Chapter 12: Resolutions and Glittering Anticipation

A lone figure, with white fur and a serious look on her face, swooped through the shadows. "Happy..." Carla muttered, hiding herself behind some carts as Happy and five other mages entered the guild courtyard. In a matter of seconds a fight had been placed between two dragonslayers who were, unlike her Wendy, in their late teen years and both boys. As people swarmed to watch, the three other returning mages stood at hand to oversee the fight. One was a redhead, Erza the ex-quip mage. The others were Lucy, a celestial mage, and Grey, the ice-user. Watching his owner intently was a blue-furred Exceed like herself.

Happy.

"That he-cat... how am I going to get him over here without everyone seeing?" Carla said to herself. "Oh. Easy! I'll simply..." Just then, voices cheered and swarmed around Natsu, one of the fighter. The fight was over! Gajeel, the other fighter, was the winner, but he stalked off somewhere. Not that it was her problem.

"Happy!" she hissed to herself, reminding her of her goal. She prepared herself, and lifted off from the ground.

~ o ~

Happy trotted happily over to Natsu, ready to encourage him with a loyal, "You'll win next time!" and so forth. Suddenly, a white blur dashed across his eyes and he felt claws dig into his paws. He was lifted from the ground and after a few seconds of bewilderment, set back down in an abandoned corner of the courtyard.

"...Carla?" Happy asked, puzzled to see the white Exceed. Carla looked sheepish. "What do you want? A fish?"

"I...um..." She paused, then looked up. Happy was stunned to see a faint pink blush dusting her cheeks.

"If you want to have a fish, then I'd be glad to!" Carla burst out, then instantly clapped her paws over her mouth.

"What did you say?" Happy whispered, his paws frozen. Am I only imagining this?

"I said, if you want to eat fish together, then I'd like that..."

"Aye, Carla!" Happy whooped, pumping a paw in the air. "I've got the perfect one for you. It's big and fresh - I caught it this morning!" The blue Exceed trotted over to the entrance of the guild. Smiling, Carla hurried after him.

~ o ~

Levy gasped, her skin chilled by the intent look on Gajeel's face. A hand stroked her hair, but she didn't know what was happening.

"I'm sorry. Your note... I didn't know what to think. It made me look at everything in a new way," Gajeel apologized. "If you'll accept me, I'd like to be on a closer hand with you-with everyone," he added hastily. Levy found her heart beating again.

"Of course, Gajeel," she whispered, her lips tilting upward in a smile. "That includes me, doesn't it?"

~ o ~

Everything was perfect. That's what Jet thought. He, Droy and Levy were friends again. And was it just him, or was his pace quicker than before? Maybe he was finally improving, with the help and encouragement from the people who mattered most to him. Jet smiled, satisfied with his self-training. Now it was time to get back to the guild to meet up with Levy and Droy. They'd planned a night on the town together!

Jet rushed to the guild, thankful for his speed. Upon entering the courtyard, he thought he noticed two tiny figures dashing around in the corner, but shook it off his mind and jogged into the guild.

"Droy!" he waved at his friend, who was just coming in through the side door. "Where's Levy?" His dark-haired friend shrugged.

"Dunno. She'll be in soon. If she's late, it's always for a good reason," Droy assured faithfully. He was always the trusting type, and besides, they were both a tad early. They heard laughing coming from the front doorway and turned to look.

Droy gasped. Jet felt his skin curl.

There, entering the guild, laughing and chatting, were Levy and Gajeel.

Speedy as he was, his blood was even speedier. Jet could feel his skin boiling, and it took a few moments to calm himself down. Droy, on the other hand, was only slightly taken aback, and soon rushed to join them. Jet told himself to 'cool it', and, after reminding himself of his conversation with Levy only a few hours earlier, followed his friend forward.

~ o ~

Levy smiled as she and Gajeel trotted into the guild.

"I'm so glad you decided to trust me. Soon I'll have you reading!"

"Yeah, right, shrimp," Gajeel shot back.

"Just wait and see, ironhead!" Levy laughed.

"Hey, Levy! Hi, Gajeel." Droy rushed up to them.

"Hi Droy! Ready for tonight?" She smiled and turned back to Gajeel. "Sorry, but I've got tonight planned." She smiled at her teammates.

Gajeel started to move away. Levy paused, then turned.

"Hey, Iron Machine. I'll see you later."

"You bet, bookworm," Gajeel countered.

"Ooh," Mira exclaimed, dashing over. She could smell a romance from miles away. "Are you guys...?" Natsu followed, grinning at having something to jab at his dragonslayer rival about.

Jet and Droy waited, anticipating. The 'bookworm' and 'ironhead' looked at each other and blushed.

"Might as well admit it," sighed Levy. She turned to Mira and nodded.

"They're not the only ones!" said Droy, jumping in excitedly. He pointed to a table set for two. "See?"

"What in the world? Hey, that's-Happy and Carla!" shouted Natsu. He turned. "WENDY! Get over here." The Sky Sorceress rushed over.

"Look at that."

Indeed, Happy and Carla were sitting at a table, chatting quietly over two plates of steaming fish. They looked cheerful, yet shy.

"Aw..." murmured Levy and Wendy together.

"Yep! This is definitely something to have a party over!" Mira exclaimed excitedly.

"But-"

"No 'but's, Droy," Mira said wickedly. "Let's get the party started!"

~ o ~

Levy slumped in a chair, smiling at the scene around her. Jet and Droy were chatting intently over some new magic device. Natsu and Grey were arguing over who was better, and Erza and Mira were gleefully scaring the wits out of them whenever they felt like it. Lucy had just left to get a drink for the two of them; they were having a conversation about a new book Levy had bought a few days ago.

"Hey."

"Hi, Gajeel." Levy smiled.

Gajeel gave a rough hint of a smile. "You think they'll accept me?"

She had to laugh. "Of course! They haven't been gossiping or insulting you, have they?"

"No..."

"Then cheer up." Levy got up from her chair and climbed up to the roof of the guild. Gajeel followed. For a while they sat in silence, lying down and staring at the star-filled sky. Then, "Levy?"

"Yeah?"

"...Thanks." Gajeel blushed.

Levy smiled. So much had happened between them and her team, and so much more could happen in the future. As she gazed up at the thousands of glittering stars above them, she knew that although the past might be hurtful, that tomorrow was a glittering anticipation that she would never want to miss.

That's the final chapter. I'm really going to miss writing this one… Hope you all enjoyed it!

Please remember to R&R! Thanks :)

Ps. Please keep an eye out for my future fanfics! I'm already starting a new one :3