have her cake and eat it too
The last thing Levy needs is a drunken asshole harassing her at the end of her shift, so of course that's exactly what the universe decides to gift her with. Today, of all days.
"Sir, we're closed. I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Her voice is very obviously strained and she is so, so close to the end of her rope, but the drunken asshole is also an oblivious asshole as he waves his empty beer glass towards her once more.
"C'n I get 'nother one?" he slurs. Luckily, an apparent side-effect of his drunken stupor is forgetfulness, and he's firmly caught in the delusion that the empty glass in his hand is not the same one he's been holding since she cut him off two hours before.
"I'm afraid not, sir. We're closed for the night."
He scowls at her, but the effect is ruined by the considerable effort he's making to stay firmly on his barstool. "Don' hafta be so rude. Why're girls so rude? 'm a nice guy, 've always been nice, why do girls always fuck the assholes, s'not fair." He squints his eyes at her and Levy barely resists the urge to squirm. "Bet yer fuckin' an asshole."
Levy bites her lip hard as her fingers twitch, just begging for permission to snatch up the beer tap and spray him in the face. It wouldn't even be the first time she'd done it, but Lily generally frowned on the practice and she really did like her job.
The clatter of plate and forks draws her attention, and her fingers still as a rough voice barks out, "Oi, dickwad, kitchen's closed. Time to scram."
She doesn't watch as the drunken asshole mutters profanities under his breath and stumbles loudly off his stool - she is far too delighted with the plate of chocolate cake sitting in front of her. "You are a godsend."
"Don't get too excited," Gajeel grunts. "I need an opinion."
She rolls her eyes and smiles. "Whatever you say. What did you bring me tonight?"
He pushes one fork over to her as he fiddles with the other. "Salted caramel cake. Training a new pastry chef."
"Ah," Levy says wisely. "Teaching her in the ways of baking, are we?"
Gajeel scoffs. "Just try the damn cake."
She heartily obeys, forking out a hefty bite and popping it in her mouth. Warm, fluffy cake mixes with gooey caramel and sharp, tangy sea salt as it melts across her tongue and wow. Her eyes widen and she moans, melting against the bar. "Oh my god, this is fantastic."
The part of her that isn't marveling about the warm, gooey, sugary perfection in her mouth delights in the slight blush on Gajeel's cheeks. He clears his throat loudly and takes his own bite to cover it up. "Caramel's a little runny."
"Yeah, and that just ruins the whole thing."
He gives her an unamused look.
"Gajeel, I'm kidding. Yeah, the caramel may be a little runny, but your pastry chef has time to learn. It's a damn good first try, admit it."
"Yeah, I know. Kid's good, I'll give her that."
"And with you hovering over her shoulder, I'm sure she'll go on to do great things." She grins at him before taking another bite of the cake.
He scowls and takes another piece for himself as he changes the subject. "You almost ready to go?"
Levy nods. "Just need to wipe down the bar and I'll be done."
"Good. Since it's late I thought we'd just crash at my place."
Levy can't deny the pleased little thrill that runs through her. "What about Juvia?"
"Went home with Cana. Just you and me tonight."
Levy smirks at him and twirls her fork. "Chocolate cake, an empty apartment… why, Gajeel Redfox, are you trying to seduce me?"
He scoffs. "Nah. I just worked a double shift and I think you pulled a triple. Thought we could just crash and sleep until noon or somethin'."
"Sold. Take me, Redfox, I'm yours."
He utterly fails at hiding his pleased little smile and she loves him all the more for it. Standing on her toes, she leans across the bar and kisses him softly, then pulls back to rest her forehead against his. "Happy Valentine's Day, Gajeel."
"See? I toldja, I knew you were fuckin' an asshole! Girls always go fer the assholes..."
"...why is he still here!?"
"Gimme a second, Lev, just gotta take out the trash."
"Oh my god, Gajeel!"
...
...well, at least she has her cake.
