A/n: Yay I managed to get this one up before midnight! Language, but no smut in this one, so it's pretty fluffy. The prompt for this one was nursing.

Get Your Ass Up, Shrimp!

Levi was really starting to regret agreeing to all this insanity. When Lily had told her that her current obsession was sick, she jumped at the chance to see the badass laid up, for reasons other than fighting or injuries, but she had under estimated the Iron Dragon Slayer's ability to look pathetic.

He was asleep when she saw him. Gajeel was on his couch, used tissue littering the floor. His hair was held back by the band he'd worn at the GMG, his face glittered with sweat. He moaned in is sleep, and Levi knew she couldn't just leave him. Little did she know, it was a set up.

Oh, Gajeel was sick, but he was far from pathetic, in fact, he was a bigger ass hole than normal. He had her running around like a chicken with its head cut off. By the end of the three days she'd helped out, she was surprised she had a crush on the jackass.

She was about to leave, he was taking a shower and Lily had disappeared, when her vision started to fade. What's going on? "Gajeel," she managed to get out before she passed out. The last thing she saw was the coffee table rushing for her head.

Gajeel had just turned off the water when he heard Shorty call out to him. Forgoing a towel, he went to see what she wanted. What he saw nearly stopped his heart. Levi was falling, heading straight for the table. He caught her before she hurt herself.

Shit! She's burning up. What if she caught what I had? That was a terrifying thought. He hadn't had your every day cold or flu, no, he'd had the Dragon's Flu. Normally, it would be no worse than a regular cold, you just had to get plenty of rest and fluids, but that was only if the person who got it was a Dragon or Slayer, if they weren't, they probably wouldn't survive. In fact, he'd never heard of a single person who wasn't a Slayer living through it.

He brought his precious cargo to his bed. Grabbing some random clothes, he rushed about. He found his communication lacryma and called the old hag in the woods. She bitched and moaned, but agreed to come. Next, he called the guild hall, and told Mirajane to send Wendy over right away.

Of course, half of the damn guild showed up. Her lap dogs were crying over her, the demon was tearing apart his kitchen.

Lily was cuddled up close to the sick young woman. They had been very close since he came to Earthland. She had taught him about his new home. The exceed had always loved to read, and the bluenette helped him find all the best stories, and her solid script kiwis were the best. She needs to get better, no one would be the same without her.

Porlyusica arrived and shooed everyone from the room. A quick check told her the young mage was not doing well. She might look alright on the outside, but inside, inside she was battling the most difficult battle of her short life.

The older woman sent up a silent prayer as she exited the room. "There's nothing I can do. She will live or die on her own."

A startled gasp came from the group. She told them all she knew, "She's caught the Dragon's Flu."

"Oh no," this came from Wendy. Most didn't seem to understand, but those who were raised by dragons did.

Freed asked, "What exactly is this dragon's flu? How bad is she?"

It was Gajeel who answered, "It's a disease that usually only affects Dragons or Slayers, but it has been known to affect those who are stupid enough to try and take care of the sick person, but not everyone who tries to be helpful catches it. When I had it, it was just a cold, but for Shrimp, it's going to be much worse." He had to pause for a second. "Basically, the sickness will cause her to relive all the worst moments of her life, at least where Slayers are concerned. She'll have to figure out how to escape from her mind on her own, but that's the problem, nobody's ever done it before."

Guilt was weighing heavy on the Iron Slayer, knowing that he was going to be responsible if she never woke up. Not only because she's the reason she got sick, but also because he was sure she was going to go through hell, reliving the torment he put her through.

The guild started to talk, debating what they should do, but he didn't care. He walked back to his bedroom. Nothing in the world would keep him from laying down next to her. Gajeel pulled her still form into his arms, her head nestled beneath his chin. "I never told you this, but I know how you gave me air that first time. I was stupid, and I told myself you would be better off without me, and maybe you would be, but I don't care, I love you. You're too damn stubborn to let something stupid like this kill you off, so I'm only going to say this once, get your ass up, shrimp."

Levi didn't remember much, just pain and sadness, so she couldn't understand why, when she woke up, she was plastered against someone's chest. What the hell? It's Gajeel! What am I doing here? Where is here? Questions swam through her head, but they were all silenced when her hazel eyes met a pair of red ones.

"Levi," it came out as a question, like he couldn't believe she was really there. Well that makes two of us.

"Gajeel, what's going on?" her voice was rough from a lack of use.

His eyes started to shimmer with tears, something the young mage never thought she'd see. "You're awake! Thank god, you're awake!" He wrapped his arms around her, his vice like grip crushing, but not entirely unwelcome. "You have no idea how worried everybody's been, you've been out for three days already. They've all been running themselves ragged trying to figure out how to get you better."

Before she could form a coherent thought, her lips were captured in a passionate kiss. He flipped them so he was on top and his hands were on either side of her head. She found her hands wrapped in his thick mane, she was giving just as good as she was getting, and what she was getting was pretty damn amazing. It was the best kiss of her life, but to be fair, the only other kiss she'd ever had was when she kiss Gajeel during battle with Tartarous.

The large mage pulled away, leaving the small woman gasping for air. "What was that for?"

"It's pretty simple, Shorty, you scared the shit out of me. You just had to go and catch my flu and pass out for three whole days. I thought you were never going to wake up, and that gave me a chance to think." His nose brushed hers. "I decided that I wasn't going to hide from my feelings anymore. I've held back, trying to protect you, trying to past wrongs, I don't know, but I can't do that anymore. We almost lost you, and I'm not going to waste anymore time."

Levi had tears in her eyes. She'd always wanted someone to say something like that to her, and here he was, pierced, ragged, with black hair and red eye. He looked nothing like what she pictured when she was a girl. And I couldn't be happier. He's perfect. Not really what I would have wanted, but everything I need. He's there when ever I need him, time after time.

A/n: Thoughts? I'm kind of planning on expanding on this idea later, it would actually involve seeing what Levi went though in those three days.

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