Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
August, x784.
After dinner, while most of the people in the mansion went upstairs to sleep, Alfonzo and Elicia, along with Cana went to the master bedroom on the first floor to take part in their favorite nightly activities. Then, after a few hours, when they were all exhausted, Elicia and Cana fell asleep with satisfied smiles on their faces.
Alfonzo, on the other hand, was unable to fall asleep. Though he did not know why. So, after carefully separating from Elicia and Cana, he quietly made his way to the living room where he continued to draw up potential floor plans for the new guild hall.
Meanwhile, Mirajane, who was sharing a room with Lisanna, had been up talking to her younger sister about everything and nothing ever since they returned to Mirajane's room. Then, after chatting for a few hours, Lisanna, who also participated in the battle with Phantom Lord, fell asleep mid-sentence, leaving Mirajane awake by herself.
After trying, and failing, to fall asleep, most likely due to the change in environment, Mirajane quietly got out of the bed and made her way down stairs to get a glass of water.
Without issue, Mirajane made it to the kitchen, poured herself a glass of water, and drank it. Then, after putting the glass in the sink, she turned around and was ready to go back upstairs. However, on her way back to the stairs, she heard murmuring from behind the stairs.
"Huh? Is someone else up?" Mirajane whispered to herself.
Curious to see who was awake, she walked to the dining room first. Realizing that there was no one there, she crossed the corridor leading to the back yard and reached the living room.
Peering inside, she could see a small lamp illuminating the coffee table. Though from the position of the living room's entrance, she could not see who was sitting on the couch, only a silhouette. Though she had a good idea based on all the paper she could see scattered on the coffee table. And the quiet voice she heard a moment later proved her guess to be true.
"Damn, I'm still not sure what kind of design I should go with." Alfonzo murmured while tapping the tip of his pencil on a piece of paper.
"Alfonzo, you're still up?" Mirajane asked quietly as she walked int the room.
Hearing the soft voice, Alfonzo raised his head and looked towards the living room's entrance. What he saw made his breath catch in his throat.
Walking toward him, Mirajane was wearing a sheer, short-sleeved, white night gown with a low neckline and pink lace that reached just above her knees. With an abundance of cleavage and her legs in clear view, Alfonzo was not quite sure where he should look.
A moment later, however, Alfonzo remembered that Mirajane was his girlfriend and did not think that taking in the sight would be all that bad. So, he pulled himself together and enjoyed the sight in front of him.
Naturally, Mirajane noticed the change in Alfonzo's gaze and did not really mind it. So, after seeing the desire in his eyes, she started moving in a way that emphasized the areas where Alfonzo's eyes were naturally drawn to, while smiling happily as she approached.
Eventually, when Mirajane was standing right next to the seated Alfonzo, she leaned forward, showing off her cleavage even more, and looked down at what Alfonzo had been working on.
"So, you were drawing the designs for the new guild hall, huh?" Mirajane asked.
Snapping back to his senses with Mirajane's question, Alfonzo shook his head lightly.
"Yeah, but I'm having trouble deciding what style I should go with." Alfonzo replied. "but I do know that I don't like the fact that the second floor was off limits to anyone that wasn't S-Class."
Looking away from the drawings, Mirajane turned her attention to Alfonzo. Then, she tilted her head in confusion at Alfonzo's statement.
"Why? What's wrong with segregating the guild based on rank?" Mirajane asked, not quite understanding the issue.
"In most cases, nothing." Alfonzo replied with a chuckle. "But the wizards in our guild aren't exactly the sharpest tools in the shed. And in some cases… *Cough* Natsu. *Cough* They aren't even sharp tools to begin with."
Giggling at Alfonzo's metaphor, Mirajane looked at him fondly while pushing a lock of her hair out of her face and behind her ear.
"And with guys like that in the guild, guys like Laxus will provoke them for not being allowed to get into the S-Class area." Alfonzo said, continuing his explanation. "And being easily provoked, guys like Natsu will steal S-Class quest sheets again."
Nodding in understanding, Mirajane noticed the space on the couch next to Alfonzo. Then, with her cheeks turning slightly red, she spoke once more.
"Do you mind if I have a seat?" Mirajane asked with a smile.
In response, Alfonzo looked at her with a wry smile.
"Mira, you're not a guest anymore." Alfonzo said in a gentle tone. "You don't have to ask if it's okay to sit down. Remember, this is your home now. So, just be yourself."
Considering this was her first night as a resident in the mansion, Mirajane had yet to adapt to her new living conditions. Still, out of embarrassment, she blushed a little more before she sat down on the couch next to Alfonzo.
Though, due to her embarrassment, Mirajane wasn't paying attention to where she sat and ended up sitting so close to Alfonzo that her right thigh was in contact with his left.
Startled by the accidental contact, Mirajane's first reaction was to scoot away. But she managed to keep herself from doing so.
'Why am I so nervous.' Mirajane asked herself. 'It's not like I've never sat next to him before. I even kissed him in front of the whole guild. I've even watched him do… "that" with Sun, Cana, and Erza. So, why am I so nervous just sitting next to him?'
Unbothered by Mirajane's closeness, Alfonzo leaned forward once again and started looking over the drawings scattered on the table. Meanwhile, Mirajane watched him intently while her heart was racing. After a few minutes of this, Mirajane finally understood what it was that made her so nervous.
'In all the years that I've known him, I think this is the first time the two of us have been alone together.' Mirajane said, the realization showing itself on her face. 'I mean, I never took any quests with him and every time I came to visit, Elfman and Lisanna were with me. And I don't need to mention the kiss and… "That".'
With that sudden realization, Mirajane began to fidget, even more nervous than before. In fact, her fidgeting was so bad that it drew Alfonzo's attention.
"Mira, is something wrong?" Alfonzo asked in a concerned tone.
"Huh? What? No-nothing's wrong." Mirajane replied in a much higher pitch than usual.
After hearing the sound of her own voice, Mirajane managed to blush even harder than she already was. By now, her embarrassment was getting out of hand and she was considering leaving the room and going back to her bedroom. Just before she could put those thoughts into action, however, she felt Alfonzo's much larger hand wrap around hers.
Jumping in response to the sudden intimacy, Mira looked at Alfonzo like a deer caught in the head lights.
"Mira, calm down." Alfonzo said in a soothing tone. "Just take a deep breath and relax."
Following Alfonzo's instructions, Mirajane closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then, she took another, and another. Eventually, when she felt she was calm enough, she opened her eyes again and looked at Alfonzo.
"Okay, I'm good now." Mirajane said.
"This is the first time we've ever been alone together, isn't it?" Alfonzo asked with a smile.
"*Sigh* So you noticed too." Mirajane replied while smiling wryly.
"Yeah." Alfonzo said with a nod. "It was the only reason I could think of for you starting to freak out."
"Haha… I guess…" Mirajane said with an embarrassed chuckle. "It's so weird. I had no problem kissing you in front of the whole guild. I even watched you and the others that one time. But sitting here alone with you made me so nervous."
As she spoke, Mirajane subconsciously squeezed Alfonzo's hand.
"What's even weirder, I didn't feel nervous at all while I was walking over here." Mirajane continued. "but when I was standing right in front of you, it just kinda… happened."
"And that's why you asked if it was okay to sit down, huh?" Alfonzo asked.
"*Sigh* Yeah… I guess." Mirajane said, lowering her head to hide the embarrassment that was surely visible on her face.
Seeing Mirajane's expressions, Alfonzo wanted to laugh. But he knew that was not the right move… for now. So, with all his willpower, Alfonzo suppressed the smile that was about to form on his lips.
"You probably haven't spent too much time alone with anyone, other than Elfman and Lisanna, right?" Alfonzo asked.
Raising her head, Mirajane put her left index finger on her lower lips and seriously considered Alfonzo's question.
"Now that you mention it." Mirajane muttered. "Before I was demoted from S-Class two years ago, I didn't spend time with anyone unless Elfman and/or Lisanna was around. And after that, I spent all my time in the guild hall, unless I took a quest by myself or with Elfman or Lisanna… So, no, I guess I haven't."
"Then it makes perfect sense why you'd be nervous when we're alone." Alfonzo said with a smile and a nod. "Lici and I were kind of the opposite."
Hearing Alfonzo start to talk about himself, Mirajane's ears perked up. She had never heard him talk about himself before. Sure, she had heard stories, especially from Elicia, who can go on for hours about "her Fonzie." But hearing them from Alfonzo's perspective is a first for her.
"When Lici and I were brought to the orphanage after our parents were killed, we pretty much kept to only ourselves." Alfonzo said, a bit of sadness passing through his eyes when he mentioned his and Elicia's deceased parents. "Come to think of it, we didn't really spend time with other people before that, either. Until we joined Fairy Tail, it was always just the two of us."
Like that, Alfonzo and Mirajane started trading stories about their early years, completely forgetting about the building designs Alfonzo was working on originally. And as time went by, their positions became much more intimate with Mirajane leaning into Alfonzo. And Alfonzo's arm wrapped around Mirajane's waist.
Just like that, several hours passed and Mirajane eventually fell asleep mid-conversation. Also feeling sleepy at that point, Alfonzo did not have the energy to take her up to her room. So, he laid her down, resting her head on his lap. Then, he tried to continue from where he left off with the building designs.
Unfortunately, working on the designs did not go as planned. After a few minutes, he leaned back to stretch. However, before he could even complete the stretch, he fell asleep, his head resting against the backrest of the couch and his left hand resting on Mirajane's head. Subconsciously, he even began to comb his fingers through her hair in his sleep.
Although she was sleep, Mirajane smiled in satisfaction at the feeling of Alfonzo's fingers in her hair and she happily nuzzled her head on Alfonzo's thigh.
After a few more hours, in the master bedroom, Elicia and Cana were both sleeping soundly. Suddenly, Elicia frowned in her sleep. Then, she reached out and patted the mattress a few times without opening her eyes. But when she did not find what it was that she was looking for, her frowned deepened.
Eventually, Elicia begrudgingly opened her eyes. What she first saw when her eyes focused was a face, Cana's face. Undoubtedly the face of one of her favorite people in the world. Still, it was not the face she was looking for.
"Where's Fonzie?" Elicia muttered while wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
After wiping the sleep out of her eyes, Elicia sat up and stretched lazily. Then, she scanned the room. Still not finding Alfonzo, she climbed out of bed to look for him.
After looking around the master bedroom and bathroom, Elicia threw on a robe and left the bedroom and walked through her workstation. After that, she immediately wrote off the possibility that Alfonzo was in the kitchen since she could not smell any food. So, she checked every other room on the first floor.
Eventually, she reached the living room. After entering, she saw an unexpected, though not unwelcomed, sight. Alfonzo was sitting on the couch with his head tilted back and sleeping peacefully. Though Elicia was sure that his neck would be stiff when he woke up. Then, there was Mirajane, curled up while using Alfonzo's thigh as a pillow with a happy smile on her face.
"OMG! This is so~~~ cute!" Elicia exclaimed in a whisper.
Upon seeing this scene, Elicia was positively giddy. In the next moment, however, she wanted to kick herself. The idea to get a picture of this moment had jumped to the forefront of her mind. Unfortunately, she had left her photo lacrima in her Z3's glove compartment. And she knew that if she left the house to get it, the alert from the barrier would wake up Alfonzo.
Praying for another opportunity to get a picture of this scene in the future, Elicia walked over and took a seat on the other side of Alfonzo. Then, she carefully moved his arm and wrapped it around her waist before laying her head on his shoulder and going back to sleep with a smile on her face.