Author's note: OH MEH GOSH, MISTYQUE HAS UPLOADED A CHAPTER! Praise the LORD!

Sorry for the long delay, I'm still having difficulties finding my inspiration, I don't know what's with me... On the bright side, I uploaded a bigger chapter for y'all Misty~es.

Kcrespo , sorry for making you and the rest of my readers wait.

Sketcher1994 , Lucy aka my bff from real life is really something. She's funny and witty, loves to live her life, loyal, and she's been with me since 3rd grade. I'm preparing a small manga as a 20 year anniversary (still working on it). I'll be posting it on Dev once it's done.

DeAmonQuEen , yep, my hubby confessed after i threatened him I wouldn't come for a massage session. And holy shit, did I freak out... Yes, the empathy thing is real, though sometimes I suppress it either because of fear or confusion. But when the feels are too powerful, they break what walls I create and press on me, too. I explained everything in Chapter 7: Gift.

Morisanne , go ahead and scream lol. I hope you will find such a guy, as well. As for me, until my hubby *finally* got to me, the other guys I liked got scared away because I know how to fight. And that made me lose hope in romance.

Lexie , he's certainly a price charming :D although he does drive me crazy sometimes lol. but I drive him crazy, too XD

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)

Thank you for the infinite patience, my Misty~es! Lots of love from yours truly, MistyQue!

CHAPTER 13: First step

"Mornin'!"Gajeel opened the door with a husky smile, letting Levy get inside.

"Good morning." She ducked her head, still not being able to look him in the eye. He turned around and headed for his bedroom, making himself comfortable on the bed for the massage session. No other words were spoken as Levy worked on his back. An hour and a half later, she finished, excusing herself to go to the bathroom and wash her hands. When she came back, Gajeel wasn't in the room, so she lied down on the bed, stretching her back with her eyes closed. Gajeel's steps made her snap her eyes open, just in time as he placed two glasses of water on the counter next to the bed, then lying down next to Levy, watching her intently.

"So…" He started lamely, leaning on his arm.

"So… what?" Levy's heart was beating fast in her chest, looking at his melting eyes.

"Remember what I promised you last night?" He said huskily, taking a blue lock of hair between his fingers and playing with it. Levy racked her mind, trying to remember the conversation they had, then intuition hit her.

"Uhm… a… kiss?" She said in a low voice, her heart drumming hard in her chest after seeing Gajeel smile huskily.

"Yep…" Gajeel leaned closer, easily testing the ground. He lowered his lips to her mouth, placing a soft kiss. Levy was holding her breath the whole time, keeping her hands twined together on her chest. Seeing she didn't push him away, Gajeel continued kissing her lips, moving a hand to caress her cheek. He parted his lips slightly, Levy hurrying to move her tongue on his mouth, when he stopped.

"No tongue yet. Just… follow my lead." Gajeel deepened the kiss, Levy escaping a moan when he shifted his body closer. She stopped herself, stiffening under him. "Don't hold back, I wanna know when you like it." He licked her lips slightly, pecking her again with a giggle.

"What?" Levy asked with her eyes closed.

"You really can't kiss, can you?" Gajeel broke off, looking at the bluenette amused.

"Sorry…" Levy felt ashamed for a moment, looking down, but Gajeel caressed her cheek.

"Don't apologize, it's just… unusual. It's rare these days to be so inexperienced at 20 years old. It's nothing we can't fix, right? Do what I do." He lowered his mouth again, parting her lips with the tip of his tongue. Levy tried to copy him, closing her eyes. She let her body take over, letting her hands search for his chest, going up to his neck as Gajeel tentatively licked between her lips. Levy parted them without thinking, letting him taste her mouth fully. He sighed heavily when Levy finally met his moves, the two creating a steady rhythm. Gajeel wrapped his arms around Levy's neck, deepening the kiss as he moved her head to meet his demands. She felt like she was floating, her skin prickling every time Gajeel would lick her lips. He increased the speed steadily, kissing her fiercely for a long moment before releasing her with a pant.

"God, I've wanted to do that for a long time now…" He said on her mouth, pecking her again and again. "How was that for your first kiss?" He asked with a proud smile, looking at Levy.

"It was…" Levy sighed, smiling dreamily. "Totally worth the wait…" She opened her eyes to look at Gajeel, who laughed throatily.

"Aren't you disappointed you didn't try it before me?"

"Nope. I don't think it would've been so good..." Levy got closer to Gajeel, who lied next to her and rested his chin on his left hand, watching Levy intently.

"Are you sure about this? Us, I mean... Don't you care what the rest would say about the 10 years?" Gajeel placed his left palm on her cheek and looked her in the eyes.

"As I said before, I couldn't care less about their opinion. Their opinion doesn't keep me warm at night." Levy said earnestly, Gajeel wrapping his arm around her and pulling her to his chest, kissing the bluenette on the forehead.

"So this makes you my girlfriend, huh?" Levy blushed, feeling very lightheaded.

"No objections there."

"Good." He inhaled deeply in her hair, closing his eyes as he caressed her arm. They stayed like that for a long time, Gajeel feeling his arm tingle. "D'you wanna… go hang out or something?" He asked at one point, shifting his arm to look at Levy. "Or do you have stuff to do?"

"Cleaning can wait, I guess… So… What do you have in mind?" She placed her hand under her chin.

"Nothing, really. Having a great company can be enough." The bluenette blushed, looking away in embarrassment. "Lemme see if I can find something." Gajeel took his smartphone from the counter and searched the internet. "Have you ever been to a fun fair before?"

"No."

"There's one a couple of towns away, wanna go check it out?"

"Yeah!" Levy's eyes gleamed as she jumped from bed. Gajeel giggled.

"I'll go change." A couple of minutes later, the two left Gajeel's apartment, the raven haired man leading her to the car. When they got in, Gajeel looked at his - now - girlfriend, grabbing her hand and placing it on the gearshift without asking her. She blushed as Gajeel twined their fingers together, staring at his smiling form. Her own mouth tugged at the corners, looking ahead without pulling her hand away.

"Aren't you going a bit fast?" Levy asked at one point, feeling her insides squirm pleasantly from the adrenaline rush and from Gajeel's hand.

"I thought you liked going fast."

"I do, I'm not complaining, it's just… I told you before, I don't want you to get a ticket because of me."

"For one, we're on the highway. And secondly, I told you to stop worrying about it." Gajeel squeezed her hand, smiling fondly. "Hungry?" He noticed a 'Gas station – 1.5 miles' sign. "We still have a couple of hours to kill."

"Sure, why not?"

"It's a man's job to pay for the girl when they go on a date." Gajeel said suddenly, seeing Levy rummage through her wallet. The girl snapped her eyes to him, clearly embarrassed for being found out. "Man… I really gotta train you. You don't even let me open the door for you…"

"Train me?"

"You're a lady." Levy puffed indignantly, but that didn't make Gajeel stop. "Men should open doors for ladies, take them out to restaurants, pay for them when on a date and give them a ride home to make sure they get home safe. What world have you been living into?" He snorted a bit, glancing towards the puffing bluenette.

"The only guy who's ever opened doors for me or walked me home was my brother…" She looked away, pulling her hand back from the gear.

"I wanna do that, too, but you have to let me do all those things. You know, without feeling indebted or anything like that. Because it's supposed to be like this. So…" He parked the car in the lot and turned to Levy. "Will you let me?" Gajeel looked intently at her, waiting for the bluenette to say or do something. She looked at her hands and nodded shyly, Gajeel lighting up. He practically jumped out of the car and hurried to Levy's side with a wide grin. He then proceeded to opening the door for a very blushing Levy, who merely thanked him in a low voice. Gajeel grabbed her hand eagerly and dragged her to lunch with a happy look on his face.

Once they finished lunch, the two were back on the road. An hour later, Gajeel was enjoying the gapping look on Levy's face when she laid eyes on the small town fun fair. She practically itched to get off, but Gajeel stopped her.

"Nu-uh-uh! You said you'd let me!" So he hurried once more to open the door for Levy, who had a hard time getting used to all the attention.

"It's a bit too much all at once…" She told him looking down after Gajeel offered his arm.

"Well, you'll have to get used to all the spoiling, my girlfriend deserves only the best."

"I don't want to be spoiled. So could you… take it down a notch?" Levy walked beside him without taking a hold of his arm. "It's…a bit scary…"

"Scary?" He echoed her words with amusement, Levy nodding shyly.

"At least let me pay for half of the things we do here."

"Not a chance."

"It's hard for me to just change like that." Levy snapped her fingers to emphasize her words. "I've been raised my whole life to take care of myself, to be on my own, so you taking care of me so suddenly is… It makes me feel weak, okay? And helpless. And I hate that…" Gajeel stared at her, trying to get inside her mind and understand her better. "And, besides, it wasn't the size of your wallet that made me care for you."

"Hmm…" The dark haired man thought for a long moment before answering. "Tell you what, you let me pay for the fun stuff and you'll pay for the drinks."

"And the food."

"No. I'll be in charge of food."

"No, you'll take care of the fun and I'll take care of food and drinks."

"No!" Gajeel set his jaw, glaring at Levy, who merely stared back.

"I can go back inside the car and let you go alone." She glared defiantly.

"You'd sacrifice this perfectly good opportunity to see something you've never seen in your life just for that?"Gajeel snorted, not believing she would actually do it.

"I have my pride."

"So do I!" Gajeel snorted.

"Just because I'm your girlfriend for…" Levy glanced at her watch. "…The past few hours, doesn't mean you have to prove yourself like this! Come on, just food and drinks. I'll leave the rest to you."

"I'll do it if you won't say anything, and I mean anything, when I buy you something. Deal?" Levy glared at him.

"You play dirty, mister…"

"Oh, you have no idea how dirty I can get." Gajeel winked at her, wrapping his arms around Levy's waist with a grin.

"Okay, deal. But you let me feed us."

"Cross my heart." He leaned down to get a kiss, not caring about the bustling crowd around them. She felt him smile on her lips just before he lifted her off the ground and twirled her surprised form a couple of times. When Gajeel set her down, Levy saw his triumphant smile as his hand captured her own and pulled her into the crowd. "What d'you wanna try first?"

"The merry-go-around!" Levy saw the shiny horses that spun gracefully around. Once the ride stopped, the two hopped on, Gajeel grabbing an unsuspecting Levy and pulling her on his own wooden horse, holding her in place like a princess. The bluenette didn't fight him after she noticed his smiling form. She merely sighed and placed her head on his chest, enjoying the ride.

They spent the next few hours checking the whole fair, Levy buying cotton candy and candied apples for them. Just as she was throwing her leftovers into a trashcan, Gajeel pulled her arm eagerly.

"Oh, you're coming with me." Levy looked confused at him, something sparkly capturing her attention just before she stopped suddenly.

"Aw, hell no!" She groaned loudly, seeing the pink heart-shaped tunnel.

"What's wrong?" Gajeel looked confused at her, noticing her wrinkly nose.

"It's pink."

"So?"

"I'm not riding that."

"Why not?" He quirked an eyebrow, waiting for an answer.

"I hate pink. It's a color that makes me sick. Just seeing so much pink makes my eyes bleed." She crossed her arms stubborningly, looking away from the offending heart-shaped tunnel. Gajeel merely laughed.

"You're weird for a girl."

"Now he notices." She smiled warmly when Gajeel took her hand again, twining their fingers. "I wanna ride that one." She pointed to a Montaigne-rouse, pulling Gajeel with excitement.

"Keep this up and I might fall in love with you." The raven haired man smiled exhilarated, feeling damn proud his woman wasn't like the rest.

"Oh, the horror…" She said with sarcasm, the two sitting down on their chairs and buckling up for the ride. As soon as the train started moving, Levy could feel the adrenaline pump in her veins and she smiled widely in anticipation. When the ride really started, she grabbed a hold of Gajeel's hand, letting herself be free, yelling her lungs out and laughing hysterically. A few minutes later, the train stopped, the two wobbling away from the Montaigne-rouse.

"Now that was awesome!" A smile tugged at their lips, Levy trying to arrange her wild locks.

"Come on, I wanna win something for you." Gajeel pulled her along towards the games, eying a plush white tiger.

"Let's meet here in 5, I wanna check something." Levy said suddenly, releasing Gajeel's hand and disappearing into the crowd. Gajeel looked after her for a moment, spotting the blue hair at a shooting stall. He let her be and went to the Darts stall, winning easily the white plush tiger. With a victorious smile on his face, Gajeel returned to the designated area, looking around for Levy. He quickly spotted her, closing in on him with a wide smile.

"I got something for you." Both of them said at the same time, smiling in unison.

"You first." Again they spoke at the same time, laughing.

"How about we show them at the same time? At three. Ready?" Levy nodded. "One, two… Three!" Both Gajeel and Levy pulled their hands from their backs, showing their prizes. The two stared confused at the plushies, bursting into laughter when they saw they had the same white tiger.

"Looks like these two little guys are destined for each other." Gajeel wrapped a blue ribbon on his plush to tell the difference between Levy's and his. "Makes you wonder if the ones who won them are too…" He smiled warmly, looking intently at her.

"Hm, déjà-vu." Levy said with a thoughtful voice.

"What?"

"Deja-vu. You know, the feeling of seeing the same scene twice, like a repetition."

"Never had one of those."

"No? I've had plenty. The strange thing is that they increased in number ever since I met you." She caressed her chin thoughtfully, but quickly ushered the thought away, enjoying her first official date. The two took their time to check the whole fair, Levy plopping down on a bench with a huff. Gajeel quickly noticed her tired face, taking a seat next to her.

"It's getting pretty late, wanna go home?"

"You're right… Wow, when did it get so dark?"

"Come on, I'll drive you home." He said fondly, taking Levy by the hand and walking her to the car. A few minutes later, Gajeel was driving back home, not noticing Levy's heavy eyelids. He glanced to his right when he noticed she was too quiet, only to gap at Levy, who was sleeping soundly. He smiled warmly and let her be.

A warm hand caressed Levy's face, making her stir.

"Lev… Levy… We're home."

"Mmm? What?" She opened her eyes and looked around, not realizing where she was.

"I drove you home, remember? We're here."

"Wow! That was fast!" She stretched and yawned heavily.

"Hon, we've been riding for the past 2 hours, you slept the whole time." Gajeel smiled warmly, ruffling her hair when she blushed.

"Sorry… I fell asleep on out first date…" She smiled sheepishly. "I really wanted to spend more time with you and…"

"Don't worry about it, we have plenty of time, right? Besides, we're having a family lunch at Natsu's tomorrow. Well, today." He said after glancing at his clock, then proceeded to opening the door for her and walk her to the door of the apartment building.

"Uhm… I don't know…" Levy said thoughtfully after they stopped, feeling a bit overwhelmed.

"You're part of the family, now. And I want you there…" Gajeel caressed her hands with his thumb, holding his breath as he waited Levy's answer.

"Are you sure?" She looked in his eyes fearful.

" 'Course!" Gajeel smiled widely.

"Okay, then…" Levy looked away, trying to hide her flaming cheeks.

"I'll come and get you at 12." He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled the bluenette closer for a good-night kiss.

"Thank you for today. It was… one of the few best days of my life…" Gajeel smiled proudly.

"My pleasure." He pecked her one final time and released her reluctantly. "Have a good night, my shrimp."

"You too, Gajeel." Levy opened the door and disappeared through it. Once he saw the light go on in Levy's apartment, Gajeel got into his car and drove himself home with a smile plastered on his face.

TBC

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