Magnolia.

A town known for a lot of things, as it were, Fairy Tail (and all of their infamous instances of destruction) was perhaps the first one people in the area thought of. Most others knew the town, if they knew it at all, for its coffee and confectionaries. Apart from preferring a quieter life, the people of Magnolia enjoyed their fresh baked sweets almost as much as they enjoyed life itself. Even Erza Scarlet, whom everyone in the guild (if reluctantly) accepted was its strongest female wizard, had a weakness for cake. Specifically, she had a weakness for strawberry cheesecake cake. No one in the guild wanted to get in between her and it. When they had been much younger, Natsu had gotten punched by Erza for eating her cake, which, also, was far from the strangest thing to happen in the guild hall. Yes, it was fair to say the members of Fairy Tail were some of the rowdiest in Magnolia, but, for the most part, they fit in fine. Just another piece of the puzzle.

Just this once, however, Laxus Dreyar could not feel more out of place. The Princess. He had asked the Princess of Fiore herself on a date, and she had said yes. The closer he got to the coffee shop they had agreed to meet at, the more anxious he felt. For the first time in months, his nerves were leaving him on tenterhooks.

He had dressed up a little for the occasion, unsure of what she would expect. She probably has a lot of better options than me. Reason cast aside, he could not shake how the air had felt abuzz, and hoped it meant more than his mind running wild. Evergreen had very much not helped with it. You haven't had your head this much in the clouds since you and I dated a few years back. Glad I wasn't you when we ended things. Sorry about having been violent for weeks, by the way. It's a good thing you went on that job in the southwest with Bickslow, because I spent weeks biting people's heads off about every single thing I hated about you. He grimaced at the memory, of both that time, and Evergreen's unrelenting desire to always make things worse. She had meant well, for the most part. She had even insisted on helping him dress up, which had been both strange and reassuring. His usual, long black and grey coat over his shoulders as a comfort, he was in a purple silk shirt and black dress pants with comfortable loafers. Everything spinning around him aside, he was relieved he did not have to risk motion sickness and could easily walk to the shop. He paused. Smirked to himself a little to try and renew his confidence. He pushed open the doors to the shop, and found Hisui already waiting for him. She was dressed comfortably, too, just a blouse and dress pants herself with flats.

An easy smile dawning on him, he sat down across with her, and she smiled warmly back.

"Your grandfather is definitely a level headed man," Hisui said, taking a second to sip on her caramel coffee. "Fairy Tail is definitely lucky to have him as the guild master."

"He is pretty relaxed," Laxus laughed lightly. "Most of the time that is. Of course, sometimes he lets things get out of hand. Some of them like to fight."

Hisui quirked an eyebrow with a hint of a smirk.

"Is that what you were talking about the other day when you mentioned…what were their names…"

"Natsu and Gray?" He suggested. She nodded. "Yeah…" He agreed. "They don't get on very well, but no one can tell if they actually hate each other or not."

She laughed. "I've seen that before. It is pretty funny to watch."

"You should have seen Natsu trying to take a shot at Erza," He told her. "We all knew he was going to lose, but it was hilarious to watch. Too bad the Magic Council had to arrest Erza and Stella."

"I heard about that," She mused, her fingers delicately tapping against the glass table. "It was because of…an incident with property destruction, wasn't it?"

"They sometimes go a little overboard," Laxus said, shrugging. "The Council doesn't usually care. Not sure why they did this time."

Hisui laughed behind her hand, trying to hide the faint blush in her cheeks.

"I've never fully understood the Magic Council," She eventually said with a smile. "I know how they function and why they do, but they are often…they're often a little secretive."

"That's why gramps doesn't usually get along with them," Laxus said, lightly resting his hand over hers. She did not pull away, and only smiled brighter. "They do tend to leave him alone, though."

Hisui considered that. "Why do you think that is?" Her eyes glinted in amusement.

"That's a good question," Laxus paused in consideration, and then leaned in mischievously. "I'd like to find out just as much as you do, but..." He sighed. "I get the feeling the reason they don't get along goes a lot...deeper than just the guild being a mess. After dad was kicked out, they relaxed on us a little but..."

"Your father?" Hisui eyed him in surprise. "You mentioned he had been a difficult person to live with, though…"

"He…" Laxus shook his head. "I don't like to talk about it much, but…I was a sick kid, and he couldn't handle that, so he found a way to…change that. And that's how I ended up…"

He pulled his hand away when he realised a bit of lightning was sparking from his fingers. Hisui pulled it back, gently holding it between her own hands.

"You don't have to talk about it," She said, her voice soft. "It's okay. For what it's worth, it sounds like your family has been through a great deal and you've all, from apperances, that is, come out the other side. That's genuinely impressive."

He fell briefly silent, and then nodded. Hisui squeezed his hand again.

"Please don't feel like you have to do anything for me you wouldn't for anyone else," She said. "Really, Laxus. I wouldn't say that if I weren't serious."

He managed a smile. "Alright."

"So," She said, letting his hand go. "Out of curiosity, what is the tension between the Council and your grandfather about, apart from the...history with your father? I can't imagine it's just because of the guild occasionally being…"

"A nuisance?" Laxus suggested, unable to hide another smile when she laughed. "Honestly, I think a lot if it comes from the fact they respect him as a guild master and a Wizard Saint, but have no idea how to handle him formally when he has received stacks of reports – complaints, really – from them and just set them on fire with a shrug."

"I'm almost scared to ask," Hisui remarked. "But what was the worst thing that he burned from them?"

"Before what Erza and all of them got into trouble?" Laxus paused. "Probably when Cana went drinking on a job – before, during, and after – and did very well at. The problem arose when she tried to bill the Council for over a grand's worth of alcohol."

Hisui raised an eyebrow. "Was it at least good alcohol?"

"Knowing Cana, probably," Laxus started laughing but turned in surprise upon hearing the doors to the cafe open with two faces, one of which was rather familiar. "Well, that was not –"

"Is that Siegrain?" She exclaimed, looking between him and the two who had stepped in. "What's he –"

"Well, I'm not quite sure why he's here, but that's one of the other members of the Thunder Legion I was telling you about, Stella Moore," Laxus shared a brief look with her, them both nothing short of surprised and amused. "You saw her sister yesterday, I think. Evergreen. Best way to spot the difference between them is that Ever is a bit taller and brunette, while Stella is slightly shorter and blonde."

Hisui smirked. "I take it that's still taller than me?"

"I was surprised you're a bit shorter than Riley," Laxus admitted. "She's only 5'3" and barely 100lb. She's the tiniest member of my family, and, somehow, the palest but…" He laughed a little. "Obviously we all look a bit like vampires. But, yes, that's Stella. Or El, though I've never heard anyone call her by her nickname apart from Ever."

Hisui nodded. "That's familiar enough."

"You've only been around a few days, I'm impressed by how much you've begun to pick up on already," He quickly replied, them both looking back at Siegrain and Stella. "How about you guess this time: what is she doing with a member of the Magic Council?"

Hisui rolled her eyes with a smile. "Perhaps she is considering becoming a spy for Fiore in –"

Crash.

Startled, Laxus and Hisui both stood up, turning around to take a look out the window. They did not notice but, like the others in the cafe and, admittedly, the general vicinity, Siegrain and Stella were just as surprised. Laxus and Hisui both began to laugh a bit when they saw what the commotion was about. Natsu and Erza, going at it again, presumably were trying to finish the fight they had begun the day Erza and Stella had been called to face the Council. Unsurprisingly, Erza had requipped to her flame empress armour. Just as before, she was two steps ahead. Loathe to admit it to himself, Laxus knew Erza deserved her title as an S-Class wizard even though she was only twenty one, Gray twenty, and Natsu and Lucy only nineteen. Natsu acted far more his age. His thoughts came to a brief standstill. Erza. She had to have been through something herself. What was it? He sighed. To say he did not talk much about his early life was accurate, and a bit of an overstatement at times with certain people. Erza was – and always had been – closed off to just about everyone. He tried to let that go and enjoy the fight. Natsu was screaming, incoherently as ever, and kept trying to set her aflame to end their rematch quickly. Unsurprisingly, she whipped out a sword.

She smacked him in the stomach with it.

She punched him in the face.

Natsu fell to the ground and, likely unintentionally theatrically, Erza climbed on top of his back to hold him down for ten seconds, after which Makarov stepped forward, declaring her the winner to no surprise.

"Funny," Stella remarked from behind them, causing Hisui to startle and Laxus to groan, them both turning quickly on their heels. "He should have seen that one coming."

"Fighting Erza's always a mistake, especially for them," Laxus said, then smirking at her. "Care to introduce us to your –"

"You first," She replied.

"Hisui," She said, shaking Stella's hand, smiling at Laxus. She blushed when he smiled back. She turned back to Stella when she let go of her hand "I believe that makes it your turn."

"Siegrain Fernandes," The Wizard Saint easily wrapped an arm around his own date. "It's a pleasure to you...Dreyar, isn't it? And, of course," He briefly let Stella go to bow. "Pleasure to see you as always, Your Highness."

Laxus raised an eyebrow. "How'd you land a date with someone on the Magic Council?"

"How'd you land a date with the Princess?" Stella winked behind her glasses. "I've got nerve, and I feel everything."

"Never let her go," Hisui told Siegrain, laughing a little. "You've got a keeper there."

When the twenty two year old Wizard Saint thought no one was looking, he pressed a soft kiss to his date's lips. She lingered hers on his far too long to be simply polite. Their brief moment, (and, based on how tightly their hands were entwined as they quietly spoke, Laxus and Hisui's) however, was very much cut short. The doors to the cafe opened almost violently. People started laughing, some of them nervously, and some of them simply taking in the sight for the, admittedly, amusement it innately brought. Natsu stumbled in, holding his head. He knew full well he was one of the most infamous people in town, not the least of which was because of the amount of things he had set on fire by accident. He seemed to be enjoying it, letting a (falsely) victorious war whoop out, with Happy cheering in the air beside him. His vision finally becoming less dizzy, he finally noticed Laxus. Still stumbling, he walked over towards him, and slammed his fist down on the table in front of the lightning dragon slayer like a lunatic.

"I can take you!" Natsu wheezed, trying to latch onto and choke him. "Any time, any –"

Laxus swiftly punched him, and he fell to the ground, moaning in pain and grumbling.

Lucy, who had finally figured out where he had gone, let out an exasperated sigh.

Most of the others were simply amused.

A couple were still taking bets as to whom Natsu would (mistakenly) try to fight next.

Siegrain met Erza's eyes through the window, all amusement leaving him, terrified of what she could be thinking.

"Says the guy who puts the 'drag' in Dragneel," Stella sassed, pulling Natsu off the ground. "What were you thinking? Since when do you want to defend Erza?"

She couldn't quite make out what he mumbled back but, beside her, Siegrain gave her an affectionate squeeze, relieved to have been drawn from his thoughts even for a few seconds.

Just as well, far from his twin, Jellal scowled at the man across the table from him.

Contemptuous was the only way to describe his gaze.

Having only accepted Ivan Dreyar's request to meet out of formality, he retained his scowl. He had no desire to tie himself to the man, or his dark guild, no matter how strong they could be. It also thoroughly irritated him to let anyone near his R-System. His brother would stop at nothing to destroy his efforts if he found out where he was. He quickly forgot about his brother. Possessed, two voices in his head. It was hard to understand anything in his thoughts, and had been for ages. He couldn't remember having experienced a clear (or even somewhat clear) mind. Erza. His thoughts landed on her. They then trickled back to activating the R-System. It would end the hell of having two voices in his head, wouldn't it? Then again, what the hell would activate it? There had been no hints or even whispers from the voice which possessed him. Perhaps that was its instinct for self preservation. How? There would have to be an almost unfathomable amount of magic energy. He turned back to Ivan.

That was the real reason he had accepted the meeting. He did not want to tie himself to the man, but he knew, too, that he could offer the solution. A way out.

"Have you ever left this place?" Ivan said, a disdainful air in his voice. "It seems rather…incomplete."

Jellal sent him a dark look. "That would be because it is," He coldly replied.

"Hmmph," Ivan looked around with narrow eyes. "Did you hear that your brother has been named a Wizard Saint? I would be afraid – very afraid – if I were you."

"I am not afraid of Siegrain," He snapped. "I hear enough news about the outside world here and there. I don't need you of all people to deliver it to me."

Ivan raised an eyebrow and met his gaze without hesitation. I would not want to trifle with his brother, but I am unopposed to fighting this man if need be. His eyes narrowed when Jellal's did too.

"It may interest you to know I think we can both achieve our own ends if we lend each other aid," Ivan said, looking rather arrogant as he spoke. "You seek to activate your R-System, and I want to take a bit of…revenge, shall we say, on my father for turning his back on me. I believe both of those things can be done."

"Do you have any idea how much magic energy the R-System requires?" Jellal shook his head. "More than any of us have to offer, that's for sure."

Ivan snorted. "Ignorance. Your brother is on the Magic Council, and, as a Wizard Saint, has sway. They control Etherion. I believe a blast from that could activate your R-System, and, with your newfound power, you could return the favour to me."

Jellal shook his head. "Siegrain would never propose something like that unless the –"

"Unless the Council knew about this system?" Ivan suggested. "And who was behind it?"

Jellal stood up and took a small step back. He steadied himself and glared at Ivan.

"I have plenty of people at my disposal who could leak this place and your presence to the Magic Council," Ivan said, sounding rather irritated. "I don't imagine it would be that hard. There are plenty of people on the Council who could be swayed. Ultear, for instance…I believe she holds little love for the rest of them. Given the right…shall we say, motivation, I believe she'd be easy to sway."

Jellal crossed his arms. "I still fail to see what you gain from all this. Last I checked, that was all you cared about."

Ivan smirked. "That doesn't concern you quite yet. Shall I put the pieces in motion?"

Jellal was silent for a long time but finally nodded. It was not too long after that Ivan left, to his relief, but he knew there were more to the man's motivations than he let on. It did not matter. The voices in his head demanded he take the risk. If it proved too much, he could find a fail safe.

I will show you, Sieg, how powerful I have become.

"You know what? I think Laxus has a crush."

Mirajane laughed when Evergreen passed her a martini. The two women were sat in the back of the guild hall with Bickslow, Freed, and Elfman. All of them were laughing, taking a bit of time to simply relax. Mirajane in particular was a bit tipsy. Evergreen kept elbowing her every few seconds, almost in competition with her brother. Elfman had two beers in his hands, and had forgotten how much he already had to drink. Cana was mixing drinks, humming to herself. It was late. 23:17 . Most of the rest of the guild had gone home, or left on jobs, and the guild hall was surprisingly empty. There was something to be said for time spent in quiet. Quiet did not last long for them, however. Where it would every so often quiet down and they would whisper amongst themselves, the group became loud as ever. Cana in particular would occasionally try to be quiet, but that was a lost cause. Had there been more of them, she would have pawned off bar keeping duties to someone else. It was Mirajane's night off, after all, and just about anyone could –

"Hi!"

Mirajane and Evergreen waved at the bony, pink haired girl who skipped into the guild hall.

"What are you doing here?" Cana leaned over the bar, her eyebrows raising when Riley set down her mobile and showed her one of her recent photographs. "Okay, what bar let you in? You don't turn twenty one until September, and, just because you've been legal for almost three years, you often look fifteen."

Riley shrugged. "I'm cute," She said simply. "I didn't have any cash on me, so I just flirted with this super cute bar keep, and she took my picture."

"Awe," Cana playfully punched her in the shoulder, scrolling through some of her other photographs. "I have to ask: what were you doing in Crocus?"

"I was bored," Riley admitted. "I went up with Esseca, but she wanted to go right back to her apartment to sleep when we got off the train home. So...I'm not tired so I decided to hang out here."

"And annoy your older brother," Freed remarked, eyeing her strangely. "Speaking of whom, Laxus is not here. He is probably at his own apartment, sleeping like a human being."

Riley scowled. "You're here."

"Bickslow doesn't let anyone sleep, much less himself," Freed replied. "I have gotten used to that. Evergreen, however, is much worse than he has ever been."

"I threatened to twat him over the head if he didn't come around," Evergreen said, taking a sip of her cocktail. "Which is quite the effective tactic. Just thought you should know."

"Don't give her ideas!" Freed indignantly exclaimed. "Are you out of your mind?"

Riley innocently stared at them, slipping her communications lacrima into her bag, trading it for a pint of beer from Cana in one hand, and her favourite pink pen in the other hand.

"So," She hopped up onto one of the spinning leather bar stools. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Your brother has a crush," Mirajane said, setting down her drink. "According to Evergreen, that is."

"It's true," Evergreen winked. "He had a date with the Princess earlier today, and I'm pretty sure it went well. The two of them came back from it, and then she had a meeting with Master Makarov. Blah blah blah. I mean, who cares about the formal stuff she's here for? She and Laxus seem to like each other quite a bit."

Riley giggled. "That sounds about right. I saw the two of them when she first came in, and I think they both were intrigued by each other."

Elfman rolled his eyes. "Speaking of people intrigued by each other, I have to ask," He turned to his girlfriend. "Ever, what's with your sister –"

"She and Siegrain are strange people," She said, shaking her head. "Truthfully, it wouldn't be that odd if it weren't for him agreeing to the date after that show trial before the Magic Council."

Riley perked up. "The Magic Council?" She stared at them with wide eyes behind her large, gilded glasses. "What's going on with that?"

"What's going on," Bickslow said with a chuckle. "Is that you get weird whenever someone talks about the Magic Council."

"Do not!" Riley protested, her already very high voice getting a little bit higher. "I don't get weird about anything like that!"

"Well, then..." Cana said, peeking at her bag. "You know, I've always been curious about your cards and your book of shadows."

Riley whipped around, nearly spilling her beer on herself, and grabbed her bag tightly to her chest. She slipped her pink, puffball pen back into the bag with them.

"You know why I'm cagey about it," She hugged her bag to her chest. "You don't let anyone else touch your cards!"

"You two are very strange cartomancers," Freed remarked. "And, of course, there's Riley's scribe magic. But I think it's fair to call you strange cartomancers."

Riley, sensing she had lost, said nothing and instead continued to drink her beer.

"I just have to ask," Mira shared a knowing look with Freed. "What was the point of having a show trial like that?"

"Yeah," Elfman frowned. "We've destroyed plenty of things before and they've never made a big deal about it."

"I suspect it has something to do with Erza," Evergreen rolled her eyes. "From what I understand, she and Siegrain hate each other."

"He's too level headed to do that," Freed said. "I can't imagine that was a reason."

"You have to remember, he's around the same age as us," Evergreen countered. "I'm not a Wizard Saint, so don't hold this as a perfect explanation, but we're in our early twenties. It's the perfect time to be a bit petty."

"The only reason they went after Erza and your sister is because your sister was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and Erza," Freed shuddered. "She is a bit theatrical, to say the very least. She likely could have done everything she did with far less destruction if she had been less performative."

Mira laughed. "I would love to see what would happen if you and Bickslow tried to be performative on a job."

"Hell yeah!" Bickslow high fived her, his 'babies' chiming in agreement. "But you have to agree to get it on video!"

"Absolutely not," Freed flushed in embarrassment. "There's no reason to be flamboyant like that! It's completely counterproductive!"

"Awe," Cana said, swatting at his hair with a dust pan. "You afraid of a little show?"

"Cana, if I were afraid of that, I would not have an interest in opera," He replied, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "Speaking of which, you agreed to go with me next weekend."

"I know," She said, stretching her arms out. "You need to help me find a suit for it."

He smirked, shifting to meet her gaze. "That is what we're doing tomorrow, so I suggest you don't drink too much tonight because I don't want to know how bad you could be hungover."

"Terrible," Cana admitted. "That's why you drink a bit more. It's an old, tried and true cure."

"Remind me never to go to you for medical advice," Mira teased. "I don't know what went wrong to create your unnatural alcohol tolerance, but I'd be on the floor."

"That's the best part," Cana said with a grin. "You can do whatever you want. Which reminds me: we need to go cow tipping at some point."

"Can't speak for the rest of them, but I'll do it," Bickslow said, and the two of them jokingly slapped each other. "Sounds like one hell of a way to spend a night."

Freed sighed, exasperated. "It is physically impossible to tip a cow."

"Then go," Evergreen told him with a snicker. "I'd like to have evidence this happened, after all."