(This is the last chapter, everyone! Thank you for all the lovely comments and I'm glad you've enjoyed this! Ily!)

After being lectured by Erza for a long time, you were finally let go and walked over to Sting and Rogue.

"Sorry about that." You grinned.

"You're slightly insane." Rogue commented.

"But..." Sting said, his eyes barely leaving your dress. "In the best way."

"Oi." You pouted, before noticing his staring. "Do you like it?" You asked, twirling around for him.

"Y-yeah." He stammered, fiddling with his collar.

"Ask her, Sting-kun. Your social graces need improving." Lector said from by Sting's foot.

"Ask me what?" You inquired.

"T-There are two things, actually."

"Oh?"

"I...would you like to dance?" He said quickly.

You laughed lightly and he suddenly took on the expression of a wounded animal. "Of course I would." You smiled warmly, taking his hand with your good hand.

"Lector, as discussed." He said to the Exceed, who smirked and ran off with Frosch.

"What's he do-" You gasped as suddenly a song you knew oh so well was playing. It wasn't coming from the band, however, but from a lacrima that was put on the stage. Lector and Frosch were stood next to it. Frosch had your iPod clutched in his paws.

"Sting..."

"Shall we dance?" He said, pulling you close to him as the lyrics began playing. It was one of your favourite songs.

"I wandered through fiction to look for the truth
Buried beneath all the lies
and I stood at a distance
To feel who you are
Hiding myself in your eyes

And hold on before it's too late
We'll run till we leave this behind
Don't fall just be who you are
It's all that we need in our lives..."

"How did you know about this song?" You whispered.

"I had a look at your playlists and this one was on a lot of them. I figured you must like it." He said with a shrug. You rested your arms on his shoulders and smiled as you swayed around, careful to not hit your arm.

"And the risk that might break you
Is the one that would save
A life you don't live is still lost
So stand on the edge with me
Hold back your fear and see
Nothing is real 'til it's gone

And hold on before it's too late
We'll run till we leave this behind
Don't fall just be who you are
It's all that we need in our lives..."

"I can't believe you did this for me..." You said, trying not to cry.

"You owed me one. I figured, why not?"

"Is _-chan dancing with Sting-san?" You heard Wendy say in the background. You looked in her direction and you saw Levy, Mira, Erza and Cana all spying on you from behind a table. Normally you would have shouted at them, but you didn't. It didn't even seem worth it.

"So live like you mean it
Love 'til you feel it
It's all that we need in our lives
So stand on the edge with me
Hold back your fear and see
Nothing is real 'til it's gone

And hold on before it's too late
We'll run till we leave this behind
Don't fall just be who you are
It's all that we need in our lives..."

"_." Sting suddenly said, jolting you back to Earthland. It was hard focusing on his voice as most of you was focused on the song and his arms wrapped around the white-scaled waist of your dress as the second chorus played in the background.

"Yes?" You asked, looking up into his eyes.

"The second thing I wanted to ask you...it's a big one."

"Oh?"

"It's all that we need in our lives..." The song continued.

"_..." Sting said.

"It's all that I need in my life..."

"I want you to join Sabertooth." He said as the music finished.

"Wha?!" Cana shouted from by the table, whilst you stood in a state of shock. The rest of the ballroom clapped at the song choice and it changed back to classical music but it seemed totally irrelevant.

"J-Join Sabertooth?" You said quietly. "I..."

"Are you tryin' to steal our guild members, brat?" Gajeel said, towering over the two of you.

"G-Gajeel..." You stuttered.

"You can't steal _!" Natsu yelled.

"G-guys." Gray was storming over too and even Lisanna looked angry at Sting.

"It would benefit Juvia not to have another love rival, but...you cannot take _-san." Juvia piped up.

"I'm not taking her! It's her choice!" Sting growled back.

You stepped back from everyone as they looked at you expectantly for an answer.

"I..." You felt your throat constrict.
"I'll be right back!" You ran off, kicking off your ridiculous heels along the way.

You went into the corridor next to the ballroom and hyperventilated, sliding your back down the wall and sitting on the floor. You felt the tears build up and you hiccuped slightly as you tried not to cry. Sting wanted you to join Sabertooth. That would be a whole different kind of ball, you thought. When you'd arrived in Magnolia, you went to Fairy Tail against your better judgement, despite knowing what happened at the Games and beyond. Why had you done that? You dreaded the answer. It was because you'd been utterly afraid. You'd been a girl with nothing to her name but a necklace, an iPod and a t-shirt with Happy on it, plus a practically stolen guitar for years in a world you barely knew. But now you had everyone. You had friends in both guilds. And Sting...geez, he made every decision you'd made when you came to this place go out the window anyway.

"_..." A voice said. Levy and Mira came and crouched down next to you.

"I-I'm sorry." You murmured.

"_, do you love him?" Mira said gently.

"Hm?" You said, looking up confused at the fellow transformation Mage.

"Do you really love him? Because from just speaking to that boy...I can tell he loves you." Mira remarked.

"I...I do." You replied. "I don't mean to...but I do."

"Well then, it's settled." Levy quipped.

"What?"

"You'll join them...you deserve to be happy."

"But I can't just leave you all behind." You said. "Not with what's to come for us all..."

"No spoilers." Mira waved a finger. "Levy's right, _. Follow your heart. And you can always come back and see us as often as you want."

"I could?"

"Duh. I'm not letting you get away until you tell me every story from your world. But you love that guy." Levy smiled warmly. "So go and tell that boy you want to be with him or I may have to drop some iron on your head."

"L-Levy..." You said in bewilderment. "Mira..."

"We'll handle the others." They promised. You rose up and pulled them both in for a hug.

"I'm not letting you guys go. Ever." You said.

"No matter where you are, we'll be nakama." Mira said softly. "Once a member of Fairy Tail..."

"Always a member of Fairy Tail." You finished.

"I say let it be water under the bridge!" Natsu was saying with a mouthful of chicken drumstick as you returned with Mira and Levy to the ballroom. "Thanks to her, we wizards came together as one."

"Aye sir!" Happy added.

"You can say that again" Laxus said in his usual gruff tone.

"If it weren't for an occasion like this, we may never have united." Jura said as you stood next to Levy across from the princess, her hand tightly in yours for support.

"Juvia and Gray-sama also united!"

"No we did not!" Gray shouted back.

"I'm grateful for it all too." Sting said from next to them. You looked across at him shyly, before retreating back behind Levy.

"Yeah. I feel like I received something valuable." Rogue replied.

"Fro thinks so too!"

"That's right! The unity within Sabertooth is stronger than before!" Lector quipped.

"Don't think I'm lettin' you off yet." You heard Gajeel grumble into Sting's ear. You let go of Levy and walked across to him, pulling Sting aside.

"Hey..." He said. You swallowed the lump in your throat.

"Hi. I-I'm sorry for running off back there. I hope my guild didn't give you a hard time."

"I would tell you they didn't, but I'd be lying." Lector said as Sting rubbed his ribs.

"Do you have an answer?" He asked.

"I...I do. But I need to talk to the Master. And I'd ask that you refrain from beating up members of Fairy Tail until I do. Plus, I have a song to perform."

"Yeah..." He muttered.

"I want you to listen closely for me, okay?"

He looked a little confused as you made your way towards the stage. You nodded at Wendy, who was at the ready with her healing magic. The poor girl was quite drained, but had insisted upon it, shyly admitting that she loved it when you sang. You had given the music to the palace band earlier and they had practiced it with you, albeit without your guitar. It seemed to be going well, however, as you played the first few chords.

"They say we are what we are
But we don't have to be.
I'm bad behavior but I do it in the best way.
I'll be the watcher of the eternal flame.
I'll be the guard dog of all your fever dreams." You sang, leaning your head into the microphone and closing your eyes.

"Ooooooh...
I am the sand in the bottom half of the hourglass, glass, glass.
Oooooooh..." You opened up your eyes again and caught Sting's eye with a grin.

"I try to picture me without you but I can't!

'Cause we could be immortals, immortals
Just not for long, for long.
And live with me forever now,
You pull the blackout curtains down
Just not for long, for long..."
You laughed happily and swayed with your guitar.

"We could be immortals
immortals,
immortals,
immortals...

Sometimes the only pay-off for having any faith
Is when it's tested again and again everyday.
I'm still comparing your past to my future.
It might be your wound but they're my sutures.

Oooooooh
I am the sand in the bottom half of the hourglass, glass, glass.
Oooooooh,
I try to picture me without you but I can't!" You saw Sting and Rogue give you a smug smile from the crowd. You rolled your eyes, ignoring the pain rapidly building up in your arm.

"'Cause we could be immortals, immortals
Just not for long, for long.
And live with me forever now,
You pull the blackout curtains down
Just not for long, for long.

We could be immortals
immortals.
Immortals,
And live with me forever now,
Pull the blackout curtains down.
We could be immortals, immortals
Just not for long, for long.
We could be immortals,
immortals,
immortals,
immortals!"

You finished, and the crowd erupted in such a cheer that you remembered why wizards were rarely invited to the palace.

"W-Wendy?" You said, still smiling through the pain as you walked to the side of the stage. She ran forward and applied some magic to your arm.

"Thank you." You sighed in relief as the pain soothed and subsided. You then smiled at the young girl, telling her to enjoy the rest of the ball.

You then hoisted up your guitar onto your back, loving the feel of its familiar weight. It belonged with you. That guitar was a part of you now, of who you were, you reflected, before walking back towards the rest of the guild, where Sting was arguing with Gajeel over where you belonged. You grabbed the back of Sting's shirt and turned him around to face you.

"I know you told me not to argue with them, but-" He began.

You dragged him close to you.
"Shut up, dragon slayer." You whispered and kissed him. He responded enthusiastically and the rest of the room seemed to disappear, including Gajeel and Gray's verbal threats, which now were directed at you too. A loud thump, however, indicated that Levy and Mira had scolded them. You wrapped your good arm around his neck as he tugged on your lip slightly with his teeth. The room span as you continued to kiss, lips moving together like they belonged.

"Um..._-chan? You're glowing again." Levy said, a little flustered. You reluctantly broke your contact with Sting's lips a little to observe the fact that you were glowing. You tasted the faintest trace of blood on your lip from where Sting had bitten it.

"Damn."

"What? It's like you have the White Drive too." He smirked unapologetically.

"Git." You returned the smirk against his mouth.

A loud cough interrupted you as you went to kiss again. The Master was standing with Mira and Levy. The rest of the guild who weren't already watching the spectacle (of whom there were very few) were gathering around them.

"_."

You pulled away from Sting, who looked a little irritated at the interruption but let you go. You noticed Lector watching Sting's expression and desperately holding back laughing, but the effort of doing so was making the Exceed shake.

"M-Master...I..."

He cut you off with a wave of his hand. "There's no need. Mira and Levy have filled me in."

You looked down at your feet guiltily.

"Is this what you want, my child?" He asked.

"I..." You said, biting your lip.

"If this is what makes you happy, then you must promise us something."

You lifted your head. The entire guild were standing in front of you now, smiles plastered upon their faces. Erza. Lucy. Natsu. Wendy. Gray. Gajeel. Levy. Mira. Everyone was there.

"One!" Erza said loudly. "You must never reveal sensitive information about Fairy Tail to others for as long as you live!"

"And in your case, things that haven't happened yet, too." Mira added with a smile.

"Two!" Gray said. "You must not have unauthorised contact with past clients or profit personally from them!"

"Three!" Levy said, though she was shaking slightly with tears in her eyes. "Even if we walk different paths, you must always live on as strong as you are able."

"You must never treat your own life as something insignificant." Wendy said with a warm smile.

"You must never forget the friends you love...for as long as you live!" Lucy smiled.

"As long as you keep the guild mindset, there's nothing you can't do!" Natsu finished with a grin. "But you gotta come back and write more songs for me! And sing for us!"

"Y-You guys..." You sobbed and rushed forward to hug them. "I will, Natsu. And thank you. For your stories before I got here. For your acceptance when I did. For everything." You cried, tears rolling down your cheeks.

"One more thing." The Master's voice suddenly became dangerous and cold as he looked past you at Sting. "Trust me when I say, dragon slayer, if you ever cause this girl any pain, you will have the wrath of Fairy Tail to deal with!"

You sweat-dropped as the guild cheered in agreement.

After many emotional hugs and goodbyes, as well as stopping Natsu from 'beating up Sting just in case' you cleared up your face and took a deep breath, before walking back towards Sting, who was smiling and standing with Rogue, Lector and Frosch.

"So, Master of Sabertooth," you said with a soft smile. "Where do I sign up?"

"You already have." He grinned and pulled you in for another kiss.
You smirked against Sting's lips and ran your hand through his blonde hair.

"Are you going to still look for your way home?" He asked quietly.

"Mm..." You said. "Not sure. Depends if you give me a reason to stay." You grinned at him. Sting rolled his eyes.

"As soon as we get back to the guild, I'll make sure there's a room for you."

"Will I really need my own?" You said mischievously, and Sting's expression was as shocked as how it had been back on that day all those weeks ago when you'd met.

'Get a room, you two.' Rogue had grumbled.

'We just might.' You'd replied. 'Then won't you be jealous'

It seemed like so long ago now. You grinned at Sting and poked him with a giggle.

"Are they gonna do this often?" Rogue muttered.

"Probably." Lector shrugged. "After all, it is Sting-kun."

"I am not living with this level of public affection. As soon as we get back, I'm moving rooms." Rogue replied.

"Fro thinks so too!"

It was the start of a new beginning, you mused brought your lips back to his, melting into his touch again.

"I love you." You said softly.

"I love you too. And I'm sorry it took me too long to say that." Sting said with an embarrassed smile.

You'd found a place here, a new life, a new purpose, you reflected. A new set of people to share it with, too.

You looked into Sting's eyes once again, feeling the weight of your guitar on your back, before taking his hand and leaving the ballroom and the palace of him, walking into the night.

The night of a new universe.

Psst. I've begun a sequel to this since so many of y'all demanded it! It's called 'A Vast Universe' and it's located on my profile! Much love xx