Fighting fire with fire
He really liked that look on her face, Gajeel decided. Head resting in his hand, he watched with interest how Levy frantically scribbeled all over her books, the weighty tomes piling up into swaying towers around her. She had her sapphire blue hair tied up in a loose ponytail today, and every once in a while she pushed the red gale-force reading glasses futher up her little snub nose, mumbling to herself as she tried to translate the difficult runes. The guild house was absolutely deserted; everyone went out on jobs early in the morning. Natsu's loud protests about having to use the train had been imopssible to ignore, until Erza had knocked him out with a blow that could've sent a lion flying through the air and dragged his lifeless body outside where the rest of team Natsu had already been waiting for them.
Gajeel's eyebrow twitched in irritation as he thought of the trouble maker. Instead of wasting another thought on that nitwit, he turned his attention back to Levy who was kneeling on the wooden floor. He didn't miss the way her narrow eyebrows were drawn together, mirroring her concentration, or how she nibbled on the quill whenever she was stuck, unable to come up with a solution.
Cute, he admitted to himself, trying to hide his affectionate smile behind the palm of his hand. There was barely anything he'd enjoy more right now than watching her work, completely immersed in thought. Unless, of course...
A hint of malice snuck into his smile as he let his arm fall away, leaning back on the guild's bench. "You're really into this, aren't you?", he remarked, not even bothering to hide the grin in his tone of voice. Levy spared him a quick glance, the only indication that he had broken her fortress of utter concentration before she turned back to her studies. "I just really love books", she replied with a shrug of her shoulder. "And apart from that I should finish this job today."
He gave a raucous laugh, trying his hardest to sound as patronizing as possible. "No wonder you can't take care or yourself; with a bookworm's thin arms like yours you can't lift anything, let alone fight!"
"Excuse me?!" Indignantly, Levy put one hand on her slim hips and the books lay momentarily forgotten. "Fighting isn't all about brute force, wrecking everything in your way like you and Natsu are in the habit of doing. By using your brains, you can also win fights. Not to mention that I sure can take care of myself!"
There it is. Gajeel had to resist the urge to take both of her cheeks between his hands and squash them when they puffed out in annoyance, her lips forming that adorable pout, as it always did whenever she sulked. She turned her face away from him in disapproval, but he took the chance to admire the soft curve of her forehead, her turned-up nose in profile and the pale shoulders her orange top part revealed, suddenly glad that nobody was around today to see the stupid look he must've had on his face.
"I witnessed just how much you can take care of yourself during our last job", he sneered to distract himself from his very unmanly behavior. "Do I need to remind you? We were chased and your weak legs couldn't keep up, so I had to carry you."
His words had exactly the desired effect. Red blossomed all over Levy's face, staining even her delicate neck. Forget concentration or sulking, this had to be Gajeel's favorite expression ever. "Don't mention that", she whined embarrassed, her small hands clenched into fists. "I absolutely don't want to remember". She shook her head as if that would let her get rid of the troublesome memories, both hands pressed against her face. A loud knock against wood caused her to peek up at Gajeel between her spread fingers. The dragon slayer had thumped his fist on the table where he buried his face in the crook of his arm. This is too damn cute, stop it already!, he pleaded inwardly. I don't know how to deal with this.
"Say Gajeel...", her voice rang out behind him, and he didn't like the sound of it at all. "...you wouldn't tease me on purpose, would you?"
"Uhm..." He lifted his head from the table, his expression already betraying the truth. Although he didn't hear her move, she was standing right in front of him all of a sudden, a stern look on her face that promised trouble. As small as she was, her wrath wasn't something you would want to incur. Yet before he could justify himself, she caught him by surprise by pressing soft lips against his, one hand caressing the side of his face. At first he was wary, expecting the kiss to be some sort of trap because this was Levy, and despite what she looked like she could be shrewd when angered. But when she slung her arms around his neck he forgot all caution, returning the kiss with fervor as he pulled her closer to him. Perhaps this was her way to showing that she'd forgive him. Gajeel could feel her shiver slightly when he placed his hand on the small of her back and started rubbing it. Just when he was about to deepen the kiss did she abruptly pull away, leaving him somewhat dazed and disoriented. The devilish grin that grazed her lips in that instant was enough to tell him that his initial impression had been right and this was all about getting revenge.
"You're too good at this game", he acknowledged with a sigh and scratched the back of his head. "I admit deafeat."
"I just don't want you to forget that I can always tease you in return", Levy chuckled. As her hands still rested on his shoulders she used them as leverage to teeter back and forth on the ball of her foot, all the while giving off a pretty proud and self-satisfied air.
A soft laugh left his throat as he brought their foreheads together. "You know, I totally wouldn't mind if your understanding of revenge would mean being kissed all the time."
Levy's sole answer was a clear laugh that rang pleasantly in his ears, and he watched in awe as the wholehearted laughter brightened her features like the sun itself. No matter what Gejeel had claimed before, this was without a doubt the expression that suited her best.