Chapter Text
To say she was nervous was an understatement, but no amount of calming deep breaths could slow down the rapid beating of her heart. Her eyes quickly left the road to make sure the two large pizzas in her passenger seat did not slide onto the floorboard during one of her turns. Taking another deep breath, she squeezed her steering wheel as she approached her friend’s apartment building.
It didn’t take her long to ride the elevator up to the sixth floor, using her foot to knock on the door since her hands were occupied. The door swung open quickly as if the occupant was waiting by it.
“When you texted me saying, we needed to talk and bring pizza, that spiked my anxiety.” Levy pushed past him, heading straight to his living room to set the pizza’s down on the living room coffee table. “You know how much I don’t like cryptic messages.”
It was their annual movie night and even though it was Gajeels turn to get the food, she got it just to put her hands to work as she mulled over what she could have done wrong. Spinning around to face the tall man, she saw just as much anxiety written across his studded face as hers. Gajeel was such a stoic man that only showed his emotions to his closest friends, so seeing him like that put her on edge.
He ran a hand through his wild black hair pacing behind the large gray couch. “I’m sorry, I know that wasn’t the smartest thing for me to do, but I need your help.” Stopping his pacing, he rounded the couch to plop down on it with his head in his hands. “I wrapped myself up in such a huge lie, and now I have to deliver and….ugh.” He shook his head looking as if he was ready to pull out strands of his hair.
Levy’s anxiety eased knowing that it wasn’t anything she did or said. She sat beside him, hand on his back, trying to soothe the tension in his shoulders. “I’ve never seen you so stressed out. I’m your friend, you know I’ll do anything to help.”
“I know, that’s why I have to tell you it’s ok for you to say no. If you’re not comfortable, I don’t want you to put up with me or my lies.”
“Will you please stop leaving me in suspense? What is going on?”
Heaving a sigh as he rubbed his palms down his face, he stood back up pacing again, Levy on the edge of smacking the truth out of him. He was seriously worse than some of the cheap mystery novels she would read for fun. But, she let him take his time, deciding to flip open the pizza box lid and snatch a slice for herself as she watched the big man get his thoughts together.
“Ok, so you know Natsu, Gray and the others right?” Levy nodded her head, urging him to continue as she ate. “A few months ago they were bugging the hell out of me, as usual, asking whether I found a girlfriend or not. After a few weeks of them constantly trying to hook me up with blind dates and telling me I wouldn’t be so grouchy if I got laid, I got tired of them. So, I told them I have a girlfriend and to leave me the hell alone. This got them off my back for a while, but the questions started. Like, how could she put up with me and what she looks like? I was as vague as possible, but now everything’s coming to bite me in the ass.”
Snorting a quick laugh, Levy rolled her eyes. “Like all lies do.” He shot her a glare and she raised her hands up in a defensive manner.
“I totally forgot about the stupid annual company ski-trip to make the workers and supervisors more harmonious or some shit. It’s in two weeks and they're expecting two things to happen; me to bring a girlfriend or me embarrassingly exposing my lie.”
“So, do you need me to hook you up with one of my friends?” Levy asked, running through her small list of female friends. Even though lots of people classify her as friendly and caring, Levy doesn't get out enough to actually meet new people. “I’m pretty sure Cana would be down if you buy her booze.” An image of the drunk brunette tramping in the snow, made Levy smile as she grabbed her second slice of pizza.
“Actually, I was hoping that you would pretend to be my girlfriend.” Coughing harshly, Levy’s eyes watered as she tried to swallow the bits of pizza that decided to block her windpipe. She didn’t know when Gajeel went to get a cup of water, but she was very thankful as he offered it to her, with firm pats on the back.
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting you to…um…why me?” She asked, confusion coloring her face as she hesitantly caught his eyes. His cheeks tinted pink as his hand froze on her back, the warmth seeping into her spine.
She could see the wheels turning in his head as if he was trying to pick the right words to say. “You’re the only one I trust and get along well enough with and we practically know so much about each other that it’ll be easy to pretend.”
Levy didn’t know whether she should be happy or sad, but she was both. He liked her enough to be in a fake relationship, but not enough to be in a real one. The irony of it hit her like a slap across the face. But, this could be her chance to see if they would work out or not.
Taking a deep breath, Levy tried to seem coy as she shot him a nonchalant smile. “So, what did you tell them about us?”
“You’ll do it?” He asked, with wide hopeful eyes.
Waving a hand, she shrugged her shoulders. “Of course, I’ll do it! Who else is going to talk you out of fighting both Gray and Natsu?” She yelped when he suddenly pulled her into a tight hug, releasing her just as fast, shooting her a toothy grin that made her want to kiss him.
She was so screwed, so absolutely royally screwed.
“You’re a lifesaver, Lev. What would I do without you?”
“Probably starve.”
He rolled his eyes, snatching a slice of pizza as he plopped down on the sofa beside her. “Oh yea, I would totally die without you ordering out for our movie nights, instead of me cooking us home cooked meals.”
“See, I knew you would understand.” She teased, earning a shove, her springing into a fit of giggles as she tossed a pillow at him in return.
With the anxiety now gone, she claimed her corner spot of the couch, resting her legs on his lap as he slung his arms on the back of the sofa. This was their usual position whenever they got ready to watch movies, add in a blanket and they were both content.
“Ok, before we go off to the chapel,” she teased, earning an eye-roll from the man beside her. “We need to set some ground rules and talk about this trip.”
Gajeel nodded his head, immediately jumping into explaining the trip. “It's a few days long, but we can leave whenever you want. I don’t want to stay with the idiots too long anyway, but every group has a cabin to themselves housing a max of 10 people. The company has an agenda for us to follow, but no one really follows it. It’s mostly for paperwork purposes.” He was quiet for a moment, taking a deep breath before speaking again. “But, that’s not the most important part is it?”
Shaking her head no, Levy took the initiative trying to keep her nervousness under control. “We touch each other all the time, I mean look at us now.” She pointed towards her legs draped across his lap and he in return scoffed, flicking her big toe. “I think as long as we continue to do this with a little extra something, we’ll be able to pass as a real couple.”
“But, you’re sure you’re ok with this? With me?”
“Don’t sell yourself short, Gajeel. I’m sure you’re a great pretend boyfriend.” Giggling when he plucked her toe again telling her to shut up, they settled back into idle conversation debating what they’re going to watch. Both really didn’t want to go into further details into what pretending to be a couple really meant. Just bringing it up made both of them blush like crazy, so waiting it out seemed more reasonable at the moment.
Two days later Levy was freaking out at her brother's penthouse apartment, the weight of her decision finally hitting her. She was initially unsure of spilling the beans to him, but he was the only one she could trust not to accidentally let it slip that she was going to be in a fake relationship with Gajeel Redfox. And who else would she tell? Her books? Coworkers?
“Is this the same Gajeel that is practically your best friend who you have a crush on?” The blonde tried to hold in his laughter as his little sister paced his floor like Gajeel did just the other day. “Lev, I don’t think this is a good idea. You could get hurt and I don’t want to have to kill one of my best workers, because he broke my baby sister’s heart.”
She whined, not knowing if she wanted to laugh or cry. Of course, she didn’t want Laxus to kill him, but she knew he wouldn’t if she told him not to. “Laxus, I seriously need your help here. I’ve never been to one of your company trips and I have no idea what to wear or how to carry myself.”
“Oh, little blue you’re stressing too much.” Bixlow patted her head as he walked into the living room, taking a seat across from Laxus. “Those trips are just an excuse for everyone to get drunk and not care about their titles.”
“Crazy as it sounds, Bixlow is right.” Laxus chuckled. “You don’t have to carry yourself any type of way. Just be you and you’ll be fine. But, if he touches you, I will cut his hands and his you-know-what off.”
Bixlow raised his right hand, announcing, “I second that motion.” Levy couldn’t help, but laugh at them, their playful words easing her stress.
Plopping down beside the blonde, Levy accepted the side embrace he pulled her into, her head resting on his chest. “He still doesn’t know does he?” He asked, tsking when Levy shook her head no. “You know he’s going to find out eventually, and it won’t be pretty if he finds out from someone other than you.”
Levy sighed, not wanting to even think about how Gajeel would react to him finding out that his boss was her brother and the owner of the company was her grandfather. Even though she was adopted, the Dreyar’s have been her family. Her parents died when she was just a toddler and their close friend Makarov promised to protect her. In the beginning Laxus wasn’t the best older brother, but he soon changed and became her ultimate protector. Bixlow, Evergreen and he were like her bodyguards and personal cheering squad growing up. They rivaled Jet and Droy so much, it was comical.
“I heard our doll was having boy trouble!” Cana nearly yelled, storming her way into the apartment, with Evergreen behind her. “So, I am here to help!”
“Please, the only men you like are, Captain Morgan, Jack Daniels, and Jim Bean.” Evergreen scuffed, taking a seat in the loveseat by Bixlow.
“You’re forgetting, Jameson, Jägermeister, Dewar’s, Sailor Jerry, Seagram’s, Hornitos, Bombay-”
“I’m sure we could go on all day,” Laxus interrupted, looking at Cana incredulously as she stood in front of them, pulling out little bottles of the alcohol she just named, from her purse. “I’m so glad, I don’t leave you alone with her anymore.”
Cana took a quick swig from one of her bottles, “Don’t worry, blondie. I already tried corrupting our little doll, but it didn’t work.”
Laxus opened his mouth, a noise coming out as if he was about to say something before deciding not to. “You know what, I don’t even want to know.” Wrapping an arm around his torso, Levy laughed as she hugged her brother, listening as Cana begged for him to let her tell the story. Levy was glad Laxus refused. If he found out Cana took her to a strip club and paid for a lap dance, she wasn’t sure he would still have his eyeballs since they would probably bug out so far.
After a few much needed winter shopping trips with Evergreen, Cana and Bisca, Levy felt physically prepared to ward off the mountain top chill, but not mentally prepared to play along. Of course, she and Gajeel still hung out as if they weren’t going to pretend to be in a relationship, but they did finalize their plan the day before they left for the ski trip.
“Ok, so you know the plan, right?” Gajeel asked, keeping his eyes on the road as he drove his truck to the top of the mountain. They’ve been driving for a few hours, and it was pitch black by the time they made it to the city where the company’s cabins were. That didn’t make the air any less tense between them, but Levy was too tired to care. She could feel the nervousness ooze off of Gajeel and she desperately wanted to ease his worries, but she was reserving her energy for pulling her luggage into the cabin.
She yawned, her head lulling to the side, resting it on the cold window. “Are we there yet?”
He ruffled her hair, laughing when she lazily swatted his hand away. “Just a few more minutes and we’ll be there. It’s pretty late, so everyone might be asleep, so that’ll give us time to sneak in and get some rest.”
Just as he said, they made it to the huge one story cabin, parking beside the other trucks and SUV’s in the driveway. Levy wanted to observe and be in awe at the beautiful wood structure and snowy landscape, but she was half asleep dragging her suitcase into the building while Gajeel led the way. The fireplace and overhead stove light were the only thing helping them sneak into the cabin without bumping into anything. At the very end of the hall, the two found their bedroom, the fake couple too tired to care that they would be in the same bed.
They would freak out about the shared bed in the morning, but right now, it looked way too inviting for them to argue over who would sleep on the floor and who would sleep in the bed. Levy was the first to climb in not wasting any time as she fell asleep as soon she got comfortable.