I am back with Chapter 16! Please R&R and I shall see you at the bottom of the page.

POV: Natsu

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or the idea of this story, I am only the writer.

A story for a friend, by a friend

Holding the door open, I watch as Lucy eagerly walks outside onto the wet sidewalk with her hands swinging beside her like a child. I smile, enjoying the carefree mood surrounding us as I wave back at the restaurant's owner before following my lovely wife.

It's late, probably a bit past midnight and the streets are completely empty with only the streetlights keeping the both of us company. It's not raining any more, Lucy had decided to remain in the restaurant until the rain let up before we made our departure. During that time we made conversation with the owner and workers of the store who allowed us to join them while they cleaned to be ready for the next day.

The owner, and old man around his late seventies whose name was Yajima, told us stories about how the restaurant has actually been around for little more than a hundred years. Café 8 is the name his great-great-great grandfather bestowed on the old building making it into one of the greatest franchises to ever hit Fiore. Little did he know that Lucy and I participated in the very first grand opening of the restaurant when we were living in Hargeon?

"That man reminds me so much of old Yajima," Lucy murmurs as she takes my hand and swings both of our arms between us, "He even looks just like him."

"Yeah, they're equally short and wrinkly," I chuckle as she punches me in the arm while keeping a tight grip on my hand so that I don't try to escape her fury, "But you're right," I continue while rubbing my sore shoulder with my free hand, "Those two are very similar. I bet old Yajima would be proud of how long his restaurant has held out and how well his family has cared for it."

"Yeah."

We continue walking in silence as Lucy leads me towards wherever she parked the car. From the looks of it she must have parked somewhere near the music shop which meant we had to walk all the way back. Hopefully she didn't forget where she parked if not it would take a while before we can get home.

"Natsu…" Lucy starts sounding a bit hesitant and I can't help but cringe.

"Please don't tell me that you forgot where you parked," I plead because I'm too tired to go on a hunt for our beaten down vehicle, a vehicle that should no doubt be somewhere in a junkyard rusting away instead of always being parked in our driveway and suffering the wrath of my short-tempered wife. Every time Lucy loses the car it just suddenly disappears, and trust me when I say that invisible cars were banned and discontinued when thieves and robbers used them to get away from police. Still, our car tends to disappear just as easily as those long forgotten vehicles.

"No, that's not it," She says while giving me a face that tends to challenge my intelligence, "I was just wondering about the moving thing," She continues while squeezing my hand. The topic of our previous argument swims in my head in dizzying circles and I have to do everything in my power to keep myself from getting to conclusions, "I was thinking that instead of settling somewhere for a while like we've done for some time I was wondering if you'd like to go on a trip?" she asks shyly, her downcast eyes tracing the pavement beneath our walking feet.

"A trip?" I ask clearly surprised at the suggestion.

Lucy nods while still not looking me in the eye as continues to swing our hands in between us, but with a little less enthusiasm. It almost feels like a nervous gesture, "Yeah, we haven't gone on a trip in a really long time and I was thinking that it would be a good idea to go somewhere new," she continues while still sounding a bit wary, "So what do you think? I'll even let you make the first suggestion."

She's right, I am actually enjoying the idea of going out to discover something new and the thought of getting to choose where to go ignites a burning excitement within me. The only problem is that we've been to absolutely everywhere in this vast world. We've discovered things that had gone 'missing' and learned the ways of our children as they grew and changed the world. Heck, we even helped build our children's creations and learned of the different customs they all invented. Honest to say that there was nowhere new to go and the thought only disappointed me at just thinking about that.

Sighing deeply, I shove my free hand into the pocket of my pants as I look up towards the smog filled sky. Clouds threatening to release more rain swirl above our heads but through a few cracks in the grey I can see the small hint of twinkling stars.

A few stars away from Jupiter, comes Erza's voice which rings through my head like an endless chime, It's as beautiful as the Earth when I first woke up to its wondrous sky.

The conversation I had with Erza earlier today emerges along with an idea I've had lingering at the back of my mind for quite a while. The thought of traveling towards somewhere we've never been to before…

"What about space?" I ask without giving it much thought while surprising both Lucy and I as I realize that I've spoken.

"Space?" She asks completely surprised with my suggestion, "Why space?"

"Because it's something new," I reason still uncertain of the idea myself, "We've never gone out into space or even thought about trying it. We've only ever walked the Earth exploring every nook and cranny to the point where there's nothing for us to discover anymore," I reason while continuing to look up at the stars that are slowly being swallowed up by the dark clouds, "We can catch up to Erza and Jellal and travel with them like old times. Imagine discovering new worlds and going on all types of adventures!"

Excitement bubbles through me as I can already picture the two of us walking beside our old friends and traveling the vast unknown like in those old space-time movies. Only for us there would be no telekinetic powers and special swords called light-sabers as we fight a battle between good and evil. Although that would make for a pretty good adventure, but I'm more than happy with a war-free-world.

Beside me I feel stop walking as she clutches onto my hand a bit tighter. When I turn to look at her, her eyes are still staring at the ground but now they seem to be a bit conflicted. Excitement and doubt bounce through her eyes in quick flashes that worry me on whether she'll reject the idea or actually go through with it.

Finally she looks up at me and with eyes only a mother can have asks, "What about the children?"

Know now that we haven't parented any children for a few years now. The last children Lucy actually gave birth to were well past the age of eighty with their own kids and grandchildren. We haven't spoken to them for a few years now, seeming as they are the only ones that know of our strange 'immortality' but Lucy never fails to send gifts on special days like birthdays or holidays.

No she isn't speaking about them if not the population that live on this tiny planet, the population we helped create. Those are the children she speaks of because even when they do not know us we know that they all might have a small part of us within them. We've also protected them by watching over them and trying to make sure that they don't fully destroy this once beautiful world. Unfortunately we haven't done much of a good job.

"They'll be fine Luce," I whisper as I take both of her hands into mine and squeeze them reassuringly, "Besides, Gray, Juvia, Gajeel, and Levy will be here to watch over them while we're away. There also hasn't been a war in almost fifty years and no one is fighting with each other over land and resources," mostly because all of that has already run out, "We'll only be gone for a while and we can always come back in anything major happens."

"Promise?" Lucy asks, her hopeful eyes making me want to scream joyously into the night. I nod as a smile begins to stretch across my face as she too smiles wide, "Alright then, let's do it! Let's go into space."

With a big whoop I jump into the air while throwing my fist up with exhilaration, "Alright, I'm all fired up now!" I yell while feeling the familiar burn of adventure blaze through my very being.

Lucy laughs as she also cheers beside me while grabbing onto my arm and leading me towards the park.

"By the way Natsu," she says suddenly stopping us both and I look down at her to see what's wrong, "I forgot where I parked the car…"

Laughter behind me sends a chill up my back as I turn around to see what's so funny. Before I know it, however, a bola wraps around my ankles making me fall face-first into the ground. This only ignites the laughter behind me as I groan from the pain from the heavy fall I had. Those kids are going to pay.

"Gotcha!" Mavis yells with glee as she races towards me with her brother hot on her heels. I brace myself as both children jump on top of me laughing when I groan in pain from their added weight, "I'm going to be a great hunter one day, aren't I daddy?!" Mavis asks with an eager tone as she tugs on my shirt with excitement.

"Girls don't hunt," Makarov, her twin brother, says while glaring at his sister clearly mad that he didn't get to throw his own bola to catch his dad.

"They do too," the small girl argues while puffing out her cheeks in the same manner as her mother does when she's annoyed, "Erza is the best hunter in the whole tribe and she's a girl," Mavis argues making Makarov and myself shiver at the mere mention of the vicious red-head's name.

"Yeah, I don't think Erza is human at all," Makarov says while slowly climbing off of me as I slowly sit up while feeling a bit sore from the fall.

"I agree, I always thought she was some sort of monster born from a burning mountain," I say while unwrapping the bola from around my ankles. Just thinking of an exploding mountain reminds me of the first home Lucy and I first lived in before finding the others.

Standing up and crossing her arms, Mavis glares at us with her dark green eyes as she softly says, "I'm going to tell her," Making both Makarov and I panic.

"Please don't," We say at the same time as I feel myself grow cold with fear. The last time I angered Erza and called her a name she set a mountain lion to chase after me. How she was able to accomplish that without having the creature chase her as well is beyond my imagination. It only proved my idea of her being a monster.

Thinking, just the way Lucy does when she's deciding whether to punish me or forgive me, Makarov and I await my daughter's verdict, "Hmm," she hums while keeping her dark green eyes up at the sky making the two us even more nervous. This child was as ruthless as her own mother, although that didn't quite differ from my own stubbornness that she also possessed, "Find, I won't say as long as you take me hunting with you."

"Only if your mother agrees," I quickly say at the same time that Makarov yells "WHAT?!" so loud it makes my ears hurt. Mavis doesn't even flinch as she turns and dashes towards where her mother is sewing some clothing beside a few of the other women from our tribe. Women who were either our children or the children of our children.

I watch the two talk with each other and notice the angry surprise on Lucy's face as she looks up to glare at me with her own brown eyes. She doesn't look at me long before Mavis has her attention again. It isn't long before she comes running back towards us with an excited glint in her usually cheerful eyes. We know immediately that her mother allowed her to join us.

"Why does she have to go with us," Makarov asks while crossing his arms stubbornly.

"Because she's your sister," I say as I stand up and dust off a few blades of grass that cling onto me, "It's alright if she wants to join us. Sharing one hunting trip with her won't hurt you."

"But I share everything with her! My mom, my dad, my family, my weapons… everything! Hunting trips with you are the only thing I never had to share until now," he sighs while stomping his foot stubbornly. A notion I sometimes tend to do when arguing with most of the women who like telling me what to do when I don't want to do anything.

A thought of blue races across my mind as I think of a small boy with blue hair that we lost some time back. It's not Happy, though I still think of him from time to time along with Sol, if not Juvia's small boy whose twin sister was the only one to survive that first winter we ever experienced.

"You should enjoy the time you spend with your sister," I say while earning an incredulous look from the hot-headed young boy. His height doesn't even reach past my waist and already he's so stubborn. I suppose he is my son after all, "You two were brought into this world together because this world wants you to experience things at the same time. Sharing is only a sign of how close you two really are and how close you should be when you get older," I say as we watch Mavis stop to pick out her own weapon for our trip, "Do you remember Jewel?" I then ask as Makarov slowly nods his head.

"She left with her partner last winter, right," Makarov asks and I nod. It's not new to hear that a new couple has left the tribe to start their own since Amel and Fae left all those seasons ago. In fact the rest of us have been deciding if we too should venture out beyond our current home. We've actually planned to leave a few suns from now.

"Well did you know that Jewel had a twin brother like you?" I ask as the question catches the young boy's attention. He shakes his head clearly not knowing of such news, "Yeah, she had a brother that was born on the same day just like you and Mavis. They were always together and followed their mother wherever she went. Sometimes they even liked to help pick the fruit along with Gray when they got a bit older, but you never saw one without the other." I say as I start picking up my bow and arrow that I had dropped on the ground, "They would also follow their mother around just like you and Mavis follow me around."

"What happened to him," Makarov asks clearly knowing what the answer was going to be even when he asks with genuine curiosity. He's a smart boy and understands things not even I understood for a really long time.

"He died during the very first winter we all had experienced. It got so cold that he became weak like many of the other children and adults and died just before the snow began to melt." I look over at Makarov who is silently watching his sister trying to decide if she should get another bola or trade if for a short spear, "Try imagining losing Mavis. How do you think it would feel having her around and always helping you and getting after you to suddenly just not being there anymore?" I ask the silent boy, "How do you think it would be to find something new and not be able to show her?"

Walking away I walk towards where Gajeel and Jellal are waiting with a few other males. I can hear them discussing on what they want to pack for when we leave our current home to find somewhere new. The thought sends an exciting feeling swirling in my chest along with the feeling of fear because we don't know what to expect out there beyond the fields we have grown so accustomed to.

Lucy fears that we might find exploding mountains and more wild animals, but the thought of the others leaving has given her courage to follow. I've told her several times that we can wait for Makarov and Mavis to get a bit older so that we can leave later on, but Lucy isn't willing to let Levy, Juvia, and Erza leave her behind. We are, after all, the only ones who never change within the group of always changing children.

"Is something wrong Makarov?" I hear Mavis ask behind me and when I turn around I watch as Makarov silently continue to watch his sister.

"Don't do anything stupid," Makarov demands, "This is your first trip and I don't want you getting hurt so stay by me so that I can protect you."

Mavis stares at her brother and it wouldn't surprise me if she rejected his offer, but Mavis is kind and if there's anyone that she'll willingly listen to other than Lucy and I it's her older brother Makarov, "Ok, I'll stick to you like tree sap," she smiles while taking his hand and letting him guide her towards where we're waiting for them both.

Even my own children are starting their own adventures.

{And if we've only got this life

In this adventure

Oh

Then I want to share it with you}

- Adventure of a lifetime - Coldplay

So I finally had time to finish writing this chapter and thankfully I didn't have any trouble writing it! I haven't uploaded it until now, however, because I've been incredibly busy with school work like projects and tests. Thankfully I was able to find this small window to upload a new chapter for you all.

Also if you haven't noticed I have slightly changed the title of my story since I had mentioned before that this story will be divided into three parts. This means that there are three chapters left before the beginning of the second part of my story!

Shout Outs

Great thanks to my Fantastic Favorite...

- SunflowerChrysalis

To my Fabulous Followers...

- Akirasatansoul

- SunflowerChrysalis

- Rippofubdertim

And to my Fantabulous Reviewers...

- Kawaii-Turtles = I have added the twins. I had wondered if I should make some OCs but then as I got thinking I decided to make Makarov and Mavis siblings because it sounded like a wonderful idea to me. What do you think?

- Splendora Faye = Thank you, that makes me really happy to hear that. I'm so happy that you enjoy my story and getting your regular reviews makes my day!

- Yuyui Hime = I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed it!

Well that's all the shout outs for today.

If you are enjoying my story so far please follow, favorite, and review - remember, reviews are a writers candy - and if you have any questions or ideas you'd like to see put into this story you can also PM me and I'll gladly add it in.

Until next time my lovelies.