A/N: In the Paying it Forward universe, it's a Valentine's Day themed, cavity causing fluff when Lasswell introduces Citra to the family. How will everyone react, and is the introduction the only plan Lasswell has for Citra? All pairings here are married outside Lasswell and Citra (endgame engaged).
A Valentine's Day Surprise
"Don't worry about my parents, Citra. They'll love you once they meet you - did I mention that Seven REALLY wants to meet you...?" Lasswell tells to his girlfriend on their drive in Oerba to the new home of Fang and Claire 'Lightning' Yun-Farron. Hearing his words, Citra immediately felt better: after hearing stories about the silver haired woman, who is very happily married to Sice according to everyone who knows the Sebusai pair, Citra knew in her heart that she wanted to meet Seven (not just Lightning and Fang). The other thing Citra knew about the upcoming meeting was that not only will the Fangrai and Sebusai pairs will be present, but Serah, Snow, Hope, Vanille, Terra, Fina, Celes and Locke will all be present at the home in Oerba on Gran Pulse as well. Citra being a huge fan of Celes' singing would make this an interesting affair when the Granshelt native meets her singing idol for the first time. Lasswell and Citra have been dating for a few years, which he's had conversations with Snow, Celes and Hope about how to pop the question for Citra's hand in marriage. The trio only told him one thing: to be himself when he proposes, because it was the same way when the Fangrai and Sebusai pairs got engaged, when Fang, and later Sice, popped the question to their respective spouses.
The courtship between Lasswell and Citra had been an interesting one the entire time, but the way theirs stood out was a lesson Lasswell learnt from his mothers: work as a team on any issue that comes up, don't give up so quick. It shocked everyone who knew them in this regard, considering the fact that the divorce rate in Neo Oerba/New Pradda, plus all of Granshelt, were at an all-time high. If anything, Lasswell was scared of losing Citra to another for some odd reason a few times, only for Citra to prove her loyalty to him in the end, which impressed Seven whenever she heard about it. He learnt from the best, Citra would happily think to herself every time he stayed with her. With Citra being a bit of a looker due to her looking like a goddess to virtually any lad, who could blame Lasswell for his fears about Citra? What shocked the youngest Yun-Farron was that during the entire drive, Citra had a snug grip over his hand, as a means that she's not going anywhere anytime soon. He was hers, and she was his. Citra is one who is far too selfish to share him with anyone else, which is a reason why the pair are still together to this day. With this type of confidence, it made things better and stronger for the pair as a result, which made the drive to Fang and Lightning's home much easier for them both.
What the couple didn't expect was Celes' presence at the door.
XXX
The Cole Family: Locke, Celes and their kids, all with some sort of food or beverage on their person to bring for the get togehter, somehow made it to the front door of the new home Fang and Lightning earned for themselves after moving from Neo Oerba to Fang's hometown of Oerba on the Gran Pulse continent in one piece. All without anyone in the Cole Family spilling something by accident. For Celes, the Vector native recently retired from the Guardian Corps on honourable terms, which enabled her to have more time with her family. That was one month ago, and Fang, who was recently named as the successor of the clans in Oerba, saw that as her excuse to finally have a housewarming party for the 'retirement' home she shares with Lightning in Oerba. For the Fangrai pair, the Coles have been their closest mates/friends they could have at this point in their lives, with Lightning missing them more than Fang although the brunette missed them too. The instant Celes found out that Lasswell was making a visit to introduce his girlfriend, the blonde wasted no time in getting her family plus Terra and Fina to come with her. If anything Celes is close to Serah with meeting varying people. Matters would be interesting if Seven found out that it was Fang who invited the Coles to visit them.
Oddly enough, Celes had the smallest item in her possession, giving her a great view of the road to see if anyone she knew was coming. Locke insisted that she gets the smallest item for this reason alone - and was supporting when he found out about Celes' arthritis in one of her hands. Upon seeing a rental car heading towards the Yun-Farron household Celes had the biggest smile on her face, as the Vector native recalled that Terra and her wife Fina had arrived a hour before the Coles did. Upon Lasswell and Citra's arrival a few minutes later, Lasswell wasted no time in getting out of the door so that he could get to open the door on Citra's side of the car and be the gentleman he's known for being (according to Rain and his girlfriend Charlotte). Citra couldn't say a word upon seeing Celes' face - but the Granshelt native was floored when Celes, after gently placing the item in her hands on a steady surface, came to them instead. "I finally meet my biggest fan..." was all Celes said to Citra, with a gentle smile on her face upon saying those words. "It's good to see you too Locke..." Lasswell shouted in return, causing everyone to laugh, especially Celes since one of her favourite people showed up to the get together. Lasswell, after Celes and Citra stopped hugging, made sure that Citra had nothing in her hands as he wanted to hold her hand in his the entire walk to his mothers' front door.
Lasswell and Citra's contribution to the housewarming party was a Valentine's Day themed cake that the couple spent more time baking - Citra is the type that wanted it to be just right. At a height of 6'2", the youngest Yun-Farron is now taller than his older sister, even though Seven still calls him 'Lassbrat' in the endearing tone she always uses. Citra took the item Celes had placed on the surface with her free hand - during the hug, Citra was saddened upon hearing about Celes' arthritis - as a means to help Celes during this time (the Granshelt native had medicine for that in her purse). Once the door was opened Lightning was floored to see not only her closest friends/mates finally showing up but also her son and his girlfriend arriving as well. Taking note of the contributions from both couples - Fang spotted Celes trying to get her arthritis under control - it was Sice who got the contribution from Lasswell and Citra so that Citra can get to the medicine in her purse to give to Celes (thankfully, the medicine was over the counter). "Lassbrat! Long time no see, stranger!" Seven happily greeted her younger brother upon seeing him. "Good to see you too, Big Sis 1 and Big Sis 2..." Lasswell replied, knowing that Seven and Sice are married and are expecting a child of their own in about 5 months.
Lasswell held onto one item.
XXX
The only thing Sice didn't take from the Coles or Lasswell and Citra was a small box that was in one of Lasswell's pockets, which the white haired woman had full knowledge of its contents. Citra wasted no time in getting the medicine she had in her purse to give to Celes and handed a note with the place in Neo Oerba to get more of the medicine - if you're on good terms with Lasswell you're good with Citra. Once everyone was settled in - Terra and Fina were having a chat with Fang on building a stable similar to the one they had in Neo Oerba as Fang was missing the horseback riding with Seven from when the now silver haired woman was younger and the brunette wanted to buy two horses to accompany the two chocobos they own - Lightning made a short speech to everyone there about the late housewarming party/get together, happy to see family and mates/friends show up and celebrate. Serah, Snow, Vanille and Hope - plus the lot of their kids - were all there too. Snow and Hope were using Fang's grill outside for a while whereas Vanille and Serah were busy making the outdoor table for all to eat and have a good time.
Since it was taking a few minutes for Celes' arthritis medicine to kick in it was Lasswell who fixed her plate as well as Citra's plate. "Such a gentleman, how cute!" was the one line said by nearly every female in the Yun-Farron household. The only lass who didn't say that line was Seven, who only said "that's my Lassbrat" causing Citra to release a proper belly laugh as the Granshelt native was told that whenever Seven called Lasswell Lassbrat, it was in an endearing way even thought Seven's height of 5'7" making her shorter than him despite being three years older. If anything, Citra enjoyed the sibling interaction between Seven and Lasswell. In the meantime, Locke got Sice's plate of food for the white haired woman alongside Seven's plate, which created an interesting turn of events for those in attendance. Someone got a plate of food for another person there: Lightning got Serah and Fina's plates, while Hope got plates for Serah's kids and Snow - aka Serah's Idiot according to Lightning - fixed plates for the Fangrai pair. All in all it was a real treat to see that they still looked out for each other to this day.
The conversation during the meal - which had something for everyone, and no one brought any alcohol due to Celes' allergies to the such - it was filled with nothing but laughs and smiles. Lasswell apologised to the group for not introducing his girlfriend Citra to the group sooner but Seven's "I've already had Face Time with Citra six months ago and I'm declaring her my little brat-in-law" reply not only had Citra smiling her best smile since she and Lasswell became a couple but it also saw some of the others laughing their heads off due to the reply being unexpected from Seven (it was expected from Fang, however). "My Sevsky..." was all Fang said to her daughter and oldest child, with her signature smirk giving it away in the sense of who Seven got her sassiness from. It was true: Seven had a lengthy Face Time chat with the Granshelt native, who was the first to hear about Seven and Sice finally being successful with getting pregnant (Lasswell was told the news by Citra after said chat was done, which Fang and Lightning being the ones who suggested the Face Time chat to relay the information). Seven and Citra, since that Face Time chat, became instant besties.
It was after the meal that Lasswell put his extra item to use.
Citra started crying happy tears from it.
XXX
"Everyone, as you know, Citra and I have been together for a few years and I can honestly say that she's the best thing in my life outside each and every one of you..." Lasswell began his speech, which gathered everyone's attention at this point, especially Terra's. The blonde recalled how Fina proposed to her - which Terra's response was a 'Fuck yeah, I'll marry you Fina!' in front of Seven and Sice who had gotten engaged moments before - and it was Terra who couldn't stop smiling at the scene because of her gut feeling of what was to come. Citra's eyes were only on Lasswell at this point since she, like Terra, had a feeling of what was to come. During the remainder of Lasswell's speech, the youngest Yun-Farron reminded all of how much the Granshelt native meant to him, how Seven immediately accepted Citra via the Face Time chat (they've had more since before the housewarming party), Fang and Lightning declaring her their daughter-in-law, Celes being a huge fan of Citra's art and Locke's revelation of Granshelt being a favourite spot for his treasure hunting gig due to the trade aspect being the best in his eyes.
At that point, Citra felt loved by everyone that she just met in person for the first time (Lightning and Fang, like Seven, had enough Face Time chats with Citra - Sice wasn't a fan of Face Time which Citra understood, but even the white haired woman approved Citra) throughout Lasswell's speech. Sice's side hug very much sealed the deal with welcoming her to the Yun-Farron family, even though Citra sneakily snuck in an extra plate of food since the Sebusai pair are becoming first time parents and Citra's biggest concern there was that she wanted the baby to be healthy and happy regardless the gender. The smiles from the Fangrai pair, Hope, Serah and Locke at the gesture between Citra and the Sebusai pair was more than enough for Lasswell to get to the point of what he wanted to: he turned to his girlfriend and gently took one of her hands. "Citra, my love...words alone cannot express everything about us that I love to the ends of this planet and back..." the youngest Yun-Farron started, causing the Granshelt native to cry more of the happy tears. Seven knew what was coming at that point and gave him a subtle thumbs up here.
"If I explained every moment we've had together - good and bad - we'd be out of work as it took way too long for me to finish. The most important thing from the lot is that we went through them together, worked out the issues together and remained together after the fact. You don't know how to quit things in life despite your looks, which is why I'm beyond grateful that you're in my life this way. I would be the happiest lad in this planet if you spent the rest of your life with me, Citra..." Lasswell continued, revealing the small black box that was in his jeans pocket, revealing a simple but beautiful ring inside - the same ring Lasswell spent a fortune creating himself, with Sice's help on the matter - and got down on one knee in front of everyone. "Citra...will you marry me and become my wife...?" the youngest Yun-Farron finished, with Citra jumping to his arms with her reply being a "What took you so long to propose to me, Lassbrat?! Of course I'll marry you!" putting a huge smile on Lasswell's face moments before he placed the ring on her finger, the ring being a perfect fit.
Moments later, everyone cheered the newly engaged couple and gave them their congrats. The cake Lasswell and Citra brought was finally consumed and enjoyed by all - it was Sice who sent them the recipe to make it via email - with Celes making sure that not only did the Sebusai pair get an extra slice for the baby but Citra also gets a recipe for cuisine from Vector as a thank you for the medicine. "Well played, Big Sis..." was all Lasswell could say to Seven, as he knew that Seven was the one who referred him as Lassbrat to Citra in their Face Time chats. Seeing Lasswell this happy with Citra was more than enough for the silver haired woman, now that her Sice are expanding their own family in the near future. For Lasswell, this was the best Valentine's Day surprise he gotten: a new fiancee and supportive family and mates/friends.
Lasswell was ready to take on the world.
FIN
A/N#2: Next story is in the Second Time Around universe which is about Rydia's birthday party also being a belated birthday party for Maria thrown by the Farron sisters.
