Chapter 4- First real date

"You don't love someone because they're perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they're not."

~Jodi Picoult~

Thoughts of Levy floated in and out of Gajeel's mind almost everyday for the next two weeks after the New years party at Fairy Tail. He didn't understand it. Wasn't used to these kind of feelings for another person. They had met for a drink a few days ago, the atmosphere was awkward for the first half hour before Levy got him talking about books again. She even managed to convince him to try reading a few books she selected for him.

He picked up one of the ones she had brought with her to their meeting. The tittle read 'Count down' and sure enough the back made the book sound interesting. He had managed a few chapters before not wanting to read anymore. Setting the book back down on his side table Gajeel got up and went to his fridge. Not a moment later a meowing was heard behind him and he looked back at the cat behind him.

"I ain't got anything for you so scat" he told the cat who responded with another meow. Pulling out a half eaten sandwich for himself Gajeel closed the fridge door and proceeded to his table which was littered with garbage and dirty dishes. The meowing started up again as soon as he sat down and Gajeel glared at the cat. The cat in turn, now having his attention picked up the small plastic bowl and brought it over to the table before setting it down and pawing at it.

"Alright I get it already" Gajeel said as he rose from his seat to get the cat some food. Grabbing a can out of the fridge he opened it and poured half the can into the cats food dish. The whole time the cat was quiet and after the food was placed he looked up at Gajeel with an almost human twinkle in it's eye. Gajeel mumbled about smart cats as he once again took a seat at his table to eat. He sat in silence until his food was done before looking back down at the cat who was still eating.

"Hey Pantherlily, you're pretty smart. What do I do about this girl" he asked the cat. Pantherlily looked up at the sound of his name and meowed. Gajeel started to chuckle to himself for asking the cat a question. Shaking his head Gajeel got up from the table and moved back over to his couch and picked up the book again. He sat down and got through another chapter when there was a knock at his door.

Now what? he thought as he once again set the book down and went to answer the door. He gazed through the peep hole, figuring it was probably someone trying to sell him something. He felt himself tense as Levy's small frame came into view. He sent a quick glance back at his apartment and frowned at the garbage littering the tables and floor. He made a move to pick up a wrapper near him but shook his head. Why bother cleaning? There was no point.

Still frowning Gajeel opened the door and was instantly greeted by Levy's smile.

"Oh good. For a minute I thought I got the wrong apartment number" she said with relief. Gajeel gave her a small grin.

"Well, you found me. Come on in, just don't mind the mess" he told her, a little embarrassed by the state of his apartment.

Levy stepped over the threshold of his apartment and frowned at it's state.

"I can't really say I'm surprised" she said as she glanced around the small area. Gajeel just shrugged.

"Not cleaning day"

"And when is cleaning day?" she asked in amusement. Gajeel thought about his answer for a minute.

"Tomorrow. Tomorrow is cleaning day" was his final answer. Levy nodded.

"I'll take your word for it"

"So what brings you all the way here?" Gajeel asked her. Levy's hands crossed over her chest and a frown appeard on her lips.

"Don't tell me you forgot"

"Forgot what? Was there something for me to remember?" he asked, confused.

"Two words. Book. Festival" she told him. Gajeel's eyes widened.

"That's today I'm guessing. Sorry shorty, I did forget" Gajeel apologized. Levy's frown deepened at the nickname of 'shorty' that he has taken to calling her. It still annoyed her but she couldn't fault his reasoning for it. She was rather short.

"It's okay. I know it doesn't sound all that interesting to you any way" she said as she moved to sit on his couch. No sooner had she sat down then Pantherlily jumped up onto her lap. Startled it took Levy a moment to realize it was just a cat. Hearing the meow of the cat made Levy's face lighten up.

"You have a cat!" she exclaimed as she picked him up and hugged him to her chest. Gajeel felt a strange sense of jealousy of his cat which surprised him once again.

"That's Pantherlily" he told her gruffly as he tried to figure out why he felt jealous. Levy push Pantherlily out in front of her and smiled.

"Nice to meet you Lily" she greeted the cat and was rewarded with a meow. Gajeel rolled his eyes at the short form she decided to call him by.

"You still wanting to go to that book festival thing?" he asked her. Levy looked up and nodded.

"For a bit at least. Then we could do something else. If you want to I mean" Levy said, face flushing. Gajeel grinned.

"This a date then?" he asked in a teasing tone, knowing already that that is exactly what it is. Levy nodded embarrassed.

"Then let's go" he told her as he grabbed his jacket. Levy set Pantherlily aside and rose from the couch and followed him to the door.

When they reached the sidewalk outside Levy shyly grabbed Gajeel's hand. Gajeel grinned as he stared straight ahead and squeezed Levy's hand once in reassurance. It still seemed like an awkward thing for them to do but they were getting more used to it. They had after all only held hands twice before this. Sure, they already shared a kiss but that was in the heat of the moment. They had yet to kiss since that night at Fairy Tail neither of them knowing when to initiate it.

They walked in silence for a while until they came to a set of lights and Gajeel looked down at Levy.

"Which way?" he asked.

"Straight ahead for another few minutes then we should be there" she responded. So they continued on until they came to multiple tables filled with books along the sidewalk. A small area had been set up outside of a large building that housed even more tables of books. Every few tables held stands with the names of books and genres to choose from. There were people standing around to talk about the books on their tables and there was even a few authors there to autograph books. Levy's eyes lit up as she saw all of the people and books. She quickly let go of Gajeel's hand and he watched as she headed for the nearest table of books. She picked up one and began reading the back before getting into a large discussion with the lady at the table about the book. Gajeel just grinned as he watched her get worked up about each book she picked from the table. Eventually she moved onto the next table and Gajeel followed closely behind, trying to follow what she was saying.

"There's so many good books. A lot of the authors are really famous and well known for their stories. Oh here's one by my favorite author. She writes horror/mystery/romance novels. All my favorite things wrapped into one" Levy told him enthusiastically. Gajeel just nodded at everything she said, glad she was enjoying herself. They wound up standing in line for Levy to get an autograph in one of the books she purchased which took quite a while as the lines were fairly long. After the autograph Levy grabbed his hand again and began steering him toward the exit.

"I think that's enough books for now"

"Couldn't agree more" he agreed as they started walking down the street again.

"Where should we go now?" Levy asked. Gajeel glanced at his watch and noticed the time was 2:30pm. He tried to think of something they could do.

"Well there's the movies. The new amusement park..." he didn't get to continue as Levy quickly decided.

"How about the amusement park then?" she asked excitedly. Gajeel, not wanting to disappoint her he nodded.

When they finally arrived at the amusement park and paid their entrance fee they started walking around the park to see what all rides there were and what games they could play. Levy decided that they should ride one of the roller coasters first. As they waited in line Gajeel felt a cold sweat break out along his back. He knew he would regret this, but decided to go on the coaster anyway. Once they were seated there was no going back and once it started moving Gajeel started to feel the symptoms of his motion sickness. His face began to turn green and he started sweating profusely. It didn't take long for Levy to notice something was wrong however they finally crested and went over the drop so she didn't have a chance to say anything. She let out a scream along with the other passengers as they fell.

The ride lasted less than two minutes but to Gajeel it felt like hours.

"Why didn't you mention you had motion sickness" Levy asked him as she sifted a hand through his hair as he laid his head on her lap on a nearby bench. Still a little green Gajeel shrugged.

"You were excited to go on the ride" was his only response. They sat there for a moment in quiet before Levy bent down and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"What was that for?" he asked her.

"Just a thank you"

"I don't think that was a thank you" he told her.

"It wasn't?"

"No. I think this is a thank you" he said as he pulled her head gently down and took her lips with his. Levy smiled as they broke apart.

"You know that's our second kiss right?"

"Ya, so?"

"So now your stuck with me"

And Gajeel didn't mind that at all.

Sorry if the ending is abrupt but I kind of liked this spot to end it. I guess we can now say they are official, and they are so cute. I feel bad for Gajeel though with the roller coaster but oh well. Next chapter will have a fairly large time skip -cough- two years -cough- but I don't think you'll mind. Prepare for more cutesie stuff and I'll try to put the story more along the lines of the song.

Also thanks for the reviews! you're all awesome :) nothing makes me happier than seeing that people are enjoying my story. Hope you keep on enjoying

~Golden Promise~