The Same Toothbrush

Feb 20th — "Marriage/Living Together"

Things are funny now, and not in the way that she wants to laugh. Little things that Levy has never taken notice to have become big, the source of several problems daily, and it makes her nervous.

She never took into consideration what could have changed when Gajeel proposed. It was seemingly on-the-moment, a little after they were restored from their stasis on Tenroujima, but not with any less love than there ought to have been, and she was hysterical as she accepted. The wedding was supposed to be small, but someone (probably Mira) leaked it to the Guild, and although it required the Council to break it up, it was fun having all her family there in the best day of her life.

Since Levy still lived in Fairy Hills, they found it reasonable that she should move into Gajeel's apartment in downtown Magnolia. Things seemed reasonable then, but quickly escalated:

His bed, while comfy, is sort of small for two people, even if one is half the size of a normal person, and she always wakes up with muscle cramps. His sheets, too, smell kind of stale. They aren't dirty or old, but the smell just sticks to them, like how old people had a specific smell to them. She couldn't help thinking of it every time they went to bed together, but always felt sort of shy to bring it up.

Also, their clothes got mixed up a lot. His closet was small too, and so there wasn't enough space to properly divide them. When rushing, sometimes she would accidently grab one of his shirts and drown in it, or he would pick up her shoes by mistake and trip onto his face. Not to mention when Gajeel does laundry and forgets that he is doing women's clothes and tosses in her underwear with his bloodstained shirts. He also has no white clothes and always forgot that whites don't mix with colors, and led to her having to explain red-faced why her shirt is suddenly tie-dyed.

It still happens often that they forget they're living together and one of them goes out and buys food for just the one, meaning a lot of double trips to the market for extra supplies. There also had to be a lot of recipe adjusting, as Gajeel didn't like his foods as mild as hers, and Levy didn't prefer so much, ahem, iron in her diet.

Bathrooms are a subject she wishes she doesn't have to breach anytime soon.

"Sounds like a hassle," Lucy comments. Levy nodded with a pitiful sigh. "And it's only been, what, five months?"

"It feels like longer." She had to ensure no Dragon Slayers were within hearing range before speaking, which was a hard feat to manage, but all Lucy had to do was start a fight between their significant others. Like that, they wouldn't hear a volcano erupting. "I love Gajeel, I really do, but living with him feels sort of impossible."

"Maybe you're not trying hard enough?"

"I'm trying!"

"Okay, okay… I don't know what to tell you, Levy-chan, other than stay patient. Things weren't great for Natsu and me at first either, but they got better."

"I don't know, Lu-chan."

"Just trust in your relationship. If you do that, you'll pull through," she said encouragingly.

The breaking point for her is the toothbrush.

"Gajeel, that's mine!" she cried, coming into the bathroom and snatching it from his hand. He spits the foam from his mouth and wipes it on a towel.

"So? I don't see the big deal." His hair is in a ponytail and he's wearing a loose shirt with the sleeves rolled up and sweatpants. He looks so normal, like this is a casual matter, and that annoys her a little.

"It's— It's my toothbrush, that's the big deal!" He raises his eyebrows and crosses his arms over his chest.

"Why're you makin' such a big fuss over this, Shrimp?"

"Because!"

"…'cause what?"

"Because the bed!" His eyes widen slightly with curiosity but Levy is on a roll. "Because the bed and the closet and with meals and laundry and — and especially the bathroom! Just — not my toothbrush too."

"Ah," he says blandly. "Ya regret movin' in with me?"

"No, no, it's not that!" she protests vehemently. "It's just that things are changing a lot and in little time, and I don't feel like I can keep up…"

"I see." He sounds a little less stricken, but still suspicious. She takes a step forward and grasps one of his hands with both of hers.

"I mean it, Gajeel." He searches her eyes for a moment in silence, causing her heart to accelerate, then sighs.

"Let's use the same one."

"Huh?"

"We'll use the same toothbrush. It'll make things a little easier. Alright, Shrimp?" He rests his hand on her head and gives a half-smile. "We're a team now, so don't ya go and suffer in silence. Somethin's wrong, ya tell me straightaway, 'cause I don't wanna see you upset." She blushes and smiles back. "That's how this whole being married schtick works, isn't it? We talk, we compromise, we work together."

"That's right, yes."

"So don't go and clamp up on me now, especially when you ain't have a problem mouthin' off to me before this was here." He twines their fingers and lifts her hand, showing the golden band around her ring finger. She laughes a little in response.

"The same toothbrush," Levy agrees. "There's a start."