Summary: If he were a hundred percent honest, as he usually was, Gajeel would proclaim himself to be he was the best nurse in history.

Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail

Day 2: Nursing

100% honesty

"Gajeel… I'm going to cut you up… and feed you to the dragons."

"I don't think that's possible, Shorty," Gajeel sighed, pressing a cool towel to the bluenette's forehead. "Dragons ain't cannibals."

"How would you… know that! Cannibalism… is recorded in more than… 1500 species!" 'Shorty' grumbles, her eyes shut tightly and her thin eyebrows pulled into a frown. "And… and you're not even a dragon... you human scu…"

"Okay, that's enough talking for you, Levy." With a roll of his eyes, Gajeel pulls the blanket up higher, successfully wrapping Levy up in the warmth of the thick covers. He picked up the damp towel laying across her forehead and dipped it into the bowl of water as he'd been instructed, wringing it before placing it back onto her heated skin. He gently pushed the stray strands of hair away from her face, smoothing them back so that they wouldn't get caught on the towel.

Levy only groaned and mumbled more incoherent words that even the dragon slayer's sensitive ears found hard to pick up, before finally relaxing and falling asleep to Gajeel's light stroking of her head.

Releasing a relieved breath, the iron mage could finally feel some sort of peace in his surroundings, tiredly slumping onto the chair beside the bed and blankly staring at Levy's sleeping figure.

Who knew a sick Levy was a grumpy Levy? Gajeel had definitely not expected to become Levy's verbal punching bag when the small script mage came down with a fever after catching a cold from an overnight mission. It had somehow become his sole responsibility to take care of the sick female, his supposedly trustworthy partner Lily being the first to declare that he had training up in the mountains.

Gajeel had never taken care of anyone other than himself before – having been left alone for most of his life – and he couldn't believe he had been entrusted to deal with nursing the guild's ball of sunshine back to health.

If he were a hundred percent honest, as he usually was, Gajeel would bet everything he had on the fact that the guild members had planned this. They probably already knew just how mean Levy was when she was ill and disoriented, and decided to throw the iron dragon slayer onto taking care of her just because they lived together. And they were a couple.

All personal frustration aside, however, he definitely wished that she would recover soon, so that he could see her beautiful, kind smile once again. Heaving another sigh, Gajeel rose from his seat to gently slip out of the room, being careful not to wake the princess from her slumber. He hoped he was doing okay at the whole 'nursing' thing, but it was really hard to tell from the amount of threats the once kind-hearted script mage had been spewing.

But just as he was contemplating his next move, he caught a whiff of a familiar flowery scent heading towards the house. Stomping over to the door and flinging it open, surprising the guest who had her hand poised to knock, he confirmed his guess of her identity, and he wordlessly stepped aside to let her in.

"Hey Gajeel, how's Levy doing?" the blonde asked, making a beeline for the kitchen and placing the bag she was carrying onto the counter. "Is she feeling better?"

"I wouldn't know, she's been cussing me out ever since we got home."

"That bad?"

"You'd run out crying, Blondie." Lucy only winced at the honesty in Gajeel's voice, walking over to the dining table and grabbing a seat. She had heard lots from the guild members about Levy's extreme mood swings when she was sick, but from the bags building under Gajeel's eyes, she suspected that even the rumours couldn't do the bookworm justice.

"Well, I was worried about leaving you to take care of her alone, so I brought some homemade soup. I kept it in an insulating soup mug, so it should still be hot."

"You're a life saver!" Gajeel cried, peeking into the paper bag curiously. "I ain't got any idea on how to take care of a sick Shrimp."

"I figured you'd say that. Just make sure to feed her the medicine we gave you after her meal, and change the towel on her forehead every so often – right when it's heating up. And-"

"Gajeel!" The shrill call from the bedroom had both mages jumping in shock, turning their heads to the source of the sound in wonder. Shrugging as he met eyes with Lucy, Gajeel only picked himself up and ambled towards the call, his shoulders slumped in defeat and lethargy.

"I think I should go," Lucy hurriedly announced. "She sounds really angry… I'll come back later, to deliver more food."

Waving a hand behind him absentmindedly, he didn't bother turning as Lucy saw herself out, knowing that she'd be particular enough to lock the doors anyway.

"Good luck!" Lucy shouted as she left, "you'll need it!"

Taking a deep breath, Gajeel twisted the doorknob again, ready to engage in another round of verbal fighting he could not hope to win. He could feel some sort of relief, however, that she was still in the position he found her in, wrapped up tightly in the blankets.

"Gajeel… you're not… doing a very good job… at nursing…" Levy mumbled, her eyes finally opening to reveal the rich hazelnut that tugged at his heartstrings.

Running a hand through his wild dark mane, Gajeel could only blink helplessly at the bluenette, uncertain of what to do. "Sorry Shrimp, ya know I ain't good at these things. Just tell me what to do."

He could swear she rolled her eyes at his answer, but she buried her head into the blankets as she did so, avoiding his piercing stare. She seemed to hesitate as her half-lidded eyes gazed blankly at the ceiling, before she lifted the covers and attempted to focus on him.

"Gajeel… these blankets are too hot…" Sighing, he strode over and carefully removed the blankets from her, pushing them to the foot of the bed. "But if you do that… it's too cold… Stupid Gajeel…"

A smirk suddenly lighting up his face, Gajeel could only praise himself for the idea, as he clambered into the bed beside her, pulling her small body into his larger frame. Due to his element, he was usually cool to the touch, but warm enough that Levy immediately snuggled into his embrace, a grin spreading across her face.

"You're just the right temperature… Gajeel…" Levy hummed, her voice seemingly a tad brighter and clearer.

"Gihi… Ya ain't even that sick, are ya Shrimp?"

"Shut up Gajeel, I'm trying to go to sleep."

If he were a hundred percent honest, as he usually was, Gajeel would say that he was being deceived and that Levy was taking advantage of the situation to exploit him. But he was okay with that, because he'd do what it took for his Shorty to recover.

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