Author's note:

Hello once again! This chapter we return to the present with Kalea finishing her story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. That privilege belongs to Hiro Mashima

As Kalea told her story, Fenris could only listen in horror. How could someone do this to a child?

To Kalea of all people. He got angry. Not at her. At her situation. Before he even realized it, Kalea had stopped talking, her story completed.

"You pretty much know how the rest goes," Kalea said. "Master Makarov eventually helped me deduce what my powers actually were. Turns out I took Ms. Myku's levitating ability when I was younger, I just didn't realize it."

Her hands tightened at the name.

"Sometimes…" she paused before continuing. "I wonder if I did the right thing. Sometimes…I w-wonder if I-I should have gone through with it that d-day. I-I sometimes wonder if m-my parents were r-right. M-maybe I am useless. A coward. W-why else w-would Ms. Myku have a-abandoned me…"

She started to cry. Fenris grabbed her hands and pulled them away from her crying face. He forced her to look at him.

"Kalea," he said firmly. "You are NOT useless. You are NOT a coward. Don't you EVER think like that. If you had taken your life, THEN you would've been a coward. It takes much more courage to move forward then it does to give up. And that's what you would've done. You would have been giving up. The Kalea I know is better than that. She perseveres. She's a fighter. She's one of the bravest people I know. I look up to her honestly. Sometimes I wish I could be as strong as her. She's the most honest, beautiful person I have ever met in my entire life," he finished.

Kalea's eyes widened.

"Yo-you said beautiful…" she muttered.

"Di-did I?" he said.

"Yeah…" she said.

She grasped his hands. He squeezed hers, wanting her to understand he was there for her.

"Fenris… thank you," she said. "For always being there for me… even when I ignore you. I didn't want to ever feel that way again so…I tried pushing everyone away from me. But you never gave up. You wouldn't ever leave me alone," she said. She laughed through her tears.

"I'm so sorry," she continued. "I should've been nicer. I should've accepted your kindness. I've never meant anything by it… I don't ever want to see you hurt. When I saw you come out of the Phantom building, bloodied to a pulp I-I realized…" She stopped.

Wondering what she was going to say, he waited for her to continue. When she didn't, he took her hands and placed them on his heart.

"I understand now…" he said hesitantly. "Why you didn't smile much during our childhood. All I've ever wanted is for you to smile. Not for anyone else, but for yourself. Show yourself your own smile. If you do that…I think you'll start to feel a little better," he said.

She hesitated, before giving him a weak smile.

"You're always doing that," she said. "Trying to lift me up…you're my best friend Fenris. I know I haven't acted like it a whole lot. But you really are. You are the one person in the guild I can count on most. You always come through for me. I'm sorry I didn't treat you the way you deserved."

Fenris shook his head. "Nah. I didn't mind. I like you just the way you are Kalea."

She perked up a little at that.

Her face, her eyes, her hair… he couldn't stop admiring them.

"Thank you though… really. For being my friend. I don't ever want to lose your friendship Fenris," she said.

They stayed like that for a while, hands clasped together. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Faelen jumped on top of them. He knocked the wind out of both of them and, once they caught it again, they started to laugh. And then they couldn't stop laughing. They laughed for such a long time, Fenris felt like he might never be able to stop. Eventually though, they stopped laughing and stood up.

"It's late. I'm sorry I've kept you here for so long," Kalea said.

"You didn't keep me. I wanted to be here," he said.

She smiled.

"I should get going," she said.

As she turned around, Fenris reached out and grabbed her hand. She turned back to him with a questioning look.

"Ma-maybe you should stay at my place tonight. I don't want you to be alone. I know Levy is out on a mission so she wouldn't be there tonight," he said.

He thought she would say no but she gave him a gentle smile and blushed.

"Sure."

When they got back to his apartment they got ready for bed. Fenris gave her his bed. He'd sleep on the couch he told her. She insisted no but he wouldn't budge. He made sure she was comfortable and then Faelen jumped up on the bed with her. She laughed and hugged him. Fenris smiled.

As she lay down, she looked up at Fenris. She blushed again.

"Fenris… thank you," she said.

He smiled at her. "You're welcome."

He turned off the light and went over to the couch. As he lay there, trying to go to sleep, his thoughts went back to Kalea.

I can't believe anyone would treat her that way. It's just damn stupid. I wish I could go and beat the shit out of all of them.

He looked over to the bed. Kalea was asleep already.

She's… really beautiful. I feel like I've been thinking that a lot lately. But… I can't help it. She really is. I don't want her to feel that way ever again either. I… care about her, he realized.

I care about her more than anything in this world. From now on, I'm going to protect her. No matter what the cost.

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That night was a stepping stone in their relationship. From that day onward, they were best friends. They did everything together. They went on missions together, ate together, she'd drag him out to go shopping together.

Occasionally, when Levy went on missions with Droy and Jet, she'd even spend the night at his apartment. Fenris always insisted she take his bed when she did come over, despite her constant protests. Fenris was the happiest he had been in a long time. Spending time with Kalea made life seem so much simpler. Mira also took note of the change… much to his displeasure.

And so did EVERY OTHER GIRL IN THE GUILD.

One day, he was taking a break from construction at the bar when Cana and Levy then sat down on either side of him. Mira strode over to them, watching him with an evil grin. He sweat dropped. This can't be good.

"So. You and Kalea seem to be getting along QUITE well recently," smirked Cana.

"Hm? Uh yeah I guess," said Fenris.

"Hmmmmm I wonder why that is huh?" she said. She elbowed him in the stomach, making him spit out his drink. All three laughed.

"I dunno it's not really that big a deal. We're not getting along THAT well," said Fenris.

"Oh ho I disagree. I think you two seem to be closer than EVER," said Mira.

"Might there be love in the air?" smirked Levy.

Fenris choked on his drink again. He smacked his chest, trying to clear his throat. When he finally did, he was breathing heavily.

"Whoa guys come on. That's pushing things a bit too far come one. There is no 'love' or anything like that between us. We're just friends I swear," said Fenris.

All three laughed again.

"Oh yee of little faith. You both will come around. In fact, let's make a bet on it. Girls, follow me. I have a calendar over here…" Cana said.

All three of them walked away, still laughing.

Love… no… there's no way she lovesme. I mean, I don't love her either I don't think… I care about her of course… but love?

He looked over at Faelen, who was resting on the floor to his right. "Faelen… do I… love… Kalea?"

Faelen looked up at him. But he couldn't read him. It was like he was purposely trying to hide his mind from Fenris. He shook his head. The idea was just silly. He cared about Kalea. That was it. They were just friends.

"Hey Fenris!" came a voice from behind him.

He turned around and saw Kalea running up to him waving. He saw her face. He saw her chestnut hair and her hazel eyes. And her smile seemed so… genuine at that moment. She was beaming at him. He felt something pull on his heart. She was beautiful.

Just… friends…he thought, though not as strongly as before…

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A few weeks later, the guild was finally finished. And it was grander than ever before. Everyone stood outside of it the morning it was completed, admiring their hard work.

The Master started crying.

"Awwwww Master what's wrong?" smiled Mira.

"I'm just so-so-WHAAAAA," he started crying even harder.

"Hehehe, I think Master is just happy all our hard work has paid off," said Mira.

There were so many changes to the guild now. There was the huge courtyard in the front. The main guild hall had been expanded. The upstairs was now free for everyone to go up and there was an entertainment room downstairs in the basement. There was even a pool!

A few weeks after Team Natsu left for their vacation, two new members joined the guild. Juvia from the Elemental Four and… Gajeel. When they joined, it stirred up a lot of excitement, not all of which was necessarily good. Although people had warmed to Juvia fairly quickly, Gajeel was a different story. People outright hated him.

One day though, Fenris decided to try something. Kalea was out on a mission with Levy. He had gotten some food at the bar and saw all the tables were taken. But one wasn't. Gajeel was sitting in a corner by himself.

He walked over to the table and sat down. Faelen hopped up onto the bench to sit next to him. He started eating without even looking at Gajeel. After a few moments he heard him clear his throat.

He looked up. "Need a drink?" he said, offering his water.

"No thanks," grunted Gajeel.

"Oh well more for me," said Fenris.

After a few more minutes Gajeel spoke again. "Why are ya sittin here man," Gajeel said.

"There was nowhere else to sit," said Fenris

Gajeel didn't respond to that. After another few minutes of silence Fenris asked, "So how you liking the guild so far?"

"You guys are loud as hell. And annoying," he said.

"Then why stay here? Nobody's making you. And if you didn't notice, nobody really likes you either," said Fenris

"Yeah, I noticed," said Gajeel.

More silence.

"So if you don't like me why you sittin here?" Gajeel asked.

"Never said I was one of those people," Fenris said.

He glanced up and saw Gajeel look surprised for a second before hiding his face behind that scowl again.

After Fenris was done eating he said, "Bet I can beat you in pool."

"I don't play that wimpy shit," said Gajeel.

"That's probably cause you suck at it," responded Fenris.

Gajeel's eyebrows twitched. He shot up and slammed his hands on the table.

"You're on man!" he shouted.

Feris smirked. Gajeel was a dragon slayer just like Natsu. He figured their personalities may be similar and if anything was able to get under Natsu's skin, it was insulting him.

After that day, he and Gajeel would play each other in pool whenever Fenris had free time, and Kalea wasn't there. Over time, others started talking to him too. Just small greetings at first. Then some people even started joining them in pool. Not everyone got used to him of course. But it was a start.

.

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.

While Fenris spent his time recovering from his injuries, he lounged in the pool more often than he probably would have otherwise. And because of that damn pool, his strange feelings he started to develop towards Kalea got even stranger.

Fenris had always thought Kalea was attractive. He knew this before he had developed those weird feelings. And he knew every other guy in the guild also thought she was attractive. But one day, while Fenris was relaxing in the pool, something huge jumped into the pool, drenching him. Next thing he knew, Faelen's face was inches from him. Everyone around him laughed. Then he heard his name.

"Hey! Fenris!"

He looked up and saw Kalea. She was… in a bathing suit. He had never seen her in anything like this. And he couldn't deny it… she was hot. She was wearing a one piece, which he realized was probably to cover her wounds on her back but even then…

And he could tell every other guy in the pool was thinking the same thing. He looked around and saw that every male eye was locked onto her.

He heard someone shout, "Hey Kalea! Wanna swim over here?"

She looked over to whoever it was but Fenris couldn't see from where he lounging.

"No thanks," she said, smiling.

Fenris began laughing in his head.

Suddenly, she said, "Catch meeeee!"

She lunged at him, causing him to fall out of his tube. When he resurfaced, coughing up water, he saw Kalea laughing at him.

"I said CATCH not DROWN," she laughed.

She splashed him with water. He dodged it, causing Cana, who was right behind him, to get hit instead. Cana whirled around and shouted, "You wanna water fight Kalea?!"

No matter where they were, the members of Fairy Tail loved to fight. After an hour of laughing and splashing, they finally got out of the water. Fenris had to put in a lot of effort to keep his eyes off of her. It was a challenge.

"I'm gonna go change, wait for me!" she said, waving at him as she ran to the changing rooms.

His heart skipped a beat.

"Yeah. Okay," he said.

The following morning, Fenris and Kalea were eating lunch in the guild hall when Kalea put her fork down and gave Fenris a look.

"Something up?" he asked.

"When do you think Lucy and the others are going to be back?" Kalea asked.

She seemed to finally be warming up to Lucy.

"Hmmmm. I don't know. It's been a whole month. I didn't think those tickets lasted this lo-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the doors burst open and in walked Team Natsu.

"Whoaaa!" shouted Lucy.

Fenris laughed. "Nevermind. I guess right now."

Kalea happily yelled Lucy's name and jumped up, running to the group.

Fenris got up and followed them, Faelen right behind him.

"Wow! It's so pretty in here!" said Lucy.

She saw Kalea and Levy running up to her and screamed, meeting them halfway. The trio jumped up and down, laughing and talking about what happened since Lucy left.

As Fenris approached, Gray and Natsu noticed him.

"Looks like you guys made a lot of changes here," said Gray.

Natsu started to pout. "It's different."

Fenris crossed his arms, frowning at him. "Yeah it is. What's your problem?"

"It's different," he repeated.

As they looked around, Natsu seemed to be taking note of all the changes.

"Whoa! The waitresses have new uniforms!" said Gray.

"Quite cute. I am impressed," said Erza, walking up to them.

Lucy whirled around at the mention of uniforms. "I'll bet the Master designed them," she sighed.

"That's not all that's new around here," said Cana, who had come up without them noticing.

Levy grabbed Lucy's hands and ran her around. "Look Lucy! There's a pool in the back! And we've got a pool and game room downstairs! But the place that's changed the most is the second floor. Anyone can go up there now! Of course, you can't go on S-class missions without being an S-class Wizard, but otherwise…"

As Levy described all the changes, Natsu's frown deepened.

"Ah! The fools have returned! Welcome back!"

Everyone turned around and saw Master walking up to them, Juvia in tow.

"Say hello to our newest member, Juvia! Ain't she sweet?" he said, eyeing Juvia.

Gray smiled and waved at her. "Hey! So you really made it in huh?"

"Juvia, I heard you helped us in Akane. Thank you," said Erza.

"Hm? Oh. You know each other?" said the Master.

"Juvia got in thanks to all of you! Juvia will do her best for the guild!"

"Also…I have another new member to introduce to you all," said Master.

Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.

Gajeel lazily made his way to the group, chomping on some metal.

"Eh?!" said Lucy.

"H-hey, you gotta be kidding me!" stuttered Gray.

"Gajeel!" shouted Natsu.

Gray turned on Master. "Master! What's the meaning of this?!"

Juvia tried to calm everyone down. "Wait! Juvia was the one who recommended him to the guild!"

"Juvia, I can understand, but he's the very man who destroyed the guild in the first place!" said Erza.

"Humph" Gajeel said, crossing his arms.

"Hey, hey guys calm down" said Fenris. He walked up to Gajeel and put one arm around his shoulder.

"He ain't that bad," he said.

Gajeel growled and threw his arm off.

"Calm down! He was simply acting under Jose's orders. He had no choice." Said Master.

Levy still hadn't gotten used to Gajeel. Jet and Droy were understandably cold to him.

"Y-yeah…I don't mind in the least…" she said, although she noticeably moved away from Gajeel as he approached. Jet and Droy were staring daggers at him.

Natsu stomped up to him. "Don't make me laugh! What kind of jobs can this guy get?!"

Gajeel glared at him. "Relax. I'm not here to make friends. I'm here for the jobs. Any guild would have done. This guild makes me sick, so don't think I'll be working for its sake."

"What'd you say?!" bellowed Natsu.

Master sighed. "It's the job of veterans to take the youngsters who have lost their way and set them on the right path. He's a good guy at heart…or that's what I want to believe" he muttered.

"If that is Master's decision, then we must accept it. But I feel for the time being, we should keep an eye on him," said Erza.

Natsu scoffed. "There's something about this new guild that just doesn't sit right with me."

Cana, wanting to ease the tension, grabbed him and took him to a table. "Never mind that! Just take a seat! The main event is about to start!"

Fenris, Kalea, and Faelen joined them at a table to watch the performance. Since the guild finished, entertainment on the stage was a daily occurrence, from singing to stand-up comedy, people loved to get up there.

The lights went off as they sat down. Mira appeared on stage, guitar in hand and started her song. She was such an amazing singer. As she finished, everyone applauded and cheered her name.

Fenris was clapping his hands when Natsu shouted, "What was that for you creep?! You stepped on my foot on purpose!"

He and Gajeel glared at each other. A cup was thrown from somewhere across the room and hit Natsu in the face. "Shut up! Mira is still singing!" said a voice.

Natsu whirled around. "Who threw that at me?!" He started kicking cups within reach.

Gray jumped up. "Natsu you jerk! Quit the sudden violence!" As he shot up, he bumped into Erza, knocking her cake on the floor.

"Uh oh…" said Kalea.

Fenris watched Erza's face slowly change from shock to rage. "No more noise out of you!" she shouted, kicking Elfman who had just ran up shouted about being a man.

He was thrown back into Cana. Who threw a mug at Droy. And slowly but surely, everyone was brought into the fight. As Fenris watched on, Kalea sitting beside him, he saw Faelen chasing after Jet. He started to laugh. Kalea started to laugh beside him. He looked at her at the same time she looked at him.

"Just another day isn't it?" he said, getting up to crack his knuckles.

She smiled. "Yeah."

Right before he entered the fray, the Master started shouting.

"Why couldn't you brats hold back for one more day?! We've got a reporter coming to see us tomorrow!"

At the same time, Fenris and Kalea exclaimed, "A reporter?!"

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The following day, there was an air of excitement as Fenris entered the guild. Ever since the Master had announced a reporter would be coming to interview them, everyone had been doing their best to get the guild hall ready. He saw Kalea cleaning up the bar with Levy and Cana and walked over to them.

"Is there anything I can do to get ready?" he asked.

Mira ran over, carrying a stack of plates. "Can you go help Gray pick up the tables from yesterday's fight?"

Before he could answer, she was already hurrying away.

He went to help Gray clean up the tables and chairs. He was putting the last chair back in place when the door the guild opened. He turned around and saw a blonde man with one strand of hair sticking up walk in. He had a large camera and a notebook. As he entered, he shouted one word.

"COOOOOOLLLLLL!"

Oh boy… Fenris thought.

Without missing a beat, the man started running around, asking questions and taking pictures. Fenris wasn't one to read Sorcerer Weekly but he knew it was popular with a lot of wizards his age. He went to get a drink from the bar, hoping he wouldn't need to talk too much, when Kalea joined him. She was watching the man interview Gray and Juvia.

"You hoping for an interview?" he asked her.

She jumped and jerked her head around. "Oh! Sorry Fenris. I didn't even realize you were there."

He sweat dropped. She was the one who walked up to him…

"No actually…I'm hoping he doesn't talk to me…" she said hesitantly.

"Why?" he asked.

"I don't know…I'm just nervous I guess," she said.

Before he could respond, they heard a familiar voice shout, "WHOA! It's Fenris and Kalea. SO COOOLLLLL! AND FAELEN THE WHITE WOLF!"

The reporter ran up to them, taking pictures of Faelen. Then, after a few more snapshots, he turned his attention back to them. He pulled out a notepad and pen.

"So. Is it true that the two of you have finally confessed your undying love and are now the hottest couple in the Magic world?" he asked. Fenris and Kalea both gaped at him.

Then, at the same time, they yelled, "WE ARE NOT A COUPLE!"

"WHOA!" he shouted. "So your still hiding your love under wraps from the rest of the world?! Are you preparing some sort of proclamation?! SOOOO COOOLLL!"

They both looked at each other. Fenris felt his cheeks flush at the same time he saw Kalea's cheeks turn red. They turned away quickly. Before they could respond, the reporter disappeared, off to interview Erza. That guy had the shortest attention span Fenris had ever seen. The rest of the day went by similar to this. The reporter would go up to someone, and they would either hit him or agree with him. By the end of the day, everyone was exhausted from fighting, drinking… and more fighting.

Fenris and Kalea were on their way back home when they noticed a magazine stand.

"No way… it's… ALREADY UP?!" shouted Fenris.

"Well it is a magazine about magic so it can't be that surprising," said Kalea.

He started flipping through the articles when he found his picture… right next to Kalea. And the caption… "New-found Love."

He froze. Kalea walked up to him and read it too. She froze.

At the same time, they both said, "I gotta go."

Fenris ran off to his apartment as Kalea turned around to hers.

He ran inside and locked the door. Then he slid down onto the floor. Looking at Faelen, he said, "Why does it seem like everyone thinks we should be together?" he asked.

In the back of his head, he heard a small voice say, maybe it's because you should be together.

"But… I don't like her like that… I think…"

Author's note:

Hope you enjoyed! Lots of development in their relationship this chapter and it only continues from here. The story will really start rolling soon. See you next time!