Over the next few days, Reya and Gajeel sparred each morning. And each evening, they sent each other home bruised and battered. Some of the other guild members caught wind of their sessions and would come down to the field and watch, sometimes placing bets.

"It's not fair!" Natsu whined. "When is she gonna fight me?"

"I don't know if you could handle her, Natsu. You saw what she did to Gajeel's brain." Lucy commented, watching the two ruthlessly rage.

"On the contrary. Natsu doesn't have enough of a brain for Reya to mess with!" Gray quipped.

Soon Gray and Natsu had started their own brawl, parts of the field quickly frosted and singed.

"I have to admit, I'm a little jealous," Levy said quietly to Lucy.

"You are?!" Lucy asked, incredulous.

"Not like that!" Levy protested loudly, causing Reya and Gajeel to temporarily pause their fight and look up at her.

She waved her hands and shook her head at them. They shrugged her off and continued.

"I just meant that they're both so strong and unafraid. They like to fight! They're good at it! And I'm…I'm not."

"Oh, Levy. You have a lot of strengths. It's not always about brawn. Look at me! I don't fight if I can avoid it. I let my celestial spirits handle the heavy hitting."

"I know. I guess you're right," Levy said glumly. "It would be nice to not feel so weak all the time though. Everyone acts like I'm some fragile little flower that needs to be protected. Reya too."

"Yeah, but you've got to admit: it's kind of nice having that protection and attention sometimes."

Levy smiled at Lucy, knowing her friend was trying to cheer her up. As much as she knew she was right- and she did find herself oddly warmed by the thought of Reya and Gajeel (even Jet and Droy) being so protective- there was always a little envy in her heart. They didn't need anyone to protect them; they could protect themselves.

Reya was whooping victoriously, waving her arms in the air to draw everyone's attention. She had one foot firmly pressed into Gajeel's chest as he lay on the ground beneath her small frame. He was panting heavily, she had clearly worn him out.

"Wow! She took him down!" "Who would've thought?!" "Only took four days!" "Glad I bet on her today!" murmured the surrounding guild members.

"Drinks on me!" Reya shouted, the biggest smile spread across her face.

"Oy, Shrimp Senior- get off of me!" grunted Gajeel, tired and annoyed.

She fought dirty, he told himself. She knew he'd bruised a rib the day before and she took every opportunity to strike him there. But still, he was impressed by her ability to expose and use her opponent's weakness.

If it had been Levy, she would've felt too guilty to pull the same stunt. She probably would've offered to bandage him up, mid-fight. He lifted his head off the ground to see where Levy was, now that Reya had jumped off and run towards the rest of the guild. To receive her accolades and gloat, no doubt.

He couldn't see the blue mop-top but saw that everyone else was beginning to walk back, enticed by Reya's offer of free drinks. He'd make sure to take advantage of her generosity too; he was going to need it. He groaned as he rolled over to push himself up onto his hands and knees.

"Need a hand there?" Pantherlily asked smugly, suddenly by his side.

"Shut it," Gajeel huffed.

"You-"

"Don't," Gajeel warned as he slowly got up on his feet and caught his breath.

"But you-"

"Lily… don't."

The Exceed sighed and nodded, walked alongside his friend through the field. After a few minutes, Lily grinned at Gajeel's limping back.

"You got beat up by a girl!"