AN: Hello. Thank you Yukine-ren, Goku275, Kriim-Sauce786, ShadowScythe666, RabbitHaremLover24, and Fic Writer From Texas for your reviews. I never expected to receive such a postive reaction to my story. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Millianna,

Gramps just announced this year's S-Class Mage Promotion Trial! It's taking place a week from today on Tenrou Island, Fairy Tail's holy ground! I was finally chosen as a candidate, and I chose Happy as my partner for the trial! Together, we'll beat whatever tests Gramps gives so that I can become an S-Class mage!

The other candidates are Gray, Juvia, Elfman, Cana, Freed, Levy, and Mest! Also, Erza, Gildarts, and Mirajane are helping out this year, so I'm SUPER fired up! I wish you could come, but only members of Fairy Tail are allowed on Tenrou Island!

By the way, I think we should tell everyone about us after the trial! As scary as it is to think about what Erza will do to me, I can't stand keeping our relationship a secret! I love you, and I want the whole world to know!

I can't wait for your next letter! I miss you when you're not around!

-Natsu

"'I miss you when you're not around!' Mya!" squealed Millianna. She just finished reading the latest letter from her boyfriend, and her heart was full of joy!

"I can't wait to tell Er-chan!" thought Millianna. Indeed, even if she logically knew that Erza would rip Natsu apart for dating her, Millianna desperately wanted to reveal her secret to the S-Class mage. "I really hope she doesn't rip off THAT, though."

Millianna's face turned red as she thought about what she and Natsu did during her last visit to Magnolia town. Embarrassed that she was thinking about sex in public, the cat girl distracted herself by looking at the model skeleton across from her.

"Right, think about how I'm at this clinic because I've been feeling sick these past few days," thought Millianna determinedly.

It was at that moment that the nurse who examined Millianna showed up.

"Hi again, Miss Millianna," spoke the nurse gleefully. "I looked over your results and you're not sick. You're pregnant!"

"Yay!" cheered the cat girl. "I'm pregnant!"

…

"Wait, pregnant!?" exclaimed Millianna. A scared look made its way onto her face. "Er-chan's gonna kill Natsu for this! And I can't raise a kid alone!"

"Speaking of Natsu, how I am going to tell him?" worried Millianna.

She left the clinic and returned to the hotel room she, Wally, and Shô had rented, her fears only growing the more she thought about it.

"Magnolia is five days away by train. Natsu will be on his way to the S-Class Trial by the time I make it. I could send him a letter, which would arrive in two days, but what am I supposed to say? I can't just tell Natsu that I'm pregnant with his kid by mail; it has to be in person! But I also can't force him to skip the S-Class Trial. Becoming an S-Class mage means so much to Natsu. There's no way I can stand in the way of his dream."

As these thoughts flowed through her head, Millianna began writing a letter to Natsu.

"Dear Natsu...

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist," exclaimed Natsu as he demolished a tree with his magic. "Whew, that's enough training for today."

The dragon slayer was super excited about the upcoming S-Class Trial. He had spent most of the day training, his only breaks being for eating and going to the bathroom.

With his training done for the day, Natsu returned home. There, he found Happy waiting for him.

"You got a letter from your girlfriend," spoke Happy, who used a teasing voice on the word "girlfriend."

"Sweet!" said Natsu, too excited about the letter to notice Happy's mocking tone. "Let me see what it says."

At that, the blue cat handed Natsu the letter, which the fire mage immediately tore open and began reading aloud.

.

Dear Natsu,

There is something very important I need to tell you. However, I can't say what it is through a letter. I need to tell you in person.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it to Magnolia until later in the of day of the S-Class Trial. Don't worry, I'll just stay in Er-chan's room at Fairy Hills until you get back. I can wait. I know how much becoming an S-Class mage means to you, and I don't have to tell you immediately. It can wait a few days.

I love you. I can't wait to see you again when you're an S-Class mage.

Love,

Millianna

.

Natsu and Happy stared at each other for a moment, processing the contents of Millianna's letter. Then, they spoke.

"Guess I better tell Gramps that we're skipping the S-Class Trial."

"Aye, sir."

Makarov and Gildarts sat at a table in the guild hall, sipping drinks as they talked about the upcoming trial. Eventually, their conversation turned to a certain fire mage.

"It's nice to know that Natsu's finally matured enough to qualify for the trial," spoke Gildarts. "I can't wait to see how far he's come."

"Indeed," agreed Makarov. "With all the messes Natsu has gotten into lately, he's grown leaps and bounds from before. Ah, speak of the devil."

The S-Class mage craned his neck, following Makarov's gaze until he saw the young dragon slayer walking towards them.

"Hey Natsu!" said Gildarts, his smile growing a bit wider. "Hoping to have a fight before the trial? Or maybe you want to find out more about what we have planned?"

Oddly, the fire mage wore an uncomfortable expression, almost apologetic in nature. His emotions grew stronger as he drew closer, until he stopped right in front of the two.

"Actually," spoke Natsu tensely. "I have to drop out of the trial."

"What!?" shouted Gildarts. His glass shattered, the surprise making him lose control of his magic. Across the table, Makarov spat out his drink and wore a stupefied expression, unable to comprehend Natsu's words. The rest of Fairy Tail's mages looked over, drawn to Gildart's outburst.

"Oops," though Fairy Tail's strongest mage. "Sorry everybody, Natsu just said something that surprised me. Carry on."

Used to Salamander's antics, everybody returned to what they were doing before. This also snapped Makarov out of his shock, allowing him to ask Natsu about his decision.

"Out of curiosity, Natsu, what would cause you of all people to drop out of the S-Class Trial? I can't imagine that anything would stop you from participating, even death."

"Sure, but you can't tell anyone else until you're far away enough that Erza won't be able to get back here," answered Natsu seriously. With their interest peaked, the two men agreed instantly. What could Erza have to do with the fire mage's decision?

"Do you remember Erza's old friend Millianna? She's the cat girl from the Tower of Heaven," spoke Natsu. "Well, the truth is that I've been dating her for a while. We decided to go out after the Tower's destruction, and our first date was during the Harvest Festival."

Gildarts and Makarov were even more shocked by this revelation than Natsu dropping out of the trial. Luckily, having been prepared for something unexpected, the two were able to keep their heads (barely) as the last person they ever expected to care about women told them that he had a secret girlfriend.

"Yesterday, I got a letter from her," continued Natsu. "She said that she had something really important to tell me but couldn't make it until the day of the trial, after we're scheduled to leave. She said I should go to the trial, but she seemed really on edge. There's no way I'm going to just leave her here when she's so worried, so I decided to drop out of the trial."

The two men sat quietly for a moment, processing what they just heard. Neither knew what to say about Natsu's story. Luckily, a certain S-Class mage/waitress had come over part of the way through the conversation and was far less speechless.

"Aww, how adorable!" exclaimed Mirajane, cupping her hands to her face. "Have you two kissed yet? What was it like?"

Natsu blushed at the take-over mage's questions, responding sheepishly. "Yeah, a few times. It felt like lightning, but without the pain."

With that Gildarts chuckled, then something clicked in his head.

"Wait, that's why you weren't around after that Edolas thing! You didn't set your house on fire; you were checking on your girl!"

The crash mage knew he was right because Natsu's face got even redder. Then, the fire mage tried to cover up his flustered state with false anger.

"Of course I checked on Millianna! She disappeared when Magnolia got sucked into Edolas, and I had no idea if she was alright! There's no way I'd just stand around when the woman I love could be in trouble."

At that moment, two things happened. One, Natsu realized he accidentally admitted to loving Millianna and promptly shut up. Two, Makarov finally found his voice.

"I knew you had matured recently, but this goes beyond what I could have imagined. I am proud to let you stay behind, and I wish the two of you the best of luck. And don't worry, none of us will say anything until we're far enough away that Erza won't be able to come back and castrate you."

Natsu's expression shifted from embarrassment to joy to fear as Makarov spoke. He responded with a heartfelt "thank you," then left the guild hall smiling.

Millianna felt a twisted knot in her stomach, as if the baby inside was playing around with her organs. She knew that telling Natsu to attend the S-Class Trial was the right thing to do, but it still made her nervous and sad to think about holding onto this secret for days.

Distantly, she noticed the train stopping at Magnolia Station and herself betting off. The cat girl absently looked at the spot where her friends and boyfriend from Fairy Tail were waiting the last time she came here. She could vividly image seeing Erza and—

"Natsu!?" exclaimed Millianna, snapped out of her funk by the sight of the fire mage. She felt a mixture of shock, confusion, and, most of all, joy. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be going to the S-Class Trial?"

The dragon slayer grinned at the sight of his girlfriend, but then shifted to a more serious express. He walked over and began talking.

"Why the hell would I do that? You said you have something important to tell me, and you matter more than becoming an S-Class mage."

Millianna's heart soared as Natsu spoke, any lingering darkness banished from her mind. Then, her boyfriend said something so… so Natsu-like that it made her laugh.

"Besides, I can always kick everybody's asses next year."

"Pff… Myahahaha," went Millianna. Natsu frowned a bit at her laughter, so she raised her hands in mock surrender. "Okay, okay. I shouldn't have expected anything else from you. You're always there when the people you care about need you."

Millianna paused, watching Natsu begin to smile as her words mollified him. Then, she began speaking in a quiet, serious tone.

"I can't tell you in public, though. Let's go to your house first."

The walk back to his house was quiet. Natsu recounted his meeting with the guild master and Gildarts, though Millianna seemed distracted during the conversation. She appeared deep in thought the entire time, wearing a cute-but-serious expression.

Eventually, they arrived. Happy greeted them, having stayed behind in case Millianna wanted to speak to Natsu without an audience. However, when the Exceed offered to leave the house, Millianna said that he could stay.

"So," began Millianna. "I guess I should tell you why I'm here now. Do you remember what we did the last time I came to Magnolia?"

"Yeah," answered Natsu, blushing and confused. Happy gave a tiny smirk, though it was dampened by curiosity and confusion.

"Well, when we had sex…" trailed off Millianna. "Yougotmepregnant."

A few moments passed as the cat girl's words sank in.

"Whaaat!? I'm/He's gonna be a father?" shouted Natsu and Happy in unison.

"Yeah, mya," responded Millianna, sighing as a weight lifted off her chest.

"How do I care for a kid?" asked Natsu, the question aimed at himself.

"Does this mean we'll get more roommates?" questioned Happy, also to himself.

"Should I do what Igneel did with me?"

"Is this house big enough for that?"

"Is that too rough for a newborn?"

"Will the baby like fish?"

"Get ahold of yourselves, mya!" interrupted Millianna, hoping to break the two out of their panic-induced spiraling. Then, she spoke in a more serene voice. "The baby won't come for months. We can figure it all out by then."

"Right/Aye, sir," went the boys, now calmed down.

"First thing's first, though," said Natsu. "We should get married."

"Mya!?" exclaimed Millianna, flustered at Natsu's sudden and unexpected proposal. "Are you sure? This isn't just because of the baby, right?"

"Nah," answered Natsu. "I love you and you love me, so I figured we'd get married someday. This just speeds it up. So, will you marry me? I don't have a ring, so there's no point in getting on my knees now, but I can do that later if you want."

"Yes!" responded Millianna. "I will marry you, mya!"

The two lovers, now fiancées, embraced each other and began passionately kissing one another.

"How beautiful," commented Happy, wiping away a tear of joy.

When the pair finally stopped for air, Natsu began speaking again.

"We should go tell everybody at the guild hall."

Their relationship was about to go public.

Omake

Makarov looked over the members of his guild that were aboard the ship. All of them were either S-Class candidates or partnered with one. (This included Mest, though Makarov knew he was here as "Doranbolt" pretending to be Mest. Ugh, spying is complicated enough without memory-altering magic.)

Though no blood relations existed, they were all his children. He loved them and would protect them with his life. Now, he would tell them something mind-boggling and laugh as he watched them freak out. Ah, the joys of parenthood.

"Attention everybody," commanded Makarov in an authoritative tone. They all looked over at their guild master. "I believe that now is a good time to tell you all why Natsu, of all people, is not here."

With that, everyone leaned forward. They all wondered what could possibly keep the battle-loving dragon slayer from being here, but Makarov refused to tell them anything.

"As it turns out," continued the guild master, amusement edging into his voice. "He has been secretly dating a girl for the past few months."

"Eh/What/Huh/Seriously/Natsu!?"

Makarov paused for a moment, filled with glee, before carrying on.

"She sent him a letter saying that she needed to see him, and Natsu decided that she was more important than the trial."

The guild master was met with stunned silence. Then, Gray spoke.

"Why the hell didn't that hothead tell us!" complained the ice mage.

"Because," answered Makarov. "The lady Natsu's dating is Millianna, Erza's childhood friend from the Tower of Heaven."

"Ah," went everyone. Erza would totally rip Natsu apart when she found out. Many of them also paled, wondering who would be brave enough to tell Erza.

"I still cannot believe that Natsu would drop out of the trial," said Erza. She, Mirajane, and Gildarts had arrived at Tenrou Island a day ahead of the trial to set things up.

"Well," spoke Mirajane awkwardly, figuring now was a good time to break the news. "It turns out that he has a secret girlfriend, and she sent him a letter saying she needed to see him about something really important."

"Wh-what?" stammered Erza. "Natsu has a girlfriend!? Why didn't he tell anyone?"

"Weeeell," went Mirajane. Then, deciding it would be best to rip off the bandage she blurted out the next part.

"Becausehe'sdatingyourfriendMilliannafromtheTower."

"What?" spoke Erza in a terrifying voice.

Unbeknownst to her, at that moment Natsu felt shivers go down his spine and realized that Erza now knew the truth. Suddenly, he was much happier to be missing the S-Class Trial.

AN: And now the Tenrou Group knows. Speaking of them, to those of you who are wondering, the events of the S-Class Trial still play out roughly the same as canon. If you want a reason how this can happen when Natsu and Happy are not there, then imagine that Laxus arrived earlier and defeated the members of Grimoire Heart that Natsu fought. When it comes to Hades, I suppose that Freed and Bickslow went with Laxus instead of Lucy and Wendy (as those two have more experience fighting alongside Laxus). The three of them, working with Erza and Gray, were able to fight while Panther Lily and Carla took out the source of Hades's power. Sorry, but no Sky-Lightning or Lightning-Sky Dragon Slayers.

Anyway, next chapter will have everybody learning about the secret relationship and the destruction of Tenrou Island. Until then, goodbye!