Part one of a series of one shot stories in a modern AU!

Gajeel Redfox wished that he had never rolled out bed today, cursing his luck and his need to keep his job. He still had the headache from last night's buzz drilling a nice little bitch button in his temple, and he had his coworkers to thank for that.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," he growled when he finally looked at the clock that refused to shut off. He barely registered the time when his phone went off, loudly blaring the tune he'd set for work. Groggily he picked up, grunting as he smashed to snooze button again.

"Hey Redfox, we need you in early today," droned the hated voice of his supervisor. "Our morning cook didn't show again, and we are popping." Gajeel sighed, then grumbled that he'd show up as soon as humanly possible it took to get his ass out of bed. When he hung up, he considered briefly ignoring the request and going back to sleep, he wasn't due in till later that night anyways. Sighing, he pushed himself up and into the bathroom, fighting the hangover that threaten to upset him.

Finally an hour later he was feeling well enough to make the journey there, and was about to leave when his phone buzzed again. It was from the metal shop where he and some of his buddies spent their free time working on random shit. His friend, Laxus, was the grandson of the owner, thus most of his equipment was on discount. Laxus himself was on the line, his voice excited about something.

"Hey, remember that part we've been waiting for the last ten months?" he asked. Gajeel stopped, then grinned.

"It's in today?" he asked, excitement growing in his own voice.

"Yeah it is, get over here as soon as you can!"

Gajeel whooped, eager now to get his shift over with so he could get over to the shop and play. He sprinted down the stairs of his apartment, jumping every third to fourth stair. He was in the midst of jumping again when all of a sudden a flash of bright cerulean blue popped into his view, and he couldn't avoid it. He collided with it and they crashed into the stairwell, the object squeaking in surprise underneath him. Startled he glanced down and found that he was hovering over his tiny neighbor, levy McGarden from the third floor. He usually never greeted her like this, with his hands braced on either side of her head and their faces just grazing each other. As it were, she had been wincing and gasping, and he felt a sudden twinge of guilt.

"Shit, sorry! Didn't see ya," he said, pushing himself up into a kneeling position. Only then did he realize that their legs were entangled, and her hands went to the back of her head, hissing slightly. "You ok, shorty?" he asked, genuinely concerned now. He reached for her when she nodded, slowly sitting up and rubbing the back of her head.

"I'm fine, but remind me to be on the watch out for stampeding elephants," she replied, sardonically. Then she chuckled, shaking her head gently. He felt bad now, clearly she had been in some sort of pain. He helped her up, only offering that he'd been in a rush as an excuse. She only brushed it off, saying that she'd heard him coming down and should've been more alert.

After an awkward moment, they both remembered that they had been in a rush, and Gajeel offered to walk her down. She giggled, wincing a little when she shook her head too hard when she nodded. Again the subtle twinge of guilt washed over him, even as she joked about being on the lookout for stampeding elephants.

As they left the building, they parted ways, and Gajeel looked after her retreating figure for a little. He couldn't remember when she moved in, but it had been fairly recent. He saw her a couple of times, greeted her when she saw him, but didn't think too much more about it. Not at least till today. He shrugged as he began to make the trek to work, not relishing the headache he was going to have just trying to deal. Glancing one more time over his shoulder, he started when he saw her look back at him and blushed, whirling around and darted off. 'Dafuq?' he wondered, slightly blushing himself. Maybe she had a concussion, he mused.

…

Levy winced again as she thunked her head against the window pane of the bus, sighing as they traveled across the bridge into downtown. She couldn't get the morning's event out of her head, blushing when she remembered how close he was to her, or the way his long hair swished over her face, smelling like shampoo. She could've sworn she felt the metallic touch of his piercings graze her cheek, and the thought made her heart thump.

She'd only been there for about six months after moving here for college, and she had noticed him right away. He seemed so different from the people she knew back home, and was intriguing to say in the least. He'd been trudging past her floor one evening when she finally introduced herself, seeming to surprise him. He had stared at her for a second, making her wonder if he wasn't used to this. But then he grabbed her outstretched hand and shook it, gently gripping it before grunting out his name and making his way upstairs.

The next time they met he seemed more upbeat and alert, much to her relief. She had been checking her mail and bumped into him when she turned around too quickly. Her forehead had smacked solidly into his chest and she bounced back like a rubber ball. "Gihihi, careful shorty," he had said, much to her dismay. She planted her fists on to her hips and huffed.

"For someone who's a giant you sure do have the grace of a ninja," she sputtered back, glaring at him. He quirked his brow at her, then leaned over her to unlock his own mailbox. She stifled a squeak when his jacket brushed too close to her face, and she held her mail up to her chest. It smelled of metal and rain, and a slow blush began to creep up on her cheeks. She glanced up to him, and to her surprise he was smirking at her. 'That jerk did that on purpose!' she thought, leaning back against the mailboxes as he slammed his box closed, mail in hand.

After that, she couldn't stop thinking of him. She rarely saw him during the day, and if she saw him at night, he looked so tired and beat her heart tugged. But nevertheless, she smiled and greeted him, even if he rarely responded to her. More often than not she had to tell herself that he was too busy thinking of stupid stuff.

But today was completely random, she had just walked out of the hallway when she heard a thunderous noise and yelling, and suddenly something hit her. She felt her head smack against the linoleum and saw stars. As she opened her eyes she was shocked to find Gajeel's eyes staring into her own. As he helped her up, suddenly speaking more than grunts and one word replies, she had to fight the blush that threatened to bloom on her face.

But she couldn't help grinning now, burrowing her nose into her scarf as the bus rolled to her stop. Even her headache couldn't stop her from bouncing into the library, humming happily.

…

Gajeel whirled about, biting his tongue in rage. He'd never thought he'd see the day where it was so chaotic at work where he nearly did a 180 and noped out of work. But he needed stable income, and he did like the cooking aspect of his job. However, everything else was a headache to deal with, such as a missing breakfast cook. Or the fact that his prep cook was more than an hour late, and it was looking more and more like he'd have to shoulder the brunt of the prep list again. To top it off, it looked like the closing staff from last night slacked off in cleaning as usual, thus someone was going to die tonight when they came in.

During his slow moments, his mind wandered to the blue haired girl he knocked over, and the twinge of guilt reared it's ugly head. He'd have to make it up to her somehow, but he was usually too busy or tired for even what he called his social life. He doubted if he could even make the shop today before they closed. Sighing, he quickly texted Laxus the news. His hangover was starting to slowly go away, and he'd managed to stuff some food into his mouth in between rushes. But there was still so much to do, and he didn't have to wait for long for the next rush to come in.

…

She'd been on her way to the grocery store when she spotted him on the streets, trudging through the crowds and looking exhausted. Her heart beating suddenly, she wasn't sure if she should greet him now or let him pass.

She had been teased endlessly at the library by her coworkers when she'd inadvertently mentioned to Lucy that she'd been literally crushed by her crush, and she couldn't really focus on her lessons at the college either. And now, he was about to pass her on the street. She struggled internally as he came closer, then sighed in defeat as he strode past her. 'Great attempt of saying hello,' she berated herself. Then her arm was pulled back slightly, and she squeaked as she was turned around.

It was Gajeel who had grabbed her, and was blushing slightly as he released her. "Uh, hey," he said, awkwardly. She stared at him in surprise; usually she was the one to greet him. She smiled, returning the greeting and trying to ignore the sudden thumping in her chest.

He rubbed the back of his head, unsure of what to say next. He hadn't expected to see her walking his way in the same day, nor was he expecting the sudden brilliant smile she showed him. He blushed a little bit, thankful that the dark hid it. 'Damn,' he thought. 'She's hella cute.'

"Uh, how's your head?" he asked, unsure of where to look now that he'd made that realization. He heard her giggle, and blushed. 'Even her laugh sounds adorable.'

"My heads okay for now, thanks!" she chirped, cocking her head and shrugging her petite shoulders. Gajeel's brain shorted out then, leaving him fumbling. How the flying hell did he not notice her before? Deciding to throw caution to the wind, he cleared his throat and asked, "Er, coffee?"

Her eyes widened in confusion, unsure of what he'd just asked. He was squirming a little bit, looking uncomfortable. He frowned, shrugging. "Coffee?" he tried again. shoving his hands in his pockets. A slow smile lit her face as realization set in, and she couldn't suppress the blush.

"Sure, I'm game if you are," she said, her heart racing with excitement. He grinned then, indicating the coffee shop just across the street.

It would be the start of many coffee dates.