Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right
After everybody ate and got ready for the day, Gramps had us all gather outside. We had a lot of work to do. After lots of healing, everybody was feeling refreshed and ready to begin rebuilding the city. Erza, despite the healing, was still injured and so she helped to oversee everyone. Gramps coordinated with the king's men, breaking everyone into groups and assigning us sections. There were tons of people working on different parts of town, the damage being worse the closer you were to the castle.
"Man, if only some of the other guilds had stayed to help." Cana groaned. She had been put on a team with me, The Thunder Legion, Laxus, and several royal builders.
"You just say that cuz you wanna see Bacchus all sweaty." I chuckled, helping her as we carried a large beam of wood to Laxus and Bickslow.
"Hey, can ya blame me?" She said, grinning. "You got lucky; you get to see your boyfriends like that!"
"Yeah, I know right?" I couldn't help giggling as we watched the two shirtless men lifting the beams up to the builders. Bickslow's babies helped the builders, and the two men were lifting the heavy beams single-handedly. Their muscles bulged, the sun making the sweat on their bodies glisten. It was honestly a dreamy sight, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
"Laxus is so amazing..."
I turned in surprise when Freed spoke next to me, carrying a beam with Evergreen. The sight of the green haired man ogling one of my boyfriends was honestly funny, and I found myself laughing along with the other two women as he stared. The men looked at us curiously, and we simply brushed them off as we got back to work. We continued for an hour or two, getting quite a lot done. However, this was going to take forever even with our steady pace.
It was mid afternoon when we were suddenly greeted with the sight of mages from all of the guilds that had participated in the games. They were grinning, eargerly offering their help in rebuilding the city. I was weary seeing some of the Sabertooth mages, minus the truly evil bitch Minerva. Gramps prepared to stand up to them until Sting explained how he had become master. As such, he said wanted to change the guild to be more like Fairy Tail, and Gramps hugged him tearfully upon hearing that. The other guilds were all given sections to work on and everyone jumped into the work. I stood near Laxus and Bickslow, smiling softly at the sight of Sabertooth mages working alongside everyone. Orga came up to us then, trying to look uninterested. Although, his hesitant stature gave away his true intention.
"Need some help?" He grunted, looking at Laxus. He was frowning, but still looked hopeful.
My boyfriend watched the man for a moment, before holding his hand out. "Not really… How about a competition? Let's see who can lift more."
The god slayer grabbed Laxus's hand, and the two lightning men grinned at each other as they shook hands. Then, they began to move in record speeds to get the beams up and placed. The builders were unable to keep up, and simply went behind the men to quickly bolt them into place.
Bickslow and I chuckled at our boyfriend's antics as the two giant men worked together, without actually admitting they were. Many other guilds had branched out to help, Lyon of course on Juvia's team with a grumpy Gray and Sherria. Sting went right to Natsu and his team, at the same time that Gajeel forced Rogue to help him, Pantherlily and Levy. It was great to see everyone was alive and well after the dragon attack.
With all the other guilds joining us in our efforts, we got repairs done in record time. It took a few days, and the guilds all stayed to continue helping. They took up rooms in inns that we restored on the first day, directly near the castle. The rest of the city took the next six days to complete, until almost everything had been done. People were able to start moving back in to their homes, and it was almost like the dragons had never happened. Rumors were spoken around town about the beasts, but they were brushed of as just silly stories. Many just played it off as being us guild mages fault, which is why they thought we'd stayed to help the city rebuild. It was bittersweet, but that was the life of a mage.
I barely had time to spend alone with my boyfriends, besides our nightly cuddle fests. Which, if I'm being honest, sometimes ended in a literal fuck fest. Despite our tiredness after long days of construction work, we found just enough energy to have sex. We lazily explored each other's bodies, and afterwards we'd talk quietly. I had learned a lot about the two men in our brief alone time before we fell asleep. Bickslow was really experienced in things like bdsm and kinks like that, and I found myself eager to get home to my apartment to explore more options with him. Laxus admitted to being open to it, but having never done anything similar before he wasn't sure. However, with the way he acted in our nightly romps, I could tell he'd enjoy it.
I was glad the week went by so quickly despite not getting much time with the two men. I still hadn't said "I love you" to the dragon slayer. I could tell he wasn't to that point yet, so I was fine with waiting until he was. Especially since I wasn't ready for it either. We'd have plenty of time together to get there once we returned to Magnolia and our lives went back to normal. When we got back, I planned on spending alone time with the two before going off on team missions with Laxus and the Thunder Legion. It was my turn to plan a date anyway, so I definitely wanted to do something as soon as possible.
On the sixth day of rebuilding, the king gathered everyone back in the Central Plaza and invited all the competing guilds to a Grand Ball. He was holding it in honor of everything we had done for them since the night the dragons attacked. To further thank us, he said he would provide us all with specially made clothes. We were all fitted the day before so we'd have perfectly fitting outfits made in record time. The girls were all so excited to get the chance to dress up. We'd been working so hard, and we would finally get to relax and pamper ourselves.
That brought me to now, the day of the Grand Ball. The castle was bustling with people in preparation for the night, with servants delivering specially made ballgowns and suits. Evergreen and I stood in our shared room, looking at the dresses they'd set out for us. Mine was a sleeveless ball gown with a black corset bodice and alternating black and (f/c) layered skirt. There were also (f/c) silk gloves laid next to where the gorgeous dress was hanging, along with some jewelry and a hair bow. I glanced over to see Evergreen fawning over her own amazing red dress and accessories.
"Wow, these dresses are gorgeous!" She said, lightly touching the fabric "I hope they let us keep them!"
"Yeah seriously." I giggled "Although, I have no idea when I'd ever need something this fancy after tonight."
We gathered up the dresses and accessories before heading out. We met up with Cana and Erza before heading down to a common room where all the girls were helping each other get ready. Lucy called out her spirit Cancer to help everyone with their hair, while Mira and Lisanna helped some girls with their makeup. We all talked cheerfully, and even a few girls from other guilds joined us.
"I can't wait to see Bickslow and Laxus all dressed up." I grinned excitedly as Evergreen placed a bow in my hair.
"Those two are going to swoon when they see you sis." She said, smiling at me in the mirror as she carefully finished.
"Yeah, I doubt Laxus is the kind of person to swoon," I giggled, standing up and turning to her "But that would be quite something."
She laughed, and we walked over to where our dresses were hanging. It was nearing the time for the ball so Evergreen and I helped each other into our gowns. Afterwards, I put on an intricate silver necklace that sat high on my collar, not hiding my (f/c) guild mark on my left breast. Then I finished off the look with silver bracelets and a pair of black heels.
Evergreen joined me after she finished putting her heels on, and we slowly made our way to the ballroom arm-in-arm. There were tons of people in the brightly lit room. The atmosphere was extremely pleasant, and I found myself grinning widely. A band played beautiful music and it seemed like everyone was in high spirits. Evergreen and I made our way over to where Freed stood with Bickslow and Laxus, both of whom looked uncomfortable. Upon seeing me, the two men grinned and my heart began soaring.
They looked so handsome. Laxus was in a white and gold coat with a purple shirt underneath, and Bickslow was wearing a dashing high-collared blue mantle with gold accents draped over a blue shirt. He had his visor off and his mohawk was perfectly styled. Their pants were both tucked into dark boots, giving them an almost pirate-like look. Laxus had women fawning over him, like usual. Freed tried his best to keep them away, but they simply ignored him in favoring of complimenting the large man. I walked up to the group, and the women left as Evergreen joined Freed in shooing them away.
"Vultures." The rune mage grumbled, straightening his lapel and brushing some loose strands of hair from his face.
I couldn't help but giggle, looking over at Evergreen "You weren't kidding when you said this happens a lot."
"Yup, but with the way you guys act they'll find out quick that he's taken now." She grinned. "It's only a matter of time before your relationship makes the cover of Sorcerer Weekly."
Laxus rolled his eyes, and we watched as the women moved on to Orga, who was enjoying the attention much more than the dragon slayer had.
I looked around the room, seeing that everyone was here now. Although, it was oddly quiet and I realized someone was missing. "Has anyone seen Natsu?"
"He ain't here?" Bickslow said, surprised.
"Normally he'd be running wild all over the place." Evergreen stated, looking around.
"Thank god he's not." Laxus muttered, and I simply chuckled. The pink haired boy really got on Laxus's nerves. I was glad Natsu wasn't here causing a ruckus, but it was strange without him around. I wondered where he had gone off too. Bickslow grabbed my hand, breaking me away from my musing as he kissed my gloved fingers.
"You look dazzling, by the way." He said, and I smiled.
"Thanks, so do you." I said, twining my fingers with the seith mage. I looked over to Laxus, who was still frowning "You're pretty handsome too Laxy."
He rolled his eyes at the nickname, trying to hide a grin. We all stood around talking and drinking champagne for a while before the music got louder and people began dancing. Evergreen left to go visit a certain man, while Freed went over to talk to Rufus. It was the first time the men had had a chance to talk. They got along pretty quickly, being that they were so similar. Although, I really hoped that the rune mage would gather up the courage to ask Mira to dance sometime tonight. Those two would be such a cute couple. I scanned the crowd, smiling to myself as I watched everyone from different guilds mingling.
"Wanna dance?" I heard someone ask, and to my surprise it was Laxus. He hated dancing, so it was shocking to see him offering before Bickslow.
"Yeah. I'd love to." I smiled, taking his hand as he reached out. Bickslow waved us off cheerfully, grabbing my glass of champagne from me and heading over to hang out with the guys from Quatro Cerberus. They happily accepted him into the dog pile, Cana drinking merrily among them.
Laxus led me to the dance floor, and I couldn't help noticing all the eyes glancing at us as he put his arm around my waist. Surely many of the women watching were cursing my name. I stiffen awkwardly as he pulls me close to him and he frowns. "What's wrong?"
"Just a bit embarrassed with so many people watching us." I mumble as we slowly began swaying to the beat. "What made you decide to come out and dance anyway? This is unlike you."
He shrugged "Guess I just wanted to spend some time alone with you."
I gaped up at him, surprised by his explanation. "Really?"
"Yeah, of course." His frown deepened, and I wondered if maybe I'd upset him. "It may not seem like it sometimes, but I really like you. More than anyone I've ever been with."
"I'm glad to hear that Laxus..." I smile softly, feeling bad that I had doubted him. "I'm sorry, I guess I keep picturing how you used to be. It's hard to forget, especially since we've barely had any time to really be alone to get to know each other better."
"You're right." He nodded, pulling me closer to his chest. "But now, we have all the time in the world to be together and learn about each other. I know we're both kind of bad at this whole dating thing, but we'll get the hang of it. I wouldn't want to experience this with anyone else."
My eyes widened and my heart began fluttering at his earnest expression. I gently rested my head on his chest, listening to the strong beat of his heart as we danced together. This was the first time I'd done anything this romantic with just Laxus, and it was nice. My relationship with the two men were progressing so differently, which was not totally surprising. However, I wondered how the rest of our lives would work if the three of us weren't on the same wavelength. Hell, Bickslow and I had already said "I love you", but Laxus and I weren't quite to that point yet, and I didn't know what was holding us back.
Polyamory was still new to me, so I wasn't sure what to expect if we couldn't all get to the same point in our relationships. What if two of us wanted to get married and the other didn't? Could we even all three marry each other if we wanted to? And then, there were other things to think of, such as children. Of course, I didn't plan on having kids any time soon. Like, at all. If I did want them though, how would that work? Would we try to plan on who fathered them, or leave it to chance? Did Bickslow even want kids? I doubted it. Would Laxus insist they take his name? That was a ridiculously long time from now, but it was something to think about. Bickslow had said this would take lots of communication, and we hadn't done much of that yet.
"What's got you thinking so hard (Y/n)?" Laxus asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.
I sighed "Just wondering how our future will turn out."
He pulled back to look me in the eyes, pushing some fallen locks of hair out of my face "Don't you worry about that stuff. Just enjoy the present. I promise you no matter what, it will all work out."
"That's quite a promise." I mumbled, smiling slightly.
"Yeah, and I'll do whatever I need to in order to keep it." Laxus chuckled, before leaning in and kissing me. We danced for a bit longer until he pulled away "Let's go back to Bickslow before he starts causing trouble."
I looked over to where the seith mage was downing drinks with Gray, Bacchus, Lyon and Elfman. Evergreen seemed upset that the large man's attention had been taken away from her, and looked ready to snap at any moment. Bickslow stopped his antics as we approached and handed me a glass. We chatted with the group for a while before Freed joined us. The servers kept the drinks coming, and I felt myself getting pleasantly buzzed. It was such a great party, and I was glad that everyone seemed to be behaving for once.
That was short lived, however, when a shouting match erupted about which guild Yukino would be joining. It quickly evolved into a giant brawl that involved pretty much everyone. Hell, even the guild masters began fighting as well. I worried about the damages, but couldn't resist joining in. Yukino would be a great asset to our guild. Not only that, but it'd been awhile since I took part in a guild brawl. I was having fun fighting until it was broken up when Arcadios, the knight, demanded everyone to quiet down. The man stood on a balcony above the ball room, with giant doors behind him.
"The king would like to make a speech in honor of you all." He announced "Please, take heed and offer him the utmost respect."
We all watched quietly as the massive doors opened and a figure walked out. I face palmed when I saw Natsu. He had taken the crown and was wearing royal clothing. He cackled loudly, holding his hand out over the crowd as he shouted "Hello loyal subjects! Please make yourselves comfortable!"
Everybody went pale in shock, and Gramps nearly had a heart attack. How could that boy be so bold that he'd take the kings crown and clothes like that? The small man stood behind him wearing his pumpkin head, desperately trying to get Natsu to give back the items.
"I am the king!" Natsu shouted, throwing his fists up as he cackled "I became king!"
"That idiot..." Laxus mumbled as Natsu began arguing cheerfully with the pumpkin man.
"He sure knows how to party." Bickslow laughed.
I could only shake my head as the men left the balcony, finally getting Natsu to give back the royal clothing. The young dragon slayer soon joined everyone else on the floor, quickly making up for all the quiet time while he was gone. The king went to go change, and we all resumed our mingling and dancing. The musicians played beautifully, prompting many people to couple up on the dance floor. Elfman asked Evergreen if she would dance with him, and she tried her best to seem reluctant as she agreed. I winked at her as they walked off, and she rolled her eyes, hiding a grin.
"My turn to dance with you Stormy." Bickslow announced, grabbing my hand. I finished off my glass of champagne, setting it on one of the few undamaged tables before following him.
He led me to the dance floor, and we easily moved with the crowd. I watched, amused, as Freed stood next to Laxus, looking hopeful as he asked the man to dance. Laxus, however, became totally immersed in the food, much to Freed's disappointment. Mira soon went up to the rune mage, causing him to blush as she offered her hand. He accepted, leading her in a very formal waltz. I silently cheered, happy to see the two mingling.
"Having fun?" Bickslow asked as I finally turned my attention back to him.
"Definitely." I smiled "It's so great seeing everyone together and having fun. I really can't wait to get back to Magnolia though. I miss my bed."
"Yeah, we'll probably be super busy though." He said "I can only imagine the number of job offers we'll be getting after winning the games. Especially with Laxus defeating a fucking wizard saint."
"I didn't even think about that." I sighed and he only grinned.
"The sooner we get to work, the sooner I can get my own place." Bickslow said "I had quite a bit of fun stuff I lost during the seven year gap that I need to buy again too. I'm glad you kept all the sentimental crap, but you totally missed all my toys."
I blushed, thinking about when I had found Bickslow's stash of bedroom gear. It had totally grossed me out when I found it, being that I was only 14 and he was just a friend then. Now, I felt heat shoot to my core at the thought of the seith mage using those items on me.
"This time though, I can get anything you want me to." He murmured, leaning forward to nibble on my ear. I gasped as his breath ghosted over my skin, the slight smell of alcohol evident beneath his own spicy scent. "We can have lots of time with Laxus to explore all the kinky shit you two want after we do some missions."
I glanced over to the blonde man, who was watching us intently. He no doubt heard Bickslow, judging by the darkening of his stormy blue eyes and the flush on his face. We made eye contact across the room and Laxus winked at me before he moved on to speak with Jura. I felt a shiver go through me at the thought of all the things we could do with each other in the privacy of our own homes.
Bickslow chuckled, turning my attention back to him "I love your expressions. You're so beautiful."
I blushed, holding him closer and wrapping my arms around his neck as we danced. Thankfully, the heels made it easier to reach the seith mage. "So, I was thinking I should talk to Freed about joining the Thunder Legion. It's only right that I become a part of your team after everything we've been through. It's funny that after all that nagging from you guys to join when I was little, I'm finally giving in."
Bickslow sighed, hugging me tightly "I'm really glad everything turned out this way. I love you (Y/n)."
"And I love you Bickslow." I smiled, before kissing him softly.
We stayed close for a few more songs before finally parting. The party was starting to wind down, and we joined Laxus by the food. I snagged a few items, munching happily as Freed and Evergreen left their respective dance partners to talk with us.
"Freed, (Y/n) has something she would like to ask." Bickslow said suddenly as I shoved a small cookie in my mouth. I gaped at him, quickly swallowing the treat and turning to Freed. They were all looking at me expectantly. I hadn't really prepared myself to ask about joining their team so soon, but it seemed like Bickslow decided now would be a good time.
"Well, I guess this is happening now." I muttered before clearing my throat, straightening my skirts as I spoke "Freed, uh, I was wondering if there was any way I could join the Thunder Legion. I figured since I'm dating these two brutes, it would be nice to team up with you guys so we don't have to be apart. I've never really been on a team though, so I'm not sure how well I'll do. But I think we all work well together and so I guess if you want me to-"
"You're rambling." Laxus said, interrupting me. I bit my lip, watching the rune mage as he grinned widely at me.
"Of course you can join. You already proved yourself to be a devoted and capable mage." Freed said "Honestly, I think we've considered you a member ever since you were younger."
Evergreen smiled, hugging me "Jeez (Y/n), why were you so nervous? As if we'd ever turn you down! This team needs another feminine touch."
"I guess you guys just have your little dynamic and I wasn't sure I would fit." I said, shrugging "After all, I don't use eye magic and that seems to be a theme with you guys."
"That's not true, you do use eye magic." Bickslow said, and I look at him questioningly. He smirked, "Every time I look in your eyes, I fall more in love. It's gotta be some kind of enchantment spell, I swear."
"If you say so." I giggle, my cheeks red at his declaration. The other two Thunder Legion members smile and roll their eyes.
"Either way, welcome to the team (Y/n)." Freed says "We're happy to have you."
I laughed as Bickslow forced us all into a group hug. "Thanks guys. I look forward to going on missions with you."
"You guys better not do anything inappropriate while we're nearby!" Evergreen huffed as we pulled away.
Bickslow and Laxus grinned, giving each other a meaningful look and Evergreen grimaced. I could only shrug at my sister's disgusted face, trying hard not to laugh. We all continued to talk excitedly about what we were going to do when we got home, and before I knew it the party was ending. We were kicked out of the castle for this last night, being offered our old lodgings in the city like all the other guilds. Our belongings were moved for us, and so it was simply a matter of walking back to the inn.
Inside, the guild was still in party mode and our spirits were high. This was our last night of celebration before heading back to Magnolia and getting to work. I joined along with everyone in a night of drinking and talking, and it was well past midnight before we all drunkenly passed out in various positions on the floor and tables. I was surrounded by my closest friends, and had never felt so content in life before that moment. Not only did I have two amazing boyfriends, but now I was officially part of arguably the strongest team in the guild. Things could not be more perfect.
A/N: And we're officially done with the Grand Magic Games arc! Thank Mavis. Stay tuned, cuz there's more to come!
We're gonna have a few random missions and shit before the Tartaros arc. If anyone has any ideas or things they'd like to see, feel free to share them!