So first off, SORRY for the super-long delay in updates. Life happened. It got in the way, and I kicked its ass. Now that life knows its place, I have some time to update again, which is nice. There is plenty more to come.

Gajeel spent three weeks in the hospital, waiting for his wounds to heal. If it wasn't for Levy's constant company, he would have gone mad with boredom. She read to him, she talked to him about what had happened while he was gone, and told him about all the great jobs he was missing out on while being stuck in his hospital bed. The one thing they never spoke of, though, was what had happened between them personally before he left. After that great kiss when he had first woken up in the hospital, she had been kind of distant. And despite the fact that she was with him every day and seemed perfectly sweet, there was something different. He wondered if something had happened while he was gone that she had neglected to mention.

His feelings were unchanged. How could they be any different? The only thought in his head during his long mission was getting home to see her. But had hers changed? Was she spending time with him only out of friendship? Or even worse…pity? He stared at her as she read to him, her cute glasses snug on the end of her nose, her eyes titled down towards the book. He had to know what was wrong. He was about to ask her, when she took the words right out of his mouth.

"Gajeel? What's wrong?"

"Hm?"

"You were staring. Is something wrong? Is there something on my face?" She suddenly got self-conscious, wiping at random places on her face with a serious look in her eyes. Gajeel had to laugh.

"Nothing's wrong with me, Short Stuff. I was actually wondering if there was something wrong with you."

"What do you mean?"

"You don't look at me when we talk and your eyes never meet mine anymore. Did something happen while I was away? Was I just gone so long you gave up on me?"

"What? No! Of course not! I just…well…"

"Spit it out, Bookworm." Gajeel propped himself up on his elbow, grimacing at the pain that was part injury and part stiffness from being confined in bed.

"I just thought that maybe I was being annoying. But I didn't want to leave, so I sort of never shut up these past weeks so you didn't have the opportunity to kick me out."

"Huh? Did you lose your brains somewhere when I was gone? How are you annoying?"

Levy shuffled her feet, and looked determinedly down at them. "Before you left, you said you couldn't return my feelings. But you said you didn't hate me, and I had hope. I had so much hope. Too much, maybe, so when you woke up, all that kind of exploded out of me, hope and relief and all the feelings I had been bottling up for months. After that, I was dead embarrassed, and worried."

"Worried?"

"Yes. Worried that you would think less of me for throwing myself at you, who didn't return my feelings. When it comes to you, I just can't help myself."

Gajeel noticed tiny tears welling up in the corners of her eyes as she continued to stare at her feet. Was she nuts? Absolutely nuts? Hadn't he asked her to kiss him? And hadn't he kissed her back deep and hard, relief pouring out of him too? He scratched his head and groaned.

"Come here, Shorty. Come sit with me."

Levy stood up and shifted her butt from the wooden chair at his bedside to the edge of his bed. Her back was turned to him, her head still hung.

"Not like that, you silly girl. Put your feet up here and get under the blankets."

Levy turned her head, glancing at him over her shoulder. Encouraged by the smile on his face, she slid off her shoes and picked her feet up onto the bed. Gajeel reached over and covered her, then pulled her close so her head rested neatly against his collarbones.

"Now don't talk crazy talk anymore. Stay here and go to sleep or something. Don't even think I don't feel the same about you that you do about me."

Levy perked up at that. "Gajeel…"

"Quiet. Go to sleep. No confessions, no lovey-dovey crap. We're together now, leave it at that." He wrapped his arms around her and promptly fell asleep.

For a long while, Levy stroked the long locks of hair that had fallen over his shoulders and stared at his serene sleeping face. She felt the weight of his arms on her sides, the touch of his hands against her back, the rise and fall of his chest as his breathing evened out. She heard his heartbeat and the little noises he made in his sleep.

She realized that she was neither happy nor sad, excited nor worried. Here she was, locked in the arms of the man she loved, a love which he actually returned, and she was perfectly comfortable. In that instant, it was as if they had been together for years and all of this was just part of the daily routine.

It was the universe telling her that they were meant to be.

Short, I know, but it was spur of the moment. Next update will be longer. Gajeel will be out of the hospital and will probably want to play. Be prepared for the rating to shift within the next bunch of chapters. POSSIBLY. I still am not sure if i want to make it explicit enough for it to shift to 'M'. We'll see.

Till next time!