"Water Dragon Talons!"

An explosion of wind and water erupted causing the nearby walls to crumble even further as I slammed my leg in the direction of Edo Hayden, only to have him block my attack with his wind blade. I jumped back, quick to take in a deep breath and let out another attack, "Water Dragon Roar!"

The redhead attempted to block the attack only to be thrown back by the force of the water tornado. As his body flew against the ground, a blue magic rune appeared under my feet and a jet of water propelled me forward. The faster I attacked, the less likely Edo Hayden would be able to fight back. I knew the moment he negated my magic, I would be left defenseless. Hayden was still healing from his injuries so I would be on my own for a few more minutes.

Part of me was irritated that Hayden couldn't last longer in battle, especially after showing so much anger towards his counterpart. Then again, I knew better than anyone that fighting in anger would only get a person so far. Hayden was an incredibly strong fighter however, he lacked strategic planning. His main focus was putting brute strength into a fight and hoping it would be enough, but I knew full well that didn't work. That was why I had lost fight after fight.

I launched myself on top of Edo Hayden and quickly threw my hand back. "Water Dragon Iron Fist!" My fist collided with his face time after time and it almost felt as if he were letting me do it. He made no attempt to fight back for a few moments before I felt a large gust of wind against my stomach that tossed me into the air like a rag doll. My back collided with the ceiling and just as I was about to fall back to the ground, Edo Hayden jumped up after me and kicked me down.

A quiet groan fell from my lips as I started to let water line my figure to heal my surface wounds, but before I could, Edo Hayden was on top of me once more, beginning to slam hit after hit against me. "When are you going to learn?! You're nothing more than a useless rat!" He exclaimed between hits. "Your presence is nothing more than a poison. Drop dead!"

I tried to open my mouth to respond to his comments only to have his fist collide with my face. Each punch was laced with irreversible anger. A small bubble of water formed against my chest and before Edo Hayden had the chance to register what was happening, the bubble grew and surrounded his entire figure, pulling him off of me. He floated in the air, his head whipping around in an attempt to understand what was happening. When he couldn't easily push himself out, he reached for his negating blade only to have it be thrown from the bubble and into my hand. "The hell?!"

My gaze lowered to the blade and I admired its features. "Quite an interesting sword." I lowered it to my side and looked up at the bubble, a small amused smile on my face as he was doing everything in his power to escape. "It's not use. As long as I have magical energy, the bubble will stay intact."

I glanced back at Hayden to see him finally shifting into a seated position. "You good?" I questioned and he slowly gave me a thumbs up.

"I've had worse done to me by better." He let out a half hearted chuckle.

"Gag me." Edo Hayden scoffed and I returned my attention to him. "You're lucky he's delusional. Everything you two are is a lie."

I frowned. "You're really determined to push this narrative that I'm a terrible person. How are you so sure I'm the same as the Cece of Edolas?"

A small chuckle erupted from Edo Hayden. "Let me ask you this, if you had to choose between the mutt over there and Rogue, who would you pick?"

The question threw me off and it was one that I couldn't answer right away. My mouth opened as if I were going to answer; however, it only snapped shut a few moments later. Who would I choose? I threw a quick glance back at Hayden only to shy away from his gaze. How could I say out loud who I would choose? After everything that he and I had been through, I couldn't say what was truly on my mind.

Everything that I had worked towards all these years was for Rogue. To protect him and to have the chance to be with him again. He was my brother, the one who watched over me when we were young and alone, abandoned by our parents. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here. Each dark night that we were forced to sleep outside with nowhere to go, Rogue was the one sitting beside me and giving me the comfort I needed to rest. He was the one who went out and collected any money he could before we joined a guild in order to provide us nourishment. He is the reason I am alive.

Yet, if it weren't for Hayden, I wouldn't be the person that I am now. Or the person I am attempting to be. Hayden was the one constantly fighting for me to truly be a part of Fairy Tail, not just someone who was there for work, but a part of their family. He never gave up on me. Despite my constant attempts to keep my past a secret, he managed to gain what little trust I had left to give and found out why I kept to myself all these years.

"Would you go back to Sabertooth when the time comes?"

My mind flashed to a conversation Phillip and I had during the war with Phantom Lord. It was then that Phillip had truly solidified that he wanted to stay with Fairy Tail, but I had been adamant that I would return to Sabertooth once the situation had changed. Had my answer to that question changed? I wasn't quite sure. However, the one thing I did know is if Hayden and Rogue were hurt and I could only save one of them, I would save my brother.

With my hands trembling, I looked back at Edo Hayden, struggling to put together an answer that would change the situation at hand, but I couldn't think of anything. The truth would only prove his point and I couldn't lie confidently enough to satisfy them. What a joke. I used to be able to lie about my feelings like second nature. Yet this lie felt painful to even think about.

I felt a hand press against my shoulder causing me to jolt in shock. Glancing up, I saw Hayden standing beside me. He still looked exhausted, however, he was able to function better. A proud smile formed on his face and he spoke for me. "That's a really dumb question, don't you think? Of course she'd pick Rogue." My eyes widened at his response. He spoke the words without a hint of disappointment or sadness. The words didn't bother him at all. "Rogue is her brother. Asking something like that shows more about who you are, not about who Cece really is."

Hayden didn't break eye contact with his counterpart as he continued. "It doesn't change how I feel towards her. I don't respect or care for her any less." He narrowed his eyes. "It's not my Cece's fault that yours left."

Silence echoed against the walls as Edo Hayden processed what had just been said. His fists shook from their place against the water barrier and slowly, words fell from his lips. "How…" He began, lowering his gaze to the ground and allowing his red bangs to cover his eyes. "How can you let her go like that…? How can you be okay with her choosing someone else over you?"

Hayden chuckled, finding his question absurd. "You're me, aren't you? You know the answer to that question. It's the same reason you're so angry with your Cece. I just react to how I feel differently." He turned his gaze towards me and smiled brightly. "It's because I'm in love with her."

My stature faltered at his words. Here of all places, Hayden was standing in front of me and confessing exactly what he felt about me. Even as everyone we cared about was sitting in a lacrima about to die, he still thought this was the moment to say something so drastic. He had to be lying, he had to be just making this up just to irritate Edo Hayden. There was no way that the words coming from his mouth were true. No one was ever supposed to say those words to me. I was undeserving of them.

However, as I stared with dumbfounded eyes at his expression, I knew Hayden would never lie. Not even as an offensive strategy. The words he was saying were nothing less than the truth. His auburn eyes said it all. He was in love with me.

I opened my mouth to interject a comment, but I was quickly cut off by the sound of Edo Hayden's shouts. "What absolute bullshit!" He went back to banging his fists against the barrier. "You're just as dumb as I was, she's going to leave! Run back to that brother of her's without a second thought and you're going to defend her all because of love? You've got to be kidding me! Now let me out of here so I can beat that message into your thick skull!"

I was at an absolute loss, my mouth continuing to open and close as if waiting for my brain to finally understand the conversation that was happening in front of me. My heart jumped every time the word crossed my mind. Love. I didn't even know what that meant. What was it supposed to mean?

As I struggled to process my thoughts, Hayden leaned over and whispered in my ear. "Drop the barrier."

"Wh-What?" I stuttered out, flinching a bit at how close he was. I was unsure of what he was thinking, Edo Hayden was ready to step back in and beat the crap out of us and he didn't even have any magic to stand a chance.

"Drop the barrier." He repeated. "Trust me."

Doing my best to push my confused thoughts to the side, I nodded. "Alright." Not a moment later, the bubble burst and Edo Hayden fell to the ground.

He was quick to take hold of his wind blade and charge at us. I readied myself to attack, already building the magical energy in my hands however, Hayden stepped in front of me. As Edo Hayden closed the gap and raised his sword to attack, Hayden simply raised an open palm and slammed it against his counterpart's chin. A loud crack was heard as Edo Hayden stumbled backwards. "Shit!"

Before he could properly react, Hayden slid forward and raised his leg, throwing it against Edo Hayden's stomach. He reached forward and took hold of both of Edo Hayden's arms and quickly twisted them behind his back before throwing him against the ground. In the process of doing this, Hayden plucked the sword from his hands and tossed it to the side and let him with nothing to fight with.

"Listen, dipshit. I don't need magic to kick your ass. You want to beat a message into me? Try it. I dare you." Edo Hayden attempted to break free from his grasp only to have Hayden shove him harder against the ground. "Cece can make her own choices, live her own life. My Cece or yours. I don't give a damn what you or I think. Neither of us has the right to force how we feel onto them. Neither of us can force them to do what we want. What we want doesn't matter. If you love Cece like you claim, then you'd let her go.

"If Cece had a choice of staying with Fairy Tail or going back to be with Rogue, I'd support whatever decision she made." Hayden's voice was strong and confident. Not once did he falter in his statement and it was clear he truly meant what he was saying. "I can't keep her by my side, nor would I want to. You chose to turn your back on her when she left because you love her. I would let her go and make the choice she truly wants because I love her."

A shaking hand reached up and covered my mouth as I fought back tears. What was this feeling? It felt similar to the anxiety I had grown accustomed to, but it wasn't quite the same. His words were comforting. Hayden was the first person to ever say that they didn't care what choice I made, that he would support me even if he didn't support the choice. Because…

Because he loved me.

Loud rumblings could be heard from outside and Hayden spared me a quick glance before returning his attention to Edo Hayden. "You made your choice and there's no returning from it. Now, I'm going to make my choice." He raised his elbow and brought it down against Edo Hayden's neck, another crack ringing out. "Goodnight bud."

When he didn't receive a response, Hayden nodded in satisfaction and got to his feet, brushing his hands off. "That should keep him quiet for a while. It sounds like the others need our help."

"Hayden." My voice finally broke out and the redhead looked at me, raising an eyebrow.

"What's up, princess?"

I lowered my hand from my face, my expression softer than I would have liked it. My mind was at a loss of what I was supposed to say. I had read different stories where this was the moment that everything clicked and felt right, the moment someone confessed that they loved you was supposed to be simple. This was anything but simple. "What was that?"

Hayden cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean? Dumbass over here needed to be quiet and talking to him wasn't going to shut him up." He raised up his elbow and twirled it in the air with a dumb grin. "So a little pressure to the neck can keep him quiet for once."

He couldn't be serious. "That's… That's not what I mean." I looked away, struggling to meet his auburn eyes. "Everything that you said to him. How can you say those things so easily? How can you just say… that? I mean… You can't be serious. The people of Magnolia are going to die and you're here saying something so idiotic." I clenched my fists at my sides as a few tears sprang free. "You really have never taken a single thing seriously. There are better things to focus on than-"

My words were cut off when Hayden - who had closed the distance between us without me noticing - reached down and took hold of my wrists. "Cece be quiet." My head snapped back to look up at him. "I have never been more serious about something in my life. And you don't need to say a single thing back to me about it. Even if you don't say anything, I'm not going anywhere. You and I are going to walk out of here and join the fray outside and bring our friends back home."

I didn't even know what to say to anything he had said. Especially in the situation we were in, I found it hard to focus on anything other than the mission at hand. Yet, I found myself wanting to give him an answer, one that would make him happy. But I didn't even know what that answer was. "Did you mean it? When you said if I left to go back to Rogue you would support me?"

The bright smile on Hayden's face never left as he spoke. "With every fiber of my being." He slowly leaned forward and hesitantly placed his lips against my forehead, letting them linger there for a moment. The moment seemed to last a lifetime as my face burned red, a warm feeling engulfing my entire form. As his lips left my forehead, the feeling lingered. "No matter what you do, you will always have my support."

He pulled his hands away from me. "We should go…" He trailed off and looked to the side, bringing a hand up to his face. "We gotta help the others." Hayden was quick to turn away and keep his face hidden from me. A shaky breath could be heard from him and he gestured for me to follow him. "Let's uh.. L-Let's go."

The boy fought to keep his composure and I couldn't help but smile. He could only keep his serious stature for so long before it came crumbling down. This was the only time I had ever seen the cocky bastard run out of things to say. "Can we talk more about this when we get home?"

After my statement, Hayden was covering his entire face with his hands. "Y-Yeah. We can."

I chuckled, taking a few steps forward to stand beside him. "I never thought I'd see the day you finally had nothing to say."

"Please stop."

My chuckling continued as I began walking. "Alright. Let's head out."

Hayden fell into step next to me and as we made our way down the corridor, he spoke one more statement. "Hey… If anyone asks, I kicked his ass real easy, okay?"

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone he beat your ass in record time."

"H-Hey!"