title: pale blues & bookshelves
pairing: my first GaLevy!
author's note: Okay, so I MIGHT have read Lady Midnight for the fourth time this year DON'T JUDGE ME OK? SPOILERS. I REPEAT. SPOILERS. FOR. LADY. MIDNIGHT. If you enjoy badass ladies & fantasy fiction GO READ HER SERIES IMMEDIATELY. Emma Carstairs is bae, ok?
disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or Lady Midnight, by Cassandra Clare.

Gajeel knocked on the door for the second time, genuine worry beginning to creep up his neck.

Annoying.

Levy had been absent from the guild for nearly three days now; he hadn't seen her since last week, when he left on his mission. The metal monster had missed the little shorty, though he would never admit that to anyone, ever. Mirajane had simply smiled at him in her happy-go-lucky, bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed, always-gave-him-a-toothache way when he'd asked about the bluette. He probably would have gotten away with it, if Natsu and Gray hadn't been nearby when he'd asked the guild's barkeep about the script mage's whereabouts.

"Hey, uh, Mira? Have you, uh, seen Levy?"

Mirajane smiled at him, twisting the mug around as she dried it with a cloth.

"Why are you asking about Levy, huh, Gajeel?" Gray asked.

"Oh, Gajeel's askin' about Levy now?" Natsu shouted.

"Yeah, that's what I just said, flamebrain."

"What'd you say to me, stripper?"

"Huh? Gajeel's asking about our teammate!?" Jet and Droy shouted.

Dumbasses.

And that was how the guild dissolved into it's third brawl of the day.

"Now, that you mention it," Mirajane said, later, after the fight had cleared up and Gajeel got a stool to himself at the very end of the bar, with no idiots nearby. (Something he considered a victory, being a part of Fairy Tail.) "I actually haven't seen Levy in a few days. Would you mind checking on her? I have to stay at the bar."

"Wha? Me?" Gajeel said, clearly remembering Erza's threatening glare as she reminded him that no males were allowed in Fairy Hills.

"Yes, you, silly," she scolded him. "Lucy and Juvia are out on a mission, or I'd send them."

"Tch, I thought Flamebrain and the stripper were more annoying than usual," Gajeel muttered into his beer. It was a rare day in Magnolia that Gray and Natsu were seen without their girlfriends.

Whipped bastards.

Mirajane delicately ignored his comment, "And you won't need to worry about Erza, I hear that Jellal is in town." She grabbed at his mug; Gajeel attempted to protest, before a flash of dangerous steel came to Mirajane's eyes, and he remembered she could perform Satan Soul takeover. "That leaves you, Gajeel!" she said, brightly (threateningly).

And that was how he found himself knocking on Levy's door later that evening. (Okay, so maybe he was a coward.) He reviewed everything he could have possibly done to piss her off, attempted to recall anything he could have forgotten. He wondered if someone else at the guild had upset her, maybe Jet or Droy? Morons. Or maybe she'd gotten hurt on her last mission? It was a solo, which she didn't often partake in.

He knocked again, "Üh, shrimp?" he called. "Levy? Are you in there?"

No answer.

Muttering to himself, Gajeel tested the knob...to find it unlocked.

The metal dragonslayer took a deep breath, prepared himself for the worst, and eased the door open.

"God damn it!" screamed a voice that sounded a lot like Levy's, and Gajeel only had his fighter's instinct to thank as he ducked a heavy object hurtling towards his head. With a thump, the object landed at his feet.

It was a book.

A freaking book.

It was pretty thick, and probably could have done some damage if it collided with his skull. The cover was dark black and blue, with a picture of a girl floating underwater, a sword near her outstretched hand. He picked it up.

"What the fuck," Gajeel said, out loud. Levy was a wizard, wasn't she? Why in the hell was she resorting to throwing books at intruders?

Gajeel straightened up to face Levy's studio bedroom. It was all pale blues and bookshelves, with a large queen-sized bed across the room. His eyes snagged on the rumpled sheets and pillows on the floor, as if Levy had been tossing and turning all night. It wasn't until then that he realized Levy was sitting on the bed, cross-legged, staring at him as if she were seeing right through him.

"Uh, hi, Shrimp. Uh, Levy," he stammered out. "So, Mira was worried about you...and asked me to come...um, look in on you. So, here I am. Are you...are you okay?"

The bluette blinked at him.

"Oooookay then," Gajeel muttered, gently setting the book down on a nearby table. "I'll just go then. Uh, let Mira know you're okay, yeah? We've...she's...okay, we both have been worried about you, and I guess-,"

"WHY WAIT?" Levy erupted. Gajeel froze. "THAT'S HOW THE BOOK ENDS? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I WAITED YEARS FOR THIS - YEARS, GAJEEL!"

The dark-haired dragonslayer stared at his longtime crush. She was glaring at him accusingly, as if he had done something wrong?

"Okay," Gajeel said, holding up his hands, as if in surrender. (Which he never did, cause, pft, he was badass). "I have no idea what is happening right now."

Levy leapt off the bed, every movement stormy. He'd never her seen her like this.

"The whole book is about this build up of Emma and Julian - and you know there's gotta be some tragic twist - because hello, it's a Shadowhunter series - and it's just...just crazy! And Emma goes for Mark - Mark?! I don't accept any of this! Gajeel, what the hell?"

He blinked at her.

She glared at him.

"...what the actual fuck is going on right now?"

"Lady Midnight, Gajeel! Lady. Midnight."

"Is that some sort of crack you're smoking?"

Levy pointed at the book, accusingly. "This book has ruined my life, Gajeel!"

The dragonslayer grabbed her by the shoulders, bracing himself against her shoulders. Gajeel leaned down, practically bending himself in half to look her in the eyes.

"Levy..." he said, forcing himself not be lost in her gray eyes. "Are you telling me that you've been MIA - making me all worried - that you're acting like a lunatic - because of a book?"

Levy slapped his hands away, a viscous little ball of fury, like a kitten pretending to be a tiger.

"Okay Mr. Judgey-Mc-Judgerson!" she shrieked. "You do not get to come in here all manly with your ten billion piercings and stupid face and judge me, and the fact of the matter is - wait." She stopped short, blinking at him. "You were worried about me?"

Gajeel groaned, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"...uhyeahIguessso."

Levy looked deeply amused by his mumble of words, choosing to remain silent as Gajeel picked up the book again.

"So, uh...what's the book about?"

Levy sighed, throwing herself back onto her bed, as if in utter despair. "It's a fantasy fiction novel, about these warriors called Shadowhunters, who fight demons amidst a world of werewolves, vampires, etc., etc." She waved a hand, as if he were supposed to know what etc., etc. covered. "And there's tragedy mixed in, and romance! God, the tension between Emma and Julian just leaps off the page - it's so intense! And Julian has all these siblings, this precious little Blackthorn family, and there's a warlock, who you think is good, and then turns out to be a lunatic -,"

"Levy," Gajeel cut her off, with an unbelievably patient, loving smile on his face.

"Right. Sorry," she said, brightly.

Gajeel grinned crookedly, "Has anyone ever told you that you're pretty cute when you ramble about books?"

Levy stuck her tongue out at him. "Are you calling me cute?"

Gajeel rolled his eyes.

"Wow - you're calling me cute, you're worried about me...if I didn't know any better, I'd say you have a cruuuuush," Levy teased him, her voice sing-songy and teasing.

"Shut up, Shrimp," Gajeel grumbled, folding his arms.

"Even asking about a book I like - as if you'll ever read one!"

"Hey, I read!"

Levy's eyebrow spiked in disbelief. "All right then, prove it."

"What?"

"Read this book," she shoved the heavy blue book into his hands. "And try and act like it doesn't rip your heart out!"

A few days later, Levy sat at her desk, working on some old mission reports. Her heart was still too fragile after Lady Midnight to start another fiction series, so she forced herself to focus on reality. She had touched based with Gajeel a few times; he usually blew her off, saying he didn't have time to read no stinkin' book. Levy pretended not to be disappointed by this.

She liked Gajeel. Like, a lot, a lot. Like, Clary-and-Jace levels, a lot. They just had so little in common, and as a methodical, organized person, this worried Levy a bit.

The bluette sighed, leaning back from the reports, rolling her shoulders to get the kinks out. It amazed her how she was able to huddle over a book for days on end, but asking her to hunch over a mission report was worse than death. Levy resigned herself to finishing the report, when a knock sounded at her door, quickly followed by two more, and then nonstop hammering.

"What the hell?" the script mage demanded, opening the door.

"EMMA GETS WHIPPED?"

It took several minutes for Levy to piece together what was happening. The person standing at her door was none other than Gajeel Redfox. Gajeel, who was holding her copy of Lady Midnight. It was Gajeel's voice, shrieking at her about Emma, a character in the book.

But it couldn't be Gajeel.

"...what?"

"Emma steps in and gets whipped instead?" Gajeel moaned, shouldering past Levy and into her apartment. "I mean, it was bad enough that Julian did - but then Emma? I can't handle this book, Levy! And what is up with this Kieran dude? I mean, he just shows up there like Mark should be happy - hello, dude! You tattled! Get over yourself! And then Julian steps in - and then Emma steps in for Julian, and I - mmpf!"

Levy threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. Kissed him deeply, desperately, like she never meant to unglue her lips from his. Gajeel promptly dropped the book and wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her up to him, kissing her back, like he'd wanted to for days, months, years.

Hm, I should have tried this when she was ranting last time...Gajeel mused.

WHY DO I SUCK AT WRITING ENDINGS?