Wendy got to the train station sooner than she had expected but Romeo was already waiting for her. They exchanged greetings and he held up two train tickets. Wendy smiled and took one.
"Thanks Romeo, you didn't have to buy me one too."
"It's no big deal. You can pay me back if you want, but my dad gave me money to buy the tickets and insisted I buy yours too."
"Well, tell your dad thank you for me when we get back." She looked around for a clock and saw it was almost 10 am. "What time is the train?"
"It should be here at 10:05, so we have a few minutes to wait." He glanced around, looking a bit nervous.
"How about we go to a bench to wait then?" Wendy smiled and gestured towards the bench nearest them. There was a man and woman sitting at one end, but there was enough space for the two of them to sit down.
Wendy walked over to the couple and asked, "May we sit here?"
The woman smiled and nodded. She asked, "Are you two on a date?"
Wendy blushed and was barely able to reply, "N-no, we're not."
She glanced over at Romeo and saw that his face was equally as red as hers. Wendy saw the woman frown. "I'm sorry, you two just looked cute together" she half-apologized.
Romeo had walked over but he wouldn't look at the lady as he said, "It's no problem." Wendy sat down, leaving room for Romeo to sit beside her. He looked at the bench, but suddenly seemed too nervous to sit down next to Wendy so he continued standing.
The few minutes they had until the train arrived were long and awkward. Wendy couldn't think of anything to say and so just talked to Carla about how the exceed had been the last time she visited them. Romeo just stared at his feet, apparently too embarrassed to try to talk to Wendy while the couple was still there.
The train eventually arrived and Romeo picked up their bags. Wendy followed him to the car and sat in the seat across from him. She was relatively grateful to notice that while the couple she had talked to before boarded the same train as them, they entered a different car.
"So," Wendy said, trying to start up a conversation with Romeo. "What made your dad finally decide to let you go one a mission alone?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. But it's about time! I'm 17 already! It's not like I can't take care of myself! I've been training with Natsu to get stronger and I've learned about almost all of the different kinds of fire from my dad."
Wendy smiled. "I haven't gone on any real solo missions before. Carla's always been with me, and I often go with Lucy and the gang on important missions."
Romeo smirked. "I guess we're not really doing missions alone by going together are we?"
"I guess you're right," Wendy laughed. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Carla staring at her intensely.
Romeo seemed to notice too. "Why is Carla so focused? Is there something wrong?"
Carla glanced at the boy and answered, "Nothing you need to worry about young man."
Romeo shrugged. "Okay, just let me know if I can help with something."
Wendy smiled apologetically. She didn't think it would be a good idea to try and explain everything that was going on with her. "So, do you usually go on missions with just your dad? Or do you guys go with Wakaba too?"
"Usually just my dad. I'm glad he's finally done with that stupid rule that I can't go on a mission without him. It's ridiculous! Natsu and Gray and them were younger than me when they started doing missions!"
"I guess he's just over-protective. At least now you have the chance to prove you're stronger than he thinks."
Romeo grinned from ear-to-ear. "Yeah! Maybe I'll even be able to become S-class some day!"
"Maybe we can be partners in the next exam if either of us is chosen!"
Romeo held up his hand for a high five and Wendy hit his hand. "Deal!"
Wendy had been nominated for s-class a couple of times but she hadn't won yet. Natsu and Gray were finally s-class wizards, but they acted the same as always. The exam seemed to change each year. Her first trial was as Mest's partner. Three years later she had been strong enough to be nominated, and then again the year after that. Romeo, despite being a year older than her, had never yet been nominated for an s-class exam.
"Does it bother you that I've been nominated before?" Wendy suddenly asked, worried.
Romeo jolted, seemingly surprised by her train of thought. "Not at all! I'm not yet strong enough to be s-class, I know that. Besides, Natsu didn't even pass until he was older than I am now, so how can I expect to pass it earlier than him?" He smiled to console her.
Wendy smiled in return. She liked spending time with Romeo, and he seemed to be the only guild member around her age, so she would be sad to have learned he held a grudge against her.
"It must be nice to be as strong as you are," Romeo said, looking up at the ceiling. "You can do all kinds of things with your dragon slayer magic: heal people, blow tornadoes, and claw the shit out of people just to name a few."
Wendy laughed at his last comment. "I prefer healing people to fighting. If I fight though, I'd fight to protect my friends."
Romeo looked at her and smiled. "That's one thing I like about you." He paused a little and realized what his words could mean. He quickly added, "Well, that's also a whole guild trait. We're like one big family who will do anything to protect each other." He looked away, blushing slightly.
Wendy blushed a little too. "Y-yeah. We're all each other's family." She smiled inwardly at his comment about her. This was one person she wouldn't mind liking her.
Carla smacked Wendy with her tail. When she looked at the exceed she could tell what Carla was thinking without even needing to ask. "Be very careful with him."
Wendy nodded grimly. She knew she had to be careful with how she acted. But with Romeo, it almost seemed as if the pheromones weren't doing much to either of them. She felt like she usually felt this nervous and happy around the fire-user.
The announcement that they were pulling into the Hargeon station came over the speakers and they gathered up their things to leave. Right after they exited the train Romeo took out the poster with the job details.
"It says the owner's store is not too far from the train station. It gives the address." He handed Wendy the flier for her to see.
She looked around and noticed that the street name on the address was the street immediately in front of them. She pointed to a street sign. "It looks like we just need to wander along this street until we find the store."
Romeo nodded and they started off.
It didn't take them long to reach the store. Their client dealt with jewelry and his store front was very extravagantly decorated to attract customers. They walked in and introduced themselves to the woman at the counter. She directed them towards the back room where the owner was packing.
Romeo stepped forward to shake the client's hand. "Hello sir. We're Fairy Tail wizards and we got your request for guards while running errands around town."
The owner grinned. "Thank you for coming! I was worried no one would answer my request. My name is Kalen Keter, it's nice to meet you."
"I'm Romeo and this is Wendy. How can we help you?"
Keter gestured towards the bag he had been packing stuff into. "I was just getting ready to go soon, and I was afraid I would have all of my wares stolen from me. It may not be the most expensive jewelry, but it's how I make a living."
Wendy smiled at him. "Don't worry, sir. We'll make sure you and your supplies are safe today. I'm curious, don't you usually sell stuff without protection? What makes you so worried about this time?"
The man frowned and hung his head. "I have to do this weekly. I sell most of my jewels to larger stores so they can sell them in whichever ways they want: necklaces, rings, or enchanted items. When people talk to me on the street, however, I can sell them my ready-made jewelry. I don't have much and don't make as much money by selling off the street, but it helps. Last time, there was a gang who stole all of my ready-made jewelry. I had already visited the stores and so was lucky they didn't take more, but I don't know if they'll come back."
Wendy nodded. "So what is your trip going to be like today? Visiting your usual stores and then setting up a stand to sell to passers-by?"
Keter nodded. "I mostly want to get to the stores, but if you two can give me an hour or two extra then I'd be extremely grateful."
"One quick thing," Romeo said. "This gang who stole your stuff, do you want us to get rid of them, or simply give you protection for today? If they attack you while we're there we might be able to do both, but if we don't run into them today they might just attack you next week."
The owner frowned and nodded again. "That's true. I'd rather they leave me alone, but I don't want you to just go and start a war with their gang. Let's see how today plays out and then we can decide if I will need your help next week."
Wendy smiled. "Then we can get going whenever you're ready."
Notes:
I am SO SORRY this is so late! I've had most of this written for a while but I got distracted by another fanfic I was writing and then got distracted by other stuff. Then life happened and I didn't have any time to write. This is a bit of a warning though, I'm not good at updating too often.
Also, I wrote this train scene before Wendy became strong enough to get motion-sickness, so I'm going to write as if she's really strong but transportation still doesn't bother her.