Beauty of Fairy Tail (Gale/Gajevy AU)

Chapter 18

Downtown Magnolia is lovely, this time of night. The lacrama lights are illuminating the streets that are filled with stores and venders. There's quite a few people out, tonight. I even caught a glimpse of Lucy and Natsu on a date. She didn't see me though. The couple was to busy making out.

Gajeel, awkwardly, puts his arm around my waist as we walk. I give him a smile. I missed him so much. I've decided that I don't want to keep our relationship secret, anymore. I'm done with sneaking around and stolen smiles from across the room. All those hidden glances and secret kisses. I am going to tell Gajeel, tonight.

"You haven't eaten yet, right, Shrimp?" Gajeel asks. I shake my head and he lets out a chuckle. "Good." We walk another block and enter a nice restaurant. A waiter shows us to our table right away.

"Table for Mr. Redfox and guest. Your champagne will be out momentarily, sir. Anything for an old friend of Mr. Williamson," the waiter says. Then, he bows and walks away.

"This is amazing, Gajeel. How did you manage this?" I know he's capable of bringing in lots of job money and went on lots of jobs while I was with Jet and Droy, but this is incredible.

"A few months ago, I did the head chef a solid when he was short staff. I did such a good job, he said I could eat here anytime, for free. I have come here since then. I came for the five month anniversary of joining the guild. Proved to myself that I can be a good person," Gajeel tells me.

"You were already a good person. You joined the guild to start over and turn over a new leaf. You were honest with me about your past. You wouldn't let drunk me do things I wasn't ready for. Your nothing, if not a haunted man. Ghosts leave and scars fade, Gajeel. It just takes time," encourages my girlfriend.

"As usual, you're right," Gajeel agrees. A waiter brings us some champagne and takes our order. Gajeel ordered a filet mignon and I ordered a summer salad. It has strawberries, peach slices, mandarin oranges, and bits of walnut in a raspberry vinaigrette.

I take sip of the champagne. I'd never had it before and it's astounding. It's sweet and bubbly, but also has the slight fire of alcohol.

Gajeel

After her first sip of champagne, Shrimp gets a small case of the hiccups. It's cute to watch her bounce in surprise at the first one and start to blush. Her quick fix? She holds her breath for a few seconds. She's cured and takes another sip of her drink.

Dinner is a polite event. We eat and talk. I mostly just want to listen to her. She seems very happy to not be worrying about the people after her or how Jet and Droy are doing. After having that weight put on her shoulders, I'm glad I can lift it, even for a short time.

After dinner, Levy and I have ice cream, at her favorite place. I get rocky road, which is pretty good. Levy gets a lemon sherbet. We sit on a bench, under a street lamp, and enjoy our cold treats. Mine is great. I've never had rocky road with caramel and pretzels, before. It's a nice twist that pairs well with the marshmallow and peanuts.

Levy looks at me and tries to hold in her laughter. My eyebrows knit together, knowing that she's laughing at me. It's irritating.

"What? Is there something on my face?" I roar. Her let's go of her pent up laughter, looking away from me.

"Actually,... there is." She takes one of the napkins we were given and brushes off the nip of my nose. She give my a toothy grin and a silly impression of my laugh.

I ruffle her hair a bit and tell her, "That's my laugh, Shrimp. I think yours suits you a whole lot better." Levy turns pink and laughs her own laugh. The laugh like someone who's never been hurt by anyone. But, she has been hurt.

"I promise, Shrimp. You'll never get hurt like that, again." I swing my arm so that it's resting on the top of the bench, behind Levy, and cross my right leg over my left knee. I'm careful, not to get anymore of my ice cream on my face.

Later, Levy and I take a stroll through town and head back to my apartment. We wrap ourselves in a blanket and turn some random show on, on the tv. Not that we're paying any attention. I had missed her so much.

I moved Levy so that she was, now, straddling me. Her face goes red, but isn't completely flustered, like when I kissed her at Valley Lookout. I held her hips and brought her down for a kiss. It easily turns to a full make out.

Her arms slip behind my head, propping it up, and making it easier to keep my head where it is. With her chest on mine, I can hear and feel her pounding heartbeat. I can, also, feel something else. Levy's far enough up, on my body, not to feel it, but I'm getting turned on.

Dragons have mating seasons. Dragon Slayers are no different. Every year, since age sixteen, dragon slayers would start to crave a mate, each year, in the summer. I used to seclude myself, but, now, I have Levy. I just have to know she's ready.

She isn't. I don't ask and politely walk her home, after a few more minutes of tasting her lips on mine. I can still taste the lemon sherbet she had. I never knew the lemon paired so well with peaches.