Natsu watched Levy from the shadows. Erza had thought maybe Natsu should follow her today to give Erza a chance to hang out with Lucy, much to Natsu's chagrin. But Levy's work was boring. There were far too many books in that one place. That was one thing Natsu never understood: the love of books. There were so many adventures to be had outside, with actual people. Why would one want to sit somewhere and read in the first place? So BORING!
She checked her clients in and out of the library with a smile on her face. Gajeel was working in the corner, installing some shelving for the newest books that had arrived at the library. He looked Gajeel up and down. He didn't look like a cop. But then, Natsu guessed that was kind of the point. The man was massive...and intimidating.
Freed was in the back, checking a shipment of books that had just come in. He worked silently and alone, rarely coming up front unless it was to bark at Gajeel or ask Levy to do something. Natsu guessed it was boring to even work there, considering nobody ever said anything even to each other other than to tell them what to do. Libraries were seriously the most uninteresting place in the world.
He noticed that Levy was careful to avoid Gajeel. He approached her a few times when Freed wasn't looking. Each time she'd blown him off, saying she had a client at the desk or she had to hurry and get whatever done. She moved around the library quickly and efficiently. As boring as a library was to him, he had to admit Levy was quite at home here. She was good at her job.
Natsu started to daydream about his quick meet-up with Lucy earlier. He met her outside when she took Plue out and they'd managed to sneak in a romantic walk at the beach, since they were both sad she had to work that day. They'd promised to catch up again later.
"I'm going for lunch," Freed stated monotonously, emerging from the back, "Don't burn the place down while I'm gone, Gajeel. Levy, watch the uneducated freak like a hawk."
He stalked off. Gajeel grabbed Levy's shoulder from behind her as she balled her fists and started after Freed.
"Not worth it, Shrimp," he said, "I told you before – he doesn't bother me."
She slammed a book on the counter, making Natsu jump. He wasn't used to seeing Pissed-Off-Levy. She was kinda scary – like Erza-scary - when she was like this.
"He's such a jerk!" she vented, "One of these days…"
"Let it go, Shrimp," Gajeel reminded, "I'm not upset, and you shouldn't be either."
Her shoulders slumped, "Okay."
She returned to her task of checking in the books that had been dropped in the box overnight.
Gajeel stood at the other side of the counter, "So my probation is over in a couple days."
She looked up briefly and went back to her books.
"I'm going to miss seeing you every day," he said softly.
"I'm sure you have thousands of women friends back home," Levy stated flatly, taking another book, "By the end of the week, you won't even remember my name."
Gajeel laughed, "Wow Shrimp. Attitude much?"
"Where is 'home', Gajeel?" Levy asked, changing the subject.
"Noooooo!" Natsu begged her silently to not nose around.
"I'm from lots of places," Gajeel said, "but mostly, home is Crocus."
"Oh? And what do you do there? When you're not beating up people with your cousins, of course."
Gajeel furrowed his eyebrows, a little shocked at her bluntness, "I'm in construction."
"Gonna call bullshit on that one," Levy said, moving her stack of checked-in books to a trolley, "Construction personnel have rough calluses on their hands. Clearly, you're not using heavy machinery on a daily basis."
Natsu chuckled to himself that Freed had managed to make her that grumpy. Pissed-off-Levy is hilarious!
He scowled slightly, "I'm getting back to work."
"Yeah," she said, moving her trolley out to the aisles to return books to their shelves, "You do that."
Natsu shook his head. Levy could be very assertive for such a small girl. He wondered what instigated Levy's attitude. He figured it had something to do with her adjustment to the fact that he was a cop. He watched Levy disappear into the aisles, Gajeel also watching before he turned and headed to the back room.
Levy took the moment to search in the database for anything to do with missing gold shipments...or maybe Porla's arrest. There must be some information somewhere. She glanced up, watching Gajeel hammer some nails into the new shelving to mount it to the walls.
Gray arrived in Onibus, getting off the train. He glanced around, sighing heavily. Where to begin?
Onibus wasn't as nice as Magnolia…that much was apparent right away. The stores looked a bit older and the streets weren't as busy. He strolled casually through the market area, stopping to view different items so as to not seem suspicious. He kept to the main streets, skirting around to different hotels to see if he could find a car similar to what Levy had described. Nothing.
He pretty much knew he was hunting for a needle in hay stack. Levy knew that Dan and Samuel were in Onibus yesterday. It was entirely possible that they'd moved on. Still, he decided a thorough search was in order. He needed to be sure.
His thoughts flashed to Juvia. He hoped she was feeling good about her decision to be with Lyon this morning. Gray himself was conflicted. He knew it had to be done. He'd done it. But he wasn't completely at peace with it. The peace that he'd felt as he walked away from Juvia's apartment was short-lived, but he couldn't tell Erza, Levy, or Natsu that. No, he was going to have to find a way to be okay with it on his own. Overall, he was kind of thankful that he was able to vacate Magnolia for a few days. It might give him the time he needed to adjust.
Erza watched in the shadows as Lucy delivered plates of hot, steaming food to various customers.
Erza had identified some of the other employees as well. After all, it was important to know your assignment's surroundings. There was Lisanna, the bartender. Erza knew right away she was the lost sister of Mira and Elfman – her white hair and brilliant blue eyes gave her away immediately. Then there was Cana, the head waitress, who often crouched behind the bar to take a swig of a rum bottle kept below the counter. Loke was the bus boy. He watched Lucy a lot and was quick to step in whenever a customer got a little too friendly. Another girl with pink hair was named Virgo. She had a very quick wit.
The door chimed and the person Erza was hoping to see strolled in. Juvia's eyes were bright today. Her face threatened to crack from the enormous smile she wore. In place of her long, blue dress that she usually wore, today she wore a shorter, cocktail-dress like gown.
"Juvia! You look amazing today!" Lucy exclaimed.
"I have to admit," Juvia grinned, "I feel amazing!"
"Something good must have happened!" Cana pried, her eyes glinting with playful curiosity.
Juvia nodded, "But I'm not telling you!" she sing-songed on her way to her office.
Erza smiled to herself. This was good. This was very good.
Lucy was cutting lemons at the back counter when she suddenly knicked herself.
"Ow!" she exclaimed, immediately taking her finger to her mouth.
"Let me see," Loke took her finger and examined it, "It's not too bad. C'mon. We'll wash it off."
He guided her to the sink, gently washing her fingers for her.
"So...there's this movie coming out on Friday...a romantic comedy," Loke said nervously, wrapping Lucy's finger with a band-aid, "Do you want to come with me?"
Lucy smiled kindly, "Thank you, Loke, but I have someone that is very special to me. I'm going to spend as much time with him this weekend as possible."
Loke let out an audibly disappointed sigh, "I'm glad you have someone, Lucy. You're an amazing girl. You deserve someone nice."
Levy was deeply engrossed in a book about the life of Jose Porla, however, none of it had anything to do with his arrest and surrounding events. It talked about the politician he was and the contributions he made to the city before he went completely and utterly bankrupt.
"Shrimp?" Gajeel sat beside her, glancing at her book.
She closed it quickly, "Are you done the shelves?"
"Almost. Just wanted to know what I did to piss you off."
Her face softened, "Nothing, Gajeel. You didn't do anything."
Natsu hummed. Judging by how her face relaxed once Gajeel had said something, Natsu could see the soft spot Levy had for Gajeel. Those were walls! She was putting up defences because doesn't deal with deception well. Ooooh how the kettle called the teapot black...or the black teapot called the kettle black? Shit. And here I was so proud of myself for remembering what the phrase means.
"You're acting like you're mad at me," Gajeel said. For such a big man, it sounded remarkably like a whine.
"I'm not mad," Levy promised, "I just think you're not telling the whole truth. And I'm wondering if you'll ever trust me enough to tell me."
He stood up, using his hammer to salute her as he headed back to his shelves, "Maybe one day, Shrimp. You might have to agree to see me outside work if you want to know more.
Levy giggled, then put her book aside. There was someone at the counter.
Erza watched the scene with guarded amusement. Loke definitely had a crush on Lucy. Lucy accepted his kindness, but she definitely didn't return his feelings. She sighed heavily. It was insane the amount of drama she'd been exposed to in the past few days.
She honestly had no clue what to do about Lucy and Natsu's romance. The truth was, they were perfect for each other. Lucy was a wealth of patience and sweetness. She was so kind to Natsu, which is exactly what he needed. In turn, he doted on her. He had no ulterior motives for the love he offered her. He just loved her. Their love was so pure.
Natsu had had a point that night that he talked to Gray. If Natsu was the one who made Lucy happy, then what was the problem? Erza knew she was going to need to tell Natsu that he had to let her move on with someone else, but she didn't want to do it. So far, she'd avoided any semblance of a conversation about it.
She regarded Loke, her heartstrings screaming at her that there was no way he could ever make Lucy happy. Still, she had to consider every option.