Dragon's child

•Sixteen•

A/N: Gajeel in the last panel says "Why are ya staring? I'm not givin' him mine."

Lily gave his tie a final tug and stared into the mirror gravely. "...this is not a situation I thought I'd ever be wearing this uniform for." He sighed finally.

"You're tellin' me." Gajeel replied. Though their Council uniforms weren't the appropriate colors for a funeral, Lily had insisted on them wearing it as a sign of respect. Since Gajeel had been planning on wearing it anyway, having no suits except his performing one, it worked out just fine.

The dragonslayer pulled his hair back into a low ponytail and was fussing with it when Lily laid a hand on his shoulder. "We should go. Levy's waiting for us."

"Fine, fine." Gajeel grumbled. Walking to the train station, they were able to spot her almost immediately.

Levy looked up with a wan smile as they approached. "You guys wore your uniforms too, huh?"

"Didn't feel right wearing anything else." Lily answered quietly.

Levy nodded, brushing her black veil out of her eyes. "The train'll be arriving in a couple minutes." The trio waited in silence, watching the bustling crowds around them. Gajeel's sensitive ears caught a rhythmic thumping sound and he looked up to see Ryuchi inside another train, knocking on the window at him. He could see a patch of green hair behind her and there was a barrel baby floating by her elbow, so it was pretty obvious who she was with. Catching his eye, she tilted her head questioningly and gestured at him. He simply waved back and the train she was on pulled out of the station, her little concerned face disappearing into the distance.

"What's wrong Ryuchi?" Evergreen asked.

"...nothing..." The girl sighed, slipping down onto the floor of train. She walked over to Laxus and clambered into his lap, pulling his long coat around them. It was precisely three seconds later that the pair of them turned a sickly white color, but the Raijunshi were too polite to mention it.

***********

"C'mon kiddo, up and at 'em." Laxus said gruffly, gently shaking Ryuchi awake.

The group of them exited the train and Freed had to catch Laxus when he almost collapsed. "Are you still feeling ill?" Freed asked in concern.

"Nah, my legs fell asleep." Laxus winced as the pins and needles erupted in his lower half. Crashing and loud yells interrupted them. A creature about the size of a magic car was running down the street and was being pursued by a whole crowd of townspeople.

"Ah, what luck! One of the monsters we're supposed to catch came right to us!" Evergreen gloated. "C'mon cutie!" She seized Ryuchi's hand and dragged her along as Bickslow and Evergreen took off after the creature.

"Ever's sure cheerful." The dragonslayer snorted.

"I think she enjoys having a little girl around." Freed said simply.

They stood there for a few more minutes before Laxus cleared his throat awkwardly. "Er, how long are you gonna grab onto me?"

"Oh, s-s-sorry!" Freed spluttered, releasing Laxus's arm immediately.

"Oiiiiii!" The pair looked up to see Bickslow standing on a roof. "Ever and the kid caught the monster already, so could ya give yer flirtin' a rest and help us transport the thing?" He smirked.

"W-we're not flirting!!" Freed spluttered. Laxus just glared, little spots of pink on his cheek.

**************

The cemetery gravel crunched under their boots as Gajeel, Lily, and Levy approached the chapel at the far end. There was already quite a crowd and it was easy to spot the other white Council uniforms amongst the sea of black. "C-Captain?" A watery voice asked. A few of Gajeel's former subordinates had appeared from behind them.