Gajeel grinned at the blonde that he was shaking hands with, the woman smiling back. The two mages stopped shaking hands, Gajeel stood up, his hands on his hips and still smiling at Lucy. "Looks like Team Gajeel is now official." Gajeel said to Lucy, not taking any notice or care of his still nonplussed guildmates.

Lucy raised an eyebrow at Gajeel, an amused smirk on her face as she let out a huff of air through her nose and mouth. "Team Gajeel? Nuh-uh, we're not naming our team that. We need something more inventive and original." Lucy responded, also not taking any real notice or care of her frozen guildmates.

"Well yer last team was named after the Dragon Slayer that started it, so why can't this team be named Team Gajeel?" The Iron Dragon Slayer asked, he didn't seem angered or annoyed, in fact he actually looked amused.

"Because my old team didn't have a name until our guildmates began to unofficially call it Team Natsu. Some time later Team Natsu became our official name." Lucy explained, not looking annoyed. Panther Lily used Aera to grow wings and fly off the table that he was sitting on, the grinning Exceed flying to the request board and taking one of the requests. Lucy smiled back at Gajeel. "We can call it something better and more original than Team Gajeel. Like Team Iron Star, or Team Metal Scales, or at least with more pizzazz than just the word team and then one of our names."

Gajeel made an amused chuckle. "Didn't take ya for one to care about a team name having pizzazz, Bunny Girl." Gajeel said, looking at his new blonde teammate. The Iron Dragon Slayer cocked his head slightly to the side, his hand sideways underneath his head as he looked at the empty air, thinking about Lucy's ideas. "Though a bit of pizzazz to a team name doesn't sound half bad. We'll be a stronger team than any of the others and with a better name too, that'll prove us as the true best team in Fairy Tail. Gihihihihihihi."

"We can decide the team name on our journey to our next mission." Panther Lily said, albeit he now had a calm and collected face once again. In the Exceed's paw was a piece of paper with the details of a job and illustrations related to what the client needs help with. Panther Lily handed the paper to Lucy, the blonde and the tall Dragon Slayer behind her skimming the paper. "It's a request that looks like it could be difficult, but it pays a very high price."

Lucy's eyes lit up greatly, even though she was already happy, the blonde grinning down at the paper as she gripped it without even being aware. "This looks like an awesome mission!" Lucy said, making her way to the bar, where a cheery Mirajane was happily waiting for her. Gajeel and Lily watched Lucy as Mirajane approved of the mission, a smile of platonic (at least with the latter) fondness on the two males' faces. Lucy happily hummed as she walked back to Gajeel and Panther Lily. "Okay, lets go on a mission."

The new team left the guild, everyone except for Levy and Mirajane remaining as frozen statues of shock. One by one, Gajeel and Lucy's guildmates managed to overcome their shock and become back in tune with reality, though the two wizards had already left Magnolia.

"So, are Gajeel and Lucy now a team?" Macao said as he finished processing the new information, though he was still having trouble fully comprehending what happened. Team Natsu had always came off as the strongest team, in not only power but also bond. Not only were some of the strongest mages in the guild a part of the team, but they had a seemingly unbreakable bond. Though after Gray finally started dating Juvia, and Erza was starting to spend more time with Jellal, it already seemed like the team was beginning to end. With how many times the team alone has saved not only the guild, but even the entire world, it was almost incomprehensible. Especially since the mage who did it was Lucy, the Light of Fairy Tail and the reason why Team Natsu started in the first place.

"That seems to be the case." Jet said, his double take being tremendously delayed. On missions Levy would say that she sometimes worried for Lucy, that she was staying loyal to her team when it was barely still a team with how little they went on missions anymore. The fast mage did notice that Team Natsu was progressively going on less and less missions together, and while the members still hanged out together and obviously cared greatly for each other, it did seem like they were spending less time together than they used to. Though, to be honest, they used to spend most of their time together.

"I never thought that would happen." Laki said.

"Team Natsu just seemed unbreakable." Nab said, standing next to the request board. Not that he would ever take a job. "I never thought Gajeel and Lucy would ever become a team, it just seemed so unlikely."

"I knew Gajeel and Lucy were taking their friendship to new levels by becoming fuck buddies, but I didn't know they were becoming teammates." Cana said, ignoring Carla as the Exceed glared at her for using the word 'fuck' in front of Wendy. The brunette picked up a bottle of liquor, unscrewing the cap and drinking half of the bottle's contents in one go. Cana looked at the cards in her hand as she finished drinking; cards that she used for offensive spells. "If Gajeel is a shitty teammate to my Lucy, or he hurts her on a mission, I'll fucking castrate him."

"Hey, guys..." Lisanna said.

"Well surely he isn't going to hurt Lucy, he's a lot different than back in his Phantom Lord days." Alzack said.

"Juvia can assure than Gajeel-kun is much different than his Phantom Lord days. He looks out for others on his missions now." Juvia said. "And Gajeel-kun wouldn't hurt a hair on Lucy-san's head anymore, they are guildmates and work to protect each other. And Gajeel-kun and Lucy-san went on a mission before and they looked out for each other, Gajeel-kun will protect the Light of Fairy Tail with his life."

"Um, guys...!" Lisanna said again.

"Gajeel better treat his teammate right or he is not a real man!" Elfman said, his large arms crossed over his extremely muscular chest.

"It's definitely something unexpected, even by our standards." Bisca said, her child sitting on her lap.

"I just wonder how Laxus and Freed are going to react when they find out that Gajeel and Lucy have now started a team together." Evergreen said to Bickslow, the two members of the Thunder Legion sitting on the same table as they are a team.

Bickslow looked at Evergreen, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, those two are so protective of Cosplayer that we'll be lucky if anything of Gajeel remains when they are done with him."

Evergreen nodded, taking a sip from her hot cup of tea. "Though if Lucy manages to get between them and Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer may actually have a chance to live. He could probably even come out of the inevitable ordeal unscathed." The Fairy mage said, rubbing the steam caused by her tea off her glasses. "They do care a lot for her, they would probably literally move heaven and earth for her. If anything could stop them from killing a guildmate, it's indubitably Lucy."

Bickslow nodded in agreement, the Seith mage looking at the closed guild doors that his fellow Fairy Tail mages walked through minutes ago, thinking about how lucky Gajeel was to not only become friends with benefits as well as a teammate with Lucy. Damn, what Bickslow would give for even just one night of sex with the Light of Fairy Tail. It would be worth it.

"Guys...!" Lisanna said again, sounding annoyed. Sadly though, no seemed to hear her.

"I think Gajeel and Lucy will be a great team together." Mirajane cooed, though the tone of her voice made it clear she was more of thinking of them being significant others than being teammates. "I think they should name their team as Team Gajucy, it would fit them well."

"Gajeel and Lulu already went on a mission together and everything came out swell. They'll be an amazing team." Levy said happily. "What do you think, Darian?"

"I greatly trust your wisdom, Lev. Especially when it is concerning your best friend." Darian responded, an arm around his girlfriend's small form. "If you think that they as a team would be a good choice, than I support you in your belief."

"GUYS!" Lisanna yelled, finally getting the attention of the rest of her guild. The youngest Strauss sibling cleared her throat and pointed at Natsu, Gray and Erza. "I think that Lucy's team is more surprised than anyone else."

The rest of the guild looked at the three mages to see that they were still frozen in shock, their eyes still wide and unblinking with their mouths hanging. Wendy approached the mages, waving a hand in front of Natsu, only for him to not react in the slightest. Not even his eyelids moved. "It's like Evergreen turned them into stone and painted them to look like their regular selves." Romeo said as he was doing the same thing with Gray, the young mage then poking the Ice-Make multiple times in multiple areas (like his chest and stomach) only for Gray to not even acknowledge that Romeo was there. Evergreen huffed at Romeo, covering the lower side of her face with her fan as she started rambling about how 'rude' he was.

"I know the solution!" Bickslow said, rising off his seat and running towards the table where Team Natsu was. Most of the guild members of Fairy Tail were huddled around the table that Team Natsu was at, seeing as some of the guild's strongest members were in a comatose-like state. Bickslow stopped in front of Natsu, the Human Possession mage looking serious, even with his visor on. Bickslow suddenly pulled a black marker pen, pulling the lid off and drawing on Natsu and Gray's faces. Bickslow of course wasn't going to draw on Erza's face, that's equivalent to wearing a sign that told her to kill him.

"Bickslow, I don't think that is a 'solution', as you put it." Macao said in annoyance, causing Bickslow to glare at the older mage through the spaces in his helmet.

"Hey, Natsu and Gray have been drawing on our faces with a pen when we fell asleep for years now." Bickslow protested. "This is just karma."

Mirajane sighed as some of the members surrounding the frozen Team Natsu mumbled in agreement and were already pulling dibs on where they (and only they) could draw on Natsu and Gray's faces, the Take Over mage going into the storage room and coming out with a slice of strawberry cheesecake in her hand. Mirajane pushed past her guildmates, ignoring Bickslow as he was drawing a penis on Gray's cheek with the dick facing towards his mouth that was frozen wide open. Juvia will be promptly thrashing Bickslow soon.

Mirajane waved the strawberry cheesecake slice in front of Erza's face, the Requip mage sniffing as she smelled the food. Erza blinked a few times, the red-haired mage looking down at the strawberry cheesecake slice before abruptly taking it out of Mirajane's hand and eating it. Erza sucked the small crumbs of her cheesecake slice off her armoured fingers. Erza blinked, trying to recall what happened. The S-Class mage's eyes widened greatly as she finally remembered by she was put in a stasis (alongside her teammates).

"Lucy!" Erza said as she jumped up from where she sat, Requiping into her Black Wing Armour and summoning a sword, looking around the guild as she tried to detect Gajeel.

"If you're looking for Gajeel, he, Lucy and Lily have already gone onto a mission." Mirajane said calmly, even as Erza directed her eyes towards her; the strongest woman in Fairy Tail's eyes looking like a fierce glare. Sounds of crashes and bangs and noises of pain came from Bickslow as Juvia and Lisanna (in her Cat Take Over form) attacked him for what he did to their men (who still remained in their comatose-like states).

Erza still looked around before looking down at the ground, a hum of anger escaping from her as she Requiped back into her Heart Kreuz Armour and leaving the guild, heading over to Fairy Hills. Mirajane's eyes widened in concern, the Satan Soul mage was about to run after her friend but stopped as she felt a hand on her shoulder, the white-haired woman looking to see Cana. "Don't worry. I'll talk to her." Cana said before she started walking out of the guild doors, the brunette looking back at Mirajane. "Looks like you will be cooking fish tonight."

Mirajane looked confused at the drunkards statement. Granted Cana had drank a lot even though it was barely passing into the evening, though it was hard to determine how much she drank since Cana smelled like a myriad of alcoholic drinks all the time since at least a few weeks after her first beer. Though Mirajane had little time to ponder as Happy entered the guild through its front doors, the Exceed flying in slowly and weakly as he dragged in a giant fish. The fish looked like some sort of baby Leviathan; it had a long body of blue scales and small fins, an almost dragon-like head with two large teeth that were most likely meant to crush virtually anything in two.

Mirajane wondered how Happy was able to get the fish, though judging by the bruises on his little cat-like body, it must have been a painful and hard experience for him.

"Here you go, Carla..." Happy said weakly as he continued to pull the Leviathan-like fish into the guild, the dead sea creature's long body dragging along the ground. Happy lowered to the ground before his wings disappeared in a flash of light, the Exceed continuing to pull the creature in. The rest of the guild (sans Natsu and Gray as they were still frozen by Lucy's revelation) looked at the blue-furred Exceed in shock, surprised that Happy was able to catch a fish of that calibre. It actually looked like it was nearly big enough to eat a human and looked like it was the prepubescent state of the sea monsters you fight on monster hunting missions. "I got this for... you..."

Happy made a groan as he collapsed onto the ground, though he remained conscious. Happy looked up at Carla as she approached, giving her a weak smile. "I already told you, I don't like seafood. It sometimes even makes me a little nauseous." Carla said, making the already weak-looking Happy look despondent. Mirajane frowned at Carla, the Satan Soul mage was about to scold the Exceed when she continued. "But... I still feel touched by the effort. I will give you this in my appreciation, but please take a note and try something that is actually, truly, romantic to woo me instead of fish."

Carla then kissed Happy... on the cheek. Still though, it was a kiss nevertheless. And Happy was in complete euphoria because of it. The Exceed's eyes had widened before he passed out in his happiness, murmuring incomprehensible words, though Mirajane could still pick out certain words like 'Carla', 'Fish' and 'Kittens'. Wendy picked Happy up and cradled him in her arms, immediately using her Sky Dragon Slayer Magic to heal the exhausted Exceed. Carla walked away with an impassive expression, ignoring the comments of her guildmates.

"Damn, Happy's reaction to Carla kissing him is like Juvia when Gray first kissed her." Max said to Warren, the Sandstorm mage and Telepathy mage sitting next to each other on one of the tables, having watched everything without interacting with their guildmates.

"Yeah, except that Juvia literally melted into a puddle of water."

"Ah, yes. Juvia remembers that first kiss with Gray-sama perfectly." Juvia said, startling Max and Warren as she suddenly appeared beside them. The blue-haired mage had her face cupped in her hands, blushing as she remembered the most glorious moment in her life where Gray-sama kissed her for the first of many, many times. "Juvia replays it many times in her sweetest dreams. Gray-sama is the greatest kisser in existence, like how he is the greatest in many things."

Mirajane giggled as Juvia had once again melted into a puddle of water, the Satan Soul mage looking back at the fish that Happy dragged in. "Elfman, could you please be a manly brother ad help me haul this into the kitchen." Mirajane asked her brother sweetly as she pulled a cleaver from out of nowhere and was already lifting its head.

Elfman made a surprised expression and looked away from Natsu and Gray (and the guildmates that were drawing on their faces) and towards his sister. Elfman smiled at his older sister, bounding towards her and lifting up the large fish's body with ease. "It is really manly to help out your siblings." Elfman said enthusiastically as he help Mirajane bring the fish into the kitchen to be cooked.


The train carriage jerked and made small bounces as it led to its destination. Usually such shaky movements of a vehicle, or even just the movements vehicle, would be absolute torture for Gajeel, at least until he trained himself to a certain level of power that enhanced his senses to the point of motion sickness. However that Stillness Elixir that he drank barely even a day ago still had its effects in place.

As such the Iron Dragon Slayer felt no pain or discomfort, nor the vile taste of sickness in his mouth, as he, Panther Lily and Bunny Girl rode the train to a place called Roselle Village. And they were going there for the first time as a team. In his old days in Phantom Lord, Gajeel would have not given a shit about what team he was on or who he was going with, a mission was just a job that got him money and nothin' else about it mattered. However, Gajeel was now enjoying this new team he was in, a sense of pride and happiness swelling in his heart. Though this was the first time he was in a team with someone in the guild, sure he went on missions with guildmates and teams but that was something completely different.

"So what do you think, Gajeel?" Lucy asked suddenly, taking Gajeel out of his train of thought and making the Dragon Slayer look at her and Panther Lily in confusion as they looked back at him expectantly. Lucy sighed as she noticed Gajeel's confusion, knowing that she'll have to ask her question again but more clearly. "I'm talking about Team Iron Star. Do you think it's a good name or bad name?"

"Hmmm... Team Iron Star, eh?" Gajeel mused as he looked out the window and rubbed his chin, thinking about the team name. It did make sense, in a way. The iron in the name was obviously a reference to him, Gajeel, since his magic is Iron Dragon Slayer Magic. And the star was a reference to Lucy herself, since she uses Celestial Spirit Magic. It did sound kinda cool to Gajeel, sure the name itself wasn't all the intimidating or awe-inspiring, but it was a team name that referenced the two magic users of it, almost making the team name sound like an axiom. Or somethin' like that. Gajeel looked back at Lucy and Lily, the former of which looked like she was impatient for his feedback. Well, she was the one who created and suggested the name. Gajeel smiled at his teammates. "Sounds like a good name, Bunny. Sure I still think that Team Gajeel is a better name, but I'm okay with Team Iron Star."

"Then it's official, we're named Team Iron Star." Lucy said happily, raising her fist in the air in excitement.

Gajeel then leaned near his window, his elbow pressing against the sheet of glass while his cheek rested against his fist. "So how long till we reach this Roselle Village?"

"An approximate of three hours." Panther Lily answered, the cat-like being look at a small map on the side of the train's inside, which luckily listed down where both Magnolia and Roselle were.

"Really? Jeez, what a long wait." Gajeel responded, the Iron Dragon Slayer making a groan of annoyance shortly afterwards. He had a limited time of where he could once again ride on a moving object without having to spew out the contents of his stomach in pain because he's on a moving object, and he was wasting it on a train ride that lasted three hours. Though hopefully Gajeel can keep tabs on any magic shops that sell Stillness Elixirs, if that guy who gave him the Stillness Elixir wasn't the only person who sold the magic potion. Although Bunny Girl and Lily also got Stillness Elixirs for him, so he has at least three weeks where he won't feel sick from going on a moving vehicle. Growing tired of watching the blurring, moving image of the world outside the train, Gajeel moved his eyes over to Bunny Girl, the blonde mage was also looking through the window. "So, Bunny, how are you feelin'?"

"Huh?" Lucy responded, looking up at Gajeel in surprise.

"I'm... talkin' 'bout the fact that you just left your team." Gajeel said, suddenly feeling uncomfortable and nervous, worried that he'll accidently make Bunny Girl cry. "I know you asked me if my offer was still open an' if ya could join, but you seemed kinda close to them still. Are you... okay with your decision?"

Lucy's features of surprise had changed, the blonde looking sadly at the ground. "To be honest, it feels like ice-cold daggers are being stabbed into my heart. I know that I will still be close friends with Natsu, Gray, Erza, Happy, Wendy and Carla; I'm certain of it. But it feels... odd, and it kind of hurts. Team Natsu was my first team and what made me feel like a part of my Fairy Tail family. I know that I was doing nothing but hurting myself because I was clinging onto a team that barely continued to exist, but it still felt uncomfortable and yet liberating to join a new team." Lucy said, her voice cracking slightly, tears dropping from her eyes and down onto the wooden floor she was looking at. Gajeel felt like he himself was getting ice-cold daggers stabbed into his heart as he watched Bunny Girl go on the verge of crying. He didn't intend to hurt her like that. Lucy looked up at Gajeel, tears were still falling down her face and she continued to sniffle, though she didn't look distraught. "But I'm happy to be in a team with you. I'm sure that I will get over this, especially with your help. I've lost people that are close to me, in worse ways than with Team Natsu, this has hurt less and I know I will overcome it."

"Bunny..." Gajeel said softly, his voice almost sounding exhausted. The Iron Dragon Slayer suddenly reached out for Lucy, pulling her into a hug; the blonde's face pressed into his muscular chest by his muscular arms. Lucy looked up at Gajeel in shock, the raven-haired Dragon Slayer looking down her softly. "It's okay to cry, Bunny. I know now that you're hurtin', but I don't really know what to do to help ya. The least... that I can do is lend you a shoulder or some other body part to cry on."

Lucy continued to look up at Gajeel before sighing softly and letting her face relax comfortably in his chest. The Celestial Spirit mage had a feeling she was going to like her new team.


Cana walked up the stairs of Fairy Hills to Erza Scarlet's room. Or rather, rooms. Erza was sitting on a chair, polishing one of the many, many swords that she kept in storage in one of her other rooms. Cana knocked her fist against the wooden walls of the room that Erza was in, gaining the attention of the S-Class mage, the red-haired woman looking with a face comparable to a scowl.

"Knock, knock." Cana said casually as she entered the brooding woman's room, coming off as unintimidated despite the fact that both Cana and Erza knew that there were many ways that the latter could really hurt the former if she was angered. Cana sat down on a green armchair, her legs hanging off one of the chair's arms while her back pressed against the other arm. The brunette took a quick drink from a bottle of liquor that she was holding, looking at Erza shamelessly as the Requip mage continued to scowl at her, sharp and dangerous looking sword still in hand. Cana frowned at her angry friend. "Look, I understand that you're mad 'cause Lucy decided to begin a new team with Gajeel, but that doesn't mean you can be grumpy like someone forced a long, metal pole up your ass."

Erza slammed the blade of her sword down on the floor, even though the floor was enchanted to be safeguarded in case Erza became angry and started attacking it in her rage, chunks of the wooden floor still flew off slightly as the metal piece dug into it, though not so deeply that it would pierce through into the room bellow.

"It isn't just as simple as Lucy starting a new team with Gajeel." Erza said as she stood up, continuing to glare at Cana. A red aura of tremendous magic power surrounded Erza, though Cana didn't show any signs of fear. In fact, the user of Magic Cards was gripping her bottle slightly. "We were a team, a symbol of how close our friendship was. We were meant to be inseparable, friends forever. There was never meant to be anything stronger than a good team, that one of us would only leave because of something dire. I just don't understand... why Lucy would quit our team, the team that was meant to be us together, to start a new one with Gajeel."

"Well it's not like you three are gonna stop being friends with Lucy because she is now in a team with Gajeel and Lily." Cana said, taking another drink of her bottle until it was nearly empty. "I mean everyone in Fairy Tail are friends and family, so Lucy crossing over to another team isn't suddenly going to lead to you resenting her and vice versa."

"You don't understand." Erza said. "It just... all feels so wrong!"

Cana glared at Erza, the knight-like mage feeling the brunette's stare bore into the back of her head. Erza turned around, looking at Cana with a glower. "Do you know what feels wrong?" Cana said, standing up. Erza didn't look intimidated, in fact she still looked like she was on the verge of cutting Cana into bite-sized pieces because of the anger she was feeling. The anger in Erza's eyes would be enough to scare away most guildmates, and Cana would usually be no exception. But this time, Cana wouldn't be scared, holding her magical cards in one of her hands. "What you were making Lucy go through. What all of Team Natsu was making Lucy go through."

Erza actually looked like she was taken by surprise. The Requip mage didn't summon any of her swords or change into any of her armours, Cana knew that she was getting to the scarlet-haired mage. The brunette pressed on.

"Do you know what was happening with Lucy while you, Natsu and Gray were having fun and givin' it to your lovers? She was alone, without a real team, having to take missions either by herself or with others." Cana said. Erza's face of surprise didn't change or vanish. Maybe the S-Class mage was starting to realise something, or maybe the shock was just keeping her paralyzed. Nevertheless, Cana knew that she should continue before Erza ends up mounting her head on her wall. "You all stopped going on missions with her, or at least that was what it was like for her. I remember when you all went on missions on a daily basis. Then it became only twice a week. And now it feels like it only happens once a month. I have been on missions with Lucy, and even though she hid it, I could still see the pain in her eyes. Then Gajeel went on a mission with her, he even gave her an offer to join a new team with him. Gajeel was the one to help Lucy, because she was suffering by being in a team that was barely together anymore. Now Lucy's with a new team, one that will help her. You all had abandoned her, you all abandoned your team. You're all virtually in new teams with your lovers. You... you don't have the right to become mad because Lucy decided to move on and heal."

Erza stood still, almost frozen. And then something happened. Erza didn't move, exactly. Rather, instead a tear had dropped down from her left eye. Small and slow as it slid, like a liquid snail. A little whimper escaped Erza, an almost foreign sight. The great Titania of Fairy Tail fell to her knees, her armoured hands pressing against the floor, keeping the upper area of her body from falling onto the wooden surface. Tears fell down off Erza's face and splattered onto the ground. Cana sucked the air in through her teeth and went onto her knees, patting Erza on the back in an attempt to help her. Cana did think that Lucy deserved going onto a new team, to heal herself, and she did think that Erza (and Natsu and Gray) did deserve what they were told if they were to dare to complain about Lucy having the proverbial balls to change her life.

But they were still a part of Fairy Tail, they were still members of Cana's family. And Erza was still a pillar of Cana's family; she won't let her cry.

Cana tried to think of any words that could be used to help Erza feel better without contradicting her earlier statement, but she was having trouble trying to find the words. "Am... am I really that bad of a friend?" Erza asked, cracks in her voice. The red-haired woman looked up at the brunette next to her, brown lacrimal eyes looking at purple eyes. Erza's face was becoming stained with her tears, a sight Cana thought she would never ever see. Not even in a million years. Cana did admittedly feel guilty for what she did to Erza, but it still was deserved. "Was I really hurting Lucy?"

Cana was silent as she thought out her answer, looking at the ground, soggy with Erza's tears, before looking at the aforementioned redhead. "I know it wasn't on purpose, I know you weren't doing it out of malice. But it was still there that she was hiding sadness in her eyes as your team started to drift apart." Cana said. "Wendy was starting to focus more on the healing aspect of her magic and you and the others were moving on with your lives. You were still a part of Fairy Tail, but you were no longer a part of your team. Lucy also needed to move on, and Gajeel helped her."

Erza thinned her mouth, the Requip mage directing her eyes towards the floor, now sitting up. When Jellal was finally pardoned and she could finally be with him, Erza was beyond ecstatic. They started spending time together, and in the end it seemed that Erza was spending more time with Jellal than with her team. And she didn't seem to notice or care. Natsu and Gray had to also spend most of their time with Lisanna and Juvia respectively. Erza did feel happier with Jellal than with her team because it felt like it was impossible for Erza to feel happier when she was with Jellal. Maybe Natsu and Gray had felt the same when they were with Lisanna and Juvia, once again respectively. Natsu was always grinning and smiling, but it seemed like there was a certain level of something more when he was with the youngest Strauss. He somehow seemed to be even more happy. And Gray wasn't one who smiled as much, always wearing a mask of indifference. And yet Juvia could single-handedly break that mask apart.

"Is it okay if I ask you a question?" Cana asked, taking Erza out of her ponder. Erza looked up at Cana, the knight-like mage's face and eyes showing that she was still thinking everything through. Slowly, Erza nodded. "Do you... feel like you are forcing yourself when you go on missions with your team nowadays?"

Erza froze, the question had surprisingly hit her with intense strength. She didn't know how to answer it.

Cana got up and began walking to the door of Erza's room, the brunette stopping and looking back at the Titania. "Just so you know, Lucy never blamed nor resented Jellal, Lisanna or Juvia for what happened to your team. Maybe you could do the same for Gajeel." Cana said, the brunette proceeding to walk back to the door. "And you can still go on missions with Lucy, you just most likely won't be doing it as a team anymore."

Erza was left alone in her room again, the scarlet-haired mage silent and thinking. "I owe Lucy a tremendous apology." Erza whispered as she realised what she had done to Lucy.


Somewhere on the far east side of Magnolia sat a quiet little town called Roselle Village. And in this town there was a quiet little cottage. In this cottage sat an elderly lady, humming peacefully as she was knitting away, her rocking chair making the floorboards beneath squeak as she swayed back and forth on it. She had short, brown hair that was slowly turning grey, going no further down than past her ears. She wore modest, pyjama-like clothing that covered every part of her body with the exception of her feet, her hands and her head. And even then her feet were covered with socks.

Her green eyes looked past the spectacles that were perched near the bridge of her nose, allowing her to see the garment she was knitting for her grandchildren. There was a knock at the door, the old lady looking as she heard it, due to her hearing being one of the few parts of her that didn't deteriorate with age.

The old lady got off her rocking chair, her legs wobbling slightly from her own weight. The old lady made a little hiss of pain as she rubbed her back, that surface of her body was a part of her that deteriorated as she grew older and older. The woman walked towards the door and opened it, blinking as she saw the people on the other side of the now open door. One was a beautiful blonde woman with a large bust, wearing a small skirt that was attached to her by a belt that also held a keyring, the aforementioned keyring having golden and silver keys attached to it. The blonde woman was smiling with her hands folded behind her back, giving off a little, bubbly glow. Another was a tall, muscular man with black hair, his big arms crossed over his big chest. Unlike the blonde woman, he was frowning and gave off a bit of an unpleasant sensation. The last one was a panther-like Exceed, floating up and down behind the two with angelic wings.

"Hello." The blonde greeted cheerfully, giving the lady a little wave. "I'm Lucy, and these two beside me are Gajeel and Panther Lily. We're from Fairy Tail, you should have gotten the letter that we had accepted your mission request."

The old lady's eyes widened. "Oh. If that is the case then please come in." The old lady said, opening the door wider and gesturing the three Fairy Tail mages to enter her abode. "It would be undignified of me to not invite you three in when you came all the way here to help."

The three Fairy Tail went inside her house, right to the living room. It seemed cosy enough, there was a bookshelf with many old-looking books, a large, circular, purple carpet with a rocking chair, two sofas that had three seats and a square shaped coffee table in its middle, a large, white, circular tablecloth on the coffee table, a glass vase of red roses on the middle of the cloth and table. Lucy, Gajeel and Lily sat down on one of the sofas as the old lady closed the door.

"Is there anything that you would like to eat or drink?" The lady asked, looking at the three mages that sat on one of her sofas. "Would you like any tea? You are technically my guests,"

"No thank you." Lucy answered politely.

"Nah." Gajeel answered rudely, earing him a small glare from Lucy that quickly ended.

"I wouldn't mind some tea." Panther Lily admitted.

The old lady nodded in response, walking into the kitchen, her head pointing out shortly after. "Are you okay with caramel tea?"

Lily nodded, the old lady's head disappearing back in the kitchen. The old lady eventually came out with a cup of caramel tea and a coaster, setting them down on the coffee table in front of Panther Lily. As the Exceed drank the tea, the old lady sat back down on her rocking chair, rocking to and fro from the sudden weight.

The old lady's eyes widened as she remembered something. "Oh, how rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself to you." The old lady said. "My name is Carol, and as you must already know, I am the one that posted the mission request."

"Yes, your mission request about wild boars." Lucy answered.

Carol nodded. "Yes, you see Roselle Village is a place that thrives off of the cultivation of crops and flowers, which are told to be eaten and admired respectively." She explained, looking down at the knitting needles, the yarn garment and the yarn that it was of course being made from. "But recently these wild boars have been appearing and eating our plant life, and Ii want someone to put a stop to it. I'm not explicitly requesting you to kill or destroy them, but I just wish that you handle these pests before they eat our town's only source of income."

"Whatever, as long as I get to do some fightin' against somethin' than I'm all for it." Gajeel said, folding his hands behind his head.

Carol chuckled at the Dragon Slayer. "That is the can-do attitude I was hoping for." The aging lady said, rocking in her chair in an almost rhythmic pattern. "And the sooner you can handle these boars, the better."


Cana re-entered Fairy Tail. The brunette wasn't in the happiest of moods, though she still felt that she may have had to tell Erza what she told her. It had hurt Cana, knowing that one of her closest friends was in pain and there was nothing that she could truly do to help her. Cana sat at the bar, shoving the tip of the bottle in her mouth and drinking away at the drink. Cana didn't like being someone useless, someone who watched people handle their problems alone and not help. And whilst Cana wasn't the most keen on letting Gajeel heal Lucy, not because of who he is but because there was no way she could help, she knew enough to put her trust in the Iron Dragon Slayer.

Though Cana would admit that she was a little envious of Natsu, Gray and Erza, and maybe even Gajeel as of late. After all, they had a certain intimacy with Lucy, they were held close to her heart. Maybe Cana was also close to Lucy, neither were quiet about being best friends, but it wasn't enough. It didn't feel enough.

Maybe it was because Lucy transcended from friend into something much more after Tenrou Island. Cana had taken their friendship for granted and used Lucy as a tool for her ambition, one that consumed her that day. But Lucy still had it in herself to not only forgive and forget, but to also give Cana the extra push she needed to tell Gildarts the truth. Cana already had an attraction to Lucy before, but that action made the blonde mean almost too much to Cana. It was a little secret of Cana's, that she was attracted to both men and women.

And what Lucy did after Grimoire Heart's attack made Cana fall in love with Lucy. Cana looked down at the nearly empty bottle in her hand, if Gajeel becomes more than friends with benefits with Lucy then he better not take her for granted. Cana knew that Lucy's love life has been deep in the shitter for at least months now, that's the very reason why she has decided to put it on a hiatus. Another bad boyfriend will only make the problem worse.

Cana would date Lucy in a heartbeat, if she could, but it wasn't that simple. Unlike Cana, Lucy was purely straight. All Cana could ever be with the blonde was a friend and keep the façade that she never thought of Lucy as something more.

Cana looked back at Natsu and Gray, smirking as she saw that their eyes were still wide open and their jaws were still so low down it was like they were going to fall off. "If you wanna suck a big cock, you're gonna need'ta try something much better than that." Cana joked at the two, ignoring the angry glares their girlfriends were sending towards her. Cana just laughed as their mouths were still agape. "If you don't close your mouths soon, entire colonies of insects will go into you make civilisations in your bodies."

Cana heard a sound from behind, the brunette turning around to see Mirajane placing down a barrel in front of Cana, the white-haired mage knowing that Cana will be in the mood for more barrel guzzling. Hopefully it is something like wine, that's really good. "So how did it go with Erza?" Mirajane asked sweetly with genuine concern.

Cana sighed. "I'unno." Cana answered, her shoulders shrugging slightly. "I came to help her feel better, but she had the gall to complain that it felt wrong that Lucy was now in a new team. I had to tell her the truth, how Team Natsu has been stopping Lucy from moving on. Lucy needed Gajeel, not only to quench the fire between her legs but to move on. She was the only member of Team Natsu that had truly still cared about the team, and she needed a new team to move on."

Mirajane thinned her lips as she looked at Cana. "Were you hard on Erza?"

Cana sighed. "Yes." She answered, though she obviously wasn't proud about it.

"Cana...!" Mirajane said, slight anger mixed into her usually high-pitched voice. Cana looked up at Mirajane, whilst the mage did look mad she didn't look like she was going to transform into one of her Satan Souls. Mirajane let out a sigh, an air of annoyance in the aforementioned sigh. "You shouldn't be so hard on her, Cana."

"You saw how hurt Lucy was as her team was drifting apart. I know Erza is mad because Lucy is now in Team Gajeel or whatever, and I know Natsu and Gray are gonna cause a freakin' rampage when they come to, but it was for the better. I still consider them my friends, and I will fight to the death for them, but there are times when an anvil needs to be dropped." Cana responded, maintaining eye contact with her guildmate. While Cana showed little expression, there was still a sense of sympathy for her friends in her eyes. Though, that emotion in her eyes was small, especially in comparison to another emotion. "They all had moved on from their team and Lucy was the first to accept it, they just need to realise the truth that even some of the strongest and closest of teams can end. But that doesn't that the members of that dead team has to start hating each other, they were friends before they became a team and they can still be friends after their team."

The guild doors opened, Erza Scarlet passing through. A thing that most members of the guild noticed was that Erza wasn't in her usual armour anymore, instead she just wearing the clothes she usually wore underneath the armour. Dried tear stains decorated Erza's face, the great Titania of Fairy Tail sitting down at the bar.

"Erza?" Mirajane said, concerned. "Are you okay?"

"I have been a bad friend." Erza said, her voice sad as she looked down at the bar. Mirajane bit her bottom lip, the eldest Strauss sibling disappearing into the kitchen, only to come out shortly thereafter with a plate with a strawberry cheesecake. Mirajane placed the plate and cake slice in front of Erza, only for the Requip mage to ignore it, much to the shock of the guild, a giant, collective gasp echoing throughout the wooden building. Erza just put one of her hands on her temple as she looked down at her legs, humming until she looked back up at Mirajane. "I should be supporting Lucy for wanting to move on, instead I felt angry at Gajeel. When Lucy comes back I should apologise to her for hurting her."

"Are you okay, Erza?" Jellal asked in concern, putting his hand on his girlfriend's shoulder. Erza looked at Jellal, the powerful female mage smiling at the blue-haired Heavenly Body mage. Erza brought Jellal into a deep and powerful kiss, one that had at first taken him by surprise though he quickly gave in a kissed her back. After a few more seconds of their powerful kiss, Erza and Jellal separated their lips to regain air.

Erza still smiled at Jellal, reaching her own conclusion. Erza suddenly went on one knee and held one of his hands in her two own. "Jellal, you have been one of my closest friends throughout my life. Even with the many years that you were insane in the Tower of Heaven, I still have forgiven you. And as time passed, I fell in love with you, and I am happy that you too have fallen to me." Erza said as she looked up at Jellal, who was just as surprised as everyone else, as he too was thinking that Erza was proposing to him. And proposing to him was something that Erza wasn't really doing. "When I joined Team Natsu, I thought we would have lasted forever. But I realised now that our team has changed, that we are only together because we were forcing ourselves to. Lucy has worked up the courage to face the truth and move onto a new team, and I think it is my turn now. Jellal Fernandes, will you form a new team with me."

Exclaims of surprise echoed around the guild, the only members not left nonplussed were the already frozen Natsu and Gray, Cana (who had actually almost expected this outcome) and of course Erza herself. Jellal looked and blinked down at his girlfriend, his heart beating rapidly. Jellal and Erza have been on many missions together (not to mention the time they spent together) ever since he joined Fairy Tail and they became a couple, but they never had became a real team. And yet right now Erza was asking him if he wanted to form an official team with her.

He couldn't say no to such an offer.

"I am more than happy to form a new team with you, Erza." Jellal, smiling at Erza. The red-haired mage smiled back, standing up and kissing him again.

"Wait, is Team Natsu now breaking up?" Wakaba said, his pipe hanging off of his mouth before falling off.

"Does this mean that Natsu and Gray are going to leave Team Natsu?" Nab said, still having not taken a single job in over a decade.

"Well they gotta, those two can't even just look at each other or be in the same room without fightin' to the near death." Bickslow said, having heard the other Seith mage's question (even if they were both different types of Seith mages).

"Near death. Near death." Bickslow's totems echoed.

"Wait, Wendy." Warren said, going towards the Sky Dragon Slayer. "Aren't you also a member of Team Natsu? Can't you keep Natsu and Gray from fighting?"

"Umm, actually..." Wendy said sheepishly, particularly because virtually everyone in the guild was now looking at her. "I have been thinking about becoming a solo mage for a while now. After Lucy decided to leave the team a few hours ago, I came to the conclusion that I do want to become a solo mage, at least for a while."

"Woo, attagirl, Wendy." Cana cheered, drinking from the barrel that Mirajane gave her in 'celebration'.

"When I told Lu that she should consider Gajeel's offer to join a team with him, I didn't know something like this would happen." Levy mumbled, sitting next to Darian, the petite woman having a large book on her lap, held open by her, the Solid Script mage reading it with her boyfriend prior to Erza's announcement. "Though Team Natsu was already breaking apart because of their loved ones, I guess Wendy also found it in herself to let go of Team Natsu. As long as she's happy with it then I'm okay."

"Levy!" Jet and Droy shrieked, the two other members of Team Shadow Gear appearing at the side of the blue-haired Solid Script mage, opposite to that of her Earth/Fire mage boyfriend.

"You won't leave us to form a two person team with Darian, right? Right?" Jet asked, his eyes going blurry with tears of worry, the orange-haired mage holding onto Levy's hand.

Droy suddenly pushed Jet out of the way, causing the High Speed mage to let go of Levy's hand. The plant-using mage quickly grabbed hold of Levy's hand when Jet let go, ignoring the angry yelling by the other male mage. "Y-you'll always stay as a part of Team Shadow Gear, right?" Droy asked, his eyes were also full of tears. "You know that Team Shadow Gear will never ever be the same if you decide to leave."

Jet tried to shove Droy away from Levy, much like how the more... large man did to him earlier. The two males were vigorously trying to shove each other out of the way, both were eventually letting go of Levy's hand as they tried to push and shove. Levy on the other hand giggled.

"Don't worry, I would never leave Team Shadow Gear because of my new beau." Levy responded, causing Jet and Droy to stop their little bickering. The two mages looked at Levy adoringly, still not yet over the fact that Levy was very happy in her relationship with Darian. "Although if you two let Darian join, then it will be set in stone that I don't leave Team Shadow Gear."

Jet and Droy looked at Darian, the mage deciding to be nice and smile kindly at them, the two males looking back at Levy. "Do we have to let him join?" They asked in a whiny tone. Darian became downcast, looking down at the wooden floor of the guild whilst a dark aura of gloominess surrounded him. The only way Darian could look more sad would be if a rain cloud spontaneously appeared over him and rained down. Levy looked at her boyfriend in concern before glaring at Jet and Droy, a cold shiver growing up their spines and tingling through their bodies.

"That was rude!" Levy scolded of her two teammates, making them feel shame and guilt among their fear. "Darian has been trying to be nothing but nice to you two when he joined, and you even were nice to him back. But when he and I started dating you two became jealous, even though he has still tried to be nice to you two. He has even mentioned during pillow talk that he wouldn't mind joining Team Shadow Gear. Hell, if he joined then he and I would go on less missions that were just him and me. I want you two to apologise to Darian and let him join our team, got it?"

Jet and Droy nodded and proceeded to do as Levy said, making the Solid Script mage feel better as her boyfriend brightened.

"Well, at least not all of our teams are breaking apart because of romance." Mirajane said as she watched and earwigged what happened with Team Shadow Gear. "The teams and romances of our guild has always been my favourite thing about Fairy Tail. If they ended up breaking each other apart, like they were the antithesis of each other, then my heart would be absolutely shattered."

"Don't worry, it's not like everyone in our guild is like Team Natsu. Hell, Freed is still the leader of the Thunder Legion even though he and Laxus are grinding, thrusting and sucking each other." Cana said shamelessly as she finished her barrel, tossing the empty container like away like it was as light as Styrofoam. "Though I wonder how our Light of Fairy Tail and The Grumpy Pin-Cushion, and Panther Lily, are doing on whatever mission they are doing."


Carol sat in her cottage, humming as she drank from her cup of tea. The old lady had her faith in the Fairy Tail mages, after all they were members of the strongest guild in the country and it was only a simple mission of getting rid of some wild boars. And they weren't special boars, they had no magical abilities of their own nor were they an unusually large size. Indeed, they were nothing more than an abundance of boars that were eating away at Roselle's much needed vegetation. Of course, whenever or not the boars were aware of the damage they were doing to Roselle was a question that remained to be answered, but it was undisputed by the people of the village and their council that the boars were needed to be taken care of. And with all the Jewel she has saved throughout her long, long life, Carol had enough money to attract the attention of a wizard guild, hopefully a guild with strong wizards, who could handle the problem for them.

The happy old lady heard a knock at her door. Carol was quick to recognise the specific knock, though even if she didn't it wouldn't be hard to guess who the people behind the knock were. "The door is open." Carol called.

Carol's front door open, revealing Lucy, Gajeel and Panther Lily. The Celestial Spirit mage and Exceed looked happy, though the Iron Dragon Slayer looked rather disappointed.

"I take that you three completed the mission." Carol said.

"Successfully." Panther Lily responded, the panther-like entity sitting down on one of the two couches.

"We didn't kill any of them or even have to hurt that many, and even with the ones that we did hurt it wasn't that much." Lucy said happily, sitting next to Panther Lily on the couch. Lucy gave Carol a thumbs up. "It was a complete mission. So I would like our pay now."

"Ah yes, I will get your Jewel reward." Carol said, getting off her rocking chair. "I take that your friend's bad mood comes from the lack of fighting that actually happened in the mission."

Gajeel grunted in response before Lucy or Lily could say anything, leaning against the wall near the door with his hands behind his head. Carol merely chuckled as she walked up the stairs to get were she kept her Jewel, leaving the three Fairy Tail mages alone in the downstairs of her house. Lucy looked at Gajeel, frowning slightly as he looked utterly disappointed about how the mission turned out. Lucy got off the couch and walked towards the Iron Dragon Slayer, said man opening an eye halfway as he smelled her scent nearing him. A shiver ran across Gajeel's body, her amazing triple combination of strawberries, jasmine and stardust touched his nose. He just wanted to pull Lucy in a strong embrace and sniff her lovely scent. And maybe even fuck her brains out.

Of course though, Lily is present. And the old lady that they are in the house of will probably have a heart attack if she finds them fucking in her house. Hell, even Gajeel had the decency to not just fuck someone while he's in someone else's house.

Unless if he was given permission for it, but Gajeel doubted that the old lady would be happy with Gajeel and Bunny Girl having sex in her house.

"Hey, Gajeel." Lucy said as she stood in front of the leaning Dragon Slayer. Gajeel gave Lucy a small grunt, in case if his half open eye wasn't enough of an indicator that he was aware of her. "Look, I'm sorry that this mission wasn't what you expected, I truly am. I promise that we will go on another mission that has a lot more fighting next. Not right now, of course; I've already been on two missions today and I'm definite that I will be able to sleep quietly and peacefully tonight because I'm tired from all the magic energy that I have used up."

Gajeel grunted again, no longer leaning against the wall as he stood on his two feet. "It's not your fault, Bunny, it just didn't turn out the way you expected. 'Sides, you and Lily were happy enough with it so I guess it's good enough in my book." Gajeel said, patting Lucy softly on the head. Lucy smiled, happy that her friend was happy. Gajeel suddenly gave Lucy a dirty grin, one that the blonde woman quickly noticed. "But you better not be too tired, 'cause I'm plannin' on fucking ya tonight."

The loud clearing of an old throat was heard inside the room, causing Gajeel and Lucy to freeze with widened eyes. "I would appreciate it if you didn't use such crude language in my house." Carol said. Gajeel and Lucy turned their heads towards the ageing lady, seeing her standing in the middle of the room with a big sack of Jewels in one of her hands, giving them a disapproving frown.

"What the hell? Was she some kinda ninja in the past or somethin'?" Gajeel mentally asked incredulously, not understanding how the haggard woman was able to sneak in.

"Umm..." Lucy said, embarrassed, rubbing the back of her head and giving Carol a nervous smile. "I'm sure that you won't deduct from our pay because of that. Right?"

Carol closed her eyes, her frown remaining. Lucy felt herself tense, the Celestial Spirit mage fearing that payment would be deducted because of Gajeel's plans. Lucy already had enough money to pay for her rent for about five months, if she doesn't spend too much on luxuries, but the many missions with the rest of... her old team had made it a reflexive impulse for Lucy to worry about the deduction of pay, although that was mostly because her old teammates (though they are still some of her closest friends ever) often left a few roads broken and a few buildings levelled.

Carol's face softened. "A few words of the coarse language is nothing against the boars we were troubled with, I will forgive you three for the mistake of one." Carol said, handing her sack of Jewel towards Lucy as the busty woman approached her. The ageing lady of Roselle Village waved the three mages goodbye as they left her house.

In no time, Lucy, Panther Lily and Gajeel were on the train back to Magnolia. A thought occurred in Lucy's head, the blonde looking at the black-haired Dragon Slayer and cat-like entity sitting next to her. "Is it possible that I can ever come over to your house one day, Gajeel and Lily?" Lucy asked, the abruptness of her question surprising the two males, leaving them nonplussed for a few seconds before Panther Lily was the first to react, the little Exceed smiling at Lucy.

"It would be fair, we have visited your own house many times, but we have never had the courtesy to invite you to our own home." Panther Lily said politely. "And I think it would be a pleasure for you to visit our house, don't you think, Gajeel?"

Gajeel blinked, finally becoming able to react to Lucy's question. "Sure, Bunny, you can come over to our house." Gajeel responded, giving Lucy a smile. It wasn't a dirty, lust-filled smile or an annoying smirk, but a genuine, caring smile. "We are a team, after all. And we may treat each other like family at Fairy Tail, but when we're in a team we're even closer as family. Or some of that other friendship talk that Salamander never seems to shut up about."

Lucy giggled at Gajeel's mention of Natsu and friendship talk, her fingers over her mouth and her eyes closed. In truth, most members of Fairy Tail have done it once, Lucy herself even being a little guilty, but Natsu seemed to give it out in spades. Lucy just prayed that Natsu didn't make Lisanna rip her own hair out with his behaviour, she didn't want one of her best friends to go bald from another one of her best friends.

Lucy opened her eyes, only to see Gajeel looking at her with a mesmerized face. Gajeel blinked and twitched his head as he became aware that the blonde Celestial Spirit mage was looking back at him, looking away, his cheeks turning a pinkish colour. Lucy blinked in surprise, the sight of Gajeel blushing remaining as a surprise to her. "Sorry, I was just checkin' to see if you were crying or not because I mentioned Salamander. I worried that mentionin' him would have made you sad because of your decision." Gajeel apologised, looking out of the window of the moving train. Lucy looked at Panther Lily for confirmation if what Gajeel claimed was true, the Exceed shrugging response, he guess was as good as his. Gajeel looked at Lucy, making what sounded like a guttural sound of defeat. "And... I really liked hearing you laugh."

Well that took Lucy by surprise, probably as much as her question about coming over to Gajeel and Lily's house one day had with them. Of course Lucy was like a human sculpture made with a surprise face before she had fully reacted, smiling happily at Gajeel. "Well if you manage to be a good teammate and friend, then maybe you'll get to hear me laugh more." Lucy responded with a little, innocent wink.

Gajeel jerked back, his blush deepening before he looked back out of the window. Lucy just ended up giggling more, causing the corners of Gajeel's mouth to turn upwards slightly for a few seconds before returning to straight lines. The blonde also decided to look out the window, admiring the scenery that they were passing by at high speeds. Panther Lily smiled as he looked at his friends, maybe they'll realise their feelings for each other on their own.


He felt exhausted and heavy, like a mage with some gravity-manipulating magic decided to use it push some extra gravity down on him. Or maybe a mage with a type of magic that can manipulate weight just decided to make heavier. Point is, he felt like an invisible force was pushing him down on the bed he was laying on.

And that bed felt really comfy and cosy, though he didn't understand he was laying on his back. Usually when he slept, he was curled into a ball.

Happy made a little moan as he forced his eyes open, the little Exceed smiling as he saw Carla looking down at him. Granted, she was in her human form and Happy much preferred it when she was in her natural cat form, but he was happy to see her nevertheless. "Carla!" Happy exclaimed in delight, the top half of his body springing upwards with his arms outstretched like he was going to hug his fellow Exceed. However, Happy's eyes bulged out, the top half of his body falling back down.

Carla gingerly placed a hand on top of the blue-furred Exceed, careful to not hurt him but still stop him from getting back up. "You were left utterly exhausted when you came back with the fish. You need to rest." Carla said sternly.

Happy's eyes widened as Carla mentioned the fish. "Oh yeah, the fish." Happy said casually, no doubt he has became reckless from being raised mostly by Natsu. "I remember that you kissed me for getting it for you, so you must have really like it. Did you find it tasty, my special Carla?"

Carla growled, her tolerance having reached its limit. "I DO NOT LIKE FISH, DAMMIT!" Carla outburst, having temporarily lost her control over herself to her emotions. Happy was left shocked by Carla's sudden outburst, the little cat looking up at her with wide and scared eyes. Carla breathed in and out, calming down and looking back at Happy, though her face still held a shadow of a scowl. Happy continued to look at the transformed Exceed, even though most of the fear in his eyes had died out, some of it remained in the globular organs. Maybe now he will listen to Carla as she continued to talk to him, this time as calmly as she could. "I only kissed you on the cheek, okay. On. The. Cheek! And I only did it out of appreciation of the effort. I have told you time and time again that I don't like seafood, but you keep on ignoring me. Mira is chopping up and cooking the fish you brought back, but I won't be eating it because I don't like the taste. If you were to just listen to my suggestions, ones that don't put your life at risk, I might actually consider you. Just listen to me, for once."

Happy stared up at Carla, his stare haven't changed since Carla outburst at him. Carla sighed, while she may be annoyed by Happy's endless attempts at wooing her, she didn't want him to fear her. Carla closed her eyes, her body losing its features as it was covered by a bright light, changing back into Carla's regular Exceed form. Carla used her Aria magic to fly onto the bed that Happy was laying on in the guild infirmary. The white-furred Exceed was going to talk, but was stopped as Happy abruptly hugged her.

"I'm sorry, Carla...!" Happy cried into the shoulder of his fellow cat-like entity that he was in love with, taking the white-furred female by surprise. Happy stopped hugging Carla and moved back so the two Exceeds were looking at each other, the blue-furred male's eyes big and teary. "I... I'm sorry that I haven't been listening to you, Carla."

Carla sighed, the white-furred Exceed was about to say something to Happy when the door to the guild's infirmary open. "Oh, it's good to see that you're awake. I was hoping that you would get the chance to try out the fish you brought back to the guild." Mirajane said sweetly as she walked into the infirmary, holding a plate that had a piece of the sea creature on it, uncooked since the Satan Soul mage knew that Happy preferred his fish raw.

Happy's eyes brightened at the sight of the piece of the fish and, despite his exhaustion, was quick to eat it. Mirajane giggled, looking at Happy and then at Carla.

"So, how did it go?" Mirajane asked.

Carla sighed in annoyance. "I think I might have gotten through his thick skull, but I'm not certain." The white-furred Exceed replied.

Happy, now with a big belly full of the piece of fish he ate, made a happy sigh. The blue-furred Exceed then looked at Carla and Mirajane. "So what happened while I went to get the fish for Carla?" Happy asked innocently, unaware of what was happening to Team Natsu. Happy's eyes widened as he remembered something recent. "Oh, but Carla doesn't like fish, so I won't get fish for her anymore."

Mirajane thinned her lips and furrowed her brow, looking at Carla with troubled eyes, the white-furred Exceed looking back at her with eyes that were just as troubled as she didn't know how to break the news to Happy either. Happy looked at Mirajane and Carla, blinking innocently as he didn't understand what happened.

"Um, well..." Mirajane said, sweating slightly. "Well Team Natsu, as in Natsu, Lucy, Gray and Erza, went on a high-paying mission and they of course did it. And since they weren't near any property owned by the requesters or such, they didn't get any money deducted."

"Wow." Happy said, his eyes shining with glee. "Imagine all the yummy fish I could get...!"

Carla hit her forehead with her paw as Mirajane made an amused laugh, however she was soon biting her bottom lip as she remembered the new that she'll have to tell Happy.

"Mira? Is something wrong?" Happy asked, noticing the troubled look on Mirajane's face. Happy's eyes had shown an innocence, though they started to fill with worry. "Did something happen to Team Natsu?"

"Lucy left the team." Carla said, no longer able to keep the information concealed. Shock filled Happy's eyes, the Exceed looking at Carla incredulously. Carla sighed, knowing that the information she released had put her in an event horizon of sorts. "Gajeel had offered Lucy the chance to form a new team with him and Lily some time in the past. She decided to accept his offer, and not too long ago Erza decided to leave Team Natsu to create a new team with Jellal. Wendy has also decided to leave to become a solo mage, and where she goes I go, so I will be leaving Team Natsu with her. And since Gray and Natsu can't even look at each other without fighting, I doubt Team Natsu will last much longer."

"But... but..." Happy whimpered, his eyes going wet as he was on the verge of tears. Carla transformed into her human transformation and held Happy in a hug, petting his little head softly.

"I know you may be sad, but this wasn't without warning." Carla said as she petted Happy, her petting managing to help calm the Exceed down. "Did it not occur to you that you and Natsu have been spending more time with Lisanna and gong on more mission with her than you have with the rest of Team Natsu? Or that the same with has been happening with Gray and Erza with Juvia and Jellal respectively? Our team has been drifting apart. But that doesn't mean we're no longer friends. Your friendship with Lucy and the others won't end because our team is breaking up, we're all just moving on and going in different ways."

Mirajane was stifling her squeal as she watched the two Exceeds (even if one of them was in a human transformation), her heart pounding as she watched them. Mirajane managed to calm herself down and stop her inner fangirling. The shape-shifter cleared her throat and sat on the bed that Carla and Happy were sitting on. "So, are you feeling better now?" Mirajane asked sweetly with genuine care.

Happy was sniffling, the blue-furred cat-like entity calming down. "Yeah. I feel better now." Happy said, his voice clearing of cracks. "In fact, I feel happy, like my name. I'm happy that I can still remain as friends with the rest of Team Natsu, especially Carla and Lucy."

"Oh, you care a lot about Lucy?" Mirajane asked with interest.

"Yeah." Happy answered. "After Carla, Natsu and Lisanna, Lucy is my favourite. Of course I care about her, it's just so much more fun to annoy and tease her."

Happy tried to stand up, however his legs quickly lost power and he dropped down. Luckily, he was still on the bed. Carla stood up, still in her human transformation, and picked Happy up and held him in her arms like a owner would do with their cat. And, of course, Happy didn't mind.

"Would you like to go back down to the bottom of the guild?" Mirajane asked sweetly, holding her arms out for Carla to pass the blue-furred Exceed to her. Carla was quick to hand over Happy to Mirajane, much to the male Exceed's displeasure because he was no longer being held by the Exceed her loves. However Happy quickly covered up his displeasure and smiled up at the Satan Soul mage.

"Yes." Happy answered.

Mirajane walked out of the guild infirmary, holding Happy in her crossed arms. Happy heard the faint sounds of whooshing air, looking to see that Carla turned back into her cat form (which Happy greatly preferred), flying with angelic wings grown by her Aera magic. Happy looked around the guild as Mirajane placed him on the bar, the Exceed noticing that Erza and Jellal were sitting at the bar and eating a strawberry cheesecake together. Happy looked around for Natsu and Gray, the Exceed bursting into laughter as he saw the dumbstruck expressions that were frozen on the two mages' faces. Happy saw a familiar face in his peripherals, the cat-like entity looking to see Lisanna.

"Are you feeling better, Happy?" Lisanna asked with genuine concern for her surrogate son.

"Yeah, I'm feeling much better." Happy answered in a manner that greatly befitted his name. Happy then noticed that Carla flew towards Wendy, the Exceed and Dragon Slayer soon being asked by Reedus if they could sit still so he could paint a picture of them, something which they complied to. Happy looked back at Lisanna, noticing the minor distress on her face. "I heard about the news, about Team Natsu breaking up. But it's okay, because I know we will remain as friends."

A sigh of relief came from Lisanna, the distress disappearing from the white-haired woman. The two large guild doors opened, the mages inside of the guild growing quiet, so quiet that even the usually silent squeaks of the guild doors had echoed around the building's insides. There, on the other side of the now opened doors, were Lucy, Gajeel and Panther Lily.

"Umm... hi." Lucy said nervously as virtually all of the eyes of the guild were on her, giving her guildmates a nervous little handwave. Erza got off of her barstool without saying anything, the mighty red-haired mage walking towards Lucy. Lucy had tensed as the tremendously powerful mage approached her, her eyes shadowed by her long hair and the edges of her lips turned down. Gajeel could sense Lucy's tenseness, putting one of his muscular arms in front of the blonde protectively, however Erza didn't acknowledge it, like his arm would barely stop her. Erza stopped as she was in front of Lucy, a single brown eye starring at the Celestial Spirit mage through scarlet hair. Lucy was starting to shake, fearing that she was wrong, fearing that Erza - one of the closest friends she has ever had - now hated her, and might even attack her. "Uh... Erza...?"

Erza suddenly pulled Lucy into a hug, the hug unintentionally hurting due to Erza's strength, armour and lack of restraint in her hug as she was slightly overwhelmed with emotion. "I'm sorry, Lucy." Erza said as she loosened her hug around Lucy, though her arms still surrounded the blonde. Lucy looked at Erza, the blonde's surprised brown eyes looking at the redhead's sad brown eyes. "I owe you and apology... I owe both you and Gajeel an apology. I'm sorry that I unintentionally drifted from you, I'm sorry that all of Team Natsu drifted away from you. If I knew I was hurting you, I would have done something... I would have at least tried to help. I'm sorry, I didn't notice the pain you were in because I was spending too much time with Jellal. At first I was mad at Gajeel, because I found the concept of you joining a new team to be wrong, but now I know that I was being selfish for thinking that. Lucy, I beg that you forgive me."

Lucy was surprised as Erza, the strongest woman in Fairy Tail who seemed to be unbreakable, was crying on her chest. Jellal was quick to appear behind Erza, pulling his armour-clad into a hug, one that Erza quickly returned, though it did nothing to stop the tears. Lucy felt guilty, she didn't want to hurt any of her close friends by going onto a new team.

"Hey, Erza, it's alright." Lucy said, joining Jellal in giving Lucy a hug. "Yes, it hurt that our team was slowly drifting, but I should also be for blame; I held onto our team when I needed to move on. And I don't blame or hate you, Natsu or Gray. I hope that we can still be the best of friends, even if we are on different teams."

Erza's crying had stopped, the scarlet-haired mage looking at her friend happily. "And I hope so too." Erza replied. "And I hope that Gajeel and Panther Lily treat you like a true teammate."

"I promise that I will value her greatly as a comrade." Lily said impassively, the calm Exceed landing on Lucy's shoulder. "And I am certain that Gajeel will also value her."

Gajeel smirked, the Iron Dragon Slayer slinging one of his arms around Lucy's shoulders and pulling her close to him, making her blush unconsciously. "I'm already protectin; Bunny Girl and I don't plan on stoppin', so I don't need to be death threated or nothin'."

Lucy's blush had deepened from what Gajeel said, the blonde noticing that Natsu and Gray were still sitting at the table they were sitting at when Lucy and Gajeel formed Team Iron Star only a few hours ago, their eyes and mouths frozen wide open. "Um... do you think we should worry for them?" Lucy asked, pointing at the frozen Fire Dragon Slayer and Ice Devil Slayer. "I don't think that is normal, not even by our current standards for normal."

Erza looked at Gray and Natsu, her lips pressing against each other before she looked at Lucy, putting one of her armoured hands on the Celestial Spirit summoner's shoulder, giving her an earnest smile. "Don't worry, when they come to I'll explain everything to them. And trust me when I say that they will understand." The Requip mage said. "I will make sure that Natsu and Gray understand what I have came to understand and that they too will respect your decision.

"Thank you, Erza." Lucy responded, though judging by some of Erza's tone, Lucy suspected that the S-Class mage will use her usual methods of getting someone to understand things. But Natsu and Gray have survived many times when they should have died, so they will surely survive what Erza does... hopefully.


Author's Note: Well here's the seventh chapter, kinda filler-like 'cause not much happened here, but hopefully the story will progress more from the next chapter. And sorry for, like, the two weeks without a new chapter of this story, vacation and other stories that I'm working on.

Yeah, this would have been out a lot sooner if I wasn't working on other stuff, but I got a couple ideas in my head, and I've posted some of the stuff that I've written, including a MardLu fic. But yeah, I'll be working on other stuff (both Fairy Tail related and not Fairy Tail related) whilst working on this, but hopefully it doesn't setback the updating of this fanfic too much.

And I would much appreciate it if you leave a review, but that is only if you want to leave a review. That is purely up to you.

Toodles.