Heyyoo! So, new chapter. This actually took a little bit longer than I'd hoped to post so my apologies everyone. I had a rather busy week. Anyways. Here's the new chapter.

Fairy Tail and its characters are owned by Hiro Mashima

Gajeel Redfox watched the smoke he exhaled curl in the air and he flicked ash from his cigarette. He walked slowly, despite having somewhere to be tonight. He still had plenty of time to get there. Besides, as per usual, he was waiting on his companion. Sort of.

"Go on ahead!" Is what Natsu had yelled at him from the third story window of his apartment. The pink haired idiot was struggling with a shirt when he stuck his head out the window. "I can catch up!"

Gajeel had just sighed and lit a cigarette, then turned and walked away.

True to his word, Natsu came jogging up behind him before Gajeel could even finish his smoke.

"You got one for me?" he asked, pointing at the cigarette dangling from Gajeel's lips.

"Tch." He snorted. "Wouldn't give you one even if I did have any left. Dumb ass."

Natsu gave him that shit-eating grin of his before readjusting the bag hanging off one of his shoulders.

"Sorry I wasn't ready sooner. I took a nap and slept through the alarm," said Natsu with a huff.

Gajeel grunted in response and the pair lapsed into silence as they walked.

Natsu quickly tired of the quiet and cast a sidelong look at his companion before speaking. "So, Juvia still going out with what's-his-fuck?"

Gajeel groaned, "Don't even ask. For the love of God don't ask." He ran his fingers through his hair.

Natsu laughed, "It can't have ended that badly, right?"

"You're wrong. Although, she did say that she's done with other men now. Something about remaining devoted to Gray or something stupid and semi-poetic like that. I really do hope she's finally given up on using other guys as a band-aid for not bein' able to shack up with Stripper Boy."

"Has she been crying a lot?"

"Enough to flood the fucking apartment," replied Gajeel solemnly.

"And you didn't do anything to make her feel better?" Natsu pressed, a disapproving tone seeping into his words.

"I bought her Ben and Jerry's and told her to stop being a little bitch about it."

"Wow," Natsu said. "You are literally the worst person."

"It's how I normally help her cope with her break-ups and it's worked fine so far." Gajeel shrugged and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He opened the pack and was greeted by empty space.

"You just said you were out of them like two minutes ago," laughed Natsu as he plucked the empty package from his hands and tossed it in a garbage bin they were passing by.

Gajeel sighed almost mournfully as Natsu tossed the empty package away. He ran his his hands through his hair and fished an elastic from his jacket pocket. He stuck the band between his teeth before reigning in his hair. As per usual, his fingers caught in the tangled mess a few times, but he'd never once considered cutting any of it off. Not in many, many years. Finally, after gathering the hair together at the nape of his neck, he quickly twisted the elastic around and around until he was satisfied that it was secure.

"So how's that job of yours going?" Natsu asked as they drew ever closer to their destination. "That new housing development or whatever."

Gajeel groaned. "It's almost done," he complained. "And then it's back to pounding the pavement."

"Oh, come on, it's not so bad," said Natsu, shouldering his friend.

Gajeel grunted and pushed back, sending Natsu a bit off balance due to his bag. Natsu stumbled a bit and threatened to topple over completely, but Gajeel grabbed a hold of Natsu's shirt and righted him before that could happen.

Gajeel grabbed Natsu's bag and weighed it a bit on each arm before tossing it back to the younger man.

"What the hell is in that thing?" he asked. "It should not be that heavy."

Natsu shrugged and put it on, "Just some of my stuff. I'll go through it eventually. Seriously though, what's the big deal with getting a new job?"

"I just hate doing it. Job hunting's not really my thing. I mean, look at me," he tugged at his clothes. "I don't exactly scream employable."

"You look fine to me."

"Ya, but you've seen me at my worst," Gajeel said. "And you're a total fucking idiot."

"Oh, fuck you," Natsu said, punching him in the arm. "Seriously though, what's wrong with the way you look? And what's that got to do with you getting a job?"

"You are twenty-five years old, dude. Can you really be that naive?" Gajeel asked, throwing his hands in the air. Natsu was about to reply but Gajeel waved his hands, cutting him off. "Never mind, of course you can. You've been raised surrounded by optimists and the likes."

"Being optimistic doesn't make a person naive," Natsu pouted.

"Whatever. You've had the same job since you were, like, eighteen. You haven't had to job hunt as much as I have." Gajeel noted they were getting very close to their destination. "Just trust me when I tell you, it sucks."

"I'll take your word for it I guess." Natsu said. "Are you going to get back into construction, you think, or what?"

"Not much point. There isn't a lot of construction work in the winter. The weather doesn't really permit it. To be honest I just really want a steady job. It doesn't even have to be full time. It's not like I don't make enough money in the ring. I just need something to keep me occupied and keep Makarov off my back."

Natsu nodded, "Well, good luck."

With that, the pair rounded the corner and arrived at their destination.

Gajeel blinked as light and sound assaulted his senses. Natsu did the same. The pair had always been a bit more sensitive than most to things like that. Their walk had ended at an old pub in a more industrial area of town. The pub's parking lot had been cleared of any cars. Instead dozens of people milled around a large hexagonal cage and several floodlights. Gajeel stepped in front of Natsu and the pair began to pick their way through the crowd, trying to reach the cage. As they got closer they were able to see that the cage was lifted a few feet off the ground and had most definitely seen better days. The mat was stained with sweat, dirt and blood and the chain link fence was warped in several places. Gajeel frowned at it and turned back to Natsu.

"Try not to contract AIDs while your in there,"

"I don't think that's how that works."

"Shaddup," Gajeel snapped, whacking Natsu across the side of the head. "Smart ass."

"Boys!" A voice hollered over the din in the lot. Gajeel turned his back to his friend in time to see a tall, nervous looking man scurry towards them. He made this nervous gesture over and over again and kept wiping sweat off his dark skin.

"Good to see you Nadi," Gajeel stuck out his hand which Nadi excepted.

"You as well Gajeel. When Lily said that you could help me out tonight," Nadi wiped sweat off his brow again, "I can't tell you how relieved I was. I was quite frustrated to know that the guy who normally fights for me ended up in jail." He was looking around, continuing to make his strange gesture. "It wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't already set up this fight but I have and -" he cut himself off and looked back at Gajeel then over his shoulder at Natsu. "Thanks again for taking this fight on such short notice."

"It's not a problem," Natsu piped up. "It'll be nice to fight outside a gym again. It's been a while for me."

Nadi nodded vigorously. "Well just remember how rough some of these guys can get," He warned.

"Don't worry to much about the hot head. Surprisingly enough, he's not all talk."

"Screw you too, Gaj."

Nadi laughed a bit. "Well, I'll leave you to it then. Come see me at the end of the fight, okay? If you can't find me just go wait by my car," he pointed to one of the ones parked on the street. "Twelve hundred if you win but only six if you loose and that's after I've taken my cut. Good luck." With that Nadi turned away and disappeared into the crowd.

"Easy money," Natsu said. He radiated confidence and excitement.

"Hmm," replied Gajeel. "Come on, let's get you ready. Looks like the fight's gonna start in a bit."

Ten minutes later Gajeel stood just outside the cage, watching Natsu bounce from one foot to the other. The idiot had a massive smile plastered on his face as he rolled his shoulders and waited for the match to begin. Gajeel had barely glanced at his opponent before deciding that Natsu would have this match in a matter of moments. The other guy radiated a bloated sense of self confidence and he wore an ugly sneer on his face, as though he was positive he was better than every other person around him. He was bigger than Natsu but that wouldn't save him. Natsu hit a lot harder than most thought possible—and he was fast.

"Natsu!" Gajeel shouted.

Natsu looked over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't fuck up!"

He grinned, showing off his mouth guard. Then the bell rang and he turned away.

As expected Natsu had made short work of his opponent. The guy had actually gone down a lot quicker than Gajeel would have expected, given his size. The bell had barely finished ringing before Natsu had sprung on his opponent. As was the true style of the young fighter he hit with nearly unmatched ferocity and speed. The bigger, slower man never knew what hit him. Gajeel couldn't help but laugh at how quickly Natsu was able to wipe that smirk off the greasy fuck's face. The other guy was quickly backed into a corner with his hand up to protect his head. Natsu was undeterred and struck out with his leg. His knee came up and connected with Greasy's stomach with a solid thump and he doubled over. Natsu took the opportunity to get him into a nice headlock and in less than a minute, Greasy had tapped out.

"One-thousand-one. One-thousand-two," Nadi finished counting the money before placing it into Gajeel's hand. "You did a pretty good number on your opponent today, Natsu. I'm really very impressed."

"Ya, well, it comes with being awesome," Natsu boasted with a laugh.

Gajeel rolled his eyes and shook Nadi's hand again, "Thanks again for the tip on this fight."

"No, thank you," replied Nadi, wiping sweat off his brow again. "I would have been in a real pinch if you hadn't convinced Natsu to come out tonight."

"It didn't take much convincing to be honest," Gajeel looked at Natsu. "As always, this one's rarin' for any fight."

"Damn right I am."

Nadi nodded, "Well, you two have a good night. I'll see you again soon, I'm sure."

With that, Nadi turned and waved before returning to his car.

"Here," Gajeel said, handing over all the money Nadi had just given him.

"You haven't taken your share," Natsu said, frowning.

"Haven't done anything to earn a share."

"I wouldn't have even had a fight tonight if you hadn't asked me." Natsu pulled a few bills from the rest. "Just take a couple hundred bucks."

Gajeel considered trying to refuse the money but knew it would just lead to an argument and the money would find its way into his bag or apartment in the end. So, with a sigh he took the money and stuffed it in his pocket.

"Fine, you happy now?"

Natsu grinned, "Yup. Now, I'm gonna go grab a beer or two before I go home. How bout you?"

Gajeel shrugged, "I've got tomorrow off so there's no harm in a few drinks."

It was nearly 2:00 AM before the pair made it out of the bar. Neither had really had too much to drink. Instead they had kicked ass at pool, making the night even more profitable in the process. Of course, it also meant that they had made a few new enemies. Obviously, drunk men who lost their money and their pride were quick to anger.

"You coming by the gym tomorrow?" Natsu asked as they walked away from the still busy pub.

"Maybe," Gajeel replied, yanking his hair free from its pony tail. "Gramps wants to talk to me, so I probably should get over there soon. Don't know if I'll stick around though."

"What's he wanna talk you about?" Nastu asked.

Gajeel shrugged. "Hell if I know," he lied easily. He didn't like lying but, he had gotten very good at it over the years. It was just part of his life—it had been for a really long time. Very few people knew just how convincing a liar he could be.

I should be a fucking actor, Gajeel thought, I'm totally Brad Pitt material.

He chuckled at the thought and Natsu gave him a look, "What's so funny?"

Gajeel shook his head. "Nothing."

Natsu opened his mouth the speak again but before he could, a bottle sailed by his head and crashed to the ground somewhere to his right.

Both men snapped to attention, turning to whoever had thrown the bottle. Gajeel recognized him instantly as the greasy motherfucker from the fight earlier. It was obvious that the guy was completely hammered, and right pissed off. Gajeel wouldn't have been worried except for the fact that he was flanked by three more guys. Gajeel recognized them from pool.

"What the fuck!" Natsu snapped, taking a step forward.

"Natsu."

"You fuckers think you can just come over here and take out money just like that, huh?" Greasy asked.

"We didn't take anyone's money!" Natsu growled back. "It's not my problem that you're a shit fighter."

"Natsu!" Gajeel repeated, his voice sharper this time. Gajeel wasn't a fool. Drunk or not, four against two were not good odds.

"What'd you just say t'me?!" shouted Greasy. "Get off your high horse you little pink fuck."

"Or maybe we should just knock you off," one of the others said, stepping forward. The rest followed suit, getting slightly closer.

Ever the careless hothead, Natsu spread his arms wide, taking another step of his own, "Bring it!"

Gajeel realized that Natsu was drunker than he had originally thought. "Oh no," he said, grabbing Natsu by the collar and swinging him around. "We are not doing this. Not today."

"Like hell you ain't!" Greasy shouted, charging forward and taking a swing at Gajeel.

Gajeel easily avoided the blow and retaliated by smashing his fist into Greasy's nose. He felt it crack, and blood spewed onto his hand. The man howled and reeled back, clutching his nose. Gajeel wasted no time; he spun on his heels and made a break for it, pushing Natsu ahead of him.

"We can take 'em!" howled Natsu as they ran.

"The fact the your actually running tells me you're smart enough to know that's not true! Now come on!"

Gajeel could hear the drunks following them and he growled in frustration.

Oh yeah, no harm in a few drinks. No harm at all.

Hope you all liked this chapter. I had actually planned to make this chapter longer but more than that I wanted to post it. Anyways, obviously Gajeel and Natsu have found themselves in a bit of a bind. Whatever will they do? Hopefully I won't have so many distractions coming up and I'll be able to post the next chapter soon.

Thanks to seulesaffie for the review. I tried really hard to make sure that I caught all my mistakes and have even recruited my awesome roommate to edit for me. Alas, if still there are spelling or grammatical errors, I do apologize. Thanks again.

To everyone else please continue to review. Tell me what you do and do not like so far. What else would you like to know about the world and the characters. Who are you hoping to make an appearance. Whatever. It would be great if you did the thing. Anyways I need to go to sleep now. Hope you enjoyed the new chapter.