{STORM'S POV}
I trail behind Nashi, watching my extraordinary girlfriend practically skip through Crocus after casually bombing a mountain to smithereens from miles away like it's no big deal.

She looks over her shoulder at me and grins, reminding me for the bazillionith time that I'm the luckiest guy in the world.

I casually clasp my hands behind my back so she can't see the angry red skin and scores of yellow blisters forming on my arms.

"It's your turn, Storm!"

"Huh?" Crud, I wasn't paying attention, having been lost in my own world.

Nashi turns her body to fully face mine, walking backwards. "Come on, silly. You stood by me while I faced my fear, so I want to do the same. What are you afraid of? The dark? I can light it up."

She raises her index finger, lighting the tip on fire. Her eyes sparkle mischievously.

I snort. "But if you light up the dark, it won't be dark anymore. Doesn't count."

"Tomayto, tomahto." Nashi shrugs.

I stop walking, causing Nashi to stop too. She raises an eyebrow curiously.

"You're amazing, Nashi."

She flushes, then tries to cover it with a teasing smirk. "Oh? You're only realizing this now? Just how long have we been dating?"

She looks in my eyes and the teasing smile drops when she sees how serious I am. "Storm?"

*at the same time, elsewhere in Crocus*
{LIONEL'S POV}
Remain calm. You tripped. It's just a scraped knee. Remain calm. Don't cry, don't cry.

Tears well up in my eyes unbidden.

The temperature drops. Instantly, the ground I'm sitting on begins to freeze. Unable to control it, I watch helplessly as the ice fractals expand faster.

I'm in the middle of town right now. I can't freeze everything like I could in the arena. There are people here who might get hurt.

Calm thoughts, pleasant thoughts. Yes, repression is good. The ambient temperature begins to rise back to normal and the ice stops spreading.

"Mummy, look! It's Lionel Vastia! I rooted for him against Tear!" A little girl no older than seven runs up to me, her mother bowing apologetically in the background. "Mister, can I have an autograph?"

She steps on the ice and her shoe freezes. Legs encased in ice. A moment of sheer terror.

The temperature drops and the entire street freezes over. Street vendors shout obscenities as their wares are unexpectedly frozen solid. Customers jump back to avoid a deadly array of ice spikes.

The little girl is encased by a thin layer of frost. She stops moving and I fear she's trapped.

Then my fan moves again, shaking snow from her hair and clothes. I let out the breath I was holding. It condenses, the air still chilly. Frost stubbornly sticks to the little girl's skin, making her shiver.

If I can't reign in my emotions soon, she may meet a worse fate. I can't let that happen! I don't want this uncontrollable magic to hurt anybody ever again.

Nashi Dragneel saves me. She lights her body on fire, the warmth emanating from her enough to melt my ice. That gives me the boost I need to calm down.

The frosty girl still looks up at me with giant hopeful eyes, so I sigh and sign her an autograph.

"You good?" Nashi asks. She looks distracted.

I nod. "Yeah. Thanks for the assist."

"No prob. Have you seen Storm?" I can sense her current emotions: upset, worry, confusion. Storm is Nashi's boyfriend and my ice magic rival.

"I thought he was with you." I answer honestly.

Nashi frowns. "He was. But then he said he needed some space to think and left." A tidal wave of nervousness. "Do you think... he wants to break up?"

I've sensed their emotions together; they really love each other. "No. Respect each other's personal space, and let him have the time he needs. Trust he'll tell you what's bothering him."

Nashi considers this. She nods, thanks me, and leaves in the direction of their hotel.

Behind me, I feel a surge of surprise and happiness. I'm unexpectedly attuned to this random person's fluctuations, so it must be someone I know. I turn to greet them and my jaw drops.

My third grade teacher, Ms. Fukumoto, rolls up behind me in her wheelchair.

She's changed, jarringly so. I suppose it has been years. I never saw Ms. Fukumoto again after both her legs were amputated above the knee. My haywire magic is to blame for that.

I got angry over some stupid thing she said in class. Scolding me for breaking a classroom rule I thought I was above following, because children are egocentric and I was especially so. It was just childish pettiness, but my magic activated autonomously.

The other kids ran away, some terrified of me whilst others went to get help. The cause of my anger—Ms. Fukumoto herself—was frozen from the waist down and trapped. I saw Ms. Fukumoto in a lot of pain, and thus a positive feedback loop began.

The more desperately I wanted to save her, the faster my ramped up emotions froze the classroom. In turn, this made me even more desperate to save her.

It was negative twenty degrees and blizzarding in the building by the time Dad got to my school. He dragged me away and calmed me down.

Ms. Fukumoto was unconscious by that point. I was later told she had severe hypothermia and frostbite in both of her legs. They couldn't be saved and were amputated before the necrosis spread.

While Ms. Fukumoto was in the hospital, I felt guilty and turned to my peers. Instead of friendship, I was met with fear from my classmates.

I became isolated and my emotions grew even more volatile, so my parents withdrew me from school. I got guild-schooled after that, training in secret to repress my emotions tightly.

I'm afraid of hurting someone I care about, or causing irreparable damage like I did to Ms. Fukumoto's legs. I'm too dangerous.

Why? Why is my third grade teacher here? Why is she smiling? She should hate me. I'm the reason she's in that wheelchair. I ruined her life.

"Lionel-kun?" Ms. Fukumoto positively beams. "It really is you! I could've recognized that cold spell anywhere. It's been so long!"

I remain still. I am a statue. No emotion. No emotion. Don't make the damage worse.

Happiness radiates off Ms. Fukumoto. Impossible. Not a single negative emotion after seeing me.

"I heard you quit school, so I was curious what happened to you. And when I saw that you would be competing, I just had to come. You've grown up so much since the third grade!"

"Ms. Fukumoto... I... I'm..."

She reads my mind. "Oh, I never blamed you, Lionel-kun. I was bitter at myself for a while. Then I began to see things differently. Although one door closed, another opened. If it weren't for you, I'd have never met my beloved wife at the physical therapy gym."

She grins holding up her left hand to display a gold band. A short-haired woman weaves through the crowd, looking left and right. Her eyes focus on us and she waves, rising a completely bionic arm in the air. When she finally reaches us, she leans down and kisses her wife firmly on the lips.

The wave of love and contentment they emit almost bowls me off my feet.

"And guess what, Lionel-kun? I'm still teaching third grade. I found multiple hobbies for my hands, which lead me to learn sign language. So now I work at a school for blind and deaf children."

"I... I'm so sorry." I splutter. She's lying to make me feel better. "I ruined—"

"Ruined?" Ms. Fukumoto scoffs. "Hardly. I was lonely, overworked, and underpaid. Now I'm happy and fulfilled in ways I never thought possible. Lionel-kun, I came because I wanted to thank you."

I can't help it. It's too much. I run away, my footsteps freezing in my wake. I duck into a side alley and promptly trip over a pile of depression.

Now my other knee is scraped too. Fantastic.

I'll need to find Emilia later. As for right now, my attention is focusing on the humanoid bundle of self-loathing behind me.

I look over my shoulder and find none other than Storm Fullbuster, Nashi's missing boyfriend, curled into a ball with his knees against his chest. His eyes are devoid of hope.

"Nashi's worried about you."

Cue the self-loathing intensifying. I find it hard not to empathize with his emotions, so of course I push harder. I owe this to Nashi for that save earlier.

"Why'd you up and ditch her?"

"She's too good for me." Storm admits. "She's stunning and gorgeous and powerful, and I'm... me." He gestures at himself morosely. "She's eventually going to realize that I'm not worthy of her."

"I'm afraid my girlfriend will leave my sorry ass, so instead of talking to her about my insecurities I decided to dump her first." I translate mockingly.

"I'd never—"

"Tell that to Nashi. Abandonment stings."

A flicker of horror. "I'm hurting Nashi?"

"Of course, you gosh-darned idiot!" I snap. "She cares about you! And when someone you care about suddenly ignores you without reason, it hurts."

Storm perks up a little. One more push should do it.

"You have to talk to each other. Trust me. I know emotions better than most. Communication is key. Don't leave Nashi in the dark, Storm."

Storm pulls himself to his feet. Determination replaces depression and anguish. Much better.

Right before he jogs off, Storm smirks at me. "Thanks, Vastia. I owe you one. But don't think for a second that I'll hesitate to prove that ice make magic is better than freeze magic the next time we meet."

That's my ice rival. "Anytime, Fullbuster."

I grin as I watch Storm's back as he leaves, spine straight, determined to conquer his own fear.

{STORM'S POV}
I'm a complete dunce. I should've explained better when I asked for space, turned on my heel, and left her standing in the middle of the street alone.

I sprint all the way up to Nashi's room, skipping every other stair in my rush. First things first, I have to apologize for being a douchebag. Then I can share my feelings and Nashi hers. If she realizes that she doesn't want to be with me...

She'll tear my heart out of my chest and leave it flopping on the ground like a fish, but I'll survive. I'll be fine, so long as Nashi's happy.

I steel myself and knock on her door. "Nashi?"

Silence.

"Nashi, can I come in? We need to talk."

More silence. I try the handle. Unlocked. Nashi isn't in her room. I check all around the hotel. Nowhere.

Our guildmates drinking in the bar on the first floor of the hotel tell me they saw her go upstairs and assumed she was in her room. I'm seriously worried now. Where would Nashi go?

I return to my room to get my communication lacrima so I can call her. I left it in the dorms because I didn't want to break it during the final event. Does Nashi even have hers on her?

I bust through my hotel room door and make a beeline for yesterday's pants. I dig through their pockets, securing the thin rectangular lacrima.

"Storm."

I fly out of my shoes like a cartoon character. Nashi is sitting cross-legged on my bed, hugging the pillow I slept on last night to her chest. She looks absolutely miserable, and I feel like a crap boyfriend.

I have to apologize for putting her through this. For being selfish. I bow my head low. "I'm sorry, Nashi."

She looks even worse now. Her face crumples and she bites her lip. "I-I understand. Thank you for taking care of me all this time."

"What?"

"Huh?"

My eyes widen. Very carefully, I ask, "Nashi, do you think I'm breaking up with you?"

Tears leak from her eyes. "Aren't you? Isn't that what you meant by wanting space?"

I want to laugh and cry. My legs give out. I plop down on the floor and look up at Nashi. "Do you wanna know what my biggest fear is?"

She blinks. "Of course I do."

"I love you. So damn much it hurts not to be near you. I'm terrified for the day when you wake up and realize that I'm not good enough for you."

Nashi stands abruptly, throwing aside my pillow, fire in her eyes. "What kinda bullshit—"

"You can blow up mountains and fight dragons. I can make ice sculptures."

"Storm Fullbuster, how many times have you saved my life on jobs? More than I can count. You are not weak! Besides, not for one second have I been with you because of your worth to me! Do you really think I'm such a shallow-minded person? I love you too, you dummy! You can keep being terrified until the day you die! Because every day when I wake up, I want to see your sleeping face next to mine!"

I feel like an elephant of worry has lifted off of my chest. I still want to laugh and cry simultaneously, but I choose to laugh.

Nashi huffs. "What? Still don't believe me? I guess I'll have to prove it to you."

The gleam in her eyes morphs, filled with an emotion I don't dare to place. I'm about to explain myself when Nashi moves forward, slipping into my lap.

I'm crisscross applesauce on the hotel floor and her legs wrap around my torso. Nashi fits perfectly against my body, her face mere inches from mine. Her fiery eyes glow with unblinking intent.

Suddenly it's hard to breathe. "Nashi—"

"You don't want to?" She tilts her head, biting her lip. She looks adorable and very playful.

I suck in a breath. My heart thunders in anticipation in my chest. "Are you sure?"

She doesn't even hesitate. "Yes."