A/N: I can't believe this story has reached over 15,000 hits, and I have to say you guys, thank you so much for reading my story, adding it to your favorites and alerts, and reviewing it. I'm very happy that so many people enjoy it. :) Without further ado, I present to you, my beloved readers, Chapter 14.

Levy stretched her arms high above her head, slinking deeper into the unfamiliar sheets she lay under. She didn't want to open her eyes – through the lids she could see not even the faintest of lights, meaning she had more time to sleep. Turning onto her side, she attempted to spread herself out over the bed completely, but her process was halted by two strong hands.

"You can't have the whole bed to yourself," a voice grumbled sleepily.

Gajeel, she immediately identified it, and in response she wriggled closer to him, closing the small space that had been between them. She could feel his warm, steady breathing on her forehead, and imagined he could feel her own on his neck. With his arms around her small frame she felt so secure; she felt safe. He was a barrier which prevented anything unpleasant from reaching her. She didn't feel the same nerves she would have once felt a long time ago, if she had found herself in such a compromising position with him. Things were different now. The ex-Phantom she had once feared so greatly seemed eons away, and instead she found herself holding onto someone whom her feelings had greatly intensified for.

Looking down, Gajeel watched her brow furrow as she allowed herself to follow this train of thought deeper. Her face was illuminated by the orange glow of the streetlights outside the window, and there was a strange delicacy about her as she lay there next to him, something that intensified his want to protect her from any harm that may come her way. His mind flashed back to when her friends had attempted to 'bully' him, or whatever that pathetic excuse for an attack had been. When Luxus had shown up and had nearly scorched her with his lightning, he had felt the exact same thing then, an urge to defend her. That feeling had never gone away, and had instead only intensified as he had grown accustomed to her. Maybe that was why, on that fateful day in the alley, he hadn't walked away. Not because of her bleeding and unconscious friends, but because of her. Because he had still wanted to protect her. If the rest of the world hadn't mattered before, it certainly didn't matter now.

When she finally opened her eyes, he banished these thoughts from his head, afraid that he might speak them aloud. "Couldn't get back to sleep?"

"No," she sighed, nestling her head into the pillow. "You too?"

"Yep. Is it because you have that hangover headache or you're embarrassed about last night?"

"No headache or anything… and what are you talking about? I barely remember what I did in the club. Hopefully not anything stupid."

"I meant after that, here in my place."

"…..What did I do?"

Flashback

Gajeel towed the giggling girl through the doorway, and watched her plop unceremoniously onto the floor while he locked the door. During the walk home it seemed as if she had become even more intoxicated, losing her footing on several occasions and toppling into the Dragon Slayer each time. Then there was more laughing, meaningless stories being told, and at one point she had tried to give all her belongings to an equally as drunk homeless man wandering the streets because she felt sorry for him. At least here he wouldn't have to worry about her doing anything stupid; she'd probably fall asleep sooner or later.

"Gajeeeeeeeeel, you didn't dance with me!" Levy whined, pouting. Lifting herself off the floor, she skipped over to him and grabbed his hands, pulling him over to the center of the room. "Now, just put your hands on my waist, and move to the music!"

"Levy, there is no music." He resisted, but in the end allowed her to move him as she pleased.

"You don't hear it?" she looked puzzled for a moment and then shrugged. "Now that I think about it, neither do I. But it doesn't matter! We don't need music!"

"…I really don't want to dance, Levy."

"Too bad, 'cause I do!"

She linked her arms around his neck and laid her head on his chest, listening to the thudding of his heart. He rolled his eyes and went along with her swaying, comforted by the fact that in a few minutes she'd probably be knocked out. Such a tiny girl shouldn't be able to hold any alcohol at all, let alone five shots of whatever the hell she had drank. It seemed as if the party buzz was spreading around, because all of a sudden he could hear shouts and cheers coming from one of the apartments near his own, followed by the loud electronic hums and beats of music emanating from an impressively loud speaker. Levy seemed energized by the noise; she began to jump around in excitement.

"It's just like the club's music! C'mon Gajeel, move!"

With the introduction of music came the appearance of an entirely different Levy, one who twisted her hips all ways round and seductively ran her hands across Gajeel – moving from his broad shoulders to his chest, down his muscular torso and back up, drawing him in closer and closer. He barely resisted; he had been rendered completely immobile by this shocking new development. She was pressing herself on to him, grinding her hips onto his own and holding him firmly against her with an iron grip on his shoulders. Gajeel's hands were rigid on her hips, the blood slowly leaving his brain and moving somewhere else. He had no clue how to deal with the whole situation. Not that he wasn't enjoying the way she was winding herself around him, the way she stroked his cheek with her lips and ran her fingers over the metal studs adorning his face. He could feel her against him like fire on ice, a scorching heat on a frozen plane, and all of a sudden he wanted more. He started to move along with her now, small, simple movements that made all the difference as the friction between the two grew. His hands ran along the length of her body, exploring her curves before moving back to their original position, this time loose and fluid, going along with her twists and turns easily. The music still blared in their ears, louder than before and complimented by a buzz of voices, although now a different song was playing, and they changed their pace to match it. He was moving along with the music now, and her fingers were digging into his shoulder as she ground into him even more, trying to stop any space from coming between them. Her breathing had become rapid, and his had taken the same turn.

Peeling herself away from him, Levy took his hand in hers and pulled him to the side, leaning against the wall of the small apartment. Standing on her tiptoes she pulled him in, lightly brushing her lips on his.

"Levy," he whispered, his voice strained. She wasn't in a sane state of mind, maybe they shouldn't be doing this…But then she silenced him by pressing her mouth against his, and all sane thought was lost again as his hunger for her grew. Her hands were tangled in his hair as she devoured his lips with an incredible fierceness, and he pushed her further onto the wall with his body, craving the same closeness as before. He worked his lips down her neck, encouraged by the soft gasps she emitted every so often. She was clutching the bottom of his shirt now, pulling on it with such force that the fabric was beginning to tear at the seams. But he didn't notice, he was too busy working on her collarbone. Finally his shirt gave way to her incessant pulling and fell to the ground, leaving his chest completely bare. Levy pulled herself away from his lips and ran her fingers down along his torso, his muscles firm and hot beneath her fingers. She moved her lips along his jaw, leaving a trail of small butterfly kisses behind. Was she teasing him? Did she have any idea how crazy she made him? The scorching heat that had devoured him was growing impossibly hotter. She slowly led him forward, right up until the backs of his legs hit the side of his bed. With a strength he didn't know she had, she pushed him onto the mattress. Climbing up on top of him, she straddled his hips and moved in to kiss him again, feeling his fingers lightly sweep the top of her ear as he moved stray locks of hair out of her face.

There was something there, deep in her core, a fire that was growing with each small touch they shared. As he moved into a sitting position and his lips worked their way over hers, she quickly unzipped her dress and climbed out of it without ever breaking the kiss. There she was, scantily clad in the lingerie she had chosen to wear under her dress, and Gajeel took it all in, the black, lacy material of her undergarments, the feeling of her bare skin under his hands as they freely roamed her body, her shoulders, her thighs, no inch of her remained untouched. He craved her even more now than he had ever done before, but as he looked into her eyes, there was something nagging him in the back of his head. They weren't the same, intelligent, clear eyes that he was used to seeing. They were hazy and bewitched, tainted with the cloudiness that normally came with intoxication. They weren't her eyes.

"Levy, we can't do this," he muttered gruffly, lifting her off of his lap. She looked taken aback, taking in deep breaths to regain the oxygen she had lost. Once she was breathing normally, she leaned back in to him, bringing her face up close to his.

"Why not?" she asked curiously, feeling rejected. "Don't you like me?"

He held his breath, the proximity becoming too much for him. "God damn it, Levy, you don't know what you do to me." Quickly getting off the bed before she came even nearer, he moved over to a medium-sized chest of drawers, from which he drew a large gray shirt. He tossed it over to Levy and leaned on the structure. "You have no idea what effect you have on me, especially right now. But we have to stop."

"But I know what I'm doing!"

"And so do I. Get some sleep."

With great effort he left the room, deciding to hide in the bathroom until she was fully covered up and asleep again. And until the blood returned to his head.

End of Flashback

"I did all that?"

Levy brought her knees to her head and buried her face in her hands, hiding her scarlet cheeks from view. How could she look at him now? She was so embarrassed! She had acted impulsively and according to her desires, without thinking at all, something she would have never done if she had been sober. He had described it with barely any detail, but the faint memories she had of that night filled in what he couldn't have illustrated – the heat, the ferocity between them, the feeling of his body under her fingers, all the things that one couldn't explain in words if they tried. Oddly enough, rather than being ashamed of herself and her actions, there was an overpowering yearning to experience it all again, to truly feel what she could so faintly remember.

And he had stopped her. He had prevented her from going too far, from doing something she could have never reversed if she had tried. Hell, she didn't know how he had managed to stop himself. She could dimly recall what he had said to her, even though he hadn't repeated it now. God damn it, Levy, you don't know what you do to me. You have no idea what effect you have on me, especially right now. But we have to stop. He had cared so much for her, protected her once again, like he always did.

She wanted to open her mouth, to say something, anything, but then the humiliation of her drunken actions from before they had reached his apartment came rushing back, and she suppressed the urge to hide under the covers and curl into the fetal position.

"Um, Gajeel, I'm sorry I was such a hassle," she murmured into her hands, afraid even though he had made not one insulting comment about her behavior. In fact, he had practically skimmed over the entire thing, as though he hadn't wanted her to worry.

"...You weren't any trouble," he muttered, the tone of his voice low and its tremor close to that of a growl. "Levy…do you…regret what you…what we did last night?"

"What?" She looked up at him and found his crimson eyes boring into hers, searching her soul for an answer he didn't want to find. Did he really think that she would regret that moment? That she would regret getting so close to him, moving further with him than she had ever done with another man? Couldn't he see how badly she wished she remembered every moment of that night, to feel what she had felt all over again?

"Of course I don't regret it," she said softly. She looked away from him, ready to say everything on her mind but unable to look him in the eye anymore. Instead she decided to inspect the hem of the shirt Gajeel had given her to wear, stalling as she chose her words. You know what? Screw it. For once, she wouldn't be scared to say what she wanted to say. She wouldn't need a drink in her stomach to express herself. She could do it on her own. "Gajeel…I don't remember much. But I wish I did. Because now I'm missing out on what was probably one of the most magical nights of my life. I would never regret being with you, not for a single moment."

For an entire minute, the Dragon Slayer stayed silent, and the smaller mage refused to look at him, wondering why he wasn't saying anything. But then he was ruffling her hair like he normally did, and she let out a deep sigh of relief.

"That's good," he finally said. "That you don't regret it." He gently turned her face towards him, and dipped in towards her. "'Cause now I can do this."

And then he kissed her.

"What's wrong?"

Lucy patiently waited for Natsu to respond, but he stayed silent. What's going on with him? she asked herself, watching him drum his fingers on the surface of the table. The morning had started out normally enough; she had woken up to the sight of him spread out across the floor, passed out with Happy curled up next to his head. While enjoying a hangover free breakfast she had expected Natsu to wake up and join her, bringing his monstrous appetite along with him. In fact, in preparation for the moment she had made extra helpings of breakfast just to satisfy him and his cat. But when he had awoken, he had been distant and moody, opening his mouth only to take small bites from the insanely large pile of food on his plate. It was very unusual for him to act like this.

"Natsu, seriously, is something up?" she watched his eyes, which swiveled towards her momentarily. She could see something there, something akin to hesitation. Why wouldn't he just tell her what bothering him? Maybe it was something she did the night before? "Is it something that happened yesterday? Because if it is, I should point out that I still don't remember anything."

Finally, he answered her. "It's not exactly anything from last night…well, maybe just a little. But not really."

"I'm confused."

"…Okay. I'll tell you. This is the deal. Lucy, I feel ignored."

"Ignored?"

"Yes. By you. Ever since we got together I haven't be able to spend any time with you. You've been too busy with Levy."

The blonde allowed this information to sink in, but she couldn't see what he was getting at. They had spent countless of hours together! Sure, she had spent a lot of time with her blue-haired friend as well, but it wasn't like she didn't see Natsu anymore.

"I have been spending a lot of time with her, but I've spent just as much time with you," she stated, unaware that this response would only agitate him even more.

"That's not true," Natsu retorted. "You've been obsessed with Levy and Gajeel. You've been taking care of her while she was sick, and then you orchestrated that whole 'Let's-lock-them-in-the-basement plan'. We barely had a minute alone and then after that it was back to Levy, arranging your whole girl's night out and everything. Where have I been this entire week? In your scheme to make sure those two stayed together, did you even consider us for a moment?"

"I didn't think I needed to, we didn't have any problems!"

"Well now we do, don't we? Couldn't you just admit that you've been ignoring me? Why is it so hard? I'm pretty sure I've made myself as clear as I could. Just think about it for a minute."

Lucy huffed in frustration and folded her arms across her chest, but she did as Natsu asked. Could he be right? Was she really not giving him the attention he deserved? Now that she thought about it seriously, in comparison to her blue-haired friend she had seen the Dragon Slayer a whole lot less, something she hadn't realized up until this point in time. Why hadn't she noticed? She was his girlfriend; she was supposed to see these things! Natsu was as easy to read as an open book, yet she had still missed it completely. But why hadn't he done anything about it? He wasn't the kind of person who would be happy with just sitting around and going unnoticed. When he wanted something, he went and got it. What had stopped him now?

"Natsu…why didn't you say anything to me before?" she queried as he ran a hand through his hair, causing multiple strands and locks to stick out all over the place.

"I don't know," he mused, leaning forward on his elbows. "I guess I just didn't want to interrupt. Well actually, I really, really wanted to interrupt. Maybe I was just afraid you'd get mad at me or something."

"Why would I get mad?"

"I don't know. You're so weird, you know? It's hard to understand you sometimes."

She could feel a guilty pang in the middle of her stomach, and she leaned over the table to peck him lightly on bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry," she rested her forehead on his before moving back. "I didn't notice. It's my fault. Let me make it up to you. We can do anything you want. Name it."

He pondered her proposition for a millisecond before nodding. "Alright…Let's go."

"Let's go where?"

"Anywhere. I mean it Lucy, don't give me that look. The sky's the limit! I want to spend every waking moment I can with you, no matter where we are. Because I'm crazy about you. Think about it for a minute. Just one day, that's all I'm asking for. We can disappear, no-one has to know where we are or what we're doing."

A romantic day. Anywhere she wanted to go. Just her and Natsu. The determination in his eyes was enough to convince her she was making the right choice.

"Let's go," she agreed. The smile that crossed his face sent her heart aflutter, it was one expressing pure joy, and maybe even something stronger, an emotion that Lucy couldn't give a name to. Entwining her fingers with his, she started to lead him out the door, but halted when they heard Happy's snoring faintly emanate through the doorway. "Hey, what about Happy?"

"He won't want to come. He plans to go woo Charle with more fish."

"But that hasn't been working!"

"What can I say? He's not going to back down."

"Well that's good then. Leaves me more time to focus on you, anyway."

"That's the attitude I want to hear!" With a renewed energy he pulled her across the threshold and out into the sunlight, where the birds were singing happily and small wooden boats lazily made their way down the canal. He paused and looked left and right, unsure of which path to take. "Hey Lucy, where did you want to go again?"

"Have you forgotten what you said already? Let's go anywhere."

Droy covered both his ears in an attempt to block out the two screaming females, but it was no use. He and all the other fairies were helpless victims to the shrieking voices, but he was able to take some comfort in the fact that it was not being directed at him. All of this over a failed party night, he thought sadly, shaking his head.

"AND ANOTHER THING," Cana yelled, jamming a finger into Elfman's chest. "DO YOU THINK THAT WE'RE CHILDREN? THAT WE DON'T KNOW HOW TO HANDLE OUR LIQUOR, LET ALONE TAKE CARE OF OURSELVES?"

"Look, I only came because I didn't want you two to be there alone," he argued, raising his palms in surrender. "But then Lucy, Natsu, Levy and Gajeel were leaving the club, and I didn't want to be stuck there with two HAMMERED girls drooling all over those two pieces of filth."

"It's not like we were going to marry them!" It was Mirajane's turn to fight now, her normally calm and peaceful expression twisted into one of frustration. "And it was barely a few minutes past midnight! You could have at left us for a couple of more hours! I'm sure you would've found something to do."

"A man does not leave two young and intoxicated women prey in a club!"

"SHUT UP WITH THAT GODDAMN MAN CRAP!" Cana snapped. "You should've just gotten Natsu and Gajeel to stay. Speaking of which, why was Gajeel there anyways?"

"Don't ask me, I think Natsu wanted his help finding you guys. You know, that whole Dragon Slayer enhanced-smelling thing they have going on."

"Ugh, to hell with those two and their noses. They should be glad they're not here now, I'd rip them both new pairs."

With that, Mirajane sighed and returned to her post behind the bar, and to everyone's relief Cana followed. Droy turned to make a comment to his partner, but there was a dark look on Jet's face, and he felt a nervous twisting in the pit of his stomach. Uh-oh. What's going on here? "Jet? Are you okay?"

Jet ignored Droy's inquiry and instead turned to Mirajane, putting on a façade of nonchalance. "So, Mira, where are Lucy and Levy, then?"

As she poured herself a mug of steaming tea, she frowned for a moment and then shrugged. "I don't know. They're both probably nursing major hangovers. I didn't see Levy back at Fairy Hills last night, she probably crashed at Lucy's place. She was with Gajeel and Natsu, don't worry about it."

"So they all went together?"

"I'm not sure. Gajeel might have taken Levy outside for some fresh air before Natsu took Lucy out. I was too smashed to notice anything else, really. Like I said though, don't worry. Levy will show up eventually." She gave him a small wink and moved away to sit down and drink her tea in peace, oblivious to the effect her words had on him. He swiveled around in his seat back to his teammate, his fingers gripping the edge of the counter so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.

"Did you hear that?" he hissed, looking around to make sure there was no-one close enough to overhear their conversation. "I have a feeling Levy never went with Lucy, after all."

"But Mirajane said they all left together," Droy whispered back, wondering why his teammate was taking the news so badly.

"She doesn't know about Levy and Gajeel! Why would she even guess for a second that Gajeel would have carted Levy off by himself unless she knew they were together? Don't you understand? Levy never showed up at her apartment! And I'm sure that he didn't take her to Lucy's. Which means the only place she could have gone is back home with him!"

"What are you getting at?"

"Are you clueless? Levy was drunk and vulnerable. What if he took her back to his place and took advantage of her?"

"I don't think he'd do that…"

"Are you kidding? He's capable of anything! We have to go find her!"

Ignoring Droy's protests and pleas for him to see reason, he bolted out of the guild with the speed of lightning, and his teammate begrudgingly followed. This is ridiculous, he groaned inwardly. He's overreacting. He doesn't even know where Gajeel lives. Still, I'd better stick with him, just in case he tries to do something stupid.

"What time is it?"

Gajeel grumbled something under his breath as he blindly waved his arm around, searching for his alarm clock. He ended up finding it on the floor instead of on the tiny nightstand it was meant to be on. Maybe he knocked it over in his sleep. Oh well. Bringing it right to his face, he decided to open his eyes, and had to wait a minute for his vision to clear before he could read the clock face. "It's…eleven," he stated, carelessly tossing the instrument back onto the ground.

"That's not good," Levy murmured, unwilling to get up. "We should never, ever have early morning conversations again."

"I don't know, I kind of liked the second part," he commented, a small smile appearing on his face. He heard her giggle softly and felt the mattress shift beneath him as she swung her legs off the side. "Where are you going?"

"We have to go to the guild. People will be wondering where we are." She stood up and sleepily scratched her arm, unsure of how to go about her daily morning routine. Everything she needed was back in her apartment. What was she going to do?

"If you didn't realize, you don't have any clothes," Gajeel pointed out, glancing sideways at her. "I mean, there is that dress, but you really wouldn't want to show up in that." He couldn't help chuckling at the look that appeared on her face as she pictured the scene.

Shaking her head, she stood up and walked over to the tiny closet-like bathroom. Upon catching sight of herself in the mirror she nearly burst out laughing – she had forgotten to remove her make-up from the night before, and as a consequence it had spread out around her eyes, creating a hollow, zombie-like effect. The rosy lipstick she had worn had disappeared entirely, but then that hadn't happened while she was asleep. Blushing at the blurry memories that rushed into her head, she grabbed one of the rolls of tissue sitting on top of the toilet's tank and ripped off a few squares, rinsing them in water before viciously scrubbing her face.

"You could have told me what I looked like!" she called out as she wiped away the remnants of her smudged eyeliner. Footsteps approached and suddenly Gajeel appeared in the doorway, and for the first time Levy realized that he hadn't bothered putting another shirt back on. Her cheeks could've been on fire for all she knew, and she hurriedly looked away, hoping he would attribute it to her fierce scrubbing, even though in reality she was still pretty embarrassed for ripping the material off his chest.

"It's not that bad," he observed, leaning on the frame and crossing his arms. "You kind of look like a raccoon."

"I always hoped one day a man would tell me I looked like a raccoon," she remarked sarcastically, enticing a cheeky snicker from him. When everything was gone and her face was pink and rosy, she asked him for some mouthwash, and they both took a swig from the tiny bottle he kept under the sink. "Could you please put on a shirt?"

The question was so out of place that it surprised him, but he just shrugged and walked out, intending to get a new shirt, when a loud banging on the door stopped him from going any further. "Who the hell is that?" Crossing over the space between him and the door, he unlocked it and moved back as it flung open, right at the same time the bathroom door closed. Standing on the other side, to Gajeel's great surprise, was none other than the male fraction of team Shadow Gear. He moved to slam the door shut, but Jet was already half way through the doorway, blocking it with his body. Droy stood behind him, shaking his head, but neither of the two noticed. It was just Gajeel and Jet in their little world, both of them radiating waves of hostility and animosity. It was Jet who spoke first, fueled by the strong resolve to find Levy and get her the hell away from the Dragon Slayer.

"Where is she?"