"I hate you, I love you, I hate that I love you."

Laxus and I were practically ninjas. A little known fact, but a true one nonetheless.

The market was crowded, with a great throng of people milling about in the midafternoon. The sun hung above us, high in the sky and lazy, just beginning its slow descent on the western horizon. The characters that passed us by were more often than not dressed skimpily and comfortably, but occasionally we caught glimpses of a more fashion-forward or affluent individual, clothed in an equally luxurious style. Apparently, among the higher classes, capes were becoming a trend again, as were sophisticatedly embellished wigs. Fashion was odd.

Laxus and I crouched behind a fruit stand; we'd spent a few minutes ambling aimlessly along the streets, until I'd seen something that caught my eye and I dragged him alongside me to the nearest cover I could find—a booth marketing various forms of tropical fruits. Of course, he'd objected to my action, but then I'd pointed over a pile of pineapple to a group a few hundred feet away from us, and he forgot whatever agitation he may've felt to begin with.

We observed Levy, floating from stand to stand with Jet and Droy in her wake, and no matter how much either man tried to get her attention, her focus seemed to be somewhere else. She seemed almost… spacey—concerned about something.

"What do you think she's so busy thinking about?" Laxus inquired, and I cast him a wayward glance.

"Take a wild guess."

"You think she's worried about Gajeel?"

I smirked. "Good guess, Sunshine. I know she's worried about Gajeel. Levy can be a real worry wart, and after he didn't turn up last night I can imagine that she's especially concerned. Honestly…" I motioned to Levy, "just look at her eyes, they've got angst and sappy romance written all over them."

"Angst and sappy romance," He echoed with a chuckle. I grinned.

Levy and Gajeel—friends, or something more? Discuss.

I shifted my stance so that I was sitting comfortably on the ground facing Laxus, my knees complaining from crouching in such a cramped space. He inclined his head and my smile broadened as I addressed him. "What do you think of them?" I inquired, and Laxus tilted his head in consideration.

"They'd make a nice pair," He said. "Definitely balance each other out."

"Agreed."

He paused before adding, "They're doing the deed by the end of the year; I can guarantee it."

"Yeah, right," I said with a snort.

"I'm dead serious. My money is placed on November, just when it starts to get cold."

"I'll give them a year from today, even though even that's asking for too much," I replied, resting my palms behind me and reclining.

Laxus seemed indignant. "You're crazy! Have you seen them? Every time they're near one another they start practically undressing each other with their eyes."

"So? That doesn't mean they're going to go ahead and do it. Look at Evergreen and Elfman. They're always giving each other the look and they won't even admit they like each other."

"Wait Evergreen and Elfman haven't…"

I laughed and shook my head. "No! Gods, no. I swear you're so clueless sometimes Laxus."

I shifted position again, maneuvering until I was capable to view Levy and her two companions again. Jet pulled out a long strand of beads from a nearby stall and held them out to Levy, his expression reverent. Levy smiled, but turned shook her head, and Jet wilted and returned the jewelry to its stand. I almost laughed.

"Poor idiots…" Laxus muttered. "They've got no idea how to treat a woman."

I let out a sharp bark of laughter and tilted my head. "Oh and you do?"

"Yeah. I do," He snapped. "I'm perfectly capable of handling a woman, sweetheart."

"You handle me like you're handling a bomb."

Laxus' confidence faltered, and I indulged as he "W-Well you're not exactly-"

"Not exactly what?" I interjected. "Honestly, you haven't got half the suave or swagger that you think you've got."

"Oh, and you do?"

I laughed again, but this time it was a derisive sort of snort. "Look at yourself. Like I said, you've got no clue how to handle women. Just because you've screwed a couple doesn't mean you know anything about women as a whole. It takes finesse to handle a lady."

He scoffed. "I can read you like a book, Alexandria."

"Oh yeah? Well, Laxus, I'll have you know that—"

"Xandria? Laxus? What are you two doing here?"

I froze, mid-riposte, and glanced up. The honeyed eyes of Levy McGarden peered down at me in curiosity, a half smile illuminating her seraphic features. My throat tightened and I reached up, grabbing the first thing that I could.

"I'm just trying to decide on which fruit to purchase," I exclaimed, shoving the produce I'd palmed into my mouth with a forced smile. Levy raised a brow and giggled. Jet and Droy gaped at me.

Laxus snorted from beside me, and I turned my head, my eyes in a simmering glower. "That's an avocado, sweetheart."

I retracted the fruit from my teeth, eyes flashing. I had more than a few choice words I'd have liked to give Laxus, but before I could hurl the first of many in his direction, Jet cut me off.

"So why're you two here?" He asked, and Laxus, suave as ever, responded.

"Xandria wanted to do a little shopping, so we came here."

"Laxus insisted that he come along," I chimed in, rising from the earth and dusting off my shorts. "You know how he is."

Levy seemed delighted by the revelation, and clasped her hands together. "This is so convenient; I was actually hoping that I'd find you, Xandria. You mentioned the markets the other day, and I was hoping that you'd have the opportunity to give me a tour. It's crazy how things work out sometimes."

"Yeah, super crazy," I muttered, and Levy gave me an enthusiastic nod.

"Yep! So do you wanna look around some? I'm sure the guys would love to have a break, knowing how guys are..." She gave a little laugh. "How about you and me head out to do some shopping, while the guys here can do whatever, and then we can meet back up here in say… an hour. That sound good?"

"That sounds great," Laxus said, but I could detect the obvious sarcasm in his voice. What a jerk. It wouldn't hurt him to be polite for once. Sure, it was okay to be an asshole, but only if you were in the company of other assholes (a la, me).

"Let's go, Levy," I said, and snatched her arm, turning her away from Laxus and shooting him one final glare as I left. We marched off towards the other produce stalls, leaving the two idiots behind in our wake.

~Laxus' POV~

I reached forward to pick up the avocado that Xandria had left behind, examining it with mild amusement as I addressed the man beside me. Jet. His friend had headed off in the direction of the restroom, so now it was just the two of us. Honestly, I'd never particularly gotten along with the carrot-haired mage. He was too cocky for my taste. There was arrogance, and then there was utter contemptuousness, and Jet was the latter.

"You still got feelings for Levy?" I asked, speaking with as much nonchalance as I could muster. I glanced up from the avocado, my gaze settling on him. "After seven years?"

"Maybe. What's it too you?"

"Seven years, man?"

"So what?"

"Well, I just think it's kind of pathetic that you haven't moved on. No offense, but isn't it obvious that she's not interested in you?"

"Well you haven't changed at all," Jet retorted. "You're still as arrogant as ever, aren't you?"

I scowled. "At least I'm not stuck mooning over some girl that I'll never be with."

Jet cocked an eyebrow and stared at me in sardonic amusement. "You sure about that?"

"And what the hell do you mean by that?" I folded my arms, a smug smile still tugging at his features.

"Have you seen yourself recently? Constantly mooning over that girl? Now that's pathetic," He remarked, and I could feel the muscle in my jaw tighten. Obviously, he was just baiting me. He was just trying to get a rise out of me.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said.

"Oh really? So you can honestly say that you've never looked at her as more than a comrade, as more than a friend—that you've never once found her attractive?" Jet challenged, and my grip on the avocado stiffened. "It's obvious that you have feelings for her, Laxus."

"I do not and never will have any feelings for Alexandria! I barely even like her enough to be a… a friend, alright? So will you just shut the hell up about it?" I paused, watching as a satisfied grin spread across his face. "What is it? What are you smiling about?"

"I never said it was Alexandria, so why're you so defensive about her specifically? Unless you do for some reason care about the woman."

My face paled.

What an asshole.

~Xandria's POV~

I glanced up from the row of flowers I was browsing through, my lips pressing together into a grin as an idea was engendered in my head. Levy noticed the sudden alertness on my part, and glanced up from her shopping.

My lips parted, and a magnificent concept stumbled past, "We should get matching tattoos or something, you know?"

Levy gave me a mildly horrified look, and I released a light laugh, scooping up a ridiculously large bouquet of sunflowers.

"That sounds like a horrible idea," She said with a shake of her head, returning her attention to the potted aster that sat in front of her.

I balanced the bouquet in the crook of my arm and allowed my smile to blossom. "Oh really? I thought it was wonderful," I mused, and I stepped away from her in the direction of the vendor. Her light footsteps signaled her following in my direction.

"I swear you're going to be the death of me," Levy teased, and we both laughed. Our chattering stopped long enough for us to purchase our flowers, but as soon as we'd left the stand we were cackling like hens again.

"Where to next?" I inquired, and Levy shrugged. Our arms were already full of meaningless objects—flowers, clothes, fruits, candles. I'd even purchased some incense, which Levy wouldn't stop going on about—she said it looked sketchy and had the potential to be a hallucinogen. I'd ignored her.

"You wanna go meet the guys? It's probably already been an hour…"

"The guys? " I said, laughing. "I hate guys. Who needs guys?" Levy laughed.

"And here I was thinking that you actually liked Laxus," She said, and I inclined my head in amusement.

"He's alright, I suppose. But compared to your company… Yeah, he doesn't even hold a candle. I can only hope that you hold me in higher esteem than Gajeel." Levy swatted at me, and I let out a triumphant laugh.

"Shut it, Xandria."

"Oh I was just kidding," I replied, dancing away from her attack. "We both know that Gajeel could never even dream of being better than I am."

We laughed yet again. If there was one thing I loved Levy for, it was her ability to make me laugh like no one else I'd ever known. Even when I was sad, she was always capable of coaxing a smile out of me. And for that I owed her the world.

"Do you really think he likes me, though?" Levy asked, and I gave her an indulgent smile.

"Please, Levy. It's obvious that he's crazy about you. Have you seen the heart eyes that he's always giving you? Not to mention how aware of your presence he always is." I pointed out, and she seemed to relax somewhat.

"You really think that?"

"Would I lie to you?"

"Good point," She said, and promptly proceeded to hook her arm through my own. I scrunched up my nose and gave her a questioning look, but Levy seemed to be focusing on something else, something she seemed rather pleased about.

"You certainly seem happy about some-"

"So what about you and our dear Laxus?" She inquired, cutting me off. I was tempted to extract my arm and fold it.

"What about us?"

"Are you seriously going to play dumb? I've seen how he acts around you, and that's from barely spending any time around the two of you together. And believe me when I say that I know when Laxus has a crush. I grew up watching him pine after Mira his whole life."

"So?"

"So?" She echoed. "Xandria, don't tell me that you're just going to give him the cold shoulder like this."

"The feeling isn't mutual," I deadpanned, and Levy gave me an incredulous stare.

"You're kidding me, right? Xandria, I've seen the way you act around him, and I've seen the way he acts around you. There is some obvious tension there, and I can guarantee that the feeling is most definitely mutual."

I released a sigh. "Listen, Levy, it's not that I don't like him. He's a great guy (sometimes at least), alright who am I kidding he's a total asshole."

"Xandria-"

"And I'm not going to pretend that he isn't attractive, because he is. I mean have you seen that jaw? Those eyes? And his stupid, gorgeous hair, not to mention his body or the way he looks when he…" I stopped and cleared my throat. "It's just… I—He—" I paused again and tugged at my ponytail. "People… they have this habit of falling in love with this ideal of me. Not that Laxus loves me; honestly, half the time I'm convinced we both hate each other. But what I'm trying to say is that people always like the way they perceive me, not who I really am. And Laxus… even if he knew me, who I am at my core, he could never love me. We're both flighty and forgetful and independent to a fault, and we both have a habit of forming relationships with people and breaking them off mere days later. People, as a whole, are rather quick to attach themselves to another human being, and I—we—take a long time before we're ready to really commit ourselves to someone. Laxus and I aren't compatible, besides, he could never love who I am. I don't know if anyone could."

"You're making excuses, Xandria," Levy pointed out, and yet again I released a disconsolate sigh. "Why are you playing it so safe with him? Aren't you the one always telling me to take risks?"

"I—things are complicated. You're right, Levy, I don't want to be just friends with him, but I don't want to be something more either." I let out a bitter scoff. "Things would be so much simpler if I'd just never met Laxus Dreyar. We're in the middle of the Grand Magic Games, and I just ran into Ultear and Meredy. Not to mention that when the Games are over, if we win—which we will—Fairy Tail will have far more jobs available to its mages than it does now. We'll probably hardly see each other," I stated and shook my head. "Let's just talk about something different, alright? You still afraid of getting those matching tattoos?"

A/N: A pretty fluffy pretty frustrating pretty filler chapter. Hopefully you enjoyed ;)

In other news, I'm making headway on a LOTR/The Hobbit fanfic (that I am SUPER excited about) and an AMAZING Harry Potter fanfic (that sounds weird at first but trust me it's one of the most amazing things I've ever written. Go check them out; I can guarantee they're worth the read! And, as always, R&R!