Hey! Sorry for the lack of update, I'll explain at the bottom. For now, please enjoy! And this chapter is shorter than the last, I know, I know. But its better than nothing! Hehe ~Hana
"Very nice, I can see a lot of strong poses tonight." Gajeel's voice echoed slightly in the small yoga room. He could feel his face tingle, afraid his forced smile would fall off any minute now. "The class is almost over, we have about ten minutes left so I'm going to challenge you guys." A light murmur of groans rang through the room. This 'beginners yoga' class was just that. Beginners.
Gajeel was a kickboxing instructor, he was made to deal with sweat and tears, not old ladies dragging their saggy husbands to a light yoga class that was a sixty minute childs pose, filled with rainbows smiles. He didnt care if half his class dropped from exhaustion, he was determined to push them until he was satisfied.
"Now lift your left arm above your head and hold a warriors pose." On second thought, he'd never hear the end of it if he caused Juvia's classes to suddenly drop in numbers. Shit, this was tougher than he thought. "You can spend the rest off the class in whatever relaxing pose you'd like." Gajeel's voice said before nearly the whole class dropped down to their favorite pose- childs. Lazy asses.
"No way am I taking over yoga duty!" Laxus shook his protein shake, making a rattling noise. "Besides, didn't Mira say that you owed Juvia one for something?" He asked.
"I honestly think that demon changes the reason I'm stuck with yoga every time I ask." Gajeel groaned as he threw a warm towel over his face.
"Ask Gray?" Laxus suggested.
"Already did." Gajeel sighed. "Twice."
"Maybe Cana can take it over if you hate it that much." Laxus commented. "Shes pretty flexible." He snickered.
"As if. That drunkard would drink the whole class." Gajeel laughed as he picked up the warm towel.
"Oh? Does that mean you actually care about the class enough to save if from her?" Laxus smirked.
"Hell no." Gajeel glared at him. "I wont hear the end of it, so I'm saving my ass."
"Whatever you say, bro." Laxus downed the rest of his strawberry flavored, testosterone educing, smoothie before throwing the cup into the sink. "I have a training session so I'm off." Laxus waved as he exited the room.
Gajeel took a deep breath, remembering the classes he had today. Two kickboxing classes, a personal training session, and another yoga instruction. If that was all, he was going to need more than a protein shake. He threw on a pair of jeans, and grabbed his stuff from his locker.
"Gajeel?" Mira said before he could make it out of the front door.
"Yo." He said lazily.
"Where are you going?" She asked.
"To get coffee." He answered easily. It wasn't a lie like last time he tried to sneak out to a booty call.
"This isnt a lie like last time?" She asked. "Because you know Cana can whip you up something." She arched an eyebrow.
"Relax Mirajane, I'm just going to a coffee shop in town." He said.
"Okay... Make sure you're back in time for your next class." She said.
"Will do." He waved over his shoulder.
Gajeel stared at the chalkboard that swayed slightly due to the fan in awe at all the choices he had. The small coffee shop was hot as hell and Gajeel was already regretting his choice of pants. The book shop that next door was cold, but for some reason the coffee shop felt like an over.
"Bisca, hurry up we have customers!" A gruff voice said.
"Coming!" A slim girl squeaked as she rushed behind the counter. Her green hair bobbed on her head as her pony tail swayed form side to side with each step. She wiped her hands off on the black apron she sported as uniform with the coffee shop's logo prominent across her chest.
"Howdy, what can I do for ya?" The woman smiled.
"A large iced coffee with a turbo shot." Gajeel said.
"Rough day?" She joked as she wrote on his cup.
"You don't know the half of it." He joked.
"No, but im sure its better than sweating it out in a coffee shop." She winked. "Can I get a name?" She asked.
"Gajeel." He responded. He wasnt sure if that wink was supposed to be flirty, but she wasnt his type so he just brushed it off.
"It'll be six dollars, and it'll come out in a minute." She said, holding out her hand for the cash. He rummaged around in his wallet for a moment before handing her a ten. She gave him his change and began making his coffee.
Gajeel sat at a table, mentally preparing himself for the day ahead. His thoughts were interrupted as his name rang though the coffee shop, signaling that his drink was done. He nodded a thanks to the barista before exiting the shop with a ring of the door.
"I wish I could call in sick." He said to himself when he got back to his car. "I mean I could make myself throw up in the lobby." He put his coffee in the cup holder before thinking about it again. "No, then Mira would just make me work harder when I came back." He turned on the car, dreading going back.
But hell, Juvia would have to owe him one after this.
"Alright class!" Gajeel couldn't help the smile spread across his face. Kickboxing was his passion, and his advanced class was his pride and joy. He taught some of the veterans since they were in high school, and now they were successful college students who were practically kickboxing masters. "Run through the routine one more time and then that's it!" He said as he watched his class throw kicks and punches in synch. They were perfect, and the routine was flawless.
"Sensei!" A pink haired girl rushed over to Gajeel.
"Whats up?" He gave a genuine smile as one of his star pupils skipped towards him.
"How was I today?" She beamed at him. Melody was only around twelve, but she was as good as anyone else in the room. A real prodigy.
"Amazing, as usual." He replied. "Hows the hair coming?" He asked, knowing last week she declared that she was going to be more girly and try to grow her hair out. He didnt know why she needed to be more girly when she could throw a 200 pound man over her shoulder, but hey, she had guts for trying.
"I hate it already." She sighed as she twirled a strand with her finger. "But boys like it I guess." She shrugged her shoulders.
"You should only do somethin' for you, ya know." Gajeel started packing up his things. "Besides. Who cares what boys think? They have cooties." He joked. He always had a soft spot for the little tom boy.
"Yeah but..."
"Besides, pink hair is much cuter than long hair if you ask me." He said as her mom walked up.
"Gajeel sensei." She smiled a silent thank you for overhearing him give her daughter advise.
"See you next week!" The little girl smiled.
"Sensei! Great work today!" The rest of the class said in unison.
"Great work to you guys too. Hit the showers." He smiled as he left the room, out into the cold gym. He breathed in the familiar smell of gym life. His smile faded as he realized that his night was going to end with the yoga class. As if one a day wasn't enough. Now he had to deal with the hard core yogis who probably knew yoga better than him.
"Cana, gimme something to get through my next class." Gajeel asked the barista. "Preferably a Cana Special." A Cana Special was basically anything with vodka snuck in. Mira forbade Cana from making them again, and confiscated all her alcohol. After all, it wasn't proper to keep at a gym, but Cana kept some bottles hidden.
"Sure think coach." She smiled. Cana Specials were her special after all, hence the name. He tapped his hand on the counter as he heard the gym doors open and close and he just knew it were his yogis flowing in. He'd let them wait at the door, after all it was anticipating. Right? Who cares, he just wanted to postpone this as long as possible. "Drink up." Cana gave him a green looking drink.
"There's not kale in this, is there?" He asked.
"Its a special." She said, leaning on her hand.
"Bottoms up." He said as he tipped back the drink in one go. He breathed out a breath before slapping his lips together. "There was kale in that." He said.
"I said it was a special, didn't it?" She winked.
"Hmph" He pouted
"What happened to your personal training session?" She prodded.
"Canceled." He replied simply.
"What did you do instead?" She asked.
"Nothing special really." He trailed off.
"Were you watching porn in the break room?" She smirked
"Alright, I have to go teach that class." He said.
"Hey! Invite me to join next time!" She laughed as he turned and walked up the stairs to his yogi filled nightmare.
"Good afternoon class!" He said as he walked up the pathway between yoga mats to his own large one in front. He looked over the class of twenty, but it felt like more as the eyes dug into the new instructor before them. "Everyone here is for the advanced yoga class, if you are not I recommend you leave now." He said. No one moved an inch. "Alright, well I'm Gajeel Redfox for those who don't know, a personal trainer and the kickboxing instructor here at Fairy Gym. I'm in my twenties, and I will be instruction all of Juvia's classes until further notice." He rubbed his head. "Im not going to go easy on you guys. I'm no Juvia." Everyone nodded. Hardcore yogis I guess. "Lets get this started."
Halfway through the class, Gajeel could tell everybody's skill level by how long they held the pose, and, much like popular belief, he did try to push them to the breaking point. Half the class still held on strong, he was impressed to be honest.
I bet Juvia goes easy on them. He could tell some people did yoga outside the gym classes, like a blonde girl in the back of the class. He was sure he had seen that woman at the gym before. She always stood out after all, blonde hair, pink matching work out outfit, white ipod strapped on her arm. She favored the treadmill and went on for hours. She had the stamina of a fucking rabbit.
Who he didn't recognize was the girl holding her balance with her eyes closed next to her. She was shorter by a lot, her gym clothes didn't match, not to mention he had never seen her before. She had bright blue hair, a sign on rebellion that he liked, and bright brown eyes. She was skinny as all hell, flexible too. She didn't look like she regulated the gym, but she could keep up with his ridiculous pace so something was right. He couldn't take his eyes off her.
"Okay class now were going to try a Scorpion Pose." His voice cut through the silence of the room. "Not many people can so this pose but I think that this class can take it." He said. "Follow my movements." He looked over the class before taking in a deep breathe. His eyes closed and opened as he took in another. He felt his skin crawl and he knew that all eyes were on him.
He knew her eyes were on him. He slowly started to get into the pose, and watched as the class followed. They were trying, so there was something. As he stood in position, he watched as slowly one by one people sat on their mats, silently giving up. The scorpion pose was basically the most difficult yoga pose to man, so he didn't expect much. He was just testing them. Testing her.
"Those of you who cant keep up, take the last few minutes to rest up in a pose of your choosing." He watches as tree, cat, dog, and warrior poses went up throughout the room. At least they have some motivation and don't immediately go into childs pose.
He took himself out of the pose, but noticed there were two pairs of feet in the air in the back. Are they really holding the pose? Guess that yogis aren't all talk. Gajeel watched the clock, waiting for the last second.
"Alright, times up. See you all next week if you come back." He said loudly, before somewhat regretting it. It came off as more of a threat than he would have liked, but too late now. Its not his fault if the class cant handle his personality.
Sorry for the wait! School started up last week and I got really bad writers block. Not to mention some cosplay stress on top of that. I tried to style my Elsa wig (From Frozen, yes) And it was just not working for me. *Sigh* One day... Anywho I re-wrote this chapter like four times, and im still not completely in love with it. But I have to set up the stage for other things to happen so what can you do. THANKS FOR READING! Follow for more! ~Hana