To say there was an uproar following the extremely misleading question was to put it lightly. The room itself was dead quiet. But my head was a chaotic mess as the last synapse fired and the conclusion snapped into place. Prompted by a rude, insensitive, gossip rag question from someone who wanted to stir the pot and piss Fairy Tail off.
Farchild asked if Sting had 'popped the question yet'. And that idiom usually pertained to marriage or similar romantic circumstances. And the recently reworked privacy filter was now allowing for a connection between me and the conclusion of the obvious. Heart to heart, no room for misinterpretation.
Sting likes me. Sting LIKES me.
Affirmative. 'Stae' is now a ship option.
Oh...I...might need a minute.
But the world wasn't giving me a minute. It was rolling right along, and I was just here for the ride.
"This is a Fairy Tail press conference. Farchild. And I'm not Fairy Tail."
Sting didn't look that shaken by the question, he looked annoyed as he glared at the reporter. Murmurs burst out as he didn't deny that there was anything he needed to ask me. Or the implication as to why.
"Why then, the same question to your lovely friend here." The reporter was getting closer, a recording lacrima microphone ready to be shoved in my face. I felt strangely like a mouse being stalked by a cat. And the world was still trying to fit into the new order that was suddenly available to my comprehension.
I didn't have the chance to answer though. Not that I could have without sounding like I was being strangled.
"What did you say?"
Natsu's quiet question carried a palpable weight. The crowd seemed to vanish between him and Farchild. People hastily getting out of the way. Every eye in the room was now fixed on Sting and Farchild. Mostly Sting, and there was some hostility in the room. But Natsu wasn't looking at Sting. He, like the White Slayer, was glaring at the reporter. And the temperature was rising gradually.
"People everywhere are dying to know."
The woman with her neatly manicured nails and elegantly styled dark hair was a harpy made real. She wasn't looking at me anymore, preferring to focus on Natsu with a gleam of triumph in her eyes. (Not blond, but she had never before looked more like Rita Skeeter to me)
"For the last five years, Sabertooth's Sting Eucliffe has made regular visits to Magnolia. There've been more eye witnesses than I can count of him spending time near Fae. There can only be one reason a handsome wizard would be spending that much time around a pretty girl like her."
Get my name out of your mouth, witch. It always made my skin crawl to have people I didn't like use my name like that. And that she was calling Sting a wizard, but not acknowledging that I was one too. Reducing me to a child, being preyed on by someone stronger than her.
The hiss of dislike that the White Slayer beside me uttered was inaudible to anyone but me and the closest Exceed.
Sting caught what she said, and he does not like her disrespecting you in such a way.
But only part of my brain was processing what Morgana was interpreting from the behavior of the people around me. Every nerve ending in my body was snapping with energy as thoughts connected, split and branched off in thousands of different ways. But always leading back to the same few facts.
Sting and Nasu's behavior mirrored each other almost perfectly, staring down someone who had presented herself as an enemy.
Everything Natsu did to and for Lucy, Sting did for me.
Regular check ins.
He had started coming by my apartment to check on me. Even going so far as to come inside, the exact same way the Fire Dragon Slayer would impose himself on our Celestial Spirit Mage.
Elemental manifestation responding to elevated emotions.
Natsu's temperature always ran a little bit hotter around Lucy. Something so subtle I doubt anyone short of a thermometer, or Story Magic, could tell.
The glittering that was Sting's blush-The word 'peacocking' had already been associated with it for me subconsciously. But I had not been able to connect it then: Male peacocks showed off their vibrant tail feathers to impress females. Sting's skin had taken on that glittering hue, reflecting, and emitting light when he had been near me, or when he was trying to impress me.
And oh has he been working hard on that...
The sparring, trying to show off his capabilities, a draconic trait to show off his prowess as a partner. The brainstorming and the spellcrafting, even the fact that he found a way to make himself fly for short distances: Those were things that I valued. That I thought were important and still took up a lot of my leisure time. It was what I did for fun. So he found a way to integrate himself into my hobbies as a means of spending more time with me and earning my acknowledgement.
And the convention, how did I not-!?
For crying out loud, even the Minstrel incident! Morgana had confirmed that Rogue had been there for the event to get his copy of Return of the King signed. But Sting had been an unintended addition. He had gone looking for me in Magnolia, and only decided to join Rogue when he couldn't find me there. And the bleedover from the Aeris totem while I was dealing with Duke Everlue- Rescued from a gross pervy, exploitative a-hole by a blond with romantic subtext- Completely on the nose, literally spelling everything out for me. And I still missed it!
I'm never coming back from this. This is it. I'm dead.
All these conclusions came together at the speed of thought as I tried to take in everyone else's reactions. Trying to spot who would throw the first punch and give Farchild the scandal that she was gunning for.
Erza was staring at me and Sting in wide eyed shock. Lucy had one hand covering her mouth, clearly taken aback. Laxus and his grandfather looked as close to being poleaxed as I had ever seen them. Simon and Eric both just looked normal. This was clearly not news to them. But while Simon was sitting forward, alert and ready to interfere, Eric was relaxed, slouching and smirking. The man literally had a sucker in his mouth made from poisoned hard candy.
Lisanna and Mira-
Were both assessing Sting and myself with smiles that made me fear for my life. And his.
I was pretty sure my face was on fire with how much I was blushing. It only got more red as Natsu stalked towards us.
Slow. Deliberate steps that were not at all like what I expected Natsu to do. I expected him to go in at Sting, fists flying in a storm of overprotective rage.
That was her plan.
Instigating a brawl involving an outside party would certainly get Fairy Tail involved with Sabertooth in an active hostile situation. People were giving the drama going on in the crowd a wide berth, expecting Natsu to 'assist' the clearly labeled intruder out of the guild hall.
But he didn't go for Sting.
He stopped right in front of Farchild and loomed over her, face blank and expressionless. I think she realized then that something was not going as she expected it to. Farchild shot Sting a pleading look, but he didn't budge. Just stared back impassively and didn't move an inch from where she stood at my side.
She threw away any chance of him helping her when she insulted you by lessening your accomplishments.
Morgana's words didn't help my face get any cooler. But she apparently wasn't done!
Farchild triggered the dominant Dragon in his own territory. He isn't going to fight Natsu here. Not for her.
What would he fight him for?
You. If he thought it would help his cause.
He didn't- He doesn't know! Natsu's semi oblivious to this kind of thing, how could he know?!
"I'll answer your damn question. And it'll be the last one you get to ask here."
Natsu bared his teeth down at the now very frightened woman.
"Fae's ours. She would never leave Fairy Tail."
One kind of tension broke and an entirely new one entered. I couldn't help but wonder if Natsu had missed the point.
That- That's what she meant? Or-
No. She meant if you and Sting were dating. Phrased to be as incendiary as possible, making him the big bad boy coming in to steal Fairy Tail's baby. Natsu did indeed miss her point.
Well looks like that plan of hers backfired.
The heat waves coming off of Natsu made Farchild break a sweat, which would not do good things for her makeup. Natsu bent slightly, angling his head and a wisp of smoke emitting from his mouth as his canines were put on display, embers smoldering in his fists.
He doesn't have Frightful Presence, does he?
That was a feature dragons from the Forgotten Realms had where they made themselves so imposing that it would make people's minds short circuit in animal terror.
Morgana replied wryly.
He does now.
His eyes were glowing and she was actively sweating when. He leaned in, making his final words land with deadly force.
"Now: get out."
The growl was the kind to put the fear of god into the wicked. And Juana Farchild fled without a backwards glance. People were still looking at Sting however, the odd man out in the Fairy Tail guild hall.
"Fae, you ok?" Sting asked, not even looking after Farchild. His hand twitched as he started to lift it, but then thought better of it.
Morgana helpfully showed he had been thinking about checking my temperature, hand on my cheek and-
Meep.
"You look a little red."
"Nope."
I couldn't look him in the eye anymore. I couldn't look anyone in the eye.
With the shock wearing off, there came guilt. How long had Sting been displaying these feelings, obvious to everyone except for me, and I had just ignored him?
With respect, the malformed filter did contribute to your being unaware of his true feelings.
How long, Gana?
I will not answer that, as it is best if you address the question to him.
Was it still considered homicidal intent if the voice in your head wanted you to die of embarrassment? And all this while I had to help defuse this nearly averted disaster...
"I've got it. You take care of yourself."
Simon told me firmly, the Guild Master's voice reached me through my hurricane of emotion. He was sending the audience and the reporters away, having erected a veil around myself and Sting with a casual wave of his hand. Giving me some breathing room. Lector's fur stood on end as he shuffled closer to his friend, eyes fixed on the source of...well the feeling he was giving off was 'impending doom'.
"Uh, Sting...?"
Erza was still making for us, able to pierce the illusion Simon had put around us with her prosthetic eye that was immune to such effects.
Correction needed.
Upon following her gaze, she was headed not for us, but for Sting like an oncoming storm. And he was wise enough to know that she had some intent that wouldn't be good for him when we had come so close to starting a guild war on accident.
"Well this isn't how I planned it."
My response was a little breathless and a lot incredulous.
"You planned this?"
We were still close to the stairs. Sting took my hand and started towing me up to the second floor, his free hand moving in a distinct way.
"Mirage." He muttered, the white rune I helped him design glowing in his palm. Erza just followed us with her gaze and changed direction accordingly moving a bit faster. He noticed this and made a small sound of curiosity.
"Illusions don't work on her?"
"No. Sting, where are you-"
"Your office. I owe you an explanation."
I could agree with that. I certainly owed him a lot too though I don't think I was in any right mind to try and handle that right now. So I met Erza's gaze, tightened my hold on Sting and waved her off.
I'd handle this. And attempted murder from my guildmates wouldn't be conducive to good communication. But it also meant I wouldn't have back up or anyone to distract Sting from my extreme chagrin at the belated realization.
The Requip Wizard stopped at my signal, but I could see her plotting to lurk outside the door for when we were done.
I should have Sting leave by the window.
"Can you watch the door for us, buddy?" Sting asked, crouching to set Lector on the ground. He saluted smartly.
"You got it, Sting! I didn't realize you'd never even asked her!"
He seemed way too enthused about this so someone who didn't like me. But I could wait and not jump to conclusions.
Hopefully.
Once we were inside, I felt somewhat more relaxed. This was my space. My safe zone. Sometimes when I couldn't leave my work, Sting would come here and just crash on the couch, or flip through one or the other of my books. Or push said couch over to the window to sunbathe.
"You have something to ask me?"
I began, trying to project diplomacy and calm. Especially calm. Sting, still within arms length, eyes intent on me, just shook his head.
"No."
One word answers and Morgana wasn't extrapolating on it for a change.
Is this how it is for everyone else? I don't like this. I soldiered on.
"Then what needs to be explained?"
The White Dragon Slayer took a deep breath, and I could literally feel him gathering his courage.
"Back when we were just...getting used to each other, Master and Milady didn't like that I still wanted to hang out with you. They tried to load me up with so much work that I couldn't come visit. I figured it was their way of putting me on probation for fraternizing outside the guild."
It sounded like the unspoken clique that some guilds formed within themselves was an enforced thing inside Sabertooth. It also seemed that there was some kind of misunderstanding here as well.
"I remember. You didn't come by as much for a while."
Stay neutral, let him tell you what he is thinking.
He nodded, wetting his lips. The first sign of actual nerves I had seen on him. But looking closer he was a wreck of nerves. Eyes dilated, posture loose and very reactive.
"Then suddenly, they freed up time and outright told me to come. Me and Rogue both. I figured they were just accepting that I had friends outside of Sabertooth."
"They weren't." I inferred from how Minerva treated me at least. We hadn't had another face to face encounter in years, but I didn't think that that was resolved.
The White Dragon Slayer shook his head.
"No. Two years ago, Jemma told me to pitch recruitment at you. Bunch of academia stuff that I don't really get but he seemed to think you would find tempting. As long as you were just probationary with Fairy Tail, you could still be courted. He didn't say it outright, but having time to visit Magnolia was contingent on working on getting you to leave Fairy Tail. He thought if you joined Sabertooth, then Wendy would follow you."
My breath huffed out, short and wry.
"Poaching through the loophole."
Probationary members were only guild members on a technicality. Just enough that the guild they were attached to could get credit for their work, hence Fairy Tail getting the benefits of my writing and curse breaking work. But not the same as persuading a full wizard to jump ship. There was a reason that our Farewell Ceremony had the wording that it did. We worked so that even if people had to leave Fairy Tail there would be enough attachment for them to not turn on us, or sell out guild secrets to their new guilds.
There was nothing illegal about Jemma's scheme. In the same league as rebates and bribery, but without any actual penalty beyond some bad press. And in the exodus of nearly sixty of our guild members... it wouldn't have looked strange if I had changed guilds.
I couldn't fault his exploitation of the rule. Nor his logic that Wendy would follow me... Dragon Slayers were loyal once they were won. Between my switching camps, and Rogue already being in Sabertooth, provided they were together back then-
They were.
Sabertooth would have topped a short list of the guilds that Wendy would have considered joining, in that case just because the people she was closest to were there. And there was also Eric and Kinana to consider as well.
Which he did.
And it all fell into place.
Oh you crafty bastard.
Poach one young, seemingly smitten girl, and get a Transformation Master and two more Dragon Slayers at the same time. And the unspoken benefits...The amiable relations that Kinana had with Blue Pegasus, who did a lot of marketing for her. Wendy's closeness with Lamia Scale through her mentoring Sherry. My connection with Jude Heartfilia's business and his circle... Kagura had Simon in the guild, so they probably weren't banking on getting her. But losing four of us would have gutted Fairy Tail's connections with other major guilds, and lost a lot of the draw for the specialty work that we did.
Sting would have wanted to support his guild. But doing what he had been told would have put him in conflict with me. I knew how much he valued Sabertooth and wanted to see it flourish. And he...
"You never said anything."
I did manage to look up at him then. Ice blue meeting blue gray. Sting was proud and he had good reason to be. He had chosen to try and make his own way in life rather than emulate Natsu and join Fairy Tail. Had picked a harder route, and demanded a lot of himself. He had adapted his magic into some truly fantastic contortions and was a prodigal genius in synchronizing with other wizards.
And I was the first person he did anything like that with. I was the first person he fought alongside.
Oh he knows that.
He managed a smile that held wry fondness and the same resignation I had seen when he caught sight of my new guild mark. A loss. A surrender.
"I'm only an idiot sometimes, Fae."
He knows what Fairy Tail means to you. That it is your family and your home, not just your job.
Something loosened within me.
He put my happiness above obeying his guildmaster.
A relief that he wouldn't ask me to choose between my family and being with him. As a friend.
Another delayed realization hit then.
Sting had repeatedly said that he didn't want to be friends. But had never extrapolated further. And I had never looked further than my emotional blinders.
He wants to be more than friends. And was literally saying so for years.
My face had been cooling somewhat, but it warmed again now.
Not my happiness...Our relationship.
I would have cut off contact with Sting, brutally and very likely permanently if he tried to separate me from the remaining family I had. And he had known that. Recognized the relationship I had with my guild was not the same as his with Sabertooth.
He prioritized a relationship that we don't even have over listening to his guild master. And he would never follow Jemma if he did not respect him. And he has been for years.
...I feel like an idiot.
In more ways than one. Not just not taking note of the literally flashing signs he had been sending me. But...also how to proceed from here? I liked him. But did I like him that much? I'd had romantic emotions for no more than a day and this was already coming at me, the friction sparking up new depths of appreciation for him.
Tempered by a heavy dose of guilt because Sting had been the one doing all the work to establish our relationship for...well nothing that he really wanted in return. On top of everything else he did for work, he would ride the train, in spite of how sick it made him for hours to come see me.
He's serious about this.
He knows that there will never be anyone like you.
The room was starting to feel hot.
Too much. Too soon.
Sting was examining me curiously, moving over my face slowly.
"Fae, why are you blushing?"
Please tell me he's doing this on purpose...
He is. But not to drag it out. He wants to be sure he's seeing what is actually there, and not what he wants to see.
I fixed my gaze on the scars next to his eyes, not nearly as awkward as eye contact, and said bluntly.
"Because I'm rarely an idiot and I feel like one right now."
His grin showed a hint of fang, mischievous and teasing. And growing as the idea started to grow inside of him.
"Use your words, Fairy Princess."
And another surge of hot embarrassment. The retort slipped out before I could contain or revise it.
Too close...
"No."
I was not ready to deal with this right now. But he had caught a scent and now he was pursuing it, eager and grinning all the wider. Leaning in, gently pushing my personal space and making the most of the extra height he still had on me. That expression and the proximity was making my mind drop into a tailspin.
No, no since when is he hot? Why is he hot!?
Too close!
I decided I didn't like romantic awareness if this was what it did to me.
"No? Can I get that in writing, that you, the genius Rune Mage, do not want to use your words-"
I slapped my hand over his mouth to keep him from getting any closer and stop him from talking. Then reason engaged and I realized that a quick, play-fighting elbow to the gut would have accomplished the same thing.
Why did I go for the mouth-? I gave him a playful glare, grasping at straws for something normal. The teasing. The Banter. All of which suddenly felt foreign to do, so much context had changed. But leaving it out would have been wrong.
And telling. He would know something had changed.
"I do not need to always explain myself to you."
Sting laughed against my hand, which tickled. I could feel his smile, see it around his eyes. And somehow made me feel ticklish and warm all over, not just on my hand.
I feel I have made a mistake.
And Morgana prompted me that he was considering licking my palm and I quickly withdrew before he could act on that thought.
"Take that I have recently learned some things that make me feel like a colossal moron and a terrible friend and be satisfied. I need time to process the rest before I'll be able to convey how I really feel."
He debated for a moment, head inclined towards me in thought...
"And if I asked what that thing was that you learned?"
That feels like a loaded question.
He was fishing for something I wasn't willing to let him reel in just yet.
He wants to know if I have noticed him. If I have finally seen him.
Yes.
And I was not ready to tell him that I had seen him. Not yet. I was too hypersensitive to the recently reawakened genre of romance as it related to me. Was what I was feeling in response to this because I liked him back, or had the potential to. Or was it just my being flustered because it was a new feeling? And he had been too considerate of me just as a friend for me to rush into this, and have that feeling die in a few days once I adjusted to it. I didn't know if it would. But I didn't want to gamble the bond we had on that chance.
So I threw out a feint to hopefully withdraw from that pending conversation.
Huffing a very aggrieved breath, I exclaimed with hopefully a convincing amount of self flagellation.
"Two of my best friends have been dating for literal years. And I somehow am the last to know! That is years worth of potential teasing that I've missed out on!"
Don't wait for his response. That will tip him off that I'm hiding something.
Sting was uncanny in his ability to perceive deception just as Rogue was unreasonably good at being sneaky. I honestly didn't know if I could spin this story in such a way that wouldn't end with me in a smoldering pile of shame filled ashes on my office floor.
I turned and started for my desk, my book gliding beside me through the air. A little visual misdirection as well to hopefully not make him focus as much on my body language. And moving so I didn't automatically look tense and awkward.
"I mean the cues were all there. Literally staring me in the face. And I managed to miss all of them!"
A heartbeat of silence from behind me. I turned back, tapping my chin with a finger.
"...unless you want to tell me you didn't know either. Because at this point, I might just believe it."
Sting stared at me for a long moment...then started to laugh. Shoulders shaking, and literally lighting up the room.
I think that's good?
The sound was making that stupid fluttery feeling try to overtake me again. Butterflies in the stomach, electricity down the back...and fervently praying that he couldn't tell he was having that effect on me. Did he buy my reason? Not a word had been untrue, the feelings of frustration could reasonably be for my having not noticed Rogue and Wendy.
And he was still chortling, one hand partially covering his face, shoulders shaking.
He is dying inside a little.
And great, there was more guilt.
...I'm sorry! I'm not ready for this!
"Sting?"
Now that people had the idea of me being a romantically oblivious idiot, I could use that as a shield until I was ready to own up to some facts. The White Slayer waved his hand. Grinning fit to split his face. And still glowing slightly.
Gana?
"Well, it's progress."
Now I was genuinely confused and didn't need to act.
"Progress in what?"
He walked forward, lifting a hand and deliberately messing up my hair with a sigh.
"You'll figure it out."
There was no hiding the blush as it hit me then what he must be talking about.
He now has hope that you could notice him as more than a friend.
Has he been that overt about his stance the whole time?
Lately, yes.
"Sting!" I complained, indignantly trying to duck out from under his hand. A few inches shouldn't have made that much of a difference, but Sting had consistently stayed a handspan taller than I was throughout the last six years. And he milked it for all that he could.
"I'm enjoying the fact that I knew something before you. Gotta be one of the first times that's ever happened."
I would normally be protesting this like nobodies business. But I needed space to breathe and it was getting really hard to think with Sting being right there.
"Don't get used to it."
"Way too late for that." He drawled. And he straightened out my hair with a few touches from where he had been messing it up.
And now all of a sudden, it was thought it was flashing in my face. Sting was very used to my being oblivious to him as anything but the friend I wanted to see. I wanted to push back and do something to fluster Sting, feel like something was still normal, but that didn't feel...right at the moment. Not now that I knew he was taking things from a stance I had been unable to consider.
There came a brisk knock at the door that I resolved to kiss someone for. This interruption was heaven sent.
It's Rogue.
Withdrawn. But still grateful.
I opened the door with a gesture, the runes spread throughout my office letting my telekinetic field encompass the room. The Shadow Dragon Slayer peered inside looking grim. He seemed to share a moment of silent communication with Sting...who sighed.
"Already?"
"Sounds like she called him the moment after Salamander chased her out."
Best guess for context: Farchild whined to Jemma about Sting not taking her side, which means that Jemma must have concluded that Sting hasn't tried to poach me yet. And that means Sting has been dragging his feet/disobeying a direct order.
Morgana pinged the correct points. My guess was apparently close enough to what had happened that she didn't feel she had to make any alterations.
"If he gives you grief over this, I can arrange for some pretty embarrassing stuff to happen to him." The offer came out as my spellbook unconsciously flipped to the extensive prank section.
"We'll be fine." Frosch bounded past Rogue paws upraised in silent request. I picked him up and let him snuggle into me, his ears twitching inside the hood of his onesie.
"It was nice to see you again, sweetie." I cooed, rubbing his back gently. He pulled back and looked up at me with a contemplative gaze. Then he reached out and put one paw on my face.
"Are you happy now, Fae? Now that your friends are back?"
He could tell you were unhappy because it upset Rogue.
Frog in distress. Must comfort!
But long explanations didn't stick as well with Frosch as the simple ones did. So what was a comparison that Frosch would understand...
That might work.
I tapped his paw gently.
"The same way you are when you go and visit the other frogs when they wake up in the spring."
His frown cleared and he nodded gravely.
"Frosch misses them. But he knows they come back because Fae told him so and he saw that they come back when it's warm again. Did Fae not know that her friends were coming back?"
I was not unaware of how the Twin Dragons were listening in. I felt like they did this on purpose when they wanted exposition because I was weak to Frosch's kitten eyes.
"I knew they were coming back, Frosch. But I didn't know when winter would end. So I had to miss them for a long time."
He still didn't look like he got it, ears low and sad.
"The frogs taught you who you are, right? How to swim? And play?" He nodded, eyes fixed on me. "Everyone who was gone, they did that for all taught me how to play, how to use magic. They even had to help me learn how to walk again. I know how to be the person I am, because they taught me. Because I watched them. Just like your family taught you, and you learned how to be a frog by watching them. There is no way not to miss them, or to not be happy when they are there again."
He nodded thoughtfully, a smile rippling through his whiskers.
"Frosch understands."
He reached up and hugged me around the neck with surprising strength for something of his size, giving a strong, soothing purr. I cuddled him close, relishing the comfort he offered so innocently.
I would adopt this kitten in a heartbeat if I didn't know that Rogue would go ballistic.
The green Exceed pulled back and reached for his partner, who took him up with the same care he always showed.
"We'll be in touch."
To visit and to give other warnings about Sabertooth interference.
-vVv-
I was able to walk my friends to the door without any trouble. And the entire time I did so, I was in a silent bribe session with Eric as several pairs of eyes landed on me and did not move.
I felt a playful menace building. Nothing truly malicious but still enough to make me want to hide. So I was relying on Morgana to have a completely silent conversation with Eric
"You've got to own up to this at some point."
But not right now! I've had the capacity for these feelings for less than a day!
Eric says "Bet you wish you had let me try the scrubber now!
You leave Morph out of this, you petty manchild! I fumed internally, resisting the urge to let loose the true thoughts I wished to express. Eric stood firm and gleeful, ready to observe the chaos. He didn't even lift a finger to try to rescue me from the hands that descended on my shoulders.
Morgana, white noise veil. If I can't get this right then I am going to at least get even!
"So Fae." Lucy said in a very cheerful tone. "Looks like we have a lot to talk about that you failed to mention."
"So very much!" Mira gushed with equal enthusiasm. "I was hoping you'd get with Rogue, he was always so polite when he visited. But this Sting seemed very nice!"
I looked at the She-devil incredulously.
"You only met him once."
And this statement applied to both of them so I felt it was justified. Her face was the picture of innocence.
"I thought there was chemistry. You guys were adorable together, playing, having fun, beating up dark guilds..."
She mused unrepentantly, looping her arm through mine, with Lucy on the other side to frog march me to my table where Levy was already seated with Erza. 'Titania' was actively pouting as she ate an entire strawberry cake someone had thankfully provided with the same grace and poise she always devoted to her favorite dessert. Her eyes were still on the door the boys had left through.
Maybe she's over it?
"OK, details now please!" Lucy slide into the seat beside me, chin in her hands, brown eyes shining. "I got that his name was Sting. And he's from a different guild. I wanna know everything: How did you meet?"
"I want to know how he knows Rogue." Levy said, literally pulling out some paper- She had been the former guild historian, I now remembered.
"What kind of magic does he use?" Mira said, and I could literally see devil's horns curling out of her hair. From my magic, not hers. Lisanna claimed a stool at the end of the table, smiling widely over her hands.
"What was your first date?"
I was opening my mouth to answer, or deflect like there was no tomorrow, when Makarov, Natsu and Laxus all pulled up chairs to listen as well.
"The Love Maze is becoming more clear. My darling Gray and I were meant to be together!"
I almost jumped out of my skin when Juvia splashed into her seat, squeezing between Erza and Levy in a space I would swear she shouldn't have been able to fit in. And she gazed at me with literally heart filled eyes. "Young love is such a beautiful thing!"
Erza's fork went through her plate and embedded itself in the table as she scowled at the door.
OK, so much for that. She's mad.
And there were still murmurs of contemplation and excitement and I wasn't able to get a word in edgewise. Makarov clapped his hands, enlarging them with Titan Magic enough to make my ears pop from the force.
"Children! We are all quite eager to hear about Fae's young man, so I suggest an impromptu Story Night!"
E tu Master?
He was smiling the smile that he wore when he was dealing with the Rune Knights he didn't like.
OK, if he's like this with just me being connected with a boy, how will they take knowing that Wendy is actively dating someone?
Wendy was Cait Shelter's baby. You are Fairy Tail's.
"A very sensible choice, I think. Blonds have more fun."
Mavis materialized on the table, sitting cross legged and her strangely matte eyes still managing to sparkle with excitement. She shot me a wink as she said this. And the controversial statement caused rampant discord as the protective bunch tried to disagree with her because 'no boys allowed' and agree at the same time with her because she was the First Master. Whereas the supportive ones, Mira, Lucy and Juvia foremost among them, were all salivating for details.
"Let me start with this:" I said trying to scrape my thoughts together into a semi coherent form and present something that wouldn't make them try to kill my friend. "Sting and I-"
"First name basis...?"
"Luce, they are literally going on breakfast double dates to a place that has their order memorized. First name basis happened a long time ago."
"They're in looo-ooove~!"
The familiar sing-song croon made me want to flip the whole table and run. Happy looked positively gleeful, holding a hastily made sign with a massive heart on it over his head that encircled crude but recognizable drawings of myself and Sting.
Then what Levy said about double dates registered as she started to jot down notes in her favorite shorthand.
How would they know...unless they went and interrogated Wallace and- Now the embarrassment was even worse as I concluded the inevitable.
Were they-?
Following you? Yes. You lost the girls when you and Sting ran off.
I...should not have expected anything else...it's my fault that I did.
I took another deep steadying breath, slapping my hands down on the table to try and get enough attention and make the whispering stop.
"Sting and I are not dating! So you can take that off the table right now. We are just friends!"
For now.
Not helping!
Someone in the room who happened to be able to hear thoughts choked off in a long wheeze of breathless laughter.
"Of course you are." Natsu said casually, chewing on a fist full of flames and looking very self satisfied. His instincts were probably purring at having successfully defended his territory and throwing out an intruder on top of that? Oh he was going to be in a very good mood for a while.
"Irrelevant, I still need the whole story." Mira said breezily, though Erza looked a little less murderous. Laxus's expression hadn't changed. And Eric was still trying not to burst a lung smothering his laughter in the corner.
"If you know that, then why did you almost smite Farchild into a grease spot when she asked if he'd 'popped the question'?"
I addressed this to Natsu who showed off his fangs in a satisfied grin.
"Gotta admit, there are only so many ways to interpret that statement." Lucy mused, picking at a whorl in the wood of the table.
Yeah, I know that now. And it was probably only thanks to Sting's own control that he hadn't flushed, or worse, sparkled, and gotten us both in trouble.
You are grossly exaggerating. You are not in trouble with your family. They are merely trying to compensate for lost time.
And I was in no proper mindset to listen to Morgana's logic at this moment. Natsu was speaking again, casually, as if it were no big deal.
"All she wanted to know if he'd asked you to join Sabertooth."
Dead silence.
Now everyone was staring at Natsu instead of me, which could only be a good thing. The expressions of incredulity made me feel a lot better about a great deal. Erza's anger vanished as she looked suddenly like a deer in the headlights. Makarov sighed, hand on his chest.
"Oh...is that all?"
Some people actually looked disappointed. Lisanna among them, she slumped against the table.
"All that build up for nothing?"
Juvia was likewise pouting ,though her expression transformed all of a sudden as she looked behind me-
"You got a poach attempt from that?"
Where did Gray come from and how did I not notice? The Ice Make Wizard's voice made me jump a little. I desperately needed to work on situational awareness. I was so flustered by being pinned down like this that I was losing track of what was going on around me. Natsu continued to snack on the torch he held in his hand like an ice cream cone.
"If he wants to date Fae, he has to go through me first. He knows that."
And in spite of how everyone around us groaned, and ragged on Natsu for assuming the first right to the Shovel Talk...I couldn't help but think Natsu was right.
The unspoken hierarchy among the Dragon Slayers meant that they would always go for the biggest, most defining challenge that they could. It wasn't entirely about winning. It was about respect and demonstrating what you were capable of. Unless you were also a Dragon Slayer. Then it meant something different.
I'd call it primitive, and it kinda was, but it actually had made Gajeel's integration into the guild almost seamless. Gajeel had been beaten pretty soundly first by Natsu and then gotten smacked around by Laxus in a massive fight that took cooperation with others to win. The pecking order among them was determined smoothly and easily. For them, Laxus was the strongest individual fighter, but could be defeated with sufficiently strong hunting partners.
But I don't think Laxus really caught on as to what the significance of the encounters were however. He had grown up watching Natsu fight, so he probably just assumed it was a common personality trait that Natsu and Gajeel just so happened to share. And he was a 2nd Generation Slayer too. He only had a fraction of the extra learning that the 1st Generation had been able to pick up from their foster parents.
And then there's Eric. Also 2nd Generation, but his only friend and trustworthy ally for the better part of a decade was an abnormally intelligent apex predator. Who he managed to develop a strong partnership with, even without the benefit of verbal communication. Between that and his other childhood circumstances, he was never far away from being feral and instinct driven.
I thought to myself, making a small orange spark dance around my finger tips to try and focus and get my attention back on the present.
"Hey, he'll have more than just you go through." Gray was, remarkably enough, still dressed though there was a bit of chilling mist escaping from his fingers. His oldest friend and most faithful rival turned towards him, head, shoulders, body, he was ready for a fight and about to start one.
"Well yeah, but he ain't gonna get by me, Ice Princess, unlike you."
I had never seen Gray look quite so incensed before. Cold and hot clashed as he seized Natsu's vest, avoiding the scarf, and hauled him closer, taking advantage of being taller than his friend.
"You wanna run that by me again?!"
Someone cleared their throat before Natsu could continue to escalate the oncoming battle. And I then saw proof that we were in the Twilight Zone. It wasn't Master or Erza who made them stop as per usual.
It had been Levy. And she was glowering at them like she was ready to commit murder.
"I need this meetcute for Fae's baby book, so-"
"Why do we even know if he should be in the baby book? He could just be a phase. A momentary distraction."
Erza blustered, out of cake, derailed from thinking of Sting as a romantic entanglement, and therefore more able to get flustered and discomfited. But I felt more a little offended at this.
He's not a phase! Then I realized how much like a teenager I sounded even in my head and the chagrin was instant. Because while I hadn't said it aloud, there was still a witness.
Eric wheezed, fist thumping against the table as he listened in.
Don't you say a word...
He lifted his head and I knew that my loyal friend, who I was reconsidering the wisdom of getting out of jail, was about to make this a whole lot worse. The Poison Slayer didn't even try to hide his amusement
"Put this in the book, Levy: They met when she was nine. And if he's still around after all that time Scarlet, he ain't going anywhere."
I have been betrayed. Again.
The collective group reacted to this as Levy cooed and began to quickly write, muttering something about talking to Reedus for reference images. Mavis, Mira, Lisanna and Juvia all leaned in, eager to get their input recorded in my baby book. Which I had not thought to move or hide in the interim years. Rookie mistake on my part. Lucy was observing the various reactions of the others with me, similarly taken aback.
Natsu was more or less unaffected by Eric's words, much like Happy. Erza and Makarov both had haunted expressions, highlighted with the comedic dark lines of depression. Laxus, arms folded and eyes narrowed, was observing proceeding with the faintest hint of a threatening stare. And around Gray, the calm, cool Ice Wizard, there was an aura of an unfathomable rage that was somehow out doing Natsu's in heated intensity.
What is his problem?
He's faster at math.
"We were still here!?"
The outrage took me aback.
Is he ok? I've never seen Gray be like this...
He's dealing with some unwanted realizations of his own. Shall I delve further?
I couldn't say no fast enough to Morgana's blithe offer.
"We were just kids, Gray. It didn't mean anything! It was just some coincidental fun! Calm down!"
This didn't seem to do anything helpful. So I resigned myself to finding a way to defuse the Ice Make Wizard before he decided to declare open season on my friend. Hopefully I could get this to blow over before Wendy came back.
I mentally fired my thoughts towards Eric, tweaking them so that they would land at full 'volume' in spite of his protective enchanted earrings.
You are getting Esuna'd for this, Eric! Multiple times. When you least expect it. And you deserve it!
He says. "Absolutely worth it."
I gave up on convincing people that things were in no way romantic between myself and Sting. Frankly, it was partially a lie given what I had been made aware of. But since it was not mutual, it was technically the truth. And I was sticking to that.
But people wanted answers. And I had none to give them. None that I wanted to commit to after being romantically aware for no more than three hours. I needed breathing room.
Through a bit of subterfuge, sleight of hand and a timely breaking of some furniture, I managed to don my ninja headband totem, subtly tying it around my waist. And I triggered Natsu and Gray to clash again, causing a burst of smoke and mist to fill the room, letting me Substitute out and leave a Shadow Clone in my place. I had a commitment at the bank, inspecting and refreshing security runes. And I didn't think I was going to be able to go more than arms length from my friends right now, and they would be the definition of disruptive. As long as the clone was careful and didn't take enough damage to dispel while I was gone, no one would ever know I had slipped out of the guild hall to go work and do some thinking. And I'd receive the memories of the clone when I did dispel it through the standard gimmick built into the story.
The Memory Transfer aspect of using Shadow Clones had only come as I had grown up a little. I couldn't handle the transfer on the same scale as Naruto, but on training days, I did have at least one or two clones developing my muscle memory for me. And I had...at times used them to split my attention and get more things done. It was probably a big reason why Magnolia's local wizarding work had remained with Fairy Tail.
Eric is getting ready to follow you.
Morgana informed me quietly, tracking the Poison Slayers planned movements. He was calculating a subtle route to the door without giving away that my clone was now taking all the questions and familial freak out. And I was not unappreciative of Eric wanting to help. In fact, once I organized my thoughts somewhat, he could tag team Morgana in keeping me honest. But for right now...
I wanted to be as alone and private as I could be.
Eric, I appreciate you a great deal as a friend. But I need some time to settle.
He understands.
This entire exchange took no more than the seconds it took for me to form those thoughts. I was out the door walking through the city, not quite aimless, but not with any great focus either. I made it to the end of the street before Morgana mused that someone had noticed my swap and was following me.
Who is it?
Wait.
So I waited nervously, dreading Morgana telling me that my switch had been discovered. Leaving my spellbook would have been the most convincing, but I was too paranoid and protective of it to let it out of my hands. Even surrounded by friends. So it just made it a matter of which of my observant friends had noticed...
I was surprised when Laxus swept up on me.
Makarov's grandson, and one of his few remaining relatives, was exactly as tall as I remember him being six years ago. I had grown since then and I still felt tiny next to him. Tall, blond, jagged dark scar arcing down one side of his face through his eye like a bolt of lightning. He still had the long, dark fur lined coat that had billowed around him like wings, with a dark violet shirt underneath it.
"Where are you headed?"
I gave a half hearted gesture down the street, feeling myself wilting a little at having been spotted.
"Bank. I wanted to-" Laxus chuckled mirthlessly.
"Get out and you took whatever excuse you could to do that. I get it." He looked down at me with a soft exhale. "You want company?"
"Not really." I admitted. "But you're going to insist, aren't you?"
This was why I wanted to leave quietly. Everyone was seemingly losing their minds over my having a friend outside the guild. And I wanted to get away from that. The only way that seemed possible was by leaving everyone behind for a bit and going alone.
Laxus could sense that the Clone was a construct, it doesn't have the same normal electrical charge that a human does.
"Not if you do. Like it or not, you're pretty well grown up now. It's your call."
I looked up at him, blinking eyes that suddenly itched with unshed tears. It felt like Laxus's words had set off a localized earthquake inside me. They rocked me, from head to toe, my breath got shaky and uneven. My legs felt weak with sheer relief.
It was stupid.
It was just a tiny thing. A small acknowledgement of the fact that I was no longer a child. That he couldn't assume authority because of age anymore. After the way people had reacted to just discovering that I had a long time friend who happened to be a guy... This didn't feel funny or endearing as the thought of it had been when I was a kid. This felt restrictive and invasive. Like they were still pigeonholing me into the child that they remembered rather than seeing, and understanding that I wasn't a kid anymore. That I could take care of myself now. That I had been for years.
And maybe it would get funny again after I was in a better headspace. But right now, with everything, Laxus's small consideration meant so, so very much.
"I don't want to talk right now. But...if you want to just walk with me...then I guess that'd be fine."
