Red Skins

by JnjlenSkinjbir

Or five times Elfman became crimson because of Evergreen, and one time she became crimson because of him (or so they say). Written for the first prompt of the Elfever Week 2016 "Crimson".

Hey guys! :)

For the second year in a row I participate in the Elfever Week. I don't know if I'll manage to get all the prompts done in the right time, mainly because I think I write way too much words for days, which prevents me from writing the other prompts! Actually, this wasn't supposed to be longer than 8,000 words, and yet...

This first day is a "Five times... and one time ..." fic, so you have basically six OS (i the same verse) compiled into one loosely based onthe first prompt of the week : Crimson.

Disclaimer: I don't own FTs characters (else we would always see the Raijins and Luxus and there would be Elfever in each chapter), nor the quotings in bold in the part III.

Warning 1: There is some smut and a (bad written) fight scene in this OS.

Warning 2: You might find some weird typos or words that aren't English because it's 4 am and I really want to post this chapter now because I want to be fully able to focus on the second prompt (which is still not written) in the next 36 hours.

Enjoy! ^^

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Five times Elfman became crimson because of Evergreen

I.

The first time they met, he was fourteen and she was seventeen. She was the last of the Raijinshuu to join the guild, and everybody was surprised that Luxus let a woman join his team. Especially when said girl had entered the guild hall wearing nothing but rags and a cloth over her eyes, with tangled hair and muddied from head to toes, looking more like a beggar than a mage.

"She'll be in my team, Gramps", said the lightning mage. "We'll take care of the formalities later", he added, as the master opened the guild's register.

The old man sighed and asked:

"May we know, at the very least, her name?"

"Evergreen. Just Evergreen."

The tone of the girl was flat. Makarov looked at her for brief second, before writing something in the register. Then Luxus, Bixlow and Fried exited the guild with Evergreen, and a battle began between Mira and Erza.

By then, he didn't give so much importance to the newcomer. Actually, no one did, except Mirajane who was boiling with rage because she knew "the girl would bring a lot of trouble" (maybe she was jealous of her, but Elfman didn't tell this, for he knew it wouldn't please Mira at all). She was the only one who was trying to know the girl's magic, for it was weird that Evergreen wore a cloth over her eyes. Moreover Mirajane found it even weirder that nobody, saved for the master (and maybe for Cana, if she checked her cards), knew the powers of Luxus and his teammates (although Elfman didn't share the suspicions of his sister, he had just nodded as she exposed her theory).

Everything changed the first time she talked to him, a few weeks after her arrival.

For the umpteenth time, Natsu and Gray took advantage from the fact that Erza was out on a quest to fight, which degenerated in a general brawl. Evergreen, who was going down from the S-rank floor, unfortunately became a victim of collateral damage: Natsu threw a barrel of vine to Gray, who dodged it, and so did Evergreen, but it burst on the wall behind her, soaking her in red alcohol. The young woman had at first no reaction, and so did the two opponents who kept on fighting.

Then things happened quite quickly, and both Natsu and Gray were laying on the ground, each one with a big bump on top of their head. Evergreen, surrounded by a dark aura, made her way to exit the guild; Luxus and Bixlow, who had been watching the whole brawl from upstairs as if it was a show, were laughing out loud. Elfman was about to exit the hall to shop groceries; even though, he didn't see her face, he felt the dark aura and, being used to deal with angry women, he opened the door for her and let her pass.

"Finally a gentleman in this guild of brutes", said a voice he didn't immediately recognize.

He closed the door behind him and he turned around, to see Evergreen.

It took time a few seconds to recognize her, though. Perhaps it was because she wasn't covered in mud, dried blood and rags anymore, and looked like a "normal" person (except that she was covered in wine, but that was a pretty common thing in Fairy Tail). Actually she was quite pretty to Elfman's advice.

She had long, very curly honey hair, and he caught himself wanting to run his hand in her hair. She had high cheekbones and stood with her chin high, beaming with confidence and pride (which was maybe why Mira and Erza couldn't stand her presence?).

He also felt his cheeks redden as he looked at her body. Nature had been very generous to her when it came to curves –but it wasn't what caused the young man to feel uncomfortable. Most of Fairy Tail girls were kind of blessed by nature, but Evergreen was the only one who was showing so much, clearly confident in her looks, since she wore a short, sleeveless deep green dress adorned with green lace, which showed a lot of cleavage (and her guild mark too, since it was on top of her right breast) and her long toned legs.

Elfman was surprised to discover Evergreen, who wasn't wearing a cloth over her eyes anymore, wasn't blind, like he had thought the day she arrived at Fairy Tail. Behind a pair of oval glasses, green-gold eyes were staring at him, shining with something like malice.

And then, he realized he was maybe gaping at her, which wasn't a very gentleman-like way of behaving in front of a woman, and that she asked him a question. But was the question, again?

"Elfman", he finally, his voice hoarser than usual. "Elfman Strauss."

"Interesting…"

There was a silence after that, and Elfman was feeling very embarrassed as he felt Evergreen's gaze upon him, his cheeks growing hotter (and probably redder) at every second. It seemed that her eyes were seeing beyond his flesh, right through him, and he rapidly cast his eyes to the ground in embarrassment. Eventually, she smirked and told, before she walked away, the sound of her heels resonating over the paving stones, leaving Elfman completely crimson and confused:

"Nice to meet you."

Without knowing why, Elfman quite knew at this instant that Evergreen wasn't any woman, and subconsciously suspected her eyes were special too. He didn't tell Mirajane. Maybe he should have, because the events that happened four years later proved him right.

---

II.

Although Elfman hadn't been very keen on having Evergreen as his S-class exam partner, he didn't regret she was with him at this moment. He was just too happy to see that she could rewrite Fried's runes in the blink of an eye. That was certainly manly!

It didn't take them long to reach the island, Evergreen flying, Elfman using his Shark Take-Over. When they arrived at the beach, they noticed the roads B and F were closed. Levy and Freed had already made their choices.

"So, where are we going?" asked Evergreen, as she landed so graciously she almost left no trace on the sand. "Decide quickly, the others will be there in no time."

Elfman thought for a second and then pointed the road "A". Evergreen frowned.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, because "A" is a letter of "man"! I'm sure it's the manliest path!"

He didn't really understand why Evergreen immediately face-palmed.

"How can a path be manly? Besides, I have a bad feeling about this … hey! Wait for me, big oaf!" she squealed.

Elfman was already running through the forest, and Evergreen quickly caught up with him. She seemed really furious to be left behind.

"Stop for a minute!"

"Why? I thought the others could be here in a minute?"

"They can't follow us! Once the partners, after a concertation (she emphasized the word while glaring at him), find a path and step a foot on it, no one else can go to the same path! Now, let me put my dress back on!"

Elfman sighed, but stayed, because it wasn't manly to keep on moving without his partner. He crossed his arms on his chest and waited patiently as the so-called fairy queen wore her dress (he didn't mean to stare at her, but the dress was emphasizing her cleavage way better than her swimsuit did, which made his mouth turn dry, even though he tried to pretend I was because of the heat). Once Ever was done, they resumed their walk.

"I can't help but have a bad feeling about this road…" complained Ever as she as fanning herself.

"Real men don't care about bad feelings! »

"What do you think we will have to face?"

"Huh… We can defeat Gray and Loke, Lucy and Cana, Natsu and Happy. It will be a little harder with Gajeel and Levy, but we could make it."

"And if we meet Freed and Bixlow, I swear I will make them pay for leaving me behind!"

"As long as we don't meet Gildarts, it's alright! »

"Oh? Cause you think defeating erza will be a piece of cake?"

"I've never said that, but…"

"Actually, defeating Erza could be a piece of cake…"

Evergreen began to chuckle darkly, and Elfman deemed it was better to keep his mouth shut, because that kind of chuckles gave him shivers.

"If we meet Mest and the little girl, it will also be quite easy because they don't know about my magic, which gives us an advantage…"

"Looks like the road continues on the beach…" said Elfman, as the ground progressively turned to sand and the trees began to regress.

"I don't like it. We're in the wide open, and helpless if the opponent comes from the sky. And there's this aura... I fear our opponent will be a S-rank."

"Real men aren't pessimistic!"

This sentence, which only meant to give them courage, earned him a slap from Evergreen's fan. She was looking at him, her brows furrowed, her eyes shooting daggers.

"I. Am. Not. A. Man!" she hissed.

"You hit me unjustly! That wasn't manly!"

"Who gives a fuck if it's manly or not? I am a woman, damn it!"

"Look, Evergreen, we're partners, we shouldn't be fighting each other!"

"We wouldn't be if you weren't behaving like this!" retorted the smaller mage.

"If I were you, I'd listen to my brother, Evergreen. To hope to have the slightest chance to win against me, you're going to need all your abilities."

Both of them froze in place not daring to look at the person who just spoke. They already knew who was there.

"Tell me I'm dreaming or that the heat made me crazy!"

Elfman shook his head and Evergreen cursed through gritted teeth. Oh, they were so screwed! There was no way they could get past Mira! The elder Strauss was waiting, already in Satan Soul mode, a dark aura surrounding her.

"Shall we begin?"

"Bring it on!" retorted Evergreen.

She deployed her wings and flew toward Mirajane, as she was sending thousands tiny little balls of golden magic. The demon made them disappear without even breaking a sweat, the balls vanishing in a dark purple steam, and prepared just one ball of dark energy, before launching it on Evergreen. She dodged it in the air, doing a vault and sending two more salvos with her fan. The "bullets" vanished just before Mirajane, because she was surrounded in a dark aura of magic that protected her from all attacks.

His partner seemed truly pissed off and disappointed that none of her attacks had an effect on the barmaid.

"Is that all you can do, Evergreen? You're not even as strong as Fried, I could beat you with my eyes closed."

"Then close them, and I will prove you wrong," replied Evergreen with a smirk, a strange light shining in her eyes, which reflected challenge.

The demon smirked too and closed her eyes, her opponent taking advantage of this moment to launch several salves on the silver-haired model, the bullets being quicker and closer to each other. Alas, they were all destroyed as they made contact with Mira's aura, which didn't even seem to falter.

"I must say I'm quite disappointed… I hope you could at least land an attack on me."

Evergreen replied nothing this time and moved her fan, the magic particles of her previous attacks gathering once more, surrounding completely the S-mage and her aura.

"Leprechaun!" she shouted as she got closer to Mirajane.

There was suddenly a gigantic explosion, projecting sand everywhere, and Elfman had to put an arm before his eyes to protect them. It took a while for the smoke to dissipate, and he saw that the attack managed to destroy Mira's aura. She opened her eyes wide, as surprised as was Elfman. It was difficult even for him to manage to breach his sister's aura (actually, he only managed it a few times) and Evergreen was succeeding on her first try! Wow. She's so manly! He thought.

The fairy mage was smirking in victory, taking off her glasses. Mira averted her gaze just in time and hit her with her tail, throwing her a few meters away. The honey-haired mage managed to stand before falling to the ground and she threw her fan at her opponent, who avoided it effortlessly. She cursed and ran at Mira, trying to hit her, but the latter punched her in the face, making her fall in the sand, her hand covering her nose and mouth. However, the fan came back and hit Mira right on her neck making her falter. Ever immediately took the object back before flying towards Mirajane and trying to immobilize her by circling her with her legs, but she was slower and weaker than the demon, who kicked her in the stomach, making the older woman unable to breathe and to concentrate for a moment, a second blow sending her to the sand, where she rolled several times before finally stopping, her face in the sand.

During this time, Elfman had been watching the whole fight, but had been unable to take part in it. Oh, he tried to convince himself it wasn't very different than the almost-daily brawls in the guild (actually, it was technically easier, since he only had one opponent instead of three and had someone backing him), but he couldn't move. Yes, he was absolutely thrilled to be chosen for the S-rank exam and was determined to do his best (he had been training almost non-stop during the seven days), determined to become an S-rank mage before Natsu and Gray (no, actually, before all his other guildmates), but all his motivation vanished at the moment he saw his sister, to be replaced with fear, anxiety and self-doubt.

The last time he set the bar too high, he "killed" his younger sister. And now that the three of them were finally reunited again, he couldn't bring himself to hurt another sister, even though it was the purpose of the exam. Although Mirajane as undoubtedly a lot stronger than Lisanna, he had become more powerful since Lisanna's death too. Consequently, he didn't want to attack his sister, not ready to take the responsibility if her sister died. However, he really wanted to help Evergreen. It wasn't manly to let her fight alone, all the more when she was producing attacks that had actually an effect on Mirajane (which was pretty impressive for a female mage), thanks to the training which improved her abilities. All she needed was a little help to overcome the demon. Because she would clearly be the winner of the duel at this rate, Ever's eyes magic being totally useless since Mira knew about it.

Elfman ran towards Evergreen to make sure he was doing alright. He crouched down next to her, and the next thing he felt was a hit on his neck. He turned around, expecting his aggressor to be Mirajane, since she was fast enough to manage to get near them without him noticing. However, it wasn't his sister who attacked him. Ever's grip was tightened around her fan, and her face slowly rose from the sand. The tiny grains had stuck to her face because of the sweat and the blood dripping from her nose and her mouth, strands of hair falling before her eyes. Elfman could only gulp as he saw the stare she was giving him. If she hadn't her glasses, he would have been turned to stone long ago, no matter if he was her partner or was supposed to become an S-rank mage. But now, her eyes were sending daggers, and it almost felt like thousands tiny needles were piercing something in him, making the guilt pour more at each needle.

"What are you waiting for to beat the crap out of your sister, you big, stupid oaf? I won't become an S-rank mage at your place! I can be the brain you seem to lack but I can't also be the muscles!"

Wow. Now his partner was also pissed at him. He'd better do something quick, because he would be dead within the next five minutes if he had to fight Mira and Ever. Elfman just looked away as he mumbled a "Sorry."

"Sorry, my ass!" growled Evergreen, as she was trying to get back on her feet. Elfman hurried over to help her, but she smacked her hand away with her fan. "If you're truly sorry, you'd better make up for the all the time you let alone fight your demon of a sister!"

"You think you still can use your eyes?" he whispered.

"Yes. But…"

"I'll try to immobilize her and you'll turn her to stone."

He received another slap of the fan.

"Don't give me orders! I'm your partner, not your slave!"

"Whatever."

He transformed both of his arms into Iron Bull. He caught Mirajane's tail with one hand, preventing from flying and immobilized her arms with the other. Although she seemed a little surprised, she was moving so much even he couldn't restrain her for long. He began to think, when Evergreen was trying to make Mira look into her eyes, that immobilizing her lids would be way more efficient. Five seconds later, both Ever and he fell in the water, since the demon got rid of them, Ever squealing in the process.

"Great. The sea water will definitely ruin the dress," she mumbled for herself, before running in the water to catch her fan back.

"We should change the tactic. I will be distracting her and you'll be attacking her. And don't you dare to retort. You're the one passing the exam, you're the one who's going to become the S mage, so you're the one who has to defeat her and get most of the job!"

He tch'ed, but had to admit she had a point. Evergreen was already going, attacking Mirajane with fairy bullets, trying to create an opening. Elfman ran until he was close enough to his sister, then performed a full-body Take-Over and transformed into the King's Beast. He was still afraid of hurting his sister, but they wouldn't be able to defeat if he only used part-body Take-Overs. The barmaid turned around just in time to cross her arms in front of her so stop Elfman's punch. It didn't push her away, like he was afraid to, but it made her go five meters backwards. Her aura reappeared, the magic particles surrounding her strengthening and burning his own body, so his punch faltered just for a nanosecond, but it was enough for Mira to throw a dark ball of energy at him, way bigger than she did with Evergreen, and he had no choice but to retreat.

Evergreen chose this moment to attack Mirajane: she run toward her then slipped to the ground when she was close enough and with a quick move of her legs, she reap the demon's legs. Mirajane faltered, but immediately deployed her wings and flew, but Elfman managed to grab her ankle and threw her several meters away –of course, the result didn't meet his expectations, because Mirajane was almost as strong a shim and she could fly. However, his partner was already awaiting for the demon and tried to kick her in the face –unsuccessfully since Mira protected herself with her arm, grabbing Ever's leg. The latter let out a gasp as she flew away, holding on her leg, who was burnt from the ankle to the knee.

Meanwhile, Elfman, using his Panther form, had gotten closer to Mira within a blink of an eye and change for the King of Beast Take-Over, trying to punch her. But his sister didn't fly away. Actually, she hadn't even moved, and Elfman was taken aback, because his sister stopped his mighty punch just with one hand, and grinned as she told him:

"Don't expect me to be indulgent just because you are my brother. The exam will be just as difficult for you as any other contestant!"

"Already figured that out," he groaned. Actually, it seems more just twice as hard. Nonetheless, he knew that he wasn't giving everything he had in his attacks either, so it was no wonder Mira could stop them easily.

She prepared to punch him and Elfman braced himself. Of the corner of his eye he spotted Evergreen coming at them, preparing a Leprechaun. He grabbed his sister's wrist, so the attack of his partner would be more effective, but Mira sensed the attack and restored her aura, just to protect herself from the attack (which meant, according to Elfman, that the duo was powerful enough to make her use so much magical power that she couldn't always keep her aura). Unfortunately, the Raijinshuu woman was so close to the aura that her attack as it vanished, burnt a part of her right arm.

Mira stretched an arm toward the sea, and the sky became grey, as the water was turning to black swirling, slowly turning into a small hurricane, but a hurricane which could easily destroy half the forest o the beach. Evergreen was already moving to hide herself, but Elfman couldn't. His sister just wounded him in the shin and his thigh, and it hurt like hell every time he tried to put his foot on the sand, the pain propagating to his whole leg.

She turned around and seemed really concerned to see him behind.

"Come on, Elfman! Move!"

"I… I can't!"

"Of course you can! It's not a little storm that's gonna frighten you!

He tried to jump on one feet until her, but the storm was coming too fast toward him. Suddenly, he felt himself rising and thrown towards the sand, a few meters away, behind a big stem. From here, he could watch the water hitting the trees, which broke in half and fell to the ground due to the strength of the impact. He felt suddenly very grateful for Evergreen, who has used her wings to save him, despite the risk of being hit by the water. All Elfman could think about is that he wasn't being very manly, because he couldn't beat his sister, and because Evergreen saved his ass.

« Do you know if your sister has any weakness ? » Evergreen asked, trying to catch her breath.

« She has no weakness, no weak spot, » confessed Elfman, feeling more and more ashamed.

Evergreen sighed and let herself fall in the sand.

"Then we are done. I guess it's how the exam ends for us… We'll lose against her in some minutes, and Fried and Bixlow are so going to make fun of us, and all the guild will consider us as weaklings… Looks like we are going to be the talk of the guild for months…"

"Rumors aren't manly!" roared Elfman, which was the only way he thought of to cheer up Evergreen, who seemed really upset, all that because of him.

Evergreen turned her head around to face him, her eyes widened. Then she smirked and immediately sat up.

"Do you know you can be a genius sometime?"

"Errr…"

Elfman didn't understand why she called him a genius when she spent most of her time since they set foot on the island to call him an oaf, but decided it to put it under irony.

"You know, I think we might pass this first step… But you'll have to do everything I say, okay? We can't afford to lose with this plan!"

"Can I ask what this plan consists in?"

"Well, your sister like gossip and matchmaking, doesn't she? (he nodded) So, let's use this against her to create an opening and strike at the good moment!"

Elfman frowned, not fully understanding Ever's plan, but since she was so smart she managed to rewrite the runes, he deemed it was for the best to follow her plan as much as he could. Ever had already jumped over the rock and was trying to launch a new kind of attack toward Mirajane. The white-haired model only snorted before shooting a ball of dark energy on the Raijin girl. She managed to dodge the attack, which scratched her skin.

He expected his partner to react quickly but she was staring at her hand, seemingly horrified, not making a single move.

"What is it, Evergreen? Did you just break a nail?" snickered Mirajane.

"How dare you destruct my engagement ring!" hissed Evergreen, shooting a hateful glare at Mirajane, who just quirked an eyebrow.

Elfman was dumbstruck. He didn't know Evergreen was getting married. He didn't even know if she had a boyfriend or a lover. He suddenly wondered if it was appropriate to team with an engaged woman for the exam. Hell, it was certainly dangerous! Maybe it was because of this reason Fried didn't choose her to be his partner…

But the craziest thing was that he wasn't pleased with the news, even though he felt nothing for her and even though he was supposed to be happy for his guildmate.

"You're getting married? No, sorry, that trick doesn't work with me. Besides, no one with a minimum of sense would want to spend the rest of his day with you and your strong temperament..."

"Oh, actually I found someone."

Mirajane rolled her eyes.

"Really?"

"Don't look that skeptical! You should know who I am marrying!"

"I beg your pardon?"

Evergreen looked at her with innocent eyes and said:

"Elfman and I are getting married next spring! Hadn't he told you?"

Elfman's mind went blank at this instant, and all he could think was "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?". Was he really engaged to Evergreen? He should know it, it wasn't something he could have forgotten. But why would he have married her? Were they love in love or something? Or did he propose her during the party organized for Lisanna's return? Calm down, man, you hadn't, said a voice in his voice. Elfman sighed in relief: Evergreen and him weren't getting married, and weren't even engaged.

"No, he didn't," growled Mirajane, slowly turning around to face her brother with a wary look, her eyes narrowed, either asking for explanations or trying to know if it was a lie or not.

"Oh, why didn't you tell her, honey?" asked Evergreen with a soft tone, winking at him.

Then he realized it was precisely the opening she had talked about a few moments earlier.

"Oh, hum, it's just that… I waited to finish the S-class exam to tell her and your team because… you know … I would have become a real man by then. A man worthy of marrying the woman of my life."

It was all he could think of. He was very bad at lying and he told himself it would never work against Mirajane. Although she was kind of obsessed with shipping and was desperately trying to pair everyone (that included him), it would only take her a few seconds to figure out the trickery.

He was distracted in his thoughts by Evergreen throwing herself in his arms, so quickly he almost lost his balance.

"It's because of your proud, manly side I've fallen for you!" she cooed.

"I am sure you have…my love," he added, brushing a strand of hair off her face, trying to seem as I love with Ever as he was supposed to be. "And don't worry for the ring: as a man, I will buy an even more beautiful one!"

"Ooooh, thank you, sweetheart ! »

Now, she was hugging him, and he awkwardly stroke her hair. Elfman briefly looked at Mirajane's face, all he could see was disbelief. So it was working after all… Maybe it was because Ever, who was always very cold to non-Raijinshuu guildmates, was showing so much affection for him.

"Look, I know you haven't performed your strongest Take Over yet, but if you really want to become an S-rank mage, you'd better equip it as soon as I tell you so," she whispered, and Elfman shivered, despite the hot weather, because of the feeling of Ever's breath against his ear.

"But…"

"Don't worry about your sister: during the battle in Magnolia, she almost defeated Fried, who just had defeated you. You won't hurt her. Actually, you might, but she'll recover quickly".

She kissed him on the neck, right above his pulse and he immediately flushed crimson from head to toes, his knees feeling a little weaker. A few meters away, Mirajane was staring at them, her eyes as wide as saucers as she saw the kiss, since Evergreen made sure she could see it.

"Now go, I'm going to distract her", the self-proclaimed fairy queen whispered. "And if you fail when I'll give you the signal, it will be over for us! Got it?"

He just nodded, as Evergreen faced Mirajane once more, with a wide smile.

"Now you know, about the wedding, I'd like you to be one of our witnesses. Since you're a top model, I would also like it if you help me choose my wedding dress and its color. I mean, it would be a little hypocritical to wear white when Elfman and I are far from being virgin…" trailed Ever, chuckling.

This was undoubtedly the sentence that made Mirajane believe to the whole lie. She was so shocked that her aura faltered, just an instant but it was enough to the partners to catch it. They looked at each other, and Evergreen nodded, now smirking.

"Beast Soul! Black Steel Minotaur!"

He immediately transformed into a wide, sixteen feet tall creature, half bull, half giant, covered in black steel, which shone in the sun. Elfman punched Mirajane, who only turned around two seconds too late. The wave of shock created a 100 meter-wide hole in the sand, and blew several rocks and seashells. Mirajane laid in its center, on her back, her Satan Soul deactivated. Elfman took his normal appearance and immediately felt a pang of guilt for hurting his sister. Not for long, because Evergreen dragged him to the gate, whose seal just broke.

"We don't know how much time your sister will be stunned, so let's quit this place while the gate is still opened!" she said.

Alas, Elfman couldn't make a move, since his last Take-Over had drained a lot of energy from him, and he could barely walk.

« What are you waiting for? » she asked, as she was a few steps ahead.

"I think I might have used too much energy?"

Evergreen huffed, retraced her steps, passed an arm around his shoulders and they hurried as much as they could. Elfman was surprised to see she could help him walk without taking a break and without faltering. Maybe she was used to this kind of situation with Luxus, who had almost the same corpulence as him.

« Our strategy… It wasn't very manly… », he groaned, once they were approaching a clearing.

He made a mental note to never, ever say to his fellow guildmates how he defeated Mirajane. Hopefully, his sister wouldn't tell the others, and nobody would know about it, and it would spare him embarrassing moments and explanations.

TAP!

"Ouch! What was that for?" asked Elfman as he was rubbing the back of his neck, right where Evergreen's fan had smacked him.

"Ah! Don't you dare to begin to complain! We only did because it we had no other choice since you didn't really seem in the mood for fighting today, nor you had a better idea for strategy! Fortunately, your last blow made up for it!»

"Evergreen?"

"What now?" huffed the fairy mage.

"Thank you."

She scoffed and looked away.

"Don't thank me now, idiot. Thank me when it will be over and you will be a S-rank mage."

He smiled at her…

"Got it, Ever!"

… only to get another smack of the fan behind his neck.

"Don't call me Ever! Only Luxus and the Raijinshuu can call me like that!"

---

III.

When Elfman awoke, he was surprised to see how bright the sun was, judging by the rays who lit the room. He wondered how much time he had been asleep. A lot, probably. But after all, it was a well-deserved sleep. He had defeated an S-Rank mage, and not any S-Rank mage: it was a mage who was able to compete with Erza's skills seven years ago, and Elfman defeated him, also humiliating his opponent's guild in the process (although this might seem a little childish, but Elfman couldn't let this Bacchus dirty his sister's honor, speaking of them as if they were prostitutes!).

Anyway, the battle had been fierce, and he had been barely able to walk the stairs up to the infirmary. After Polyussica mummified him, everybody congratulated him, even Erza, even Evergreen! He remembered most of his guildmates going back to the arena, the Raijinshuu staying to protect the place Bixlow pushing Evergreen over him while claiming something like "the injured need sleep". She immediately got up and hit the blue-haired mage with her fan and Polyussica ran after the two of them with a broom and "Shoo!"s – but wasn't he already sleeping by then? He couldn't tell.

Speaking of the devil, he turned his head and saw Evergreen near his bed, sitting on a stool and reading what seemed to be a novel. He shifted his body (which ached horribly) so he could better stare at her, and the sound of the bed sheets moving made her rise her gaze from her book to him.

"Hello, sleeping beauty!" yelled Bixlow, carrying a plate with a bowl on it, before Polyussica shouted no one was allowed to yell in her infirmary.

"Hello. How much time have I been asleep?"

"Almost twenty hours," replied Evergreen. "I didn't know someone could snore that loud for a so long time."

"Anyway, you woke just in time for lunch!"

His stomach growled in perfect timing.

"Well, it's a good thing you're hungry, because you are certainly going to need this to eat the soup", added Bixlow as he put the plate on the night stand, before sitting next to Ever and eating his own lunch. His teammate put down her book and ate some fruits, no one giving him any attention.

Elfman tried to reach for the bowl, but he almost send it to the ground. Great. Not even able to eat by myself without making a mess! Evergreen gave him a scolding look and he answered, a little irritated:

"How am I supposed to eat when I can't even move my arms correctly?"

Evergreen quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Are you expecting me to feed you?"

"Nah, Ever, leave it to me, I'll take care of it!" exclaimed Bixlow, who put down his meal and rushed to the bed, pushing her teammate, who nearly fell to the ground.

"You sure?" she asked with a dubious look, and Elfman was grateful she asked this question, because he had a bad feeling about this. He knew he should trust Bixlow, it was one of his guildmates, but man, this guy was really, really weird and scary!

"Yeah, don't worry, I always do it for my babies don't I, Ever? (the called mage nodded) I don't see why it would be different."

"Maybe because your babies aren't real beings," hinted the woman, taking an apple and beginning to peel it off.

"Hey! Take back what you said!"

"Only if you have ever changed your babies' diapers!" replied Evergreen with a smirk.

"Gna gna gna…"

Elfman closed his eyes, waiting for the impact, because Evergreen wouldn't let someone, even though it was one of her teammate, imitate her without getting smacked by her fan. When he opened his eyes a second later, Bixlow was holding the back of his neck, seeming in pain, and Evergreen seemed really proud of herself, cutting the apple to pieces.

Bixlow re-sat on the stool and took the bowl. Its content was greyish and didn't smell good. Just seeing it was enough to make Elfman forget about his hunger. To be honest, he even felt already sated. The man with a helmet stared at him with an apologetic look.

"I'm happy to not be a contestant of the Games. If I had to defeat someone that Titania couldn't beat seven years ago and would be rewarded only by this dishes' water-like thing, I would be so disgusted I would become a member of the council."

"Disgusted!" repeated the babies as they gathered around him.

The 'father' dipped the spoon on the bowl, stirred a little the beverage and held the spoon to Elfman's lips who, after taking a deep breath, swallowed the thing. It wasn't as disgusting as it seemed. No, it was actually far worse, so worse he almost threw up. Bixlow looked at him with pity.

"Yeah, man, I'm sorry you have to drink this thing."

"Do I really have to?"

"Don't be a child and drink your soup. You'll be on your feet in no time. You have to heal quickly, because were surely gonna need help to stop our enemy", said Evergreen in an icy cold tone, not even looking at him, and Elfman suddenly felt a little ashamed because he realized he had been acting like a child indeed.

"It's just a bowl after all, it's nothing you can't do," sang Bixlow, taking another spoon of soup. "Drink this quickly and then you will eat the apples Evergreen will cut with love and devotion for you."

"I am not cutting apples for anyone, let alone this oaf!"

"Well, I obviously can't give him his soup and cut the apple. Since our dear Fried is not here yet, you're the only one who can do it."

Evergreen snorted in a very unladylike way, and began to cut more apples.

"And a sip for big sis Mira!" cooed Bixlow as he waved the spoon in the air, before loading it in Elfman's mouth.

He gulped down the horrible liquid and mobilized all his strength to not throw up.

"Good boy!" said the blue-haired man, clapping his hands. "Now, a sip for your little sis Lisanna!"

When his eyes met Ever's, she looked at him with a gaze meaning "Sorry, he's always like that". He didn't find the words, however, to tell Bixlow to stop (plus, he was certain he would definitely vomit if he opened his mouth).

Eventually, the door of the infirmary open, when Elfman was almost done with his misery, and Luxus and Fried entered the room. He really felt ashamed as the lightning age was seeing him being fed by an obviously very crazy man, and cringed when the blue eyes looked at him. Surprisingly, he didn't laugh or snicker, but only said:

"Thanks to you and your sister, people are beginning to understand that Fairy Tail is not to be laughed of anymore."

"Mira-nee won?" he said.

He knew his sister was strong (hell, she wasn't a S-Rank mage for nothing, he had witnessed that on Tenrou Island) and didn't want to sound like someone who doubted her, but he doubted they had regained in three months the strength they lost during the seven years.

"Yeah, against Jenny Realight."

The name sounded familiar to him, and he remembered seeing her on an issue of the Weekly Sorcerer.

"By the way, is this a family thing to humiliate publicly your opponent in public?" asked Luxus with a grin. "I would love to do that with my opponents too…"

Before Elfman could answer, Bixlow had tucked the last spoon of soup in his open mouth.

"And the last sip is for waifu Ever!" he sang.

"Waifu Ever!" repeated the babies.

Luxus frowned and stared at them, his arms crossed on front of his chest, his stare jumping from Evergreen to Elfman. He raised an eyebrow, demanding explanations to Evergreen, who also raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Seriously, Luxus? Me, going out with that brainless big bag of muscles? You've gotta be kidding me!"

The blonde man changed of subject.

"I hope you've all had your lunch because you're going with me, now, in the arena. We need you there; you will look out and report if you see any weird magical activity. Don't worry for the infirmary, we already have Erza and Elfman there, it should be enough against any intruder, if they are dumb enough to strike at the same place twice!"

Bixlow quickly reached for the remains of his sandwich and followed the rest of his guildmates outside. The door closed and Elfman was already feeling in a very relaxed mood, as if all his muscles relaxed at once and his brain was slowly logging out. Why was he still sleepy after 20 hours of sleep? Maybe it was the soup after all: Polyussica could have mixed the healing substances with some soporific stuff so it would have a quicker effect. The voices and the steps outside the room sounded like a lullaby to him.

"Aww… You're going to be away from your hubby, Ever… So sad!"

A loud smack echoed in the hallway and the last thing Elfman heard before drifting to sleep was:

"Fuck off, Bixlow!"

It was sunset when he woke for the second time this day. This time, he woke up on a unusual way: he just sneezed and his eyes shot open. Elfman blinked a few times to adjust his eyes to the dark orange light bathing the room.

"Damn", he groaned. "Someone must have been praising me as a man!"

At this moment he realized there was some king of weight on his side. He turned his head to see what it was, or actually, who it was. He was so surprised that, if he hadn't been already *allongé*, he would have jumped in surprise. He was so surprised that his reaction couldn't be anything but loud:

"Why is Ever sleeping here, damn it!"

Ever, who was sitting on a stool near him, was seemingly sleeping, with a head resting on her arms, crossed over the bedsheets, strands of hair falling over her face. When she heard him, her head shifted slightly and she closed her mouth, making a soft noise.

"It's not like I was worried or something," she mumbled, before she went back to sleep, her features softening once more.

Although Elfman felt his arms and legs tinging him (he realized Polyussica's potion had been efficient: he felt almost no pain), he didn't dare to move, because he didn't want to wake her up. Indeed, the fairy mage must have been really tired if she slept with her glasses on. With a sigh, he resigned himself to stay put in his bed and to wait until she woke up on her own –unless he was facing the urge to go to the toilets.

Since they were alone and she was asleep (which meant no awkwardness and not having to always make up some pretexts to explain why he was looking at her), he took the opportunity to observe her face more closely. There was a faint blush on her cheeks, and her pink, plump parted lips made him want to kiss her. All of her features were relaxed, making her look so innocent and so much more vulnerable than when she was awake. Elfman couldn't take his eyes off her because she was so beautiful –even when she slept. He watched as her head rose and fell slowly at each breath. He watched as her long, golden eyelashes fluttered a little, before she drifted back to sleep. He watched as her lips closed, curled into a slight smile, made a little pout and parted again.

From this observation, Elfman suddenly realized a very important thing about Evergreen. She was a woman, and not any woman. She was a beautiful, strong, independent woman, a real woman, to sum it up she was the woman.

"Woman" Elfman whispered, as he was blushing (he didn't know why. There was no reason to become crimson, just by looking at an asleep woman!).

She let out a kind of sigh, which sent shivers down Elfman's spine, and he only became redder. She heard him, he was certain of it, and she even answered to him (even though, the rational part of him told him he was imagining things because he wasn't fully awake).

Incidentally, that moment was also the moment he realized he was in love with Evergreen, which only made him even more crimson.

---

IV.

It had been a few days since the mages returned from the Great Magic Games that took place in Crocus. Finally, they could have a break, after three intense months of training and fighting, that fortunately made them the most powerful guild in Fiore again. They even managed to get their previous building back, and a huge party had been organized to celebrate their triple victory (the GMG, the battle in Crocus and the recuperation of their building).

A party Evergreen and him had escaped to stay somewhere quieter, just the two of them, somewhere where there was no brawl and where they could make out peacefully. They spent the night on the guild's roof, looking at the starry sky. Evergreen had a glass of martini and he had taken a bottle of beer and appetizers with him. They had been talking, and sometimes kissing (they had their first kiss almost a week ago, and it was one of the things that he would always remember).

That's when Elfman realized he wanted to invite her somewhere, mostly to be just with her, with no other Fairy Tail member. He just didn't know where to take her. He thought about asking one of his guildmates for advice ('cause it was manly to admit it when a man needed help), but since his relationship with Evergreen wasn't public yet (mainly for two reasons named "Bixlow" and "Mirajane"), asking for advice meant telling there was a thing between Evergreen and him (well, they weren't dating, because they didn't have their first date yet, but they weren't lovers eithers, so Elfman didn't know the appropriate word to describe their relation).

Taking her to the restaurant would be good, but he had to take to a fancy restaurant, which meant he had to spend the money that was given to him after the GMG's end (his part of the reward that was octroyed to the guild). Unfortunately, he needed this money for other things, like paying the caution and the rent of his new, small studio (Mira and him had been renting a big flat, but during the seven years, the landlord rented it to someone else. Fortunately, their guildmates had gotten back all of their belongings). For now Mirajane and Lisanna were sleeping at Fairy Hills. Besides, going to a fancy restaurant meant he had to wear a shirt and a tux and God knew how much he hated to wear those things, which weren't meant for muscular men with very broad shoulders like him. It just made him feel like he was wearing a prison (and it wasn't manly to go out with the most beautiful woman on earth when the amplitude of his moves was equal to a zombie's!). On top of that, Elfman had never been to a fancy restaurant before and, even though he had great knowledges in gastronomy, he was afraid to do or choose something that he wasn't supposed to when his girlfriend was around.

He could always take her to the cinema and watch some movie. But he didn't know if she liked movies, nor what kind of movies she preferred: although he loved Evergreen, he'd probably be sleeping within ten minutes if she picked up one of the romcoms Mira and Lisa made him watch… which would give him a very bad image.

There was always the opera: Elfman actually liked opera and musicals, thanks to his sister, and he spotted a show that looked quite good…until he saw the price of the seats. Until then, he had always gone there with his sister (wearing a tux) because she was given free tickets. Hell, he almost had to give a kidney to assist to this spectacle! Or maybe they could go to the fair together, or have a walk.

A smile grazed Elfman's lips. He knew what he would do, and it seemed to him the best idea he has ever had. He would prepare a picnic for her, and they would eat it on the hill, near the lake, at sunset. Yes, this seemed definitely perfect.

"Evergreen, are you doing something tomorrow night?"

"No, I don't think so. Why?"

"Because I want to take you somewhere."

Evergreen's eyes immediately lit up.

"You mean just you and me?"

"Yes, just the two of us."

"Like in a date?"

"Err… If you want."

She got closer to him and he could see she was clearly refraining herself from smiling.

"Of course! And where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

"I can't wait to see what you planned" Ever purred as she stood on the tip of her toes to kiss him on the lips.

"When are we meeting?" she asked as they parted.

"At Crocus' Gate, at 7.30 pm."

"Okay! See you tomorrow then!"

That night, he didn't sleep much. No, to be honest, he almost didn't sleep at all because he was so anxious and so excited and so in love it had been nearly impossible for him to close an eye.

He rose early, made a quick grocery list and went to the market. He always preferred the local market (that took place every Tuesday and Friday on Kardia Cathedral's Place) to the supermarket because it was cheaper, he was closer to the sellers and the fruit and vegetables were organic and had a better taste.

Elfman got home two hours later, his arms stuffed with a lot of groceries (actually, he brought home more good than he actually planned to buy, without spending more money). Some of the sellers were so happy to see him after the seven years gap and/or so proud he won against Bacchus and humiliated his guild that they expressed their gratitude in-kind.

Immediately he began to prepare the bread, then he made the salads (one was tomato-cucumber-avocado-red yellow and green pepper flavored with oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, the other was simply grated vegetables and vinaigrette), before putting them in the fridge. Now he could fully focus on the preparation of the pear and chocolate pie and the crumble/melon/raspberry verrines. As he was waiting for the cake to bake, he prepared some canapés with salmon and dill mousse and mini-quiches, which he put in the oven, as soon as he took out the dessert.

After taking his bread to the baker, Elfman cooked pasta and rice, and prepared a chicken escalope with pepper and honey and brochettes of monkfish with tomato and basil sauce, which he grilled on the small brazier he had, on his tiny balcony.

When he went back to the bakery to take his baked bread, the owner even refused the money the age was handing him.

"But I used your oven!"

"T-t-t. If you're finally dating someone, which you totally deserve, it's my duty as a fellow man to make sure she will fall into your arms! Believe me, with this (he gestured to the freshly baked baguettes) you'll have no problem to convince her to stay! Once she'll taste your bread, she'll be immediately crawling at your feet!"

Elfman tried to imagine Ever crawling at someone's feet, and smiled because he knew she was way too proud to do that.

"Nah, really, women love men who know how to cook. And, knowing your cooking skills, I bet she will have an orgasm when she will eat!"

Elfman's cheeks reddened and he quickly exited the bakery. Damn, he had forgotten how much the baker was Cana-like! To forget about this incident, he made the last preparations, and the picnic was fully ready around 6 p.m. He wrapped the breads in cellophane, put the meals into boxes, before putting the food, a tablecloth and two bottles of wine (rosé and red wine) in a basket. Elfman then quickly ran to the hill, put the bag in a tree and went back to his house, to prepare himself. He washed himself thoroughly and, even though he smelled good as he was done with showering, he put some perfume on (a thing he rarely did, because putting perfume wasn't very manly).

He hadn't much time left, unfortunately before he was supposed to meet Evergreen, so he couldn't think of an appropriate outfit. Elfman guessed it would be fine even though he just wore jeans and a yellow tee-shirt. He barely had the time to dry his hair before leaving, and walked quickly to the gate, hoping he wouldn't be late. Surprisingly, he arrived at the same time as Ever who was absolutely stunning. She was wearing a dark purple scoop back dress, black shoes with medium heels.

"You look very nice."

"Thanks. You're not bad either", she replied with a smile. "So, where are we going? I hope you aren't taking me to a fancy restaurant, because none of us is dressed appropriately."

"You'll see soon enough," he said.

Ever chuckled as he pulled her near him, then gasped when he placed his hand over her eyes.

"Why?"

"It must be a surprise."

Evergreen scoffed.

"Fine. But you'll have to tell me where to put my feet!"

"Don't worry, the walk isn't long and the road is pretty good."

Her little hand gripped the back of his shirt and her steps were unsure at the beginning. After a few minutes, she relaxed and laid her head on Elfman's shoulder.

"How was your day?" he asked.

"Fine. I was awoken at 4 in the morning by Bixlow's babies who were fighting in my room and this idiot threw a tantrum because I was punishing them. Fried woke and he shoved all the babies outside. Bixlow told him he was inhuman, and harassed him with his babies until Luxus got enough and yelled us to shut the fuck up and to go back to sleep. To sum it up, it was a normal day."

She sniffed the air, then turned her head towards his neck and sniffed, her breath giving him goosebumps.

"You smell good."

"Thanks. You do too."

They managed to walk up the hill with no incident. Elfman always made sure there was no rock or hole that could provoke an ankle's twist for Evergreen. Then they arrived at a small river level. Elfman could cross it in one stride, but Ever could only jump the distance –which was out of the question since she wore heels and she had to keep her eyes closed. So he took her in his arms, bridal style, making her giggle and held her as he crossed the small river (fortunately, he didn't slip on the other end, because the ground was a little muddy). He didn't let her down after that though. Since they weren't walking on a road anymore, but rater walking in the grass and between the trees and the bushes, he thought it would be better if he kept on lifting Evergreen (who hadn't complained due to his decision, seeming very pleased with her new mean of transportation), since the ground was so uneven she could hurt herself, since she wore heels. Besides she was light, so he didn't mind having to lift her.

He chose a nice place, full of flowers and crickets and there was an absolute view on Magnolia's city. The whole place was bathing in the pink-orange sunset light, and Elfman was very proud to have chosen this place. A perfect place for a perfect date, he thought. There was no way this wouldn't please Ever!

"OK, now you can open your… FUCKING HELL!" he shouted, as he put her down.

A fox was playing with the basket he had brought. Fortunately, there was a spell that sealed the bag until its owner opened it. However, this spell didn't protect the content, and Elfman was afraid that all the efforts he put into the picnic, especially when it came to presentation, would go to waste. Moreover, he was almost sure that the two bottles of wine he had brought would be destroyed, and the food soaked in wine. All the perfect date he had spent the whole night and the whole date preparing, was slowly turning to a disaster before his very eyes.

He took a stone on the ground and threw it at it at the fox, which managed to avoid the projectile just in time before running away.

"THAT'S IT, RUN AWAY YOU FILTHY UNMANLY ANIMAL!" he bellowed.

Evergreen burst into a fit of laughter. It was the first time he heard her really laughing, and not just a snicker. All he could think about was that it was a beautiful sound and he was a lucky man to have the opportunity to hear it.

"Would Lisanna approve of this?" asked Evergreen, when she stopped laughing.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her."

"That's good, you're learning quickly!"

"It's not my fault if this fucking fox decided to ruin the date!"

"Because you have never dreamt of playing with a picnic basket?"

He stared at her, giving her a puzzled look.

"Relax, I was just saying this to lighten the mood. But actually, I think it's not a bad thing if the fox came here, because if he has been attracted there by the smell of the food, I can only imagine how delicious it will be."

"Yeah, too bad it's probably inedible now…"

"I have known you more optimist."

She reached for the basket, but Elfman prevented her to do it.

"Oh, come on! We can't know if we don't open it."

He sighed, crouched down and opened reluctantly the basket, biting his lip in the process. Elfman quickly looked in the bag to gauge the damages and let out a sigh of relief. Luckily, none of the boxes opened (moreover, their content seemed more or less intact. Buying hermetic boxes wasn't a bad idea after all!) and the bread wasn't soaked in wine, because Elfman wrapped them in cellophane before. Nonetheless, the two wine bottles were, as he expected, totally destroyed, the beverage even soaking the tablecloth. At least the glasses weren't broken –but the meal would be a little awkward, because he only brought water as another drink.

"See? It wasn't that terrible," said Evergreen judging by the change of look in his face.

He felt her behind him, her arm crossing his chest as she put her chin on his shoulder. Her mouth was near his ear and he could clearly hear the gasp as she looked into the basket.

« Don't tell me you have cooked all for this for me ! »

She seemed in sheer awe.

"Huh yeah… I didn't know what you preferred, so I thought it was manly to make sure you can have the choice."

Ever smiled at him, a genuine smile and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

"That's the loveliest thing a man has ever done for me!"

Elfman would have blushed but he was still upset with the fox that he barely had a reaction, even though he registered the compliment. He was taking out all the boxes and put them on the grass. As he saw Ever crouch to sit down, he took off his tee-shirt (he hadn't brought a jacket because it was August, so the weather was nice and he was so stressed he knew he'd be feeling too hot and would sweat too much which wasn't sexy at all), folded it and placed it on the grass. Evergreen smirked at him as she sat down.

"I didn't know you have prepared me a little strip-tease as well… I begin to understand why you decided to bring me here…"

Elfman's cheeks reddened, but he couldn't tell why. Maybe it was embarrassment: he didn't want her to think he was a vain man, who never missed an opportunity to show off his muscles (oh god, he hated those kind of men!), and that taking his tee-shirt off was only meant to impress her (which was quite stupid. It's not like she would be impressed by muscles anyway, since she grew with three men, one being slightly less muscled than him).

On the other hand, he couldn't tell if it was because of Ever's remark itself. No, he hadn't planned to perform a strip-tease, but he suddenly imagined Evergreen sitting in a sumptuous armchair, sipping a glass of wine, with a very content grin as he was taking his clothes off for her. And he caught himself thinking it would be an idea to keep in mind for ulterior dates… unless Ever decided to be the one preparing a little show for him. Hs throat became dry and his cheeks even redder when he remembered his girlfriend was still here, in front of him, and it was very inappropriate to have this kind of thoughts in her presence.

"Don't worry for the wine, I took a bottle from Fried' finest collection." She poured two glass of wine and gave it to him. "Let's toast to… wait a second, why are you all crimson?"

---

V.

Finally, the sun is back! thought Elfman as he opened the flaps and the windows. From the inn room, he had a beautiful view on the white sand beach. The sky was blue, with no clouds, and the sea was perfect to take a swim. If he hadn't arrived there three weeks ago with Evergreen, he could have never guessed that just a day ago, the sky was cloudier and darker than during the battle against Phantom Lord, the sea was completely wild and rain was falling like daggers, because of some monster, who was destroying the coast and causing the death of several people.

They were supposed to get rid of it, for it deprived the region of its only resource: tourism. It turned out that it wasn't only a monster, but four of them, some dog-like creatures with fins, which were at ease on land and in sea. Moreover, they were dark alchemists, and performed very obscure ceremonies, which aimed the resurrection of a god-like being (Elfman found this utterly ridiculous, but the natives seemed very panicked and believed in this nonsense more than he did). However, Ever and him managed to defeat them all, not without efforts, at dawn and the magical council immediately came to put the four wrongdoers in jail. Then the people of the surroundings had improvised a little feast, to thank the pair for freeing them from the hybrids, and the possible rebirth of the destructive-god-like-being. As a thanking, the innkeeper offered them a free week of stay in the inn near the beach, including the food.

He heard a whine coming from the bed, turned around and smiled as he saw Evergreen furrowing her brows, her eyes still closed, probably waken up because of the sun's warm rays.

"Come on, Ever, you have to wake up."

"Don't wanna…" she groaned with a sleepy voice, as she buried her head in the pillow and turned around, facing the wall opposed to the windows.

Evergreen was an early riser, like him, and she rarely stayed in bed after 8.00 am, not unless she was tired. It was probably the case this morning; Elfman couldn't tell however if she was tired because of the fight or their nocturnal activities a few hours ago. Usually, when she was tired because of her mission, she would let her sleep until she woke on her own; but it was too sunny to stay inside a room, especially when the beach was almost desert.

The sheets were only covering her legs, leaving her upper body bare. Elfman smiled to himself, climbed on the bed, and began to wake her up like he did on every normal morning. He kissed the small of her back and laid kisses on her spine, slowly going up, before kissing her shoulder blades, the back of her neck, her shoulder, the side of neck (he heard her breath catching in her throat when his lips touched her sensitive zone), before kissing her jaw and finally the corner of her mouth. She turned around so they could kiss properly.

"Do we really have to get out of here?"

"We don't, but the sun and the beach are lovely. Plus, you won't be able to enjoy an almost desert beach or a calm swim pool in Magnolia."

Evergreen sighed and pushed him back, before stretching herself with a yawn. She picked up her leopard swimsuit and wore one of Elfman's shirt on top of it; then she prepared her bag for the beach. A few minutes later, they were on the terrace, eating breakfast, which consisted in tea and fruits for Ever and scrambled eggs, toasts and tea for him.

"Everything is to your liking?" asked the innkeeper.

Both nodded, and the newcomer seemed truly relieved.

"If I may ask, what do you intend to do today?"

"We're going to spend the day on the beach," said Ever with a smile. "Tanning, swimming, maybe playing some volleyball if you have a ball…"

"Of course! Would you like me to install the beach volley field?"

"That would be great!"

"I could also provide you surfboards, body boards, canoes, sail, stand-up paddle, kitesurf or scuba-diving equipment, or even a pedal-boat and a zodiaque!"

"Well, that's very kind of you, but I think we will take your offer for another day. We'd like to relax a little."

"I totally understand. By the way, do you want to eat something in particular for lunch?"

"There's no need to…"

"I insist! You saved our town!" said the innkeeper with stars in his eyes, being in sheer awe before them, which made Elfman feel ill at ease.

"Ok just make something simple, then. A cheese and ham sandwich and a salad fruit will be fine…"

"Alright! I will also put aside a bottle of local wine for you! Gift from the house!"

Before Elfman had a chance to tell him to not bother with this the innkeeper had already disappeared into the kitchen. The Take-Over mage sighed and drank his tea.

"I have never seen someone so thankful after a quest" noticed Evergreen.

"…Yeah. To be honest, I don't feel very comfortable with it. I feel like I'm taking advantage of them…" he confessed.

"It's true that the situation is a little awkward," she admitted. "But we deserve it, somehow."

The couple left the terrace and walked down the dune. The sand was warm under their feet, but not too much, but the beach was still desert, so they settled near the water. Elfman went to help the innkeeper to install the beach volley field. He gave them their snack, including the wine and two glasses, a ball and two straw hats and a parasol to protect their heads from the sun's rays. Elfman thanked him and went back near their settlement.

"Look what the innkeeper gave us, Ev…" he began, handing her one of the hats.

He stopped in the middle of his sentence, shocked by the sight. Evergreen, who had her hair tied on a loose bun on top of her head, had taken off his shirt and her swimsuit top, leaving her torso entirely bare. She was spreading the content of a small bottle over her legs, arms and shoulders, then her front. Elfman's gaze couldn't leave her body, half fascinated by the way her hands moved over her chest, and half shocked, she was almost naked in a public place!

Finally, she raised her eyes and saw the hat.

"Thank you," she said with a smile as she put the hat on top of her head, as if the situation was absolutely normal. "Can you do my back?" she asked, turning around shoving the bottle in his hands so he had no chance but to comply.

"Ever, are you alright?"

"Perfectly. Why?"

She had turned around and as looking straight into his eyes.

"Then why are you doing this?"

"This?" She repeated, frowning. "Ah, you mean being topless? Well, I just want to tan with as less marks as possible. The sun is really lovely today, like you said, and it would be a shame to not enjoy it. You were the one who said it earlier! So quit being grumpy and enjoy the calmness! We will be back in Fairy Tail soon enough!"

He began to mumble things about people and appearances and decency, and Evergreen stared at him, her eyes narrowed.

"What's your problem?"

"No, the question is what is your problem?!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" she said as she rolled her eyes. "There's nothing's wrong for a woman to be topless at the beach! We are almost alone on this beach, so no one will see me! And even if they do, I don't know them and I will probably never see them again, so I don't care!"

"Almost alone", he repeated with a snort.

She rolled her eyes and exhaled deeply.

"Why can women never go swimming topless without getting remarks like yours, when men never hears those remarks? (he opened his mouth to answer, but she didn't let him speak) And if you're going to tell me it's about showing boobs, I have to remind you that some men have bigger breasts than I do, like Droy, and they can hang around topless without people making remarks to them! And, besides, I don't do it to show off, nor to attract boys! (Elfman snorted at this statement) Look, Elfman. I know I may be a real bitch sometimes, but I'm not hypocritical. When someone or something doesn't please me, I say so. Believe, if I had enough of you, you would know of it. Now, stop your jealousy, your paranoia or whatever."

On those words, she laid on her back, her sunglasses on, clearly pissed off.

Elfman began to sulk on his own. No, he wasn't paranoid or jealous, it was just that he didn't want any man other than the Raijin or himself to get close to his woman! Evergreen had a perfect body and no less perfect breasts, and tanning topless would get her the attention of a lot of men, who would importune her by inappropriate remarks and gests. Okay, maybe he was a little jealous and paranoid, toppled by possessiveness with a zest of overprotection, but it was for the sake of Evergreen, so it wasn't so much a big deal?

He scrutinized the beach. Yep, they were alone on the stretch of sand. The water looked so blue and so calm and so good, and he pondered if he would go swimming or not. If he did, nobody would remain to protect Ever's welfare. He finally decided to swim near the water border; thus, in case someone importuned his beloved, he could interfere quickly.

Elfman was about to leave the parasol when he heard running steps ad someone calling his name. Acting on pure reflex, he threw a shirt over Evergreen's body, who jolted up and yelled:

"What the…"

"Elfman-san!" shouted the voices.

He turned around, his eyes narrowed, shielding Ever for the look of the newcomers. But they were only two girls and a smaller boy, who were looking at him in awe.

"Hello."

"Is it true you saved us from the monsters with magic?"

"Huh yeah. But you know, Evergreen helped too."

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaw!" said the children, with shiny eyes.

"Can you teach us magic, so we can also beat some monsters?"

"Sorry, girl, but it takes a lot of time to become a mage."

The children pouted and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"That's not fair!"

"Unfortunately, a lot of things on this earth are unfair…" whispered Evergreen.

The younger girl glared at the fairy mage.

"Are you two married?"

"No. Not now, at least."

"Then can I marry you when I'll be older?" she asked, looking at Elfman with stars in her eyes.

Elfman felt uncomfortable. That was the first time a child wasn't afraid of his appearance, and the first time a little girl had a crush on him. When he and Ever walked in the streets, little boys would often say out loud she was beautiful, and she always answered by a kind smile. He looked at her, trying to get some support, but the woman was looking at the scene, amused.

"Uh… I'm not sure. Ever and I are in love, and…"

Elfman hadn't even finished his sentence that the girl broke in tears. The older sister took her in her arms and began to pat her back. He immediately felt a pang of guilt.

"I'm sorry, but…"

"It's fine. She's always getting rejected anyway, 'cause she falls in love with everyone" groaned the boy.

"And what are you doing here?" inquired Evergreen.

"We will make a kite and a sand castle", informed the older girl with a pleading look aimed at him.

"I know very well how to make kite. I could help you make one that flies very high."

The children looked at him as if they had received their Christmas presents early.

"OK, I'll help you."

The trio smiled and sat a little further, unpacking the content f their bags.

"You've never been this popular," snickered Evergreen, as she was taking the shirt off her, folding it and placing it under her head.

"Are you jealous?" he asked with a grin, when he rose up.

"Me, jealous of this girl? You think I'm Juvia or what? Why would I be jealous of a ten-year old child? I do not get overly jealous for no reason…"

The children, being used to the beach, had brought appropriate materials to make the kite, and the final result was great. Elfman only advised the younger and sometimes realized the most difficult manipulations. He also had to answer the countless questions the children had about magic and what it meant to be a mage.

Eventually, he turned around, to see if Evergreen was still under the parasol and flipped out when he saw no one on the towel. His heartbeat calmed seconds later, as he saw her silhouette swimming in the sea. Since no one, aside the five of them, was on the beach, he decided it wasn't a problem, and helped the children with their new project: a big sand castle, with moat, a drawbridge, towers and a keep.

As they were collecting seashells to adorn the castles walls and seaweed to be the banners, Evergreen exited the water, flipping her hair back. Some strands remained nonetheless glued to her skin, due to the sea water, covering miraculously her nipples. Droplets were running down her body. Elfman then realized he had rarely seen such an erotic sight, and he felt his swim trunks becoming too tight.

Come on, Elfman get a hold of yourself! There are children over there! he scolded himself, his eyes still ogling his girlfriend.

Her lips curled in a smile as her gaze met his, and she blinked before lying back on her towel, on her stomach this time. Elfman went back to the castle building with the kids.

An hour later, the father of the children came, calling his progeny for lunch. As he recognized the mages (and heard the praises that came directly from the mouth of his daughters and son), he asked them if they wanted to have lunch in their house, but Elfman declined politely the invitation, and rejoined Evergreen. They ate their lunch, waited under the sun and Elfman went to swim. The water was really perfect, just the good temperature, no big waves, which allowed him to swim quite a long distance and to stop whenever he wanted to float on his back. Ah, that was wat he called holidays!

After some time, he swam back to the shore and his blood froze in his veins as he saw two young men talking with Evergreen, one of them playing with the volleyball, probably to impress her. He saw red and accelerated to be near her faster.

"Ah, Elfman! You come just at the right time! Tom and Louis wanted to play a beach-volley match ! Let's team up and show them mages can be good at a sport without using magic!"

"Count me in!" he said, feeling a strange sense of satisfaction, as the men paled, seeing how much he was taller and stronger than them.

"You can go to the field and begin to warm up. We will be there in two minutes."

Evergreen put her swimsuit top on, as Elfman dried himself, and they joined the duo later. Obviously, they were no match against the mages, who won the three sets, with no efforts, thanks to Elfman's strength and Ever's technique, who played beach volley since she joined the Raijins. He didn't even feel guilty as one of the guys left, gripping his forearm, where he had been it by one of Elfman's smashes, grimacing in pain. Speaking of the Take Over mage, he felt happier than ever when the two guys left, leaving them alone once more, saved for the old people who occasionally walked in the water and in the rocks, looking for oysters and clams.

They only left at sunset, after two more swims, when the wind was too cold on their wet skin, making them shiver. Evergreen just put his shirt back on, not bothering with the swimsuit top, only fastening the two middle buttons to hold the fabric together.

They entered their room and, as soon as the door was closed, Elfman dropped his bags on the floor and did what he wanted to do to Evergreen since this morning. He lifted her, grabbing her under the ass, to kiss her passionately. He felt her gasp against his lips, then she parted her lips and deepened the kiss. He threw her on the bed, which squeaked under their weighs, and resumed the kissing, his hands taking off Evergreen clothes: he threw the shirt she wore to the other end of the room and unfastened her swimsuit top, who joined the cloth.

Evergreen, who was giggling, let out a moan when his hand was teasing her nipple. His mouth left hers and began to kiss her jaw, before settling in the crook of her neck … and meeting the palm of Evergreen's hand.

"There's no point in tanning if I can't show it after because you covered me in hickeys," she whispered between two pants.

Elfman groaned in frustration and his fingers ghosted over her womanhood. She hissed and arched her back, so she could enjoy the contact, but he drew his fingers away. She made a pout before reaching for his lips. Her fingers slid from his neck to his abs, and stopped at the waistline of his swim trunks. She played with it, her lips still on his. Elfman gasped at the contact and he felt Evergreen smiling against his mouth, victorious, satisfied to have revenged. But she didn't stop there, though: her fingers slipped between the cloth and the skin, and teasing his cock, making him harder than he already was.

Elfman almost tore Ever's bikini bottom as he took it off her. She didn't protest, since she was also trying to free him of his pants. Once they were both naked, he pinned her to the bed and began to suck on her breasts, as he dipped one, then two fingers between her legs to maximize her pleasure. She le tout a whimper, and her hand, which had made its way till his derriere, squeezed his ass cheek approvingly. Damn, she was already so wet for him!

Elfman entered her, her long legs wrapping automatically around his waist. He thrust into her and soon his woman, who was also undulating under him, demanded for more (because she was too proud to beg), her back arched, pushing her breasts against his pectorals. He complied, and she was so ecstatic that she moaned his name while she dug her fingers in his shoulders' blades. Suddenly, Elfman felt pain on his back and prevented himself from making a remark. It wasn't like Evergreen had never left proof of how much she liked their activities over his body (she did it very time she was enjoying herself). However, this time was different: it hurt more than usual, the pain, who was usually a good kind of pain, the one that turned him on, transformed into real pain.

But why? How? The wounds he had received from the battle with the four abominations disappeared within half a day, thanks to the unguents and potions they received from the local doctor. Unless it was a curse or a side effect of the monster's magic. His sex-clouded mind suddenly remembered he had spent eight hours under a very shiny sun on a white sand beach, and he might have been sunburnt, since he put nothing on his skin to protect it from the rays.

Evergreen took advantage of this moment of thinking to roll him over and to be on top of him. He smirked at the sight, which he would never get enough of; thanks to his newfound position he could fully see the body of his woman, covered by a perfect, light tan. To be honest, it wasn't so bad that she decided to tan topless. After a few days, her skin would probably get the same color as her hair's.

She gyrated her hips, he answered with a groan and a thrust, his hands founding her ass cheeks and squeezing them. Evergreen moaned, threw her head back, the tip of her hair touching Elfman's thighs. One of his hands cupped a breast, and her smaller hand closed around his. She moaned louder as his fingers dug in the soft flesh, but didn't stop her move. A stronger thrust made her dig her nails even deeper over his torso, raking over his skin. It was usually something that turned him on, but it was especially painful today and Elfman couldn't help but grimace because of the pain.

"Are you OK?" Evergreen asked seeming concerned. "You look as if you were somewhere else."

Shit. She had seen his grimace and stopped her motion. He thrust in her, enjoying the look of her parted lips, but barely bore her nails digging in his abs.

"How could I be anything but fine with my woman riding my cock? There was just some sand grain stuck in the wrong place", he lied, his hands pulling her closer so he could kiss her, enjoying the way she whimpered against his lips.

Placing a hand on the small of her back and the other on her neck he pulled her as close as he could to him. Her breasts smashed against his chest, her whole body pressed against his, her pants and moans meeting directly his ears, her plump, parted lips inches from his own. At least, in this position, he wouldn't be more in pain, because Evergreen's nails couldn't dig in his back or his chest. However, a few moments later, she decided to suck a spot on his guild mark (probably to prevent herself from being too loud, because they were in an inn, which meant other people could hear them). A moan escaped his lips, a mix of pleasure and pain, and he tightened his grip on Ever's neck, their breathings and the moves of their groins quickly escalating.

Once they ended their lovemaking and caught their breaths, they headed for the bathroom to wash themselves from the sea salt and the sweat. A quick glance in the room's mirror confirmed his suspicions: he was sunburnt. Even though his skin was quite dark, the red was very visible.

The cool water (unfortunately, the monsters had destroyed the room of the inn where the water was warmed) was having an incredibly good effect on his skin, soothing the effects of the sunburn. He rinsed Evergreen's hair, before drying her with a towel. When she returned the favor, she stroked his skin a little too hard and he grimaced for a second. Despite the briefness, Ever saw very well the grimace because she immediately stopped and her eyes narrowed as she was scrutinizing him.

"Is it me or you're redder than this morning?"

He didn't answer but flinched away when she wanted to touch his skin. She sighed.

"You've been sunburnt, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"Fortunately I've packed some Aloe with me", she said, as she was searching in her bags.

Meanwhile, Elfman finished to dry himself and sat on the edge of the bed. Two minutes after, he felt the mattress dip behind him, and let out a sigh of ease has the cool cream was being applied on his back, Evergreen also massaging the muscles. Then she repeated the action on his torso and his face.

"I hope I haven't hurt you earlier", she told him from the bathroom where she was rinsing her hands.

"I'm fine, don't worry", he answered tilting his head up.

Evergreen came back, her long hair sticking to her back, already beginning to curl.

"But I still don't understand why you didn't put sunscreen on. Being naturally super tanned doesn't exempt you from doing it."

"It's because of you…"

"Why me? The innkeeper gave us hats and a parasol! I put sunscreen several times! It should have given you a hint! No, it's because you were so busy being overly jealous for no good reason that you forgot some basic sun exposition rules! I am not to blame! Unless you tell me you were so captivated by perfectly tanned body you forgot anything else but me, but I would be surprised, agreeably surprised, if my body still had this effect on you, after a year and a half of relationship. "

Elfman said nothing now blushing in shame. Evergreen sighed.

"I just hope you hadn't caught a sunstroke. I would be too bad if you had to stay in the bed for the whole week. With whom would I try canoe, stand-up paddle, scuba-diving and all the activities the innkeeper told us about?"

---

And one time Elfman made Evergreen crimson.

Someone (Evergreen couldn't remember who) once said that the effort provided during a marathon was the same as the one provided during childbirth.

Well, she was pretty sure that a man made this comparison, because the two actions had absolutely nothing in common, the marathon seeming like a cakewalk near childbirth. She had run a marathon once, a few years ago, because Elfman was participating in it. It clearly wasn't one of the fondest memories she had, although she was one of the first women to get to the arrival: she had had cramps during the run, almost suffered dehydration and hyperventilation under the bright June sun, and she fell to the floor when the run was over, not able to move anymore. It was Elfman who carried her home, where she stayed two full days, being barely able to walk due to the aches in her muscles.

She remembered how much physical pain this run had caused, the pain she had felt when fighting against Grimoire Heart, Tartaros or even Alvarez but now, in retrospect, being stuck in a hospital bed, waiting for the baby to come out of her womb, this seemed so derisory in comparison with the pain she was experiencing: her opponents had never made her feel as if an iron hand was squeezing her belly, both from the outside and the inside.

At first, the pains were bearable, and it was Elfman who insisted to bring her to the hospital as soon as possible, even though her water didn't broke … which happened on the way to the hospital. When she told Elfman, he looked panicked, but he quickly regained his composure. He looked quite calm as he was filling the hospital's papers.

Meanwhile, a nurse had taken to a labor room, after she made her sat in a wheeling chair (was she taking her for an infirm? Even though it hurt, Evergreen was still able to walk on her own!). Then Ever had to change her clothes for that ridiculous blue hospital gown. The nurse helped her getting in the bed, and was talking to her, probably giving her tips and explaining the whole birth process to her, but the fairy mage wasn't paying attention to what she said because the other woman was talking way too much and she was beginning to feel real pain.

Just when Evergreen was pondering if it was legal for a woman in labor to use magic against a nurse when she was being too annoying, Elfman entered the room, breathless, and rushed to be at her sides. She was surprised to see him in the room, because she didn't ask him to come. Honestly, they never really talked about what would happen the day of the birth. She saw no reason for him to come (especially when he was taking the risk to have his hand crushed and to be insulted and cursed and threatened). Besides, she didn't know if it was a wise decision from him. Knowing him and his emotive side, he could always pass out because he would freak out.

"What are you doing here?"

Elfman suddenly seemed sheepish.

"I just thought that maybe you wanted someone at your side during the birth. But if you want, I can leave or call for another person", he said already heading for the door.

She grabbed his hand.

"No, stay, please."

His bigger hand squeezed hers in a comforting way, and he pulled a stool near her bed, to sit at her side, not letting go of his hand. His mere presence had a soothing effect on Ever's nerves, and so did the way he gently stroked her knuckles.

"Since the father is here, I'm going to take my leave. I will come back to check how things are going in an hour. If you need something, you can always press the button."

On those words, the nurse exited the room, and Evergreen let out a sigh of relief, which became a groan of pain as another wave of pain passed through her body, her hand tightening briefly around Elfman's fingers.

"She's lucky you just came, else I would have turned her to stone," she growled.

He laughed.

« Please, wait after the birth to turn her, or whoever you please in this damn hospital, to stone. I don't think giving birth in the guild or at home would be a good thing. Plus, can you imagine the title of the Magnolia's Herald tomorrow? 'A Fairy Tail witch turn the whole personnel of Magnolia Hospital's maternity service to stone : after wrecking several buildings, inns and restaurants across her country, Fairy Tail is now destroying Hospitals and Maternities! Read more p.4"

Evergreen smiled. He was right after all. She could always vent out her frustration on the personnel later. Moreover, she knew Elfman would probably scare them just by frowning at them if he wasn't pleased with the way she was treated.

He opened the bag he had brought with him and pulled out a water sprayer and a handkerchief. He gently wiped the sweat, before spraying some water on her face. Despite that, Evergreen could feel her face getting more and more crimson as the contractions were becoming stronger and faster. She was feeling more in pain at each contractions, the pain radiating to the small of her back, but she tried to not complain, shout or cry (hell, she is the true queen of fairies! She's not like any woman! She can take that pain!), so she was biting her lips and unconsciously catching her breath, which made her become redder and gave her problems with her respiration. Why did she had to be so proud in those circumstances? If anything, her pride was only making things worse!

When she thought she wouldn't be able to make this and tears were beginning to form behind her eyes, the nurse came back. Evergreen scoffed as the other woman peeked between her legs.

"I see you're ready, I'll call the midwife. I'll be right back!"

« I will never make it! » she complained, as Elfman was spraying her face with water.

She wasn't feeling well anymore, hadn't the strength to be more auto-persuasive and was on the verge of crying or having a panic attack. Elfman's finger squeezed her hand and he stroked her cheek with the back of his knuckles.

«Calm down, Ever. It's nothing you can't do. All you have to do is to focus on your breathing. Like during our training sessions for the marathon, do you remember?"

The evocation of the marathon, the general feeling of pain and utter discontent she was experiencing and another stronger contraction made slap his hand on her cheek with her fan and yell at him:

« SHUT UP WITH YOUR STUPID RUNNING TIPS! WHAT I'M GOING THROUGH IS FAR WORSE THAN A MERE MARATHON! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH THIS HURTS! BESIDES, IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT IF I'M STUCK IN A SHITTY HOSPITAL BED, WITH A SHITTY GOWN, SHITTY NURSES AND I FEEL LIKE I'M GOING TO BURST AT ANY MOMENT!"

Elfman smiled sadly and Evergreen immediately regretted her words. She didn't mean to snap or to yell at him, and she wanted to :

"Yes, I am sorry for not being of a greater help. And, as a man, I felt very dismayed to not be able to do something to soothe your pain. But at least, I'm glad to see my Ever back. My beautiful, stubborn, strong evergreen and her strong temperament, who can achieve or get anything she wants to."

He kissed her on the lips and a tear rolled down her cheek. Really, Elfman was such a sweet man! He never ever complained during her pregnancy, not even once, always listening to her when she was complaining about her feet, her bladder or her back or when she was craving something. He didn't even complained since he came in the hospital, although she knew she was crushing his hand. He didn't even get mad at her when she was yelling at him, and sounded truly sincere (and empathic) when he said he didn't like to see her in pain.

Evergreen felt his lips on her cheek, kissing the teardrop away and he whispered to her, while stroking her cheek with his free hand:

"Hey, no need to cry. Everything will be over in less than two hours."

"How can you be so optimistic?" she whimpered, having a lump in her throat because of her crying.

"Because our child is a Fairy Tail. It moves a lot and has probably enough to be stuck in your belly –I mean no offense though. Why do you think it decided to come weeks before it was supposed to?"

She nodded, and even smiled at him. He kissed her temple and the midwife came into the room at this moment, looked between her legs and told her to push. She wanted to tell the old woman to not order her, but she had no choice but to obey. Elfman was whispering words of encouragement in her ear, sometimes stroking her cheek or wiping off sweat and suddenly, all her doubts were gone.

Evergreen knew she could do this, because she knew she could do everything when he was near her, like during that damn marathon: at some point, she was convinced that she couldn't go any further, and she would have probably given up, in spite of her position, if it wasn't for Elfman (why the hell was she thinking about that run again ?).

Several pushes later, a cry was heard in the room as the midwife was holding a crimson, squirming being and put it on Evergreen's chest. Now she felt the tears coming back as she looking at their child, and a big smile graced her lips. She looked at the side to meet Elfman's gaze, whose eyes were watery too. He was smiling too and he kissed her (she didn't understood how he could kiss her as she was crimson, very sweaty, with her hair disheveled, wearing the stupid hospital gown and having gross things pouring from between her legs).

«I'm so proud of you, Ever. You did an amazing job." He said, his voice shaky, before wiping the sweat off her face and kissing her temple one more time.

"Sorry to interrupt this moment, but the placenta ain't gonna come out itself, y'know?" groaned the midwife, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Elfman?"

"Yes?"

"I think you were right about the newspapers…"

---

That was the first day! Now I can get some well-deserved sleep (after spending four hours editing this OS).

Don't hesitate to leave your review if you liked (even if you don't leave one too, so i can improve :D)

See ya tomorrow for prompt 2 "Embrace" :)