Born Without A Heart

Chapter 7

Levy stood over her bathroom sink, staring at her haggard appearance in the mirror. Blue hair flew out in every direction. There were bags under her eyes. Her skin was pale.

She could not believe what had happened the night before. She was utterly mortified.

Running the tap, she splashed cold water over her face. As the memories of the evening tricked back into her consciousness this morning, she felt certain she would die of embarrassment if she ever saw Gajeel again.

There were so many things wrong with how last night went- the ending of which probably being the worst.

And she had just thrown herself at him! That wasn't like her at all. Neither was getting as drunk as she had been- which was probably why she ended up over the toilette.

He had sat with her.

She pressed her head into her hands, so embarrassed she couldn't stand it.

Levy went over and threw herself back onto her bed, burying her head under a pillow.

It had been so refreshing, hearing Gajeel actually talk about himself. He had opened up to her. Not a lot, but at least it was a start.

He had walked her home like a total gentleman. He had even denied her when she had first asked him to come in.

She should have listened to him.

But my god that mouth, those eyes... He was intoxicating. The thought of his hands on her, even now, made her whole body tingle.

The way he had grabbed her, held her... it was like he wanted to devour her and yet he wasn't rough with her either. She may not have minded if he had been.

What was she saying!? That wasn't like her either! What was this effect the man had on her?

Levy groaned into her pillow, wanting the thoughts to leave her in peace. Then she noticed her hand brush against something, it felt like paper.

She emerged from under the pillow and looked at the sheets next to her. In her hand was what looked like a note, her name scribbled in a distinctly male font along the front.

Levy sat up, crossed her legs, and unfolded the small slip of paper. It looked like a page from the memo-pad she kept by the fridge.

"Hope you get some good sleep shrimp. I left some eggs for you in the fridge and some aspirin on the counter. I'll pick you up at noon- hopefully you'll be awake by then. We have a lot to do today." Levy's eyes scanned to the bottom of the page. There was another note after his name. "P.S., Thanks for last night. Looking forward to next time."

Levy just about died from the dread of having to face him again today. 'Looking forward to next time', Levy repeated in her head. Did he want there to be a next time? Did she? How could she have ever thought it was a good idea to get mixed up with someone she worked with- especially working a case with him? Being in separate departments, dating may not be frowned upon. But they were in the middle of a case. And they weren't dating. They were... what were they?

Levy flopped back into her pillows.

He had made her eggs.

He had held her hair back when she was sick.

Levy's eyes shot open as she remembered something else.

Gajeel had stayed with her.

After he had helped her clean up and gotten her into bed, she had asked him in her dreamy state if he would stay with her. And he did.

Suddenly the memory of lying next to him as he sat on the bed beside her returned to her brain. Levy had curled her body against his, her head on his chest, his arm around her, his fingers weaving though her hair as she drifted off.

When had he left? And how was that the same man who had spilled coffee on her in the hallway that first day?

Levy glanced over at her clock. Gajeel would be here in an hour. She would need to hustle so she could be downstairs when he showed up. There was no way she wanted him back in her apartment, not now anyway. Maybe not ever.

But why not? A small voice in her head pleaded. He may have a hard shell but it did seem like underneath that was a pretty decent guy. Why shouldn't she see him again?

Because it wasn't professional, a louder voice pointed out.

Levy let out a heavy sigh as she went to turn on the shower.

It was no use. She was too conflicted to figure it all out this morning. For right now she needed to just get ready to go to work. That was it. Just work.

She threw the eggs in the microwave and the thoughts began repeating themselves once again.

* * *

"Alright, that's the last of it," Gajeel said as he dropped another box on the floor.

"Thank you Gajeel," Juvia smiled at him graciously, her long azure blue hair falling in loose waves over her modest black dress.

"Don't worry about it," he said gruffly. "I got to get to work, Levy's waiting for me."

Juvia looked at him thoughtfully. "You mentioned that, several times actually. I'm not sure if you realized it, but you've been talking about her almost all morning."

Gajeel grunted in response. No, he hadn't noticed.

He wasn't necessarily surprised. He couldn't stop thinking about last night. Levy was amazing. The way she had kissed him, the way she had tasted. There was a passion between them that Gajeel had never experienced before. All he could think about was getting her alone again, work be damned.

He had promised Juvia he would finish helping her move into her new apartment this morning, otherwise he wouldn't have left Levy. The sensation of her falling asleep in his arms was so intimate. A wave of calm had washed over him that was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. He had wanted to see what she would look like waking up in the morning. Probably haggard and hung over, but certainly cute as hell.

It was better that he didn't stay. There could never be anything between them beyond work and flirtation. And lust, apparently.

"You know, Gajeel," Juvia said quietly as she placed a large panda bear amongst the dozens of pillows on her freshly made bed. "It's not wrong to let someone new into your life. You don't have to keep everyone at arms distance."

"You know why I don't do that, Juvia," he replied shortly.

"I know," she said with a frown, "We've both been hurt. But that doesn't mean we stop living. Our connections to the people around us are what give life so much meaning."

"Like you're one to talk, you barely leave the house."

Juvia crossed her arms and looked away, emotion pouring into her cobalt blue eyes.

Gajeel could kick himself. It wasn't right to take out his own issues on Juvia. She had been through enough already. The incident with Ivan had left her shaken. She had been having nightmares, waking up in panic. That's why Gajeel had her move in with him. She needed somewhere she felt safe.

"Sorry kid," he said quietly.

Juvia nodded mutely.

Gajeel walked over and placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. "You gunna be okay here on your own? You can still come back to my place if this is too much."

At that Juvia's expression changed to one of determined defiance.

"I'll be fine. I need this. I need to feel normal again."

Gajeel grinned at her. "There's the tough kid I met." He patted her head and she laughed, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Just remember," he said on his way out, "my door's always open. Okay?"

"Thanks Gajeel," Juvia called after him as he swung through the doorway.