Disclaimer: Fairy Tail and its characters belong to Hiro Mashima.

Four years old

She had to get out of here. She had to run before... before she was caught. Levy panted, turning her head and running through the halls of her home, bumping into the walls and stumbling every so often on her own feet. Not fast enough, she wasn't fast enough to get away!

At the end of the hall, to the left of the bright window on the second floor, she found sanctuary. The linen closet was just big enough for someone to hide in, and since she was smaller than the average person there would be more than enough room for her! She grinned to herself, gave a little fist pump of triumph and ran towards the closet. Her hand grabbed the knob, and gave it a hard twist.

Nothing.

She frowned, trying to turn it again, but it refused to turn. It was just a linen closet... there was no lock on it! So...

"Gajeel!" Levy hissed, twisting the knob helplessly, "Gajeel, are you in there!?"

"Get away!"

"Gajeel, PLEASE let me in!"

"No!" he frowned, keeping a firm hold on the knob so she wouldn't be able to open it, "This is my spot!"

"Let me in! I've already looked everywhere else!"

"NO! Yer too big, ya won't fit!"

"..." her mouth gaped open, eyes rolling back incredulously. Did he just call her... too BIG for something!? "You-... you... YOU!"

"Gihihihi!" he chuckled, then stopped, "... I hear her, she's comin'!"

"LET ME IN!"

"No!"

"Gajeel Redfox, if you don't let me in here right now I'm going to sleep in my feetie pajamas tonight!" and those things were like Ft. Knox to any sexually aroused man.

"..." The door opened slowly and a hand grabbed her, pulling her inside. It was a tight fit, but he managed to shut the door with the both of them inside; and he did like the feeling of her little bottom pressed up against his thighs and 'other' areas.

The next several seconds were spent in silence, with Gajeel keeping his hold on the door knob to prevent certain small persons from opening it. After the long moment, Gajeel could hear the first signs of approach.

Her little feet slapped against the floor in an odd rhythm, clearly not sure which direction she should be taking. Her arms wrapped tightly around the stuffed bear that her daddy gave her, desperately seeking her parents, "Mommy? Daddy?" Lilia called, opening up the doors to peek inside. "Daddy?"

Both Gajeel and Levy kept themselves quiet, trying not to be found.

"G-Gajeel... please go out there," Levy whispered, "I... I can't play anymore! I'm so tired! Please!" Lilia had made them play for HOURS! She was so exhausted; the kid had so much energy, she couldn't keep up!

"Shhh! She'll hear ya!" damnit, he knew he shouldn'ta let his woman into his hiding spot. She was going to give them away.

"But Gajeel," Levy's eyes started to tear up, "I'm so tired..." she tilted her head against his belly, "Please..."

Her dragon stared at her in the darkness, giving a sigh of defeat. He waited until he heard Lilia enter one of the rooms then slowly opened the door to the linen closet.

"Thank you!" Levy smiled, "I'll make it up to you, I- HEY!" instead of letting himself out, he took Levy's shoulder and gave her a little shove out of the closet, then shut the door on her.

"Gihihihi!"

"Mommy!" Lilia came out of her bedroom to see Levy standing there in the hallway outside of the linen closet, surrounded by an aura of rage. "Mommy! Where did you and daddy go?"

"... W-Where?" Levy asked with a smile, bending down to pull her daughter into a hug, "Oh, we were um... well, we were just doing something, we didn't hear you."

"Oh... do you want to play tea party?"

"Sure!" Levy smiled, kissing Lilia's forehead. Tea Party... that game took at least three hours. She wasn't going to wear a set of feetie pajamas that night, no. She was going to wear THREE!

Author's Note:

Haha, I hope I didn't make Levy and Gajeel come off as horrible parents. I just imagine that there are some times when your child makes you want to run and hide; and that's precisely what they were doing! Gajeel is obviously better at it than Levy. Yeah, just to be clear, they're not playing hide-and-seek. They're just regular hiding.