And here it is! The second chapter! Slightly shorter than the first (for which I apologize, seriously, so sorry) but still good, I think.
Another thing: I am SO SORRY for this being a day late. Usually, I like to post on Sundays, but yesterday I was down in North Carolina. They got hit pretty bad with the storm this past weekend, and even had a tornado pass through. There are a lot of storm victims who need help, so if anyone needs volunteer hours or would like to lend a hand, they could definitely use it down there.
Many thanks to my amazing beta Lissa for helping me tweak this chapter to perfection (or at least as close as its going to get).
More thanks to my friend Tia for easing my fears and soothing my frustrations when typing this chapter.
S/O to SymmetricalGirlDeathTheKid for loving the synopsis to the point of riotous laughter (hope this chapter lives up to your expectations).
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Boo for me.
Now, on with the story!
Gajeel snarled and smashed his fist onto the table without glancing over.
The alarm clock stopped ringing as parts exploded everywhere. It was an ugly clock, anyway.
He gave a sigh of relief and pulled his arm back under the warm coverage of the blankets. He'd worked the graveyard shift at the bar last night and headed the morning shift at the garage- and then put in a few good fights at the boxing ring. His muscles ached, he couldn't focus on anything- he was fucking tired.
Peace and quiet filtered through the small space and he sighed in relief. He only had a few hours, three tops, before he'd have to head back to the bar. Then the cycle would begin all over again.
Sleep was just coming back over him when a large bundle bounced onto the bed with him. The springs creaked in protest and Gajeel opened one eye, just in time to have a heavy paw put on his nose.
He groaned. "Not now, Lil."
Lily snuffed in annoyance and pawed at him again. Gajeel could just imagine what he was saying- 'I'm hungry, asshole. Feed me.'
Another paw poked at his face.
A cold nose pressed against his cheek.
When the paw poked his face for a third time, there were claws coming out of it.
"Dammit Lily!" Gajeel jerked up and gingerly touched the thin line of blood running down his cheek. He growled at the cat. "I hate you sometimes."
A thin feline eyebrow seemed to raise, and Lily looked at him despairingly. 'You're the one that brought me here, remember?'
"I'm starting to regret that decision." He swiped at the blood again. "Tch, fucking cat."
'You brought that on yourself.' Lily sniffed at him. 'Bastard human.'
He grumbled some more before pushing Lily away from him and throwing his legs over the side of the bed. The floor was cold, but that didn't bother him. The entire apartment was cold, no use in getting upset over the floor.
It was a short walk over to the kitchen- if it could indeed be called a kitchen- and Gajeel rolled his shoulders, trying to crack out all the kinks and aches. It didn't work. If anything, trying to relieve the pain in his shoulders and back only made it worse.
A quick perusal of the cabinets showed precious little food, and from that even less that was be edible for a cat. He screwed his face up and looked down at Lily apologetically.
"Sorry bud, not much here. Guess it's time for a trip to the grocer, huh?" He chuckled darkly at his own humor. Grocer, right. Like they had enough money to go on a shopping spree at some overpriced food mart.
'You're kidding me, right?' Lily meowed in protest. 'We haven't eaten since yesterday morning!'
Gajeel grunted in acknowledgement and picked up a can of spam. "Well, it's either this or…" He looked around again. "What's left of the bean dip." A container of brown slop was held up. "Pretty sure it's still good." He shrugged.
Lily meowed balefully at him. 'You're pathetic.'
"Be my guest to go out there and try to scavenge something for yerself, then." He jerked his chin towards the door.
The black and white Exceed glared at him for a few more seconds and then pawed at the spam. Easily breaking open the top, both human and cat winced at the smell. After gagging a bit, Gajeel scooped a chunk out on his finger and held it down to Lily. "Bon appetite."
'You're fucking hilarious.' Still, Lily licked it off his finger slowly.
He stuffed some in his own mouth as the cat ate his share. It tasted just as nasty as he'd remembered. At least the slime made it easier to force down his throat.
The can was almost empty and his finger was almost clean when Lily looked towards the door suddenly, his ears perking up- or ear, rather, and what was left of the other. He padded over slowly and inspected the flimsy piece of wood, cocking his head to the side. For a while, he just sat there, staring at the door. Suddenly he yowled and jumped back, hissing.
Gajeel frowned and walked over to where Lily was growling at the door. The cat looked up at him, and whined. One hand reached down to pick the small Exceed up, and the other reached for the knob.
'Something's wrong!' Lily hissed at the door again. 'Leave it alone and let's go out the window.' The growls were growing louder the closer Gajeel got to the door, and especially loud when he grabbed the tarnished knob.
"Quiet Lil," he muttered. "Just wanna know what's goin' on." It was his neighborhood, and if some hood was trying to stir up trouble…
The hinges screamed when he yanked the door open, and rust flakes rained down on them. Gajeel snarled at them and Lily swatted the air.
Looking left and right, he didn't see anything. Just trash and semi-darkness. It was getting light out now, which meant his shift would start soon. He groaned internally.
There was the sound of cars honking in the distance, and people yelling. Steam hissed from busted pipes on the sides of the buildings, and there was a constant drip-drip-drip from the misshapen gutters. Every now and then he would hear the clatter of a ladder being lifted or lowered. Cats yowled in a nearby alley, and a dog was barking down the street. Nothing out of the ordinary, in short.
Still… Lily wasn't known for getting upset over nothing. His cat was a better security system than one of those damned alarms, and cost a helluva lot less.
He stepped forward cautiously, and jerked when his foot his something. Looking down, he frowned and squinted. There were piles of garbage strewn around, but they weren't usually so close to his door. Hell, they were on what would be considered his doorstep, if he had one.
Something caught on his foot when he tried to pull it back, and he let out a soft grunt. Nudging forward again, he realized something: the trash was soft.
That in and of itself wasn't that unusual, there was always rotting food and trashed linen littering these parts, as well as dead rats and the like. But they were a decomposing kind of soft, and gave when he kicked them or tried to pull his foot away from them. This didn't. It was soft, yet still firm. And his foot was still stuck on it.
Lily let out an indignant screech when Gajeel dropped him unceremoniously behind him, just inside the doorway. Ignoring his companion's wounded pride, he stooped down and brushed at the trash surrounding his ankle.
"The hell-!" Gajeel looked down in shock. There was a woman- or child or person or whatever- laying face down on the street. There were scratches and bruises on what skin he could see, and dirt covering the rest.
He figured the rain last night must have washed the trash down the gutters and gotten caught on her, essentially camouflaging her from any passerby. Lucky for her- she probably would have been mugged or raped otherwise.
Though judging by the looks of her, that could have been the cause of her current state.
Upon closer inspection, he saw that his foot had gotten tangled in one of her dress straps. He'd been nudging her shoulder and neck, which were the miscellaneous substances that were both soft and firm.
Lily poked his head through Gajeel's head and sniffed at her.
"Well… case solved, then." He untangled his foot and looked down at the girl. "Better go get ready for work." Turning to go in, he hissed as something scratched his ankles.
Looking back, he saw a disgruntled Lily sitting near the girl. 'You're going to leave her here?'
One shoulder lifted and dropped apathetically. "Don't get yer tail in a twist. Runt's probably dead anyway."
'And if she's not?' Two eyes squinted at him angrily.
"If she ain't then I don't wanna get involved." He turned away again, with the same results. "Dammit! Stop that!"
'This is a whole new level of bastard, even for you.' Lily dug through the trash until he found a limp hand, and nudged at it.
"What the hell ya expect me to do with her?" His voice was growing louder the angrier he got, and he winced, making an effort to quiet his tone. Drawing attention to himself could only make things worse.
'It's not like you're going to be using your bed anytime soon.' He licked her hand and meowed at Gajeel.
"…You've gotta be fucking kidding me." He crossed his arms, flexing his piercings in irritation.
Lily raised his eyebrow again and stared at him haughtily.
"Oh, for the love of…" Gajeel muttered angrily to himself as he walked over to the girl and shoved the rest of the garbage away from her. She was even filthier once fully uncovered. Swinging her up in his arms, he snarled and shoved the door back open. The frame rattled with the force he used to kick it closed after him, not caring to look back for Lily. Sure enough, his cat was already sitting on his bed, waiting for them.
The springs barely protested when he threw her on the bed, as tiny as she was. Small thing didn't even make an indentation on his ratty blanket. Lily looked at him reproachfully for his roughness in handling her, but he merely glared back.
Glancing at the dirty clock on the wall, Gajeel swore again. He needed to leave, now, or his boss was likely to fire him.
He bit his lip in indecision, staring at the girl on the bed. She didn't look like she could do much harm, but he'd been fooled before…
"Ah, fuck it." Grabbing his vest, he shoved his hair back into a tie and headed out the door again. There was nothing worth stealing anyway, and Lily could take care of himself.
"Make sure she don't screw up anything!" He threw over his should to the Exceed, and closed the door behind him, breaking into a run.
Back inside their makeshift home, Lily rolled his eyes. Like the poor soul on their bed could possibly do any harm. She wasn't likely to even wake up any time soon, not unless they got something into her…
Lily looked back towards the bean dip.
Ta-da! Here it is, whatcha think? It's even shorter than the first chapter, and a bit more slow. Don't worry though, things will pick up a bit next time. Or will they? Haha, suspense!
Review, review, REVIEW and you'll get German chocolate cake! (Seriously, guys, review. Reading and not reviewing= not cool.)
Some things for this chapter:
#1. Gajeel may seem a little OOC to some of you, and if that's the case then I apologize. I try to write him as accurately as possible, but sadly I am no Hiro Mashima. Yes, he was going to leave Levy, and that may seem unduly harsh and/or cold of him- but! But but but! He's grown up in the slums, having to fight for everything. No good deed goes unpunished in his world, so try to be a little understanding for the time being.
#2. No, Lily cannot actually talk to humans. No, Gajeel is not actually talking with his cat. The italicized words from Lily are what Gajeel perceives Lily to be saying, as Lily doubles as his conscience.
#3. Lily may seem OOC, and again if you feel that way I apologize. But he too grew up in Gajeel's world, and it is a harsh world indeed. Have patience. (Plus, we all know he's a big softie at heart.)