I do not own Fairy Tail, yadda yadda, you get it.

Updates may slow down, by that I mean me writing this stuff. I don't intend to give up writing this, but I do get busy with other things. Y'alls ever played D&D? Boy, is that stuff awesome.

Anyways, I do want to clear the air a bit before we get started with Phantom.

While I am writing this because of my frustrations with the Canon Story, for myself (just a little bit), and maybe just to get something out there, I'm also writing this to get feedback. I love to tell stories and such, and I want to know how I can improve my craft so that I might be able to tell better stories down the line.

So, when I get a bunch of reviews telling me that I should have gone with the NaMiZaUl pairing, that doesn't exactly help me :(

Don't get me wrong, I know that I originally said that I'd go with it and some people still want that, but I realized that if I want to do an entire retelling of Fairy Tail, then I'd have to focus on other people than just those four characters. I narrowed the main pairing down to Natsu and Erza because; That's my favorite pairing, and there are other characters in the cast that I want to focus on. Natsu and Erza will be getting their fair share of attention, but I can't disregard the others.

I got stuff planned for the rest of Team Natsu, and you all will have to wait and see. I'm currently having a character development idea for Natsu jumping around in my head.

I appreciate the people who have told me that they support my decision, because this is my retelling. For all of those out there who don't like what I did, there's nothing stopping you from making your own story, and there is certainly nothing that I am doing that's making you read this. If you don't like what I've done, then you don't have to stick around and complain about it, 'cause then you're just being a sally.

One last thing; I've decided to buff the "Final Bosses" of the Arcs. This is so that my boy Natsu will have some challenges. I, admittedly, love awesome fights and hero moments, so there should be some tension in that department at the least.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let's get started with the Phantom Arc.

Btw; If I feel in the near future that I will have to go AFK for a bit, then I'll just post a completed Chapter to keep you guys preoccupied.

Over and out.

{Erza}

Erza didn't quite know what to expect. Before the surprising turn of events before Christmas, and she was used to knowing what to do. She was supposed to be sad, depressed. But someone had made all that go away, someone, who she was currently napping with right now.

The tree they were under had managed to block out the Sun's morning rays, they had apparently slept under it all night long. She looked up slightly, not wanting to wake the man whose arms she was in. He looked at peace, as if in synch with the world around them, his pink hair (even though he referred to it as salmon) fluttering about with the light breeze in the air.

Somehow, she could stand his snoring away. 'He truly is a Dragon in that sense,' she thought to herself, slightly giggling from how funny he looked.

Normally she'd be wearing her armor, but she had broken out a sundress today. It was a yellow-gold colour with rose patterns going along the sides that went down to her knees, it looked as if the dress had absorbed the sun itself. She wore a tan summer hat, she had started curling her hair because he liked playing with it, as if he were a boy teasing a girl on a playground. She started to like it too, both her now curly scarlet hair and how he played with it idly whenever they were sitting near each other.

As for him? Well, he was just in his dark red coat, his cloak had been left behind at home. The rest of his attire was the same as usual, as he didn't really feel any kind of heat or cold.

It was late spring now, just a few more weeks until summer would be upon them. It had been a few months since they had finally gotten together in December, she smiled at that.

Finally.

It was because of the history they've had together that made them take this step. Well, it was more Natsu than Erza, he did ask her to dance after all. She would have asked him herself if she wasn't scared of her feelings for the man at the time, but of course she realized that he had felt the same way.

She followed the advice that he had given her that night too, and while she didn't know how to cook, she was taking lessons from Lisanna, who was completely overjoyed for the two despite pretending to be Natsu's wife.

It seemed as if they truly did live in a Fairy Tale, she snickered at that one.

Gildarts stayed at the guild a bit more often before taking another decade quest, he'd be gone for a while so the new couple wouldn't have to listen to his teasing.

The new couple themselves wouldn't stick together all the time, the appropriate amount of space was given whenever it was needed, but a new thing they would do was go on missions together. Usually before, Natsu would very much act like Gildarts in the sense that he'd show up, grab a mission, then leave. Nowadays, he stayed around in the Guild these days, which was a welcoming change for the Wizards of Fairy Tail.

Of course that doesn't mean that the newly formed Team Natsu didn't get much action, they just didn't get as much as a normal Team should have.

Natsu and Erza always offered to take the rest of the Team on Quests, and usually Wendy and the Cats would accept. But Gray and Mira were another story altogether.

Most people could understand Mira, as her infatuation with Natsu wasn't exactly hidden from the world, but Gray's sour attitude confused Erza. Both of them had cut themselves off from the rest of the guild for that matter, Cana couldn't get Gray to open up, and Mira's siblings couldn't get her to lighten up.

As Erza was thinking this over, she didn't realize that the man whose arms she was in had woken up from his slumber, slyly grinning at her in her thoughts. "What's the frown for, I can't be that bad at cuddling." he joked.

She chuckled softly, putting a hand on his cheek. "I'm thinking about the Team. We don't talk with Gray or Mira anymore, and I'm worried about them." she admitted, while he was playing with her hair.

He raised an eyebrow, "I never thought I would have seen the day where you cared about Mira,"

Erza smacked him playfully with a pout on her face, "I might be crude to her, but she's still family. And we both know that the language you use with Gildarts is much worse."

"Fair enough,"

They stayed silent for a bit longer, just looking out at the City of Magnolia. Natsu couldn't go too far away from Town because they'd have to shift, which was a pain in the ass for the Town when it was just Gildarts who needed it.

"Natsu," Erza asked.

"Hmmm?"

"How can you be this calm right now?"

He smiled.

She had melted again unwillingly, she really was a schoolgirl when it came to this man. She could understand why Ultear was still trying to get over him.

"Because a Princess is in my arms," he looked at her dreamily, almost mockingly too.

She smacked him on his arm again, a little harder this time before laughing. "That was so bad, you know."

He laughed heartily, making her red in the face again, and nestled into his chest once more. Silence followed, they both just heard birds chirping and the light wind brushing against them.

Unknown to the woman in his arms, Natsu's face fell slightly. 'I've been holding off on talking to Mira for too long, only I can fix this rift in the team, I can't keep running away from it.'

"Natsu?"

The Dragonslayer broke out of his thoughts, the Knight in his arms looked at him with a frown, maybe she had noticed his downcast stare. He faked a smile, "Hmm?" he hummed.

"Is something the matter?" she asked, looking at him thoughtfully albeit with a slight frown.

'Don't ruin the moment.', "Nothing," he smiled again. He hugged her closer, despite what she said about his warmth, he always thought that hers was the better feeling.

He'd be wanting a lot of it these days.

{Mira}

Despite popular opinion, Mira wasn't actually as sad as people made her out to be. Yeah, she was upset, but she wasn't on the border of extreme depression. This feeling was rejection, it would have to pass sometime, wouldn't it?

Mira thought that would be the case, but as she watched Natsu and Erza sway back and forth across the dance floor in her mind, she couldn't help feeling left behind. The man who she may have even loved, had chosen her rival over her.

She couldn't exactly blame him though, Erza was the golden child of the guild, everyone loved her, even if some people were afraid of her.

Her siblings tried to get her to open up, with no success. She just wanted to think, she was allowed to do that alone, right?

And she wasn't exactly ignorant either.

She noticed that Gray wasn't around the Guild as often as he used to be, and she had her suspicions as to why, but she wouldn't prod him if she was correct.

But back to her issue, cause she just needed more of that right?

Natsu and Erza, it was almost as if they were the perfect couple from day one. They never flaunted their relationship, they bounced off of each other. Erza would keep his destructive tendencies in line, and Natsu would get her to open up more often.

Of course, that could just be Mira's mind playing tricks on her, showing her what she wants but what she can't have.

Because she's a monster.

She was brought out of her thoughts from the sudden spike in noise, she looked behind her seat at the bar to see another brawl started by their resident Ace, the other Ace had gone out on a job shortly after Christmas. The older man had come to talk to her after the party too.

"Don't be mad at them, be mad at me." he had said, but she wasn't angry at any of them, only at herself. She must have been too forward, that must have put him off.

Gildarts said that he had prodded Natsu towards Erza, he wanted to see them together after all, but he was tired of the inaction of the younger guild members, at least when it concerned their love interests. As a consequence of raising a Dragon Slayer since he was twelve, the Ace of Fairy Tail had stuck around the guild more often, and he had also become aware of what was happening, despite him drinking a bunch of the time.

"What else was I supposed to do other than hang out with Natsu and the rest of you guys, and drink? Sure I could go out on another job, but I have a lot of regrets, and not being able to raise a kid because of my own habits was one of them." he had explained to her, and she understood. It wasn't all the time that you got a chance to make up for a past mistake, so the older man took the opportunity when he saw it.

"I love you all dearly, but believe me when I say that it was a pain in the ass to see you and Gray be so damn scared to man- or woman up in your case, and go have a try with the person you love. You love him, right? I'm gonna assume so unless you correct me…"

There was a fine line between love and attraction, and Mira had not corrected him even when she knew the answer. She may have told herself it was love, but it was not so.

Ever since he had left those White Roses for her, she had been smitten with him. Her village had outcasted her for having magic, they made her feel like a freak, despite what her siblings believed she did think that she was a demon.

But this boy-no, this man, made her believe that being a freak, was amazing. Natsu had dismantled any self-doubt in her mind, and self-hatred that had been there was there no longer.

Thanks to Natsu Dragneel.

She wasn't surprised by Gray's thing for her rival. Clearly he had held some form of bitterness for Natsu since the day they met, the Dragon Slayer had essentially stolen Erza's heart at the same time. The fact that he was also just under Gildarts' power level also hadn't helped, a Fire Wizard had simply shown up and destroyed his Ice Magic like it was nothing.

"Don't get me wrong, Natsu and Erza were even worse, to the point where I was on the point of gagging whenever they spoke to each other. But I saw something between those two on his first day at the guild, immediately after your duel. Call me a romantic bullshit artist, but I liked those two since day one. The part about him being a ladies man? Yeah I'll take credit for that, it is my fault that he's not so innocent when it comes to the opposite sex." He finished, then giving her a hug.

"I'll tell you what I told him though, there's other fish the sea."

She was brought out of her musing by the man she had held in her heart- still did to an extent. Natsu looked content, but he also carried guilt with him as he tapped her on the shoulder, gaining her attention.

"Can we talk in private?" he asked slowly, almost pleading her. She nodded her head, a bit nervous about what he would want. She saw Erza smiling at them in the distance.

In the past, Mira would have thought Erza to be smiling in triumph, that she had won in the quest for Natsu's heart. But Mira saw a smile that gave encouragement and support to not only him, but her as well.

She gave them both a slight grin before walking out of the guild with Natsu to talk.

They both walked along the road, passing by various stores and citizens. Natsu received greetings from the older townsfolk, they both got looks from people of the opposite sex. Of course an odd silence protruded between them, neither of them spoke. Whenever Mira looked at the man next to him, he'd just be looking ahead towards their destination; the Park.

When they arrived, they found a bench to sit on. They both sat, watching the daily rotation of life that went on in the city of Magnolia. She realized that this was where Natsu spent time outside of the guild during the day, if he wasn't at home, on a job, or at the guild, he'd be here.

Just… thinking.

Whatever he did probably required some large amount of attention, maybe it was something he learned from Gildarts.

"Mira… how have you been?" he asked suddenly, bringing her out her thoughts.

She looked at him with an eyebrow raised, her light smile never left. She realized he was trying to make conversation, but he sounded as if he was attempting an apology.

'You've never tried this hard before, why now?'

"I've been better Natsu, but I'm not upset if you are wondering." she replied, then chuckled at his expression of slight relief.

"That's good," he said, getting comfortable with the situation he was in now. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry,"

"For what?" She asked confusedly, her eyebrows furrowing.

"I teased you didn't I? I made you believe that you-" he was cut off by a finger placed on his lips, her finger. She had a stern look on her face, he hoped that the She-Demon wouldn't come out to play.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Erza and I both knew what we were getting into. You have always been like that since Gildarts corrupted you," He grinned at that, she did too. "Teasing others is how you talk to us, but it also makes us better too, you fought fire with fire when you were speaking to me, and I'm not really used to that."

She took her finger away from his lips, and quickly took him by surprise. She locked lips with him for a few moments, leaving him wide-eyed as she separated from him. Mira giggled at the look on his face, shock was written all over it.

"Natus, if you are happy, whether it's with me or with Erza or whomever, then that's good enough for me." She smiled as she rubbed his cheek, he smiled brightly at her, giving her a bear hug in response.

"Thank you Mira," she heard his muffled voice say, "Even though people might think that you're a Demon, you're the best Angel I know."

When they separated, both with smiles. She asked him incredulously "What about Erza?"

"Erza's a Knight, I doubt she wants me to say otherwise since she swatted me for calling her a Princess this morning."

"And Wendy?"

"She's a Dragon, obviously." He had a look that said 'obviously' too.

They continued to sit there and talk, they joked about the habits of their guildmates, with Natsu doing the imitations and Mira doing the laughing.

Sometimes all it took was a few words.

{Natsu}

When he and Mira walked back into the guild, the sun was already setting. Mira had stopped him from walking through the doors and, by extension, having Makarov rail on them about him having to buy extra doors. The two parted ways with a simple "See you later,", and the Dragon Slayer went up to his Knight, who still kept on her beautiful sundress.

She smiled when she saw the grin on his face, "I assume it went well?" she asked with an eyebrow raised. He nodded and took out a small pouch of Jewels, giving it to the woman that he just sat down next to.

"So she did kiss you then, I'll let this one slide because you were apologizing, but if I ever find you kissing another woman then-" she leaned in towards his ear to whisper her threat as Wendy, Carla, and Happy sat down across from them, actually whispering low enough so that the Sky Dragon Slayer wouldn't hear what she would say.

I'm not going to repeat what Erza said either.

Erza leaned back to look at a pale skinned Natsu, all the colour drained from his face. He slowly turned his head to look her dead in the eyes, "But Spoons aren't even that sharp…"

"What are you guys talking about?" chimed Wendy, clearly unaware of Natsu covering his nether regions protectively from Erza.

"Oh? Nothing, Wendy. Natsu and I were just talking about his alcohol consumption." A perfect smile was placed on Erza's lips, making Natsu shiver inwardly. Wendy and Happy nodded in acknowledgement, while Carla looked at Erza suspiciously as she looked back and forth between her and Natsu.

She decided to just keep to herself though.

"Yeah, I told him that he drinks too much." Happy chriped, letting Natsu regain his composure as he got ready for another battle of words with his little buddy.

"I do not!" he exclaimed, everyone else there shook their head at his statement, Erza put a hand on his shoulder. "Gildarts is obviously a bad influence on you, but as long as you keep it under control, I won't have a problem."

"I can't get drunk though…" he muttered.

"So, are we going on a mission today?" Wendy asked, as soon as she said that, Mira had plopped down right next to her, at least it seemed like that to Natsu. The She-Demon had simply walked over to their table.

"Oooo, is it dangerous? Can I come along?" She asked.

Natsu and Erza looked at each other incredulously, then back at the pair in front of them. "Not today," Natsu started, "Erza's coming over for dinner tonight, so I gotta prepare."

Gildarts, despite eating rations and dried bread and meat due to his journeys and how much distance he covers during his jobs, is actually a great cook. He taught Natsu the necessity of being able to cook for any… female company.

Among other things that is.

"Oooh! What's for dinner?!" Wendy exclaimed, obviously excited that Natsu was gonna cook something fancy or something that was goddamn delicious.

"Chef's choice, little one. Maybe you and Mira could go on a quick job while Happy and I go shopping." he replied easily, trying to ignore the pout coming off of his younger sister. He looked over to Mira, "You're welcome to join us for dinner as well if you'd like, Mira."

Mira smiled at his offer, "Thank you, Natsu. But I'm going out with Cana and Lisanna tonight and make this town ours!" she then looked over to the Sky Dragon Slayer, "I wouldn't say no to a quick mission though! Come on Wendy, let's get something from the Contract Board before Nab takes something!" she joked, taking Wendy's hand and dragging her away from the couple.

Erza and Natsu watched the two bicker with Nab, apparently he had found the perfect quest for himself. While that was going on, Erza looked at Natsu "And what about me?" she asked him.

He looked at her with the same grin as earlier, "You put on something nice, not too revealing since Wendy'll be there. I'll pick you up at the guild at Six, and I get some eye candy while I cook. Seems like a fair trade to me." he said rising up from the table.

He picked up a sleeping Happy and put the cat on his left shoulder pad that was clasped over his cloak. "See you at Six, Princess." he chuckled, the comment successfully getting a rise out of Erza as she reddened and slammed a clenched fist onto the table.

As he walked out of the guildhall he could hear her mutters, "Damn Natsu," and "I'll get him back dammit!" was what he heard the most. Everything else he heard had stroked his ego a little too much. Elfman was referring to Natsu as "The Manliest Man that has ever existed!" while other guild members were asking themselves how he hasn't been dismembered yet.

Dating Erza? I'm sure it's bound to happen.

Ok, now I'm sure that many of you have complaints about Mira forgiving Natsu too soon or something, and I understand, I'm not a writing god (Geez that would be cool though). Normally, people do move on from stuff like this pretty fast (God knows I've had my fair share of it), and I don't want it to last a long time, as this was one of the main reasons this shit took so long to hit the screen. It's not my best work, obviously, but I want to continue this. Writer's block is a fucking pain.

You might have noticed that I changed up how the chapters work, and I like it this way. It will stay this way and will probably also stick with other stories that I'm writing (Yes there are others, consuming just Fairy Tail is another good way to get Writer's Block. Like, fuck sakes for Game of Thrones, I had such high hopes for the final season.)

I'll be back.