AN: Just so you know, I shipped Mest/Sorano before the manga did. Actually, the chapter of Acnologia is Not Your Father where the ship tease between them starts (chapter two, I believe) came out a good half a year before the two interacted in the manga. I just wanted to clarify that I am the one who first sailed that ship. I am THE pioneer of Sorest – don't you forget it. Just wanted to make that clear. Anyhow, I know I said that this chapter would have Wendy going to join Lamia Scale, but at least two people said that they liked the idea of Wendy training with Erik and/or calling Jellal "Onii-chan", so we'll have to wait a bit before the Chendy happens (which makes me sad, 'cause that's one of my top five favorite pairings for the series, along with Jerza, Stinerva, Kinabra, and Sorest). Anyway, I decided that Wendy and Carla can spend a little more time with Crime Sorcière before she leaves, but I also need either Kinana or Erza to show up soon, because this is chapter eight and we're missing two main characters. One of them might pop up this chapter, but it's unlikely. Oh, and remember how I said that these weren't chronological? Well, a few of them are. Once I get around to it, I'll post the order of these oneshots on my profile (which is totally not me trying to get you to look at the damn thing, because I don't care if you do or not – I'm just doing this so that I can keep track). Well, enjoy!
Story the Eighth: Sexuality, Girl Talk, and You!
Wendy Marvell had, initially, been quite nervous about going with the Twin Dragons to spar with Cobra. It was a legit fear, though – most members of Crime Sorcière had been trying to kill her at some point (except Jellal; even though she knew what he'd done, and even though he wasn't Mystogan, she would never be able to consider him an enemy). Still, those fears had disappeared into thin air during her spar with the other Dragon Slayers, and she had decided to remain with Crime Sorcière for a bit before heading off to Lamia Scale. Carla had reluctantly agreed, though she had also made it quite clear that she was going to keep an eye on all of them, just in case.
Oddly enough, though she spent most of her time sparring with Cobra or chatting with Jellal, she had been pulled into an odd friendship circle with Merudy and Angel (though she knew that the Oración Seis were now going by their birth names, she still thought of them by their codenames). Interestingly enough, the two ex-criminals liked to talk about boys. It was a normal topic for normal girls, and Wendy had forgotten that, because there hadn't been much to talk about like that in Fairy Tail, as most of the girls there were either in a relationship already (Bisca), uninterested in relationships (Laki, Cana, and Porlyusica), were only attracted to one person (Juvia, Erza, Kinana and Levy), preferred matchmaking to anything else (Mirajane, Lisanna, and Asuka), or were simply in denial (Evergreen, Carla and Lucy). Wendy herself, being twelve, had never really thought about relationships, but, now that she was almost thirteen, she often found that she couldn't stop herself from drifting off into fantasies. They were a bit pinker than she thought they'd be, but Wendy had just assumed that it was because she was a girl.
So, when the older girls had – literally – dragged her into a conversation about guys, Wendy couldn't stop herself from being mildly interested. Furiously, she tried to think of men the other two might be interested in.
"Um, what about Mest-san?" she asked nervously. The other two looked at her, surprised. Merudy clapped her hands together happily.
"Ooh, good one, Wendy-chan!" she exclaimed. "What do you think, Sorano?"
"Eh," Sorano shrugged. "He's kinda cute, I guess, but he needs a major personality transplant." She grinned mischievously, eyes twinkling. "That's not to say I don't appreciate his determination though."
"That's definitely a good thing in a guy," Merudy agreed. "Come to think of it, Fairy Tail's got a bunch of hot guys." Sorano folded her arms, scowling.
"We've only got Jellal and Erik," she mumbled, pouting. "And Erik's got a thing for his ex-snake girl." Merudy nodded.
"And Jellal's an idiot," she said. "Plus, he's not attracted to anyone besides Erza." Wendy blinked.
"Really?" she asked, slightly curious. "How do you know?" Sorano smirked.
"Watch this," she told the younger girl. "Hey, Jellal!" Merudy snickered as the blue-haired man walked over.
"Uh, is there something I can help you with?" he asked cautiously. Sorano stood up and leaned towards him.
"I have a question about your magic," she purred, crossing her arms under her breasts. Rather than blushing, Jellal nodded.
"Alright, ask away," he said. Sorano's smirk widened.
"Is there a reason it's called 'Heavenly Body Magic'?" she asked in a low voice.
"There is, actually," Jellal responded. "My magic revolves around the planets, stars, and other celestial bodies. In fact, one could say that it's got a similar basis to Celestial Spirit Magic, though I'm sure you knew that already." Sorano turned back to the other girls, grinning.
"See?" she said. "Now, if it'd been our lovely Titania asking that, we would have had a very interesting scene." Jellal choked.
"Sorano, I–" he spluttered. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Sorano was showing us how much of an idiot you are," Merudy told him, giggling. "It was very informative." Jellal just sighed.
"Don't spend too much time with them, Wendy," he said. "They'll corrupt you for sure." Wendy nodded.
"Okay, Onii-chan!" she chirped. Jellal sighed again and walked off, wondering if maybe there was a limit to the amount of punishment he deserved.
"Anyway, are there any guys you like, Wendy-chan?" Sorano asked, leaning in. Wendy tilted her head to the side, deep in thought.
"Of course there isn't!" Carla snapped. "The only boy she knows close to her age is that Romeo boy, and–" She broke off, staring at Wendy in horror. "Child, you aren't– you know– Romeo?" Wendy blinked.
"What? No, no way!" she exclaimed, waving her hands in front of her frantically. "I mean, I suppose he's cute, but I can't date a guy I used to babysit. I'm, like, five years older than him, anyway!"
"Ooh, you're into younger guys?" Merudy asked, grinning.
"No, she's being honest," Sorano declared. "This isn't denial. So… if it's not younger guys, maybe she likes older guys? What about Salamander?"
"Absolutely not!" Carla cut in, holding up her paws in the shape of an "X".
"Natsu-san is more like a brother to me," Wendy confessed.
"It's not Gray, is it?" Merudy asked, covering her mouth in horror. "Because I want to support you, but I can't if you interfere with Gruvia."
"Gruvia?" Wendy asked. Sorano nodded.
"Gray and Juvia," she explained. "I think it's cute too, but not as cute as Kinabra." Wendy tilted her head.
"That's… Kinana-san and Cobra-san?" she guessed. Sorano beamed at her.
"We'll make a shipper out of you yet!" she declared. "Now, what other couple do you think could work?" Wendy thought about it.
"Happy and Carla!" she decided. The white Exceed choked.
"Wendy!" she exclaimed. Wendy blushed.
"S-sorry, Carla," she mumbled. "I just think it's cute…"
"You two are a terrible influence," the blushing cat grumbled.
"The fact that we're on the run should tell you that," Merudy pointed out. "I mean, we're still criminals, even if the Council has pretty much forgiven Jellal."
"It's kinda hard not to forgive someone who has effectively saved everyone multiple times, once just by being alive." Sorano noted. "But we're still criminals."
"Um," Wendy glanced back and forth between them. "What about Lyon-san from Lamia Scale?" Merudy sat up straight, and Sorano snapped out of her daze.
"Ooh, he's pretty cute!" the silver-haired mage exclaimed. "A bit old for you."
"I'm just glad he got over his crush on Juvia," Merudy thought out loud. "I think I can appreciate him a bit more now. Still, there's that girl in his guild that seems to like him."
"Sherria-chan," Wendy said stiffly, wondering why on earth Merudy's absent comment had cut her so deeply. She hoped that the other two didn't notice, but, of course, they did.
"Eh?" Sorano stared at her. "Do you not like her or something?" Wendy shook her head furiously.
"No, I do!" she exclaimed. "Sherria-chan is a really good friend of mine, and I would never be mad at her or anything, I just–" she stopped, and bit her lip, "I just think she can do better than someone eleven years older than her," she mumbled, looking down. Sorano and Merudy glanced at one another.
"Sweetie, that's called jealousy," Merudy told her. "It's normal."
"I'm jealous of Sherria-chan?" Wendy asked, looking shocked. "That–"
"You're jealous of Lyon," Merudy cut her off. "Look, when Sherria starts squealing about him, you get a funny feeling in your tummy, right?" Wendy's eyes widened, almost comically.
"H-how'd you know?" she asked nervously.
"It happens to everyone," Sorano explained.
"I used to have a huge crush on Jellal," Merudy admitted. "I'd feel like that any time someone mentioned Erza." Wendy reddened.
"But Sherria-chan is a girl!" she protested. Sorano snorted.
"Hon, most of the girls you know are either gay or bi," she said bluntly.
"Really?" Wendy asked curiously. Merudy nodded, beckoning Erik over and explaining the conversation. The Dragon Slayer rolled his eyes.
"From what I can tell, the only heterosexual girls in your ex-guild are the gun lady, the Stone-Eyes chick, that girl with the torture fetish, and Kinana." He said, the look on his face making it very clear that the last of those girls was one hundred percent off limits.
"What about the others?" Wendy asked, eyes wide. She'd never known that gossiping could be so much fun! No wonder the others did it so often.
"Easy enough," Erik smirked. "Salamander's girlfriend is mostly into girls, but she's got a soft spot for Natsu, of course. The Water Woman's got a thing for the ice freak and absolutely no one else, and the shorty likes that rusty bucket of nails, but also has a bit of a thing for the aforementioned Blondie. The drunk is pretty much full-blown lesbo, but she'll tease guys if she's bored enough. Titania likes Jellal, obviously, but she's fantasized about her fair share of girls as well." Erik took a breath before continuing. "The Demon swings both ways pretty evenly, and her little sister is mostly into guys. Mostly. If we're counting you, then I'd say you're a bit young to tell, but probably almost entirely into girls."
"Wow," Wendy murmured, shocked. "That's… wow. Wow."
"Hey, you're pretty good at this!" Merudy chirped. She patted the ground next to her. "Tell us more." Erik shrugged and sat down.
"Saber Tooth's pretty easy, since they've only got about two girls that I actually know," he began. "Sorano's little sister is mostly straight, but she's got a thing for Fairy Tail's Blondie. Minerva is actually pretty straight too, but she's definitely interested in Blondie as well, along with Titania. Pretty much the entire Blue Pegasus guild is bi, so let's not go there, and that chick from Lamia Scale is straight. Couldn't say anything about her cousin, though," he added, as Wendy opened her mouth to question him. "Let's see… pretty much all the girls in Mermaid Heel are total lesbos, that chick from Raven Tail is completely gay, and that just leaves our guild. Sorano is bi, but mostly into guys, and Merudy is straight, with a bit of a fem-crush on Water Woman. That about clear things up?" Wendy nodded thoughtfully. Sorano and Merudy glowered at their friend.
"We weren't supposed to be included in that," Sorano hissed. "And I am completely straight, thank you very much. There just happen to be a couple exceptions." Wendy sweatdropped.
"Isn't that the same?" she mumbled. Merudy, it seemed, was angry for a completely different.
"You forgot Macbeth and Jellal!" she protested. "They count!" Erik nodded.
"Yeah, I guess they're more on the girl side," he agreed. "I'd say Macbeth is probably metrosexual – looks and acts like a gay guy, but is completely and totally straight. Jellal's easier – he's Erza-sexual." All three girls nodded.
"Definitely," Carla agreed, having given up on trying to pretend that she wasn't interested in the gossip. "Honestly, when's he going to stop punishing himself and talk to her already?"
"Never," Sorano, Erik, and Merudy said in unison. Carla sighed, Wendy giggled, and the three former Dark Mages began bickering over whether or not Erza was going to have to start threatening Jellal if she ever wanted to get anywhere.
That night, as Wendy fell asleep in Crime Sorcière's current hideout, she thought about her conversation with her temporary companions – about the look on Erik's face when thinking about Kinana, the luminescent blush on Jellal's face when teased about Erza, the slightly sad look in Sorano's eyes when talking about how cute a couple Gray and Juvia were, and even the slightly forced cheer on Merudy's face when she was talking about things that she'd probably only ever spoken about with Ultear – and thought to herself that maybe staying a bit longer wasn't a bad idea after all.
That night, Wendy's dreams were once again filled with bubblegum pink.
AN: Okay, so I really need to write more Richard and Sawyer. They have not gotten enough screentime in this story. Anyway, the next chapter is probably the last Wendy chapter for a bit, and definitely the last chapter of this little arc. The next guest stars will be… hm, probably Gray and Erza, actually. Let's have us some Avatar fun! Of course, since Erza didn't know that she was the spy, I'm going to assume that any physical meeting between them happened before Sorano left for Alakitasia, so we won't get into the Alvarez Empire arc just yet. Or maybe the next chapter should be during the timeskip? Goodness knows Ultear could use some more screentime. I mean, sure, she was in the first and fourth chapters, but come on! A founder deserves more than that, especially considering how much of an impact she had on the series. Still, Richard, Sawyer, Kinana, and Erza haven't had any major roles yet, and they're all main characters. I seriously need to kick Wendy out, because she has a habit of hijacking my stories. So, next time we'll have our favorite anti-heroes escort Wendy to her new guild, have some Chendy fluff, and then we'll see her again when Mest teleports them to Sorano's ship. See you next time!