Gray jumped off the cliff, landing on his feet.

"Ice Make: Spear!" he yelled.

The giant centipede reared up on its leg, standing probably 20 feet tall at its full height. It hissed and drew in breath. Gray and Juvia bolted in opposite directions, knowing what was coming next. Sure enough, the centipede fired. Juvia dodged the attack, watching the acidic sludge burn away the ground she'd just been standing on.

Taking the distraction as an opportunity, Gray threw his spear, making contact with the centipede's side. Gray leapt from the ground, firing ice inside the large gash the spear had made.

The centipede roared angrily, then keeled over. Gray fired another shot of ice, cementing its head into the ground to be sure it stayed down.

He kicked the giant centipede in the head, even though it was obviously dead. Guts spilled out of its side and onto the ground.

"That's right!" he yelled at it, "You're TOAST!"

"It's dead, Gray," Juvia said, coming alongside him and encircling her arms around his back, hugging him firmly, her breasts pushed into his back, "Enough, ok?"

He kicked it one more time for good measure before turning to kiss her properly.

"Sorry, Juves. He was ticking me off. He almost got you there."

She rolled her eyes, "It was nowhere near getting me. I saw that shot coming a million miles away."

Glancing around at the places the centipede had shot its sludge, Gray grimaced. The sludge burned away at the ground in several spots, making holes in its wake.

"Not that I don't have confidence in you," he said, pointing out the holes, "But it would really suck to get hit by that shit."

Juvia sighed, not able to argue and actually finding it pointless even if she could, "Let's go get our reward."

They collected the reward, splitting it evenly between them, even though they'd taken the next step in their relationship and bought a house together in Magnolia. As far as Juvia was concerned, their money should be pooled. She even dared to hope that soon, the Demon Slayer would consider making their arrangement…more permanent. She knew he was slow to move on things – look how long it took him to admit that he loved her – but she was ready to do more than just live with him. She wanted marriage and kids. The topic freaked Gray right out, however, and he avoided it like the plague. Even so, after the events with Lucy and Natsu, Gray seemed more protective of her in recent months…almost like he was afraid of losing her the way Natsu had almost lost Lucy.

"What do we do now?" Gray asked, searching the landscape.

She frowned. The obvious answer was to return to Fairy Tail. They needed to check in, report their success, and hang out with their nakama. Gray had been acting strange in recent months in other ways as well. She couldn't put her finger on it, but he was restless.

"Let's go home," she suggested, "I heard Natsu and Lucy will be back this week."

Gray's eyes lit up, "Where in the hell did you hear that?"

"Gildarts said he saw a trail that only Natsu could leave in the woods."

Gray's face was threatening to split in two, his smile was so wide, even though he'd turned his head, thinking she wouldn't see it. She smiled to herself. Bingo! That's why he was acting strange. Natsu and Lucy had extended their honeymoon to last months. It had been four months, to be exact. Gray and Juvia started going on missions with Erza, Jellal, Levy and Gajeel in their absence and they proved to be a very effective team. But, even though Gray wouldn't admit it to anyone out loud, he missed his best friends. He hadn't spent any time with them since their wedding, meaning no extended time at all with Lucy in almost 3 years. Plus, the last great amount of time he'd spent with Natsu was when he was still all weird. He closed his eyes, shaking his head, remembering the day Natsu tried to summon Lucy from the Celestial world on his own. Weird. Just weird.

At any rate, he was excited at their return and agreed to return home with Juvia, trying not to let his excitement contaminate his non-chalant, "Yeah, okay. Let's go home."

Juvia smiled to herself. Gray didn't fool her. Not one little bit.


Erza ran a finger down Jellal's bare chest, kissing him lightly on the cheek, "Guess we ought to get up sometime today," she mused.

He sighed contentedly. Life was so much more relaxed as a Fairy Tail member. Recently, Jellal had decided to disband Crime Sorciere in lieu of spending his life with Erza full-time. He'd received his Fairy Tail insignia just last week. He was a welcomed addition.

He loved Crime Sorciere and what they stood for. There would always be a part of him that would feel he was undeserving of this life and of Erza, but the Magic Council had absolved him of his crimes. Sorano and Rustyrose were in prison. Erik had settled down with Kinana, also joining Fairy Tail. Meredy had been spending more and more time with Lyon, Gray's brother. One by one, the other members asked Jellal's blessing to move on with their lives. He had finally conceded. It was time to settle down and continue proving that he would never again stray from the straight and narrow. What better way than to give his life to the woman he loved and the guild that saved so many on a daily basis?

"Maybe we could call in sick," he said, kissing her forehead, "We can always take a mission tomorrow."

She rolled out of bed, casting him a glance over her shoulder as she headed for the shower, "I've heard tell that our resident Fire Dragon Slayer and his new wife have been spotted in the forest. I'd like to welcome them home," she paused, peeking around the door with a light smirk on her face, "And if I didn't know better, Jellal Fernandez, I would say you just made a joke!"

He threw a pillow at her disappearing figure, "I can joke, Titannia! I can be freakin' hilarious when I want to be!"

"Uh huh!" she called back, "Now, are you coming or not?"

Jellal leapt up from the bed and followed her. Far be it from him to leave the lady waiting.


Levy poked her pouting Dragon Slayer on the nose, "Oh, don't be like that! I'm almost done."

She was pouring over books again, researching a new herb Wendy had found in the forest recently. She was working with Wendy and Porylusica to document its properties and see if they could figure out how to use it. It was called Quaine. The history books documented it as a poisonous herb, but they'd discovered quite by accident when Gray froze some on a mission, that when frozen, it emitted a different property. Gray had tumbled on top of it and one of his wounds had stopped bleeding instantly. Since Wendy was not available to be on every mission, a healing potion could prove to be valuable.

The Iron Dragon Slayer leaned back in his chair, balancing on two legs, "Seriously Shrimp…it's been hours."

"Nobody said you had to stay with me," she quipped, flipping a page of the book she was buried in.

Gajeel didn't move at first, then got a wicked grin, pulling her into his lap in one smooth movement.

"Break time!" he announced, tickling her sides.

She started laughing, writhing to get away from him. She jabbed her fingers into his sides, making him flinch, but he just tickled her even harder. For a small girl, she was feisty. There was no way she could beat Gajeel, not that it would ever stop her from trying. Her work was effectively done for the day, since there was little doubt he would not allow her to return to it.

"Wanna go get some grub?" he asked when her laughter subsided.

"Yeah," she said, her eyes brightening, "There's a rumour Natsu and Lucy will be coming back soon! I can't wait to see them!"

Gajeel rolled his eyes, "Yay. The fire freak is back. And I know he is. I smelled him the other day in the forest. No one can disguise that stench."

She mocked his eye roll, "You know, it wouldn't kill you to take a page out of his book."

"What's that supposed to mean? You want me to stink like him?"

"Seriously, Gajeel," she playing whacked his shoulder, "Even you miss them by now."

"Yeah. Like I miss being hit by a train," he muttered, purposely loud enough for her to hear.

She giggled, cleaning up her work area. Gajeel was already by the door, tightening his boots. He would never admit it, but she knew he missed Natsu and Lucy as much as she did. The fact that he now waited impatiently by the door, pretending to not be in a hurry, said it all.


Cana was rifling through drawers in her dad's house. Her stuff was everywhere. Leave it to her dad to make such a mess. Since she'd gone with him for a year, all her stuff had been transferred from Fairy Hills to her dad's place. Apparently, he hadn't actually stored her stuff anywhere, but rather everywhere…as in no two items were in the same place.

She was glad to be home. When Lucy, Lisanna, Wakaba, Jet, and Nab had passed away, Cana was hit hard. She realized she didn't want to die Fairy Tail's resident drunkard. She needed more than that. After a long heart-to-heart with her dad, she'd finally agreed to go away with him for a year to quit drinking and see Fiore. It was one of the best decisions of her life. For the first time, she realized the true potential of her magic. She grew stronger and more confident. When she and her dad received the news that Lucy was alive and marrying Natsu, they'd returned home. As wonderful as her year of discovery had been, there was no place like home. Now home permanently, Cana was looking for a purpose. It started with her promotion to S-Class mage…finally! Now she needed to prove herself.

Her best deck of cards was somewhere in this hellhole. Yes, it was truly good to be home.

"But not this home!" she exclaimed out loud, slamming a drawer in frustration, "I really need to get my own place! As soon as possible!"


The guild was bustling as everyone arrived for the noon hour.

"Hey Cana!" Juvia yelled in greeting, "You said Gildarts saw Natsu and Lucy, right?"

"Not saw," Cana denied, "He recognized Natsu's path. Natsu always leaves broken branches and crumbs of whatever he's eating. Not obvious to most people, but Dad knows Natsu like no one else."

"So it might not be true?" Mira's face fell.

"Oh it's true!" Gajeel interjected, "I can smell him in the forest. Bunny Girl too."

"Well, if Dad sensed him, that was about a month ago last time he came through," Cana said thoughtfully.

"But I only smelled him the only day," Gajeel lamented, "So that means…"

"…they've been around for like a month?" Gray burst out laughing, "Leave it to Flame Brain to lose his way so close to home!"

"I doubt he's lost," Erza put in, "He grew up here, just like the rest of us. They don't want to announce their presence yet is all."

"Why would they hide it?" Jellal asked, sitting down at the table to eat the sandwich Mira had just made him.

"I dunno," Gray said thoughtfully, "But I think I'd like to find out."

Gajeel grinned, fist-bumping Gray, "Oh I think so too!"

Levy and Juvia rolled their eyes. Leave it to Gajeel and Gray to want to mess up whatever Lucy and Natsu were doing.