Children of Fairies Chapter 103: Fairy Tail Lock-In, a fairy tail fanfic

A Fairy Tail Lock-In:

AN: This was a request from rileyaldenkindle

"J.B.!" Farrah cheered as Jennabeth shyly opened the front door to the guild hall, dressed in a silky set of pajamas trimmed in lace. She smiled as Farrah all but tackled her with a hug, dressed in a pair of fuzzy, yellow pants, and a gray tank top with a picture of a lightning storm on it.

"Hi," Jennabeth smiled as she returned her friend's hug.

"Glad you could make it," Farrah said.

"Me too," Jennabeth answered as she looked about. "So...um...how does this work, I've never done a lock-in before."

"Oh, you haven't?" a voice called from behind the two teenage girls. They both turned to find Cana standing behind them. "Well, well, well, aren't you in for a world of fun!"

Farrah grinned and nodded. "Aunt Cana organizes the lock-ins every year, so we basically just do what she says."

"As the cool aunt of Fairy Tail, I get one night to have you kids to myself, so I make sure I use it well," Cana smiled.

"Oh," Jennabeth nodded, not sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

"First thing first, though, to the pillowcase station with you!"

"The what?" Jennabeth asked as Farrah led the way.

"Kind of a tradition, we always make a tie-dye pillowcase for the lock-in, here, I'll show you."

Farrah showed Jennabeth how to use the wax sticks to sketch designs onto the pillowcase before twisting and tying it up.

Across the table, Nashi glanced over Igneel's shoulder, arching an eyebrow at the mess of white wax on his pillowcase.

"What are you trying to draw, bro?"

"A dragon fighting an eight headed bear-pig-wolf monster inside a volcano!" Igneel answered.

Nashi just stared, blinking a couple times before saying: "I have several questions...and I'm not sure I want the answers…"

"You know you could have just done stars, right?" Layla asked.

"Why, because that's what you're doing?" Igneel challenged.

"No, because you're a celestial dragon slayer. It would have gotten your message across just as fine and wouldn't have been as complicated."

"Wait, you got a message out of that garbled mess!?" Nashi asked.

"You didn't?" Layla arched her eyebrow. "And here I thought you and Igneel the most in common out of the five of us."

"Well, yes, but actually no," Igneel shrugged.

"Okay, that I didn't understand," Layla shrugged.

The door opened again and Montie nervously stuck his head inside. "Sorry I'm late."

"Motnie!" all the kids cheered.

"C'mon on in, kid," Cana smiled. "Hey, where's your brother?"

"He...uh...he didn't want to come…" Montie sighed, hanging his head.

"Aw, that sucks. Glad you're here, though," Cana playfully slugged Montie in the shoulder.

Rip!

All of the children turned to find Minette and Eva stretching clear tape across a hall doorway.

"Um, why are they-" Jennabeth began, but Farrah quickly shushed her.

"Sh!"

The two Fernandez girls giggled to themselves as they ducked and hid on either side of the door. As they covered their mouths to try and stifled their snickering, Von's voice came from down the hall.

"Come on, come on, quick, you gotta come see!" Von shouted as he raced into the room, making sure to duck under the tape.

"Von, what-" Roman called as he followed after Von, and ran right into the tape.

The tape, of course, stuck to Roman's face, causing him to shout in surprise. AS he stepped forward, having not yet fully grasped what was happening enough to put the brakes on, the hallway door closed behind him, pulled by the tape. The door smacked him in the rear, causing him to yelp before collapsing to the floor.

All of the children busted out laughing at Roman's downfall. Even Roman himself was chuckling at himself.

"And our first prank has happened!" Cana announced. "Alright, Roman, you know what you have to do…"

"What does he have to do?" Jennabeth asked, nervous.

"Eat a roulette bon-bon," Farrah answered.

"Huh?" Jennabeth arched an eyebrow.

"Everytime someone falls for a prank, tries to pull a prank that fails, or loses a game they have to eat a chocolate bon-bon," Fearrah explained.

"But...isn't that a reward?" Jennabeth asked.

"Kinda," Cato suddenly cut into the conversation. "Half of the candies are normal and have regular candy fillings, but the other half have something gross inside."

Cato pointed to the numerous trays lining a table against the wall. "So you could be getting a coconut bon-bon, or you could get onions. You could get cherry, or a chilli pepper. You could get caramel, or you could get gravy. You could get peanut butter, or you could get spicy mustard. You could get marshmallow cream, or you could get mayonnaise. You could get honey, or you could get teriyaki sauce."

"Ew!" Jennabeth cringed, though she was smiling.

"Alright Roman, pick your poison, but stay away from the red plat, that's where the cherries are," Cana said.

"What's wrong with the cherries?" Jennabeth asked.

"Roman's allergic to pit fruits," Cato said. "Cherries, plums, peaches, apricots, those sort of things. And Portia's lactose intolerant. And Lorelle's allergic to nuts. That's why they're separated by plate. So the red plate has the cherry and chilli. White has marshmallow and mayonnaise. Yellow has honey and teriyaki. Light brown has peanut butter and mustard. Orange has caramel and gravy. Dark brown has coconut and onions."

Roman looked over the table, tapping his chin before plucking a candy off the yellow table. He quickly popped it into his mouth, the rest of the children watching on in anticipation. Roman smiled and held his thumbs up.

"He got a good one!" Nashi cheered.

"Aw, man," Minette pouted.

"Love you too, sis," Roman frowned playfully at her as Eva and Von laughed.

"Alright, that's as good of a segway from crafts as any," Cana said as she grabbed a bag and shook it up. "Roman, pick us out a game, buddy!"

Roman stuck his hand into the bag and pulled out a folded piece of paper, which he quickly smoothed out as he read: "Twister."

"Alrighty, to the twister board!" Cana announced.

All of the children ran to a marked off section of the floor that had red, yellow, blue, and green circles taped to it.

Cana smiled as she picked up a wheel, sat down on top of a table, and spun the wheel.

"Right foot blue."

Being that it was the first move no one was expecting someone to fall yet.

Koree always had a habit of doing the unexpected, though.

"How did you manage that, we just started!?" Cana shouted.

"My slipper fell off and I tried to slip it back on before moving!" Koree whined.

"You're still out though, so you gotta pick out a candy," Persephone smirked as her sister crawled, yes, crawled, to the table and stuck her hand up, not even speaking to see what plate she picked off of before popping it into her mouth.

She quickly cringed, made a disgusted noise, and raced to the bathroom as the other children laughed at her.

"What did you get?" Storm asked when she returned, looking a little green in the face.

"Onion!" Koree gagged.

"Oh! That one's the worst!" Bianca cringed, though she was still smiling at Koree's misfortune.

Koree opened her mouth to say something, but clapped a hand over it and turned to race back into the bathroom. "Ugh! Aftertaste!"

Cana chuckled as she spun the wheel again. "Left hand green."

"Left foot red."

"Right hand red."

Clonk!

"OUCH!" Both Minette and Nashi shouted as they moved a little too fast, knocking heads and collapsing."

"Oh! Double K.O.!" Farrah shouted from where she watched the scene while bent over.

"That looked like it hurt," Portia said.

"Well, there may be more hurting soon. You two gotta eatta bon-bon!" Cana said.

Nashi shrugged as she walked over to the table and started reaching for the red plate.

"Ah, ah, ah!"

"No!"

"Uh-uh!"

"Not fair!"

Several voices rang out.

"What?" Nashi asked.

"You're a fire wizard! Spice has no effect on you, pick out another one!" Storm shouted.

"Doesn't mean it won't still taste gross," Nashi tried to protest.

"Get another one!" Persephone demanded.

"Ugh, fine," Nashi said as she reached for the white plate, popped the candy in her mouth, then smiled. "Joke's on y'all! I got a marshmallow!"

"Aw," several voices whine.

"I hate you," Koree declared, making everyone laugh.

Except for Minette, who had picked her candy. "Please be caramel!" she begged as she popped it into her mouth, then grimaced. "Nope, gravy!"

Several chuckles rang out.

"Hey, props for actually swallowing it, though," Cana said as she gave Minette a high five. "Alright, moving on. Left hand yellow!"

"Eva, your butt is in my face!" Bianca whined.

"Sorry, I can't help it," Eva apologized.

"Left hand blue."

"Oh no!"

"Why are you getting closer to me, Star-Butt!" Meeko shouted.

"Me? You're the one getting into my space, snow farts!" Igneel insisted.

"As the guy who is stuck under both of you right now, please don't fight," Von begged from where he was unfortunately trapped with one hand under Meeko's arm, and the other hand trapped under Igneel's foot.

"You two get any closer and you'll be kissing," Persephone chuckled.

"What, no way!" Igneel screeched.

"Why did you say that?" Von squeaked.

"They'll be fine so long as Aunt Cana doesn't call-"

"Right hand green!"

"Nope!"

Both Meeko and Igneel declare as they let themselves drop, preferring to take themselves out of the game and eat a trick candy then risk accidentally smooching each other. Unfortunately for Von, they fell right on top of him.

"Oof! Why me?" Von lamented.

"Alrighty boys, pick your poison," Cana chuckled.

"YUCK! MUSTARD!" Igneel screeched as she sprinted to the bathroom.

"Out of my way, star-breath, I just got onion!" Meeko gagged as he and Igneel fought each other all the way to the bathroom.

Von just smiled as he watched them go. "I got honey!"

"YOU SUCK!" Meeko and Igneel shouted at Von right before slamming the bathroom door closed.

"Left hand yellow!"

"Oof!"

"Aw, Portia!" Nashi said as the girl in question shyly made her way to the table.

"Stay away from the white plate!" Cana warned. "I don't want to have to tell your mom why you're puking your guts out."

Portia obeyed, moving to the entire opposite side of the table and plucking up a candy of the light brown plate. She popped it into her mouth and smiled.

"Mm! Peanut butter."

"Right foot red!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

"Is Persephone out?" Cana asked after hearing the young girl yelling.

"Nope! She's still in it!" Benedict answered. "She's shaky, but she's in it!"

"Okay. Left hand red."

"Oof!"

"Okay, now she's out!"

"Uh-oh, you've gotta eat!" Cana smiled.

"Get a bad! Get bad!" Koree cheered as she watched her sister pick up a bon-bon and pop it in her mouth.

Persephone nodded and smiled. "Cherry."

"Dang it!" Koree screamed.

"Left foot blue!"

"Ouch!"

"Lorelle's is out!" Bianca announced.

"No I'm not!"

"Your butt touched the floor!"

"No, it just almost did."

"Lorelle, you know the rules," Cana said as she pointed to the candy table. "But stay away from the two brown plates."

Lorelle pouted as she stomped over to the table. She picked up a candy, then her eyes grew wide and she tried to put it back.

"Nope!" Nashi said, catching Lorelle's hand. "You picked it, you eat it!"

"But, I saw the insi-"

"Doesn't matter," Nashi shook her head.

"But-"

"C'mon, we all took the same chance. Eat it!"

Lorelle frowned as she took a tiny nibble and then immediately spat it out...on Nashi.

"Well, guess I'm gonna smell like teriyaki sauce for the rest of the night," Nashi muttered.

Slowly, one by one, the other children fell over, losing the game. Finally, only Bianca and Roman were left.

"Right hand blue!"

"Left foot yellow!"

"Left hand blue!"

"Okay, how!?" Storm asked as he pointed to Roman who hand practically tied himself in a knot to keep up with Cana's announcements.

"It's like he doesn't have any bones!" Koree agreed, cringing as she watched.

"Left hand yellow!"

"Oof!" Bianca finally lost balance and fell over.

"And Roman's the winner!" Cana announced.

"Hey, good job," Farrah said as she extended her hand for Roman to shake.

"Than-"

Zap!

"OUCH!"

"Oh, man, that was too easy!" Farrah giggled.

"You won and you still have to eat, tahe sucks," Nashi said.

Roman shrugged as he popped a candy into his mouth. "Doesn't matter, I still got honey, so I'm good."

"You just dodged two bullets in a row!" Cana said, impressed. "Alright, well, Roman, you still get a prize, and you get to pick out the next game."

Cana pulled a giant plack box out from behind her and held it out to Roman. He stuck his hand inside and pulled out black snap bracelet that he slapped on his wrist before picking another game out of the bag.

"Never have I ever."

"Oh, the scandals!" Cana chuckled. "Alright, circle up,"

The children formed a circle around her, some sitting on the floor, some sitting in chairs, some sitting on tables.

"Alright, here's how the game works," Cana explained. "Everyone hold up ten fingers. I'll list off a scenario, if you have been in that situation before, put a finger down, and be prepared to tell a story. The last person with fingers up wins. Okay? Okay? Here we go."

Cana pulled a list out of her pocket. "Put a finger down if you've gotten motion sickness."

"Aw, c'mon, no fair!" Farrah said as she put a finger down.

"Yeah, you're just trying to pick on us now," Koree agreed as she also put a finger down.

Igneel didn't argue, he just frowned as he put a finger down.

Farrah, Koree, and Igneel all looked to Von who shook his head. "No. Not yet."

"Lucky!" Koree shouted.

"Put a finger down if you have destroyed a building," Cana said.

"Dang it!" Koree grumbled as she put a finger down.

"Ooh, what did you do?" Cana asked.

"In my defense, the factory was already half-destroyed when I got there," Koree said.

"Oh, so just partly destroying it counts?" Nashi asked. "So a hospital roof would count?"

"Yes," Cana nodded. Nashi hung her head and put a finger down.

"Hey, Storm, didn't you crack a wall that day?" Persephone asked.

Storm just frowned at her as he put a finger down.

Montie formed a small blush on his face as he put a finger down.

"Wait, what did you do?" Benedict asked.

"I...uh...I tried to fix a storage shed with my magic...and I kinda went overboard and ended up levelling it."

"I knew you fit in here for a reason!" Cana smiled before continuing. "Oh, ho, ho, here's a juicy one! Put a finger down if you've ever kissed someone."

Both Benedict and Farrah put a finger down.

"Yeah, we knew you two, anyone else?" Cana asked.

Jennabeth blushed as she put a finger down.

"J.B.!?" Farrah screeched, shocked.

"It's not what you think!" Jennabeth insisted. "One of the kids at one of the orphanages I used to live at got sick and wouldn't wake up! I read a story where a prince woke a princess up with a kiss so...I tried it…"

"That is adorable!" Montie said.

"Say, Montie, you're the oldest one here, haven't you kissed someone yet?" Nashi asked.

"Never had a girlfriend," Montie said.

"That wasn't the question…" Persephone replied, eyes narrow.

Montie narrowed his eyes in return, but said. "It was on a dare, but…" he put a finger down.

"A dare!?" Cana shouted. "Hold up, hold up, we need more details!"

"Not much to it," Montie shrugged. "It was a slow day at the factory, we got bored, we played truth or dare, I got dared to randomly kiss someone and...I did...and then I got punched. Woke up an hour later. The boss wasn't happy."

Everyone laughed before Cana asked. "Anyone else?"

Minette groaned, blushing as she put a finger down.

"WHAT!?" Roman screeched.

"Minnie!" Eva exclaimed.

"Wait, how did I not know this!?" Von asked.

"Well you see...what happened was…" Minette began. "I was on a swing...and me and a friend were doing that thing where you stand opposite of each other on the swing and lean back and forth to make it move...but we got off beat, so we both leaned forward at the same time, and...yeah…"

Everyone busted out laughing.

"So, who was your friend?" Cana asked.

Minette turned and looked at Meeko who hung his head as he put a finger down.

More laughter filled the air.

"You kissed a girl!?" Bianca exclaimed. "Ihi! Blackmail!"

"Please, don't," Meeko begged.

"Anyone else?" Cana asked. When no more fingers went down, she said: "Put a finger down if you've ever fainted."

Nashi put a finger down, but nobody else did.

"Yah wimp!" Koree teased.

"Oh yeah, let's see you open a portal?" Nashi challenged.

"Put a finger down if you've ever stolen a job off the board," Cana said.

Cato hung his head as he put a finger down. Persephone, however, didn't seem phased at all as she put a finger down.

"In our defense, we were little kids," she said.

"Yeah, we weren't," Farrah said as she and Benedict put fingers down.

"Neither was I," Montie said, putting a finger down.

"Put a finger down if you've ever been to a hospital or healer," Cana asked.

"Which time?" Nashi asked as she put a finger down, along with the rest of the birthday gang.

"Same," Minette said as she put a finger down.

"Yeah, she's been more than Von and me," Eva said. "We were just born early."

Portia and Benedict both looked uncomfortable as they put fingers down.

"Young guys don't have to talk about it," Farrah said quietly.

Igneel, noticing how the two Orlando children were getting uncomfortable, decided to try and lighten the mood and bring attention off them. "I tried to climb a tree. I failed! Epically!"

Everyone laughed at the way he animatedly made his statement.

"I had to go because SOMEONE blocked my magic!" Lorelle said, glaring at Layla.

"It was an accident, okay?" Layla cried.

"Never have I ever eaten an entire pizza by myself."

"Oh, pfft!" Koree said as she put a finger down. "All the time!"

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"What should we do now?" Portai asked after the children finished playing musical chairs. The bon-bons were almost completely gone now, as well as the prizes, so it was going to be difficult to play games.

"I dunno," Nashi shrugged.

"Karaoke?" Montie suggested.

"Oh, nope!" Persephone shook her head.

"No!" Koree also shook her head.

"You don't wanna hear that," Persephone insisted.

"Nobody wants to hear that," Koree agreed. "We can't sing."

"We can't carry a tune in a bucket."

"We sound like dying pigs!"

"You know that only makes us want to hear it more, right…?" Montie said.

"No, you don't," Persephone argued.

"You really don't," Nashi said. "It's bad!"

"That doesn't mean the rest of us can't sing, though, right?" Farrah asked, just as a tune began to play. All the kids turned to the stage to find Eva already standing on it and dancing.

"I guess that answers that question," Farrah shrugged as Eva began singing.

"Once upon a time

A few mistakes ago

I was in your sights

You got me alone

You found me

You found me…"

As Eva kept singing, Koree nudged Persephone in the shoulder. Persephone arched an eyebrow at her sister, who then leaned in and whispered something in her ear. Persephone grinned widely and nodded. The twins tiptoed their way past the other children and snuck onto the stage, hiding in the curtains, waiting for Eva to sing:

"Now I'm lying on the cold hard ground!"

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Persephone and Koree screamed as they raced onto the stage, charging towards Eva. Koree picked her up and spun her around as Persephone made a funny face at her.

"Oh!" Eva said, more out of surprise than in the actual song.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The twins screamed again before setting Eva back down and running off stage. Eva started laughing so hard she couldn't even keep singing, so Minette picked up the microphone and kept the song going.

"No apologies

He'll never see you cry

Pretend he doesn't know

That he's the reason why…."

The whole time she was singing, Minette kept checking the stage wings and curtains to make sure the Redfox twins wouldn't jump out at her again. Little did she know that the twins were currently making plans with a certain Titan Fire Wizard.

"Now I'm lying on the cold hard ground!"

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

A whirlpool of fire opened up above Minette's head as the twins came crashing down on top of her. Rather than continue singing, Minette just joined in the screaming.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Trouble, trou-haha-BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Eva cackled as she tried to keep laughing, but was unable to control her laughter. The rest of the song was nothing more than a combination of laughs, snickers, and screams that could barely be heard over everyone else's laughter.

"Okay," Farrah gasped between laughs as the song ended. "So now, what-"

Another song suddenly began playing, though no one else was on the stage. Everyone looked about, confused, until Igneel jumped on a table and belted out:

"Just a small-town girl

Livin' in a lonely world

She took the midnight train goin' anywhere!"

Nashi suddenly jumped up on the table behind her brother, catching him off guard and causing him to yelp in fear as she began singing:

"Just a city boy

Born and raised in South Detroit

He took the midnight train goin' anywhere!"

Igneel playfully pushed Nashi off the table, but she dragged him down with her. The two wrestled for a bit, but stopped their fighting in time to sing the next bit of the song, Igneel sitting on Nashi's shoulders as they did so.

"A singer in a smoky room

The smell of wine and cheap perfume

For a smile they can share the night

It goes on and on, and on, and on!"

While belting out the last "on" Igneel leaned back a bit too far, knocking Nashi off balance, and sending them both tumbling to the ground. Thankfully the rest of the kids picked up for them.

"Don't stop believin'!

Hold on to that feelin'!

Streetlight people!

Don't stop believin'!

Hold on to that feelin'!

Streetlight people!

Don't stop believin'!

Hold on to that feelin'!

Streetlight people!"

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The Redfox twins screamed on the last note, causing everyone to erupt into laughter once again.

"Alright, Ben, you're up," Farrah said.

"Wait, me?" Benedict asked.

"You're a Sound Wizard, you've gotta sing karaoke!" Farrah insisted.

"Yeah!" Cato agreed.

"Ben-e-dict! Ben-e-dict!" Koree cheered, the other kids soon joining in alongside her.

"Fine, fine, but you guys have to help me," Benedict said as he walked over to the music lacrima.

"What's he mean by that?" Cato asked, before hearing the first not of the song.

All of the children grinned before yelling out in unison:

"Woah!

Woah!

Woah!"

"Sh!" Benedict held a finger to his mouth, hushing all the other children who crowded around him. He grinned and began singing in a mesmerizingly good voice:

"Ladies and gents, this is the moment you've waited for."

"Woah!"

"Been searching in the dark, your sweat soaking through the floor."

"Woah!"

"And buried in your bones there's an ache that you can't ignore

Taking your breath"

CLAP!

"Stealing your mind"

STAMP!

And all that was real is left behind."

STAMP! STAMP! STAMP! CLAP!

As the beat began to pick up Igneel, bobbing his head, began to dance, all while keeping the beat with his hands. The children began to join him, one by one as Benedict kept singing.

"Don't fight it, it's coming for you, running at ya

It's only this moment, don't care what comes after

Your fever dream, can't you see it getting closer

Just surrender 'cause you feel the feeling taking over."

Benedict tapped Nashi on the shoulder. She nodded, smiling, as she waved her hands, casting sparkly flames through the air as Benedict jumped on a table to continue the song.

"It's fire, it's freedom, it's flooding open

It's a preacher in the pulpit and you'll find devotion

There's something breaking at the brick of every wall, it's holding

All that you know

So tell me do you wanna go?"

All of the children jumped up on the tables before they all joined in singing.

Where it's covered in all the colored lights

Where the runaways are running the night

Impossible comes true, it's taking over you

Oh, this is the greatest show

We light it up, we won't come down

And the sun can't stop us now

Watching it come true, it's taking over you

Oh, this is the greatest show!

Oh, this is the greatest show!"

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"You guys really can't sing, can you?" Montie chuckled as he set his hands on his hips and stared at the Redfox twins.

"Not a note," Koree shook her head.

"Hey, Koree, truth or dare?" Nashi asked.

"Ooh! I love this game! Dare!" Koree answered.

"Alright, I dare you and Persephone to get on that stage and perform a duet!" Nashi grinned evilly.

"Wait, wait, wait, how'd I get roped into this?" Persephone sputtered as everyone laughed at her plight.

"C'mon, sis, we can't go back on a dare," Koree sighed as she grabbed Persephone's arm.

"This is your dare, not mine!" Persephone argued, but she still followed her sister onto the stage as she took the microphone from an overly smiley Nashi.

The music began to play and Koree began in a very off-key voice:

"If I were a rich man

With a million or two

I'd live in a penthouse

In a room with a view."

Persephone sighed before she began singing her part.

"And if I were handsome-"

"Now way!" Koree said, jokingly.

"It could happen," Persephone shrugged.

"'Cause dreams do come true."

Koree threw an arm around Persephone's shoulder as they both began to sing the chorus:

"I wouldn't have nothing if I didn't have you

Wouldn't have nothing if I didn't have

Wouldn't have nothing

I don't have to say it

'Cause we both know it's true

I wouldn't have nothing if I didn't have

I wouldn't have nothing if I didn't have you!"

The rest of the children applauded as the twins took a bow.

"You two are officially terrible!" Montie said as he clapped along with the rest of the children.

"Told you so!" Koree said.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"No!" Nashi sat straight up, gasping for breath. The soft hue of early morning was peaking through the windows as she and the rest of the kids lay on the floor, stuffed in and about their sleeping bags. At some point after the karaoke party and during the truth or dare game everyone had passed out, exhausted but happy.

Until now, that was.

"Ugh!" Nashi groaned, putting a hand to her forehead. Another nightmare! And she'd been having such a fun time, too!

She had been getting better, really. But every now and then her nightmares came back. Nashi wondered if she'd ever fully be rid of them, but based on what she'd read in the books Aunt Mira had given her it wasn't looking so good.

Nashi sighed deeply. Her hands still shook. Her heart rate was still higher than normal. Nashi stood to her feet and tiptoed towards the bathroom. She turned on the sink and splashed cold water on her face, trying to chase the last remnants of her nightmare. It helped, but only a bit.

Nashi had soon discovered that water was something that helped calm her when she was in the midst of a panic attack or a nightmare. However, warm water worked best. And it worked better if she could submerge herself fully in the water. The new pool at her family's new house was certainly coming in good use for her.

However, she could just jump into a pool here. Yes, there was a pool and bathhouse at the guild hall, but both had been locking up for the night, and she was bound to raise suspicion if she broke in there right now.

Nashi sighed again as she wiped at her face. She would just have to deal with it for the rest of the night...morning. She'd be going home soon, anyways. She turned and pushed the bathroom door open to go back to her sleeping bag.

"Are you okay?"

"GAH!"

Nashi jumped at the sound of a voice. She turned to find-

"Storm! Oh, hey! Hey, Storm!" she smiled, but the grin soon faded as she asked. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

Storm didn't answer, but rather asked once again: "Are you okay?"

Nashi sighed as she cast her eyes downwards. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just having a hard time sleeping."

"Nashi, you and I both know that you could sleep through a hurricane," Strom stated flatly.

Nashi glanced back up at him. His gaze softened.

"You're not okay, are you?"

"I'm fine," Nashi answered, though she shook her head.

"What happened?"

Nashi sighed again, staring at her feet. "Nothing much. I just had a nightmare, that's all."

Storm stared at Nashik for a little while longer. She didn't look up at him, just stared at her toes. Storm took a step closer towards her, set his hands on her shoulders and pulled her towards him. Nashi gasped as he wrapped her in a warm hug.

"I'm sorry you're not doing well," he said softly.

Nashi wasn't sure what it was. Maybe it was the warmth and tightness of the hug. Maybe it was the gentleness in his voice. Maybe it was the way he didn't ask for a long explanation before offering her comfort. But whatever it was, she felt herself relaxing. She set her hands on Storm's back, returning the hug as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Was it about the void?" he asked.

Nashi didn't speak, but she nodded.

"I was afraid of that," Storm sighed. "You haven't really been yourself since you got back."

Nashi sighed loudly. "I'm trying, okay?" she said bitterly. "I'm trying to get back to who I was, but it's hard."

"I didn't mean that," Storm quickly corrected. "I mean, you're not doing anything wrong. I've just noticed you've been...well...different."

"Good difference or bad difference?" Nashi asked bitterly.

Storm shrugged. "I dunno. I mean, you don't really run right into situations like you used to. Which, I guess could be good or bad? You just seem more...well...careful, I guess? Which isn't bad, I don't think, unless the reason you're so careful is because you're scared." Storm sighed. "I'm not making a lot of sense, am I."

"No, you are," Nashi muttered.

She didn't say anything else for a long while. Sensing there was something more bothering her Storm tightened his arms around her.

Nashi sighed again, relaxing all the more as she thought. Outside of her family, Aunt Mira, and Uncle Laxus she hadn't told anyone about her anxiety issues. She wasn't so sure whe wanted anyone else to know. She didn't want to be treated like she was broken, or more dangerous than certain people already assumed her to be.

But then again, this was Storm, one of her best friends. He'd always been the one to defend her against people who mistreated her because of her magic. If there was anyone outside her family she could trust with this it was Storm. Nashi shifted a bit, uneasy, before asking:

"Storm, have you ever heard of panic attacks?"

"Did you have one?" Storm asked.

"Not tonight," Nashi answered. "But I've been having them ever since I got back from the void. That and...nightmares…"

"I'm sorry," Storm whispered, tightening his arms around her. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I dunno," Nashi grumbled.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Okay," Storm continued holding Nashi, trying to think of something to help her, but coming up blank.

"What do you usually do when this happens?" he asked.

"Depends," Nashi shrugged. "Sometimes I just wrap up in a blanket, sometimes I just take deep breaths. Warm water really seems to help, but I can't really get to that without breaking into the pool or bathhouse, and I don't feel like getting in trouble tonight."

"Well, not necessarily," Storm answered.

"What do you-"

"Water body."

At his command Storm's entire body turned to water. Nashi gasped as she felt the warm weight of the water surrounding her. A small smile played on her lips as all her tension began to leave. It was just like submerging herself in a warm bath, only better. Despite being made entirely of water at the moment, Storm's hug still didn't feel any less like a hug. It was still as tight and comforting as before, but with the added bonus of the water's calming essence.

Storm gently set a hand on the back of Nashi's head.

"Cleanse," he whispered.

The buzzing of frightened thoughts that had been flying through Nashi's mind began to fade. Her head slowly slumped further against his shoulder, her eyes fluttering close in relief.

"Did that help?" Storm asked.

"Yeah...thanks…" Nashi whispered.

"Getting tired?" Storm asked.

"Yeah...a bit…" Nashi admitted. "Not sure I'm ready to go back to sleep, though."

"You should probably still lie back down, though. Get a little bit of rest, y'know?" Storm said, changing his body back to normal.

Nashi sighed in disappointment as he let her go. She knew he was right, though, so she simply nodded and walked back to her bean bag. She'd just climbed into the bag when she heard something scuffling behind her. She turned to find Storm dragging his sleeping bag to her side. He set it up and then climbed inside, lying on his side next to her.

Nashi stared at him, confused, until he held his hand out to her. Nashi smiled as it turned back to water. She reached out and took it, intertwining her fingers with his.

"Better?" Storm asked.

"Yeah," Nashi answered, settling down. Storm laid on his side, watching her as she closed her eyes.

"Hey, uh, Nashi, can I ask you something?" he asked.

"Yeah?" she answered.

"That night at the ball, when you accidentally set the table cloth on fire and then disappeared?"

Nashi cringed. "Yeah?"

"Were you having a panic attack then?"

Nashi sighed. "Yeah."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Storm asked.

"I didn't know what was happening," Nashi answered truthfully. "That was the first one I'd ever had. And I didn't want anyone to freak out, or anything."

"Well, I guess I can understand that," Storm replied. "But from now on can you tell me if something like this happens?"

"I don't want to bother you," Nashi muttered.

"You're not bothering me," Storm assured her. "I've had to use cleanse and such on you for a lot less before. Like eating a glow stick."

Nashi chuckled. "I guess so."

Her eyelids fluttered closed again and she fell asleep, still holding Storm's hand.

Storm watched her for a bit longer. Panic attacks? He'd known something had changed since she got back from the void, but he didn't think it was that serious. Leave it to Nashi to tough out something like that on her own and act like it was no big deal. She was strong. Extremely strong. No matter how bad things got she never gave up and she always got back on her feet.

So why did he now have a strong urge to protect her at all costs?

It wasn't that unusual, he guessed. He'd always stood up to bullies, and naysayers, and slanderers for her that mistreated her because of her magic.

But this was different.

This wasn't just the usual loyalty or protectiveness he felt towards Koree, or Persephone, or Roman, or Cato, or his siblings. He didn't want to just be someone who had her back, someone who defended her, someone who fought alongside her.

He wanted to be a hero.

He wanted to be her hero.

Which was dumb.

Nashi didn't need a hero. She WAS a hero.

So why did he feel this way?

Maybe it was just the exhaustion of a long night of fun.

Storm sighed as he shrugged, gently taking his hand from hers, and rolling over so his back was facing her so he could sleep.