Author's Note: And though it's technically a day late, happy birthday to me! :D *Does a happy dance* I hope you enjoy this epilogue to 'Surprise Return'! Also, this chapter contains a lot of cursing, because Gajeel has a dirty mouth, so you've been warned!

Well that mission had been a complete waste of his time, Gajeel Redfox thought with a scowl on his face.

The Iron Dragonslayer had spent over half the time he'd been gone just trying to find the group of thieves he was supposed to have been beating up and dragging back to the town they'd been terrorizing for punishment (or trial, he wasn't really sure which and frankly didn't care one way or the other), only for the wimps to give up and start begging for mercy the minute he stepped through the door to their hideout! He was pretty sure one guy in the back had even pissed himself.

To make matters worse, while he'd been rounding up the thieves still in hiding, one of them had broken some priceless heirloom they'd taken from the client's house (by virtue of slamming into it headfirst after being punched by an irate Dragonslayer) along with some other junk, so his promised reward of 650,000 Jewels had been cut down to a measly 100,000 to pay for the items that had been damaged in the course of capturing the thieves. So yeah, he was pissed off that all that work had been for practically nothing, plus he'd had to shell out the money for his train ticket back to Magnolia out of said reward money.

His fearsome scowl combined with his many piercings ensured that he wasn't disturbed on the ride home (and wasn't that a word he was still getting used to using, home) and he could really only hope that there were still some high-paying jobs on the request board when he got back to the guild: his rent was due in a week, and iron, even scrap iron, didn't come cheap. Sure he'd snatched a few daggers from the group of wimps, but that was barely even a snack for the Iron Dragonslayer.

Leaning his head back against his seat and idly listening to the train rumble along the tracks - and trying not to get hungry in the process since trains were really nothing more than giant metal tubes on metal rails - Gajeel wondered if he'd have to break down and ask Juvia to go on a mission with him so he could take the tougher jobs without his guildmates looking all worried. He seriously didn't want to deal with all the drama that resulted whenever he took what the other members of Fairy Tail viewed as a difficult job, though he couldn't really say that he minded that the other members of his guild worried about him. It was actually kind of nice to be worried for instead of about once in awhile, he'd admitted to himself once during one of Fairy Tail's daily brawls (and weren't those just another perk of his guild?).

All in all, a highly unproductive three days, and he half-hoped that the devilish barmaid Mirajane would be sporting enough to either give him a free beer or maybe some of the more badly dented mugs and bent silverware. He was definitely getting hungry, and if he paid his rent with the reward money he wouldn't be able to afford any iron until his next job...unless he could corner (oops, wrong word), er, talk Levy into writing him up some iron. He had options, which he was definitely glad about, he thought as he glared at the pocket containing his job's meager pay as though it had grievously insulted him.

It was when the train was pulling into the station that the first whiff of something off came to him, and his eyes narrowed as he sniffed, detecting the strong scent of iron in the air. It wasn't strange for him to smell iron in Magnolia, but the scent was a lot stronger than it should have been. He tensed warily as he picked up his travel bag and disembarked the train with the only passengers, only to freeze when he stepped out of the station. He recognized the source of the iron scent, he thought with numb shock as he took another breath, but that just wasn't possible! The huge iron bastard had vanished years ago!

Gajeel was practically sprinting as he ran towards where the iron smell, mixed with the scent of copper and power, was coming from, and it was only after he turned down a very familiar street that he realized he was also heading the Fairy Tail guildhall. It couldn't be, it just couldn't! There was no fucking way that that iron-scaled bastard would show up at his fucking guild! He thought wildly.

As it turned out he was a bit wrong about that, because as he approached the guildhall, he could clearly see - and smell - the giant mountain of iron behind it, not to mention see the glint of a razor-edged wing or catch a glimpse of a powerful tail. He was dumbstruck, and he slowed to a stop as he gaped, because really, what were the fucking odds that his foster father would show up behind his own guildhall? Apparently pretty good, although he had a suspicion about illusion magic...a quick pinch of his arm later and he could put his suspicions of illusion to rest, not just because the pinch hurt, but because even if someone had figured out what his old man had looked like, there was no way they could know what the Iron Dragon smelled like.

He must have stood there for ten - fifteen minutes before he heard a familiar grating laugh, followed by the harsh voice of his foster father, unforgettable even after all those years, "You just going to stand there all day, brat? Aren't you happy to see your old man?"

And suddenly it was like the decades since Metalicana had left had never happened, and Gajeel's temper snapped as he stormed around towards the back of the guild, yelling as he did so. "What the hell, you old bastard?! Why the fuck are you here!?" And then he was standing in front of his old man, staring up at the huge dragon of metal and feeling like he was about to either cry or start cursing. Maybe both, he wasn't sure, but what he did know was that Metalicana looked the same as he had in his memories, a gargantuan dragon with iron scales, razor-edged wings, and bright eyes set in a broad head. Not to mention claws and fangs that were like spears and swords, respectively.

"What, a father can't stop in to see his brat now? How's that for gratitude, you ungrateful nestling," Metalicana retorted, lowering his head so he was practically nose-to-face with his adopted son, letting out another metal-on-metal laugh as he grinned.

Gajeel finally figured out what he was going to do: he starting cursing out his old man, along with maybe crying a little, not that anyone would actually dare to say anything even if someone had been there to see him. He was actually a little disappointed that no one besides his old man was there to hear his tirade, since he was proud of the fact that he didn't repeat himself once in the twelve minutes he spent shouting and chewing out the Iron Dragon. Once he wound down, however, he gave in and lunged forward, honestly surprising Metalicana by hugging his adopted father's nose, sniffing and purring in happiness.

The Iron Dragonslayer would forever deny that he did that if asked though, not to mention beating the shit out of whoever did ask. He pulled back after a few minutes, dragging a forearm across his face and removing the evidence of any tears he might have shed. "So what gives, old man? Why'd you come back after all this time? And why are you sitting behind the guildhall?" Gajeel asked, voice a little hoarse from yelling at the metal dragon for so long.

"Ah, I'll tell you about it later. For now, go inside your guild and tell your Guildmaster that he can stop crying - I'm not planning on destroying the building now that you're back, brat."

And if Metalicana's voice was a little fond, well Gajeel was still too shocked to notice and there was no one else there to say anything anyway.

Author's Note: And to those wondering, the reason there were no other Fairy Tail members outside was because Levy was keeping them inside to give Gajeel a one-on-one reunion with Metalicana. ;) Do not underestimate the bookworm, Bixlow and Cana are still huddled underneath a table and cowering. LOL! Please read and review and tell me what you think! Constructive criticism is welcome!