What Fairy Girls Want
by Ulquiorra9000
Chapter 24: smokin' hot (you and this whole club!)
Why did the right thing have to feel so wrong?! Okay, not wrong, but a total drag. Like, damn. Today was the first day of Natsu's serious new regimen, and that meant dragging his sorry butt out of bed at 5:30 AM (Ugh!) and hauling his heinie to MCC's campus to... oh man, it felt so weird to say...
Study!
Was this how nerds felt? Y'know, the dorks who don't get invited to house parties and graduate college still a virgin (how was that even possible?). Well, whatever. Natsu had some expectations to meet, so here he was, marching across MCC's morning campus and heading right for his least favorite building: the library. Levy called it her home away from home, and Natsu called it The Slammer. Because the thought of it made him slam his head against the nearest wall or desk.
"Morning," Natsu said to the first nerd he passed in the library's bookshelf aisles. Then he met a few more. "Hey. Whassup. Yo."
He mostly just got funny looks. That's okay. Natsu simply grabbed the first book on his subject of choice, then found a table where he could study up in peace.
Two lovely ladies were already there. Whoo! Some decent company!
"Oh! Good morning, Natsu," Lisanna said warmly, looking up from her own book. She smiled. "Goodness, I don't think I've seen you in here before."
"Yeah, I'm an endangered species around here," Natsu joked as he settled down. He rolled his neck, then yawned. "And g'morning to you too, Brandish."
"This is good," Brandish commented.
Natsu blinked. "What is?" Because studying was anything but good!
Brandish, who was casually seated in her desk and not studying a single word, motioned to her two companions. "There's no unresolved tension between the former lovers. Excellent. Lisanna was right that she had moved on."
"B-Brandish!" Lisanna yelped as a shocked Natsu fell out of his chair. "How could you bring that up?"
"Yeah, what she said. Ow," Natsu said as he got up, bonking his head on the table's underside as he went. Fuck, that hurt.
"I've had friends, dormmates, and more than a few classmates break up and think they were over their ex, only to realize otherwise," Brandish explained simply. "I've seen slaps, catfights, a few kicked ballsacks, and vandalism of a pristine guitar in an unlocked dorm. And those were the gentler fights."
Natsu snorted. "Do you just hover around campus watching everyone screw with each other?"
"The point is," Brandish said loftily, "if Lisanna can study peacefully with her ex like this, then you are both mature beyond your years. Here, have a treat." She produced two little Snickers bars from her purse like Halloween had come early. Score! Natsu pounced on his and scarfed it down. Aw yeah, sugar in inappropriate places was always the best.
"Natsu and I respect our friendship, as I've said before," Lisanna told her friend. "And I've got my hands full with my classes and job! Working with Juvia at PetCorps is more rewarding than ever."
"So, how about you, Natsu?" Brandish asked, rounding on him. "You've got Lucy to keep your cock busy. Why bother with the library?"
"Funny you mention Lucy," Natsu said, trying to sound lofty. His voice cracked. "Lucy is working harder than ever to study journalism. We even went to a gala party last week. So, I decided it's my turn to catch up and get shit done."
"What kind off shit are we talking about?" Brandish inquired politely.
Natsu smiled and held up his book. "I wanna get into fitness and nutrition. Like, a gym coach or fitness trainer, or even work as a physical rehab guy at a hospital. I have to hit the weights and the books. So, presto! Nerd Natsu is here." He spread his arms wide.
Lisanna giggled, a hand over her mouth. "I love Nerd Natsu! He takes his future seriously. Congratulations."
"Nothin' to it." Natsu flexed his right bicep.
"Did Lucy threaten to dump you if you don't shape up?" Brandish wondered aloud.
Natsu scowled. "No! What the hell! If stupidity was a reason to dump someone, hardly any couples around here would remain. Back me up, Lisanna."
"Indeed," Lisanna put in. "Brandish, I promise you, Lucy isn't callous enough to dump anyone like that. And I bet she will be very impressed to see Natsu doing this."
"Ah. So Lucy is the positive reinforcement type," Brandish concluded, a twinkle in her dark green eyes. "I can see it now. One handjob per passed quiz, one hour of wild monkey sex for every A on an exam..."
"She wouldn't be so crass," Lisanna said dismissively. "Right, Natsu?"
"Uh... nope. No way," Natsu said, sweating bullets while hiding the fact that Lucy was that kind of crass girlfriend, and that was the kind of queen Natsu needed in his life. "But Lucy did say one thing of note..."
Brandish cocked her head, arms folded over her huge boobs. "Yes?"
Natsu cracked a smile. "Lucy said she wants to accomplish something incredible by Christmas, and I wanna do that, too. Let's end the year with a bang!" He raised his fist.
"Sex under the Christmas tree? Very gutsy. I like it," Brandish said with a nod of approval.
Natsu went red as Lisanna giggled. "Th-the other kind of bang! My life is seriously changing this year, and I want something big to seal the deal. Just like Lucy's gonna do."
"Any ideas?"
Natsu hung his head. "Not yet. Lucy isn't sure yet, either."
"It's okay," Lisanna assured him. "It's only the middle of August. Explore your options, and it'll come to you. I believe in you two!"
"I still vote for monkey sex under the Christmas tree," Brandish insisted. "Natsu, you know you wanna unwrap that present and play with it all morning. Don't let Santa down."
Natsu bared his teeth. "Don't you desecrate Santa's good name like that, you witch!"
Brandish motioned with both hands. "My bad."
Natsu relaxed. "Seriously, though, I oughta think of something, or at least help Lucy with hers. What's a big goal for journalism?"
"The Pulitzer Prize?" Lisanna ventured.
"Reporting an epic car crash," Brandish suggested.
"Interviewing a serial killer!" Lisanna declared.
"Getting pictures of Spider-Man," Brandish piped up.
"Getting dirt on a popular celebrity!" Lisanna added.
Natsu snorted with laughter. "Forget it. I'll let Lucy do the brainstorming, thank you very much. For now, we should study." He cracked open his book -
"I think I've seen Gray around here, too," Lisanna suddenly said, looking around.
Natsu closed his book. "Oh, snap. For real? What was he doing?"
"He was looking for books on construction," Lisanna explained. "I didn't talk to him, though. He looked pretty serious."
"He's gonna get into construction when we graduate," Natsu noted. "Since he likes making things with his hands. Funny, I never see him studying anywhere, and we both blew off our last exam to beat our high scores in the arcade's pinball machines."
"Maybe Gray felt lost, like you," Brandish told Natsu. "And now he's getting serious. With that Juvia-sized hole in his heart, I don't blame him."
Natsu scowled. "Hey, Gray's and Juvia's breakup was clean. And they were booty calls, not boyfriend and girlfriend."
"Oh. Good for them."
"Now, if Gray is hitting the books, I'd better not fall behind!" Natsu declared. "That's a pretty low bar to clear, after all. Allow me..." He cracked open his nutrition book again -
"Gajeel is planning on putting on a concert soon," Lisanna idly mentioned.
Natsu closed his book again. "Hey, it's about time!"
"Yeah, he's really excited," Lisanna said with a wink. "And you just know Levy will be his #1 groupie!"
"I'm sure he knows how to rock and roll in the sheets," Brandish declared.
Lisanna sighed.
"Why else would he keep talking about iron?" Brandish said with a shrug.
Natsu rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He cracked open his book again -
"Cana's doing well in the wine and spirits club," Lisanna added brightly. "She's really found a home there. Big sis Mira says how enthusiastic she is about taste-testing every wine ever made in Fiore."
"Nice," Natsu commented. He glanced down at his book -
"Jellal says he's getting kind of bored," Lisanna continued. "He wants to challenge himself somehow. After all, Erza did so well with the theater club."
"I still think there should have been a sex scene," Brandish put in.
Lisanna rolled her eyes. "Erza also hopes to host a fun bake event at the bakery where she works. We should all go."
"Hooray for cakes!" Natsu cheered.
"Bisca also says she and Alzack are looking to take the next step. She made it sound so cryptic and dramatic," Lisanna added with a little smile.
Natsu was this close to mentioning Alzack's intended proposal when he caught himself. That would have been awkward! Instead, Natsu yawned again and checked the time. "Yowzers! I oughta hit the gym if I wanna make it to my first class on time." He got up and tucked the nutrition book under his arm.
Brandish yawned, too. "I think I'll crawl into the sack. I've got a long afternoon of doing jack squat ahead of me after that. See y'all." She got up and wandered off.
"Natsu, I'm rooting for you," Lisanna told her friend, her sapphire eyes fixed on his. She raised a fist to eye level. "Go beyond!"
"Yeah!" Natsu whooped, earning him a stern look from a passing librarian. "Later." He headed off and slipped the nutrition book back on its shelf, happy to get a fine study session done at last.
Natsu face-palmed. He hadn't read a word of it! What the fuck?!
Well, there was always tomorrow. For today, the pull-up bar and bench press machine were calling his name, and there was no resisting their siren song!
o*o*o*o*
"You're on in two minutes, Ironwings," a club associate told Gajeel and his friends one evening in the Mermaid Fins music club.
"We'll be ready. Just a few more checks," Gajeel told the associate, and then he turned to his three friends in the ready room. He grinned widely. "Feeling the music, Ironwings?"
"YEAH!" Droy, Laki, and Fried cheered, raising their fists.
"Sound check," Gajeel told them. "Let's hear it."
Droy strummed his guitar and nodded. "Ready, chief."
Laki plucked a few notes on her bass guitar and smiled. "I'm at 100%!"
"I double-checked my drums. They'll blow that crowd away," Fried reported in, twirling his drumsticks.
Gajeel tested a few notes on his own guitar. "Then it's decided! Tonight will be our historic gig to reshape Magnolia's music scene once and for all! The industry's been a bit weak lately ever since the Skullfuckers broke up. We'll pick up the slack and start a sonic movement no one will ever forget!"
Laki snorted. "I'll never understand how they got away with naming their band the Skullfuckers."
"You lot ready?" the same club associate said, poking his head in again.
Gajeel rolled his shoulder, then his neck. "Showtime! Move it, Ironwings!"
He couldn't stop his heart racing with glee as he and his three friends stepped onto the stage in the crowded club, squinting his eyes against the bright stage lights. "Good evening, Mermaid Fins!" Gajeel hollered as the band got their instruments ready to rock. "We're Gajeel and the Ironwings, and I wanna welcome you to our first and only live performance! This is the opportunity of a lifetime to lose yourselves in our unique sound, and boy are you all in for a treat! Can I get a hell yeah out there?!"
He raised a fist and smiled widely as the crowd roared. Gajeel scanned the crowd real quick for a certain somebody... and there she was, to the right and near the back. Levy McGarden, the delicate flower who made Gajeel's daily life so much fun. She was beaming and clapping as everyone around her threw up devil horns and went nuts, and it was such a cute contrast. In her own quiet way, Levy was such a smokin' hot babe. Gajeel could even smell it from here!
"Hey, something's burning," Fried commented.
"Yeah, I smell it too," Laki said. "I've got a noseful of smoke! Ugh!"
"That's 'cause we're the hottest band in this city," Gajeel told them. "Now focus! First up is..."
Then the smell got stronger. Uh-oh...
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Everyone shrieked in terror as the fire alarms went off, with the clubgoers suddenly surging toward the lone exit and half-crushing each other. Shit! What if Levy got hurt in the stampede? Gajeel had to get down there!
"There's an electrical fire in the back rooms! Everyone out!" the club owner, a middle-aged lady with colorful glasses and an ironic T-shirt, shouted with her hands cupped over her mouth. "Move, move! And don't start a stampede!"
There was already a stampede, but who could do anything about that now? Trying not to panic, Gajeel fumbled with his guitar and mic as the rest of the Ironwings gathered their stuff, and they joined the chattering crowd. Everyone started funneling out into the evening air.
"LEVY! WHERE ARE YOU?" Gajeel hollered.
"Here!" came Levy's shrill voice, throwing up her hand. With a will of iron, Gajeel pushed his way through the yammering, rowdy clubgoers and didn't stop until he reunited with Levy, shielding her from the mob's wrath with his own body.
"Stay close to me," Gajeel told her as someone's elbow jabbed right into his spine. Yow, that hurt!
Levy merely nodded, wincing a she held onto Gajeel tight, trying not to get clobbered by anyone else as the crowd trickled out of Mermaid Fins. Finally, after some shoving and squeezing, Gajeel got himself and Levy out of the club in one piece, and Laki, Droy, and Fried joined up with them a minute later.
"Are we cursed or something? Damn!" Droy raged. "We just need one show! Oh, good to see you're all right, Levy." He gave her a quick nod.
Fried hung his head. "Some musicians die young to drugs or booze. Our entire career is gonna die young before the Ironwings ever get off the ground!"
Gajeel bopped him on the noggin. "Chin up, bozo. Enough complaining! Third time's the charm, you hear me?"
"Yeah. That'll put a typhoon in our sails," Laki agreed. Wasn't it wind in your sails?
Gajeel gave everyone a bracing smile. "We'll get our night, Ironwings. I'm not giving up on this project. It's my passion."
"Yeah! Set your heart ablaze," Laki agreed, smiling right back.
Good enough for now!
But until then...
Gajeel stuck around and watched the fire truck arrive, and the firemen had the blaze under control. The good news: the damage wasn't too bad, and Mermaid Fins would be open again this time next week. The bad news: no gig tonight, and who knew if Gajeel could whip up another crowd like that again? And after all that work on Tweeter, Instogram, and paper flyers to get people to see the show...!
Someone tugged on his sleeve.
"The night's not over yet, Mr. Rock Star," Levy said with a coy grin. "Why don't you put those things away, and we can have our own adventure on the town?"
Laki, Fried, and Droy exchanged looks, then gave Gajeel and Levy some crafty smiles and made themselves scarce.
"My #1 groupie," Gajeel said happily, patting Levy on the head. "Where would I be without you?"
"I know where you'll be with me..."
One taxi trip to stash Gajeel's guitar and mic at his apartment, and then another to begin this evening's second phase. The Mermaid Fins catastrophe already felt so far away.
"If I knew this was gonna happen," Gajeel said as they hailed another cab, "I would have planned a killer mega-date for you, Levy. Just us on a night on the town, living it up like only we can."
Levy had an excited gleam in her eyes as the cab pulled up. "Even without a mega-date, Gajeel, we can still have a night on the town like only we can."
"Oh yeah?"
Then he found out how it would go down: a cooking class!
"This is so much more fun than another restaurant date," Levy commented happily as she rolled dough between her flour-dusted hands 20 minutes later in a spacious kitchen. "Right?"
Gajeel was trying to get his dough unstuck from his fingers and failing. "I... I guess so! But at least the chefs in a restaurant know what the hell they're doing... crud..."
He pried off a glob of dough that sailed through the air and landed right in the instructor's mouth. Whoops! Everyone else in the class either gasped or laughed, and Levy elbowed her boyfriend playfully as he went bright red.
Gajeel made sure to tip the class instructor when he finished baking his questionable calzone, even though cooking classes don't take tips. "So, what's next?" Gajeel asked, tummy full of his own culinary mishap.
"How about..." Levy smiled once again.
"A dance class?!" Gajeel yelped 10 minutes later when he and his girlfriend joined a conveniently timed lesson on how to tango.
"Come on, honey, you're supposed to lead," Levy teased him as Gajeel bumbled his way through the dance, desperate not to stomp on Levy's toes by accident.
"Remember the steps," the coach called out to the room full of awkward, self-conscious dancers. "Follow the footwork, keep your arm around your partner's waist, and..."
"Eeeeeek!" a girl cried as she fell out of her partner's grasp and sprawled on the floor. "I'm okay," she added in a daze, raising a hand to set everyone's mind at ease.
"You can make music, but will it flow through your body?" Levy asked her partner as the upbeat music kept playing. "Dance is how the body sings!"
"I never thought of it that way," Gajeel noted. He spun Levy around, feeling like a champion of high society in the process. "If the other guys saw me now, they'd -"
Levy's eyes spat sparks. "They'd better not tease you if they saw you, Gajeel! What's so funny about this? It's a bonding experience."
"I didn't mean it like that," Gajeel yelped. "I just mean..."
Levy gave him a knowing look. "High school Gajeel wouldn't approve, would he?"
Gajeel shook his head. "Back then, my idea of a date was... it was..."
"Yes?"
"Y'know what, I didn't know jack shit back then. This is way better." Gajeel offered a quick smile, one that Levy promptly returned.
"Now you're getting it," Levy said warmly, cuddling up to Gajeel's chest.
Then, Gajeel tried another spinning move to finish the song, and he felt Levy suddenly slip out of his hands. No...!
"Eeeeeek!" Levy cried as she fell out of Gajeel's grasp and sprawled on the floor. "I'm okay," she added in a daze, raising a hand to st everyone's mind at ease.
"Please be careful, everyone," the coach said as Gajeel helped Levy up. "Though truth be told, we get a few falls in every class."
"Play it again!" Gajeel barked, and the startled coach hit REPLAY on the music player. This time, Gajeel really focused, mentally juggling all the steps as he followed the footwork and kept Levy close while also keeping his body relaxed. Almost there, almost there... stick the landing...!
The final note played as a panting, slightly sweaty Gajeel and Levy halted in place, their arms out, wide smiles on their face. Everyone broke out into a decent golf clap, and Gajeel and Levy took a bow.
"Man, this is fun," Gajeel commented once he and Levy stepped out into the evening air once again. He rolled his neck. "Why don't we head back to my place and -"
"Nuh-uh. Date's not over." Levy said, holding up a finger. "The third item on the docket is..."
Mini golf?
"By this point, Elfman and Evergreen would be shagging in the bathroom if they were here," Gajeel noted as he putted on the third hole's green turf. "If a sport doesn't include slamming into people, Elfman wants nothin' to do with it."
"And if Erza and Jellal were here?" Levy wondered.
Gajeel pumped a fist as his green golf ball rolled right into the hole. "They'd be humping by the fifth hole."
Levy smiled. "Natsu and Lucy?"
"They wouldn't make it out of the cab before they got frisky."
Levy burst out laughing. "Now I'm doubly glad I didn't make this a double date with some other couple!"
Levy ended up winning, by the way, so as punishment, Gajeel had to kiss her from the jaw to her shoulder, not caring who saw them doing it. A giggling, blushing Levy sure didn't mind, either!
From there, the couple visited an ice cream parlor (Levy shocked Gajeel by getting a cone with eight scoops of ice cream), then they visited an obscure little movie theater that only showed indie movies by local producers. Gajeel didn't know what the heck was happening as the lovelorn protagonist wandered the desolate hometown where he grew up, looking for the garden he and his childhood love had made, but then again, when does life make sense? Then they rounded things out in a used bookstore, just two blocks away from Club Thunder.
"Ah, this is far more rewarding than getting tipsy at a club while the speakers destroy your hearing," Levy said as she leafed through a dog-eared book about classic architecture. "Don't you agree?"
"Still don't like clubbin', huh, babe?" Gajeel teased her.
Levy snorted. "Once was enough, thank you! I'll never comprehend how Cana and Loke make that a weekly occurrence."
"And I'll never comprehend how I scored an amazing girl like you," Gajeel said casually, then went bright red and clapped his hands over his mouth! Whoa, where did that come from?! Not that it was untrue, but still...!
Levy giggled and went bright pink. "You'd never score a girl like me going clubbing every night, let me tell you that. Are you feeling like Mr. Romantic tonight, my darling gentleman?"
Gajeel shrugged his broad shoulders. "I think this date is getting me in the mood for it. I know what I like, but I can adjust to almost anything."
Levy gasped and nearly dropped her book. "Anything? In that case, let me drag you to -!"
"Hold on, almost anything," Gajeel hastily added, knowing full well that his girlfriend would drag him to MCC's library for a stone-silent study session until morning. The horror!
Levy giggled again. "I wasn't that serious about it."
"Whew. Don't scare me like that! If I have to study all night at the library, I'd..."
"Library? Who said anything about that?" Levy said, snapping the book shut and cramming it back onto the shelf. She folded her arms. "I was going to drag you back to my place so we can -"
Gajeel instantly got the message. 15 minutes later, there he was at Levy's and Juvia's apartment, with Juvia the menace mercifully absent, so Gajeel and Levy were free to do a little of...
"That! Just like that! Ahhhhh! Aaaaaaaahhhh~!" Levy wailed as Gajeel made love to her between the twisted, sweaty sheets, the whole bedframe creaking and rocking with the fierce energy of Gajeel's lovemaking. This was it! Gajeel bared his teeth and sprinted to the finish, pacing himself just right to draw out this fireworks display of humping to its maximum as a pink-faced Levy panted with pleasure and her breasts jiggled on her bare chest and Gajeel felt himselt starting to come -
"LEVY, I LOVE YOU!" Gajeel declared as he kept ejaculating into his girlfriend, his hands clasped on hers.
"YEAH, I GOT THE MESSAGE!" Levy shrieked with joy as her man demolished her lady parts during the white-hot climax of greatness.
"SORRY I FORGOT THE CONDOMS!" Gajeel added, unsure why he was still yelling.
"EH, I'LL RISK IT, JUST THIS ONCE!"
"THANKS! I'LL BE PACKIN' NEXT TIME!"
"YOU'D BETTER, BUSTER!"
Five minutes later, Gajeel and his petite, blue-haired queen were laying side by side on the bed, their hands still clasped, staring at the ceiling.
"I learn more every time I'm with you," Gajeel huffed. "I don't even need to open a book for that. Thanks, Levy."
"Mmmmm. I'm always happy to teach my man something." Levy nudged Gajeel's foot with her toes. So cute!
Another few minutes passed in cozy silence. Then...
"Actually, you could teach me something, too," Levy said.
Gajeel looked over at her. "Really. Like what?"
"How to make music."
Gajeel stared.
"What? Aren't there any openings in your band?" Levy insisted.
"I... haven't thought about it," Gajeel admitted. The Ironwings already felt nice and tight, all roles covered.
"I could play the keyboard," Levy idly suggested.
"There's an opening! Auditions soon!" Gajeel declared, bolting upright. "I think we need a keyboard player! Golly, why haven't I already put up some flyers about it on campus?"
Levy beamed. "When's the audition, Mr. Rock Star?"
"Hmmmmm..." Gajeel took a minute to recall Levy's rather busy schedule. "Conveniently for you, auditions will be held this Thursday at 4:00 PM in the campus music room."
"Lucky me. I've always wanted to check out that room..."