"I can't take much more," my body is covered in a thick sheen of sweat, hair is plastered to my face as I attempt to steady my breathing. Gajeel and Lily have pushed me to the very edge of my limits, legs trembling I adopt one of the defensive stances that they taught me. I clutch the small but deadly sharp dagger that I have been training with, my grip is becoming slippery as the sweat slides along my fingers and the smooth surface of the blade.

Lily stands opposite me on the patch of grassland we are calling our training ground, I'm pleased to see that his breathing isn't coming too easily either, although he certainly isn't the sweat soaked mess that I am. He has been taking turns with Gajeel to be my opponent, "at least they get to rest between rounds!" I think to myself, frowning at the unfairness of this regime.

Gajeel had quickly set out his training plan earlier, we were to focus on my speed and accuracy, given my petite frame, these would be my biggest advantages over enemies. He had then proceeded to run me through drill after drill until I collapsed to my knees on the mossy grass. We worked on how to position my body, different stances to use depending on the situation, sprinting back and forth and other basic exercises to improve my overall stamina.

My muscles burned from the various unnatural positions he had made me hold and practice until they were branded into my memory, "this is what you asked for kitten, and don't give me that look!" Gajeel yells from his vantage point above us in the branches of a tall ash tree. I couldn't help the look of pure unadulterated murder I was sending his way, yes, this was my idea, but damn it, he could have eased me in!

"One last round and that'll be enough for today," Gajeel chuckles darkly, "into position Levy, and brace!" I follow the command, leaning back on to my rear foot as I await the oncoming attack. The towering powerhouse that is Lily blows out a breath and charges towards me, as he begins to move, I quickly duck further down and spin to the right of his body. My feet dance on the ground as I continue to spin behind him, drawing my blade down to slash at his calves as his momentum takes him past my starting position.

"Nice one Levy!" Gajeel cheers, I would have caught Lily if he hadn't been able to jump out of the way at the last second. The exseed's wide eyed stare flusters me for a second as I assess the next move, I watch as he lowers his body to attempt to tackle me to the ground. The split second before Lily connects with me, I twist to the side and attempt to sweep his leg from under him, I manage to hook my leg around his, but I don't have the strength to make the full move land and I end up crumpled on the floor with Lily rolling away, so his weight doesn't crush me.

Frustrated, I pound my fist into the ground beside me as a pair of heavy boots land near my head. "Kitten, that was amazing. I know you are annoyed that last move didn't work, but for one day of training you are doing brilliantly." Gajeel praises as he crouches down beside me.

A wheezing Lily props himself on his elbows, despite his exertion he has a big grin on his face, "you will make a fearsome opponent Levy, you nearly got me there," he smirks as my face reddens further at the praise I am being showered with.

A towel lands heavily over my soaking face, groaning I pull it away and hiss at Gajeel, who can't seem to wipe the amused look from his face. "I'm exhausted, but I want to punch you so bad!" I can barely recognise my own voice; it sounds more like the hissing of a snake than my usual cheery tone.

Gajeel rolls his eyes before standing and offering me his hand to pull me to my feet, "do you wish for me to carry you home my sweet?" he bows deeply once I am finally standing again. I turn on my heel as swiftly as I can manage and begin to wobble away from him in the direction of home.

Lily and Gajeel catch up to me in seconds and take their places at either side of me as we continue the journey away from the training area. I can't be sure, but I feel they have done this in case I fall in either direction, they will be able to catch me. This thought does nothing to soothe me, I may not be as strong as them, but I am not a damsel in distress. My groaning thigh muscles protest as I pick up the pace, simply to prove a point to these two overbearing males.

I silently listen to their conversation, they are going over today's lesson and planning for the next one, my stomach flips over at the thought. "I need a good day's long soak and an early night," I stifle the yawn that threatens to escape as I contemplate my nice warm bed.

As we pass the Fairy Tail guild hall, Lily breaks off from our group and heads inside with a final wave of his hand. He transforms back into his cute little kitty form as the door swings shut. I can hear the raucous noise coming from inside and part of me is eager to join them, we haven't spent as much time with our friends lately and it bothers me. Gajeel sensing my hesitation gently takes my hand and intertwines his fingers with me, "we can come back later, if you are feeling up to it after a deep bath and a rest." He lifts my hand and places a chaste kiss on my knuckles, smiling I can feel all my earlier resentment fade away.

We stroll along hand in hand, I am glad of the silence, the thought of having to maintain a conversation is too much right now. Gajeel is humming a soft tune and that makes me smile even more, he is a terrible singer, but such a good song writer, my poor metal head.

Finally, we make it home, the journey only lasted 20 minutes but it felt like an eternity to me and my poor broken body. "Go sit down whilst I sort out the bath babe," Gajeel quietly coaxes as he pushes me gently towards the bedroom.

I flop backwards on to the bed, I had planned to at least strip out of my sweat soaked and smelly training clothes, but as my eyes flutter shut, I am immediately pulled under into a deep and peaceful sleep.

~.~

Humming a little ditty that I had been writing, I wander around the bathroom preparing things for Levy. Thinking back to the training, I cannot help but feel proud of what she has achieved in merely one session. She really took my message to heart, every movement, every command, and every word she listened to and followed my every instruction without debate or argument.

That last round with Lily had been the best yet, in every previous match she had not come as close to harming one of us, but had Lily not been able to move as swiftly, he would be treating some pretty nasty wounds right now. Despite her exhaustion, Levy had continued to press herself to exertion and that was something I truly admired.

I set the bath running, making sure the temperature is hot enough to ease her abused muscles, I pour a generous amount of salts in, plus a drop of her favourite bath essence and slowly the room fills with plumes of fragranced steam. Setting a stack of fluffy white towels by the door, I go in search of my little warrior kitten.

What I find is a passed-out Levy, her body is half on the bed and half slowly sliding towards the floor, although I doubt she would wake even if she did fully fall off. Her peaceful face makes me chuckle as I pad quietly over to her, time to get her out of these clothes.

Once her trainers and shoes have been removed and thrown into our pile of washing, I gingerly peel the shorts down her legs, it takes longer than expected as they have become stuck to her skin in places. Moving on to the bed to reach her top, I stretch her arms above her head so I can remove the item, there is still no sign of this waking the sleeping beauty.

Levy continues to softly snore as I stare down at her almost naked form, this must be the first time I've seen her this naked and not instantly wanted to take her, it is rather refreshing. It has nothing to do with the sweat soaking her body, this is all about taking care of her, she doesn't need me pestering her with my own desires right now.

I decide to let her sleep a little longer whilst I check on the bath, turning off the steaming water I return and nudge her foot gently with my own, she doesn't even stir. Sitting beside her I whisper softly in her ear, "come back to me kitten," as I gently shake her shoulder, her sleepy eyes flutter open and she frowns as she looks around confused.

"You fell asleep, I left you as long as I could, but now it's time you had a bath." Levy groans as she moves to sit on the bed, "you are gonna feel stiff for a while, but it'll fade, I promise."

"Did you strip me?" Levy asks looking down to find herself only in her underwear.

I grunt, "who else would have done it? Gihihi." Grabbing her hand, I pull her up, Levy winces as her sore muscles protest at the movements. "Come on, you'll feel better in the water." I soothe, leading the frowning girl into the bathroom.

Levy sighs in pleasure as the scented steam wraps around us, I move to leave the room and give her some privacy, but she grips my hand and looks up at me with her soft hazel eyes, "please stay, I'm scared I'll fall asleep in the tub," she whispers.

"Sure thing," I answer, taking a seat on the closed toilet whilst Levy turns to remove her bra and panties. I hold out my hand to help her step into the deep bath, as she sinks into the fragranced water a deep contented sigh rumbles out of her, she is so small that she submerges her entire body and head before surfacing and settling back.

For a second I think she has fallen asleep again, just as I move to shake her awake, she speaks and startles me, "so, kitten huh? Where has that come from?" she asks, her gaze fixing me directly and I could swear she batted her eyelashes at me.

Shrugging I reply, "it came to me during training, you are so cute and tiny," she growls at me and I can't hold in the deep laugh that surfaces, "but you are also pretty vicious when you want to be," I finish. "Kitten definitely suits you, plus I thought you would prefer that to shrimp, I can always go back if you'd prefer?"

"No!" she states loudly, "I'll take kitten," and with that we fall into a period of contended silence.

As Levy begins to wash herself, I find myself fascinated with the movements of her hands. She washes along her arms, neck and chest before the soap and her hands sink below the surface to continue bathing what I sadly cannot see, I long to be in the tub with her. As if she could read my mind, Levy fixes me with a sultry look and purrs, "could you help me with my back please Mr Redfox?"

"I don't think you want to start down that path again Miss McGarden," I warn, shaking my finger to emphasise the point, despite my own feelings to the contrary.

Levy sighs and nods sadly, "you are probably right, but I really could use some help. That's if you don't mind?"

This is definitely not something I am going to turn down, standing I quickly strip out of my khaki vest, combat trousers and boxers. I am trying not to notice Levy's increasingly hunger stare, she is not helping matters by arousing me when we should be focusing on her recovery. Levy scoots forward in the tub as I step in behind her and sink into the water, my arm curls around her body to haul her back against me, a cursed hiss slips past my lips as her butt rubs against my groin and she giggles at my reaction.

We lie like this for a few minutes, enjoying the feel of her curves as they fit against me perfectly, my fingers stroke the flat of her stomach and Levy leans her head back against my chest, her eyes closed and a slow smile spreading across her face.

Finally, I take the soap from her hand and move to lean her forward so I can wash her back, my fingers move the suds in ever increasing circles, massaging her shoulders and moving my way down her back. When I reach the base of her spine, my fingers splay over her perfect ass as I rub the soap into her delicate skin. "You need to stop this Gajeel, or you'll take it too far," I chastise myself for misbehaving.

"Let me wash your hair kitten," I whisper into Levy's ear, placing a quick kiss on the lobe. Levy stretches for her shampoo and conditioner and passes them back to me; she strokes my forearms as I pour the liquid into my palm. Rubbing the shampoo between my hands, I start to massage it into her wet hair and scalp, my fingers are gentle as I try not to pull on any tugs. Levy moans and wiggles against me inadvertently, I stiffen for a second as I close my eyes and will myself to behave.

"Stupid Gajeel," Levy groans as I continue to work a lather into her blue locks, my nails scrape against her scalp which causes a shiver to pass through her body. I ignore the comment for now, wanting to do this job for her to the best of my ability. Taking a cup from the side of the bath, I fill it with water and tilt her head back to wash all the suds from her hair, careful to keep the water from splashing into her face. Levy's eyes gaze up at me, they are filled with some emotion that I can't quite place, frowning I try to contemplate what it could be.

Another few minutes pass as I smooth conditioner through her hair and repeat the washing process until I am satisfied that I have completed my task, my chest expands as I feel proud of being able to care for my partner in this way.

"So why am I Stupid Gajeel right now?" I finally ask, my hands can't seem to help themselves and are moving slowly down her sides, passing by the small swell of her breasts.

"I am practically on a plate for you, yet you aren't doing anything about it," she pouts, her fingers dig into the muscles of my thighs and I wince as she digs her nails into the flesh.

I chuckle at her insistence, "oh I am sorry kitten, did you need me for something else right now?" my hands smooth over her stomach, one heads up towards her breasts as the other dips south and slips over her irresistible mound.

There is no verbal response from Levy, her glossy eyes look up at me as a sweet moan ripples from her throat. I waste no time in letting my fingers slide along her wet folds, massaging her intimate area and pressing my fingers deeper. My other hand roughly grasps her left breast, groping the flesh before my fingertips roll her budding nipple between thumb and finger, tugging just a bit more than gently.

"Aaah," she pants out, my thumb finds her clit and the pad circles around it before pressing down lightly, my middle finger is so close to entering her, but I tease for a little longer as I enjoy her unabashed noises of pleasures.

I want to take my time with her heavenly body, but I need to make this quick, Levy needs to rest from our earlier training. I continue to manipulate her breasts, switching to the other side and abusing her nipple in the same manner. My finger finally plunges into her sweet core, her walls swallow the digit and pull it deeper into her body, my own erection is now pressed firmly against her ass and it twitches as I stroke her walls. Adding another finger quickly, I curl them into her and rub against her inner sweet spot.

Levy writhes against me, the water splashes over the side with her frantic movements, grasping her waist I hold her still while my fingers continue to thrust into her slick centre, it only takes moments until she is undone. "Mmm Gajeel!" she cries out as her body spirals out of control.

She groans as my fingers slip out of her, I tighten my embrace and listen to her heartbeat as it slows down, I hum my new tune and close my eyes as I enjoy the feel of her sated body against me. Minutes pass, Levy's breathing has evened out and as I sit forward to check on her, I realise she has fallen back into a deep slumber against my chest.

Scooping the sleeping Levy into my arms, I stand from the water and step out of the tub. Stooping by the pile of towels by the door, I manage to clutch at one and drag it with us into the bedroom. Gently I deposit Levy on to the bed and lay the towel down next to her, rolling her on to the warm material as I gingerly towel dry her body, at this point I could probably be as rough as I wanted with my drying and she wouldn't even twitch.

Once I am happy that she is dry and I have towelled off her wet hair, I pick her up once more and slide into the bed with Levy nestled into my side, "sleep well my warrior kitten, I am so proud of you."

My eyes sink shut as sleep overcomes me, my last thought is of her determined face as she attacked Lily and my heart bursts with pride.