Posted On: 1-3-2018 (First posting on this site for the year!) At: 11:23 PM
(CST GMT: -6:00)

A/N:

This is roughly 10,749 words long (without the notes). So this and the first part would be close to 18k-19k words long, if it was one chapter, as I had planned (That's how I will be posting it on my A3O account by the way).
Somehow this part doubled in size during the editing/proofreading process. Usually things get longer or shorter for me when I edit a chapter, but it's rare that they double in size.

Anyway, this is part 2 of the one-shot Fairy Tail Christmas fic. It continues where the first chapter left off. It ended a bit differently than I planned for some reason, not sure why. Anyway- Please remember, my mother was hospitalized, so I have not been able to focus on this as I would like. At the time of writing this, she is still there (though she is supposed to be released on the 4th)... She's still also sick, even when she does come home.

Anyway. Please keep that and the fact that I am dyslexic, in mind in regards to any really bad mistakes on my part in writing this. And if you don't like any of the pairings, then I am sorry. If you hate some or all of the pairings, please don't bother to flame me.

Previously:
Mest was poisoned by a strange Vulcan that they found, while searching for a special gemstone for Wendy's engagement ring.
And Wendy had just found a few special gifts for Mest for Christmas.

December 21st :

Mest groaned as he came to. His head was killing him. He was still hot. Looking around, he found Eve sleeping while sitting beside him. He was sitting in a chair made of ice (likely made by Gray for him) without legs, beside Mest's sleeping bag, and Eve looked exhausted. He was a bit pale. The bandage was still around his blonde head.
Mest started to try to get up.
But he felt weak and fell back down onto his sleeping bad. He realized then, that he had no shirt on. Looking around he saw that they were very close to the fire, but still...

'I should be freezing. Am I running a fever? What happ-?'

Suddenly he remembered that had happened, and frowning, he looked at his right arm, there was a thick white bandage around it. The bandage stretched from just an inch or so above his elbow all the way up to cover the bottom part of his Fairy Tail mark. He could move his arm, and work his fingers and everything... But- it hurt quite a bit.

Not far away he saw a large amount of used, and extremely bloody bandages in a corner of the cave. He assumed it was what had been changed on his arm.
Looking around once more, he saw Lyon sleeping and Gray was maintaining the ice door on the cave. But he was also playing with his ice-make magic, making things between his hands and then tuning them into other things.
The snow seemed to have stopped outside from what Mest could see... Looking to his left, he reached out and grasped Eve's wrist, and shook it.

After a minute, the snow mage blinked his blue eyes open and smiled when he saw his old friend looking up at him.
As Mest looked up at Eve, he realized that his vision seemed blurry and a bit dim. But he ignored it and after a few minutes the blurriness eased, anyway.

"Mest, you're awake! How do you feel?"

Asked Eve, as he moved closer and rested a cool hand against Mest's forehead.

"Like crap. Everything seems to hurt. And why am I shirtless? I hope I still have something on my lower body, under this sleeping bag cover..."

"Your shorts. Just those. We had to remove all your other clothes. No choice. Your shirts were all covered in a massive amount of blood. And then you spiked a seriously dangerous fever, so your pants were SOAKED in sweat.
We needed to cool you down and you couldn't be in sweaty clothes in this cold."

Mest sighed softly, he was still tired.

"Whatever, I guess. I'm sorry for the trouble..."

He said and then he was asleep again. Eve checked Mest's forehead again.

"How is he?"

Asked Gray from across the cave.
Eve looked up and shrugged. He got to his feet and went to his duffle bag. He pulled out more bandages and a bottle of yellow liquid from his bag.
He went back to Mest and forced the unconscious man to swallow a few drops of it. Then he cut the bandage on Mest's arm off with Gray's help to hold the arm up, while he worked, he pored some of the yellow stuff on the wounds after cleaning them, and then he bandaged it again.

"What is that stuff, anyway?"

Asked Gray.

"It's anti-poison. I don't know what sort of poison this is, though... So... I just hope this stuff works. Has that Vulcan come back yet?"

He asked as he continued wrapping the wounded arm. Gray shook his head. Earlier the strange creature had just left and stopped bothering them.
Which made all of them worried.
They waited another day, on the 22nd of December, Mest woke up again.
He was more with-it this time. He apologized to them for getting them stuck in there, and thanked the 3 of them for caring for him.
They all waved it off as no problem and helped him get back on his feet. He was cold, so he got both pairs of pants on, one shirt and a sweatshirt. The others were too caked in blood and hard from it having dried and frozen.
Then he grabbed his scarf and one coat. He teleported outside with Lyon, they both looked around, their backs to each other.
After a short while, they determined it was safe.

Then they teleported back into the cave and Mest put his second coat on.
Ignoring the teasing from Gray. They all ate, then packed up their things, put their fire out and headed out of the cave.
Mest was trying to ignore the dimming vision and the fact that he was occasionally seeing double and things were blurring... He didn't think much of it, so he didn't say anything about it. He just stuck close to Eve.

December 24th - 5 am - the mountain:

Now, they stood at the mouth of another cave. This one was massive. This was at the very top of the mountain. Avarona's gem was located somewhere inside.
They entered the cave early the morning of Christmas Eve.

6:30 am:

"Are we there yet!"

They all looked at Eve. He flashed a grin. Annoying them was keeping his mind off of being away from Meredy for so long.

"Shut it, Eve,"

Was all Gray said. He was on edge because of the demon energy he was sensing... The further inside the cave they moved, the stronger the energy was becoming.

"Any idea what sort of demon it is?"

Gray asked Mest. His guild-mate just shook his head.

"No. It also doesn't say why the demon is guarding it, or how it got here."

"There's a lot of unknowns, can't you just buy her a pretty NON-magical stone for an engagement ring?"

Asked Lyon. Mest sighed.

"Honestly... I considered it. But, Wendy was the one who told me about this gemstone. She said she wanted to try to acquire it at some point. She was thinking about all the help she could give others with a gem like that. One that enhanced sky magic should really help her a lot. I don't want her and Carla trying this alone... or with Natsu or something like that.
They will be in too much danger. So... I thought if I was going to ask her to marry me, I might as well get the gem myself. I was going to ask her on Christmas. But that's tomorrow. And once we get the stone I need to find someone who can safely cut it to go into a ring setting... I guess I'll have to wait to ask her... I'm sorry to have called you on such a long mission guys, I-"

Mest said, looking sad and tired, he rubbed at his eyes... why was it so dark in here?

"Master Bob can cut it for you, no problem."

He blinked, looking at Eve.

"Are you serious?"

Eve nodded.

"He's a sucker for romance, as well. So I think he'd do it for you for free."

His blonde friend added. Mest grinned slightly.

"Thanks ma-!"

Suddenly Gray and Lyon each jumped at Mest and Eve. They shoved the other men down and then there was a crash from where they had all been standing moments before. When the two of them stopped sliding on the icy ground (They had slid about 4 feet from where they had been standing) Mest blinked up, and frowned.
There was a giant rock embedded in the icy ground where they had been standing... Gray and Lyon were in a fighting stance already.
Both were also placing themselves between whatever was attacking and the two men they had just shoved to the ground.
Eve was moving quick to do the same as the other 2.
Mest was feeling sluggish, he had been feeling that way since he fully woke up, 2 days ago, but he had been ignoring it.
However, now it was more noticeable. And... What was wrong with his eyes? Was this cave really as dark as it seemed? If so, how could the other 3 see so clearly? He was starting to get nervous, now.
After thinking about it a little... Mest wondered if it was because of the earlier poisoning. He couldn't see much... Actually, now that he really paid attention... Was it just his eyesight dimming so much that it looked really dark in this cave to him?
Getting shakily to his feet, he stood with his back to Eve, Lyon and Gray.

"Uh... Guys? Is- is it getting dark in here?"

He asked. They blinked and looked around them, the 3 of them were still scanning the huge cavern they were in for where the rock came from.

"No,"

Said Lyon. Eve though, was worried about Mest's question.

"The poison might be affecting you're eyes..."

He said. Mest frowned, about to say something when-

"That's right! Hahaheheha! That's right- it IS!"

They all looked in the direction of the voice and saw the Vulcan from before.

"Right about what?!"

Asked Gray.

"The poison paralyzes the nervous system for those who get scratched. Within several days, they are mostly ok, but are still a bit sluggish. That they are! Haha! However, they usually go blind by the time they can move normally!"

"Shit!"

Swore Gray and Mest felt suddenly weak from this news. He was going to go blind? Eve put a hand on Mest's shoulder.

"Wendy can help when we get back, I'm sure of it."

Mest nodded but, he didn't believe it.
Meanwhile, Gray had taken a step closer to the creature.

"You're not a Vulcan, your a damned Demon, aren't you!"

"Bingo-ho-ho-ho! Bingo!"

Said the demon happily.

"Weirdo..."

Muttered Gray under his breath.

"I agree! I sure am a strange one, aren't I?!"

At that, they all looked at him. He actually agreed with them?! As Mest looked at the creature, his vision wavered and blurred even more.

"I'm not going to be of much help in dealing with it..."

Said Mest with a growl of annoyance in his voice. Eve squeezed his shoulder.

"Remember our training in the rune knights? With the blind-folds..."

Mest nodded.

"Then just act like you're blindfolded. I'll direct you where to move or where to teleport us to. Gray and Lyon work best together, and you and I are a good team, as well. Just close your eyes and trust my orders."

Mest considered it a moment, then he nodded. Eve walked over to tell the two ice-make mages what his plan was, Mest closed his sea-foam green eyes, taking a few deep breaths. He had to remember his training.
Mest knew that he had to stay calm. He remembered a technique that he was taught to calm himself. He tried that now.
Slow steady breathing. Thinking about something calming... Wendy came to mind. {{Watching her sleep, cuddled against him on his couch.
Then she wakes up and smiles sweetly at him... They kiss and-}} Mest snapped out of his thoughts, Eve had gently rested a hand against his friend's shoulder again. Mest opened his eyes and saw that Eve was looking blurry and unfocused. He realized he couldn't work like this. Eve was watching his friend worriedly.

"I'm OK, Eve. Just trying to calm my mind... The panic was building. It's not easy to hear that I am going to be blind very soon... As I speak, my vision is dimming even more, Eve... And there is no certainty that Wendy can heal me, either."

Mest said somewhat calmly.

"Did it work to calm you?"

"I-I think so..."

He said as Gray and Lyon were talking at the smart-ass, Vulcan-like demon.
Mest took a few more calming breaths, then he reached into his bag. He grabbed a long piece of fabric that was dark blue, around 3.5' long and about 4.5" wide.

"What's that?"

"One of Wendy's hair ribbons..."

He said running it through his fingers affectionately.

"Long and wide ribbon..."

Eve said in awe.

"She wears this one when she has her hair in a single ponytail..."

His voice was soft, Eve suddenly grinned.

"Why do you have her hair ribbon, anyway?"

Mest's cheeks colored slightly.

"Uh... We were... Well... It fell out during some activities at my house... And she forgot it."

"I see... Why did you bringing it?"

"To have something of hers with me... She has some of my things at her place."

"I didn't know you had gone that far."

"Well... We haven't gone all the way, but we often fall asleep in the living room of her place or mine, while we are together... And usually one of us forgets something when we come to and eventually leave."

Eve nodded... He wanted to ask Mest something else, but the man got to his feet from his kneeling position. They could hear that Gray & Lyon were now fighting the Demon.
Eve watched as Mest tied the ribbon around his head after doubling the ribbon's thickness by folding it in half then tiring it over his closed eyes. Once it was secured, he sighed.

"OK Eve. Let's get to it. Hope this plan of yours works."

"Why are you-?"

"It's better if I completely remove my eyes from the equation. If I see things around me with this bad eyesight, it will just disorient me. I can focus on your directions more easily, this way. Worrying about my eyes will be more of a problem than not doing so, at the moment. Seeing, with bad eyesight is more of a liability in this situation."

Eve nodded then remembered Mest couldn't see him. He took Mest's hand and rested it on his shoulder, Mest was standing behind Eve now.

"Got ya! Ok... It should work- just follow my orders and keep the memory of the layout of this place in your head."

Mest nodded.

"I'm ready."

"Teleport us to a 10:00 position."

"Done,"

He said softly, then a minute later they were in that location. The demon was currently distracted by Gray. Lyon was at the location they teleported to. Eve rested a hand on Lyon's shoulder.

"Teleport us to an upper level of the cave, doesn't matter where. Just above this bastard!"
Said Lyon. Eve looked around, Lyon got ready to use Ice-make as soon as they were moved. Eve gave Mest the coordinates of the place, then told him to return to this spot right away, there was only room there for Lyon to stand safely, so the two of them would fall. Mest did as told.
*Teleported* Eve let go of Lyon as he and Mest started falling. (Mest had grabbed hold of Eve's other shoulder before attempting this stunt.) Then-
*Teleport* and they were back where they had been before. Once more on their feet, both tried to get the feeling of the the free fall that they had started before, from their bodies. Eve's head was hurting from where he had hit it a few days ago.
Mest heard the demon suddenly screaming in pain and a second later, so was Gray.

"W-what happened...?"

He asked Eve, resisting the urge to remove the blindfold.

"D... Don't worry about it right now, get us behind that monster, then reach out directly in front of you and grab his head. Then use your memorial manipulation magic to scramble his brains a bit!"

Mest frowned as Eve moved to stand behind him. He felt Eve's hand on his left shoulder. His friend's voice had sounded shaky when he answered Mest.
He could still hear the demon screaming. And Gray was swearing up a storm and doing something to make blasting noises. He could gear Lyon trying to calm Gray down.

"Mest! Snap out of it!"

"Uh... Yeah, Eve. Sorry. Just- how badly hurt is Gray?"

"... I can't tell from here. We have to move now, before that demon recovers!"

"R-right..."

He took a few calming breaths and then used a direct line to the demon, appearing right behind it as it writhed in pain. An ice spear stuck in its stomach as it screamed. Mest reached out, while Eve prepared to attach it with his white-fang attack if it tried to hurt Mest. The blind mage sighed under his breath, grabbing the creature's skull and after a few minutes, it stopped moving, laying there with its eyes staring blankly at the ceiling of the cave. Where the spear was, it was bleeding a lot. As soon as he was done, he removed the blindfold.

"He was human woman... He was accidentally cursed by another demon and wants to guard the gem. She wants us to take it so that she can finally die. I know where it is."

He told Eve. Then he teleported them both to the location in the cave.

"It should be about 7 steps over there, then there's a switch in the ice, it should open a safe with the gemstone in it..."

Said Mest, pointing. Eve blinked at him.

"Shouldn't you get it?"

"Eve... I-I'm completely blind now. I won't be able to find the switch... And the path is uneven."

Eve frowned. He patted Mest on the back gently, then started to head over to where the gem was. He found the hidden switch. After he had the gem (which was the size of a very LARGE marble) he headed back to Mest.
Then Eve took his friend's hand and placed it in Mest's palm. He closed his fist around it then teleported himself and Eve to where Gray and Lyon were. Gray had been accidentally hit by a falling stalactite after being knocked onto his backside by the demon. It had gone through his thigh and he was bleeding.

"Let's get you to a hospital,"

Said Mest. Lyon was letting Gray lean heavily on him. He had left the ice in Gray's leg, he was afraid Gray would bleed to death. But Gray said he had been hurt worse and survived. He melted the ice and used it to make a stopper for the blood on the entry and exit wound of his leg. Still, it hurt like a son of a bitch!

"Did you get the gem, Gryder?"

Mest nodded and showed it to them.

"Wow... That's beautiful... I wish I had one for Chelia..."

Said Lyon. Mest apologized that it was the only one. He put it into a velvet pouch while Eve collected their things.

"Thank you."

Came the voice of a young woman from behind the 4 men. Eve who was a few feet away, turned and saw a pretty blonde woman behind them.

"Who are-?"

Lyon started but stopped when Mest spoke:

"Tempest?"

The woman, who Gray, Lyon and Eve were just noticing was see-through, nodded. She walked up to the blind mage and rested her transparent hand on his cheek.

"I'm sorry for what I did to you."

Her eyes went to Gray's leg and Eve's bandaged head as well as all of the scrapes and bruises on Lyon.

"-to all of you..."

She corrected. Lyon and Eve looked confused, but Gray noticed the Demon's body was gone.

"Hey Mest. Was she that demon?"

He asked, he was sure that his fellow guild-mate would know about it, if she was, because he had been in that thing's head. Mest nodded.

"Yes, she-"

"I'll tell them."

She said softly and looked at the other men as she folded her hands in front of her. She was becoming more transparent as she spoke softly.

"My grandmother was a sky-demon slayer, her name was Avarona. She was killed when my father was a teenager. He later hunted down the demon that killed her... And he THOUGHT that he had killed it... Several years layer, he met and married a woman. Then I was born. After that, his life was happy for a while. As I grew, he trained me to be a demon slayer like him. But, I didn't like fighting. I was... A disappointment, I think.
In anger, I ran away, taking his mother's gem with me.
I figured I had a right to it. After all, she was my grandmother.
Anyway... After sulking in the forest for a time, maybe a few days. I headed home to apologize..."

She paused. She looked to be crying. Her voice was shaky.

"I don't think my father knew that the gem was protective of him. And... I had removed that protection... The demon that killed my grandmother was in my home.
H-he... He had eaten my mother. And gravely injured my father. My father was on the floor. He had a missing leg and was bleeding from a hole in his chest, he seemed paralyzed. He had watched what that demon d-did to my mother-"

She covered her face with her hands and sobbed, falling to her knees. Mest felt for her, he had seen her memories. They were graphic... She had only been about 12 when this happened. He sighed deeply.

"After that, she tried to kill the demon, to save her father..."

Said Mest, knowing she couldn't go on.

"- but she ended up being injured and almost shared her mother's fate... Her father jumped between her and the demon. He was impaled with the monster's large claws. He died shielding her. His last words were that he loved her, he forgave her... And to run. So, she ran..."

"- Y... Yes, Mister Gryder is... He's right. I ran. I kept the gemstone and ran away again... I don't remember what happened directly after running... My memories a-are all jumbled. I remember, at some point I went back home, wanting to bury anything that was left of them. But... My house had been burned to the ground.
There was nothing but its charred remains... Then I remember that years passed. I was wandering from place to place with the gem in a pouch on a string around my neck... I got odd jobs here and there...
Then, I somehow came across another demon. I was tired of living this way. Later, I found out that this was the sky-demon who had trained my grandmother.
So... I stayed with it for a time. Soon that murdering demon who killed my parents and grandmother found us. The sky demon tried to protect me... But... Well, it was an old demon, and weak.
As it lay dying, and I was about to be killed- it asked me if I wanted the power to protect the gem at any cost.
I said yes... It grasped my hand. Moments later, it was dead, and I had taken the form that you saw earlier... I now looked like a strange Vulcan!
And I could actually fight back!
I killed that horrible demon. I ripped him limb from limb and enjoyed it!
Then... I was alone. So, I locked the gem away and guarded it."

She said softly, They all watched what was left of her, she was rapidly fading away as she continued talking.

"After several hundred years. The war of the dragons started...
I watched it all from here in my cave. There were dragons killing dragons, people killing people, dragons and people killing and helping each other... By then, I had lost all sense of my humanity, I think.
I was a shell of myself. However, once: a dragon slayer found his way here... I offered him a place to rest. He was friendly... I told him my story. I seemed to be gaining my humanity back. But... When I told him about the gem, and showed it to him... He seemed to change. He wanted it. He was apparently a sky dragon slayer!
It would amplify his powers! It would give him an advantage... I managed to chase him away without killing him. I blinded him, though.
I guess he told someone about the gem... Another hundred years went by... And I was insane from loneliness... More time passed after that. I chased away anyone who came here looking for the gem... I think that I was crazy... I had been trapped within that body for just too long... I hated myself and others. So, thank you all for releasing me!"

She said again. She bowed to them as she said her thanks, once more. By now, they could barely see her.

"I can finally go to where my mother and father and grandma are. I am eternally grateful! I wish you a happy marriage to you're Wendy, Mest..."

Was the last thing she said, her voice fading into an echo as she finally was gone for good. After that, Mest teleported them all to Magnolia hospital after a few stops to rest. Eve was examined, then he checked out... Then, after that (and after Mest gave him some instructions for what to do with the gem) Eve took the gem to Master Bob, for Mest. Mest and Gray were admitted for treatment. They asked Lyon to get Wendy for her to heal Gray and try to heal Mest's eyes.

December 24th - 3:50 pm:

Wendy, Chelia and Juvia followed Lyon to Gray's room. Mest had been examined, but no one knew what to do about his eyes, Wendy had not been told about him yet. She healed Gray, as soon as she got to his room. Then she looked at Gray and Lyon as Juvia was hugging Gray.

"Where is Mest?"

"He's also- I'll take you to him."

Said Lyon. He lead she and Chelia to the room that Mest was in. When she saw him, she looked him over from where she stood, then she started walking over to him. That's when she noticed something: his green eyes were blank.
As if he didn't see anything. When he didn't respond to her walking closer to him, she knew. But it was confirmed when he looked around, in the direction of the sound of her soft foot falls.

"Who's there?"

Lyon gently pulled Chelia out of the room as she started crying, when she heard that. Wendy sighed.

"I... It's me, Mest."

"Wendy."

He reached out and she took his hand. Sitting beside the man on the bed, she held that hand. Then she reached out with her other hand to touch his face gently.

"W-what happened?"

"A spell... Poison of some sort. They can't fix it here."

"Let me see what I can do..."

She released his hand. Resting both her hands on his face, with her thumbs under each eye, and her other fingers on each side of his head, near each eye. He waited as she closed her eyes, trying to focus.
He felt a warmth in her touch and knew she had started trying to heal him. Time passed, the silence stretched on... Then the warmth dissipated and he felt her forehead rest against his chest as her hands slid from his face down to grip his shoulders, she was shaking... He could tell she was crying. He pulled her into a hug as she sobbed.

"I... It's not working! Wh... Why can't I heal you?!"

"I don't know... I'm so sorry Wendy... But, at least we're together..."

She just hugged him as she cried.

"What happened to Mest, Lyon?"

Demanded Chelia. He sighed. They were sitting in the waiting room.

"He went on a quest to get something special for Wendy, for Christmas... He was attacked by a demon."

She sighed.

"This is such a mess..."

She felt so badly for Wendy.

"About what you asked me, before we all went with Gryder-"

He stopped as she rested a finger against his lips, she wiped at the tears staining her face with her other hand.

"L-later, Lyon..."

She couldn't take it right now, if he refused her... He just sighed softly and nodded.

Meredy walked into the Blue Pegasus guild/bar. Eve was sitting at the bar talking to Hibiki.

"You OK?"

She asked as she walked up to her husband, her hand on her belly. She had been with the other girls when Lyon came for them. She had asked the Ice Make mage if Eve was OK, and he said he was, that he was going to the B.P. guild. Since it was unlike him to not race home and harass her, she came here.
Eve blinked at her.

"I should ask you that."

He said seeing that she looked a bit pale.

"I'm fine. Why are Mest and Gray injured? Were you?"

"Minor head wound. I'm OK now, though... As for why-"

"Here you are hon!"

Said Master Bob as he came out of a back room. He had 6 jewelry boxes on a serving tray. He sat it on the bar in front of Eve, and handed Eve a box.

"For you. Then, this one is for Gray, and this one for Lyon... And these 3 are what Mest asked for, sweetie!"

He pointed to each of them in turn. Then he got out some bags, he wrote each man's name on the bags, as Eve pocketed the box he had.

"Eve-"

Said Meredy.

"In a minute hon- master Bob; I'm surprised you could do all o-"

"Eve..."

Meredy tried again. Hibiki looked at her and his eyes widened. He motioned to Ren, and the two men closed up the bar after kindly sending their customers away and while Eve and Bob talked.

"Eve!"

He turned in time to see her being helped to the floor by Hibiki.

"What th hel-!"

"I'm in Labor!"

She cried out and he fainted.

When Eve came too, he was on a couch. He blinked. Master Bob was mopping the floor.

"I had a strange dream..."

The snow mage started as he sat up.

"It was no dream sweety-pie! Your a papa!"

Said Bob. Eve paled, then looked around.

"Where's Meredy?!"

"Resting in your old room up stairs, love. With your daughter."

At that, Eve bolted completely upright, then he ran to the bedroom. He walked in to see Meredy sleeping with the baby in her arms. She was in his old bed, but propped up. Jenny and Hibiki were in there, as well.

"'Bout time you woke up! You missed your daughter's birth!"

She snapped but Hibiki dragged his wife from the room before she could say anything else, as Eve went over to look at his two sleeping beauties.

December 25th - midnight:

Mest woke up when someone quietly entered his hospital room. Wendy was sleeping on the couch in the corner.

"Eve?"

He whispered, he knew his friend well enough to know it was him.

"Merry Christmas, sorry it took so long, Meredy had the baby at my guild..."

"Is she OK?"

"Yeah. She and the baby are both fine... Here's the items you wanted master Bob to make for you. Your sure you wanted him to make something for all of us to give our girls?"

Mest nodded.

"It's a thank you for the help. "

He said. Eve was about to say something else, but they heard Wendy starting to wake up.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

Said the blonde. Mest nodded, holding the bag his friend had given him. He sighed and waited to see if Wendy was awake. But she had just been shifting in her sleep.

December 25th – 7 am:

Mest woke up to Wendy kissing him on the cheek.

"M-merry Christmas,"

She said softly. He smiled.

"Merry Christmas, love."

"I got you gifts... But- they are at my place, and... I don't think you can use them now that you can't see..."

"I'll get my sight back, Wens."

He said, sounding more confident than he felt.

"I hope so..."

She said softly.

"I have something for you, too, Wendy... I don't know what it looks like, though. It was made after I couldn't see... So- I hope you like it."

He handed her the bigger of the 3 boxes, he was grateful to Eve for wrapping 2 of the 3 boxes. He left the ring box unwrapped... She took it and after unwrapping it, she opened the large jewelry box. Inside were a set of earrings, and a necklace. Parts of the gemstone were twinkling up at her from each.
The gem was in a flower shaped setting, making it look like a twinkling flower. The same was the focal point of the necklace, with some leaves that had gemstones in them. Also, there were parts of the stone dangling in smaller tear shaped drops along the length of the necklace. She then took the second box that he handed her, it was long and thin. She unwrapped it, then she opened it. There was a bracelet with the same pattern as the necklace inside.

"Their beautiful, Mest! Thank you, I lov-"

"That's not all Wendy..."

He held out the unwrapped ring box. Opening it, so she could see the ring, he took a deep breath.

"Wendy Marvel: will you marry me?"

She blinked, her eyes were stinging with tears that were threatening to come.

"Oh Mest... Yes!"

She said softly as he took the ring out of the box, she rested her hand in his, and he carefully slid it on her finger after making sure he had the correct finger.
Once it was on her finger, she gently framed his face with her hands and kissed him.

Later that morning, at around 10 am, Eve found Gray and Lyon and gave them the gifts from Mest, for them to give to Juvia and Chelia. The one that Gray got, for Juvia was a broach. The one that Lyon got for Chelia, was a ring. When Lyon realized it was an engagement ring.

"Is Mest trying to tell me something?"

He asked Eve. The shorter man grinned.

"Yeah. Same thing I'm going to tell you: "Get your head out of your ass and do what your heart says... Ignore the age difference!" That enough of a message for you?"

Lyon looked a bit annoyed.

"Yeah... I got it... Thanks... To the both of you..."

"Lyon! Who was at the door?!"

Eve heard Chelia call from inside the house. At that Eve saluted Lyon and then he left. Lyon took a deep breath, he closed the box, and then he turned to look at Chelia as he put it in his pants pocket. She was in a pair of pj's still... And because it was chilly in their home, she also wore a snugly around herself, she rubbed her eyes.
He had let her sleep in because she had been upset and up for a long time the night before, upset about Mest's blindness and how badly she felt for Wendy.
Even making love to her last night hadn't calmed her for long. Something triggered another crying fit after they had finished. Now, as Lyon looked at her, Eve's words repeated in his mind. And the ring Mest gave him felt like it weighed the world.

"Lyon...? Are you OK? You're not answering me, why are you staring at me like that?"

Chelia asked, and he suddenly slapped both hands onto his face, and he signed as he rubbed his face with his hands. Chelia watched him curiously.

"Lia..."

He said softly and then removed his hands from his face. The silver ring she had placed on his hand over a week ago, caught his eyes, and he held his hand out, looking at it. She watched him. When he had said her nickname, he had sounded so serious.
So, she waited, almost holding her breath. Then he looked at her.

"I know we already opened our gifts... But. I have another one for you."

He said, she relaxed a bit. Was that all it was? She thought he was going to say that he didn't want to marry her...

"Another one?"

Was all she could think to say. He nodded and as he walked over to her, he pulled out the ring-box, then dropped to one knee before her and held it for her to see.

"Chelia Blendy, I say: "Yes" and now, I ask you the same thing: "Will you please marry me, beautiful?" And I sure as hell hope you like this ring."

He said. She blinked and knelt in front of him, crying as she hugged him.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Ye-"

He had kissed her deeply to quiet her, when the kiss was broken he slid the ring on her finger.

Gray waited in the kitchen while Juvia got dressed. When she finally came out, he was looking at a box that was sitting on the table in front of him.

"What is that, Gray?"

"Yours..."

He said handing her the box. Blinking at him, she opened the box and took out the pin, smiling, she threw her arms around him, happily.

"Juvia loves it, Gray, but you didn't have to g-"

"Juvia... lets just go open the other Christmas gifts?"

He asked, and she happily nodded as she released her lover, only to yank Gray to his feet and drag him into the sitting room where the gifts and tree waited.

Lucy blinked at Wendy and Mest. She knew there was something wrong with his eyes right away. They were blank, and unfocused. She let her guild-mates into her apartment. Happy & Carla, as well as Natsu & Lisanna were all in there already. Loke looked up from what he was doing when Lucy lead them in. Wendy was holding Mest's hands and carefully leading him.

"What the hell happened to you, Buddy?"

Asked Natsu bluntly. Mest's arm had been healed, the only thing wrong now, was his eyes.

"So... you really can't see?"

Asked Natsu a while later. He waved a hand in front of Mest's face and there was no reaction other than Lucy, Lisanna and Wendy sighing.

"No Natsu. I can't. But I can hear, so whatever you're doing to make the girls sigh, please stop that."

Said Mest calmly. Natsu put his hand down and frowned. What good was a blind Fairy Tail Mage...? He wisely didn't ask that out-loud. Instead, he sat back and thought about that for a few minutes. Meanwhile, Lisanna looked at Wendy and Mest.

"So, they checked Mest at the hospital? The poison is out of his body?"

Wendy nodded.

"Yes, they found no more poison in his body, not anywhere..."

"Why can't he see, then?"

"The poison damaged or destroyed the nerves in his eyes... I'm hoping they were damaged, and not destroyed..."

Said Wendy.

"Wendy can heal damaged. But... Not dead nerves."

Mest said, Wendy squeezed his hand. Lucy blinked, seeing the flash of the sapphire on Wendy's finger just then.

"Wendy, that ring: Is it-?"

Wendy smiled.

"Mest asked me to marry him this morning."

She said with a smile. Then she held her hand out so that Lucy & Lisanna could see the ring.

"He gave me a set of earrings, a necklace and a bracelet, as well, that go with it. These gemstones are really beautiful..."

"That's "Avarona's breath", Wendy."

Mest said softly. Suddenly Wendy looked up at him with wide eyes. The others looked like they didn't know what that meant, and that was understandable. Suddenly Wendy excused them both, got to her feet and pulled Mest up with her. She took him out of Lucy and Loke's apartment and into the hall. Looking up at him, She searched his face.

"Is that how you were blinded? Getting that gemstone for me?"

She asked him seriously, a hand on his cheek.

"I won't lie to you, Wendy. Yes, I was poisoned while getting it... The blindness was a result of that."

She closed her eyes. Until now, she had only been told that he had been poisoned somehow and that this was what came of the poisoning...

"Mest, you-"

He rested a finger against her lips.

"Lets talk about it tonight at my place, ok?"

She looked at him, he looked as if he seriously did not want to discuss it here... Sighing softly she leaned her forehead against his chest.

"I feel guilty beca-"

She was cut off because he had just gently pushed her away from him and, leaning down, he quieted her with a soft kiss. When he broke the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers, his green eyes closed as he held her close to him.

"I don't want you to feel that way. PLEASE, don't feel that way, Wendy. You can do so much with that gemstone to enhance your healing abilities. I did it because I love you so much... I wanted you to have it and I wanted you to not be in danger when you got it. I knew what I was doing was dangerous. That's why I asked Eve, Gray and Lyon to help me. Save your guilt until after we talk later... Ok?"

"Wens?"

"Ok, Mest... But this discussion is NOT done..."

He nodded and he kissed her again. After that, they headed back inside.

"Everything ok?"

Lucy asked when she saw them. Wendy nodded, but to Lucy, she looked anything, but ok... She thought Wendy looked about ready to cry.

"Yeah, Lucy. I'm sorry."

She said and looked around. Lisanna was getting her scarf and coat on, Natsu was waiting for her.

"Are you two leaving?"

Wendy asked. Lisanna nodded.

"Yeah, we left Natsuko with Elfman and Evergreen. And she's probably driving them insane."

She said mentioning her and Natsu's 3 year old daughter. Wendy nodded.

"Ok, I'll see you later, then."

Said Wendy. Mest also said goodbye to them, but Natsu stopped and looked at Mest, the fire-dragon slayer frowned at him.

"You better treat Wendy well, Gryder."

Mest arched an eyebrow as Wendy rolled her eyes and Lisanna gave her husband an annoyed tug on his arm and then Natsu finally left with his wife. After they left (Happy and Carla having already gone off somewhere, flown out the window while Wendy and Mest were talking) Wendy looked at Lucy and Loke.

"Loke... Do you have any idea of a way to help Mest's eyes heal?"

"We're not gods anymore, Wendy. We can't heal dead things, like dead nerves..."

Wendy sucked in a breath sharply.

"So, they were destroyed?"

Loke sighed.

"If YOU can't heal it- Then the nerves are likely dead, yes. I'm sorry... I wish I knew of a way to help..."

Wendy looked discouraged, but she nodded.

"Thank you, anyway..."

She said.
Lucy got up and left the room. She came back with 2 gifts. She handed one to Wendy and one to Mest. Wendy had handed Lucy the gifts for her and Loke when she first arrived there with Mest.

"Thank you both..."

Said Mest.

"But, I'll open it later, if you are ok with that...?"

Lucy nodded... Then caught herself, and spoke up, since her guild-mate could not hear her nodding...

"Yes, that's fine, Mest."

She said as Wendy opened her gift. It was a book of healing spells.

"They aren't sky-dragon magic spells, but they are sky spells and spells related like air and wind magic. But, they might be nice additions to your healing abilities... That's what we hoped, anyway."

Said Lucy. Wendy hugged her tightly. Lucy was surprised at how tightly she was hugging her. But she hugged her friend back anyway. She had a feeling Wendy needed a hug.

7PM Christmas Night- Mest's Apartment:

When Wendy came over, she found her fiance trying to cook. Blind.
Which was turning out to not work too well.
He had already slammed his shins on a few things in the kitchen and burnt his hands in a few places... And also had cut himself.
She rushed to his side and turned off the stove and took both of his hands, leading him into his living room.

"I'll cook in a while..."

She told him softly as she sat on the couch with him. They had dinner with Lyon and Chelia before going to see Lucy and the others. After leaving Lucy's, Wendy had left Mest here a few hours ago, so she could go home and do a few things and leave Carla a note to let her know where she was going to be... And she came back to find him damaging himself further.

"Let me heal your hands..."

She said and started to do so. There was a tension in the air. Finally, Mest felt dampness on his hands. He knew she was crying again.
He pulled her into his arms and held her. She hugged him and cried.

"It's my fault that yo-"

"No. It's not. Let's get something straight Wendy. I am an adult! I have just turned 30 and you are going to be 21 in a few months. I chose to go and do this. I knew it would be risky. I WANTED to do this."

"B-But if I hadn't mentioned being interested in obtaining tha-!"

He was holding her shoulders. He gave her a very little shake. Just enough of a shake to get her to stop. She stopped talking, looking up at him.

"You had no idea that I would go and do this. "What if's" and "maybe's" will only do so much. If you are mad at me for going, just say so."

"I-I'm not... I just..."

She sounded lost and sad. He tilted her face up to his, and he kissed her softly. Quickly, though, the kiss deepened and turned hungry: with teeth nipping and tongues twisting together. Soon he had pulled her closer to him, and she realized that she was straddling his lap with her jean clad legs on either side of his hips on the couch, as he held her close to him, kissing her with everything he had.
Soon she was whimpering and gasping for breath between the kisses and when he realized she needed a break to breath, he trailed those kisses down her throat.

"Mest..."

She whimpered as she shifted her hips restlessly. He stopped. Breathing hard as he rested his cheek against her collarbone and held her close to him.

"I love you, Wendy..."

He said softly, still somewhat out of breath as she held him close, she could feel how hard he was through his pants and hers, she knew he was trying to hold back his desire. He usually did, when things got hot and heavy, and she usually let him pull back.
But, not tonight. She ground her hips into his own, making him groan involuntarily as his hips jerked up towards hers.
He was about to tell her to stop, that he couldn't take her doing that, when she spoke, instead-

"Lets go to your room, Mest..."

He blinked, even though he couldn't see and sat up, facing her. She smiled, and touched his face gently.

"Before you ask, Yes... I'm sure."

She said softly as she leaned in to him and kissed him again. He groaned and pulled her close against him, the next minute she felt slightly disoriented, then Wendy was on her back with him kneeling over her as they kissed once more. She relaxed and started undoing the buttons on his shirt...

Wendy woke up a few hours later. She was a bit sore and naked... At first she was disoriented, then she remembered what she and Mest had done.
She looked at the man laying beside her sound asleep, also naked with the blanket covering his lower body, and hers. Reaching out, Wendy gently touched his face, her fingers lingering over his closed eyes a moment.
She sighed very softly and slipped out of the bed, she found where her clothes had been tossed earlier in their frenzy to touch each other. Wendy dressed, then she looked at the ring on her finger. Glancing back at her sleeping lover, she headed out to the living room- looking for her coat.

Wendy found it and dug out the Christmas gift from Loke and Lucy. She sat on the couch and started to read the book, she had a pair of glasses like the ones that Levy had. They were special glasses that allowed one to consume the information in a book fast. Within minutes, she had learned all the spells in the book. Sitting back, she closed her eyes and thought over them. Sifting through, looking for the spells she needed...

When Mest woke up, she was back in the bed, she was wearing the earrings, necklace and bracelet that went with her ring. Though he could only tell that she was there, at first. But when he pulled her close, he felt the bracelet. When he kissed her throat, he brushed against the necklace and earrings... Pulling back, he was wondering why she had put them all on. Then an image of her naked, and only wearing the jewelry came to his mind... He was turned on just by thinking of how she must look. But then another thought occurred to him, and he worried that he had hurt her earlier.

"Why are you awake? Did I hurt you too much earlier when I took-"

She pressed a finger to his lips.

"No, the pain is easing. Almost gone. Just be quiet, a minute..."

He nodded and she removed her finger from his lips. He waited in darkness. It was easy to feel her gathering magic. And faintly hear her whispering the words to a spell. The amount of magic she was gathering was enormous, though. Mest had a feeling she was trying to heal his eyes again.
But, if the optical nerves were dead, he doubted that she could- He stopped that train of thought. There was a sudden sharp pain behind his eyes. He shut them tightly as he winced, a hand going to each side of his head in response to the pain.

Wendy was doing something that her dragon mother had told her to NEVER do: She was mixing spells.
She knew there would be a price to pay for doing it, but if it worked... It would be well worth it! She saw that he was in pain, and tried to ignore it as she closed her eyes to focus on the spells. She was using some of the spells from the book that she was given and the spells she had learned from Grandeeney.

Her skin felt like it was burning, she felt like she did when she was using the dragon force, the gems in her necklace, earrings and bracelet as well as the gems in her ring were all burning where they rested against her skin. She could feel them amplifying her magic. She was feeling ill from the sheer amount of magic she was gathering.
Suddenly Mest cried out in front of her, she opened her eyes and saw him curled up, holding his head.
She wanted to stop, to hold him close, but... She was almost done with these spells.

"Wendy!"

She saw him reach out a hand, his eyes were still shut tightly. She had magic flowing through both of her hands, but- she focused and shifted it all to her left hand and reached out with her right. Wendy grasped his hand and their fingers intertwined.

"M-m... my he-head... It h-hurts...!"

"I know... Bear with it a few more minutes, Mest..."

She said, after saying the last of the spell. He squeezed her hand and groaned in pain. It felt like his eyes and ears were bleeding, it hurt so bad! Once the magic had finished leaving her body, she scooted closer to him in the bed and pulled him into her arm. He leaned against her with his head on her chest.
She brushed the tears from his cheeks and just held him as he shook. After a while, she lifted her left hand, intending to rest it on his head, but she stopped short when she saw feathers sprouting from her wrist. There were tiny pinkish white scales running along the outside of her forearm... The Dragon force shouldn't have still been active.

Reaching up, she grasped some of her waist length hair and brought it up to her eyes... It was multi-colored... Not just pink, like when she was in the dragon force, and not just her natural dark-blue color. As far as she would tell, it was dark, then light blue, bleeding into lavender, and from there it turned pink towards the tips of her hair...

'Is this my price?'

She wondered as Mest groaned and shifted in her arms. Slowly, he sat up with her help and held his head with one of his hands. His eyes were still closed.

"Mest? How's the pain?"

She asked softly, resting a hand on his cheek. He leaned his face into her hand and sighed softly.

"The pain is easing... What did you do t-"

He trailed off as he opened his eyes and saw her. He actually saw her! At first his vision was extremely blurry and foggy, but as he blinked... With each blink she became clearer to him. Wendy watched him as he blinked his eyes many times.

"M-Mest... Can you see me?"

Some more blinking, then he looked around the room, and back to her.

"I-I can see you. Why are you feathered and what happened to your hair-? I didn't feel any feathers when we were making love..."

She blushed brightly.

"I mixed magics and spells..."

"But... Isn't that dangerous?"

She nodded.

"It was worth the risk. You could have lost your life getting that gem! Gaining some scales, feathers and a new hair color is a small price to pay."

She said, hugging him.

"Your left eye is a pretty pink color..."

He said, holding her closer to him. She smiled against his chest. She had guessed as much. There were fewer scales and no feathers on her right wrist. She assumed that shifting all the magic to her left hand had made the change more pronounced on her left side.

"Still, it was worth it..."

She echoed her earlier words. He shifted them so that she was under him, as he gazed at her.

"Do you hate this look?"

He shook his head.

"No... I fell in love with your personality, not your looks. But- You're still beautiful."

He said as he leaned down with a soft groan and kissed her as she brushed her thigh against the very alert part of him below the sheets.

"Merry Christmas, Mest..."

She sighed in pleasure as he kissed down her throat.

The Next morning Wendy gave him the books and the bracelet. He was amazed by both books and what they did, and he agreed that the communication diary was needed and he liked that they each had one and that they each had a bracelet.
When he put his on, it took the form of a gold cuff like bracelet. The first picture he saw when he opened the book that Levy had made, was the type of flower from Tenroujima that he had suddenly started eating.
Both he and Wendy laughed at the memory of how horrified he had made her and shocked she was.

December 31st:

Wendy, Chelia and Juvia were at Eve and Meredy's house once more, Meredy was sitting on the couch, holding her week old baby girl. The baby had hair. It was the color of both Eve and Meredy, it was blonde towards the ends and pink at the roots. This was the first time that they had all been together since just before Christmas.
The women were awed at Wendy's new-look.
Her right eye was still brown, her left was pink, like when she was in dragon force. Her hair was its usual color at the roots and lightened the blue out the further it went from her scalp, around just below her ears, close to her shoulders the color changed to lavender from light blue, and then from lavender it eventually turned pink.

Thankfully the feathers and fur that usually appeared at her shoulder blades when in the dragon force, did not stay, like the left eye color and hair color. But her left leg had tiny scales and fur with feathers at the outer side of her ankle joint.
The fur there was sparse, the scales were heavy where the feathers were, and as they climbed up her shin, they became sparse and by the time you looked at her knee, there were no scales. It was the same for her left arm: feathers at her wrist joint on the outer side of it, with fur and scales and the further towards her elbow you looked, there were less. On her right side, there was a sprinkling of scales and some very tiny feathers at her wrist and ankle joints on the outside of the limbs.
In the kitchen Mest sat with Gray, Eve and Lyon. He left out the mention of the activities that he had been doing with Wendy before and after, but he told them about how she healed his eyes. Eve was shocked.

"You know, she might have blinded herself, if the price were different..."

"Thanks, I needed that added thought to guilt me further."

Said Mest sarcastically.

"Maybe the hair and eye color will eventually revert?"

Asked Gray. Mest shrugged.

"No idea..."

He said and sighed. He felt bad about what happened to her. But... She usually destracted him when he thought about it too much.

"So, when are you getting married?"

Asked Gray, looking at Lyon and Mest both. Mest smiled, looking at the cup of hot chocolate in his hands.

"As soon as possible..."

Was all he said. They'd have to get married soon: about 2 days after Christmas, they both realized that their activities in his bed (and there had been a lot of activities in his bed over those 2 days) had been without protection.
So, he wanted to marry her before she told him she was pregnant. He didn't delude himself that she might not be. The only way she wouldn't be, was if either of them had trouble reproductively... And he told her that. She had agreed with him, blushing heavily.
Mest had left the date up to her.
If she wanted it to be today or in a month, either way he was fine with it. Gray looked at Lyon.

"What about you?"

"February."

"Huh?"

Gray, Eve and Mest looked at Lyon.

"We're getting married on February 7th."

He said, looking at his own drink. Then he looked up at the others a bit sheepishly.

"Chelia's already likely about 3 or 4 weeks pregnant..."

She had taken a pregnancy test recently, and she had also told him about the potion that she had taken in November and the start of December to ensure that she conceived... At first, he had been a bit upset.
But, after thinking about it, that was definitely a very Chelia thing to do... And he couldn't be mad at her for being herself.

"Why the 7th?"

Eve asked. Lyon chuckled slightly.

"She said that she didn't want to get married on Valentine's Day, it would be too corny and anyway, she wanted to use a number she liked..."

Just then, Wendy came into the room with Chelia, each went to their respective fiance and whispered in his ear. Both Lyon and Mest looked startled. The girls were smiling. Mest looked at Wendy.

"Are you sure?"

Wendy nodded as Lyon just said: "Whatever," To what Chelia had said.

"What's going on?"

Asked Eve, thinking the girls looked so happy they were glowing.

"Looks like it will be a double wedding."

Said Lyon as Mest pulled Wendy into his arms and kissed her as she sat on his lap. Gray blinked, he noticed Juvia peaking at him around the corner. He frowned and cleared his throat.

"Juvia and I eloped Christmas Night."

He said drawing attention to himself.

"You what?"

Asked Lyon. Gray held up his left hand, which he had been hiding for the most part, all day. There was a wedding ring on it. Wendy smiled.

"Juvia already told us..."

Said Wendy with a giggle, as she hugged Mest while still sitting in his lap... Gray nodded, looking at his lurking wife.

"Did she also tell you that she is 3 months pregnant?"

He asked. Wendy shook her head. Chelia looked at Juvia, as Meredy came up stand behind her blue haired friend.

"Because of the injury in her midsection, during the war years ago. It was when she and Gray were forced to fight each other. Juvia stabbed herself... The location she stabbed herself in was too close to her reproductive organs... Even though Wendy healed her, they were weakened."

Meredy told Wendy and the others, as Gray and Juvia looked somewhat uncomfortable. Juvia rubbed her arm, and looked at her friends...

"Since Juvia has been in a relationship with Gray, she has already miscarried 2 times."

Said Juvia softly. Chelia thought for a minute.

"So, your due around the time that Loke and Lucy are due to have their baby. That would be June? Maybe. And I will have my baby in early August... Give or take. And Wendy will-"

"Hey, wait a minute Chelia! I don't know that I'm pregnant!"

Wendy shouted, everyone looked at her and Mest. The only one she had told about being with Mest that way, was Chelia and now she had gone and blurted it out. Eve grinned at Mest.

"You guys had unprotected sex, didn't you? That's why you want to marry her soon!"

"Stick it, Tearm!"

He said shoving his grinning friend away from him.

"Anyway-"

Chelia continued.

"-Wendy should be due in September, or the end of August!"

She said as Wendy glared at her moodily.

"I just said that I don't know I'm pregnant!"

She half laughed and half snapped at Chelia. Meredy watched them all and noticed that Gray and Juvia were teasing Wendy and Mest as well. She went into the nursery and looked at her baby in the bassinet.

"Looks like you're going to have a lot of friends, Noel."

She said softly, as she caressed the sleeping baby's cheek. She had considered naming her Ul or Ultear... But, she had a feeling that her foster mother wouldn't want her doing that. She would see it as living in the past. So Meredy had named her Noel, since she was born on Christmas eve.

END

I don't Own Fairy Tail Or ANYTHING connected to it.