Author's Note: When determining Wendy's age, I counted the years in which she has had conscious thought. That means the 7 years in Tenrou Island count towards her chronological age of 25, but not what I'm calling her mental age of 18 since she didn't think, or grow mentally those seven years.
"Sorry, Wendy. They don't allow kids there..."
Wendy smiles at her friends. She assures them it's okay.
"You guys go and have fun."
As soon as they leave, her face goes back to normal. No point in pretending when no one is around.
"Party of one. Again."
She heads back into Fairy Hills and heads to her room.
Six years after coming back from the Tenrou Island incident and she was still like this. Still a child. No one has figured out why the spell affected her in particular in such way. For the first year or so it wasn't noticeable but eventually it became an issue. Theory after theory was ruled out until Wendy gave up. Her friends try to comfort her the best they can but they have their own lives. Lives that move forward and aren't suspended in time like hers.
So, once again, Wendy is left behind.
She takes off her make up and party clothes. The girl in the mirror frowns at her height, her small breasts, the perfectly smooth skin. Wendy must be the only woman in the world that prays for pimples or wrinkles. Because that's what she is now- a young woman of 18.
"Even a smile line would do," she quietly begs her reflection.
She understands them. Understanding doesn't make the loneliness go away, though. That loneliness wraps around her now, squeezing her heart until only negative emotions come out. She angrily throws herself on her bed, thinking of all the time taken away from her.
When she was a child in both mind and body still living in Cait Shelter there had been a pair of boys that wandered in lost and confused. She recalls the beautiful blonde boy and his dark best friend arriving into the spirit town asking for help. They had spent a month in the village. They shared stories about their dragons and listened to Wendy's stories about her dragon. She remembers when they confided in her that they hadn't really wanted to kill their dragons. When they saw her crying they both hugged her and cried as well.
Whenever she saw them now, a thousand knives pierced her heart. Curvy girls that pinch her cheeks always hang on their arms. The twin dragon slayers themselves treat her like a child even though they know she isn't really. However, it's hard for 25 year olds to truly be comfortable treating someone who looks like a 12 year old like she is their age.
Setting the microwave for popcorn, she sits on the couch and shuffles through lacrima Netflix. None of the suggestions speak to her before she gets up to take the popcorn out. On her way back to her pity party her cell starts ringing.
"Hello?"
The voice on the other end surprises her.
"Hey, Wendy. Heard you're home. Mind if I drop by?"
"Um, not at all. Everything okay? I thought you'd go with the others to the bar for the party."
Sting sighs into the phone.
"Yukino and I kinda broke up. I don't want to run into her..."
Lucy's birthday is bound to have Yukino as a guest. Wendy accepts that the only reason Sting called is because she's the only one not allowed inside a bar.
"Alright. I was gonna watch a movie. Got popcorn ready and everything."
"Sounds great. As long as it's nothing romantic."
His laugh cheers her up a bit. Regardless of her body, her mind still likes him.
"I'll look in the 'blood and gore' category then."
"Be there in 5 minutes."
Both excited and brokenhearted, she goes around her apartment cleaning up a bit. The bell rings as she sets extra blankets on the couch.
"Ready to par-tay?!"
She laughs at his Cana impersonation. He shoves a bag of chocolates and a tub of ice cream into her hands and walks in. She takes the items to the kitchen island before looking up at him with wide eyes.
"W-w-wait. You didn't just break up, did you?"
He shrugs sheepishly. She comes around the island to hug him. He hunches down in an attempt to return the hug.
"What happened?"
She backs away and looks at his face. He looks sad but better than she would expect.
"She kinda dumped me. Something about not committing enough."
He definitely looks better than someone who just got dumped.
"Oh? I'm sorry..."
He shrugs again and waives his hand.
"Nah, don't be. She's sorta right..."
"What do you mean?"
Without another word he moves to the other side of the kitchen and opens the correct drawer for the spoons.
"Hey, how did you know that was there?"
"Uh, I've been here before. Don't you remember?"
Wendy can't remember the last time he was in her apartment but goes along with it.
"Sure..."
He smiles down at her and pats her head.
"Don't roll your eyes at me young lady!"
"Oh, shut up," she grunts, irritated.
She grabs a spoon and the ice cream and heads over to the couch. A deep sadness speaks to him as he looks at her. She had been so vibrant, so full of life. No one in Sabertooth or Fairy Tail know just how far back they go. In fact, even among themselves they've never talked about it. He thought perhaps she didn't even remember that they'd met before so many, many years ago. But Sting hasn't forgotten.
"One day I'm gonna come back for you. We will be one happy family."
Wendy smiled at Sting. He and Rogue were leaving Cait Shelter in search of other dragon slayers. She gave him a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Do you promise?"
His cheeks went red but he looked at her with serious eyes. His pinky hooked around hers.
"I promise."
When he saw her again he had been too shocked to say anything, too shocked to approach her. Later he found out about what happened. Even then he told himself he would wait for her. Seven years weren't that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. But time passed and...
"Are you coming or do I get to pick the movie all by myself?"
"You wish. We might end up watching cooking shows if it was up to you."
The truth was, Yukino was completely justified in dumping him. He accepted that. In fact, he's glad she didn't realize just how justified she was. He spent most of his free time researching Wendy's condition, looking for a way to help her. Until recently, most of his research had been dead end after dead end. He wasn't sure why he didn't tell Yukino since the beginning, but the longer he waited the more he felt he should keep it secret. She simply assumed he wasn't serious about their relationship. Only Rogue knows the truth. The shadow dragon understands him. Understands that it means more to Sting than most people would consider right.
Sting is sitting next to her now. Zombieland is playing and Wendy is laughing at Tallahassee beating up a zombie with a banjo. He likes it better like this, being together in the dark. When he looks at her he can only see her eyes and if he focuses he can pretend they're the same. If he really tries, he can pretend that the past 13 years have only been a bad dream and he is back in Cait Shelter with his first love.
Wendy is wrapped up in blankets on the couch seemingly laughing at the movie. She is very aware of Sting looking at her from the other end of the couch. Not that she would dare hope it means anything good. No, she knows better. All these years she has hoped the twin dragon slayers had forgotten about their time in Cait Shelter. They never did come back for her, so she figured they probably had. That was alright with her. If Sting knew about her feelings for him he... would most likely never talk to her again.
Who would think of her like that? Everyone tried to pair her and Romeo at first but she found him childish. Still does. He's older now, of course, but there's a line of other 13 year olds shooting for her now. Just thinking about them makes her gag. They're just kids to her.
She laughs and pretends for the rest of the movie. It feels like that's what her (immortal?) life will be now. Just pretending.
"What's next?"
The movie has ended and Sting is still there. He looks at her expectantly.
"Uh, you leave?"
He feigned a wounded look.
"You're kicking me out? After I just got dumped?"
She can't help it and giggles. Letting him stay the night sounds like a bad idea all around but she can't bring herself to make him leave. She's sure he would be okay but when would she get another opportunity to be with him like this? His call was a fluke as it is.
"I'll go get you a pillow, I guess..."
He smiles at her and her little heart flutters.
Sting sits on the couch reconsidering his life choices. What the hell is he still doing here? Coming here in the first place, being this close to her, it was all a bad idea. And now he's staying the night. It's not like he would do anything... inappropriate. However, he's not dumb enough to tell himself there are no risks. She could find out about what he's been doing and why. If that happened...
"Here," she says as the throws a pillow at him. Her 4'11 body can't possibly hurt his 6'2 one outside of battle. Yet, he gives her a menacing look. She returns it before they both crack up. They end up having a The Walking Dead marathon, moving the couches around and setting up the pillows and blankets like a fluffy fort. The lacrima can be seen perfectly from their resting position inside the fort through the fort window they created.
"If this whole wizard thing doesn't work out we could be engineers."
Wendy laughs.
"Speak for yourself. Fairy Tail is the only place I can get a job and not be asked if I'm old enough. At least not every day."
She attempts a smile but he can see the sadness behind it. When he speaks there's a change in his eyes.
"Hey..."
He nudges her with his elbow.
"It won't be like this forever. Everything will go back to normal, you'll see."
He can see she doesn't believe his words, but the sentiment touches her all the same. A corner of her mouth lifts in half a smile that he mirrors. She looks away.
"Ugh! Can't believe Andrea is still alive. She sucks!"
He looks at her for a second longer before turning his attention to the lacrima and agreeing with her.
She wakes up feeling something warm under her. It feels surprisingly similar to human skin?
She opens her eyes and sees a well-defined, somewhat tanned chest. Her wide eyes look up and find Sting's head attached to it. Cursing at herself for falling asleep close to him, she slowly tries to lift herself off him without waking him up. Her upper back encounters resistance. She closes her eyes wishing she was dead. His arm is around her, holding her to him. If she moves it, he may very well wake up. She tries to ignore the pleasant feeling of being so close to him. He smells so good. She gives her head a firm shake. No more thinking like that. In the middle of scheming a plan to slip away unnoticed she hears the distinct sound of someone waking up.
"Uh..."
She squeezes her eyes shut. Goddammit. Opening one of them and hoping for an innocent expression she looks up at him.
"So sorry, I must've rolled over or something..."
The expression on her face is priceless, but Sting tells himself this is no time for jokes. He needed to get out of this pronto. He notices his arm around her and hopes she didn't as well.
"Oh. Don't worry about it. These things happen in sleepovers I suppose."
He resists the urge to palm himself in the face with his newly freed arm. He watches her cheeks go dark pink and she lifts herself off him.
She clears her throat, clearly uncomfortable. Great. Now she thinks he's a creep.
"I'm gonna go change. You can get some breakfast or put on a shirt-"
Her cheeks turned a deeper color.
"Right. I'll be right back."
"Okay," he hears himself say idiotically.
He takes advantage of the fact that she is gone and decides to make a run for it. He reaches the door before his conscience gets to him. He could t least leave a note.
"Thanks for everything. Had a blast. Catch ya later. -S."
Wendy face palms. She's such an idiot.
At least it was a nice evening. For a while there she didn't feel like a child. He joked around with her and matched her sarcasm and sass with his own. It was great. It would probably not happen again, but it was great.