A/N: A bit short, but I kinda like the fluff that goes on. It's torturous trying to build a slow burn plot, but eh, I'm enjoying it so far.

"I can't believe it!" Lucy groaned, dropping sideways onto the couch she and Gajeel were sitting on. She shoved her feet over his knees and groaned again at the winner's screen. "We tied! We tied every round, so why does it keep putting you as number one?!"

"Because I'm Black Steel Gajeel."

"That's it, I officially hate you."

"You know you love me." he smirked at her. She pulled her feet underneath her and sat back up.

"What now?" she sighed.

"We could-" he was cut off by her squeal of excitement.

"Oh my god! You have a cat!"

"Uhhh yeah, I do. His names Pantherlily." Gajeel scratched the back of his head as his beloved kitty leaped into his lap and demanded his attention. He held his hand out for the black and white cat to nuzzle before stroking under its chin.

"Aww he's so adorable." she cooed, scooting closer to Gajeel.

"Yeah he's real cute. And a real pain in the ass when I need to get up in the morning." Gajeel rolled his eyes. "Every night he comes and lays right on top my chest. I can't move when I wake up."

"Just move him." Lucy let the cat sniff her hand before patting the top of his head.

"Why would I move him? He's too cute to disturb when he's sleeping with his little face and…" Gajeel blushed as he realized what he was saying.

"Awww Black Steel Gajeel has a soft side!" the blonde crowed.

"Tell anyone about this and you'll regret it." he threatened her, continuing to play with Pantherlily.

"It'd be worth it." she grinned, leaning back into the couch as they both stroked the kitty.

"Oh, I was gonna say before," Gajeel remembered, "we can watch a movie or somethin. It's only, what, four?" the pair had gotten to Gajeel's house at around one, so they played Mario Kart for far longer than either had anticipated.

"What should we watch?" she asked as he pulled Netflix up.

"Hmm… let's watch-"

"Creed!" she exclaimed. He turned his head to her, a lost look in his eyes.

"You wanna watch that?"

"Well, your favorite movie is Rocky, right? This is the newest installment of the series, after all."

"But are you sure you wouldn't rather watch, I dunno, some chick flick?" he questioned.

"I don't think you'd enjoy that type of movie. Besides, Levy said it was really good, I've been meaning to watch it for ages." the blonde smiled before taking the remote from him and pressing the play button on the title.

Gajeel was getting it bad for this little blondie.

Neither of them knew it, but Lucy felt the same. The only reason the movie had interested her when Levy brought it up was because she knew Gajeel would like it. Somehow, she started to seek out things that he'd like. Hell, even that morning she had considered wearing dark jeans with a black top, since that was the outfit he rocked almost every time she saw him.

Both of them watched the movie with rapture, sneaking glances at the other to gauge their reactions to what was going on. Sometime during it, Gajeel's arm had snaked on the back of the sofa behind Lucy's head, and she unconsciously leaned into him. Pantherlily was squeezed into the tiny space between them, purring as Lucy's fingers stroked the soft fur between his eyes.

"That was really good!" Lucy exclaimed at the end of the movie.

"Tch. Too much romance." Gajeel's voice was a little hoarse from not speaking for such a long time after his yelling match during Mario Kart. Lucy's breath caught when she heard it, her cheeks giving a bit of a flush.

"So… are you thinking what I'm thinking?" she sprang up, realizing how close they were.

"What?" his eyes narrowed at her suspiciously.

"I say now we play… Wii boxing!" she cheered, holding up the attachments and the game.

"You're on." he stood abruptly with a smirk, making Pantherlily give out a mewl of protest from the loss of body heat.

"I hope you know that I'm even better at Wii boxing than I am at Mario Kart." she joked.

"So… you're terrible?"

"Hey!" she punched him. "We tied every time, that would mean you're calling yourself terrible!"

"Keep the violence to the game, please." Gajeel rolled his eyes at her. The first round, she knocked him out. The second round, he got her pretty quickly.

"Hey! You cheated." she pouted.

"How can you possibly cheat in a game like this?" he chuckled, clicking start on the next round.

"Like…" she sent out a series of punches, knocking his character down, then leaped onto him, latching around him so he couldn't move. "This!" she squealed as he struggled.

"Oi! Get off me, bunny girl!" he shouted, trying to wiggle her off of him without hurting her.

"Yes! I won!" Lucy cheered, successfully keeping her opponent down.

"That was totally cheating!" he scowled as she continued to cheer for herself.

"I know!" she let a giggle escape. "I told you I was going to!"

"That's it, we're never playing another game again."

"You know you love me." she echoed his words from before. They both turned to face each other, grinning widely. When their eyes met they didn't forget the rest of the world, they didn't feel romantic tension. They just looked at each other and were content.

There was a warmth in each of their hearts that blossomed throughout their bodies. They didn't feel desperate to touch each other, they were happy as they were. And so when they moved agonizingly slow towards each other, neither sped up.

They had both lost their game controllers what seemed like ages ago. They were hyper-aware of their surroundings, the cheering coming from the TV only edging them further. The soft purring snores of Pantherlily made them both grin even wider, and when Gajeel's fingers ghosted over the blonde's hips they both shivered at the warmth there. She moved to place her hands lightly on his broad (and very muscular, she noticed) shoulders.

"We should practice dancing." Lucy blurted.

"For what?" his grin turned into a scowl.

"Well, we have to dance together at prom."

"Oi, we don't have to." he whined.

"I want to." her smile melted his resolve.

"Okay, fine, but if a word of this gets out…" his threat was empty and she knew it. So did he. And so she laced her fingers behind his neck and he placed his hands just above the small of her back (like a gentleman, she noted) and they danced to the sounds of the world around them. It was a slow shuffle, almost intimate. Their chests brushed every so often, causing more shivers of warmth, and her long blonde hair tickled the backs of his hands.

Neither of them confessed, and neither of them planned to, because somehow, they just knew that they wouldn't have it any other way.