Disclaimer: I do not own any of the following characters, I'm just borrowing them.

"Guys, wait up!" Levy yelled, bunching her skirt up in her tiny fists before running after her two teammates. Jet and Droy had been running from her all day, and Levy was getting more and more frustrated. She could be playing with Cana! Or reading with Lisanna! But no, she had to chase her idiot teammates around!

"Master says it's time for dinner!" she yelled, turning the corner. She heard loud giggles and smelled magic in the air before something rushed past her, making her hair whip around her face. The seven year old cried out, covering her head. "Jet! That's not very nice!" Levy shouted, feeling her bottom lip start to tremble.

Two heads peeked around the corner, and both Jet and Droy giggled. "Come on, Levy," Droy called, "you gotta be able to keep up!"

"Then stop using your magic!" she said, stomping her foot. They both laughed again before disappearing, and Levy pressed her lips together tightly. She gripped her mother's necklace, blinking quickly to keep from crying. It'd only been a month since she had left Tenroujima, and she already wanted to go home. The people here were nice, but it could be so loud. She missed the smell of the ocean. She missed the feeling of sand under her feet and soft green grass against her back.

She missed her Mother.

"Tag!"

Levy cried out as two small hands hit her back, right between her shoulder blades, and she fell to the ground as pain shot through her tiny form. Her back and knees throbbed painfully, and Levy couldn't hold back the sobs bubbling up her chest. The wounds on her back were still tender, despite the healing cream Makarov had been giving her, and the two long gouges under her shoulder blades throbbed.

"What did you do?" Droy asked, panic in his voice as he looked down at the crying girl.

"Nothin'! I just tagged her!" Jet shot back, and Levy wailed louder. The two young boys panicked and shared a look before Jet turned towards the front of the guildhall. "Dad!" he yelled, and there was the sound of rushing footsteps.

"Jet, what happened-" the footsteps stopped, and Levy whimpered. "Boys! What happened?" the low voice barked out, and two callused hands carefully helped Levy back to her feet.

"Nothin'!" Jet said again, but the man who had helped Levy up ignored him, instead carefully wiping the tears from Levy's cheeks.

"Are you okay, darlin'?" he asked gently, and Levy sniffled.

"My back hurts," she murmured, and he pet her hair gently.

"May I look?" he asked, and she froze up. Makarov had warned her to be careful about telling people about Mother or where she came from, and she knew that her back could give her away. But it hurt so badly… Levy nodded, and the man smiled at her. He had the same dark eyes and straight nose as Jet, though his hair was a deep black with silver streaked throughout.

He carefully turned Levy around, lifting the back of her shirt and inhaling sharply. "Is she okay?" Jet asked nervously, and Levy could see him bouncing nervously at the edge of his vision as Droy bit his thumbnail. They both looked genuinely remorseful, but Levy was still in too much pain to care.

"... There's a bit of bruising, but nothing too bad," Jet's dad said, carefully lowering Levy's shirt. It had been Erza's when she was smaller, but since Makarov hadn't been able to go out and get Levy new clothes yet, she wore some hand-me-downs from the rest of the girls at Fairy Hills. Levy didn't mind - the clothes were all soft and smelled like girl and magic - but she missed the floaty fabrics of her old dresses. She felt weighed down, like she was chained to the earth, and some primal part of her was terrified at the prospect.

"You're the new little girl Makarov brought back a month ago, Levy, right?" he asked when Levy turned back around, ruffling her hair gently. Levy nodded. "It's nice to meet you," he said with a grin. "I'm Brant, and I see you've already met my goofus of a son."

"Hey!" Jet protested, but Brant silenced him with a look.

"Jethro Leroy Allen," he said lowly, "do you want to tell me why this young lady got shoved to the floor?" Jet and Droy both went pale.

"We was just playin'!"

"She wouldn't be crying if you were playing," Brant said. He looked at her scraped knees before carefully pulling Levy into his arms, the little girl clinging to his jacket. "Come on, they should have some bandages behind the bar," he said, and the four of them made their way back into the main room. Some of the adults went quiet as Brant walked by with a sniffling Levy in his arms, and most of the kids were already rushing over to make sure their friend was okay.

"She's fine, just got a little roughed up," Brant told them, and Levy smiled reassuringly down at her friends. Cana frowned and climbed up onto one of the barstools as Brant put Levy on the wooden surface of the bar, reaching out for Levy's hand. Levy gripped her hand back tightly, rubbing her eyes.

"What's going on over here?" Enno asked, still out of breath from dancing. She was Levy's favorite adult in the guild, and Levy immediately reached for her. "Levy? What happened?"

"Jet and Droy pushed her and she fell over, apparently," Brant said, taking a step back so Enno could fuss over Levy. "Could you bandage her knees while I go talk to Master for a little while?" he asked.

"Yes, of course," she said, rubbing Levy's shoulder. "I needed to take a break anyways. I think Macao is trying to build up the courage to talk to me, and it'd be easier if I wasn't dancing."

Brant laughed. "You could just tell him you like him, you know?"

"Nah, he's gonna have to work for it!"

Brant laughed and Levy watched as he walked away, heading towards where Makarov was sitting. The barmaid behind the counter handed Enno the first aid kit, and she quickly got to work, joking and making funny faces at Levy as she carefully disinfected the scrapes on the little girl's knees. Cana rubbed Levy's hand the whole time, and Levy smiled at her gratefully.

"Is she gonna be alright?" Jet asked quietly, and Enno frowned down at him.

"She'd be better with an apology," she said. The two young men squirmed.

"We were just playin'," Droy murmured, and this time Cana was the one to respond.

"You're not allowed to shove people!" she said. "Even if you are playing!"

"Cana's right," Enno said, putting the last bandage over Levy's wound and quickly kissing her knee. Levy giggled, covering her mouth. "That's no excuse to be mean to a younger kid, especially a young lady. I thought you three were teammates now?"

"We are!" they both shouted, sounding distressed.

"Then you have to take care of her," Enno continued as she picked Levy up, carefully placing the young woman on the ground. "Being a team means you watch out for each other, no matter what. You have to treat them with respect! Jet, would you play as roughly with your sisters as you did with Levy?"

Jet went pale. "No."

"And why not?"

"Because they can beat me up!"

Levy giggled as Enno sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "That wasn't what I was aiming for," she murmured as Cana hopped down off the barstool, hovering protectively over Levy along with Mirajane and Lisanna. "I was trying to say that you should treat your team like you would treat your family! When you grow up and start going on missions, Levy could be the only thing standing between you and a big monster, and do you want her to be remembering the time you pushed her over while she's protecting you?"

If it was possible, Jet and Droy went paler.

"Just be more careful next time, and apologize," Enno said, gently nudging Levy closer to the two boys.

"Yeah, or we'll beat you up!" Mirajane said, tossing her long white hair over her shoulder before cracking her knuckles, magic flaring up around her.

"Mirajane-"

"Or we'll kick you in the dick!"

"Cana!" Enno exclaimed, looking at the young brunette with wide eyes. "Where did you learn that!?" Cana shuffled her feet, smiling up at Enno sheepishly.

"I heard Macao yell it at Wakaba yesterday," she said, pointing at the two mages who were drinking on the opposite side of the guild. Enno turned and glared at the two, and Levy heard a muffled "Shit" before Macao took off for the door, Wakaba running after him.

While Enno gently lectured Cana and Mirajane, Jet and Droy stepped up to Levy, both looking at the floor. They were awkwardly silent for a few moments before Lisanna coughed delicately from behind Levy, giving the two a meaningful look before skipping over to where her brother was.

"We're sorry that we pushed you," Jet said, rubbing his head awkwardly.

Droy coughed. "Well, technically he shoved you, I'm innocent-" Jet elbowed him hard, and Levy hid her smile behind a small hand. "I mean, uh, I'm sorry too."

"I accept your apology," Levy said loftily, her mother's necklace hanging heavy around her neck and reminding Levy that even though she was away from her island, she was still the daughter of a Titania. And Titania's were forgiving, though not to be walked over. "But next time you want to play tag, ask first!"

They both murmured their agreements, and Levy giggled, stepping between the two and looping her arms through theirs. The two boys blushed, immediately screaming about girl cooties, but neither of them tried to move, and Levy just laughed louder. Sure, they were idiots, but they were her idiots now.

"Did those two goofballs apologize?" Brant asked as he walked back up, Makarov at his side. Levy nodded, grinning brightly, and Brant laughed as he ruffled Jet's hair. "Good to know."

"Levy, may I speak to you a moment?" Makarov said with a smile, and Levy immediately went to his side, taking his hand and letting him lead her a few feet away. "Now, Brant told me that he needed to look at your back after Jet shoved you?" he asked, and Levy's smile dropped.

"Was that bad?" she asked in a small voice. "I know you said to be careful about who I told-"

"Child, you're fine," he reassured, smiling. "I'm glad that it was Brant that you chose to trust. He was just concerned by the scars on your back and wanted to make sure you were okay. I told him that you had been taken into my care, and the scars were the result of a health problem." Levy nodded silently, one hand pressing against her back.

There were four scars in all, two large ones just below her shoulder blades and two smaller ones further down on either side of her spine. She could remember the fluttering of delicate wings, bones thin and colorful membrane thinner, and how easily they would tear whenever she tried to fly with her mother. They were so small compared to her body, and it hurt so badly to touch them that Levy couldn't even sleep on her back. Her mother had done everything in her power to help them grow, but Levy was too much human and not enough fae, and Ardelle had to take them off.

The thought of her mother made Levy's throat close up, and she gripped her necklace like a lifeline. This wasn't missed by Makarov, and he carefully laid his hand on Levy's arm. "Brant asked for permission to take you home with Jet and Droy tonight so that you can meet the rest of Jet's family," he said gently, smiling at the young girl. "I'm sure you would have a good time, but it's up to you."

Levy bit her bottom lip as she thought. "It won't just be the four of us, would it?" she asked, feeling awkward at the thought of being alone with so many boys.

"Of course not, Jet's mother and sisters will be there as well," Makarov reassured. "I've met Brant's wife before, and she'll make sure you're taken care of."

The thought of meeting her teammate's family was a nice one, and at the mention of family, Levy suddenly didn't feel like going back to her room at Fairy Hills. The other girls there were like sisters to Levy, but they all had their own rooms, and Hilda had recently started to enforce the rule that the girls couldn't leave their rooms after 10. What sounded better; being alone in her big room, or going and visiting family with her teammates?

"That sounds nice," she said with a shy smile, and Makarov grinned.

"I'll let Hilda know that you'll be staying with the Allens tonight, then," he said, smiling. "I'm glad that you're fitting in so well, Levy. I know the transition has been hard."

Levy just smiled, letting Makarov lead her back over to where Brant was lecturing Jet and Droy. "She said yes!" Makarov said cheerfully when they had gotten close enough, and Brant grinned brightly. He had a little fang just like Jet, and Levy giggled.

"Great!" he cheered, ignoring Jet and Droy's confusion. "Leena's been wanting to meet you for a while, ever since these two said they had formed a team."

"Wait, she's coming home with us?" Jet asked, eyes wide.

"To meet Ma?" Droy added.

"And my sisters?" Jet whispered, going still as he looked at the ground in horror.

Brant smirked at the two. "Yes, I figured it's about time your new teammate met the family. Besides, you know your mother. She won't be happy until she gets to fuss over the young lady and sends her back to the dorms with enough leftovers to feed an army."

Droy looked over at Levy - Jet was still staring at the ground with wide eyes - and hummed thoughtfully before shrugging. "I guess it'd be okay," he said breezily, and both Brant and Makarov rolled their eyes. Brant went and said a few quick goodbyes (and took a moment to laugh at Macao along with Wakaba as Enno chewed him out for not watching his tongue around the younger Fairies), before coming back and smiling at Levy widely.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked, and Levy nodded, smiling shyly at the Speed Mage. She turned and waved goodbye to the other kids, and trailed after Brant and her two teammates, who were fighting with big grins on their face.

They had only walked for a few minutes when Jet and Droy fell back to where Levy was walking, and with deep blushes on their faces, quickly took one of her hands each, holding them carefully. Levy blinked owlishly, looking at the two before smiling, holding their hands back tightly.

They let go as soon as the Allen family home came into view, but Levy had gotten really rather good at reading between the lines since leaving Tenroujima, and she understood their actions loud and clear. It was an apology and reassurance all in one, and Levy knew that after today, Jet and Droy would always have her back, scars and all.

For those of you that don't remember, Enno is Romeo's mother, so the only OC in this chapter is Brant. I'm gonna be introducing the rest of Shadowgear's family in the next chapter, and I'm really looking forward to it. Jet's mom is a gift lol. For those of you wondering when this fic is gonna start lining up wit Nest fic, be patient. I just have a couple more chapters to set some more things up, and then we're gonna jump right in!

Quick reminder that updates between this and Nest fic alternate, and that besides that, there's no set schedule. I managed to knock this chapter out in a day, but some chapters take as long as a month to write. Thank you for your patience.

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