Author's notes: Omg, that just took me forever to write this one! That's 'cause I really want to write the next ones but I couldn't post them right after the first one, that would make the action too quick to be plausible. Well, hope you guys enjoy ^.^

If I owned Fairy Tail, my name would be Hiro Mashima. But that is not my name so it is not mine.

From the other side

#2 Indebted

Slender hands lifted a clean glass at eye level to spot potential stains on its surface. The owner of said hands was happily humming a tune, her trademark long white hair swaying left and right as her body moved to the sound of cheerful music playing on the radio. The barmaid was in a splendid mood, that much was obvious.

She was picking another glass to dry with her towel when a long groan came to her ears from the countertop in front of her. Her blue eyes were immediately drawn to the little mane of bright blue hair resting on the wooden surface, the sight made her chuckle quietly:

" What is it, Levy? "

The petite woman turned her face to rest her cheek on the counter, a look of annoyance clearly etched on her cute face.

" I'm so bored. "

" Already? It's only 10 in the morning, there must be something for you to do, no? "

" Meh. " Levy shrugged.

Mirajane washed a pot to brew some coffee:

" How did your job go, yesterday? I heard you helped an old lady find her lost chest. "

" ... It wasn't so bad. " The young woman raised herself on a sitting position, her head resting in her hands, elbows on the counter. " Snuck inside a huge warehouse, full of stolen stuff. Those assholes couldn't even shoot straight. " She smirked.

The barmaid looked at her with wide eyes:

" Wait, you mean, you were inside that warehouse that crashed, yesterday night? They've talked about it on the radio, the army arrested more than thirty people. "

" Yep. We got lucky, we left before the army came. "

" We? Didn't you take that job by yourself? Jet and Droy are still out hunting giant lizards, if I recall. "

Levy sweated, she had to be careful with what she would say. Mirajane was a sweet girl but it was a secret for nobody that she was a devious matchmaker. She was the type that would try to pair up a dog and a cat. And one thing was sure, Levy did not want Mirajane to start sprouting rumors about a potential boyfriend to everyone and their grandmas. Lucy would never let her live it down.

" There was a reporter in there. A guy named Gazille. I helped him escape when they attacked. " That sounded harmless enough.

The barmaid put a finger on her chin in a pensive manner, a pot of coffee full in her other hand. Years of experience allowed her to fill a cup and offer it to the short fairy without even glancing at it.

" Gazille? As Gazille the informant? "

" Yeah, I guess. "

" I know him, he helped us a couple of times, back then, before the anima. His information was always reliable. " Her eyes glinted with curiosity. " So, how was it? "

Levy barely held the groan that rumbled in her throat, Mirajane was acting exactly as she had expected. Maybe if she played dumb...

" How was what? I told you: I got the chest and the thieves were arrested. "

" No, how was it working with him? How is he like? "

The bluenette made a pensive pout as she thought about how to describe the man she had met the day before. She was tempted to say that he was a nerd or a pansy but a little voice in her head told her that it wouldn't be accurate. He had been more reliable that she would have ever expected and that was without stating the fact he had risked his life for her. That particular point annoyed her greatly, that had been such a stupid thing for him to do. He should have tried to save himself instead of playing heroes for her sake. Even tho he had told her he was alright when they parted way, she didn't sleep well that night, his bloody face had been ever present under her eyelids. There was something stuck in her guts every time she thought about it, something that felt like guilt. She hadn't felt that kind of thing often in her life and that was disturbing.

" It was a shit load of trouble. "

The white-haired woman chuckled, a little smile on her lips that made Levy feel uneasy. She had the bad impression that she hadn't been successful at fooling the older woman. She should have lied about Gazille, pretended that it was a woman or something like that.

She emptied her cup before standing up, she needed fresh air to get her mind out of those things. Mirajane's voice stopped her right before she reached the door.

" Since you are going out, Levy, would you mind picking a thing or two at the market, for me? "

" Tsk, a thing or two, my ass... "

Levy grumbled some words that would make a sailor blush as she checked over the list she had been given by the barmaid. The piece of paper was two feet long and filled with enough items to feed an army. She could have refused to do it but there was an unspoken rule in the guild, when Mirajane asks you something with her special happy-creepy smile, just do it. It was better for your life spawn.

The young woman sighed, her trademark scowl scarring the passers-by. She walked at a steady pace, lost in her thoughts and not really aware of where she was going until she smelled cooked food and realized how hungry she was. It was almost noon.

She identified the source of the smell, it was coming from the small pub at her right and a growl from her stomach convinced her to stop for lunch. There was a lot of people inside and most of them were drunk in spite of the hour. The blue-haired woman gave a look around to spot an appropriated place to sit when she noticed a tall man sitting at the bar, an unmistakable curly haircut under a dark blue hat, complete with a business suit of the same color.

She studied his shape, how his back was straight without looking crisp and his hands were elegantly placed on a cup of coffee. She couldn't see his face from where she was standing but she didn't have any problem imagining his eyes closed and a contented smile on his lips. She thought back of the previous day and his injured head when she had left and that was enough to convince her to go see him. She was just making sure he was alright, nothing more. Then, maybe the weird feeling in her guts would go away.

" How you doin', Four-eyes? "

Gazille turned his head toward her and grinned, that made her smirk back.

" I am quite well, Miss Levy, how about you? "

" Beside starvation, I'm fine. " She looked at his forehead, where bandages were sticking out from under his hat. " How's your head? "

" It bled a lot but it was just a cut. Only six stitches. "

Levy watched him take a sip of his coffee with a doubtful eye, six stitches seemed like a lot. She wouldn't be surprised to learn he was faking being fine, that would be his type. She let out a Tsk before taking hold of the menu.

" Shall I assume that you were worried about me and this is the reason of your presence here? "

The bluenette held her breath for a fraction of a second. He was right but she was a proud woman and there was no way in hell she would admit it out loud. She concentrated her gaze on the various meals listed in front of her:

" Not really, I'm here because I'm hungry. Don't get any weird ideas under your fro. "

She didn't see him smile.

" I see. "

When the barman finally came to see them, Levy was still trying to make up her mind about what to eat. She was so used to eat whatever Mirajane would cook at the guild that she was a bit lost in front of all those choices. She only lifted her eyes from the menu when she heard the man behind the counter speak to Gazille:

" What it's gonna be? "

" The usual, please. "

" And for your girlfriend? "

The writer cleaned his throat as the blue-haired woman threw her most murderous glare at the barman who sweat dropped. She dropped the menu and put both hands on the counter:

" Who's girlfriend ya're talkin' about, huh? Ya wanna kiss my fist? " She showed him said fist to emphasize her point. The barman was as tall as Gazille and three time as large but it was obviously not a problem for the petite woman.

" Whoa, easy, Shorty. "

" WHO YA'RE CALLIN' SHORTY, BASTARD? " Levy started climbing over the counter in rage but Gazille quickly grabbed her by the waist and forced her back on her stool, smiling apologetically at the man:

" Sorry. She's just starving. Give her the same as mine. "

The man left while shaking his head in astonishment. Levy fixed his retreating back as if it was Lucy Ashley's, grumbling, while the man at her side tried to calm her down:

" He didn't mean any harm, you know. "

She growled before letting out a Tch and resting her head in the palm of her hand:

" Whatever. "

They didn't exchange a word for a moment, he was reading his newspaper while she watched the crowd of drunkards singing and dancing like morons behind her. Quickly bored of that, she watched him instead, noticing random details unknown to her like the two little studs on his earlobe or the fact that his nose looked like a triangle.

His eyes didn't leave the words of his newspaper when he spoke:

" What is it? "

She shrugged, normal people would have stopped staring and/or pretended that they weren't staring in the first place but the young woman didn't give a damn if her stare was unbearable or not. She was a dominant one, she enjoyed making people uncomfortable by watching them until they couldn't take it anymore and broke eye contact or left. But the man at her side wasn't cowering under her gaze at all, if he was unpleased about it, he hid it perfectly. She smirked mentally at that, seemed like Mister Fancy Pants had more balls than he would let it know.

" Was your client satisfied of your work, yesterday? "

Levy blinked, she had barely heard him speak. Not that she was daydreaming or anything like that.

" Yeah, she was. It was her late husband's chest, his old army uniform was inside. "

" I see, " he smiled, " no wonder it was precious to her. "

The tone of his voice made him sounds somewhat nostalgic but maybe she was just imagining things. He was folding the newspaper when the bluenette took it from him and read the front page.

" It's your article. " He nodded.

" How fast did you write it? When we parted, it was quite late. And that was before that medic started checking you. "

" I can type quite fast when I'm motivated, " he chuckled, " I almost pulled an all-nighter, tho. "

" And you're already up? Aren't you tired? "

He shrugged:

" I'm used to it. "

At that moment, two plates of steak and fries arrived in front of them. They ate with appetite, their peace only broken by the loud singing of a male group behind them. They chatted of this and that, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, going from details about Gazille's articles to the reason Levy was going to the market. The small woman was pleased to have a chance to rant about the barmaid to her heart content, which seemed to amuse her hearer.

" That sure is a lot of things, " said the afro-haired man when looking at the list given by Mirajane.

" How does she expects me to bring all that back at the guild, really? "

" Do you want my help? "

Levy opened her mouth to refuse but the words didn't come out. Her brown eyes met his red ones and for a second, she was stunned. The idea of Gazille helping her was at first silly, she was an independent woman who always did things on her own and never asked for help from anyone, not even from her teammates. But logic was fighting against her ego in her mind, it was obvious that she wouldn't be able to do this on her own and she had absolutely no good reasons to refuse his help. She couldn't bring herself to tell him Sorry but I'd rather spent my whole day going back and forth between the market and the guild instead of accepting your help.

And it wasn't like if he was unpleasant. Not that she was admitting that he was pleasant or nice or anything like that. No, he was... convenient. Yeah, right, convenient.

" You're not afraid to end up with another injury? " She pointed at his head, half-heartedly trying to dissuade him.

" I survived worse. "

" ...Don't expect money. "

He laughed, it sounded funny, something like Gi hi hi, then he paid for his lunch and made his way outside:

" Don't worry, I'm not. Come on, Miss Levy, no need to be shy. I've got nothing better to do, anyway. "

He must have expected her reaction because he was grinning like the Cheshire cat when she stormed out of the pub in a heartbeat, her face torn in a mix of anger and indignation. She only turned back on her spot to throw money inside the pub at the owner's call before she fixed him with a death glare:

" Me? SHY? Who the hell do you think I am, you big sheep? "

After a couple of name calling and threatening, the bluenette calmed down enough to concentrate on her task. Gazille had used his influence to borrow a cart from one of the market's fruit seller and now, said cart was already filled with various items as they made their way from stand to stand. There was no way she would tell him that she was grateful for his help even if she really was: her reputation was at stake, here. And to make matters worse, the guilty feeling in her guts was back. It was even stronger than before because not only she felt indebted to him because of the whole saving-her-from-being-crushed-by-a-collapsing-roof thing but now, he was helping her. For free. And when she had asked him why he was helping her, he had said that he just wanted to...

She wasn't sure if the guy was trying to get in her pants or just too nice for his own good.

By the time they had bought everything needed, the cart was so loaded that it was too heavy to pull by only one person. Since the handle at the front was only large enough for one hand, Gazille proposed to push the cart while she pulled. Useless to say that not only that was difficult but they both looked quite silly as they made their way through the royal city at a turtle pace, being easily passed by butterflies. Levy was generously cursing Mirajane on the way, promising whoever heard her that she would, in one of her many versions, shave the barmaid's head and eyebrows, dip her in BBQ sauce and feed her to ravenous beasts. As for Gazille, he was panting and sweating like if he had run a marathon.

" It's... quite... a shame... "

Levy turned her head toward the sound of his voice, she couldn't see him behind the huge pile of boxes, crates and bags.

" What is? "

He spoke louder, his exhausted voice proof of hard work:

" If there was still magic... we could have used... my motorcycle... We would have... reached the guild... a long time ago. "

The blue-haired woman agreed, her breath coming in pants. She called for a break and flopped on the ground, her back against the cart. The man dropped in a similar manner at her side, wiping his forehead with his shirt's sleeve. A good minute passed while they were recovering, both of them out of breath.

" You know, " said Levy after a moment, " it's not a bad idea you've got. " Seeing his questioning look, she explained. " Your bike. I'm pretty sure that the magic combustion's chamber can be modified to accept another kind of fuel, just need to tweak it a little. "

She looked at him with a confident eye, he quickly understood what she meant:

" You could do it? "

" Yeah. "

His eyes searched hers for a couple of seconds, as if he was trying to find an explanation to some unknown phenomenon. He asked in a low voice:

" It would be nice but why would you do that for me? "

The young woman did something unusual: her face lost any trace of fierceness and her lips formed a smile:

" 'Cause I owe you. In Fairy Tail, we always pay back our debts. "

" You're not indebted to me. "

She frowned at him, her cute smile was a thing of the past:

" Yes, I do. "

" No, you're not. "

Her fist hit his right shoulder, the very same she had punched the day before, and she growled her next words between gritted teeth:

" Yes, I do. Stop being an ass and deal with it! "

He raised an eyebrow at this, strangely pleased by her offer. He smiled back and quickly forgot his bruised shoulder.

" Alright but don't expect money. "

End notes: Thanks for faving and reviewing ^.^ hopefully the next chapter will be out quicker