Mavis hovered over Tenrou Island, peering with emerald eyes at her guild mates. Although the war was tough, everyone was now back together again. Each member had at least one person hugging them, and Romeo finally had a smile on his face for the first time in seven years.
Friendship. That was what it meant to be a Fairy Tail mage. To stand up for your friends and fight for them. Mavis glanced at each of the members and began to realize that every single one of them reflected that trait. She flitted from one to another, giggling and watching each one be joyous once more. She could get used to the happiness, she thought, but it was not to last.
That same year, Mavis watched as Gray and Juvia performed a beautiful unison raid, firing ice and water at their opponents. She giggled as Juvia held Gray's hand afterward, and saw how Gray did not pull his hand back–at least not for a while. The two mages were at peace in one another's presence, completely trusting each other in that moment.
Trust is a beautiful thing. When two mages trust each other so much that their magic intertwines, the second factor of being a Fairy Tail mage is born. And sometimes, so it seems, trust turns into love. Love that is so deep that the trust beneath it cannot be shaken, even with the most powerful of trials. Gray and Juvia had that kind of trust… And later love.
He told her that he had loved her. Not from the start, like most love stories tend to go, but in the little things like how she tucked her hair behind her ear before firing an attack or how she bit her lip softly before yelling at her now formal love rivals. He loved how she cared for him; how when he needed her the most she was always there. A few years later when he defeated his father in battle and after learned that Juvia had been the one to kill the necromancer controlling his father, he had fallen into her arms and cried. And she had not just brushed away his feelings. Instead, she held him close and let him cry; his tears hitting her jacket as he let out the emotions that he had kept in for years.
Mavis spotted them one day, sitting on the roof where they once battled. Gray confessed his love for her that day, and Juvia was the happiest she had been in years. Joy overwhelmed their hearts, and they kissed and held each other. When they broke apart, Juvia began to ask Gray something.
"Is Gray-sama sure that her attentiveness will not annoy him? Juvia is very in love, and she likes to show her love with lots of kisses and hugs."
Gray thought for a moment and then replied. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked into her eyes deeply.
"You may have to tone it down a little. But I do enjoy affection. Just not in public."
They kissed again, thankful that no one could see them. Mavis giggled and slid away from her spot on the big tree behind the building and glided away to give the new couple some privacy.
***
Later that year, Mavis gazed at the couple who were in a deep conversation from behind a building, as to peep in but to also hear the couple's conversation. Jellal had just confessed his love for Erza, and she became so flattered that she kissed him then. They held each other close, embracing and enjoying the moment together.
Erza didn't know whether Jellal was to stay or to go, but she knew that she wanted to be with him forever. She hoped that wherever he went, Jellal would go with her. And she with him as well. Their hopes were one and the same, and not six months later Jellal asked Erza to marry him. She chuckled and teased him, asking him if he still had a fiancée.
"I do now," he told her, rewarding her with a rare grin and a kiss. They were finally together. Jellal once lied about having a fiancé to Erza, and now he finally had one.
Hope was the third component of being a mage of Fairy Tail, and who better to embody that but the two who hoped and longed for each other the most? Their hope and resilience carried them through the war, and still years after they still stay by each other's side.
***
Mavis was also there in Magnolia when Gajeel told Levy that he was sorry for what he had done to her during his time in Phantom Lord. The man who rarely showed emotion shed the most tears that day, falling on his knees and asking Levy to please forgive him. His body was shaking, and he felt that she would never forgive him. The green eyed mage put her hand on her heart. She felt for the young man that had so obviously atoned for his sins. Gajeel and Jellal were not unlike in this situation, Mavis thought to herself, but she shook her head to clear her thoughts as Levy responded.
The blue haired mage pressed her hand on his cheek, staring into his eyes with concern and compassion. She leaned in and kissed him on the forehead slowly, and looked into his eyes again. They gazed into each other's eyes, brown on wine as they exchanged words better left untold.
And then promptly, with the same hand that was holding his face, she slapped him. His tears stopped then, and Gajeel looked as if he was about to cry from sheer shock. She stood over him, posing with her hands on her hips and leaning over to look him in the eye.
"Of course I forgive you, idiot! What do you think I did all those years ago when I picked you to be my partner for the S-class trials?" She smirked at him, leaning back and crossing her arms confidently.
"You picked me? Nah, I picked you. I came up behind you and told you that I would make you big. Or maybe you can't remember because your brain is tiny, being a shrimp and all," Gajeel chuckled as he stood. He ruffled her hair and said his thanks, taking her hand for them to finally spend time together. And maybe sometimes it would turn into a little more.
"Ya big lug. I had wanted you to be my partner all along," Levy mumbled into her now messed up hair, quiet enough that the man that she had loved since Tenrou couldn't hear her. Or at least, she thought so.
Gajeel grinned softly, listening to his friend's words. That was exactly what he wanted to hear.
***
The final and most essential unit to being a Fairy Tail mage is love. One can feel love for the guildmates who risk their lives for them. A person can understand the love of a nakama that stands up strong and fights for you. Fairy Tail is all about fighting for your loved ones and loving them so fiercely that one cannot feel any hate or resentment.
The love Natsu and Lucy share is quite different than normal nakama. They spend time together taking naps in Lucy's bed, falling asleep together in complete surrender. Natsu sees Lucy as not only his best friend, but the one he loves the most.
One specific day stood out to Mavis in particular as she took a stroll by the Sakura trees in the spring. The flowers were blooming gorgeously, and Lucy's face was of awe and wonder. She looked enraptured with the trees, their beauty shimmering in the night sky with a rainbow glow. But Natsu's eyes were fixed on Lucy's face. He looked at her like she was the whole world. And she was the world to him. He had fallen in love with her so quickly but was afraid to tell her. So he hid his feelings for years and was now about to get them out in the open.
"Lucy?" He asked, his voice a deep rumble.
"Yeah, Natsu?" She turned to face him, and his cheeks tinged a light pink that Lucy could not see in the darkness.
"I… I think… you look beautiful," he told her, scratching the back of his head.
"Natsu, I'm wearing jeans and one of your sweatshirts. I don't have makeup on. I haven't showered today. Why would you think I'm beautiful now?" One of Lucy's eyebrows cocked upwards, giving her a confused look.
"It doesn't matter what you wear, Luce. You'll always be beautiful to me. You can wear a beautiful dress or your normal outfit. You can have makeup on or none on at all. But you'll still be absolutely stunning. And I love that about you. And–I love you. I always will. And you know I'm no good with words so I'm gonna end it there," he muttered, his head hanging low. Surely she wouldn't accept such a monster like him.
He had tried to kill the guild during the Alvarez war, and she was furious when she found out he was END. But his love for her had stopped the chaos in his soul. And now he had to know if she felt the same.
She kissed him on the cheek, bringing a pink to his face once again.
"I love you too, baka. I always have. And I will forever," Lucy told him, resting her head on his shoulder.
The moment was quiet and still, and in the silence, they turned to face one another.
Their gazes interlocked, and their love began to show. Slowly, very slowly, they inched their heads towards each other. Natsu's head tilted to the left while Lucy's tilted to the right. A few more moments and they closed the gap, feeling each other's lips for the first time. Rough interacted with smooth, warm with cold, and their love was shown so brilliantly.
The fireworks exploded then, and they broke apart in surprise, turning to look at the fireworks. They turned back soon enough, though, because they were too busy making fireworks of their own.
Love, friendship, forgiveness, trust and hope makes a Fairy Tail mage different from the rest. Mavis Vermillion embodied these traits as the first guild master.
And almost two centuries later, Lucy Heartfilia became the ninth to embody all of those traits as she was appointed guild master by Makarov Dreyar just weeks before the old man passed away.
Mavis stood proudly beside her seven other guild masters as Lucy was pronounced guild master. The applause was deafening, and the blonde was thrown up into the air and onto her guildmates' shoulders.
The friendship in that moment was the most beautiful thing in the world.
Mavis smiled and cheered with all of her companions, staying for the party and celebrating the ninth guild master of Fairy Tail.
