Category: Romantic Fluff
Characters: Levy McGarden, Gajeel Redfox
Requested By: we-are-deathcleric (Tumblr)
Levy loved Gajeel. She loved him more than life itself. She loved him with every fiber of her being, down to the miniscule molecules that made up her cells. She would go to the ends of the universe to fetch the rarest stardust if he but asked her for it. She loved, loved, loved Gajeel.
That didn't stop her from standing at the edge of the bed, arms crossed and foot tapping angrily against the rug, and glowering at his snoring form sprawled out across every inch of their shared mattress. Her lips were pursed into two plump semi-circles, pressed together so tightly that there was a thin line of pink ringing the pale pink. A shower. All she had desired was a shower before their nightly routine of cuddling while Levy read her latest-acquired novel. Gajeel had haughtily declared that another twenty minutes was nothing to him, yet here he was… limbs slung out in all directions, drooling all over Levy's pillow, and snoring like a freighter. Levy didn't doubt that he had passed out like this in three minutes; he was deep in slumber and had been for a while. He looked peaceful, really. It would be a shame to wake him from such a deep and restful sleep. That's what someone who loved him would think.
Levy loved him, but that sure as hell didn't stop her from yanking her pillow out from under his bush of coarse black hair and slapping him with it hard in the stomach.
"Gajeel! You dummy! Stop slobbering all over my pillow!"
Levy's pillow was made of memory foam and therefore very, very heavy. Gajeel jerked up into a sitting position, wheezing as all the breath was forced from his lungs and clutching his assaulted abs. He looked around wildly for a few seconds, feral from having been so unceremoniously jerked from his slumber, before his bleary and wild-eyed gaze settled on the disapproving Levy. She puffed out her cheeks in a chastising look and hugged her pillow to her chest. "I thought you were going to stay awake, but instead, you're taking up my side of the bed and drooling all over it too? It's a wonder I didn't hear you snoring from in the bathroom."
"I don't snore," he grumbled begrudgingly before a long, loud yawn split his face. He sleepily covered his gaping mouth with a hand and squinted at her through a slightly teary eye. "I wasn't even asleep. I was resting my eyes."
"That's the biggest sack of bull I've ever heard!" she retaliated and raised the heavy pillow over her head threateningly. Gajeel yelped and hastily shimmied to his side of the bed, pulling back the covers for her in a pitiful effort to earn himself back into her good graces. Levy snorted but dropped her weapon down on the bed; it was stupidly heavy and her thin arm had begun to wobble precariously after only a few seconds of holding it. She climbed up onto the tall bed with a small hop and settled herself into her spot, smoothing the creases in the comforter before pulling them up into her lap. She plucked her reading glasses from the nightstand and slipped them onto the bridge of her nose. Levy had perfect eyesight, but she once read an article by an optometrist the literary magazine she subscribed to that reading glasses could reduce eye strain while reading fine print even for those with 20/20 vision, so she had bought a pair. She retrieved her novel from the nightstand as well and wiggled around a bit to make herself comfortable, then opened it to the marked page.
"What's this one about?" Gajeel sniffed as he rolled onto his side and hugged her waist, pressing his cheek into the meat of her forearm to stare blankly at the pages. Levy smiled contentedly as she flipped the page.
"This happens to be a parenting guide." The dragon-slayer's face instantly took on a bubblegum-pink hue, and a giddy grin split across his face. That sure woke him up, she chuckled to herself and continued absorbing the print on the soft pages. She was distracted, however, when she felt him shifting excessively and looked down to inquire what his deal was; he was curling his body up against the headboard like a cat so he could crane his neck as far as possible into her lap, staring at the words contained in the pages with great interest. Levy laughed at his cuteness and adjusted the book so he could read without a muscle spasming in his neck. "You could've just asked me to read it a loud to you."
"It's fine. This won't work if you do everything." It was a simple statement, one made in passing, but nevertheless is made Levy's heart swell exceptionally with love. Gajeel had been a little wary at first, thinking his personality too grating to be a father, but it was moments like these that made Levy wholeheartedly believe he would fall into the role seamlessly. Just looking at him, his dark eyes attentively scanning the passages with nothing short of enthusiasm, made little happy tears well up in the corners of her eyes. After he finished the entire page, he pushed the book down in her lap and rolled onto his other side to stare lovingly at her belly. It had not begun to swell yet, but nonetheless, he gazed at it with an expression bursting with affection. One of his big hands smoothed over the fabric of her nightgown to rub her stomach fondly. "You're gonna be a wonderful mom, Lev," he breathed with his gaze flickering up to meet hers. "You already love this baby so much, to read parenting guides so early."
"So do you," she smiled eagerly. His other hand reached up to tuck a swathe of her damp blue hair behind her ear as it fell into her face. His hand lingering there, palm falling against her cheek and thumb swiping over the bone to catch her cheek. "Ah, I'm just really happy," she laughed dismissively. "I'm really happy to have a man who adores his future child so much."
"Even a man who falls asleep snoring and drooling on your side of the bed?" Levy giggled and rolled her eyes, then leaned down to kiss his forehead and the tip of his nose.
"Even a man like that," she confirmed with another giggle. She squealed as he suddenly enveloped her waist again and flipped her around; they tussled around in the bed for a second until they were both laying on their bellies, heads near the foot of the mattress and feet kicking up against the headboard. Gajeel propped himself up on one beefy arm and held the small parenting book in the other, in the perfect position for both of them to read simultaneously. Smiling cutely, Levy snuggled up to him and leaned her head against his thick bicep, and he in turned rested his cheek atop her head.
"I love you, Gajeel," she murmured as she skimmed her fingers over the skin of his arm. She felt him grin and drop a kiss into her hair, then resume his position.
"I love you too, Lev. I love you more every minute."
"I love you more every second."
"Don't start that. I love you more every- wait, what's smaller than a second?"
"A millisecond."
"Yeah! That." Levy snorted piggishly with laughter and kicked his calf with her foot playfully. He countered by bonking her head with his own, which made her yelp in mock pain.
"Hey, now! You know your head is big and harder than any iron, right?"
"Yeah, if the kid takes after me you're gonna have a hell of a time pushin' it outta yo- Ow! Lev! I'm sorry!" She interrupted his crude joke by yanking hard on his tufts of black hair. He laughed riotously and grabbed her by the waist to pull her impossibly close, smothering her face in more kisses. Levy squirmed and shrieked and giggled under his assault of affections right up until the moment he settled back down and flipped the book to the next page. Quietly, he began to read with renewed interest, falling into a studious stupor. Levy gazed at his focused expression for a few moments, appreciating how it softened his hard features, before returning her attention to the advice book as well.
Levy loved Gajeel. She loved him more than life itself. She loved him with every fiber of her being, down to the miniscule molecules that made up her cells. She would go to the ends of the universe to fetch the rarest stardust if he but asked her for it. She loved, loved, loved Gajeel, more than she ever thought it possible to love someone. Still, that didn't stop her from falling more in love with him with each passing day.