Yay! Day 2 is here!
A Brief Author's note:
Thank you for all of the kind reviews on the last chapter!
I know this chapter is up a day early, but I'm not sure I will have time tomorrow due to having work and class.
Just a quick warning for future chapters, I didn't really plan for them to run as a single continuous story. Some of the chapters may work well together but that is primarily just happenstance.
Additionally, should anyone wish to continue some of these plot lines into longer stories feel free. I only ask that you let me know so that I can enjoy reading them too :)
I would love to be able to expand upon these chapters myself, but with my present schedule that won't be possible anytime soon. Now on to the story…
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima, and the lovely Pradesh Family is owned by Desna.
…
Prompt: Lick
Arman Pradesh smiled to himself upon arriving home just before noon. He now had the next three weeks to spend with his family and celebrate Christmas and New Years without worries of work hanging over him. He had just returned home from the consulate after successfully negotiating another beneficial trade agreement for Bosco with their neighboring country of Minstrel. It had been eight weeks of long, hard hours, and almost constant discussion and mediating between both delegations, but it had been worth it in the long haul. Now the renowned Ambassador was home for the holidays with his secretary under strict orders that he not be disturbed for anything short of the collapse of Boscan society as they knew it or the apocalypse for the next three weeks.
To his knowledge all of his children were home for the break as well. His oldest son, Farron, had taken his own leave from the consulate two days prior at his father's urging. Kaleb, his first and oldest adopted son, had returned the night before after being initiated into Bosco's largest guild, White Sea. The thirteen year old mind-bender mage was schedule to begin his training for initiation into the Boscan military. All the rest of his younger adopted children had finished their morning lessons by now, and were likely plying their chef, Mr. Elan, for treats before their lunch, or were outsides roughhousing in the large expansive yard that stretched out to meet the Grass Sea.
Upon entering his home the decorated Ambassador paused at the silence which reached his ears. Cautiously shutting the engraved oak door behind him, he made his way stealthily to the kitchen. Turning into the culinary abode of his esteemed chef, Arman was drawn up short by a chocolate covered whisk being leveled at his eyes. Following the brandished cook ware to the hand wielding it he raised a brow at the sight of his equally startled chef.
"My greatest apologies, Sir!" Elan started, quickly pulling back his impromptu weapon, only to be waved off by his employer.
"I take it that the hungry masses had to be fought off?" The Ambassador chuckled in amusement, well aware of his children's rambunctious behavior whenever it came to the decadent creations of the family chef.
Elan huffed and turned away with his nose turned up, but his eyes glinted with mirth, "You would think those heathens you call children starved to death in this household with the way they descended upon my kitchen."
Arman laughed, "I take it the surprise is no longer a surprise then?" Elan's answering look of harassment said it all.
"They've been banished to the yard I take it?"
"For all the good it did. They were nearly salivating as they hovered near the door and windows" The chef gestured at the giant bay windows and patio door of the room, "I couldn't take the pouts and puppy dog eyes, Sir. They've been banished to their rooms until I am done. I've already done a sweep and cleared all valuables from their path." Elan shook his head ruefully, but with a humorous twist to his lips, as he finished whipping up what Arman could now identify as a chocolate cake batter.
Ah, yes, the cake. That would do it, Arman mused. While his children, and himself admittedly, thoroughly enjoyed Chef Elan's cooking and delicacies on a regular basis, the Chef really outdid himself during the holidays. The weeks leading up to the New Year's celebrations were the only time of year when their Chef made his famous Boscan Chocolate Delight Cake. The five tiered monstrosity was any sweet lover's dream, and was one of the most looked forward to events of the end of year holidays by the Pradesh family. It was also the reason for his children being at their most competitive with one another.
Arman was not sure when exactly it started but somehow instead of all of his children sharing the treat of licking the cookware once the cake was in the oven, it had become a competition with the spoils going to the victor: the first to enter the kitchen. After trying without success to dissuade his stubborn children of the notion of a single victor, Arman and his Chef had resigned themselves to simply clearing the path of anything breakable and having supplies on hand for any necessary repairs needed after the ruckus.
"ETA?" The Ambassador inquired, quickly searching his memory if he had left anything that could be caught up in the collateral.
"Five minutes and counting."
"Hmm, just enough time for some tea." The Chef gestured to a cup that was steeping in the corner. A quick sniff exposed it as being the Ambassador's favorite blend. "How did I ever get along without you?" He praised the Chef.
Elan snorted and raised an amused brow, "You didn't. You were burning toast and on the verge of giving yourself food poisoning by the time I stepped in."
The esteemed Ambassador pouted,. "I was not that bad." He huffed indignantly.
"No", Elan agreed, shaking his head, "You were much worse," He finished with a laugh.
Arman, begrudgingly, nodded his agreement with a rueful smile; He was a menace in the kitchen. He still remembered his late wife's face when he tried to help her cook one of their first meals together as a couple. Needless to say he was promptly banned from the kitchen.
Shaking his head at the memory, Arman set up a chair to the side of the room from which he could better spectate the onslaught. He took the time to enjoy his tea and the rare moment of peace. The family Chef finished the last preparations before placing the cake layers into the oven.
The men's eyes met over the counter, humorous resignation passing between them. "And so it begins" The dark haired Chef whispered, eyes twinkling with laughter, "would you care to do the honors Sir?"
Arman gave a soft chuckle, nodding, "I believe I will." With that he brought up his sound magic to enhance his voice so it could be heard from all corners of the house. "CHILDREN, I WANT A CLEAN COMPETITION! MAGIC IS ADMISSABLE BUT THERE WILL BE NO INJURY AND DAMAGE IS TO BE KEPT AT A MINIMUM!" He paused, the silence in the house had become deafening, "TO YOUR MARKS…BEGIN!"
A dull rumbling could be heard and felt in the house, growing louder as the masses converged on the kitchen. The two adults traded amused looks before taking their seats and waiting. As the stampede closed in various thuds, shouts, and crashes could be heard. Arman took another sip of his tea.
"Ow, Em! Not fair! No hair pulling!" Ah, that was Cristoff, sweet Cristoff, the lover of fairness and justice.
"Hee hee! Not my fault, it was in my way! I'm gonna—ack! Vander!" There was Emzadi, his beautiful ball of sun fire, brashness, and competitive spirit.
"Out of my way Em! The goodness is calling my nam—ow! Hey! Stop that! I'm sorry! Ah, Hot, hot hot!" That would be his biggest trouble maker Vander. Lovable and golden-hearted though he was, the boy had a penchant for mischief like no other.
"Watch out babies! Incoming—ahh! Oof!"
"Bicks!"
"Heh-heh, thanks for the cushion bro—Oof!"
"Cushion huh? I'll show you!" That would be Bickslow and Farron, he'd been wondering when they would make themselves known. Now there were only two missing.
"Gah! Let go Xal! I can't see!"
"Haha, and let you win, never!" Ah, and there they were. Kaleb and Xally, his usually most quiet and rule-abiding children.
"Dang it Bickslow, my nails!" …Emzadi…
Bam! Thud! Thunk!
"Ah! Vander let me down!" …Bickslow…
"Not a chance! This is my year to—" Whoosh! "Gall darn it! Xally!" …Vander…
"Out of my way!"…Xally…
Glass shattering.
"That was all you!" …Kaleb…
"No way! That was totally on you!" …Emzadi…
"I didn't do it!" …Cristoff…
"I'm innocent!"…Vander…
Squawking and various banging sounds.
"Haha! Later squirt, I got this in the ba—no! Gah, Kaleb!" …Farron…
Slam! Several crashes.
"Argh! Cristoff!" …Bickslow…
"Serves you right big bro! Haha—ow! Wait! No! Stop! Bicks! Control your babies! Gah, no, stop!" …Kaleb…
"Heh heh! Later slow pokes!" …Xally…
A small, black haired blur slammed the door open and shot into the kitchen. A platinum blond blur and a mahogany haired blur close on its heels, but not fast enough as the first blur slammed a hand onto the kitchen counter. "I win!" Xally shouted excitedly as the Farron and Kaleb collapsed in front of her in defeat. Four more blurs flew into the room, only to collide with the two boys on the ground in a tangle of flailing limbs.
Once everyone had righted themselves, and begrudging congratulations had been given, Xally turned to look expectantly at Mr. Elan. The Chef rolled his eyes, comically sighing, before gesturing her to go-ahead. "Whoo-hoo!" the usually mild-mannered girl chirped before she descended onto the cookware along the counter and began licking the chocolate cake batter off of their surfaces. Her mouth now surrounded in chocolate, she smirked triumphantly at her siblings, "Better luck next time guys."
"Evil little sister" Vander murmured, gaining nods and hums of agreement from his other siblings.
"She hides it well" Kaleb stated solemnly, wringing out his soaking wet clothes.
The pouts and defeated looks on the rest of his children's faces, added onto their wet, charred, bruised, and paint covered (he didn't even want to know how that occurred) appearances brought to mind the image of a heap of disgruntled puppies. Arman laughed, gaining the attention of all of his children who were soon smiling, greeting him, and getting hugs.
They were rambunctious, mischievous, energetic, competitive brats with the biggest hearts of gold he had ever known. But best of all, they were his brats!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (13 years later) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Arman sat in the kitchen, enjoying a much needed cup of his favorite Boscan tea blend. He had returned home from the consulate ready to spend the next three weeks with his family, and their visiting friends, to celebrate Christmas and New Year's.
The Ambassador smiled, all of his children were home this year. First, Bickslow had been allowed to return and the kill-on-sight orders placed on him for his magic many years ago had finally been recalled. It had taken some delicate maneuvering, but between himself and his oldest son Farron, they had been able to get Bickslow his Boscan citizenship back. Now, he would be able to see his son for the first time not only since he'd had to send him away to Fiore for his own safety, but for the first time since he had received word of his safe return after being missing for seven years. Second, he had received word of his second oldest son, Zen, being alive after all these years of mourning the deaths of his second child and his wife. It had been salt in the wound to hear of Pergrande's deception and following enslavement of his precious son. It had been great luck and chance that Bickslow's friend, Lucy, had come across the man able to give them the location and living status of his missing son. The celestial mage had crossed paths with one of Pergrande's nobles heavily favored by the King. The man had been involved in a black market deal, purchasing a shipment of magical artifacts that contained a gate key the celestial mage had been hunting for the past year. After having one of her spirits copy the man and access his memories the lovely blonde mage had acquired the knowledge of the true identity of the Pergrande gladiator known as 'The Dark Eagle'. As Lucy had been introduced to his family a few short months prior, she had been able to put all the pieces together, and start the events that led to the successful retrieval of his lost son. The Ambassador mused about the chance of the events playing out as they did. Had Bickslow not thought to invite Lucy to travel with him and some of his team to Bosco after Fairy Tail disbanded, he may never have known his son was still alive, let alone in the living hell of Pergrande's gladiator pits.
Thinking of the bright and cheerful celestial mage made his thoughts turn to the other celebratory nature of the current holiday break. Zen and Lucy had become promised to one another only two days before.
After his retrieval from Pergrande, Zen had taken to spending more and more time around and with Lucy, much to the equal parts exasperation and glee of his younger brother Bickslow and Bickslow's teammates who all viewed the sweet mage as a younger sister. The two became close, especially so following an incident with one of the White Sea Guild's other celestial mages, Hestor. During one of the guild parties, the male mage had made advances toward Zen and practically overpowered his will due to the attraction between their magics. Lucy, who had also been present at the party had noticed Zen's absence and, upon alerting his family, had sought him out and found him struggling to fight the magical allure of the other celestial mage. What exactly transpired after this is still largely unknown to Arman, as all witnesses to the event have remained extremely tight lipped. What he was able to pry out of his other reluctant children was only that there had been a fight between the celestial mages which had ended in Hestor needing to be hospitalized. Once recovered, the male mage had quickly put in a request for transfer to one of White Sea's outer branches. Arman was slightly frustrated that he couldn't get any further details. Kaleb, as White Seas Guild Master, would have all the facts at his disposal but had clammed up whenever his father asked about it. He'd simply stated that Lucy had really come into her own, and was truly a force to be reckoned with. Arman had then sought out his other main source of information, Vander, only to be blocked again as his youngest son got a glazed look to his eyes before paling and whispering "Scary Lucy is real, Bicks wasn't lying." Beyond them, nobody else was speaking about it. It had driven Arman a little crazy, especially when he caught his children occasionally glancing at the blonde celestial mage with looks of awe, pride, respect, and dare he say a little fear on occasion. Now though, Arman had resigned himself to the fact that he would never hear the exact events which led to his Zen attaching himself to Lucy's hip and acting positively smitten. Not that he was complaining, mind you; Arman was more than ready for his children to settle down and give him some grand children to spoil.
"Sir? Sir, are you ready?"
The voice of the family chef broke the Ambassador out of his thoughts, and reminded him where he was and what was about to happen. Arman gave the chef an amused smile.
"You'd think they'd grow out of this."
The chef scoffed and leveled the Ambassador a look which plainly stated 'Not likely'.
Arman hummed his agreement as he refilled his cup of tea while Elan placed the much anticipated New Year's cake into the oven. "Well, let's get this over with shall we?"
The men's eyes met over the counter, amused resignation passing between them. The dark haired Chef's eyes now had more pronounced laugh lines around them these many years later, but they were still gleamed with his ever present humor, "Would you care to do the honors Sir?"
Arman gave a soft chuckle, nodding, "I believe I will." With barely a thought he brought up his sound magic to enhance his voice so it could be heard from all corners of the house. "ALRIGHT, I WANT A CLEAN COMPETITION! MAGIC IS ADMISSABLE BUT ALL TELEPORTATION MAGICS ARE BANNED, THAT INCLUDES VOID HOPPING VANDER. THERE WILL BE NO SERIOUS INJURING, AND ALL DAMAGE IS TO BE KEPT AT A MINIMUM. ANY REPAIRS WILL BE COMING OUT OF YOUR OWN POCKETS, SO ALL THE BETTER IF NO DAMAGE AT ALL!" He paused, the silence in the house had become deafening, "TO YOUR MARKS…BEGIN!"
A dull rumbling could be heard and felt in the house, growing louder as the masses converged on the kitchen. The two adults traded amused looks before taking their seats and waiting. As the stampede closed in various thuds, shouts, and crashes could be heard. Arman took another sip of his tea.
"Ouch! Not cool Em!" …Vander…
"Damn you fire witch! Come on Van!" …and Cobra?...
"Right behind you handsome" …Ah, it seemed my children have roped their guests into the fun as well. This should be interesting…
"If you can't take the heat, get the fuck outta my way!" …Emzadi…
"Son of a bitch! That hurt Bossman! Ow! Dammit, stop shocking me you ass!" …Bickslow…
"Dammit, Xally! No hair pulling! How old are you!?" …Kaleb…
"Hee hee! It was in my way! Now mo—ow, shit! Damn you Freed!" …Xally…
"All the more reason to watch where you step" ...Freed…
"Ack! Vander, you shadowy little shit, get back here!" …Laxus…
"Out of my way Farron!" …Cristoff…
"Babies, Baryon Formation! Take that! And tha—gah! Cosplayer, damn you and your kinky maid!"…Bickslow…
"Haha, better luck next time Bicks!" …Lucy…
"Farron, this way!" …Freed…
"Oof! The fuck was that for Blondie!" …Laxus…
"All's fair Bro. Little stella got ya good, haha!" …Vander…
"Shall we finish this? I can smell the chocolate from here." …Zen…
"Anything for you babe! Cancer, lend me your power, Star Dress!"…Lucy…
"What! No fair! I thought we had something stella" …Vander…
"Fuck you Tink!" ...Cobra…
"Damn Zen! That was a cheap shot!" …Farron…
"I thought you were a master spy?"
"Virgo! Aries! Clear us a path!"
"Dammit Blondie!"
"Gah! Lucy!"
"What the fuck is this stuff!"
"Damn it Stella!"
"No! Zen you fucker!"
"Technically they are following the rules."
"Doesn't mean we have to like it!"
"Seriously! He's being helped out by a veritable army commanded by a hot blonde! Not cool!"
"I thought we were partners Tink!?"
"Get back here Lulu!"
"I can't move!"
"What the hell is this stuff!?"
"That'll hold them for a while. Let's go babe!"
"Right behind you"
The steady tread of two pairs of feet approached the kitchen entrance. The door was calmly pushed open and a beautiful, brown-eyed blonde walked through holding hands with a tall, muscular male whose features closely resembled Arman's own, with the exception of his violet, gold-flecked eyes. Arman found himself grinning as he took in the appearance of his recently returned son and his son's fiancé. The pair had quickly made their way to the counter, and begun to lick the chocolate cake batter off of the cookware piled there. Two points of shimmering golden light appeared as celestial gates were opened. The lights disappeared to reveal a pink haired female in a maid outfit, and another pink haired female with horns on her head who seemed to be trying to hide behind the other in shyness.
"Ah, Aries, Virgo, Cancer, you have perfect timing. Come on and dig in guys, we couldn't have done it without you." Lucy greeted them with a brilliant smile. The spirits bowed to their key holder and her soon-to-be-husband before approaching with smiles of their own and enjoying some of the cake batter themselves.
There was a commotion at the entry way before all the rest of Arman's children, he used the term loosely as they were all more than capable adults, and the rest of their guests piled into the kitchen.
Arman quickly covered his mouth with a hand to try and stifle the urge to laugh at the sight of his children and houseguests. Coils of rope still entangled most of them, and puffs of pink wool were attached to various places on their persons. Add in the fact that a few looked like drowned kittens, others seemed to have experienced a large static charge, and Vander, Bickslow, Farron, and Freed seemed to have received impromptu haircuts, and you had a very amusing picture.
A deep chuckle drew everyone's attention to the tall, built, and darkly handsome male at the counter who gave them an unabashed grin while the buxom blonde beside him finished licking chocolate off her fingers before giving them a sweet smile, "Better luck next time guys."
"Stella, I'm not sure if anyone's told you lately, but you have a dark side" Vander grumbled as he tried to pick off all the pink puffs.
Cobra snorted, "Understatement," Which gained various nods and hums of agreement from the rest of the group.
"She hides it well" Bickslow stated solemnly, wringing out his soaking wet clothes before giving it up as a lost cause and turning his focus instead to flattening his static-charged hair.
"Agreed," Kaleb smirked, "The sweetness must be a façade meant to draw you in to your unwitting demise."
"Hey!" Lucy laughed, "You are very much alive and in-tact thank you!"
"Barely," Emzadi chuckled, "As they say, it's always the quiet innocent ones you need to be wary of."
"Older brothers too apparently," Xally grumbled as Cristoff worked on the last knot of rope restraining her arms having only just finished shedding his own cords.
"And to the victor, or victors I should say, go the spoils." Laxus sighed longingly.
The pouts and defeated looks on the faces of his now adult children and their guests, brought to mind the image of a pile of sullen puppies. Arman hid his laughter behind his cup of tea.
Two pairs of eyes watched the antics in amusement before turning to meet one another.
"What do you think Starshine? Do they deserve some?"
"Hmm, I don't know babe," the attractive blonde paused at the sudden pleading looks she was receiving from some of the most powerful and deadly mages in existence. She raised an eyebrow, "What was that about me being evil?"
"Pshh! Just a joke dear Stella, you know you are the moon, sun, and stars to my life."
"Um, yeah Cosplayer, you're super sweet, all the time" Bickslow assured with a tongued grin.
"You know I love your brand of crazy Tink" Cobra smirked.
"Uh Huh." Her eyes narrowed even as she fought to contain her amusement. Sighing she turned to face the laughing eyes of her fiancé, "Well, I guess they have been relatively good, my clothing is in one piece after all, and there is enough to share." Smiling at the group she nodded and gestured them over.
The group of Pradesh siblings and Fairy Tail mages quickly descended with grins and laughter upon the batter covered bake-ware.
"I want to lick the spoon!" Bickslow called out.
"Not if I get it first!" Emzadi crowed.
Finally allowing his own laughter and amusement to be heard, Arman watched the group, his eyes fond. They were rambunctious, mischievous, energetic, competitive brats with the biggest hearts of gold he had ever known. But best of all, they were his brats!
…
Confession: Upon first reading through the prompt of 'lick' for this week, my initial thought was to do something sexy with chocolate, hot guys (aka the Pradesh men), and panty flooding that would put India in typhoon season to shame... this is what I got.
I started writing with the original 'sexy' plan in mind; I tied in Boscan chocolate cake and then… wham! The muses send me a total curve ball and before I knew it I was 4 pages in to gooey chocolate family time… I just went with it -_-
Aw well, feel free to leave a review and let me know what you thought :)
JB