smiled at him, he seemed to be calculating her, almost as if he were trying to work out an unsolvable puzzle, "Is something wrong, officer?"

"Hmm? Oh, no, it's just... You're a very hard woman to figure out." She raised an eyebrow, turning her body to face him.

"Oh? How so?" She questioned, causing the officer to chuckle.

"You seem like a respectable young woman, not usually drunk out of her mind, yet I find you and two of your friends passed out in the middle of the street after being kicked out of a bar for causing a brawl..." He shook his head, scrutinizing gaze still on her, "A very hard woman to figure out, indeed."

She laughed, throwing her throwing her head back with the gesture, it seemed that the effects of the alcohol hadn't entirely worn off just yet, "Well I usually don't get myself into those situations... Let's just say, it was a girls' night out that got way out of hand, when you're with Cana and a drunk Lucy, anything can happen... literally."

"I figured as much..." He smiled at her and turned back to his newspaper, "Well I'll let you get back to calling people, I don't want to keep you here for longer than you need... However, may I ask, why you have numbers all over you?"

"Oh, these?" She pointed to the numerals scrawled up her arms and hands, "A bet Lucy and I had, to see how many numbers we could get... The loser has to buy the winner a new, and expensive, book." He nodded and shrugged, allowing her to carry on calling.

After many voicemails and a few 'Sorry, I can't, I'm busy right now's Lucy had been picked up and Levy didn't have many options left. The line buzzed as she waited for someone to pick up.

"This is Freed, I'm sorry I can't take your call right now, I'm primarily engaged, unless it's you Bickslow, stop prank calling me, what are you? Six!? Anyway, please leave a message at the beep." There was a beep and Levy groaned, hanging up and slid down the wall to sit on the floor, this was not her idea of fun.

She had no one else to call, all she had left were the numbers of creepy guys she'd flirted with that night, why, oh why didn't she have more friends!? She glanced at her arm and looked at the biggest number there, it was written in massive bold numbers and took up half of her forearm, maybe this was the tattooed guy she remembered?

Stupidly, and without a second thought, she dialled the number, this was her last resort. The incessant beep, beep... beep, beep rang in her ears as she nervously waited. She was ready to give up hope when the beeping stopped, her heart thumped in her ears as she waited for either a voice message tone or the man to pick up.

There was a groan and a, 'what time is it?' from a distance before Levy was ear to ear with a rough and groggy mumble of, "Who the hell's callin' at 3 am?" For some strange reason, she felt her heart sink, she wanted to just hang up and burry herself into a bottomless pit and disappear for ever. But of course, fate, obviously for some unknown reason hated her and forced her vocal chords to work.

"Um... H-hi... Sorry, I'm so, so sorry to call you so late-,"

"Who are you, and whadda'ya want... You better not be one'a Jose's girls..."

"Who's Jose? Urm, never mind... Anyway, I'm Levy... Unless he gave me a wrong number, I'm the girl you met at the bar earlier... Levy? You wrote your number on my arm... I think." There was a pause before the most god awful version of a laugh she'd ever heard hit her ears. It was halfway between a cackle and a chuckle, and sounded almost as if he was saying 'Gihihihi', and although strangely heart warming, it rang in her head.

"I didn't think ya'd miss me tha' much, Shrimp! What has it been, three, four hours?" His grating cackle continued, and Levy had to fight not to begin giggling as well.

"S-shut up!" She scowled, the after effects of alcohol and loss of sleep was starting to get to her, and was beginning to make her rather grouchy, "Look, I need to ask a favour."

"At 3 am?" Deep breaths, Levy, deep breaths... She gritted her teeth and clenched her fist.

"Yes." He stopped laughing, sensing the irritation in her voice, "Look, I'm locked in a jail cell and I've been calling people all damn night and I just want to go home, please, please can you give me a ride. And yes, before you ask, at 3 am."

There was another pause, as soon as he spoke, however, she could almost hear the smirk on his face, "Ya want me, a guy you met in a bar four hours ago, to drive you, a tiny little, defenceless Shrimp, home?"

"Yes."

Another pause, "Yer the strangest woman I've ever met, ya know that?"

"Yes, yes I do." There was a snort and a yawn before she was finally presented with her answer.

"Which station are ya at?" She couldn't help the kilowatt grin that rose to her lips as she told him she was currently at South Magnolia station, and she would later deny the tiny flutter her heart gave when she was answered with, "Alr'ght, see ya in a few, Shrimp."

She rolled her eyes, "My name is Levy."

"Whatever... Shrimp, Gihi!"

A/N: Well, wasn't that the sweetest thing ever!? ... Ok it was a crappy ending and it was really choppy, but it's like 1 am now and the clocks are going forwards so... Eh, who cares about sleep anyhow?!

Well here's some gajevy/gale cutie feels for ya!

Please review! They make me real happy!

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