At the fourth clue, Levy began to think...
The bed was empty when she woke the next morning, the sheets cold enough to know that she'd definitely overslept. Sitting up, levy rubbed her hands on her face, smiling at the memory of last night.
"coffee?" the voice was deep, still gravely from sleep.
Turning, she graced him with a breathtaking smile, and Gajeel felt his breath catch in his chest. Stepping into the room, he offered his mug to her, coffee made exactly as she liked it.
When the aroma filled her nostrils, instead of snapping her awake as usual, she felt her stomach roll, a wave of nausea hitting her suddenly. Slapping a hand to her mouth, she lunged towards the bathroom, quickly emptying whatever remained of last night's dinner.
Stunned by her sudden dash, Gajeel stood dumbfounded. The sound of her retching brought him back to his senses, and he quickly set the coffee back in the kitchen, grabbing a glass of water for his sick girlfriend.
Heading back to the bathroom, he heard her brushing her teeth, and waited for her to return to the bedroom. The sight of her, pale and leaning heavily on the door frame, had him rushing to her side, instantly concerned. Gathering her carefully in his arms, he carried her back to bed, ignoring her feeble protests.
"Shrimp, you're sick. And I'm worried - I've never seen you like this"
"I'll be fine, you big softy. It happens sometimes" plastering a weak smile on her face, levy hoped she sounded more convincing than she felt right at that second. One quick look at his face told him that no, she wasn't convincing anyone.
Gajeel settled his sick, and still very naked, girlfriend back into bed, fixing her with a glare that practically screamed "don't move". Levy figured that, as long as he stayed with her, maybe a few more hours sleep wouldn't be so bad. Tugging him down to snuggle, she laughed softly when he feigned frustration at being pulled back into bed. Settling in against the pillows, he pulled the tiny girl flush against him, smiling at the way she snuggled into his chest. Her deep, even breathing told him that she was already fast asleep again. Dropping his head, he buried his nose in her hair and inhaled deeply. She smelt like Levy, sweeter than usual, but still Levy. Sniffing again, he noticed a faint metallic edge to her normal scent. It wasn't his smell - it was close, just different enough to be noticed. Shrugging, Gajeel figured that it was probably the result of last night and no shower. She still smelt damn good to him.
Half an hour later, stretching from his slumber, the small black exceed found them in the exact same position. Grinning, he lightly jumped onto the bed, and made himself comfortable one Gajeel's lap. If they were sleeping late, so could he.
She watched Gajeel, holding tightly to a small girl with wild black hair, smiling as he spun her around. Running her hands across her swollen stomach, she smiled at the carefree way he was playing with their daughter.
Levy started out of her dream, instantly awake. Ignoring a grumble of complaint from the dragon slayer next to her, levy quickly stood and entered the bathroom. Quietly closing the door behind her, she turned the shower on much hotter than the man in the next room enjoyed, and stood there with the hot water beating down on her face, trying to make sense of the dream she'd just woken from.
Sensing that she was no longer in his bed, Gajeel woke, trying to make sense of his own dreams. When he heard her in the shower though, his thoughts turned in a different direction. Smiling slyly to himself, he quickly stripped off the pants he'd put on earlier, and quietly entered the bathroom. Seeing her so distracted, her eyes unfocused, he silently entered the shower behind her, and starting massaging her shampoo into her hair.
At that point, levy realised she wasn't alone with her thoughts any more, but his fingers in her hair felt so relaxing, she couldn't bring herself to care.
"Mmm, feels good" she sighed, subconsciously leaning back against his chest, pouting when he pushed her away slightly and turned her towards him.
"rinse" was the only thing he said, still partially trapped in his own thoughts, he reflexively helped rinse the suds from her bright blue hair. Turning her away from him, he grabbed her conditioner and slowly starting combing it through the tangles, gently unknotting whatever his fingers snagged in.
Secretly, he loved doing this for her, loved that she let him, even after everything he'd done
"Gajeel?"
"hmm?"
"you think too loud"
Chuckling softly, he spun her, again helping to rinse her hair.
"all clean" he proclaimed brightly, smirking at her pout. He knew what she wanted, but after how sick she'd been earlier, he wasn't so sure.
Gajeel was brought out of his thoughts by a tug on his hands. Looking down at the small woman in front of him, cheeks flushed from the warm water, and his attention, he couldn't help but smile.
"yes, Shrimp? Did you want something?" chuckling when she just huffed at him in response. Moving to sit on the tiled seat away from the spray, Gajeel's eyes closed in bliss as her fingernails dragged against his scalp, as she mirrored his actions of just minutes prior.
Groaning, his voice gravelly "Mmm, levy. So good" his eyes flew open and the sound of her musical laugh. "What?"
"nothing. Just, it'd sure ruin your reputation if anyone else ever heard you sounding like that"
"Well, don't go telling on me. I'd hate to have to punish you" his voice dropping in a silent threat as he let himself be tugged back under the spray of water. Quickly rinsing, he turned the water off, and wrapped levy in a large, fluffy grey towel, laughing at the sound of her stomach.
"Feeling better?" she just nodded in response. "Get dressed, I'll organise something". Dropping his towel in the hopes of awakening another kind of hunger, he sauntered back to the bedroom and quickly dressed for the day. Ruffling the ears on his small black exceed, he picked up the still sleepy lily and carried him to the kitchen. Setting the tea kettle to boil, Gajeel threw out the now cold coffee, not wanting a rerun of earlier. Turning, he saw lily stretching on the counter.
"Morning, sunshine" he offered brightly.
"Good morning, Gajeel" came the deep voiced response. "Breakfast? At this hour?"
Shrugging, Gajeel turned to the now whistling kettle and set about brewing tea just how he knew levy liked it.
Unfurling his small wings, Lily floated to the fridge, and began pulling things out, setting them on the bench. "how's Levy?"
The voice from behind them rang out loudly "Levy's just fine, thanks. Starving, though!"
Laughing, Gajeel shot his friend a look that clearly said "irritating as usual"
Handing her a steaming mug of tea when she entered the room, Gajeel pushed her into a chair and fixed her with a look that said "stay put". Happy to comply, levy sat quietly warming her hands around the mug, content to watch her boys working in the kitchen.
Gajeel at the stove, warming a bottle for the squirming bundle in his arm - lily testing the temperature before giving it back to the hulking man, who stood swaying gently as he fed the baby he was so delicately nursing.
"Earth to Levy?"
"hmm? Sorry lily, my imagination got the better of me" she said with a smile, reaching out scratch his ears.
Breakfast passed quietly, born from the comfort of companionship, everyone caught up in their own thoughts and plans for the day.
"Lily and I were going to do some training today, Shrimp. D'you want to come?"
Shaking her head "no, I thought I'd go visit Lucy. I haven't seen her since she got back last week."
Suddenly feeling very protective of his mate, Gajeel wondered if maybe he should offer to walk her there.
A quick look at the brooding face across the table had levy reaching for his hand with a smile.
"I just need some girl time. It's not that far from here anyway. Besides, with your super hearing, you'll probably still be able to hear everything we're saying!"
Put slightly at ease by her bright demeanour, he lifted their intertwined fingers to kiss the back of her hand.
"okay. I'll come get you later though. I wanted to go into the guild for something anyway".
Nodding, she pulled her fingers from his and skipped around the table to kiss him deeply.
"I'm going to get my stuff. Meet you at Lucy's later!" and with a giggle and a bright smile, she was off out the door.
At Lucy's...
"You think you're WHAT?!"
"Geez, Lu - keep your voice down! He can probably hear you if you keep screaming!"
"sorry lev. You just surprised me. I mean, I didn't even think you could?"
"Me either. But it'd be just my luck. What should I do?"
Lucy couldn't help but take pity on her blue haired best friend - she looked so confused sitting there.
"Third draw in the bathroom, at the back. You march in there right now and take a test"
"uhh, Lu? Why do you..."
"never mind! Don't you want to know for sure? You're probably worrying over nothing anyway!" and quickly shoved the near trembling girl into the bathroom and shut the door, essentially trapping her. "I'm not letting you out until you've peed on that stick!"
When she came out, they set the test on the counter and waited in silence, Lucy holding tightly to levy's hands. A small beeping startled them both.
Taking a deep breath, Lucy looked at the pale girl next to her. "it's time. Ready?"
"No. You do it". Levy was scared to say anything else, afraid she'd burst into tears.
Learning over, Lucy picked up the test and checked the number of pink lines. Carefully, so as not to startle her already terrified friend, she placed the test in levy's shaking hands.
"Lev. Look".
Looking down, the bluenette gasped at the sight of 2 bright pink lines.
"congratulations levy". Lucy was sure to keep her voice soft, trying to soothe her visibly shocked friend. Gently pulling on her hands, she guided levy to sit on the couch, taking the spot next to her and keeping her eyes on the girl who, frankly, looked ready to pass out.
"but how?"
"honestly, no idea. Probably something to do with how strong their magic is". Lucy smiled as levy seemed to come back to her senses slightly.
"is that why you have a box of those?" smirking when her blonde friend blushed slightly "oh my god! You and Natsu?!!"
"Yeh, for a while now, actually. He keeps saying something about how everything has dragon attributes, and that's why birth control doesn't really work" suddenly blushing deeply, Lucy started to raise her voice "but you can't tell anyone! Erza would kill us".
"your secrets safe with me, Lu. I'm happy for you! And I wouldn't worry about Erza - everyone knows how you two feel about each other. You guys are not exactly subtle". Paling visibly she went on "oh god. Never mind you - Erza's going to kill me!"
"uh, lev? I think there's someone else you should tell before Erza"
"oh god, you're right. What's he going to say? We never even talked about this!" Levy trailed off, remembering "baby slayers or not, just want you"
"uh, lev? Still with me?" Lucy waved her fingers in front of levy's face, trying to snap her out of whatever daydream she was in.
"huh? Oh, sorry Lu! I was just remembering"
"well, spill! Unless you're remembering how you guys actually made a baby - that's an image I don't need!" and with that, both girls dissolved into peals of laughter.
"nothing like that. I just remembered him saying he didn't care either way about babies, as long as he had me"
"eww. Mushy Gajeel is just as bad!" Lucy started giggling again. Her laughter was infectious, and levy found herself gasping for air along side her friend.
"guess you should go see porlyusica?"
"oh no, Lucy. No way! That woman is terrifying!"
"but I'll come with you! Come on, Gajeel won't be here for hours yet. Let's go, before we lose our nerve!" grabbing both their bags, Lucy pulled levy, still clutching the small white stick, along behind her.
Later, back at Lucy's...
Both girls were sitting on the couch, Lucy rubbing her head where porlyusica had whacked her with the broom.
"ouch! Why is she so mean!" Lucy was still wailing about the small lump on the back of her skull.
"never mind that, how'd she knows why we were there? That woman is scary!" They both dissolved into laughter so loud that they missed the knock on the door.
"uhh, what's so funny?" a very perplexed iron dragon slayer asked, having let himself in when his knock went unnoticed.
Both girls stopped suddenly, stared at him for a moment and promptly fell about laughing again.
"ahuh. Glad I'm so amusing. C'mon Shrimp - let's go home" he turned to wait in the kitchen.
Standing, levy grabbed Lucy into a tight hug. "thanks for everything, Lu"
"Anything for you, lev. Let me know!" she let go of her shorter friend, and pushed her towards the waiting back of the dragon slayer.
Grabbing her bag off the table, the precious test hiding securely inside, she slipped her hand into Gajeel's, and smiled up at him. "Home" she breathed quietly. He blinked as he realised it wasn't a request.
"uhh, see you Lucy" he called over his shoulder, shutting her apartment door behind him to the sound of excited squealing.
Squeezing the tiny fingers interwoven in his, he smiled down at the bluenette, feeling his heart burst when she gave his fingers a small squeeze in return, looking up at him with the most joyous smile he'd ever seen.
The trip home was silent, neither one of them feeling the need to fill the silence, both content to enjoy the company in peace.
Entering the cottage they now shared together, levy went to put her bag in the bedroom and change out of her sundress, listening happily to the sounds of Gajeel in the kitchen, talking to lily as they cooked.
Hiding the test in the pocket of her shorts, levy joined them and began to set the table.
Gajeel could feel her nervousness, but figured out early on that it was best to just wait until she was ready to talk - sometimes he swore his face still hurt from the slap she gave him when he pushed her too far, too fast.
Levy was glad for the routine, it gave her something to do with her nervous energy, and she found comfort in the familiar actions.
Lily was busy watching them lose themselves in the routine - something was up. If it wasn't better by tomorrow, he promised himself he'd take Gajeel out back and beat him for whatever he'd done to upset levy. He really did have a soft spot for the girl.
Dinner passed quietly, everyone worn out from the day, and lost in their own thoughts.
After the table was cleared, and the dishes done, lily excused himself for the night - he was going fishing with Happy, and glad to be away from the awkward tension in the house. Gajeel settled on the couch, expecting levy to come sit with him and read.
"coming, Shrimp?"
Levy, still in the kitchen, was absent mindedly rubbing one hand across her still flat abdomen, trying to work up the courage to tell him.
"just a sec!" She swallowed, trying to steady her voice. Now is not the time to panic, Levy. Pull yourself together! Done with her internal pep talk, she entered the room, and saw him looking expectantly at her.
"Gajeel?"
"Yeh squirt?"
"can you do something for me?"
"Mmm?"
"close your eyes". He raised an eyebrows at her odd request, but did as he was asked.
"okay. I'm waiting"
"don't open them yet. Give me your hands". Obediently, he held out his hands. Taking a deep breath, she screamed at herself, she took the test and, kneeling in front of him, placed it in his hands. She closed his fingers around it, marvelling at how small it looked in his large hands.
Letting out a shaky exhale, she simply said "you can look now".
Looking down at her, he took in her face - excited and worried all at once, and then slowly uncurled his fingers. He looked at the tiny piece of plastic, with its two pink lines, bright and clear, and then back at levy. He repeated the path with his eyes from his hands to her face twice more before it sunk in.
"really?" his voice just barely a whisper, tears starting to form in his eyes.
Levy could only smile, the biggest smile he'd ever seen, and nod, tears in her own eyes.
Gajeel pulled her to him, crashing his lips against hers, tears flowing silently down his face. He still held the test like it was the most precious thing in the world.
Breaking apart, he looked into her eyes, and with tears still falling and a grin so large he swore his face would split simply said
"thank you".