AN: I never would have thought I would be updating this, but I just had to. This story came to me after I saw a Korrasami comic (it was a library AU; unfortunately, I can't find the original artist since I lost it in the depths of Tumblr, but hopefully I will soon to give the artist credit), and saw the trailer for Carol shortly thereafter. Carol looks absolutely stunning, and I hope I can see it soon. You should all watch the trailer. Like right now. It's that good.

But aside from that, hope you enjoy this story. I enjoyed writing this particular chapter a lot.

Ciao. c:

It was no secret that Lucy Heartfilia, daughter of the prestigious Heartfilia family, loved reading. No matter how busy she was or what she needed to get done, she would always save time to read for leisure. Even as she grew up, her love for books and literature never wavered. As a child she loved fairy tales and princesses; as a teen she loved romance stories about vampires and werewolves (looking back on it, she wondered how she even managed to like such trash); now as a young adult, she found interest in the classics and the fantasy genre. It was only a matter of time until she decided to become an English major.

With her heart and sights set on becoming one of the greatest authors, Lucy began to read a lot more. She spent most of her time in the library, people often finding her there than in her own small apartment a block or two away from the university campus. Friends, especially Natsu and Levy, often teased her about how her life goal was to read every single book in the school library twice. Lucy would just brush them aside; she already did that a long time ago.

But even though she knew every book from cover-to-cover, there was still one thing that beckoned her to the library. It wasn't the quiet atmosphere nor was it the homely scent of cinnamon you get when you first walk in (although that's what she used as an excuse), but rather it was a person.

And that person was the librarian, Ms. Erza Scarlet.

The librarian was popular, and with good reason. With her magnificent scarlet hair and the dauntingly beautiful brown of her eyes, she was an absolute beauty to behold. Everyone in the university was smitten by her looks, but were far too afraid to approach her. Lucy was no exception. There was something about her aura that seemed a little...threatening.

But unlike the others, Lucy decided to gather her guts and try talk to her. Despite the rumors of Ms. Scarlet seeing another teacher by the name Jellal Fernandez, Lucy's passion never diminished. She was absolutely infatuated with the librarian, and found herself writing about Erza when she wasn't focused enough. Truth be told, Lucy felt like a love-sick puppy, trying to find a way to catch Erza's attention. She tried everything, from mundane questions to deliberate trips, but nothing seemed to work and Lucy just managed to make a fool out of herself every time.

"Ah, there she is!" She exclaimed to herself, pulling herself into reality as her heart lurched at the sight of the librarian. Erza, who had been putting back books on the shelves, looked at Lucy with a puzzled expression. Lucy let a little squeak of surprise slip past her mouth.

Erza approached the blonde.

"Is...there something I can help you with?"

Lucy stared.

Erza, seeming a little unsettled by the blonde's intense gaze, adjusted her glasses.

"Lucy?"

The blonde blinked, a little taken aback; she hadn't expected the librarian to know her name. "How do you-"

"I know all the names of my regulars," Erza cut in, an amused smile crossing her face. Lucy's face flushed. "And so, Lucy,"-she put extra emphasis on her name just to prove her point-"is there something I can help you with?"

"O-oh, right!" Lucy gave out a shaky titter, "I was wondering if you could, uh," she glanced at Erza—who was staring at her with the blankest stare Lucy ever received in her life—before glancing at the book in her hand. A bulb in the back of her brain went off, and she held up the novel, pointing at it with a smile. "I was wondering if I could check you out!"

Silence filled the both of them.

Erza stared at Lucy with pink dusting her cheeks.

Lucy stared at Erza with the reddest face she could muster.

Did she really just say that?

"Book!" Lucy cried out, her voice strangled by embarrassment, "I mean, check out the book!"

The redhead's face broke into a smile.

"Of course you can," a playful laugh escaped her, "but you know you can do both, right?"

Lucy thought she was going to die from the way her heart was pounding in her chest. Who would have known that Erza could have such a coy side to her?

"Hm, that's interesting," Erza said, taking the novel from Lucy's shaking hand. She inspected the cover of the book intently as if it were some sort of specimen. "I would have never guessed you would be into these kinds of books."

Lucy's breath hitched in her throat. She couldn't bear to tell the librarian that it was just a random book she got off a shelf. Instead she gave a smile and a nervous laugh. "Well, you know, there's always time to try something new," she said for a lame excuse. Lucy stared at the book and realized that it was a title she didn't recognized. In the back of her mind, she wondered if she had overlooked this one—the size of the novel was rather small compared to the others.

"The Price of Salt," Erza began, a small smile on her face, "is a personal favorite of mine. It's somewhat well-known, especially under its other name, Carol." She looked up beyond her glasses, catching Lucy's eye. "Have you ever heard of this book before?"

The blonde shook her head. "I haven't."

Erza hummed, walking to her desk. Lucy followed suit, clearly intrigued.

"Well, you see, The Price of Salt is unique in the fact that it's a lesbian romance story written in the 1950's." The librarian turned to the blonde, smiling. "Says a lot already, doesn't it? But aside from that, it had a happy ending—or at least something some would call a happy ending—and broke through stereotypes about gays."

The both of them finally reached the front desk, where Erza scanned the book. Lucy, on the other hand, stayed mute and let the information sink in.

"Here you go," said Erza, handing the blonde the novel. Lucy took it with both hands as she mumbled her thanks, staring at the title with blank eyes. There was still one thing nipping at Lucy's mind.

"Uh, Ms. Scarlet?"

Erza, who had been typing, stopped and looked away from the computer to glance at the blonde. "What is it?"

"Er, are you…." Lucy's words got stuck in her throat, causing her to cough into her fist, "a-are you a…."

The redhead adjusted her glasses, waiting.

"Are you a...a lesbian?" Lucy mumbled the last word so quietly, she was sure Erza would have a hard time hearing her. But the librarian seemed to understand her as a coy smile came across her face.

"And if I was?" Erza asked, resting her elbows on her desk as she propped her chin onto her intertwined fingers. "How would that be of concern to you?"

Lucy's face turned red. She was astounded on how quickly Erza could push her into a corner. "I w-was just curious is all."

The librarian raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's it?"

There was a moment of hesitance before the other responded. "Y-yes."

"Mm, okay then." Erza smiled before resuming what she was doing before.

Lucy stood there, waiting.

"...You're not going to answer my question?"

The librarian stopped once more to flicker her eyes at Lucy. She did not respond vocally, but the blonde noticed that sly smile again. It was one that said, "I'll tell you in due time."

The blonde, taking it as a sign to take her leave, cleared her throat in hopes of breaking the awkward silence between the both of them. "Well, I should be going now. I need to type out my essay for class tomorrow." Lucy waved goodbye with the tiniest of smiles before heading out of the library.

Once she was out, Lucy gave a breath of relief which materialized in the cold air. She decided to take another glance at the book in her hand.

There, in the corner of the cover, was a small sticky note she didn't notice before.

It was someone's number.

Lucy's eyes widened. She felt her cheeks start to warm up again as she read the little phrase scrawled underneath.

Call me after you finish reading.

-Erza Scarlet