"Gajeel!" Levy ran to his side. Her and Lilly had entered to see him lying unconscious on the ground. His knuckles were bleeding and his hands were covered in his own blood. Lilly had helped her get him to the sitting room and onto the couch where she bandaged his hands and covered him with a blanket. His face was contorted with exhaustion and he didn't stir even after they'd moved him.

"Is he going to be ok?" Levy asked, looking down at the little Exceed.

"He'll be fine," he huffed, shaking his head, "He's being ridiculous,"

"Why is he doing this to himself? He's going to kill himself," she sighed, worry creasing her brow.

"I don't know," Lilly crossed his arms, "but at least now he's resting,"

Levy just looked at the Dragon Slayer with concern in her eyes. Tentatively, she brushed some of his hair to the side of his face. Her fingers ran across his brow, brushing against the rivets in his flesh. His skin was so warm, as if he had a fever.

Her hand travelled down the side of his face to his neck where she brushed a few more stray hairs away. She could feel his pulse under his skin – slow and peaceful. Even in exhaustion, she'd never seen the Iron Mage so serene.

"You have feelings for him?" Lilly asked, although it sounded more like a statement.

"I do," she said quietly, a slight blush coming to her cheeks. She moved her hand down to his bare chest. Almost responding to her touch, Gajeel sighed in his sleep, letting out a noise that sounded like a hum or purr, "I'm so worried about him,"

Lilly hopped up to the armrest, looking down at Gajeel, "He'll be fine. He just needs to snap out of this,"

"But how are we supposed to do that? Get him to snap out of it?"

"I don't know," the little Exceed said crossly. He let out an exasperated sigh and looked back up to Levy. Immediately noticing the sadness in her stare, he reached over to put a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sure we'll figure something out,"

"Yeah…"

"Why don't you go home? I can take care of him from here," he smiled at her, "You can come back tomorrow when he wakes up,"

The little fairy let out another sigh, pulling herself up, "Ok. I'll see you tomorrow then,"

On her way home, Levy decided she'd take a detour to a certain blonde's house. Knocking on the door, she waited patiently for the Celestial Mage to come to the door.

"Levy!" she smiled, giving the blue-nette a hug.

"Hey Lucy," Levy smiled, returning her friend's hug, "I wanted to talk to you about some things. Do you mind if I come in?"

"Sure," Lucy smiled, stepping aside to let her in.

Natsu was sitting on the couch nibbling on some snacks he probably found in Lucy's kitchen. The pink haired boy looked up and smiled, waving in the girls' direction before settling back to finish his snacks. Happy sat next to him munching on some fish.

"Natsu," Lucy said, hands on her hips, "I need you to leave,"

"Huh? But I thought…"

"No, no," Levy interrupted, "he can stay. He might actually be able to help,"

"What's going on, Levy? You look upset," Lucy said, motioning for her to join her on the floor.

"I just… I don't know…" the Solid Script wizard looked down at her hands. An hour or two later and the story of their mission off her chest, Levy finally looked back up at her friends. Lucy's face was horror-stricken and Natsu had a look of worry in his eyes.

"L-Levy…" Lucy said, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder, "I had no idea…"

"I'm fine, really," she kneaded her hands together anxiously, "he didn't do anything to me. Gajeel stopped him before he could…"

"But still… that must've been horrible…" Lucy hugged her friend.

"I just wish I could forget it all… but Gajeel's changed since the mission. He won't come to the guild and just keeps training. Lilly and I found him unconscious on the floor at their apartment. He's taking what happened to me personally, I know, but it wasn't his fault… I just don't know how to get that through to him," Levy shook her head, completely at a loss, "I was hoping, maybe, you guys could help me,"

"He should have never taken you on something so dangerous," Lucy said, anger tingeing her voice.

"I wanted to go. I wanted to show him I could be strong too. I wanted to…" Levy stopped herself, still unwilling to admit the words out loud. She looked down at her hands again, sadness gripping her.

Natsu shifted in his seat and sniffed audibly, "Why don't you train with him?"

"Natsu!" Lucy protested.

"What? It would work, wouldn't it?" he scratched the back of his head.

As the two argued, an idea started to form in Levy's head. A smile coming to her face, she quickly thanked her friends and left, hope making her feel like she was soaring. She hurried home with renewed determination for the next day.