#lore: the paper hes on top of is the ice painting from almost exactly a month ago

[calkale]

Captain.

[theolddarkmachine]

12 Days of ODM: Day 11

Dedicated to: @the-laurel-tree 

Prompt: Gajevy Secret Santa

AO3

Of course, the members added their own unwritten rule to the event, turning it into a competition as most things at Fairy Tail often became. Based on the gifts, the recipients would guess their Santa and should they guess correctly, they could ask for one final thing.

If they guessed incorrectly, the Secret Santa and the person that had been chosen won the prize.

Most of the time, Levy kept out of the competitive side of things, opting instead to focus solely on giving great gifts. This year, however, was different.

Because this year, she was certain she knew exactly who was her Secret Santa.

This one was another exercise in how to write a festive fluffy piece. Which, apparently I need to work on because it took me a real long time to lock down this one. Once I really got going, it was no big deal, but dang did I have to drag this one into life kicking and screaming lol I hope that you like it! Because I definitely ended up getting a bit of a laugh from it and going a bit different than originally planned. Merry Christmas!

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Fairy Tail’s Secret Santa Extravaganza was one of Levy’s favorite Christmas traditions. At the end of each November, every member of the guild would receive a name to buy one gift for each week of December leading up to Christmas. Each member would take their gifts to Makarov and Mira, who would then ensure they got delivered to their respective recipients up until the final gift on Christmas Eve, which was delivered by the Secret Santa themselves.

Of course, the members added their own unwritten rule to the event, turning it into a competition as most things at Fairy Tail often became. Based on the gifts, the recipients would guess their Santa and should they guess correctly, they could ask for one final thing.

If they guessed incorrectly, the Secret Santa and the person that had been chosen won the prize.

Most of the time, Levy kept out of the competitive side of things, opting instead to focus solely on giving great gifts. This year, however, was different.

Because this year, she was certain she knew exactly who was her Secret Santa.

Sitting on her bed, with the three gifts she had received in front of her, she pinched her chin between her thumb and forefinger, stroking it absentmindedly as she stared down at them. An iron daffodil, a first edition of the dragon lore book she’d been searching for, and an oxblood satin headband. While most people would have made it a point to keep their identities hidden, there was no doubt who had gotten the gifts.

Even if the metal flower hadn’t been enough of a giveaway, only one person knew that her favorite flowers were daffodils. Only one person knew that she’d been searching for that book for months on end. And only one other person had a twin headband to that that lay before her. A small smile curved her mouth upwards as she looked over each gift.

Gajeel.

It was almost too easy, she thought as she reached for the silk band and carefully pulled it over her head to put it in her hair. Why would he make it such an easy victory for her knowing that she would be able to have whatever she wanted if she guessed correctly?

Of course, any final gift I ask for would benefit us both.

The thought only served to further deepen her smile as she pushed herself off her bed and gave herself one final look over in the mirror. Whatever his reasoning was, she was about to come and collect.

***

The guild was its usual bustle of life and excitement, voices filling the festively decorated hall as its occupants busied themselves with exchanging their final gifts. Levy bit back a laugh as she watched Natsu confronting Gray about being his Secret Santa, flames beginning to lick their way up his arms as he listed all the reasons Gray had to be his gift giver.

“Looks like you owe me something, Fire Breath,” she heard the ice make mage yell as she made her way towards the only person sitting alone. Gajeel’s unruly onyx locks created a dark halo around him where he sat, back towards her as she picked her way around their friends and adopted family. Beside him sat a small box wrapped in golden paper with a small green ribbon on top. Levy couldn’t help but let herself wonder what was nestled inside such a small box, her heart fluttering at the possibilities as her imagination ran away from her.

Without any introduction, the bluenette dropped herself onto the bench beside him with a soft huff, placing her elbow on the table and pressing her cheek into her hand as she looked up with her molten honey eyes. She didn’t miss the way the corner of his mouth twitched upwards betraying the otherwise casual indifference he exuded as he kept his eyes on the job poster clutched between his hands. Taking the moment to let her gaze trace the sharp point of his nose and the strong line of his jaw, Levy allowed herself the opportunity to appreciate him. They’d been dating for just about three years, and she still couldn’t quite get over the fact he looked more like a sculpted vision than a mere man. He was always going on about how lucky he was to have her, but Levy knew the truth.

She was the lucky one.

“You would think I hadn’t seen ya for months with the way you’re staring,” his voice cut through her thoughts as he spoke, finally turning his ruby eyes on her. “What’s on your mind, Shrimp?”

Where did she even begin? Her mind was a swirling pool of thoughts. Gajeel’s eyes, his mouth, her love, his present. There was, admittedly, a lot on her mind. Letting out a breathy laugh, Levy shook her head in way of an answer and leant in to press a chaste kiss to his mouth. A small, contented sound rumbled low in his throat as he pushed forward to deepen the kiss just as she pulled away. Her smile brushed a soft tickle over his lips in the barely there space between them.

“So what’s my last gift?” She asked, her voice giving each word a light bounce as she tried to keep her excitement contained. There was a pause before Gajeel pulled back himself, a studded brow shooting up towards his hairline as his mouth turned downward. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he was confused.

“Your last gift?”

Actually, she did know better, but she still thought he was confused. Levy nodded toward the small wrapped box.

“My last gift?” Another pause as Gajeel’s eyes remained blank of any understanding. Deep within her chest, she felt the bubble of excitement that had carried her from her room at Fairy Hills to the guild deflate.

“For Secret Santa?”

The shift that took over Gajeel’s expression happened before Levy’s eyes in a slow cascading motion of facial ticks. First, his eyebrow lowered, instead pulling together as his eyes softened with what could only be humor. Second, his devil’s mouth curved upward into a sinful smile, pointed fangs shining in the light. Third, his laugh erupted from him in a blast of mirth that shook his entire frame. It was a boisterous thing that moved the entire bench, and in turn, Levy. Turning fully so that his body faced her as he threw one leg over the wood so he straddled it, Gajeel pushed his next words through his laughter.

“Lev, I’m not your Secret Santa.”

She couldn’t have heard him correctly. Because she was certain he had to be it. The gifts were too perfect. They were exactly what he would get her.

“Don’t joke, Gajeel, you had to be,” Levy said, mimicking his movement so that she also straddled the bench as she face him. Crossing her arms over her chest, she fixed him with her most stern look. As his laughter died away, his eyes sparkling with it, he shook his head.

“No, Shrimp, I’m not, I swear,” he said, voice straining as he tried to contain himself. Lifting his chin in a curt gesture, Gajeel motioned towards a table just to the right of them. Slowly, Levy followed the motion, a moan lodging itself in her throat as her gaze landed on bright orange hair.

“Reedus didn’t know what to get ya, so he asked me to give him a list of things you might like.”

Reedus. Suddenly, the painted paper that had covered each gift and the swirling script on the tags made all the world of sense. Where she had thought Gajeel had just put in effort to disguise his identity, was really the artist adding his own personal flair. Almost as if he could feel her gaze, Reedus looked up, meeting her look before smiling and waving.

“Oh my god,” she said lowly, tearing her eyes away as she dropped her head into her hands. It earned her another round of obnoxious laughter from her boyfriend.

“Stupid Gajeel, it isn’t funny!” Levy’s words were muffled by her palms as she spoke directly into them, not bothering to look up as she knew he could hear her.

“It is a bit,” she heard him say, his breath tickling the backs of her hands before his fingers wrapped gently around her wrists. With a soft tug, he pulled them away from her face so that she could see the smile he was fixing her with. Warmth spread across her cheeks as she held his tender look, mouth fighting against the urge to turn upwards from the softness of it. The only consolation to the mortified feeling that had turned her stomach inside out was that very look.

“This means I get something from you, right?” He asked, giving her wrists another tug so that her body pulled forward on the bench and causing their knees to knock together. Teasing had turned his tone light as he leant back into her space.

“Yes,” she said, doing her best to fill her words with a begrudging tone, and failing miserably as a small laugh bubbled its way up through her throat. It was just so damn hard to sound defeated when Gajeel was looking at her that way.

“So what do you want, Redfox?”

Gajeel’s lips were crashing against hers almost before she could finish the hard sound of his last name, catching it with his teeth as he nipped at her bottom lip. Eliciting a small gasp from her, he pushed forward, taking the opportunity to swipe the back of her teeth with his tongue and steal her breath before pulling back. The suddenness of his absence made her groan.

“I think that’s a pretty good gift,” he said, voice rough and pupils wide as he smiled at her.

“But you could have that anytime,” she shot back, ignoring how breathy she sounded. “And now I’ll have to tell Reedus too.”

Her boyfriend’s response came in a low rumble deep in his chest as his hands ghosted up over her arms, to her shoulders and stopping only once they cradled either side of her face. Thumbs brushed over the apples of her cheeks as he spoke again.

“Well, technically, since I helped him with all the gifts, I think I’ll just claim both prizes.”

The statement was enough to fill her blood with fire as she hit him with the full force of her smile.

“And what is it you want as your second gift, then?” Their noses brushed as he closed the distance between them once more, slowly this time as he teased her. She felt his breath dance over the bow of her lips as he paused, lingering just above her mouth for an excruciating second before he answered.

“You.”

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