Chapter 2: In Lieu of Affection


Gajeel sat on the coffee table in front of Levy, the thin wood groaning a little beneath his heavy frame, and began unpacking the rest of the bag.

"So, it's rainin', it's cold and there's nothin' to do. I figured you'd be bored-" He began.
"Hey, unlike you, Gajeel, I like to read in my spare time. Which I wouldn't mind getting back to-"
"Don't interrupt, Shrimp" Gajeel interjected.
Levy stopped speaking, settling further into the chair, her heart aflutter.

"Anyway, I figured you'd be bored so I decided to grace ya with my presence. Great, right?" he said, winking at Levy playfully.
She sighed, and motioned for him to continue.
Gajeel pulled the sachets of hot chocolate out of the bag first.
"I got some hot chocolate because that rain is a bitch and yer flat ain't exactly my kinda warm."
He placed it on the table beside him, noticing Levy's cup of tea. Without saying a word, he took the cup to the kitchen and poured out the tea.
Levy watched with her mouth hanging open a little at the boldness of the man.

"Gajeel why-"
He held up a hand to stop her and took his place on the table again. He reached into the bag and pulled out the cookies.
"I got cookies because what good're hot drinks without these bad boys?"
He grinned and put them by the sachets.
"Next, I rented some funny stuff fer us, trust me Lev, yer gonna love this guy" he said, pointing at some comedy show DVDs he'd pulled from the bottom of the bag. He was talking about a sketch where the comedian had scared his child whilst playing a video game but all Levy could think about was how he'd addressed her.
'Lev'.
She blushed, gripping her cardigan a little and clearing her throat.

Gajeel clicked his fingers, the DVD no longer in his hands. The bag was now on his lap and he was covering something with his arm.
"Hey, Earth to Small Woman. Ya listening to me, Shrimp?" Gajeel asked, before clearing his throat and looking away slightly uncomfortable.
"And uh, I got ya this too… I know ya like readin' and stuff so I thought I'd pick it up as thanks fer ya hospitality…"

Gajeel pulled the brown package and held it out to Levy, his free hand rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
Levy looked from him to the package, slightly confused. She looked back to Gajeel's face, lingering a little before he thrust the package towards her impatiently.
Brushing off the thought that maybe she'd seen a pink tinge play across his cheeks, she reached out and took the package. She turned it over and realised it was one of those blind-date books where the book is covered in paper and a short summary is written on it but you don't know what you're picking up until you open it.

Levy grinned, glancing up to Gajeel. He was looking at her nervously, his eyes twinkling.
"Do ya like it?" He asked.
She nodded, placing the book on the pile beside her chair.

Gajeel eyed her nervously.
"Well… aren't ya gonna open it?"
Levy shook her head. She looked up at him, her eyes glinting sneakily. Gajeel narrowed his eyes at her expectantly. Levy tensed her body, preparing for the attack, and pounced only to come into contact with Gajeel's arm as he dodged.
"W-what do ya think yer doin', Shrimp?!" he exclaimed, his cheeks going red.

Levy rolled past Gajeel and onto the floor, frowning. Gajeel stood up and stepped around her small frame quickly.
"Uh I'll go make drinks, get one of those DVDs set up" he said quickly, rushing to the kitchen to make hot chocolate and plate the cookies.
Levy sat up, blushing hard.
'Why did I do that' she thought to herself, standing up and brushing herself off before picking up one of the DVDs and loading it into the television opposite the small sofa.

Levy retrieved the blanket, along with some of her composure, and settled onto the sofa. She left a large portion of the sofa for Gajeel and began choosing language and subtitle settings for the DVD.
Gajeel returned just as the root menu showed up. He placed the drinks on the coffee table and came back again not a moment later with the plate of cookies. Gajeel sat heavily on the sofa, causing Levy to roll towards him a little as the cushions dipped down.

He held out a hand for the remote to which Levy quickly obliged, handing it to him. Their fingers brushed, shooting little tingles up Levy's fingers. Gajeel cleared his throat and picked a show from the DVD menu, placing the remote on the arm of the chair and settling into the sofa comfortably.

The show lasted for about an hour, in which Levy and Gajeel shared many laughs, inching towards eachother subconsciously each time. By the end of the first show, Levy's cheeks ached and Gajeel's leg was sore from all the times he'd slapped it before erupting into raucous laughter.
The show faded to black and went back to the menu. Gajeel straightened up and stretched, his hand caressing Levy's face accidentally as he passed her.
A bright pink followed the trail across her cheek that Gajeel's hand had taken and she turned away, pulling her cardigan tightly around her.

'His hands are so warm' she thought to herself, her petite fingers touching her burning cheek.
She giggled a little, trying to hide herself behind her second cup of hot chocolate.