I'm so very sorry for not updating for two weeks but there was exam session and I was super busy. As an apology here is a chapter full of fluff and love. Also I deeply thank everone that favorited, followed and reviewed my story. Everytime it brings a smile on my face to see new people joining, and it motivates me to keep going.

The next morning, Gajeel woke up first. He raised his left arm and rubbed the sleep off his eyes. He felt his right arm heavy and wondered if he hurt it yesterday as well. He turned his head but his vision got blocked by blue hair. Levy had somehow, during the night, crept next to him in bed. She had almost climbed on him, her legs tangled with his and her head laying on his chest. He found a faint smile form on his face as he moved his arm to stroke her hair. He did and then his hand trailed to her cheek, which her caressed with the back of his fingers.

She looked so beautiful sleeping there next to him. He cupped her jaw with his hand and slowly brought her face closer to his. He placed a loving kiss on her forehead and then leaned his head on hers. He closed his eyes and sighed, hoping he is not still sleeping and dreaming all of this. Unfortunately for him, his eyes were shot open when he detected an additional scent into the house. He raised his head and saw her brother sitting on the floor across them. He had an angry look and his sword was lying next to him, still in its sheath.

The two men exchanged a glare, before they both turned their eyes to Levy, who shifted a little and nuzzled closer to Gajeel. Gajeel felt scarred, not for himself, but for Levy. What if her brother would challenge him for a battle then and there? What if Jet would kill Gajeel? Then there would be no one to protect her. And what if Gajeel killed Jet? He would break her heart and he couldn't even think about hurting her.

"How long have you been here?" Gajeel spoke first.

"A couple of hours. I was thinking what I can do to get you out of the way without hurting her."

"Believe it or not, I was thinking of the exact same thing." Gajeel replied.

"I know your senses are tingling now, desperately wanting to thrust your hand through my chest but…I regretted it. Everything that I've done. I killed that girl just to get a fucking job!"

"Did you talk to Bixlow?"

"No. I cannot face him. And no one trusts me in the team. I know that all of the scouting legion are with you people and that they try to destroy the palace from the inside, but they won't let me in. No matter how much I wanna pay for my depts."

"Some guards attacked her yesterday night. Asking for information."

"What? I didn't know. And you protected her with the cost of your own health." Jet's eyes shot to the band aid on Gajeel's side.

"I'd give my life for her. But that aside, there's a dragon spy, telling all our plans to the king. This is how they found Levy."

"I'll look into it. You, in the meantime, keep your eyes on her." Jet stood and approached the door.

"Only my eyes? I can't promise anything." Gajeel joked.

"Just don't push your luck." Jet glared but when he saw how comfortable and happy Levy looked in Gajeel's embrace he sighed. "Do you love her?"

"More than I ever loved anyone." Gajeel said with no hesitation and a determination he didn't know he had.

"Then I approve of you." And with that Jet left the house.

Gajeel stayed awake and thought what he had said. That he loved her. That he'd give his life for her. He knew that she was the one. And he loved her. Oh how much he loved her. He wanted to make a move. He wanted to lean down and capture those parted pink lips. But whether that would please her or freak her out he didn't know. So he decided to wait for a while longer. Maybe the others in the guild would think of him as a pansy for taking things so slow, but he'd be damned if anything mattered more than her to him anymore.

The salamander and his girlfriend, Bunny-girl, crossed his mind. Those two idiots were only together for less than a week and they had already gotten intimate with each other. But Gajeel wanted to wait until his Shrimp would be ready.

After a couple of minutes, she slowly woke up, gripping his shirt into her fist. She moved a little up and nuzzled her face to his neck, inhaling deeply. He blushed deep red, realizing maybe she didn't know where she was.

"Morning Gajeel." She muttered in his neck and he gulped. "How did you sleep? Does your wound hurt?"

"I-no it's healed I guess." He stuttered.

"Mm, I'm glad. You dragons heal really fast, huh?" She placed her head on his chest once again and opened her eyes.

He thought that she might play tease with him but two could play that game. "And how did my Shrimp sleep?"

"Good. I haven't slept so peacefully in a long time." She blushed.

"Gi hi. It was because you crawled on me and I could protect you even in your dreams." He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly. "How about we get up and start that training of yours?"

"No! Just let me cuddle with you for a while more." She moved her arms around his neck and closed her eyes.

Gajeel was speechless. He wasn't sure what had just happened and why was she acting so lovey dovey all of a sudden. The girl that would blush with the smallest tease, was now so bold that their roles had reversed. He reached the conclusion that she was still drowsy from sleep.

Levy, on the other hand, was cheering in her mind for achieving the goal of leaving him speechless. She had finally gathered the courage to follow Lucy's advice and show him that she likes him. She would, of course, get embarrassed from her behavior but she didn't really care since it was working.

About an hour later they got ready for training. They were standing opposite to each other on a small opening behind her house.

"First we're going to practice hand-to-hand combat and then armed. Being small like that is easy to slip through a big guy like me. Use your size to your advantage." Gajeel started showing her different stances and ways to dodge and attack your opponent. After that, he found two sticks to use as swords and showed her a couple of things about it too. When Levy got bored, she decided to get something funny out of all this.

When they were sword fighting, she found an opening to get close to him and placed a kiss on his jaw and quickly pulled away. He grinned and let go of the stick and ran towards her, playfully chasing her. She yelped and started running away from him while laughing. And he was laughing too. He occasionally was catching her from her waist but she would quickly slip away from his grip and continue running. When he had enough of her teasing him like this, he wrapped his arms around her thighs and picked her up, bringing her neck at the level of his face.

Levy laughed and hugged his head, burying her fingers in his hair. He closed his eyes and touched his nose to her neck, also laughing. Then, she pressed her lips on his sweaty forehead and pulled back puckering her face at the taste.

Without thinking much he raised his head and placed trapped her bottom lip in his, trailing it with his tongue. "Mmm, salty." He grinned, licking his lips now. But the grin disappeared and a concerned look took its place. She seemed frightened. He quickly let her on her feet and took a step back.

"I'm sorry Levy. I don't know what got into me. I think it is time for me to go." He picked his jacket, which was hanged on a tree and walked towards the bridge. The only words that kept replaying in his mind were 'I lost her!'

"Gajeel!" She shouted and he turned quickly. He saw her standing there, with her hand on her lip that he had kissed. "Was….was that supposed to be our first kiss?" Her eyes locked with his.

'Shit!' Gajeel paced back to her and cupped her jaw, rubbing away her tears with his thumb. "Levy…" He only said with a husky voice and leaned forward, his eyes locked on her lips. She placed her own hands on his and raised to her tiptoes, closing her eyes in the process. When they finally reached each other and their lips brushed, Levy smiled into the kiss, encouraging Gajeel to continue. He pressed harder against her, a sigh of relief escaping from their noses, as their lips moved softly but passionately. Slowly he pulled back and looked at her flushed face, which he knew was only because of him. The two smiled and she wrapped her arms around his torso and he, in turn, placed his on her back.

"How's that for a first kiss?" He smirked, not really waiting for any answer.

"One that I'll hardly ever forget."

"That's my girl." He laughed and pulled her to him one more time.

She nuzzled in his neck for a bit and then pulled back, placing her forehead against his. They were now starring in each other's eyes. Red meeting brown. A couple of tears escaped her eyes while she smiled. One last drop fell from her eye and he placed his lips on the spot, kissing her tear away. She in return, placed both her palms on his jaw and gave a big kiss on his lips.

"Just take things slow, okay?" She said, pulling back.

"Anything for you, my Shrimp." He smirked.

Hope you bros enjoyed. If you did, go ahead and give a review and a favorite. See ya in the next one.