Disclaimer: Fairy Tail does not, obviously, belong to me or I'd be currently drawing out the next chapter rather than writing a fanfiction. Also, this is the only time I'm saying it. We all know the drill by now (unless this is your first fanfic, in which case congrats! Hope you have some Brain Bleach for future readings)

Chapter 1: Idle Hands

Fairy Tail had been seeing quite a revival after the conclusion of the Grand Magic Games; the guild's spectacular performance and the part they played in averting yet another disaster threatening Fiore had boosted their fame considerably. Though they were still not yet enjoying the same level of fame they once had seven years ago, things had definitely taken a turn for the better. While still receiving menial job requests as always, jobs paying out substantial amounts of jewels had finally begun trickling in. Now, nearly half a year since the end of the Grand Magic Games, Fairy Tail was in as high spirits as ever, especially with the return of former members who had left after Tenrou Island's supposed destruction and the growing number of mages expressing an interest in joining. Things were looking up for the future of the once-dilapidated, once-humiliated, once-looked-down-upon guild and its members.

The first thing the Fairy Tail members had done once they had the Jewels was to buy back their old guild hall. Certainly the rundown tavern that had served as a poorer Fairy Tail's base of operations had its charm, but with the boisterous and hotheaded members back it was in constant danger of total destruction. This was especially true when they found that releasing their Second Origins led to more property damage than before. So, after making the necessary repairs and touching up the once-abandoned HQ, including reopening the souvenir shop, they quickly moved back in. Their members' individual strengths collectively helped to mitigate repair costs; Makarov couldn't help but feel proud when looking at the reclaimed guild hall. It had been a wreck, but now it shone like new and all because of the effort his "children" had made. Some of them, especially those who had been left behind during those long seven years, still had that look of nostalgia and wistful imaginings when gazing at the guildhall. Even Max in his reopened, refurbished Fairy Tail Souvenir Shop found himself absentmindedly readjusting figurines and other assorted goods that lined his shelves with a goofy grin on his face; sometimes he found himself grinning broadly whenever an old customer told him that they still had the old Fairy Tail souvenirs in their possession and were hoping to add to their collection. And, something that never failed to please the guild, Twilight Ogre had less strut in their step and always found some excuse to walk in the other direction whenever they spotted anyone bearing the Fairy Tail mark.

That isn't to say everything was going swimmingly for our favorite Fairies. But they wouldn't be Fairy Tail if they focused on the bad things all the time, would they?

"Cana-san, don't you think you've had enough?"

"Huh? What're ya talkin' about, Kinana? I'm just getting started!"

"Hmmm... no, not that one, maybe—"

"Outta the way Nab! Oi, Lucy! Let's do this one!"

"Aye!"

"Ehh?! I-I dunno about that one, Natsu..."

"Gray-sama! Juvia made lunch, just for you!"

"Uh, a-actually, I already..."

"Levy-chan! Let's go on a job!"

"Sorry, Jet, Droy, I already promised Gajeel..."

"Scram punks! The Shrimp an' I got a job to do! Gihihihi!"

Yes, things were going well for Fairy Tail. But there were always those that had been left behind, the sad reminder of what those lost seven years had cost them.

Makarov stood there in quiet contemplation, letting old, familiar memories wash over him as he gazed sadly at the graves before him. Even there, at Magnolia's cemetery, Fairy Tail had left its mark. The old man remembered them, his lost children, to whom he had never had the chance to say goodbye and perhaps never will. But he was proud of them. They had believed in Fairy Tail and stuck to their virtues to their dying breath.

Mikuni Shin. Died rescuing crystal miners trapped after a tunnel collapsed. Exhausted from using his magic to get all sixteen survivors to safety, he was killed from behind by the dark mage responsible for the collapse. Needless to say, the miners took revenge for their fallen hero.

Wang Chan Ji. Died protecting a trading caravan from a Weretiger ambush. He saved the family who owned the caravan; whenever they are in Magnolia, anyone bearing the Fairy Tail mark receives a significant discount offered to nobody else. They never found the body.

Krov and Niggy. Died freeing a town from the control of a dark guild. The dark guild in question no longer exists; the town erected a memorial in their honor.

Tono Rabbits. Died on his way back to Magnolia after a job. Despite his exhaustion, he saved a group of children and their caretaker from a bandit raid. They were unable to get him to a healer in time; he died with a smile.

Enno. Died hunting a Wyvern with Joey. She managed to severely wound the monster before it snapped her neck, allowing Joey to finish it off. Even after returning to Fairy Tail, he still blames himself for her death.

Roy, Hana, and Leron of Team Mega-Death. Died trying to prove Fairy Tail was still a force to reckon with. Completing one job after another, without rest, they were eventually killed by a dark guild. Mickey, the last remaining member of Team Mega-Death, ensured that no one else would die by their hands. She has yet to overcome her grief, her guilt, and return to Fairy Tail.

Chico=C=Hammitt. Died defending Magnolia from the last remaining members of Naked Mummy. When Twilight Ogre refused to lift a hand without being paid, the remaining members of Fairy Tail stepped up to repel the attackers. Using the last of her magic, Chico called upon all the wandering spirits in Magnolia and ended the battle. She died from overexertion.

With a sad smile Makarov spoke to his lost children, telling them of recent events, of new members, of blossoming loves and growing friendships. He stood there for a while, talking, until he found he had nothing left to say. There had been so many lost, others who would never return to the guild, other graves where his children lay in their eternal slumber.

A hand hesitantly tapped the old guild master's shoulder, gaining his attention. Turning, he found one of Fairy Tail's newest members standing behind him with a sad smile on her face. The girl was Rosa Dole, one of the children Tono had saved the day he died and another misfit who had sought out Fairy Tail for a place to belong. The orange-haired teenager held a cluster of bananas in her arms, the sight of this eliciting a small chuckle from Makarov before he noticed she was accompanied by Fairy Tail's former 4th Guild Master, Macao Conbolt. The Purple Flare Mage nodded respectfully to Makarov as Rosa gently set the bananas on Tono's grave, speaking quiet words to her deceased hero that the two men knew they had no right to listen in on.

"Smile, Macao," the old man gently admonished as they watched Rosa, her own smile growing a bit brighter while she spoke. "You know how they'd feel if they could see you right now."

Macao couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, I know." Then he grinned. "Knowing them, they'd probably join in on the brawl, too."

"Brawl?" Makarov groaned. "Let me guess..."

"It is," Macao confirmed.

"Humph, and we just finished repairs, too. What timing." As Rosa joined them Makarov reached out and gently patted one of the headstones; it didn't matter which one, they would know the gesture was for all of them. "I'll come by again later. Right now, we gotta stop those knuckleheads from wrecking our home." With one last smile he waved and turned away, with Macao and Rosa quietly following him out of the silent cemetery.

The walk back was quiet, but it wasn't gloomy. The sun was high, the sky was blue, and people cheerfully greeted them in the streets. As the guild hall came into view and the commotion inside audible, Makarov glanced at Rosa with a smile. "How was the job? Your team was gone longer than everyone expected."

She smiled back at him, and Makarov noted how more relaxed she was than when she had first come to the guild. "Sorry for worrying you guys, Master, but we would've been back sooner if Ver hadn't insisted on finding wandering souls as soon as we were back in Magnolia. That took longer than it should have," she explained in her usual soft-spoken tone.

"Did you tell Verity that you could go ghost hunting after reporting back?" Macao asked with a chuckle. Rosa sighed, looking chagrined.

"Yes, but you know how he is."

Makarov let out a laugh, putting his hand on the guild doors. "That reminds me, has anyone figured out Verity's gender yet?"

"No, but everyone's still making bets," Rosa said, giggling. Macao couldn't help but chuckle; he had put down some wagers himself on the new member's gender himself and he suspected Makarov had done the same.

Shaking his head, Makarov gave the doors a gentle shove. "Well, let's get this over with." As the doors swung open, revealing the chaos within, the little old guild master grew to a terrifying size and roared, "YOU BRATS! ARE YOU TRYING TO WASTE THE TIME WE SPENT FIXING UP THIS PLACE?!"

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Once the Master had returned, the fight was quickly (and brutally) broken up, with the two main offenders running off on the excuse they had jobs to do in order to escape further punishment. Lucy and Levy had been dragged off with them, and the guild hall was noticeably quieter once they were gone. Gray breathed a sigh of relief from his position at the bar, Kinana taking a break from polishing wine glasses to smile at the Ice Mage. "Were they too rough for you, Gray-san?"

"Nah, just think that it's a nice change to have some peace and quiet for once," Gray chuckled. By some miracle, his clothes had managed to stay on during the brawl and for that the barmaid was secretly grateful. Not that he had an unattractive body, far from it, but she'd rather not be on the receiving end of Juvia's jealousy if the Water Mage thought she was having indecent thoughts about her "Gray-sama." As it were, Juvia was preoccupied looking at the jobs posted on the request board, so there was some relief to be had; that didn't mean she wasn't occasionally sneaking glances in Gray's direction, though.

Before long they were joined by Cana, who chose to seat herself on the counter rather than on one of the stools. Kinana, who was used to this by now, just smiled and left to procure a barrel of alcohol for the Card Mage. While she was gone, Cana nudged Gray with her foot, bearing a lecherous grin that made the Ice Mage rather uncomfortable. "So how goes things with Juvia, hm? You haven't gotten her pregnant, have ya?"

That was the last thing he'd expected her to ask; he nearly fell out of his seat in his surprise. "What?! I... we... we don't have that kind of relationship!"

"Really?" Cana accepted the barrel Kinana brought back, lifting it effortlessly as she brought it to her lips, greedily drinking the alcohol as though it were the last barrel in Fiore. With a happy sigh, she returned her attention to Gray as Kinana resumed cleaning glasses. "After everything that happened at the Grand Magic Games, you still haven't given her an answer? And I thought Alzack and Bisca were bad..."

"Things worked out for them in the end," Gray retorted, his face a nice shade of scarlet.

"That ain't the point," Cana pressed on, looking visibly annoyed. Kinana wisely chose to stay out of it, continuing her duty of glass-polishing. "Look, she's clearly said—over and over, might I add—how she feels about you. What I'm askin' is how do you feel about her? It ain't complicated."

"For you, maybe," Gray muttered, looking peeved. "I'm the one who has to deal with it."

"So then stop screwin' around and—!"

"Gray-sama!" Cana quickly cut herself off upon hearing the singsong voice, hastily lifting her barrel to take a long draught of alcohol and avoid any awkward questioning. Gray looked slightly relieved at this interruption as he turned to Juvia, his shirt and jacket mysteriously missing.

"Yeah?"

"Juvia would like to know if Gray-sama would like to do a job with Juvia," said Juvia, her face becoming increasingly crimson as she stared at Gray with such passion the temperature in the guild hall felt like it went up by several degrees. The Ice Mage didn't answer her immediately, instead noticing that Cana was glaring at him from behind her barrel. A casual glance at Kinana showed that the Take-Over-Mage-in-training was also giving him a rather pointed look, though something had changed in her eyes that sent chills down his spine. Clearly, there was only one route, though he wouldn't have minded so much if he hadn't been basically forced into it. Still, if you can keep her from running into Lyon...

Shut up, he firmly told his own brain before returning his attention to the Water Mage. "Sure. What did you have in mind?"

Juvia quickly procured the request flyer from the board and handed it to him, smiling from ear-to-ear with an overjoyed gleam in her eyes. Trying to ignore his quickening heartbeat, Gray looked over the job with a raised brow. 320,000 J for hunting a bunch of Vulcans? There's gotta be a catch. The only other information the flyer offered was the town the request had originated from and who to see for more details regarding the job. Wait... Lynberg... where have I heard that before?

Gray thought for a moment longer before he shrugged. Oh well. He'll just find out when they get there.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

While Gray was being grilled by Cana, other guild members were having their own discussion about love. And, unfortunately for her, a certain Sky Sorceress was caught up in the middle of it. Not that she minded talking with new friends; it was just that their comments and speculation on the subject always invariably ended up on the subject of her and the only other Fairy Tail mage her age. Well, close enough to her age to be considered viable romantic material for her anyways.

"So come on, Verity-chan, aren't you gonna tell us? Don't you have a special guy in mind?" asked a girl with midnight black hair, brown eyes boring into the androgynous mage sitting across the table from her. The Clay-Make Mage Nenetl Caolin (sometimes just called "Net") was the nosy type of person, Wendy had discovered, always taking notes of anything she found out about someone. And somehow she found out a lot. Even now, she was sitting with a pocket-sized journal in one hand with a pen in the other, ready to take notes.

Verity Dawson, Charm Mage, shook his/her head. "I don't have anyone I am currently interested in romantically, male or female," she/he replied, eliciting an annoyed glare from Net. He/she wasn't going to fall for such a simple trick; she/he had managed to maintain his/her androgyny for this long, it would take more than that to get her/him to let his/her true gender slip. With wide, shining brown eyes, long platinum blonde hair pulled into a ponytail, a petite nose and a small, round face, it was easy to see why many believed Verity was a girl. But with the occasional rough, masculine edge to her/his voice, a chest flatter than Wendy's, and a height that would obviously rival Gajeel's in a couple more years, it was just as easy to see why just as many others thought Verity a boy.

After a few more failed attempts to get Verity to finally settle the mass of wagers that had been made since he/she joined Fairy Tail, Nenetl decided to switch targets. She'd already grilled Rosa once she returned (to no avail; the soft spoken girl could be surprisingly stubborn when she wanted to be), Bisca was married, Juvia's love was incredibly obvious, Cana always managed to turn the questions back around on her, Kinana would only say that she was waiting (without saying for whom!), Evergreen scared her (especially with Elfman currently away on a job with his sisters), Laki's unusual way of expressing herself confused her, and the other women of Fairy Tail were away on jobs. Net never bothered asking the guys anything about their love lives; she (mistakenly) believed all of them would give her perverted answers. Though considering what many of the males in Fairy Tail were like, she probably wasn't too far off.

That left one target. And it didn't take Wendy long to realize she was in trouble when Net gave her a too-innocent-to-be-genuine smile. "And what about you, Wendy-chan? Anyone catch your eye? Like, I dunno, a certain Fire Mage? About your age, black hair, looks like a mini-Natsu..."

"No!" Wendy denied vigorously, her face turning a brilliant shade of red none of the mages sitting at the table had ever seen before. "We're just friends! I-I mean... it's not that he's unlikable or anything, or... um..."

"But you've gone on several missions with him since the Grand Magic Games," Rosa said, causing Wendy's blush to deepen.

"W-Well, Mira-san suggested it. She said that since we're about the same age, we should try getting used to completing jobs together as a team..."

At this the girls and Verity exchanged knowing looks. Mirajane, of course...

"Charle didn't object?" Verity asked, glancing at where the white Exceed was holding a conversation with a lazy-looking grey Exceed. Or scolding her, rather. The grey Exceed was Coral, and was pretty much regarded as a permanent fixture in the guildhall now. From what Verity had overheard her saying to the other Fairy Tail cats, she had "hatched" here in Earthland, but had never been more specific than that. Coral had arrived at Fairy Tail alongside Verity; they had met during Verity's journey to Magnolia and once the Exceed learned that Verity was planning on joining the guild that had stood out so much at the Grand Magic Games she had insisted on joining the androgynous teen there.

There was only one issue, though. After setting foot in the guildhall, Coral had yet to set foot outside it. According to the lazy Exceed, with eyes half-closed and one ear bent, she was looking for someone and would not leave until she found whoever that person was. Many Fairy Tail members had already placed bets on what kind of person the Exceed was waiting for; these bets had been placed months ago, and the Exceed had yet to cease mooching off the guild.

"She did at first, until Mira-san agreed that Romeo-san and I would only go on jobs together if we had a chaperone," Wendy replied, not needing to add that Charle had to approve the chaperone first. Which usually wasn't too bad, since Mirajane was remarkably good at reasoning with the Exceed, but with Mirajane currently unavailable Charle essentially had free reign.

Net didn't bother asking if Charle counted as a chaperone. She should, I've never met such a strict cat before... Then again, I never met cats that could talk or fly until I came to Fairy Tail. Instead, she chose to switch tactics and try to lower Wendy's guard a little. "That reminds me, you going on another job soon? Me and the girls (Verity gave her a sharp look at this) were planning on taking a break, since we just got back and all."

"Was it that bad?" Wendy asked, worried. Verity shook his/her head.

"We would rather not talk about it."

Meanwhile, Romeo Conbolt was perusing the Request Board, trying to ignore Verity and the girls' conversation. Unfortunately for him, they were just close enough that while they weren't particularly loud he could still make out every word they said. And when Net started questioning Wendy, he tried even harder to not listen. Not just because he respected Wendy's privacy on the matter of how she felt towards him (though he had already known that, at their current stage, they were well and truly just friends) but also because Lucy and Levy had asked him similar questions about how he felt towards the Sky Dragon Slayer before Natsu and Gajeel whisked them away.

"We're just friends," he had told them. "We're pretty much the same age and we get along just fine, why wouldn't we team up?" That hadn't stopped them from giving him a look he'd seen Mirajane (and Cana, and Erza, and Levy, and even some of the new members...) give Lucy all too often when asking her about Natsu. Of course, it hadn't helped that he had hung out with Wendy quite often whenever she was free, back at the Grand Magic Games. But it's not like I knew anyone else my age there. Even in his head, that attempt at justification sounded weak.

Back to perusing. There weren't too many requests left on the board; Makarov had yet to post whatever new requests had come in, as he was sorting through them to separate the S-Class quests from the rest (not to mention remove and burn the joke requests that occasionally attempted to slip in). But that didn't stop Romeo (and Nab, of course) from standing there trying to pick a good one.

Lost pet, lost watch, lost jewelry... Do they really need to hire mages for that? Shrugging, Romeo looked through the other jobs available. Merchant escort, find wild herbs, babysit... Vulcan hunting? Instantly Romeo was interested. Even though his dad had taken out nineteen Vulcans on that one job seven—well, almost eight now—years ago and countless other Vulcans since, the fact that he had nearly lost him to the last one had still left its mark. And while he hadn't yet had the fortune to take on a Vulcan himself...

Well, there was still one problem with that. Even if Wendy did like the idea of going on the job with him, Charle would probably veto it if they couldn't find a mage who would go along with them that was good enough (by the Exceed's standards) to help them take out the monsters. That already removed a good portion of guild members who weren't away on missions or busy with other things. Even of those who had been left behind seven years ago; they were all much stronger than back then, but some of their personalities had... issues that likely wouldn't sit well with the protective Exceed.

Well, no harm in trying, right? Even as Romeo was reaching out to take the request, a blue blur beat him to the punch. Blinking at the blank spot before him, Romeo turned to see Juvia handing the same job flyer he had just been looking at over to Gray. The adoring look she gave the half-naked mage wasn't lost on him. Neither was the Ice Mage's answering shrug.

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Now, Gray wasn't an idiot. Or at least a total idiot (like Natsu, in a completely non-biased example). He had been there when Mira made the deal with Charle on allowing Romeo and Wendy to team up. He also remembered that one incident last—wait, no, eight years ago. So when he saw Romeo looking at him—or rather, the flyer in his hand—Gray was able to connect the dots.

And this gave him an idea, an idea that would, with luck, help him cash in on all those wagers nearly everyone in Fairy Tail had made a couple months back. Especially as Natsu had bet on a later date than he had.

"Juvia, you wouldn't mind if we brought a couple more people with us, would you?" he asked the Water Mage, carefully choosing his words. "Maybe a couple people who could use the experience?"

For a moment, Juvia looked confused and a little annoyed; not at Gray, of course, but at the thought that she wouldn't get to be alone with him for the job. And she had chosen the job specifically because she wanted to be alone with her "Gray-sama" in Lynberg, which would have given her a chance to be more... intimate with him. Then he jerked his head at Romeo, who had turned back to the request board with a frown, and Juvia soon understood, her annoyance disappearing as she returned his smile and nodded.

It helped that she had made a few wagers herself two months ago as well.

Author's Notes

And there we have it, the first chapter of my first Fairy Tail fanfic! Sorry if the canon characters feel a bit OOC (or even very OOC) since I've never written for Fairy Tail before. I'm trying to keep things as canonical as possible (or at least stick to what was canonical when I first wrote this, Chapter 318) and I also apologize for suddenly thrusting a number of OCs in your faces as well. I felt that, with Fairy Tail's popularity up high once more, membership application would rise, too. And they don't seem the type of guild to turn people away without giving them a chance (especially Makarov!). Don't worry, I do have other reasons in mind for why new members hadn't started applying sooner, Fairy Tail's poor reputation during those lost seven years notwithstanding.

Er, I also apologize for not updating my other stories in so long, namely "The Lovely Finale!" as I have cancelled work on "The Falling Darkness." Unfortunately I have only one chapter that is nearly ready for posting; more updates on "The Lovely Finale!" will have to wait (but don't worry, I haven't completely given up on it yet).

Anyways, I plan on introducing several more OCs (some plot relevant, others not) and bringing in a number of familiar faces from FT, some of which you might have forgotten or didn't realize existed.

Please leave a review, criticisms are welcome! I do plan on editing this chapter on a later date to improve it, as I have a hard time beginning a story and had a really tough time trying to figure out how to start this one. Seriously, I have a few dozen different versions of Chapter 1 cluttering my comp. Until next time! *bows low* Gute Nacht!