Getting term projects done? What's that?

Levy couldn't claim her morning was boring. So much had already happened that it was hard to believe it wasn't even ten yet. Still, she wondered how long she would be hanging out. At least she had the day off. She didn't even have any books with her to pass time. They were all in the car. Her fingers twitched at being empty, so she curled them into her dripping sleeve.

The place didn't bother her really, even if her nose had twinged a little at the foreign smell of oil and grease. It sort of disappeared after a while.

Would they even be able to figure out what was wrong with her car? They hadn't seemed too worried about it when—what was his name, Gajeel?—went out the door. Then again, they probably saw people in her exact position all the time. Sort of like how she got used to frantic readers not being able to find the books they needed.

Levy ran a hand through her soon-to-be-snarly hair, sneaking a glance out the window. Gajeel paced around her car, seemingly not minding as water coated him. The denim of his coverall was starting to darken as it got drenched.

Was he going to get annoyed that he was out in the rain? He didn't look angry, but that didn't mean anything. It didn't seem to take much to set him off. Maybe that was why Metalicana was stationed at the desk.

She sighed as she shifted uncomfortably. Her jacket was pretty heavy, and the end of her dress was sticking awkwardly to the back of her legs. In a half-sneaky swipe, she tried to take a step and pull the garment down a little as she wandered around the room.

There was a stack of magazines on a table next to one of the couches, but they were all auto-related. The one on top had a mudding ATV on the cover. What was more interesting was the numerous photos hanging on the walls. Some of them were actual pictures, but there were some newspaper clippings too. They detailed competitions and articles about the shop mostly. It went along with the shelves of gleaming awards tacked up here and there. She tried to spot the name on one, but it was too high up for her to see, even on tiptoes.

She huffed and brushed back hair that had fallen in front of her eyes again, wishing she had another headband. How could Lucy stand letting her bangs fall across her face all the time?

The thought of her friend made a flash of pink on the wall catch her eye. Was that Natsu? Levy leaned in closer to the wall, keeping her arms folded across her stomach so she dripped on as little as possible.

In the photo, there were four men—probably two boys and their fathers. She recognized Natsu right off the bat because she knew nobody else with that shade of salmon hair. A taller red-headed man stood behind him with a large grin on his face. The other two were Gajeel and Metalicana. No wonder Natsu said to come here. Apparently they all were good friends.

...or at least their fathers were. Gajeel and Natsu were butting heads in the image, scowling, snarling, and looking on the cusp of a fight. Lucy said Natsu and Gray did the same thing. Often.

Levy shook her head and smiled a little, trying to ignore the tiny flecks of water that splattered outward. As she walked along the wall, she found other pictures. There were a few more with Natsu or the red-headed man, as well as another young man who looked like Gajeel, only with short, neat hair. The eyes were the same, though, so maybe he was a relation.

Two images that were especially notable were of Gajeel in a white suit, holding a guitar in front of a microphone. It sort of looked like a bar setting. The other one was him covered in no less than five fuzzy cats with the strangest look on his face. Levy giggled.

Heavy steps behind her betrayed Metalicana's approach. He caught was she was looking at and grinned. "Hard to believe that sour puss outside is the kid in these, huh," he said, nodding his head toward the wall.

"Well," she began, glancing over another picture. Gajeel was holding up some sort of award. "At least he's not frowning in some of these."

Metalicana let out a hearty laugh that could've shaken the frames loose from the walls. "He takes some getting used to," he admitted. Then, the corner of his mouth quirked suspiciously. "Yer one step ahead of the game with that sass, though."

Immediately, Levy's cheeks erupted into flames. One of her palms flew up to cover it. "I don't know what's wrong with me today. I'm so sor—"

The taller man waved her off. "That's the way to handle Gajeel. He respects bravado. If it's genuine," he added, crossing his arms loosely.

She recognized that look from her own father's face. The one that said, "you better not be messing with my kid." For whatever reason, that made her feel better. The two men had a... unique relationship.

Thankfully, the sentiment was genuine on her end, even if it was sort of embarrassing. "I've had a lot of practice," she said, thinking of Jet and Droy. She sighed. Sometimes they got so wrapped up in arguments with each other that they only listened if she intruded with some snappy comment.

Outside, Gajeel had popped her hood and was leaning under it. Why he was doing that in the rain and not in the shop was beyond her. For a moment, she had a sinking worry in her stomach that the car hadn't started. Even if it had been her father's, it wasn't that old yet!

Metalicana was watching too. "Poor attitude aside, the brat's actually pretty good at what he does. He'll figure out the problem."

Levy smiled at him but couldn't hold back the cold shiver that shook her. She frowned as she pulled her sleeve away from her skin. It snapped back with a wet pop. Would her skin wrinkle too badly if she sat down? The couch cushions looked like a cat or dog had maybe had a fight with them, and a few dark streaks decorated the dull fabric, but her socks might literally be turning to mush as she kept standing on them.

The shop owner looked at her for a second and then nodded toward the hallway. "There's a dryer in back. Probably something to wear around here, too," he said.

She visibly brightened, brushing her hair out of her face.

"It'll be clean at least. Mostly." Metalicana shrugged, a motion that said "what do you expect?" She supposed it was a mechanic shop, so she'd take what she could get.

"Something dry would be great," she said.

The man had that strange grin on his face again as he motioned her to follow him down the hall. He entered a room hardly bigger than a closet, though she was surprised to see some sort of cot stuffed into it. It was hard to tell what else was in there, since Metalicana took up most of the view as he rummaged around in something, but were those pieces of metal scattered on the floor? A couple loose bolts hovered by the door frame too, but she hadn't noticed until Metalicana let out a sharp curse and limped for a second. Levy tried not to laugh.

She thanked him as he handed her a large blob of denim, a towel that had seen better days, and pointed her to the bathroom so she could change. When she unfolded the outfit, she found it to be an old coverall. Gajeel's name was embroidered on the left pocket.

It was going to drown her but at least it was dry. Throwing off her jacket, she shimmied out of her dress as the orange fabric tried to stick to her skin. She made a face as it peeled away. Taking off her sleeves, they joined the bright pile on the floor. At least her undergarments were dry enough. Even better was the thick pair of thick socks stuffed into one of the pockets of the coveralls. She nearly squealed in happiness as she removed the cotton mush between her toes.

Gajeel had to be at least a foot taller than her. The material engulfed her as she stepped into it, but Levy's mood was brightening. She rolled the sleeves and legs up so she could move properly and then slid the zipper up so it didn't show a ton of skin. She felt a little like a jean marshmallow, but she was a dry marshmallow.

Picking up her clothes, she moved back into the main room, reflexively brushing her hair back. Now if she could make her hair stay put and find a solution to her car, today would be a good day.

Metalicana was at the desk again, but he looked up as she entered. "You lookin' for a job?" he asked. "It's like you work here."

Levy laughed at his joke and tried not to feel self-conscious. She probably looked ridiculous in Gajeel's humongous clothes. The bundle in her arms was starting to make a wet crease against her stomach as she wondered if the dryer was in the shop.

The shop owner nodded toward the hall again. "Dryer's down past the bathroom. Help yourself."

Smiling gratefully, she padded back down the hall, peering into that extra room as she passed. The cot looked relatively used as the blankets were askew and there didn't seem to be dust on anything. What she hadn't seen before was a very narrow dresser pressed into the corner. There were other clothes haphazardly folded on top of it, and she caught another coverall hanging on the wall with Gajeel's name on it. Did he live here sometimes?

Shrugging, she puzzled out how she would go about asking something like that without offending him. She only belatedly realized she was suspiciously curious about a man she had only met for a few minutes.

Thank you for reading! More coming soon.