Past: Love

A/N:

Okay, next chapter! This picks up right before S-Class trials the same year Evangeline's parents die. (December x777).

-----

Still Year 4

Evangeline was distant. Makarov had made the decision that she wouldn't take part in the S-Class trials that year because she wasn't mentally or emotionally stable enough to handle them. When he announced the participants, Laxus nodded at him after glancing at Evangeline. Laxus was worried about her. She was his world, and right now she was in a dark place. She was lost.

"Hey, Gramps, you sure I should participate this year? I think it might be best for me to stay back with Ev," Laxus said as he sat by his grandfather at the bar. Makarov looked at him oddly.

"You'd give up your spot in the S-Class trials to take care of her?" he said, eyes bugged out.

"Of course. It's not like I won't make it next year. She's more important than a title," Laxus said. Makarov then passed out. Laxus stared at his grandfather, not sure what was wrong with him.

"Just leave him and take your girl on vacation or something," someone said from behind him. He turned to see Gildarts walking up to him. Gildarts had an envelope in his hand and gave it to Laxus.

"What?" Laxus asked, still confused.

"Week long stay in the capital at the best hotel in the city, along with dinner and waterpark tickets," Gildarts said. Laxus blinked.

"How much was this?" Laxus knew that Crocus was expensive, especially the higher end hotels.

"I'm not telling," Gildarts said as he grabbed Laxus's shoulder and pushed him towards Evangeline's table. "Now go, you already said you weren't going to the trials this year. Go take her out. Make her smile again. It's been too long since she's been happy."

Laxus decided not to argue with the man who was like a second father to him (much better than his real father, as he would eventually decide) and went over to Evangeline. She watched him walk over to her.

"Trip to Crocus?" he asked her as she sat down across from her. She shrugged.

"Why not? I assume Gildarts gave you tickets and will all but force us to go. But still, aren't S-Class trials this week? You can't miss those for a trip," Evangeline said, concern evident in her voice.

"I told Gramps I wasn't going. You are more important than a promotion," he told her, heat rising in his face. Evangeline's face softened, and a bit of a spark came to her eyes.

"You're skipping trials for me?" she whispered.

"I'd skip it every year if I had to if it was for you," he said. Unbeknownst to both of them, the adults had crept close enough to the two teens to hear what they were saying. Makarov, who had woken up, passed out again, mumbling something about great-grand babies. Gildarts just had a sappy grin on his face. The teens were like his kids. He never had any, so he took care of them like his own.

Makarov woke up again a few seconds later.

"I can't wait until they finally get married," he said, watching the teens leave the guild hall to pack for their trip.

"Eww," Gray jumped into the conversation. Gildarts and Makarov laughed at the boy.

"You'll understand when you are older. Or maybe not. I've never seen anyone love someone else like they love each other. And they are still quite young. You live with both of them. Would you really like to see them break up?" Makarov said, raising an eyebrow at the boy. Gray sighed.

"It's what happens after they get married that's my problem," Gray muttered as he walked away. Everyone who was within earshot burst into laughter.

"Five thousand jewel says the kid is oblivious to what's already going on," Gildarts said to the group at the bar.

"Pssh, I'm not stupid enough to take that bet. It's obvious," Macao said, rolling his eyes.

"Now, now, let's make sure we don't let the kid know that happens outside of marriage. The last thing we need is that whole generation doing unspeakable things," Makarov said, shivering. "No underage parents!" To that, the group laughed again.

"Gildarts really went overboard," Evangeline deadpanned when she saw the hotel room. It was beyond huge. Laxus peered into the room and blinked.

"No wonder he wouldn't tell me how much he spent," Laxus muttered. "Damn old man."

"Do not damn the person who sent us on vacation. It's rude. And it's free," Evangeline rolled her eyes as she walked into the room. There was a large living space with a hot tub inside the room, as well as a balcony and another hot tub. Then, through a set of white French doors was the bedroom, complete with a king size four poster bed. Evangeline requipped their bags into the corner of the room before she flopped down onto the bed.

"Mmm, so soft," she whispered. Laxus leaned against the door frame to the bedroom.

"Don't get too comfortable. We have dinner in an hour," he said, walking to the bed to sit down.

"Do we have to," she whined.

"Ev, this place had a four month wait list," Laxus said. Evangeline shot up from the bed.

"You're kidding, right?" she asked as she narrowed her eyes at him. He shook his head. Evangeline quickly got off the bed and dug through her suitcase to get a dress for the night. She settled on a form-fitting black dress that ended halfway to her knee. She then brought the dress with her to the bathroom as she started the shower.

"Ev, you don't have time to shower," Laxus groaned at her. He knew how long she took in the shower.

"I won't take long, I promise," Evangeline shouted from the bathroom. Sure enough, ten minutes later the shower shut off. Evangeline came out another ten minutes after that with her dress on and her hair dry.

"Why can't you do that when we are getting ready to go to the guild?" Laxus sighed.

"Because. It's fun to annoy you. And the guild is the guild," she trailed off. Laxus stood up and walked over and wrapped his arms around her.

"It's still home, even though home has changed. We miss you, Ev. We miss you a lot," Laxus said into her hair. Evangeline wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I'm trying."

"We know. I think you miss yourself, too," Laxus said before he kissed the top of her head. "Now, enough of this, we have dinner and a damn good vacation this week." She nodded against his chest.

Within another five minutes, Evangeline had put on a diamond pendant necklace and matching diamond earrings, and the two left on their way to their dinner reservation.

"So, what is this place called?" Evangeline asked. Laxus hadn't told her.

"I guess I'll tell you since we are almost there," he started. "It's a little place called Seasons." Evangeline stopped walking.

"Seasons? Gildarts got us into SEASONS?" Evangeline couldn't believe it. She had wanted to go to the renowned steakhouse restaurant for months, but it was so damn expensive and there was such a long wait period that she decided against going.

"I knew you wanted to go and might have mentioned it to him, but that was a while ago," Laxus said as he turned to her and held out a hand to her. "Come on, no time to freak out now. We don't want to miss our reservation because we both know we wouldn't be able to get in for another four months at least." Evangeline took his hand and walked next to him. It wasn't long before they reached the restaurant.

The building was huge. It was an ultra-modern style, brand new building that was three stories tall. There was a massive blue-glass wave swirling around the front of the building. The couple couldn't believe their eyes when they saw it.

"I feel underdressed," Evangeline said, blinking in awe. Laxus just nodded beside her. It took them a few more moments before they snapped out of their awe-struck stupor. They approached the large doors with their reservation pass in hand.

The inside of the building was even more impressive. The entrance area of the restaurant had a massive fish tank that went up all three stories right behind the hostess desk. Blue glass tiles were scattered all over the floor, walls, and ceiling and reflected the low light in the restaurant beautifully. Dark wood lined the walls and ceiling, while the floors had dark stone tiles. Even though the inside was dark, it didn't feel closed off or feel dark. Laxus went forward with their reservation and pulled Evangeline with him, and they followed the hostess to their table. They were on the second floor right next to the fish tank.

A waiter came by with a bottle of champagne, which they could both only assume was god-awful expensive. He poured them each a glass, then left the bottle in a carved ice bucket.

"Yeah, I'm way underdressed for this place," Evangeline said as she stared at her champagne glass. Laxus laughed at her statement.

"I don't think we could fit in here if we tried. Look around," Laxus said as he looked out at the open room around him. Evangeline followed his gaze. He was right. The people there looked like they were from high society, and they certainly weren't teenage mages.

"True. I'm glad we got to go here, though," Evangeline said softly before taking a sip of her drink.

"Me too, Ev."

The food was amazing. They were just finishing up their dessert course when the owner stopped by their table. Evangeline felt like she couldn't breathe when he came to greet them.

"So, you two are the kids my dear old friend wanted to get in here so badly," the man said as he stepped up to their table. "Gildarts has also gone ahead and had my charge the meal to his account."

"It's an honor to meet you, Lord Beckett," Evangeline said, pulling herself out of the amazement she was feeling yet again. The man took her hand and kissed the back of it in greeting.

"It's an honor to meet you as well, Miss Hastings. I have heard many wonderful things from many powerful people," Lord Beckett said. He released her hand and turned to Laxus. "And Laxus Dreyar. I have heard much about your talents and look forward to seeing how you grow in the future. You know, Gildarts has never talked as much about anyone as he talks about the two of you."

Lord Beckett grabbed something out of his pocket, then gave one to each of the teens.

"Feel free to come by whenever you are in Crocus again. If you've managed to capture the attention of my old friend, you are very special. Enjoy your time in the city," he said before he left the speechless pair.

"Did we just get VIP access to the premier restaurant in Crocus?" Evangeline asked.

"I think we did," Laxus said, staring at the pass in his hand. It wasn't made of paper. It was a silver engraved token with SEASONS VIP and then his hand under it. He felt a small magic signature coming from it that must be a sort of authenticity seal. He finished his drink, as did Evangeline, and they left.

The young couple wandered around the city for a bit. It was almost 10pm, but they didn't want to go back to their hotel yet. The city was too beautiful at night.

Colorful lights crisscrossed the roads and lanterns hung from those. It was warm, even though it was winter. It should have been snowing, but the cold must have decided to hold off for a few more days. Evangeline felt like she could finally breathe again. She felt as if her soul was lighter. She stopped in the middle of a near-empty square with a sculpture in the middle of it. Laxus, who had wandered farther in front of her, backtracked to her side. He looked up at the statue she was looking at.

The statue was a child holding a teddy bear, looking towards a building with a sign that said "Orphanage." Evangeline slowly walked forward to the statue. It was on a foot-tall platform and was itself about three feet tall. She gently placed a hand on top of the child's head. She looked the same direction the statue child was looking, then closed her eyes. She rested her head on top of her hand that was on the statue. Laxus placed a hand on the small of her back and she looked up at him.

"Ev?" he asked. She smiled softly at him.

"I'm okay now," she said before kissing him softly. "Thank you."

The rest of the vacation went by quickly. Laxus knew she was okay by the light that had come back to her eyes after seeing the statue in the square their first night in the city. He hadn't realized how much he missed her light until now, but he knew he didn't have to miss it anymore. She was back. The light of his life was back. Right now, they were sitting on the train on the way back to Magnolia. Evangeline noticed Laxus was staring at her.

"What's wrong?" Evangeline asked him. He shook his head.

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong," he said, smiling slightly. The train started slowing down and the two left the train and made their way to the guild hall, arm in arm.

"We're home," Evangeline shouted as they walked through the guild doors. She heard a jumbled mess of "Welcome back" and "Did you have a good time" from members of the guild. She laughed slightly as she shook her head at their antics.

"Evangeline! Fight me!" Natsu said as he ran up to her.

"Sure, let go," she replied. The guild went silent. "Let's take it outside so we don't destroy anything." She walked out with Natsu, and the guild was left dumbfounded.

"She's back," Gray said, staring at Laxus.

"She's back," Laxus confirmed. With that, Fairy Tail poured out of the guild hall to watch Evangeline demolish Natsu.

"The rules of this fight will be anything goes except for killing your opponent," Erza said in what Evangeline dubbed her "let's-get-down-to-business" tone. Evangeline and Natsu nodded to each other, then Natsu pounced.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist," Natsu called out as he came at Evangeline. She simply stepped to the side, and Natsu punched the ground.

"My turn, Natsu," Evangeline smirked. "Strike." A single, large bolt of lightning came from the sky, and Natsu was on the ground, twitching. The guild was laughing at Natsu's loss. They all knew he would lose. Evangeline and the rest of the guild left Natsu to wake up by himself and went back to the guild. She sat at a table with Laxus and Gray.

"What changed?" Gray asked, having not been there when Evangeline actually started to be herself again.

"I saw a statue of a child, all alone, staring at an orphanage. I guess it made me realize I'm not alone. I felt the emotions that the kids in the orphanage were feeling. There was some sadness and loneliness, but there was also hope and happiness. I guess it made me feel like I was validated, so I could move on," Evangeline explained. Laxus, who was sitting beside her, took her hand under the table and squeezed it a bit. She returned.

"We also have VIP passes from the owner of Seasons so we can go whenever we want," Laxus added. Gray glared at him.

"Asshole."

Year 5

Evangeline was upset, and she was upset for multiple reasons. Reason number 1: Laxus was upset. Reason number 2: Laxus was upset because of reason number 3. Reason number 3: Ivan is an abusive asshole that should have been expelled many years before. Reason number 4: Laxus was threatened to leave Fairy Tail and follow his father following his father's expulsion. Reason number 5: Laxus had taken a job with his new team and left her at the guild because he was mad at her. Evangeline sighed, and dropped her head against the bar.

"Men are idiots," she groaned. Alice, Macao's wife, who was heavily pregnant, laughed beside her.

"They are, but we love them anyways, dear," Alice said. Her voice was soft and sweet. She was a very gentle woman. Macao didn't deserve her. He was too much of a pervert for someone as kind and pure as Alice.

"Unfortunately," Evangeline sighed as she picked her head up from the bar.

"Now, why are you complaining about the stupidity of men, my dear?" Alice asked her. Alice didn't spend much time at the guild nowadays because it was dangerous for her to be near so many destructive teens.

"Laxus is mad at me because I said his father deserved to be expelled. And that Ivan should have been expelled long ago. And that Ivan was a terrible father. And now he has left on a weeks long job with that new team of his and they don't like me, and they don't want him to talk to me," Evangeline said, tears gathering in her eyes. "Dammit, why am I crying." Alice lifted a hand and started gently stroking Evangeline's hair.

"It's okay to cry because someone you love is being unfair. He knows that you are right, and he doesn't want to admit it, so he has surrounded himself with people that will tell him only what he wants to hear. He's having a rough time because even though his father is indeed a terrible person, Ivan is still is father. Give him time," Alice said softly. Evangeline let her tears go and cried, letting Alice mother her for a while. Even though she was 17, she still needed someone to be her mother sometimes now that hers was gone.

Evangeline felt someone sit down next to her. It was one of the new members, a group of siblings. This one was the youngest of the three.

"Evvie-chan, are you alright? Do you need some ice cream?" Little Lisanna asked her. Evangeline smiled and wiped her tears. Alice removed her hand from Evangeline's head and watched her.

"I'm alright, Lisanna. Boys are stupid, remember that," Evangeline told the girl. "I will go for some ice cream, though. What kind would you like?"

"Strawberry, please," Lisanna said, smiling at her. Evangeline got up and walked around to the other side of the bar. She pulled out some jewel and put it in the register for ice cream for both her and Lisanna. She scooped out some strawberry ice cream and gave it to Lisanna and then scooped some chocolate ice cream for herself. She went back to her seat next to Lisanna and sat next to the happy kid.

"Thank you, Evvie-chan," Lisanna exclaimed between bites of her ice cream.

"You're welcome, Lisanna. Also, where's your siblings?" Evangeline asked. She never saw Lisanna by herself because the Strauss siblings had only recently joined.

"Mira-nee and Elf-nii went on a job. They said I couldn't go yet because I didn't know enough magic. I'll be able to go on the next one, though!" Lisanna said, and Evangeline could tell the girl was determined.

"How long will they be gone?" Evangeline asked.

"A week," Lisanna sighed. "I miss them already."

"How about you stay with me and we practice magic?" Evangeline suggested. Lisanna's face lit up.

"Can I? Please, please, please, please!" Evangeline nodded.

"Of course. I've helped almost all the kids with magic or reading or something along those lines. It's only fair that I help you. I'll get to your older brother and sister eventually as well, but Mira doesn't really like me," Evangeline sighed at the last bit. Mirajane basically hated Evangeline. Evangeline left with Lisanna and the two made their way back to Evangeline's house.

"Do you know why Mira doesn't like me? She never told me," Evangeline asked the girl when they sat down in the living room. Lisanna was sitting next to her.

"I think Mira-nee likes your boyfriend," Lisanna said. Evangeline furrowed her brows.

"They haven't ever talked aside from the day you three joined though," Evangeline muttered, confused.

"I dunno, Mira-nee thinks he's hot," Lisanna said. Evangeline burst out laughing.

"He is, but he's mine and I don't intend on sharing," Evangeline said.

"Mira-nee isn't someone to give up," Lisanna said, concerned. Evangeline sighed.

"She will. She'll see eventually," Evangeline said. "Now, it's late. You can take the room across from mine upstairs." She went upstairs with Lisanna and made sure she found her room. Evangeline then went to her room and stared at her empty bed. She decided to take a shower before bed.

After her shower she braided her hair before sitting on her bed. She pulled her knees up to her chest and felt her eyes start to burn. Then she broke down. She sobbed and eventually fell back into her pillows and screamed into them. She let all her doubts bubble to the surface of her mind so she could cry them out. Maybe Laxus wasn't coming back to her. Maybe he was better off with Mira. Maybe she deserved to be alone. Eventually her sobs quieted to sniffles. That's when her lacrima went off. She wasn't thinking super clearly when she decided to pick it up without wiping her tears away first.

"Ev,I-" it was Laxus. He started speaking, then saw her face and stopped, then sighed. "Dammit, Ev, I'm sorry. Don't cry, love." She sniffled and wiped her tears from her eyes.

"I miss you. I'm sorry I made you mad," Evangeline whimpered. Laxus was now worried.

"You didn't make me mad, don't apologize. What's wrong?" Laxus asked her, wondering what happened that she was turning blame at herself. The door to Evangeline's room opened and a girl with short white hair came in and crawled into Evangeline's bed. Laxus remembered her as Lisanna. Then everything clicked. He didn't want to speak about it with Mirajane's sister around, though.

"Are you okay Evvie-chan?" Lisanna asked, worry on her face. "I don't want you to be sad." Evangeline patted the girl on the head.

"I'll be okay, Lisanna. Go back to bed. I'm sorry I woke you," Evangeline said. Lisanna frowned but left the room.

"Evangeline," Laxus said. He never used her full name unless it was serious. She kept her eyes focused on the wall behind her communication lacrima. "Evangeline. Look at me." She did. He sighed.

"I'll always come home to you. Only for you, do you understand? I'm sorry for what I said, and I'm sorry for making you doubt yourself. Unfortunately, we did take this job, so I'll be gone for a few weeks. I'll call you every night that I can, okay? Remember that you are my world, Evangeline. Without you, I'd be in a really dark place. Now sleep, love," he told her. She opened her mouth to apologize, but he gave her the "don't you dare apologize" look and she sighed.

"I love you," she whispered, a small smile forming on her face.

"I love you, too. Now sleep, you'll need it to deal with the little demon," Laxus said. Evangeline shook her head before hanging up. She clutched the lacrima to her chest as she fell asleep.

-With Laxus-

Laxus sighed. He knew he was an idiot, but he didn't think he'd actually hurt her that bad.

"Laxus-sama, who was that?" Freed Justine, one of his new team members, asked.

"Evangeline. I hurt her, so I had to apologize. I shouldn't have taken this damn job," he sighed.

"And why are you spending your time with her, still?" Evergreen said, rolling her eyes. Then, she suddenly felt cold. Scared.

"You will never talk ill of her, do you understand?" Laxus said, his voice low and dangerous. If looks could kill, Evergreen would be dead. She nodded quickly before scrambling into her tent. "The same goes for you two. Treat her like you'd treat me. If I ever find out that one of you three does or says something to hurt her, I will end you, and I will feel no remorse." With that, Laxus went back to his tent and went to bed for the night. It was going to be a long few weeks.

Evangeline helped Lisanna get better at her animal soul takeovers. All Lisanna was lacking was a bit of confidence. What better way to build it than transform in front of a mirror? Lisanna was able to see where she needed to improve, since the takeover was quite a visual thing. If the visual wasn't correct, the takeover wasn't complete. Evangeline also helped the girl to meditate to expand her magic container so she could maintain her takeovers for longer periods of time. The week they had was not a lot of time, though. Then, Mirajane and Elfman returned. And all hell broke loose.

"What the hell have you been doing with HER all week?" Mirajane screamed when she found Lisanna walking into the guild with Evangeline.

"She helped me with my magic, Mira-nee," Lisanna said. The girl was excited, but her sister was furious.

"Oh, you think you are so perfect, don't you? What, daddy got you a tutor and taught you some stupid magic, so you think you know everything now? I should beat the shit out of you, and take your boyfriend while I'm at it," Mirajane said, smirking. The guild, however, was silent. All of their "danger" sensors started to go off, and not because of Mirajane. No, they weren't scared of the She-Demon. They were scared of the REAL demon of Fairy Tail, and she wasn't even able to use her demon right now. No, Evangeline was dubbed the Lightning Empress from her massive attack that killed the man who killed her parents. She was ruthless. They just hoped she didn't kill Mirajane.

"Mmm, so that's what you think? You think I've never fought a day in my life. You think I've never faced danger. Faced death. Let me tell you something, false demon," Evangeline said dangerously. "You have five seconds to take back what you've said, or I will unleash the power of the Lightning Empress on you." Mirajane laughed.

"A rich kid like you couldn't be the Lightning Empress," Mirajane shook her head. "Let's go outside, bitch." Evangeline decided she was going to beat the shit out of Mira. She didn't care if Lisanna was watching. Mira needed to be knocked down a few pegs.

"Gladly. Let's go out back of the guild. We have more space. I don't feel like paying for repairs to half the city," Evangeline smirked. The two went out back while the guild cautiously followed. Master decided to call his grandson.

"Gramps? What happened?" Laxus answered after he saw his grandfather's face.

"Evangeline and Mirajane. Mira said something about her being a rich girl and some disparaging comment about her father," Master sighed. Laxus sighed even louder.

"Is newbie trying to get herself killed? Anyway, I'm halfway across the country. I can't get back to stop Evangeline. Good luck." With that, Laxus hung up. Master went out back to watch the match.

"Fairy Tail rules of a duel. Anything goes, so long as you don't kill your opponent," Evangeline said, her voice hard. Mirajane smirked.

"You won't even get a hit on me," she taunted. Evangeline took a deep breath and let her magic release around her. Mirajane's eyes widened. The magic pressure the blue-haired woman had was insane.

"Let's dance, false demon," Evangeline said. Then, she disappeared.

"Oh shit," Gray whispered. "Mira's gunna die."

"I'll intervene before it gets that far, Gray," Master said as he walked up next to the kid.

"Why did Gray say Mira-nee-san would die?" Elfman asked, concerned.

"Mirajane insulted Evangeline's entire life. Her status, her power, her love, and her dead parents. Evangeline does not take those insults lightly," Erza answered.

"Her parents are dead?" Elfman asked, shocked.

"She watched them die. Then she killed the man who did it with the strongest lightning attack ever made. Its power radiated for miles around, and at that point she was already well below a quarter of her magical energy. If she wanted, she could probably wipe out a whole country in the blink of an eye," Master said gravely. Their eyes turned back to Mirajane, who was on the battlefield and unable to see her opponent.

"What, hiding now? Are you scared?" Mirajane taunted. Then, a voice echoed all around.

"Hiding, false demon? That's what you accuse me of?" Evangeline laughed, but it was much darker than her usual laugh. "I'm all around you, but I guess I'll show myself to make it easier for you to insult yourself."

Mirajane went into her Satan Soul: Sitri form and went after Evangeline the second she appeared, only to be batted away with a single hand.

"You'll have to do better than that. I'll give you one more chance. I'm getting bored. Everyone here knows better than to bore me in a fight," Evangeline smirked. Her dark magic started to creep out around her.

"Soul Extinctor," Mirajane said as she let out a stream of dark magic. She smirked, thinking she had won, but then gasped when it vanished.

"Didn't I tell you, false demon? I have a REAL demon sealed inside me. In essence, I am her, and she is me. Now, I'm bored. So, I'll end this in one blow. You'll live, don't worry. You might take a few weeks to heal, but again, you'll live. I have a few rules for you, though. Rule number 1: You will NEVER insult my blood again," Evangeline said as she took a step forward, lightning crackling around her. "Rule number 2: You will never insult sacrifice again." She took another step forward, and the lightning turned red.

"Rule number 3: You will never go after Laxus again." Evangeline took one last step forward.

"Rule number 4: You will never underestimate your opponent again."

The only thing Mirajane felt was hot, burning pain. Evangeline sent a single red bolt at her. Mirajane couldn't dodge. She didn't stand a chance. She collapsed on the ground, passing out from the pain. Evangeline stood tall above the unconscious body of her guild mate. She turned and left the silent crowd that was around her and teleported away in her lightning.

Meanwhile, the guild couldn't believe what Evangeline was able to do with a single, wordless spell.

"Gramps, she wasn't even trying," Natsu said, staring at Mirajane's unconscious form. The old man nodded sadly.

"Anyone other than a guildmate would have had the full power of hell unleashed against them. Mirajane was lucky. I'd advise that no one ever make Evangeline upset in the future," Master said. "Someone please bring Mirajane to the infirmary."

Evangeline found herself in her old training spot. She was angry. No, she was furious. She had to hold back from truly teaching the cocky bitch a lesson. Evangeline hardly ever got this worked up. She sent her magic into the air around her. A massive storm formed over her head and reached as far as she could see. It stretched over Magnolia, where Fairy Tail members realized how powerful the young woman was. It stretched over Tenroujima, where Mavis noticed the pain in the magic. It stretched over the northern border of Fiore, where Laxus and his team realized that something really pissed Evangeline off.

"We've killed the target. You guys finish the rest of this. I gotta go calm her down before she destroys the whole damn continent," Laxus said as he looked at the massive storm that sparked overhead.

"She'll be near Magnolia. You can't teleport that far," Evergreen said.

"With her I can. This is her storm. It'll take me to her. Go," Laxus said before letting himself turn to lightning and move to the center of the storm. Thankfully, it barely took any magic for him to get there, even though it was hundreds of miles away. He was right, with her magic he could do anything. He shot down a few meters away from her.

"Evangeline," he called to her. She was almost in a trance. "Evangeline Hastings, listen to me." She turned to him, but she wasn't there. Not really. He walked closer to her.

"Stay back, I don't want to hurt you," she cried out. He shook his head.

"You won't hurt me, Ev. I trust you. I will get you out of this, okay? Listen to me. Whatever it is that's going on in your head, let it go. Take all the magic in the sky and shoot it down. You have to dispel it, love," Laxus said as he got closer to her. He was walking through her cloud of dark magic and lightning.

"I don't think I can do it," Evangeline whimpered. Laxus grabbed onto her and pulled her close to him.

"You don't have to do it alone, Evangeline. Let me help you. Let me guide it, you just need to follow," Laxus told her, still holding on to her body tightly. She wrapped her arms around him and nodded. He channeled his own lightning into the middle of the clearing, then came a massive blast of bloodred lightning. Evangeline managed to put up an obsidian sphere around them, so they didn't get caught in the debris. A few moments later, when she had calmed down, she let the barrier break. What they saw stunned them.

"Did I do that?" Evangeline couldn't believe it. The forest was gone. Everything was gone. It was just a massive crater. She started to shake. Laxus tightened his grip around her.

"It's okay, Ev. No one was in the forest. It's only about a mile out each way, so none of the towns were destroyed. Let's go home, okay?" he told her softly. She nodded while crying into his chest. He teleported them back to the guild, where his grandfather rushed out to meet them. Laxus picked Evangeline up in his arms and carried her inside and went right to his grandfather's office. Evangeline passed out from magic exhaustion while Laxus explained what happened.

"Well, I'm glad no one was hurt," Makarov said, sighing. "I'm astounded by her power. She holds back a lot in all her battles."

"She does. This is why. She lost control, and she's terrified of it. She was pissed, then lost control. I wasn't here to stop her from losing control. Yes, I know, she needs to figure out how to control it on her own, but it's been a hellish year for her, and even more so in the past few weeks. It was too much. I don't intend on leaving without her for anything for a while," Laxus said, looking at his girlfriend.

"It's probably for the best."

A few weeks later, Mirajane and Evangeline had a talk. More like, Mirajane apologized profusely for everything she had said to Evangeline and promised she would never do it again to anyone. Evangeline forgave her, then hugged her, which led to Mirajane bawling her eyes out, then the two became friends. Then, Romeo Conbolt was born.

Evangeline was absolutely in love with baby Romeo. She was almost convinced she wanted one herself before she stopped her train of thought. She didn't actually want a kid while she was this young. She did, but she didn't. She wouldn't ever tell anyone, but they all knew it. Laxus especially was annoyed.

"Ev, let him go back to his parents, we haven't been on a job in weeks," he complained. Evangeline started sniffling.

"But when I go, he's gunna get bigger and I'll miss it," she whined, tears gathering in her eyes.

"Ev, he's not our kid. Let him go back to his parents," Laxus said as he picked her up and carried her (and by extension, Romeo) over to Macao. "Macao, take your kid back please. I'd like my girlfriend back." The man burst out laughing before taking Romeo from Evangeline.

"Go have fun," Macao said as Laxus carried Evangeline out of the guild and off to the train station, where they still got tickets for free.

"So, where are we going?" Evangeline asked.

"Security at a certain concert venue in Hargeon, with a certain band that would like to have you be a special guest with them on stage," Laxus told her, a smirk on his face. Evangeline's eyes lit up.

"You're kidding! They want me back on stage? I'm going to be on stage?" Evangeline started bouncing on her seat. "Oh my gosh, I've missed the stage so much." Laxus laughed at her antics.

"I knew you'd like it," he said. "Now, lemme sleep. This whole motion sickness shit isn't any better with you bouncing all over the place." Evangeline settled down as she watched her love put his sound pods on and fall asleep.

The job went great. Evangeline was a hit with the crowd, and Laxus found himself at a crossroads. He wasn't sure what to do after this, and decided he needed to call the only person he dared to ask for advice. Gildarts. He called when Evangeline was recording with the band.

"Oh, Laxus, whatcha need kid?" Gildarts said when he answered his lacrima. Laxus took a deep breath before setting a serious look on his face. Gildarts noticed, then changed his own demeanor to a more serious one.

"I need your help. I don't know what to do," Laxus told him. Gildarts was confused.

"Don't know what to do about what? Evangeline? Did something happen?" Gildarts was now very worried.

"No, no, nothing like that, but it does have to deal with Evangeline. I… I'm not good at this kind of shit," Laxus muttered. Then, Gildarts understood what was wrong.

"You want to ask her to marry you, and you don't know what to do about it," Gildarts said before he burst out laughing.

"Oi, don't laugh old man! This isn't funny! If I wanted someone to laugh at me, I'd have called Gramps," Laxus shouted. Gildarts reeled in his laughter and took a deep breath.

"I'm laughing because I'm surprised it took you this long to realize it. We've all had a bet going for years about how long it would take for you to ask her," Gildarts said. Laxus's brow twitched.

"I don't think I'm even going to ask what other bets you assholes have going about us," Laxus muttered. Gildarts laughed again.

"Probably right there, kid. Now. First, you gotta find a ring. I think that's going to be the hardest part for you. Evangeline will be happy with anything, which is the problem," Gildarts told him. Laxus nodded. "Also, and I wish I'd known this when I proposed to my wife, rings have sizes. Make sure you figure her's out somehow, but don't let her know what it's for. If possible, get Gray in on it. He won't blab, and he actually likes you, so he'll probably help you. After the ring, it's all up to you to ask."

"Wait. You were married once?" Laxus backtracked. Gildarts sighed.

"I was. I couldn't stay away from adventure, though. Sometimes, loving someone means letting them go," Gildarts said, sounding like he was in a far-off place. "I don't think you kids will have that problem, though. Now. Ring. Go. Call me when you find one. I wanna make sure my kid got my other kid the best ring he could." With that, Gildarts hung up. All Laxus could do was shake his head.

Laxus decided to go around Hargeon for a while looking in jewelry stores at some of the rings they had. Nothing stood out to him. He was going purely off gut instinct on this part. He was hoping he didn't find "the one" without knowing her ring size. He also decided that the whole thing was a lot of work, but Evangeline would be happy, so he'd do it anyway. He made sure to keep track of the time, so he'd be back at their hotel before she was. Sure enough, five minutes after he got to the hotel, she returned.

They went back to Magnolia the next day to find out that Alice had passed away. To say Evangeline was devastated was an understatement. She had died from complications after she'd had Romeo. Evangeline decided she didn't want a kid anymore. She'd take care of Alice's.

For a few weeks, Evangeline and Laxus took care of Romeo 24/7. Macao was a wreck and couldn't take care of himself, much less a baby. Evangeline and Laxus were old enough to look after the kid, and Evangeline felt like she had to, so they were allowed to take care of the baby. They missed a lot but were at the guild when Elfman brought a giant egg into the guild that apparently Natsu and Lisanna had found. She had already given Romeo to Macao so the baby didn't forget who his real father was. Out of the egg hatched a cat. A cat from an egg. Then, Reedus asked for everyone to get ready for a picture, and Evangeline ended up in Laxus's arms, but she didn't mind. She was happy right where she was.

Three months after Alice died, Macao decided he needed to be the one to care for his son. Evangeline and Laxus were thankful to be able to sleep again, especially since S-Class trials were coming up. Laxus took more jobs with his team while Evangeline took solo jobs, mostly taking out bandit groups and small dark guilds.

Evangeline didn't particularly like Laxus's new team. They were mean to her. They also liked to try and sabotage date night. Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow didn't respect her, and one day, while everyone was back before the S-Class trials, she decided to put them in their place after hearing one of their conversations.

"You think that'll be enough to get rid of her finally?" Evergreen whispered to Freed, who was apparently planning the whole thing.

"Miss Hastings doesn't understand her place. She does not deserve Laxus's attention. I believe that setting him up will get her to leave, and he will probably thank us for it later," Freed whispered back.

"Pssh, she'd probably start crying again in the middle of the guild like usual," Bickslow told the group. Evangeline decided that she'd had enough and shot lightning at their table.

"How's about you say everything to my face instead? Or better yet, let me wipe the floor with you," Evangeline all but growled at them. She felt a bit of fear rise up in them, and she amplified it.

"I don't get why you are so special," Evergreen said as she glared at Evangeline.

"Then let me show you. The three of you against me. No holds barred. No holding back. I'll show you your place," Evangeline said as she turned her back and stalked out of the guild. She didn't feel like using all the money she had made to pay for guild repairs. The Raijinshu followed Evangeline out of the guild, then everyone else followed.

"Well, I did warn them," Laxus sighed. Master overheard his grandson and gave him a questioning look once they arrived at the place Evangeline had stopped.

"They started badmouthing her constantly. I told them not to. Then they decided to take it upon themselves to try and break us apart, which isn't gunna happen. They deserve everything that they have coming for them," Laxus explained. Master sighed.

"For once I agree with you," he said. "They should know the kinds of things she's capable of. They shouldn't underestimate her like this. I'll get someone to call Porlyusica out here."

Evangeline was showing no expression or emotion on her face. Everyone not involved in the fight felt the need to run. The Raijinshu, even as scared as they were, decided, against their better judgement, to fight her.

"I'll give you three the first chance to attack," Evangeline told them, her voice cold and emotionless. The three launched into an attack against her, all three using their eye powers. Bickslow stopped almost right away after seeing her soul. He fell stumbled away from her mere seconds after seeing it.

"Uh, guys, this is a really fucking bad idea," Bickslow said as he kept moving as far away from Evangeline as possible. Evergreen and Freed didn't listen.

"Good job, Bickslow. At least one of you understands your place. Now, for the two of you, which magic would you like me to use? Light? Dark? Ice? Lightning maybe? Should I make you feel so much terror that you pass out?" Evangeline asked the two remaining mages, still not letting any emotion into her voice.

"You're not worthy," Freed told her. Evangeline let a smile take over her face.

"Is that so, Freed Justine? I guess lightning it is," Evangeline whispered the last part. A small storm formed overhead, crackling with lightning.

"Evangeline," Laxus called out to her. She held up a hand.

"I won't kill them. I won't lose control either. I'm just really pissed that these fucks think they get to dictate our lives," Evangeline sighed. "Now, you two. I won't even use a named spell on you. Why? I don't need to in order to beat you."

"You're making a mistake by underestimating us," Evergreen grit out. She was scared, seriously scared. She wanted to run and join Bickslow, but her words betrayed her. She wouldn't make it out of this fight without taking some serious damage.

"Now, I hope after this I've earned your respect," Evangeline sighed again, then two bolts of regular lightning came from the sky and the two mages were engulfed in it for a few seconds before the storm and lightning disappeared. Evergreen and Freed were unconscious, but they would be fine.

"Match winner: Evangeline," Cana called out, not that anyone had bet on the Raijinshu. They had all recently seen Evangeline take out Mirajane with a nasty red lightning bolt, and then heard about her destroying a massive area of forest. Evangeline walked away from the scene of the fight back to her house. Gray and Laxus followed her.

"Why is everyone joining now an idiot?" Evangeline sighed as she dropped her head on the dining room table.

"They joined like, almost a year ago," Gray deadpanned. Evangeline sent an icy glare at him and he shut up.

"No one is used to a powerful, beautiful young woman. They feel threatened by you, that's why," Laxus said. He was sitting next to her, while Gray was across the table from them.

"I hope I didn't mess up my S-Class nomination chance with that fight," Evangeline sighed again.

"Would you stop sighing? It's really annoying and you do it all the time," Gray complained. He was then shocked. Evangeline stood and left the table, presumably to go up to her room.

"You deserved that one," Laxus commented at Gray's now-fried hair.

"Shut up, besides you need me for something, right?" Gray asked slyly. He smirked.

"Okay, the smirk is something you should NOT have picked up. I regret that. Anyway, I need you to figure out a way to get Ev's ring side," Laxus managed to say. He was sucking up a lot of his pride.

"She's a five on her left ring finger," Gray told him, blinking. Laxus stared at him.

"And you just know that off the top of your head?" Laxus deadpanned.

"I've been waiting for like, a year for you to ask me for this information. It's about damn time," Gray told him. Laxus dropped his head on the table, copying what Evangeline had done earlier.

"Well, I'm figuring it out now," Laxus sighed. "I've been to twelve different stores and I can't find something that she'd like."

"She's tricky because she likes everything, isn't she," Gray said, kicking his feet up onto the table. Laxus picked his head up and glared at him.

"Feet off the table," Laxus growled.

"Yes, Dad," Gray snorted. He was then fried again and decided it was time for him to go to bed.

Laxus sat at the table for a while longer before he made a plan to go ring shopping again the next day after the nominations went out.

"-And finally Laxus Dreyar," Master called out. Evangeline sighed. She had blown her chance because of her fighting. It had been a long year. A lot had happened. She went over to where Laxus was standing and kissed him on the cheek.

"Well at least one of us gets to go," she commented. Laxus wrapped his arms around her.

"I don't know why you don't get to go," he complained. "It's not fair."

"I think he probably doesn't want us to have to fight each other, at least not in competition," Evangeline speculated. "We are both overly competitive." Laxus nodded in agreement.

"I'll get it this year, you get it next year. Let's make that a deal, okay?" Laxus said. Evangeline nodded.

"Deal. Now, I'm assuming that you won't be bringing me even as your partner, even though our magic is perfectly compatible when fighting others?" Evangeline said, hitting the nail right on the head. Laxus flinched.

"Yeah… Gramps told me in private that I can't bring you. No one can. You'd be an unfair advantage," he said nervously. Evangeline sighed.

"Figures. I guess since Macao was nominated, I'll be watching Romeo while you are all there," Evangeline said. She wasn't mad that she'd have Romeo for over a week, since they were apparently all taking off that night for a week of training before the trials. "You headed out tonight like the rest, then?"

"Yeah. Freed is gunna try and make me figure out some sort strategy by myself to go at the trials this year," Laxus complained. Evangeline held back a giggle.

"Well, I'll see you in ten days," she said as she kissed him again. A few moments later, they broke apart.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear.

"I love you, too. Be safe," she whispered back, pecking him on the cheek once more before he left. She still needed to collect Romeo from his father. She made her way over.

"Time to hand over the baby, Macao," Evangeline said as she held her arms out. Romeo, the chubby now six-month-old, held his arms out to her and laughed. She picked him up and tossed him in the air once before moving him to her hip.

"Ah, well, I know he's in good hands, so I'll take off," Macao said as he stood and left with Wakaba. With that, Evangeline sat down at a table with Romeo and watched the rest of the nominees take off to train for one more week. Master walked over to her.

"Evangeline, there is a reason I didn't nominate you for S-Class this year," he started, but Evangeline shook her head.

"It's okay. As long as I get to go next year, that is," she smiled, and Master felt a shiver go down his spine.

"So long as my grandson passes, then yes," he muttered. Evangeline giggled and shook her head. Romeo then started slapping Evangeline's cheek for her attention.

"Yes, Romeo? Whatcha need baby?" Evangeline cooed to him. He smiled brightly and squealed. She hugged him close to her. "Why are you so cute, dammit!"

"I never did ask how taking care of him was," Master said as he sat down across from Evangeline. She sighed.

"It was a lot. He was basically our son for three months. Three months. That's a long time for a new baby, and they change so much in the first few months. It sucks that Macao wasn't there to take care of him. He missed valuable time with his kid. He won't ever get that back," Evangeline trailed off. Master shook his head.

"No, I mean how was it for you and my grandson basically being parents?" he prodded. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Again, it was a lot. He didn't sleep through the night until near the end of when he lived with us. We barely slept, couldn't really work, ate like shit, and were practically dead. But it was great. I'm afraid, though. I didn't expect Alice to die from this. I don't want to end up the same way. Look at how level-headed Macao usually is, then put Laxus in his place. It wouldn't end well for anyone involved, Gramps. Also, we are basically kids ourselves still," Evangeline said while looking at Romeo. Master sighed. He agreed with her point.

"Well, I'll give you five years," he said before he all but ran away from her. She felt her eyebrow twitch. Damn old man and his meddling.

"There will be no more babies, Romeo. Sorry, you're on your own, kid," Evangeline told the baby. He blinked at her, then giggled.

"But maybe someday," she thought to herself.

Evangeline anxiously awaited the trials group's return. No one would know who passed, if anyone, until they made it back. They should be back any minute now, by her count. Romeo was on her lap, babbling away.

"Yes, Romeo. I agree. They should be back by now," she sighed. Romeo babbled back.

"I don't think so, Romeo. I know he's your dad, but I think Laxus was probably the one to pass," Evangeline told him, looking him right in his eyes. Romeo pouted, and that thus made Evangeline burst out laughing.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you understand what I'm saying, little man," Evangeline said through her laughing.

"It seems like we weren't missed too badly," a voice said from behind her. Evangeline's head shot around and saw the trials group standing in the doorway.

"Attention brats! Welcome your new S-Class mage, Laxus Dreyar!" Master shouted, then everyone cheered.

"PARTY!" Someone yelled, then the typical chaos of a Fairy Tail party started. Macao stopped by to pick up his son, then Laxus made his way over to her.

"So, how was having the kid again?" he asked, sitting down next to her. She curled into his side.

"I missed it, really. As miserable as I know we both were when he was with us, I missed him," she sighed. "Anyway, why are you asking me questions? I should be asking you all about trials! Congrats by the way, but I knew you'd pass." She kissed him, and he eagerly returned.

"Thank you, love. Unfortunately, I crossed paths with Gildarts. Fortunately, I know all his tricks and was able to get past him," Laxus whispered in her ear. He didn't want anyone listening in.

"We both know more than that happened. Freed looks upset, so what did you do?" she asked him. He smirked.

"I may or may not have knocked Freed out so I could talk about a private matter, which was itself a lie. Old man started twitching, then passed out," he told her. He knew she was rolling her eyes.

"And what was that lie?"

"That the reason that you were taking care of Romeo was because you wanted practice for a few months in the future," he said. Evangeline burst out laughing. Thankfully, the guild was so loud that no one thought anything of it.

"Oh God, I can see why he'd pass out from that," she said as she wiped tears from her eyes. She was laughing so hard she was crying.

"After that, though, I thought he was gunna kill me," he sighed. "He's glaring at me right now, I can feel it." Evangeline looked around and found the man in question indeed glaring at her boyfriend. She waved him over.

"Evangeline," Gildarts said in a serious voice when he got over to the table they were at. "Please confirm that what he said was indeed a lie so I can decide how badly I need to beat him."

"It's not true, don't worry. And please don't beat him up too much, I'd like him in good shape before his S-Class job," she said. Gildarts sighed.

"Fine, I won't. If he does anything in the future, though, let me know, and I WILL kill him," he pouted.

"You and I both know you are as bad as Gramps," Laxus muttered. Gildarts sputtered.

"I don't know what you are talking about," he managed to say before stumbling away from the table.

"You're so mean," Evangeline smacked him on the shoulder. Laxus grinned.

"Always. Now, we get to bring one person with us on our first S-Class job, and I'd like you to come with me," he told her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close.

"Of course," she said. A chair whizzed over their heads. "It might be time to go."

"Time to go indeed."

Year 6

Evangeline was bored. She groaned and dropped her head on the bar top.

"You know, you'll give yourself brain damage eventually because you do that so much," Gray said from beside her.

"I. Am. Bored."

"Well then go on a job," he said.

"There's nothing good on the normal board."

"Then get Laxus to bring you on an S-Class."

"He's on one for another two weeks."

"Well that the hell do you want me to do?"

"Remember that it's my birthday, maybe?" Evangeline sighed. Gray dropped his head on the bar top next to her.

"Dammit, Ev, I knew I was forgetting something important," Gray groaned. "I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"You better. Do it now. I'm bored. Fix it."

"Uhh," he trailed off. He had no ideas. He picked his head up off the bar and looked around the guild. Finding who was looking for, he told her he'd be right back. She didn't pick up her head, so he was safe in his planning for now.

"Gildarts. I'm in trouble. I forgot her birthday. Save me," Gray begged the man. He laughed at the poor teen's misfortune.

"Well, there's not much I can do for you. I already have my present for her, and I know you can't upstage it," Gildarts told him.

"It's not my fault I'm a kid and you're as S-Class. I don't have that much money," Gray grumbled. Gildarts ruffled Gray's hair.

"Remember when you said you were saving money from your jobs a few years ago? What did you spend it on?" Gildarts asked. Gray blinked.

"I still have it. I forgot about it. I'll be right back," Gray said as he ran out of the guild hall. Evangeline finally picked her head up off the bar and saw Gildarts walking over to her.

"Happy 18th kiddo," he said as he ruffled her hair and set down a gift bag in front of her.

"Thank you," she beamed. At least someone remembered. Even her boyfriend of many years had apparently forgotten. She started grabbing things out of the bag and pulled out a jewelry box. She recognized it. It was her mothers.

"How?" she asked as she ran her fingers over it and then opened it. Inside was a note and her mother's blue diamond ring.

"She left that with me before that job that went wrong. She told me to give it to you when you came of age," Gildarts explained. She took out the ring and slipped it onto her right ring finger, and it auto-sized to fit her.

"I'll read her letter later, then," she said as she stared at the ring. It was a family heirloom, that much she knew.

"There's more in the bag," Gildarts told her. She reached her hand in and pulled out two more boxes. One was from Gildarts, the other from Laxus.

"He told me to give you his present he got you because he knew he'd be gone on your birthday," Gildarts explained before she had a chance to ask. She smiled at that.

She opened the box from Gildarts to find an embroidered bag. She knew it was magical just by touching it.

"It's loaded with a ton of random things that you could need in different situations… Or as you would call them shituations," he said. "It'll spit you whatever you really need in that moment. It's apparently really old magic, so I'm not sure what all is in there."

"Thank you, really," Evangeline smiled brightly at her godfather. He smiled in return, then watched as she opened the box that Laxus had gotten her.

Inside this one was a starfish, a seashell, and a game token. She blinked.

"Uhh," she said. She didn't know what it meant. She took each object out, then found an envelope in the bottom of the box. Inside were tickets to none other than Sunshine Island, a rentable island for two. "Well then, looks like I have a private island vacation in my future!"

Gray returned to the guild with his own gift bag and was out of breath. He walked over to Evangeline and held out the bag to her.

"Here," he said as he gave it to her.

"Thanks, Gray," she said as she opened it. Inside was a pair of earrings that matched her opal necklace, in both color and cut. The earrings were dragons.

"You really like the necklace, and I want you to wear something that I got you," he said as heat rose in his cheeks. He wanted his sister to wear something that he got her, especially since he would be even with Laxus after he finally got the balls to propose to her. Evangeline stood up and hugged him.

"Thank you, Gray, I love them," she said, genuinely happy and surprised with the gift. Gray looked behind Evangeline to see her other presents and saw the tickets to the private island and knew that he wouldn't have to wait long before his sister would finally get engaged.

Evangeline was sitting in a lounge chair near the ocean sipping on a mojito that Laxus had made for her. She was getting spoiled this week, and honestly, she loved it. Their time on the island was coming to an end, though. They left tomorrow, and she didn't want to go back.

"Do we have to go back? I'd be fine just staying here forever, honestly," Evangeline said as Laxus sat down next to her.

"Unfortunately, someone still have to pass their S-Class trial," he teased. She pouted.

"Not fair, I only didn't go because you just had to go and get nominated," she whined. He shook his head.

"You'll get it right away this year, I'm sure of it. The you should have been nominated two years ago, probably before that even," Laxus told her. She gave him a soft smile.

"I suppose. So, anything else left that you have planned? The sun's setting," she said quietly. She felt that he was very nervous about something but had no idea what.

"There's one more thing. We're going to the west side of the island, though," he told her. They got up and started making their way around the winding paths that led all over the island. Thankfully, it was well marked which ones led where. She hadn't been to the west side of the island yet, and that fact had completely slipped her mind until that moment. She didn't question him until he stopped her right before they were going to come over a ridge.

"I'll need you to close your eyes from here on out until I tell you to open them, okay?" he told her. She was getting kind of freaked out but agreed. He had some sort of surprise for her that he didn't want her to know about. He led her slowly over the ridge and down a hill and then she realized they were walking through sand. He finally stopped her then let go of her she heard him moving around a bit before he stopped.

"Open your eyes," he said. She did and was speechless by what she saw. They were standing under a willow tree that was strung with lights. There were also white strips of cloth draped through the tree, swaying with the gentle breeze. When it stopped, the cloth was more like curtains.

"This place is beautiful," she murmured, still taking in the place they were in before she realized where Laxus was. He was kneeling on one knee in front of her, and then she knew. She couldn't bring herself to say anything, though.

"Evangeline. You have been the light of my life for as long as I've known you. You are everything that I am not, and you are constantly pushing me to be better. You've taught me the meaning of love. Now, I'm asking you to let me love you for the rest of our lives. Will you marry me?" he said, looking at her the whole time. She felt tears pouring down her face and she could only nod. If she had tried to say anything she'd start sobbing. She didn't even know what the ring he'd gotten her looked like until he slipped it on her left ring finger.

The ring was a simple but beautiful. The center diamond was large, probably three carats, and had a platinum band that had smaller diamonds set into it. It was perfect. The next thing she knew she was kissing her fiancé and was experiencing what she could only describe as pure bliss.

She woke up the next morning wrapped in his arms. She stared at the ring on her finger. It was weighty because of how large the stone was, but she loved it. Every part of it was perfect. She turned her attention to the man she was going to marry and be with the rest of her life. He was always so peaceful looking when he slept. She ran her fingers through his soft hair, then turned her attention to his scar. She lightly traced over the lightning bolt scar over his eye. As she stopped, he opened his eyes, then leaned in to kiss her. Life was perfect.

Everyone at the guild was anxiously awaiting Laxus and Evangeline's return. Gildarts had filled everyone in on what was going to happen, hopefully, and now they just wanted to see the couple. They were hiding, waiting to surprise the two for an engagement party.

The doors finally opened to show a beaming Evangeline and an actually smiling Laxus.

"Congratulations!" Everyone shouted, with the exception of the older members who had said 'It's about damn time!'

The next few months went by in a blur. Romeo had his first birthday, Evangeline became friends with the Raijinshu, and she and Laxus had started saving for a new house. Mostly Laxus since he could take S-Class jobs, but Evangeline had quite a few dangerous people come after her that had large bounties on their heads. Their savings goal was 75 million jewel. They weren't going to stop until they had it.

Finally, it was time for the S-Class trails, where Evangeline was finally nominated. She ended up fighting Laxus head on in a bracket match. Needless to say, she took him out, but only after they had a very… erotic looking fight. Everyone was blushing by the end.

Finally, she fought Gildarts, and the two went all out. Evangeline was cut and bruised and bleeding, but she kept standing.

"Give in, Evangeline. You've done enough to pass," Master said, trying to get her to surrender. Laxus shook his head.

"She never gives in. She will always keep fighting," he said, and everyone knew it was true.

"One more attack, Gildarts. Then this will be over," Evangeline managed to say through her heavy breathing.

"One more attack," Gildarts said. He was only in slightly better shape than Evangeline.

Each one charged their attack, Gildarts sending Absolute Heaven at Evangeline, and Evangeline sending Raiko: Red Lightning. In the end, Gildarts was the one who was on the ground when the dust cleared. Evangeline was standing with a smile on her face and raised a hand in the air with the Fairy Tail symbol. Then, she started to fall, but Laxus was there to catch her.

Meanwhile, Makarov shook his head. Someone beat Gildarts. And she wasn't even using her most powerful magic. Evangeline was a monster when it came to power level. He wouldn't be surprised if she was made a wizard saint before too long. She was also pushing Laxus to get strong enough to compete with her. Having her around made him humbler and he talked less about strength and power when she was around.

The group finally docked in Magnolia before too long and they made their way to the guild, where everyone celebrated Evangeline's promotion.

"Laxus?" Evangeline said quietly. He was half asleep next to her at the guild.

"Hmm?"

"Let's go home."

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A/N:

Oookay! Sorry year 6 was short, but there wasn't much that happened from the timeline to go off of. The next chapter will be present, as usual, and then flashback. If anyone has some other good Laxus X OC fanfics, let me know!