~We Aren't Romeo and Juliet~
Chapter 4
Dragons could always tell when something was wrong with someone, especially when it was someone that they loved. Call it being observant or watching a little too closely, but dragons just knew and will do anything to make whatever is wrong disappear. So when Romeo walked into the guild this morning, Wendy was on high alert as she made a beeline towards him. "What's wrong, Romeo?" she asked as she hugged him, rubbing her cheek against his like she was a cat.
Dragon breeding season was coming and, while the dragon slayers weren't actually dragons so they don't go into heat, they were feeling it. Even Cobra and Laxus. Luckily, they got a lighter dose of the short temperament (more so than usually), possessiveness (more so than usually again), and the clingy nature that was suddenly brought about. Usually a good breeding with one's mate will ease the season's behavior for at least a couple of hours.
But considering Cobra is the only one old enough to breed and who has his mate, the other six were left to try and be around their intendeds as much as possible: Natsu dragged Lucy off on another mission alone, Gajeel hung around Levy more (to the annoyance and protests of Jet and Droy), Sting has been drinking with Cana more, Rogue took Yukio to an art event that she mentioned this morning about wanting to go see, Laxus was pretty much glued to Fried's side, and Wendy was constantly with a two inch radius of Romeo. Cobra and Kinana haven't been seen for a couple of days, and it didn't take a genius to figure out where they were at or what they were doing if you knew what was going on (meaning that only the six dragon slayers knew; dragons are never keen on telling the whole world about their relationships, preferring to let people figure them out on their own). All of them trying to practically bathe the clueless mates (except for Romeo and Kinana who knew what was going on) in their scent to warn off competitors.
Romeo guided her to an unoccupied table in a corner of the guild before he said anything. "My dad's family is having dinner, and he and I are invited."
"Why are you upset, then?"
The boy took a deep breath and combed his fingers through the Sky Priestess's hair. "We don't get along with his family really well. They always are lecturing him about being a mage and his choices, because they run some small successful company and were expecting my dad to take over one day. They lecture me about following in his footsteps. Usually dinner ends with us going home early after a long, heated argument which is always two verses about twelve. Why we still are getting invited is beyond us."
Wendy rubbed her cheek against his shoulder, partly to coat him in her scent and partly to comfort him. Dragons were big family creatures- to lecture a family member of their choices when one could plainly see the good consequences outweigh the bad is unheard of. "Well, this time it will be three against twelve." The girl could feel Romeo's smile as he pressed a soft kiss to the side of her head, no explanation needed to her statement. "Thank you Wendy."
~A Few Hours Later~
"Look at you Marco! You look like a perverted old man! And you, Romeo, look like a little hoodlum!" She didn't even know one person's name, and Wendy already could tell that she didn't like the overweight woman in the hideous pink suit in front of her. All of them, even the children, were stuffy looking and all up tight, sending disgracing looks at Romeo and Marco. They haven't even noticed Wendy yet, too busy nick picking at the two males' appearances. 'Thank goodness Charlie isn't here or otherwise she would have started to bit off heads.' The white cat was back in Magnolia, having dinner with just Happy, Fro, Lily, and Lector.
"And who is the girl?"
Wendy stepped up and looked up at the looming elderly man, presumably Marco's father, dead in the eye. "I'm Wendy Marvell, Romeo's girlfriend." She could smell their surprise as clear as day, while their faces remained in their permanent state of scowl. The old man just tsked and turned away, firmly saying, "Dinner is ready." The blue haired dragon slayer could just tell that dinner would end badly.
~A Few Minutes Later~
Dinner was moving along silently. The only sound in the room was the clinking of silverware and the occasional question to have something passed down. The air was thick with barely contained tension, and the littlest dragon slayer was starting to think that this was normal at the dinners, and whatever would break the tension every single time had the same theme- mages. Wendy was sitting in between Marco and Romeo, who both looked miserable, at the very end of the table, the old man sitting straight across from her at the head of the table.
"Wendy."
The called for girl looked up from her plate to stare at the old man. "Yes?"
"What are your opinions of mages?"
That one question seemed to finally break whatever was holding the tension in the room back. Shouts and mutters of generalizing mages ('they're stupid and unreliable' for an example) came from eleven people in the room while Marco and Romeo was furiously counter arguing.
The head of the family, if you could even call this group one, slammed his sliver goblet onto the table, immediately silencing everyone. Cold eyes swept across each person at the table before settling on Wendy with hands neatly folded underneath the chin. "I am merely wondering what Wendy thinks of Romeo and Marco being mages, even though they have better opportunities, not being some useless mages in a troublemaking guild like Fairy Tail." Before someone could stop her, Wendy stood up roughly, her chair flying backwards to crash into the wall.
A deep growl slipped past her lips as she glared poisonously at the startled man. Rolling up the sleeve of her dress, she proudly showed her Fairy Tail mark. "Listen here, sir," she sneered that word with enough venom to make Cobra proud, "before you shoot off your tongue, you should know that I'm a Fairy Tail mage. And to insult the guild as a whole, on top of insulting individual members, means there will be a price to pay. Fortunately for you, my mother's teachings about family are overpowering my urge to have you pay that price." Grabbing the stunned Marco and Romeo, she walked towards the door with her head held high and her back straight, ignoring the stares as she left. After pushing the two mages out of the door, she turned back once more to stare at the silent group.
In a much more calmer and gentler voice than before, Wendy said, "Just because Marco and Romeo aren't living the lives that you want them to lead doesn't give you the right to hurt them. They are people, free to choose whatever they want." With that, she closed the door to that group of people.
~Back in Magnolia~
Wendy was worried. Marco and Romeo have yet to say a single word since she blew up at dinner. The hour long train ride, feeling like it was much longer, was finally coming to an end just as the sun finished dipping behind the horizon. With a lunge and a loud blow of the horn, the train came to a halt. Passengers started to file out, bodies soon making a slow moving barrier. The three mages soon became part of the barrier. But as more people started to get into the crowd, bodies became packed together. The little blue haired girl got only one glimpse of the father son duo before more looming bodies blocked her vision. The smell of cologne, perfume, and sweat irrigated her nose, and the constant noise was starting to make her ears ring.
Out of nowhere, one large hand and one small hand, each equally warm, encaged hers. "Thanks Wendy, for what you did today." Wendy smiled and squeezed the familiar hands. "You're welcome. And thank you for being you."
"No problem; it's easy to just be us with everything we love." A light, giddy feeling spread throughout Wendy's chest as she felt Romeo squeezed her hand just a little bit tighter after that reply.
Clearing his throat, Marco looked down at the children and smiled. "Want to meet Ms. Tally, Wendy?" Nodding her head, Wendy hummed as she walked down the street with two men, feeling right where she belonged.