Hey! I got a request for a Gajeel x Levi fic on tumblr, and here is the result! It's probably a little random, but I felt that after the last couple of chapters the Fairy Tail fandom could really use more fluf and lest angst, so... yeah. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail

Quiet (a Gajeel x Levi fic)

Gajeel started tapping his foot on the polished library floor. Unexpectedly, the noise built up and reverberated through the building, upsetting the silence and earning glares from everyone in the vicinity, including the petite girl across the table.

Gajeel flinched at the sight of Levi's glare. He really didn't want to upset her, not when they were about to go on their first official date in weeks. Between their conflicting job schedules and other events at the Guild, the two of them hadn't been able to spend more than a few moments together, and even then it was usually under the watchful eyes of Team Shadowgear or other Guild members. Now today, the couple had planned on spending the entire evening together. Gajeel had rented a movie lacrima that Levi had previously mentioned she liked, and they were going to snuggle on his couch with popcorn while they watched it. It was a little more intimate than what Gajeel usually liked in a date, but after the last few weeks he really wanted some alone time with her, and he knew she'd like it.

Unfortunately, when he went to Fairy Hills to pick her up, she insisted on making a quick stop.

"It's a little research for a job," she explained. "It'll take 15 minutes, max."

That had been 5 minutes ago. The 5 longest minutes in Gajeel's life. He really wasn't into this "reading" thing, so all he could do while his Girlfriend skimmed the pages of centuries-old manuscripts was stare at the wall and count the seconds. Waiting usually wasn't that unbearable; Gajeel would tap out tunes with his fingers or toes, or talk about whatever came to mind with whoever was in earshot, or even start a mini concert of his original songs. Unfortunately, all of these things made noise and couldn't be done in a library.

Levi turned a page in her book. The single page made the lightest of crunching sounds as it bent in the other direction. Although the tiny noise wasn't something Gajeel would have noticed anywhere else, it made a distinct vibration in the air. The sound seemed just whole enough to reach all corners of the room, and reached towards Gajeel's core.

Gajeel looked at the piece of paper on Levi's hands. How could something so fragile make such a complete sound? Outside, where there was so much noise, it wouldn't be noticed among all the yelling and crashing and other sounds of life. Only in here, in this fortress of silence, could it truly be appreciated.

It wouldn't take much to destroy that single piece of paper. A slash from a knife, a pair of hands ripping it in two, and it would be in tiny pieces. The noise of being flipped by a reader would diminish into nothing, unable to be heard even if the entire world was quiet. The words written on it would illegible, and any knowledge trapped there would be lost.

But Gajeel knew that the power of the page didn't lie in its durability or lack thereof. It lied in its words, in the ancient knowledge inscribed on the paper's back for all to see. It depend on others to protect its fragile body, and in return it protected something more valuable.

In a way, it was kind of like Levi. She wasn't as physically strong or imposing as, say, himself, but she was strong in her own right. She was generally the wiser of the two, trying to outsmart and avoid opponents he would charge right into battle with. She was the one you could count on when you needed research done on ancient spells, and her brand of magic was nothing to take light of either. Together, she was the brains and he was the brawn.

Gajeel reached across the table and ran his fingers through her hair. Yeah, she needed protection, but he would happily do it for her. He'd do anything to protect that soft noise that could only be heard in the quiet.

Levi noticed his hand in her hair. "You know, the less you distract me, the quicker we'll be able to get out of here," She whispered.

Gajeel chuckled. "Whatever you say, shrimp."

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