Gajeel was sitting at a table in the guild hall, munching on a small pile of iron. He was bored. The Shrimp was on a mission, though she'd be back soon hopefully. But with Natsu's team gone, he'd lost the only person he really cared to start a fight with. Jeez, was he so whipped that he needed her to enjoy himself now?

Mira watched him from a distance, smiling. Ah, young love. Mira was a demon at matchmaking. She hadn't had a hand in their relationship, but she'd looked on with joy as it arose. It was interesting how their opposite natures complimented one another, but beneath it all, there were so many similarities trying to get out.

There was a noise as Team Shadow Gear entered the guild, approaching the bar.

"Yo Mira, a round on us for a successful mission!" Called Jet. There was a cheer from the assembled guild members.

Gajeel noted their appearance. Jet had a few minor scrapes visible, and Droy was clearly favouring his left leg. Gajeel frowned. Levy didn't appear to have a mark on her, but he noted that she was covering up her arms and legs, and there was a notable hesitance in her steps. She was clearly hurt, if you were looking for it.

Gajeel pushed down his feelings. She was a guild mage. She would not be happy for him trying to wrap her in cotton wool. He understood that, hell he went on far more dangerous missions; it would be hypocritical in the extreme. There was an asymmetry in their abilities, but that wasn't a good idea to mention.

He sauntered up to the trio at the bar. "Heya, how it'd go?" He asked, trying to be positive, and trying not to dismiss Jet and Droy. They were Levy's best friends, he should play nice.

Levy made an expression that everyone nearby caught.

"Oh Levy," said Mira smiling, "kidnapped again?"

"Ninth time," the small girl smiled wanly. "Do I get a free drink on the tenth?"

There was general laughter. Levy was so small that getting kidnapped seemed to happen to her a lot, though she often took care of it by herself, because people underestimated her. If her hands were free, she could break out of just about anywhere with her solid script.

Gajeel didn't laugh. He also noticed that neither had Jet and Droy. He'd seen through that facade.

"Yer coming back to my place," he said as the guild shut down for the night.

"I'm tired, Gajeel, I just wanna go home and sleep," she lied.

"No," he said firmly, "I'm looking after ya." Very, very gently, Gajeel put one arm around her shoulders, and another under her legs, carrying her against his chest. She winced slightly, but didn't resist.

He didn't pressure her to reveal her injuries, but sat on the end of his bed and waited for her to shower and change. Head down, she came out in her sleep wear, her arms, legs and shoulders revealed. Gajeel couldn't believe his eyes. He'd never thought…

Snaking around every inch of her below her neckline was a livid purple bruise. It was a single continuous line that wound so tight that it almost seemed like one large blotch.

"Shrimp…" he breathed. She didn't look at him.

"The guy who kidnapped me…his magic was something like a ribbon that wrapped around my body, immobilizing me. When Jet and Droy confronted him, he constricted it to warn them off, causing this injury." She smiled thinly. "Jet shifted into top speed and beat the crap out of him." She frowned again. "I think if had been any longer, my bones would have snapped."

He wanted to scoop her up and hold her, but realized that he couldn't. However, she dejectedly went over to him, easily fitting in the space between his legs and leaned back against him. He loosely put his arms around her, trying to support her without hurting her.

"I hate it," she said quietly.

Unseen by her, Gajeel closed his eyes. He knew what was coming next. Over the years, she'd used a lot of harsh words to describe her body, but on Tenrou Island, she'd picked up a new one.

"I hate being so frail."

Frail. A word that not just described her appearance, but the physical problem that arose from it. Gajeel looked down at her back. It was certainly true that Levy wasn't just short; her bones were slender and her shoulders were narrow. She simply didn't possess the physical armour a larger person would.

He didn't know what to say. 'But you have other good qualities' was not helpful here. And it wasn't like she could train it away; she was a physically fit and active person. There was only so much muscle she could produce. So he tried a different approach.

"Hey, I doubt Flyboy or Planthead could have broken this spell either, by the looks of it."

"Droy's Bark Armour could have broken it. Jet can produce huge amounts of friction; he could break it too." Her voice was so matter-of-fact, so depressed. "You would have broken it in seconds."

Gajeel tried to interject, but Levy went on.

"Natsu would have burnt it away. Gray would have made it brittle. Erza has the strength to break it. Lu-chan would only need one hand free, Max could –"

"Stop it," Gajeel said gently, having to resort to the only thing he could think of. "Everyone has different strengths. You're amazing at decryption and rewriting spells. But despite that, you're still a strong mage. I heard about your MPF score. That was pretty badass!"

"My magic is useless. My spells are weak. My one strong spell completely drains all of my power, leaving me helpless. Even with second origin, I'm useless."

"Shrimp, ya've taken out a Sphynx with one shot. That's not useless."

"A monster. Name one other mage in the world that I could beat." There was no force in the challenge, resigned. Dammit, he thought. Her confidence in her own skills was so low that killing a giant monster didn't even register. These scars were old, and weren't going to go away in a hurry.

Gajeel tried thinking back over the magic games contestants. That carrot girl didn't seem very strong, but he didn't see much of her. The doggish guy…well he was pretty tough, if he got to close range… That fancy boy from Blue Pegasus..Hibiki! He was a knowledge type….right, so was Levy.

"See?"

"I'm thinkin'!" He said a little loudly. "The mages ya remember are generally the really strong ones!"

She smiled thinly and pressed into him a little harder. "I'm tired and hurt Gajeel, I don't wanna talk anymore."

Levy had fallen asleep quickly, which was merciful. Gajeel had been afraid that her injuries would keep her awake. In the darkness, lit only by the moon's dim light, he watched her sleep. Normally, he loved admiring her sleeping face, but now he was only thinking of how he could help her.

There was simply nothing to do about her physical condition; he was sure of it. She was small, and her fitness level was high, there wasn't anywhere to go from there. He wished he could make her realise that everything else about her made up for it. She was invaluable with her language skills. In the whole guild, only Fried was in that class, and he wasn't in the same league.

Her magic, while often lacking impact, was varied and useful. His magic was strong, but only had one purpose; obliterating things. He was much less useful than her. He dearly wished he could cast iron scales on her, to protect her, make her tougher.

For the next few days, Levy didn't do much. She hung around the house, healing. She spent a lot of time sleeping, and it pained Gajeel to see her so…frail. Goddamit Gajeel, choose a different word.

He hoped her returning health would improve her spirits.

"C'mon Shrimp, I'm taking yer out," Gajeel said on the fifth day. Her bruises were gone now, though he didn't doubt that she still ached.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm taking ya…" Say it. Say it. "…clothes shopping," he choked.

"Ehh?"

Are you a man? Have you ever been dragged around by a girlfriend looking for clothes? I'm fairly sure that Dante's Inferno suggested it as the sixth circle of hell, right after the constant crotch kicking level. It's hours of walking and standing and waiting, with nothing to do, while someone drags you through fifteen shops and if you're lucky, she'll buy one dress.

Levy didn't hate clothes shopping per se, but she hated looking at herself, judging her own body in the mirror. She came out of the dressing room wearing a little red dress that covered her shoulders and ended just above her knees. She looked in the mirror, frustrated by how small her chest looked.

"Gihi, that's sexy!" Gajeel noted far too loudly for a public place. Levy frowned and returned to the dressing room. She came back a few minutes later in a little t-shirt and short skirt.

"So cute!" Gajeel exclaimed happily. Again, she frowned at her reflection and changed into the next outfit. It didn't matter what it was, she hated the painful thinness of the person in the mirror.

"I like it!" Gajeel said.

"Shut up! I know what you're trying to do!" She snapped at him. She softened as she saw his expression. "Leave me alone. I'll meet you in the café at noon."

"Okay," he said, standing. "Take all the time you need." She was mollified by his consideration, but went back to try on the next outfit she'd picked. She hated it, and frustrated, she decided to try the first red dress again.

She stared at the person in the mirror with loathing.

"Gihi, that's sexy!"

No it wasn't. She turned sideways. Look at how small my chest is.

"Not every likes 'em big, Shrimp! You look good to me!"

But I'm so thin…

"Yer so graceful, ya know that? What's the word?" He frowned, thinking. "Elegant! Yer elegant and graceful!"

But I'm so small…

Gajeel lifted her off the ground in a crushing embrace. "It makes it so easy to love you."

Her hands flew up to her hair.

"My favourite thing in the world is blue."

She smiled.

"Yer smile…it's a force of nature, you know? Right up there with the sun and the moon." She blushed shyly, and Gajeel, with a complete lack of tact, turned and shouted at the moon's reflection in the river. "Ya hear that? Ya've got nothing on her!"

Maybe the person in the mirror wasn't so bad.

Gajeel sat glumly in the café, idly chewing on a spoon, as a staff member wondered if it was worth the hassle to mention. He'd hoped to make her feel better, but it seemed like it hadn't worked at all. Arms suddenly went around his neck from behind, that wonderful smell of his love filling his nostrils.

"Thank you," she said.

"Ah? I didn't do nothin'," he said offhandedly. He felt the arms tighten a little.

"Thank you," she repeated. Gajeel turned to look at her.

"So you went with the red one? It looks good on you. Classy but sexy, Gihi!"

"Would it look better…off of me?" She asked, with that expression. "Kyah!" She cried out as Gajeel bundled her into his arms.

"And off we go!" He roared, and Levy laughed.

Lying naked under the bed sheets, Levy looked up at the sleeping form of Gajeel. She occupied her usual position of being cradled by his right arm.

She didn't really understand why, but Gajeel loved her body, the body that she hated. But maybe as long as someone wanted it, that was enough.

She would always be weak, at least physically. But with this big brute around, maybe she didn't have to be tough. Maybe…maybe it was alright for someone small to have someone big to look after them.

Frail.

…but…

Graceful.

Elegant.

Those were okay.

She rested her cheek back onto his chest and closed her eyes. Yes, this was fine.