One breezy evening in the guild hall of Fairy Tail, a beautiful blue-haired girl was perched on a stool in front of Mira's counter, drinking from a little glass of some fruity drink.
"It's fine, Carla, it's just dinner, not a date." She was telling a white cat next to her, who was fretting and clawing at the chair underneath her.
"So you've said every week for the last few months." Carla harrumphed. "You really have taken a liking to our young Romeo."
"Romeo's been showing me some magic books." Wendy insisted. "That's all, Carla." Her cheeks were a shade pinker, however.
"One: Those must be some incredible magic books, and Two: I've noticed you've taken to calling him "Romeo" and not your old "Romeo-kun."" Carla sniffed. "Affectionate, much?"
"SAY THAT AGAIN."
"Oh, Gajeel-san. Good to see you!" Wendy turned to smile at the Iron Dragonslayer. The smile instantly died. "Gajeel….san….why are you frowning?" (Frowning was a nice way to describe what Gajeel looked like at this moment. Hint: Think Mira with anger issues.)
"THAT LITTLE PUNK THINKS HE CAN GET AWAY WITH DATIN' WITH THE SKY DRAGONSLAYER?! " Gajeel thundered. "NOT ON MY WATCH! THAT KID FORGOT TO ASK FIREBREATH AND ME FOR PERMISSION!"
"What about me and Romeo?" Natsu asked mildly from the other side of the guild. He was surprisingly calm today, and a certain little blonde-haired child sleeping in his arms explained that quite clearly.
"Oi, Firebreath. Romeo's been datin' Wendy without permission." Gajeel lowered his voice by half a decibel at the sight of little Iggy snoozing, but only that much. "We should give him a thrashing."
"As long as he doesn't bang her I'm cool." Natsu said with a shrug. A muffled "EEP!" and "Goodness!" came from somewhere in the general direction of the horrified blunette and white cat, respectively.
"But he's takin' away Wendy's innocence!" Gajeel protested. "And soon that lil gal will be a woman all grown up!"
"Except the chest region." Natsu observed. "True." Gajeel said phlegmatically. Wendy turned bright red and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Sorry, Metalhead, but I'm gonna have to bow out of this one." Natsu stood up, still carrying slumbering Iggy. "Wendy's a big girl now. She should take care of herself. Besides, Romeo's a good kid. He won't do anything to tarnish Wendy." He strode out of the hall, cradling Iggy with all the possessiveness of a father.
"Ya only say that cuz he feeds you fire 24/7!" Gajeel bellowed after Natsu's retreating back. Natsu just flipped him the finger, much to the Iron Dragonslayer's rage.
"Wendy!"
Wendy turned when she heard a familiar voice. "Romeo!" She called eagerly, sliding off the stool and running to greet the Rainbow Fire mage. "You made it!"
"Yup, I sure did." Romeo smiled down at Wendy, having reached his growth spurt a long time ago. Macao swore the boy was still growing. "You all ready for dinner?"
"Mm!" Wendy snatched her satchel and waved goodbye to a fuming Gajeel and grieving Carla. "I'll be back later, Carla! Bye Gajeel-san!"
"Farewell child." Carla sniffed as if she were attending a funeral. Gajeel made a sound kind of like "Grrrraaughh."
"Geez, it's only a few hours." Laxus commented from his seat close to the exit. "Let the girl enjoy herself once in a while."
"SHE'S GROWIN' UP AND I CAN'T DO A THING TO STOP HER." Gajeel hissed. The threesome looked at the usually stoic Iron Dragonslayer in shock.
"You really are a softie underneath, aren't you?" Laxus commented with a smirk, easily blocking Gajeel's furious attacks with one muscled arm. "Relax, Gajeel. Wendy is well over her little girl days. So is Romeo.
"Look at them." He pointed at the two young mages heading out of the guild hall, laughing and chatting with each other. Romeo was now tall and well-built, and he walked with an air of confidence. His warm eyes lingered on the girl by his side, slim and pretty, laughing with the same ardor she always had as when she was younger.
"They're not little children anymore." Laxus said quietly, almost fondly. "And we should let them choose their own futures."
Gajeel watched as Romeo smilingly held out his hand. Wendy took it with a smile and a blush, and the two walked off hand in hand together and vanished out of sight around the corner.
"I guess you're right." Gajeel mumbled. He looked up at the reddening sky, slowly fading to a dull purple as the sun began its descent towards the horizon. His voice was curiously soft.
"But I sure miss that little girl."
A/N: Feels, much?