So I wrote this chappie way out of order… I started this one before I was even finished with the first chappie because the fluffy thought was just too cute for me to waste my inspiration! Please enjoy this chappie; I know I certainly enjoyed writing it!
Disclaimer: Please don't get any ideas… I think I might own the plot but nothing else.
A CHappy Ending Ch. 6
It was during one of their winter break sessions when Carla decided that she was fed up with tutoring for the day. After a few minutes of clicking her perfectly groomed nails on the kitchen table inside Happy's home, she finally slammed the textbook that Happy was working on shut and slid out of her chair.
"What is it Carla?" Happy asked quietly, by this point used to his tutor's methods.
"We're going shopping. I can't stand the sight of you in these worn hand-me-downs any longer!"
"W-what?!" Happy stammered as yet another blush rose on his cheeks. "What's wrong with my clothes?!"
"Your clothes are practically hanging off of you and you're asking me what's wrong?" the girl asked incredulously as she walked over and plucked at the side of Happy's shirt and they both watched as she measured out at least 25 centimeters from the seam of the shirt to where she felt his skin as if to prove a point. Pantherlily, who had been quietly sitting in a corner of the room, bit the inside of his cheek to keep from chuckling. He had a similar conversation with the boy just this past week.
Happy didn't want to admit it, but she did have a point. While his clothes certainly covered him adequately, they were from an older (and much larger) cousin of his that had stretched all of the seams out. The blue haired boy ended up having to tuck in all of his shirts (or risk having his shirts mistaken for dresses) and have all of his pants hemmed so that he wouldn't swim in them. He also didn't want to disclose the information that he was one month into a training program from Tartaros with Pantherlily, her bodyguard, as his personal slave driver… While he was pleased to say that his limbs were indeed larger and more toned than they were before, he was still on the scrawny side.
"Is that Miss Marvell I'm hearing in our kitchen Happy?" a sweet feminine voice said and Happy groaned in anticipation of the embarrassment surely to come.
"Hi mom," Happy winced out as he tried to school his features.
"Hello Mrs. Dragneel," Carla politely smiled as she gave the blue haired woman her attention. "We decided that it was a better idea to study in your home today, so here we are. As a matter of fact, we just finished for the day and so we are now going to go into town. We'll be out of your hair in no time –"
"Nonsense! It's never a bother to have you here Carla. I appreciate any help you can give my son," Marl said warmly as she set her shopping down on the kitchen countertops.
"Mom, let me help you with that," Happy quickly stated as he sprang up from his chair to help his mother put all of the bags safely on the counter. "Are there any bags left to carry in?"
"Just one more quick trip should do it! I can get the rest by myself, so you can just go along with Carla and have fun," Happy's mother confirmed as she turned to go get the rest of the bags.
"No Mom, you need to rest. The doctor told you not to push it, remember?" Happy firmly stated as he led his mother to the kitchen table and gently sat her down in one of the chairs. Once he was sure that the older woman wouldn't move from her spot, he walked out the door she came through to go collect the rest of the grocery bags.
"You'd think I was a total invalid with the way he acts," Marl chuckled, refocusing Carla and Pantherlily's attention back on the tired looking woman. "The doctor only said it was a degenerative back disease, not a death sentence."
"Forgive me for any offense this might cause, but wouldn't causing excess strain in your condition only speed up the degenerative process? I don't think a doctor would give such advice flippantly…" Pantherlily mused, curious to see the ailing woman's reaction to his comments.
"I know that. Ever since I was diagnosed six months ago, my husband and son have been doing the best they could to ease my burdens. I had to retire from my job early because of the strain my back was under after standing all day every day. My son even picked up a part time job to help ease the financial stress that Lucky and I were having due to my medical bills. That sweet boy hardly ever thinks of himself; I just wanted him to have an afternoon to act like a normal teenage boy would," Marl said with a wistful smile.
"Forgive me for asking, but what do you mean?" Carla asked the woman sitting across from her with a puzzled expression on her face. The blue haired woman sighed and gave her a sad smile.
"As much as my son tries to hide it from his father and myself, I know that he's been struggling with making friends. His sight has always been a tender subject to him, and he can be quite shy. So when he walked in the front door almost two months ago with a wide grin on face and a sparkle in his eyes, I could tell that something wonderful had happened."
"What was that?" Carla inquired, her interest piqued.
"When I asked him why he had a huge grin on his face, he simply hugged me and sat me down at the table. You want to know what he said to me next?"
The white haired girl nodded intently with anticipation.
"He told me, 'Mom, I think I just made a friend! She finally started telling me a bit about herself today.' Before that day, he hardly ever used the word 'friend;' but that day someone had finally let him, if only a little bit, into their life. Someone had cared enough to share a bit of their story with him, and he was ecstatic. And I firmly believe that he was talking about you dear," Marl said as she watched the recognition and the shock flash in Carla's eyes.
"B-but we hardly even know each other!" the girl spluttered out, the comment a far cry from her usual composed self.
"Oh I know that," Marl said with a knowing smile settling on her face. "I just have a feeling that you two will get to know each other very well in the future."
Any reply Carla would have made was interrupted by Happy's entrance into the kitchen, effectively shattering the quiet air with his wide grin and loud announcement.
"Okay mom! That's the last of the bags so I think I can trust you enough to man the fort for the afternoon," Happy cheerfully said as he deposited the rest of the shopping onto the countertops. As he saw no one move for a few seconds, he decided he would take in the scene around him to remove his obliviousness of the situation. Marl, Carla, and Pantherlily were all sitting at the table with different expressions on their faces; Carla had a look of confusion, Pantherlily seemed like he was deeply assessing something, and Marl was grinning like she was clever for discovering the answer to an incredibly difficult problem. "What's with the faces?"
This snapped Carla out of her confusion and she quickly rose out of her chair. "Nothing! I think it's high time we left. Come along Happy, Pantherlily."
Happy gave his mother a confused "good bye" and followed after the white haired girl's sudden retreat. Pantherlily just smirked as he gave a nod to Marl and silently tailed the pair out of the Dragneel household and towards the retail district of Central.
Carla was frustrated. She couldn't find a style of clothing that "fit" Happy's style. After walking in and out of so many stores, letting him choose clothes, and finding nothing, she knew the morale of the company she kept was dropping.
"Let's try this store next. I'm going to pick what you're wearing this time," Carla said, dragging the poor boy into yet another clothing store. After selecting a pair of slim cut blue jeans, a simple short sleeved button down white shirt, and a pair of brown boat shoes, she shoved him into the nearest dressing room and shut the door. "Try these all on at once!" She glanced over at an accessory stand and noticed that there was a green striped bowtie and promptly threw it over the top of the door on a whim.
After a few minutes of shuffling sounds and low mutterings, the changing room door opened to reveal a marginally uncomfortable Happy. "These pants feel too tight…" Happy mumbled as he pulled slightly at said offending fabric.
"Happy, with all due respect, I believe that any piece of clothing that you wear properly will more than likely feel tight to you in comparison to your usual wardrobe," Pantherlily wryly commented as he waited for Carla's verdict.
All the while, Carla was mentally scolding herself for her choice of clothing. It was refreshing to see that Happy could look good in some type of clothing, but this style was a little much for her. The crisp white shirt he left untucked nicely complemented his skin tone and really framed his shoulders and arms well. Seeing him actually wear jeans that fit him was a strange sight; where his pants would normally be billowing in the wind, they hugged his toned legs. The white haired girl internally grinned when she saw the cuffs of Happy's jeans neatly rolled up just above the brown boat shoes that made his feet look slightly larger, no doubt because the pant legs were too long. Darting her eyes back up to his face, she noted his sky blue disheveled hair and his uncomfortable, yet intent expression as he stared back at her through his enormous thick-rimmed glasses. Her eyes finally landed on the green and darker green striped bowtie around his throat and decided that the entire outfit suited him nicely. That bowtie works so well, downplaying his huge glasses. He looks way too adorable! Wait, why am I even thinking like that?! One I have a boyfriend, and two, we only have a tutor/peer relationship! Carla's thoughts warred within her. After a few more moments of internal struggle, Pantherlily cleared his throat, effectively bringing Carla out of her thoughts.
"So what do you think Carla?" Happy asked quietly, silently praying that there would be some relief in the endless stream of trying on clothes.
"Hmmm…" Carla said after a long moment, crossing and uncrossing her arms. "I think that this style suits you well." Before Happy could cheer in victory, the girl cut him off once more. "I also think that the glasses need to go. So here… we… go…" Carla trailed off slowly as she took the glasses off of the bluenette's face.
If the girl thought he was cute before, Mavis help her now because Carla was seriously trying to keep a platonic train of thought. Without his glasses, Carla could see the true size and shape of his eyes and it startled her to realize that they were actually proportional to his face. They were almond shaped and slightly tilted up at the outer corners, giving him a gleeful look. His dark irises were somehow a warm pitch black mixed with a hint of charcoal and were framed with beautiful long, thick lashes that Carla could dare say catapulted him almost into the bishounen category. Happy's transformation went from "adorable nerd" to "pretty frickin' attractive" so quickly it practically melted poor Carla's brain.
"Uh, Carla? Do I look okay? I can't see your facial expression and you've been really quiet…" the blue haired boy started nervously, shoving his hands into his pockets and creasing his eyebrows.
The silent girl was a complete mess of raging hormones as she slowly closed her eyes and bit the inside of her cheek. You'd have thought I've never seen a teenage boy before… Carla mentally sighed as she rubbed her temples.
"Miss Marvell, I do believe the boy asked you a question," Pantherlily chimed in, an amused gleam in his eyes watching the usually calm and collected girl jump and fix him with a wide-eyed look.
"I, uh… That is… Um, I think that youneedtowearcontactssoI'mgoingtogetyousomerightnow!" Carla rushed. Realizing what she had done, she face-palmed herself and felt her cheeks warm considerably.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Happy asked as his face cutely scrunched up in confusion, once more sending Carla's thoughts into overdrive and making her stomach try little flip-flops.
Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Carla tried again. "I said, I'm getting you contacts. End of story."
"W-w-what?!" the boy squeaked. "Y-you can't do that! My parents and I looked into that a while back and they're seriously expensive, I can't put you out like that-"
"Consider it my Christmas gift to you," Carla murmured as she ran her eyes over his face once more. I think it might be a Christmas gift for everyone… "No offense Happy, but my mother makes quite a bit more money than your family and she wouldn't mind parting with it for a good cause. This is definitely one of those causes."
"Uh… Okay," said Happy nervously as he shifted his feet. "So is my outfit okay Carla?"
Pantherlily stifled a chuckle watching the girl in question attempting to sift through her emotions, each expression more humorous than the last.
"Take it easy on the poor girl," the bodyguard grinned as he took in Happy's oblivious confusion and Carla's embarrassed warning glare. "I don't think that what she found was what she was expecting."
Boy did you hit the nail on the head there Pantherlily… Carla thought as she gathered herself. "I think that, especially with the contacts you're getting, we've found you a new style. I'm going to give your glasses back so that you can select more outfits similar to the one I have picked out for you. I'll give you the final say, but I believe that once you have a model, you can do your own shopping. Sound good?"
"Aye!" Happy cheered and tried to rush back into the dressing room, but hit his head when he walked into the wall next to the door.
Trying to stifle a giggle, Carla made her way to the blue haired male and tapped him on the shoulder. "It would behoove you to wear your glasses. Here," the girl said and held them out to the poor boy.
"Thanks," Happy sheepishly replied and slowly perched his glasses on his nose.
Watching the instant magnification of his eyes and transformation back into a nerd, Carla let out a sad sigh, much to her surprise. Why am I suddenly so invested in his appearance? It's not like I care… Carla's thoughts trailed off while she shook her head to clear it. I'm just helping my fashion-stunted mentee so that I don't have to stare at his poor fashion sense constantly! That's it!
"Okay Carla, I'm back!"
Carla returned from her thoughts to stare at an excited Happy. "Okay, let's go find some more clothes. I think 15 days' worth of outfits should be about what you need. Come along Happy," the white haired girl said and grabbed Happy's elbow to drag him towards the racks of clothing. Now that they had a model to follow, the struggle of finding clothes that worked for Happy all but disappeared.
Within 45 minutes of picking out and trying on clothes after finding the first outfit, the trio found themselves making their way to the register to purchase their spoils. As they passed on of the last clothing display tables, Happy stopped, enamored by what he saw.
"Carla!" the boy exclaimed, turning his gaze toward his mentor.
"What is it?"
"I really would like a pair of these shorts…" the bluenette plead softly, pointing to the apparel in question. The shorts were made of a navy blue cotton with light blue tuna fish embroidered all over them. The shorts had a tailored look to them, but Carla could see why he wanted them.
"Go ahead and grab your size," Carla replied in an amused tone, watching as her mentee practically bounced in excitement over to the stack of clothes. A few moments later, a positively beaming bluenette rejoined her and they went to the register to pay for their spoils.
Saying her farewells to her charge after their successful hunt, Carla steered Pantherlily to her other appointment for the day with another bluenette. They had agreed to meet in one of the nicer local parks that was half the distance between their homes.
"Good evening Carla dearest," came a deep voice and the white haired girl spun around to face her boyfriend.
"Hello Sammy," Carla greeted politely.
"You look lovely this evening," came the blue haired male's standard reply to which the girl smiled wanly.
"How is your internship? I haven't really gotten to see you as of late," Carla hedged, knowing that she could always divert his attention to his work.
"Business has been booming, as per usual," Sammy said with a businessman's smile; a look that the beautiful girl knew all too well.
"What did they let you try out this time?"
"Oh, it was a myriad of things beginning with…"
Carla let him talk, knowing that he wanted nothing more than to hear himself speak about his work. Sometimes she wondered why she allowed herself to date this boy; she knew that there weren't any feelings between either of them. She supposed that subconsciously it was to please her mother by having a boyfriend who was so successful and stable. But Mother loved meeting Happy… She still asks about him every time I come back from a tutoring session…
"What do you think about that Carla?"
"Oh! I am terribly sorry, what was your question?" the white haired girl shook her head to clear her thoughts.
"I asked, what do you think about finally introducing me to your mother? I think it's time for us to take the next step in our relationship. I mean, we are perfect for each other considering our work ethics and our intelligence…"
Are we really perfect for each other? was Carla's immediate thought to his latest monologue. As Sammy rambled on about the merits of their "partnership," she contemplated if she was truly meant to be in this relationship.
A short buzzing noise interrupted her from her thoughts as she saw her boyfriend pluck his phone out of his pocket and stare at the screen.
"I'm terribly sorry to cut our outing short, but it seems that I must go. Something came up for my other part time job and I need to see to some particular details immediately. I'm afraid that we will have to part ways for now. I do apologise for us not being able to spend much time together…" Sammy trailed off, actually looking slightly annoyed by his internship cutting his time short.
"You need to make sure that your company isn't taking advantage of you," Carla said half jokingly, taking both of his hands in hers. "Please be careful. I know we haven't really been able to see each other much this past semester, but I'm hoping that next year we can change that."
"You have a fair point my dear," the bluenette replied in an apologetic tone. "Well, the good news is that we should be able to spend time in each other's company soon because of the winter break. I'll text you later?"
"It sounds like we have an accord," she nodded in agreement and bid her boyfriend a farewell before heading back to her home for the night.
On the car ride home, a buzz in her pocket brought her out of her silent contemplation.
Happy D. : So how was your date?
Rolling her eyes at her mentee's nosiness, she humored him and replied.
Carla M. : I think it went well.
Happy D. : You just 'think' it went well? What's that supposed to mean?
Carla frowned at his question, unsure of how to explain the evening she had just spent with her boyfriend.
Carla M. : Well, we met up in the park and walked around together, catching up on our time apart. We were going to go out to dinner, but his internship called him and he had to excuse himself.
The white haired girl watched the screen of her phone for the next several minutes as the icon indicating that he was writing blinked on and off, as if he was typing his message, completely deleting it, and then rewriting a new one. When she finally received his response, she had arrived home.
Happy D. : How would you consider that to be a good date?
The simplicity of the message annoyed her, especially when it seemed like Happy had more to say on the matter. Furiously typing away at her screen, she fired back a reply.
Carla M. : The date was good in that we were able to spend time in each other's company. We haven't been able to see each other much as of late due to our busy schedules. How would you define a 'good' date, smooth operator Happy?
The writing icon instantly appeared as soon as her message was delivered. Carla waited patiently for a few minutes, watching as it would disappear periodically and then reappear as it did with Happy's previous message. Sighing in annoyance, she decided she would get ready for bed and then check up on her messages. Half an hour later, she was clean and dressed in her pajamas, sliding under the covers with a blissful sigh. Checking her phone once more before she went to sleep, she frowned when no new messages had popped up on her screen. Deciding it was better to just go to sleep and answer his text in the morning, the white haired girl allowed sleep to take her.
The next morning, Carla woke up oddly refreshed. She stretched, feeling her vertebrae pop in satisfaction and turned her attention to her phone on her nightstand, growing eager to see if her mentee had answered her retort.
Happy D. : To be fair, I've never been on a date, so I guess my input would be kinda invalid, huh? But if I did have input and I did, in fact, score a date with someone I thought the world of, I would tailor the date to make her happy. I'm hoping that the girl I would take out would be my friend before I asked her out, so I knew at least some of her general likes and dislikes beforehand. If the girl liked fish, I would take her to an aquarium, possibly even see a synchronized water show. If the girl was fond of shopping, I'd suck it up and go shopping with her and carry all her bags without complaint. If the girl was in love with tea and tea ceremony, I'd scour the area to find the most authentic place to have tea and take her there… I could go on a lot longer with examples, but I know you're smart enough to see what I'm trying to say. The point is, this girl humored me and decided to take a chance on me, so I would do everything in my power to make sure that she didn't just have a 'good' date, she had a blast! I want her to be smiling and happy, thoroughly enjoying the time we spend together.
Happy D. : Wow, sorry I sent you a mountain of sappy mush… but yeah. If my input counts, that's what I'd do.
Carla was shocked; not only because of the length of his messages but of how much thought he had put into his response. Most male classmates she knew didn't think this much about anything, much less dates with girls. Even Sammy didn't always think their dates out completely; he liked some "air of spontaneity" as he called it.
The girl ended up texting back and forth with her mentee all the way up until it was time for her to go visit her friends, greatly amused by the bluenette's awkward avoidance of who exactly he thought about asking on a date. She honestly didn't have a clue, seeing as he avoided everyone in their school almost equally, the only exception being her when it was time for them to have lessons together. Just as she was about to ponder further into the matter, her bodyguard knocked on her bedroom door.
"Miss Marvell, are you ready to go?"
Sighing in temporary defeat, she texted Happy a simple farewell message and turned to the dark skinned exceed. "Yes Pantherlily. Let's go."
So how was it? Was it a furry, fluffy overload of cuteness? Probably not, but I just had to have Happy dress up as a cute little nerd with his glasses before they were taken away! The mental image was too cute to not share! Anyone wanna draw up some fanart for Happy's outfit I described? I think I'd like that picture to be this fiction's cover art, and it's always fun to see what other people's depictions of thought look like! Anyone else love the idea of Happy in cute little fish shorts? I could so see him wearing a pair… Happy's mama is shipping her son so hard core! I feel like she'd totally be a classy troll about matters like this, much like Happy is in the canon universe (maybe not so classy, but Marl had quite a few years to perfect her craft).
Thank you so much for all of your support! Especially R3al-chan, BeesInTheCar, and Grimnack for your reviews!
Please feel free to shoot me any questions or comments you may have about the story or otherwise. But until next time, buh-bye! :D