Gray's POV

It had been a few days since Lucy, Jellal and their son arrived unfortunately they had to return back to their guild and Lucy had to set off for Era to inform the rest of the council members of my acceptance of the tenth seat, I was still blown away by the fact that Lucy had asked me of all people to join, it was pretty mind blowing.

'Well we have to head out now, Gray there won't be any meetings til after the games so take time to train and good luck, we'll see you all soon' Lucy called as her and her family headed for the doors, I sighed and said a quick goodbye, knowing I would see her in the not to distant future, as did the rest of the guild, some had tears in their eyes, knowing she would never be in fairy tail again, I had to admit I was feeling pretty low about the thought, she had moved on with her life so quickly, but I guess seeing as how we kicked her out in the first place she had a reason for starting and so obviously winning her new dream.

I was surprised at how many things Lucy had accomplished, but then again it had been seven years, although it only felt like a couple of weeks to the Tenrou group, but still to be able to accomplish the feats Lucy had in seven years was remarkable, she was so much stronger now, plus she was basically running this country of ours, the magical part anyways.

I sighed loudly as I watched them walk out, not to be seen again for three months, and then, what happens after that, she'll come collect me for meetings, we'll see each other for a few days, after that we'll disappear from each other's lives until the next meeting? I didn't like the sound of that, and it was obvious no one else did either. Unfortunately we all had to accept that Lucy had a family and a guild to take care of.

I was excited for these 'games' that everyone talked so highly of, of course no one other then Lucy's guild had won in the last seven years, that was sure to change when fairy tail came back into the picture, I snickered to myself, although we pretty much knew nothing of Lucy and Jellals guild, other then the fact that they had four dragon slayers and that Lucy and Jellal were highly powerful, we'd make sure not to underestimate them though.

I was happy when the Tenrou group came back to how we left the guild, although we were low on jobs and money, the fact that Lucy's guild took care of our members brought a smile to my face, even if she wasn't apart of fairy tail she was always looking out for us as though we were really her family, the thought of her helping our members even though she had so many things going on in her own life was overwhelming, it made me happy as I'm sure it did the rest of the guild.

'I'm happy for you Gray, Lucy is right you deserve the position she offered' Ezra and Makarov pulled me from my thoughts, true I had been upset when they had asked if Lucy was sure it was a good idea, but the way Lucy and Jellal has stuck with their decision had brought back my happiness, but I was still in utter amazement.

'Thanks guys, I wasn't expecting it, now I can write you up gramps' I joked, and laughed as the little man's face paled, Ezra had put a smirk on her face. 'I trust you will be a great addition to the council, Lucy was right you are capable of great things when you set your mind to it' she added after a moment of silence.

'That really means a lot Ezra, to be honest I'm nervous' I told her while rubbing the back of my neck, she put a small smile on her face and reassured me that I would do great before she walked away, gramps stumbling up to his office muttering about paperwork and how he was doomed, I laughed as I heard his office door shut.

Seven years, jeez what a difference it made in everyone's lives, it was sad that we had missed so much, but I was happy to be home all the same, at least there were people sharing the same experience as I was, all were sad at the fact that they had left their comrades for that long, we were grateful for every single one of the people who had waited and not given up hope on us, believing we would one day return, I was happy to be with my family, but a part of me knew that it would never be complete again, not without Lucy.

I suppose I just had to get over it, she wasn't going to come waltzing through the doors as a fairy tail member again, she was gone, the thought brought a frown to my face, gone...no she wasn't gone from our lives entirely, just gone from the place she used to call home, jeez I feel like I'm on an emotional rollercoaster...

I got up from my table and walked to the bar, not bothering with the taunts the flame idiot was throwing my way, I didn't want to fight, in all reality I wanted to be left alone, and I felt like people knew it as everyone was getting out of my way. As I arrived at the bar I sat down and ordered a beer from Mira and she of course with a smile plastered on her beautiful face obliged quickly, and soon I was walking back to the table I was previously at, ignoring the ongoing brawl that Natsu had started.

The games were coming up in three months and team Natsu plus Wendy, Jet, Droy, Levy and Juvia were heading to the beach to train tomorrow, originally I had thought the beach to be a bad idea, but then again we might get to relax for a day or so, and that was fine by me, I wouldn't mind relaxing on the beach for a day. I was going to get stronger, that I was sure of, Lucy believed in me, and so did everyone else, after they had gotten over their original shock at the things Lucy had said.

Lucy had told us all about what she had been doing the last seven years, I still found it hard to believe she had married Jellal Fernandez of all people let alone been with him for seven years, but now that I had time to think about it, he didn't seem like a bad guy, he treated her good, which was what mattered, and if they loved each other I was happy for them. She didn't tell us anything about her magic though, but I could definitely feel more then one, I knew she wasn't just a celestial spirit mage anymore, there were a few other things, and I was dying to find out what she was capable of.

Although it was intimidating to be in front of the head of the magic council, she was still the same Lucy we all knew and loved, but stronger, and more determined, smarter as well. I knew she was skilled with weapons, but that's pretty much all the magazine told us, from what I read in the issue Macaou had brought out, I was tempted to seek out answers about her magic but at the same time I wanted her to show me herself.

Although I knew nothing would ever be the same again I was still at peace with the whole situation of being gone for so long, I knew we could catch up magic wise, it was just going to take time, it would be a hard road to go down but as long as we all went down it together it would be all right, we would never give up or go easy on any opponent, even if we were so obviously at a disadvantage, and that what made fairy tail...well to put it simply, fairy tail, we would rise to the top once again, I felt kind of bad wanting to surpass Lucy after all she had done the last seven years but she knew best of all that this guild didn't like being second best...or last for that matter...as we currently were ranked at the bottom of the barrel.

I'm sure Makarov would do the same for Lucy though, as she had us in the past seven years, splitting the money fifty/fifty, even though he got grumpy he was a kind guy and would repay Lucy for her kindness, and with that thought in mind I put money on the table to pay for the beer, stood up and waved goodnight to my guild mates and went home with a smile on my face.