Disclaimer: Once more, I don't own this manga or anything, Hiro Mashima does, and look how good he's taking it. Just kidding~.

A/N: We go on with the new format and the continuation of this second set of three-shots. *coughs* Pretty cool, huh? Well, let's cut the chase and go to the point; I got a few complaints, okay, no complaints per see but still shout-outs about something that is seriously wrong with my stories lately… even though it was pointed to this one in particular. *nods* First off, thanks Aravind for pointing out this flaw. Second, I'll start the chapter by making up in that regard. (I suggest y'all read his review if you wanna know what's going on.) Third, the story continues by following the past of another of the couple's children, guess which one. *chuckles*

Oh, another thing, I'll be having a surprise for y'all in a few days. I'll be ending one of the stories I've got in my profile. Yes, you heard right, and it's up to you to figure out which one! Heheheh~! Here's a hint: It is one of my first stories.

Now, onto the story.

Family:

Reminisce

I.-.-.I Magnolia Town I.-.-.I

I.-.-.I South Gate Park I.-.-.I

(22 years prior to the actual story)

A soft breeze rose all of the sudden in the quiet park, taking with it the leftover grass of the morning's mowing.

It rocked the branches of the great tree in the middle of the place and made some of its leaves fly away as well.

Two people stood quietly under the shade, one with an expression of shock while the other couldn't raise its head.

Astonishment and anxiety.

The young man standing there could not believe what he just heard.

The young woman with him could not bear the piercing gaze of his.

"…a-are you…? I-Is that true?"

His two questions and stuttering voice made her bit her lip in slight fear.

Was it perhaps too soon for this?

"I-I'm sure… I wouldn't… I wouldn't lie about it."

A sharp intake of air was heard from him.

She closed her eyes at the possible outburst from him.

And the next thing the young woman heard was the sound of a solid object falling to the ground.

Upon raising her gaze, her eyes widened at seeing the young man passed out over the grass.

"N-Natsu!?"

I.-.-.I Capital city of Crocus I.-.-.I

I.-.-.I Mercurius Palace I.-.-.I

(1 year prior to the actual story)

After an entertaining week of events in the Domus Flau, the Grand Magic Games were over. Brought to an end after the battle royal of the last day and with an astounding victory from the wizards of Lamia Scale, that not only managed to best the powerful Sabertooth but also hold back the wizards from the mighty Fairy Tail.

A great battle of epic proportions that left the public cheering to the last of their breaths and city barely standing.

Many reparations would have to take place overnight, a massive reconstruction of many sections of the city due to the young wizards and their destructive magic.

Off with that, we are now inside the great palace of the King of Fiore. Or should I say Queen?

"For all of the wizards gathered here today in this great hall," Queen Hisui E. Fiore started after a short moment of entering the premises, giving time for the youngsters and other wizards to calm themselves into quietness. She held a smile on her face while talking to those that fought the last week in the city, together with her faithful guard Arcadios standing behind her. "I congratulate you all for a fine display of skill and magic prowess, determination and courage."

A loud cheer followed and the veteran guardsman behind her was quick to silence them all with a single hand raised.

"As a way to celebrate the good end of our yearly event, I invite you all to enjoy yourselves with us tonight." Soon after her words were spoken, an army of butlers, waitress and other servants swarmed the hall, serving the wizards inside with all kinds of delicacies. Her smile brightened at the sight of the cheerfulness below and she bowed. "Please, do have fun, rest the fatigue of the past week in this beautiful night."

Another roar of cheers and the youngsters were left to their devices.

"Gotta admit it doesn't look different from back then." Natsu murmured after eyeing the celebrating youngsters from all the guilds, catching sight of a few known faces in the process and waving back to their greetings from afar. He grinned at the sight of the wizards of Sabertooth going through the food and drinks with little enthusiasm, probably due to the loss of the last day. "Heh, Sting doesn't look as cheerful as he always is…"

Said man was sighing every now and then in the table reserved for him and the rest of the old generation of Sabertooth, everyone pretty much bummed because of the last result. Not even Lector or Frosch felt like trying to cheer them up.

"You do realize our own side is pretty much the same, right?" Erza scolded the Dragon Slayer, pointing to themselves and then to the wizards of Fairy Tail around the hall, noting the halfhearted faces of most of them. "The only people actually having fun tonight are the ones from Lamia."

"Bleh, it sucks that they won, honestly." The Dragon Slayer sighed and shook his head, looking back up with a smile on his face. He could see an older Lyon and even older Jura celebrating with the younger wizards from their guild. "But I guess it's not that bad…"

The scarlet-haired Knight nodded and smiled with her eyes close, agreeing on that part. "Aye, it is not."

"Natsu-dono, Erza-dono," a voice called their names and their heads turned in sync to the right, watching with some surprise how Arcadios of the Cherry Blossom Holy Knights approached them with two of his officers on toe. One of them familiar to the pair of wizards. The old knight nodded in greeting once in front of them and gave a nostalgic smile. "I see you decided to attend tonight's event."

"Well duh, I couldn't leave Eris alone after what happened the other day." Natsu growled out unconsciously, looking in between the many wizards for one of white hair and purple clothes. "I swear I'll butcher that V if he tries anything again."

Erza shook her head in mild amusement and Arcadios just laughed it off. "It is good to see you still keep your lively attitude, Natsu-dono."

"It would've been good if some of it had lessened with the years." The woman in the group pointed out, earning another laugh from the old knight and a soft chuckle from her son, who was behind the taller man.

All of this while Natsu grumbled a few curses and shot her an annoyed glance.

"Dad's always had a short fuse." Lotus commented idly to get into the conversation, planning on mocking his father's personality a little if not for a sharp pain that jolted from his waist to the rest of his body. He stumbled a couple of steps to the right and glared at the person next to him. "Ow! Hey! What's that for!?"

"You know why, Lotus." The other guard standing with them, a young woman of light brown hair, long to the waist, ashen eyes and red military uniform glared back at him in answer. She held a muzzle-loader rifle in her hands, one she used to hit the young man's side in order to quiet him down. "You weren't just disrespecting your father but Arcadios-sama as well."

"Huh? And how did I do that?" The older Dragneel child questioned in mild anger, turning his full attention to the woman and ignoring the soft laughs of the older people close to them. "I'm pretty sure my comment was not disrespectful in any way."

She shook her head in disbelief, rolling her eyes when he started to glare at her. "Saying your father has a short fuse is a clear disrespectful statement, Lotus, even if it's true."

"O-oi…" Natsu murmured a bit hurt, whereas Arcadios and Erza laughed about it.

The young woman continued. "And you interrupted a conversation to which you weren't invited."

"Why don't we go outside and see who's right, huh?" The young man proposed, calling forth one of his swords and smirking in challenge to the uninterested girl. "Or what? Are you too scared to even take on my challenge?"

Shaking her head again, the young woman walk past him, bumping against his shoulder on purpose, and led the way outside. "Follow me, I'll show you how weak your words are."

"Y-you…!" Lotus glared even stronger at the retreating back of the brown-haired girl and followed her quickly, ignoring the laughing adults they left behind.

"The youth of today is always refreshing." Arcadios commented with amusement once the pair of youngsters left, noticing the nostalgic air between the parents of his young Captain. He was his superior in a way and was used to seeing this kind of thing between the two youngsters, but he guessed that it was the first for the parents. "I'm sure the young Captain never spoke of her, if you'd like, I could talk a little about their relationship."

'Meddle in the life of that brat? Nah…' Quieting down his laughter, Natsu shook his head and gave the old knight a reassuring smile. "No, it's-."

"Please, do tell everything you know." Erza interrupted him though, quickly as lightning, interest and curiosity brimming from every pore of her being as she took a sweatdropping Arcadios to a free table so she could hear all the details of her son's relationship to that young woman. "Do worry about the details and be sure to not miss anything."

"A-aye, Erza-dono…"

'…ah, I forgot she's overprotective of him.' The Dragon Slayer watched the two leave and then, he was alone, laughing nervously over his wife's nosy behavior. 'Damn, Arcadios will need a drink… or a hundred after she's done with him.'

Some things never change.

Though he would have expected this from Mira, not her.

I.-.-.I Magnolia Town I.-.-.I

I.-.-.I Fairy Tail's Infirmary I.-.-.I

(22 years prior to the actual story)

After dragging his unconscious form through the streets of the town, thanking to whatever Gods in the sky for the day to be a dull one with no one walking around the town, Erza sat next to the sleeping Natsu and kept her hands on her knees while Makarov and Mira inspected the young man's condition.

She knew it and this was the proof she needed; Natsu was not ready for what lay in story for them.

"Hmmm, the brat is out for the count." Makarov spoke after checking up the boy's state, shaking his head in mild amusement at the almost unnoticeable look of horror on the face of the Dragon Slayer. "Whatever happened to him, it knocked him out cold."

"Aye aye, Natsu looks like he had seen a ghost." Mira added with a cheerful smile, noticing her former rival's flinching body. Her smile turned into a devious grin. "I bet he heard something terrifying."

The old man looked up in question at the statement. "Terrifying?"

Lucky for her, Erza was behind the Master. This gave her a wide berth to pale, flinch and tremble even more at the conversation that her rival started to grit her nerves. 'You're the true Devil, Mira!'

"Oh yes, something like… hmmm, I don't know." Mira tapped her chin with a lonely finger and looked up in wonder, further grating the scarlet-haired woman's nerves with all her acting. She gave an exclamation of happiness and joined her hands together, tilting her head to the side for added cuteness. "What if Natsu heard he has a son?"

Erza's jaw fell to the ground.

Makarov's case was the same. "A-A son…? This strong-headed moron?"

Mira shrugged and kept her smile in place. "Who knows? Maybe he was deceived into doing that and he now has a son?"

At the mere idea of her, from all people, seducing Natsu just to lay a son on his hands made something in Erza snap. "What?"

"Natsu is a strong-headed guy, maybe an idiot… but he's kind and wouldn't refuse if a girl ever tries that with him." Mira went on and on with her reasoning, not missing the increasing killer instinct suddenly falling upon her or the look of worry from the Master who finally caught up to what was going on. "He probably is between the… how's it said? The sword and the wall?"

To make part of the statement true, a sword came flying in Mira's direction.

It passed close to her right cheek and embedded itself on the wall behind.

She still kept her smile. "Hmm? Is there something you want to say, Erza~?"

The sing-song tone she used made the woman even more furious.

"I'm about to carve a hole in your chest, Mira."

At such words, the old man in the room excused himself and stood by the sidelines.

Was it perhaps that Mira noticed what he noticed and was having a jealousy fit?

Or was it just to push the proud Knight to confess on her own?

Whatever the case, he didn't want to be in the middle.

'A-ah… young women… always full of energy.'

I.-.-.I Capital city of Crocus I.-.-.I

I.-.-.I Mercurius Palace's Garden I.-.-.I

(1 year prior to the actual story)

'Ah… young people… always complicating the simplest of things…' Natsu sighed blissfully as he leaned against the railing of the balcony that gave view to the ample garden of the Royal Palace. He used a hand to support his head and the other to scratch the surface of the rocky structure, waiting for the fight between his son and his friend to start. He eyed the two of them and snickered at the confident smiles they had before the start of the match, suddenly remembering himself doing something alike in the past with a certain someone. 'Though, this is a bit better than yelling "I challenge you!" to the four winds…'

"Are you ready? Last chance to bail out, Lieutenant!" Lotus called from his side of the field, holding his sword at the ready, smirking confidently at the impassive woman opposite to him.

"Those are my words, Lotus, you should retreat now with your pride intact." The brown-haired shooter replied calmly, sighing when he laughed her words off and made his stance even more firm. She raised her weapon and aimed it at him. "If you continue with this, I expect you to be ready for the consequences."

"Oh-ho~! And you better be ready as well!" The crimson-haired man looked at her firmly and his smirk widened. He had a good idea on how to beat her, especially after recalling what happened not three days ago.

'Wait… really?' Natsu quirked an eyebrow in disbelief, catching onto what his son had in mind. 'Okay… I know our family is full of idiots… each in their own way and right… but still… that'll be pretty low of you, Lotus.'

"Ah! There you are, Natsu-san!" A voice rung from behind and head of the Dragon Slayer turned to look over his shoulder, approaching him was the form of Sting Eucliffe carrying a couple of glasses and bottle with him. He was slightly surprised to see the man there and not inside mopping with the rest of the guild. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

The White Dragon Slayer hadn't change a lot in the last decades, only gaining a few sharper features and a change in wardrobe. In the pink-hair's mind, he looked the same but more mature. Probably the same case as him. Who knew? Maybe the saying 'a dragon grows wiser with each year he lives' was true and they were both finally calming down from their rambunctious days.

"Shhh, can't you keep it down a little." The Fairy Tail wizard chided, showing an irritated look and pointing a finger to the couple fighting it off in the garden. "My boy is fighting his girlfriend down there and I wanna see how it goes."

"His girlfriend, you say?" Sting walked to be next to his childhood idol and looked at the two wizards/guardsmen of the Royal Palace with curious eyes, whistling in amazement at the skill of both youngsters. He opened the bottle he brought with him and served two glasses, giving one to the other man. "Hmmm, not bad… the girl has some nice looks."

"Yes, she does…" 'I'd never dare to say that in front of Erza, though.' The pink-haired thought nervously, remembering how insecure the scarlet-haired woman could be.

The blond wizard continued to eye the fight and titled his head in wonder, noticing something amiss. "Looks like they're even, don't they?"

Natsu shook his head and smiled in amusement. "Nah, the boy is holding back…"

"Holding back? What? Does he want to impress her or something?" The blond asked with an amused smile of his own.

"Probably, though I bet it'll go wrong for him in the end." The pink-haired man chuckled lightly.

"I bet you tried to do the same with Erza-san." Sting joked, but his amused expression turned into a nervous grimace when Natsu flinched. "Uh… okay, you did… and how did it end?"

The stronger Dragon Slayer gulped down the saliva in his mouth and took a mouthful of the wine in his glass. "Not very well…"

The Master of Sabertooth shivered at the short mental image and patted his fellow's back in empathy. "U-uh, sorry for asking."

Natsu shook his head and slumped down, leaving his chin against the railing. "I-It's alright… don't worry…"

I.-.-.I Magnolia Town I.-.-.I

I.-.-.I Fairy Tail's Infirmary I.-.-.I

(22 years prior to the actual story)

The constant noises, both of collisions against hard surfaces or whistles cutting through the air made the young man in the room groan, both from a strange pain in his head and from all the ruckus that was receiving him together with it. He seriously wanted some sleep after the strange dream he had, rest some more after changing his position in the bed so that the headache would go away at waking up completely.

"Just admit it, Erza!"

"I won't admit a thing to you, Mira!"

'Erza…? Mira…?' Shifting under the covers of his bed… which was not supposed to have sheets considering he usually slept on a hammock, Natsu tried to open his eyes slowly, so as to grow used to the light of the day and then opened in one full motion. He had to, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to dodge the sword that came flying close to his head. Now fully awake, he eyed the battlefield inside of what it was supposed to be the infirmary of the guild and yelled to the top of his lungs. "What the hell is going on!?"

Both women stopped short at the yell, mere inches away from producing more harm to the other and looked at the young boy with wide, surprised eyes. "Natsu!"

"Finally awake, my boy?" Makarov asked nervously from one corner of the room, waving a feeble hand to the Dragon Slayer.

"Uh? Yeah, I am! Thanks, gramps!" Natsu took his time to address the old man and then returned to his frightened expression, pointing a finger at all the swords in the room, the holes in the walls, and the two women holding each other by the neck. "What are you two doing!?"

"Oh, nothing~." Mira went back to her human form and smiled sweetly to the young man, waving her hand and the issue as if nothing had truly never happened. "We were having a women's heart-to-heart."

Natsu narrowed his eyes at the answer. "Really now?"

"Why yes, I was just talking with Erza about why you passed out." The white-haired beauty said in all honesty, making the woman next to her glare at her fiercely.

"I passed out?" The pink-haired though, he had a different reaction. The mere reminder of him passing out also brought back some flashes of that strange dream he had before waking up in that room. "D-does it have anything to do with-?"

"It has nothing to do with that!" Erza yelled loud enough to leave his voice as a mere whisper, aside interrupting him as well. She gasped for breath and lowered her head to hide her frustration. "We can talk about it later, Natsu."

"Hmmm, talk about what?" Makarov asked in curiosity, earning a yelp from the scarlet-haired knight that forgot she wasn't alone in the room.

"Yeah… now I'm curious too." Natsu confessed honestly, scratching his head at all the confusion this situation brought to him.

"C'mon, Erza… why don't you tell?" Mira teased again, this time a bit light-hearted. She smiled sweetly to the knight when this one was going to glare at her again and motioned for her to come clean. "We're among friends… family… you can talk to us, right?"

'Okay… now I'm really curious.' Both males in the room thought together, feeling like they were the only people that didn't know about this mysterious issue that bothered the S-class knight.

'S-she got me there… damn her…' Erza lowered her head and grumbled a few incoherent words. She looked through the corners of her vision to the old Master, who was like a father to her, and then the pink-haired man, who was the cause of her current situation, and grumbled even more. 'I-I didn't want to give the news like this… I wanted him to know first, before anyone else…'

"Erza?" A voice called for her, a voice she knew well. She raised her head slightly and her brown eyes met a similar set of onyx color. "Is something wrong? You can tell me."

'D-don't use those sad-puppy eyes with me, you fool!' The woman grumbled a few curses more under her breath and then sighed, long and loudly. The room grew quiet and they all fixed their eyes on her, noticing she moved her lips and said something… but they could not hear it. "…"

Natsu quirked an eyebrow at what he almost heard, crawling over the bed to be closer to the woman at the same time he used a hand to amplify his ear's reach. "Uh? Sorry, I didn't hear you…"

The woman's head lowered even more and the same thing happened. "…"

The pink-haired youngster frowned at this, now looking at the woman with his arms crossed and an annoyed expression. "Come on, Erza! Spit it out!"

Erza growled an insult more and then raised her head to the Heavens.

"I SAID I'M PREGNANT, YOU IDIOT!"

Silence.

Lots of silence.

You could hear a pin falling to the floor with all the silence.

Oh, look, I said silence three – no, four times now!

But back to the story.

Makarov fell on his butt with his jaw hitting the wooden floor, a look of pure shock in his face.

Mira squealed and jumped around the room with a mad giggling barely contained by her hands.

And Natsu staggered on the bed to fall as well, face-first against the floor.

He stood up quickly though, and ran to hold the panting woman's shoulders.

There was a strange glint in his eyes when he asked her… "For real!?"

The flustered Titania nodded sheepishly, fully abashed now that the news that were supposed to be for her lover alone were yelled and revealed to a few added people. "Y-yes…"

The other two occupants in the room now turned to the Dragon Slayer to his reaction, noticing with some nervousness that he was shaking all over and staring at the woman's eyes in disbelief. Maybe this was not what he wanted? If so, the single thought made Mira's heart be close to shatter. All of her teasing and pushing her friend's buttons to confess only to receive a negative?

She was such a –

"ALRIGHT! YES!" Natsu cheered in excitement, surprising the woman now captured in an impregnable hug. He jumped around with her in his arms and cheered some more. "It was not a dream! I'm really going to be a dad! It wasn't a goddamned dream! YEAH!"

Shock filled the room again, but this one was of a different, warmer kind.

'N-Natsu…' Erza wanted to cry at the unexpected reaction. After seeing him passing out a few hours earlier, she thought that what she was waiting to come in nine months was not something the pink-haired man wanted as much as her. Maybe she overthought the whole issue, maybe her natural pessimism won over and made her think of the worst possible outcome instead of remembering that this was the same cheerful young man that always was there for her. She returned his hug and buried her face in his shoulder, happy beyond limits as she sobbed a few times. 'You better never change, you damn lovable fool…'

"U-uh… sorry to cut your happy moment but…" Makarov stood back on his feet and coughed a few times to call the attention of the merry couple. The merry couple of which he had no idea of until today. "S-since when have you two… well, how long has it been?"

"Oh Master! Don't tell me you didn't notice!" Mira asked aloud, still in cloud nine at the prospect of finally seeing her friends getting together and moving on towards a bright future. "They've been together for years now!"

"W-what!?" The old man almost fell again. If that were true, since when? He really wanted to know. "A-are you serious!?"

"I-I could… I could try and tell you about it, Master." Erza offered sincerely, wiping the tears from her eyes, but, looking at the loving gaze of the man holding her, she knew they had other plans for the day. "B-but… I'm sure you understand Natsu and I need some time on our own, don't you?"

"Yeah, gramps! We can talk about all of this later!" Natsu himself was still pretty much uncaring to everything and happy about anything. Someone could barge inside the infirmary and tell him that Gray was made an S-class wizard before him and he would not care at all. He took hold of the woman in his arms and carried past the old man, not even waiting for a reply. "Please tell everyone not to bother us!"

"Aye aye! Go have fun!" Mira assured them with her smile receding a little, a small wave of her hand to the two lovebirds that had something to celebrate now. "And congratulations, too!"

It wasn't long before the two wizards could no longer heard the loud cheers of the Dragon Slayer, signaling his departure from the nearby area.

"…alright, I need a drink." Makarov spoke after a long moment, walking out of the room towards his office with a dark cloud floating over his head. Of course, it wasn't that he was sad about the beautiful development between his children, but… 'A boy… or a girl… from those two? I can bid farewell to my funds now.'

Mira accompanied the old man until he was inside his office, chuckling lightly at his more than obvious thoughts about all of this.

Should she be evil and make him wonder about what it could happen if they happened to have another child afterwards?

'Hmmm… no, Master has enough on his plate already.'

More giggling was heard and she returned to her workstation.

I.-.-.I Capital city of Crocus I.-.-.I

I.-.-.I Mercurius Palace's Garden I.-.-.I

(1 year prior to the actual story)

"Hmmm, the fight is drawing to a close…" Natsu murmured quietly to this fellow spectator, keeping his eyes on the pair fighting in the garden but catching the nod from Sting from his peripheral vision. "And it looks like the winner is who we thought."

"Okay, that means the funny part starts now, right?" The blond Dragon Slayer chuckled and covered his mouth with one hand. If what Natsu and him spoke in the last few minutes was true, then the young Dragneel boy was about to meet a world of pain for playing the smartass. "I feel some pity for him, no offense."

The pink-haired parent shook his head and chuckled a bit on his own. "None taken."

As for the battle in the gardens of the Queen of Fiore, the sight of the field turned into a mixture of both brown, black and small patches green did nothing to deter the two combatants and their objective. Fallen trees, craters of all sizes, gashes cutting the ground; they stopped at nothing, not even when noticing they were making a mess of the royal garden.

"C'mon already! Face me!" Lotus would always take the job of charging ahead and meeting his fellow officer head-on while the other dodged him and fired rounds upon rounds of magic bullets. He ducked when another dangerous barrage was released towards his head and took a sharp turn to the left, running in circles around her as she continued to fire more bullets. "I'm getting bored, Lieutenant Zara!"

"Stop running then, and allow my bullets to hit you." Zara replied coolly, keeping up her shooting with ease despite the increasing movement speed of her target. She knew well-enough that he was superior. Not only in rank but in power as well. It would be a fool's errand to try and beat him with such a fact in mind. But she was not one to back away after talking so strongly. Especially to this man. "I will make sure to avoid any vital points."

"Hah!" The young man snorted in mock amusement and changed directions again, this time going for the right flank. His actions earned him a short respite but before long, her bullets were whistling close to his body again. He would've been hit already if it weren't because of his swordsmanship, making use of his nimbleness with sharp weapons to deflect the projectiles that were closer to hit him. "I'll have my victory soon! Be ready!"

Another sharp turn and he disappeared from her field of vision, though she saw this tactic of his before. She turned around and aimed her gun down, stopping the young Captain on his tracks when he was about to slash at her back.

Both fighters remained still.

"And… there… I almost thought he won." Sting mussed aloud after seeing the last from the fight.

"You're wrong… keep looking." Natsu told his fellow with an amused grin, prompting Eucliffe to do as told.

Lotus gritted his teeth together in repressed anger and Zara narrowed her eyes at him.

She was about to press the trigger and shoot a minor blast on the man's face.

But Lotus discarded his swords and lunged, pushing aside her weapon to tackle her to the ground.

To say she was surprised would be an understatement.

Her superior officer tackled her to the ground, pinning her against the soft grass.

The soft grass of Her Majesty's garden, no less.

Without missing a single heart-beat or doubting his actions.

"C-Captain…!?" Zara squeaked in bewilderment, at a loss for words in this situation.

The distance or the position between the two was not really awkward in her opinion.

But the suddenness of it all and the strange feeling she could read in his dark-red eyes were sending shivers down her spine.

"Now…" Lotus growled lowly, inches away from her face. "I'll have my victory."

Ceasing all kinds of resistance, the Lieutenant closed her ashen eyes and waited. "C-Captain…"

The distance between the two grew thinner and thinner, painfully but steadily.

The two Dragon Slayers in the distance joined their hands together in anticipation of what was about to come.

Holding their breaths for the long-awaited moment!

The distance was almost null now!

And then…!

"What do you think you're doing?" A voice suddenly spoke behind them and made them shriek like little girls, turning around with their hands gripping their chests. Both on the floor and against the railing as they saw the mighty Titania glowering at the two for catching them red-handed. "Spying on a young couple in their intimacy? You two are not so senile to be doing that just yet."

"L-look, honey… I can explain…!" Natsu tried nervously.

"Enough!" Erza pointed a sword to his throat, shutting him up for good. She eyed to the right and summoned another blade, aiming it at the blond Master of Sabertooth who tried to escape while she focused on her husband. "And you as well! Both will face punishment for what you were doing!"

A loud crash was heard.

"Natsu-saaaaaaan~!"

"Stiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing~!"

Followed by another crash.

"Shut up, you two!"

And then another more, stronger than the previous two.

The night was beautiful for the couple in the middle of the devastated garden.

Nothing to complain if they had to say it.

Aside the man-crying and whimpers they heard at some point.

I.-.-.I Magnolia Town I.-.-.I

I.-.-.I Erza's room at Fairy Hills I.-.-.I

(22 years prior to the actual story)

A companionable silence engulfed the room and its two occupants.

Both lost in a world of their own.

Undisturbed by anything that could be or might be happening outside their little bubble of happiness.

"How should we call him… or her?"

"Hmmm, what about Erza?"

"M-my name…? A-are you sure…?"

He laid a hand on her stomach, which in a few months to come would be a belly.

He couldn't wait for all those days and months to pass.

"Yeah… I'm sure."

She looked down with a small smile and then looked up again.

She had another question.

"And if it's a boy? Is Natsu okay?"

He laughed at her question.

Which earned him a soft punch to his shoulder.

"N-no… why not another?"

"Like…?"

He looked up in thought.

And snapped his fingers when something occurred to him.

"Why not Lotus?"

She quirked an eyebrow.

"Lotus…? As in… Crimson Lotus? Your magic's spell?"

He nodded sharply.

"Yeah… I mean, Crimson Lotus' flames always remind me of your hair, y'know?"

She blushed slightly.

"So? Whatcha say? Is Lotus alright?"

She nodded quickly without missing a heart-beat.

Laying a hand of her own to rest on top of his over her stomach.

"Yes… Lotus will be a good name."

He grinned and leaned his head against hers.

Both enjoying the silence of the room.

In their own little world as they waited for what the future would bring.

It will continue.

A/N: Alright, I'm not going to lie… that ending I wrote almost brought a tear to my eyes. *sniffs* Seriously, I think I'll try to write a couple more of situations like that in the future… oh, the future. *sniffs again* So full of… uncertainty! Yes. No one knows what is to come but we all wait for it in one way or another. *nods*

Now, back to business, friends. *coughs* I told you all I'll be delivering the end of one of my stories in the following day, did I not? Yes, I did. Okay, I'm pretty sure that the clue I gave you all was not enough to help you into guessing which one so… what do you say? Want another hint? Here it is! Hint: It is a story set in an Alternative Universe. *grins* Good luck finding out which one is it!

And I really hope you've all enjoyed this chapter! I wrote it remembering that Lotus was –in this fic- the first child of this pairing. Meaning that his own chapter was going to be a little bit bound to the past and his parents' story decades ago. *nods* All good and well. Now, I'll try to bring the next one as soon as I can, no promises, since… you know, I'm having Finals around these days and my time is quite limited during the week. But expect chapter and other things from me during the weekends! Yay!

Saludos.