Hello, people! Nightlingbolt here! Welcome back to more of The ABCs of Natsu and Erza! Today's letter is T for Traveler!

A little background on this chapter: I've had it in my head for a while now, and the character Arashi was kind of inspired by an episode of Young Justice. You know, the one with Doctor Fate? Anyway, I want to say more about Arashi, but... well, you'll see.

I don't own Fairy Tail or its characters, Hiro Mashima does. I do, however, own Arashi and his late wife, Hana.

It had been a long, brutal, tiresome mission, but at last, it was complete, and Team Natsu was taking the long-awaited (except in Natsu's case) train ride home. Lucy had somehow convinced Gray to give Natsu and Erza their space, and the couple was currently snuggled up together. Or at least, Erza was trying to snuggle up to Natsu while the Dragon Slayer was fighting not to blow chunks all over her.

Finally, Erza could take no more of her lover's resistance, and so she knocked him out the way she had done many times before, all so he could make it through the train ride in peace. Natsu fell face first into Erza's lap, and the knight began to absentmindedly stroke his hair.

"In all my years, that's the first time I've seen someone knock a person out of their motion sickness," said a gruff voice.

Erza stiffened. She was worn out from the mission, and Natsu was currently unconscious, no thanks to her. She took a good look at the man who spoke. His crimson hair was streaked with gray in a few places, and his golden amber eyes spoke of great life experience. His suit was faded, but it was obvious he still took care of it.

"A shame Natsu's in no condition to enjoy the ride," the man said. "I would've liked to speak with him."

Erza stiffened at the man's words. "How do you know Natsu?" she asked cautiously.

"A mutual friend," said the man. "Name's Arashi."

"Nice to meet you, Arashi," said Erza. "I am Erza Scarlet."

"Charmed," said Arashi. "So where are you kids headed?"

"Home to Magnolia," said Erza. "We're mages of Fairy Tail coming home from a mission."

"Magnolia, eh?" said Arashi with a hint of wist. "I'm headed that way myself. My wife's there waiting for me."

"Really?" said Erza conversationally. "What does she do?"

"These days? Feeding the worms, probably," said Arashi with a sad smile.

Erza didn't understand what Arashi meant at first, but eventually, the realization dawned on her. "I'm so sorry," she said.

"Don't be," said Arashi. "After twenty years, the pain's faded enough that I can talk about it with a smile. Hana never did like me moping around for her sake." He sighed. "Ah, what a firebrand she was."

Arashi reached into his jacket and pulled out his wallet. He opened it to reveal a black and white picture of a woman with long hair. "This is Hana," he said, showing the picture to Erza.

The scarlet-haired knight took the picture gratefully. "She's beautiful," she gasped.

"Isn't she?" agreed Arashi. He suddenly noticed the bandages covering Erza's left hip. "Nasty wound you have there," he said. "Get that from your mission?"

"Yes," said Erza, wincing in pain at the reminder of the wound. "An acceptable sacrifice for the success of the mission."

Arashi frowned. "How'd Natsu react to that?" he asked.

Erza was taken aback at Arashi's question, but she made an effort to not show it. "He blamed himself for my injuries," she said after a little hesitation.

"But he didn't cause them," said Arashi, a trace of a smile on his face.

"No. He was preoccupied with his own opponents and was unable to come to my aid," said Erza. "He blames himself for not being strong enough to protect me. If he was, according to his logic, I wouldn't have gotten hurt." Here, Erza broke into a shy smile. "But that's one of his best qualities. He always thinks of his guild, his comrades, and his friends before himself." Giving a brisk laugh, she added, "Except where his stomach is concerned. Then it's all about number one."

"Sounds like Natsu's important to you, Erza," said Arashi, causing Erza to blush. "Don't deny it, I haven't been wrong about love yet," he added with a chuckle.

"How... how did you guess?" asked a flustered Erza.

"Little things," said Arashi. "Our whole conversation, your gaze has been drifting down to Natsu's face. Along with that, you've been playing with his hair the whole time. And you talk about Natsu with a certain degree of reverence. Not the kind for a parent, deity, or anyone like that. I mean the kind you hold for someone who truly makes you happy."

Erza considered Arashi's words for a moment. Yes, no matter how down she was feeling, Natsu was always there to put a smile on her face, be it a few simple words of encouragement, a challenge to fight, or just one of his boneheaded ideas. Every time she was about to sink into the darkness, even the thought of Natsu was enough to bring her back to the light.

"Yes," she said. "I suppose I do love Natsu."

"And if Natsu is anything like you described him, he loves you, too," said Arashi gently. "Would you like to hear about the first time I met Hana?" he asked.

"Yes," replied Erza. "Very much."

And so Arashi told Erza about the early days of his and Hana's courtship. Erza found that there were several parallels to her relationship with Natsu. Apparently, Arashi was about as hotheaded as Natsu in his youth, and it gave Erza a certain satisfaction to learn that Arashi had considered Hana to be scary.

Eventually, the train pulled up to Magnolia Station, and it was time for them to part ways. "Erza..." said Arashi suddenly. "Fairy Tail..." He snapped his fingers. "Of course!" exclaimed Arashi. "You're the famous Titania!"

"Yes," said a confused Erza. "But what does my title have to do with anything?"

"I've heard nothing but good things about you," said Arashi. "Strong... beautiful... stout-hearted... Remember that mutual friend I mentioned? There's not a doubt in my mind you would have his blessing!" With that, Arashi walked out of the car onto the platform, leaving Erza to ponder the meaning behind his words.

Erza didn't have much time to think before Natsu woke up. "Erza... during the ride..." he trailed off, trying to find the right words.

"Yes?" prompted Erza nervously. "During the ride what?"

Natsu was obviously fighting back tears. "I thought I smelled Igneel."

Erza gasped. There was no way Igneel would have ridden with her on a train. Unless... No, that couldn't be possible!

Could it?

DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!

No, seriously, the first to figure out Arashi's secret will get a shoutout in U. Speaking of, I need to figure out a prompt for that.

I'm seriously starting to doubt whether I can get V up before Valentine's Day, considering I'm getting my bottom wisdom teeth out Thursday, and I might not be in any sort of writing mood for a couple days after that. I'll keep you posted.

And speaking of that, I have a new blog called Nightling News. Basically, it's like the little bolded section of my profile now, except in blog form. I needed to create one to follow a friend of mine, so I figured "hey, why not post my ideas for fanfiction and other projects there?" The link is nightlingbolt blogspot com (where spaces are periods). Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Anyway, that's about it for today. Until whenever, peace and love from Nightlingbolt.