CHAPTER 5 START
A/N - the last chapter!
Mirajane gave a relieved sigh as the last group of revelers left, calling out their farewells. She waved a cheerful goodbye after them before returning to the bar, resting her hands on her hips as she surveyed the damage left behind. A flicker of red caught her eye, and she turned to see Levy still sitting under the tree with a hopelessly sad expression that didn't belong on her sweet face.
"Levy, what are you still doing here?" she asked kindly.
Levy jolted up hopefully, wilting slowly as she realized it wasn't Gajeel, and Mirajane smiled at how hopelessly in love the girl was.
"Oh, Mira! Well, I was just…um." She trailed off awkwardly, and Mira walked over to sit down next to her and gave her a sympathetic hug.
"Don't worry about Gajeel-kun, I'm sure that he'll come to you on his own time."
Levy nodded sadly with a resigned sigh before mustering up her best smile.
"Thanks, Mira, and it really is getting late, isn't it? I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then!"
Mira waved her off, closing the door and locking up behind her. Finally alone, she sat back in her chair behind the bar and passed her hand over her eyes. She was so tired, but so happy! Her master plan had worked wonderfully, and she was looking forward to the steady stream of gossip that would be coming from her handiwork tonight. Getting up with a tired exclamation, she grabbed a broom and began cleaning up the destruction left in the wake of the party when a quiet voice broke her out of her musing.
"Mirajane?"
She turned around in surprise to see Fried, standing ramrod-straight at the end of the bar.
"Fried! You surprised me! I thought that everyone had already left ages ago!"
He walked over to her and gently took the broom away from her, leaning it against the bar as he caught both her hands instead.
"Fried, what - ?" She asked, blushing faintly, but he stilled her with a minute shake of his head, eyes bright with mischief.
"Leave the cleaning for tomorrow, Mira. It's Christmas."
She gasped in surprise as music rang out above them, a sonorous, playful waltz. Fried pulled her into the rhythm of the music and then they were sweeping across the Hall, shoes crunching over the paper-strewn floor, and it didn't matter that they were in the dark, half-destroyed Guild, with broken furniture and crumpled gift wrap and scorched pine needles scattered all across the floor, because she might as well have been in a grand ballroom, and with the way his gentle eyes focused solely on her face, he made her feel like royalty.
He twirled her away from him with one arm before reeling her back and taking a half-step forwards. Without warning, a rune barrier hummed to life around them. Mira gasped and looked at Fried, but he hadn't even glanced up, eyes still fixed on her face.
"Oh? It seems like I've caught us in one of my own traps," he said, smiling down at her. She smiled back, letting go of his hands to wrap her arms around his neck.
"Ah, that's true. What do we have to do to get out of it?"
He chuckled and pulled her firmly to him. "Well, the same thing as everyone else, obviously," before he pulled her into a wonderful, endless kiss that made all waiting and hoping worth her time.
When they finally broke apart, her eyes were bright with love and happiness as she asked breathlessly "Is that all for tonight, my not-so-Secret Santa?"
He chuckled, pulling away from her slightly to fish in his pockets.
"Of course not, Mira. You know me better than that."
He finally came up with a small box, which he opened to reveal a gleaming hairband, decorated with a rune attachment and bright red crystals along the outer edge. Mira gasped and then giggled as he gripped her bangs and pulled her old elastic off, replacing it gently with his own present.
"A protection rune," he murmured, as he affixed the elastic band carefully, "for the times when I must leave the Guild, at least this can accompany you every day, so that you have some keepsake of me by your side."
Mira gave him a beaming smile, reaching up to cup his face with one slender hand.
"Thank you, Fried. It's beautiful!"
He shushed her, reaching into his pocket again.
"I'm not done yet."
He pulled out a matching bracelet that looped in graceful red curves across her wrist as he fastened the clasp carefully.
"To amplify your magic," he explained, fingers lingering on her wrist before tracing the runes that decorated the bracelet. "This way, you will never have to worry about being unable to defend the ones you love."
He turned her hand over and laced his fingers through hers before giving her a shy smile that looked strange on his normally stolid face.
"Merry Christmas, Mirajane," he murmured, blushing as he cupped her face and leaned in to kiss her again. She was glowing as they broke apart, and he smiled down at her, tenderness softening every line of his body. Mira gave a sudden gasp right then and he nearly leapt back with surprise as she started rummaging in her apron.
"Wait, Fried!"
She pulled out a small, beautifully wrapped box and presented it to him, bobbing on her toes with anticipation.
"What kind of Secret Santa would I be if I didn't get you a present too? Open it!" She exclaimed.
Fried chuckled at her eagerness and pulled the bow off, ripping apart the shiny wrapping and opening the small, white box to reveal an elegant pair of cufflinks, shaped in Fairy Tail's Guild symbol. Fried smiled widely and instantly undid his own cufflinks, replacing them with Mirajane's present.
"Tha-" he was cut off by Mira's hand over his mouth.
"Don't thank me yet! Let me show you what they do first!"
She twirled into his arms so that she was standing with her back pressed firm to his chest, and Fried blushed helplessly as she lifted both his arms to drape them over her shoulders, arranging his hands so that they pointed forwards.
Reaching out, she drew a thin line in the air between the two cufflinks, and he watched, dazzled as a shimmering yellow shield erupted into existence before him. She broke the line and the shield dissipated, and she twirled out of his arms to face him again.
"Do you like it?" She asked, swirling her long skirt bashfully.
"Of course," he said, regarding the tiny links with new respect. He would have liked any present she got him, but looking at her glowing smile, he didn't say that.
"I thought that since your magic sometimes takes time to set up, it would be great for you to have a way to defend yourself in a pinch," she explained, resting her hands on his upper arms and looking at him earnestly. He smiled down at her and drew her into a fierce hug, burying his face into her snow-white hair.
"Thank you, Mira, for being concerned about my safety."
"Always," she whispered back, fingers tight in his coat. The waltz, which had been playing in the background the whole time, mellowed into a dreamy croon, and naturally, they shifted into a slow dance to match it, arms wound firmly about each other, hearts radiating their shared content across the darkened Guild Hall.
Happy swooped merrily through the air, cutting sharp, gleeful circles above Natsu, who was staggering drunkenly below him on the white-coated path.
Charle had accepted his gift! Even though it was so strange that it wasn't fish, she had still liked it! Enough that she had actually thanked him! He put on an extra burst of speed, laughing as he cut through the air, only to squeal in surprise and fear as he suddenly caught sight of a terrifying apparition in a nearby tree.
"Natsu! Natsu! I think Gajeel's gone crazy!" He yelled, zooming back to Natsu, who was making his way dizzily along the path.
"Eh? What'sh that, Happy?" Natsu asked.
Happy directed his eyes upwards, where Gajeel was sitting in the branches of the large oak in Magnolia Crescent Park. Even stranger, the Iron Dragonslayer had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and was hunched angrily like some ruffled bird of prey. Pantherlily was flitting irately around Gajeel, and the black Exceed looked down as Natsu and Happy crunched to a stop in the snow underneath the overhanging branch.
Lily sighed crankily. "Oh good, maybe you two can convince this crazy idiot that he's throwing away the best thing that ever happened to him because of some stupid reason that he made up in his own fat, iron head!" Lily's small voice swelled to a roar as he directed the last part towards Gajeel.
"It's not a stupid reason and I didn't make it up!" Gajeel snarled right back, bringing the blanket up to cover his face, leaving only his slitted red eyes uncovered.
"Hey Gajeel! What the heck are you doing up there?" Natsu gave the Iron dragonslayer a bleary look. He still hadn't comprehended what was happening in the haze of his alcohol-fogged mind, and was actually convinced that the strange vision was some sort of hallucination, but as he caught sight of the blanket that Gajeel was clutching possessively, he brightened.
"Metal-head! Did you tell Levy that you liked her present?"
Gajeel froze.
"Who told you that Levy was my partner?" He asked suspiciously, eyes narrowing to angry points of red in the shade cast by the tree.
Natsu rolled his eyes and wobbled drunkenly as he flapped a hand at Gajeel.
"Duh. Her smell is all over your blanket. So did you tell her?"
Gajeel cast his eyes down, deflating as he spat a curt "No."
"What?" Natsu squawked in indignation, swaying dangerously as he clutched the tree trunk for support. "Why didn't you tell her?"
Gajeel thought of pure wonder spreading across Levy's face, her eyes filling with light and a smile as bright as the sun and shook his head violently.
"I'm getting in too fucking deep," he muttered to himself before raising his voice to yell at Natsu. "It..It's not like…God dammit, I just didn't want to give her the wrong fucking idea!" he finally burst out.
He was barely able to dodge Natsu's flaming roar, hopping out of his tree into the snow in the nick of time as his seat was abruptly reduced to ash. Lily didn't fare much better, swooping away from the column of flame with an oath. Gajeel landed with a curse and immediately checked to make sure his present hadn't been singed before dealing Natsu a solid punch, knocking the tipsy mage facefirst into the snow and crushing his head firmly into the snowbank with the heel of his boot.
Lily watched impassively from the sidelines, holding back a fuming Happy. He knew that if anyone could talk Gajeel out of this stupid, prideful rut, it would be Salamander, so he didn't move as Gajeel continued to smash Natsu into the snowbank, raging.
"You fucking idiot! What if you burned her present, huh?"
Natsu made an unintelligible noise, and grudgingly, Gajeel finally let up and Natsu rolled limply onto his back.
"Stupid metal bolthead," he grinned irreverently.
Gajeel was ready to flip him right back over and continue mashing him into a Salamader-shaped hole in the bank but Natsu flopped one arm in the rough direction of the Guild.
"She was waitin' for you," he slurred. "All alone while everyone left."
Gajeel stood up sharply, suddenly cold despite the warmth of Levy's present over his shoulders.
"What?"
"Go back an' tell her you liked it," Natsu managed before passing out for real, his snores echoing off the frozen trees around him.
"Aye…" Happy agreed, as he grabbed Natsu by the vest, hoisting the dead weight into the air as they made a wobbly path towards their house.
Gajeel watched them leave, turmoil swirling angrily in his chest. Lily waved Happy off before turning to Gajeel and fixing him with a look as the Iron Dragonslayer sat down hard in the snow.
"God dammit." He muttered. "I…I just wanted her to leave well enough alone and take the stupid gift and be done with it, not sit and wait for a goddamn love confession!"
Lily snorted, sitting next to Gajeel in the snow and crossing his arms. "Not like you would've had the balls to pull through with that."
Gajeel grunted angrily, pulling the blanket a little more closely around him and they sat in stony silence for a minute before Gajeel buried his face into the soft plush again and got up with a sigh.
"I'm…I'm not gonna just leave her there by herself. That's just a dick thing to do, but! I'm not gonna tell her anything either!" He finished quickly, shooting Lily a challenging glare.
Lily nodded approvingly. "That's better than nothing. She'll be happy with that and so will you, and if you decide you want something more" -Lily grinned hugely- "I'll be crashing at Erza's tonight, so…" he trailed off, twitching his ears and waggling his eyebrows in the most ridiculous manner possible.
Gajeel scrabbled furiously in the snow around him, ears turning red and shouting something unfit to repeat in front of Wendy as he formed a huge snowball, hurling it at Lily, who dodged easily, chuckling. Dodging another chunk of snow, the Exceed flitted over and patted his partner's shoulder solemnly.
"Good luck."
Gajeel looked down, swallowing tightly as his shoulders slumped, and only Lily would really know just how nervous he was in that moment. He grinned at the split second of vulnerability before Gajeel's steel mask fell back into place and the Iron Dragonslayer looked up and nodded sharply, eyes already cutting into the distance.
"Thanks, but hopefully I won't need it."
Lily nodded confidently at his partner's resolve and took off for Fairy Hills with a lighter heart, and Gajeel watched him until he was out of sight, one hand lifted in thanks.
As his cat disappeared into a speck in the distance, Gajeel began to make his way slowly towards the Guild, fretting over what to say and do once he got there. His present was just a present. Nothing else. So why was he so goddamn nervous?
"Ah, fuck it!" He finally yelled to the silent night air, and tucking the blanket carefully under his arm, he broke into a dead run towards Fairy Tail, letting the rush of the icy winter wind blow away his nerves for the moment.
When he got to the Guild, it was quiet and dark and obviously closed, and he cursed as he banged one fist on the door. No one answered (obviously) and he jumped cleanly into the second-story rafters outside to peek in.
He flushed, completely mortified as he saw Mira and the green-haired runeweaver wrapped in each others arms and slow-dancing across the Guild Hall. He jerked away, knowing that he'd seen something beautiful and private that wasn't meant for his eyes, but that confirmed that Levy wasn't in there, so keeping his eyes sharply averted from the windows, he hopped back down and slunk away to think.
If she wasn't here, then that probably meant that she'd gone back to her place. He was ready to leave for Fairy Hills when the faintest wisp of crisp linen and parchment caught his nose and he jerked his head back in the direction it had come from. Looking down, he found a clear line of tracks made by small feet heading in the direction of the…woods? That wasn't towards Fairy Hills, so where the hell was she going?
Furrowing his brow, he tucked the blanket a bit more firmly under his arm and started following.
Levy walked the long way to Gajeel's apartment all by her lonesome, telling herself that she'd just apologize and thank him for his present and be on her way. She wouldn't even ask him if he liked her present!
She buoyed herself with fake-happy thoughts, trying in vain to enjoy the beautiful winter weather around her, but deep inside she was quaking, desperately scared that she'd ruined whatever hint of friendship they had. Gajeel hadn't even stayed for the Reveal, and although he hadn't torn her present apart in disgust at first sight, if he didn't even stay the few seconds required to let her know that he had been her Secret Santa, then he must be very angry with her.
She sighed, feeling small and sad and lonely.
It would be all right though, because all she was going to do was thank him. It wasn't like she was going to say anything about the long days and nights of waiting and wistful hoping for…anything from him.
But then again, why not? She wondered wearily. Now was the perfect time, after all. Maybe she should tell him and get it over with instead of drawing things out until it was painfully awkward. It was already unbearable as things stood right now.
She WOULD tell him, she decided, hefting the box firmly in her arms. It wasn't like her to pursue something so adamantly, but she had never felt so strongly before, and god, she needed to know if he felt the same way!
And If he didn't - something within her faltered painfully and she nearly tripped on her own feet – if he didn't, she would deal with it then, she thought firmly, trying to ignore the awful hurt seeping through her at the thought.
Building her resolve up, she gave herself a mental pep talk, and was so fired up that when she finally reached to his house, she marched straight to his front door and knocked boldly, stepping back to wait for him to open up. She waited, and waited…and after about two minutes of silence and calling and knocking until her knuckles stung, she came to the disappointing conclusion that he wasn't home.
But where could he have gone? She thought, trying not to succumb to the disappointment that weighted her down. The box in her arms suddenly seemed ten times heavier, and she had never felt so painfully alone. He hadn't been at the reveal, so she had just assumed he'd gone straight home, but he wasn't here, and neither was Lily…
Turning sadly away, she shifted her beautiful present, looking at the sparkling ferocity of the garnet eyes and drawing resolve from them before looking back at Gajeel's house, her own eyes sharp. She wouldn't leave. She wouldn't leave until she had a definite answer from him, and she'd wait here all night on his doorstep for him if she had to!
Sitting herself stubbornly on the steps in front of his house, she set her present aside, gently stroking the nose of one of the silver dragons before cupping her face with both mittened hands to wait. She closed her eyes and sighed, imagining the cloud of white streaming out and upwards towards the lone streetlight by his house. She didn't expect the light, cold touch on her nose.
Her eyes snapped open to see…a tiny dab of white on her nose? Her mouth rounded into a perfect O of realization before she struggled to her feet, laughing and holding her hands up to catch the minute flakes of snow as they drifted down from an ink-black sky.
She jumped off the stairs into the snow, hopping to catch the drifting flakes, trying to catch a few in her mouth. Her hat flew off as she leapt to catch a particularly large bit, but she didn't even notice, too caught up in the natural wonder of falling snow.
Gajeel had come to the inevitable conclusion that Levy was heading to his house a long time ago, and now he walked slowly, resignedly back, trying to think of something to say when he saw her, but all he could think about was how big his feet were compared to hers as he tramped right next to the ongoing trail of her small feet.
He turned and walked backwards for a bit, smiling thoughtfully at the double trail of footsteps before him, the stamp of his huge boots right next to hers in the snowy path. He reached out, the ghost of her presence so thick and close that if she was actually there, his hand would be hovering right over her small of her back….and then Ivan's demands surfaced like a ghoul in his mind and he remembered that he wasn't fit to walk beside her yet, not by a long shot.
Scowling, he veered sharply off the trail into the thick snowbanks piled high on the side of the road where he wouldn't be walking next to her tracks and her almost-there presence wouldn't haunt him.
Did she really have to walk right in the center of the road? He lamented angrily as he sank heavily through the thick, untouched powder, holding the blanket over his head so it wouldn't touch the snow and get wet.
He was nearly back to his house when he heard the light laughter. Trying to walk silently and wincing at the creaking snow, he snuck over to a tree and stole a peek from behind it and…froze.
She was bathed in an aureola of warm, orange light from the glow of the single streetlamp above her, haloed hair streaming about her shoulders, cheeks frosted pink from the biting cold, breath puffing into drifting smoke about her face. Her smile was perfect and carefree, her head upturned as she twirled joyfully across his lawn to watch the falling flakes of snow as they tumbled across the silent expanse of black sky and his heart jumped into his throat and he couldn't breathe.
Oh god, why was she so damn beautiful?
Letting out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, he opened his mouth to call out to her, but his voice stalled in his throat as she laughed again, airy and cheerful as she cupped both hands to capture an errant snowflake, spinning gleefully as she caught it, the ends of her hair trailing dizzily behind her.
He didn't want to ruin this perfect moment, wanted to capture that image of ephemeral beauty forever in his mind, but he was suddenly, irrationally scared that if he didn't say something, she'd disappear in front of his eyes like a mirage, so somehow he found his voice.
"Oi, what are you doing here?"
He winced sharply. His voice sounded like rusty knives as it cut through the glowing atmosphere, hacking it to pieces and ruining it forever.
Levy gasped as the familiar voice shook her out of her snow dazzle, and she jolted back into a more normal pose, trying to pretend that she hadn't been dancing about like an idiot before he arrived.
"Gajeel," she breathed, spinning around to see the Iron Dragonslayer approaching, his footsteps leaving dark tracks in the fresh snow. He crunched to a stop a foot away from her, and she was absurdly pleased to see that he had her present tucked firmly under one arm. Stammering, she fiddled with her mittens, tugging them on and off as she tried to gather her scattered resolve.
"Um...Hello," she managed, and she was kicking herself the moment the words left her mouth. Um, hello? Couldn't she think of anything more witty or funny?
"Hi…" he mumbled back, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his coat.
They stood in awkward silence with the snow falling in whispers around them for a good minute before Levy broke the silence, stuttering as Gajeel tried to speak at the same time.
"No, no, you go first," she whispered, blushing. How much more awkwardness could she take before she broke down? He shook his head and made an jerky shooing motion, and they lapsed into silence again. Finally, Levy spoke again, her voice a bare murmur above the falling snow.
"Th-Thank you for the present," she whispered, smoothing the front of her jacket nervously. "It's beautiful and I lo-" she swallowed tensely – "and I just wanted to thank you so much."
She looked up at Gajeel through her eyelashes, and he nodded woodenly, his eyes glued to her forehead. He was silent otherwise, and she crossed her arms behind her back uncomfortably. She was going on pure instinct and adrenaline now, since all her carefully planned speeches had evaporated like so much smoke the moment he had walked into the clearing and found her dancing in the snow.
"Um, also, I had one more present that I couldn't give you at the Guild."
"Yeah?" His voice was deep and gruff and gave her absolutely no indication as to how he was feeling, but he wasn't leaving, so she plowed on, covering the distance between them in one large step, stopping mere inches away. She felt, rather than saw, the way he suddenly tensed, muscles coiling taut with surprise under his skin, but he didn't move away from her.
Clearing her throat and trying to strike a conversational tone, she hoped that he couldn't hear the waver in her voice.
"You know, that kiss really wasn't very good, was it?"
She looked up at him shyly, and he saw that the falling snow had dusted her hair with a fine layer of snow. A few white flakes clung to her eyelashes, and as she blinked they stuck to her cheek, melting slowly in the warmth of her skin. Gajeel fought the overwhelming urge to kiss the wayward flakes away, hands curling into fists in his pockets, but he just shook his head in response to her question. He was so still otherwise that he could have been a statue, but for the breaths that puffed around his face in hazy white clouds.
Her heart hammering wildly, Levy stepped forward to close the last inch between them and put her hands on his chest, very aware of the staccato beat of his heart under her fingers.
"Since it was so terrible, I thought that maybe I should, you know, try and make up for it."
She reached up to cup his face gently with one mittened hand, eyes seeking his permission before she leaned up onto her tiptoes and slowly, deliberately, closed her eyes and pressed her lips firmly to his in a soft, sweet kiss that surprised both of them.
Levy didn't expect Gajeel to wind his arms around her, or for him to lean into her and respond with a scorching kiss of his own, but suddenly the night around them faded away and it was just her and him and she felt like she could kiss him forever like this if time allowed.
When they finally parted, they were both breathless and flushed and there was a second where if they turned away politely, they could call it an accident brought on by holiday spirit, but neither was willing to let go, so they stayed locked in each other's arms and then someone initiated another kiss and they were drowning again in mutual bliss.
After several more breathtaking kisses, Gajeel finally cleared his throat, looking down at Levy with a cross-eyed air of distraction.
"I-I guess you should come in."
Levy just nodded, unable to look away from him, her smile radiant as it broke across her flushed face.
Later that night, Gajeel grinned to himself, looking at the girl curled up comfortably in his new blankets, nose poked in a book. He joined her, curling himself around her and wrapping both arms around her slender waist while she made distressed noises at being disturbed while reading. Nuzzling his face into her blanket-covered back and breathing in with a contented sigh, he reflected that all in all, it hadn't been a bad holiday season, really.
Hooray, done! (Although I might add an omake chapter later on)
Thanks for sticking with me! Your reviews were wonderful and uplifting and I'm so glad that it was so well-received, especially for my first story! I'm sorry that it dragged on into January, since I was really hoping to finish it up by Christmas, but things just don't work that way in a procrastinator's world x_x
I feel like things were a bit OOC with Gajeel and Levy because I had to develop things fast, and generally I don't like the romance-within-a-chapter sort of thing, but I hope it was plausible!
Since Mira was in charge of the partners, she did know that Fried was her Secret Santa. She just didn't know what he would get her.