The ever so faint sound of thumping wood yanked Erza from her slumber, her senses taking a few moments to reboot and restart before she finally peeled open her eyes. The rhythmic knocking came again, still as hushed as ever.

Blinking furiously, Erza traced the noise to her door, which then prompted her to sneak a glance through her window.

The midnight starry sky was there to greet Erza.

Visitors?

This late?

When the knocking persisted, she finally slid out from beneath her covers with slow ginger movements. Her body, while largely recovered from her getting stomped by Gray, was still none too happy with Erza for its current condition.

Shivering as comparatively cold air hugged bare skin, Erza's red brows furrowed as she crept to her door, groaning irritably.

With a huff, she turned the knob and pulled it open.

Just beyond stood Natsu of all people.

For a split second, Erza believed herself to be delirious, rubbing her eyes with her palms in an attempt to will what should be 'dream Natsu' away.

Natsu remained there, real as can be.

"N-natsu?" Erza whispered groggily, her tongue rough as sandpaper in her throat, "What are you doing here?"

It took her a bit to register what his presence meant, staring at the now grinning dragon slayer with befuddled frustration.

"This is a girl's only building, Natsu!" she hissed, leaning forward to send glances to her left and right. Thankfully, no other residents had awoken.

A dorkish grin opened up across his face, shifting the deep lashes over his features as Natsu announced quietly, "Come on, I got somethin' to show ya!"

Digging the sleep from her eye sockets with the knuckle of a finger, she prayed for patience,

"I-in the middle of the night? You seriously woke me up for one of your middle school pranks?"

He hummed in confirmation, "It ain't a prank, now come on!"

Inhaling sharply, she clenched her teeth, still too sleepy to realize this wasn't the past, the Natsu standing before her was the Natsu who had defeated gods.

The Natsu who didn't have anything in his eyes.

Scoffing to herself for agreeing, she agreed, body shivering, "Alright, alright, lead the way you man-child. But I swear Natsu, if this is one of your little stunts, I will…. I will….uh….."

Erza's mouth slowly closed as she realized there was nothing she could do to Natsu anymore. He was no longer scared of her.

Natsu looked her up and down before remarking, "You wanna put some clothes on first? You don't have to, but its brisk out there."

Following his eyes, Erza was finally made aware of her complete lack of dress. She stood nude as the day she was born.

Erza grumbled yet again, a bright mystical flash quick to cover her nudeness as she requipped into a blouse and skirt.

"Can't believe I'm walking into this one. Fine! Let's get this over with." she jabbed a finger at him as she brushed past him, voice still restrained to avoid reaching a distressing decibel.

"But we are not stopping for snacks!"

"Aww come on, don't be a stick in the mud. You're joking, right? Erza...?"

Erza awoke. Again.

With a lethargic hum, Erza yet again opened her eyes, and yet again, the serenade of black that was the night sky was there to meet her.

"Hey, you're finally awake." Natsu's rumble pleasantly tickled her eardrums.

She looked around, recognizing the gravelly brook that surrounded the same lake Natsu's cabin was built next to.

The dense tree lines nearby grew less and less dense as he walked, scattering to make room for boulder filled prairies.

"W-what?" she mewled, yawning wide, "I-i fell asleep, didn't I?"

He chuckled, the back she was leaning against vibrating in response, "I picked you up, remember? You were complaining about all the walking."

"I'm not the one waking people up in the middle of the night to drag them out to the boonies."

"Aw, don't get your panties inna' bunch, we're almost there!"

She circled her arms around his neck, that wretched embarrassment that was becoming increasingly common was creeping up her neck again.

"Did you really carry me all this way?"

"Course I did." he grunted.

Erza mumbled, "Are I not h-heavy-"

He interrupted her with a scoff, "Erza, just the other day I held together two tectonic plates. You weigh like what? A buck twenty soaking wet?"

"I swear, what's with all you girls worrying about your weight? Lisanna, then Lucy, then Juvia, now you. I've pet dogs bigger than you ladies."

Erza didn't have a reply to that, nestling her face into the crook of his neck appreciatively. Even when drained of his joy for life, Natsu's kindness remained.

The clacking of Natsu's footfalls against loose terrain was all that could be heard as comfortable silence draped itself over them both.

"Yo, over here!" a voice, youthful and masculine, pierced the nighttime slumber, alerting Erza to the presence of another on the lakeside.

Reluctantly withdrawing from the safety of Natsu's neck, she turned, almond eyes squinting as attempted to make out the figure that stood a dozen meters away.

Being gently set down, Erza's knees were shocked into awakening, almost causing the rest of her to stumble.

Airy puffing tides of mist rolled across the ground from the lake, brushing against calves of the two Fairy Tail mages as they closed the distance.

Erza's eyes widened as she finally recognized the figure the voice belonged to.

"Sting?"

Bristles of mischievous blonde hair swayed as Sting nodded in greeting, offering a two finger salute as he grinned brighter than the roaming fireflies infecting the air.

"Sup you guys!"

Resisting the urge to reach out and pinch the Sabertooth guild master on his bicep to confirm he was real, Erza's neck swiveled as she looked to Natsu for more context.

This was bad. When Natsu and Sting got together, shenanigans always followed.

"Good, you're here." Natsu said.

Sting clapped his hands excitedly, "Yep, 3:30am sharp, just as requested."

"Hold on, what are you doing here Sting?" Erza threw in, lines of confusion drawn along her forehead.

Sting shrugged, "Dunno."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I don't know. Natsu didn't break down what I was doing."

"And you still agreed to it?!"

Sting reasoned, "Basically. It's Natsu, figured whatever is going has gotta be a good time."

She eyed the two dragon slayers distrustfully, glancing at her surroundings before giving a listless grumble.

"Alright, whatever prank you wanna pull, I just ask you get it over with." she stated, waving her arms out, "I'm right here and vulnerable."

"Bah, it ain't anything like that, just stay put." Natsu reassured as his attention drifted to the lakeshore, nudging aside a moss encrusted log with his foot.

He grinned, "I'll be right back." was all he left them with before he gave a mighty leap into the lake.

With the gracefulness of a dead whale, Natsu sent a buckshot of water every which way before submerging completely.

Erza slid behind Sting to avoid being drenched. She was far too tired to play her usual role of keeping Natsu in line.

The remaining dragon slayer merely stood expectantly, unfazed by Natsu's shenanigans.

"So we are just supposed to sit here and wait for him to take a dip?" Erza said, peeking over Sting's higher shoulder to ensure the coast was clear.

As she circled him, Sting responded peppily, "Uh huh."

"Do you really not know what he wants you here for?"

"Nope."

"Do you have anything better to do?"

"Nope."

Her nostrils whistled as she exhaled, folding her arms over her chest before settling.

Erza couldn't last 30 seconds staring at the shore before looking up and clearing her throat, asking, "So how are things? How is Sabertooth getting on?"

"Quite frankly, boring. For a few weeks after everything ended, it was difficult getting back into the groove of normal life."

"I can empathize with that." she shared, rubbing her bare arm.

Sting rested his hands on his hips, "But, I would honestly take boring over constantly fearing the sake of the world. Busy work being a guildmaster is greatly preferable to having Acnologia seconds away from blowing away the planet."

Erza gave a light laugh, agreeing, "I suppose. Speaking of the guild, how is everyone?"

"Just fine, seems I'm the only one itching for something to happen though. The most entertaining thing that happens on the daily is watching Rogue try to flirt with Minerva."

Her head snapped up and over, "Those two being soft on one another? Really?"

"Weirder things have occurred. Minerva has changed for the better, cleaned up her act, all of us have. With Sorano joining, it's a much livelier place."

"Yukino's sister? Good for her." Erza hummed, "How is she? None of the other girls have gotten together with her as of late."

"Eh, she has got her hands more than full with me." Sting waved off.

"R-really?" Once again, Erza's eyebrows curled, the expansion motivated by a new rush of surprise.

She bumbled over her words in a feeble attempt to formulate shock, "I-i had no idea th-that you two… y'know….were uh…."

Sting snickered, a finger rubbing the space beneath his nose, "Well, I'm a real lucky guy though, Lector won't let me forget that."

"Congratulations."

"Well, I guess you could say things only got real official today when I got Natsu's seal of approval."

She tilted her head, hair tousled by a playful breeze, "What?"

Sting bowed his head, chuckling sheepishly, "Me and her were tryna have private time, as a boy and girl who like each other do, when all the sudden Natsu barges in."

"He sees me and Yukino…bonding…and in less than a millisecond, I'm on my ass with a hand around my throat and fist inches from my nose. I hadn't seen the guy in like what, a month? First thing I get from him is an almost trip to the pearly gates."

He scoffed to himself, "The nerve of that guy. Do you see me trying to beat him up when he is canoodling with Lucy?"

Erza's jaw went slack, "You're kidding."

Sting nodded in confirmation,

"No, dead serious. Yukino had to explain to him that we were a thing before he punched me back in time or something like that. He apologized and all, but gave me the 'if you hurt her' talk shortly afterwards before telling me he needed a favor."

Sting shifted, chortling to himself, "Truth be told, I had no idea Natsu and Yukino were that close."

"After she was kicked from Sabertooth back during the Grand Magic Games, Natsu was the first one she came across. He must have felt like he had a responsibility to protect her." Erza theorized.

Scratching an eyebrow with the back of his thumbnail, he muttered, "Figures. You shoulda' seen him storm into our guild, he was on a mission to knock some heads. He was hollering about what it meant to be a guild, but I knew he just wanted to get some revenge on her behalf."

"What exactly happened? No one's told me the full story other than he barged in there looking for a fight. When Natsu came back, he was surprisingly tight lipped about it." Erza asked curiously.

"Oh boy, he was throwing hands with just bout' everyone. After Dobangal got stomped, me and Rouge were ready to step in, but that dumbass old man thought it would be disgraceful to use the guild's strongest mages to deal with him." Sting shared all too eagerly.

"And then?"

"The old man stepped up and was getting slammed so hard Minerva had to step in." Sting almost felt bad for laughing as he continued, "Despite her best efforts, she got handled too. Natsu, as the kids call it, 'ran her fade'."

Erza wasn't sure why she was surprised, but she was.

Minvera had been an extremely challenging opponent that she could only topple after getting lucky unlocking her second origin during their fight. But it seems as if Natsu had no trouble with her.

And he hadn't even accepted the second origin, in fact he had been vehemently against it.

She really didn't understand his obsession with his own strength.

"He probably would have knocked her out if she hadn't kidnapped Happy as a hostage. That was only reason he walked away. Man, we used to be sleaze balls back in the day, didn't we?" Sting had a chuckle at his own expense.

"You've changed and become a remarkable person, you should be proud Sting." came Erza's glowing praise.

"Nah, I don't need praise for being a decent human being." he waved her off, tilting his head in thought, "Besides, Natsu was the one to set us straight."

"Natsu could have done a lot worse, but he didn't. That meant he saw some ounce of decency in you." Erza told him, absently sifting her fingers through her hair in search of knots.

Sting let that statement sit for a moment, the burbles of the lake squishing the shore the only sound made before he eventually tilted his head at her.

"What do you mean by that? You tellin' me the guy could do worse?"

Erza's expression flickered back to its usual sternness as she nodded, "Do you remember a guild by the name of Raven Tail?"

"Yeah, they got murked before the games, someone hospitalized all of them. They had to be healed up before the games, but they seemed pretty shaken. What about them?"

Erza sent him a look.

"Oh... oh."

Sting itched the stubble peppering his jawline, "So what did they do to get their walking privileges removed?"

"They attempted to ambush Wendy." Erza recalled, remembering how Natsu came back that night splattered in blood that wasn't his.

He hadn't spoken much, except for asking Lisanna to convince him to not go back and break what was left of them.

At that, a growl burst from Sting's throat, "That'll do it. Then they got what was coming to em'."

Erza pushed past the memories of that night, dragging the flow of conversation back to its original direction.

"If Natsu is willing to put his protectiveness aside and stop a fight, it means he sees truly redeeming qualities in whomever is unlucky enough to have made him mad." she said.

"Really?"

"You know how protective he is, so despite what he did that night, the fact he didn't break any legs speaks volumes."

Sting laced his fingers behind his head, recalling,

"Heh, that's for sure. One time Frosh got lost, and Rogue was freaking out. We ran into Wendy, and let's just say he didn't ask for help in the most polite of ways, i.e, grabbing the little thing's shoulders and yelling in her face. I didn't even get to sock him before Natsu came out of nowhere and almost sent him into orbit."

Erza tried to add, "I remember that, I was-"

She was cut off when a sizable triangular object broke the lake's still rippling surface, disturbing its already disturbed reflection of the moon above.

The object eventually landed nearby with a heavy thud, lightly rattling the shore.

"What is that?"

Sting narrowed his eyes, brows knitting, "That's…that's…"

She nudged the dragon slayer with an elbow, "Spit it out, what is it?"

"A Dragon's tooth." he answered, in awe.

"Dad's tooth, specifically." Natsu's voice chimed in, the sounds of sloshing water almost overpowering it as he made landfall, soaking wet and covered with over-exuberant sea life.

Yanking a squirming trout off his head, he smiled wide at the two gobsmacked mages.

"Dad wasn't paying attention and smacked into the cave wall. Normally, that wouldn't hurt him, but he was kinda clumsy."

Shaking himself off, Natsu quietly hummed a laugh, "He was still an old fart, King or not." he said, moreso to himself, as he pried a dangling snapping turtle from his forearm.

"It's been here this entire time?" Erza prompted, "You could have shown this to us to prove Dragons were real way back then. But... but you didn't. Why?"

"I was saving this for a special occasion."

Sting, who had already approached it, walked circles around the tooth, whistling appreciatively.

"Man, he was a big sucker, wasn't he?"

"Fire dragons are naturally the biggest type of dragon, so yeah." Natsu said, tossing the hissing snapping turtle in his hands back into the lake.

Erza had crept close, running her bare fingers along the tooth's glistening untouched ivory surface, its texture betraying the years of wear it had been subjected to at the bottom of a lake.

Mentally, she marveled at the thought that this once used to belong to the mightiest being in the cosmos, the Fire Dragon King Igneel.

Just thinking of his name made Erza more chilly than she already was, the waves upon waves of brisk wind suddenly smashing against her with heaps more bite.

"Looks untouched, don't it?" Natsu chimed in, "Could've left that old thing in there for a thousand years, and it would still look brand spankin' new."

Sting threw in, "So whaddya gonna do with it?"

"How accurate did you say you were with your light magic?" Natsu prompted, squeezing out excess liquid from his tail of his duster, showering the ground with unsteady crystal downpour.

"I could castrate a honey bee from a mile away." Sting responded without missing a beat.

The grimace on Erza's pale features was a stark contrast to Natsu's nod of approval.

"Good, cause you're going to carve something out of it."

Both Erza and Sting felt their heads buck in surprise, sending each other unsure glances.

"I need something precise n' powerful for the job, so you came to mind. I can't touch it, fire won't work against the tooth of a fire dragon." Natsu announced before either of them could elaborate on their concerns, digging through his pockets before pulling something out.

Sting scratched the inside of his wrist nervously, but relented, "Aight, what exactly am I carving though? "

Flapping a wet piece of paper in the air in hopes of drying it, Natsu held it by its top corners and beckoned his fellow dragon slayer with his chin.

"Okay, several questions." Erza groused, stepping away from the tooth, "First one being, what does any of this have to do with me?"

Sting narrowed his eyes as he leaned in to inspect the dripping paper, stare switching between whatever it held and the man who held it.

"I think I get the jist of what you want." At that, Natsu gave a dim yet delighted smile, ignoring Erza's request.

"You up for it?"

Sting shrugged, cracking his knuckles as he stepped towards the tooth in question, "Sure, not sure I can dent something that came from freakin' Igneel, but I'll give it a whirl."

When Erza crept over to spy on what was so important, Natsu held it up and away from her, "Hey, no peeks."

Erza looked away and shook her head, scoffing, "You're a child, you know that? Show me the piece of paper."

"Nope." Natsu reaffirmed, popping the 'p'. Erza pursed her lips and reached for it again, only for the taller male to ball it up in his palm and dangle it just outside her reach.

She furthered her efforts, quickly pressing herself against him and standing on her toes, her hands shooting up to try and snatch it away, "Natsu, give it here!"

"Uh-uh."

Erza growled, attempting to drag his wrist down only to quickly be reminded she was hilariously overpowered when he didn't budge. "Stop fooling around and give me the blasted thing!"

"You woke and dragged me into a different time zone, I at the very least deserve to know what you're up to!" even after hanging onto his one arm with the intention of dragging it down with her weight, Erza's efforts bore no fruit.

"Erza, I don't think you wanna get into a wrestling match with me. Don't get me wrong I'm up for it though." a strong scarred hand gripped the back of her blouse and pulled Erza away, holding her out like she was a disobedient puppy.

The discomfort that rose in the form of pink tints upon her cheeks was a sensation she truly didn't like.

Natsu had spent his entire life being submissive to her, but now he was treating her with same playfulness he would Lucy, and Erza honestly wasn't sure how to feel about that.

Before desperation forced Erza into biting Natsu's arm, a bright magnificent flash of light used the lake's reflective blues and greens as its chandelier.

The two mages turned to see a thin yet radiant beam of pure white coming from one of Sting's fingers, meeting its end against the surface of Igneel's tooth.

After a few seconds, the beam of light thickened as draconian magical energy pushed down on the air, Sting's teeth gnashing against each other as he poured more and more power into it.

Both him and Natsu could see it wasn't even making a dent against the ivory surface, no matter how long or slow the beam was dragged this way and that.

After a minute of increasingly strenuous effort, Sting ceased his efforts and stepped back.

He breathed out, "Jeez, it ain't budging. I can't even scratch the paint."

As Erza rubbed her sore retinas, Natsu simply suggested, "Take it to the next level."

Doubt flashed across Sting's youthful features as he gave an unsure whine, "Natsu, bud, I don't think I'm strong enough to do anything to it. Old tooth or not, it came from Igneel."

"Hell no you ain't quitting on me." Natsu stated bluntly, voice firming and jaw setting.

"Plant your feet, grit your teeth, and eat that horse!"

A giant blinking question mark could practically be seen floating over Sting's head as he blinked dumbly. Even Erza massaged her temples, patience wearing thin.

"Sorry, wrong motivational speech."

"What I meant to say was power up, and get back at it." he gestured to the unscathed tooth with his chin, encouraging, "Now get up, and push."

At that, Sting's gaze sharpened as his brows creased with conviction.

He stepped forward, puffing his lungs with air before unlocking the cage that held a dragon slayer's power.

Erza noticed that the same determined untempered fire that lit Sting's eyes ablaze once called Natsu's own pupils years ago.

Erza couldn't remember how long it had been since she had seen Natsu wear that excited look of someone genuinely eager to push themselves.

She was plucked from her thoughts when a ballooning shockwave smashed into her, dazzling magical streaks of white balleting around Sting's form before a second sun was created before her.

White angelic scales messily lined the sides of his face and arms, pulsating with jocund magical potential as the mystical ambience surrounding Sting calmed itself.

Sweat dotted Erza's forehead in response to the weight Sting's magic put upon the atmosphere, and after she spared Natsu a glance, she found even he had shock dressed upon his face.

"You two might wanna look away." Sting suggested gruffly, voice deeper and tone rougher.

Erza immediately did as asked, wishing to spare her retina's from whatever was going to happen. Natsu reluctantly followed suit, trusting Sting to the task.

For a solid minute, the energetic hum of Sting utilizing his light magic to create a pin point laser rang out, much greater in intensity compared to before.

The shine that ignited their surroundings anew eventually ceased, the temporary daytime that had been created retreating.

"Think I got it." Sting rasped out after a brief second.

Natsu turned, "Great. Erza, don't look." he yanked off his scarf to tie it over Erza's eyes, batting away protesting hands. "Keep this on."

"Natsu, I don't think I wish to know what the surprise is anymore." Erza confessed as she heard incessant shuffling close behind her, the two men quietly murmuring things she could barely pick up.

Sting and Natsu were a very volatile combination of mischief, there was a reason she forbid them from hanging out without supervision from Yukino or Lisanna.

She went unheard as Natsu whispered a little too loud, "Did you bring the thing-a-majig?"

"You mean the goober?" Sting requested an elaboration.

"No! The thingy, I told you specifically."

"Oh, oh, oh, I get it. Yeah, I brought it."

"Kay Sting, do the thing."

"Which one dude? The pink or the blue?"

"It's salmon, not pink."

The frustratingly vague snippets Erza could pick up left her with more questions than answers.

After what seemed like an eternity, she heard Natsu loudly clear his throat behind her, "Aight, you can take it off."

Expecting to get a pie shoved in her face or a bucket of water dumped on her, Erza pulled the scarf down and swiveled on a heel.

She made eye contact with a very proud looking Natsu holding something out to her.

That something turned out to be a sword, a double edged straight sword to be specific.

The blade, composed of a very familiar ivory material, still had wisps of steam permeating from its surface. Edges finely tapered, the saber's grip was composed of a light pink metal, scarlet wrappings weaving its way down to the hilt.

Right where one's palm would rest, a name had been etched into the steel.

Her name.

Eyes as wide as saucers, Erza switched between the sword and Natsu several times, mouth slowly falling open.

"I wanted to show you that despite everything that had happened, I still love you, and always will." he gently pushed the sword into her trembling hands, "Think of it as Igneel watching over you, protecting you when I'm not around."

His rough palm encompassed her much smaller one, a hand that told of years of grievous injury brushing against flawless skin as Natsu wrapped his and her fingers around the grip.

He continued to fill the speechless silence with an explanation, "So uh, despite the fact I never, ever, held a grudge against you for anything, considering this me saying water under the bridge. And sorry for snapping at you, I should have never raised my voice at ya like that."

Erza's teary eyes flickered down to closely inspect the blade, a sword composed of something that was immensely precious to Natsu. It was one of the few physical reminders that he had to remember his father.

And he decided to share a piece of it with her.

Despite everything she had done to him over the years, intentional or not, with good intentions or not, Natsu still chose her to give this sacred gift to.

Meanwhile, Natsu sent a quick glance over his shoulder to check up on Sting, his fellow dragon slayer back to his base state.

Mouthing a 'thank you' to him, he got a dismissive hand wave in reply.

"So….. You like i-".

Erza burst into tears and attached herself to Natsu's chest, lithe arms circling his neck to squeeze tight.

Chanting sniffling 'thank you's' over and over, her rush of affection took the form of tears that stained his duster.

Erza could hardly believe he would do this for her, that she would be given the privilege of receiving a gift such as that.

Her pride be damned, she had received a wonderful present from a cherished friend, and that warranted tears of gratitude.

Natsu returned the embrace with his signature gentleness, tucking her head under his chin, rocking her back and forth ever so softly.

"Hey, hey, hey, please don't cry! What's wrong? D-did Sting mess up!?"

"Why you gotta do me like that man? You just said thanks!"

Natsu was quick to hush Sting.

In the form of babbling mewls, Erza voiced her feeling of unworthiness through jumbled words.

She was the one that was supposed to be making things up to him, not vice versa.

Yet, even with all that was going on, all the strenuous burden Natsu dragged around with him, he was still giving.

That was Natsu, always giving.

Nuzzling into his shoulder, she confessed squeakily, "H-how? How will I ever be able to thank you?"

"Don't need to. I just wanna cheer you up." Natsu rumbled, scarred lips quirking upwards, "So, how did I do? Ya like it?"

Not wanting to step away from the hug, Erza looked past his shoulder and held up the dragon tooth saber to admire it yet again.

"I-i love it." Erza answered honestly, watching it disappear to nothingness as she requipped it away for the safest of keeping. "And I can't thank you enough Natsu."

He chuckled, squeezing her tight, "Yeah, yeah, I love you too."

"Hey guys." the meaningful moment broken, both Natsu and Erza turned to look at Sting, who pointed to the sky,

"Wanna watch me carve my name into the moon?"