Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail

Really, it was more of a relief than he'd expected to be back in Vistarion. Standing in the meeting room with the team he had been with, plus Natsu, Zeref closed his eyes and smiled faintly. There were no haunting memories here, which was why Vistarion was always his escape from his past. "So…this is your home? Seems like a weird room to have…" Natsu glanced around, frowning at the table. "Oh! This is where you eat with your generals, isn't it?"

"No." Zeref glanced at August, frowning for a moment. "This is a meeting room, where we make decisions about important matters. In fact, now that we've returned, I suspect the guild masters will wish to reconvene immediately…" Zeref sighed, running a hand through his hair. He didn't want to waste time with their demands and ideas for forming this treaty. What he needed was to move quickly, to finish what he had started by finding that egg.

"Shall I request another delay?" August glanced at him, but Zeref slowly shook his head.

"No…I've kept them waiting long enough."

Nodding, August left the room to locate the guild masters within the palace. "So…we're participating in this as well?" Loke glanced at him with a frown. "No offense, but it feels like the sort of meeting we wouldn't be invited to."

"I don't care." Zeref shrugged, taking a seat as he waited. "Really, these matters are rather boring to deal with. People seem to take false comfort in the idea of stripping one party of power, not realizing that they are potentially only growing more hatred between the two groups."

Shaking her head, Levy sat next to him. "It's not just about that. See…people find it hard to believe that peace can come so easily. They don't know you, and so they don't trust your word. That's why they need to have some visual or action that seems to solidify that you mean what you say."

"What a foolish notion, born of the lies mankind tells each other." Zeref smiled faintly, shaking his head. "Though, I suppose I can understand to some degree." Glancing towards her, he frowned. "Hmm…I wonder if they'll have a reaction to what Invel revealed before we left."

Levy frowned for a moment, before her eyes widened. "Oh…right. I forgot he mentioned that."

"Mentioned what?" Natsu frowned, glancing at her.

Looking at the table, Levy bit her lip. "That I'm somewhat training to…possibly help rule Alvarez with Zeref." Smiling, Zeref nodded at her. "Nothing's really been decided yet, but—" She broke off, as the door opened and August came back in. Behind him, the others were following, taking their seats once more and gazing at him calmly.

"I see you've returned." Master Makarov spoke calmly, frowning at him. "And with Loke and Nab, so I assume things went well?"

Looking away, Zeref shrugged. "As well as they could have."

"I ought to spin you for running out like that!" Ooba shouted at him, glaring at him again. Her usual threat was beginning to sound rather boring, though. "Men, and their antics. Refusing to be polite and finish their business first, I think."

"Ooba, you can't get mad at him for actually helping someone for a change." Sting smiled at her, before nodding towards the others. "It's good to see you again, Natsu. I don't really think I've met Nab yet, but you're all welcome if Zeref's okay with you joining."

Ooba huffed, turning away with a scowl. "While you were away, we had taken the liberty to discuss amongst ourselves what would satisfy us." Kagura got them back on track, glancing towards him. "Given the news that one of Fairy Tail's own members will be joining Alvarez…it has given us much to think about. In old times, it was tradition to unite two warring nations through an unbreakable bond, one that would ensure that both parties would refuse to harm the other."

"Kagura…you were the only one fond of that idea. Just consider what kind of pressure you are putting on—" Jellal broke off, interrupted swiftly by Kagura once more.

"But his advisor already said it is to happen, and you agreed that it would provide enough assurance in your safety to finalize our deliberations." Kagura glanced towards Jellal, frowning at his objection. However, Zeref had an odd feeling of where this was heading towards.

Meeting her gaze, Zeref narrowed his eyes. "Invel often speaks his mind of what is best for Alvarez before consulting me. Whatever rumors he has spread are not always truthful as to what is happening."

"So you are not romantically involved with Levy?" Makarov spoke, frowning at him. "She certainly seemed to react as if she was…"

Glancing towards her, Zeref sighed. "I am…yet that is not the purpose of this discussion. We are supposed to be—"

"Then I suggest a union through marriage. It is a reasonable method of ending wars, is it not?" Kagura watched him, while Zeref lowered his head, realizing he had failed to stop her from fully explaining her demand. While he might not personally have an issue with it…Levy might. They had hardly been together in the slightest, only moving from one problem to the next. While Zeref was confident that he'd be content with this outcome, she had far more options than he did…and had not been considering this for quite so long as him.

"What?" Levy glanced at them, her eyes widening. "I'm…I mean, Fairy Tail isn't another country…and marriage…isn't that extreme? I mean…" She broke off, glancing towards Zeref as she seems to try and compose herself a bit more. "It's…it's not like there isn't a possibility of that happening one day. However, Zeref and I, we haven't even really discussed our future like that…" She trailed off again, while Zeref closed his eyes.

"I won't force my child into marriage with a stranger!" Makarov glared her, shaking his head. "Kagura, I know you are fond of tradition, but we told you that we should keep our demands focused on him, and not burden others with our requests."

"And the request for him to force nearly half of his army out of work is not impeding on the rights of others?" Jellal shook his head, sighing. "Regardless of what we request, someone else is going to pay the price alongside of him. It will damage his nation along with him personally, if we continue down this path. That is the only reason why I favored Kagura's suggestion at the time…because it limited the outside damage done." Jellal paused, glancing towards Levy. "However, I am also not of the mindset that will advocate forcing a marriage upon two people unwilling to do so."

Yet, they were still asking for it. Even as they said they were not going to force it on them, it was clear they had discussed it in depth enough to know each others' stances well. In some form, they had all expressed a minor interest in the idea, yet were opposed to intruding upon the free will of others. "Are there any other suggestions?" Zeref spoke quietly, watching them grow silent at his first comment since their request was made.

"If you accept this one, we will rescind all other demands of you." Kagura spoke swiftly, while Zeref once again focused on the table. She seemed rather insistent on this, and she seemed like she was stubborn to deal with.

Not even August would intervene, though Natsu seemed to try. "What the heck? I mean…I think I'm with Zeref on this one. That's pretty stupid, to think that married people don't fight." Was he…trying to imply that he'd go to war with someone he was married to? Zeref wasn't certain how he felt about that logic. "Who cares if he's got an army or not? We've shown that we can fight back against it. I say I'm done with this formal crap. Zeref, we've got work to do, so let's let these people argue it out themselves."

Natsu grabbed his arm, pulling him to his feet before Zeref focused enough to at least stand his ground and stop himself from being dragged away. "Natsu…" He sighed, shaking his head. "This is not how meetings like this work."

"What? Why not?"

"Because we need to reach a conclusive decision, or else in the standpoint of our government, the war still exists." August saw Natsu frown, making him glance towards Zeref for assistance.

"An official document put the war into action. One is needed to halt it completely as well."

"I don't get it." Natsu frowned, while the others seemed to be at a loss for words. "I mean, why do we need a piece of paper to stop fighting? It just seems stupid and pointless…plus, it's a waste of paper."

Across the table, Makarov seemed to be slowly getting more irritated with the situation. "Natsu…despite your inability to understand its importance, know that we need this in place." He glared at the dragon slayer. "Now, sit down and let us finish this meeting in peace!"

Scowling, Natsu released Zeref and moved back to his seat. "Why did you even bring him here? Natsu is not the sort of person I'd invite to something like this." Jellal frowned at Zeref, who shrugged.

"His status as my brother gives him the political rights to participate…and my plans for after this meeting involve him as well, so I thought it would make things move along more swiftly." Yet, he wasn't certain about that decision anymore.

"Did you say brother?" Sting glanced between them, frowning. "That's…I mean, I know about how Eclipse was used on us dragon slayers, but it still is difficult to imagine."

Yet, it was also a story he didn't want to get involved in. "Now…before that interruption, I believe we were discussing—"

"Stupidly forcing Zeref and Levy to get married." Natsu glared at Ooba, scowling. "See? I can still focus on stuff like this too. I just don't see the point."

"Unlike our other demands, he hasn't outright rejected the idea." Jellal glanced at Zeref, frowning. "What is your opinion on the suggestion? You have yet to speak of it thus far."

That was for good reason as well. Glancing towards Levy, he saw she was rather pale, glancing around the room. She seemed to be stunned, her eyes wide and nearly panicked at the discussion emerging. "That is something for me to discuss with Levy, and not with you." He glanced back towards them, narrowing his eyes. "Personal decisions require personal conversations, outside of the public ear. Surely, even you can comprehend that much."

"Well, you can't blame them for that, Kags." Bob spoke for the first time, smiling brightly. "Though, they do make an adorable couple. I'd definitely want to be there for the wedding when it finally does happen."

Shaking his head, Zeref scowled at the table. What else was there then? These guild masters were continuously getting more unreasonable with every request. "Then let us examine previous demands instead. Forcing marriage onto others is an archaic tradition that I will not support in any way."

"Are you claiming to be willing to rescind your previous refusals instead?" Jellal narrowed his eyes at him.

Meeting Jellal's gaze, Zeref smiled faintly. "Perhaps." Then again, the situation had shifted slightly after all. Glancing towards Nab and Loke, he realized he just may have given himself a method of persuasion in this meeting that he'd been lacking before. "The entire purpose of such matters is due to a concern that I am against the wizards in your country. However…have I not just returned from saving them from their own mistakes on their job?"

Snorting, Makarov crossed his arms over his chest. "They're Fairy Tail wizards. Regardless of your presence, we would have looked after our own and brought them back."

"But…he did go out of his way in a hurry to save them." Sting glanced over at Nab and Loke, smiling slightly. "I'd say that it at least shows he isn't trying to harm us anymore, or well, Fairy Tail at the very least."

"Yet, it is not a guarantee of safety for Fairy Tail's allies." Kagura met his gaze, frowning faintly. "With the refusal of a political union, and constant insistence on maintaining your own secrets and military strength, I am simply not seeing us coming to an understanding that will fit both parties."

"Well, why not?" Natsu glanced over at her, interrupting once more. "I mean, he's helped Lucy, Levy, and me out back in Edolas. Well…sorta." He frowned, tilting his head. "More like he helped other Levy and Natsu…he was gonna solve all their problems with Alvarez there. And…he kinda did too."

"And that proves what, exactly?" Jellal looked tired, while Natsu grinned.

"That he's a good guy, of course." What? Zeref stared at Natsu, wondering exactly when he'd flipped so completely. "I mean, he stopped attacking us, helped out complete strangers, and now he's helping out Loke and Nab. Seems like he's kinda like Gajeel, changing after making some stupid mistakes and just not willing to admit it to others."

Snorting, Levy shook her head. She looked like she was actually going to argue against it, before she blinked and glanced at the others. "Actually, Natsu has a point. Phantom Lord did start a war with us and we let two of their former members join our guild. Really, they didn't even do much of anything to prove themselves to us, and it isn't all that different than Zeref starting a war—" Levy's voice was cut off and overshadowed quickly by another.

"Did either of them possess the same power as the black wizard here?" Ooba glared at her, making Levy swallow and look away. Zeref glared at her, watching as the elderly woman spun on him. "Not at all! He's dangerous, and cannot be trusted!"

This was going no where, fast. Closing his eyes, he ran a hand through his hair. Taking a deep breath, he realized that he might have one trick left. "If we return to your first request of me…of destroying my demons…would that be sufficient to gain your trust at this point?"

"Fairy Tail would be more than accepting of that outcome." Makarov glanced towards Levy and the others near him. "After all…it hardly seems as if my children are holding this against you anymore. What kind of a master would I be if I just refused to make peace when they wished to do otherwise?"

Grinning, Sting nodded. "I'd have been fine with pretty much just your promise from before. I mean, I've done a bit of work with Invel and August lately, and from what I can tell, Alvarez isn't really as bad as rumors made you guys out to be."

Thus far, it was sounding as if Zeref didn't need to do anything. Yet, Jellal was frowning at him staying quiet for a moment. Before he could respond, Bob spoke up instead. "My, my, I wouldn't want to be the one stopping us from finishing up our agreement. It looks like we're finally moving forward, darling."

"As much as I would like to say I'd trust you as a result…I'm afraid I may disagree with the others." Jellal met his gaze, sighing. "Demons are one thing, and I'd be pleased if you destroyed them…yet what proof would we have that you truly destroyed them all? You could simply lie to us and claim they are gone. After your insistence of keeping END alive before—"

"Wait…you're saying Zeref will be destroying…all of his demons?" Natsu spoke, staring at Jellal with wide eyes. "No way in hell! I'm not letting you just—"

"Natsu." Zeref spoke, turning towards him harshly. "I can handle this. After everything you've come to know about me, do you truly not trust that I have your best interests in mind?"

He swallowed, while Levy stared at the table. "I dunno. I mean, you say you do, but you also said the war was fought because of me somehow…"

"Natsu, I think Zeref should be trusted." Levy was quiet, looking towards him. "I know you're worried, but believe me, he hasn't forgotten anything."

"Why would you even object so greatly to destroying his demons anyway?" Kagura frowned at him. "They do little beyond destroy things in this world."

"Never mind." Natsu curried his head into his scarf, looking away. "It wasn't important anyway."

Taking a deep breath, Zeref turned back towards the others. However, Loke and Nab were frowning at Natsu as well. Loke had narrowed eyes, likely realizing the reason behind Natsu's concern. "I will gather their books then, and bring them here. All of you will be allowed to look through and confirm that I've gathered all demons you wish to see destroyed…and then I'll destroy them with you watching my actions."

"That would be acceptable for Mermaid Heel." Kagura nodded at him, while Ooba did the same.

Watching him warily, Jellal seemed to take a deep breath. "Then it appears I have no choice. My voice is overruled it seems, with no one understanding the dangers of trusting Zeref." He glared at the black wizard, shaking his head. "Do not think I will not ensure every last demon of yours is destroyed. I know your history better than anyone here, Zeref. I will know if you are trying to save any of your creations."

He nodded, glancing towards August. "Very well. Then it appears as if you will be remaining in Alvarez for a little longer then." Rising to his feet, he walked over to his son. "I'll send someone to inform you when they've all been gathered. I anticipate it to take less than a week…after the treaty has been drafted and signed, of course." Yet, he needed to watch over its creation. The wording would be particularly important this time, to ensure the plan he had in mind would work. Glancing towards Natsu, he hesitated then slowly shook his head. "Natsu, feel free to join if you are concerned. I understand you are rather worried about the results of this, are you not?"

"Like hell I'd let you walk out without explaining this to me." Natsu paused, glancing around the room after that. "But…I'm hungry. You grabbed me away from Fairy Tail before I could eat dinner, and I'm starving!"

"Come to think of it, it is getting to be time for supper. Would it be acceptable for us to finish the details in the dining hall?" Jellal glanced at Zeref, who nodded and rose to his feet.

"Given the short duration of your stay…I suspect you will still need a guide as to where it is." Most of them nodded, and Zeref began leading them out. Natsu seemed eager to eat, Loke and Nab were still standing in awkward silence, and the guild masters seemed to start talking amongst themselves. However, Levy remained by his side, while Zeref still wondered why she'd even agreed in the first place. Reaching towards her, he grabbed her hand, watching as she seemed to bite her lower lip, looking lost in thought. "Levy…you know I have no intention of destroying him." He spoke quietly, and she glanced over at him with a faint smile.

"I know." She glanced back at the others, sighing before turning towards him. "It's just that I can't imagine this turning out well. Keeping secrets from them to make peace…it never ends well." Yet, he still had a plan in mind for that. The only guild master that held concern over his demons continuing to exist was Jellal, after all. With what he needed after this, he suspected he could work that to his advantage.

"I assure you, it will not last for long." Zeref kept his gaze locked on hers, while she swallowed. "I will deal with whatever happens…but I do have intentions of revealing it to them eventually. I can't lose him, Levy…and I can't allow them to force anything else even if it will sooth their fears for the time being."

"Just don't completely shut me out on the details, Zeref." She focused on him, squeezing his hand. "You keep secrets from everyone and I can see that it only makes things worse for you too. You don't like being dishonest, so if you ever need to vent, you can trust me and talk to me about the details too."

Lifting her hand to his lips, Zeref kissed her knuckles softly. She jumped slightly, her eyes widening while he smiled faintly at her. "I assure you, I will not let this bother me to such an extent. Perhaps if I truly had agreed to destroy all of my demons, I'd feel differently. However, it is on them to recognize if all of them are present now…and I will ensure that August says as much within our agreement." He released her hand, seeing her frown faintly in response. Levy would likely continue to worry, and he doubted she'd support his deception, yet there were no other options. He would not lose Natsu, and he would not let them force a political marriage onto Levy when she had hardly decided she wished to have a relationship with him in the first place.

So, I've written this debate with multiple different outcomes in the past. In the end, I decided this was the best variation I had come up with, in terms of the later plot of the story, though I know it will still have its issues. I'm not really strong with writing politically focused plots in a story, since I personally have little to no interest in politics. I do hope the debates/conversations have been believable thus far, however. Feel free to review and tell me what you think!