"You'll dance with me first won't ya big guy~"

"No way! I was here first! He's gonna dance with ME first."

Blah blah blah

That's all Gajeel heard out of the mouths of these girls.

"Tch. Where the HELL did these bimbos come from?!" Gajeel seethed internally.

"I should have fucking hid as soon I had the chance but I just had to stand here like a damn wimp overthinking this mess I got with the Shrimp!" Gajeel growled internally as he ignored the Omegas that attached themselves to him for some damn reason.

"Shit, at this rate I will end up having to spend the entire night dancing with these floozies! The whole point was to protect Short Stack from any predators but I'm stuck here!" Gajeel turned angrily to where he last saw Levy.

He felt a sharp sting go through his body at seeing that an Alpha was chatting up Levy.

He held back a threatening growl as he saw Levy blushing.

Angry, he turned around so he wouldn't have to watch and tried to focus on not losing his shit.

Gajeel jolted as he heard the first notes of music starting to play.

Gradually, couples started to dance.

Sighing heavily Gajeel held out a hand and took the first female that grabbed it for a dance.

"Seriuosly?! You call THIS dancing?"

"Tch. The rules said that we had to dance. It said nothing about how and for how long. Which now that you reminded me, NEXT!" Gajeel said with a sneer as he released the poor girl and grabbed the next one in the same fashion.

Seeing as this event was meant as a way to initiate contact between potential mates, it was weird to say the least to see a large Alpha awkwardly "dancing" at arms length with minimal touching and with the scariest scowl on his face as he looked anywhere but at his dance partners face. It was also alarming how quickly he was pushing through his line of awaiting girls since the dance only lasted a good minute for each of them.

The event organizers could only look in exasperation at the spectacle and shook their heads in pity thinking that this Alpha would never find a mate.

After the last girl Gajeel stomped away towards the exit but was stopped.

"P-p-please sir, you have to f-follow the r-rules…" A terrified Alpha said pleadingly.

"EEEHHH?! What do you mean! I danced, I'm DONE." Gajeel said as he crossed his arms and looked down on the small male dominantly.

"Y-yes, you did indeed… dance… but the rule is that every participant must ask at least one person to dance… so it doesn't count if you are asked to dance… you still have to ask someone to a dance..."

"You gotta be fucking kidding me." Gajeel said deadpanned.

"I understand your frustration, but please sir… is there no one out there that you would like to offer a dance too?"

Gajeel stilled and stood lost in thought as Levy came immediately to mind.

"Tch. Fine then. But you better let me leave afterwards if you know what's good for ya." Gajeel growled out before stalking off.

"I'll show ya dancing!"

Levy was a bit more relaxed around Jake but still kept a reasonable distance from him as they talked.

"So Levy, I recall you saying that you are a script mage? That's amazing! That is a very rare form of magic that requires intelligence and diligence, I'm very impressed."

"O-oh uuhm, thank you. I am flattered by your kind words. I'm surprised you are interested, most forget right away since it isn't a flashy or well known form of magic."

"Well my dear Levy, I would say I'm interested in the wielder and the magic~"

Levy felt like her face was on fire at his flattery and was about to excuse herself for a moment when they heard the music begin to play.

"Ah! It's time~ If you would be so kind Levy." Jack said as he extended his hand.

"…Uhhmm… yeah sure… it's why we're here right? Heh heh heh…" Levy said timidly as she took his hand.

He immediately drew her as they began to dance to the music.

"You dance wonderfully Levy~" Jake said with a dazzling smile.

"T-thanks, you too…" Levy said nervously.

Their attention was suddenly drawn to the commotion happening on the other side of the area as they took in the spectacle that Gajeel was putting on.

"Tch. What an uncouth Alpha." Jake said with a sneer as he glared at Gajeel.

Levy could only smile gently as she held back a giggle while watching the scene.

They danced for the duration of the song and once it was over Jake led her back to her spot from earlier.

"That was wonderful Levy~ I hope you'll honor me with another dance?" Jake said expectantly.

"… Actually I-"

"There he is! I found him girls~"

"Jakey~"

Levy looked away from Jake and saw a group of women heading there way noisily. She missed the rage that passed over Jake's face before he plastered a fake smile as he turned towards the groupies.

"We've been looking everywhere for you Jake!"

"Yeah! What's a girl gotta do to get some attention round here?"

Before he could say anything he was being whisked away by the group.

"Sorry Levy, I have to go for now! But I hope to see you later!" Jake said as he gave a wave and left.

Levy watched as he left and couldn't help but sigh dramatically as he went out of view.

"Talk about good timing." Levy said as she rubbed her temples.

"I'll say."

"!?" Levy jumped as she suddenly felt and heard a presence behind her.

"Gihi~ what's the matter Shrimp? Cat got yer tongue?" Gajeel said with a smirk as he looked at her playfully.

"G-g-g-Gajeel?!" Levy felt herself immediately blush from head to toe at suddenly being so close to the Alpha she was thinking about.

"Heh. The legend himself~" Gajeel said with a boyish grin as he rested his arm on her head.

A few moments earlier…

Gajeel stomped back over to the dancers and stared into the crowd looking for Levy.

Finally he spotted her being walked to a solitary area by Jake and he let out a low growl.

"Still with that dumb fuck huh?!" Gajeel said bitterly as he circled around to sneak up on them.

As he approached he felt himself getting more and more possessive over Levy and was about to rush out when he heard the familiar chatter of the females that were bothering him earlier.

Gajeel glared at the Alpha as he was led away but then turned back to look at Levy.

He watched her for a few seconds and felt satisfied at her being pleased with the departure of that jackass.

At hearing her words of relief he couldn't help but smirk as he let his presence be known.

Gajeel was calmer now that he was the only one near the Omega but he couldn't help but feel mischievous at being alone with her. It felt natural to tease her and now that he wasn't overthinking things, he initiated contact naturally as he plopped his arm on her head.

"Heya Shrimp. Having a good night?" Gajeel said sarcastically.

Levy puffed up at being used as an armrest and for being made fun of.

"Gah! Why you- you- you big dummy! Don't make fun of me!" Levy said as she jerked away from his touch and turned around to halfheartedly hit his chest with her fists.

"Heh! You're pretty scrappy ain't ya Shorty?" Gajeel said with a smirk as he watched her give up and fix her mussed up hair.

Gajeel couldn't help but trace her movements as she ran her fingers through her hair to comb them back into place. He remembered how soft it felt as he rested his arm on top of her head and fought back a blush as he watched her tighten her headband back into place.

"Hmph. You're one to talk." Levy stuck her tongue at him playfully as her words broke his trance.

"…" Gajeel slowly calmed down and smirked at her.

"Gihi~ Guess you're right about that."

They stood in silence for a little while and Gajeel noticed that Levy's eyes had wandered to the dance floor. It made him bristle slightly as he remembered exactly why he came back to find her.

"… So uhmm… would you like to…" Gajeel started to say as he rubbed the back of his head.

He flinched once Levy turned her attention back to him.

"Uuuuuh. W-w-would you? Gah! Why is this SO hard!?" Gajeel said as he ruffled his own hair in frustration.

Levy could only stand there and blush as she waited for Gajeel to ask her what she knew he wanted to say.

"Grrrrrah! Fuck it! Would ya dance with me?!"

Levy blinked owlishly and let out a breathy laugh at his clumsy approach.

"Pft. You're pretty horrible at this aren't you Gajeel?" Levy said tauntingly.

"Tch. Is that a no?" Gajeel said defensively.

"No way, there's no way I'm missing a chance to see this train wreck through mister." Levy said with a laugh.

Gajeel grumbled at her innocent mockery.

Levy looked out and noticed the next song was starting.

She blushed as she held out her hand.

"Come on then, l-let's get out there."

Gajeel did his best to hold back his blush as he extended his hand to her.

Levy took a step forward but was jerked back unexpectedly and pulled flushed against Gajeel.

"Whaa?" Levy said dumbfounded as she blushed hard against the Alpha.

Gajeel stared straight ahead as he avoided eye contact with the small Omega in his arms.

"Gajeel?"

"Feh! Why should we be bothered by the crowd when we can just stay here."

Levy thought back to when she saw him dancing earlier and smiled at the effort he took to make the activity acceptable so that he could enjoy it with her.

She let out a small laugh and began to move to the music.

"I guess you've got me there. This is definitely much more enjoyable." Levy said softly.