Child of My Heart
A/N: This goes along with chapters 11 and 14 of Cana's Weekly Drinking Club. (Ch. 14 is a standalone and it's better if you read it before this fic.)
For MyFictionalFantasy, as a late birthday present, plus you're an incredibly patient friend and you deserve to see this mutual headcanon of ours come true. ^^
I am still updating my regular multi-chaps.
A Small Dragon
Freed made his way through the kitchen, erasing runes every few meters. Fumie's version of runes was cute, but the fact that she did it everywhere got a little inconvenient.
He'd finally made it to the pantry when a familiar early-morning grumble announced Laxus's presence.
"You left the bed," the Dragon Slayer complained, yawning and rooting around for a glass.
"I've been awake for a while. I was just going to get tea and come back up, but there were a number of traps I had to deal with first."
Laxus's grunt was both laughter and annoyance.
"There's got to be a better way to erase them," he said.
"That's not how runes work," Freed said. "The only reason I can un-write them so easily is that I'm significantly stronger than she is. For now. She has to learn not to do this."
The subject of their conversation trailed in. Freed still hadn't determined what emotion expanded in his chest when she appeared each morning: on the surface it was all frustration at how messed up her hair got because she wouldn't let him braid it at night. But if he let his heart speak a little more, there was desperate relief too.
She'd stayed with them for several months now, and he still had occasional nightmares where someone awful came to take her away.
As she entered, Freed smiled and said, "Good morning."
"Morning."
"How did you sleep?" Laxus asked her while she hovered sleepily in the doorway. Freed returned to rooting around the pantry.
"Fine," she said.
She only answered honestly when Laxus asked; Freed chocked that up to the time Laxus told her about his own bad dreams. Laxus told her that the dragon-spirit who protected him when he was little was now going to protect her, and that she could picture the dragon curled around her to remind herself everything was okay. Fumie loved that story, and talked about the dragon-spirit often.
"Fumie," Freed said suddenly. "This bread was not here yesterday."
He turned around, and he and Laxus both looked at her. She cuddled closer to the doorjamb.
"You know what we call teleporting things that don't belong to us," Laxus said.
"Stealing," she murmured.
"Can you return it to the person it belongs to?"
Her eyes tracked back and forth between them, as though looking for the weak link.
"Fumie, do you know we have enough food?" Freed asked. "We aren't going to run out."
Her only reaction was her eyes widening a little, but he knew he'd hit the mark.
"I promise. We have lots to eat, and if we run out, we can buy more. And always eat at the guild, too."
"I have an idea." Laxus knelt. "Can I show you something?"
She nodded. When he held out his arms, she darted around and climbed on his back instead.
Watching them head toward the hallway, Freed pulled out food that did belong to them and started on breakfast.
A few minutes later he walked out holding a plate and found them by one of the stashes where they kept Jewels.
"…you got it," Laxus said, and Fumie said, "Hah!"
"Learning the rune to unlock it?" Freed asked.
"Yep." Laxus watched her fiddle with the money inside. "Now you know how to get to it if you need to, okay? If something happens and Freed and I aren't here, you won't have to steal. Use that in an emergency."
"Okay." Soberly, she closed it up and rewrote the rune to seal it.
"Nice," Freed said. "Have a rice ball."
Whirling, she snatched one and grinned up at him. Laxus also took one and joined her in a grateful, cheeks-full-of-food smile.
Freed felt full in the happiest way.
"C'mon." Acting normal was the only way to keep from beaming like a crazy person for no reason. "The rest of breakfast is in here. We have to keep your magic and your body replenished."
"What are you going to teach me today?" she asked, following him with Laxus right behind.
Freed paused. Sometimes she got clingy when he left for the day.
"Is Levy-oba going to teach me?" she asked.
"Yes," he said, relieved she wasn't upset, "she and Lucy-oba will take you today. Lucy said there was a book you wanted her to read aloud."
Lucy was helping teach Fumie to read for herself, something they'd decided needed to happen as soon as possible since she was already writing long strings of runes she didn't know the meanings of.
"It's a book about dragons," Fumie said. "It has a green one on the front."
"Is Aiko going to read with you?" Freed asked.
"Of course."
The aforenamed toy dragon was, as usual, under her arm.
"Where are you gonna be?" she asked.
"Freed and I are going on a job," Laxus replied. "That's how we make sure we have Jewels."
They'd reached the table and Freed saw Fumie nod seriously as she sat.
"Are you going with your team?" she asked.
"Usually we do, but it'll be just us today." Freed smiled at Laxus. "Sometimes we like to do jobs together."
"Because you like each other," she said.
Freed laughed. "Yes."
"Who told you that?" Laxus asked, pointing his chopsticks at her in mock accusation. "That was supposed to be secret. I thought nobody knew how much I really, really like Freed."
"You told me," Fumie replied.
"I did?" Laxus said.
She nodded.
"When?" Laxus looked genuinely perplexed.
"You say 'I love you' every night," she said triumphantly.
"Oh no, we have a spy in our midst," Freed grinned.
"You say it right in front of me!" she protested, giggling. They laughed.
"Fumie," Laxus said seriously, "you know we love you too, right?"
Her light nod lacked the gravity Laxus had put in the words, but she looked innocent and gleeful, and maybe that was better. "That's why there's foooood, right?"
Laxus smiled. "Right."
A/N: I don't normally do this when I need to name an oc, but I couldn't help myself: Fumie (depending on the kanji) can mean a literary composition, and also looks similar to the Latin "fulmin," lightning.