Speculation

A/N: I came to Fairy Tail for one specific ship and then realized I like a lot of ships. Sure, the plot can be weak/unimportant to me 99% of the time, but the strength of FT I the relationships between characters. Heck, I'm only keeping up with it to see what happens with Erza and Irene (what is their relationship anyways) and how Zervis ends up.

So, because I love happy endings in both the innocent and euphemistic way, here's the happy ending for Zervis. (With some mention of Erza and Irene's relationship of sorts, although I'm sure that will be incredibly OOC once we get actual interaction between them). Also, I love Cana/Mavis's weird bromance of sorts if you can call it that.

Also, is it bad that Irene/Acnologia is an appealing crackship to me right now? The answer should be yes, because it's cracktastic.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Mavis and Zeref

Somehow, Fairy Tail had managed to smuggle Zeref into their guildhall after the chaos caused by his empire had blown over. With the help of the magic council and extensive research on Levy's part, they had managed to break the curse afflicting both Zeref and Mavis, allowing the two of them to live with little realistic fear of leading their loved ones to their deaths. Zeref, deciding to stay near Mavis and his little brother, had moved into the room Jellal had once occupied at the guild. Mavis herself was given a beautifully renovated suite of rooms of her own on the guild's second floor.

Due to the atrocities he'd committed, Zeref was hiding. When awake, he'd spend most of his time in the basement in case someone would show up and notice him. The magic council had, after all, thought the spell they devised was only meant to help Mavis. Members of Fairy Tail were the only people to know he was still alive and kicking. Eventually, the couple planned to move back to Tenroujima and re-establish the massive magic archive it had once held. It would provide them with good privacy and protect Zeref from the council and mages who still hated him.

For now, Mavis and Zeref had to stay at Fairy Tail. They would return to Tenroujima at the time of the S-class trials, when a homestead could be established for them and books brought to the archive. That meant they were stuck in the guildhall for another three months. Although Mavis could leave, Zeref couldn't, so she tried to spend time with him in the recesses of the guildhall. That had allowed their relationship to grow, although he was still scared to kiss her for fear of his curse returning and killing her once more. Recently, she had forced a couple kisses on him, making him more comfortable enough to give her a kiss here and there. Still, they hid it from the prying eyes of Mavis's guild, afraid that their relationship wouldn't be welcome.

Then, one night, as they were having tea in Mavis's room, they heard some of the girls talking below. Neither had any inclination to listen until they heard themselves mentioned.

"So, what do you think about Mavis and Zeref?" a voice Mavis identified as Lucy asked.

"They seem like a good couple. A bit similar to Jellal and Erza's relationship, with Zeref's past holding them back, but I think Zeref's less overly guilty about everything and Mavis is less embarrassed to make a move," Levy's thoughtful voice postulated. "So I bet if they're not back kissing already, they will be soon."

"God, I hope they aren't banging already," a slurring Cana groaned. The girls sounded surprised to hear her declaration, chattering amongst themselves about how Cana always wanted them to be having sex.

"Why not?" Lucy's voice questioned her.

"Well, it's like," Cana said, pausing to think of a way to phrase her feelings. "Mavis still looks like fourteen while Zeref could maybe pass as an adult, so the ages are a bit creepy in that relationship. I don't want to think about how that must look!"

"You think about us having sex?!" Lucy shrieked in shock.

"How can I not? Seriously, Erza and Jellal having sex is really hot at least in theory," Cana attempted to explain. Mavis wondered what she meant by the 'in theory' remark. "Then again, Levy kinda looks fourteen, so maybe Mavis and Zeref would be more like Levy and Gajeel."

Mavis wished she could've seen the shade of red on Levy's face at that comment.

"But Cana, they're older than all of us combined! I mean, surely it's okay if they're doing anything together," Lucy tried to retort. Mavis blushed in response. She wondered what sex with Zeref would be like, but had to admit Cana was right. He wouldn't want her not-quite-adult body no matter how old she actually was. Now that the curse had been removed, she could hope she'd become more adult-looking in a few years, not that she wanted to wait that long.

"I 'suppose so," Cana replied. "I just don't wanna think about it."

"Not like you should be," Mavis swore she heard Levy reply.

Mavis tried to pick up the conversation she was having with Zeref. While her face had a light blush from what she'd heard, his remained stoic. The voices from the guild stopped her again.

"Though you have to wonder who'd be on top," Cana pondered. "Mavis is a master strategist and Zeref's kinda a pussy for being so feared, so I'd want to know."

Mavis thought that she in no way wanted Cana to know, no matter that Cana was the guild member she trusted most for some odd reason.

"That is a good question," Lucy's voice said, considering the question, but did not say anything more.

"I don't think either of us are drunk enough to think about that," Levy said. "But you might get us at a girl's night."

Mavis heard a mug of beer plop down at the table and heard a new, masculine voice. "Mavis, definitely Mavis." It was Gray.

"How do you know that?" Lucy asked.

"Well, he's so obsessed with his magic that he probably doesn't know about sex. Hell, I'd bet flame-breath knew more as a virgin," Gray explained.

"Fair enough," Levy agreed. In the back of her mind, Mavis wondered if Gray was right.

Then, Natsu's booming voice came across the guild yelling some insult at Gray and Mavis heard the brawl of the day beginning.

Mavis dared to look up at Zeref, hoping he hadn't heard the conversation. When she saw the very rare blush on his face, she knew he had heard it.

"I believe I need some time to myself, Zeref," Mavis asserted. The man, wanting some time to process what he had heard for himself, nodded and left the room.

The truth of the matter was that Mavis had tried to seduce Zeref a few times with various methods: wearing slightly more daring dresses than normal, showing up to his room late at night in her pajamas, inviting him to bathe with her, and offering to share a room on trips, but nothing worked. He bit on the initial suggestion, but would never be willing to follow through.

An hour later, as Mavis lay in bed wearing one of her light nightgowns, a knock at her door made her sit up. She wondered if it would be okay to do, but she called out to tell the person to come inside. Perhaps tonight he would fall to a more physical approach. A dressed-down Zeref stood in the open door.

Mavis stood up and closed the door behind Zeref. She caught him by surprise so she could reach her arms up around his neck. He stood still as she reached up to kiss him. She didn't know if the earlier conversation she overheard had sparked her bold behavior, but she wasn't about to stop. Her efforts paid off and he began to melt into her and wrap his arms around her waist, lifting her off the ground. Together, they stumbled over to Mavis's waiting bed and toppled onto it.

Zeref suddenly pulled away.

"Not tonight," he said breathily, a blush coloring his face. Mavis tried to protest or pull him back down, but he left the room with no further words.

Mavis watched as the door shut behind Zeref, wondering what had happened. As much as her brain worked with strategy, it couldn't come up with a strategy for this situation. She hated to admit it, but Cana would be her best resource now.

That was how this ended up happening. Mavis was sitting on the floor of Cana's room in Fairy Hills nervously sipping sake as she waited for the drunken mage to return. She didn't feel like this would end well, but in the end Cana was the only one she thought would talk to her about this. Erza was too frank about sex to be of any help in a practical situation. Lucy was having sex with her (potential) lover's younger brother, so Mavis didn't feel comfortable asking her. Levy, despite being one of the more reasonable and knowledgeable guild members, was too much a stranger to approach. Wendy was too young to think about sex. If she did, Carla would stop her. So here she was, asking Cana for advice.

Cana entered the room with a shopping bag and sat down across from Mavis, facing her.

"So, what's the problem?" A surprisingly sober Cana asked before taking a sip of her beer.

"I'd like to have sex with Zeref," Mavis stated bluntly, with the determination on her face that was usually reserved for battle.

"Yeah, so?" Cana asked, clearly confused as to what the problem was. Considering what Mavis had heard, Cana probably didn't realize Zeref was being as stubborn as Jellal had been for Erza. None of her advances or kisses had worked.

"I've managed to kiss him several times, and I've tried to escalate it, but he won't bite," Mavis explained.

"Why not?" Cana asked, going through her list of solutions in her head.

"He's holding himself back for some reason," Mavis sighed. "I'm worried I look too young for him."

"So give him no reason to hold back," Cana said.

"How so?"

"Wear something sexy, something he can't resist," Cana suggested.

"But he's rejected me when I'm in my nightgown," Mavis moped. Cana was tempted to hug her, thinking the much older guildmaster was adorable in that moment.

"Well, I got you some actually sexy stuff," Cana said, indicating the bag sitting next to her. "But if you don't think that's enough…"

"If I don't think that's enough?" Mavis asked, leaning towards Cana in curiosity.

"I can arrange a romantic setting for you," Cana told her.

Mavis perked up. "But you won't tell anyone?" She didn't want to overhear any more discussion about her love life.

Cana shook her head.

"Good, show me what you got," Mavis demanded, determined once again.

A week later, after everyone had left the guildhall, Mavis found herself sitting on her bed. Cana had just left after arranging the room and helping Mavis get dressed. She left with a wink, which only made Mavis more nervous. In only a couple of minutes, Zeref would come over to check on her as part of his nightly routine. He would find her freshly bathed and lying on a bed covered in rose petals. Cana had given her natural make-up to make her face look more mature and gave her heavily padded lingerie to emphasize her breasts. The tight lace nightie had ruffles attached to the hem and just under her butt. The bra and panties underneath hardly provided any more modesty. Her long blond locks had been styled in an up-do that would easily come undone when Zeref would hopefully started latching onto her hair. She made sure she even laid down with a book in a sexy yet vulnerable pose Cana had suggested.

Zeref's knock almost made her get up, but she knew she had to hold her pose. "Come in," she said in her best sexy voice. She felt so silly saying it like that. None of this sexiness was her, but if it was what it took she would do it. She saw his jaw drop as he opened the door into her bedroom. He turned around and put a hand over his face.

"Zeref," She said, sitting up to watch him. She worried that she offended him. As she would later find out, his hand placement was to hide his nose in the case that it began to bleed.

After a minute of worry, he turned around and walked towards her. He used one hand to tilt her chin up and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. Once again, he pulled back, blushed, and wiped his hand on his mouth before turning his head away.

"You didn't need to do this," Zeref calmly said before turning around towards the door again.

Mavis stared at him, face filled with worry.

Almost as if sensing her worry, Zeref turned back to Mavis and sat next to her on her bed. He grabbed her hand. "It's okay, you don't need to do this," Zeref said. "It's me."

Mavis turned her head to face him, a questioning look on her face.

"Even though the curse has been removed, or we assume it has since it's not killing anyone or anything around us," he explained. "It's impossible to forget the first time I kissed you. I don't want that to happen again."

"We've kissed many times, and expressed our love in other ways," Mavis said. "It hasn't killed either of us yet, because as you've confirmed, the curse is lifted. Can't we just try this?"

Zeref sighed, clearly conflicted. "In small increments or small experiments. Perhaps we could see how sharing a bed goes tonight?"

Mavis nodded, disappointed her victory wasn't greater, but understanding why it was only a small one. Certainly Zeref had faced more time with the curse, and it had done much to ruin his life, so she felt she should give him that respect.

"Perhaps our first time should be on Tenroujima as well," Zeref added quietly.

"Why?" Mavis questioned, almost afraid to ask.

He blushed, afraid to say something so corny after so many years of needing to have a cold lack of emotion. "Our curse kills those we love. You love your guild, and I have come to appreciate it. If we experience the happiest moment of our lives – our joining – with the guild in reach, and the curse is indeed not wrong, all of your friends would die."

Once again, Mavis admired his cautiousness even if she was sure the curse was gone from their lives. Still, to make him comfortable, she replied, "I agree. That may be the best solution."

"Thank you for understanding," Zeref said, giving her another kiss on the lips. He laid down on the opposite side of Mavis's bed and fell asleep.

After a few nights, Zeref had gotten more used to sleeping in Mavis's bed. Now, instead of sleeping as far away as possible, he would sleep with one hand holding hers. One night, unconsciously in his sleep, he even wrapped an arm around her waist. When she woke up, he was spooning her.

Needless to say, despite the lack of sex, Mavis was happier than ever. This morning she had awoken before Zeref and laid in bed waiting for him to wake up. It was late enough in the morning that the guildhall was buzzing with activity. Once again, she could hear voices wafting up into her room. Surprisingly, Cana's wasn't among them.

"Say, hasn't Zeref been sleeping in Mavis's room lately?" Lucy asked seemingly no one.

"I have seen him coming out of her room the past couple of mornings," Mira said. "But I've never seen him going into it at night."

"Well, maybe he waits until we're all gone or asleep, like Jellal did," Levy commented.

"And, like Jellal, no one's fooled," Lucy said.

"What do you mean?" Wendy's voice questioned.

"Ah- W-Wendy!" Lucy exclaimed. "It's nothing."

"Wendy," Carla's voice came from across the hall. "We need you over here!"

"Thank god for Carla," Levy sighed.

"There was no way I was explaining that to Wendy today," Lucy grumbled.

"I do wonder if they're actually having sex," Mira said. "I would assume so if they're sharing a room at night, but Mavis just looks so young!"

"Well, she's not young," Lucy justified. "I think she said she was twenty-six when she 'died,' so she's older than us even if you don't count the time she was frozen!"

"Maybe it's just that Mira and Cana are starting to feel old themselves," Levy joked.

Mavis swore she heard Levy shutter, and soon she heard two sets of footsteps leaving the bar. Still, their voices reached her ears.

"You've got to wonder though," Levy said.

"I'd bet Cana knows," Lucy said. "I saw her shopping at my favorite lingerie boutique last week, and she wasn't shopping for her size."

"Well, she does get along with Mavis very well," Levy said. "But she does provide clothes to the orphans where she was raised, so maybe she was getting some normal underwear for someone there and decided to peruse all the styles?"

"Wendy said she tried to get her to wear some racy stuff, so maybe she thinks that stuff is normal for girls that age to wear," Lucy suggested.

"You never know with her," Levy replied. "But I'd bet it was for Mavis, considering the recent development with Zeref."

Their voices finally faded away, and Mavis couldn't hear them anymore. She looked over to see Zeref had awoken. He had a horrified expression on his face, though he quickly hid it.

"Is this what this is about?" Zeref asked.

"What?" Mavis questioned.

"That you're embarrassed about what the other girls are saying about us?"

"Why would you think that?" Mavis asked, a stern look on her face.

"Because you're blushing," he explained. "And you look sad."

"It's not that," said Mavis dejectedly. "If anything, it embarrasses me. I just…" She paused, the first time Zeref had seen her do so in a long time. Mavis usually was one to say exactly what she thought.

Zeref waited, seeing if she would finish.

"Everyone thinks of me as a little kid because of my body. Despite your explanation, I can't help but wonder if you see me that way as well," Mavis disclosed.

Zeref remained calm and measured as usual, but it took effort to hide his shock. He composed himself before he spoke. "I know you're not young, and your body will do nothing to convince me otherwise."

"Then show me," Mavis boldly demanded.

"I will," Zeref promised before giving her a passionate, desperate, and exceptionally needy kiss on the lips. Still, he broke it off. "As soon as we're on Tenroujima."

Mavis kissed him back, before standing up to get dressed. She couldn't wait to find out if he was telling the truth or not, but she had to. It would only be a short while until she could test him.

The S-class trials had commenced on Tenroujima a few days prior. This year Jellal was the leading candidate, having just joined the guild and thus not being eligible in past years despite his strength. Gajeel had achieved the rank the year prior, but Natsu, Wendy, Lucy, and Gray had all been invited to participate alongside Jellal. Levy had declined the offer to participate due to a pregnancy scare, and Cana had stopped caring about achieving her S-rank. She claimed she would try again one day, but she wanted to improve her magic further first. Erza, Laxus, Gajeel, and Gildarts served as the proctors while Mira stayed at the guild due to her pregnancy.

Through all the hard work and battling it took to get through the trials, the Fairy Tail mages were too busy to find Zeref and Mavis's house. Levy had been nearby, but stuck to her job filing the new copies of books in the library. She even slept in the library most nights of the trip to save herself the trek to camp. The ancient couple enjoyed their blessed silence, but had not touched each other yet.

On the last day of the trials, when the guild held a final party on the island to celebrate Jellal's new S-class rank, Mavis finally had her opportunity. Levy stayed at camp to party with her guild, having completed her filing, leaving the cabin Mavis and Zeref shared isolated on a far coast of the island from their friends.

Zeref hadn't attended the party, so Mavis wasn't surprised to find him at his desk reading a book on some theory of magic when she returned shortly before dark. Although this was where her night ended to the members of Fairy Tail, she knew it was where her night would begin.

"Zeref?" She asked as she came into their cabin. Mavis wasn't sure if anything would really happen that night, but she was nervous all the same. She wanted Zeref to agree.

He turned around to see her standing in the doorway and stood up. "They're all at the party, correct?"

"Yes," Mavis responded.

"Then we should be okay," he told her. Before Mavis knew it, the door was closed and she was being carried to their bed.

Mavis awoke to a loud knocking on the door. Knowing the only person it could be was a mage of Fairy Tail, Mavis felt obligated to open it. Zeref remained soundly asleep beside her, and both of them were naked. She didn't want to get dressed or disturb her lover, so she created an illusion to send her guild off. She figured that with her skill they wouldn't notice the difference.

"Mavis?" Zeref's sleepy voice came. Somehow it made Mavis happy to know that only she would hear that voice.

She looked over at Zeref.

"You should really say goodbye to your guild in person," he directed her.

Mavis knew that Zeref was right (in his right mind he often was), so she threw on a simple dress and ran through the forest after whoever it had been at her door to say goodbye to Fairy Tail's best. As she hugged them one by one and watched her guild leave on their boat, she began to appreciate the peace and quiet that she now had to spend with Zeref. Still, she had an urge to know who her guild was gossiping about now. It wasn't her any more.

A/n: I'm terrible at endings. I hope you enjoyed.