A/N: Sup peeps. wiErD here and I got the new chapter ready for you guys.
Have Fun and Happy Reading ^^
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these two franchises. All elements belonged to their respective owners. Support the official releases.
- Living Together -
The entirety of the guild stood in pure shock.
A bold yet unbelievable statement made by the unknown blonde woman standing between Natsu and Erza shook everyone to the very core. Their faces dawned in both confusion and disbelief as if an unknown phenomenon had dawned upon them.
No one could've anticipated it. I mean, it would be fine if it was some sort of a joke or something but nooooo...
The words spoken by the woman was neither false nor a joke, judging from her hardened expression.
Some of the onlookers had their mouths gaping open and eyes popping up like white saucers. The shock was too great that it could be the key to bringing down most of the members of the guild in a form of words.
Well, not that much but still―the shock was too much for them to handle.
Even members of Team Natsu couldn't believe what they just heard.
Apart from the sudden appearance of the unknown blonde woman, their attention was fully focused on what she just said in which they simply gaped their mouths open before shouting―
"EEEEEEHHHHHHHHH?!"
"What's this? Natsu's wife?!"
"Since when?!"
"Shit, I didn't know he's that kind of guy!"
"How many kids do they have now?"
"HEY! WHO SAID THAT?!"
Ultimately, the murmurs started spreading but for the most part within the crowd was just mostly shock and chaos around them.
Several friends of the dragonslayer also put up their different responses towards the situation; Mira was covering her mouth in shock, Lucy and Wendy stared widely in surprise and Gray glanced from one of the tables, thinking that it might be some sort of a new challenge against him.
Seriously, what's wrong with his head?
And the most affected of them all...
Erza soon blushed heavily at the bold declaration. Red tinge dusted her cheeks as she stumbled out of her composure that Leticia might use as an opportunity to strike her down if not for the pinkette holding her hands to use magic.
Ignoring the confusion around her, the vampire woman simply looked at him in concern.
"Natsu... No one's hurting you, right?" She asked again, wanting to clarify his assurance. Her voice got their next attention as another wave of murmurs went by with the crowd.
"You hear that? She sounds like an angel."
"Damn it, how come someone like Natsu get a girl this beautiful!"
"And they're married, goddammit!"
A tick mark appeared over his head as the rumors continued to circle around the guild.
First of all, they're not married. Second, he needs to clear up the misunderstanding made by his companion or something else might be in store waiting for his fate to unfold in a very gruesome way.
Why?
His eyes pointed over to the flustered redhead who had her expression shadowed by her red locks. Her shaking form looks as if she's gonna burst out anytime soon, asking questions and eventually will keep pestering him for more until the end of time.
In the case of Erza, every question she inquired must be answered thoroughly no matter what.
Not to mention, the violence she might unleash because of his untold relationship with Leticia―which is completely misunderstood.
His thoughts were abruptly cut off as he felt a body clinging close to him as Leticia placed both her arms over his neck, her chest pressed onto his, looking some sort of a damsel in distress hugging her savior all the while adopting a cautious look over to the people around him.
"L-Leticia?" Her cautiousness towards other people due to her nature doesn't seem to affect her as her actions looked protective towards the pinkette.
"I won't let anyone get near you... I will protect you!" She adamantly declared.
And that's when it happened...
Seeing the more intimate sight, much of the crowd simply fell down on the floor, unconscious. The others who still have their senses felt their noses bursting out of blood―mainly to the males towards the unforeseen sight. The girls blushed heavily in response but Erza managed to recompose herself and took action.
"W-W-What the hell do you think you're doing?!" She stuttered as she requipped her hammer back to her inventory and tried to separate the two.
Her words were transmitted directly to Leticia who looks at her in contempt after touching her arm that was clinging onto Natsu.
Erza ignored the hard stare and instead, looked up to the pinkette with anticipation.
"Natsu! What's the meaning of this?! Just who you brought along here without having any explanation behind y-y-your..."
She can't handle to say the last part...
The dragonslayer was relieved, to say the least since she didn't resort to violence and gave him a chance to explain.
"H-Hold on, Erza. There's a good explanation behind this. Leticia―" He turned towards the still cautious woman beside her. He pulled away from the girl along with him a few meters away from the prying scarlet knight.
"Hmm?"
"Umm, can you repeat what you just said earlier?" He politely asked in a form of whisper just so to avoid them from getting heard.
"My husband." She said.
It was way too blunt.
Luckily, Natsu isn't that much sensitive when it comes to relationships but the term naturally gets him confused.
They were just friends with each other earlier... So how did it come turned into something like what she said?
He isn't an idiot to understand what it meant. Years of silently skimming through Lucy's novels made him aware of these words.
"U-Uhhh... Why would you say that?"
"Ancient tradition... Remember when I bit you in the neck last night?" She inquired, seemingly calm despite the chaotic uproar.
"Yeah."
"As a vampire, biting the neck of someone close to her marks two new relationships."
"Eh?"
"One would be master-and-slave. I chose the other because I don't think of you that way." She finished with a smile. He could've sworn he saw her cheeks slightly turned pink. Natsu took a few moments to sink in the new information inside his head until he finally realized it.
"Ah, I see... I thought for second there, I―Teh, that's not the case!"
"What's wrong, Natsu?"
Her eyes stared over to the pinkette who was shaking his head in pain. He sighed for a moment and then landed his eyes back on her.
"Leticia... I appreciate the relationship but we're still friends. From what I know, husband and wife don't exactly come fast when two people recently met with each other." Now he sounded a bit mature on that statement.
It was more like a reasonable explanation about the relationship. He must've thought that she doesn't know the concept of marriage in the culture of humans, considering that she's a vampire. Noticing their culture differences means that Leticia might've stated their new relationship in a matter of her own belief.
Leticia gave his words a few thoughts before momentarily closing her eyes along with a nod as she looked at him once more.
"Okay."
"I'm glad you understand."
"What's the fuss around here, my stupid brats?! I've been looking over to your course of destruction details on every job and I come down here seeing all this?!" A powerful voice was invoked, quelling down all the noise surrounding downstairs as Master Makarov walks out from his office and looks down over his guild.
His appearance settled all the chaos on the guild hall as members looked up to him nervously. Even those who went unconscious during the predicament immediately sprung back to life. It is as if their master's words had some magic in it.
The whole guild went silent as Makarov jumped from the ledge as if gliding in the air before landing softly on the floor.
"So what's the noise is all about anyway?"
Erza was about to explain but his eyes already peered towards the unfamiliar woman standing beside her along with the fire dragonslayer.
"Hmm? I haven't seen your face around here. Are you perhaps a new member?" He started with inquisitive eyes.
Leticia hesitates for a moment because of the unfamiliar man but she felt a squeeze on her hand as she looked at her companion who simply gave a light nod towards her in reassurance.
"My name is Leticia Draculea."
"Oh, what an interesting name..." He remarked, immediately noticing her foreign name apart from their native continent.
The rest of the guild also heard her introduce herself for the first time as they all stared in surprise at the unfamiliar name.
"Hey, Gramps! Just the person I wanted to see!" Cutting their conversation was Natsu who immediately took over for Leticia as she hid behind his back, cautious of the people around her once again.
"Natsu... You came back from the last job, eh? I'm glad that you didn't start any trouble with the locals there."
"Yeah sure... Anyways, can I talk to you in private just for a moment with her?"
He pointed his companion as the short man pondered for a moment, looking at the girl behind him in deep thought. After a few moments, he simply nodded in response as he glanced towards the stairs and started to walk.
"Alright... Let's go talk to my office."
The others simply pave way for the trio but it didn't go smoothly as Erza soon approaches their master with demandable questions.
"Master! What is going on?" She asked, suspecting like he was expecting the two in the first place.
But Makarov gave a short message towards her question.
"Not now, Erza... You'll have to answer your question from the boy once we're all done talking." It was a tone of serious matter and she knew that something must be going on between Natsu and that mysterious woman beside him.
But the words of their master is absolute so she had no choice but to step aside.
The trio walked upstairs and eventually disappeared through a door, leaving all of them confused and curious at the same time.
"I wonder what happened to his job," Mira spoke to herself in thought as she looked in worry for the pinkette who's been acting weird since that woman appeared in the guild.
...
As soon as they managed to walk away from the rest of the people inside the guild, Makarov led the two in his office and let them settle for a bit. Natsu and Leticia silently stood in front of the desk where he was sitting at.
Both were having uncertain looks all over their faces.
It was then he started to speak.
"Okay, I guess we're finally out from prying eyes. You may relax..." His expression turned soft as he goofily smiles at them in reassurance.
"...I apologize for the tough act earlier but it was needed so that they may never pry themselves upon you anymore―or at least for now.
"So you knew..." Natsu assumed.
"Hahaha... Of course, I can easily see through the magic of other people inside of them from afar." He chuckled. Natsu and Leticia could only look at each other in confusion as they looked back at him again in anticipation.
"Umm, Gramps! There's something I need to tell you about―"
"There's no need to say it, Natsu. I already know." He cleared up his throat for a second and laid his eyes towards her.
"You're... You're a vampire, aren't you?"
Leticia could feel no malice behind the tone of his voice. In fact, he was rather mild and collected to approach the topic in a serious way.
"Yes... I am one." She replied back neatly, without raising or lowering her voice in front of the old man.
"I see... It's quite a rarity for someone of your race resurfacing here in this part of town." He drew a smile as he leaned back in his chair to ease the tension around the room.
Leticia looked around cautiously once again but Makarov raised his hand in reassurance.
"Don't worry, I placed a barrier in this room so we won't have any eavesdropping from the outside. My brats tend to get a bit nosy on some things such as these... From what I see, you don't want anyone to know about your nature, am I right?" He stated. Leticia could only nod.
"Alright, I understand... Anyways, back to the topic... how did you meet one of my brats?" His eyes now turned to the pinkette in curiosity. Natsu simply ignored the insult made for him and began his explanation.
"I found―No, I mean, Leticia and I met each other in my last job located near the forest. She was a captive and was being delivered to some place. I rescued her by coincidence but there's just one problem..."
"Problem?" Makarov perked his brows in curiosity.
"...She claims to have lost her memory and could not remember anything from the time she was still a prisoner." Natsu reasoned.
"Oh, I see... an amnesia perhaps?"
"I... I don't know. I can't remember where I am or where I come from. But I remember my name and myself as a vampire. I just can't remember anything about my past..." This time, Leticia answered in uncertainty.
"Well, I guess this is a pretty serious situation here. You said something about being captured?"
"Oh, about that. I managed to defeat the guys who held her captive. We were just about to ask some questions but they somehow managed to escape from their prison. I feel like she might be in danger so I decided to let her come with me in the meantime until we can solve things out." Natsu explained.
Makarov took a few minutes to understand the situation as he closed his eyes to ponder. A brief silence went by and the guild master finally opened his eyes, seemingly done with his final decision.
"Certainly, the girl's situation is quite a serious matter. However, I cannot confirm about the motives of her pursuers but I can understand the suspicion. Our guild has come a long way dealing with matters like this so we'll do what we can do best for her as well." He smiled.
"E-Even though I'm a stranger?"
"Well, Natsu seems to trust you completely so I as well would keep my word. Plus, we're always glad to reach out for someone's help despite being an outsider. Our guild looks after its families and friends. You're a friend of one of my children so I trust you."
His kind words actually made her feel relieved since this is the first time someone actually acknowledges her and willing to help her despite her race.
She could only bow in gratitude.
"Thank you for trusting me."
"It's nothing to be worth thanking about. I'm just surprised to see another one of your kind."
Leticia and Natsu lifted their heads and stared at the Sixth guild master of Fairy Tail in confusion.
"Another one?"
"Ah, it's a long time ago―when I was still in the seats in the Wizard Saints. I only managed to talk to him once since he tends to travel around the continent. Well, it's not like I couldn't help it since he was one of the Four Heavenly Gods of Ishgar."
The two stared at his wistful expression, not getting any understanding behind his words but Natsu immediately flared up in excitement.
"Ooooh! I would like to get in a fight with him someday! Where can I find him, Gramps?"
"Idiot! Didn't I tell you he travels very often? Plus, you should think about an excuse to explain all of this to your friends." Makarov glared at him in response.
"Oh, that's right... I'm assuming Erza might be waiting by the door and would strangle me if I didn't answer correctly." Natsu shuddered.
He didn't want any of his memories of being beaten up by the redhead to return. He also didn't want the physical pain either. But judging from how Gramps set her aside, it would seem like she might get even more pissed than ever.
Leticia simply watched his impending demise while Makarov looked at the two in content.
"You've actually matured a bit, Natsu." He whispered to himself as he smiled over at the pink-haired boy who was now talking to his companion.
"I didn't catch your name by the way." He said, looking at the vampire woman.
"Leticia... Leticia Draculea."
"Hmm... I see. A fitting name for the vampire race." He remarked.
"Umm... If I may ask, I would like to keep my identity hidden as possible. I don't want to cause trouble for the people in this peaceful town." She bowed.
"Well, we do not hold any ill will against your kind but if you insist then I shall do my best to keep it hidden as possible." He replied in reassurance.
"I appreciate it."
"Now that's settled, I believe you should make up your excuses for them." He snapped his fingers as the barrier around the room immediately vanished. Soon afterward, he moved his finger in a form of gesture as he pulled the door open, exposing the people behind it.
Natsu and Leticia turned back in surprise with the latter recognizing the people trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.
On the other hand, the group groaned in pain especially to Lucy who's been at the bottom of the body pile after losing her balance when the door opened. Along with Gray, Wendy, and Erza, Mirajane was also one of the suspects as they finally looked at the two, dumbfounded.
"You guys..."
"Ehehehe~ Hello there." Mira tried her best to act kindly to escape from the situation.
"Master!" Erza's voice boomed across the room as she got back on her feet, leaving the rest still on the ground with a suspicious look on her face.
"Oh, it's good to see you, Erza. How's your last job?" Makarov spoke in a casual tone, pretending to have nothing to do with the newcomer. His serious expression already left his face as if nothing had ever happened between the three of them.
"Master! I wanna know what's going on around here. Who is this woman?" Her eyes gazed over to Leticia crimson orbs in suspicion. The way her tone was invoked around the room sounded a bit annoyed, probably due having been ignored from earlier.
The others also looked at her in curiosity once more as Leticia felt uncomfortable at their intense stares. She instinctively grabbed hold of the pinkette's hand and retreated her form as a result.
Natsu could only release a sigh from his mouth as he let go of her hand to explain.
"Calm down, you guys. It's not a very serious matter, alright?" He tried to ease the tension but Erza responded with a glare―something that works on making the dragonslayer shut his mouth to let her take over the conversation.
Makarov calmly sipped through his cup as he prepares to speak as well.
"Well, it's not much of a big deal so I'll start." He cleared his throat.
"...This is Leticia Draculea. She's a relative from an old acquaintance of mine back when I was in the seat of the Wizard Saints. Apparently, she and Natsu met on one of his jobs so they happen to travel back here and report to me. I was entrusted to her in letting her stay here in the guild since her relative is supposedly traveling on another continent. So basically, she'll be staying here from now on."
His explanation somehow managed to convince most of the others. Natsu and Leticia were actually surprised to see him make up a fake story that easily without faltering or showing any suspicions. It almost seems like it's too real to believe...
Erza and Mirajane knew better but they didn't show their dissatisfaction towards the explanation. They both respected their guild master so they decided to trust him and settle down right away.
"I-Is that so?" Gray replied.
"I see... But that doesn't explain what she just said earlier!" Erza spoke, not seemingly done with her questioning as she points an accusing finger toward Leticia with a tinged blush on her cheeks.
"What are you talking about?"
Since Makarov wasn't around at that time, he could only ask about her statement in curiosity while looking at the fire mage in confusion.
"T-T-That they... h-h-h-had... a-a-a... b-b-baby..." She stuttered.
"Oi! You got it all wrong there! Rather, you're making it even worse!" Gray butted in.
Mirajane gently shoved the now blushing scarlet knight away as she spoke about the real reason behind her words just now.
"What she meant by is that Leticia claims Natsu to be her husband." She calmly spoke but the anticipation was already noticed behind her worried expression while looking at the pinkette in the process.
Makarov could've sworn he almost saw his life flashing right before his eyes after choking hard from his drink at the moment of the explanation.
Really, it was actually a wrong time to give him such an unbelievable statement that could make him roll down on the floor and probably pass out but―
―Natsu becoming a husband...?
He ought to teach him a lot of adult things if he's ever qualified to take the role.
"E-Excuse me?"
"Like I said, h-u-s-b-a-n-d."
"A-Ah that! Leticia had a bit of a culture difference since she's from another continent. She mistakenly referred him like that because she thought of him as her close friend. Am I right?" Makarov gave a decisive look over to the two, noticing that he's covering up for them.
"Y-Yeah, that's right! It was just a misunderstanding. Nothing to worry about, hehe~"
Natsu added along with a poor impression while Leticia remained silent, seemingly confused at the flow of conversation.
"Ugh..." The others could only stutter in their words as soon as they heard the master explained everything.
They could only look towards her in disbelief as she continued to stand near his side like some sort of loyal friend. It doesn't look like she's getting separated from him anytime soon and for some reason, Erza could feel her irritation accumulating whilst trying to heed their master's words.
The remaining group merely got little attention towards the situation and was left with more questions than answers regarding the woman.
And thus, the day turns to the afternoon.
...
A few hours passed after the whole incident about Leticia and the duo had encountered with a huge amount of attention, mainly only to the other members of the guild. Countless murmurs circled around the hall as they were the main topic of the entire guild itself.
The usual brawls that Fairy Tail was famous for are temporarily not present in the atmosphere.
Leticia's sudden appearance to the guild simply overcame that thought as the eyes of all males glued onto her features in both interest and affection. Natsu, on the other hand, received the other end of their happy expressions―jealousy and contempt.
...Although, it didn't affect him much as his full attention only focuses on the woman sitting beside him.
Apparently, they were guided out from the office along with Erza's group after all the cleared misunderstanding.
Makarov briefly announced her arrival to the rest of the guild afterward which led to some huge uproar amongst the boys.
Now, the two joined together with their friends as they sat at a vacant table whilst being the center of attention by the rest of the guild.
Leticia immediately grew uncomfortable at their stares but Natsu simply urged her to pay no mind of them since he knew the reason behind it. It's still really hard to fit in with a bunch of people who doesn't even have a single clue behind her true nature. Not to mention that only a few knew about it―rather only Natsu and the master have been informed.
The former's friends are almost a second away from knowing the truth, judging from their inquisitive looks that have been bugging her ever since she got out of the room―mainly to the scarlet knight and the barmaid who's silently cleaning the bar counter.
Lucy and the others waited for the opportune moment to speak as the awkward atmosphere continued to fill in between them.
...After a few minutes, the blonde mage began to speak.
"N-Nice to meet you by the way, umm..." Lucy stuttered but she simply answered away.
"Leticia."
"Eh?"
"Leticia is my name. I haven't got your name."
"O-Oh... It's Lucy Heartfilia. Nice to meet you, Leticia." She smiled kindly in which Leticia made with a smile of her own that soon lightens up the atmosphere around them.
Surprisingly enough, she doesn't seem to lose her composure despite talking to a stranger. It might be that she noticed her as Natsu's friend so it's natural to speak normally towards each other.
"I'm Wendy Marvell. This is Carla. She's my partner!" The blue-haired sky dragonslayer soon introduced themselves. The white Exceed passed a normal gesture of greeting to act properly.
"Nice to meet you too..." Leticia also responded in the same manner which slightly surprised them.
Her eyes soon darted over to the scarlet knight whose face was that of a person who's bearing a light grudge towards her with no reason.
"..."
"..."
Both women stared at each other in silence but their expressions immediately turned into a form of glare.
The atmosphere soon became tense.
"W-What's with this weird atmosphere?" Gray whispered along with the group as they saw the two squaring off their stares at each other as if two different sparks are seen collided in between their gazes.
They felt like these two aren't going to get along in the future.
However, in the midst of their predicament, Erza snapped out of her gaze and simply introduced herself as well.
"I'm Erza Scarlet. I heard of your concerns with the Master so I'll let it slide it for now."
"I appreciate the understanding." The vampire woman also turned down her hostility and nodded in response.
It may not look like it but Leticia knows when to back down in the case of an incident that she was involved with. As seeing how she's able to remain calm towards other people whom she had her cautious gazes set upon, she seemed to handle her emotions quite fairly so far.
Well at least, that what's Natsu had thought as he continued to observe her trying to fit in with the guild.
Eventually, she managed to speak freely as a result with the team as a few more minutes went by. Mirajane, offering some drinks halfway in which she politely declined due to obvious reasons. As such, no one seems to notice anything suspicious around her nature as the day went smoothly until night time.
Although it didn't come as quietly as Natsu thought it would as the woman was eventually flooded with cheers and questions with the other members of the guild due to her arrival―probably most of it were merely questions that most would deem lewd.
...
The day soon came to an end and the townsfolk eventually returned to their homes.
Other guild members of Fairy Tail also returned to their respective houses as the guild closes its shift in the night.
Natsu along with Leticia stood across with Erza as the rest of them team parted from them halfway through the journey.
"Well, this is where we'll go. We'll see you tomorrow." Natsu casually spoke. Though his tone didn't really help to assure the redhead who was staring daggers at him for quite awhile.
"W-What?"
"I understand about Master's explanation of her stay but why your place?" She asked as if finding that reason to be such a big deal. Natsu simply pointed his hand towards the reason.
"I don't mind staying in his place. In fact, I want to stay beside him as long as I can." Leticia muttered monotonously. Her tone says that of a sworn friend who puts above him from everything else.
It's difficult to convince her otherwise so the place for her stay is already decided by her own.
"See? She wants to stay with me. Who am I to refuse? Plus, she doesn't have any place to stay other than mine. Gramps also gave me the responsibility to look after her so this is natural." He smartly reasoned that only gave the scarlet knight with incoherent mutters.
"...Don't worry, Happy's with me. I've yet to introduce him to her so you don't have to worry about it."
"That's not a very good excuse for any reassurance." She crossed her arms with a sigh.
"Huh?"
"Well anyways, be careful on your way back home..." The redhead spun around, facing her back towards their gazes though it seems like she still isn't finished.
"...And I'm sorry about earlier."
"Eh?"
"...Mira told me when we came back the other day that you were feeling lonely. So, I'm sorry for leaving you behind."
He quickly realized what she meant, prompting him to raise his hands in reassurance towards her.
"It's alright! I know everybody's busy at the moment so there's no helping it. I shouldn't make you worry, Erza..." He apologized, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish look.
The armored knight simply smiled after hearing his words.
"I see... I'm glad." Her smile was unusually soothing, apart from her stony expression.
She slowly turned back and faced the pinkette with a renewed expression.
"Then, I'll see you tomorrow, Natsu."
"Sure!"
Natsu could only smile in content after seeing her understood everything. He gave a wave from the distance as she jogged away out of sight.
His attention soon drew back to the blonde woman beside him as they walked their path outside of town near the outskirts where his house is located.
...
They soon arrived at their destination as the two stood before an isolated house led by a small dirt path towards the door. The whole exterior was in a state of disrepair and the forces of nature took hold on some of its foundations that made it look like it could collapse at any moment.
Leticia observed the crude-looking structure before her with a curious expression.
"This is... your house?"
"Yeah... It's a bit of a mess, though." He took his step towards the door and simply opened it.
Leticia stood in her previous position which also got her in a short daze until Natsu called out to her.
"...Hmm? Something wrong?"
"N-No... It's nothing. Then, excuse me." She followed him inside but what lies inside simply surprised her once again.
...The whole place was a mess.
Several piles of garbage packed into plastic bags are seen in some corners. Other objects and materials lay scattered on the floor and some other things that were left in disorder. Dirtied plates and other utensils stacked in the sink and the walls were simply covered with cobwebs.
The two stood frozen in the spot, looking at the chaotic sight.
"Aaah... I forgot to clean up." Natsu replied, his voice cracking up like he just recently realized how messy his home was.
"Natsu!" It was then, a voice resounded from the kitchen as the two momentarily saw a flash of blue coming straight the pinkette in high speeds.
"Oh, Happy! I'm back." The dragonslayer hugged the Exceed in his arms as soon as he landed on his chest, seemingly disheartened about something.
"Natsu! I'm sorry for leaving you behind! I thought you're not gonna come back so I became worried!" Happy wailed, putting up a teary-eyed expression as he looked up to his partner in concern.
Hearing about the situation with Mira a few days earlier made him really worried for not giving the dragonslayer much attention for quite awhile. Truth be told, he also realized just how often he would go without him since they've been inseparable from the start.
Happy felt guilty at that so that's the reason behind his worried expression towards the pinkette.
On the other hand, Natsu simply adopted a faint smile towards him before proceeding a pat on the head to reassure him.
"Silly, I'm not going anywhere. I know there's a lot of things you're doing right now so it can't be helped. It's not like we're sticking right next to each other all the time, right?"
"But even so, I could've gone with you if I had the chance... I just realized that we're slowly becoming distant to each other."
"Like I said, I'm not going anywhere. I'm always with you, bud. So don't worry about it."
"R-Really?"
"Yup!" He smiled as softly as he could to ease his anxiety which it worked as he slowly begins to calm down and wipe his tears away.
...It also didn't take awhile for him to finally notice the girl right beside him.
"Who are you?"
"Ah, this is Leticia Draculea. I forgot to tell you about this but she'll be staying with us from now on." Natsu introduced. Happy drew a surprised look, far from what he was having from earlier.
"EEEEEEHHHHH?! This is so sudden!"
"I know it's a lot to take in but first we gotta clean then we'll explain, alright?"
"O-Okay..." Happy reluctantly nodded as he glanced towards the girl who was giving a somewhat surprised look of her own after seeing him.
"A-A cat?" She muttered, her voice cracking in a form of a surprised person who sees the flying cat as some sort of a cute being.
The blonde vampire managed to contain her composure and followed the fleeting pinkette inside. Happy followed last with a confusing look on his face but decided to hold all his questions and help out as well.
The room was literally littered with a lot of objects. Leticia looked around at the house once more in deep thought. Her mind processed everything just to know what kind of lifestyle the dragonslayer was currently having. And it seems like it's a bit of a downside.
"Natsu... It's a lot of mess in here."
Said person only scratched the back of his head in shame.
"Yeah... Sorry about that. Don't worry, I'll fix it up. The garbage is already packed so I'm just gonna do some cleaning around it."
"Hnn... I'll help." She shook her head with an offer.
"It's fine, I'll take care of it." He insisted.
"I want to help."
"But you're our guest―"
"I want to help." Her voice sounded a bit more serious as if she wanted to do this kind of thing. Her face drew closer in seriousness that almost made him blush for a second until finally snapping back to reality.
Frightened by her tone of voice, Natsu stuttered.
"O-Okay..."
Man, he wasn't thinking about the fact that she might be also carrying the same deadly aura as Erza. One monster is enough for one guild―though to think about it, there was more than one monster inside their guild.
Leticia isn't that kind of a bossy person now, is she?
The thought worried him throughout the cleaning.
...
"Phew... That's the last of them." Natsu wiped a small bead of sweat from his forehead as soon as he pulled the last garbage outside of the house. It took almost an hour for them to clean the entire place along with the help of the two others.
For the first time ever, the house experienced a very well neat environment. All the dust were swept away in every nook and cranny. The whole place was literally sparkling that even Happy thought about overdoing it like they used in their jobs.
"Umm... I think we overdid it a bit." He spoke, looking at the other two residents absentmindedly.
"Well, what's done is done. I actually didn't know you were good at house-cleaning, Leticia." Natsu praised.
"Hnn... I have a bit of experience of household chores." She nodded in response―although her experience is rather a bit of an understatement.
After all, Natsu wasn't even skilled at this kind of thing along with Happy so she was the only one who managed to turn this into some kind of a luxurious place. Her cleaning skills are more than that of a grandmaster. It is as if she was putting some kind of magic in her fingers while sweeping all that dirt away.
And that's coming from the two observers who witnessed her god-like cleaning skills firsthand.
―Or maybe they're just putting much more praise than they should.
But just as the pinkette was about to shower the girl with more praise, Happy finally butted in the conversation with another topic in mind. His face dawning an inquisitive look.
"So will you tell me, why Leticia is going to stay with us?"
The two heard his concern and decided to settle down to a newborn couch that was cleaned by the blonde woman. Happy had his wings flapped wide as he floats right in front of them in anticipation. Both Natsu and Leticia looked straight to each other for a moment and then back to the Exceed before the former started explaining.
"So where do we start, hmm...?" He cleared his throat before speaking again.
"...Happy, this is Leticia Draculea... Leticia, this is Happy. He's my partner." Natsu introduced both sides once again as the said Exceed answered with a cheery 'Aye!'.
In response, Leticia sent a warm smile with a small wave of gesture from her hand which kinda looked like she was from a noble lineage.
"Hello there. Nice to meet you, Happy."
"She's pretty elegant..." Happy thought out in awe while also greeting her back with the same boisterous attitude.
"Aye! Nice to meet you too... So how did you and Natsu meet by the way?"
"Well, we met each other in my last job. Her relative is an old friend of Gramps who's traveling somewhere outside the continent. She was entrusted to him to stay for the time being here in Magnolia so she'll be staying here with us from now on."
"Hmmm..." Happy took his time sinking all the information. He hummed in thought while staring at the blonde woman in suspicion which is easily noticed by the pink-haired dragonslayer.
"Something wrong, Happy?"
"I-Iya... I'm just surprised at today's event."
"How come?" He asked curiously.
"W-Well... it's just that I never see you suggesting about cleaning the whole house before so..." He whispered silently as if concealing his thoughts from their ears. He pondered deeply in thought while observing his partner carefully.
There's something off with Natsu's behavior lately. He couldn't explain it but for some reason, he somehow becomes more diligent than he was back then after disappearing a day or two in his last job.
Happy was concerned of this after noticing it when they arrived. The appearance of Leticia begs more questions as well though it's not like he views it as a problem for them.
"Did you say something, Happy?" Natsu felt lost at his last statement, prompting him to ask again. The blue Exceed snapped out of his thoughts and turned his eyes back to him.
"I-It's nothing... Anyways, is it really alright for Leticia to stay with us? We never had a guest before, right? We don't even have any spare beds for her as well." He voiced out.
"Well, that's true... But we have some spare jewels in the backyard. Maybe we can use it to buy her one tomorrow. We only have a big couch here, though." He suggested.
"It's okay for me. I'm not asking too much of a bed. I'm just glad to find a roof over my head to rest. At the very least, I would like to help out in cleaning your house for letting me stay." Leticia abruptly cut in, her head hung low in a form of a respective bow as her hands were fixed in front and her legs bent.
The two residents were taken aback of her genuine politeness that they could not help but stutter.
"I-It's alright! You don't have to bow like that, Leticia." Natsu sweatdropped.
She's really a flexible person.
"Umm, okay." Said person answered before lifting up her head with a confused look on her face.
"Well, leaving that aside, what are we going to do from now on?" Happy asked.
"For starters, how about we talk more about Leticia? Do you know that she's also a mage?"
"Uwooh! Really?" Happy's curiosity increased. Natsu simply nodded.
"Yep! She even managed to hold off Erza when I was about to get killed by her."
...And their conversation eventually went more smoothly as Natsu continued to tell more about the girl to the Exceed. At first, Leticia was against to his decision to tell her about having any powers but after seeing Happy becoming closer to her, she merely dismissed the thought.
Happy is a sociable creature at heart. Everyone can tell due to his usual expression which is similar to that of his namesake. Leticia didn't expect to have any progress in interacting with him but the sight of cuddling the adorable Exceed in her arms betrayed the thought.
A few more minutes passed and the Exceed literally fell asleep in her arms as soon as sleepiness strikes his body. Leticia eventually led him to the hammock where Natsu was supposed to sleep. She gently strokes his head which caused the sleeping feline to move about in his sleep. A smile traced onto her lips as let go of her hand and let him sleep peacefully throughout the night.
She went back to the living room where Natsu was sitting, seemingly waiting for her to come back.
"Is he asleep?"
"Yeah."
"That's good. I'm glad. Talking with someone doesn't seem like a bad thing, no?" He raised a brow, confirming his thoughts.
"Well, I can't say I didn't like the conversation. I enjoyed it." She admitted, another smile lit up her face.
"See? I told you there's nothing to worry about. Everyone here will accept you no matter what you are."
"I'm not sure about that... But if you really think that I can fit in here with the others, I guess I should believe in you."
"Geez, you're still worried about that? Well, we can always take it slow until you're used to it. I'm sure everyone will be happy to become your friend." He smiled, his hands placed back behind his head along with a laid-back attitude.
"Do you think so?"
"Of course, I think you might be get along with Mira the most seeing that you like cleaning and stuff." A giggle escaped from the blonde woman's lips.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing... Oh, it's already this late..." She looked ahead to the window in realization.
"Hnn... We should get some rest. We have a big day ahead of us, you know." He stood up and prepared the couch as well.
"You know, the sun's not good for me, don't you remember?"
"Ah, right... Don't worry, I'll figure something out." He shot a wide grin in reassurance. His statement, however, posed a curious look from her as he turned back to preparing the couch where she would sleeping in the time being.
Since the house doesn't have that much furniture except for the makeshift hammock for the dragonslayer, the huge couch would be a suitable place for a temporary bed for the girl. It was spacious enough to rest her whole body in it with some additional pillows and a blanket for extra comfort.
Leticia helped with the preparation as well and by the time they were done―
"You're gonna sleep in there?" Leticia asked confusingly as soon as Natsu laid out a thin piece of cloth on the floor just beside the couch.
"Yeah. Happy is already asleep in my hammock. I don't want to bother him at this time of the night."
"But doesn't it feel uncomfortable to sleep in a place like that?" She asked, her face full of worry over to the dragonslayer's wellbeing.
"I can live with it. Plus, I usually slept comfortably in Lucy apartment very often so I thought about sleeping in my own house for awhile." He reasoned.
"If that's the case, then I'll lend you some―" She was about to offer some pillows but Natsu quickly denied it.
"Nope. You're our guest so you'll have to sleep comfortably. No buts! Okay? Plus, I'm a fire mage, I don't get cold."
She didn't respond after that after noticing his determination to sleep on the floor. Despite all his reassurance, it didn't alleviate her worries. As soon as the matter was settled, Natsu walked over to the switch and turned off the lacrima lights.
Darkness quickly envelops the room and the illuminating light of the moon shone in the night sky and was reflected on the open window beside the couch. Leticia had already laid down on the couch with a blanket covering the bottom half of her body. Her head faced the dark ceiling while also hearing Natsu slowly walking back to the makeshift bed under her and rested as well.
"Good night, Leticia." He mumbled before sleep overtook him.
Silence hung around in the air and the faint howl of the wind from the outside echoed through the glass covered windows as the night pressed on.
Leticia silently glanced her head from the side as she stared at the pinkette who's already in deep sleep with his back facing her.
Her thoughts flooded back with a lot of memories she had with him at the moment of their first meeting. She thought about his kindness and all the things that he had done so far just to help her with her problems.
Even though she was a stranger, he never hesitated to reach out a hand to her.
Even though she lost her memories, he never gave a second thought of doubting her words and even gave her a place to stay.
The freezing cold of the night slowly descended. The room temperature slowly dropped despite the glass windows preventing the cold breeze from entering inside.
She slowly sat up straight and silently went over to the dragonslayer who was still sleeping. She placed the blanket in hand over to his shoulder before smiling softly.
"Vampires are immune to cold... They don't sleep in the night, too." She whispered with a wistful expression, looking at his face in affection.
A light snort came from the dragonslayer, earning a small giggle from the vampire woman as she gently sat beside him. At that moment, she noticed how bad his head was positioned in his sleep. Without a pillow to support him on, it would put his neck in a bad position.
She thought it would be a bad thing for him to sleep without a cushion so she simply decided. Carefully placing his head right next of her lap, she softly stroked his hair locks as the night progressed on.
A smile traced along with her lips as she gently watched over his sleep with care.
Despite not knowing him that much, it seems like Natsu was the only person whom she could really care about. It wasn't an act of appreciation from his kindness nor a selfless act but rather her own self-wanting to look after him.
She sees him as an important person in her life.
Even though she lost her memories, she was somewhat glad to have met him.
Red tinge dusted her cheeks as she continued to delve her thoughts about him―though the light of the moon and the surrounding darkness made it seem hard to it to notice by someone. Her mind felt at peace.
"Good night, Natsu." She whispered, having the chance to reply back as she rested her body facing the moonlight while continuing to caress the sleeping dragonslayer beside her with a peaceful look.
A/N: And there's the chapter. Hope ya like it. As for the chapter, Leticia will remain a guest but I'll think about her joining Fairy Tail later in the chapter. Also, I wanted to give you guys a belated Happy New Year. So many things happened here and I wasn't able to write that much throughout the end of the year so I only managed to find my time to write in January. I'm just glad to have this updated once again. ^^
Anyways, leave a review and tell me what you think. There's already several showcases of the growing affection Leticia towards Natsu so there's that.
Thank you for reading and once again, Have a Happy New Year, folks.
I'll see you all on the next chapter!
- The wiErDos send their regards...