This started as a pet project for me to do on the two-hour commute to University, and has thus broken off and is growing into something that is going to be epically long. Mostly written because I love Gajeel, I love Lucy, and the thought of them together intrigued me. And thus, A Fairytail Romance was born.

One-time disclaimer: I own nothing. Nada. That is why it is fanfiction and not canon.

Will hereby contain: violence (hey, it's Fairy Tail); nudity (a given); romance (not of the squishy kind, but of the socially-inept and slightly awkward kind); smut (more towards the end); raging jealousy (mostly Loki and Gajeel); complete silliness (hey, when isn't Fairy Tail silly?); embarrassing situations (Gajeel has no sense of private space and grabby hands); cuteness (in the form of Wendy and Lucy being sister-ly); adorableness (in the form of Gajeel taking Wendy under his wing); gratuitous scenes of Lucy in/with underwear (I have no idea where it comes from, it just does);

Well, that pretty much sums it up so far. Oh, and the chapter titles are named after the first random song that comes on the Ipod, so don't really read into it that much. I suck at naming things.

A Fairytail Romance

Lucy Heartfilia x Gajeel Redfox

Chapter 1 – Owner Of A Lonely Heart

Lucy blew out a petulant raspberry as she contemplated the now empty cocktail glass's frosted depths. It had been a handful of days, nearly a week, since they came back from Edolas - what a right kerfuffle that had been - and Lucy was strongly considering alcoholism as a future career. At least Cana would be happy to have a new drinking buddy.

Where Lucy's unexpected and not entirely unwelcomed trip into alcoholism had come from was the reason for so much joy within the guild; Lisanna. Natsu's dear childhood friend, and younger sister of the loveable Elfman and the motherly Mirajane - a treasured member of Fairy Tail that had been sucked into the anima and wound up in Edolas for years. Lucy was so thrilled for Mirajane and Elfman, having never seen them quite so happy and yet unable to stop crying, and so pleased that Natsu hadn't stopped grinning like the idiot he was for days now… not that she had really seen him much.

No, because the Dragon Slayer was attached to Lisanna like some kind of psychotic barnacle, and Lisanna seemed to do nothing but encourage it. He had even left to go on a mission with her. He hadn't bothered consulting Lucy on the matter, like he always did, and not once had he broken into her apartment, fallen asleep in her bed or raided her cupboard for food. Lucy never thought she would miss having the pink-haired idiot break into her place, but as much as it annoyed her, it made her feel loved - not something she had ever felt since her mother passed away all those years ago. But now Lucy felt like she had been nothing but a replacement for Lisanna, even though she knew that Natsu would never think of his nakama like that.

Still, it hurt to know that Natsu couldn't see past Lisanna to even stop in and see Lucy every now and then, even just to let her know he was alive and well. Lucy sighed, glared at the bottom of her glass, and wailed to Mirajane for more alcohol. The kind, motherly waitress looked at her with obvious concern, but still set about mixing her another blindly brightly-coloured cocktail. Normally, this would be the stage where she would spill all her deepest-darkest's to Mirajane, but the former S-Class mage was the sister - the very loving and protective sister - of the current… well, Lucy wouldn't say bane, but there were certainly negative feelings starting on Lucy's end.

Mirajane came back with a bubblegum blue liquid in her glass, even going as far as putting a little umbrella in the edge for her. It made Lucy smile at the little gesture of cheer from Mira, but it didn't stop the drinking-induced depression that was threatening to engulf her once again. Instead, she took a swig of her offendingly-coloured cocktail and laid her head on the bar, peering off to the left with one half-squinted eye because the other was smooshed against the wooden counter.

Gajeel was sitting at the far end of the bar, munching on iron shards that Mirajane had procured ever since the Iron Dragon Slayer joined Fairy Tail. He seemed to be a regular fixture in that exact spot, almost every time when Lucy saw him - when he wasn't beating the stuffing out of someone. She knew from personal experience how brutal the man could be, and yet, she didn't find herself holding a grudge against him. Gajeel had barely said boo to her since he joined, choosing mostly to throw taunts at Natsu, which, really, was like a Fairy Tail time-honoured sport - and the rises that the Iron Dragon Slayer got from Natsu were better than Gray's.

Lucy was sure that he had been avoiding her every time they stumbled paths in the guild, where he would keep looking ahead and act like a man-shaped battering ram to push his way through the unruly crowd of their guild. It was rather effective, and sometimes Lucy found herself waiting a few extra minutes for the Slayer just so she would get bowled over and groped (something that happened on a regular basis, but less so since Natsu and Erza started beating up the people who did it). He was always by himself, with the more recent exception of Panther Lily, which Gajeel seemed almost scarily thrilled about - he had been the only Dragon Slayer in their guild without an Exceed counterpart, something that the Slayer had been touchy about.

It made Lucy think that, somewhere under all that iron, was a quite nice man. She had seen the way he had helped Wendy in Edolas, bickering and prodding her almost like an older brother would, though the Iron Slayer would start swinging if ever affronted with the knowledge. Gajeel turned a red-slitted eye to her, and Lucy supposed he had felt the weight of her gaze. He just scrutinised her for a moment, snorted, and went back to munching away on the solid iron chunks before him. Hmm, he would be great for demolishing buildings.

She held back her giggle, sobering up slightly as her good humour began to flee her. Lucy looked how he felt - alone, temperamental and miserable. He was in a similar boat that she was in - if they would both be in one without sinking from all his iron… wait, off track. They had both lost something upon returning to Earthland; she had lost Natsu, and Gajeel had lost Levi. Lucy wasn't an idiot; she had seen the way that Gajeel used to look at her, with slight awe and a softening of his features that spelt out L.O.V.E to Lucy. Levi had been either oblivious to it, or ignorant, because she was now making googly eyes at Elfman, who was more than enjoying the attention like a gentleman.

Gajeel might not be the most in-touch human being out there, but she was sure that he would have no trouble with Levi if he actually came out and said something. But the Iron Dragon Slayer was as dense as Natsu in that area, and contrary to popular belief, when a guy likes a girl, it doesn't make the girl suddenly psychic to their feelings. She had tried explaining to Natsu once, but he just yawned and fell asleep on her half way through, and Lucy had punched him in the side of his head. She had staunchly given up on teaching Natsu the ways of the heart after that, instead electing to go halvies in paying for a series of books with Erza to explain it to the oblivious Fire Dragon Slayer. Natsu had set them on fire and eaten them.

But back to the point - Lucy couldn't really see it, but she was sure that, somewhere deep down, Gajeel was moping over his loss of Levi. She was one of the few within the guild that wasn't afraid, or outright hostile to him. Most of the hostility had been dispelled ever since his pitch-in and victory in Edolas, and his conviction to save the frozen guild from being melted down into power, or being used as a massive battering ram bomb against the Exceed. But there were still many who were afraid to approach the large Slayer, except for the other Slayers, Gray and Erza (Erza wasn't afraid of anything, let alone Gajeel).

He used to scare Lucy, after he joined their guild with her torture still fresh in mind, but he more like a big, spiky, iron-eating kitty-cat now. And he must be so lonely since Levi started making eyes at the middle child of the Take Over Siblings, just like how Lucy was feeling now that Natsu had replaced her with Lisanna. Making up her mind, with a lot of help from her alcohol-induced state, Lucy grabbed her cocktail on the third try, pulled herself up, and made a wonky beeline for the Slayer. She was far from silent and stealthy in her approach, almost tripping before Droy caught her, nodding her thanks, and went back to stalking to Gajeel. Natsu had proven to her many times over at how acute a Dragon Slayer's sense of smell really was, not that Wendy seemed to share that quality, but Gajeel steadfastly ignored her until she scrambled onto the barstool beside him.

A red-iris eye turned to her, his slitted pupil no doubt taking in her slightly rumpled state and her half-drunk cocktail, and she gave him a blinding grin that made him snort and try to ignore her. She laid her head back down on the counter because right now, there were two Gajeel's, and they both looked pissed off - not that Gajeel had another expression aside from that and battle-lust. He eventually merged back into one person, albeit a little blurry on the edges, but she could see his red eyes clearly, and they were staunchly staying away from her.

"You don't have to hide it from me, you know," Lucy told him, although she was sure it came out a little fuzzily.

Gajeel turned to look at her, his studded brows drawn in a mixture of confusion and annoyance - another Gajeel trademark. He could probably look angry even after having sex. Lucy had to force back the giggle that threatened to well up.

Gajeel didn't seem to want to say anything, so Lucy took his silence as consent to continue.

"An' don't keep it bottled up. Any more bottling and you'll explode, and then I'll be wiping little Gajeel chunks off the ceiling. And frankly, I'm not tall enough to get away with that, so just… just don't, okay?"

Gajeel finally spoke.

"What the hell are you blathering about, bunny girl?" he groused.

Lucy grimaced at the nickname, but let it fly for now. He was hurting emotionally, and he didn't even know it.

"Poor baby," Lucy cooed, reaching over to squeeze his forearm.

It was like trying to squeeze a lead pipe, so Lucy let her hand flop down and just looked at him. The anger was gone - someone take a picture! - and replaced with pure confusion, and a little bit of worry. Not actual worry, more like get-me-away-from-the-mental-patient worry. Lucy took offence to that, before realising it was all in her head right now, and grinned to herself.

She must really look like a loon now - not that that meant much in Fairy Tail. They were a renown guild of loonies and nutjob's, but they always got the damn job done, even if they did end up levelling a few city blocks in the process (God-fucking-dammit, Natsu, control! CONTROL!).

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Gajeel hissed.

Scare tactics didn't really work on Lucy - she had grown up with Jude Heartfilia as a father, after all. A Heartfilia didn't get scared, they got corporate.

"With us," Lucy corrected him, "And I think you know."

"What, did you escape from a loony bin or something?" came the blunt reply.

Lucy grinned at him.

"No, we're heartbroken," Lucy explained.

Gajeel looked like he wanted to either laugh or hit her, and Lucy was fairly sure it was the latter, because she had never actually heard the Iron Dragon Slayer laugh before. As humour and irony impaired as Gajeel was, Lucy was sure that he had a sense of humour hidden deep down there, near the part that secretly loved cats.

"You're an idiot," he snorted, turning away from her.

Lucy gave a sad sigh. Denial.

"You don't have to hide it from me," Lucy sympathised, patting his arm once again.

Gajeel growled. Lucy ignored him.

"So you're feeling a bit down that t-that damn bastard just suddenly ditched you for someone else, it's nothing to… t-to…"

She had originally meant to try and show Gajeel that he was lying to himself in saying that he didn't care, that he wasn't heart-broken, but Lucy only managed to remind herself of her own predicament. Lucy burst into tears, the alcohol certainly contributing to the part where she threw herself at Gajeel and sobbed on him. The Dragon Slayer was stiffer than a board, and made no attempt to move under the onslaught of sobbing girl that had stubbornly attached itself to his midsection.

She was vaguely aware of soft hands behind her, trying to pry her off the Slayer, but she only tightened her grip on Gajeel and wailed harder. It was more petulance than sadness now, and she was glad that Natsu, Gray and Erza wasn't here to see this, because they would try to cheer her up, and that would just make her feel more miserable. Strong, callused and rough hands replaced those soft little ones, and she was soon pried away from the Dragon Slayer by Gajeel himself, his studded forearms bulging as he lifted her clear off the floor and dumped her on the barstool that she had once occupied.

Lucy laid herself face-down on the counter, listening to Gajeel getting up to get the hell out of there before she decided to cling to him again. It was probably unfair of her to do that to him, after all, she didn't know him on a personal basis, but would it kill him to be a little more sympathetic? He was in the same predicament as she was, what with Elfman swooping in to woo Levi right under his nose, so Lucy expected him of all people to understand. Damn iron-headed boob - maybe he really did have the emotional range of a stunted shrub.

There was the sound of hushed bickering behind her in Mirajane's sweet voice and Gajeel's rough tenor. She loved listening to Mirajane talk - the former S-Class mage reminded her of her mother so much sometimes, it made Lucy want to cry and embrace her. They had the same softness about them, the same strength of heart and caring for the people around them - but mostly it was her hands. Soft hands with light calluses from years of mage practise, but always soft, so soft.

There was a loud thump to her left, and Lucy squinted up to see that Gajeel had parked himself back in his seat, teeth grit and a look on his face that said he really didn't want to be here. Despite all they had been through, all the times that Gajeel had protected the guild, from within or outside, he still sequestered himself away from everyone else. Lucy used to think that it was some form of punishment upon himself for destroying it when they first met, and she was right in part, but another big portion of it was that Gajeel was amazingly inept with people and socialization. He just didn't bother to make the effort, but still worked his ass off for Fairy Tail.

Lucy wondered if that was what had attracted Levi to him in the first place, being the dark, misunderstood badboy - and upon further thought, it was probably what had driven her away as well. Lucy was staring at Gajeel the whole time, while he was glaring at a purposely fixed point at the wall in front of him, almost like he was trying to set it alight under the heat of his glare. Maybe it was the angle she was slumped at, or the wonky lighting of the guild, or, more likely, the alcohol, but Gajeel was looking very swanky from this angle. He looked rough and tough, like Elfman did, but Gajeel had the dark, misunderstood and slightly mysterious aura, just like a character from a book.

He was handsome in his own way, and he was much more muscular than Natsu was - Natsu was wiry strong, where as Gajeel had the sheer bulk, not even going into his Iron Dragon Slaying abilities. His right arm, now in Lucy's direct line of vision, had scars wrapped around it, striking between the metal studs there, that Lucy had never really noticed until now. He always dressed shabbily, in the same iron-hemmed ragged tunic and white pants, but she knew the strong mass of muscles rested underneath that, and he had a tendency to tear his clothing in battle. Lucy snorted - people had a tendency to tear off her clothing for her.

"How did she get away?" Lucy found herself asking, sounding a lot clearer than she had when she last tried to talk.

Gajeel looked distinctly annoyed with her little game of drunken twenty questions, and Lucy was pretty sure that he was going to tell her to screw off very soon now, but surprisingly, he answered her.

"She never had to 'get away' in the first place," Gajeel told her.

Ooh. Touchy.

"You know what I mean," Lucy pouted back.

Gajeel returned to glaring at the wall and ignoring her.

"Oh, come on," Lucy groaned. "Emote. I know this is hurting you."

Silence and teeth grinding.

Lucy glared at him pathetically. Fine. If he doesn't want to play ball, I'll make him.

"What happened? Come on," she whined. "Did you accidently bite her?"

Gajeel's glare intensified, but he didn't look at Lucy. Cock-bite

"Did you call her fat? Insult her books? Her intelligence? Did you superglue her face to the table and write on her face in permanent marker?" Lucy narrowed an eye at him. "Did you take her last bear-claw? Because she's really touchy about her pastries, y'know."

More teeth grinding and a low, throaty growl, but nothing more. Lucy grit her teeth in determination. If you're going to play it this way, time to turn up the intensity. Dirty magazines, don't fail me now.

"During sex, did you spank your own ass and shout out "mommy!"

Gajeel nearly launched out of his seat.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" the Dragon Slayer hissed angrily, but Lucy couldn't stop the slap-happy grin spread across her lips.

Gajeel: 0 – Lucy: 1.

"Well then just talk to me," Lucy whined, still grinning like a demon.

"Screw off, bunny-girl," Gajeel gritted out.

"Bite me, cock-head," Lucy shot back.

Months of witness, and subsequently breaking up the fights between Natsu and Gray had provided Lucy with a great vocabulary of creative insults, mostly involving the word cock or fuck. Her father would be foaming at the mouth if he heard what his little girl was saying these days. Now there's an idea.

She thought that Gajeel looked faintly surprised, then vaguely amused and kind of proud. Lucy thought he might overload from the show of emotion.

"Still got some fire in ya," Gajeel mused, giving her a sharp grin, showing all his very pointy teeth.

She remembered him saying something similar during her captivity in Phantom Lord's moving fortress, right when he tried to pin her to the wall with iron shards. Oddly enough, it wasn't off-putting. It made her grin again.

"Damn fucking straight," she groused, but there was a bite of playful to her words.

Gajeel turned away from her, but he still had a ghost of that toothy grin plastered on his face. She still had her temple pressed on the cool wood of the counter, and it was doing wonders for her blossoming headache, and wow, was she going to be hung over in the morning.

"So, what did happen?" Lucy asked, prodding him about Levi once again.

If he actually just came out and told her, she would not have to prod and poke him to get him to show emotions. Gajeel grit his teeth once again. It was obviously a sore spot for him. Lucy wanted to hug him, but she knew that would go over as well as Gray hugging Natsu. Now there was an image!

"Why do you even care, bunny-girl?" Gajeel stressed.

It was a fair question, and now that Lucy thought about it, she shouldn't really care. This was the man who had brutalised her a handful of months ago, soldered her to a wall and tried to use her for a dart board after beating the shit out of her. She should feel nothing but contempt for him, like so many others in the guild, but when she looked over at him, in his own little corner of Fairy Tail with only Juvia as occasional company, she just felt sad for him. He must have been so damn lonely all by himself over in this corner, but then Levi warmed up to him, and she visited his little corner of 'paradise' and talked at him. And now she was gone from his side.

"You look so lonely sometimes," Lucy admitted.

Gajeel looked at her, his face hard and unreadable, and didn't say a word.

"Don't pull this love-thy-nakama shit," Gajeel warned.

Lucy grimaced.

"Y'know, sometimes I just want to hit you?" she told him. "And other I want to hug you until the pain goes away."

Gajeel turned his face away from her with a "tch" noise, and Lucy thought she had hit a nerve, but when he turned back a moment later, his face was back to the normal combination of irritation and anger. But still, she found herself smiling, and set about try to get another rise out of him like before.

"You didn't try to wear her underwear, did you?"

"Screw off, bunny-girl."