A/N: Heelllooo~

Not many edits to this one so that's good!

As always, thanks so much for reading! and favoriting and following and reviewing of course, you guys keep me going! otherwise I wouldn't be here wasting my days writing about fictional characters having angst with other fictional characters

Controversy

She didn't feel nearly as nervous as she did just a few minutes ago, thanks to Doug, and felt like she was finally ready to take on the day.

All of the bridesmaids, while not exactly living up to the name because all they did was look pretty, were dressed and ready to go. Earlier that morning was when all the decorations went up, and though the designs were all Frey's ideas and choosing, she had Volkanon, Clorica, and Vishnal to thank for helping her plaster them everywhere. Sometimes she didn't know what she would do without her favorite Selphia butlers.

There was a cool, gentle breeze whirling through her hair, blowing the loose ringlets into her face, and for a moment she was a little afraid the curls would unravel sometime soon, but she didn't worry about it a second longer. It would undoubtedly grow messier throughout the day, due to sweat and whatever else, she reminded herself hastily as the image of an angered Margaret popped into her head.

Probably the only thing that could make today better would be for Venti to show up. She'd play with, laugh at, talk to and scold her as usual, but at the end of the day she would undoubtedly voice how happy she was that her friends had finally figured out that they loved each other. Of course, things were a little rocky, especially with Doug and Venti, but everything worked out in the end.

For now though, she was just ecstatic that she was here with Doug, and they were two equally stupid and naive people ready to take on the world together, one step at a time. And this just happened to be one of the first steps in that long journey.

"So, uh... Do you know what we're supposed to do here?"

She was brought back to reality by Doug's face and faced him, wondering just what he meant with his question. Yes, she'd just admitted that they were stupid, but...

She was about to voice her concern but her expression told him enough, beating her to the punch.

"Well, I mean, what do we do? Walk around aimlessly until we meet people from town? It's a pretty big town..."

That hit her pretty hard; after all, they hadn't been told anything by Volkanon or anyone else, so they were pretty much going into everything blindly today. It felt a little exciting, just having to figure everything out, but the nerves quickly outweighed it after Doug's words.

He sensed this, though, and gripped her hand more tightly, flashing her his reassuring smile. She gulped disbelievingly.

"Sorry... Guess I shouldn't make you nervous on a day like today, huh?"

Frey's jaw dropped and an indescribable urge to strangle him encroached upon her. "You jerk!" she said, slapping his arm.

"Ahaha, but that's why you love me, right?" He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.

She couldn't say her anger dissipated completely, but seeing Doug's stupidly goofy grin made her cheer up a tad. She puffed up her cheeks. "If you say so."

He laughed again, and Frey knew she couldn't possibly stay mad at him much longer.

Though, she realized that Doug was probably told what to do and everything while she was getting ready with the girls, and she was reminded of a certain someone's teasing, just like her fiance was doing now.

"All right," she decided, having enough of her thoughts for a while. Today definitely was not the day to dwell on such memories; it was a joyful day that she had to fill with new memories of her and Doug and their new life together. She smiled. "We should greet everybody now."

The dwarf nodded, and finally, without further ado or teasing from Doug, the two walked down the stairs to the small shopping district. Frey felt her tension ease up again once she spotted the familiar faces of Illuminata and Amber, the latter fully clothed head to toe in her lavender bridesmaid dress. Frey smiled, glad that her taste in clothes didn't upset her friends; though she saw them all earlier when they were getting ready, seeing the dresses in the sunlight really made her realize it was a solid choice.

"Congrats!" Amber exclaimed. Somehow she made her way past Frey without the older (though that was debatable) female noticing, and she and Illuminata wore matching grins as they offered their congratulatory words and praise.

Frey and Doug, hand in hand, laughed shyly, not knowing what to say other than thanks. So the first stepping stone to all the citizens were Amber and Illuminata... Though they were both eccentric in their own ways, the happy couple were relieved; after all, it could've been Porco they were meeting first, and they both knew they didn't want his sentiment heavy on their minds first thing.

"You two be nice to each other now!" Illuminata piped in, monocle in her hand as she cleaned it with her shirt. "I don't want to do any infidelity investigations here."

"Ehe..." Was this what they had to look forward to? All the townspeople - their friends - teasing them about things that wouldn't happen? Well...

"We get it already, come on," Doug said, speaking for and to Frey. He eyed the detective warily before saying goodbye and making haste to the next person who would no doubt torment the two lovebirds. He supposed that meant Margaret, standing by the lone bench overlooking the lowest ravine.

Meg, just like Amber, wore the full-length lavender dress, the fabric now matching the earrings she wore just for this special occasion. Her regular leggings were nowhere in sight, and it was weird seeing her without them, but Frey thought she still looked very nice, probably challenging even herself.

"You look great, Meg!" she said, a broad smile spread across her face.

But the elf wouldn't have any of it, not even turning a fair bit red as per usual. "I don't want to hear that from you, especially not today!"

"Ah... what?"

Margaret let out a sigh. "I spent all that time last night and this morning making you pretty, not me! I appreciate the compliment... but don't say stuff like that. It's not even about my hard work..."

"She means you look reeeally good," Doug finished for her, turning his head to face Frey. He squeezed her hand. "And, w-well, I think so, too."

Frey knew her face had to match Doug's hair right about now, so she tried to hurry up the process as best she could. "All right, there's more people waiting to see us, so shouldn't we get going?"

Her fiance seemed to still be recovering from his embarrassment or something, and so was she, but she wanted to escape at least one source of it while she still could. "Doug?"

He snapped out of whatever it was and nodded. "Right. I guess it's time... to meet Granny Blossom," he said, hints of hesitancy in his voice.

"Haha, okay," Margaret said, back to her normal, chipper self, "I shouldn't have kept you guys this long, anyway. I hope you two live a long and happy life!"

"Thanks, Meg." Frey smiled. "Wish us luck with Blossom."

And there she was a few tens of meters away, standing right next to the general store where so many events had already occurred. Seeing the old woman there brought several thoughts to Frey's mind, most pertaining to wondering if it would continue to be the gathering place of memories.

For starters, it was where Doug more or less grew up, right? She wasn't entirely sure how long he had been staying in Selphia, but the way everybody talked about him made it seem like a pretty long time. She grew envious with every conversation regarding him, because while all the townspeople had already known Doug for so long she was just barely getting accustomed to him. Even now she hardly knew anything compared to the others.

Now that they were living together, would Doug still come here often? Obviously he wouldn't give up his job, but he didn't have all of his things here anymore, so was there a point in him returning? Though it was just around the block, moving couldn't have been too easy for him, and looking at Blossom's face, it was probably even harder on her. Would it be the same when she and Doug had a child and had to watch him move out? She unconsciously squeezed his hand.

"Hey, you okay?"

Doug's voice again snapped her out of reverie. She noticed that her hand was a little sweaty and she tried to claim it back, but he didn't relinquish his grip.

"A-ah, Doug, you know, we're right in front of Blossom, and you know how she gets when she sees us acting all - "

"I'm not acting, Frey," he told her. His tone was rather shocking; it was one of the more serious voices she had heard from him, but it was odd considering he next to never used it, especially around her.

"I'm worried about you. You've been spacing out ever since we started, and you're kinda breaking my hand here. Is something wrong?"

It wasn't that something was wrong, per se, just... She had allowed her mind to wander off way too much, and while it normally did that anyway, she could see how today it would tense him up.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm just thinking too much," she admitted, flashing a sheepish smile. "Really, you don't need to worry about me. I'll feel better once we start moving again and after the day ends."

But that just made her thoughts race as well, reminding her that there was often... well, consummation of marriage at the end of the wedding. She gulped and took another glance at Doug's face, wondering if he was thinking the same thing; but, as usual, his face remained pretty composed for the most part, save for his concerned gaze at her.

"I'm fine!" I just need to stop thinking about anything and everything.

He seemed extremely unconvinced, a judgmental stare on his face.

"Honestly!" Frey turned a little red, unused to his eyes being glued to hers.

"Doug!"

She wasn't sure whether or not she should have voiced her thanks to these people snapping her out of her thoughts and getting her out of troublesome situations, but she was indeed grateful for the interruption - though, after seeing her new grandmother she didn't know if she should have been.

Blossom stood with a stern expression on her face.

"Oh boy, here it comes..." Doug trailed, knowing they were in for an earful of Granny Blossom's scolding. He squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see her disapproving glare.

But he had the wind knocked out of him - and Frey's hand - when he felt himself being tackled. He opened his eyes and saw Blossom hugging his torso, head on his shoulder. Instantly Doug's face heated up; Granny was never affectionate like this, most of the time relying on words rather than actions to convey feelings.

"H-hey... what's wrong, Granny?"

"You're already getting married, Doug!" she cried. "It's hard not to be emotional at a time like this."

He awkwardly returned the embrace, not knowing what else he could do, and smiled. "I thought you were going to scold us for too much PDA again," he said with a laugh.

Blossom pulled away and gaped at him. "Oh, just who do you think you grandmother is?"

"You're not mad?" Frey asked, butting her way into the family conversation.

"Not a chance! It is your wedding day, after all."

The two ignored her sudden change of character and just stood in silence, wondering what was next in store (maybe literally, considering their location). It was an interesting day for sure.

"So..." Doug decided to test her patience. "You don't mind if I do this?"

He grabbed Frey's hand and brought it up to his mouth, kissing it tenderly. She tried to protest but no words were coming out of her mouth, only flustered stutters of letters.

"Doug! At least wait a while before making my grandchildren!"

"That - that's not how it works, y'know..." he trailed, though he blushed, wondering if it might have backfired. He just wanted to have a little fun! It was hot and uncomfortable in this tuxedo, and talking to everyone was proving to take up a lot of time and energy. And they hadn't even gotten through half the town yet.

Frey just laughed in his stead.

"Oh, all right," Blossom said, giving up. "Just go easy on her tonight. Though you're both around the same size, I know you would be able to overpower her in a second." She looked at Frey now. "And Frey, you be careful now."

"Okay, okay," she agreed reluctantly, speaking for the too-flustered Doug. It seemed like they took turns being embarrassed and saving and speaking for each other like that; maybe that was just proof that this marriage was going to work? She laughed at that.

This time, she decided it was time to go. Just because they were having a heartfelt conversation now didn't mean they couldn't talk some other day. It wasn't like they were moving away to another town. Sure, they'd be away for a few days for the honeymoon... but she was Selphia's princess - well, makeshift princess - so she couldn't exactly leave the town she was in charge of.

In just a few more steps Frey realized that they had taken the wrong path. Porcoline caught their eyes, standing right in front of the restaurant, seemingly ready to pounce on his prey.

"Dooooooug, I can't believe you're taking my Frey away from me!"

"Ah... I'm, um, sorry," the dwarf of interest offered meekly. Just to be on the safe side, though, he took hold of Frey's hand once more, both hers and his equally warm and moist.

"And Freeeeey, I thought you were in love with moi!" Porcoline whined. "I feel so betrayed..."

"Erm... O-okay...I'm sorry." Her apology was probably even less sincere than Doug's. Ever since she moved in, Porco had been jokingly trying to win over Frey's heart and, while she admitted on most days it was pretty funny, on her wedding day she could do without it...

"...I'm kidding! Congratulations to the both of you."

Well that was oddly convenient, she thought to herself. The mint-haired girl smiled. "Thank you, Porcoline."

"Oh, really, Frey! Call me Porco, and think of my theme song every time you do!" He then proceeded to sing aforementioned song that Meg wrote for him, and Doug and Frey's foreheads suddenly grew sweaty.

The glutton cleared his throat. "Well, it's not my job to keep you two occupied all day long - that's for Volkanon! And for the two of you later, of course..." he trailed with a sleazy eyebrow wiggle. Both newlyweds averted their eyes awkwardly, doing their best to throw the thought into the back of their minds.

"All right, well thanks for the wishes but now we're late, late, for a very important date - "

"You don't need to make excuses for this guy!" Doug told her. "Let's just go!"

She nodded, though she did still feel a bit bad for Porco. "Ehe. Sorry, Porco, see you later!" She smiled at him before allowing Doug to lead her away again.

But she kind of wished the next people they were going to see weren't Dylas and Leon. The former had a problem with Doug, and the latter had a problem with herself, not to mention he and Doug tended to butt heads whenever they were together.

The two stood in front of the airship, just a short walk away from Porcoline's restaurant, chatting idly about something or other; she couldn't exactly hear at this distance. Once Doug and Frey's footsteps came within earshot though, the two men shifted their attention to them, watching them approach in anticipation. Truthfully, they seemed more ready to pounce than Porcoline did.

Dylas was dressed in his normal attire, but Leon had donned a white button-up shirt, probably in an attempt to look a bit more formal than usual. It worked to some extent, but just because he dressed up didn't mean nobody knew him as an unprofessional goof and tease, so in the end it was ineffective.

"Hey," Dylas said, starting it off.

Frey smiled. "Hey. Long time no see." And it was true: since she had been busy preparing for the wedding and he worked in the restaurant they hadn't seen each other in quite some time.

"Yeah," he agreed. "How are things?"

He was still awkward around the edges but Frey kind of liked that about him. For one, it reminded her of Doug and how similar the two were, and also why it was so funny that they fought despite all their similarities. And for another, his probable social anxiety just further proved how human he was even though he didn't look it. Plus, it was just entertaining to poke fun at him sometimes.

"Things are good, thank you," she responded. "As you can see, we're just kinda... preparing for everything."

Dylas chuckled. "I'm amazed that dwarf cleaned up so well. Are you sure you're okay with his shortness?"

"Haha, I'd rather have someone the same height as me rather than towering over me."

He took her words in stride, wondering if she was referring to him considering he was easily a foot taller than her. But he let it go, instead resorting to watching Doug and Leon converse in whatever they were.

Leon was all too aware of the audience they had acquired, so after the small talk with Doug he decided to spice it up a bit, knowing it would fluster both newlyweds. "So Doug, no more coming to me for your sex talks. After all, I can't give you advice with a clean conscience now that you're marrying our princess here."

"What?!" Doug retorted almost instantly. "Why are you so obsessed with my sex life? It's, uh," he made sure to look at Frey, "not like there's much to mention, anyway..." Even though Leon brought that up when all the guys were together getting Doug ready, suddenly it felt much worse when Frey was listening.

"It's okay," she said with a laugh. "Maybe this means I just have to be better so that you will have something to mention."

She wasn't going to let it bother her right now that while Doug hadn't exactly said that he'd been with someone he didn't deny it either. Not having something to mention didn't equal nothing happening. But this wasn't the time or the place to be upset about such matters, and besides, if they were talking about secrets, she wasn't innocent either. If he wanted her to know, he would tell her, right?

She looked at Doug and smiled hopefully, confident that this was the best choice she'd ever made for herself.

"Well, are you guys gonna congratulate us or do we just have to walk away?" he asked impatiently, a familiar hue coloring his cheeks.

"Congrats," said Dylas, doing his best to be blunt. "Not sure how to really put this, but... Hope you guys make it all the way. Despite what I say, I know you're both capable." He put on a snarky grin. "Be good to her, Doug, you hear me?"

"H-hey, what's that all about?" Doug asked defensively. "I'm not gonna hurt her or anything... I'd kill anyone who hurt her." He looked away in disappointment.

Frey giggled. "Dylas is just worried about his friends jumping into marriage, don't worry about it."

The two ignored Dylas's embarrassed expression as they turned their attention to Leon, and Frey remembered she hadn't even properly greeted him yet.

"So you're finally getting yourself married off to her, eh? You sure that's all right?"

Doug steeled himself. "There's no doubt in my mind. She's the one I want, and nothing will change that."

Frey blushed while Leon chuckled.

"You're not going to ask me what I mean by that?"

"Doesn't matter," he replied with a serious expression. "Whether it's you or something else entirely, I'm going to protect Frey because I love her." He turned towards her and grabbed her hand.

Frey nodded and closed her eyes. "I'll do my best, too."

"Hey, there's plenty of time for that mushy nonsense after the wedding." Leon interrupted the lovers' short conversation, but he left alone the part where Doug told him he would protect Frey from him, not fully understanding what he meant by that. "Now hurry up and get going before the others leave because you're taking too long."

"Are you sure? There's nothing else you wanted to say?" Frey asked sarcastically, expecting more snark from the jackal.

Leon nodded, and his face turned more serious. "Yeah." He looked her in the eye. "Congratulations."

With just that one word, Frey suddenly felt time stop. She didn't think she'd ever heard more than a handful of sincere words from his mouth that were directed towards her, except when they were together and it was about the two of them. She never expected him to say something so honest like that, especially when it included Doug - another man in the picture, and she knew how jealous he could get. Had he really changed so much in just the time they hadn't been together? Was that what happened? It wasn't like she could say she herself hadn't changed...

She blinked back tears, smiling instead. To say she didn't still harbor any feelings towards him would be a lie. However, her feelings for Doug were stronger, and one cannot be half-hearted in love, so she followed the louder voice in her head and heart this time. It hurt everyday, but the pain started to lessen gradually with each moment she instead spent with Doug. She truly thought, deep down, he was the better man for her.

"...Thanks," she whispered. She squeezed Doug's hand more tightly and began to walk away. She was just thankful that meanwhile, her fiance and Dylas had been chatting idly about something or other. It wasn't that she wanted to keep it a secret from Doug, per se... It would just take a while before she was fully comfortable with the past that she remembered to share it with him.

At the squeeze of his hand, though, Doug's attention snapped back to Frey, and the two said goodbye to Leon and Dylas, retreating to the other side of Airship Way to greet the eager Xiao Pai and Lin Fa.

"Congratulations!" the younger female announced, signature wink adorning her face. It seemed her bridesmaid dress had become a little worn already, her clumsiness to thank, but she still looked cute in it and Frey smiled.

"Congrats!" Lin Fa exclaimed directly afterwards. "I wish you two a lot of happiness!"

The two gentlemen left behind exchanged similar glances, those of heartbreak. Dylas was surprised to see Leon look like that, but the jackal didn't show any signs of shock himself; after all, he believed it was obvious to everyone in town - besides the girl in question, of course - had figured out who Dylas was fond of.

Leon sighed exasperatedly, breaking the uncomfortably awkward silence between the two infatuated men. "Looks like the best man won, eh?"

Dylas chuckled. "Yeah."

A few moments passed just like that, them both watching as the two newlyweds greeted and were congratulated by many others in the town. The wind picked up suddenly, causing Frey's hair to whip around her face; she fixed it but the breeze didn't let up so it was obvious she was getting frustrated. Doug laughed at her and helped keep her hair back, his hands grabbing every loose strand gently, trying his best to put it back under the big clip which kept the rest of her hair intact.

However, all he really managed to do was mess it up even more. "Sorry, sorry. I was only trying to help, I swear," he told her, though he laughed, both out of guilt and admiration. She still looked beautiful even with a bedhead-like hairdo.

Frey pouted but went along with it, anyway. Maybe this was Venti's way of saying her own tacky congratulations to her on her wedding day, being the god of wind and all. Ideally, she would've loved to have her best friend at her wedding, but the way things were, it just hadn't worked out, so she would take whatever she could get, even if it was only her imagination. She just hoped she was proud of her, wherever she was.

"He better keep her that happy," Dylas muttered, but Leon still heard it. The horse man walked away shortly after that, not being one for sappy or mushy stuff, especially when it involved the woman he loved and a man that wasn't him. He'd lost his chance, sure, and he accepted that Doug deserved her more, but that didn't mean he wanted to see them demonstrate that.

Leon chuckled. "Sore loser."

...

The ceremony was relatively short compared to the day of traveling around town, talking with everybody. She supposed that was what it was supposed to be like, though, so that the actual process seemed like a breeze.

Volkanon had proven to be quite the asset, too, despite his emotional outbursts; Frey found she could sympathize with him on most things concerning herself.

She and Doug were married inside the center room of the castle per her request, in hopes that Venti would be able to watch over them. Though, the earlier incident with the wind really led her to believe she was already there and that in itself made her extremely happy, lifting up her spirits with layers upon layers of happiness.

But what was happening right now was definitely not happiness, even though it probably should have been.

She was in her favorite spot, Keeno Lake, right on the water and listening to the sounds of the night birds and crickets. They'd managed to find a salvageable cabin to stay in for the next night or two and as soon as they entered through the door they were on each other.

Despite not remembering much of anything from before she came to Selphia, Frey could swear she remembered someone telling her that it would hurt, playing around like this for the first time. Of course she was happy that she would be able to experience it for the first time with Doug - at least, it was certainly feeling like it was the first time - but the white hot intensity of the pain proved to be a formidable foe.

It was a new feeling, like an intrusion to her person that she knew would take some getting used to, but with kisses being placed all over her neck and chest it made everything a little more tolerable.

Every thrust was like a fresh new scar, threatening to embed itself forever, yet she didn't want to stop. It certainly didn't feel good yet, and even Doug was beginning to worry, wondering if they should continue, but she told him she was okay, don't stop.

Somewhere deep down, underneath all the pain and sweat and suffering, she wanted to keep going, to get even closer to Doug, her husband, the man she truly loved. Though it hurt like a wound from the battlefield that wouldn't heal, she couldn't bring herself to stop, and reminded Doug to keep going when he began to hesitate after hearing her mouth's other loud protests.

The pain broke through all of her resistances like a knife and for a moment Frey thought she would surely pass out, dizzying and burning sensations enveloping every single part of her, but she pushed through it, telling herself the pleasure would come in soon; it had to in order for this sex-feels-good theory from every person to be even remotely plausible.

And then it started.

"A-ah, wait just a second," she pleaded, allowing herself some time to adjust to the very weird feeling now accommodating her lady parts. She cried out in pain and Doug was instantly above her forehead, placing sweet kisses all along it.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he kept saying each time his lips made contact with her skin.

Frey laughed, only further confusing him. "Stop apologizing already." Her voice was a little weak but still sounded like the woman he loved so he smiled, firmly believing she was all right.

Suddenly the very theory she questioned just a minute ago proved itself over and over again, leaving her to wonder just why they waited so long to do this together.

Each movement that brought her closer and closer to the edge of her sanity reminded Frey that she certainly had made the right choice. She followed her heart and married Doug, who could go through with his torment and teasing (not that it mattered much at this point), was able to tell her he truthfully loved her, and would be a family man for sure. Despite it being only a few hours into their marriage, she absolutely couldn't wait to start a family with him... especially if it meant this was the method of doing it.

~CGA