~Levy~

I took a deep breath as I boarded the train with Gajeel and Silas. After two wonderful weeks with Gajeel, he would soon have to return to his duties as head of the hunters' council. We both decided that returning to Fairy Tail would be best, though I was nervous about going back.

I had stayed away for six long years, so I had no idea what to expect. I was excited to meet Natsu and Lucy's daughters—Gajeel told me they had three—and to see everyone after so long. I knew deep in my heart that nothing would have changed, though. Fairy Tail would never change. No matter how much time I had been away, I knew they would welcome me back as if I had never left.

"Ngh," Gajeel groaned when the train jumped forward. He collapsed against the window, and I laughed as his face turned green.

"Here," I smiled, patting my lap. He didn't argue, and fell over, groaning again as I ran my fingers through his hair.

"Mama?" Silas asked, tugging on my sleeve.

"Yes?" I looked over at him, and gasped when I noticed his face was also slightly green.

"I—I don't feel good," he complained, holding his stomach.

"My poor baby," I cooed, wrapping my arm around him and pulling him close to my side. "Just try to sleep until we get there. I'm sorry." I had never taken Silas on the train, so I never knew if he also had motion sickness like Gajeel. As it turned out, he did.

I sighed at the two of them, unable to keep the smile from my lips. Silas was nearly identical to Gajeel. Every day I spent with them together, I found something else that they shared. From their love of food and cats, to even their motion sickness.

The only thing they didn't share was Gajeel's love for fighting. Like me, Silas would rather read a book than go into battle.

Battle. I let out a long breath and looked out the window. I'm going back to a hunters' guild, so I'll have to decide if I want to become a hunter again. After what had happened with Astaroth, I had given up demon hunting. I hadn't even held a gun since I left Fairy Tail.

"Now arriving in Magnolia Station," the intercom voice announced. I roused Gajeel and Silas as the train slowed and finally stopped.

"We're here," I told Silas, gently shaking him.

"Tired," he whined, burying his face in my side.

"I'll carry him," Gajeel chuckled.

"I've got him," I smiled, lifting the small boy. "Will you get the bags?"

"Sure thing, Shrimp," he grinned, watching me carry Silas off the train. Although he was only five, he had inherited Gajeel's size, and was quite heavy.

"Here," Gajeel sighed as we walked. He transferred our luggage into one hand, and took Silas with the now free arm. Grumbling in his sleep, Silas wrapped his arms around Gajeel's neck, and used his shoulder as a pillow.

"I could have carried him," I pouted, reaching for the luggage.

"I've got it, Shrimp," Gajeel chuckled, walking away before I could grab it. .

As we walked towards Fairy Tail, my stomach tied itself into a tight knot. What if they aren't happy that I've returned? What if they're mad at me for leaving? What if—

"Shrimp, you okay?" Gajeel asked.

I had stopped walking, and was clutching the hem of my shirt in tight fists. "Is this a bad idea?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" He frowned.

"What if Fairy Tail doesn't want me back? I—I left with barely a goodbye, so maybe they don't want me to come back."

"That's just stupid," Gajeel huffed. "Of course they want you to come back. That damned blonde hasn't shut up about you since I told them I was going to look for you."

"They know I'm coming?" I asked.

He grinned. "I sent a letter about a week ago."

I frowned. "A week ago? But, we just decided to go back yesterday."

"Gihi."

I smiled. "You had no intentions of leaving me, did you?"

"Nope," he chuckled. "I would 'a kidnapped ya if I had to."

Rolling my eyes, I started towards Fairy Tail once more. "You're pretty cocky, you know that?"

"Damn right," he nodded, smirking. "I have a beautiful son and a sexy-ass girlfriend, why shouldn't I be cocky?"

"You—" I was cut off when something flew into me, sending me to the ground. "Oww," I moaned, frowning when Gajeel actually laughed. I gasped, realizing what had crashed into me. "Lily!" I squealed, wrapping my arms around him.

He pulled away, clearing his throat. "I'm happy that you have finally returned," he said.

I giggled, scratching his ear. "I missed you, too, Lily."

"Mommy?" Silas yawned, rubbing his eyes.

Lily looked up at Silas, and his eyes widened. "You have a son?" He asked, shocked.

"You didn't tell anyone about Silas?" I asked Gajeel.

He grinned. "I wanted to surprise everyone."

"Kitty!" Silas exclaimed once he spotted Lily. He wiggled until Gajeel put him down, then hugged Lily. "He's so cute! Can we keep him?" The cat Silas had found two weeks earlier had been claimed by a family, so we returned him to his rightful owners. Since then, he had been looking forward to the promise Gajeel made him about getting another cat.

"Silas, this is Pantherlily," I said. "He's going to live with us."

"Is that a sword?" Silas gasped, pointing to the sword on Lily's back after he finally released him.

"Lily is a warrior Exceed," Gajeel said, proudly.

"A warrior?" Silas asked, looking at Lily in awe. "You fight bad guys like daddy?"

"Would you like to see something cool?" Lily smiled, drawing his sword.

"Yeah!"

I giggled, watching Silas shout in joy when Lily transformed. "You're so big! The biggest cat ever!" He jumped up and down, his entire face bright with joy.

"Show off," Gajeel huffed.

"Jealous?" I smirked.

"Daddy, can I learn to fight, too?" Silas asked.

He glanced at me, then crouched down and patted Silas on the head. "Maybe when you're older."

"Watch what I can do, though!" Silas closed his eyes and scrunched his face up, concentrating hard.

Gajeel looked at me, raising an eyebrow. "What is he—"

"Just watch," I told him, knowing what Silas was about to do.

Very slowly, his skin turned silver, and iron scales formed over his skin. Panting, he opened his eyes. "See? See? I can turn into a dragon!"

"No dragon is complete without his wings, though," Gajeel told him, smiling at Lily. With a nod, the now small Exceed grabbed Silas and took off, flying above the crowd.

"Wait!" I gasped, running after them. "Lily, be careful!"

"Silas will be fine," Gajeel chuckled, running beside me.

"It still makes me nervous," I mumbled.

"Gihi, don't worry, Shrimp."

Lily landed in front of the doors at Fairy Tail. Silas's hair was sticking up in every direction, and his face was flushed from the wind. "Again!" He giggled. His scales disappeared as he looked at us.

"Maybe later," I said. "We're going to meet the rest of mommy and daddy's family now."

"Fine," he sighed, grabbing my hand.

Lily took our luggage, telling Gajeel we would take it home. Home. I smiled.

"Ready?" Gajeel asked.

Nervous again, I nodded. I took a deep breath as the guildhall doors opened. Before I could even get a good look into the guildhall, there were arms around me.

"Levy!" Lucy cried. "I've been so worried about you! I missed you so much!"

"Sorry, Lu-chan," I told her, feeling tears of my own soak my cheeks.

"You're back for good now, right?" She sniffed, pulling away so she could look at me. I met her brown eyes and nodded, smiling when she burst into tears again and pulled me into another hug.

"Mommy!" I heard someone squeal. "Mommy, look! Uncle Gajeel brought a cousin home, too!" A girl with pink hair smiled, pointing to Silas.

"What?" Lucy let go of me and looked down, gasping when she saw Silas. He was hiding behind me, clutching onto my shirt tightly. She looked back up at me. "You have a son?"

"I do," I smiled.

"So, that's why you didn't get your memory erased," Natsu said, squatting in front of Silas. "Hey, kid! Welcome to Fairy Tail!"

"Th-Thank you," Silas whispered.

"He looks just like you," Natsu grinned, looking at Gajeel. "Poor kid."

"Say that again, Salamander," Gajeel growled.

Lucy chuckled. "Some things never change."

"I'm glad," I grinned.

"Mommy! I want to say hi too!" The pink-haired girl announced, tapping Lucy on the side.

"Go ahead," Lucy smiled.

The small girl looked up at me and gave me a grin that mirrored Natsu's perfectly. "Hello, Auntie Levy. I'm Nashi! I'm six years old, and when I grow up, I'm going to marry Uncle Gray."

"To hell that's happening!" Natsu declared. "Ain't no way that damned stripper is going to marry my daughter!"

"Nashi adores Gray," Lucy whispered as Natsu continued ranting. "Natsu hates it, but it's adorable. She tells him all the time that she's going to be his wife someday."

"And how does Gray feel about it?" I giggled.

"Of course he adores her, but there's a little problem in her plan."

"What's that?"

"He married Juvia about two years ago," she laughed. "Nashi was devastated, but got over it and announced that she would just be his second wife."

"Oh my God," I snickered. "Poor Gray."

"I know!"

"Hey, little Gajeel," Nashi said, smiling at Silas, "how old are you?"

"Five," he said, never moving from his hiding place behind my legs.

"He's the same age as Layla!" Nashi smiled at Lucy.

"Layla?" I asked.

"Our second daughter. She was playing with Happy, so she's around here somewhere."

"Up here!" There was a delighted squeal, and then something fell from the sky. Lucy reached out just in time to catch a small blonde girl.

"Layla!" Lucy breathed, "what did I tell you about doing that?!"

"But it's fun!" She giggled. When she saw Silas, she jumped out of Lucy's arms and pulled Silas into a hug. "Mommy, he's so cute! I love him!" Gajeel burst into laughter as Natsu fell over, defeated.

Silas escaped her grasp and went to the other side of me, blushing furiously.

"Leave Silas alone," Lucy chuckled. "He's still getting used to it here."

"Fine," she huffed.

"Your daughters are beautiful," I told Lucy as the two girls ran off to play.

"So is Silas," Lucy smiled. "We still have another daughter for you to meet, too. Wendy was playing with her, so we'll find them later. Come one, let's go say hi to everyone!"

I looked up at Gajeel as Lucy led me into the crowd now standing around us. "Go on, Shrimp. I've got Silas." I nodded and followed Lucy.

There were many more tears as I was passed around from hug to hug. Everyone looked a little older, but it was still the same old Fairy Tail. Jet and Droy practically had to be pried away when it was their turn to hug me.

"I'm so happy to see everyone," I sniffed, wiping my face.

"And we're glad to have you back," Master smiled. He stood on the table and held up a mug of beer. "To Levy and Silas!"

"To Levy and Silas!" Everyone cheered.

By the end of the party, Silas had come out of his shell and was playing with Lucy's daughters. I met the youngest, a pink-haired girl named Penelope, halfway through the party when Wendy arrived with her. I noticed that she and Romeo were holding hands, and it made me smile.

Actually, it seemed as though everyone had finally gotten together during my absence. Gray and Juvia were married. Elfman and Evergreen were sitting with their one-year-old daughter, Katherine. Romeo and Wendy were always together. Laxus and Mirajane were sitting with their four-year-old son, Nate. Erza and Jellal had gotten married only a few months after I left.

"The place is filled with even more happiness now," I told Gajeel as we walked home that night. "Even Happy and Carla got together! And their kitten is so cute!" The three-year-old Exceed looked exactly like Happy, except his feet and hands were all tipped with white, like little boots and gloves.

"Are you happy to be back?" He asked, adjusting a sleeping Silas in his arms.

"I am," I nodded. "I think Silas likes it, too."

"Minus that demon-child," Gajeel chuckled.

"Layla is adorable," I giggled, punching him in the arm. She had practically forced Silas to come out of his shell by dragging him along with her everywhere. "He didn't say much, but I could tell he liked her. His little face was as red as a tomato."

"Poor Salamander."

"He'll get over it," I grinned.

"Well, here it is," Gajeel said, stopping in front of a large house.

"This is where you live now?" I asked, staring up at it.

"I bought it about a month before I left to find you. I wanted to bring you home to a nice house," he mumbled.

"It's huge."

"I make quite a bit of money as the head of the council," he smirked. "And I'm an S-Class hunter, so I make a lot on jobs, too. Do you like it?"

"It's huge," I repeated.

"It has three floors, a basement, an attic, and a huge back yard. There are six bedrooms, three bathrooms, and even a kitchen in the attic. I had it installed for Lily, since the attic is his."

"Why did you buy such a big house?" I chuckled.

"Well," he began, scratching his head awkwardly, "I figured I'd get something we could grow into. You know, with kids." I blushed as he smiled down at me. "Want to see the inside?"

"Yeah." The inside of the house was even more impressive. Dark hardwood floors covered most of the downstairs, while the second and third floors had dark gray carpet. The kitchen was nearly the size of my old room in Fairy Hills, and had every kind of appliance you could think of. Gajeel had even turned the basement into my own personal library.

Silas's room, however, was my favorite. Gajeel had had it completely furnished. A small bed sat along one wall, while the other three were lined with all kinds of toys. His closet, large enough for Gajeel and I to fit inside without touching each other, was full of clothes. There was even a bookcase packed with children's books.

"You didn't have to do all of this," I told Gajeel as we tucked Silas into bed.

"Of course I did," he smiled, pulling me against his chest as he planted a kiss on my lips. "You and Silas are my family, Shrimp."

"I still hate that nickname," I giggled, kissing him again.

"Gihi." In one swift motion, he picked me up and carried me from the room. Two doors away from Silas's room was where our room was. I laughed when he threw me onto the bed without even giving me a tour of the room.

I held him tightly as he kissed me, afraid the last two weeks had all just been a dream.

"Promise me something," Gajeel said, pulling away slightly.

"Anything," I nodded.

"Promise me you'll still be here when I wake up in the morning. That you, Silas, and I will all eat breakfast with Lily tomorrow, and go to Fairy Tail together."

I cupped his face in my hands, smiling. "Silas and I aren't going anywhere."

"Good," he sighed, lying beside me and pulling me against his chest. His shirt smelled like Fairy Tail, and I breathed it in greedily. "Welcome home, Levy," he said, kissing the top of my head as I drifted off to sleep with a smile on my face. I'm finally home.