Levy McGarden stepped out the guild with a smile on her face. Everyone was nearly recovered from Laxus's rebellion a week ago, the Raijinshuu were forgiven, and Jet and Droy were off training to 'better protect her.' She loved her two partners dearly, but occasionally they were just so suffocating. It was nice to get some time away from them every now and again. With that thought, Levy's smile broadened as she began her trek towards the boarding house.
She did not go far before she spied a familiar brown braid on the other side of the street, bouncing as the rest of the body slightly limped in her walking cast as she carried a fairly large package.
"Jeanne-san!" Levy called, jogging to catch up to the taller girl.
Jeanne de'Vajell turned a little with a confused face, but it quickly transformed into a genial smile. "Levy-chan, how are you doing?"
"Fine, thanks. But how about you?" Levy asked, glancing at her friend's leg brace.
Jeanne caught her look and waved away any concerns. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. My brother's been healing my ankle. It's coming along, just not quick enough for me."
Levy raised her brows at the parcel in Jeanne's arms. "Is that supposed to explain the box?"
"Yep. I was able to get my old job at the courier's office. I'm only allowed local deliveries, but hey, if it pays for my house, I'm fine with it. I'm just lucky Hiro and Ima say I'm welcome back anytime."
"Isn't that heavy? I could help you carry it if you want."
Jeanne shook her head. "Can't let you. It's against the policy to let anyone besides the courier and the recipient touch the packages. Besides, it's just bulky. But thanks for offering." She turned to continue her delivery. Levy was soon at her side.
"At least let me walk with you a while. We don't talk a lot."
Jeanne looked at her with a blank expression, but Levy thought there was scrutiny or suspicion hidden in those blue-green eyes.
"If you want to say something, you should say it," she gently pushed.
Jeanne looked down at the street, seemingly in shame. 'She tends to look down a lot,' Levy thought. 'Why does she?'
"You just want to make sure I'm okay, don't you?" Jeanne mumbled.
"Of course, I do," Levy cheerfully admitted. "But, also, I want to hang with you, Jeanne-san. I told you, we don't do that often enough."
Jeanne smiled broadly, eyes shining with gratitude. "Thanks, Levy-chan. I appreciate it. But, if this hanging out becomes a habit, you'll have to drop the honorific."
"Same to you, Jeanne!" After a few moments of silence, Levy asked, "When have you worked at the courier's office?"
"Before I joined Fairy Tail, I did odd jobs here and there. I mostly worked for Hiro and Ima from ages… uh, lemme think." Jeanne looked up into nothing, making some quick calculations. "Seven. I was seven when I first started. And stayed on for, eight years, I guess, I stopped right after I joined Fairy Tail."
Levy stared with wide eyes. "Seven? You were seven?"
"I didn't do much then, mostly helped organize or read lists to Hiro. They are a sweet couple," she chuckled. "Not many people hire kids, even if they have a 'noble cause.'"
"Your poor siblings, though," Levy joked. "You gave them quite a standard to live up to."
Jeanne laughed. "I did it for my parents, and there were other ways to save money, so whether they follow along or not is completely up to them. But Rita, she's thirteen and is already making more than I did."
"What does she do?"
"Housekeeping," de'Vajell answered. "She cleans and prepares meals. Apparently, she's been studying Telepathy as well, and she uses that to know just how her employer wants her to do things."
"Wow, resourceful."
"Yeah, I'm so proud of her."
Levy smiled at her friend's excited grin. As an only child, perhaps she couldn't quite understand how Jeanne felt, but maybe it was similar to the pride and joy you felt when a nakama accomplished an amazing feat. That was the sort of vibe she received now.
"As a matter of fact," Jeanne continued, "she's working at the address on the box, so I can introduce you if you'd like."
"I'd like that a lot," Levy replied. "I see you with your family a lot, but I don't think I've ever actually met them."
Jeanne looked a little surprised. "Really? I thought you might've met Aubin."
"Aubin?"
"Mmh, the fifteen-year-old. He's a storyteller at the library."
"Oh, wait, I think I have seen him. Does he have hair color like yours that kinda barely touches his shoulders, and usually reads to the kids?"
"Yeah, that's him. He's never introduced himself to you?"
Levy shook her head. "No. He usually goes straight to the kids' group and gets right to it. He's really good. The adventures he tells are so mesmerizing. Besides the kids, though, I don't think he even notices anyone else."
Jeanne frowned a little. "Hmm… Oh, we're almost there. Just around this corner, and we're-"
She froze, and Levy was even more confused. Jeanne's eyes filled with shock, before burning with unbridled fury. Levy looked ahead, and saw two girls in front of a building.
One, probably around her age, had short, deep red hair, dressed in expensive-looking designer clothes, and was bedecked with jewelry. Her face was looked like it had the genes to be beautiful, but anger was contorting it in the ugliest way. She was yelling at the other girl with longer, dark brown hair. This other girl, obviously quite a bit younger, was cringing and shooting glances at the passing people. She looked terrified beyond words. She flinched as the older girl stepped forward with a raised arm.
Levy turned to look back at Jeanne, but was surprised to see that only the box was there, recklessly thrown on the sidewalk. Whipping her head back to the other two girls, she saw Jeanne practically stomping towards them, unlatching the crossbow she carried on her hip. She was speechless as she watched her nakama grab the older girl by the raised arm, swing her away from the scared one, and forced her back to slam into the side of the building before aiming her weapon at the jeweled throat, all charged up and ready to fire.
"Jeanne!" Levy cried worriedly as she ran to stop her from doing something drastic.
"You have five seconds," de'Vajell was saying in a dangerously low voice, "to explain exactly what you were doing before I decide to make sure you'll never be able to talk above a whisper again."
Levy reached them, and quietly asked the younger girl if she was okay. Her response was a hasty nod and a hesitant step away before crashing into Levy's comforting arms. Levy frowned in confusion as she turned back to Jeanne.
"What the hell? What business is it of yours?" the red-head demanded, once the initial shock wore off. She glanced down at the weapon, and caught sight of the guild mark on the arm that was pinning her. "Wait, you're from the guild? This isn't anything a mage needs to be concerned of!"
Jeanne scoffed. "Bitch, I'm not here as a mage. I'm here as the extremely protective and majorly pissed off older sister! Now, tell me, why were you yelling and threatening my little sister?!"
The red-head's eyes widened in fear. "Hold up! She was invading my personal property, and I was simply telling her that she was no longer needed. What's a kid doing working for a maid service anyways?"
Jeanne's eyes narrowed. Without losing her grip, she turned to her younger sister. "Marguerite, que s'est-il passé?"
Levy looked down at Marguerite. She was trembling like crazy, her brown eyes were wide and fearful, but her her lips were in a determined line as she shook her head.
"I was helping her unpack, 'cause she wanted to soak in the tub but she wanted to get settled. She had such a long and uncomfortable train ride, I thought I would make the choice easier."
The red-head laughed derisively. "I said nothing about taking a bath or how my travels were! You just wanted a chance to pilfer something from my luggage!"
Jeanne pressed the end of her bow closer to her throat and added more magic to the flight groove, effectively shutting her up.
Levy stepped forward to pull her off. "Jeanne!" she cried, but the pair of arms around her tightened before she got far. Marguerite, still terrified, shook her head some more as she pulled the blue-haired bookworm farther from the two girls.
Jeanne, apparently, didn't hear her anyways."She's a kid, Haley. You don't publicly humiliate kids or threaten abuse!"
"How did you know my name?" the red-head, Haley, whispered.
"What, you don't recognize me?" Jeanne said faux-lightly. "I suppose I do look different when I'm not being kicked into the ground by you and your little clique."
"Vajell?" she whispered, eyes wide.
De'Vajell narrowed her eyes, and continued, "Apologize to her, before I act on my previous threat."
Haley, now positively terrified, looked at the youngest girl and said, "I apologize for my actions."
Jeanne released her captive, and the magic bolt in her bow disappeared. She stepped back a bit, but kept her weapon unlatched and at the ready. "Were you the one who hired her?"
Haley shook her head.
"Well, if you had read her resume, or whatever the hell it is with her info, you'd have known that she's studied Telepathy magic. She uses this to best accommodate her employer. That's how she knew you wanted a bath and to unpack. That's what makes her the best among the other maids."
She walked back to her abandoned box, picked it up, and shoved it into the recipient's arms. Levy gave a small gasp when she saw the unconcealed hate in her friend's eyes. They were cold, completely unsympathetic.
"Package for Miss Haley Denver. Allez, Marguerite." She walked toward Levy and Marguerite, grabbed her sister's hand, and walked away. Levy blinked a moment before snapping out of it and following.
Once they turned the corner, Jeanne's demeanor changed. She grabbed her sister's shoulders, and her face transformed completely from anger and hate into worry and concern.
"Rita, es-tu blessé? She didn't hit you before, did she?"
"Non," was the soft reply. "She didn't hit me."
Jeanne released a sigh of relief. "Merci les dieux," she breathed as she gathered the small girl into a hug. Rita wholeheartedly returned it.
Levy, however, had to speak with Jeanne. "Don't you think that was a bit over-board?"
Jeanne blinked and looked at the shorter girl, releasing Rita. "What do you mean?"
Levy raised her eyebrows. "Jeanne, you assaulted that girl! I get that you were protecting your sister, but there could've been a better way. That wasn't the proper way to represent Fairy Tail! If Master saw how you were reacting-"
Jeanne interrupted. "If Master were here to see that, I wouldn't have reacted any different." She glanced to the side a little, before gazing straight into Levy's eyes. "Levy, I love Fairy Tail. Know that. I've looked up to them all my life, and wanted to join since I was six. I've always admired how seriously you guys take your bonds and oaths. And like everyone else, I'd do almost anything for any of its members. But first and foremost," she wrapped an arm around Rita again, "I take care of my family. You may be nakama, Levy, but Rita, elle est ma famille, kazoku, and I'll put them and their well-being over anyone in the guild."
Levy stood speechless as she realized just how serious Jeanne was about this. Jeanne gave her sister one last squeeze before saying, "I gotta go back to the office, bien? Will you be fine?"
"Mh-hmm. Ça va. You need to hurry up and sit down. All that stomping you did isn't good for your ankle."
"Je vais bien."
"Menteuse."
Jeanne rolled her eyes. "I'll live. À plus tard, Rita. Jaa ne, Levy!" She cheerfully said as she waved. Levy mutely returned the gesture.
"Um, McGarden-san?" Levy turned toward the younger de'Vajell. "I'm sorry you had to see her like that. And Jeanne-nee is, too."
Levy shook her head. "Sorry for what, exactly?"
"Well, right now, Jeanne-nee is freaking out about how you saw her get out of control. And she also really wishes she didn't speak to you the way she did."
Levy frowned. "Well, what's wrong with how she spoke? She was only saying how she felt. It's kinda surprising to learn that that's how she feels about us, but…"
Rita fidgeted. "And that scares her."
"What?"
The younger girl looked over to where her older sister disappeared. "She'd kill me if she knew I was telling you this, but she used to be very vocal and emotional. And that got her in trouble a lot. With Denver-san and others." She looked back to the older girl with pleading eyes. "Jeanne-nee wants to be herself again, but she's scared that even the guild would turn on her."
Levy was shocked. 'Turn on her? Why would we do that? Doesn't she know what nakama means?'
Rita shook her head. "I don't think she quite understands it."
Levy stared. Rita blinked before looking horrified.
"Pardon! Je suis désolé! I didn't mean to pry!" She began bowing deeply before Levy could stop her.
"It's fine, Marguerite-chan," she assured, lifting the little girl up. "Don't worry about it. But, what do you mean, she doesn't understand?" she pushed.
Rita bit her lip. "She knows that you guys would do anything for each other, and she does feel the same. But, more than being there for her when she needs it, for support or anything, she just wants to fit in, hang out, les amis, uh... tomodachi. But when she was little, stuff happened to her, and now she's kinda forgotten how to reach out to people properly. How to be herself and let others accept her for who she is. And she feels unworthy of friendship. So… she just kinda latches on to us. Because she feels blood bonds are stronger than promises, no matter how serious they are."
Levy sighed. "For her, the blood isn't thicker than water, huh?"
"Exactement."
Levy thought back to when she told Jeanne that she just wanted to hang out. The look on her face, of sheer gratitude and happiness. Almost every one of them had experienced loneliness in some way, shape, or form. Jeanne had always looked happy, and she had heard her speak of her family with deep love and pride. She was always at the edge of a table, watching everyone with a smile, listening to conversations and ready to respond. Or searching at the job board, always with a teasing remark to Nab. But, she never spoke of friends, never joined a group, or had someone she was always seen with. Did even Jeanne feel some form of loneliness?
"Something like that… No one in our guild should feel something like that."
"McGarden-san? Jeanne-nee does so much for us. She tries to hide it, but… Would you… would you please be her friend?"
"I thought I already was…"
