Epilogue

Five Years Later...

They were all on holiday at a resort on the beach.

There were certain anxieties Laxus and his wife had faced as their sons grew up and began to live their own lives, but one thing they learned about the twins is that they were so deeply connected as a family that they stayed close.

Neither of them lived with their parents and they both had wives, but they visited so often it still felt like they were around most of the time. Sometimes they would all get together and eat, and other times his sons would just drop in because they missed the smell of their childhood home and their parents.

Mavis bounced around and spent a lot of time at her brothers' homes. The three siblings were insanely close for the age gap they had. For the most part, she stayed close to her parents though, being the only child left at home with older parents who were more than happy to spoil her absolutely to death.

Laxus was actually really proud of how his family had developed.

It was early in the morning, and knowing his wife wanted to sleep in, Laxus got dressed in some swim trunks and a t-shirt and decided to see if he could find any of his fairly extensive family awake. Their seven-year-old daughter was sleeping in the other room in their suite, and he peeked in on her to confirm she was still out.

Mavis was a daddy's girl in every sense of the word. They were inseparable, but she was a cranky grump in the morning and enjoyed sleeping in. Like Lila Dragneel—wait, Dreyar—he reminded himself, she'd been born without the ability to use magic, which caused her to be a somewhat normal kid. Mostly. She had her moments.

Laxus went by Yuri and Katie's room and found a do not disturb sign hanging on the door and no signs of life. They'd been married for two years, and they still did everything together. He'd been surprised when Yuri told him they wanted to get married, but it made sense and they were happy.

There was stirring in Mako's room and he knocked on the door and Lila answered.

"Morning."

"Morning," she said, a little uneasiness in her voice. "I think Mako already got up and went to go do something."

These two? Mako and Lila. Lila went to university in Hargeon, and two had a mostly terrible long-distance relationship during that time. The situation forced them both to grow up a lot, trust one another, and be patient. Things smoothed over when she came home and four months prior, they'd run off and eloped, which agitated all the parents involved to no end.

He wondered if they'd been at odds and went to go search for his son, who was sitting on the beach in his swim trunks. Mako looked pensive, and Laxus suspected he was right about them fighting.

"Son."

"Hey Dad."

"Everything okay?"

Mako nodded. "Yeah."

Laxus sat down next to him and watched him for a while. It was surreal to see his little boys as adults sometimes, because sometimes he couldn't help but think of how tiny they were when they were little boys. It was interesting but when they were toddlers and their personalities were developing, he would often imagine what they'd be like when they were grown and his predictions weren't wrong.

Yuri was sweet and calm when he was little and then growing up he went through this evolution of sorts and somehow settled right back into those mannerisms once he became mature.

Mako had changed very little since the beginning of his life. His personality was always the same. He didn't have phases, he was simply only always himself.

They were both monogamous by nature, and even though some people made a fuss about them getting married young, or before they'd been with other women, he was happy with them. He glad they didn't party and sleep around and take part in the corrupt wizard's lifestyle. They were faithful, loyal, and kind, and what they wanted for themselves was what they had grown up with—a good marriage and a peaceful home.

"You guys get into a fight?"

"No."

Laxus elbowed him. "Then what's the problem? It's so weird to see you look that serious."

Mako watched the waves splashing on his feet. "Dad..."

"What is it?"

He looked up at his father. "Well..."

"Out with it already, son."

Mako quietly said, "Dad, Lila's pregnant."

Laxus' brows rose, and for a minute, he didn't say anything. It was a surprise, but at the same time, it really wasn't. His sons were married, in their twenties, and were both good with kids. This moment had been coming for a while and he and his wife had a bet going about which one of their sons would plunge into the world of parenthood first.

He put a hand on his son's shoulder. "Congratulations, Son. You okay?"

"Kind of surprised? It's amazing though. She keeps throwing up, so I don't know what to do. She's annoyed with me right now," he admitted.

Laxus stood up and put on his shoes. "Come with me."

The two men walked together and talked about fatherhood. "Dad, were you scared?"

"I was terrified. But I felt like I had to be brave for your mom, because she was scared too. It's a process for a woman to become a mother. They go through a lot," he answered.

His son smirked a little. "When I think that she's going to have my baby and it's so amazing to me."

"That never gets old. Sometimes I look at you guys and it's still magical."

Mako followed his father to the drug store a block away and carried a little red basket. His father threw different things in—ginger tea, peppermints, crackers, lemons, and club soda. He gave his son a rundown on morning sickness as a whole, and what to do and what not to do, and how to not get kicked out of the bedroom at six in the morning for asking stupid questions (which had been Mako's day so far).

Bonding moments were becoming few and farther between as his sons grew older, but Mako listened intently to every word that came out of his father's mouth, because he wanted to take good care of his wife and keep her happy the same way his father did for his mother.

They were walking back to the resort when Mako said, "I just realized something."

"Hm?"

"You're going to be Gramps now."

Laxus wasn't sure why it hurt for a split second, but it did. He missed his grandfather sorely, even after years, and there were times he went passed his still-empty bedroom and reflected on the huge impact he'd had on all their lives.

When they got back, Mako was about to tend to his pregnant wife when they stopped in the dining room to get some food he could take up to Lila, only to find she'd recovered and was down in the dining room with the rest of the women in the family, chattering a thousand miles an hour with a hand on her belly.

As soon as they approached, Mako got a huge hug from his over-excited mother and they sat down.

The whole family ended up down at the beach and the girls tossed a ball around with while Laxus and his sons participated in a game his wife called the 'Let's try to drown each other' game. Then they had a swimming competition, then they had a diving competition, and the twins came to the awful conclusion that they couldn't beat their father at anything.

The three were pretty far from the shore when they finally gave up.

"How can you be that old and be in such good shape?" Mako complained.

Laxus ducked under the water and pulled him down, and when they came back up he said, "I'll go easy on you since you're going to have a kid. Yuri gets no mercy."

Yuri sank down to his nose for a minute and then said, "I don't need mercy from the likes of a grandfather."

Mako watched his brother and father disappear under the water for quite a while before Yuri came up gasping for air.

He heard a little splash and Mavis surfaced and climbed on his back. "You're a really good swimmer, Mavis."

"Where's daddy?" she asked.

Yuri appeared for a split second for air. "Dad is showing Yuri something."

Yuri swam to the surface gasping and Mavis swam over to him. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," he grumbled as she climbed onto his back. "H-hey don't..."

Mavis screamed when Yuri was suddenly airborne from their father throwing Yuri into the air, and her brother grabbed her and pinched her nose as they fell back in the water before kicking to the top.

Laxus was panicked when he saw his daughter had joined the group, but Yuri safely brought a very irate little girl to the surface. "Sorry, Baby."

"You're mean!"

Laxus splashed her. "That's what you get for siding with the enemy."

She splashed him, he splashed her back, and Laxus found himself in a three-on-one splash war with his offspring.

"You're on their side, really?"

Mavis kicked water at him. "Always!"

Laxus reached out to flick the end of her nose and she bit his finger. "Feisty..."

As a father, he was pleased with his daughter being a little rough. She was a girly-girl for sure, but she had a wild side as well and when it manifested, it was usually serious. Her teachers who had the displeasure of having her brothers in their classes years before called this "having a Dreyar moment."

The boys swam in to spend time with their wives, leaving Laxus and his baby out in the water.

She treaded water in front of him. "Daddy..."

"Hm?"

"You're the best."

Laxus grinned at her. "This is why you're my favorite. You're not going to grow up and get married and leave me, right?"

Mavis very seriously answered, "Probably."

He gave her a pat on the head and then pushed her underwater.

When she came back up, he asked, "You're not going to grow up and get married and leave, right?"

"Nope."

"Good girl."

Mavis pointed at some rough-looking waves. "Let's go over there."

"Hold on."

She held onto his neck and then he felt a prickling pull at his back hair.

"Ow?"

"You have a hairy back, Daddy."

Laxus gave her a little glare but indulged her anyway, swimming in the rough water so she could use his back as a surf board. There really wasn't much she asked for that he wasn't willing to do, and when she'd thoroughly exhausted him, he swim back to the shore at sunset where she promptly fell asleep and required him to carry her up to their room.

When he went inside and got on the elevator, he saw his son Yuri approaching holding a little brown paper bag and stopped the door with his foot. Yuri had such tunnel vision it took him a few seconds to realize his father was on the elevator with him.

Laxus turned and inadvertently swung Mavis, and her foot knocked the bag out of his hand and a pregnancy test fell on the floor.

Yuri flinched. "I can explain..."

"Both of you, huh?"

"We are twins, Dad."

"You want to talk?"

Yuri picked up the test. "Dad, I need to do this like...right now or I'm going to drop dead from a stroke."

"Come by later then," he said.

His oldest nodded. "Thanks, Dad."

Laxus and his son went separate ways and he carried his daughter in to their suite. "Babe, Mavis passed out stinking like seaweed. Sorry."

"You two..." she took the baby. "You stink like seaweed too."

He showered in the suite's other bathroom while he knew Mavis was probably being a cranky little brat about having a bath while she was tired.

Mavis was still whining when he got out of the shower and her mother was more or less wrestling her into her little pink bunny pajamas. Mother-daughter time was a source of great amusement for Laxus because it reminded him of when the boys were little and they'd do anything to make their mother happy and do anything to drive him crazy. They were close and they loved to spend time together doing girly things, but their daughter's will was a force to be reckoned with.

They put her to bed knowing she'd probably wake up hungry in a couple of hours from not eating dinner.

"Honestly, Laxus..."

"Sorry."

They ordered room service for dinner, with something for their cranky little baby, and while they were waiting, Laxus said, "I ran into Yuri on the elevator. He had a pregnancy test."

"Him too?!"

Laxus sat on the edge of the bed. "I can't believe they did this at the same time."

"It would be weirder if they didn't. They've been doing everything together since before they were born, intentional or not," she answered.

His wife sat next to him and he reached for her hand. "What's wrong?"

"Mako pointed out that I'd be Gramps..."

When she leaned her head on him, he added, "Gramps would have loved to be around today. Pick on Mavis, laugh at the boys, harass their wives about having babies...but I guess no matter much we'd had with him, it never would have seemed like enough."

XXX

Some years later...

Laxus stood in front of the tombstone.

It was getting weathered, like the others in the cemetery that belonged to people no one really cared about anymore. That bothered him, but age whittled away at everything. It had worn on him over the years, turning his hair silver and causing lines to form on his face.

His father was buried next to Makarov, but Laxus never had anything to say there. He and Ivan had said all they needed to say.

He put the flowers and whiskey down at Makarov's grave. "Sorry I don't come around.

"So...let's see. I just turned fifty-five. Getting a little bit old. It's not so bad. The boys are thirty-two now. Mavis is seventeen. I used to be worried about what would happen when they all moved out, but I have grandkids.

"There are six of them. Six. They're all boys between two and nine. They all stay at my house every Friday night and I always have Yuri's kids when he and Katie are on a job, so my house stays full of crazy little boys. We thought two was bad...you can't imagine six little dragons in one place. They love to tackle me when I come home from the guild and see if they can bring me down, so the first thing that happens when I come in the door is six little crazy boys jump on me and shout 'Gramps!' which took some getting used to.

"Yuri's my partner. The older he gets, the more everyone looks up to him, and when I'm gone on a trip, they look to him. Being a dad has taught him a lot about how to take care of people, so maybe someday I'll retire and he can take care of the guild. He's a really good father. Calm, patient, willing to go a lot further than most, which is good because his oldest son is just like him. He comes over and drinks with me sometimes and tells me about his kids and wife.

"Mako was inducted into the wizard saints last year. He's probably more ferocious than you imagined he'd be. He's a monster's monster, but then he steps off the battle field and he's still kind of goofy and sweet. He got a little out of hand last year when we lost a guild member. It was a little scary, even for me to watch. He and Lila are just the most stupidly in love couple in the world. Natsu loves those kids, and one of them looks like me but breathes fire like him.

"Mavis. You didn't really get to know Mavis, but she's my favorite. She's really a devil in her own little way. She's gorgeous, and so smart and charismatic. She's going to Crocus to study international relations this fall.

"She has a boyfriend but I can't beat him up because he's the crown prince of Fiore—it's my fault for bringing her to the Grand Magic Games ball. He's a nice kid, but I still want to snap his neck sometimes. The Magic Council is absolutely terrified that the future Queen of Fiore, who sits above them, would have Dreyar blood flowing through her veins.

"Helena and I have been together for thirty-four years. That's a long time to be with one person, but I'm glad. I like watching her get older for some reason, and knowing her face is wrinkled like it is because she's spent so much time smiling. She's still chasing little dragons all over the place, keeping them fed and clean and happy. She likes when they spend the night and then try to get in our bed the next morning. Then she feeds them and I drink coffee and watch them run around. I like the mornings where it's quiet, but it's going to be weird when Mavis leaves this fall. We haven't been alone in the house in thirty-two years.

"Fairy Tail...Fairy Tail is good. No shortage of power or love. You'd be happy to see the guild now, I think. There's a lot of young people again. We're still causing too much property damage but the Council hasn't given us a hard time because they're scared of a teenage girl.

"Everybody is good. Your guild kids are all getting kind of old, so we're starting to take it a little easy. Gildarts retired. Natsu and I went on a 100-year quest and kicked some pretty serious ass last year. We all miss you. People talk about you all the time. The kids in the guild know all about you.

"But the truth is, nothing is the same without you. I miss staying up and having a drink with you at night, and asking you questions and trying to learn. I wish I'd had enough sense to ask more questions, because all kinds of things have happened and I'd say to myself, 'I wish I knew what Gramps would say.' I wish I'd listened more when I was young. I wish I'd been able to introduce my first grandson to you.

"I wish you could see what it's like at our house...six grandsons, the twins and their wives, Mavis, and my wife and I. That's thirteen people. We're close and everyone loves everyone else and we stick together. It's a well-known rule in Magnolia that if you mess with one Dreyar you get the whole family.

"And sometimes I look at everyone and I remember when I was little and the Dreyar family was just you and me sitting in your apartment, eating scrambled eggs, and talking about magic."

Laxus looked over at Ivan's tombstone. "I don't know if you guys are okay on the other side or not. I wasn't sure if it was okay to bury him here. I was surprised when I found out. But I know you always wanted him to be close, so I guess this was the best I could do. I hope it all worked out where you guys are, and that things that happen here don't matter so much."

He took a step back. "Gramps, I miss you. Always."

-End

AN: I loved writing this story. I cried.

Special thanks to BizzyLizy for reviewing!