A/N: Hello everyone! I had some free time on my hands with nothing to do so I figured I'd try my hand at a little side story/interlude chapter here. Since Halloween is just two days away (it was 9:30 PM when I finished and posted this note so it technically still counts as two days) and I love Halloween, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to write something. So, I hope you enjoy this and even though I'll be busy for a little bit, I'll work on the next chapter for Kids ASAP.

So without further ado, let's begin.

XXXX

Kid's side story: Halloween

HALLOWEEN DAY…YEARS FROM NOW

"Mommy, what are you doing?" Lilly Dragneel asked as she watched her mother, Lucy Dragneel, use a small knife to carve out a large pumpkin. The five year old stood near her mother's leg, a stuffed dragon plushy clutched in her small arms.

"I," Lucy said she adjusted her carving tool at an angle to add the finishing touch, "am carving a Jack-o'-lantern."

"A Jack-o'-lan-tern?" Lilly asked as she tried sounding out the large word.

Lucy looked down at her daughter with a smile.

"You carve out a pumpkin and place a candle or something that glows in it. You make them look silly…or super scary." Lucy said as she spun the pumpkin around quickly, revealing the grinning skull that had been carved into it. Lilly gasped and hid behind her mother's leg. Lucy giggled and spun the lantern back around, placing a small candle in it thus giving it an otherworldly glow.

"…That was scary." Lilly mumbled as she poked her head out from behind her mother's leg.

"That's right sweetie, it's for Halloween."

"Hall-o-ween?" Lilly said as she cocked her head to the side, placing a finger on her chin as she thought.

Lucy giggled as she placed her fingers over her lips. Her daughter was downright adorable when she paused to think.

"Yes, it's a special holiday where for one night you get to dress up as whatever you want and go around with your friends or family and get as much free candy as you want. Or there are some people who play tricks on one another so you never know what you may get…we've been doing this since you were born, you're just too young to remember."

Lilly's eyes practically sparkled as a beaming smile spread across her face.

"Really!? Are we gonna' do that!?" Lilly asked excitedly as her mother nodded.

"Mmhmm," Lucy hummed.

Lilly began to hop around excitedly.

"I want to be a fairy princess!" Lilly cheered excitedly.

"Your father and Igneel should be back any moment with your costumes."

Lucy had a feeling as to what her children would want to be once they understood the concept of Halloween and had asked Natsu to pick out the costumes when he was out running errands for the coming nightly festivities.

"What's this about me and Igneel?" a voice asked as the front door to the roomy apartment opened.

"Daddy!" Lilly said as she ran to meet Natsu while Lucy wiped her hands on her apron.

Natsu and Igneel Dragneel walked through the front door just in time for Natsu to set down some items and scoop up his daughter in his free arm.

"Daddy, daddy, guess what!?" Lilly said excitedly.

"What?" Natsu said as he looked at Lucy with a knowing smile.

"We get to dress up and get candy tonight!" Lilly said as she was let down.

"Really, is that so?" Natsu said, feigning surprise as he walked over and kissed Lucy's forehead.

"Yeah, I want to be a fairy princess." Lilly said as she smiled and spun around on her toes in way the princesses in her favorite stories would.

"Blegh," five year old Igneel stuck out his tongue in disgust at his twin sisters antics, "that's so boring and icky."

Igneel, having been told by Natsu a similar description of what Lilly had been told, had immediately opted for dressing like a Samurai or a Western-esque gunslinger like his uncle Alzack.

"Now, now, Igneel, don't make fun of your sister like that." Lucy said as she gently rubbed her son's hair.

"Why don't you two go try on your costumes to make sure you like them. Your mother and I have to do some last minute setting up before we head out and meet with the others." Natsu said as he handed the appropriate bags to his children.

"Others?" Igneel and Lilly asked in unison.

"That's right I forgot to tell you guys, we'll be trick or treating the Fullbusters, Redfox's and Fernandes's." Lucy said.

"Cool!" the twins said as they looked at each other excitedly but then paused as they looked at their parents in confusion.

"What does trick or treat mean?" Igneel asked.

Natsu let out a deep chuckle while Lucy simply giggled.

"Go try on your costumes, we'll explain later." Natsu said.

The kids nodded excitedly and ran off to their rooms to go try on their costumes.

"Well now, something tells me we'll be in for a memorable evening." Lucy said as she wrapped her slender arms around Natsu's more defined, muscular one and rested her head on his shoulder.

Natsu kissed the top of his wife's head. Despite them both being twenty seven years old, Natsu still had the height factor when it came to his wife. He was at least a head taller than her and he had to tip his head slightly to kiss her.

"Do you mean that as a good thing or as a bad thing?" Natsu said as he gave Lucy a sly smile.

"Oh, I don't know," Lucy said as she leaned up on the tips of her toes, "it could mean many things." Lucy whispered, her warm breathe tickling Natsu's ear.

Natsu felt a very pleasant tingle run up his spine. But before the two could go any further Lucy pulled away from Natsu, her hands behind her back.

"But for now, let's finish up here." Lucy said with a wink and proceeded to set the grocery bags filled with nick-knack and food-stuffs for Halloween.

Natsu took a second to make his heart beat calm down and let a small smile form on his lips. Dear Mavis did he love his wife. He then went over to help Lucy unpack.

XXXX

LATER; HALLOWEEN NIGHT

"Trick or treat!?" Igneel and Lilly asked as they held open their candy bags as wide smiles beamed on their faces. The adult at the door gave a warm smile to the two as he gently tossed two small bars of chocolate into the candy bags.

"Thank you." The twins said as they ran down the steps of the porch back to their parents.

Lilly, was dressed in a light blue princess dress with a small tiara on her head while a small, lightly glittered pair of wings clung to her back. Igneel, had decided to go with the western style look but instead of a pair of six shooters he carried a small plastic samurai sword.

So far the two had been having the time of their lives.

Natsu and Lucy smiled as they watched their children approach. The two had donned the costume of gothic style vampires for this year's Halloween festivities. Natsu had donned a slim, almost form fitting leather trench coat that tapered off at his waist before the rest of the coat flared out and reached his ankles. He wore a pair of black slacks and dress shoes underneath the jacket while his eyes glowed a vibrant red thanks to a special pair of contact lenses and he had even gone so far as to slick his hair back slightly. His naturally sharpened canines completed the look.

Lucy in turn wore a slightly revealing Victorian style dress, which was black like her husbands. The only difference was that a small slit ran up the side of her dress, revealing her shapely legs and strap up heels. Though Lucy's skin pale to begin with, she had added some make up to accentuate her skins paleness thus giving her a supernatural glow. Lucy completed the look by tying her hair up in an intricate bun, adding a pair of similarly glowing red contacts to her eyes and adding fake fangs to her canines.

The two were a sight to behold.

"C'mon you two, we have go meet up with the others now that they've gotten their neighborhoods candy." Lucy said as she let Lilly take her hand.

The family made their way towards the center of Magnolia where they found the rest of their group waiting for them.

"Lu-chan, Natsu-san!" Levy Redfox called out as she waived her hand high in the air. The blue haired mage was dressed, ironically, like a sexy librarian. The two friends gave each other a hug while Natsu and Gajeel shook hands. Gajeel had declined to dress up in any sort of costume but instead had activated his Dragon Skin ability. The charcoal black skin/armor gave off a metallic glow in the moonlight.

"Whoa!" Lilly exclaimed as she noticed five year old Saito Redfox, "Saito you look so cool!"

Saito, who stood close to his father, shyly looked away from Lilly. Like his father, Saito was not in costume, instead he had summoned his own Dragon Skin. It wasn't as powerful as his fathers but the fact that he was able to use the ability was quite the impressive feat.

"T-thank you." Saito said as his father ruffled his hair in a good natured manner.

"We were wondering when you four were going to get here." Said a voice.

Natsu and Lucy looked to see Gray and Juvia Fullbuster with their son and daughter, Sam and Jenny, approach the group. Both Gray and Juvia wore what looked like formal clothing accept for the fact that the outfits were torn here and there and that their faces were painted black and white to resemble skulls. Sam and Jenny on the other hand were different. Jenny, who was two years older than Sam, was dressed like a cat girl while Sam was dressed like a werewolf.

"We could say the same for you Ice sickle head." Natsu said as he and Gray clasped each other's forearms.

"You trying to start something Salamander?" Gray asked, his competiveness beginning to make itself know.

"Now, now you two not in front of the kids." Levy warned.

"Causing trouble already." A feminine voice called out.

The mages turned to see their remaining group members; Jellal and Erza Fernandes with their daughter Senna. Jellal, Erza and Senna were dressed in formal kimonos, Jellal's being blue and white, Erza's red and white and Senna's being white and pink. Each kimono, however, had its own distinctive floral pattern to it.

Natsu and Gray immediately stood down; the two mages draping their arms on each other's shoulders.

"Us, causing trouble, I find that idea to be absurd." Gray said as he nervously rubbed the back of his head. He learned long ago to never anger the crimson haired swordswoman.

While the adults conversed, the children compared costumes and checked out each other's candy bags, each seeing how much they were able to rake in for the evening. Erza however noted that it was getting late and that they all should get some last minute trick or treating in before they went off to the guild hall.

So, that's how the rest of the evening progressed; the kids went from house to house on their way up the street to the guild hall while their parents kept an eye on them from a safe but manageable distance.

"So, you guys enjoying this year's Halloween?" Natsu asked his fellow guys while the girls conversed.

"Indeed…though I found it particularly hard to calm Senna down when I mentioned the prospect of her getting free sweets for the evening." Jellal said as Gajeel snickered.

"What about you man, Saito must've gotten excited about this?" Gray asked.

Gajeel shook his head with a small smile.

"The little twerp was nervous about the whole idea. But shorty managed to convince him he'd have fun and so I helped him get his armor formed."

"He's just going through a shy phase right now, every kid goes through one at some point or another. He'll grow out of it…though, I must say, I would have thought you'd scare it out of him by now." Jellal said while Gajeel gave a good belly laugh at the quip.

"That boy may get nervous, but scared, nah. He's too much like me."

The four mages were silent for a minute.

"I'd never thought in a million years that I'd be doing this." Natsu said as he crossed his arms, looking at the night time sky.

"What, trick or treating with your kids?" Gray asked.

"No…just all of this. Being a husband…a father. I never thought I'd get to this point in my life."

Gajeel, Gray and Jellal nodded in agreement.

"I know what you mean…who knew me and shorty would end up together."

"…Dude, we knew for a while that you two would tie the knot. It was only a matter of time." Natsu said with a sly smirk.

"Oi, like your one to talk Salamander." Gajeel bit back.

Gray chuckled and Natsu turned his gaze to his longtime rival and friend.

"Laugh it up Gray-sama, the sexual tension between you and Juvia was starting to drive everyone crazy." Natsu said as Gray balked at the statement.

And so, the banter between the three mages went back and forth (Jellal opted to hold his peace and let things paly out, all the while laughing silently at his friends antics).

Fortunately a brawl was prevented when the kids returned and the group moved onto the guild hall.

When they arrived, they found the annual Halloween party in full swing as guild mates, friends and family all participated in the lively events.

"There you guys are." Wendy called out over the noise as she helped Mirajane bartend. Mirajane balanced a platter of drinks in one hand while her other gently rested on her enlarged belly as she navigated her way through the crowd. The baby was kicking again.

"Are we late?" Lucy called back.

"You're never too late for a party."

The group turned to see a familiar face, though they had to look down somewhat to see him.

"Happy Halloween Master Makarov." The kids said in unison as the former Guild Master gave them a warm smile.

Makarov had retired from his position a few years before the kids had been born and had since passed on the title of Guild Master to his grandson, Laxus. Though he was getting on in years, Makarov still sported his spiky hair and bushy mustache. The only noticeable difference to the man were a pair of small glasses that adorned his eyes.

"A happy Halloween to you too kids, you enjoying your Halloween?"

The children nodded eagerly as they opened up their bags of candy.

"The spoils of war I presume?"

The children smiled and giggled.

"Why don't you go join Kaito and Salina while we adults take a moment talk?"

"Okay." The children said as they went off to an area of the guild that was reserved for the kids.

"Hi guy's what's up?" Kaito Strauss asked, his glasses held in place by his mummy bandages.

"Not much, just getting ready to eat some candy." Igneel said as he sat down with the other kids.

"Oooh, I'll trade ya!" Salina Dreyar said as she began to rummage through her candy bag while adjusting her fake demon horns on her head.

The kids, liking the sound of the idea, began to sort through their own candy bags as they tried to find candy worthy of trading.

"Hey Salina, how long until your mom has the baby?" Jenny asked as she swapped a caramel and chochalate square for a pretzel stick drizzled in white chocolate.

"Two more months but I don't want to wait two months," Salina pouted, "I want my baby sister now!"

"Didn't your mom and dad want it to be a surprise?" Saito asked while he chewed on a piece of salt water taffy.

"My mommy told me the baby is definitely gonna' be a girl," Salina said as she triumphantly crossed her arms, "Daddy doesn't believe her but my mommy knows so." Salina smiled at that logic.

The conversation between the kids went on as they continued to trade candy.

XXXX

The night went on and so did the party. There were games like bobbing for apples, a blindfolded truth or dare session, and a costume contest. Makarov entertained the kids and anyone who decided to listen with ghost stories and other Halloween stories. It was like any other party except for…

"Incoming!"

CRASH

"That was my back you ass!"

POW

…except for the fact that with Fairy Tail some things never seemed to change. It wouldn't be Fairy Tail without someone starting a fight.

The kids watched with interest as one person after another, whether they be willing or against it, were dragged into the fight.

Elfman Strauss soon found himself flat on his back as the kids looked down at him.

"Hi Dad/Uncle Elfman." Kaito and the others said as Elfman sat up, cracking is neck.

"Having a good time kids?" Elfman asked as he blocked an empty glass without looking at it.

"You kids might want to find cover, this one looks like it'll last a while." Elfman said as flipped an empty table on its side while the kids ducked behind it for cover.

Yep, despite it being a holiday, it was just another day at Fairy Tail.

XXXX

It was late when the time the Dragneel Clan arrived home.

Igneel was fast asleep as he rested his head against his father's muscular shoulder while Lilly was gently cradled in Natsu's arms.

Lucy silently opened the door to the apartment and helped Natsu put the kids to bed. Lilly was still in her princess costume so Lucy removed her wings, shoes and tiara, before placing her daughter under the covers and kissing her forehead gently. She then helped Natsu remove Igneels jacket and boots and kissed him goodnight as well while Natsu draped Igneels bed sheets over him.

The two silently left their children's room and silently closed the door behind them before they too retired to their room.

"That was quite the evening, I'm glad the kids had fun." Natsu said as he finished brushing his teeth.

"I told you it would be a Halloween to remember." Lucy said as she finished gently running a brush through her hair, the blonde strands easily parting from Lucy's repeated motions.

The two climbed into bed together and once they had gotten settled, turned off their bedside lamps. The room was dark for a moment before being illuminated by pale moonlight. Lucy snuggled up to Natsu, her head resting on his chest while he in turn wrapped his arms gently around Lucy's smaller frame.

"I'm glad you had another good Halloween." Lucy said as she gently but slowly traced her finger in a circular motion on Natsu's broad chest.

"I always have a good time whenever I'm with you." Natsu said as he gently rubbed his thumb up and down the small of Lucy's back.

Lucy chuckled before glancing over at the clock on Natsu's side. It was eleven at night.

"You know," Lucy said as she moved herself so that she was atop Natsu, "it is still Halloween." Lucy purred.

"And I believe I still owe you that "treat" from earlier."

Natsu let a small, sly smile form on his lips as Lucy ran her hands down Natsu's sides.

"Is that so?"

Natsu gently connected his lips with Lucy's.

"I love you Lucy…more than you'll ever know." Natsu said as he broke the kiss and rested his forehead against Lucy's.

"I love you too…Natsu." Lucy said as she reconnected her husband's lips with her own.

XX-END-XX

So what do you guys think? Questions…comments…reviews?

I know it may have been a little cliché towards the end but I couldn't write this without giving you guys a dose of NaLu feels. Also, if you guys figure out who the Kaito and Salina belong to, I'll buy you a cookie; sorry guys, no beer.

Anyway, like I said, I'll post the next chapter for the main story as soon as I can. It's going to be a busy week for me so an update might be late. But until then, enjoy this little story for your reading pleasure.

I'm debating whether or not I should write more side stories. If you guys like the idea and want to see more, just let me know in your review. If you guys would like to make suggestions of your own for a side story, by all means, put your idea in with your review.

Until next time, this is DD42 signing out and I wish you all a very happy Halloween.