"Come in," the Master's hoarse voice came from behind the door. It did not creak upon being opened, the lightest of clicks telling them how the lock had fallen shut behind them. Erza could feel her heart pounding a little. His back was facing them, that is, the backrest of his wheelchair was. Hesitating for an instant to near the one she had been looking forward to the most when it came to sharing the news, Erza felt the urge to take Jellal's hand.

Supressing it, she stepped closer.

"Erza, is that you?" Makarov's quill scratched over parchment. The silver tip clinked faintly when he returned it to its flask. "I was wondering when you would come, since we've heard so much about-" his words got stuck once he had turned enough to see them. His smile was warm, eyes brightening once the suspicion of his visitor had been confirmed, but he had not been prepared for how she looked.

Unable not to suck in her lips, Erza lowered her head as if automatically. She watched him from below, the way his mouth gaped and his eyes widened. The flutter in her chest became wilder, a fierce pride buzzing through her every limb with heat and a tingle that made goosebumps rise. She almost had to laugh when she saw the same happen to Makarov, the hairs on his arms standing on end.

"Erza," was all he managed at first. Teary eyes lit up, and he grinned at her. Relief flooded her without any doubts of acceptance having been present – but the moment; the reaction she had waited for all these weeks ago was finally there.

Then the Master laughed. The tears ran down his wrinkled cheeks, and he did not bother so wipe them away, outstretching his arms instead. Erza hardly registered the way he nodded towards Jellal, neither did she see her husband's reaction. She was by far too busy with taking her father figure's invitation.

It was seldom that Makarov offered a hug – not because he did not love his children, but because his ways of showing affection were different from most parents. His words of appraisal were scarce and well-chosen, any celebration a feast for everyone, not just the victorious. He was a fair, prudent Master, but behind the closed doors of his office, any awkwardness of having to bend down over the wheelchair while at the same time not smothering the old man with either bosom or belly melted away, simply because she was granted the hug she had not even dared to hope for.

"I see you kept your promise," he beamed at her proudly once she let go to straighten. His hand reached out without restraint, and Erza excitedly arched her back to present her baby. "And kept busy in more ways than hunting Dark Guilds," he laughed, then again at the way Jellal blushed. Erza turned with a smile, eyes beckoning her husband to them.

"You heard about the Dark Guilds?"

"Who hasn't?" Makarov grinned triumphantly. "Has Mira not told you yet?"

"She might have passed out when I came in…" Erza ran a hand over her belly, a sheepish smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. She did not suspect a thing but her friends knowing about their little adventure, not prepared for what Mira had in store.

Suddenly feeling the response from her admittedly light ministrations, Erza gestured for Makarov to replace his hand once more. When he did and the anticipated kick came, he made her eyes bulge in momentary concern at the way he hiccupped, having snivelled and laughed at the same time.

"As expected, your little one is as feisty as you – and almost as much trouble as both of Levy's," he chuckled, finally wiping his eyes. "Things were quite rowdy around here while you were gone," he went on, somewhat out of nowhere. Erza's eyes softened, and she smiled confidently.

"I'm back now and I will come to the guild more often again to take care of them," she promised. She knew what 'things' meant. Or whom. Makarov only shook his head.

"You're growing up," he smiled, if wobbly. Having wiped his eyes became unnecessary as fresh tears gushed out of them. Shocked, Erza did not have any words to answer for another heartbeat. "You're growing up right under my nose – you've already grown up!" He croaked. Groping around the desk for something to dry his face with, he settled with the sleeve of a coat over his backrest. Erza snapped out of her momentary daze, summoning a handkerchief she had gotten used to carrying around for Jellal.

"I haven't grown up, and I won't, not ever-" she said despite herself; despite always having preached to be mature and responsible for her young age, even years prior. Because she, too, was becoming sentimental – watching someone cry was not something her empathy allowed her to accept without shedding a few tears of her own.

"No," Makarov interrupted. Accepting the handkerchief, he noisily blew his nose. While Erza sniffled too, Jellal regarded the two with a smile, wondering whether the old man had already gone through a moment this emotional with Levy. "I know very well how you've all surpassed yourselves and your abilities," Makarov went on, "but the boys for example haven't yet grown the way you have – which is not a bad thing," he added when she sniffled again, "only…" he could not finish, sniffling loudly himself.

Jellal's smile only widened, a hint of amusement joining the warmth in his eyes when Erza summoned them a box of tissues next. She was already kneeling on the floor, rubbing her eyes when they would not stop blurring. Her hand came up gratefully when he placed his on her shoulder.

"You were so tiny only yesterday," Makarov's voice ended in a squeak. Erza voiced her approval in similar octaves. Where Jellal had expected her to soothe her Master, or perhaps chide his overly emotional reaction, he now found them sobbing together, smiling together, and blinking tears out of their eyes in unison.

He left them to it, which went as smoothly as imagined. Not a minute later, he was grabbed, then squished alongside his wife into a second hug – grabbed simultaneously, one might add. She was her father's daughter.

"I'm glad – no, I'm deliriously happy for you," Makarov smiled, eyes wandering from one to the other until landing on her belly again, "about you," he told it. "You can put me on the babysitting schedule once he starts doing things besides crying and peeing – I'll make sure he knows all about the guild; is it a he?" He grinned. Stunned about the sudden – and selective – change of topics, it took her a moment to answer.

"How should I know that?" Erza wiped the last of her tears with the back of her hand, amused by her Master's enthusiasm. Jellal quickly took her wrists, gently guiding them down to pat her cheeks dry with his sleeve instead. He knew that she would not like the way her face had become red and stained once she remembered that they would leave the office.

"You can do the ring test," Makarov proposed.

"Ring test?"

"Isn't that an old wives' tale?" Jellal raised a brow, on one knee next to his wife.

"You take a ring and then have it swing back and forth over the baby – straight line means girl and circle means boy- or was it the other way around?" The Master furrowed his brows. Erza copied him.

"But if the baby is there, why do I need to check?" She wondered aloud.

"No, now," Jellal put a hand on her belly. Sheepishly, she nodded in understanding.

A knock on the door interrupted, and Erza started to realise the way she must have looked. Jellal reassured her wordlessly, running his thumbs over her eyes one last time, seeing with relief how her shoulders sank at his tender gesture. She suppressed a leftover snivel, and they turned when the door opened, impatience reigning over politeness.

Mira stood there, not half a centimetre away from the threshold. Her eyes were so eager, they almost pierced her childhood rival's stomach until knowing the gender of the baby. With a chuckle, Erza complied, getting up. Her gaze crossed that of the Master once more, their smiles speaking volumes before she headed out, Jellal in tow.

The door was not yet closed for an entire heartbeat when Mira burst.

"So this is why you left so suddenly!" She pointed at Erza, all fired up in her a-ha moment. To her disappointment, Erza only shrugged.

"You're right. Now all of our secrets are out – there's nothing for you to dig for anymore," she said.

"Who cares! You're going to be a mother!" Mira squealed, effectively drawing the attention of the entire guild back to them. The guild and someone else.

"I already am," Erza said, oblivious to the dozens of pairs of eyes on her once her own landed on her belly.

"Wait what? You already-"

"No, Mira that's not how it works," she mildly scolded.

"You're Erza after all," Mira retorted. Taking her hand, Erza cut any upcoming accusations and conclusions off. Mira's eyes turned into saucers, even if nothing had happened yet.

"Go on, Munchkin," Erza encouraged, giving a last stroke with her own palm. Mira frowned.

"Munchk-" she choked on her words when the baby kicked. Another squeak escaped her, but her eyes had already turned up into her skull, and she landed on the floor with another thud. Erza grimaced, exchanging an amused glance with Jellal.

Bending down to aid her to her feet in a collective effort, they found her unconsciousness to be short-lasting this time around. She was only just standing when a pair of studded boots planted themselves in front of them.

"Let me guess, this is why you got married so hastily," Gajeel sneered. "Just to make it a child born in marriage," he raised an incriminating brow. Jellal felt Erza begin to fume, so he shoved Mira closer to her to shift her focus.

"Well, unlike you, I'm still struggling to prove that I'm not a criminal anymore," he honestly replied. And it was true – Gajeel had been admitted a long time ago, and while Jellal was accepted by the entire guild, too, he did not feel as if he had accepted himself yet.

"This is…" Mira put a hand to her face, catching herself, "this is also why you didn't wear your armour, but thick coats," she concluded. It seemed her mind had never let go of her discovery, not even while passing out. "The others even said so – I even noted how you were behaving differently," she said.

"I didn't know back then," Erza retold. Mira grew pensive, and Erza merely assumed her to be replaying the past weeks of pregnancy signs. But Mira spontaneously remembered something else, something far in the past, and not least to Gajeel's presence.

All that time ago, during the battel against Phantom Lord, Mira, Elfman and Grey had found Erza – clad in armour of course – leaning against a pillar where she had taken a break no one but herself would have denied her, seeing as she had only just defeated one of the Element Four and previously stopped a blast from a Jupiter Canon all by herself. She had proven repeatedly to be able to do the impossible, never giving up where others would have despaired. She could have died twice in short succession, and yet, when being found all beaten up and exhausted, she had not shed her armour. She had gotten up, ashamed to be caught while resting.

It was no secret that Erza Scarlet was a proud and formidable mage. It had never been a secret just how dear she held her guildmates – her family. And still, she had kept her feelings, her weaknesses and insecurities a secret for years, building up her walls of steel plates and ironed out faces.

Now, there was no hiding anymore. Not because she had been found out, but because she was not holding on to that lifelong tradition of hers. She loved Jellal; she loved him dearly and he loved her back. They were married, having a child, and neither were afraid to show it and share their gift with their friends. She did not even feel the need to protect herself from others' opinions. She was wearing her previously feared and locked up weaknesses as openly as her strengths.

She had learned to trust herself and her guild, and now, finally, shared her every problem with the one she loved and called her husband.

So when Gajeel let out a laugh – perhaps simply because there was nothing else to add when Jellal did not believe the Iron Dragon Slayer's words of not having to prove himself – Erza stood proudly and unafraid. Not even for her beloved's confidence did she worry as much as she had before.

"Mira?" Erza waved a hand in front of her friend's face. Blinking repeatedly, Mira snapped out of her memory.

"Sorry, what?"

"Master said there was something you were going to tell us," Erza reminded. "Something about the Dark Guilds in Caelum." She suddenly startled alongside Mira when someone new jumped right into their conversation.

"Cooool!" Jason howled next to her ear. Erza felt Jellal's already tense stance shift, his arm winding around her shoulders to pull her to him. Mira squealed quietly at the gesture, while Erza concluded him to have seen the approach and adapted the defensive position in advance.

To their surprise, it was Mira who shoved herself in front of his flashing camera.

"Now, Jason, you know the rules of privacy, and if you tell a soul about this without having their 'okay' first, I will quit modelling for good," she smiled her sweetest, most dangerously glinting smile. Jason's jaw dropped.

"But I'm your main income, baby," he blurted. Sweat was already pooling on his forehead, eyes darting longingly between his camera, Erza and Mira. His finger twitched above the shutter release.

"Then I guess you'll still have Jenny – oh wait, didn't she say she's going to quit after getting married…?" Mira nonchalantly turned away, tapping her chin innocently. The wedding would only be in months to come, they knew, as the planning usually took up more time than Meredy's speed organisation, but the desired pressure had its effect nonetheless.

"No, you can't do that!" Jason whined, already won over. "I need my Fairy Tail shoots and you're the most willing and popular one! The Sorcerer Weekly is not the Sorcerer Weekly without Mirajane!" He threw his arms up into the air, dramatic gestures nearly costing him his camera. "Mermaid Heel is a constant on and off 'cause Kagura needs to be persuaded which is hard and takes so long and doesn't work most of the time – the second most popular only ever does shootings with cats and that's been boring after the first time," he was back to wailing.

Erza felt Jellal's eyes, returning his bemused look with a twinkle of her eye.

"Blue Pegasus only elect their most handsome member which is always Ichiya, every year – I mean, they just make that whole contest because of him; it's ridiculous – why do they even bother?" He took a deep inhale. "Sabertooth's two most popular ladies from the Grand Magic Games don't want to do shootings, and Solano was already in the last two editions because of that!" He swung up two fingers in front of Mira's face for emphasis. "Lamia Scale's Sherry left after she got married and Sherria is too focused on larning magic, and let's be honest, nobody wants yet another feature on Toby and his sock!" He went on, and they wondered when he last breathed properly because he was panting heavily.

Falling to his knees, he thrust his folded hands up to Mirajane.

"I would have no one!" He cried. She only raised a brow. Her trick had worked flawlessly without much effort. "If I can't have the indomitable Fairy Tail – and now that Erza Scarlet is-" he stopped mid-sentence, gasping so heftily he choked on it. His finger went back to pointing, knees shuffling in an attempt to round Mira. He coughed, his finger waving about excitedly. "A pregnant photoshoot!" He screeched, having to cough even more. "Coooool!" He punched the air, yelling his catchphrase at the top of his lungs.

Still on his knees, he switched from in prayer folded hands to bows, touching his nose to the ground repeatedly.

"Please, please, oh great Titania," Jason grovelled, his bowing speeding up the more excited he became. They heard the words 'pregnant photoshoot' left his mouth a couple of times more, fading out as he became more and more out of breath. Jellal shook his head disapprovingly.

"We'll think about it," Erza cut in before he could answer. Puzzled, not least bordering upset, he met her eyes. She let hers soften, leaning into his side where he still held her close to. "It might be the only job you will let me do for the coming months," she said. "But it's not a yes," she added. Jason whimpered.

"She said she'll think about it," Mira shooed Jason away, and he reluctantly withdrew to try his luck with Levy. Gajeel nearly bit his enthusiastically bobbing head off as a result. "Anyway, it's time for payment," Mira turned back to the couple, confusing them.

"Payment?"

"The Dark Guilds in Caelum that you took down," Mira said. "As it turns out, the whole organisation was-"

"Erza!" A new voice barged in on their conversation. Erza smiled when Warren hasted over to them, then more once she recognised the woman on his heels to be one of his clients from the port city. "I'm so glad you're back! You know, when I was in Caelum, I sold so many- woah!" He spotted her big baby belly. "No way, really?!" He laughed. "Congratulations! You're making quick progress with whatever you do, it seems," he grinned.

"Thank you," Erza said, not feeling like explaining once again how there was no way she was progressing any faster than it was common. Mira pursed her lips, reading her friend's thoughts, still somewhat upset about not having known earlier.

"Anyway, while you were still on holiday, I went back another time. I stocked up, and returned home a lucky man," he smiled at the woman and most likely girlfriend. Her gaze told them, resembling a lowkey Juvia crush. "And since none of this would have been possible without you, I left you a little something on your bank account," he winked. Rummaging through his pocket, he gave her the transfer voucher.

Erza took it, a light gasp on her lips.

"Warren, no," she shook her head, "that really isn't necessary; and it's too much,"

"It's the least I could do," he assured. "Consider it an early baby shower gift," he grinned, knowing she did not do well with accepting help or presents.

"You might want to have a peek at your balance regardless," Mira said, keen on finishing what she had not been able to tell them for the second time now. Walking over to the counter of the bar she had abandoned since their arrival, she leaned over. It rustled when she fished for a sheet of paper. Erza and Jellal followed, his eyes occasionally darting around the Guild Hall to ascertain himself of Jason's position. "Here," Mira handed over a request.

"A mission?" Erza frowned at it. It was titled "Dark Mage Mafia", a big red stamp in the shape of an 'S' catching her attention before having registered the huge amount of reward money.

"What you so casually did within a day or two is actually a ten-year quest that became less and less attractive over the years, seeing as the gangs only expanded, took hostages and gained influence over government officials and other authorities," Mira explained. "Someone recognised you by your guild mark and send us a notification," she went on. "They already transferred the money; I didn't know if you had a joint account so I gave them the details of yours, Erza," she said.

Neither Erza nor Jellal answered for another minute. Somehow, without having tried, they had just earned themselves an enormous sum of money to spend – and that did not even include the Council's bonus and salary raise. Tightening the belt had just gotten a whole lot harder.

"Erza!" Lucy waved at them, coming over. The guild must have known, since her usually money-keen eyes did not stray once towards the request sheet. "You haven't seen the decoration we did at the park around the Rainbow Tree yet," she reminded.

"That's right," Erza nodded. She was looking forward to having Jellal experience all of their holidays and festivals – the Fantasia Parade most of all. "A walk is always nice, too," she turned her smile towards Jellal, having it returned.

"Sounds good to me," Lucy beamed. Juvia and Wendy were already waiting at the entrance, while Meredy looked as if having been tasked with – or having tasked herself with – talking to Grey about a certain relationship issue, staying behind.

"To me, too," Laxus' deep voice interrupted. "I wouldn't mind you sticking to someone else for a change," he arched a brow at Erza, returning her glare with ease, "there's a mission that needs-"

"Oh, no," Erza grabbed Jellal's arm, pulling him aside to plant herself in front of Laxus, "he worked the entire-"

"Week, I know. Draw in your claws, tigress, I only want to discuss a mission," Laxus cut in. Erza growled at his remark. She foresaw the way Jellal would start to soothe her, trying to please everyone as always, and she already disliked losing. The struggle between him making friends and spending time with them while at the same time not letting him overwork himself was constant, the lines thin and battered from overstepping. "I just wanted a second opinion of someone who knows a thing or two about runes," Laxus added – adding to her dilemma. Jellal being able to show his talents was too good an opportunity to pass out on.

"What about Freed?" She challenged anyway.

"Didn't I just say second opinion?" Laxus retorted without missing a beat. Erza let her gaze wander, finding Freed by himself at a table. He had his arms crossed, obviously cross with his idol's straying. With a sigh, she decided not to make it her problem.

"Fine," she finally agreed.

"It's not like we need your agreement," Laxus scoffed. Lucy meanwhile grimaced, shrinking away awkwardly at how they bargained what seemed to be a child's going out to a rowdy friend's.

Ignoring the last comment, Erza turned to Jellal. He appeared rather amused by the exchange, gaze softening as soon as meeting her still fiery one.

"I'll be here when you return," he promised before she could rewind the entire argument. "And I like it better this way – no being spoiled for the big event," he smiled encouragingly. Then he leant down, closer to her ear, taking both of her hands in his. "I want to experience the magic of it with you then," he kissed her cheek. She rose to her toes of her own accord, longing for a proper kiss.

Nevertheless, he had made a shiver travel down her spine, working his own magic to win the dispute. Nodding, Erza accepted, though she did not leave before having received another kiss to the crown of her head.

Once at the great tree that would illuminate the night sky with its rainbow-coloured petals, Erza did not regret her choice. Not until returning to the guild anyway.

It came as a shock to hear the voices stumbling over one another, the hectic running back and forth and not to mention the giant pinkish rabbit in the corner of the main hall.

"What the…" Erza stared at the upturned tables. Elfman was keeping the enormous herbivore busy, being dealt as many blows as he tried to land while at the same time not seeming too keen on hurting it. Or capable. A tall bird stood next to a table near the entrance, its feathers turquoise and pink, looking confused yet not as belligerent as the rabbit. Erza realised what had happened when the rabbit started spitting fire out of its mouth in angry fits.

To her, the most important question remained: Where was Jellal?