Beauty of Fairy Tail (Gale/Gajevy AU)

Chapter 19

Time Skip: 2 years

Shrimp and I are sitting on the windowsill, at my apartment, and I'm fiddling with my old acoustic guitar while she's reading one of my books. I manage to tune the darn thing and puck out a few quick notes. Well, that's my chore of the day done.

"Alright, Shorty, we better make you an alibi for this past three hours. I was thinking library," I offer, setting down my guitar.

"It's been almost two and a half years, Gajeel," answers Levy, twisting herself onto her knees. "Nearly three years of hiding for the guild and our friends. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up. We almost been caught so many times. When can I talk about us and kiss you in the guildhall and not be afraid to show them that I love you?"

"Hhhh... I just don't want a big 'I told you so' or people upset, because we didn't tell them." Levy's phone buzzes.

"It's Lucy... What?" Levy texts Lucy back. The phone buzzes, again. "Ok. Well, Lucy is pissed at me for some reason. She says that I need to see Sorcerer Weekly. Do you have a copy?"

"You think I subscribe to that? I might pick up the occasional issue, but I don't really need it," I assert.

"Well, I subscribe, so I'm going to see what's up," says my girlfriend, hauling her purse over her shoulder and blowing me a kiss, before walking out my door.

Levy

After being free from escorts for about six weeks, I walk back to Fairy Hills. I quietly sneak into my room, after grabbing the mail from my slot, in the lobby. I toss the letters on the table and stare at the front page of Sorcerer Weekly. There, in bold headline, is 'Secret Affair-y Tail- Levy McGarden and Gajeel Redfox's big secret.'

"Oh, crap!" I growl at the magazine. I flip to the article, ignoring the celebrity gossip. There are pictures of Gajeel and me, dating back to the beginning. There's a picture of us at Valley Lookout, us dancing at the guildhall, him sneaking into my room, us on our dinner and ice cream date, and on a few of the other dates and jobs we've been on.

"My name is Buntly Schnerz(it's an anagram for my name) and I have been following Miss McGarden and Mister Redfox for two and
a half years. This has been an exciting little insider look into the
secretive lives of these two as they haven't told anyone. This began on accident, when I saw the two in Oak Town. They were obviously just on a job at the beginning, but then, I saw them head up to that hilltop. That only meant one thing; a juicy scoop.

It was quite obvious that they did not want to be followed, by the presence of a magical barrier, cast by Miss McGarden. I hid in the shrubbery and got in a few shots, before I had to take my leave of the area. I have followed them since and this has become the story that makes my career.

I know for certain that the couple hasn't told their friends. I have done some undercover work at the guild and they couldn't have been more distant. Later, they would be hanging around together at Mister Redfox's or walk around town.

I asked Fairy Tail's top proprietors of gossip about the couple and received these responses:

MIRAJANE STROUS: Oh, those two? They would make a beautiful couple! I know that they're teammates and they go on lots of jobs, but they would need quite the push. And I'm willing to offer that, if need be. I am the president Gale/Gajevy fan club. We call ourselves The Gale Marines.

ERZA SCARLET: Gajeel and Levy are fine warriors, but a bit of a strangely mismatched team. Gajeel is an ex-dark guild member and tends to keep to himself, where as Levy works with anyone in need of her literary prowess. If she and Gajeel started dating, though, I am not so sure that I'd be surprised.

LUCY HEARTFILLIA: Levy and Gajeel? I suppose that they might be a cute couple, but I know that they're not dating. Levy's my best friend and would have told me about it. Afterall, she's the one who helped Natsu and I get together. She, also, helped Erza, Mira, and I give Gray a kick in the pants to ask out Juvia.

Well, somebody needs to head over to Fiore's top guild and give them a little advice about trust. It astounds me just how long they have kept up this charade. The first boyfriend I ever had, we dated for thirty minutes and then he dumped me, after he lost an arm wrestling match with the guy I had a crush on.

Well, this has been Buntly Schnerz with your weekly headline. I just have a few questions for Gale. Why the secrecy? How did you keep up the ruse? And when should we be expecting the wedding?

I look back over the pictures of Gajeel and me. They're not bad, but but it puts a knot in my stomach. I have no idea how I'm going to break this to Gajeel or how I'm going to be able to face the guild again.

"Hey, Levy? Are you home?" I recognize Wendy's voice as she knocks on my door. Not wanting to end up face to face with the other girls, I send a text to see if she's alone.

"It's just me, Levy," Wendy says. I sigh and walk over to the door. She doesn't look mad, when I open the door. I invite her to sit at the table and make us some tea.

"So, you and Gajeel are really dating?" asks Wendy, curious and happy.

"Yeah. You're not mad that I didn't tell you, are you?" The Dragon Slayer shakes her head.

"Of course not. I understand that you wanted this to be just for you and Gajeel. It wouldn't be as special, if people knew everything you're doing," Wendy elaborates. "When Chelia and I dated for that experimental month, do you think I told a bunch of people?"

"That was a month. This has been going on for years," I tell her. I had been one of the people she told about Chelia. She knew that I would be able to understand. I thought it was cute.

"Don't worry, Levy. If I've learned anything, it's that Fairy Tail is full of family and people who love you. They'll understand, but it might take some time for a few of them." Wendy and I exchange a smile and continue sipping tea. Then, I send Gajeel pictures of the magazine. He doesn't text me back.