Fairy x Adventure

by Magnafeana

In a new era after the Alvarez War, Lucy, Natsu, and the rest of Fairy Tail not only face new challenges but watch as their kids go on new journeys, learn new powers, and battle new enemies and old! Join Luna, Nashi, and the upcoming generation of Mages on Fairy Tail and more on their never-ending adventure!

10. Adventure 010

Disclaimer: I do not own Hiro Mashima's "Fairy Tail", but all original and a plots and characters are mine.

---

In a land far, far away lies the kingdom of Fiore, a small, peaceful nation of 17 million, and a place filled with Magic found in every home, bought and sold in every marketplace. For most, Magic is merely a tool, a mundane part of everyday life. For some, however, Magic is an art, and they've devoted their lives to its practice. These are the wizards. Banded together into magical guilds, they ply their skills in search of fame and fortune. Many such guilds dot the landscape of Fiore. But there is a certain guild in a certain town that soars high above the rest, one from which countless legends have been born. A guild that will no doubt continue to create legends well into the future. Its name...is Fairy Tail.

---

Previously, on Fairy Adventure, looks like Iron Twins Galileo and Olivia Redfox returned home from their long mission! How great is that! Actually, for Gale, it turned out to be not so great when he thought he was daddy's disappointment. Thank goodness for Luna's encouragement, even though she feels like a disappointment. Luna get her first bad vision and with that eating away at her and maybe a little bit of jealousy, she goes away only to be captured! Borus, son of Bora, seems interested in her and uses illegal Magic to charm her, but no way will Fairy Tail let him take her! Still, after all this, Luna still feels like she's not good enough and Gale, for the life of him, just can't sleep alone.

"Shhh, Blondie. I've got you, okay?"

Oh, Luna. Gale will be there to chase away your nightmares. And did Leo and Livy actually get banned from their last city?

---

Nashi stirred from her slumber in bed.

Wow. I've never slept so good before.

She snuggled against her pillow.

Did Mama change my sheets? They feel so nice.

She sighed happily.

I don't want to get up. This new pillow is working wonders. Especially with its soothing heartbeat.

Nashi smiled and cuddled with her pillow.

Oh yeah. Nothing like a good pillow with a good…heart…beat…

Her smile stilled.

Pillows don't have heartbeats, do they?

On reflex, Nashi's eyes snapped open. They went over to the walls painted in light blue.

That's funny… My walls are pink with hearts…

Her eyes went down to the comforter. It was thick and a deep hue of blue like the deep sea.

And my blanket is a pink quilt, not a huge dark blue blanket.

Her eyes shifted to her pillow. Her pillow was no a pillow. It was defined human flesh with a few attractive scars.

And my pillow is white. It doesn't have skin or abs or…

Nashi turned her head slightly to see the sleeping face of a drooling Gary. Her eyes then went to the arm that was wrapped around her waist to see it connected to his body.

She blinked.

I'm sleeping with Gary.

The thought was a simple fact with nothing attached. Just a fact.

She looked down at herself to see herself in a white button-down shirt that was not hers with no bra on. She felt she was bare-legged as well.

I slept with Gary half-naked.

Again, another fact.

Gary suddenly moved his hand from her waist and up to her chest. Nashi stilled when his hands cupped one of her breasts and gave it a squeeze. A content sigh came out of his mouth.

A tick mark appeared on Nashi's forehead as her whole body flamed red. "You perverted dog!" she cursed as she tried to move away from him.

Gary groaned as Nashi struggled and sleepily opened his eyes, half-lidded. "Wha…? Angel?" he guessed. "You're awake?"

"Yes, I'm awake!" Nashi glared at him. "How did I get here and why am I half-naked?" She moved her hand down his chest in her anger, not noticing Gary's facial expression change to one half in pain and half in pleasure. "You groped me! You groped me in your sleep!" she accused.

"Angel," Gary tried to cut in, his voice tight and strangled.

Nashi was not finished. "Why am I even here? What happened to my clothes?" she demanded to know.

"Angel, if you just—"

Nashi paled. "My papa's going to kill me for staying at your place. Oh, my God! What if—?"

"Angel," Gary interrupted loudly, forcing Nashi to stop her rant. "As much as I love your voice and think it's cute when you ramble, can you please move your hand?"

Nashi furrowed her eyebrows as she saw her hand on the mattress. "What do you mean move my—?"

TWITCH.

Nashi's face burned with a blush and steam was practically pouring out of her ears as she quickly withdrew her hand. "D-D-Did I j-j-just touch—?"

Gary nodded and gave her an affirmative, yet strangled hum.

Nashi's blush intensified as she shakily raised a fist. "You…"

Gary's eyes widened when he saw the fist coming towards his jaw. "Wait! Angel, I didn't mean—!"

The fist hit his jaw.

"…PERVERT!"

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Maji desu ka SUKA!

•

Donna toki demo POJITIBU de

meccha KIRAKIRA hanasakasou

•

Kitto itsuka wa FAMIRII wo

Shoukai sasete ne

Urusakutte mo yurushite

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Luna set down the last of the crates at the foot of the outdoor stage alongside Nashi. She gave her uncle Max a smile. "That's the last of what Aunt K gave us, Uncle Max," she announced to him.

Max smiled back at her as he picked up both crates. "Thanks, girls," he appreciated as he walked away to put the crates somewhere else.

Luna looked over to see Nashi staring intently at a spot on the outdoor stage with her face as red as a cherry.

I can't believe him, Nashi fumed. I can't believe I even touched that!

"Angel, don't go!"

Nashi's mind flashed back to this morning.

°•°•°•°

Nashi made a beeline for Gary's apartment door in one of Gary's shirts and her hair disheveled.

"I'm leaving and that's final!" Nashi seethed.

However, just as Nashi reached the apartment door, Gary appeared with a smirk and mischief in his eyes and only in his black boxer-briefs. "Not just yet, Angel," he tutted.

"Get out of my way before I make you, dog," Nashi threatened with thick annoyance.

Gary chuckled. "As much as I want to see you try and it's hot when you're mad, you're still wearing my shirt," he reminded, pointing at her.

"Give me back my clothes then," Nashi demanded. "Where are they?"

Gary winked and held a finger to his lips. "Secret, my angry Angel," he purred. "But I'll let you have them back if you take a shower and stay for breakfast."

"Gary," Nashi began in a growl.

Gary lifted an amused eyebrow. "Angel?" he prompted back.

Nashi looked down and crossed her arms under her chest. "Fine," she agreed reluctantly. "I'll stay for a shower and breakfast, but only because you have my clothes, you sick dog."

Gary laughed at her irritation. "That's my girl."

Nashi jolted and looked up. Gary was patting the top of Nashi's head with a mighty pleased expression.

"Good Angel," he cooed.

"Say that again and you'll get neutered, dog," Nashi threatened.

"My Angel is always so cute when she threatens me," Gary sighed dreamily.

"It's not supposed to be cute! Stop calling me that!"

"Right, my mistake," Gary laughed. "I'm sorry."

Nashi puffed out her cheeks. "I really doubt you are," she grumbled. She turned around. "Whatever. I'm going to take a shower."

Before she took on step, cold hands danced on her sides and icy breath tickled her ears. Nashi was too shocked for words.

"Mind if I join you? I could help wash your back," Gary purred seductively in her ears. His hands slowly moved up and down her sides. "Or maybe we can do something more than shower"—he gently blew on her neck— "Nashi…"

°•°•°•°

A soft blush appeared on Nashi's face as she remembered. Her hands slowly touched her sides.

I can still feel him a little. It's weird…

She slapped her cheeks.

No! Don't think about it! Gary's just an idiot dog!

"You okay, sis?"

Nashi looked down at Luna who stared at her curiously. She smiled and chuckled nervously. "I'm just fine, Lu," she answered.

"You look really red," Luna pointed out. "Is something wrong?"

Nashi shook her head frantically. "Nothing! Nothing! Nothing's wrong!" she spluttered.

Luna frowned. "Where were you this morning?" she inquired. "Iggy said you didn't come home last night. Did something happen?"

Nashi frowned.

I remembered staying with everyone to sort out all those men and helping the guard question them. I must've stopped for a breather and fell asleep or something.

"Come on, Angel, let's go home."

I remember him telling me that at some point, but… When did he?

She raised her eyes to the sky.

Gary…

Icy breath.

Hands cold as ice playing with her sides and leaving a wintry imprint.

"Nashi…"

Nashi shook off the memory. "No, no! Nothing happened!" she denied in nervous laughter. "It was a long night and Livy said I could stay with her."

Luna nodded, believing her sister's lie. "Oh. Okay."

Nashi let out a puff of relieved breath.

She bought it.

"I'm sorry I worried everyone last night," Luna apologized.

Nashi lost her blush and looked over to see Luna staring at the ground in guilt.

"I'm sorry I was too weak to stop it all," Luna continued. "I didn't mean to drag you all into it. Maybe if I hadn't been so weak I—"

Luna stopped talking when Nashi put a hand on her head. She looked up to see Nashi smiling gently down at her.

"Don't worry about it, Lu," Nashi advised. "And don't think that had anything to do with strength of weaknesses. It was because people want your power, the awesome Magic Potential you have, and will do anything they can to get it. It happens. Only thing you can do is learn from it. Okay?"

Luna contemplated Nashi's words before nodding. "Okay," she agreed.

"Good," Nashi approved. "So, how come Gale was still with us last night? I thought he was going to walk you and Mom home, but I saw him tracking down a few other guys."

Luna stiffened and looked away from Nashi. "He thought it would be best if he helped track down the others. That's all," she said in a small voice.

Nashi did not believe her for a second, but did not press upon it. "All right then. Well, let's go check out to see how the festival's coming along," she suggested.

Luna smiled slightly at the suggestion and agreed. "Yeah! Let's go!"

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Fairy Adventure 010

The Harvest Festival

収穫のお祝い！誰がミスフェアリーテールを勝つのだろうか？

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

The two sisters went off to the fairgrounds to see what was happening around the festival. Many business and artists used the Harvest Festival to promote themselves and had set up booths. Miss Davis had her floral booth ready with her grandchildren helping her work the booth. A small Veronese shop in a nearby town had come to make a name for themselves in Magnolia Town. Games were being set up as well. The soda ring toss had made another comeback. The water gun and shooting games were always popular and with plushies to spare for prizes. The duck pond and the fish pond games were around again along with puck bowling. The face painting booth was already occupied by the triplets with their mother Lisanna working their booth. The kissing booth was ready, though Nashi and Luna could remember how upset their father was when their mother was randomly selected to take a shift. Magical slides and ball pits were up. Food stands from Magnolia Town and nearby towns were up and cooking. A gentle-hearted Mage who made ice cream with his Magic up in Veronica had sent his nephew and his nephew's son to promote their business in Magnolia Town. Uncle Ben appeared, singing in Stellian as he prepared his pizzas. Everything was going along swimmingly.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

« Today is the day of the Harvest Festival where the new chapter of our young heroes officially starts. Fairy Tail and the entire street have been blocked off for all to come and celebrate with food, games, and friends. »

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

"Wow," Luna breathed. "Everything looks so much fun!"

Nashi nodded her eager agreement. "I know, right? I can't wait for the festival to officially start! It'll be so much fun trying everything!"

"Will I get the honor of winning you a prize, my Angel?" came a wintry -breathed request.

Nashi blushed as Gary appeared beside her. Luna had never seen her sister so flustered.

"Get away from me, dog," Nashi sneered at Gary.

Gary grinned. "Don't tell me you're still embarrassed. We're both adults, Angel."

"No. You're just a perverted dog that should get fixed," Nashi grumbled as she moved away from Gary. "Go be a perv somewhere else, dog."

Gary moved closer to Nashi and brought her in his arms. "I'd much rather be a pervert with you," he purred.

"D-D-Do it somewhere else!"

"Will you come with me?"

"N-N-No! Go away!"

"Fine," Gary conceded in a heavy sigh. "But just remember: you can't hide from me forever, Angel." He blew slightly on Nashi's neck and she shivered, her whole body turning red. Gary grinned in satisfaction and walked away, whistling a chipper tune.

"Th-Th-That perverted dog!" Nashi exclaimed. "Trying to flirt. Sheesh! Why can't he be like that with someone else?"

"Because you'd miss him too much," Luna put in jokily.

Nashi looked away from Luna with a pout on her lips. "No one asked you," she mumbled, not denying Luna's claim.

Luna grinned. "Ooo! Is sis in-love?" she teased.

"Of course not!" Nashi negated. "Gary's just being a stupid pervert!" She pointed an accusing finger at her younger sister. "Besides, how would you like it if Gale was a stupid pervert to you?"

Luna's face instantly flamed at the notion. "What?" she exclaimed.

Gale being a pervert? Wouldn't that mean he'd be flirting with me all the time like Gary does with Nashi…

An image of Gale appeared, caging her in his arms with a smirk on his lips. "Come on, Blondie, don't get embarrassed," he would murmur to her.

And he'd be touching me all the time too…

Another image of Gale appeared with arm around her and his lips whispering in her ear. "My Blondie looks so cute today," he would purr.

Luna felt steam come from her ears and slapped her cheeks.

Snap out of it, Lu! That'll never happen!

An image of Gale laughing hard at Julia's words appeared. Then, another of him whispering in her ears.

Luna lowered her hands.

"She's a tough woman. That's something I admire."

"Gale would never be like that. We're friends and that's all," Luna mumbled as she rubbed her arm.

Nashi looked at Luna closely due to the change of demeanor. Her expression had changed sadly, almost as if she were convincing herself of the words more than telling Nashi.

"Hey," Nashi called, "I, um… I didn't mean to get you upset or anything."

Luna smiled up at Nashi, brushing off her inner thoughts. "Why would I be upset?" she asked brightly.

Nashi frowned. "Right. Why would you be…?"

An excited voice caught Nashi's attention. "Hey! Nashi!"

Nashi and Luna looked up to see a girl of shoulder-length hair the gleaming color of ruby-orange running over to them. She tackled Nashi into a hug. "I've missed you, Nashi!" she told her.

Nashi laughed and hugged her back. "I've missed you too." She pulled away from the young girl and turned to see Luna's puzzled expression. "Lu, this is Aisha. I met her when I was on my last job with Gary," she introduced.

Aisha nodded eagerly as she brought Luna into a surprise hug. "It's nice to finally meet you!" she cheered. When she pulled away and saw Luna's still puzzled look, she explained. "Nashi and I have been pen pals ever since she saved me from Orias. She told me all about you. And she transformed into you when I first met her." Aisha openly ogled at Luna's assets. Her hands touched Luna's chest in wonder. "Wow. You really do have a huge chest."

Luna blushed at Aisha's touch. "W-W-Wait!" she stammered.

Aisha moved to Luna's back and patted her bottom. "And you have a great butt too," she breathed.

Luna jumped. "H-H-Hey!"

Aisha moved in front of Luna again with a big smile on her face. "We're going to be great friends!" she decided.

Luna nodded nervously. "Aye, sir."

"So, this is the beauty I've been dying to see," came a smirking voice.

A boy of green hair and even greener eyes approached Luna with the smirk of a man who knew what he wanted and the attitude of a man who got what he wanted. In his leather jacket, he oozed out confidence, but it was his eyes that spoke volumes, a deep jade that could make you look at them for hours. He bowed to Luna and took her left hand to bring it to his lips. "It's a pleasure meeting you," he murmured and gave a kiss to her hand.

Luna's blush increased. "Oh, my," she sighed. "It's, um…hot to meet you. I-I-I mean it's nice to meet you," she corrected, flushing even more. "Very nice, actually."

"Smooth," Nashi chuckled under her breath.

"I'm Luna," Luna introduced, tucking hair behind her ear. "But, um, you probably already knew that from my sister."

Jay chuckled. "She might've mentioned you once or twice," he joked. "But, I have to ask: are you religious?"

Luna furrowed her eyebrows. "Um, why do you ask?"

Jay winked. "Because you're the answer to my prayers," he flirted.

Luna laughed. "You're so cute—I-I-I mean, that's so, um, sweet of you to say," she settled upon, though inwardly cursed for her mistake.

Way to go, Luna. He probably thinks you're a freak.

Jay laughed. "Thanks. You're pretty cute too. And, since we're both cute, wouldn't it be the cutest if we went out?"

Luna laughed as well, though awkwardly. "Um, well—"

"I think it would cuter if you two just hung out," Nashi cut in, making both look at her, Luna in relief and Jay in slight disappointment. "Lu, you know Papa will freak out if you go out on a date. So why not the two of you hang out at the festival today?" she suggested.

"But, what about you and Aisha?" Luna asked.

Nashi brushed off her sister's concern. "Don't sweat it. I want to introduce Aisha to Wendy to see if Porlyusica and Wendy could teach Aisha a few healing methods before she goes home," she explained.

Aisha nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! I can't wait to meet the Sky Maiden of Fairy Tail!" Her eyes became starry at just the thought of seeing Wendy. "I heard she's super nice! I hope she likes me!"

Luna laughed. "She'll like you. Trust me," she assured. "I'm fine with hanging out with Jay, if he's okay with it."

Jay winked at her. "You don't even have to ask, beautiful."

Nashi clapped her hands happily. "Great! I reserved seats for the three of you for the contest so make sure you guys get there on time, okay? Let's go, Aisha!"

"Okay!" Aisha waved back at Jay and Luna as she walked away. "See you two later! Don't get too lovey-dovey!"

"No promises," Jay called back as he slipped his hand into Luna's own. He grinned over at her when she shyly looked up at him with those big, doe eyes.

She's…so cute.

"So, Duchess, where to?" Jay asked.

"'Duchess'?" Luna questioned the nickname.

"Thought I'd find the perfect nickname for you," Jay explained. "You see, any woman can become a princess. But a duchess can't be something you become. You're born with power, the same power as a duke. It's your right. Sure, princesses are fancy, but you will always be an equal. You'll be my duchess."

Jay had said it with such sincerity that Luna was left shocked.

My family and my friends usually give me nicknames, Luna thought, but this…

LUB-DUB. LUB-DUB. LUB-DUB.

Luna smiled, abashed, at him. "Thank you," she said softly.

"No problem, Duchess," Jay said back. "Now, where to first?"

Luna pondered the question. "Well, the festival doesn't start for another half an hour, but want to walk around? I'd like to show you as much of Magnolia as I can before you go home."

"Anything you want, Duchess," were Jay's only words.

With a blush on her face and a smile gracing her features, Luna led Jay away from the grounds with her hand in his.

---

An hour had passed and the festival grounds had filled with ladies and gentlemen, people of all ages. Children ran around with balloons tied to their wrist and face paint and temporary, magical tattoos decorating their bodies. Couples gathered around games as they tried to win each other prizes. Families struggled to pick out a place for food as everything looked too tempting. Joyous shouts rang out. Mrs. Harris was talking to Mrs. Davis as she stopped by to buy flowers. Uncle Ben was bellowing a proud Stellian song as he impressed the crowd in front of him with his spinning pizza dough.

The Fairy Tail Mages were enjoying themselves as well. Lisanna, Asuka, and Penelope enjoyed their time painting faces of the young children whom demanded their artwork on their cheeks and hands. Lucy worked her job at the kissing booth diligently, trying to encourage a frightened man to come closer to her, while Natsu glared at the man, lighting his hands ablaze to ward off any other potential men. Live music was being played on the outdoor stage by a few bands from cities and towns nearby. Silver attracted many costumers to a ring toss while Paige watched him in hidden amusement. Lance was giving a magic show with Aine as his lovely assistant, but the two kept minimal contact with Mystogan somewhere on the fairgrounds. Juvia and Gray created a small park of water and ice for the children to play on. With both Levy and Gajeel off-duty, Gajeel has decided to win Levy a prize from the test-of-strength game, only for the owner to pale when he saw him and shakily tell Gajeel he could not participate.

Nashi and Aisha walked around the festival with Aisha bouncing excitedly. Nashi seemed unaware she had a black-haired stalker. Happy had managed to get Charla away from their eggs for a little while to have a date. He pulled her around the fair excitedly and she complained with a smile on her face. Olivia sat quietly in the shade next to Laki's woodcarving stand. A few boys had offered her prizes they had won from different games, but when she opened her eyes and gave them a hazel glare, the boys retreated instantly. Elvin was watching over a ball pit they set up for children and was quite ignorant to two girls continuously flirting with him. Ellie enjoyed arm-wrestling with buff man who was turning blue as he attempted to take her down while she merely smirked at him. Erza, Vijeeter, Ena, Nab, Evergreen, and Elfman were put on another stage and were giving a dramatic play that brought in a crowd. Bisca and Alzack worked a shooting game and helped the young ones out with teaching them to hold their fake gun properly. Mira, Max, Kinana, and a few other employees manned the guild hall with other guild members as they served food and refreshments and set up for the Miss Fairy Tail contest. In the outdoor eatery of Fairy Tail, Mary Jane worked her shift behind a bar, offering pleasant smiles, while Igneel ate at the counter ravenously.

Galileo and Julia were at a Perench fry stand, sitting at its bar, with a sulking Gale sitting in-between them, his fries being stolen from a ravenous Galileo.

"She's mad at me," Gale moaned for the hundredth time.

Julia sighed as she dipped a fry in ketchup. "You don't know that," she pointed out.

"But she is," Gale insisted. "She won't even talk to me."

Julia raised an eyebrow as she popped a fry in her mouth. "But didn't you go over to her house this morning?"

Gale nodded. "Uh-huh."

"And didn't you ask her to come to the festival with you?"

Gale nodded again. "Uh-huh."

Julia failed to see his problem. "So, what happened?"

Galileo took a large gulp of his drink and answered in Gale's stead. "He got rejected. That's what happened," he said carelessly as he stole more of Gale's fries.

Julia's eyes widened at that. "Wait. Really?" she checked.

Gale moaned. "She hates me," he decided.

None of this is making any sense, Julia thought. There's no way Lu would think of rejecting Gale. Not unless she got mad at him, but I doubt it's that.

"Tell me exactly what happened," Julia demanded. "How did you ask her and how did she react?"

Gale thought back to this morning. "Well… I went over before the festival…"

°•°•°•°

Gale knocked on the door and sat back on his heels for an answer. His uncle Natsu and Luke were the only early risers in the house, so when the door opened and a tired Luna was in front of him, he was surprised.

Luna opened the screen door and looked back at him in equal surprise. "Hey," she greeted quietly.

"Hey," Gale said back lamely. Their greetings sounded more awkward and he shifted uncomfortably. "You're up this early?"

Luna nodded. "Aunt Mira said she needed some help early so my mama and I volunteered. Did you need Igneel?" she asked curiously.

Gale looked scandalized at the question. "Why would I ever need him?"

Luna tipped her head. "Aren't you two friends?"

Gale was quick to deny it. "Hell no! I wouldn't want to be caught dead with an idiot like that as a friend!"

Luna gave a small smile. "Right, of course. Well then, did you need something?" she asked him.

Gale swallowed nervously.

Right. I can do this.

He took a deep breath. "Um, right. Well, I was wondering if you wanted to—… Um… You see…" Gale cursed his stammer.

Damn. I can barely get the words out.

"I was—… I just want to know if—"

His blubbering was stopped when Natsu's voice carried from inside the house. "Hey, Lu! Your mom made breakfast! Better hurry before I eat your share!" There came a SMACK, and Natsu whined. "Ow! Lucy! What was that for?"

"Don't you say that!" Lucy hissed at him. "Lu, don't listen to your father. He's just being an idiot like usual."

Natsu's grumble floated to the pair. "Says the one that fell into the river twice."

SMACK.

"Natsu!" Lucy scolded.

"What? I'm just saying you can be an idiot too!" Natsu claimed.

Irritation was clear in Lucy's voice. "Want to say that again?" she threatened.

"But it's okay that you can be an idiot sometimes because it makes me love you more," Natsu said brightly.

Anyone could tell Lucy was blushing. "Oh, Natsu," she murmured softly.

SLAP.

"Hey!" Natsu cried.

"That's for trying to distract me and get your hands on Lu's bacon," Lucy said smugly. "Better come soon, Lu," she shouted to her daughter. "Either your breakfast may be gone or you may have a new father. Hopefully, the second, if we're lucky."

"Lucy, you're so mean!" Natsu whined.

Luna laughed at that. "I'll be right there, Mama!" she called. She turned back to Gale with a small and strangely forced smile on her face. "I have to go," she told him. She hesitated, contemplating on adding anything, when she decided to speak once again. "I'll, uh… I'll see you later, yeah?"

Gale nodded, trying to hide his frustration with himself and disappointment. "Right. I'll see you later," he agreed.

Luna nodded back at him and closed the screen door before shutting her main door.

Gale let out a loud exhale and rested his head on the screen door. "Dammit," he cursed. "Why couldn't I just get it out?" After not hearing a reply from anyone, Gale turned away from the Dragneel house with his hands shoved in his pockets and his head down.

°•°•°•°

"So, basically, you never actually asked her," Julia summarized dryly.

Gale groaned again. "She would've said, 'no', anyways…"

Julia tched. "You're so pathetic."

Gale glared at her. "Am not," he disagreed childishly.

"Are too," Julia shot back. "Lu didn't reject you. You just didn't ask because you were too scared."

"I'm not scared," Gale fought back.

"Then, why are you sitting here when you could be with Lu right now?" Galileo asked through his mouthful of fries.

Gale opened his mouth to counter with something smart, but he could not. "What's the point? I bet she's with the stupid 'Prince of the Sea'," he mumbled angrily.

Julia rolled her eyes. "When are you ever going to get that Silver is hopelessly in-love with Paige and loves Lu like he loves me?" she groaned.

"But you saw how they were last night!" Gale argued.

"Yeah. Silver was looking out for Lu when she looked upset like the good friend he was." When Gale looked unconvinced, Julia frustratedly popped more fries in her mouth. "You know, you and Lu have more in common than you think," she grumbled.

Gale moaned again. "It was so awkward," he bellyached. "It's never been this awkward between us! I can't believe I blew it."

Julia rolled her eyes. "Here's a bright idea: go find Lu and spend the rest of the festival with her," she suggested. "I'm sure she's alone right now. You two could spend the rest of the festival together."

Gale looked hopeful at the notion. "You think so?" he asked.

It was Galileo who answered and he sounded sympathetic. "I think you lost your chance, bro."

Gale looked up at his older brother. "Why do you say that?"

Galileo merely pointed.

Julia and Gale followed Galileo's finger. There was Luna in a beautiful white tank top and a high-rise pink skirt with her hair cascading down her back. And attached to her was a green-haired boy who whispered something in her ear that made her blush slightly and laugh.

Gale's eyes zoned in on the boy with a glare. "Who the Hell was that?" he snapped.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot Nashi was inviting Jay," Julia remembered.

"Who the Hell is 'Jay'?" Gale growled.

Julia shrugged and finished her fries before stealing some from Gale's basket. "He's a friend of Nashi's from another town. She's been writing to him and this girl Aisha and invited them to come to the festival. I heard Jay's interested in Lu."

Gale's eyebrow twitched as Jay ducked a strand of hair behind Luna's ear and brushed against her cheek as she talked to him. "Is he now?" he hissed.

Julia nodded as she watched the pair. "Yeah. He mainly came to check out Lu." She glanced at Gale to see his fists clenching. She smirked.

This could be interesting.

"Say… You're not jealous, are you?" Julia teased him.

"How can we even trust this guy?" Gale asked, not hearing Julia. "He looks like a total douche who won't even treat Blondie right. Where's he even from? What are his intentions with Blondie anyway?"

"He's a friend of Nashi's, he's from Needle Point, and I'm guessing he wants to date Lu," Julia answered fluently.

Galileo snorted. "Like any dude has the power to make it past her bros and Uncle Natsu. Poor guy probably doesn't stand a chance."

That set Gale more at ease.

That's right. No one can stand up against Uncle Natsu when it comes to his family. That guy stands no chance.

"Right," Gale agreed. "Blondie deserves better."

Galileo raised an eyebrow in amusement. "So, someone like you?" he teased. "Huh, little bro?"

Gale blushed at the insinuation. "I never said that," he defended.

"Of course you didn't," Julia muttered.

Gale watched as the green-haired boy tugged at Luna and said something to her. Luna nodded her head and must have spoken her agreement for the two of them took off.

Gale leapt from his seat, his eyes never leaving them. "I'll be right back," he told Julia and Galileo. "I need to check something." He raced off before either one could mock him anymore and disappeared within the crowd.

Galileo picked up the remainder of Gale's fries and munched on them greedily. "Well, someone's secretly-not-secretly jealous," he said through a muffled voice.

Julia sighed. "He's as stubborn as they come," she decided.

Galileo finished the fries with a content sigh. "What'd you expect from a Fairy Tail Mage?" he asked her. "I hope my little bro isn't like my pops and confesses during a fight. Totally unromantic."

"What would you know about romance?" Julia wondered.

"I read!" Galileo said defensively.

Julia raised her eyebrows. "What, romantic novels?"

Galileo merely blushed and looked away.

Julia's jaw dropped. "Oh my…You actually…?"

Galileo stood up from his seat and ran away with a warm blush on his face. "You didn't hear anything!" he shouted.

Julia laughed as Galileo frantically escaped from her range.

Now that's a shock. Never thought the Iron Man of Fairy Tail would read romance books. Especially when Livy doesn't like romance.

Julia thought of the Iron Maiden.

Livy likes to train than to go on dates, and Leo is the opposite.

She sighed and shrugged. "Guess the world is full of surprises." She took another sip of her drink when she realized it was empty. She lifted her head and flagged one of the available servers. "Excuse me? Could I get an Eight Up?" she requested.

The server nodded and went to fix her drink. "That'll be one hundred jewel," he told her.

Julia was about to grab a jewel from her pocket when she felt a cool presence surround her. Her father and her elder brother had the type of coolness that came naturally with their Magic, but she would recognize it in a heartbeat. This cold felt different to her and more…inviting.

A pale hand set down two hundred jewel onto the wooden counter, and wintry breath fanned her neck.

"Can you make that two?" a deep voice asked. It was different than the voices she normally heard. It was alluring and with a mischievous lilt she had never heard.

Julia belatedly realized this man was paying for her as well and became slightly annoyed.

Mom may be all for that whole 'men should be chivalrous' stuff, but it's not for me.

Julia turned around. "Look, whoever you are, it's a nice gesture, but I can—"

She stopped when she saw the person looming over her. Her breath was taken away and she could not stop staring into their eyes. Something sparked. Something connected. But she did not care.

There was a smirk. "You can do what, doll face?"

Julia gulped. "I—… I—…"

She could not think about anything when she was staring up into their eyes. She did not even notice her heart beat was beginning to pick up.

LUB-DUB. LUB-DUB. LUB-DUB.

---

Nashi watched in amusement as Aisha bounced excitedly and looked at everything in awe. "Wow!" she gushed. "This is so amazing! I can't believe I'm actually here!"

"I'm happy you could make it," Nashi said, stopping. "But, you haven't even hit the best part."

Aisha stopped to looked at Nashi in confusion. "What do you mean?"

A warm, fanged smile. "Hello, Aisha."

Aisha whirled around with a smile. "Hel—"

She froze.

Because in front of her, smiling right there, was none other than Wendy Marvell, the Sky Maiden of Fairy Tail.

Aisha's eyes widened. "Heh—… Heh—…" She could not even get out a greeting properly. "You're—… You're—…"

"Wendy Marvel, the healing apprentice of Fairy Tail," Wendy finished for her. "I've heard so much about you, Aisha. It's lovely to meet you."

Aisha could only gape at her. "Oh, my God," she whispered. "Oh, my God. Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" The star-struck shock died down and was replaced with her overwhelming excitement that could fuel suns. "You're Miss Marvel!" she squealed. "Oh, my God, it's her!" She turned to look at Nashi. "Nashi, it's her!" She looked at Wendy again. "You're her! You're my idol!"

Wendy laughed. "I'm happy to see you so excited about meeting me, but I'm not that special. I'm only an apprentice."

"But, you're the Sky Maiden!" Aisha exclaimed. "You and Miss Porlyusica can cure almost anything! You two are my heroes!"

Wendy tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, abashed. "Thank you so much, Aisha, but I've heard you're skilled in healing as well. You want to become a Healer too?"

Aisha nodded fervently. "Uh-huh! I want to be just like my aunt! But…" She frowned as she looked down at herself. "I'm not really that talented," she admitted. "Not like you."

A hand landed on Aisha's head. "Hey, don't think that way, okay?"

Aisha looked up to see Nashi grinning down at her.

"You're talented, Aisha. I saw your talent with my own two eyes," Nashi reminded. "You have a gift."

Aisha blinked in awe. "Nashi…"

"Don't sell yourself short, Aisha," Wendy urged. "Don't think so little of yourself. I can feel you have such great potential." She bent over to grab Aisha's hands. She massaged them, and, when she found what she was looking for, her smile softened. "Your hands… They were made for healing, Aisha."

Aisha blinked owlishly at that. "They were?"

Wendy nodded. "Mmm-hmm. With the right training and determination, you can become an amazing healer. Even better than me," she added with a wink.

Aisha smiled, hope entering her eyes. "You think so?"

"I know so," Wendy affirmed. She stood up and took on of Aisha's hands. "How about we get to know each other better? Sherria should be setting up for our wind game. Would you like to meet her?"

Aisha nodded eagerly. "Yes, please! I, um, I actually…" She looked down with a shy blush on her face. "I actually had a few questions to ask you two, if that's okay…"

Wendy laughed, her chuckles flowing like the wind. "We'd be more than happy to answer all of them for you, Aisha," she assured. "Please, don't hesitate to ask us anything, okay?"

Aisha nodded.

Wendy looked at Nashi. "Is it all right if she comes with me?"

"I was actually counting on it," Nashi chuckled. She waved at them. "You two have fun! I'll see you at the contest!"

Wendy nodded and led Aisha away while Aisha waved back at Nashi. "Bye, Nashi!"

"See you later!" Nashi called. She dropped her hand and sighed. "I'm so happy for Aisha. I hope Aunt Wen and Aunt Sherria can give her what she needs."

And then she felt it. That ice coldness she only felt when he was near.

"But can I give what my Angel needs?" came a murmur in her ear, icy breath making her shiver.

Nashi jumped away and pointed an accusing finger at Gary. "Watch it, dog," she snapped. "Stop invading my personal space."

"But, I can't help it. A dog wants to be close to his master, right?" Gary asked as he strode over to her.

Nashi bared her teeth and raised a hand. "Get away from me!" she commanded, trying to strike him.

Gary caught her hand with ease and offered her a lazy grin. "I like it when Angel gets rough. It's adorable," he cooed.

Nashi wrestled her hand away from him. "It's supposed to be intimating. Not 'adorable'." She turned her back on him. "Whatever. Be a good dog and go away," she sniffed as she tried to walk away.

"Wait."

A hand colder than ice grabbed her own.

Nashi glanced back at Gary with a glower. "What do you—?"

"It's my turn now."

Nashi turned back to Gary with confusion and annoyance evident in her stare. "What are you barking about, dog?" she asked.

"It's my turn for alone time with Angel," Gary decided. Unguarded cerulean clashed with unpredictable hickory. "I want to have you to myself for a little while."

Nashi blushed at the words and looked away from him, uncomfortable. "I saw you enough, didn't I?" she mumbled. "Let me go, dog."

"Dogs are rather persistent creatures, Angel," Gary reminded. "We don't like to be left alone by our masters. And we'll usually bother them until they pay attention to us."

Nashi bit her lip. "Gary… We really shouldn't—"

"I just want to spend time with my partner," Gary cut in, pleading. "We don't even have to talk, if you want. We could just walk around."

"Sounds lame," Nashi muttered.

Gary broke into a laugh. "I'll take what I can get with my Angel. I have to be careful with her. She's quite the unpredictable master."

Nashi's eyebrow twitched. "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Only the highest of compliments for my Angel," Gary promised.

Nashi rolled her eyes as she took her hand away from his to cross her arms under her chest. "Okay, fine," she consented. "I'll take you for a walk. Don't expect anything else. This doesn't mean anything. I'm just being nice to you this once."

Gary seemed overly-pleased. "I'll take what I can get." He attempted to hold her hand, but Nashi stepped away from him.

"No way. No hand holding either, dog," Nashi decided.

Gary sighed. "Yes, Angel. Is there anywhere you'd like to go?"

Nashi shrugged. "I don't really care. Let's just walk."

Gary nodded. "Fair enough."

And they began walking.

It was silent between the two of them. No words had to be exchanged and Nashi did not want conversation. She kept her eyes everywhere but Gary.

I don't get it. Why am I so awkward? He's just a dog like every other man out there. Their compliments mean nothing. He means nothing.

She uncrossed her arms to allow her hands to fall to her sides. They balled into fists.

Men mean nothing because they're dogs who only stick around until they're bored. That's all.

"Angel?" came Gary's call.

Nashi could not look at him. "What?"

"Look at me."

"No."

Gary sighed. "Angel…"

Nashi grunted.

"Angel, don't make me do this," Gary warned.

Nashi snorted. "Do wha—? Hey!" She screamed as her body was jerked to the side. She stumbled, nearly tripping as she tried to keep herself standing. She looked around to see Gary had hidden them in a small alley between booths. "What's your damage?" she snapped. She turned to glower at him. "What do you—?"

Her eyes widened.

Gary was…hugging her.

Cold surrounded her. It was different than winter. It was hard to understand, hard to put into words, but when it surrounded you, you knew it was different than just regular ice. It was something special. Something not as cold-hearted as natural ice.

"What—…? What are you—…?" Nashi could not even finish her question.

"You were crying, Angel," Gary murmured into her ear.

Nashi was shocked at that.

I was…crying?

"Perhaps, you may think just walking means nothing, but it means the world to me," Gary told her. He released her from his embrace to stare down at her.

Watery hickory connected with soft cerulean.

Nashi tried to speak. "I—… You—…"

Gary brushed away Nashi's tears with gentle fingers, cold fingers. "Maybe one day, I could learn why Angel thinks all men are nothing more than dogs to her," he supposed. "But, today isn't that day and I don't want it to be. I want Angel to be happy and smile. She deserves happy memories."

Nashi could feel more tears stream down her cheeks. "I—… I—…" She closed her eyes, ashamed at her tears, and ducked her head. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm not supposed to cry."

"You can cry all you want, Angel," Gary murmured. He engulfed her in another embrace, holding her tight. "Because I will be the one you share your tears with. You can show your weaknesses with me because I'll never judge you for them."

Nashi sniffled. "Dumb dog. Don't try and confuse me with your words. You don't mean them."

"I mean every last one of them," Gary promised. "Cry, Angel."

Nashi sniffled again. Then, she let out a watery breath.

Then, she sobbed.

---

Luna and Jay stepped out of the funhouse with laughter hanging off their lips. "Wow. That last mirror made my butt look huge," Jay recalled.

Luna smiled. "My last mirror made me look so tall!" She sighed. "I wish I could grow just a little more."

Jay grinned down at her. "Well, you're the perfect height for me," he told her.

Luna's cheeks burned at the compliment. "Thank you," she said shyly.

Jay was inwardly pleased.

She so cute when she blushes and gets all shy. I wonder why no one's—

His eyes narrowed when he caught a glint in the distance. He smirked.

So that's why.

Jay casually grabbed Luna's and intertwined them, pleased Luna did the same with her fingers. "So, Duchess," he started. However, a stomach rumble interrupted him—Luna's to be exact.

Luna looked up at him, apologetic and shamefaced. "Sorry. I guess I'm a little hungry," she supposed.

Jay snickered. "With a stomach like that, who needs lions?" he joked.

Luna covered her face in embarrassment and shoved him away. "Shut up," she whined.

Jay grabbed onto her hand and looked around the festival. "Well, let's get something to feed the beast. What are you in the mood for, Duchess?".

"Surprise me," Luna dared.

The idea of a challenge made Jay smirk. His eyes locked onto a burger stand.

Same one back home. And with their burgers so big…

His eyes scanned Luna's petite figure.

There's no way a girl like her can eat it all.

"I know the perfect place." Jay tugged at her hand. "Let's go."

Luna was led through the sea of people to the burger stand. She was surprised by his choice. "We're going to Coleman and Finch?" she wanted to verify.

Jay nodded as he pulled her in the line. Many had gathered around the burger stand, and the chefs and counter workers did their level best to keep up with the orders shouting their way. "Best place to get burgers back in my hometown," he boasted. "But the burgers are pretty big though. If you can't finish it all, I'll help you out, okay, Duchess?"

Ah! So that was what it was! Luna realized. Jay doesn't think I could eat as much as him.

Luna smirked inwardly.

Jay, you better get ready.

With innocent eyes, she nodded. "Okay. Thanks."

The line moved relatively fast. Once Luna and Jay got up to the front of the line, Luna allowed Jay to order for the both of them. The worker that gave them their brightest smile was one Luna recognized.

"Welcome! Can I—?" The worker looked past Jay and recognition flared in their eyes as they saw Luna.

Luna merely winked and put a finger to her lips.

The worker glanced back at Jay and understanding was in order. He nodded and looked back at Jay. "Can I take your order, sir?" he asked courteously.

"We'll take two 'The Burgers', please, with fries and"—Jay gave Luna a slow once over— "a pink lemonade for her and Poca-Cola for me," he finished.

The worker nodded and went straight to work. Their orders came only minutes later and the burgers dominated most of the plate with fries surrounding them. Coleman and Finch made sure their portions were worth each jewel given. Even the drinks were rather large. Luna oversaw carrying the drinks and finding a picnic table for them while Jay carried their trays and trailed after her. Luna snatched a remaining empty table that had been cleared away by a small family. She sat on one side while Jay sat on another and laid out the food. When both sat down comfortable, Jay smirked.

There's no way she could eat this whole thing.

"How about we make a little bet, Duchess?" he suggested.

Luna feigned her ignorance and nodded. "Sure. What'll it be?"

Jay hummed in mock thought. "If you can't eat that whole thing, then you tell me why Nashi had told me I didn't stand a chance with you and I score a date with you," he wagered.

Luna nodded. "Okay," she agreed. "And if I can eat all of this, what do I get?"

Mischief flickered in Jay's emerald orbs. "Surprise me," he said, mocking her words.

Luna laughed and put her hand out. Jay shook it and Luna smile brightly at him. "Well, wish me luck!" she requested. "I guess I'm going to need it."

Jay snickered. "You tell me, Duchess."

Luna relinquished his hand and took the burger into her hands. "Mind giving me a countdown?" she asked.

Jay shrugged. "All right, Duchess. Start stuffing your face in three…two…one… Go!"

°•°•°•°

Luna patted her full stomach, sighing in contentment as she picked up her drink. "That was so good," she gushed, taking her final sip of lemonade. "I just wish it lasted longer."

Jay's mouth was wide open and his eyes wide as well.

No way... She's so small! How did she even…?

Luna looked over at Jay's unfinished plate and flashed him a grin. "Are you going to eat the rest of your fries?" she asked innocently.

"How?" Jay wanted to know. "How did you do it? You must be some type of monster!"

Luna put down her drink. "You forget I'm the daughter of Natsu Dragneel. My papa has an appetite that scares a lot of restaurant owners," she mentioned amusedly.

Jay shook his head in disbelief and impression. "Well, Duchess, you don't fail to surprise me. Seeing you eat that much… It's kind of hot," he admitted.

Luna blushed at his compliment. "Thanks, I guess."

Jay grinned. "No problem," he brushed off. "So, what do you want since you won the bet?"

Luna thought about her options. There was nothing she particularly wanted.

The rest of my family would've jumped at this chance, but… What do I want?

A thought occurred to her.

"Nashi's barely told me anything about you besides the fact you know about demons," Luna explained to him. "So, why don't you tell me about yourself?"

Jay looked taken back at the request for a moment then broke out into a playful grin. "You know, Duchess, you're almost turning this into a date," he told her in a singsong voice.

"Just answer," Luna said, not even fighting back her large smile.

Jay chuckled. "Yes, my Duchess. Well, I come from Needle Point Town. It's more on the northwestern side of Fiore than anything. It's pretty nice there. I live with my parents. My dad works at a lumberyard and my mom is a daycare worker, so my life isn't too exciting. And I—"

"You're lying."

Jay stopped to see Luna looking at him softly. He laughed off her accusation, but it was humorless. "Why would I lie to you, Duchess?" he asked her rhetorically.

Luna leaned forward and put a hand over his clenched fist. He had no idea he was making a fist until he felt her delicate touch. Gentle chocolate connected with guarded jade.

"I can tell you lied," she explained quietly. "I don't know why. It just feels like it."

Jay looked down at his plate. "Duchess…"

"Jay…" Luna stared at him sadly. "What really happened to your parents?"

It was silence between them. Luna kept looking at Jay and Jay kept staring at his plate. Neither of them moved. Neither of them could move. Not until someone said something.

Jay spoke first. "They died for knowing too much," he confessed hoarsely.

Luna remained silent.

Jay went on: "My parents were part of some society. I just remember they were always researching about demons and stuff. At first, I didn't really care. But when my parents learned I had photographic memory, their society found out and used me to remember hieroglyphs and passages from old books and pictures from old temples and ruins. I was only six at the time and I didn't understand why they had me memorize all that stuff only for me to redraw it for them. My parents told me I was helping them and that was good enough for me. So, I kept at it."

Jay's eyes glistened. "When I turned eight, I started noticing my mom becoming jumpier all the time. I thought it was stress, but it wasn't. She and my dad had been researching things the society wasn't. They were trying to uncover something bigger than the society. My dad would take me on trips to places I had never seen and have me memorize more and more things for him and my mom. I'd redraw it and my dad would spend long nights and days in his study. Mom would tell me not to worry. She told me everything would be fine. But it wasn't.

"Fast forward close to my ninth birthday. I had a game and noticed my parents didn't show up. When I went home, I was so angry." Jay hesitated. Luna could feel the pain radiating off him at the memories. "I got to the house and noticed the door was off the hinges. I got scared. I ran inside shouting for my parents to see the house messy everywhere. Everything was on the floor and dinner was burning. I went looking for my parents, but I couldn't find either of them. I went down to the basement and there I—" A tear slid from Jay's eye. "I saw them," he whispered. "They were hanging there from the ceiling with marks on their bodies. They were dead. They were hanged."

Luna remained silent.

"It was because they knew too much," Jay told her. "Written in blood on the floor were the words: 'Knowledge is dangerous' with an eye next to it and some strange words. I knew it had something to do with all those nights my dad had spent in his study and the places my parents took me. All because of that stupid society my parents were dead and I had no one left."

Luna squeezed Jay's hand in consolation when she saw he had tensed up. Gradually, the tension flooded out of Jay at her touch and he kept up his story. "I cried so hard when I found them. I didn't care about anything else, but them. But doing all that crying, I didn't realize the society had planted a bomb inside the house."

"Jay," Luna softly interrupted, "you don't have to—"

"I woke up a few days later and didn't know where I was," Jay continued, ignoring her. "I was out in the middle of nowhere with only my memory intact and my body scraped up. And on top of that? It was my birthday." He snorted humorlessly. "Happy ninth birthday to me. I spent the next week wandering around and scrounging for food. I came across Needle Point with just barely one hundred people in it. An old librarian took me in when she found me trying to steal from a grocery store and raised me as her own son. To this day, I have never been so thankful. She's been there for me all these years and never once made me feel like I didn't belong." Jay tensed. "But that damn society… I've been trying to use my memory to track them down ever since I came to Needle Point, but I can't find these guys. All I know are the things I was forced to study."

Luna studied Jay. "I'm not going to say, 'I'm sorry', because I know that's not what you want to hear. But I'm thankful for that librarian who took you in. Otherwise, I may not have met you."

Jay weakly grinned. "Trying to flirt with me, Duchess?" he joked.

Luna rolled her eyes playfully. "Aside from that, I want to offer help."

Jay immediately frowned. "Duchess, no," he rejected. "I'm not burdening you with my problems and—"

Luna raised a hand to silence him. "I don't care. You're my friend, Jay. Your problems are mine too. I'm sure Aunt Erza would help you track down this society if you let her."

Jay looked uneasy at the prospect of help. "I don't know, Duchess…"

"Jay, please." Unsure jade clashed with determined chocolate. "Let me do this for you."

Jay stared into Luna's eyes for what seemed to be hours when it was only seconds. He sighed and gave her a half-grin. "How could I say, 'no', to that?" he murmured. "All right. Fine. I'll talk to your master. As long as you come with me though."

Luna nodded. "I promise I'll be there."

The two of them fell into silence and neither of them realized how close their faces were to each other. Jade could not part from chocolate and vice versa. They were trapped in a daze that was the other. Just as the two of them unconsciously leaned forward, a loud cough from somewhere snapped both out of it. Luna reeled back, embarrassed, and Jay sighed.

"So, um, h-h-how did you meet Nashi?" Luna wondered, trying to alleviate the tension.

Jay ran a hand through his hair. "I was recreating a lot of the material I memorized when I saw the Dunters come to town. I knew Dunters used their song to hypnotize kids with their song. It's kind of like—"

"Timbre," Luna whispered.

Jay raised an eyebrow. "You know about Timbre?"

Luna shrugged. "Just a little," was all she offered.

Jay studied her for a moment before continuing. "They used to be a rare species back when Magic was new, if I recall correctly. It was weird to me they were still here and I had to investigate. So, I used Magic to reduce myself to a kid. One of the Dunters bought it and took me back with him. And bang, after a few months, I meet Nashi who disguised herself as you, Duchess."

Luna reached up to caress his cheek. "None of this is your fault," she told him. "I hope you know that."

Jay smiled sadly at her. "I know, Duchess. I know. Sometimes, the pain just won't go away. But being with you makes me feel the pain even less."

"I'm not that great," Luna said in defense, self-conscious by his words.

"But you are," Jay insisted. "When Nashi took your form, I knew I had to meet you. And ever since I met you, I don't feel as much pain as I used to. It's like you have that calming effect on everyone you meet." Jay gazed at her softly. "It's what makes you special, Duchess."

Luna did not know what to say.

I've never thought I special in such a way. To be truthful, I thought my words caused more problems than solutions.

"How do you do it? How do you know what to say?"

Luna looked away from Jay's stare and onto her empty plate. She remembered how uncertain Gale had looked on the roof yesterday.

He looked so lost and so vulnerable… It must've been such a big deal to him for a long time if he was that sad. I never noticed it before…

"It's him, isn't it?"

Luna looked up to see Jay staring knowingly at her.

"He's the reason I don't stand a chance, isn't he?" Jay asked.

Luna furrowed her eyebrows. "There isn't a 'him' or a 'he' in the first place," she said a little too defensively. "You stand a chance. I'm not seeing anyone."

"Then, what was up with that sad face you just made?" Jay inquired.

Luna sighed. "My life has been a little…dramatic," she confessed. "I guess hearing your story made me think about it."

Jay frowned. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Luna shook her head and offered him a half-hearted smile. "No, no! Everything's fine now. I'm sorry to have worried you."

"I know that same smile, Duchess," Jay warned. "I could tell something has been bothering you ever since I laid eyes on you."

Luna lowered her eyes.

"Please. Tell me what's wrong," Jay pleaded softly.

Luna kept her eyes on the table. "It seems ever since I got in-touch with my Magic, everything has been falling apart. We have demons to worry about, and yesterday, a slave trader tried to kidnap me, and I—…" She exhaled loudly.

Jay studied her carefully. "It's hard not being able to fight what you can't control," he guessed.

Luna nodded. "I know, one day, that I'll be fighting by Fairy Tail's side and be just as strong. But—"

"It's waiting for that day that has you frustrated," Jay answered.

Luna only nodded again.

Jay leaned closer to her. His hand gently went to her and tipped her chin up. Sad chocolate connected with gentle jade. "You should know once that day comes, I guarantee you'll be a powerful Mage. You'll be protecting the ones you love and fighting for what you believe in. After meeting you and talking to you, I'm certain of it."

Luna sniffled. "Jay…"

Jay leaned in closer. "Nashi had written to me about possibly coming in to talk to your master about what happened when Orias captured us. I'll do what I can and give her anything from my memory. It's the least I could do since Nashi saved me. But I want you to know I'm not just doing it as a favor to Nashi. I'm doing it to protect you too. If what I know can help prevent any attacks on you, then I'll do it. Because I think you're worth it, Duchess," he confessed to her shamelessly.

The two of them were so close that their noses were brushing. Jay's eyes flicked from Luna's lips to her those wide, brown eyes. Unconsciously, Luna leaned closer, their lips about to touch, when she hesitated and withdrew from him. She was unable to look at him.

"I'm sorry," Luna apologized in a small voice. "I just—"

"I know."

Luna looked to see Jay giving her a playful grin.

"But you can't stop a guy from trying, right? It would be an honor to get a kiss from you, Duchess."

"I'm sorry," Luna apologized again.

Jay shook his head. "Don't worry about and don't apologize for it. Nothing to be sorry about," he soothed nonchalantly. "I had a feeling you wouldn't kiss me because of him."

Luna furrowed her eyebrows as Jay stood up and stretched. "Why do you keep saying, 'him'? I'm not with anyone," she pointed out, slightly annoyed.

Jay raised a hand up in surrender. "Right, of course, Duchess," he agreed, though it was obvious he was not convinced.

Luna puffed out her cheeks. "I'm not," she insisted.

Jay laughed at Luna's adorable expression. "Well, since you're not with anyone, I'm sure you're not opposed to me winning you a few prizes then, right?"

Luna grinned at him. "Please. I think it'll be me winning you prizes, Mister Leather Jacket," she teased.

"It's cool!" Jay defended, popping his collar. "And this isn't made of leather."

Luna quirked an eyebrow and smiled. "Oh, really? What's it made of?"

"Boyfriend material," Jay said smoothly.

Luna broke into a fit of laughter. "You're so cheesy!"

"But I made you laugh, so it pays to be 'cheesy'," Jay grinned with a waggle of his eyebrows.

Luna laughed. "You've got that right—!"

She stopped.

She turned around to scope out the picnic area, but all she found were people she half-recognized and some not at all.

I can feel it. I can feel someone staring at me, but no one is. That's weird.

Jay noticed Luna's mood change and asked, "What's wrong?"

Luna scanned the area once more before shrugging. "Nothing. I just thought someone was watching me," she told him.

"Someone's getting paranoid," Jay insinuated jokingly. He picked up their empty plates. "Come on. Let's go check out the games, Duchess."

Luna looked back at him and smiled. "Sure."

As Luna got up from the table with the two empty drinks in hand, she did not notice eyes following her every move to the trashcan. She remained oblivious as Jay threw out the remainder of their trash and took her hand. And she still did not hear the small growl followed by loud stomps. She was too excited about the games to notice a thing out of place. But Jay noticed. He saw the pair of eyes that had been watching her. He knew they were being followed.

He smirked.

Better get a move on, buddy.

"Why are you smiling to yourself like that?" Luna asked, distracting him.

Jay was fluent with his response, not even missing a beat. "I'm thinking about all the games I'll beat you at," he boasted.

Luna laughed. "We'll see about that." She took the lead, pulling him through the crowd as she scoped out their first game.

Jay could not help but gaze at her. He could feel those eyes still watching them—watching her. Jay noticed a few boys his age had noticed Luna and her radiance and taken to staring at her with little shame.

Because if you don't, Jay continued, someone else will.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Fairy Adventure

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

At the Fairy Tail Guild, it was busy. The inside of the guild hall was being constructed to make the stage and audience seating for the contest later. Outside, it was even busier. The employees of Fairy Tail were swamped with customers as Fairy Tail opened their outdoor area to the public. Mikuni Shin had returned to help his former guild, astounding customers with the sushi skills in which he took pride. A live band was performing. The pool had been drained and a stage had been set up for the rock band. They played covers of songs most customers knew the words to and some boldly got up to dance.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

« Let us check-in with two more young heroes who decided to stay close to Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail allows all civilian to use their outdoor area as a place to eat, drink, dance, and listen to live music perform. »

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Igneel groaned and stretched as he lay his head on the outdoor bar counter. "So bored," he bemoaned. He tilted his head so he could watch as Mary Jane washed a glass with an eyebrow twitching and her eyes closed. "MJ," he whined. "Come play with me!"

"For the last time, no," she said tersely, her voice tight with irritation. "Go away. If you're not going to work, then go somewhere else."

"But I want you to come play with me," Igneel complained. He rested his head so his chin was on the bar counter and pouted at Mary Jane. "Ditch work. Let's go have some fun."

"Keep whining like a bitch and you'll piss me off," Mary Jane growled under her breath. "Can't you see I'm busy? Have fun with other people. I don't have time for you, moron."

Igneel puffed his cheeks. "I want to play!" he demanded childishly.

"Play with someone else," Mary Jane gritted out, snapping her eyes open to glare at him. "You can't expect me to drop everything for you, especially when I don't even like you. So, quit whining and be productive for once. If not, get out of my sight and go have your fun with someone else."

A bald man eating his burger and fries flagged Mary Jane down. "Hey, cutie! Can I take some Cola?"

Mary Jane turned to him with a plastered smile and nodded. "Coming right up, sir!" she promised. She turned back to Igneel with a warning glower. "Go somewhere else. There's plenty of people here. I'm sure one of them can entertain your moronic ideas." And she left him as she went to the fridge.

Igneel pouted. "But 'people' aren't MJ," he mumbled. He sighed as he brought his arms around his head. "Man, this sucks. I really wanted to play with MJ today."

A new voice spoke to him, charmingly feminine and awfully sweet. Sickeningly so. "How about you play with me?"

Igneel looked up to see a girl had took the stool beside him. He supposed she was pretty. She had wide violet eyes and light blue hair in twin braids. Her smile was big and so was her chest, but that was it.

Igneel put his head back down and shooed her away. "No thanks," he muttered.

The girl pouted. "Oh, that's too bad," she sighed dramatically. "Because I heard they were having a spicy eating contest to see who could eat the hottest foods and not ask for a glass of milk, but…" She sighed again and hopped off the stool, chest flouncing. "Oh, well…"

Igneel shot up. "Wait!" he blurted. "There's a contest for that?"

The girl nodded at him. "Yeah. I was hoping someone would do it for me so I could get the prize. It's—"

"Yeah, yeah, prize shmize, big deal. It's a spicy eating competition?" Igneel wanted to confirm.

The girl nodded.

Igneel crowed as he jumped from his seat. "Awesome! Just what I need to get my fire going! I'm totally in!"

The girl giggled. "I thought you'd be." She took her hand and threaded it with Igneel's own. He did not seem to particularly notice. "So, ready to go?" she purred, pressing herself against him.

Igneel nodded eagerly. "Hell yeah! Oh, wait!" A frown marred his grin. "I should tell MJ first."

°•°•°•°

Mary Jane smiled at a five-year-old and slid his juice box to him. "Here you go, cutie. One apple juice for a handsome man," she flattered.

The little boy blushed and buried his head in his mother's side.

His mother—a curvy and proud woman—laughed. "Charlie, we say, 'thank you' to the kind lady," she chided.

Charlie peeked at Mary Jane. "Thank you," he uttered before turning back to his mother.

Mary Jane chuckled. "It was no problem at all. My pleasure, really," she assured. She looked at the mother. "You have such a handsome son," she complimented.

"Thank you," the woman appreciated. "I'm sure he gets it more from his father than me."

"You're beautiful though," Mary Jane flattered. "I'm sure he inherited his looks from both of you."

The woman seemed pleased at the compliment. "Thank you. You're quite pretty yourself. Your eyes are lovely."

Mary Jane tensed a little at that and her smile became more strained. "Oh, why, thank you."

Then, came an obnoxious voice. "Hey, MJ!"

Mary Jane looked over to see Igneel leaning over the bar counter with a girl at his side. Her mask of politeness shattered into her regular scowl. "What?" she snapped.

"I'm going to the spicy eating contest," Igneel told her. "Is that okay?"

"I don't care," Mary Jane said bluntly. "You don't need to tell me your every move. I'm not your anything."

"You're my partner," Igneel corrected. "It seems fair I let you know where I go."

"Not your partner," Mary Jane countered. "And I don't care where you go." Her eyes slid to the girl next to Igneel who was sizing Mary Jane. Her eyes narrowed. "Who's that?" she questioned.

The girl was about to introduce herself. "I'm—"

"Some girl who told me about the contest," Igneel interrupted, uncaring if he was rude of not. Or, perhaps he did not know he was being rude. "Anyways, not important. You'll be okay if I go?"

Mary Jane gave him a flat look. "No," she said with sarcasm pouring from her mouth. "I'm not okay with it. In fact, I want you to stay here and keep whining to play with me."

Igneel took a seat. "Okay th—"

"Get away from me," Mary Jane snapped. "Geez, I was being sarcastic, you moron. Do what you want. I don't care. Have fun on your date."

Igneel raised an eyebrow. "'Date'? With who?"

Mary Jane growled, her hands digging into the counter. "Go – away," she snarled.

Igneel frowned. "Are you—?"

"Yes, yes, I'm sure," Mary Jane interjected. "I give you my freaking permission to do what you want. Please, just leave me alone."

Igneel beamed. "Awesome! I'll meet up with you before the contest starts, okay? We can sit together," he planned.

Mary Jane gritted her teeth. "Nothing would make me happier," she said through her teeth. "Leave."

Igneel nodded and waved. "See you later then!" And he took off with the girl scrambling to catch up to him.

Mary Jane sighed out her annoyance. She closed her eyes to calm herself and rubbed her temples. "Moron. You're giving me a migraine," she muttered.

"So, that's your boyfriend, I take it?" the woman asked, amused.

Mary Jane sighed again and shook her head. "No. Just some moron guild mate," she brushed off.

The woman hummed, a spark of humor dancing in her eyes. "Just a guild mate, huh? Interesting," she chuckled.

Mary Jane rolled her eyes unceremoniously. "Just a guild mate, if that," she affirmed. "Besides, I could never even think of dating."

"Oh?" The woman looked like she might burst into laughter. "And why is that?"

"Because," Mary Jane said, "people deserve someone who could makes them happy. And all I'm good at is being alone." And she walked away, leaving the woman to ponder her words.

---

A small boy completed the ring toss and Silver cheered. "Yes! We have a winner! What would you like as your prize?" he asked.

The small boy pointed to a fake sword. "That one," he decreed.

Silver plucked the fake sword from the prize wall and kneeled to give it to the small boy. "Here you go! Thanks for playing!" Silver said sunnily.

The small boy took his fake sword in his hands with a happy grin on his face while his friends stood behind him. As he and his friend ran off, he shouted to Silver. "Thanks, mister!"

Silver stood back up and waved his hand at the small boy. "No problem! It was my pleasure!" he shouted back.

There came a harrumph and amusedly so. "You certainly have a way with kids."

Silver turned to see Paige standing behind him with a hand on her hip and a small smile on her lips. She had changed her typical look and replaced her plaid skirt with shorts and had on a green shirt with an iconic band on it. Silver melted at the sight of her as love filled his eyes and practically exuded from him.

"My beloved Paige!" he cooed as he lunged at her with his arms wide open. "It's been so long!"

Paige easily sidestepped him and Silver hit the ground.

"It's been five minutes," she reminded him. "Would you quit hugging me? It's weird."

Silver was suddenly in Paige's face.

He moved so quickly! she thought in alarm.

"But how else can I show my love for my beloved Paige?" he whined.

Paige took a step away from him. "Why can't you just not?" she asked him.

Silver looked scandalized at the advice. "And let my love rivals look at my beloved Paige? Absolutely not!"

Paige muttered, "Why did I even ask?"

Silver pulled her into a hug and rubbed their cheeks together affectionately. "It makes my heart so warm when you're near," he told her sincerely.

Paige blushed and she saw a few people give the two of them amused looks. "Hey! Cut it out!" she demanded shakily.

"Your heart beating against mine… Paige is the only one for me!" Silver cried.

"G-G-Get off me! Leave me alone!"

"I could never leave my beloved Paige!"

"Well, try!"

Another voice added itself to the conversation, deep and humored. "Might want to let her go, Silver. She looks red."

Silver let go of Paige to see her blushing face. He beamed. "My beloved Paige looks so pretty when she blushes," he cooed.

"I'm not blushing so quit it, will ya?" Paige demanded, touching her warm cheeks.

Female laughter reached their ears. "Doesn't Gray remember when he and Juvia were like that, darling?"

Silver and Paige looked to see Gray and Juvia in front of their game with Gray comfortably shirtless and Juvia resting against him with his arm around her.

Silver looked at his parents excitedly. "Mom! Dad! What are you doing here?"

"We just came to check on you," Gray told his son. "I just got finished with the kissing booth, but didn't get too many customers."

Juvia looked away without any guilt. "No one is to touch Juvia's beloved Gray," she said as though it were obvious. Over the years, her wavy hair had straightened after having kids. She had kept her hair long, but placed it in a high ponytail with locks framing her face and going down to her chest and her flower hairclip in her hair. Her clothes had changed over the years. She wore a shirt that looked like a blue halter with a main strap holding it up, but translucent sleeves came off the trap. She wore dark blue tights that stopped mid-calf and blue sandals. But, wrapped around her was an open, light blue kimono-cardigan that kept her warm.

⌜FAIRY TAIL

Name: Juvia Fullbuster

Occupation: S-Class Mage

Magic: Water

Likes: all things Gray Dislikes: anything that comes between her and Gray

Special Note: Juvia's passion may be poured into loving Gray, but she is passionate about her friends and family too! ⌟

Gray chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Right," he agreed. Addressing Silver, "By the way, have you seen your sister anywhere?"

Silver shook his head. "No, I haven't. Come to think of it, she said she was going to stop by today. But she hasn't yet."

"Can Silver make sure to tell Julia to be in the guild hall when he sees her?" Juvia requested. "She needs to help Mira prep everyone."

Silver nodded. "Sure thing, Mom."

Gray nodded at Juvia and led her away, whispering something in her ear that made her blush and smack his chest in embarrassment and happiness.

Silver looked around the festival with a frown. "Huh. That's weird," he murmured

"What?" Paige wondered.

"Juju was supposed to meet me here five minutes ago," Silver said. "I wonder where she could be…"

Where are you, Julia?

"Go look for her," Paige commanded.

Silver looked back at Paige uncertainly. "Are you sure?"

Paige nodded. "Well, yeah. It's obvious you're freakin' about Julia, so go find her," she urged.

Silver broke out into a huge grin and, before Paige could stop it, he hugged her dearly. "Oh, my beloved Paige is so thoughtful!" he gushed.

Paige's face burst into scarlet and she looked away from Silver. "All right, all right. Now, get off me!"

Silver gave Paige a quick kiss on the cheek and took off into a sprint. "I'll be back for you, my darling!" he called back to her.

Paige screamed back, "I'm not your anything!" However, she put a hand on her cheek and could still feel the cool sensation of Silver's kiss. She smiled at the ground. "Stupid, lovesick idiot," she mumbled.

Silver kept up his fast-pace as his eyes examined the festival. Julia was nowhere to be found. There were not too many blunettes at the festival and the ones at the festival were a darker shade of blue than his sister. He kept running a few yards and stopping to look around to see if Julia was nearby. But still, he could not find his sister.

Where is she?

An idea crossed Silver's mind.

Maybe she's already at the guild hall!

Silver turned around and was about to head to the guild hall to check when a flash of blue hair caught his eye.

"Huh?" Silver stopped to investigate and realized the blue hair was indeed his sister. He smiled and waved at her. "Juj—Huh?"

Silver put his hand down in confusion when he saw she was with someone else. He had never seen the person before and he was close to Julia, the two of them practically against each other with little room left.

Who is that person? Are they a friend of Juju's or was are they harassing her?

Silver began to walk over to his older sister to investigate when he got caught up in a surge of people. He grunted and tried to push through the crowd, but the current was too strong. "Juju!" he cried out. "Juju?" He kept fighting his way through people to get to his sister. He had no idea who that person was, but he was bound and determined to find out. With great difficulty, Silver made it out of the current of people, falling to the ground as he did so. He grunted again and picked himself up. His eyes lifted and went back to Julia. "Ju—!" He stopped when he realized she was no longer there and neither was that person.

Strange. I could have sworn I saw her.

On the search again, Silver took up his cry of his sister's name and kept walking.

---

Olivia quietly relaxed in her chair in the shade of her tent, listening for any signs of trouble. Like Galileo and Gale, she was born with ears that heard all and a sensitive nose. The only sounds she heard that were bothersome where the sounds of children crying, but she heard their guardians attempting to quell their sobs. So, she sat idly with her eyes closed as she kept watch of her aunt Laki's wood-carving stand. Some curious little ones had been brave enough to shout at her to see if she was awake, but she never answered. She just allowed the gentle breeze to soothe her and kept her composure.

That was until she heard footsteps and caught a whiff of a familiar scent.

"What do you want, Leo?" Olivia asked boredly without ever opening her eyes.

"What? I can't come to see my favorite twin sister?" Galileo mocked, feigning offense.

"What do you want?" Olivia sighed.

"I just got off-duty from helping Uncle Ben and wanted to know if you were down to get ice cream," Galileo revealed.

"No."

Galileo whined immediately. "Why not? You've been sitting like that all day!"

"And I like sitting here. Now, go away," Olivia ordered.

Galileo crossed his arms. "Not until you agree to get ice cream with me," he said stubbornly.

Olivia sighed and opened her eyes to see Galileo smirking down at her. "Fine," she agreed as she got up from her chair. "Ice cream and then I return here," she conditioned.

"Deal. Now, come on, Livy! The day is still young!"

Olivia watched as Galileo left and turned to address Laki. "Aunt Laki, I'll be back in a bit," she told the Wood-Make Mage.

Laki absently waved as she showed a couple a mobile she had created with her Magic.

Olivia followed Galileo who walked down the aisle of the festival with utter confidence. It was not that Olivia did not have confidence. But people feared her the same as they feared her father.

It's funny, really, she noted. We're twins, but I'm known as the scarier one of the two of us, like Papa. Leo's known to be the softer one. And Gale—

Olivia paused for a moment when she smelled something in the air and her nose twitched.

"Shit!" came a distant curse. "Come on, come on! Where are they?"

She turned her head to see Gale in the distance and frazzled beyond belief. His eyes shifted everywhere as he stalked about.

"Crap! I can't lose them now!" he growled to himself.

Olivia raise an eyebrow. "What's up with him?" she wondered.

Galileo looked over. "Hmm? Oh. He's just feeling a little jealous."

Olivia blinked in surprise. "'Jealous'?" she echoed as she looked at Galileo for more information.

Galileo pointed and smirked. "Hell yeah. Definitely jealous," he confirmed.

Olivia looked at where Galileo was pointing. At a simple game of water guns were Luna and a strange boy of mossy hair and a devil's smirk. It was clear the boy was a flirt, and Luna knew it, but brushed it off.

"What's so great about him?" Gale grumbled. "He looks like a total prick anyways. I mean just look at him."

Galileo shook his head, chuckling. "Man. He's so got it bad."

Olivia stood to watch Gale.

It may have only been a day since Leo and I returned, but I can't believe how much Gale changed. He's becoming the warrior I always knew he could be, even if he's still such a sap.

Her eyes softened at the memories.

I still remember what he was like before though…

She chuckled.

Actually, I can still only see him as that little boy that kept spying on Leo and me when we trained.

An image of little Gale appeared before her. As she fought hard in the training arena with Leo and her father, she caught a glimpse of him hiding behind the trees. His eyes watched them admiringly, but also enviously.

Leo never understood why he was jealous. He thought Gale's Earth Magic was amazing and always talked about how Gale could beat Councilman Jura one day. But I always knew he was jealous that Leo and I were Iron Mages. Mama and Papa knew too, but nothing they could do would help him realize he was just as precious to them as we were. But maybe…

Olivia could hear Luna laugh in the distance. The boy looked satisfied enough with her laughter, but Olivia was not interested in that. She looked at Gale. The way his eyes were a soft glisten. The way he relaxed at her laugh. The way a small smile curled on his face.

Maybe he found someone to help him realize how great he is, Olivia realized.

Galileo began walking away. "Let's go. I'm sure the stalker wants to watch his prey in quiet," he whistled.

Olivia followed Galileo.

After hearing about his journey in the Arborea Summit, he should have his confidence back with us around. Papa couldn't stop talking about how amazing Gale had been from the stories he heard. Maybe that'll boost his confidence.

"We're here!"

Olivia bumped into Galileo. "Want to tell me next time you stop?" she sneered.

Galileo ignored the hostility in Olivia's tone as he looked around them. "All right, Livy. Pick a place," he commanded.

Olivia looked at all the food stands when she pointed at one familiar to her. "Let's go to Lillian's," she decided. "We haven't been there since we left for our mission."

Galileo looked at Lillian's stand and his eyes widened slightly. He pointed at Michelle's Homemade Ice Cream stand. "Why not Michelle's?" he counter-offered. Then, he pointed at a different ice cream stand. "Or how about Jen and Berry's? Yeah, we should go there instead! Remember how good their rocky road was?"

"I'm going to Lillian's."

Galileo looked to see Olivia already walking to Lillian's. He made dash for her and dragged her away. "Why can't we choose somewhere else? We can go to Lillian's anytime. Let's try Michelle's!"

Olivia snatched her hand back and raised an eyebrow at Galileo. His eyes kept darting from Lillian's ice cream stand to everywhere else.

"Leo, you're acting weird," Olivia noted. "What's wrong with you? I haven't had Lillian's since we left."

Galileo twiddled his fingers. "Yeah, but—"

"Are you having some issues or something?" Olivia asked.

Galileo shook his head and tapped the tips of his index fingers together. "Err, no… But—!"

"Then, what is it?" Olivia demanded impatiently. Her stomach was now set on ice cream and she was prepared to get it with or without her twin.

Galileo hummed nervously, his eyes flickering from Lillian's stand then to the ground. "Nothing," he sighed.

Olivia rolled her eyes and grabbed Galileo's jacket. "Well, to Lillian's we go then," she decided as she dragged Galileo.

Galileo struggled in Olivia's grip. "Livy, no! Let's go somewhere else!" he pleaded.

Olivia ignored him and kept up her pace to Lillian's. She got in line and kept a steady grip on Galileo's collar. She looked at the menu and her mouth began watering. "Mmm… Rocky road…"

Soon, it became Olivia's turn. A spunky girl of green-haired pulled into a haphazard ponytail was her server with some of her hair covered by an old black cap. A fang poked out, Olivia noticed, and her warm sunset eyes rested on Olivia in a friendly way.

"Hi! I'm—" A sly smirk slid onto her face. "Well, well, well… Look what the cat dragged in."

"Rika." Olivia smirked. "You haven't changed whatsoever."

Rika shrugged. "Not like I need to. I'm perfect," she joked.

"Perfect at being a pain in my ass," Olivia teased.

Rika laughed. "Where have you been? You haven't been by in months."

"Long story short: S-Class mission with Leo," Olivia explained.

Rika nodded as she understood everything. "And now, you want some ice cream to relieve the stress of dealing with him, huh?

Olivia nodded. "I'll take two scoops of rocky road in a cone," she ordered. She turned to look down at Galileo. "What do you want—?" Her eyes widened when she realized all she had in her hands was Galileo's coat. She frowned. "He was just here," she muttered.

"Will that be all?" Rika asked. "Or does Miss Eats-A-Lot want more?"

Olivia chuckled. "We'll start with that and see if I'm still hungry."

Rika beamed. "Great! I'll get straight to it! And welcome home!"

"Thanks!" Olivia's eyes wandered around the festival.

Just where did Galileo disappear to?

---

Galileo panted as he rested against the base of a tree. He had sprinted as hard as he could once he squirmed out of his jacket. His hands rested on his knees.

And people glanced at him for it.

His left arm as nothing unusual to look at. It was buff and defined and tan-skinned. There was an Ouroboros in the form of a green dragon chasing its own tail around his arm. An outline of a block hand with a swirled circle was etched into the arm as well, a symbol of some sort for something important. It was his right arm that was unusual and caused stares. It was muscular—people would give him that—but it was tan-skinned. In fact, there was no skin on it at all. It was a prosthetic, in a way, and made of pure precious metals. Not just a precious metal, but the rarest of all: rhodium. It looked like a buff arm of sleek and smooth metal that crawled onto his shoulder with the scars to prove it. Many people looked at him for his arm, but he had gone accustomed to the stares. They did not matter to him.

Liv, why couldn't you just listen to me?

A bitter smile rolled onto his lips.

But of course, you're just as stubborn as ever. Doesn't take orders from anyone; that's for sure.

"Hey, idiot. Need an umbrella?"

The voice was teasing and gentle and so…

He closed his eyes and brushed his bangs out of his eyes.

Stop thinking about it, he scolded himself. Don't think about it.

"Buy me food next time and we'll call it even, okay?"

How much he had missed that voice all those months he was gone. Her wide grin. Her laugh.

His hands curled against his knees.

Stop it. Just stop bringing it up.

Galileo sank down to sit on the tree. He laid himself against the tree and looked up at the leaves. They were tanning their green color into warm auburns and caramels and some even an alarming yellow. A breeze ruffled the tree's mane and the leaves moved, aggravated. A stray leaf fell from the tree branches and landed softly on Galileo's head almost as in apology. Galileo raised a hand to pluck it and stared at it carefully. The leaf had turned into one of those oranges you only saw when the sun was setting just right against a blue ocean. That color alone was his favorite color. He could stare at that color for eternity.

"Galileo? Where are you?"

Galileo tried to push the voice out of his head, but he could not. He had the voice memorized done to the pitch made when upset and the hum made when satisfied. Every word the voice had said to him he remembered vividly.

"Ha! Like you could get rid of me that easily!"

A faint smile appeared on Galileo's face.

You were right. I could never get rid of you so easily.

The smile was then marred by a frown.

But… You could forget me so easily, couldn't you?

There, Galileo sat. His eyes staring at the unique color of the leaf and his ears being filled with nothing but that voice and that voice alone.

---

The Fairy Tail guild hall was filling at a rapid pace. Mira had the stage extended with a runway to give the women more room to show off their Magic and beauty to the crowd. People from all types of walks of life came into Fairy Tail, some with children and some without, and found seats for themselves. Kinana and Lisanna manned the bar with Max as the three of them made sure their guests were given drinks and treated kindly. A countdown was on the clock above the stage and it was only five minutes until the contest started. Yajima was approached to be a judge of the contest alongside Laxus, Aine, and Mirajane, and was seated in his chair with a glass of water.

Jay, Luna, and Aisha all sat together in a row with Jay's arm resting on the back of Luna's chair.

Aisha looked around in girlish excitement. "Wow," she breathed. "This is so amazing, Luna!"

"That's pretty cool of your sister to get us close seats," Jay casually mentioned. "Must've been hard."

"She wanted you guys to make sure you have the best experience at our Harvest Festival," Luna informed.

"Shouldn't we be sitting by your family though?" Jay wondered.

Luna laughed. "Well, we could be, but I don't think you'd be having too much fun," she said, pointing.

Jay followed her finger to see Natsu and Gray head-butting each other with eyes challenging each other to a fight.

"Take off one more piece of clothing, and I'm roasting your ass, you got me, pervert?" Natsu snarled.

"Watch your tone, flame brain," Gray snapped. "Hell will freeze over before you kick my ass."

Natsu's eyebrows twitched as he pushed Gray with his forehead. "Want to say that again, ice princess?"

Luke watched the exchange with a sweatdrop. "Is arguing all you two do?" he sighed.

Jay sweatdropped as well. "Wow. You've got some interesting family."

Luna laughed. "'Interesting' is an understatement," she said.

Aisha brought up, "The Harvest Festivals I went to were nothing like this!"

"What were they like?" Luna asked.

"Boring," Aisha confessed. "There was a lot of drinking and the priests always talked."

"Fairy Tail seems to keep the festival pretty lively," Jay agreed.

Luna beamed. "Each year is a different experience. And maybe someday, I'll be able to do the Miss Fairy Tail Contest too!"

Aisha shot Luna an inquisitive look. "Why can't you do it now? Nashi told us you're a Mage," she said.

Luna smiled sheepishly. "Well, I don't really have control over any of my Magic. And my aunt Erza put in a rule that no one under seventeen is allowed to participate since it gets a little rowdy," she explained.

Jay nodded in understanding. "I get it. But I can't wait for the day you're on stage. You could always be my Miss Fairy Tail," he flirted with a wink.

Luna blushed at the insinuation and Aisha merely laughed, poking Luna's burning cheeks. "Ooo! Luna's getting all red since Jay's getting all lovey-dovey with her!" she teased.

Luna blushed harder and buried her head in her hands. "This is so embarrassing," she moaned.

Jay sniggered. "Aw, Duchess, you look cute when you blush," he complimented.

Luna only blushed harder and tried to cover her face even more as she whined. "Stop it…!"

Silver bounced over to them with Paige and Penelope in-tow. "Lulu!" he helloed. "I've been looking all over for you!" He noticed the empty seats beside Jay and nodded at them. "Can we sit there?"

Luna nodded. "I saved them for you guys actually," she confessed.

Silver plopped down in his seat next to Jay. Paige and Penelope sat by him respectively. Silver stuck out a merry hand for Jay to shake. "Hey! My name's Silver!" he greeted.

Jay shook Silver's hand and gave him a kind smile. "I'm Jay. And she"—he released Silver's hand and pointed at a waving Aisha— "is Aisha. We're friends of Duchess and Nashi."

Silver raised an eyebrow. "Who's 'Duchess'?" he asked.

Luna waved her hand. "That would be me," she explained awkwardly.

Silver wagged his eyebrows. "Wow, Lulu. Already have a cute nickname on your first date? I'm impressed!"

"This isn't a date!" Luna blurted. She cleared her throat and gestured to the twins. "Jay, Aisha, this is Paige and her twin, Penelope," she introduced.

Aisha somehow managed to stand in front of Penelope and look at her dreamily. "Wow," she gushed. "She has a big chest too!" Without any thought into it, Aisha touched Penelope's chest in wonder.

Penelope did not even flinch. "I do," she agreed. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Aisha."

Aisha moved her hands to Penelope's cheeks and gave them a squish. Her eyes sparkled. "And your skin is so flawless and soft," she awed.

"Thank you," Penelope responded tonelessly.

Aisha moved to Penelope's hair and played with it in admiration. "Even your hair is perfect," she sighed.

"That is nice of you to say," Penelope said without an emotion in sight. "You have nice hair too."

Aisha gasped. She looked like she could burst with happiness at Penelope's compliment. "Really?" she squealed.

Penelope nodded.

"Wow! You're so nice!" Aisha gushed.

Penelope did not break in her apathy, but looked directly at Aisha. "Feel free to touch me more, if you'd like," she permitted.

Aisha looked like her world had been completed. "This is the best day ever!"

Jay looked at Penelope in disbelief as Aisha probed her body. "How can she be so stoic?" he wondered.

Luna and Silver laughed, sweatdropping. "That's Penelope for you," they chorused.

---

Igneel looked around the guild hall. Some scents he smelled were more familiar than most, but he knew most of the people here all the same. But his nose could not track the one who he wanted to find and neither could his eyes.

"Come on, MJ, where are you?" Igneel muttered. He caught Cane walking and ran to him. "Cane! Cane!"

Cane stopped to see Igneel barreling towards him and raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?" When Igneel skidded to a halt in front of him, he asked, "What's up, Dragneel?"

"Have you seen MJ?" Igneel asked. "I've been looking for her everywhere."

"Don't know. Haven't seen her since her shift," Cane answered. "Some guy took off with her, I think."

That confused Igneel. "'Some guy'?" he echoed.

Since when has MJ ever wanted to be around a guy or even people?

"You know where they went?" Igneel asked.

Cane shrugged. "I'm not too sure, actually. Try near the guild entrance. Looks like the dude was trying to get a shot with her." He smirked and snorted. "Doesn't he know the Dark Empress isn't one to mess with?"

Igneel grinned. "True that." He took off in the direction of the guild entrance. "Thanks, Cane!"

Cane managed a salute. "No problem. After all…" He extended an arm and flicked his hand. A card appeared between his fingers "There's someone else for that." He fanned the card to see it. It was the two of Cups.

°•°•°•°

Igneel burst from the guild and looked around. People from all over Magnolia and a few smaller cities were flooding into the guild. Employees and guild members alike of Fairy Tail were handing out programs for the event about to happen, but Igneel cared for them little. His mind was focused on one thing.

Where is she?

Then, he heard something strange. "Come on, little blonde, give me something to work with," came a plead.

Igneel turned his head in the direction of the voice. "Huh?"

And he found her.

There was Mary Jane, sitting at a shaded table with her headphones in her ears and her eyes closed. A boy of white hair and a beanie sat to her right, looking harmfully flirtatious. He seemed interested in Mary Jane and did his best to woo her, even if she seemed disinterested.

Igneel raised an eyebrow. "What's she doing with a dude like that?" An idea came to him and he grinned. "Time to test out my ninja skills!" he decided eagerly. And with that, he stalked closer to his targets.

The boy scooted closer to her. "What are you listening to?" he wondered.

Mary Jane deigned him a response. "Beck's Chop Squad," she muttered.

The boy was astounded. "Wait. You listen to them too?" he breathed. "That's one of my favorite bands!"

Mary Jane opened an eye. She observed the boy with it. "Really?" she drawled.

The boy nodded enthusiastically. "Mmm-hmm. It's up there with Tea Time, Inori's Ego, and Guns and Tulips," he told her.

Mary Jane opened both eyes in slight surprise. "Those are some of my favorites," she said slowly. "You have a good taste in music."

The boy blushed slightly and fidgeted with his hat. "Thank you," he appreciated. "My uncle is a composer. He tells me he pulls inspiration from songs of every genre for his compositions. I don't really want to be a composer, but listening to a lot of different music helps me with my sax playing."

"You're a saxophonist?" Mary Jane questioned, slightly interested.

The boy nodded proudly. "Yep! I've learned to play a lot of instruments, but sax was my calling." He scrutinized her for a slow moment before a hand took hers. "Um, is it okay if I…?"

Mary Jane raised her eyebrow, but said nothing to stop him.

The boy took her silence as consent as he massaged her hand with his fingers. A smile curled on his mouth. "So, you're a bass player," he took it.

Mary Jane nodded. "How'd you guess that?"

"It's easy for me to tell a musician from their hands, their lips, and sometimes their physique and the way they speak," the boy explained. "My grandpa taught me." He looked up at Mary Jane sheepishly as he let go of her hand. "Um, sorry for that. I was curious," he apologized.

"You're fine," Mary Jane rumbled. "What you did was fascinating. Do you think you could teach me?"

The boy perked. "Sure! How about we—?"

"Oh, there you are, MJ!" came a loud interruption.

Igneel stomped his way towards them with his cheerful beam.

The boy murmured to Mary Jane, "A friend of yours?"

"Nope. Not even close," she responded, already irate. "Just some pesky moron."

Igneel plopped right next to Mary Jane with a cheery grin. "I've been looking for you everywhere!" he told her.

Mary Jane snorted. "Obviously not if you didn't find me until now," she muttered.

Igneel laughed. "You're so funny, MJ! I told you I'd find you so we could sit together during the contest," he reminded.

"I don't recall agreeing to that," Mary Jane said.

"You said nothing would make you happier," Igneel quoted.

Mary Jane shot him a dry look. "That was sarcasm, you moron," she hissed at him. "Learn it. I use it a lot around you."

Igneel slung an arm around her. "Well, either way, we're sitting together. Think of it as partner-bonding!"

Mary Jane shoved him away. "I'm not your partner," she snapped. "And you interrupted my conversation, moron. Have some respect."

Igneel raised an eyebrow and looked at the white-haired boy. "Oh, yeah. Sorry, man," he apologized, not meaning it in the slightest.

The boy seemed to understand that and started getting up. "It's okay. I see you two are busy, so I'll take my leave then," he decided.

Igneel beamed. "Good idea!"

Mary Jane harshly elbowed his stomach. "Moron!" she snapped.

Igneel clutched his stomach as his face turned green. "What did my tummy do to deserve this abuse?" he croaked.

Mary Jane rolled her eyes. "You're pissing me off," she grumbled.

"Here you go," came the voice of the boy.

Mary Jane looked to see him a slid a card over to him. She took it and studied the number on it in confusion. "What's this?"

"My number," the boy said. "I can see you must be a good musician and I'd really like to hear you. Maybe"—he blushed and looked quite nervous—"we could see a concert together? I, um, mean if you'd like?"

Igneel was ready to turn him down for her. "Sorry, buddy, but she's—"

"Okay."

Igneel looked at Mary Jane in shock. "Wait, what?"

Mary Jane kept her gaze firmly on the boy. "Thanks. Hope you enjoy the rest of the festival," she hoped in a monotone voice.

The boy smiled in relief at her acceptance. "I will. Hope to see you soon, MJ," he farewelled. And he left them with a final wave.

Igneel huffed. "'MJ' is my nickname for her. Get your own," he called after the boy. He crossed his arms. "The nerve of that guy. You don't just use someone else's nickname," he muttered.

Mary Jane rolled her eyes and got up from the table. "Don't be such a baby, moron," she scolded as she walked away.

Igneel was quick to scramble after her. His eyes stuck to the card in her hand. "You're not actually going to call him, are you?" he inquired, curious.

"What's it to you?" Mary Jane asked instead of answered. "Not like it's any of your business what you do or who I call."

"It isn't," Igneel agreed, though he frowned at his words. "You can do what you want and call who you want." Then, he protested, "But, if you started dating, what about us?"

Mary Jane stopped as they neared a trashcan and whirled around on him. She gave him a blue-eyed glare. "There is no 'us'. There is no 'you'. There is just 'me'. We aren't teammates or partners or friends. We're just guild mates. Get it through your skull." She raised the card so it was eye level. "And, you don't have to worry about me dating. I don't want a boyfriend and I don't want to date. Nothing against him, but…" She sighed as she stared at the card. "I think he deserves someone way better than someone like me," she muttered.

Igneel frowned deeply. "MJ, don't say that," he urged. "He'd be lucky to have you. Any guy would."

Mary Jane sighed again. "Of course you'd say that," she murmured. She shoved the card into his hands. "Take it. Burn it. I don't care."

Igneel stared at the card in confusion. "But, I thought—"

"I wasn't about to reject him in front of you and embarrass him," Mary Jane cut in. "I guess it isn't fair of him thinking he has a chance, but oh well. I'm not a fair person. But, what I didn't think was fair was you interrupting us."

Igneel shuffled on his feet and bowed his head in shame. "Sorry, MJ," he apologized.

"Whatever. Forgotten," Mary Jane dismissed. She crossed her arms. "Now, would you hurry up and burn the damn thing already? The hall is filling up and if I'm going to find a seat—"

Igneel looked up at Mary Jane in hope. "So, we're sitting together?"

Mary Jane raised an eyebrow. "I didn't say—"

Igneel whooped. "Awesome!" He was quick at lighting his hands blaze and the card disintegrated. He tossed the ashes only to take Mary Jane's hand and lead her inside. "Come on! I actually reserved seats for us," he gushed.

Mary Jane only grumbled as she let Igneel guide her. "Why do I even try with a moron like you?" she muttered.

---

The lights of the guild hall dimmed and everyone looked up, murmuring.

Silver smiled and rubbed his hands together. "Looks like the contest is about to get started," he deduced.

True to his word, Mirajane came on stage and walked onto the runway. Once she was on the edge of the runway, a spotlight shined down on her. She looked at the crowd with her regular smile and brought a microphone to her lips. "Hello, everyone, and welcome to Fairy Tail!" she greeted.

The hall reverberated in cheers and rowdy helloes and even a few lewd words from men out in the crowd. Gracefully, Mira ignored them.

"We welcome you to our Miss Fairy Tail Contest!" Mira continued. "Each year we have a contest to see who is the next beautiful woman of Fairy Tail, but, to tell you the truth, all of them are beautiful! Still, it is up for you to decide! There are three portions of the contest. The first portion is our Magical Beauty Contest for our lovely ladies to show off the beauty that is their Magic! The next portion is the questioning round. A good Miss Fairy Tail must not just have beauty in Magic; she must have beauty in smarts. Our last and final round will conclude with a regular beauty contest to have our ladies show off their natural beauty. At the end of each lady's turn, their Fairy Tail mark appear like this!"

Mira flung a hand in the air and a white outline of her Fairy Tail Mark appeared in the air, large and empty. The crowd ooed and awed at the display of Magic.

Mira kept explaining the rules. "All you have to do to vote for your favorite Fairy woman is raise a hand in the air so her mark fills up. At the end of all three rounds, each lady's mark from the previous rounds will come together. And whoever has the most votes…" She pointed a hand at her Fairy Tail mark. White filled in the empty mark to the brim. The Fairy Tail mark exploded in a burst white. A white outline of Plue appeared in the air with the word WINNER written in white on a side he held up. "…becomes the winner! Doesn't that sound fun?"

The crowd applauded, agreeing heartily with her words.

"Then let the contest"—Mira waved her hand for purple Magic to burst from her tips— "begin!" Her Magic exploded into fireworks, and the crowd surged with excitement.

Everyone watched in anticipation as the participants came out on stage one-by-one with their impressive Magic captivating the crowd. Each participant was told to select their very own stage name to keep the contest and themselves entertaining. Cana was the first to go on, using her tarot cards to create a non-hazardous fire that grew into a phoenix that she rode around the guild hall. She landed on the stage and the phoenix burst into beautiful flames that rejuvenated whoever it touched.

"I present to you Cana Alberona, Lady Liquor herself!"

Cana had gone with "Lady Liquor" as her stage name, wowing the crowd with creatures she conjured through her card. She even pulled out a card to create attractive men and women, which earned her extra votes and a whine from Yajima when his mistress disappeared.

"Now, for the one and only Lucy Dragneel, Celestial Maiden of Fairy Tail!"

Lucy had dazzled the crowd with her use of commanding all her spirits at the same time. It took great mastery and skill to accomplish such a thing and she could only keep all of them together for twenty minutes or so, but anyone who knew Magic knew she was truly a master of the stars. Even Yukino admitted while she had a bit of trouble keeping out her spirits, she was impressed Lucy could do so with ten Golden Zodiacs and her silver keys.

"Here comes Miss Fairy herself, Evergreen Strauss!"

Evergreen had used her Fairy Wings to fly into the audience and grew Magnolias around the guild hall. She even created her only little magical fairy-like beings for the children whom laughed and clapped as the little beings danced around them.

"Give a cheer for the Angel of Fairy Tail, Nashi Dragneel!"

Nashi used her Divine Soul as her entrance, sweeping the guild hall. Her pink Magic covered the guild hall and everyone was enrapt in her performance. She had flown into the sky and dived down. Her armor had shed and she changed into her Seraphim Soul just before she hit the stage and pulled up to fly around the guild in her new form. While the audience members cheered and applauded, the Fairy Tail Mages and even the participants applauded Nashi. Mira did so excitedly. A new Soul was something to be celebrated and seeing Nashi in her new form had excited the guild that their young angel was growing stronger.

"How about a welcome to the Rain Woman herself, Juvia Fullbuster!"

Juvia appeared in a Water Dome she created, pulling herself together, before she took off in creating shapes out of her water and having them dance about the guild hall. Silver cheered heartily for his mother, making Paige smile.

"Looks like the Iron Maiden herself has returned! Hands together for Olivia Redfox!"

Olivia had stolen the title "Iron Maiden" from Erza, but well within her right. Erza relinquished the title when she saw how much of a passionate fighter Olivia was as she used her Iron Magic. Soon, those who saw Olivia whispered the name Iron Maiden and it permanently became hers to keep. Olivia appeared in Iron Battle Armor and used her Magic to conjure an Iron Bow and Arrow. She plucked the arrow only for it to go in the air and burst into her platinum Magic.

"And last, but not least, here is the Fairy Queen herself, the Great Titania and Guild Master of Fairy Tail, Erza Scarlet!"

Erza appeared in her Heaven's Wheel Armor and flew off the stage and changing mid-flight into her Armadura Fairy Amor. Aisha was held back by Penelope as she looked dreamily at Erza and complimented how perfect she was.

"Can the guild master really take part in events?" Jay wondered.

"Well, I heard the first time Aunt Erza was told she couldn't, things didn't work out so well," Luna recalled. She could already envision Erza's angry face and gleaming eyes.

"Are you ready to say that again or are you prepared to die?" she would snarl with her swords at the ready.

Jay caught the look on Luna's face and raised an eyebrow. "You okay?"

Luna laughed nervously. "Oh, yeah! Of course I am! Just thinking about something."

The rest of the contest fared well. The votes were casted in and already Lucy had a lead. The intelligence portion was quickly moved into and each Fairy Tail lady wore their normal attire as each judge asked them a question. Evergreen was currently answering Yajima's question on her response were she guild master and was stuck paying for the members' mishaps when Luna felt something poke her inner thigh. Curious, Luna looked down.

She nearly screamed.

"Gale!" she whisper-shouted. She glanced over at Jay, but he was too interested in Evergreen's response to notice her distress. She looked back down at Gale and whispered to him, "What are you doing?"

"I have to talk to you," Gale explained from his uncomfortable position underneath the chair in front of Luna.

Luna sighed and looked away from Gale. She bit her lip. "Can't this wait until after the contest?" she suggested.

"No," Gale told her. "It has to be now."

Luna looked over at Silver, the twins, and Aisha. Silver was whispering in Paige's ear and snuggling up to her while the poor girl blushed and desperately tried to peel him off her. Penelope watched the questioning, but held Aisha back from running up on stage and speaking to Evergreen.

Everyone seems pretty distracted. I'm sure no one will even notice I'm gone.

Luna nodded. "Okay," she agreed.

Gale grinned. "Great. I'll meet you on the roof."

Luna nodded again.

"And Blondie?"

Luna looked down at Gale with a raised eyebrow. "What is it?" she asked.

Gale's grin broadened. "Nice panties by the way," he mentioned.

Luna looked down to see her legs had been partially open. Her blush went from her face all the way to the roots of her hair and she shut her legs tightly. She was about to scold him when she realized he had disappeared from his position underneath the chair in front of her.

Luna puffed her cheeks.

Gale, you stupid pervert!

°•°•°•°

When Luna made it to the roof, Gale was already there waiting for her with a plate of two sandwiches.

Luna approached him awkwardly. "Hey… What's all this?" she asked.

"Food," Gale answered. "Thought you might be hungry."

Luna nodded and sat at a distance from him. Gale handed her a sandwich and Luna took it gratefully and began to tuck it in. Gale chuckled as Luna did so. "I don't know how someone so tiny could eat that much," he teased.

Luna finished chewing her sandwich. "Oh, shut up. Your appetite is worse than mine," she reminded. "Anyways, what's this about? I don't want Jay to worry about me. I told him I was meeting up with a friend for a few."

Gale narrowed his eyes. "So, you have to lie to talk to me?" he supposed, irritated.

Luna furrowed her eyebrows. "I didn't lie."

"Then, what's so wrong with telling him you were coming up to talk to me?" Gale demanded. "Ashamed of me in front of your new toy?"

Luna was taken back. Then, anger set in her eyes. "Excuse me? I'm not 'ashamed' of talking to you! And Jay is not a 'toy'! He's been good company to me all-day, unlike you!"

"If you wanted me to flirt with you every two seconds, then you should have told me," Gale snapped sarcastically.

"And if I knew you were going to be this mean, I wouldn't have come up here." Luna glowered at him. "Either tell me what you want to talk about or I'm going back to watch the contest."

"Who is he to you anyways?" Gale asked, still pressing about Jay.

Luna sighed. "Jay is a great guy and Nashi told me he was interested in me. And so far, today's been really great." Her annoyed brown eyes clashed with Gale's annoyed red eyes. "Until you ruined it."

"Sorry for wanting to spend time with my friend," Gale mocked. "One guy comes along and you forget about me that easily, huh?"

"I didn't forget!" Luna insisted. "I just wanted to have a nice time with Jay! How is that so bad?"

"How can you even trust this guy?" Gale shot at her.

Luna growled, "Because, unlike you, I have faith in other people. I don't feel the need to distrust every person who talks to me."

"It's called 'being careful'," Gale stressed. "Try it sometime. Maybe you'll learn something."

"Oh, I learned plenty." Luna stood up defiantly, making sure her glare stayed locked on Gale. "I learned that Jay is an amazing person and, I think, if my papa would let me, he would be someone I'd want to be with. And I learned that the only guy I shouldn't trust around here is you."

Gale's eyes widened at Luna's words. "You don't mean that," he whispered.

Luna let out a frustrated sigh and turned her back on Gale. "Ever since I got my Magic, we've been fighting more than we should've."

"All friends fight," Gale pointed out. "It's normal."

"They don't fight like we do," Luna told him. She rubbed her arm. "Look, you have Julia. And I get it, you know? She's your best friend. It was bound to happen and I'm happy for you. Honestly, I've been rooting for it. But…maybe we should take a break from talking to each other."

"Blondie," Gale pleaded, standing up, "you can't mean that."

"We never used to fight," Luna said softly. "You are one of my greatest friends I could trust with anything. But we're just getting more and more angry with each other. Maybe it's for the best so we don't fight anymore."

Gale walked over to Luna and hugged her close to him. He could smell the salty scent of her tears and his heart broke.

How bad of a friend am I? I made her cry.

"This is my fault," he decided, mumbling into her hair. "I shouldn't have gotten mad at you over him. I'm sorry. If—… If he makes you happy, then that makes me happy," Gale told her, swallowing back his emotion. "You're my best friend. Any guy that makes you happy should make me happy."

Luna sniffled. "But… I thought Julia was your best friend?"

Gale chuckled lowly. "Blondie, that stubborn woman can't replace you. She's family to me. But you'll always be my best friend."

Luna felt confusion. "So, wait. You two…aren't…anything?" she wanted to check.

Gale scrunched his nose at the thought. "Hell no. She's too old for me and too much like another annoying sister."

Luna felt foolish at that. "Really? Wow. And here I am, thinking you two could date. I feel really stupid now."

Gale laughed. "Me date that chick? God, no! Never even thought about her like that." He raised an eyebrow at Luna. "Don't tell me you were jealous of her," he teased.

Luna blushed, but laughed as well. "Don't get too cocky, Redfox. I guess I was more worried she'd think something was going on between us and get upset," she explained. "I don't want it to be weird between us, you know? I really look up to her."

Disappointment struck Gale's heart, but he refused to let it show. "Right. Got it," he muttered.

Silence passed between them. Gale took the opportunity to smell Luna's charming scent.

Ever since she left last night, I was so restless. I couldn't even sleep. I had to go check on her.

The vision shifted to Gale peering down at Luna's tear-stricken face, even if her eyes were closed.

I held her all-night, but her tears wouldn't stop.

"Don't go," Gale remembered Luna pleading in her dreaming state.

What's worse is that bastard Borus is still out there. But I can't think about that now. She's safe with me right now.

"Thank you."

The two words were so quiet Gale barely heard them. "What for?" he asked.

"For saving me," Luna answered. "Thank you for everything last night. I don't think I did so properly. You were like my hero yesterday."

Gale's lips twitched into a smirk. "If you really want to thank your hero, you could—"

"The only 'kiss' you'll be getting from me is my fist punching your face," Luna threatened good-humoredly.

"Feisty," Gale teased. "Nah, Blondie, you know I'll do whatever you keep you safe. We're friends."

"I know. But thank you, still." Luna tensed as she remembered being helpless in the clutches of Kenta and Borus.

I can still feel their touch on me. And I can hear them.

She trembled.

No matter how many times I showered, I could still feel them.

She shut her eyes.

I was weak.

Gale must have sensed her thoughts for he hugged her tightly and spoke, "There was nothing you could do. Even my mom said Borus' Timbre was so powerful, an experienced Mage would have had difficulty resisting it. You didn't know."

"And I had to have you rescue me," Luna said bitterly. "It was humiliating."

"It was necessary," Gale corrected. "I'd do it all again if I had to. You're worth it."

"But I'm not," Luna denied.

Gale sighed. "Stop thinking like that, Blondie. You're going to see it someday," he told her in her ear.

Luna smiled sadly as she pulled away from him. "Thank you, Gale. You're a very good friend."

Gale was hesitant to ask his next question. "Do you…? Do you still want to take a break from me?" he asked.

"No. I shouldn't have even said that," Luna told him, thinking herself stupid. "I was angry. I'm so sorry I even—"

"Don't sweat it," Gale dismissed. "I could never stay pissed at you."

Luna snorted. "Even if I told Igneel you were hopelessly in-love with him and your fights were to mask how much you cared for him?" she wanted to know.

"Don't even joke about that," Gale scolded. "Wouldn't be too pissed at you. Maybe if you apologized and gave me a lot of meat, then I'd get over it a lot quicker and let you live."

"Ooo, how charming," Luna said, sardonic. "I didn't know dragons could be so kind."

Gale pointed at her in mocking seriousness. "Don't go telling people that, got it? We have a rep to uphold."

"You're such a softy."

"I'll deny that if you ever tell someone that and kidnap you."

"Do I get to live in a tower?"

"Nah. You'll live in my cave."

"Do I get fed? All the free food I want?"

"Maybe. If you clean."

"If my knight-in-shining armor comes, will you let me go?"

"Ha! Like any knight would even want a blonde!"

Luna swatted at him. "Be serious!" she scolded, though was laughing herself.

Gale grinned. "No, I wouldn't give you up without a fight," he answered. "Let's face it: he wouldn't stand a chance against me. I'd kick his ass before he could give his soliloquy about rescuing you."

"But, what if I'm in-love with him?"

"Sucks for you then."

"You're horrible."

"Babe, I'm a dragon. When was I the good guy in a fairy tale?"

"You are in my fairy tale," Luna assured him. This time, those words carried more weight than her joking ones. Her words carried her sincerity.

Gale snorted, humorless, bitter, as he looked away from her. "Blondie, believe me, I am not the good guy," he warned.

"You are in my eyes," Luna solaced. Her hand slipped onto his cheek and brought his attention back to her. Soft chocolate flashed with self-hating ruby. "You, Gale Redfox of Fairy Tail, are the good dragon fighting off all those knights who don't deserve a princess. And, I'm sure you'll find someone worthy of you."

"You've got it wrong, Blondie," Gale murmured.

"I've got it right," Luna assured. "Give yourself a little credit. You just say that because you haven't met a princess you want to steal from the world."

Gale wanted to say it. He wanted to say it so badly. But, he offered her a half-hearted smile. "Guess I haven't," he lied. "And that guy you're with… Is he the knight you want?"

Luna hummed, trying to find the answer. "I'm not sure, actually," she responded. "He could be. He's pretty cute and really funny, but…" She shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe not."

Gale swallowed as his eyes flickered from her lips to her eyes. "'Cute' huh?" he muttered. "And I'm not 'cute'?"

"Of course you're not," Luna laughed.

Gale felt himself fall-over at that. "Geez, Blondie, no need to be subtle," he muttered.

"Wait, no, that's not what I meant," Luna tried to explain. "You're not cute because you're just…too Gale."

Gale raised an eyebrow. "I'm too…me."

Luna ducked her head. "Okay, that sounded better in my head," she mentioned.

Gale smiled. "Don't worry, Blondie, I think, as far as blondes go, you're pretty cute."

Luna, now, raised an eyebrow at him. "What is up with you pointing out me being a blonde? Don't tell me you don't like them."

Gale shrugged. "Just not my type," he lied. "Not exactly the type I think would look good next to me."

Luna found herself hurt at the comment. "Oh. I get it," she mumbled. She moved from him. "Hey, uh, let's go back inside, okay? Don't want everyone to worry about us."

Gale groaned when he could feel distance rise between us. "No, wait, Blondie, that's not what I—"

"I get it," Luna told him, but did not face him. "I'm heading back first." She walked back to the staircase without any further good-byes.

Gale reached for her. "Blondie, I—" But, it was too late as she had begun her climb back down. He raked his hands through his hair. "Dammit. Why can't I ever find the right thing to say?" he grumbled. He picked up the plate and followed Luna's path, mentally cursing himself. "Way to go, Earth Dragon."

---

"And the winner is…our very own Celestial Maiden!"

Lucy had been crowned the winner with her own golden crown and a bouquet of Magnolias was given to her. Luna ran up to her mother once Lucy was backstage and gave her a tight hug.

"You were beautiful up there, Mama," Luna told her mother.

Lucy laughed and hugged her back. "So was everyone else. I was so sure Erza was going to beat me."

Natsu came up to Lucy with his hands behind his back as Luke and Igneel accompanied him. He gave Lucy his happy-go-lucky grin. "You did amazing, Lucy," he said to his wife.

"Congrats, Ma!" Igneel and Luke cheered.

Lucy brought her sons in for a hug, squeezing them tightly. "Oh, thanks, you two," she appreciated.

"You did wonderful, Mama."

Lucy released three of her kids to see her eldest gazing at her in admiration. Lucy and Nashi instantly went over to each and fell into a hug. "You did gorgeous too, Nashi Layla, and don't you forget that," Lucy told her daughter. "You came in third place and it was your first year. I'm so proud of you."

Nashi pulled away from Lucy to stare at her in surprise. "You are?"

Lucy nodded. "I am," she confirmed. "Everyone loved your Divine Souls. Mira couldn't believe you didn't tell her sooner, but she can wait to train with you."

Nashi ducked her head in embarrassment. "I can't wait to train with her either," she admitted.

"You did great, sis!" Igneel cheered as he brought Nashi into a hug.

Nashi laughed. "Thanks, Igloo."

Igneel offered her a pout. "I compliment you and I still get insulted? Such a rip-off!"

"You were beautiful out there, Nashi," Luke said.

Luna nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! It was so cool watching you and Mama! You both were amazing!"

Nashi ruffled Luna's hair. "That'll be you someday, Lu," she foretold.

Footsteps. Hurried footsteps. "Angel!" came a all. "Angel!"

The siblings looked up to see Gary dashing towards them with a bouquet in hand. He skidded to a halt in front of Nashi with a breathless smile. "There you are. I was hoping I'd find you." He held the bouquet out to her. "These are for you," he announced.

Nashi was slow in taking the bouquet. She stared at the flowers. They were not just flowers. They were mandevillas flowers of taffy pink.

"Aren't those your favorite, Nashi?" Luke inquired.

Nashi nodded. "Um, yeah." She could not look at Gary. "Thanks," she muttered.

Gary's eyebrows furrowed and he frowned at her lackluster response. "Are you okay, Angel?" he worried. "You did beautiful out there. I couldn't take my eyes off you."

Nashi did not respond to him.

Gary took a step closer to her, hesitating as he raised a hand to her cheek. "Angel?" he murmured.

"Gary!" Silver came hurling over to his brother and tried tugging him away. "Come on! Let's go congratulate Mom before Dad hogs her!"

Gary took one last look at Nashi before agreeing with Silver. "Sure. Let's go," he muttered, allowing Silver to tug him away.

Luna looked at the unreadable Nashi with a frown. "Sis…"

"Oh, Natsu…" came Lucy's breathless voice.

The Dragneel children looked to their parents to see their father with a soft smile on his face as he presented their mother a single dragon lily and a velvet jewelry box. The box had been opened to reveal a pair of sparkling earrings, each one with a tiny flame inside. Both earrings were shaped in small stars.

Lucy's eyes glistened. "Natsu," she repeated completely shocked.

Natsu chuckled when he saw a tear and brushed it away with his knuckle. "Don't cry, Lucy. They're just earrings."

Lucy threw herself at Natsu and he caught her with ease. He held her in his arms while Lucy nuzzled into his chest. "They're beautiful, Natsu," she mumbled into his shirt. "Thank you."

"Geez, Lucy. Such a crybaby," he teased. "You get sentimental over everything."

"Shut up."

"Remember when you cried when I gave you—?"

"You're close to sleeping on the couch."

"Let's not get too hasty now," Natsu laughed nervously.

Luna watched as her parents embraced and gave a sigh. "They're so cute," she said.

Igneel locked his hands behind his head. "But Ma totally wears the pants," he deduced.

Natsu's head shot up and he glared at Igneel. "I can still hear, ya brat," he growled.

Igneel backed away anxiously. "Come on, old man! It was just in good fun," he tried to soothe.

"Who are you calling 'old'? Get back here!" Natsu shouted as he sprinted away from Lucy to lunge at Igneel.

Igneel panicked and ran away from his father in a circle before hiding behind his mother and pointing accusingly at his father. "Ma! Pops' trying to kill me!" he complained.

"You can't hide behind Lucy forever," Natsu warned.

"Yes, I can!"

"No, you can't!"

"Watch me, old man!"

"I ain't old, ya damn brat!"

Lucy put a hand on her forehead and her shoulders sagged. "It's like having another Natsu," she groaned.

Luke shook his head. "Poor Mom…"

"Poor us. We're related to them," Nashi muttered.

A tap on Luna's shoulder made her turn around. Jay stood before her, looking sheepish. "I know you told me to wait outside, but I wanted to come in and congratulate your mom."

Luna smiled and took his hand. "Sure. She would love that," she said, guiding him to Lucy. "Mama!" she called. "This is Jay."

Lucy removed her hand to look at Jay. She threw him her sunny grin and held out a hand for him to shake. "It's nice to meet you," she greeted. "I'm Lucy."

Jay shook Lucy's hand as though he was in awe of the Celestial Mage in front of him. "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Misses Dragneel. Now that I've seen you, I see where Luna got her beauty from," he flattered as he let go of Lucy's hand to intertwine his with Luna.

Both Lucy and Luna blushed at the compliment.

"Well, thank you," Lucy appreciated kindly.

Natsu stopped chasing Igneel when his eyes caught onto Jay and Luna holding hands. "Who are you?" he demanded to know.

Jay paled when he saw the fire in Natsu's eyes. "Uh…"

Lucy smacked Natsu's shoulder. "Natsu, don't be rude," she scolded. "This is Jay. Remember? One of the friends Nashi was inviting to the festival?"

Natsu did not look like he cared. The look in his dark eyes made Jay feel small. He grinned a menacing grin and stuck a hand out. "Nice to meet you, kid," he said politely.

Jay saw the inner dragon within Natsu creep out. It was disturbing to him. He had heard Natsu Dragneel was the Fire Dragon of Fairy Tail, but the eyes he saw reeked of promises of pain and endless suffering. Jay could practically feel Natsu's flames attacking him and burning him.

"Aren't you going to shake my hand?" Natsu asked with a cocky raise of his eyebrow.

Jay fell to the ground and fainted.

Luna looked at Jay in shock and kneeled beside him. "Jay!" she cried.

Lucy immediately went to Jay's other side. "Oh, my God!" She glared accusingly at Natsu. "Natsu Dragneel," she growled.

Natsu rolled his eyes. "It's not my fault he couldn't handle shaking my hand," he grumbled.

"We both know that's not what happened," Lucy argued. "And since you're so blameless in this situation, you can be the one to take him to the infirmary."

Natsu gawked at his wife. "But I—!"

Lucy's glare intensified. "Try arguing and see how forgiving I'll be tonight," she threatened.

Natsu gulped. "Aye, sir." He carelessly picked up Jay before lumbering out of the room.

"Told you Ma wears the pants," Igneel muttered to Nashi and Luke.

Lucy looked apologetically at her daughter. "I'm sorry about that, baby. You know how your dad can get."

Luna sighed. "Yeah, I know...".

"Blondie! Blondie!"

Luna turned to see Gale running up to her. He grabbed her hand urgently and tugged her back toward the direction he came. "Come on! Laxus is about to start the Battle of Fairy Tail," he urged as the two of them ran out of the door.

Gale and Luna ended up near the front stage with Nashi, Igneel, Luke, and Lucy behind them. Laxus was on stage with Mira and Erza on his left and Freed on his right. He looked older up on the stage. Anyone could see Laxus had a life of hard work and repentance just by looking into his green eyes. He had kept the sides of his hair shorter than the top of his head with a cowlick. He did not traipse around in his fur-lined coat and switched his style to a more laid back one. He pants were dark in a camouflage pattern with tints and shades of black and gray. His shirt was a dark gray, nearing black, and so were his boots. He looked like he was an army brat or maybe even the commander.

⌜FAIRY TAIL

Name: Laxus Dreyar

Occupation: S-Class Mage

Magic: Lightning

Likes: classic rock and roll Dislikes: country

Special Note: Laxus may have calmed down over the years, but you don't want to anger him! It's not him you should worry about—it's his wife! ⌟

Fairy Tail Mages had all gathered in the guild hall while a few stragglers from the contest listened from the entrance of the guild.

"Fairy Tail!" Laxus boomed. "It is now time for the battle amongst your guild mates!"

Cheers of all the Mages resounded throughout the hall. Luna laughed as Igneel and Gale crowed at the news. The Battle of Fairy Tail excited everyone in the guild and she could feel their energy surrounding her.

Mama told me how the first Battle of Fairy Tail wasn't intentional and our guildmates had to fight each other if they wanted to survive. But now, the Battle of Fairy Tail makes a stronger bond between us.

"You idiots should all know the rules," Laxus went on in his carrying voice, "but just to be clear, in a moment, all of you will be transported somewhere within Magnolia. Freed has set the ruins so once you meet another Mage, you must duel to leave the ruins. Should you lose or forfeit, you will be transported back here. Lacrima Screens have already been placed all over town for you to see who has been defeated, but only those who stay in the guild hall will see a map of all participants. Your goal: get to Kardia Cathedral for your final opponent. Whoever wins gets the grand prize." A dark look over came Laxus and a chill went up every member's spine. "Freed and I may have put a protection spell on the buildings, but, by Master Erza's command, if any of you idiots break them, you will be punished with…that."

Gray paled. "Laxus, you can't be serious!" he argued.

"To Hell with that, Sparky! I ain't doing that!" Gajeel shouted.

"Oh, shit…"

Luna looked over at Igneel who looked as though his soul had fled from his body. "What does Uncle Laxus mean by 'that'?" she questioned.

"You don't want to know, Lu," Luke said, looking green. "Don't ask."

Laxus lost his dark look to give his guild a mild stare. "I wish all of you the best of luck. As Master Erza is taking place in the tournament, I will remain here with the rest of the members to watch over the battle. Preparations for the Fantasia Parade are being made as we speak, so once you return to the guild, you are to help set up for the parade for tonight. No illegal use of forbidden Magic or any moves are allowed. You may be enemies out there, but you are still family. Know that." Laxus nodded at Freed who nodded back.

Erza, then, said: "Those of you participating come forth. Those who are not, stay on the sidelines."

Igneel grinned at his family and nudged Luke and Nashi. "Guess that means we have to go kick some ass. Just that gets my fire going!"

Lucy smiled at Igneel's eagerness. "You get more like your dad every day," she laughed. "I wish all of you luck. I'll be cheering for all of you."

"But you know I'm going to win, right?" Igneel boasted.

Nashi shoved Igneel. "Not if I can help it," she countered.

"I'll have you both know that both of you don't stand a chance," Luke said smugly, showing off his canines in one of his rare grins.

"I can totally beat you!" Igneel argued. "You may do all that Zen-illusion stuff, but no illusion can recreate smell!"

Luke's grin broadened. "And let's just say I have something to remedy that."

Nashi scoffed. "Oh, whatever. Prepare to get your asses kicked and handed to you, boys."

Smiling softly, Luna watched her siblings bicker and move toward the center of the guild.

It's nice to see the guild competing and still friends. And maybe one day…I can compete too.

"Lu!" Luna looked to see Lucy beckoning her. "Come on!"

Luna nodded. "Coming!" She made her way to follow her mother when a hand on her wrist stopped her. She turned to see Gale keeping her. Her eyes lowered to the floor. "Can I help you?" she asked him.

Gale sighed. "Look, Blondie, I didn't mean what I said up on the roof," he tried to explain.

Luna tugged her wrist out of his grasp. "No, it's fine, Gale," she assured. "Blondes aren't your type. That's fine. Mama says everyone has preferences."

"Yeah, well, I lied."

Luna looked up to give Gale a frown. "What are you—?"

"Blondes are my type," Gale confessed. He scratched the back of his head as his eyes drifted to the space in-between them "I was just embarrassed, okay? Didn't want you to make fun of me or anything."

"Why would I make fun of you?" Luna wondered. "So, you like blondes. What's the big deal?"

"A lot more than you think," Gale muttered. "It's just—…" He let out a frustrated breath. "The blonde I like isn't one I can ever have."

Luna furrowed her eyebrows. "The blonde you…" A look of understanding washed over her. "Oh, I get it," she said.

Gale raised an eyebrow. "You do?"

Luna nodded. "Mmm-hmm. You like Mary Jane," she deduced.

Gale's jaw dropped at that. She had completely missed his point. "Um… What?" were the only eloquent words he could think of.

"It makes sense," Luna insisted. "I mean she's blonde, right? And you can't have her because she doesn't really like people and with Igneel friends with her, it's like you'd be breaking that 'bro code' thingy Igneel tried explaining to me once. I'm right, right?" she wanted to confirm eagerly.

Gale blinked. "You…are an idiot," he decided.

Luna frowned. "Excuse me?"

"That Demon Woman? You think I like her?" Gale shook his head. "Blondie, I wouldn't touch her if my life depended on it or even look at her in that way. That is wrong on so many levels."

"Then, I still don't get it," Luna complained. "Who's a blonde you can't have?"

Gale blew out a loud breath. "No one, Blondie. Absolutely no one," he muttered. "And, even if I did, doubt she'd even think I'd exist."

Luna softened. "Gale…"

Gale quieted her with a request. "Hey, promise you'll cheer for me? Since I'll be the one kicking ass out there and all."

Luna smiled and nodded. "Mmm. You know I will," she vowed.

Gale grinned at her playfully. "Does this mean you'll wear a cute cheerleading outfit to cheer me on?" he teased.

Luna laughed. "Jerk. You know my papa wouldn't like that."

Gale chuckled and shook his head. "He probably wouldn't. He'd burn me if he knew I even asked that." He ran a hand through Luna's hair. "As long as I know you're my cheerleader, then I guess I can't lose," he decided with a smile.

Soft chocolate clashed with determined ruby. "Gale," Luna murmured.

"Little bro!" Galileo called, interrupting their moment. "Get your ass over here!"

"Coming!" Gale yelled back. He looked at Luna cheekily. "A kiss for good luck, maybe?" he asked.

Blood rushed to Luna's face as she glared at Gale. "You jerk," she snapped. "I told you—"

Gale chuckled. Seeing Luna blush was adorable. "Calm down, Blondie. I'm just teasing you."

Luna looked away from him, annoyed, but there was something more in her pointed glare. "Gale, you just can't—"

She stopped in surprise.

Gale had given her a kiss on the cheek.

Luna was frozen. She could still feel the lingering presence of his lips on her skin.

Gale pulled back and was satisfied at the far-off look in Luna's eyes. "I'll see you after I win, princess," he farewelled and he ran away from her to join the rest of the Mages.

Luna watched him leave quietly. Shakily, a hand went to her cheek. She could feel the warmth that was just on her face. Heat softly brushed against her cheeks as her eyes carried over to Gale to see him already in an argument with Igneel.

"Yeah," she agreed in a murmur. "You will."

"Luna!"

Luna jumped at the sound of her mother's voice and saw her all the way on the wall of the guild. "Coming!" she called, moving toward her mother. But her hand did not leave her cheek nor the blush on her face.

You better win, you jerk.

---

Yea, Baby!

Dance with me! Dance with me! Just dance with me now!

Odorou

motto Party! Party! Like we just don't care!

Sawagou

•

Yea, Baby!

Dance with me! Dance with me! Just dance with me now!

Odorou

motto Party! Party! Like we just don't care!

Sawagou Yay!

---

TO BE CONTINUED…

Wow! This festival just got even more exciting! I wonder who will win the Battle of Fairy Tail… Find out next time on Fairy Adventure!

---

Chibi-Luna pops up with a wave. "I hope you guys enjoyed today's episode! Now, time for our Fairy Lesson! Let's welcome senior Fairy Macao Conbolt!"

Chibi-Macao appears next to Luna with a blush on his cheeks and a beer bottle in hand. "Hey, kids. What can I do for ya?" he slurs.

Chibi-Luna looks at her uncle with an apprehensive eye. "Uncle Macao, I told you not to drink before this lesson," she scolds. "You're drunk!"

Chibi-Macao sways as laughter bubbles from his lips. "No, no, Lu, I'm fine," he sings off-key. "Go ahead with the lesson. Fire away."

Chib-Luna sighs. "Let's start with the basics, yeah? Uncle Macao is the father of Romeo Conbolt, a powerful Rainow Fire Mage. He—"

"Yup! That's me boy!" Chibi-Macao says loudly. "Such a great kid! I love him to death! Where's my little Romeo?" He begins to search for him. "Romeo?" he sings. "Romeo?"

Chibi-Luna shakes her head in despair. "Well, I think we'll have to cut this one short today," she decides apologetically. "Just know that Uncle Macao may be divorced, but he drinks a lot and he studies Purple Falre. That's a Caster Mage that's a type of Fire Magic that can't be put out by water or fire."

CRASH.

Chibi-Luna looks back to see Chibi-Macao on the ground with his drink in hand. "Enno," he sobs comically. "I miss you…"

"Enno is Uncle Macao's ex-wife," Chibi-Luna explains. "Auntie Cana and Uncle Wakaba tell me she left him because he worked too much. But, Uncle Macao is a good man…when he's not drunk."

Chib-Macao begins singing a louder chant with a crackling voice. "Gather up all of the crew! It's time to ship out Binks' Brew! Sea wind blows, to where, who knows? The waves will be our guide!"

Chibi-Luna facepalms. "Uncle Macao, that's the wrong anime," she groans. "The new opening of today's episode is Maji Desu ka Ska! by Morning Musume, if I didn't already tell you, and our closing is Dance With Me Now! by the E-girls. Next time, on Fairy Adventure—"

"Clash of Guild-Mates!" Chibi-Macao suddenly recites, startling Chibi-Luna and the camera crew. "Seduction means nothing in a time of battle!"

Chibi-Luna groans. "That's the Japanese translation, Uncle Macao," she reminds. "Next time, on Fairy Adventure: RACE TO THE CATHEDRAL!" She looks at her pitiful uncle. "Now, can someone please get Uncle Macao water and get him home?"

Two buff-looking chibi-men dressed in all black with shades come out to lift Chibi-Macao from the floor and drag him from the set. He lifts his empty bottle with an unsteady smile. "In You Lie in April, Kaori—!"

"Uncle Macao, wrong anime and please, shut up!"