Birthday Surprise

His first time in Magnolia and he was already running late. Talking his way out of a speeding ticket hadn't taken as long as he would have thought, but finding parking for apparently the only library in town had taken almost a half-hour in and of itself.

Gajeel jogged up the library steps with his heart in his throat. He paused for a moment at the entryway to catch his breath and to calm his wayward pulse. After pulling on the door for a few seconds, he finally managed to gather his wits and push it open gently. The cool air of the library soothed the sweat forming on his forehead and he let the door close quietly behind him.

"Can I help you?"

Gajeel jumped at the voice and saw a middle-aged librarian behind the front desk. She scanned the barcode of the first book in a large pile in front of her.

"I just need to um, return some books? And I had a few questions to ask…"

He drew one of his backpack straps over his shoulder and began to open the zipper.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I'm a bit busy at the moment. Mira at the back desk would be happy to assist you, though."

Gajeel held his pack against his chest. "Thank you."

"Just follow the path through the non-fiction section and you can't miss it."

Nodding his thanks again, Gajeel made his way around desks and computers and into the bowels of the library.

Levy certainly hadn't been kidding with her boasts. The two-story library was easily three times as large as the one back at home. It was no wonder Levy always felt the need to visit every weekend; even with her unique reading habits, she probably hadn't even made a dent in all the books.

Gajeel took his time walking down the main pathway. His eyes darted all around the room, not wanting to miss anything. She was here...somewhere. He knew that she would have made it before him but she couldn't have left yet. She always took at least an hour to check in her books and borrow more. Which meant that they were in the same building together. Which meant that she could be just a bookshelf away.

His shaking legs could barely hold his weight and his fingers grew so cold he was surprised he still had a hold on his backpack at all. He reached into the side pocket and fished out a pen before returning his pack to its proper place on his back. Resuming his slow trek, Gajeel studied each person he passed.

Brown hair.

Too tall.

Blonde.

Short, but not blue hair.

Nearing the fiction section, Gajeel had just decided to make another lap through the main room when a tinkling laugh jolted him. His feet slowed even as his pulse skyrocketed. Heart pounding in his ears, Gajeel followed the sound and stopped at the edge of two bookshelves.

A long desk was pushed near the corner of the room. A young librarian with platinum blond hair sat in the chair. A name tag sat at the front of the desk, but Gajeel only registered the name 'Mira' before his attention froze on the girl standing in front of the desk.

An extremely small girl with a soft, tinkling laugh and shoulder length hair the color of a summer sky.

"Oh sweet Mavis..." Gajeel mumbled, squeezing his eyes shut.

Holding his breath to keep from drawing attention to himself, Gajeel opened his eyes and clicked his pen as quietly as he could. He wrote 'Happy Birthday' on the back of his right hand underneath the others, never taking his eyes off the girl standing at the desk. His mouth moved in a silent plea and he almost collapsed onto the floor when he heard her suddenly giggle.

"What's so funny?" The librarian leaned forward and looked at the back of the girl's right hand.

The girl's crystal clear voice washed over him like a flood. "That's the third time today he's told me happy birthday. All in the same spot, too." She tapped the back of her hand with her bright, pink pen.

"Awww, isn't he sweet?"

"I know, right? Super sweet, even though he tries to act all tough."

Gajeel darted away from the two girls until he was hidden by the books. He bounced on the balls of his feet and pumped his fists into the air.

"It's her! It's her it's her it's her!" he whispered hoarsely to himself.

He swayed on his feet and braced his hands on the bookshelf in front of him to steady himself. He focused on the pattern on the carpet beneath his feet and willed himself not to hurl on the books.

"Ok, Gajeel...you can do this. Just breath. She's just a girl, a smart, deathly cute girl just the right height for huggin'."

Now why'd he have to go and think that?

Using all of his willpower to dislodge the question of what it would be like to tuck her right under his chin, it took Gajeel several moments, and a dozen deep breaths, before his legs were ready to support his full weight. Lungs filled with a final inhale, he pushed himself upright and made his way back to the edge of the bookshelves. The air rushed out in a silent sigh of relief when he saw that Levy hadn't moved. Licking his lips, he carefully and neatly wrote on his right palm.

Found you

His pen clicked shut and he watched Levy tilt her head and stare at her hand.

"What? What did he say now?"

Levy shook her head of shimmering hair. "I'm not sure…found you. What does that mean, 'found you?'"

Gajeel swallowed the lump in his throat and stepped out from between the shelves.

"Maybe he was writing a list or some-" The librarian looked up and dropped Levy's hand with a squeal. Her mouth hung open and she repeatedly slapped Levy on the arm.

Levy shook off the librarian's hold and turned to look behind her. "Ouch, Mira! What are you do...ing..."

Deep, brown eyes caught his. Bright eyes framed with wire-rimmed glasses, on top of the daintiest nose he had ever seen. Her blue hair was tied back with a thick yellow bandana and the white sash of her dress was tied in an adorable bow under her chin. The top of her head barely reached the center of his chest and Gajeel had to shove his hands into his pockets to prevent himself from testing his earlier theory.

She was-by far-the tiniest, cutest thing he had ever seen.

"H-hey, Shorty." One hand gave her a tiny wave and he lifted the other to show his palm. Her head whipped between his hand and the same words on her skin.

"Happy-Happy Birthday. Oh, I guess I've already said that, huh?" His laugh sounded painful to his ears and he frantically tried to erase the multiple birthday greetings on his hand.

"G-Gajeel?"

He paused the abuse on his skin. "Oh...cool, you pronounced it right! I was kinda worried cause we've only been writing it and I know it's kinda tricky and um...yeah." He used the heel of his hand to scrub the words and gave Levy with a sheepish smile. "Eha, that's not coming off. Ok...um."

Levy's pen clattered to the floor and she held her hands tightly against her mouth. Her wide eyes grew misty and Gajeel's heart threatened to beat right out of his chest. He could no longer feel his fingers. Was that supposed to happen? His arms felt tingly too, even though he knew Levy wasn't writing anything. Was that a normal reaction when seeing your best friend and soulmate for the first time?

"So yeah, um...surprise!" He spread his arms wide. "It's me! I mean, the present...it's...it's me." He dropped his arms and rubbed the back of his neck. "Wait, no that-that doesn't sound right...um, so I wanted to surprise you for your birthday and I thought hey, why don't I actually surprise her on her birthday, ya know? So I guess I'm kinda the present, but not really cause that sounds really weird and I just thought it might be a nice surprise and whew, is it hot in here? I mean, ya are really cute and ah, man, don't-don't say that Gajeel. But seriously, they should really turn on the AC."

Beads of sweat formed on his forehead and trailed down his back. He flipped his backpack around and yanked his notebook from inside. He fanned his burning face, trying and failing to look anywhere but her.

The sleeve of his jacket lifted and he jerked to attention. "Oh, right! I told myself that when I finally saw you in person that wanted to thank you for this…" He held out his wrist and pulled up his sleeve. "I mean, not for this for this, but um, look...you can hardly see the scars now! What you told me that night really helped and I even took pictures of the hearts so I could always remember, which sounds really weird and oh, that reminds me...Lily wants me to take pictures to send to him. He says hi, by the way."

His hands gestured wildly and he gave her a shaky smile, plowing on when he saw Levy's hand lower from her lips.

Gajeel stared at her mouth for a moment before shaking his head. Eyes were safer. "So yeah, anyway...um, yeah so it really helped, having you there. I think it would have gotten a lot worse if you hadn't talked me down and I'm pretty sure that was when I first realized I loved you and ah w-wait…" Gajeel scratched his head frantically, wishing the ground would just swallow him whole. "Stupid, you can't just tell a person you just met that you love them! Oh no, sorry! I said that word you don't like!"

He slapped his hand over his mouth and ignored the way the librarian snorted behind her desk. Levy bit her bottom lip and Gajeel forced himself not to stare. He really needed her to stop looking at him with her deep brown eyes and adorable glasses and yellow dress that made her look so huggable.

"Oh gosh, why'd ya have to be so stinkin' cute? I wasn't expecting that. Maybe this was a bad idea, I'll just get the letter..."

"Gajeel…"

He dropped his backpack and stood at attention. "Yeah, Shrimp?"

"You dummy!"

Gajeel had just enough time to brace his feet before he caught her in his arms.

Levy could only stare at the bumbling, blushing, giant standing in front of her. She covered her mouth with her hands just to keep herself from screaming out loud.

He found her! By Mavis, he really found her!

And judging by his stammered, adorably awkward explanation he had been planning his surprise for months now.

He reached into his backpack and brought out an old notebook to fan himself. His midnight black hair fell down to his lower back and metal piercings lined his face and ears. He was dressed in all black and what looked like a padded motorcycle jacket. The back of her mind idly wondered if he brought Favorite #2 with him.

She bit her lip and just about internally combusted when Gajeel stuttered and stared at her mouth for what seemed like an eternity. Mira laughed behind her when Gajeel accidentally confessed his feelings and Levy couldn't take it anymore.

"Gajeel," she muttered, setting her glasses on the desk behind her.

He stood ramrod straight. "Y-yeah, Shrimp?"

The sound of her name coming from his deep, deep voice shattered any last thread of restraint Levy had. No longer caring that they were in a library, she lifted her head and raced across the short distance separating the two of them.

"You dummy!" She yelled, hurling herself into his arms.

Gajeel spun her in a circle and she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, never wanting to let him go.

"I can't believe it, it's really you! You're a giant!" She laughed into his shoulder, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"And yer completely puny! How can ya be so short?" Gajeel teased, tightening his hold as he spun in another circle.

Levy squealed and buried her fingers in the soft strands of his hair. "Look how long your hair is!"

"Yer such a bookworm! Glasses and everything!"

"Why do you have so many piercings!?"

"Lily thought they might scare ya and make ya think I'm a stalker or something."

"You kinda are, silly!"

"But I found ya, didn't I?"

Levy eased her hold on his neck and looked him in the eyes. His red gaze bored into hers and a soft smile graced his lips. Levy cupped his face in her hands, resting her forehead on his, and traced her thumbs across his cheeks. "Yeah you did...you really, really did. Thank you for keeping your promise."

Gajeel lowered her to the floor and drew her into a warm hug. Levy stretched her arms around his waist as far as they could and laced her fingers together. He might have been at least a foot taller than her but he was the perfect size for hugging; her cheek rested right above his pounding heart.

"Any time, Shrimp. Any time."

She smiled into his shirt and inhaled his warm, musky scent. "Did you bring Favorite #2?"

His chest rumbled beneath her cheek. "Sheesh, didn't know ya'd be more interested in that death trap than me, gihee."

Tears filled her eyes, making her grip his jacket tightly. "That's your laugh. I've seen you spell it so many times, but I've never heard it…"

"Well, ya better get used to it, Shrimp, cause I ain't leavin' any time soon." His head rested on top of hers and they swayed silently for several moments, basking in each other's warmth.

"And for the record," he whispered, "I just so happened to bring another helmet with me. Thought ya might want to go on a ride with me?"

Levy giggled, "But we're strangers...I don't even know your last name. And my grandfather taught me to never leave with strange...eek!"

She pushed out from Gajeel's hold and rubbed her side where he had poked her. Wrinkling her nose at him earned her another one of his new, yet familiar laughs. She ran the back of her hand over her wet eyes and stood as tall as she could.

"Hi! I'm Levy McGarden, a third year student at Fairy Tail Academy. I live in Magnolia, Fiore, at 2244 N. Palm Street with my grandfather Makarov Dreyer who's just dying to meet you, by the way. My phone number is 555-0100 but I don't have any social media accounts because I think they cause too much drama." She held out her hand, unable to stop the way her throat grew thick and choked off her words. "Pleased to finally meet you."

Gajeel licked his lips and blinked rapidly, chest heaving as he took a deep breath. "Gajeel Redfox, graduate from Phantom Trade School and Mechanics. I live at 2323 Wisteria Avenue in Clover Town with my three roommates who are, in all honesty, tired of me talkin' about you all the time. My number is 555-0199 and I do have social media and you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be blastin' yer picture all over the place just to show ya off." He gripped her hand in his much larger one. "Happy to officially meet ya too."

He gave her a smirk that just about took her breath away. They stood close to one another, closer than public displays of affection would typically allow, but neither one made any indication of moving as they were both content to simply stand and stare. Gajeel's palm was warm against hers, the identical messages held close as their owners officially and finally greeted one another face-to-face.