Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or any of these amazing characters. If I did, I'd totally steal Frosch!

Hard To Love

Hmmm...Karaoke Night. I wonder who will sing tonight? Mirajane wondered.

Oddly enough, all was quiet in the guild. She was genuinely enjoying all the serenity that was so unusual to Fairy Tail. She also knew it wouldn't last long and giggled thinking of all the chaos that would soon occur.

Thump, thump, thump...

Mirajane turned to investigate the sudden noise, and there was Lucy face down on the bar, her blonde hair spread out around her head. She smiled at Lucy's ability to express her mood without saying a word.

"Ne, Lucy? Is something wrong? Mira asked.

"Oh Mirajane, I don't know what to do." Lucy said, "He's so difficult."

"Tell me what happened" Mira instructed while patting her head.

"I'm just so confused. I mean, I love Gajeel so much, but he's just so hard to figure out. He snaps at me sometimes over stupid stuff. He's been spending so much time at the guild drinking and partying. We've hardly had any time alone. I...I'm so afraid that he's getting tired of me."

Mira tapped her chin "How long have you two been dating now?"

"About 6 months..." Lucy answered.

Mira just shook her head and said "I don't think you have anything to worry about Lucy. It's still early in the relationship, but I'm sure he loves you. Look he probably just isn't comfortable saying it."

"He doesn't say anything about how he feels, so how am I supposed to know?" Lucy sighed as she began to tear up. "I just wish...I wish he wasn't so hard to get close to. I wish he'd open up to me. Doesn't he know how much it means to me?"

"I'm sorry Lucy. I didn't realize things were going like this for you." Mira was so sad to hear the heartache in her friend's voice. She'd been so happy when Lucy and Gajeel had finally started dating. She had thought it was a perfect fit, and she still did. She just didn't know how to help her; or rather how to convince him to show Lucy that he loved her.

Lucy sniffed as her eyes continued to leak, "I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm in love; I'm supposed to be so happy. I am happy with him; I'm just so unsure of where I stand with him. I feel like he's forgotten me, and I miss him so much."

The two girls were so involved in the conversation that they didn't even notice that someone had come into the guild through the back door. They were talking pretty low so they hadn't worried overly much about someone overhearing them. But Gajeel wasn't just anyone - he was a Dragon Slayer. His ears could pick up the sound of a bee buzzing from a mile away. And he could certainly pick up the sound of his beautiful girlfriend's broken words. He could smell the tears streaming down her face, and it broke his heart. He had been so selfish and had forgotten to show her how much she meant to him.

God what have I done? I've been running around acting like I've got it all and yet I let down the one person that means the world to me. I ve got to fix this somehow. But how do I make her see that I know I've messed everything up?

Gajeel watched as Lucy said her goodbyes and walked out of the guild with her head hung. she looked so defeated. I've done that, he thought. He felt another stab to his heart. He was so ashamed. He needed help and he knew just where to go. That is, if she'd even be willing to help him after listening to Lucy's tearful tale. He stepped around the corner to face Mira's potential wrath. He knew he had it coming.

"Oi, Mira..." he began.

"Oh it's you Gajeel. How long have you been here?" she eyed him suspiously.

"Mira, please, you gotta help me." He wasn't above begging at this point. "I have to fix this. I can't lose her."

She stared him down for a few seconds, needing to know how serious he was about this. "First, answer this question...how do you feel about Lucy?"

"W-What?" Gajeel stammered. "Umm...I care about her Mira. You know that."

"Nope," she flatly stated, "Not good enough." She turned as if to leave.

Gajeel grabbed her arm before she could abandon him to his fate and croaked, "L-look...I love her, okay? I love her. She's everything to me."

Mira smiled and quirked, "There's hope for you yet, Gajeel! Okay, time to be a brave dragon slayer and lay it all on the line. Here's what you do..."

~~~HOURS LATER~~~

The guild was packed, just as Mirajane had predicted. It was, after all Karoake night and just about everyone took a turn. Some would require a bit of liquid courage, but for the most part everyone liked to participate. She glanced around the room looking for her pretty blonde haired friend. She had instructed Lisanna to drag Lucy here any way she could. Lisanna had then enlisted Natsu, who as her best friend, could pretty much get her to do anything. It was almost guaranteed to work.

Having just finished that thought, Mira spotted Lisanna and Natsu bringing Lucy through the doors. Phew, she thought, now it's all up to Gajeel. He better not screw this up. The three joined Mira at the bar, where Lucy snagged her usual seat.

"Hey Mirajane" she said glumly.

"Hi Lucy." Mira replied, squeezing her friend tightly. "I know you don't feel like being here right now, but I promise - this will make you feel better."

Lucy just hugged her back while Natsu looked on with an air of total confusion. Lisanna just shook her head and hauled him off to pick out a song. Everyone was getting excited and debating songs, when Master came into the room and shouted "Quiet brats!"

After silence descended, Makarov hopped on stage and announced "Welcome to Karaoke Night!" Cheers went up all over the guild, and chaos once again reigned. "Who's going first?" he shouted.

Natsu, of course, had to go first. After all, he was "All fired up!" He dragged Lisanna onto the stage and busted out with Reunited And It Feels So Good by Peaches & Herb. The crowd laughed themselves silly about the irony of that particular song for the two of them. Not to mention how wild it was to see Natsu singing such a serious song.

Next came Gray, whose sole intention was to shake things up with his choice I'm Sexy And I Know It by L.M.F.A.O. He danced all over the stage in his animal print pants and threw off a piece of his clothing every time he sang the chorus. Eventually he was in his underwear and rubbing his hand down his chest, just really getting into it. Everyone was howling in laughter, with the exception of Juvia, who experienced a massive nosebleed and fainted.

Following Gray was Erza who broke out with Leona Lewis's song Bleeding Love. It slowed things down and everyone knew who she was talking about. No one would say anything, because seeing Erza tears over Jellal was heartbreaking. No one knew when the council would clear him of all the charges and allow him to return to her. It was enough for her to know that her family felt her pain and were there for her.

Thankfully to bring the mood back up was Cana to remind everyone to grab a drink by singing Raise Your Glass by Pink. And once again, they were rocking! Next was the guys Laxus, Bixlow, Elfman, and Fried continuing in Gray's footsteps with L.M.F.A.O.'s song Party Rock Anthem. When the guys started singing "wiggle wiggle wiggly" they did just that and the place erupted in screams from all the ladies. Even Lucy couldn't stay depressed watching their antics.

Then Wendy and Levy hopped on stage and danced to their choice Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper. Everyone was smiling at their cuteness and all the girls were of course singing along with them.

At this point, Mirajane walked up on stage and everyone held their breath, hoping she was about to serenade them. Sadly ,they were disappointed when she announced that she would not be the closing act. She looked off to the side and all the mages watched as Gajeel, dressed in a suit, climbed on the stage. Lucy's head popped up and she watched in surprise as Gajeel simply stood there and stared at her.

Finally the music started and he softly began to sing. There was no doubt who he was singing to, because he looked nowhere else but at his girlfriend...

I am insensitive.

I have a tendency to pay more attention to the things that I need.

Sometimes I drink to much,

Sometimes I test your trust,

Sometimes I don't know why you stay with me?

I'm hard to love, hard to love,

I don't make it easy,

I couldn't do it if I stood where you stood.

I'm hard to love, hard to love,

You say that you need me.

I don't deserve it but I love that you love me good...

I am a short fuse,

I am a wrecking ball crashing into your heart like I do

You're like a Sunday morning full of grace and full of Jesus

I wish that I could be more like you.

I'm hard to love, hard to love,

I don't make it easy,

I couldn't do it if I stood where you stood.

I'm hard to love, hard to love.

You say that you need me.

I don't deserve it but I love that you love me good...

Love me good

Girl you've given me a million second chances

And I don't ever wanna take you for granted.

I'm just a man.

I'm just a man.

Hard to love, hard to love,

Oh I don't make it easy,

And I couldn't do it if I stood where you stood.

I'm hard to love, hard to love

And you say that you need me.

I don't deserve it but I love that you love me good ...

You love me good.

Lucy sat there with tears pouring down her face, and she wasn't the only one. In one fell swoop Gajeel had slain every woman in the building. They were all crying, so overcome with the depth of emotion he poured into his song. The men were all in shock - here was one of the hardest members of Fairy Tail, a man who everyone believed at one time to be completely heartless, exposing his heart for all to see. But Gajeel couldn't care less about anyone else in the guild; his eyes were all for the beauty who loved him in spite of himself. He had to finish this - he had to make sure she would always be by his side.

He stepped down from the stage, amidst total silence, and made his way to the bar where his future sat. He couldn't mess this up; he wouldn't mess it up. He had done everything Mira had said to do - he had chosen a song that showed Lucy how he felt and sang it in front of everyone. But from here on out, it was all him. He stopped in front of Lucy and looked into her big brown eyes. He brought his hands up and cupped her face and gave her a gentle kiss. Then he took her hands in his and spoke from his heart...

"Lucy, I've been such a selfish bastard. I haven't been there for you the way you deserve and I've kept you in the dark about how I feel about you. I've been alone so much of my life; it's not easy for me to open up. But for you, I would do anything; for you, I would tell you everything you want to know right here in front of all our friends. I love you Lucy Heartfilia with all my heart, with all my soul. And I don't want to live my life without you." he said, as he dropped to his knee. "Will you marry me and stay by my side forever?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out the most incredible star shaped diamond ring.

Gasps went up all around the guild and Gajeel held his breath waiting for her answer. Oh how he prayed that she loved him enough to forgive him for his inconsiderate foolishness. Lucy dropped to her knees in front of him, still crying, and threw her arms around his neck. She could barely breathe, but somehow managed to choke out those precious words that he wanted so desperately to hear, "Yes, yes, yes!" She pulled back, grabbing his face in her hands and kissed him, pouring all of the love she felt into it. He threw his arms around her and stood, swinging her around. The guild erupted in cheers as Gajeel and Lucy came to a stop and smiled at each other. He pulled her close again and he heard "I love you Gajeel". He pressed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes and whispered, "God I love you Lucy." Everyone was crowded around them, the men laughing and clapping him on the back and the women crying and hugging Lucy. They looked at each other through the crowd that now separated them and smiled. They wanted to be alone right now, but they knew everyone wanted to celebrate with them, and of course, they had time. They had the rest of their lives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(A/N): So this is my first one-shot EVER so I hope it doesn't suck. I love this crack pairing so much and they just don't get enough love! Please review and let me know what you think. I'm happy to hear from you guys. And for those of you who have read the first chapter of my other story, Dancing Away With His Heart, I know I should be working on the next chapter but my brain stalled and then this story got stuck in my head. I promise I haven't forgotten it - I still love me so LaLu, but I want to make sure that the story is GOOD. So holla at me! :)