"Missing?" Erza asked in disbelief, her eyes widening and her jaw dropped. How does a seven year old go missing? "When did this happen?"

"I-I don't know. I put him to bed last night and w-when I woke up he was gone." Evergreen tugged at her hair with both hands. So he was taken sometime in the middle of the night?

"Alright, I'll contact the Magic Council and put on my own private search as well. The more searches that are conducted, the higher chance we'll have of finding Tarou." Erza turned away from Evergreen and went to her communication lacrima. Evergreen sat down on a chair that was in front of Erza's desk. She leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down.

"Yes, hello? Jura?" Erza sat in her large chair as she connected to the Council. The former Lamia Scale member had joined the Magic Council after the original Council members were all killed in an explosion by Jackal.

"Erza-dono, it's good to see your face again. Long time no see!"

"You too, Jura." Erza smiled. It had been quite a long time since she talked to him. "I need to report a missing boy. His name is Tarou Strauss."

"Strauss? As in Mirajane Strauss?"

"Yes, but he's Elfman's son." Erza stated and Jura nodded. "He has brown hair and brown eyes, tanned skin, age seven, possibly wearing pajamas; he vanished sometime during the night."

"Understood, Erza-dono. We'll get right on it!" And with that, the connection cut off.

Erza sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Everything's going to be fine, Evergreen." Erza turned her head to look at the mage across from her. "Tarou will be found. I promise." Evergreen nodded her head a little, not saying a word.

After moments of uncomfortable silence, Evergreen stood and left the room without saying a word. Erza knew this must be hard on Evergreen. Despite their rivalry, Erza and Evergreen do care about each other; they are still friends. It's similar to a Natsu and Gray relationship, but without the physical fighting. No, Erza's childhood relationship with Mirajane was a Natsu and Gray relationship. A scary one!

"How'd it go?" Elfman spoke quietly as Evergreen sat across from him in the booth.

"Magic Council's doing a search. So is Erza." She mumbled, not looking at her husband. Instead, she stared at her hands.

"Don't worry. I'm sure Tarou is safe . . wherever he is. He's a man . . . like me!" Elfman tried to put up a smile, but his lip started quivering. He tried so hard not to cry. He needed to comfort his wife.

"Elfman, just go ahead and cry." Evergreen mumbled, still not looking at him but she knew him. Elfman was a crier and he didn't waste any time hiding those tears after he was given permission. The tears poured out of his eyes and snot came from his nose. He buried his head in his hands as he tried to muffle the sobs. Evergreen was not far behind from crying along side her husband. A few tears sprinkled out of her eyes as well. She removed her glasses so she could wipe them away. The tears became more violent the more she wiped.

______________________

The sun was beginning to say it's goodbyes for the day while the Fernandes siblings were training hard. "Takeshi, did you hear?" Riko asked during their break. They were sitting under a tree, eating sandwiches that Jellal had made. While inside, Riko heard some news that made her want to cry but she didn't. She knew her brother would be upset about the information. The boy shook his head and gave a confused look. Riko took a deep breath and just stared at her brother for a moment. "Tarou is missing." She finally said.

Takeshi's mind sent blank. He hoped this was just a nightmare that he could wake up from. The two boys have always been close. They played together everyday at the guild. Now suddenly Tarou is gone! No, there was no way. "Y-You're kidding?" Takeshi gasped, his body trembling as his lips quivered. His eyes began watering and he squeezed his eyes shut as he wailed.

Riko wrapped her brother in her arms, being the older sibling she had to watch out for her brother. He cried and cried, his scream deafening. Jellal ran out from the guild's backdoor, having heard someone crying. He searched the boy for wounds before asking, "What happened?"

"I told him about Tarou." Jellal's expression immediately softened. He knew his son was best friends with Elfman's son. "C'mon," Jellal held his hand out for Takeshi to take. "let's go home." Takeshi didn't speak. He just nodded and stood, following his father hand-in-hand.

Jellal, Erza, Riko, and Takeshi arrived at their home; a comfortable and spacious apartment. Erza told the two children to go take a bath and get ready for bed which they obeyed. They knew better than to disobey their mother. Erza and Jellal went to their room which was on the opposite side of the apartment from Riko and Takeshi's.

"Do you have any idea where Tarou might be?" Jellal asked once he and Erza had gotten into bed. "Not in the slightest." Erza shook her head. She felt threatened about this whole situation. Tarou, though he was a child, was a member of Fairy Tail. He was raised in the guild just like a vast majority of the members, he was family. Since she was the Master, Erza felt responsible for the young boy. He was probably all alone and scared.

Jellal knew what Erza was thinking by the expression on her face. He placed his hand on top of hers and drew circles with his thumb. "You'll find him. I know you will." He said, placing a light kiss on her cheek causing a pink blush to appear on Erza's face. Eleven years being married and she still blushes when he kisses her. However, to Jellal that was the cutest thing.

He kissed her again, trying to get the same reaction out of her which he did. He continued to kiss her, but moving around this time. He would move from her cheek to her hand to her shoulder then to her neck. Erza knew she couldn't resist him, not that she wanted to. She relaxed into his gestures which led to a night of bliss for the two.