A Busted Knuckle for a Wife's Honor:

AN: Okay, okay, RoWen fans! I hear you! Here you go! Man, you guys go hard for your ship, don't you? LOL!

(Note: ^^^that is in jestful, overexaggerated fun, please don't take offense. I love you guys. I just wanted to have a little fun at y'all's expense. :P )

Wendy glanced out the living room window. It was dark, the moon and stars had long been out, and Romeo still wasn't home.

She sighed deeply and went back to her sewing. As Isla outgrew her clothes, Wendy had cut them up and added them to a quilt. She planned on adding to this quilt until her little girl was eighteen and then gifting it to her, a keepsake from her childhood. Right now, however, it was keeping her mind off her husband.

Sewing while nervous had it's issues, though, such as pulling the thread too fast and causing knots. Wendy sighed as she began undoing the knot.

Romeo had been in quite the foul mood when he left. He'd been through the S Class trials eight times, and then when he'd finally made it, his first job was to go rescue two wayward teens who'd stolen a job.

They were new faces to Fairy Tail, a pair of brothers who'd joined about three months ago who seemed to be having trouble finding their niche in the guild. Wendy couldn't help but feel sorry for them, though she had to admit that the younger of the brothers, Sanjay, was not making things easier on either of them. If she had to guess, it was probably him who stole the job and then dragged his older brother, Montie, along with him.

It wouldn't have been the first time a group of teenagers stole an S class job. Natsu and Lucy had apparently done it before Wendy came to the guild. However, when these things happened an S class wizard had to go after the wayward wizards. Unfortunately for Romeo, he was the only one available. Well, he and Wendy.

Wendy had made S class the year before Romeo, and had volunteered to go with him, but he told her "no."

"One of us has to stay here with Isla," he'd said. "And, please don't take this the wrong way, babe, but I don't think that younger one would listen to you."

Wendy hadn't taken it the wrong way. She understood. Sanjay had a nasty attitude with pretty much everyone, but especially with women who tried to tell him what to do.

At least, he used to.

Maybe?
A quick, painful lesson from Erza had taught him to at least keep his attitude to himself, but Wendy was pretty sure it was still there, hidden under his scowls. (Though not hidden well).

"Mama?"

Wendy lifted her gaze to find Isla standing before her, rubbing at her eyes, a ragdoll tucked under her arm.

"You're supposed to be asleep, sweetie," Wendy said, putting her sewing aside and kneeling in front of her daughter.

"I'm thirsty," Isla yawned.

"Oh, well, let's fix that," Wendy said as she scooped Isla into her arms and carried her to the kitchen. She took a sippy cup down from the cupboard, Isla still on her hip.

"Mama?" Isla asked as Wendy began filling the cup.

"Yes, honey?"

"Is Daddy home yet?"

Wendy managed to keep a calm face as she shook her head. "No, baby, he's still out on that job."

"When's he coming home?" Isla asked. "He's been gone forever!"

"It's only been one day," Wendy said as she set Isla on the cabinet for a moment to screw the top back on the sippy cup. "But I'm sure he'll be home soon."

"Is he okay?" Isla asked.

"I'm sure he's fine," Wendy smiled, passing the cup to Isla. "You know you're daddy is a really strong wizard, he'll be fine."

Isla sucked on her cup for a little while, seeming to think over what Wendy said.

"Need anything else, honey?" Wendy asked after a few minutes.

Isla shook her head. "I don't think so."

"Alright, let's get you back to bed," Wendy said as she scooped Isla back into her arms. She carried her little girl back to her room and tucked her in, making sure her ragdoll was still in her arms.

"Good night, Isla," Wendy said as she kissed the top of her daughter's hair.

"Good night," Isla replied, snuggling her doll closer to her as Wendy exitted her room.

Wendy sat back onto the couch and took her sewing up again. As much of a brave face as she put on for Isla, she was worried. She hadn't heard from Romeo since he left yesterday afternoon. Sure, he was a strong wizard, but S class jobs were dangerous under normal circumstances, but now that two dumb kids had probably blown their cover and messed something up? There was no telling what perils he was going to have to overcome to bring those two boys home.

As Wendy finished untangling her thread and sewing again she heard heavy footsteps on the porch outside.

She already knew who it was, but checked out the window to make sure it was Romeo before opening the door to meet him.

He had been reaching down to put his key in the door when she opened it and threw her arms around his neck.

"Romeo," she sighed in relief.

"Well, hey there. I thought you'd be asleep by now," Romeo said as he returned her hug.

"Nope!" Wendy grinned as she set her hands behind her head and kissed him. She could feel him smiling into the kiss as he set his hands on her back.

"You haven't been sitting up all night worrying, have you?" Romeo asked when they parted.

"Well, I mean…" Wendy twirled her hair nervously. "I tried not to, but…"

"Now how am I supposed to go on S class jobs if you're going to sit up all night every time I do," Romeo chuckled, kissing her forehead.

"I said I tried not to," Wendy pouted as he walked inside. "But I can't help but worry about you every now and then. I am your wife after all."

"Yeah, I know," Romeo said as he set his bag down and turned back around towards her. "Which means you can't blame me for worrying that you haven't gotten enough rest. So c'mon!"

"Romeo!" Wendy squealed as he tossed her over his shoulder and began carrying her to their bedroom.

"Off to bed with you!"

"Romeo! Can't we at least talk-AH!" Wendy squeaked as she felt a smack across her bum. "You little-"

"What?" Romeo asked, chuckling. "Something wrong up there, babe?"

"Romeo…" Wendy covered her face as she blushed.

Romeo just chuckled at her again as they reached their room and he set her on the bed. It was then that a small pang on his side. He winced as he put a hand over it.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Wendy asked, reaching to see when she saw bandages around Romeo's hand.

She gasped. "What happened?"

"Oh, this?" Romeo asked, holding his bandaged hand out. "Eh, just a little scrape, nothing to worry about."

"Well, let me see," Wendy said, taking his hand in her's.

"No, it's fine," Romeo tried to pull away, but Wendy kept her grip on him.

"Let me see," she insisted again as she unwound the bandages and gasped at what she saw. The skin had been torn off all of Romeo's knuckles. His fingers were swollen and bruised, and his middle finger appeared to be a bit crooked, indicating his middle knuckle may have been broken.

"Romeo, this is more than a scrape!" Wendy exclaimed as she stood to her feet, pushing Romeo to sit on the bed.

"Yeah...I know…" Romeo grumbled as Wendy began to work her healing magic on him.

"What happened?" Wendy asked.

"I...eh...may have gotten into...a fight…"

"With your fists?" Wendy asked. "What happened to your magic?"

"Nothing happened to it. I just wanted to use my fists."

"Why? That's crazy!"

"Have you met me?"

"That's crazy even for you."

"Eh, I guess."

"Who were you fighting?"

"No one important."

"But you still chose to fight with your fists rather than magic…"

Romeo pouted his lip out as he stared at the floor, realizing he was caught but not wanting to admit it.

"Was it a dark wizard?" Wendy asked, having fully healed one knuckle and moving on to the next.

"No," Romeo grumbled.

"A mercenary?"

"No."

"An outlaw?"

"No."

"Then who was it?"

"It was…" Romeo drew a long breath through his teeth.

"It was…?" Wendy urged, moving on to his third knuckle.

"It was Sanjay…" Romeo finally admitted.

"Sanjay!?" Wendy exclaimed. "Romeo, he's our guild mate!"

"I know," Romeo sighed.

"What possessed you to attack him like that."

"He…" Romeo began to shift uneasily.

"He, what?" Wendy asked again, getting a little agitated. "Romeo, do you have any idea what a fuss this is gonna cause."

"Eh, it'll be fine," Romeo shrugged. "Afterall, I'm S class and have been here longer than him."

"Well, that's a sour attitude to have about this. Especially seeing as-" Wendy began scolding her husband before he cut her off.

"Look, you didn't hear what he was saying about you and Isla, okay!" Romeo finally exclaimed, irritated.

Wendy took a step back. "Saying about me and Isla?"

Romeo's eyes grew wide as he realized he'd let it slip, then he hung his head and pouted again. Wendy smiled softly as she walked back to him, took his hand in hers again, and kept healing him.

"Why don't you tell me the whole story?" she asked softly.

"Well…" Romeo sighed as he began.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"...getting that totem back from these guys is an S class job for a reason," Romeo pinched the bridge of his nose. "If it weren't incredibly dangerous it would just be a regular job. So when we get it back I'LL be the one to hold onto it until we get back to home. End of story!"

It had been about the tenth time he'd been through this with Montie and Sanjay, and yet they still chose to argue.

"I understand where you're coming from," Montie said calmly. "You are the only S class wizard here, but if it's so dangerous then none of us should be holding onto it the whole time, hence why I think we should take turns."

"And why should I trust you two?" Romeo asked. "You've already stolen an S class job, who's to say you won't take the totem?"

"So you think you're better than us?" Sanjay all but spat.

"San-" Montie bega, but Romeo cut him off.

"Overall? Probably not. But at this point in time, yeah! Seeing as I'm the only one here who hasn't stolen anything and is technically the only one allowed to be here."

"Tch!" Sanjay hissed as he turned his head away from Romeo. "Man, I don't have to take this."

"Then go home," Romeo said. "And let me and your brother finish this."

"Man, I ain't going nowhere!" Sanjay declared, puffing his chest out as he walked to Romeo. "I ain't taking orders from-"

"Don't walk up on me like that, take a step back, boy," Romeo said, holding an arm out.

"Boy!?" Sanjay sniffed.

"You're fifteen, you're a boy," Romeo said plainly.

"Man, you think you're all that, don't you!"

"And here we go again," Romeo rolled his eyes, turned his back towards Sanjay and began pacing as he ran his hands through his hair.

I'm gonna kill 'em! I'm gonna kill 'em! I'm either gonna kill 'em or go insane!

"Sanjay, come on, don't be like this," Montie begged.

"No, I'm going to be like this, because he's being like this!" Sanjay declared.

"I have tried," Romeo sighed as he turned back to Sanjay. "I have tired to be reasonable and respectful, but-"

"No, you're trying to order us about and tell us what to do, acting like someone died and made you guild master."

"Yeah, and the sad thing is if Laxus were here you wouldn't act any different, would you?" Romeo asked.

"Man, screw that dude, he doesn't know who he's messing with," Sanjay said, popping the collar of his shirt.

"Uh-huh, that's what I thought," Romeo sighed. "Look, I've been trying to be reasonable but-"

"No you're not!"

-here are the facts-"

"You think you're better than me!"

"-I'm the adult here-"

"Ordering me about like some punk!"

"-I've been on these jobs before-"

"Flaunting that skinny everywhere, like that means something!"

Romeo stopped speaking, clenching his jaw shut.

Sanjay noticed and grinned. "Uh-huh. Hit a nerve didn't I?"

"You better pick your next words carefully, boy," Romeo warned.

"No I don't!" Sanjay said proudly. "'Cuz I'm stating facts! You think 'cuz you married a pretty little dragonslayer you can just do whatever you want!"

"Oh, really?" Romeo asked venomously.

"But the truth is that doesn't mean nothing!" Sanjay said. "'Cuz women go where the power is. And when I get home, after winning this quest, I'm gonna be S-Class too and then I'm gonna have your wife."

"Oh, are you?" Romeo asked again, voice deepening.

"Yeah, I'm gonna have that pretty little dragon, and I'm gonna have a boy with her! Not some stupid girl!"

"Stupid girl!?" Romeo's voice raised.

"Yeah, you only got one girl. Man, I'm gonna have me ten boys. And I'm gonna have them with your wifey."

"Do you really think that's how it works, you little bastard?" Romeo asked. "You think stealing one job is going to get you whatever you want?"

"Man, this is just the beginning!" Sanjay said. "I'm gonna be stronger than all you punks. And then I'm gonna steal-"

"No you won't," Romeo shook his hand and began to walk off to go calm down before he did something he'd regret.

That didn't happen.

"Yes, I am, because she's not gonna have a choice."

Romeo froze.

Did he just...this punk did not just suggest…

"You can keep that brat," Sanjay continued. "But I'm taking your wife, one way or another, whether you and her like it or not!"

Romeo took a deep breath.

"Montie?" he asked as he turned to the older of the two brothers.

"Yes?" Montie replied, looking quite frightened.

"I'm going to need you to understand what I'm about to do," Romeo said in a chillingly calm voice.

Then he pounced. He grabbed Sanjay by his hair, lifted him off his feet, and began punching him.

Hard.

"Boy!" he shouted as he punched him.

"You!" he punched him again.

"Better!" he continued punching him, laying a hit in after every word he spoke.

"Keep! My! Wife! And ! Daughter's! Names! Out! Of! Your! Mouth!"

Sanjay squealed and struggled under the barrage of pain. He finally managed to lay a kick in on Romeo's ribs. It was a pretty hard one too, enough to knock the wind out of Romeo.

Romeo stumbled, regained his balance, and then threw Sanjay against the wall of the abandoned building they'd taken shelter in.

"Montie!"

"Yes!" the boy squeaked as Romeo turned to him, hands pressed together.

"Listen closely," Romeo breathed. "We either finish this job my way, or I go home, leave you two here, and at best you get a whole team coming to drag you back, or at worst, you're both expelled from the guild. Both of those scenarios only play out if you two are alive by the time I make it back home. Understood!?"

"Yessir," Montie squeaked.

"Let's go," Romeo hissed, leading Montie out the door.

"And you!" he pointed to the still groaning and coughing Sanjay. "Stay here, and next time hold your tongue!"

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"So, yeah…" Romeo sighed as he lifted his shirt, showing his bruised ribs to Wendy.

Wendy didn't respond at first, just went about healing him as she thought.

"Well," she finally said. "I guess I can forgive you this time."

"You better. It was your honor I was fighting for, afterall," Romeo exclaimed.

"Yeah," Wendy smiled as she finished healing his ribs. She then crawled into his lap, straddling him, wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing him deeply.

Romeo moaned softly, setting one hand around her waist and the other behind her head, tangling his fingers in her hair.

Wendy giggled, then pulled away and leaned her forehead against his.

"My hero," she said softly, letting her hands slip down his neck, across his shoulders, and to his chest.

Romeo smiled, rubbing his hands up and down and her back. "Well, every princess needs her hero, right?"

Wendy giggled again. "Yeah, well, I've found mine."

She leaned forward and kissed him again. He moaned again and tightened his grip on her before letting himself fall back against the bed. Wendy laughed as she fell down with him. Romeo smirked as he rolled over, pinning Wendy underneath him.

"Romeo!" Wendy giggled as he began peppering her face in kisses.

"What? I missed your beautiful face," Romeo said, to her delight.

"And your hands," he continued, taking one of her hands in his and kissed her palm.

"And your arms," he began kissing her arm, starting at her wrist and slowly working his way to her shoulder.

Wendy giggled again. "Romeo," she sighed, letting her free hand find its way to his hair, wrapping his locks around her finger.

"Wendy," he whispered as he finally reached her shoulder, and then moved to her face, rubbing his nose against hers.

"Hm?" she asked softly.

"I missed you," he replied before stealing another, soft kiss.

"I missed you too," she said as they parted. "My handsome hero."