As Saturdays usually go, it was a slow one for Gajeel. He, along with his cousin and co-worker Natsu, were the only ones at Dragon Ink. A tattoo parlor in the heart of Magnolia, it had been in their oversized family for as long as the town existed. Along with a handful of several other cousins, close family friends also worked in the shop. It was the only one for miles around, unless someone wanted to take the train for four hours to Hargeron. Everyone who worked there was skilled in what they did and specialized in one thing or another.

"Is that for Juvias friend today?" Natsu asked as he walked up to Gajeel, who was bent over a light box at the back of the shop.  Natsu had shoulder length  bright pink hair that was pulled back into a high ponytail, showing the undercut that was usually hidden. His arms were covered in brightly colored tattoos, some done as jokes or lost on a bet, though he never truly did anything he didn't want.

"Yeah. Should be here any minute." He was busy finishing the tracing of a new piece. He had talked to the woman on the phone briefly, though he didn't usually do appointments over the phone. She was a friend of a friend, he and Juvia had been joined at the hip since they were kids, so he didn't mind much doing it for her.

"That looks like it's going to take a couple of visits," Natsu pointed out as he watched his cousin work. It was his biggest piece yet, and he wanted to make sure it was perfect.

"It's what the lady wants, I had fun drawing it though." Gajeel chuckled as he turned off the light box, the bell up front ringing as the door opened. "Be right there," Gajeel called as he pulled his long jet black hair into a bun, showing the shaved sides of his head and his many ear piercings. While his cousin favored brighter colors in his tattoos, Gajeels were mostly monochrome, with few splashes of color.

In the waiting room in front of the desk was a rather short woman, she was barely tall enough to lean on the counter. Her shoulder length sky blue hair was capped with a stripped beanie, her long legs were hugged by ripped jeans, and her shirt, which read I Don't Want A Prince, Give Me The Sword was white and showed just a hint of her slim stomach. Big hazel eyes took him in as he walked around the counter and held out his hand. Hers was small and delicate as they shook hands.

"You must be Gajeel," she said, her voice light and lyrical, just as he remembered from the phone.

"And you must be Levy. What gave me away?"

She turned his arm just slightly and pointed to a tattoo that took up his forearm. A large tear drop that had waves swirling inside, along with the words Drip Drip Drop. "Juvias art really sticks out."

Gajeel chuckled as he tucked his hands in his pockets, "Sure does, she's always looking for practice. Ready to head back?" At her nod, and after having her fill out the necessary papers, Gajeel led her back to the light box where her piece was waiting. "This look alright to you?"

Levys eyes were wide as she looked over the piece, gaping slightly. "Its stunning! I could have asked for anything better!"

Gajeel couldn't help his satisfied grin as he carefully picked up the paper and lead her back to his station. "Now, obviously you'll need to take your shirt and bra off," Gajeel started as he pulled the curtain closed. "Feel free to take your time," the words died in his throat as he turned around, already topless. He did lots of tattoos on women, he was used to seeing naked breasts and much much worse. For reasons he couldn't quite place, the sight of Levy half naked made his mouth dry.

He walked over to his supplies, if only so he would stop looking at her as he prepared to transfer the paper to her skin. "You don't seem to have a problem losing your clothes," Gajeel commented, regretting the words as soon as they were out of his mouth. He mentally kicked himself as he tried to find the right words when Levy spoke over him.

"It helps that I'm a nudist on the weekends," she said with a light chuckle.

Just like that, Gajeel was shot through the heart.

Just on the other side of the wall, Natsu must have heard Gajeels strangled noise, because he started cackling. Gajeel quickly cleared his throat and turned around, bottle in hand to transfer the ink to her smooth skin. "Go ahead and lay on your front, and I'll get this put on. It's just water, though its pretty cold."

Levy laid on her front, crossing her arms to rest her chin on them. Gajeel quickly cut the edges off the paper, becoming all business as he carefully smoothed the paper over her back. The top of the paper hit just below her neck, he had to move her hair a bit, and stretched all the way down to the edge of her pants. It also curved around to her sides, she had to roll over slightly so he could smooth the edges just under her breasts. Gajeel set to work wetting the paper, making sure it stayed flat and didn't wrinkle, the paper turning transparent  as he went.

Finally he began to carefully peel the paper up, leaving behind the outline of his biggest work on the small woman. "Alright, go ahead and look in the mirror, make sure you like where it's at and you like how it looks."

Levy got up to look in the floor length mirror in his studio. Roses stretched across her lower back and up her sides, thorny vines weaving in and out of the blooms. Some vines were crushed in the grip of the dragon that took up her shoulder blades, wings starting to spread caused falling flower petals. The dragon wasn't roaring or breathing fire, but the fierce look seemed more beautiful and terrifying all at once.

Gajeel began setting up is ink and gun, though he never looked away from her. She was smiling brightly as she looked this way and that in the mirror. Now that he was looking at her, and not distracted, he could see she was a little on the thin side. He was sure his nineteen year old cousin Wendy could fit in the womans tiny pants, and her spine was a bit prominent.

"You made sure to eat before you came right? People, especially with bigger pieces, tend to bleed quite a bit. Also don't want you to get dehydrated."

"Just left a business lunch before coming over," she informed him as she made her way back over to the seat.

Gajeel nodded, pulling his rolling tray over so he could load it up with his supplies. "I just have to do my spiel then we can get started. Works this size tend to take many days to complete, though I know you know that, since you've booked up my Saturdays for the next two months." He grinned at her, "We'll hopefully get the outline done today, as long as you can handle it. Tell me if the pain gets too much and we'll take a break. Any questions?"

When Levy shook her head Gajeel had her lay down once more, wheeling himself over in his chair with his tray. He set the peddle down for his gun, pulled on his gloves and grabbed his gun. "I'm going to just give you a little taste of what it feels like before getting to it." He pressed down on the peddle and the gun buzzed. He waited a moment before carefully inking a line into her skin before letting up.

"That's not so bad," Levy said, so Gajeel took that as his sign to continue. They sat in silence for awhile, the only noise his gun, and Natsu talking to someone in the main room.

"So, did you come to Dragon Ink because you thought we could draw dragons?" Gajeel asked as he wiped away a bit of ink.

Levy chuckled lightly, "Juvia pointed me this way. I wanted a small but good place, and she said you do great work. The sketch alone, I believe her."

"Juvia is just trying to butter me up," Gajeel chuckled. "She's taking a drawing class so she can get her tattoo license."

"But her art is already so good!"

"That's what I told her, but she wants a bit more practice. Plus, she wants to do portraits. I can't say I blame her for wanting to practice more. When you're putting permanent stuff on someones skin, it needs to be good."

Levy nodded in agreement and they fell into a comfortable silence. After about an hour they stopped for a break, Levy walking out topless to use the bathroom, reminding him of her nudist comment.

Natsu poked his head into the curtan, "Brazen one isn't she?" he said with a grin.

"I'm surprised you knew that word," Gajeel grumbled as he removed his gloves to take a drink of water.

Natsu pouted slightly as he walked in, "It's looking good by the way. How long do you think it will take you to finish?"

Gajeel shrugged, "Probably another two or three hours. She's a bit thin so I want to be careful near the center of her back."

Natsu nodded, "Good call. You need anything before I leave? Wendy should be here in about thirty minutes."

Gajeel nodded, "I've got it here. Tell Bunny I said hey."

Natsu grinned and left as Levy returned, and Gajeel got back to work. Just as he expected, the center of her back was a bit more tender, so it took him closer to three hours to finish the outline.

Gajeel carefuly rinsed down her back to get rid of any blood and excess ink, carefully patting her back with a towel. He put lotion on her back to keep the piece from drying out, then carefully taped paper towels, covered in seran wrap, over her back. "Alright you can get dressed, and you can take the wrap off after a few hours. It's just to catch anymore bleeding and to keep the dirt out til it heals enough."

Levy struggled a bit with her shirt, so Gajeel had to help her get it over her head. He swallowed slightly as he handed her the bra she couldn't put on. Together they walked up front where Gajeels youngest cousin was maning the counter.

"Wendy here will get you rung up. I normally charge one hundred an hour, but with this size I'll do seventy five ," Gajeel said as he pat the girls head, her deep blue hair cut in a bob.

Wendy smiled as she typed into the computer. "It's nice to meet you. So you're the two monther right? Man I can't wait to see it when it's done!"

"Wen here is our residential piercer, if you're ever interested."

"I may have to take you up on that," Levy said with a grin as she paid them. After going over aftercare instructions, Levy left, Gajeel staring after her.

"So Gajeel?"

"Mmm?"

"Was that the nudist?"

{Just the usual note hatchlings. Please don't ask for updates or anything like that. I'm hoping to come out of hiatus but that's all depending on yall}