In Levy's small house, it looked as though a tornado had ransacked the house. More specifically, her bedroom.

"How is it possible that I have nothing to wear?!" Levy yelled in frustration as she ran back and forth from the wardrobe to her mirror, holding up multiple items of clothing for inspection. But nothing seemed to look right.

Being a librarian with no social life, Levy's clothing was good-girl-meeting-the-parents , but not "going out for drinks with a guy you might have the tiniest crush on and his friends who include busty beautiful women" clothing. Flopping onto her bed, she tried to calm down and think about ways to cancel. There was no way she could go looking like she did.

Beep. Beep.

Levy's phone lit up beside her. Curious, she looked to see "New Message from Lucy".

Bunny girl?

"How did she get my number?" Levy thought to herself as she opened up the text app.

Lucy: Hey girly! Are you coming to the bar tonight?

Levy sighed before replying.

Levy: I was going to but I have no idea what to wear.

After a few seconds, the phone lit up again with her response.

Lucy: Don't sweat it! Think casual. Like shorts and a shirt. We all want to see you!

Levy: Thanks!

Lucy: See ya later!

Lucy: Btw, Gajeel loves black! ;)

Levy blushed as she read the last text. Was it that obvious?

But now Levy grinned and ran to her wardrobe. Now that she had a rough idea of the dress code, she knew exactly what she was going to wear.

Grabbing the outfit, she looked at herself in the mirror. It was an outfit she'd been forced to get by her friends in college for some party. Levy never went to the party in the end, but she kept the outfit. Hopefully, she could pull it off.

…

"Let's get this party started!" Cana yelled, much to the delight of the partygoers. She cranked up the music and started to serve drinks left and right. Gajeel sat in the corner, nursing his whiskey as he waited for Levy. Doing so, he checked out who was also there.

At the bar was Cana who was drinking more than she was serving. She was also swaying along to "Porn Star Dancing" much to her boyfriend, Laxus's, delight.

Mira and Lisanna were playing pool in the corner, giggling away. It was weird to see how close they were. Mira had been a reckless teen who'd grown apart from her family, until her little sister went into a coma after a car crash. The incident had brought the family together and they were now stuck to each other like glue. Speaking of the Strauss family…

Elfman, their brother, was currently trying to chat with the photographer Evergreen. He was a weight trainer at the gym whilst Evergreen was part of the Thunder Legion. It didn't look like he was having much luck.

The Thunder Legion was Laxus' group of closest friends. They didn't work at the gym, but they always came to Fairy Tail parties. Other than Evergreen, there was the accountant Freed and the tattoo artist, Bickslow. The group was a strange one, but they had an unbelievably strong bond. No one knew how they ended up as friends, but one thing was for sure. If you bad mouthed Laxus in front of them, they'd beat the shit out of you.

Lucy was there too. She was scolding Natsu for getting into yet another fight with the swim and ice skating instructor, Gray. The gym had a pool, but the skating was a seasonal class which they held at the local ice rink. He and Natsu fought like cats and dogs.

Hiding behind a column watching Gray was Gajeel's best friend, Juvia. Juvia was also a swim instructor who had been involved in the same gang as Gajeel had when he was younger. It was nice to have someone who understood him, though he'd never say that to her. She'd been the one to actually get him the job at the gym, something he was eternally thankful for. Her only flaw was her obsession with Stripper Boy.

Speaking of his past…

Gajeel groaned as he remembered the promise he'd made to Levy earlier. He was uncomfortable sharing details about his past and wasn't looking forward to it. His past was something he'd hoped to keep away from Levy, at least for a while. She'd never look at him the same once she knew of the blood on his hands.

"Levy!" a voice cheered. Gajeel looked over to the door, expecting to see an angel. Instead, there was a tempting succubus.

Levy was wearing a black corset top with tiny denim shorts that showed off the curves of her bubbly ass. Her blue hair was in messy curls and pulled back by a black bandana. Some converse gave the look a more casual vibe. She bounced over to the bar.

"Can I get one of those bellinis again?" she asked Cana. The barmaid grinned at this sexy version of Levy.

"Sure thing!" Cana cheered, quickly making the drink.

"Thanks!" Levy chirped. Suddenly she felt someone staring at her. Turning, she saw Gajeel in the corner, his eyes focused on her. There was desire in those eyes. She silently noted to herself that she'd have to thank Lucy for the fashion advice.

Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the freshly made drink and went over to him, hopping onto the barstool next to him with as much grace as a short person can have.

"Hey," she said, glancing over at the gym trainer who was now staring down at his drink," So let's cut to the chase, shall we?"

Gajeel smirked down at the whiskey.

"Nothing changes I see."

"What are you talking about?" Levy replied, her brow furrowing.

"Remember? Our first drink here?" Gajeel smiled, his sharp teeth on display.

"Oh, yeah," Levy chuckled, remembering her to the point attitude she'd used last time as well," So, the piercing?"

Gajeel sighed in defeat.

"You don't know when to give up, do you?"

"I'm very persistent," Levy smiled. Gajeel gulped. It was probably just his imagination, but there was something about the way she spoke...

"Well, I think we need another drink before we do this," Gajeel said, before waving his empty glass at Cana," You want another one?"

"Nah, I'm good," Levy smiled.

Cana came over and poured the whisky with ease.

"Have fun you two," Cana winked before hurrying off to monitor Natsu and Gray's drinking contest.

Gajeel downed the whisky before slamming the glass down on the bar. There was a pause between the duo.

"Levy," Gajeel began," I don't want you to hate me."

"I would never hate you!" Levy interjected.

"I wouldn't be saying that just yet…" Gajeel mumbled," But let's start off with the basics. Try to take out that piercing."

"Which one?" Levy asked, staring at the multiple piercings.

"The one with tons of arrows."

Levy looked at his ear lobe, immediately spotting the piercing in question. It was quite simple, made of some metal. It was a bunch of arrows forming a circle.

"So you want me to try to get it out?" Levy asked.

"Yep," Gajeel replied.

Levy put her hand behind the lobe and tried to feel for the studs back. Gajeel grit his teeth so as to not let out a sound at the feeling of her small hand on his ear and neck. To Levy's surprise, there wasn't a back for the earring. In fact, from the back, you couldn't tell he had a piercing.

"There's nothing back here!" she complained, but then she noticed something. His ear had a thin scar and there seemed to be a thick wide bar inside the lobe.

"Wait a minute," Levy whispered, slumping into her seat," Why do you have a scar on your ear?"

"Gang leaders idea," Gajeel muttered as he looked away from her," He thought it be a fucking great way to "tag" us. I can't get it out. It's grown into the flesh. Plus, hospitals would ask too many questions."

"Oh my god," Levy whispered, tears forming in her eyes," How old were you?"

"Probably eight."

"Gajeel, that's so horrible," Levy exclaimed, forcing him to look at her teary expression" It's not your fault. I don't get why you think I'd hate you."

"Because," Gajeel replied coldly," I'm Black Steel."