{{30 minute drabbles}}

Levy was trying her hardest to reach the top shelf, she really was. She'd finally found a copy of Beauty with the original cover, and she instinctively knew that the book was going home with her. Lady luck, however, seemed to be negligent, because getting to the book was proving to be difficult. She had tried clambering on to the bookshelf even, when no one was looking, but she had gotten scared that the overloaded rack would fall on her. Just when she was at her wits' end, a seemingly disembodied, well-built arm reached out from behind her and grabbed the book. A sudden judder went through her, not completely from the disappointment that someone else had seized the book.

"This the one you want?" The voice belonged, presumably, to the hand. It was low and rumbly, bringing to mind dragons, and her shudders got worse.

"Yeah." She was proud of how even her voice came out, despite the weird effect he was having on her body.

Once she gave an affirmative answer, she felt the source of heat move a couple of steps back, taking the book with him. She finally turned around, able to see her saviour. Her jaw nearly dropped at the sight. In front of her was about 80 kilos of pure muscle, over six feet, tanned, multiple piercings, hair swept back, reaching his waist.

'Just the way I like them.' A small part of her brain twittered in delight. She quickly threw aside the thought, trying to think of something appropriate to say.

"Thanks!" Ugh, too chirpy, too chirpy. "I've been looking for that book for a while and…" she trailed off, not really having an ending to the sentence.

"Yeah, good book." He shuffled it in his hands. "Come on up and I'll ring you u–" He stopped mid-sentence. "You're not a crier are you?"

"Wha–?" The question had thrown her off-track.

"Just, err… it gets a bit sad and I was wondering if you cry… cos then I would recommend something else…" What was Levy supposed to tell him, that she wept for everything? For heavens' sakes', she sometimes found herself teary when her favourite character thought of sad stuff. But she wasn't going to admit that to a stranger, no matter how hot, especially if it would put her chances of getting the book in jeopardy. But lying felt wrong as well.

"I… sniffle…" she compromised. "But I've read the book before, I adore that cover, so…"

"Oh. Yeah, first edition cover…" The fact that he knew that much about the book just made him that much more attractive. She heard a mumble which sounded distinctly along the lines of "It'd be a shame to see such a pretty face cry."

"Pardon?" Levy pressed.

"Nothing." he responded gruffly, turning away. "As I was saying, I'll ring you up… unless you're not done…"

"Oh, I'm done." She assured him. "I'm only allowing myself a purchase a day… my book habit can be… dangerous." she admitted, shuffling around.

He grinned at her, and she nearly swooned. He started striding up to the cash registering, dodging over-sized books and stepping across stacks of comics with practice and ease, and she scampered behind him.

He probably noticed, because he called over his shoulder. "Sorry about the mess."

"I don't mind!" she offered with a smile. "It makes the place look cozy… and besides, I'm used to it." She felt butterflies when she glimpsed a smile on his face before he faced ahead again.

"That'll be £13.99."

"Isn't that too cheap? Not that I mind, but you know…" She trailed off, not sure where to look.

"It was on the shelf marked sale." He replied. She thought she was dreaming, because not only was her rare book very cheap, but she thought she saw the guy in front of her blushing. She was sure she hadn't seen any sign that marked the book as discounted, but she wasn't about to argue with someone who seemed to know better. She started asking questions to fill in the awkward silence which was sure to ensue.

"Do you own the place?"

"Yeah, used to belong to my dad…" he trailed off, but then as if wanting to fill in the silence himself, he elaborated. "I took over the place a few years back, but it's always been in the family. I used to spend all my time here, read most of the books on the shelves." Levy wanted to pinch herself, because the man was really proving too good to be true. "I'm Gajeel, by the way. Gajeel Redfox." He handed her her bag. His name sounded like a heroes out of an adventuring novel.

"Levy McGarden." She replied, taking the bag from him and shaking his hand.

"Levy." He repeated her name quietly as he handed her her change, as if saying a new word, and she thrilled at the way it rolled off his tongue.

All that was left to do now was to stuff her change back into her wallet and go. Levy hated this part. It felt so awkward. Not to mention she was having mixed feelings about having to leave. She wasn't sure that there was this much goodness in the world, and now that she found it, she was loathe to leave without grasping it. Just as she was building up her courage, she heard him speak.

"Do you like hot chocolate?"

"Sorry?" She seemed to be doing this a lot. She never knew what to expect from the man.

"Ah, naw, it's just that my cousin's opened a patisserie across the street, and she makes the best hot chocolate I've ever tasted…"

"I love it!" She had to force herself not to squeal.

"Tomorrow at 5 then? They have the best pastries in then too." His face lit up talking about the delicacies, and Levy found him too adorable for words.

"Definitely." She promised, and then, acting without really thinking, she she reached up on her tiptoes, pulled him in lightly by the collar, and gave him a quick peck on his cheek. Then, embarrassed by her own spontaneity, she turned on her heel. "See you tomorrow!" she called and waved.

"See ya, shrimp." She could hear the grin in his voice as the door closed behind her, his words barely reaching her in time.

Hang on, had he just called her a shrimp?!

Now that I'm done with uni, I can write much more. So I took a prompt and did a 30 minute exercise. I'm not exactly satisfied but I'm trying to work on it… Helpful ideas? Thoughts? More prompts? I take requests~~

Btw, the book I mentioned (or Levy did) was Beauty by Robin McKinley. It's a retelling of Beauty and The Beast, and actually the people who made the Disney version were hella "inspired" by it.