It was open mic night at the Fairy Tail bar, and Levy and Gajeel were smiling as they entered the same door they had left from all those months before, back where their crazy love story had begun anew. The entire crew was gathered, with the notable exception of Juvia and Gray who were sequestered at home with their frankly adorable new son, ready to kick back and blow off some steam, in celebration of both a new member to their peculiar family and the fact they'd finally finished recording the album options earlier that week.
Gajeel had grabbed one of the last corner booths, the only table big enough for them all the cluster around, and the rest of the gang had slowly trickled in, seeming to just gravitate towards the hulking singer. It was one of the things Levy loved about him, she thought as she smiled, the way people just seemed drawn to him despite all his efforts to look intimidating. Shaking herself free of her thoughts, she slid free of the booth and made her way to the bar where she chatted easily with Mira, before bringing a tray of drinks back to the table.
"One round of fire whiskey, as per your request Natsu" she spoke, sliding the tray of drinks into the middle of the table and climbing back onto her perch on Gajeel's lap, smiling as his arms wrapped around her waist. "Wonder what kind of entertainment we're going to get tonight?"
"As long as I don't gotta listen to Laxus sing, I don't care!" Natsu joked, waving enthusiastically at the man in question who was lurking near the bar, presumably to keep any undesirable clientele away from his girl, who was currently making her way onto the stage, the lights reflecting off her snowy hair.
"Hello everyone, and welcome to another one of our infamous open mic nights!" Mira smiled, waiting for the cheers to subside. "Now, before we begin, let me remind you all of the rules! If you want to perform, come see either Cana or myself at the bar for the sheet. You are welcome to use the house gear" she gestured to the handful of instruments behind her "or whatever you brought with you. Covers and originals both are welcome, but absolutely under no circumstances can you perform 'Wonderwall'." Mira paused, waiting for the laughter to die down. "If you need anything else, Sting and Rogue are your techs for tonight, go see them up the back. Sign ups are open, break a leg everyone!"
Even dressed as incognito as possible, their table was still garnering a fair amount of attention. Between Natsu's shockingly pink hair, and the sheer size of Gajeel, it wasn't hard for most patrons to put two and two together, and they were acutely aware of the whispering being done about them. So much so, it was almost a relief when Mira made her way over, picking through the crowded room, with a tray of drinks and a request.
"On the house" she smiled apologetically. "I know you guys are just here to relax, have a good time, but word has clearly gotten out - we haven't been this packed in, well, ever!"
"It's fine, Mira!" Natsu grinned.
"Tch, they're all behavin' at least" Gajeel grunted into his beer.
"Okay... Well, I have a proposition for you guys! I'll let you drink for free if you guys will get up and do a song or two, maybe a few introductions?" she looked around the table, eyes hopeful.
The friends glanced at one another, Levy felt her smile growing when Gajeel groaned.
"Fine, ya damn she devil. But you better keep those drinks comin'"
Mira snapped a salute before beating a hasty retreat, having more sense than to wait around for Gajeel to change his mind.
After sitting through a handful of mediocre performances - and one bad enough to make Levy's ears feel like bleeding - Mira had given them the signal and the band made their way to the stage under darkened lighting.
"I know you all saw them hiding there in the corner, so get your phones out and make some noise for Magnolia's very own Dragon Slayers!"
The lights came up to reveal the four of them on stage - Wendy and Levy waving shyly, Gajeel standing with his arms crossed, and Natsu grinning and waving with his usual over the top enthusiasm. Gajeel stepped up to the microphone at the front of the stage as the rest of the band took up their positions at the instruments already on stage, as Rogue scurried around setting up additional microphones.
"What's up Fairy Tail?" Gajeel called, stepping easily into his rockstar persona as the bar roared with cheers.
"We are the Dragon Slayers, and y'all can thank that demon behind the bar for this impromptu performance. Now, we got a new record comin' out real soon, and the powers that be aren't gonna like what we're about to do." He signalled to Natsu, who began playing the opening chords to what they hoped was going to be their first single. "But fuck 'em! Put ya hands together for this absolute babe, my Shrimp, who wrote this one. We call it 'Vicious Love'" and with that, the band burst into song as Levy stepped up beside her man, keeping her eyes on him through the entire song.
It seemed like no time at all before the last notes rang out, and the entire bar erupted into deafening levels of applause and hollers. Without missing a beat, they swung into 'I Don't Wanna Know' before they all stepped down as Gajeel introduced the next artist.
Try as they might to relax in peace, the rest of the night was filled with people coming up to the table and the repeat conversation of "I'm sorry, I don't mean to bother you, but I'm such a big fan..." followed by either more gushing or an autograph request, both of which were sent on their way with a sneer and a snide remark from Gajeel. The handful of younger kids who followed their intro with a plea for advice were received more warmly, and helped however possible in the few short moments they had. Levy was surprised to see she herself had a few fans in the crowd, and she tried her best to interact graciously with everyone who stopped by. That is, until it was her name called over the stereo system and she made her escape, avoiding the curious looks she was getting from everyone there, but none more so than Gajeel.
"Hey everyone, thanks for indulging me!" She spoke brightly, settling herself down with the acoustic guitar. "I've been working on something a little different, I'd love to play it for you. Let me know what you think!" And with that, she began to pluck at the strings, closing her eyes and swaying softly as she started to sing.
"Look around
There's no one but you and me
Right here and now
The way it was meant to be
There's a smile on my face
Knowing that together everything that's in our way
We're better than alright
Walking between the raindrops
Riding the aftershock beside you
Off into the sunset
Living like there's nothing left to lose
Chasing after gold mines
Crossing the fine lines we knew
Hold on and take a breath
I'll be here every step
Walking between the raindrops with you
Take me now
The world's such a crazy place
When the walls come down
You'll know I'm here to stay
There's nothing I would change
Knowing that together everything that's in our way
We're better than alright
Walking between the raindrops
Riding the aftershock beside you
Off into the sunset
Living like there's nothing left to lose
Chasing after gold mines
Crossing the fine lines we knew
Hold on and take a breath
I'll be here every step
Walking between the raindrops with you
There's a smile on my face
Knowing that together everything that's in our way
We're better than alright
Walking between the raindrops
Riding the aftershock beside you
Off into the sunset
Living like there's nothing left to lose
Chasing after gold mines
Crossing the fine lines we knew
Hold on and take a breath
I'll be here every step
Walking between the raindrops with you
Between the raindrops with you
Between the raindrops with you
Between the raindrops with you"
Levy opened her eyes, blinking them against the bright lights as she heard cheers and applause - and a voice that was distinctly Lucy's screaming something about "getting some". Standing, she bowed slightly before waving at the crowd.
"Thanks for indulging me, everyone! I'm gonna take the rest of my crew home now before they drink the bar dry. Enjoy the rest of your night!"
As she skipped down from the stage, she was met by her entire group of friends with smiles on their faces as they made their way free from the crowd and out into the winter night, splitting off to go their separate ways home. Shivering at the cold air, Levy wrapped herself around Gajeel's arm as they began the short walk home.
"Well, pretty sure the whole world knows we're fuckin' after that little stunt, Shrimp."
"I'm sorry" she frowned at the harshness in his voice. "I wasn't aware it was some big secret. You literally posted something about us on the bands Instagram last week! But I can't write one song - that could be about anything, thank you very much!" she pulled away from him, anger reddening her cheeks. "You're such a hypocrite! You only want to show me off when it makes you look good! Heaven forbid I do something for myself without checking with the Mr Redfox first!" she stomped away, throat burning with the effort to not cry.
"Oi! Would ya just stop?!" Gajeel yelled at the quickly disappearing back of his girlfriend. "Ya could have at least run it by me first! Maybe I didn't want the world to know, maybe I wanted to keep it between us!"
"Why?" she whirled around on his, hair blowing in the winter breeze, her eyes wide and cheeks red as she screamed at him. "Are you ashamed of me? That's it, isn't it? Little Levy McGarden, too short, not busty enough, what would he ever want with her!"
"Goddamn it woman! Stop!" Gajeel roared, grabbing her arms and crushing her to his chest, lips smashing down on hers desperately. "I wanted to keep it between us because I wanted to keep you all to myself. I'm a selfish bastard, and I don't wanna share you with the rest of the world! I see how men look at you, it drives me crazy to know you're gonna belong to everyone, not just me!"
Levy just blinked owlishly, stunned by his confession. "I'm so sorry, Gaj. I had no idea you felt like that" she hugged him close, before tangling their fingers together and pulling him softly. "Let's go home, yeah?"
Humming in agreement, he let himself be pulled along, thankful for the short walk as he knew they were both likely to get caught up in overthinking.
"Hey Shrimp?" he called softly as she unlocked the front door.
"Hmm?"
"Was that our first public spat?"
"Yeah, and I think we're in trouble" Levy giggled, pointing at the black cat staring them down, a stern expression on his face.
"C'mon Lil', don't be like that!" Gajeel edged around her, bending to pick up their furry friend. "Now don't ya look at me like that, it's not my fault she's so sexy I wanna keep her chained to the bed all the time".
Lily meowed loudly, apparently unhappy with the explanation he was given.
"It was my fault too" Levy sighed, scratching behind his rounded ears the way she knew he liked. "I should have spoken to you first, I'm sorry Gajeel."
"I shouldn'ta flown off at ya like I did Lev'. I'm sorry too" he leant down, kissing the top of her hair tenderly as he wrapped his free arm around her shoulders. "C'mon you lot, I'm beat."
Levy yawned, suddenly aware of how tired she was, and allowed herself to be guided towards the bedroom where, once under the covers, they promptly fell asleep in a tangle of limbs and one purring housecat.
So, that happened? Honestly, I didn't set out to have any kind of drama here, but once I started it just seemed completely natural. Oops? As always, I live for your reviews/follows/favourites. Thanks for keeping me motivated!
Songs in this chapter -
Band - "Vicious Love" by New Found Glory (feat. Hayley Williams) "I Don't Wanna Know" by NFG.
Levy - "Between the Raindrops" by Lifehouse (feat. Natasha Bedingfield)