(I could not find any good fanart that fit so I made this in like 3 minutes. Enjoy the low-budget meme lol, tis my pride and joy)

There was no denying it any longer. He was a fool for pretending otherwise.

He was attached: grievously attached to his idiotic apprentice. He was a fool.

The thought of letting Serena walk back into the council was... gutting. Serena, with his head high, his smile so confident it was almost a smirk. His ego would never let him show a hint of fear, even as he waltzed into Acnologia's hell - the mere thought was killing the older dragon slayer. It was eating him alive from the inside out, gnawing on his bones, heart, and his patience.

He had to get a grip and reason himself out of doing something rash. 

The child could handle himself and had the tools to continue draconic training. He'd gotten through the initial growing pains of transformation. His fangs no longer ached, his eyes had grown accustomed to harsher lights, and his skin's constant prickling was normal. He could cope. He would cope. Acnologia had done exactly what he'd set out to do and built a good foundation for the child.

He had done exactly what he'd meant to do. That was enough.

It had to be enough.

It wasn't. Realizing that in a few days, Serena would be gone was... it wasn't pleasant. Remembering scared the hell out of him. What if Serena vanished one day without a trace or sign? Just as all the other dragons had? What if it, whatever it was, still lingered, waiting for a singular lapse in Acnologia's attention? What if the only thing keeping this child out of harm's way was the gaze of the Dragon King?

Yes, yes, not a very sane thought but his paranoia was as immortal as he was, and he'd given up trying to fight it. And regardless! Even if that mystery dragon bane wasn't still around, he was still handing a mere hatchling over to the hands of a bureaucratic entity whose morals were about as steadfast as a wall of toothpicks!

"Hey! Hey - kid! Can you lift three tables?" That was Macao, jarring Acnologia out of his lovely spiraling thoughts.

The flame mage was about ten years older than Serena but no more mature. It showed in how eagerly the two ran across the guild to test their theory. Another member, Wakaba, was right behind them with two kegs of beer raised aloft.

Acnologia took a breath and tried to chase his gnawing thoughts away. Clear his mind... just clear the mind...

There was a yelp as Serena fell, the leaning tower of tables he'd been holding aloft crumbling with him. The explosion of laughter quelled any concerns and had Acnologia resting with his head held up by a hand.

They had two days before Serena was to be turned over to the council. Two. Days. Fuck, the mind was not clear.

"Hah, three tables? That's nothing - " Gildarts taunted.

Gildarts had dropped by a day or so ago - now enraptured in some love affair that made him blush and swoon when Acnologia asked, not that Acnologia necessarily asked. When he wasn't bouncing around like a freshly bathed seal, the elder was enraptured with testing his metal against Serena. It had started minor with small contests to prove their power and adaptability but had quickly, quickly escalated. Makarov had been forced to frantically jump between the powerhouses of Serena and Gildarts because a dual between those two would border on calamitous.

They wanted to test their prowess. Makarov wanted to keep the guild intact. It was a question of who's will would break first. Predictably, the table-balancing competition quickly devolved into threats of violence, with a very concerned Makarov in the middle.

"We'll spar one day," Serena grinned toothily, jabbing a threatening finger at the Ace of Fairy Tail

"Oh hell yeah," Gildarts snickered. "Though I've probably got to wait 'till you're at least five inches taller, pipsqueak."

"Oh, so you're gonna insult my height, old man? Nothing creative - guess that would require some imagination!" Serena snickered, using his spark magic to summon sparkles around him. "At least I'm not a scruffy-looking grease stain who hasn't showered in three weeks let alone consulted a mirror in the last millennia. Honestly, that love of your life must be blind and lack the ability to smell."

Gildarts gawked incredulously, jabbing his finger right back at the youngster.

"Oh you're fucking asking for it!"

"I am but a simple teenager," Serena defended, dramatically throwing his arm on his forehead. "But if you're ready to get annihilated by a child, I suppose I have to listen to an old man's last request! Any friends or family I should share the tragic news with before I print your obituary?"

"You talk a lot for someone so ready to throw hands."

"Bold words from someone who doesn't know his left hand from his right!"

"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" Macao and Wakaba were no help as they hunkered off to the side, taking refuge behind a table, but egging on the fight regardless.

"Do NOT!" Makarov threatened, growing ten feet taller. "I already said no - I mean no! Gildarts! That is a child!"

"Acnologia! You raised a little shit!" Gildarts yelled obstinately, stomping his foot and pointing at the said lil' shit accusingly before he began to grumble away.

"He was like that when I found him," Acnologia scoffed. "I did not raise him."

Serena was cackling, holding his stomach as he relished in the chaos he'd brought.

"Serena, watch yourself and the fights you pick," Acnologia warned and the apprentice deflated a bit.

"Fine," he groaned, throwing a hidden smirk at Gildarts. "One day, though - one day we'll fight."

"One day for sure," Gildarts huffed.

"NOT HERE YOU WON'T!" Makarov threatened and the two laughed as if they hadn't aged the dear master by another decade.

No sooner had one situation died down than another began as familiar feet padded up to the Guildhall and pushed the door open. There was a small gasp that made Acnologia turn to the open doors and snicker as a familiar blonde-haired boy grinned in absolute jubilation.

Laxus sprinted like his life depended on it and Acnologia got to his feet, crouching down right as the boy jumped to wrap his arms around the Dragon King.

"Acno!" he cheered in joy - right into the slayer's ear, but he could handle it.

"Child, when did you get so big?" Acnologia demanded, pulling away and staring critically at the young Dreyar who had indeed gotten remarkably taller.

"You left for like ever!" Laxus laughed. "Everyone said you were back, but I couldn't come see!"

"Couldn't?" Acnologia echoed, his gaze narrowing.

"Yeah, Dad's all worried about me missing school," Laxus sighed, a mischievous grin sparking on his face as he raised his hand to whisper to the dragon slayer. "Don't tell him I skipped today."

"Did you have a test today?" Acnologia mirrored the whisper back in the same tone that used to send Mavis into a fit of giggles.

Laxus looked at the dragon slayer with faux innocence: "Nooo..."

"Why should I betray such secrecy?" Acnologia snickered. "How old are you now, anyway?"

"Eight," Laxus grinned.

"Eight-year-olds still attend school?" Acnologia supposed.

"Acnologia!" Makarov scolded, miraculously appearing to the dragon king's left at his regular size donning a most judgemental stormy-cloudy look. "He needs to be in school until he's at least sixteen!"

"Sixteen? Love of Zeref -" Acnologia sighed. Well, he'd failed Serena in that regard then -

"Don't be a bad influence!" Makarov hissed.

"I am not - I am slightly surprised, I am old! Iɴ ᴅIᴇꓕʏ's ᴛIᴛΓᴇ..." the Dragon King defended. Heavens knew he'd never seen the inside of a school.

"And who's this spark of energy!?" Laxus jumped as Serena appeared behind him, the teenager's smile jovial and his laugh light.

"Whoa - who are you!?" Laxus gawked, stumbling back towards Acnologia.

"Nu-uh, I asked first," Serena defended.

"Well - I asked second!"

"Touché."

"Are you a new member?"

"HA! I wish, nah I'm just Serena. Your local badass dragon slayer," the teen snickered.

"Dragon slayer?" Laxus gasped looking between Acnologia and Serena.

"Yes," Acnologia endorsed. "He has been my apprentice for the past two years."

"Whoa... Acno's teaching you?"

"Pretty cool, right?" Serena smirked with his fangs.

"Super cool." There was a strange tone wavering there for a moment before Laxus' smile widened and he blinked away a dimmer light in his eyes.

"Now wait... hold on," Serena defended. "I think I know you - Acnologia's talked about you before. Just lemme think."

He made a show of furiously concentrating, humming as he squeezed his eyes closed. Laxus looked to Acnologia for support but the Dragon King only shrugged. It was true, he'd told Serena about Laxus to some extent - it was inevitable. He'd mentioned most of the guild members once or twice - Laxus perhaps a bit more...

"La-la...Leu...Lax... Laz... Lazerus!" Serena snapped. "Is that it?"

"Nope. Not even close," Laxus denied simply.

"Dammit - Hang on, hang on don't tell me!"

"Serena, this is painful to witness," Acnologia muttered as he watched the failure unfold.

"Shush, shush, shush, I'm concentrating," Serena grumbled. "God-focus has been activated..."

Laxus was watching in a mixture of amusement and confusion, jumping when Serena leaped up in an epiphany.

"Laxus! It's Laxus, I know it is!" Serena snapped his fingers. "You're the cool kid with lightning powers."

"You did tell him about me!" Laxus grinned, looking at Acnologia.

Acnologia felt a smile pull at his face: "Of course."

"Aw man, it's nice to meet you, kid!" Serena grinned, spreading his hands dramatically.

"Nice to meet you!" Laxus laughed. "You're cool, and kind of funny."

"Kind of!?" Serena clutched his imaginary pearls at the notion.

"Kind of," Acnologia concurred.

"Oh, you both wound me," the boy cried dramatically. Then his demeanor glimmered with mischief. "But, to make up for such a terrible insult: Laxus, could I eat your lightning?"

The boy deadpanned.

"What?"

"I've been eating all the magic's I can, cause I'm training right - and like Macao's fire tastes god-awful and then that joker over there has rock magic and that's also disgusting so I'm just trying to figure out if everyone's magic is gross, or if it's just those two."

"Oh... sure?" Laxus supposed, with concern or maybe confusion - it was hard to tell. He raised his hand and summoned a small ball of lightning that bounced over his fingers with crackling energy.

With surprising ease, he bounced the orb to Serena who clamped down on it with his fangs, the lightning shrieking against his teeth before he sucked it in and gulped it down. He licked his lips and pondered for a moment before grinning.

"Alright, see, that was tasty," he supposed. "MACAO! IT'S JUST  A YOU PROBLEM!"

"Of course it is," Acnologia sighed as the fire wizard yelled back some retort. "Laxus utilizes pure elemental lightning - perfect for spark dragons. Macao uses specialized fire magic, something that has evolved from its based nature due to a mage's innate -"

"YOU ACTUALLY ATE IT!" Laxus' cry split the air with its shock.

"Well yeah, did you think I was kidding?" Serena scoffed - completely disregarding Acnologia's lesson. The Dragon King let out a sigh; why did he even bother anymore?

"Well... Yeah!?" Laxus was still in shock.

It made Serena cackle as Laxus stood there, slack-jawed. Acnologia didn't much care for his idiotic but endearing apprentice's shenanigans as he rolled over the ease with which Laxus had harmlessly controlled such a wild element.

"You've grown, child," he recognized, and Laxus turned to him, breaking out of the next conversation Serena had doubtlessly started.

"Like... taller?"

"No... in magic. It is not easy to get such elements to obey."

"Oh!" he brightened. "Thanks! Actually - I have something to show you!"

The boy ran off to the center of the guildhall before turning back to Acnologia proudly, his hands on his hips. Makarov was grinning as he jumped on top of the bar to get a better look, familiar pride dancing on his expression.

The two dragon slayers stood at the ready as Laxus took a deep breath and set his feet shoulder-width apart.

"You ready?" he asked with ill-contained excitement.

Acnologia nodded and Laxus grinned with a pure sort of pride and joy. His eyes glowed a soft gold as his magic energy pulsed.

"Lightning Magic: second form, Lighting Body!"

A magic circle opened underneath his feet and Acnologia's heart skipped for a moment. It was a familiar magic circle... It spun a bit slower and glowed a bit dimmer, but the summoning had a certain calmness. Lightning prickled all over Laxus' body and suddenly, he was bathed in the golden, crackling magic.

So... so familiar. Acnologia sat perfectly still to bear witness to it all; the sound, the sense, the feel, the smell... Yuri.

The circle vanished and the kid launched into the air, darting from wall to wall in sparks of electricity. He moved a total of five times, from wall to ceiling to wall to wall before skidding to a halt in front of Acnologia, the lightning fading from his body in an ombre glow as a small gasp escaped his lungs.

The guild looked on with smiles at the boy's show, a few offering a hearty round of applause. Acnologia watched with awe.

"So!" Laxus panted. "What do you think!? I know I can't do it for long, and it is kind of tiring -"

"That was impressive," Acnologia answered honestly.

"Holy shit!" Serena was much louder with his astonishment. "You wasted no magic - like everything did exactly what you wanted it to! You went exactly where you wanted to go - and like holy Zeref!"

"He is not holy," Acnologia scorned under his breath.

"That was awesome! That was awesome right, holy shit, how'd you do that?" Serena's attention was bouncing from Acnologia to Laxus, his head on a constant swivel.

It wasn't ill-placed excitement, and it confirmed Acnologia's suspicions.

"What? It's just a simple spell, I can't do a lot else -"

"Okay but the way you did it," Serena stressed. "I've been trying to learn that shit for so long, my magic jerks me around the air for like three seconds before getting back on point, and you went directly from point A to point B like it was easy! WATCH -"

Acnologia held the bridge of his nose as Serena proceeded to ping-pong himself through the guild in a grotesque imitation of Laxus' controlled movements. It ended predictably with the apprentice slamming into one of the support pillars and Acnologia letting out a heavy sigh.

"Is he just... being nice?" Laxus murmured to the Dragon King, twisting the hem of his shirt between his fingers.

"No. It has been a struggle for him to control his spark dragon magic. He is being honest; it is impressive for an elemental mage to get their element to do exactly what they want. For you to use lightning magic so precisely, something infamous for its wild nature and detours - especially in movement abilities - you did fantastic," Acnologia praised.

Now Laxus' ears were turning red and he was shifting on his feet with a smile so wide it seemed to be hurting him.

"That's what I've been trying to tell him," Makarov chimed in: "But he didn't believe me."

"I do not blame you for that," Acnologia supposed sympathetically.

"WHAT!?" the master cried. Serena was cackling as he stumbled over, rolling his shoulder with a wince. More importantly than all that, Laxus was beaming.

Acnologia knelt and grinned as he realized he had to look up at Laxus now when he crouched low. "I told you: you are going to become an incredible mage."

"But - I don't have a lot of magic or strong magic or -"

"But child," Acnologia interrupted him gruffly, a wry smile on his face. "You've mastered something already."

Laxus' eyes widened.

"Maybe you cannot keep it up for long; that's just stamina. You are not incredibly fast yet; that comes with confidence. But to master a movement spell at eight? How often are you practicing?"

"Every day!"

"It's remarkable," Acnologia praised, ruffling the boy's head. "Very remarkable."

Serena jumped between the two with an intense eagerness in his voice: "Nah, nah, nah, because you've got to teach me this! You saw me! I look like an actual lightning bolt when I do it, going all over the damn place, running into things, falling off course - and you just went straight!"

"Maybe you just... can't go straight?" Laxus supposed helplessly.

Serena choked on air at such a dual implication, doubling over in disbelief and manic laughter.

"Oh look, you broke him," Acnologia observed. He would've said more but a familiar scent trickled through the air and paused such lighthearted matters. Knowingly, he stood to put some visible distance between him and the young lightning mage. As he did so, Serena quieted, a perplexed expression taking his face as he likely sensed the discomfort that prickled at the Dragon King's skin.

Laxus also sensed the difference, for a very different reason. 

"Laxus!" Ivan's scolding could've echoed in the rafters had the guild been any quieter.

Laxus grimaced as he turned to the door where the elder Dreyar stood, fuming: "Hi Dad." The wave he offered was amusingly guilty.

"What did I say about - Ah... that tracks. I thought I had sensed a snake," Ivan picked Acnologia out instantly amidst the crowd and soured his tone even faster. Serena's scent roiled in confusion, his eyes narrowing as his interest piqued.

He was lik a hatchling peeking out of a nest - the thought came unwarranted to the Dragon King's mind. Serena's expression was identical to the young lizards peeking out from their caves, unsure but curious in the face of a challenger. They sensed the danger, but they were so curious about what it was that could make their ИᴇƧᴛEʀ so agitated.

"Ivan," Acnologia greeted coldly, shoving foolish thoughts aside.

"I guess it would've been too good for you to have stayed away," Ivan sighed, looking over the guild with that same scathing glance he always had. Laxus was staring at the floor, silently and it was for that reason, and that reason alone Acnologia kept his jaw clamped shut.

Serena... however...

"Uh - and who are you supposed to be?" the teen demanded with a smirking sneer. "Pinnochio?"

Ivan looked away from Acnologia, the abrasiveness of the boy snatching his attention as a hawk grasped a fish.

"I'm Ivan Dreyar," he answered coldly. "And you, brat?"

"I wouldn't pick a fight with that, Ivan," Gildarts warned from down the bar.

Ivan threw a sneer over his shoulder, gritting through such warnings with a seething hiss before his glare shifted back to Serena.

"Who am I? I'm just your local punk kid extraordinaire," Serena smiled hatefully. "An expert at pissing off grumpy old men, like yourself."

"Serena," Acnologia warned darkly.

"A new favorite of yours?" Ivan scorned as he looked between Acnologia and Serena. "It seems they'll let just anyone in the guild if the great Acnologia endorses them."

"Whoa there buddy, I'm not in the guild, and you better be grateful for that, because I'm about three seconds from -" Serena challenged, taking a menacing step forward before Acnologia put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back. 

Acnologia's order was simple: "Do not."

Ivan's attention, which had been drifting to Laxus snapped back to Serena.

"If you're not in the guild what are you doing here? This is a guildhall, for members only-"

"He's a visitor, Ivan." Makarov's voice wilted with fatigue as he sat down atop the bar and leaned on his staff. "I expect you to behave yourself."

"Yeah Ivan - behave yourself," Serena snickered.

"Serena," Acnologia warned.

"What? He was the jerk first! I am but an innocent retaliator -"

Acnologia arched an eyebrow and Serena groaned, crossing his arms and scowling at the floor. "Fine. I apologize for my disrespect." There wasn't a hint of honesty there.

Acnologia then glared at Ivan.

"Don't expect an apology," Ivan scoffed.

"Never would," Acnologia huffed, unimpressed as he gestured to the bartender for his usual. The time away hadn't stripped his pure black coffee order from Kira's memory, so it seemed. She'd grown older too, but smiled the same, her gaze flitting to Ivan with a hint of annoyance.

Oh wow, somehow Ivan must've managed to infuriate the bartender of Fairy Tail. That was almost impressive. 

Ivan, granted respite from Serena's crusade, had begun to scold Laxus over skipping school - but Serena was Serena so the crusade had only just begun. As soon as Ivan raised his voice, the boy huffed again with a very loud rolling of his eyes and mayyybe a 'bastard' hidden in one of his breaths before Ivan could get a full sentence out of his usual lecture.

"Do we have a problem?" Ivan demanded, whirling around. 

Acnologia began massaging his head and Makarov sighed as they both heard Serena grin.

"I dunno, do we?" Serena taunted with a small smirk. "Cause... we could take it outside. You know, if you want?"

"Serena," Acnologia warned again, but Ivan kept digging his grave.

"I am a member of this guild and the heir to the Dreyar line - consider it a mercy that the great Dragon King decided to scrape another nobody off the streets."

"A nobody?" Serena gaped.

Ohhhh CᴜʁsEᴅ ᴇXɪƧᴛEɴCᴇ, he'd done it now. Not Serena's ego... anything but that boy's ego. Serena's jaw snapped with a click of his teeth and the bite of his sass. They never had gotten past that first lesson in humility -

Serena was stepping closer, standing taller, and seething through his fanged teeth: "A nobody huh? Oh well, big news little man: I wasn't scraped off the streets I was hand-picked by the goddamn Magic Council to become the strongest mage in all of Ishagar. Ishgar! Not Fiore! Not Fairy Tail! Mother. Fucking. Ishgar. The name's God Serena, bitch so if you wanna throw some titles around we can throw some titles around motherfu-"

"Serena!" Acnologia growled and his apprentice quieted, still steaming - at least emotionally.

But the damage was done and Ivan had recoiled. Laxus' eyes were wide as all took in such an announcement. 

"He is staying for two days until he officially joins the council," Makarov supplemented, gauging the situation and visibly struggling to decide between intervention techniques. Macao and Wakaba were watching it all happen, probably taking bets. Gildarts was down the bar, half-done with a glass of ale but side-eyeing the clash of titans... well... a clash of an egotistical teenager and a scorned heir. Only one could be categorized as a true titan.

"Forgive him," Acnologia finally interjected, a sigh escaping his lips as he put down his new coffee. "Despite what he says, he will not pick a fight with you."

"I -" Serena began, at least until he caught Acnologia's gaze. The boy caught the argument and bit it still, glaring piercing daggers at some underserving barstool. 

Ivan was still caught on some aspect spilled into the air. He was studying Serena with a far more critical eye, his truant child forgotten behind him.

"You're a dragon slayer," he realized, pointing slowly to Serena who bared his teeth in agreement. "That explains things."

He then looked to Acnologia and the Dragon King's gaze narrowed to see mania floating around those eyes. Was it eagerness? Hate? Despair? Joy? Neither Acnologia's nose nor eyes could make it out.

"It seems you are not the only one anymore," Ivan laughed darkly. "And to think all you had to do was get a crystal and stupid child together."

Acnologia blinked, any frustration he held shed itself in the face of a more pressing concern: How did Ivan know about dragon lacrima? About Second Generation Slayers? About any of it? Serena's rage was not quelled so easily. His skin had begun sparking, his body growing hot to the touch as his blood boiled and his hair waved with a wind not yet felt. Anyone looking too close would see small diamonds piercing their way through the boy's cheeks, easily mistaken for a glean of sweat.

"Is this your new plan? To create a line of better mages who swear fealty to you?" Ivan demanded.

"I am not even sure what it is you're trying to accuse me of," Acnologia stated blankly. 

"Really, Acnologia, don't play dumb. I know your game."

"I just... don't think you do," the Dragon King managed, perplexed. It would be funny if the man wasn't so dead serious and Serena wasn't ready to tear someone apart with his bare hands.

"If you want to rebuild your empire, I suppose someone like you must love naive, moronic brats who'll throw themselves at your feet -"

"That's it!" Serena lunged at Ivan, his hands growing into diamond claws before Acnologia grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and picked him up like a kitten. Immediately the young apprentice began to thrash. "Put me down! Sensei, he's asking for it! Moronic!? He called me moronic - He's asking for it! I won't kill him! I'm just going to kick him to the Stella Kingdom! Come on -"

"Serena, go for a walk," Acnologia instructed coldly.

"What!?" Serena went limp in disbelief. "I didn't do anything yet!"

"You are steaming. Go for a walk," Acnologia demanded, dropping the boy whose clothes had indeed begun to smoke.

"But! He - "

"Walk," Acnologia ordered. "Breathe, too, while you go."

Serena hissed, his form fading into the darkness as he slunk to the front of the guild and blew the doors open with a furious wind. He then reformed and stomped off, likely to go roar into the sea or something equally destructive.

Only after he was gone, did Acnologia look back to the Dreyars who had watched it all with a mixture of disbelief and guilt. Guilt of all things reeked off the youngest like a stench.

"Ivan," Acnologia began swiftly. "For your own sake, do not try to pick fights you cannot win."

"Maybe you should control your pet-"

Acnologia's magic presence magnified itself ten times over but only in a radius that caught Ivan and Makarov. The Guildmaster's eyes widened but Ivan's bulged. The timber shook and the wood groaned beneath their feet as Acnologia glared. To the two Dreyars, Acnologia no longer seemed human. His irises glowed, a toothy maw gnashing as a giant shadow splayed in his place, its wings spreading wider, and wider, and wider -

It stopped as quickly as it appeared, Acnologia taking a breath to swallow his growl. Breathe, a voice that sounded too much like Anna warned him. Don't let them get under your skin, ƧᴛⱯʀΓɪᘓʜꓕ.

"Watch yourself very carefully. Serena is a child. He is my student, and you would do well to respect him and myself, less you face something worse," Acnologia's voice rumbled with lungs he shouldn't have, past a scaled form he didn't don. But, above all else, it was controlled.

"Always you and the threats," Ivan managed with a sneer despite how his legs trembled in the aftermath of such pressure. He still backed away, coming to step beside Laxus who hadn't been in the radius of the fearsome aura and so seemed more confused than ever.

"Ivan..." Makarov began to chastise.

"I know he has you wrapped around his finger, Father, but mark my words - he's planning something."

Acnologia rolled his eyes and shook his head, slowly; "You are... unbelievable, truly."

"Am I? Because why is it when a Dreyar heir begins to show promise, you miraculously find someone more deserving of the Guild?" Ivan snapped.

Acnologia stared at him for a very long, long moment. He... what? What did that even mean?

"What are you talking about?"

"Here Laxus has been slaving away trying to perfect his magic, and you bring in a prodigy to outshine him!" Ivan placed his hands on Laxus' shoulders and Acnologia's chest tightened; the boy's smile was gone, his hands were shaking, and his breaths were heavy.

"Ivan," Makarov began with a sigh.

But Ivan was not done: "You are a cruel man, Acnologia. But I didn't think your hatred of me extended to my son."

"That's not what happened." Laxus objected softly.

"Hate?" Acnologia questioned. Did the man truly think this was what his wrath looked like? Subterfuge?

Hate!? 

"Oh don't try to hide it -" Ivan scoffed.

"Oh shut it, you crybaby!" Gildart's groan drowned out all else as the mage stood from the bar. He wasn't quite the picture of intervention Acnologia hoped for, the Ace wiped his drink from his beard and glared at Ivan with more exasperation than anything. "God, it's always you and your ego. You and the damn Dreyars. You and your bloodlines! Shut the fuck up - if you actually gave a damn about the guild, you wouldn't have a problem just being a guild member!"

"Ah, my case and point," Ivan sneered.

"Great Mavis - you ever think people just like me because I'm pleasant!?" Gildarts snapped. "And you're just stuck on the fact that some people are better than you -"

"I seethe at the unfairness and blatant favoritism! I seethe because you all don't know the first thing about the family you so claim to cherish."

"Oh yeah?" Gildarts challenged. "You sure about that because I've seen what you have and I'm not sure I'd call that all warm and fuzzy -"

"That's enough!" Makarov slammed his staff on the bar, a weariness under his gaze that had only grown heavier. "I will not have my children fighting like this. Serena is not joining the guild, he is still a guest. Gildarts, go home. Ivan, take Laxus back to school."

The two men sneered at each other for a long moment before Ivan stomped for the door, pulling Laxus along by his shoulder. Acnologia watched them go, his jaw clenched and his gut roiling for reasons he couldn't quite name. 

The father and son nearly made it out when a familiar head of orange popped over.

"Mavis help me," Acnologia muttered as he got to his feet. The last thing he needed was an attempted murder - from either party. He slowed when he saw Serena give another bow to Ivan and began to listen, pausing his intervention with some pleasant surprise.

"Ah don't worry, I'll be back at some point," Serena murmured - not to Ivan. To Laxus then.

"Kay." Laxus was hard to make out, even with Acnologia's hearing, so he took a few steps closer.

"You'll still help me learn that lightning body, right?" Serena's urged.

"Sure..." The boy's voice was heavy, but he had at least looked up from the floor.

"Don't be ridiculous," Ivan scoffed, pulling Laxus away and leaving Serena behind. Despite their brisk pace, Laxus glanced over his shoulder.

Serena quickly gesticulated, pointing at Laxus and them himself and then somehow charadeing lightning body lessons (with some spark magic help) before giving a wild thumbs up with a hopeful smile. The boy gave a soft grin and nodded, mouthing a small 'yes'. Then he and his father were lost to the streets of Magnolia.

Acnologia walked up beside Serena right as the boy slumped.

"Awww man, how are those two even related?" he grumbled to himself.

"Are you... well?" Acnologia asked.

"Yeah," Serena murmured apologetically. "Sorry, I did kind of, maybe, sort of, totally lose it in there. Justifiably!"

"I see."

"Zeref, he's just so - ugh, you know I was wondering what on Earthland could make you almost lose your cool. Now I know - it's that bastard, isn't it?" Serena demanded. "You've totally almost gone full dragon on him."

"Perhaps," Acnologia shrugged, softer this time.

"Like, what a damn killjoy. And he's got such a cool kid? Make it make sense!"

"Ivan was not always so... antagonistic. He was not so different from Laxus as a young one. And yes, Laxus is a good kid," Acnologia concurred. The two stood there for a while, staring out to the road as the breeze picked up.

"I fucking hate parents," Serena grumbled finally.

"An acceptable stance to take," Acnologia supposed.

"No! I'm serious, they're the worst! There's always something with them."

"With all parents?"

"Yeah! You ever meet a good, and I mean actually good  parent, who didn't fuck up their kid in some way?"

Acnologia cast Serena a long glance: "I have met good parents. However, I believe all beings are fallible and as such, will fall short in such a fickle role. Children are... terrifying creatures."

"Oh my god, you're actually excusing the guy -"

Acnologia smiled wryly: "I am not. You are exposing your parental issues."

"OH, LOW BLOW! That's - you - ohhhh, I didn't think you had it in you. That was lowww."

"You did not deny it," Acnologia hummed, almost smugly.

Serena threw his hands up in the air and stomped back in the guild, right about as Gildarts walked out, a bag over his shoulder and a peeved expression on his face. He stopped next to Acnologia and sighed.

"You've always had a knack for helping big troublemakers," he supposed with a sigh, glancing over his shoulders to where Serena had demanded a drink. It was met with mixed results because while Macao and Wakaba were all game with introducing a powerful teenager to alcohol, Makarov was not.

"Maybe," Acnologia muttered, staring at where he'd last seen Ivan.

"Don't listen to that guy," Gildarts sighed. "He's getting worse with time - I can't even look at him without him thinking it's an insult."

"Has he taken Laxus to see a doctor?" Acnologia inquired gently.

"Uhhhh... Yeah, actually. They got a solid diagnosis a few years ago, Ivan wasn't happy about it from what I heard, but the medicine seems to be working. The kid seems to be getting sick less and less. He's gotta be careful in the fall though - something in the seasonal mana flow makes it act up I guess."

"I see," Acnologia murmured, his eyes churning with thought, and perhaps worry.

"Alright, yeah, I admit I'm not at the guild all the time. I gotta spend some time with the missus, ya know? But that's what Makarov says." 

Acnologia hummed in acknowledgment, clearly not believing it.

"Damn, you've got it bad," Gildarts sighed, clapping the Dragon King on his shoulder before trudging onward.

"Have what?" Acnologia demanded sharply, snapping out of his thoughts.

"Oh, nothing," Gildarts waved him off. "See you around - bring that kid of yours around more often; I like his spunk! I do want to spar him one day!"

"He is not my child," Acnologia scoffed. "And what do I have bad?"

"Byeeee!" Gildarts grinned over his shoulder, picking up the pace.

"Do not ignore me! Gildarts? Gildarts!"

(A young teenage Serena: Listen, I may be a brat. I may be sarcastic and egotistical. I may not be the most observant motherfucker, or the smartest - I may not even be a particularly good judge of character...

*looks at Ivan*

*lil Serena rolls up his sleeves*

BUT I KNOW A SHIT DAD WHEN I SEE ONE!

This chapter can also be called:

In which Ivan would've picked a fight with a 14-year-old and LOST-)