Days turned into weeks, weeks to months, and so time went on like it usually does. After some clarification, the press recognized the Dragon's Lounge and La Fée Bleu as separate restaurants—though people did often ponder a fusion restaurant to open with Levy McGarden and Gajeel Redfox as partners.

The popularity of both restaurants grew which caused the two restaurateurs to lose track of time. They rarely saw each other as they were wrapped up in maintaining the functionality of their establishment. It was rare for them to see more than a glance of each other.

"Good night Miss Levy!" Juvia waved to the woman as she followed the kitchen brigade that was going out for a night of drinking—apparently with Gajeel's waitstaff.

Levy waved back. "Good night, have fun." She smiled. Once she was sure all the staff was gone, she collapsed onto the table—scattering some papers. She was exhausted. "I don't remember the last time I got a full night of sleep." She muttered to herself. Before she could stop herself, she nodded off to sleep.

Suddenly, Levy felt someone shake her gentle. "Shrimp…shrimp!" she gasped a little as she woke up.

She looked up and rubbed her eyes. "Gajeel?" Once her vision cleared, she noticed that the man's hair was down and wild, and that he was out of his formal clothes. He was wearing sweats and a white muscle shirt.

Gajeel looked down at her. "What are you doing here? It's two in the morning."

Levy groaned. "I must have fallen asleep while organizing these bills." She paused. "What about you?"

"I was heading out when I noticed that the lights in your dining room were still on. If you plan on staying late, you should at least lock the doors. It's not safe here so late especially if you're gonna fall asleep." Gajeel explained.

Levy sighed and rubbed her head. "Yeah you're right." She sighed. "Dang, I need to relax more."

Gajeel nodded and looked around. "Well I'm gonna go get a drink before going home…" he paused awkwardly. "You wanna join me?

Levy was surprised by the invitation especially after the butcher incident from a few days ago, but smiled. She nodded. "Uh yeah sure…let me get my stuff." Levy stood up and collected her papers. She went to her office to drop them off and grabbed her jacket along with her phone and wallet. She locked up the back doors before joining Gajeel in the dining room.

They went out the front door, and Levy locked the door. They started walking side by side. "So how do you know there's a bar opened?" Levy asked.

Gajeel snickered slightly. "Chefs know where to hang out after a long night shift." Levy nodded, that made sense. "So shortstack, we seem to busy lately."

"Yeah things have been crazy since the food festival." Levy agreed.

"Gihi, I still can't believe that they thought we were one restaurant. I don't really have the reputation as a 'classically-trained chef.' That was a mess." Gajeel grinned.

Levy laughed. "You don't know how many people came in asking for pulled pork nachos."

"Oh please, one woman complained that the server refused to serve duck confit." Gajeel replied when they stopped to cross the street. "It took the press forever to clear that up."

Levy smiled and nodded. "People still come in every now and then asking for your menu items."

"Jeez, apparently we'd make a great fusion restaurant." Gajeel replied.

Levy shrugged. "I don't know. We'd be like David McMillan and Frederic Morin." She chuckled.

Gajeel shook his head. "Oh god no, I've hung out with those guys. Nothing compares to those crazy Canadians." Levy giggled as she followed Gajeel down a wet sidewalk—the streetlights gave a soft glow against the water. It was a very mellow night.

They suddenly turned into an alley, and Levy grew a bit cautious. "Hmm." She said once the alley light started flickering.

Gajeel snickered. "Relax shrimp, it'll be okay." The bluenette simply hugged tighter onto her jacket.

The two walked to the end of the alley where a old wooden door waited. It was worn out with chipped yellow paint. It seemed like the entrance of some horrifying meat shop. Levy tried to not to look so concerned. Gajeel was nice enough to invite her; she could at least trust him. Outside of the little pranks and competitive drive, he wasn't necessarily a bad person.

Gajeel knocked some seemingly random rhythm onto the door. There was some hesitation, but soon a man opened the door. He was extremely short and wore chef whites. He glared at Gajeel but quickly beamed once he saw he had company. "I didn't know you had a friend." He chuckled.

Gajeel cussed. "Don't fuck with me gramps. I had a long day."

The old man laughed and stepped to the side to let them in. "Don't we all? This is the restaurant biz."

"I'm Levy McGarden. It's nice to meet you." Levy quickly stuttered out. As she entered, she realized it was the back door to a restaurant—well more specifically a bar.

"I'm Makarov Dreyar. It's wonderful to meet such a young, thriving success story like yourself." The old man smiled.

Levy shook her head. "No it's my honor. I studied your work while I was in school."

Makarov beamed. "That' very nice to hear." He led the two to a makeshift sitting area where other people dressed in their chef whites and other kitchen clothes. "Gajeel, is Juvia not coming tonight?"

"Nah, she's probably harassing the stripper boy I got on my wait staff." Gajeel chuckled. He showed Levy to a table where some line cooks were. "Evening nerds, this is a friend of mind—Levy." The men shook her hand, and they sat.

"So Miss Levy, you're a restaurateur right?" one guy, called Loke, asked.

Levy blushed slightly; she wasn't used to so many men's attention on her. She nodded. "Yes, I own La Fée Bleu."

"So tell me, are you those restaurateurs that just eat or can you actually cook?" another man named Elfman asked.

Levy laughed. It was a rather strange question to her. "I can cook. I'm not professionally trained and definitely can't run a kitchen, but I understand how the kitchen works."

"Oh thank God, remember that stage we had to do in Seattle, Gajeel? That owner was an asshole." Laxys chuckled.

Gajeel groaned and rubbed his forehead. "That was a waste of time. That idiot was trying to tell me that you couldn't deglaze a pan with red wine! That was the worst stage we had to do for school." Though Levy enjoyed hearing the different stories the men had to share, she couldn't help but feel left out. While things were changing, the culinary industry was still a man's world for the most part.

"Hey Loke, get me and the shrimp some drinks." Gajeel said.

"Planning on staying late?" Elfman asked.

Gajeel shook his head. "Nah, Lily has been having my ass with how late I've been coming into work. Plus, I gotta get this shrimp home safely." He winked at Levy. The woman crossed her arms and stuck out her tongue.

"Well it's nice to have another woman to join us here. These boys tend to get out of hand." Makarov smiled.

Levy returned the gesture. "Well it's nice to be accepted here so quickly."

The old man laughed. "Of course, we've been waiting forever to meet the woman that has been patronizing Gajeel since he opened his place. What you did at the butcher shop was definitely comical."

Levy blushed and quickly turned her head to the man. "You've been talking about me?"

Gajeel sipped the liquor Loke had given him. "Drunk." He snickered. Levy shook her head. This man! "Don't worry shrimp, nothing you don't want people knowing." He winked once more. Levy couldn't believe it. He said that as if he knew the things he was implying.

The woman grumbled as she sipped her drink. "So is this where all the city's chefs hang?"

Makarov nodded. "It's a refuge for us after our long day. Not many people understand our line of work. Not even the restaurateurs—no offence."

Levy waved her hand as she finished her drink. "I get it, really. I took a stage as a garde manger for extra college credits, and it was a pain working the night shift. The expediter was always making eyes at the hostess. Plus, line cooks are relentless flirts." She chuckled.

Loke lifted his beer. "I can confess to that."

"Yeah we know." Laxus snickered.

"Hey man, chicks in the business are tough. I would never get on Juvia's bad side." Gajeel added.

"They're manly! One woman I worked with didn't leave until she was eight months pregnant. Most guys call in for a fever." Elfman grinned.

For the next couple of hours, the group of chefs talked and enjoyed their liquor. They laughed and shared stories. Levy enjoyed herself and was glad to be a part of this group. She really didn't talk to anyone outside of the group of friends she hired at the restaurant and even then she worked nonstop. It was late when Levy and Gajeel left.

Levy led the way to her apartment building. Gajeel followed in a tipsy cloud of happiness.

"Thanks Gajeel." Levy said after some silence.

Gajeel grunted before looking at the woman. "For what shrimp?"

Levy blushed and messed with her hands. "Letting me come with you. I didn't realize how much I needed to unwind."

Gajeel snickered. "You're too nice woman." He paused and looked at the sky. "It ain't a problem shrimp."

Levy pouted. "I am a bit irritated that you've been talking about me though."

Gajeel laughed and pulled the woman under his arm. "Come on shrimp, you make it seem like I said what type of panties you wear or something."

Levy rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't even know that." Gajeel snickered. "…GAJEEL!"

The man laughed. "I don't know; I swear."

Levy puffed her cheeks and walked up the stairs of her apartment building. "Good bye Mister Redfox."

"Formalities? Damn shrimp, why so cold?" Levy didn't respond. "Gihi, good night shrimp." The man watched the woman entered the building and close the door. He waited a bit and saw a light come on from behind a curtain. He chuckled to himself and started walking—disappearing into the night.


Gajeel hollered as he was suddenly woken up.

"Get your ass up!"

He groaned. "What the hell…what time is it?" he sat up on his couch.

"Fucking 11:45a.m. Do you know how late you are?" Lily stood over his friend. Gajeel cussed. "What did I say about staying late? What the hell were you doing?"

Gajeel groaned as he leaned his head against the wall. "I was at Makarov's place." Lily groaned. "Only until like 4 something."

"You say that as if it's not late." Lily argued.

Gajeel shrugged and threw a shirt on. "I had a reason to leave that early."

"Yeah because you knew I would have been on your ass. And here I am!" Lily yelled before continuing to scold Gajeel.

"I had company." Gajeel stated plainly.

Lily stopped his rant. "You did?...who?"

Gajeel stood up and stretched. "None of your business. Can't I have my own fun."

"Oh please, you wouldn't bring anyone to Makarov's…was it Miss Levy?" Lily reasoned.

"Jesus, is that the only person you can think of?" Gajeel snapped as he walked into his bedroom.

Lily followed. "I'm not hearing a no." he cooed.

"Fuck off."

Lily giggled. "I see. It makes sense; she's the only one who would be out that late. Plus, she's in the industry. You're making moves, Kurogane." Gajeel grumbled. "Okay, I'm definitely gossiping with Juvia about this later."

"Don't you dare!" Gajeel shouted.

"Oh so it was her?"

Gajeel cussed and grabbed a towel from the floor. "You piss me off."

"It's my job. Now, get ready. You have fifteen minutes." Lily smiled. Gajeel gave him the bird before going into the shower.

It was definitely going to be a long day.


How was that? I wanted to incorporate some more Fairy Tail characters into this story. What are your thoughts?