Fairy x Adventure

by Magnafeana

In a new era after the Alvarez War, Lucy, Natsu, and the rest of Fairy Tail not only face new challenges but watch as their kids go on new journeys, learn new powers, and battle new enemies and old! Join Luna, Nashi, and the upcoming generation of Mages on Fairy Tail and more on their never-ending adventure!

60. Adventure 060

Disclaimer: I do not own Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail, any work professionally associated with it, nor any references. All original plots and characters are mine.

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In a land far, far away lies the kingdom of Fiore, a small, peaceful nation of 17 million, and a place filled with Magic found in every home, bought and sold in every marketplace. For most, Magic is merely a tool, a mundane part of everyday life. For some, however, Magic is an art, and they've devoted their lives to its practice. These are the wizards. Banded together into magical guilds, they ply their skills in search of fame and fortune. Many such guilds dot the landscape of Fiore. But there is a certain guild in a certain town that soars high above the rest, one from which countless legends have been born. A guild that will no doubt continue to create legends well into the future. Its name...is Fairy Tail.

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PREVIOUSLY, Nashi got to start saying her side of the story to Mirella and Kyler, but it looks like these lawyers may have a few tricks up their sleeves. Luna might have her own for speaking to Bleu, but she's no match for Dragon Slayer hearing and one particular Dragon Slayer who refuses to give up on her yet. Meanwhile, we got to meet Ricky, Tesla and Jaxton's friend from Jaxton's school, but…is it me? Or does something seem odd about Jaxton? Poor Tesla. She just can't catch a break! Silver got to rehash things on the past that weren't too pleasant, but he always has Ena to rely on to get him back in the swing of things. Lance and Peter both got to meet specialists to hopefully set them on the right path…but those paths lead away from the ones they care about. Will they be able to do it?

'Sycaña, did you see that?'

'I saw it through your memories, but I do not quite understand it.'

'Me neither. But I intend to.'

Gale's new time powers might be a blessing, but they're also a confusing Curse. And Cade, if that kiss meant something to you, then all you have to do is say that!

---

The drive was never too bad this time in winter since Fiore winters were mild and proved more severe in January, but it was still a two-hour drive. The road Laxus and Mira drove on was one less traveled and occasionally they would see a horse and carriage or another car. Mainly, it was open pastures with the occasional farmhouse and barn showing up. The trunk and back seat were packed with cases full of presents and clothes and other surprises. Mira had turned the station to Christmas music and Laxus was too afraid to change it to something else. Mira busied herself on her Compact to keep up with the immense family group chat they had going on to let others know who arrived, who would be delayed, and what the timeframes were for Friday night.

"Looks like Pacer and Pearson got in," Mira relayed. "We should beat Elfman and Ever to the lodge, but Ellie and Elvin are coming together. Esme says she'll be a little late since she's coming with her surprise." She touched her cheek. "My word. I'm worried about Elfman. I don't know how much more of Esme's surprises he can take this year." She looked over to see her husband had such a pensive expression. "Thinking about Veronika?"

Laxus clenched his jaw.

Mira placed a hand on his thigh. "I have complete faith in Mary Jane," she told him. "But even if Veronika doesn't come this year, there's always hope she'll come next year. We just have to hope, Laxus, that's all. She'll come home when she wants to."

"But it's my fault," Laxus begrudgingly admitted. "I chased her away in the first place. Mira, it's been eight years. And she's just as stubborn as the both of us."

"She is," Mira agreed, "but she's as loyal as the both of us—especially you."

Laxus snorted. "She'd have a fit if she heard you say that."

"Well, she has heard me say that and she can disagree all she wants, but it's true." Mira moved her hand to rub his arm. "She'll come to us eventually. And, hopefully, she'll bring her kids too. I'd love to see my grandbabies." Cerulean saddened. "Even though we speak on occasion, only Mary Jane and Lance get any pictures. Lisa-Jane and Ivan… It'd be so nice to meet them."

Laxus glanced over at his wife and took her hand into his. "One day," he reminded her. "You'll meet them one day. She might hate me, but she doesn't hate you. I'm sure she'd let you see them."

"She doesn't hate you—"

"Mira, it's okay." Laxus tightened his handhold on her. "I deserve it. I pushed too hard."

Mira kindly added, "And you might be pushing Mary Jane hard too."

That irked Laxus. "I'm not pushing her too hard," he argued. "I just want her to be careful. I don't want her to go down the same path Veronika did—"

"And how do you know that she will?" Mira countered. When Laxus grunted, she added, "I understand your concerns, but your concerns shouldn't turn into arguments with her. She's figuring out things. This is a crucial time for her and we need to listen when she has her own concerns and questions. You didn't with Veronika. Don't make the same mistake with Mary Jane. She's doing really well for herself. She's acting smart and being cautious. I don't want to give another daughter a reason to leave." Her voice shook and she swiped away a tear.

Laxus felt guilt in his gut. "I'm sorry, baby." He lifted their joined hands to kiss her knuckles. "I'm so sorry I made this hard on you and our family."

"And I told you it's not me who deserves the apology," Mira reminded with a faint sniff. "You and Veronika and Nik have things to apologize for. I know Veronika and Nik and Lance have their own lives. They've grown up. And Mary Jane's growing up so fast before my eyes. But we're still family. I don't want them to think otherwise. I want them to know we're still here for them. Lance knows that. Mary Jane knows that too. But Nik and Veronika…"

"We both know Nik needed to blow off steam," Laxus pointed out. "But he knows you're here for him. If Nik comes home, I promise to talk to him and hope it doesn't end up in a fight again. If Veronika comes home"—grayed orange-green softened—"then I'll do everything I can to make her know how much I'm sorry I hurt her. She may not ever call my 'dad' again. But if she could just hate me a little less, that'll be enough for me." He thumbed Mira's hand. "I promise I'll do that."

Mira smiled at him and reached over to kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you," she breathed. "That is the best Christmas present I could ask for." As Laxus hummed, Mira turned back to her Compact to offhandedly mention, "By the way, I've discussed it with Mary Jane and I want to take her to get birth control."

The car nearly swerved off the road.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

•

Ima nan janai?

Meramerato tagiru

Kon'na boku ni mo hisomu seigi ga

Dou shiyou mo nai shoudou ni kara rete

Hora kidzukeba te o nigitte iru

•

Ittaizentai

Son'nani nimotsu o

Shoikonde dokoheikuno

Nee nee matte boku ni chotto azukete mite wa?

•

Nana na nana na

Nananana nana na nana na

Nanana nana na nana na

Nananana nana na nana na

•• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

The mountains were beautiful in their own right, but so were the houses built upon the range. Most of the houses were built into the mountain to maintain a supportive structure and easily these houses when for billions of jewel. Mansions in their own right, they were decked to the nines with holiday ornaments and each home was a good length away from the next. Prior to the holidays, it was easy to see who was temporarily staying at one of the mansions and who permanently took up residence, but with Lacrima Cars and trucks everywhere, you could not tell. The roads were winding and, if you glanced away for one second, you could end up off the road and down a mountainside, but the view was worth the wait.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

« This is the Greenheart Alps located in northeastern Fiore. These alps are famous for the beautiful landscape and attract many mountain climbers. It even has a snow resort. »

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

The lodge the entire Strauss-Dreyar family stayed in was one they all older adults partially owned and rented out on WindBnB for extra income. Three stories with a basement, the log mansion was a luxury at its finest. An eccentric billionaire had crafted it for his own private getaway, but he had sold it to Laxus due to Laxus saving him from a powerful ex-wife who turned out to be in league with a Dark Guild. Cars were already in the driveway and the lights were clearly on. The decorators had come to drench the lodge with Christmas lights and festive cheer. Through the windows, you could see relatives walking about as they unloaded and got to their bedrooms or made snacks in the kitchen.

Mira and Laxus came inside with a few of their bags to already hear screaming and yelling and the sound of the Lacrima-Vision on a MagiCross game. "Hi, everyone! We made it!" Mira called.

Libby was the one to rush at them in a festive red dress and her braids pulled together into an adorable bun (and James, her black cat, clung to her, terrified of his new environment). "Auntie Mira, Auntie Mira!" she greeted, enthused, and giggled when Mira dropped her things to pick up her niece. "You made it!"

Mira kissed Libby's cheek. "I did! And I'm so glad it was you who came to greet me, Ladybug."

Libby beamed and waved at her uncle. "Hi, Uncle Laxus!" She reached over to kiss his cheek.

"Hi, Ladybug," Laxus helloed back, amused. "Already sounds like chaos and we've been here for five seconds."

An exhausted Justin came into the foyer with his own hair in a low ponytail. "Yeah, because Thing One and Thing Two have made their glamorous arrival," he grunted. He offered a tired smile to Mira as he hugged his aunt. "Hey, Aunt MJ. Hi, Uncle. Glad to see you made it." He took Libby off Mira's hands and held his little sister. "Bugaboo, I thought you were going to help me?" His eye twitched and he looked down to see James was frantically trying to climb up his pants to get to Libby. "Ah, yes. And your little Chat Noir too."

"I am." Libby whispered, "But I've been hiding from Pim, Pulan, and Poseidon. They keep following me everywhere."

Mira simpered. "They just want your attention, sweetie. Don't worry. When Eloise gets here, they'll steer clear." She looked over at Justin. "Where's Lisanna? We need to talk about present hiding and the gift exchange."

"Basement." Justin adjusted Liberty onto his hip. "She's trying to set up the games so that way the triplets stay in one place. And head's up. Pearce brought a friend with him."

Laxus raised an eyebrow. "Is that what the kids are calling friends with benefits these days?"

"No, this one is a friend," Justin chuckled. "She's pretty quiet, which is rare to find in this place. Haven't seen Pearce pull any of the normal moves on her, so maybe she really is a friend." He jerked his head down the hall. "I'll leave your guys to it. C'mon, Bugaboo, let's go finish up the checklist, okay?"

"Okay!" Libby looked down at her terrified tom. "Come, James!" And as Justin padded down the hall, James hurried after his every step, green eyes darting all around before meowing pitifully at Libby.

Laxus took hold of the bags and nodded at his wife. "Go check out everyone else. I'll get the bags and put them in our room."

"Okay." Mira chastely kissed him. "Thanks. Let me know if you need any help." With her shoes off and after hanging up her jacket, Mira went further into the lodge. Normally, during the other times of the year, any personal pictures were taken down for the temporary renters, but the team who cleaned the lodge had hung everything back up. Years' worth of photos were up on the wall of all the times the family had gotten together alongside other works of art they had bought to display. There was a photo of a very shy and young Justin hiding behind Freed's leg for a picture. Another picture showed Elfman on the floor in comical shock.

When Mira emerged, she was granted viewing to the immense open floor plan of the kitchen and living room. Wood covered everything top to bottom with a few large windows with stone scattered here and there. A large Christmas tree was in the living room, decorated but absent of presents, as the Winter Express chugged down its tracks all around the room. The fire had been stocked and everyone's stockings had been hung either on the fireplace mantle or next to it. The large Lacrima-Vision was on and playing the game, but it was more background noise.

Mira saw Aine and Lance in the kitchen and greeted them with hugs. "Hi, you two! You came so early!" she noted.

"We were planning to come later," Lance revealed, "but since we got all our packing done early, we decided to just get up here."

Mira looked over at Aine. "Oh, I wish your mother would come with Ena," she lamented. "But I know she's been a little bit busy and so has Ena."

"I know. Mom said she'll FaceCall on Saturday when she has some free time to say her hellos," Aine informed. "I'm making some snacks. Want any?"

A holler barreled down a hallway. "I do, beautiful."

Mira turned and beamed. "Pacer!" She hugged him. "It's so good to see you!"

Pacer took after Bixslow with his height and took the white hair from Lisanna, though with his hair shaved on the sides, you saw it was black on the sides. He inherited the dark red eyes Bixslow had, but what stood out to most people when they saw Pacer's huge gauges that were 5/8" as well as his tongue piercing. He smiled and hugged back Mira. "Hey, Auntie," he greeted. "Yeah, it's been a little bit."

⌜HAWTHORN UNIVERSITY (USM)

Name: Pacer "Pace" Strauss

Age: 22

Magic: Human Possession

Occupation: Mage, 4th-year BSc (Political Science) student

Likes: old arcade games Dislikes: foxhunting

Special Note: Pacer lives in the United States of Meidiland alongside his twin Pearson! Both of them belong to a guild there and go to school and you'll never guess what Pacer wants to become!⌟

Mira released her nephew. "A little bit? It's been a year, and it still feels like you're growing taller! How's school? Oh!" She thumped his chest. "And stop worrying your mother about your graduation! You are going to graduate, mister!"

"Yeah, yeah," Pacer drawled. "I promise I'll graduate in the spring. But do you all really need to come to my graduation?"

"Absolutely!" Mira cheered. "It's not every day we get to celebrate a graduation in the family!"

Lance laughed. "Mom, I'm pretty sure every year we celebrate a graduation—"

"We are going."

Lance hid behind Aine at the murderous aura Mira exuded through her wide smile. "A-A-Aye, sir…"

Mira turned her aura back to her flowery one as Aine soothed her boyfriend. "So I hear Pearson brought a friend with him to the lodge?" she asked as she looped an arm with her nephew's and pulled him along. "Are you sure this is a friend?"

Pacer shrugged. "To tell you the truth, I don't know," he confessed. "She doesn't talk that much and it was pretty much a last-minute thing. But Pearce isn't really trying anything with her, so I'm assuming they're just friends. I've never seen her around campus, though. I don't know that much about her except when Pearce suddenly brought her to our house and said she was coming with us."

Mira nodded, taking all this in. "Well, she's more than welcome to join us. Whose room is she staying in?"

"She's staying with Pearce and me." Pacer laughed at the raised eyebrow Mira gave him. "Not like that, Auntie. Pearce wanted her comfortable. He's sleeping on the little pull-out bed, so she can have his bed."

Now Mira was impressed. "Wow. Pearson's growing up."

"I know." Pacer scrunched up his nose. "What's wrong with him?"

"Hey, family…!" came a shout from the front door. "I'm home…!"

Mira and Pacer swiveled to go back down a hallway that led to the front door. A woman a little shorter than Mira was holding on to a hulk of a man as she took off her boots. Her hair was a blend of her father and her mother's to turn into a golden bronze in nice waves with the ends of her hair dipped in white, though she wore her hair in low twin ponytails. Those light sandy brown eyes looked up to a muscular woman in gratitude as she helped her with her coat. Mirajane could not help but smile. "Esme! You're here early!"

Esme—the center woman—looked up and squealed (and did not notice the amusement on the man and other woman's faces) as she ran to her aunt. "Aunt Mira, oh my god, it's so good to see you!" she cheered.

⌜COLLÈGE LYCÉE SOSŒR JOSEPHINE (PERGRANDE)

Name: Esmeralda "Esme" Strass-Depardieu

Age: 26

Magic: Answer

Occupation: Mage, Middle School Teacher

Likes: documentaries Dislikes: anyone who wears white after Labor Day

Special Note: Esme currently teaches Minstrish in Pergrande where she met her husband! Veronika might have been the "wild child", but Esme was always the unpredictable one!⌟

"Ah! And Pace, come here!" Esme squeezed Pacer for a tight hug. "Look at you, getting so strong and buff!"

Pacer let out a breath when he felt his back crack. "Jesus, woman, don't hurt me." He pulled away from her to breathe. "Damn. Are you trying to kill me?"

"Of course not." Esme hooked a finger onto Pacer's collar and dragged him down so they were eye level. "Just a pleasant reminder I have the power to kill you if you even so much as think about pranking me during this vacation. I am here to relax, not be covered in chocolate syrup. Understand?" She let him go for him to gasp and clapped her hands. "Perfect!" She gestured to the man (large with bronze skin, dark eyes, coming beard, and hair curly behind belief). "You remember my husband Guil."

Guil came over to shake Pacer's hand and hugged Mira with a pleasant smile and a murmured and muffled hello.

⌜CROCUS CLINIC – BERYL (PERGRANDE)

Name: Guillaume "Guil" Strauss-Depardieu

Age: 32

Occupation: Critical Care Pharmacist

Likes: baking Dislikes: dogs

Special Note: Guil may be a man of little words, but his actions speak for him…and sometimes, get him into hilarious situations!⌟

Esme danced around her husband to pull forward the other woman, a gorgeous Josean woman with burnt umber eyes, a tattoo on her neck, and her hair a shaggy bob. "And meet Ye-ji Seydoux!" she introduced. "She's amazing! She does voice acting and she's a toy designer!"

Ye-ji extended her hand to shake Mira's and Pacer's. "It's nice to meet you both, Miss Strauss, Pacer. Esme's given me the entire rundown of the family."

⌜CHALCEDONY CITY (PERGRANDE)

Name: Ye-ji Seydoux

Age: 30

Occupation: Voice Over Artist, Toy Designer

Likes: rock gardening Dislikes: live-action fairy tale movies

Special Note: Ye-ji knows Minstrish, Perench, and Josean and she was a child actor for J-Dramas! How cool is that?⌟

"Then, you better make sure to wear a hard hat and a bullet-proof vest," Pacer warned. "We're nice and all, but it can get pretty ugly with Esme around—Ouch!" He rubbed his pectoral where Esme had punched him. "Easy, Greenie, I'm still fragile from the jetlag."

"We never go easy in this family," Esme tittered innocently. She nudged Ye-ji. "Stay on your toes, though, and stay out of the splash zone. If anyone messes you, just tell me and I'll threaten them."

Ye-ji laughed as she rubbed Esme's shoulder. "Sounds good."

Mira smiled. "Well, Ye-ji, it's nice to meet you too! We're happy to have you here at the lodge! We always have some extra space around, so I'll make sure to find you a bed—"

"Oh, that's not necessary, Aunt Mira." Esme rested her chin on Yeji's shoulder. "Ye-ji's going to stay with me and Guil."

"Well, then, that makes it easy for me!" Mira chirped. "I'll make sure someone gets you a cot then—"

"No need," Esme butted in again. "She'll sleep with Guil and me."

Mira blinked.

Pacer could not help his grin. "Don't tell me…"

Esme smiled up at Guil when he kissed her wrist and hummed when Ye-ji kissed Esme's cheek. "Yup! Ye-ji's my girlfriend!"

Silence.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Wow…

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

"But not Guil's," Ye-ji clarified as she exchanged a grin with Guil. "I'm not into his type."

"We've been together for a few months, but it just seems like we're soulmates!" Esme said merrily. "Isn't that wonderful?"

Mira's smile was frozen.

Pacer had to slow clap at that. "I cannot wait to see the look on Uncle Elfman's face."

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Fairy Adventure 060

•

Family Reunion Part I: Back Again

•

皆さん、お帰りなさい。 新しい顔、新しい感情、そして大混乱です！

•

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

By mid-afternoon, a majority of the family was in Fiore and at the lodge and it was a ruckus of shouting, cries, and conversation. Everyone had found their bedrooms quite easily with most of the children in the basement with their bunk beds and the game room and the movie theater. They reserved a portion of the basement for the adults with a bar, billiards, darts, and otherwise.

Evergreen and Elfman had arrived with Eloise who quickly went to Liberty (and scared off the triplets from their attempts to please Liberty) with a brand-new action figure her parents had surprised her with. The second Ellie was here, she and Esme screamed "Diva!" to each other and jumped around as they hugged each other, happy for the reunion, and introductions between Ellie and Ye-ji went smoothly as Ellie pounced on the woman for a hug and welcomed her ecstatically to the family.

Ezra had arrived along with the brash scar on his face, tanned like his father, and with pure white hair in a curled mop on the top of his head. He was of average height with a necklace of fake wildcat teeth on and had pure dark brown eyes. His smile was awkward as Evergreen and Esme hugged him, blubbering how much they missed him. "Uh… It's okay? We saw each other last year," he tried to remind them.

⌜UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN ARAZA (MELANDIA)

Name: Ezra Strauss

Age: 21

Magic: Take-Over (Monster Soul)

Occupation: Mage, University Student, Lab Technician

Likes: Animal sanctuaries Dislikes: Calculus

Special Note: Ezra moved to Melandia for the phenomenal research in the Transformation Magic there and the culture! Did you know he and Saudade used to date? ⌟

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say when both women glared at him. "But you never call or text or anything!" Ever argued. "What's a mother to do but worry?"

"Yeah!" Esme agreed fervidly. "You have a Compact and an email address and you're supposed to use it when family tries to contact you! What do you have to say for yourself, little brother?"

Ezra laughed as he scratched his cheek. "Um… I had bad connection?" He held up his hands in innocence when both women loomed over him with a deadly aura. "Bad joke, I admit it. Sorry. I'll do better to keep in contact with you guys, okay?"

"You better," Ever sniffed. "I put you in this world and I can take you out of it"—her eyes glowed beneath her glasses—"you hear me?"

"Right, yeah, I hear you," Ezra promised, nervous. "Just, um, please don't turn me into stone…again…"

Evangeline Strauss came next with her partner. Evangeline took to grunge fashion while her girlfriend was a certified beauty of goth with smooth dark skin to her. Dirty blonde hair messy and partially hidden in her beanie, Evangeline made her rounds and brushed off Ellie and Justin when both of them mourned Evangeline's fashion sense. "You too never change," Evangeline muttered. "Sorry I'm not into short skirts and high heels."

⌜BØSDALAFOSSUR CITY (JOYA)

Name: Evangeline "Eves/Evie" Strauss

Age: 24

Occupation: Missionary Organizer

Likes: music festivals Dislikes: cold fries

Special Note: Believe it or not, Evie used to be the sort of girl who loved dolls and the color pink! Now, Evie travels all over the world as a missionary alongside her girlfriend! ⌟

Her girlfriend laughed. "Let's leave the short skirts and high heels to me, okay? I don't think you could pull off any of my looks. No offense."

⌜ BØSDALAFOSSUR CITY (JOYA)

Name: Ola Wright

Age: 24

Occupation: Communications Specialist

Likes: children's LV shows Dislikes: sports bras

Special Note: Ola might be goth, but despite what people think, she's a very happy person and met Evie during an online event! ⌟

"Speaking of"—Justin stepped in to evaluate Ola's ensemble and held her hands—"honey, I am feeling your outfit. Please tell me you packed Evie's outfit for Honey's party?"

Ola grinned. "Of course I did, JJ. If it was up to Evie, we'd go in those horrible oversized jeans and some rock and roll t-shirt."

"Hey!" Evie hip-checked Ola. "That is fashion in Minstrel—!"

"Yeah, like, twenty years ago!" Ellie shook her head at her cousin and turned eagerly to Ola. "Where did you get the veil? It's si dramatique! Are you wearing that for the party?" And so Justin and Ellie dragged Ola away as they talked about the fashion to wear.

Evie sighed. "And there goes my girlfriend…again."

Pearson eventually came downstairs and looked like a copy of his twin except where Pacer had shaved his hair, Pearson had kept his hair long with white at the top and black on the lower layers. He greeted everyone who arrived with a familiar smile and shakes and hugs and all the while.

When Mira hugged him, she murmured, "So I'm hearing you brought someone?"

Pearson groaned as he pulled away. "It's not like that, Aunt MJ, I swear."

⌜HAWTHORN UNIVERSITY (USM)

Name: Pearson "Pearse" Strauss

Age: 22

Magic: Soul Meister

Occupation: Mage, 4th-year BMSc (Magi-Physics) Student

Likes: Band Hero Dislikes: line dancing

Special Note: Pearson lives with his twin in the USM and will be graduating from his university in the spring! If you look closely, there's a key difference between Pacer and Pearson! ⌟

"She's just…a friend in trouble, that's all," Pearson promised. "She didn't have anywhere to go for the holidays and I didn't want her to be alone."

Mira brushed the invisible dirt off Pearson's shoulders. "It's very admirable of you to bring her here," she assured him. "Will she be coming downstairs?"

"She's a little shy," Pearson admitted, "but I think she'll come down later. Mom met her already, but I think she'd really like you. She's not a huge fan of noise."

Mira understood. "Let her know not to worry about coming downstairs for lunch then. Bring her up a plate, okay?" She patted Pearson's check. "We'll make sure she feels comfortable while she's here."

Pearson looked visibly relieved. "Thanks, Aunt MJ."

Once everyone had unpacked, most had taken to some well-earned napping and relaxing. Elfman was already screaming "Man!" at the LV at the MagiCross game while Ever shook her head at her husband. Ezra and Elvin were in deep discussion as Ezra served as Elvin's confidant. Ye-ji had to take a call to the room, so Esme and Guil stayed downstairs as Esme enthusiastically caught up with Evie who was attentive but kept one eye on Ola at all times as Ola held Libby in her lap as Libby grew fascinated at Ola's coffin nails and Penelope and Ola spoke about meditation.

Pearson had quickly taken a snack and disappeared upstairs while Pacer stayed downstairs to chat up Lance. Aine laughed with Lisanna in the basement as they watched over the triplets as they engaged in another Lacrima-game. Mira was jotting down a list of groceries they would need to get with Ellie as her helper while Laxus and Bixslow delved into speaking about politics. Paige moodily kept to herself in her room shared with Penelope (and later Mary Jane) while Justin took a much-deserved beauty nap.

DING-DONG!

Laxus excused himself from conversation to get the door to see smiles from workers as they held tins of food in their hands. He shouted, "Get your asses down here if you want to eat! Food's here!"

Normally, the family fended for themselves while at the lodge for their holiday vacation, but they always catered Friday late lunches after everyone traveled both near and far to come home. From vegan macaroni and cheese to slices of rib-eye to fresh garlic-lemon shrimp, they had a little bit of everything for everyone. Justin helped Libby fix her plate and the triplets surrounded her once she got to the table to eagerly offer her some of their food only to be scared away when Eloise sat by her favorite cousin to resume their discussion (and James laid underneath Libby's chair, ready for bits of food to fall). Once the kids had their portioned food, it was a free-for-all and the talking grew more and more lively. The dining room was full of a lengthy table and upholstered chairs. When everyone sat down, no one moved to eat as everyone looked at Laxus.

Laxus started with a smirk, "Well, another year and another weekend of drinking, chaos, and fights." A round of laughter reverberated through the room. "On a serious note, it's nice to see everyone here. I know we'll be having some guests and Mary Jane join us tomorrow, but looking at everyone now… Well, I see a bunch of idiots who fell hard for this family and stuck around." He kissed Mira's cheek as more laughter came.

"Idiots or not, we're family." Laxus made sure everyone could see the seriousness in his eyes. "And it's important for us to come together every now and again. We might be all across the world, but our home is here with each other. And we need to remember that for the family that is here today and any future family that's to come. You got that?"

A chorus of "Here, here" and "Aye, sir" and "Man!" rang about as everyone nodded and murmured agreements.

"And in that case"—Laxus threaded his hand with Mira's—"let's hold hands and say grace."

Everyone began to hold hands when Esme cleared her throat. "Wait! I have an announcement I want to make before we say grace!" she told. "I have two surprises I wanted to share this vacation, as everyone knows. I'll wait until tomorrow for the second surprise, but I want to tell everyone my first surprise now!"

"Here we go," Pacer murmured as he rubbed his hands. To Pearson, he said, "We still on for two-fifty?"

"Make it three," Pearson muttered back.

Esme smiled at everyone. "So I have some really exciting news!" She held Guil's hand as he shot her an assuring smile. "Guil's a wonderful husband and no man in my life could ever replace him." She held onto Ye-ji's hand. "And Ye-ji will never replace Guil's place in my life. She's just as special to me."

Elfman's eyes widened as Ever feared what would be said next. "Esme, what are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying"—Esme beamed—"everyone, I'd like to introduce you to my girlfriend, Ye-ji!"

The next moments were a series of unusual events.

Elfman was knocked back in his chair and flat-out fainted on the spot. Most of the cousins offered their congratulations for Esme and Ye-ji while Libby asked a steam-red Freed if it meant she could have a husband and wife when she was older. Laxus pressed a fist into his forehead at the ruined moment he had created. Ye-ji took it all in stride and thanked the cousins for their congratulations and welcomes into the family.

Pacer took Pearson's wad of jewel with a smirk. "Pleasure doing business with you."

"I'll get that money back," Pearson muttered. "She said she has another surprise tomorrow. It's gotta be pregnancy."

Pacer held out his hand. "Four hundred?"

Pearson shook his twin's hand with a smirk. "You're on."

°•°•°•°

By the time everyone had dug into their food, most of the shock was gone from Esme's announcement, not that Esme cared. Conversation had gone back to normal. Bixslow and Lisanna worked as a unit to break up any fights between the triplets as they ate as Pacer endured his mother's scolding about his slipping grades. Pearson caught up with Penelope. Even though she was stoic, she seemed pleased her older brothers were home. Freed and Ola spoke as Libby had come over to ask her baba if she could have more food. As Guil silently came back with more food for Esme (and she heartily thanked him as she broke from her conversation with Justin), Ye-ji spoke more about herself to Evergreen who warmed up to her.

"So," Ever began as she held her wineglass "what do you do for a living, Ye-ji?"

"I'm a toy designer and do voice acting," Ye-ji explained. "I do more western animation for voice work and Lacrima-games."

"Oh! That sounds lovely," Evergreen thought as she nudged her husband who had recovered from his faint and was trying to understand what was happening. "Right, Elfman?"

"It sounds manly!" Elfman agreed, shouting.

Ever rolled her eyes. "Pardon my husband," she muttered. "I'm sure Esme told you his signature catchphrase."

Ye-Ji grinned. "She might have warned me once or twice."

"As long as you've been warned," Ever supposed in good humor. "What sort of toys do you make? Stuffed animals, action figures…?" She took a sip of wine.

"Oh!" Esme butted into the conversation. "Ye-ji makes sex toys!"

Ever spat out her wine while Elfman looked like he swallowed a lemon.

Esme was not finished. "Actually, I met Ye-ji when Guil and I went to a Sexpo in Melandia! She was one of the speakers and she was doing a demonstration—!"

"Ma chatounette," Ye-ji murmured as she watched in amusement as Ever and Elfman looked hilariously stricken, "je pense que vous faites peur à vos parents. Nous en avons parlé. Escaliers pour bébés."

Esme pouted and wanted to object, but her husband leaned down to whisper into her ear. She flushed, thoroughly chastised, and murmured her agreement. "Oops. You guys are right," she told her husband and girlfriend. She gave her parents an apologetic look. "Sorry, Mom. Sorry, Dad."

"It's…" Elfman wheezed, "fine…"

"So, um…" Ever dabbed her napkin on her lips and tried for the life of her to stay calm. "W-Was that the second surprise? I don't know how many more surprises we can take, Esmeralda."

But much to her parents' dismay, Esme shook her head. "Nope! Surprise number two is revealed tomorrow and I brought most of the stuff for it." She reached over to grab her mother's hands. "Trust me. It's a good surprise. And, um…" She dropped her voice and ducked her head. "Thanks for being welcoming to Ye-ji, Mom."

Evergreen smiled a little and gripped her daughter's hands. "Of course, Esmeralda. We always told you kids to follow your heart. And if Ye-Ji makes you happy, then I'm happy." She leaned in closer. "Does Guil have a…?"

"No." Esme shot her husband a grin. "He only wants me and made that very clear. But he and Ye-Ji are good friends and have an understanding when it comes to my relationship with them and their relationship with each other."

Ever coughed. She might not understand, but she could see the love Esme and Guil shared and when Guil glanced at Ye-Ji, there was a friendly warmth between them. "As long as you're all happy," she reiterated, "that's enough for your father and me. Just next time…"

Both Esme and Ever looked to see Elfman deteriorating in his chair as he tried to wrap his head around what he just heard and kept stammering the word "Sexpo".

"How about a little more warning," Evergreen requested dryly, "or you might kill your father on accident this time around."

Ellie laughed as Pacer begged for Ellie to save him from the grilling Lisanna gave him about his academic probation when her Compact lit up in her pocket. She pulled it out to see a message came in and she expanded it only to smile. Ines had taken a picture of her in front of a mirror in a red deep V-neck jumpsuit with her hair swirled into a messy ponytail and a peace sign.

« Is this the shade of red that matches your dress? I tried to make sure I got as close to it. »

Ellie loved the picture and texted back:

« You look AMAZING! That definitely matches my dress! I can't wait to see you tomorrow »

Ines emphasized the message:

« I can't wait to get you out of your dress »

Ellie flushed ridiculously at that and typed back:

« Stop it »

« Not what you'll say tomorrow night »

« And, before I forget, you looked gorgeous in that selfie you sent me today. But you always look drop-dead gorgeous »

« and I really wish I could see what you flowers you just made »

"Uh-oh…" Justin smirked when he saw a few flowers sprout beneath Ellie's chair. "I know that blossoming anywhere. Is someone getting dirty sexts?"

Ellie giggled. "Maybe…" She hid her Compact when Justin tried to take a peek. "Um, excuse me, Miss JJ, no peeking!"

Justin pouted. "C'mon, please…? It's your date, isn't it?" He jutted out his pout even more as Ellie smiled and kept texting. "When have we ever had secrets? You know I won't judge you on your sexting." He froze. "Oh my god, are you embarrassed because your date is a frat boy?"

Ellie sent her text and put away her Compact. "Definitely not a frat boy," she assured. "I still have standards, JJ." She patted his arm. "You'll meet my date at Honey's event like I promised." She hesitated. "Just…please don't judge?"

Justin snorted as he took a sip of his cocktail. "Darling, when on Earth Land have I judged you? Honestly, I'm shaking in my g-string about Honey meeting Ace."

Understanding flooded through Ellie and sympathy along with it. "I know." She side-hugged him. "But we'll get through this. Let's just hope Honey can put aside his views for one night. Does Ace plan to tell him?"

"He isn't sure," Justin revealed. "I told him he doesn't have to. I'm proud of him for telling me and you. It's his secret to share. But you know Honey." He sighed and leaned his head on Ellie's shoulder. "Tell me everything is going to be all right."

"Everything is going to be all right," Ellie soothed.

"Now tell me who your date is. Owie…!" Justin rubbed his arm where Ellie pinched. "It was worth a shot."

As Ola and Freed conversed, he told her, "I heard Melandia is wonderful in February. I think you and Evie will enjoy it. Will you be seeing Ezra while you're there?"

"We plan to," Ola admitted. "We're mainly going there since Eve is a keynote speaker at a Christian conference there, but then we'll have some time to vacation there too." She beamed. "I'm excited to see the Tanzanite Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef! And we picked a perfect time to go to Melandia since there's a goth festival there. It's called 'Evanescence' and I'm so excited about it!"

"I want to go!" Libby came over again but to Ola this time. "Can I come with you and wear black?"

Ola smiled. "Sorry, Libby, but the festival is for anyone over eighteen, so you're still too young." She pinched Libby's cheek and made her giggle. "But you're never too young to wear black. How about this? I have this online market I use for my clothes. Why don't we surf it and find something you like, okay?"

Libby beamed. "Okay!" She turned to her father. "Baba, I'm gonna be goth just like Ola!"

"Whatever makes you happy, Ladybug," Freed chuckled. "Ola, while you're here, I think Libby had some questions you're better suited to answer than me."

"And of course I'll answer any question my favorite Lady Luck has," Ola obliged. "And I brought some hair with me, Libby, just for you, so how about we try some crotchet braids? Freed, did you want to learn?"

"Please." Freed bent over to scoop up James and the tomcat meowed happily as Freed petted his fur. "Thanks, Ola."

Ola shook her head. "Don't even worry about it." She took Libby's hands and shook them. "Anything for Lady Luck herself." She leaned back to murmur into Evie's ear. "Is that okay with you?"

"Of course." Evie dipped her head to peck her girlfriend's lips. "You're family." She smiled when Ola looked relieved and immediately turned back to Libby to ask what colors she wanted for her new braids since she brought a plethora of hair with her.

Ezra saw the look on his older sister's face and had to smile himself. "You're so lovesick," he teased.

"And I don't want the cure." Evie took a healthy gulp of her beer as she crooked a finger for Ezra to come closer. When he did, Evie glanced to make sure Ola was preoccupied before she whispered, "I'm planning to propose to her during our vacation in Melandia."

That surprised Ezra. "Seriously?"

"Mmm-hmm." Evie brushed back her bangs. "We're visiting her family this year for their holidays and I want to ask her parents then. Her mom's been hinting about marriage, but her dad's still not on board with us even dating." She blew out a breath. "I've tried everything I could to make it work, but I feel so bad Ola isn't close with her dad because of me."

"You know Ola doesn't look at it like that," Ezra gently reminded. "Some people just don't come around and that's okay. It's something we have to live with even if it hurts. If he doesn't want to be a part of your family, then that's his loss. You're amazing and Ola's amazing."

Evie grinned. "I remember when someone used to tell me I was a 'bitch'."

"Could you blame me?" Ezra laughed. "You always showed me up in front of my friends. I swear to god I was so certain you were trying to steal Saudade—" He faltered and a look shadowed his face.

Evie's grin faded. "Ezra—"

"It's okay." Ezra offered a feeble smile. "She moved on. I'll get there too. And she's happy with Majime. So I'm happy for her."

"Justin said she's going to be at the event tomorrow." Evie searched Ezra's face for a sign of displeasure, of pain. "Are you okay with that?"

Ezra took a swallow of his own beer. "I'll be fine," he said, hoarse. "I can be in the same room as her and be cordial. I promise, Eves," he added when Evie looked skeptical. "I'll just make sure to bring a syringe in case." He quickly added when Evie wanted to intervene, "Have you gotten a ring yet?"

Evie frowned. "I'll let this go for now," she decided, "but, yes, I did. I've had the ring for a few months." A rueful smile hit her. "But I got her gothic choker too. I was hoping if she says yes, I could give her a wedding choker and a ring when we're married. I know I'm not goth and I don't understand all that goes on, but I still wanted to do right by goths." She blushed a little. "It's stupid—"

"That's really sweet," Ezra cut in with awe. "Ola's going to love it, Eves." In a lower voice, he added, "And she loves you. If she can put up with coming to our family events for the past three years? It means she's crazy about you. So definitely put a ring on her finger before she has enough sense to run away."

Evie pushed Ezra's shoulder as they both laughed. With a warm look at her girlfriend as Ola entertained Libby with her questions, Evie murmured, "Trust me. She can run. But I'll still chase after her."

°•°•°•°

Mira saw Pearson slip away to go to the kitchen and excused herself from the table with a look at her husband before following her nephew. She saw him getting a little bit of everything on a plate and questioned, "Taking that up to your guest?"

Pearson looked like a deer caught in headlights for a moment. "Y-Yeah… I went up earlier and she said she wasn't hungry, but I'll still bring her some food anyway," he decided. "She needs to eat. I don't want her to starve."

Mirajane carefully took the plate and finished it off with a little scoop of macaroni and cheese. "Why don't I take it up to her?" she offered. "I'm sure I can get her to eat some bread at the very least. And you did say she may like me," she added when Pearson's brow furrowed.

He held up his hands, resigned. "I did, I did…" He hesitated. "It's just… She might look a little, um…"

"Say no more." Mira waved a hand dismissively as she headed for the hallway. "I'll be right back." She paused when Pearson looked torn. "If you want, you can wait outside the door." She tittered when Pearson looked relieved at the suggestion and walked with her up the grand staircase and onto the second floor. They reserved the third floor for all the older adults, but the second floor was fair game for the adult cousins. It was apparent who was in what room as you passed by and looked at the clothes unpacked.

Pearson stopped at his and Pacer's room and knocked twice. "It's me," he murmured. "I'm coming in." With a nod to his aunt, Pearson opened the door for her.

Mira could have looked about the room, but she noticed the guest first and foremost, an incredibly thin woman with her hair in disarray and covered in baggy clothing. It looked like Pearson's sweatshirt and sweatpants the closer Mira observed. Huddled on one of the twin beds in the room, fear colored her face when she saw Mira. Her eyes darted to Pearson, then Mira again.

"Wh-Who are you?" she whispered, though it sounded like she was losing her voice.

Mira explained, "My name Mirajane Dreyar. I'm Pearson's aunt and I'm Lisanna's sister. You've met her?"

The woman meekly nodded and looked over at Pearson again.

"Aunt MJ just wanted to meet you," Pearson soothed. "She won't ask questions, I promise."

"But I will implore you to eat." Mira gestured to the plate in her hands. "At least a little bit, please? A few bites and I promise I'll let it go."

The woman looked at the food then back to Mira, almost ashamed. "I-I don't have any money to pay you back—"

"Nonsense," Mira dismissed. "This isn't about money. If you really want to pay me back, you can do so by letting me lend you some clothes and eating more than a few bites." She offered the plate again. "Please?"

The woman looked at Pearson again, who nodded then Mira and her earnest smile. With a swallow, she shakily took the plate and murmured her gratitude for the fork. She took a halting bite of her food, but it was obvious she was thankful to have something in her stomach. Mira chanced a nod at Pearson, who nodded and after a worried look thrown at the woman, he left and closed the door behind him. Mira tucked locks of hair behind her ears as she looked around the room. She had to laugh. While Pearson had made an effort to unpack in an orderly way, Pacer had left clothes haphazardly in his suitcase or on the bed.

"Pacer will never change," Mira regarded aloud. "Always the messy one. Pearson was the same, but it seems like he's changed." She winked at the woman. "And we might have you to thank."

The woman had polished off half of the plate, but her appetite faltered at Mira's words. She murmured, "I think I should be thankful to him."

"Oh, please, do keep eating, dear," Mira encouraged. "Don't stop on my account."

"N-No, I…" The woman toyed with her fork. "It was nice for him to bring me here, but this has all been…way too much."

"How do you know Pearson?" Mira asked.

The woman looked at Mira in confusion. "He didn't tell you?"

Mira shook her head. "I think he wanted you to tell when you felt comfortable." She witnessed the woman's uncertainty. "And I won't push you either. It's whenever you're comfortable. But I really would like to lend you some clothes unless you brought some? I was told your appearance was a little last minute."

The woman winced. "I didn't bring anything with me," she confessed. "Not even my Com."

"It's okay," Mira assured. "We'll make sure you're always with someone, and we're heading into the town to get some supplies for the weekend. Just write down a list of things you might need and we'll grab them for you. And I don't want to hear a word about money," she put when the woman looked troubled. "No need to pay us back. And I'm sure Pearson would be more than happy to buy you anything he needed."

"He already offered." The woman pushed around her food. "I told him it's okay. I don't really need anything—"

"Dear, yes, you do," Mira contradicted. "You are a lady, and you deserve to feel comfortable for your stay. Now." She took out her Compact and brought up the shopping list and she and Ellie had made. "We'll make sure to get you a toothbrush, deodorant… You can ask any one of the women here and they'll share any toothpaste or soap lotion or pad or tampons they have with you, but you have any special needs, we'll take care of them. Do you eat meat or fish or are you a vegetarian or a vegan?"

The woman blanked for a moment. "Why are you doing this?" she had to know. "Helping me? I don't understand."

"Because everyone deserves kindness," Mira put it simply. "This family doesn't turn our backs on anyone. Even if someone doesn't want help, it doesn't mean we stop there. We provide what we can." She held out her hand and the woman slowly took hold of it. "Do what makes you feel comfortable while you're here. You're not required to come down for meals or any of the activities. If you want to stay up in this room, that's okay. I'm sure Pearson or Lisanna or I will come and make sure you've eaten."

The woman's bottom lip trembled and she brushed the hair from her face and Mira saw a bruise on the side of her face. "Thank you," the woman breathed, "for not pushing and not asking questions."

Mira crossed her legs. "My oldest daughter was pushed," she said softly, "and the end result was her leaving home and never coming back. She lost all trust and faith in her family. I don't want that for you. And if you need help after our vacation is over, let Lisanna know." She smiled. "You'd be surprised the connections she has in the USM. How do you think she immediately knew Pacer was on academic probation?"

"He's a horrible student," the woman said with disgust. "You have no idea how many tutors he's had and has slept with." Her eyes widened in horror. "Wait. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to—!"

But Mira was laughing. "Oh, no, dear, we know. Like I said, my sister has connections. And, if he knows what's good for him, he better make sure he walks across the stage in the springtime." The two of them shared a laugh just as the doorbell resounded. Mira frowned. "We shouldn't have anyone else joining us tonight." She got up. "Please excuse me." She made to leave—

"Misses Dreyar?"

Mira paused and looked over at the woman. "Yes, dear?"

"Thank you."

Mira smiled. "Of course. It's nothing." She left the room to see Pearson waiting on the other side. She patted his shoulder and a flicker of approval stirred in her when Pearson went into his room and shut the door behind him. Mira trotted down the steps and called she had the door. She opened it without a second thought— "Mary Jane?"

Mary Jane giggled. She had dressed down and it was obvious she came straight from her flight in her yoga pants and hoodie, but she was all smiles and flushed cheeks. "Hi, Mom!" She tugged Peter to come forth and he did, albeit nervously. "Sorry I came a little early. Peter picked me up from the Sky Port."

"Hi, Misses Dreyar," Peter greeted. "Is, um, Mister Dreyar…?"

"Who's at the door?" Laxus appeared behind his wife, but the second he saw Peter, lightning passed in his eyes and Peter shrank back. Laxus turned his attention to his daughter and grinned. "Butterfly! You're here a day early!"

"Hi, Daddy!" Mary Jane hugged her father. "Sorry, but I wanted to surprise you! And Peter was kind enough to pick me up." She pulled back and Laxus rearranged the glare he had for Peter to a softer stare for his youngest. "Is it okay if he stays the entire weekend? His parents gave permission and everything."

Mira stepped in before Laxus could even breathe. "Of course, sweetie!" She gripped Laxus' shoulder and his eye twitched in pain when her nails dug into his shirt and pierced skin. "Laxus, you'll help Peter get the bags in?"

Laxus gritted his teeth when Mira dug her nails even more with that sweet smile on her face. "Of course, babe," he choked.

"Wait!" Mary Jane stopped them as she gestured to something behind her. "I have one more surprise!"

Confusion wrote on Laxus and Mira's faces…

…until they were hit with shock.

Mary Jane and Peter stepped aside for a tall woman graced with platinum blonde hair and cutting blue eyes, each eye with a ring of orange in them. She carried herself in such an untouchable way. Nothing about her left her vulnerable. She lifted her chin as she stared at Laxus and Mira.

"Veronika," Mira whispered.

"Mom," Veronika greeted, uncomfortable. Her eyes slid to her father and her body went rigid. "Laxus." She could not even bring herself to fake a smile. "Merry Christmas."

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Fairy Adventure

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

No one could believe Veronika was in the lodge and she was not alone. Veronika had brought along with her two children, separate fathers but hers all the same. Ivan was a beautiful little boy on the quiet side with olive skin and a mop of black hair with a running white streak in it. He clung to his mother as he took in his surroundings. Lisa-Jane was fairer than her brother with tawny brown eyes and curly baby-lights blonde hair. She had a hearing aid in her left ear. She clung to the most surprising guest of all. Veronika had brought a man with her. A man. Rivaling Laxus' height and with dark blue eyes, he was the only one everyone was familiar with.

Everyone—even the youngest cousins—were gathered in the living room as Veronika, her children, and this man sat on one of the couches. Mira had come to her senses after seeing her daughter and rounded into the living room with drinks. "Here we go." She looked at Veronika's daughter first. "I have some hot chocolate. Do you want some?"

Lisa-Jane looked at her mother for approval and when Veronika nodded, Lisa-Jane answered, "Yes, please."

⌜MYOSOTIS ISLAND (FIOREN ISLES)

Name: Vasilisa "Lisa" Jane Strauss

Age: 8

Magic: Take-Over (Hero Soul)

Likes: ukulele Dislikes: camping

Special Note: Lisa-Jane wants to be a traveling musician when she gets older—if only she listened to her music teacher!⌟

Mira gifted Lisa-Jane with a mug of steaming hot chocolate before turning to Ivan who clutched his mother even tighter. She smiled. "What about you? Do you want some hot chocolate?"

"He's had enough sugar for today," Veronika cut in awkwardly. "But thank you, Mom."

⌜MYOSOTIS ISLAND (FIOREN ISLES)

Name: Veronika "Ronnie" Strauss

Age: 25

Magic: Lightning

Occupation: Event Planner

Likes: romance and horror movies Dislikes: grocery stores

Special Note: While Veronika might seem demure now, she has a mouth on her whenever she watches Magicross!⌟

Mira sat on the coffee table and looked over at the man with questioning in her eyes. "It's quite a surprise seeing you here, Spencer," she had to say. "I thought you'd be overseas."

Spencer nodded. "My team and I just finished our mission a week ago," he explained. "I came home to visit the folks and see my sister when I ran into Lucky yesterday at MagiaLand." He smiled, dimples and canines and all, when Veronika huffed at the reminder. "Trust me. I wasn't expecting to come to this side of Fiore."

⌜FIORE SPECIAL FORCES (H.A.W.K.S.)

Name: Spencer Lates

Age: 26

Magic: Take-Over (Machina Soul)

Occupation: Captain of H.A.W.K.S. Company Eight

Likes: old jazz Dislikes: hunting

Special Note: Spencer Lates is the son of Hibiki and Jenny! Being a H.A.W.K.S. Mage means he's incredibly powerful!⌟

"Well, it's a surprise but not an unwelcomed one," Mira rushed to assure. "We're happy you all made it here." She caught Lisa-Jane staring at her in high curiosity. "And you must be the famous 'Lisa-Jane', huh?"

For a moment, Lisa-Jane shrunk back, unsure, but when Spencer gave her a nudge forward, she grew braver and straightened up. "So you're my Granny?" she asked.

Mira tittered. "I am."

Lisa-Jane looked over at Laxus who stood a bit further away. "And he's my Grandaddy?"

"Yes, he is," Mira confirmed.

Lisa-Jane swept her gaze around the large family before her, all torn in wonder and disbelief. "And all these people… They're family?"

"Yes, sweetheart," Mira warmly assured. "Everyone here is your family."

Lisa-Jane took that into consideration before she turned to her brother. "Ivan, say 'hi'," she hissed. "These are the people Auntie MJ showed us on her Compact, remember?" When Ivan shook his head and hid into Veronika's chest, Lisa-Jane rolled her eyes. "Ivan…!"

Ivan peeked over his shoulder. "Hello." And he hid back into Veronika's chest.

⌜MYOSOTIS ISLAND (FIOREN ISLES)

Name: Ivanushka "Ivan" Strauss

Age: 6

Magic: Marionette

Likes: Team Titan Dislikes: Brussel sprouts

Special Note: Ivan might only be six, but don't let that fool you! He's incredibly smart for his age and can wipe the floor with anyone on Team Titan—if only his mom would let him have a headset!⌟

Lisa-Jane shook her head and scooted off the couch to stand. She observed aloud, "You all look way older than in Auntie MJ's photos."

Laughter flitted about the family as Esme came forward. "Janie probably has pictures of us from a year or two ago," she told Lisa-Jane. "Hi, girlie. I'm your cousin Esmeralda, but you can call me Esme. Everyone else does."

Lisa-Jane took a look at Esme and giggled. "Auntie MJ said you're really fun."

Esme shot Mary Jane an amused look. "She's just saying that because I give everyone a heart attack like your mom used to do." She smirked at Veronika.

"I wasn't that bad," Veronika defended herself.

Evie snorted. "Please… If anyone in this family were the original wild children, it was Nik, you, and Esme," she called. "Don't even try and deny that, Ronnie. You and Esme were the ones we all worried about winding up on the ten o'clock news in a different country."

Veronika colored as the family laughed and even Esme joined in. Spencer murmured to Veronika, "I told you this would be easier than you think, Lucky."

Veronika cleared her throat. "Yes, well, I've changed," she told her relatives. "I'm not that party girl anymore and I haven't been in a long time." She kissed Ivan's hair.

"You were a party girl?" Lisa-Jane could not believe that. "But you're so boring and stay inside and you watch all those stupid romance movies all the time and cry!"

Veronika looked like she wanted to just crawl under a blanket and hide when chortles passed around. Lance strode over to smile at Lisa-Jane. "You are definitely a Strauss," he jested. "Do you know who I am?"

"Of course I do!" Lisa-Jane hugged him. "You're Uncle Lance! Mommy talks about you a lot!" She peered up at him. "Did you really wet the bed until you were—?"

"Veronika!" Lance turned a deep shade of red as static clacked off him. "Why would you tell them that?"

Veronika shrugged, but mischief impressed a smirk onto her lips. "Ivan was having some issues and I didn't want him to feel alone," she reasoned. "And it worked. Now Ivan knows he has nothing to worry about for a few more years."

Lance's eye twitched as his cousins crooned and hooted. Pacer clapped and hollered, "Attaboy, Lance! Giving inspiration to the youngsters! Give it up for Fairy Tail's Railgun!"

The ice was broken at that. The family closed in and Lisa-Jane weathered them without so much of a blink, though Ivan and Peter not so much. Lisa-Jane named as many relatives as she could and hugged them all, happy to meet them, while Ivan stuck close to his mother and did not want to say anymore helloes. Spencer offered his greetings as those that knew him thanked him for his service (something Veronika rolled her eyes at) while others were curious if he was Veronika's husband which she put a stuttering stop to. Peter knew Elvin and felt at ease with Ezra, but he was unprepared for Esme in so many ways.

"So you're my baby cousin's boyfriend?" Esme clapped her hands. "Oh, this is so exciting! Janie's never had a boyfriend before! Have two kissed? Had sex? Oh my god, it's so sweet if two are virgins—! Mmm-mmm-mmm!"

ZZZT!

Guil put a hand over Esme's mouth to muffle her and murmured into her ear while an electrocuted Peter twitched on the ground and Mary Jane was steaming red mess as static clacked off her. As Esme stooped down to poke the poor charred Peter as she apologized for her questions, Mary Jane blinked away her embarrassment to look at Veronika. The older cousins had swarmed her and were fawning over how cute Ivan was. Ivan came out of his shell a little when Libby had gotten through with her poor tomcat weaving between her legs and wrapped his tail around her, wanting to leave but not without her. Veronika panicked for a moment when Ivan scooched off her lap, but she softened immediately when she saw Ivan was reaching out to speak to Liberty who understood she needed to be quieter with him.

She's doing great, Mary Jane praised. All of them are. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all. She saw her father was off to the side and decided to step over to him. "You okay, Daddy?"

Laxus wrapped an arm around Mary Jane's shoulders. "Just happy, Butterfly," he murmured to her. He looked to see Mira was beaming as Lisa-Jane asked a million questions a minute about the family, and Mira was more than happy to answer. "You brought the family the greatest gift we could ask for, especially your mom and me."

"It's nothing," Mary Jane dismissed. "Veronika did all the work. And Nik didn't come home even when I asked…"

"Bah." Laxus shrugged off the observation. "I'm not too worried about him." He looked over at Veronika, who smiled behind a fist as Pacer and Pearson insulted each other before her. "I never thought I'd see the day Veronika would come home. And my grandkids…" He shook his head. "I just wish your gramps could've been here."

"It would have been too hard on Granddaddy and his caretaker," Mary Jane reminded. "And we'll FaceCall him this weekend, right? He'll love that. I'm sure he'll be happy to see Veronika too."

Laxus nodded over at Spencer. "Not that I don't appreciate Spencer… He's a good kid and badass… But, uh… Is he in the picture?"

Mary Jane giggled. "Not in the way you think, but yes," she answered. "Veronika and him have a little bit of a history." She watched how Spencer spoke with Elfman and Bixslow, but his eyes would roam to catch sight of Lisa-Jane and Ivan before settling on Veronika. When Veronika flinched when Pacer made a sudden gesture, Spencer moved his hand to capture hers and thumbed her knuckles and she was put at ease.

"I don't know. He's nice, Daddy," Mary Jane observed, "but I really believe he respects Veronika. She's not in a place to be with anyone, but Spencer—from what I've seen—understands that. And he's really good with Ivan and Lisa-Jane."

Laxus hummed. "What are they like?"

"Ivan and Lisa?" Mary Jane explained after her father nodded, "Ivan's really playful, but he's a lot quieter and shier than Lisa. He's really smart. His Marionette Magic is amazing. It's nothing like I've ever seen. But he's really patient too." She smiled as she saw Lisa-Jane look up to Justin and comment on his beauty, which he took in stride. "Lisa's a fireball. She's definitely Ronnie's kid. She's really gutsy and bright. She really pushed for Veronika to take her and Ivan here." She looked up at her father. "Why don't you go talk to them? Learn about them?"

Laxus shook his head with a jaded grin. "No, Butterfly, I don't think I will. Not yet. Veronika and I still have things to work out and if there's anything I know about Strauss women, they're protective of their kids. I don't want to do something that offends her. I'm on thin ice already."

Mary Jane frowned. "Daddy…"

"Don't worry about your old man, Butterfly." Laxus dipped down to kiss her forehead. "Go get settled. We'll be heading down to the town soon to get supplies for the weekend. Show Peter his room. And if he tries to run away because Esme is scaring him, tell me and I'll fry his ass."

"Daddy…!"

"Okay, okay, I won't touch him," Laxus promised. "Just promise me no kissing or touching when you two are around me—"

"Daddy!"

Laxus guffawed as he walked away with a red-faced Mary Jane left in his wake. Peter walked up to her, patting off the last of the char off him. "When you told me your family was big, I don't think I pictured this," he said.

"Are they too much for you?" Mary Jane feared.

Peter waved a hand. "Not at all, Sweets." He wrapped an arm around her waist. "I told you I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here—"

ZING!

A shaken Peter moved so a foot was between him and Mary Jane with a nervous grin slapped on his face. "I mean, um… I told you I'm going to make sure I keep a respectful distance between us so you feel comfortable at all times?"

Mary Jane blinked in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

But Peter sweated and could not bring it to tell her father was a way's away and looking at him with murder in his eyes. "Ah-ha-ha, oh, nothing, nothing!" he laughed off. "I'm just, uh, feeling a little tired after the drive is all!"

"Oh!" Mary Jane grabbed his hand and tugged him forward (and remained blissfully oblivious to the way Peter was practically melting under Laxus' death glare). "Here, let me take you to the room and give you the grand tour!" she offered. "We're going to head into town soon enough anyway, so it'll be a good time for me to change."

Once Mary Jane led Peter out of the vicinity of Laxus' glower, he could breathe easier and took the time to focus on the lodge. He took in the design and the pictures framed and hung onto the walls. "Your family really owns this place? This is really nice." He saw Mary Jane reaching for a suitcase and intervened. "Let me get that. I can handle the suitcases and my duffel if you want to take the lighter stuff?"

"What a gentleman," Mary Jane teased as she gathered her own duffle bag and backpack. She guided him towards the grand staircase. "But yeah, my family owns it. I'm pretty sure my dad's name is on it, but him, my mom, my aunts, and my uncles split the profit they get when people rent out this place. We just make sure it's off-limits twice a year and that's that. It has three floors and the basement and every year we use up almost every single room."

They made it to the second floor as Peter said, "That's incredible you guys do this every year. Your family might be big, but I can tell everyone cares about everyone. And your sister coming home must've been something everyone's been waiting for."

Mary Jane led them to the third door on the right and opened it. "Yeah. It's almost like the family is whole again." She stepped inside. "This is your room." As Peter observed the room with dual bunk beds, she said, "Ezra and Elvin normally sleep on the bottom since both of them roll a lot and Ezra falling out of the top bunk three times was enough to tell us he needs to lose the privilege. Sorry."

"It's good." Peter threw his duffle onto one of the top bunks. He observed the closet before he jerked a thumb at the other door in the room. "Bathroom?"

"Yeah." Mary Jane pointed down the hall. "You guys share a bathroom with Pacer and Pearson. Fair warning, though. The twins love pranks, so if you want to shower with actual water and your own soap and shampoo? You better get up bright and early before they have the time to swap out anything."

Peter chuckled. "Noted." He gestured to her suitcase. "Your room?"

"Oh, right."

As Mary Jane guided him back downstairs, Peter asked her, "All in all, did you like MagiaLand?"

"I loved it!" Mary Jane gushed. "I see why Luna wants to go so much! I'll have to show you all the pictures I took. I didn't want to send them and blow up your Compact. But it was so beautiful, Peter! I really hope one day I can go again! The Friendship is Magic show was phenomenal and seeing Jennababy perform live was amazing!"

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." Peter stopped when Mary Jane opened the door to the basement, and he followed her down the steps. "So how do you guys divvy up the house?"

"Oh, easy." Mary Jane reached the bottom to see lights had been left on. "Third floor is for my dad, my mom, and my aunts and uncles. I think Esme is staying on the third floor this year with her husband. Second floor is normally with the older cousins. So, like, Evie with her girlfriend Ola—she was the cool goth you saw—Ezra, Lance and Aine, Pace and Pearse… Elvin moved upstairs with Ezra this year, though. Penelope is staying downstairs with me, though, and so is Paige since we have three bedrooms in the basement. Libby, Eloise, and the triplets will stay down here and I'm pretty sure Lisa-Jane and Ivan will be here too. There's a 'children's wing', so it has a lot of bunk beds and stuff. Veronika and Spencer will probably stay in the spare down here since there's no room for them both upstairs."

Peter arched an eyebrow. "But I thought you said Spencer and Veronika aren't together?"

Mary Jane found her bedroom and opened the door. "They aren't." She flicked on the light. Thankfully, her shared space with Penelope and Paige had no bunk beds in tow. Three twin XL beds were in the room, and Penelope and Paige made it clear which beds they had taken.

"Spencer could always stay with you and Ezra and Elvin and Ronnie could bunk alone, but I have an odd feeling she'll want Spencer to stay with her." She patted her bed and Peter set her suitcase beside it as she unloaded her own bags. "Phew. Today's been a long day."

"It has." Peter strolled over to her and surprised her when he gave her a tight embrace. "And now that your dad is gone, I can do this. God, I missed you."

Mary Jane flushed, but she squeezed him back. "I missed you too," she mumbled into his shirt. "Thanks for helping me with the surprise."

"'Course, Sweets." Peter nuzzled into her hair. "My pleasure." He pulled away to cup her cheek with a hand. No matter how confident he wanted to be, he would admit his heartbeat kicked higher when he saw those brilliant scarlet-cerulean eyes.

"Do…? Do you want to kiss me?" Mary Jane asked with a hitch in her voice.

"Very much so, yeah," Peter laughed breathlessly. "I've been wanting to since I saw you in the Sky Port today."

Mary Jane tucked back her hair behind her ears and took a nice inhale. "Okay." She tilted her head upward and fought down her nerves. "Kiss me."

That was all it took.

Their first kiss was a little shaky partly due to Peter's nerves and Mary Jane's awkwardness. But the next kiss felt warmer and more at ease. The third kiss was stretched longer with Peter accidentally deepening the kiss when he parted her lips with his tongue. Surprised, Mary Jane jerked back and covered her mouth with her hands. Peter, shocked himself, fell over to apologize, "I'm so sorry. I should have asked—"

He had no time to finish it when Mary Jane gathered his cheeks in her hands and pulled him in for another kiss he fell into. Hesitantly, she allowed him to guide her in parting her mouth and she could not regret it. Bodies a-tingle, neither realized the deeper they sunk into the kiss, violet streaks of lightning wounds around them as the floor beneath them shifted and reconstructed itself. Mary Jane hummed, elated, and Peter's arms dipped down to wrap around her waist and pull her even closer than before.

I missed you kisses could be some of the best kisses you would experience. The way all your longing and misplaced affection could be released. The way you could finally feel your partner beneath your fingers tip, feel their warmth and their presence—them. It was a kiss that said everything that could not be said. It detangled all those emotions of frustration, of craving, of those sad little moments when you realized how cold you were without them and, pressed all the emotions onto your partner. You wanted them to know how much your adoration for them grew in their absence. You wanted them to know they were at the forefront of your mind. They were a distraction and a muse to get through the days without them.

Mary Jane and Peter pulled away with their eyes still closed, their chests heaving, and the Magic that swirled around them fell flat. For a moment, the world was quiet and still. And slowly their eyes opened back up to see the world.

Heated gold and warm cerulean-scarlet clashed.

Peter breathed, "I really like you, Sweets."

"I like you too," Mary Jane said back. "About your question…"

"Later." Peter trailed a lock of her hair with a finger. "I want the moment to be perfect."

Mary Jane hummed. "I see why Bleu and Luna like kissing so much." Her lashes went down as a shy smile feathered her lips. "It's nice. I like kissing you."

"And only me, right?"

"Yes." Mary Jane looked back up at him to plant a slow kiss on his lips. "Only you." Something resonated with her and she looked down again. "And I really think you like kissing me too."

Peter's brow furrowed as he followed her gaze. "Well, of course, I…" His eyes bulged when he saw a heart was impressed into the floor beneath their feet. "Oh my god," he gasped as Mary Jane giggled. "Did I…?"

"Yup." Mary Jane patted his cheek in consolation and smiled at the utter horror on his face. "Don't worry. Esme can fix it. Once you learn more about your Magic, it'll be easier to control." She guided him to the bed.

Peter stalled and began to panic. "Wait, I-I-I don't think I'm ready—!"

"We're not doing…"—Mary Jane blushed—"that. I'm not ready either and I don't think I'll be ready any time soon." She settled on the bed. "But I'm tired and I want to take a nap before we start heading to the town and I just thought that we could…" Hair came forth to cover her red eye. "We could… I-I mean…"

Peter took mercy on her. "Cuddle for a little bit?"

Mary Jane sunk her teeth into her bottom lip and nodded.

"Are you sure?" Peter checked. "I don't want you uncomfortable and your cousins could come into the room—"

"I'm sure." Mary Jane ducked her head even further. "I really want to cuddle with you. I really missed you and we haven't seen each other in a few days and…"

Peter smiled. "I can do that. Lie down, okay?"

Mary Jane did so and curled onto her side to face him. Peter dipped into the bed and showed no hesitation as he wrapped his arms around her. Mary Jane threw her leg between his and her body shivered as she basked in his warmth and scent. Peter could feel her tremor and whispered, "Is this okay?"

"Yes," Mary Jane mumbled back. "Are you okay?"

"I'm cuddling you, Sweets. I'm more than okay."

Mary Jane let her hands wind into his shirt. "Thanks for coming this weekend."

"No need to thank me," Peter said with a huff of a laugh. "Your family seems so warm and welcoming. I can't wait to hear all those embarrassing stories your mom promised—!" He laughed even more when Mary Jane groaned and tightened her grip when she squirmed. "I'm kidding, Sweets. Don't worry. I won't ask your mom… Your cousins on the other hand—"

"Peter…!"

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

And then…

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

The trip down the mountain was always a thrill ride, depending on who was driving. As a family, they rented out two large vehicles with Elfman and Bixslow volunteering their own vehicles as well. Esme had taken the helm of one of the vehicles and was a monster going down the mountain that left you either laughing hysterically or gripping the door support for dear life. Laxus had taken the other with an eyebrow twitching as everyone crooned along to Christmas songs. Spencer had rented a vehicle for him, Veronika, and her children, but she was surprised when Lisa-Jane wanted to be with her cousins and Ivan has asked his mother politely if he could sit with Liberty.

It was divide and conquer when they got to the town and pulled up at a mega-grocery store. The entire family had gathered in the parking lot with Mira and her lists in hand. "Okay, everyone, we have a few hours until we have to start dinner and then the adults are heading back down for our reservation," she told. "Peter, you'll be on Justin's team with Mary Jane. Spencer and Veronika, you'll be with Esme. Ivan and Lisa-Jane, you guys are with Lisanna."

Spencer saw a ghost of a smile on Veronika's lips as Mira dished out orders and whispered, "What's this about teams?"

Veronika shivered at his closeness and took a step away before murmuring back, "Every year, to make it more fun when we shop, my mom would do it like a scavenger hunt and put us on teams. The winning team gets first pick during of gift exchange." She looked up at him. "You don't have to participate—"

"It sounds fun." Spencer offered a lopsided smile. "About time I see your competitive side, Lucky."

Veronika snorted. "We're on the same team, dumbass."

"Mommy!" Ivan served his mother a scolding look. "No swearing."

Veronika hit Spencer in the gut when he chortled before smiling in apology at her son. "Sorry, baby. Captain Lates is just a bad influence on me," she reasoned. "Are you sure he can't go home to be with his family instead of corrupting me?"

"Oh, don't be like that, Sissy," Mary Jane tittered as she came to stand with her older sister holding Peter's hand. "Isn't it nice to be back and see everyone?"

Veronika nudged Mary Jane. "Maybe a little," she supposed. "But I swear to god, Sprite, you trick me next time and there will be Hell to pay. I might not be the wild child I was when I was your age, but I've still got it."

"Mmm-hmm." Mary Jane patted Veronika's shoulder. "I'm sure underneath all those tissues and bottles of wine you have from watching all your trashy romcoms and soap operas, you've still got it." She grinned all tongue-in-cheek when Veronika gaped at her. "Come on, Peter. I'll introduce you to our team. And be prepared. Justin is no joke when it comes to the games."

Veronika narrowed on Mary Jane. "She used to be so cute and sweet. Traitor." She felt tugging and saw an uncertain Liberty was the culprit. She could not help but smile seeing her. "Hi, Libby."

Liberty smiled back, relieved. "Hi, Miss Veronika!" she said in her bubbly tone. "Can Ivan and I go see Aunt Lisanna since she's our team captain?"

Veronika hesitated and looked at her son. "Do you want to play the game?" When Ivan nodded, Veronika heaved a sigh. "Then, you better go on, then. Just make sure you stay close to Aunt Lis, okay? No wandering off."

Ivan beamed. "Okay, Mommy!" He hugged her, but he gave Spencer a stern look. "Make sure my mommy is okay at all times."

Spencer saluted the boy. "Of course, sir. Lucky's safe with me." A grin tugged at his lips when Veronika huffed and rolled her eyes.

Ivan nodded, accepting of Spencer's words, then he took Liberty's outstretched hand. He eagerly trailed after her and it was adorable the way he hung onto her every word as she prattled on about the game.

Veronika looked over to see Lisa-Jane was finding amusement in Pacer and Pearson as the twins clued her in on a possible prank they wanted to bring over for the holidays. Mary Jane and Peter had made it to their team as Justin paced up and down the line the team had formed with their list of items they needed to find in his hands and the severity of his orders. Esme had rounded up her team with an avid battle strategy with Guil's arm wrapped around her waist and Ye-ji's arm looped around hers. Ola was nodding at something Ellie said and was unaware Evie kept glancing over at her girlfriend like she needed to make sure Ola was within her sight. Ezra threw back his head and howled in laughter at something Elvin had said.

Veronika felt a heat in her eyes. Everyone's grown up so much and changed. Esme's married and she was the one who always hated the idea of marriage. Evie's in a relationship… She smiled to herself. I remember Evie went on and on how she wanted her own manly Prince Charming when we were kids. Now she has a beautiful girlfriend. Her eyes went to Ezra and Elvin. Ezra's so much more comfortable with himself now. It's amazing. Goodness, and Elvin… He was so little before and so playful. But he's so mature now. Lisanna came into focus, and she was pleasantly surprised when Bixslow gave her a kiss on the cheek.

My aunts and uncles haven't changed. Same as always with their chaotic energy. She chuckled to herself when she saw Ivan hide a little behind Liberty when Freed approached. But the boy slowly overcame his shyness when Freed stooped down to his level and held out a hand. She caught Lisa-Jane had gotten Pearson to do her bidding and give her a piggyback ride. It's like I never left…like my kids have been around everyone since they were born.

DRIP.

And I kept them away, Veronika whispered. I was selfish…so selfish…

DROP.

"Lucky?"

Veronika blinked. Touching her face, she pulled back to see wetness on her gloves. I'm crying?

"Lucky."

Veronika felt fingers guide her face and looked up. Cerulean shrouded in sunset clashed with worried gunmetal dark blue. "Wh-What? Did you say something?"

Spencer frowned. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he murmured too low for anyone outside of them to hear. "You've been through one helluva day. We can take your kids back to the lodge or we could find a hotel—"

"No." Veronika moved herself from his grasp to nod at her children. "Look at how happy they are. They've always wanted this—a family." A sad smile graced her features. "Who am I to take them away from it even more so than I already have?"

Spencer's frown deepened. "Lucky—"

"Hey, V-card!"

TICK!

A tick mark banged upon Veronika's temple as she whipped a glare at the culprit—a smug Esme. Veronika stormed up to her cousin to growl, "I thought I told you to never call me that."

"Well, old habits die hard and it got your attention from you and your man meat making all the eyes, didn't it?" Esme pointed out, tickled when Veronika reddened. To Spencer, she called, "Oh, Captain…! Get your nice ass over here too!" She giggled when Guil pouted and she pecked her husband's cheek. "Your ass is hotter and better, big guy, don't you worry."

Once Spencer had arrived and Guil was sated, Esme looked about her team and shook her ripped-up list. "Okay, so, everyone should have their assignments." She looked at Spencer and Veronika with a smirk. "Since you two were too busy with your mental foreplay, you guys are paired up." She ripped a portion of the list off and handed it to Veronika. "You guys get the liquor section since my hubby thinks it's a bad idea to let me go there."

Veronika snorted as she went over her portion of the list. "Well, duh. You'd just grab everything off the shelves and drink it all yourself."

"You have not been home long enough to cast judgment on the current me," Esme sniffed. "I'm a new woman with a ring on her finger.

Ye-ji simpered. "But she is right." She winked at Veronika. "Esme still gets a little too carried away when it comes to drinking." She planted a kiss right below Esme's ear. "But she definitely unwinds a lot more with alcohol. Right, Guil?"

This time, Esme reddened, Guil smirked, and Veronika was having the last laugh.

"Well, anyway," Esme hissed, shooting glares at her husband and her girlfriend, "I'm on an alcohol cleanse, so there's that. V-card, make sure you and Captain Lates don't get distracted in the liquor aisle. Now that we upped the money limit on the gift exchange, there's bound to be really good presents and I want dibs." She jabbed a finger at Veronika. "Do not ruin this for me, V-card."

"Don't worry, ER," Veronika drawled, elated when Esme scowled, "I still remember the rules and that."

Spencer murmured into Veronika's ear, "Rules? That?"

"Just make sure we don't come in last and you won't have to know that," Veronika muttered back to him.

Mira clapped her hands for all eyes to be on her. Beaming at her family, she held a whistle in one hand and called, "Okay! All teams have one hour to get what is on their list, check out, and meet back at the cars. And remember!" She winked. "If you come in dead last, you'll have to do that." She brought the whistle close to her lips. "On your marks… Get set…" She blew the whistle.

The tourist shoppers for the megastore were nowhere near prepared when a large family swarmed the entrance as they fought over carts and made a mad dash in every direction. But the locals and the staff from years past all shook their heads in amusement and exasperation when they saw the Strauss relatives shouting amongst themselves as they called for aisle numbers and items. With Evie and Ola on separate teams, both of them had condiments they had to get and were ruffling through the aisles as quickly as they could. Evie looked over and grinned when she saw Ola trying very hard to reach up and get the steak sauce on one of the upper shelves.

Ola grunted when she could feel a bottle of steak sauce in her grasp when a familiar presence encompassed her and she smiled when she heard a murmur, "Need some help?"

"Only if you're willing to play nice," Ola replied back, cheeky. "You have a bad habit of fighting dirty." She watched as Evie reached and procured a bottle for her. Reaching for it, she shook her head when Evie snatched it away. Ola turned around and held out a hand. "See? Dirty."

"I'll let you have it," Evie assured, "for a kiss."

Ola snorted. "Is that all?" She poised herself, but her brow furrowed when Evie put a finger on her lip.

"I choose where," Evie decided.

Ola laughed and made a grab for the sauce, but Evie raised it higher with a cocked eyebrow and a smirk. "You are incorrigible," Ola huffed good-naturedly. "But I'm stupid enough to love you."

A playful glint in deep blue. "How much?"

Their moment was ruined when Lance swooped by to rob the steak sauce from Evie and grabbed Ola on his way down the aisle. "If I'm not allowed to kiss my girlfriend, you can't kiss yours!" Lance hollered as Ola giggled and Evie cursed out her cousin.

Esme had gunned it down the frozen section with her shopping cart with Pim riding within the card and laughing in glee at the discord they sewed as they weaved about. Guil and Ye-ji kept up with her crazed stride as both murmured apologies for their partner's overzealous movements. Though it all came to a stop when Esme's eye twitched and a look of disgust crossed her face out of nowhere. Covering her mouth, she swiveled her head to look at her partners in panic. Guil and Ye-ji exchanged a harried look and Ye-ji went to wrap an arm around Esme and steer her to the bathroom while Guil took over the shopping cart.

Pim looked at Guil.

Guil looked at Pim.

And everyone was looking at the two of them as Pim struck the king-of-the-world pose in the cart while Guil sailed them down the lane.

Lisa-Jane was loading chips into the shopping cart, but every time she turned to count how many bags she had, she found the cart was empty. So, she threw in more chip bags only to find, once again, the cart was empty. Suspicious, she grabbed another bag and put it in the cart to track the movement, but when nothing happened, she pretended to reach for more. When she whipped around, she saw Pacer had been the culprit and the two of them exchanged laughter over his prank.

Mary Jane and Peter had stuck together within their team and both laughed when they saw Guil and Pim sail by their aisle and, on the other end, a frantic Justin was shouting where he could find the pasta section. They had ended up in the candy aisle and Peter rolled the cart while Mary Jane took hold of the list and plucked out bags of candy. Peter was content watching her and the way she murmured to herself what she needed, the way her eyes brightened when she found something, and how she would reminisce whose favorite candy she plucked. He glanced around and grinned when he found what he was looking for.

Mary Jane felt a tap on her shoulder and turned only to snort a giggle into her hand when she saw Peter stood there with a piece of pocky in his mouth with the other end extended to her. Eyes shut and a grin on his lips, he could practically purr when he felt Mary Jane take the other end and opened his eyes—

—only to quickly back away in fear when it was Laxus on the other end with death in his eyes and Mary Jane chastising her father for scaring the poor boy.

Spencer and Veronika had made it into the special liquor section that carded before entry. Veronika was on task immediately when she got in and went to look for the peach schnapps first. She squatted down when she found the schnapps aisle and muttered to herself about the specific brand she was required to get. Someone coughed and she looked over her shoulder to see Spencer there and he presented her a bourbon whiskey titled LUCKY. For a moment, Veronika froze. Then, she turned red. And Spencer blissfully listened as Veronika stood up and prodded his chest with death threats.

The checkout lanes were full to begin with, but that did not stop the Strauss Clan. The team gathered and recited all the items each teammate and their partner had gathered. It annoyed other shoppers, but none of the cousins and their dates cared at this particular time. They all dove for self-checkout with Justin scrambling to get his rewards card and putting everyone in charge of who scanned, who bagged, and who loaded the carts. By the time everyone had checked out, Justin's team was in the lead, but it did not matter. Everyone made a rush for the exit and to the parking lot (with Spencer stopping everyone to look both ways before crossing the street) and Mira and Freed waited at the cars, Freed checking the time and Mira with her whistle.

When all the three teams rushed over, Mira watched carefully and blew a whistle. "And this year's winners and the team that gets first draft pick for the gift exchange is…"—she smiled over to Justin—"Justin's team!"

Justin and his team cheered and screamed while everyone else smiled and clapped for them.

Mira brought the attention back to her. "Now, load up everything. If you want to come back to the lodge, you can. All us old folks will be heading back so we can prep and start dinner. Anyone who isn't ready to come back, feel free to go by the shopping center and get what you want. Just be sure to at least be back to the lodge by seven. Is that okay with everyone?" Everyone voiced their agreements and Mira's smile widened. "Wonderful! Let's get going then!"

°•°•°•°

Once cars were selected for going back up the mountain and to the lodge or staying within town, everyone broke off. Most of the cousins and their guests had decided to go to the shopping center the town offered filled with lights and holiday cheer and discounts. The open-air shopping mall was full of brands from Nick's to Love Me to even an outlet Lacy's. A large Christmas tree dominated the center of it alongside a menorah and other representations of the winter holidays. A couple came out of an ice cream shop, pleased as punch with the new mint flavor they brought back during Christmastime. A group of high school carolers was singing Christmas time Is Here with the director a plucky thing with rosy cheeks. A small little girl and her dog walked along the boardwalk with her parents behind her as the little girl wanted to make it to the stuffed animal shop down the way.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

« This is Greenheart Park, an upscale outdoor shopping mall. During the holidays, it's a popular place for tourists to visit. »

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Ezra and Elvin had broken off from the large group of relatives and both of them had their mind set going to Nick's to leaf through the shoe selection. The store was busy this season with all the discounts for such a popular brand. An aunt and her two nieces browsed through the athleisure sales racks for some new pants. An older brother did a ridiculous dance as his little brother tried on his first pair of Nick's shoes. Ezra was pulling a box of sneakers off the racks when his ears twitched and feminine giggles hurt his ears.

"He's so hot," came scandalous whisper.

"I know, right?" another whisper back. "And he's in the thirteen-size aisle? He's got big feet, if you know what I mean."

"And he's so tan! Girl, I would kill to have all of that between my legs."

Ezra kept the shoebox close to him as a frown dosed his face. A sigh left him.

"You okay?"

Ezra peeked over to see Elvin had come down the aisle with a few shoe boxes in his hands. Elvin glanced behind him with a frown. "Is it what those girls said?"

"Using your powers, huh?" Ezra plucked another box before he took a seat on the aisle bench with Elvin beside him.

Elvin set aside his boxes and took off his shoes. "Not like I have much choice," he muttered. "Ever since Margaret, it's like my Magic is making the choice for me about my senses." He took off the lid to one of the shoeboxes and started putting on one of the training shoes he had picked out.

"I wish you wouldn't say that like you're upset," Ezra sighed. He began to try on the running shoes he picked out. "But I understand this isn't an easy thing for you. It wasn't easy for me either."

Elvin winced and looked down at the training shoes. He mumbled, "Yeah, I know."

Ezra flexed and pointed his feet in the running shoes. "No one can force you to bear the burden of Magic like ours," he said softly. "But slowly, you'll start seeing you have less and less of a choice in if you use it or not." Sadness etched deep in those blues. "And when that choice is gone, you hurt the people you love most."

Elvin looked over at his older brother. Warily, he asked, "Is that what happened with you and Saudade?" He noted the way Ezra tensed and hurried along to say, "Sorry, I shouldn't have pried—"

"That's what happened with her and me, yeah."

Elvin swallowed his apology when Ezra hunched over and folded his hands between his thighs.

"I know you understand," Ezra started, tone quiet, "with what happened to Ellie. And I'm sure you'll never forget that day. It's like a dark stain in your life and you'll remember that smell of blood and that feeling of losing control. But the more you keep trying to gain control by fighting against your power, the more you lose control until the person closest to you can't even recognize your eyes anymore."

Elvin looked at the ground. He's right. I know he's right. But still… "What if I lose control again? What if I hurt someone?"

"That's what we train for." Ezra fiddled with his running shoes. "The research I do studies people like us. There's more of us out there who can change like this ever since we were born. But when people like you struggle with control, we have environments that should make everything more comfortable. It did for me." He patted his pocket. "But my monster is a little bit more unruly. It's why I have my little contingency on me at all times."

Elvin's eyes parted to Ezra's pocket. "Could I have a contingency too?"

Ezra smiled and shook his head. "Elvin, once you have control over your powers, you won't need something like this," he promised. "You have a rare gift. You can shape-shift into any animal. You can use their powers. Once you understand that, you'll never have to worry about slipping." His smile took a pained angle. "My monster and I are different. I'm not like you, Elvin, or Dad." His hands clenched into fists. "But, with my research, hopefully, I can be like the two of you someday."

"Ezra…" Elvin breathed. He looked away. It was shrouded in a fog, but he could remember those feral eyes and imposing figure from Margaret Town. He remembered the feeling of needing to submit, to obey, but the wild stubbornness of his Magic wanted to be let loose and free from all the time it had been caged within him. "What's Mister Wolfheim like? What was he like when he helped you?"

"Gruff." Ezra got to his feet to check on his running shoes. "He shows his kindness in a very different way. But he'll help you, Elvin." He put a hand on his little brother's shoulders. "But only if you left him." And as Ezra mock-jogged up and down the aisle to get a feel for his shoes, Elvin was left to bask in those words.

°•°•°•°

Ellie, Esme, Eloise, and Evie had decided enough was enough and wanted the sisters to spend time together. Ola had parted from a reluctant Evie with a kiss and a wink as she linked arms with Justin and carried off with their plans. Guil and Ye-ji had agreed to buy the rest of the supplies for Esme's surprise though they had a special surprise in-store for Esme and refused to tell her even when she pouted at them. The sisters had gathered in the ice cream parlor against their better judgment and decided to eat their dairy treats inside instead of walking around with them.

Evie groaned at her brain freeze. "Why the Hell did we get ice cream in dead winter?"

"Oh, quit complaining." Esme lapped up her mixture of mint chocolate ship cream and green tea ice cream. "We come here every year and this year is no different."

Evie wrinkled her nose. "Yeah, but this is the first year you got such a disgusting combo."

"So it's true then?" Ellie held Esme's arm. "Are you…you know?"

Esme only grinned. "I withhold my right to silence until tomorrow."

Ellie and Eloise squealed while Evie smiled. "I'm going to be an aunt!" Eloise boasted. "Can you have a girl so I can have a niece?"

"I am not confirming or denying anything about babies, yet, ducky," Esme reminded her littlest sister, "but if I was having a cutie like you, I'd definitely want all girls." She smiled all dreamlike. "Guil's been wanting children for so long. He's been amazing. I really hit the jackpot with him."

Eloise frowned. "If Guil's so cool, why do you have Ye-ji?"

Ellie gasped, appalled. "Eloise!"

But Esme was in high spirits and waved her hand. "Ellie, it's chill. She's young." She smiled at Eloise. "People can have love in their hearts for more than one person in a romantic way. I decided to share that love with Guil and Ye-ji and…" She sweatdropped when she saw Eloise was back to eating her ice cream and playing on her tablet. "She's not even listening anymore, is she?"

"How did you and Ye-ji happen?" Ellie wanted to know. "And Guil's really okay with this?"

"He is," Esme assured. "Believe me. It was a long discussion and a lot of emotions on my part. But in Pergrande, poly isn't as scandalous as in the USM or here. You can have two spouses legally there. But he made it clear he didn't want to have another partner outside of me." She frowned. "I was really worried, though. I didn't want any weird jealousy to come up. But Ye-ji's been great. We met at a convention and hit it off. I was upfront about Guil to her and me being poly. She was a little put-off at first, but by the end of our first date, we had a connection. She met Guil on the third date."

"How'd that go?" Evie asked.

Esme snickered. "Honestly? It went really well. Guil and Ye-ji get along great. I've asked if Guil feels anything for her, but he doesn't and Ye-ji's a lesbian." With an eye-roll and a big scoop of her ice cream, she muttered, "They get along with all those old walkie-talkie movies and teasing the Hell out of me." But she could not help her lovesick sigh. "But I love those idiots anyways." Her eyes danced over to Evie. "Speaking of loving idiots…"

Evie scowled. "Stop—"

"Why haven't you proposed to Ola?" Ellie demanded.

Evie shot daggers at Ellie. "Really? Now you too?" She grumpily spooned more ice cream into her mouth.

"I mean we know now you're proposing to her," Esme put, "but, like, why did you wait so long? I kept telling you, Eves, that girl needs a ring on her finger before she gets fed up with our family's chaotic energy and bolts." She and Ellie exchanged giggles. "Lord knows I locked down my himbo hubby before he had the decency to start seeing my crazy."

Evie shook her head. "I was hoping her dad would accept us," she confessed in a mumble.

Ellie's smile faded. "How does Ola feel about her situation with her dad?"

"She doesn't really care." Evie rolled her eyes. "Or so she says. But her dad and her used to be close, even when she was getting into gothic culture. I know it hurts when her dad won't even acknowledge her when we got to visit her family. We talked about marriage and she told me she never liked the idea of fathers giving away their daughters, but…" She sighed. "I don't know. I just know it hurts her. And I hate that she's hurting."

Ellie thought about this. "I think, once the wedding plans happen, you should bring up the subject again," she offered in advice. "If it seems like this is something that still bothers her, ask her if she'd want her mom giving her away. If it doesn't bother her, then drop the subject. The worst thing you can do is keep prying."

Evie took that into account. "I'll do that. Thanks, Elle." As Ellie shrugged, Evie turned the tables on her little sister. "So what's JJ telling us about your mysterious date you won't tell us about?" She and Esme high-fived when Ellie turned beat red and flowers abruptly sprouted around her and startled nearby customers. "And the intel was right. You are really hung up on your date is you're blossoming."

"Shut up, okay?" Ellie snapped more about of abashment than anger. "It's not like that! I mean…" Her cerulean-coffee eyes looked at her ice cream. "I mean it is like that, I think. I just—I don't know."

"Hey…" Esme brushed away some of Ellie's flyaway hairs. "Elle, it's us. Nothing to be embarrassed about. Unless…" Her eyes narrowed. "Is it a frat boy?"

Ellie groaned. "No. My date isn't a frat boy." She eyed Esme up and down. "But wow, you and JJ really think I have no taste."

"If your date isn't a frat boy," Evie cut in, "who is your date? Are they someone we know?"

Ellie swallowed then licked her lips. "N-No, you don't know them. I mean… You don't know her?" She cringed when both Evie and Esme's eyebrows rose. "It's weird, isn't it?"

Esme and Evie shared a look. Esme pointed at herself. "Poly." She jerked a finger at Evie. "Lesbian." She ticked off another finger. "Demi Ezra. Ace Elvin." Waving her hand to the general vicinity, she asked, "Need I go on? Because our entire family is a literal rainbow. We are the community."

Ellie offered a weak smile. "No, I get it, I get it, I just…" She stirred her ice cream. "I don't know. I've never dated a woman before. She's…" Her cheeks warmed. "She's beautiful and amazing. She makes me feel butterflies in my stomach."

"And apparently"—Evie pointed at the flowers that had slowly come to be on the table—"you must be head over heels for her with the way you're blooming."

Ellie dismissed the flowers back into Ethernano as Esme spoke up, "We're not going to judge whoever you choose to bring to the event, be it a woman or man or non-binary or someone else, Elle. As long as they treat you well and make you blossom like that, then we're golden." She smirked. "Besides, being with women, you notice they do things a man simply can't understand."

"It's true." Evie took another spoonful of ice cream, but she could not help her Cheshire grin. "Ask Ola. She'll tell you."

"Or try having both." Esme lit up with the idea. "Ooo, yes, threesome! I motion that. Do that. Then, you'll really notice the difference, especially when you're blindfolded—"

Ellie hissed, "Eloise is right here—!"

"She's not paying attention," Evie remarked. The three older sisters turned to see Eloise was ignorant as she munched on her ice cream and played with her tablet. "Esme, you're making me think you've had a lot of threesomes. Guil and Ye-ji, I take it?"

Esme could not fight off her own blush, but she said proudly, "Yes, but not every night. Both of them are really dominant, so it comes down to who wants to play with their toy more." She pouted. "Even our room, in our agreement, I sleep in the middle, and it's torture sometimes. Both of them like to be big spoon and there's only one of me. Guil spoons me from the back and Ye-ji holds my front and ugh." She shivered. "They're so possessive and needy."

"But you love it," Evie laughed.

Esme let out a dreamy sigh. "I do. And them. Those idiots. My idiots." She turned back to Ellie. "So, do we get to see a picture of this lady who makes your lady bits tingle, or are we supposed to be surprised?"

"You'll meet Ines—"

"Ines…!" Evie and Esme crooned with grins.

Ellie scowled at her sisters, but she could not help the giggles. "You'll meet her at the event," she promised. "Just be nice, okay?" She geared the plead to Esme.

Esme gasped. "Me? I'm always nice!"

"Yeah. If 'nice' meant 'psycho'," Evie guffawed. "Esme, you can drop your I'm-so-offended look. When I introduced you to Ola, I was so scared you scared her off when you asked her, and I quote, 'So are you a Wiccan or goth? Because you're really sexy'—"

"And she is sexy," Esme cut in matter-of-factly. "I mean have you looked at her? She's gorgeous up and down!"

"No, Esmeralda, I have never once in the three years Ola and I have been together admired how gorgeous she is," Evie said dryly. "But you see what I mean? I'm glad Ola took what you said and ran with it because I would've killed you if you chased her off—"

Esme waved a dismissive hand. "And you would've chased her fine butt if she ran but go on."

Evie blew out an exasperated breath and pointed her spoon at Ellie. "See this? You better hope Ines doesn't meet Esme or anyone you ever date."

"I'll be good." Esme pouted when Ellie and Evie raised disbelieving eyebrows. "What…! I will! I'll be good! Besides, with Ronnie home, I need to catch up on all the teasing." She fanned herself. "And that delicious soldier boy she brought home, ooo la la! I am drilling her tonight to see if he drills her."

Ellie flicked a napkin at Esme. "You are horrible," she laughed, "but I guess I want to know too. Is he coming to the event?"

"Dunno." Evie took another spoonful. "We'll have to ask later. I'm sure Janie mentioned it to Ronnie, but you saw her. She's still skittish with Uncle Laxus close by."

Esme frowned. "We'll figure it out after dinner," she decided with authority. "She's got a lot of explaining to do." A mischievous grin. "And I really hope that explaining involves her captain giving her orders in every sense of the word."

°•°•°•°

Pacer and Pearson had herded off their siblings in an attempt to reconnect and it was working. While Lisanna and Bixslow stressed over the mischievous nature the triplets possessed, Pearson was a breeze with them. With pranks of his own up his sleeve, he let his little brothers in on the secret and they listen with rapt attention to his every word of his blueprinted trick. As of now, they had stopped at a half-price bookstore. Penelope had picked out a few books and was levitating crisscrossed as she leafed through another one.

Pacer and Paige sat closer to the door as Pacer played with a rubber band ball he had found lying around. He glanced over to Paige to see the expression on her face. Such sobriety for one so young. "So Penny told me you've been in your head a lot more," Pacer said offhandedly. "Wanna talk about it?"

"What's there to talk about?" Penelope mumbled. "Not like it'll change anything."

Pacer stopped throwing and catching his rubber band ball to sit up and nudge his little sister. "It might not, but it's always good to talk about it," he encouraged. "You look so down and depressing, dudette. You know Dad will try to get his babies to cheer you up and we know how that goes."

Paige could not crack a smile at that. Her eyes stayed locked on Penelope's floating figure and the words left her without permission. "She's so powerful. And so strong. But…"—pale red shimmered—"she's also so weak too."

Pacer sat back in his chair to listen.

"Margaret Town was a lot," Paige admitted in a murmur. "So much happened. But I'll never forget Nelly. Her powers are so dangerous. She could've killed herself using it." Her fists clenched. "So why did she? She's supposed to be this genius powerhouse, so why would she make such stupid moves?"

"Is that what you think she did?"

Paige looked over at Pacer. "What?"

Pacer just nodded over to Penelope. "You think Penny would really make a stupid move without seeing all the outcomes?"

Paige wanted to retort, but she drew up short in her reply. Frustrated, she glared at the ground. "How can I protect her," she whispered raggedly, "when she's risking herself like this? If she goes too far…" She did not even have to finish the words.

Pacer's eyes shifted to his twin. Pearson was all smiles as the triplets argued over who got to help him with the rigging. "It's hard watching them do what they do."

Paige blinked and looked up to see a bitter smile on Pacer's face.

"He's incredible," Pacer admitted. "His Magic… It's like nothing people have seen. He understands so much about souls and wavelengths like it's nothing. It's insane watching him work. He brushes it off like it's nothing, but the fact he can control it without needing protection like Dad and Penny… He's freaky powerful." He shook his head. "But it comes at a cost that he's powerful." His eyes slid to the side. "Want to know why my grades slipped as much as they did?"

Paige nodded. "Why?"

Lips twitched. "Pearse was in an accident."

Pale reds widened.

"It wasn't a physical accident," Pacer informed. "But he was in that other world… He was stranded there. Suspended there for days." He raked his hand down his bangs. "He couldn't even remember what happened when he came to."

"Why didn't you tell Mom and Dad?" Paige wanted to know. "Why didn't you tell us?"

But Pacer was shaking his head. "Trust me. I wanted Pearse to tell Mom and Dad. Dad would've understood what happened. He could've helped. But Pearse didn't want to tell them and I respected that decision—but only if this was a one-time thing. If it happened again, he had to fess up to Dad." He adjusted his position. "But if he wasn't going to tell anyone, then I had to keep him from ever going that far again. I pushed myself to protect him in any way I could." He shrugged. "I picked fights I shouldn't've. I did stupid shit. But I couldn't risk losing him to that place again. Seeing him so blank, so…dead to the world."

"I know the feeling," Paige murmured. "It's horrifying." She could remember the blankness in her sister's eyes. Nothing existed. It was like she was beyond reach. I never want to feel that helpless again. But what I am supposed to do? She's S-Class and I'm just me. How am I supposed to protect her from herself?

PLOP!

Paige looked up with Pacer's hand on her head to see her older brother smiling down at her. "Don't beat yourself up too much over not protecting Penny," he chastised not unkindly. "Don't do what I do. It's a dangerous path to follow them."

"But it's dangerous for them to go down alone too."

Pacer blinked as Paige rose to her feet. "Paige…"

"I can't let Nelly go down that path alone," Paige determined, "because she isn't alone. She's never alone. She has me. I might not ever be as strong as she is, but I can sure as Hell help her when she's not at her best. I won't ever let her get stranded in that other place. I won't let her go too far." She smirked. "You can count on that."

Pacer watched as Paige walked away from him to go to her own twin. She did not bother Penelope. Instead, she rooted around the shelves to find a book of at least a little bit of interest to her. Penelope might not have spared Paige a glance, but a book left the shelves to float to Paige. Paige's eyes lit up and she shot her sister a warm smile before sitting down to read it.

Pacer smiled to himself, but that bitterness was tinged now to bittersweet. Well… If you're going down the same path as Penny, I just hope you two don't make the same mistakes we did. He looked at his brother, but for just a moment, he saw a bow strapped down to a hospital bed with glowing eyes and not a breath to his name. "Protect Penny, Paige," Pacer whispered. "Don't ever let her reach the place Pearse found."

°•°•°•°

Veronika and Spencer had the luck of having Ivan, Liberty, and Lisa-Jane with them on their evening stroll. Veronika watched her children like a hawk as both Lisa-Jane and Ivan were amazed over how lucky Liberty was. She won free prizes, free ice cream, found unclaimed jewel on the sidewalk—she was bursting with luck. On the latest endeavor, Liberty impressed the siblings all because they had walked into a store and they contested Liberty as the two-hundredth customer and won a gift certificate as her award.

"Maybe I should call her 'Lucky'," Spencer murmured in a chuckle. "I've never seen someone so fortunate."

"Well, her Magic is Luck Magic," Veronika reasoned. "It's why my family is really protective and doting on her—"

Spencer butted in with a lick of teasing, "So she can tell you the winning numbers to the lottery?"

"No," Veronika snapped, not finding this funny at all. "But, yes, in a way." She sighed and watched as Liberty shared her gift certificate with Lisa-Jane who squealed and hugged her cousin in glee. "A lot of bad people would kill to have her powers. It's not like she's the only Mage in the world with Luck Magic. But being born with Luck Magic versus gaining it as a Magician after tampering with Probability Spells and Hindsight and all the fun Precognition stuff? That's not as common."

Spencer agreed with that point. In a low voice, he asked, "What happened to her parents? Mary Jane said she was adopted."

"I don't know." Veronika pulled away from the conversation to shout, "Lisa-Jane, not too far!" When Lisa-Jane held herself back to stay put with Ivan and Liberty, Veronika murmured to Spencer, "From what Sprite says, Uncle Freed got a call and, within a few months, Liberty came back with him to Fiore. He does take her back to her home every year so she knows where she was born, but…" She paused and Spencer stopped with her. "Well, I haven't exactly been around to know much more."

Spencer could hear the strangled emotions in her words and slipped his hand into hers. "You needed space, Lucky," he reminded in in the softest of tones.

"From Laxus." Veronika felt her eyes prick. "Not from the rest of my family. I could've kept in contact with them and I didn't. It cost Lisa and Ivan years' worth of time with family who would have loved them—"

"But they had you," Spencer countered. "You loved them and cherished them."

But Veronika waved that statement away. "You heard Lisa at MagiaLand." Words chattered with thick remorse. Mauled with anguish. "She felt trapped. She didn't feel like she was loved."

"She was angry." Spencer decided not to mince his words this time around. "And that anger was uncalled for, but it came from a place of truth, yes. It's natural for anyone to go through that. They want to belong somewhere. She knows you love her. She knows she belongs with you and Ivan. But she's growing, Lucky. She wanted to belong to her entire family. And seeing how your family is, can you stand here and blame her?"

Veronika sniffed and wiped her eyes. "No," she supposed. "But Laxus—"

"Lucky, I'll say this once."

Veronika blinked in confusion when Spencer took both her hands. "What are you—?" Her question dried up when Spencer pulled the two of them close so gunmetal dark blue and sunset shrouded in cerulean clashed.

"I don't know what happened between you and your father, but that is your business alone. If you choose to never speak to him again and want to keep him cut off and out of your world, that is on you and no one else. No one can take that decision away from you. You are the only one with the power to change your relationship with him." Uncut words. Brash and jarring but needed. "But you can't expect Vanilla to do the same thing you did when her relationship with him is so vastly different."

A mother's anger vibrated in Veronika's eyes. "She's my daughter—"

"And she's her own individual person with thoughts and feelings, enough to make her own opinions," Spencer argued. "If you force Lisa-Jane and Ivan away from your father—"

"Laxus—"

"—they'll resent you for the rest of your life."

Veronika's eyes narrowed. Dangerous words were spoken. You never inserted your opinion on the relationship between child and parent. "Excuse me?" She yanked her hands away from Spencer to cross her arms. "Listen, Captain Lates, you've been kind enough to accompany my children and me this far, but if you feel like I don't know best for my children, maybe it's time for you to return back where you came from and leave the parenting to the actual parent."

Spencer did not back down at the threat. In a burningly low voice, he murmured, "If your father is the person you perceive him as, I'll have no hesitation fighting him. But if he isn't and he's a man of integrity like I know him to be with honor and wisdom, then you don't have to repair your relationship with him, but your kids deserve the chance to form their own opinions on him."

"So he can hurt them?" Veronika hissed. "So he can eventually call Lisa horrible names when she starts dating? So he can make her feel like he doesn't care—?"

"If he hurts your daughter in any way, I swear to you, Lucky, I will set him straight," Spencer vowed. "But you keep saying you're so selfish for holding your kids back from meeting their family. Laxus might not be your family, but he is to them." He took a step back but he might as well be a field away. "Supervise the meeting, if it makes you feel better. But don't take these kids away from having a grandfather."

Veronika's smirk was snarky as it was cynical. "You know, you're forming a lot of opinions on my kids and I for a man who didn't even help create either one of them," she sneered. "Just like a soldier. Insert yourself where you don't belong and make everyone miserable in the process." She shook her head. "You know what? I'm not sorry for all those things I called you. You are just like every other soldier." She made to leave him behind and catch up with the kids, but when a hand grabbed her wrist, her heart stopped, and she felt like the wrist had grabbed her throat instead. "Don't touch me!"

The hand disappeared within an instant, but Veronika could not move. Trapped between panic and fear, she remained stock-still like she was hoping if she did not move, no one would dare try to touch her again. Breaths shaky and eyes still wide and terrified, she gripped herself.

"Lucky."

Veronika blinked. Her daze was still there, the terror, the anxiety, but she blinked and licked her chapped lips.

Spencer moved in front of her with remorse emboldened on his face. His hands smoothened up her arms to help move her hands from her body before she could pierce possible skin. "Lucky, it's just me," he cooed to her like he was calming a screaming child. "I'll let go if that's what you want me to do. I won't hurt you. I'll never touch you like that."

And that was when the breath was released. That shaky exhale crossed with a cry and birthed from a laugh. Painful and jittery. "I'm so sorry." Words that should be strong came in a dry whisper that flickered in and out. "I-I-I… I don't know why I did that." She did not even have to look to know. She felt. She felt the stares at her. She felt their eyes chipping away at her being like they were trying to see her hidden truths. She felt the weight of their judgment on her humiliation. She felt.

"Mommy?"

Veronika's eyes darted down to see Ivan had come back for her, but when she stared at that face, it morphed regrettably into a face she wished she could unsee. "Are you okay?" Ivan fretted. "Should we go home?" He looked at Lisa-Jane. "We should go home, Lisa. Mommy isn't feeling well."

Even Lisa-Jane in all her boldness looked concerned. No disappointment grafted her features. "We can go home," she agreed. "It's okay, Mommy. We'll make sure you're safe at home."

Veronika did not even know what to say or think. Her lips felt like lead and the words were caught in her throat. That painful heat backed itself in her eyes, but they stopped when Veronika felt another tug. Her eyes looked down to see Liberty had wrapped her little arms around Veronika's legs to give her a hug. No words from such a sweet little girl. Just an embrace. It broke the fog Veronika had summoned upon herself. The prickle she felt was gone. Those shaky breaths faded away. She wrapped her hands around the three children and closed her eyes. "I'm okay," she told them in a breath. "I'm okay. I'm so sorry I worried you." Her eyes opened to look at Spencer.

I'm sorry, she thought and hoped her eyes conveyed. I know you won't hurt me.

I know. Spencer stepped forward and placed a hand against her cheek and thumbed away a stray tear. I know, Lucky.

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

And then…

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Once everyone returned to the lodge, it was a free-for-all until dinnertime. While Mira and Lisanna did a majority of the cooking on Sundays, with the entire family home, Guil had added himself into the mix and worked with such dreamy precision, both women could not help but fawn over him and wish their own husbands were just as crafted. Dinner was served buffet style with everything laid out on the island and kitchen counters. The table was built to expand and contract depending on the size of the company, so it was an easy feat to incorporate more space.

And after grace was said, Mira had to be the one to break the ice, much to Mary Jane's dire embarrassment. "So, everyone… We have a special guest joining us tonight." Her eyes fluttered to Veronika and Spencer. "We all know Captain Lates, but…" Her eyes went down the table. "I don't think everyone here knows Peter, Mary Jane's special friend."

All eyes turned to Peter and Mary Jane, both with blushes on their faces. Peter managed a smile and wave. "Hello. I'm Peter Shuusei-Thompson. It's nice to meet all of you."

As everyone said their greetings, Justin raised his hand. "Well, I don't know about all of you, but this family is big as heck and I think we should give him a proper introduction of everyone since, you know, he's going to be Mary Jane's boy—"

"Actually," Mary Jane squeaked, "tha-that's okay, Justin. I already told Peter about the entire family, so we can skip it, right?"

"It's tradition, Janie!" Esme interjected. "We can't break tradition!" She reached over to squeeze Ye-ji's hand. "Besides, it'll help Ye-ji and Captain Hottie over there with all the names and faces and the grand story of the Strauss Clan."

Mary Jane looked to Lance for help, but Lance smiled and shrugged, innocent. "Sorry, Mary Jane, but it is tradition and he is your boyfriend."

"He is not her boyfriend," Laxus said sharply as he lifted his mug of booze. "Not on my dead—Ouch!" He rubbed his ear where Mira had twisted it.

Peter leaned over to whisper, "What are they talking about? What's this tradition?"

Mary Jane ignored him to tightly smile and say, "Daddy, he isn't my boyfriend yet. Which means you guys can do the tradition for Ye-ji." She gestured to Esme. "See? It all works out."

"Oh, you know how the tradition works," Esme retorted. "We only do it for first-timer relationship people so it's more special that way. So stop being such a wimp, Janie, and let us do our thing." Her grin turned sharklike. "Your boyfriend needs the proper Strauss Clan introduction and we should all give it to him."

"Not her boyfr—Dammit, Mira, would you quit pinching me!"

Peter's eyes widened when everyone at the table aside from Spencer, Lisa-Jane, Ivan, and Ye-ji had gotten up from the dinner table as they conversed about something to each other. "Sweets, what is going on?" he hissed in her ear. "You didn't warn me about any tradition."

Mary Jane groaned into her hands. "Because I thought they'd be nice and forget about it." She laid her head on the table. "Now you'll never be my boyfriend."

Peter had to laugh and he rubbed her back. "Okay, so I'm a little put-off, but that doesn't mean I'm still not going to ask you to be my girlfriend," he assured her. "It can't be that bad, can it?"

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

And then…

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Mary Jane was mentally checked out while Peter had tears streaking his face as he laughed. Everyone had rejoined the dinner table as Peter hooted, "It really was that bad!" He looked around the dining table. "You guys really do that every time someone shows up with a partner?"

"Only if they've never brought a partner home," Lisanna corrected. "After Pacer and Pearson ruined nearly every holiday with their exes, we decided it was a first-come-first-serve performance." She beamed. "Did you like it?"

"I'm jealous my family doesn't introduce themselves like that!" Peter nudged Mary Jane. "Sweets, your family is the coolest!"

But Mary Jane could feel her soul leaving her body. I feel so dead emotionally, socially, physically, mentally…

Ellie clapped her hands. "On that note, let's eat!"

Everyone helped themselves and little demands were tossed for sides to be passed or an extra napkin to be brought down. Bixslow called as he poured Lisanna her drink, "So, Peter, what Magic do you do?"

"I'm an Alchemist," Peter said as he reached over for mashed potatoes on Mary Jane's behalf. "I just found out about a month ago."

Evergreen's eyebrows rose. "An Alchemist? Well, that's certainly something different. What type of Alchemist are you?"

A sheepish smile took to Peter's face. "I'm not sure yet," he admitted. "I'm enrolling in a STEMM program to help learn more about Alchemy, so maybe I'll learn then."

"That's wonderful," Lisanna cheered and slapped Pulan's hand from trying to hit Poseidon. "You'll have so much fun at college!"

Pacer nudged his twin with a smirk. "And all the women there will be hot…!" He coughed when Lisanna narrowed her eyes at him. "I mean hot with…knowledge?"

"Smooth," Evie said dryly while Pearson snickered. She turned her attention to Peter. "Don't be too worried about starting late. It takes longer for Alchemists than other Mages to find out about their powers with all the science involved. Your parents didn't try to teach the basics?"

Mary Jane wanted to step in and turn the conversation away, but Peter was prepared for this question. "No, actually. My biological parents died when I was only a few days old and my parents now are Spiritless."

Freed frowned as he helped cut Liberty's food. "Oh, my. Our condolences to you, Peter."

"Thanks," Peter appreciated, "but it's okay. My parents have been great to me."

Liberty had James cuddled in her arms and she burst in, "Baba's really great to me too!"

"Ladybug might be adopted, but she's my daughter no matter what," Freed said warmly. He looked at Justin. "Same to my dramatic son over there."

Justin batted his eyelashes. "Oh, you love my drama, Dad." He winked at Peter. "Welcome to the Adopted Strauss Club, honey."

"It's nice to be accepted," Peter laughed.

"Don't get too comfortable," Laxus warned in a grumble. "I'm watching you, kid."

Esme loudly told a nervously smiling Peter, "Ignore the angry uncle. He's on his man-straul cycle because Janie is growing up and got herself as cute as heck boyfriend."

Laxus could have spit lightning. "He is not her—"

"Did you guys know," Ellie butted in and ignored Laxus' grunting, "Peter's the one who convinced Janie to take Master's offer and perform at the Festival of Gratitude?"

"Wow," Pacer, Ezra, and Pearson chorused. "Way to go, boyfriend."

"Peter's a manly boyfriend!" Elfman shouted.

"He is not her—! Mira, so help me, woman—!"

Ye-ji decided to add to the conversation and asked Peter, "How did you and Mary Jane meet if you don't mind me asking?"

"We met at the Hallow's Eve Spell-tacular," Mary Jane answered on Peter's behalf to give him a chance to take a few bites of his food. "I can't remember what we were dressed up as, but he gave me the lamest pick-up line ever, and, somehow, I must have thought it was cute since he's still here."

"Oh, dude, I have to hear this!" Pearson crooned. "What was the pick-up line?"

Peter flushed as the older cousins and even Bixslow and Lisanna encouraged this and wanted to know. Mary Jane dished him an amused grin and shrug, so Peter bit the bullet. "Hey, your tag is sticking out. What does it say here? Just what I thought"—he turned a darker shade of red—"'Made in Heaven'."

Pacer and Pearson thumped the table as everyone laughed and, this time around, Mary Jane joined in the laughter. "Dude…!" Pacer crooned. "My god, this boy is definitely an Adopted Strauss now." He waggled his eyebrows. "Want to hear an even better pick-up line?" He cleared his throat and turned down to Ola. "Ola? Is your dad a pastor? Because, damn, baby, that body is preaching to the choir!"

Ola laid her chin in a propped hand and purred, "Pace, if kissing you is a sin, I'd happily walk through Hell."

Ezra added in with a smirk towards Ola, "Aside from taking my breath away, what do you do for a living?"

Pearson quipped, "Are you a Zion's Witness? Because you're about to witness this d—"

"Pearson Liam!"

Pearson grinned sheepishly. "Oops?"

Lance waved his hands. "Hold on, hold on, I've got the best one yet." He concentrated and put an arm around Aine who could not hold back her silly smile. "Hey, girl, you know why they call me the God of Thunder?"

"No." Aine stifled her laugh. "Why?"

"Because I'm going to hammer you dry."

No one could resist laughing at that from the quiet Guil to the withdrawn Veronika to the grumpy Laxus. Mira raised her glass and called over all the lollygagging, "To Peter!"

As everyone cheered and clinked glasses to that, conversation broke off instantly and the lodge was full of love and laughter. Aine told a curious Evie about her nursing program and how much farther along she had to go. Eloise and Libby giggled to each other with a quiet Ivan sitting next to Liberty. Liberty saw how shy he was and handed him her tomcat. At first, Ivan panicked, looking like he wanted to bolt, but James did not seem to mind the change in person and settled into Ivan's lap. Lisa-Jane had a bunch of questions lined up for Mira as she chose to sit beside her grandmother. Ezra seemed a little embarrassed as Lance and Pacer ganged up on him about his smarts. Whatever Esme said to Elfman had him red-faced and booze came out from his nose as he choked, but as she passed over one of the side dishes, she caught a whiff and ran out the dining room with Guil hot on her heels.

Veronika frowned as she watched them disappear. "Is she okay?" She asked this to Ye-ji under her breath since the two were seated beside each other. "Is she…?"

"I've been sworn to secrecy," Ye-ji said apologetically. "She's told me to say if anyone asks that they are to wait for her surprise tomorrow." She looked down the hallway. "But I'm sure she wouldn't mind telling you now. She was hoping you'd be at the reunion for her surprise."

"She was?" That surprised Veronika.

Ye-ji nodded and pivoted her attention back to Veronika. "Mmm-hmm. She was. She told Guil and I a lot of stories about you two. You guys must have been close."

A fond smile twiddled on Veronika's face. "We were," she remembered. "She was like my own twin with all the things we got up to. Drove both of our parents crazy all the time, but we didn't care. We just did what we wanted and had fun." Pink rushed to her cheeks as she laughed. "Though, I guess I was the more aggressive one out of the two of us."

"So she told me," Ye-ji chuckled, "but I've seen Esme get plenty aggressive too." Love was so apparent in her eyes. "She gets so protective of Guil and now me. I admire that about her. When she told me she was married, I told her I didn't want to be a secret from him or from society. But Esme got just as angry. She was so passionate about wanting the world to see us together and promised she'd threaten anyone who tried to criticize us." She shook her head in amusement. "She's fearsome. But I love that about her."

Veronika did not know what she should have felt after that, but relief kindled with respect filled her. "She's crazy about you too," she promised. "I might've been gone for some years, but Esme loves hard and doesn't hesitate to show it. By bringing you to meet the family, it means she sees you as serious." She hesitated to ask, but she just had to pry. "Is that something you want?"

"Absolutely." There was no wiggle room for doubt in Ye-ji's tone. "Your cousin is the best thing that ever happened to me. If you're worried about Guil, don't be." She grinned when abashment made itself known on Veronika's face. "Guil and I are friends and I'm happy about that. We get along and hang out together. It's nice to have a good friend like him." Her grin broadened. "And it definitely makes time with our girl even better."

"I'm glad to hear it." Veronika cast another worried look into the hallway.

"You should go to her."

Veronika's eyes snapped to Veronika and hurried to say, "Oh, no, I shouldn't. You're her girlfriend—"

"And you're her cousin." Ye-ji subtly pushed Veronika. "Guil and I get to have Esme every day, but she hasn't seen you in years. Go, Veronika, please. Talk to her."

Veronika took a beat of hesitation, but she ultimately nodded and mouthed her thanks. She turned to Spencer, "Captain Lates—"

"I've got them." Spencer brought her close so their foreheads touched. "Go talk to her. We'll be right here, Lucky."

Veronika breathed her gratitude, muttered a quick pardon, and went out of the dining room. She crossed into the hallway and her feet guided her throat remembered steps to one of the downstairs bathrooms. The door might have been closed, but she could hear vomiting, and Guil murmuring in Perench as he soothed his wife. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. "It's me," she called, tone soft. "Can I come in?"

Murmurs ensued until Guil opened the door wide with a stressed smile on his face. Esme was crouched over the toilet with her hair in a makeshift ponytail and Veronika went to her cousin to rub her back. Guil understood what was going on and stepped outside and shut the door behind him. Esme searched forth and vomited again as Veronika held her steady. "Esme," Veronika started, "are you pregnant?"

Esme coughed, spat, and sniffled in that order. "I wanted it to be a surprise," she joked, hoarse, but it was easy to detect the quiver in her voice. "But I'm fucking up again like always with my stupid symptoms." She spat again and reached over to flush the toilet. She moved to sit up, but she caught Veronika's worried look and assured, "I'm done. Just nauseous."

Veronika helped Esme sit against the wall. "I brought some ginger with me. Ivan gets nauseous so I have ginger snaps for him and I make ginger tea. I'll make some for you," she decided. "Make sure you're constantly eating a dry and plain snack whenever you can. That should help." Her eyes narrowed on her cousin. "Please tell me you're not watching your weight still."

Esme bit her lip. "A little."

"Esme—"

"You have no right to judge me," Esme countered hotly.

"When you're having a baby, I think I do," Veronika retorted. "You're going to gain weight, Esme, and you're going to need to eat for you and for the baby."

"I know that!" Esme defended. "I just…!" She ran a hand through her messy bangs. "It's been a lot, okay?"

Veronika searched Esme's face. "Esme, it's me. You can tell me," she promised. "I know I haven't been around in years, but nothing between us has changed. Our secrets stay our secrets."

Esme's eyes peeked at the door and she whispered miserably, "I had a miscarriage last year and I just…" Tears prickled in her eyes and she sniffled. "I don't want to fail again and kill another baby."

Guilt and secondhand grief choked Veronika at the admission. Without prompting, she hugged Esme close to her as Esme sniffled and kept back her cries. Veronika stroked Esme's hair as she swallowed back her apologies of guilt for not being there, for not being the family she should have been, for drudging up bad memories. This was not the time to say any of those things. "Did you name them?" she decided to ask.

"Emmalyn for a girl," Esme rasped, "and Edouard for a boy." She pressed further into Veronika. "But I killed Guil's baby before we could even kn-know—!"

"Shhh…" Veronika hushed as she rocked them to and fro. "Those are beautiful names, Es. It's nice Guil wanted to continue on with the E names."

Esme shot out a laugh she did not expect. "Yeah." She sniffed and thanked Veronika who had torn off some toilet paper for her. "He's been so great." She looked like she wanted to break all over again. "But I know how much he cried when I killed our baby. What if I do again?" She blew her nose into the toilet paper and threw it away. "I don't want to disappoint him again, y'know?"

Veronika could have argued. She could have countered. She could have huffed about the miscarriage being out of her hands and go on to insist Guil would never had thought she killed their child. But instead, she rubbed Esme's shoulder. "I'm so sorry you feel this way, but I want you to know I'm here for you now and as long as you'll have me whenever you feel like this."

"Then, you're going to need to give me your new number." Esme nudged her and fought for a weak smile. "And why not make a social media page? You used to be all over pinsta and twit and now there's nothing, you callous bitch. You have so much to make up for starting with my wedding and how you were supposed to be my maid of honor—"

Veronika erupted in laughter. "Okay, okay, I know I'm horrible because I dropped all contact." She pouted. "Forgive me?"

Esme looked like she had been waiting for this moment. "Oh, I don't know," she drawled. "I could forgive you…if you bring Captain Lates to Honey's event." When Veronika heavily rolled her eyes and groaned, Esme pleaded, "V-card, come on. He's hot and super into you—"

"And I'm not super into him," Veronika snapped back. "He's nice, but he's military. My kids need stability. I need stability. He can't give me that and I don't want a man to give me or them that in the first place." She half-expected Esme to push the envelope. They were known for pushing each other's buttons. But to her surprise, Esme gave a resigned nod.

"Okay," Esme sighed. "Don't give me that look. I won't meddle like I really want to." She grabbed Veronika's hands. "I don't have the right to meddle right now. You were gone for seven-eight years, Ronnie. You have two beautiful children—who I am totally going to spoil—and Janie and Lance filled us in how successful you are as an event planner, but we don't know what you went through to get there. Spencer is nice"—she glared when Veronika tried to interrupt—"but let's face it. He's not like your past boyfriends. They'd be all over you. Spencer pretty much keeps to himself. He respects you and your space. I should too." She put her head on Veronika's shoulder. "So until I know the whole story, I won't meddle. But once I know, just know it is on and I am so meddling and hoping you and Spencer hook up."

Veronika chuckled, shaking her head. "Well, thanks, I guess, for not trying to be a matchmaker for now," she supposed. "Justin invited the captain and me to the event. I told him I'd think about it, but the captain could go if he wants. We'll have to see. I mean it'd be nice to be around adults and actually swear." She crossed her eyes when Esme giggled. "I think I miss swearing the most. Ivan gets on me if I swear."

"He's a smart kid," Esme complimented. "So is Lisa-Jane. Way to keep the 'Jane' in the family. Veronika Jane Dreyar. Mary Jane Dreyar. Lisa Jane Strauss—"

"I'm a Strauss only," Veronika tightly reminded. "Not a Dreyar."

Esme frowned and looked up at her. "Still not talking to your dad?"

"Laxus is not my dad." The way Veronika said that could cut through steel. "He's my mother's husband and my biological father."

"And your kids?"

Veronika's eyes cut to Esme. "What about them?"

"You might not think of them as your dad, but he is their grandfather," Esme pointed out. "Or is he not their grandpa because he's not your dad and just your biological father?"

Veronika opened her mouth to scoff and pop off a cool argument, but for the life of her, she could not erase the way Spencer's glare sent shivers down her spine like he was scolding a child. "But if he isn't and he's a man of integrity like I know him to be with honor and wisdom, then you don't have to repair your relationship with him, but your kids deserve the chance to form their own opinions on him."

"But you keep saying you're so selfish for holding your kids back from meeting their family. Laxus might not be your family, but he is to them. Supervise the meeting, if it makes you feel better. But don't take these kids away from having a grandfather."

She swallowed those ugly words she wanted to hurl and confessed tiredly, "I don't know, Esme. Before this week, I didn't think my kids would ever meet him. I don't want them near him because I just keep remembering my last fight with Laxus. I don't want him to hurt them the way he hurt me."

"You don't know if he would." Understanding. Not a question. "And the thought scares you either way."

"I can take him hurting me," Veronika said with a dry mouth. "But if he hurt my kids, I wouldn't hesitate to protect them. But if he really is good to them, then what? I can't keep them away their grandma and Laxus, but I don't trust him enough to leave Ivan and Lisa-Jane alone with him. And, before you do your usual Esme thing," she added with a twitch of her lips when Esme pouted, "no, I'm not having a conversation with him. I'm not ruining this trip for my kids by having another screaming match."

Esme sighed. "Fine, fine, I'll be good and not push."

"Thank you." Veronika smirked. "So you're the sub between you and Guil and Ye-ji, aren't you?"

Esme moaned and said, "And it's so not fair! Both of them are total pleasers and it kills me every time we're in bed—!"

KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK.

The door opened, but it surprised both cousins to see Lance on the other side. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he could not hold back the concern when he saw Esme. "Are you okay, Es?"

"I'm fine." Esme fixed her hair. "What's wrong?"

Lance pivoted his attention to Veronika. "You need to see this."

Panic flared and Veronika rushed to her feet. "Is it—?"

"It's not your kids." Lance let Guil pass him into the bathroom while Lance pulled Veronika out and into the hall. "You just need to take a look." He ushered Veronika down the hall only to stop her at the entrance to the foyer. She made a move to speak, but her words died when she saw who had arrived for dinner.

Veronika let go of Lance to step forward. Her mother was in tears and her little sister looked torn between disbelief and happiness. An unreadable expression had crossed Laxus' face and the other family members watching from the sitting room entryway did not know how to react. But Veronika moved through her family to size up the new guest. He was as tall as Spencer and knew how to command a room. Those pale green eyes looked chilling if you stared at them for too long. Hair littered with snow, his crew cut still showed his white hair. He had nothing on him. No bag or satchel or duffel. Just himself, his winter coat, and those damn boots.

"Nik." Veronika dropped the name like it was poison to her.

Nik's pale greens took in his sister. "Ronnie."

⌜FIORE SPECIAL FORCES (BETA FORCE)

Name: Nikolai "Nik" Dreyar

Age: 27

Magic: Lightning

Occupation: Mage, Major of BETA Force Team Six

Likes: manga Dislikes: fish

Special Note: Nik might be a tough major and refuses to take it easy on his subordinates, but he actually can't hold his liquor!⌟

Nik looked to see Spencer had made it to the hallway with Ivan clinging to his leg and Lisa-Jane peeking behind him. Those pale greens hardened. "Lates."

Spencer lifted his chin. "Major."

Nik dropped those pale greens back to the unforgiving cerulean-sunset. "You came home."

"I could say the same to you," Veronika shot back. "Thought you'd be blowing up a third-world country right about now?"

Nik took no amusement or annoyance to her jibe. "No. Janie told me you were coming home." Those pale greens slid to his little sister and could not hold back from his adoration. "She wanted me to come home too and I can't refuse her." His gaze swept back to her. "Just like you can't."

"You were a pretty big dick last time we talked," Veronika mentioned and held back no punches. "Are you still a dick?"

Nik shook his head. "No."

Veronika arched an eyebrow. "I'll believe that when I see it, but…" The iciness faltered as she caved and gave her older brother a tight embrace. "It's great to see you, asshole."

Nik hugged her back. "Missed you too, Ronnie."

Mira fell against Laxus with happy tears while Mary Jane sniffled and tried to wipe away her own with Peter holding her close. Relief was palpable throughout the room—

SMACK!

Wide-eyed, Nik looked down to see Veronika had him by the collar and a red handprint spanked his cheek. "That was being a total dick to me on the Com this week, asshole," she snarled at him. To make it worse, Veronika pulled away and stepped her heel on her foot. With a huff, she stomped away and a painful shiver crawled up Nik's spin with his eye twitching.

The entire family sweatdropped. It's good to see she hasn't changed…

°•°•°•°

The rest of the dinner had been an awkward affair at first, but it faded back into the bubbly atmosphere. Space had been made for Nik and he muscled his way to sit between an uncomfortable Spencer and huffy Veronika. Though, he was quick to make sure he did not lose his hand when Veronika passed him a steak and nearly stabbed him instead of dropping the steak on his plate. He took it in silent stride while Veronika said nothing in regard to an apology. The next time, Veronika straight-up tried to stab him with her knife while she worked over pasta and Nik calmly held her wrist as he took a gulp of beer.

Peter's eye twitched as he whispered, "Why is your sister trying to kill your brother?" He looked around and was more alarmed no one seemed to care. "And why is everyone treating this like it's normal?"

"Oh!" Mary Jane waved a hand at her older siblings. "This is just how they show affection."

"By her trying to murder him?!" Peter winced and was suspended in disbelief seeing Veronika get the large swerving knife and attempted to get Nik's neck, but he easily kept her back, both of their faces so passive. Oh my god, this family is crazy.

Oh my god. Mary Jane has sparkles in her eyes when Veronika dropped the serving knife and tried her spoon next, but Nik avoided the blow by casually leaning back. I've missed this so much.

"So, Nik," Esme called from beside Guil who was beside Nikolai, "how are you home?"

"Team got called off a mission when someone was compromised," Nik grunted. "So I booked a flight to come to the lodge. Didn't want to disappoint Janie." Orange lightning zapped out of his fingertips to catch the butter knife that had been flung towards him and he dropped it the next moment.

"Well, you missed us introducing the family to May-Jay's boyfriend," Justin told his cousin. "So you'll have to introduce yourself."

Those pale greens ricocheted to Peter and it was like a Rottweiler sizing up against a Labrador puppy. "Boyfriend, huh?" His eyes narrowed, and Peter further shrank. "The Hell does my little sister need a boyfriend for?"

Mary Jane clung to Peter and scowled at Nik. "He isn't my boyfriend yet, but stop scaring him," she hissed. "I'm allowed to have a boyfriend, idiot."

Everyone ignored how Laxus tried to speak up when a mysterious pain shot up on his side and Mira looked innocent.

Nik tched and glared at Peter. "You a Mage?"

"Al-Alchemist," Peter stammered. "I'm an Alchemist."

A happy grin wove on Nik's face as he cracked his knuckles. "Then, let's go outside and have a—"

CLICK!

Nik slammed his hands on the table. "FUCK!"

"Still biting your tongue when you make threats, huh?" Mary Jane said dryly. She put Peter's head on her shoulder and rubbed his arm. "Don't listen to my brother, Peter. He acts all tough, but he's a softie just like my daddy."

Peter smiled, but internally, he was comically sobbing with Laxus and Nik leering at him like a bloodthirsty Great Dane and Rottweiler, frothing at the mouth against a whining Lab puppy. I'm not going to survive this weekend, am I?

Pearson just had to add more fuel to the fire as he called, "Hey, Nik, put away the big brother routine! He's an Adopted Strauss now!"

"Yeah!" Pacer finished his mouthful. "Dude's got some good pick-up lines."

That seemed in infuriate Nik more. "You used a pick-up line on my sister?"

Peter cringed and found himself sweating uncontrollably. "Well, uh, you see, I, uh…" But when he saw the twins wink at him, Veronika smiled, and Mary Jane gave him a look of encouragement, he swallowed and took a deep breath. He turned to Mary Jane in mock seriousness "Hey, your tag is sticking out." He pretended to fiddle with the back of her shirt and read. "Huh… What does it say here?"

"What?" Mary Jane played along. "What's wrong?"

"No, it's just what I thought." Peter pulled back, but the two were only centimeters a part. "Says 'Made in Heaven'."

Everyone roared with laughter and urges as Pacer and Pearson chanted, "Kiss her! Kiss her! Kiss her!" Peter ducked his head, embarrassed, but Mary Jane surprised him with a quick kiss on the cheek that had everyone outside Nik and Laxus cheering for the couple.

"You said that to my sister?"

Peter gulped and look over to see a shadow over Nik's eyes. "I, um… Y-Yes. I did."

A beat. Two beats.

"Well then." Nik lifted his head for a genuine grin to be across his face and those pale greens had lit up with mischief. "Let me show you how a real pick-up line works."

°•°•°•°

Dinner had ended and dishes had been cleared and cleaned, everyone dispersed. The children ended up in the basement and the triplets and Lisa-Jane were ardently playing Lacrima-games. Ola and Aine had volunteered to watch over and Ola was doing Liberty's braids with the hair she picked out while Aine played with Eloise's hair. Ivan seemed very fascinated about the braids Liberty was getting and shyly watched until he warmed up to Ola with Liberty's encouragement. The cousins split between coming to the basement for the adult portion for drinks, games, and conversation and retiring to their room to set up camp and sleep since jet lag was a right bitch. Penelope had brought work with her and took to some heavy reading in her room with Paige reading her own book.

Ellie and Justin were roommates upstairs with two full beds and make-up had been unpacked, clothes were hung and pressed, and now the two were in their pajamas with Justin already set up his portable "Slay Station" and was making sure he had everything ready for his look tomorrow. Ellie kicked her legs on the bed as she watched for the FaceCall to go through and when it did, she saw Nashi on the other end with her hair up in a ponytail and bags under her eyes. "JJ, our sweet girl's on the Com." She sighed. "Hi, babe. You looked exhausted."

Justin hissed when he saw Nashi. "Don't worry, sweetie, we'll cover those bags tomorrow," he promised.

Nashi looked away. "About that…"

"Oh, no." Justin set his face in a scowl. "You are going, young lady, and that is that. You are going to drink and be merry and forget about he-who-will-not-be-named and grind on some new dick or pussy, I don't judge."

Nashi blew out a breath from her nose. "I'm just tired," she said lamely. "It's been a long week. I'm not sure I'll be in the partying mood."

"You don't need to party," Ellie reasoned, "but you need to get out of your house just a little bit. We understand if you truly want to stay home. We won't push. But Nashi, you've been staying cooped up in Gary's condo, not talking, and it's just—"

"You're staying at his place?" Incredulity poured all over Justin's shrill question.

Nashi groaned, not wanting to have this conversation. "JJ, don't freak," she pleaded, wearied. "I don't care what you say. Gary… He's a good guy. I owe so much to him." She licked her lips. "I know he would be here if he could."

"I don't understand how you could have so much faith in him when he doesn't call, or text," Justin listed, "or send a note or email. I get him not having service wherever he is, but he didn't even tell you where he was going?" He shook his head. "I was so sure Gary was your white knight, but he's like every other cishet man-child." He growled as he looked at the ceiling with his hands on his hips. "God, I can't believe he did this to you!"

"JJ," Ellie hushed. She drew back his attention to the FaceCall and what he saw surprised him. Tears had gathered in Nashi's eyes, her face broken. "Nashi, babe, talk to us," Ellie begged.

"Yeah." Justin settled down beside Ellie with worry clear on his face. "Sweetie, what's going on?"

Nashi sniffled. "I can't tell you," she whimpered. "I'm just so tired of all these secrets. I just—! I just—!" Her shoulders shook as she broke into a full-out sob. The screen went dark, but the FaceCall was still live. The camera must have been dropped and Ellie and Justin felt their hearts break hearing Nashi pour out her grief to them. "I'm sorry," she cried. "I shouldn't be crying—"

"Even true women need to cry," Ellie rushed to assure. "Don't feel bad about a thing. A lot's happened to you."

"I'm so sorry about saying all those things about Gary," Justin apologized. "I should've realized they hurt you." He paused. "And I should've realized how much you care about him."

Nashi's sobs quieted into sniffles and the camera turned back to her as she tried her eyes with the sleeves of her long sleeve. "N-No." She sniffled and reached over to grab a tissue. "No, it's not what you're saying, JJ, I promise. It's just been a long couple of weeks ever since I came home. Guess I'm not dealing with it as great as I thought." She hacked out a pitiful laugh. "I must look so ugly right now."

"Stop it," Ellie admonished.

"You look beautiful, sweet girl," Justin rushed to assure. He went over to grab his Compact. "Have you eaten today? Did you see any family or friends today?"

"No." Nashi sniffled again. "I haven't been feeling hungry today. My sister and my dad came by to check in, but I haven't left today. Býleistr's with me. He's been keeping my company."

Justin peeked back into the FaceCall. "How would you feel if Ace dropped by with some dinner?"

"It's fine," Nashi assured. "I'll eat later."

"Which means 'never'." Justin was already texting. "I'll have him bring some broth for you so you don't upset your stomach. I don't care that you're not feeling hungry. You will eat at least five spoon-fulls or I swear to you, Elle-bell and I are driving back to Magnolia and force-feeding you."

Nashi's laugh was a little more sincere. "You guys are the worst. But it's late. I don't want Ace coming out all this way—"

"Well, he is and he already agreed to it." Justin beamed. "He's going to text you in a few minutes if you need anything else. Be nice to my boyfriend, please? And please tell me you at least showered today?"

"Why would I need to shower?" Nashi shot back. "I'm not impressing anyone."

Ellie simpered. "Shower, Nashi," she ordered. "You'll feel a little better and a lot cleaner after you shower, I promise. And you are going to shower tomorrow and Dazzler is taking you with her to come to the hotel and we already have your outfit, shoes, and make-up at the ready. All you need to do is show up and let us work our Magic on you. Okay?"

Nashi sighed. "Okay," she conceded. "But I'm not sure if I'll have the energy to keep up with everyone. JJ, what happened with the hotel rooms?"

Ellie hopped in. "Since my date got us a hotel room already, the room is totally yours. So after at least you stay for Honey announcing the winners for the ball, you can head up to the room and we'll make sure to check in on you. We'll try to say goodbye since we have to haul ass back to the lodge in time for Sunday breakfast and all the fun holiday stuff."

"Sounds good to me," Nashi guessed. "How's your guys' weekend at the lodge?"

"Bitch, you would not believe all the drama that happened," Justin whooshed out. "So, first of all…" And that was how Ellie and Justin spent their night on the Compact retelling their drama to Nashi who, with every word, grew more and more distracted from her own grief and guilt.

°•°•°•°

Mary Jane smacked Peter's chest as she giggled. Both had changed into pajamas and were wrapped up in a nice Sherpa blanket on the couch coiled against each other with drinks and a bowl of pretzels on the coffee table. One of the doors to the basement living room let to the backyard and a bonfire had been set up for the older relatives to sit around and converse. But Mary Jane had shut the blinds the second she caught her father glaring into the living room and slid the main living room doors shut when the triplets kept teasing her.

"Your jokes are horrible," Mary Jane teased.

"But they make you laugh, so they can't be all that bad," Peter jested.

Mary Jane was inclined to agree and could have purred the way Peter played with her hair. "I know my family's insane and it was crazy for you to meet them so soon, but I'm really happy you're here."

"I am too." Peter took her hand and interlinked their fingers. "Your family is big and I won't lie about that. And they're definitely, um, interesting." His grin broadened when Mary Jane giggled again. "But not enough to scare me off…even if your dad wants to kill me and your brother wanted to too."

Mary Jane scoffed. "Daddy will get over it when he sees how amazing you are. And Nik turned around, didn't he?" She smiled, wistful. "Pick-up lines are like a thing with my cousins. They'd always come up with the worst pick-up lines when we're all together. Lance told me Nik was the one to start the tradition and he got it from my Uncle Bixslow. Uncle Bix claimed pick-up lines will never die and everyone who marries into this family will do so because of a pick-up line." She shook her head. "I can't believe I'm following that rule."

"Well, I'm not proposing quite yet," Peter joshed. "But is that really true?"

"Esme met Guil through a pick-up line," Mary Jane told. "Evie did with Ola too. Ezra did with Saudade, but they're not dating anymore." She further explained when Peter frowned, "They dated when they were teenagers. They had this crazy chemistry and she's the first girl Ezra brought home to the family. But then they broke up. Saudade's a Mage at Lamia Scale, by the way."

"How'd they break up?"

Mary Jane shrugged. "I don't know. Evie was the one to tell us and Ezra didn't speak to anyone for months. He was really heartbroken. Ellie told me his ex is going to be at Honey's event since Honey is in Lamia Scale too and they're friends."

Peter hissed. "Shit, that's going to hurt."

"I know," Mary Jane sympathized. "I hope Ezra will be okay. He keeps saying he's over Saudade, but every time you say her name, he gets all weird." She sighed. "But such is heartbreak, I guess. I never want to feel that way."

"I won't let you." Peter quickly scanned to make sure they were alone before he brought a hand to her cheek and pulled her close for a sweet kiss. Mary Jane reciprocated and succumbed to the weight of his kiss as her hands slid up his arms until they gripped his shoulders. She hummed, lightheaded, when he stole more kisses from her languidly like he enjoyed taking his time.

Enough was enough and Mary Jane pulled back to breathe. She knew her cheeks were stained red and it brought a little comfort seeing red had crawled up Peter's neck. "Are you sure I'm your first kiss because first kissers don't kiss like that," she tittered, breathless.

"You are my first kiss," Peter promised. "After sitting through all the romcoms my mom throws on, I might've picked up a thing or two."

"Good." Mary Jane smiled shyly as she lowered her lashes. "Because I just want you to kiss me like that."

Inwardly, Peter could feel his heart about to burst. So cute! Outwardly, Peter laughed and placed a kiss on Mary Jane's nose. "I can promise that." Slowly, he drew her back in for another deep kiss.

Making out was something that sparked something in a couple. Kissing was a constantly overrated action people were disappointed in receiving. They liked to skip to the heavy petting and touching. But kissing someone was more than just a harmless optional action. It was a necessity. Those knee-shaking breath-stealing kisses that consumed you brought you a step closer to your partner with each movement. Your hands may wander and ignite your skin, but with your lips meshed with another's, it was like you were becoming a junkie. You could taste your partner and you wanted more and more, addicted with every new kiss, until you grew desperate to not let them go.

Both Peter and Mary Jane would pull back for quick breaths, but they were magnetized and drawn back to each other within seconds. Maybe they were young and did not know everything they were doing and that was okay. They moved at the pace they were comfortable with and that was sweeter than forced tonguing and grabby hands. But as intimacy stacked in their favor and warmed them with a feeling neither had felt before, it brought along another emotion.

Lust.

Lust was not as evil and sinful as everyone thought nor was it innocent. Some knew what to do with their lust and how to find an outlet for the fickle emotion while others denied it for a prolonged time with little remorse for doing so. But new lust was different. It was scary and terrifying as it was exciting and wonderful. A new lust was an emotion that confused you on what was happening with your body, your mind. It made you question why you felt so hot and so needy, but you were confused about what you were needy about until you fell into embarrassment when you realized what those needs were. But you did not have to fulfill that basal need. You could toy with lust. It was not your master or your maker. It was your servant to do for what you will with it.

Mary Jane felt her chest heaving when she pulled away. She turned her head to catch a breath, and Peter's next kiss landed on her jaw. Just that kiss alone shook her to her core and her breath took a stuttering turn. Peter pulled away to search her face.

"Was that okay?" he wanted to check.

Mary Jane licked her lips. "I… I don't know."

And Peter was not disappointed. "That's okay. I won't do it again—"

"N-No." Mary Jane swallowed and wanted so badly to keep her eyes on his collarbone, but she forced her eyes to meet his. "No, I… I think I liked it. I just felt a little…" She clamped her mouth shut. She could not explain it. No, that was wrong. I've never felt like this before. It feels weird, but… It feels so nice. Like I want to... Her face flushed even more. Like I want to… Before her thoughts could venture farther, she blurted, "Can you do it again?"

Peter paused. "Are you sure?"

Mary Jane jerkily nodded before she could think too much. Her eyes closed and she turned her head. She knew what to expect, but she did not prepare for her body to shiver again when Peter's kiss landed lower on her jaw and onto her neck. She bit her lip when another kiss mouthed onto her neck. "P-Peter." She hated how her whisper was so high-pitched and eager. "We're both not ready for…that…but…" God, she hated how awkward she felt. "But I like this."

"Sweets, look at me."

Mary Jane opened her eyes to look at him—

Her lips parted.

Those golden swirls were ablaze in a literal scent. His iris looked like they were made of liquid gold, so intense and hypnotizing.

His Magic, Mary Jane breathed. It's beautiful. So my eyes look like that too?

"I don't want to push anything." Peter said his words for her ears only with such sincerity, it hurt. "I don't want to push you. I want to wait for anything else than this. But I like this too. I just don't want to push you."

"You're not." Mary Jane cleared her throat to speak in a stronger voice. "You're not. We'll figure out where we can go together. That's what couples do, right? They talk about this stuff?" She swallowed. "And we're a couple almost… And I liked you doing that." She splayed her hands on his cheeks. "I really liked it."

"Did you want me to stop?" Peter asked. "Do you want to stop?"

"No," Mary Jane whispered as her eyes went to her lips. "I want to keep going. I want to kiss you."

And kiss him she did.

Those kisses were desperate. There was no destination in mind, no, but there was that desperation to understand. That need to know where the line was so they would never cross it. That need to know where to kiss to make the other shiver and thrum beneath their touch. That need to know how close they could get. Peter's legs had widened and Mary Jane kept herself close when she threw her legs over his, straddling him. Shyness be damned, they yearned for this connection. For once, it felt so right to shed the awkwardness and the putzing around and just be.

Mary Jane pulled away, but Peter was not done with her yet when his next heated kiss went for her pulse on her neck. A noise escaped Mary Jane and an unknown aching grew within her.

What is this? she whispered. What's wrong with me? I-I never felt this before…

LUB-DUB. LUB-DUB.

Peter let out a hot breath when Mary Jane trembled beneath his touch. This feels good. She feels good. I've never… I've never felt…

LUB-DUB. LUB-DUB.

Mary Jane's eyes shot up when a kiss went right under her ear and she squirmed as that ache grew. "Peter…"

Peter cursed. "Fuck, Mary Jane—"

SLIDE!

Nik walked in as he called down the hall, "Pretty sure the good cigars are in here. I'll just get them and…" He froze.

Peter and Mary Jane froze, wide-eyed.

Nik shook as his hands went to fist. Shadows covered his eyes. Magic vibrated in the air as his orange lightning checkered around him and blew everything electrical into haywire. "What in the Hell," he snarled, "do you think you were doing to my sister?"

Peter panicked and spluttered nonsense, but all that went out the window when Mary Jane hugged him into her breasts (and he was nearly knocked out by his nosebleed). "Nik, leave us alone!" Mary Jane whisper-snapped. "We weren't doing anything wrong!"

Nik gritted his teeth. "You seemed pretty okay, but now you think you can shove your tongue down my sister's throat?" Those pale greens reflected the rage of his lightning. "I'm going to kill—!"

CLICK!

Mary Jane sweat-dropped with Nik down on all fours, punching the floor at the pain of biting his tongue and spewing curses. Yeah. Should've seen that coming. She turned to Peter in concern. "You okay?"

But Peter's face was still smashed against her breasts and comical bliss washed over his face. "Never better," he purred dreamily.

"Good." Mary Jane got off him and eyed Nik who was still in pain over his self-inflicted bite. "We'd better go before he gathers his senses again." She looked back at Peter who had not moved and the blanket had weirdly covered part of him. "Peter?"

"Can I take the blanket with me?" Peter begged.

Mary Jane raised an eyebrow. "I guess, but why—?"

BEEP… BEEP… BEEP… BOOP!

Steam poured out of Mary Jane's ears as she looked away from Peter and shielded her eyes. "You can get that from kissing?!" she shrieked. "C-Can't you stop it or something?"

"I'm trying!" Peter insisted, "but uh…" His eyes had fallen back to Mary Jane's rear and the tight shorts she wore…

…and he covered his nose when the bleeding came out in a gush and a blush pampered his cheeks. "It's a little hard to control…"

"We-Well, put it away!" Mary Jane urged. "Before Nik—!"

"Before I what." Nik had risen to his feet, recovered from his tongue bite, and glared at Peter. "Janie, your boyfriend might be one of us, but if he thinks he can just touch you like that, he's—!"

SMACK!

And he was down again.

Veronika had kicked him in the back and had no remorse for it. "Idiot. You left your back wide open," she taunted. She grabbed his legs and began to drag him out as Nik murmured in gibberish.

Esme popped her head in with a knowing smirk. "Take it from your two cousins who got laid while at the lodge, Janie. Lock every single door." She winked at Peter. "Have fun you two! Use protection!"

And they were gone with the doors shut tight again.

Peter was down for the count due to dire embarrassment while a bleak and dreary aura covered Mary Jane. "I hate this family so much."

°•°•°•°

The backyard was massive, but rather than a fence, they had erected a Magic Barrier to divert any unwanted trespassers or predators from lurking on the property. In the summertime, the pool would be filled, but for now, it had been empty and covered for the winter season. The bonfire was roaring with drinks passed around. Bixslow had Lisanna unabashedly in his lap and she giggled at whatever he was murmuring into her ear. Freed nursed his cocktail in his chair as he and Evergreen shared a laugh over old times. Elfman was in a near liquor coma as he mumbled "Man" and snuggled against his wife.

Laxus was done with booze for the night with Mira at his side. She caught the pensive look on Laxus' face. "What's wrong, Laxus?"

"Nothing." Laxus would not look at her. "Just thinking."

"About what?" When Laxus grunted, Mira added softly, "Let me in, Laxus, please."

Laxus sighed. "I'm just thanking whatever god that's out there for bringing my family home," he confessed. "Seeing Nik and Veronika after all these years… I know they resent me, but at least they came home. That's enough for me." He turned his head away, but Mira caught a glint of a tear going down his face.

"Oh, Laxus." Mira looked up at the moon as she rubbed her husband's back. "I've been praying for this day ever since they left home."

"I just wish the old man could've seen it," Laxus said.

"He hasn't been himself for a long time," Mira reminded. "The trip would've been too much for him."

"I know." Laxus did. "I just know he would've been so happy seeing his grandkids together again." He hesitated. "Mira, be honest with me. Do you think I…failed as a father?"

"Of course not," Mira negated with a shake of her head. "Never once did I think that. Parenting isn't easy. We've both made mistakes and we've had our differences. Maybe Nik and Veronika leaving us so angry wasn't how I envisioned it, but look how they've grown. Veronika gifted us two beautiful grandchildren. She's made a name for herself. Nik is a major of special forces. They've done so well for themselves. And I'm proud of that."

"But if I hadn't—"

"Laxus." Mira tipped his head down so those grayish-green-blue eyes connected with her serene cerulean. "We've both made mistakes. And we're learning from them. Let's not make those same mistakes with Mary Jane."

"She's just so young," Laxus murmured. "She has so much power and she doesn't even know it. I watched her with Igneel and it broke my heart. I can't watch her go through that again."

"Heartbreak is a part of life," Mira reminded. "We can't prevent that for her even if we want to. We can just be there for her when it happens." She frames his cheeks with her hands. "We'll be the people our kids need when they face obstacles. We'll help Mary Jane wherever we can. We'll repair our relationships with Nik and Veronika."

"How do you know that?" Laxus needed to know.

Mira smiled. "Because I know my kids. I know when they've had enough being angry. The conversation might get a little ugly, but it'll be a start." She hugged him. "I married you because I love you and I knew you would be the only man I wanted to be the father of my kids. I've never regretted that. So have a little faith in yourself."

"Mira…" Laxus embraced her tightly. "Thank you. I love you too."

Mira's eyes flickered to the stars and, while it was fast, a star shot across the sky. Thank you, she whispered as tears filled those blues reflecting the artwork of the night sky. Thank you for bringing them home.

---

— • — • — • —

Don't wanna Stop Stop koi suru kokoro ni

Kimi no Love Love ima tsukamaetai

Yasashiku sareru tabi ni sukoshi kitai shite shimau

•

Oh Never let me go dakishimete

Never let me go kimi janakya iya yo

Stop stop koi wa tomaranai

Negai wa hitotsu dake Stay by my side

•

Ah ah ah ha

Ah ah

Stay by my side

— • — • — • —

---

TO BE CONTINUED…

That felt so refreshing and chaotic! But we needed something heartwarming. Uh-oh… Does that mean the next episode is going to be dark? Man, I can't take this! To find out, tune into the next episode of Fairy Adventure!

---

Chibi-Luna opens up her with a big smile. "Hi, class!"

"Hello, Teacher!" the class greets. "What's our Fairy Lesson today?"

"Glad you asked!" Chibi-Luna pulls back the board to show the blackboard underneath filled with colorful words, but the main word she points to is PERGRANDE. "Today, we're learning about the kingdom of Pergrande!" She begins to move across the board. "The capital of Pergrande is called Rose Améthyste. It's a beautiful city where rose amethyst is in every home." She points to a castle she drew. "Right now, Queen Margaret and her wife, Princess Elouise rule Pergrande with the next in line being the Queen's child Burgundy."

She goes the jewel signs she made. "Perench currency is jewels, but it used to be Prancs up until fifty years ago." She shifts over to the heart she had made. "Pergrande, like Esme said this episode, is really inclusive and loose in terms of marriage and spouses and partners. In many countries, a polygamous relationship can't be legally recognized. But in Pergrande, you can have up to two spouses of the same gender or different gender. Pergrande is very pro-active in helping wishful single parents or same-sex couples adopt or have their own children through a stem cell program." She points to the schoolhouse she crafted. "While school is mandatary, what's weird is that Minstrish is mandated for all children to learn until they've graduated high school."

A hand shoots up. "Is that like Fiore where we have to learn another language until high school?"

"Yup!" Chibi-Luna confirms. "Minstrish is a popular language globally, but Fiore does the opposite and has kids at a young age choose between Zhōnguánese, Sinnish, Midic, Bellish, or Old Minstrish. A lot of countries offer the same, but Minstrish is mandated and not optional like other languages. Pergrande enforces Minstrish and students have the options of choosing another language." She goes to the cartoon dress. "Pergrande is the fashion capital of the world. Any designer dreams of going to Perench fashion week to have models walk the runway in their clothes. My friend Ena aspires to have that happen to her one day." She goes to the pair of lips. "The national language of Peregrande is Perench, but Perench has different dialects."

"Is that why Gale and Coco spoke different Perench even though it sounded the same?" a student questions.

Chibi-Luna beams. "I'm so glad you remembered Miss Dior! And, yes, that is it! Just like any language, there are different dialects even within the language. Coco spoke Provincial Perench while Gale spoke the standard version of Perench. There's also Southern Perench and Perench Crèole that's spoken more so in the Meidiland islands and it's called 'Cajun' there. Just like in Minstrish, you have Fioren-Minstrish, the standard Minstrish you hear in Minstrish and in Suertland and Éirulan, they have their own dialect of Minstrish. Same to the USM." She looks around the classroom. "Any questions?"

A grin. "So did the Perench come up with Perench kissing?"

Chibi-Luna scowls. "Who said that?"

"Me."

Chibi-Luna shrieks when she realizes Chibi-Gale is right next to her when she turns her head. "G-G-Gale! What are you doing here?"

"Came to see you." Suddenly, everything becomes real and Gale caresses Luna's face with a hand. "Since we're on the subject of Perench kissing and all."

Luna's brow furrowed, but her eyes are lost in his. "What do you mean?"

"I mean…"—Gale leans closer—"I'm doing something I should've done in the beginning, Blondie." His eyes flick to her lips. "If you'll let me."

"Gale…" Luna breaths and shows no hesitation when he tilts his head and holds her face with his hands. "I—"

Chibi-Luna crashes down as the scene behind her freezes. She laughs nervously, "Ah-ha-ha, sorry, everyone! Looks like we're jumping the gun on character growth!" She clears her throat. "That's it for today's adventure! See you guys—!"

"Hey! We want to see the GaLu kiss!" one of the students demand which makes Chibi-Luna sweat.

"Yeah! We got cheated out on it an episode ago!" a student calls. "Where's the kiss?"

As more and more students pile on for the demands of a kiss to be seen, Chibi-Luna is torn between anxiety and embarrassment. Why does this have to happen to me?

---

Voices of Characters in Order of Appearance

— • — • — • —

Mirajane Dreyar – Monica Rial

Laxus Dreyar – Patrick Seitz

Liberty "Libby" Justine – Mela Lee

Justin Justine – Ian Sinclair

Lance Dreyar – Johnny Young Bosch

Aine Fernandes – Carrie Keranen

Pacer "Pace" Strauss – Josh Keaton

Esmeralda "Esme" Strauss-Depardieu – Megan Hollingshead

Ye-ji Seydoux – Arden Cho

Ezra Strauss – Zach Aguilar

Evergreen Strauss – Caitlyn Glass

Evangeline "Evie/Eves" Strauss – Colleen O'Shaughnessey

Ola Wright – Kamali Minter

Pearson "Pearse" Strauss – David Matranga

Elfman Strauss – Christopher Sabat

Ellie Strauss – Reba Buhr

Freed Justine – John Burgmeir

Mary Jane Dreyar – Erica Lindbeck

Peter Shuusei-Thompson – Joe Zieja

Veronika Strauss – Laura Post– Hilary Haag

Vasilisa "Lisa" Jane Strauss – Laura Woodhull

Spencer Lates – Christopher Wehkamp

Ivanushka "Ivan" Strauss – Tara Sands

Eloise Strauss – Cassandra Lee Morris

Bixslow – Tyler Walker

Lisanna Strauss – Carrie Savage

Nikolai "Nik" Strauss – Jason Liebricht

Nashi Dragneel – Laura Landa

• — • — •

Additional Voices

Opening Narrator – Mary McGlynn

Description Narrator – Mary McGlynn

Closing Narrator – Melissa Fahn

— • — • — • —

⌜OPENING SONG

⟪ Mela! ⟫

Ryokuoushoku Shakai

Lyrics by

peppe & Shingo Anami ⌟

•

⌜ENDING SONG

⟪ Stay By My Side ⟫

TWICE

Lyrics by

Atsushi Shimada, Fredrik "Figge" Boström & Malin Johansson⌟

---

— • — • — • —

Next time, on Fairy Adventure

•

Episode 61

•

POSE

— • — • — • —

---

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

TRANSLATIONS

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Perench → Fioren-Minstrish

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

Ma chatounette, je pense que vous faites peur à vos parents. Nous en avons parlé. Escaliers pour bébés.

My kitten, I think you're scaring your parents. We talked about this. Baby steps.