Gajeel had just laid down on the couch and turned on the TV when he heard a crash. Figuring it was just Pantherlily and that the exceed could handle it on his own, he paid no mind to the noise. Instead his attention was directed at the show on his television and the box of nails and bolts he kept on the coffee table. Then there was the sound of pots clanging and something else falling over. That didn't quite sound like Pantherlily squealing, either…
"Levy…?" Gajeel called, not bothering to use his nickname for the girl. He didn't get a response so he headed toward the kitchen only to be met with the small bluenette trying to untangle herself from an overturned dining chair. Gajeel chuckled, leaning over to help get the chair off of her. "What did'ja do, Shrimp?" he asked, smirking at the blush on Levy's face.
"I was just trying to reach the coffee tin…" Levy explained, getting to her feat. "But you put it on the top shelf!" Now she was fussing, putting the blame on Gajeel for her scraped knee and battered self-esteem. Gajeel had purposefully put the coffee and hot chocolate up there thinking Levy would ask him to get it so he could tease her for her height. He was not expecting Levy to try and reach it on her own.
"How were you even gonna reach it? Stand on the counter?" Gajeel snickered. Levy nodded, crossing her arms and looking up at the shelf. She sighed and asked Gajeel to reach the tin for her, blushing when he handed it to her and ruffled her hair. When she put it back, she was sure to put it on the lowest shelf so there wouldn't be a repeat of this embarrassing situation.
Gajeel had made himself comfortable on the couch again, sprawled out with his feet hanging off the back of the sofa. He was slouched down so he took up two cushions and was mostly upside-down. When Levy came in, her mug of coffee in one hand and copy of Little Women in the other, she had to curl up on one cushion, her legs drawn up to her chest. She did push Gajeel's feet away from her hair when he tried to lace his toes through it, shifting so she could grab his hand with her foot.
"What'cha reading, Shrimp?" Gajeel asked when his show when to commercial. Levy didn't speak, holding the book up so Gajeel could read the cover. "What's it 'bout?"
"It's a coming of age story," Levy explained, not taking her eyes off the book.
"What's that?" Gajeel asked, poking her head with his toes. Levy hummed, not really answering Gajeel's question. "Oi, answer meeee!" Gajeel whined, pulling himself over until he was laying on Levy's feet.
"It's a book you wouldn't like, I'll put it that way," Levy said. She was almost done and really wanted to finish the book before going to Lucy's to discuss the blonde's issues she called about earlier that morning concerning one lion spirit. Gajeel poked at Levy's legs and sides and hands trying to get her attention off the book. Levy finally slammed the cover of the book shut, content she had finished with her sanity intact. "Are you happy, now? I'm done…" Levy took a sip of her coffee and looked down at Gajeel.
"Yeah, it's hard to annoy you if you're buried in a book, Shrimp," Gajeel smirked. Levy rolled her eyes, getting up to go to her bedroom and return the book to its spot on a shelf. "Hey, it's been a while since you read out loud, y'know. Ya might be rusty!" Gajeel yelled, not bothering to get up from where he laid on the couch.
Levy poked her head out her bedroom door. "Do you want me to read to you, Gajeel?" Levy asked in a teasing tone.
"Well I mean it don't sound like a bad idea…" Gajeel grumbled, looking at his toes and not in the direction of Levy. She giggled and went back into her room to find a short enough book. She rifled through the pile of children's books she had for this purpose, looking for one that wasn't about puppies or mice because Gajeel would turn them away as soon as he saw them. Finally, she saw one that would work.
"OK, I think I found one you'll like, Gajeel…" Levy said as she plopped down in a recliner. She held up the book and showed Gajeel the cover, hoping he could read the title.
"Dragons love…tacos?" Gajeel looked up at her with a furrowed brow. "What? Did I read that right?" he asked, hoping he hadn't.
Levy nodded, grinning. "It's cute. You'll like it, I promise." She waited for permission to continue before starting the story, "Why do dragons love tacos? Maybe it's the smell from the sizzling pan…" she read the story through, pausing every few pages to look at Gajeel, whose face was mostly blank. She closed the book and laid it on the coffee table. "So? What did you think?"
Gajeel thought for a moment before speaking, "I kind of want tacos, now…"
Levy giggled, getting to her feet and grabbing her purse. "Well, I can pick some up after I'm done at Levy's, 'kay?" She ran out the door, calling out a goodbye to her roommate.
Gajeel sat up as Pantherlily came in the room. "What was that about tacos?" Lily asked, hopping up beside Gajeel.
"Not sure. I wasn't paying that much attention…" Gajeel picked up the book, laying it in his lap to try and read it himself. It took a while, most of the time Levy was gone if he was being honest, but he read the whole thing.
"I'm back!" Levy announced, opening the screen door and dumping her purse and new books on the bench by the door. "And I brought lunch!"
Gajeel came in from his bedroom, leaning against the doorjamb, "Tacos?"
"Yep! And don't worry, no jalapeños," Levy giggled. Gajeel grinned, glad he had read the book now so he understood her joke: "they are super-spicy! I know you love tacos, dragons, but you are not gonna love those tacos."
"I'm not Salamander, I could've handled the 'little green...specs' no problem," Gajeel said, taking the paper bag from Levy and going into the kitchen to divvy up the food.
"Yeah, sure, Gajeel…"
"I could've!"
Yes this is a real children's book.
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