Based on Chapter 451. (Did I mention I was supposed to be studying? No? Okay.) Hope you guys enjoy!

"It's not a sin to fall in love… You can't even arrest someone over that."

Gajeel's words ran on repeat in Levy's mind. After getting over her initial astonishment, she couldn't help but wonder if there was a hidden innuendo under it. Could he possibly have feelings for anyone? More specially, for her? I mean, he can't say that and not have experienced it, right?

She shook her head, and puffed out a frustrated breath. This was definitely not the time for that. They were going to war, and she had a reputation to uphold - as a brilliant tactician. Levy will not lose that because of a few words a certain metal-studded brute said.

Well, former brute. Sort of.

Gajeel had changed, slowly but steadily throughout the years. And she felt pride swelling up in her chest knowing she played a part in that. In fact, she felt privileged to have been able to witness his growth.

But Levy was greedy. She wanted more. Heck, she wanted to be more. More than a teammate, more than a friend, more. She wanted to be the first and last thing on his mind when he got up and before he fell asleep. She wanted to consume his thoughts so thoroughly he'd think of no one else, spare his cat, of course. She wanted him to love her back, just as much she loved him.

So deep in her inner musings, Levy hadn't noticed that the object of her thoughts had walked over, until he gently tugged on her headband. (Gently, he tugged on it gently. Old Gajeel didn't know gently.)

"Everything alright, Shrimp?" So startled, she let out screech and immediately jerked back.

Hurt flashed in his eyes before he put back his usual smirk. "A lil' jumpy today are we?" She stuttered a little before shyly bowing her head to apologise.

"Sorry Gajeel. Just um, a little preoccupied at the moment." Levy rubbed her neck, and made sure she avoided his eyes.

Not that she didn't like looking at them. (Heaven knows how much she'd dreamt of them, looking back at her like she was the most precious thing in the world.) It's just, those scarlet red eyes had the uncanny ability to read her, so incredibly well. It was almost as if she was a book, cracked wide open for him to see.

So she kept her eyes down, noting not for the first time, how big his feet were compared to hers.

"If it's the war you're worrying about, then you don't have to." Levy couldn't resist flicking her eyes up to his face when she noticed his voice was laced with something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

His tanned cheeks were tinged pink, and this time he was the one looking away. Was he…?

"I mean, ya know, we're Fairy Tail right? We're gonna kick their ass so hard Zeref's gonna wanna run back into his book where the rest of his demons are." Gajeel shuffled his feet, still adamantly staring at the wall behind them.

"I was't worried about the war, Gajeel." Amusement crept into her voice as she replied, smiling as he cleared his throat awkwardly and responded.

"Well, yeah, I knew that. I was just saying, ya know, if you were, then you got no reason to be."

"Uhuh."

"No, seriously."

"Mhmm."

"Really Shrimp, I was just-"

"Right."

He growled out her name as a warning, but whatever he was going to say next died on his lips the moment she started laughing.

Levy's laughter was a strange thing. You'd think it would be a soft, tingly sound, resembling bells in the wind. But it was the exact opposite. Despite her stature, her laughter was loud and rambunctious. Hell, right now she was guffawing pretty hard he was concerned for her safety.

But he always found it hard not to laugh along with her. So soon enough he found himself 'gihee-ing' along with her, all the while trying to decide between face palming at her stupid yet endearing laughter, and clutching his stomach as his laughter shook his form.

Minutes passed, and their guffaws had finally mellowed down to scattered snorts. Levy wiped the tears out of her eyes, and shifted herself so that her back was leaning on his arm.

Sometime during their outburst, they had fallen against each other, and slid down the wall, eventually settling in a comfortable sitting position on the floor. Levy leaned against his sturdy frame, and he had his arm propped casually on his bent knee.

"You know, I really wasn't thinking about the war." Even if she really ought to have been, she added silently in her mind.

"Then what were you thinking 'bout?" Levy considered his question, weighing the consequences if she answered honestly. But after minutes of pondering, she decided on a safer course of action.

"What do you think? I mean, besides the war?" She felt him snort, but was mildly surprised when he answered her right away.

"How am I supposed to know? You're a freaking genius. For all you know, you could've been thinking in one of the millions of languages you know, about the latest book or something."

"Really?"

"Hey, I tried." Levy shook her head, but accepted the answer anyway. Yet neither of them was more surprised than her when she finally answered his question.

"I was thinking of what you said earlier." Her form froze, before hastily loosening up, lest he notice.

"Yeah? Which part?" Her words now flowed freely, and unconstricted. She couldn't stop herself even if she tried.

"When you told the First about love. You know, how it isn't a sin and all that. Did you mean it?" Gajeel fell silent then, and she mentally smacked herself for making the situation awkward. Sue her innate curiosity and inability to keep to herself.

But after a few minutes of nervous quiet on her part, he spoke up, using a tone so soft and sincere, yet so 'Gajeel', she almost missed it.

"Course I meant it." Gajeel thought back to what he said, and what memories resurfaced.

Long, sleepless nights, twisting and turning. Relentlessly tormented by the need of something he felt too guilty to have. But after a few beers and an insightful talk with a friend, he had come to an understanding of a sort.

He was brought back to the present when she nudged his shoulder with the back of her head. She probably wanted a more concrete explanation. So he begrudgingly trudged on, choosing his words carefully.

"Love, you can't touch it. Its pure. just can't blame someone for loving." Levy soaked the words in, and braced herself for what she was about to say next.

"Do you?" She asked, biting her lip.

"Do I what?" She could see him raise his metal eyebrows in her mind's eye. But she pushed on nevertheless.

"Love someone?" Levy wrung her hands in her skirt, anxiously awaiting his reply.

But just as he was about to say something, Erza had come out from around the corner.

"We're approaching the enemy base. Get ready." Hastily they both got up, and quickly nodded their heads as the red head left to call the others.

Gajeel was in the middle of brushing the nonexistent dirt on his clothes when Levy spoke up, her voice taking on a nervous edge to it.

"Well, that was a good talk. Best I get going though."

"Levy-"

"So I'll see you at the, uhm, main outside area of the ship."

"The deck?"

"Yes, the deck. Right, how could I have forgotten that?" But she knew why, and she was pretty sure he had a good idea why too.

"Lev-" He grabbed her shoulders, apparently having enough of her nervous rambling. Holding her steady, (since when have they been this casual with one another? Not that she minded though.), he puffed a breath onto her hair.

"Your headband's crooked." She frowned as she raised her hands to feel her hair, only to find everything in place.

"No it's not." She saw his signature smirk come out full force before letting out an indignant shriek of protest as he ruffled her hair.

"Well, now it is."

"Gajeel you stupid, pig-headed, egotistic-"

"Alright, alright, I'll fix it. Calm down will ya?" Pouting, she resigned to her fate as Gajeel turned her around and started retying her hair. After a few short seconds of fiddling around, the hair piece was on and he stepped back to admire his handiwork.

"I'm kinda good at his, huh Shorty?" He gloated, eyes gleaming at her, prompting her to give credit where it's due.

"Yeah well, you wouldn't have to fix it, if you hadn't messed it up in the first place."

"Still, I did a pretty good job." Levy whipped out a mirror with her magic, and was inclined to agree. Although, she supposed, he was used to taming his won wild hair. It was only natural for him to be good at this.

"You gonna look at yourself the whole day, or are we gonna go kick ass?" She whirled around, ready to say something equally snarky to him, but paused when she looked at his eyes. Levy couldn't quite understand it, but there was something different in his eyes. Had he always looked at her like that?

She was almost scared to think it, but, maybe… Just maybe…

The moment passed when he lost his patience, and threw her over his shoulder. "You know what? Think I'm just gonna carry ya there. It'll be a lot faster."

"Gajeel!" Yet, all throughout her screaming and hitting, she thought back to his eyes. There was definitely something there, she was sure of it.

So what if she didn't get to find out what she wanted to know? She mattered to him. That much, she knew. And that was all she needed.

(But she'll get her answer eventually.)

Ahhhh gajevy. This ship gives me life. Anyways, I'm kinda on hiatus right now so writing this was kind of a spur-of-the-moment-at-one-am thing. No regrets tho ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ As always, feel free to leave a review! Thanks for reading :)