Notes: Written for the Gajevy Week bonus day on tumblr. Last minute inspiration so a bit rushed, sorry for mistakes.

Gajeel glared out over the crowd, hoping his scowl would be enough to keep the potential suitors away.

It wasn't.

He'd already turned away three women asking for a dance, and he could feel the eyes of more.

"It'll be fun," he muttered, pitching his voice a few octaves higher to imitate Natsu's. "Maybe you'll find a girlfriend."

Natsu seemed to have forgotten that Gajeel didn't want a girlfriend, and even if he did he sure as hell wasn't gonna find one at a fucking dance. And not just a dance but a masquerade ball.

He shuddered and pulled his lips back in a snarl, scaring an approaching girl away.

He'd never been big on crowds, especially not dancing crowds. Especially not slow dancing crowds to crap that could barely be called music. It was like someone had designed his own personal hell and plopped him right in the middle of it.

"Go away," he growled, almost laughing when the girl he'd noticed in his peripheral scurried backwards.

And the women. They were endless and far too persistent.

He'd hoped his mask would scare them off, something akin to a devil's face. Black encased his eyes and curled down his cheeks, and two small horns poked off the top of it. Unfortunately they seemed to actually like it.

His scowl darkened and he hunched down further, mentally cursing Natsu again.

He'd watched his cousin twirl past with a blonde a couple of times. Each time Natsu shouted at him to get out there and have fun, and every time Gajeel gave him a not so nice gesture that had the blonde laughing.

She'd seemed nice. He hoped Natsu didn't do something to ruin it.

"Gajeel!"

He straightened, automatically reaching out to grab the girl that dove into his arms. Wendy smiled up at him, her own mask was shaped like a cat and she looked far too cute for words. "Are you having fun?" she asked once he let her down.

"A blast," he deadpanned, and she tsked her tongue.

"You've got to get out there and dance."

"Don't have a partner."

Wendy rolled her eyes, planting her hands on her hips as she glared up at him.

"That is no excuse." Then she paused, her eyes lighting up with a smile "Wait here."

He almost managed to stop her, but she was quick and had disappeared into the crowd before he could call her name. He wasn't sure what she was planning, but knowing her …

His eyes flashed to the door. He could probably get out before she could stop him. But Natsu had the keys to the car and he didn't feel like walking home. Which meant he had no choice but to wait for Wendy to return, and return she did.

She stopped in front of him and grinned, motioning behind her.

"This is Ms. McGarden." He tensed, glancing at the woman that Wendy had dragged up.

She was cute, he'd give her that. Blue hair piled above her head in some intricate design, but a few curls had escaped it to fall in front of her face. A dark green dress hugged her figure in all the right places and he found his eyes lingering on her ass before he could jerk them back to her face.

Brown eyes sparkled from behind a brightly colored mask, and cute lips twisted with a smirk.

"Levy," she said, holding out her hand. Gajeel grunted, embarrassment flashing through him.

He couldn't believe he'd just gotten caught ogling her ass. Thankfully Wendy seemed to have melted back into the crowd so he didn't have to worry about her telling all their cousins.

"You must be Gajeel," she continued, squeezing his hand once. Her grip was firm, her fingers slightly calloused. When she dropped his hand to brush some of her hair behind her ear a silver charm bracelet tinkled. "Wendy has told me so much about you."

Mischief glittered in her eyes and Gajeel coughed, shifting slightly to tug his jacket down.

"All good things of course," she assured him, and Gajeel knew his ears had to be glowing from his blush.

"She's mentioned you a time or two before," he rumbled, his voice rougher than he'd anticipated.

Levy laughed and he felt himself relaxing. She had a nice laugh, not something he'd expect from a teacher. Whenever he thought about teachers he imagined silver hair and nails like claws, and a cackle like a witch. Not … her.

"You're young to be a teacher." The words were out before he could stop them and she laughed again.

"I get that a lot." She lifted a shoulder in a shrug. "But it's something I've been passionate about since I was young, and I worked hard to get where I am today. If that's a problem …" She trailed off, her eyes flashing, and he quickly held up his hands.

"Nope, no problem. Just speaking without thinking. Dangerous, I know."

She pressed her lips together with a smile and glanced over her shoulder at the dance floor.

"Wendy mentioned you haven't been dancing," she said, glancing back at him. "Did you want to?"

The rejection was on the tip of his tongue – he didn't dance after all – but he found himself pausing. For some reason he wanted to dance with Levy.

So he jerked his head in a nod and followed her to the floor, putting his hands where she instructed. Her hip was warm under his hand and he flexed his fingers, drawing her a bit closer as they twirled.

She smelled like ink and lavender.

"Wendy mentioned you play music," Levy said as they twirled.

"Guitar."

She had her eyes closed as they danced, and he used the moment to drink in her face. He wished he could take her mask off so he could see all of it.

He knew she had to be beautiful.

"I'd love to hear you play one day. She says you're really good."

"Well … I wouldn't say amazing or anything, but …"

She laughed, her eyes opening to capture his, and like that everything around him melted away. Everything except for her skin under his fingers and her eyes on his.

"You're prettier than I was expecting," she said, and then a flush crept up her cheeks as if she'd realized her words. "Not that I spent a lot of time thinking about you or anything. Just the way Wendy talked, I expected—I guess I—" She stopped, dropping her head against his chest to hide her face, but Gajeel could still see the blush.

His chest rumbled with a laugh and he squeezed her hip. "Thank you. I could say the same about you."

She drew back, glancing at him under her lashes.

They finished the dance in silence and when they broke apart he felt a sudden chill at the absence of her heat.

"Thank you," Levy said, brushing her hair behind her ear. Her face was still tinted pink and her eyes looked everywhere but his face. "That was fun."

He grunted, not sure what to say, and she dipped her head. Before she could leave he grabbed her wrist, not realizing he'd done it until she paused and glanced at their joined hands.

"Yes?" she asked, and he wondered if that was hope he heard in her voice, or if he'd just imagined it.

"You mentioned wanting to hear me play," he said, his voice rushed. "I play at Extalia every Friday and Saturday night. So maybe if you're free …"

He thought his heart might beat right out of his chest when she didn't answer right away, but then she squeezed his hand and he glanced at her face.

"Sounds great." Her smile was practically blinding and he swallowed past the lump in his throat.

"Neat." Then he flushed. "Did I really just say neat?"

She laughed. "You did, but that's okay because it is neat." She grinned and dropped his hand, stepping away. "I look forward to hearing you play," she murmured, her smile soft. "And maybe seeing you out of that mask?" Her fingers brushed over his cheek, and he could practically feel the heat through his mask. "Although it is very neat."

He grinned at the word, dipping his head.

He didn't know what else to say, but he knew he wasn't ready to say goodbye yet. Levy obviously felt the same way from the way she lingered, her eyes staring out over the crowd.

"So," he started, clearing his throat. She glanced at him, her eyes shining.

"Yes?"

"Care for another dance?"

She grinned, accepting his hand.

"That would be lovely."

He led her back to the floor, and they talked as they danced through song after song.

They didn't stop dancing until the music ended, and even then they lingered, parting with promises to see each other again.

And when Gajeel met Natsu at the car, he ignored Wendy's knowing smile and Natsu's smug grin. Instead choosing to remember what Levy's lips had felt like when they brushed over his in a quick goodbye.

They'd been soft.