Valentine's Day:
AN: I will write a one-shot about the Dreyar family vacation soon, but this idea came to my mind and since it's Valentine's season it was too perfect to pass up. ALL DE SHIPS!
"Ah," Makarov smiled as Mirajane walked into the guild hall, July on her hip, Cato by the hand, and Farrah trailing behind her. "There are my little kiddies!"
Makarov hopped off the bar as he walked to them, holding his arms out for July. Mirajane set him in his great-grandfather's arms. She beamed all the more as she looked around the hall. The entire mainroom was decked in pink, red, and white hearts and roses. There were stations set up for various snacks, crafts, and games.
"Thank you for doing this," Mirajane smiled.
"Don't mention it," Makarov said rubbed his nose against July's. "Parents need a break just to themselves every now and then. And this gives me an excuse to have fun with my great-grandchildren. Both biological and guild-related."
He gestured to the sea of children who had already been dropped off at the guild for the "Kiddie-tines" celebration he'd planned for all of the children.
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Mirajane asked.
"Of course. Not my first time wrangling a bunch of wild Fairy Tail kiddos. Besides, I have help."
He jabbed his thumb at Gildarts, who was crawling around in the floor like a horse with Layla, Isla, Portia, and Vera on his back, Cana, who was setting out a bunch of crayons, and Freed, who was wearing a pink heart apron as he stirred a bowl of chocolatey, delicious something.
Mirajane smiled as she nodded. "Alright, well have fun."
"Will do," Makarov smiled as Mirajane walked back out, heading home. Once she got home she kicked off her shoes, took off the heavy coat she'd worn to cover the nightgown she'd left on, and walked back to hers and Laxus' bedroom. Laxus was still asleep, snoring slightly. Poor thing, he had worn himself out this winter. He'd stayed up all night several times, and when he did go to bed he just tossed and turned, worried about how to meet all the needs the blizzards had brought in.
Mirajane smiled, happy to see him peaceful, and slipped back under the blankets. She laid on her side, simply watching him sleep. After a few moments he began to stir and opened one eye.
"Mira?"
"Hey, handsome," she smiled.
Laxus lifted his head up. "What time it-"
"Sh," Mirajane set her hand on the back of his head and coaxed him to lie back down. "Your grandfather's taking care of the guild today."
"He is?" Laxus arched an eyebrow.
Mirajane nodded as she kissed his forehead. "Go back to sleep and relax. Don't worry about anything today, okay?"
"You sure?"
"I'm sure," Mirajane ran her fingers through his hair, making sure to gently scrape her nails against his scalp. His eyes fluttered closed and he sighed deeply.
"No working today," Mirajane said as she kissed his forehead again.
Laxus just hummed in contentment as she kept playing with his hair, his mouth curling into a smile.
"Happy Valentine's Day," Mirajane whispered.
"That's today?" Laxus' eyes snapped open.
Mirajane couldn't help but giggle at his bewildered look.
"Aw, geez," Laxus buried his face into the pillow. "Mira, I'm so sorry, I totally-"
"Sh," Mirajane began rubbing his back. "I know. It's okay. I don't have anything fancy planned for today. Your grandpa's got the guild. Freed, Cana, and Gildarts have the kids. We're just going to stay home and relax."
"That sounds fantastic," Laxus sighed before chuckling. "Heh, staying home all day sounds like the best thing ever to us now, huh?"
"Mm-hm," Mirajane nodded.
"We're getting old," Laxus grumbled.
"Speak for yourself," Mirajane joked. "Now c'mere."
Laxus scooted closer to her and rested his head on her chest, wrapping his arms around her waist. She wrapped one arm around his neck and kept playing with his hair with the other, wrapping her legs around his waist. He sighed in contentment as he closed his eyes. He wanted to make this up to her. Not only had she planned this but she was fully fine with him being a forgetful idiot. He wanted flip her over, pin her to the bed, and love on her until…
Well, he had all day for that. Right now he could feel himself drifting back off to sleep and he wasn't going to fight it. Mirajane smiled as his breathing deepened. He snuggled closer to her subconsciously as he slumbered. Mirajane kissed the top of his head then buried her face in his hair, reaching down to tuck the blankets closer around them.
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"Alright, kiddos! Whatcha wanna do first?" Cana asked as she stood in a circle of children. "We've got arts and crafts so you can make Valentines, kites, cards, jewelry, picture frames, and bookmarks. You can also make all kinds of chocolatey treats, or we can play games. Don't forget each of you have a goodie bag so make sure to give that special someone a pretty card!" Cana winked at the kids who all either giggled or gagged.
Farrah and Benedict watched from where they were hanging about on the staircase.
"Am I the only one who thinks this is a bit...juvenile?" Benedict asked.
"Ooh, pulling out the big words are we?" Farrah grinned as she nudged him in the shoulder. "But, yeah, it is kinda kiddie-ish."
Benedict leaned his head on the stair railing. "Eh."
Farrah watched the younger kids disperse and go to the station of their choice. At least they seemed to be having fun. Being the oldest of the group wasn't always so much fun…
She turned and looked out the window, huffing in boredom. It was a nice day outside. She wished she could…
"Hey," Farrah nudged Benedict in the shoulder. "Wanna go exploring?"
"Where?" Benedict asked.
"Out there," Farrah pointed out the window at the forest behind the guild hall.
Benedict arched an eyebrow. "I don't think we're supposed to-"
"Eh, what the adults don't know won't hurt 'em," Farrah shrugged as she popped the window open and crawled out, dropping herself to the ground.
"Farrah!" Benedict shouted as he leaned his head out. "Farrah, get back in here!"
"C'mon," Farrah said as she began skipping towards the woods.
"Farrah, you're gonna get in trouble!" Benedict hissed.
"Oh, well, better come along and keep me out of trouble, huh?"
"Wha-That's not going to help!"
"How would you know if you never try," Farrah singsonged. "Besides, there might be all kinds of scary monsters in here. I'll need someone to save me if I'm attacked."
"You're a dragon slayer, I highly doubt that'd be an issue for you," Benedict grumbled as Farrah disappeared into the brush.
"Farrah?" he called. "Farrah!"
No answer. He had half a mind to close the window back and pretend that he never saw a thing. But something wouldn't let him. What if she did get surprised by some weird monster and there was no one to save her.
"Farrah?" he called once more before, after no answer again, he gritted his teeth. "Darn it all!" he grumbled before swinging himself out the window and heading towards the woods.
Farrah waited for him just on the other side of the brush. "Nice of you to join," she said with a smirk. "Now let's go!"
"I hate you," Benedict grumbled as he followed after her, arms crossed.
"No you don't," Farrah sing-songed as she skipped ahead, Benedict reluctantly in tow.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Oh, no!"
Romeo slowly opened one eye at the noise. What was going on? He lifted his head and quickly realized that Wendy wasn't in the bed with him. Frowning slightly he slipped out of the bed and ventured about the house. Where could she have gone?
He quickly found her. She was in the kitchen, covered in flower and setting her hands on her head.
"Why isn't this working?" she grumbled.
Romeo walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Good morning," he said s he kissed her neck.
This his surprise, though, Wendy hung her head. "You're already awake."
"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked as he turned her to face him, shocked to see tears brimming her eyes. "Wendy?"
"I was trying to make a fancy breakfast for you before you woke up for Valentine's Day." she admitted. "But I can't get the recipe to work no matter what I do!"
Romeo chuckled softly as he kissed her forehead. "Hey, don't worry about it."
"But I really wanted to do something nice. You're such an amazing husband, and I just wish I could-"
"Well, how about this," Romeo said as he turned her back around and set a hand over each of hers. "How about we make it together?"
Wendy blushed as she smiled. "Yeah, okay."
"So, what's the first step."
"Well, first we need two bowls, one for dry ingredients and one for dry ."
"Got 'em," Romeo said as he set them on the counters. "Now what?"
They worked together for a bit longer, gathering all the ingredients and measuring them out. Wendy began mixing up the dry ingredients as Romeo held her from behind. He quickly got distracted from the task at hand though, and began softly kissing her neck.
"Romeo," Wendy whined as she tilted her head to try to cut of his access to her neck.
"Hm?" he asked coyly as he began kissing her shoulder.
"Stop!" She whined again, twisting out of his grasp and setting the bowl on the counter to begin mixing the wet ingredients. She made sure to keep her arms close to her sides to keep Romeo from hugging her again. He wasn't deterred in the least though. He simply gathered her hair, set it over one shoulder, and began kissing the back of her neck.
"Romeo!" she squeed.
"What?"
"You're supposed to be helping me cook!"
"I am," he said, kissing the back of her neck again.
"No you're not! You're distracting me!" Wendy insisted as she dumped the two bowls together and began mixing all over.
"What?" Romeo asked playfully as he ran his hands up and down her arms and kissing her shoulder. "This is distracting you?"
"Yes," Wendy squirmed.
"How about this?" he kissed her neck again.
"Yes."
"This?" he kissed her cheek.
"Romeo!" she wriggled away from him as she put the mixture in a pan and popped it into the oven. As she stood back up Romeo scooped her up, set her on the counter, and wrapped his arms around her middle.
"What about this?" he asked before kissing her lips.
Wendy finally gave in, wrapping her arms around his neck. He tilted his head to deepen the kiss, rubbing his hands up and down her back as she played with his hair. They scooted closer to each other and she wrapped her legs around his waist.
They felt like they had only been there for a few minutes, but it turned out to be longer. Because presently smoke filled the air, along with a foul stench.
"Oh, shoot!" Romeo said as he jumped back, letting Wendy pull the burned breakfast out.
"You know, there's a new cafe that just opened nearby," Romeo suggested.
"Yeah, that would probably be a better idea," Wendy sighed.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Back in the guild hall Freed felt a chill and noticed the window open. "Now who would have left that opened?" he wondered as he closed it back, Vera on his hip, playing with his hair.
"Uncle Freed?" a small voice came from behind him.
"Hm?" Freed looked down to find Layla standing behind him. "What is it sweetling?"
"Am I a bad luck charm?" Layla asked as her bottom lip quivered.
"No! Certainly not. Who told you that?"
"Lorelle. She says everytime I come around bad things happen to her so that means I'm a bad luck charm," Layla sniffled.
"Of course Lorelle," Freed sighed as he patted her head. "No, sweetling, you are not a bad luck charm and bad things don't happen to Lorelle because of you. They happen because of Lorelle."
Layla sniffled and rubbed at her eyes. "Really?"
"Really," Freed nodded. "Now, come along and you can help me make some white chocolate truffles."
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Natsu stretched his arms above his head as he stepped into his living room. Man that last job had been rough, but it didn't matter now because he was home!
"Lucy! Kids! I made it!" he called, but he got no answer. "Hello?"
He set his bag down and then began looking about to try and find where his family was.
He didn't find them, but he did find something that made him smile on the coffee table. A long picture frame with a canvas that had the words "We Love Our Daddy!" cut out of them sat in the middle of the table. Behind each letter was a picture of one of the kids, three for each. Natsu sat on the couch, picked it up and smiled all the wider. Stuck in one corner was a note. Natsu set the frame down, picked up the note, and opened it to read.
Happy Valentine's day my partner in crime!
Just that opening line caused him to beam.
I know you love adventures so I've got one planned for you, a treasure hunt of sorts. There are gifts hidden for you all around town. Use the clue at each location to figure out where you need to head next. Here's your first clue:
"I've got something important to tell you."
"Pfft! That's easy! You'll have to do better than that, Luce," Natsu said as he raced out of the house, making sure to stuff a small package into his pocket before heading out.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Freed took Layla's hand and they headed to the kitchen. Von watched them go. He'd noticed recently that his hearing had gotten better and he'd been testing out how far he could hear by focusing on Freed and Layla from the jewelry station his sisters had dragged him to at the other end of the main room. He hadn't expected to hear what he did though. Poor Layla! Lorelle was mean to everyone, of course, but she was almost always picking on Layla. Von wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because Lorelle was jealous because Layla was prettier than her? It was no secret Layla was the prettiest girl in Fairy Tail, even if Lorelle won the beauty pageant (which Von thought was a stupid choice on the judge's end!)
Von looked back at the various beads and threads on the table. He grabbed a roll of twine and pulled out a long strand.
"Hey, can I have some green beads?" he asked Minette who, without question, passed them to her brother.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Erza sighed as she pushed the gate to her house open.
"So good to be home!" she smiled as she stretched and walked to the front door, brows furrowing in worry at the note she found pinned to the front door.
"Meet me here," was written in Jellal's handwriting above a makeshift map of the forest surrounding Magnolia, in particular the section behind the house. Erza dropped her cart of bags, ran to the backyard, jumped the fence and ran into the woods, following the map. It didn't take her long to find Jellal leaned against a tree. His back was initially turned to her, but he glanced over his shoulder at the sound of her approaching.
"What happened?" Erza asked.
"Come with me," Jellal stated as he took her hand and began leading her through a tunnel of vines, roots, and overgrowth.
"Jellal, I'm a bit concerned," Erza said in a serious tone. "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" Jellal asked with a coy smile just as they stepped out of the tunnel and into a sunny grove decorated in small, purple flowers that had somehow managed to grow despite the still cold temperatures. Set up in the middle of the grove was a picnic.
"What's wrong is you're late and the wine is getting warm," Jellal answered as Erza took in the sight before her. She beamed as she whirled around and threw her arms around his neck, passionately kissing him.
"Happy Valentine's Day," he said once they parted for air.
"Happy Valentine's Day," she whispered back before kissing him again. "Though this makes my gift look a bit unimpressive."
"I highly doubt that," Jellal smiled as Erza blushingly took a small velvet bag out of her pocket and handed it to him.
Jellal opened it and carefully dumped the contents into his hand. A silver pocket watch fell into his palm. He drew it closer to his face, examining it as he opened it. Engraved around the inner edge of the lid were their children's names. One either side of Roman's name were tiny swords. One either side of Minette's were stars, Eva's nae was blocked in with puppet strings, and Von's name had flames. Jellal smiled as he closed it and hugged Erza.
"It's perfect," he whispered as he kissed her cheek. "Now come along. We have some wine to enjoy."
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Storm sniffled, rubbing at his stuffy nose as he flipped through the stack of color paper. He felt like he was seeing double but he still picked out a pink sheet and held it up, squinting to compare its color to the color of the pinkette sitting across the table from him.
"No," he muttered as he put the paper back on the stack and began flipping through again. He pulled out another pink sheet and held it up for comparison.
"No," he shook his head once more and put it back. Or, he tried to, but before he could he burst into a fit of coughs.
"Storm?" Meeko said from where he sat next to his older brother. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Storm answered in a stuffy voice before coughing all over again.
"No you ain't," Cana said as she walked up behind him and put a hand on his forehead. "You're running a fever. C'mon," she grabbed Strom by the hand and led him down a back hallway. "You're going to bed."
Meeko poked out his lower lip as he watched his older brother being led away. Nashi also noticed Storm being dragged off. She felt sorry for him. That was no way to spend a holiday, cooped up in bed. And not even his own bed! It was kind of weird, though, because Storm looked fine earlier.
Nashi's brow furrowed as she looked about the main room. She noticed a plastic shopping bag under one of the tables that one of the adults probably dropped while setting all of this up. Looking from one side to the other to make sure she wasn't being watched, Nashi picked it up and carefully slipped a few stacks of paper, markers, and stickers into it. She cautiously tiptoed from one table to the other, taking a kite making kit here, a bag of sweets there, a box of crayons over there.
She made sure to occasionally take a seat, or slip under a table so that none of the adults caught on to what she was doing. Finally she filled the bag to the brim and began to tiptoe down the hall.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Natsu hummed to himself as he made his way through the park, headed to one tree in particular. He smiled as he remember the memory of how he'd once dragged Lucy out here to help him find a book full of all the embarrassing things everyone in the guild had ever done. She'd ended up smacking him upside the head and leaving. It wasn't until years later he found out she thought he was trying to ask her out. He shook his head at his own stupidity as he reached the tree. He couldn't see anything but he could smell Lucy's perfume coming from a knot in the tree. He stood on his toes to peer inside and saw a small package in the back.
Reaching in to grab it, he pulled it out, ripped of the paper, and found a gold half-heart on a chain. Engraved into the yellow metal was their wedding date. He ran his thumb softly over it as he picked out a note and read it.
Technically it's a keychain, but I figured you could pin it on you bag. Yes, I have the other half on my key ring. Here's your next clue:
"Sniff! Sniff!"
"Pfft! C'mon, Luce, you ain't even trying," he smirked as he headed off.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Storm laid on the bed, blanket pulled over his face. This sucked! Now he was gonna have to stay in here all day with nothing to do and he wouldn't get-
He heard the door open and close. He peaked one eye out from under the blankets, expecting to see and adult, but instead he saw-
"Nashi?"
"Hi," she waved brightly as she held the bag up. "I brought-"
The door knob turned.
Gloop!
Nashi gasped, or tried to, when all of a sudden she was engulfed in an orb of water, lifted off the ground, and chucked under Storm's bed. Storm lowered the blankets a bit to cover the space between the floor and the bed and put on his best innocent face as Freed walked in with a tray in his hands.
"I brought you some soup," Freed said just as Nashi, now free from the water orb, began coughing and sputtering under the bed. Storm began coughing all the louder to cover her up.
"Thank-cough-you-cough-uncle-cough-Freed. Cough! Cough! Cough!"
"Bless your heart, you are sick aren't you?" said Freed as he set the tray on the bedside table.
"Yeah-cough-I-cough-guess-cough-I-cough-am."
"Well, you eat up and try to rest."
"Yes-cough-sir," Storm nodded as Freed left. The minute he was gone Nashi all but jumped from under the bed to on top of it.
"Are you tryin' to kill me!?"
"Well, excuse me for saving you from getting in trouble!"
"Save me? You almost drowned me!"
"Sorry! Sheesh! What are you even doing here?"
Nashi dumped the contents of the bag onto the blankets. "I brought you stuff to do so that you wouldn't be bored."
"Oh," Storm blinked.
Nashi picked up a pink slip of paper and held it out to him. "I saw you looking at this one."
"Oh, erm, thanks I guess?" Storm rubbed the back of his neck.
"What's wrong?" Nashi cocked her head to one side. "Did I grab the wrong one?"
"No, it's not that," Storm said, blushing. "It's, well, it's nothing."
"Liar! Liar! Pants on fire!"
"Isn't that your thing? Setting stuff on fire?"
"Yeah, things like liars!"
"I'm a water wizard, I don't think that's gonna work out well for you."
"Wanna bet?" Nashi smiled mischievously as she ignited a flame in her palm.
"I'm already sick, don't burn me too!"
"Oh, right," Nashi said sheepishly as she extinguished the fire. "So, erm…"
"It's not the right shade," Storm said quickly, blushing all the more.
"Huh?" Nashi asked.
"The pink. It's not the right shade."
"Oh," Nashi nodded. "Well, which shade do you want, I'll go get-"
"I...I don't think they have the shade I'm looking for…" Storm was now almost as red as Von's hair.
Nashi cocked her head to the other side. "Exactly what shade were you looking for."
"Ergh…" Storm grumbled. "Just...um…" he took a deep breath then blurted it out as quickly as he could: "Thecolorofyourhair!"
He ducked under the blankets.
"What?" Nashi asked.
"The color of your hair," Storm said again, muffled under the blanket. "I was looking for a pink that was the color of your hair, but I couldn't find the right shade."
"Oh," Nashi began twirling a strand between her fingers. "Erm...why-"
"I was making everyone cards," Storm admitted, face all but burning under the blanket. "But I wanted to...I dunno...your hair's like...nevermind, it's stupid!"
"I, erm, why would it be stupid?"
"Your hair's just...it's a really pretty color. So I wanted to use it to make the cards, but I couldn't find the right shade."
Nashi blushed. "Well, this pink is just as pretty."
"No it's not," Storm finally climbed out from under the blanket, grabbed the paper, and held it to Nashi's hair. "See? They're not the same shade! You're hair looks like a rose, and this paper looks like bubblegum."
A rose? Storm thought she looked like a rose? Nashi couldn't help but blush yet again as she asked: "What's wrong with bubblegum?"
"Nothing I guess, roses are just prettier," Storm said.
"Well, uh…" Nashi began looking about at the other stuff she'd brought, trying to find a way to change the subject. Why was talking about her hair making her so nervous? Afterall, she'd had other people tell her her hair was pretty before, why was this so different?
"I, uh, brought cards if you wanna play a game," she said holding up the stack.
"Sure," Storm nodded and Nashi began to pass them out. Neither child looked up at each other as they took their card hands up and began to play, both still strangely bashful.
"Got any 2's?" Storm asked.
Nashi shook her head. "Go fish."
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Juvia yawned as she slowly opened her eyes. She smiled. Valentine's Day! A day for romance, celebrating the love she and Gray shared, and the day she'd-
She gasped as she sat up. Gray was not in the bed next to her, instead there was a red, heart-shaped package, a note bound in a red ribbon, and hundreds of red rose petals spelling out the words:
"I love you!"
Juvia squeed as she picked up the note and opened it to read:
Juvia,
Happy Valentine's Day! Still kinda surprised you've put up for me this long, but man do I appreciate it. You have made me the luckiest guy in the world and I will forever adore you. I will never be able to repay the amazing life you've given me but I'm gonna try today. So, put on that new outfit I got you and meet me at the docks.
See you there,
Your Gray
Juvia beamed as she grabbed the package and tore it open. Inside was a soft lavender dress and a set of silver jewelry. Juvia squeed quietly as she bounded to the mirror and held the dress up to her. It was beautiful! Her Gray certainly knew how to spoil her. She grabbed the jewelry and then bounded into the bathroom to get ready.
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Persephone grumbled as he poked one of the craft beads with her finger. She picked one up, considering making something out of them, but decided against it.
"You not gonna make something?" Cato asked, momentarily stopping in weaving the armband he was working on.
"I dunno what I want to make," she said.
"Maybe a bracelet?" Cato suggested.
"Nah."
"Necklace?"
"Nah."
"You not like jewelry?"
"I mean, I do, but not this type," Persephone said as she flicked a bead away. "It's too...fluffy and...normal...and...I don't know, not my type."
Cato nodded. He understood. He knew that Persephone wasn't an "in the box" type person. She liked to be different. Cato looked about the craft table, and found a it of black and red yearn and gold bead. An idea popped in his head. He put the armband he was working on aside and picked up the yarn and beads. He ran his finger through Persephone's hair and sectioned off a strand.
"Um, what are you doing?" Persephone asked.
"Hold still for a minute," Cato said as he began twisting at the strand. Persephone just sat there, confused as what to was happening. Still, she let him play with her hair. It actually felt kind of nice to have someone play with her hair. She twiddled with with some of the beads as Cato worked away.
"Okay, done!" Cato finally said and picked up one of the hand held mirrors on the table. "Whatcha think?"
Persephone looked in the mirror against the teal of her hair was a red and black striped strand, each section divided by a gold bead. Persephone blinked. She'd never seen anything quite like this but she kinda liked it.
"Like it?" Cato asked.
"Yeha," Persephone nodded. She looked back at the table and found some yellow and purple yarn. She picked them up and passed them to Cato.
"Whatcha think you can do with this?"
Cato smiled. "I dunno, let's find out."
He sectioned out another bit of her hair and began winding the string around it.
"Hey, Cato, can I ask you something?" Persephone asked.
"Sure," Cato shrugged.
"During the singing competition…?"
"Yeah…?"
"Why'd you make me dance with you?"
Cato shrugged. "You looked left out."
"Left out?"
"You were the only one of us who wasn't going to get on stage," Cato explained. "Roman and Benedict were supposed to hang back with you but they ended up going on anyways, leaving you all alone. I just wanted to make sure you weren't forgotten about."
Persephone flicked at another bead to try and distract from the slight blush on her face. "I mean, it was kinda my fault. I said I didn't want to go on…"
"Yeah, but, I still wanted to make sure you weren't left out," Cato said. "I was scared your feelings would get hurt."
"Really?" Persephone arched an eyebrow.
"Yeah."
"But...why?" Persephone asked. "I'm the mean one of the group. My feelings don't get hurt."
"You're not mean," Cato said.
"Liar."
"Okay, okay, you can get a bit...rough, but you mean well."
"Eh," Persephone shrugged.
"And just because you're the toughest kid in the guild doesn't mean you don't have feelings."
"You think I'm the toughest?" Persephone asked.
"Well, yeah. Everyone does."
"No they don't," Persephone scoffed.
"Of course they do. 'Cuz it's true. Okay, done." He held the mirror up to her again. "What do you want me to do next?"
"Um...yellow and black?"
"On it."
Persephone smiled as Cato began sectioning out her hair again. It was kind of nice, if she were being honest, knowing that someone was paying attention to her without her knowing it. Being the twin sister of a dragon slayer she was used to having to fight for attention. People were almost watching Koree instead of her, and when they did see her they saw her and Koree combined into one as "The Redfox Twins." It wasn't often someone paid attention to just her without her having to work for them to.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Gray tapped his foot as he waited on the Magnolia docks. It was getting late, where was she?
"Darling?" a soft voice asked from behind him.
"About time you, WHOA!" Gray gasped at the sight behind him. Juvia was dressed in the silk dress he'd bought for her, hair curled, a pair of white high heels on her feet.
"You like it?" she asked softly.
Gray walked towards her, holding out his hands for hers.
"Gosh, you're beautiful," he whispered, making her blush.
"Thank you," she said as he stole a quick kiss, making her giggle. "So, what's the occasion."
"Well," Gray gestured his thumb behind him. Juvia gasped at the sight. Docked in the port was a shimmering riverboat. Crystal chandeliers dangled and shimmered in the window. Waiters dressed in smart little suits held trays of food and drinks. A lively music band played.
"I thought we'd spend the day in style," Gray said as Juvia tackled him, huggin his neck.
"Oh, this is incredible!" she cheered. "You're amazing! I'm so lucky to have you!"
"Glad you like it," Gray said, returning her hug. "Now come one, we wouldn't want to be left behind and miss out on all that food and champagne."
"Oh, I don't think champagne would be a good idea," Juvia said as they boarded the ship.
"I thought you liked champagne?" Gray said, cocking his head to one side.
"Oh, I do," Juvia nodded. "But I can't have any."
"Why not?"
Juvia smiled brightly before answering: "I'm pregnant."
Gray jumped, totally shocked by that revelation but he smiled nonetheless. "You're what?"
Juvia nodded, beaming.
"Wha-C'mere!" Gray said as he pulled her into a hug, kissing her lips.
"I get to be a Dad all over again."
"Mm-hmm," smiled as she snuggled closer against them and the ship set sail.
"I-you-I-wow!" Gray beamed, fist bumping over his head. "Woo-hoo! I'm gonna be a dad!"
"Congrats!" someone shouted, making Juvia giggle as Gray kissed her again.
"Best Valentine's gift ever," he beamed.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Natsu bent down, looking in the drain where he'd found Lucy during the whole everyone-becoming-Ichiya incident. Inside was a small box. He picked it up and opened it. Inside was a black, leather woven armband, with a silver plaque attached to it. The plaque read: "I still do."
Natsu smiled as he slipped it onto his arm and read the note.
Yes, I've got a matching one. Now, before you go any further, I actually need you to run a small errand for me. There's a pick-up for Dragneel at the gift-shop of the Bourgeois Hotel. Grab it for me, please, I promise to make it up to you.
"Um...okay…." Natsu shrugged as he stood up and walked off.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Higher!" Minette squealed.
"Me higher too!" Eva cheered.
Roman panted as he ran back and forth between the two swings his sisters were in, pushing them as high in the air as he could. It had been fun at first, but now he was starting to get tired. His legs were hurting, and it was hard to get a deep breath, and he had a pain in his side. Roman pushed Eva into the air and began heading back towards Minette when-
TRIP! SMACK!
Roman toppled over something and hit the ground, hard. He didn't even have time to put his arms out to catch himself. He just face planted into the cold and icy ground.
"Roman!" both Minette and Eva shrieked as they ran to him.
Roman pushed himself up, wincing in pain. He saw blood on the ground. Grimacing he put a hand to his face, just under his nose, and felt wet warmth. Pinching his nose closed he stood up, quickly noticing that he'd torn a hole in one of his pants' knees and scraped up his leg.
"Are you okay?" Minette asked.
"Do I look okay?" Roman grumbled as he began limping into the guild hall. The whole room was a mess when he got in there. Gildarts was breaking up a fight between Meeko and Igneel. Cana was calming down Lorelle, who was throwing a temper tantrum. Freed had Isla on one hip, July on the other, and Vera on his back, pacing around in circles, trying to keep the happy. Makarov had Kyri and Luna in each arm, doing the same as Freed. Roman sighed as he shuffled into the kitchen and got a rag. He brought it over to the sink to we tit. It was only then he noticed he'd scraped his hands up too.
"Hey, whatcha doing?" A voice called from behind him.
He turned and saw Bianca poking her head in. A series of newly made necklaces hung around her neck. She gasped when she saw him. "What did you do?"
"I tripped outside," Roman grumbled as he began dabbing the rag under his nose.
Bianca rushed to him and grabbed hi by the shoulders, guiding him into a chair. "Tripped over what? Spikes?" she asked as she rolled his pants leg up to look at his scrapes.
"Good grief! And your hands too?" she pulled both of his hands towards her, shaking her head and clicking her tongue.
"Stay here," she said before skipping out of the kitchen. Roman put the rag under his nose again, trying to stop the bleeding.
Bianca came back into the kitchen, a first aid kit tucked under her arm. She squatted down in front of Roman and popped the kit open. She found a disinfecting wipe packet, opened it, and dabbed it against Roman's scraped knee. Roman hissed as the medicine stung his wound.
"You okay?" Bianca asked.
"Yup. Super!" Roman said through clenched teeth as she kept cleaning off the scrape. Once she felt she'd done a good enough job she pulled out a bandage and wrapped it around Roman's leg, tying it off just above his knee. She rolled the pants leg back down, opened another wipe packet and began cleaning off both of his hands. He winced again as she worked, hissing through his teeth.
"Sorry," Bianca whispered.
"It's okay," he said. "You're just trying to help."
Bianca wrapped another bandage around his hand, then cleaned the other. Once both hands were cleaned and wrapped she picked up the rag and began to gently dab it against Roman's face.
"This rag's pretty cold," she said. "Did you not use warm water?"
"Didn't think about i-" Roman began as a bright light filled the room. Bianca transformed into an angel and held the rag between both of her hands. A flash emitted from her palms and she changed back to normal.
"That should help," she said as she held the rag to his face again.
He was smiling as the rag touched his face. It was warmer. "Thanks."
"Why were you smiling?" she asked began cleaned the lower portion of Roman's face.
"No reason," Roman shrugged.
"Wow, you are a horrible liar," Bianca dead-panned.
"It's nothing important," Roman rolled his eyes. "I just think your angel form is pretty, that's all."
"Yeah, yeah, everyone does," Bianca shrugged. "Angels are prettier than normal girls, I know."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Roman frowned slightly.
"Nothing," Bianca brought the rag to the sink and began washing the blood out. "You should be good to go now."
"Thanks, Bianca," Roman said as he began to walk back out to check on the triplets. "And for the record," he said, pausing just before he stepped out of the kitchen. "The regular you is really pretty too."
He closed the door behind him. Bianca stared at the door for a few seconds, taken a bit back by the comment. She smiled, though, and hung the rag up to dry.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"This is so unmanly," Elfman grumbled as he began digging through the shopping bags on the table. He hoped and prayed no one had spotted him at the store earlier as he pulled out three bouquets of roses: one red, one white, one pink.
"The things I do for that woman," he mumbled as he set the other bags on his shoulder and began picking off petals, making a trail from the front door, down the hall, through their bedroom, and to the bathroom.
He knew he had to work quickly. Evergreen wouldn't be gone for long. She'd left at the crack of dawn to buy stuff for Lorelle's Valentine's basket, and probably would only be gone for a few more minutes.
Elfman started the water, dumping the bubble bath, bath salts, and smelling oils into the water. He then pulled out all the candles he'd gotten and began lighting them, setting them all around the tub. The tub was now filled, so he cut the water off and sprinkled a few of the remaining rose petals on top of the bubbles. Finally, he turned the light down in the bathroom, cut on some relaxing music on the radio lacrima, and waited.
After what seemed to be an eternity he finally heard her voice coming from down the hall.
"Oh, Elfman," she called out in a flirtatious way. "Where are you?"
"In here," Elfman called. "Now come on before your bathwater get c-"
Elfman's jaw dropped open as Evergreen stepped into the bathroom, dressed in a very lacey set of red and seductive lingerie. She had a seductive look on her face at first, that changed to a look of surprise when she saw the bath.
"What's this?" she asked.
"I...erm...I...uh...eh...hm…" Elfman stuttered, still staring wide-eyed at his incredibly sexy wife.
"Did you do this for me?" Evergreen asked, holding a hand to her chest.
"Yes...I thought I'd...help you relax and, er, pamper you a bit?" Elfman blushed slightly.
Evergreen smiled as she leaned down and kissed him. "Aw, you're so sweet, although this does put a bit of a wrench in my plans. As you can probably see, I was planning on spoiling you a bit this Valentine's day."
"I mean, you can still do that. I won't stop you."
"But that bath looks so inviting," Evergreen groaned. "And you worked hard to get it ready."
"I mean, erm, maybe I could join you?"
Evergreen smiled as she pecked the tip of his nose. "Deal."
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Pick-up for Dragneel," Natsu said as he stood at the front counter of the gift shop in the Bougerios Hotel.
"Coming up," The receptionist said cheerfully as she ducked down and pulled up a gift basket with a wine-bottle, two glasses, a box of chocolates, and two white rolls that looked like bathrobes."
"Thanks," Natsu said, wondering what Lucy had in plan for this. He turned to walk off, but the receptionist stopped him
"Wait, this went with it," she passed him a white envelope.
Natsu took it, curious, and opened it. Inside was a card key labelled "Room 777," and a note that said: "Come on up!" with a red, lipstick kiss on it.
Natsu's heart skipped a beat as he ran to the stairs. He all but stampeded his way to the seventh floor, found the room, slipped the key in the slot, and busted it open.
Lucy was waiting for him, seated on the bed, dressed a slinky, see-through black robe that only accentuated the lacy black lingerie nightie she was wearing. She smiled as she held a hand out to him.
"Happy Valentine's day," she said.
"Oh, it's definitely a happy day," Natsu said as he dropped the basket, slammed the door closed behind him, and all but tackled her onto the bed, passionately kissing her.
Lucy giggled as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
He quickly pulled away, though, much to her surprise.
"Wait, before I forget," he said as he pulled out a white package from his pocket. "Here you go, happy Valentine's day."
Lucy sat up and took it from him, smiling as she opened. Inside was a pearl necklace, thought these weren't your typical all white pearls. They were colored, and organized in a pattern: pink, yellow, orange, peach, black.
"Did you get this to match the kid's hair color?" she asked.
"Yup," Natsu answered. "Like it?"
Lucy smiled as she pecked his lips. "Love it."
"Good," Natsu smiled, gently taking it from her and setting it on the bedside table. "Now back to where we were.
Lucy giggled as he pushed her onto her back again and kissed her passionately once more.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Meeko huffed as he stomped outside. Stupid Igneel making him mad! And stupid Uncle Gildarts for getting onto him for clobbering the star muncher like he deserved!
Once outside he noticed a lone figure sitting on the swing set, elbows set on her knees, hands holding up her chin. Meeko cocked his head to one side as he approached her.
"Hey, Minette."
"Hey," she sighed back.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm bored," she mumbled.
"Okay," Meeko said with a shrug. "Whatcha wanna do?"
"I dunno," Minette shrugged. "I kinda wanna keep winging, but Roman tripped so he can't push me anymore. I'd also like to go on an adventure with Eva and Von, but Von's still working on making something with the beads and stuff, and Eva's...actually, I don't know where Eva is. Probably in la-la land again."
"Well," Meeko skipped behind Minette. "I know the kinds of adventures you three go on, the kind where you always get in trouble in the end. So I don't wanna do that, but I can try to push you."
"Okay!" Minette said as she perked up and grabbed onto the ropes of the swing.
Meeko pushed her, or tried to. He barely got her to move a few inches though, not causing her to swing, but merely to weakly sway. Meeko tried again, but didn't fare much better.
"You're not very good at this," Minette grumbled.
"Sorry, but you're heavy!"
"You calling me fat!" Minette glared at Meeko.
His eyes grew wide as he shrank away. "No! No! No! I didn't say that!"
Minette sighed as she slumped her chin on her knees again.
Meeko scratched the back of his head as he looked about, trying to come up with something. He stared at the empty swing next to him and got an idea.
"Hey, c'mon," he said, paying her on the shoulder.
"Hm?" Minette glanced at him as he stood up in the empty swing.
"Stand on the other side," Meeko said.
"Um...okay…" Minette said as she walked over to the other side of the swing, grabbed the ropes, and pulled herself up.
"Just do what I do," Meeko said as he leaned far as far back as he could, and then leaned forward, causing the swing to move. Minette followed his lead, leaning back and then forward, back and then forward. Soon they got the swing to move fairly quickly and high. Giggles erupted from both children as they kept up the rhythm of Meeko leaning back and then Minette doing so.
At some point they got off beat though, and both leaned forward at the same time. Much to their horror, the corners of their mouths touched.
"YUCK!" they both shrieked as they recoiled, both falling onto their backs.
"Gross, cooties!" Meeko shouted as he rubbed at his lips.
"You're nasty!" Minette shrieked.
"ME!? You kissed me!"
"I did not!"
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Levy panted as she raced home. Curse her for letting herself get called to a job on Valentine's Day. Or better yet, curse Jet and Droy for taking on a job, and then screwing up the job, forcing her to go clean up their mess. Gajeel was going to be so pissed when she got home! How was she going to explain this?
She sighed as she twisted the front door knob and pushed it open.
She expected the see and angry and huffing dragons slayer, what she saw instead was a well-dressed, dapper looking man holding a bouquet of roses.
"G-Gajeel?" she stuttered.
"Hey there short-stack," he smiled. "Happy Valentine's day!"
Levy sighed in relief as she dumped her bag into the floor, rushed forward, hugged him, and kissed him.
"So sorry about this," she murmured.
"Eh, not your fault," Gajeel shrugged. "Though I will be having a word with those two idiot partners of yours at some point in the near future."
He handed the roses to Levy who sniffed them before noticing a card. She smiled as she took it. No, not a card.
An invitation.
"A Valentine's day ball?" she asked in a bewildered voice.
"Heh," Gajeel chuckled at her shocked expression. "Just because I'm a rough-around-the-edges guy doesn't mean I can't treat my woman to a classy outing, does it? Now go get dressed into something nice."
Levy beamed as she bounced off to their bedroom, changing into a long, silky, yellow gown, touching up her make-up, and pulling her hair into a bun. She then waltzed her way back to Gajeel who lit up at the sight of her.
"Did I ever tell you how incredibly gorgeous you are?" he asked.
"Maybe once or twice," Levy giggle as she took his arm and he lead her outside. It didn't take them long to reach the ball, and Gajeel held the door open for her.
"Sow, whatcha wanna do first, Shrimp? Food, dance, booze."
"Hm," Levy smiled as she grabbed his hands. "Let's dance."
"As you wish."
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Do you by any chance know where you're going?" Benedict asked as Farrah continued skipping ahead of him.
"Nope! That's the point of exploring!" Farrah answered over your shoulder.
"You're gonna get us both killed."
"No I'm not," Farrah smiled as her ears picked up something. She knew that sound and she loved the idea of it. She took off running towards it.
"Hey, wait up!" Benedict called, chasing after her.
The two young teenagers rushed through the woods until they happened upon a small bluff just above a rather large hot spring.
"Whoa," Benedict said, looking down at the pool. It looked almost as wide and deep as the pool at the guild hall. "Did you know this was here?"
"Nope!" Farrah answered as she took off her coat and began pulling off her shirt.
"Wait, what are you-" Benedict stuttered, relieved to see she had a tank-top on underneath her sweater. She then took off her boots and skirt, leaving her in only her legging and tank top. She then took two big steps back and ran forward, diving head first into the hot springs.
"Farrah!" Benedict shouted as he leaned down and looked into the water. "What are you doing? It's freezing out here!"
Farrah popped her head out of the water. "It's hot in here though."
"You'll have to get out eventually, you know that right?" Benedict arched an eyebrow.
"That's why I took all my heavy clothes off."
"But you'll have to put them back on, and the clothes you are wearing right now will get them wet will-"
"Oh, stop arguing and jump in."
"I ain't getting in there!"
"C'mon, you came all this way. Might as well."
"Nope. Not doing it!"
Farrah narrowed her eyes mischievously as she lowered her head under the water. She popped back up gasping in a dramatic fashion.
"Ouch! Leg cramp! My leg is cramping! Benedict, save me!"
"You're fine," Benedict muttered.
"How would you know?" Farrah asked, splashing about, trying to look distressed. "You're the one who will have to explain to my parents how you let me drown!"
"You're not drowning."
"Ouch! Cramp getting worse! Benedict, hurry!"
Benedict sighed. She wasn't going to let up until he jumped in there was she? He grumbled as he stripped down to his boxers, shivering at the cold before taking a few steps back and then getting a running start to jump in with a:
Splash!
"Nice of you to join!" Farrah said brightly as Benedict poked his head out of the water.
"I knew you were fine," he grumbled.
"But it got you in," Farrah smiled. "You can thank me-"
Splash!
The same noise Benedict had made when he jumped in came again from behind Farrah, covering her in a cascade of water. It then came again from her side, then her other side, then behind her again, then all around her.
"AUGH! Benedict you suck!" she shouted as the water continued to spray her from all sides.
Benedict just grinned evilly as he kept setting off the same splash all around her. She dove out from the circle of sound attacks and tackled him, knocking him backwards under the water. He squirmed out of her grip though and popped back out of the water, barely managing to get a breath in before she popped back up after him and began splashing him. He splashed her back, not with his magic though, just the good old fashioned way. They kept play fighting like this for a while before Benedict grabbed her and scooped her up into his arms bridal style.
"What are you-"
"You said you had a leg cramp, right?" he asked cheekily.
"I just said that to get you in here!"
"Oh, well in that case…"
"Don't you dare!"
Benedict threw her into the water a few feet from him.
"You suck so bad!" Farrah coughed as she popped her head back out of the water.
"Careful, don't hurt yourself," Benedict said as he grabbed her around the waist, ready to throw her again.
"Benedict, if you chunk me one more time, I swear-" Farrah shouted as she twisted her body around, grabbing onto his shoulders so he couldn't throw her.
Their foreheads brushed against each other.
And suddenly the two stopped in their frolicking.
Something had gone off in both of them simultaneously. They were staring right into each other's eyes. Their mouths were inches from each other. They were tangled in each other's arms in nothing but their wet underclothes.
Suddenly they both felt hot, and it wasn't because of the water.
They both gasped as they stared at each other. This was a feeling neither of them had encountered before in their young lives. It was a combination of excitement, fear, and desire.
They stared at each other for a little while longer, and then both let go.
"We...um...we should get back," Benedict said.
"Yeah, okay," Farrah nodded as they both climbed out of the water to get dressed, neither looking at the other as they both tried to figure out what had just gone off inside them.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Where are we going?" Lisanna giggled as she stumbled forward, Bixlow's hands over her eyes.
"You'll see," Bixlow smiled as he led his wife through the park. "Okay, open them!"
He took his hands off Lisanna's face and she opened her eyes and gasped. Before them was a giant hot air balloon.
"What's this?" she asked, beaming.
"Well, you said you wanted to do something different this Valentine's Day," Bixlow answered.
"I did," Lisanna giggled, not only from the thrill, but also out of amusement. She had meant that SHE had something different planned for BIXLOW this year not that she wanted him to plan something different for her. Still, she wasn't complaining. She turned and pecked him on the lips, causing him to smile.
"Mm. Forget chocolate, that's all the sugar I need!"
Lisanna giggled again as Bixlow picked her up bridal style and carried her towards the balloon.
"Now, c'mon, let's go!"
Lisanna leaned on the edge of the balloon basket, Bixlow's arms around her as they both admired the view, his dolls floating about.
"It's beautiful up here," she sighed.
"Sure is," Bixlow nodded. "So, what do you wanna do after this?"
"Hm," Lisanna thought. "Maybe go back home. Enjoy some time to ourselves?"
"What happened to doing something 'different?'" Bixlow asked. "That sounds kinda boring."
"Maybe," Lisanna said coyly as she turned to face him. "But we won't get much time to just ourselves soon."
"Why is that?" Bixlow asked.
"Why's that?" the dolls repeated.
Lisanna smiled as she reached into her purse and pulled out an envelope.
Bixlow arched an eyebrow. "What's this?"
"Open it!" Lisanna said, dancing nervously in place.
Bixlow did so, sliding his finger under the flap and tearing it open. Inside was a red card with a dog and a puppy nuzzling their noses together. Underneath the dogs were written the words: "Happy Valentine's Day, Daddy!"
Bixlow stared at the card for a few minutes longer then turned and looked back up at Lisanna, a stunned smile forming on his lips.
"Really?" he asked.
Lisanna nodded, hands tucked excitedly under her chin.
"You're pregnant!?" Bixlow shouted.
Lisanna nodded again and he snatched her into a hug as all the dolls cheered: "Whee!" around them.
The only people who were slightly upset were the townsfolk down below who were a bit confused as the why there was a madman leaning out of a hot balloon cheering:
"I'M GONNA BE A DAD!"
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"There, done!" Portia beamed as she held up her newly finished kite. She smiled at her work before turning to Gildarts. "Can I go fly it now?"
"Sure you can, munchkin, just get one of the bigger kids to go with you."
"Okay," she said as she hooped of her seat and began walking about the main room. "Benedict? Benedict?"
No answer. Portia frowned as she looked about. Where was he?
"Benedict? Big brother?"
"Everything okay, Portia?"
Portia turned to find Igneel standing behind her, face covered in chocolate.
"Have you seen Benedict?" Portia asked.
"Nu-uh," Igneel shook his head.
Portia poked her bottom lip out as she pouted. "How am I supposed to fly my kite without him?"
"Why you need him?" Igneel asked.
"'Cuz Uncle Gildarts told me to take a bigger kid with me."
Igneel stepped up to Portia, placed his hand on top of her head and slid it over towards his. His hand stopped just above his eyebrows. "Well I'm bigger than you," he said holding his fingers out. "By this much! So I'll go with you."
"I'm not sure that's what Uncle Gildarts meant…" Portia squirmed slightly.
"He said bring a bigger kid and I'm bigger so let's go!" Igneel grabbed Portia's hand and they ran outside to the backyard of the guild hall. Igneel held the kite as Portia unwound the string and stepped backwards.
"Ready?" Igneel asked.
"Yeah!" Portia called.
"Okay, go!" both children began running until the kite gained enough wind. Igneel let it go and it slowly began to rise. Portia ran for a bit longer, then stopped to look over her work. She squealed and hopped up and down excitedly as she watched her creation sail lazily in the wind.
"It's working!" she cheered.
"Yup," Igneel said, cupping his hands around is eyes to block out the sun as he watched. The kite flew for a few minutes more before a harsh wind caught it, jerked it out of Portia's hands, and sent it tumbling into a tree.
"Oh, no!" Portia shouted, bottom lip trembling.
"Don't cry, I'll get it," Igneel said as he ran towards the tree. Portia followed after him, watching as he jumped, grabbed onto one of the lower branches and pulled himself up onto it. Protai craned her neck back. Her brow furrowed in worry. The kite was stuck really high up.
"Igneel, be careful!" she called.
"Don't worry, I've climbed hundreds of trees before!" Igneel assured her as he jumped and grabbed onto another branch. He continued climbing up, and up, and up, until he reached the branch that the kite was on. He began scooting on his belly towards it, reaching out to try and grab it.
Portia watched on, hand on her chest. He was really high up! She hoped he didn't-
SNAP!
The branch broke and Igneel began plummeting to the ground.
"AAAAHHH!" she shouted before her landed with a "Crack!" and an:
"OUCH!"
"Igneel!" Portia shouted as she raced towards him.
Igneel laid on his side, curled in a fetal position.
"I'm okay!" he said as tears streamed down his face. He held one arm up. "And I got your kite!"
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Natsu and Lucy both sighed in contentment as they snuggled together, hugging each other, basking in the afterglow. They both had their eyes closed, simply enjoying this quiet moment-
-that was quickly interrupted by the ringing of Lucy's communication lacrima.
Lucy grumbled as she rolled over to answer it. Natsu frowned at having to let his wife escape his arms and propped himself up on his elbow as he watched her.
"Tell 'em we're busy," he said as Lucy answered the call.
"Hello?" she asked, then gasped loudly. "WHAT!?"
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Igneel!" both Natsu and Lucy shouted as they raced into the healing ward. Igneel sat on a bed a Porlyusica finished setting a cast on his left arm. Nashi and Layla stood behind him, each holding one of the Dragneel babies.
Igneel turned up at them, smiling brightly. "Mommy! Daddy! I've got a cast!"
"What did you do?" Lucy shrieked as she sat own on the bed next to him, examining the arm.
"I feel out of a tree trying to get Portia's kite back," Igneel said.
"Did you break it?" Natsu asked, leaning over his son.
"Oh, did he!" Porlyusica grumbled. "Fractured it in two seperate places. Get used to this cast, kid, you're gonna have it for a while. Bet that girl feels like dirt now."
As if on a cue, Portia slipped through the door and tiptoed towards him, hands behind her back. "Igneel…?"
"Hi, Portia!" Igneel waved with his good head.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "That you got hurt getting my-"
"It's okay," Igneel said, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a pen. "Wanna sign my cast?"
Portia smiled as she bounded forward and grabbed the pen, signing her name with a heart over the "i."
Behind Portia all the other children began filing in, excluding Farrah and Benedict, who were still nowhere to be seen. Most made their way toward Igneel, but Von made his way to Layla, who was whimpering:
"This is my fault! I am a bad luck charm!"
"Layla?" Von asked.
"Hm?" Layla asked as Natsu took Kyri from her.
"I made this for you," Von said, holding out his hand. In his palm was a four-leaf clover made of his beads. "I heard that Lorelle told you that you were a bad luck charm, so I made you a good luck charm. I don't think you are, but this will bring you good luck anyway, and that's always good."
Layla gasped and snatched the charm into her hand, clutching it to her chest. "Thanks, I love it!" she said. "I know just what to do with it!" She pulled out her keychain and added the charm to it. "No my spirits will have good luck too!"
"Cool!" Von smiled and both he and Layla went to sign Igneel's cast.
Down the hall one of the windows creaked open. Benedict poked his head in and looked from side to the other.
"Okay," he whispered as he slipped inside and helped Farrah through. "I think we're-"
"FA-A-A-RAH!"
"Uh-oh," both teens cringed as they turned to find Makarov in his giant form stomping towards them.
"YOU ARE DEAD MEAT YOUNG LADY!"
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Levy hummed to herself as she twirled about the street, still basking in the glow of the romantic evening she and her husband had shared. The ball had been amazing. How he'd managed to get tickets, she'd never know. True, they'd gotten a few weird looks, seeing as they weren't really apart of the "upper-crust," but she didn't care.
Gajeel smiled as he watched her. He loved seeing her like this: carefree and happy.
A cold breeze blew and Levy shuddered, hugging herself.
Gajeel shed his coat and draped it over her shoulder. It reached down to her knees as she pulled it closer around him making him blush.
"I oughta arrest you for being too cute," he said as he scooped her up bridal side.
Levy yelped in surprise. "Gajeel!"
"Better hold on to ya, tigh. Cute little trouble maker like you will get snatched up before I can properly punish you."
"Punish me!?" Levy's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"
Gajeel smirked seductively. "I'll show ya once I getcha home alone."
Levy blushed furiously as Gajeel chuckled and planted a passionate kiss onto her lips.
The two lost themselves in the moment-
-until they heard a loud crash from up ahead.
Frowning in confusion Gajeel rushed towards the Guild Hall up ahead, Lecy still in his arms. He opened the door and glowered at the sight in front of him.
The place was in utter chaos. Makarov, in his giant form, was chewing Benedict and Farrah up and down about something. Cana was sitting cross-armed in the center of the floor with all of the babies in her lap, all of them crying violently:
"How are you parents not as big of alcoholics as I am!?" Cana exclaimed. "I've only had them for an hour and I'm losing my eyes!"
"Lorelle, c'mere!" Gildarts shouted as he chased after said child, who was running about,screaming at the top of her lungs and pulling at the various wads of bubble gum stuck in her hair. Bianca was thrown over Gildarts shoulder, looking very proud of herself as she smacked on even more gum.
"Bianca, I am telling your folks about this!" Gildarts declared.
"Eh," Bianca shrugged.
"Meeko!" Freed shouted as Meeko raced by, a bag of something in his hands. "Meeko, get back here with that!"
Freed stopped for a moment, leaning against his knees and panting. He spotted Gajeel and LEvy and smiled weakly. "Oh, hullo you two."
"NO BREAKS!" a loud voice shouted as the triplets zipped by in a wagon, taking Freed's feet out from under him, and then just plain taking Freed with them.
"Welp," Gajeel sighed as he set Levy down. "Can't say we didn't see this comin'."
AN: HOLY SMOKES THIS TOOK FOREVER TO WRITE! Hope you guys like it, though. As you can see we will be getting a Gruvia and Bixanna baby soon. When I asked you about babies the consensus was mostly either just a Bixana baby or another Gruvia baby and, while looking over my OC's, I realize I have far more girls than I do boys, so hopefully this will even it out a bit. But those will be the last two babies because I highly doubt I can keep up with much more. (24 fan babies! Mavis take the wheel!)
For those of you who wanted a Cana or Loki baby, sorry I couldn't make that happen but, again, I won't be able to keep up with much more. Also, Loki's a spirit….I don't think that's how spirits work. And I always felt that Cana was too much of a free spirit to be tied down by marriage and kids, so I like her as the cool aunt of the other kids.
So, once again, thanks guys! Love you, how you like this Valentine's special. And, sense we are talking about romance, what do you guys think of each of the kid ships? (Farradict, Storshi, Catephone, Romanca, Layvon, Igtia, Meekette) I'm just curious. Love 'em, hate 'em, could care less? Let me know. Love you, bye!