THIS STORY IS NOT ON HIATUS.

I sincerely apologize for the delay; it's been a hard transition to college, and a lot of stuff happened that made it hard to write. But I'm back, and rest assured this will be seen through to the end. I'm back now, and not stopping anytime soon. Thank you for sticking with this story, and I hope you continue to read, enjoy, and review.

Ksh—shh,

"…rry…I'…"

Kshhhhh.

"I'm sorry."

Click.

Prabha

"But Luuuuuuuce!"

Gajeel rolled his eyes, leaning back and tipping his chair onto two legs. Fuckin' Flame-for-Brains was always so damn loud; Gajeel firmly believed he should be sanctified for having to deal with him all the time. Gods only knew how the Bunny Girl maintained her sanity, the way those two stuck together like a pair of charged magnets—

"Gajeel," a high-pitched voice cut in sharply, "are you listening?"

Quickly, Gajeel shook himself free from his thoughts, lazily turning his head to the side to meet the eyes of a severely frowning blue-haired shrimp. He snorted internally at the pout on her face (and firmly ignored the little voice that called it adorable).

"Yeah, yeah, short stuff, I'm listening. Keep going."

"As I was saying," Levy spoke, shooting a sharp look in Gajeel's direction, "we need to figure out what's going with those people who attacked us yesterday and what they have to do with this whole situation. Erza, Gray, do you have any ideas? Did you see anything out in the desert?" She looked around the kitchen table, where everyone had gathered to discuss yesterday's events (sans Wendy, who had been working her ass off before and after yesterday's attack—even Gajeel was loathe to wake her up).

Merin and his family had long gone for their daily duties, leaving Gajeel and his comrades to enjoy (read: pig out) on a late breakfast. He studied the kitchen, taking in the motley collection of freakshows that had somehow become his life: across the rectangular table, Salmon Head and Bunny Girl sat next to each other, with the Stripper and Titania on either side, Titania clutching a plate of strawberry cake close. Shrimp sat on his left, and Lily occupied his right shoulder—Salamander's stupid blue cat did the same to him. The kid's cat occupied her mistress' usual seat next to Gajeel alone, frequently casting worried glances up the stairs, while the Mini-Flame Brain sat on her other side, hands wrapped around a mug of steaming hot chocolate, a thoughtful frown on his face. Gajeel huffed internally—the brat was a hundred years too early to be making that kind of face.

"Nothing that would explain yesterday's attack," Erza stated calmly, folding her arms across her chest.

"We were met by associates and employees of the Edris family in the town that Merin and Hali were staying when she went missing; they informed us of the circumstances of her disappearance and provided us with supplies and search devices. Gray and I looked for any physical signs of an area under the sand like Merin described, but we couldn't find anything, so we switched over to a device that would detect high amounts of Ethernano concentration in one area. We found one such area, so we came back to report to Merin in the hope that he would recognize something in the area that might lead to an entrance."

"I see…so that's a dead end," Levy murmured, her small chin in her small hand. Gajeel refused to look at that.

"More than that, I think we should be concentrating on Wendy's involvement in this whole thing," Lucy said emphatically, worry on her face. "We all heard what that Requip Mage Sabra said—they were waiting for Wendy! They must have been attacking us to get to her."

"What?!" Natsu growled. "You think those bastards were going after Wendy?"

"It would make sense," Levy threw in, leaning forwards. "Plus, hasn't Wendy-chan been a little weird lately?"

Gajeel snorted. "Yer thinkin' too much, shrimpy. She's been runnin' herself ragged tryin' to figure out this disease and shit. She's just tired."

Levy looked disconcerted. "Maybe so, but she's been acting strange since before all this. Don't you guys think so?"

Gray raised an eyebrow, casually discarding his shirt. "How so?"

"Gray, your clothing."

Romeo broke in, ignoring Gray's surprised squawk. "She…I think she's been having nightmares, or something. When I went to go wake her up for the trip here, it seemed like she might have been, but she denied it. Come to think of it, she had one on the train here, didn't she?"

"Yes! I think so too," Charle nodded her head. "She's been tossing and turning so much lately, even though Wendy usually sleeps like a log."

"Nightmares?" Erza queried, leaning slightly forward. "Did she say what kind?"

Romeo shook his head regretfully, looking conflicted. "Maybe I should ask…?"

"No," Lucy interrupted. "We shouldn't push her—she's stressed enough as it is. We need to wait for her to come to us, and in the meantime, we'll protect her from whoever's coming after her."

"Damn straight," Natsu snapped, eyes aflame with protective rage, mirrored in the eyes of his nakama. "Nobody comes after Fairy Tail and gets away with it."

Evil would not touch their Sky Sorceress—over their dead bodies.

"It's getting a little late. I should go see if Wendy's up," Charle extended her wings, flying up and out of her chair, only to arrest her movements at a glimmer of blue hair and white scarf swishing down the staircase.

"Wendy!" Charle exclaimed. "Goodness, we were starting to get worried. Did you sleep well?"

But silence was her only reply. Wendy walked down the stairs slowly, as if it took tremendous effort to just put one foot in front of the other, one hand gripping the railing tightly, knuckles white. Her hair hung loose, covering her face, and her shoulders sagged ever so slightly—she seemed ready to collapse at any time. Gajeel's chair's front two legs hit the ground with an audible thump as he leaned forward in his chair, his and the other mages' eyes following the young Dragonslayer concernedly. Wendy acted as if she hadn't heard Charle speak, drifting slowly towards the refrigerator; pulling it open, she paused for a long moment, and slowly closed the door again, still clutching the handle. Her hair fell on the side of her face, still obscuring her eyes.

"Wendy? Are you alright?" Lucy inquired tentatively.

"…Eh?" Wendy's voice was soft, softer than it had been before, and flatter than her normal honey-sweet tones. "Did…did you say something, Lucy-san?" The exhaustion in her voice was clear.

The group exchanged worried glances, Charle hovering nervously in place.

"Are you okay, Wendy-chan?" Levy asked gently. "If you're not feeling well, I'm sure the Edrises wouldn't mind if you took a little time to rest—"

"No," Wendy interrupted immediately. She turned to face her makeshift family, lifting her face just enough to reveal her eyes—oh, Mavis, her eyes. Dead, and filled with a crystal-clear, soul-deep exhaustion; the kind of eyes Gajeel seen before, in his Phantom days, and had never, ever wanted to see on one of his nest. Lucy bit back a gasp, and Levy reflexively gripped Gajeel's sleeve, a predatory snarl building deep in Natsu's throat—Erza and Gray shot him warning looks belying the worry and confusion in their eyes. Romeo's hands tightened on his mug, but outwardly his face remained calm, his attention on Wendy like she was the only person in the world. Gajeel—well, he was never a man to think too deeply about attachments and feelings and the like.

But he swore, he'd never been so pissed (hurt)in his life as when Wendy's lips twitched tremulously upward into the falsest smile, saying—

"I'm fine."

earlier, with Wendy

"I told you."

Wendy looked listlessly towards the mirror, meeting burning scarlet eyes with dull brown. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, saying nothing over the running of the shower. Wendy shifted uncomfortably, crossing her arm and deepening her scowl.

"I told you not to make her angry. Do you understand what you've done? What the hell did you push her for?"

Wendy kept quiet, only continuing to stare. Steam began to fill the room, the hot water running aimlessly. The silence stretched—and with each passing second, Wendy's anger only grew.

"Say something! Say anything! If you were just going to make her mad anyway, you might as well have stuck with it until the end! Or now that you got scratched, are you going to give up?"

Wendy only turned her face away, pulling off her nightshirt quietly. The girl in the mirror snarled, gritting her teeth at the unresponsiveness, her face repulsed at the display. Lost to rage, Wendy snapped, "Where's the girl who stood up to Orácion Seis? To Grimoire Heart? Who even are you anymore?"

Wendy stilled her movements, fist automatically clenching; Wendy smirked.

Finally, idiot girl. Show me some of that Fairy Tail spirit you're so proud of—

—only to start, arms falling to her sides as Wendy whipped around to reveal tear-filled eyes and a mouth, firmly set, but still trembling. Wendy stared, searching for some glimmer of light…but she only saw her own reflection in shiny, pitiful deep brown pools. Wendy's face closed off, anger dissipating into disappointment; she turned away.

"You're not Wendy."

The other her—well, the other other her—was saying something. At least, that's what Wendy thought was going on. She could see red eyes in the mirror, so probably. But Wendy didn't want to listen right now, didn't think she could if she tried. Her ears felt like they were stuffed with cotton.

The thing—no, the person in her dreams: it was her. She…she had hurt her whole family. It wasn't anything as simple as a lookalike, or a fake; Wendy knew. She could feel it in her magic, recognize it in the depths of her being; it was herself.

There was a feeling in her chest, like cracked glass, just one hit from shattering. Her already consuming self-doubt, no progress on the disease, people dying every day right before her eyes, the constant exhaustion—and now this. The screams of her dying nakama echoed in her head—the twisted smile of her other self flashed before her eyes. Wendy was still talking; she seemed angry somehow.

"Who even are you anymore?" Her voice broke through the haze in Wendy's mind.

Stop talking to me.

For a moment, Wendy remembered what anger felt like, and whipped around to face her self in the mirror—but meeting the eyes of a face just her own was not a good choice. Any inkling of resistance drained away, and only ennui filled its place, like all the energy had been sapped from her body.

Facing oneself…it was much harder than it seemed. Wendy's face wasn't angry anymore, only disappointed. Wendy watched dispassionately as she turned away.

"You're not Wendy."

Perhaps that was the truth.

Wendy vaguely drifted around the kitchen, hearing with one ear to Lucy-san and Levy-san talking, but not really listening.

"I'm fine," she said, mustering up all her energy to smile for her precious, precious nakama; but just the sight of them hurt, it hurt so much. She quickly dropped her face, turning her head away from their searching eyes again. Her Dragonslayer senses detected Natsu-san's upset snarl, smelled Lucy-san's fear. Shaking her head minutely, she looked at the clock, registering the time with a sinking heart.

11:30. I slept until 11:30? I've lost so much time already…I have to hurry up and go.

Charle swooped in to land on her shoulder; Wendy allowed herself a moment to gently rest her head against her oldest friend's warm fur, sighing quietly as Charle unobtrusively nuzzled back. Regretfully shaking herself out of her moment of rest, Wendy started moving slowly out of the kitchen.

"Well, I'll be going then," she said, doing her best to put energy into her voice.

"Wait a minute, Wendy! You haven't even had breakfast," Lucy said worriedly, getting up from her seat.

Erza nodded gravely. "You know you have to eat if you want to sustain your magic."

"That's right, Wendy," Charle interjected, touch a small paw on the side of her face. Wendy resisted the urge to sigh, only smiling weakly and shaking her head at Lucy.

"No, I'm not very hungry right now. Thank you, though."

"Oi, Wendy—" Natsu began to speak, but Wendy didn't let him finish.

"I promise, I'll eat later. Okay, Natsu-san, everyone?"

Only conflicted, worried looks met her tremulous façade. Such warmth in their gazes—oh, how loved she was. Wendy was so grateful to be the center of that worry, even though the thought of her family's pity made her want to cry again. Her hand involuntarily clenched as a sweet, clenching pain filled her chest; quickly, she turned to hurry out of the kitchen before anyone could object further.

"Wait, wait a minute! Romeo-kun, you go too, okay?" Levy scrambled, looking to the other young member of their group for assistance. But Romeo's eyes were downturned, staring into his mug as though it might contain the answer to a difficult test question.

"Romeo-kun?" Levy repeated questioningly; Gajeel slanted a look at him from the corner of his eye. Romeo looked into his cup on second more and, apparently finding what he was looking for, raised his face with a huge, beaming grin.

"Nah!"

"EH?" Levy, Lucy and Charle screeched in unison, Charle incensed, Levy and Lucy just confused. Even Erza and Gray shared a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean, no? You're not gonna go help Wendy?" Natsu asked uncomprehendingly.

"No, I think Wendy's got the hospital stuff covered. I'm gonna check the city perimeter, see if I can find some clues about those guys from yesterday. I'm sure you guys will be enough if Wendy needs something."

Not sparing a glance at a slightly confused Wendy, Romeo downed the rest of his hot chocolate and placed his cup in the sink, stretching his arms upward and cracking his neck. Gajeel snorted, getting up to do the same.

"Leave the brats be," he rumbled. "Let's go, we've got stuff to do."

"I don't really get it, but okay," Natsu said, bounding energetically up out of his chair—but the worry had not disappeared from his eyes. Lucy and Levy only watched, exchanging dumbfounded looks, while Erza sighed and stood up herself.

"Natsu, Gajeel, Gray, Happy, Lily, help the townspeople with repairs from yesterday's battle where you can. Be on the lookout for a return attack. Lucy, Levy, and Charle, we will go with Wendy for the time being. If I understand correctly, there should be minimal danger of death today?"

"Yes," Wendy replied hesitantly. "The people left in the hospital right now are in the early-mid stages of deterioration, so there's little chance of disintegration today."

Erza nodded solemnly, pushing in her chair gently. "Then let's go."

A cold breeze brushed Wendy's arms, and Romeo swept past her without looking back.

The atmosphere of the town was something like decaying fungus—aged and ugly, whispers echoing back and forth in ever-growing tones of distrust. Worse yet, the fear in the people's eyes had expanded—instead of a wariness of the unknown, Lucy could feel the stares of frightened innocents burning into her from all sides.

"This is not good," Levy sighed, wiping sweat from her brow and pulling her turquoise scarf down to shade her eyes a little better. Erza, newly decked out in a simple navy blue scarf, quietly observed her surroundings, all senses on high alert.

"They afraid after yesterday's attack," she noted, turning her head from side to side. "They must think those mages were targeting us."

Lucy caught Wendy stiffen imperceptibly, spine ramrod straight and tension in every line of muscle. Worry increasing twofold, she jumped in quickly,

"Of course they're not! And even if they were, we have some of Fairy Tail's strongest members with us—no way could they even hope to beat us in a fight." She nodded her head emphatically. "They probably ran away after we set them straight yesterday."

"That's right! With Team Natsu and Gajeel here, they don't stand a chance," Levy exclaimed, throwing Lucy a knowing wink. Hopefully, Lucy snuck a side glance at Wendy, but nothing had changed; though she smiled, it didn't reach her eyes, and she didn't relax one bit.

"We're a little late. We should hurry." Wendy said softly, hurrying forwards with Charle at her side while Lucy and the others watched in dismay.

"Jeez, that Romeo," Lucy grumbled unhappily, kicking a small rock angrily out of her way. "What is he doing? Can't he see she's upset?"

"That's just the thing though," Levy pointed out. "Normally, Romeo would be the first person to notice if Wendy was sad or hurting."

"He's too smitten not too," Lucy said, lowering her voice slightly to keep Wendy from listening in. "Do you think he's up to something?"

Levy looked conflicted. "I don't know. He seemed pretty unconcerned this morning…"

Erza huffed a quiet laugh. "I think Romeo takes after his idol in more than one way," she murmured cryptically. Lucy wrinkled her eyebrows confusedly.

"What is that supposed to mea—"

"A thousand curses!"

Lucy was cut off abruptly as a screech echoed across the square. Erza's head snapped up, eyes focusing with speedy and fierce intensity in the direction of the call; Wendy stumbled to a halt in front of the three older girls, dread pooling on her face as she recognized the long white robes and golden headdress standing on the steps of the udram.

"Death!" shrieked Priest Ibnir, old, gnarled hands clawed viciously as he waved them in the general direction of the mages. "May death rain upon these blasted invaders! They bring tragedy and destruction on their cursed shoulders!"

The whispers from the crowd intensified, growing more and more audible. They clutched at each other, forming small clumps and leaving the Fairy Tail women a considerable amount of space. The girls looked towards Levy, whose grimacing face gave them an indication of what Ibnir was saying.

"He's cursing us, basically," she explained quickly in low tones as the five gathered close. "He's saying that we're bringing all the bad things that have been happening recently."

"That's nonsense!" Lucy whispered back furiously. "We've done nothing but help these people!"

"Clearly, this man doesn't see it that way," Erza interjected calmly, surveying the frightened crowd with a sharp eye, narrowing in on the priest.

"His name is Ibnir, a priest here," Wendy said reluctantly; she gripped the front of her dress in tight hands, eyes darting around nervously. "He…Merin says he's old-fashioned, and very religious, and—I think he has problems with women being mages too."

"Hmph. Ridiculous."Erza straightened her shoulders, armor gleaming fiercely in the blazing sun, reflecting her deep blue scarf. "Pay him no attention. We have work to be doing."

"But we can't let these people keep being afraid of us!" Lucy protested. "If we just let it keep going like this, it'll only get more troublesome later on."

"I'll try and say something," Levy said, a determined look on her face.

"May Ulli curse you for ten generations!" Ibnir continued to scream, gesturing wildly, spittle flying from his mouth. His eyes seemed wild, taken over by fervor—but there was a calculation hidden deep within them, something that saw a chance to grab even more power.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Levy spoke clearly, trying to make herself heard. The people nearest started, listening warily. Levy smiled gently, holding her hands up and trying to appear as non-threatening as possible.

"We are very sorry that this is happening to your town and your people," she began. "And we're also very sorry about yesterday's attack. We had no idea that there might have been anyone with ill will against this place or us."

"Believe not the words of the she-devil!" Ibnir screeched—he was in his element, respected by the people and enshrouded in credibility. But Levy wasn't about to give up.

"But it's okay now," Levy soothed. The other girls took their cues from her, smiling cheerfully and nodding reassuringly; even though they didn't know exactly what Levy was saying, they understood her purpose. Lucy crouched down near a small boy, who gripped his mother's hand as she pulled him closer, gazing at Lucy in fear. But Lucy only smiled, gesturing discreetly at Charle, who swooped in to land in her cupped palms and purred, allowing the curious boy to stroke her head tentatively. His mother relaxed bit by bit; others nearer to them seemed drawn to the sight, a little bit of the fear disappearing from their faces.

"It's okay!" Levy beamed. "Because we're here, and we're Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail never lets a mission go uncompleted. And we will make sure to protect each and every one of you to our last breath!"

"Lies!" Ibnir snarled, an edge of desperation creeping slowly into his voice as a few more people gave Levy their consideration. Still more, however, looked at the girls suspiciously. "They trick you! They deceive you! Only Ulli gives you the light of truth!"

Levy ignored him, doing her best to make eye contact with those in the crowd.

"I know this is a difficult time for you. But please, trust in us. As long as we are here, akhnu—evil—will not touch you."

Levy's words were punctuated by a heavy thud as Erza slammed the point of a huge broadsword home into the ground. The crowd jolted, retreating hurriedly—only to stop, arrested by a light in Erza's eyes; the eyes of a Queen, strong and proud. Charle flew around to the little boy's back, lifting him up and flying him in little circles around his mother's head and through the crowd as he laughed in pure joy, arms eagle-spread. The murmurs returned, but with wonderment mixing drop by drop into the fear.

But it was not enough. Ibnir suddenly stilled, growing quiet, lowering his arms. His eyes lost their crazed edge—but the calculation grew, and then was cloaked in somber gravity.

"My children," he rumbled, switching tactics, "Why are you swayed? Have you forgotten in your hearts the teachings of Ulli? Have desperation and fright driven you to be fooled by these demons in false skin?"

The people swung their heads around to look at Ibnir. He swelled, breathing in the attention like oxygen, raising a clenched fist.

"Will you betray what you have learned?" He boomed, sounding much more authoritative than before.

"If you feel you will, then listen! For I have seen! The root of all our problems—that is this unnatural phenomenon. These insolent women have taken up the cursed power of magic, and are now trying to trick you with their honey-sweet words; every word from their mouths is a dirty lie!"

Wendy sensed it first—the gradual transformation of fear and uncertainty into feverous anger, fueled by desperation and buzzing like a crowd of angry hornets, or the coming of a dust storm. She braced herself, arms trembling as a sick rage continued to build in the air; the kind that comes about when people are pushed to their last limit. Fairy Tail was losing ground, and fast.

"Not only that," Ibnir promised. "One of them specifically is at fault! Ulli has shown me! The one who has brought this tragedy upon our brothers and sisters—it is that one!"

He jabbed a wickedly gnarled hand straight at the mages—one finger pointed directly at Wendy. Her breath caught, the light draining from her eyes, images of her dream flashing through her head as Ibnir continued to spew words in his harsh language at her, hate in his tone.

The outer crowd erupted into shouts of rage; only the people closest to the girls showed hesitation. Charle dropped the still-laughing boy gently into the arms of his mother, who tightened her grip on him and looked a little sympathetically at Wendy as her small shoulders curled in on themselves. Charle flew back to her charge immediately, obscuring her view of Ibnir; at the same time a warm hand landed on her shoulder. Wendy looked up, the beginnings of tears in her eyes; Erza only smiled sadly, quickly switching to the sword from her Lightning Empress Armor and firing off a shot straight up into the air. The ball of electricity flew upward, exploding like a little firework with a loud boom—the crowd shrieked, and then fell silent, wired tension settling upon them.

"That will be enough of that," Erza said calmly and confidently in Fioran. "Come, Wendy, we have work to do."

And that was that. The crowd knew a dismissal when they heard one; frightened into obedience, they parted for the five Fairy Tail members, giving them a wide berth. No one would meet their eyes. Wendy nodded slowly, feeling only shame and guilt.

The hand that stayed on her shoulder all the way to the hospital felt colder and colder with each step.

"Wendy, you need to take a break," Lucy gently insisted.

"No."

"Wendy, you look like you're going to pass out any second," Lucy insisted firmly, eyebrows pinched together.

"I'm fine."

Lucy exchanged frowns with Levy at the short, punctuated answers. Wendy's eyes were obscured behind the glare of her goggles as she looked down a microscope at a patch of dried skin.

"Wendy-chan," Levy tried, "why don't we just get some lunch? You've been doing magic nonstop since we got here; you need to fuel up a little bit."

"No, thank you," Wendy murmured, adjusting her microscope a little.

"We—"

"Wendy."

Wendy paused, looking instinctively towards the source of the deep, stern voice, briefly meeting Erza's eyes and looking away again. Erza crossed her arms.

"Come. We will get some fresh air. I will hear no arguments."

Wendy sat still for a long moment; switching off the light on her microscope and capping her petri dish, she stood achingly and followed Erza out the door.

Levy and Lucy stayed behind, gripping each other's hands in worry. Levy sighed.

"I wish I knew what she was thinking."

Lucy looked at her best friend seriously.

"I wish she would tell us."

Not good enough not good enough you'll never be strong why can't you be like Erza and Levy and Lucy why are you like this how can you hurt these people why can't you save them

You'll never be good enough.

You'll never be like Erza, all confident and strong.

You're nothing.

You don't deserve these people.

Just disappear.

Maybe there was something in the air (though wouldn't that be a laugh)—but Wendy couldn't find it in herself to care anymore. Shaking her hair free of its ponytail, she took a deep breath and sighed loudly, catching Erza's attention. Dropping her mask and goggles on the ground, Wendy spread her arms and tilted her upper body to the sun; then she fell backward, landing hard on the cobbled ground and looking up into the infinite blue sky.

"I'm tired, Erza-san," she said simply. Erza looked at her quietly, then moved towards her, sitting cross-legged next to her head and covering Wendy's eyes with her hand.

"I see," was all she offered in return.

You have to try. You're worthless, so you have to try. You can't stay here if you don't try. It's the duty of the worthless to try.

Every cell in Wendy's body screamed protest at the thought of getting up, but she did it anyway. Her back ached, more than likely bruised from her sudden fall. Wendy stretched, working out the kinks in her back; then spun abruptly, picking up and re-donning her mask and goggles. Behind her back, Erza rose to her feet, and smiled warmly, pride echoing in every feature.

That's right. Even if you don't know your own worth, you have to try.

Keep trying, Wendy.

Wendy slumped at the dinner table while the others talked in loud voices, head whirling with thoughts of the day's research. She had spent most of her day looking directly at samples of dried hair and skin, blood and sweat; doing nothing, simply observing, and feeling with her magic. The more she looked, it seemed, the stranger the disease got. There didn't seem to be a foreign agent in the bloodstreams of victims; nor was there an internal actor, like a tumor or a cyst. There was no commonality between patients in terms of age, gender, or relation; clearly this was not a genetic condition. The other part had been spent in vain, trying to dull the pain of the suffering; only for it to come back right away.

Am I missing something? Am I not seeing something? Wendy's head was beginning to spin—until a plate full of steaming rice and vegetables was placed in front of her. Starting a little, she shook her head quickly, her mouth filling with saliva at the aroma that wafted into her nose. She quickly took up her spoon, giving a quick itadakimasu and beginning.

Oh. I haven't eaten all day.

"Well, I'm glad the boys had a good day," Levy scowled, shoving a spoonful into her mouth. Gray sweatdropped.

"You don't really look glad."

"Yeah, well, you wouldn't either if you had the day we did," Lucy snapped back, flicking Gray's forehead; he yelped, glaring as Natsu cackled, drawing laughs from Merin and his grandparents, who sat at the very end of the table. "You lucked out! Getting all buddy-buddy with the men, reinforcing their buildings with your stupid metal and welding—no wonder they liked you!"

"Well, at least we are all here together now," Erza murmured absently, thoughtfully choosing where to stick her fork in the strawberry shortcake in front of her.

"Um, speaking of, though, where's Romeo?" questioned Merin; Erza froze, giving a small cough. Happy covered his mouth, trying desperately to contain a snort before she noticed and he was strung up by his tail. Lily shook his head.

Wendy blinked; she hadn't even noticed that the seat next to her was empty. Natsu rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen him all day; what's he doing?" he wondered.

"Mini-Flame Brain said he was gonna patrol the perimeter, didn't he?" Gajeel pointed out gruffly.

"Still, he's awfully late," Lucy worried, casting an anxious look at the entrance to the kitchen. "You don't think…"

Slam!

The mages jumped to their feet, Aaliya instinctively clutching Zahin's sleeve; but then she relaxed, gesturing for everyone to take their seats.

"That's the front door," she said, one hand over her heart, shaking her head in fond exasperation. "It seems your young friend has returned safely." Everyone let out a sigh of relief, slumping back in their chairs.

"Definitely takes after you, Natsu," Lucy grumbled, only to receive in response a teasing grin that made her cheeks turn into cherries.

"Sorry I'm late!" Romeo bounded in, panting hard, but with a cheerful face. He leaned for a second against the column of the kitchen entrance, catching his breath and jostling something behind his back.

"Jeez, Romeo-kun, you had us worried!" Levy scolded—but Romeo ignored her completely, focusing his gaze on Wendy's bemused face with laser intensity.

He barreled forwards, hands firmly hidden until he stood right next to her, Wendy turning in her seat to face him; beaming like the sun, he thrust his hands out from behind him—and Wendy's vision was filled with white.

"Here!"

Shocked, Wendy pulled her head back to refocus her eyes—and gasped at the beautiful white flower that spread its petals before her, Romeo's hands clutched tightly around the stem. Grinning even wider at her reaction, he released one of his hands, grabbing hers gently and wrapping it around the stalk, explaining all the while.

"It's a desert chicory. They're rare around here; I asked around a little—gestures, mostly—and some people were nice enough to point out a few spots in the desert outside town. So I went and found one for you. Took me all day though," he rubbed his head sheepishly; but Wendy only stared at the bloom in her hands.

Lucy and Levy gripped each other's hands across the table, biting back squeals and exchanging knowing, enthusiastic looks with Erza, as Charle pretended to roll her eyes in exasperation. Gray snickered, a devious light in his eye; he leaned his head on a fist lazily, eyeing Romeo.

"I thought you were gonna 'check the perimeter'; and now I hear you were out looking for flowers all day? What's up with that?"

Romeo blushed furiously at the resounding laughs from around the table, dropping into his seat belligerently and crossing his arms.

"I did that too! I'm not completely irresponsible."

Wendy, however, paid no heed, only looking at the flower; it was pure and clean, not a speck of sand dirtying its petals. All day, Romeo had searched for this singular bloom that had worked so hard to grow in the harsh desert. All by itself, growing little by little, surviving and becoming beautiful, until Romeo found it, and gave it—to her? Why?

Wendy's question must have been reflected in her face when she looked up at Romeo finally; his playful frown melted into a soft, knowing expression, his lips curling up at the corners.

"You're doing great, you know. You really are."

He held her gaze confidently; she felt ensconced by deep, warm brown, like she was wrapped in soft, golden honey. Wendy couldn't look away—couldn't see what lay in his eyes as anything other than what it was: absolute, pure faith and trust. It was different, somehow, from when her other nakama had tried to reassure her. The kindness in his eyes could not be mistaken for pity—not now.

"You'll be okay," he continued, eyes for no one but her. "Because you're one of us. You're Fairy Tail." When he said it, it was undeniable.

Romeo smiled brightly, as cheerful and beautiful as the flower in Wendy's hands.

"You'll be just fine."

Wendy closed her eyes, lowering her head to the flower and taking a deep breath; the light, sweet scent of the flower encouraged her, sealing Romeo's words with an air of finality.

"Yeah."

Her first real smile of the day—it was blinding.

In light, there is much darkness; but it darkness, there is also light.

-WD2645

Song: IN THE RAIN-Felt (Touhou Vocal)

Little Goodbye, Rocky Chack (ZegaPain ED)