Beneath the Surface (A GaLe story)

You Freaking Idiot

-Levy's POV-

"G-Gajeel?!" I gasped, surprised by the sudden appearance of my savior.

He sat back in a chair on my right side and put his feet up, jostling my stomach and making me hiss in pain, although he didn't notice. "Who else would it be, shrimp?"

"Y-yeah..." I laughed awkwardly, raking my hand through my hair in an attempt to comb back its wildness. Wow, I was so articulate today.

"What's wrong, pipsqueak?" he asked in his low, rough voice, arms crossed. "Spent so much time in the books you forgot how to interact with your nakama?"

I rolled my eyes, my cheeks flushing a bit. "Of course not." I crossed my arms and huffed, hair falling into my face. With a sigh, I pushed it back again. I should at least be able to be angry without looking stupid...

"Oh, I almost forgot," Gajeel said, rummaging around in his pocket.

"What?" I asked, sitting up a little more. Without fanfare, he pulled out a mound of metal. "Oh," I said, looking away again. He was probably just hungry.

He stuck it in front of my nose. "G-Gajeel! I don't eat me--" I cut off, staring at what I first thought was just one of his snacks. In his giant hand sat a small flower, an inch thick and, lengthwise, about half of the size of my palm, maybe a little bigger. It glistened dark grey, sculpted with ridiculous accuracy. It was beautiful.

"Wow, Gajeel, did you make this?" I breathed, turning it over in my hand.

"Y-yeah." Who was the one stuttering now? "It was just something I made when I was bored..." Mmhm. "Your hair is a mess, so I thought you might want it." Yep, that's Gajeel, always ready to ruin the mood.

But I wasn't deterred. "Thanks!" I flashed a smile at him. "I love it." I pinned it in my hair and grinned. When I looked up, he was looking at his thumbs, cheeks an odd pale-pink.

I blinked, suddenly remembering what Lucy had spilled. "Actually, I wanted to t-thank you for before." I stuttered. He stopped fiddling with his thumbs and looked at me with an odd expression.

After a long, long, very awkward silence, he spoke again. "Uh-huh..." I grinned. Not very articulate, but that was never really his style anyway.

"Yeah," I continued to fill the emptiness. "I guess you were just pretending to be a bad guy," I stated, noting how his eyes narrowed at the comment. "You're actually really ni--"

"Hey shorty," he said abruptly. I sighed inwardly. Couldn't he just say my name like a normal person? "You really want to thank me?"

I looked at him with my head cocked to the side. "Well, yeah, I guess..." I hoped he wouldn't ask me to do anything awful. Just remembering Lucy in that terrible bunny costume he made her wear when he was performing was enough to make me shudder.

Gajeel stood up abruptly, some scrap metal-- probably a snack for later-- falling out of his pocket as I looked on with confusion. He glared at me, something unreadable underneath the surface. Then again, I never really knew what he was thinking. "A-Are you okay?" I asked, stuttering again. Jeez... I was acting so stupid, it was embarrassing.

"If you really want to thank me," he rumbled, "get stronger." My eyes widened in surprise, and then indignation.

"W-what!" I protested. "I'm plenty strong!" I balled my hands into fists over the blankets. The worst. He was the absolute worst.

He laughed sarcastically. "Almost being killed by a beer barrel?" he asked, almost yelling now. "That's pathetic." Tears sprung to my eyes, but I looked away before he could see.

"I get it!" I yelled, my head throbbing. "I... I think you should go." I said more quietly, trying not to sound strangled with my throat as tight as it was. "I'm pretty tired." Without a word, he stomped towards the door. Just before it slammed, I heard him mutter something, too quiet for me to hear. The weird thing was, it didn't sound like he was mad. Was that regret?

I sniffed, hoping that he couldn't hear me through the door with his stupid dragon-slayer hearing. I held my breath for a few seconds to make sure he was gone, and then pulled out his stupid- beautiful but stupid- hair clip. It probably was only given to me on whim or pity. I was stupid for thinking it was special.

I pulled the sheets over my head, forming a tent. "Idiot Gajeel. I'll show you..." I muttered in between sobs.

* ** ** ** ** *

-Lucy's POV-

I walked into the infirmary- or what was left of it- carrying the books I promised Levy. Well... I was carrying one.

"Lucy!" Natsu grumbled behind me. "What kind of person needs this many books?!" He staggered forward blindly, vision blocked by the books stacked up to his face.

I rolled my eyes. "Smart people who actually read," I said, deadpan. With a sigh, I grabbed his scarf and continued walking forward to guide him.

"Lu- ugh- shee! You're st- strangling me!" Oops. I let the material fall from my hands sheepishly.

"Sorry..." I said, brushing back my hair. "Now can you hold on a second? I'm going to wake Levy-chan." The bluenette was sleeping curled up in a ball, hugging something metal to her chest and muttering. Her face looked slightly puffy.

"Fine, but we better go on a mission soon..." he grumbled. I winced. Shoot. My rent. The face my landlord would make if I missed another payment... I shuddered.

"Yeah, okay." I shook my head. "But first..!" I skipped over to Levy, hand hovering over her shoulder, but I stopped when I heard her muttering.

"Stu... Stupid." Oh, she had better not be talking about me. "... Gajeel." I breathed out. She just saved herself... That. Lucky. Duck.

Gently, I shook her shoulder. She sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Lu-chan?" She asked, sleepily.

"Yep!" I sung. "And guess what I brought~" Her eyes lit up, and I grinned. Me and Levy thought so much alike-- maybe that's why we were best friends.

"Yay!" She said, moving to clap her hands. But her smile faded as looked down at the small metal thing resting in her palm.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I bent down to look at her, sitting in the chair and shooing Natsu out the door, which he obeyed begrudgingly. As soon as the door closed, she jumped on me, squeezing my waist tightly. "Levy?"

"I-it's Gajeel..." she sniffled, her voice muffled through my shirt. I felt her tears seeping through my clothes. Great.

We talked for hours about what had happened, until Natsu finally exploded outside. I mean literally exploded. He got bored and set something on fire, which then exploded. Don't ask me what, I don't know and have no desire to.

As I made hasty goodbyes with my best friend and ran out the door, I clenched my fist.

Gajeel.

I was going to kill that jerk.

-0-0-0-0-

Gajeel you IDIOT!!!! *Screams and flails* Seriously, why, oh why, must you be so STUPID sometimes. If I had Levy's power, I would drop a chunk of metal on your head right now... oh wait... I guess you would eat it... Sigh...

ANYWAY I would love to see Lucy fight Gajeel. She wouldn't last three seconds. Okay, overstatement. Maybe two. At most. That was an awesome line though. I ACCEPT YOU AS MY FAVORITE CHARACTER'S BEST FRIEND. You're welcome.

So next time-- look forward to an inside look on Levy's feelings on her and Gajeel's past. She may be sweet and forgiving, but things can leave scars...

And maybe look forward to some NaLu, in this chapter or in one of the upcoming ones!! Love you guys!!!

~Sky Bubblecloud