AN: a reviewer asked why Ancient Fairy Dragon and Regulus are human. I explained here, sort of. Lol, it's a fairytale sort of idea, so suspension of belief is required!

Perhaps there is no better way to start your weekend with a bang than arriving home to find a devilishly good looking stranger standing on your doorsteps. This was why Aki was standing in front of her own townhouse and staring like a little girl.

The man standing in front of her was nothing short of stately, standing a whole head and some taller than her, with toned muscles that could not be hidden by his baggy T-shirt and sweatpants. His skin was dusky, suggesting Middle-eastern descent, but his hair was a shocking rose colour, much like her own, and his cat-like eyes were shinning gold. That well-sculpted face was the textbook definition of golden ratio, made even more alluring by a slightly childish and mischievous expression. Aki was stunned into silence. She wasn't normally so affected by a handsome face; even Yusei's, which is as gorgeous as a handsome face can be, did not stun her at their first meeting (maybe she was too distracted by an arm glowing with the Red Dragon's sign then). But she had to admit, this rose-haired man pushed the boundaries of good looks quite a bit and she was stunned.

The stranger's grin widened seeing her expression, and as if by magic, he produced a bunch of crimson roses from behind his back. "For you, the keeper of my heart and soul," The stranger husked, pushing the roses closer and his entire body following, as if wanting to lean it and steal a kiss.

Aki instantly narrowed her eyes and took a step back. She was too often the victim of unwanted male attention, despite her steady boyfriend (now fiancé), and she had no patience for this kind of audacity, even from such a handsome man.

"Watch it, boy," She said coldly, "Now take your roses to your girlfriend, and kindly remove yourself from my front steps."

The stranger blinked those golden cat eyes at her, and then pouted. "Aw, Mistress, you are no fun at all!" He said, that chiseled face instantly churning out a puppy-dog eye expression. God forbid that kind of expression of a full-grown man's face!

Aki stared again. That sounded like... Really? Can it be?

"Yes, it is me, your faithful servant Black Rose," The rose-haired man laughed.

Aki continued staring at him wide-eyed, before asking with ample incredulity, "But how? How did you turn into... this?"

"Well, this is the doing of Ancient Fairy Dragon," replied Black Rose, "Apparently she is as her name says-quite friendly with the fairy folk. Centuries ago she got this spell from the Fairy Queen Titania that can help us take human form. So, here I am."

Aki laughed and said, "That is unbelievable, Black Rose! And to be honest, I did not imagine you would look like this."

Black Rose Dragon pushed the flowers into her hand, and leaned close once more. "So can I get a kiss now, Mistress?"

Even knowing that was her Black Rose Dragon, Aki's first reaction was still to smack the roses into his face. Somehow this demand just sounded strange and different now than Black Rose was a gorgeous heart-breaker rather than a giant lizard with rose petal wings. She took a slow breath, and said with a smile, "No, Black Rose; maybe after you change back to your normal form."

Black Rose Dragon pouted, before brightening up and asking hopefully, "But can I go to your wedding then? Looking like this? Yes, right, Mistress?"

Aki eyed him skeptically, suddenly reminded of Stardust's Shrink spell wearing off while inside her office. She asked, "How long does this fairy spell last?"

"Ancient Fairy said as long as we want."

"Really?"

"Really!"

Aki's eyes softened, and her serious expression finally gave way to a warm smile. It would be nice, she thought, to have her oldest and most faithful friend at her wedding. After all, Black Rose had been there since she was a tiny little creature, sticking with her through thick and thin, and stubbornly held on to her even when she was drowning in her own dark and piteous thoughts.

"Oh, Black Rose!"

She could not stop the tenderness welling up inside, and forgot all about her earlier reservation. She tossed aside the flowers and hugged Black Rose with all her might. "Of course you can attend my wedding," She said softly beside his ear, "I do want you there, truly. Black Rose, you mean so much to me, you know that!"

When they finally pulled apart, Aki laughed and said, "Now there is just one last thing to do for you to be at my wedding."

"Which is?" Black Rose looked slightly nervous.

"Buying the proper clothes, of course; you can't possibly attend a wedding in t-shirt and sweatpants. By the way," Aki eyed Black Rose's baggy, crumpled, ill-fitting outfit with puzzlement and distaste alike, "Just where did you get these ridiculous clothes?"

"These are Rua's," Black Rose answered, "They are either gym clothes or pajamas, depending on the boy's mood."

"No kidding."

It is often said that great minds think alike, so no one should be surprised that on this particular Friday afternoon, Yusei also decided to take someone shopping. Yusei didn't normally mind shopping with women; he was a patient soul, and also had had enough practice accompanying Aki or Ruka, even Carly on a couple occasions. But this time he was getting very uncomfortable very fast.

It really boiled down to a simple fact, Yusei decided gloomily, the woman hanging on his arms was simply way too striking.

They stepped into yet another formal wear store, and the shop lady hastily walked up to them with all the smiles in the world and some. "This young lady is looking for some formal wear? May I ask for what occasion?"

"It's the wedding…"

"My my, congratulations!" The shop lady dove right into the wrong conclusion (and she certainly wasn't the first one), and didn't even give them a chance to rebut, "Why, aren't you a lucky young man, to secure yourself such a beautiful lady! And I think I have just the right dress for you. It's from Paris, latest designer piece, my dear, has this exquisite beadwork. It's got a little more colours than the traditional pure white, cream and light blue and such, though it will fit you, since you are so pale…"

"She is not the bride," Yusei finally managed to slide the line in. Seeing the shop lady was still trying to go on, he added in a louder voice, "She is my sister."

The shop lady looked back and forth between them, eyeing Yusei's jet black hair with golden highlights and the woman's pure-as-snow white hair. She looked extremely skeptical, but wisely moved on to introduce an evening dress.

By the time they finished the excursion, going home with multiple bags stuffed with fancy goods on their arms, it was already past dinner time and Yusei was feeling strangely exhausted. Thus the sight of Crow inside his living room, sipping hot chocolate while leafing through the final version of his wedding reception menu, that was absolutely unwelcoming.

"Hey Yusei, where have you been? I meant to ask you about details for the wedding, you know…" Crow suddenly cut off his own sentence. He finally noticed Yusei's companion, and was now inevitably staring with saucer eyes, mouth hanging agape.

Standing beside Yusei and holding multiple shopping bags was a beautiful woman Crow had never seen before. She was a little taller than Yusei, pale like the new moon, with long, flowing hair so white it shone like the finest silver. Her sapphire blue eyes can literally make people drown. Crow stared for a long time, before asking, "Er, can I tell Aki, and should I be concerned?"

Yusei sighed audibly. "Crow, meet Stardust Dragon," He said, "Stardust, you know Crow, of course."

"What?" Crow exclaimed.

"Don't ask me, go ask Ruka and Ancient Fairy Dragon."

Crow kept staring, before finally breaking into a wolfish grin, "Alright, I can't wait to meet Black-winged Dragon in person!"