And here is the next chapter! Loved how it came out in the end, because I didn't plan this when I got the idea. ^^ To be honest, it's not like there will be happening a lot in this chapter.. The whole idea of this story started with Natsu and Gajeel and they worked things out with each other last chapter. But ya know, I thought I didn't threw enough people in to make Gajeel realize how things work in Fairy Tail. And I'm a hopeless shipper… :P

I want to thank you all you guys for following/favoriting/reviewing! Your reactions make me smile. :D Please tell me what you think of this chapter too! R&R!

WARNING: Because this chapter is sort of written from Gajeel's POV, know that there is some cursing.

He ended up going home when the guild was starting to get quiet. Wendy and her cat left earlier with Bunny Girl, Salamander and Happy not so far behind. Juvia was still next to him, but her eyelids were falling. She wouldn't last much longer he figured, so he poked her and got up. She snapped her eyes open and looked at him in a drowsy way.

"What's Gajeel-kun doing?"

"I'm leaving Ameonno. Didn't ya see how late it is?"

She yawned, looking around to take in the almost dark sky outside and the few people left in the hall.

"Then Juvia must get going too."

She stood up and marched to the doors, clearly very set on getting some sleep. He trudged after her, red eyes focused on the ground. He wasn't in for the night. He knew he would end up getting no sleep at all. The day might have been less worse than the other years, but he wasn't so optimistic for the night. After all, his karma couldn't be that good.

Juvia and he separated ways when Fairy Hills came in sight.

"Goodnight Gajeel-kun."

He watched her go, blending into the dark shadows with ease. She was insane for sticking with him all day, but that didn't mean he was very happy to see her go. He seriously doubted going back to the guild. Or maybe just walk around for a bit. Home didn't sound very appealing. Just a cold apartment. Oh no wait- that wasn't true. He had Phanterlily now. Yeah, that was it. He and Phanterlily could surely stay up together. Right?

Somehow he wasn't too sure Lily would be in for it. So he just snorted and turned around, heading towards his own house. Gradually, but not with much enthusiasm he got there.

He slammed the door open as hard as he could without breaking it in half to alert Lily he was home. Sinking down on the couch he grabbed a piece of iron lying around and began munching on it.

Soft footsteps made him turn around. Lily stood in the doorway, arms crossed and a smug look on his face.

"What the hell Lily?"

Gajeel wasn't in the mood for whatever that stupid cat got into his head now. Teasing, arguing or sparring could wait for another day. Preferably tomorrow, to get his mind of things.

But Lily just smirked, not moving from his spot, or paying attention to the Dragon Slayer's sour mood.

"While you were sulking in Magnolia with your murderous aura, a messenger dropped off this package."

He pointed his thumb to a package that Gajeel missed when he walked in, sitting innocently on the table. But it was far from innocent, because from what he could see of it, it didn't look like anything he or Lily would order at all.

For starters, it was way too bright, wrapped up in warm green color that looked too flashy for Gajeel's taste. To make things worse, it had a bright red bow knotted around it. And on the bow there was a little card, innocently dangling.

Lily watched in amusement as Gajeel glanced at the package as if it was some sort of threat or intruder. His smirk grew larger.

"It's for you."

The way Gajeel narrowed his eyes, you would have thought it really was an intruder. If looks could kill then the poor package would be a smoldering pile of ashes by now. Who in the fucking world dared to send him a package of all things on this damned day?!

"Gajeel. It's just a package. Be a man and open it instead of eying it like you want to rip it apart."

Now Lily became the subject of Gajeel's killing glare.

"Shaddup cat, I can do whatever the hell I want with that package! And right now, tearing it apart doesn't sound like a bad idea."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." came Lily's dry comment. "It's from Levy."

The atmosphere in the room suddenly changed, and the boiling hate in Gajeel's red eyes evaporated. He looked absolutely dumbfounded. If this hadn't been such a serious day and all, Lily would have chuckled at the face the Dragon Slayer. Until he burst lose.

"Shrimp? Are you fucking kidding me Lily?! She's on a mission with her lap dogs! Why would she be sending me packages?!"

Lily didn't seem fazed by the outburst. "It makes more sense actually. She couldn't be here so why not sending it?"

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!"

"Geez, calm down, it's just a package..."

But Gajeel glared, then huffed and took a bit of another piece of iron, turning his back to Lily and that stupid package he wasn't interested in at all.

Lily rolled his eyes, knowing that if he waited, he would get his fun. Gajeel wouldn't been able to ignore it for long. At last, he had to open it before Levy came back, because she would ask him about it.

But Gajeel really wasn't in the mood for Lily and that stupid package. He couldn't understand why she would send him something. And why now? Why today? She couldn't have picked a worse date! She wasn't here, and it irritated him. And the fact that it irritated him, irritated him even more. She was not supposed to have such an influence on him. He was getting soft. They were changing him. That whole stupid guild with their endless nakama preaching. And he hated it as much as he loved it. Because this feeling, was exactly why he decided to never care about anyone anymore. He couldn't handle feeling this again. The horrible feeling of losing someone he cared about. Especially because he had no right to feel this way about her. He wasn't supposed to miss her. He was the one that nailed her and her teammates to a tree before joining the guild. He had no right to miss her.

And yet… he found himself admitting that he did in fact… miss her. Fuck. He really was turning soft. But from all the people in Fairy Tail who had somehow –the heavens knew how- grown close to Gajeel, she was the one who had gotten the closest.

But she wasn't here today. She was gone. On the 7th of July of all days. Just like Metalicana.

No matter how hard he told himself that he didn't care, that he didn't need them, the feeling of loss stayed. He suddenly wanted to break something again. Or another fight with Salamander. That wouldn't be too bad either.

But instead of breaking something, he found himself standing up and walking over to the table where the Shrimp's package lay. A package for him. He scoffed and turned around. Only to spin back and snatch the package from the table anyway. Before he would throw it away, or possibly break it- he wanted to know what was inside it.

The inside however had to wait a little longer, because the card was proving far more interesting by now. She probably wrote something on it. He couldn't imagine her buying a card and then just write down her name and for who it was. Nope. She would have written a whole book in that card. So he looked.

'Gajeel,

I'm sorry for not giving you this in person. But, I absolutely had to make sure you got this on the 7th of July. And now Team Shadow Gear is away on a mission, giving it to you like this will have to do. I hope you like it. Please don't destroy it, it took me a long time to find it. And you better tell me what you think about it when I get back.

Levy.'

Despite everything Gajeel couldn't help but smirk at her card. It was written in her own neat handwriting, covering all the room on the card like Gajeel expected it would do. And the things she said were just like her too. Being all sweet and polite, but snappy at the thought of him destroying whatever it was.

At this point he was really curious about what the hell Shrimp got him. It was apparently hard to find, and she didn't want it to be destroyed. Curiously, he shook the package, listening for anything. But whatever it was, it was packed in securely, making it impossible for Gajeel to hear anything else besides the rustling of paper. Having checked out how it sounded and feeling only a box from the outside he brought it to his nose and sniffed. It smelled like the Shrimp he noticed, the scent of oil, old paper and dust mixed with a sweetness that was typically girly. There were faint scents from other people who held it, but he didn't recognize them. He vaguely smelled a trace of Jet and Droy's scent, although it was almost completely faded. It also smelt strongly like paper. But the scent that was dominating everything was the scent he knew by heart. The scent of iron.

And not just any iron. No, first-class iron. The kind of iron he didn't eat every day, simply because it was way too expensive to buy much. His stomach twisted and Gajeel tore the paper of with an impatience he hadn't had before. How on Earthland he had been able to miss this delicious scent the whole time was beyond him, but it probably had something to do with being surrounded by all the iron he had in his house, and the fact he was distracted by this fucking day.

The red ribbon got dumped on the floor, followed by the green paper. Gajeel opened the box carefully, licking his lips in foresight of the special treat.

And then he stopped dead in his tracks. Because in the box, underneath all that paper, was a beautifully made miniature dragon. An iron dragon. It wasn't Metalicana or any other dragon he recognized, but a dragon none the less. Made of the finest first-class iron there was to be found and crafted with great skill. Well, at least for punks who didn't have his magic.

Gajeel couldn't eat this. Even though he wanted to. Even though it smelled delicious, he found that he couldn't.

Because this miniature iron dragon was the nicest present he ever got.

His eyes lit up with a spark of amusement. "Gihi. Ya got great taste Shrimp." Maybe, just maybe, this whole nakama thing would work out.

Behind him, Lily was watching the whole scene with a smile. He shook his head when Gajeel carefully put the iron dragon down. Levy somehow managed to get things right. Even today.