The days following their return was a whirlwind of activity. First, before anything else could happen, Toji announced to the entire household that he and Natsu were together and had been for years. No one was obligated to treat Natsu any differently, but they were all expected to show him the respect he deserved. Not one person argued, and everyone was excited for them. Gabby told Natsu to take more time off if he wanted to but Natsu declined.

“I still have a job to do,” he said. “So does he. We’ll still get our time together, don’t worry. Literally, nothing has changed. It’s just no longer a secret, that’s all.” 

“So he’s not giving you any special treatment? Paying you more? Nada?”

Natsu laughed. “Unless he told you to make sure I get paid more, no. There is no special treatment.”

“Uh huh.” The housekeeper walked away, a knowing smile on her lips.

The other announcement that was made nearly turned the entire manor upside down. Master Toji was having a real birthday party for the very first time since he was a child and everyone wanted to be involved. Toji had told Natsu he didn’t need to worry about any of the dinner planning for that night, but Natsu’s gaze shut that down quickly.

“It’s my job, Neko,” he said. “Boyfriend or not, I’m still the head chef and it’s up to me to coordinate the menu and ensure I have everything ready by then. Believe it or not, I actually need to start planning it out now so that every recipe we choose is learned and mastered, as well as—”

Toji grabbed his face and kissed him, shutting him up while both of them giggled. “Okay, I get it,” he said. “There’s a lot of shit to do and you have to make sure it’s done right.”

Natsu gazed up at him. “Not just me, but yes. I’m in charge and if anything goes wrong, it’s my head. My boss is incredibly hard nosed and if I fuck up just one little thing, I’m done for.”

“Is he now?” Toji said, tilting his head, tapping his chin with his fingers. “I guess I’ll have to have a word with him.”

Natsu laughed. “If by him you mean Gabriella Luna, then yes. You should have a word with her.” His sides hurt with laughter at Toji’s reaction.

While the party planning was going on, Toji, Lukas, and Natsu—when he was off shift—spent time researching the anishifs that had been poached and where they were. Since the last report, four more had been kidnapped and sold off, but Toji’s source wasn’t entirely sure where. Toji instructed him to keep a look out and to report anything he found out. At one point, he left for three days after getting a lead on an anishif that had been spotted in Hawaii. Even with their connection, Natsu was uneasy the entire time, especially when Toji and his teammate got into a fight with the poachers in the rescue attempt.

They got out almost unscathed; the poachers didn’t get out at all. They brought the demoness back to Helman Hall where she was treated by Arla and given food and a room to recover in. The information they had managed to get from her wasn’t much, but it was more than they had received previously.

She, herself, was a gray wolf anishif named Megura in service to a nobel in the Third Realm. She had been ambushed on her way home after an assignment, drugged and brought to the Mortal Realm two weeks before. The poachers Toji and his teammate had killed weren’t the ones that had taken her.

“At least, I don’t think they were,” she said in a thick Grecian accent. “It’s hard to say for sure. I was blindfolded and drugged a great deal of the time.”

“Do you know if they took any of your blood?” Lukas asked.

She shook her head, her thick black curls bouncing around her face. “No, sorry,” she said. When she had fully recovered, Ynda asked if she would like Finn to return her home but she declined, asking if she might stay with them.

“I am in Master Toji’s debt,” she said. “If there’s anything more I can do to help, I will gladly do it.”

Ynda relayed this information to Toji while he was out on a date with Natsu and he was happy to accept, asking Ynda to give her all the information they had available and to see where they should look next.

Ava took to her new position as Natsu’s Guard quickly and found she rather enjoyed it. Not only that, but she was good at it. She was a naturally keen observer, her senses were always on alert, and she was able to use her magic to not only hide and protect herself, but Natsu as well when he joined Toji on a job gathering information about a band of poachers that had been spotted. 

Alerik and Persephone, on the other hand, were not terribly thrilled with their daughter’s choice to enter into Natsu’s service, but once she explained why, they couldn’t deny her.

“We won’t sit here and pretend that what you did wasn’t wrong,” Persephone said as she sat across from her daughter in the second floor common area. “Your words and actions hurt a lot of people.”

Ava nodded, her gaze steady. “Yes, Mother, I know,” she said, her voice strong. “That’s why I’m doing this. I’m relinquishing my title and my station to be Natsu’s Guard and I have no regrets in doing so.”

Alerik’s brow furrowed. “You do realize that if you wanted to marry, your options are now limited.”

Ava’s hands folded together in her lap and she gently cleared her throat. “About that…” she said. “Mother, Daddy, I have found my mate and our relationship has already been given the God Prince’s approval.” 

Persephone and Alerik stared at her, their backs ramrod straight. 

Fighting to keep her eyes from falling for fear of her parents disapproval, she inhaled deeply and said, “I have begun dating Devil Prince Finn Graves of the Fifth Realm.”

Neither of them blinked, and not one muscle could be seen moving. However, when Alerik moved to get up, mumbling about needing to sharpen his feathers, Persephone grabbed his arm and pulled him back down, her eyes still glued to their eldest child.

“The Devil Prince?” Persephone asked calmly, making sure she heard correctly.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Nox and Charlotte’s son?”

“Yes.”

Persephone inhaled deeply. “Well, I suppose there are worse people to be bound to.”

“I still would like to kill him, may I?” Alerik asked. 

“Rik,” Persephone sighed, hand to her face. 

“I ask as a father, nothing more.”

As her parents bickered gently back and forth, a small smile touched Ava’s lips. She glanced over to where Finn was standing behind a pillar, his hands in his pockets. He smiled lovingly, waiting patiently to be invited over for the formal introductions. Ava stood, reaching out her hand and he walked over and took it. 

He bowed respectfully, introducing himself, even though they knew very well who he was. However, etiquette still had to be followed. Toji was walking by with Natsu while the four were talking and grinned.

“She’s happy,” he said.

“She deserves it,” Natsu agreed.

Ynda and Havik returned to the Veil for a few days for a conference Hawk had almost completely forgotten about. Technically, Toji should have gone, but they all knew his patience for those kinds of things was low and he would have walked out anyway. Plus, the excuse he made for not going was, “I’m too busy fucking my boyfriend to care.” Natsu was absolutely mortified and buried his face in his hands, blushing furiously. Toji grinned, waved off, and shut down the call. He slept alone that night.

Noah and Arla worked with Ynda on their elemental magic, doing their best to learn new techniques they would need to use in a fight.

“You can’t always rely on one technique to help you win,” Ynda said. “You may be able to manifest a rock, but it does you no good if you’re battling someone who’s a master of air battle.”

Arla also worked on her healing magic, spending time with the manor’s nursing staff in the infirmary. The few times Megura had returned from a scouting trip, and the one time she and Finn had returned with another rescued anishif, she had been able to put her skills to use, feeling proud when her patients recovered quickly and praised her work.

Persephone had been there when Peter had cut himself with some gardening shears and Arla had healed him up, teasing him all the while. Peter laughed, owning up to his carelessness and thanking her for taking care of him. 

“Never forget that a smile and a laugh does as much good as a bandaid and some medicine,” Persi said, hugging her daughter. 

Ynda also spent time with Peter trying to perfect the combo move he had recognized at the old property as a complicated dance move. Chloe was also on hand during these lessons to help, offer suggestions, and even learn a few new moves herself. Even Natsu got in on some training, working with the Franks’ on some flips and kicks, and also how to better utilize their environment.

“We don’t have magic to fall back on,” he told them one incredibly warm evening. “All we have is what we can reach at the time, and the motions we need to keep moving.”

Toji was leaning on the railing of the porch one morning watching Natsu go through some martial arts moves with Kayla, helping guide her through some basic steps she could use in self-defense, amazed at how patient and thorough he was with his instructions. This was the morning after Toji had embarrassed him and Natsu still hadn’t talked to him.

Spotting him, he kept his face impassive and finished the lesson. When she was done, Kayla thanked him and hurried inside to wash up before breakfast. 

Natsu grabbed a towel he had left on one of the tables that dotted the yard, glared once at Toji, and headed into the gardens. Toji’s face fell. He had really screwed up and he knew it. 

“Tsu, wait,” he called after him, but Natsu didn’t slow his steps. Toji leapt over the railing and ran after him, catching up just inside the first wall. He reached out to take Natsu’s hand. “Hey, talk to me, please?”

Natsu pulled his hand away, but didn’t turn around or say a word, just kept walking deeper into the garden. Toji followed, trying to get Natsu to stop and talk to him but he refused. Finally, when they reached their own private area, Natsu rounded on him, forcing Toji backwards.

“You know, I get you don’t want to take part in any of the boring shit that comes with being a big-shot royal, but there are some things you just don’t say. Especially to your parents.”

Toji swallowed, his hands up at chest level, as he continued to back away from his enraged boyfriend. 

“There are times I forget how young you really are, Toji Grace Helman, and what you pulled yesterday reminded me that you’re still a child in some ways.” 

Toji backed into a hedge wall, unable to go further, completely at Natsu’s mercy, his fingers grabbing at the leaves by his sides.

“You humiliated me, Toji!” Natsu shouted. “We’re trying to build a bridge with your dad and you pull that stunt, really? With me standing right next to you, no less! Just what was going through your head, huh?”

“I’m sorry,” Toji said, feeling guilty and stupid, unsure of what else to say. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you, I just—”

“Just what? How can you possibly justify saying something so completely crass and disrespectful about me?”

Toji’s eyes fell to the side. “I can’t…”

“No, you can’t,” Natsu agreed, taking a step back. “How immature can you be, Toji?”

“I’m sorry, Tsu, I guess I just…wasn’t thinking.” He rubbed at the back of his neck, his face flushed with humiliation and guilt. The last time Natsu had yelled at him like this was on his nineteenth birthday; the day they ran away. “I promise, I wasn’t trying to make you look bad.”

“Oh, trust me, you didn’t,” Natsu said, folding his arms over his bare chest. “You made yourself look bad. You just made me embarrassed to be with you.”

Toji stared at him, a knot forming in the pit of his stomach. Was Natsu about to break up with him? After all they’d gone through, it had taken one stupid, thoughtless comment to throw it all away. He swallowed, his head jerking side to side.

“Natsu, please…I’m sorry…” he said, choking back tears. “You’re right, okay? I’m immature, brainless, thoughtless, and a complete idiot. I swear I never meant to hurt you, or humiliate you or anything like that. Please don’t…don’t leave…” his voice trailed away, weak and pathetic.

Natsu’s eyebrow ticked. “What are you talking about? I’m not leaving you.”

Toji began to fidget. “But…I…”

“You’re a fucking idiot, but I’m not leaving you over one rediculous comment. Besides, I already talked to your dad.” He turned away, patting at his neck with the towel. 

“Wait, you did what?”

“Ava got me in touch with Hero earlier this morning while you were out with Lukas. I apologized for your behavior, even though he told me I didn’t need to. He agreed you were being childish and shouldn’t have embarrassed me the way you did. But they’re not mad at you.”

“Really?”

Natsu nodded, sitting on the edge of the old broken fountain. “However, he did say that if you ever make a comment like that again, he’ll come out here himself and smack you so hard upside the head it won’t just be the stars in the sky you’ll be seeing.”

The corners of Toji’s lips twitched and he had to prevent himself from falling. The last time Hero had said anything like that, he was twelve. For whatever reason, he felt more relieved to hear that threat than any other his dad had ever issued.

Natsu relaxed, the towel resting over his shoulder. “Look at me.”

Toji did, remorse written in every line of his face.

“Watch your damn mouth. Whether I’m around or not, be mindful of your words from here on out, do you understand?”

Toji nodded. 

“Even if you get your way and never become King, you’re still held to a high standard as a representative of the Helman Kingdom and the eldest son of God Kings Hero and Hawk Grace Helman. Every word and action you say and do is a reflection on them, and on me. You’re also my mate, I’m not just yours. You represent me as well, Toji.”

Toji wanted to look away but knew Natsu wasn’t about to allow that. 

Natsu reached out to him and Toji dropped to his knees, wrapping his arms around Natsu’s waist. Natsu teased his hair, leaning down to kiss the top of his head, letting his lips linger.

“I love you, stupid.”

“I love you, too,” Toji replied, his voice muffled. “I’m really sorry, Natsu. I promise I’ll never do anything like that again.” He held him tighter. “Please forgive me…”

“Of course I do.” He put his hands on the sides of his face, lifting it to meet his own, a soft smile on his lips. “I forgave you last night when I was sleeping alone in a cold bed.”

“Why didn’t you just come to my room?”

“Because you needed to learn your lesson and I needed to gather my thoughts before scolding you.”

“I am properly scolded and I have learned my lesson,” Toji said, his sincerity reflecting in his eyes. “And thank you for talking to my dad, even though he was right and you didn’t need to. I should have been the one to call and apologize.”

“Would you?”

Toji averted his gaze. “Uhhh…”

“Exactly.”