It was so very stupid. Of all the individuals to save Fiore from war, it had been averted by the machinations of Matheson of all people. When the man felt the council wasn't taking him seriously, and they really weren't at the time, he went straight to the King. No matter how unlikely it had seemed, tensions were something the King of Fiore wasn't prepared to chance.

Within two hours of the meeting, Princess Hisui was on a private train charged with ensuring worst fears didn't come to fruition; her presence would ensure diplomacy didn't break down; she already had a working relationship with both the Sevenese and Boscan Royal families. For someone so young, she was well respected in both their adjoining kingdoms.

When she'd arrived what she'd found had been nothing more than a communications breakdown. Their closed off neighbours had suffered an enormous electrical storm over the capital, the biggest one in over five hundred years. It had been devastating. Knocking out most of their communications, damaging city infrastructure. There had been death tolls in the hundreds, possibly thousands across the country. The truth about the Kingdom's distance, was that it had not been on account of tensions with Fiore, but simply because their country was already in the grips of a national catastrophe. Diplomatic relations with Fiore weren't even an afterthought.

When they realized the King had sent the Princess, the magic Council couldn't be seen to brush off the potential threat any further. The Sevenese government had been confused when Magic Council members had turned up on their doorstep days after the Fiorian Princess, except where she was polite and genuinely concerned, they'd turned up demanding answers. The truth that the country was in pieces as smaller storms continued to rain down destruction on them wasn't one they were expecting. After the initial and largest had passed, more and more smaller ones continued cropping up, hampering recovery. Whatever they replaced, was soon damaged as another struck.

But Hisui had been much more sensitive in her dealings and where it could have almost been a blunder, instead they arrived to find her aiding in the rebuild. She'd sent her private train back and had it stocked with lacrima the Sevenese could use to deflect the energy building over the cities and a new communications system to reconnect the country with its neighbours and the individual provinces more than likely still in panic.

When the bomb detonated at the ambassadors residence, killing the council members, it might have been mistaken, innocently enough as just more thunder if not for the plumes of smoke drifting skyward. If the situations were different, who could say if Fiore would have blame them for the assassination, but no one, least of all Princess Hisui believed that her hosts were responsible in its aftermath. One of their younger Princes had been hurt in the blasts, he was six years old and playing in the gardens, and while a lot of things could be said about them, their King was popular among the people and the nobles alike. They would never have put their own Princes at risk for such a clumsy attempt at war.

She didn't want to seem too smug about it, but less than a day later Hisui was proven right; a large sum of Fiorian Jewel and explosives equipment had been discovered changing hands directly in the wake of the attack. The Sevenese guard swooped down on them without mercy. It took them only hours to pry the information they wanted out of the assassins. The remaining conspirators were picked up and executed on the spot while looking to buy their way out of the country. Trying to escape before they were caught, or silenced.

When communications came back up they discovered that it was suddenly Fiore in disarray, with the remaining magic council members red handed and elbow deep in the act of treason.

And then they heard that dreaded name again. Calus Vigna Sept. Returned from the dead. Electrical storms were nothing in comparison to the type of horrors the man was capable of. Nearly a hundred years later and the sound of his name still made grown men quake.

By the time she returned to Fiore it was all over and done with. Disaster had only very narrowly been averted. And it hadn't been without loses. There had been good, honest men serving on the magic council back home and they were going to have to live with their actions. Most hadn't had a choice. Calus had commanded them to obey and they had. She knew of two that had taken their own lives rather than live with what he'd made them do. There were a lot of individuals no longer among the living who were be irreplaceable and would greatly missed.

When Hisui's eyes scanned the official reports and documentation, one individual name kept coming up. There were far too many people involved to thank individually and the matter of the council's betrayal was being kept very quiet, but Matheson had mentioned this person several times in his reports and she knew the significance of their help. It wouldn't have been appropriate to offer anything like money or land or titles, but she felt there was something she could offer.

She waved down one of the servants delivering her afternoon tea.

"Would you mind fetching someone from the Chamberlain's office for me? I want to propose an amendment to the law."

Guild members were baking under the sun waiting for the food to grill; cooking even faster than the burgers and steaks, and growing redder with every minute while Natsu tried so hard not to burn the food he'd pretty much stopped cooking it altogether. Transfixed watching a whale sized Lucy float aimlessly around the pool on her back. Like an inflatable beach ball. He'd felt his son kicking that morning. There weren't any words for the joy he felt.

It was shaping up to be one of the hottest days in years. A record heatwave. The guild pool was packed and people were laughing and smiling. Levy was sitting with her back facing Gajeel while he happily applied suncreen on her; content with the excuse to all but maul her in public, in plain view. She could feel him paint the cream over her scars, lightly tracing the glyphs with thick helpings of it before massaging it in. She felt her eyes close happily, crooning under his fingertips.

"Hey, check it out!" She let her eyes drift open, squinting against the harsh glare as Gajeel nodded toward the doors from the main hall, were a man in royal messenger garb had just pushed passed Alma. An obvious mistake as she'd turned and put him up against the nearest wall by the collar, feet dangling off the ground. Jet and Droy jumped in, trying to reason her out of murdering him and ruining the borrowed floral sundress she was awkwardly wearing but short of physically prying her away, and they weren't stupid enough to physically make contact with her, not again, they had to settle with words. She finally set him down only when Erza appeared out of nowhere and clapped her on the back. She dropped the man with the sudden shock of it before Titania shoved her playfully forward and out of reach of the suddenly pale messenger.

Levy smiled at the look of fury on Ali's face as she turned to glare murderous daggers at the redhead while carefully scanning the pool area and the BBQ, looking for someone. Levy knew that look, and she smiled as Gajeel pulled her back against him, his palm flat against her stomach where he stilled, before suddenly nuzzling her neck. She heard him laugh at her ear. His breath hot against her skin.

"Did we forget to take our potion?" He whispered quietly to her. His voice cracking with laughter.

Her eyes widened in nothing short of panic. The contraceptive potions regularly messed with menstrual cycles. It wasn't something she usually worried about. Not having a period for a few months wasn't an unusual occurrence.

"I'm not pregnant," She made herself force out with a brisk laugh. She really couldn't be pregnant.

Gajeel let out a low growl against her neck before leaving a kiss behind her ear.

"Maybe. Maybe, not yet," She knew he was grinning out of sight behind her.

"You're such an asshole," She couldn't stop herself from laughing as the panic died down.

"You know, I think I might have been told that before," He feigned sudden cluelessness. Chuckling as she elbowed him in the ribs.

"Lucy is due in a few weeks. Volunteer for babysitting duty and we'll see how much you joke then," She drawled, lazily leaning into him.

The hand on her stomach started tracing circles on her skin and she shuddered. Feeling a sudden need for more, building. A thumb slipped under the edge of her bathing suit dangerously, before tugging gently and letting the material snap back causing her to jump a little.

"We're in public. People can see!" She hissed disbelievingly. Gajeel only laughed harder. She knew he got a thrill out of it.

"That can be rectified, Shrimp," He teased, inching his hand even lower. It was ridiculous how turned on that left her. Maybe she got a thrill out of if too, because she turned and kissed him hard, driving her hands into his hair, pulling him closer, almost pushing herself into his lap.

"We'll need to find a bigger place if we're thinking about children," Levy said, smiling against his lips. She felt a literal purr rumble outward from him and she clasped him tighter. There was something there, tying them together. And the more time they spent together the stronger it got. Tiny invisible threads that linked them; growing in numbers over time.

"Are you Miss Levy McGarden?"

Startled, Levy broke away from him and turned, shielding her eyes against the sun, looking up into the face of the man in Royal gear standing at the edge of the sun lounger. The one they'd been watching only minutes before. Gajeel had a suddenly, almost painfully tight grip around her waist.

"Yes? Can I help you?" The man took out an image recorder and snapped a picture of her before handing her an official letter with her name on it and bearing the royal seal. Her image proof that it had been delivered.

He bowed deeply after making the delivery. So low that it was a possibility his nose brushed his knees.

"As a side to the letter, there's a carriage of Sevenese ale on route to every guild as a means of apology for the trouble incurred," He proclaimed. "I've already informed the guild master," He finished before giving a smaller, sharper bow and leaving. She watched him cast a wary eye Alma's way as he exited. Erza was again trying to force feed her cake.

Levy could swear she saw Cana's head appear out of the bushes at the mention of Sevenese booze but it was probably a coincidence; the brunette coming to Ali's rescue so to speak and leading Erza back inside at the mention of white chocolate fondant.

Patiently, nervously, Levy waited for him to disappear out of sight before breaking the seal and pulling out the letter. It wasn't a personal letter. From first glance it didn't even seem like it was addressed to her at all; it was simply a copy of an amendment to Fiorian law that had just been signed in.

She read through it, starting to make sense of the contents, felt her hands begin trembling as she finally started to understand what laws had been changed. There was a form folded neatly behind the notice.

"What is it? What's goin' on?" Gajeel asked. The brief glance at the contents of the envelope made no sense to him at all.

"They changed the law to allow any partner, regardless of gender, to take the name of their spouses if they choose. This is a legacy change form to have the legal effect backdated," She whispered.

Gajeel could see it wasn't bad news, but he still wasn't entirely sure what that all meant. She looked up at him smiling, years pooling at the corner of her eyes.

"It means I'm a McGarden. They'll legally accept my grandfathers name change. Sept no longer exists. The name is gone," She beamed, laughing. "He's really gone." Throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly.

Gajeel smiled before standing and picking her up, heaving her over his shoulder, her playful squeals were tempered with joy and a profound relief, the noise drawing a few odd looks and raised eyebrows. Gajeel hurled her into the pool roaring with laughter.

When she broke the surface of the water it was very almost like being reborn.

"You'll pay for that!" She halfheartedly threatened. Above Gajeel the equivalent of a few gallons of solid script water was dumped unceremoniously on his head, washing him into the swimming pool after her.

Growling he started to chase her through the water while she laughed, it was then that she caught sight of Alma as she hastily left the party. No one else seemed to notice; the remainder of the guild seemed happy enough to watch Erza, who couldn't cook to save her life, argue with Natsu over the still raw meat that was going to spoil long before it finished cooking on that grill.

"Was she crying?" Levy whispered to Gajeel. The mood somewhat dampened.

"Shit. She could of been. Didn't get a good look," Gajeel remarked.

"I wonder what happened?" Levy absently asked. It wasn't likely they'd ever actually find out. Alma certainly wasn't the woman to ask.

"Of all the dickish fuckin' things I think I've ever seen you do, this is undoubtedly one of the dumbest," Laxus had been back on his feet within two days and at full strength within the week. On his feet long enough to intercept Bickslow as the man made possibly the biggest mistake of his life.

"Geee, boss, your pep talks are getting better," Bickslow smirked at Laxus' narrowed eyes. He was expecting the reaction. He'd been sitting on this job for a long time already and he knew it wouldn't go down well with the team. But it wasn't a job he could just ignore forever. It was a job specifically for a Seith mage, and not just any kind, one specialized in human souls. The list of those mages on the entire Continent comprised of one name, his. He'd been putting this job off for months already.

The Dragon Slayer slammed his hand into the doorframe, letting his arm block Bickslow's path out of the house

"You're really gonna skip town today, of all fuckin' days, and you aren't even going to tell her you're leaving?"

"You make it sound like I'm leaving the guild or something. Its just a long mission. I'll probably be back in a few months," He defended himself.

"Are you really that scared of commitment, that you'll put Ishgar between you two before you'll even consider it?" He snarled.

Bickslow's eyes narrowed behind his visor.

"It's nothing to do with that. And what commitment? We aren't together!" He pushed Laxus's arm out of the way and squeezed through. "I'll be back in a few months. This can all wait till then. Its not a big deal,"

"Then why haven't you told her yet? She's been sitting up in that hospital bed for nearly a week, bored out of her mind. You've been to see her once, Bickslow, once. And the day she's been let out,

you're taking off."

"It'll be easier this way. Trust me," He rasped; he didn't believe that himself but the lie didn't have to be convincing.

"The last time you told me that I ended up stark naked in a royal courtyard in Crocus, trying to explain my way out of a prison cell. Excuse my disbelief," Laxus wiped tiredly at his face. "But I'm not gonna hound you on this. It's not going to be my heart you're going to break here. I would of thought you'd know how bad that fucking felt," Disappointment ever present in his voice as he turned away from Bickslow.

"It's not the same and you know it. Jess was..." He almost couldn't say her name. "Alma is just a friend," He ground out, already irritable.

"You don't get up before ten am for friends, Bickslow. You barely get up before ten am for missions. It doesn't matter if you never so much as pecked her on the cheek," Laxus paused, scrutinizing Bickslow's face before shaking his head.

"Except you have kissed her, haven't you? You sly dog."

"I really don't want to talk about it, boss. Got a train to catch," Bickslow put on his visor and forced a grin. The mask hiding the sudden worry in his eyes.

"Well, don't do anything stupid and if you need us, we're here," Laxus offered. He didn't want to see him go either.

"Me? Something stupid? Never!"

Bickslow hurried out the door before he changed his mind. The train would be leaving soon and he would be out of Fiore by nightfall. Today was meant to be a day of celebration. There was a BBQ at the guild and now that the King had overturned the disbandment orders, they were official again and things were settling back into some form of normality.

But there was a hole in him; an aching painful space that couldn't be allowed to remain, and he needed time and distance for that to heal. People left the guild on extensive missions all the time. It wasn't that big of a deal. He doubted many would notice. He expected he'd be back within a couples of months.

He took his seat on the train and tried to think of other things but he couldn't, mostly he was just glad that Laxus hadn't asked him the big question he really wouldn't have been able to to answer: why he didn't ask her to go with him?

Notes

The shorter Bickslow story is called Of Barren Design and first chapter of that should be up within a day or two. If Laxus, Natsu and Bickslow sound like a team combo that would interest you, then you may like it. Its very much Bickslow-centric and its set in The Walled Garden universe. Its got its darker tones but its kinda bordering on comedy in comparison.

And that's it. The end of the Walled Garden. Done. Finito. Complete. I'm fairly sure there are some points that I may rewrite at some point but for the most part I think getting it out there in some sort of complete fashion is the important bit. Would have driven me crazy otherwise.

I hope you've enjoyed it and see you shortly for the next one!