A/N: For the "I love you" prompt for TUmblr's Gajevy Week! Thanks as always to my beta, Amaranth121

Levy's gaze was unwavering, scrutinizing, and piercing through the steam of her coffee mug. Her brow creased under the weight of her thoughts, and her pinky tapped the hot mug repetitively. It was frustrating mystery, one that had stumped her for days, bordering on a week. The blue-haired mage wasn't one to remain at a loss for too long, and the lack of answers - answers that expressly asking for didn't retrieve - was maddening.

As if the iron dragon wasn't already a big enough source of frustration for her. Stupid Gajeel, she couldn't help but think, recalling the innumerable nicknames, teases, and pokes to her side that would, without fail, bring a humiliating yelp and jump in reaction. It was embarrassing, but the attention from the dragon slayer had been gradually increasing over the last several months.

Levy couldn't complain about how much time she had been able to spend with him recently, be it on missions or during the general merry-making of the guild; he always seemed to find himself at her side. The script mage spent weeks talking herself out of overthinking it, telling herself that he was her guildmate, a friend, and anything beyond that was a product of her imagination.

This had worked for some time, despite the frequency of candid conversations, gentle smiles, and the occasional blush on his face when she caught him looking her way. It was an active effort to keep herself from going down a path that might not even be open to her, because after all, he hadn't indicated at any point that it was.

Until about a week ago, when he had said something - she couldn't remember what - and she laughed heartily. The full-body kind of laugh that lights up every part of the body. He had looked at her with those piercing red eyes, the pink evident in his cheeks, and uttered a single word: "one."

When she asked him to repeat himself, he barreled forward in conversation as though it hadn't happened at all and she convinced herself she had been hearing things. The next day, she walked into the guild hall first thing in the morning, bright and ready for the day, in a dress she had bought with Lucy a few days before. It was of course her favorite color, with a sweetheart neckline, a snug waist, and a skirt that flared out enough to move freely as she walked.

As a half-awake Gajeel stumbled in shortly after, she brightly greeted him, and he responded first with extended silence. He blinked a few times, looked her over, and mumbled "two" before pursuing caffeine.

This continued for the rest of the week, from one situation to another, and the one time that Levy accosted him about what on earth he was counting about, he turned red, told her "nothin'" and walked away. Which was all the more infuriating, because he was an absolute lug with the communication skills of a rock.

Which brings her back to the present moment, watching him talk about something or other with Lily. As it stood, they were at "eleven" on his mystery scale.

The steam had gone from her coffee by the time Gajeel turned his attention back to her, raising a curious brow. "The hell's on your mind, Shrimp?" he asked, cracking an anticipatory smirk, which was rewarded by her invariable cringe at the name.

"Not like you'll tell me if I ask," she grumbled, taking a sip of her lukewarm coffee.

"Gihe! Someone's cranky," Gajeel teased.

"Only because you're impossible," Levy retorted with puffed cheeks, "insufferably difficult."

Despite her irritation, Gajeel laughed heartily, a hand resting on his chest to steady himself. He took a moment to catch his breath, shook his head, and: "Twelve."

In absolute exasperation, Levy put her mug down with a heavy clunk and narrowed her honey eyes at the dragon. "Would you please just tell me what you're counting? What is it? Some kind of joke? Are you just teasing me?"

Gajeel returned a surprisingly relaxed smile, the blush on his cheeks returning, "And thirteen."

Levy raised her hands in defeat and looked to the ceiling. "Mavis, grant me patience," she cried. The blue-haired mage rose abruptly to her feet, replacing Gajeel's amusement with a tinge of concern. She was unwavering, however, and stomped her way out of the main hall. I may as well read up on the upcoming mission; I need something to occupy my thoughts. Anything but him, she thought with a sigh that slumped her shoulders. I just wish he knew. He has no idea how easy it is for him to get under my skin.

The mage slowed to a halt in the hallway and leaned against the wall. She rubbed her temples, trying to calm the swirling thoughts that she had become so practiced with wrangling. She could feel a familiar burning in her eyes that she tried desperately to stop; she had no reason to cry. Get a hold of yourself, Levy. You're being silly. He's your friend.

Her efforts to rein herself back into reason left her unaware of the approaching footsteps until his voice nearly pulled her out of her skin. "Ya alright there, Shrimp?"

Levy quickly wiped at her eyes and whipped around to face him, steeling her expression to face him. "I'm fine," she replied, tight-lipped. "I'm just going to the library."

Gajeel's shoulders heaved with a deep sigh as he ran his hand through his black mane. He looked up to the ceiling, and for the first time looked like he was just as frustrated and at a loss as she was. Levy wavered with uncertainty, waiting for him to break the pause.

"Look," he finally said, returning his gaze to hers only for a moment before looking off to the side, "I ain't good with this stuff. I know I ain't easy to talk to, and I don't know how to say stuff."

Confused, Levy furrowed her brow and tilted her head, "What are you talking about, Gajeel?"

"Lil told me I should just get out with it already. But the damn cat doesn't know it ain't that easy," Gajeel continued, shedding no more light on the situation, "especially if I don't know how ya feel. I didn't wanna make an ass o' myself."

Levy took a step forward, raising her hands in front of her pleadingly, "Gajeel, I have no idea what you are talking about. I'm annoyed because you won't talk to me, but right now you're doing a lot of talking without really saying-"

"I've been counting," Gajeel blurted, cutting the script mage off. She cocked her head back, taken by surprise. "I didn't know if I should even say it, or if I meant it," he continued, "but damnit, I mean it. I'm gonna mean it."

Levy rubbed her face with her hands, trying so desperately to be patient with him. She knew - oh, she knew so well - that communication wasn't his strong suit. What she was seeing in front of her was him really trying. He was trying so hard to speak his mind, and she was completely lost on his runaway train of thought. "Counting what, Gajeel?" she prompted, trying to be gentle.

His Adam's apple bobbed with a heavy swallow, he squared his stance, and he stood a little straighter. He was trying so hard to stand strong, but the blazing redness on his face betrayed his fortitude. "I've been counting every time I've almost said I love you."

Levy's eyes instantly went wide, and she felt her heart jump into her throat. She found herself leaning forward, just slightly in anticipation of what she thought he had just said. There's no way… there's no way he just said that, right? Did I just dream that?

Her thoughts may as well have been a banner across her face because Gajeel continued despite her stunned silence. "I didn't know if I should just, say it. I kept on catchin' it; it was like a reflex. You'd laugh, or smile at me, or tell me something you read, and it would just be there, on the tip of my tongue. So instead of makin' an idiot of myself, I… I counted the times. It was easier," Gajeel explained, barely stopping to breathe. The rambling helped, and it also made him feel like he was prolonging her rejection without giving her a chance to get a word in edgewise. She looked like she had seen a ghost, and her mouth hung open just slightly. It was anything but an encouraging response. "I'm sorry for springin' this on ya, but you kept askin' and were getting so huffy about it so-"

"You love me?" Levy finally gasped, finding her voice again.

Gajeel frowned deeply, growling a little at her. She hadn't really replied to his confession, and all she was giving him was a shocked stare that did little to calm to somersaults in his gut. "Ain't ya been listenin'? Ya gonna make me say it again? Kinda cruel, don't ya think?"

"Yes," Levy said quickly, before shaking her head suddenly. "I mean, yes, say it again," she asked, a blush of her own taking over her face. "I want to be sure," she said, a smile starting to grow on her features that crinkled the corners of her eye with restrained joy.

The light that started to grow from her did not go unnoticed by Gajeel. But it certainly surprised him. She wasn't running away, and she wasn't shouting at him; she was glowing. He had finally told her how he felt, and she finally responded with what looked like happiness.

Gajeel smirked finally and stepped forward to close the distance between them. Towering over the blushing mage, he leaned forward and carefully took her face in his hands. "I love you," he said, slowly and deliberately. He hesitated, waiting for her reaction.

To his delight, she continued to smile up at him and reached up to rest her hands on his forearms. Tears of a different kind started to well in her eyes, and she subconsciously rose onto tiptoe. "One," she said simply, winking at him.

The dragon slayer chuckled, and without wasting another moment he brought his lips to hers. She took in a sharp breath and he could feel her smiling against his lips. The warmth overtook him, radiating from her and consuming his senses in the most wonderful way possible. Her lips tasted of sugar and coffee, and Gajeel had never imagined that coffee would taste like heaven.

When the two broke briefly, smiling brightly and catching their breath from the thrill, Levy giggled lightly, "I love you too."