Author's Note: Hey everyone! deadzombie here. I decided I didn't like how I'd written the last two paragraphs, feeling that I'd written Wendy more as a schoolgirl than what she actually is (a hopeless romantic preteen for those of you who don't know), so I'm rewriting them. Warning: panic attack toward the end of this chapter.
Wendy forgot what proper breathing was and began to hyperventilate behind the safety of her hands. There was only so much the poor girl could mentally take before she broke, and Cana's question pushed her over the limit. Cana laughed for a couple seconds before deciding to spare the young Slayer further mental torment. "Relax Wendy, I'm just messing with you." Cana giggled before her face turned more serious. "But really, I wasn't expecting you to fall head over heels for the guy before you even met him."
"Yeah, I wasn't expecting that either!" Lisanna's sister Mira now entered the conversation, apparently having seen and heard everything that the young Slayer had gone through. Wendy noted with no amount of the pleasure the look that Mira now had in her eyes, and resigned herself to what was going to be a long day. "So Wendy," she began with a smirk on her face, propping her chin up on her palms as she bent over the table to talk to the Sky Dragon, "what'd you like about him?"
For a second, Wendy entertained the thought of giving Mira a perfectly normal and completely innocent answer relating to how he'd acted like a proper gentleman, before immediately ending that train of thought. Hopeless romantic that she was, and with the look on Mira, Cana, and Lisanna's faces as they leaned closer to hear her answer, Wendy knew she wouldn't be able to get away from an innocent answer. She grinned to herself as she thought up the perfect response, knowing full well the three older girls wouldn't accept it in the slightest. "I find the fact that both his hair and his eyes are the same color rather interesting and eye-catching."
Wendy hadn't even finished her sentence before resigning herself to the mental torture she was guaranteed to receive, and sighed as she decided to tell Mira the truth. "I don't need to even look at you to know that you know I'm just avoiding the obvious," Wendy began, as her face rapidly heated up with her bringing back to mind the image of Ryuku standing in the doorway, wearing next to absolutely nothing. "Actually," Wendy buried her hands between her thighs and squirmed for a second, a dead giveaway of when the hopeless romantic inside of her came out to play, and she went from thinking about his hair color to less... innocent thoughts, "I thought he was... Kind of... Really hot..."
Wendy's eyes began to shine, a sign that she was now in full hopeless romantic mode, even as her face burned from admitting that particular fact. "When I was looking at him earlier when he walked in the door, he just seemed so.. strong..." Wendy set her chin on the palms of her hands, the three girls leaning in closer with conspiratorial looks all around. "His arms practically radiated power, and the way his muscles shifted as he moved around the room... What I wouldn't give to feel his arms around me, even if for a moment."
Wendy sighed to herself, remembering vividly those few minutes, before realizing that all three girls were now looking at something behind her. "What are you-" "Umm..." Mira began, and Wendy realized what she was about to say, the blood draining from her face even as she turned to see Ryuku standing behind her. "I think he's been there the entire time, Wendy..."
Ryuku had heard everything. He'd heard every single word Wendy had said, and as she turned to face him, paler than a ghost, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the young Sky Dragon. She began to hyperventilate again, though this time she didn't cover her face with her hands, and her face somehow became even paler. Ryuku opened his mouth to say something, and that point, Wendy gasped, almost as if she couldn't breathe, and began to violently shiver. Ryuku's demeanor completely changed in half a second, because he knew exactly what Wendy was about to experience due to experiencing multiple of them himself during his travels: "She's having a panic attack."
Ryuku said the words aloud, catching the attention of everyone around him as they reacted with blinding speeds. Mira, Cana, and Lisanna immediately stood up from the table, moving Wendy from the bench to the floor gently as her Exceed, Carla flew out of the guild hall to retrieve Wendy's blanket from her room.
Once she was gone, Lisanna and Cana backed away to give Wendy space to breathe as Mira sat on her right and Ryuku sat on her left, letting Mira touch her first before setting his right hand on her back, tracing circles with his thumb. Mira motioned for him to talk to her, and he shifted his body to face her. "It's okay Wendy, calm down. You're still in Fairy Tail and Mira and I are with you. Breathe properly, come on... There you go."
As Ryuku was talking, Mira had begun rubbing the poor girl's upper right arm, and Carla had brought Wendy's blanket from her room. Ryuku draped it around the young Slayer's shoulders, and she drew it around herself as the attack began to end. "There you go Wendy... Alright. We're good..." After a minute, Wendy got her breathing under control, and her shivering finally stopped.
"You alright now?" Ryuku was glad that Wendy stopped panicking, still concerned as he chose his words with care, fully aware that she could easily be set off again. "... Hold me..." Wendy had tears in her eyes, and Ryuku didn't need to be told twice. He turned fully toward her and pulled Wendy to him, wrapping his arms around her when she leaned back against his chest as he settled her in between his legs. Her panic attack fully over, Wendy curled up against him, his chin resting atop her head as he moved his left arm to rub her back, his right hand resting on her thigh as she wiped her tears.
"Thanks, Ryuku..." She looked up at him, smiling, and Ryuku smiled back at her as he slowly leaned down and planted a kiss on her forehead, blushing slightly as he pulled back up and Wendy curled against him again. "Anytime, Wendy." Resting his head on hers, Ryuku closed his eyes and smiled to himself as Wendy did the same. "I think I'm going to stay like this for a few minutes, Ryuku, if you don't mind..." "I don't mind. Once you're ready, Wendy, I think it'd be a good idea to walk around Magnolia for a while." He was so tired at this point, he almost missed her mumbled response, but his grin grew wider when he heard her. "I'd like that, Ryuku..."
If there was one thing Wendy would have to say was good about today, it would have to be that Ryuku's arms were everything she'd hoped they would be, and she fell asleep on his chest, still curled up as he leaned back against the bench before falling asleep himself. Their fellow guild members quietly resumed their activities, giving the young Slayers their time together and letting Wendy sleep after her attack. She was going to need it for tomorrow.
Tomorrow is going to be the beginning of the Tenroujima arc, so Makarov is going to announce the participants in the S-Class exam. To account for Ryuku obviously accompanying Wendy, Mest (or Dranbalt) is going to be teamed up with Natsu, and Happy is going to be with Carla and Panther Lily. This also works great for when they encounter Azuma and then Zancrow. Next chapter will probably be up Wednesday. See you next time!
