(Levy's POV)

It's winter time in Magnolia, my favorite season. I was curled up under a blanket next to a roaring fire when I heard a frantic knocking at my door. Marking my place in my book, I went to answer it only to find my friend, the exceed Panther Lilly.

"Levy something's wrong with Gajeel!" He was panting, like he had run to my house instead of flying. I immediately became worried.

"What's wrong Lilly? Where is he?" I said not bothering to hide the concern in my voice.

"He's home. I think he's sick." He had finally regained his composure and come inside to talk.

I closed the door behind him and sat down on my couch. "But I thought dragon slayers didn't get sick?" I asked in confusion.

"They can, it's just really rare. I think he picked up a bug during our last mission. He was more nauseated than usual during the ride back to Magnolia, but I just contributed it to poor traveling conditions. But we've been back for two days now and he hasn't gotten any better."

I could see the distress on the poor cats face. I felt bad for him. Gajeel was a big baby on a good day, so I could only imagine how he'd been the last 48 hours. "Why didn't you take Wendy to heal him?"

"I did, she said he needs TLC and rest. Rest I can provide, but ... well there's no other way of saying it... you're the only one who can give him the care he needs."

My face immediately heated up as different sanarios of what he meant played through my head. "Eh?! Why me?!"

"He has a fondness for you. More so than anyone else in the guild, myself included. If anyone can get him to chill out and let them take care of him, it's you." He looked down as he spoke, like he was betraying Gajeel by telling me this.

I on the other hand was screaming in my head. Gajeel had a 'fondness' for me? Did that mean he liked me too? I snapped back to reality and put a determined look on my face.

"Well then, I guess I should go to the marketplace." I pulled on my boots and threw on a coat. "Let's go Lilly."

(Gajeel's POV)

Ugh. Where did my cat go? "Lilly?!"

Silence

Damnit! Why do I still feel like I'm on that God forsaken train?! Maybe Wendy and Lilly were right, maybe I am sick. But if he knew I was sick why the hell did he leave? I was fixing to yell again when I heard my front door opening.

"Lilly? Is that you?" I asked looking over the couch I was currently using as a bed. I was shocked when instead of my cat, shrimp walked in. Hands full of bags and my cat following behind her. He was in his battle form, carrying what I guessed was a duffle bag full of books.

"Geez Lilly wasn't playing. You look terrible Gajeel." Ouch. I must've had a fever because I was disappointed she didn't hug me.

"Hello to you too shrimp." I said trying to save face. Luckily she hadn't noticed my blushing.

"Lilly said you were sick, but that you were being stubborn and won't let him take care of you." She looked both annoyed and happy. This woman made absolutely no sense sometimes.

"I don't need anyone to take care of me. I'm a dragon slayer for crying out loud!" My head was starting to hurt and i was getting frustrated with her tone of voice.

"Well get over it. Dragon slayer or not, you're sick and need to rest. Lilly went all the way to my house just to bring me here, so now you're gonna relax and let me take care of you rather you like it or not." I was not prepared for that much assertiveness. The blue haired beauty before me was usually quiet and sweet. But obviously she wasn't having any of that.

"Well, well, well. I never thought I'd see the day where a little shrimp was bossing me around." I couldn't even stifle my laughter when her face changed. Her cheeks puffed out and her face turned redder than the crazy armor chicks hair.

"I'm just kidding. Alright you win, I'll let you take care of me." She immediately brightened up and sat down on the couch with me. I scooted over to give her more room but she just leaned closer to me.

She put her hand on my forehead and electricity shot through my veins. I never knew a simple touch could be so addictive. I felt a form on my face when she withdrew her hand only for her to lean over and hug me.

"You have a really bad fever Gajeel. It's a good thing Lilly brought me here. Now lay down."

I did as she instructed, only because I was too tired to argue with her. Never once in my life had I felt so useless. My body felt like it weighed a ton, my head felt like it was gonna explode, my stomach was turning nonstop, and all of my senses were dulled. I quickly got comfortable when she covered me tightly with a fuzzy blanket and fell asleep.

(Lilly's POV)

I sat in the corner smiling at the pair. I knew I made the right choice when I decided to bring Levy here. Although he won't say it out loud, I knew he was greatfull that she was here.

I changed back into my normal form and followed Levy to the kitchen. She was filling a bowl with cool water and a towel and slicing potatoes into thin circles. She then put vinegar in a bowl and soaked the potatoes in it.

"What's that for?" I asked. I wsnt sure how potatoes and vinegar would help Gajeel in his current situation.

"It's for his fever. The potatoes will draw out the fever and the cool rag will bring his temperature down."

She smiled and motioned for me to follow her back to the living room. She sat down next to Gajeel and started putting slices of potatoes on his forehead. Once she was satisfied she rung the towel and placed it on top of the slices.

By now Gajeel was groaning and sweating profusely. Levy asked me to hand her the small medical bag she brought and started looking for some kind of potion.

We went back to the kitchen and she mixed him a glass with a few different potions, fruits, and herbs. "What's that?"

"Just a home remedy." She began to point to each glass jar containing the multicolor liquids. "This green one will help his stomach settle, that should help with the nausea. The purple one will help with his headache, and the blue one will make him sleepy so his body will relax."

"And the herbs and fruit?" I asked pointing to the remaining ingredients.

"Ginger helps your body sweat out toxins. Its really helpful in treating the flu. It's also good for dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and cold sweats. Honey adds sweetness and is soothing to the throat so it helps with cough. Tumeric contains curcumin. It's a powerful antioxidant that will fight off whatever virus he has. The fruit is just for flavor and extra vitamins."

I nodded at her explanation. I guess she was more qualified to care for my partner than I expected. "Is there anything I can do to help you Levy?"

"As a matter of fact there is." She placed everything in a suribachi and walked over to the table. She grabbed three paper bags that we brought from the market and placed them on the counter. She pulled out a bunch of vegetables and a chicken and sat them down.

"If you could slice all of these veggies for me and get the chicken into a pan with water to boil, that would help me out a lot."

I began my task as she finished making Gajeels smoothie type drink.

(No one's POV)

Two hours later...

Gajeel, Lilly, and Levy were sitting at the table munching down on freshly baked rolls, steamed dumplings, and creamy chicken soup*.

"Wow shrimp. I had no idea you could cook this well!" The Raven haired dragon slayer praised.a rare smile spreading across his face as he tore into his sixth roll

"I know. I'm impressed Levy, this meal is really delicious. You've even got Gajeel eating like Natsu" The black exceed joked. A scowl could be seen forming on the sick man's face, but before he had the chance to yell at his cat Levy spoke up.

"I'm so happy you guys like it. It's one of my own recipes. Aside from reading, cooking is one of my favorite hobbies." She said trying to change the subject.

"I'm glad you brought her over here cat. A nurse, a chef, a maid all on one? Maybe I should get sick more often. Eh shrimp?" He seemed to have forgotten about being upset as he started playfully picking on the bluenette.

"W-why would you say that?!" She squeaked. Her face turned red and you could see the steam coming from her ears. This caused Gajeel to smirk and continue taunting her.

"So you can come 'take care' of me more often. All I ever eat at the guild is iron and all I eat at home is take out. I've never had a home cooked meal like this before."

He hasn't meant to say that. If there was one thing he didn't want from the woman in front of him was pity. He didn't deserve it.

"That's... that's so sad." She sniffled, calming back down at the sudden revelation. She really didn't know anything about Gajeels past, much to her dismay. So this rare on-site was important to her.

"I didn't realize you'd never..." Lilly was cut off before he could even finish speaking.

"Don't worry about it. This meal more than makes up for it. Plus whatever that drink you gave me earlier worked. I'm feeling a lot better." To prove his point, Gajeel picked up his bowl and swallowed the remainder of his soup and got up to get another bowl.

"That's good. You know what? I'm glad Lilly and I could be the people you shared your first meal with. And you don't have to get sick for me to cook for you. All you have to do is ask!" She said cheerfully hoping to brighten the mood.

"Tehehehe." Up to this point , Lilly had been fairly quiet. But he couldn't help but chuckle at the expression on his buddies face.

He looked confused, embarrassed, and happy all at once. It was a face no one had ever seen the man of iron make.

"Er...yea. So how about tomorrow?" He stuttered.

"Huh?" She looked spaced out but quickly snapped out of it.

"You said all I had to do was ask, so I'm asking." He said quietly, not making eye contact.

"You want me to come cook for you tomorrow?" She seemed genuinely surprised but a smile still began to spread across her face.

"I...er...yea...um...youdonthavetoifyoudontwantto!" He blurted in one breath. His face was so red it looked like he would explode at any moment.

"I didn't quite understand that but how about you guys come to my house instead." Levy thought it was cute and wanted him to know he didn't need to be embarrassed around her. Gajeel on the other hand fell sideways on the floor and started twitching. She just stared and Lilly just laughed and walked over to her as she put her jacket and boots back on.

"Sounds like a plan Levy, Gajeel and I will be there. What time would you like us to arrive?" Lilly took it upon himself to finish making plans for his partners sake.

"You guys can come around six. I'll be sure to make a really good meal, even better than this one." She smiled brightly.

"Do you mind if I bring a guest?" The black cat lowered his voice to a whisper before continuing, "I've got someone that I want Gajeel to meet but..." The cat trailed off, unsure of how to finish his explanation.

"Oh, a lady friend?" She asked hopefully.

"Not... exactly." He answered, rubbing his paw on the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Hmm... sure that's fine with me." She didn't seem to mind though, because she welcomed the unknown guest with no questions.

"Thank you Levy, you really are a sweet girl." He purred gently.

"Ok well I'll see you guys tomorrow." She pet the small cat on the head before turning to say goodbye to the man she had come to take care of. "Gajeel, I left you another smoothie in the fridge, drink it and go to bed or you will wake up sick again." She called back while she made her way towards the front door.

"Ok shrimp. I didn't know you were so bossy." The dragon slayer said suddenly cured of his embarrassment at the thought of her leaving.

"Ha ha. Goodnight Gajeel." She said sarcastically. She turned and walked out into the setting sun back to her own apartment, already planning the following days menu.

"Goodnight... Levy." He whispered as he closed the door and walked back into his lonely house.

To be continued...

If you want to read what happens next, part 2 will be up in 3 days!

*Creamy chicken soup is in my cookbook under Brock's Lazy Boy No Chew Stew