The Dragon's Vessel

“Dinner’s ready!” A strong male voice called out and the modest apartment seemed to come to life. Doors slammed, footsteps thundered across floorboards and various voices chatted to one another.

Kimi opened her own bedroom door up and stepped out, passing Natsu who seemed to be texting someone, probably his friends Gray and or Lucy. Laxus brushed passed, having to squeeze through the narrow hallway as he manoeuvred into the kitchen area.

“Kimi,” a rough, quiet voice addressed her and she turned to look at Erik, a smile formed on her lips.

“Erik, how was your day today?” Kimi asked, moving to hug the slightly taller male.

His arms snaked their way around her waist instinctively and he pressed his nose to her hair, breathing her scent in. The tension in his body seemed to ease and he pulled back. “Better now, sorry, I should have asked before breathing in your scent,” Erik apologized as he moved away and escorted Kimi to the dining table.

“Don’t worry about it, Erik. I don’t expect you to ask every time you smell me,” Kimi laughed, taking a seat at her usual spot as everyone made room for her and Erik.

“Maaan, Erik you’re so lucky. You have the easiest augment.” Natsu whined as his food was set before him and he quickly began stuffing his face.

“Natsu, slow down before you choke yourself,” one of the eldest members stated, smacking Natsu on the top of the head with a wooden spoon.

“Ow! Jin, that hurts!” Natsu growled but slowed down his pace.

“That’s the point,” Ryujin smirked as he removed his apron and hung it up on a hook behind the kitchen door.

“I don’t think his augment is very easy,” Wendy piped up as she twirled some spaghetti with her fork. “It must be hard for Erik because he can smell Kimi everywhere when he’s at home which means he’s constantly in a draconic high.” The whole table gave Wendy their full attention, curious to see where their youngest member was taking the conversation. “W-well you see,” Wendy began to stammer, realizing everyone was watching her now. “W-when Erik leaves the house and isn’t c-close to Kimi he comes down from his high and would be thrown off because his high lets him h-hear people’s thoughts and sense things better than any of us on our highs.” Wendy pointed out and Kimi turned to assess Erik. He was tense again, he wasn’t use to being the center of attention or topic.

“That’s not good,” Jin gave Erik a worried look, “your constant high means you could suffer bad withdrawals if you go too long without your augment.” Ryujin pondered what that could mean for a moment.

“Great, so we have an addict.” Laxus blurted out tactlessly and Ryujin sent him a sharp look but ultimately nodded his head.

“Erik-,” Ryujin went to talk but Erik shook his head.

“I know, I’ve had symptoms of withdrawals before,” he admitted, “but it’s fine, this house is filled with Kimi’s scent, I’ll be fine,” he concluded.

“Erik, you can’t depend on whether or not you can make it back here if I’m not around,” Kimi said worriedly.

“If I’m away for a prolonged time I borrow a piece of clothing you’ve recently worn.” Erik shrugged like it was no big deal but Kimi’s face flushed red.

“W-what!” She covered her mouth in embarrassment. “What kind of clothing?” Her voice rose slightly.

“Nothing worth getting embarrassed about!” Erik argued, “a t-shirt, jumper or beanie, only those things, I swear.” His own face was red at the thoughts running through Kimi’s mind.

Satisfied he was telling the truth Kimi ate her spaghetti bolognese quietly, ignoring the odd stare she was being given until Ryujin cleared his throat.

“So how was everyone’s day today?” He asked, his blue eyes gazed over the members of his household.

“I got a call out during work, that was interesting,” Natsu spoke up as he started to recall his day. “My boss is pretty understanding so he let me go, thank fuck as well, someone fucked up the schedule so we were short-staffed, hence why I got the call out to begin with,” Natsu explained his day.

“I’m glad you’re okay and home safely,” Ryujin acknowledged, looking around to see if anyone else wanted to share their day.

“I won my fight against Jura,” Laxus spoke up after a moment, seemingly disinterested in the conversation but still wanting to share his accomplishment. “Got a good payout for it as well,” Laxus stated, the last part he directed at Ryujin.

“Excellent, this month’s power bill is ridiculously high,” Ryujin pointedly stared at Kimi and Wendy who were too busy engrossed in their food to notice. “Every penny helps even if it’s gained through fighting,” Ryujin winced, hating that Laxus’ chosen profession meant unstable paychecks and unnecessary violence.

“I’m not having this conversation with you again,” Laxus groaned, rolling his eyes at how dramatic Ryujin always was when it came to his career.

“And I’m not wasting my breath, if you want to get the crap beat out of you by all means,” Ryujin retorted.

“You complain about how juvenile boxing is but you still watch all my matches,” Laxus shook his head as he finished his meal and got up to do the dishes. “Don’t pretend you don’t enjoy seeing me kick the other guy’s ass.”

Ryujin didn’t bother replying, instead he shook his head as he got up and headed for his bedroom, “if anyone needs me I’ll be doing the bills,” he informed before disappearing.

Once Ryujin had left the kitchen the dining area became quiet, everyone was too busy minding their own business. Finally, Kimi stood up and cleared the table of empty dishes, setting them neatly in a pile for Laxus to clean as she started to dry the ones he had done.

“Jin’s just worried, we all are,” Kimi voiced but stopped when she noticed the look Laxus was giving her.

“I’m not feeding from you, end of story,” Laxus finalized and Kimi let the topic drop, chewing the inner part of her cheek in thought as they finished cleaning the dining table and kitchen in silence.

‘What a hassle,’ Kimi thought, ‘Erik is addicted to his augmentation and Laxus isn’t getting enough. This isn’t just a problem I can fix overnight either,’ And even as Kimi got ready for bed she couldn’t help but worry for her Dragons. Thoughts like these were usually the reason why she was always so restless.