Hey Everyone! Welcome to my first story ever. If you end up giving this a read, please do enjoy yourself. Also, if this story takes off I have many things in store for it. The main paring is Natsu x Wendy, but I am open to a mild harem as you'll notice in this chapter. I've got some girls picked out already, however I'll put a poll up to let you guys decide. Take note that Acnologia is actually female in this fic so, she is fair game when it comes to the harem. Additionally, I'm only going to pick 3 winners from the poll. Yup that's about it for now.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Fairy Tail, my boy Hiro Mashima does. I do have some OC's though.

PEACE & MELANCHOLY

The year was X797 and it was another beautiful day in Magnolia. The streets were busy, with vendors and buyers going about their business. The sun was shining and a gentle breeze could be felt, my how it was comforting. All seemed normal in this old town, and on a day such as this how could anything be out of place? Well, a simple visit to the famous wizard guild that sits at the edge of town, is all one would need to see that something is indeed wrong.

—

At the edge of town sits the famous wizard guild known as Fairy Tail. This guild is recognized far and wide due to its wild antics and lively atmosphere. Today however, and many a day beforehand, it would seem that something has put a damper on the mood. The usual brawls that littered the guildhall were all but non-existent, and the usual sounds of laughter that could be heard from outside were now gone. Nowadays, guild members will come in to pick up a job or have a silent drink, and then call it a day. This is all peculiar indeed, however the problem can be narrowed down to the absence of a single person. A person that could be considered the very essence of Fairy Tail, and that person is a certain pinkette and Dragon Slayer known as Natsu Dragneel. It has been five years since the great war with Alvarez, and out of those five years, Natsu has been gone for three. As to where the pink-haired dragon slayer is at the moment, no one knows, well with the exception of one that is, but even he is unsure.

—

At the bar, you can find MiraJane Strauss as she cleans off glasses and places them on the shelves behind her. In front of Mira, is none other than Erza Scarlet, who at the moment is playing with a piece of her favorite strawberry cake. Erza continued to fiddle with her cake until Mira snapped her out of her daze. "Erza, are you alright?" Now out her trance Erza looked up at the barmaid who wore a concerned look on her face. "Oh, sorry Mira I was just spacing out for a moment there, nothing to get worried over." Erza put on a weak smile to try and reinforce her claim, however Mira wasn't buying it for a second. "Come on Erza, you and I both know that's not the case." "I know" was all that Erza replied with a downcast face. A moment of silence passed between the two, until Erza spoke again. "It's been three years Mira…", Mira only nodded in agreement as Erza continued. "Where is he? Why hasn't he come back to us?" Erza questioned with a quiver in her voice. "I don't know Erza, I wish I knew" Mira stated with a solemn look in her eyes. Mira truly wished she did know, she missed that pinkette more than she would let on. Just then, the doors of the guildhall shot open. Everyone in the guild trained their eyes on the doorway with hope evident on their faces. "We're home!" stated a familiar voice, that soon revealed to be that of Gray Fullbuster. Next to him was another familiar face, Lucy Heartfelia. As their presence was now made known, the glint of hope that was in everyone's eyes faded, as they all responded with an unenthusiastic "hey".

Gray and Lucy made their way over to the bar where they took a seat by Erza, one on either side. Mira greeted the two, and asked what they were going to have. "I'll take a beer" said a now half naked Gray. "And I'll have a coffee please" stated Lucy, who was too depressed to even scold the streaker. As Mira occupied herself with their orders, Erza began to ask them about their recent Job. "So you two, how'd the job go?" "It went perfectly fine, the dark guild we had to take out ended up being a lot easier than we initially thought" stated Gray. "I see…" said Erza as if she were in deep thought. "Did you happen to find anythi-" but before Erza could finish her question, Lucy interjected. "No…we didn't hear anything, not even a simple rumor" stated Lucy in a bleak tone. Gray looked at the two girls beside him with worry. 'Where are you Flame-brain' thought Gray. "Come on guys, this is Natsu we're talking about. He'd never just leave and not comeback, right?" Gray asked. Both Erza and Lucy looked up at him with somber eyes and a small smile. "yeah, I guess you are right" said Lucy as Erza also nodded in agreement. Although, if Gray was being honest with himself, he knew that he only halfheartedly believed in what he had just said to the girls. Gray had thought about Natsu's whereabouts often, ever since the first few months of his disappearance. He could remember it like it was yesterday, the day that Natsu left and never came home.

[Flash-Back Begin]

It was the year X794, and two years had passed since the great Alvarez war. In those two years alone Earthland had experienced a peace like no other, it was almost as if evil never existed. Children ran through the streets free from worry, people even left there doors open during the warmer days. All of this was truly a sight to behold, it was almost unbelievable. Sitting on a hilltop overlooking Magnolia resting on a tree was the all too well known pinkette, Natsu Dragneel. Natsu leaned on the tree with his hands behind his head whilst his eyes remained closed. He remained like this for another few minutes, that is until he caught a familiar scent with that uncanny nose of his. 'Happy' Natsu thought to himself. He could tell just by Happy's scent, that he was about a mile away. Natsu remained stationary, and waited for his best friend to arrive. A few moments later Happy finally made it to his partners side. "There you are Natsu! I've been looking everywhere for you, why are you all the way out here?" Happy asked with a bit of anxiousness in his voice. Natsu slowly opened his eyes to look over at his companion and respond to his query. "Oh hey there buddy. I'm just resting and thinking about some stuff" Natsu simply stated. "Uh-oh, don't think too hard or your head might explode" said Happy with a smirk on his face. A couple of tick marks formed on Natsu's head, clearly irritated by his exceed's remark. "Gimme a break Happy, geez" Happy simply laughed at his father figure's frustrated look. "Anyway, whatcha thinking about?" asked a very curious Happy. "Well…" Natsu started "I was just thinking about how things ended two years ago when we won the war." Natsu said while having a distant look in his eye. "Why are you thinking about that all of a sudden?" Happy asked now with a bit of concern in his voice. Natsu contemplated whether or not he should tell Happy the real reason behind his thoughts, but he then decided not to worry his little friend instead. "Don't worry about it Happy, it's just thinking after all. Now come on, why don't we head back to the guild and get you some fish." Natsu finished with his usual toothy grin. "Aye sir!" Happy responded, elated that he was going to get some fish.

—

Happy and Natsu had made the trek from the outskirts of Magnolia back to the guildhall in what seemed like no time at all. It was a beautiful day, so wonderful in fact that Natsu and Happy could not help but bask in it's radiance. Once they made it to the guild's front entrance, Happy wasted no time in barging through it's doors. As soon as the doors where open the duo was greeted with flying debris and various members bodies. Natsu made it about half way to the bar where he was going to greet Mira when he was suddenly punched across the guildhall into a pillar. "Oi Flame-Brain, where ya been? I hope you haven't wussed out on fighting me today" Gray yelled out from across the room. Several tick marks riddled Natsu's head upon hearing his all time rival's voice, to say that he was irritated is an understatement. "What the heck is the matter with ya Ice-Prick, can't you see I'm busy?" Natsu asked in an irritated tone. "And? What's that got to do with me? Gray asked, then continued to say "Just come fight me Flame-Breath, we have to settle the score" Gray stated with a mischievous grin on his face. "Now you're asking for it" said Natsu with a similar grin on his face, and in no time at all they were at it like two roosters during a cock fight. Happy could only look at his partner in a deadpanned manner. "Geez Natsu, what was that like ten seconds?" Happy asked in exasperation.

From the bar Mira could only smile at the pinkette's silliness. She decided to go ahead and prepare a meal for the fire dragon slayer, seeing as he was headed over to the bar in the first place. A few moments later, "Hahaha, looks like this one's my win Frostbite" Natsu stated as he gave the ice-make wizard a smirk. "Yeah yeah, you just got lucky, next one will be mine for sure" Gray responded with a smirk of his own. "Keep dreaming buddy" Natsu remarked. "WHAT'D YOU SAY!" Gray yelled as he dove at the fire dragon slayer in hopes of tackling him to the ground, but paled soon after as he completely missed his mark and flew strait into Elfman. Natsu finally made it to the bar and took a seat, before greeting Mira. "Yo Mira, what's up?" Natsu asked while sporting a grin. Mira responded in kind with her own grin before answering the pinkette. "Oh, same old same old." Mira chanted whilst cleaning a glass. "By the way Natsu, I've got something for you" said Mira as she disappeared to the back, then later emerged with a platter of flaming food. Natsu's eyes widened and he began to drool a bit at the sight before speaking. "Wow, thanks Mira. How much do I owe ya?" Natsu inquired without removing his gaze from the the platter. "It's on the house" said Mira with a beautiful smile spread across her face. "Are you sure?" the dragon slayer questioned while tilting his head in confusion. "Of Course, so eat up!" Mira stated with glee. "Well in that case, thanks a lot Mira you're the best!" said Natsu with clear happiness. Mira couldn't help but blush slightly at his comment, so she nodded and pretended to do something else till it went away. While Natsu devoured his food like a madman, the rest of the guild was going at it's usual pace.

Fights littered the floor and obnoxious laughter rang through the air. Everything was business as usual, with the exception of the absence of a few members, those members being the remainder of team Natsu. A couple of days ago, Erza had decided that she wanted to do a job exclusively with Lucy and Wendy. Natsu and Grey were not about to argue considering it was Titania giving the orders, so the boys were more than happy to oblige. The girls would be back any moment now. Natsu now sat back rubbing his stomach after his feast, before speaking again. "Phew, that was delicious! Thanks again Mira" Natsu said in satisfaction. "You're quite welcome Natsu" said Mira with her usual smile. "Say Mira…" Natsu started "you haven't happened to see the master around have you?" Natsu finished with curiosity. Mira pondered the question before answering "Now that I think about it, I believe I saw him head to his office not too long ago." Mira stated matter of factly. "Oh good, then I'll go see him while he's up there" having said that Natsu stood up and started to head up to the second floor.

Not too long after the events during the Alvarez war, Natsu had been promoted to S-Class for his overwhelming assistance in Zeref's defeat. Mira was about to inquire about his reasons for needing to speak with the master, but she was soon swamped with orders, so she decided to drop it for now. Natsu was now standing in front of the master's office door, and he steeled himself before knocking. "Who might it be?" called a gruff voice from the opposite side of the door. "Hey Gramps, it's Natsu" the pinkette stated nonchalantly. "Ah Natsu my boy, come in" Makarov stated in a husky gleeful tone. Natsu entered the old man's office and took a seat in front of the master's desk. "Gramps…" Natsu started, and before he continued, he put on a serious expression that was not very common for the pinkette. "I need to talk to you about something important, something that has been bothering me for a while now." Natsu finished while looking the master straight in the eye. Makarov took in Natsu's expression, and he began to worry for the dragon slayer. "What is it my boy?" Makarov asked, a mixture of worry and curiosity spread across his face. Natsu looked away for a moment, as if to ponder how he should answer the titan wizard. "It's about Acnologia" Natsu stated with a deadly serious look.

—

Back down on the first floor, Gray and Elfman were still at it, as well as some other members who had gotten sucked into the mix. About a minute later the guildhall's doors swung open, revealing three figures. The shenanigans transpiring in the guild continued for a hot second until they realized who was standing in the doorway. Everyone froze like a deer in headlights, who else could it be other than Erza Scarlet to propagate such a reaction. Standing next to the queen of the fairies was Lucy, and beside her was a now older and more mature Wendy. The three girls made their way to the bar, all the while every one was acting 'natural' as it were.

As the girls took their seats, Mira served them their usual refreshments along with Erza's fabled strawberry cake. The three just began to dig in to their refreshments when Gray made his way over to them to greet his fellow teammates. "Hey guys, how was the job?" Gray asked while looking away as if he were uninterested. "Gray…Clothes" said an exhausted Wendy. Gray looked down, only to notice he was down to nothing but his boxers "Ah! Darn it!" Gray shouted in exasperation as he quickly attempted to locate his clothing. Wendy used to get super embarrassed when grey would strip, but now it's all to familiar. She was pretty sure she was scarred for life. The trio at the bar continued to indulge in their refreshments for few moments as they were still tired from their recent outing. After a couple of more swigs from her cup of coffee, Lucy broke the silence. "Man that job was tiring" Lucy spoke while stretching her arms. "You could say that again" Wendy and Erza stated in unison. Mira took an interest in the ongoing conversation, and decided to join in. "Hoh, and what happened during the job to make you three so exhausted?" Mira questioned playfully with a smile. Though, Mira was actually curious considering it was these three, the strongest girls in the guild other than herself. "The job request seemed simple enough" Erza began "but we had no idea that the dark guild we were supposed to wipe out had over 5000 members!" Lucy continued "not only that, but they had summoners in their ranks, so that made matters even worse" Wendy concluded with a groan. Mira's eyes widened a bit at this information, "wow, no wonder you three are so worn out" Mira stated. "We could have cut the time in half had we had the boys with us" Lucy stated with certainty. Both Wendy and Erza nodded in agreement with this remark, then Wendy smiled at a thought she was about to make known. "Be all that as it may, I'm still glad we had our girls only mission, it was a great experience" Wendy said with a smile on her lips. Erza and Lucy simply smiled back at the sky dragon slayer, and with that they all giggled together.

Lucy then began raving about how she made enough Jewel from their previous venture to pay her rent for the next four months, at this display of joy the barmaid, requip wizard and bluenette all laughed merrily. Not too long after that Wendy began to scan the guild hall, forgoing the current conversation all for the sake of finding a certain someone, that one guy with pink hair. Erza and Lucy had begun their own conversation that had something to do with Lucy's novel, however none of this mattered as Wendy was trying to locate her fellow dragon slayer. "Hey Mira…" Wendy called, the barmaid who was serving another member at the moment, heard the bluenette and answered "Yes Wendy, what can I do for you?" Mira inquired. Although, Mira had a pretty good hunch as to what Wendy was about to ask her. "Do you happen to know where Natsu is?" Wendy queried, 'Bingo' Mira thought. "Yes actually, he went upstairs to talk to the master about something not too long before you three arrived." This caught the attention of the other two who were previously having a conversation, as well as piquing Wendy's interest. "What do you suppose he went to the master for?" Erza asked full of curiosity. The other two shook their heads, as neither of them could figure out why Natsu would do such a thing on his own. "Do you know Mira?" Wendy questioned. "No, all Natsu told me was that he needed to talk to the master about something" Mira stated plainly. "Very curious indeed" Said Erza with an interested look on her face. "Don't worry" Mira started "I'm sure he'll let us know when he finishes up talking to the master" Mira ended with her signature smile. The three girls smiled back, and waited for their favorite fire-breathing wizard to come back downstairs.

—

"Are you absolutely positive that there is no convincing you otherwise?" Makarov inquired pleadingly. "Yeah, I'm positive Gramps" Natsu replied, not an ounce of doubt in his voice. "Fine my boy, then you have my approval" Makarov mumbled. "Thanks Gramps, oh and one more thing" Natsu said as he started to make his way to exit the office. "What is it Natsu?" asked Makarov, hoping that his next request would not be as outrageous as his first. "Please…" Natsu trailed off for a moment. Makarov gazing at him with troubled eyes. "Don't tell anyone what I'm doing, this stays between you and me ok?" said Natsu while looking at Makarov expectantly. "But Natsu…" said Makarov even more worried before being cut off by the pinkette. "Please Gramps, this is my burden to bare, and mine alone. As a man I'm asking you to honor my requests." Natsu finished with his arm outstretched towards the little old man. Makarov frowned at Natsu, but nodded and shook his child's hand in agreement of the terms that were set.

Just before Natsu exited the master's office, Makarov said one final thing to him. "You'd better come back alive, you hear me? Or there will be hell to pay!" Makarov stated, nothing but seriousness in his tone. Natsu simply gave the old man his signature toothy grin and nodded, before finally leaving the office. Makarov alone in his office now, could only mutter to himself "Be safe, my child." Before natsu made his way back downstairs, he walked over to the S-Class request board. Seeing something interesting he tore it off the board and went downstairs. As Natsu was descending, he pondered if the job request he'd taken would offset some of his other plans by much. Back down at the bar Wendy caught hold of her favorite scent as it grew stronger, she looked toward the stairs and sure enough her favorite fire-breathing goofball was making his way down the stairs. Wendy unconsciously smiled, while looking at Natsu, and this action was not missed by Mira. Not too long after Wendy noticed Natsu, Lucy and Erza followed in Wendy's footsteps. Natsu had made it back downstairs and was just finishing up reading the request he'd recently picked up.

As he was about to hand the request to Mira for approval, he looked up and saw his team members all staring at him with a weird smile on their faces. "Uh…are you three ok?" Natsu asked while staring back at them with a confused look on his face. The three were immediately thrown back into reality upon hearing his voice. "O-Oh we're just fine" Erza responded, the other two nodding in agreement, all of them blushing madly. "Ok…then" Natsu replied slowly still utterly confused at what just happened. Only you natsu. The fire dragon slayer then turned his attention to a much more composed Mira and handed her the request. Mira looked at the request, and noticed that it was a high difficulty S-Ranked mission just under a Decade quest. This got Mira really curious, and to be perfectly honest, a little worried as well. "This is a pretty high-level request natsu, but I'm pretty sure that you and your team can handle any situation" said Mira with confidence. The three girls simply looked at each other with determination, silently agreeing with Mira's previous statement. That is, until what the pinkette said next. "I have no doubt that is the case, but I'm actually taking this one solo" Natsu said with all seriousness. "w-what?" Mira stammered, giving the fire dragon slayer an incredulous look. Natsu, tilted his head in confusion at Mira's reaction. "What? Did I say something wrong?" Natsu questioned. Erza, Lucy, and Wendy quickly regained composure after hearing this information. "Have you completely lost your mind!" Erza shouted, earning a couple of glances from neighboring crowds in the guild. Lucy and Wendy quickly followed suit. "Why do you need to go alone?" Lucy inquired with a tinge of irritation and worry in her tone. Natsu was about to respond, however Wendy spoke before he could. "Natsu, are you going alone, because you are mad at us for excluding you and Gray from the last mission?" Wendy asked hoping he wouldn't be mad at her. Natsu answered Wendy first, "No Wendy, nothing like that, the Ice-Freak and I wouldn't get worked up over something like that," then Erza "hahaha, of course not Erza, you know I always love a good challenge," finally Lucy "and Lucy, it's just something that I want to do on my own, simple as that." Natsu finished the interrogation and gave them all a toothy grin before making his way to the guilds front entrance.

Before Natsu could leave he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to find Wendy looking at him with nothing but worry on her face. Natsu looked passed her and saw the exact same thing on Lucy, Erza, and Mira's Face. He looked back down at Wendy, who at this point was only just below Natsu's chin. "Hey don't worry, I'll be just fine" Natsu said as he patted the bluenette's head affectionately. Wendy didn't say anything, she just nodded and backed away slightly so as to let him know that she believed him. Just then Natsu remembered he promised Happy some fish, though poor little guy wore himself out and could now be seen sleeping in a corner alongside Carla. He made his way back to the bar quickly and rummaged through his pocket until he found what he was looking for. Natsu pulled out a bundle of Jewel and handed it over to Mira. "I promised Happy I'd get him a bunch of fish when we came to the guild, so take this for his tab and keep the change, if there is any hahaha" Natsu chuckled as he turned around and walked out of the guild, before anyone could stop him. "Well that was odd…" stated a thoroughly confused and worried Erza. "Maybe we should go after him" suggested Lucy with a little panic lacing her words. Wendy just sat at the bar sporting a crestfallen look. Mira then took this chance to calm everyone down. "Come on guys, have a little faith in him. He was the one who took down Zeref after all" Mira gently chided. The three girls seemed to loosen up at this remark, making Mira sigh with relief. "Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be back in no time!" Mira sang, in order to get her comrades morale up even further. "Yeah you're right Mira. I just wish he'd let us go with him" Lucy said as she let out a heavy sigh. "I know Lucy. You just need to keep yourselves occupied until he comes back. Maybe once you are all rested up, you can head out on some simple missions to pass the time" Mira suggested hoping it would take their mind off the pink haired dragon slayer. The three girls pondered this proposal for a minute before finally agreeing. "You're right Mira, we shall then do as you have suggested and keep ourselves occupied until his return" said Erza with as much determination as she could muster. All four girls then began to converse about other things. Just as all of this had transpired, a little blue cat is just now waking from his slumber.

—

Pain. Pain is what Natsu was feeling in his heart right now for making his beloved comrades worry about his wellbeing. The pinkette had been walking to his home located at the fringe of the woods, not too far from the guildhall. All the while suffering internally about what his comrades are going through emotionally, and will go through in time. He hated it, more than anything in this world, he never wanted his friends to go through this kind of pain. The fire dragon slayer could also not help but hate himself for putting his friends through it. However, in order to accomplish his goal, he had to endure it. For the sake of his comrades, his precious family, no price was too high. Having arrived at his humble home, Natsu went inside and got his belongings ready for his long perilous journey. The pinkette exited his home now ready to embark. He took one last look at his small home, before finally heading to Magnolia's train station. Natsu nearly passed out at the thought of stepping foot on the blasted thing. The man can take on legions of dark wizards and soldiers alike, but when it comes to transportation, you can forget it. Gathering all the resolve he could, whilst holding back his vomit, he stepped on to the train. As he found an empty seat to plop down on, he couldn't help but feel a little giddy. All negative feelings aside, this is the first time in a long time that he's actually left for a quest on his own. Natsu weakly smiled for what was to come. "I'm all fir-HMPH" Natsu's attempt at saying his catchphrase failed miserably, that poor man, he had a long rode ahead of him. With that, the train disappeared into the horizon.

—

Meanwhile back at the guild, a blue cat had just woken up from his nap. The furry blue exceed still felt groggy from his recent ciesta, and proceeded to rub the sleep from his eyes. The first thing Happy saw was a still dormant Carla right beside him. The blue feline smiled at this and continued to gaze at her affectionately, until his stomach rumbled pretty loudly. Carla shifted a little in her sleep, but nonetheless stayed asleep. Happy let out a sigh of relief, knowing Carla like he does there was no way he was going to be the cause of her waking up, he simply didn't want to face her wrath. Happy then realized something, 'wait a sec, wasn't Natsu supposed to buy me some fish?' the blue exceed thought to himself.

Happy activated his aera wings and flew up in the air to get a better vantage point of the guild, to see where his pink haired friend had run off to. Much to the little exceed's surprise, his partner in crime was nowhere to be found. Happy decided to go ask the members of Team Natsu if they knew were he had gone. Upon arriving at the bar, he deactivated his aera wings and dropped onto the countertop. Mira was the first to notice the blue cat, and she was not looking forward to telling him that his partner had left on a job without him. "Hey there Happy, what can I do for you?" Mira asked the exceed with a smile. "First off…" Happy started, 'here it comes' Mira thought to herself, by this time the rest of Team Natsu including Gray had noticed the exceed's arrival and looked at him warily. "Can you get me a fish Mira, please!" Happy exclaimed, drool running down the cat's cheek and a sparkle in his eyes. Mira and Team Natsu fell over at the cat's request. Of course he would ask about the fish first, it was pathetic really. After recovering from Happy's antics, Mira went and fetched him a couple of fish to snack on. With the blue cat now happily munching on his only favorite food, he remembered the other thing he was going to ask. "Oh I almost forgot, where's Natsu?" Happy mumbled through mouthfuls of fish. Mira and Team Natsu flinched at the question, the gig was up and now they would have to explain to the poor little exceed that his companion left for a job without him. "Well, you see Happy…" Mira began, but soon trailed off contemplating the best way to go about saying this. Erza decided to help Mira out, "He just left on a job not too long ago" stated the redhead. "Aw, and he didn't take me with him?" Happy asked, more to himself than to anyone else. "Ah well, he'll be back in a couple of days right? So no harm done." mumbled Happy as he continued to stuff his face with fish. Everyone sweatdropped at Happy's reaction to being left out of a mission with his best friend, but it would seem that the blue exceed just didn't really understand how long Natsu would really be gone. "Uh…no Happy, you misunderstand." Mira stated with serious eyes. "What'd ya mean?" Happy asked the barmaid, while picking up his fifth fish within the last two minutes. "I mean that the job that Natsu took will keep him out a few months at the very least, and since he went alone it might take even longer." Mira explained. "WHAT!" exclaimed a now very shocked Happy. After hearing this, he immediately spread his wings and flew as fast as he could towards the small home that he shared with said missing dragon slayer.

Happy could hear his teammates calling out to him to wait, but the blue exceed had to see if he could catch up to his partner. The cat made it to the little home in what seemed to be a couple of minutes, thanks to him flying at max speed. Happy burst through the door and immediately called out to his dragon slayer "Natsu, you in here?" When Happy didn't hear any reply, he decided to check around the house for any sign of the pinkette. It wasn't long before Happy found a note addressed to him from said fire dragon slayer. The note read

'Happy,

I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to say bye buddy. You looked looked so comfortable sleeping that I couldn't bring myself to wake you up. Anyway, as you can see I've left for a job and I won't be back for a while. You can stay home if ya want to, if not just go and bunk with either Wendy or Lucy. I'll make sure to get back home as soon as I can, and when I do we can go on a bunch more adventures together just like always. So for now, eat lots of fish and get some training in while I'm away. Till then, see ya later buddy. P.S - I left a huge tab open for you at the bar, so go nuts with the fish.'

Tears streamed down the exceed's face upon realizing that he won't be seeing best friend for a long time. Happy just sat there for a while and continued to sob. Poor little guy, if he only knew how long he'd have to wait. Back at the guild, "I hope the little guy is alright, he absolutely adores Natsu" Lucy said with a somber look. "I'm sure he'll be fine, just give it some time" Gray said with confidence. Lucy nodded in affirmation and gave a small smile. Behind the bar, Mira had been cleaning off the same glass for a while now, she seemed to be lost in her thoughts. 'Natsu…please come home safe and sound' Mira thought to herself. The day wore on, and before anyone knew it the sun had begun to set. By this point in time many members had left for their homes, and now only a few remained. Team Natsu was now sitting at table discussing some things, while Mira was finishing up some chores around the guildhall.

Cana could be seen passed out on a table due to her excessive drinking habit, not to mention the poor souls around her who thought they could actually win in a drinking contest against her. All in all, the guild had quieted down for the day as it was soon to be closed. Mira had finished her rounds and joined Team Natsu in conversation for a bit. They were all about to call it a night, until Happy suddenly floated through the open guild doors. The blue exceed landed on the table where everyone was gathered. "Happy…" Carla called out before anyone else. The white exceed walked over to the blue cat and brought him into an embrace. Carla could clearly see that he had be crying, and she knew all to well what he was going through. The bond that the exceeds shared with their dragon slayers was incredibly deep, so even if it's something as simple as not seeing their companions for a bit, it still made them sad.

Team Natsu and Mira smiled at this exchange. Wendy in particular was overjoyed to see Carla comfort Happy, knowing how Carla feels about the blue exceed. This scene however, only made her wish that her favorite pinkette was here so that she could also embrace him. "By the way Happy" Lucy started "If you don't want to stay at your house alone, you can stay with me if you'd like" Lucy offered with a warm smile on her face. Happy, now free from Carla's embrace, simply looked at Lucy and nodded with a small smile. Not too long after, they all shuffled out the guildhall and Mira locked up for the night. "Well I guess I'll see you all tomorrow then" Mira stated with a smile, before parting ways with the group and heading home. "Bye Mira" they all said in unison. Team Natsu then follow in suit. Wendy, Carla, and Erza said their good nights before making their way towards Fairy Hills. Gray patted Happy while giving a couple words of encouragement to the little cat, before bidding the two goodnight and making his way to his own home. On the way to Lucy's apartment, Happy spoke for the first time in a while, his voice a bit horse due to all his sobbing from earlier. "L-Lucy…" Happy croaked. "What is it little guy?" Lucy inquired looking down to where she was holding the exceed. "Do you think Natsu will be home soon?" Happy asked in a sad tone. Lucy's eyes softened and her voice was sweet, "I'm sure he will" she replied warmly. The moon shone brightly that night, accompanied by a gentle cool breeze, what a beautiful night it was.

—

Weeks had passed since the guilds favorite pink haired dragon slayer had departed for his quest, but this didn't stop the guild from its usual comings and goings. Team Natsu had taken many jobs since then, and they weren't about to stop anytime soon. After all they needed something to occupy their time. It wasn't until several months had come and gone without so much as a single word as to where Natsu was, that worry truly began to sink in. After a year and a half had passed the cheerful atmosphere that saturated the guild slowly began to fade away.

One day, Team Natsu returned from a job with sullen faces as they have been since the new year had begun. The team had recently started to take extra time durning their missions to ask around concerning Natsu's whereabouts, all to no avail as no one knew where he was. The team also sported one new member, a certain rain woman known as Juvia Lockser. Juvia had joined them in hopes of helping them find the missing pinkette, and also to be closer to her boyfriend Gray. Most of the team sat at a table in a far corner of the guild, but Erza sat at the bar. Erza stared at her strawberry cake for what seemed like hours, her mind caught in a vice of never ending worry and despair. Mira wasn't much better. She almost appeared to be on autopilot, lifeless and empty. Many of the other guild members looked to be in a similar state.

*CRASH* the sound of broken glass echoed loudly through the silent guildhall, as it had been so quiet that you could hear a pen drop. Everyone looked at Erza in shock, who was now standing up with her head down, her hair obscuring her expression. Everyone in the guild continued to look at Erza who had just tossed her favorite cake to the ground, this caused everyone to become quite concerned for the requip wizard. Her cake was so important to her that she would beat you for even badmouthing it, so to see her do something of this nature was quite unsettling indeed.

Mira decided to break the silence first, "Erza are you alri-" but before Mira could even finish her question the redhead interrupted. "I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!" Erza screamed, her voice clearly laced with agony as she continued "HOW DARE HE MAKE US WORRY LIKE THIS, I HAVE HALF A MIND TO BEAT HIM TO DEATH THE NEXT TIME I SEE HIM!" Erza roared, but her onslaught proceeded. "HOW CAN HE BE SO SELFISH? DOESN'T HE KNOW WHAT HE'S DOING TO US?" Erza questioned as she seethed in anger, tears threatening to spill over. "E-Erza…please cal-" Mira stammered trying to calm her friend down, but was interrupted yet again. "NO! I WILL NOT CALM DOWN, THIS HAS GONE ON LONG ENOUGH, WE ARE GOING TO GO LOOK FOR HIM RIGHT NOW!" Erza bellowed while shifting her gaze over to the table Team Natsu was currently occupying. Lucy, Wendy, and Juvia were now in tears at the spectacle that was before them. Gray comforted Juvia and the exceeds tried to do the same with the other two. Erza still in her rage, made her way over to her team. "GET UP!" she shouted, causing everyone at the table to flinch at her tone. "WE ARE LEAVING TO GO FIND HIM RIGHT NOW!" said Erza with unmistakable conviction. Everyone at the table began to get up seeing as they didn't seem to have a choice in the matter, that is until a booming voice stopped them all in their tracks. "THAT IS QUITE ENOUGH!" boomed a gruff voice coming from the second floor.

All eyes where now on the master who seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Erza glared at the little old man, still ravaged by uncontrollable rage and sorrow. Makarov returned Erza's heated glare with his own. "No one is going anywhere" stated the old man in a deadly serious tone, yet calmer than before. "BUT MASTER WE CAN'T JU-!" Erza cried out, but was interrupted by the master before she finished. "I CAN'T LOSE ANY MORE OF MY CHILDREN!" Makarov shouted, pain clearly evident in his voice. This remark caused the entire guild to gasp. 'What did he mean he can't lose anyone else? Natsu wasn't dea-' Erza shook the thought out of her head. "Master…" Erza finally spoke in a calmer, yet unsteady tone. "Y-You can't mean…" her voice trailing off before she could say the unthinkable. "No my child it isn't what you are thinking. It is just that we haven't the faintest idea as to where he is, and going on a blind goose chase is not going to help anyone." Makarov stated, sorrow saturating his voice. "For now, we must continue to have faith that he lives on and will come back home soon" Makarov concluded, his head hanging. 'I should have never let him go on that blasted journey of his!' Makarov thought to himself, grief now overwhelming him. 'At the very least he shouldn't have gone alone' the old man thought as a tear escaped his eye. Sniffles and sobs could be heard throughout the guild, this was a sorrowful day indeed. Finally the tears that Erza had been holding back, came crashing out as she slowly fell to her knees letting the tears she'd held back for so long flow without restraint. Mira walked over to Erza with tears flowing as well, and wrapped the redhead in an embrace to comfort her. It goes without saying that for the rest of that day, no one took any jobs or even went home for that matter. They all stayed together and comforted one another until they all fell asleep, all of them with hopes in their hearts that the goofy pink haired dragon slayer that they all loved would walk through those doors soon. Little did they know that a year and half later they would get their wish.

[Flash-Back End]

"Gray…Gray…GRAY!" The ice-make wizard was snapped out of his stupor upon hearing someone shout his name. He looked up to see a worried Mira staring at him. "I'm sorry what did you say Mira?" Gray asked while pinching the bridge of his nose. "I was asking you if you were alright, and also to see if you wanted a refill." Mira stated still concerned about his wellbeing. "I'm fine Mira, you don't have to worry yourself. Also yeah, let me get another one please" Gray responded solemnly. Mira could tell that Gray wasn't really alright, but she decided to leave him be for the moment and tended to his order.

As Gray waited for his refreshment he took a good look around the Guildhall. Surprisingly, the guild was more occupied than it usually was. This was kind of rare considering that ever since Natsu left most people would be out on jobs. Looking over into a particular corner of the guild, Gray spotted Wendy with Happy and Carla sitting on the table in front of her. Now this was a truly rare sight. As far back as Gray could remember, after a year and a half had passed with no sign of Natsu's return, Wendy's presence and eventually the two exceeds as well became scarce. She would take on jobs with the team every now and then, but she would primarily go on solo missions with the exceeds. And if Wendy wasn't on a mission, she was at Fairy Hills crying her heart out. Gray cringed at the thought. 'Flame-Brain…you are going to have some major explaining to do when you get back' thought Gray as he took a swig from his mug.

Apart from being surprised to see Wendy at the guild, he was even more surprised to see the likes of Laxus and the Thunder Legion, and even Gajeel and Panther Lily. Gray took all of this in and finally came to the conclusion that something was off about the scene he was currently observing. He decided to ask Mira if she had any idea as to why the guild was so full today. "Hey Mira…" Gray called the barmaid, getting her attention he proceeded to ask her his question. "Do you have any idea why the guildhall is so packed today? Not that I'm complaining, it's great to see everyone here, but it's strange given all thats been going on recently" Gray inquired curiously. Mira was actually wondering the same thing. Earlier this morning there weren't nearly this many members here, and now it would seem that just about everyone is here. Well, except for Gildarts and Natsu that is. Just as Mira was about to answer Gray, the sound of bells filled the air.

Everyone in Magnolia knew what those bell's tolls signified, Gildarts was home. 'Speaking of the crash wizard…' Mira thought to herself with a smile. "Please prepare for the Gildarts Magnolia Shift" touted a magical airhorn, announcing the arrival of Fairy Tail's Ace. "Citizens please report to your designated safety zones, the Gildarts Magnolia Shift is about to commence! I repeat the Gildarts Magnolia Shift is about to commence!" The announcer ceased it's warning as all of Magnolia began to rumble and eventually split apart revealing a walkway and a single cloaked man making his way down the middle of it. Everyone hovered around the entrance and waited patiently for the crash wizard to arrive at the guild.

Gildarts had been aware of the whole situation concerning Natsu. The crash wizard had left on his job request only a couple of weeks before the pinkette left for his. As a matter of fact, he actually crossed paths with the fire dragon slayer a couple of months into his journey in a town know as Tigerlily. But ever since then, he hadn't heard about or seen the boy at all. Gildarts contemplated all of this as he made his way up the final ramp to reach the guild, where everyone was waiting on him. Once Gildarts reached the guild he was immediately bombarded with greetings, embraces, and more questions than he could think to answer. It was a good change in pace, all of this. Even though it wasn't Natsu who came through those guild doors, a nostalgic feeling crept up on everyone in the guild. A feeling that hadn't been felt for few years now, what else could it be? But happiness itself.

A few hours passed, since Gildarts' arrival and he was still getting bombarded with questions. Most of the questions were mostly centered around one thing, or rather one person that is. It was Gray who asked the question everyone wanted to know the answer to. "Oi, old man! Did you see the Flame-Brain while you were out?" Gildarts could only chuckle as everyone in the guild, including the master, leaned in ever closer to hear his response. "As a matter of fact, I did" Gildarts replied with a crooked goofy grin spread across his face. Upon hearing this, the guild erupted into a sea of whispers wondering what the crash wizard would say next on the matter. With this revelation, every single member of Team Natsu became wide-eyed mouths slightly ajar. "Where? Where did you see him?" Erza asked the man frantically. "Did he seem ok when you saw him?" Wendy interjected. "Relax everyone" Gildarts stated, causing everyone to grow silent in order to listen to what the crash wizard was going to say. "Now" Gildarts started "As to where I saw Natsu, it actually wasn't too far from here. We crossed paths in a little town about a five days walk from here, called Tigerlily" Gildarts stated with a thoughtful look on his face. "We had dinner together and we caught up with each other for a bit before we had a battle to see where he was at strength-wise" Gildarts smiled at this last statement. It really did seem like the fire dragon slayer had no limits, as Gildarts had to actually use about 70% of his total strength to actually fend off some of the pinkette's attacks.

Remembering that Wendy had asked him a question, the crash wizard withdrew from his memories. "My my Wendy, you sure have grown" Gildarts remarked with a huge grin. The sky dragon slayer could only sweatdrop at the man's previous statement, a little pink gracing her cheeks. This remark earned the crash wizard a heated glare from his daughter Cana, who also slapped him silly. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ok ok I get it, I'm sorry!" Gildarts cried out after being assaulted by his daughter. "Anyway…" Gildarts carried on "He looked just fine, when I saw him last" Wendy let out small sigh of relief hearing this. Even though it was a small solace, it was something. "However…" Gildarts began again. Wendy's relief was then cut short, so much for that. "When I was leaving the small town, I found this at the border" Gildarts turned to his satchel and removed a white scarf with a scaly pattern on it.

The mood in the room was pretty lively all things considered, but after seeing this famous scarf, it quickly dissipated. They all just stood there, staring at the scarf, even Gildarts was silent. "Oh, so that's were that was…" said a voice that was impossible to mistake. Everyone in the guild slowly turned around to see with their eyes, just in case their ears where playing tricks on them. At the guilds entrance stood a young man with long pink hair that reached down to his shoulders, and was slicked back with a few loose strands sticking up at the front. It could also be seen that his muscles were more defined, his face more angular and mature. He wore a black cloak/poncho that covered most of his upper body with a vest underneath, both sporting gold lining. To top it all off, he wore a pair of black cargo pants along with a pair of black combat boots. You'd think that everyone in the guild had seen a ghost. Though to be fair, that's not too far from the truth. A massive grin spread across Gildarts' face "Speak of the Fire Dragon…" the crash wizard mumbled. All of the members of Team Natsu were dumbfounded, just like that… all of their anxieties, all of their despair gone in the blink of an eye. The only thing that remained were tears, tears of pure joy. Even Gray was teary, though he looked away as if he wasn't interested. Unable to move or speak, they just stood there wide-eyed with tears rolling down their cheeks. The pinkette then locked eyes with his teammates, and what he saw in those eyes…was sorrow. The pinkette decided to deal with that later, right now he just wanted to enjoy this moment. Natsu then flashed his usual toothy grin and then said "yo! What's up guys?"

That's it for the first chapter everyone. Forgive me if it's too lengthy for your tastes, too be perfectly honest this is my first time writing anything. There will be mistakes and all that jazz cuz I'm a noob. At any rate please leave a review for me if you happen to give this story a look, it would be much appreciated. I need all the feedback I can get to improve, or give up lol. Please be gentle, thanks again for your interest. peace out!