Chapter 12

"They're regrouping faster than we suspected they would. At this rate, it will be only a matter of weeks before Phantom Lord is once more a threat." Makarov, Don Metallicana's right hand man and long time friend, gave out a weary sigh.

"How did they manage this so quickly? Their leader was only killed three months ago. Even the strongest of families would still be licking their wounds." Metallicana frowned deeply. He glanced at his son, who was taking in everything silently from his place at the council table. He didn't show it, but the don knew his boy was agitated by this information.

"It seems there was a plan in place for the sudden death of Jose." Makarov continued. "From the reports, it appears Jose was well aware that confronting Gajeel could have resulted in his untimely demise. They must have something big planned, if he was willing to take that chance. And if it involved Gajeel, we need to be wary."

"I agree. We need to be on high alert from now on. At least until we find a way to destroy Phantom Lord for good." Metallicana announced, looking to each of his councilors and his son. When everyone nodded in agreement he dismissed them, but kept Gajeel back. "Boy, there is still no information yet, on if they are still going to target your girl. Assume they are. Keep that girl close if you don't want to lose her."

"I know that already." Gajeel scoffed, crossing his arms. "But it's not like I can take her with me on jobs."

"Consider yourself on vacation. Maybe taking her out of town for the time being would be best anyways." Metallicana rolled his eyes. The least the boy could do was actually say he wants time off. He didn't have to do this roundabout bullshit. "You're dismissed, brat."

"Gajeel, where on earth are we going?" Levy asked as he practically dragged her out of his house. Gajeel had come home with a bag in his hand, ordered Virgo to pack their bags and send them in the next car, and then all but carried Levy out of the house.

"Gihi! First vacation in five years, shrimp. You're coming with me. We are going to the beach!"

Several hours of driving and one short plane ride later found Levy and Gajeel standing on a beach, looking up at a large beach house... where Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Juvia, and two babies were waiting for them. "Bloody fucking hell! Why are you guys here?!" Gajeel all but shouted.

"The boss sent us, boss!" Natsu grinned, an arm around his wife who was smiling nervously. "Extra protection for his heir and future daughter-in-law!"

"Eh?" Levy turned ten shades of red at this. Future daughter in law? But, but... they hadn't even dated for four months yet. They hadn't even... done it... yet. Daughter-in-law! Wasn't that a bit... presumptuous? And to top it off, was it the don who thought that way, or the rest of the family?

"I can keep both of us safe just fine." Gajeel huffed, motioning for them to leave.

"I'm sorry, boss. No can do." Gray spoke up now. "We'll get in more trouble for listening to you than we will for disobeying you."

"Arg. Fine! But stay outta my way. I just wanna relax with my girl on my first vacation in years." Gajeel finally let out an exasperated sigh as he put an arm around a furiously blushing Levy and led her inside the beach house. Everyone else just grinned and followed him inside to settle in for their 'vacation.' Gajeel was suddenly very thankful that he chose this particular beach house. The master suite was the entire top floor, which gave him and Levy plenty of privacy. Not like they needed it, now that he thought about it. Levy still wouldn't let him past second base. He wouldn't lie and say he wasn't frustrated... but he understood why she was so hesitant. Levy was an emotional creature, despite her bookworm tendencies, so her first time was something very important to her. And he wanted to make it special for her when the time came.

But that didn't mean he wasn't suffering for it. All this pent up frustration had him on edge and, honestly, rather cranky. More than one fairy tail member has suggested he find someone and get his frustrations out. Like hell he would. Loyalty was important to him. If he expected his girl to be loyal then he had to do the same. He would never so much as look at another woman so long as Levy was his girl. Still, that left him in a tight spot. Maybe this vacation would help him relax, if nothing else.

As Gajeel was thinking of his frustrations, Levy was doing the same. They'd been dating for almost four months now, and she really cared for Gajeel. She didn't know if it was love yet, but he made her happy and she wanted to spend as much time as she could with him between his jobs. She found herself worrying over his well being when he was at 'work,' and she would be so happy when he came home. She talked to him about almost everything and he would do the same. There were many late nights spent lying in bed just talking until one of them, usually Levy, finally succumbed to sleep.

The... physical aspect of their relationship was growing, too. She was still too nervous to give him everything. But their make-out sessions were more heated as of late. There was more, er, touching going on. And those strong feelings that Virgo told her were lust or attraction were getting stronger. Oftentimes it took all of her willpower to make him stop, because all she wanted was to keep going. But she wasn't ready for that big step yet, and she wanted it to be special, something she'd never forget.

She couldn't describe how thankful she was that Gajeel understood and was willing to take it at her pace. She knew it was hard for him to go at this pace, especially when Virgo hinted at the fact that he was used to having sex anytime he wanted it, with whoever he wanted. She was honestly impressed with his restraint. He rarely crossed a line with her, always sticking to the boundaries she set even in the middle of a heavy make-out session. He was usually good about knowing when enough was enough, too, and would ease up or back off before she even moved to push him away. It was as if he sensed it whenever she was feeling overwhelmed or whenever she'd decided to put her foot down. It was sweet, if she thought about it, how he knew her so well.

She sighed softly as Gajeel led her to their room for the next few days. She was still blushing from the comments about her potentially marrying Gajeel. She really did feel strongly for him. Would she... be happy as his wife one day? If she went by how she was now, the answer was yes. He treated her like a princess and really cared for her. But could she be a don's wife? Married to the leader of a crime syndicate? She didn't know, and that scared her. But she couldn't see herself leaving Gajeel. No, she was already in too deep with him. She wasn't in love yet... but she knew it would be soon. Just the thought of not seeing him anymore, it really hurt. No, she figured that, at this point, it was already too late for her. It would take something seriously major on his part to make her leave. Perhaps... perhaps she should just accept it. Accept the fact that most of the family thinks she will and wants her to marry Gajeel.

But they hadn't even been dating for four months yet. Wasn't that a bit too soon?

And then a memory came to her. She remembered talking to the don one day, when he came over for dinner at Gajeel's. She had been curious about Gajeel's mother, and her questions had led into the don revealing that he had only courted her for roughly six months before they were married, and Gajeel came along ten months later. In their line of business, he'd told her, they didn't have much time for long courtships. There was never a guarantee of tomorrow. It was better to date seriously for a short time and marry than it was to date casually for a long time, break up, get with someone else, then start the cycle over. Levy considered her relationship with Gajeel to be very serious. They spent every second together when he wasn't working, and she felt like she knew almost everything about him, just as she was sure he knew almost everything about her. There were no awkward conversations, what arguments they had were handled in a very mature fashion, and they both cared how the other felt about everything. Levy couldn't imagine herself with anyone else, and Gajeel had admitted to her that she was his dream girl. That was... pretty serious, right? Not... confession serious but still... pretty serious. And the don had a point. With no guarantee of tomorrow, perhaps dating for a shorter amount of time was for the best. Even if it wasn't, it was common enough that the family figured they would be marrying soon, because she'd stuck around this long and hadn't fled in terror yet.

"Oi." Gajeel's voice in her ear snapped Levy from her thoughts. She jumped slightly in surprise and looked up at her boyfriend. "Sheesh, shrimp, what were you thinking so hard about?"

"Er, well..." Levy blushed and looked away. "Natsu-san talked as if you and I were going to marry soon."

"And?" his response, or lack thereof, surprised her into looking at him again.

"I... um... are we?" her blushed deepened, that was not what she wanted to ask but it just came out that way.

"Do you want to?" he smirked at her deep blush. The shrimp was adorable when she looked like a tomato.

"I-I... I don't know." was all Levy could stammer out through her embarrassment. Gajeel just chuckled and bent over to be eye level with her.

"Look, I know what pops told you about dating in our line of work." he smirked at her. "But that's not always the case. The family might think we are going with the norm, but let's just keep going at whatever pace makes you the most comfortable. Just... well, just ignore all the daughter-in-law and future-boss'-wife stuff, okay?" he chuckled as her blush, somehow, got even deeper. Levy could only nod to that, though she was extremely relieved Gajeel was still going with her pace. It was sweet, and it really helped her relax. But she didn't think she could survive all the embarrassment to come.

Kami, help her.

I'm so sorry it took this long to post another chapter! This biterm of school after spring break has been super hectic. I've got a total of six classes now and I'm getting sleep deprived and I've got two tests a week and three papers due next week and argggggg. I'm sorry. Ranting. Just... bear with me if updates aren't as often. I'm sorry, but I will do them as often as I can!

Anyways, please tell me what you guys think!

Thanks for reading!

-Everythingnerd12