Ava had just boarded a train that would be heading towards Crocus, where Ava would be attending the third annual Grand Magic Games to see the current generation of mages. She wasn't foolish enough to think of something like her 'current time was up', nor was she cocky enough to say that she was the best out of the new generation of mages that had popped up after Fairy Tail's disappearance.
"What are you looking at?" Someone's voice startled her out of her thoughts and Ava looked up, her golden eyes blinking bewilderedly before recognizing the figure.
"Rogue Cheney, Shadow Dragon Slayer and one of the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth." She identified him easily. The last time she had saw him was when she met him and his partner at the beach during one of the missions the Council gave her. "Are you heading to the Grand Magic Games as well?"
"Titles are just titles, and I am heading there." The man's face was cool, and Ava speculated on the fact that over the years he was approaching the age that Natsu and the others had been before they disappeared. That thought made her clench her jaw and she pushed it away.
"Strange not to see you with Sting. Where's that brat anyways?"
"He decided that this method of transportation was too inconvenient for him and is currently walking on foot to the city." Rogue's comment made Ava snort at the idiotic ideal, and a thought struck her as she glanced up at the raven haired man.
She didn't know too much about Rogue, but she knew he was...nicer, compared to Sting and the rest of Sabertooth if his love of the small Exceed by his side was any indication. Ava noticed how the Exceed was hiding behind Rogue's foot and she gave a smile at the Exceed, getting off her chair and bending down. "And what's your name?"
"Frosch!" The green skinned creature gave her a very cute smile as he puffed out his cheeks, and Ava resisted the urge to both laugh and cry at the high pitched voice that reminded her of Happy.
"You're very cute, you know," she said warmly as she fished out of her bag a bag of candy she had been planning on giving Asuka if she met the small girl during the Games. "Take this."
"Thank you." Rogue said for his partner as his eyes softened when he looked down at Frosch. "You're very kind."
"Frosch thinks so too!"
"No problem," Ava dismissed easily as she shifted the weight of her foot as she searched to see if any other Sabertooth members were present. It seemed as if Rogue was travelling alone, and she bit her lip supposing she could use a little company as she gestured to the empty seat next to her while sitting back in her own seat. "Want to sit down?"
Rogue seemed caught off guard by her sudden hospitality and his cheeks reddened before nodding and taking a seat next to her. "Thank you."
(They spent the rest of the trip in a companionable silence, Ava silently supporting the Dragon Slayer struggling through his motion sickness. Perhaps that was why Sting hadn't joined his partner on the trip.)
"Wow~" Cheria breathed, spinning around the room with her arms extended as Ava watched the girl warily so she wouldn't fall. "It's beautiful, Ava-san! How did you manage to find this place?"
It was true. The cottage was literally by the seaside, its walls a pure white that reflected the light that shone on it. There were a few rooms: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and one kitchen that lead to the patio, where a wooden table fit for about 8 people awaited them. Ava had divided it so Cheria and her shared a room, Lyon and Hibiki, and Laxus and Gajeel. Originally she had put Hibiki and Laxus together-to which both men adamantly refused until she finally switched their room assignments. The decor was minimum and simple, with several vases decorating the room with fresh lilies picked by Cheria in them. It was a quaint little cottage.
"I...used to come here a long time ago." Her eyes turned reminiscent as her golden orbs stared at the wall, not really seeing before she blinked and her usual shrewdness was back. "But that was the past. We live in the present." Cheria swung her legs idly as she sat on the bed. The two girls were sitting in their shared bedroom, Ava setting up several Surveillance Lacrimas around the cottage and a Lacrima Vision screen in the room so they could keep an eye on any unwanted visitors.
"I see." The girl was smart enough to not press the subject, at least, and Ava mentally thanked her for that.
"Why don't we check on the boys?" Ava asked, standing up and stretching. She had changed into an unassuming outfit consisting of a light green shirt and khaki pants, and was wearing fake glasses and wore her black hair in a short braid. It was better to be safe than sorry when it came to disguises.
She had helped Cheria with her make-up (the girl had wanted to both impress Lyon and disguise herself, and apparently Ava had learned something useful from being a part of the fashionista guild Blue Pegasus), and now the girl looked nearly unrecognizable, her pink hair put down so it fell in waves by her side, sort of resembling her cousin Sherry, and the makeup intentionally made her look older and completely destroyed the lolita look she had before.
As soon as they exited the room, they were met by the sounds of shouting and distinct clangs of metal against metal in the kitchen, and Ava cautiously opened the door to reveal one messy Hibiki, one pissed off Laxus, a smirking Gajeel, and an exasperated Lyon. "What happened here?" Cheria voiced her thoughts, taking in the fact that the boys were completely covered in eggs.
"Tch, I'm going to take a shower." Laxus stomped past them, Hibiki doing the same except in a much less boorish manner. The girls' attention swerved to Lyon, who sighed and simply explained, "They were hungry. It quickly evolved into a competition of who could make the better scrambled eggs and Hibiki pissed off Laxus, causing him to send electric sparks through the stove and making the meal blow up."
...Ava was really starting to regret letting Mira pick her teammates. "Alright then. Who here can cook? I can't." Cheria shook her head, giggling sheepishly as she said something about being too clumsy to do so before brightening.
"Lyon can cook!" She beamed. "Everyone else on our team is hopeless when it comes to these things, so sometimes when we need to pull an all-nighter for a mission and there are no restaurants nearby he cooks for us!" The said mage in question nearly jumped as the rest of his team turned their attention to him.
"Ghihihi, so the Ice Prince can cook, eh? Such a girly skill." Gajeel said, leaning against the wall of the kitchen. He looked mainly unscathed from the cooking competition Hibiki and Laxus had just had, although there were a few stray pieces of egg on his arms. Looking at them, he shrugged and said, "I'll take a shower after I eat."
"Lyon, can you cook for us?"
"...fine." Lyon casted one glare towards Gajeel to stop him from uttering even one more word about his 'girly' skill as he searched the cabinets to see what ingredients the kitchen was stocked with. Using his hands to make a shooing motion, he said, "Out. I need privacy while I cook."
"Just like a wife." Ava giggled as she felt his glare on her. "Okay, okay, we get it. We'll get out. Come on, you two."
A few minutes later, the whole team (minus Lyon) was sitting in the table. Hibiki had taken the seat next to Ava and Laxus the farthest away from her teammate. It was thus Ava found herself sitting across to Cheria and sandwiched between Gajeel and Hibiki.
"It's finished." A hand set down several plates in front of them, and Ava looked up to see Lyon in a pink cooking apron, his face scrunched up slightly thanks to their scrutiny as Ava withheld a giggle, covering her mouth with her hands. "Don't laugh at me." Lyon turned, his cheeks starting to redden. "They only had this apron available, so deal with it." He untied the back string that held the apron together and took it off, hanging it on one of the hooks in the walls of the kitchen.
"Such a girly guy we're teaming up with. I'm on a team with a bunch of pansies." Laxus snorted, and Hibiki stiffened just a tiny bit-if Ava had not been his teammate for the past few years, she wouldn't have even noticed his discomfort over his suave smile still plastered on his face- as his glare at the Lightning Dragon Slayer intensified.
Cheria giggled, her face a nice shade of pink as she said dreamily, her cerulean eyes flashing with some kind of emotion akin to love, "I think you look fine, Lyon-kun."
"Thank you, Cheria. At least someone appreciates the fact that I'm cooking for them." Lyon glanced over at Gajeel, who just gave him a lazy smirk.
"But I obviously look better." Hibiki gave his input.
"Tch, both of you pansies are just irritable." Laxus leaned back into his chair comfortably.
"Never knew you had such a word in your dictionary, Laxus-san." Hibiki said smoothly, his eyes narrowed and body tense as the two glowered at each other.
"...why am I missing my old team so much?" Ava wondered pitifully.
"Ava." Lyon nodded, as she sat next to him. They were at the beach: it was quite easy to access it because the cottage was right next to the shoreline. It seemed like meeting people at the beach was becoming a common occurrence. Ava's lips tugged into a smile. There had been so many important memories she had made at beaches: her first meeting with Sting and Rogue, her talks with Gray, her talks with Lyon, and even now. The sand was soft and a pure white color, letting her feet sink into the ground as she lowered herself to sit next to him.
"What do you want to know?" She asked before he said anything, pulling her knees to her chest as she wrapped her arms around them.
"Who was that woman? How did she know you?"
Of course he would skip the small, idle chat and immediately start at the problem at hand. She took a deep breath, willing to at least let this small piece of information go. "If I recognized her correctly...her name is Mia Lucioni, and she's my twin sister."
Lyon's eyes lit up with something akin to surprise as her shoulders slumped defeatedly; two completely opposite reactions. He deserved to know, and if there was anyone she trusted to keep the information a secret, it would be Lyon.
"Why was she there?" he asked cautiously, knowing he was treading on thin ice. "Is she a Mage? What kind of magic does she use?"
"Well, I don't know the answer to some of those questions, but I'll try my best." Ava gave him a wry smile as the two sat down on the beach.
It was going to be a long night.
A/N: I'm sorry for not updating sooner...I felt like this story wasn't that good and I started a Fairy Tail SYOC so I was stuck on that for a while. As an apology, expect a special !crack chapter coming tomorrow or the day after since this chapter is quite short.
On the bright side, you all are so kind! Thank you for all the reviews/follows/favorites/reads!
A lot of just random team bonding (hmm...maybe I should use a better term than bonding) and an intentional cut off of Ava and Lyon's conversation because I don't want to reveal everything about Ava and Mia yet. (I love you all? Don't kill me...)
Anyways, until next time!