Main Pairing(s): Natsu Dragneal x Zeref
Other Mentioned Pairing(s): Gajeel Redfox x Levy McGarden (married), Loke x Lucy Heartfilia, Jellal Fernandes x Erza Scarlet
WARNINGS: AU , Shounan ai (boy/boy pairing), you have been warned
Pieces of Tomorrow
By V. Shalyr
4. Safe
"Since you're going to be staying more permanently, I think we should make a few changes."
The two of them stood in the living room of Natsu's apartment and surveyed the place through new eyes. As a permanent residence for two wizards, it most definitely wouldn't do. Besides, he wanted Zeref to feel like he belonged here too, like it was his home rather than just a home that he happened to be borrowing.
"I don't really own much other than books and a few changes of clothes."
"That should make things easier. I've already got a bookshelf in here and my closet's got plenty of space. We can go shopping for anything else you might need."
"I don't really need anything."
"Or anything you might want."
"I... don't really want anything either."
Natsu turned to scowl at him. "You're missing the point here. I'm not saying we should go on a spending spree and buy a lot of junk. I want to know what we can do to make this feel more like a place where you can live."
When the Black Wizard continued to look lost, Natsu sighed and changed tactic. "Think about it this way. What kind of place would you like to return home to after work? Or wake up in the morning in? Homes are supposed to be places where you can feel comfortable and secure and just be yourself. Don't think I haven't noticed the way you're so careful with everything. Hell, I'm positive you even put the mugs you use back in the cupboard with their handles facing exactly the way you found them. You've been living here for a couple weeks now, but if someone were to walk in here right now, they'd never guess that it hasn't just been me."
Zeref knew what he was getting at. There were no signs here of his presence, no evidence that he was living here at all aside from the fact that he was still usurping Natsu's bed.
Home.
A place to return to.
Just because he understood, however, didn't make it easier to imagine.
"Can I... have some time to think about it?" he asked finally.
"Of course you can. Just don't take forever about it. It's not like we can't change things if it turns out not to work. If it helps, we could also check out a few furniture stores in the meantime."
"That might help, yes."
.
It was well into the evening and all the shop assistants had gone home for the day. Aceto had been preparing to close the store altogether and head home herself, but just as she moved to flip the sign in the window to "closed", the bells above the front doors tinkled. She dropped her hand back to her side and turned, surprised.
The two boys who had just stepped into her store didn't appear to notice her right away. Instead, they were talking to each other, their voices not loud but nonetheless carrying in the muffled silence of the vast room.
"I've heard this is a good place if you don't know what you're looking for," the wild-haired one was saying. "Maybe 'cause it's big and has a lot of stuff."
"I think this is a large chain store. I'm sure I've seen their stores in other cities."
"Really? I had no idea."
"Natsu, this isn't the first time you've actually been in a furniture store, is it?"
"Of course not! There was this one dark wizard last year who we arrested for selling cursed lamps and causing a bunch of house fires. He ran a furniture store."
"Where did the furniture you have now come from?"
"Let me think... I bought some of it, and some of it, I got from people at the office who were redecorating."
"Ah."
Aceto tucked the curtain of her long, brown hair behind her ears, coughed lightly to gain their attention, and stepped forward.
"Can I help you?" When they looked at her, she added with a smile, "Some people will start by thinking about colors when they aren't sure what they're looking for. It's also helpful to think about the kinds of things you spend the most time at when you're home."
The two boys glanced at one another, then the wild-haired one grinned at her.
"Thanks," he said. "Sorry we came in so late. I know it's almost your closing time."
"That's all right," she assured them. "Take some time and look around, and please don't feel pressured to buy anything today. Furniture isn't something anyone should buy without thinking it through carefully. I'll be in the back finishing up some paperwork if you have any questions."
She'd have to make a phone call too. It looked like her husband might be getting home before her tonight, and she didn't want him to worry. He tended to get carried away by strange ideas when he was worried.
.
Like many furniture stores, the various chairs, tables, cabinets, carpets, and other merchandise had been set up to resemble a patchwork of interior decorating tableaus. There were coldly modern setups with plenty of metal and glass, more lively areas sporting strangely shaped surfaces and brilliantly colored upholstery, and more old fashioned settings—all heavy, ornately carved wood and brocade. The two wizards wandered past all of these, drawn instead to the plainer, more ordinary pieces on the far side of the large room.
Colors.
"Do you have any colors you prefer?" Z asked.
"Not really. And anyway, we're here about you."
"But I don't really have any preferences either."
Okay, so maybe colors weren't where they should start. Functionality was a more practical approach anyway.
Except... except he honestly couldn't think of anything he needed or wanted to add to the apartment. He stopped by a set of waist-high shelves and surveyed the store. It was like being surrounded by lots of little living rooms and dining rooms where all the dividing walls had been removed. He had lived in all sorts of places over the centuries and had no strong feelings for any of them. His fondest memories were of being outdoors sleeping under the stars when the weather was warm enough for him to do so and when he was sure he wouldn't immediately have to move on again.
"I suppose as far as the current world is concerned, I'm little more than a ghost," he mused aloud.
"Don't be ridiculous. Ghosts don't eat sandwiches or book rooms at hotels."
"No, but I've worked very hard to leave no trace of myself behind when I leave a place. Like I've said, I was always just... passing through. I'm not feeling sorry for myself or anything, you understand. I'm just stating a fact."
He glanced over at Natsu to find the Dragon Slayer frowning, although it appeared to be more of a thoughtful expression than an unhappy one.
"Do you feel safe here?"
Z was a bit startled by the question. "Pardon?"
"You had to do all that because it kept you safe, right? It made it harder for people to find you."
Z weighed all of his possible answers in his mind before asking, "Would it bother you if I said no?"
"Well, I obviously wouldn't be happy about it, but it's not like I don't get that these things take time. And things are more complicated for you. So is the answer no?"
Safe? That was a more difficult question than one might think. Safety was, for Zeref, a rather complicated concept. There was the need to prevent himself from being captured by dark wizards, but also the constant danger of losing control of his own magic and causing irreparable damage to those around him. He was under constant pressure not only to stay aware of who might be watching him, but to monitor his own mental and emotional states.
"I don't know," he said finally. "I want it to be yes, but I don't know."
Natsu sighed. He sat down on the nearest couch, which turned out to be quite soft with a pattern of autumn leaves upon the fabric.
"I want you to feel at home," he said bluntly. "but I don't know how to make that happen. I want you to have a place where you feel like you can just be yourself."
Touched by this short but straightforward speech, Zeref sat down next to him on the couch and looked around them—at the low bookshelves and the tea table and the plush, dark green carpet. He understood why they had come here, understood the gesture for what it was, but...
"Natsu, you don't have to make it happen. I know it doesn't look like I'm living in the apartment at all, but that doesn't mean I don't consider it to be my home. I'll... add things when they come up."
The Dragon Slayer eyed him sidelong, and it was one of those looks that always reminded Zeref that his partner was more observant than many people gave him credit for. "You sure?"
"I'm sure."
Natsu studied him for a moment longer then nodded. "Guess that's all right then. But at least unpack your books when we get back."
"I will."
Idly, Z plucked a random pillow from beside them, turned it over in his hands, paused, and stared. The pillow stared back at him through large, black, stitched eyes set above a wide, stitched smile.
Natsu glanced over at what had caught his partner's attention and laughed. "Want one?"
"Absolutely not. The last thing I need is furniture that watches me. I'm paranoid enough as it is."
.
Aceto smiled to herself when the sound of laughter drifted across the store to her. The two boys got up from the couch they'd been talking on and began wandering from display to display, examining lamps and tapping on tables.
Velveno's voice drew her attention back to her cell phone. "So they buying?"
Not taking her eyes from the pair, she answered, "I don't think so, but I think... that they'll be back."
And even if they decided not to visit her store again, she was glad that somehow, in the time they'd spent here, they'd been able to clear up whatever had been troubling them. Her own love life had been tumultuous with her father's fierce disapproval of her husband's impoverished background. Family dinners back then had been the worst, all cold and full of sharp words, and the house she'd spent her whole childhood in had suddenly stopped feeling like home. That was probably about the time she'd started paying such close attention to other people's relationships and the way they interacted with one another. She'd seen the embarrassed infatuation that marked so many new couples, seen the brittle cordiality between couples on the verge of breaking apart, and seen the unassuming, comfortable air that surrounded close couples who'd been together for years upon years. She could tell when two people were hiding a relationship, as well as when they were interested but hadn't yet reached out.
These two though... Aceto wasn't sure about these two. They weren't as easy to read as most of the people who came into her store, but there was something about them that she felt promised to become a kind of easy intimacy that made her hope everything worked out for them.
Half of her really wanted to talk to them, to ask them questions, and to give them advice, but she resisted the urge. She knew from her own experience that they would have to work things out for themselves, and honestly, they looked like they were well on their way to doing just that.
"You sound happy."
She hummed in agreement. "It's been a good day."
She could hear her husband's smile when he replied. "I'm glad."
After reassuring him that she'd be careful on her way home, Aceto tucked her phone away and went to pick up one of her business cards from the side counter. She'd just give them her contact information in case they decided they wanted to buy something in the future.
.
In the end, Natsu and Zeref didn't purchase any furniture—or any knickknacks from the department store across the street. But they did return home with a new camera and the feeling that something had been accomplished all the same.
TBC...
.