Gray crouched into the bank of the river, rolling in the mud to conceal his body. Fully caked, he silently padded back to the edge of the clearing 300 yards away and crouched behind a bush where he could see clearly.

There were two figures by the fire. A man and a woman. He was doing some type of weird dance and she was laughing at him.

"You did not do that!" she exclaimed.

"I did too! You should have seen their faces!" he grinned at her, reaching out his hand to the woman. He pulled her to her feet and managed to get her to join him in the ridiculous dance.

Gray groaned in annoyance. He wasn't going to find out anything if they kept goofing off.

The man laughed out loud as he twirled his partner around the fire, dipping her as they danced.

"Learn anything?" a voice said softly beside him. Gajeel crouched beside him.

He glanced at the newcomer. He too was caked in mud.

"Nah. They're being idiots. Like that should be a surprise."

Suddenly, the man by the fire stood absolutely still. Both Gray and Gajeel ducked further into the bushes, staying absolutely still.

"What is it?" the woman asked, eyes widening slightly.

The man stepped closer to their hiding spot, listening intently. He sniffed the air.

"You're scaring me," the woman said, sitting down on a rock and watching him as he took another few steps closer.

There was still a good distance across the clearing to their spot.

The man made direct eye contact with Gray, then Gajeel. Shrugging it off, he walked back to the fire with a spring in his step.

"It's nothing! We should turn in."

"Okay," she smiled at him.

They were settling into a spot on the ground, cuddling each other.

Gray bumped Gajeel's shoulder, ticking his head toward the marshland. Gajeel nodded. They backed out of their spots until they were sure they were out of earshot.

"He totally knew we were there," Gajeel groaned.

"Well, he didn't call us on it," Gray said firmly, "C'mon. Let's wash this shit off and get back to the girls."


The girls were sitting around their own campfire about a mile away. Gray and Gajeel had gone for a swim, effectively cleaning the mud off, but also effectively soaking their clothes. Gray didn't mind carrying his wet stuff, rendering him pretty much naked, but the Iron Dragon Slayer opted to just take off his shirt.

"Well?" Juvia asked expectantly as they joined the girls at the fire.

"Notta," Gray grumped, accepting the beer she held out to him.

"See, Juvia? We should have gone!" Levy pouted.

"You would've gone right up to them and asked straight up!" Gajeel accused, pointing a gloved hand at the petite blue haired girl.

"Maybe I would have," Levy admitted with a smirk, "but I would've gotten a straight answer. I still don't understand why we don't straight out ask them."

Gray chugged his beer back, "Because we're giving them their space."

Juvia laughed, a haughty tone ringing in it, "Wanna put some clothes on, dearest? And Gray? Giving them their space? That's why you're stalking them in the middle of the forest?

Gray didn't answer. He knew it was a bit childish. But he was curious. And he wasn't the only one. Ripping his thought chain apart for the time being, he grabbed a pair of pants from his backpack and hastily put them on.

"Okay – let's get to bed too," Gajeel ordered, snuffing out the fire, "We ain't learning nothing tonight."

The four of them settled around the fire, Gajeel cuddling Levy into his stomach, Gray spooning Juvia's back on the other side. The forest was quiet, except for the crickets and nighttime bugs.


Gajeel heard the growling first. He moved Levy's sleeping form to the ground safely, then stood to listen. It was a high growl. A bear?

Glancing to see that Gray was listening too, he motioned to the spot in the bushes on his left. Gray nodded, taking his fighting stance.

The bushes crashed audibly now. Both girls bolted awake, then joined their men, ready to face whatever was coming for them.

"It's a bear!" Juvia exclaimed.

The four of them readied their attacks, then gasped as a little teddy-bear-like creature wandered out of the woods, mewling pathetically.

"Pookey!" Levy rushed over, petting his little ears as the tiny bear growled.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

They looked over to the bushes to see Natsu and Lucy doubled over in laughter.

"You – you should've seen your faces!" Natsu fell to his knees, holding his stomach, "Oh – that was priceless…just priceless!"

"It wasn't that funny," Gray muttered, "Pookey is hardly threatening. How can he be with a name like that?"

"He was tough enough to scare the shit outta you!" Natsu shot back, "Don't listen, Pookey. We love your name as much as we love you. You can go back through your gate now."

Whimpering softly, Pookey disappeared.

"Seriously Lucy…if you have kids with this freak," Gray said, glancing at the pretty mage, "DO NOT let him name them."

Lucy stifled a laugh, loving the challenging look in Natsu's eyes as he stared Gray down.

"So seriously," Levy intervened before anything could happen, "What are you guys doing here?"

"We could ask you the same thing!" Natsu pointed out, "Since when is it cool to spy on your nakama? Especially newly married ones? What if we had been –"

"DO NOT finish that sentence!" Gray elbowed Natsu in the mouth, effectively starting a mini-brawl, which Gajeel was all too happy to join.

Lucy smiled, hugging Levy, "Well, we've been on the road for 4 months now. We thought it might be time to come home for awhile."

"Interesting," Juvia said with a half-grin on her face, taking her turn to hug Lucy, "Because there have been rumours for the last month that you've been hanging out in this forest. Two different sources."

Dang it. Lucy tried to exchange glances with her husband, but Natsu was busy dogpiling Gray with Gajeel.

"We've been toying with the idea of coming home for awhile."

"Four months is probably the longest honeymoon ever," Levy stated, "I mean, we thought maybe a month, but four?"

"Yes – it's extremely interesting that you of all people would agree to camp in the woods for a month within an hour of your own warm bed," Juvia eyed Lucy, making Lucy squirm.

Clearly her friends were not buying the story. Sighing heavily, she motioned to the make-shift piles of wood that served as seats. Patting her husband, she pointed for him to restart the fire. He obeyed without a word. As she passed, Levy grabbed Gajeel by the ear, dragging him to a seat by the fire. Juvia shook her head and glanced at Gray, who was already on his way to find somewhere beside her to sit.

"Tell us the news at the guild!" Lucy said excitedly.

"Ohhh! Where to start?" Levy rolled her eyes dramatically, "Let's see. Elfman and Evergreen are pregnant again, which is crazy because Everden is proving to be a little monster."

"He is in his terrible two's, to be fair," Juvia reminded, "But yes – Elfman is far too lenient on him."

"Mira and Laxus will be next to get married," Levy continued, "They announced it about a month after you left."

Lucy squealed, "Oh that's so awesome!"

"Gildarts brought Cana back about two months ago," Gray put in, "She's still holding her sobriety and feels she can handle guild life now. Being sober has exponentially increased her power. She was made S-Class last month."

Natsu and Lucy's eyes lit up, knowing how Cana had been waiting for that.

"Oh! You'll love this!" Juvia grinned ear-to-ear and Lucy moved in, ready for some serious gossip, "Jellal disbanded Crime Sorciere! After Rustyrose and Sorano's betrayal, the other members felt it was time to go off on their own and make new lives to prove they've changed. So Jellal disbanded Crime Sorciere, since they're exonerated anyway, and he joined Fairy Tail last month to be with Erza full-time!"

That shocked both Lucy and Natsu. Erza and Jellal had been playing games for years. It was hard to imagine them finally, openly, together.

"Well, she'll definitely keep him in line if he ever decides to go all ape-shit power hungry again," Gajeel muttered.

"Jellal's changed," Levy punched him in the arm, "My money is on them for the next wedding after Mira and Laxus."

"And what about you guys?" Natsu asked, spreading his legs so Lucy could sit between them and use his stomach as a resting place. He wrapped his arms around her and placed his chin on her shoulder.

Levy, Juvia, Gray, and Gajeel exchanged four way glances.

"Absolutely no change," Juvia finally reported, "We're just the same as always."

Lucy wrinkled her brow, "Really?"

"That's explains why you're out here doing a piss-poor job of stalking us," Natsu smirked.

Gajeel whacked him in the back of the head. Levy grabbed his ear, shooting him a stern warning glare. The dragon slayer backed down and sat quietly.

"Okay – no one else is going to, so I'm going to ask straight out once again," Levy stated, "How come you guys have been out in this forest for a month and not been home to the guild?"

"Well, that's simple!" Natsu stated plainly, "We're on a mission!"

"Natsu!" Lucy scolded, "Seriously? Didn't we have that long talk about tact?"

"What? We are!"

"What mission?" Gray asked.

The group went completely quiet, exchanging glances around the campfire, aware of how suddenly awkward the conversation had become.

Natsu breathed a deep breath, locking eyes with Gray for a moment, then Gajeel's, "We've been hired by Princess Hisui," he said slowly, "To keep an eye on Magnolia…specifically, we're watching Fairy Tail."

Gajeel, Levy, Gray and Juvia's mouths had all dropped open in shock.

"What the hell do you mean watch Fairy Tail?" Gajeel demanded, standing up.

Levy grabbed his hand, beckoning him to sit down again. It was too early to get defensive, but Gray was on his feet too. No matter how Juvia tugged on his hand, Gray was riled up.

"What the hell? Are they going to try to shut us down or something?"

Natsu shook his head, "Sit down Ice-For-Brains. It's nothing like that."

"You gonna make me?" Gray challenged.

Natsu shifted his weight as though to get up. Lucy, who was still seated in front of him, leaned back with all her weight, attempting to make him stay where he was.

"It's a simple explanation!" she offered quickly, effectively halting Natsu's ascent. She waited until all eyes were on her, "Princess Hisui needs a team," she said, "She needs 8-12 strong mages to help complete a mission. We were asked to watch Fairy Tail and Twilight Ogre to see who the major contenders should be."

"And we're only watching Fairy Tail," Natsu added, "Because everyone knows those dipshits from Twilight Ogre don't hold a candle to us."

"Well then, your answer should be easy!" Levy declared, "Shouldn't the obvious answers be you two, all of us here, and Erza and Jellal?"

Natsu shook his head, "Maybe the four of you and Erza and Jellal and possibly Cana, but Luce and I are out."

"Why?" Juvia asked simply.

Natsu and Lucy smiled at each other.

He leaned down to peck her on the lips, "We're going to take it easy for awhile," he said, "No dangerous missions for a bit."

Instantly, Levy's face lit up, her excitement spilling out, "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Lucy nodded as Natsu patted her stomach, his face beaming with pride.

Juvia squealed excitedly as Gray and Gajeel both got pale. For months after Natsu and Lucy's wedding, all they heard about was how their perspective women wanted to get married too…now Flame Brain was going to be a father? They would never escape this conversation once they got back to Magnolia.

Gajeel hung back, his trail of thoughts similar to Gray's.

"DO NOT let Flame-For-Brains name that kid!" Gray snapped. His face softened as he realized the girls were already over to Natsu and Lucy congratulating them, "And congratulations…I guess."