Hey everyone! I've got a special surprise for you! What collection of romantic one-shots would be complete without a Valentine's Day entry? But I'm not just giving you one pairing, oh no; I'm giving you three! It was hard to pick only a few pairings, but I tried to pick the most popular ones based on reviews and PMs I've gotten. So without further ado, here's a Valentine's Day Gajevy/Lalu/Jerza Triple-Fic!
One quick note: The Love, Trust, and Fairy Dust collection of one-shots are not necessarily connected- unless I state specifically that one story is a sequel or prequel to another story in the collection, you can assume that the events from previous stories do not impact what happens in newer stories. (Example: In Watching, Laxus and Lucy were engaged. In Candy Hearts and Chocolate Kisses, they aren't even dating.) However, all three of the stories in this triple-fic are connected!
"So remind me again why tomorrow is so special?"
The iron dragon slayer stood before Levy, arms folded across his chest, his expression huffy. The blue-haired mage matched his pose, staring him in the eye. Though the girl looked tiny compared to the man before her, she matched his intensity completely, and Gajeel already felt himself backing down. This was a losing battle. He could feel it.
"Because, Gajeel, it's Valentine's Day. Our first one together. Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Levy had had it with Gajeel's negative attitude about the upcoming holiday. A sheepish look flashed over the bigger mage's features, but it was gone so quickly that Levy thought she might've imagined it, and was replaced by a mocking grin.
"Well squirt, dragons don't put much stock in silly little holidays. Valentine's Day, a day all for love and romance... ha! Never heard anything so ridiculous in my life," Gajeel laughed. His smile quickly faded as he watched Levy's face go beet red. She turned away from him as she replied, her voice thick with disappointment and embarrassment.
"I see. Well, if that's what you think of it..." she trailed off and stalked away, her fists balled up at her sides. Gajeel started toward her, then stopped himself, his dragon pride keeping him from chasing after her. All he did was say he thought the notion was silly. Wasn't he entitled to his own opinion?
"Don't you think that was kind of insensitive?"
Gajeel whirled around to see MiraJane standing at the bar, drying out a mug she'd just washed. He frowned at her.
"Don'tcha know it's not polite to listen in on other people's private conversations?" If the question was meant to intimidate the woman, it didn't work. Instead she shrugged, setting down the mug and reaching for a newly-cleaned plate.
"You were talking right in front of me. Don't you know not to have private conversations right in front of someone?" She had him there. He watched her as she calmly finished drying the dishes, waiting until she turned to him with a questioning expression to speak again.
"Okay, fine, maybe it was a little over the top. But who cares?"
"Levy cares."
The dragon slayer had no argument for that. It was clear from her reaction that the script mage was upset by Gajeel's view on the holiday, but for the life of him he couldn't understand why. He told her he loved her every day. Why did he need a special day to show her that?
"But why-"
"This is the first time she's gotten to spend a Valentine's Day with somebody, Gajeel. She finally has someone to go on a special date with, and someone to spend time with at the Valentine's Day party here at the guild. Just because the day isn't important to dragons doesn't mean it's not important to humans. If there was a special holiday that dragons had that humans don't, don't you think Levy would do her best to celebrate that with you?"
Gajeel was completely deflated. Mira was right, of course. That's exactly what Levy would do. She would read every book known to man about the holiday and not only celebrate it with him but go to every extreme to make sure they celebrated every single aspect of it. Guilt settled over the mage, thick and heavy, and he sat at a barstool, looking helpless.
"What do I do?" he asked. Mira couldn't help but laugh gently at his sudden mood change, which made him frown at her.
"Sorry, but sitting here isn't going to help you." The white-haired woman pointed at the door. "I suggest you head over to the library and do some research on Valentine's Day. You'll figure out what to do, I'm sure."
Gajeel nodded and headed toward the door, shouting a thank you over his shoulder at Mira. He had a feeling that he had a lot of work to do.
The next morning, Levy awoke to a knock on the door. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she opened it to find not a person, but a jar, filled to the brim with candy hearts. On top of the jar was a note, which she picked up and scanned over quickly.
"Roses are red
Violets are blue (even though that's absolute bogus because violets are purple)
But neither are anywhere near
As beautiful as you.
Dear Levy, Happy Valentine's Day. It would make me very happy if you would join me for dinner tonight before the party. I'll pick you up at 5. Love, Gajeel
P.S. Sorry for being a blockhead yesterday."
The tiny mage laughed at his side comments, folding up the note and picking up the jar. How had he known she loved conversation hearts? She shook her head, a giant grin spreading across her face. She should've known he'd come through for her.
Lucy tapped her pen on her lower lip. A blank piece of paper had been sitting in front of her for over an hour now, completely untouched. For the life of her, she could not figure out what to write!
Hoping that no one would see her, she snuck a glance across the room. Laxus sat with Bixlow and Freed, laughing as he won yet another card game. Bixlow and Freed looked determined to win the next round, but Lucy knew Laxus would beat them again. She smiled to herself, then turned back to her paper. How could she possibly word this?
"What are you up to, Lu-chan?"
Lucy looked over to see Levy plop herself down in the seat beside her, carrying a large jar of conversation hearts. As she sat, she selected a pink one and popped it in her mouth, then offered the jar to Lucy.
"And do you want a candy heart?"
The celestial mage made a face. "Uh, no thanks Levy..." she turned her down. Personally she though conversation hearts tasted like chalk. "I'm just trying to write a letter. Where'd you get the candy from?"
Levy beamed at her question. "Gajeel gave them to me! Yesterday he didn't seem too sold on the idea of Valentine's Day, but something must've persuaded him otherwise. He's taking me out to dinner before the party tonight. Who are you going to the party with, Lu-chan? And who's the letter for?"
Lucy's face turned dark red, and Levy's smile turned to a wicked grin. "Ohhh, so THAT'S what you're writing about? Who are you asking?" As if it would answer her question, the blue-haired girl began to look around the room for Lucy's secret crush.
"Hey! He'll see you!" the blonde whisper-shouted, which only made Levy's grin grow wider. "I'll tell you if you'll stop looking around everywhere like a prairie dog!" Levy immediate stopped looking around, staring Lucy straight in the eyes instead. Lucy suppressed a small groan. "It's Laxus, okay?"
Levy's smile became calmer, and she reached for Lucy's hand, giving it a squeeze. "You two would make a really good couple. And you're a great writer; I know you'll think of something to write for him." Glancing at the clock on the wall, the script mage stood up, picking up her jar of candy hearts. "I'm sorry, I'd stay and help but I have to get ready for my dinner with Gajeel! I'll see you at the party at 7, Lu-chan!" she said as she hurried toward the door. Lucy watched her go, then let her eyes slide over to where Laxus was concentrating hard on his cards. A wide smile lit her features. That was it! Hurriedly she began to write down her idea, before she forgot it.
Finishing her note, Lucy folded it got up, walking by Laxus and his group on the way to the bar. As she walked by, she slipped the paper to Laxus and hurried on, hoping he wouldn't see the tips of her ears turning red. Before she'd even gotten to the bar, she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see the lightning dragon slayer standing behind her. He held up the note, one eyebrow raised in a quizzical expression.
"I'm your King of Hearts?" he asked. Lucy's face, previous only slightly flushed, now turned dark red. She knew it was a stupid idea. Laxus laughed and pulled her into a hug, to her surprise. "Well, I'll be your Valentine's Day party date, on one condition."
"What's that?" she asked, still shocked at her position in his arms.
"You have to be my Queen." That made Lucy laugh, and she returned the hug.
"What about Freed?" She joked. The green-haired man blushed, embarrassed at being caught watching the two of them. Laxus turned around, confused at what she meant, but laughed when he saw his friend trying to hide behind the back of the chair he was sitting in.
"He can be the Jester."
The Valentine's Day party was in full swing. Erza watched from her seat at the bar as Levy danced by with Gajeel. The tiny mage was teaching him how to waltz, and the dragon slayer's face was screwed up in concentration as he attempted to follow Levy's footwork. Erza chuckled to herself and took another bite of strawberry cake. Mira leaned across the bar, watching Levy and Gajeel as well.
"He's not the most graceful, is he?" she joked to her friend. Erza smiled and shook her head.
"Not exactly, no," she replied, looking over the room. Laxus and Lucy sat in a far corner, laughing at a joke Freed was telling them while Bixlow was hanging paper hearts on his "babies", who seemed to enjoy the attention. Natsu and Gray were fighting, as always, with Juvia watching them, or at least Gray, intently. Happy was attempting to offer Carla a fish, but the female exceed didn't seem extremely impressed with his gift.
Over toward the snack table, Lisanna chatted with Elfman and Evergreen, who still seemed to be trying to keep their mutual attraction a secret. Wendy and Romeo were helping themselves to heart-shaped cookies and strawberry cake. Erza remembered her own cake and happily took another bite.
"No date for you this year, then?" Mira asked, pouring herself a glass of ginger ale and taking a drink. Erza shook her head, a slight smile gracing her lips.
"No date. Besides, this sort of get-together isn't really my thing, you know? Too rowdy."
Mira nodded, finishing off her glass. "True enough. Are you going to stick around much longer then?"
In reply, Erza stood up. "Actually I think I'm going to head home now. You think anyone will mind if I take some cake for the road?"
"No, go ahead," Mira laughed, then gasped as Erza picked up the entire box of cake and left with it. "I didn't mean that much!" she called, but Erza was already gone. She shook her head, laughing at her friends antics.
Erza walked to her apartment and stood at the door, flipping through her keys. She was just about to the correct one when some movement caught her eye. She quickly unlocked her door, put the cake inside on the kitchen counter, then came back out to investigate. Near the door, a package wrapped in brown paper and tied with twine sat waiting for her. A slip of paper attached to the string reading "Erza Scarlet" fluttered in the breeze. Smiling to herself, the mage stooped and picked up the box, then gently shook it. She could only hear a light rumble of small objects being shuffled around. Carrying the package into her apartment, she untied the string and pulled the paper off, then opened the box. On top was a note written on the back of a flyer for a local grocery store in some far away town.
"Erza, I hope this gets to you alright. I couldn't bring it myself and I'm not sure how trustworthy this delivery boy is. I told him to make sure it got there on Valentine's Day, but in case it doesn't I just want you to know that I was/am/will be thinking about you, both that day and every other day. I wish I could be there with you. I wish I could kiss you. But these are the only kisses I can give to you now. Think of them as IOU's. I'll see you again someday. I love you."
Erza sat on her couch, smiling at the note as tears welled up in her eyes. There wasn't a signature. There never was. But she knew, all the same. Blinking hard, she reached for the box and peered inside. Chocolate kisses lined the bottom. She selected one and popped it into her mouth, then sank back into the couch, running her thumb over the side of the paper as she read the note over and over again, knowing that his hands had touched that paper, he had written those words for her.
She got ready for bed, taking the note and folding it. She pulled a small box out from under her bed and put the note in it, mixing in with all the other notes he'd sent her. Some were romantic. Some were not. But they were all from him. Erza's smile grew bigger as she pushed the box back under the bed and climbed in among the covers. She sighed, snuggling into her pillow, and whispered her reply, just like she always did.
"I love you too, Jellal."
So there was your triple-fic! I tried to include a couple extra ships, even if they didn't get the spotlight. Please post a review telling me what you thought, and I'm always open to new ship suggestions! Your input is of the utmost importance to me! Thanks for reading!