BlackLynx17: Alright, this will be the last chapter that I post. The kind of an end to this arc, and the beginning of a new one!

Title: Love At First Sight

Secret Title: Pirate Love

Summary: Wendy is a princess forced to be married at the age of 18. It wouldn't be a problem for her if she had fallen in love with her fiance, but alas fate is not too kind. Determined to runaway to chose her own love, she runs into a nice man who rescues her from her guards. Thinking this man is her one true love, she decides to escape with him. She had no idea that her true love was a no good pirate.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Dreyar

"I think that's all the patients for today Wendy; go ahead and head off if you like."

Wendy looks up from her notes, "are you sure Dr. Tony?"

"Yes, even if anyone else comes I'm sure I can handle them on my own. I've been doing so for years now, it's just been nice having a little assistance."

"Well, if you say so."

"I am, have a good day Wendy. Thanks for everything."

"No problem Doctor Tony, have a good day yourself."

Wendy closes her notes and gathers all of her things, shoving them into her bag. She double checks to make sure she isn't leaving anything behind before she waves goodbye at the doctor and leaves. It has been almost two months since the Fairy Tail pirates were forced to settle down in this town. What was supposed to be a quick stop to repair Vermillion ended up being them taking residence as they worked on building a new ship. The construction was coming along well, but it would still take a while longer before they were ready to sail off.

Most of her friends had gotten jobs in town, boredom filling their mind when they had nothing to do but to stay and wait. Erza and Lisanna started working at the bakery shop here, Gajeel at the blacksmith, Levy at the library, Olivia and Kinana at the clothing store. Wendy had thought it was a nice idea to gain more knowledge about medicine, so she asked to apprentice at the local infirmary here, surprisingly along with Elfman. He mainly did heavy lifting and storage, but still listened and paid attention whenever they worked on a patient.

It was different work. She was used to sword and gun wounds, so to get a child with a scrap or a baby with a fever... it was nice. Easy work. Not stressful with it being life or death. To be honest though, working around kids... it made her start and think about her own. Of course she wasn't ready, and Mest definitely wasn't ready, the two of them still had a lot of more adventures to go on... but helping babies made her heart soar just a little bit. She thought she would have gotten pregnant after their first few times, but she had been lucky, and now they were being careful so that wouldn't happen. But if it did though... it wouldn't be the worse thing in the world. A little cute baby Mest, an adorable little girl with her hair and his eyes... Wendy sighs and pinches her cheeks. She has babies on her mind when she should have other more important things.

Like the fact if Mest came home today or not. He, and a couple other of their friends, had been roaming the island, venturing off to different towns on the other side of it. Of course he asked for her permission and made sure he would be back in a few days, and always made sure she would be well taken care of before he left. He had invited her to go, but Wendy liked this town quite a lot. Even if the winds were picking up and soon it would be snowing, she liked Dr. Tony and his patients. She didn't want to go venture off when she was content right here. Wendy didn't want to settle down here for the rest of her life, but this was the type of place she would be looking for when Mest and her did decide to quit and start a family.

She still didn't know what type of place would be perfect. Somewhere warm and sunny? Somewhere that didn't rain a lot, that was for sure. Somewhere with wildflowers and gardens beyond her belief! Somewhere with a great view of the sea, so Mest wouldn't get homesick... honestly, anyplace with Mest would be the perfect place. Wendy smiles slightly to herself as she heads inside of the inn. She walks to her room and pulls out her key, unlocking the door. When she walks in she's greeted by the sight of her husband lying in the brass tub in the corner of the room, humming as he scrubs himself with a towel. Her husband turns around when he hears the door open and gives her a smirk.

"Welcome home beautiful."

Wendy giggles and closes the door behind her, "Mest, you're back. That was quick."

"Let's just say that the town of Evergarden was not very welcoming to outsiders. I was able to snag you a few things though before we were rudely kicked out," he tells her, pouring water over his head.

He splashes water everywhere and Wendy is careful to avoid it as she sets her things down.

"I was also rushing to get home after a certain race against Freed and Bickslow went terribly wrong. Let's just say it ended with me falling in a lot of mud and muck. This is my third bath since I've come back and the water is finally no longer turning brown."

Wendy laughs as she walks over to him, "well for whatever reason I'm glad that you're back in my arms," she pressing a kiss against his cheek.

"More," Mest grins cuffing her cheeks with his soaking hands.

It feels all warm and pruney against her skin as she kisses him again, longer this time. Mest shifts in the tub and sits up on his knees, leaning closer to Wendy to deepen their kiss.

"Hmm, it's been a couple of days. I've really missed you princess." Mest sighs pressing their foreheads together.

"Well then dry yourself off and come join me in bed." Wendy tells him cheekly.

Mest smirks, "tempting, very tempting, but I still need to finish washing and shave. Just give me a few more minutes and then I'll rock your world."

Wendy rolls her eyes and walks over to the dressers, planning on wearing something more comfortable. Mest finishes washing himself before he gets up out of the tub, wrapping a towel around him as he stalks to the mirror. He picks up his razor and carefully starts to shave off all the scuffle off his face.

"How was work?" He asks.

"Very productive. We had a little girl, Lolly, who scrapped her knee, an expecting mother who was experiencing some very bad morning sickness, and a bread baker who strained his back. You should have seen the little girl though Mest, she was just the cutest little thing. She tried to act so tough when we cleaned her wounds and thanked me with the cutest smile ever," Wendy smiles as she thinks back to it.

"That sounds like fun. I'm glad you aren't bored like the others. I'm thinking about staying around for a a week or so before leaving again. Let's go fishing or swimming- ah, although, it's probably too cold for us to go swimming-shit." Mest curses.

"It's not a bad thing that we can't go swimming Mest, I don't mind," she tells him changing her shirt.

"No, not that, I accidentally shaved too close to my goatee... damn, I look stupid."

"What?" Wendy asks, pulling her head through her shirt.

She stares over at Mest and sees half of his face still with stubble, the small little goatee she's grown to love since the first time she saw him no longer there. She loved that small amount of facial hair. She would always run her fingers across it whenever she felt like it.

"Oh well, I'll just give myself a really clean shave." Mest says shaving the rest of it off.

"No! I love that goatee!" Wendy pouts, reaching out for him.

It's too late though; Mest shaves it clean off.

"Don't worry princess, I'll grow it back out."

Wendy sulks and pouts, "you better."

"I'm surprised honestly, I didn't think you dug it that much."

"I loved it as much as you loved my long hair." She confesses.

Mest blinks and turns to her, reaching out to tug her small strands, "well I love this hair length as well, although it brings me much pleasure that it's starting to grow back."

Her hair is down at her shoulders now, curling around and tickling her neck all the time. It's a bit irritating, but she knows it won't last forever. She misses her long hair, or well, she misses the way Mest looked when he played with her hair, and how he brushed her hair for hours to tame it. Now it was over in like five minutes, no fun at all.

"Next time I think I want you to keep all your scuffle, I think I'll like it," Wendy confesses, closing one of her eyes to only see the unshaven part of Mest's face.

"Now you tell me when it's too late, whatever you say wife. Your wish is my command, but for now I think I'll look a bit stupid if I don't finish this." Mest says going back to shaving.

Wendy goes to bed, picking up a book on her way, and lays in it while she waits for Mest to finish. He washes his face and stares at the clean shave he now has, his face as smooth as a baby's bottom. It makes him look younger, not younger than the age he was, but still less wise and mature. He turns around and walks to bed, not bothering getting dressed, and falls on top of the covers head first.

"I miss the sea," he mumbles into the blanket.

"We should be ready to set sail soon, right? Last time I checked it was really starting to look like a ship. Maybe just another month?" Wendy asks, running her fingers through his hair as she flips to the next page.

"Another month of this? I want buried treasure. The first thing we're going to do is chase after a map and strike gold," Mest grins rolling around to stare up at the ceiling.

"Okay okay Mest, and then what?"

"Use that gold to buy booze and whatever else my princess wants, of course. Maybe get into a bar fight or two from flaunting around so much money, we'll see."

"Hopefully not too bad of a fight, although I'm getting really better at fixing small boo-boos."

Mest looks up at her and smiles, "do you kiss them better?"

Wendy snorts before laughing out loud, "no, but if you want I can kiss your boo-boos better."

He grins while getting up, "I can think of a better place you can be kiss."

"Oh yeah?" She asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Yup," Mest mumbles before pressing their lips together.

Wendy giggles as he cuffs her cheeks and leans into her deeply. She nips at his lips playfully and pulls away.

"Is the boo boo all better now?" She flutters her eyelashes.

Mest groans, "you're killing me princess."

"As I should. You've been gone for quite a while now husband; it gets lonely, sleeping in here all by my lonesome self. If it wasn't for Happy and Charlie I'm sure I would have died from loneliness."

"I'm sorry wife, but I can't- wait a second, did you say Happy and Charlie?! Were here?! In our room?!" Mest yells standing up.

Oops, she shouldn't have said that.

"Wendy, I thought I told you to not let them in!"

"You said that on the Vermillion, we aren't on the Vermillion though, so I didn't think it mattered-"

"Oh no Wendy, you're smarter than that."

"And what's the problem with having Happy and Charlie in here? It's your own fault really for not being here!" Wendy huffs, trying to turn everything on him.

"Cats are nightmares. They piss everywhere, they tear things up, I don't want them anywhere near my things." Mest sighs.

Including Wendy. Because she fought him so strongly to get them to stay, and if she gets used to Happy and Charlie sleeping with them in their room, then that will only mean it'll become a permanent thing.

"Happy and Charlie are two perfect little angels." Wendy pouts at him.

Mest takes a deep breath and runs his hand down his face, "listen Wendy... okay, first off, I'm sorry for yelling," he says, starting with a different approach. It works, Wendy relaxes her tense shoulders a bit. "I just... could you please no longer do that? I don't want them here. You can play with them all day, just don't bring them in our room."

"There is nothing wrong with Happy and Charlie. They keep me company, I wasn't lying about that. I don't mean to guilt you Mest, I know you have a wanderlust, but I'm... really lonely when you're gone. We're always together and when we're not... I just feel a void." Wendy whispers to herself.

Mest feels guilt boiling in his stomach. He walks back over to Wendy and wraps his arms around her, pulling her into his chest.

"I'm sorry Wendy. You could have told me, if you did I would have stopped leaving you-"

"I didn't want that though, I don't want to make you unhappy."

"You are my happiness Wendy," Mest says tilting her chin up, "when you suffer, I suffer, and when you smile, I smile, so please always tell me the truth. Do you like it when I leave you?"

Wendy bites her bottom lip and shakes her head, "no."

"Do you wish I'd stay with you?"

"Yes, but Mest it's not all about me-"

"I know that, if I cared enough Wendy I would tell you, but I don't. I'll stop having overnight trips, I'll start doing odd jobs around town with everyone else, or help Natsu with the ship."

Wendy frowns, but nods her head, "thanks Mest."

"Hey, smile for me darling. I don't like it when you're sad. Would I ever lie to you? Do you really think I would sacrifice my own happiness for yours?"

"Yes," she answers immediately.

Mest chuckles, "well that is true, but this is not one of those cases."

Wendy slowly nods her head smile, "okay Mest. I'll cut back my hours at the infirmary so I can keep you company."

"Wendy, you don't have to do that. You love working there-"

"And I wouldn't if I truly did not want to. I do not want to make you feel lonesome either; I wish to be with you."

Mest sighs and shakes his head, "if that's what you want."

"It is, because when you're happy, I'm happy." She quotes back.

"Cheeky little thing," he says tugging her cheeks, "are we done kissing and making up now? Can we get back to loving? I wasn't lying about wanting you to kiss all my boo boos, I have tons all over my body. I need your help Dr. Gryder to fix them."

Wendy laughs out loudly and shakes her head at him, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! That was so funny though!"

Mest narrows his eyes, "way to ruin the mood Wendy."

"No, no, I'm better now, I'm Dr. Gryder. Yes Mr. Gryder, come lay down on the bed and I'm sure I can help you," she grins, winking once at him.

Mest smirks back and follows her commands, stealing a quick kiss.

"Dr. Gryder, hehehehe."

"Wendy!"

It's different. She doesn't know why she thought it would be the same... just somewhere in the bottom of her heart she believed her crew would be able to bring Vermillion back to life... it wasn't the same though. The ship was larger it seemed, the wood a brighter reddish oak color. The sails were a different color, a blood red instead of the black she became used too, the flag was the same though. Fairy Tail symbol flying in the air. She was sure when she walked on she would be amazed. Natsu and everyone worked so hard to build this ship; everyone took a turn helping, even Wendy for a quick evening before she hurt herself. It will be amazing... but not the same.

Not the same ship she first walked on while Mest held her hand tightly and brought her. Not the same room where they've slept together so many times, where they built a life together, shared secrets together, whispered I love you together. Her infirmary wouldn't be the same, all small and cramped with way too many things inside. The kitchen wouldn't be the same, the girl's room, the bottom levels, the crow's nest. She thought she said goodbye last time as she watched the Vermillion get torn apart. She thought she cried all her tears then, but Wendy sniffs as new ones fall down her cheeks.

Mest slowly walks over to the edge of the port and stares at their new home. His throat is all chocked up, but he has to say he is impressed. It looks like a mighty ship that will be able to carry them towards the ends of the earth.

"Nice work guys," Mest tells his crew.

"Yeah, thanks."

It isn't filled with enthusiasm. Mest turns around and sees everyone with mixed feelings on their faces. They lost their first home only to gain a new one, a better one, but there is comfort with the familiar. It should be ridiculous, it was only a ship. It didn't keep everyone together, their bonds did... but still... the Vermillion was one of them. She was a member of Fairy Tail like everyone else, the oldest living member... not anymore.

"I'm sure everyone looking here can tell that this isn't the old Vermillion," Mest sighs out.

He looks up at the new ship and shakes his head, "of course it wouldn't be, it was finally her time. As great as we all are, we're no miracle workers. Even if we had all the time and the money in the world she couldn't be saved."

He takes a deep breath and stares back at his crew, "do you know what I see here now though? Not a new ship. Not a means to an end. Not a replacement for the Vermillion, or anything of the sort. What I see... is the future... the future home for the next generation of Fairy Tail pirates."

Heads sharply look up and Mest nods at them.

"Our first captain, Fairy Tail Pirates creator, Captain Mavis Vermillion, she built Vermillion with her own two hands to shelter all those who sought refuge, all those who wanted fun, all those who wanted freedom. She's been carrying her future members for five generations... and that's nothing if not amazing... but now it's our turn. Our turn to let our new home, our new pride, sail us and take care of our future family for the next five, ten, maybe even twenty generations! I don't have a doubt, I trust in our skills. This ship might last five times longer than Vermillion, and if it does that's great, and if it doesn't... that just means that our future family has something to give to their future family, and so on, and so on, because once a Fairy Tail Pirate always a Fairy Tail Pirate. Fairy Tail will never die! As long as there are people out there who believe in freedom and friendship, Fairy Tail will always be alive! This should not be a sad occasion, good old Vermillion wouldn't want us to weep for her! This should be a happy one because this marks the first day where we carry our own legacy! Long live Fairy Tail! Long live... Dreyar!" Mest cheers.

"Long live Fairy Tail!"

"Long live Dreyar!"

His friends cheer alongside him and Mest grins from ear to ear, raising his fist into the air. One by one they all walk onto their new home, Dreyar, and welcome him to the family. Laxus pauses by Mest's side, raising an eyebrow as he stares.

"Dreyar?" He asks.

"Figured that it sounded nicer than Gryder, didn't want to seem too conceited," Mest jokes.

Laxus punches his shoulder making Mest flinch and laugh.

"I'm kidding, I just wanted to name it after the man who saved me."

"Gramps would have appreciated it. I'll be sure to let the future generation know that when Dreyar finally reaches its final moments to consider naming the new Fairy Tail home Gryder," Laxus mumbles before walking on board.

Mest laughs out loud, "wow, you know for a second I almost believed you Laxus!"

"Mest?"

He looks down and sees Wendy walking up to him, a small smile on her face.

"That speech... it was what I needed to hear, I think what everyone needed to hear. I was feeling bad for losing our first home, but I realized... home isn't a place. Home is whenever you are Mest, wherever we are, and we can make it wherever we want it to be. I'm happy Dreyar will be our new home for the years to come."

Mest grins down at her brightly and leans down, putting his arms under her legs and picking her up. Wendy screams as she wraps her arms around his neck.

"What are you doing Mest?!" She screams.

"Carrying you into our new home wife," Mest chuckles walking on board.

"Mest! Stop it! You're embarrassing me!" Wendy blushes, covering her face so she doesn't have to look at their friends staring and laughing.

"You're right, for the years to come... and may they be filled with only happiness," Mest tells her.

Wendy peeks from her fingers, "I'm sure they will be Captain."

And if she's sure, then he has no reason to doubt.