Hope ya like this one! :D


Romeo fingered her dark blue hair as, curled up in his arms, asleep, he leaned back on the couch of her apartment. Curling her hair around his finger, he smiled at the soft, rhythmic breathing, the adorable twitch of her nose as she dreamed, the feeling of her arms hugging him in her sleep.

She'd bitten off a bit more than she could chew with her last mission, something Romeo had warned her would leave her exhausted, but she'd insisted. When she'd come back a few days later, she'd fallen asleep five minutes into her welcome back celebration. That was how Romeo had wound up carrying her home, no one wanting to wake the sleeping Dragon Slayer.

It had been seven years since they'd gotten started, two since Carla had moved out to stay with Happy, three months since Romeo had bought a ring. Not that he'd actually gotten as far as to give it to her, yet. He just wanted to be ready for the right moment…

She stirred in her sleep, nestling her face farther into his warmth. Romeo smiled down at her some more. He could hardly believe this sweet, amazing girl was all his. He had always been a bit like Natsu (stubborn, easily excitable, kind of reckless) but with a more down-to-earth side, one that gave him the knowledge to know when to right and when to back down, when to press on and when to turn back. Still, that reckless side poked through often, making him almost a complete opposite of Wendy, who was shy, calm, and only lost her cool if you held a pickled plum out to her (a phobia Romeo never understood).

Why Wendy, the sweet girl, stayed with him, the mildly crazy fire mage, he never got, but he did love it. Wendy was his treasure, and he hoped he was hers.

And to think, he thought, chuckling as her nose twitched much like a bunny's, it all started over that one little word…


Romeo stared down at his mug, spinning absently on the bar stool, his thoughts wandering to everywhere but his current reality. Lately, after the Tenrou group's return, Romeo had been like a loyal puppy, following Natsu-nii everywhere, asking for demonstrations of his magic that his fellow guildmate was happy to give…as long as Gray could be the practice dummy.

At first, Romeo had been excited to see his idol's magic at work, even if every flame resulted in icicles being hurled in their direction. It was amazing magic, the fire erupting from Natsu-nii's body and incinerating anything he thought should be turned to ashes. But the more demonstrations Romeo got, the more he started to feel his magic was incredibly weak in comparison. The flickering purple flame that sprouted from his palm was nothing compared to the tower of fire that came from Natsu-nii's whole body.

In Romeo's eyes, he could never live up to Natsu.

He sighed, his breath making the top of his drink ripple.

"Romeo-san?"

Romeo nearly leapt out of his skin before whirling around on the stool to find himself looking into the chocolate brown eyes of Wendy Marvell. She was looking at him with concern etched into her features, hugging her pompous white cat to her chest. "Romeo-san, are you all right?" she asked.

Romeo blinked, kind of surprised. Wendy didn't usually talk to him. She was mostly with Lucy or Mirajane or Carla. But he offered her a smile he hoped held his usual cheer. "Yeah, I'm just fine," he lied. Then he paused, and added, "And you don't have to add honorifics to my name. We're the same age, and we're friends, right?"

Wendy frowned a little, then smiled. "Yeah…okay, Romeo." Then the smile fell away again. "So if we're friends, don't lie to me. What's wrong?"

Romeo was stunned. He hadn't seen her very assertive before, mostly shy and wary of complicated situations. But she stared him down in a way that said she wasn't leaving without an answer. But Romeo tried for vagueness again.

"It's really nothing," he said. "Seriously, I'm all right."

"You shouldn't keep everything hidden," Carla piped up for the first time. "It will just build up until it bursts."

"If you're worried about me telling someone," Wendy put in, "you don't need to worry about it. If you don't want people to know, I won't tell." And she smiled as if to assure him she wasn't lying, even though he had already deemed her incapable of speaking falsely.

Still, Romeo just smiled a bit wider and insisted, "Wendy, don't worry about me. I'm fine, okay?"

Wendy's smile fell to a frown again, but this time she nodded and started off towards where Lucy was sitting with Levy. As he watched her walk away, Romeo suddenly blurted, "Hey, Wendy?"

The blunette stopped and turned back towards him. "Hmm?"

Romeo sat there, opening and closing his mouth soundlessly for a minute, not sure why he'd called her back. Then, hesitantly, he asked, "Do…do you ever think I'll be as good a mage as Natsu-nii?"

Romeo waited for her to laugh at him for worrying over something so small, or just shrug and give him a fortune cookie answer like Mira or Erza probably would. But she did neither. Instead she just smiled and said one word:

"Yes."

Then she turned her back to him and continued on her way to Lucy's table.

Romeo stared after her for a minute, surprised at the certainty he'd heard in her voice. Slowly, the stunned look faded, replaced by a smile. Then a grin. And, before he knew it, the insecurity he'd just held had vanished.

Someone believed in him. That was enough.


Yes.

One word.

One little word.

That was all it took for his crush on Wendy Marvell to start, the first seed of a relationship that he never expected in a million years would be the best thing to ever happen to him.

Now, his little Dragon Slayer fast asleep in his lap, Romeo released her hair and fingered the little box in his pocket.

Maybe when she woke up…