Gajeel watched as the doors to the elevator opened up, stepping out into the main office of BlueSteel.

He made eye contact with Laki, already sat down and ready for a long day of work.

She couldn't help but give the agent a glare as he passed her by.

It was obvious she had yet to forgive him for the incident with the archives.

The room was still fairly bare, most desks empty of their workers due to the early hour.

Gajeel had arrived at the office at what would normally be an unspeakable hour for him.

Laki always tended to be in at what felt like the crack of dawn as the secretary, seeing as part of her job was to greet those who came.

The rest of the office, on the other hand, wouldn't normally arrive until the sun had risen, in the least.

Still, Gajeel hadn't been able to sleep all that well after receiving a notice from the boss about a meeting with him and Levy.

He'd decided that if he wasn't going to get much rest in the first place, then he might as well go on and head to the office to wait for his meeting there.

After all, with such an important event, the last thing he wished to do was be late.

Maybe the boss had changed his mind about their partnership?

Then again, after their previous conversation about Natsu, the chances of such a thing were quite low.

Gajeel stopped at the doorway of the break room, surprised to see a familiar face sat at one of the tables.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He questioned.

"Well hello to you, too." Levy greeted.

"I'm not sure if you're aware, but we have a meeting today." She added, taking a sip from her cup of coffee.

He took a seat in front of the girl, lowering his head onto the table.

"I take it by your tired state that you don't always arrive at this time in the morning." She mentioned.

"Shut up. The only one crazy enough to come to work at this hour on a regular basis is Laki, and judging by her attitude, it hasn't done much good for her."

"What do you mean? Laki's sweet."

Gajeel lifted his head from the tabletop, looking to her in surprise.

"Are you kidding?! The only thing sweet about that woman is the bowl of hard candies on her desk."

Levy couldn't help but cross her arms at his words, giving the male a look of disbelief.

"Speak for yourself. You're always a bit moody, aren't you?"

"I'm not moody." He denied.

She giggled.

"That's exactly what a moody person would say."

Gajeel turned away from her.

"Whatever, Shrimp. Do you happen to know what this meeting is about?"

"I know as much as you do, Gajeel, and I thought I told you to quit with that nickname already!"

Levy set her empty mug down onto the table, sliding out of her seat before taking it in hand again.

She made her way over to the refreshments counter, pouring more of the coffee she'd made earlier this morning.

"Would you like a cup?"

Gajeel glanced over at the pot, smelling the freshly brewed coffee in the air.

It was definitely tempting, especially since with his lack of sleep, he'd probably need some caffeine to get him through the day.

He cleared his throat, holding his hand out towards the blue-haired girl.

"Please."

"Well, I suppose since you did use your manners..." She said, handing him a warm mug-full.

Gajeel sipped quietly as Levy took her seat once more.

"I wonder what the boss could possibly want with us." She spoke up, breaking the silence.

"Who knows?"

"Gajeel! You should take this a bit more seriously, you know! The last time he called the both of us for a meeting, we were partnered up."

Gajeel couldn't help but smirk, setting his mug down on the table.

"Maybe he's thinking about transferring you over to the tech department after all that work on the website. I'll finally be ridding my hands of you, Shrimpy."

"Hm... well the feeling's not mutual. I thought we were done with this. Didn't we both agree to openly accept our partnership?"

"Relax, alright? I'm only messing with you. I doubt he'd let me off the hook so easily. He's probably just updating us on our training progress." Gajeel assured.

As much as he knew the truth behind his own words, it didn't mean he wasn't any less worried than the blue-haired girl sat across from him.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the doorframe, catching the attention of the two.

"Good morning, Agent Redfox and Agent McGarden. I see you're here early for your meeting."

"Yes... Sir." Levy replied.

He gave a smile, holding out a pink box towards the agents.

"Would you care for a doughnut?" The man offered.

"O-Oh... no thank you."

He turned to Gajeel, giving the box a shake.

"What about you, Gajeel? Care for a sweet treat to start off the day? It might just put a smile on that always-so-serious face of yours."

"I'm fine, Sir. Coffee will be enough for me."

"Ah, don't lie to me now! With bags like those under your eyes, you can't fool me!"

The boss quickly grabbed a napkin from the counter, grabbing a glazed doughnut and handing it over to the dark-haired male.

"Nothing like a kick of sugar to get you going! Now, let's go on and head to my office, shall we?"

The two stood from their seats, leaving their empty mugs of coffee behind and following the boss though the main office.

Gajeel should've known that no wasn't an available answer.

The boss was a sucker for sweets, and he'd always made a point of offering them up to those who'd shown up looking like the living dead.

He walked through the door of the room, the man closing the door behind him and Levy.

As the partners took their seats, he made his way around his desk to sit in his own chair.

Gajeel took a bite out of the glazed treat in his hand, waiting for the man to begin.

"Now, as much as I appreciate the both of you coming in at such an early hour to be prepared for our meeting, I must say that you've made me feel somewhat guilty, as I do plan to keep this short."

"Well, it's always good to be ready!" Levy stated.

"Though, to be honest, I came with the idea that I couldn't wait around any longer at home." She added, laughing awkwardly as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"I see... Well, I won't leave you in the dark any further. I'll make things short and sweet, much like myself."

He chuckled slightly at his joke, before clearing his throat.

"I've spoken with your trainer, and seeing how you two are excelling nicely in your training, I've decided that you're ready to return to the field."

Their eyes widened at his words.

The two hadn't expected this outcome from today's meeting.

"I've assigned you your first official mission together. I wish you luck, and I hope that you won't disappoint. After all, I have high expectations for you both."

Gajeel gulped down the final piece of his doughnut, clearing his throat to speak up.

"It's an honor, Sir. I'm sure Shrimp and I are equally grateful for the opportunity, and we'll make sure to show good results which live up to your expectations of us." He assured.

"Good. Well, since that is all, you two may go ahead and take your leave."

"T-Thank you for the opportunity, Sir." Levy mentioned, as the agents stood from their chairs.

"It's my pleasure, Agent McGarden."

With that, she followed Gajeel out the door.

Levy couldn't help but let out a laugh as she turned to face her partner.

"What are you looking at, Shrimp?! What's so damn funny, huh?!"

"For someone who didn't want a doughnut, you sure finished it quickly. There are crumbs around your lips, by the way."

Gajeel gave her an angry glare, wiping his mouth clean.

"Shut it!" He yelled.

Meanwhile, the boss sat alone in his office, thinking over the meeting that had just gone on.

"Shrimp?" He questioned.