Narration:
The celebration rolled on—music, laughter, frosting casualties. Lanterns threw warm puddles of light along the guildhall wall where the crowd thinned. Ryuji drifted there with a plate he wasn't really eating, the new emblem on his left shoulder still warm beneath his shirt.
Wendy slipped into the same quiet patch, hands clasped, cheeks pink from too many congratulations. Carla hovered a short distance away, pretending to inspect the streamers and very clearly supervising.
Wendy (small smile): "Um... the mark— it turned out perfect. It... really suits you."
Ryuji exhaled, a little white in the cooler air by the door.
Ryuji (quiet, sincere): "Thanks. And... thank you. For everything. If not for you, I don't think I'd have known... any of this could exist."
He glanced toward the chaos—Natsu arguing with a cake, Gray forgetting a shirt, Lucy rescuing the punch bowl from Happy. "The noise. The warmth."
Wendy's fingers tightened at her chest.
Wendy (soft): "I didn't do much. I just... didn't want you to be alone."
Ryuji shook his head, a small, unpracticed smile tugging at one corner.
Ryuji: "You did more than you know. I was... cold for a long time. It's different now."
He hesitated, ears reddening. "I... look forward to tomorrow. And the day after. It's starting to feel like... home. Slowly."
Wendy's eyes brightened; she rocked on her toes, then stilled, shy.
Wendy (relieved, happy): "I'm glad. Fairy Tail is... it's like that. It keeps making room."
A quiet beat settled—comfortable, new. Somewhere across the hall, Erza declared a ceasefire over corner pieces, Cana cheered a mug, and Levy sang something about symmetry. The noise blurred to a soft shore-sound.
Ryuji rubbed the back of his neck, then stopped, remembering his new mark; his hand dropped, flustered.
Ryuji (muttering, embarrassed): "My chest keeps... doing this thing. Tight, but not bad."
What is that? he wondered, the thought loud in his head.
Wendy blinked, cheeks warming to match his.
Wendy (tiny voice): "M-Maybe that's... normal. New things can feel strange at first."
They looked at each other—long enough to notice, not long enough to name. Both felt the small, startling pull in their chests and both, instinctively, guarded it.
Carla cleared her throat delicately from her "very casual" post.
Carla (prim, gentler than usual): "Two more minutes. Then cake."
Wendy (smiling): "Yes, Carla."
Ryuji breathed out, steadier.
Ryuji (soft, grateful): "I'll try—to be better at... being here. With everyone."
He paused, then let the safer words carry what he couldn't name. "Thank you, Wendy. For... finding me."
Wendy's smile grew—bright, a little wobbly. She laughed once, small and clear; beneath Ryuji's shirt, the emblem's icy-blue edge seemed to glint, like frost catching light.
Wendy: "Anytime."
Narration:
They didn't hold hands. They didn't need to. When Carla finally waved them back toward the cake line, the feeling in their chests stayed—small, warm, unnamed—as the party swept them up again.
Natsu (appearing with a plate, triumphant): "Ryuji! Best corner piece—"
He presented a slice that was somehow the center of the cake.
Erza (arriving like judgment): "That is not a corner."
She confiscated the plate, bisected it with perfect parity, and handed proper slices to Ryuji and Wendy.
Erza (the faintest smile): "Welcome back to the line."
Ryuji and Wendy rejoined the crowd shoulder to shoulder. Erza watched them for a heartbeat, nodded once—approved—and turned to arbitrate a fresh frosting dispute.
Narration:
Lantern light, music, and the low thunder of laughter rolled on. The emblem on Ryuji's shoulder felt warm, as if it remembered the glow that put it there—and promised there would be more tomorrows.
Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima/Kodansha. I only own Ryuji Kazuma and this fan story. Non-commercial fan work.