"You've gotta be fuckin' kidding me."

Levy winced but smiled anyway. "I really think this is a good idea, Gajeel."

He gentled his tone. "I'm not using a damn wheelchair, shrimp."

"Gajeel, be reasonable!" she said. "You have trouble walking longer distances, and this could help. I'm not saying use it all the time, but I really think there are times that this could come in handy."

Gajeel glared daggers at the offending chair. She had a point, though. He was so tired lately, and walking longer stretches was becoming really hard. At least it would save him some energy for the things that mattered. Still, it pissed him off that it had gotten to this point.

Now that Levy wasn't doing ballet, they were spending all of their free time enjoying the time he had left. It was a morbid way to think of things, and it was an unspoken rule that talking about it was forbidden, but it's how they got through each day. They spent every moment as positively as they could, and even though it was strained, they were trying to stay strong. But Gajeel wasn't stupid. He saw all those side glances Levy gave him when he was hurting or out of breath, when she thought he didn't notice. He knew every time he fell asleep, she secretly checked to make sure he was still breathing. The bags under her eyes were proof.

Since her performance the week before, Levy had been busy talking to school advisors and getting switched off a dance major to a major in linguistics. Her coaches were furious, but she was so happy that she didn't care. Gajeel had noticed her shift in mood, the way she skipped around the house, or how she smiled more and it actually reached her eyes. He also had more time to spend with her, and since he didn't have much time left, he would take every second she could give him.

He looked back at the wheelchair again and sighed. If it would help him to have more time with her…. Finally, he sighed. "I'll use it. But only when I have to."

Levy smiled gratefully. "Thank you."

Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as he was thinking. He'd become so weak lately, and it got worse every day. Most of the time, he was in bed, and if he got up it was only to go to the couch. Levy started cooking for him, and when all their friends wanted to hang out, they came to visit his apartment to make it easier. Sting and Rogue also mutually decided that Gajeel wasn't allowed to work anymore. He hated it, but he understood their reasoning. Levy's performance was a struggle; he pushed himself that day to go to class and the concert hall, and after that, his body just didn't want to recover. The exhaustion was unending.

Classes were also on hold, which he didn't mind as much. Erza had taken it upon herself to explain the situation to his professors, all of whom had been incredibly shocked. So now, they sent him emails telling him to reach out if he needed help, and that they would be there when he recovered to teach him again.

Now his only responsibility was waking up in the morning.

A bitter thought, yes. But it was true.

Levy folded the wheelchair and stored it by the front door, but she ran back to his side when he started coughing. Gajeel bent over, clutching the wall to stay upright. "Gajeel," she breathed. "Are you… Are you okay?"

The coughing cleared and he nodded, voice shaky. "Yeah. It's okay."

She visibly sagged in relief when she saw his hand move away from his mouth—no blood. Thank goodness, she thought. Coughing blood wasn't something that happened every day, but since his hospital stay, it was becoming more and more frequent. There were times when Levy would wake up to an empty bed, the bathroom door ajar, and she knew immediately what was happening. She could always hear him coughing from outside the door, and she'd step in to hold his hair back as he bent over the toilet. Sometimes she'd sit on the floor with him and help him with his injection and sort out his pills for the day, other times they'd just sit there in silence, not knowing how to move forward.

Levy rubbed his back comfortingly and watched him as he crossed the room, easing onto the couch with a groan. He was in a lot of pain today, and his breathing was ragged and uneven. She pulled in a sharp breath and moved to sit beside him. His arm secured around her naturally, and she leaned against him—his fingers were rubbing soft circles against her sweater, and she curled into his touch.

This was the majority of their time spent together now. Curled up in one place or another, entwined in each other and oblivious to the world. Like they were afraid to let go of each other, fearing they'd slip away if they did.

Levy pulled a blanket over both of them and grabbed the remote, turning on the local news. Forecast of snow for tomorrow, sunny by next week. Cat got stuck in a tree, girl scouts were having a bake sale at the local market to raise money, so on and so forth. Neither she nor Gajeel were honestly paying much attention, the afternoon pulling them both into a deep relaxation.

Gajeel pressed a kiss to Levy's hair, inhaling the smell of her floral shampoo, and he let his mind wander. His eyelids felt so heavy, and his muscles were so sore. His body ached everywhere, but the warmth emanating from Levy's body was so soothing. So inviting. Her fingers caressed his abdomen, gently soothing the tender skin of his stomach where he'd been taking the injections. All he wanted to do was hold her and sleep. And eventually, when she fell asleep, cheek pressed to his chest, he fell asleep, too.

When Gajeel woke up, it was like he gained his second wind. He felt better, more awake and less groggy. He even felt hungry, which was surprising. He hadn't had a proper appetite for months.

Levy had disappeared. It was six o'clock, so she'd probably run out to buy something for dinner. He felt bad that she was running around so much all the time. She was constantly running back and forth between their apartments, getting food from her place or other necessities to bring. And now she was getting his food. Every time he tried to tell her that he didn't need her to do anything, she gave him a look that would've been terrifying had she not been so adorably tiny, and then she'd punch him in the arm and fuss at him for even thinking that she wouldn't want to help. So he left it alone.

Pantherlily squeaked beside him, and he looked down to see him laying on a piece of paper. He nudged Lily, finding a hastily written note from Levy. Just as he thought, she had gone out to buy dinner. And apparently brownie mix—he wouldn't complain about that.

Gajeel spent the time she was out getting a shower. A bath sounded even better; hot water did wonders for aches. But getting out was always the problem. You get out of water, all of a sudden gravity hits and you feel a hundred pounds heavier. And he was already so tired. So, a fast shower did the trick. By the time he was out, Levy was in the kitchen putting a pan of lasagna into the oven. She adjusted the temperature before wiping her hands on her floral apron.

"Smells good," he said.

Levy looked up at him and smiled, pulling the apron off and draping it over the nearest chair. "I know you're probably not hungry, but I know you love lasagna. Just try to eat some."

Gajeel smiled and just watched her. From her pink headband to her glittery nail polish, all the way down to her bare legs and socked feet, she was breathtaking. He reached out to her when she stepped closer, kissing her forehead, the freckles on her cheeks. "Thanks for taking care of me."

He felt her arms encircle his waist. "Thank you for letting me." Mood treading on dangerous territory, she pulled away and beamed at him. "What would you like to do tonight? I can rent a movie if you want."

"Doesn't matter, shorty." He tucked her hair behind her ear. "I picked yesterday, so why don't you decide?"

Her smile was mischievous. "If I put on a documentary, would you kill me?"

"Oh, god…"

She laughed. "You said I could pick! I found a documentary on the hidden wonders of Fiore and I've been dying to watch it."

Gajeel shook his head, smirking. "You're such a loser, Lev." She balked, and he 'gihihi'ed. "I don't mind if you want to watch it."

Levy did the cutest happy dance he'd ever seen and ran back into the kitchen when the timer went off. And for the millionth time that day, Gajeel was reminded of how incredibly, wonderfully, adorably amazing his girlfriend was. And he fell in love all over again.

An hour later, they reclined peacefully on the couch. Gajeel only ate about half of the lasagna Levy put on his plate, which wasn't saying much because she gave him a smaller portion. But at least it was an attempt. He blinked, thoroughly bored, as the narrator droned on about some supposedly possessed tree in Clover Town that whispered lullabies to lost travelers. Admittedly, for a documentary, this one wasn't that bad. He'd seen worse. After all, he took Macao's class—it was full of documentaries. And those were absolute shit.

When the documentary concluded, he looked over at Levy and laughed. She was starry-eyed. He should've known a freakin' documentary would get her going… She'd jump at any chance to learn something. She stood suddenly, arms raised overhead in the most adorable stretch.

"Oh, that was so good! I had no idea we had so many interesting places in Fiore…" she mused. "And some aren't far from Magnolia!"

Levy flitted around the kitchen with ease as she began gathering the necessities for making brownies. By now she knew where everything was in his kitchen (even better than he did). Bowls in the cabinet by the fridge, plates and cups beside that, and silverware in the drawer by the stove. He didn't even own a whisk, so she bought one while she was out. She'd even taken the liberty of reorganizing his pantry earlier in the week because of the avalanche of food that nearly killed her the first time she opened that cabinet… He was such a bachelor. He owned only the essentials, and even then he was still lacking. Seriously, who doesn't own a whisk?

She took a wooden spoon from the drawer and set to work, humming quietly as she mixed all the ingredients together. Meanwhile, Gajeel just watched her. He absorbed every moment, not taking his eyes off of her for a second. He watched as she stirred the batter, his gaze softening.

Live every moment like it's your last.

And each moment very well could be. There were no regrets, now. He didn't have time for regretting what he didn't do, for regretting time not spent with her. Carefully, he stood, crossed the distance, and kissed the side of her neck. "Let me help you."

She looked up at him. "Oh, you don't have to!"

"I want to."

Eyes like molten honey shimmered with happiness, and she beamed up at him and handed him the spoon. She stood on her toes to kiss his cheek when he began to stir the batter. It was the small moments that mattered most. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered if Gajeel would actually be in the kitchen baking with her if it wasn't for their circumstances, but those thoughts were disrupted when he tapped the wooden spoon against the tip of her nose, the batter sticking to her nose with a splat. She blinked, looking up at his snickering face.

"Gajeel!"

"What? You got somethin' on your face, shorty."

She huffed cutely and stuck her finger in the bowl, drawing a line across his cheek. She assumed that would be the end of it, but she was sorely mistaken. He retaliated by flinging batter from the spoon, which splattered across her face. Levy gasped and looked up at him. How could she be angry when he was laughing like that? Like everything was normal.

"Okay, I see. If you're going to play like that…" Levy smirked and stuck her hand in the bowl, rubbing the batter across his face. Gajeel just laughed and coated her further. Spontaneous brownie batter wars were actually fun, and they seemed to take all the stress of life away. You forgot everything and just lived. By the end of their battle, they were an ungodly mess. The kitchen was even worse—there was batter everywhere, thick and goopy as it stuck to the counter and cabinet facing. Pantherlily watched from the couch with a highly unimpressed look.

"Wow, I'm a mess…" Levy picked at the batter in her hair, clumping cerulean curls together.

Gajeel smirked. "But you smell good."

She laughed, reaching for a towel, but a hand around her wrist stopped her. She looked up at him curiously. Eyes so deep you could get lost in, like rubies of the most beautiful scarlet, scanned her face. He smirked and bent to lick the batter from her cheekbone, the studs on his chin brushing her skin as he held her closer. She giggled when he kissed her cheek, then her nose, his tongue darting out to taste batter on her jaw. He lifted her chin tenderly, his gaze found hers, and the mood shattered.

Reality broke through their mirror of illusion, and the laughter-filled moment they shared melted away. And they just looked at each other. Suddenly it was heavy and sad, and he cupped her cheeks and just looked into her eyes. She swallowed, blinking away tears—never breaking eye-contact.

Live every moment like it's your last.

If only this moment could last an eternity. The reality settled in and Levy moved her hands up to hold his forearms, thumbs stroking his skin. This could be it. This could be the last time. And he looked at her with such love and aching sadness that it left her weak. Gajeel bent to press his lips to hers in a soft kiss, sighing as he touched his forehead to hers again.

And then they just looked into each other's eyes, speaking a language of silence. All both could think was, "this could be it."

Silently, he backed her against the counter, and a tear slipped down her cheek when he kissed her again. Harder than before, and yet so much softer. He kissed her again and again until all she could think and all she could feel was him. He crushed his body to hers, wanting all of her, needing all of her. Gajeel had a fragile amount of energy, and certain levels of intimacy had become impossible, but he could still kiss her. Feel her. Burn all of her into his memory.

Because even in death, he wanted to remember her. For all of eternity, he wanted to love her. Even if he couldn't be with her.

Breathless, so breathless. He kissed her until they were forced to part for air. And then he kissed her again. Never mind that he was tired, never mind his aching muscles or all the other side effects that poisoned his body—never mind any of it. He didn't care. They were drowning in this feeling, enveloped in each other. This could be the last time he kissed her, the last time he held her close. And he would make damn certain she felt how much he loved her. Tomorrow wouldn't be a guarantee, and if this were to be the last moment he spent with her, he would take every second to show her the depths of his love.

Levy pulled away and tugged him toward the couch, gently pushing him to sit down. She sat on his lap carefully, mindful of his sore muscles, and when his fingers laced through her hair, his lips on hers, she was lost in him.

Levy swallowed. "Are you— Can you—"

Soft lips brushed hers. "I'm okay. Just kiss me."

And she did.

A/N: Okay, so this is another one of my favorites :) I know this story is getting pretty heavy, but I'm trying to keep the emotions right. I feel like Gajeel needing the assistance of a wheelchair would just make him furious. In my mind, he wouldn't want Levy to see any of his weaknesses, so her knowing about his cancer and all the problems with it would be difficult for him.

In between all the bad moments, we have to have moments where they just cherish every second. This chapter was difficult emotionally, but it was a joy to write. I hope y'all enjoyed today's chapter! Stick with me, guys. The end is near!

Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! I cannot tell you how much it means to me. Leave me a review and let me know what you think! Until next time :)