looking back to this

Characters: Gildarts Clive, Ivan Dreyar, Ur Milkovich, Layla Heartfilia

Summary: Because this was the memory that had been supposed to stay the last.

"Cornflakes, now."

"That is not nice, Layla," the black-haired woman said as she stepped away from the coffeemaker and smirked as she sipped on her drink. "But there, they are on the table."

"Morning, ladies," the young man with the reddish brown hair said. "How did you sleep? Ivan snored."

"So did Layla. Maybe the two should share the room next time. I might get some sleep in that case."

"Oh? This keen to share the room with me, Rosenboom? I am flattered."

"I am sleeping alone, Clive," she said darkly. "Oh, good morning, Ivan?"

The black-haired man nodded at her. "Is there still coffee there, Ur-chan?" he asked.

"Sure - and the cornflakes are marvellous!" the blonde grinned as she pushed a cup into his direction. "Ur - where did you buy them?"

"In a store," the other woman deadpanned as she sat back down. "Sorry to disturb the happy breakfast mood but ... we need to get going."

"Not everyone wakes up at five in the morning with a smile on her face, Ur," Gildarts Clive remarked. "But for once, you are right. It's our day today. Our time, our big chance. We won't mess this up. We will be remembered."

They had planned this operation neatly. The notes Layla had taken, the food Ur had cooked, the beer Gildarts had bought and the firewood Ivan had provided - it had all been dedicated for the purpose of being successful because they had no other option.

"I haven't slept," Ur remarked. "I was thinking. That's how I know that Layla snores."

Gildarts grinned as he patted her shoulder. "Okay, kiddos, time to get to work."

"But - my cornflakes. Ur promised that I would get to eat them all," Layla complained.

Ur just sighed and they left the kitchen, leaving the table as it had been. They walked in silence - safe for Layla's remark on how they looked like a gang with their matching cloaks over their clothes but this was less a fashion statement than a necessity. Layla's red dress would have been like a signal flare just like Ivan's purple shirt.

They had prepared themselves for this. No one - not even Fairy Tail's S-class mages - would ever mess with a dark guild of this strength. But here they went, marching down a path to a rhythm they had all down to the bone. They had no choice but to keep walking because they had promised to deal with this. They had accepted the offer, they had made the deal with Makarov and they would get it done.

On this day, Gildarts wished for eternity. He wished for this moment to last forever because he was happy now. He was walking between Ivan and Ur - his best friends. They had done this kind of job before - without Layla but the blonde was strong enough to hold her own anyway. Ur was cutting branches neatly, evening their way if necessary. He was used to this. He did not want this to end, not the feeling of friendship.

"We won't fail," Ivan said, his eyes staring determined into the distance as he kept walking half a step faster than anyone else.

"Word," Ur grinned, patting Layla's shoulders before she hurried up a little to walk next to Ivan.

"Oi, Rosenboom, no running ahead from you today," Gildarts laughed.

They were so carefree that day.

Layla squared her shoulders as they reached the place where the battle would take place. In her hands, her keys were gleaming. She, too, believed in the eternity of that day. Next to her, Ur was disappearing, crossing the side of the field to get out of Ivan's range. Both black-haired mages fought long range and could not afford to get by the other one's attack. So Ur would not waste a single moment standing still tonight. She would go with the flow, move and attack fluently. Because that was what she was best at.

Ur took a moment to look around. At first, it did not look well. Layla needed time to finish her incantations - time she did not get. Ivan got pushed around whenever he tried to use his magic and Gildarts seemed to suffocate beneath the onslaught of enemies.

But she was standing far away from the scene, far enough to away to do something. She sent a missile of ice make blooms into the crowd of their enemies, keeping them away from her friends.
And suddenly, there was Layla, summoning both Capricorn and Aquarius within a flash. There was Ivan who should in a whirlwind of his paper dolls. There was Gildarts, defeating a dark mage with simple hand to hand combat.

She took up running once more, conjuring ice from the water Aquarius had used which earned her a rude remark from the spirit. "Are you guys okay?" she called out before she disappeared within another crowd of dark mages.

Ivan looked up as the ice zapped across the field before he looked at Gildarts. The man was his best friend, had been for the longest time and would be for a very long time. But this was not the moment for sentimentalities.

It was a moment to write history.