Levy slowed her pace as she caught the Fairy Tail logo illuminating from a far. The sharp points reflected into an arrow pointing out her destination that disappeared as she shook her head.
She gulped down the last of her nerves as she sent him a quick text giving him a heads up to her arrival. 'I'll be arriving in five minutes'
Standing a few feet from the glass doors, Levy took one last breath propelling her in as her legs stopped at a moment of hesitation. She turned the corner making her entrance to face Mira's post. She held her breath waiting for the woman's questioning that she couldn't quite know how to reply to. Lifting her head, she noted an empty work area raising a question to her whereabouts.
"Hmm?" The blunette cocked her head questioning her disappearance before taking for her purse digging through the pockets for her phone.
"Gi hi." Gajeel lightly chuckled as he watched her since the moment that she entered. He stood a far noting her expression shift into one of 'a deer caught in headlights.' "Oi." He called out from the corner from which her back turned catching her mid action.
"Oh Gajeel." The blunette jumped in her skin as she turned to the man with the raspy recognizable voice. Her hand remained placed over her heart holding down the increasing beat that he caused.
With a remaining grin on his face from her actions, he pushed himself off of the wall that he leaned on approaching her first.
"I was just going to call you." She brushed the fallen lock to behind her ear as she gave him a soft smile looking up towards his heightened figure.
While giving her a look down, he gulped leaving his mouth dry from the sweetness coating her face. "Ready? Let's go then." Gajeel coughed as he dipped his hands into his pockets nudging his head towards the upstairs.
"Mhm." Levy nodded as she followed behind taking a moment to catch up from his long strides.
Mira took for the corridor slowly re-approaching her front desk holding the cardboard supporting the to-go drinks. She stopped the moment she caught a head of azure hair much too short to be any others from a far.
"Oh?" She caught Levy's profile giving a chat to Gajeel at her side as she struggled to keep up with his long strides. She gave a soft gasp to the sight with a satisfied smile. "Please take this." Mira turned to a random worker having to pass, by dropping her work on him. The woman stood with a smile witnessing the two find a way together on their own.
Gajeel stopped at his office door pushing the heavy object open for her body to enter first. "Come on in."
The blunette's shoulders remained relaxed to his invitation once more. She took first step entrance getting a bother some eye full the moment they fixated on the mahogany structure standing far center. She gave a soft sigh to the unwanted sight of such a mess that easily beat Mira's. Unwanted clutter scattered down onto the ground as if a wild animal had pounced on his desk. "Can I?" She pointed with a jittery finger towards his seat asking for permission towards his personal area.
"Go ahead." Gajeel shrugged with no hesitation to allow her back. He slipped the thin strap off of her shoulder letting it hang on the coat rack by the door for her comfort removing unnecessary weight.
"Thank you." She gave him one final smile before making her way to his desk. Further disappointment from the cluttered seat caused a sigh to slip from her lips. She bent removing some from the seat opening up her a spot.
Gajeel felt no urgency to her approach until he eyed the frame standing face forward. He rushed over to slam it down amongst a stack of documents giving her a slight scare from the abrupt sound.
"Sorry, this is my work for right now." He apologized for the scare picking up the papers with the frame wedged between and a pen from the leather bound cup.
Levy clutched onto the documents from the fright stiffening her body. She slowly turned giving a weak smile as her heart continued to race.
"No it's okay." She shook her head setting the papers down on the nearest space available before adding to the mess on the ground.
Levy took his strong position sitting straight up in his large chair as trying not to sink into the nosey obsidian leather. An uncomfortable aura she just couldn't shake off as her body remained on the edge barely holding on. With the sight of Gajeel pulling up a plain chair besides her, she gulped from dethroning him.
Like a rod in her back, her posture remained stoic to the feeling keeping her arms moving robotically. She attempted to focus on the stacks before her filing them alphabetically into the file folder besides her.
"Hmm?" Curiosity beamed to his actions as she gave quick visual passes.
She gave a soft squeak as she caught a new dark sight in her peripheral taking her attention into a new direction that couldn't be helped. She shook her head to pick up the documents focusing on her work.
A few minutes passed as she caught Gajeel shift his position once more. Not that she was keeping count. His legs crossed, one foot over his knee. The subconscious action of comfort was no bother as he continued to pen on his documents; flipping through the pages folding one behind the other as he went along.
Unable to keep focus, Levy dropped an azure lock using the light colored 'curtain' to catch a better look. Oh? She dropped her azure cover turning it away from obscuring the new sight. With no subtlety, she turned to the man donning a pair of onyx frames resting upon the bridge of his nose. A slight smile brushed on her lips to his softened appearance that she couldn't pull her eyes away from.
She bit down on her rosy lip from an initial saying before she couldn't anymore.
"That's a really good look for you." Levy spoke up breaking the long standing silence in the room.
"Huh?" Gajeel peered up from the onyx rim of his glasses picking up on her soft giggling. He became slowly lost in her laughter stealing his attention before realizing what she was pointing out. "Oh." He quickly yanked them off of his face flustered from her witnessing what he always noted on as an embarrassing sight.
Although removed, the residual memory was left in her mind.
"Leave them, they were cute." The blunette waved him off attempting to reassure him allowing for the word to slip out accidentally. She stopped for a moment before carefully turning back to him giving him a nervous smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."
Gajeel coughed to the specific use of words. "Nah, it's okay. Yers ain't half bad either." He picked his head back up coming to her smile.
Levy pushed the ruby rim of close up the bridge of her nose as the tension released from her shoulders to his grin. "Thanks." She tugged the azure lock behind her ear.
Gajeel continued his grin as he slipped on his glasses finishing signing off on the documents in his lap.
Levy turned in her seat to face the bookshelf situated behind her. She reached over to return the lone book once on his desk to its proper home. Making a small space between two titles, she ran across one specific one without attempting to look for it. She gave a soft gasp as with the most care in the world, ran her digit against the old ivory spine taking in each word.
"What's wrong?" Gajeel turned to the petite woman making a sudden alerting sound. He continued to look her way as she was so entranced with a specific title taking care in slipping it out.
Her face beamed as she opened the hard cover finding prized words.
"Levy? Levy?" He called out a few times til catching her attention.
Levy looked up towards the man with questions in his eyes. "Oh umm I'm sorry, I just became too excited." Levy held the precious literature from sliding off of her lap.
"Nah its fine. That thing has just been sitting there for a while." Gajeel noted on the light cover collecting dust for the past few years. "Take it if yah want." He quickly offered it to her not holding an attachment to the object.
Levy blinked a few times questioning if she had heard him correctly. "Do you know that this is a first edition? It's so rare!" She tried to add a defense for the book that could not speak for itself.
She questioned herself on how he could easily give away such a prized possession. She had seen how well taken care of other first editions were due to their hefty price tag. She had almost shed a tear from viewing the price online knowing it was just not a possibility for her to own one in her lifetime.
"Eh? It's just a book." He quickly brushed it off looking towards the shelf full of titles that were all equal in his mind.
"B-But…" Her heart raced to the offer as time ticked down to accept the offer. She didn't know when but she clutched the book to her chest subconsciously refusing to let it go.
"I can't remember who gave it to me but it's been there for a while now." Gajeel tried adding onto the case that it wouldn't be missed if she was to take it. He attempted to recall who had placed the book in his possession. He was never one for reading and could only remember questioning the gift when it was given to him. Erza had nudged him in the ribs causing a significant bruise when his face soured completely doing a 180 to the pained action.
Levy's eyes became glossy at the prospect of it being hers. "I-I really can't accept it." The words began to slowly chip away at her heart hurting from rejecting such a precious item. She held the book a bit away from her starting to emotionally separate from the item.
Gajeel raised a studded brow to her pained expression. He'd only see it on Juvia when Gray would leave without telling her. "Have you read it? You can right now if yah want." Gajeel watched the gleam in her eyes shift when she giggled.
"I've probably read it over a hundred times, I might know it by heart." She looked down at the plain cover continuing to hold on to it. "I read it at least once a year. Well maybe not this one, I haven't found enough time." She looked down defeated with disappointment in her eyes.
"But I'll find time." She changed her attitude as quickly as she could to hide the disappointment. She extended her hands outwards wishing he would just quickly take it back ripping it off like a bandage. Take it, she whispered beneath her breath as she closed her eyes tightly before cocking one open waiting for the moment that it was gone.
"Nah." Gajeel immediately rejected the literature only laying a hand on it. He bend at the waist lightly pushing the title back to her with a grin.
"G-Gajeel?" Levy clutched the thick novel with both of her petite hands as she meet his eyes.
"Since you won't take it then go ahead and read it right now Shrimp." He pointed towards the plush couch situated on the opposite side of the room.
The blunette turned away slightly from his blush inducting stare. "B-But…" She turned to the last stack of documents yet to be touched.
In the moment, the nickname didn't seem to bother her as she chose to eye the new seating considering it for a second.
"Go shrimp." Gajeel urged her forward picking himself from his couched position.
Once he leaned away, she took his invitation with all the joy in her heart as she quickly walked towards the new location. She slipped her sandals off to prop her feet up finding a comfortable location in between the leather.
Even though her copy donned cracks in the spine showing multiple reads and written countless analysis' done for class; there was something about this barely touched book scripting out one of her favorite fiction words. The pages gave off the softest creak satisfied to finding a reader after being neglected to share its message. It was evident that it hadn't been read for many years retaining its fresh page scent which Levy wished she could bottle and preserve.
Gajeel gave a 'humph' with a fleeting grin to her reaction. Even though she said she wanted to focus, her body was itching to rush off.
He dropped his signed papers down for Erza to take over later. For the first time, he was able to complete the simplest of tasks to her presence.
Gajeel tapped on the pages slipping the frame propping it back up before walking towards her way. He took for noting the late hour ticking down on the clock situated on the wall behind Levy. He took for preparing to leave unstrapping the edge of his gloves.
Before she could completely fall into the details, she turned to Gajeel walking by standing close.
"Have you read this before?" Levy asked almost expecting rude snort knowing full well from the up kept condition of the literature.
"Nah, it's not my thing." He immediately rejected the idea as he slipped off his gloves tossing them onto the coffee table before her.
"Do you want to?" Levy pointed to the book as she began to sit up straight on the couch. "With me?" She slipped her body into one spot allowing him a location besides her.
Gajeel gulped at the offer. "Nah stay." He encouraged her to remain in her comfortable preferred position not wishing to ruin her comfort. He took for sitting on the ground leaning his back ever so slightly against the coffee table hearing it creak from the pressure.
"Are you sure?" She gave a concerned look to placing him on his own ground.
"Yeah go ahead, read." He crossed his arms finally finding a comfortable position on the corner of the rug.
More than ready, Levy didn't need more than one reassurance for the excitement that she was feeling. Her hands shook slightly to the prospect.
'It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.' Levy began fluently with the opening line.
Gajeel moved his arms behind his head relaxing back into his spot for the moment. The first few words that she spoke, he didn't let sink in pushing them right out. He was captivated by her presence simply. The excitement in her eyes was brighter than ever as she read through each words.
It was true what she had said, she really didn't need the written word but having it there was a huge bonus.
He continued to look her over. His heart began to thump in his throat as he scanned her further. He gave a deep swallow to the sight noting the smallest details.
Her lips parted specifically pausing at her favorite characters entering a scene.
Her voice was so smooth and passionate. It would peak at certain moments only to dwindle down to specific sentences. She'd flawlessly play each chapter turning her voice allowing him to easier know the characters.
He slyly turned towards her watching her move once more shuffling in her seat. He assumed that she had she had caught onto his starting but no. She was divulging in her own world placing herself into the fictional life.
Gajeel bit his lip preventing him from chucking at the adorable sight and ruining it for her. He continued to quietly listen before chiming into with an inquiry of his own.
"Oi why does that Darcy guy still follow her?" He turned to her becoming invested in the storyline as much as she was.
"Hmm?" Levy paused for a moment as she heard him asking one of her favorite questions to analyze. She turned leaning in close meeting face to face. Her eyes glistened to the questioning as she didn't bother seeing the close proximity as an issue.
"Well he loves her and… well, I don't want to ruin it for you." She gave a soft giggle holding off the pleasure of an immediate answer as she pressed her finger to her lips shutting off her speech.
Gajeel remained stoic as she leaned in. Her warm breath ran through provoking the softest hint of pink.
Levy returned to laying her head on the arm rest as Gajeel laid on the seat waiting for an answer becoming invested in the novel falling back into Longbourn.
Gajeel coughed off the feeling as he leaned back into his place waiting to discover the answer for himself. He closed his eyes falling into her reading. He never liked any type of literature but it was pleasant listening to her.
'…and through the man and match were quite good for her, the worth of each was eclipsed by Mr. Bingley and Netherfield.' Levy ended the long chapter with the softest young muddling the last few words.
"Gajeel?" Levy called out with a raspy voice full of sleep. She turned to the man who had long rested slumped over in his own spot. He laid his head besides herself on the plush couch finding a comfortable position.
Being captivated in the novel, she didn't realize how close he was breathing softly on her arm.
The blunette gave a soft smile as she laid her eyes on the sight. His rough scowl relaxed only at night.
Without a second thought, Levy tried the book next to Gajeel's head. She gave it a safe resting location before her eyes fully dropped sealing her location for the night.
a/n: YAY holy wow i'm proud of myself for stating that this chapter would be up on the weekend and i made the deadline! this is so rare for my lazy self :c but I was excited for this chapter and the next one too!
there's going to be much more of a close interaction .
but i'm working on the next chapter of my other story 'it was always you' - finally after like a 6 month hiatus ...ouch. if you've been waiting for that, it's coming soon, promise!
just for your info:
-yes the book she is reading is 'Pride & Prejudice'
-'Longbourn' is the estate in which the main character of P&P live in!
...andddddd...I won't steal anymore of your time, thank you for reading c: