His jaw had been broken. Gajeel felt the disconnect the second the stone bowl had made contact with the side of his cheek as he walked through the apartment door. It swelled immediately as he fell to the ground, his hands cradling his face in agony, while blood spilled out of his pierced open mouth upon the tiled kitchen floor. Quickly he began to clean up the mess while still on his knees using the dish towel she had thrown at him. He could hear the apology muttered under her breath, with great force, as she took another swig from her glass of amber liquid. Drunk again he thought; trying desperately to pull his attention away from the excruciating pain he was feeling. Gajeel looked up at his fiance, as pain shot through his face like hot firecrackers, with regret in his eyes. He had come home late from work again and though he knew he should have called first his hopes had made him forgetful. You said this was done the last time-that you were truly sorry for it he wanted to say but words could not leave his lips with his jaw currently working with his healing abilities to piece itself back together again. At this rate he wouldn't be able to open his mouth for another three days.
"Thought you were an intruder. Should announce yourself next time." Roxane said as Gajeel stood gingerly from the ground and moved to place the blood drenched towel into the kitchen sink but stopped when he noticed the overflowing dishes. "Yeah it was your turn remember dumbass." She took another swig from her glass and looked at him as though waiting for a response; for the fight she so fiercely wanted to begin. He wouldn't take the bait; couldn't actually. His red eyes drifted down to Roxane's other hand which still held the stone key bowl that she had decked him with. She followed his gaze and laughed "What are you scared?" Roxane lifted the bowl as though to strike him again which caused Gajeel to flinch. "What kinda bouncer are you anyways?! Six foot something beast afraid of a little woman? Hit me back you piece of shit!"
Gajeel looked at her, the woman he thought he loved and had been with for over three years. He still thought Roxane was beautiful but something had changed in her. Some days he wondered why he stayed; those were days and nights like tonight. Then there were the occasional few days, sometimes weeks, when she was clean and smiling and treated him with all the kindness in the world. He lived for those times.
Gajeel opened his mouth to try to speak but closed it as he felt the electrifying pain and vomit rolling up his throat. You don't hit women he wanted to say but backed away from her towards the door. "Yeah that's what I thought!" she screamed "I don't want you here anyways so get lost! Worthless son of a-" He had almost made it through the door. Gajeel tried to reach for his phone and keys on the side table but regretted it as the stone bowl connected with the back of his head, followed quickly by her now empty glass. He could feel the blood flowing as he ran through the door, forgetting the items, and towards the stairs down the hall. Gajeel flung himself down them as fast as his legs would allow; trying to not pass out and focus long enough to get away.
Roxane's screams and words echoed across his mindscape when the fresh night air greeted him on the empty streets below. Gajeel started walking with no direction in mind and pulled a black bandana from his jacket pocket to dab at his wounded head. The blood had begun to mat his raven hair. He didn't know what hurt more at that moment his jaw or skull. He walked until his feet felt the most pain and pulled his attention away from the more serious injuries. Six hours bouncing at the bar and seven before that working under the table at a friends factory to pick up some extra cash. All he had wanted to do was take off his boots and lay on the couch with Roxane watching something mindless on the tv. Instead it was almost three in the morning and he was in a town he didn't know and well over an hours walk away.
If only I had been able to grab my phone I could have called a cab or a friend to grab me. Rain began to fall as he walked on and looked around the dark buildings and back alleyways for a place to sit if not sleep for the night. It wouldn't have been the first time he had crashed outside to avoid a fight.
It was then that his eyes fell on the only light in the night still present other than the few remaining street lights. It was an old brick building with a large bay window wrapped in iron. The building stood alone at the end of a block, in the back of an alley, that seemed to have been forgotten by time. Next to the shop was a large courtyard; fenced in with a low iron gate which was connected by another older brick building. He could see as he moved closer that the buildings were connected as well on the side and only broke for the courtyard. A garden in the rough of the city.
Gajeel walked towards the brick building; drawn to it like a moth to a flame. The painted sign on the glass front read simply 'Cafe' in a blue script that reminded him of the calm of the ocean. From within, before he even reached for the door, he could smell the fresh food and his mouth watered as a painful reminder that his jaw was still slowly healing and he couldn't possibly eat. Gajeel felt his pants pocket and was thankful that his wallet was still there. I might not be able to eat but I can at least get off my feet.
Gajeel took in the small Cafe. The furniture and set up confused him but gave the space a comfortable vibe. None of the tables and chairs matched. Inside the same brick exterior covered the walls of the average sized space though the majority of the left wall had been covered with thick wooden shelves and more books than Gajeel thought he had read in his life thus far. The ceiling was exposed wooden beams with black metal brackets and a small counter stretched in front of the book wall, with a metal countertop, before stopping at an open door frame to, he guessed, the kitchen in the back.
She sat behind the counter with a worn paperback book in her hands and read each line hungrily. The bells on the front door twinkled softly alerting her that a new customer had entered but she didn't lift her head; she was in too deep and had gone too far. Levy's Cafe was her sanctuary for herself and those like her. Insomniacs. Although she liked to call it 'too curious to sleep'. She only ever needed a few hours. Sometimes three, sometimes the rare six, but normally it didn't matter; her books called for her attention more than her dreams.
"I'll be right with you. Just sit where you like!" her voice chimed from behind the counter as she turned another page. Gajeel could see she was close to finishing her book and didn't want to bother her. He felt like he had been enough of a bother today.
None of the tables and chairs matched. There was a couple sharing a meal and beers at a small round metal table by the large front window that displayed the 'Cafe' painted sign that had drawn him in. The girl relaxed back in an overstuffed armchair while the guy leaned forward in his wooden chair to grab at the girls bacon. She laughed. Roxane would not have laughed His eyes did not linger long on the girl nor the woman behind the counter. He had trained himself to avert his eyes from other women out of respect for his own relationship as well as fear.
Gajeel moved around an eldery man sleeping in a rocking chair with a knit blanket carefully placed over him. He could smell chocolate on his breath as he passed and noticed cake crumbs that still resided in his white beard. He wanted to chuckle but his jaw ached so he let a faint smile cross his lips instead. A long red velvet chaise with pillows of varying sizes that had been thrown haphazardly to the one side caught his attention next. It was in the back corner, opposite of the kitchen doorway, and was next to a small, warm, pellet stove. He sank down into the sofa and looked at the coffee table in front of him with a few forgotten books left on its surface. Without a phone to distract him he shrugged and opened one and began to read what was most likely the first book he had picked up in over five years.
Levy had finished her latest novel and smiled as she closed the volume and looked around for her latest customer. She stretched and stood from her stool when her eyes found him deep in a book of his own discovery in the back corner of the room. Levy noticed right away that something was wrong with the tall man covered in piercings and wearing nothing but black. His jawline was bruised deep purple and was cocked at an odd angle. Though his long black hair was wet from the rain she noticed behind him some droplets of blood falling from his head onto the back of the chaise.
This wasn't the first time she had someone wander into her Cafe from the street in rough shape. She walked from around the counter and saw his eyes watch her movement but she kept her distance and checked on the couple near the front first. Was that fear I saw? Fear of me? Levy made small talk with the couple. They had become regulars and she took their cash and wished them a good rest of their night as they walked through the door into the dark night to head home. She bussed their table in silence and listened to the jazz record continue to play from behind the counter with a slight sway in her hips.
Before Gajeel knew it she was there, Levy had placed a paper menu before him and walked away again so silently that he would have missed her presence entirely if not for the slight tap of her wedges on the hardwood. He chanced a glance in her direction and regretted it at once. The small bluenette was beautiful. Her long blue hair, that he now realized matched the shade of the front sign, fell without a care out of an orange hair wrap and an attempted bun. She was small in stature but curvy. The woman wore an oversized light grey sweater that went down to her knees and hung off her one shoulder to reveal a small white tattoo on her back shoulder blade as she walked towards the older gentleman in the rocking chair who had begun to stir.
Gajeel looked down and studied the simple menu. There were a few beers and mostly breakfast items. The top read 'The Blue Cafe sit wherever and stay till whenever. Mostly open from 2-6 when the owner can't sleep. Cash Only.' When Gajeel looked up from the menu she was standing before him but looking at the book in his hand instead of his eyes; as though she knew he wasn't ready to meet so formally yet. "That is a good read. I'm Levy, the owner. What will it be?"
Gajeel placed the menu on the coffee table, facing her, and tapped the beer he wanted; his eyes remained downcast. Levy nodded and left again; disappearing through the doorway behind the counter. He returned to the book that had surprisingly peaked his interest and didn't even notice when the beer had appeared before him or that the older gentleman had awoken and left the Cafe. They were alone. Periodically, as he sipped his beer, he would peak out at the small woman known as Levy while she worked. She moved around the small room as though dancing with herself to a song that only she could hear; the record had stopped and was waiting to be changed. Stop looking before you get into trouble.
When Gajeel glanced up again Levy was in front of him once more; holding another beer out for him to take; having noticed that his current was just about empty. Gajeel avoided her eyes and reached for the bottle but she pulled back out of his grasp and wagged her index finger at him instead. "First things first." She pulled a red medical case out from behind her back and placed it on the coffee table in front of him.
It was then that he met her eyes; carmel pools of calm. They were unblinking, and focused on him and him alone. Gajeel shook his head in defiance and felt pain shooting from the top of his head down the back of his spine as well as in his mouth again. Levy watched as he grimaced and leaned back into the pile of pillows. "Hey now don't go passing out on me just yet." Gajeel's vision swam as Levy joined him on the chaise and began to touch the top of his head gingerly. Fresh blood dotted her fingertips. "Shit. Hey now big guy I need you to stay awake I think you have a concussion."
Gajeel tried to open his mouth to speak but felt the electric shock of pain shoot through his mouth and neck which he clutched in agony as a gargling sound escaped his pierced lips from the blood filling his mouth. The small woman was gone from his side with one blink of his eyes and back with another. She was nothing but an unfocused blur of blue now. Levy pressed a cloth of ice to his jaw and apologized when he gasped. There was something different in her words though; she sounded sincere.
"Okay I think we need to go for the extreme here." Gajeel blinked and the woman known as Levy was at the table opening the medical kit. He blinked again and she was cradling his face in her hand and holding a small glowing bottle in the other; bringing it towards his lips. Gajeel shook his head with great difficulty. That potion costs a fortune It was as though she could read his mind. "Don't worry about it, you'll be doing me a favor. It's set to expire in a few months anyways. Besides you will get an infection at the rate you are going."
He moved to stand which she did not stop but rocked on his feet before finally falling back down again. Gajeel turned his face and allowed for Levy to pour the glowing potion past his blood stained lips. His eyes closed in exhaustion and fear as she guided him down onto the pile of pillows; sliding his arms out of his jacket in the process. He felt his legs being lifted onto the other half of the chaise and his boots removed but he had nowhere else to go after all and needed time to heal. "I'll watch over you." she whispered and placed a heavy blanket over his large frame. Gajeel could feel the cool touch of a cloth as she began to clean his head wound and winced as she pulled small fragments of glass from his head and hair. He could feel the potion connecting with his healing abilities and warmth filled his face as he drifted into a comfortable unconsciousness.
Levy closed the Cafe down early for the rest of the night. She drew the thick curtains closed over the large bay window and flipped the sign on the door to 'CLOSED' before turning the locks and pulling the curtain across the glass door as well. She did her normal, end of shift routine but instead of crossing the courtyard and entering her home in the connected brick building in the back she placed a few more pellets into the stove and dragged a reclining armchair over to the sleeping stranger. It had crossed her mind to try to find his wallet and learn his name but she decided that he had been through enough for one night and invading his privacy was the last thing he needed.
Levy opened a new book and pulled a blanket up to her chin. It wasn't long before it fell from her hand and sleep pulled her away as she watched the bruises on the strangers jaw begin to fade away and it reshape back into its proper place. She smiled knowing that she had made the right call.
When Gajeel awoke at first he couldn't remember where he was but then he saw across from him the small bluenette fast asleep in an armchair with a book open on the floor beside her. He sat up and felt the top of his now healed head and moved his mouth open and closed repeatedly without any pain. Right away he felt guilt for what he had done. I shouldn't have come in here. I used her healing potion that had taken her who knows how long to aquire. I could have healed fine in a few days. Damn it. Gajeel looked around the empty Cafe. She had cleaned up and closed early on his behalf. I probably cost her income today as well. Gajeel reached into his pants pocket and looked at the few bills he carried; nowhere near enough to replace the potion. He groaned, ashamed of himself, and placed money for the beer and a sizable tip on the counter by the register.
He pulled on his jacket and boots and turned to leave through the back door but stopped, his hand on the knob, when he heard her moving behind him.
"Are you alright?" she asked before letting out a small yawn. Gajeel could tell she was still in her armchair and was thankful for the distance. He nodded but did not speak to her dismay. There was a long pause before she spoke again. "Will you come back to my Cafe again?"
Gajeel opened the door and was met by a cool breeze. He thought about her question. If Roxane ever found out I was this close to another woman-a woman that looked like her she would kill me for sure. He knew he should say no but also knew that he needed to repay her kindness somehow.
Her next words surprised him and made his decision more difficult to process but in a way easier to make. "I don't know who did that to you but if you ask me that wasn't a kind thing to do." Gajeel's hand was still holding the back door knob and he tightened his grip regretfully. How many times had he wondered, had he hoped, that the last time would be the last time. Why did he stay?
There was a long pause again before she asked her question once more "Will you come back to my Cafe again?"
Gajeel nodded "Yes" and walked through the door.