A/N: I actually wrote the first scene for this on a plane… more than two months ago. It's a really weird sensation, sitting next to your mom and writing fluff…

Annnnnd then I had to cut it. Oh well. '3'

Sorry, these sections are really short. But look out for cameos! They'll be from my fandoms (listed on my profile.)

This took so long and I apologize (and do a dogeza) to you all. Psh, it's not like I was distracted by Tumblr. Or Skype. Heh. Please enjoy a slightly longish, painstakingly edited chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Levy strolled into the office happy. Even with the impending gala, today was solely filing loose papers and reading RSPVs. Plus, Mr. Redfox was at meetings all morning, so she could avoid any awkward situations. She had the office all to herself.

.:.:.:.

Gajeel smirked. His meeting got out early and he was more than satisfied. The complimentary lunch was delicious.

Both the press and the other tycoons were eating up news about the Meta Cell. Business owners from all over the world were coming to the ball. One group was even coming from as far as Death City, Nevada.

He stood in front of his private elevator, waiting. The elevator arrived and he stepped in.

Gajeel arrived to a quiet office, the shorty barely looking up as she tapped away on her computer. He opened up his own laptop and started checking through his emails. Absentmindedly, he also glanced over to the shrimp.

It was almost close to that day. Gajeel shook his head, clearing the thought from his mind. He couldn't afford distractions right now. There was the shrimp's corsage, the last- fucking- people who didn't RSVP and the fact that the biggest night of his career was coming up in a week. He wasn't stressed, just... tired. He seemed to be tired a lot lately.

Ah, fuck. He was practically giddy a few minutes ago! What the hell was wrong with him? Now all he wanted was some takeout and to conk out on his couch.

She probably had a nice, normal family. Look at her, always so damn happy. Gajeel forced his eyes back to his computer. Whereas mine is fucked up. Ah, fuck.

"Oh! Mr. Redfox, have you finished your speech? The shorty tilted her head, casting her brown eyes towards him. Stop distracting me.

"Yeah." He shifted slightly in his seat. Lie.

"Would you like me to edit for you? My major was English."

"Nah. 'M fine." Lie.

"Okay." She smiled sweetly at him and he felt some of his bad feelings evaporate against his will. Being in a bad mood made him feel stronger, feel in control. Why did that go away just because of her smile? He had plenty of women doing worse, but they never had this kind of control over him.

"Gajeel."

"Eh?"

"Call me Gajeel. Not Mr. Redfox." He looked away.

"Oh, I... okay." He could feel her beaming at him. STOP.

"I-It's only cuz the Ass-Flame calls Bunny Chick by her name! Not anything else." He said quickly, ears turning red. He felt some more of his bad mood pile up. What the fuck was she doing?

"Alright, Gajeel."

She made him want to throw himself into her arms.

Fuck.

.:.:.:.

Levy looked worriedly at Mr.- Gajeel. There was definitely something weighing on his mind. "Gajeel, if it's about the event, it'll be fine!" she blurted.

"Eh?"

"Uh-I'll do my best to support you!" He said nothing, and she slumped. It wasn't about the ball.

"Hey, do you want to go get some lunch? I heard there's this great place-" she stopped suddenly when she saw Gajeel's face. Instead of his usual expressions that made his face look scarier than it really was, this one made him look... vulnerable. Closing his eyes, his features smoothed out.

"Let's go."

"Ah... okay."

Gajeel acted fine the rest of the day, but Levy sensed something else just beneath his façade. Something was bothering him, and it was big. Levy knew next to nothing about her boss, so she researched the only way she knew how.

The wiki page popped up in her browser and she clicked through it. Trouble with the gangs? No, with all the publicity around him, that would be disastrous. She scrolled down, glancing past made up scandals with so-and-so and the designers he wore during such-and-such. A caption caught her eye.

Metallicana Redfox's Dissapearance.

On July 7th, X777, Metallicana Redfox mysteriously disappeared along with his longtime business associates Igneel Dragneel, Grandeeny Marvel, Weisslogia Eucliffe and Skiadrum Cheney. The five tycoons were declared dead and on August 13th, X778, and MetaTech Corp. was turned over to Gajeel Redfox. He was 13.

"Thirteen..." Wow. That must have been tough.

Pantherlily Edo was chosen as Gajeel's caretaker and held control of the company in Gajeel's stead for about six and a half years. Gajeel became the official owner of the company when he was 20 years old. Gajeel went to college at...

"I'm such an idiot..." She smacked her forehead. "How could I have forgotten? It's going to be July 7th in two days!" She grabbed her laptop and read the article again. July 7th, X777?

"That means this is the ninth year they've been missing..."

.:.:.:.

Gajeel was in his apartment around the time Levy realized why he was so pissed. He flopped onto his couch and loosened his tie. Gajeel scowled. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. "Aaah, what a shitty day..." It all went downhill from the shrimp. She was distracting him, and he couldn't focus when he was around her. It was that blue hair...

He winced as he felt the beginnings of a migraine pound against his skull. Chinese? Chinese. He ate and promptly fell asleep on his couch. It was too far to walk the bed. Well, it's not like he slept on it much anyways.

The man slipped into a dream.

There was a man with his back to him. He had long black hair like Gajeel, but somewhere in the back of his head he knew who it was. "Pops! Pops!" He ran towards him, but the man always got further and further away. "M-Metallicana! Pops! Dad..."

Then he was a kid again, crying at Metallicana's funeral. There was no coffin, just a framed picture surrounded by flowers. "No...NO!" he lunged at the display, strong arms holding him back.

"Shhh, shhh."

Then, a feminine face framed by blue hair appeared and something cool was on his forehead. His face was wet, although he didn't know whether it was from the compress on his forehead or the dream.

"Gajeel. Gajeel."

"Shr-Shrimp." his voice cracked with sleep. "What are you doing here?"

"Lily, he's awake!" she called gently to the general area of his kitchenette. "Lily came to get me when you didn't show up at the office. He let me in with his key. I hope you don't mind. We tried to wake you up, but..." Her voice trailed off. You were delirious, her face said.

"Where is he?"

"In the kitchen, making you some breakfast. You're scheduled to address the public this morning."

Shit. Right. Just what he needed. "You'd better get ready. Honestly, you're a mess." He surveyed himself, taking in his rumpled suit and the takeout cartons on the coffee table. The shrimp was looking at him worriedly.

"I- Imma take a shower." He grunted, heading for his room. It definitely cleared his head, the shower. After grabbing a clean suit, he headed out to eat.

"Gajeel?"

"Mmm."

"Are you okay?"

"...yeah." and Gajeel realized it was true. Right now, with her here, he felt at ease.

The shrimp excused herself to the bathroom and Lily came out of his kitchen. Gajeel started on a piece of toast and ate a bite of eggs. "Eat up, Lover-Boy. You've got a big day ahead of you." Lily stated, pushing more food towards him. Gajeel choked on his food.

Coughing violently, he said, "What the hell, Lil?!"

"I heard you finally asked Miss Levy here to the ball."

"Yeah, so?" Would the fork bend if he tried hard enough? "We're just going as friends."

Lil gave him a look but relented. "Whatever you say."

Gajeel played with his food some more, taking a few more bites. He chewed without tasting.

The shorty appeared out of nowhere, grabbing her purse. "We should get going, Gajeel. The conference starts at eleven and it's almost ten."

"I'll drive." Lily offered, and they were off.

They sat in the backseat of Lily's car, a slightly gloomy atmosphere hanging over them. The shrimp broke the silence.

"The conference ends at twelve so we can grab a bite to eat before heading to the office. We need to do a final run-through of everything, annnnnnd..." She rummaged through her purse. "I brought a copy of your speech!" Holding up a folded piece of paper, she tucked it in his breast pocket. "Just in case."

Mavis be damned. He reached over and ruffled her hair. "Thanks."

Her smile quickly turned to disbelief. "I'm starting to think you have something against ties."

"What?"

"It's untied." She narrowed her eyes at him. He shrugged. Sighing, she reached over to knot it anyways.

They pulled up to the city (guild) hall and were immediately swarmed by reporters. Gajeel scowled. "How the hell am I supposed to get inside with all these fuckers in the way?"

Lily gave him a disapproving look. "What?"

"I'll clear the way." The three filed out with Lily in front and Levy bringing up the rear. Reporters usually irked Gajeel, and today was no different. Taking a breath, he closed his eyes and ignored them. They made it through without incident, Lily's tall silhouette slicing through the journalists. The shrimp seemed pretty shaken up afterwards, though.

"You did good." He patted her shoulder.

"Thanks."

A/N: And now, since I'm a lazy butt I'm cutting it off there. And yes, I'm going to over use the tie thing. A lot.

Thanks to Musicbooks.2011, Kiri5920, Lexie and the anime, and Maviea for reviewing!

Hey, Circus Monster 2002! Remember wayyy back in chapter 4 when you reviewed asking for a Lucy pov story like this? I'm planning a chapter only from Lucy's point of view, so look out for it!

Signing off,

MQW