Chapter 7
Lucy's eyes stayed wide, and her body remained frozen as she was quite literally caught in Gajeel's hold. His eyes were searing into hers as a snarl pulled at his lips. She didn't move. She couldn't move, she could barely handle breathing at that moment.
"I asked you a question, Bunny-girl." He growled lowly as he picked up the ten-dollar bill, holding it in front of her face as he crouched in front of her.
She gulped nervously, and she tried pulling her hand away again, only for his grip to become tighter. "I-I…" Her voice caught in her throat. She felt like she couldn't breathe, and she could feel the burning of tears in the back of her eyes. The longer he glared at her, the harder it was to breath.
Gajeel growled out a sigh as he saw the panic start to fill her eyes. "Calm down wouldya? I aint gonna hurt you."
She blinked at him as she swallowed thickly. "W-what are you gonna do?"
"I'm gonna make you a deal." He watched her face for a minute, before he lowered the hand that was holding the bill, and leaned his face closer to her. "If you tell me why you were tryin' ta steal my money, who it was who gave you those bruises, and you tell me honestly, then I won't call the cops on ya."
She gulped, her eyes wide in fear. What was she supposed to do? "Y-you wouldn't!"
"Believe me, Bunny-girl." He narrowed his eyes at her. "I've known something is up with you for a long time, and if I have to call the cops on you to find out what it is, then I'll fucking do it."
Lucy's gut sunk in defeat. When she was younger, she had gone to the police. They said they needed proof, and they sent a social worker to her house, interviewing and observing her father. Her father knew what was happening, so he acted like a normal, caring, and loving father. They said she cried wolf, so the case was dropped. Her father never forgave her for it either. If Gajeel did call the police, she had a feeling that it wouldn't go over well, with them or her father, and that terrified her.
Lucy breathed out a sigh as a tear spilled over on her cheek. Her posture slumped in defeat on the floor as she stared into Gajeel's unwavering eyes. She felt vulnerable under his scrutiny, but at the same time she felt safe. Here was someone who was always looking out for her in his own way. She knew that he already suspected the truth, with the way he barged into her house the other day. That in itself made her feel like she could trust him. The fact that he barged into her house, completely prepared to face anything she was dealing with, it gave her a sense of protection.
Right now, she was at her lowest, and she didn't want anyone to see her like this. But, if anyone was to see her so exposed, Gajeel would be the only person she would feel comfortable with knowing. She could see that he wanted to help her, so maybe she should just reach out and let him know what was going on. It wouldn't be easy, but it was the better option at this point.
"Can we talk somewhere else?" She whispered as she let her walls fall down. She let him see her exhaustion, her defeat.
Gajeel's eyes softened when he saw her body break down. He saw the helplessness in her eyes, and he knew he was the reason for that. She was obviously at a low point in her life, and she wouldn't shoulder her pain on anyone else. He knew the broken look in her eyes, and he hated it, but if this was the only way to get her to open up to someone, then he wouldn't feel bad for backing her into a corner like this. "Alright." He held up the bill again. "First, tell me what you were gonna do with this."
She blushed in embarrassment as she stared at the bill. "I was gonna buy food."
Gajeel hummed as he glanced outside. "Let's get some food." He stood up and outstretched his hand towards her. "Then we'll talk."
She stared at his hand for a minute, before she sighed and accepted it. "Okay."
They sat on a bench, in a small park near the orphanage, watching Plue run around. Lucy had scarfed her food down with no shame, with Gajeel watching her intently. Then, they walked to the small park, where Gajeel was waiting for answers, and Lucy was trying to figure out how to tell him. He could tell that she was having trouble, so he decided to make it easier with simple questions.
"Who's been hurtin' you, Bunny-girl?"
She took a deep breath, finally ready to give him her answer, yet it still came out as a whisper. "My dad."
He nodded, all of his suspicions proven to be correct. He clenched his jaw as his hands curled into fists. Leaning his elbows on his knees, he let his eyes rest on Plue as he asked through clenched teeth, "Is he waiting for you at home?"
She shook her head even though he couldn't see her. "No. He left. He…I thought he was going to come back for me, but he never did."
He leaned back and looked at her. Her hands were twisting in her lap as she stared at them, sadness in her eyes. Did she…does she still love her father? "Do you want that fucker to come back for ya?"
She looked up at him in surprise, before she looked back down. "I don't know. Last night, I came home to find all my stuff on the porch, an eviction notice on the door. I waited for him, I thought that he would come back to take me somewhere else, somewhere new to call home. I just… thought he would come back."
"Yer homeless?" He asked in shock. He closed his eyes when she nodded, he wasn't expecting that. The fact that she had faithfully waited for that bastard to show up for her made his heart clench. He was obviously someone she relied on, even though he continuously hurt her. She even stayed loyal to him, waiting for him to give her a roof over her head. But the bastard abandoned her, left her in order to take care of himself. He wished he had known this sooner; then maybe there would be something he could do. He wanted to take her in, but him and his Pops were living in a one-bedroom apartment, barely making it by as it is. If he took her in, they wouldn't be able to afford it. He was about to reach for his phone to call one of his friends, but then he remembered the promise he made her. He promised to keep this between the two of them. She had put her trust in him, and he'd be damned if he broke that trust. Her voice broke him from his thoughts.
"That's why I tried to steal from you. I'm sorry for that."
"Just…" He sighed as she shook his head. He didn't really know where his thoughts were at. "Have ya found a place to stay?"
She nodded her head, but didn't give any more information. He raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
"Where at?"
She look at Plue again, and smiled slightly. "A nice place. It's not quite home, but it will be."
He just grunted and crossed his arms over his chest. How the hell wasn't she balling her eyes out, or cursing the world? She was sitting there with a fucking smile on her face. The hell was wrong with her? Here he was, wanting to go find the bastard she called her father and beat his fucking ass, just from knowing about it. And there she was, sitting there with a smile on her face, having lived through it. He didn't fucking understand.
"Thanks, Gaj."
His eyes snapped open at her hushed words, and he look her dead in the eyes. "Fer what?"
She stood up and brushed her butt off. "For keeping this between us. And for giving a shit, I guess."
He grunted, standing up as well, and placing his hand on her shoulder. She raised her eyebrow as he just stared at her. He didn't know what to do, didn't know what to say. He didn't know how he could help her without breaking her trust completely. "Promise me somethin'."
She tilted her head. "What?"
He narrowed his eyes at her, making sure that she knew just how serious he was. "Promise me that when you need something, anything, you come to me. Don't care what it is. If you need some goddamn toilet paper, you come to me. Need to talk about something that's bugging you, or you got a problem, fucking tell me. Got it?"
She stared at him with wide eyes. What had she done to make him care for her? She didn't do anything nice or friendly towards him, so she didn't understand why he cared so much. She remembered a feeling that Natsu had given her once, and she craved it again. So, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. She felt his body tense for a minute before he relaxed, but he made no move to return the hug. With slight disappointment at not getting the feeling she did with Natsu, she stepped back and gave him a small smile. "I promise." He gave her a curt nod, and she turned to make her way over to Plue. She clipped on his leash, and gave Gajeel a small wave before she set off to go back to her sewer.
Gajeel watched her leave while he growled quietly to himself. It was really fucking late, and the streets were dark and empty. He fucking hated that he made her that promise, now there was nothing he could do. Right before her figure disappeared, he ran a hand down his face and muttered a "Damnit" before he moved to silently follow her.
Lucy sighed as she plopped down in the sewer, Plue settling down right next to her. She pulled her knees up to her chest as she tried to relax. It was pitch black outside, and it was eerily silent. She had wanted to buy a few things to make this tunnel a little more…well, less scary. But she didn't have any more money. She reached into her bag and got out the small flashlight. With the small light, she rummaged through the two bags full of her things, hoping to come up with something useful. She wanted a blanket since it was getting cold, but it seemed like all that was in the bags, were clothes. She sighed and bunched up a few articles of clothing, and laid them on the ground. She grabbed some more and laid on the pile of clothes, pulling the others over her. It felt weird and it didn't really help much, but it was the best she could do right then. She turned off the flashlight and with Plue curling up next to her, she closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep.
Her mind wouldn't turn off though. The longer she laid there, the more uneasy she felt. Her heart beat picked up when she opened her eyes only to see complete darkness.
A small whimper escaped her when she heard footsteps above her tunnel. She sat upright and grabbed her flashlight, hugging it close to her chest as she tried to listen. The footsteps stopped, along with her heart. Her eyes were bugged out, trying to see better in the dark, but it didn't help. Plue was fast asleep, so she gently nudged him to wake him up. Shakily, she held the flashlight at arm's length, and turned it on.
A scream ripped from her throat when she saw red eyes staring back at her. Plue immediately started barking and growling, and the figure covered its ears.
"Oi! Stop screamin', will ya?!"
Her breath left her in relief at the familiar voice, and she shone the light on the figure again. "Gajeel." She breathed out, and she grabbed for Plue, silencing him as she hugged him to her chest. "What are you doing here?"
He scowled as he ducked into the tunnel and plopped down next to her. "You said you found a nice place. This aint a nice place, Bunny-girl."
Lucy sat up to settle next to the man, his presence bringing her much needed comfort. "It's nice enough for me."
He just shook his head, but made no other response as he sat there, his arm resting on his one propped knee. Lucy put the flashlight on the floor, the light hitting the opposite wall of the tunnel, giving just enough light for them to be able to see each other.
When he didn't say anything for a while, Lucy pulled a t-shirt closer around her arms as she decided to ask him again. "Why are you here?"
He shifted to look at her, noting her slightly shivering frame. "I didn't like not knowing where you were staying."
Her lips lifted upwards. "Well, you know now, so why are you still here?"
"It's fucking late. I aint walking that far. I'm tired." He grumbled, growling slightly when he heard a small giggled come from beside him. They sat in silence for a while, Plue having fallen asleep by their feet. He glanced at her again, and sighed when he saw her head lolling slightly as she shivered. A second later, her head would jerk back up to look around, then her eyes would flutter again.
She squeaked when she felt herself being picked up, and her eyebrows scrunched when she was placed on Gajeel's lap. He wrapped his arms around her as her back sunk into his chest. "What are you doing?"
"Yer cold and scared. I'll look out for ya, so go to sleep."
"You don't have to." She protested.
"Don't care."
She sighed. She was honestly a lot comfier and warm. She felt her eyelids droop again, and this time she didn't jerk back up to look at her surroundings. Knowing that he was protecting her made her feel at ease, and sleep came easily as she laid her head back against his chest.
Sigh, I freaking love Gajeel.
Sorry for the total lack of updates, but Megacon was this week. and I just had to go. I went as Plue, which was fun, but a lot of people thought I was Olaf. Oh well. Got to see the English voice actors of Fairy Tail, so that was fun.
Anyways, I'll be updating now that that fun is over. I love you guys! Muah!
