(Hey guys, make sure to read the entire Author's Note at the end. PLEASE. IT'S IMPORTANT)

~Epilogue: 18 Years Later~

It was a beautiful day out in Magnolia. The sun was shining, a warm breeze drifted steadily through the town, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky in sight.

It was like the day was straight out of a scene from a fairytale.

In the marketplace, sometime in the late morning, as merchants sold their wares and customers clamored to buy them, one of the shoppers noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She turned, her curiosity getting the best of her, and smiled at what she saw.

"Hey, Ban," she muttered to the man behind the stall, getting his attention. When he looked towards her, she motioned her head down the street. "Look, it's the Fernandes Twins."

The merchant, Ban, looked over as well and grinned. "So I see."

The two mentioned teens walked down the path, their heads turning as they looked around curiously at all the items that were for sale.

One of the teens was a fifteen-year-old girl, her long blonde hair streaked with blue moving slightly in the wind. She looked to the other teen walking next to her. "Mom and dad are coming home today," she said. "Should we get them something?"

The other teen, a boy who was also fifteen-years-old with blonde hair but without the streaks of blue, stopped looking around to glance at her. "You mean like a welcome back gift?" he asked.

She nodded her head. "Hai, exactly like that!"

The boy sighed. "I don't know, Layla. We're already pretty late, and we promised Ojisan and Obasan that we'd be at the guildhall by noon."

The girl, Layla, deflated as she realized her brother was right. "Do you think they'll make an exception just this once, Simon?"

Her twin brother, Simon, shook his head with a slight smile. "I doubt it. Mom and dad made sure that since we were going to be home alone for a week that they kept an eye on us while they were away. They wouldn't like us being late; you know how paranoid they can be."

Layla winced slightly, knowing what Simon was talking about. She loved her Aunt and Uncle to pieces, but they can be extremely overprotective.

She shook off the memory. "Why must you torment me with traumatizing memories?" she complained, only half-serious.

Simon wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "It's my job as your older brother."

"Only by three minutes!"

"Still counts, imouto."

Layla pouted but didn't move from under his arm as they left the bazaar and began to approach the guildhall. "Do you think we'll be in trouble?"

"We're not that late," Simon said easily. "Besides, I think that they'll be a little lenient today."

Layla turned her head as much as she could while still under his arm and gave him an incredulous look. "What makes you say that?"

"Because Ojisan and Obasan miss mom and dad almost as much as we do," he answered. "They'll be distracted a little bit."

Layla smiled. "If you say so."

Finally, after walking for ten more minutes, they arrived at the guildhall.

After they pushed opened the doors, their ears were assaulted with the clamor that is known as Fairy Tail.

As they stepped inside, Layla began looking around for her best friend. "Hey, Simon, do you see Lyric?"

Simon, too, began looking around, since he was a couple of inches taller than his sister and could see over the many people mingling in the guild. "Ah," he said suddenly. "I see her."

"Where?"

"Over there," he said, pointing. "She's sitting with Ojisan and Obasan."

Layla wilted. "Aw man," she whined. "I hope you're right about them not reaming us for being late."

Simon rolled his eyes and made his way towards them with Layla following behind him, grumbling all the while.

The table they were walking towards had three people sitting at it; a man, a woman, and a teen girl.

The man was tall, evident even as he was sitting down. He had black spiky hair and indigo eyes in his pale face, along with a scar over his eye that was hidden by his hair. There were crinkles in the corners of his eyes that indicated how much he smiled and a slight smirk was hiding in the corners of his mouth.

This man was Gray Fullbuster, Ice-Make Mage of Fairy Tail.

The woman sitting across from him wasn't as tall as he was. She had short pink hair that stopped just at her shoulders in a stylish bob. Her wine-red eyes glowed with mischief as she leaned forward to say something to him, her mouth tilted up in a grin.

This woman was Gray's wife, Meredy Fullbuster, Fairy Tail's very own Maguilty Mage.

And finally, sitting next to them was their daughter, Lyric Fullbuster, and Layla's best friend. Lyric had short black hair that fell to her shoulders. Like Layla, she had streaks of color in her hair, although hers was pink instead of blue. She inherited her father's eyes but had her mother's cheerful and playful attitude. Despite being a whole year younger than them, only fourteen years old, she and Layla were really close.

Lyric was the first one at the table to notice the twins' approach and waved. "Layla!" she shouted happily. "And Simon, too! Hey guys!"

Her parents stopped conversing when she had first shouted and turned to face the incoming teens. Gray smirked and stood up to meet them. "Well, look who decided to finally show up," he said teasingly, his arms open to accept the hug from Simon

"Sorry, Ojisan," Simon muttered as he hugged his honorary uncle. "Layla took forever to get ready. I'm pretty sure she changed her outfit, like, three times."

"I did not!" Layla protested as she stepped forward to hug Gray after Simon stepped back. "I just couldn't find my necklace!"

"You made us late just because you couldn't find a necklace?"

"Hey, it's a special necklace!" Layla insisted as she went to sit beside Lyric, who gave her a one-armed hug. She fingered the small blue jewel hanging around her neck as Gray sat back down. "It's the one you guys got me for my birthday last year."

"Aww," Meredy smiled. "I'm glad you like it. When Lyric-chan saw it, she insisted that we had to get it for you."

"Well, duh!" Lyric squealed. "I know the kinds of things my best friend likes!"

"Ugh," Simon muttered under his breath. "I don't get women's obsession with jewelry."

"What was that, Simon-kun?" Meredy asked him, her smile becoming a tad bit wicked.

"N-Nothing, Obasan!"

Gray let out a laugh as he leaned back in his chair. "Are you guys excited?" he asked them.

Simon perked up. "Totally! Mom and Dad have never been gone this long before."

"I know right?" Layla nodded. "The house feels so weird with just me and Simon there."

Lyric sighed. "Well, I think it's cool that you don't have any parental supervision." She then grinned. "Think of all the things you could do!"

Gray cleared his throat and Lyric flicked a glance at him, her eyes wide. "And what, young lady, are some of the things she could do?"

Layla hid her grin behind her hand.

I guess she forgot that she was sitting at a table with Ojisan and Obasan.

Meredy, bless her heart, interrupted before Lyric could speak. "Gray, let's go check with Mira about Lucy and Jellal's mission. I want to see when they'll be back."

Gray gave her a Look, knowing full well that she was just trying to distract him, but he allowed it. He did want to know when his little sister was coming back, after all. "Alright, fine."

Lyric grinned as her mom and dad got up and made their way towards the bar. However, her grin vanished when Gray called over his shoulder, "This isn't over, Lyric Fullbuster!"

Meredy glanced behind her and mouthed 'Good luck.'

"I'm going to need it," the black-and-pink-haired teen whimpered in despair.

Layla finally gave in the urge to giggle. "No worries, girl," she laughed. "You can come over to our house once mom and dad get home."

"Whoa," Simon interrupted. "I didn't say that was okay."

"Well, it's not up to you, brother dear," Layla responded sweetly.

Simon groaned but otherwise didn't respond.

That'll make three women in the house. Dad and I will be outnumbered.

"Hey, Simon, Layla. Glad you guys finally got here."

The two mentioned teens, along with Lyric, looked up at the new voice.

"Shiro!" Simon exclaimed. "Hey man, how's it going?"

The teen standing next to their table smirked at them. He was sixteen years old and was slightly taller than both of the Fernandes Twins. He had amber eyes, black spikey hair that was pulled into a low ponytail, and a silver piercing in his nose.

He was Shiro Redfox, Simon's best friend–

"Oh, h-hi, Sh-Shiro," Layla stuttered, a blush on her face. "Nice to see you!"

–and Layla's crush.

Simon forced himself not to roll his eyes.

Geez, of all people, why did my little sister have a crush on my best friend? Crap like that was only supposed to happen in books and movies.

"Nice to see you too, Lay," Shiro responded as he sat down in the seat next to her. "Today's the day your parents get back, right?"

"H-Hai!"

"Cool," he said, his smirk widening. "Maybe we'll finally get to go on a mission when they're back."

Layla nodded frantically. "I know, right?" she asked, her blush fading slightly after more prolonged exposure to her crush. "Our team hasn't taken any mission the whole time they were gone."

Their team, consisting of Layla, Simon, Lyric, and Shiro, was nicknamed 'Team Nemesis' based on the fact that they've earned the ire of the people they've put away.

Layla had inherited her father's Heavenly Body Magic and was positively ruthless when she used it, despite her cheerful demeanor. Her father was so happy that she displayed an aptitude for his brand of magic that he wouldn't stop beaming for almost a week when he first found out.

While Layla inherited her father's magic, Simon decided to follow his mother's footsteps in using Celestial Spirit Magic. When he had enough magic power, his mom gave him three of her Golden Celestial Keys; Cancer, Aries, and Taurus, as well as one of her Silver Keys; Aquila, The Eagle. And when he managed to expand his magic core, he was allowed to wear 'Star Suits' (because he refused to call them 'Star Dresses,' especially considering they shaped according to his gender and body shape). Whenever he donned one, he dominated the battlefield.

Lyric had shown signs of being an Ice Mage when she was young (she had thrown a tantrum because her mom wasn't able to be home from a mission when she said she'd be, and frost had grown over their windows.) Her father had been happy that he could pass on the teachings of his former teacher to his daughter.

And finally, Shiro inherited his father's Iron Dragon Slayer Magic. He actually teethed on slabs of iron when he was little (a fact that always had Simon roaring with laughter and Shiro's mother, Levy, facepalm with a groan whenever the subject was brought up.)

"What time do they get back?" Shiro asked as he leaned back in his seat.

"We're not sure," Layla admitted, biting her lip. "I hope it's before this evening, though."

"Tell me about it," Simon agreed. "Being the responsible one all the time is exhausting."

"Hey!" Layla exclaimed, her tone offended.

"I hear you, man," Shiro sighed. "It's a workout."

Layla glared at both of them as they fist-bumped, smirks on their faces.

Lyric chuckled. "Speaking of being the responsible one..." she said as her eyes drifted behind Shiro's head.

"Huh?" Shiro turned to see what she meant. "Oh."

Another person was walking towards their table. A young thirteen-year-old girl with black hair and red eyes behind dark blue glasses.

This girl was Momo Redfox, the younger sister of Shiro.

"Hey, Momo," Shiro said as she stepped up next to their table.

"Hey, Shiro-oniisan," she said calmly, her eyes never leaving the book in her hands.

Lyric hid a smile behind her hand.

Momo could be as strong-willed as Layla, but when she has a book in her hands, she's like a completely different person. Kind of like her mom, Levy-oba.

Shiro's eyebrow ticked upwards as she just stood there. "Is there a reason you're just standing there, imouto?"

"Hm?" Momo looked up from her book. "Oh, right. Gray-jisan asked me to tell you two," she pointed to Simon and Layla, "that your parents should be here soon."

Layla perked up. "Really?"

"How soon is 'soon'?" Simon asked her.

Momo shrugged her shoulders, her attention already back on her book. "I don't know, I didn't ask. See you guys later."

She walked off then, navigating the rowdy guild while still having her nose buried in her book.

Shiro shook his head. "Kami-sama," he sighed. "Sometimes it's scary how much she acts like our mom."

"Lyric is the same way," Layla said.

"I am not!" the aforementioned girl opposed immediately.

"Yes, you are!" Layla giggled. "Even mom said you're almost like a twin of Obasan. You even convinced me to sneak out to get my hair dyed with you!"

"Okay, well excuse me if I didn't want to look like a female version of my father! And you wanted to dye your hair for the same reasons as I did! You didn't want to look like a copy of your mom!"

"Yeah, but when I turned sixteen! Do you know how much trouble I got into? It didn't matter that the streaks in my hair were blue like dad's hair, I still got grounded!"

"C'mon, we were eleven and twelve! Are you still mad about that?"

Simon leaned over to murmur to Shiro. "You see her proving the point of my statement?"

Shiro chuckled, causing the two best friends to stop arguing and focus on them. "Women, am I right?"

"Excuse me?" both Layla and Lyric asked, their voices low compared to the loud pitch they were using earlier.

Simon sighed.

Man, you should definitely know not to say that. Would do you think would have happened if my mom or Obasan heard that? Or worse, your own mom?

"Maa, Layla-chan, I don't think your mom and dad want to come home to you strangling someone," a woman's voice said next to them.

Simon turned to look while the girls stopped their deadly staring and Shiro gave her a grateful look.

The woman who spoke was standing next to a man and they both had a child in their arms. The woman had long, dark blue hair, much darker than Simon and Layla's father's own hair. Her honey eyes were bright with warmth and her lips were tilted into a slight smile.

Her name was Wendy Conbolt, the Sky Maiden of Fairy Tail.

The man standing next to her was taller than her by a couple of inches. He had dark purple hair that fell to his shoulders and ebony eyes. One side of his mouth was tilted up in a smirk as he eyed Shiro's relieved expression.

His name was Romeo Conbolt, Wendy's Husband, and Fairy Tail's Flame Mage.

In Wendy's arms was a child only three years old. He had dark purple hair with brown eyes and was currently sucking on his thumb.

The child in Romeo's arm was a six-year-old girl that was resting on his hip. Her own onyx eyes were wide as she watched the two girls calm down from their (righteous) anger and her two blue pigtails swung from side to side as she glanced between them.

Their names were Riku and Anna Conbolt.

"Sorry, Wendy-oba," Layla said sheepishly, Lyric looking contrite next to her.

Wendy chuckled. "It's alright. Just be glad that Erza didn't see you three."

All the teens shuddered at the thought of their scary aunt.

"No need to traumatize us with frightening mental images, Wendy-oba," Shiro muttered, a hand over his heart.

Romeo snorted. "Please, your mothers are scarier than Erza," he said as he shifted Anna to his other hip. "Especially yours," he added, nodding to Shiro.

"But I've never seen my mom really mad," Shiro admitted.

"Then you're lucky you've never done anything so idiotic to get her that mad at you," Romeo stated bluntly. "Ask anyone; Levy Redfox is terrifying."

Shiro thought that sentence over in his head for a bit. "That actually sounds cool," he decided.

"Famous last words," Romeo mumbled before yelping slightly as his wife punched him in the arm not holding their daughter.

"No need to scare the kids, Romeo," Wendy smiled but with a sinister undertone.

Lyric fidgetted.

Forget Levy-oba, all of our female family members are scary.

Before Romeo could come up with a response, Wendy's body tensed and her eyes flashed towards the guild doors.

"Is something the matter, Wendy?" Romeo asked. Anna was falling asleep in his arms and he shifted her weight once more.

Wendy's nostrils flared and a beaming smile overtook her face. "I can smell them approaching the guild."

Layla sat up. "Wait, do you mean mom and dad?"

"Hai."

"C'mon!" Layla exclaimed as she jumped up and grabbed Simon's hand. "Let's go meet them!"

"Calm down, imouto!" Simon groaned with annoyance they both knew was fake. "Stop yanking on my arm!"

"Nope!"

The two hurried to the doors and plowed through them to the outside.

They both looked around at the many people loitering outside and in front of the guild. As she looked around intently, Layla saw a flash of blue and gold, and a large smile split her face.

She hurried forward with Simon right on her heels.

"Mom! Dad!"

Seconds later, she collided into the chest of her father, his arms already wrapping around her tightly.

"Hey, baby girl," Layla heard him say as she heard her mom greet her brother. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too," she said as she leaned back to look into his face.

Her father was a tall man, easily taller than most of her uncles. He had blue hair that, sadly, she did not inherit normally. His dark emerald eyes, the same eyes that she and her brother had, were sparkling with warmth and affection as he stared down at her. Laugh lines were on his forehead and his eyes crinkled at the corners, showing how much he smiled and laughed.

His name was Jellal Fernandes, Fairy Tail's Astro Warrior.

"What, I don't get a hug?" came the teasing voice of her mother as Simon stepped away from her.

Layla was wrapping her arms around her before she finished the sentence, as Simon went to embrace their dad.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you guys," Layla mumbled after a while.

Her mother laughed. "I think I have a good idea," she responded as they finally broke their hug and Layla smiled up at her.

Her mother had long blonde hair that went to her hips with bangs that fell over her forehead and golden brown eyes that were always warm with love and fondness.

(Except when she and her brother were acting idiotic, despite there being only a few incidents. Getting blue streaks in her hair to match her father was, unfortunately, not the worst thing she had ever done.)

Her mouth was shaped into a beaming smile as she stared down at Layla, her hands on her shoulders.

Her name was Lucy Fernandes, Jellal's wife, and Fairy Tail's Celestial Princess.

When both Lucy and Jellal are on the battlefield together, or just seen together in public, they are called 'The Twin Stars' of Fairy Tail.

"Well, you two don't look maimed or missing any body parts, so I'm assuming that you didn't fight a lot," Jellal teased, his arm around Simon's shoulder.

"Hey!" Layla rioted as her brother laughed at her expression.

"It was touch and go for a while," Simon said with a grin.

"Traitor!" she accused over her mother's giggling.

"Why don't we head in?" Lucy suggested, squeezing Layla's shoulders once before dropping her arm.

"Hai, let's go in, I'm tired," Jellal said, before taking his wife's hand and leading her and their children back inside.

Layla had to hold in the squeal that wanted to erupted when her father took her mother's hand.

Kami-sama, they're still so lovey-dovey with each other! They're so in love! I hope I have that when I'm older.

As soon as the quartet stepped inside the guildhall, there was a loud squeal.

"LUCY! JELLAL!"

Layla and Simon barely had the time to dodge out of the way before Meredy crushed both of their parents in a rib-cracking hug.

"I've missed you guys so much!" she exclaimed as she continued to squeeze them. "You're not allowed to leave for that long again!"

"We missed you too, Meredy," Lucy gasped as she tried to hug the excitable pinkette back,

while also drawing in a breath.

Jellal was already looking a little blue in the face.

"Mer," Gray spoke up, his face suggesting he was trying very hard not to laugh. "You might want to loosen your hug so they can, you know, breathe."

"Hm?" Meredy glanced at the two people in her arms and noticed their blue faces. "Oh! Sorry!"

She hastily let them go and watched as they breathed in huge gulps of air.

"Well," Lucy coughed as Jellal sent a playful glare to their sniggering children. "That's one way to be welcomed home, I guess."

"My bad," Meredy admitted sheepishly as she turned the back of her head. "I guess I got a little over-excited."

"Yes, a little over-excited," Gray laughed as he stepped forward to hug the two. "You guys didn't get hurt, right? I mean, other than being attacked by my wife when you walked through the doors."

"Gray!" Meredy whined to her husband as he teased her.

By his time, Layla and Simon were red in the face from the effort of holding in their laughter.

"No, we're fine," Jellal answered, accepting the hug from his sort-of-brother-in-law. "The worst thing we got is a couple of bruises."

"But nothing too bad, right?" Layla asked, her previous amusement fading away. Besides her, Simon's body language suggested nonchalance but his eyes showed his worries.

"Hai, hai," Jellal grinned before ruffling her hair, laughing when she ducked away with a whined 'dad!' and tried fixing her hair.

"Why don't we all just sit down?" Lucy suggested. "We can tell you more about our mission then."

Layla brightened almost immediately. "Okay!" she agreed exuberantly. She grabbed her dad's hand. "C'mon, we were sitting at a table with Lyric and Shiro."

"You guys go ahead," Meredy waved them towards the table. "Gray and I still need to speak to Mira. We just came over to say hi."

"Alright," Lucy said. "Talk to you later?"

"You know it, girl," Meredy grinned before embracing the blonde one last time and headed back towards the bar. Gray sent both of them smiles before following his wife.

"C'mon!" Layla exclaimed again, tugging on his hand again. Jellal laughed and let her pull him towards their destination as Simon stared.

"Is everything okay?" his mom asked as she wrapped an arm his shoulders.

"Yes," he answered after a moment. "I just...I mean, I've really missed you guys."

Her face softened. "Oh, sweetie," she said softly her arm squeezing a little tighter. "Your dad and I missed you guys, too."

Simon smiled and leaned more into his mother's embrace as they walked over towards the remainder of their family.

~wWw~

Layla leaned back in her seat with a smile as she glanced about her. Lyric, Shiro, and Simon were all leaning forward as they listened to her dad tell them about the mission with her mom jumping in every once in a while to add something he missed.

When her mom and Simon finally joined them, Wendy released Jellal from a hug she was giving him to crush her in a hug as well.

(Well, crush her as much as she could with a three-year-old in one arm.)

Even little Anna woke up to give her aunt and uncle hugs.

After the quartet had left, Simon had all but begged to be told the story of how their mission went with the rest of them pleading as well.

Which lead them to their current situation.

"While he was focused on Lucy," Jellal was saying, "I was able to rush him and knock him out."

"Whoa," Shiro said, awe on his face. "That sounds so cool."

"I know right?" Simon agreed.

"You're so awesome Jellal-oji," Lyric announced with literal stars in her eyes. "You too, Lucy-oba."

"Thanks for the compliment," Jellal said with a grin while Lucy just laughed.

"Lu-chan!" A voice called out. "Jellal! Welcome back, you guys!"

The group of six turned towards the voice.

It belonged to a young woman who was sort of on the short side. She had wild hair in a shade of blue, a lighter shade than Jellal's own hair, that was held back with a headband and chocolate brown eyes.

Her mouth was stretched in a beaming smile as she approached them, happiness literally wafting off her in waves.

The woman was named Levy Redfox, wife of the infamous Gajeel Redfox, and mother of Shiro and Momo.

(And while she's the wife of a Dragon Slayer, it is of the opinion of every Fairy Tail mage and other guilds that she is the scarier person of the two.)

"Levy-chan!" Lucy squealed excitedly before the bluenette tackled her best friend in a hug. She then moved to hug Jellal, nearly squeezing the breath out of the poor man.

"It's good to see you too, Levy," he spoke wheezed.

"Hi, Levy-oba," Lyric, Layla, and Simon chorused.

"Hey, mom," Shiro spoke up.

"Hello everyone," she said as she let go of Jellal. "I'm so glad you guys are back. Did everything go okay? No serious injuries or anything?"

"We're fine, Levy-chan," Lucy reassured her.

"Okay, good," the bluenette said in relief. "You'll tell me all about it later, right?"

"Of course," Lucy acknowledged. "As a matter of fact, you, me, Meredy, and Wendy should get together to talk about everything that happened this week."

"Awesome," Levy declared with a smirk. "I'll let the others know and we can discuss when we should get together."

"Hey, Levy-oba," Layla interjected, "tell Wendy-oba that I can babysit Anna and Riku whenever you guys decide to have your get together."

"Alright, I'll be sure to pass it on," Levy said. She smiled. "I'll see you guys later."

She went over to give a tight hug to Shiro before walking away, waving back at everyone as they said 'see you later'.

"I still don't see how you guys believe my mom is scary," Shiro commented as he watched his mother walk away.

Jellal blinked. "Your mother isn't scary, Shiro-kun."

The teen grinned over at his friends. "See?"

"She's actually completely terrifying."

Shiro let a scowl take over his face as the other teens laughed and Lucy hid a giggled behind her fingers. "Well, I've never seen her that mad," he said to save face.

"Then you're lucky," Jellal said dryly. "You have a good head on your shoulders."

The laughter grew as Shiro honest to Kami-sama pouted before staring determinedly at the table, avoiding everyone's eyes.

"Anyway," Layla said as she got her laughter under control. "Mom, Dad, can Lyric come to our house tonight?"

"Sure, I don't have a problem with it," Lucy shrugged, Jellal nodding next to her. She looked at the black-and-pink-haired teen. "Just make sure you ask your parents and you can come with us when we leave."

Lyric nodding enthusiastically. "Okay!"

"Hey, can Shiro come over too?" Simon piped up.

The aforementioned teen looked up from the table, his eyes slightly wide. While he hadn't exactly expressed his desire to spend the night with his best friend and his sister, it didn't mean that he didn't want to.

Jellal glanced at the young Redfox. His slight hesitation was only noticed by his wife who prodded him subtly. "Okay," he said. "Sure, I don't see why not."

Lucy glanced at him from the corner of her eyes as the children began to make plans for their night and withheld a smile.

She and her husband were well aware of the crush Layla had on Shiro, had noticed well before Simon had found out. And while Lucy thought it was adorable, Jellal was in the opinion that it was a disaster of epic proportions.

But she noticed that even he couldn't fight a smile as he watched his children interact with their best friends about what they could do that night.

Lucy herself allowed a small but happy smile to appear on her face and rested her head on Jellal's shoulder.

It's good to be home.

~wWw~

Layla yawned as she, her brother, their parents, and their best friends continued to walk along the path toward their house.

A few hours after Lucy and Jellal returned to the guild, they decided to return to their house, citing their reason for leaving as just wanting to be home after being away for so long.

After asking their parents and getting their approval, Shiro and Lyric tagged along with the Fernandes family for a sleepover.

Their residence was nestled in the forest that surrounds Magnolia, much like Natsu's and Happy's place. Layla heard her mother sigh when they managed to get close enough to see the place and saw her father's posture sag slightly as they moved closer.

They must be really glad to be home.

Finally, they arrived and Layla wasted no time in hurrying inside before collapsing on the couch in the living room, her friends and brother following her lead.

Jellal chuckled as he shut the door. "Why is it that we're the ones that have been gone for a week but you four look more tired than us?" he asked, amusement heard clearly in his tone.

Simon grinned. "It's more like we're just glad to not come home to an empty house."

Layla nodded in agreement as her mom let out a laugh and moved to ruffle his hair. "Well, how about Jellal and I cook you all an early dinner?" she asked.

Shiro's eyes gleamed. Everyone loved Lucy's cooking. "Sounds good, Lucy-oba," he said, the Fernandes twins agreeing with him.

"But first!" Lyric exclaimed dramatically, her face one of glee. "We must properly welcome back Lucy-oba and Jellal-oji!"

Layla giggled. "Oh?" she asked. "And how do you suggest we do that?"

Lyric's grin grew wider before she skipped to the Lacrima Player sitting on one of the side tables next to the couch. "We dance!" she declared before turning it on.

"Uh, Lyric?" Simon interjected as the melody of a song begun to play. "I don't dance."

"Well, you do now!" she exclaimed as she grabbed his hand to draw him into a dance.

The song then started up in earnest, words being sung by the singer on The Lacrima Player:

"Fairy, where are you going?

Hikari, zenbu atsumete

Kimi no ashita terasu yo!"

Lucy let out a delighted gasp. "Oh, I love this song!" she exclaimed.

Jellal took her hand. "Then will you do me the honor of dancing with me?" he asked with a grin.

"Always," Lucy smiled.

Layla couldn't hold back a squeal as she observed her parents. She felt someone take her hand and turned to see Shiro smirking softly at her. "Dance with me?"

Layla felt her face heat up. "S-Sure!"

Observing his parents beginning to dance to the song, as well as his little sister and best friend, Simon sighed and allowed Lyric to (reluctantly) drag him around in a dance.

"OH YEAH! Kikoeten no kako no koe wa?

OH YEAH! Karetatte sakebu kara

OH YEAH! Kikoeru made kimi no Kokoro ga

OH YEAH! OH YEAH!

Layla couldn't keep the blush off of her face as Shiro spun her around to the beat of the song. She caught a glimpse of her mother being dipped by her father, both of them with beaming smiles on their faces.

She saw Lyric leading Simon in an upbeat dance number that had him grumbling but a slight smile on his face betrayed his enjoyment.

Layla then concentrated on not stepping on Shiro's toes as the next chorus began playing.

"Tsuki to taiyou no haitacchi

Wasuremono wanai desuka?

Okashii na kimi ga inai to

Hoshii mono sae mitsukaranai."

Layla heard Lyric laughing and her father chuckling as they all danced to the song, and couldn't stop her own giggling as they all continued to dance in the living room.

"SNOWING, sunao ni

Egao ni, nareta no wa

Futari yorisoi

Kasane atta "jikan" ga aro kara.

"Fairy, where are you going?

Hikari, zenbu atsumete

Kimi no ashita terasu yo!"

Layla felt Shiro pulling her over towards Simon and Lyric and saw her parents watching them with wide smiles.

The four friends grinned at each other before singing out the last lines of the chorus along with The Lacrima Player. "Don't say goodbye!" they sang, their harmonies all over the place but having fun regardless.

As the song came to an end, Layla glanced around at her friends and family.

Her mom and dad were alternating from staring at them and each other, the smiles never leaving their faces.

Lyric was proudly bragging about her dancing skills while Simon and Shiro were laughing with each other, their arms around their shoulders.

Seeing all this made Layla remember a conversation she had with her mother when she was little.

~Flashback~

"Mommy, why is our guild named Fairy Tail?"

"Well, sweetie, the guild was named because of a question, and an answer, our First Master, Mavis, had thought of."

"What was it?"

"She wondered, 'Do fairies have tails? Do they even exist? Like them, this place is an eternal mystery...a never-ending adventure!'"

"Wow, that sounds so cool! Our guild must be the best one out there!"

"You'll have the chance to find your own adventure pretty soon, Layla. Just like all members of Fairy Tail."

~Flashback End~

Looking around at everyone around her, she couldn't help but agree.

My mom was right.

You guys...it's actually over.

This story is finished!

*SQUUUEEEEEAAAAAALLLLLLLL!*

Now, I have a couple of announcements to make.

First, just because this story is over doesn't mean the adventures of Jellal and Lucy and their friends and family are over. I'm actually planning on writing a companion fic to this. It will be about missing scenes from this story.

And if there are certain scenes you want to see (Weddings, proposals, certain people hanging out) just leave a review or PM me and I might (95% probability) incorporate your idea. (No lemons though. I have no talent for those.)

Second, I already have ideas for three other fanfics (yeah, I can't turn my brain off.) Which one do you guys think I should focus on after I finish the companion fic?

Police AU (JeLu)

Fairy Tail AU (Jellal/OC)

Fairy Tail Investigative AU (JeLu)

I'll put a poll on my profile and you guys can vote

Again, thank you all SO MUCH for reading this story, you guys are awesome!