"And here's a cup for you." Lucy set a ceramic mug full of black caffeine before the blunette setting the base of her morning.
"Thanks Lu-cy." She broke her friends name in a soft yawn while she stretched unfurrowing her tightened muscles. Dancing steam carried the rich dark chocolate aroma pleasant to her senses.
"Just a few more classes" The blonde sighed excited for the final prospect of graduation.
"Mhm." Levy rubbed her eyes struggling to push the sleep out that was persistent in holding her eyes shut. "Just a few more." She added on with a soft smile.
"Are you sure you don't need to talk about it?" Lucy leaned over the counter with worrisome eyebrows arching.
The blunette shook her head denying the offer on the table. "No, I've said my peace. Now stop with that face." She leaned over reaching before her hand was swatted away."
"Stop it." Lucy chuckled. "That doesn't sound so convincing though, just worried for you. Allow me to." She grasped her petite hands.
"Lu…like I said, I left the door open for him. If he wants to, he can come through. If not then, it's going to be double bolted with impenetrable steel that can't be breeched under any circumstance." Levy deadpanned.
"Oh look who sounds like the writer now." The blonde raised a brow allowing her hands free before chuckling away. "Anyways I should get going, I'll see you later then. Have a good day!" Lucy waved her friend off leaving Levy taking soft sips recovering a normal way of awakening.
"Now where did I…leave those papers? Where's that bag?" Mira shifted through the mess on Gajeel's desk that seemed to appear the moment she had finished organizing the load. "Gajeel!" She called out giving a few seconds receiving no usual grunt back.
"Juvia, have you seen Gajeel?"
The blunette popped her head out from the small office. "Juvia saw Gajeel leave all of a sudden. She's not sure where though."
"Oh no, we need to have those documents." The platinum blonde continued her search while hovering over the telephone stuck on the dial tone.
-'Hey.'
-'Gajeel, where are you?'
-'At the studio, what did Juvia do now?' Gajeel jumped to an assumption failing to hide the irritation in his voice.
"Juvia heard that!" The blunette huffed.
"Yell at him later Juvia."
-'Anyways, I think I dropped some papers in your messenger bag that weren't supposed to be there. So I need you back here with them.'
-'Eh? Get them tomorrow, pretty busy right now once Rouge shows up. Should be here any moment.'
-'But!' Mira objected, 'Well they're for you to sign so please do that right now and I guess I'll give Levy her file tomorrow after you hand it over.'
Gajeel cleared his throat sitting straight up in his seat. 'Hold that thought.'
Levy tapped the butt of her pencil on paper struggling to pen the notes presented. The slides seemed to pass by the moment she'd manage to jot down a single word.
Secure.
Defensive character.
Mixed feelings.
She chewed on the cannery wood noting the snippets of words subconsciously collected. Great. With a pause, she stopped herself mid action realizing her fall back into old habits.
"Ms. Mcgarden? Ms. Mcgarden?"
"Oh yes?" The blunette snapped out of her fuzzy thoughts staring up at the professor looming over her seated figure.
"I said, everyone should have received their report back. Have you?"
"N-No I haven't." Levy choked up from missing an important mark.
"Look into that, it contains an important note or so I've heard. Now moving on."
Great, one more thing.
Levy sighed while shaking her head focusing to grasp the last bits of the rushing lecture.
Where do I start?
The blunette chewed on her lip while clutching onto the oversized text book in her hand. She held the written material tighter to her chest with each passing step ignoring the vibration in her pocket. Sorry Lu, I'll reply later.
She continued on wards before persistence continued which she could no longer brush away.
With a soft sigh, she decided to check her suspicions expecting a Lucy message.
Gajeel.
"W-What?" The blunette fumbled with his name appearing causing her to drop the heavy text book slamming on the concrete.
'Oi Levy. The school dropped something for you off in my office.' His message followed by an attached picture of the manila folder she was expecting.
Levy tried to suppress her heart from beating out of her chest as she continued to neglect the material on the ground.
'Can I come get it? I kind of need it.'
She glared down at the blinking cascading ellipsis lighting up to his response on his end. The shades of grey sunk down to his deleted response.
Should I go?
Levy nervously tapped on the glass unsure of her next actions. She held onto the device unwilling to step on his toes by stepping into his territory.
'Come over. Though come to this address. I'm not at the office.'
The blunette blinked at his late response searching the incoming address.
'Or I can just come to you.'
Levy looked around the bodies around. Their reactions would burst at his presence.
'No, I'll be there.'
"Thank you."
The blunette stepped out of the cab closing the door softly behind her. Is this the place?
Levy double checked the address checking the numerical digits on the banner-less building. The front entrance opened while putting light pressure, after cautiously peering inside, she took to the empty corridor.
Silence quickly took its leave replaced by warm tapping to drums accompanied by strumming of strings.
Get in, get the papers, go. Get in, get the papers, go. The repetition became her mantra and the only thing keeping her nerves at bay.
"Hello?" Levy slowly pushed through the door made of stainless glass.
An unfamiliar man brushed the lock covering his eye revealing familiar piercing crimson eyes to the sudden intrusion.
"I-I'm sorry to interrupt but is Gajeel here?" She took a step back noting the uncomfortable expression laid on his face as his hair overcame his eye once more.
"Oi, don't scare the girl." Gajeel appeared in the doorway ripping a bite out of a sandwich.
The two silent bodies jumped to the demanding voice that Gajeel produced.
Rouge gained a softened expression dusted with an embarrassed flush as he realized his harsh actions. "Sorry, if you'll excuse me, I think I hear Sting."
As one brunette stepped in, the other stepped out.
"The folder, let me get it for you." Gajeel mumbled maintaining grip of his lunch between his teeth.
While he flipped through endless papers on the coffee table, Levy stood slumped on one side while rubbing her arm.
-S-Should I say something?
The once loud tremor of music dwindled down to the sound of the ticking clock. She peered down when waiting before turning up focusing on the guitar strapped to his back.
Few thoughts came as she walked up plucking a cord letting it vibrate producing a one note sound.
"Eh?" Gajeel turned to her petite figure innocently jumping back retracting her arm back in innocence.
"O-Oh I'm sorry." A chuckle she broke up before accepting the manila folder with her name printed upfront.
"Nah it's okay, do you know how to play?"
"No I don't." Her flushed expression she hid, "I just can read music. I just liked humming the melody when I was younger." Levy spoke softly to the folder lacking eye contact.
His breathing hitched causing him to cautiously think about breathing. She spoke softly downgrading her talent.
"Well you got the hard part then, do you want me to teach you?" Gajeel looked away rubbing the back of his head.
"I-I probably should see what's in here first." The blunette rose catching quick eye contact directing her to take a cautious step back.
"I'll walk you out." Gajeel laid the guitar on the nearest cushion taking a jolt up to open the door allowing her petite body to saunter through.
"Thank you." A soft whisper he nodded to.
No thought was given to the innocent action when he placed his hand on her lower back directing her towards the ruby neon 'exit' sign. Though the tense feeling of her body beneath layers of calloused skin retracted his hand deep within his pockets.
Casual distance he maintained while walking beside the blunette in silence. Only the hard treading of his heavy foot bounced off of the walls.
'Gajeel, make sure you talk to Levy!'
'I'll do it my way.'
Juvia boomed in his ears refusing to take a leave. "Um listen, I don't know what you'll say but do you want to get some lunch?"
A soft gasp escaped her lips before she could bite down the sound. "I-I don't know." She clutched the documents close to her chest.
Gajeel stood keeping his distance careful not to push her. "We have some things inside if you want to—"
The blunette blinked a few times after hearing a sound arise disrupting his speech. "Oh, I…um…" She felt the vibration in her stomach followed by the very real sound she tried to repress.
"Here you go." A cup of fresh coffee was set before her gently on the table that she just ignored looking right past.
She clutched the file now on her lip cradled. "O-Oh I'm sorry, what?"
"Just there's your coffee, I can get you something else if you want."
"N-No no! It's fine. I just need to check this first. I'm sorry." She lifted the manila slightly trying her hardest not to set off a rude demeanor of her head being somewhere else.
"No bother, go ahead." He kicked back the brightest green can of energy drink while watching her hands fumble trembling white removing the documents in-cased inside.
Her eyes grazed the typed words skipping onto hand written notes. The brightest gleam in her eyes erupted into a final shot of glee as she clutched the documents to her chest exhaling built up anxiety. Stress was released in a matter of seconds.
A studded inquiring brow Gajeel rose to such a reaction. "What's it say?"
Levy looked up from her papers with a squeak. "Oh I'm sorry here." The blunette rose taking a new seat besides Gajeel ignoring the close proximity. She pointed to specific lines noting the reason to her excitement. She leaned over his arm lightly laying her cheek on his arm skipping a delicate digit over profound words.
"O-Oh I apologize." The blunette coughed up slightly breaking the tension as she took a seated inch away from him.
"Don't worry 'bout it." He was unable to focus on the documents before him deciding to push away the new colorization on his cheeks.
"It just says that I've just been accepted into Magnolia Hospital for residency." Levy tapped her nails on her exposed knees. "I'm relieved, I thought I was going to have to go home for it."
The softening words caught alerting his ears. His heart slowly crescendoed reacting when his speech lacked.
Gajeel peered over catching a glance before turning to sift through the documents pretending to read them.
"So I'm very relieved." A soft sigh coming from her lips slowly changed into a grin. "Can I have it back? I promised Lucy that I'd read the results with her. I'll have to pretend to be surprised all over again."
Gajeel snapped back from remaining dormant unable to add speech to the conversation. He coughed the hesitation pitted in his throat, "You didn't want to go back to your dad huh?"
The smile quickly erased clearing the smile lines from her heart shaped face. "Step…" She quickly added in the correction.
"O-Oi…I didn't mean it like that, I just remembered you saying you didn't get along with your old man."
She looked up blinking a few times before the sensation of the tips of her ears lighting up. "O-Oh I don't remember talking about such boring things." The beat of sweat she pushed away before running her fingers back into the silkiness of her cerulean hair.
"Nah, you're actually pretty interesting."
The blunette subconsciously clutched the files crinkling the outside between her delicate digits. The softest surprised squeak she let out before biting her lip retraining the sudden sound. "I-I'm not…"
Gajeel pulled down the tightening crew for an extra breath. "From what you told me, I think you are."
"Well from what you told me, you are too." Levy giggled softly bouncing back with her usual demeanor before realization. "Actually…I don't really know the real you."
She sunk back down into the pit she dug. Iron door.
"Well –"
Levy perked up to a new message cutting off his upcoming sentence. "I'm sorry, I need to be somewhere. Thank you for this though." She tapped her documents before quickly taking her leave alone.
a/n: welp kinda ended on a sadder tone than I expected but It will be cleared up within the next few chapters! ^-^