Thoughts

Deity/Dragon Speaking

Normal Discourse

Notices/In World Text

(***)

X782

Jack sat in the middle of the frozen Magnolia Lake. A castle of frost made behind him. He was calm and at peace. Four years had passed since that day Laxus tried to sever his bond with Jack, proclaiming that he would not try to reconnect until he and the guild was strong enough to be around him.

Fairy Hills had been constructed, Erza, Levy and Cana moving into the female dorms. Jet and Droy had purchased an apartment for themselves and moved out days after the three girls had. It made Jack happy that his family was beginning to grow up.

He sensed a presence step onto the lake, judging by its magical presence it was Erza. She along with Mirajane and Mystogan had become S Class mages in the following three years since the incident.

"Jack… I need your help" Erza stated, she had matured quite well, becoming a fine young woman and pretty enough to attract the attention of men and women, far and near.

Jack opened his eyes, looking at the amor clad Erza he changed the castle of ice into an army of ice soldiers. "Is this what you need?"

Erza shook her head. "I need your help… you see, long ago I loved this boy"

Sensing a conversation, Jack made a chair for Erza and himself out of ice as well as a table for them to lean on. She sat down on the chair of ice as Jack did. "Continue"

"And then I arrived here and saw this other boy, who I knew wouldn't notice me, and yet I was in love with him, not just because he was incredibly handsome but also because of his ideals and personality. Even when he lost something very precious to him, he smiled though the pain and put the wellbeing of others before him… I found those qualities pulling –" Erza explained but was interrupted when Jack put a hand on her head.

"Erza… I can't do it right now… I still one thing I want to fix and I'm sure you have some things to fix as well… so until we fix our issues, can we put this conversation on ice please?" Jack asked, he was aware of Erza's feelings for him ever since he met her, if he was honest, he did admire her, but he didn't know what he felt for her.

Erza nodded. "I think that is for the best… I don't think I would be able to pursue a relationship until my problems where fixed"

"Then why did you seek me out?" Jack asked, confused as to why Erza sought him out exactly.

"Because you help clear my mind and let me focus on myself" She explained as Jack stood up with a smile on his face.

"If you ever need help dealing with that boy or your problems… or any pervs don't hesitate to ask" Jack said before he started to walk off, he needed to check up on Gray. Since they lived together, he needed to see if he was doing his part in keeping the household running and not spending every day eating and bringing friends over, not that he had a problem with that.

Erza nodded; she would wait for his answer. No matter how long he took.

(***)

Jack looked at the grave that was supposed to commemorate the life of Lisanna Straus. He blinked a couple times as many cried.

'This is a waste of time, she's not dead' Jack thought as he turned around, he walked away from the funeral ready to start his training again, attempting to harness the power that he had unleashed years ago when he argued with Laxus.

"Not going to morn Frost?" the elusive voice of Mystogan asked as he was passed by the Wizard Saint.

"Moving forward is my only concern as of now" Jack stated before vanishing into thin air.

(***)

Jack sat in the middle of the lake, tears flowing down his face. They were so hot that they burned his face and melted some of the ice platform that he was sitting on.

He would be lying if he said the funeral didn't affect him. The looks he saw on the faces of Mirajane and Elfman reminded him of his own reflection.

It would be nights like these that he would weep, feeling worthless, so powerful but unable to save his own brother from the path of self-destruction, a path that he was aware he was walking down.

A pair of slender but muscular arms wrapped around him, pulling his head into the chest of their owner. Red hair blowed in the wind as Jacks tears stained her shirt.

'So this is the real you Jack… you hold so much pain behind a powerful mask… so foolish like me' She thought as she too shed a tear, thinking about the past.

His own arms wrapped around her as he pulled himself up and rested his head on her shoulder, and hers on his. Both now staining the other's with their tears. His hiccups and slight wheezes would drown out her own, of that she was grateful, she didn't want to hear herself crying tonight.

"I wish I could have been a better brother" Jack said as he pulled away from Erza's shoulder, looking at her as she looked up at him, even in this state he thought she was beautiful.

"I should have been a better sister" she admitted, she wished. Both knew that they could have done more in their separate situations, but something stopped them.

They stared at each other for what felt like hours.

"I should probably go… I need to train Gray and Natsu in the morning"

(***)

Natsu and Gray looked at Jack, he was tired but not because of them, his own training was taking a toll on him. It seemed like a fruitless endeavour.

Yet they didn't have the strength to argue with him, as he just beat them into the ground during their latest sparring session.

"I'm going to train" he said vanishing.

Gray frowned, everybody knew of Laxus and Jack's argument. They knew that neither acted normal afterwards, both diving into their own development and disregarding their own mental health. It didn't stop Jack from caring for Gray and Natsu like an older brother, it only sucked the joy out of him in some occasions.

You could catch him staring into space at times, thinking of ways to repair his relationship which would end up in a heated staring contest before one would smash something and pick up an S Class quest to do.

"How do we help him Natsu?" Gray asked, lost on how to start with getting his big brother of old back.

Natsu grinned, which pissed Gray off, everything Natsu did pissed Gray off. "We beat Laxus' ass and make him realise that he doesn't need to be strong"

"Not a bad idea coming from you flame brain" Gray said with a chukle.

"Say that again you Slushy! I'll burn you alive!"

(***)

Jack looked at Mira, she had come to find him in the middle of the lake where he always was when training. She and Elfman had moved out after the funeral, buying their own place, trying to have a fresh new start.

"How do you do it?" She asked, her wounds of failure still raw.

Jack looked at her, he had never seen Mira in such a state ever. He was probably the only other person outside of Elfman that knew how to empathise with her… that she knew of. "You have to move forward and believe that one day you will make things right"

Mira nodded before leaving, she needed to reflect on those words.

Electricity sparked around Jack's eyes as he raised his hand. "I need to keep moving forwards and Rise to higher heights"

Ice erupted from the ground, creating a tower with such height that it pierced the clouds. He clenched his hands and made the tower crack into thousands of shards. Jack's eyes glowed a brilliant blue as all the shards started to circle around him, electricity started to stream from his pupils, leaving a blue trail after every movement.

Jack sat down and closed his eyes making everything vanish. He had achieved his goal for now, it was time to rest.

(***)

Jack woke up with his head propped up against something soft. He knew what he was resting against, and he didn't mind it. Snuggling into it he yawned before opening his eyes, looking up at the stars.

"Feeling lonely again?" Jack asked he noticed that for the first time in a long time, he found something colder than him. He was confused. "And since when did you get cooler? Like body temperature wise?"

Erza giggled a little as Jack looked at her with confusion. "You're actually really warm when you're asleep"

It took a while for Jack to respond, he was checking out the fact that he had a normal body temperature once more. 'Maybe unlocking my latent powers granted me more control over my magical aura'

Jack closed his eyes, happy with the position he was in as of now. "What brings you out here Erza?"

Erza was glad that he had his eyes closed, she didn't want him to see her blushing. "I just wanted to clear my mind again"

Jack chuckled. "Don't you mean 'I just wanted to spend some time with you?'"

"N-No" she said, stuttering and blushing a deeper shade of red.

"Thanks for coming though… I appreciate it a lot"