*edited*

In honor of the snow that has finally graced my backyard, a guild snowball fight with a whole lotta Gajevy 3 because they're perfect.

I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters. Cover art was created by zelkams-art on tumblr. -(She's amazing! Check her out!) Only the plot belongs to me.

Read, review, and enjoy :)

I quickly drop behind the giant boulder and successfully avoid the icy snowball that whizzes through the space my head was so recently occupying. My sigh of relief transforms into a mocking white puff that tickles my nose. I may have escaped the snowball, but I can't escape the weather. My joints ache from crouching for such a long period of time so I drop into the snow, my frozen bottom hardly registering this new level of immersion into the cold.

This started off as a fun, lighthearted game, but noooooo! We can't have nice things. I rip my gloves off and squeeze tightly around them to reaffirm the use of my hands. Leave it to Fairy Tail to transform a simple snowball fight into an all out war. I really should've known it would come to this. After all, how long have I been surrounded by these dorks? My rump finally registers the cruel reality of its soft pillow and begins to protest against where I've sat, but the hiss of snowballs- I'm using that term loosely seeing as how these spheres are mostly composed of ice and slush- soaring over my rocky safe haven keeps me grounded. One of those to the face would surely result in a black eye. Maybe even a broken nose. I glance over at Gajeel to see if he's faring any better than I am.

Unfortunately, he is.

"Take that ya drunk she-devil! Gihee hee!" He ducks behind the boulder to avoid a projectile coming from Cana, although it wasn't necessary. The beer bottle lands five feet behind him in a snow bed. He's only spurred on by her show of aggression. His gloved hands start scooping sloppy, white spheres at an alarming pace to replenish his stock, "Did you see that shrimp? Nailed her right in the stomach and she was-Oy! Why did ya stop?" He stares incredulously at me, finally sitting still. The back of his gloved hand reaches up in vain to swipe at the long, raven strands that are stuck to his forehead. A mixture of sweat and melted snow has them stuck like glue. The rest of his head looks dry enough, but I have had his back the entire time so this observation isn't too shocking.

"Earth to Levy! Spit it out already! Whaddya want?" His confused expression morphs into one of annoyance as he waves both hands in front of my face.

"Gajeel, can we surrender? I'm not sure when the entire guild decided to gang up on us, but we're currently two against approximately one hundred. To put it bluntly, these odds suck."

"Come on, don't be like that. We've got cover and an unlimited ammo supply!" Filled with new zeal, he bolts up and fires his freshly made snowballs- straight into a tree by the sound of it. Actually, that was the only sound I heard. The fight has gone silent which is cause for my joy and Gajeel's adrenalized exasperation, "BRING IT ON YA TRAITORS! YEAH I'M TALKING TO YOU, LIL! AFRAID I'LL BEAT YA?!" His hands keep forming and firing snowballs while he mutters about his damn, backstabbing cat despite his lack of opponents. I, however, continue to stare at him quite dumbfounded.

"Our ammo is snow... Everyone has an unlimited supply."

"Oh... " he pauses before flinging another sphere of frozen water, "Uh, yeah. Duh. I knew that. We just throw more of it at them."

Goodness gracious… I think I'm pouting, but I can't tell due to the stiff state of not only my face, but my entire body.

"My hands are completely numb, idiot! I physically cannot and will not continue."

His arms stop and I can feel his knees sink into the snow beside me. I avert my eyes to the sparkling ground because I can't bare to see the hurt look that is no doubt on his face. That was a bit harsh. I feel like I kicked a puppy… A very large, red-eyed, and pierced puppy.

" Can we surrender... please?"

I limply flap my soaking wet, orange gloves for emphasis. They'd become useless a long time ago, but now they would do more harm than good if I continued to wear them. I can feel his gaze on my slightly purple hands that are all but frozen into the curved position used for forming snowballs. He groans and lets the snow in his own cupped hands fall to the ground; however, instead of surrendering, he grasps my hands in his own and drags me through the snow and into his personal space. His rough hands encircle my own and rub quickly, but not in an uncomfortable kind of way. I can feel the heat rising to my cheeks so I quickly tuck my chin into my scarf to try and hide it from Gajeel. I can't help blushing; he's being so sweet! But if he saw me then maybe he'd know I have feelings for him… I don't know if I'm ready to face those quite yet.

My chin is forcibly untucked when he suddenly pulls me even closer.

"Ah! Gajeel! What are you-?"

"Stop complaining and let me help ya. We need to be quick! Get ya warmed up before they realize we're defenseless" he whispers in my ear as he re-wraps his long, red scarf around us both. Our chests lightly brushing together. He pulls back once he's finished to look me in the eyes, "Give me yer hands again, Shrimp."

Hesitantly, I raise my hands as much as possible with my body so close to his. The fierce red stain across my cheeks is now impossible to hide from his piercing ruby eyes. His hands reach up and cup mine once more, but this time, he brings them close to his lips. The gentle warmth of his breath against my chilled skin sends shivers down my spine. I allow myself to lean further into his warmth and relax against his chest if only for the next few moments before frozen hell breaks loose once more. Gajeel flinches at this new position and releases my hands.

"You weren't kidding, Shrimp. Yer freezing! Gihee! Put yer hands around my neck. It's warmer there." He murmurs as his arms encircle my waist, pulling me tight against him. I never knew uncomfortable could be so comfy.

"Um, okay. If you say so..."

This new position is so intimate and he's just staring at me! I really shouldn't have done that... But he's so warm... My hands ease their way around his neck and into his thick mane. Before I can think clearly about it, I pull his head forward to bring his warm breath against my cold nose. My sigh of immediate satisfaction ghosts over the cloud of his gasp.

"Gihee! Never knew you'd be so forward."

"Hm?" I'm only half awake at the moment, so it takes me a while to respond. The only things reminding me that I'm not at home are my cold knees that are anchored in the snow and the giant Dragon Slayer personal heater wrapped around me instead of a blanket. A Dragon Slayer who sounds slightly nervous, "What do you mean?"

My eyes open to reveal his own staring intensely into mine. We're quite literally a breath away.

"If ya wanted to kiss me, ya just had to ask..."

There's hesitation on his side and mine. Is this a joke? What does this mean to him? Am I dreaming? What if I'm not a good kisser? Ah! Pull yourself together, Levy! I allow my eyes to flutter to a close as he presses his forehead to mine. We stay paused like that for a few blissful seconds, our noses gently brushing against each other as if asking for permission over and over again. Little Eskimo kisses as our gateway into something more...

Then everything turns white. White and-

"AAAAH! It's down my coat! It's down my coat! Oh my goodness gracious that's cold!"

"ARGH! YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT! YA BETTER RUN JET! When I catch up to that-" Gajeel struggles against his scarf that currently traps him to me; his movement sends more snow down my collar which I slap him on the arm for.

"Calm down! You're making this worse… and watch what you're calling my teammate!"

"Your "teammate" just dropped a bucket of snow all over us. I'll call him whatever I damn want!" With my help, he is finally released from the wool confinement, "Excuse me while I go punch his freakin nose in!" Gajeel scrambles to a stand before hopping over our boulder to chase after the spiky-haired mage. I can't say the moment was ruined because I'm still smiling like a fool in a pile of snow, but I'm slightly disappointed it ended before the main event. Who knows… maybe I'll mysteriously lose all of my gloves by tomorrow. Cold hands are a price I'll readily pay for a warm kiss.

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