The guild was bustling, as usual. Mirajane weaved between tables passing out food and drinks. She walked up to a table at the far left of the guild, where Lucy, Wendy, and Levy all sat engrossed in books. The one Levy had appeared quite old. Gajeel leaned against the wall next to the table, keeping a close eye on things. This had been the norm over the last month, ever since he learned Levy was pregnant.

"Hello everyone! What are you all up to today?" Mirajane asked in her usual chiper tone with a bright, warm smile.

Wendy looked up and gave Mirajane an equally bright smile. "Good afternoon Mira! Since Levy is expecting I thought it might be good for me to learn some healing magic specifically for expectant mothers and babies. Porlyusica sent over a bunch of books to help."

Mira chuckled. "Wendy, won't some of that be a bit too grown up for you?"

"Not to worry! I look at all the passages first and only let her read the ones not pertaining to...the conception…" Lucy blushed furiously while finishing her statement. "Actually, Levy is looking at one now that did not get the OK for Wendy to read."

Mira glanced over and noticed Levy had her glasses on and was fully engrossed in whatever she was reading from the ancient text. She had seen Levy like that before and knew it would be a fruitless endeavor to ask her any questions until she was done, so she simply shrugged and turned to Gajeel. "Can I get you anything?"

"Just water for Levy," responded Gajeel, never taking his eyes off the blunette as she sped read.

"Coming right up papa bear!" Mirajane responded, eliciting a death glare from the iron dragon slayer as she walked back to the bar.

After Mira came back with the water and went back to help other guild members, Levy finally sat the book down and sighed, "oh wow." Lucy and Wendy both looked up from their own books quizzically. Feeling their stares, Levy continued. "This book contains a powerful conception enchantment." As Wendy went completely red in the face and Lucy began to quickly scoot away, Levy laughed a little. "Don't worry Lu-chan, you still have to do...the things you have to do…to conceive a child for it to work."

At that Wendy began shivering and stuttering, so Carla began to pull her away. "I think that is enough for one day, I'm going to take Wendy home before she turns to stone," said Carla.

Once the young mage was out of the guild, Gajeel sat in the spot Wendy once was and nodded for Levy to tell more. "Well," she began "there is not much else to tell. This is a really, really powerful conception enchantment."

"I've never heard of a conception enchantment before," Lucy responded.

"I've read about them once or twice. They were very popular when they were first discovered because they pretty much guarantee pregnancy. But it wasn't long before they fell out of popularity. Some towns even banned their use."

"I wonder why?" Lucy mused.

"Well, from what I've read, though they almost ensured pregnancy, they also often times ended in loss. And sometimes...it wasn't just the baby that was lost." Levy looked down at her still small stomach sadly, and placed a hand on it. Gajeel, seeing her expression, placed his hand on top of hers and gave it a firm squeeze. She looked up and gave him a smile in thanks before turning her attention back to Lucy. "Stuff like this requires a lot of magical power, from both parents. I guess it was just determined to be too risky."

Lucy hugged herself. "That sounds so scary." She looked up at Levy and Gajeel and gave them an awkward smile. "I'm glad you guys did it the old fashioned way."

Gajeel could be heard shouting in embarassment throughout the guild as Erza walked in, her bangs hiding her face. She went and sat up at the bar, never looking at any of the other guild members as she passed. Mira walked up to her and gave her a cheerful smile, just a tad brighter than she gives the other members. "Good afternoon Erza! What can I get you today?"

"Beer," Erza muttered, never looking up.

Erza's tone made Mira's smile fade to nothing. "Erza? Are you ok?"

"I'm fine…" Erza responded, her voice barely audible over the ruckus of the guild.

"Erza, you don't have to…"

"Mira!" Erza snapped, finally looking up. But when she saw the concern in the white haired girl's eyes, she cast her eyes to the side and lowered her voice. "Just...get me a beer, please."

Mira wanted to say more, wanted to find out what was wrong with Erza, but knew when not to push matters. So she quietly nodded and brought the beer as requested.

The day wore on. Guild members came and went, until all that remained was Mira cleaning up and Erza still sitting at the bar. Mira had lost count of the amount of beers Erza had consumed. As she walked around cleaning tables she noticed the old book Levy had been reading had been left on the table, forgotten. It was unlike Levy to leave books, but Mira did recall her being rushed home by Gajeel when a sudden bout of sickness hit her. Mira just chuckled and picked up the book, placing it behind the bar for safe keeping for the time being.

Walking over to where Erza sat hunched over her mug, Mira placed her hands on the bar in front of her and leaned over so her chin rested on her hands, giving her a vantage point to look up at her friends face. "Tell me what's going on."

"Nothing," slurred Erza, her face red from all the alcohol. But it was more than just the amount she drank. Tears picked at her left eye.

Mira looked up into Erza face with an expression between sympathy and sadness. "Come on Erza, you never drink like this unless you're challenged or sad and I haven't seen anyone challenge you." She waited for a response, but when she got none she asked the question she dreaded to ask. "Is it Jellal?"

Erza shot up and threw her mug across the bar, missing Mira's face by an inch. "Fuck him!" Mira just stood in her spot, dumbfounded by both Erza's actions and words. "He is pardoned of all his crimes, and instead of trying to live his life he decides to go to Alvarez for who knows how long! What more does he have to atone for? And am I just supposed to wait around until he decides he has done enough?" A crack began to form in her voice. "Everyone else is moving on with the next part of their lives….with love...am I not worthy of love?"

Mira grabbed Erza's face with both hands and looked her hard in the eyes. "Of course you are worthy of love! You are loved!"

Erza finally let the tears that had been forming in her eye fall as she put her hands over Mira's. "Levy and Gajeel, Gray and Juvia, even Natsu and Lucy are starting to show more feelings. You even have Laxus!"

Mira gave a bewildered look. "Where did you hear Laxus and I were in love?"

"It's been going around the guild for a while now," Erza responded, her emotions finally calming a bit.

Mira placed her hand on her forehead as she felt frustration welling up inside her. "Oh for the love of Mavis, Laxus and I are not in love! He and Cana have something going on. And even if they didn't I still wouldn't go out with him because I love," She quickly placed her hand over her mouth as her eyes widened. She turned her back to Erza and started cleaning behind the bar.

However, Erza did not miss what Mira had almost said. Standing up she asked, "who do you love?" When she got no response she asked again, more firmly "Mirajane, who do you love?"

Mira nervously laughed but still kept her back to Erza. "No one, it's nothing…"

Not nearly satisfied with her answer, Erza stood up and marched behind the bar, gripping Mira by the shoulders. "Mirajane," she said, her tone harsh until she saw the almost scared looked on Mira's face as Mira continued to avoid looking at her. "Mira, we are both mages of Fairy Tail, you can tell me anything without fear. It's not good to keep such emotions bottled up. So, who do you love?"

Mira looked up into Erza's rich amber eyes that were once again filled with the passion she had come to know and… "You," she softly answered. "I love you."

Mira stood for what felt like a lifetime, waiting for Erza to respond. But she didn't. She just stood there, staring with her mouth agape. With each beat Mira could feel her heart breaking, as regret began to tie her stomach in knots.

She closed her eyes as a sad smile played on her lips. But when she tried to pull away she was held in place. And then she was swiftly pulled as Erza's lips crashed on hers. At first she felt nothing but shock, but that melted away as she melted into the kiss. Mira wrapped her arms around Erza's neck as Erza pulled Mira's body against hers, their kiss igniting with passion neither had felt before.

Erza slowly laid Mira back, not breaking their kiss until they were both safely on the ground. It was just a moment. But in that moment, in the passion in Erza's eyes and the whisper of her name, Mirajane got her response to her confession. And the two women, swept up in their new found passion and the feel of each others bodies, never noticed the light pink glow emanating from behind the bar.