1A/N:
TIt feels like such a long time since I've written a story that is not focused on personal thoughts and feelings. Why? Well, I haven't been good at writing ever since summer. I took myself a tiny break, and it just continued into a non-productive period that I will try to get out of before NaNoWriMo in November.
Anyway, the idea to this came suddenly. It was a part of the 'WritersChallenge' with the theme 'Fooling Nobody'. The theme reminded me a little of the relationship between Gajeel and Levy, and so I decided to do something sweet with them. However, it didn't really turn out as I thought it is yet an WritersChallenge.
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Disclaimer:
«I do not own any of the following pictures, music, characters or the original universe. I only own the story itself and the idea.»
Thanks a lot to Jakk Dion for betaing on this story.
The bitter lie to the sweet truth:
The sun was setting in the sky. It was pretty late, but the time of the year made it seem like the days would never end. If she was to be honest, Levy preferred it like this. Although most in Fairy Tail had at least once found her reading in the hall as they entered in the morning, Levy wasn't an Early Bird. Quite the contrary; she preferred to pull off all-nighters, and often felt more focused when staying at the guild building.
"One more!"
Levy raised her gaze from the book and looked over at the bar.
"Don't you think you should head home soon, Cana?" Mirajane collected the empty glass from the counter and put it beside the eight others that the card mage had emptied the last few hours. "Shouldn't you prepare for tomorrow? I heard you're going on a mission?"
"Yeah. That's why I'm drinking."
"I don't know if-"
"What's the problem? You know I can handle it!"
Mirajane sighed, and from her seat, Levy shook her head. What the mage said was true. It was well known - not only by the Fairy Tail guild, but by a large part of the town of Magnolia - that Cana Alberona was more than capable of holding her liquor. Still, it didn't justify the fact that Cana spent most nights - and even days - drinking at a bar. From what Levy had heard, Master Makarov had tried to make her cut down when he had first noticed her thirst for alcohol. He had even banned her from drinking in the guild, but he soon learned all that did was make her spend her money elsewhere. In the end, Cana had been welcomed back to the guild, especially when the master learned the percentage of the transactions she had been responsible for.
Personally, Levy didn't really get the point of the bar. It had other uses than serving alcohol, but at night time, it seemed that most it did was cause trouble. She was not a drinker herself. When she was younger she had looked with interest at the funny-smelling soda that made all the grown-ups so happy, but when she later tasted it, she found that it was not to her liking. It had been bitter and with a strong aftertaste of something even more bitter. No, Levy could not see the appeal to it, and especially not the one that her friend clearly saw.
"Want me to get you one?"
Levy jumped on her seat.
"Don't tell me I scared you?" Gajeel smirked as he leaned onto her table.
"N-no. You didn't. I was just thinking."
"About the booze I see." he nodded in the direction of the bar counter. "Do you want one?"
"Ah, no. I don't think so."
"Okay, suit yourself. I, however," He pushed back up from the table. "am gonna get some beer." Gajeel gave a last smile and then walked over to the bar.
"Ey, Cana!"
"Gajeel," the woman nodded at him, "Come sit down. I'm bored of Mira, she's just no fun."
"Well, you can't expect much company when you're the only one drinking, can you?" Gajeel laughed and turned towards the bar keeper. "Two dark ones. Oh, and add shot. Take the red one, yeah, that one."
Mirajane nodded and soon after put the order in front of the dragon slayer. "There you go. Should I just put it on your tab?"
Gajeel downed the shot, "Ahh!" and slammed the glass down on the counter. "Do that. Also, another one."
Levy watched as Mirajane filled his glass once more. It was nice to see Gajeel in such a good mood. She wasn't saying that he didn't seem to enjoy himself normally, but it seemed that today, something had given his mood quite the boost.
Still, where she sat, she couldn't help but feel a little left out. She sighed and looked down at the page again; she would at least be able to read.
"Yo, Levy!"
Not more than ten minutes had passed when she heard someone call on her and she looked up. Gajeel was waving at her from his seat at the bar.
"Don't sit there by yourself. Come over here."
Levy blinked. "Ehm, okay." She closed the book and walked over to her friend. "Where did Cana go?" she asked as she noticed that the brunette was no longer there.
"Ah, she left," Gajeel answered, annoyance in his voice. "Just as I was getting to the good part too!"
"The good part?"
"Yeah, I had just gotten my buzz on, and then she pulls up one of those play cards, saying she's gotta meet up with some guy." He lifted his beer and took a big swallow. "Leaving me alone to drink..."
"Oh," Levy took the seat next to Gajeel and placed her book in front of her. "Well, I don't really drink, but I could keep you company if you would like me to?"
"Great!"
Before she knew what happened, Levy felt a heavy arm wrap around her shoulders.
"That's what I like to hear!"
The young girl blushed. She knew that this was something he often did when drinking with others, but she had never been one of them. Also, the fact that they were as good as alone, compared to a crowded bar, made the gesture feel a bit more personal.
"So..." Levy tucked a stray hair into her bandana; trying her best to act normal. "You seem to be in a good mood today. Did something good happen?"
"Hell yeah! Haven't you heard?" He grinned, and she could see a light flicker in his ruby eyes. "The dancing bikini show! It's coming to Magnolia next week! Cool, right?"
Levy nodded. She had heard about it earlier, but it hadn't interested her. To be honest she didn't think it would have interested him either, but now she realized that her assumption had been quite silly. Of course he would take interest, he was a male after all.
"Hey, don't look like that. You're bringing me down. Don't tell me you don't wanna see it? Cheer up, will you? It's a night to celebrate!"
Levy put on the best smile she could.
"Is that the best you can do? Come on, smile." Gajeel rolled his eyes. "So, do you know why you shouldn't write with a broken pencil?"
Levy blinked. What was he talking about? Pencils?
"Because it's POINTLESS!" He leaned his head back and laughed.
"Yes, hehe, of course." The laugh was forced, but she felt pretty sure he wouldn't notice.
"Right? I picked it up in the library."
"The library?" Levy couldn't believe her ears. Had Gajeel been to the library? He, who used to make fun of her love for reading?
"Yeah, I had to pick up some old, dusty books for our mission." Gajeel rolled his eyes. "That bitch Evergreen was supposed to get them, but then she insisted that she had more important things to prepare." He snorted, "All she brought with her was a new hairstyle. THAT was the important thing."
Levy had to smile. When he had first joined Fairy TaiI, it had been unthinkable that the brute would get along with anyone. He had been mocking and stamped over those he considered weak and unworthy, and only seemed willing to look eye to eye with the S-rated mages. So much had changed. He was still acting rough and hard to please, but it seemed like the spirit of the guild had filled him, and that he now respected every member - to some degree at least.
"Geez, I don't care about what that geezer says, I'm not doing that again!"
"It couldn't have been that bad, now could it?" She fought to conceal her laughter, but it was no use.
"Yeah, just you keep laughing. You don't know the half of it. I was forced to wait for hours before getting to the toilet in the mornings! Hours!"
"I don't think she spent hours." Levy rolled her eyes. "And it's something you should relate to."
"What?"
"Well, I can remember you taking up the mirror most of the morning when Laxus, you and I retrieved the moon flower."
"That was different." His answer was hasty and Levy couldn't help but notice a faint blush. "I had to! It was because of that lightning bastard. Did you know that he's literally buzzing in his sleep?"
"Aha?" Levy raised her brow. "And so you just happened to bring along all that hair gel?"
"I was prepared."
The blue haired just smiled. She knew his image meant far too much to him than to openly admit to vanity. Strange, she pondered, the man did have some strange morals. To be concerned about his appearance was a big deal, yet lying drunk on the floor or chaining others to a tree in a crucifixion-esque style, that was okay to him.
A shadow darkened her eyes. Although she had forgiven Gajeel a long time ago, she still couldn't forget that it had ever happened. He had changed, and she knew that he would never do anything like that again, not to anyone, but still...
"Kid, what's wrong? Kid? Levy!"
"What- Yes?" Levy had fallen into her own thoughts and the memories of the past.
Gajeel was looking at her, a worried wrinkle between his brows.
"What?"
"You seem so out of it. Are you not well or something?"
"Oh, no, I'm fine. Just tired I guess…"
'Tired of waiting for you.' The thought annoyed Levy, and she shook her head, letting her mind clear for moment.
"Now that I think of it, maybe I should have a little to drink."
"That's the spirit!" Gajeel slapping his hand down on the counter. "Hear that, Mira? Give the poor girl a sweet one. Put it on me."
"Sure", Mira's head poked out from side room. "Coming right up"
"No, you don't have to-"
"Geez, just accept it already, why won't you? It's a drink, and besides; I owe you."
Needless of what Levy said, Gajeel refused to change his mind. And, as Mira put the pink liquid in front of her, Levy was close to giving up.
"Then I will buy you the next round!" she insisted, and to her surprise, the dragon slayer laughed.
"Fine by me, but then I'll buy the one after that." He smirked as he let another swallow of beer disappear down his throat.
"Gajeel!"
"Loosen up, kid. Loosen up and drink." He put down the now empty glass. "You really need to lower those tight shoulders of yours from time to time. Take the time to relax, don't wear yourself out because of those dumb books. Stop it. Breathe!"
She was about to argue, but then stopped. It wasn't like him to worry about things like health - it had never stopped him before. Also, she knew he was right. Although, she was more than capable to pull off the all-nighters and long nights in general, it still took its toll on her. She really should take a break once in awhile… She should, but she needed to become stronger - and if not only for herself, then for Jet and Droy. The Shadow Gear members had all grown stronger, but Levy still felt that their team was falling behind, and as team leader, it was her job to change that.
"You're right. I should." Levy sipped the drink and was surprised how sweet it tasted. This was nothing like the bitterness from her previous experience. "It's… good."
"See? Now you get what you've been missing out on?"
"Well," Levy thought about it.
It had been a positive surprise, and she wished it was this side of things she had been introduced to and not the bitter aftertaste. If she had, things might have been different now. Not that she wished to change it now. The past, no matter what it consisted of, was still a part of her. It had made her who she was today, and it had made her stronger in many ways. She had overcome hardships and was now able to handle more.
'Maybe' she thought to herself, 'maybe it wasn't so bad. So much had happened, and maybe one day she would grow to like the bitter taste. She knew it wasn't impossible, as she was aware that the bitterness she once held towards Gajeel had turned into the sweetest pink. It was a silly way of thinking, but she couldn't lie to herself. However, if someone asked her about it, she would probably lie.
A/N:
That's all. I will as I said have to look over it again, but that will have to be next week or so.
Tell me what you think, okay?
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