Really pleased with the positive feedback to this story so ahead of time I've decided to post this chapter. Please let me know what you think to the progression of the storyline.

Enjoy!

Chapter 2

As he stepped out of the darkness, Levy was able to fully appreciate the man before her. Tall, dark and certainly handsome, he was the epitome of a girls dream come true. His rugged face was flawless except for a small scar across his left cheek. His black hair was unruly and came down to his shoulders. Those strong, bulky shoulders that connected his perfect head to his muscled chest. He wore a dark t-shirt and jeans, but Levy was able to see the peaks of muscle poking through. He looked like he would have a nice firm butt too, but before she could think about it further he coughed, drawing her attention to his hazy eyes.

"What exactly are you doing at my desk?" he asked, looking at the cat more than her.

"I didn't realise it was yours" she replied, standing. "I'm Levy, the new assistant" she smiled, offering out her hand. He just looked at in in disgust. "I opened your desk and this cat was there" she explained.

"That's Panther Lily. He's mine" he stated in reply. "And I am Dr. Gajeel Redfox. You can call me Sir" he muttered.

So this was Dr. Redfox? He certainly wasn't anything like her as she had hoped. At least she knew where she stood. Speaking of, Levy moved over to the other desk and began to clear up her new space.

"So what can I start helping on?" she asked, sitting down at the desk.

Gajeel turned his focus to her for a brief moment. "You can organise all the paperwork. I haven't had chance to do it yet. It needs to be sorted, typed up and then stored in that filing cabinet over there"

Levy noted this down on a journal she had. "How much backlog is there?"

"Four months" he smirked, dumping a mountain of papers on her desk. "Have fun"

By six the next morning Levy was ready for her bed. The mountain had been barely touched but she was tired, hungry and above all angry as hell. Dr. Redfox had not only been rude and demanding, but he had refused to offer her a drink, food or even a break in the twelve hours she had been working. She had had enough.

"I think I'm going to call it a day" she yawned as she finished the last word of the article she was writing up.

Gajeel simply huffed. "Don't make too much noise on your way out. And be back here at six this evening" he grumbled.

"Bye then" Levy sighed as she packed up her things and headed back to her apartment.

At home she flopped straight into her bed and fell into the most needed sleep she had had in a while.

"Levy…levy can you hear me?"

"I think she's in shock"

Levy opened her eyes to clinically white walls and the soft sound of a heart monitor.

"LEVY!"

She turned her head towards the familiar sound of her best friend's voice.

"Ever..." she began

"Hush now honey. Dr says you'll be a little weak for a while. I'm just so glad you're okay"

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Levy groaned as she rolled over and turned off her alarm. It was getting close to evening and she realised this was her official first day on the job. With a smile she hauled herself up to get dressed.

"I'll show him what I'm capable of" she said "I'll finish all the damned paperwork!"

With her new found sense of purpose, Levy headed off to face her new work day. When she arrived at the office she found she was alone. There was a note left on her desk that read:

Dr. McGarden,

I will be late due to a meeting at the University. Please go ahead and get on with your work. I will arrive as soon as possible.

Dr. Redfox

Well great, so the smug so and so wasn't even going to be there. That suited her fine. Levy sat down at her desk, plugging in her headphones as she got on with the task before her. A few of her favourite songs came on and as she typed and filed she danced and sang her way around the office. She had just finished a particularly sexy dance move when she looked up and noticed Gajeel standing at the doorway with a small smirk on his face. She squealed, pulling out her headphones and holding her heart as she attempted to calm its erratic beating.

"You scared me" she stated having caught her breath.

"So I see" he murmured, walking to his own desk. "You finished the paperwork?"

Levy looked down at her desk and noticed with delight that she had indeed just filed away the last piece of paperwork. She nodded with a satisfied smile and took a seat at her desk. "What's next?" she asked nonchalantly.

"Well I have to write up my proposal for the University. You are free to do as you wish. Set up your desk, make coffee, I don't really care what. Or if you want you can go home early" he replied, pulling out his computer and typing away.

Levy looked thoughtful. "Can I use the telescope?"

For a brief moment Gajeel looked at her as though she had asked if she could take a quick walk to the moon. Then, returning to typing he simply muttered "Do as you wish"

Levy took a moment to compose herself before she stood and walked over to the telescope. She checked out its angle and various knobs until she felt comfortable with how it worked. Then, bending slowly, she looked through the lens and out into space. Currently it was focused on a section of the moon where several space rovers had landed. Now of course it was laden with tracks and dust.

"Am I okay to move this about?" Levi asked, already turning the different knobs. Gajeel didn't even respond, too caught up in his typing. Slowly she repositioned the telescope to look out at the stars. The sight before her made her gasp. Billions of stars filled the sky, each varying in brightness. She focused on a particular one, noting its size and shape. It wasn't until she sensed movement behind her that she even remembered where she was.

"If you turn this one here you can set up the gradation to track height of the craters" Gajeel said, his voice soft in her ear as he came up behind her to turn the knob. His hard body pressed against her and his outstretched arm allowed her to catch a hint of his purely masculine scent. Despite her irritation at the disruption, her hairs stood on end and her body picked up every inch of his as he leaned against her. Her eyes remained focused on the star that was currently displaying various numbers but her mind couldn't concentrate. She prayed for him to move away but he didn't. Instead he remained as still as she was, his arm moving away from the knob to graze against hers. Levy's breathing caught in her throat.

Fortunately the sound of a phone ringing brought the scenario crashing to a halt. With a sigh Gajeel moved away to answer it and Levy scurried back to her desk, pretending to write some notes. She stole a glance in his direction but he was too caught up in the phone call to look back. She rolled her eyes at her own foolishness and pulled out her own computer to check her emails.

When it was once again time to leave, Levy sighed in relief. Since the phone interruption she had spent the rest of her day researching into supernova's ready to face whatever Dr. Redfox required of her. She turned in his direction to wave, but he was no longer at his desk. Shrugging her shoulders she left the office and headed down the corridor. She was so lost in her own thought she nearly bumped into the blonde heading the other way.

"Ah I'm so so sorry!" she muttered apologetically. Lucy smilled back at her.

"No need to fret Dr. McGarden. I'm perfectly fine. Are you heading home for the day?"

Levy smiled and nodded. "All ready for a nap to be honest" she giggled.

"Ahh long day?" Lucy asked.

"Very" Levy grinned. "And you should call me Levy. No need for the formalities"

Lucy smiled. "Sure Levy! We should meet up and chat sometime. Gajeel doesn't usually work tomorrow so ill stay late and we can order Chinese" she said as she began to walk towards the offices.

"Totally!" Levy called back. Inwardly she sighed. Making friends was all well and good until you had to move and leave them behind. She really didn't want to crush Lucy like the others. It wasn't fair.

R+R x