Retribution
Chapter 7
"Where are we gonna go, Ravan?" his younger brother asked as they walked along the road, the older one still sporting his dark smirk. "To learn more about Robbie?"
"Where else?" He laughed slightly. "Fairy Tail, of course. Who else would know so much about him?"
"Who are we gonna ask there though?" he asked. "No one likes us much. 'cept for Navi's dad. Or Marin's mom."
"Then we'll ask one of them. See? Simple. You always try to make things so complicated."
"Sorry." Sniffling some as he was still pretty emotional, he said, "But Ravan…"
"What?"
"Mmmm…"
"Just say it," his brother complained. "You're only annoying me."
"Well…I like Robbie," he said. "Are you really going to get him in trouble?"
"You also like Erza, don't you?"
"A little. She's really nice and she says-"
"You're so naïve," he told him.
"What's that?'
"It means that you trust people too easily."
"Oh. Yeah, I'm that."
Shaking his head, he told his brother, "It's okay. You're just a little kid."
"I'm that too."
"Just let me handle things, alright? And don't worry about them."
"But Robbie says…well, he says a lot," he admitted. "And most of it I don't understand. But I do know that he says that if you do kill Erza, bad thing's happen."
"Bad things have already happened," he told his brother, his tone showing that he was slowly losing his patience. "Back at home, in the village, horrible things happened. And what did we do to deserve them? Nothing, right?"
"I guess not."
"So what difference does it make then if you're bad? If bad things happen to you whether you do the right thing or not, then who cares what you do? What difference does any of it make? Huh?"
"Well…Papa always said two wrongs don't make fights."
"A right, stupid," his brother growled. "And you know where he is? Huh? Dead. Just like everyone else. Everyone always dies. And they die doing what other people want them to. Well, not me. Because I know that Erza the one that's wrong. No matter what anyone tells me. So I'm going to do what I want. I'm going to ruin her life like she ruined mine. And whatever the consequences may be, what does it matter? They didn't come because I was bad or right or wrong or good. They came because they just did. And they would have regardless. The world isn't just either or. You're not good and get good things. You're not bad and get bad things. We're all good and bad and the things we do are a mixture. So maybe killing Erza or getting Jellal caught is wrong, but who cares? Who can tell? Who knows? But I want to do it, so I'm going to. And that's all there is too it."
His brother didn't know what to say to something like that, so he only kept his head down and kept walking. What was there to say anyhow? When you really didn't understand what someone said in the first place?
Natsu was up at the guildhall when they got there, as well as Mirajane. They headed to her first, considering she seemed to be the only one in the guild that cared for them much. Not to mention, the younger one had something important to ask her.
"Is Marin here?"
Mirajane, who was behind the bar, didn't seem to be her perky self, but still did smile at the boys.
"No," she told him. "She's at home with her aunt. She's a little sick."
"Just a little? Then could she come play tomorrow and-"
"Shut up," his brother hissed as he stood in front of the bar as well, staring up at Mirajane. "That's not why we're here."
"Then what's wrong?" Mira asked, her smile falling somewhat. "Did you need something? Erza isn't around, but you're more than welcome to some food if you-"
"What do you know about Jellal?"
"Jellal?" she repeated. "Why do you want to know about him?"
"'cause he said that he's a real bad guy," the younger one said, his innocence and childlike way of speaking actually coming to Ravan's aid for once. "And we were wonderin' what it is that he did and who he's running from."
"That was all a very long time ago," she told them then. "But…if you really want to know…"
"We do." Ravan was quick to take a seat at the bar, keeping his eyes trained on the woman. "It'll help us, uh, understand Erza better."
"Oh." Mirajane giggled then while his younger brother just clambered onto a stool as well. "Then I guess I can tell you a little."
"Please do."
"Jellal and Erza knew one another when they were children," Mira said then, slowly. "They were both kidnapped and forced into building a structure for this dark cult. And somewhere along the way, Jellal got things a tad backwards and some bad things happened, yes, but he's all better now. So really, there's nothing to talk about."
Ravan narrowed his eyes. "Why don't you just tell us the truth? The whole truth?"
"I like colts," the younger one offered up. "One time, when Papa took us into town, we saw a whole bunch of them in a field. They were wild. There were big horses with 'em too."
"Not baby horses, you dummy," Ravan complained. "She meant- Hey. Where'd she go?"
Mirajane was being called over to a table by someone else then and was apparently finished with their conversation.
"Thanks a lot, idiot," Ravan growled as he jumped down from the stool.
"I'm sorry. I's just bein' conversational, is all."
"Well, knock it off, alright? This is serious. We don't have time for your stupid crap."
"I really am sorry, Ravan."
"Just come on. Let's go talk to the other guy. You said he likes you, right?"
"I think he likes everyone."
"Great. Then maybe he'll tell us about Jellal."
He was sitting over at a table with only that blue cat and his daughter around. The little boy really wanted to ask Navi where she'd been earlier, as she hadn't been around for him to play with, but held off because he knew how annoyed Ravan got when he'd spoken earlier. It was probably best just to remain silent, he figured.
"Your name is Salamander, right?" Ravan asked as he came to sit across from him at the table. Natsu, who was eating, just glanced at him.
"Something like that," he said with a shrug. "What about it?"
"I've heard of you," he told the man as his younger brother just waved at Navi, still not opening his mouth. "After Erza… I found out a lot about her. Just on my travels to get here. People talk about you guys, you know. You, your wife, the stripper."
"People talk about Lucy?" Happy seemed skeptical. "And hey! What about me?"
Ignoring him, Ravan just continued on. "You're a slayer. And one of Titania's closest friends."
"We're pretty tight," Natsu agreed. "But what-"
"So tell me then," the boy began, "about Jellal."
"Jellal, huh?" Natsu glanced up at the ceiling. "Well…uh… He and Erza hang out. A lot. And he uses magic. And has that crazy stuff on his face-"
"I think it's paint."
"Did I not tell you to shut up?" Ravan growled at his brother while Navi only giggled. "Besides, that's not what I mean and you know it."
"How do I know what you mean?" Natsu frowned at him. "And why do you wanna know about Jellal anyways?"
"I don't just want to know about him. I wanna know what it is he did. And who it is that's looking for him."
"Why would anyone be lookin' for him?" Natsu asked. "I mean, we all know he's at Erza's. Who is it? Gray? That sneaky bastard. Does he think that he can somehow beat Jellal and then throw it back in my face? Like we're equals or something? Think again, Gray, you-"
"I'm right here, dumbass," the man in question said as he walked by, Juvia hanging on his every word as she walked along behind him, per usual. "And I heard that comment, kid. I ain't no stripper."
"Then how come you're only in your undies?" the younger one asked with a giggle.
Gray glanced down before frowning. "I… The point is, keep my name out of your mouth, flame breath."
'Why don't you come say that over here, you squinty eyed-"
"Would you just give me some answers?" Ravan was starting to get annoyed. "What did Jellal do? He said that he tried to kill Erza or something and then-"
"Oh, that?" Natsu shrugged some. "Uh…well…Happy? Can you refresh my memory a little here?"
"Etherion? Tower of Heaven? You almost dying?" The Exceed just stared at him. "Starting to ring any bells?"
"Hmmm."
"I know," Navi giggled as her father still struggled. "You've told me before. Jellal was gonna summon Zeref. But you stopped him. Remember, Dad?"
"Kinda. Sounds about right." He patted her on the head. "You really are great, you know that, Nav?"
"Zeref," Ravan whispered. "That doesn't sound good."
"It wasn't," Natsu said, though he was still busy annoying Navi by continuing to ruffle her hair. "But me and Erza took him down. Then…then…then, uh, Oracion Seis. And…and…uh… The guy that's really a girl. And second origins. And…and… Uh. My life seems really long right now."
"You're not making any sense," Ravan complained as Navi finally just shoved her father off. "At least tell me who it is that's after him."
"That's easy," Natsu said. "The magic council. He's a wanted fugitive or whatever."
"Or whatever," Happy repeated.
"So if someone told the magic council where he was-"
"Why do you wanna know all this anyhow?" Natsu frowned at him. "I get it. This whole time, you've been using Erza as a cover. You're actually here for…for… I've got nothing. What are you here for?"
"Nothing now." Ravan jumped up. "Thanks, Salamander."
"My name's Natsu," he told him with a frown. "And hey, just so you know, you can't kill Erza. It's near impossible."
"Nothing's impossible," the younger one told Natsu before getting up to follow his brother. "Say, Navi, if I'm around tomorrow, I figure I'll play some with Marin. You should come play too. One time when we played, we played house and-"
"Are you coming or not?" he heard his brother, who was heading out, growl.
"I guess so. Bye!" He waved again before taking off after his brother. Natsu stared after them for a moment before glancing down at his daughter.
"Who are they again?"
She just leaned up against him with a sigh. "Can we go home now?"
"You all tired out already, Navi? The night's young and so is the time!"
"Yeah," Happy said, "but remember how mad Lucy was last time we came in late with Navi?"
"All excellent points." Natsu grinned down at his daughter. "Let me finish my dinner, alright? Then we can go. Did you want anything else?"
"No." She stayed up against his side. "I'm fine."
Natsu didn't take long to finish then and, along with Happy, they headed back home to their apartment. Lucy, as Happy had feared, was waiting on them. She waited until Navi was in bed though to complain.
"You know," she started once she and Natsu were in the bedroom, him already stripped down to his boxers. Happy was in there too, resting on the bed as he watched Lucy walk around the room. "I don't ask a lot out of the two of you. At all. And when you both decide to goof off and not come home, when it's just the two of you, I don't care much. But when you have Navi with you, it's a little different."
"Come on, Luce," Natsu said as he just laid there, staring up at the ceiling. "It's not like we had her out on a dangerous job or something…or were planning on it…without your permission…before you showed up the other day…"
"Natsu-"
"The point is that we were just at the guildhall," he said with a shrug. "When I was a kid, I stayed out all night. Did all sorts of bad stuff. And didn't I turn out okay?"
"Ask a different question."
Frowning, he said, "You're so bossy. You make everything into a bad thing."
"Oh? And how could you constantly undermining me be a good thing?"
"The fact that Navi likes me more than you is a strong one. Also the fact that I have more fun when she's around is up there too. Need some more?"
Lucy just took to narrowing her eyes at him then, standing at the end of the bed. "You know, Natsu, things are going to change pretty soon. And you've matured some, fine, but the lack of responsibility you take at times is astonishing."
"...You think I've matured?"
"Natsu-"
"What's going to change, Lucy?" Happy was staring at her with wide eyes. "Huh?"
"W-Well-"
"I mean…you can just come out and tell us." He glanced down then, staring at the bed. "About…about how you're…sick. And gonna die. And-"
"What?"
Sighing, Natsu said, "It's just this thing that Happy thinks is going on with you. He thinks that you're dying and that you're never coming back and all this stuff."
With a sniffle, Happy said, "I don't want you to die, Lucy!"
"Happy," she complained as he made a dive off the bed and into her arms. "I'm not…sick."
"Yes, you are. That's how come you won't tell us what's been wrong with you and why your cold wasn't the same as Navi's cold. Because you got a serious illness and…and… Natsu can't be a single parent! Look what he did to me!"
"In my defense," Natsu tried. Then he sighed. "I got nothing."
"I'm not dying," Lucy said as she let Happy snuggle up against her. "I'm…pregnant, Natsu."
"What?" He sat up then, just staring at her. Happy lifted his head from her chest as well.
Then, snickering, he said, "You guys love each other."
She wasn't paying him much mind though as she continued to stare at Natsu. "Yeah. I-"
"This is great! Take that, Gray!" Natsu fist pumped. "Now I have two kids, which double beats his zero. Hoorah!"
Happy nuzzled against Lucy again. "Why didn't you just tell us?"
"I was going to. I just had to find the right moment, is all." Grinning slightly, she said, "I didn't think that you noticed anything anyhow."
"Of course we did," Natsu said. "We notice everything about you."
"He just doesn't always remember it afterwards," Happy added.
"Exactly."
Natsu was grinning as wide as Lucy though as he jumped out of bed and came over to her and the Exceed.
"This is so weird," he said, coming to hug her. Happy, being squished in the middle, tried to wiggle free. Enough love for the day for him. "I feel like it's been forever since you had Navi."
"It has, hasn't it?'
Not giving into his fate, Happy said, "Not to be a bother or anything, but I can't breathe."
Natsu just kissed Lucy's head as she smiled up at him. "This is a lot better than you dying."
"Yeah, hey." Remembering then what had spawned the conversation, she shoved him back some and Happy, finally freed, took a deep breath before escaping her grasp and heading back over to the bed. "What was up with that?"
"Ah, you know." Natsu rubbed the back of his neck again. "You let Happy get his mind going and he can dream anything up."
The Exceed grinned at Lucy. "I'm glad you're not dying either."
"Uh-huh."
"I am!"
"Hey." Natsu turned to walk out of the room then. "I gotta go tell Navi and-"
"Natsu, don't. She's asleep. Just let her stay that way."
"But-"
"Besides, she'd only go tell everyone tomorrow and-"
"And?" Natsu turned back to grin at her. "I'm gonna tell everyone anyhow."
"If you remember," Happy prompted.
"No, little buddy, I'm definitely remembering this," he assured them both.
"You really shouldn't tell people though," Lucy said. "I mean, it's still really early."
"Early?"
"Yeah. And, I mean, anything could happen-"
"Like what?"
"Natsu."
"What?"
"I mean, with all these illnesses just springing up randomly," she remarked, eyeing Happy. "You never know-"
"I said sorry," the cat defended.
"No, you haven't. You-"
"And besides, you might wanna tell people," he said, almost sheepishly then. "Lucy."
"And why, cat," she began as she glared over at him, "would I want to do that?"
"Because…well… You were the one being all secretive!"
"Happy-"
"I told a lotta people that you weren't coming around much these past few days because you actually were dying and just didn't wanna make us all sad."
"You what? I thought this was just something you and Natsu cooked up," she complained. "Who else did you-"
"Well… It's just best if you tell everyone you're not really ill, huh?"
"Happy-"
"Don't get all sour now, Luce!" Natsu came to toss his arm around her shoulders. "It's a great moment here, yeah?"
"Yeah," Happy agreed, nodding his head. "You're having another baby…and I'm probably going to get even less attention…and become even colder and more distant…"
"The day your distant or cold is a day I look forwards too."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"That you talk too much."
"Hey!"
"You guys stop arguing," Natsu said as he kissed Lucy again. With a grin, he said, "You're probably upsetting the baby."
"Yeah, Lucy. Stop arguing with me."
"You-"
"What are you guys doin'?"
They all glanced over at the doorway then as the door was pushed open and Navi stood there, staring at them while rubbing at her eyes.
"And how come Happy don't have to go to bed?" she asked. "I can't sleep without him."
"I'm sleeping in here," Happy told her.
"No," Lucy said. "You're not."
"Yes, I am." He gave her his sad face once more. "I was worried about you."
"So much so that you gossiped behind me behind my back?"
"I gossip out of love."
"Sure."
"Come on, Nav." Natsu gave Lucy one more kiss before going over to her. "Lucy's right. You shouldda been in a bed a long time ago. Let's-"
"Wait," her mother groaned, her tone alone letting the three of them know that they'd won. Happy even snickered before she finished her sentence. "You can sleep in here, Happy. You too Navi. Just this once though. Remember how we talked about it being better for you to- And you guys aren't even listening to me."
They weren't either. Navi had already rushed over to the bed to go climb into it next to Happy, who was just as happy to see her, and Natsu was going over there as well, yawning slightly.
"Night, guys," he said as he climbed in. "Remember to leave Lucy some room, huh?"
"Do we have to?"
"Feeling the love, Happy," she complained. Still though, watching as Navi nuzzled up with the cat and the way Natsu looked so happy to have them both there just…
"Can you get the light?" was the Exceed's response. "We're tryin' to sleep here, Lucy."
'Yeah," Natsu agreed. "I mean, do you have any idea what hour it is? You're keeping us up! And I thought you'd matured."
"Well," Happy offered slowly. "She sure has aged."
Navi just glanced over at her though. "Aren't you coming to bed?"
"In a minute." She went to turn off the light before walking off. "I'll be back."
When she disappeared off into the bathroom, Natsu just let out another yawn.
"Are you sleepy?" Navi asked.
"Mmmhmm. And kinda hungry. Mostly just tired though."
Turning from Happy then, she stared at her father in the darkness. "You want me to tell you a story?"
"Sure. But then you gotta go to sleep, okay?"
Nodding, she rested against his side. "What do you want it to be about?"
"About all my achievements," Happy said.
"That'll be a short story."
"Shut up, Natsu!"
Still though, when Lucy returned, she found them all passed out. That wasn't so odd, considering all three of them were pretty easy to wind down. When she climbed into bed on the other side of Happy, she realized someone was still up.
Lucy just mouthed, "I love you," over at Natsu as he stared at her in the darkness smiling slight. Then he nodded and shut his eyes.
They might not always be the most conventional family, but he had to say, out of all his friends, he figured he had the best one of all.
"Hey, Luce?" he whispered, something suddenly hitting him.
"Hmmm?" She was scratching behind the snoozing Happy's ears then and hardly glanced over at him.
"…Does this mean that Navi can replace you? On jobs? While you're all…pregnant or whatever?"
"Or whatever," Happy mumbled, apparently not fully asleep. "And not so rough, Lucy."
She kept stroking his head. "It means, Natsu, that we can talk about it."
That was all he asked for.
"I am shocked that we have not seen those boys since I got back," Jellal remarked as he and Erza sat at her kitchen table, both drinking a cup of tea and trying to find something to occupy their time. Usually, when they actually got a chance to be together, everything was frenzied and they knew it would only be a matter of hours before they were separated again. That made it pretty easy to figure out what to do with their time…
With so much of it on their hands then though, they were more or less at a loss. Or at least Jellal was. Erza had one thing in mind.
"Perhaps," she said slowly. "They have vacated and you could follow suit."
Getting him out of her house.
Not that she didn't want Jellal around. Because she did. The time that they spent with one another was precious when they had it. And under normal circumstances, she would cherish more of it. But as it was, he was only there because he didn't have faith in her abilities to handle a situation that had, for the record, nothing to do with him.
In his mind, however, it had everything to do with him. Because it had to do with her. And if Erza was involved, it was very much so his business. Always.
"And leave you here all alone?" He grinned at her, but she wouldn't return it. With a sigh, he said, "I do not understand you, Erza. What am I doing wrong? Protecting you?"
"Yes."
"Erza-"
"I do not need protecting, Jellal."
"Did I say that you did?"
"You being here is saying that you do," she hissed.
"No." Jellal took a sip of his drink before saying, "Me being here says that I care about you. Not that I don't have faith in you and your abilities. I do. You are plenty strong, Erza, and plenty capable."
"Then-"
"But I love you. And to think that those boys were plotting some, trying to hurt you, and that I did absolutely nothing is beyond me."
She gave him a hard stare for a moment before looking off. With a huff, she said, "I still would rather you not be here."
"Why? What hamper am I putting on you?"
"I-"
"None. None at all," he said. Then, smiling, he said, "Besides, how often is it that we get to spend an extended period of days together?"
"Never," she admitted.
"Isn't that something to be thankful for?" Then, thinking about it, he said, "Though it would be a tad more joyful if your life wasn't hanging in the balance-"
"Jellal-"
"Besides, they're not here now," he said, gesturing around. "We're alone. So let's stop speaking on it."
"You know the danger in you staying here too-"
"We are not having the conversation over again," he complained. "Honestly."
"So it is okay for you to worry about my safety, but not I for you?"
"It'd be nice, yes."
She was finished with her tea then and rose to put her cup in the sink. "We have spent hours talking and awaiting their arrival once more. It's clear at this point to me that they are not coming back tonight."
"Then let's put it out of our minds, yes?" He stood as well, going to follow her. Resting a hand on her shoulder, he grinned when she turned to face him. "Erza."
"They have been rather…distracting," she agreed. He nodded.
"In the worst possible way."
"There are worse ways."
"No," he said with a shake of his head. "For me there aren't."
That made her laugh, if only slightly, which was what he was going for.
And once it was all said and done and they found themselves in her room, both trying to drift off and put everything to rest, Jellal found that he couldn't. He just laid there, still listening for those boys.
"You don't sleep enough," Erza chided when, after laying around for awhile as well, she sat up some and turned on the lamp by her bedside.
"Oh?" He hardly glanced at her. "And you do?"
"I'm different," she said as she grabbed the novel off the nightstand and flipped it open. "Exception to the rule."
"Of course you are." He didn't even have to look at the title to know what sort of book it was. Rolling onto his stomach, he finally did look at her as he said, "You know, if you wanted to get all worked up again, Erza, all you had to do was-"
"That other bed is not occupied with them out," she said simply. "Don't change that."
Still though, when he moved to rest his head against her stomach, Erza did find herself smiling and occasionally reaching down to stroke his hair. And for awhile, they were at peace.
"Where are you going?" he mumbled tiredly when, promptly at her normal time, he felt her slipping out of bed. He hadn't remembered her putting the book down and actually drifting off, but apparently she had at some point, as the room was dark then and she was yawning as she forced herself up. "Erza-"
"You are always welcomed to join."
"What could you possibly be training?" he complained. "Your body has to have reached limits no other person on the planet can. You win. You're the best. Now get back in bed."
"Hardly," she said. "And you could use some training as well."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing."
Groaning then, he moved to shove out of bed. "Give me a minute, huh?"
"A minute," she agreed, reequipping before she left the room. "I'll be waiting. And be prepared; we are opening with a sprint."
"Of course we are. Because, when don't we?"
"Forty-five seconds."
"Erza-"
But she was gone. Sigh. What was it that he loved about her again?
Everything. Right. Of course.
…Except for her inability to ever just call it a day. That was rather annoying at times, he would admit.
He swore too that she was just buying time during the workout, adding unnecessary portions to it just to tie up more of his time. But she insisted that she always sparred with a partner if she ever found someone to workout with her.
"And how," he complained, "often is that?"
"Now that you mention it, rarely ever."
"Right," he sighed. "Because I am the only sucker out of all your friends."
But still, he would admit, he'd always liked to watch Erza train. She was amazing in most every way to him, but her physical prowess was something to admire.
When they got back to the house, the younger of the two boys was there waiting on them.
"And where," Erza said wearily as they approached the porch, where he was sitting, "is your brother?"
"I dunno."
"Really?"
He nodded. "He went to go find out some stuff about you, Robbie."
"Me?"
"Yep." He jumped up when they got closer. "And someone locked the window! So I couldn't get in."
"Who-" Then Erza frowned over at Jellal. "You didn't."
"Of course I did. What part of me keeping you safe was unclear?"
"Jellal-"
"Are you gonna feed me?" The little one wasn't playing around. "I ain't ate since you gave me dinner last night, Erza."
"Why would you eat in between then and now anyhow?"
"I like to eat."
"Of course you do." With a sigh, she headed up the porch and over to the door. "I must shower. Then I am going down to the guild to see if there are any quick jobs I can take."
"Jobs?" Jellal frowned, heading after her. "What are you talking about?"
"Yeah, what are ya talkin' about?" The boy narrowly missed being shut out of the house again. "You can't leave. The week ain't up yet!"
"I said that you two could attack me if you wished," she told him simply. "I said nothing about staying in Magnolia to do so."
"Oh." Then he giggled. "You're real smart, Erza."
"Mmm." Glancing at her boyfriend, she said, "As for you, you are the one that chose to come here. I did not call for you. To think that I would miss out on a good job on the board for you-"
"Admit it. You just thought of that a minute ago and think it will be an excellent way to get rid of me."
"There is nothing to admit. I am not being veiled in anything I do."
"Erza-"
"Are we eatin' eggs again?" The younger one patted his stomach. "I really liked your eggs, Robbie."
With a sigh, he gave up on his girlfriend and just turned to heat into the kitchen. "Come on then."
"You're all sweaty," the little boy giggled, rushing to follow. "You went with Erza? She's a good worker outer, ain't she?"
"Yes," he agreed. "She very much so is."
In the kitchen, the boy went to go take a seat at the table while Jellal started on breakfast. It was while he was cooking though that he spoke to the boy.
"What," he said slowly, "exactly is your brother looking up on me?"
"I dunno," he said with a shrug. "Stuff."
"What kind of stuff?"
Giggling, he said, "Why does it matter?"
Jellal only shook his head. Why did it matter? There was nothing the boy would do to him…right?
"The Salad-man told us some stuff though."
"The…what?"
"The Salad-man. Navi's dad?"
He blinked. "The Salamander?"
The little boy shrugged. "If you say so."
Sighing, he said, "What did he tell you?"
"Um…about a bunch of words that don't make sense and are too hard to remember and something about Zeref. I remember that."
"Of course you do," Jellal sighed. "But what interest would it be of his? Or yours?"
"I dunno. Ravan talks a lot. I can't remember everything."
When Erza returned, Jellal headed off to get his own shower in, leaving the woman with the little boy. He seemed to be the least threatening of all the children in Magnolia anyhow.
It bothered Jellal the whole day as to where the other boy was and what exactly he was doing. Not as it had been when Erza's life had been in the balance. It was…different.
Not as if the boy could do much to him, he figured. If he was hoping to find something to use against the man, he would be remiss. Nothing would be making him leave Magnolia until the boy himself stood down.
But the younger one seemed at peace. Jellal had a feeling he knew exactly where his brother was for him to seemingly care so little about it. He'd said he was out gathering information or something, so Jellal figured that he was off asking around town about him.
Foolish child. Stirring up trouble for no good reason.
Erza was annoyed to not find a job that she liked, but decided it was just as well. The week was coming to an end soon enough.
Marin was back though, up at the guildhall, which made the little boy pretty happy. Navi and the mean one weren't around though and Marin told him that the mean one was the one not feeling too great then.
"Really?" He was intrigued. "What happened? Is she sick now?"
"Nope." Marin giggled. "Daddy trained her too hard."
"The Master?"
"Mmmhmm."
"What does he do?"
"Makes lightning." She giggled. "He's pretty awesome."
"Well, he is Master."
"He is."
They must have hung around the guildhall for awhile, the boy felt. Eventually, Marin went home and Navi never did show up, so he was ready to leave when they finally did. The night before he hadn't gotten much sleep, out on the street, and it was starting to catch up with him.
If Erza was good for anything, it was for that extra bedroom. He loved it. One day, he wanted to live in a house as big as hers.
"Erza," Jellal mumbled softly as they walked along, the sun nearly finished setting by that point.
"Hmmm?"
"What is…the younger ones name?" He was walking ahead of them then, though randomly he'd glance back, just to make sure the two of them were still there. He didn't feel much for getting lost that day. "I feel as if I should know, but-"
"Now that you mention it… I do not know either."
"Hmmm."
"I never really thought they'd stick around," she admitted. "And he never offered it up. The older one told me his name, the first time he tried to kill me. That is the only reason I know his. Learning them never seemed that important."
"Compared to staying alive? No, I suppose they're not."
"What are you guys talkin' about?" The boy turned full then, suspicious of them. "If you ditch me, I'mma tell Ravan and he's not gonna be happy."
"I was just telling Jellal that this is where I leave the two of you," she said, bowing her head slightly. "I must train."
"You sure do that enough."
"I concur," Jellal grumbled. Erza just shook her head.
"Regardless," she said as she took a step away from her boyfriend. "You stay with Jellal, yes?"
"Do I gotta?"
Scowling, Jellal said, "Believe me, you are doing me no favors."
"I guess we could go play tag," the boy said with a shrug.
"No," the man was quick to reply. "We can't."
"Sure you can."
"Erza-"
"Goodbye."
"Bye!" The boy waved some as she turned off down a different street. To Jellal, he said, "You sure you don't wanna play?"
"Very."
It was dark when they got there. And Jellal did a quick check, but still, that boy wasn't around. Hmmm.
"Hey…child," Jellal said as they sat down in the kitchen to wait for Erza.
"What?" He was busy eating the sandwich the man had made him and only glanced up.
"I… I feel as if you have been here for a few days and so have I."
"You feel that way 'cause you have," he told him. Problem solved. He went back to eating.
"No, of course, I know," he said. "I meant…well… I do not recall ever learning your name."
Again, he hardly glanced up. "That's 'cause you don't know it."
"Yes," Jellal said slowly, trying to take the high road. Sometimes he thought the boy was purposely annoying. "I get that. And considering you seem to not care to ever call me by my right name, it makes sense."
"Then what are you askin'?"
"What's your name?"
"Oh." Then, glancing around, he said, "I don't wanna tell you."
"Why not?"
"Because…because I don't like it."
Jellal smiled some then. "Come now. It can't be that bad."
"It's horrible."
"You can tell me. I won't tell anyone."
Still though, the boy sat up real tall and leaned over the table. With a sigh, Jellal did the same, letting the boy whisper the name in his ear.
"That's not so bad," the man said after he heard it.
"Is too," he complained. "I want a cool name. Like Ravan."
"Ravan is a…interesting name, I guess. Your parents-"
"They didn't give him that name," the boy said with a frown. "He gave himself it."
"What do you mean?"
The boy giggled. "It's his new name. It's really cool, right? That's what he's goin' for. And when I asked if I could change my name too, he said fine, but… I don't have nothin' cool like that."
"Ravan," the man said slowly. "Why?"
"It's a demon," he told him. "And he said that he was gonna be one, to kill Erza. He was going to get revenge. He's reborn."
Shaking his head then with a sigh, Jellal said, "Well, I am not much one to critique making up names."
"You think I could make one up then?"
"If you want," he said. "It's not as if any of us here know you anyhow. You could be anything."
"Cool."
"That's the great thing about starting over, see?" Jellal grinned at him then. "You can be anyone."
That night, when Erza got back, she seemed to be cracking some. Jellal figured they'd finally all overstayed their welcome. Still, the little boy just marched off to the guest bedroom and she made no fuss of it. For a bit, she and Jellal stayed up and talked, but he could tell the lack of sleep recently was getting to her.
"Are you coming to bed?" she asked when she rose from the kitchen table and he didn't move in the slightest.
"No," he said with a shake of his head. "Not yet. Soon. I'll try not to wake you when I do."
He didn't know exactly what he was waiting for or if he was even waiting for anything, really. But whether he was or not, it only took another half hour before he got something.
It was the backdoor creaking open that made him look up. He'd sensed the boy out there, but hadn't realized someone had been foolish enough to leave the backdoor unlocked. But they had. And soon enough, there he was, Ravan, in the kitchen with the man.
He looked just as dark as ever.
"I know something about you," Jellal taunted softly, planning to tease him a tad over his name change. The boy just stood there though, his smirk seeming to grow at the sight of the man.
"Yeah?" Ravan just came over to him. "Bet I got you beat."
"Oh yeah?"
With a nod, the boy's smirk changed into a devilish grin. "I know who you are, Jellal Fernandez. And I know what you did. I win."
That Natsu and Lucy bit was supposed to be a one-shot that took place after this story, but I had some extra space in this story and figured I'd squeeze it in. No harm, no foul, right?
