Author's notes: oh my, at last, and its a big one! hope you will like it :3 for those of you who want a plan of the guild try this: http:/ ./_cb20100312003221/fairytail/images/2/22/Fairy_Tail_interior. jpg (without spaces of course)

Enjoy and remember, I do not own it.

Let's play pretend

# 2 Ain't as easy as we thought...

They had called it a day shortly after agreeing to the plan but not before Gazille promised to not tell Lily. Even tho Levy agreed with the dragonslayer that the exceed wouldn't betray their trust if he knew, they still had to be careful to not arise suspicion and the less people involved meant a higher chance to succeed. And it would be the same for her, the bluenette wouldn't tell the truth to Lucy or her teammates.

The day after, they met in the data room to continue their work of classification. They had done more than half already and most of it were Erza's records. There was a dozen piles just for the scarlet-haired woman and, as expected, they would need a whole bookcase to place them all. Levy was moving around the other members piles, a stack of records cradled in her left arm, as she sorted them in alphabetical order. Several other members had a good amount of records stacked, like the raijinshu and even Gildarts, but Natsu's pile was growing almost as tall as her.

While she did that, Gazille had started placing Titania's records in the bookcase closest to the table since, according to Levy, she was one of the very few people that actually came to consult those data. He had commented that maybe it was useless to have a data room if no one used it but the small fairy had said that Erza thought this room was indispensable. And no one was stupid enough to go against that woman.

There wasn't much conversation going on between them since they had started working but Levy's mind had been quite busy ever since last evening. She had spent a couple of hours, last night, thinking over and over, to see if their plan would be good enough. Which had made her think about one other problem they had to solve:

" We have to come up with a story, " she said out of the blue.

The dragonslayer barely looked over his shoulder to meet her eyes before he went back to his task:

" Why? "

" When the others will know about us, they'll want to know how we came to be a couple. If we make up different stories, it could be suspicious. "

She heard him grunt, which she translated as I don't give a damn. She had the bad impression that he didn't intend to put a lot of effort into the plan and the idea displeased her.

Placing her fists on her hips, she frowned at his indifferent behavior.

" Do you really want to get rid of Mirajane or not? "

Gazille turned around to face her, his face in his usual scowl:

" Listen, Shortstuff, I don't care what stupid story you make up. I don't intend to go babbling about this crap to anyone and if anyone asks me, I'll just tell them to go to hell. That's it."

Levy's frown deepened in front of such rudeness. What exactly was Mirajane thinking of trying to match her with him? He was such an infuriating musclebrain, there was no way she would be able to have any romantic feelings for a guy like him!

" Tch, fine. I'll make up something since I'm the only one who seems to want to make this work. And stop calling me names. "

She turned around in a huff and resumed her work in silence, mainly focusing on getting her breathing to a more normal level. Getting angry wasn't something she did often but she hadn't been able to contain the rush of emotion she had felt. The way he was acting, it was like he found her unworthy of his attention. Even if she didn't see him as a potential lover, she was hurt by his attitude toward her: she thought they were nakamas, at least. She wasn't asking to become his best buddy but she hoped he wouldn't act as a stranger, especially in a situation that concerned them both.

A short moment had passed when he spoke in a low voice, the silence in the room allowing her to hear him:

" Listen, Shor-Levy, you're not the only one who want to do this. It's just that I have absolutely no idea how it works. You're the one with experience in that kind of things, here, not me. "

The small woman glanced at her partner, searching his gaze to see if he really meant his words. It was faint, barely noticeable, but she did see a hint of regret. She couldn't really hold his reaction against him, she didn't doubt one bit that he had no experience with relationship, beside his friendship with Lily.

She sighed:

" I'm sorry for what I said. " She let out a faint laugh. " It doesn't look good for us, tho: I don't have any experience, neither. All I know about love is what I've read in books. "

Gazille raised an eyebrow:

" And how does it work in books? "

" Most of the time, the guy asks the girl out. Actually, the guy saves the girl from a life-threatening situation and they just start making out. And save the world at the same time. "

The black-haired man cringed:

" Why is it the guy? That means it would have to be me? "

Levy hummed in affirmative as her partner scoffed.

" Damn... Now what? I save you from a paper cut and we start going out? "

She placed a finger on her chin to think:

" If I was hemophiliac, maybe that would work, but since I'm not, it doesn't make a very exciting story."

Gazille went back filling Erza's bookcase with a sigh:

" Whatever. Let's say I saved you from a life-threatening paper cut. "

The bluenette shook her head with a smile, muttering to herself:

" Are they even gonna buy a story like that? "

It was lunch time when they dropped their books in relief, their wrists hurting from making the same movements for the past hours. Erza's bookcase was finally done and if it hadn't been for a lack of space, they could have filled half another with her spare records. They only kept the most recent and what they repacked was enough to fill three boxes.

Standing a few feet away from the data room's door frame, both mages were silently eyeing the guild hall where they could see several of their friends flooding in to have their meal. The tables had been repaired and a delicious aroma was filing the building, luring all the fairies to a well-deserved rest. But, even if they were both starving, a strong feeling of dread prevented them to just come out of the room.

They were now a couple. And they were about to let the others know.

If they could actually get pass the door frame, of course.

Gazille's stomach growled impatiently and he let out a sigh. His face was sour as if he was about to eat something nasty and Levy was quite nervous even if it was her plan. It had all looked good in theory but now that they were doing the real thing, she was getting cold feet. But they knew that they couldn't delay it forever: not only it had to be done but if they didn't go out soon, there wouldn't be any food left for them.

" W-we have to do this... "

The solid script mage tried to smile with confidence but it looked more like a grimace. She glanced up at the dragonslayer who barely hummed in agreement. Both of them stayed still until, a moment later, the black-haired man asked:

" What are you waiting for? "

" You have to take my hand. "

" Why me? "

" You're the guy, you're supposed to do it. "

He made a frustrated Tch and slapped his hand against hers, holding it crisply. It felt cold and awkward, like strangers forced to hug each others, and adding the expression on their faces, the picture wasn't very romantic.

Gazille let out a breath:

" Alright, let's get this over with. Faster we do it, faster we'll be done. "

" R-right, " the bluenette said even if her whole body language was screaming at her to run away asap.

" You better stuff me with iron, later, Shrimp, " the man said as they took their first step toward the guild hall. Levy forced a smile on her face while she said through gritted teeth:

" My name isn't Shrimp, my lovely Pooh Pooh."

A chocking sound escaped from the bottom of the dragonslayer's throat, his red eyes fixing the small fairy with a death glare. But his partner ignored him and kept her eyes straight ahead of them with a sweet smile on her face. Cursing under his breath, he focused on walking to the stairs that would take them to the restaurant area.

With every step they took, Levy's heartbeat would grow louder in her ears. She kept her eyes straight ahead, fixing the long table where food had been laid out, afraid to glance around at her guild mates and see their reactions. But curiosity took over her and she did sneak a peek to her right where she met Juvia's eyes. The rain woman's eyebrows disappeared in her hairline and, at her side, Gray eyed them in obvious amazement. When Levy broke eye contact with them, she heard the buzzing whispers coming from all around them and knew that the rumors had started.

There was no turning back, now.

The delicious aroma that had invaded the guild had drifted all the way to the interior swimming pool. Since Natsu and Gray had been acting like idiots, the day earlier, Erza had sent them to work with Elfman but the scarlet-haired woman hadn't left the stellar and water mages by themselves and that was why she was scrubbing the bottom of the pool with them.

Lucy and Erza looked at each other and agreed to take a break. They placed their mops against the wall before making their way to the guild hall. It was at that moment that the scarlet-haired woman noticed something:

" Juvia has left already? "

" Seems like it, " Lucy sweat-dropped at the thought that their friend had probably sneaked out to go see Gray.

" Skipping work before time? Unforgivable! After lunch, she shall receive punishment. "

When they walked into the hallway that led to the main room, the blond woman was still trying to convince her friend that Juvia was still too young to die. In front of them, the two of them noticed Cana who was leaning on the wall, right beside the stairs that led to the restaurant area, a bottle of sake in hand and a huge grin on her face.

" Cana, " Erza greeted the card mage, " how are you? "

The brunette flashed her grin at the two women:

" Quite good. Did you guys see that? " She gestured toward the tables with her head. Lucy and Erza approached to see what had taken their friend's interest. People in lines to get food, some others arguing which would probably end up in a brawl: they didn't see anything that looked out of the ordinary.

" We have a new couple, " explained Cana before taking a sip.

" What? Who? " they both asked while searching harder for whoever had a new lover. After a moment, Erza's face grew as red as her hair, apparently, she had just seen the new couple in question:

" T-them? Are they really... Since when are they...?

The alcoholic chuckled at her friend's embarrassed state:

" They came in here holding hands, five minutes ago. And look, he's bringing her food. Ha ha, who would have thought Levy could tame that guy? "

Lucy gave a start when she heard the name of her best friend. Levy had a boyfriend? And she didn't know about it? She scanned the room to find the familiar blue head belonging to the script mage but when she found it, Lucy couldn't hold back the shout of surprise that escaped her mouth. Sitting at a table, the small fairy was beaming at a familiar black-haired dragonslayer who placed a plate in front of her before taking a seat at her side.

" It's a bit bad, tho, " Cana said with humor, " I had bet with Mira that they wouldn't end up together before another year. "

" I can't believe it, " the blond muttered, her eyes wider than saucers. Not that she hadn't expected it, after all, she always had the feeling that the bluenette was attracted to Gazille, even if she always denied it. However, the fact that her best friend had a crush on someone and that she hadn't been told about it, first hand, made her feel slightly dejected. One thing was sure, she would have to get the whole story, later.

" Aw, come on, don't make that face. "

The dragonslayer gave her a annoyed look that she knew was born from the humiliation of having fetched food for her. To make amends, she summoned the word Iron that didn't even have time to dent the table, he caught it in mid-air and started eating it in no time.

Levy could feel her face burning as some of her guild mates' voices reached her ears, voices that were obviously talking about them. Gazille was also hearing them, much better than she did, and even a blind person would have guessed that he didn't appreciate the comments.

" Please, bear with it, Gazille, " the young woman whispered, " it's only until Mirajane sees us. "

The dragonslayer grunted as he chomped the last bite of his treat before propping his head in his hand. Levy ate in silence while thinking that this whole coming out thing wasn't going so bad so far however, when she saw her nakamas coming their way, seemingly all at the same time and with huge grins on their faces, she couldn't help but think that it had been just the tip of the iceberg.

The water mage was the first to pop in front of them, both hands joined over her heart, fat rivers of tears running on her cheeks ( that threatened to flood the room if she didn't stop soon ) and a genuine smile of joy on her usually so collected face:

" Juvia is so happy for Gazille-kun and Levy-san, Juvia had wished for them to be together for so long! "

Before Levy could answer something, Bisca, Evergreen, Lucky, Mickey and Wendy all added their comments, obvious excitement in their eyes:

" I'm glad for you, Levy. "

" My, didn't think you would ever get a boyfriend... "

" Since when are you guys partaking in a mutually infatuated partnership? "

" Who would have thought that our little Levy would fall in love, one day? Not even with a fictional character, on top of that. "

" I'm so happy for you, Levy-san. And for Gazille-san, too. "

The bluenette managed a shy smile, feeling her heart speed up dramatically at all the attention she was getting. Yes, it was true that she should have expected it but, honestly, she hadn't really thought about her friends' reaction to the news, only about Mirajane's. Turning her head to her right, she noticed that Gazille was stuck in a similar situation. The iron dragonslayer was trying to be left alone but there was no way it would happen with Natsu and Gray taunting him and Elfman who was proudly puffing out his chest in approval:

" Of course, he had the balls to ask Levy out, he's a MAN! "

Levy was about to thank her friends for the good wishes while silently hoping she could disappear in a hole but a blur of red appeared in her line of sight and, before she knew it, Erza's face was barely an inch from hers, the knight standing on all-four on the table:

" Levy, your happiness is important for all of us, also, please do not hesitate to ask me for help if Gazille proves himself troublesome, it will be my pleasure to straighten him up for you. "

" Oh, t-thank you, Erza, but I don't think it will be nescessary... " The bluenette waved both hands in dismissal, nervously laughing. She could feel her spine being run by shivers at the simple thought of what Erza could do to Gazille and she seriously didn't wish to ever find out.

It was at this moment that Cana and Lucy came to see her, Cana grinning as she winked at her.

" You gotta give me your trick for taming a guy like that, Levy. "

" Levy-chan, I'm glad for you, " the stellar spirit mage said before hugging her and whispering in her ear, " you'll give me the details, later, right? "

Lucy was looking happy but her smile showed some kind of resentment and Levy felt a twinge of guilt. Lu-chan was her best friend, she supposed that, normally, she would have told her about her attraction for Gazille before everyone else.

" Of course, Lu-chan, I'll tell you tonight, okay? "

Lucy beamed at her answer and the bluenette made a mental note to perfect her story before tonight.

On Gazille's side, a brawl had started and Erza decided to go discipline them for breaking the new tables. All the other girls were still chatting excitedly about the newest couple when Mirajane and Lisanna appeared at the small fairy's side.

The barmaid gave Levy an angelic smile before clasping her hands together:

" Aw, it's such good news, I'm so happy for you, Levy-chan. "

" Thank you, Mirajane, " she answered, trying to hide her nervousness as she smiled back. Lisanna gave her a curious look:

" It sure was surprising hearing that you two are a couple. Congratulations. "

The solid script mage forced a grateful smile on her lips as she exchanged a look with the youngest Strauss. It looked like Lisanna was scrutinizing her and she had a very good idea why. They had told her, the very day before, that they weren't in love with each other and today, they were a couple. Levy was certain that her friend knew that they were faking it. However, the real problem was: was Lisanna going to keep it for herself or would she tell Mirajane? Was she going to destroy her plan less than twenty-four hours before it even started?

Whatever the answer was, Lisanna didn't let anything show, she simply smiled before offering to help her sister with reorganizing the bar, an offer that Mirajane gladly accepted.

When the sisters left, Levy let out a sigh of relief. She would probably have to talk with Lisanna eventually, but for now, it looked like their secret was safe.

Not too far from her, the brawl had seemingly stopped and Natsu was currently trying to convince Lucy to talk to Erza so Gray and him could go work with her again. Juvia was standing close to Gray with a dreamy look, probably imagining herself with the ice mage when he would finally ask her out, but her daydreaming session quickly came to a halt when Erza appeared beside her, far from looking happy. The other girls were gone eating and that meant that maybe Levy could sneak back to the data room to give her racing heart a chance to slow down.

Unfortunately, there was still someone who hadn't spoken to her about her new romance with Gazille. In fact, there was two of them, two young men who were now standing in front of her, both of them looking like they had seen an UFO flying in the guild hall.

" Levy-chan, is it true? "

The bluenette met Jet's gaze then Droy's, both of them almost pleading:

" Please, Levy, tell us that it's just a joke. "

She gave them an apologetic smile, feeling guilty of making them believe that she was dating the iron dragonslayer. She had expected such a reaction from her teammates, it was a secret for nobody that they didn't like Gazille.

" I won't tell you to dump him, " Jet said with a bitter smile, " but, honestly, you could easily find someone better. "

" Someone like you? " Gazille's voice came from behind the bluenette, startling her. The black-haired man came to stand at Levy's side, his arms crossed over his chest and his face showing an arrogant smirk. Jet and Droy were both glaring at him:

" Assholes like you don't deserve girls like Levy, that's what I'm saying, "

The solid script mage quickly anticipated what could happen if she didn't stop them:

" Guys, please. "

" Is that so? Who are you to say that? Her mom? "

" Gazille, " Levy was standing in between, using her hands to prevent them from jumping at each other's throat.

" We're her friends, friends who would never purposely hurt her, unlike a certain somebody. "

" Come on, stop that. "

" Tch, she's willing, it's not like I forced her into this. "

" That wouldn't be surprising, coming from you. "

" What was that, you little bastard? "

" You heard me, you son of a bi-. "

" Stop it, stop it, stop it! " The bluenette pushed both men away from each other, her voice bringing their argument to a stop. She looked back and forth between her teammates and her supposed-to-be boyfriend, her face showing the pain their argument was giving her. Even if it wasn't for real, on Gazille's part, seeing him and her friends fighting was tearing her heart.

The iron dragonslayer gave a defiant look at the Shadow Gears guys then looked down at her, his face wearing his usual scowl, then he made a Tch before turning on his heels and leaving.

" Whatever. "

The small fairy let her arms drop at her sides, her eyes downcast to not see her teammates looking at her.

" Listen, guys... I'll talk to you later, okay? "

She gave them another apologetic smile, something she felt she was doing a lot, lately, before making her way to the data room.

When Levy came back, Gazille was standing on the mezzanine and filling the bookcases with the records he had brought with him. While the bluenette felt awful about what had happened with her friends, he was just standing there and doing his things, seemingly not having a care in the world. That sight was making her blood boil, how could he move on like that right after being such a jerk? Frustration took over her and she decided to give him a piece of her mind:

" Must you always pick up fights? " she asked him while pacing near the table, fixing him with a fierce glare.

He didn't even turn from his work:

" Your fanboys started it, I just answered in kind. "

" But it wasn't necessary. You could have just let it go and everything would have been fine. "

The dragonslayer turned around to face her, his face showing the same arrogance he had displayed to her teammates:

" I never back down from a fight, Shorty, you should know that, already. "

" Don't call me Shorty, " Levy stomped her feet, " or I'll make you regret it! "

He raised an eyebrow, his grin growing even bigger in front of her anger:

" Really? And what could you possibly do to make me regret it, Shorty? "

The bluenette growled at his taunt, he was obviously mocking her and enjoying every seconds of it. Stupid Sadist! She thought about telling him something nasty, with the kind of words he often used, but she thought about a even more horrible way to make him pay.

Her glare morphed into a look of pure adoration as the sweetest smile she could produce appeared on her lips. Battling her eyelashes like a shojo manga heroine, she clasped both hands against her cheek and started cooing in a sickeningly sugary voice:

" I'll go back in the guild hall, in front of all of our nakamas, and tell them that you're just the sweetest Baby Bear, the dearest Snuggle Bunny, the loveliest Pooh Pooh there is in the whole world! "

To say that Gazille wasn't expecting that was an understatement: the man was frozen in shock, looking at her with wide eyes and a face turning white, obviously scarred shitless about the prospect of her actually doing something like this. Levy felt pretty smug to have provoked such a reaction from the big bad iron dragonslayer and allowed herself a smirk.

" You little... You would never dare! " he growled, both hands gripping the hand-rail that cracked slightly under the pressure.

Levy raised an eyebrow in defiance, a gesture that he could very well interpret as Want to bet on that? She had a mental laugh at the image of her actually doing it, imagining how all the others would react and mock the iron dragonslayer. Heh, it would be priceless!

However, looking at the man in front of her who was seemingly about to have a stroke made the small fairy give up on any evil plans of hers. Yes, he would deserve it but it would only make him even more aggressive toward her afterwards and she really needed his full cooperation if she wanted her plan to succeed.

Anyway, she knew how to scare him, now. She could always use this ruse again if he became too arrogant with her.

" Let's go back to the main point, " she finally replied in a calm voice, as if nothing had happened, " don't go provoking Jet and Droy. They already dislike you enough like this and I don't want to have to choose between you and them. Beside, if we were really dating, I wouldn't accept that you pick on my friends. "

The dragonslayer visibly relaxed but his face was still showing animosity:

" Tch, fine, I'll leave your Boy Toys alone, as long as they don't come looking for a fight. 'Cause if they do, I won't hold back. "

She watched him turn back to his work and she let out a sigh. She could feel stress knots in her neck and a slight headache growing between her ears. She had the feeling that the next two weeks would be more difficult to cope with that she had expected.

Another couple of hours passed and the remaining workload greatly decreased. If they kept working the same pace, they would be done before night time. Both of them were currently sitting under the mezzanine, in front of the next to last bookcase that they were stuffing with the Strauss siblings records. Not another word of their previous argument had been said ever since and their mood had greatly improved.

" Ugh, I swear that, when this job's done, I'll never touch a book again. "

The bluenette snorted which prompted him to add:

" I suppose that won't stop you from stuffing your nose in one of your bricks, right? "

" Indeed, I can't wait to be done so I can go back to reading my books, " she chuckled at the grimace he made. She was about to add something else when she noticed his body growing stiff and his eyes darting to the data room's door.

" What is it? " She followed his glare but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

" We're not alone. "

Levy barely had time to mutter a Huh? when a pink and white ball of fur jumped on her lap and startled her. Holding herself with both hands to not fall on her back, the small fairy's eyes landed on an animal that sat in front of them: a feline creature with a pink coat and white patches that looked at them with big blue eyes. By its color, Levy suspected the cat to not be natural but she was still slightly surprised when it spoke with a voice she knew well:

" I'm glad to see that your lover's quarrel is over. "

" Lisanna? "

The mage smiled and winked:

" Not too loud, please. I don't want people knowing I'm here. "

Gazille gave the cat a suspicious look:

" What are you doin' here? "

Levy already had her doubts about what their friend would say, it would probably confirm what she had thought previously. She still scooted closer to her boyfriend if, by any chances, the youngest Strauss hadn't figured out the truth.

" I take it that this is what you guys came up with? " Lisanna said in a low voice. " To fool my sister? "

As Levy suspected, she knew about the plan. The solid script mage wondered if they should admit it or play dumb but before she could make up her mind, the dragonslayer asked:

" What if it was the case? You intend on telling on us? "

Lisanna shook her head:

" No, not at all. I think it's a great idea. "

The bluenette let out a relieved sigh as Lisanna pursued:

" You two is what everyone is talking about, you know. Cana even lost a bet against Mira-nee. "

Gazille and Levy exchanged a look:

" Your sister, " Levy started, " she believes that we are lovers, right? "

The take-over mage stretched like a cat before answering:

" Yes and no. "

" What the hell, yes and no? " The man frowned.

" She's having doubts? "

" This is mainly why I came to see you, " Lisanna replied in a low voice, " Mira-nee was excited about you two becoming a couple, that was obvious, but while I was alone with her, earlier, she told me that there was a little something strange about it. You guys were, in her own words: seemingly distant and cold. And she wasn't wrong. "

The black-haired man scoffed as he resumed working while the small fairy made a dejected grimace:

" She didn't buy it... We failed... "

" No, Levy, I don't think you guys failed. I'm just saying that if you want to erase her doubts before it's too late, you'll have to start acting like real lovers. "

" What is that supposed to mean? " Gazille said without stopping his work. " We held hands, we ate together, what more does she want? "

Lisanna shook her head:

" Sorry to tell you this but it was obvious that the two of you didn't like holding hands, earlier. You were barely touching as if you were afraid to be poisoned. There was no eye contact between you and when you sat together, the distance was too great. Acting like real lovers implies that you guys become much more comfortable around each other. And more affectionate as well. "

The bluenette bit her lower lip as she pondered on those words. She hadn't thought that they had been this bad. Clumsy and awkward, maybe, but not cold. It was seemingly harder to pretend to be in love with someone that it looked. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea, after all.

" What do you suggest? "

Levy gave a surprised look at Gazille when she heard the question leave his lips. With his head propped in his hand, he seemed strangely serious, if not determined, as he fixed the pink cat.

The take-over mage smiled:

" For starter, you two should spend a whole day together to practice being a couple. And you should go on, at least, one date before the end of the week. As well as keep holding hands, hanging out and eating together. "

" Hm, guess we can't help it, " the dragonslayer rubbed his chin in a pensive manner but his face showed that he didn't have much objection to it.

" Gazille... " Levy looked at him with worry, " Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, maybe it's not even worth it... "

His gaze switched to her and when he gave her one of his famous gazille-ish grin, the bluenette felt her heart skip a beat.

" I told you, Shorty: I never back down from a fight. There's no reason to give up before it even started, especially not with that plan of yours. If that's what it takes to take down that damn barmaid then I'll do it. "

Levy smiled back at her partner in crime, feeling confidence coming back to her. He could be quite a insensitive jerk, sometimes, but she had to admit, he was also good at cheering her up. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, after all.

" Hey! Watch what you say about my sister, you big Tin Head! " Lisanna clawed at the dragonslayer's hand in anger, making the man hiss:

" Argh, don't scratch me, you damn catgirl! "

" Lead Brain! "

" Fleabag! "

" Please, guys, let's not fight here, I don't feel like having to do the job all over again... "

End notes: thx again for the faves and reviews :3 they melt my heart ^.^