Nashi

The hot air hit my face like a hard slap. My eyes burned from the sweat that poured from my head and my arms and legs were aching. There was also the sharp pain on my back from the sword that sliced me earlier, but I couldn't allow myself to falter. My opponent was still on him feet, so I had to stay on mine.

The air to me left changed and I did a backflip to avoid a wide swing, feeling to large blade passing just over my body in the process. I landed with a roll and then ran to the back side of the arena. He was right there with me, his breath heavy behind the face mask of his helmet. I had my back to the wall now, my tiny body pressed to it as if I were trying to push myself through it. It was only my third fight, and I was only 9 years old, I was trying to avoid doing what these people wanted me to do. I didn't want to kill him, the other two times had been accidents and I was sick for the rest of the day after, so I hoped this time could be different.

It wasn't though. I felt that power begin to burn inside me, coming to me when I needed it the most despite my desire to not use it. My body reacted on its own, hands thrown out in front of me, and then all I could see was fire.

I woke up with my body jerking and almost tossing me from my bed, I hadn't had that dream in a long time. It was one of the many memories I tried to push to the back of my mind. When I was young and still believed I could survive without hurting anyone there. I was so stupid back then.

I got up from my temporary bed and stretched my back out. At least I wasn't drenched with sweat this time. With the feeling in my head, though, I knew I wasn't going to be getting back to sleep anytime soon. I was about to head out and get something to drink when I noticed another body close to my bed. I sat back down and stared at her. She left with him, didn't she? We all agreed that they would give us space, right? But there she was, inches from my bed with her hand out like she was reaching for me.

I wanted to reach out for her, but then her words hit me again. In my head, the image of a woman with kind eyes flashed. And another one with the same woman, standing there while I almost died and the echoing of her words stabbing me in the chest. 'Why should I care? I am not her mother'. It was too close. She was almost like a mother to me in a time I needed one. And then she turned on me when I should have died. And I would have, if not for pops.

I pulled my legs up onto the bed and stared at her sleeping body. I could see the pain there as she slept, but still I stayed back.

"She's confused. We all are. It's not an easy thing to believe that the infant child you have a few months ago is back with you as a teenager now."

His words made sense to me, but I still didn't trust it. I couldn't take the betrayal again. Too many times of trusting people and then feeling that sting when they chose their own life when they promised to protect you, I never wanted to feel that again.

But still, all of the dreams I had over the years of finally meeting them cropped up in my mind. The fantasies of days in the park, swimming in the ocean, family dinners, they all came to me again and I felt the tears start and I slid down off of the bed.

I landed on the floor next to her, the hard wood under me. I touched her hand lightly and she flinched, and then wrapped her fingers around my tightly in her sleep. I expected to wake, but she never did. I felt movement behind me and turned to find the red headed woman staring at me. She smiled at me and then glided over to us, "They just couldn't stay away." She said softly.

I looked around then and saw them. All of them were there. "But, when we went to sleep…"

"I know. They snuck in about an hour ago. I tried to tell them they didn't have to stay, but Lucy was the first one to demand to leave them alone. But I wouldn't have made them leave, even if Makarov told me to."

I closed my eyes again and tried to stop the tears. Why? Why would she want to do that? I tried to pull my hand back from her, but her grasp was too tight for me to pull my hand out without waking her. She then pulled my whole arm to her and held it to her chest. I leaned back against the bed with a sigh. "I'm not going to get her to let go, am I?"

"Probably not." The woman told me with a smile. She pulled my pillow down and then placed it on the floor next to me. She then touched the top of my head and then left without another word.

I sighed and then gave up. I took the place next to the woman that held my arm. Once I was on the ground, I saw the look of pain eased back and was replaced with a slight look of happiness. I sighed again and used my free hand to pull her blanket over the two of us and closed my eyes again, willing myself back to sleep.

Erza

I had to smile at them. Lucy tried so hard to talk to her earlier but Nashi refused her advances. So to see them the way they were was a good start. One time when Nashi began to twitch in her sleep, Lucy reached her arm around her daughter and pulled her in close. With that motion, Nashi calmed down with a slight whimper and then was fast asleep again.

I forced myself to turn away from them and then went back to the piece of paper that I had been staring at for over an hour now. I needed to send this message, but I just didn't know how to word it. How do you tell someone that their children were back, when they were convinced that they were dead? I put the pen to the paper and wrote a short message, not even saying the full story, just asking him to come back and that I needed to talk to him immediately. I hoped it would be enough.

I rolled the paper up and tied it, then set it to the side. I would send it in the morning, at least that's what I told myself what I would do. I wasn't sure I would have the nerve to really do it though.

I felt a hand on my arm and turned around to see Elena standing behind me. Her eyes were only half open but she held onto my arm like she was fully awake. She pulled be back to where she had been sleeping and then lay down. I was forced to lay down next to her, her grasp on my arm to tight to pull away. I wouldn't have done that anyway. As soon as my head hit her pillow, her eyes closed and she held my hand up to her face. The note would be sent in the morning.

Lucy

I woke to the sensation of a body next to mine. I chanced a peek and saw her so close to me. Her face was so peaceful as she slept, and the morning sunlight that hit the top of her head cast a glow around her. She was so beautiful. I allowed myself to reach up and touch her face gently, feeling her skin under the tips of my fingers. She stirred a bit and I moved to her hair. It was soft, almost as soft as it was when she was born. I ran my fingers through a lock that had fallen on her face and then jumped slightly when I noticed her eyes were open and staring at me.

"Hello." I told her, my voice so quiet only she could hear it.

"Hi." She was just as quiet as I was, her mouth hardly moving at all.

"Did you sleep ok? I know how hard it can be to sleep in a new place sometimes."

"It was fine, I guess."

She lay there and just looked at me after that, not elaborating at all. I had the feeling that she was holding back, but I didn't want to push. I sat up and pulled her with me. "Come on. We are going to get some breakfast and then I want to show you the city." She started to protest but I held my hands up to stop her. "I'm not asking for you to tell me your life story, I just want to spend some time with you. You don't have to say a word to me if you don't want to, but I would like you to."

I could see the idea rolling around in her head, and then she nodded with a slight slump in her shoulders.

Two hours later, we were in one of the clothing shops in town. I knew she didn't have anything with her so I wanted to make sure she had at least a little more. She was standing in front of a mirror with an outfit I had picked out and a sour look on her face. "What's wrong? That looks good on you!"

"Maybe, but isn't it a little…revealing?" indeed the skirt was pretty short, but the top covered her chest and stomach and then left her arms bare. "I feel too exposed"

"Well, then we will try something else. How about this?" I held up two more pieces and she turned her nose up at them.

"I don't think so." I tossed them aside and then I had to really think about this. She said she felt exposed, so maybe she was less like me that I was hoping for. I went back to the pile that I had discarded and pulled out two different pieces and then tossed them to her.

"Try these." I said, my hands on her back as I moved her back into the dressing room.

"But I…"

"No buts, just try them."

I pulled the curtain closed and then waited. When she walked out, I couldn't hide the smile. The pants I picked out were tight, but not so much so that they reveled too much. They had a leather strap that ran up the outside of both legs, tying the sides together and giving her the illusion that she was taller than she was. The top had sleeves that came down to her wrists but with several cut-outs to show her skin underneath, but the rest of it was one piece that hugged her torso just right. The neckline hit her about two inched under her collar and had a wave to it that made the eye follow it to her shoulders. I think it was the colors that had caught my attention first though. The main color in both pieces was black but the silver threading stood out and sparkled against the stark darkness of the black, but it seemed to fit her just right.

"How do you feel about that one?"

"I think I could live with this it." She gave me a shy smile that was soon hidden behind a fringe of hair when she ducked her head down.

"Wonderful! Let's get it and then grab a snack. I still have a few places I want to show you!"

I took her to a bakery that had some of the best cupcakes in Fiore and then we sat in the shade of a large oak tree to eat our treats before moving on. I was perfectly content to let her be silent for the moment, but then she spoke up. "I have a question I've wanted to ask you for a while."

"Yeah?"

She pulled out my diary from the small of her back and held it in her lap. "You have a lot of stuff written down about you and him, but you never said anything about how the two of you got together."

I felt my face heat up. This was not something I had thought about in a while and just beginning to remember was embarrassing. "Well, that's sort of a complicated story."

"I've got time."

I couldn't say no to that face. "Well, several years ago, Natsu did something that made me angry. When I say he made me angry I don't mean I was a little pissed, I was seriously furious with him."

"What did he do?"

"I don't remember." I gave a chuckle. "I remember being furious, but I don't remember why."

I was livid. My entire body was trembling with the rage that was coursing through me and he just stood there like nothing was wrong. I wanted to wring his neck until he turned blue but I doubted that it would do any good.

"What's the big deal, Lucy. It turned out fine didn't it?" He asked me, that stupid fucking grin urging the anger on even more.

"That's not the point." I said, my voice low with the hint of a growl. "You should have known better!"

"I think that's a bit over his head there." Gray pipped in, his own shit-eating grin in place.

"DON'T get in the middle of this!" my anger had turned to him and his grin slipped. With my attention on Gray, Natsu chose that moment to approach me. When I saw how close he was to me I slapped him and then shoved him away from me.

The look of hurt on his face satisfied something in me, and also hurt something else. "Don't touch me." My hand was still up, warding him off. "I can't do this anymore, Natsu." The anger had drained from me suddenly and I was just tired. Tired of all of the arguing and of him being such an idiot.

"Can't do what anymore?" he was hurting, I could see it plainly, and now I didn't care. I was hurting too.

"This." That was all I said, but it was enough.

"This? You mean the team? Or the guild?"

By then we had gotten the attention of almost everyone in the guild hall. With all heads turned to me, I didn't answer him. I simply turned and walked out. Leaving him alone behind me.

The next morning, I went to talk with Master Makarov in his office. "Are you sure about this?" He asked, his face serious.

"No, but I think I need to do it. I need some distance for now. I don't want to leave the guild, but I can't be around him right now."

He sighed but nodded his head, understanding my request. I slipped the fingerless gloves on my hands and then stood. He stood with me, but did not follow me out of the room. By the time I was downstairs not a single person was speaking, and Natsu was blocking the bottom of the stairs.

"I'm not letting you leave."

"You can't stop me, now move."

"No."

I was on the last step, my face inches away from his and neither of us speaking. I put a hand on his chest and pushed, he didn't budge. "Move."

"No." He crossed his arms across his chest, resolute in standing firm.

"NATSU!" Makarovs voice snapped in the air.

"I can't let her do this." He told him, never taking his eyes off of me. "Not when I know she doesn't really want to."

"You think you know what I want?" I snapped. I poked him hard in the chest. "You don't know ANYTHING! And you never will!"

He was confused by my words, and it was enough to be able to shove past him. I didn't get two steps away though because he grabbed my wrist and held me. "I know that this is your home. Am I wrong?"

"No, you are not wrong."

"Then why do you want to leave?"

"Why do YOU want me to stay?

The question threw him off, his head popped back and he let go of me. I waited for a response and then scoffed when none came. "That's what I thought." I tried to turn around again but was caught by him, again. I started to yell but my voice was caught by his lips on mine. I stole all logic and reason from me. Never did I think he would do something like this, least of all in front of everyone.

When he pulled back, he whispered to me, "Is that a good enough reason?"

"I guess so."

"Interesting." Nashi told me when I finished. "So he did that in front of everyone?"

"Yeah, surprised the hell out of me. But I found out later that most of the guild had a bet going to see how long it would take for us to get together." I laughed aloud "Gray lost a lot of money that day, but I think everyone else was just relieved that the tension was finally gone between us."

"So had there always been that tension?"

"Not always. At first he was just my friend, but it became more somewhere. If you ask him, he will you the same thing I'm about to tell you. Neither one of us knows when it happened, but we both agree when we finally admitted it."

"I'm glad you did."

"Me too."

We stayed in silence for a moment, listening to the birds singing in the tree above us, then she handed me the diary. "Here." She said

"Why are you giving this back?"

"Because it's yours."

I touched the top of the book and then gently pushed it back to her. "Keep it. I don't need it anymore. Besides, you've had it longer than I ever did."

She laughed but then replaced it in the small of her back. "Didn't you say there was more stuff you wanted to show me?"