"Good morning, Levy!" Natsu waved as soon as Kaia and I entered the kitchen. It had been two weeks since they had come to the inn, and the band made themselves quite at home here—especially Natsu. When the band wasn't performing or practicing for their next gig, Natsu could be found wherever Lucy was. In the morning, he was particularly fond of following her around the kitchen and helping her cook. She always feigned annoyance with his insistence on help, but I could tell she really enjoyed his company.
"Morning," I nodded, putting on my apron. "Shouldn't you be practicing with the others? You have a performance at Mira's tonight, don't you?"
"I could'na get the day started without greeting this lit'le one, could I?" He chuckled, ruffling Kaia's hair.
"Natsu!" She giggled, swatting at his hand. "Don't mess up my hair!"
"Mess up your hair? I would'na dream of it!" He grabbed her, rubbing his knuckles playfully against the top of her head.
"No!" She shrieked, laughing as she tried to escape his grasp.
"Alright, you two," Lucy scolded, "that's enough of that in my kitchen. Natsu, either help or get out."
He released Kaia, giving Lucy a mock salute. "Aye-Aye, madam. What's up to prepare next?"
"Start mixing the batter for pancakes," she instructed, rolling her eyes at me when he turned to get the batter ingredients.
"Did he mess up my hair?" Kaia asked, touching the top of her head.
"No," I smiled, "it looks fine."
"Good." She sat at the table to eat while I went to work delivering orders to the dining room.
The next couple of hours passed by quickly. I saw Kaia off to school, and I finished my morning shift with Lucy. I sighed as I hung up my apron in the kitchen, more than ready for lunch.
"Have you eaten yet, Levy?" Sting asked, carrying several large boxes into the kitchen.
"I was just about to," I replied. "Why?"
"We got pizza! Care for some?"
"I'd love some." I cleared off a spot on the table for them, and got plates out of the cupboard for everyone. "How is practice going?"
"Rehearsal," he corrected, chuckling. "Sports stars practice. Musicians rehearse."
"Same thing," I teased, taking a slice of pepperoni pizza and putting it on my plate. "And you didn't answer the question."
"It's fine," he shrugged, shoving half a slice of cheese into his mouth. "Same as always."
"Are you excited for your gig tonight? It will be your second time playing at Mira's bar, so I'm sure a lot of guests from the first show will be back tonight to watch."
"If Gajeel even shows up," Rogue snorted, coming into the kitchen. "He's been locked up in his room since yesterday, said he was writing."
Sting sighed, as if he understood. "We know what tha' means."
"What does it mean?" I asked.
"When Gajeel gets in song-writing mode, he tends ta zone out an' forget abo' everything else," Rogue explained.
"And it sucks for whoever gets ta be the one ta interrupt him," Sting frowned, "because he does'na like being interrupted."
"I'll do it for you," I offered, laughing at the look of thanks Sting and Rogue both gave me.
"You're an angel, Levy," Sting said, kissing my hand. "Truly."
"He can be bribed with chocolate," Rogue added, not-so-subtly hinting.
I chuckled at the two of them. "Is it better to get it over with now, or later?"
"Now," they both agreed.
"If tha's settled," Sting grinned, grabbing Rogue's hand and dragging him towards the exit, "I promised someone a stroll through that park Magnolia is so famous for. See ya later, Levy!"
"I—" They were gone before I could finish. I sighed, smiling to myself. Stoorworm certainly was a handful. Well, Sting and Natsu were, at least; Rogue didn't really say much, and Gajeel kept to his room when he wasn't with the rest of the band.
Thinking of Gajeel, I figured I might as well go break him out of his "zone" before I had to leave to pick up Kaia from school. Taking Rogue's advice, I grabbed a slice of chocolate cake from my apartment and made my way to the guest rooms.
"Gajeel," I called, knocking on his door. When no answer came, I tried opening it, finding it unlocked. Once the door was open, I could hear the sound of a guitar, and hear Gajeel's voice softly singing.
He was sitting in the middle of the floor, his back turned towards me. A guitar sat in his lap, and a notebook and pen laid on the floor beside him. He paused in his playing a moment to read something on the notebook, mumbling to himself as he scribbled something out and wrote something else.
Before I could interrupt to offer cake, he put down the notebook and began playing. As soon as he did, I couldn't bring myself to interrupt.
"All I've ever done is hide
From our times when you're near me
Honey, when you kill the lights, and kiss my eyes
I feel like a person for a moment of my life
But you don't know what hell you put me through
To have someone kiss the skin that crawls from you
To feel your weight in arms I'd never use
It's the God that heroin prays to
It feels good, girl, it feels good
It feels good, girl, it feels good
It feels good, girl, it feels good
Oh to be alone with you."
He stopped playing, picking up the notebook again, and I took the opportunity to speak. I knew if I didn't, I'd end up standing there listening to him all day. "Gajeel."
He dropped his notebook, nearly falling over as he spun around to look at me. "How the hell'd you get in here?" He asked, frowning at me as he got to his feet.
To my dismay, I very quickly noticed he wore only a pair of blue sleep pants. They hung low on his hips, exposing a v-line that a girl slide down with little effort. Shaking myself, I held out the slice of cake. Stop staring, you idiot!
"I was sent to get you," I told him, forcing myself to look anywhere but him. "The band is going to rehearse for your gig at Mira's later, and they wanted you there, but they told me you were in your "zone" or whatever."
"An' that?" He asked, pointing to the cake.
"Rogue said you accepted bribes," I smirked. "And it's homemade."
"I don' accept bribes, but only a fool would decline cake," he grumbled, taking it.
"So," I said, glancing behind him at the guitar laying on the floor, "was that a new song you're working on?"
"Aye," he nodded, speaking through a mouthful of cake, "'s jus' the chorus, though."
"I like it," I said, blushing when I made the mistake of meeting his eyes. They were so harsh, piercing into whoever they looked at, but there was also something else there. A warmth that I couldn't quite figure out.
"Thanks," he replied. He cleared his throat, finishing the cake in one bite. "'s good."
I took the plate back, smiling. "It's Kaia's favorite."
"The lass at school?" He asked.
I nodded. "I should probably go get her now, actually," I told him, thankful for the escape. "I don't want to be late picking her up."
"Mind if I go?"
"What?" I asked, frowning.
"I've been in here writing practically since we arrived, so I have na had the chance ta see much o' the city," he explained, following me through the inn.
"I'm driving to the elementary school," I said, "there won't be much to see."
He shrugged, as if he didn't mind. Sighing, I gave in and agreed, telling him to put some clothes on while I took the cake plate up to my apartment. We met in the kitchen downstairs—Gajeel now fully dressed, though still just as distracting—and I led him to my car. He looked so large, crammed into the passenger seat of my tiny Fiesta, that I couldn't help but laugh.
"What?" He growled.
"Nothing," I chuckled, heading towards the school. I parked in my usual spot and got out, waiting for Kaia's class to be dismissed.
"They're all so tiny," Gajeel murmured to himself, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"You like kids, don't you?" I asked, remembering how he was with Kaia. It had been a shock, seeing the scary-looking man teasing my daughter in the common room of the inn, and even more shocking had been the way Kaia had taken to him in only two weeks. She usually didn't warm up to people very quickly, but the entirety of Stoorworm had been an exception, it seemed.
He shrugged, "they're fine, I guess."
"Mama! Gajeel!" Kaia giggled, running to us.
I gave Kaia a hug and kissed the top of her head. "Ready to go?"
She glanced behind her, nodding, and rushed to the car.
"Oi, what's wrong with ya, lass?" Gajeel asked her, opening the back door so she could climb in.
"Nothing," she mumbled. "Why did you come with mama today?"
"Bored," he grinned. "Lucy has Natsu doing chores, and Sting stole my brother for the afternoon, so I had nothing better to do."
"Says the person who has been in their room all day, writing songs," I scoffed.
"You play the guitar, right Gajeel?" Kaia asked as I drove us home.
"Aye."
"Do you think you could teach me?"
"That takes a long time to learn," he told her. However, after seeing the way her bottom lip jutted out slightly as she looked at him, he sighed. "But I suppose I could teach ya a few chords."
"Yay!" She cheered, her green eyes bright with excitement. "Mama, did you hear that? I'm going to learn how to play the guitar!"
"Then you can sing me to sleep," I teased.
She laughed, allowing Gajeel to help her out of her seatbelt. She grabbed his hand and drug him inside. "Come on! Let's go learn now!"
"I'm sure Gajeel is busy right now—"
"I'm gonna borrow the lass for a bit, then," Gajeel said, being dragged towards the common room.
"What was that about?" Natsu asked, coming into the kitchen with Lucy.
"Kaia talked Gajeel into teaching her how to play the guitar."
"Did she do the lip thing?" Lucy asked, mimicking the way Kaia stuck out her bottom lip when she was trying to get her way about something.
"She did," I chuckled, "poor bastard didn't stand a chance against her."
Natsu laughed, patting me on the shoulder. "Kaia certainly is some kid ya got there," he chuckled. "I bet her dad is a real handful."
Lucy smacked him on the back of the head before I could say anything, and she gave him a warning frown and a slight shake of her head. She knew that Kaia's father was a sensitive subject with me, and I appreciated her concern, but I couldn't fault Natsu for bringing it up.
"He was," I said, quietly. "But he was sweet, too."
"Levy," he began, "I'm sorry. I—"
"It's alright." I gave him a small smile. "I shouldn't always avoid talking about him."
"Are you two no' on good terms?" He asked.
I sighed, leaning against the kitchen-island. "We—"
"Mama! Mama, listen!" Kaia ran into the kitchen, struggling to carry a guitar that was bigger than she was.
"Careful, lass," Gajeel snorted, grabbing the instrument right before she was about to bang it against the table.
"What's go' you so excited?" Natsu chuckled, crouching down.
"Gajeel taught me a song!"
"That was quick," I smiled, looking up at him briefly before looking back down at Kaia.
She sat on the floor, adjusting the guitar in her lap before placing her fingers on the strings. "This one?" She asked, glancing at Gajeel who merely nodded.
Smiling, she strummed down with her other hand, the pick gliding across the strings. "Down, down, up," she murmured to herself, frowning in concentration. She repeated the strumming pattern about three times, then smiled up at us, her face practically glowing with pride as she beamed at us. "Did you hear it?"
"That was amazing, Kai-bear!" Lucy gushed wrapping her arms around the girl.
"Ya sounded better than Gajeel does," Natsu agreed, grinning.
She giggled, allowing Gajeel to help her to her feet and hold the guitar for her. She rushed to me, wrapping her arms around my middle. "I want a guitar, Mama!" She said, her green eyes bright with joy.
"I'll think about it," I smiled, kissing her cheek.
"Maybe when you're all grown up, ya can replace Gajeel as our guitarist," Natsu snickered.
She giggled, shaking her head. "If I do that, Gajeel won't ever find a wife!"
We all looked down at her, startled. "Why do you say that?" I asked.
"Sting said that Gajeel learned how to play the guitar so he could pick up chicks," she said, matter-of-factly. "When I asked what that meant, he said it meant finding a wife because Gajeel was lonely."
I thought Natsu was going to fall over from laughing as Kaia finished speaking. Lucy covered her mouth to hide her laughter, but Natsu was leaning against the wall, doubled over.
"I'm going to kill him," Gajeel groaned, rubbing a hand over his face as I bit my lip to keep from laughing.
"Alright, kiddo," I chuckled to Kaia, "it's time to head upstairs. I need to cook dinner before I leave for work, and I'm sure Natsu and Gajeel want to go get ready for their show tonight."
"But I wanted to go," she pouted.
"Maybe next time," Gajeel said, patting her on the head.
"Ok," she nodded, smiling. "Good night, Gajeel! Night Natsu!" She waved before running up the stairs to the apartment.
"So," I smirked, turning back to Gajeel, "how's that picking up chicks mission been going?"
"I'm gonna bust that asshole over the head with his own guitar the next time I see him," Gajeel growled.
"Wait until after the show," Natsu said as we laughed.
"I'll see you two later at Mira's," I said, heading towards my apartment, "I need to get Kaia's dinner ready before I leave."
"See ya in a bit!" Natsu waved. Gajeel merely nodded before turning and walking back to his room.
Although I didn't like to admit it, I was looking forward to getting to see their show that night. I had seen the one-song preview they had done before their first show, but I hadn't been working the night of their full show. If it's anything like the preview was, I have a feeling I won't be bartending very well.
No, I'd be too busy staring at Gajeel.
Thanks so much for reading! 3