A/N: This get pretty ecchi in this chapter. NaLu fans rejoice! Hey, it's M rated, got to make it worth the rating. No lemons tho (sorry!)


Chapter Seven

The figure fingered the chenille edge of the bedspread, its sharp manicured nails a threat to the fabric. 'Yes,' it thought, 'she was here. They were here.'

Glittering eyes scrutinised the room, looking for something indefinite. The ribbon of its tongue flickered out from between parted lips. There had to be something. The bedding had been changed since then, but there was more to a room than a bed. The spartan furnishings stared boldly back at it, proclaiming a complete lack of secrets. The figure smiled. Everyone had secrets. Even a room.

It stepped lightly, twirling across the room to an unheard rhythm. Step, two, three, four. Step, two- aha. There it was. Triumph danced across its face as it stooped to retrieve the small scrap of lace, its embroidered edges still folded daintily into a perfect square. There was no escape for them now. Master would be pleased.

"May I help you?" a voice called from the door. A woman wearing a long leather apron stood there expectantly.

The figure quietly slipped its hands into its pockets. "Would that you could," it leaned in, its voice seductively low. Pleasure flashed across its face as the woman reacted predictably. It left her there, collapsed on the floor, staring speechlessly through unseeing eyes.


It was hot. Oppressively so. The thick fug of humidity was making it hard to breathe. Her shirt stuck to her back, drenched in sweat. "These boots were new!" Lucy complained, as she waded forward with her comrades. The mud from the creek squelched noisily under her feet. From the brackish water rose hundreds of mangroves, their stilted roots giving the appearance of a fence along the riverbank.

A pipit trilled from the trees, its loud call echoing over the swamp. "Everyone, watch where you put your feet," Erza instructed from her position at the head of the party, her jaunty cowboy hat at odds with the bikini she wore.

"Feet? We're in up to our knees here. It feels gross," Lucy replied.

"I can't even reach the ground with my feet!" Happy said. He struggled to stay afloat, swimming being an activity he was unaccustomed to. Charle gave him a disdainful look from her position high up on Wendy's shoulders. She sniffed loudly and adjusted her khaki safari outfit. Morons would be morons.

As if he could hear her thoughts, Happy suddenly sprang out of the water and unfurled his wings. He shimmied them forcefully to rid them of moisture. The droplets drenched Gray, who had been standing beside him. "Hey! Watch what you're doing!"

Atop his shoulders, Wendy protected herself and Charle from the spray by conjuring up a small gust of wind.

Something cold and slimy tickled the back of Lucy's thigh. A fat leech had latched onto her, its body undulating imperceptibly as it drank. Further down her legs she could see another. And yet another. "Leeches! They're sucking! They're sucking!"

Natsu watched as Lucy lifted the hem of her tank top, the leeches having found their way up her body. One of them sucked hungrily at the underside of her breast and for the first time in his life Natsu found himself feeling jealous. Of a leech. Oh how the mighty had fallen.

Happy looked at her from the corner of his eyes. "Eroi," he said smugly.

"Don't just stand there! Get it off!"

Natsu's cheeks flamed as his mind flashed back to the scene he had overheard between their Fairy Nail doppelgangers. That Lucy had said something similar too. Only in a far more sultry fashion. A vision of him doing something similar with his Lucy flashed unbidden into his mind and his eyes glazed over.

"Um Natsu-san, maybe you should help her," Wendy suggested.

"Yeah, even though it would be a shame to do so," Gray added.

Natsu narrowed his eyes at the expression on Gray's face. That frigid bastard! He was checking Lucy out! He schooled his features into studied nonchalance and stepped forward to block his view. "It can't be helped, guess I'll get rid of them."

"I can't take it anymore, get it off, Natsu!"

'Get me off, Natsu!' The words rearranged themselves in his mind and he forced himself to slam that door shut. He had gone three years without letting such thoughts overpower him, but one overheard conversation and he was acting like a pubescent teenager again.

Lucy stilled as warm hands settled on her waist. "Stop wriggling," Natsu instructed, his voice strained. He was looking somewhere over her shoulder, studiously avoiding her eyes. The calluses on his battle-worn hands were rough against her naked skin. Heat suffused her cheeks and an unknown emotion pooled low in her belly. What was this feeling? She wanted to draw Natsu closer to her. She flicked her eyes over his shoulder to the others. The party had moved on upriver, out of earshot and almost out of sight. They were alone. Her heart raced, thudding loudly in her ears. Shit. Could Natsu hear? He glanced at her then, his eyes unreadable. Oh God, he could.

Her tongue darted out to moisten lips that had suddenly gone dry. His eyes followed the motion, pausing briefly upon her lips before dipping further, tracing the column of her neck, the starkness of her collarbones and lower still. She took a deep breath and his gaze grew darker, captivated by the rise and fall of her breasts. In an odd contrast, she cursed herself for not wearing a bra, while simultaneously thanking the heavens that she never did.

Natsu's eyes stroked her, sending little flares of pleasure shivering up her nerves. It was intoxicating. He was intoxicating. His gaze shifted upwards, settling on her eyes. He cleared his throat. "The leeches," he said gruffly.

His palms were searing her skin and yet, despite the sweltering heat around her, she wanted more. Her body moved of its own accord, her mind devoid of conscious thought. She stepped closer to him, their bodies almost touching. "Yes," she murmured. "The leeches."

He drew in a sharp breath as she placed her hands upon his. She drew his hands along her skin slowly, coming to a stop at the curve of her breast. "There's the first one," she whispered. His pulse beat palpably in his neck and his Adam's apple bobbed wildly as he swallowed. A thrill of lust, of power, quivered through her. She was doing this to him. She was making him react this way.

A quiet gasp escaped her lips as a flame flickered onto his finger, gently tracing the contour of her breast. The leech detached itself with a quiet pop and fell to the water below them.

"Got it," he said hoarsely, his eyes never leaving hers. "Where next?"

Lucy guided his hands over her body, along her sides, up her back and finally down her thighs. He leaned into her, his arms stretching to tickle the backs of her knees. They were both breathing heavily by then, their breath mingling then fading into the muggy air. Slowly, almost painfully so, he trailed his hands up the backs of her legs. Her breath hitched as his flaming finger slipped under the hem of her booty shorts, grazing the crease where her thigh met her buttocks. "I think that's the last one," he said softly. But he did not move away.

He was so close, his nose was almost brushing hers. His eyes were as opaque as obsidian, but the want in them was clear. Her hands reached up and fisted themselves into the open neck of his shirt. She found her lips inching closer to his, the haze of desire settling over her mind.

"What's taking you so long?" Happy asked curiously, popping into the air above them.

"Kyaa!" Lucy sprang away from Natsu, her face crimson. "Get away from me, you pervert!" she yelled, kicking him in the face for good measure.

"What did I do?" he asked tonelessly, a red mark appearing on his cheek.

Happy smirked impishly as he flew away. "They're in l-l-l-l-love!" he declared, stifling his laughter.


As he trudged forward, leaving Natsu and Lucy behind, Gray wondered if Erza would kill him if he froze the river. Probably not, given the stifling temperature. He sighed wearily, it was his fault they were here. Completely out of leads after their adventure in the Conturbatus Forest, Erza had suggested returning to Bauxia to collect more information. Faced with the prospect of a filthy tent, a lack of indoor plumbing and working 12 hour shifts at a hole-in-the-wall diner while overexcited fangirls vied for his attention, he had blurted out the rumour he had heard about disturbances in the forests of western Giltena. Now he regretted his haste. Surely, even unpeeling teenage limpets from his person would be better than traipsing through a bog in this blistering heat? He sighed loudly.

"What's wrong Gray-san?" asked Wendy.

"Nothing, don't worry about it."

"The heat is getting to all of us." Charle daintily wiped her forehead with a lace handkerchief.

That was an understatement. Sweat soaked the hair at the back of his neck, trickling between his shoulder blades, running down his back and between his butt cheeks. He was hot. And uncomfortable. There was sweat oozing from places he was not even aware could sweat. "How much further?"

"I don't know," replied Erza.

"Where are we going anyway, Erza?" Happy asked.

"No idea." Erza shrugged.

All four of them sweatdropped. It was just like Erza to lead the way confidently even though she did not know where to go.

"I wonder what's keeping Natsu and Lucy," Erza wondered, stooping to examine a broken mangrove root. "Something came this way earlier."

"I'll go check on them!" Happy volunteered. He had a sly feeling he was about to see something interesting.

"Hey, Erza. Hold on a minute! Shouldn't we consult a map or something?" They could be wandering around for hours if they did not have a plan.

"The other two Guardians were abnormally large. Such a huge creature should not be able to disguise its tracks easily," she explained. Suddenly, her head whipped towards the trees. "Watch out!"

Branches cracked and leaves fluttered to the ground. Something was crashing through the forest, coming right at Gray. Charle swiftly grabbed Wendy by the shoulders and lifted her to safety.

Hurtling out of the woods came chittering macaque. It latched onto Gray with hairy arms, swinging a few times around his body before coming to a stop. It peered out from behind his back, its arms clenched around Gray's shoulders in fright.

"A monkey?"

The monkey was shrieking, its high-pitched calls deafening Gray. Angry squawking could be heard from the trees as another, much larger monkey appeared, in obvious pursuit of the first.

Gray automatically brought his hands before him, his desire to protect too deeply ingrained. "Ice Make: Hammer!"

The big monkey squeaked. The transparent object heading towards it was cold! "Kee!" it screamed before turning tail and running away.

Natsu and Lucy came running up to the group, just then. Their flushed faces going unnoticed by the others. "Don't go using such a big hammer on animals, you wasteful bastard!" Natsu shouted.

"I'm not the one who always goes overboard you ash-faced jerk!"

"Erza, do something about these two, they-" Lucy trailed off as she noticed a flaming aura around Erza.

Erza turned baleful eyes to Lucy. "Why won't the animals come near me?"

"Erza's on fire. Scary!" Happy commented.

"Why do I feel like this is déjà vu?" Charle asked, exasperated.

Gray turned to the monkey. "It's OK now, so get off." The monkey clambered around to his front, its arms still wrapped tightly around his neck. "Keekee!" it screeched, its eyes becoming heart shaped.

"These eyes… somehow they feel familiar," Gray said, unnerved. The macaque smacked its lips and began running its fingers through Gray's hair, grooming him.

"It's fallen for Gray," Happy whispered to Natsu in an aside. Both of them shook with laughter, doubling over when Gray began trying to wrestle the macaque away from him.

"Huh? Below?" Erza looked down at the water. An ominous shadow was stirring under the surface. A crocodile burst from the waters, jaws snapping at her. "Requip!"

"Not another animal!" Lucy wailed, "At this rate we're never going to find the Guardian Spirit!"

"Keekee?" The monkey turned towards Lucy, almost seeming to understand what she was saying. It chirped loudly and turned back to Gray, tightening its hold on his neck before swooping in for a kiss. Gray dodged out of range in the nick of time. "Not this time!" he yelled. He used his magic to freeze the monkey's arms, before slipping out of the loop they had created around his neck. Gritting his teeth, he swung hard, flinging the monkey as far away from him as possible.

"Keekee! Kee!" the monkey protested angrily, before turning away from the group and presenting its hindquarters to Gray. It smacked its lips a few more times, the expression on its face almost lascivious. 'Thwack!' It spanked itself hard before waggling its reddened buttocks at Gray. Satisfied, it blew him a kiss before scampering away.

Natsu, Lucy and Happy collapsed with laughter as Gray stood there frozen, his face white with horror. "Wh-what the hell was that?"

The air around Erza glowed as she stowed her swords. Her left leg was perched high on a small mountain of dazed crocodiles, piled upside down, one on top of the other. "That, Gray," she said solemnly, "is a present of love."


Dragonflies fluttered around the clearing on translucent orange wings, their quiet buzzing a contrast to the shrill chirping of crickets that rose from the night-time beyond the reach of the campfire.

A figure watched from the shadows, taking in the forms of the humans as they lay prone under their blankets. A low hum rumbled through its chest.

With a softness that belied its powerful limbs, it padded slowly across the grass, picking its way through the sleeping forms. Its curious pink nose found its way to scaly dragon hide, taking in the scent of something once known but long since forgotten.

Natsu's eyes opened. "Who are you?"

Its whiskers twitched as the others rose behind it. Not asleep, but expectant. Their blankets hiding bodies that were dressed for battle.

With a sniff it straightened. "I heard you were looking for me." It inclined its head and from the trees came a familiar high-pitched squawk. It made Gray's blood run cold.

"Don't worry," the Tiger reassured him, "we had a little chat about consent. It won't try to molest you again." The Tiger smiled at them all, revealing a mouth full of sharply pointed teeth. The group tensed and Erza found herself reaching for her sword.

Suddenly, the Guardian guffawed. "You should see your faces!" it said, shoulders shaking with laughter. "You look so serious! Relax, I'm not going to fight you. That would be so cliché."

Charle gave a brief sideward glance. "More like not fighting us is the cliché."

"You want the Key? Your Task is simple," the Tiger spread its arms wide, "Make me a celebrity!"


"Huh?" Lucy and Happy chorused, "Make you a celebrity?"

"Yoss! That sounds simple enough. Let's get started." Erza said.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Gray interrupted, "Doesn't one normally need a talent to become a celebrity?"

"That's right!" Happy tapped his paw with his fist.

"So Furry-chan, what's your talent?" Natsu asked.

"Don't go around giving people random nicknames!" Lucy scolded. Natsu turned to look at her and she immediately turned away, blushing furiously.

The Tiger twirled around and struck a dramatic pose. "I- to be honest, I hadn't thought beyond the adoration of my fans," she admitted sheepishly.

The group sweatdropped. Erza clapped her hands together. "We can do a play! Tour the continent!"

Gray coughed discreetly, "Maybe something more short-term. I know it's the 100 Years Quest, but that doesn't mean we need to take a hundred years to achieve it."

"I can't act, but I can sing a bit," the Tiger said. Erza looked crestfallen.

"Wasn't Nakku-san from Fairy Nail a singer?" Wendy wondered, "Maybe we can ask Fairy Nail for help!"

"Fairy Nail only accepts the top talent," Charle sniffed. "If you make it into the guild, you're guaranteed to become a celebrity."

"That decides it then." Erza clapped her hands. "Tomorrow we head to Fairy Nail!"

"It should probably practice a bit if it's going to successfully audition," Natsu said.

"Excuse me, did you just call me 'it?'" The Tiger raised a cool eyebrow. "I'm obviously a she." It smoothed its paws down its luxurious coat before striking a sultry pose. "Wait, have you been calling my comrades 'it?'"

The Fairy Tail wizards exchanged embarrassed looks. "We- uh, we just kinda assumed," offered Lucy.

The Tiger sighed. "Don't assume, just ask. It's far more respectful to just ask."

Natsu nodded. "OK. She should probably practice a bit if she's going to successfully audition."

"Yeah, and she'll need some clothes as well," Gray added.

"And a song! She needs a great song! I wonder if she plays any instruments."

A stressmark appeared on the Tiger's head. "It's also more respectful to not talk about a person like they're not standing right there!" She delivered punches to both their heads.

"She's stealing your character, Erza," Happy remarked.

Erza fell to her knees, an aura of depression surrounding her. "There, there, Erza-san, cheer up." Wendy patted her shoulder.

Lucy and Charle exchanged weary looks. "This is going to be a disaster."


The rain was sheeting down. There was no escaping it. The short moments it had taken for Gray to Make an umbrella were enough to leave them soaked. Fat lot of help the umbrella was anyway, the wind was blowing the rain everywhere. The only direction in which it did not seem to be coming was from the ground.

"Hurry, there's a cave up through the trees a little way off from here," the Guardian said, springing through the forest surefootedly.

They had been training with the Guardian for over a week, working on her singing, dancing and overall presentation. It had been brutal, especially when Erza had revealed that she had taken some guitar lessons from Gajeel and then insisted on serenading them with a rendition of 'Best Friend.' Gray had thought the Guardian was going to give them the Key on the spot, just to end the torture. 'Still,' thought Gray as he sidestepped a torrent dripping from the branch overhead, 'at least the bunny costume was cute.'

Charle had taken command of the operation, issuing orders like a terrifying military sergeant. Even Erza had complied readily after Charle revealed she had used her clairvoyance to see the most efficient path forward. Gray suspected she was lying, but did not voice his doubts. After all, without her autocratic approach, he was sure the 'training' would have devolved into the usual tomfoolery. That, and there had been nothing much for him to do, except watch and laugh at the others.

"Keekee," chittered the small form clinging to his front.

Ah yes, watch, laugh and be groomed by his new friend. The monkey had returned on the second day, contrite, and Gray, being the secret softie that he was, had accepted her apology. The two had developed an easy friendship. The monkey, cleaning microscopic dirt from Gray's hair and Gray, trying not to be openly disgusted when she ate it.

"Met's love, met's love forever," hummed Happy as he drifted past. That damn song was too catchy. He could practically sing it in his sleep now, the number of times he had heard it this week. Charle had forced Wendy to give the Tiger lessons on stage presence. So far it seemed to involve wagging one's finger at the audience and winking. Gray was not sure if the scary-looking Guardian Tiger could actually pull off kawaii, but it was fun to watch. Especially because every time Wendy sang, Natsu burst into tears and started muttering about 'setting her back on the right path.'

The mouth of the cave was screened by a cascade of water, a result of the ongoing downpour. A glance at the sky revealed no hope of it letting up anytime soon. The rain itself had been warm, but now that they were indoors, the chill was setting into their bones. Lucy gave an ominous sneeze and when Happy and Charle followed suit, Wendy thought it best to pre-empt a cold with a hot soup. She asked Natsu to make up a fire and requested the Tiger's assistance in foraging. She hoped her superior knowledge of the terrain would help.

"What can I do, Wendy?" Erza asked.

"Oh no, Erza-san, your bandage is soaked! I should change it before I go," Wendy replied. Dirt caked the gauze on Erza's eye.

"Don't worry about it Wendy, I've got it," Gray said. Lucy and the others were beginning to develop a fever. Wendy could have healed them with her magic, but she was tired after a day of performing and Gray thought it best for her to not strain herself.

She gave him a grateful nod and set off. "Come on," Gray said to Erza, leading her over to the fire. She perched on a rolled up sleeping bag. His wet trousers squelched as he knelt before her. "This would be easier if we had a change of clothes, don't you think?"

"You're the ones who insisted I leave my luggage in the car. I had a clothes rack in it," Erza grumbled. She was getting over her reluctance to show the others her injury, but changing her bandage was an unpleasant task. It had grossed her out the one time she had seen Wendy do it in the mirror. She did not want to see that kind of revulsion on Gray's face.

"Oi Natsu, could I have some boiling rags please?" Gray called.

Natsu pulled some bandages from Wendy's bag and dumped them in a bowl of water. A muttered spell later, the steaming bowl was placed next to Gray. Natsu immediately returned to Lucy's side.

"That was… abrupt."

"He's worried about Lucy," Erza said.

"Is it just me or have those two been acting weird all week?" Gray asked.

"If you mean the fact that they can't seem to maintain eye contact for longer than two seconds, then no, it's not just you." They exchanged knowing glances and smirked.

Gray carefully unwrapped the sodden bandage around Erza's eye. She stiffened as the last layer of fabric came off. Gray used his magic to conjure up a pair of ice-tweezers to remove the dressing from inside her eye socket.

"It think it's healed enough now. You can probably go back to the eyepatch." He added the slip of cloth to the bowl to disinfect it.

Erza gave him a searching look.

"What?" he asked, feeling oddly defensive.

"You're not repulsed?" There was a gaping hole in her face after all.

He chuckled as he cleaned the dried pus off her eyelids with a warm, damp rag. "Trust me Erza, after the way it looked last week, this is almost a welcome sight."

She gave him a wan smile. His gentleness was throwing her off. She was used to taking care of people, not being cared for. "You forgot to put the bandages to dry."

"Ah, but I have special technique for that. Watch this." He plucked a boiled bandage with his tweezers. Ice formed over the fabric. He flicked the tweezers smartly, as though they were a magic wand. The ice sublimated, leaving behind a perfectly dry bandage. "I call it freeze drying," he said proudly.

"And yet you walk around in wet clothes."

Gray face faulted. "Right, yes," he coughed, regaining his composure. He dried off his pants and then touched a finger to Erza's skirt. "May I?"

"Sure."

Gray looked up to see laughter dancing in her good eye. He blushed and looked away. He picked another bandage from the water and dried it, carefully rolling it up without touching it with his bare hands. Erza started as the cold wad of dressing entered her eye socket.

"Too cold?" he asked.

"No. Just surprising. And weird. One doesn't really expect to experience tangible sensations from their eye socket."

"Hmm, maybe when we're back in Tekka we can see about fitting you with an artificial eye."

"It's fine, we've wasted too much time on this injury," she said the word as though it left a bad taste in her mouth, "as it is. We need to stay on mission."

"No point staying on mission if your depth perception is not at 100%."

Erza requipped a sword a hair's breadth away from Gray's neck. "I think it's getting there."

Gray suppressed a smile and pushed the sword away with a finger. It shimmered as it disappeared. He settled back on his haunches. "Fine then, forget the mission. Do it for your happiness."

Surprise flashed across her face. She looked away, choosing to focus on the shifting patterns of the campfire.

Gray eyed her critically, reading her answer in the set of her jaw before she could voice it. "Your happiness is always important, Erza."

She still could not bring herself to meet his eyes. She knew deep down that he was right. She wanted to find a replacement. Wanted to stop wearing that wretched eyepatch. And yet, she wanted to continue punishing herself. Torturing herself over something that was not her fault. Was no one's fault. She was so tired of her feelings, of reiterating the same things over and over. She was stuck in an emotional rut and did not know how to get out of it. The last time she had felt this way she had fled the continent. But the feelings had chased her over the water to Giltena. How could one avoid a trigger when the trigger was on their own face?

She took a deep shuddering breath. "My memories are stuck in a loop," she confided. "The Tower of Heaven. The beatings. How I lost my eye. How I lost Jellal." Her voice cracked. "Every time I think we can leave the past behind and move forward… it's like a bad Jewel. It keeps turning up." The words were coming in a rush now. It was such a relief to finally voice the thoughts that had been plaguing her for the past year. "First the Tower, then the Magic Council took him away, then there was Kagura's desire for revenge, I just- I thought with Zeref gone it would finally be OK. We would be free. But his face when he saw me with… this." Her hand touched the edge of her eye. "It seems even with the spectre of Zeref no longer looming over us, we are still being haunted."

Gray cleared his throat. He was discomfited by her sudden admission. He opened his mouth, hoping that if he did so the words would materialise and spontaneously speak themselves. But no words came. He shut his mouth, feeling foolish.

Erza was still looking at the fire. He felt that maybe the confession had been more for her benefit than his. As though by speaking the words that had been rattling around in her brain, she could rid her mind of confusion; solidify the wisps of emotion she had not dared to look in the face. A resolute expression fixed itself on her face. "You can move on, but you cannot make the world move with you," she said with some finality.

Gray leaned across her line of vision to pick up the eyepatch. Erza started, as though she had all but forgotten his presence. He smoothed the wrinkled fabric between his hands, freeze drying it in the process.

"You were wearing one of these the first time we met. When you first walked into Fairy Tail. You looked ferocious. Like an angry pirate. It drove me nuts. You were so mysterious." He looked up at her and smiled. "You were wearing one all those times you beat me up. When we first became friends. When I see this," he gently looped the fabric across her head and knotted it in place, "when I see this, it reminds me of that time, and I am filled with-"

"Nostalgia?"

He shook his head. "Hope." He adjusted the angle of the eyepatch. "Because if that tattered, dirty scrap of cloth could make a future this beautiful, then how beautiful will the next one be?"

"That's very wise of you Gray."

Gray folded his hands behind his head and leaned back against the rolled up sleeping bag. "Of course, what else do you expect from the Great Gray?" he said pompously.

A sticky cloth flew across the cave and landed on his face. "What the hell Natsu! Don't throw Lucy's used handkerchief on my face!"

"You saying Lucy has germs, you clammy rat?"

"Of course she does, you slithering bastard! Not everyone has weird dragon immunity like you!"

Lucy looked towards Erza, hoping she would put a stop to the brawl before it got out of hand. She stiffened in shock at what she saw. "Say Happy," she said, "is Erza… giggling?"


The ship creaked into the port at Elmina. Its arrival went unremarked by the denizens of the town; its cargo unremarkable. They might have had something to say if they had seen its sole passenger step onto the docks. He cut a striking figure, there amongst the crates and barrels, tall and broad shouldered. He radiated coiled up danger. The stench of raw fish permeated the air, but it rolled off him; his magical energy too great for him to be tainted.

The sea breeze lifted, ruffling hair above a face that was unused to smiling. He set his sights on the road leading out of the town and shouldered his bag. With a determined step, he set off; melting into the crowd of longshoremen as though he had never been there at all.


A/N 2: Oof, a late update! But there are two chapters instead. I had to rework my initial timeline of the story, that's why it took so long. That and my rambling brain took off on some new plot threads! We have some angst coming next chapter, so sit tight!