Wendy woke up, and she felt like something inside of her was being physically ripped apart. It was intense, scary, and left a weight on her chest that made her feel like her heart could barely beat.

When she tried to stand, she crumbled to the floor next to the bed.

For a minute, she struggled to understand what was happening to her. In some ways, the complexity and acuity of it reminded her of right after Charle had been killed.

When she realized the feelings were bleeding across her magic connection to Laxus, she became scared because she didn't know him to necessary have a lot of strong feelings one way or another. She affected him all the time, but when it went the other way, it usually wasn't intense at all. He got annoyed and frustrated a lot, but not severely.

Something intense to the point of life-changing was obviously happening in his heart.

Wendy knew he probably didn't want her to come around, but for better or worse, they were stuck together whether they wanted to be or not. If it affected him, it affected her. It was irreversible, unchangeable, and as time went by, the fact they'd be like this until one of them died was genuinely upsetting.

She summoned her strength and dressed quickly, and then escaped through the window and flew unseen to where he was.

Since his location was Porlyusica's hut, Wendy was afraid something had happened and that Laxus was dying.

When she landed right outside the door, Porlyusica was coming in with some herbs from her garden.

"Wendy, why are you here? It's the middle of the night."

She caught the scent of death, and of Makarov, and said, "Master?!"

"Go home, Wendy. Makarov is an old man. This is life. People get old, and people die. There's nothing for you to do here."

The idea that Laxus was being ripped to pieces on the inside by the idea that his grandfather was going to die made hit her in the heart. There was no one more detached or awkward than he was and knowing how much he was hurting said so much about what Laxus was really like and how much his grandfather meant to him.

Wendy wanted to help.

More than anything.

She loved master too, as the father of the guild and the person whose passion had built an entire generation of incredible people who could face any obstacle.

And maybe part of it was that what was happening to Makarov wasn't fair in the first place. A person with a massive amount of magic power typically lived a very long time. Using Fairy Law during the big battle ruined his body. Half of his body was basically dead and the rest was in poor shape, and his health had been truly awful since then.

Wendy said, "Master isn't dying because he's old. He's dying because he used that spell."

"Perhaps, but he made the decision he felt was best and he knew the cost. The nerves in his body are ruined. His quality of life has been diminishing for a while."

"Nerves…" she mumbled the word and thought for a while, and then abruptly went into the hut.

Laxus looked up from Makarov's bedside and roughly said, "Wendy, why did you come here?"

"Because you were hurting."

Porlyusica, to Laxus, was actually probably the worst person for Wendy to utter this in front of because Porlyusica was going to ask questions—a lot of them.

"Be careful about what you say. You're going to cause trouble," he warned.

The younger dragonslayer exclaimed, "I know what I'm doing. I know how to help Master. If you want me to go, I won't. Master means a lot to everyone. You're not the only one who is going to lose someone they love."

Porlyusica said, "I have some questions about what's going on here, but I'll hold them for later considering the situation. Wendy, Makarov is beyond magic. Go home."

Wendy answered, "Healing magic doesn't work well on nerves because they're tiny and they're all over the body. There's no way to make it travel to the right places. Nerves carry signals all over the body using electrical pulses, so that means they're conductive."

"I don't know how that helps us here. Electricity damages nerves because of that fact," Porlyusica said.

She turned to Laxus and said, "If I had enough magic and I could give my healing magic the properties of lightning, it would work."

Laxus said, "You're talking about that thing again?"

"What thing?" the old woman asked.

She nodded.

Porlyusica glared at Laxus in a way that strongly suggested she was going to rake him over hot coals for whatever was really going on. If she came into the knowledge of their strange connection, it would be inconvenient for them, but Laxus also knew he'd pay just about any price to save his grandfather.

He reached over for a pair of scissors on a nearby table that Porlyusica had been using to snip herbs and cut his hand, and then gave it to Wendy, who did the same before pressing her palm against his.

They'd forgotten how much of a rush it really was, feeling their magic become suddenly intensely amplified and deepened. The sum of all their increased magic flowed into Wendy, who became electrified.

Wendy held her hands up as her blue glowing healing magic swirled around Laxus' lightning, and then, after intense concentration, folded onto it to create blue lightning. The sheer amount of magic in her body bordered on godlike as she put her hands on Makarov's chest and let the lightning-like healing magic flow through his body.

By the time she collapsed on the floor, they were both completely out of magic.

Makarov awoke with a start and much to everyone's surprise, seemed to have somehow aged in reverse by a few years. Or possibly, his poor health only made him look older than he was, and Wendy had successfully restored him in a way not known to be possible using magic.

Wendy couldn't move, sitting on her knees next to the bed as she leaned on it for support.

"What was that? I was slipping away, and then there was a light?" he said holding his hands up.

The guildmaster knew immediately something miraculous had happened to his body because he could feel his legs and after cautiously wiggling one toe, jumped out of the bed and stood on his own two feet for the first time since that battle.

Porlyusica said, "I'd like an explanation as well. Wendy was somehow able to heal you."

"Your magic is this strong?" Makarov asked.

"No," the old healer said, "Wendy and Laxus are using forbidden magic."

Wendy watched the cut on her hand seal over with gold scales again. "Just because it's forbidden, does that make it wrong? Letting someone I care about die seems like the thing that should be forbidden."

Makarov remembered the conversation he confronted Laxus about the fight with the dragon and his grandson admitted they had withheld information and asked for his trust. So, he looked up to Laxus for an explanation.

Laxus, who was still sitting on the chair, crossed his arms. "What?"

Porlyusica said, "I had contact with Wendy's dragon a while back. She transmitted a few spells to me, and also talked to me about Wendy's future. She said when Wendy grew into a woman to keep her away from Laxus at all costs and ensure they were never together intimately because an extremely powerful magic reaction would occur…one that would probably ruin both of their lives."

Laxus said, "Too fucking late. During the fight with the dragon, there was a lot of blood and ours mixed. We didn't know what it was, but it was a get out of hell free card and we used it. The first time we did it, we were so powerful we were able to kill the dragon."

Porlyusica said, "Do you know the source of that power?"

"We figured it out later," Wendy said.

The old woman said, "Grandine informed me, but I don't think she was aware blood could have caused the reaction. She said it was irreversible. What exactly has happened after that battle?"

Laxus said, "Wendy and I share a link. I thought it was telepathic, but our bodies are also involved. I taste sweets when she eats them, she gets drunk when I drink, and when she got poisoned, it ended up in my body too. It's a real pain in the ass. The magic link makes us so powerful it's a little unreal."

Makarov asked, "What is the source of the power?"

Porlyusica said, "Before Wendy came along, Grandine's lifemate was the lightning dragon king, Fulguros. He was killed by a dragonslayer, and part of his body was salvaged and lost to time. When Wendy came to this guild, she met Laxus, who had a piece of Fulguros heart inside of his body. That's what a dragonslayer lacrima is…an actual part of a dragon's heart. She was worried that the dormant connection would be revived if they ever had intimate contact."

Makarov listened carefully, both angry at Laxus for keeping such a huge secret, but yet sympathetic to his reasons for doing so.

Wendy weakly said, "Forgive us, Master."

"You don't have to ask for forgiveness for surviving. I would have you break every rule that has ever been written to live," the old man said, and then, looked up at his grandson. "Laxus, is this connection you have the reason you were able to save Wendy from Ivan?"

"Yes."

Wendy decided to follow Laxus' lead and let him explain everything. It was transactional then; do something forbidden and live. Here, it was save Makarov and be exposed. They weren't really hard decisions to make, not to her and not to Laxus.

After nearly all the cards were on the table, Makarov just nodded.

"I see…You're doing the best you can. I suppose that's all you can do. There's one unanswered question,
he said, "If the dragon lacrima that grant those like yourself their powers come from a part of a dragon's corpse, did you accidentally leave one on that mountain?"

"No," Laxus said.

"Do you still have it?"

"I gave it to Wendy and she ate it," he explained.

Porlyusica asked, "Can Wendy wield ice dragon magic?"

"A little," she answered.

Makarov was genuinely angry about this, because Laxus done something to someone in the guild to dramatically change their powers without even mentioning it to him. On the other hand, Laxus was unable to dual-wield like Natsu and Gajeel could, so it was unusual that he'd pass on an opportunity to improve his own magic.

Then again, Laxus had enemies and if any of them ever found out they could come at him through Wendy, it would be a problem for her. Reinforcing her magic abilities was possibly the best thing for him as well.

Porlyusica asked, "Ivan came at Wendy, did he?"

"He's gone. Let's not dwell on it," Makarov quickly said.

"Gone?!"

Makarov tensely said, "Let's not talk about it."

After giving the situation careful thought, Porlyusica said, "There's a part of this issue that you and Wendy seem to have not figured out. Grandine said if this thing she feared ever occurred, you'd lose the ability to chose partners for yourselves. You'd only ever be able to be with the other."

"Are you serious?!" Wendy asked.

Laxus and Wendy were instantly and completely horrified by this for all of their own reasons.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Laxus asked.

"Exactly what I said. Grandine heard about the kind of person you were while inside of Wendy, but she didn't know about Fulguros' magic until you met Wendy for the first time on Tenrou Island. You obviously aren't anything like someone a mother would want her child to be with. Ignoring the substantial age gap, you have some issues."

Makarov said, "Easy, Porlyusica. This is obviously a problem. A big problem. But everything they have endured has been a consequence of choosing to live, and that is not wrong."

Porlyusica replied, "You've obviously noticed Wendy's body is going through some intense changes lately. Her appearance is changing to how she looks during her purest dragon form permanently. That didn't happen to any of the other dragonslayers. Whether due to this issue or due to the ice dragon magic, she's magically imbalanced. And, she seems to be going through it lately. What if her body is trying to catch up to his?"

"That's not it. It was already about to happen," Laxus said.

"How do you know?"

Laxus explained, "Because I'm a dragonslayer. Did we forget that I was a little flimsy kid when I was Wendy's age? In order, I developed motion sickness, intense hunger, and then the last thing that happened was I suddenly had an unreal addiction to sugar. When the sugar cravings started, so did my growth spurt. All those things happened to Wendy. It was a trash experience for me, I assume it'll suck for her. But it had nothing to do with me."

Porlyusica said, "What about her appearance?"

"I don't think any of the stuff going on with her body has anything to do with me. It's unreasonable to think it does. Wendy mastered dragonforce years earlier in her life than anyone else and uses it more often. You're mixing a lot of ideas together and it's not helpful," he added.

Makarov found his grandson had clearly defined the issues within his own mind and seemed confident that while he and Wendy were linked, that mere fact was driving the change in Wendy. He found this believable, because he'd noticed she'd suddenly started eating everything in sight and had become vulnerable to vehicular motion.

Wendy seemed mostly lost, stuck at the center of a vortex of change. From losing her best friend, to growing up, and then also this strange magic bond, she was clearly trying to cope. Laxus had protected her, keeping any of them from knowing just how involved her personal turmoil was in case anyone would realize all the vulnerabilities they'd obtained.

The idea that they'd limited themselves romantically was irrelevant for the time being. Laxus was fine being alone and she wasn't an adult. It was likely going to darken Wendy's perspective as she grew, but there wasn't anything they could do about that.

There wasn't anything anyone could do about any of it.

The two wizards were trapped by a series of difficult inevitabilities, and they were doing the best they could, protecting each other and their secret. In exchange for the price they were paying, they had obtained the ability to obtain magic that was at the legendary level.

Wendy was able to transcend what were believed to be the limits of healing magic just because that's what she wanted to do.

Makarov said, "Are you both all right? Wendy?"

She nodded. "I'm actually doing well, Master. It may not look that way, but I'm doing okay. I've been going through a lot of things. I lost Charle, but the Thunder Legion has been kind to me and they've helped me. Evergreen helps me feel better about myself, and Bixlow helps me know I can be a happy person and have fun even if things aren't perfect, and Freed reminds me we all feel like outcasts sometimes. Laxus taught me to use every advantage I can, to protect myself, and to be strong."

Her eyes seemed to be burning with determination when she finished with, "Not every day is good, but I am taking steps forward with my friends! Does anything else matter if I always have them? We'll laugh, and we'll grow, and we'll be strong together. So I'm okay."

Porlyusica asked, "Are you all right, Laxus?"

"It is what it is. Life goes on, right? We've gotten used to most of it by now."

Makarov said, "That's good enough. I agree that discretion is critical."

Laxus replied, "The only reason you know is because Wendy didn't want you to die."

"But Laxus, you were breaking on the inside…I could barely move my body, you were so sad. I've never experienced such intense fear or grief. Your eyes were watery when I got here," she said.

Laxus glared at her, in utter disbelief that she broadcast his feelings. "Tch, whatever. He's old. I don't care if it kicks it. I'm feeling a craving for sour plums though."

Wendy covered her mouth and puckered her whole face. "No, anything but that!"

Makarov reached out an arm with titan magic to pinch his grandson's cheek. "My little grandson loves his granddaddy very much. I bet his little heart would just be broken if I passed on. I can just see him, weeping at my side. Visiting my grave with flowers."

"Not gonna happen," Laxus quickly answered, clearly embarrassed.

Porlyusica said, "Are you ashamed that someone called you out on actually caring about the person who raised you? It's not like you were an easy child to raise."

"Why is this suddenly about me? Since the old geezer can use his legs, I'm just gonna..go."

Laxus made a quick exit, and the Makarov and Porlyusica spoke to Wendy for a while longer. She did generally seem to be doing as well as one might be in her position, and since the problem she and Laxus had lacked any realistic remedy, that was the best they could hope for.

They sent Wendy on to the dorm, and Makarov told Porlyusica the details of Ivan's death, the catalyst for the night's events. The old healer wondered if Laxus would have gone as far as he did if Wendy hadn't been in the unique role she was, but Makarov pointed out that Ivan was living on borrowed grace and was probably emboldened because he'd been unable to use his legs.

Makarov said, "Ivan knew if he came at us again, there would be consequences. At the Grand Magic Games, it didn't matter—Laxus wrecked him and his guild. The power difference between Laxus and his father is so great and Laxus is smart to his father's trickery…I don't think Ivan could do anything to hurt him at this point. Wendy is different. She's not as strong, but more importantly, Ivan hasn't twisted her into knots. She trusts easily. She doesn't question everything in the world."

"What would you have done if the information had come to you and you had to decide what to do about it?" she asked.

"I haven't been able to fight for so long. I've always known that if I had to, I could ask Gildarts to take care of it. He should have been the one. He'll say he should have been the one. God knows he's wanted to put Ivan in the grave for a long time. What Ivan did was disgusting, indefensible, and despicable. I think the right thing to protect the guild happened, but the wrong person did it."

She nodded. "Agreed. I don't think any good could possibly come from Laxus beating his own father to death. There's already a lot going on in him."

Makarov rubbed his legs. "Wendy's magic is incredible. My body feels great, like I'd never cast that spell. Not even once. Like I drank less in my life and ate better."

"You should take better care of it, Makarov. No reason to waste a miracle."

-XXX-

It was well into the morning before any of the parties privy to the previous night's excitement stirred. The night had been dark, tiring, and strange, and the next morning was just the weird new world.

Wendy was about to see if she could drift back to sleep when she heard a pop followed by metal rubbing against glass.

Laxus was sitting on her windowsill, opening a jar of sour plums.

"Laxus? Are you serious?"

"Hmm?" he said, popping the first one into his mouth.

Wendy tasted the sour in her mouth, and it was so powerful it made her toes curl. He ate them, one by one, and then turned the jar up and started to drink the tart juice, which only made her suffering more intense.

"I'm sorry I told people you have feelings!" she managed to say as she writhed in pure suffering.

At some point, she reached out and grabbed her alarm clock, hurling it at him.

Laxus simply dodged it and laughed.

"What's the matter, little dragon? Afraid of fruit?"

She laid down and pulled the covers over her head once he finished exacting his revenge for telling others about his emotions.

Laxus said, "Anyway, I'm leaving."

Wendy sat up again. "What?"

"I'm going to go do stuff. Visit other places. The world is a big place, and I'd like to see more of it."

"Is it because of what Porlyusica said?"

"Partly. I also just really need to get away. It's hard to explain."

Wendy asked, "When are you coming back?"

"I might not."

"You can't be serious!"

Laxus said, "It's not really a big deal. People come and go from guilds. I joined, I got kicked out, I joined again, the guild dissolved, I joined, and now I'm leaving again. Most of the people who were in the guild twenty years ago have moved on with their lives. They move on and find other jobs, or go to other guilds, maybe start their own."

She jumped out of the bed in her pajamas and ran over to him. "But you're Laxus!"

"It'll be fine. Everything will be fine. Magnolia isn't the only place in the world where people can live and be okay."

He gave her a little metal box, which she took and opened. It contained several magically sealed vials of blood. "For those rare occasions when you really need to kick the shit out of somebody."

Wendy said, "What if I never see you again?"

Laxus just shrugged. "Then you don't ever see me again. You can take the Thunder Legion. They need a heavy hitter. Be the best wizard you can be, make sure you look out for everyone. In a few years, you could be the strongest wizard in the guild if you really work at it. And you should, because Fairy Tail needs powerful wizards who can stand up for everybody."

"But Laxus, everyone leaves me," she whimpered.

"This is for you own good, Wendy. You'll be better off this way. Take care."

Wendy jumped and hugged his neck tightly. "I'll never forget you, Laxus. Thanks for everything."

"I ruined your life, but you're welcome," he answered, awkwardly patting her on the back.

When he left and went home, he went to work at packing his things. Leaving Magnolia hadn't been a particularly viable option previously because of his grandfather's poor condition, but Wendy had restored his vitality to the point he didn't need help to take care of himself and probably wouldn't for a long time.

Makarov stood in the doorway to his room and asked, "Are you going on a job?"

"Nah. Leaving the guild. I don't like the guildmaster and he's probably going to be around for a while," his grandson answered.

His grandfather watched him carefully, trying to figure out what was going on in Laxus' mind, but he doubted even Laxus could have explained himself fully. Between killing his father and trying to deal with everything else that had happened, it was most likely Laxus was in overload mode and he always made himself scarce when he reached that point.

Laxus said, "It's fine. You don't have to worry. It's nothing crazy."

"Where are you going to go?"

"Someplace far away. I've been dreaming of a place lately. I don't know where it is, but I'm sure it exists. I don't know why I'm dreaming about it, or what's there, but I feel like it's a memory I didn't make myself. Maybe it's a memory Fulguros managed to preserve. There's definitely something extremely important about it. Besides, I like being out there in the wild, visiting new places, being free. It's not a big deal," he answered.

Makarov asked, "Is it because of what Porlyusica said about Wendy?"

Laxus pulled the tie on his bag. "Wendy and I have a certain sense of mutual horror about that. I don't even know why Porlyusica would mention it in front of her. That was stupid. It's just going to stress her out."

With a concerned expression, Makarov asked, "What happens when she's grown and doesn't want to be alone? She is going to grow up. You'll look at her through different eyes someday."

"Not if I don't ever see her again. Besides, if I get far enough away, long enough, I think it'll weaken the connection between us. I don't know that we could make it become completely dormant again, but it won't rule our lives. This is better."

Makarov decided not to argue with his grandson about how he felt or what was the best course of action. Laxus and Wendy were in seriously uncharted waters, so if this was what Laxus felt was best, there was a good chance he might be right. Besides, Laxus really tried to avoid emotional attachments to all people, so having one forced on him was difficult for him.

There was no arguing that it was better for Wendy not to share that kind of attachment at her age. At her current stage in life, she needed to figure out her own life and learn who she was. Being shackled to another person was only going to muddy the waters for her. It might have been workable if the person she shared that bond with was closer to the same place in life.

Laxus turned to Makarov, ready to depart on his great unknown adventure, but he hesitated.

"Old geezer, what are you going to do now? If you've been given good health and some extra years, do you really plan on spending them doing what you've been doing for five decades? Is more of the same really fine?" he asked.

Makarov asked, "What else would I be doing?"

"I don't know. Literally anything else. Make Gildarts deal with the dumb shit. Go do something fun for once."

The old man almost immediately excused this idea, but then caught a hint of subtext. "Are you…inviting me to go traipsing all over the world with no goal in mind?"

"That sounds annoying as hell. Whatever. You can do whatever you want. I don't care."

Makarov quickly said, "Let me pack my things and divest myself of all my responsibilities. I'll be ready in an hour."

While Laxus almost immediately regretted this conversation, he also couldn't forget how he felt when he thought his grandfather was going to die. In the old healer's hut, he'd looked back on the life his grandfather had lived and knew that once he became guildmaster, Makarov dedicated his life to helping raise other wizards. He filled his guild with orphans and troubled kids and helped them reach their potential and learn to live great lives, and then even raised a kid that wasn't his to start with.

Maybe he drank and he was what he was, but Makarov had spent his life helping others. He was still an old man, and eventually, he would die. Laxus just wanted to make the most out of whatever time they had left, so that maybe they could cover all those awful memories with happy ones.

The guild was strong enough that it could stand without him, regardless of who ended up in charge.

Makarov had ulterior motives for accepting the invitation as well. Specifically, he wanted to make sure that Laxus eventually returned to Fairy Tail. If Laxus could make the argument it was good for him to be gone at that specific moment in time, it made no sense that it was good for him to stay away forever.

Long-term, Makarov wanted to see Laxus grow old as a Fairy Tail member. The guild was the only real family either of them had, and while everyone needed a break from family sometimes, they also needed to be near them at other times.

He visited Gildarts in person, but wrote a letter for everyone else, because he couldn't stand the idea of having to face everyone's tears. They'd been under his leadership for so long, and he'd been a surrogate father to many. It was time for someone else to begin their own journey as leader.

For the longest time, he'd through that person might be Laxus.

And maybe eventually, it still would be.

If it was Gildarts for a season, then Erza, or Mirajane, or even Natsu, everything would be fine. If Laxus never became guildmaster, that was fine too; Makarov believed his grandon's desire to take that role had faded into nothing over time as his grandson learned to value his friends more.

So they set out on an adventure to find a place neither of them knew, in a great big world filled with magic and mysteries.

A few hours later when Wendy made it to the guild, she found out Laxus was gone, which she expected. The real shock was that he'd taken Makarov with him, and to everyone else, that didn't make a lot of sense because of how they acted toward each other. She knew the love the between them was powerful and found it beautiful in its own strange way.

Gildarts had nearly no warning, but he decided to roll with the guildmaster role this time instead of immediately quitting like the first time Makarov tried to make him guildmaster.

The conclusion of Ivan Dreyar's story was enough to make him pay more respect to the fact that family was a gift and needed to be cherished more. Laxus and Makarov had each other, but they'd also had Ivan, an adversarial force of the worst kind that twisted and turned them every way until Laxus finally removed him from the realm of the living.

As annoying as it was, Gildarts was secretly glad they'd gone together, because he knew they'd probably have a lot of fun going on adventures, drinking, fighting, yelling obscenities at strangers, and unraveling mysteries of the magic world. After the hell they'd gone through because of Ivan, happiness was deserved. He hoped Makarov enjoyed his time and Laxus figured out what to do with himself outside of magic.

Wendy on the other hand felt like she'd hurt the guild. If no one blamed her, it was only because they didn't know how much trouble had been stirred up.

Even worse, in the days that followed, the Magic Council came looking for Laxus when Ivan's body turned up, but he was long gone. The guildmembers found out he'd killed his own father, although no one was able to prove it wasn't self-defense. At least, that's what someone wrote in a file when the matter was dropped, and the file was sent somewhere to be forgotten.

Jura, the most powerful member of the Magic Council, definitely put his finger on the scale for Laxus' sake, because it was obvious that Laxus hunted his father down and beat him into the netherworld in a fit of rage. Wendy told him in private that Ivan had tried to kill her, and that event precipitated the execution, and he quietly closed the investigation, and everyone went on.

Wendy went on too, with the Thunder Legion, into her own future. She kept her secrets: five vials of Laxus' blood and the ability to use ice dragonslayer magic.

-Reviews Welcome!-

Lustwell, thank you so much for reviewing. I've had this story in my head for a while, and I was like I just need to get it out of there and put it into real words.