Levy is not cute.

Gajeel watches her from the corner of his eye as she laughs with Lucy and reads her books, whips out paper to scribble something down, adjusts her reading glasses.

He tries not to notice the extra things, like her graceful, petite form, her perfectly curled, soft tresses, and how freely she smiles and breathes.

God damn it, her smile.

He hates it- no, loathes it- when she approaches him with that god damned adorable smile on her face, with those too-innocent eyes and too-pretty face. There's no way that people who are cute and smart and nice and- he should stop there before he goes too far- are sincere.

But Levy is.

He knows this because he was the one who had hurt her the most, who had practically tortured her, almost killed her (Gajeel mentally winces at the thought- how strange it was, to actually flinch at the thought of even touching a hair on her head now, when just months ago he was willing to gut her like a fish?).

But she talks to him anyway.

She's as open as the books she reads, and damn it all to hell if she's not sincere, because if Levy isn't an honest person, then no one in the damned guild was.

He sneaks another glance at her, and lets out an uncharacteristic smile of his own.

Gajeel is not charming.

Levy ignores her teammates' protests whenever she goes to talk to Gajeel. Mostly, it's out of irritation (because, really, no one cares if "He looks scary!", or "He's not your type, Levy!" or "Did he just look at your butt?")

Levy finds the last comment rather amusing, actually.

He usually protests when she approaches him, waving her off like she's some kind of fly. And she supposes that, in terms of height, she rather is. But she sees his responses to her, even though Gajeel probably tries to hide it with a gruff attitude.

Levy sees it when his large, muscular frame relaxes when their bodies unconsciously brush. She spots the tiniest tinge of a blush before he turns away whenever she laughs. Sometimes, she'll even purposely 'bump' into him on 'accident' just to watch Gajeel sputter like a frantic schoolgirl for several seconds before regaining composure.

He doesn't try to woo her like Jet and Droy do, he's not a sweet-talker (quite the opposite- she's learned of cusswords she'd never even heard of before from him, and that was saying something), and he's not some hot, hot guy like Gray and Loki. He is gruff and violent and irritating and scary and unapologetic-

But Gajeel sometimes offers her smiles that are hesitant, like he's trying to apologize for the scars that cover her body. He may swat at her, but his entire gait becomes gentle when she's around. His voice softens sometimes when he's talking to her. Gajeel, Levy notes, is rather endearing when he's embarrassed.

And, Levy thinks coyly, he's not half-bad-looking, either.

They are not in love.

Sometimes they have moments where it is just the two of them, when the guild has dispersed of everyone save them, and he is napping in a corner while she reads at a table.

The thing with them is that it's never awkward. Often times Gajeel will crack open an eye, only to see her small frame breathing in and out peacefully next to him as she flips a page.

They don't speak a single word to each other- it's not like those romance novels she loves to read- they don't hold hands. He doesn't spout cheesy lines, she doesn't spend every waking moment professing her undying love for him.

But when their hands brush each other, and she breathes in as he breaths out, and they look at each other to read the emotions in the other's eyes and find acceptance…

It's not romance, not really.

But in their own little roundabout way, it's love.