notes: no angst party amirite. send me prompt thingies on my writing tumblr (sutorausus)!
disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima, a true cutie
dressed in pastel
by mirajens
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When catastrophe struck one after the other in a fashion that was totally disheartening to the already jittery bride, the mighty queen of the fairies finally buckled.
The last straw came when her maid of honor Mirajane peeked through the door to tell Erza that the priest was held up at Hargeon because there was trouble with the boat. She was so upset and frazzled, prompting her to have the internal meltdown she'd been on the precipice of since the first issue. Quietly, she asked her part of the wedding party out of the bridal suite and after them, she barred the door. She couldn't deal with anymore of this, of every disaster that seemed eager to put a damper on the wedding day she'd painstakingly planned and anticipated perhaps since she was a child still dreaming of a better life and someone who would love her.
But since she'd arrived at the old lake beach property where the wedding would take place, nothing good wanted happen, but she hadn't let that disarm her so easily. But now, all the fight was out of her system. And honestly, she was just done trying to do damage control. She hadn't slept for days now: she felt tired and ugly and not at all ready to meet the love of her life at the altar.
She was seated on the stool by the vanity, urging breath into her lungs and willing back the onset of tears she was sure she wouldn't be able to stop once they came when she heard gentle knocking from the other side of the room. It could be anyone with just an hour until down time, but she was in no mood to talk, or explain herself. She never liked it when things spiraled out of control and the dismay was bone-deep now, after all her hard work.
Still, leaden feet took her across the room to crack open the double doors and she found colors: blue slicked back, red a shock on one side of a face and green oozing concern.
"May I come in?" Jellal asked, his tone unhurried; the calm before the storm.
Erza stepped aside and opened the door further, too weary to put up a fight. And she might as well tell her fiance face to face that the wedding refused to happen.
He followed her further inside where she sat on the edge of the bed, a picture of defeat. Jellal stood in front of her, hands in his pockets as if to stop himself from reaching out. "You haven't put your dress on," he observed, eyes flickering to the garment bag that hung on the curtain rod.
Erza hung her head, and if it was possible, looked more crestfallen than she did seconds ago. "It hardly matters, since with the progression of problems, I doubt we'll even have an altar to say our vows at."
"Ah, I've heard." he said in a neutral tone, not wanting to distress her any further. With the expression on her face, he was ready to rip up the earth for pieces of the outer core if she wanted it. He sat beside her, taking her hands in a comfort. "Do you want to tell me about them? I promise we can find a way to fix it."
Erza shook her head, the red hair done up in curlers bouncing. "For starters, the floral arrangements got mixed up. I should have known better then to trust Natsu with it, because he ordered it for tomorrow. Mirajane called the florists and they said they could send some flowers over, but they're not the ones we wanted. They're white lilies, which are death flowers!"
"The band won't show up, because Gajeel made noise about how their songs are too mellow for jazz and they got offended. The priest is stranded at the port with no means to get here unless he sprouts wings and flies. The caterer got the fish that you're allergic to as opposed to the kind we agreed on. And worst of all," Her breath hitched in her throat, and the dam of tears finally broke. "Gray pushed Natsu into our cake. Our strawberries and cream cake. The top tier is dented and that was where the cake toppers Juvia made would go." Her voice cracked in a manner he'd heard very, very rarely and was truly heartbreaking. "Now I feel too tired and ugly and bitter to marry you. Today was supposed to be the happiest day of our lives. We aren't even married yet and already our life together insists on starting out a giant catastrophe."
She felt silly crying over cake, but essentially, all her hard work just went down the toilet. Erza had spent half a year meeting florists and tailors and bakers and bands and priests and God knew whatever laborer even remotely related to the wedding industry and all for what? An expensive disaster on her hands? Her childhood fantasies of a pastel wedding to the only man she'd ever loved ruined and smeared with cake frosting? Disappointment in the human race so palpable she couldn't breathe through it?
Several beats passed as she let herself shake against her fiance, and while the situation seemed hopeless, at least he was here now, his presence slowly purging the stress and heartbreak out of her.
His large hand brushed over the tears that rolled down her cheeks, running through mascara and smudging makeup. "I hope you're still willing to give today a chance. I came up here to tell you Mirajane is already doing her best to save the day. She's in the kitchen right now, instructing pastry chefs and caterers to salvage the cake. The food will be okay. I'll just not eat the fish. Okay? Don't worry about it."
He thought back to her checklist of Things That Have Gone Wrong and scrambled for options that might not have been up to par with her original conditions, but would be enough to placate her. "Mirajane can sing and Gajeel can do acoustics, since the band backing out was his fault anyway. I think he'll be more than happy to step in, since he did bring his guitar. The flowers will be fine. White lilies are beautiful and they'd look amazing with your dress and make your hair stand out more, never mind their meaning. As for the priest," he halted his speech, unsure if his solution would please her, but at this point, he was just desperate to make things work. "I don't want to scare you, or disgust you, but someone volunteered to officiate since he had a license and he heard about the priest being detained."
Erza sniffled as she looked up. "I suppose Master Makarov officiating would be okay. It would feel intimate, but are you certain he has a license?"
Jellal was tempted to burst out laughing, but the situation didn't call for any humor, especially with his future wife so vulnerable. Instead, he bit the inside of his cheek. "Actually, it was Ichiya-san who volunteered. We were there when he officiated for Ren and Sherry, remember?"
Now, Erza looked green and torn. "I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures." she said, her tone guarded.
This time, Jellal did chuckle before pressing his lips to her forehead. "I still want to do this. But if you don't and you're too tired and sad, I understand. You know I'll wait forever and a day to marry you, right?" his hand squeezed hers as he looked into her eyes. "You're beautiful. You could wear a onesie to the altar and you'll still be the most beautiful woman in the room. I'm not gonna stop wanting to be wed to you because you have dark circles or because you've lost some weight. You're the best thing to ever happen to me, and if you'll have me, I want the rest of my life spent by your side."
The blush that had always been easy to draw out of her stained her whole face a pink tint. "How do you expect me to say no now?"
He laughed again, delighted in the mirth that returned to her eyes. "I'll handle everything. You sit here and relax and let your bridesmaids pamper you. I'll take the liberty of talking to Natsu, Gray and Gajeel as well, if only to remind them to stop causing trouble." he took her hand and pressed the back of it to his lips. How was it that after more than two decades, he still charmed her, still put those butterflies in her belly with just his eyes on her, as if he'd never seen anything more amazing? "I'll be the guy in the altar, ready to spend eternity with the woman of his dreams." he'd never been a jovial guy, but something about her made him feel so silly and young.
When he left her with a lingering kiss and the promise of a good life together and the concerned but eager bridal party was back, Erza settled into her role, confident Jellal would make magic happen.
When she put on her dress and wore Hilda-obaa-chan's sapphires, she felt ready.
When she stopped at the end of the aisle and began her march to the man half her heart, she was the happy ending the little girl in a hopeless slavery dreamed of every day after whippings and labor.
When Ichiya pronounced her married to the Jellal, she finally found her peace.