Book Hunt
Prompt from nerds-are-cool on Tumblr.
The ladder wobbled as she rolled from shelf to shelf, checking for a single book.
Levy McGarden worked in the Magnolia Library just a block from her tiny apartment that she shared with her best friend, Lucy Heartfilia.
Lucy had been wanting to check out a certain book from the library for months, but could never find it, so Levy decided to do some digging.
Sure, she could have searched the database, but she wanted to see if she could find it on her own first.
Maybe Lucy just kept missing it? An hour of searching through piles and piles of books later, Levy decided to just give up and use the damn computer.
She trudged over to the bulky library computer and started it up. She had stayed past closing to search and everything had been shut off.
The screen shined blue and code began popping up as it loaded to the home page. God, this computer was ancient. The library really needed an upgrade.
When the screen finally loaded, Levy rolled her eyes and sighed. She pulled up the library database and waited for it to load.
She groaned as she watched the little hourglass symbol remind her of how slow this damn technosaurus really was.
5 minutes later it was still loading, so Levy took her time walking to the snack machine by the entrance. She entered .50J and pulled out a small bag of trail mix.
She then entered 1J into the drink machine beside it, getting herself a bottle of water. She took her bounty back to the desk and plopped into her chair with a sigh.
Ah, look. It was loaded. She typed in the name and author of the book and waited. She ripped open the bag of trail mix and began snacking while she waited.
Half way through her trail mix, it loaded. It had been checked out and by the looks of things... It was overdue. 2 months overdue.
She frowned and looked at the name of the person who checked out the book. She hummed thoughtfully to herself.
"Gajeel Redfox, huh?"
She didn't recognize the name. She glanced back at the check out date and closed her eyes as she tried to remember if she was working that day.
She nodded, realizing that she hadn't. On that day, Laki had taken her place. Levy had gone to the amusement park, Magnolia Heights, with Lucy that day.
Levy stared at the name and sighed. It was illegal for her to do this, but... She was going to do it anyway. She typed his name into the database and waited.
If he checked out from Magnolia Library, he had to have a library card and if he had a library card, Levy could hunt his ass down.
A copy of his card popped up on the screen. It had his name, address and phone number. She decided to call him before hunting him down like a psycho.
She grabbed the library phone and dialed his number. Nothing. Not even an answering machine or a message. Nothing.
She groaned and pulled her cell phone from her pocket. She dialed his number and again received no answer or message.
She set her phone on the table and glared at it.
"Maybe he doesn't answer numbers he doesn't recognize..." This was a rational thought.
Many people ignore calls from numbers they don't know. She looked back to the screen and slowly pulled out a pen.
Hunting his ass down like a psycho stalker it is...
"Hey, Lev! Where you headed off to so early?" Lucy called from the living room.
It was Sunday and neither had work that day. Lucy was huddled up on the couch wrapped in a big plush blanket wearing blue and gold star footie pajamas.
"Oh! Just checking on something. I'll be back. Do you want anything while I'm out?" Levy peeked her head into the apartment from the front door awaiting a response.
She heard Lucy hum to herself.
"Hmmmmm... OH, Yeah! Could you run by the ice cream shop and pick up some ice cream? Cookie Dough! Gray owes me one!" She shouted.
Levy nodded to herself and laughed.
"Okay! I'll be back soon." She closed the door and walked to the bus stop.
This guy's apartment was all the way on the other side of town. She wasn't planning to go straight up to his door.
She would probably be fired for sure if she did that. No, Levy was planning to be a sneaky little snake and wait for him to leave his home.
She then planned to follow him and "bump" into him wherever he ended up going.
She would strike up conversation, get his name and mention that she works at the library and noticed his book was overdue, that's all.
Perfect plan... At least, she hoped it was.
She got off the bus half an hour later and walked down the streets until she found his residence.
She waited up against a building, trying to blend in. She pulled out a book and tried to look casual.
It was too early in the day to hide in darkness, which was just creepy and so not her style anyways.
So, she decided that playing random pedestrian was her best option.
She had no idea what he looked like, but if a guy exited his apartment, she was just going to roll with it.
After an hour of waiting, a tall woman with fair skin and long, wavy blue hair exited the apartment
dragging behind her a very tall man with wild, black hair and piercings everywhere.
They looked total opposites. She looked positively adorable, wearing a lovely green sundress, while he looked like he could probably and has probably killed a man.
She thought of the book she was looking for and shrugged. Maybe it was for her? A romance novel didn't really seem like something THIS guy would read.
But, then again, she knew Elfman Strauss and romance novels were his favorite. She giggled and shook her head. Can't even compare the two.
The pair looked to be walking to the bus stop, so Levy followed, but kept her distance.
When they stood at the stop, Levy looked to the ground and also stood at the stop 5 feet away from them.
She pulled her book from her purse and began "reading".
"Gajeel Kun should be nice this time! He is nice to you!" The girl whined. So this was indeed, Gajeel Redfox.
"What kinda big bro would I be if I didn't give yer boyfriend a lil' trouble? Gihi." He teased. Ah, so they were siblings. Interesting.
"A good one." She pouted. He patted her back and laughed.
"Alright, fine. I'll play nice this time."
The bus pulled up and they all boarded. Levy sat in the very front, but paid attention at every stop and made sure she was ready at all times.
She was shocked when they got off right by the ice cream shop. Pretty convenient since she needed to go there anyways.
She got off and followed a few feet back and stopped when she saw them enter the shop.
Too convenient.
She rushed to the door and slid into the shop unnoticed temporarily.
"Hey, Juvia!" Gray called out.
Levy's eyes nearly shot from her skull.
So this guy's sister was that girlfriend Gray has been going on about, and Gajeel was the "Hard ass" brother?!
Well, fuck me sideways. Shit just got real.
Levy decided to use this situation to her advantage. Since she and Gray were friends, it was totally normal for her to be here.
She popped out from behind her prey and waved to Gray.
"Hey, Gray! So this is Juvia?!" She asked excitedly, pointing to the blunette.
The tall woman turned to her and smiled. Gajeel stared at the tiny woman like she had the ability to end the world.
He was suspicious.
"Hey, Levy. Yeah, this is Juvia. Cool that you guys came in at the same time so you could finally meet. Lucy met her 2 weeks ago."
Levy screamed internally. That's right. She had.
"I heard. So nice to finally meet you. And, you are?" She asked Gajeel, even though she knew EXACTLY who he was. Gajeel "Overdue library book" Redfox.
He grunted and crossed his arms.
"Levy, huh? Ain't you that Bunny girl's roommate? If ya live over here, why were ya on our side of the tracks?"
Levy's face heated and she felt her plan crashing around her. Her head screamed 'ABORT MISSION!', but she couldn't move a muscle.
"I, uh... Was running some errands." She blurted out. It wasn't a total lie. Tracking his forgetful ass down was something she needed to do, so...
He narrowed his eyes and leaned closer to her.
"Ya were standing outside our building and ya followed us all the way here." He pointed out rather bluntly.
Levy couldn't believe he knew.
"I.. I wasn't... Okay fine!" She stamped her foot childishly and threw her balled fists to her side.
With a red face and teary, embarrassed eyes, she spilled the beans.
"GAJEEL REDFOX, I AM LEVY MCGARDEN AND I WORK FOR MAGNOLIA LIBRARY. 'BEAUTY AND THE BEAST' IS OVERDUE!" She shouted angrily.
His eyes grew large and he leaned back. Gray and Juvia were snickering behind their hands at the display.
"You tracked me down... FOR AN OVERDUE LIBRARY BOOK?!" He roared back.
She poked her finger into his chest and stood on her tip toes to add some height.
"YES I DID. LUCY WANTS TO READ IT AND IT IS TWO MONTHS OVERDUE! JUST RETURN IT ALREADY!"
Juvia leaned into Gray and whispered. "They're flirting." He nodded in agreement.
"ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS CALL!" He argued.
She grabbed his red tee in her tiny fists and shouted.
"I DID. TWICE. ONCE FROM THE LIBRARY AND ONCE FROM MY CELL, YOU JERK!"
He pulled his cell from his pocket and looked through his missed calls. He noticed two numbers from the night before.
"WHAT WERE YA DOIN' CALLIN' ME AT MIDNIGHT FROM THE LIBRARY, YA LITTLE OVER-ACHIEVER?!"
She growled and pulled his shirt harder.
"I WAS LOOKING FOR THAT DAMN BOOK ALL NIGHT. THAT'S WHAT."
The door jingled and a guy with pink hair and his signature white scarf walked in. Natsu. Lucy's boyfriend.
"Hey, Ice Princess, Juvia, what's-" He looked around and smirked.
"Oi, Levy. Don't tell me ya got a thing for ol' rusty over here."
She released his shirt and turned away, crossing her arms.
"The only thing I have for him is a fine of 20 Jewel if he doesn't return that damn library book that Lucy wants to read."
Natsu laughed and pointed to Gajeel.
"You're the reason Lucy couldn't find 'Beauty and the Beast?'"
Gajeel grabbed Natsu by the scarf and pulled him nose to nose.
"And? What of it charcoal breath?" Natsu smiled and shrugged.
"Nothing. It's just kinda funny." He looked behind Gajeel at a clearly annoyed Levy and grinned.
"Cute, sassy bookworm..." He looked up at Gajeel and smirked. "Beast."
Juvia cupped her cheeks and swooned.
"Gray Sama! What fairy tale are we like?" She cooed. Gray rolled his eyes and tapped her nose, leaving some vanilla ice cream on the tip.
"We're a story all our own." He responded suavely.
Gajeel released Natsu and glared at Gray. "Keep it in yer pants, ice boy."
Levy was thoroughly embarrassed by this whole situation. Her plan really blew up in her face.
And Natsu's stupid observation put thoughts into her head. Now all she could think about was cuddling up with him by a fire and reading books.
Dammit, Natsu. Levy turned to Gray and balled her fists at her side.
"Gray, you owe Lucy a pint of Cookie Dough ice cream. And Natsu, You are going to take it to her... I have to go. Gajeel... RETURN THE DAMN BOOK."
She ran out of the shop and scurried down the street to the library. She quickly unlocked the door and slipped inside.
She placed herself in the fiction isle and sat against the shelves. She was so embarrassed she wanted to cry.
She should have just told Lucy to order the book online and be done with it.
This was the worst day ever. She sat alone in the dark for nearly half an hour when she heard someone walk in.
"WE'RE CLOSED." She shouted a bit more harshly than she had intended.
"Ya left the front door open. Great job at bein' closed." His voice called out to her. Asshole.
"Unless you are returning that book, go away." She stood and wiped her eyes.
"I returned that book over a month ago, ya little gremlin."
She poked her head out from behind the shelf to see him. Her eyes narrowed.
"The name's Levy. And if you had returned it, I would have seen it." She reasoned.
He walked behind the front desk and opened the book drop, pulling out the book bin from underneath where the returned books drop.
He set it on the counter and began digging.
"HEY! YOU CAN'T JUST-!" Before she could get her full sentence out, he held up a book. THE BOOK.
"Looks like yer behind on yer tasks, short cake."
Her cheeks heated and she zipped over to him, snatching the book from his iron clutches.
"Dammit, Laki. This is her area... I... I'm sorry." She pouted angrily as she set the book on the counter and put the rest of the books back under the book drop.
She planned to chew Laki out later. Girl spends more time reading fucked up shit that nobody ever checks out than she does working.
"Takes guts to do what ya did. Yer feisty. I like that."
Levy stiffened and reddened from head to toe. She felt like she was on fire.
"Ya know my number. Gihi. Later, shrimp." He ruffled her hair and walked out of the library, leaving Levy to the loud screech fest that was currently taking place within her.
"DAMMIT, LAKI."
Author's note: ahhhh yes. Here it is. The gajevy one shot. Hope you liked it!