Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Natsu couldn’t keep still. Everyone but the Cait Shelter representative was present, and nobody knew who it was supposed to be. Personally, Natsu was hoping for Pepel or Bask. Wendy adored them, and it would be nice to get to talk to someone who knew his baby sister almost as well as he did; someone who loved her like family, the way a guild was supposed to. He drifted towards the door as the others started to argue, lifting a hand to play with the fringe on his scarf. How specific could he get with his questions without rousing suspicion? How much could this Cait Shelter wizard even tell him about his baby sister that he didn’t already know through their bond? Only their own opinions, really.

Eh, he’d figure it out. He’d managed not to blow their secret after yelling at Jellal about it, he could manage meeting one of Wendy’s guildmates.

A fresh breeze carried quick, light footsteps through the open door, followed shortly by their owner, and his body moved on pure reflex at the quick little hitch of breath when she tripped, her sandal catching on the edge of an uneven bit of the floor. She ran warmer than he’d expected, and for a moment the room was silent as they stared at each other, deep blue hair pooling on the floor.

Wendy. Cait Shelter had sent Wendy! Natsu whooped, straightening up and tossing her in the air a little, catching her close to his chest when she came down. Her laughter rang out in giddy squeals as he swung her around, arms wrapping tight around his neck as he pressed their cheeks together, breathing in the scent of her magic, clean and bright and energizing.

“Gar olar! [You’re here!]” she exclaimed, and he squeezed her tighter. It was one thing to speak Draconic with Erza and Levy, to hear the odd word slip out of a guildmate’s mouth that they picked up from him over the years. It was wholly another to hear his baby sister speaking it in person, feel the subtle vibration of it in her chest and throat that the bond didn’t transmit and normal humans simply couldn’t manage.

“You’re here!” he replied in kind, swinging her around another spin and a half for good measure before taking a knee to set her feet back on the floor without having to let go of her. Having Gajeel around the guild was complicated and messy and honestly a tiny bit awkward. Meeting Wendy on a job though, that was simple, an unexpected delight that he would take full advantage of. Wait... if Cait Shelter was only sending one wizard then- “You’re here.” he said, pulling away enough to frown at her, hands shifting to her shoulders. “Master Roubaul sent you on this job? But you’re-”

Wendy pouted at him, anger flickering at him over their bond, shockingly clear despite both of them having it shuttered for work at the moment. “Their only dragon.” she lifted her little chin, all but daring him to contradict her.

“Huh, I guess that’s true.” Natsu tilted his head slightly, considering whether or not it was worth it to try to get her to sit this one out. He and Gajeel had made sure she could hold her own in a fight, kept her from lagging too far behind Sting and Rogue, but they were taking on one of the top three dark guilds in the country and dragon or no she was still a little kid. Then again, he hadn’t been much older when he started taking solo monster hunting jobs, and Wendy wouldn’t be alone on this mission. So long as he was here, he’d make sure she got home to her guild okay. No point trying to argue her into going home when he could just keep her close and protect her in person.

“Cait Shelter sent a child?” someone asked, and Natsu rose to his feet, keeping one hand on Wendy’s shoulder as he turned to face the assembled wizards.

“Everyone, this is Wendy Marvell, my baby sister!” he told them, switching back to Fiori for the sake of the Pegasus and Lamia members. “She’s the strongest wizard in Cait Shelter, dara’tiui be’tra [dragon of the sky].” he introduced her, opening the bond just enough to poke teasingly at her embarrassment as he widened his smile and put on his best imitation of the sickly sweet voice Mirajane used when Macao or Wakaba said something terminally stupid to her. “Touch her and I’ll break your kneecaps, alright?”

The Blue Pegasus boys who’d flustered Lucy and Erza earlier visibly balked, and Wendy hung her head forward with a groan, hiding her face in her hands. “Can you please be normal when telling people we’re related, Natsu-nii?”

“Yes, please do at least attempt to be professional when introducing your sister to your coworkers.” Carla sniffed, giving him a displeased look.

Natsu couldn’t help but chuckle. “Gajeel would’ve threatened to kill them for looking at you funny, and the twins would’ve just bitten without warning.” he reminded Wendy, whose face scrunched up a little as she realized he was right. “I’m definitely your most normal brother.”

Wendy groaned again, theatrical this time, and leaned into his hand on her shoulder as Carla came up to rub against her leg.

“Natsu is the most normal of how many siblings?” Lucy asked in transparent horror, and Natsu gave her a big smile and thumbs up even as Wendy drove one tiny, pointy elbow into his side, forcing the air out of his lungs.

“There’s only two more.” Gray assured her as Natsu wheezed on the floor. “They’re about Wendy’s age, used to mail him envelopes full of bugs.”

“I’m the most normal of our family.” Wendy claimed. Natsu found enough breath to scoff, and slugged her in the shoulder as he got back to his feet.

“You’re just as weird as the rest of us, squirt.”

“Yeah, but at least I know how to act normal around regular people.” she retorted. Natsu couldn’t really argue with her there, he’d never been as good at acting normal as the rest of his family. Lucky him, nobody in Fairy Tail cared that his best attempts still left him weird and unsettling to normal folks.

“If we’re done with introductions,” the bald guy said, his magic power pulsing out over the room to let them all know that was an order, not a question. “I believe Ichiya has the plan to share with us.”

“Yes, Me~n.” the short ugly Pegasus wizard said with a twinkle and two finger guns. “But first, a quick visit to smell the parfum of the men’s room.”

Natsu snorted, and Wendy’s shoulders shook as she leaned into his side, her eyes crinkling at the edges as she bit back her laughter. Natsu slung an arm around her shoulders, and guided her further into the room to where the rest of the wizards had formed a loose semicircle. Lucy gave her a bright smile and cheerful little wave. Erza inclined her head with a murmur of “Su cuy’gar, Wendy be’tra. [Hello, Wendy of the sky.]”

Wendy looked up at Natsu, and he squeezed his arm around her shoulders. “Whatever the plan is, stick with me.” he told her in Draconic, keeping his voice low. “Gajeel might literally kill me if I let you get hurt out there.”

“I’ll be fine, Natsu-nii.” she promised him, but made no effort to extract herself from his half hug. Whatever these six dark wizards were planning, Natsu doubted it would stand up to a pair of dragons and ten human wizards bent on wrecking their shit.

Chapter Text

Wendy breathed deep, pumping her legs and gathering the wind around her to power a long, high leap. She stumbled slightly on landing, but only slightly, and Natsu caught her by the elbow to keep her moving forward. “Jate nari! [Nice trick!]”

“Vor’e! [Thanks!]” she beamed back, easily falling in step with him as he slowed down slightly. “I’ve never come into the woodsea from this direction, but I know a few places we can look first.” she suggested, opening her end of their bond up just a little, just enough to push a few memory fragments at Natsu. Sacred sites, places she’d been once or twice with her older guildmates which were secluded and rarely visited even by those of them who still followed the guild’s ancient traditions.

“Good thing we’ve got you, then.” he laughed, and Wendy’s heart soared. It had been hard to keep her excitement from the rest of the tra’viin [flight] when she learned that Natsu would be on this mission and Master Roubaul was willing to let her go instead of Inomi, but the effort had been worth it. She was here with her big brother, actually running next to him instead of just calling over to race her siblings for training, ready to work and fight alongside him like a proper guild wizard.

“Ke’gev. [Stop. (command)]” Erza barked from behind them, and Wendy obeyed on pure reflex, stumbling to a halt even as Natsu continued charging forward, right off the edge of a cliff. She blinked down the sheer face of it, then sighed as she felt a pulse of assurance from Natsu. He was fine, and had apparently picked up on her idea of opening the bond just between the two of them while they were working together. She fell in step with the others when they caught up a moment later, and it wasn’t more than a couple minutes before the whole pack of them caught up to Natsu, who’d slowed when she dropped back and skidded to a complete stop as a shadow passed over them.

Just in time for Gray to run full tilt into his back. Wendy giggled as Happy alighted on her shoulder, tiny claws digging into her skin for balance as his wings vanished. The usually-inevitable argument was forestalled by awe, and Wendy stared up at the massive vessel with some trepidation. It was beautiful, looking fittingly like its guild’s namesake, but also... If they were supposed to get onboard that later, would it be safe to blindfold herself to avoid getting motion sick? Did she even have anything on hand she could use for it? Natsu had his scarf, as always, but she’d left hers at home.

Her speculations were cut abruptly short by an explosion, smoke and debris bursting from the side of the sky steed in one, then two, then half a dozen places, the ship dropping hard and fast towards the ground, shedding parts as it went. It exploded on impact, and she threw up a barrier of wind to keep shrapnel off of herself, the cats, and whoever else was near her. She dropped it an instant later, and only Carla’s claws hooked in her feathered anklet kept her from darting forwards to where Gray had instinctively flattened himself against her brother’s back, a fading shimmer in front of them suggesting he’d shielded both of them from the blast with his magic.

Wendy shrugged Happy off her shoulder as silhouettes appeared in the smoke, and Carla backed up a bit to give her space to settle into a steady stance, ready to fight whoever had taken down Christina. She’d have to be smart about this, leave the fighting to Natsu and the others as much as possible, jump over the dark wizards- because who else could these strangers be- and get to Christina to save as many of the crew as she could. And then the wind brought their scents drifting over, and Wendy bristled, her draconic instincts rearing at the smell- no, the stench of one of the Oriación Seis.

“I feel it too.” Natsu growled, and Wendy wasn’t sure if it was through a call or actually from his physical mouth, but either way the statement was reassuring. Natsu smelled it too, the stench of wrongness on the man with the snake, bitter and chemical and so close to familiar it drew a growl from her chest, not half as deep or threatening as Natsu’s but still plenty enough to draw startled looks from the wizards around her. It was almost funny, how often her being young and adorable made people forget she was just as much a dragon as her big brothers.

“You.” Natsu pointed at the man, cutting off their leader mid-introduction. “You’ve got a lacrima implant, don’t you.”

“Guess it’s true what they say about dragons’ senses.” he chuckled. Cobra, she remembered belatedly. His name was Cobra, and Blue Pegasus had thought him a Tamer wizard specializing in snakes. Not surprising, given the massive purple one at his side. “You got me, I’m a second generation dragon slayer.” he rested one arm on top of his snake’s head, spreading the other out with a smug look on his face. Wendy wanted to wipe it off, preferably with a sky talon, but Natsu pushed back against her surge of aggression with a flare of his own. Damn. Downside to being the youngest in their tra’viin [flight], she always got last pick of fights.

“You’re no dragon.” Natsu snarled, and Gray took a couple quick steps sideways as her brother ignited his hands, flames licking up his forearms.

“No, but I don’t have to be to kill one.” the dark wizard smiled, a twisted and ugly thing. His canines were sharper than humans’ tended to be, vicious akaan’edee [fangs] proof of the dragon lacrima buried somewhere in his body, but it took more than magic to make someone a dragon. “I’m looking forward to playing with yesteryear’s slayer model.”

“You really think you can take both of us?” Wendy snapped, shoving back against Natsu when he snarled. They outnumbered these creeps two to one, if she didn’t join him someone else would, and this was their business. Brain’s eyes landed on her, going wide as the dark wizard breathed her name, and then everything went to hell.

---

The cave was cold. Outside it had been nice and warm and sunny, and the mission was supposed to be short so she’d not bothered to pack a bag, but now she wished she had listened to Carla and at least brought a jacket. At least the je’daratiui be’kyram’uun [false dragon of poison] had left with the rest of the Oriación Seis, so she didn’t have to smell him. Unfortunately, that still left her alone against Brain, who’d already proven himself to be terrifyingly powerful, and Midnight, who was asleep and somehow still managed to be scary. Sure, Happy was technically there too, but he still hadn’t woken up from being thrown into the wall.

Natsu blazed at the edge of her awareness, his earlier fear burnt away by protective rage. He was coming for her, she knew that and kept his searing determination close to her heart, but it was hard not to be afraid of these dark wizards who’d so effortlessly beaten their entire multi-guild team and seemed so sure she would help them. Brain at least seemed happy to stand there in silence, and Wendy curled herself up small, cuddling Happy to her chest as she drew herself inwards, towards the kara’cika [nebula] in her chest.

Gajeel was the easiest to reach for, the anchor which held the rest of them in stable orbit, and at his reflexive curiosity towards her presence she sent him a bit of reassurance. She was fine, work was just being complicated. He accepted that, thankfully, and she reached for Natsu, falling easily in step beside him when he accepted her call. “It’s boring in the cave.” she explained, slipping easily into Draconic.

“Boring is good.” he muttered, making a dismissive gesture when Gray shot him a questioning glance. Right, he couldn’t visit her to reply if he had to be paying attention to his surroundings.

“Sorry, I’ll-”

“Stay.” Natsu urged her, and Wendy smiled, drifting closer to brush a hand through the air over Carla’s head. After five years, Wendy was familiar with Natsu’s moods. He felt deeply and intensely, changeable as the wind in a storm, reactive as any number of flammable materials. Right now his anger was banked, smoldering in wait while he sought out a suitable target. The heat of his rage was comforting, a talisman against cold and fear alike, because when Natsu was worried he didn’t fuss, he just got mad at whoever had given him cause to worry about them. And an angry Natsu was near impossible to dissuade from making his target regret whatever it was they’d done.

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed when a sudden impact snapped her back into her own body, a breathless cry slipping from her lips as she curled around her aching middle. Or tried to, at least. Racer was holding her up against the cave wall, some strangely shaped box now set in the middle of what was supposed to be a sacred site of her guildmates’ ancestors. The coffin of whoever they wanted revived, no doubt.

“Good, you’re awa-” Wendy didn’t give the speedster mage time to finish his sentence, letting out her most fearsome growl and slashing at his face. She was the worst at activating daratiui’kadyc [dragon state of mind] on command, aside from the twins who still struggled to activate it at all, but a flare of magical energy transformed her fingertips to fine, hooked claws like her mother’s and she threw her all into the blow. He was too close to dodge, or perhaps he just didn’t see it coming, but he dropped her when he jerked back, hand flying to his cheek, now soundly lacerated. His blood slicked her fingertips and dotted her dress, and she was mid-growl when he recovered enough to kick her at speed, driving the air from her lungs again.

“That’s enough, Racer.” Brain said firmly. “We need her in good condition to cure him.”

“I’ll never heal someone for you monsters.” she hissed, pressing an arm to where she’d been hit twice now. It would bruise, she was sure, and Gajeel would fuss over it and her both. But first, she had to survive this mission. They couldn’t kill her if they needed her magic, at least.

“We’re the monsters?” Racer exclaimed, and at some point he’d found a large pad of gauze to tape to his face. He held a hand to it now, looking offended. Wendy flashed a mean smile at him, but before she could open her mouth to remind these idiots they’d captured a dragon Brain pulsed his magic power through the cave, the pressure making it even harder to breathe.

“You will heal him.” Brain ordered as the binding lacrimae chained around the outside of the box disengaged. “You must.” the final chain fell away, and Wendy gasped as she caught sight of the man within, bound with his arms outstretched, head hung limply forward. It had been seven years since she saw him in person, but mere weeks since Natsu beat him into the ground at the Tower of Heaven. His skin was pallid, his hair limp, his smell smothered in the nose-burning raw magic which seemed to have embedded itself in his body.

Brain kept talking, but Wendy stopped listening, barely able to hear her own breaths past the pounding of her heart in her ears. “Jellal.” she breathed, unable to rip her eyes from the burn scars Natsu had left during their fight atop the Tower, the ethernano-blue lines which webbed across his damaged skin, weeping pure, concentrated magical energy. A drop tracked down his cheek like a tear, and Wendy lifted a hand to brush it away. When had she stood? When had she approached? She couldn’t remember moving, but green light floated across her fingertips and reflected sickly from his pallid skin.

She knew what he’d done, how he’d hurt Erza and tried to hurt Natsu, but... he had saved her, once. Had brought her to Master Roubaul and Cait Shelter and all her allit be’runi [found family]. She owed him everything, and even after Natsu had shared with her his memories of the fights in that cursed tower, part of her couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t believe that the Jellal who’d held a sun-shade for her and cuddled her to sleep and taught her how to scale a fish was the same person who Natsu had needed to destroy.

Once she got her answers, she could just... put him to sleep. Yeah, that would work. She centered herself, planting her feet firmly, and drew a deep breath. The air in this cave felt wrong, magically, but so long as she could process it she had power, and power was what she needed, especially after trying to activate daratiui’kadyc [dragon state of mind]. “Heal.” she commanded, and the green glow of her magic shone through her eyelids. She pushed the magic circle as big as she could manage, bathing Jellal’s body in healing light, breathing deep the way Gajeel had taught her to do to extend her magical stamina.

She couldn’t eat air fast enough to sustain the spell forever though, and she staggered back a step when her energy ran out, swaying on her feet. Brain and Happy were talking over each other, but they sounded very far away, even though she could feel Happy’s claws digging into her anklet the same way Carla’s did. The entirety of her attention was devoted to Jellal, to the steady rise and fall of his chest, the burn scars broken up in near-geometric chunks by pale scar tissue which had formed where ethernano once glowed out from beneath his split skin. His eyes slid open, dark and unfocused, and she’d barely opened her mouth to ask him why when Natsu arrived.

She didn’t see him, but she felt his smoldering rage roar to life in her chest, smelled the heat and smoke of his magic on the gentle breeze coming in from the mouth of the cave. Her legs gave out, black eating at the edges of her vision, and Wendy faintly heard Natsu swearing at Jellal as she slipped fully unconscious.

Chapter Text

Natsu picked at his new shirt with a frown. The soft fabric and cute paw print pattern were similar to the things Wendy had sent him in the past, but it didn’t smell like his sister, holding none of the enchantments she’d placed on his gifts, no mark of her deft hands having been involved in its creation. Wendy herself had changed into a dress not stained with blood, this one patterned with scales that just about matched the texture of his scarf, and Natsu was pretty happy about that. “Made that yourself, huh?” he smiled, tugging gently on one of her pigtails.

“I would’ve worn it on the mission, so we could match, but I didn’t want to get it all ripped up.” Wendy smiled. Natsu couldn’t stifle the delighted chirp that left his throat, and his precious, perfect, adorable little sister laughed bright and clear as he scooped her into a hug.

“Never change, Wendy.” he murmured, rubbing their cheeks together and memorizing the feel of her happy purr, how her arms wrapped around him tight like she never wanted to let go.

“You either, Natsu-nii.” she beamed when they pulled apart, and Natsu resisted the urge to squish her into another hug. Spark and ember, he loved her so much. Gajeel would be jealous as hell that Natsu got to meet her in person first, he could hardly wait to get home and see the look on his stupid face.

“Hey, dragon dolts.” Gray poked his head in the doorway. “Get out of your nest already, we’re just waiting on you two.”

“Coming!” Wendy chirped, hurriedly tucking her feet into her sandals.

“Oh, one sec.” Natsu grabbed her by the ankle, and Wendy froze as he licked his free thumb, rubbing a stray bit of dirt off one of her sandal straps. “You missed a spot.”

“Thanks.” she grabbed his hand once it was no longer wrapped around her ankle, and he let her pull him to his feet, trailing her out into the main square. The whole guild was assembled, their scents mingled so thoroughly he would’ve had to stick his face right up next to them to tell them apart that way. Wendy split off as they reached the front of both groups, skipping over to join Carla in place of pride at Master Roubaul’s left hand. Another few years and she’d be the ace of the guild, that’s for sure. Hers was already the strongest signature of anyone with a Cait Shelter mark, and she wasn’t even full grown yet.

The short ugly Pegasus mage started to dance, and Natsu glanced at his guildmates for a moment before they exchanged shrugs and joined in. A success like that deserved a party, after all! And Cait Shelter personally had survived almost getting blown up, which was more than enough reason to celebrate. But when the Pegasus mages cued Wendy’s guild to join in, they merely stood there in silence, killing the mood quicker than even a fight could’ve. And then Master Roubaul started talking, his words ringing with sincerity but making no sense.

Horror spiked in Wendy when the first of her guildmates vanished, and every bit of triumphant joy Natsu had felt at their victory came crashing down as his baby sister’s aliit be’runi [found family] kept disappearing one after another. Magna, Pepel, Inomi, Naoki, Bask, Ruusa; faces and names he knew as well as any member of Fairy Tail, people who had given Wendy a home and family when their tra’viin [flight] was too young and scattered to do it themselves. Wendy’s memories flickered at the edge of his mind, flashes of Jellal promising there was a guild for her where she could stay while he went off to do something too dangerous for her to come along and help with, of Master Roubaul leading her out of the strange building she woke up in to meet her new guildmates, of Carla hatching to the approval of all her caretakers.

“No!” Wendy screamed, shocking Natsu back to the present. “I don’t want to hear this!” she slammed her hands over her ears, but it took more than that to take out a dragon’s hearing. Her narrow shoulders shook with each breath, tears dripping hot down her cheeks and threatening in the corners of Natsu’s eyes as well.

“Wendy, Carla.” Master Roubaul’s voice was soft and warm, lilting over the names in a way Natsu had never heard outside of their tra’viin. “You have no need of false family anymore. Not when your real one has come for you.” he leveled a finger at Natsu, gaze piercing even as his form began to flicker. “Your new future has just begun.”

“Master!” Wendy sobbed, darting forward, but she wasn’t fast enough. Her hand swiped through the shimmering golden light Master Roubaul had left behind, and she collapsed to her knees as the old man’s voice rang through the now near-empty plaza.

“I want to thank you all. Please take care of Wendy and Carla for me.”

Wendy screamed, the sound pure grief, and Natsu’s feet moved of their own accord, carrying him to fall at his sister’s side and clutch her tight. She buried her face in his shirt, hands curling into claws in the back of his vest, and sobbed so hard Natsu’s throat ached in sympathy. “Ni su’cuyi, gar kyr’adyc. [I’m still alive, but you are dead.]” he murmured, the familiar words coming out hoarse under Wendy’s heart-wrenching sobs. “Ni partayli, gar darasuum. [I remember you, so you are eternal.] Roubaul, Inomi, Bask-”

Wendy picked up the list there, gasping more names against his chest as Erza approached slowly, looking from Wendy to Natsu almost expectantly. It took a long moment for him to realize she was asking permission, and he gave a shallow nod. “It’s a painful thing, to part with those who you’ve loved.” she said gently, kneeling behind Wendy and resting a hand on one shaking shoulder. “But you’re not alone, your friends and tra’viin [flight] can help.” Wendy stalled in her mumbled list of names, lifting her head and twisting to look at Erza, curiosity and hope sparking amidst the grief. “Come with us, to Fairy Tail.”

Wendy’s breath hitched once more, twice, then she burst into tears again, and Natsu gathered her back into his arms. “Let’s go home.” he murmured, and Wendy nodded against his chest, sniffling pitifully.

Erza, thankfully, kept the others away as Natsu helped Wendy pack her things, and then they were headed back, Wendy’s belongings strapped in with Erza’s. Natsu made sure his sister’s scarf was fastened securely around her eyes before moving his own up to blind himself and gathering her close once more. She didn’t protest, just grabbed a damp fistful of his shirt and made herself comfortable in his lap. Or as comfortable as a dragon could be in a rocking, rattling vehicle.

The ride, thankfully, didn’t seem half as long on the way back as it had on the way out. Probably because nobody was trying to make small talk, everyone tangibly unsettled by the truth of Cait Shelter. Wendy sniffled occasionally, but most of her grief was shut inside, held back from their bond so well Natsu doubted he could’ve sensed it if he wasn’t literally holding her. It was a relief when the cart stopped, Erza announcing what Natsu had been able to smell five minutes ago. They were back at the guild.

“Ready?” he asked, making eye contact with Wendy as she pulled down her scarf. She nodded, and they hopped down from the back of the wagon. Wendy paused, looking at her things piled atop Erza’s, and Erza walked over to clap a gauntleted hand on his sister’s shoulder.

“Your things will be safe on my cart.” Erza promised. “I can help you unload at Fairy Hills later.”

“Thank you, Miss Erza.” Wendy said, leaning into Natsu’s side a little. He slung an arm around her shoulders, brushing Erza’s hand off, and at least she was smart enough not to complain about it. She’d cheeked Lucy before Natsu even had a chance to make up his mind on the matter, and fun as it would be to see her fight Gajeel over whose tra’viin [flight] Wendy belonged to Natsu knew Wendy would hate to be fought over. He steered Wendy through the guild hall’s main doors ahead of the rest of his team, and felt the moment Gajeel spotted just who he had tucked against his side.

Wendy made a low sound of distress, and Natsu shifted his hand to draw her scarf up around her ears, pressing the bunched up fabric in like a pair of earmuffs. Her face un-scrunched slightly as she lifted her hands to hold it in place on both sides, and Natsu returned his grip to her shoulder, resolutely ignoring the blaring shock and confusion from Gajeel as he led her to the back of the guild hall, where Makarov sat on the bar.

“Heya, Maka-ba’bu [Grandpa Makarov].” he said, pushing Wendy forward a bit after he stopped. “My sister is gonna be joining Fairy Tail, ‘kay?”

Makarov raised an eyebrow, and Erza appeared at his side, setting a hand over his on Wendy’s shoulder. “She was Cait Shelter’s representative on our joint mission, but due to recent events she no longer has a guild to return to.”

That was... stretching the truth a bit, but Natsu had a feeling Makarov would be getting filled in later, somewhere more private than the middle of the guildhall. “Is that so?” Makarov looked from Erza to Natsu to Wendy. “And why do you want to join Fairy Tail, young miss?”

It was the question Makarov asked everyone who came in hoping to be part of the guild, and the only one he asked wizards as young as Wendy, as young as Natsu had been when he found the guild. Natsu squeezed her shoulder reassuringly, and nudged her over the bond to be honest. “Because my big brothers are here.” she said without hesitation, mouth pulling into a small smile at the end.

“Well then, welcome to Fairy Tail!” Makarov beamed. “Mirajane, get the stamp would you?”

It was the work of moments for Wendy to accept a fairy on her shoulder, the same colour and location as the Cait Shelter guild mark which had vanished alongside the ghosts who’d raised her, and Natsu’s heart soared at the shining smile on her face as she twisted to show off the symbol that made her family to the whole guild, not just their tra’viin [flight]. She was turning to thank Mirajane when Erza stumbled sideways a step, Gajeel shoving past her to scoop Wendy up in his arms.

She yelped, and Natsu felt the swell of Mirajane’s magic as sharply as Erza’s, but in the next moment Wendy laughed, pure joy flooding the bond. “Gaji-nii!” she cried out as she shook her head, dislodging the scarf from where she’d pressed it into her ears so it couldn’t get in the way as Gajeel cheeked her.

Gajeel shifted his hold on her a bit, moving her over to sit entirely on one forearm, and Wendy giggled as she settled in against his shoulder, resting her forehead on his temple. “Hey, Carla.” Gajeel said to Wendy’s cat, who startled a bit at the direct address. “Come on.” he jerked his head towards the door, and as he carried Wendy out of the guild hall for a private conversation Natsu realized everyone was staring. For once in his life, the guild hall was actually silent.

“What the shab [fuck] was that?” Mirajane asked, and damn near every eye in the guild snapped over to them.

“What?” Natsu chuckled. “Gajeel is her big brother too, y’kno.”

“Since when has Gajeel been the big brotherly type?” Wakaba questioned loudly, to grumbles of agreement.

“He was always like that, when we were kids.” Natsu grinned. “Taught me and the twins how to patch ourselves up so we’d stop bugging Wendy about it.”

“You’re pulling our legs.” Reedus accused, though he sounded more baffled than hostile.

“Are you sure we’re talking about the same Gajeel?” Droy asked, looking from Natsu to the front doorway. “I can’t imagine him ever having been soft.”

Natsu frowned. Gajeel had never been soft or weak. When they were little, he’d been the strongest of all of them, stepping into the role of alortiui [leader] without hesitation despite being barely more than a child himself. He’d kept them alive, made sure they found places that would take care of them and help them become stronger, help them grow into dragons their parents would be proud of.

“You said used to be.” Levy said, perceptive as ever. “When did that change?”

Natsu opened his mouth, and found himself without an answer. He hadn’t noticed, or if he had he’d ignored it, written off the changing attitudes of his alortiui [leader] as a product of growing up, of none of them needing that level of attention anymore. “I don’t know.” he admitted, gaze sliding from Levy to the doorway. Somewhere along the way, Gajeel had changed, had gone from the boy who swore he’d sooner put his own life on the line than let a single one of them come to harm for something beyond their control to a man who would hurt Natsu’s friends purely because he was told to. He’d changed, and Natsu hadn’t noticed. But he was paying attention now, and this time if Gajeel changed, he would notice. “If he decides to be that person again, though... I think I could give him a second chance.”