Author's Note: Another oneshot of one of my favorite ships from Fairy Tail.

Disclaimer:I own nothing from Fairy Tail.

Levy loved books so naturally she spent a lot of time at the library. Often she was accompanied by her best friend Lucy, a fellow book lover. She could spend hours in the library just searching through the rows and rows of books trying to decide what to read. Often she ended up borrowing more than one book. The librarian often joked that one day there wouldn't be a book left for her to read. Today wasn't that day though. She had been at the library for two hours and had finally finished selecting the book…books… she wanted to read. She struggled to carry the books to the desk, her knees buckling under the weight.

"That's quite the load you have today," the librarian chuckled.

"They all looked so good I couldn't pass them up," Levy replied with an exasperated sigh.

"I'd say you couldn't finish them all in a week, but I know you," the librarian scanning her books. "You'll probably be done by Wednesday." He finished processing her books through the system and sent her on her way. Levy hadn't even gotten halfway home when her arms began to shake under the weight of all the books. She struggled to adjust the books in her arms to alleviate some of the weight, but her action only caused her to lose her balance. She fell, scattering the books around her.

"Oh no!" she cried hurrying to pick them back up. She had gathered all but one, and was reaching out to pick up the last one when the book was snatched up by someone else. She glanced up, her eyes taking in a large and muscular figure. "Gajeel!"

"Gi hi hi," the iron dragon slayer chuckled. "Hiya Shrimp."

She scowled at him as she slowly climbed to her feet, careful not to jostle the books. "Don't call me that," she said holding her hand out for the book he'd picked up, but he just snatched it out of her reach. "Gajeel!"

"What are you doing carrying all those books, Shrimp?" Gajeel asked ignoring her attempts to grab the book back.

"I was on my way home," Levy replied testily. "I just lost my grip on the books when you showed up."

"Yeah, cuz this many books is too heavy for ya," Gajeel said. "Where's you two fan boys who'd help you."

"I don't need anyone's help!" Levy cried indignantly finally seizing the book off the iron mage. "Especially yours!" She stalked past him, but didn't get very far when her jerky movements sent the books flying again. "Gaaah!" She bent down to pick them up, holding back angry tears. She heard Gajeel's footsteps behind her approaching her, but ignored him when he bent down to help her pick up the books. She kept her head down as they both stood back up.

"Thanks," she mumbled holding a hand out for her books, but refused to look up at him.

She suddenly felt a strong hand grip her chin and tilt her head up. "You okay, Shrimp?" Gajeel asked gently. Levy opened her mouth to answer but was instantly choked by the threat of tears so she just nodded her head hoping he would take the hint and leave her alone. Instead, he took the rest of her books off her and started walking off in the direction of her apartment. "C'mon, I'll help you carry them." She didn't say anything but was forced to follow after him. As they walked she only felt more frustrated with herself. She was so weak she couldn't even carry a few books home. Gajeel was probably only helping her because he felt sorry for her. "I really am pathetic," she thought as her eyes began to fill with tears.

Suddenly, she found herself flush against the dragon slayer's body. "You gonna tell me what's wrong, Shrimp?" Gajeel asked rubbing her back, but this only incensed Levy.

She pulled out of the hug, stepping back and stomping her foot. "Don't call me that!" she cried. "I already know you think I'm weak. You don't have to point it out all the time by calling me shrimp all the time!" Gajeel blinked in surprise and remained silent for a few moments as she tried to get her tears under control.

"I don't think you're weak," he said finally.

"What?" she asked, hazel eyes widening I surprise. "You don't?"

"No," Gajeel replied. "I mean you're probably one of the strongest in the guild. You're super smart and creative. Your magic allows you to do pretty much whatever you want so limits are pretty much boundless. And you're one of the most caring people of the guild. You're always there for someone if they had a bad mission, or even just a bad day. Fairy Tail would be intolerable without you." Levy just stared at him in shock, unable to come up with a reply. Finally, her body decided to act on its own accord and she found herself throwing her arms around the iron dragon slayer. She felt a muscular arm wrap around her in return and pat her lightly on the back.

"Thank you, Gajeel," she murmured softly stepping away.

"Yeah, yeah," Gajeel replied dismissively. "And by the way… if being called shrimp made you feel bad you should have just said something." He turned and began heading for her apartment again. "Now let's get going. These books are getting heavy. Hurry up small fry." She glowered after him. "Some things will just never change," she thought as she rolled her eyes and headed after the frustrating iron mage.