Author's note: Sorry I've been MIA for a while, I haven't finished my exams yet. Had this chappie mostly done, so I decided to wrap it up and uploaded it, since I know how much you guys wanna see this continued :D (Thank you!)

lucytheftlover , guest , thank you for the wonderful words!

RikaAltraz , yeah... he's pretty much human in this story XD and I'm a massage therapist in real life, so it is pretty interesting. I get to meet new and wonderful people. I get to see the beautiful side of them

LumiSusi , no worries, she's still a bookworm, but I'll write about that in the next chapters :D

BRSxAne , THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!

julianapaulinoaz , yes, she holds him literally in her hands XD and even a strong looking man can be destroyed by a woman, but they'll never show it. My hubby experienced something like that, and it took a while to open up and tell me about his first love. And he told me I impressed him and made him feel again. Made him forget about her. I will be reading your work after I finish my exams (which will be on Friday XD)

AGAIN, THANKYOUFORYOURINFINITEPATIENCE!

All in all, thank you for all the patience and love and reviews and reading my fics... And everything! By the way, I'd love to see a review/comment in your native language! (Of course, please consider the writer, as well, since I only know 4 languages: Romanian, English, Spanish and Japanese, so add a translation, as well, if you guys happen to not be a speaker of those 4 languages)

CHAPTER 3: CONNECTING

Natsu slapped Gajeel awake, scaring him.

"How long are you gonna sleep there, asshole?"

"THE FUCK? You idiot! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Gajeel lunged for his grinning brother.

"You've been sleepin' for the past two hours! Don't you have work?" The raven haired man stared for a moment at him before the wheels clicked into place.

"What time is it?"

"It's half past 3, idiot!"

"SHIT! Why the fuck didn't you wake me up sooner? Wait, how the heck did I even fall asleep in the first place?" Gajeel was a bit confused, not remembering how he got on the massage table.

"Remember Levy? Blue hair, golden hands…" Natsu smirked superiorly, feeling damn proud he got the two acquainted.

"Oh, yeah, right…"

"Her hands are really something, right?" Natsu grinned, watching Gajeel intently.

"Hmm…" He breathed, rolling his shoulders to check his muscles. "I'm not sure… It still hurts a bit. I'm not really that impressed with her skills…" Natsu looked a bit offended at him, but let him be, for he knew the effects of Levy's hands.

"Whatever, we'll talk tomorrow about her skills. Right now, you need to get the fuck out of my house." Natsu showed Gajeel the clock, emphasizing once more how late he was.

Later that day, after work, Gajeel got home as usual, Pantherlily, his black cat, greeting him with a mewl.

"Hey, Lily…" He looked disgusted around his empty apartment, going straight for the fridge to get a beer. For some reason, he was in no mood for the news or TV in general, so he kicked his boots off and slumped on the couch, Lily jumping lightly on his belly a moment later. He stroked him behind his ear, feeling his eyelids very heavy. The next thing he knew, it was morning.

He woke up with a start from a weird dream, remembering Levy's warm smile. He got up and stretched, going straight for the bathroom to do his morning ritual. He was bended over the sink, washing his face when he noticed, with surprise, that his shoulder was no longer bugging him. He stood up and looked intently in the mirror, analyzing himself thoroughly. Gajeel felt wide awake, even well rested. He stretched his neck, pulled on his arm, rolled it a bit in the air, but everything was back to normal.

"Huh, well what d'you know…" Gajeel smiled a bit, feeling impressed. He grabbed his phone and called Natsu. His brother answered after the second ring.

"How the hell are you up at this hour, Metal Head?"

"It's only 8 A.M. Is that so weird?"

"Considering the fact that you can fucking shoot a cannon right next to you and not be bothered by it, yeah." Natsu giggled.

"Oh, fuck off!"

"So? How're you feelin'? Was I right or what?"

"Okay... maybe I slept better compared to the last couple of months..." Gajeel tried to hide his amazement. Whatever Levy did to him it worked magic. His back wasn't sore anymore and he slept much better compared to the last couple of years, to be honest.

"What did I tell ya? Okay, so when are you gonna call her? This is treatment, man. You can't stop it now."

"Stop bugging! I'll call her today, happy?" Gajeel snarled at his phone.

"Perfect! Let me know when you decide so I can come over, too." Gajeel could swear he could feel the smirk Natsu would have plastered on his face.

"Idiot..."

Levy was knocking on Gajeel's door at 9:55 A.M. She waited patiently and smiled when he heard a grunt and some heavy footsteps. The door was yanked open and a sleepy looking Gajeel popped his head in front of her, staring confused .

"Mornin'." Levy said brightly.

"What the f... Wait... Is it Friday?"

"Yep!"

"Shit... I forgot... Come in..." Gajeel made way for Levy and headed back to his dormitory, scratching the back of his head, not even bothering to put some pants on, walking in his shorts. "I'm a mess… I forgot about it even though we talked yesterday…"

"Bad day at work?" Levy followed him silently, leaning on the doorframe.

"It was hell…"

"Lucky you it's Friday."

"Lucky me I took the fucking day off. Just for you." Gaeel winked at the bluenette, activating a blush.

"What an honor." Levy composed herself and smiled. "Well, shall we get down to business?"

"Sure. It this fine?" Gajeel pointed at his bed, Levy nodding. "Just… Let me freshen up a bit."

"Take your time, my shift starts at 2, so we've got plenty of time. Oh, yeah, what time did Natsu say he'd be here?"

"Around 11." Gajeel's voice was muffled by the door, Levy making herself comfortable on the bed after placing her stuff next to it. A few moments later, Gajeel came back, water dripping from his face and hair, throwing himself on the bed when Levy moved from her spot. "I'm all yours." He said with a husky voice, smiling crookedly. Levy didn't say a word, she merely smiled, enjoying the attention. As usual, her hands worked tirelessly on his muscular back, feeling all the twisted muscles on his back and shoulders. An hour and a half later, she stopped, Gajeel cracking an eye open to see where she went.

"I'm going to wash my hands." She answered his internal question. "We're done for the day." Gajeel slumped back on his bed, closing his eyes. Levy came back with a towel, placing it over Gajeel's back with a caress, making him open his eyes and look questioningly at her. "There you go, we don't want you to catch a cold or something."

"It's fine, I gotta get up anyways and get dressed. That idiot should be here any minute…" Levy giggled.

"You two are really something."

"How so?" He quirked a metal studded eyebrow, grabbing his t-shirt.

"It's nice to see brothers get along so well."

"Get along? Ha! Don't make me laugh." He snorted, but Levy cut him.

"I can see it. The brotherly love you two have for each other. And it's… special."

"You sound like my sister…"

"Oh, I didn't know you have a sister, too."

"Yeah… She's young, though. You two might get along fine." He smiled warmly and looked better at Levy, noticing how pretty she really was. Levy gazed back in his eyes, getting closer.

"Do you wear contacts?" Levy blinked confused.

"What? No. Why?" Her stare was now making him uncomfortable.

"Your eyes are... red." He bulged his eyes and looked away. "It's such a strange color, I've never seen anyone with red eyes before."

"Yeah... it's... some sort of malady... one in 3 billion people gets it..."

"It's..."

"Creepy?"

"Beautiful!" Levy said at the same time with Gajeel, shocking him. "I'm sorry... I know beautiful is not a manly word, but it's a unique and beautiful color. It reminds me of..."

"Blood?"

"Roses." Again, they spoke at the same time, Gajeel staring dumbstruck at the bluenette. Never in his life, not even his parents, told him his eyes had the color of roses. He was confused, his insides squirming in a new, but familiar way. Gajeel raised his hand, wanting to touch Levy's cheek and see if she was for real, but the heavy knocking at the door startled both of them, Gajeel jumping with a curse.

"Son of a…" He hurried to the door and yanked it open." What the fuck, man? Are you trying to break my goddamn door?" He snarled to a smiling Natsu, who merely ignored him and got inside.

"Mornin', metal face."

"Fuck you!" Levy smiled warmly, getting ready for her next customer, who hugged her and kissed her cheek before getting undressed and get his therapy.

TBC

How about it? Did you liked it? Loved it? Hated it? Please review, your opinion matters to me as a writer.