Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or anything related; that possession belongs to Hiro Mashima.
Author's Note: So… while I'm not necessarily happy about this random arc/side-tangent the anime is going down right now, my shipper heart is definitely happy at the bone us Gajevy shippers were thrown in Episode 37. If you don't watch the anime and only read the manga, you can pretty much infer that something embarrassing happened. You don't really need to know the "plot" of the anime because there is none. Here's the result of that episode, though! Enjoy!
Sooner or Later: Quiz Show Results
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Gajeel/Levy, Lucy
December 13, 2014
Levy sat at her regular booth in the back of the Guild, unsure of how to handle herself in this situation. Sure, her nakama were celebrating with the Stellar Spirits they had finally "defeated" in order to turn them back to their regular selves, but… there was still a feeling she couldn't shake.
Levy had been doing a good job at being antisocial for most of the event. With a rather thick tome in front of her face, no one dared approaching her. That is, until Lucy snatched the book out of her hands and urged her to join in the fun.
"Come on! You helped everyone get back to normal, so you should be out there celebrating! I know this doesn't mean much coming from me, but this book isn't going anywhere," Lucy reasoned, giving her friend a look as she sat down on the edge of the table.
Levy sighed, raising her hands in defeat. "Fine, fine."
"You've been a bit off since we came back," Lucy added, placing the book down. "Did something happen?"
"Kind of," Levy began slowly. "There's something I just… don't get." She paused. "You know that my challenge was a bit different. Not a physical battle, I mean."
"Right." Lucy nodded to continue.
"How do the Stellar Spirits know so much about all of us? The quiz show questions were all difficult. Even I didn't know the answers to some and I've been a part of Fairy Tail since childhood! Despite that, however, the answers were all generally known by at least one person."
"Besides Loke being a member of Fairy Tail, I'd assume they more or less know what I know?" Lucy shrugged. "I'm not sure. Why? Was one of the questions about something secret?"
"It was a question about me."
"What about you?"
"Something that I haven't really… told anyone."
Lucy hummed, unsure of how the information could have spread to the Spirits. "Are you sure it's not common knowledge?"
"I'm pretty sure," Levy replied, turning pink. "It was a really embarrassing secret."
Lucy leaned back on the table, her arms holding her upright. "Do I know this secret? Have you told me?"
"You've… teased me about this before but I've never actually confirmed or denied this thing from existing," she responded, averting her eyes.
Lucy pondered for a second, twirling the end of a pigtail around her finger as she thought about what the secret could be. Something she had teased Levy about in the past?
"Ah! Was it about Gajeel?"
The color that blossomed across Levy's face was enough of an answer to proceed.
"Oh! It was!" Lucy squealed, reaching for Levy's hands. She glanced over to the main area of the guild, searching the crowd for the man in question. She had seen him over by the bar earlier with Lily, but now she couldn't spot him. "Did something happen between you two that the Spirits called you out on? I didn't know there had been any progression in your relationship!"
Levy jerked her arms away, scowling. "Nothing happened! It's just… the way the question was phrased really struck me hard."
"How was it phrased?"
Levy squirmed. She didn't really want to continue, embarrassed to be admitting this again, out loud, so soon… "I, uh… I don't know if I really should."
"Come on! You can't start the story and then just not finish it!"
She sighed. "I know, Lu-chan, but…"
Lucy bit her bottom lip, giving her best friend award-winning puppy dog eyes. "Please?"
She had to have been Levy's number one cheerleader when it came to her love life. And if Natsu's insanely good hearing taught her anything about "secret" conversations, Gajeel could possibly be nearby hearing every word of this one. She hoped.
Levy sighed, knowing she couldn't really hold out this information. "Okay. The question started out basic, asking 'Who does Levy-san like?' But then the announcer person clarified that the use of the word 'like' wasn't 'a lukewarm feeling, like a friend or a comrade' and to 'give the name of the man [I have] romantic feelings about.' I didn't want to say it, but it was the tiebreaker question. I had to win!"
"So you admitted that you love…"
Levy was bright red at this point, waving her hands in front of her. "Yes! Yes! And since then I haven't been able to shake this weird feeling. How could they have possibly known?"
"Levy," Lucy shot her friend a sympathetic smile. "It's not a secret. Everyone knows. Well, mostly everyone."
Her eyes widened. "W-What?" Her voice went up a few octaves as she screeched, "What do you mean everyone knows?!"
"It's not a bad thing! It's just… really obvious."
Levy groaned, slumping against the table. Her head hit the wood with a soft thud. "My life is over."
Lucy chuckled, patting her friend on the shoulder once more. "Your life isn't over." Seeing movement in the shadows out of the corner of her eye, Lucy wanted to cheer. Instead, she decided to make herself scarce to let this scene play out, possibly collect some bet money. "I'm going to get us some drinks. I'll be right back."
"Kay," Levy mumbled, not lifting her head to watch her friend leave. She was doomed.
After about two minutes, Levy felt the added weight of another person sitting down on the bench she was moping on. "That was fa…" she began as she tilted her head, the words dying in her throat when she realized that it wasn't Lucy back with drinks. Her face was still pink with embarrassment and all she wanted to do was hide. Reaching for the book she had been reading, she opened it and placed it in front of her head as a shield. It didn't last long before Gajeel snapped the book shut and slid it out of her reach. He didn't talk, which made her nerves even worse. She scrunched her eyes closed, trying to will herself away.
"You're not even tryin' ta pretend I couldn't hear ya," he said after a minute of silence between them.
"I had a feeling you could," she exhaled, finally opening her eyes to meet his. Her heart was beating so fast she felt a heart attack on the horizon. Those eyes of his always managed to make her heart rate spike, but now…
"That bad?" he asked.
Levy sat up. "It's not that it's bad, it's just…" She tried to carefully choose her words. "I don't want to scare you away. I don't want you to think I'm some lovesick teenager. That this is some kind of Stockholm syndrome and I don't know what I'm doing. That you don't deserve me and I'm just pitying you."
Gajeel shifted, resting his elbows on the table as he eyed the small mage with a raised brow. "You gotta know how fuckin' stupid that sounds, Shrimp."
"I know," she groaned. "I just… don't want to mess up what we have."
"What if you don't get a say in that?" Gajeel asked, hoping she would get the hint. When she only stared at him silently in confusion, he realized he needed to be more direct. He dragged her into his lap, chuckling at how she began sputtering at the contact. Now she understood. "Shut off that damn brain of yers for a second. We both know what we want. Right?"
She nodded.
"I want you. You want me. Right?"
She nodded again.
"No matter the shit in the past or the shit in the future. You're too… important to me, okay?"
Levy nodded a third time, tears of happiness threatening to fall. Her smile was impossibly wide.
"If you fuckin' cry I'm dumping your ass on the floor," he grinned at her. The laughter that bubbled out of her throat was music to his ears and for the first time in his life he didn't fight the urge to kiss her. She continued to giggle as they kissed, wrapping her arms around his neck to bring him closer. His hands moved dangerously low on her hips—just because now he could.
He broke their kiss but kept close, resting his forehead against hers. "You're my woman."
She never thought she would be grateful for that stupid quiz show, but here she was as a direct result. "I'm your woman," she breathed against his lips before kissing him again.
Neither noticed the guild in absolute chaos.