"But …they never even dated, not these two!" Happy said, blinking more like an owl than an Exceed flying cat. He whipped his little head around, a bit gratified to see others with the same shocked looks on their faces as he held. Natsu's jaw was hinged in the open and dropped position, his eyes nearly bulging. "Is it a spell?" He asked, horrified at the thought.

Erza blinked very, very slowly. She felt no less stunned than the blue cat companion, but she refused to let it show. Suddenly she looked intrigued. "Love potion! Is this the start of some new attack?"

Lucy dropped her cup mid-way to her mouth, spitting out her juice at the very thought. She stuck out her tongue, looking cross-eyed at it. "Dus it wook pinka to oou?"

Gray Fullbuster leaned in, hands in his jacket pocket. He blinked down at Lucy's tongue with his eyes narrowed. His nose twitched. "No, but you might want to lay off the garlic."

Lucy's face went shades of white, then brilliant red as her fists clenched.

Happy looked on worriedly. "What if she falls in love with the first male she sees?"

Hearing all of this, Juvia focused in on the one most important thing. Gray might become the focus of Lucy's heart. Without thought, planning or word of warning Gray was doused with a wave of cold water, knocking him away to slide into the far wall with a thud. "What the hell? Juvia?"

"Not. Going. To. Happen!" The water magic user panted, steam nearly pouring out from between her ears.

"Oh for …Juvia, Gray's not in love with Lucy, he's still fully clothed!" Carla snapped, turned and looked behind her, then blinked. "Well he was."

"That was fast." Happy snarked. "He's getting faster at that, or are the buttons getting looser?"

"Put your clothes back on, Gray." Erza said dryly, though without looking away from the original couple that had surprised them all.

"They're soaked!" Gray protested sharply, wringing out his jacket as water streamed from it comically.

"Lucy? Do you feel any different?" Wendy leaned forward, fascinated. "Is your heart racing?"

"Cool it." Jet yawned while Droy nodded. Both males looked dejected and were slumped in their seats. Their table was strewn with empty cups and wine bottles.

Natsu suddenly sobered and stared, looking around. "Where's Cana?"

"Mission." Jet yawned. "Has been for a few days."

Erza nodded slowly, calculating the amount of empties on the table. "You two drank all this yourselves? Makes sense, there's not enough here to indicate Cana was here. And you aren't shocked. This …" She pointed at the couple in the corner cuddled up together. "…you're not surprised?"

Droy laughed harshly, clearly not exactly happy. He shook his head.

"But ….HOW?" Lucy spluttered, still sending occasional glares at Gray for his comment about her breath. She breathed into her hand and sniffed. "I do not smell like garlic!"

Natsu's nose quivered and he gave a suddenly sheepish grin. "Well, that's a lie."

Wendy blushed and ducked her head. "Dragon Slayer noses." She nodded at Lucy in sympathy.

"Gray's not a dragon slayer." Lucy squeaked, completely red and embarrassed.

"Yeah, but you stuck your tongue out at me." Gray said, wandering over, still damp and still not clothed except for his boxers.

"Dear heart, you might need to put on some clothing." Juvia said sweetly.

"They need to dry." He told her blandly.

"You have other clothes!" She said, raising her voice sternly.

Natsu grinned and yelled over at the couple under discussion. "Yo! Gajeel! Who here smells like they ate garlic?"

The iron studded warrior shrugged, but not enough to dislodge Levy who was snuggled up beneath one of his muscular arms, her legs laying across his lap. "Elfman."

The wizard in question shook his head, unaffected as he sat at the barstool several feet away speaking with his sisters. "It's a manly spice!" Mirajane giggled.

"Freed." Gajeel called out next.

The green-haired wizard at another table looked up calmly. He turned to the side looking at his fellow team member. "I smell like garlic?"

"Not to me." Bicklsow shrugged, unaffected. "I can ask my babies if they noticed?" The floating totem mini-poles surrounding the wizard bobbed up and down as if agreeing.

"Lucy reeks of it." Gajeel finished with a yawn, turning back to speaking softly in Levy's ear.

"I do not!" The beleaguered celestial wizard nearly cried.

Erza scowled and everyone fell silent. She glanced at Jet and Droy who looked miserable and unkempt and not quite sober. "Spill."

"I don't think they have any beverages left to spill." Wendy said naively with her innate sweetness.

"She means the story, child. Spill the story." Carla explained, her own eyes on Jet and Droy. "I'm curious too."

"You're a cat. A flying, talking cat. Of course you're curious." Lucy snarked, but she too turned to look at Jet and Droy expectedly. "So. When did Gajeel and Levy start dating?"

"They didn't." Jet said, followed quickly by a hiccup. "It just ….happened."

Droy nodded and shrugged. "I think it started at the S-class trials."

"Before that." Jet disagreed. "Remember when he protected her from Laxus?"

Freed murmured unhappily at the reminder, but didn't interrupt except to say. "He'll be back one day."

Everyone nodded at him and interestingly no one contradicted his belief, or seemed upset about it.

"Oh yeah, you might be right." Droy nodded absently. "They just …seemed aware of each other. Not dating, no. Just always so aware. Then came the S-class trials."

Jet nodded, picking up the story once more. "Gajeel impressed Levy. A lot."

"Not that she said or anything, we just knew." Droy nodded for emphasis. "And he got hurt and Levy looked out for him."

"We were there for that part." Lucy pointed out, then stopped and sniffed the air again. She scowled, still not smelling garlic on her own breath.

"Well, when we came back Gajeel still was in rough shape. He recovered well enough to stand up to the Twilight Ogre but still needed more time to get back to full health." Droy continued as if Lucy hadn't interrupted. "The Master sent him to bed to rest."

Jet seemed to droop. "He chose Levy's bed." The man looked on the verge of tears.

Wendy's hands went to her mouth as Carla looked cross. "Is this explanation too adult for certain ears?"

Droy shook his head wildly. "Oh! Levy wasn't in it at the time!"

"At any time!" Jet hurried to explain. "Gajeel was basically still asleep, walking in his sleep if you prefer. He stumbled out of his room mumbling about having to protect Levy on the test and we couldn't seem to wake him up."

Droy nodded sadly. "He followed his nose, walking around the guild and out the door, all the way to Levy's apartment. This is right after she moved out of the lady's dormitory. Anyway, Gajeel walked right into her place and up to Levy's room. He collapsed on her bed muttering how it 'smelled right'. Then he fell back asleep."

Wendy still looked to be in shock, her eyes were so wide. Lucy chuckled. "So I'm not the only one whose rooms get invaded on a regular basis." She said smugly.

Jet shrugged. "Levy was embarrassed, but not unhappy. I mean, Gajeel came over to 'protect' her and all, even hurt and in his sleep. She came across the hall to our apartment and crashed on the couch."

"You made her sleep on the couch? What kind of manly act of behavior was that?" Elfman, who had apparently abandoned his bar stool to migrate over with his sisters to listen, commented. "You should have given up your own beds!"

"We offered!" Droy half stood, waving his arms in front of him defensively. "Levy refused, and you know how stubborn she can get. Said she was the only one who could sleep on the couch without getting bent like a pretzel."

Over in the corner, Levy's mouth twitched upwards. "You were incredibly sweet."

"I'm never sweet." Gajeel murmured hotly into her ear. "Take it back."

"You were asleep. Didn't even notice me." Levy snuggled closer.

"You were wearing pajamas with yellow ducks." He growled low and sexy, his voice pitched for her ears alone. "So innocent."

Natsu's ears twitched, but he said nothing, looking thoughtful instead. He turned back toward Jet and Droy. "That's all it took? I sleep in Lucy's bed all the time, nothing ever happens."

Happy pointed at himself. "But I'm usually with you."

Lucy's head nearly came off as she glared at Natsu. "It's not the same!"

"So. What happened next?" Erza demanded.

Jet and Droy both shrugged. "Every time Gajeel came back from a mission he'd end up in Levy's bed and she'd end up on our couch. But that was only for a month. Then it stopped. Only. They just seemed to be together after that. We don't know why."

"He stopped coming over?" Erza sounded thoughtful. "Well, she must have missed him and that's how it all came about." She nodded, deciding she had the full of it.

As the others marveled at the new couple, Gajeel blew lightly into Levy's ear. "I didn't stop. Eventually I was in your bed every night. You stopped going across the hall."

"You never protested when I went to Jet and Droy's."

"You were sleeping on their couch. Nothing to protest." The pierced warrior smirked, as if to indicate the other two males were no threat to him. "Besides, eventually you stayed."

"On my own couch." Levy crossed her eyes endearingly at him.

"You never asked me to leave."

At this, Levy blushed lightly. Two spots of color in her high cheekbones that delighted him. He grinned and nuzzled her neck. He nipped. Her toes curled deliciously.

"Why did you come over so much?"

Gajeel breathed for a moment, then nodded against her skin. "I don't know." He said, a bit surprised that the two of them had never discussed this before. "To be honest, that first time really was instinct. I mean I was awake enough to know where I was and who you were, and I wasn't looking to get into your bed. It just ….I had this feeling that if I didn't get to you something bad might happen. Another attack, I don't know."

Levy smiled at his grouchy tone of voice. "It made me feel better, knowing you were resting and getting well. I didn't like seeing you so hurt, back on the island."

"I don't know why I came back."

"I don't know why I let you."

They both smiled at each other. Then his smile widened into a wicked gleam. "Why did you stop sleeping on the couch?"

"Why did you stop wearing clothes?" She countered with a certain gleam in her own eyes.

Gajeel chuckled and nipped at her temptingly soft lips. "You wouldn't have known that if you'd stayed on the couch."

"It was my bed. And it's a big bed, and I'm not that tall." She teased him. "I didn't think you even noticed me in it."

"It's not that big a bed, not with me there." He captured her lips at last and would have stolen a kiss if she'd not enthusiastically given him one instead. "Oh. I noticed. You."

Levy pulled back slightly, giving him wide eyes. "You didn't touch me for over a week!"

"I was tired?" He tried and failed not to smile as she glared at him.

"You weren't sure you wanted me?" Levy sounded forlorn.

Immediate regret spawned in his red eyes as he shook his head. "That I was sure of. What held me back was if you wanted me. I mean, I did attack you on our first meeting."

"I was in your bed!" She scolded him.

"Your bed." He corrected, then grimaced as she glared at him for the semantics. "Well, it was your bed. Your apartment. And I didn't want you to think you were being attacked, or forced, or ….I wanted you to want me."

Levy melted against him, instantly charmed at his rough confession. "The man is supposed to make the first move."

"Says who?"

Levy's mouth opened, but then she shrugged. "I don't know. It's just the way it is."

"I was miserable, waiting for you to reach for me." Gajeel admitted earnestly. "Then you did. Baby, I couldn't have been happier."

Levy blushed hotly. "There was a fly." Instantly she regretted her words as his gaze shuttered.

"What?"

"Nevermind." Levy shook her head, but he wouldn't be denied and finally she sighed. "I was trying to shoo a fly off of you and it wouldn't leave. It landed on your chest and …I ….slapped it without thinking."

Gajeel looked stunned, his red pupils mere pinpricks in the white of his rounded eyes. "A …fly?"

Levy immediately went into recovery mode. "But then, I couldn't stop touching you."

He blinked slowly and gave her a suspicious, and yet subtly hopeful look. Levy's spine straightened and she licked her lips. "And I was so curious about the piercings."

Gajeel felt her hand on his chest and his went to cover hers, flattening her palm over his heart beat. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." Levy bit her bottom lip and he groaned. "Then suddenly I wanted to taste so badly my mouth was watering."

"Oh yeah?" His voice heated up, and relaxed all at the same time.

"I reached for you." She said firmly. "Because I wanted to do so."

Gajeel grinned wickedly, his strong teeth gleaming. "I believe you did taste those piercings." He teased.

Levy blushed hotly, but without shame. Suddenly she grabbed his vest and tugged. "Let's get out of here."

Gajeel laughed and shook his head. "Our meal hasn't been brought out yet."

"I want to taste your piercings." She said in a leading manner.

He grinned and shook his head at her, wanting to see what she'd do or say next in order to tempt him. "You've already tasted." He reminded her of how she'd nibbled at the studs through his nipples.

Levy leaned in and whispered in his ear. "Those aren't the only piercings you have." Her words teased at darker things. A singular part of his anatomy, also pierced, sat straight up, rigid, hard and suddenly aching.

From across the guild hall the others watched them leave.

Wendy shook her head at them. "Why is he walking funny?"

Everyone else started shouting as they each tried to change the subject to something new.