"I am so done!"

Cana groaned, all but laying down over the bar top in the guild hall. Beside her, Evergreen pursed her lips before taking another sip of her wine.

"What?" Cana pouted at Evergreen. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Evergreen glanced between her and Elfman, who was starting to laugh.

"If I had your breasts, I would want for nothing," She said, sounding rather embarrassed. "Although I would be concerned to do things like…this. I wouldn't want to risk taking my own eye out."

Cana grinned. "Good one," She said, slapping her palm against the hesitant Evergreen's. "But, seriously. You've said it before, and you're right: you are the embodiment of everything people desire."

"She is," Elfman playfully, tousled his girlfriend's hair. "You are gorgeous, Ever."

She raised an eyebrow but said nothing in protest. Instead, she merely began to sip her wine again. Elfman began to laugh, him and Mirajane both seemingly unable to control their amusement. Cana looked around at her guildmates at the bar, and turned to Stella and Freed, both of whom had been (to her surprise) quiet. At least, they were quieter than the rest of them, seemingly talking in low tones. She stared at them, still pouting. The two went silent, and Stella looked over at her sister, who seemed on the verge of embarrassment again. Elfman, however, was chortling, and joking with his sister, who was mixing drinks. He did pause, mildly concerned when one of the drinks she was playing with for herself turned a bright green. She shrugged it off, and seemed to enjoy it. She's trying to freak me out on purpose, right? Stella, Evergreen, and Freed, at least, appeared just as off put. Cana was the only one other than Mira who was unbothered, though whether or not she noticed was up to debate.

"Alright, I'll play," Stella said, somewhat nervously. "What exactly happened?"

"My dating life," Cana replied. "Specifically, I got ditched."

"Oh," Stella's eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "How? Didn't you say that has only happened once before because you drank them under the table?"

"Yep," Cana monotonously popped the word. "It sucks. The girl ditched me because I beat her friends in a fight – a fight they caused and would have gotten someone really fucked up!"

Stella, Evergreen, and Freed awkwardly exchanged glances.

"Basically," Cana tiredly went on. "I'd like you to set me up with someone."

Stella frowned. "Why me?"

"You don't want her to answer that question," Freed cautioned her. "Certainly not, considering that Evergreen talked a great deal about you well before she dragged you into joining the guild."

Stella narrowed her eyes at her sister, who once again reached for her wine, and tried to avoid being drawn back into the conversation.

"Also," Cana went on. "I am open to dating men. Men, women, who cares. It's all a bunch of bollocks anyways."

"She's drunk," Elfman playfully elbowed her. "Though that's not the first time you've said that, and, let's face it, you're one of the most open book and up for anything members of the guild."

Cana smiled at him before turning back to Stella.

"Alright," Stella hesitantly began. "Well –"

"Well?" Cana pressed when the woman's voice wavered. "Come on."

Stella sighed. "There is someone who works around Sieg…"

Cana grimaced. "Another stuffy bureaucrat? Stella, I –"

"He's not like that," Stella quickly amended. "Frankly, I think you would find him to be pretty normal. Certainly normal compared to Siegrain."

Cana snickered. "Is that a high bar? Hopefully you mean normal compared to my experiences rather than yours. You seem to enjoy –"

"Hush," Stella said, blushing. "And, yes, also compared to what you're used to."

Cana winked. "Funny, but yes, what's his name?"

Stella pulled out her communications lacrima, beginning to scroll through it.

"Doranbolt, I think," She said, humming. "I'll give you his number. I don't imagine he'll be too off put by you."

Cana raised an eyebrow. "Off put?"

"He works for the Magic Council," Stella teased. "And you are a member of Fairy Tail."

"So are you," Cana laughed, playfully shaking her friend's shoulders. "You're dating someone on the Council. That's even more –"

"Cana!" Stella exclaimed. "Do you want me to help you or not?"

"Of course."

"Then here," She said, pushing her communications lacrima towards her. "Go ahead and take it."

"That's it. We are never 'taking a break' again."

Erza Scarlet stood in the doorway of the expansive hotel suite she and her teammates had claimed for the weekend. She quickly slammed it shut. Natsu was on the floor, his scarf wrapped around his ankles, not his neck. Gray was 'wearing' a bed sheet, and seemed to have lost his pants. Trying to stop her own vision from spinning, Erza sat down against the door. Half eaten on a counter was a large cheesecake. Though part of her wanted to eat it before anyone else (read: Natsu) did, her stomach was churning so badly she was shocked she hadn't thrown up. Lucy was the only one who had remained where they had fallen asleep, and was laying on the couch, staring almost blankly at the ceiling fan. At least Gray got off the floor. Is Natsu going to – Her thoughts were almost immediately interrupted by Happy swooping past her. The cat was holding a large fish which he had presumably stolen. Everything finally getting to her, the smell of fish being the last of it, Erza barely made it over to the rubbish bin before she started retching. Lucy sighed, her head pounding, reaching for her sunglasses.

"Natsu!" She yelped when she saw he had begun to disentangle himself and was reaching for some food left on the floor. "Do you even know what that is?"

He squinted at her. "Of course I know what it is," He said, picking it up. "It's the spicy crisps I didn't finish last night!"

"You're going to eat crisps from off the floor?" Gray rolled his eyes, wincing when he sat down. "Who did all this?"

Lucy, Natsu, and Happy eyed him in confusion when he started to pull large shards of glass out from the chair he had taken up.

"Okay," Lucy said, wincing. "Maybe you should have stayed on the floor."

Gray flicked one of the shards away.

"Hey, wait…" He leaned over a bit to see where Erza was trying to clean herself up, seemingly having expelled whatever had remained in her stomach. "Why did you shut the door on room service breakfast?"

"Yeah!" Natsu chimed in, still picking up the remains of the crisps. "We're all hungry, you know!"

Erza frowned. "How can you two think about food right now?"

Natsu and Gray goggled at her. Happy finished gnawing on his fish.

"I'm with Erza," Lucy mumbled. "We shouldn't have taken that movie as a challenge."

"We succeeded," Gray swore under his breath. "I think it's suffice to say that we are hungover."

"You better not make us get back on that train today," Natsu groaned. "Erza, don't do that to us!"

"We're lucky the train back to Magnolia is tomorrow," She said, rubbing at her eyes. "In no small part because we should probably clean this up."

Lucy nodded, pushing herself up from off the couch.

"Do you know what that stain is?" Happy asked, flying over to and landing on Lucy's shoulder. "That big dark one, right there!"

"Pretty sure it's wine and cake, Happy," Lucy sighed, grimacing. "I'm afraid if I let myself think anything else that I won't clean it up."

"We'll all deal with it a little later," Gray said, waving a hand dismissively. "What I want to know is who nearly stabbed me in the ass with their chair glass."

Silence. Then, they all glanced to Erza, who had begun to inch protectively towards what remained of the cheesecake.

"I'm not eating it now!" She snapped. "I'm protecting it from the rest of you!"

Natsu snickered. "How come?"

"Because I don't want you or Gray or Happy to eat it! The concept isn't that difficult, Natsu!"

Lucy tilted her head towards her. "How come you didn't mention me on that list?"

Erza raised an eyebrow. "Are you honestly at all interested in eating cheesecake?"

Lucy shuddered. "Not right now."

"Still doesn't answer my question!" Gray stood up, effectively wrapping the bedsheet around himself as a toga. "Which one of you broke –"

"Can you not make my headache worse?" Lucy squeaked.

"Probably –" Happy jokingly began.

"I –" Erza nearly fell over the counter, looking exhausted. "Fine," She muttered. "I'm ashamed to admit it, but I imagine that I threw most of the broken glass. Though," She scowled at Gray. "My intention was not to 'stab you in the ass' as you so nicely put it."

"Okay," Gray said dryly. "Well, in that case, everything is just fine."

To be called to meet with a member of the Magic Council was a rare event.

It was also one which did not typically coincide with anything good.

All three of his grandchildren with him, Makarov Dreyar uncomfortably looked between them. Laxus and Esseca both kept their arms wrapped around their fidgety, bony sister. For her part, Riley seemed at least somewhat self aware, enough to have both of their earbuds in and listening to music. The less she says, the better. Makarov sighed. Ivan, did you expect that two of your children would have bright pink hair as adults? Or that Laxus would develop any form of a relationship with the princess of Fiore herself? Ivan. Could he, per chance, be the reason the family was summoned? The thought chilled the ageing guild master to his core, and (if it were even possible) he briefly could have sworn he looked paler than the almost vampiric pallor of his grandchildren. Worsening the situation, however, was when the doors to the pristinely organised study where their summon awaited them opened. The four Dreyars shuffled into the room, all on edge, and all dressed so well it felt as if they ought to have been in Crocus rather than Era. Laxus, wearing a dress shirt, pants, and shoes with his coat over his shoulders. Riley, wearing suit pants, a white dress shirt, and blazer, reluctantly also wearing shoes. Esseca, wearing a cloak over her jumpsuit. Riley stopped short when she saw the woman behind the desk. Esseca merely sat down beside her grandfather, seemingly accepting her fate and barely masking her curiosity. Laxus lingered but, upon seeing Riley looking more like a startled, wet cat than a person, tugged his baby sister to sit down with them as the learned council woman stood up to approach them.

"I should make the point that, for once, this has nothing to do with anything your guild has…done wrong," She said coldly, picking up a burgeoning file from her desk. "It is, however, a familial matter, and one that required formality."

Makarov stood up to meet her gaze. The two stared at each other before she all but pushed the file into his hands.

"I will start by saying this is rather unfortunate news," She continued. "So, I sincerely hope this is not too much of a shock for you."

"Considering the personal tension between us, I appreciate the forewarning, Belno," Makarov eyed his youngest grandchild strangely out of the corner of his eyes when he saw she had just about curled into a tiny, pale ball of pink hair, glasses, and her suit. "Though this is rather unexpected."

"I should think so, Makarov," She grimly agreed. "Someone died."

Silence.

Riley squeaked.

Esseca dropped her communications lacrima in horror.

Laxus stood up.

Makarov took a few steps back.

"Ivan?" The ageing guild master barely got out. "He's…dead?"

Belno raised an eyebrow, but then shook her head.

"Unless it somehow escaped the Council's notice, which I sincerely doubt considering he is one of the most wanted men on the continent, no. It's your other son, Maxwell. His...questionably independent guild has fallen apart because of it and what remains of it was, from his Will, left to your discretion. The little other information the Council was provided on the subject –"

"Max," Makarov sat down, his hands unusually shaking. "I…"

"Maxwell?" Esseca awkwardly remarked. "Dad did work pretty hard to keep us isolated for the little while he was in our lives. Well, mine and Caity's, that is. So, I don't think we knew Maxwell."

Riley shrugged. "We barely knew Ivan," She said darkly.

"Caity!"

Laxus, Makarov, and Esseca fell silent, almost too stunned by their sudden synchronicity to say much more.

"It's true," She muttered. "Laxus is always saying our mother abandoned us, and he's fucking wrong. Why can't I say something true?"

"I'll apologise now for…all of this, Elder Belno," Laxus said, him and Esseca each setting a hand to their sister's shoulders. "We're not –"

"Your family is a complicated one," She said shortly. "I have never been too pleased with how your guild runs itself, but I cannot say I am too surprised when I am all too well aware that instability runs in your family."

"The three of you, leave," Makarov said with sudden conviction. "I can finish this from here."

Nearly to disbelief, none of his grandchildren objected. Rather, they briefly glanced around, and slowly shuffled out. The doors slammed shut behind them.

Silence.

Bitterness, after all these years?

Clocks ticked, drawing the ageing guild master back from his thoughts. The woman across from him sighed.

They may have managed to do things right, ultimately, these past few months, but it is nothing on the guild's track record of recklessness, and destruction. Just as Siegrain has been, they are very, very, very lucky.

"Say what you must, Makarov," She said irritably. "Unless you would prefer to speak of it during your hearing next month."

"Is that still happening, then?" He shook his head. "You are all missing the point of our actions."

"Fairy Tail must be held to account, as much if not more than any other guild on the continent," She coldly countered. "Something you would do well to remember."

Makarov frowned. The two fell into terse silence again.

"Ivan is no threat to any of them, not now," Makarov finally said. "Are they all not owed the truth, now that they are all adults?"

"The only reason any of them know is because one of them was too curious for their own good," Belno said, briefly glancing out the window at the breaking twilight. "And I sincerely doubt the truth would change their opinions on the matter."

"I should beg to differ. You know better than anyone what Ivan is like, what he is capable of," Makarov briefly paused, then sighed. "And the truth was and remains that you did not abandon those children, not willingly, at least."