Back to the GaLe fun! BTW, Gruvia fans will find a hint of hope in this chapter, heehee.

So, as I was rewriting the upcoming chapters, I figured I'd ask some of my readers for their opinion on something I'm going back and forth on. I'm trying to decide if I want to add a NaLu citrus (not a full on lemon, I think I have enough stories out there with one, lol), I already have a GaLe citrus chapter (I'll warn you now, it's pretty explicit), but I'm iffy on the NaLu one at the moment (have an idea, just trying to decide if I want to incorporate it or not). Anyway, I figured I'd give you the option, add the NaLu and keep GaLe as just a single lime (not full lemon), or focus entirely on GaLe and give you an extra GaLe lemon later on. Or are you all selfish readers with dirty minds and want all of the above plus more, lol. Anyway, let me know through your reviews and I'll surprise you with my decision.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or the characters, they all belong to Hiro Mashima. (Speaking of which, his motion sickness thing really did ruin part of my humor in chapter 10... so we will pretend Gajeel does not have motion sickness too).


When Levy awoke in the morning, she giggled at the sight of Gajeel spread out across the bed on his stomach, snoring peacefully as he slept on. Despite his rather haphazard and deep sleep, she noted he still kept one arm draped over his bed partner, as well as a leg, and didn't seem to be moving them anytime soon. The small woman figured he was exhausted after his small fight with Natsu the night before; that coupled with everything they had endured on their first full day at the resort must have taken their toll on his body and mind.

With that thought, Levy figured it would be okay to let her partner take the morning to rest, and she would indulge in some reading since the man next to her would probably wake up the second she tried to move out of the bed. So the bluenette took great care in easing herself out of his hold enough to reach the book she had on her nightstand, then moving so she could sit up in bed with Gajeel's arm resting across her legs. Once she was comfortable she checked to see that the dragon was still sleeping and hadn't seemed to move as she rearranged herself.

Quickly immersing herself in her book, Levy let the morning drift by until a few hours later she felt Gajeel finally begin to stir next to her. She could tell that he was either trying to feign sleep so they would stay in bed longer, or to actually go back to sleep for the same reason; if not for his hand on her thigh lightly brushing her bare skin, she probably wouldn't have even noticed.

"Morning, Gajeel," Levy airily said to the man, who merely grunted before turning his body to face her. She glanced down at the scowling dragon as he pushed his body closer to hers and let his head fall on her lap.

"How long you been up, Shrimp?" Gajeel asked, voice hoarse from sleep, as he nestled against her bare thighs.

"Ummm," the bluenette began as she glanced at the clock, "I've been up for about three hours now. I figured you were still tired from yesterday, so I let you sleep."

"Hmmm," was the iron mage's sleepy response, which she translated as "Thanks, Shrimp."

"I'm guessing Lucy and Natsu are still sleeping, too, since nobody's come to find us yet. You two must have really done a number on each other last night."

Again, Gajeel only grunted back at her, falling back to sleep on his new pillow. Levy just sighed in acceptance as she let her hand fall to his head and play with his messy, black hair. Apparently the iron dragon liked having his hair played with as much as Levy did, because he immediately tightened his hold around her thighs while rubbing his face against the bare leg it was against and humming in contentment. The short bluenette giggled at his reaction before going back to her book, keeping her hand idly running through his long mane as she read. It wasn't long before she heard him begin snoring again.

When Gajeel finally woke again, only an hour had passed, but he finally felt ready to start the day. Levy seemed to have become completely absorbed in her book again as he slept, and he could tell she hadn't noticed he was awake like she had before. From where he was positioned on the woman's lap, Gajeel could just barely make out her face from beneath the book; watching as she bit her lip while intently reading her novel.

He observed her for a moment before he began to feel mischievous, and slowly moved his body to partially cover her own so that he could creep up until his head could pop out between the woman and the book. As soon as he was in position, he launched himself forward and put himself face to face with the very surprised and blushing Levy. He couldn't help but grin wildly at her, resting his forehead on her own, as he let his heavy body completely envelope her, the quickly forgotten novel falling from her hand onto the floor.

"Morning, Levy." He whispered, just barely holding back his laugh at her shocked features.

"Morning," the girl squeaked in response.

Gajeel let himself chuckle as he moved to wrap his arms around her back and bury his face into her neck again. He kept himself hyper-aware of every tiny reaction he got from her as he once again allowed his lips to brush along the skin of her neck until he reached her ear, rejoicing inside with every small shiver he felt in her tiny frame.

"Hungry?" The iron dragon asked quietly, not moving away after so that he could listen to every breath leaving her lips.

"Uh-huh," was the somewhat dazed answer he received, prompting him to test the boundaries a little more as he lightly pressed his lips just below her ear before pulling away completely to take in her hazy brown eyes, lips slightly parted in a silent gasp.

He wanted to kiss her right then and there, but didn't want to go so far just yet and risk scaring her. On top of that, there was still their past to consider, and he still felt immense guilt over what he had done to her. He was sure that would never go away, but that weight on his shoulders certainly made him question whether or not he really deserved to have her. She was pure light, and he had always walked that fine line between the light and the darkness; even if he was on her side now, who's to say that one good push wouldn't send him back to who he was before Fairy Tail.

His silence and contemplative look must have worried his partner, as he was brought out of his internal struggle by a gentle hand on his cheek. Gajeel focused again on the concerned caramel eyes belonging to the only person he cared for more than himself, and realized that as long as she stayed by his side, nothing could send him into the darkness again.

"Gajeel?" Levy asked softly when she saw his attention come back to her.

The large man just shook his head, as if clearing the negative thoughts from his mind, and smiled gently at her. He leaned in again, just enough to let their noses touch before asking her about one of his thoughts.

"You still promise not to leave my side, Shrimp?"

Levy was surprised by the question; the way he asked it almost seemed desperate, as if he was truly afraid that she would leave him. The last time he had said something like that to her, he had just saved her life again, and then it was more of a command then a request. She had promised him then, but afterwards figured that he was only talking about while they were on the island, so that he could keep an eye on her. Asking her about it like this, though, confused her. She had no idea where it had come from, but she at least could tell he needed to hear her answer more than anything.

Smiling softly at the iron dragon, she let the fingers still resting on his cheek run over the rough skin tenderly, trying to reassure him as much as she could. He was showing her a side that seemed incredibly fragile, vulnerable, and she doubted she'd ever see it again. She knew exactly how to answer his question so that it would put whatever concerns he had to rest.

"Only if you promise me the same," came her soft reply, stunning the man for a moment before a grin spread across his features and every shadow of fear that haunted his red eyes vanished. A moment later, Levy found herself crushed in a hug from the dragon, and couldn't help but wonder if this is what he was like when he found Lily. He wasn't crying at the moment like he had been then, but she could tell that he was happier than she'd ever seen him before.

"Alright, Gajeel, can we go eat now?" Levy choked out, trying to get at least some breathing room from the large man. "I'm hungry, and I'm going to need the energy if you plan on crushing me in any more hugs."

"Right, sorry," Gajeel said quickly as he pulled away and jumped off the bed, obviously still incredibly excited to have gotten the answer he did.

With that the two quickly got dressed and headed out to lunch; Gajeel still grinning like a maniac and Levy feeling quite content, if not still somewhat confused over her partner's behavior. She wasn't going to question it, though, since she liked seeing this man happy; she could tell that he didn't have much true joy in his life before Fairy Tail. Obviously his life since Metallicana left was full of loneliness, and the only thing he knew was fighting, but now he could say he had friends, family even. No matter how cold he was to the others, she knew he still cared for the guild.

'I'm glad I can be someone who could give him that happiness,' she thought as she reached for his hand in the hallway, lacing their fingers together as she smiled up at him. 'Though I do wonder what brought all that on.'


As Levy and Gajeel reached the dining room, they were surprised to see a very happy Natsu and Lucy already eating lunch in there. The blue haired mage quickly lead the way to the couple's table to join them for their meal, and hopefully find out if they had followed her advice at all.

"LEVY!" Lucy hollered before jumping up to wrap the girl in a hug, telling the small woman all she needed to know about her friends' night.

"I'm guessing you had a good night, Lu-chan," Levy whispered teasingly as she hugged her friend back, giggling at the tell-tale blush that settled on the blonde's cheeks.

Lucy could only smile before nodding, pulling the shorter girl into the seat next to her as she mouthed to her, "We'll talk later."

Once everyone was settled and eating, Lucy decided to start putting her own plan to get the other two mages together in action.

"So, I was thinking we should go into town today," the blonde began, "maybe meet up with the others and see if they have any more news."

"Hmmm, yeah, I think that's definitely a good idea, plus it'll give us a chance to really discuss what we need to do from here on out." Levy agreed, looking at Gajeel as he gave a short nod of his own agreement. "Plus I want to show Gajeel something about runes, and I think it would be good if you two learned it, too."

Lucy quickly nodded in understanding, not elaborating on the topic in case someone was listening and began questioning what runes they could be discussing.

"So, it's decided then, we'll go wander the city for a bit," the spirit mage said instead, while looking at her watch to see the others would be at their meeting spot in about an hour. "We should get going pretty soon so we have enough time to do what we want."

With everyone's agreement, lunch was finished quickly with talk moving to their plans for after the mission, leaving the four mages enough time to go back to their rooms to grab anything they needed before heading out of the resort for the afternoon.


The small group of wizards found themselves at an open air ice cream shop on the outskirts of the city, the ideal place Erza had picked should they want to meet up during the mission. Natsu and Gajeel settled themselves at a table while the girls quickly ran to order a treat for themselves; giving them a chance to catch up on how the night before had gone.

"So, you and Bunny Girl, huh?" Gajeel asked the pink haired man sitting across from him while watching Levy giggle at something her friend had said. "Gotta say; I wasn't expecting you to work so fast there, Salamandar."

"Yep, worked out a lot better than I thought it would," Natsu grinned at his rival, glancing at the girls, too, before turning back to the other man. "How 'bout you and Levy?"

"I would like to know about that, too." A deep voice came from above the iron mage as Lily landed on his partner's head, leaning down to grin cheekily at the man.

"Lily!" Gajeel yelled in happiness, temporarily ignoring their curiosity to pull his cat into a tight hug.

"Well, you're in a good mood," Lily pointed out while patting a paw against his friend's face, "so I'm guessing things are going well for you, then."

"Yeah," the black haired dragon finally admitted, releasing the black cat so he could sit on the table. "Things are looking good."

Natsu and Lily couldn't help but smile as they noted the hint of hope in the man's voice, but refrained from saying anymore as Levy and Lucy finally made their way to the table, Happy flying along with them as he had gone to greet the blonde mage first.

"Lily!" The bluenette greeted the newcomer, patting his head as she sat next to Gajeel with a rather large chocolate ice cream cone in hand. "Where are the others?"

"They should be coming any minute, we flew ahead to see if you guys showed up today." Lily explained while moving to settle himself in the girl's lap.

"Hmmm, we had some things to discuss with you all, plus I need to teach these guys how to rewrite runes so they can get out of any traps they- Hey!" The script mage told him before crying out in annoyance as Gajeel leaned over to steal a bite of her ice cream, taking a good amount right off the top. Gajeel just grinned at her while licking the ice cream from his lips, trying not to laugh at her cute pout.

"You already came across some?" Lily asked, deciding to ignore his partner's playfulness for the moment so they could focus on the mission. After getting a quick nod from the girl, he continued. "So, what did you have to do to get out then?"

"Gi hee," Gajeel chuckled while grinning at the couple across from them, "You should ask the lovebirds over there that."

Lucy only glared at the large man while Natsu called him a teddy bear under his breath, getting his foot stomped on by his rival as a result. Lily could only chuckle as he watched the interaction of the four mages; obviously a lot had happened in a very short amount of time for the couples.

"So, Natsu and Lucy already, eh?" Gray's voice suddenly rang out; prompting the group to turn and see their other teammates had arrived in time to hear the exchange.

"Oi! You knew about this, too!" Natsu cried out at the ice mage, moving to get up and punch the man before Lucy pulled him back.

"Wait a minute, Natsu," the blonde said, leaning in to whisper in his ear while keeping a conspiratorial smile on her face as she watched Gray take a seat next to Gajeel.

"Hey! What the hell are you two plotting?" The already half naked man quickly asked, not liking the fact that with every passing moment, Natsu's grin became wider and decidedly more sadistic.

"Gi hee, I love it!" Gajeel chuckled, having heard most of what Lucy was whispering, and moved to relay Lucy's newest addition to their plan to Levy, who couldn't contain her giggles as she glanced around to the now terrified ice make mage.

"Oi! Oi! What about Erza? She's a part of this, too!" Gray cried out while pointing at the silent Titania who had seated herself at the head of the table, Wendy having taken the spot next to Natsu.

The two couples stopped their conspiring long enough to look at the red head who merely glared at them, causing all four mages to quickly shake their heads and move away from the woman.

"We would never do anything to Erza!" Lucy said as innocently as possible; her hands held in front of her as if to block any incoming attacks. "If she is involved in any way, I'm sure she had only the most honorable reasons for it."

Erza's face softened as she took in the sight of Lucy and Natsu sitting together, no longer as best friends but instead as a true couple, and nodded at her friends.

"Of course I would never do anything that could possibly bring harm to either of you," the armor mage said sweetly. "I'm glad you understand that, Lucy."

Lucy just laughed nervously while inching closer to the fire mage next to her, glad when he wrapped an arm around her waist protectively.

"Now then," Erza continued, "We will discuss what you have found for the mission so far, then I wish to speak to you in private, Natsu."

Natsu immediately began sweating as he felt his childhood friend's aura weigh down on him, and only him, in warning. He quickly nodded before letting Levy take the lead on explaining the runes, trying to listen to her explanation but dreading what Erza may do to him later.

Their meeting ended up being very short, since the other mages had not come across any new information either, and the only thing needing to be done was a quick lesson from Levy on how to rewrite the runes. The small script mage had wanted the other three mages to hear the lesson, as well, in case they were called in later and found themselves trapped, or needing to free one of them. As soon as they were done talking about business, Erza quickly got up and grabbed Natsu by the scarf, dragging him around to the back of the building that held the ice cream shop.

Everyone left at the table watched the building quietly, only Gajeel and Wendy able to actually hear what Erza was talking to the other dragon slayer about. They all figured it wasn't pretty as the iron mage winced dramatically at points while crossing his legs with a grimace. When the two mages returned, Natsu was deathly pale as he followed the older mage, his figure hunched as he held a hand to his groin, flinching anytime the woman looked back at him. Gray and Gajeel immediately felt pity for the man who obviously was lectured on what would happen to him should anything happen to Lucy.

"Well then, if we're done here…" the red head began once they reached the table again and turned to Lucy. "I am very happy for you, Lucy. I have warned him of the repercussions should he do anything to hurt you, so do not hesitate coming to me with any problems so that I may punish him as I see fit."

"Uh-huh, thanks, Erza" Lucy said with a forced smile, a drop of sweat forming on her forehead as she took in the sight of her new boyfriend who had slumped down against her seeking comfort. Taking pity on the man, she moved to run her hand through his hair, eliciting a whimper from the boy before he collapsed into her lap.

With one last nod at the new couple, Erza quickly turned to leave; Gray and Wendy following close behind, waving back at the other group as they walked away. Lily and Happy stayed behind for a bit to spend time with their respective dragon slayers, giving Happy a chance to tease the four mages non-stop, though it wasn't as effective as it normally would be since he was actually right for a change.

"You lllllllllllliiiiike him!" Happy kept chirping to Lucy as she continued to comfort the fire mage in her lap, flying around her head to add to the annoying effect.

"Of course I like him, you dumb cat!" Lucy yelled, grabbing the cat's tail as he flew by and pulling him onto her lap with Natsu. "Now stop flying around like that."

"Wahhh! Natsu! Lucy's being mean!"

"Not now, Happy… Just… Not now." Natsu groaned in reply, curling up into a fetal position as memories of Erza's more severe punishments were beginning to look like a ray of sunshine compared to the threats he just received.

"Poor Natsu," Levy mumbled, glancing at Gajeel as he nodded in agreement, looking almost as pale as his rival.

"Even though I doubt he'd ever do anything to ask for that punishment," the iron mage grumbled, "there are just some things you don't threaten."

The small script mage couldn't help but pity her partner as she moved to rub his back while he leaned against her; seeking comfort from the images in his own mind of what Erza could be capable of. Levy shared a glance with the blonde across from her who seemed to have a mixture of amusement and pity on her own face as they watched the men whimper.

"Well," Lucy began, hoping to lift the boys' spirits by changing the topic of conversation, "At least we have a plan to get back at Gray for helping."

"Umm-hmm," Levy hummed in agreement, still rubbing Gajeel's back while he chuckled weakly, "and I'm sure Juvia will be more than happy to help with that."

Lily, still sitting in Levy's lap, looked between the two women as they grinned at each other; an evil glint shining in their eyes as they silently plotted their newest plan. The black cat shook his head at their antics, looking up at the bluenette with a look of utmost seriousness.

"I'm starting to think you're truly evil, Levy," he mused, earning an innocent giggle from the girl. "Either that, or you're spending too much time with Gajeel."

"Gi hee!"


So a little reminder for my pseudo poll on upcoming chapters. Do you want:

A) NaLu and GaLe limes (not full on lemons)

B) Just the GaLe, lime first, lemon later

C) All of the above because we're all just a bunch of perverts (I know I'm not one to talk, I am the one writing them, lol)

So let me know in your reviews!

Oh, and next chapter's short (and by short, I mean super short), but OMG much sugar and sweetness in there you will all have cavities at the end. You will also be giggling like schoolgirls, even the guys. It's my favorite chapter and was originally going to end this chapter, but I felt it would do better as a stand alone chapter despite it's length.