Disclaimer: For disclaimers I'll start off with the obvious "I don't own anything" followed by "hey there's sex later on". This is a Gale fic, meaning LevyxGajeel (but you know that and that's why you're here). There's some foreplay and sex later, so if you're not comfortable with that then…bye I guess. For the rest of you, I hope I didn't slaughter your ship.

The best kinds of mornings for Levy were Sunday mornings. She worked as a librarian and on Sundays the library was closed, allowing her to sleep in until her heart's content. That Sunday morning was beautiful. Winter had newly lapsed into spring meaning the breeze was cool but the sun was warm as it shone through her bedroom window.

Levy gave a stretch under her covers and squeak of a yawn before rolling over to greet her partner. She stopped short when her hand failed to find a body beside hers. A frown immediately pulled down her smile as she looked around the room in slight distress. She hadn't heard him get up. With a huff she pulled the sheets off of herself and slid from the bed, placing one foot on the floor at a time before standing up and doing a couple toe touches. The short young woman grabbed her mint green robe and shrugged in on before walking out of the bedroom and down the hall towards her kitchen.

"Gajeel?" she called out. She had passed by the bathroom on the way to the kitchen and the light hadn't been on, perhaps he was making breakfast she decided.

But even before she entered she knew he wasn't there. The kitchen was void of the normal smell of coffee that her boyfriend made every morning when he woke. There were no dishes on the rack, no coffee made, not even the morning paper had been brought in.

"Where did you go?" she huffed, half angry, half worried.

It was as she was looking around the room for signs that Gajeel had been up when she saw a piece of paper sitting out on the table. Written in black ink in a sloppy sort of cursive was a note from Gajeel.

"Got called into work this morning. Didn't want to wake you. Will be gone until tonight. Already running late. Check you later Short Lady."

Levy sighed. It had started out as such a good morning only to be so easily ruined. Gajeel and her had recently bought a house with the inheritance left to them by Gajeel's parents, his father having recently passed away, and the two of them had planned to repaint the sitting room since neither had to work.

The paint cans and the paint rollers and tray were already to go too she thought glumly. Looks like I'll be working by myself.

Gajeel's cat picked that moment to wander into the kitchen. It was a fairly large black cat Gajeel had named Panther Lily. Levy couldn't help but giggle every time she saw him; his ears were small and round and gave him the appearance of a long tailed bear rather than a cat. Panther Lily gracefully hopped up onto the table and sat down to watch Levy.

Absentmindedly she began petting him, allowing her thumb to trance the scar that he had received at the corner or his eye for trying to fight Natsu and Lucy's cat, Happy when they had first been introduced. Panther Lily purred as she began to scratch under his chin.

"I wish he didn't have to go to work," Levy sighed. She often talked to Panther Lily when she was home alone; it made her feel as though she wasn't absolutely alone. "The one day a week I have off and he…"

Panther Lily's tail swished back and forth.

"But money is money I suppose. And I'm going to guess you want food."

As if he could understand, Panther Lily meowed loudly and lashed his tail back and forth.

Levy's mind wandered to her friends Lucy and Natsu as she meandered around the kitchen preparing both Panther Lily's breakfast and her own. Not feeling super creative, she settled for a bowl of cereal and milk.

Lucy had been one of Levy's best friends since middle school when Lucy and Erza had chased off some bullies who had been playing monkey in the middle with one of Levy's books. The two had stayed strong friends due to their love of literature. Lucy had met Natsu through Erza, and it was through Natsu and Lucy that Levy was able to meet Gajeel who knew Natsu from the gym.

The two couples had gone on double dates before and they had a lot of fun together. Natsu and Lucy had been dating for two years before Gajeel and Levy, and three months ago the two had gotten engaged. They were to be married in nine months.

As Levy munched on her cereal, she often found herself merely staring into the milk in her bowl. Married, she thought to herself. Her longtime friend was getting married. She had to admit she was a bit envious; after all, what girl doesn't entertain the thought of marriage once in a while? Levy also felt happy for the two. They were living in an apartment together much to the horror of Lucy's strict father, but two couldn't be happier. Lucy was a novelist who had published two books already by twenty five, and Natsu was a professional boxer. The two had it made.

Levy on the other hand had her doubts about herself and Gajeel. She was only a librarian and she had bills still rolling in from college that she graduated a year before. She had no family to rely on and no real marketable skills. Gajeel worked at a body shop downtown. He himself was a professional welder and could build a motorcycle from the bottom up by himself. He hadn't bothered going to college, opting to work full time instead. The only reason the two had been able to buy the house was because of the inheritance Gajeel had collected from his mother when she died right after Levy and him had started dating, and from his father's passing only a year ago.

"I wonder if we'll ever get married," she sighed.

The two got along well. Gajeel kept up maintenance on the house and Levy watched their financial situation. The couple rarely fought, although when they did they could never stay mad for long. Their friend Mirajane often gushed about how cute of a couple they were.

But Levy often worried. Gajeel wasn't an overly emotional person. She knew he loved her greatly in his own way, but he didn't often show it publicly or outright. He showed his affection by sleeping beside her, going to work every day, keeping the house in running order, keeping her safe especially from vile men and by allowing her to make decisions such as what color to paint the walls. Would he ever want to settle down with her?

Pushing thoughts of marriage aside Levy washed up the dishes and went and changed into a pair of old jeans and an equally old white t-shirt. She tied her hair back with a bandana and made her way into the sitting room to begin to paint. After pulling back the curtains and opening the windows light flooded into the room and there was a slight cross wind.

"I'm glad I got him to move everything out of here yesterday…else I wouldn't have been able to do much of anything," she grumbled. She often hated her small size. It made even the simplest things like reaching things on shelves and moving furniture around nearly impossible. It was nice to have someone big and strong like Gajeel around.

She walked across the hardwood floor in her bare feet over to where she had stacked a couple cans of paint. Gajeel and Levy had decided to paint the sitting room a warm color, and yellow was Levy's first choice.

The librarian took a screw driver and popped the lid off the first can with little difficulty and poured a fair amount into the tray. Grabbing a roller she applied paint to it and began rolling it along the walls.

Over the course of the day Levy had stopped painting only three times; once for lunch, once to turn on the stereo so the house wouldn't be so quiet, and once for a lonely dinner with just Panther Lily as company. The sun was had been hidden away for close to an hour already forcing Levy to turn on the lights and close down the windows. Her shirt and pants were splattered with now dry paint and there were a couple smudges on her face from where she had wiped some sweat away.

A particularly catchy song began playing and Levy couldn't help but begin to sway to the rhythm. Eventually she was not just mouthing the words but singing them aloud, her swaying turning into dancing and swirling around the room. She had become so involved in the song that she completely missed the click of the door opening.

It was only several minutes later that she heard a snicker that caused her to stop dead in her tracks.

"That's a nice scene to come to," Gajeel said. He was standing just inside the door holding a bag of tools he had to take to work and his leather jacket tossed over his shoulder. "Sometimes I forget what a nice ass you have."

Levy spun around to face her boyfriend, her face bright red and her arms quickly were folded against her chest. "I didn't hear you come in! How long have you been standing there?"

He smirked. "Long enough."

Gajeel strode across the room, taking half as many steps it would take Levy, to where he was in front of her, gazing down at her. She averted her eyes shyly. "You've been gone long enough," she muttered.

His gaze softened and he put his arms around her drawing her up to his chest. "I'm sorry babe. They called me early this morning. I needed the money, and I didn't want to wake you up so early on your one day off."

"I painted the whole room. In case you didn't notice," she huffed. Gajeel couldn't help but chuckle. She was so small, yet she was so packed with energy and attitude. Her size also explained why the ceiling was still white.

He leaned down, pressing his forehead to hers like he always did when he wanted to express how he felt towards her. "I know. It looks great. I'm sorry I wasn't here to help."

She glanced up into his eyes and sighed, her frown turning into a small smile. "Welcome home Gajeel."

At that, Gajeel ducked his head down a couple more inches to plant a soft kiss on her unsuspecting lips. Levy gave a small jerk of surprise but Gajeel instinctively wrapped his arms around her in order to keep her in place and to allow him to deepen the kiss. She kissed back tenderly as she always did.

When they stopped Levy took ahold of his much bigger hand. "I'm going to make you some dinner. Any suggestions?"

He shrugged. "Whatever's easiest to make."

Levy rolled her eyes playfully. "That's not an answer. Why don't you inspect my work on the walls while I get it ready?"

Gajeel grumbled out something as Levy left the room. She stopped on her way to the kitchen and looked down at her clothes. I should probably change, she told herself. Instead of heading into the kitchen she walked the opposite way into the bedroom. She slid open the closet and gazed in at all the clothes. Most were her dresses and sandals. She stripped down out to her brassiere and leaned forward to rummage through her clothes looking for another plain t-shirt.

She was digging around for a couple minutes before she found a plain red on that had been hanging in the back. Levy was in the process of removing it from the hanger when a pair of hands shot around her torso, drawing her back into a firm body. The smell of the garage filled her nose along with the smell of leather. One hand was placed over her eyes, the other gripped her hip. A hot breath tickled her neck.

"G-Gajeel!" she breathed out heavily.

"You look so delectable," Gajeel said, his voice muffled as he leaned down to bury his face in her blue hair.

She couldn't help but smile at the feeling of his breath tickling her scalp. "I was going to change out of my dirty clothes and put on something that didn't have paint on it to make you dinner," she chuckled.

Gajeel let out a sort of growl and spun her around, keeping a hand on her hip the other on her shoulder instead of over her eyes. His eyes, a brown mixed with red, bore into hers.

"Dinner can wait."

"Gaje-"

Levy was lifted up off the floor and pulled against this body, their lips crashing together roughly. Although a little surprised, Levy kissed back easily. Gajeel set the fast pace, pressing into her more and more until eventually he had moved her into the wall and had a hand on either side of her head, effectively boxing her in. She had her hands gripping at the front of his jacket in order to pull him into her. She could feel the tautness of his body against her, his arousal nudging her abdomen, metal piercings that were dotted up and down his arms a poking coolness on her skin. Their mouths released each with a wet pop. Levy stood red faced and panting; it had been a while since the two of them had kissed with such intensity. She ran her hands down his front, stopping at his stomach. Her partner was resting his chin on the top of her head trying to regain his rhythm. Her hands snaked around him and squeezed him tight.

"I want you Gajeel," Levy whispered softly. She loved Gajeel, but they had never gone any further than kisses and touches. Today however Levy wanted nothing more than to melt into the love of her life, to enjoy the feel of him, to show him how much he means to her.

Gajeel's chest gave a small jerk as his breath hitch in his throat.

"Are you sure?" he asked equally as quiet.

A nod was her only response.

Gajeel took a couple steps back until the back of his knees hit the edge of the bed. He unzipped his boots and kicked them off then pulled off his socks followed by his shirt. After tossing them aside he scooted back a little until his toes barely touched the ground all the while under Levy's curious gaze.

With a finger he beckoned at her and in a gravelly voice said, "Come to me Levy."

Timidly she advanced. At the edge of the bed she placed one knee after the other onto the bed on either side of Gajeel and allowed herself to be guided by him into his lap.

"Don't be afraid."

She nodded. "I've never…"

He kissed her forehead and soothed his hands down her arms, leaving goose bumps in their wake. "I'll be gentle."

The single kiss to the forehead multiplied as he trailed down the side of her face, neck, across her small shoulders then down the contour of her bra. She watched him kiss her with half lidded eyes. When he got down to the cup of her white and blue striped bra he paused for a moment as if considering something before mouthing at her through the fabric.

"Ah…"

One of his hands that had been running down her spine found the clip of her bra and with unusual ease unhooked it. Her bra immediately loosened and Gajeel slid it down her arms before pulling it off completely and tossing it in a pile with his clothes. Out of habit her hands jerked up to cover herself. Gajeel gently nudged them away with a chuckle.

"Calm down."

"I'm sorry I'm just-"

Her words turned into a sigh as Gajeel placed his lips on the top of her breast. It started as a feather-like kiss, gradually turning into teeth pressing down and swirls of his tongue. Levy arched forward slightly to allow for more contact. Alternating between hard sucks and biting, Gajeel pulled away slightly to inspect his work.

"Gajeel…"

He continued down, finally coming to one of her nipples and taking it into his mouth gently.

"Ah!"

He glanced up at her and let a small smile tug at the edge of his mouth. His tongue flicked at the now hardened bud and with each flick Levy squirmed more in his lap. Gajeel held onto her thighs to keep her relatively still. Levy could feel warmth traveling through her limbs; her veins were on fire from passion. She clamped her mouth shut along to keep pleads from escaping like a torrent of water. Down in her abdomen she could feel a stirring not too unlike a snake springing from a coil.

Her partner released her nipple and began an assault on her lips once more. She kissed back just as hungrily, unable to stop of few moans from escaping in the small breaths Gajeel allowed. Both had their hands roaming the other, Gajeel groping at her soft breasts and down her sides to her hips, Levy soothing hers across his pectorals and using her fingers to mock how he circled her own nipples. A growl emanated from the back of his throat at her teasing his nipples and soon she found him lifting her off his lap and pushing her down into the sheets. His body loomed above hers, his hands planted into the pillow beneath her head. She gazed down his body. His pupils showed his arousal as did the strain of his jeans. Like her his eyes his slowly dragged down her body, pausing at her breasts again before heading downward. Their eyes connected once more and she gulped when she saw him smirk. He kissed her slowly and deliberately on her mouth, trailing those kisses down her chin, neck, down her cleavage, then down the center of her belly. She arched up off the sheets letting out small pants and his tongue dipped into her naval.

"Mmmmm!"

"Like that?"

"Yes!"

He kissed further down to her panty line. Gajeel hooked his fingers under them and wiggled them down slowly while continuing to kiss after them.

"Gajeel…"

Levy was enjoying his kisses immensely. The two of them had never been this passionate towards one another before, but she found herself questioning why she hadn't asked for this sooner. She knew it was just his mouth and hands, but already she was craving more; her body was shaking slightly with anticipation. The kisses halted. Gajeel rested his chin right under her belly button and looked up at her. The look in his eyes paired with his long black hair reminded her of a panther, crouched in the jungle, watching for the perfect moment to pounce onto its prey. Something inside her stirred at noting his animalistic features. The mechanic sat back, unzipping his jeans before maneuvering them off his hips, down his legs before discarding them on the floor. His navy blue boxers slowly inched down, giving Levy a view of what was to come before the boxers disappeared to join the jeans. With a slight snarl he dropped back down on top of her. Their bodies fitted against one another as if they were made using the same mold. Levy's ghost white skin contrasted with Gajeel's sun kissed skin and she realized she had never felt so small in her life.

As she was looking him over, especially the scars that occasionally crisscrossed his body, Gajeel took her inattention to nudge her legs open a little more. The movement caught her attention a little too late. Before she could ask his intentions he slipped a finger into her.

"Ah!" she gasped in surprise.

His finger reached a little further in, up to his knuckle, and began swirling around slowly in a small circle. The circle increased in circumference and another finger was slipped into her. Levy arched slightly off the bed and moaned as the two fingers worked at the muscles inside her. He continued for another minute or two, leering down at her, watching her pleasured expressions as he adjusted the angle his finger went into her.

"I love that noise," Gajeel groaned as she moaned again. Levy's moans combined with the sound of her wetness was driving him to the edge.

"It feels good," she said through light pants. "Please…don't stop."

Gajeel leaned forward, pressing his lips to her ear. "Why don't we stop the foreplay and get down to it?"

Levy bit her lip and nodded. Gajeel removed his fingers from her entrance causing her to frown at the loss. He pressed a lip to her forehead before moving to get off the bed.

"Where are you going?" she asked, half frightened she had done something wrong.

Gajeel didn't turn to look at her. Instead he went over to the sock drawer and began rummaging around in it. "I'm going to assume you don't want me to go in bare."

"Bare…?"

The older of the two sighed. "I'm looking for a condom Levy."

She flushed with embarrassment causing Gajeel to give his trademark laugh on his way back to the bed, condom in hand. He tore the wrapper in half with his teeth and wasted no time in putting on his erection. Levy looked him over not for a final time as he stood there, showing himself off with a bit of pride.

"Like what you see?" he asked with a grin.

"Isn't it a little late to be asking that?" she chuckled.

His tone became softer, more serious. "Are you ready Levy?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Gajeel advanced towards her and climbed back onto the bed, once more looking like a predator stalking his prey. They connected their lips once more, slowly at first before gaining momentum. He placed his hands on her thighs, pushing them apart so his hips were between them. Levy watched him with half lidded eyes and he lined his length up with her entrance.

She sucked in a breath just as he pushed in. All the air she had just taken in rushed out in a gasp. Gajeel gritted his teeth together. The feeling of her heat, her wetness, and the pressure of her inner muscles against him felt like heaven. It had been a long time since he had had sex—years in fact—and when he had the after effects hadn't been pleasant. His partner had been a good female friend of his and after a night of drinking they had sloppily sex. The next morning neither would take responsibility for what had happened and Gajeel ended up losing a good friend. As he looked down at the woman under him, her mouth shaped slightly agape, her eyes half lidded, her breaths coming out in gasps along with small mews he knew she would be different. He loved her. With all his heart and soul he loved her. He wanted to protect her from all the bad things in the world, spoil her rotten and spend every moment with her. He would not let her down. She deserved to be treated like a princess.

He moved ever so slowly in and out of her. He knew with her size and inexperience any erratic movement too early on could greatly hurt her. As he looked down at her he wondered what she was thinking. She had started holding onto his shoulders, squeezing them in time with each thrust. Her eyes were clamped shut and she was biting her lower lip. The pain was bad, she would admit it. But she knew ahead of time that her first time would. She appreciated that Gajeel was holding back.

"I love you," she moaned loudly.

Gajeel gave a small jolt of surprise. Had he asked that out loud?

"I love you too Levy."

"You can-Ahh!-move a little more," she said with some difficulty.

He leaned down to kiss her further and she responded with zeal. Levy moved her hands to cup his face and she showered his with kisses. Half the time she didn't know what she was supposed to be doing with her hands. With each thrust he was able to make her feel better than she had ever felt before and she craved more and more. She hooked her legs around his hips and pressed up to meet with him as he forced down. Moans rolled off her tongue easily. Gajeel watched her through half lidded eyes. His own pleasure was almost unbearable; he wanted to be far rougher with her, before her sake he held back. He began nibbling at her neck again before lazily biting.

"You're going to leave a mark," she protested.

"That's the point," he growled. "I want everyone to know you're taken. That you belong to me."

Levy made a face. "Well, if I belong to you, I want you to belong to me," she panted out.

He raised a pierced eyebrow and stopped moving. "What did you have in mind?"

"May I?"

She nudged him so he sat back, his ass resting on his heels. She maneuvered upward, hands on his shoulders, and slowly pushed Gajeel into the mattress back first and climbed on top of him. Slowly she straddled his hips, the blush on her face showed her inexperience and shyness. Gajeel watched with mouth opened a little in disbelief.

"Oh god…Levy…" he grumbled. She looked like a goddess of fantasy peached on him like she was.

"Can I…?" she asked.

He merely growled at her in response. His hands found her hips and he helped guide her onto his dick. She let out a loud gasp as she sunk down onto him completely and he let out a muffled curse from behind his teeth. Bouncing up and down slowly made Gajeel claw at her back and toss his head back with a howl of pleasure. The feeling of her engulfing him was driving him quickly to the edge and he could feel her insides moving as well indicating she wasn't too far off either.

"G-Gajeel, I-"

"I know. Me too," he moaned out.

She picked up speed. Her mouth found its way to Gajeel's neck and began to mock the way he had sucked on hers. His skin however was a bit tougher than hers so it took extra effort to bruise his skin.

"Ah-ah—" Levy moaned.

Gajeel began to pant heavily; he could feel his climax just around the corner. He gripped Levy's ass, massaging it roughly in his palms making her gasp loudly.

"Gajeel, I'm so-"

He cut her off by slamming up to meet her thrusts at just the right moments. He didn't halt as her breaths began to hitch. The both hit their climaxes in nearly the same instance. Both threw their heads back, Gajeel's hands falling from her hips to grip the bed and Levy's hands falling into his black mane of hair and threading her hands through it. Levy gave out a cry and Gajeel cursed loudly. Then there was silence, save for the panting done by both. Levy flopped forward onto Gajeel' chest as he continued to lay there staring up at the ceiling with a smile on his face. Slowly after a minute or two he pulled himself from Levy and rolled her off of him in order to stand up. She gave a slight whimper at the loss of body heat. He returned a minute later with a cloth and a glass of water. Sitting back down on the bed he proceeded to clean her off with the cloth while she sipped on her water sleepily. When he was done he took the rag and glass from her and disappeared once more.

Levy thought about pulling the sheets down and sleeping but she hadn't the energy to move. How does he have the energy to get up and walk? At that moment he reappeared and flipped down the covers. The two of them slipped under the sheets and Levy linked her arms around him and curled up close. Their legs intertwined with each other and the toes wiggled into the sheets. Levy could still smell the garage and leather on his skin now mixed with her own smell and the smell of their sex. Gajeel was stroke her shoulder blades lazily, completely satisfied with his work.

"That was great," Levy said, pressing a kiss to his chin.

He smiled back and buried his face in her hair. "It was good for me too. Wanna go again?" he teased.

She hit his chest playfully. "Gajeel!"

"I'm just kidding," he chuckled, and then grew serious. "It would take at least thirty minutes."

"I'm good for tonight Gajeel," she yawned. "You wore me out!"

"Then I did my job."

The two lapsed into silence, both mauling over thoughts in their heads.

Levy found herself wondering if she had made the right decision. She had always told herself she would wait for marriage to have sex, but with Gajeel she was sure she loved him, yet unsure if they would ever get married. If they were going to stay together forever, did it matter if they got married? Was it just a ceremony or did it actually make love stronger? She was too tired to think about it too much. Gajeel had been staring down at her, watching as her eyes swept the room but not actually looking at anything, and as wrinkles appeared on her forehead as she thought about something unknown to him. He leaned down and kissed her gently.

"Sleep now Levy," he said gently.

Her protest was cut off by a small yawn. She could feel her eyes dropping. Accompanied by the soothing of his hands on her bare back and the physical exertion she found herself drifting off to sleep quicker than she ever had. At the first signs that she was asleep, Gajeel adjusted the pillow beneath his head and followed her to the land of Queen Mab.

A yawn shattered the silence of the morning in the Redfox-McGarden house. It was another bright sunny morning that greeted Levy when she opened her eyes and sat up in bed. She was in a little pain, but it made her smile a bit from the memories of the previous night. When she rolled over in bed she found Gajeel missing. Confusion flashed through her before shock. A look at the digital clock by the bedside revealed that it was almost eleven o' clock. Her work started at eight.

"Oh my god I'm so late!" she cried out.

She tried to leap out of bed but the lower half of her body was not having any of that. A jolt of pain shot through her and she was forced to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Don't worry about it."

Levy twisted around to see Gajeel, clad in only gray sweat pants standing in the doorway with two cups of coffee in hand.

"I called them already and told them you were sick," he continued. He walked into the bedroom and offered his a cup. She noticed his eyes raking over her body.

After taking a couple sips of the coffee she sat the cup down on the night stand and made her way over to the closet. She pulled out one of her favorite orange sundresses and some undergarments, pulling them on as Gajeel watched her with a strange expression.

"I guess that's for the best," she sighed. "I didn't mean to sleep so late…"

Gajeel chuckled in his peculiar way that his friends knew him for. "Just means you had fun last night," he said, placing a kiss on her forehead.

"I did."

His expression turned serious and he shoved his hands into his pockets awkwardly. Levy watched him curiously from the corner of her eye as she picked up their clothes from the previous day and put them in the hamper. It was as she started making the bed that she had to stop and ask.

"Gajeel…is something the matter?"

His head jerked up from being outcast at the floor. He actually had pink tinting his cheeks. "What?"

She walked around the bed until she stood in front of him. "You look…strange. Is something wrong?"

He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Is this about last night?" she gushed out. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, it's not that."

"Then…?"

"Sit down."

Obediently yet hesitantly Levy sat down on the half made bed, her hands shaking ever so slightly.

Here it comes, she thought to herself with panic and dismay, we had sex and I probably did horrible so now he's going to leave me. Without realizing it tears had sprung into her eyes.

"W-What's with the tears?" Gajeel spluttered. He then sighed. "You're hopeless."

The mechanic with his hands still in his pockets kneeled down in front of her and stared up into her damp eyes. She refused to meet his.

"I'm not going to leave you, if that's what you're thinking," he said, his voice low and even. "Last night was…amazing to say the least."

Levy met his eyes curiously. Gajeel wasn't one for monologues which was what he seemed to be gearing up for.

"You are amazing Levy. You're beautiful and smart, and you make me feel like a man," he continued. "I know I'm not always there when you need me, but damn it I always try my hardest for you! You're the only person in this world that I will hustle for."

"Gajeel, what are you-"

From his pocket Gajeel produced a small velvet box. The movement and the box caught Levy's attention immediately. Her eyes widened and she slowly brought her hands to her mouth in order to cover it.

"G-Gajeel-"

He popped the top open on the box revealing a beautiful diamond ring. The stone was bright in the morning sun and white like snow. The round diamond was set on a hoop of white gold, lined with four smaller diamonds on either side of it.

"Be mine," he implored her. "I've wanted to make you mine since the moment I met you. You're everything I've ever wanted."

Her hands were shaking in her lap from excitement and from an overload of emotion surging through her.

"Levy, please, will you do me the honor of staying with me forever?"

This was it. The moment that she had been waiting for, unsure as she was that it would ever happen, ever since she was a young girl. She closed her eyes, wishing the moment would last forever. Would she remember this day for the rest of her days? Would she remember the smile that lay gently on his face, the softness of her "yes", and the tremble of her hands? Would she be able to recall his sigh of relief years from now? With the sunbeams coming through the windows as their only witness, the two sealed the deal with a kiss and a slip of the ring down her finger.