Christine's note: I'm so glad I was able to finish this before Christmas! Merry Christmas to all our readers! Enjoy some Gajevy. :)
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail and its characters belong to Hiro Mashima.
Christmas time in Fairy Tail twinkled in the hundreds of lights strung around the guild, filled the room with the aroma of Christmas pine and cinnamon, and added ambiance with the festive music playing in the background. Fairy Tail never did anything half-heartedly, and Christmas time was no exception.
"You really went all out this year, Mira!" Levy exclaimed, taking in all the decorations. There was even more than yesterday.
"Yeah, I think this is the best Christmas season of Fairy Tail yet!" Lucy agreed, from besides Levy.
Mira smiled from behind the bar, polishing a glass. Levy and Lucy were enjoying some drinks at the bar, keeping Mira company as she worked. "Thank you. But I couldn't have done it all without the help of the Thunder God Tribe."
"Really? The Thunder God Tribe?" Lucy asked. "I didn't think they were the type to get into this kind of thing…"
"Well," Mira tilted her head at the two in a way that suggested something deeper. "They owed me some favors."
Lucy and Levy looked at her fearfully, uncertain if they wanted to know.
"So," Levy cleared her throat, turning to Lucy. "Have you finished your Christmas shopping?"
Lucy furrowed her brow in concentration. "I got a gift for Erza, Gray, Happy and you two. I'm still looking for Natsu's, though."
"I see," Levy raised her brows suggestively. "His has to be extra special, huh?"
Lucy deadpanned at her. "Don't you start with that, Levy."
"You could get him sexy lingerine!" Mira suggested.
"What!? Why would I get him that!?" Lucy exclaimed.
"For you to wear, not Natsu." Mira clarified.
"I know that!" Lucy yelped, red-faced. "I mean, that's something couples give each other, which is definitely not what Natsu and I are!"
"Oh c'mon." Levy grinned. "You're practically there."
"Like you're one to talk, Levy!" Lucy yelled, pointing at her. "Everyone already considers you and Gajeel a pair!"
"No they don't!" Levy cried. She turned to Mira. "Do they!?"
"Juvia and I think you two are very cute together!" Mira smiled.
Levy groaned and put her face in her hands. "Great."
"Maybe this Christmas season you guys can both take the final step in your relationships!" Mira clasped her hands, excitedly.
"Pass." Lucy and Levy said in union. Mira looked a bit deflated.
Levy turned to Lucy again. "You only have until tomorrow…Do you have any ideas for Natsu?"
Lucy put a hand to her chin. "Well…"
Their conversation was abruptly cut off as Gray's body flew across the bar table, effectively knocking the girl's drinks off. And onto Levy's lap. Levy gasped, at both the cold fluid running down her leg, and at her dress getting stained by a red liquid.
"NATSU!" Lucy screeched to the fire mage, who was currently laughing a few yards away. "You just spilled drinks all over Levy!"
"My bad!" Natsu waved his hand, grinning widely.
"If you're going to apologize, at least act like you mean it!" Lucy growled at him.
"Bastard!" Gray jumped up from the ground. "You'll pay for that!"
"No more fighting!" Lucy yelled, holding her hands up. "It's Christmas time, for goodness sake! Can't you guys give it a break!?"
"It's okay, Lucy." Levy said, getting up. "I'll just go wash off in the bathroom."
"I'll help you!" Lucy volunteered, spinning to her.
"No, I'll be fine, just stay here," Levy waved her off, smiling. "I'll be right back."
Levy hurried off towards the bathroom, grinning slightly. Lucy always accepted responsibility for Natsu's mistakes and scolded him on his manners. She really couldn't see how much they already acted like a couple.
After many solid scripts: detergent's later; Levy looked herself up and down in the bathroom mirror. She couldn't completely get the stain out, unfortunately. She really liked this dress too. Maybe she can convince Gray and Natsu to buy her a new one.
She glanced at her face in the reflection. Levy adjusted her hairband slightly and wondered if Gajeel saw that incident.
She stopped mid-adjust and stood up straight, frowning slightly. Did everyone in the guild really think she and Gajeel were together? She did find herself smiling and giggling in his presence more than she did with the other guild members. Maybe she needed act more normal around him. She practiced a neutral expression in the mirror. Then a scowl. She could do this.
Levy pushed the bathroom door and strut out with a look of nonchalance her face. She walked down the hall, ready to approach the main hall again.
Only to see the said mage right around the corner, almost running into him.
"Uh! H-hey, Gajeel," Levy stammered, all the casualness flying off her face. "I didn't expect to see you there."
"Hey, shrimp." Gajeel grunted, sparing her a brief glance as he made to walk around her.
Well. That was a true act of coolness. There's no way Levy could ever hope to mimic that.
Although, it didn't look like it was an act at all. That seemed completely natural. Levy sighed to herself as she continued her return to the bar, feeling a bit let down.
Suddenly, pain shot through Levy's face, and she shrieked in surprise, at the same time she heard Gajeel yell, "What the fu-!?"
Levy clutched at her nose and looked up at whatever hit her. Only, there was nothing there?
"Goddammit, not again." Gajeel groaned from behind her. She spun around to face him.
"What do you mean, not again?" Levy demanded.
Gajeel wordlessly lifted his hand, and pressed it against what appeared to be an invisible wall.
"It's a rune!" Levy exclaimed, also putting her hands against her side of the blockade.
"Why the hell is there a rune in here!?" Gajeel snarled, both his hands on the barrier.
They appeared enclosed in what looked to be a four by four foot square. It was smaller than the runes used during the battle of Fairy Tail. There's no way anyone could battle in this small of an area. So why was it so tiny?
"Look!" Levy pointed to the writing that started to materialize on the wall. She silently read it to herself.
The two Fairy Tail mages who step into this rune cannot leave until they obey the Christmas tradition.
"Christmas tradition?" Levy furrowed her brows. "What does that mean?"
"What's that?" Gajeel's voice reached Levy's ears from behind her.
"What's what?" Levy turned around. She saw Gajeel looking up. She followed his gaze to see a-
Oh no. Oh God. No, no, no, no, please, no.
"What?"
Levy's voice felt very dry. "It's a mistletoe."
Gajeel didn't react at all. "What the hell's a mistletoe?"
Oh, God.
"It's uh," She really didn't want to explain this, not to him. "Tradition, of sorts, where if two people are caught under one, they have to…kiss."
The last word was said in a mumble. Levy didn't dare look at him.
She awaited his reaction, staring at the floor.
"FREED, YOU GREEN-HAIRED BASTARD! TAKE DOWN THIS RUNE!"
Levy's eyes flew up to the iron dragon slayer, who was currently pounding on the rune, yelling his head off.
"OI! FREED!"
"Gajeel! Stop!" Levy cried, taking hold of his arm. "You'll alert the whole guild doing that!"
He glared down at her, as if ready to retort, but then his eyes widened.
"Wait, you can rewrite this rune, right?"
"Ahh.." Levy let her arms go slack. "I don't think so…"
"What do you mean you don't think so!? You rewrote the age restriction one!"
Levy shook her head. "I had access to the library and books that time, without them it would have taken me hours."
"What about at the s-class trials!? You didn't have any then!"
Levy crouched down, studying the writing on the ground. "That was because that was a simple rune, Freed wrote them in a hurry. These are more complex… he probably spent a couple hours on this one."
Gajeel groaned and looked up, hands on his head. "Why the hell would that asshole write a rune like this, anyways?"
Levy paused, and observed the way that the Mistletoe was placed right between the girls and guys bathroom, where two people were likely to meet. There was only one explanation.
"Mirajane put him up to this," Levy mumbled, remembering the demon mage's words from earlier. "She must have had him put a bunch of these all around the guild."
Gajeel was silent. He was leaning against the invisible wall, staring at the bathroom door.
"…I need to take a piss." He moaned, looking towards the bathroom, miserably.
Levy scrunched up her nose. "I didn't need to know that."
Gajeel just sighed, letting his forehead rest against the wall. Levy stood up and mentally evaluated their current condition.
This kind of situation was something Levy would read about in her cheesy romance books all the time. A love struck character, getting caught under a mistletoe with their secret crush, ultimately ending in a dreamy kiss. She admittedly would fantasize herself in a similar situation, occasionally. Sure, it sounded romantic and cute on paper. But this? This was just awkward. And horrifying.
But what choice did they have? Those runes would take Levy at least a couple hours without any books on hand, and there was no way they would last that long without someone coming to use the bathroom. There was no doubt in Levy's mind that Lucy would never let her live this down if she found out. Not to mention Jet and Droy's reaction!
There was no other option. And Levy was only saying that because it was the truth. It's true that she may have certain… emotions associated with Gajeel, but she would never trick him into kissing her. That would just be wrong.
This was going to be super awkward and embarrassing, but it was better than having an audience and a lifetime of teasing. Levy sucked in some air.
"T-There is one thing we could do." Levy started, rubbing her elbow.
"What's that?" Gajeel grunted, turning around.
"We could just," Levy felt more embarrassed now, with his eyes on her. "Follow the rule."
"WHAT!?" Gajeel barked, wide eyed. "Are you insane!? You wanna do that!?"
"Well, what's your idea!?" Levy retorted, annoyed. "Yell for Freed to undo the rune, which he probably won't do? And then have the entire guild watch us!?"
Gajeel's face twisted in frustration. Levy noticed that he looked a bit pink. He opened his mouth and then closed it just as fast.
"Ugh!" He threw his hands up hands up. "Fine! We'll follow the freaking rule! If that's what you want!"
"It's not what I wan-" Levy stopped herself mid-sentence and sighed. She rubbed her temples. "Look. Let's just get this over with, and we can get on with our day."
"Fine."
Levy took a deep breath, and shut her eyes. "Okay. Okay, go ahead."
She waited, trying to keep her thoughts neutral. It's just a kiss, just a kiss, just a kiss, doesn't mean anything. Nothing at all. Absolutely nothing.
The next minute felt like an eternity. What was taking him so long?
Another full minute passed, before Levy cracked her eye open to see what he was doing.
Gajeel hadn't moved an inch. His brows were furrowed together and his mouth was contorted.
She opened both of her eyes. "What's wrong? What are you waiting for?"
"N-nothing! Just give me a minute!"
She couldn't hold back the bark of nervous laughter that burst out of her.
"Are you nervous?"
"Shut up!" He snapped, with a red face. "It's cuz you are! You need to relax!"
"I am relaxed!" Levy said defensively.
"No yer not," Gajeel pointed at her. "You're fidgeting and breathing fast!"
Levy blinked. Oh. She really wasn't good at acting nonchalant.
"It's too weird when you look that uncomfortable." He grumbled, folding his arms and looking away.
"I'm sorry," Levy shook her head. "You're right. I'll calm down."
"Why're you so tense, anyways? You just said it was no big deal."
"Well," Levy blushed. She didn't particularly want to admit this. "It's my first kiss."
Gajeel was silent for a moment, before looking to her and asking, "Is that important or somethin'?"
"Um, kind of," Levy replied, in a high pitched voice. "But it's okay. I don't mind."
Gajeel scratched at this cheek and glanced away.
He looked…embarrassed?
Levy tilted her head at him. "Is it your first, too?"
"No." He answered, quickly.
"You liar!" She accused him. "It totally is!"
"Alright, maybe it is!" He growled, glaring at her. "You're in no place to judge!"
"No, I'm not," She agreed, smiling. "But I feel a little better, now."
"Glad I could help." Gajeel said, sarcastically.
Levy chuckled softly to herself. He could be such a dork sometimes. But Levy found it endearing. With a burst of confidence Levy didn't know she had, she stepped towards Gajeel.
"C'mon," She coaxed, putting her hand on his upper arm. "Before someone comes."
Gajeel looked at her and grimaced. Levy nodded to him, encouragingly. He blew out some air, before placing his hand on her shoulder and bending down. Levy's closed her eyes again. She felt her heart start pounding and anticipation building up in her chest and then-
It was over. Just like that. His presence was there and gone within milliseconds. Levy blinked her eyes open.
Both of them watched as the rune dissipated around them, freeing them. They did it!
"That…" Levy looked at Gajeel. "Wasn't so bad."
"S'alright," Gajeel shrugged. "Not as painful as it could have been."
Levy felt an invisible blow hit her chest. Not as painful? Did he really have to say it like that? Did he ever think about what he said before it came out of his mouth? Even if the circumstances weren't ideal, Levy thought it was kind of… nice. She knew she didn't have any experience, but she didn't think she was that bad. What did he expect!? Would he have preferred a better kisser, like Cana? Why did she like this guy, when he could be such a jerk?
"Right, well, now that that's over with, you can use the bathroom, and we can pretend that this never happened. See you around." She said stiffly, turning around.
"What the hell?" She heard Gajeel from behind her. "Why are you suddenly so pissy? What happened?"
"I'm not pissy," Levy responded through gritted teeth. "I'm glad I was just slightly painful to kiss."
"That's not what I meant!"
Levy turned to face him, with crossed arms. "Then what did you mean?"
"I meant," Gajeel motioned his hands a bit. "Not as painful, compared to Titania, or Salamander, or something."
"Oh, I see," Levy said drily, letting her arms fall. "I'm only somewhat less painful to kiss than Natsu? I'm touched."
"Goddammit, wait." He growled, when she turned around again.
"What?" She stopped, but didn't turn.
"What I'm trying to say is…"
He didn't say anything for a bit, seeming to gather his thoughts. Levy wondered how could possibly make it sound worse than he already did.
"If I had a choice on who to get stuck with in that rune again…. I would choose you."
The breath momentarily left Levy's lungs. She was glad she wasn't looking at him, because she was sure her face was a deep hue of red.
"You're not just saying that?" She asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
"No."
Levy closed her eyes and smiled to herself. He really was a dork. She turned towards Gajeel.
He paused. "Better?"
"Yes," She nodded. "Thank you."
Gajeel's shoulders relaxed. "Don't mention it."
Levy smiled appreciatively.
"So…" Gajeel looked off to the side and mumbled, "Not a word about this whole thing to anybody, okay?"
"Promise," Levy grinned. "Same to you, too."
"You don't have to worry about me." Gajeel assured, as he turned towards the bathroom.
Levy watched him approach the bathroom, before saying, "Merry Christmas, Gajeel."
"Merry Christmas, Shrimp." He responded, flashing her a grin before opening the door and disappearing behind it.
As soon as the door clicked shut, Levy smacked her hands to her mouth and smiled widely. She fought the urge to skip as she walked back to the main hall, humming a festive tune. When she entered the giant room, she noticed that the tables were suddenly a lot emptier than they were ten minutes ago. She looked around, confused, and then spotted the whole guild gathered in a cluster near the bar.
Levy frowned, and started to wonder if someone got hurt.
"FREED! WHERE ARE YA, YOU BASTARD!?"
That was Natsu's voice! He was asking for Freed? Levy's eye's widened. She slowly looked up, and sure enough, a mistletoe hung innocently above the gathered guild members. Levy's face stretched into a grin. No way.
She hurried towards the group. She can't believe it, this is too good! She can't wait to see what Lucy-
"Oh, there you are, Levy!" Lucy said, waving to her, from her stool at the bar. "I was wondering when you'd come back!"
"Wha- Lucy!?" Levy skidded to a halt. She also noticed Mirajane behind the bar, looking a bit distressed. "Wait, if you're out here, then who's…?"
"THERE'S NO WAY I'M KISSING ICE PRINCESS!" Natsu snarled, banging on the rune walls.
"WHO SAID I WOULD EVEN LET YOU, DUMBASS!?" Gray yelled back at him, banging on the adjacent side.
"You're gonna have to if you wanna get out," Cana laughed. "C'mon boys, pucker up!"
"Freed's on a mission with his team, so he can't undo it for ya!" Lisanna giggled.
"Reedus, make sure you get a painting of this for the photo album!" Wakaba howled.
"I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU DO!" Gray roared at the artist mage.
"J-Juvia is not sure how to feel about this." Juvia said, squeezing the fabric of her dress.
"There's gotta be another way out!" Natsu pushed his face against the barrier, desperately.
Natsu's eyes landed on Levy. They brightened up immediately.
"LEVY!" He yelled excitedly. "Rewrite this rune for us!"
"Oh, thank God." Gray sighed in relief. "We're saved."
Levy colored a bit, as suddenly everyone's eyes turned on her. Some of the voices protested, begging her not to do it. Levy blinked. Technically, she could free them from the rune, now that she had access to the library.
But…
"Hmmm…" Levy pursed her lips, in fake contemplation. "You guys did ruin my dress. How about you get yourself out, and we'll call it even."
Gray and Natsu's faces fell into horror, and the whole group burst into uncontrollable laughter, some of them clapping Levy on the back.
Levy laughed along with them and joined Lucy at the bar, watching Gray and Natsu duke it out in their tiny prison. Levy heard a laugh she recognized, and spotted Gajeel in the crowd, looking as amused as everyone else.
"I'm sure glad that wasn't me stuck in that rune." Lucy remarked, next to her. "Could you imagine how horrible that would be?"
"Definitely." Levy agreed, watching Gajeel and smiling. "Couldn't imagine anything more painful."