Disclaimer: All rights of Fairy Tail go to Hiro Mashima. I do not own this. Just a quick note, FFF stands for Future Farmers of Fiore, like the FFA (Future Farmers of America). It's basically the same thing. That is all.
Chapter 7: A New Home
Lucy sighed and cast another worried look at her son while they waited at a red light. Haru was slouching against his door, absently rolling his window up and down while he pouted. His cheek was pressed against the glass and kept sliding up and down with the window, making a soft squeaking noise that only added to the boy's somber vibe. Lucy was starting to worry he'd pinch his skin by doing that, though that wasn't her biggest concern with him.
For the past four days Haru had been in a wonderful mood, all smiles and bubbling energy, and it was all thanks to a certain pink haired man who frequently had breakfast at the local bar and grill outside of town. Each morning, Natsu Dragneel would arrive at Sabretooth to have his free meal, and each morning he would invite Lucy and Haru to join him. Though, Lucy largely suspected the regular invite was more for Haru's benefit than her own.
The man had no issues when Haru had excitedly raced outside to the table he was eating at and shoved the two little fairy soldiers he'd made with Lucy the night before right in his face. He wasn't even upset when Haru had asked him for a bite (more like half) of his breakfast burger, much to Lucy's utter horror. Lucy had quickly followed after her son and was thus roped into eating breakfast alongside the man she really wasn't sure what to think of.
Haru had asked if Happy was there and, like magic, Natsu had reached behind his head to pull the small kitten from his spot nuzzled in the thick folds of the scarf he was wearing once again, despite the impending heat. Haru was practically over the moon to see Happy again, and the kitten had been more than content to be fawned over for the rest of breakfast until Natsu had realized he was late again and had rushed off much the same why he had that first morning the three ate together.
After the second day, Haru had actually made an effort to wake up early since he'd almost missed Natsu completely the day prior. The third day, Happy was once again present, much to Haru's excitement, but Natsu had surprised them both with the box of baby chicks he'd brought. Seeing Haru grinning from ear to ear with a kitten perched on his shoulders and an arm full of peeping chicks while still wearing his dinosaur pajamas had easily been the highlight to Lucy's day. Natsu had explained he was just dropping the chicks off at the library for a summer program covering birds and their growth but the fact he'd even bothered to bring them out to show Haru when he could've easily dropped them off beforehand had really touched Lucy.
Never had someone made such an effort to put a smile on her son's face before they really knew him.
While there were no peeping chicks or, admittedly, cute kittens yesterday, Natsu had produced a small booklet on the many types of fish located in the area from his pants pocket to cheer the boy up. Haru had excitedly looked over the intricate pictures while Lucy and Natsu sat quietly, both content to simply watch the small boy gasp in awe at the different fish. Natsu had patiently answered the many questions Haru had, thoroughly surprising Lucy about his knowledge on fish in general as well.
While Lucy was still a bit concerned about her son becoming so close with someone she barely knew, Lucy had to admit Natsu was wonderful with Haru. He just had such a good way of bonding with him and seemed to have the perfect amount of patience and excitement when dealing with the young boy.
Yukino had told her Natsu had always been good with kids, and was even heavily involved with the local 4-H and FFF clubs. Lucy remembered him saying he had a niece once before, so it would make sense that he knew how to deal with Haru as he did. Yukino had also taken it upon herself to slyly point out Natsu's many other "good qualities", much to Lucy and her brother's annoyance.
No matter how often Lucy insisted that she wasn't interested in Natsu (or any man for that matter) in that way, her sweet sister in-law would only smile and continue rambling on about the pink haired man. Sting was hardly any happier with Yukino's not-so-subtle pushing. The man seemed to be in a constant state of sulking, and his poor attitude meant that Yukino had unofficially banished him to the kitchen for the past three days so he wouldn't snap at the customers. Well, more than what was to be expected from the loud and arrogant man.
That wasn't to say Lucy wasn't enjoying Natsu's company a little though.
They'd somehow fallen into a routine where they'd lightly tease each other and ask the most innocent, basic questions one could ask a stranger. The few times Natsu had asked about her being new to town Lucy had given him the most simplest answer she could manage. She hardly wanted to explain the exact reason she and Haru were moving back to her hometown. Thankfully, Natsu seemed to realize she didn't want to get into too much detail about her or her son's personal life, and though his dark eyes would light up with curiosity when Haru innocently mentioned a little detail about their old life in Crocus, he never pushed the subject. On her or, more importantly, on Haru.
And for that, Lucy was very grateful.
Their little breakfasts often ended with Natsu suddenly realizing he was late, for what Lucy never knew, and as he'd rush off he'd ruffle Haru's hair and call out a loud, "See ya later!" to them both before peeling out of the lot in his mud-caked truck. It was a simple, and admittedly easy, routine for them all to fall into so soon. But Lucy hadn't realized how much those little breakfasts had meant to Haru until that morning when Natsu was unexpectedly absent. Hence the reason for Haru's sour mood.
"Haru, sweetie. Cheer up. Today's going to be exciting! We finally get to move into our new home!"
Haru's head snapped up to her, his large, brown eyes narrowed as his pout only intensified. "But mom! I like living with Uncle Sting and Aunt Yuki! And we can't have breakfast with Natsu every day if we live somewhere else."
Lucy had to bit the inside of her cheek to keep from frowning at that. "Haru, you do know we can't always have breakfast with Natsu, right? I'm sure he would like to have breakfast with his own family from time to time."
Haru frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, I guess so. But I wanted to show him my dragon skin..."
Lucy sighed and shook her head. Of course Haru was concerned with that. To help occupy his time, Yukino had taken Haru to the local park for a few hours yesterday. The boy had returned to Sabretooth with a six foot long snake skin, though he'd insisted it was from a dragon and not a snake. Sting had given him an old tin cookie box to store it in and Haru had carefully placed his eight fairy soldiers around it to guard his newest treasure.
After proudly showing it to all of Sabretooth's staff, as well as the customers, Haru had wanted to show Natsu as soon as possible. "Maybe it's from the dragon that saved Natsu!" he'd said.
Lucy had felt awful seeing him sit at the bar holding his tin cookie box waiting for Natsu all morning. It wasn't the man's fault, she knew. Surely he had his own life to get back too and it wasn't reasonable for her to expect he be there for her son like he'd unintentionally been doing for the past few days. Haru, it seemed, didn't agree and Lucy wasn't sure how to properly handle the…situation.
She had read that children who lost a parent when they were still young often sought out a "replacement" parental figure to the one they lost, but Natsu was hardly like her husband. He was loud, brash, childish, and sometimes impossibly frustrating. Nothing like the suave, calm, gentlemanly, and often flirtatious man she'd once been married too. Really, the two couldn't have been more different in Lucy's opinion. Which made her even more confused about why Haru seemed to have bonded with Natsu so quickly.
She'd honestly thought Haru would attach to his uncle instead, given they'd been very close before the accident anyway. She and Sting had even had a talk over it, they'd been so sure. But while Haru had certainly become closer with his uncle he hadn't become attached, per se. Not the way he was acting with Natsu at least.
Hoping to distract her son, and maybe herself, Lucy had decided to drive into town early that morning and pick up the deeds to her house. While Lucy had technically been the cottages' owner for many years, the proper paperwork had needed to be updated and put through the town's system, as well as the town's mandatory inspections done. Her husband had settled a lot of that early on but Lucy had still needed to tie up any loose ends before she and Haru could officially move in.
"Well, I'm sure you will see Natsu around here sometime. A town as small as Magnolia means we'll be bound to run into each other eventually," she said, turning to smile brightly at her son. "But for now, let's have some fun!"
"Moving isn't fun."
"Of course it is," Lucy said, feigning astonishment. Haru only shrugged as he slumped further against his seat. Lucy was starting to wonder if he was only upset about missing Natsu or if he was starting to regret moving to Magnolia all together. A little desperate to cheer him up, Lucy wracked her brain for anything that seemed even a little exciting. Her eyes widened and a wide smile broke across her face as she thought of something.
"Our new home is quite special, you know" she said. "My mother used to tell me she had little sprites that lived in the walls and would steal her toys if she ever left them lying around."
Haru instantly perked up, though he remained slouched in his seat. "Really? Grandma had sprites too?"
"Mmhmm," she hummed while nodding. Back at their old home, Lucy was often warning her son about the little sprites that lived in the walls and would take his toys if he ever left them out. Her husband had thought it was just a clever way to get him to clean his room but Lucy knew better. She had once lost her favorite doll for years after leaving it in the garden for a few hours to eat lunch. Her brother had found it in the attic, of all places, as he was looking for extra furniture to take to college. Suspiciously enough, none of her family's maids had put it there when Lucy asked them. She'd been sure it was sprites then, and whenever Lucy lost something only to later find it in a place she knew she hadn't left it she blamed the sprites hiding in her walls.
"Your grandma used to lose a lot of things to those sprites," she continued. Lucy glanced at Haru and winked. "Maybe you can find some of her lost treasures. You'll have to look real hard though. Sprites are veryclever at hiding their riches."
"I will!" Haru cheered, beaming once again as he punched a small fist in the air. "I'll find them and we can take them to grandma later, right?"
Lucy smiled softly. "Yes. I'm sure your grandma would love that very much, Haru."
He smiled softy back at her, both thinking of the kind woman that only one of them truly knew. Turning down Central Lane, Lucy drove all the way down to the end of the street to Town Square. The roundabout was right in front of the town's Hall with grassy knolls lining the sides and a cute little gazeebo in the center circle of the road next to the statue of the town's founder, Mavis Vermillion.
Given that Magnolia had very little traffic, the gazeebo and center circle was rarely empty. Even this early, a group of women, and a few men, were having a yoga class in the grass and elderly couples sat on the benches spaced throughout the Square. The whole scene looked like it belonged in a magazine. Advertising the simple pleasures in life.
Pulling up in front of Magnolia's Town Hall, Lucy and Haru took a moment to openly gawk at the old building. It was one of the four remaining original buildings from the town's initial construction. The Cathedral, court house and school, which was now the library, were proudly advertised as historical landmarks, and some of the oldest structures in southern Fiore.
And it certainly showed.
Despite its age, the building was in pristine condition. Much like the Cathedral and other historical buildings, a regular up keep was mandatory for the town's function. Many tourists would come to see the famous structures as well as attend the many festivals throughout the summer. It was what kept the town in a good financial state, as well as on the map.
The large stone building was three stories tall, no doubt with high, vault ceilings making each story taller than what was normal. A large dome centered in the middle of the structure acted as a clock tower with four separate faces on each side. The overall style for the building was gothic and closely matched Kardia Cathedral, with its sharp doorways and heavily detailed sides. Its size was second only to the Cathedral itself.
"It's like a castle…" Haru muttered.
Lucy smiled at that and clicked off the truck. "Then we shall storm the gates and obtain the deeds to our house, my little hero!"
Which was how the receptionist at the front desk saw Lucy and Haru burst through the high wooden doors laughing as they "charged" the lobby and dashed over to the front desk.
"M-may I help you?" the woman asked. She was perhaps a few years younger than Lucy with wavy, bubblegum pink hair pulled back into a high ponytail and vivid red eyes that likely wouldn't have looked so large were she not so clearly shocked.
"We're here for our house's deed!" Haru said, trying to peek over the counter as he stood up on his toes. The woman blinked and had to rise out of her chair to look over the counter at the small boy excitedly bouncing on the balls of his feet with a wide grin spread across his chubby cheeks. Lucy couldn't hold back her own grin as she watched her son proudly list off his name, as well as her own, and the address to their new home.
Her son was honestly adorable. And even better than watching him was seeing complete strangers come to the same conclusion. The receptionist's confusion slowly morphed into a soft smile as Haru ranted on about moving to their new home. After a moment, Lucy placed a hand on her son's shoulder, quieting him so she could explain things a bit more clearly than Haru had.
"Sorry. You'll have to forgive us. We're a bit excited today."
The woman giggled behind her hand. "I can see that. So, I gather you must be the new family moving here?"
Lucy sighed and rolled her shoulders. Gossip sure did travel fast in Magnolia. "You could say that. I grew up here but now my son and I are moving back from Crocus." She ignored the woman's raised eyebrow as she reached into her purse to pull out the necessary files she needed to pass to the receptionist as she spoke.
"Well…new or old, welcome to our town. Again." The woman smiled brightly and held out a hand over the counter. "I'm Meredy. Nice to meet you, ah…what did you say your name was again?"
Lucy smiled and took the woman's hand to give a quick shake. "Lucy Heartfilia. Anyway, I've owned this house for five years now, but I'm only now moving here. I have the required paper work already filled out so all that's left is-"
"Wait! Are you related to Layla Heartfilia?" Meredy asked suddenly.
Lucy sighed and rubbed her temple. Despite the fact that her family was one of the most well-known names in Magnolia, it still amazed her how very few people actually knew who she was around here. Had her father not been so protective of her and her brother, most of the town would have known them as well as they did everyone else. Really, Lucy was pretty sure she knew more people in Hargeon than Magnolia.
She still remembered how Sting had ranted and raved when he first opened his restaurant after college. Most of the townsfolk had thought he was an outsider and had avoided his business for the first few months simply because they didn't know him. Sting had blamed their father for 'hiding them away from their own town' and had demanded he attend the next town meeting to officially 'claim him as his son'. Lucy had laughed at how ridiculous her brother had been, but after walking the streets of Magnolia for nearly a week and only being recognized by a handful of people, she was starting to understand where her brother was coming from.
"She was my mother, actually."
Meredy nodded and crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned back in her seat. "I'm not surprised. You look just like her, you know?"
"So I've heard." Lucy was honestly a little surprised that Meredy was able to make the connection between her and her mother at all. Most of the people in town who recognized her were older people who'd known her mother and recognized Lucy because of it. Not many people her age knew her mother despite the woman being so social and involved with the town's many functions.
Lucy shook her head to clear it and slid the papers across the counter. "Anyway. I've done everything I can so all that's needed is for these to be notarized."
Meredy smiled and took the papers to glance through them with an approving nod. "Consider it done. Erza mentioned you'd come by soon so I have everything all set." She spun in her chair to the large wooden filing cabinets behind her and began pulling out some extra papers and stamps.
Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Erza talked to you?" Lucy had known her old friend tended to get involved in people's business, but she hadn't thought she would call into Town Hall to bring up her housing. That seemed a bit much even for her.
"Yeah. Since Jellal is out of town for the moment she just relays any information from him to me instead. She just mentioned that I should get things ready for you too." Meredy sighed and slumped back in her chair as she continued to stamp the pages. "Honestly. Sometimes I feel like the Assistant Mayor."
Lucy blinked. "Jellal's the Assistant Mayor?"
"Oh no. He's the mayor and Ultear is the Assistant Mayor. I'm just the secretary."
Lucy went to ask about how Ultear was when Haru tugged at her shirt. "Moooom. How much longerrrr?" he whined.
Meredy smiled and stood from her chair to hand Lucy her copies of the papers. "Actually. It's all done. Here are your copies and…uh…keys…" she mumbled as she turned to walk into a back room marked as staff only.
"Take your time," Lucy called.
"Mom?" Lucy hummed as she carefully folded her papers and tucked them away in her file. She'd make sure to put them with her records as soon as she had her filing cabinets unloaded. "Can we explore the castle?"
"Town Hall. And I'm afraid we can't take a tour today. But, I'll tell you what. When we have dinner with Erza and Reiki tomorrow we'll ask them if they could show us around." She crouched down so she was level with her son and winked. "Since Reiki's dad works here, I'm sure he knows all the secret places in this building too."
Haru gave a mischievous grin and nodded just as Meredy returned with the spare house key. Both now fully satisfied and with the deed in their hands, Lucy and Haru hopped in their truck and quickly drove to the little housing district of Magnolia. Strawberry Street was located on the southwest side of the small town with a small river running parallel to the road that separated it from the rest of the town. It was, in Lucy's honest opinion, the most pristine place to raise a family.
Most of the homes along the street were old fashioned, like the cottage, with steeply sloped roofs that were slightly curved around the top and over hanging edges with stone shingles and white or yellow timber framed sides. Every house was well looked after, with little white picket fences bordering their lawns and flowers practically over flowing the window boxes. Since it was summer, children were outside playing in the front yard or rushing across the street to swim in the shallow river under the watchful gaze of their mothers who folded laundry on the porch or weeded their flowerbeds. It was the exact place Lucy had always wanted for Haru to grow up in, even when they'd lived in Crocus.
Pulling up into their driveway, Lucy groaned as she saw the cottage wasn't in as good of condition as she'd thought. The regular maintenance her father had imposed must have only gone as far as mowing the lawn and power washing the sides. Thankfully, the roof was in good condition, save for a few patches of moss growing on the sides under the overhanging weeping willow in the back yard, and the house and front porch didn't look to need repainting anytime soon. The only work that needed to be done was weeding and replanting the flowerbeds, and no doubt the garden in the backyard was even worse. Hopefully, the inside was a little better.
Her brother was already there with the trailer parked out front and partly unloaded as he and Rouge carried Lucy's work desk up the front steps into the house. Haru was grinning wildly as he jumped out of the truck and dashed over to his uncle, already talking about how he planned on finding his grandma's lost treasures from the sprites. Lucy had to resist the urge to pat her back at her job-well-done in cheering the boy up. Not that Haru was particularly hard to please, but it was still a success to Lucy.
The cottage was certainly small, with only two bedrooms upstairs and the whole ground floor dedicated to the living space. The front porch wasn't as large as Lucy remembered either, being only big enough to fit a few rocking chairs comfortably, but it was more than enough for her and Haru.
Besides. The backyard is the best place to sit outside anyway, she thought.
"Don't just stand there all day, sis!" Sting yelled as he handed Haru a box labeled 'Haru's clothes'. "Get over here and help out!"
It took most of the day for the four of them to unload the trailer, mainly because the doorways and halls were so narrow most of the furniture needed to be carried in at odd angles or even partially dismantled and reassembled in another room. Most of the original furniture was still in the house so Lucy hadn't bothered bringing much from their old apartment. It wouldn't have matched anyway. The only large pieces of furniture she'd brought was Haru's bedroom furniture, her own bed, the chest of draws that had been the first thing she and her husband had bought together when they were still dating, the writing desk that had been her mothers and her father's leather lounge chair that was easily big enough to fit her and Haru comfortably. Mostly, they'd simply moved boxes.
Walking through the front door, the living room was on the left, with the fireplace and whole left wall made of large, round rocks. To the right was the "music room" as her grandma had often called it, where her grandpa's old piano sat in front of the window and the tv was propped up in the corner. Most of the boxes had ended up there until Lucy could begin unpacking everything. Going through the living room led to the kitchen, which was so small the table could only seat three comfortably. How her brother had managed to fit a dish washer, modern stove, and refrigerator in there was quite impressive.
Through the music room was a small alcove that her grandma had used as her indoor garden to grow and store her herbs. Lucy had already decided to make it her office once she moved the old pots and bags of soil to the shed out back. The large windows that lined the back corner and extended partly over the ceiling offered a wonderful view of the garden and had always been one of Lucy's favorite places to sit and read when she visited her grandma.
A toilet had been added to the storage closet down the front hall under the stairs, as well as a full bathroom upstairs in what had been the smallest bedroom. For the most part, it looked like they would only have a lot of cleaning to do but there were no repairs that needed to be made. Though, the sheer amount of scrubbing, dusting, mopping, sweeping, and vacuuming they'd already done was enough to have Lucy groaning as she found yet another dust ball the size of a softball in the wash room across from the stairs.
"Well, the electricity works fine. Aaaaaand Haru got the tv working," Sting said, walking inside from the back door at the end of the hall just as the distinct sounds of cartoons quickly filled the hallway.
"Not too loud Haru," Lucy called as she and Sting headed into the living room. Haru nodded from his spot in his grandpa's leather chair, his green pillow and tin box held under each arm. They'd been cleaning for the past six hours straight and had only managed to get the bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchen done. Haru had been particularly busy with unpacking his items and putting them away in his room. Lucy was very proud of his continued help throughout the day and, as such, had decided to splurge for dinner and order the best pizza in town. That and she was also tired of hearing Sting complain about needing food.
Lucy and Sting both sighed as they flopped down on the old couch in front of the stone fireplace, sending up a small cloud of dust in the process. Rouge had already gone home, offering to drop off the trailer at Sting's on his way as it was his truck that had towed it to the house. Lucy would have to do something to thank him for all his help later. Maybe bake him some cookies, though Rouge never did strike her as the sweets-liking type.
Lucy looked out the front window at the setting sun reflected off the river and smiled. Intense cleaning or not, this little house was perfect. Well, almost. Lucy couldn't help the heavy feeling in her chest at the thought that her husband would have loved it here. She could just picture him poking her side until she finally relented and played the piano while he spun Haru round and round the room. Lucy winced and clutched at her shirt, trying her best to ignore the way her heart ached. Her husband had always loved her playing, saying it was a melody best suited for the angels or some other equally cheesy comment. She hadn't played since she'd lost him.
Sting yawned and threw an arm around her shoulders lazily, jerking Lucy from her thoughts. "This place hasn't changed a bit. I keep expecting Grandma Anna to walk in here with cookies."
Lucy gave a small smile. Somehow her brother always knew when he needed to pull her from her own thoughts. Mother's intuition, she thought with a soft giggle.
"Or yell that the chicken and dumplings are ready," Lucy said, nodding.
Sting hummed and they both slumped further into the cushions and plush pillows. Somehow, their grandma had always managed to keep her pillows and cushions soft and fluffy, despite them being so old. They'd always loved their grandparent's house. It'd always seemed so cozy and happy compared to the huge, empty plantation they'd grown up in. Filled with the delicious smells of their grandma's homemade cooking, the soft melodies of their grandpa playing the piano and their mother's laughter.
Sting chuckled and propped his feet up on the ottoman in front of them. "Hey. Remember how we'd always sneak into the kitchen and eat the noodles while they were sitting on the table. They were still raw so we'd pretend they were worms."
Lucy grinned, closing her eyes as she pictured the fond memory. Their grandma's recipe for homemade chicken and dumplings involved letting the noodles rest for two hours before adding them to the broth. Anna would lay them out on the table after carefully rolling and cutting each one to the perfect length and would promptly leave them knowing full well Lucy and Sting would be waiting behind the couch to eat the sweet dough.
"Yeah. And Grandma would yell at us not eat them from somewhere but I could always hear her laughing too."
"Funny how she always made twice as many noodles as she needed."
Lucy chuckled, "Remember when grandpa caught us? He just took a handful of noodles, winked and walked out."
Sting laughed. "He covered for our asses so many times."
"Language. And that's cause you always got us into trouble," Lucy added while nudging his side with her elbow, a devious grin spreading over her face. Sting yelped and poked Lucy in her own side, making her let out a very unladylike squawk.
"Serves you right," he said, smirking, and Lucy was tempted to shove his face in the corner along with all the dust balls when there was a knock at the door.
"Pizza's here!" Haru hollered and bounded from his chair to the window in a manner that was quite impressive given how "exhausted" he was a moment ago. Pulling the curtains aside to peek through the crack barely open enough for his one eye to look through, he snickered and whispered for Lucy to hurry up. Sting quickly joined him with a childish giggle himself, both crouching under the window when there was another knock. Lucy rolled her eyes and opened the door for the teenage boy standing outside.
He was rather tall and lanky, the way most teenage boys were, with messy, dark purple hair shoved under a ball cap with the logo 'Marco's Pizzeria' stitched into the front. His dark eyes blinked in surprise when she opened the door and he grinned in a way that was too similar to another cheerful man Lucy knew.
"Oh, hey. I didn't think anyone lived here." He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head, also similar to someone she knew. "Was startin' to worry this was a prank."
Lucy shook her head and quickly smiled back. "Oh, sorry about that. We actually just moved in today," she said.
He nodded. "Cool. Uh, welcome to our town." He lifted the dark blue pizza bag and carefully balanced it on one hand while reaching in to pull out two large pizzas. "Okay. So I have one large cheese and one large supreme with extra peppers and a two liter of soda."
Lucy nodded and reached into her purse for her wallet. "Sounds right. How much do I owe you?"
"Eighteen fifty."
Lucy blinked. "That little?" On the rare occasions they'd had pizza at Crocus, it cost nearly twice as much for pop and one pizza.
The boy grinned and shrugged. "Dad's whole thing is about good pizza for good prices. Though, his house specials are pretty expensive."
"Geez, what's taking so long, sis!" Sting suddenly rounded the doorway and practically shoved past her to take the pizzas and soda. "Hey Romeo. Long time no see," Sting said with a casual nod. Romeo barely had a chance to say hi back before Sting was walking down the hall with Haru hot on his heels.
Sting turned and frowned back at Lucy. "Well? Pay the kid and let's eat."
Lucy stuck her tongue out at him and paid Romeo, making sure to apologize on her brother's behalf and give him a generous tip. Grumbling under her breath as she closed the door she heard Sting practically wail from the kitchen, "What the hell?! Why are there peppers on my pizza!"
Lucy smirked as she walked down the hall. "Oops. I thought you liked peppers, little brother."
Sting did his best to open the door as quietly as possible. The last thing he wanted was to wake up Yukino at this hour. After having dinner with Lucy and Haru, which he was still upset over, Sting had stayed a little longer to help his sister unpack a few more things and finish the kitchen. Haru had passed out right after dinner and he and Lucy had taken the newfound quiet to get the kitchen completely ready for the morning. Minus any real food, that is.
He'd have to make a few casseroles and simple meals they could heat up in the oven tomorrow. Lucy would likely complain that he was overdoing it again. But, as Sting thought, that's what family was for. And he had always been one to occasionally overdo it when it came to spoiling his loved ones. Sue him.
Growing up it was mostly Lucy that looked after him, especially when their mom died, but they had always had each other's backs. Aside from Rouge, and eventually Yukino, Lucy had for a while been the only real family Sting had known. He was so young when their mom passed that he had trouble remembering her in even the most basic ways. More often than he'd like to admit, Sting would find himself talking about something his mother used to do for him, only to later realize it was actually his sister. Their father had thrown himself into his work after Layla's death, leaving Sting and Lucy largely to themselves, which meant they'd grown closer than most siblings probably did. And if that meant Sting liked to treat his big sister with some casseroles when she got a new house, then dammit he would!
Slipping into the bedroom, Sting smirked at the position his wife had to sleep in when he wasn't there. Instead of being pressed tightly against his side, with her large belly resting heavily on his hip, she had two of the plush throw pillows shoved under her right side. Without his arm around her shoulders, Yukino had to take a large pillow to stuff under her left side and keep her in place. That was one thing Sting loved, and Yukino hated, about her pregnancy. She had to sleep on her back.
Sting loved it because she always looked so funny propped up by most of their pillows and Yukino hated it because she had always preferred to sleeping on her stomach. And he may also have liked the fact that his wife slept best when pressed up against him. It was a pleasant feeling to have her against his side as well as a nice boost to his ego.
Kicking off his pants and tossing his shirt in the hamper in the corner, Sting stood at the foot of the bed and looked at her for a moment. Given the summer heat that was starting to cling to everything even as the sun set, Yukino had worn a silk maternity tank top and a simple pair of shorts to bed. She'd even forgone any blankets, something she only did when it was "hotter than hellfire in June". Her words, not his.
Sting climbed up onto the bed and carefully batted the pillows away from her right side. Wrapping his arms around her middle he was careful to keep all his weight settled on his arms and off her. He paused to kiss the star tattoo on her left waist where her shirt had bunched up before settling along her side.
Yukino sighed and Sting paused when he felt a small hand shift through his hair.
"I woke you up. Sorry," he mumbled against her skin.
She only hummed and kept playing with his hair. "You're home late."
He sighed and laid his head against her stomach, straining to hear their baby's heartbeat, something Sting swore he could hear despite what the doctors said. "Yeah. Lucy needed help cleaning. Place was a mess. I'll bet it hasn't been clean since gran and gramps died."
"Such a sweet little brother," Yukino cooed and pinched his cheek playfully.
Sting growled and nipped at her side. "Don't you start too. I just had to endure hours of teasing from my own sister, and eat pizza with peppers on it."
Yukino only giggled as she patted his cheek. "I'm sorry. So you didn't have fun then?"
Sting sighed and tightened his arms slightly around his wife's waist. How she still had her curves even when she was this far along he'd never know. When his sister was pregnant she'd swollen up all over like a sponge in water. He and Rouge had had a bet she was going to have twins she was so big. "It was fine. Would've been better if Haru hadn't blabbed about Natsu all day."
"Natsu?" Yukino asked, and Sting was sure he'd heard her grin as she did.
"Yeah. He found another snake skin in the garden and wouldn't stop talking about dragons and that pink haired idiot. It was a pain in the ass."
"Well, I think it's cute." And now he knew she was grinning.
Sting scoffed and tilted his head glare up at her. "I'll bet you do. This is all your fault, you know."
"How so?" she asked, tilting her head slightly and giving him a soft smile. She was much too calm about this.
Sting pushed up off her to give her a proper glare as he loomed over her. "How so? Well…uh…you're always going on and on about how great he is. If you weren't talking him up so much Haru would've gotten bored with him by now!"
Yukino tapped a finger to her chin in thought. "Are you sure you're not upset that Natsu and Lucy have been getting rather close instead?"
Well, shit.
"That's another thing!" Sting went on, ignoring the knowing look on his wife's face. "Lucy has enough to deal with without you setting her up."
"I'm not setting her up. Just telling her about her new neighbors, so to speak. We are a very close town you know."
Sting huffed and moved to bury his face in the pillow beside her head. "That ain't what you're doing and you know it," he grumbled. They laid there for a while in silence, Yukino reaching out to rub soothing circles against his shoulder blades after she'd positioned herself a bit more comfortably. "She's not ready," he mumbled after a moment. "She needs more time, and she definitely doesn't need to start back up with Natsu, of all people."
Yukino hummed. "I think she and Natsu would do well together. As friends. And maybe, eventually, as more."
"No."
Yukino's calm expression didn't change as Sting practically growled his objection. She was so used to his outbursts and always knew when to keep calm and let him roll though it or when to step in pull him back. Apparently this was one moment where Sting needed to be pulled back. "Eucliffe. Why are you so against Lucy and Natsu spending time together?"
Sting turned his head further into the pillow. "You know why," he mumbled into the pillow. "The man hasn't had a serious relationship since high school, Yuki. Whenever things start to get serious, he'll leave. I don't want my sister to be the one he practices getting serious with next."
She was silent for a moment, only rubbing his back gently, but Sting wasn't fooled to think she'd dropped the topic. "You know, many people thought the same about you when we first started dating."
Sting snapped his head up so fast he honestly felt a little dizzy. "Who? Was it Rufus? I swear, I'll kick his ass!"
Yukino giggled and placed on hand on her stomach over Sting's, prompting him to quiet down. Though he was still fuming. "No. It wasn't Rufus. But people did tell me you weren't serious about dating. Especially someone like me."
"Yukino…"
She smiled and brought his hand up to kiss his fingers. "It's fine. I never believed them anyway." She sighed and tucked herself closer to his side. "I only bring it up because they were wrong about us. About you. So maybe you shouldn't be too hard on Natsu. Besides," she smiled softly and her eyes began to droop. "Natsu has always valued family above all else. I doubt he'll do anything to hurt Lucy or Haru. He's good like that."
Sting huffed and decided not to deny or agree with his wife at the moment. They laid there for a while completely silent. Sting softly stroked his hand over Yukino's stomach and listened to her breathing settle back into the slow rhythm of sleep. Just as he was about to slip off to sleep himself, Sting heard his wife whisper softly in his ear.
"I only push because I think Lucy is ready. She just doesn't know it yet."
For the one day when Lucy didn't need to go to work, she was very busy that Sunday. She'd woken up early to the sound of birds chirping and the willow branches brushing against her bedroom window. It was far nicer than waking up from her brother cutting wood but she would have rather stayed in bed a little longer regardless. She'd spent most of the morning cleaning downstairs and unpacking what she could.
Mostly, she'd focused on the alcove and soon-to-be office, since she and Sting had managed to get most of the kitchen done and the living room could be saved for last. Thank Mavis she'd always been such an organized person, otherwise Lucy was sure it would have taken even longer to find everything.
Haru slept until practically noon, not that Lucy particularly minded. After their busy day yesterday, she thought her son deserved a chance to sleep in. That and she found she was able to get things done a little faster without Haru tugging her off to show her some little nook or cranny he'd discovered. He'd been especially happy to find the old cuts in his door frame made to show the progressing height of his grandma when Layla had been his age. And the ones to mark Lucy and Sting's as well. Lucy had carefully cut a fresh mark to show Haru's height and he'd grinned for hours afterwards.
Once Haru did wake up they spent the beautiful day outside weeding the not-so-beautiful back garden. To say it was over grown was an understatement. Weeds as tall as Haru covered the once lush patches of flowerbeds and had even managed to overrun some of the yard despite it having been mowed often. Lucy was still at the same flowerbed under the kitchen window she'd started at when Haru came running over to her side. Dirt and leaves were stuck to his hair and clothes and he had a twig somehow stuck to his forehead.
"Mom! Mom! Look what I found!"
Lucy turned on her knees and looked Haru up and down cautiously. If he found a snake or some large bug she was going to scream. Instead, Haru stood before her with a wide, excited grin stretched over his face holding a figurine that was an odd mix-up between a grandfather clock and a gnome. It was about a foot tall with a gnome-like face complete with chubby cheeks, a curling mustache and bushy eyebrows. The body looked like a grandfather clock and the face had four symbols to show the four seasons placed at the twelve, three, six, and nine spots. There was even a pendulum hanging inside, though the glass had been removed long ago. Its wire arms were stretched out to its sides, making him look comically stiff, especially with the patches of leaves and moss still stuck to his sides.
"Oh. You found Horologium," she said, blinking in surprise. She'd thought he'd been lost ages ago.
Haru blinked and turned the figure around to look at him more closely. "Horo- Horologee…"
"Horologium. He's your great grandma Anna's."
Haru's eyes widened and he started bouncing on his feet excitedly. "Is he one of grandma's stolen treasures?!"
Lucy chuckled and gently took the clock-gnome from her son. "No. The sprites never stole him." She looked at Haru and winked. "They wouldn't dare take the garden's protector."
Haru gasped. "He's the garden's protector?"
"Yep."
Haru frowned and placed his hands on his hips as he looked around the overgrown garden. "Well. He hasn't done a good job."
Lucy laughed so hard she nearly fell over. Haru actually did and was rolling around in the grass when Sting and Yukino walked outside with the much welcome surprise of food. They had lunch and Lucy and Sting spent the day in the kitchen cooking casseroles, both claiming to know how to cook their grandma's recopies best. Haru had gladly taken Yukino on a tour of the house, showing her all the "cool spots" and best hiding places.
By the time Sting and Yukino left, Lucy and Haru only had an hour to get ready before they had to be over to the Fernandes' house for dinner. It might not have been so stressful if the two weren't still covered in dirt from earlier and there was only one bath tub. As it was, they were now standing in front of the town house in the newer section of Magnolia ten minutes late and with a loaf of banana bread that Lucy dearly hoped was baked all the way through since she'd taken it out of the oven fifteen minutes early.
Haru was holding his tin cookie box tightly to his chest, wanting to show Reiki his fairy soldiers and snake skins. Lucy gave her son one final look over before knocking on the door. She had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from fidgeting. Until then she hadn't been able to be nervous, too focused on all the work she needed to do at home to worry about finally chatting with one of her dearest and closest friends from childhood.
Of course she and Erza had talked over the phone several times, but sitting down for dinner seemed so much more personal and final. Like this was when Lucy would finally return to Magnolia and really belong.
The door opened and Erza smiled her polite smile, long red hair swinging behind her like she'd rushed for the door. "Lucy. Haru. It's good to see you two. I was starting to wonder if you forgot about our dinner date. You are twelve minutes late after all."
Lucy sighed and felt her shoulders droop. "O-of course we wouldn't forget. To be honest, Haru has hardly stopped talking about seeing Reiki-"
"Haru! You're here!" Reiki appeared in the door way behind his mother, his smile more subdued compared to Haru's large grin but just as happy.
"Reiki!" Haru cried and pushed past Erza to show Reiki his tin box. Lucy thought she might actually faint at the completely rude behavior (one should wait until they are invited inside before barging into someone's house) but Erza didn't seem to mind as she only motioned for Lucy to follow.
Haru bounced on his feet while practically shoving the tin box into Reiki's hands. "Reiki! You'll never guess what I found! It's soooo cool."
Reiki chuckled but the way his eyes lit up it was obvious he was excited too. "Mom? Can me and Haru go play in my room?"
Haru grinned and tugged at Reiki's sleeve. "Good idea. It's a secret anyway."
Lucy rolled her eyes, not bothering to point out that Haru had already showed half the town his snake skin. Her son had always had a soft spot for secrets. Even if he wasn't always good at keeping them. Erza nodded and chuckled as the two boys raced upstairs like they'd done so a hundred times before. Erza wasn't wrong when she'd said they would get along well.
"I see you forgot that I said you wouldn't have to bring anything along with the time."
Lucy cringed as she followed Erza into the kitchen. While the design of the home was modern in Magnolia standards, the décor was just as country as Lucy's. Well, maybe a bit more modern, but nothing like the apartment Lucy had lived in back in Crocus. The kitchen was painted a soft yellow that managed to catch the waning sunlight streaming through the large front windows rather well. The center island already held trays of fruit and vegetables along with some bowls of chips. Wicker stools lined the bar top side of the island and matched the end tables in the living room. The place was wonderfully homey, and Lucy felt a little silly for being nervous before.
"Well, to be honest, I don't think it's completely done baking. So if it's finished up here then it's kinda like you half-baked it."
Erza hummed and plucked a toothpick from the box on the counter to check the bread. "I suppose I can allow that," she said when the toothpick came out with batter on the tip.
Lucy smirked. "It wouldn't have anything to do with you loving my banana bread would it?"
Erza gave the smallest of smiles as she placed the bread into the oven. "Perhaps."
Lucy laughed and looked around the kitchen. "Well, give me something to do. I'll feel silly sitting while you do all the work."
"You can set the table. Most of the food is almost done, so there isn't much left to do."
"What are we having?" Lucy asked, doing her best to keep the nervousness from her voice. She hadn't forgotten how truly awful Erza's cooking could be. Hopefully she had chosen some simple dishes to make.
"Steamed carrots and green beans, mashed potatoes, cooked chicken that's seasoned with lemon and peach cobbler for dessert. Well, and your banana bread."
Lucy nodded. Sounded easy enough, so long as every ingredient was used in the proper amount. Hopefully. "Well, it sounds wonderful."
Erza nodded as she pulled out a large pitcher of tea from the fridge. "It's one of Jellal's favorites."
"Oh, speaking of him. I didn't know he worked as the town's mayor? I thought he wanted to be a lawyer."
Erza shook her head. "Oh no. Jellal has always been interested in government and politics. In college, he worked as an apprentice for the state's board of directors. We moved back to Magnolia and within that year he was elected treasurer and four years later the mayor."
The way Erza spoke, how her eyes lit up with love and pride made Lucy want to smile and tear up at the same time. She had once looked like that when talking about her husband and his job working with the city and country to better the homes for orphans. As an orphan himself, he knew exactly what it was like to not have a family and wanted to do everything he could to give children like him a better life. A better future.
She didn't realize Erza had spoken until the woman placed a hand on her shoulder. "Lucy? Are you alright?"
Lucy gave a shaky smile that she knew didn't fool the redhead for a minute. "I'm fine. Sorry, what did you say?"
Erza looked at her for a moment longer before taking her hand and pulling Lucy to the barstools. "Sit. I think I have a bottle of wine somewhere, but we can only have one glass."
Lucy nodded, not sure what exactly to say. Erza was silent as she took two wine glasses from the cabinet and poured the wine. She slid onto the stool next to Lucy and handed her the wine. Neither said anything for a moment and Lucy knew it was Erza's way of letting Lucy decide if she wanted to talk about it or not.
"We can talk if you'd like. Or not talk at all."
Lucy took a deep breath, swirling the dark red wine around her glass. "My husband used to work in politics too. Not as an official or anything, but the organization he ran was closely tied to the city council."
"What did he do? If you don't mind me asking."
Lucy smiled softly, still looked down at her glass. "He worked with orphanages. He'd help them raise funds to build better rooms for the kids, make sure each kid was given a good education even if they weren't in the best district. Helped the people who ran them know how to help the kids go to college and get scholarships. He was working on getting a big-brother program working in Crocus last year." Before the accident, though Lucy very carefully left that part out. "He wanted the kids to have someone they could look up to and ask questions with like most would with their parents. The old man who ran the orphanage he grew up in had always made sure to be there for the twelve kids he looked after, even if he wasn't in the best financial place."
Lucy peeked up at her friend. Erza smiled softly and reached out to place a hand on Lucy's arm. "He sounds like a wonderful man. I wish I could have met him."
Lucy smiled and quickly wiped at her eyes, the last thing she wanted was for Haru to come downstairs and see her crying. "I think you have gotten along. Though, you probably wouldn't have liked him before we were dating. The man was a constant flirt. And not always as smooth as he claimed."
Erza chuckled. "But he managed to get you to fall for him. Someone who was too busy looking at the stars to realize when men were even talking to you," she teased.
Lucy laughed, no longer feeling as sad as before. "Only because he introduced himself by literally jumping in front of my face. Nearly had me falling into his arms. Which prompted the cheesiest pickup line I've ever heard."
Erza laughed. "Oh, I have to hear about this."
As the two talked and waited for the food to finish, Lucy found that she wasn't quite as sad talking about first meeting her husband. She'd been right to think she and Haru would need to step back to truly get past their grief, and while there were certainly times when they both missed the man dearly, not being reminded of him constantly did allow them to begin to think back of the wonderful man that had meant the world to both of them and give even the smallest of smiles. It worked for Lucy and as she laughed alongside her old friend, talking about the silly things their husbands did, she didn't feel a weight in her chest, but like a breath of fresh air for the first time in a year.
Upstairs, Reiki had shown Haru around, pointing out where the bathroom was as well as the few closets before showing Haru his room. It was completely clean, the Ten Wizard Saints cartoon bed spread perfectly folded and all the toys placed in the toy box under the window. Trophies and ribbons for fencing and tee ball lined a dusty shelf over the bed and a model plane hung from the ceiling over a racecar track.
Haru gasped as he looked at the plane. It had to be as long as him! "Cool…" he mumbled.
Reiki smiled. "Me and my dad built it. We're going to show it in the fair this year."
"Can it fly!?" Haru asked, clutching his hands with a mischievous grin stretched over his face. He could already think of several ways he could prank his uncle by flying a plane over his head. Dropping goo or something stinky seemed like the best idea.
Reiki shook his head quickly, like he could picture what Haru was thinking. "No. It's just for show."
Haru frowned and let his shoulders slump. "Darn. It woulda been cool to fly it." He cast another look around the room. "Your room's really clean. I'll bet you never have any sprites steal your stuff."
Reiki laughed before turning his attention back to the tin box in his hands. "So what did you want to show me?"
Haru instantly brightened. "Oh! It's so cool! Here." He carefully took the tin box's lid of, "I hid it in here with my fairy soldiers guarding it. See?"
Reiki peered inside, dark eyes widening first with curiosity and then with confusion. "Um…you wanted to show me a snake skin?"
Haru gasped. "No!" He carefully pulled the paper thin skin from the box. It was waxy feeling and very smooth but also fragile, like it would break if someone touched it too quickly. Which was why Haru was always very careful when holding it. "It's a dragon's skin. See? The scales are just like a dragon's."
Reiki leaned forward to get a closer look. "I don't know, Haru…That looks an awful lot like a snake skin. Besides. I don't think dragons are real."
"Course they are! And this is a dragon's skin. I'm sure. And I'm gonna find the dragon too."
Reiki hummed and looked thoughtful for a moment. "How would you find a dragon anyway? They must be really good at hide and seek if no one's found one yet."
Haru scoffed as he carefully rolled the skin and placed it back in the tin box. "Well, first you gotta make sure your heart is pure, so you can see magic and stuff, and then you have to find the dragon's home. Like in some pretty woods or something. And then, if you want to get a wish from the dragon you gotta make a trade." Haru grinned and placed his hands on his hips. "I learned that from my books of Fairy Tales," he said proudly.
Reiki nodded and closed the lid before placing it on his bed. "You have to trade something?"
"Yeah. But…I don't know what. I tried to trade a fish when me and mom went dragon hunting, but I guess he didn't want it." Haru tapped a finger to his chin, thinking. "What do dragon's like?"
"Gold. Food. Princesses." Reiki names off a few on his fingers, just as invested into the question as Haru. "Hang on. I have an idea."
Without another word, Reiki grabbed Haru's hand and led him out of the room into the hallway. He stopped at one of the closets and pulled out a stepping stool to place in the closet's center. "What are you doing?" Haru asked.
"Getting something a dragon wants."
Haru watched with wide eyes as Reiki climbed up onto the stool and grabbed a cord hanging from the ceiling. Reiki glanced over his shoulder as he held the cord with both hands high above his head. "You should stand back."
Haru nodded and took two large steps back until his back was pressed against the shelves. Reiki nodded, and then, without warning, jumped off the stool and jerked the cord with him. Suddenly, a trap door on the ceiling popped open and a thin ladder slid out on a track before banging loudly into the floor. Both boys froze and stared at each other with wide eyes, holding their breath.
"What was that?!" Erza called.
"Nothing!" they yelled, and Haru and Reiki snickered as they looked back at each other.
"That was loud," Haru whispered.
"It's not when my dad does it," Reiki whispered back, rounding the ladder to stand at the bottom with Haru.
"What is it?" Haru asked.
"The attic. Dad always pulls the ladder down so me and Emma can play up there."
Haru pursed his lips and looked up at Reiki as he climbed the ladder. "You're friends with a girl?"
Reiki paused to look over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing into a glare. "Yeah. Problem?"
Haru shrugged. "Nope. Just wonderin'."
Haru had never seen a real attic before, the apartment he'd lived in with his parents didn't have one, but he'd seen them in movies and picture books. They were always supposed to be scary places, covered with cobwebs where gremlins lived. Reiki's attic wasn't like that at all. It was just as clean as the rest of the house, with colorful rugs placed around the large room and even a couch next to the small window in the back.
Mostly it was filled with boxes but they were all carefully stacked along the walls. Some were labeled for things like 'Christmas decorations' or 'extra blankets' but it was the large trunks in the corner that Reiki went to. There had to be at least ten of them scattered around the corner and Haru could have easily lied down in them and not touched any of the sides they were so big. Reiki pulled one away from the wall and unhooked the latch to shove the lid open. Haru's eyes widened when he saw the amazing costumes inside.
There were all kinds! Big, bulky armor for knights, all completely different and just as cool as the last. Poufy dresses that looked like the ones from the fairy tales Haru's mom read to him. There were even animal costumes! Though those weren't as detailed or cool as the armor in Haru's opinion.
"Woah!" he cried, and dashed over to Reiki's side. "This is so cool! What is all this for?" he asked as he carefully touched the breast plate to a very detailed and pretty suit of armor that reminded Haru of an angel.
Reiki smiled. "It's my mom's. She used to do a lot of acting when she was in college, but she had to quit cause she gets stage fright really bad. Dad said she almost threw up on him once. They were in the same drama class and dad was really good at acting but mom was the best at making costumes."
Reiki beamed as he said it and Haru couldn't help but silently agree. "Your mom made these?" he asked in awe. That had to be the coolest thing ever!
"Yes. And she kept them all. Emma likes to play dress up a lot, and since there are costumes in here for guys I like to play too."
Haru nodded thoughtfully. Made sense. He certainly wanted to dress up in some of the knight costumes. "Do you have a dragon costume?"
Reiki shrugged. "I don't know. Most of the animal costumes are in that trunk in the corner."
Haru nodded and looked back at the pretty breast plate. "Okay. So, what was your idea?"
Reiki grinned, actually grinned, and pulled out the pinkest, poofiest, sparkliest princess dress in the trunk. "Well, dragons like princesses, right? So I figured we could dress up like one and lure him out of hiding." He shrugged, "It worked with my gerbil when he got loose in the kitchen. Only we used peanuts instead of a princess dress."
Haru whooped and practically tackled Reiki to the ground as he hugged the boy as tightly as he could. "Reiki! You're a genius!"
Reiki chuckled. "I know."
Haru couldn't keep still as he thought all about the plan. It could really work! Every dragon probably had food and even gold already, but a princess? The dragon would definitely want to trade for a wish then.
And then I'll have my family back, Haru thought.
"I could probably get Emma to help too," Reiki said. "If you want."
Haru nodded but he suddenly didn't feel like smiling. His hands twisted into his shirt, pulling the fabric tight just like the knots in his stomach. He tried not to think of his dad too much, and since they'd moved to their new home Haru had been too excited to think much about his dad at all. But hearing Reiki talk about his dad, how they'd made a really cool plane to show at the fair, how his dad would always pull down the ladder for Reiki and his friend to play in the attic cause he was probably really tall like Haru's dad had been, and now Haru could maybe really find that dragon to get his wish. He could get his dad back. And it was a lot for him to think about and Haru kinda wanted to go find his mom so she could hold him and rub his back while she sang songs until he felt a little better.
"Hey, Haru?" Reiki touched his shoulder looking worried. "Are you okay? You looked sad."
"I-I…I just…" Haru bit his lip and tugged at his shirt harder. "I was just thinking that if we make a deal with the dragon he might want something to keep for good, you know? A-and he can't take us cause we aren't real princesses."
Reiki hummed as he thought about that, but he kept his hand on Haru's shoulder and Haru felt a tiny bit better. "Then what can we give him?"
Haru shrugged. "…Maybe he's lonely." Haru gasped because as soon as he said it he knew it had to be true. The dragon was probably all alone and didn't have a family, so of course he'd be lonely. "That's it!" Haru shouted, and jumped to his feet.
"What's it?"
Haru walked over to the other trunk Reiki had said the animal costumes were in. "He's lonely and wants a friend. And since we don't have a real princess to trade with him, we can give him a friend to take home." His voice became muffled as he leaned over to rifle through the trunk looking for a dragon costume. "We can give him the dragon costume and promise to be his friends too, and then he won't be lonely- Aaha!"
Haru grinned as he pulled out a dragon's costume from the back. It was larger than most of the other ones, being about the size of the couch from head to tail, and was made of a weird plastic-like material that felt kind of like leather but smelled much worse. Haru flopped back to sit down and pulled the costume half way into his lap.
"We should wash him before we give him to the dragon," he mumbled, starting to feel a little sad again. "He smells weird."
"Haru?"
He sniffed and rubbed at his itchy eyes. "This time I'll find that dragon. I will. And then he'll give me my wish and I can have my dad back. It'll work."
"Your dad?" Reiki's voice was soft, like Haru's, but he could hear the other boy's confusion and concern just as easily.
Haru nodded. "He died. Mom says he's with my grandparents, and that he's watching over me from the stars. She says he still loves me even if he can't say it anymore." He paused to rub at his eyes, not wanting to cry in front of Reiki even though he knew his friend wouldn't laugh at him. Reiki was nice like that. "B-but, if he's in the stars then I can wish for him to come back, and for my family to be together. Then everything will go back to normal."
Reiki didn't say anything for a minute, and Haru didn't turn around to look, too focused on the dragon head in his lap. It sort of reminded him of Lector with all the bumps and ridges over his nose. Then Reiki was walking over to sit at his side, placing a hand on his shoulder again. "I'll help you find this dragon, Haru. I'll get you your wish."
Haru's head snapped up and he looked at his friend with wide eyes. "You will?"
Reiki nodded, his face completely serious. "Yeah. Everyone needs their dad, and if yours is stuck in the stars then I'll help you get him back." He smiled and held out his hand, pinky raised. "I pinky promise."
Haru blinked for a moment before grinning and wrapping his own pinky around Reiki's. "Thanks, Reiki. You're a great best friend."
Reiki's eyes widened. "I'm your best friend?"
Haru felt his ears start to burn and tugged at his shirt again, though not quite as hard as before. "Y-yeah. I mean, if you want to."
Reiki nodded quickly. "Okay. I've never had a best friend before."
Haru snickered, "Then we gotta make it official." Before Reiki could say anything, Haru spit into his palm and held his hand out to Reiki.
The boy cringed and leaned away. "Why'd you do that?"
Haru paused and frowned at his hand. "I don't know. I've seen my uncle and his best friend do it before when things are serious. I think it's, like, a secret hand shake for best friends only." He paused to consider it before nodding once. "Yeah. We need to shake hands. And spit in them."
Reiki's nose was still wrinkled as his spit into his own hand and then, with a deep breath that Haru thought was a little funny, took his hand and they shook up and down twice. Reiki practically jerked his hand away when they were done, wiping the spit on his pants.
"Okay. So that means we're best friends now, right?"
"Yep."
Reiki smiled. "Good. Then you can ask my mom if we can borrow her dragon's costume."