A/N: I thought of this the other day when I was watching the Battle of Fairy Tail Arc again, I hope you like it. And thank you for the reviews, Rukia Heart, Thundergodlaxus and Manticore-gurl071134! It's great to get the feedback! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or any of its characters.

Goodbye Gifts

The Harvest Featival was over and Erza sat in her room in Fairy Hills, brushing her long red hair. Her limbs were stiff and sore, a sure sign that Wendy's magic was wearing off. She held back a groan when she imagined how awful she would feel in the morning.

She ex-quipped out of her ordinary clothes, opting for loose shorts and a large t-shirt that came down to her mid-thigh. It was black with a V-neckline and for some reason, she always slept best in it. It had a certain... scent to it.

With a sigh, she summoned her swords from the festival, allowing them to drop to the floor. She sat herself down in the middle of them and began to undo their ribbons. As soon as her hand touched one of the metal weapons, a stinging shock ran up her arm and she drew her hand back in alarm. It seemed Wendy's lightning resistant spell hadn't helped the aftershocks she'd been getting.

Her brows drew downwards and her shoulders slumped as she recounted the events of the day. Being turned to stone, defeating Evergreen, seeing Mystogan's true face, challenging Laxus and listening to all those horrible names he had called her.

That's some face you're making there, girlie - ugly!

She squeezed her eyes shut against the memories, refusing to allow his words to get to her. She was glad she had let Natsu take him down, that she had relented to her friend's wishes. If she hadn't, then the whole town of Magnolia could've been reduced to a singing mess of rubble by now. The pain of taking down the Thunder Palace had been worth it, but the pain of seeing Laxus cry at the parade had not been.

A sudden thump drew her attention to the archway before her and slowly, she grabbed two of her swords, ribbons still in tact. It was four o'clock in the morning and she knew that none of the other girls would be knocking at this hour. The sound of a heavy footstep reached her ear as the floorboards creaked and she held her breath.

She waited behind the wall until the intruder took another step and she knew where exactly he was. In a flash, she conjured a sword behind him, letting it clatter to the ground. There was a distinct intake of air as they whirled around and then she took her chance.

Coming out from her hiding spot, she charged towards them. The most she could see was a tall man concealed by a brown cloak and large hood as he turned swiftly towards her, trying to defend himself. It was too late because she was already on top of him, straddling his hips, pressing down on him with her body and holding both swords at his throat.

"Who are you? And what do you wa-?" She cut herself off as she noticed the wisps of blonde hair around his neck and the tip of the scar that dared to peak out beneath the hood that shielded his eyes.

Her whole body froze, bottom lip dropping as she dismissed her swords and pulled back his hood, his dark eyes connecting with hers.

"L-Laxus?"

"Were you expecting someone else?" He questioned with a raised brow, although he seemed slightly annoyed.

"No! I wasn't..." She blushed and looked towards the door, making sure no one else had come with him. "I wasn't expecting anyone," she gave him a stern look, "especially not you."

"Yeah well, I didn't exactly plan to come here either," he said dismissively.

"Then what are you doing here?" She demanded, not even bothering to keep the edge out of her voice.

"How about you let me up and I'll explain?" His eyes flickered downwards and she suddenly became very aware of their position on her wooden floor. She practically jumped off of him and retreated a few steps to put an acceptable amount of space between them. The fact that a good portion of her legs were exposed seemed more noticeable now than ever and she debated whether or not to requip into something more... suitable.

In the end, she decided against it, knowing her discomfort would only please him.

"What do you want?" She asked after he had brushed off the imaginary dust on his cloak.

"To say a proper goodbye," he said.

"You're leaving?" Her voice rose an octave and he gave her a dead serious look.

"You hardly expected me to stay in town, did you?"

"Well..." She faltered as her brows drew together. "I suppose it wouldn't make sense, not after everything that's happened."

Something flickered in his own expression, an emotion she had never seen him show before. His eyes roamed up and down her body and she fought the urge to cover herself up. After a few seconds of silence, his eyes connected with hers and a spark of anger lit them up.

"What the hell did you think you were doing today?" He growled.

"I could ask you the very same question," she retorted, matching his fierceness as she placed her hands on her hips.

He made a sound halfway between an ignorant snort and a sigh. "I knew exactly what I was doing and I'll admit, I regret doing it now but what you did was reckless, irresponsible and extremely dangerous and you knew it. Did you honestly think that you could just throw a few swords at the Thunder Palace and only get a small shock?"

"I was thinking that the whole town was in danger and if I didn't do something we would all be dead," she answered immediately. "I didn't want to leave Natsu alone to fight you but he wouldn't have been able to deal with the Thunder Palace alone, so I did."

She saw his jaw clench tightly in fury. "Did you even think about the consequences-?"

"Did you when you put them up there?!"

"What if you had've died?"

Without thinking, she took a step forward and clenched her fists. "The lives of all the citizens and the lives of the rest of Fairy Tail mean more to me than my own-"

"Well they don't to me!"

The anger on her features all but dissipated until only shock and disbelief were left. Silence descended upon them as she stared at him, however he wouldn't meet her eyes. His hands loosened and hung limply at his sides but his jaw remained tight and unmoving. His whole posture was completely different to that of the man she had fought today. His confidence was no longer there, nor the sadistic and uncaring look on his face and cautiously, she took another step forwards.

"That's why you tried to stop me," she said quietly, more to herself than him as the pieces fit together in her mind. "You were afraid I would've killed myself in the act-"

"And if that had've happened, Natsu would be dead for letting you do something so stupid," he cut her off darkly.

She studied the resolve in his eyes, marvelling at how frightening they seemed as they shone in the false light of the room. To her, he looked broken, only a fraction of the mage he once was but the pieces were still in tact and with the right help, he could be put back together again. He could become the mage she once knew when she first came to Fairy Tail.

"Natsu didn't let me do anything." Her voice was firm but soft and somehow, she found the strength to take a step towards him. "I chose to protect the town, the same way you chose to put it in danger."

His eyes lowered to the ground, breaking the contact and that was when she realised what the emotion was on his features. He felt guilty. Laxus Dreyar, the uncaring, sadistic, brutal lightning dragon slayer of Fairy Tail actually felt guilty.

"Look at me," she commanded and surprisingly he did without hesitation. Her gaze held nothing but honesty and understanding as she gave him a slightly rueful smile. "We all make bad decisions and we regret them but you can't let them hang over you like a storm cloud. You learn from them and aim to redeem yourself later on."

"I don't know how I'm gonna redeem myself from this," his voice had become very quiet, barely above a whisper.

"You'll figure it out," she replied. "I know you will."

"I hope you're right," he sighed as he turned his back on her and something about watching him walk towards the door made her heart clench in pain. Her eyes began to sting suddenly and she wiped at them hastily. This would probably be the last time she ever saw him for a long time, unless by some random chance they met while on missions but even the likelihood of that was slim. She wondered what he would do, when we would return - if he ever returned, that is.

Where would he go?

He stopped suddenly and turned around, his brows drawing together in confusion. For a second, she thought he was staring at her chest or maybe her legs. The idea of it made her blush profusely and she felt her cheeks warm even further when he took two steps back towards her.

"Is that my t-shirt?" He asked suddenly.

"Th-this!?" She questioned, looking down and finally noticing the white lightning bolt on the very bottom corner just over her left thigh. "I-I'm not sure, is it?"

"Yeah, I leant it to you when your magic was canceled out on a mission years ago," he said, the corners of his lips twitching. "Remember?"

Of course she remembered. How could she have forgotten? One of their first missions they had secretly gone on together when they were barely teenagers and she had faced the brunt of a magic-cancelling spell, one that left her in nothing but her underwear. Her blush deepened as she recalled Laxus removing his t-shirt and throwing it at her to cover herself up after he'd saved her.

"Do you want it back?" She asked shyly, not really wanting to give it up.

"Nah, it looks better on you than it does on me," he replied with a shake of his head. "Think of it as something to remember me by."

He resumed his course back towards her door, his last words still ringing in her head. Something to remember him by? That didn't sound like a different way for saying 'see you later', it was more like an ultimatum, one that hinted she would more an likely never see him again.

What if he got hurt? What if he was injured or got drunk and had no one to help him? What if he was killed? How would they ever know? He could be cold, homeless, lost and alone and none of them would be more the wiser. She would never even have a clue.

She couldn't let that happen. "Wait!" She called after him, running to a small drawer and ruffling through it for a second before she found what she was looking for. She ran toward him and without hesitation took his hand, making him open his palm before she dropped a small gold key in it.

"What's this?" He asked curiously.

"Something to remember me by," she said, curling up his hand and pushing it into his chest, her fingers lingering on his for slightly too long. "I'm not sure if you know where you're going to go or what you'll do but hopefully this will help you. Take this key to the Honeybee Inn in Oaktown, the owner will know what to do."

She stared at his closed hand, noticing he hadn't moved it or even looked at the key. When she raised her eyes to meet his, all she found was confusion and disbelief in his as he gazed at her. She felt bare beneath it and unconsciously, she grabbed both of her elbows beginning to rub her triceps.

"What?" She asked, her cheeks feeling warm.

He shook his head and smiled slightly. "Nothing, I just... wasn't expecting you to be so forgiving. To be honest, I thought you'd kill me when I came here, not give me advice and presents." His free hand reached out and ruffled her red hair playfully. "You must be getting soft, Titania."

"Not as soft as you, Sparky, " she said slapping his arm away as a smile crossed her own features. "Lucky for you, I'm just tired after today."

"Then get some rest," he said, turning away from her for the last time.

"Take care of yourself, Laxus," she whispered as he closed the door behind him.

Two days later, Laxus found himself at the front desk of the Honeybee Inn. The manager smiled politely at him, offering his services. The lightning dragon-slayer placed the key down on the table, admiring it as it shone in the false light of the room.

"Titania said I should give this to you."

The manager's eyes widened in surprise and he nodded once. "Of course, sir, just one minute, please." He disappeared into a back room before reemerging with a small, plain brown box with a gold keyhole on it. "I always wondered when Ms Scarlet would collect this, it's been years since she left it in our care."

"What is it?" Laxus asked with a raised brow.

"I don't know, after she saved my daughter from some bandits in the woods, I promised her I'd do anything for her and she merely requested that I keep this box safe. She said it was a precaution for emergencies."

"Alright, thanks," he replied, taking the box and key.

He turned a corner, allowing the shadows of the alleyway to cover him as he slotted the key into the hole, curiosity getting the best of him. It opened easily with a small click and his eyes widened as they fell upon the amount of jewels it held. He closed it, quietly, locking it and placing it in his bag with a small sigh.

"You really do have a heart of gold, Erza."