sea shells come and go, from one place to another. you lose them easily, and tend to find more beautiful ones as replacement. like many things in life.
love, opportunities, changes.
but not us.
take note: female reader
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•∞•
And then we arrived.
It was maybe a 15 minute walk, give or take.
The moment I saw the car shop, I instantly knew why Natsu wanted to work there.
It had a rugged beauty to it, old in it's 1950's architecture with it's square outline, long windows, and wooden structure. Modern with it's transition to modern- the open-on-all-sides garage, iron supporters, concrete, and peeling blue paint.
From the corner of my eye, I watched Natsu smile proudly.
"Is that you, Jose? I told you already! That contract is broken! Go find someone else to fix your motorcycle!" an angry voice shouted, before a tiny man hopped into view. His expression went from anger to weariness, as he took in both of our figures.
"Oh, it's just you, Natsu,"he grumbles, as if not wanting to see him right now. He was wearing a paint- splotched denim apron, white tuffs of hair sprouting behind his ears.
"Hey Gramps!" Natsu greeted cheerfully, if not bothered a bit by the man's cliche-grandpa cranky behavior.
"He's your grandfather?" I hiss, agitated at this important lack of information.
"Nah, not really. He's just old; we all call him that," he shrugs.
"Uh..."
"Natsu, I don't have the time right now for any of your antics," 'Gramps' groans, picking up a heavy-looking wrench from the floor. "I have cars to repair, I have engines to replace, I need to replace leather and sow it together, a whole schedule in front of me! Go make a bonfire some where else!"
We look at each other.
I see the hesitance in Natsu's eyes as he opens his mouth. "I mean, I like roasted marshmallows..."
It took a lot of self control to not crack a smile at his humor, reminding myself that this is a dire situation. "Nope. Sorry. Go."
I push him forward, earning me a cute whine from him.
Cute? No, just... a whiny whine, you know what I mean? Just a whine. Not cute. Not cute at all.
(y/n). Shut up.
"Uh... Gramps, I know you're busy and all, but I can totally help out if you'd like?" he offers, eyes nervous as they go from one place to another.
"No, that won't be necessary," the man rumbles.
"I can help too!" I pipe in, throwing a wink at the shuffling pinkette's way. "Six hands make fast work!"
"Ah, I've seen you brought a friend with you," he acknowledged me, as if just noticing my presence. I felt a crack coming in his cold demeanor, oozing warmth as he takes in my suggestion.
"Hello, I'm (y/n), it's very nice to meet you," I respond politely, smiling.
"Well well child, aren't you the polite one?" he gapes. "how did you end up being friends with this idiot?"
"Hey!"
"I managed to find a way around it," I grin. "but that's a secret."
"I like her," he directs his gaze towards Natsu. "if you mess up this friendship, Natsu, then you're screwing yourself over." the pinkette sputters in defeat, but he looks at me. "I am Makarov Dreyar, child. A pleasure."
"The pleasure's all mine," I retort.
A grin creeps up the older man's lips. "Maybe I will take that offer. Do you have experience with masking tape?"
I think back to my countless Art classes in high school. "Definitely."
"Just this time Natsu, because of your friend, but if you mess up, you won't step a foot in here again," he warns, dark eyes dead serious.
I send Natsu a wink, mouthing 'impress him.'
"Follow me."
The man walks into the chaos of his garage, avoiding cars and automobiles alike. My eyes went from shelf to shelf, sighing in satisfaction at the perfect gradients of color, from blue to brown to pink.
"We did it!" my friend bursts out, punching a hand into the air. "the Universe is with me today!"
I shake my head in amusement at his childlike excitement. "You better follow him, or the Universe will start getting bored," I prompt, taking a step towards his direction.
He scrambles forward, giving me one of those hopeful grins that could revive people with it's happiness.
He practically skips forward in excitement, delving into the garage full of mysteries and wonders. The one he dreamed about, and now he gets a chance to prove himself. I felt kind of honored to witness such an important moment in Natsu's life.
I followed.
"Alright, children. We're going to the basement where all my supplies are. If you break or touch anything, your head will become decoration on my mantel."
Natsu and I gulped in sync.
"Also- I put a lock system onto the trap door of the basement. Meaning, if it closes, it locks itself automatically. You can only open it from the outside, because god knows what will happen if I find thieves snooping around in my stash."
Wow, this man is hardcore.
And indeed- the door was heavy and made from iron. It had a pad where you could type in the code with neon-green buttons, and beeped 'Welcome, Master Makarov,' when you got the code right. It felt like we were in some sort of sci-fi movie.
"Here you go," he grumbles, turning back to us. "I'm not gonna go with you in there. Leave the door open, and grab some masking tape and an assortment of colors that compliment each other," he sends a threatening look to my companion. "so do not choose red, purple, and periwinkle blue for painting a tourist bus. Please."
I snickered.
"Have fun, kiddos," he calls back. "when you're done, I'll show you what to paint. There are gloves, aprons, and goggles down there as well."
Gramps scampered off.
"Put something heavy in front of the door," I advise. "I'll go down and you follow."
He nods, and goes to search for something heavy.
I make my way down the steep stairs, letting out a 'woah' as I have to grab on tightly to the railing, the step surface incredibly narrow. I repeat my gasp of amazement once I take in the site of his treasured basement- truly, a collection of everything mechanical. Shelves lined the walls, nails hammered into the concrete to hang up more storage.
Natsu pops up besides me, grinning. "I gotta a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Do ya now understand my want for working here?"
"Oh yeah," I sputter. There were so many beautiful items it even could convince an boring accountant like me to work here.
"So where do you wanna start-"
Bang.
And the trapdoor snapped shut, darkness overcoming us like a lighter switched off.
WOOP NATSU AND Y/N ARE GETTING SOME PRIVATE ALONE TIME
