Krysti twists and turns, trying to get a good look at the stamp before giving up with a sigh. She looks up at a giggling Mirajane before giving her a smile in return.
"Thank you Mirajane, I'm really glad to know that now I'm considered a full member despite not knowing any magic. This has been some crazy day." she says gratefully.
"That's Fairy Tail for you, a crazy day is a normal day. And please, call me Mira." she replies with a warm smile. Placing a hand on her hip that is holding the stamp she reaches out to grab the broom while adding, "Now let me take that broom and finish sweeping for you. Its late after all."
"Naw, I got it. You been doing all the hard work with the furniture moving and stuff. This is the least I can do. You can go on home, I'll finish up." Krysti tells her firmly.
"Well, ok. If you're sure." the blue-eyed woman smiles and waves goodbye, leaving Krysti as the only person awake in the hall. Everyone else that passed out has been moved to another room that was set up for the overly enthusiastic partiers to sleep in years ago. With a contented sigh, she continues to work in silence on sweeping everything up that she can. By the time she finishes, she is tired and footsore.
Taking the broom back to the bar, the brunette leans it up against the counter and turns to survey the hall. Too tired to be picky, she heads over to an empty nearby bench that hasn't been destroyed in the fight to lay down on top of it. Using her arms as a pillow, Krysti lays down on her stomach and proceeds to get comfortable. Unsure of when Natsu will return, she decides to try to get some sleep in case he doesn't show.
____________________
A hand on my shoulder and a voice in my ear wakes me up from a dreamless slumber.
"Hey! Krysti, get up! It's time to go!" says the voice in my ear loudly.
"Huh? Wha…?" is all I say as I lift up my head to see who is shaking me.
"What are you doing sleeping here? It's time to go home." the voice says. I open my eyes to see a blurry image focusing itself into the missing dragon slayer.
"Huh? Natsu?" I yawn. "What are you doing here?" I ask as I go to rub the sleep out of my eye.
"I've come to take you home. Remember? You're staying with me for a while at least." he tells me. Another yawn forces its way out of me.
"Ah, that's right. You did offer." I push myself off the bench and into a sitting position.
"Where were you? I didn't see you for most of the celebration." I ask him tiredly.
He looks away like he is embarrassed before answering, "I was at home, trying to get it ready for you. I never lived with someone before. Well, besides Happy that is. I wanted to make a good impression." At those words, I feel touched that he was going through all that trouble for me.
"Oh Natsu, you didn't have to do all of that." I gently tell him with a warm smile.
He shakes his head before smiling widely. "I want to. After all, we're friends!" Looking up into his eyes, I feel a large smile form on my face as well.
"Yes, of course. Friends." I say, agreeing with him. I get off the bench with a stretch to wake myself up more as my joints crackle and pop from the movements.
"Your body sounds like an old person each time you get up." he says with a smirk and amused glint in his eyes.
"Your's will be the same when you get to my age, punk!" I playfully retort. He starts walking out the guild while I follow along.
"Who are you calling a punk, grandma?" he replies with a grin.
"You, that's who, dragon-breath." I quip, grinning back.
"Hey! My breath doesn't smell that bad!" he says in a mock hurt tone.
"Apparently you never smelled your breath in the morning. Phew!" I act like I'm waving away a bad smell with one hand.
"At least I don't eat like a pig!" he retorts a bit grumpily.
"Wrong again, dragon boy. I raised pigs, and you can shovel down the food just as fast as they do!" he pouts at this, which looks ridiculously cute on him. I poke his cheek with a finger.
"Aw, did I hit a nerve there?" I sing-sing in a teasing voice. He pouts more.
"I'm sorry Natsu, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." I say in an apologizing tone and a gentle smile. His face doesn't change and he doesn't look at me.
I smile a little wider and say softly, "I missed you at the party. Everyone was having fun, and two more brawls started."
"Aw man! You mean I missed a chance to beat up that ice-bastard?" he whines as he looks back toward me with disappointment in his eyes. The jab from a moment ago now forgotten.
"Heh, yea. You did. But if it's any help, I gave him a couple of pretty good kicks." I state proudly.
"EH? You went and fought?" he asks incredulously.
"Yea, I jumped in with the others." I let my smile fade and now it's my turn to pout. "Only no one would fight back with me. I punched and kicked but no one would fight me. They treated me like a kid." I cross my arms over my chest with a humph.
"Of course they wouldn't fight you! You're a girl!" Natsu exclaims like it is the most natural fact in the world. I glare at him before smacking him upside the head.
"OW! What was that for?!" he yells while hold the back of his head.
I bite off angrily, "It shouldn't matter just because I am a girl! I wanted to fight dammit! I'm no girly-girl. I want to get in there and get my hands dirty. If I was just a kid, or sick, or staying out of the way, that's one thing. But I went into the middle of it and I wanted a bare-knuckle showdown with blood and sweat flying everywhere! That and I saw no one had a problem fighting Erza or Cana when they joined in!"
After shouting this, I proceed to march down the street leaving him behind me. I am not a feminist, but I never really considered myself a girl. I always felt much more at home as one of the guys. So it always irks me to be reminded that yes, I am a woman, and no, I can't do everything a man can. It's always been quite the sore spot with me and one of the few things that would actually make my temper explode. Natsu right then just hit the button perfectly to set me off.
"Goddamn sexist males. Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I don't want to roughhouse with the guys. I wanted some fun dammit!" I mutter out to myself after I passed by a few darkened streets while silently grinding my teeth.
"I would like shum fun too, girlie. Why don't we have shum fun toge-together?" a unfamiliar drunken voice calls out from the darkness.
"Beat it dick-wad! I am so not in the mood!" I growl out to the dark figure not bothering to stop my angry march.
"Well that's too bad, besuse I am!" declares the drunkard before snaking out a hand and catching my wrist in a tight grip, jerking me to a complete stop. I narrow my eyes at him as my anger grows.
"You're going to regret that, fucktard." I hiss out. (Ok, self defense lessons, number 1, if they catch you by the wrist, hand, or arm, step up closer and drive a fist into the solar plexus.) A grunt of pain sounds out as I put my thoughts into action.
(Step 2, use this time to break out of the grip by twisting through the thumb and index finger.) A dancer's twirl and my wrist is free. (Step 3, if their head is low enough, grab them by the ears and drive your knee into their nose.) A loud cry of pain follows a crunching noise. (Last, if they are still upright, finish it with a blow to a vulnerable area.) A thump of something hitting the ground hard follows after I go for a vertical kick to his face.
Breathing heavily, I lower my foot as I stay on high alert in case he has buddies. With no signs of anyone else around after a couple of tense moments, I relax my body suddenly feeling cold. (Wow, I didn't know how heated up I was from my earlier anger. Guess that is where the expression 'make my blood boil' stems from.)
I shiver a little and start walking away from the drunk in case he gets up and wants to go for round two. As I pass by that building the drunk was at, a warm hand lands on my shoulder. Instinctively, I twist out of the grasp and jump away while still spinning to see who my new attacker is.
"Whoa, calm down there. It's just me." Calls out Natsu's familiar low voice. I start relaxing again as he continues to talk. "I saw how you took care of that jerk back there. That was awesome! I had no idea that you can fight like that!"
I arch an eyebrow at him before replying sharply, "I took some lessons while in my world, just in case for guys like him. Usually I don't get bothered by those guys, but there is always just the one that doesn't give a damn." I take a calming breath and ease up on my sharp tone.
"I don't have the physical capabilities yet to do a lot of fighting stuff, but what I can do, I do very well. I always wanted to be able to train to get stronger. But between my job, my family, and college, it was hard enough just to learn and train with what I know right now." I finish in a regretful manner.
Both of his hands land on my shoulders a couple of seconds later as he says, "Ok then. Let's train together so we both can get strong." My eyes widen.
"You really mean that?" I ask with hope in my voice.
"Of course I do! I wouldn't have said it if I didn't." he laughs out.
Really excited, I ask Natsu next, "Can we start tomorrow then? After I get settled in?"
"Sounds like a plan!" he agrees cheerfully. "So let's get home and get some sleep! Man, I'm feeling tired. Cleaning up is hard work." Natsu whines like a little kid. I laugh lightly while shaking my head at him. We walk along the streets in companionable silence, only hearing the sounds of our footsteps echoing through the streets. Minutes tick by and all of my earlier emotions are slowly replaced by a deep feeling of content.
Clouds start to cover the moon, reducing what little visibility there was. Barely able to see anything, I step closer to Natsu and wave out a hand trying to make contact. I feel cloth and quickly grasp it feeling better now that I have an anchor. I feel his pace slow down as he lights a flame on the end of two of his fingers.
The light is slight, but enough that I can see my way. I smile to myself at the flames as I follow him outside of town. (This should be very dangerous, a man I barely know leading me to his house outside of town in the dark. Yet, I don't have a care in the world.) I look over at Natsu and watch how the light of the flickering flames dance over his face. (I trust him. I don't know why, but I completely trust this man.)
Sensing my gaze, he turns to look at me before giving a carefree grin. I feel my cheeks heat up at the sight as we walk into the woods. (Wow. That grin. Just wow.) Before I know it, we reach a small home with a wooden door. He opens it gently and holds a finger up to his lips to tell me to be quiet. I nod in agreement before he lets me in.
With so little light, it is hard to see anything about the house. Long shadows are cast all over the place making strange shapes dance along the walls. He leads me to a couch like piece of furniture that has a pillow and a blanket of sorts on it. Still quiet, he motions me over to the couch. (Ahh, so this is to be my bed for the night. Better than a wooden bench, that's for sure.)
He turns away to go to what looks like a hammock hanging between a pole and the wall when I feel a tug on my hand which stops him. (I forgot. I was holding onto his clothes ever since the clouds rolled in.) He turns back to me with a questioning look in his eyes. I let go of his scarf with a smile. Before I could have second thoughts, I stand on tip-toes and lean in to give him a peck on the cheek.
"Thank you, for everything." I whisper as quietly as I can. Turning around, I start to make up my 'bed' without waiting for his reaction. As I lay down and make myself comfortable as I can on the couch, I hear cloth rustling from the other side of the room. I close my eyes and let exhaustion pull me into much needed sleep.