"You have….what?" His resolve fell straight to the floor and shattered with the tiny, pathetic exclamation from the shockingly familiar blue-haired woman.

"S-Sandwiches. I brought them." Levy's flashlight shook in her grip. She tried to stand as straight as she could, feigning some level of bravery.

He couldn't believe the sight before him. This pint-sized, blue-haired,ridiculous woman was standing there in front of him, offering food. But the detail that was even more baffling, even more mind-blowing than anything else, was that she had come back. She had left here with a gash on her head and a pretty clear view of what he was. And yet, here she was. With sandwiches.

"What the hell are you doing back here?" He growled, taking a heavy step towards her. "What do you want with me?!" The man shouted. She flinched, like he expected her to. But what he did not expect was the lack of satisfaction he was used to feeling. "You must be some kind of stupid to come out here by yourself, kid." He snarled.

"I-I thought that you probably…don't have a lot to eat." Levy said, forcing volume into her voice. "And I want to know your name." She added quickly, spitting out the rehearsed statement before she could screw it up. "If that's okay."

He was aghast, unable to keep his mouth from dropping open. This was a position he seemed to be finding himself in quite often in this curious woman's presence. And he couldn't decide how he felt about it. "…Why?" He finally replied in a quieter tone, having lost his growl.

Levy fidgeted with the hem of her yellow shirt. "Because it's nice?" What else was she supposed to say? "My name is Levy…if that helps."

What reason had he to tell her anything? He should be throwing her out of here, making her wish she had never come back. Or that she'd even been here in the first place. "I could kill you." He growled, frustrated at his lack of commitment.

"But you haven't." Levy shot back, feeling just a sliver more confident.

With that little quip she had called his bluff. It's not like I'm doing my best scare work anyway. He thought, trying to hand himself come credit. Still, there was another drawn out moment of silence.

It was all incredibly foreign–hell, this was the most he had spoken in years–and deep in his gut he couldn't quell the ever-present fear. He was in just as much, if not more danger than she was. Any time someone showed up, his entire wellbeing was at risk. His name and his existence, as far as the world was concerned, died when the lab did. And it was absolutely vital that he keep it that way. The nightmares of what he had endured…what he could endure again, still haunted him.

The tiny woman standing in front of him was an astronomical danger to his secrecy.

But, at the same time, she was offering him food and asking for his name. When was the last time someone asked him that? It was a miracle he even remembered his own name. Conversely, he remembered his patient number quite clearly: X777. For the longest time that was all that anyone, and eventually even himself, knew him as.

"Gajeel." He finally said, trying to stop his thoughts on the dark path they were heading down. "My name is Gajeel." That was it, the door was open.

Levy's face lit up and was warmed by a small smile despite herself. There was a profound kindness, mixed with victorious excitement on this woman's face that could have slain Gajeel on the spot. In fact, it might have. God damnit, what is this… He thought, resisting the urge to clutch his chest. Why am I humoring her? He'd be lying if he tried to say he wasn't curious or that he wasn't intrigued by her. If anything she was good enough to use for a little entertainment, a break in his routine until she disappeared for good, eventually realizing that normal life was a little more appropriate than spending time with a literal monster.

"Quit lookin' so pleased, shrimp. You gonna show me what you brought or not." He finally said, putting his hands on his sides.

Levy looked flustered, as though she had forgotten about the food she so loudly proclaimed ownership of earlier. She set down he flashlight on the desk next to her, angling it such that it could provide them both with enough ambient light. She slid the pack off her back and pulled the creaky chair from the desk to set it on. From inside she pulled out four individually wrapped items. "I…I didn't know how many to bring and I ended up not having enough bread for more than this so I hope it's okay." Levy said apologetically, setting one to the side and extending the other three towards him.

"That's, that's fine." He mumbled, reaching out to take them from her. As he leaned more into the light, Levy's eyes wandered. His body had very human definition, but in this light, she could see that his skin was most definitely metal. In fact, it looked like he had scales. When he took the sandwiches from her hands, she could feel cold, smooth fingers brush against hers. His hands are so much bigger than mine. She noted, looking up now towards his face, of which she had a better look now in the light. So human. Aside from the red eyes and metal flesh, he had a remarkably human face. Studs decorated his features, along his brow, down either side of his nose, and trailing down below his mouth.

"You gonna take a picture or what?" He growled, snapping Levy from her thoughts. The girl looked away quickly, blushing furiously from embarrassment.

"Sorry!" She quipped, scrambling for her sandwich.

"Nah that's fine, stare at the monster." He growled sarcastically, "You can run whenever ya feel like it, kid." He slapped on a taunting grin, flashing dangerous fangs.

"I'm not gonna run." Levy responded, not making eye contact.

Gajeel huffed, and in one dramatic motion folded a leg and plopped down on the floor to sit. The loud, hard thud on the floor startled Levy a little, but after a moment she followed suit, a few feet from him. Gajeel eyed her intently while unwrapping one of the sandwiches, and half of it disappeared in one bite. Damn these are good. "What're you even doin' out here by yourself? Ya got nothin' better to do than come out looking for trouble?" He asked with his mouth full.

Levy mused over it for several moments while she chewed. Honestly, why am I even here? I haven't even planned this far ahead, what am I supposed to do here? She thought. "I'm curious." She said finally, glancing at him for a reaction. He was still staring at her intently, and she felt uneasy under that intense gaze. "To be honest. I wanted to know more…about this place, you." She added, and her trailing tone indicating that she hadn't finished her thought yet. "And last night you could have…." She looked down at her hands, "And you didn't. And Lucy told me that they found me outside." She looked up now, making eye contact again. "I definitely blacked out at the stairs."

Gajeel huffed again, "I didn't need a dead girl in here 's all. If I left ya, they would have come snooping around again." He said flippantly, shoving the rest of the first sandwich in his mouth.

Levy wrinkled her nose, "I don't buy that." She stated bluntly and took another bite.

This girl was something else. She had no qualms now with calling him out. "Ya callin' me a liar?" He shot back.

She stiffened, shaking her head, vigorously. "N-no! I just, I just don't think that's it." Annnnd it still sounds like I'm calling him a liar. She scolded herself.

Gajeel felt a chuckle rise in him, but strangled it before he could make a sound. "You're totally sure of that, shrimp?"

"Stop calling me that! I gave you my name." She protested. "And I'm not that short…" She added under her breath.

"You're fuckin' tiny." Gajeel said without missing a beat. The desperate whine that escaped her unexpectedly twisted his stomach with a feeling that startled him. In a very–at this point–practiced manner, he ignored it.

Levy couldn't think of what to say back, and instead focused on finishing her food with a heavy pout on her face. The growing comfort of the situation was not lost on her, however. The longer she sat here, the more she felt comfortable. And that brought a sense of boldness with the questions she was dying to have answered.

"How long have you been here…?" Levy asked slowly, knowing that now she was delving into heavier conversation.

It was hard to tell, but it looked like Gajeel stiffened, narrowing his eyes a little in her direction. His gaze was prying, looking for any shred of malice, anything that would give him a reason not to trust her. But really, he had already decided there was nothing like that when he told her his name.

He let out a tired sigh, looking to the floor. "Well…I started here at…18." He held out a hand and started counting fingers. "The project lasted, three years," He looked up to Levy, brows furrowed, "What year is it?"

She was taken aback at the question, but she didn't want to stop him. "It's October, 2015."

"Oh." He rolled his shoulders, looking like he was battling something internally. "Must be about three years since it went to shit."

"Six years?" Levy breathed, her chest twisting in absolute pity. "You've been here for six years?" Another realization stuck, "You've been alone for three?" He must be so lonely…that's the only reason he's letting me be here.

"I don't need any of your pity, shrimp, so you can put that shit away." Gajeel snapped, "Ain't you out past your bedtime, anyway?"

Levy shifted anxiously, that was him ending the topic and truly he had every right to. There were answers she wanted, but they were his to give. She peeked at her phone inside her bag. It's already almost nine? She thought, considering again how little thought she had put into this, because now she had to walk back.

"I guess I should…" She said, before laughing nervously and rubbing the back of her head, "I haven't really slept much." Gajeel glanced at the bandage on her head and frowned.

The hell you feel bad for? It was her own damn fault. He thought, huffing again.

"Hey, Gajeel?"

The man of iron jumped a little, the sound of his own name leaving him taken aback. It sounds really nice coming from her… He thought, shaking his head quickly. "What?" He snapped.

"Could I, uh, would it be alright if I came back? Tomorrow maybe? I can, I can bring more food." Levy asked nervously, wringing her hands.

The surprises just kept coming. And it took him a moment to process what she was asking him. She…she wants to come back? Here? He thought incredulously. He wanted to think it was a trick–a lie–because why the hell would someone like her want to come here even twice, let alone three times. How could someone like her, someone so small and fragile, willingly choose to spend time with a monster?

"Whatever, shorty." He tried to sound nonchalant. But truthfully, the idea of having company was more than appealing to him. "But you better not tell anyone, anyone about it, ya hear? You come alone or else!" Gajeel barked, and Levy nodded vigorously in response.

"I promise!" She replied, overly excited that he had even said yes.

"And you don't need to bring food if you don't have enough…" He added, scratching the back of his head with a finger.

"But don't you–" Levy started to say, interrupted when he stood up suddenly, shocking her again with his height. He stepped away into the darkness, and she had started to protest when she heard something break, and he came back into the light.

He held something out for her to see, and it looked like a piece of machine. Her curious face asked the question for her, "Iron." He declared, and proceeded, much to Levy's absolute shock, to take bites from it like it was a cracker. There he was, chowing down on an actual piece of iron.

"Is…that what you eat?" Levy asked incredulously.

"If I hafta." He mumbled back, his mouth full.

"Okay." Levy responded, and she could have smacked herself for such a lame answer. She instead chose to get to her feet and gather her things, feeling like she had been here too long.

Gajeel picked up on her movements and hastily added, "Thanks. For the food."

Levy smiled again, and Gajeel felt the intruding warmth in his chest once more. "That took long enough. We're even now." Levy swung her pack over her shoulder and picked up her light.

"It's this way," He grumbled, deciding it best to not let her wander around trying to find her way out. The last thing he needed was for her to hurt herself again.

Gajeel turned, beckoned with his hand, and cleared the room towards the exit. Truthfully, he could have found it with his eyes closed. Levy, however, was not as graceful; he could hear her kick a few chairs or whatever else while trying to keep up with him, and he could not help the amusement at her whispered curses.

Levy could hear the sound of crickets getting louder and smell fresher air at the entrance and shined her light outside. Gajeel looked from the little woman to the darkness into which she was to navigate. There was a burn in his chest that rose at the thought of her getting back by herself, "You regrettin' coming back here alone yet?" He tried to joke, but the brief moment of hesitation from Levy struck him with a pang of guilt.

"I'll be fine!" She said as confidently as she could, "It's not too far, really." She added, her confidence wavering.

"Y'know there are bears out here, right?" He added, not directly trying to frighten her, but it was the result regardless.

"Yep." Levy answered, tight-lipped. "I just gotta make a lot of noise and they wont bother me." She declared, straightening up and puffing her chest out a little. The woman spun on her heel and looked up to Gajeel, "I'll be back tomorrow when I can." She said, smiling at him for reassurance.

"Don't matter either way to me, shorty." Gajeel huffed, crossing his arms leaning backwards into his ruins.

"Levy." She correctly sharply, before giving a quick nod, and turning to march off into the darkness. "Oh, and one more thing," She looked back over her shoulder, "I don't think you're a monster." And before he could answer, she was headed off.

You'll be fine Levy. Seriously, you haven't seen one in ages. She thought, trying really hard to give herself confidence and not scold herself too much for thinking it was a good idea to come here alone. At night.

It was a poor decision, yes, but she didn't regret coming here again. The information she had learned tonight tore her up inside. Three years by himself? And the other three…what did they do to him? Levy couldn't rid herself of the thoughts, and the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to go back. He's been alone all this time, and he's so angry but he also afraid. He's terrified of being found out… She continued to muse, smacking her flashlight on bushes occasionally to keep making noise.

And he's mean, and rude. But I think…I think he really doesn't want to be alone. That maybe he does think he has to keep hiding, but he doesn't want to be completely alone. And the idea continued to break her heart.

Levy was so deep into her own head that it took a moment for her to realize that she heard something rustling in the vegetation around her.

Her body went cold and her stomach dropped to her feet. Oh my god, oh my god, make noise Levy, you make noise for your life! Levy immediately began flailing her arms in the air, probably looking like a lunatic, and started shouting. "No!" Was the first thing out of her mouth, followed by incoherent screaming. Aren't you supposed to say something like 'shoo bear?'

From the bushes emerged nothing more than a lanky coyote, watching her fixedly. Not a bear! She thought with intense relief, before realizing at the animal was still staring at her, and not backing off. Which could still be a problem. Coyotes are flighty though. Slowly, Levy kneeled down, keeping her eyes on the canine, and picked up a rock at her feet. The girl straightened, winding up to throw.

Before she could, a dark, snarling blur flew by her and an unspeakably intense crash followed. The yip of the coyote filled the air before it raced into the darkness, fearing for its life. The departure of one threat would have left Levy feeling relieved, were it not for the fact that something else was now with her. Something much larger than the coyote.

It took her a moment to register, but she could see a hunched metallic form with a fist embedded in the earth a mere foot from where the canine had been standing seconds before.

A deep growl filled the air and Levy shook, moving backwards slightly. "You're damn useless, shrimp." His rough voice brought her to her senses, and she stared at him in disbelief.

"Gajeel…?" She choked out.

The man stood and quickly closed the distance between them and towered over her. She could have sworn she saw his eyes sweep over her briefly. "It wasn't even a damn bear and you're out here screamin' bloody murder for the world to hear, like you were…" He trailed off, frustrated. "I'm walking you home so you don't end up dead out here. That's the last damn thing I need." Gajeel declared, giving her little room to object.

Frightened, and with her hands clutched to her chest holding the rock she planned to throw, Levy nodded quickly. She absolutely wasn't going to object, because somehow the woods were more frightening than he had been at any point tonight.

Calm yourself down, god damnit. He scolded himself, trying to steady his breathing and unclench his fists. The screaming and shouting were clear as day all the way at the lab for someone with hearing like his, and he was already halfway here nearly downing trees in his wake before he had realized what he was doing. What did I do?! My body just moved on its own… Gajeel clenched his teeth. I didn't…I couldn't let her…

"I-it's this way," Levy broke him from his thoughts, awkwardly gesturing, "I'm pretty sure anyway." Gajeel nodded silently, and moved to follow her.

The quiet was unsettling, and she kept glancing over her shoulder at him. His arms were crossed, looking like they were locked there, and his gaze focused ahead past her. Levy swallowed hard, looking forward again.

The rest of the walk was in painful silence, until the yellow light of the street lamps finally started to seep through the greenery. Levy smiled in relief, stepping into the open. The blunette looked up the empty street, motioning to the line of houses. "Mine is that one, at the end. I should be fine from–" As she turned back to face him, she could see that he had fallen far behind. All the way to the tree line in fact, refusing to come into the open.

Regardless, he looked to the small house in the distance, at the end of the well-lit street. Fitting. It's tiny too. He thought.

Looking back to meet her gaze, Gajeel nodded and took a step backwards.

"Thank you, again." Levy called, turning to fully face him and hold a hand to her chest in earnest. "I promise I'll come back." Levy smiled. "In daylight this time." An unreadable expression crossed his features and he faltered.

Don't come. Stay away, just don't…

Levy finally heard him grunt in acknowledgement, and melt wordlessly into the dark. Did I do something? She thought, pausing a moment before she turned to walk into the deserted street, longing for her own bed.