Love between Familia
Today was the big day.
A big event was to be held at Amor Square in the afternoon. The event had excited everyone inside Loki Familia ever since it was announced, the atmosphere of excitement inside the Twilight Manor was very apparent. Word of it had also reached the people of Orario, and it had turned into a very common topic for conversations.
Even the gods had taken an interest, many of them came to visit the Twilight Manor and see the two stars of the event themselves, one of which was me.
I was in my room on one of the main towers in Twilight Manor, trying to button up my tailored outfit.
"Uh...why is this so hard to put on?"
As I tried to button up the black suit, I could see a small crowd starting to form up at the entrance of the manor. Even from far away, the number of people I could see from here was nerve-wracking.
"Fenrir, are you ready yet?"
Yuna called out to me from outside the room.
"Yuna? Err...one more minute!"
"Want me to come help?"
"Yes, please..."
Yuna came into the room, wearing an elegant purple dress with flower hairpins on her snow-white hair.
"My, that suit looks so good on you!"
"Nevermind that...how do you button these up?" I held out my sleeves for her to see.
"Ah...your hair is still so messy! Sit down here, I'll get you ready."
Yuna took out a stool and grabbed a hairbrush from her cupboard, motioning for me to sit down.
"Thanks…"
"Stay still, I'm going to start brushing."
As Yuna brushed my hair, I tried to button up the rest of my outfit. Each stroke of her brush sent shivers down my tail, I could never get used to how good it feels.
"Even after all these years, you still can't keep your hair tidy?"
"It takes forever for me to do it alone…"
"Geez...At least the suit me and Aurora picked fits you pretty well."
"Y-yeah…"
"So, have you rehearsed everything in the proceedings?"
"Mhmm, Riveria taught me everything she knew."
"Right, she does have royal blood after all."
After she was satisfied, Yuna put away the brush and took out a small white band, gathering the hair at the back of my head and tying them into a ponytail.
"Alright..." Yuna spun me in a circle and inspected me before giving the okay. "Everything seems to be in check. You're all set to be the most dashing prince in Orario!"
"Y-yeah..."
"Come on, let's get you to where you need to be!"
"Woah. Lefiya, you look gorgeous in that dress!"
"Eheh...thank you, Tiona."
"Of course she would, the lovely captain himself and I went out to pick it for her!"
Tione puffed her chest proudly at her sister, while Lefiya meticulously adjusted her dress and her hair in the mirror as if her life counted on it. Just like Fenrir, Lefiya was also hurriedly getting dressed in her room, with the Amazon sisters tagging along.
"Oh...anyway, this isn't the day to mull about the captain," Tiona nodded at Lefiya. "Today is a special day for her and our little wolf!"
"I know, I know. It's almost time for the two stars to head off, I can already hear the commotion outside."
As the two Amazoness rattled on, the silent blonde girl watching from the side finally spoke up.
"You look beautiful, Lefiya," Ais commented with a narrow smile.
"H-huh?" Lefiya's cheeks instantly turned red, she turned sheepish whenever she received compliments from the Sword Princess herself. "T-t-thank you!"
"Hurry up, Lefiya! We got lots of fun to be had later on!"
"Y-yeah...I'm almost ready."
"I'll go down and wait with Finn and the others."
"Alright, see ya later, Ais!"
As she left the room, Ais began to head to the entrance of the manor, where most of Loki Familia was waiting for Lefiya and her partner to show up. The thought of her elven and werewolf friend getting together brought some fragment of warmth to her heart, a warmth that she'd been subconsciously looking for herself.
You've finally found your hero…
The smile on the usually expressionless swordswoman grew even wider.
Isn't that right, Lefiya?
As the evening sun cast a beautiful golden net across the city, instead of its usual hustle and bustle, the people were now buzzing with excitement. Everyone was waiting for the two stars of the event to appear from the entrance of Loki Familia's home. Many adventurers from different Familia were among those people, either dragged along by their patron deity, or interested enough to come on their own.
Surprisingly, even the silver-haired God of Love herself was interested enough to observe the event. From the balcony of a nearby restaurant, she and her Boaz bodyguard waited at the location where the event was to be held. Amor Square, a place that represented love and adoration in Orario.
As Freya happily sipped on a glass of wine, Ottar was beginning to look impatient.
"Mi'lady, those two are late. Should I go-"
"Be patient, Ottar," Freya replied with a chuckle, as if she was telling a dog to stay still. "Haven't you ever heard of the term being fashionably late?"
"..."
"It's okay, I'm fine with waiting." Freya took another sip from her glass. "Besides, these events don't happen often nowadays, I've missed offering my blessing on behalf of two new lovers."
"...Yes, milady." The Boaz replied, continuing to stand guard behind his patron deity.
"Eiiiiiiiieeeee! My lil' bro looks so handsome!"
Aurora squealed in excitement as she saw the werewolf clad in a fancy suit appeared in the entrance hall of the Twilight Manor. Loki, Riveria and the rest of the Loki Familia were also waiting there.
"Ah...the children grow up so fast. Don'tcha think so, Mama Riveria?" Loki nudged Riveria, a proud smile appeared on the deity's face.
"If I had known something like this would happen…I….I-"
"Ba-ha-ha-hah! Cheer up, Mama Riveria. It was their choice, the least ya could do is to give them yer blessing as their teacher, y'know?"
"...I guess."
"Hahaha, it does feel a little nostalgic when you see the people you've raised grow up like that. Doesn't it?" Finn commented on the side.
"Oh yeah, where's Gareth? I thought he'd be 'ere by now."
"Ah, I think he's helping out with setting up the stage and all for the two, so you'll have to wait."
"Aw, I was craving a good drink too."
"You're gonna drink like there's no tomorrow later on during the afterparty, anyway."
"Ahahah, ya know me too well, Finn."
"Goddess Loki, Finn, Riveria! Don't just stand around, come check out our beautiful little wolf here!" Aurora called out cheerfully, her left arm wrapped around her little brother's shoulder.
"Well, shall we?"
"Yeah, fine...I'm gonna get at that shitty Hermes one day for stealing such a beauty before I could." Loki silently cursed Hermes under her breath.
"Wow…so this is Amor Square."
I was standing on a makeshift stage made for the occasion. A big wooden stage with a large white carpet draped across it, with a lectern erected in the middle. An arch was also built at the top of the stairs to the stage, beautifully decorated with an assortment of flowers, all of which were specially picked by elven florists from Lefiya's home, Wishe Forest.
Loki had called in many favours for this event, Ganesha Familia was here keeping an eye on the crowd and making sure nothing goes wrong.
"You have fun up there, Fenrir, me and Yuna will be rooting for you in the crowd."
"Alright."
We exchanged smiles as I watched Aurora join the crowd with Yuna and the others. The number of people who have gathered in the square gave me the chills, but I tried to look confident for my and her sake.
As I watched the entirety of Amor Square slowly fill up, I saw the undeniable figure of a certain goddess walking towards me. I gulped nervously at the sight of the giant man behind her, he and I have had several encounters with each other before.
"My my, don't you look dashing today, little wolf?"
"I-It's a pleasure to meet you, Goddess Freya," I nervously looked at the towering Boaz behind her. "Nice to meet you too, King Ottar."
"Mmph."
"You can relax, Ottar. This is my duty as a goddess of love, you can go enjoy the view from the crowd."
"...As you wish, milady."
The giant Boaz slowly walked towards the crowd, staying at the front so that he could spring into action if any harm were to come to his goddess. I heaved a small sigh of relief as the pressure I felt from him finally went away.
The King is as scary as usual, huh?
"Uh...Goddess Freya."
"Hmm?"
"T-thank you for coming to be the officiant for this occasion."
"My, don't you think it's a little too late for thanks?"
"It is?"
"Nothing. Anyway, I chose to volunteer because it was you." Freya smiled seductively. "You've grown so much compared to years ago. Now, I wonder what you and the elf are going to do after this?"
The crowd was acting more excited now, most likely caused by Freya's appearance as the event's officiant.
"W-well, we plan to visit Wishe Forest for a bit after this. After that...I don't know."
"My my, how amusing." Freya chuckled lightly, it seemed like she was having fun with it, though I could never tell how a goddess thinks. "Well, I'm looking forward to seeing the bride arrive."
"Y-yeah, she should be arriving soon, sorry to make you wait."
As if right on cue, I saw the crowd start to split up in two, forming a path in the middle leading to the stage.
"Fu-fu-fu…speak of the devil."
Freya somehow spotted her faster than I did. Following her gaze, I looked past the crowd and spotted Lefiya, dressed in pure white.
Lefiya was being led by Finn, who was dressed in a fancy blue and white suit. His dashing presence attracted some weird comments from the women in the crowd, but he ignored them pretty easily, this was not his first time receiving such attention. This was a different case for the elf beside him, she was not as used to it as the captain was. I could even see her beet red cheeks under the veil that covered her face.
Seeing her like this, I could not help but blush as well. She's getting closer, less than a minute until she reaches the stage My thoughts started to run rampant inside my head, was I actually ready to do this?
Lefiya had been there for me during my worst times, and I did the same for her. The number of dangers and near-death experiences we've faced together was countless. I promised that I would protect her at any cost, the same promise I made for my sisters. But was this the right way to do it?
"Doubting yourself now, wolf?"
"!?"
Freya chuckled at my surprised expression, she'd saw through my thoughts like they were made of glass.
"You have my own blessing and the blessings of everyone in Loki Familia and the crowd. What's there to worry?"
"Goddess Freya, may I ask..."
"Hmm...?"
I stopped halfway and shook my head before finishing.
"...No, nevermind."
"If you say so," Freya replied with her usual expression, but something about her seemed different. She shifted her gaze to the crowd below before speaking again. "Your bride is here, wolf."
"!"
I looked back and saw that Lefiya was already walking up the steps with Finn at her side. I hurriedly stood to and mentally prepared myself for the proceedings.
After they reached the stage, Finn let go of Lefiya's hand and walked back into the crowd, standing alongside other members of Loki Familia.
Shuffling nervously, Lefiya stopped half a meder across from me. As we blushed at each other, Freya initiated the proceedings and gave a short speech to the crowd, welcoming them to the wedding ceremony. I was too nervous to catch everything she said, but I heard some snippets of her speech.
"-These two had braved the depths of the Dungeon hand in hand, their marriage will represent the bonding of two of Loki's most promising children and their unending affection for each other."
Looking at the crowd, I could see Finn, Tiona, Ais and the others smiling widely. I think I also saw Mister Gareth wipe something from his eye.
Shortly after, Freya finished her introduction speech and turned to us.
"Now, it's time for the two to exchange vows," Freya announced, causing the crowd to focus their gaze on us. Turning towards us, she read out the vows we had written down beforehand. "Fenrir Ahlberg, do you swear to be Lefiya Viridis's lover, her companion and friend, her ally in conflict and her eternal partner in life?"
"Y-yes." I gazed at Lefiya's beet-red face, she was trying her best not to cover her face in embarrassment. "I do."
"Lefiya Viridis, do you swear in the name of Wishe to be Fenrir Ahlberg's lover, his eternal partner in life, supporting him in conflict no matter the dangers, and pledge to be by his side every moment in life?"
"...Yes," Our eyes met through the white fabric in front of her face. "I swear."
"Then, the groom and bride may now kiss."
Taking a step forward, I closed the distance between us and slowly lifted the white veil. Under it, I could see her cheeks flushed deep red, her eyes slightly unfocused from the pressure.
We had officially pledged our love to each other, there was no need to hold back anymore. I bravely put one hand on her waist and another on her cheek, gently lifting her face so that our eyes met each other.
Then a moment later, so did our lips.
Afterword: Happy April Fools dear readers! I hope you enjoyed this one shot fluff I made with Fenrir and Lefiya. I wish those two will make a great adventurer couple in the future :^)
Updates on the canon story progress: I'm working on revamping Chapter 1 again, to flesh out everything I originally wanted to in the first version. And right after that, Chapter 5 and 6. I hope you are all enjoying my original DanMachi story so far! That said, have a great day!