A/n: Hello! Sorry I don' update...at all. I feel bad qwq I really want to continue writing Roommates (And I will!), but for right now, at least take this one shot! Sorta kinda an experiment but yeah, here it is. Thank you! :D!

He's just...lookin' at me.

We've never been this close...and I mean, we've never literally been this close before. We're slouching, sitting in a goddamn storage closet; I was sitting down on a box full of these huge, heavy books no one even looks at and he sat in an old, creaking chair. It was a cramped space, my leg uncomfortably touching his inner thigh, as his did mine of course. Our own faces were like a foot away before I leaned against the wall. He did the same, sighing and scratching his head before slowly turning to look at me.

He was hesitant.

I was eating-it was lunch-and he came up to me and told me he wanted to talk. And hell, I never talk to this guy, but it ain't like I have anything better to do here. Besides, it was chilly in here, and Natsu kept barkin' at me to fight 'em. He was weaker, shorter than me, and probably dumber than me. Not someone to admire, in the least, but here we were, cramped in the storage closet, just staring at everything else other than each other. He opened his mouth to speak, but he stopped.

I grew impatient, but as I watched him struggle to speak, I honestly couldn't bring myself to rush the guy. His face turned red as he realized he'd been staring.

"Sorry," He finally spoke.

"'ts fine."

"Mhmm.."

This was hard. Whatever he was gonna tell me, it was probably something really important. He looked at me straight in the eye this time, like he was sure he'd actually tell me, but you could still sense shame. Then he asked:

"What do ya' think of me?"

"What?" was the only response I could come up with then, I really wasn't expecting all of that. What was I supposed to say? What do I think of him? He's a dumbass, for sure! He keeps getting himself into fights with flame brain and getting his ass in trouble even outside of the guild! ...Lately he's been quiet. He hasn't gone on a job all week and he doesn't even go home with his cat. What's up with this guy lately?

"I-I dunno, just forget it-" He stood up to leave but immediately tripped on my legs and fell over, face to my chest. He looked up at me, wide-eyed and most of his red face covered by his hair. Shit. It got really, really fuckin' hot in here, and to think the heater was broken, too; It's been freezing all damn day. Everyone wants Natsu to just set the damn guild on fire. Slowly, I pushed him off me and back into the seat, having his back against the wall.

"It's fine," I said before he could say anything. Ya' could tell he wanted to push me off 'em, but he didn't. I sat back down and we gave each other a look. I just stared, and he stared back with the most shocked expression I've ever seen from him. Then he relaxed, turned his head away and rested his hands on his knees. Neither of us got up to leave. It was really warm, cozy if you compare it to the freezing guild hall. Ya' could hear people complaining about the weather, and how it would start snowing buy the time the sun sets. Natsu's loud boasting about snowball fights interrupted whatever someone else was gonna say about the weather.

"Laxus."

"Hm?"

"I…" He stopped again. I wanted to shake the words outta this guy's mouth at this point, but fuck it; let 'em speak on his own.

"You don't think I'm a bad person still, do ya'?"

Oh. That's right

I remembered. That one time I saved him from that guy from Tartaros… Even when I joined his little team at the games. I said somethin' about family again, huh? Did he think it had somethin' t' do with him? ...It did. He is family. And hell, it's been a really long time since he even was a bad person. Why would he still think this? He's got everyone else here thinkin' he ain't a bad guy, now why the hell is he asking me this?

"No."

He's lookin' at me again.

"You're...you're not bad- why would you even think that?"

"...I dunno," He sighed, "I've just been thinkin-"

"Stop that."

It got really quiet, between us. He had this look of shame. I stood up and...I held his face with my hands. He was freezing-understandably, but what the fuck was I doing? Here we were in a closet, our faces just inches away from each other. He tensed up and I almost let go. That is, until he grabbed my right arm. I let my left hand off his face and sat back down, keeping my right hand there.

"What's fuckin' wrong with me…" He muttered, still holding onto my arm, "Laxus, what're you doin' to me?"

"I dunno," I responded, shrugging and scratching the back of my head. I moved strands of hair from his face, "What're you doin' to me?"

He smiled.

The closet's a lot hotter now. Damn, what's even happening anymore? He looked that much more relieved, that's for sure, he was a lot less tense...and that smile was pretty genuine, I ain't ever see him do that. I gotta smile back. Both of our faces were red and I stepped back, standing against the other wall. He looked away again, tightening his fists. I took glances at 'em as he started chewing on a nail. I felt like I was on fire. I moved back over to him, and grabbed his face again.

I kissed him. Unconsciously, for sure, but I did it. He tensed up again when I did it, but he...relaxed. He slowly put his hand on my shoulder and I grabbed the back of his head, deepening the kiss. Man, we got so into it, we didn't even realize where we were until Natsu started calling for me. I let go.

"W-what was that?"

"Don't…" Shit, what was that? My lips felt really weird-so did the rest of me-and he kept touchin' his own.

"Don't worry about it," I finished, in the hopes of getting no more questions about it. Gajeel stopped touching his lips and stood, listening through the door. Natsu was still calling for me and demanding a battle.

"Sorry."

I felt way too damn guilty. Just kissin' 'em like that, for what? What was that even for? I dunno, I really don't know. Probably a bad move on my part-

"It's fine."

It's fine? What did he mean it's fine? Since when would he be okay with any of this? He was still blushing. He moved away from the door and suggested we'd stay low for a while. Yeah, if we're gonna leave, we're gonna have to sneak outta the guild another way. Thank god, though, the closet isn't close to the hall and not even in sight of it. But for right now, he's right; it's best we stayed hidden. We both sat back down; I played my music and he shut his eyes.

"Don't fall asleep, Redfox."

"No promises, Dreyar."