Chapter 25

To say Laxus was irritated would be an understatement. At this point in time he was beyond irritated, frustrated and borderlining on anger. He had expected her to come back, enraged, to confront him about what had happened during her week of absence. He had been prepared for her wrath, but this, this was worse. She had done the one thing he hadn't wanted her to do and now it was killing him.

She was avoiding him.

It was subtle at first, and no one else had noticed except for him and the Raijinshuu since they were most familiar with her habits. But she was definitely avoiding him, subtly refusing to be in the same room with him, alone. Somehow, she always managed to be around someone else, which was an amazing feat. Even when they were alone in his house, she hid inside her room, leaving and entering through her window.

There was no sign that she was angry with him, or even irritated. In fact, she had betrayed no opinion as to the dream he was sure they had shared. She simply…pretended like nothing had happened. As if it was insignificant to her.

He had tried to confront her one morning when she attempted to leave the house through her window again. He waited by the windowsill when she climbed out and pinned her to the wall.

"About last week," he started, staring her down.

Her eyes immediately went on guard. "What about it?"

"Was there anything you wanted to talk about?" He felt awkward phrasing it like this, but he didn't know how else to approach it. His heart clenched when he heard her response.

"No," Leora's reply was stiff. "Nothing happened."

He tried to hold in his anger when she simply stepped by him before heading towards the guild.

Nothing happened…

His fists clenched by his side.

To add to his already foul mood, this week just so happened to coincide with the planning of something else he had dreaded for the longest time.

The Harvest Festival.

He didn't think that it would happen again so soon, and it brought up memories that he didn't want to resurface. Memories of his attempted usurping and the pitting of his guild members against one another still racked him with guilt after all this time. It seemed so long ago and yet here it was again.

To make matters worse, since they had postponed the festival for seven years due to the events that had happened on Tenrou Island and their long absence, his Gramps had decided to make this year's events a week long affair, meaning this torture had just been extended an extra five days. And it wasn't just him that was affected by this; he knew that the Raijinshuu were just as bothered. But despite that, the rest of the guild made no snide comments towards them and instead were welcoming them into the preparations - something they had all refused. They were being too kind. They didn't deserve to participate.

Since returning to Magnolia a week prior, Leora had been struggling to get the dreams out of her mind. She thought she would've been angry when she returned, and she wanted to, but the moment she laid eyes on him when she returned, her anger dissipated. It was…frustrating. To make matters worse, whenever she was around him, the image of him on top of her kept popping up. It had gotten to the point where she opted to wear the bracelet that hid her scent just so he wouldn't notice her…reactions. She tried to convince herself that they weren't real, at least, not the very last one. She refused to believe that it had actually happened. But being around him was making it increasingly difficult to forget so she opted to avoid him. She knew she was being childish, but it had helped. By the end of the week, she had successfully convinced herself that everything was just a fluke, a manifestation of her mind high on her heat cycle.

But after she had calmed down, she noticed something odd about the dragon slayer and the Raijinshuu. They seemed…upset and depressed. They spent most of the week hiding in their own houses and away from the guild. They wouldn't even venture outside to catch a glimpse of the preparations for this 'Harvest Festival' that the town was getting excited about. To be honest, even she was slightly excited for it as well. Apparently this year it was to be the first in seven years.

So Leora went and asked Levy what was wrong with them, pleased that she was present at the guild. Apparently they had disappeared for the entire week she had been gone and had only returned recently. Leora gleamed and practically skipped to her table when she caught sight of the blue-haired mage, sliding into the booth next to her…and across from the iron dragon slayer. She commented on the new 'accessory' that adorned the side of her neck, a small little mark that definitely wasn't there before, causing the Solid Script mage to blush in embarrassment. Levy had already fielded all the questions and comments from the guild when she had first returned, so she wasn't surprised when Leora joined in on the fun.

Gajeel on the other hand was quite displeased at how close the dragoness was to his new…mate. Though Levy quickly shot down the notion that Leora 'leave them the hell alone' and proceeded to answer Leora's question about Laxus and the Raijinshuu. After the blunette had explained the events that led to Laxus' eventual excommunication, Leora finally understood why they were all so depressed.

Well she had to fix that.

"People of Magnolia and nearby towns! Now is what all you were waiting for! After seven long years...The Miss Fairy Contest! I'll be your announcer, Max Alors!"

The crowd cheered with mass enthusiasm as Max introduced the event they have all been waiting for, particularly the men in the house.

Bickslow sat in a corner table on the second floor, staring grumpily at the crowd and stage on the floor below them. "Why do we have to be here again?"

"Because the Master said you had to show," Leora pointed out, sitting next to him and watching as well while she munched on an apple. "All Fairy Tail mages had to be present."

The first contestant to show up on stage was last year's reigning champion, Erza Scarlet, walking up in her full battle armor before requiping into…a dominatrix outfit. Leora took quick notes in her head at how wild the crowd went for that display.

Bickslow grumbled his discontent. He didn't want to be here. It brought back too many unpleasant memories that he wanted to forget. "Then why isn't Laxus and Freed here?"

"They are," Leora pointed towards a group of blushing women, with the dragon slayer standing right in the middle. Freed was trying to push his way through the crowd in order to free his precious Laxus. She was…slightly displeased with the image, but she couldn't exactly pinpoint why.

Bickslow raised his brow at Leora's expression, wondering what she was currently thinking. It was quite indecipherable. For the past week, she had barely been alone with Laxus, and the rest of the Raijinshuu were curious as to why. "Jealous?"

"Of what?" Leora asked, her tone a little flat as she turned back towards the contest, though she kept one eye on the dragon slayer. Mira had just walked off the stage after coming out in a babydoll dress, much to the crowd's pleasure.

Bickslow chuckled as he caught her sideways glance back towards Laxus. "Nothing, never mind."

Leora rolled her eyes. "Don't you have your own problems to worry about?" Right at that moment Cana walked onto the stage, showing off the beauty of her card magic before changing into another revealing swimsuit. Leora took a quick look at the seith mage and smiled. "You're drooling."

Bickslow blushed, turning his head away. "Am not."

Leora laughed, watching as Lucy came out to show off her spirits before changing into…another swimsuit. "I see that swimsuits are very popular in this contest." Interesting.

Bickslow laughed loudly, his tongue hanging out. "Well they are men."

"Hmm…that's true," Leora mused. Levy had just come onto the stage, though she was only allowed to show off her magic, lest Gajeel murder the rest of the crowd for staring at his new mate.

Bickslow then noticed something. "Hey where's Ever?"

Leora smiled. "Down there." Ever was the easiest one to convince to participate. She was hesitant at first, telling her about how she had ruined the contest the last time, but with all the encouragement from the other girls as well, she was now walking onto the stage with a smile on her face. She stunned the crowd with a beautiful display of her Fairy magic, before changing into a revealing dress. A certain 'man' definitely took notice.

Bickslow smiled down at the Fairy woman was well. It was great that girls were able to forgive Ever for what she had done. Though it still didn't ease his own uncertainties. He turned back to Leora, but she had disappeared.

"Now, our last contestant of the day, Fairy Tail's own golden goddess-"

Oh no. Bickslow turned to where Laxus was and already he saw his expression darkening. The dragon slayer had immediately pushed the hoards of women away from him and was now standing by the railing, staring down at the stage with a snarl. He knew that Laxus was already in a bad mood from everything that happened this week, he wasn't going to like this.

Max announced his next contestant. "-Leora Vermillion!"

And with a sharp bolt of lightning, Leora appeared on the stage, dressed in an elegant short white dress that flowed gently as her feet landed on the wooden floor. Her golden hair having been magically French braided in the short span of her disappearance, now rested over one shoulder. Adding the light of the sun that shined in from the open guild doors, everyone in the guild had the same thought.

She looked like an angel.

Leora smiled as she gazed upon the shocked faces of the audience. Guess she didn't go wrong with this outfit choice. She was never really able to give up a good competition, no matter the conditions, so she was here aiming to win. The crowd started cheering wildly, hooting and hollering, though within a few seconds it strangely went silent.

Little did Leora know that the audience was currently facing a certain dragon slayer's dark aura as he stood on the second floor railing, glaring at them, just daring them to continue to cheer. They all shut up in fear. Bickslow sweatdropped at the show of dominance made by his leader.

But Leora was confused as to the sudden silence so she continued with her routine, realizing that the audience might prefer a little…something else. The other girls had continued with a show of their magic, but Leora figured that her magic might cause quite the terror so she opted to show off her lightning. Beautiful little sparks lit the stage above her like tiny stars, coming together to make a bright sparkling dragon that flew over the crowd before bursting like fireworks, showering the audience in tiny sparkles of electricity. Despite Laxus' intimidation factor, the crowd couldn't help but watch in awe, applauding loudly at the spectacle. Though by the time people's attention were back on the stage their jaws had dropped to the ground.

Similar to the other girls in the contest, Leora had made a wardrobe change. Turning from pure snowy white to the darkest black, Leora had combined Erza's dominatrix concept with the skimpy concept of the swimsuit theme to create the most damning of outfits. With only enough black leather fabric to cover her feminine assets, Leora looked like she had come out of a very…inappropriate magazine. Her braided hair had been released and now flowed wildly around her, completely her look.

Within minutes the dragoness had gone from angel…to devil in the most tantalizing way.

Nosebleeds were a instant occurrence through the crowd, mainly amongst the male audience. Many had lifted their hands up in an attempt to clap, but the dark aura on the second floor had only grown stronger, practically suffocating the air. Bickslow was the only one that could laugh at Leora's confusion as to why no one was cheering for her, while Freed was currently trying to hide his eyes from the indecency.

"Maybe it's not enough," Leora mumbled, slightly frustrated with the lack of response as she tried to undo a couple more ties on her outfit. The eyes of the men in the crowd widened and nosebleeds bled faster, but before Leora could get anything more untied, she felt a slight weight fall onto her shoulders. Confused she turned to see herself being covered by…a fur-lined coat? She turned up towards the second floor to see the dark scowl present on the coat's owner. Slightly annoyed by his interference, she was about to remove the coat that he had obviously thrown on her when Evergreen grabbed her by the shoulders and proceeded to drag her to the back of the stage where the other girls were.

"Sorry Leora, but there's nothing you could do about this one," Evergreen gave her a sympathetic smile. The brunette had caught the death stare given to the audience and if anything more had been shown she was pretty sure the crowd would have met a swift death by lightning. Leora huffed, but she let Evergreen take her away as she pulled the coat around her shoulders, effectively blocking the crowd from seeing anymore.

Taking the hint, Max quickly concluded the contest, informing the audience that any voting can take place throughout the week before winners are announced the week after.

After the crowd from the contest had died down, Laxus attempted to find the dragoness on the floor below, wanting to give her a piece of his mind. Her bearing her body to random strangers did nothing to curb the already terrible mood he was in. But no matter where he looked, he couldn't find her.

Locating Evergreen, he approached her for answers. "Ever. Where is she?"

Evergreen flinched slightly at the rough tone of his voice. Leora was in for it now… "She was right here-oh?" Evergreen took a quick look at where she had left the dragoness, but now she was nowhere in sight. "Well she was here a moment ago."

Laxus growled in frustration. Where the hell did she go? He didn't get the chance to look for her as moments later, Makarov appeared on the second floor railing.

Makarov cleared his throat. "Mages of Fairy Tail. It is great to see all of us gathered here this week to celebrate the Harvest Festival once again. After being postponed for seven years it makes me extremely happy to be able to host this once again. This year's theme throughout the festival is 'Forgiveness'." Everyone looked towards Laxus and the Raijinshuu, who were now feeling very uncomfortable being here. Laxus cursed to himself as his fists clenched. He should've known better than to come here today.

Makarov continued. "And to celebrate this, we have decided to host the second 'Battle of Fairy Tail'"

Laxus' roar could be heard throughout the guild. "What the hell are you trying to do Gramps?!" He was seething with anger. This was like ripping open an old wound, why would his Gramps do this not just to him but the Raijinshuu as well?

Makarov sighed. "Laxus, Raijinshuu, we all have noted how upset you four have been throughout this week and no matter what we would say, it won't change a thing until we all prove to you as a guild that we forgave your actions long ago and wish to move forward instead of wallowing in the past."

The Raijinshuu all looked to each in shame, but the other members of the guild looked to them with gentle, encouraging smiles.

Natsu on the other hand was more than fired up. "Yosh! Let's get this started already then!" He didn't even hate the first time, when Laxus made up this game during the last Harvest Festival. In fact, he had been waiting for the chance to spar against his guild members again and this made the best opportunity.

Laxus growled. "I ain't playing this stupid game…" He started to head towards the entrance of the guild, the Raijinshuu staring at him with worried looks. They knew that Laxus had felt the most guilt about this.

But Makarov ignored him. "Well then, shall we introduce our host?"

A large lacrima broadcast suddenly appeared right above the entrance to the guild, halting Laxus in his tracks. There, sitting on a giant throne, still wearing his coat and a dangerous smirk…was the dragoness. She had changed back into her regular attire of a cropped black corset and long black pants with combat boots. She sat with one leg crossed over the other and her arms crossed underneath her chest.

"What the hell…" Laxus snarled.

The others all turned towards the screen as well and immediately noticed something.

"She kinda looks like a female Laxus…" "Damn that's kinda hot…"

"She looks badass…" "Man!" "What the hell does that even mean?!"

Laxus growled low at the screen, but even he made the connection. If he wasn't currently infuriated, he would've found the image to be quite…enticing. "What the hell are you doing Sunshine?"

"Playing the game," Leora gave them all a dark smirk. She would enjoy playing this role. "Welcome to the Battle of Fairy Tail 2.0"

Her eyes darkened with amusement. "The rules are simple. Make your way around the town in order to come find me. However, you may or may not encounter some…difficulties along the way." The image of a rune barrier suddenly appeared on the screen, reminiscent of the ones Freed used to trap the guild members in before. Over by the side Freed looked away in shame, but Levy, who was standing next to him, gave his arm a quick squeeze of encouragement.

"Keep listening," Levy whispered, having been the one who wrote all the runes in town for this event. Though they definitely weren't as strong as Freed's, they should hold up for the game. Everyone in the guild was in on this today. This day was for Laxus and the Raijinshuu.

Freed reluctantly turned back towards the screen.

"Should you become entrapped with another member of the guild," Leora explained. "You have two options: Fight or Flight."

Natsu was already fired up. "Who the hell would want to run away! Of course we are all fighting!" His fists were already lit ablaze.

Leora gave Natsu a dark glare for the interruption, causing the fire mage to squeal and hide behind a sighing Lucy. "If you fight, the first one to tag out loses and is out of the game. If you choose 'flight' however…" Leora smiled. "There may be some consequences before either of you are released."

Freed released a breath of relief. They weren't forced to fight…not like he made the others…

"Should you be lucky enough to actually find me," Leora continued. "There will be no flight option."

Loud murmurs could be heard throughout the guild members. They had to fight a dragon?!

Leora laughed at the slight panic she could see through the lacrima screen. "Don't worry. I'm not looking to be defeated." A bright gaudy ruby necklace suddenly appeared around her neck. "The first one to steal this necklace from me and bring it back to the Master in the guild, wins."

"What's the prize?!" Someone asked from the crowd.

Leora gave a dark smile. "I'm glad you asked. Aside from being able to keep the ruby necklace, which I heard sells for about two million jewels." Loud murmurs can already be heard from the crowd in regards to what they could do with that kind of money.

Leora's voice darkened, hinting towards a sultry tone, as she leaned towards the lacrima screen. "You get to ask for one thing from me."

The murmuring stopped, everyone looking towards the screen with disbelief. One brave soul asked the question many others were currently thinking of. "A-anything?"

Leora smirked, revealing her sharp fangs. "Anything." The lacrima shut off moments later.

When that point sank in, immediately most of the guild had rushed out the door in search of the dragoness, leaving dust to the wind. The only ones that hesitated were the main members.

Freed stood still, not sure if he had processed this right. But Mira had come up beside him and gave him a soft smile. "We said we'd have fun this year right?" Freed looked to her with shock, before he broke out into a gentle smile. He nodded and was the first of the Raijinshuu to run out of the guild, along with Mira.

Lucy stepped up next to Bickslow, with Loke already summoned next to her. Gray also joined them as well. "Let's get a rematch Bickslow?" Bickslow looked to the three of them in disbelief before he also caved and followed them out of the guild.

The last of the Raijinshuu stood in a staring contest with the Titania herself. Erza gave her a smile, offering her hand to which Evergreen accepted. Without any words exchanged, the two Fairies left the guild together.

The last to leave was Laxus, who was still unconvinced by all this.

"Come on Laxus! You're going to lose!" Natsu raged, hoping to convince the lightning dragon slayer to play. He was the one that Natsu wanted to fight the most.

"This is bullshit," Laxus spat, wanting to head home right this moment. He didn't even know why the dragoness decided to play along with all this.

"Laxus my boy, don't be like this," Makarov said as he walked down to the first floor. "She did this for you, you know."

That only infuriated Laxus more. "What the hell?! She thought of this? Why?"

"Why don't you ask her that yourself?" Makarov asked.

Laxus growled, still refusing to move.

That was when Gajeel decided to step in, annoyed by the dragon slayer's stubbornness. He knew of the one thing that would definitely get him out the door. "You do know what the dragoness put up for the winner right?" Laxus turned towards him with a snarl. "She said that the winner could ask for anything. Anything lightning rod. I highly doubt that the guys out there right now are playing with clean minds."

That did the trick. With a loud roar of frustration, Laxus burst out of the guild, grumbling about stupid dragons. Gajeel and Natsu looked to each other with smirks of victory, before realizing that they were now in last place. Yelping, the pair rushed out of the guild, in hopes of trying to find the dragoness.

Freed and Mira had only been running around town for a couple of minutes, trying to find Leora, when suddenly they were trapped within a large rune barrier right in front of a bar. Freed panicked when he saw the runes, afraid that he was to fight Mira once again. But she merely looked at him with a smile.

Fight or Flight? The runes had asked.

Immediately Freed chose 'Flight', though based on the sinister smile on Mira's face he wasn't quite sure if that was the right choice anymore.

Participants must serve fifty drinks at the bar before they may leave.

Freed paled. He was to lose for sure. The pair made their way over to the bar, which was currently swamped with lunch hour guests who had gathered to watch the game. Standing behind the bar, Freed tried for the first time to serve drinks to the thirsty customers. Struggling, Freed had only made five or so proper beverages when he turned towards Mira, who had already finished all fifty…

"How…" Freed whispered in awe, to which Mira only gave him a giggle. The runes then signalled that Mira was free to leave, but to Freed's surprise, she stayed.

Mira gave him a soft smile. "Let me teach you?"

And soon, under Mira's instruction, Freed started finishing his task a little faster, reaching his fifty thirty minutes later. And what he found as he was accomplishing his task, with Mira occasionally giggling at his clumsiness, was that-

He was having fun.

Mira delightfully watched as Freed finished his task with a smile on his face. It made her happy that the man who had once lie defeated on the ground with tears running down his face was now grinning at the customers with pride as he served his last drink.

With the runes down for the both of them, the pair continued on, laughing as they passed by others in similar situations as theirs.

Bickslow had found himself trapped in front of an orphanage with Lucy and Loke as well, and had also chosen the 'flight' option. The task? Put on a show for the children of the orphanage. Once all the children have applauded at least once the participant is free to leave. Lucy and Loke decided to try first, with an impromptu comedy sketch…which left none of the children impressed. Pushing them aside with a laugh, Bickslow put on a combination acrobatics show along with his babies, which surprisingly earned him a standing ovation.

Lucy and Loke looked at each with grins as they saw Bickslow's wide smile as he was cheered on by the children. And with that Bickslow was free to go, leaving Lucy and Loke with blank faces, wondering how they were going to get free.

Bickslow turned back with a hysterical laugh. "Sorry Cosplayer! But I want to win!"

Evergreen definitely paled when she was trapped with the Titania, leading her to pick the 'flight' option, similar to her other teammates. Much to her delight, their task was to perform one act from a play requested by the local theatre group, to entertain the travellers that had come to enjoy the festival. Given Erza's…'wonderful' acting skills, there was no doubt who would make it out first. Erza watched proudly as Evergreen ran off with a smile on her face.

Laxus was the only one that was not having fun whatsoever as he made his way around town. He cursed the fact that the dragoness had worn her stupid bracelet out this morning, meaning he was unable to track her through scent. He practically bolted across town, trying not to notice the other participants, but after a while he started to see...

They were having fun.

They were playing almost the same game as the one he had forced them to play the last time, except this time…they were laughing. He watched as some pairs engaged in friendly sparing if they chose to fight and others completing other tasks if they chose the 'flight' option. He also noted that if they chose the 'flight' option, the tasks usually involved helping the townsfolk. Elfman practically dominated the task of moving a hundred crates while Kinana breezed through serving eighty dishes at the local diner.

And they were all doing this with a smile.

Laxus scoffed at the idea. It still didn't improve his mood whatsoever. He even rolled his eyes as he came across the three-man brawl between Natsu, Gray and Gajeel. How they managed to end up trapped together he had no idea.

Half an hour later and Laxus was still searching, though when he passed by another major street, he cursed when he was suddenly trapped inside a rune barrier.

"Laxus…" Natsu wheezed, his body covered in lumps and bruises from his win against Gajeel and Gray. "F-Fight mee…" He yelped when Laxus turned around with a dangerous expression on his face, a dark cloud of annoyance surrounding his body.

A swift punch and a knocked out Natsu later, and Laxus left grumbling. "Not in the mood today Natsu…"

Laxus finally took an educated guess as to where the dragoness would be. Seeing as she obviously knew what had happened during the last Battle of Fairy Tail, he went to the one place he really hoped she wouldn't be. But when he climbed those stone steps and burst through the heavy doors of Kardia Cathedral, he cursed.

There sitting on the throne, with her head resting on one palm and her foot tapping in boredom…was Leora.

Laxus growled, his anger returning full force. It didn't matter that she looked absolutely delectable sitting there with his coat draped over her shoulders. He was still furious as to why she had played along with this farce to begin with. It only reopened wounds that he didn't want to face again.

"I thought you'd be the first one here," Leora said, standing to her feet. She removed his coat and rested it on the throne behind her. The ruby necklace gleamed in the light that now came in through the door. "It's been a while since we've fought."

Laxus snarled, lightning starting to surround his body. "Fine, if you really want to do this, I'll play into your game." He burst forward at the speed of light, his fists already sparking in anger. He swung for her, but she disappeared just as fast, reappearing a couple of feet away.

"You're still angry," Leora pointed out, as she dodged a kick, backflipping out of the way. She continued to dodge every strike that he made.

Laxus growled. "Of course I'm angry! Why the hell did you do all this?!"

Leora didn't answer, merely arching backwards as she avoided another kick. She only dodged as he continued to attack her, letting him blow off some steam.

Laxus roared in frustration as he continued to miss. His anger was making him clumsy. "Why did you stick your nose where it doesn't belong?!" He burst forward for another punch.

Leora was so caught off guard by that question that she didn't have enough time to dodge, having to cross her arms in front of her to block. She gritted her teeth as the punch pushed her halfway across the cathedral, her feet digging into the ground to stop her from colliding into a pillar.

The moment he realized that he had finally hit her, Laxus froze. He couldn't believe that he had actually struck her…

"You were upset." Leora answered, taking advantage of his slight pause as she shook off his attack.

Laxus looked towards her. "What?"

"You were upset, because of a mistake that you had made and refused to forget," Leora said as she stood across from him. "I just wanted to replace those memories with new, happier ones." She didn't know why she had done it, but from the moment Levy had finished explaining things to her, this was what she had come up with, and the Master wholehearted agreed.

Leora walked towards the entrance of the cathedral, staring down the steps and towards the town. "Right now, out there, I don't hear screams. Instead I hear laughter. And I'm sure you do too." She turned towards him with a smile, her golden hair catching the bright sun. "Now isn't that the memory worth keeping?"

It was such a simple statement that Laxus was left speechless as he stood there staring at her with wide eyes mixed with both amazement and regret. For the past week, he had been so selfish, wallowing in his own guilt from what he had done as well as his frustration that she had been ignoring him. But she? She had noticed his inner turmoil…and sought to cure it. She had done all of this…for him.

Laxus took a deep breath, trying to keep all of his emotions in, his anger having been completely dissipated by the goddess in front of him. "Sunshine…you never fail to amaze me." It was like he was falling for her all over again.

"What-mmph!" Leora was unprepared when Laxus suddenly walked up to her and grabbed her by the back of the neck, pulling her up to him in a bruising kiss. Her eyes shot wide open, registering what was happening. What was going on? Wasn't he supposed to be angry at her?! Her hands pushed against his chest in an attempt for him to let go, but he was unyielding. And the longer their lips touched, the less she was able to fight it. She found her eyes gently fluttering shut, the slight tingling in her lips returning full force until it burned like a flame. She gasped when he bit her lip gently, allowing his tongue to enter and entangle with hers. Her breath quickened and her hands unconsciously fisted into his shirt, holding on for an unknown reason.

She had tried to fight against it, but she soon submitted to the battle for dominance inside her mouth, letting him take charge as she registered his smoky taste against her tongue. All the dreams that she had fought so hard to forget suddenly resurfaced, flooding her mind with images of him and only him. She couldn't hold back the soft moan that surfaced and was immediately swallowed up by him. But, she still managed to hear the sound inside her head, which awoke the alarms inside her mind.

Panicking, she immediately pushed him away, breaking their lips apart. Her palms pressed against his chest, holding him away at arms-length as she tried to catch her breath. She didn't dare look into his eyes at the moment, so she opted to stare at the floor.

"W-What did you-?" Leora breathed. She could hear her own heart beating erratically.

"I'm pretty sure you know what that was Sunshine," Laxus said solemly, staring down at the top of her head.

Leora stood there for a couple moments more, breathing heavily until she whispered under her breath. "And after all I that effort to forget that dream..."

A slight pain went through Laxus' chest. He didn't exactly know what to feel. Happy that the dream they shared was real, or depressed at the notion that she had wanted to forget it. Either or, he didn't have the time to decide for Leora suddenly sprang up after having noticed something.

"The necklace!" Leora exclaimed, grabbing at her neck. "It's…gone." She immediately panicked, forgetting the kiss and started molesting the dragon slayer in front of her in hopes of finding it.

"What the-"

"Wait," Leora cut him off, sniffing the air before she had honed down the scent. It was brief but she was certain of its owner.

"Bickslow…"

She glared up at him and growled in annoyance. "Was that all supposed to be a distraction?!" Before Laxus could answer her, she was already running out the cathedral, taking flight as soon as she made it outside.

Laxus let out a groan of frustration as he combed a hand through his hair. He slammed a fist into a neighbouring column. "Who the hell would do that as a distraction Sunshine…" He didn't know what to feel at the moment. The dragoness was a bundle of mixed signals that he didn't know how to interpret. He looked down at his shirt, taking note of the one area where it wrinkled. He didn't hallucinate her reaction right? The dancing of her tongue against his, the fisting of her hand into his shirt. He swore he heard her moan…that was all real right?

She did all that, and yet she pushed him away from her. Willed herself to forget the dream he was now certain that she was aware of. He wanted to slap himself in the face just to get all this thoughts straight.

He didn't know what to think, but one thing was certain.

She cared for him, whether she knew it or not.

And at the moment, that was enough.

Leora was utterly flustered. How did Bickslow manage to steal the necklace literally right from under her nose?! How could she have been so…so distracted by that…k-kiss that she completely let the seith mage underneath her radar?! And if he was able to steal it during that moment then…he must have seen what they were doing. Her eyes widened in horror. She'd never hear the end of it.

Flying with a determination that she didn't even know she had, she caught up to the seith mage who had almost reached the guild by then. He was running through a dark alley – probably to escape the notice of the other mages still looking – when she swooped down and slammed him against the wall. She smirked when she caught his face paling just slightly and watched as he swallowed down his fear.

Her voice darkened dangerously. "You saw nothing."

Bickslow was currently scared shitless underneath the dragoness' death stare. He hadn't seen a look like that on her face since the days she had still been trying to kill Laxus. But this was just too good an opportunity to tease Leora. He hadn't meant to take it from her in the beginning. Honestly, at first, he was so shocked that he merely stood there with his jaw dropped, before pinching his face to be sure and then continuing to gap like a fish. Then when he figured that they weren't coming up for air anytime soon, and hadn't yet noticed he was there, he realized that he had an opportunity. He saw the obnoxiously large ruby necklace just dangling innocently around her neck, so…he just kind of went in and grabbed it. Then he ran like his life depended on it. Apparently he hadn't run fast enough.

"What do you mean?" Bickslow asked, innocently.

Leora growled low. "You know what I'm talking about."

Bickslow grinned so widely she swore he was stretching some of his muscles too hard. "Oh, did you mean how you were smacking lips with a certain lightning-" Even the yelp he let out when she fried him didn't give her any satisfaction. His azure blue hair now stood on its very ends and sizzled lightly like it had just been put on a grill.

"That. Didn't. Happen." Leora stressed as she glared at him, her golden orbs flashed dangerously dark.

Bickslow gulped at her stare, but realized that he now had leverage for what he wanted.

Leora didn't like the grin the seith mage had as he stared down at her. She had forgotten how tall he was, almost the same height as Laxus.

…Why was she comparing Bickslow to him of all people?!

"I can pretend that I saw nothing," Bickslow's tongue now hung out, his babies flying around him shouting 'Nothing! Nothing!'. "But-" He flinched for a moment when she started growling again. "I get to keep the necklace."

Leora paused for a moment, contemplating her options. She stared at him with wary eyes.

"Oi-Oi, I'm not going to ask for anything...inappropriate alright," Bickslow defended, his hands coming up.

"What do you want?" Leora asked slowly. She furrowed her brows when she thought she saw him blush.

"Well…" Bickslow said, his eyes staring towards the floor. "I need a favour. I want you to work your magic for me."

"My…magic?" Leora asked, her eyes widening as she took a tiny step back. What would Bickslow want her magic for?! She didn't even know he knew about-

Bickslow coughed lightly, trying to hide his embarrassment. "Ya…like what you did with Levy and Gajeel…"

"Oh." Leora exhaled, before she broke out into a sly grin. "That magic. With Can-" She couldn't finish her sentence since Bickslow covered her mouth with his hand.

"Shhhhh," Bickslow stressed, his face glancing around even though they were currently hidden inside a dark alley. "You never know if she's hearing."

Leora chuckled as she stepped back. "Alright. I'll accept your terms."

"Really?" Bickslow's face lit up. He didn't think she'd agree so easily like that.

"Really."

"Alright! Then I won't tell anyone how you two were tongue wrestling-AH!" The smell of burnt hair now filled the air.

Bickslow ran off before he was murdered by a very embarrassed dragoness.

"How much did you see?" Laxus asked, later that evening as he sipped on a mug of beer. The guild was pretty sparse by then, the majority of its members already out doing final preparations to the floats for the Fantasia parade.

Bickslow grinned, his tongue hanging out as he dangled his spoils in front of his face. The necklace was gaudy, but it was definitely worth it "I'm sworn to secrecy on that matter." His trip to the guild after his conversation with the dragoness was quite smooth, with the guild members blocking his way being 'accidently' electrocuted. It was a straight victory for him.

"So…it actually happened then," Laxus stated, more to himself than to his friend. He just wanted to make sure that he wasn't really hallucinating.

Bickslow's laughter was hysterical. "I cannot confirm nor deny that statement."

"…"

"What did you ask for?" Laxus asked, remembering that Bickslow had won.

"It's a secret," Bickslow said quietly.

Laxus growled as he stared across the table at his teammate.

"C-Calm down boss." Bickslow placed his hands up for defense. "It ain't anything inappropriate, jeez."

"It better not be…" Laxus grumbled into his mug.

Bickslow laughed before finishing the last of his beer. He stood up. "You're not coming?" The parade was about to start.

"…No." Even though Leora had helped him see that his guild mates had indeed forgiven him and helped plan out this entire day for him and his Raijinshuu, it still didn't feel quite right to go. That and he wasn't sure that he wanted to see her yet.

"Suit yourself."

"Are you sure about this?" Leora asked hesitantly as she stared at the enormously extravagant throne at the top of an already extravagant float.

Makarov smiled as he stood next to it. "Of course."

"But you're the Master," Leora said. "Shouldn't this be for you?" Minutes before the Fantasia parade was about to start, the Master called her out and dragged her all the way to the largest float in the line-up, where the large throne sat. It was decorated with ridiculous jewels and accessories, making it a very obnoxious chair and very…Fairy Tail like.

"Nonsense!" Makarov exclaimed. "It's meant for Fairy Tail's very first member." He gestured for her to sit on the throne. It was the best seat in the house, allowing for an excellent view of all the floats and the fireworks that would come at the end of the night. "You did a good thing today Leora."

"I don't think it worked," Leora said, her lips pursing in frustration. The dragon slayer sure didn't seem convinced. He was nowhere in sight. Though it wasn't like she wanted to see him or anything. Especially not after what happened today…

Makarov gave her a gentle smile. "I'm sure you reached their hearts. Now no more brooding! The parade is starting!"

And with that the floats began to move, one by one, starting from the entrance of the guild, before snaking around the main streets of Magnolia. The citizens of the town and those of neighbouring towns all came out to watch, their eyes wide with amazement as the floats started to drift by. Each one housed Fairy Tail's very own mages, performing magical shows of wonder.

There were breaths of flame and sparkles of ice meshing with beautiful sprouts of water and amazing displays of strength. Confetti flew in the air while the crowd cheered on act after act as they passed by. Lucy's celestial spirits came out to play while Erza's swords went on fabulous display. Even the Raijinshuu had their very own float, with Evergreen wowing the crowd with her Fairy magic, Bickslow playing around with his babies and Freed showing off his runes.

Leora could do nothing but sit there on the high throne, staring at the floats with a childish awe. She's never seen anything quite like this before, not even in her many years of travel. Everyone was so lively and cheerful and happy. It was so…

"Beautiful right?"

Leora turned to her side in surprise when she heard that soft gentle voice. She gave her old friend a wide smile. "Mavis."

The pale blonde woman returned her gesture, her eyes glimmering with happiness. In all her long years with the dragoness, she had never quite seen her this at peace before. It filled her heart with warmth knowing that she had found a place in her guild. Their guild.

Leora opened her arms to the woman, gesturing towards her lap. The childlike woman gave her a bright grin before climbing on. Even though Leora couldn't feel the woman, she wrapped her arms around her from behind and started to channel her lightning into her arms.

Mavis' eyes widened slightly.

"Can you feel it?" Leora smiled softly, though Mavis wouldn't be able to see it.

Mavis nodded with a tearful sigh. "Yes." It was warm.

The pair sat there together, like long time friends gazing at the wonders in front of them. They watched as Natsu almost set fire to his very own float, until Lucy had to bring out Aquarius and brought even more damage instead. They saw as Juvia clung onto Gray in their ice and water wonderland, while Gray half heartedly pushed her away, but kept a gentle smile on his face. They laughed as they watched the Sixth Master - dancing one tier below them on the float - making a fool of himself, but not giving a care in the world.

"What a lovely guild we have…no?" Mavis sighed as she leaned back against the dragoness.

Leora let out a relaxed smile. "Yes. Yes, we do." She gasped when the first of many fireworks began to light up the sky, filling the darkness of the night with bright bursts of colours. They came one after the other, in quick succession, bringing the entire crowd to awe.

…So he had caved.

Laxus was currently standing in an alleyway facing the main street after finally deciding to leave the guild to watch. He was planning on only seeing the parade as it passed by, but his eyes seemed to be focused on only one thing. She sat atop the highest throne on his grandfather's float, with the First Master in her lap and her arms wrapped around the petite woman. Her golden hair, decorated with wayward confetti, framed her face and over her shoulders, entangling with the paler blonde of the First Master's. His heart skipped a beat when he saw not the atrocious ruby necklace around her neck, but the simple amber one that he had given her. But even that wasn't the thing that mesmerized him. It was the shining glimmer within her golden eyes and the bright, gentle smile that adorned her face. She looked so peacefully happy in that very moment. So at awe at the fireworks that exploded all around them, lighting the sky in a way that the stars couldn't. He wanted to go up to her, to share this moment with her, but he knew that right now, her heart was with the First Master. This night was for them and them alone. A night for pure friendship and he would never ruin that. So he only stood there and observed.

The two blondes on the float watched for what seemed like a lifetime before Leora addressed the woman in her lap, her arms tightening around her.

"Thank you for bringing me here," Leora whispered, her voice heavy with unspoken emotion, as she glanced down at the petite woman. "To Fairy Tail."

Mavis grinned, receiving those emotions, as she looked up at the sky as another firework burst. "You're welcome."

Leora couldn't express into words how thankful she was that Mavis had brought her here. From the very beginning when she first joined the fateful guild, to the day she was brought back by him. It was a long and arduous journey, but she never regretted a moment of it. And now it seemed like a dream, being here, celebrating like this with the guild. With her…family.

And what a wonderful dream it was.

Leora couldn't express into words how thankful she was that Mavis had brought her here.

So she decided she'd do it with actions.

"Since the very beginning…" Leora waited until she regained the attention of the First Master, evident by the way her wing-like adornments perked up. "…you've always wanted to see fairies."

Lightning started to spark around the dragoness. Her voice was soft and gentle; her words only meant for Mavis. "I don't know if they have tails…but I do know that they exist. Right in front of us."

Mavis was about to turn towards the dragoness in confusion, but stopped when she started to see what was unfolding in front of her eyes. She gasped, her hands coming up to her cover mouth.

Lucy was still trying to deal with her water logged float when she suddenly felt as if the ground was starting to lift away from her. "W-What?! What is happening?" She wasn't hallucinating. She was starting to rise into the sky…

Lucy looked around in panic, when suddenly Natsu shouted.

"Lucy!...Y-You have wings!"

"H-Haaa?" Lucy whipped her head around to see the most beautiful pair of fairy wings, shaped like a butterfly's protruding out of her back. It was made out of…lightning. Before she could figure out why it was happening, she noticed something magical.

One by one, each of Fairy Tail's mages started lifting into the sky by the very same wings.

They were flying.

Lucy laughed and giggled with the others as she flew around the floats on her new wings, the fireworks never stopping. She didn't know how it all worked, but she knew the one responsible for this. She turned to thank the dragoness, but smiled as she saw that her attention was only on the First Master in front of her, waiting for her reaction.

Even Natsu had a set of wings of his own, but he was a little dissatisfied. "Fairy wings?! B-But that's not as cool! It would be so much more awesome if I got dragon wings!"

"Y-Yeah…" Gajeel grumbled, having heard Natsu's tiny complaint. It wasn't helping that Levy was currently teasing him about it. Though he smiled as he watched his little mate flying around with her own set of wings. She looked pretty damn cute with them.

Leora laughed as she heard the dragon slayers. She snapped her fingers.

"W-Woah! Now that's more like it!" Natsu shouted with glee when his turned into dragon wings. He engaged in a mock aerial battle with Gajeel, who had also gained the wings of a dragon. Even Wendy got a pair. They flew around along with all the other Fairy Tail mages, bringing out more cheers from the crowd on the sidelines. It was quite the spectacle.

Leora smiled as she heard all the carefree laughter and giggles from the guild. Though she did pause at the slight sniffling from her lap.

"Fairies…" Mavis sniffed as tears stared to glaze over her bright green eyes. Even though she knew that they weren't real, the ones right in front of her, right now, were…perfect. Her hands came up to wipe away any stray tears.

Her fairies. Her guild.

"Hey…" Leora looked down at her sniffling friend. "No crying."

Mavis twisted around so she was facing the dragoness. She gave her the widest grin that Leora had ever seen. "Mmm!"

As the pair watched the fairies soaring through the night sky with carefree abandon, Leora noticed something. "There's someone missing…"

Laxus was watching his guild mates flying around ridiculously in the sky when suddenly he felt himself being lifted as well. "O-Oi. Not me too." But it was too late, and he couldn't control it when he gained his own set of lightning wings and started flying out of the alley towards his grandfather's float.

"Oh there you are my boy!" Makarov beamed as he watched his grandson tumbling clumsily towards them through the air. Laxus was ambushed by the Raijinshuu before he made it to the Master. They were ecstatic that he had finally joined them on their float, which was – of course – lightning themed. He thought about making his way up to where his grandfather was, but he just couldn't leave his team, who, for the first time this entire week, were smiling brightly.

And it was contagious.

He looked up towards the dragoness and saw her pleased expression. He gave her a slight smile before turning back towards his team, who were still fussing over him.

Maybe he could finally enjoy Fantasia…

Makarov glanced down at his grandson and the Raijinshuu with a wide grin. It seemed as though the dragoness had cured them once and for all.

Mavis didn't know how long they had been watching, but at this moment she was truly at peace. The fireworks in the sky erupted like blooming flowers which only highlighted the beautiful sparks that came off from each and every fairy's wings as they flew around in pure delight. The petite woman turned towards the dragoness and gave her the tightest hug, snuggling right into her, trying to bury away her tears of happiness.

Her voice was light, and airy; her words only meant for the one right in front of her.

"I love you."

Leora couldn't feel her physically, but she felt it. The gentle warmth spread from her heart to her very limbs.

"I know," Leora whispered as her arms wrapped around and one hand reached up to pat the women's wavy blonde hair. She couldn't voice that one word aloud, for it was too dangerous for her to feel that sort of emotion.

But deep inside she knew that she loved the woman in her arms.

"An eternal mystery," Leora said softly as another firework shot straight up into the night.

"An eternal adventure," Mavis continued, turning back around. Another firework burst onto the scene.

They both looked up to the sky to face the very last firework as it exploded in the sky in a myriad of colours, giant letters spelling the words-

Fairy Tail.

It was late into the night by the time dragon and knight returned to their home on the edge of town. No words were exchanged as they walked into the house, only the sounds of their footsteps could be heard as they headed towards their own rooms. Leora was about to enter hers when her wrist was suddenly caught. She turned to face the dragon slayer, his eyes blazing with unspoken emotions.

"You're…amazing."

Leora laughed softly and her lips curled with a slight hint of smugness as she leaned against her door frame. "You just figured this out now?"

Laxus chuckled, the sound deep and warm. "No." He knew that from the very beginning. He wanted to say more to her, about what had happened earlier this afternoon, but he held back, opting onto to gaze into her golden eyes before he smiled. He let go of her wrist. "Good night Sunshine."

She returned his smile. "Good night, Laxus."

They both retired to their own separate rooms. But as Laxus lay there on his bed, replaying the events of the entire day, he didn't know what to think anymore. Seeing her today, what she did for him and the Raijinshuu, what she did for Mavis, he found himself returning to the same thought.

She truly was amazing.

But her heart, at the moment, was focused purely on the friendships she's made in the guild. Including hers with him. Should he really shatter that for the sake of his own wants?

He didn't know anymore.

A/N: The Fantasia scene was something I had long envisioned and was really happy to be able to finally write it out into words. Though I'm not really sure if I was able to capture the true magic of the moment properly as I had pictured it in my mind. I knew from the beginning that I wanted this scene to be for Leora and Mavis and their magical, time-tested friendship. Was it weird that I was affected by the feels from my own writing? Lol. I read the scene again while listening to the Fairy Tail theme song (slow piano version) and oh my, you should try it. This scene was definitely my favourite of the story so far. Let me know what you think!

Just as a note, updates may be a little more random in these next two months as I'll be studying for a designation exam. But I'll try my best!

Until the next chapter!