Date: July 7, X791 — Late Night
Location: Crocus, upper rooftops
The wind above Crocus carried a strange mix of ash and early-blooming flowers. The scent drifted quietly through the air, softening the edge of the ruin left behind. The fires had faded, the streets were quiet, and the city, though scarred, was finally resting.
High above it all, Teresa stood alone on a rooftop.
Her armor glowed faintly under the moon, all sharp lines and quiet strength. The pale wings from the battle were long gone now, replaced by silence and shadow. Her sword had been dismissed — she didn't need it anymore tonight. Only the short cloak she wore, stitched with the Fairy Tail emblem, moved gently in the breeze.
She stood still, silver eyes scanning the sleeping city below. From this high point, everything looked far away — the pain, the people, even the echoes of battle. Up here, she could almost forget.
A sound broke the stillness — boots on tile, careful but hurried. Teresa didn't turn.
Romeo climbed into view, his breathing steady but heavy, more from what he was feeling than the climb itself. His sword was strapped to his back, but he wasn't here to fight.
He saw her standing there, unmoving, watching the city like it was something she didn't quite belong to.
"You always pick the highest places," he said gently.
Her voice came without delay, calm and cold like always.
"Height gives clarity. It keeps you above the noise."
He stepped closer, brushing hair out of his eyes as the breeze picked up again. He could still smell metal on her — the faint scent of oil and armor.
"You call it noise," he said. "I call it the reason we keep going. That noise, those voices… they're what we fight for."
She didn't answer.
He moved beside her, kneeling so their eyes could almost meet.
"I saw you during the battle," he said. "You weren't fighting with us. You were just… cutting things down. Like nothing around you mattered."
Her silver gaze finally met his. Calm, unblinking, like the surface of a frozen lake.
"And the dragons were defeated," she said. "The city stands. Does it matter how the blade moved?"
Romeo frowned. "Yeah. It does. Because we're not just fighting to win. We're fighting to live. Together."
He leaned in, voice low but full of something sharp and real.
"You taught me how to see weaknesses. How to strike first. But you never taught me how to stop caring. I still feel things, Teresa. I want to feel things. And I think you do too — you're just scared of it."
There was a pause. Then she let out a quiet breath. Not a laugh, not quite, but something close.
"Feelings dull the blade," she murmured. "Warmth makes you slow. Hesitation gets you killed."
"No," he said firmly. "Hesitation is what reminds us we're human."
He reached forward, placing a hand over hers. Her gauntlet was cold to the touch, but he didn't pull back.
"You're strong, yeah. But you're not just a sword. You're a person. And you're part of this guild — whether you like it or not."
Her gaze dropped for a moment, landing on their hands. The moonlight made everything feel still. When she spoke again, her voice was quieter.
"Echoes… they burn. You get close, you get warm, and then you fall. And when you fall, you fall alone."
Romeo shook his head. "That's not what Fairy Tail believes. We fall, yeah — but we rise together. We've lost people. We've been hurt. But we never stop reaching for each other."
She looked away again, her hair falling forward to shield her expression.
"You're still young," she said.
"Then I hope I never grow up if it means turning into someone who stops caring," he said. "I'll walk beside you, Teresa. Even if you push me away. Even if it takes years. Because I believe in the part of you that smiled at Asuka. The part that stayed after the fight was over."
Her shoulders moved — just slightly. A shift so small it was almost nothing, but to him, it was everything.
She rose to her feet, slipping her hand from his gently. The metal of her armor caught the moonlight as she turned toward the edge of the rooftop.
Romeo stood too, refusing to look away.
"One day," he said, "I'll show you that warmth doesn't break a blade. It shapes it."
She paused.
Then, for the briefest second, a smile flickered across her lips. Barely there. Gone before it fully formed. But he saw it.
He knew it.
Without another word, she stepped off the edge of the roof, her cloak fluttering like a shadow in the wind. In seconds, she was gone — melted into the night below like a ghost.
Romeo stood there, watching the spot she'd left behind.
His chest hurt, but not in a hopeless way. More like something stirring inside him — something heavy, but strong. He pressed his palm to his chest, feeling the steady thump beneath it.
"I'll find you," he said. "Even if I have to follow your shadow for the rest of my life. I'll keep showing up."
Below, the city slept. The people rested, unaware of the quiet conversation that had just passed above their heads. No weapons. No flames. Just two voices trying to reach across the divide between warmth and cold.
Romeo turned at last and began his descent, one step at a time. The night was still, but he felt like something had shifted. A crack had formed — not enough to break the wall, but enough to let in a little light.
And somewhere in the dark, the Pale-Winged Valkyrie carried the memory of a boy who wouldn't stop reaching for her.