Author's note: Yep, hubby had the same inner torment before he actually gave in and accepted his own feelings (or so he says). Also, a while after we got together told me something about this one time I came to his house for a session and freaking fell asleep right after (all I remember is that he went to the bathroom and BAM instant sleep for me - I know... professonal...) So he comes back, realizes I'm fast asleep and he decides to watch me for a while. About 10 minutes later, he did what Gajeel did to Levy, just that he didn't go out afterwards. He merely went to the computer and played some music. I'm gonna write this scene in the following chapters ^W^

Kcrespo020691 , *pats Gajeel on the back* good dragon, that's a nice dragon gihihihihi

Sketcher1994 , oh, stubborn is my middle name... Oh, by the Scottish, really? I love your accent! I love playing around with accents. And thank you.

InuBakaGirl , I love writing fluff 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 10: It's just a phase

Morning came faster for Gajeel, stretching up with a yawn. He went to the bathroom to freshen up and do his morning ritual. Shower, shave, brush teeth. Half an hour later he got out, looking around for a certain blue haired girl. Since she was nowhere to be seen, he realized Levy was still asleep. So he headed for his master bedroom, where Levy was resting, and knocked once, the door opening easily. He peeked inside and gasped softly, seeing the bluenette sprawled over the bed, hugging his pillow. He eased himself inside, carefully walking towards the bed with a knot in his throat. Gajeel kneeled next to the bed, staring at Levy's sleeping form.

Fuck…She's… He raised a hand to brush some blue strands away from her face, caressing her cheek with his thumb. Levy was oblivious to everything around her, sleeping soundly. He lowered his thumb to her lips, ghosting over the plump lower lip. In a haze, Gajeel got closer to her, his heart beating fast. Please, don't wake up now… He closed his eyes and placed his lips on hers, kissing her softly for a long moment. With a low growl, Gajeel broke off, hurrying out of the room, back to the kitchen. He leaned on the counter heavily, grabbing a handful of his hair.

"Air… I need some air…" He huffed heavily, scribbled something on a post-it from the fridge, grabbed his keys and wallet and went out the door.

Levy woke up when her cell-phone rang, stretching for a long moment before looking around the room confused.

"Oh, right… I'm not home…" She got up and headed for the living room, where Gajeel spent the night. "Mornin'!" She said in a bright voice, looking around. "Gajeel?" She went to the kitchen, noticing the scribbled paper that had her name on it. Went to get some stuff for breakfast. Be back soon.

"Okay…" Levy went to the bathroom to get refreshed, combing through her messy hair and nibbling on some toothpaste, since her toothbrush was at home. Once she thought she was decent enough, Levy got out of the bathroom, some shifting noise drawing her attention. She hurried to the kitchen, Gajeel snapping his head to her.

"Mornin'!"

"Good morning, Gajeel. Did you sleep well on that couch?" Levy walked towards him with a smile.

"Like a baby. Woke up every two hours crying." He joked, Levy laughing. "You?"

"Didn't even realize when the night passed." She looked in the paper bags, helping Gajeel place the groceries in the fridge.

"It's been a while since I did shopping for breakfast for a girl." He smiled bitterly, looking away from Levy's blushing form. He grabbed a couple of eggs and placed them aside, rummaging for a pan. "Have a seat, my turn to cook." He winked at her and turned to the eggs, making breakfast for Levy and himself. Twenty minutes later, they were both sitting at the counter, enjoying an omlette.

"See? You can cook." Gajeel looked at her confused. "You said last night you can't cook to save your life. I beg to differ."

"Come on, you can't really call making an omlette cooking."

"You even flipped it with the pan. If that's not over level 9000, I don't know what is." He snickered impressed.

"So you're a Dragon Ball fan, huh?" Levy blushed, not expecting him to understand the subtle joke. "So, let me get this straight. You're a Romanian who can speak four languages, you work wonders with your hands, you can cook, fight pretty damn well, you talk car and listen to rock music, you help the ones in need in your spare time, you have this… gift, and you watch anime. Did I miss anything?" Gajeel laughed bitterly for a moment, Levy blushing a hot shade of red.

"I like to draw in my spare time." She blurted out before stopping herself. Gajeel snapped his eyes to her blushing form, Levy hiding her face in her plate. "It's a good omlette…" She nibbled on her fork, averting Gajeel's eyes.

"Why 'Mc'Garden?" He asked suddenly, taking Levy by surprise.

"Uhm… What?"

"Your last name. Why Mc'Garden? That doesn't sound too foreign."

"Oh… It's not my real name, obviously. My real name is too hard to pronounce for foreigners, so I changed it. It was supposed to be a half-joke, because I can speak with an Irish accent and people tell me I have a green finger. As I said, I love fooling around with accents." She said in an Irish accent, making Gajeel laugh.

"I see."

"As for 'Levy'… Short for Levintza. Yeah, I know… My godparents had a blast choosing my name…"

"I like it." Gajeel said without thinking, deepening Levy's blush.

"Good omlette…" Levy repeated, looking at her plate. They finished breakfast in silence, Gajeel quickly grabbing Levy's plate and placing it in the washer. "I should go home…" Levy said before Gajeel could turn around.

"Let me get my ke…"

"Gajeel… Really, you've done more than enough… More than I could have hoped. You can let me get home by myself."

"I can, but I don't wanna let you. It's a gentleman's job to walk a lady home." Levy looked incredulous at him, feeling a knot form in her throat. She looked down at her feet, not believing such a man truly existed. "So, milady, will you let me drive you home?" He waited patiently for her answer, seeing the torn expression from Levy's eyes.

"I already feel I'm in your debt… So…" Gajeel snorted amused, looking at her with warm eyes.

"You really never… interacted with gentlemen before, have you?" Levy kept her eyes on her feet, shaking her head. "I see… Well, true gentlemen don't expect anything in return. So you don't have to feel indebted to me in any way. OK?" He placed his hand under her chin to make her look him in the eye and see the truth there. "Come on, I'll take you home." Levy nodded, feeling too overwhelmed. She feared she would start crying from happiness if she opened her mouth. So the bluenette went to grab her things calmly and headed for the door, where Gajeel was expecting her.

The ride home was a quiet one, Levy keeping her eyes on the window. She was now sure of her feelings for him, but kept quiet, believing with all her might she wasn't good enough. Once they were in front of her apartment building, Gajeel stopped the engine and turned to her silent form.

"A penny for your thoughts?" He feared he might have done something to upset the blue haired girl.

"I was trying to find a way to thank you for all that you've done for me, but… Words fail me." Gajeel smiled.

"It was my pleasure." The two looked at each other for a long moment, Gajeel turning abruptly and looking at the wheel. "Uhm… Have a good day…"

"You too, Gajeel. And thank you. Really…" She placed a hand on his arm before getting out of the car. She glanced one more time at him, then disappeared behind the huge doors from her apartment building.

"She's under aged, stupid. Stupid, idiotic brain!" Gajeel drove away, his gut twisting painfully.

A couple of days later, the raven haired man was having dinner at Natsu's. His future bride-to-be was very hyped about something, running around the house to find either scissors, wrapping paper or tape.

"What's up with her?" Gajeel asked Natsu quietly, sipping his beer.

"Oh, it's Levy's birthday tomorrow and she wants to wrap the present." Gajeel choked on his drink, coughing loudly.

"WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SOONER?" He bellowed at his innocent looking brother.

"Why would I?"

"Because! She's…" Gajeel stopped mid-sentence, not knowing how to explain.

"A wonderful person who is very special for you and you wanna impress her?" Natsu asked with a grin, Gajeel stuttering from embarrassment.

"What? N… No! Who said… I don't wanna impress her! "

"You didn't deny the special part…" Natsu raised his eyebrows, Gajeel visibly turning red. He swatted at his brother, crossing his arms when Natsu dodged him with a laugh.

"SHUT UP!"

"Come on, man, why're you getting all flustered? It's written all over your stupid face!"

"She's under aged, okay?"

"Ooooh, now I get it. She's almost 10 years younger than you and you're making it a problem."

"It IS a problem. A decade-old problem." Gajeel said with gritted teeth.

"I think you're over thinking stuff. If you like her that much, just go for it."

"I can't… And, besides, she's not gonna look at some old dude like me. So stop."

"But…"

"Please. Just let it go. It's just a phase. I'll get over it faster than Deanna."

"Fine, tell yourself that, maybe you'll start believing the lie…" Natsu shrugged, watching Gajeel get up and follow Lucy.

"Hey, Blondie. Whacha doing?" He leaned on the door frame with his arms crossed.

"Getting ready for tomorrow. I wanna make it special for her." Lucy was smiling as she placed a paper ribbon on the wrapped present. "Oh, right, I don't think you know… Tomorrow's Levy's…"

"Birthday, I know. Natsu told me." Gajeel looked bitter at the wrapped box. "What d'you get her?" He asked casually.

"A laptop support with two coolers. She usually uses egg cartons for support so the laptop won't heat up."

"Oh… You think she'll like it?"

"Knowing her, she'll love it."

"I see… Do you know what else she might wish for?" Lucy snapped her eyes to the raven haired man, smiling warmly after seeing his torn eyes.

"Gajeel, if you wanna get Levy something and don't know what to buy, you could ask freely, you know." Gajeel shifted uncomfortably on his feet, waiting for an answer. "Well… She is saving for a drawing tablet… Since she wants to try digital art, for a change… Oh, right, you haven't seen her works, have you?" Lucy lunged for her laptop, quickly accessing Levy's online gallery. She motioned for Gajeel to get closer, turning the laptop towards him.

"Oh, wow! Did she really…" He bulged his eyes, staring at the screen with awe.

"Yep." Lucy said proudly. "And this is the design for my wedding dress." Lucy opened the sketches, enjoying Gajeel's amazed face.

"She's really something…" He breathed, still staring the sketchy pictures. "Thanks, Blondie." He got up and hurried out the door, leaving the two love birds alone.

"He's a hopeless one, isn't he?" Lucy asked when she came behind Natsu, pecking him on the cheek.

The next day, Levy went to work on the morning shift, since Lucy insisted she should go out with her and Natsu that evening. She shrugged, knowing she wouldn't stand a chance to talk Lucy out of whatever she was planning for her 20th birthday. But she decided not to think about it, since it would mean losing her focus.

Gajeel searched online all night for a decent tablet for the bluenette that occupied his thoughts day and night. He kept lying to himself it was just a phase and he'd get over it, and he was only doing this because she was such a selfless person and he fucked it up when he practically threw her out of the house. I'm only making up for that time, that's all. When he finally found what he was looking for, it was already 5 A.M. and he was too giddy to go to sleep. Instead, Gajeel went to Natsu's for an early breakfast, letting himself in with his own key.

Natsu wasn't too surprised Gajeel was inside his apartment, stuffing his face with whatever he could find in the fridge. At least he had the decency to make some coffee, and that compensated for everything.

Lucy let him know about the mini-party they were holding later that night, hurrying out the door for work.

"I don't get it." Gajeel said suddenly, Natsu looking up from the paper.

"What?"

"You offered her a life without financial worries and she still does it. I don't get it."

"She hates being cooped up in the house. And, besides, she likes her job. Who am I to say otherwise?" Gajeel hummed thoughtfully, glancing at the clock. "What's up with you, got a date or something?" Natsu noticed his strange behavior.

"Not really. I got her a little something and I wanna go pick up when they open." Gajeel tried to seem casual, but his brother knew him better, and he grinned.

"You're such an idiot."

"Hey!"

"A blind one, too." Gajeel glared at his grinning face, rubbing his knuckles. "Or, maybe, you're just lying to yourself."

"I see you want me to give you some permanent makeup, lil' bro." He stepped closer to Natsu, who was calmly sipping his coffee.

"Just statin' the facts, big bro. You either are too fucking blind to see or you don't wanna see. Either way, you're and idiot."

"I don't have to listen to this crap…" Gajeel was getting angry, so he spun on his heels and headed for the door.

"This is true love, moron. It's a once-in-a-fucking-lifetime opportunity and you give yourself reasons not to go for it. SHE'S THE ONE, IDIOT!" He yelled after Gajeel, hearing him put his sneakers on.

SLAM.

"And she's not Deanna…" He sighed heavily, returning his attention to his morning paper.

Gajeel felt his anger bubble up, thanks to Natsu's words.

"True love… What the fuck does he know? Love is merely a chemical attraction, it's not real. AAARGH! GODDAMN IT!" He turned on a darkened alley and punched the wall hard, feeling his knuckles throb. "It's just a phase. It's just a phase. It's just a fucking phase!" It's just a birthday present. I'll just it give to her and nothing will change. I can keep it professional. He inhaled deeply to steady himself, then went back on the sidewalk, heading for his car.

TBC

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