The next day, after their writing and reading lessons in the library, Levy drove Gajeel to his psych appointment. He'd clearly been working hard as he had improved dramatically since his last lesson. He'd been reluctant to go to the appointment, but Levy's puppy eyes were something he couldn't ignore.

"Are you okay?" Gajeel asked, breaking the awkward silence between them. Levy had been unusually quiet and distant during their lessons in the library, not as excited as she usually was. Even more surprising, the two guys from last time were nowhere to be seen.

"Huh?" Levy exclaimed loudly, being pulled out of her thoughts," Umm… yeah.."

"Don't try and lie to me Shrimp," Gajeel scoffed, crossing his arms," What's bothering you?"

"I yelled at my friends yesterday," Levy muttered quietly, crouching slightly in her seat as if she were ashamed.

Gajeel tried to keep silent, but soon he couldn't help but laugh.

"Gihee!" he laughed, wiping tears from his eyes. Levy glared at him, before quickly turning to focus on the road.

"It's not funny!" Levy pouted.

"Why'd ya yell at them?" Gajeel asked between chuckles.

There was silence. This made Gajeel realise that the situation was far more serious than he'd thought.

"They… were saying stuff about you…"

Gajeel immediately stopped laughing.

"They said you were dumb and that I shouldn't be with someone like you," Levy continued softly," and then they said that you weren't safe to be around…"

"Oh," Gajeel mumbled. Part of him wanted to beat these guys up while another part of him wanted to run off. Everything they said was somewhat true. They had every reason to be wary of him. Yet another small part of him was happy that Levy had defended him.

"I just thought they'd be happy for me," Levy sniffed, her eyes watering," I mean they're my best friends. I've known them since freshman year. They're like my brothers."

"They probably got mad because they don't view you the same way," Gajeel smirked.

"What do you mean by that?" Levy snapped.

"Oh please," Gajeel smirked," They're totally infatuated by you."

Silence. All that could be heard was the continuous rumble of the engine.

"Gajeel?"

"Yeah?"

"How do you even know what the word "infatuated" means?"

"Oh well," Gajeel mumbled, looking away from her as he felt himself growing red," I got a word calendar thing."

"A what?" Levy laughed, looking over at him.

"It's a calendar with a new word each day," Gajeel grumbled, looking out the window," I thought it was a good idea. I could impress you."

"Oh, Gajeel," Levy exclaimed softly, reaching over to squeeze his knee," That's so sweet."

To think that he would put in all that effort, just to impress her, made Levy feel warm inside.

"Yeah, well," Gajeel muttered, his face as red as a lobster now. Before they could continue their conversation though, they'd arrived.

"We're here!" Levy chirped, pulling up to the sandstone building. It was much nicer than Dr. Porlyuscia's rundown clinic and more populated it seemed, with people continually entering and exiting the building.

"Already?" Gajeel mumbled to himself, hopping out the small car. Hopefully, this would be over soon enough.

…

After signing in, they took a seat on the slightly musty chairs, which creaked under Gajeel's strong build. The waiting room was nice enough, but it was crowded with screaming kids, grumpy teens and worried individuals muttering to themselves. It seemed like ages until someone came out.

"Gajeel Redfox?" a woman called out. The woman had pink hair and wore a white lab coat. They quickly got up and followed the woman.

"Hi, you must be Gajeel Redfox," the pink haired woman smiled," My name is Meredy Milkovich. You can call me Dr. Meredy though."

"Hi, Dr. Meredy," Levy smiled, extending her hand," My name is Levy McGarden. I'm Gajeel's… girlfriend."

"Well," Meredy chuckled, shaking Levy's hand," It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Levy."

"Likewise," Levy giggled. They followed her down a long hall, where they stopped at an office with "Dr. Milkovich" on the door.

"Let's take a seat, shall we?" Dr. Meredy suggested, sitting on the brown leather chair. Levy and Gajeel followed her, sitting on the matching couch across from her.

"Great," Meredy smiled, grabbing some papers and a pen," Now, Mr. Redfox, can I call you Gajeel?"

Gajeel merely grunted in response, his arms crossed.

"Right, Gajeel, it seems you're here for dyslexia, PTSD and anger management issues, correct?"

Nod.

"Now tell me, your piercings? How old were you when you got them done?"

There was a moment of silence before Gajeel decided to reply.

"First one was my left ear. I was maybe 12."

"Now, I have a note from Dr. Porlyuscia about that particular piercing. I heard you were part of a gang and that the leader branded you. Is that correct? Would you tell me about the incident?"

Gajeel didn't respond.

"Gajeel," Levy whispered harshly, giving her boyfriend a little shake," Don't be rude. Say something."

Gajeel didn't respond and Levy noticed that her hand, still resting on his arm, was shaking. She lifted her hand, shocked to see that it wasn't her that was trembling. It was Gajeel. He had a blank expression and seemed to be in another world.

"G-Gajeel?," Levy stuttered, her voice soft.

"Don't worry, Miss Levy," Meredy interrupted," Gajeel is possibly experiencing a flashback. Has he shared this information with many people?"

"I don't think so," Levy answered slowly, concerned for her boyfriend's wellbeing.

"Then for him, it will be difficult to talk about his past as he probably has pushed it down quite a bit," Meredy explained, getting up. She walked over to her cupboard, pulling out a small black ball.

"Here ya go," she smiled, handing it to Gajeel, who looked down at it blankly," It's a stress ball. You might find it useful when we discuss your past."

Gajeel took the ball and began to squeeze it. After a few minutes, he'd stopped shaking and seemed to be back to normal. Dr. Meredy noted his incident and decided to continue.

"Now, why don't we discuss something a bit more lighthearted?" Meredy suggested, grabbing her clipboard," What is your current occupation?"

"I'm a kickbox instructor at the Fairy Tail Gym."

"Mhmm. What got you interested in kickboxing?"

"I've always been a fighter," Gajeel responded," I don't have a good education, so I thought that I might as well make some money."

"I want to discuss your education, but let's leave that for another time," Meredy explained," How did you meet Levy?"

"Ah… well," Gajeel began, scratching the back of his head nervously," Ya see…"

"I'm a librarian," Levy jumped in," I saw a man holding a children's book scurrying off into the corner of the library."

"And I'm presuming that the man in question was Gajeel?" Dr. Meredy smiled softly.

"Yep," Levy chuckled, looking up at him affectionately," I confronted him about the book, he swore at me and left. I got pissed and ended up walking home late at night. I have to walk through a rough area to get home. A guy jumped me and tried to take my money when Gajeel saved me."

"Uh huh," Dr. Meredy hummed, scribbling notes down before looking up," Now, I am curious. Was it a coincidence that Gajeel found you?"

"Well," Levy began, but her mind suddenly drew a blank.

How did Gajeel end up there?

"Wait," Levy continued, turning to Gajeel with a horrified expression," Were you stalking me?"

"What?!" Gajeel exclaimed, his jaw dropping," Of course not!"

"Then how did you save me? HUH?"

"I live in that rough area, genius!" Gajeel snapped.

"You do?" Levy gasped.

"Yep," Gajeel replied," I got a nice deal there. The guy who owned it before basically gave me the key. He said that it was a dump and he didn't want to go through the hassle of selling it. Probably due to the fact that it was a crack den."

"You live in a crack den?" Levy shrieked, forgetting about Dr. Meredy who was watching the two of them carefully and taking note of their interactions.

"An ex-crack den," Gajeel clarified, almost prideful of the fact.

"That doesn't make it better, Gajeel!" Levy groaned, wanting to slap the stupid grin off of his face.

"Why don't you come over and see it?"

"Eh?" Levy squeaked, her face turning slightly red.

"Yeah, come on over. I'll make dinner," Gajeel grinned," Then you'll see just how nice it is."

"Gajeel, I-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Dr. Meredy interjected, causing the two to jump," But our appointment is nearly up."

"Oh my goodness!" Levy exclaimed, looking at her watch," I'm so sorry for wasting so much time."

"It wasn't a waste of time at all," Dr. Meredy laughed, standing up," By watching the two of you interact, I was able to pick up a great number of things which will be beneficial for our next few sessions, if you want to continue."

"It's up to Gajeel," Levy quietly replied, looking down at her hands.

There was a pause.

"Eh, fine," Gajeel grumbled, looking away.

"Yay!" Levy cheered, giving him a massive hug," I knew you'd like it!"

"Ms. Levy," Dr. Meredy continued," I'd like it if you came along to the sessions."

"Why me?" Levy asked, furrowing her brow in confusion.

"I feel that Gajeel is more open when you are present," Dr. Meredy explained.

"Okay."

…

"See," Levy smiled as they drove away," It wasn't so bad."

"Yeah," Gajeel mumbled," I guess."

"So…"

"So what?"

"Earlier on… in the therapists room," Levy mumbled, her face turning slightly pink. Was he really going to make her say it?," You said I could come over some time."

"Oh, yeah," Gajeel smirked," What? Eager?"

"Don't tease me!" Levy whined, trying to concentrate on the road.

"I won't," Gajeel smiled," but there's something I need to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Well, there's a big competition going on at the gym and I wanted to know if…" Gajeel stopped, before turning away from her, embarrassed," maybe you'd be my partner."

It took Levy a few moments to process what he'd just said.

"Of course!" she exclaimed, a smile lighting up her face," What kind of contest is it?"

"A costume thing," Gajeel explained.

"Like a couple's costume contest?" Levy cheekily replied.

"Yeah," Gajeel grumbled, his own face burning," we need to make the costumes though, so maybe you could come over to my place one night."

"That'd be perfect, Gajeel," Levy smiled as she pulled up to the gym," Here ya go!"

Gajeel got out and started to walk to his car before pausing. Turning around, he went back to the car and motioned for Levy to roll down her window.

"What do you want-" Levy began before she was silenced by a firm kiss. His hand cupped her cheek and she could feel his thumb stroking her face softly. After a minute, Gajeel pulled away, leaving her breathless.

"The contest is on Saturday," Gajeel said slowly," I'll pick you up on Wednesday, after your lesson with Cana."

Levy could only nod in response and sigh with happiness as she gently touched her lips, watching the man she loved go back to his own car.

…

Mira sat in her room, nervously fiddling with her earrings as she gazed at her reflection in the mirror.

She and Freed had agreed to meet up for drinks that night at another bar across town called Lamia Scale. She felt bad about not going to the Fairy Tail bar but she wanted something a little more private for the evening.

There was a knock at her bedroom door.

"Come in," she yelled, not taking her eyes off her reflection.

"How you doing sis?" Lisanna said, poking her head through the doorway," Oh wow! You look fantastic!"

Mira smiled, knowing that this was true. She was wearing a tight deep purple dress which showed off her ample cleavage and long smooth legs. Her hair was down tonight, all wavy. She'd even let her bangs hang down. She'd gone for little makeup, only some mascara and some deep purple lipstick.

In short, she was gorgeous.

"Thanks Lisanna," Mira giggled as she got up," I just hope he's here on time."

"It's Freed, Mira," Lisanna chuckled," of course he'll be on time. I'm more worried about Elfman giving him the "big brother" talk to be honest."

"Don't worry about him," Mira grinned evilly," Freed had Evergreen call him over for a sudden practice."

"Perfect!"

Ding Dong.

"It's him!" Mira squealed, jumping out of her chair. Lisanna followed her as they rushed down the stairs. Mira went to the door and was about to open it when she paused, smoothing down her dress, before opening the door to reveal Freed holding a bouquet of purple violets. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a white button down, with his hair half up in a ponytail.

"Hello, Mira," Freed smiled, blushing slightly as he gazed at her," You look wonderful."

"Thanks," Mira giggled, stepping outside into the warm evening," Are those for me?"

"Yes," Freed replied, handing them to her," Purple Violets mean that the giver has thoughts of love for the recipient."

"That's so sweet," Mira sighed, before handing them to Lisanna. Only a true gentleman would think about something like that," Could you put them in a vase for me?"

"Sure," Lisanna smiled, taking the bouquet," Have fun on your date!"

"We will," Mira smiled. Freed offered her his arm which she gladly took. They walked to his car, each excited for the date.