A/N: A little bit of lemon to start the chapter, then on with some actual plot... ;) Sorry 'bout taking so long with the update. Hope you enjoy.

Gajeel woke to the intense hazel eyes of Levy. She was caressing his cheek and staring intently at his eyebrow piercings. He had to assume that, or else she had an uncommon kinky obsession with his forehead. The sheets rustled as he shifted and rolled to face her fully.

"Molesting me in my sleep now, are you?"

"Oh, you'll know when I'm molesting you," Levy quipped drily, "You're so loud, the neighbours will know too."

Gajeel smirked and pressed a brief kiss against her lips. "That's all your fault - monsters are scary. How can I be expected to stay quiet when you're ravishing me?"

Levy didn't respond with words; instead, she let her fingers sink into his mane of hair to keep him trapped as she used her tongue to great effect in a lingering kiss. Gajeel rumbled his pleasure and grasped Levy's delectable booty in his right hand to press her against his hips. She moaned and snaked her leg over his, gyrating in hopes of getting her newly found itch scratched.

The slayer pulled back slightly and gave Levy a look that would have melted her panties off, had she been wearing any. "It's time to get moving -"

Letting her exasperation colour her voice, Levy interrupted. "That's what I've been trying to do - and I can feel you'd like it too."

"Moving to get ready for breakfast, Shrimp." A brisk knock on their door sounded and Gajeel acknowledged and dismissed the wake-up service. He tried to keep back how amused he was to see Levy's surliness at being thwarted from morning sex. "Didn't you get enough last night?"

"I have years of research to catch up on." Levy punctuated her statement with a sniff and clambered out of bed. "After all, practice makes perfect, don't you think?" She sashayed into the bathroom and peered around the door at Gajeel who was now sitting on the side of the bed, his hands on his knees.

"Oi, sounds like a challenge to me. I ain't never backed down from one of those - prepare yourself woman." Gajeel launched himself from the bed, appearing as a blur to Levy and sped towards her. "You're gonna get it now!"

Excited, Levy squealed and moved to close the door - too late, Gajeel easily kept it open and stepped inside. Giving up on keeping him out, she taunted him. "Promises, promises!"

"Heh, I promise you'll enjoy what I have in mind." Gajeel started the shower and adjusted the temperature and flow to his satisfaction. He pushed the curtain aside and smirked, "after you."

Levy acquiesced silently and began soaping her body. Gajeel stole the washcloth from her and bent down to whisper in her ear, "you want perfect? Then we are going to practice." His fingers massaged her breasts through the wash cloth and soaped a path down her stomach, hesitating over her groin and then detouring to her shapely ass. Levy sighed and clutched Gajeel's buttocks.

Gajeel washed Levy's arms, lingering over the inside of her elbow and lightly tickling her armpit. She wriggled, giggling and reached for her own weapon. Turning, Levy squirted a generous portion of body wash onto another cloth and began searching for Gajeel's ticklish areas.

"Turn about may be fair play, but you did say I needed practice," Gajeel growled, plucked Levy's washcloth from her hands and allowed his to drop as well. He easily lifted his mate into his arms and trapped her back against the shower wall. "You do want to," he drawled the next word, "practice, don't you?"

Levy looked up into Gajeel's dark red eyes and clenched her fingers on his shoulders. She nodded and gave him a beguiling smile as she shifted in his embrace, tightening her legs around his waist. "I'm waiting."

Gajeel pressed his mouth against Levy's, easily drawing a moan from her. Upping the intensity of the kiss, Gajeel joined with his mate. As his tongue explored the wet cavern of Levy's mouth he began thrusting. His fingers came to rest on her hips, holding tight to draw her along his member and then push down. Levy crossed her ankles, unable to move as freely as she wanted, enduring the sweet torture.

Her nails bit deep into his shoulders. Gajeel welcomed Levy's marking, the sting and discomfort a petty hindrance. The wet slap of flesh on flesh accelerated, both mages struggling to keep their voices low. With a slow grind against Gajeel's groin; Levy reached her peak, gasping her pleasure, "Maybe you don't need as much practice as I thought!"

Gajeel kept moving Levy up and down his shaft, hunching over to speak into her ear, "I'm not done enjoying myself just yet." He gusted out a breath and sucked in more air as he pistoned his hips. The rhythmic clenching of Levy's internal muscles pushed the slayer into his own orgasm. Gajeel smirked and allowed Levy to dismount after several minutes of savouring the pinnacle of bliss. "Maybe we could use a practice schedule, gi he he!"

The petite young woman moved on wobbly legs to under the shower head. "Mmmm hmmm." Levy stood placid as Gajeel rinsed her off and lifted her out of the tub and then closed the shower curtain. She stood quietly, her brows starting to furrow. She tilted her head and blinked slowly, "Huh?"

"Do I haffta do everything?" Gajeel poked his head out from behind the shower curtain. "Grab a towel and dry off Shrimp. I need room to wash my hair."

She could hear the smirk in his voice and it snapped her out of the sudden pleasure lethargy. "I'm gonna let that slide, seeing as we don't have enough time for me to discipline you properly." Levy turned and grabbed a towel, beginning to dry off.

Even more amusement flowed from his tone, "I can't wait! Mmmm, discipline - you'd look pretty hot in a cop uniform."

On the other side of the curtain, Levy flushed a brilliant red. "Uh, I'm just gonna throw some clothes on now." She exited the bathroom to the sound of Gajeel's distinct laughter.

Walking downstairs to the breakfast room, Levy regained her poise. Gajeel hadn't mentioned anything further about cosplay and Lily hadn't teased either of them about how noisy certain mages were as they showered.

Hitomi, who was seated across from Ambrose, broke off her conversation with him as the servants seated the trio of mages. "Good morning!" She took a sip from her tea cup and bared her teeth in a wide smile. "I hope everyone is well rested for our excursion this morning!"

"I thought I was going to play tour guide first." Ambrose frowned and set his elbows on the table. "I already planned the best spots to visit."

"Don't be absurd, I quite clearly told you I have more time free today." The older woman glared at her step-son. "Be a dear and take your turn tomorrow."

Levy felt like she was at a tennis match, watching Hitomi and then Ambrose lob angry words at each other, disguised under syrup. Gajeel and Lily exchanged a single look, shrugged and allowed the servants to fill their plates.

"It isn't a contest after all." Levy wished she could pull the words back as Hitomi sat even stiffer in her seat and narrowed her eyes at Ambrose. He, in turn crossed his arms and ignored the ice directed at him.

"Fine." The youngest member of the Tildenson family slurped on his beverage and set it back down on the table with a thunk. Ambrose pushed the food on his plate around, and ate slowly as he kept watch on Hitomi.

His step-mother exchanged pleasantries with the mages and ignored her step-son for the most part of breakfast. After the plates were cleared away, she leapt up from her seat and insisted the mages wait for her at the front door of the manor. Not waiting for a response, Hitomi sped away in a swirl of silk.

"A force of nature, like I said before." Ambrose poured himself more tea and gave a perfunctory nod to the mages. "You'd best run off now, she's awful fast when she wants to be."

"Oh, okay." Levy rose from her chair and smiled a bit uncertainly at her host, "This is just so nice of the both of you to act as tour guides."

"C'mon Levy, time's a wastin'." Gajeel held out his hand to his girlfriend smiling at her and then glaring at Ambrose. Hibiki entered the room as the mages left.

Lily rose up on his wings and waved goodbye. Ambrose waved back and poured himself more tea. He looked up to meet the eyes of his brother. "I thought you breakfasted hours ago. Shouldn't you be knee deep in farm work?"

Hibiki shrugged, "I have been working for hours already and I could use a pick me up." He filched a piece of bacon from his younger brother's plate, waving it around to punctuate his words. "Why are you and Hitomi so set on playing tour guide?"

"Maybe I'm not playing - I need to find something to do with my life."

"So you want to be a professional tour guide? There's always room here for you."

"Well, I don't know about that, but I don't wanna mooch anymore." Ambrose smirked at his sibling and snatched back the piece of bacon, fitting the entire piece into his mouth. "I'm ready to work for what I want." He jumped up from his seat and raced out of the room, pausing at the exit to turn around and flip off his brother. "Don't let your face freeze like that, or you'll never find a wife!"

Hibiki closed his mouth with a snap of his teeth. With a start, he came back to himself and chuckled. The Tildenson heir gave himself a fresh cup of tea and piled a plate with food. He nodded to Mary as she entered with two other maids and began cleaning away the repast.

"Your brother has made some interesting decisions lately."

"Yup. There's plenty of work he could do here - but he does not want to be tied to the estate or even this town. Ambrose has always been able to tell me what he doesn't like but he's tight lipped when it comes to everything else. He hasn't been very open with me since we were teen-agers. I suppose if I want to know what's going on, I should've just asked you, Mary." Hibiki smiled as she patted his shoulder in a motherly fashion. "It's funny. Hitomi was our step-mother, but for me you've always been more like a mother."

"I love everyone in this house like family." Mary laughed and put the master's food on a tray, handing it to one of the maids. "Now get out of here so we can clean this up properly."

Hibiki left obediently and Mary watched him leave. Turning to her co-worker, she laughed again. "I've definitely been the mother figure for both of those boys."

Levy and Gajeel were seated side by side across from Lily and Hitomi inside of a fine carriage pulled by a matched set of horses. Currently they were moving along at a fast clip towards the outskirts of town. Sunk in misery from his nausea, Gajeel kept his eyes screwed shut even as Levy held his hand and exclaimed over the beauty of the scenery.

Hitomi barely paid any attention to the scenery outside, being more concerned with the ill mage inside the conveyance. "Mr. Redfox, you look quite green. Shall I signal for the driver to slow down?"

The slayer groaned and Levy squeezed Gajeel's hand. "Fast or slow, traveling just doesn't sit well with his stomach. Keep on the speed and at least he'll suffer for not as long." She urged him to lay his head in her lap and that seemed to soothe him.

Lily hid his grin behind a paw, "Mrs. Tildenson, Gajeel will be fine once we exit the carriage."

"Please, today I'm just Hitomi." She fussed with the collar of her shirt and simpered, "Lily, I've decided to start our tour with the kiwi orchard."

"That explains the sensible walking shoes and pants."

Twisting a strand of her deep green hair around a finger, Hitomi nodded. "I only married into money. I grew up working from a young age and I know a fair amount about farming and animal husbandry." She continued even as Gajeel increased the volume of his groaning. "This orchard has three different varietals of kiwifruit. The golden kiwi, red kiwi and silver vine - but I should really wait until we get there."

"Well, I'm fascinated already!" The exceed rubbed his stomach and grinned. "There's always room for more kiwi."

The carriage began to slow and Hitomi lifted a leather satchel out from between the wall and side of the cushion. "We're almost there. This is going to be fun!"

Once the motion sick slayer found his feet on solid ground, he regained his normal colour. The trio of mages moved over to in front of a forty by sixty foot barn, painted a cheery red. It had a discrete sign affixed over the front, proclaiming the name of the farm. Two women, both with dark black hair exited the building as the carriage pulled to a stop.

Hitomi gave the driver his instructions, waved him off and then rejoined her guests. "We'll be taking a walking tour around the orchards and some of the fields, and then picking some kiwis - sound good?"

"Anything is better than being trapped inside a carriage," Gajeel griped. "My breakfast was fighting with last night's dinner to see which would exit first."

Levy glared at her mate, "Sorry he's so rude after you've made such an effort for us. His tummy must be still upset."

"Hey, I don't need anyone to make excuses for my behaviour."

Hitomi's smile dropped a bit at the slayer's bluntness. "No more moving vehicles for you today, Mr. Redfox."

"Gi hehe! There's no excuse for you," Lily sniggered.

"Hello!" The first worker greeted the group, echoed by their co-worker. "Welcome to Fhenwyr Farm. I'm Sharon and this is my daughter Sophia. So nice to see you again...Mrs. Tildenson." On closer inspection; she had fine lines around her eyes, and Levy judged her to be at least thirty years older than her companion. "Go ahead and take your friends anywhere you'd like on the farm - you've been here often enough."

"Ma, don't forget the kiwi jam we made special!" The second worker grinned with zeal as she addressed the mages, "Mrs. Tildenson always steers tourists our way, and this is just a little thank-you - so be sure to end your tour at this barn. Oh! Hold on a minute!" She whirled away and raced into the barn. On her return, she held out two baskets. "Be sure to pick the best you can find!"

"Excellent idea! We'll be sure to do that." Hitomi regained some of her vivacity when Lily raced ahead of the group and turned around with his paws on his hips and chided them for delaying the tour. Levy laughed and grabbed Gajeel's hand, towing the still complaining slayer forward. Hitomi slung her satchel over her neck and settled the strap between her breasts, a basket in each hand.

It took close to an hour to explore the farm and fields. Hitomi proved a font of agricultural information. Lily asked endless questions about his favourite fruit and learned about pollination, pruning and the various cultivars of the kiwi. Gajeel and Levy walked hand in hand behind, listening passively as Hitomi expounded upon the history of horticulture relating to kiwis.

As they made the trek back to the barn through the golden fruit kiwis, Lily remembered the baskets. "Hitomi, care to toss me a container? I bet the best ones are at the top." She nodded and threw it to him. Lily manifested his wings and flew over to the largest of the golden kiwi fruit. After loading that basket he exchanged it for the empty and also filled that one in short order.

Lily manifested his battle size when Hitomi refused to let him carry the now heavy baskets. "You don't have to worry how it looks now, I'm very powerful in this form."

None of the mages noticed the appreciative gleam in Hitomi's eyes, for it was brief and she blanked her features almost immediately. "Y-yes, you look very," she paused and considered her word choice, "powerful. Even more so than Mr. Redfox."

Levy giggled as Gajeel pouted, and everyone laughed as Lily made a show of flexing his biceps.

Inside the barn, a massive selection of vegetables and fruit were laid out in orderly rows. Only the younger woman from before was in attendance. "Was your tour fun?"

Gajeel grunted, Levy nodded and Lily dropped his baskets to ogle the other different kinds of kiwis. "Oh, these look so good too!"

"Sophia - another basket, please?" The girl nodded and handed one to Lily. Hitomi strolled over to her and spoke to her softly. "Please send our usual produce selection with the kiwis over to the manor with who ever is available this afternoon, okay?"

Sophia eagerly agreed, "Sure! And let's not forget the kiwi jam - I made it myself!"

She blushed when Lily responded, "I think I love you."

Gajeel snorted, "He only loves kiwis."

Once outside again, the small group began walking down the path to the main road. The breeze was light and refreshing, and the sun was beginning to gain the true heat of midday.

Levy was blissfully happy; a soothing walk in some of the most beautiful scenery she'd seen in recent times, a difficult mission solved in record time, and her future clearly marked and tied to her taciturn dragon slayer. "Ah, what a wonderful day!"

"It gets better," Hitomi responded. "We're headed to my favourite book store next!" Gajeel and Lily had perked up with her first statement, and then deflated as they heard the rest. "If you're anything like me, an hour won't be near enough time to check out everything." Both males grimaced, but Hitomi only smiled serenely. "Good thing there's a boxing club nearby."

Levy laughed to see her mate revive in excitement. Holding a hand over her mouth she giggled, much to his displeasure. "You boys go have fun and we'll pick you up at this boxing club when we're ready, okay?" Levy turned to Hitomi, "that's what you had planned, right?"

"Yes, you're exactly right." Hitomi tossed her hair and pointed across the street. "Just sign in as guests of the Tildenson manor. Brady's Boxing Club actually belongs to an old friend. You'll be treated like a member of the family."

Gajeel gave a perfunctory kiss on Levy's cheek and dashed across the road with Lily in close pursuit.

Inside the bookstore, Levy and Hitomi separated and began to browse. A good thirty minutes later, they had both gravitated towards the romance section. They both reached for the same copy of a popular series and excused themselves, giggling.

"Sorry! I haven't read this one yet!"

"Oh, you read this series? I loved the second book so much!" Hitomi gushed as Levy nodded. "I know it's a bit racy, but a girl has needs!"

"Tell me about it!" Levy flushed, fanning herself with a copy of the erotic novel. "Not to go into details, but..." she giggled, "yes!"

"Ah, young love!" Hitomi stood with another copy in her hand and flipped through the pages. "My marriage soured me in some ways, but reading has eve been an escape and true pleasure." Hitomi dropped the book and changed the subject. "We can look at books anytime, but how often do you get to watch that fine specimen of yours flaunting his muscles?"

"You're absolutely right! Let's go cheer on the boys!" Levy made a fist and brandished it, "I need to see Gajeel work up a sweat!"

As Gajeel and Lily warmed up for their sparring session, word had spread rapidly. Other patrons of the establishment wandered over as they overheard snippets of conversations from the employees. Several off-duty servants from the Tildenson manor had gathered, eagerly discussing fighting strategies. A sizable crowd had formed, and as the action heated up in the boxing ring, the babble of conversation died down.

Hitomi pushed her way through the crowd; Levy following after, grateful to the older woman. Inside the ring, Gajeel was stripped down to his pants as was Lily. They wore borrowed footwear, headwear and gloves. Sweat glistened over finely muscled pectorals and shined biceps and flexing backs.

Hitomi and Levy were both transfixed by the barbaric dance of fisticuffs. Gajeel and Lily were evenly matched, in size, skill and muscles. The defining difference seemed to be the will to win, who craved dominance more, who had more effort? Who desired the most to win?

Caught up in the crowd's enthusiasm, the two women began cheering them on. Gajeel, who had noticed from the first moment when Levy stepped inside the boxing club, began to try even harder. He blocked Lily's next punch and returned a flurry of jabs, peppering his exceed's ribs with punishing blows. He glared and twisted his lips in a wordless snarl. Backing away from his partner, Lily danced lightly on his feet and began a vicious counter-attack.

Lily gave Gajeel a rabbit punch to the face, landing a solid blow to his cheek. He grinned even as Gajeel shook it off and blocked the next attempt. He kept his gloves up and blocked the next series of blows, hopping back out of range.

Levy felt flushed; overheated, even though she wasn't in motion. Watching Gajeel fight while shirtless was gratifying, it gave her carnal appetites a wake up call. Clenching and unclenching her fists, the petite blue haired woman gave her whole attention to the fight.

Hitomi watched the fighting mages with every apparent sign of enjoyment. She found each to have a superior amount of muscles to every other man she'd ever met. After all; a person can find who ever they like attractive, even if they'd normally never try to capture their attention. Any one can enjoy the physical beauty of another - you need not love them or plan to take the enjoyment further - but things could 'just' happen if you tried.

The wizards clinched, and the referee separated them. The crowd sensed the end was near and more shouting and cheers erupted from throats already raw from constant use.

Gajeel stepped inside of Lily's guard and landed a brutal punch on his stomach. The air in Lily's lungs escaped and he collapsed to his knees. Again, the ref pushed the slayer away. After regaining his feet, the crowd cheered madly for Lily. He rolled his shoulders and motioned 'come on' to his friend. He blocked the next punch, but Gajeel forced another solid hit to his already bruised stomach and he fell down.

The count reached five before Lily stirred, and was at eight as he shakily stood up. Levy was transfixed by the fight; in awe of both mages' skill and determination to win. She screamed along with the crowd, encouraging both. Briefly she locked gazes with Gajeel and mouthed 'I love you' to him. He grinned, prideful at his mate's devotion.

Lily bobbed and weaved, trying to attack rapidly and then retreat. Gajeel countered with a rapid slew of blows and pummelled the same sore spot on Lily's ribs. The last punch caused Lily to gasp, that was Gajeel's opening. He landed a succession of hits in the same area, causing Lily to back away. In the corner, Lily had no where else to retreat and his erstwhile partner gave him yet another punishing strike. The slayer poured more energy into his next swing and Lily collapsed.

Giving a cursory look to the fallen pugilist, the referee held Gajeel's arm up in victory. The crowd exploded in celebration to see such a resplendent and decisive finishing move. Ever the conscientious victor, Gajeel helped Lily to his feet and slapped him on the back. The cheering surged again.

Levy rushed over and threw herself into her mate's arms. "You were spectacular!"

Mindful of the fact he was perspiring, Gajeel tried to step away from Levy's embrace. "I'm all sweaty."

"I don't care, that was amazing!"

Hitomi weighed in with her opinion, "Levy is right, that's the most amazing thing I've ever seen." She almost purred her satisfaction, "such an astounding display of strength from the both of you!"

"Uh, well...we gotta clean up, yeah?" Lily allowed the ref to loosen his gloves. "Time to hit the showers." Free of the encumbrances, the exceed shrank and simultaneously called his wings, hovering at Gajeel's eye level. "In case you were wondering, I still have plenty of tricks up my sleeve for the next time we spar."

"Yeah, go get cleaned up - you reek." Gajeel laughed his trademark 'gi hehe' as Lily flipped him off and flew to the back of the room. "So, did you find me impressive Squirt?"

"You know I did, and knock it off with calling me Squirt." Levy stepped back and settled her hands on her hips. "Or I'll start training Lily and he'll kick your ass so bad you won't be able to walk for a week."

"Harsh woman, but I'll take that into consideration." Gajeel grinned and pressed an open mouthed kiss on Levy. He pulled away and laughed as she stood there, glassy eyed and silent.

"My oh my, such devotion to one another." Hitomi murmured this as Gajeel followed Lily into the change room. "That just may have been the best set of fisticuffs I've witnessed in my life."

Blinking rapidly, Levy came out of her stupor. "Ah, the life of a Fairy Tail mage leads to a lot of fights. This was pretty impressive, but maybe not the best I've ever seen."

"I'm sure you know better than me, but it was a delightful diversion." Hitomi smiled wistfully. "I hope the costume party proves as entertaining."

"Oh, of course it will!" Levy clapped her hands. "I'm so excited to see what costumes we'll be wearing!"

"Well, as a good host, I'll have to make sure your outfits are properly sized." The older woman nodded decisively. "You've been so gracious as to agree to help set up the party, we'll make your alterations part of prep work."

"I'm mostly anxious to see what Gajeel will be wearing." Levy sighed, "I love him in formal wear - but what ever you've selected, I'm sure will be spectacular."

"Oh, as glorious as both of your companions." Hitomi laughed, low and throaty. Her words spoke obviously of Gajeel and Lily, but the distant look on her face meant to Levy, that there was another man on her hostess' mind.