~Levy~
"Well…we're back." Gajeel sighed as we stepped off the train. It had been a long journey back to the guild, longer since neither of us were speaking.
"Home sweet home." I tried for a smile, but I knew it fell flat. Not that it mattered since Gajeel wasn't looking at me. Is he already losing feelings for me? Is he moving on? I began to panic, feeling like I'd lost my chance to tell him how I felt. "Gajeel…"
He met my gaze, and there seemed to be a glimmer of hope in his eyes. Before I could get any words out, we heard the yelling from inside the guild, coming outside. Natsu and Gray were fighting again, which was nothing new, but they looked like children running to be the first to meet a parent.
"Gajeel! Levy!"
"You're back!" They both screamed as they fought to be the first to greet us.
"How was your trip?" Lucy appeared next to us, smiling.
"Eventful…successful." I smiled before hugging my friend. "We need to see Master Makarov."
"Of course! He's inside." Lucy linked her arm through mine and we stepped around the fighting mages and through the front doors. I wanted to see if Gajeel was following, but everyone was shouting their greetings or giving hugs. Maybe stalling wasn't the worst. Afterall, once we give the rings to Master Makarov, our mission would be over, and Gajeel and I would go our separate ways. I'd lost my chance to tell him.
"Levy!" Makarov shouted. "Gajeel! How'd the mission go?" He chugged his drink as Gajeel told him how successful the mission was.
"We brought these back to the guild. Seemed this was the best place for them." I handed him the box with the rings inside.
"Wedding rings?"
"Yes, that's what was inside the box. Took a while to crack the code." I hoped my face wasn't flushing as I remembered the letters and reading them to each other.
"Hmm…I have no use for them." Makarov handed them back to Levy. "You two may keep them."
"What?" Now I knew my face was red. Does he know?
"Split them however you wish. To the spoils go the victors…" He threw back another drink. "Or is it the victors go spoiled?"
I sighed, knowing he wasn't going to be reasoned with. At least we had witnesses if he asked about it later. Everyone saw my face flush. They know. "So Gajeel, how do you want to split-" I turned to see that he was walking out the door. "The rings…"
"What happened between you two?"
"What?!" I jumped at Lucy's voice next to me.
"Something seems off between you and Gajeel, like a weird tension. Obviously there's the usual sexual tension, but today there's something else."
"Sexual tension?" My face felt hot again.
"Yeah, it's obvious that you two like each other. So what happened?"
"Let's take this outside." I grabbed her arm and pulled her out the door. I could feel everyone's eyes on us. If Lucy, who couldn't tell Natsu was in love with her, could tell that Gajeel liked me and I liked him…so could everyone else. We walked past Natsu and Gray still fighting, luckily they hadn't destroyed any nearby buildings. "Okay…so he told me he was in love with me."
"Oh my goodness!" She squealed. "Wait, why aren't you two holding hands and smiling romantically at each other?"
"Because when he confessed, I froze…now I don't know what he thinks of me, but it's probably not good." We found a bench near the water to sit on where we could listen to the waves crash. Normally, we would hang out here and talk about all the exciting things happening, but today it sounded as sad as I was feeling. "I lost my chance. He's probably found a new partner to go on some job with. He'll move on and I won't."
"Then don't let him move on."
"What?"
"Go tell him how you feel before he leaves again. Do you really think he's already found a new job AND a new partner? Both of those are rare around here." Lucy smiled. "He probably hasn't even started looking."
"You think?"
"Positive." Lucy pulled me off the bench. "Now go tell him how you feel!"
"Okay!"
~Gajeel~
I stepped out of the hot shower and groaned. I hate trains. Every muscle in my body was aching. Stupid seats were too small. Way too bumpy. And then of course…Levy was there. I didn't know how to act around her anymore. It was so much easier when she didn't know how I felt…and when I didn't know that she didn't reciprocate. It'd be good to get away for a few weeks, give us both some time and space to figure out if and how we can work together again.
A muffled shout came from the front door with some soft knocking. Who is visiting now? I swear if it's Natsu, I'mma knock him to the mountains. I tied the towel around my waist and went to the front door. "Natsu, I swear if you're coming to-"
"Uhhh, hi." Levy squeaked when I opened the door.
"Hi."
"Can-can we talk?" She stared at the ground. Here comes the talk about how she doesn't like me and doesn't want to work with me anymore.
"Of course." I moved aside so she could walk in. Shutting the door behind her, I mumbled, "Let me go put on some clothes."
~Levy~
All my confidence is gone. Why was he in just a towel? That's what you get for coming unannounced, Levy! It's his apartment, he can shower whenever he wants! I can't look at him!
"Levy?" I looked up to see Gajeel pulling a shirt over his head. He was wearing pants now too, but I couldn't get the image of him shirtless, in a towel, dripping wet out of my head. Oh my gosh stop thinking about that!
"Yes?"
"You wanted to talk?"
"Yes! I do."
"If this is about the confession-"
"It is. Gajeel, I-"
Gajeel cut me off. He seemed as nervous as I was, talking quickly, "I'm sorry, Levy. I shouldn't have done that while we were on a mission." Oh no, he thinks I'm here to tell him to stay away from me? I gave him the complete wrong impression. "I understand if you don't want me to-"
"Shut up and let me say this before I lose every bit of confidence I have!" I shouted before I could stop myself. His mouth hung open for a moment.
"Sorry…"
"Sorry, I uh,…I came to ask you on a date."
"…on a date?"
"I like you too Gajeel…and I was wondering if you'd like to go on a date with me." I looked up and saw his shocked face melting into a smile.
"I'd love to."