A/N: I hope you like it :)
When Lily first decided to be Gajeel's partner he asked the dragon slayer if he had already a mate. From what the exceed had gathered it was an important matter for a dragon slayer and the last thing he wanted was to intrude on a relationship with his presence in Gajeel's home. The iron mage denied having a mate in his life. However despite that he was really living alone when Lily moved in, the exceed soon found out that there was a woman in Gajeel's life.
The first time Lily realized that Gajeel was close to someone other than him was when the dragon slayer offered Levy to be her partner for the S-Class Mage Promotion Trail. Lily had seen the two talk before, but it hadn't been anything but short conversation and in Gajeel's case teasing the solid script mage. After the trail however Lily could see them getting closer by the day.
It was quite amusing to see Gajeel acting jealous when Jet and Droy fought over who got to dance with Levy. Even though not even a second ago Gajeel had announced rather loudly that he wouldn't dance, as soon as another guy wanted to dance with Levy he suddenly changed his opinion.
When they were searching for the clock parts it was once again obvious to Lily that Gajeel had a rather soft spot for the beautiful bookworm. There was normally no one who was allowed to disturb the dragon slayer during his training, but when Levy asked him to come with them, he was all to willing to agree. Lily had to hide a small smile at that.
The training for the Grand Magic Games was hard, but Lily could admit that he loved fighting and training just as much as Gajeel. A sign for him that Gajeel was serious about the tournament, was that he rejected Levy's offer to come train with them. When she had asked the dragon slayer, Lily could almost see how much Gajeel had wanted to say yes, but he had hold back in favor of an effective training. Lily was sure that if Levy had gone with them, Gajeel wouldn't have been so focused and it seemed that deep down Gajeel had realized that too.
During the Grand Magic Games it became very obvious to Lily that Levy held also strong feelings for Gajeel. She was much easier to read than his stubborn partner after all. The beautiful script mage was more open with her affection. The iron, that she often wrote for him, now had a small detail that was a rather obvious proof of her feelings for the dragon slayer. She was also blushing around Gajeel, especially when he was close to her. Normally Levy was gentle when she interacted with the exceed, but then again during the magic games when Gajeel was fighting she had almost cuddled Lily until he couldn't breath, so maybe the two weren't so different.
Lily could clearly see what was developing between Gajeel and Levy, but he waited until they came back from the stellar world to ask his partner a question that he had wanted to ask for a while now. They were on their way back from the guild to their home when Lily stopped in his tracks and face his partner.
"When I first moved in, you told me that there was no woman in your life. How is that true?"
"What are you talking about cat? We're living alone, so what is your problem?" An annoyed look showed on his face with his gruffly reply.
"At the moment, but if you're honest to yourself you want a certain someone around. Maybe someone very smart with blue hair, who always makes you delicious iron." Lily smirked knowingly.
"You don't know anything. It's not like that." The defensive in his voice gave away to a much more soft tone. "Her friendship is more than I deserve."
From the beginning Lily had wondered why Gajeel was so hesitant when it came to Levy. Normally the iron mage said and did what he wanted without caring about what anyone else thought, so why was it so different with Levy? From what he had read in Edolas, dragon slayers would only ever have one mate and when they found them, they would do anything to be with them. It was obvious to Lily that Levy was Gajeel's mate and the last few encounters between the dragon slayer and script mage had shown Lily that Gajeel was aware of it.
"Why only limit it to friendship?" The exceed asked confused.
It was then that Gajeel told him about how he had met Levy and what his former guild had done to Fairy Tail. To say that Lily was shocked was an understatement. The man, who his partner described, wasn't the Gajeel who was now standing in front of him.
"If you want nothing to do with me anymore, I understand."
His silence after Gajeel's revelation must have made the dragon slayer uneasy. Even if he hadn't said anything Lily could see the unfamiliar look in his eyes. As long as he had known Gajeel, the exceed had never seen his partner like that. His eyes were shining with guilt and shame and with so much pain that it was overwhelming. Lily couldn't allowed his partner to misinterpret anything, so he spoke up.
"Since I became your partner I have never regretted my decision." Lily started.
"But you are now, ain't ya?" His voice didn't shake, but Gajeel had turned around and Lily could see his fists clenching at his sides.
"No, I don't. You're my partner and your past doesn't change my opinion of you."
"I'm not judging you by your past." He continued, before smiling gently. "And clearly neither is Levy."
Gajeel's relieved expression changed at his last words.
"Leave her out of this. I already told you that there is no way this is gonna happen."
In that moment Lily smelled a familiar scent. It seemed that Gajeel was to focused on the emotions that were clearly raging inside of him to notice, so Lily had the advantage. It was surprisingly easy for Lily to make a plan up on the spot. At first Gajeel might be think that he was betraying him, but in the end he would thank him.
"But Levy is your chosen mate, isn't she?"
"So what if she is? It's not like-"
The little gasp and the small figure that was now revealing itself in the moonlight was the reason Gajeel stopped mid-sentence.
It clearly took Gajeel a moment to realize the extent of his confession before a low growl could be heard.
"Betrayed and that by my own cat."
With that he tore off into the night, leaving Lily alone with a confused script mage.
"He is not happy about me being his mate, is he?" Levy asked warily.
"Quite the opposite really." Lily reassured her, laying a comforting paw on her hand. "He thinks that he doesn't deserve you."
"Stupid Gajeel. I couldn't make it more obvious that I wouldn't mind being his mate."
"It's true, you are really obvious." Lily couldn't help but tease her, only to receive a pout in reaction. "Let's find him before he destroys the whole forest with his temper."
When Levy nodded in agreement Lily gently flew her up and they both looked for Gajeel. True to Lily's prediction it was easy to find the dragon slayer because he was indeed letting his anger out in the forest close to their home. They landed a little away from the dragon slayer and Levy took Lily into her arms and went closer to Gajeel.
"What do ya want?" The tone of Gajeel's voice was defensive, as was his posture when they approached.
Gently Lily removed himself from Levy's arms and motioned for her to go the last few steps alone. Her talk with Gajeel was more important. After all, Lily was sure that his partner would thank him later.
"Gajeel, please listen to me." Lily heard the solid script mage start the conversation.
"There is nothing to talk about." Was the gruffly answer.
"What about that I'm your mate? Don't you think that it's worth talking about." Levy was now standing right in front of the dragon slayer. "Is it true that I'm your chosen mate?"
"Just because you are, doesn't mean you're forced to be."
Lily saw his partner blush and look away from Levy. It was obvious by his tense posture that he was awaiting a rejection, but just like Lily knew she would, Levy did quite the opposite.
"What if I want to be your mate?" That surprised Gajeel so much that he faced her again. "I love you, Gajeel."
As soon as these words left the solid script mage's lips her breath was stolen by a more than happy dragon slayer. Gajeel's resolve had crumbled at her words and he was kissing Levy passionately which she returned equally enthusiastic.
Lily, who had been watching everything, smiled at his partner and his mate. He was sure that Gajeel wouldn't be angry at him by the end of the evening and maybe soon a wonderful woman would be living with them.
A/N: Please review and tell me what you think :)
