When Gajeel finally woke up, Levy was no longer leaning against his side, and he immediately noticed the loss. He also noticed a blanket placed over him and some clattering and quiet humming from the kitchen. When he got up to investigate, he found Levy standing with her back to him, whisking something, and humming while dancing to her own tune. He noticed that she had showered, dressed and brushed her hair, and he wondered just how long he had been asleep for. She turned slightly, reaching for something, and noticed him standing in the doorway. Her face immediately broke into a sunny smile.
" oh, you're up!" She said cheerfully. "I'm making French toast, want to help?"
"Sure, whatcha need?" He asked, deciding that if she was acting normal, then so would he.
"I can't find the vanilla." Gajeel obligingly fetched it from the cupboard, and then simply stood observing her again. He could smell the soap she had used, and over the past couple days, spent at his house, his scent had covered her, and his entire house was permeated by the scent of her. Honestly, he would miss that when she left.
As she dropped the bread in the pan, the dragon slayer realized that he still looked like he had when he had gotten out of bed. Baggy clothes, bedhead, and not the freshest breath. Not exactly the way you want to present yourself to the girl that often find yourself resisting the urge to grab and kiss senseless.
With this in mind, Gajeel left to clean himself up. When he returned, levy had finished up, and made a pile on a plate.
"Eat!" She chirped, already taking a slice from the stack. "Do you have maple syrup?" She questioned, getting up to wander around the kitchen again. "Yeah
The scene was very happy and domestic, with the two of them smiling happily and calmly. It seemed a little too good to be true. Though he was happy that Levy held no fear towards him, the nightmares had brought up memories of his past, all the more reasons why he could never be good enough for her. Tension seemed to hide behind the bright and happy facade.
Levy had noticed Gajeels discontent, and decided that she would try to snap him out of it, but she also found herself curious. What was so horrible in his past that he would act like that? She understood that his past in phantom lord was a touchy subject, so she of course knew better than to bring it up. There was a reason she always tried to wear sleeves over her arms with her sleeveless dresses. After Gajeel joined the guild, she noticed him occasionally looking at her, with vast pools of regret in his eyes. They would linger on her arms and wrists, where scars, still quite fresh at the time, lingered from where he nailed her to a tree. She decided then that she would cover them, as a sign that she had forgiven him. Even now that the scars had faded, she retained the habit most of the time.
Gajeel was mostly lost in thought about the events of his past, when a thought came to him. Most of the younger people in the guild were there for a reason. He had never heard Levy mention any sort of family, and he knew that she lived alone. What is it that happened to Levy that made her go to a rowdy Mage guild, instead of living with family like the rest of the people her age?
"Hey Lev, when did you join the guild?" He saw her pause, swallow, and seem to contemplate how to answer. A slight shadow seemed to flicker behind her eyes.
"I joined when I was twelve or thirteen, after Erza, Natsu, Grey, and Mira were already there" she said, still maintaining a smile, though now it seemed a bit forced.
"What made you join? That's not what normal twelve year olds do?," he questioned, watching her face carefully to know if he should stop. Her smile had now fallen completely, and she looked pensive.
"I lived in a very superstitious village, way in the country when I was a child. My family wasn't the best to begin with, but when the magic started manifesting, they got worse. I ran away, and spent months wandering, pick pocketing to survive, before Makarov took me in." She looked contemplative and sad. The large dragonslayer got the feeling that she was leaving a lot out, but he knew better than to press her. This wasn't the sort of thing that you want to bug people about.
Levy took her dishes out, and went to grab her book, rereading it now, and Gajeel was at a loss for what to do, so he simply went and read over her shoulder. As he sat there, watching her lips move slightly, silently mouthing the words, his mind turned to possibly the worst topic possible. He found himself contemplating just how attracted to Levy he actually was. He wanted her to tell him everything. Everything that had ever hurt her, everything she loved, he wanted to know it all. He wanted to be able to hug all of her pain away, and just be there, but he can't. Suddenly, Gajeels mind decided to become unreasonable reckless. Why couldn't he just kiss her? Why not just hug her, the same way she had last night? Just hug her so tight that all of the broken pieces fit back together.
With that in mind, Gajeel called out "hey Levy," and as soon as her face turned towards him, he placed a soft kiss on her lips. He pulled back, apprehensive, and looked at her. Levy looked startled and her face was bright red. She stayed still for a moment, looking into his eyes, before grabbing his collar and kissing him, harder than before. As she pulled back, she whispered,
"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that for" Gajeel took in her face, flushed red and adorable, and broke out into a huge grin. He wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her close to him.
"It may be obvious at this point, but God Levy, I'm in love with you, and now I'm pretty sure you feel the same way, " he said, lips placed right next to her ear. She giggled in response.
"You idiot," she mumbled, " I've loved you for ages."
"You have no idea how difficult it has been to keep my hands off of you for the past few days,"
"Well," Levy said, smirking, "now you don't have to bother."
At this, they kissed again, but this time there was nothing hesitant about it. They were insistent, and passionate, and sensual. It seemed like they were letting out all of the repressed feelings, all the fear and anxiety of the past. They stayed like that for hours, alternately kissing, and talking or flirting softly. The book lay forgotten as the two finally took the opportunity to talk and explore each other and their feelings and intricacies.
A. N.: I dunno how well this chapter came out, but it was really hard to write. Some of it might not be vary good. I will probably write one more as sort of an epilogue. But yeah, they kissed! Finally! Anyways, please comment, complain, suggest stuff, whatever, and thanks to those who have. Thanks for reading this guys.
