"Thanks for coming!" Erza and Jellal waved to everyone, Erza pointing at Levy as she and Gajeel moved to the front door. "I'll see you Saturday morning at the mall! I believe Lucy has planned to send out more details through text."

Levy giggled and nodded, her cerulean curls bouncing. "Absolutely, I'll see you on Saturday! Congratulations, you guys. See you later Jellal!"

Gajeel laced his fingers with Levy's as they made their way to the elevator. Erza and Jellal had their engagement party that morning, and they spent the entire day hanging out at their place. Normally, friends of the couple hosted the engagement party, but Erza was too excited. And too OCD. She just figured planning it herself would make things easier. Plus, they'd just moved into their new apartment on the top floor, and she wanted to show it off.

The party was nice enough, a bit fancier than Gajeel was comfortable with, but with Erza and Jellal, that was to be expected. They had champagne and wine, and hors d'oeuvres. Natsu had complained about those, nearly consuming the entire plate of lobster tartlets. While Levy was in love with the tiny foods, Gajeel sided with Natsu. Who the hell decided to take perfectly delicious food and make mouse-sized portions? Regardless, since his appetite had become nearly nonexistent, the miniature hors d'oeuvres were the perfect amount of food.

Levy had suggested that they buy a gift for them together, and Erza's face lit up when she opened the box of wine glasses. The party wasn't actually bad, despite it being one of the fanciest parties Gajeel had ever been to. With his studs and scars, he felt wildly out of place, even being in his friends' company. But each time Levy took his hand, lacing her fingers with his, his heart would settle. That loving look she gave him brought out his own smile.

Watching Jellal and Erza interact was somehow bittersweet for Gajeel. Jellal would brush the hair from her face or kiss her forehead or the back of her hand. Hell, just the way he looked at her—you could see how much he loved her. And then Levy would lean against his shoulder or hug him, and he'd just want. Always wanting, anytime Levy was near.

Gajeel just wanted too much.

Seeing Jellal and Erza, he wanted that with Levy. He wanted a future with her, to be by her side for the rest of his life. He wanted to marry her, take care of her. He wanted that small subdivision house with hundreds of books that wouldn't fit on the shelves. He wanted a place for Pantherlily to perch in the window and watch the birds while Gajeel watched Levy dance. He wanted a family, little feet running around and calling him Daddy. He wanted the late nights, the diapers and bottles, the hectic house. He wanted to grow old with Levy, love her more each and every day. All that cheesy shit. He wanted it all. Everything he never thought he'd have, all the things he wasn't supposed to have.

He just wanted it all.

But then cancer stabbed him in the heart like a jagged blade, and just when he saw a glimmer of hope, fate twisted the blade, pushing it deeper. It was like a bucket of ice water to the face. He would never have the future he'd dreamed of with Levy, because he was dying. Of course the universe had to bring him down a notch, because he was greedy. It was ridiculous to ever hope to have a future with her.

Gajeel just wanted too much. Way, way too much.

"That was a fun party!"

Gajeel smirked, pushing his thoughts aside, and looked down at Levy. Live every moment like it's your last. "It was, shrimp. You want to go grab a bite to eat?"

Levy stepped out of his reach and hummed, tapping her chin playfully. "I don't know…"

"Or," he took her waist and pulled her back to him, nipping her lip, "I could just eat you instead."

Her blush was worth it, and he kissed her softly, smoothing his hands up her back to tangle in her hair. Delicate fingers traced his jaw, his neck, finally resting on his chest, and he sighed against her. He could never get enough of her…

"Get a room."

Gajeel pulled back and glared at Gray, who was walking past him through the hall to the elevators. Levy just giggled and took Gajeel's hand. "Dinner would be great, actually! I have to get up early for rehearsal tomorrow, so I have to get to bed early tonight. I want to be well rested, after all! I'm meeting the girls to study after rehearsal tomorrow."

Like the energizer bunny, Levy just never stopped. "Don't push yourself too hard, shorty."

Levy stuck her tongue out at him and smiled. "I won't. Now what are you in the mood for? I hear there's a pretty stellar Chinese place downtown…"

Gajeel barked out a laugh. "Really? And who told you about that place?"

"Oh, I don't know his name," she said sweetly. "Some really, really handsome guy I know told me about it once. I hear that's how he scored his super hot girlfriend."

Gajeel just shook his head and smirked before ghosting his lips over hers. "Well, you are hot, so I'll give ya that." He took Levy's hand and kissed her palm. "Come on, Lev, let's go get you some food."


"That one worked pretty damn well."

"Okay." Gajeel could hear shuffling papers over the phone. Porlyusica sighed and said, "How are the injections going?"

Gajeel shifted the phone to his other ear and roughly ran a hand over his face, massaging his temples. "Great at first. Now, not so much. I got one hell of a sore on my stomach, though."

"Well, that's to be expected, I'm afraid." There was a heavy pause when Porlyusica was considering his words. The static on the line was almost deafening. "Gajeel… I'm afraid, in terms of medicines I can give you, we're just running out of options. We've tried so many different medicines, and I think… I think that you've progressed to the point that medication won't help you anymore. Without hospitalizing you, we can't give you the proper treatment, and you've made your thoughts on that quite clear."

Gajeel swallowed thickly. Before he met Levy, that bit of information wouldn't have bothered him that much. But now… He may deserve to die, but leaving Levy behind… "What would you recommend?"

Porlyusica cleared her throat. "We'll keep you on the medications that have worked the best, but we'll up the dosage. You'll keep the injections; I think they're working better than the oral medications. And I want to keep you on the medication to combat nausea, since that seems to be workingListen, I don't know how much time you have, Redfox. But I think it's safe to say that you need to just start enjoying the time you have."

Gajeel nodded, too numb to speak.

"Take it easy, okay? I'll see you next Monday. Call if you need anything."

He hung up the phone and slumped down to the couch. Pantherlily hopped down from the window sill and rubbed his head against Gajeel's arm, who just scratched at his head absently.

Empty pill bottles scattered the countertop in the kitchen, each with a different label. Syringes and liquid medication bottles were lined up. All past medications that he'd been on, some more effective than the others. The last month had been kind of a plateau in terms of his cancer progression, but that ended abruptly Wednesday morning. Now, as Porlyusica had described it, he was beginning 'the slope.' This was the stage where he started a decline, and it was happening pretty quickly. She said he could have anywhere from a several months to a few weeks—it was all just up in the air.

The pain was becoming unbearable at this point, too. It hurt to sit, it hurt to stand, it hurt to lay down. The injections only lessened it a fraction, but they didn't really help. He just had to grit his teeth and push through it. But that was becoming difficult. He'd take a breath and his lungs would hurt, the pain spreading to his stomach like a thousand knives. And then he'd exhale. Then inhaled. And the pain repeated.

Pantherlily mewed, pawing at Gajeel's arm. When he didn't acknowledge the cat, he sunk his claws into his leg.

"Shit, Lil…" Gajeel scowled and looked down. "What the hell is your problem?"

Pantherlily squeaked and hopped off the couch, padding across the living room into the foyer. Gajeel followed him when Pantherlily's head poked around the wall and he mewed again. Gajeel rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine… You want a treat?"

When he rounded the corner, his eyes widened. Pantherlily was sitting on a sheet of paper, watching him expectantly—the paper was the the list of chemotherapy treatments Porlyusica had given him so long ago. Stiffly, he bent over to pick up the sheet, looking over it thoughtfully. Several of the options weren't possible anymore, but there were a few… Maybe.


Levy blew into the coffee shop, the chilled autumn wind blowing in alongside her. Lucy and Juvia were already waiting on the couch by the fireplace, waving her over. They'd agreed to meet at the coffee shop to study after Levy was done with rehearsal. With midterms coming up, everyone could use a study party. Juvia and Lucy were studying when she joined them, both too enthralled in their textbooks to look up. Lucy had on reading glasses, her hair pulled into a ponytail. Juvia tapped her pen against her chin as she typed something into her calculator.

Levy slipped off Gajeel's jacket, as well as the knitted scarf she'd been wearing, and draped them over the back of the armchair before sitting down. She smiled at Juvia as she pulled her books out. "Is that Gray's shirt?" Levy asked. "The one he was wearing yesterday?"

Juvia blinked, looking down at the plaid flannel she was wearing, and beamed. That was enough of an answer. Clearly their relationship was going well—more than well, apparently.

"Oh my gosh… This is insane…" Lucy whined. "How am I supposed to learn all this?"

Levy giggled, securing her headband with a bow, and leaned over Lucy's shoulder. "What are you working on?"

"Biology," she groaned. "How am I supposed to memorize all these terms by tomorrow?"

Levy patted her shoulder comfortingly. That's what happens when you wait to the last minute to start studying… Unfortunately, her best friend would have a sleepless night tonight cramming in as much information as she possibly could. They all fell into a comfortable quiet, studying their own materials. Levy had an exam coming up for her history course, then a literature exam. She'd been studying for weeks though, so she wasn't too worried. But still, pre-exam jitters were kicking in.

After a couple of hours, a waitress came by to see if they needed anything. Lucy was so frazzled she was nearly twitchy, and Juvia was half asleep. It was either call Gray and Natsu and have them come pick up their overly stressed girlfriends, or order some really strong coffee and help them study. She settled for the latter, and five minutes later, the woman returned with three intense cappuccinos and some complimentary scones.

"Come on, guys, we can get through this."

Juvia yawned and took a sip from her mug. "Juvia doesn't understand how you're so awake…"

Levy laughed. "Well maybe I wasn't up all night with a certain someone…"

Juvia grinned over the rim of her cup.

"Okay, seriously. I'm about to explode."

One look at Lucy said she needed a break. Now she really was twitching… "Lu?" Levy took her hand cautiously. "Why don't we take a break, okay? Just enjoy a scone and take a breather."

"Right… Okay…"

A jingle signaled someone coming into the shop. Levy looked up casually over her coffee cup and grinned when she saw Gajeel stepping inside. His long, unruly hair nearly reached his lower back now. He scratched at the stud on his nose and looked over at Levy, winking at her, and ordering a latte to go. They gave him his drink and he strolled over to Levy casually.

"Hey, shrimp." He bent over her and kissed the top of her head.

She giggled. "Hi! How are you today?"

"Fine." Gajeel accepted a hug from Juvia and chuckled when Lucy waved at him (she didn't even look up, as she was still twitching over her biology textbook—now really twitchy with the addition of coffee). "I was just on my way home from work, thought I'd stop by. We still on for dinner?"

"Absolutely! What are you making for me?"

"Mmm," Gajeel brushed his lips against her ear, then her neck. "You'll just have to wait and see."

Gajeel felt eyes on him. Juvia and Lucy were watching them, highly amused, and he sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll get out of your hair."

"I'll walk you out!" Levy pulled on his jacket. "I'll be right back, guys."

Levy followed him out. He was moving a bit slower than usual. Maybe he didn't sleep well again. Lately he hadn't been sleeping well. She was starting to get worried. When they got outside, the wind practically smacked her in the face. She shivered, and Gajeel opened his coat and pulled her against his chest, wrapping the warm wool coat around her.

"Warmer?"

She smiled and sighed into his chest. "Warmer."

Another pang of guilt hit him in right in the gut. She was so trusting of him… Once again his mind was screaming at him to tell her the truth, break down and come clean about everything. She didn't deserve to be in the dark. She didn't deserve the pain when he told her about his disease. She didn't deserve to think that he was okay, only to be shocked when he suddenly died. Levy gave him all of herself—she was an open book bearing no secrets. She would tell him anything if he asked, and how did he repay her? Lies. Gajeel already took this relationship too far… It wasn't fair.

"There's something I gotta tell you, Lev."

She poked her head out from where she was buried in his coat and smiled up at him. "What is it?"

Gajeel took a breath and studied her. She looked so happy. Honey-brown eyes sparkled with joy as she smiled—that smile alone could light up the earth. He just couldn't— He just couldn't cause her any pain. Not this beautiful, pure, incredible girl… But she needed to know.

You'll lose her.

The voice in the back of his head made him stiffen. Each time he got close to opening up, each time he finally plucked up enough guts to confess to her, lay it all out in the open, that same nagging voice in his head rendered him speechless.

He just couldn't do it.

Gajeel swallowed and shook his head. Selfish coward until the fucking end. "Nothin', shorty. I'll see you in a bit."

On tip-toes, she reached up to meet his lips, kissing him softly. He was caught off guard only for a second before he settled against her, running his tongue over her lips and pulling her flush against him.

Enjoy every moment like it's your last.

One day soon he'd have to tell her. It would break her heart—she'd probably dump him, she'd definitely cry. And Gajeel would burn in hell for stringing along such an innocent angel.


A/N: OH MY GOODNESS THE NEXT CHAPTER IS MY FAVORITE! I CAN'T WAIT!

So... Thoughts? This story still has a while to go, so hold on to your seats! I enjoy the angst a little too much... Thank you so much to those of you who have left reviews. You've all been so incredibly sweet and I love hearing from you! I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. See you all on Monday!