Chapter 80:

"You know, it's odd, standing here again," Lucy broke the awkward silence that enveloped the group as the large group stood at the entrance of the guild. They left the dragons in the morning and Natsu brought them all to the outskirts of Magnolia. "I half expected we wouldn't return when we left, even if we did survive," Gray agreed, eyes darting to the only dragon in their group that has been glaring at anything that moved since morning. When Jellal gave them all a helpless shrug and explained what happened the night before it was more than clear why.

Erza gave him an odd look, her head turning to the doors with a frown on her face, "I always planned to come back… but I see what you mean. It seems like we've been gone longer than we actually were"

"Well no use standing around here all day, let's go inside and scare the living daylights out of everyone," Natsu muttered and ignored the gaping faces behind him. The dragon looked at the guild, a place that has been his… home might be pushing it but it definitely was something. Magnolia's townsfolk were still thankfully ignorant of his return thanks to his black coat but the large group still attracted quite a bit of attention so it was only a matter of time before someone brought word to Makarov, unless they came first. They haven't seen anyone from Fairy Tail, at least. He wondered how will they explain his return without revealing all that happened but it wasn't something they had to think about just yet. No one in Fairy Tail will rat them to the council. Not if they don't have a death wish. His hand went to the handle and even though the sounds from the other side were far more subdued than he remembered it was still loud. He thought of Wendy and he wasn't sure how he felt about her. Part of him hoped she was not inside because it meant he will have more time to think about what to say. And it would give him enough time to went on Makarov so hopefully, it would also mean he would be more careful with what he said to Wendy.

Though he wasn't sure if he even wanted to be.

He pushed the doors open, the cool air from the inside a stark contrast against the hot day outside and his eyes immediately fell on the Makarov sitting on the counter and Wendy next to him. A slight, grim smile lifted his lips, 'No such luck'

Both were looking at the group, disbelief sliding off of their places as their eyes fell on him and morphing into an odd grimace of horror and joy that should not be quite possible on the same face yet both were clear to see. The rest of the guild was staring at them, equally stunned but when their eyes settled on Natsu it was the look of wariness and denial. So, they didn't know where the rest went? Well… maybe they guessed if the wide eyes around the room slowly filled with realization. They all filled behind him into the guild and Laxus closed the doors with a bang, the other mages jumping in their seats and a sadistic part of Natsu's brain couldn't help but smirk as he reached for his hood and pulled it down, revealing his pale recognizable features. "Hello"

He expected a scream, maybe a spell, even another ten minutes of awkward silence. He did not expect the cheer that rang through the place, loud enough to leave his ears ringing. He did not expect the tears on Wendy's face and the obvious joy as she laughed but she didn't move to run towards him as part of him expected – hoped? – and Makarov was crying as well, the old man shaking his head in fond disbelief. It was surreal to him, as Elfman grabbed him by his arm and hauled him up with surprising speed. The dragon choked on his own spittle in shock as he found himself on the giant man's shoulders. "FAIRY TAIL'S DRAGON IS BACK! LIKE A MAN!"

Natsu blinked, knowing it was Elfman's catchphrase but he was still feeling entirely removed from the situation and the sentence carried far more weight than it should. It was surreal and even as he drew his elbow in Elfman's head to get off of the larger man's shoulder he couldn't help but laugh at it all, a sound that seemed to only serve as a fuel to the others' cheer.

It seemed like hours before he found his way to the bar where two mages sat without moving since he entered. He wasn't even sure why he came to them, part of him wanted to ignore they existed, another part wanted to scream and the third wanted to see them bend over backward in a pitiful apology that would never be enough and that third part seemed awfully easy to listen despite the reasonable part of his brain telling him it was not right. The reasonable part that said they had a reason to stay silent after what Acnologia did to them despite how misguided they were. And in the end, he wasn't even sure what it was that made him feel… this, whatever this is for it was not anger, not exactly. Was it the fact they haven't trusted him enough or the information alone? Both?

He didn't know.

What he did know was that, despite all his emotions towards the girl that was his sister in everything but a name he right now felt –

"I'm sorry," Wendy blurted out breaking his train of thoughts and he realized he had been standing next to her, staring at her growing unease with a blank expression. But she knew him better than anyone but maybe Mira and Ultear and she likely knew there was a lot more going on in his head than just –

"I know you're angry,"

Or not.

"and I don't blame you for it, I mean I am furious at myself and I can only imagine what you must feel like and I know I screwed up and it will never ever be enough but I am sorry"

Makarov stayed silent and part of Natsu resented that. But the old man likely just waited his turn.

"I agree," he said at least and Wendy fell silent, fearful eyes on his face, searching for even a hint of what was going through his mind and it struck Natsu how much the two drifted apart. No one was quite able to tell what was going through his head since he was little but Wendy was one of the few that somehow always managed to guess the vague direction. It further served to make him more certain into what he was saying.

"It will never be enough. But you got it all wrong… I'm not angry. Not exactly. I'm just… disappointed"

And by the way her face showed how crushed she felt from that sentence Natsu knew she would prefer if he had raged and screamed. But that was not his way. She probably knew it but she had hoped. He looked at Makarov, the old man straightened in his seat. "The same goes for you. Though I guess there is… resentment as well. That being said, apparently, Fairy Tail symbol does not stay after one dies so my shoulder's empty," he tapped the shoulder, still covered by a black sleeve.

Makarov jumped to his feet, eyes wet, "You… You want to rejoin?"

"Just because you did what you did does not mean the whole Fairy Tail is responsible. And this guild was here even when you were not. I will stay the part of this guild as long as there are people I care about in it," and if he looked at Wendy, well… it didn't mean anything.

"I…", the old man swallowed thickly, pulling out the stamp from behind the counter with shaking hands. He scolded his features and shock his head. "Right… I know it doesn't mean much but we are sorry, more than words can describe and well… It is good to have you back"

Natsu gave a half-smile that might've been a grimace as he shrugged off the black coat and revealed the shoulder.

"Black?"

"Black"


A month later Natsu was rethinking his decision to rejoin the guild. He did not do group missions. At least he didn't do them without a sufficient reason. And even now he was fairly certain he was somehow manipulated into going by Mirajane. Scratch that. Not fairly. He was certain.

"It's so nice here, very peaceful," Lucy said to no one in particular, walking with her hands behind her head. "We are miles away from the nearest city. If it weren't peaceful, I'd be worried," Arthur muttered, hands deep in his pockets. "Not sure if peaceful is the right word… awkward, maybe," Grey decided, eyes moving to the back of their group.

Natsu walked there with a coat that seemed to have become a standard piece on him but even with the hood up, he could see the murderous glare the dragon was sending their way. Wendy was at the front of the group, twisting her fingers and pretending to listen to Erza's one-sided conversation.

Lucy shrugged, "I'm honestly surprised he agreed to come in the end but Mira and Erza were right. For them to start talking again they need to actually be together. I mean, no one was particularly happy with Wendy and master but one would think a month was enough to move past that"

"Natsu can hold a grudge like nothing else," Arthur told her easily. "What really surprises me is that Carla's still here. I half expected her to just disappear one day," Happy said, a cheeky grin on his face before Carla glared at him.

"Natsu wouldn't do that," Carla huffed, her large eyes glancing back at the silent dragon who seemed to realize they were talking about him for the first time since they left the guild. The dragon looked up, eyes moving over the mages in front of him before he replied in a deadpan, "I'm just biding my time"

Carla blinked, a shiver going down to the tip of his tail. "He's joking… right?", she looked up hopefully at Arthur who gave her a noncommittal shrug. "I honestly don't know"

Carla sniffed, spreading her wings and flying ahead to place herself in Wendy's arms. The blue-haired girl smiled at the exchanged, a mock glare directed at Arthur, "I'm sure he wouldn't do that"

"I'm just saying," Arthur defended himself, hands raised in the universal sign of surrender. "If you can tell if he's joking then go ahead!"

Wendy blinked, looking back at the dragon whose face was still a deadpan expression of mild boredom. "…Right," Wendy muttered before turning to Carla, "Umm… Be careful?"

Carla rolled her eyes in response, "Not particularly helpful if I may say so"

"Do not worry, Carla! Natsu's obviously joking," Erza assured her, confident she was right.

Natsu sighed at the back of the group, eyes moving to the trees around them, "What happened to everyone just ignoring I existed and leaving me alone?"

"You became social," Arthur supplied and Natsu looked back at him, "I think it would be more accurate to say he was dragged to the 'polite society' by one of the girls," Gray muttered.

"I think it's a mix of good manners and the fact it was pointed out to me repeatedly by interested parties that maiming members of the guild was not a good way to make friends," Natsu retorted.

"Interested parties being Mira and Ultear?"

"… and Wendy," he said quietly watching the said girl that turned around to smile at him.

"I didn't think you cared about making friends?", Arthur asked and Natsu rolled his eyes. "I don't"

"Mhm," Erza didn't sound convinced. "Anyway, here we are so we might as well find out what this job is about!"

The small wooden cottage in the middle of nowhere was covered in lush green and it truly was a peaceful place. The member of Ten Wizard Saints that lived inside did not make Natsu feel nearly as tranquil as the place he lived in. In fact, the dragon entertained the thought of the pros and cons of strangling him with his bare hands. 'And that was not a joke, not a fucking joke!'

Riding on a tree to their current location was just another reason to consider the same pros and cons, Natsu decided as he fought back the rising bile; pale, grayish skin an interesting green hue.

"You okay?" Gray asked, laughing in his hand.

"Don't laugh, iceman, I just might strangle you"

Gray straightened; smile whipped from his face by the glare. "Right! Not laughing!"

The dragon straightened further, blinking as he looked around the village they found themselves in, "So this is the Sun Village"

End of chapter 80.

Another short chapter, I know. But in my defense, it came fairly quickly and to be honest I made a poor planning choice by not writing their return to the guild in the last chapter. And it's not like I could just ignore it. In any case, I hope you liked it. I promise the next chapter will be longer – might even be the whole Sun Village Arc, I'm still thinking if I should stretch it to two chapters but it will not be longer than that. If anyone's confused by who exactly is in the group it is the original cannon group plus Arthur. My apologies to anyone who wanted to see Mirajane and Ultear with them but I decided to go with this. A reviewer, Erasenpai946, pointed out that I barely made any mention of his reunion with Mira, Ultear and the kids. Truth to be told I suck at writing romance (if that wasn't obvious already) and I made that gap in time on the dragon island as a sort of way to avoid that, pretending it happened during that time skip. I am aware now I probably should've mentioned it but as I sometimes write a chapter with several days' long gaps between parts I completely forgot I did not write anything about it but just thought about it. A bad excuse, I know but that's how it is.

That being said I decided to make an omake of sorts to apologize for the lack of that and the fact this chapter is as short as it is. Be prepared for bad writing, smut, and more unfinished scenes. And in the off chance, you liked it thank Erasenpai946 for reminding me that despite how much I don't like writing these scenes they are from time to time necessary.


Omake:

The night drew surprisingly quickly and before anyone knew it they retreated back to their tents. The dragons were surprisingly quiet for creatures their size and inside the tent, Mirajane could pretend that they were alone.

Ultear sat with her legs crossed in nothing but her underwear, elbows on her knees as she watched the entrance into their tent. Mira pulled off her shirt, sweat and dirt clinging to her skin made her grimace but there was not much she could do about it without a bath. "When we get back home, I will sit in a hot bath for three hours," she muttered, pulling her knees up as she pulled off her pants and tossed them towards the doors of the tent just as they opened.

Natsu blinked, Mira's pants hanging from his head. Mira paused, eyes widening slightly in surprise before she grinned, and Ultear outright laughed. The dragon shook his head, pulling the pants off of his head and pulling himself completely into the tent. "You'll be all wrinkly if you stay that long in the water," he told her as he settled at the entrance, obviously not sure what to do.

"I don't care," Mira told him, a smirk stretching her lips as she moved towards the dragon who looked back at her, straightening his back. Ultear rolled her eyes. "Why are you standing there like a statue, get here!"

"I… You're not angry?"

Mira stopped, sitting back on her heels, "Angry? Why would we be angry? I'm annoyed it took you so long to get into the tent but that's hardly a reason enough to be angry"

"I was talking with Arthur and Annie and…", he shook his head, "Don't play ignorant. You know what I'm talking about"

Ultear raised her eyebrow, looking at Mira who shrugged, "We really don't"

Natsu shook his head before running one hand through his hair. It was shorter than it had been when he died, Mira noted and with the lack of length, it once again stuck it every direction. He looked younger this way, she thought. And right now, he also looked frustrated.

"I died"

Mira frowned, not really seeing what that had to do with them being angry at him but… no, it did make sense. Twisted kind of sense that could only ever occur to Natsu. She rolled her eyes, and reached out, sitting close enough to take a fistful of the black muffler Acnologia gave him today and she slammed her mouth against his.

There was nothing good about it, their teeth knocking together and Natsu's lips pursed in surprise. The dragon pulled back slightly, still close enough that she could feel his warm breath on her lips as he breathed out through his mouth. "Do I seem angry?"

He chuckled, shaking his head. "No… I guess not"

He reached behind her head, pulling lightly at her white locks as he pulled her head closer, this time opening his mouth and it was a lot better than the first time, Mira decided running her tongue across the sharp canines and smiling into the kiss. Natsu pulled back suddenly, blinking at Ultear that had her hands snaked around his shoulders, doing her best to take off his clothes without disturbing the kiss. She looked at him through her lashes as he turned around, a sly grin on her face. "I'm not angry either, Natsu, give me a minute and I'll prove it"

A smirk stretched his lips and Mira pulled him back, running her fingers along his jaw, feeling the beginnings of a stubble forming and the dragon bit her lower lip playfully before he moved away, helping Ultear in her mission to relieve him of clothes. His boots came flying off easily enough and the black jacket with silver trimming crumpled to the floor. Ultear grinned at him, eyes running over the strong back covered in scars. She traced two on his shoulder blades, jagged and ugly and looking as if something cut them open repeatedly and not always along the same line. Having wings was not as glamorous as one might think, she thought to herself, placing a kiss on one of the scars and smiling at the way Natsu shivered before the dragon turned around, a position slightly awkward for him considering Mira all but climbed into his lap and the dragon leaned on one hand for better support, pulling her closer with the other as he kissed her as well and she could feel the grin forming on her face before she pulled the hand he used as a support and without much hesitation the dragon plopped onto his back, his breath leaving him in a huff of laughter that made both girls grin.

"You still think we're angry for something you should not feel guilty over at all?"

Natsu did his best to shrug in his current position, propping himself on his elbows a moment later. "Ah, if this is how you plan to convince me I just might have to say I'm not sure"

Ultear raised her eyebrow again, eyeing him for a moment before she pushed him back down. "Since when are you such a smartass?"

"Since always," Mira informed her dryly and a smug smirk spread over Natsu's face, his red eyes laughing at the two.


Hope you liked it! This is quite a milestone of a chapter though - I mean chapter 80. I sometimes wonder what was going through my head when I decided to write this story. Not that I regret it.

Please review and thanks for reading :)