"Wow, they're just beautiful, Levy!" Lucy exclaimed, gazing lovingly down at the cooing newborns. Levy beamed, propping each twin in an arm, Gajeel pressed against the side of the infirmary bed looking proudly down at his son and daughter. Levy looked exhausted, but pure joy and love shone brightly on her face.

"Thank you, miss godmother." Levy grinned widely as Lucy gasped slightly and Gajeel smirked.

"You want me to be their godmother?" Lucy asked; astonishment and thrill coursed through her.

"I wouldn't have it any other way. Shutora and Yaje will have the best godmother!" Levy beamed and Lucy smiled back, her eyes watering from emotion, and gently squeezed Levy's fingertips.

"It's an honor." The rest of the guild were pressed in the small room all ogling the twins and aw-ing when they yawned or made little baby squeaks. Levy had gone into labor earlier that day, Happy rushing to get Lucy and Natsu from her apartment. Lucy had been worried about her friend, but with the help of Porlyusica and Wendy, Levy was able to have a rather swift and unproblematic birth. Lucy found herself eyeing Natsu as the guild interacted with the babies and the new parents. She, admittedly, loved seeing how he acted with children; he really was a natural. Natsu smiled broadly and offered up his finger for Shutora to grasp her tiny pink fingers around.

"Aw, man. They really are cute," Natsu chuckled and Lucy couldn't help but feel a flutter in her stomach as she watched him play with Shutora. His cheeks were tinted pink and his eyes sparkled down at the infant. Lucy's mind wandered and she found herself thinking about what Natsu would be like as a father. She felt embarrassed to be thinking of him in that way, but in the environment that they were in at the moment, Lucy felt such a strong pull to Natsu and Natsu being a father. His gaze flicked up and caught hers, Lucy's cheeks reddened under his stare, and he smiled warmly at her for a moment before turning his attention back to the babies.

"I can't believe Gajeel helped make these guys, they're too cute to be related to him." Natsu snickered, shooting an antagonizing glance at Gajeel. Gajeel's brow creased momentarily, but he relaxed after a moment and chuckled with a warm smile.

"Honestly, I don't know how I helped make those two pieces of scrap metal. Lev's genes must be strong."

"Hey! You are very handsome, Gajeel." Levy smiled up at him and he flushed under her gaze, but smiled lovingly at her.

"It will be fun having these two running around the house in no time." Pantherlily grinned down at the pair, looking like a proud uncle.

"It's certainly the beginning of a new era for Fairy Tail," Erza stated, smiling up at Jellal, who had been on his way to a job, but decided to stop by the guild to say hello to Erza. She had been on her way to meet him and join him on the mission and they both decided to spend a little time at the guild before leaving. It was perfect timing since Levy went into labor, though it was a bit of a surprise to the guild when they saw them come in together, fingers intertwined. Lucy hadn't found out until she and Natsu had gotten back to the guild, but it turned out that Erza and Jellal were actually full on dating and had started living together. Lucy was incredibly happy for them, they deserved the happiness. She couldn't help but notice how much brighter Jellal seemed now that he and Erza were finally together. He looked so happy and Erza did too; finally able to love each other with no boundaries. They looked positively in love as they gazed at the new family, their hands clasped together.

Juvia's face was tinted pink and a happy grin on her face as she pointed out how cute the twins were to Gray. He smiled down at her and agreed, an arm draped easily around her shoulders. Lucy figured it wouldn't be long before new guild members started to show up in addition to Shutora and Yaje. She was excited for her friends and she was excited at the prospect of a new era for Fairy Tail. Though they all still had their own adventures to go on, Lucy thought that everyone starting their own families was one of the greatest adventures they would all go on. It was nice to see everyone so in love and happy. She didn't feel disappointed that she was not on the same path that they all were yet, something in her gut told her that it was coming, and the idea filled her with warmth. She cast another glance at Natsu, who had stood back from playing with the twins, and Lucy was surprised to catch his gaze already looking her way. They both looked rather flustered, Happy seemed to be the only one who noticed their reactions, thankfully, and giggled behind his paws.

Lucy's heart sped as they left the infirmary, being unceremoniously kicked out by Porlyuscia, and fell into step with Natsu as they headed back to the guild. She couldn't explain why she felt so flustered and hot, she was sure that her face was red. Natsu stole a sideways glance at her which only made her nerves tingle even more. Happy sped off away from them, giggling, and caught up with Wendy and Carla, leaving Lucy to fend off her emotions without comedic relief. She didn't know if it was the fact that they had witnessed their friends become a family or if she was finally losing it, but her heart hammered in her chest and the proximity to Natsu was making her sweat.

"Do you ever think about starting a family, Luce?" Natsu's voice startled her out of her thoughts, and Lucy widened her eyes at him. She desperately tried to get a hold on her composure and it made her feel slightly better that Natsu's cheeks still seemed to be flushed just as hers were.

"U-um, what makes you ask?" She stammered and Natsu quirked a brow at her, a small, teasing grin settling on his lips.

"Well, our friends did just have a couple babies…"

"R-right," Lucy laughed, embarrassed, and Natsu grinned at her more widely. "I mean, yeah, of course I think about it." Natsu nodded, seeming to be deep in thought, though what she said hadn't seemed so profound to her. "What about you? Do you?" Natsu cast an almost shy glance at her and then at the ground. He was quiet for a few moments before answering.

"Yeah, I do." He sighed and looked at her again, his eyes warm and a soft smile on his face. "I know it may be surprising, but I do think about stuff like that sometimes. I think it'd be pretty cool to have little mini me's runnin' around." He laughed at the thought.

"True, that'd be pretty cute, but I bet they'd be a terror," Lucy giggled. "Setting everything on fire, giving Master a near heart attack as he realizes that there're more of you to raise hell in the guild." They fell into comfortable laughter at Natsu's expense.

"Hey, that's mean, Lucy!" Natsu feigned hurt, his hand resting on his chest.

"Oh, I'm ever so sorry, Natsu," Lucy mocked an apology, "I didn't mean to sound rude when talking about your potential future demon babies." Natsu snorted and rolled his eyes with a laugh.

"Well, if they're demon babies, then that's your fault too," He snickered and then froze, realizing what he had just said. Lucy's steps faltered and she started at Natsu, certainly bug-eyed.

"What…?" Lucy managed to squeak out and Natsu avoided her gaze, his face a ripe shade of red. He stood in front of her, swallowing thickly, and peeked at her through his eyelashes. "Natsu, what did you say? What did that mean?" Natsu ran a hand through his hair and sighed lightly, finally meeting her gaze.

"Sorry, Luce," He smiled almost sadly at her. "I-it's just that, when I think about having a family… I dunno, I don't usually think things like that, but when I do…" He paused again, his cheeks burning harder than Lucy had ever seen them. "I usually think about sharing those types of things with you." Lucy's heart squeezed at his words and, if possible, her eyes widened further. Her heart hammered in her ribs and her mouth went dry. She felt like she was living a dream, or a fantasy. She couldn't believe that Natsu had said something so… Not Natsu. And to think that he had thoughts like that, about starting a family, with her being involved! It was enough for Lucy to spontaneously combust; she was sure she was giving Natsu a run for his money with how high her body temperature probably was. If steam could come off of her, she was she it would be. Her face burned as she stood there in front of Natsu, who looked ridiculously uncomfortable.

"I-I'm sorry, it slipped-"

"Why would you be sorry?" Lucy's voice was soft and almost inaudible. Her eyes welled with tears and Natsu looked alarmed, taking a half step towards her before she smiled warmly at him. "That's amazing." Natsu looked shocked and his movements froze once again as he eyed her curiously.

"Really?" He practically breathed out, so unlike Natsu's usual loud and boisterous self. Lucy nodded and his smile grew wider hesitantly.

"I-I'm just surprised that you actually think about that stuff," She giggled and wiped at her eyes. "And to think, it's with me." Natsu scoffed and Lucy watched him step shyly towards her.

"Of course it's you. Who else would it be?" He cocked his head to the side making Lucy's heart flutter. "I'm not really into all the mushy gushy feelings and stuff, I guess, but… I guess I always included you on any thoughts like that. It just felt right."

"That makes me really happy," Lucy replied, stepping closer to him and tentatively grasping his hand in hers. "Because whenever I think about things like this, and don't make fun of me because I love romance," Lucy shot a halfhearted glare at him and he stifled a giggle. "I always… It was always with you. You're my best friend and… I can't see myself spending my life with anyone else. We already spend all of our time together anyways." Lucy giggled and Natsu laughed.

"And I think it would pretty cool, since we hang out all the time already, to eventually have a couple demon babies running around." Natsu smirked and Lucy blushed furiously, but squeezed his hand tightly.

"I think… I would really enjoy that." Lucy admitted shyly, looking up at him timidly. "I never thought that-"

"I know I don't show it in a, uh, conventional way, Luce," He paused to gaze down at her tenderly, "But… I really love you. As a partner, as a best friend, and as… As way more than that." Lucy felt her body tingle and she tightly embraced him, catching him slightly by surprise, but returning her hug quickly and just as hard.

"I love you too, Natsu." Natsu sighed happily into her hair and then pulled back only to dip back down and place a tender kiss on her forehead causing Lucy to blush even more.

"Ever since this morning, it was like something was pulling me to you even more than normal." Natsu murmured curiously and Lucy felt surprise shock through her.

"Me too, it was a really strange feeling, but… I just felt like I needed to be near you." She admitted and then smiled up at him. "Maybe it was magic." They both giggled, taking another moment to just embrace each other and enjoy the moment together.

Year x806

"Did it work?" The first think Kei heard was Yaje's voice break the silence as they toppled back into Fairy Tail's library. He looked around curiously and noted that everything looked as they left it. To their relief, they saw the photo album, that they had left behind, still open and on the picture of Fairy Tail in the year x793. Everyone was smiling in the picture and… Dad and Mom looked happily at each other surrounded by their closest friends. Dad…

"We need to go upstairs." Kei nearly bowled Stella over, earning a heated glare from Ryuu, as he bolted for the library stairs leading up to the main guild hall. Just before he reached them, he felt a firm grip on his wrist, stopping him. "Hey!"

"Kei, please… Don't be disappointed." Shutora pleaded with him quietly, her hand gripping him firmly until he relaxed a bit and turned toward her.

"I know." He swallowed hard, meeting her glistening eyes. "But I have to know. I have to…"

"We're here for you." Yaje stood next to his sister and nodded tightly at Kei. "We're going to be here for you this time. You're not alone."

"Thanks, guys." Kei smiled briefly at the group of his friends and then turned towards the stairs, determined to see what was beyond that door. His heart hammered in his chest and his palms were sweating. He steadily headed for the door and, when he reached it, paused to draw in a deep breath, and pushed it open.

The guild hall looked the same. The same bustle and rowdiness that it always had, the same warm atmosphere. Natsu and Lucy were chatting with Gray and Juvia, Juvia rubbing her hand idly over her growing belly. Laxus and Mira smiled on with Evergreen and Elfman as all their kids played together. Levy was helping Lisanna decorate the hall with some glittering lights and other sparkling decorations, while Gajeel held a later still beneath her. Everything looked normal and Kei tried not to let the overwhelming sense of dread wash him away. He couldn't let himself be saddened, it had been a longshot to change the future and twist the fate of his father.

His friends piled into the guild hall, casting sympathetic glances at him as they returned to their parents and let him have time alone. Kei gloomily, and on the verge of tears, sought out to find his mother. His vision was blurred by tears, so he was making his way through the guild by nearly memory alone, when he almost toppled over knocking into someone.

"Whoa, steady there," Kei froze, that voice. "What's up, Kei- H-hey, are you okay? What's got you so down?" Kei blinked the tears out of his eyes furiously and found him face to face with his father, who looked more than a little concerned.

"Dad!" Kei practically shrieked, catching the attention of his friends who stood around the guild, wide-eyed. "I missed you so much!" He flung himself into his father's arms as his mother appeared from behind him, looking alarmed.

"I-I missed you too, Kei. But you were only down in the library for about a half an hour." He replied, looking confused, and casting a glance up at Erza.

"I-it felt like forever." Kei sniffled and beamed up at his parents.

"Are you sure you're okay, sweetie?" His mother asked, concern lacing her words as she placed a hand on his forehead feeling for a temperature.

"I'm fantastic." Kei giggled and his parents smiled uncertainly down at him.

"Oh, foo!" Levy's voice suddenly sounded behind them. "I told those kids to keep you down there for much longer than thirty minutes!" She shook her head, rolling her eyes are Shutora and Yaje and Kei looked up at her in confusion.

"Why do you think we've been decorating?" His mother laughed lightly and his father stood up, smiling down at him.

"It was supposed to be an early surprise party for your birthday!" Levy laughed and shook her head. "Those twins have Gajeel's attention span, I swear…" She muttered to herself as she stalked over to her children.

"Happy, almost, birthday, Kei." His dad smiled and pulled a small parcel from his cloak and handed it to him. Then a strange look passed in his eyes before he pulled out a piece of parchment and handed that to him as well. "I wanted to give you this too." Kei looked down at it curiously; it had his name scrawled on it in a handwriting that he was unfamiliar with.

"What's this?" His father paused for a moment, emotion clouding his gaze, before a small smile formed on his face.

"It's from a dear friend of mine. Ultear." He began and shock rippled through his body. He had to find a way to thank her, she had saved his father. "She gave this to me a while ago and told me I needed to give this to you on this very day. It's… A bit odd of a request, but I trusted her with my life. I was told not to read it either." His voice sounded amused as Kei gently unfolded the paper.

Dear Kei,

I hope that you've made it back to your time safely. What trouble Fairy Tail always causes! That aside, it was nice to have met you. Your father and I have a long history together and I owe much to him. Getting to meet his and Erza's child was a true honor, I've always wanted nothing more than for him to be happy. To have his and Erza's lives intertwine and have produced such a fine young man, and for me to witness it, was an amazing gift for to receive. I don't know how much time I have left in this world, but I want you to know that, as I am writing this, all is well. It was nothing but an honor to be able to help your family prevent such a tragedy, and I am so happy that you can live a happy and fulfilling life together with your parents. Jellal's sins have long been atoned for and he did not deserve to have his life ended so short. I hope you live with happiness and love in your heart. Please know that I did everything that I could with happiness in my heart. I would not have changed anything if I had to do it over again. Happy birthday, Kei.

All of my love,

Ultear

"Ultear…" Kei breathed out, his eyes watering. "Dad… How is, Ultear?" His father paused for a moment, looking confused, and then smiled sadly down at him.

"She passed away about a year ago." He started sadly and Kei's heart squeezed with sadness. "I don't know if you remember me telling you, but Ultear sacrificed her life force for us all one time. She had a physical body and one that was trapped within the walls of time." He explained and Kei listened intently. "When those mages from the dark guild ambushed me, she… Was somehow there. She manipulated time without a second thought and stole their life forces. It was black magic… But she saved my life." He let out a shaky breath and Kei swallowed thickly. "Using black magic has consequences and Ultear unfortunately paid the ultimate price. Her form that was trapped within the walls of time… Was erased from existence. It wasn't long after that that I heard about her physical passing."

"Dad… I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," He smiled sadly, "She said something to me, right before she disappeared. She said, "live for them". She was speaking of you and your mother." He smiled, lost in memories. "She gave me a gift I could never repay, but… Every day I am glad that I'm still here with my two favorite people." Kei blinked back tears and hugged his father once more. Ultear had given up everything for his family and he would never forget that. His mother placed a loving hand on his head as his father embraced tightly.

Thank you…

A/N: Hey everyone, thank you all so much again for following along with this story and liking it so much! I truly hope that you like this ending and that it was what you were hoping for. I had so much fun writing this, it is probably one of my favorite multi-chapter fan fictions that I've ever wrote! Please let me know how you like it in the reviews- I'm sorry if the ending is a bit sad! But it is bittersweet. Thank you all, please look forward to more fics that I have in the works!