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Nngg...~ practicing for the future... hah, his tongue is curling with mine...~!
Levy's thoughts spun uselessly, dizzy little thoughts fizzling behind her eyes as she straddled Gajeel's lap, both of them sinking deeper into a kiss that had long since stopped being anything close to innocent. Her hands fisted in the front of his shirt and every time she tried to catch her breath he chased her mouth again, lazy, hungry, that thick tongue of his sliding against hers and coaxing another muffled whimper out of her.
This is fine, she told herself, even as her hips shifted restlessly. This is totally, completely fine. Friends do this. Friends practice kissing all the time. It's normal. It's-hnng-it's educational.
That had been the excuse, the flimsy, ridiculous little lie she'd cooked up a week ago, cheeks blazing, insisting to him that if she was ever going to be ready for anything serious, she should probably know how to kiss properly first.
Practically. Academically.
Just so she wouldn't embarrass herself later!
Gajeel had stared at her.
Then he'd grinned, that slow, dangerous, infuriating grin with all those teeth, and said, "Yeah. Sure, Shrimp. Practice."
And now here they were, again, seventh night in a row.
"Mmph-!" Levy squeaked as he tilted his head, deepening the angle, licking into her mouth with a slow drag that curled her toes. The heat of him was everywhere, radiating up through his thighs beneath her, pressing against her chest, wrapping around her in that heavy iron-and-smoke scent that made her brain go soft and dumb and pliant.
She kissed him back clumsily, then less clumsily, then, embarrassingly, eagerly, her tongue tangling with his the way he'd taught her. The way she'd practiced.
I'm getting better, she thought hazily, a spark of pride flickering through the fog. See? Practicing works. I barely gasped that time. And my breathing's more controlled, and-oh. Oh, he's doing the thing. The curling thing-
His tongue coiled against hers, slow and deliberate, and a shiver bolted straight down her spine and pooled somewhere much lower and much more inconvenient. She whined into his mouth before she could stop herself, hips grinding down against him in a tiny, traitorous roll.
Gajeel's hands, which had been resting maddeningly still on her waist, tightened.
He pulled back just enough to break the kiss, a thin string of spit connecting their lips before it snapped, and Levy blinked up at him, dazed, mouth swollen and pink, hazel eyes glassy.
"You're doin' that thing again," he rumbled, voice low and gravelly, thumbs stroking little circles against her hipbones through her shirt.
"Wh-what thing...?" she breathed.
"That thing where ya grind on me like you're tryin' to start a fire." His grin widened. "Real studious of ya, Shrimp."
Her whole face detonated. "I-I did not-that was-I was just adjusting! My leg was falling asleep!"
"Uh-huh." His eyes glinted. "Your leg."
"Yes, my leg!" she squeaked, indignant, even as she made absolutely no move to climb off him. "We're practicing. This is a serious educational arrangement, Gajeel. Between friends. Because... friends help each other to learn things."
"Right. Friends." He leaned in, dragging his nose along the line of her jaw, breath hot against her ear until she shuddered. "That why you show up at my door every night now? All studious an' eager? Beggin' me to help ya practice?"
"I do not beg..."
"You said please last night. Twice."
"Th-that's just manners!"
He laughed, low in his chest, the sound vibrating through her where their bodies pressed flush. Then his mouth was on her throat, warm and open, and whatever counterargument she'd been mustering dissolved into a thin, breathy little "mmnn..." as her head tipped back.
Okay, Levy thought, hazy and melting, fingers curling into his hair. Okay, so maybe I look forward to it a little. That's just because I'm a diligent student. I like learning. That's all this is. Practice. Between friends. For the future.
His teeth grazed the sensitive spot beneath her ear and she gasped, thighs clamping around him.
...For a future I definitely, absolutely have not been imagining involving him specifically, over and over, in vivid detail, every single night...
"Y'know," he murmured against her skin, one hand sliding slowly up the curve of her spine, "for someone who keeps callin' this practice, you sure act like you already got a real good idea what you're practicin' for."
Levy froze.
Then, cheeks flaming, chin wobbling with mortified determination, she grabbed the collar of his shirt, yanked him back to her mouth, and mumbled against his lips-
"Sh-shut up and help me study, dummy."
Gajeel's answering grin curved against her mouth, and he kissed her back like he had absolutely no intention of ever letting her graduate.