Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Main Pairing(s): Natsu Dragneal x Zeref, , Jellal Fernandes x Erza Scarlet

Other Mentioned Pairing(s): Gajeel Redfox x Levy McGarden (established), Loke x Lucy Heartfilia (eventual)

WARNINGS: AU , eventual Shounan ai (boy/boy pairing), you have been warned

Modern Fantasy

By V. Shalyr

13. A Shared Resolve

"And here we are again," Erza said with a sigh, looking across her office desk at Natsu. Of course, being prone to overkill and recklessness, she saw Natsu in her office a lot, but she distinctly remembered one particular meeting from a couple months ago. She had learned later that that was the day he'd first met Zeraf.

"I have a favor to ask," the Dragon Slayer said.

"I can't say that I haven't been expecting it. So, what is it?"

"I want Z to stay."

Erza knew better than to ask him if he was sure.

"Does he want to stay?"

"I think he does, but I'm a hundred percent sure that he won't ask. In fact, we'd better make this meeting short, because I need to get back and make sure he doesn't just leave."

The chair squeaked when Erza leaned back. "It's not going to be easy. The Council's not going to like leaving him here with us, but I think we might be able to strike a deal with them."

"Do you think that would work?"

"Well, they can be a stern, unreasonable bunch sometimes, but they may be willing to compromise if it means having access to the Black Wizard's knowledge."

Natsu bristled, but for once, decided not to argue. They didn't have a whole lot of options here.

"Thanks, Erza."

"You're welcome. But, Natsu, you do realize that if he stays with you, all kinds of unpleasant people are going to start knocking at your door, right? And there's bound to be trouble with the Council sooner or later—not to mention with dark wizards. Grimoire Heart will be back for starters."

The Dragon Slayer stood up.

"Yeah, I'm prepared for that. I just can't stand the thought of letting him leave like this. He's important to me, and I stand by the people that I care about."

Erza suspected that there was a lot more that Natsu wasn't saying, but like Natsu, she also stood by the people that mattered to her. That was something everyone in this department had in common, and it held them together despite the violence that they often had to face.

"You'd better go then."

The Dragon Slayer nodded and left without another word.

.

When Zeraf had first arrived in Magnolia in the middle of spring, he hadn't expected that he would miss the place when he left. And he would leave eventually. There was only so long someone being hunted by wizards could safely stay in one place. He'd been moving from city to city for so long that it had become routine, and a routine towards which he'd developed a certain level of indifference.

His handful of months in Magnolia, however, had been different.

He looked around at the many shops and skyscrapers as he made his way down the street, memorizing the way the sunlight reflected off windows and threw every little detail into sharp relief. Perhaps he should have told Natsu that he was leaving, but for some reason, he found himself reluctant to say goodbye. He'd read about characters who claimed not to be good at goodbyes, but it wasn't until now that he fully understood what they had meant.

Actually, it was the first time he'd fully understood what it meant for a heart to ache too. He thought about this while he waited for a traffic light to change. It was a very different kind of sadness, just sadness and no despair. How strange.

It took him an hour to reach the bridge that connected the city with the other side of the bay, a magnificent construct with walkways along either side for the occasional visitor who wished to cross it on foot. Partway along it, he paused to look back at the city. From this distance, it looked very much like any other city, which just went to show how much you could rely on appearances.

Turning his back on the view, he took another step and then stopped.

"You really want to spend the rest of your life running away?" Natsu demanded, arms folded across his chest.

Zeraf stared, blinked, then stared some more to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

"Natsu?"

"I had a feeling you'd show up here. I kind of wish I was wrong. Were you really just going to leave like this?"

The Black Wizard wanted to look away but couldn't. He suddenly felt very guilty, and he wasn't entirely sure why.

"It would be for the best," he ventured.

"I don't agree with that," Natsu said, scowling. "If you leave now, everything's just going to go back to the way it was. Are you really okay with that?"

Zeraf said nothing. It had never been about whether he was okay with it. He had never had a different option, at least he hadn't thought that he did.

"I've talked to Erza about it," Natsu continued more quietly, "and she thinks we might be able to negotiate something with the Council—arrange for you to do some work in our division and get protection from the department in exchange. Maybe it's not the best solution long term, but it's a start. We can figure things out as we go. So what do you think?"

When Zeraf still failed to respond, the Dragon Slayer cracked his knuckles and glared.

"I'm prepared to drag you back if I have to. I'm sure it wouldn't be easy, but I don't want to let you go and I don't believe you really want to leave either. Am I wrong?"

"No," Zeraf admitted slowly. "I... don't want to go. But..."

But he was scared. Terrified, in fact. Terrified of the changes staying promised, but also terrified of things staying the same.

Terrified of allowing himself to love this man—because he knew that he could and was probably already halfway there. Of allowing anyone to become that important to him. Well, it was a bit late for that really. Despite the relatively short time they had known each other, Natsu had already become incredibly important to him. In some ways, that scared him even more.

"I'll lose you someday."

And Zeraf couldn't help but imagine how much that would hurt. He'd have to live with that pain for the rest of eternity, and he didn't think he could handle that. It had been all he could do to keep himself from losing his mind as things stood. And a couple hundred years was only a tiny, tiny fraction of forever.

"Maybe someday, but it's not going to be anytime soon."

"Natsu, I'm immortal."

"All the more reason to hold on to the time we have. Besides, if you don't want to be immortal, maybe we'll be able to do something about that. I know you're a great wizard, but you're not the only great wizard in the world, and there have been a lot of developments in magic. If you stay, we can get access to all that. You... are happy here, right?" Natsu asked, searching his face. "I wasn't wrong about that?"

And Zeraf realized with a sudden, surreal feeling that Natsu wasn't as certain of him as he acted, and it touched him that he had come after him despite that. Not that the Dragon Slayer had ever been lacking in courage.

The Black Wizard shook his head. "No, you were right. I think... I was happy here. But, Natsu, I'm still afraid."

The Dragon Slayer relaxed almost imperceptibly. "That's okay. A lot of people are when things change. But we'll work things out, all right? As long as you want to stay, I'll find a way to make it happen."

Zeraf wished he had Natsu's confidence. But even though he didn't, he didn't resist when Natsu took his hand and started back the way he had come. Perhaps it was insane, but he couldn't help believing that Natsu was right. That Natsu really could make that happen, really could make it okay for him to be happy.

"So..." Natsu glanced back at him and grinned, perfectly cheerful now that he knew Z wasn't going anywhere. "You hungry? The coffee shop's on the way home."

Everything was changing, but maybe... just maybe, that didn't have to be a bad thing.

END

(To be continued in "Pieces of Tomorrow", but I won't start putting that up for awhile since I'm working on something else in the time being)

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