She wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep; all she knew was that far too bright sunlight was shining on her closed eyelids and the birds chirping outside her window were unnecessarily loud and cheerful. Levy turned over, giving her back to the window before pulling a pillow over her head. Why did mornings have to be so darn early?
As her dreams floated away and her wakeful mind returned, so did her memories of the day before. The knowledge that she now had to treat Gajeel like a stranger returned with full force, and, along with it, the knot in her stomach. She burrowed into her blankets. If only Jet and Droy hadn't gone on that month-long mission. At least then she could have escaped to some far-off town with her teammates until her embarrassment dissipated, instead of hiding in her room. Although, staying in her room all day certainly had its appeal - she didn't have to worry about running into brooding dragon slayers in her bed. She groaned, remembering that dragon slayers not being in her bed was part of her problem.
She flipped over on her back and tossed her pillow across the room. Hiding in her room wasn't going to solve anything. Fairy Tail was her home, and she wasn't leaving it! She would just have to find a way to get over Gajeel one way or another, and the sooner the better.
She jumped out of bed and stomped to her bathroom. "I wasn't an S-class candidate for nothing!" she thought, tugging a brush through her tousled blue locks and giving herself her most fierce glare in the mirror. "I can do this!"
An hour later when she walked into the guildhall, though, she wasn't so sure. But she knew didn't have a choice; she HAD to avoid Gajeel, whether she liked it or not. Taking a deep breath, she marched straight to the bar where Mirajane was pouring some tea and hopped onto a barstool.
"Good morning, Mira!" she smiled, placing the book she brought with her on the bartop. "If that's a pot of jasmine tea, I'd love a cup!"
Mirajane beamed back at her. "Why, yes it is! One cup of jasmine tea coming up!" She reached for a fresh teacup from an overhead cabinet. "By the way, Gajeel's already here, he's sitting over by the stage with Pantherlily, no doubt planning his next musical appearance!" she giggled.
"Oh, that's nice for him," Levy said nonchalantly, trying to seem as though she couldn't care less what he was doing. She opened her book to the last place she had read in an attempt to keep her eyes from wandering to Gajeel. "Don't look, don't look, don't look!" she scolded herself.
As Mirajane poured the steaming tea into Levy's cup, her blue eyes studied the younger girl's face. "Would you like me to pour some tea for Gajeel too? I can take it over to both of you when it's ready."
Levy felt her cheeks get hot. "No, I'll be taking my tea here. If he wants some he can get it himself."
Mirajane's eyes widened. "Did something happen between you and Gajeel?"
"NO!" Levy shrunk at the loudness of her own voice. "I mean, of course not!" she said more calmly. "What in the world would give you that idea?"
Mirajane's mouth twisted into a wry smile. "Well, let's just say I don't often see you here at the bar," she teased, picking up a tea towel to give the countertop a wipedown.
"Actually, I have a reason for that," said Levy, closing her book. "Mira, do you think I could help you out at the bar today?"
"Help me out?" Narrowing her eyes, Mirajane leaned over the bartop to peer at the solid script mage. "Levy McGarden, what are you up to?"
"Nothing! Nothing!" Levy put on her most innocent look. "It's just that I realized I don't spend nearly enough time getting to know the other members in our guild. I thought that helping you out would be a good way of talking to everyone today, that's all." "And keeping my mind off certain Iron Dragon Slayers while I'm at it, too," she thought.
"Hmm," Mirajane placed her forefinger over her mouth. "Well, it would be nice to have some help for a change," she mused. She broke out into a huge smile. "Alright, you've got the job!"
"Yay!" cried Levy, relieved. Gajeel never ordered anything from the bar so she knew she was safe from his presence – for that day at least.
After putting on Mirajane's spare apron, Levy placed herself behind the bar and immediately brewed another pot of tea. Her first customer turned out to be none other than her best friend, Lucy.
"Levy!" cried the blonde celestial spirit mage. "What are you doing behind the bar? Is Mira okay?"
"Mira's fine," said Levy, handing over the menu of the day's specials to Lucy. "I just decided it was high time I expand my horizons and get to know my guildmates. I figured helping out Mira was a good place to start!"
Lucy cocked her head at Levy. "Okay, what did Gajeel do?"
"That's what I said!" interjected Mirajane, who was carrying a wine barrel from the storecloset behind the bar in anticipation of Cana Alberona's arrival. Though the transformation mage was all dainty sweetness, her magic gave her strength and power to spare when she needed it.
"He didn't do anything!" protested Levy, whose cheeks turned a bright shade of pink. "Can't a girl want to get to know her friends better without it being about a guy?"
Lucy chuckled. "Okay, okay, I believe you. Come to think of it, I'd like to help out too. It'd be great material for my writing! What do you think, Mira?"
Mirajane smiled. "Why not? The more the merrier! I don't have another apron to lend you, though."
"Not a problem! I'll just call Virgo for one!" Lucy pulled out her set of magic keys and summoned the celestial spirit Virgo, who promptly transformed Lucy's outfit into an entire waitress uniform.
Lucy sweatdropped. "I just needed an apron, Virgo."
"But why not have the whole uniform? It matches much better," admonished Virgo. "Besides, Natsu-san likes you in these kinds of uniforms."
"VIRGO!" Lucy's cheeks blazed a red as flaming as Natsu's fire magic. "Don't say such things!"
Levy giggled. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all!
Between taking food orders, chatting with guildmates she rarely talked to, and gossiping with Lucy and Mirajane, the day flew by for Levy. Leaning against the bar after the lunchtime rush, she looked out over the guildhall and realized why Mirajane enjoyed her job so much. From her vantage point she could see the entire guild's antics - Juvia Lockser fawning over Gray, Evergreen bickering with Elfman, and Romeo Conbolt showing Natsu the latest fire magic technique he'd learned at school. And in a corner, drinking a tankard alone, was Gajeel.
She tried not to look at him, but she couldn't help it. She wondered if he noticed she was working the bar, if he missed her presence. He looked annoyed – but then again, he always looked like that. As she predicted, he hadn't come to the bar once. Pantherlily had dropped by for a glass of kiwi juice and ordered the tankard of beer for Gajeel, but that had been it. She sighed. Turning around, she was stunned to see Mirajane and Lucy smirking at her.
"Yup, he totally did something," said Lucy, out of the corner of her mouth to Mirajane.
"Totally!" returned Mirajane out of the corner of her mouth to Lucy.
"No, he didn't!" insisted Levy, waving her arms up and down.
"Riiiiiiight!"
Later that night, Levy lay in bed thinking over the day's activities. She'd definitely had a lot more fun helping out Mirajane than she thought she would. It was hard not to enjoy herself when Lucy was around, and it was nice to see how the other guildmembers brightened when they saw her take their orders. But there was an emptiness in her heart that she knew was due to the lack of one person's presence that day – Gajeel's. And the love of all her guildmates didn't seem to fill the void his absence left.
She covered her head with her blankets. "One day down, the rest of my life to go."
If Levy had an addiction – other than hanging around Gajeel – it was books. She adored them. She loved the smell of aged parchment; the feel of soft, buttery leather binding; the look of crisp, clean text. And since she was a solid script mage who had to study the written word to improve her skill level, it meant she could luxuriate in her addiction for hours on end.
But some days, she wished she had an addiction that didn't, well, take up so much space.
"Argh, where the heck did I put that book?" she grumbled, rummaging on her knees through yet another stack of books near her bed. Tossing "How to Learn Ancient Krillian in Ten Easy Steps" into the pile in the center of her room, she sat up and blew her blue bangs out of her face. Her plan that morning had been to study her book on rune theory at the guild to keep her mind off Gajeel, since it was one of the harder subjects for her to understand. But the plan wouldn't work if she couldn't find the darn thing.
She rubbed her temples and closed her eyes to concentrate. "Think, Levy, think," she thought to herself. "You were just reading it the day before yesterday, remember? You talked to Gajeel about it that morning, right before your interview with Jason."
With a jolt of recognition, she sprang to her feet. "THE MASTER'S OFFICE!"
"Why, hello there, my dear!" Makarov smiled up at Levy from behind his enormous desk, where he was reading the morning's mail. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?
"Sorry to bother you, Master, but I left a few books here the other day when we were being interviewed by that reporter from Sorcerer's Weekly," she said. "Did you happen to find them by any chance?"
He nodded. "Yes, yes, I thought those might be yours. I put them by my bookcase for safe keeping. You'll find them near the bottom shelf."
Her eyes flew to the carved, wooden bookcase where saw her hardbacks neatly stacked on the ground. "Thank goodness!" she placed her hand over her heart in relief. "Master, you're the best!"
"No need to thank me, my child," Makarov pulled out some fresh paper and a pen from a drawer to respond to the letters he had received. "I know how much they mean to you."
As Levy knelt to pick up her books, she took a quick peek at the bookshelf to see if there was anything of interest that she might ask to borrow. She'd never had the opportunity to browse Makarov's library before, and she was curious to see what she might find. But to her dismay, she found that reading any of the titles was nearly impossible. Books were crammed in backwards, upside down, and in no logical order – not by author, subject or even size. Worse, one was being used as a – gasp - coaster for a mug whose drink had long since crusted over.
For a solid script mage, this was akin to sacrilege. Something had to be done!
"Master," she said, turning to the wizened wizard who was absorbed in his correspondence, "would it be okay if I organized your bookcase for you? It looks like it could use a little cleaning up."
Makarov looked up from his paperwork. "What, what? Organize my bookcase? Oh I see. You and Gajeel have a little tiff, eh?"
Levy started. "HUH?" Had her feelings for Gajeel been so obvious that even the master had noticed them? "Um, er, no," she shook her head, "It doesn't have anything to do with him." A tightness welled up in her chest, and she bit her lip to keep from crying. Makarov was like a father to her and for some strange reason his hint at her feelings made them bubble up to the surface. "I just thought I'd do something nice for the man who took in a certain blue-haired orphan, that's all."
"Ah! Well, there was never a question of taking you in, my dear." He put down his pen to give her a cheerful grin. "I asked because it's not every day a young girl offers to spend her morning with an old man! However, let it not be said that I would deny you anything! Have at it if you wish!"
A tremulous smile spread across her lips. "Great!" she said, hoping to sound more cheerful than she felt. "I'll get right on it!"
And get right on it she did. Once she got her hands on those books her passion took over, and she was soon sorting, stacking, and alphabetizing to her heart's content. Humming happily to herself, she removed the offending mug and carefully dusted and wiped down each shelf to prepare it for stacking. By lunchtime the bookcase was sparkling, and its contents painstakingly organized, with all spines easily readable in their neat and tidy rows.
Makarov was thoroughly impressed with the result, and to celebrate, he asked Mirajane to prepare a special lunch with all of Levy's favorite foods. Over a tray of apple cider, tea sandwiches, fruit salad and butter cookies, Levy munched and laughed as the master shared stories of his carefree days as a young wizard before he headed Fairy Tail.
"Yes," he said, shaking his head ruefully at his past self, "I was quite a wild one back in those days! But while I didn't have good sense, I luckily had a good heart, and that got me through even the most difficult predicaments!"
Levy giggled. "I think your wild youth made you the perfect person to head our rowdy guild!"
Makarov let out a hearty laugh. "Ha, ha! I suppose you are right! But speaking of wild ones, please don't be too hard on Gajeel, my dear, whatever he may have done. I know he can be a little rough around the edges, but he was raised by a dragon after all."
Her brown eyes dropped to the mug of cider she held in her hands. "Believe me, Master; the last thing I want to do is make Gajeel's life any harder." Taking a deep breath, she set the mug down on the desktop and looked at Makarov. "Whatever happens from here on out, please know that it's all because I want to make his life as easy as possible. If there's anyone here who knows how hard he's paid his dues, it's me."
She stood up from her chair and walked over to the guildmaster, who looked at her with a curious expression. She leaned down and planted a kiss on the top of his bald head. "Thank you for a lovely lunch, Master."
"You're welcome, sweetheart," he said gently. But he couldn't help noticing her drooping shoulders and pale cheeks as she gathered up her books and shuffled out of his office. He might be old, but he was no fool. His eyes narrowed.
"I'm going to have to have a talk with that boy," he muttered.