CHAPTER 2 START
A/N – new chapter. A bit longer than before. Gajeel and Levy fret over making their gifts perfect.
Gajeel cursed angrily as his third attempt at creating a tiny steel arch folded in on itself. The metal was too thin to hold up to repeated molding, no matter what he did to try and shore it up.
Stomping angrily away from the table, he grabbed a coat and tore out. He needed some fresh air and time to figure out how to solve this problem before he blew up his own goddamn house! He crunched his way over to the Guild building, footsteps making deep trails in the slushy snow that had fallen overnight, breath steaming angrily in the frosty air, but Gajeel didn't notice any of this. His mind was turned inwards, thinking feverishly for ways around the problem with the folding metal.
Storming into Fairy Tail's main hall, he sat himself down at the bar, and Mira perked up as he waved a hand at her for a drink. She bustled over and set a tankard of his usual down right as the Guild's front doors burst open, and they both looked up at the disturbance.
Natsu groaned dramatically, feet dragging as he stumbled into the Guild Hall. He'd been running all over town looking for the perfect gift for Lucy, but he hadn't been able to find anything like what he had in mind!
"Why is this so hard?" He howled as he flopped miserably onto one of the long wooden tables. Mirajane spared him a sympathetic glance, smiling behind her hand.
"What's hard, Natsu?" She asked, leaving the bar to sit next to him, propping her beautiful face up with both hands.
"This present!" Natsu cried. "Why is finding a present so hard?"
"Who is it for?" Mira asked innocently and Gajeel shot her a disgusted look. As if she didn't know…
"It's a secret." Natsu replied, his head making dull thuds as he repeatedly thumped it on the wooden table. "But it's so hard to find…if only I could make it myself!"
Gajeel gasped. It was as if a light had suddenly snapped on in his head. That was it! He could use Salamander's dragonfire to solve the problem!
"Oi! Salamander. C'mere." He motioned Natsu over, scowling at Mirajane before she could say anything. He glanced left and right to make sure there were no observers before leaning forward conspiratorially to whisper "I'll help you with your present if you help me with mine."
"Who'd you get?" Natsu asked, eyes bright with suppressed interest. Gajeel gave him a slant-eyed stare.
"That's none of your business. All you need to know is that I need some help making my present and you need help with yours, so is this a deal or not?"
Natsu looked like he had a million more questions, but thankfully, he shut his yap and just nodded, eyes shrewd. Gajeel grunted with relief.
"C'mon then. Let's get going."
He yanked his jacket back on and started trudging back to his house, Natsu following him like a hyperactive monkey.
"So what kind of present is it? Who is it for? What are you making?"
Gajeel grunted noncommittally and continued walking, resolving to ignore Igneel's annoying brat until his help was needed. That didn't stop Natsu from guessing.
"Is it for Erza? Is it for Juvia? Is it for Elfman? Is it for Wendy? OH, I KNOW! Is it for ME?" Natsu was practically incandescent with conviction. He stopped suddenly, a confused expression on his face. "Wait…I don't want a present from you, IT BETTER NOT BE FOR ME!"
Gajeel fought the growing urge to beat the idiot up, a vein pulsing angrily in his forehead. You're doing this for Levy, he chanted in his head, massaging his forehead. Just put up with him for an afternoon and think of how happy Levy's face will be when she sees it. Just calm down, just…
"WILL YOU SHUT UP!" He finally snapped, turning around to face Natsu.
Natsu stared at him, mouth open in surprise before breaking out into a wide grin.
"Ohhh, so it IS for Levy!"
Gajeel floundered in the snow, sputtering helplessly at being caught so suddenly off guard. His ears started turning red and he hurriedly jerked the hood of his jacket up to hide it.
"W-wait, what? I never fuckin' said that! What the hell!"
Natsu wasn't put off and started to frolic, leaping up in excitement.
"I told you I could find out! Stupid junk metal dragon! Did you really think I couldn't guess it? Levy's your Secret Santa! Levy's your-"
Natsu finally decided that maybe it would be a good time to shut up, as Gajeel whirled and flung him into a nearby tree, immediately hammering several steel bars across his limbs and another over his mouth for good measure, trapping him securely before leaning in close and baring his fangs, his eyes slitted dangerously.
"Shut up, Salamander. Shut the fuck up. I won't say it again. I won't have you running your fucking huge mouth everywhere and spoiling this for her. You understand?"
Natsu couldn't really move his head or make a sound, but he managed a sort of understanding eye squint, and Gajeel ripped him free, tossing him in an unceremonious pile in the snow.
"You didn't have to do that," he complained, rubbing his wrists where Gajeel's attack had chafed him. Gajeel just snarled angrily, and Natsu followed him meekly, although he couldn't quite hold himself back from asking "So what are you making?" a few more times before they finally reached the Iron Dragonslayer's house.
Opening his front door in frosty silence, Gajeel walked straight to the dining room table with Natsu trailing him, and as Natsu opened his mouth to ask, for the tenth time, what Gajeel was making, Gajeel gestured to the table with a curt nod, forestalling the question.
"This." Gajeel adjusted the beginnings of his project on the table in front of Natsu, whose eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.
"That's incredible! You made this yourself? How is that possible?" He turned and glared suspiciously at the Iron Dragon. "Are you lying? There's no way that someone like you could make something like this!"
Gajeel heaved a deep, long-suffering sigh before speaking, talking slowly and painstakingly enunciating every syllable like he was talking to a particularly slow dog.
"Yes. Yes, I made it. I am not done yet, which is why I need your help."
"Why?"
"Watch."
Gajeel grabbed the iron base and pulled it to him, turning the tip of his index finger into a miniscule steel thread. Looping it skillfully around the main body of the piece, he molded the steel string into a delicate swirling arch, doubling back over the arc again and again to create a series of intricate, interwoven steel threads that perfectly mimicked the appearance of scales. When he reached the end of the section, he quickly made a thicker steel cable with his other hand, running it perpendicular to the strings along the line of the main piece. As he tried to connect the two parts, the threads started to come apart, the supporting strings drooping under the weight of the steel, tenuous as the shining silver thread was. Gajeel growled as the fragile nest of steel wires fell apart under his hands, before giving Natsu an exasperated look.
"See? This is why."
Natsu cocked his head, looking at the wires as Gajeel carefully brushed them away, detaching any that still remained so they wouldn't interfere with his next try.
"What do you want me to do?" Natsu asked.
"You have to heat the threads as I'm makin' them so that the heat makes them malleable while I attach the underwire. Then as they cool, they'll attach naturally instead of me havin' to mold them together."
"Can't you just turn the entire thing onto its side and do it?" Natsu pointed out. Gajeel shook his head impatiently.
"If I could do that then why the hell would I need your help? I can't turn it, since I need gravity to make the wire drape naturally downwards. Idiot," he added for good measure.
"Well, if you need me to heat something up, I'm your man!" Natsu yelled, pumping his fists together, fire pouring out of his mouth. Gajeel groaned. God damnit, why was he forced to work with such a moron?
"Look…you can't just fuckin' go around burning things. I need a controlled fire, not your usual over-the-top shit. Can you just try and work with me here for a second?"
Natsu scowled, but he held out his fist, which crackled to life with a slow fire. Gajeel held up one of the ruined threads from his previous attempt and held it to the flame, watching with a critical eye as it turned cherry red under the heat, noting the time it took to turn white and finally to melt.
"Turn it up a bit," he told Natsu, holding a new thread to the fire. "I said a bit!" he yelped, jerking back the blackened thread as Natsu's fire jumped noticeably in height. Giving Natsu a dirty look, Gajeel held another thread to the flame, testing the temperature again. Nodding, he placed the handful of silver wires aside and grabbed one of the iron blocks.
"Hold that fire," he commanded, setting the block down as he held out his index finger and began forming the shining silver wire. Carefully, he wove the threads into the same delicate arches and loops as before. As he neared the end of the section, he motioned Natsu over with a jerk of his chin.
"Hold the fire in the middle of the arch, so that only the very top of the fire's touching. Don't make it too hot," he hissed as he gingerly started to line the underwire along the base of the silver strings, which were now glowing bright red under the heat of the dragonfire.
To Gajeel's satisfaction, the delicate strings fused instantly with the thicker steel underwire as he drew it slowly along the length of the arc. Natsu moved wordlessly, watching with rapt interest as Gajeel advanced with the steel cable. Only when he finished lining the entire arc did Gajeel finally let out a pent-up breath and move away, Natsu doing the same.
Gajeel continued to watch for a few minutes, adjusting the position of a few strings while the steel was still hot, gently testing the connection between the delicate offshoot and the main body of the piece. Finally satisfied, he slouched back in the chair with a sigh.
"Shit. That was harder than I thought."
Natsu looked at the delicate beauty of the silver wire and back at Gajeel, who was already sitting up again, ready to finish the rest.
"You really care about her, don't you?" He asked.
Gajeel was silent, but Natsu understood.
"What are we waiting for then?" He demanded, all fired up. "We have to hurry and make this as good as possible for Levy!"
Gajeel turned and gave him a lopsided grin before nodding. "Yeah, you got that right. You ready for another go?"
"Of course!" Natsu shouted, his fist already crackling wildly. Gajeel winced.
"Fire's too hot."
"Oh…"Natsu looked at his blazing fist, reducing the fire to a trickle. Gajeel massaged his forehead, gritting his teeth with frustration.
"Too small."
"I'm trying my best!" Natsu roared at him.
"Well, try harder!" Gajeel snarled back.
They turned their backs huffily on each other before remembering, oh yeah, they were supposed to be working together. Glowering, Gajeel grabbed one of the ruined steel threads. "Stick out your hand," he snapped. Natsu glared right back, but held out his fist and Gajeel repeated the process of testing the temperature. It might be a good thing that he had so many ruined attempts, he thought ruefully, since it looked like this was going to take a while.
It took the entire day to finish up the rest of Gajeel's gift, and the thin winter sunlight was already bleeding into a purple sunset before Gajeel finally threw himself away from the project, utterly fed up with the whole thing, but done.
"Fuckin'…finally," he groaned into his couch cushions. He had a pounding headache and he needed some sleep. His eyes were aching from staring too intensely for too long, and having Salamander's dragonfire smoke eating at his eyes while he was working hadn't helped any.
Oh yeah, speaking of the brat... "Salamander, get the hell out of my house!" he yelled, his voice muffled by the cushions.
"But I'm not done yet!" Came Natsu's petulant reply.
"What the hell do you mean you're not done, you weren't even doing anything in the first place!"
Natsu poked his head around the door frame. "You said you were going to help me," he demanded.
"Huh? Oh yeah, I did, huh." He'd completely forgotten. Sitting up, Gajeel clapped his hands together a few times to get rid of any steel fragments before looking at Natsu expectantly.
"Fine. What the hell do you need help with?"
Natsu fished a crumpled piece of paper out of one pocket, shoving it at Gajeel. "I'm looking for something like that, but I couldn't find it anywhere I looked, and I looked all over town!"
Gajeel took the proferred paper and nearly fell over. The only things on the paper were several fish, crudely drawn.
"Y-you're looking for fish?" He asked skeptically, tossing the paper back to Natsu, whose brow furrowed in confusion. Natsu looked at the paper and threw it aside.
"No! That's not mine! That's Happy's! How did that get there..." He muttered indistinctly as he resumed trawling his pockets, and Gajeel sat back with an unamused frown, crossing his arms.
"This!" Natsu said, as he successfully pulled another crumpled piece of paper out of his pockets.
Gajeel took it and this time, it was a rough sketch of a keychain in the shape of Fairy Tail's Guild symbol. He tilted his head, considering it. Not a bad idea, really, for the Celestial Spirit chick, since she did use keys and all…
"I can make that," he said easily, putting the paper on his table and raising one hand to create it.
"Stop!" Natsu yelled, and he froze, giving the Salamander a confused look.
"Didn't you want me to help?" He asked.
"Well…yeah, but I didn't want you to make it for me! Then it's like I didn't even do anything!"
Gajeel rolled his eyes. Of all the stupid…Ignoring Salamander's outraged yells, he started crafting the design in steel, looking at the childish scrawl on the paper and Salamander's own Guild tattoo for occasional reference. Finished, he tossed the completed item to Natsu, who caught it and turned it over, looking confused.
"It's a mold," he explained. "You fill it with whatever you want, fire it up, and it comes out in the shape you want it. This way you can make it out of whatever material you've got in mind and fire it yourself."
Natsu's eyes brightened as the explanation clicked.
"Hey! This is actually pretty awesome! Thanks, Gajeel!" He dashed out of Gajeel's house, knocking over a few chairs in his haste and Gajeel wanted to shout with relief at having that firestorm gone, but right at the door, Natsu turned around and Gajeel froze guiltily in his fist-pumping pose of victory.
"Yo, you aren't actually a bad guy, you know that?" Natsu said with a huge grin, and Gajeel opened his mouth to retort, but for once, he didn't have a clever reply.
"You're still a stupid scrap heap dragon though!" Natsu crowed, before yanking the door open and slamming it hard so shut that his entire house rattled, and Gajeel fumed at how that idiot had managed to get the last word in.
Still, he thought, glancing at his nearly-completed present, putting up with Salamander's brain-melting presence had been worth it in the end. His gift was breathtakingly beautiful, the shining silver threads as delicate as rice paper, but with all the resiliency of fired steel. Carefully, he hefted the two pieces, testing the weight to make sure they wouldn't be too heavy before settling them back on the table. All that was left to do was put some finishing touches and polish up before they were ready to go.
He grinned a big, stupid grin at the thought of how Levy's face would light up when she saw his present, caught himself and schooled his face into a scowl. It was just a present, he thought furiously. There was no reason he should be mooning over her reaction like a lovestruck schoolgirl, it wasn't good for his image. He grabbed a short dagger from a pile next to his couch and crammed it into his mouth, chewing thoroughly as the front door opened and Pantherlily hopped in.
"Oi! Where you been, cat?" he called out as Lily shook the snow off his shoulders, dusting the slush off his ears with an annoyed expression.
"Helping an idiot out!" was his peeved reply, and Gajeel laughed. "Me too!"
Pantherlily chuckled, shucking himself out of his tiny (adorable) coat and joining Gajeel on the couch. "So what idiot were you having problems with?"
It turned out that Pantherlily had been helping Happy out, because apparently Natsu's cat was absolutely hopeless at thinking about anything that didn't have to do with fish.
"Who's his partner?" Gajeel asked, snorting with laughter at how disappointed someone would be to open up their present on Christmas and see a rotting fish. Lily shrugged.
"It's Charle. I don't even think it's officially part of the event, he just wants to get her a present." Gajeel chuckled and hugged his cat.
"Well good luck to him. At least he has you helping him out."
Lily fought free of his arms with a growl, flying off the couch and to the table, where he scrutinized Gajeel's nearly-complete present.
"It looks like you've been doing a decent job by yourself," he said neutrally. "Are you finished?"
"Not yet, but I'm almost done."
"I think she'll really love it," Lily said.
"Ya think?" Gajeel asked, nervous for the first time.
Lily nodded proudly, crossing his arms over his small chest. "I know."
Gajeel smiled fondly at his complete confidence. Stupid cat.
Levy looked at the mess of fabric sprawled on her bed with trepidation, chewing her lip.
She had gone down to the bedding store and now she had all the raw materials to work with, but the problem was that she didn't even have an inkling as to where to start! Right now, the task looked insurmountable, and as she looked at the assorted fabrics, threads and needles, she was at a complete loss.
"Ohh, why did I even think that I could do this?" She cried, sitting down on her bed with a huff. She squawked as something made a crumpling sound underneath her, leaping up in consternation and searching for the source. When she found it, she gave a sudden cry of relief and hugged the crumpled piece of paper it to her chest.
In the rush of shopping and buying and designing, she had completely forgotten that the owner of the fabric store, a kindly old man by the name of Gannon Garrisson, had helped her sketch out a preliminary blueprint and a set of instructions to get her started after finding out that she was completely and totally clueless about sewing.
Looking over the makeshift draft, Levy grabbed the required sheets of fabric off her bed, laying them in order on a specially cleared space on the floor. She had had to make five trips to the Archives to return books before she managed to clear a space large enough for the cloth!
Sitting herself down next to the sheets, she started to thread the needle, tongue sticking out and brow knit with the force of her concentration. After a few botched tries, she groaned with frustration and ran to her desk, rummaging about in the drawers until she found her Gale-Force reading glasses. Although she knew they weren't really supposed to be used for anything except reading, she really needed some magnification right now! Throwing herself back on the floor, she managed to successfully thread the needle and tie an anchoring knot. With a determined sigh, she picked up one corner of the fabric and got to work.
Several hours later, Levy finally looked up with a sigh, pulling her glasses off and massaging her forehead wearily. Getting up, she surveyed her work.
One side.
In the space of 2 and a half hours, all she had managed to do was prick herself in the fingers a countless number of times and sew – if you could even call these uneven stitches sewing - a single side out of the four required. There were still 3 other sides, not to mention all the embroidery and details and, and – she felt like exploding with frustration. This was going to take FAR longer than she initially thought, and Christmas was only a week away! With a moan of despair, she flopped onto her bed, heedless of the fabric that slid off with a silken whisper. She would never finish in time, her needlework was simply too slow!
"What to do, what to do?" She worried, jumping off her bed and pacing back and forth nervously.
Finally, she came to the inevitable conclusion that she'd have to get some help.
Lucy jumped as an unexpected knock sounded at her front door. Slinking to the door, she glared at it, trying to figure out who could be behind it. Was it Natsu? Gray? Erza? Well if they thought that they could prank her in her own house, they were dead wrong! She threw open the door with a ferocious yell, and Levy screamed in surprise, jumping back as her friend charged her through the open door. Lucy stopped short upon seeing who it was, the red fire leaving her eyes.
Oh! Levy-chan! What are you doing here?
Levy was still shaking with the unexpected terror of nearly being run over by her best friend (those terrifying eyes!), but she managed to reply bravely. "Oh! Umm, Lucy, I was wondering if you were free right now?"
"Yeah, of course!" Lucy replied, leaning against her doorframe. "What's wrong? Do you want to come in?"
"Oh, no, nothing's wrong! It's…the thing is…I'm working on my present for the Secret Santa, but I'm having trouble, and I was wondering if you could help me?" she finished, blushing despite herself.
"Ahhh," Lucy said, a sly grin sneaking onto her face. "You're working on your heartfelt present for your favorite Iron Dragon, hmmm?" She started making obnoxious kissing sounds, drawing hearts in the air with her fingers, and Levy shushed her insistently, her face immediately going a brilliant shade of red.
"Stop that, Lu-chan! It's just a present!"
"Sure, sure," Lucy said, waving her off lazily, "Just a simple, lovingly made present straight from your heart – I thought you were going to give him yourself as his present, Levy?"
Levy was almost glowing with the force of her blush.
"Lu-chan, stop it please!" she hissed. "I just need your help sewing or else I won't finish in time for Christmas!"
Lucy's ears perked up. "Sewing? What are you making him?"
"A...a blanket," Levy murmured, barely audible.
Lucy cooed, bringing both hands to her face. "A blanket! That's so cute! And then you guys can cuddle up together in it and do naughty things under the sheets and –"
"Stoppp it!" Levy finally shrieked, stomping both her small feet in a mix of utter embarrassment and frustration. Lucy did stop, but she was grinning like a cat.
"Fine, fine! I'll stop teasing, just wait here for me while I grab a few things and then we'll get to work!" She turned and ran inside, and Levy heard the sound of a closet door opening and clothes being flung out onto the floor.
Sighing, she leaned her head against Lucy's doorframe, trying to cool her raging blush on the cool metal. Why did Lucy always have to say such incriminating things? It always sent her thoughts wandering into strictly forbidden territory and ohh, now she wouldn't be able to even look at her blanket without thinking about Gajeel and naughty things in the same sentence! She was still trying to erase those particularly alluring mental images when Lucy bounded out her door, dressed in a warm coat and matching set of scarf, hat and mittens.
"Let's go!" she said brightly and Levy grinned to cover her embarrassing thoughts, marveling a bit at her friend's ability to make any article of clothing look wonderful, following her as they set off for Fairy Hills.
An hour and a half later, they both sat back exhausted against Levy's bed. They had to tear out Levy's row of messy stitches on the first side and re-do them, and Levy despaired at how long that in itself had taken.
Lucy was marginally better at stitching than Levy was, since her etiquette training in the Heartfilia household had included embroidery, but Lucy had never really paid strict attention to the lessons, and the kindly matron in charge had never been one to force them on her either.
Now, they were both left with painful, pricked fingers, with only 2 and a half sides of the blanket to show for their trouble. Turning to her friend, Levy asked hopefully.
"It's a little late to ask now, but I don't suppose that you'd have a spirit who's good at stitching?"
Lucy thought carefully, going over her Spirits. Aquarius? No way in ever! She thought, shuddering at the thought of having to pay for the water damage repairs of a flooded Fairy Hills. Taurus, Saggitarius and Scorpio were pure combat spirits who probably wouldn't be able to help, and Cancer would be able to cut fabric for them if they needed, but not sew. Horologium, Plue, Lyra and Crux didn't have any special secondary ability that she knew of, and she shuddered at having to call Loke. He'd just spend the entire time swooning over them instead of actually helping, and she highly doubted that he would know anything about stitching anyways. Which left three possibilities.
Gemini wouldn't be helpful unless they transformed into someone who knew about fabric, but maybe Virgo or Aries knew something. Lucy stood up and pulled out a key, and Levy looked on in fascination as she began her Calling.
"Open! Gate of the White Lamb! Aries!" Lucy cried, and as she turned the key, Aries appeared in a puff of pink smoke, looking left and right at the towering piles of books all around her.
"I'm sorry!" She whispered, quickly bowing to Lucy and then Levy.
"You've done nothing wrong, Aries," Lucy said kindly, as Aries brought one slender hand to her face. Before she could start apologizing again, Lucy cut in quickly. "Aries, do you know anything about sewing or stitching?" Trembling, Aries shook her head, murmuring a quick apology.
"It's all right, but do you know if any of the other spirits might? Maybe Virgo?" Aries thought for a moment before shaking her head again. "I-I'm sorry, Lucy-san, but I don't know any Spirits that excel at needlework, I'm sorry!"
"Don't worry! Thanks for helping!" Lucy smiled as she closed the gate and Aries disappeared with a swirl of smoke.
Sitting down with a sigh, Lucy gave the blanket a moody glare. "Well, that didn't help at all. What about your magic, Levy-chan?" she asked, turning to her friend.
"Hmm, I don't know if it would work, since all my Solid Script does is manifest things"…Levy looked utterly dejected. Lucy stared at the needle thoughtfully before patting her friend's arm.
"Levy, why don't you try Repeat?"
"Repeat?" Lucy nodded, pointing to the needle still stabbed into the corner of the cloth. "You know, like repeating the stitching motion we make when we sew?"
Levy's brow furrowed as she thought it over. "It…It might actually work, Lu-chan!" Pulling a light pen off her desk, she penned the word in the air, directing it over the needle before releasing her magic. The word hung motionless for a second before the needle and thread started rattling. Both girls watched with bated breath to see what would happen.
Neither of them expected the needle to jump to life, cutting a frenetic pace of stitches through the cloth. Levy shrieked as it blazed over the fabric at an uncontrollable speed. She hastily dispelled her magic, but not before the needle had raced through all of one side and onto the wooden floorboard, denting itself into a 90-degree angle as it hit the hard surface repeatedly. Now one needle short, Levy tried not to scream as she realized the row of stitches wasn't straight. They would have to undo the entire side. She clutched her head and fought the overwhelming urge to burst into frustrated tears. This really wasn't working out at all.
"Oh, Lu-chan, this is hopeless! Maybe you should help me think of a different gift instead, because I won't ever get the hang of this…"
Lucy put a comforting arm around her friend, thinking of ways to solve their dilemma.
"Oh!" She lit up as an idea struck her. "Levy! I have an idea! I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier…Do you know where we could get our hands on a sewing machine? Maybe we could buy one or rent one?"
Levy sniffed sadly. "Where would they have one for rent? I don't really have the budget to buy a new one right now…"
"How about the place you bought your fabric?"
Levy gasped with sudden comprehension. "Oh! 40 Winks had a bunch of sewing machines, and they'd probably let me borrow one, but they close at 5! What time is it right now?"
They both glanced at the clock on Levy's wall and screamed. It was already 4:50.
"Let's go, Lucy! We have to hurry!"
"I'm right behind you!"
They sprinted out of Fairy Hills, loose papers drifting in the wake of their haste. They reached 40 Winks right as Magnolia's clock tower struck closing time. The owner of the shop, Gannon Garrisson, was just putting up a Closed sign on the outside of the shop as they ran up, puffing and winded from the long run.
"Mr. Garrisson!" Levy gasped.
The elderly storekeeper turned, smiling jovially as he recognized her. "Ah, you're the customer from this afternoon! Good to see you again, young miss!"
Levy puffed as she fought to regain her breath and speak at the same time. "Hello, Mr. Garrisson! I-I'm glad you recognize me, but I was actually hoping to ask you a favor before you leave…"
Gannon crossed both arms over his ample stomach, giving her a cheerful smile. "By all means, ask away, young miss! But you might want to catch your breath first!"
"Well…I started working on the project I told you about this afternoon, but…but I'm too slow, and I'll never be able to finish in time for Christmas! I was wondering, can I borrow one of your sewing machines?" She finished lamely, looking up sheepishly at the storekeeper.
Mr. Garrison produced a ring of keys from his pocket and unlocked the shop door, gesturing them in out of the cold. Once inside, he bustled about with an easy familiarity, coming back with a simple, white model which he put in a leather carrying case before handing it to Levy.
She gaped at him, taken aback by his cheerful generosity. "Sir, Is this really all right?"
He gave her a weathered smile, the crow's feet by his eyes deepening into familiar lines that spoke a long life of kind laughter. "You two are Fairy Tail mages and good kids. I'll even do you one better! If you have any more questions, bring the entire thing here and I can help you if you run into any trouble I can help you work it out."
"Oh, thank you so much Mr. Garrisson!" Levy bowed deeply, clutching the carrying case tightly to her.
He waved them off jovially. "It's no trouble at all! And please, call me Gannon!"
"Of course, thank you again, Gannon sir!"
His eyes twinkled as he locked the front door to the shop again. "The person who that present is meant for will appreciate all the time you spent making it."
Levy blushed hotly, almost dropping the carrying case. "Is it that obvious?"
"Yes." Lucy grinned behind her hand, as Gannon laughed heartily. "I can always recognize young love when I see it! Anyhow, young miss, It was good to see you again, now get to work!"
Levy pumped her fist. "I will!"
She high-fived Lucy, and they laughed with relief before starting back for Fairy Hills at a more reasonable pace. While a dead run was enough to get from Fairy Hills to the west edge of Magnolia in 10 minutes, the walking pace they took now would probably require a good 25 minutes before they got back, With the sun setting behind the clock tower and the streetlights and decorations buzzing to life all along the streets, Magnolia's holiday nights were wonderful to behold.
Levy linked her arm with Lucy's as they strolled through the streets, oohing and aahing as the festive decorations twined around the streetlights blinked to life in the shape of vibrant red poinsettias and glowing pine trees and snowflakes.
"I'm sorry for making you help me out, Lu-chan. It took up your entire day!" Levy said, turning guiltily to her friend. Lucy simply laughed and waved her concerns off. "Don't worry! After all, you want to give Gajeel the perfect present, don't you?" She winked cheerily at her friend, and Levy blushed helplessly, but nodded.
"Speaking of presents, Lu-chan, what are you getting for Natsu?" Levy asked innocently.
"Oh, that, I'm getting him a – HEYY, wait a second! How did you know I got Natsu?" Lucy squawked, turning to Levy with wide, suspicious eyes. Levy grinned slyly.
"Welll, I meant what you were getting him for a normal Christmas present, not the Secret Santa, but since I got Gajeel, I assumed that you got Natsu too!"
Lucy waved her arms frantically. "It's not like that at all!"
Levy giggled at her friend's sudden defensiveness. "Oh really?" She asked, waggling her eyebrows at her friend. "What is it like then, Lu-chan, maybe you can enlighten me!"
"It's…we're not…" Lucy trailed off feebly and Levy took pity on her.
"All right, all right! What did you get him?"
Infinitely grateful for the subject change, Lucy vowed to tease Levy a little less in the future before replying.
"Well, I haven't gotten it yet, but I want to get him a lighter powered by a perpetual fire lacryma."
"Oooh, that's perfect for Natsu, but it's going to be so expensive!"
Lucy hung her head with a sound that might have been a sob, looking for a moment like one of Evergreen's statues.
"I knooow! I'm going to take on an extra mission tomorrow to make a little bit more money so that I can buy the lacryma in time for the party!"
Levy gave her arm a sympathetic squeeze. "Oh Lu-chan! I wish I could go with you, but even with the sewing machine, I think I'll have to work right up to the party to finish in time!"
Lucy groaned. "I know! I just hope that Natsu won't follow me, I don't' want him knowing what I'm up to!"
Levy grinned slyly at her friend. "I can try and distract him."
"How? Natsu has such a one-track mind!"
Levy shrugged. "I'll just tell Gajeel that he was looking at my butt, and then they'll be fighting the entire day!" she explained, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. Lucy's eye twitched as she looked at her petite best friend's perfectly innocent smile.
Scary!
They walked the rest of the way to Fairy Tail chatting happily about the great shopping deals and Christmas savings that were going on right now, prodding each other for hints about presents for other members (and each other). When they finally reached the girls' dorms, Lucy gave her friend an apologetic hug.
"I'm sorry I can't stay late to help, but I'm leaving early tomorrow for the mission and I've got to get some sleep! Not to mention that Natsu's probably in my…" She broke off in a fit of angry mumbling and Levy's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"Natsu's in your what?" She asked.
"In my bed! He always just sneaks in without permission and waits for me until I come home!" Lucy groused angrily and Levy stared at her, open-mouthed before blushing for her, completely embarrassed by the matter-of-fact way that Lucy had said something so private.
"I-I oh, um, I guess you better not keep him waiting!" She finally managed before exploding into a fit of embarrassed giggles. Lucy stared at her, confused before it finally dawned on her how terribly incriminating the situation sounded.
"No! No! Levy that's not what I meant and you know it!" She shrieked, waving her hands wildly in front of her. Levy was shaking with laughter, leaning against the front door of Fairy Hills so that she wouldn't collapse into the snow.
"Sure!" she managed between fits of laughter. "H-have a wonderful night, Lucy! Try not to wake up too tired!"
She waved her hand weakly at the still-objecting Lucy as she opened Fairy Hills' front door and slipped inside, still chortling. Climbing the stairs to her room, she hitched the strap of the carrying case on her shoulder a little higher, her heart a little brighter. She'd work a bit before going to bed, and hopefully, she'd be able to finish much quicker now that she had the sewing machine with her!
Late that night, long after the gibbous moon had begun to descend across the ink-black winter sky, a single window remained lit in Fairy Hills, the winking light the only one in the entire building.
Levy sat back with a tired sigh, surveying her work so far. Her previous attempt was too far gone to fix, even with the sewing machine, and the time it would take to pull out all those stitches…she shuddered in horror. Luckily, she had anticipated mistakes, and had the foresight to buy an extra set of fabric that afternoon, so she'd used the initial set as fodder to get used to the machine, running the cloth repeatedly through the clacking lip until she felt familiar enough with it to start work on the actual project.
With painstaking precision, she'd pressed the new set of fabric through the machine, marveling at the ease with which it was able to so cleanly meld the cloth together. It was such a far cry from her awkward amateur's stitches! She'd managed to sew up three sides, and now she was stuffing the interior with warm silk-coon padding, making sure it lay evenly in its cotton shell before she sewed up the fourth side of the blanket.
Tomorrow, she would attach the plush underside, and then all that was left would be the decorative embroidery and the steel details, which, unfortunately, would have to be done by hand. She sighed again at the thought of all the work that still awaited her. Still, if Gajeel liked it in the end, then all this would be worth it. Her heart fluttered with trepidation in her chest. Please let him like it!
Bowing her head, she wiped the fatigue from her eyes, shifting on her sore knees before she got back to work, knowing that the more she got done tonight meant the less she would have to do tomorrow!
End Chapter 2
Next chapter- Now that we have an inkling as to what Gajeel and Levy have planned for each other, the question remains: What is everyone else doing?