Hello everyone! This is a short one-shot I came up with while being down with the flu. Hope you enjoy it!
She's late.
Gajeel munched loudly on a metal cup while staring intently at the guild's doors. He looked at the clock for the umpteenth time that morning and realized it was already 10 o'clock. His annoyed gaze returned to the doors and he kept eating his metal snack scowling the whole time.
"She'll be here soon." Pantherlily commented between sips of his kiwi juice. He sat cross-legged on the table with his partner, both staring at the guild's doors waiting for a certain petite mage to cross through the gate.
"She's two hours late…" Gajeel grumbled. When the doors opened suddenly, he unconsciously held his breath just to release it with a huff when he noticed the ones who entered the hall were Alzack, Bisca and Asuka.
Lily, who was beginning to get tired of the dragon slayer's attitude, waved at Juvia to join them at their table. She complied and promptly sat across from the sulking dragon. "Hi Lily, Gajeel-kun. How are you?" Juvia expressed in her happy voice.
"Good Juvia, and you?" Lily greeted her politely but Gajeel only grunted in response.
"What's wrong Gajeel-kun?" She tilted her head to the side trying to catch his eyes but he kept his gaze fixed on the entrance doors.
"Shrimp's late…" Gajeel grumbled without looking at Juvia and the water mage frowned in confusion.
Lily sighed. It didn't matter how much Gajeel had changed during his time in Fairy Tail, there was no denying the man had the communication skills of a rock. Heck, a rock would get its message clearer before the dragon slayer did.
"We were supposed to leave for a mission with Levy a couple hours ago but she hasn't showed up yet." Lily explained. "Have you seen her this morning?"
"Oh" Juvia's mouth formed the small syllable in understanding to the sulking mood of her friend. "Juvia hasn't seen Levy today but when Juvia left Fairy Hills this morning Levy hadn't come out of her room. Maybe Levy overslept?" She turned around to see the doors opened once again and Macao and Romeo entered through the gate.
"Tch. That's it." Gajeel stood up abruptly, surprising both of his friends. He shouldered his duffel bag and started to make his way to the entrance. "Come on Lily" He shouted over his shoulder but didn't slow down in his pace. He was done waiting for the Shrimp.
"Thank you Juvia." Lily bowed down to her and flew after his partner.
Light seeped through her curtains but Levy just rolled to the other side of her bed and pulled her comforter over her head. She felt so tired! But she couldn't understand why. She even went to bed earlier last night since she had a mission with Gajeel and Lily early in the morning.
Hmm, speaking of which… what time is it? Levy wondered but couldn't muster the strength to look at the clock on her bedside table. Maybe I have a couple more minutes before I have to get ready to go… She started to drift off to sleep once again but a knock at her door stopped her.
Ugh, go away! She wailed in her mind snuggling further into the cosiness of her bed. Maybe if I don't make a sound they'll leave me alone. She thought.
Another loud knock at her door proved her wrong and she groaned in response.
"Coming…" She answered in a raspy voice before the person on the other side of her door could try to break it down with another knock.
Levy stretched and pushed herself off the bed. That's when she noticed she was freezing! It's middle of spring! It shouldn't be this cold! She thought as she hugged herself trying to keep herself a little bit warm. Her whole body felt heavy and for some reason she felt light-headed. She wobbled her way to the door and took a second to steady herself before turning the doorknob.
She opened the door reluctantly after another knock and saw Gajeel standing outside her threshold with Lily perched on his shoulder. The dragon slayer wore his usual scowl and glared at her in a way that would have made lots of braver men run for the hills. Sadly, it didn't have any effect on her.
"Gajeel? Lily? W-what are you doing here?" She rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes and yawned. Her voice came out raspy again and she swallowed with some trouble trying to moister her throat. "I thought we were meeting at the guild at 8."
"That was two hours ago, Shrimp." Gajeel said in his gruff voice and crossed his arms over his broad chest. He was trying to show Shorty how mad he was for she had them waiting on her, but damn it! It was hard to keep the angry facade when she looked so cute with her untamed hair standing out in every direction. Add that to the fact that she was standing there with loose black shorts and a long grey t-shirt and-
Wait! Is she not wearing a bra?! Gajeel's face started to heat up at the realization and willed his eyes not to stare at her chest. Fuck fuck fuck! Think of something else dammit!
"Two hours?!" Levy's eyes widened. "Oh, God! I'm so sorry guys!" Levy looked around her apartment frantically trying to collect her thoughts but her mind still felt fuzzy. "Uhm! Just give me a minute and I'll be ready to- ACHOO!" She sneezed so loudly that she took a step backwards.
"Bless you" Lily quickly said while Gajeel kept staring at the ceiling.
"Thank you. Uhm, come on in. I'll just grab- ACHOO" Another sneeze wrecked her small frame. And another one. And another one. After the fifth sneeze she held one hand to her chest trying to understand why on Earthland her chest hurt so much and her throat felt so dry.
Lily frowned at this. "Levy, are you okay?"
Gajeel was now staring intently at the solid script mage, his previous inner conflict long forgotten. Now that he put some attention to it, Levy looked a little sick with her cheeks tinted red and her forehead breaking into a light sweat.
"Yeah. Probably just some allergies." She grabbed a tissue and cleaned her nose but then a fit of coughing wrecked her body.
Lily flew from his place on Gajeel's shoulder and placed a paw on Levy's forehead. "You're burning in fever." He said sternly but Levy just swatted his paw away.
"I'm fine, really." She smiled at Lily and tried her best to focus her eyes on the Exceed but for some reason she felt as if everything around her was spinning. She steadied herself with one of her bookshelves before continuing. "I'll just… change and…" Levy's vision started to get blurry and it felt harder to breathe.
"Shrimp?" Gajeel questioned taking one step closer to her.
She looked up at him with half-lidded eyes but forced a smile. "Just… give me a min…" but she was unable to finish the phrase as her legs suddenly gave out under her and her eyes rolled to the back of her head.
"Shit!" Gajeel moved quickly and with one hand on the back of her head and the other one on her waist he caught her before she could hit the floor. He stayed like that for a moment with a completely passed out Levy in his arms. Then, he scooped her up with so much care that even Lily was surprised and made his way to her bed.
He placed her down and covered her small body with her orange sheets. With a hand on her forehead, he felt the fever Lily had mentioned and noticed how her breath was coming in ragged. He scowled at how fragile and breakable she looked like at the moment. He felt the need to do something and just then he remembered whose room was across the hall from Levy's.
"Tch. Look after her fer a min Lil'." Gajeel said before heading out of her room. He needed a special potion and he knew just where to find it.
An hour later, Levy groaned and stirred in her sleep while her eyes opened slowly. She felt as if everything hurt and the world was spinning around her. Her eyes felt heavy and a headache was pounding in her skull making her want to snuggle deeper into her pillow.
Wait, how did I ended up in bed? Last I remember…
"How are you feeling Levy?" Her heavy eyes landed on Lily who was standing beside her on the bed.
"Lily… what…?" She stared at him in confusion, trying to recollect what had happened. She remembered standing by her door and greeting Gajeel and Lily but then everything went fuzzy.
"You fainted and Gajeel carried you to your bed. It looks like you caught a bad case of the flu." The Exceed explained while smoothing down the cold wet cloth that was on Levy's forehead. She smiled kindly at Lily in gratitude at the gesture.
Gajeel, carried me? She started to feel embarrassed about what happened but didn't have much time to dwell on it when another voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Oi. Ya awake?" Gajeel appeared on her line of sight and he leaned down slightly to look at her closely.
She felt her face heated up even more by his proximity and by the intensity with which his red eyes studied her. Levy felt her throat dried for a new different reason and couldn't muster to pronounce a word.
"Geez, Shrimp. Ya look like crap." He smirked trying to conceal his worry but Levy still noticed it in his eyes. Nonetheless, she glared at him and puffed her cheeks in annoyance at his comment.
"Stupid Gajeel." She muttered in her raspy voice earning a chuckle from the dragon slayer when he finally straightened his posture.
"Gihi. Glad to see ya still have some fire in ya Shrimp." Levy noticed then he was carrying a tray with a steaming bowl of chicken soup, a glass of water and what looked like a vial of an orange potion. "Here, ya need to eat up." At that moment, Lily made his way to the other side of the room suddenly showing quite some interest in some books on one of her bookshelves.
Gajeel placed the tray on her bedside table and helped her sit up. He then sat down on the edge of her bed and placed the tray on her lap. She thanked him and she ate the soup slowly at first. Still, soon enough Levy found herself tilting the bowl to drink up to the last drop of chicken soup. She marvelled in the flavors exploding inside her mouth and wondered where the heck Gajeel bought such a delicious soup!
"Where did you get this soup? It is delicious!" Her face was that of pure bliss as she licked the last remaining traces of soup from her spoon.
Gajeel chuckled at her expression and felt pride swelled in his chest at knowing Shorty had enjoyed his cooking. "Glad ya liked my soup." His voice dripped confidence but soon he found himself rooted to his spot when Levy glanced up at him with her big hazel eyes.
"You cooked it?" She couldn't describe how she felt at that moment. Not only the soup had been one of the best she had ever tasted, but the fact that Gajeel went through the trouble of cooking it just for her made it even more unique and precious. She felt her chest filled with gratitude towards the dragon slayer and she gave him one of her biggest and brightest smiles "Thank you so much, Gajeel. It was really kind of you!"
Gajeel felt how his stomach did a funny flip flop when Levy beamed at him and he was sure his heart was about to hammer its way out of his chest. Oh, god. Why does she have to be so damn cute?! He thought and felt how the tip of his ears started to heat up. Don't you dare to blush! Damnit, don't you dare to blush idiot! He looked away from her and rubbed the back of his head shyly.
"D-don't mention it." He then nudged Levy to drink the vial by pushing it closer to her. "This'll help ya get better faster." He finally looked up at her once her eyes glanced down at the orange potion.
She did as he told her to and once she drank it all up, she took a sip from the glass of water. "Thank you." She smiled at him once again but then frowned when something felt out of place. "Where did you get this Gajeel? I'm sure I was out of potions."
He took the tray from her lap and placed it again on her bedside table. "Rain woman had some of these in her room." He said nonchalantly and proceeded to help her lay back down on her bed.
"Wait! You broke into Juvia's room?" Levy shrieked but Gajeel just snickered at her reaction.
" 'f course not. Got a spare key she insisted on giving me." She relaxed after his explanation and he tucked her in under her sheets. Gajeel then placed a freshly cold wet cloth on her forehead and Levy smiled kindly at him.
"Thanks, Gajeel, for everything. I'm sorry about the mission-" She started to apologize but he was having none of that.
"Forget about the mission." He said in a stern voice. "Just focus on getting better. We'll go on a mission another time."
She smiled sweetly at him and he found himself returning the gesture. "Thanks." Her eyelids now felt heavy as she was battling against sleep.
"Get some sleep. Lil' and I'll be around for a while if ya need anything." His voice was not as commanding as usual but he didn't notice that. He was too focused on the little bluenette that was slowly but surely losing her battle against slumber.
"Mhm" She hummed in agreement before finally closing her eyes completely. Once he was sure she was sound asleep, he moved his hand to brush away some stray strands of hair from her face.
Gajeel let himself stay right there for a couple of minutes, just contemplating the beauty that Levy McGarden was even with a sweaty face and a red nose. He smiled when he looked at the empty bowl beside her bed. It wasn't in his nature to take care of others like this, but seeing her sleeping peacefully made it all worth it. She was the only one able to make him care enough to want to take care of someone else like this. She was the only one able to bring this side of him to the surface and even when Gajeel wasn't used to it, he could see himself doing this often if it meant she wouldn't have to spend a sick day all by herself anymore.
He finally moved from her bed and carried the tray with dirty dishes back to the kitchen. He had lots of things to clean up since he cooked at least three batches of chicken soup until he was satisfied that it would be good enough for Levy.
His mind drifted off to when he arrived earlier that morning at Levy's place. He sure was angry at the petite mage at first but right now his only concern was for her to get better soon. He even felt proud to have helped her in any way he could. Besides, he couldn't find the strength to complain too much, not when she looked so damn cute sleeping peacefully in her bed while mumbling incoherencies in her sweet voice.
A goofy smile appeared on his face when he heard her mumbling his name in her sleep with the sweetest smile he had ever seen. And right now, not even Lily's teasing smirk could wipe off the smile on Gajeel's face. Screw the mission, he really didn't mind if he had to stay at Levy's place and look after her for a month.
It would all be worth it in the end. Everything was worth it whenever it came down to her.
Hope you liked the story! I honestly think I did quite alright with this one. Please leave me a review with your thoughts on this one.
(I'm still doing the unfinished prompts from Gajevy week but I found inspiration to write this one down so I did it teehee)
Thank you for reading!
WTF (Where's The Food)