Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
Main Pairing(s): Natsu Dragneal x Zeraf (eventual), , Jellal Fernandes x Erza Scarlet (established)
Other Mentioned Pairing(s): Gajeel Redfox x Levy McGarden (established), Loke x Lucy Heartfilia (eventual)
WARNINGS: AU , eventual Shounan ai (boy/boy pairing), you have been warned
Modern Fantasy
By V. Shalyr
2. Snacks and Stories
"Professor Fernandes?"
Jellal looked up from behind the lectern at the front of his classroom. "Yes?"
The small group of students exchanged looks and then the girl who had spoken cleared her throat.
"It's just—you see, we were studying out near the old magic research building the other day, the one that got closed down some years ago? And it looked kind of different. Like someone had been making repairs."
The navy-haired man raised his eyebrows at that. "I haven't heard of any plans to renovate the place."
The students shifted uneasily.
"Is it possible that there's still some active magic in the area that's not safe to be around? I mean, most of us live in the dorm just over the hill from the place, so we just wanted to make sure..."
Ah, so that was what this was about. Jellal had heard some of the wild stories being circulated among the student population about ghosts and curses.
"It's probably nothing," he said, giving the group a reassuring smile. "But I'll be sure to look into it. In fact, I can go check it out right now. This is my last class for today."
There were no sighs of relief, but he could see shoulders relaxing and furrowed brows smoothing out.
"Thanks, professor."
Jellal expected the visit to just be routine. He or one of the other professors in the magic department checked on the old research building every year and there was rarely anything dangerous. They were still petitioning for the proper resources to tear the place down altogether.
When he arrived that afternoon, however, something felt different. Magic had definitely been used somewhere nearby, and it had been very recent. Frowning, he braced himself and turned the handle of one of the side doors, finding it unlocked. The hinges didn't creak when he pushed it open, and he sucked in a sharp breath when the afternoon light illuminated the corridor beyond.
The place looked new.
That was bad.
He only knew one wizard who could make something like this happen in such a short amount of time.
"I thought you might show up."
Slowly, Jellal turned around. He knew the woman hadn't been there a moment ago, but he'd half expected her after seeing the inside of the building and so he wasn't surprised.
"Ultear, you're not supposed to be here."
"Is that any way to talk to an old colleague?"
"Ex-colleague."
"Oh, of course. How could I forget? You've turned over a new leaf. Your students seem to trust you. I wonder what they would think if they knew you used to be one of us."
The breeze tugged at her long, raven hair, and despite the warmth of the afternoon sun, her amused smile made him feel cold.
"Why are you here?"
"You're no fun," Ultear sighed dramatically. "I need a place to stay for now, and this place will do nicely. Don't worry, I'm not interested in any of your students. All you have to do is look the other way."
Jellal's mouth was a hard, flat line when he looked at her. "I can't do that."
"If I were you, I'd think on it before making any decisions." She shrugged, a careless little lift of the shoulders that seemed to indicate it really didn't matter either way to her. She had her ways of getting the results she wanted. That was the kind of person she'd always been.
"But in the spirit of past camaraderie, I'll let you in on a little secret," she added, leaning forward—smile teasing once more, but also edged in venom. "We're looking for someone. Someone you were very interested in—at least for awhile. You really shouldn't have left. We know so much more now than we did then. It's almost sad."
.
For a long time after returning to his office, Jellal couldn't stop thinking about her words. They had rattled him more than he'd let on, and not just the ones about their search for someone—although that part was particularly concerning.
Running a hand down his face, he let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. His leather chair squeaked as he slumped into it, sliding a short distance across the pale brown tiles.
None of his colleagues here at the university knew just what he'd been doing before Erza helped him get a job here, with the possible exception of Levy McGarden. The woman had even more connections to the police than he did and great observational skills to boot. He'd be surprised if she didn't at least suspect. The time he'd spent as a dark wizard wasn't one he was proud of or particularly wanted to recount. He'd been such an idiot, thinking he could make the world a better place with wizardry. He knew now that magic couldn't make the world better like some doctor's medicinal prescriptions, but that wasn't how he had thought back then. Anger and hate were not catalysts for clear or logical thinking. In that respect, Erza had always been so much stronger than him.
He still dreamt sometimes of the strange tower where they'd both been forced to work as children. Having magical power hadn't seemed like such a great thing then, not when it was responsible for their suffering. He still marveled at how differently the two of them had turned out, considering how much they had endured together.
The thought of his girlfriend brought a smile back to his face. Right, he'd better give her a call. Or, on second thought, he should probably go visit her. This wasn't a conversation that he wanted anyone else to overhear.
Ultear had made a big mistake telling him anything. His priorities had changed a great deal in the past couple years since he'd left Grimoire Heart, and there was just no way he could keep that information secret and live with himself.
If things went wrong and he did lose this job, he could always find a different one. He was a reasonably talented individual, after all. Better to live with a clean conscience.
That in mind, he grabbed his coat and his keys, switched off the lights, and headed for the faculty parking lot.
.
Natsu groaned and plopped his head down on the table with a thud. He was so hungry. On top of having skipped lunch because of work, he'd overshot the damage budget again. That was really eating into his finances.
At this rate, he was going to have to start fishing in the bay again like he'd done when he'd first moved here—or putting in a lot more overtime.
"Are you... okay?"
It took a moment for the soft, hesitant question to register through his daydreams of food. When it finally did, Natsu lifted his head to stare across the table. He already knew what he would find; he'd been visiting the coffee shop every evening since Monday—partly to eat dinner and partly to watch this particular person. That was probably why he'd automatically sat down at this table when he'd found all the other tables occupied.
In all that time, this was the first Natsu had heard him speak. Even when he made his orders at the counter, all he did was point. Natsu was sure most of the people in the coffee shop thought the boy was mute.
"Just really hungry."
Large, dark eyes regarded him with an unreadable expression for a couple long seconds, and then the boy slid the remaining half of his sandwich across the table to him.
"You sure you don't want this?" Natsu asked, surprised.
The boy nodded.
"Well, in that case, thanks."
Another nod.
Natsu ate in silence, watching the boy return to his book. He always had a book on him, and he tended to read with a focus that discouraged interruption. Natsu rather suspected that that was the whole point. The book kept curious people at bay—or most curious people anyway. Natsu wasn't so easily deterred once he'd taken an interest in something.
Swallowing a mouthful of turkey and lettuce, Natsu spoke. "If you're in more of a talking mood today, I've been meaning to ask you a couple things."
The boy's shoulders tensed, hunching up a little. Natsu got the distinct impression that he was regretting ever having opened his mouth. Not that that was going to stop Natsu from asking his questions.
"You're a wizard, right? You smell like magic."
This seemed to give the boy pause and he slowly lowered his book to look at Natsu again.
"I... smell like magic?"
"Yeah, most wizards do."
Natsu grinned and the boy's gaze lingered on his fangs.
"You're a Dragon Slayer."
It was Natsu's turn to be somewhat taken aback. "That's right. How did you know?"
Dragon Slayer Magic was classified as a Lost Magic. Very, very few people knew anything about it.
Instead of answering, the boy asked, "You have met a real dragon?"
"I was raised by one."
"I see."
He might, but Natsu didn't. He was the first person outside of his fellow Dragon Slayers that hadn't reacted to this information with incredulity.
"You don't seem surprised."
"Why should I be surprised?"
He sounded honestly confused.
Natsu scratched the back of his head. "Most people are."
The boy appeared to turn this piece of information over for a moment then nodded to himself. "I suppose that is to be expected."
If Natsu hadn't thought he was out of the ordinary before, he certainly did now.
"What about a name?" he asked finally when it became apparent that the boy wasn't going to say anything more. "You've got to have one of those, right?"
Another hesitant nod and no answer.
"Come on, it's easy. Here." Natsu held out his hand. "I'm Natsu, Natsu Dragneal."
The boy stared at the hand like he'd never seen a hand before, but eventually, he accepted it. It was such an awkward handshake that Natsu almost laughed. This guy really needed to get out more.
"I'm sorry, but I really don't like to tell people my name."
Ah, finally, they were getting somewhere.
"Why not?"
"I... It's just not a good idea."
"Huh, okay, but I still need something to call you."
Natsu leaned back in his chair and glanced around the busy shop for inspiration. There was the leafy decorations, the colorful flyers by the front door, the food of course—hmmm, the featured item this week was alphabet soup? Weird. Natsu wondered what was special about it. Hold on. Alphabet soup. Well, they were often used as aliases, right?
"Do you have a favorite letter? No? How about "Z" then?"
For some reason, the boy started violently at this suggestion. Did that mean the letter really was part of his name?
"It's the first initial of the author of the book you're reading," Natsu explained. It was also the letter N turned sideways, which just sort of amused him for no reason. "Unless you'd prefer something else?"
The boy gave him a slightly perturbed and hunted look, but eventually, he shook his head.
So it was settled.
Natsu thanked him again for the meal and left the coffee shop feeling rather accomplished. He had an additional nighttime patrol today, which was a bit of a pain, but he'd also gotten a start on satisfying his curiosity. About time really.
Natsu wondered why the boy intrigued him so much—but only briefly. He wasn't in the habit of questioning his own actions, and he saw no point in starting now. Besides, there was that scent.
.
Zeraf watched the Dragon Slayer leave with mixed feelings of trepidation, anxiety, and confusion. He'd become aware of the wild-haired wizard's watchful gaze some days ago and might have moved to a different coffee shop if it weren't for how accustomed he was now to this one. He disliked change and avoided it when he could. That, and it wasn't easy to find places where neither the staff or the customers were inclined to pry. In retrospect, he should probably have expected it not to last. It never did. But he'd never been approached in quite this way.
He wasn't sure how to react.
"Will you be wanting another half sandwich?"
Zeraf glanced up at the waiter and shook his head. He didn't actually need to eat. The sandwich and coffee he always got were more of a formality. He did so because people started giving him odd looks when he went too long without having been seen to eat anything. That, and even though starving didn't really hurt him, it could get quite uncomfortable.
Given the choice, he would have preferred not to live in a city at all. But as the world changed, areas of wilderness became more scarce. And it became easier for the unsavory individuals who wanted him for one reason or another to find him. He'd eventually been forced to seek refuge in densely populated settlements such as Magnolia, and especially settlements inhabited by numerous other wizards—the more the better.
A Dragon Slayer. He hadn't thought he'd ever meet one of those again.
Judging from the winged tattoo on the wizard's shoulder, he was probably in the magical crimes division of the police force.
Zeraf wondered if he should stay home for awhile, or switch to a different coffee shop after all. Nothing good ever came from associating with other people—especially other wizards.
TBC...
.