Homeward Hours

By CrimsonStarbird


Chapter Twenty-Seven – The Guild's First Choice

The three of them stopped talking the moment they saw Natsu enter the guildhall, though their unsubtle attempt at secrecy made no difference. It wasn't difficult for Natsu to guess what they'd been talking about; their unofficial role as Fairy Tail's governance committee was the only thing that Mira, Macao and Laxus had in common.

Not that he could blame them for their reaction. As if missing the funeral yesterday without a word of explanation wasn't bad enough, Natsu knew he looked a state. Zeref had told him so very bluntly when Natsu had come to on his sofa that morning. In fact, his esteemed brother would have received an empty beer bottle to the face for his honesty, but it turned out Natsu couldn't throw very well when he was hungover, and Zeref had dodged it easily. If he hadn't heard Warrod's stories, Natsu would have been convinced that Zeref's immortal body was unaffected by alcohol. As it was, he was forced to admit that he'd probably just been too far gone to notice when Zeref had switched to drinking water.

The smug, responsible bastard.

Zeref had arranged for Mira to pick the girls up that morning too, and take care of them while Natsu sorted himself out, mentally and physically. Natsu had known he could rely on Zeref to look after them – all of them. He may not have liked the man, but he trusted him with his family.

And that, really, was why he was here.

Without preamble, he said, "You know it has to be him, right?"

"Of course we know that," Laxus drawled. "We just don't think you've thought through the practicalities of the situation."

"Try me," Natsu challenged.

"Well, for one, he's supposed to be in prison."

Natsu shrugged. "Thirteen years with good behaviour – anywhere else, he'd probably have been out by now."

"Not when his sentence is literally infinite!"

"It's beside the point, anyway," Natsu retorted. "We said we'd imprison him. We never specified how or where. I think a lifetime of filling in forms and going to meetings and having to abide by the Council's stupid rules is a kind of imprisonment in itself."

"…Good point," Laxus conceded thoughtfully.

"It's not a good point, and I think the Council might have something to say about it," Mira sighed.

"I think the Council might have a lot of things to say about this plan," Macao added.

Natsu folded his arms. "Yeah, well, who cares about the Council?"

Shooting Mira a very deliberate look, Macao said, "And that's why we can't just nominate Natsu as the next Master and let Zeref keep running things in the background."

"No." Natsu's word cut through the light-hearted mood, popped the laughter bubbling on Mira's lips. "Not in the background. Not any more."

Mira's brow creased in worry. "We get it, Natsu. We do. Whatever we decide, the Council are going to have to deal with it. It's the guild we're worried about."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Mira explained, "There isn't a single person here who would object to him officially becoming Master. Quite aside from his ability to deal with the Council – albeit through the medium of letters signed off in Lucy's name rather than his own – and his knowledge of finances and guild regulations, they trust him as a teacher and a mentor, and that's what matters most. But the thing is, Natsu… he isn't part of the guild."

"He-" Natsu began hotly, but Mira raised a hand to placate him.

"Maybe it would be better to say, he can't be part of the guild," she amended. "Not because of what he's done, because we all forgave him for that years ago, but because of what he is: a cursed man who has to live apart from those he cares about. He can't enter the guildhall, Natsu, because he'll kill us if he does. He can't celebrate with us or mourn with us; he can't party the night away with us or fight alongside us to save the guild. He can't participate in normal guild life, no matter how much he might want to."

"So?" Natsu retorted. "That's been the case for the last thirteen years, and it's not stopped him from getting involved."

"It's different when he's just being a consultant," Macao resumed. "He's not expected to be there. But a Master has to understand the mood of his guild. A Master needs to pick up on the problems that their mages can't speak to him about as well as the ones that they can. A Master has to be visible, has to be inspiring, has to be present. There's only so much he can see and do from inside his prison. He may be part of the guild in spirit, but he's too physically removed from it to be a Guild Master. It's not his fault, but with his curse, it's inevitable."

"…Alright," Natsu nodded slowly. "Mira, how long until we have to name our new Master?"

"We've got another three weeks."

"Three weeks to solve the problem of him not being able to enter the guildhall," Natsu stated, snatching up the Guild Master Nomination Form from the counter behind Mira. "Piece of cake."

"Natsu-"

"Leave it to me," he breezed. Then, halfway to the door, a sudden thought struck him, and he sidled back to the three concerned mages. "Just checking, there's not an inheritance clause in the guild charter, is there? Y'know, one that means the next-of-kin has to take over if something happens to the Guild Master. I'm sure I've heard someone mention that before."

"There used to be one, dating back from the Founders," Laxus answered. "But, for obvious reasons, Gramps removed it after the Battle of Fairy Tail. These days, we have to nominate a deputy who will represent us with the Council in the event that the Master is ill or incapacitated."

Mira added, "It's been me for years. I don't mind continuing. It's just an admin requirement with the Council, anyway, giving them a nominated person to contact in the event that the Master is unavailable. What we do internally in the event of a crisis remains up to us, as it always has."

"Good," Natsu grunted. "No way in hell am I gonna be signing forms if Zeref doesn't feel up to it."

The others exchanged curious glances. "You wouldn't have to," Mira explained, bemused. "Even if we still had that archaic inheritance rule on the books, it only goes to blood relatives. Children, younger siblings, that sort of thing."

"Exactly. He hasn't got kids, so that puts me in the firing line. He'd probably pretend to be too ill to do his paperwork whenever he wanted to spite me."

"Natsu," Macao sighed. "I'm not sure you understand how this whole inheritance thing works…"

"It's not hard, is it?" he shot back, irritated. "If the Master's incapacitated, his poor little brother has to do all the boring work, aka me. Good job we don't have that rule any more, or I'd be voting for Erza as Master."

His remark fell flat in the silence. Then:

"You and Zeref are related?"

"What the hell, Natsu?"

"You're his younger brother?"

"But he's four hundred years old; how does that even work?"

Natsu blinked. "Wait, you didn't know?"

"You never mentioned it!" Mira exclaimed.

"…Huh. I assumed you'd figured it out years ago."

"Oh, yes, why would we not just assume that you and the four-hundred-year-old sensible, smart, powerful ex-emperor that you don't get on with at all were secretly brothers?" Laxus scoffed.

"Well, did you not think it was odd that Felicity and Emilia call him Uncle?"

"Honestly, Natsu," Macao responded, "everyone in the guild thought it was weird, but we were all too polite to ask about it! Our best guess was that Lucy had come up with it to try and make Zeref feel more included; no one could deny that they were as close as siblings. Besides, half the kids in the guild do it now. It's quite cute."

"…Huh," Natsu said, again. "Well, now that that's cleared up, I've got a Guild Master succession to arrange."

He didn't manage more than a step towards the doors before the three of them pounced on him. "Wait, you're just going to leave it at that?" Macao demanded.

"Uh… yes?"

"Come on, Natsu!" Mira wheedled. "You can't drop a bombshell like that and then walk off. Tell us more! Why didn't you mention this during the war? Is this related to the fact that you're END? Why do you two have such a difficult relationship?"

"None of your business," Natsu said. "The past is in the past. We're moving forward, both of us. And I," he added, waving the Guild Master Nomination Form at them, "have got the first and only piece of paperwork of my life to complete."


But Natsu had forgotten about the most troublesome obstacle of them all.

"I – beg – your – pardon?" he ground out.

"No," Zeref repeated, clear and firm. "Let me keep helping out behind the scenes. I won't be Guild Master."

"Why not?"

Perhaps irritated by the challenge – because he surely couldn't have been surprised by it – Zeref's voice slipped into a drawl. "Well, quite aside from the fact that I can't walk into your guildhall without killing everyone inside, declaring me to be your Guild Master would just be begging for the Magic Council to shut you down."

Natsu took a step forward. "Oh, I don't need you to tell me that this is a stupid idea. I've had this conversation about five times this morning alone. But the thing is, Zeref – I didn't ask why we shouldn't offer it to you. I asked why you wouldn't accept it."

"It's the same thing, isn't it?" Zeref deflected, with a puzzled half-laugh. "You know I have a vested interest in your guild not being closed down-"

"You think I'm stupid, don't you?" Natsu snapped.

"What-?"

"You always have. After all, I don't understand magic like you do. I wouldn't be able to run a guild, let alone an empire. Hell, I had no idea I was part-demon until you told me – and you didn't tell me for as long as you possibly could, not about END, not even about us being family, because you still see me as that naïve little boy who doesn't need to understand the complicated truths his big brother deals with!"

"I've never thought that-"

"Then why do you think you can get away with lying to my face?" Natsu dared.

Zeref's expression darkened. "I don't think you're stupid, Natsu, as much as your strengths lie in a different area to mine. But you are predictable. I know full well that you will disregard any logical reason I give you. Instead, you will tell me that I have to do it because it's what Lucy would have wanted-"

"I am doing this for Lucy, Zeref!" Natsu snarled, and if the Fairy Sphere hadn't been in its modified form, the crack of his hand hitting the barrier would have broken Zeref's nose instead. "Because, yeah, it's what she wanted for you, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let her love and her hard work die with her. But you, Zeref – you are going to do this because it's time you stopped running away!"

There was a pause. "What are you talking about?" Zeref drawled, in a tone that was just a little bit too dismissive to be believable.

"You've been running all these years, Zeref. Not once since Lucy brought you here have you had to face the consequences of your actions. You've had it so easy, surrounded by people who would forgive you for your past actions without a second thought. Hidden away from the Council, from Alvarez, from society at large, you've been able to pretend it never happened. You can't keep doing that. You don't have the right."

Zeref stared at him in disbelief. "You think living like this is easy, Natsu?"

"I think it's clear why you'd choose it over the alternative," Natsu returned, his lip curling. "The Fairy Sphere hasn't been protecting the world from you for a very long time. It's protecting you from the world. Don't want to face it today? Just lock the door, close the curtains, and with the Fairy Sphere intact, no one can force you. Don't want to deal with someone else's problems? That's fine; just hide away and they can't bring them anywhere near you."

"Natsu-" he tried, eyes flashing, but Natsu was having none of it.

"You did the same in Alvarez, didn't you? If you ever didn't want to deal with something, you went to mope on Tenrou Island for years at a time, and by the time you went back, someone else would have sorted out your responsibilities for you!"

"You say that like it was a choice!" Zeref spat back. "You really are stupid if you are unable to see that the Curse of Contradiction makes that lifestyle inevitable-"

"No, what I see is a man who never bothered to learn to control it! A man who ran away and hid behind the Fairy Sphere so that he wouldn't have to deal with it himself! A man who, for the last thirteen years, has expected us to pander to him, only deigning to help in return when it suited him-"

"Would you rather I didn't help at all?"

Natsu laughed off the threat. "You try it, Zeref. You'll see how quickly our patience runs out. I'm not like Lucy, you see. She was always far kinder to you than you deserved."

Zeref didn't exactly take a step back – he didn't like backing down in front of his brother; that was something the two of them had in common – but Natsu liked the wariness flickering through his eyes, the acknowledgement that it was far from an empty threat.

With some difficulty, Zeref said, "Lucy spent a lot of time showing me that it is alright to depend on others."

"It is," Natsu conceded tersely. After last night, he could not have said otherwise. "But it works both ways, Zeref. You can't expect others to always be there for you if you're only gonna be there for them when it's convenient. Some days, you'll be feeling awful too, but it's no excuse to hide away from the people who come to you with problems – you have to put aside your own pain and be strong for them!"

"Yes, well, I'm sure it's easy for people who don't have their own cursed minds working against them-"

"It's not easy for anyone, Zeref! Hell, I understand why you're hiding, now more so than ever! But you've already proven that you can do it. You did it for me last night. You-"

Breaking off abruptly, Natsu turned away with a scowl, mentally bracing himself for the next words to pass his lips. "You're good at this. If you put the effort in, you could be- y'know, really good. For the guild, I mean. Enough to make inviting the wrath of the Council worth it. In my family – my guild – we stand up for each other. When are you going to prove that you're willing to do the same?"

Zeref swallowed. "It's still a stupid idea, Natsu."

"I know," Natsu shrugged, because although it didn't hold a candle to Lucy's insane ideas, he thought she'd be proud nonetheless. "Are you gonna face it with us, or what?"

"…I suppose I will."

"Good." Natsu shoved the crumpled Guild Master Nomination Form through the barrier. "Sign it."

"What, right now?"

Natsu gave him a look.

"Alright, alright…"

Natsu's gaze followed him all the way to the table outside the guest house, like a hunting dragon, ready to pounce at the first sign of hesitancy. In fact, he was almost disappointed when Zeref duly swept the pen across the paper with practised elegance – right up until he saw exactly what Zeref had written.

"…What?" Zeref asked waspishly, when Natsu made no move to take the form he was holding out.

"Can you not read?" Natsu challenged.

Danger crackled through the air. "A great deal better than you, I dare say."

It was more of a threat than anything that had passed between them that morning, but as always, it only seemed to stoke the fire in Natsu's chest. "I doubt it, since you clearly missed the instruction to sign and print your full name."

For a so-called genius, it seemed to take an age to click. First, confusion, blundering through the still-sparking air – then fear, of all things, tentatively glancing up to meet Natsu's gaze, waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the vicious prank to be revealed, for the denial he had long since grown accustomed to.

"Well?" Natsu snapped.

Zeref wet his lips. "I… don't think I have ever signed my full name before."

"Never?"

"My – well, our – father had to sign all the documentation for the Academy, since I was still underage, and after that… well, it is safe to say that Zeref Dragneel died when the Academy was destroyed."

Natsu had always known it would hurt, hearing Zeref say his full name like that.

He'd just assumed the pain would be because he himself didn't want to accept it.

Not because of the sheer self-loathing in those words, that forsaken name.

Perhaps he shouldn't have persisted, when he'd already won the argument, but Natsu had never been one for restraint. "Another thing you've been running from," he accused bitterly.

As he could have predicted, if he'd stopped to think it through, Zeref lashed out at once, black magic striking the barrier and words carrying on through it. "I've been running? You're the one who wanted to keep our relationship a secret from everyone but Lucy all this time!"

"And why the hell did you go along with it?" Natsu struck back. "You ignored literally everything else I asked you to do! You wouldn't leave my guild alone! You wouldn't get out of my life! So don't you dare say that it was for me that you kept this hidden, when you have proven time and time again that you have no inhibitions about causing me trouble!"

To his astonishment, Zeref glanced away again, Natsu's words cutting through him like no one else's could. "I suppose it was one disappointment I didn't think I could bear."

"But you're happy to make me bear it?" Natsu dared.

After a moment, Zeref turned back to the table. This time, there was nothing graceful about the motion of his pen. It was raw and it was clunky. Just like them.

"Satisfied?" Zeref demanded, passing it back through the barrier.

"I will be when I see the Council's faces when they open this letter."

Tucking it safely into his pocket, Natsu set off back down the trail.

"Of course," Zeref called after him, "now that I'm officially part of the guild, it's going to be even harder to get the Fairy Sphere to make my house safe, let alone if I were to walk into your guildhall. What, exactly, is your plan for letting me spend time with our guild without killing people?"

Natsu stopped. "Oh, I haven't thought of one yet."

"You… what?"

"I've got three weeks," he shrugged. "That's loads of time."

It was kind of amusing, Natsu observed, how a man could be fluent in so many languages and yet entirely unable to find a suitable word for this situation.

"I'll figure something out, don't worry," he added, enjoying how it made the other splutter.

"You," Zeref decreed, "are a liability and a danger to your guild."

Natsu gleefully waved the signed form in his direction. "Yeah, well, I'm your legal responsibility now, aren't I?"

And with that, he headed back to the guildhall, feeling lighter than he had in days.


A/N: A shorter, less-intense chapter was needed after the last couple of weeks, I think. Zeref and Natsu's relationship is still far from perfect, but there's a fundamental understanding there now that will never go away, even though they'll no doubt continue to argue until the end of time. Anyway, we're almost at the end of the story now - just two more chapters and then the epilogue to go. ~CS