One point to note; the idea to give Gajeel a lacryma stems from a discussion with another fanfiction writer. Not naming names in the interests of not spoiling stories, but if you see Gajeel going through the same stuff in another fict, then it's me who is the cheap shill, and he who gave me the idea!
With an utter lack of tact, Gajeel responded.
"Gimmegimmegimme!" He said, reaching up greedily.
"Fine," said Ashang. "I will implant the Lacryma into your body. Bend over."
Gajeel made a face of pure horror, and Ashang burst out laughing.
"Oh you humans; so easy to fool. How much powerful magic is administered rectally?"
"Well…" Gajeel stammered, losing the moment. Ashang smiled and without warning, slammed the lacryma into Gajeel's chest. He roared in pain as he shone with azure energy. He collapsed to his knees. This was worse than second origin! He grabbed his chest and writhed uncontrollably.
"Gajeel!" Levy shouted.
"He'll be fine," Ashang reassured. "He has a strong body. Now as for you, you look very delicate. Tell me that you can bear young."
"What does that have to do with you?" Levy snapped, ignoring the immense size discrepancy.
"You are so small," the dragon wheedled. "How can you carry an egg to maturity? And your hips are far too small to pass it."
"We mammals don't make eggs!" Levy shouted.
"But you do make milk. You never answered me; can you even produce enough for one whelpling?"
Levy covered her chest with her hands and glared at the dragon. "Can't you dragons just make polite conversation without talking about maternal capabilities?"
"Oh…you fuckers!" Gajeel shouted at nobody in the background, amidst his cries of pain.
"Oh? Is the size of one's mammary glands a taboo subject amongst mammals?"
"It is when they're this size!" Levy replied angrily. "Please change the subject!"
Ashang's demeanour changed, becoming more affable. "You look after that one. Something tells me that he lacks guidance. He'll need someone with a strong heart to lead him well."
"…fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck…"
"I…I don't think I…," Levy began.
"No, I'll think you'll do fine. Together, you will make a good pair. I was busy at the time, but I saw how you summoned magical power to protect him. It takes a strong heart to surpass one's limitations in times of need. Remember; in normal times, he'll gladly be your shield, but when he needs it, you'll be his shining light."
Levy flushed, not sure of how to respond. The dragon smiled, stood, and flexed her wings. "I'll be going, then."
"Uhm…feel free to stop by Fairy Tail someday!" Levy shouted.
Ashang laughed. "Maybe I'll do just that. But now, I go to find other dragons. Farewell!" Her mighty pinions beating, Ashang leapt into the sky, and faded into the distance.
"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu uuuuccccccccccccckkkkkkkkkkk !"
"Gajeel, you're ruining the moment!"
Levy sat there for about an hour watching Gajeel. She checked herself over. The moonglow spell had done a good job on the burns she'd acquired, but otherwise she still ached everywhere. At least her broken ribs felt better.
At length, they went back down the mountain, both moving very slowly. Gajeel dragged a trussed up Aurakana, who after repeated beating had revealed his real name to be Frederick. Gajeel laughed but Levy said that it was rude.
They rejoined Lily, Jet and Droy who had rested the entire time. By the laws of anime, that meant that somehow they'd be fine with impalement. I dunno, ask a doctor how Gajeel could use his arm after Yomazu impaled it! They buried what was left of Jager's corpse, hoping the vengeful man might find peace in the afterlife.
A problem occurred when taking the apprehended Frederick back to the mayor to recollect payment. The staff Gajeel had eaten was the one that belonged in the museum. There had been quite an argument, but Gajeel agreed to give up both remaining staffs in order to keep the full payment. They lied about Ashang's true nature. They knew that it would not be welcome news.
They took the train back to the port city after a brief hospital patch job, where they stayed in an inn overnight, to catch the boat back to Harjeon the next morning. Gajeel looked at Levy as she settled down on their bed. She was definitely a mess. It was easier to see bandages than her skin. She caught his gaze.
"Mira's gonna have my rank for sure," she said glumly.
"We can always delay a bit," Gajeel offered. "Give you a chance to rest up."
"No, I should face the music. If I'm not cut out to be S-class, it's best to find out quickly."
"But you did the mission…,"
Levy interrupted him. "Gajeel just shut up and hold me." He sadly but obligingly obeyed.
A few days later, they reached the guild and pushed open the doors. The reaction was almost instantaneous.
"Levy-chan!" Lucy cried out running to check on her. Levy was barely six inches through the door frame as Lucy's hands were all over her, checking her injuries. Jet and Droy walked past, quietly mentioning how no one checked on them. Gajeel couldn't help but chuckle.
Gajeel frowned suddenly. Lily had healed with the speed of an Exceed, and ingesting starmetal had healed Gajeel of the worst of his injuries and his slayer constitution had done the rest. Jet and Droy had grievous injuries from Jager, but they were mostly under their clothes.
It looked like only Levy had been hurt.
It made her look weak.
Gajeel suddenly began talking loudly, regaling the crowd of assembled guild mates. "Ya guys shoulda seen it! There was this slayer, and get this, he was using dragon force. He kicks my ass all over the place, right, and the Shrimp here is like 'fuck that', and breaks out a thirteen letter spell and puts him through a wall! She kicked ass!"
There were gasps of amazement from the crowd. Gajeel went on, mixing up his memories a little. "Then there was this huge monster and Bulbbrain ties it up and Flyboy just goes 'Wham!' and Lily caves its skull in!" His story telling abilities were not the best.
He walked through the crowd, clicking his fingers at Mira. "Four beers and Levy's regular!" Screw it, he felt like he'd earned a beer. He turned back, beer in hand, and went on, always minimizing his involvement and exaggerating the others. He noticed Mira flicking her gaze between him and Levy. He doubted that she was fooled, but hey; it was worth a shot.
The pair sat in Makarov's office. He sat behind the desk, appraising their appearance calmly. Mira hovered behind him, seemingly wanting to unleash a tirade. The door clicked shut as Erza made her entry behind them. Makarov began.
"So, do you two wish to apprise me of how your first S-class quest went? I remind you that Mayor Kwan will be sending me a report by post, but I doubt he has any of the info you do."
Levy didn't look like she knew what to say, so Gajeel chimed in. "I think it went really well. All objectives met, minimum collateral damage. No one died, and hell, it seemed like we all gained power from it!"
"That's not the issue and you know it," Mira stated angrily. Gajeel glowered at her.
"Shrimp is strong. Really strong. Don't think otherwise."
"Gajeel…," Levy looked up at Mira. "I think I did well. My magic is much stronger than it was before. I singlehandedly beat a demon of Zeref."
"For what it's worth," Makarov said kindly, "I think you did really well. The only concern is that allowing you to do these missions will bring you harm in the long run."
"That's true for anyone!" Gajeel shouted. "We all put our lives at risk!"
"But can you bear the burden of your injuries, Gajeel?" Erza asked.
"Of course I can!"
"And you, Levy?"
"Umm…yes."
"Good. As a test of your readiness, we have asked Wendy not to heal you," Erza said.
"That's just cruel!" Gajeel yelled, rising from his seat.
"It is necessary, Kurogane," Mira stated coldly. She turned to Levy. "If you wish to prove to us that you are ready to be S-class, you will have to bear this burden naturally." Levy could see the sadness behind Mira's cold demeanour. I worry about you; I don't want you to be hurt more. Please quit.
Levy stood. "I understand. I'll prove to you that I can."
In his house, Gajeel watched Levy with growing concern. All the past discussions came flooding back to him. Her injuries made her more depressive. She bore pain badly, moving slow and hesitatingly. Her frail body was slow to heal. He looked down at his hands and cursed himself. It didn't seem fair that he was so tough and resilient, and healed insanely quickly. Even without his deus ex machina driven healing, he'd have been fine by now.
At one point, he heard a shattering from the kitchen. He rushed in to find a broken cup on the floor and Levy hunched over her knees. It was so trivial – she'd dropped it from pain-ridden fingers, but it shattered her fragile ego like the cup itself.
Ever so gently, he slid his arms around her shoulders and under her legs, lifting her against his chest. Her silence was heart breaking as he carried her to the bedroom, laying her down on the soft mattress. He fetched the lion he'd won her, which he still didn't know was called Kurogane and she hugged it almost by rote.
Gajeel went over to the bookshelf and began looking for the one book he needed. Something interesting, but beyond his level. Some kind of fantasy novel to drag her in. But hopefully not bore him. He took a book that had an interesting cover. 'Daemon Slayer' by William King. Looked kinda cool. He slipped into the bed behind her, carefully positioning himself. He put his arms around her, holding the book.
Just opening the book made him recoil with the size of the script, but he almost felt Levy's interest through her back. Placing his finger on the first word, he started to read.
"Chapter 1, the Message. "You spilled my beer," Gotrek Gurney…Gurnis…" He stammered over the surname.
"Gurnisson," Levy said gently. "The son of Gurni."
"…Gurnisson said. If the man who had just knocked over the …flagon… possessed any sense, Felix J…Jaeger…" Gajeel almost face-palmed. Jaeger? Jager. What were the odds of that? But he felt Levy giggle at the realisation.
Gajeel slowly went on, hesitant and slow. Levy followed along, correcting and aiding him where necessary. She knew how hard this was for him, how showing weakness was his most hated thing. Levy was smart enough to know why he was doing this – to distract her from her own pain. She wilfully accepted it, and after a while fell asleep in his arms, her face happy.
Extricating himself slowly from the position, Gajeel went out into the cold night air and looked up at the crescent moon in the sky. Since the mission had ended, he'd had no chance to practice. Fucking trains and fucking boats. If he could learn the moonglow spell, he could help Levy.
He steadied his breathing and tried to draw power from the lacryma.
"Gurkh!" Gajeel collapsed to his knees, clutching his chest. It felt an awful lot like his heart had just exploded. Iron was a purely physical element. Light might just be about as anachronistic as possible. Okay, let's take this a step slower. He very slowly tried to gather power onto his right palm.
It felt like his arm was on fire, but a tiny ball of silver energy gathered there. He roared. Maintaining even this tiny energy was agonising. But maybe this would overcome his weakness to ranged combat. He tried to throw it at a tree in his garden. It made a little 'pfft' noise and a little tiny char on the trunk.
Clearly, he had a way to go.
He tried again, gathering power. He made the ball larger, and cried out in agony, losing cohesion. The ball exploded in his hand, charring the skin on his arm.
"Gajeel!" He turned as the back door flung open, light spilling out. Dammit.
"I'm fine!" He snapped. "Ya were supposed to be sleeping!"
"I heard you shout in pain! Of course I was going to check on you! Oh, your arm!" She knelt down next to him, checking it over.
SHE is checking YA for injury. Congratulations, dumbass!
"I'm fine," he repeated. "Ya should worry about yerself, not me."
"No," she said firmly as he looked at her. "You look after me, and I'll look after you."
"I don't need someone to look after me," Gajeel said, the words out of his mouth before he realized the implications. That she did need someone. Shit, he hadn't meant that.
"Oh?" Levy said slyly. "You spend five minutes training and you're on the floor with a cooked arm. I think you could use a little help. Someone with a little experience in research."
Gajeel grinned suddenly. "Ya seem happier. Yer movements are ignoring yer injuries." Levy blinked, not having realized But Gajeel understood. Levy drew her confidence from her loved ones. She'd wallow in her own pain, but would walk through burning coals for him. If he wanted her to be stronger…
"Fine. Tomorrow morning, take me down the library, and we'll look up light based magic. I need yer help."
Levy's face glowed. "That sounds great!"
Okay, well I got a lot votes to give him the lacryma, and several to give Levy the lacryma…
I think now might be the time to go into a bit of dissertation on how I view Gajeel and Levy.
The interest of GaLe for me is that Gajeel is a man with (literally) a body of iron, but a stunted soul that sees power as its own justification. Levy is a person with a feeble body, but a strong soul that can forgive the most heinous of crimes. That's why I break Levy's body and break Gajeel's heart. For Gajeel, fighting through pain and fatigue is boring – he does it all the time. For Levy, forgiveness is not a big deal.
In my opinion, giving Levy power that ignores her physical limitations moves her right into the category of mary-sue. She would have no flaws. (Shortness and small breasts are NOT flaws!) In order to increase Levy's power, I want to focus on her heart, on the ability to surpass herself for her loved ones. I certainly plan to make her magic stronger.
It is also the case that I wanted to shore up the difference with Natsu and his twin-element ability. Also, I find Gajeel's magic somewhat…limiting. I wanted to diversify it. But, as has been suggested to me, I won't make it easy for him, at least at first.
But for now, I'll be moving into more fluff oriented stories, with some magic development. If people have ideas for another arc, a suitably tough S-class quest, I'm all ears!