To Kill A Dragon

Epilogue

Disclaimer: All Fairy Tail Characters Belong to Hiro Mashima, Tiamat is loosely based on Tiamat from Forgotten Realms which Belongs to Wizards of the Coast, LLC. The traits of the chromatic dragons have been altered to match the dragon slayers in the Fairy Tail Universe. Drakan belongs to Surreal Software.

Epilogue

It had taken them awhile to figure out how to get off the Tartaros Cube and back down to solid ground and when they had they were faced with an even bigger shock. As they stood amidst the rubble of what had once been their guild their Master had declared that Fairy Tail was disbanded. He didn't give them much of an explanation and he had quickly disappeared before they could demand answers, but they just couldn't let go so easily. It would certainly not be the first time they had disobeyed one of the Master's orders. Most of them had grown up within the walls of some variation of that building and letting it remain destroyed felt like abandoning the only home they had ever known.

They stood looking at the wreckage of what had once been their guild hall not sure of what to do. Elfman offered to rebuild it himself seeing as it had been his fault that it had been destroyed in the first place but they all agreed to help, not sure what to do with themselves if they were not in Fairy Tail. So they spent their days doing construction so that they could get back to work and put the whole nightmare that had been Tartaros and Tiamat behind them. Laxus and Erza agreed to share Master duties, neither one ready to take control of the guild full time.

It was easier for some of them to forget than for others. Natsu had lots of nightmares. Some had to do with Tiamat and his capture, others with Tartaros and Igneel's death, but the absolute worst ones were the ones in which Gray or Kai died. Those were the ones that would have him getting up in the middle of the night rushing to Gray's apartment looking for comfort. So they ended up sleeping in the same bed more nights than not. It was easier. Gray could tell that the nightmares were getting to Natsu and he was starting to slip back into some of the depression he had suffered after his capture. The guild was not yet finished so there were still no missions to distract him with and Kai felt like a pleasant dream he had woken up from much too soon to hold on to.

Two months had passed since Tartaros and Kai had yet to be born. One day when Natsu had not put in an appearance at the guild Gray went to his house to check on him and found him looking wretched in his bed. He had allowed himself to get excited that Kai was about to be born only to learn that there were days when Natsu missed their son so much that he didn't take Porlyusica's medicine just to feel Kai inside of him. The next day Gray commissioned Reedus to paint a portrait of Kai for them as a visual reminder and maybe something for Natsu to look forward to. Reedus made them each a copy and they kept it in their bedrooms. The whole experience made him think about his own father, something he had been actively avoiding.

Lyon had told Gray that he was going to take Silver with him for awhile to let him heal and to give Gray some time to think about what he wanted but Gray had chosen to stay away and tend to Natsu. Maybe in a way he was using Natsu as an excuse, telling himself it would be a betrayal to his mate to go see his father. He could still remember Natsu's anger when Gray refused to allow Kai to heal Igneel and then Silver had almost killed Natsu soon after. Was it fair for him to have his father when Natsu had no one? He knew in his heart that Natsu would never begrudge him a relationship with Silver, that was not the way he was but Gray still felt guilty.

Maybe the real problem was Gray himself and the fear that the real man could never live up to his memories of him. Yes, if he was honest with himself that was probably closer to the truth. Over the years he had built up this idea of Silver that he clung to because he couldn't remember too much from his childhood before Deliora and every year he lost more of it. If he allowed himself to meet the real man, he might very well be disappointed. He had been Gray's first hero, had given his life to protect his son and wife from a demon. Now that Gray was considered by some as a hero he was well aware that they were all too human and humans, even undead ones were not perfect. They were messy and full of flaws and perhaps they were heroes because they were able to rise above those flaws to perform acts of great courage and sacrifice.