Author's Notes: Happy December, everyone! Christmas is coming up soon. You know what? I really want a Playstation Vita so I can play the Persona 4 remake. New content? Updated visuals? Yes please. Unfortunately I'm at that age where I can't really ask for stuff from my parents anymore; hopefully there'll be some good PS Vita sales over the holidays...

And I have to say it every single time: thank you so much to everyone who viewed, reviewed, followed and favorited! The support I'm getting is awesome!

It's Just That Time of Year Again

Chapter 4

By The Wumbologist

GONG... GONG... GONG...

The cathedral bells reverberated throughout the area. It was an hourly occurrence; a tradition that was largely irrelevant thanks to lacrima technology nowadays, but one that the people of Magnolia held on to tightly. The streets of Magnolia were silent as the bells tolled, save for a lone figure with scarlet hair and a small white cat beside her.

Erza tapped her foot impatiently as the ringing stopped. 8 gongs... It was 8 p.m. now, almost 4 hours since they had left the guild to look for the Dragon Slayers. As per her original plan, they were to meet at the cathedral in the center of town at 8 to report their findings. It was with a small frown that she noted that she and Carla were the only two there.

When she said 8 p.m. she meant 8 p.m. sharp. Erza hated waiting; she made a point to show up to meetings or appointments at least fifteen minutes early and she damn well expected the same courtesy from others. If the other groups were more than two minutes late she would have to make sure to teach them the value of punctuality.

"Oi, I'm here! I'm here!" A panicked, masculine voice sounded through the area.

She had to fight to keep the smirk off of her face. Gray was running towards her, Happy flying right beside him; clearly, they remembered her lessons from when they were growing up. As they neared her Gray slowed to a walk, panting slightly.

"I-I made it on time, right?"

She folded her arms across her chest plate. "Barely."

"Cut me some slack here! Flamebutt's house is in the middle of the freaking forest! It took us an hour to get there!" Gray was exasperated, most likely fearing for his health.

"That aside, what did you two find?" It was Carla who interjected, her impatience even larger than Erza's own.

"Nothing."He huffed. "It was a waste of a trip..."

Erza raised her eyebrow quizzically. "What do you mean, 'nothing'?"

"I mean there wasn't anything there that'd help us find them. There were signs of them being there earlier but no clues as to what they're doing now."

"Aye! There was some of Natsu's homemade curry in the fridge and the bed was messy." Happy interjected helpfully.

"The bed was messy?!" Both Erza and Carla were shocked. It couldn't be... They were too late...

"Oh, but the bed is usually messy. Natsu never cleans up after himself."

She stared at him blankly for a moment; the blue cat had almost given her a heart attack! Did he know what he had just implied? Was he purposefully playing dumb just to toy with them? Her stare turned into a hard glare but the cat seemed to be oblivious to it as he stretched lazily. She briefly considered grabbing him by the tail and swinging him around but, fortunately for the Exceed, Carla had taken the liberty of smacking him upside the head.

"We took a look around the East Forest too but the place is a damn maze. I have no idea how Natsu can find his way around; the stupid trees all look the same..." Gray's grumbling forced her back onto the topic at hand. "So, we've got nothing. What about you two?"

"I'm afraid we're in the same situation. Wendy's room at Fairy Hills was empty. No signs of them at the park, the harbor or the bakery either."

"... The bakery?" Gray was clearly confused. "Erza, you didn't happen to buy a cake while you were there... Did you?"

"I did. And?" She sent him a hard stare.

"Oh, n-no reason..."

Good. Gray knew better than to imply that she was goofing off on the job. Natsu and Wendy were Dragon Slayers with highly acute senses; it wasn't a stretch to think that they might have been drawn to the sweet strawberry aroma emanating from her favorite bakery. And besides, there was always time for strawberry cake. Always.

The sound of footsteps approaching diverted her from her thoughts, causing her to ready her most intense gaze. Juvia and Lucy were the last to check in and they were five minutes late; clearly they needed her help with their time management skills.

"You're late." She announced in as stern a voice as she could muster.

"Huh, only you? Where's Lucy?" Gray's sudden question caused her to turn around to see only Juvia standing there. Erza had just had her most intimidating gaze ready for the two women; there would be no point if she couldn't get both of them.

"Juvia, what happened on your search? Where did Lucy go?"

"Juvia and Lucy searched Lucy's apartment, the hotel and the train station but didn't find anything. On our way back, though, we heard that Natsu and Wendy were headed to the eastern hills. Juvia and Lucy decided to split up; Juvia came to tell Gray-sama and Erza while Lucy went to scout the hills."

Finally, a lead! They made a smart decision, splitting the team up in order to cover more ground; Lucy, however, was in a dangerous position. The girl already had a run-in with the Dragon Slayers earlier... If, right after meeting, they were territorial enough to snap at their close friends, the destruction they would cause if they were interrupted now would be much, much worse. Lucy was a strong girl but she wouldn't be able to handle those two by herself.

"Juvia, how long ago was this?" There was a slight unease in her voice as she asked the question.

"Almost 30 minutes ago." The Water Mage answered.

"Do you know the way?" It was Carla this time, clearly itching to find Wendy.

"Yes. Juvia and Lucy split up at the eastern edge of town, they should be near there."

"Then let's go, already!" Carla spread her wings immediately, impatiently flying off to the eastern gate.

"Gray-sama, did Juvia do a good job?" Erza wasn't watching but she could hear the hope in the blue haired girl's voice.

"Uh... Sure." She narrowed her eyes as his face lit up suddenly. "You know what; I think you and me should head back to the guild hall and have a drink to celebrate!"

"Gray-sama! Do you really mean it?" She clasped her hands together, an excited blush on her face.

"Yeah! In fact, we should go right now!" He grabbed the ecstatic Juvia's arm and quickly tried to lead her away. "Well, Erza, I think you can handle it from here so we'll see you later!"

Her sword was out before he could take two steps. "You're not planning to skip out halfway through, are you?"

"Tch, damn it..." He stopped in his tracks, the gleaming steel only inches from his chest.

It was a nice try, really; using Juvia as an excuse to avoid having to trek across town. Making the Ice Mage spend his afternoon running all over Magnolia did make her feel slightly bad but she needed him around. Natsu as he was now would be impossible to reign in by herself, especially if she also had to deal with Wendy; it would take all four of them to separate the two Dragon Slayers should it come to that.

She mustered up the coldest voice she could. "That's enough playing around. Let's move."

"Alright, alright. Man, this sucks..." He was grumbling as he walked, clearly unhappy with the situation but with no choice but to comply.

Time was of the essence; almost ten minutes had passed since they had met up and it would take them at least another 30 to find Lucy and possibly the two Dragon Slayers. The longer this went on, the worse it would end.

There was no time to lose.

"RRRAAAAWWWRRR!" A loud roar echoed throughout the northwestern wilderness of Magnolia.

The small forest, normally a hotspot of activity for all manners of woodland creatures, was dreadfully silent. Any small mammals had long cleared out the area; a dangerous scent had passed through on the winds, warning them to find shelter from the impending storm.

And what a storm it was, all at the hands of a furious Dragon Slayer.

Gajeel was pissed. He had travelled halfway across the freaking town to put as much distance as possible between him and his fire and air-slinging counterparts. He had warned the damned matchstick to not do anything stupid. And what did he do? He went straight for the girl and did exactly what the Metal Dragon Slayer was trying to avoid.

The mixing of scents; It was so powerful that he could smell it from the opposite side of town and it was making him angry. That damned Natsu... The next time he saw that stupid mass of pink hair he would make sure to beat him to a pulp. There was going to be hell to pay for getting him so damned worked up.

With another roar and the swing of his arm, a tree was felled with a loud THUD.

For now, he would have to make do with some impromptu landscaping.

"You guys! Over here!" A familiar voice called.

Erza almost sighed in relief as she saw the source of the voice: a quite unharmed Lucy standing near a lone tree. The girl looked slightly apprehensive, but otherwise normal.

Carla wasted no time in questioning her. "Did you find them, Lucy?"

"I did. You see that hill there?" The group's gaze followed her extended arm to where it pointed: a grassy hill some ways away. "They're up there."

"What are they doing? Is Wendy alright?"

"I... didn't get too close but Wendy looked fine. They're, uh..." She trailed off, rubbing her arm awkwardly.

Erza narrowed her eyes. "What are they doing, Lucy?"

"They're... sleeping."

The group shared a confused glance. "Sleeping?"

"It's probably better for you to see for yourselves. Come on."

And with that the group followed the blonde as she started towards the hill, some confused murmuring taking place as they walked. They were sleeping? Of all the things to do... Sleeping? They may very well have had a tiring day but to come all the way out here just to take a nap...

Not even a quarter way up the hill did two familiar figures come into view: the blue and pink heads of hair were unmistakable; a stark contrast to the deep green grass that surrounded them. At the sight of the two prone figures Erza readied her sternest face; she was going to wake them, and when she did she could not show any weakness. Right now this isn't Natsu and Wendy, she reminded herself, these are two highly dangerous dragons.

Steeling herself, she signaled the group to stand back and ready themselves as she approached.

Carefully...

Quietly...

One step at a time...

She had her hand on the hilt of her sword; come fireballs or tornadoes, she was ready for whatever was about to happen...

... Or so she thought. As she came to stand directly in front of the two, her jaw almost dropped to the floor. She expected an angry and irrational Natsu; a whirlwind of fire to spring up as soon as she got close. What she got was Natsu and Wendy sleeping soundly, locked in an embrace.

Natsu was on his side, arms wrapped protectively around Wendy, who slept facing him with her head resting on his shoulder. At a sudden, gentle breeze, the small girl clutched at Natsu's vest, snuggling up to his warmth and nuzzling her head deeper into his chest.

It was adorable.

Erza was torn between waking them and watching them sleep. It was just too damned cute! There was no way those two were capable of mass destruction... Or that's what she would have liked to think. She had witnessed first-hand the power that the two Dragon Slayers possessed; she could not allow herself to let down her guard now!

Against the call of her instincts, she spoke quietly. "Natsu..."

Her only response was the gentle breathing of the two mages.

"Natsu." She tried again, with more force.

At the mention of his name, the pink haired teen rolled over carefully; though he was half-asleep he took care not to wake the girl beside him. He sat up, watching her sleepily. She met his gaze with an apprehensive look. He yawned. Her hand dropped from her sword hilt. He stretched and proceeded to lay back down on the grass.

"Gimme five more minutes, Erza..." And just like that, he was back in dreamland.

Her heart was melting. It had been years since she had seen Natsu act so... innocent. The sight of the two lying there peacefully brought back memories from their childhood: a young Natsu cradling Happy in his arms as they dozed in the guild hall, Natsu and Gray passed out by the riverbank after a fistfight, Natsu being carried home by Gildarts after he snuck some vodka from the bar. Natsu, it seemed, had found someone else to cling to while he slept; the sight of it made her heart soar.

She couldn't help the smile on her face as she watched the two. They just looked so precious together... How could she even think of breaking them up?

Breaking them up. Right. She was here to protect Wendy's innocence, not to fawn over their sleeping forms. She had woken Natsu up once and he hadn't tried to kill her... That meant that he was back to normal, and if that was the case...

"Natsu, when I say it's time to wake up, I mean now. Or do I have to remind you about how impolite it is to keep people waiting?"

"I'm up! I'm up! Don't punish me!" The panicked look on his face put her fears to rest. This was indeed the regular Natsu.

She smiled inwardly as he scrambled to his feet. The pride that hit her at that moment was something she revelled in; she was a damn good teacher. Hell, if the time ever came that she could no longer be a part of Fairy Tail, she would happily become a school teacher and impart her wisdom to the next generation. Miss Scarlet, fourth grade teacher. Professor Scarlet, PhD in Wumbology. The life of a teacher was sounding better and better...

"You oaf! Do you know how much trouble you've put us through?!" A sudden exclamation brought her out of her thoughts. From beside her an irate Carla floated, arms crossed and a stern expression on her face.

"We've been looking for you two all day! I've been worried sick about Wendy, after you two just up and left without saying a word! I had no idea where you were, what you were doing... You even scared poor Lucy half to death!"

"Uh... Sorry?" He scratched the back of his head awkwardly; no matter how many times Erza had done it when they were kids, he would never get used to being lectured as soon as he woke up.

At Carla's incredulous look Erza took a step forward, placing a hand on the white Exceed's head in order to placate her. She needed that rant and she would have more time to lecture them later, but for now there was a more important issue to discuss.

"Natsu," she began, "what did you and Wendy do today?"

"Hmm... We went to my house, I cooked us up a snack, we explored the East Forest and then we came here and watched the town. I guess we fell asleep afterwards." He counted on his fingers as he listed the activities of the day. "It was a lot of fun! Have you seen the view from up there? I couldn't believe there was such a nice place in town!"

She gave him a cold stare. "Anything else?"

"Uhh..." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"She's asking you if you guys did it, Candlestick!" Gray's jeer cut through the air.

"Did what, Ice Princess?" Natsu narrowed his eyes at the Ice Make user.

"Are you dumb? Do I have to spell it out for you, Volcano Breath?"

"At least I'm not as dumb as a guy who can't keep his clothes on!"

"Aww, crap! When did that happen?!"

"Bahahah! What an idiot!"

"You won't be laughing when I freeze that stupid look off of your face!"

"Come over here and try it, you pervert!"

"ENOUGH!"

Erza's command quickly silenced the two. Seriously, a minute had barely passed since Natsu had returned to normal and they were already picking a fight with each other... Gray's blunt question had given her the answer she needed though. Indeed, Natsu and Wendy hadn't done anything. He didn't have the need to "relieve" himself after all; spending the day with Wendy was enough to calm him down... It was sort of sweet, really.

That didn't stop her from intimidating the poor boy, however. "Listen, Natsu. It's getting late. You're going to take Wendy home to Fairy Hills and then head straight home..." She paused for a moment, scrutinizing him with a steely gaze. "Tomorrow when you come to the guild, we're going to have a talk about your behavior as of late. Do you understand?"

"A-Aye sir!" The shaky confirmation and the terror in his eyes was all she needed.

Indeed, there would be consequences for worrying them so much. And when that was done, she would have to teach Natsu proper dating etiquette; no more disappearing in the middle of the day if he wanted to spend time with Wendy.

She turned to face the small group behind her. "It seems we were worried over nothing."

"Hmph." Gray grunted. "You got that right. I told you all there was nothing to worry about..."

"Aye!" Happy was right beside him, nodding smugly.

She bowed her head slightly. "You were right, Gray. I apologize for forcing you on a wild goose chase. Allow me to make it up to you; I invite you to spend the night at Lucy's place."

"Wait, what?!" The Celestial Spirit Summoner was shocked at her sudden inclusion.

His face lit up immediately. "Sleepover at Lucy's? Sounds good!"

"Of course, I insist you come as well, Juvia. There's more than enough room for all of us at Lucy's."

"Juvia can't allow Gray-sama and her love rival to sleep under the same roof alone together! Juvia will gladly spend the night at Lucy's!"

"Hey, you guys! You can't just invite yourselves over to my home!" The poor girl was shouting but nobody was paying her any mind.

"I call sleeping on Lucy's bed!" Gray wasted no time in rushing down the hill.

"Gray-sama! Allow Juvia to share the bed with you!" Juvia followed immediately after.

Lucy sighed in resignation, rubbing her temples tiredly. The sensation only lasted a moment, however, before she gasped suddenly, sprinting down the hill with a panicked look on her face. "Hey, you two! Wait up! You better not look at the papers on my desk!"

"Hmph. I've had enough of you people for today. I'm headed home." The white cat sighed tiredly.

"Carla! It's not good for a cute girl to walk around by herself at night! Let me walk with you!" And with that, the two small cats floated off towards the town, leaving only Erza and the two Dragon Slayers.

After watching the three run off towards town, she turned to look at the two who remained. Natsu sat quietly, watching Wendy sleep with an adorable curiosity.

"Remember, Natsu. I want Wendy home within the hour." One last time, for good measure.

"Yes, ma'am!" Excellent.

It was only after she turned and started down the hill after the rest of her friends that she allowed a smile to grace her features.

Those two were just so damn cute.

More Notes: So the next chapter is going to be the last. For sure this time. With this chapter, Erza and company's involvement is finished so all that's left is dealing with the Dragon Slayers, which I know you've all been waiting for. Damn, I'm excited too.

I'll be honest and say I'm using this fic partly as an experiment; I'm trying to write from the perspectives of a variety of different characters. I think it adds to the story overall to see if from different points of view and getting inside the characters' heads is pretty fun. I'm trying to be as faithful as I can to the source material but I'm not sure how I'm doing. I think I did a great job with Lucy and Gray's points of view but how about Erza or Wendy? I'm not a woman, and I'm not a teenager anymore; writing from Wendy's perspective is hard, man... If you guys could comment on that aspect of my writing I would really appreciate it.

And now for some responses!

FaiRy-TaiL-MaGe202: I'm really glad you liked it! Chapter 3 was a tough one for me; I wanted to portray their relationship as innocent, playful and fun but also have that instinctual drive playing a role. The Water Dragon thing took all of my brain power to come up with but I think it really captured the feeling well. Also, I did take the inspiration from that idea from another popular anime... I won't say what it is, but if anyone can guess then I'll be impressed.

As for Gruvia: It's pretty funny that this is turning you into a fan of them because when I wrote this that wasn't my intention at all. In fact, I don't even like Gruvia! My problem with Juvia is the same one that I think Gray has: She's a nice girl, beautiful and a reliable ally, but the stalking is a huge turnoff. Like I've said before, though, I'm trying to represent every character as best I can and I think that's how she would act. It would be great if some Juvia fans could come along and tell me "yay" or "nay" to my characterization of her.

Really, I'm trying to put something for everyone in this story, regardless of my personal tastes.

JustSomeOne29: Thanks! Like I keep saying, I'm trying to represent each character as faithfully and generously as possible; I really feel like Gray would say and act like that if this was to actually happen. And, as of this chapter the immediate crisis has been averted. I wonder how I did...?

So, if you're still reading this you're an awesome person. Why not type up a review below? It really helps me out and for every review I get I send a dollar to the "Buy The Wumbologist Lunch" fund.

Go for it! You know you want to!

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