Levy sighed heavily as she rubbed her tired, hazel eyes underneath her gale-force reading glasses. Bits of paper and a few heavy old reference books were spread out on the desk before her. For three straight days Levy had been working on a mission that had required her to decode an ancient text that had been found. At first, she'd been super excited to accept the mission, but still, after three days, Levy McGarden had come up with zilch.

Levy once again sighed as she leaned back in her chair. Her small study was dark, the only light being the small lamp sitting on her desk. The light was just enough to faintly light up the bookcases that surrounded her. Her study was actually quite a large room; however, she had packed so many bookcases and books alike into the spacious room that it had become quite tiny. There was barely any spare floor space apart from a small circle around the desk she sat at. Levy didn't mind, though, she liked it that way.

She heard small pops as she stretched her arms above her head. Not surprisingly, her neck and back were quite sore from hunching over her work for hours on end. Levy believed that was a good enough excuse for a well-deserved break. Her chair scratched against the floor as she stood up, where she leaned over her desk to switch off her lamp. She blinked as the room was plunged into complete darkness, and she mentally kicked herself for not having switched on any other light apart from her lamp. For the third time in the past five minutes she sighed, before carefully setting off into the minefield of books to leave the room.

Multiple crashes of falling books and soft curse words emitted from the study as the petite fairy stumbled through her maze of books before she finally managed to free herself of the clustered room. She stood in the hall for a few seconds as she caught her breath, impatiently pushing her blue bangs aside. After a few moments of composing herself, she shuffled off down the hall towards the light of the kitchen, where she could faintly hear clinking sounds of pots and pans.

Levy blinked a few times as she stepped into the light of the kitchen, letting her eyes adjust. The first thing she saw was a mane of long, straggly, black hair that was attached to a tall, muscular body. Levy smiled as she saw Gajeel Redfox standing near the stove. She breathed in deeply, whatever it was he was cooking, it sure smelled good.

Gajeel and Levy had been together for a year or so now, and Levy wished she could've caught on earlier about her feelings towards him. Only in the last month had they gotten a new place together, and she wouldn't have it any other way. She loved it, she loved him. She loved his cooking. She loved the way he would shobedobap along to his guitar (though, Levy still thought he needed all the practice he could get.) She loved the way they curled up together when they slept, his arms wrapped protectively around her, his head buried in her messy blue locks. She loved the way he kissed her, so sweet and soft, but then fierce at the same time.

She smiled and shook her head to clear her daydream as she snuck up quietly behind him, although she knew that with his dragon slayer hearing he had already heard her. She slipped her delicate arms around his waist and hugged him from behind, at the same time saying in a sing-song voice, "Hey, good looking, whatcha got cooking~?"

She heard a soft grunt from the dragon slayer as he replied, "Did'ya just make that up?"

She giggled as she leant her cheek against his back, "No, silly. That's a song! Haven't you ever heard it?"

Gajeel huffed, "'Course not. It sounds like a terrible song, anyway." He slipped around in Levy's hold until he was facing her, dropping a quick kiss on the top of her head. That's another thing she loved about him; he always acted tough, and yet was so gentle and loving with her.

Levy pouted at the man, "It's a really good song, though!" She rolled her eyes, though she was smirking as she said teasingly. "Honestly, this is why you have me, so you can get some decent education into that thick head of yours."

"I've got plenty of good education, Shrimp." He was smiling in amusement at her, absently twirling a strand of her hair around his finger.

She looked at him doubtfully, a grin on her face. "Oh yeah? Like what?"

Suddenly, a huge smirk appeared on the dragon slayers face, his blood red eyes sparkling, and she gulped. She knew that look meant trouble.

Gajeel leant down until his mouth was resting against her cheek. She could feel his hot breath on her ear lobe. "I'm quite educated in a lot've things..." He whispered huskily into her ear, sending shivers down her spine. She had the sudden urge to kiss him, but she held her ground. She would not cower under his completely and utter sexiness. She was strong. Kind of.

"I don't believe you," She said steadily, stepping back so she could meet his eyes, a brave smile on her face.

Gajeel raised a metal studded eyebrow at her, "Oh? Well, I'll just have'ta convince ya then, won't I?"

He grinned cheekily, and Levy had a second to think Uh oh before he had captured her mouth into a rough kiss, his hands snaking around her waist. Levy was caught by surprise momentarily before she kissed him back in kind, determined not to be upstaged. Gajeel ran his rough tongue over her lips, seeking entrance. She happily parted her lips for him, and soon their tongues were locked in a wrestling match for dominance. Levy was holding her own quite well until he grabbed the back of her thighs roughly and hoisted her up onto the kitchen bench. She gasped in surprise, and she felt him smirk against her lips. Levy pulled back slightly to gasp in some air, before smashing her lips against his again, one of her arms coiling around his neck to pull him closer, while the other became tangled in his dark locks. Levy let out a soft groan as he bit gently down on her bottom lip, his large hands roaming over her small body. She could feel his heartbeat was in time with hers: erratic and fast.

However, they hadn't been locked in their passionate embrace for very long when the smell of something burning filled the kitchen. Both mages eyes widened as they broke apart, to see that whatever Gajeel had been cooking was now slightly on fire.

"Shit!" Gajeel jumped away from Levy, quickly taking the frying pan off of the stove while at the same time putting out the small fire with an oven mitten, trying to salvage his food.

After the immediate danger of their house burning down was over, Levy couldn't help but giggle at the sulky expression the dragon slayer had when he looked at the burned food. Gajeel shot a glare at her, and she held up her hands, a grin on her face. She jumped down off the kitchen bench and walked over to Gajeel, one arm around his waist in comfort.

"Don't worry about it Gajeel, it happens."

"But, I made it for you, Shrimp." He said sulky as he tilted the frying pan so she could see the burnt contents. Her eyes widened as she saw a very burnt pancake that was shaped into a heart. Levy looked at Gajeel as he placed it down on the stove top, and she grinned widely.

"Oh, Gajeel, that was so sweet of you!" Levy exclaimed. And although Gajeel blushed faintly, he still seemed upset about burning the food. Levy laughed softly as she stood on her tip toes to sling her arms around the back of his neck, her hazel eyes meeting his red ones. "Gajeel, thank you so much. I love it, even though it's burnt." She smiled softly and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "I love you."

That seemed to cheer him up; he wrapped his hands around her waist and kissed Levy back sweetly.

"I love you too, Shrimp."