Chapter 4:
It took a day to get to Magnolia and they had arrived on Sunday in the late in the evening just before 11p.m., the boy with sapphire green eyes looked around the station, "How did I end up losing a 7 foot tall man, I swear Miki can get lost in the stupidest of situations, but he has no trouble finding me when he wants to torture me." He grumbles as he leaves the station after confirming with a guard that yes a man with an, and he quotes 'enchanting and mysterious aura' had gone toward the coast. The teen thanked the flustered guard with a small smile and bow and headed toward the direction where his wayward teacher had gone, unconscious of the guards further reddening face.
.
.
.
The teen keeps walking through the town while keeping an eye out for help wanted signs, and also mapping out the area while also looking for his wayward sensei. 'How in the hell do I keep losing him, and also why does he keep leaving my side I swear he can get lost on a straight path.' He keeps walking when a small apartment building catches his eye, it was near a canal and had a decent sized balcony. 'I could grow some herbs in the balcony, and the view ain't bad either. Yeah something to consider." In his mind he makes sure to remember the location so he could come back and see if they were renting, but for now he continued searching for his unruly sensei. He passed a few bars making sure to check inside of them, but once he saw that no men were beaten to a pulp or on the ground with a perverted and satisfied smile on their faces he moved on. He got closer and closer to the strongest guild, 'Aya if he's in there, well let's at least hope he isn't fucking anyone yet.' he grimaced as he opened the doors to the guild, he then promptly closed it. He sighed but opened the door, there in front of him was a blushing Laxus and a very drunk Miki. "Hey, there love want me to show you something out of this world." He chuckled as he stalked closer to the slowly reddening Laxus, hs hips swayed back and forth as he cornered his prey and just as he was about to pounce on this delicious piece of meat, he was yanked away from the young male. "Tch, shitty brat you found me before I got to have any fun." The man looked at his young protégé with hazy eyes, the boy sighed "You know you should really learn to control yourself Miki-sensei, I swear this is the fifth time you nearly jumped a guy. I can condone almost jumping the other one's because they looked receptive enough but this one he's what 15, 16." He turns to the young Laxus and smiled to him kindly and apologetically, "I'm sorry for him he doesn't really have any inhibitions when he drinks." He bows to the still blushing Laxus, then turns to his sensei to see him drinking another barrel with a younger looking Macao and even younger looking Cana. "Miki-sensei how are you going to pay for this I swear if you don't stop right now…" the arrogant demon turned human looks at the teen, "If I don't you'll what fight me, knock me out, pfft HAHAHA as if you could you shitty brat, you're still 499 years too young to try to command me to do what you want." He turns away from the agitated teen and continues with his new drinking buddies, the teen sighs and just shakes his head and sits down, his stomach rumbles and a young teen with brown hair came to him. She smiles with a small blush on her face as she asks if he wants anything, he shakes his head, "Sorry I can't afford it right now, I'm barely going to have enough to pay for my sensei's drinking habits, but thankyou anyway." He smiles at the kind waitress and her blush becomes more intense before she runs off, leaving a confused and slightly concerned Valentine. "I hope she's alright." Before he is shaken out of his worries by the smell of food being put in front of him, he looks up to find a still slightly red-faced Laxus Dreyar in front of him, "Here it's on the house." He looked down at the food and then at the young teen in front of him, he smiles widely "Thank you so much." He stands and hugs the teen and starts eating the food immediately, his eyes moisten, "Yummy, I haven't eaten in a while since I fell asleep on the train and Miki-sensei ate my lunch. I thought I was going to have to skip a meal since I haven't found a place to stay and now with me having to pay for Sensei's tab I'll be broke until I find a job." He looks up at the unresponsive teen to see that he was frozen with a red face, he looks at the teen worried, "Hey are you alright? Do you have a fever?" He puts his forehead on Laxus's and he seems to redden even more, "I-I-I'm f-f-fine, I just was lost in my thoughts for a bit. So you're not from here, where are you from?" He asks Valentine curious, the teen smiles happy that he might make a friend, "I'm from Clover Town, oh and my name is Valentine. What's yours?" He asks the blonde in front of him, Laxus smiles and laughs, "Sorry that was rather rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself didn't I. My name is Laxus Dreyar and I'm part of the Fairy Tail guild, the strongest guild in Fiore!" He says the last part loudly and the rest of the guild happily and loudly agree to his sentiment. Valentine grins, "Cool, anyway again sorry for my Sensei's behaviour towards you, I'm sure it was very uncomfortable but if you must know he doesn't choose people at random, they at least have to be strong and good looking. So be proud I guess, because he would've probably beat the hell out off you if you didn't meet the requirements." He pats the blondes back as he goes to pick up his sensei, "Come on Miki-sensei, you're going to have a hell of a hangover tomorrow and if we don't leave right now, I won't make you my super effective hangover soup." He threatened the demon, now you may think it was an empty threat since he was a demon, but when he transformed into a human he took on all the possibilities that came with it. So he would have a hangover even if he turned back to his original form, and the demon world has no cure for hangovers since demons can not get inebriated, since the alcohol burns away too quickly. He grumbles a bit before turning to young Macao and looks at him sultrily before bringing him in for a kiss, "If you ever get lonely at night, come and find me." He winks and grins before heading off into the night with the young teen, leaving Macao with a stupid grin and unbelievably red face and the memory of a kiss that even to this day he would call one of the most mind blowing kisses he had ever had.
"Honestly Sensei, well whatever it's not like you're going to listen to me. I had Hikaru go find us a place where we could stay for the night and he already set up camp, you need to go back to Makai and com back early tomorrow I'll have your soup ready, so for now let me sleep in peace knowing you won't drag me into debt with your drinking habits.", "Yeah, yeah I got it shitty brat, find a job and have my soup ready. I'll be taking my leave." he fades into the shadows. Valentine goes to his new, and hopefully temporary, home in the nearby forest of Magnolia, "Thank you Hikaru." He looks toward a near identical look alike of himself except it had white hair, that was slightly longer and red eyes. He nodded, an emotionless look on his face "I am you and you are me my master, it would be stupid of me to not take care of myself." He then vanished into thin air as if he was never there, Valentine sweatdrops "So dramatic." he then got into his sleeping bag and fell asleep on the hard ground.
.
.
.
The next day he awoke early in the morning and started on the soup, he didn't have many things just the basics but the teen had prided himself in the culinary art in his well, her past life. She was a Sous Chef in a restaurant rated at 1 Michelin Star, the Head Chef later asked for it to be revoked since he felt that it created unneeded pressure and expectations for both the customers and employees, but she was still proud of what she could do and happy to work in the establishment. She worked long and arduous hours and it was unforgiving work that bordered slave labor, and it didn't pay all that well unless you were the best of the best, but it was satisfying work. She enjoyed feeding people and cooking was a passion that would be hard to extinguish. She, well now he, continued to work on the soup for his hung-over sensei, there was no scientific fact to prove that it worked, but it had worked the first time she, now he, was hungover and had to work, so he used it the first time his sensei was hungover and had nearly decapitated him when woken. It worked for him to so he continued using it, grateful to her Head Chef for the recipe that probably saved his life already multiple times. Just as she was putting the soup into a bowl Miki came from behind and took the bowl and drank it unheeding of the heat. "Shitty brat you may be weak, but you can make good grub." he finished it off and by the end looked less pale and queasy. He put the bowl down and transformed back into his panther form, his tail swayed back and forth but even with his dark fur covering him, Valentine could still see the effects of last night's activities, "Miki-sensei I have to look for work, so for now take a nap and drink lots of water, I'll be back in the evening, okay." He waved to his already napping Sensei, 'Now to find work I saw many store looking for work, a few restaurants, and a bakery. Hopefully I can get a job today, and I can go to the Sakura Viewing next weekend.' He goes to the store where he first saw the help wanted sign, it was a small clothing shop with a rather eclectic and bohemian feel to it, "Umm hello I came here to see if the job opening was still available." The owner was a woman who aged though she was, took care of herself giving her an air of elegance. "Oya boy, you've come to look for a job have you, I'm sorry to say this though it's already been taken." She gave him an apologetic smile and he bowed, "Thank you very much, sorry for taking up your time." He walked out from the store, he sighed as he walked to his next destination 'One down, and six more to go I hope in at least one of them I get the job.' The next was a small cafe, the owner said it had been filled and sent the boy away, the third said he didn't have the qualifications they needed, and the fourth was a book store, which was closed so he would come back to it tomorrow if the last job didn't bear any fruit. He looked up at the sign which read Death's Delights, he walked in a bit wary of the name, but seemed to calm down upon entering the establishment. It had a gothic theme with a lot of deep greens, purple, blues and reds, the seats were lined with velvet and overall the feel was elegant and sophisticated with a dark twist. The restaurant had a beautifully designed bar, which he approached he asked the bartender if he could speak to the manager or owner about the position. The bartender pointed him to the back room and he thanked him before heading there,he knocked on the door and heard a come in from the other side.
He looked in and saw a woman in a rich burgundy kimono draped over settee, she was smoking from an elegantly crafted pipe and had beautiful and unblemished skin that was as pale as snow and hazel eyes that were sharp and willful. She looked at him and smiled coyly, "So you came here with intention to gain work, I presume." the boy blushed slightly, but smiled kindly and earnestly "Yes I wanted to know and ask if there was a possibility that I may work here." She chuckled, "There is always a possibility little shadow, but if you must know the position is open. The question is are you up to the task of obtaining it and keeping it." The teen gulped, and nodded "I would like to work here, but first may I ask what is the position I am filling." She took took a draw from her pipe and blew out the smoke, "For now a waiter, maybe in the future a sous chef or maybe even the head, but for now a simple waiter is what I need." she smiled at him her eyes warmer than before, "Can you fulfill this simple task?" She tilted her head looking for the answer, for a second he was scared it was as if her eyes could pierce his very soul, she then chuckled warmly, "It seems you can" she rang a bell and a petite girl with turquoise colored hair came into the room, "Yes Lady Lotus, how may I be of service." She bowed to the women in question, the other women brightened, "You are adorable, but still stop just call me Ley, I've known since you were still a tiny kid and you won't call me anything else." She pouts at the younger women, the girl in question was blushing slightly, "I-I can't Lady Lotus, anyway what was it you needed?" The women gained an 'Aha' look on her face, she pointed at the teen who was in the room, "Get him a uniform, emerald please. Oh, and tell him his hours and wages, he starts today as our new waiter." She smiles happily as she stands elegantly from her resting place, "I have an appointment with a client so I'll be out for the rest of the week. It's your responsibility Opal, to show him the ropes I leave the restaurant to you, ta ta." She leaves the room, in a whirlwind and the teen turns to the lady still there, she looked to be about 20 years old and had brown eyes, that went well with her bright hair "It's nice to meet you Opal, my name is Valentine. I hope we can get along." He bowed to her superior, the woman smiled warmly, "No need to bow Valentine, come on I'll show you the changing room and for now, and give you your uniform. I'll give you the wine list, menu, the floor plan, running system, etc. after my shift but for now I need you to shadow me, can you do that." He smiled a bit, 'If only she knew…' "Of course Miss Opal, do you need me to change into my uniform." She nodded and gave him a black vest and dress pants, with a white dress shirt and emerald tie, "We have some shoes you can wear in, *rustle* here find your size and come out when your done." He finished changing and his already smart figure, became even more elegant. He walked out after making sure everything fit, "i'm ready Miss Opal," she looked him up and down, "Good it all fits, you ready let's go."
The rest of the day Valentine spent it shadowing the light hearted waitress and now pseudo-boss, "I hope that it wasn't too much, I'll be giving you a list of our regulars and everything you need, by the end of this week, by Friday, I need you to have it memorized. After closing we'll be going through some dry runs, by the time Lady Lotus is back you'll be proficient in the art of good service." She smiled at him and he grinned back.
.
.
.
A week had passed and Valentine had finally been allowed to actually wait on the customers, he was nervous but was positive about the outcome. It was the afternoon, lunch rush hour and things were getting heated, he stayed calm though. 'He's like a fish in water' looked at the young teen, 'He's doing better than I thought and the customers seem to like him though I think the best part of his serving skills is when he describes the food. It makes the customers and anyone who hears it, mouth water.' That afternoon was different though, from the doors walked in the owner of the establishment, Lady Lotus. She smiled at the sight of the young teen, and got seated, the teen walked to her, "Hello- Oh Lady Lotus it's nice to see you again, was your trip satisfactory." He smiled warmly, she grinned "More than satisfactory, how has being wiater been?" He smiles, "It's hard it's as if my every move is being watched, as if I'm on stage and people are just waiting for me to fall. It's terrifying and daunting work, but it's fun and exhilarating, I know it may be weird to call waiting tables exhilarating, but it is though I still would rather cook." he mumbled the last part. The owner laughs, "I knew I was right in hiring you. Fine then, what do you recommend?" She grinned and he smiled.
.
.
.
Another week passed and that sunday he spent the day off, looking at apartments he went to the small apartment building near the canal. He went inside and saw an older looking woman with sunglasses and hard frown on her face, "Excuse me, ma'am I came here to ask if you had an open apartment that I can look at, I'm looking for an apartment." He looked at the woman, "Yes I expected that when you said you wanted to look at an apartment, but here I'll show you." She walked up the steps the teen followed obediently, "This is the cheapest room, it has a small balcony, a bedroom, bath and small kitchen." The teen looked inside and saw that while the room and living room shared the same space, the kitchen was good and sturdy, and the bathroom was rather big, it was empty with no furniture, but there was a fridge and washer and dryer. "How much would it be to rent?" She looked at him, "70,000 jewel a month, and you can move in right away. Would you like to purchase it?" He nodded, "Yeah do I sign a contract or something." The lady took him to her office where he finalized the contract, and paid his first months rent, he went back into his room and started cleaning. It was a bit dusty, but nothing unmanageable, he finished by mid-afternoon. "Okay now for my stuff, Dark Space," he whispered and I reached into the shadows of his cloak to pull out everything he has, a suitcase with clothes, some shoes, a few pots and pans, his knifes, a sleeping bag and backpack and finally his old beaten, wooden sword. He started putting away everything and by the time he was finished, his new home looked a little bit less bare. He looked outside to see the sunsetting, "I guess I should enjoy the rest of the day, I'll go buy groceries tomorrow, but for now I want to see the Sakura." He closed the door behind him locking it and walking towards the park where he hoped to be able to see the Color-Changing flowers.
When he arrived at the park the Fairy Tail Bingo Tournament was in full swing, he saw Laxus and Laxus saw him, he waved Valentine over. "Hey how have you been, i-is your s-sensei with you?" He questioned nervously looking around, Valentine laughs slightly but shakes his head "Nah he left to go back to his home, he said there was some kind of tournament or meeting he had to attend. How have you been Laxus?" He smiles kindly at the young blonde, the teen in question smiles, "I'm doing great but what about you did you find a job, or a place to stay." He asked worry and concern tinting his tone, Valentine blushes slightly, "Yeah I found a job, and I just got a new apartment yesterday. I didn't mean to worry you, but I'm glad you care. You're a good person, ya know." He smiles kindly at the now gently blushing blonde, 'Come on pulling together your blushing like a girl who just confessed her feelings, in spring.' He nodded when Valentine kept talking, but stopped abruptly when he noticed that it wasn't just him and the Laxus, he turns to the old man who was looking curiously at the green eyed teen, the old man turns to his flustered grandson. "Laxus who is this a friend I presume?" the blonde nods, "Yeah gramps, this is Valentine he was the one who dragged a way the guy I was telling you about remember." He pats the teens shoulder comanionably, Valentine waves and bows to the older man, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mister…" the old man grinned widely, "Makarov, Dreyar Makarov. It's nice to meet my grandson's knight in shining armor!" He laughed boisterously at his grandson's reddening face and the confused smile on the teen's face. He scratches the back of his head, "I don't really get it but I'm glad I could be of help, I guess. It was my own fault though I should've kept a better watch on Miki-sensei, he gets rather unruly in those type of situations." Just then a flaming fist came close to hitting Laxus, he dodged the fist and continued dodging the barrage of, in Valentine's opinion, rather slow hits. Laxus then punched the kid into the floor, "Why did you attack me, again Natsu?" He sighed and looked at the young boy who was picking himself up, the pink haired kid looked to be about 12 years old. 'But this is Natsu so he's like what a few hundred years old or something, I never understood that but whatever…' the green eyed looked at the boy who was now yelling at the exasperated blonde, curiously. "Cute." he chuckles slightly at the pink haired boy. The boy stopped and looked at the black haired teen, he blushed, "W-WHO ARE YOU CALLING CUTE?!" He yells at the now laughing teen, "I'm calling you cute, you're adorable." he smiles kindly showing that he meant no offense, the blonde quieted, and Valentine looked down to see the you dragon slayer standing closer to the teen. He was sniffing him, "Ara, what are you doing?" He pats the young pinkette's head, the kid actually moves into the touch. "You smell nice." He said as he sniffed the teen's hand, Valentine blushes slightly but laughs, "I would hope so I took a bath only a little while ago. Hey Laxus, what's his name, since he won't tell me himself?" He points at the pink haired boy who by now had crawled into the young teen's lap, Laxus sighs and goes to sit next to teen, "This guy's name is Natsu, he's part of our guild and my personal pain-in-the-ass." He looks at the young boy who now was playing with Valentines hands, "I've never seen him calm down that fast, what are you catnip or something." Valentine laughs, "Nah I actually have no idea why he's like this. Oh yeah, I made this as a thanks for the food you bought me last time, here take it." He takes out a bento, the box was plain, but the smell emanating from it was delicious. Laxus opens the box a his jaw drops and sight of the food before him, "This looks delicious, are you sure you want me to have it, I mean the meal was just a way to say thank you for saving me from your perverted sensei's clutches." Makarov looks over at the food in his grandsons hands, "Well Laxus if you don't want it I-" the blonde glares at his grandfather, "Hands Off old man this is a gift." He growls and starts eating, he then proceeds to have a foodgasm, moaning in a rather lewd manner. Valentine grins, "Haha that good huh, I'm glad." He then takes out his own lunch which was about 3 times a big as Laxus's, he turns to the the boy in his lap and smiles kindly, "Do you want some Natsu?" The boy nods eagerly, he chuckles at the reaction. He hands him the extra pair of chopsticks gives him the top teir of his bento, "Here you can have this one, don't eat it too fast or you might choke." his advice goes unheard, as the boy starts to gorge himself upon the meal. The boy groans as well, "SO *chew* YUMMY!" Makarov looks at both his grandson and pseudo-grandson, in slight jealousy, he whines and gains puppy dog eyes which looked just plain weird on the old man, "I-I want some." He looks towards Valentine, the teen sweat drops at the old man's actions, but nods "Here you can have some of mine," he gave a him another tier which contained something different than both Natsu's and Laxus's, it still left the teen with an obscene amount of food to eat. The rest of the guild had gathered around wanting to see what the commotion was about but quickly turned green at the sound of their guild master moaning. Cana looked at her barrel of sake, "I'm going to need a lot more." and Macao agreed silently, they then proceeded to drink all of the alcohol.
The people in the guild laughed and partied, Makarov and Laxus smiled together and got along, Natsu stayed on the black haired teen like a baby koala, and Gray made fun of him, but it was as if he couldn't hear him. "Oy Flame Breathe, stop being an idiot and leave the guy alone." He growled at the 13 year old, Valentine looks over his shoulder and smiles, "Hey there what's your name, I'm Valentine?" Gray looked at him suspiciously, "Gray Fullbuster." he turns back to Natsu who didn't even respond to his taunt, Valentine looks at Natsu, "Oh do you wanna play with him," he takes him off his back, "Go and play with your friend Natsu." He pats his head and goes back to talking with the rest of the guild members, Natsu pouts and looks to go back to hugging the older, when he is yanked away by Gray. "What's up with you Squinty Eyes?" He asks the pink haired boy as Lisanna, Erza, Happy, and Mirajane, also look at the pink haired dragon slayer with some concern and look at the newcomer with slight jealousy (give you 3 guesses who that's from). "Yeah Natsu you're acting like the guy was some kind of angel." Natsu blushes, "EH, NO I'M NOT! He just is really nice and gave me good food, and smells like… like something really good." He looks back at the teen who was being pressured into having a drink by a 14 year old Cana, "Come on pretty boy, one drink won't hurt you. It tastes really good, and it's free." The boy in question sweat drops at the slightly slurred speech of the brunette, "No thanks have you seen what it does to people's inhibitions, I don't want to act like my sensei." He waves his hands in front of himself trying to ward off the alcoholic drink, "Laxus tell the kid I don't want any she doesn't seem to be stopping," Laxus laughs and smiles ominously, "I kind of want to see you drunk maybe I can get some blackmail." He grins, the teen tries to talk back when Cana pours some sake into his open mouth, some of it pours down his mocha coloured skin. He gulps down the drink afraid he may choke on the bitter tasting liquid, he gains an unnatural blush "Y-you *hiccup* w-why did you do that?" He points at the laughing brunette, "You have no tolerance." He sways back and forth, "Of course I don't *hiccup* that is the first time I have had a drink, and it was *hiccup* horrible." He looks about to puke, Laxus sweatdropped at his freinds low tolerance, "You don't looks so hot do you wanna go home?" He questions the shadow user, he shakes his head and takes the refilled cup from Cana, "NO WAY I'M GOING TO SEE THOSE SAKURA!" He yells, and the rest of the guild laughs and cheers, before he turns to Laxus with a wild grin and a scary twinkle in his eyes, he chugs down the alcoholic beverage.
The next few hours were a blur he tried to initiate a naked conga line which was put to a stop to by Laxus, before it started, but not before the teen was stripped down to his boxers. He looks at Laxus with pout and alcohol induced blush, "Laxus let *hiccup* go, we have to dance naked! It's shows the beauty *hiccup* of youth and *hiccup* it's springtime glory." He looked to tug off his underwear and all the children were turned away from the sight, Laxus held onto his hand. "Don't do it, Valentine you'll regret it in the morning!" The teen laughs, "Exactly I'll regret it in the morning, tomorrow is tomorrow, so let me live today." He then stripped off his boxers, and started to jump around before he stopped and looked at the Sakura which had started to change colors. "Wow, that's a sight for sore eyes," he smiles gently as if the sight of the flowers had knocked him out of his alcohol induced craze. The rest of the guild looked away from the rather revealing sight of the teen, and smiled as well. Laxus sighed and turned back to the teen who was now lying on the ground, still naked mind you, "Come on, let's get you home. Don't you have work tomorrow, and your sleeping, let's find your clothes first though." He starts to get up from beside the now sleeping male, when he took notice of his toned physique and tattoo that took up his entire left arm and chest. 'I wonder when he got that, he doesn't seem the type to get a tattoo…' he gets up and is about to starts searching when a bundle of clothes is shoved into his face by a blushing Natsu. "I've got them, I started picking them up as he was taking them off, is he alright?" He looked at the at the teen who was now fast asleep, "I think so, but I don't know where he lives so I can't take him anywhere right now. I'll have to wake him up-", "He can stay at my and Happy's place, we have enough room and it's not to far from here." Laxus looked at the kid and sighed "Fine but try to be careful okay, let's get him to your house." Natsu nodded and went to go call Happy, "Come on Happy let's go, Valentine is staying over tonight." He grinned giddily and the cat nodded, "Aye, Natsu. Bye-bye Lisanna, Gray." Natsu waved at them but before he could head towards the alluring scent of the teen, Lisanna grabbed his arm, "Natsu can I stay over too?" Natsu looked at her confused, "Why?" She blushed, "Umm, because I don't trust that guy what if he tries to hurt Natsu." She says quickly, he gains a bit of a cold look, but then loses it, "Don't worry Lisanna, Valentine wouldn't do that. Besides if he does I'm strong so I'll beat him down." He shakes off her arm, 'Valentine wouldn't do that, I know he won't he smells too nice' he walks toward the waiting Laxus. He had put on the teens boxers and covered him with his cloak, with his other clothes in hand he draped over one shoulder and carried the teen to the pinkette's house.
At Natsu's house, Laxus had just left after putting the teen in the dragon slayer's bed. Happy was asleep, and Natsu looked at the sleeping teen. He touches the ebony hair and is amazed by it's softness, "I don't know who you are, but you smell familiar, warm, dark, kind." The young boy crawls into bed and worms his way to the teens side, "I hope we can be friends." He murmurs as he falls asleep, lulled by the welcoming scent of the sleeping teen.
.
.
.
The next morning, Valentine wakes up at exactly 6 in the morning, to the need to vomit. He sits up, but regrets the decision immediately. 'Shit what did I do last night…' he looks around and notices a rather warm body next to him. His face pales, "Shit!" he mumbles he looks down and sees he's shirtless, but looks under the blanket and is relieved he is still wearing underwear. He looks next to him a bit worried at what he might find, but is slightly relieved to see a fully pajamed, Natsu Dragneel. He looks down at the young dragon slayer, and smiles warmly, "He must have brought me here since they didn't know where I lived." He got up and quickly put on his cargo shorts and maroon shirt, "I'll make some breakfast for the kid, oh and Happy, and then leave, I'll be late if I don't," he then gains a green pallor to his skin, and goes to the bathroom to empty his stomach.
Five minutes later he emerges with less food in his stomach, but feeling better all the same. He made quick work with what he had, and left a note for the younger boy. He then headed out, disappearing into the shadows of the trees and ending up in the shadows of his apartment. He neter his room and takes a quick shower, drinking some water and eating a piece of toast as he finished doing his tie. He left and got to his work just barely on time. Miss Opal looked up from what she was doing and smiled at the young man, "I almost thought you wouldn't come Val," she giggled as he grumbled at the nickname, "Ah I had a rough night, and please don't call me that it makes me sound like a girl."
She shook her head, and the day continued on as always.
.
.
.
Months and weeks went by, he began training again, but this time Miki wasn't there to guide him. He had gone back to Makai, simply saying that he needed to gain experience and to travel and wander to do so. Almost a year had passed when tragedy struck the Fairy Tail guild, Lisanna the youngest of the Strauss siblings died at the hands of the uncontrollable form her brother had taken. Of course, the young shadow master knew that she was not really dead, simply not there, but he still helped the young dragon slayer mourn for the petite girl. The boy had taken a liking to the older male, sniffing out where he worked, after he had left with only a note saying thank you in his stead. He yelled at the older boy, and was angry at him for a bit, the young man was lucky it nearing closing so there not many people there to witness the scene. Valentine looked at the angry dragon slayer who literally had flames coming from his mouth, "I SWEAR I GIVE YOU A PLACE TO STAY THE NIGHT AND ALL I GET IS A NOTE THAT SAYS, 'THANK YOU'. I WAS WORRIED YOU KNOW LIKE WHAT IF YOU WERE TOO WEAK TO GET HOME AND FAINTED ON THE WAY THERE." He huffed and puffed a little calming down after a while, he looked at the slack jawed waiter. "WELL I'M WAITING FOR AN APOLOGY OR AT LEAST A RESPONSE!" The waiter looked at the pinkette with a happy and warm smile, "I'm glad you care Natsu, but you didn't know me that well so I thought that if I thanked you that would be the end of it. But truly I've been proven wrong, I'm glad to have such a warm and kind friend, loud, but kind." He smiled at the now blushing boy, "Yeah well…", "As an apology how about I make you some food, I'm almost finished with my shift. So you can come over tonight, if you'll wait for me of course." The pinkette already had drool dripping from his mouth, "Yeah, I can wait! Yay, food, food, food…" the teen chuckles at the reaction from the boy and turns to continue his work.
An hour later he had finished closing and started leading the dragon slayer to his home, "It's a bit small, but the rent was affordable and the kitchen was good." He let the shorter teen into his apartment, the boy was already lounging on his bed and Valentine went to prepare the meal. He had finally had enough money to buy a proper bed, and also got a japanese style table, he rolled up his sleeves and washed his hands, "Hey, where is that blue cat.", "Oh Happy, he's staying with Lisanna today." The teen hums, "Anything you prefer Natsu, today I make whatever you want." He turns to the boy as he dries his hands, "Anything is fine, but with meat lots of meat." He nodded and went into the fridge getting out a huge piece of Blizzardvern, he had gone to Mt. Hakobe in search for some herbs and had stumbled upon the creature. It attacked him first so he defended himself and ended up killing the animal, "Have you ever had Blizzardvern Natsu." The pinkette nods and grimaces slightly, "Yeah, it was chewy and tasted like cardboard. Why?" The teen chuckles, "Well I'm going to make some and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the taste once, I'm done with it."
He then began the process, Natsu watched on in amazement at the grace of the teen as he held the knife, he became relaxed at the rhythmic sound of the moving knife, his mouth watered at the succulent scent that came from the pan, and he almost whimpered in want at the smell coming from the oven.
Valentine set down the knife, and served his hungry guest, "Bon appetit." He said as he put the plate down, Natsu immediately digged in and moaned, "So Good~!" He continued eating the giant serving, and by the end was stuffed and happy. "Did you like it?" The chef asked the young man, he nodded enthusiastically, "It was delicious! The outside was crunchy and fragrant and the inside melted in my mouth. How did you make it taste like that, when I made it was so hard to chew and tasted like virtually nothing." The chef smiled and explained, "You cut it into smaller pieces, braise the meat in it's own fat and the collagen will soften and the meat will become moist, after that you grill it to make the the outside crunchy and seal the juices in." Natsu nodded, though some of the terms flew over his head, the teen yawned, "Hey can I stay here tonight?" Valentine looked at him questioningly, "Don't you want to go home." Natsu looked down, "I don't want to no one's there, and Happy won't be back till tomorrow." The teen sighed, "Okay, here you can change into this after you take a bath." The pinkette smiles and hops off of the bed, Valentine smiles warmly at Natsu's antics. He blushes slightly at the image of a rather exposed Natsu in his steamy bathroom, 'Ah stop, stop don't be a pervert, he's still a kid…' he ended up sleeping on the ground, even with protests against it by Natsu.
.
.
.
A year had passed since Lisanna's death, and Valentine was about to get some very upsetting news.
"What do you mean your closing Death's Delights!" He yells at his old boss and she just smiled, "You heard me my little shadow, I'm leaving this town and heading somewhere else, I was thinking Oak town would be nice, it'd set the mood you know with the castle and all." He was just looking at her confused, "But why, is business bad here, is something wrong-" hazel eyes pierced him, "No, it has nothing to do with that, it's just I have finished what I wanted to do here, so now I'm leaving." She simply said, as she boarded the train. It was a monday like any other, he had gone to work expecting another tiring day, but was greeted by an empty building and a note saying they had closed. An envelopes was on the bar for him with his last paycheck and a bonus, 'For all your hard work! ;)' it said. He had run out and went to the station hoping his boss and friend were still in the town they were, and now he was getting a teary goodbye from Opal, and a small mysterious smile from his former employer as they waved at him from the departing train.
He locked himself in his room after that, 'I don't have a job, I lost my friend, and I don't know if I can find another place which will hire me after working there. How will I pay rent, I have some savings but it will only last me for another 3 months' He sighed sad, slightly lonely and feeling abandoned, "I-I need to clear my head."
He left and for a week straight didn't return, he trained until he dropped from exhaustion. He got up ready to keep on moving when he was held back by a firm hand on his shoulder. He looked back and saw Natsu's stern expression, "Stop it." He said, but Valentine tried to shrug off his hand, "Let go, Natsu!" But he held on tighter to the struggling teen who after a while just slumped down. He layed on his back and looked up at the sky, Natsu sat down next to him. "You know Natsu, Miki-sensei left and I was okay with it, but that's a lie. I don't have many friends and while a hard-ass and a pervert when drunk, he was the closest thing I had to family. I cried for almost an entire month after he left, but then i got my act together and made friends with Opal, and Lady Lotus, they were like sisters an older teasing one and a older kind-hearted one. I was happy that I could find new family, but then they left and without telling me anything. They just picked up everything and left, I only got to say goodbye to them because I found them before they had gotten on the train. I thought they cared as much as I did, but it's funny it isn't usually like that. I was abandoned again, tell me Natsu am I just someone to be used, am I a bad person, do people not want me." He looked at the young man tears flowing from his eyes, the pinkette looked down at him his mouth set in a frown, "I can disappear if I'm not wanted you know, just leave. I'll be fine because at least I'll know that the people I care for will be happy, it might hurt for a long time, but I'll get used to it." Natsu opened his mouth and spoke, "We got a new Fairy Tail member, his name is Loke. He's a bit annoying but strong, he likes women a lot and always brings them to the guild they get into fights over him, and then Erza kicks him around. It's annoying, but he's our friend, our family, so Valentine do you wanna be part of our family?" He looked down at the green eyed man searchingly, he looked surprised but smiled warmly and gathered up his courage to accept and open his heart to a new family. "Yeah, I think I'd like that Natsu." Natsu grinned widely, "Great come on let's go-" he looked down to see his friend asleep on the forest floor, he smiled a small smile, and picked up the shadow user. "Let's get you home, you need rest."
.
.
.
The next morning Valentine awoke to the feeling of someone lying next to him, he snuggled closer in order to get to the warmth, but awoke his companion in the process. A slightly raspy voice spoke, "Valentine you awake, come on you need to take a shower, so I can take you to the guild. To me you may smell nice, but to others you smell like dirt and sweat." Valentine mumbled something, "Huh what was that." "I said, give me a second." He snuggled closer to the muscled teen, "Just wait a bit Natsu." He sat up, "I was finally getting some decent sleep. *sigh* I'll go take a shower wait for me okay." He walked into the bathroom strippingas he went, unaware of the growing blush on his friends face, Natsu covered his face with his arms, 'Damn, he smells too good, and looks way too sexy, I'm going to end up jumping him…' he tried to clear his thoughts, but it wasn't easy especially when the glistening chest of his crush was fully exposed from his shirts confines. Valenitnesmiled at the dragon slayer have you eaten yet, Natsu." He shook his head, "Okay then I'll make breakfast and then we head to the guild. I haven't visited Laxus in a while I wonder how he's doing…" Natsu's mood soured a little at the mention of the lightning user's name, recently he had become a real douche and downright bastard, "Come and eat Natsu."
They were on the way to the guild and valentine was nervous his palms were slightly sweaty but he managed to keep a straight face. He looked like statue, and Natsu told him so, "You look like an idiot Val, you'll be fine." He slapped the taller man's back, he turned his head to the side and looked at him, "I'm totally fine, just you know nervous. I mean what if they don't want me, Gray doesn't seem to like me and Erza and Mirjane always shot me dirty looks, I don't know why though. Did I offend them in some way, did I piss them off somehow?" He kept mumbling to himself for the entire way there and Natsu looked at him a bit worried and exasperated. He sweatdropped at the nervous form of his friend, "We're here don't worry, and don't chicken out." The shadow user looked at the guild, "Ahaha you know what I think I left the stove on," "No you didn't," "You're right I left the water running." "Again nope." "Ahaha I don't want too~!" He looks at Natsu pleadingly, his eyes watering and mouth forming into an adorable pout. Natsu's hair covered his eyes, and he kicks him into the guild, "WHY!" Valentine yells as he lands on a table, Natsu's face is finally shown to be sporting a rather bright red blush.
Valentine looks to his left, and see's Laxus he smiles cockily, "Hey how you doing?" He tries to pose sexily but fails horribly. He just falls of the table, his polka dot shirt ruined and shorts messy, Laxus laughs and helps the man up. "Val, I see that you still do the stupidest things, what are you an idiot?" The black haired glares slightly at the blonde man, "Hahaha, yes soak it up. How have you been Laxus?" The man toothily grins, it was a predatory one that made some of the people in guild shiver, but Valentina just lifted an eyebrow at the action. "So you've gone to the dentist you didn't cry right? Mister Makarov is getting on in his years and you need to take care of him, it's the responsibility of those who have been carried to carry those who have carried them." Laxus glares at the mention of his grandfather, "Tch, you're still an idiot I see, Mirjane I'm taking a job. I'll see you some other time Val." he waves to the man as he walks out the door.
Natsu sidles up next to him, "I thought you didn't like being called Val." the teen looks at Natsu, and smiles warmly, "I don't, but Laxus, well he's a special case. Besides Natsu I let you call me Val, I just don't like it when women do it, it makes me sound cute and girly." Gray walked up to Natsu, "Flame Brain what's he doing here?" He points and glares at the shadow user, who just smiles and waves back at him, "None of your business Ice Princess." The two glared at eachother, and Valentine sweatdropped at their antics, 'Again I have no idea what I did to make him dislike me so much…' "Hoho, It's nice to see you again, how have you been Valentine?" Makarov looked up curiously at the boy, he smiled kindly at the tiny guildmaster, "I've been better, how have you been Mister Makarov?" "Fine, fine. What brings you to our guild this beautiful morning-" Natsu yells stopping his glaring at Gray for a second, "He's, JOINING OUR GUILD! YOU STUPID PERVERT!" Gray looks about to tear into Natsu, "HUH, WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, DOES HE EVEN HAVE ANY MAGIC?!" Gray was about to punch the dragon slayer, "ENOUGH!" Makarov's authoritative voice yelled out, Gray and Natsu stopped mid-fight, and all of the guild stopped to listen. "It has come to my attention that our friend here wants, to join the guild." Valentine just looks as if he's about to faint, 'Haha why so much attention on me entering…' the old man looks t the teen, "I'm sorry to say this, but if you don't have magic you cannot join," the teen nods, "But if you do I have nothing to object about you joining. Well, Valentine." The teens looks down, "Ah yes I have magic, would you-" "I'll fight him!" Erza steps forward, "If he is saying the truth," "Which I am." "Then he must be strong," "Not necessarily," "So I will fight him, so he can prove his worth." The rest of the guild yells in excitement at the coming fight,"VALENTINE CAN BEAT YOU ERZA HE'S STRONG!" "Natsu please don't encourage the crazy redhead, and do I have to fight her." Makarov nods, "Yeah it'll be interesting to watch." He sweatdrops at the old man's lax attitude, but breathe's in gaining a serious aura, "Fine, I won't go easy on you Miss Scarlett." She gives him a tiny smile in approval, as they walk out.
The sun was setting, when they got into their positions, Makarov nodded at both of them "You ready!" They nodded though Valentine was still unsure, "Can't we do this in more peaceful less you know ass-kicky way." Erza looks at him elegant brow lifted, he sighs "Of course we can't, nevermind."
"BEGIN!"
.
.
.
And that's where I'm gonna end it, review. Chaos out!