Chapter Six

Lucy slowly reached up to her throat. When she'd jerked back, her hands had dropped and the suit had resumed its position at her throat. She pressed against it, felt the rises pop up, and then started to pull down. She picked up the speed and it opened to the waist. She pushed it down and sat down. As she relived herself she sighed. It was awkward, sitting there, crossing her arms over her chest. It was like being in a romper but not having a bra on. She was not a fan. She took care of everything and stood up and the suit raced up her body and she gasped.

She walked out and washed her hands and dried them on a towel and stepped out. He was standing opposite the door looking at the floor. When she stepped out he looked up and flushed and grabbed her left hand. He growled softly and she shrugged.

"I get it. Your nervous around the girls. They're kinda scary."

'Hey!" Several called out and his lips quirked. She smiled and led the way back to the living area.

"Question." Bisca asked and Lucy looked over at her. "Given how tight that is…how does it not show panty lines?"

"Well…" Lucy blushed and the girls bursted into laughter. Erza shook her head and Lucy yawned. The male immediately looked around and Lucy knew what he was looking for. Her lips quirked. "My room is upstairs."

He tiled his head. She pointed with her fore finger. "Up."

Everyone watched as he handed her her backpack and started tugging her towards the doorway. Levy grinned as her friend tried to dig her feet into the dirty carpet. He stopped and huffed an annoyed breath and before anyone could react, he'd scooped her up and tossed her over his shoulder and was heading fo the stairs. Cana howled with laughter as Lucy pounded on his lower back and tried to kick her legs. However he had an arm banded around them and it was like a steel beam. He stalked up the stairs and stopped on every landing and sniffed. Finally he entered the hallway that her room was on. He strolled down the hall and stopped at her door. He leaned back and she gasped.

"Don't you dare kick my door." Her voice was low but it worked. He put his foot down and tested the handle. It turned without issue and he walked in. He looked around, then set her on her feet and tilted his head in confusion.

"What is wrong?" She asked and set her bag on her desk and dropped down to sit on her bed. He looked around and found her one fluffy blanket and kept looking. It dawned on her instantly what he was confused about. She gigged softly. He looked at her.

"This is the bed." She said, raising the blinds a little and stretched out on it. Even though it was fairly dangerous, she'd kept her bed under the window so she could look at the stars at night. She yawned and rocked into the stiff mattress. College mattresses were not comfortable at all. He sat down and snarled at the mattress. She giggled and he looked at her. She pulled the blanket from him and laid it next to her and she scooted closer to the wall. She patted the blanket and she stretched out beside it.

"Come on. Lay down. I'll protect you from the big bad girls in the dorm." He growled even as he laid down. She giggled softly and turned, putting her back to the wall and looked at him. He in turn twisted and looked at her. The sun was starting to rise, casting her room into shades or gold and orange. It bathed him in warm tones and almost made him look human. He reached out and brushed hair out of her eyes and he growled softly.

"I wish I understood you more." She whispered and her eyes fluttered but she opened them. He smiled softly and she smiled back at him. "Thank you, for helping me protect my friends. I know you didn't want to come here, and I doubt you wanted to fight the dragonoids. But I do appreciate you helping me keep them safe. With everything that's happened the past two years, they've become the only family I have left."

He awkwardly patted her arm and his hand settled on it before he slid it behind her and pulled her closer. He cradled her against his chest and she closed her eyes on a yawn. He growled and she nodded. Sleep claimed her before she could try and fight it off. She didn't feel him shift, moving her over him and putting himself by the window, nor did she feel him pull the soft blanket from under her and wrap her in it.

In the hallway, Levy watched from the open door as the alien male gently tucked her best friend into bed and stared at her. She was sure he knew she was there, but he didn't bother to look at her. She hadn't meant to spy, but when she'd heard Lucy's voice she'd been too curious to go to her room. Hearing her thank the male for helping her, and for protecting all of them, nearly made her tear up. She knew Lucy cared about all of them; but hearing her friend call them all family, made her feel warm inside.

Levy was about to step towards her room, when she heard the bed shifting. She looked over and watched as the male looked out the window; then down at Lucy, back to the window and settled down behind her. He'd made a decision of some kind, Levy was sure of it; but she didn't know what it meant. She hoped it meant something good; because they needed good things to start happening. She didn't know how much longer they could survive in the dorm.

Lucy woke up feeling warm and refreshed. She couldn't remember the last time she'd slept so soundly. Usually she woke up multiple times through her sleeping hours, but she didn't remember waking up after falling asleep talking with the male. Her eyes opened and she frowned. She was facing into her room; which wasn't unusual, but she was on the side of the bed closest to her door. She'd fallen asleep next to the wall. She shifted and a strong band around her waist tightened. A soft snore sounded next to her ear and she blushed. He was spooning her from behind. His snoring soft and steady. Comforting.

She knew her suit was still in place so she wasn't concerned about indecency, but she was still surprised. She'd never slept next to a guy before. Sure she'd fallen asleep in the same bed as some of her girlfriends growing up, but never a guy. And the fact he was an alien who she couldn't understand added another layer to it.

But, as his scent wrapped around her, she felt safe. For the first time since the invasion, she felt safe. She'd felt it to a degree at the church, but the fear for her friends had kept it from resonating. Now that she knew they were all in the dorm and safe as well; she was at ease. She looked at her calendar and saw that Levy had been marking it off for her while she was away. She stared, apparently she'd been unconscious at the church an entire day. She cringed. Maybe she'd felt safer there than she'd realized. But on the calendar was a note and she grinned.

Water and weeding.

She needed to go up to the top floor. It had taken time to convince Levy to let them all help with the garden. So the fact she'd put that on there made her happy. She tried to push herself up and off of the bed, but the arm around her was too heavy. She turned her head and stared at his sleeping face. He looked almost childlike. The scales around his eyes and hairline, and down his neck were intriguing. They looked like the scales she thought would be on an alligator or even a real dragon. They looked smooth and hard at the same time. She lifted her hand and gently brushed over the scales along his neck. His breathing didn't change so she wondered if they had nerve endings or if they were like armor he couldn't feel. They felt like smoothed stone, but they were surprisingly cool compared to his body heat.

She started to pull her hand back when some of his hair fell across his face. She moved her hand and brushed his hair out of his face, and as she smoothed it behind his ear; his eyes slowly opened. He grinned at her sleepily and she grinned back at him.

"Good evening." She whispered and he growled softly at her. His arm tightened briefly and then relaxed and he ran it up and tugged on a loose strand of her hair. He rubbed it between his fingers and then curled it behind her ear like she had his hair. "Want to come with me to the garden?"

He growled and looked startled, lifting his head to look out the window and shook his head while growling. She cupped his face, stilling him instantly. "It's not outside."

Groowl?

He was so confused and it made her giggle. "Come on. Let's freshen up and I'll show you. It's my turned to water and weed."

He released her and she sat up and twisted her upper body and neck and everything popped. He jerked but she smiled and stood up. He followed her down the quiet hall. She went into the restroom, pulled apart her suit and did her business then washed her hands and brushed her teeth. She came out and nodded with her head. "Need to go?"

He disappeared inside and after a while came out looking more awake. He smiled and she smiled and led him to the stairs. Instead of going down, she led him up. At the last floor his' growls of mild annoyance went quiet. He looked around and she tried to take it in from the eyes of someone who didn't know what it was. And it looked, incredible to her. There were raised beds, along one long wall were the root vegetables and their companions. The opposite wall had beds full of leafy greens. In the middle were tomatoes and vine growing vegetables. Along one of the shorter walls were fruits and the other held herbs. In the corners were flowers and other plants they had grown over the winter to try and keep their spirits up.

He walked around gently touching the beds and leaning in over the flowers or near the plants. She smiled softly and picked up the watering pitcher and started walking down the rows, pulling up weeds or bad growths as she went. At the end, under the last raised bed was a compost bin. She tossed things in and he gagged and shook his head while wheeling backwards.

"I'm so sorry. You must have a sensitive nose." She laughed, tears running down her face. She closed the bin and pulled him over to her favorite corner. There were roses growing there. She wafted the air around them up towards him and he calmed down. He touched one of the roses, and seemed transfixed by the silkiness of the petal.

"Do you have roses on your planet?" She asked and he looked at her and then back to the flower. She tapped it and he looked at her. "Do you have these, where you are from?"

He shook his head and grinned ruefully. She shook her head. "That's sad. Everyone should have roses."

"Lu?" Levy's voice made them both turned. The bluenette came through the door, carrying her box. She smiled at the two people and walked over. "I figured you'd be up here. I brought some breakfast."

"Levy…"

"You both brought enough food. Pipe down." Her friend sassed her and handed them plates and cups. The male held them awkwardly. Levy and Lucy sat down and Lucy patted the floor beside her. He carefully folded himself down and watched as the two girls ate slowly. He tried to mimic but once he tasted the food, it disappeared quickly. Levy giggled and watched as he licked the plate. Lucy shook her head and looked up at the sky. She sipped the water in her cup and ate slowly. Savoring the food. Her body still tensed after a certain point so she stopped eating.

"Did I not make it right?" Levy asked, seeing her plate only half finished. Cooking wasn't her strong suit, but she'd watched Lucy enough she thought she could make this right.

"No you did." Lucy said and took a moment to think how to explain to her friend. The male tapped Lucy's stomach, making her jerk. Levy watched as he clenched his fist and shook it and then ran it up her chest and throat and at her mouth opened it and wiggled his fingers.

"Oh, I'm an idiot!" She slapped her hands to her cheek. "You can't eat that much in one sitting because….Oh I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay." Lucy flushed and set her plate aside. "I'll finish it later. But you did make it taste really well."

"Thanks." Levy looked at the male and then to her friend. She turned and looked at him and he sat back. "Thank you, for explaining that to me."

He tilted his head and she smiled at him. "I'm Levy. This is Lucy. Do you have a name?"

Growssu.

"Growlsui?" Levy tried and he wrinkled his nose. Lucy giggled and he looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Levy slapped her daring her to do better. She set her cup down and cleared her throat.

"Grow..ssu." She wrinkled her nose as he looked at her. "Growssu."

He looked excited and nodded. The girls giggled and Levy practiced until she got it right. He growled happily. He pointed at Lucy. Gorllsu.

"My name is…Gorllsu?" She asked and he nodded.

"What's mine?" Levy asked and he looked at her. "Levy, how do you say Levy?"

Growvul. He made a guttural sound mid-growl that had them tittering but Levy got it on the third try and Lucy got it on the second. He smiled widely and Levy watched as he picked up Lucy's plate and held some food out to her. Lucy carefully ate it and nodded as she chewed. Levy felt some envy flare in her. She didn't know if he realized it looked…romantic that he was considerate and feeding her; but to Levy it was romantic. She was a bookworm and seeing her friend getting wooed by an alien was something she thought was in line with some of the more risqué books she'd read pre-invasion.

"Growssu, Gorllsu and Growvul." Levy practiced and hummed it to herself. He nodded but tensed and ran to one of the windows. His hands wrapped around the bars of the broken window next to the potatoes and the girls tensed. They heard thudding steps on the stairs but he didn't turn—unconcerned with whoever was racing towards them. Bisca came out of the stairwell, gasping hard.

"There's a freakin' orange one down there! We saw movement and thought it was strange one of the dragonoids was out before dark; but then we saw the color."

"It's a fire breather." Lucy said jumping to her feet, her food forgotten.

"Fire breather?" Levy asked, her eyes wide. Lucy nodded. She pulled Levy close and whispered something and then looked to Bisca as Levy's eyes widened and her mind went to work.

"Are Erza and Cana up?"

"Yeah, they wanted me to get you and…" Her eyes slid to the male who was still looking out the window.

"We'll be right down…you can tell them if you want, but if you want me to I wouldn't be upset." Bisca nodded, her green hair flying as she turned and headed downstairs at top speed. Levy followed not far behind her. Lucy walked over to the male and touched his shoulder. He was tense and warmer than before.

"Growssu…" He turned his head to look at her. "Do…Do you need to go?"

He looked at her and she pointed at him and then out the window. "Do you need to go….fight?"

He took a moment before he nodded. She smiled sadly and tiled her head. She showed him a door that he hadn't noticed and she pulled a heavy pot out of the way. She opened it and led him the last half flight of stairs to the roof. The cooling night air pulled at her hair and she pulled it up into a ponytail. He looked around, breathing in deeply. He walked to the edge and looked down and then walked the entire roof. He looked at her and held his hand out.

"I can't go." He growled and shook his hand.

"I have to stay." She pointed down. "I can't leave my friends."

He started growling and she rushed over and put her hand over his mouth. He stared at her in surprise. His fangs were pressing into her hand, but she didn't care. "Thank you, for everything Growssu. But if you have to go, go. But I can't leave them. They don't know about the fire dragonoids or the black ones who throw things. I have to protect them."

He gripped her hand and pulled it down. She rested her head on his shoulder and he lowered his and tapped his head against hers. He stepped back, their hands falling apart. He searched her eyes and she brushed hair from his face. "Be careful."

He growled softly and she smiled at him. He tugged on a loose strand of hair and said her name in his language before turning and running towards the ledge. Her heart jerked as he propelled himself off of the ledge, fire shooting out of his feet and he took off like a rocket. She stared until he was out of sight and she crept towards the edge and looked around. She saw the orange dragonoids a block or so away and she shook her head. This wasn't good. She ran downstairs, carefully blocking the door before heading to the first floor.

"Where is he?" Erza demanded as soon as Lucy slide into the living area.

"He left."

"What?" Erza demanded and looked at Lucy. She shrugged and sighed. "You let him escape?"

"He wasn't a prisoner of war."

"What if he tells the dragonoids where we are?"

"He isn't with them. He fights them."

"Says who?"

"Me." Lucy put her hands on her hips. "He fought them to protect me. He fought them to protect you all. Even this morning, he stated that he was not one of them."

"But did he really state anything?"

"Just because we don't speak Growl doesn't mean he didn't…."

"You named his language Growl?" Cana asked and Lucy huffed an annoyed breath.

"Sorry I didn't run that by the committee." Lucy snarked and looked back at the red head. Her bandages were starting to show some discoloration and Lucy felt her temper drain. "Erza, your bleeding."

"Shit." Erza cursed and sat down on a table as one of the girls raced over and started treating her. Her sword was on the table as was Lucy's pipe with the projectile.

"And the orange dragonoid isn't the least of our worries."

"What do you mean?" Cana asked. The girls had fallen silent.

"First, we are all familiar with the gray ones. The orange ones are different. They can breathe fire."

"Fire?"

"Holy shit…we're screwed!"

"What are we going to do?"

"You said he isn't the least of our worries." Bisca pipped up and Lucy nodded slowly.

"There are black ones…they merge with shadows really well. They have wings, even when they're the size of mediums; and when they unfurl them, they can shoot projectiles."

"Like this?" Erza held up the pipe and tapped the black projectile in question.

"Yes." The girls started to panic and Lucy cleared her throat. "They don't work together. They're factions of a similar genus but they aren't in cahoots. They have no problem fighting each other for dominance, even if that's to the death."

"Great…." Cana rubbed her hands over her face. "So what do we do?"

"I think…"

Crash. Something hit the front door and they all tensed. Lucy ran to the window and looked down, her mouth falling open.

"Is it a black one?"

"Raiders." She whispered and everyone went still as stone. Cana and Erza joined her and took it in. There were at least twenty men below them.

"Now what? We can't fight that many." Cana whispered and Erza shook her head.

"Everyone to the roof." Lucy said and they looked at her. She turned and motioned to the girls. "Grab what you consider to be important. Food, water, possessions, whatever. But make sure you can carry it. We have to run."

"This is our…"

"I know this is our haven." She said and pointed towards the front door downstairs. "But there are at least twenty raiders out there. When they get in; they're going to raid the place. And we know what they will do to us. If you want to stay and beg for mercy; I won't fight you. But if you don't want that; we need to get to the roof."

"And do what?"

"There are some boards up there that will stretch to the Lamia Hall. We take them and try to get to the parking structure."

"But there were dragonoid nests in there this winter."

"Dragonoids or raiders?" Lucy asked and the girls shook. "I'd rather run and try and live another day free; then stay and lose my freedom and possibly my life anyway."

"I'm with Lucy." Levy said and everyone looked over at her at the doorway.

"Your just going to leave your garden?"

"I have more seeds." She said and patted her back. "I can grow another garden. I can't regrow my freedom."

"If Levy and Lucy are going, so will I." Bisca said and the girls started to talk amongst themselves.

"Quiet!" Erza called out and the girls looked at her. "Pack your things. We're leaving. Meet upstairs in the garden as quickly as possible."

Everyone scattered to their rooms.