Disclaimer: I claim no ownership over Fairy Tail.
A/N: So this is my first, actual published work on here. I really don't have much to say, but hopefully this goes well. Please, no flaming, though constructive criticism is good, I suppose. I will admit, I don't write using Japanese honorifics, purely because I'm not well-versed in them. I am doing my best to learn about them, but I feel it would be slightly insulting if I used them and used them incorrectly.
This is not meant to be a romance story, but instead, a family-based bond between Wendy and Natsu. So, I do apologize for those that wanted that.
Finally, Natsu and Wendy may seem OOC. I'm honestly trying to get their characters down, but I, obviously, have never written them before so... please bare with me. I'm not super pleased with how it all came out, but maybe I'm just being hard on myself. I don't know. I plan to practice a bit more.
Wendy had honestly thought she'd heard it all in her lifetime.
Contrary to popular belief, not everyone hailed Fairy Tail wizards as powerful and inspiring. There were those occasional bystanders that viewed magic as a reason to distrust someone, and they would purposely go out of their way to belittle wizards personally, or those that were potentially related to one.
The young Dragon Slayer had heard rumors of such people, though during her sheltered time at Cait Shelter, she hadn't been exposed to those people often. When she moved to Magnolia and consequently joined Fairy Tail, however, she'd found those people were far more common. Romeo, in specific, had warned her of certain kids that could be vicious with their words, and scathing with their remarks.
She'd never really met anyone who aimed to crush her spirit without intent of trying to physically attack her. Dark mages used any underhanded tactic they could to gain an edge, so she never really paid them much heed when she and the rest of Team Natsu was on a mission to exterminate a dark guild. She'd never really met anyone- until today.
It started off simple.
With the resident Re-quipping mage sick, Wendy thought it nice to go and retrieve a strawberry cake for her, since she was under the weather. During her trip to the bakery, she'd accidentally bumped into an older teenager who, for all intensive purposes, just needed someone to belittle- and she was a perfect target. Upon learning she was actually in a wizard's guild, he had turned up the heat, forcing Wendy to defend her guild mates. He'd then taken it a step farther, by insulting her personally.
Finally, when he realized who she was, he attacked her parents. Or rather, lack of thereof.
Leading to now, where she was secluded in the library, doing her best not to sob at the tormenting thoughts and memories that were knocking at her head. She was proud of herself- she hadn't broken down in front of the bully, nor did she destroy everything in her path (as tempting as it was). She'd simply slipped away after the boy was confronted by his mother, and found herself a nice, dark section of the guild to mull in.
And potentially cry in.
No one would see her, though, and that's all that mattered.
"Wendy? You in here?"
Almost no one.
The Sky Dragon Slayer quickly tried to rub the salty tears from her eyes, frantically moving about and sniffling rapidly, as if that would clear the evidence from her face. She desperately looked around, trying to find some way to hide herself, before settling for a rather large book and slamming it in front of her face, stuffing her nose into the crease so that she was properly hidden from view, just as the intruding guild member found her.
"Wen- there you are!" It took her whole being to not say anything, knowing her voice would betray her façade. "I was lookin' everywhere for you!"
Wendy felt another round of sniffles come about, as the recent memory of the boy play out in her head.
"No one cares about you, huh? No one is there to care."
"Why'd you run off without Carla? She was in a pretty huffy mood after finding out you ran off without waiting for her."
Wendy blinked. She hadn't run off without Carla; had she? The Exceed had said she was going to the guild to try and get a job for them, and that they'd meet up after Wendy got the cake for Erza. Unless... she'd accidentally run by Carla when she was trying to find a place to cry in, following the meeting with the bully.
The intruder noticed her lack of commentary, evidently. "Hey, you okay? You're not sayin' much."
Wendy began to panic; she hadn't been prepared to speak so soon. "I, uh, I'm kinda getting sick."
"Really? Man, everyone's getting sick!" They went silent for a second, seemingly considering the odds of their own immunity system failing. The silence continued on for a few moments, and Wendy nearly forgot someone was even in the same room as her, but their powerful aura kept her aware and somewhat scared.
Why she was scared, she didn't know. Perhaps it was the after-effects of the cruel words that had burrowed into her head, or perhaps she was just being negative. Maybe, just maybe, she was scared of being abandon... again.
Finally, after a few prolonged moments, Wendy tried to clear her throat. "Yeah, so, you don't want to get sick, do you?"
"Yeah, that's a good point... I'd hate to ask you to hea- wait, how are you sick?"
If she was just a bit older, Wendy would have cursed loudly, realizing her fault. She was the Sky Dragon Slayer. She couldn't get sick. Her body was infused with healing magic- anything she contracted was immediately dispelled of. The only sickness she could possibly get was motion sickness, and according to Natsu and Gajeel, she wouldn't get that until she was a full-fledged Dragon Slayer.
Wendy chose not to answer the question, having no answer ready.
A quiet, but still audible sniffing was heard, before the figure finally approached Wendy. They gently removed the book, despite her reluctance, but alas, they were far too strong for her to resist for a prolonged time. And, quite frankly, she lacked the energy to resist.
"You're crying." It wasn't a question, it was hardly considered a command. Instead, Wendy noticed the delicate, soft tone he used, and the piercing, yet gentle gaze he befitted upon her. His onyx eyes scanned her over, as if checking for some injury that might be causing her discomfort, yet, it almost seemed like he knew exactly what type of ailment beset her.
Quietly, he pulled a chair out from under the table, and placed it next to Wendy to allow him to be on her eye level. Once he sat down, he settled his gaze upon her once more.
Wendy wasn't sure what to say, thus, she remained silent. He broke it, however. "What's wrong?"
It was blunt; but then, he was blunt. He was never one to take time in sorting out a strategy before he engaged an issue. He'd always make the strategy as he went- he was not so dumb as to use brute force as his only tool, despite what some wizards seemed to think about him. She'd witnessed his fair amount of fights that he used devised, on-the-fly strategies to overcome the odds.
That didn't change the fact that he was still a blunt and forward person when it came to talking.
"I- uh, nothing. I just..." Wendy paused. She, truthfully, had no idea why she was doting around the issue. He wouldn't judge her, she knew that! He was more than likely the person who'd get it most, ironically enough, and she was trying to push him away like he wouldn't understand. "I ran into a bully today."
That caught his attention. His pupils seemed to shrink just enough to suggest he was no longer happy with where the story was headed. Though it was faint, Wendy could even make out the softest of growls rumbling in his throat, just waiting to escape. She couldn't help the bubble of appreciation that swelled in her chest, knowing how he had her back. Without even speaking a word, she felt just a smidgen better.
Before he could say anything though, Wendy hastily continued. "He just said some mean things and I... I guess they were personal. And I can't stop thinking about them."
Expecting him to go off angrily and demand who said bad things, or what things he said so he could justifiably pummel the poor sap into the ground, Wendy was pleasantly surprised when he huffed- a faint trail fire escaping his nostrils- and sighed.
"They said you were an orphan, didn't they?"
Wendy blinked. As she stopped to think, she realized that had been one of the insults, though one of the slightly tamer ones.
"I hate bullies," he said, unsurprisingly. But he continued. "They think they're powerful, because they can hurt our spirit. They think we're weak because we feel bad when they bring up bad memories. They like to take advantage of your feelings, because they think that's weakness. But who said feeling something is weakness? They act like we're the monsters... like being an orphan is such a bad thing, yet they're the ones that are using it to their advantage."
Wendy merely stared into his eyes as he spoke, watching the fire that seemed to glow within them. Unlike his look when he was prepared to fight, in which the fire seemed to burn uncontrollably and had to dangerous dance to it, this fire seemed far more tame and resigned; as if it was contained, but capable of lashing out at anything that came close and was flammable. More than anything, however, Wendy felt... somewhat drawn into it.
She could feel his passion, feel his dislike for the things he spoke of, and she noted with a tad bit of surprise, that he managed to phrase his words so eloquently. Though she hardly took him for a buffoon like Carla occasionally insisted, she hadn't gotten to hear something like this.
"I know Igneel didn't want to leave," he said suddenly. "Neither did Grandeeney. Or Metalicana. They didn't want us to become orphans again."
"Why did they leave then...?" Wendy asked quietly, knowing full well he'd hear. His ears were some of the most sensitive she'd found.
He looked away, as if he knew which direction they were in. "I dunno. I thought maybe it was a test, at first. And maybe it still is."
Just as Wendy was about to speak, he said something else. Something that caught her off-guard.
"You know, I guess they didn't totally leave us alone."
Wendy blinked. "Huh?"
He turned to her, a smile adorned on his face. It was his trade-mark, teeth-showing smile that seemed to brighten the world just a tiny bit. "I mean, I got to meet you, and even Rivet Face has his moments! And... if I'm honest... I'm glad I met you, Wendy. You're like the sister I never had."
That did it. The salty tears came prickling back again, but this time, there was no heart-ache that came with the tears. There was no guilt in letting anyone see her sob. There was no shame in crying, because this time, it was for a good reason.
This time, she was happy.
"W-what?! Did I say something wrong?"
Wendy flung herself onto her pink-haired counsellor, burying her head into his vest. She felt his natural warmth wash over her in waves, bringing peace to her tattered mind, and she felt a nostalgic feeling: she felt home. Her time with Grandeeney had allowed her to find a home in the familiar scent of her foster mother; and to her comfort, it seemed the Dragon Slayer of the Fire inspired the same feelings within.
"I'm sorry! Please, don't tell Erza!"
The young blunette sniffled, and removed her head from his vest, finally looking up at him with a watery smile. "I'm not upset... I'm happy because...I finally have family again."
"You're my family, Natsu..."
She would never be alone again. Not with him by her side. And when she saw Grandeeney again... her family would be that much bigger.