*Is just going to sneak back in after a six month writing hiatus*

As always,I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters, they belong to Hiro Mashima and I thank him for their use in my own creative expressions *bows*

The rest of the afternoon had dragged on so much that Levy was relieved when it was time to leave if only for the excuse to get out of there for a while. She wasn't expecting Laxus' houseto be so ordinary looking with a big front yard scattered with kids' toys and a minivan parked in the driveway.

"This is where Laxus lives?" She asked the question before she realized how impolite it must have sounded.

"Yep," Gajeel replied, if he thought she was being rude he didn't show it. They climbed out of the truck, Levy and Lucy following Gajeel and Natsu like baby ducklings. Two men she didn't know had gotten there at the same time and waved at them as they walked up the door.

"Hey guys!" One of them greeted happily. "You're Levy and Lucy right?"

"Yeah," Levy answered uneasily. "How do you know our names?" Right now she wasn't in the most trusting mood of strangers.

"Oh, me and Max are the ones who-" He was cut off when the shorter man with pin straight hair and a wide smile elbowed him in the middle.

"Never mind about him." The other man explained quickly. "I'm Max and the idiot is Warren."

Before she could reply the front door opened. "You're finally here!" A very pretty girl with short white hair and very bright blue eyes smiled at them. "Mira's been so worried that not everyone would show up today."

"Hey Lis," Natsu pushed past her to go inside, the two other guys following him.

"Lisanna," Gajeel spoke, his tone was actually close to being polite. "This is Levy and Lucy."

"So nice to meet you, come inside." She stepped back and let them walk past her. "It's a little crowded in here right now so we set up a picnic table in the backyard, follow me."

The first thing Levy noticed was all the noise, most of it coming from a group of kids who were running around every which way. The house inside was the same as house outside, organized family chaos and very lived in. Levy still couldn't believe that this was Laxus' home, but then again she didn't know him that well and the stony demeanor might be an intimidation act.

"Gajeel." Like he could read her mind Laxus popped up out of nowhere and made Levy jump, Gajeel broke off from them and disappeared with the other man. As she watched him leave she felt a stab of apprehension hit her in the gut, she pushed it away and followed Lisanna to the kitchen; it was full of busy women.

"This is my sister, Mira." She was taller and a little curvier but the family resemblance was very strong with the same white hair a big blue eyes.

"Hi!" She greeted them brightly and to her and Lucy's surprise hugged them both. "I'm so happy that you came. Laxus is my husband and when he told me you were staying at Gramps' I made sure that he invited you for supper." They hadn't had much of a choice but she seemed happy so Levy felt glad to be there.

"Hi Levy!" Finally someone she recognized, turning she saw Wendy standing in the kitchen.

"Hi," Levy answered back shyly.

"This is your roommate?" The younger girl asked and Levy nodded.

"Lucy, this is Wendy, she works for Seven Dragons too." Lucy returned the greeting, cradling her purse with Plue in it.

"We should go outside," Lisanna urged. "It's crowded in here and if we don't leave they are going to put you to work."

"Hey." Mira shot her sister an exasperated expression. "Supper is almost ready so go ahead." She shooed them out and Lisanna led them through the patio doors and into the backyard. It was a huge space and it took Levy a second to realize that it was because there was no fence separating this yard from the neighbours to the left.

Lisanna caught her gaze. "My brother and his wife live next door," the other girl explained. "So they took the fence down because it just makes things easier."

"Auntie!" A little girl ran up to them; she was dressed in a green and blue fairy costume complete with gauzy, sparkled wings and her curly light brown hair was in a high ponytail. She latched onto one of Lisanna's legs.

"This is my niece Ellie," she explained to Levy and Lucy while peeling off and picking up the giggling girl.

"Who are you?" The toddler asked while eyeing them curiously, her arms were hugging Lisanna's neck tight.

"Uh…" Levy didn't really know what to say but Lisanna interrupted her quickly.

"They are Unlce Laxus' friends, now go find your cousins and tell them it's time for supper."

"Oh-kay," Ellie drawled as Lisanna set her down and she took off back towards the house.

The biggest table Levy had ever seen was set up right on the lush green grass. When she looked closer she saw that it wasn't even a real table but a big piece of plywood set up on saw horses and covered by a big yellow plastic table cloth.

"Levy." Mira came up behind them carrying a giant bowl of pasta salad. "Why don't you go sit over there?" She pointed out an empty chair between Gajeel and Rogue. "Lucy, you can go right here." She led the other girl to the opposite side of the table. Levy and Lucy looked at each other, worried about being separated but realizing their hostess was probably not someone you wanted to argue with.

Levy slid onto the plastic lawn chair and glanced at the man beside her with his permanent cranky expression, for some reason he seemed grouchier than he had earlier. She wondered curiously what he and Laxus had talked about and if it had anything to do with her case, not that he would ever admit it. Waiting for everyone else to be seated gave Levy a chance to look around; the atmosphere felt so casual, more like a family barbecue than a work function.

"I think that's about it…" Mira glanced around the table to make sure everything was in order; she was holding a chubby little boy wearing a blue and green striped onesie with a white little sun hat on his head. "Elfman!"

The biggest man Levy had ever seen appeared carrying a large tray overflowing with hamburger patties and hotdogs. He was probably only an inch taller than Laxus but his shoulders were gigantic and his biceps where probably as thick as her leg, he also had the same wispy white hair as Lisanna and Mira except it was cut short and spiky on top of his head. The man must be their brother she realized and she wondered if he worked with the Dragon's too; most criminals probably peed their pants when they saw him coming.

"Meat!" Natsu yelled from across the table and it broke her train of thought. Quick as a flash he reached out with his fork to stab a hamburger off the plate but the big man was quicker. He maneuvered the platter out of the way with one hand and smacked Natsu on the wrist with a spatula with the other.

"Back off!" He roared as Natsu yelped in pain, recoiling into his seat. "Wendy needs to take her veggie burger first," he explained in a much quieter voice.

"You remembered!" Wendy smiled from where she was sitting next to Lisanna and one of the guys they had just met outside. He let her pick off the greenish blob that was off to the one side before setting the platter down in the place of honor in the middle of the table.

"Alright." Mira was seated next to her husband, the toddler sitting her lap. "Dig in!" Everyone started to move at once for the food but before they reached it she cried out again. "Wait!" And the whole table froze in place.

Mira turned to Laxus who gave her a funny look. "What?" He asked.

"You know."

Laxus sighed. "Alright guys, hand them over." As he stood up there were grumbles from all the Dragons sitting around the table except for Wendy. Levy watched as they each pulled out a hidden gun from somewhere on their body and handed it over to him.

"And?" Mira looked at him expectantly. Laxus sighed again and pulled his own gun out of the holster attached to his belt and added it to the pile in his hands. "Excuse me." He grumbled and walked back into the house with them.

"Mira has a rule of no guns at the table," Rogue whispered in explanation to a curious Levy.

Once Laxus came back Mira ordered everyone to eat and the food frenzy began again.

"Better grab something." Levy looked over to Gajeel who was loading his plate with hamburgers. "Before it gets to Natsu, or there will be nothing left."

Levy took a hotdog from the platter and a bun from another that was being passed around. Food was coming from each direction and pretty soon her plate was filled.

"So Levy," Mira asked once everyone had started eating. "Laxus told me you work at a bookstore?"

"Um…" Levy swallowed, suddenly embarrassed when everyone's eyes turned to her. "Crux's Antique Books on 14th Street," she replied meekly.

"Oh, I've seen that place," Lisanna exclaimed excitedly. "It's close to that cute cupcake shop."

"That's what I said!" Wendy added.

"Lucy, what about you?" Mira asked, switching the attention over to the blonde.

"She cuts peoples' hair," Natsu answered before Lucy could.

"I'm just an assistant stylist," she corrected quickly, elbowing him in the ribs and almost making him choke on a bite of his loaded cheeseburger.

"You should be a model." Warren babbled while gazing at her dreamily. His friend was sitting in the seat next to him and Levy watched as he rolled his eyes.

"I saw her first." Sting shot the other man a look.

"Hey!" Natsu's voice was muffled by a mouthful of food but his intent was clear with the narrowing of his eyes.

"Boys," Laxus chided like he was the only real adult sitting at the table. "New topic."

It was silent at the table for about one minute while everyone concentrated on their food.

"So I saw Juvia at the grocery store the other day." Mira broke the silence but it sounded almost too casual. "Gage is starting to get so big and Lyra is absolutely adorable."

Next to her Gajeel grunted and looked down at his plate like he was trying to avoid the conversation.

"He's the same age as Justin right?" Kinana asked from the other end of the table where she was sitting between Max and Cobra.

"They are going to be in the same class at school." Mira confirmed with a smile.

"New topic" Laxus mumbled quietly between bites. His wife looked at him sideways, her smile had faded to a slight frown but she didn't say anything else.

Again the table was quiet except for the sound of eating; Natsu reached across the table for a second helping of salad with his bandaged hand and it caught the attention of the young blond boy sitting next to him.

"What happened to your hand Uncle Natsu?" He asked with wide eyes. "Did you get in a fight with a bad guy?"

There were a few snickers across the table from the Dragons who must have all known the story, Natsu looked sheepish. "Something like that, yeah."

"I bet he was huge! And mean!" The little boy's voice got louder and he started waving his arms around excitedly. "Like Uncle Elfman!"

"Hey…" The white-haired man grumbled a few seats down from his nephew.

"Sorry, I meant he only looked like you."

"Peter, you can talk to Uncle Natsu about it later."

"But Dad-"

"Peter."

The boy stuck out his bottom lip in a pout but sat back down quietly. While the random conversation and familiar banter might have made some people uncomfortable but it captivated Levy to watch and listen. They seemed to all know each other so well, like one large blended family full of interesting people. Since her parents died Levy's world had been pretty small, she didn't realize how much until now.

"I have a question," Lisanna piped up. "How come Freed and Bixlow never come to family dinner?" Wendy stiffened a little and gave her a sideways glance from the seat next to her but didn't say anything.

Laxus looked like he was on his last nerve. "We can't risk people figuring out that we still keep in touch."

"But why?" Lisanna asked, everyone was listening intently.

"Who wants watermelon?" Mira cut in before Laxus could reply. "I'll go get it from the house." She passed the baby over to her sister's lap and gave her look that would have scared the stripes off a tiger but it only made Lisanna frown as she let the questions go. Levy's curiosity continued to grow with each new conversation and she had a feeling that this was just the beginning.

Natsu lived with his cat on a quiet street lined with apartment buildings on both sides. Erza had just finished knocking on doors and asking if anyone had seen him coming and going the last few days but no one had noticed anything suspicious lately. She had assumed that Natsu's place would be a bust since he knew the cops would be looking for him and he'd had enough time to go underground but she knew she had to try anyway. With any luck Gajeel wouldn't be suspicious enough to do the same thing so he was next on her list. When she pulled up she noticed that his truck wasn't parked outside; she told herself that didn't mean he wasn't home but there was no answer at his door either. It was looking like it just wasn't going to be her day, Erza was about to start canvasing his neighbours when her phone rang.

"Scarlett."

"Erza." It was Gray on the other end and she knew from the sound of his voice he had news.

"What is it?" She asked.

"I think I found what connects Redfox with Levy McGarden, please tell me that you have him in custody."

"I'm just at his place now but it's a bust. What is it?"

"I'll send the files to your phone and you can see for yourself," Gray answered. "That's not the only thing." He told her about the break-in at Levy's apartment. "Mest is sending over the case notes but I think that we should officially make Gajeel a person of interest."

"I agree. I'm going to finish up here but I don't think it will lead anywhere. Let me know if anything else comes up, I have a feeling that things are starting to fall into place."

"Will do," he answered before hanging up. Erza brought up the file in her email and quickly scanned it, working hard to keep her face neutral. It explained a few things and left her with even more questions but Gray was right about one thing, they needed to find Gajeel and quick.

I will hopefully be getting back on track now! The chapter probably isn't quite up to quality and the editing was quick but please bear with me!