This chapter I'll try to put in some scenes where Jason and Wendy interact to help hammer in just how this revelation is going to affect him. I hope you al enjoy!
April 3, X791
At the Fairy Tail guild hall, Jason just sat at the bar as everyone else was having fun. Natsu and Sakura were arm wrestling and surprisingly at a stalemate with their Exceeds cheering them on, Gajeel and Frost trying to get them to have a Dragon Slayer battle royale, Lyon tried to hit on Juvia while she and Aqua were having a conversation with Gray just sitting there in his boxers, Ethan was having a friendly conversation with Mirajane, Blaise was chatting with Makarov and Macao, and Spiral was giving Asuka a piggyback ride while Hikari watched and laughed.
"Jason, are you okay?"
Jason came back to reality and saw Wendy standing in front of him.
"Oh, yeah…" Jason said unconvincingly.
"You don't sound like it." Wendy said. She took a seat on the stool right next to him. "So, how have things been over the last seven years?"
"Well, I've gotten a lot stronger." Jason answered, not looking at Wendy at all. "I only joined a guild several months ago. I can't really say anything else interesting happened in all that time."
"Really? Nothing else happened at all in seven years?"
"Well, the only other thing I can think of is that my great grandfather is forcing me into marriage. Thankfully, a friend of mine was willing to pose as a girlfriend just to get my family off my back, but I didn't think things through for the long run."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm supposed to get married and impregnate her by the end of the summer."
"Well, if you knew it was coming then why didn't you just find a real girlfriend?"
Jason finally turned his head to look at Wendy, whom had a quizzical look on her face.
"That way you'd at least be with someone you care about." Wendy said.
"Let's just say… there was only one girl on my mind this whole time." Jason answered. "I'd… I really don't want to talk about it."
"But-"
"Wendy, I know you're trying to help me and I appreciate it. It's sweet of you to do so, but… this whole situation is a lot more complicated than you think. I… just want to be alone with my thoughts for right now." Jason got up, walked out of the guild hall and leaned against the side of the structure.
Wendy walked over to a nearby chair and took a seat when Carla flew by right next to her.
"Don't let it get to you, child." Carla said. "Besides, I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving you alone with a man his age."
"But… he just seems so miserable." Wendy said. "I really want to help him."
"He just wants to be alone." Carla reiterated. "For now, let's just let things take their course."
Just outside of the guild hall as Jason leaned against the building and pulled out a communications lacrima. After making a few inputs into it, a visual of Kagura's face appeared in the lacrima.
"Hello, Kagura." Jason said.
"Jason, you don't sound like yourself." Kagura said through the lacrima. "Is something wrong?"
"Well, sort of…" Jason answered. "Listen… you don't have to be a part of our charade anymore."
"Jason, what are you-"
"I'm going to come clean to my family. At least this way I won't be forcing you into my problems anymore."
"Wait-"
"It's probably best if you don't see me again. I'm sorry… and thank you for helping me these last few months."
Before Kagura could get a word in, Jason turned off the communications lacrima and went back into the Fairy Tail guild hall.
Back inside the guild hall, Wendy noticed that Jason was returning from his brief moment outdoors and watched as he walked over to the same barstool with that same melancholic air about him. Wanting to help her friend cheer up, she walked over to Jason and took the seat right next to him.
"Jason, I really want to help you out." Wendy said.
"Wendy, I told you-" Jason was about to say.
"Before I can help you, I need to know what kind of girl you like." Wendy said.
"… What?" Jason questioned.
"Tell me." Wendy said with a confident, yet adorable face.
Jason lightly blushed at the sight of her cuteness and forwardness before turning his head away. "W-well… I want her to be nice, really nice. In terms of looks, I don't care about the size of her chest or her age, as long as she's cute. I… would also like her to be supportive, but knows when it's necessary to put her foot down."
"Don't worry, Jason! I'll help you find your dream girl!" Wendy proudly proclaimed.
Carla just looked at Wendy with exasperation and thought to herself. *And yet she doesn't realize he practically described her.*
"Let's see…" Wendy muttered to herself. "Right now, the only people that come to mind are Ms. Mirajane and Ms. Lucy."
"One of my other guild mates likes Lucy and Mirajane…" Jason said. "She kind of scares me."
"Okay… It might take a while, but I won't stop until you're happy, Jason!" Wendy said before running off.
Jason knew there was no changing Wendy's mind at this point. She was going to try her hardest to make him happy, which was probably the last thing he wanted to hear.
"May I have a chat with you?"
Jason looked over and saw Carla with a stern, almost intimidating scowl on her face.
"I don't know what you plan on doing, but if you dare do anything to hurt Wendy…" Carla retracted her claws. "I will personally castrate you myself."
"That's the last thing I want to do." Jason said.
Carla was slightly surprised by what Jason just said.
"You can say whatever you want about it, but just know this." Jason said, looking Carla straight in the face and his expression completely serious. "I would never force Wendy-no, any woman-to do something that would make them uncomfortable. So no matter what happens, you don't have to worry about me hurting Wendy because I wouldn't allow anyone, not even myself, to bring harm to her."
Carla looked at Jason for a few seconds, letting his words sink in.
"… You might be trustworthy enough." Carla said. "MIGHT! Just remember what I'll do to you should you ever break that promise."
Carla left, leaving Jason alone to sigh to himself.
After the Phoenix Dawn wizards were partied out, they went back to Roseshade by train. Late that night, Jason was carrying a large, white bag around town and dropped it off in front of the guild hall. He placed a note on top of the bag before turning around and made his way out of town.
April 4, X791
The next morning, Sakura and Flora were walking through the streets of Roseshade and making their way toward the Phoenix Dawn guild hall.
"Man, those Fairy Tail wizards were awesome!" Sakura said. "No wonder everyone looked up to them seven years ago!"
"I'm just glad none of the Exceeds tried to hit on me." Flora said.
"I can't wait to meet them again!" Sakura said. "Especially the Dragon Slayers!"
"Oh, that reminds me." Flora said. "Have you noticed something odd about Jason yesterday? At the beginning of the day he was the happiest I've ever seen him, but later he looked even more depressed than he usually looks."
"Maybe you're just imagining things." Sakura said.
They arrived at the guild hall only to find most of their guild mates standing around the white bag Jason left while Blaise was holding a note.
"Oh, cool!" Sakura exclaimed as she ran toward the bag. "Did Santa come early?"
"Santa's sack is red, Sakura." Flora pointed out.
"This bag contains most, if not all, of Jason's belongings." Spiral said.
"With the exception of food and clothing, just about everything Jason kept in his residence is in this bag." Shroud stated.
"There was also this note left behind." Blaise said as she handed Sakura the note.
Sakura looked over the note and read it aloud.
To all of my friends in Phoenix Dawn,
I knew this day would come eventually, but I didn't think it would be this soon. I'm going home and leaving the guild. Yesterday's revelation caused something inside of me to snap. I realize now that my happiness doesn't matter and that I'm destined to live out the rest of my life in misery. Thank you all for your support, laughter and kindness that you've given me over the last few months. I would tell you guys never to see me again, but knowing you guys, you're probably going to come to my house to convince me to come back. Thanks again for the months of joy you've provided me before I live out the rest of my life without any sign of joy.
Sincerely,
Your friend and fellow guild mate, Jason Lexus
"How dare he?!" Sakura shouted. "He can't just up and leave the guild like that! Come on, Spiral! We're heading over there and beat Jason until he comes back to his senses! Come on, Flora!"
Sakura charged out of the guild hall with Flora flying after her.
"Spiral, go after Sakura." Blaise said.
"You want me to bring her back?" Spiral asked.
"No, you're going to follow her lead." Blaise answered. "Normally, I'd say that she should be stopped, but Jason's clearly not in his right mind. Seeing Wendy return without aging must have triggered something in his heart and he's suffering because of it. We need to bring him back here and help him get back on his feet."
"… Right." Spiral nodded and chased after Sakura.
A few hours later, Spiral, Sakura and Flora had arrived at the Lexus Estate and were standing just outside the gate.
"So, how do you want to do this?" Sakura asked Spiral. "Break down the gates or break down the door?"
"Why can't we just ring the doorbell?" Spiral questioned.
"Even if we say it's us, Jason's not going to let us in." Sakura pointed out.
"Eh, that's a good point." Spiral said.
"Are you here to speak with Jason as well?" A woman's voice asked from behind them.
The three of them turned around to see Kagura standing behind them.
"I got a call from Jason yesterday and he said I didn't have to be his false girlfriend anymore." Kagura said.
"But isn't that a good thing for you?" Spiral asked.
"Well, I'm just concerned for Jason, that's all." Kagura said.
"Hey, can you use that sword to cut down these gates?" Sakura requested.
"Sakura, maybe it's best if we took a more stealthy approach." Spiral said as he pulled out a blanket from his knapsack. "This was Jason's, so maybe you could sniff him out and we can follow your lead."
Sakura took a few whiffs of the blanket and started to sniff the air.
"… That weird." Sakura said. "I can't track his scent."
"How is that possible?" Spiral questioned. "You're a Dragon Slayer."
"I can't explain it." Sakura said. "It's like he just vanished off the face of Earthland."
"I know where Jason's bedroom is." Kagura said. "I could lead you there from the outside."
Inside the mansion, Jason was walking to his room and opened the door. Just as he entered, the door was slammed shut and Sakura held her hand over his mouth while wrapping her legs around his arms to restrain him.
"You didn't have to leave the guild, Jason!" Spiral said. "Don't bother trying to scream for help. I used my magic to soundproof the room. Nobody outside of the room can hear us."
Sakura let go of Jason's mouth.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Jason shouted.
"We're taking you back to your friends, Jason." Spiral said.
"What are you talking about?" Jason asked. "Who are you?"
"Wait… Don't you recognize us?" Kagura asked.
"I… I don't remember anything." Jason answered.
A/N: And this is the start of what is possibly the biggest arc in this story, aside from maybe the Grand Magic Games. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Have a good Thanksgiving, guys! Stay tuned for next time!