Chapter 10

Gajeel grunted softly as he laid a slumbering Lucy down on a stuffy, old mattress. He pulled an old blanket over her before he stood up. He sighed as he watched her sleep peacefully, a pink hue to her cheeks that he knew meant she caught a cold. His eyes drifted to her dog as he plopped down right next to his owner.

"What the fuck am I gonna do?" He mumbled quietly to himself before he uncrossed his arms and walked to the door of the car garage. He had taken her to his family's work place, since they lived in the back of the garage. He had pulled out an old mattress that they had been using to block the windows. His dad shouldn't be back home until tomorrow, so hopefully they would be on their way to school by then. That way, he would have time to figure out what to tell his dad.

He ran his fingers down the bridge of his nose before he made sure the garage door was locked, then he made his way inside to go to sleep.

Lucy's had throbbed as she regained consciousness. She really didn't wanna wake up.

*Click*

Her eyes snapped open at the sound, and her heart practically stopped when the barrel of a revolver greeted her. A scream ripped out of her throat, and she scrambled backwards off the mattress, right into a metal shelf. She put her hand on the top of her cheek that collided with the edge of the shelf, ignoring the way it stung, and looked at the man who was aiming the gun at her. He had deep, red eyes and unruly black hair. He was very muscular and tan, his features chiseled like a sculpture. If she wasn't so scared right then, she would think he was really hot…for an older guy.

"Who the hell are you, and why are you trespassing in my shop?" He deep, gruff voice demanded, and she flinched at the harshness of it.

She put her other hand on Plue when he started to growl low in his throat, and suddenly it clicked in her mind who the man was. "M-Mr. Gajeel?"

The man's head cocked to side, just as the door to the garage busted open. "Dad!" Gajeel shouted, clearly having just woken up since he only had sweat pants on. "Chill your shit!"

His dad didn't lower the gun as he watched Gajeel run over to the girl on the floor. "You okay, bunny?" He whispered as he gently removed her hand from her cheek. He grunted at the blood that started to trickle down her face, and he turned a hard glare to his dad. "For fuck's sake, you didn't have ta scare the living shit outta her!"

His dad warily lowered the gun and returned his son's glare. "Explain."

Gajeel sighed and grabbed a rag from the shelf, making sure it was clean before he pressed it against her cheek. "She needed a place ta sleep. She's a friend."

His dad let out a huff through his nose. "Get inside, girl."

Lucy blinked at him as he went inside the house, and she looked over at Gajeel. "Your dad is…"

"Scary?" He smirked, taking the rag off as she nodded. "Sorry 'bout that. He's really a big softie, ya just caught 'im off guard." He held his hand out for her, and pulled her up. "Trust me, he'll like ya."

"…Okay." She decided to trust him, seeing as it was his dad and all, and let Gajeel lead her into the house with Plue walking right beside her legs. The man frankly freaked her the hell out, but her head was throbbing and her cheek stung, and she just wanted some pain killers.

The inside of the house was small, very rustic, and had metal art all over the walls. The living room was the first room they stepped into, which consisted of an armchair and a coffee table…nothing else. The next room they stepped in was the kitchen, which had a table with four chairs, where Gajeel's dad had the first aid kit on the table.

He looked up from the table when they walk in, and motioned for them to sit down. When they did, he scooted Lucy's chair closer to him, smirking when she let out a small squeak, and started cleaning the gash on her cheek. "What's yer name, kid? Or should I call you bunny?"

She blushed in embarrassment, purposely avoiding his deep, red eyes. "Lucy." She mumbled. "What's yours?"

"Metalicana." He rumbled as he opened a butterfly bandage and placed it tightly over the gash.

"Can I just call you Mr. Gajeel?" She asked, not really wanting to have to call him that mouthful of a name.

The man chuckled and glanced at his son who had his head on his arms on the table. "Sure thing, kid. So, tell me. What shitty situation are you in that you had to sleep in my shitty garage? Hm?"

"U-um…" She stumbled, looking at Gajeel for help, but the guy only raised his eyebrows at her. She swallowed before she looked back into the man's eyes. "I was drinking, and I live pretty far away. Gajeel saw me walking home and let me crash here."

"Uh-huh." Metalicana raised an eyebrow. "Get into a bar fight?"

Her eyebrows pinched together. "What?"

He gestured to her face. "You got bruises for days. I know I sure as hell didn't cause those."

"O-Oh…Um, no. Those are from something else." She blushed and looked down at the floor.

Metalicana tried to look at his son for answers, but he was just staring at the wall, not making eye contact with anyone. "Go ahead and grab anything you want to eat, kid. Gajeel, I need your help in the garage."

Gajeel raised an eyebrow at his dad and reluctantly got up to follow him when he realized what the fuck he was doing. "Sit tight, bunny."

Once they were in the garage, Metalicana turned to face his son and crossed his arms. "Tell me the fuckin' truth right now."

Gajeel ran a hand down his face. "I promised her I wouldn't, dad. I ain't gonna break her trust."

Metalicana stared hard at his son, not used to him sticking by someone the way he was. "Just skirt around it then. Is she in trouble?"

Gajeel sighed, he figured he could play this game. "Yes."

The older man nodded. "Got someone close to her that's hurting her?"

Damn, his dad was smart as fuck. "Not anymore."

The man nodded again, his eyes drifting to the girl's backpack next to the mattress. "She livin' on the streets?"

Gajeel only sighed and gave his dad a pointed look.

"Got it, ya don't gotta say it." They both stared at each other, arms crossed, for a while, before the older man gestured around them. "We don't got room, son."

Gajeel growled. "All she needs is that fucking corner."

"And you expect her to put the mattress over the windows and back on the floor every damn day and night?" Metalicana huffed. "With her injuries, she couldn't lift a chair."

"Fuckin' leave it on the floor! Or I'll fuckin' do it!" Gajeel fumed. "There ain't no reason she should go back to the way she's livin' now! This goddamn, shitty corner, is a fuckin' hotel compared to that!"

"Alright!" The older man shouted. "Shit! Fine! But I'm gonna be layin' down a few rules for her."

"Yeah, yeah." Gajeel smirked. "Just, let me talk to her first."

Metalicana nodded. "Get on with it then."

"Impatient bastard." Gajeel grumbled as he turned to go back into the house.

"Ungrateful twat."

Gajeel just rolled his eyes at his old man's childish comeback, and made his way back to Lucy. When they got in the kitchen, they saw Lucy feeding Plue some packaged deli turkey. Gajeel raised an eyebrow. "Please tell me you ate first."

Lucy blushed and puffed out her cheeks. "He was hungrier than me."

"Bunny…" Gajeel growled, but he stopped himself. "Come on. I wanna talk to you."

Lucy looked at him curiously, but nodded and followed him out of the room anyway.

"I hope you saved some fer me, mutt." Metalicana mumbled as he sat down and stared at Plue, who just licked his lips and panted happily.

"Gajeel?" Lucy asked as they stopped by the door.

Gajeel sighed and turned to face her. "I kept yer promise, Bunny. I didn't tell my dad 'bout ya. But…He's an intuitive bastard and figured it out on his own." He scratched the back of his head when her eyes widened in fear. "He offered fer ya to stay here, on that mattress. He has a few conditions, but…Bunny, it'd be a roof over yer head."

Lucy shook her head. "G-Gajeel…I-I can't!"

"Why the hell not?" He growled, glaring at her.

She took a deep breath, trying to blink back the tears that wanted to fall. She shook her head again and stepped forward, plunking her forehead on Gajeel's chest. The man only blinked and looked down at the top of her head. "Y-You've already done s-so much for me. L-Like, more than anyone ever has. I-I don't like being indebted to anyone. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you. I just d-don't know how to feel about this."

Gajeel sighed and wrapped his arms around her. "Bunny, yer sweet as hell, but fuckin' stupid." When he felt her stiffen, he put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back to look at her. "You clearly don't understand how friends work. Why don't you chill the fuck out, and learn how friends help each other. Let me fuckin' help you, Bunny. Or do you not consider me a friend?"

She sniffled and shook her head. "You're my friend, Gajeel."

His lips twitched up at her words, and he ruffled her hair. "It's settled then. Yer stayin' here. I'll get yer stuff after school. Now, c'mon." He turned her around and pushed her towards the kitchen. "Let my dad lay down his ground rules."

Lucy sighed and put her fist in front of her chest in nervousness. Her heart swelled at the generous offer Gajeel and his dad presented her with, and she couldn't help the wave of happiness that washed over her at the thought of having a nice place to sleep.

When they walked into the kitchen, Lucy's heart beat picked up ten-fold, and locking eyes with Gajeel's father didn't help one bit.

"So, girl. Wanna stay here?" The older man got right to the point, plopping a slab of turkey into his mouth a second later.

Lucy swallowed and nodded. "I-If it wouldn't be too much trouble."

The older man smirked at her. "Rule number one, kid: No more lyin'."

Her face burned bright red in embarrassment, and it only got brighter when Gajeel whispered in her ear, "told ya he was intuitive as fuck."

"Rule number two." The older man continued. "If I see one more mark on your skin, I'm takin' ya to a doctor."

Her eyes widened in shock, and she mutely nodded.

"Rule number three: On the weekends, after school, ya help Gajeel or me out in the shop." He popped another bite of turkey into his mouth as he eyed her shocked expression. "Ya get good enough, ya might even land a job with me."

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish. She didn't know what to say, this man barely knew her and he was going to do all of this for her? Her tears burned anew as she looked into his intense eyes…but now, she couldn't help but see a strong gentleness within them.

"Last rule: Ya get back here by midnight every night. That's yer curfew. Got it?"

"I-I…" She stumbled forward, and before she could even think about what she was doing, she engulfed the man in a hug, ignored the searing pain that shot through her body at the action. "T-Thank you so much!" Her tears fell freely down her face, and they only fell harder when the man returned her hug. "I-I'll do anything you ask me to!"

The older man chuckled and glanced at his son, who was smiling. "Then no worries, kid. I know you'll be fine here." He patted her back and stood up, breaking the hug. "Now get goin'. Not bein' late fer school is another rule I forgot to mention."

"O-Okay." She smiled and wiped her tears. "C-Come on, Plue." The dog barked and wagged his tail happily as he followed his owner back out to the garage.

Gajeel sighed and looked at his father. "Thanks, old man. I really owe ya one."

The older man grunted and leaned his cheek on his fist. "I didn't get why ya cared fer her so much before…but I get it now. Whether or not ya owe me anythin', son…that girl deserves a roof over her cute fuckin' head."

Gajeel chuckled. "Damn straight, pops. Now gimme that fuckin' turkey. She still din't fuckin' eat."

Aww, big brother Gajeel is just the sweetest.

I know I haven't put much NaLu interaction in this yet, but next chapter definitely will have alot.

I got a dog! shes the best! and currently trying to get my attention. My life is finally picking up! I explained everything that was going on in my last story update, but now I think things are going much better, and I hope to keep the updates coming! Thanks so much for your support and patience! It helps me soo much, you have no idea!

I love you guys! My dog licks you!