Levy woke up to the smell of coffee, rolling over she saw Gajeel sitting outside sipping from a mug. She slipped out of the bed and joined him outside.

"Thank you." Levy looked up at him.

"Yeah…" Gajeel said, he seemed a little distant.

"Ummm…is everything ok?" Levy was curious.

"Yeah, no worries shrimp." Gajeel said, standing up and walking inside.

Levy knew something was wrong, and if they were going to be partners they needed to be honest with one another.

"I'm sorry if me staying here bothered you, it won't happen again." Levy said, noticing Gajeel stopping abruptly.

"I told you it wasn't a problem…can we just drop the subject already?!" Gajeel said, he was getting agitated.

"Fine!" Levy said stomping her feet in the ground.

She knew the way she was acting probably seemed childish, but she didn't care; he was acting strange. He was actually tip toeing around her it seemed like, which was not like him at all. Levy at this point was frustrated, she walked past him in a hurry and walked out of the room; slamming the door as well.

"Fuck!" Gajeel said, sitting down on is bed.

Ever since he heard Levy crying in her sleep he was thinking differently. He didn't fully understand the pain he had caused her, until now; he was disgusted at himself. He didn't think there was anything he could say to make her feel any different toward him, she probably thought he was nothing more than an animal; which also made him surprised that she agreed to work with him. Master Makarov had thought it would be a good idea for them to work together, maybe that old man was going senile.

"I don't ever think I'll be able to atone for the things I have done, especially to her." Gajeel muttered, as he pressed his face into the pillow.

The smell he caught made him relish in it, it smelt like heaven. When he finally realized who's it was he threw the pillow to the wall; why was he thinking of her in this way? Her smell was intoxicating to him, her pain was something he wanted to take away; even if he was the one who gave it to her in the first place.

"I guess I better go find that little woman…" Gajeel sighed, standing up and walking out the door.

He barely walked a foot from the doorway before he nearly tripped over the blue haired bookworm, crying in the hall.

Son of A…" Gajeel stopped himself from finishing the sentence.

"So…sorry." Levy managed to say between sniffles.

"Look, I'm sorry if I upset you in there." Gajeel tried to sound somewhat sincere, as he stood up against the wall scratching the back of his head.

Levy looked up at him with somewhat of the same face she had last night at his door.

"Let's just forget about this morning and get to work." Gajeel said, trying to break the silence.

"O…okay." Levy said, grabbing Gajeel's hand he had extended to help her up off the floor.

Levy wiped her face with her sleeve and straightened her clothes.

They walked down the hallway, still in silence.

They walked out of the hotel and Levy looked at the job description again.

"So it looks like the thief is tracking priceless artifacts, the last museum he stole from was not even 3 miles away from here." Levy looked up from the paper at Gajeel. "We should probably check out the museum, see if he left any clues." Levy folded the piece of paper and led the way.

Gajeel followed behind her, he couldn't believe he caught her crying again; because of him…again. He needed to snap out of it, he needed to focus on the job; that's what mattered. At least that's what Gajeel thought until last night, he had watched her sleep the entire night. He wouldn't ever openly admit to stroking her hair when she was crying, thinking that might help to ease her sadness. He just couldn't handle seeing her like that, the feelings it gave him he wasn't familiar with. He could find every pressure point throughout another person's body, he could also time the right time on when to strike. One thing Gajeel couldn't pin point and determine were the feelings he got from her, it made no sense to him.

"We're here." Levy said, snapping Gajeel out of his intense thought.

The museum was one of the most prestigious in Fiore, holding the largest collection of artifacts known to man. This guy was "ballsy" for sure, Gajeel thought to himself. They walked in and approached one of the guards, Gajeel was already sizing him up. He didn't seem like much, which gave Gajeel a reason as to why the culprit had gotten away with the crime so easily. He watched as Levy interviewed the guard, asking him all kinds of questions Gajeel could tell the guard obviously didn't have the answers to.

"Thank you for your time, it is very much appreciated." Levy said, walking back over to Gajeel. "Well that was a dead end."

"Hmph, I coulda told you that." Gajeel scoffed.

Levy's face turned red with frustration, but brushed it off and labeled his comment as "typical Gajeel".

Levy ignored anything else he might try to say and continued to walk through the museum, looking for some idea has to who the criminal might be.

After what seemed like hours, Levy decided to call it a day; at least at this museum. They had been looking most of the day and found nothing useful, she turned to look at Gajeel. He was looking at a mural on the wall. Levy walked closer to it, but not close enough so Gajeel saw her, she looked at the mural in all its beauty. It was a painting of a dragon, covered in what looked like iron. The dragon was perched on a cliff, looking magnificent. Levy looked a little closer and then put the two together. It was a painting of Metalicana, she had not ever known what the legendary Iron dragon had looked like until now. He was simply breathtaking, then levy looked at Gajeel and the expression on his face. He looked hurt, his eyes were honed in on the portrait. She didn't ever truly know his relationship with the dragon, just enough to know he was the one who trained Gajeel in his magic ability with iron. The way that he was looking at the portrait gave Levy the impression that it was more than that. Levy then needed to change the atmosphere and walked closer to Gajeel, noticing his change in expression when she saw he noticed she was next to him.

"Ready?" Levy said.

"Yeah…" Gajeel said, taking one last look at the mural before walking out of the museum.

Once they got back to the hotel, Levy was starving and suggested to eat at the pub located within the hotel. Gajeel obliged, even though he didn't really eat common food. Levy walked inside and sat at the bar, she needed a drink with how the trip was going, she was trying to solve the crime and catch the guy. Along with trying to sort through her rollercoaster of emotions.

Gajeel sat next to Levy, looking at her confused.

"Thought you were hungry?" Gajeel cocked his head toward her.

"Yeah, well maybe I need a drink too." Levy said and giggled.

"Hmph." Gajeel sat there, wondering what this was to lead to.

After hours past, Gajeel watched as Levy had pretty much consumed her weight in alcohol and food. He had tried to stop her numerous times, but was met with a stern look and evil glare. He eventually gave up on trying to stop her and simply just kept a close watch on her. He knew she had had enough when she stood from the bar and swayed like a leaf in the wind.

"Okay shrimp, time for you to go to bed." Gajeel picked her up like a child and walked out after nodding to the bartender and placing the money on the bar table.

"Well…aren't you a party…poo..pooper!" Levy said, her words cutting off with tiny hiccups.

"Levy, please don't speak…you're really drunk." Gajeel continued to walk up the stairs, actually quite amused by her behavior.

"Why do you give me a...hard…time?" Levy looked at him.

Gajeel just shrugged his shoulders.

"You hate me…I know it." Levy continued to speak.

Gajeel rolled his eyes, knowing it was the alcohol.

"Fine, be the silent type now. I get it." Levy wouldn't stop. "I'm probably such a burden to you. Are you just doing this to make up for what happened?"

By the time Levy finished her sentence Gajeel had stopped in front of her door to her room. His face went pale at her remark, it wasn't the reason. He didn't feel indebted to her, he just wanted to protect her instead of hurt her. Gajeel placed her on the floor and twisted the key in her door lock.

"Gajeel…why did you do it?" Levy stood inches from him.

Her question hit him like a ton of bricks, it reminded him of her pleas last night from her nightmare. Gajeel didn't have an answer, he couldn't simply say "Well cause I was a sick sadistic son of a bitch…that's why." Yeah probably wouldn't go over so well. There truly wasn't a good enough explanation for him to give her.

"Yet, after everything that you did…I even care about you…hmph...I must be stupid." Levy hiccupped.

Gajeel looked down at her, she still cared for him even after everything.

"There must be something wrong with me…isn't there?" Levy said, getting on her tip toes.

She held onto his shirt, clutching it for dear life. For some reason she was drawn to this man, wanting to press her lips to his and get lost in him.

"Levy…I can't…I don't deserve it." Gajeel was holding on to her shoulders.

Levy looked at him, really looked at him. She could see raw emotion, it caught her by surprise. He looked torn, like he wanted it but thought it was something he could never have; but she was willing to give it to him.

"Yeah know, you're not a monster…at least I don't think you are." Levy said, trying to reassure him.

Maybe it was the alcohol, scratch that; it definitely was the alcohol making Levy so courageous in her feelings for him. Gajeel just looked at her, stunned; he didn't understand how this innocent little blue haired women could feel anything towards a man who caused so much despair and destruction.

"Please Levy…go to sleep before you make a mistake you will most surely regret." Gajeel said, stroking a stray blue strand of hair from her face.

Gajeel then placed her key in her hand and walked over to his room, a look of despair on his face.

Once Gajeel closed the door behind him he fell to his knees, punching the wall with just enough force to only put a dent in it. Why did he want that kiss to happen so badly? Why did he torment himself with fantasies that couldn't happen, no matter how much he wanted it to? The things that came out of her mouth, it was like she was looking right through him; wanting him just has badly.