Levy settled back into fluffy cushions on her hospital bed. Her body ached from exertion during physical therapy, but she savored each moment not spent confined to the gurney. Only two days left of her two weeklong doctor mandated bedrest although she hardly rested.

Levy tried not to think about her aching body, choosing instead to focus on her growing mountain of paperwork and research. Shifting through that mountain left on her hospital tray, her eye caught sight of a large new personnel file folder. The one labeled "Confidential: Candidates." Its contents made up of the profiles and resumes of two hundred applicants to head the Enforcement Division.

Captain LaCreed vacated his position as soon as the mission ended, a week sooner than anticipated. His decision surprised no one, but it left the Council scrambling for a suitable replacement. Levy was their top choice to fill the position. She was the first woman in ten years and the second person in the history of the council to receive a perfect score on both the written and magical portions of the entrance exam. On top of her s-class level magic, Levy had the admiration and respect of her peers. Her popularity extended beyond the Council's reach, already on track to become the spokeswoman for the Council. The Board members were thrilled. They need a spokesperson to fill the growing rift between wizards and non-wizards and to gain public support.

Levy declined the job.

On paper, Levy would agree that she was the perfect candidate. Yet, Levy knew that she lacked the physicality to command a fleet of guards. Besides, she preferred to stay within the means of her specialty: research and infiltration.

Still, Levy kicked herself for volunteering to filter through a long list of potential applicants. Had she known that volunteering meant being constantly inundated with paperwork, she would have declined ten times over. Now she was stuck wading through the pool of hopefuls.

Highlighter in hand, Levy leafed through resume after resume. First, she tossed out the resume of any applicant that had scored less than 85% on their entrance exam. Doing so, whittled the stack to 25%. Next, she discarded applicants with less than five years of leadership experience and further pared down the stack to 10%.

She finished filtering the stack using a set of criteria until it was down to fifty-three resumes. Today was a good day, whereas a bad day would generate anywhere from one to two hundred applicants.

Placing the papers back into a folder, Levy took her glasses off and gently hopped off her bed to stretch. She hoped that the Council would find someone for the position soon simply for the reason that she was tired of paperwork. Levy would much rather get back to her books.

Attempting to stretch her arms over her head, she felt a sharp pain where her wound was located. Levy fell to her knees, lying prostrate to the ground in pain. She took deep intakes of breath to calm her pain, but her anxiety was getting worse.

"You okay, shorty?" Large, calloused fingers rubbed circles between her shoulder blades. Her breath returned to normal before she responded, looking up at him with her beautiful hazel eyes. He stared back at her with equal tenderness.

"Hi Gajeel. Hi Lily. I'm fine." She gave him them her warmest smile.

"Levy, we brought dinner." Lily grinned and held up two bags of food.

They've developed a routine for the past week and a half. During the day, the partners would take contract work from the Council courtesy of Levy and come back to her bedside at night. Gajeel and Lily would bring dinner and stayed until visiting hours were over. Rinse. Repeat.

It was like time had not passed between them. They've gotten closer as friends and they loved to eat together and enjoy each other's company. Usually, they discussed their day and teased each other, but today the trio sat in somber silence. They knew that tonight was their last.

"You're quitting now, ya?" Gajeel asked. Levy frowned, unsure if he was asking her a question or giving her a suggestion. Knowing Gajeel, it was probably both. She decided to act as if he had told her a joke.

"Quit? No!" She mumbled between bites of chicken. "That's funny, Gajeel," she replied, managing a half-smile at his attempt at humor. "I know that the past few weeks were eventful for the both of you, but around here we call that a Tuesday," she joked.

"S'not a joke, shorty." Gajeel stood up and turned to face the window. "I can't watch keep watchin' over you so you gotta quit."

The frown on her face returned, realizing that he was dead serious. "You do understand that this is my job, right?" Her eyes cast downwards. "I can't leave, Gajeel, I took an oath and abandoning my post is a punishable offense. I could get sent to jail for this. Besides, I'm needed here."

Lily stood up and placed his paw on her knee to comfort her. She gathered the exceed into her arms and buried her face into his warm fur.

"Why do you care about some cause?" He turned around to look at her and Levy swore that she could detect the minute amount of hurt in his voice. "They're all the same to me. When they're done with you, they just leave. They don't even say goodbye."

Her mind raced at closest thing to an admission from Gajeel. 'Was he really that hurt that she left?' Irony considering that he avoided her after their return from Tartaros. Gajeel wasn't among the crowd to see her off to her new endeavor. It left a bad taste in her mouth at the time, but it lent credence to her decision to join the council.

A knock at her door interrupted their painful conversation.

"Master Warrod!" Levy smiled. "Please come in."

Smiling at her acknowledgement, Master Warrod squeezed into the small room. "Hello Gajeel," he greeted before nodding to the exceed in Levy's arms.

"I'm here to collect a stool sample for personal purposes," Master Warrod deadpanned.

Everyone in the room inwardly cringed.

"Just kidding! I am here to apologize for my delay in congratulating you on a job well done, Councilwoman."

Warrod's tasteless jokes were either about bodily functions or lies to cover half-truths. She hated his jokes, but for once, she would use them as leverage. Levy hoped Gajeel would catch on to her ruse.

Levy started to segue the conversation towards employment. "Thank you, Master, for the kind words. I called Gajeel and Lily down here to thank them for their service. They have taken a lot of jobs from the Council. Especially the harder ones," she began.

With Master Warrod's back turned her, Levy winked at Gajeel and Lily. It took a second for Gajeel to fully understand her intent. Playing along, Gajeel sat up straight. "Ya. Me and Lily take a lot of security work, too."

"They helped round up the bandits in the Eastern Forest, Master." Levy gave him her most innocent smile. "Even Master Jura had stopped by to thank him." she said.

Levy pressed her palms over her heart. "Gajeel, Lily. Master Warrod and I would like to thank you on behalf of the Council." Master Warrod followed her lead, clasping Gajeel on the shoulder. "Well done, my boy. The Council is indebted to both your efforts."

Levy nodded and smile. "Especially for taking seven jobs in the past two weeks. Without your help, the Council has had more time to focus our resources."

Warrod smiled in surprised. "Really?! It's like you practically work for the Council."

At his utterance, Levy saw her opening. "There is that opening for a new captain in the Enforcement Division. That's a perfect position for you and Lily, Gajeel," Levy said slyly, laughing as if she were telling a joke.

Master Warrod agreed, laughing heartily at what he thought was a joke. "You should take the position, Gajeel." Chortling, Master Warrod was soon grabbing his sides from laughing so hard.

Gajeel made his move. "I ACCEPT!"

"YOU WILL?" Levy asked in mocked surprised. "OH, PERFECT!" she exclaimed. "I'll begin the paperwork in the morning. Training will take two weeks. I'll make living arrangements and sign you up for orientation."

Master Warrod stopped laughing, his jaw hit the floor. "WHAT! I'M J-JOKING!" he sputtered. "I WOULD NEVER AGREE TO THIS!"

Levy stopped abruptly, feigning confusion. Her expression remained calm, looking to seal the deal over Gajeel's hiring. "I thought we were in agreement, Master. I think Gajeel and Lily would be perfect additions to the team. Such a brilliant idea, Master Warrod!" she praised.

Gajeel enjoyed watching her negotiate and steamroll Master Warrod into letting him into the Council. . He wanted to release the smug smirk whenever shorty displayed her high level of intelligence. For now, He kept his features neutral and stoic, not wanting to risk Levy's chances.

"Yes, but…Er…Why don't you take the job, Levy? Warrod tried to steer the conversation away from hiring Gajeel.

"I'm flattered, Master, but my intelligence is my strength. Our soldiers need someone with a strong presence. Gajeel and Lily is an excellent choice. Plus, Gajeel is a dragon slayer!" she reasoned. "Besides Master, Pantherlily has previous experience as First Division Commander of the Royal Army during his time in Edolas."

"Him? He's so small," Warrod refuted. Pantherlily transformed into his full height and puffed his chest out in pride. "I am a formidable opponent," Lily huffed, "With years of military service."

"B-but Gajeel is a delinquent," Warrod stammered.

"Former delinquent." Levy corrected. "Gajeel has made amends and paid reparations. Otherwise, he wouldn't be in good standing with Fairy Tail," she countered, observing Master Warrod's receptiveness. She had him eating out of the palm of her hand.

Continuing, Levy paused briefly for dramatic effect, going in for the close. "Master, Gajeel and Lily are well-qualified and you know it."

Warrod had no rebuttal, she was convincing. "And the entrance exam…"

"Gajeel and Lily will have no trouble passing the exams under my tutelage. I did get perfect scores in all fifteen areas," she interjected.

Finally, Master Warrod relented despite his reluctance to agree. "You're both hired" he muttered under his breath in defeat.

Flashing her award-winning smile, she directed her attention back over to Gajeel and Lily. "Like we said - Welcome to the team and congratulations to you both! Come by my office at Headquarters tomorrow morning and I'll guide you through the process." She shook both their hands and motioned everyone towards the door. Visiting hours were over.

"See you tomorrow, Shrimp!" Gajeel and Lily strode out the door. "Good night, Master Warrod, and thank you." Lily added.

Master Warrod stayed behind, still in shock and disbelief. Levy let him stay in the room a little longer, giving Gajeel and Lily a good head start in case Warrod came to his senses and changed his mind.

"What just happened?!" Exasperated, he fell to the ground onto his hands and knees. "I was joking!" When he walked into Levy's hospital room, he was not expecting to extend a job offer to an incorrigible dragon slayer and his exeed.

To add further insult, Warrod couldn't defend himself against Levy's argument. She was right on all points, convinced that Gajeel would make an excellent Councilman. He thought things through more thoroughly and realized that Levy had played him like a fiddle.

Warrod sighed and shook his head. 'This is why I never married.'

It was Levy that greeted the pair the next morning. The duo was ecstatic, so Gajeel and Lily made sure to show up extra early.

"Welcome, guys!" Levy moved a little slow this morning, but her smile was bright as ever. Gajeel smiled and pulled her into an uncharacteristic hug.

"Shorty! You are amazing!" He muffled into her hair, taking in her wonderful scent of books and ink.

Levy hugged him back. "I know, Stupid Gajeel. I know."

A/N: ANND DONE! Thank you, wonderful readers, for your reviews and your follows and for sticking with the story despite the sucky title and summary. Your support was enough encouragement.