Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
February, x785.
After Makarov announced Ur as his successor, guild business returned to normal for everyone other than Ur. While the other Fairy Tail wizards went back to taking quests, training, and goofing around, Ur was stuck going over all the rules a guild master was expected to follow.
And after seeing the state Ur was in each day, Alfonzo thought it was only a matter of time before she threw Makarov through one of the walls on the top floor of the guild hall, which was now her office. And the reason for that was simple. The smug smile Makarov wore while he walked Ur through all the paperwork would be enough to send anyone off the deep end.
Alfonzo, on the other hand, spent most of his time researching the mechanisms in the Grimoire heart airship, which he docked on the shore of Lake Sciliora behind the mansion. And although he had no plans to use the Grimoire heart airship as is, he did plan to sell it to the guild after removing the Grimoire Heart emblem and modifying it for ease of use.
And today was no different for the Master of Metals. What was different, however, was that he had plans to take Lucy out for the evening.
"So, have you decided where you're gonna take Lucy yet?" Elicia asked while sitting on one of the engine blocks in the airship's engine room.
"Yeah." Alfonzo replied while running his magic power through the entire airship's engine. "I hear Yajima opened his restaurant in Hargeon last week. So, I thought I'd take her to have dinner there. Then, we could walk around the town and talk. Maybe I'll even buy her a little gift if I see anything that suits her."
"Oh, that doesn't sound too bad." Elicia replied with a smile while swinging her legs. "What time are you supposed to pick her up?"
"Around 3." Alfonzo replied just as he got a full image of the engine.
"Then, you should probably get going sooner rather than later." Elicia said while looking at her wrist watch.
"Huh? What time is it?" Alfonzo asked in a surprised tone.
Unfortunately, as a habit he picked up from his past life, Alfonzo never wore a watch while he's working. Even though the chance of damaging his timepiece was much lower now that he could use magic.
"2:15" Elicia replied casually.
"Shit!" Alfonzo said while springing to his feet. "I completely lost track of time."
With that, Alfonzo dropped everything and rushed out of the airship to get ready for his date. Meanwhile, Elicia just watched him go with a smile on her face.
"I wonder if this is what it will feel like when I watch my own son get ready for his first date." Elicia wondered aloud as she locked up the airship on her way back to the house.
Half an hour later, Alfonzo, wearing a black polo shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers, was standing in the mansion's garage, unlocking the doors to his Vanquish, while Elicia, Cana, and Sun saw him off.
On a side note, the other girls were all off on quests.
"So, should we expect to see you tonight or tomorrow morning?" Cana asked with a playful smile.
Shrugging his shoulders, Alfonzo pulled the car door open before sitting in the driver's seat.
"Honestly, I don't know." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "But I doubt we'll go all the way tonight."
With that, Alfonzo pulled his car door shut, put the key in the ignition, and started the car. Then, after opening the garage door, he backed out before heading towards Fairy Hills, where Lucy had been living since the Phantom Lord attack.
Meanwhile, Lucy, wearing a hot pink, single-shoulder tank top, a mid-thigh length white skirt, and black, high heels was constantly checking herself out in front of a full length mirror.
"I look okay, right?" Lucy asked in a somewhat panicked tone.
"You need to calm down, Lu." Levy, who spent most of the day with Lucy to help her get ready for her date, replied in an exasperated tone. "You look great. Where's all that confidence you usually have in your looks."
"Yeah, but all his girlfriends are so pretty." Lucy said while smoothing out a non-existent wrinkle on her skirt. "I just don't know how I---"
*Smack!*
"Kya!" Lucy yelped before glaring at Levy, who had just slapped her on the butt. "What was that for."
"Good, the fire in your eyes is back." Levy replied with a smile instead of answering Lucy's question. Then, she grabbed Lucy's hands and spoke in a sincere tone. "Lu, you're gorgeous. Easily one of the most beautiful girls I've ever met. Plus, you have a body that most girls would kill to have."
As she spoke the second part, Levy glanced at Lucy's curvy body before looking down at her own petite body. Then, she sighed in resignation before she continued.
"Anyway, I'm sure everything will be fine." Levy said with a smile. "Especially since Alfonzo is actually making the effort to spend time with you instead of the other way around. So, just be your usual confident/vain self and everything will be fine."
Deciding that she hadn't heard Levy call her vain, Lucy smiled brightly as she pulled her best friend into a hug. And Levy returned the hug with a smile of her own on her face.
"Anyway, do you know where Alfonzo is taking you for your date?" Levy asked as she released the hug.
"Yeah, it's a new restaurant called 8-Island in Hargeon." Lucy replied.
"Oh, that's the one that Yajima opened not too long ago, right?" Levy asked excitedly. "I heard the food there is really good. Like, almost as good as Alfonzo's."
"Really?" Lucy asked with anticipation in her tone. "Then, I'm looking forward to it."
*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!*
"Hey Lucy, Alfonzo asked me to tell you that he's waiting outside." Chico's voice sounded from the outside of Lucy's dorm room door.
"Uh… Okay." Lucy replied, sounding a bit nervous again. I'll head out now. Thanks for letting me know, Chico."
"Don't worry about it." Chico replied as the sound of footsteps leaving from in front of the door could be heard.
"Now's the time." Levy said as she put her hands on Lucy's shoulders. "Go get 'im, girl."
"Yeah." Lucy replied with a resolute expression after taking a deep breath to calm her nerves.
With that, both Levy and Lucy left the latter's dorm room and made their way to the front entrance of Fairy Hills. And when they arrived, they found Alfonzo leaning against the driver side door of his Vanquish.
"Alright, girl." Levy said quietly while pushing Lucy forward. "Go knock 'im dead."
"Right." Lucy replied with a nod while walking towards Alfonzo.
Meanwhile, Alfonzo, after hearing the sound of high heels clicking towards him, looked up and caught sight of Lucy. Then, after admiring her looks for a moment, he put on a smile and walked around to the passenger side door. Then, like a gentleman, he opened the door for her.
"Hey, Lucy, you look great." Alfonzo said with a smile while holding the door open.
"Thanks." Lucy replied bashfully while pushing her bangs to the side. "You look pretty good yourself."
"Thanks." Alfonzo replied with a smile of his own.
At the same time, Lucy climbed out of the passenger seat, and Alfonzo carefully closed the car door. Then, he made his way around to the driver's side.
"You better take good care of Lu!" Levy shouted from the dorm's front doors while waving her fist at Alfonzo threateningly.
"Yes, Ma'am." Alfonzo replied with a nod before opening the door and climbing into the driver's seat.
"Bye, Levy!" Lucy said, rolling down the window and waving at Levy.
"See ya later, Lu!" Levy shouted as she waved back. "And I expect to hear all the juicy details when you get back!"
Rolling her eyes with a smile, Lucy rolled the window back up as Alfonzo started the car.
"So, what kind of juicy details were you expecting to be able to share when you get back?" Alfonzo asked playfully as he pulled away from Fairy Hills.
Upon hearing Alfonzo's playful question, Lucy's face reddened immediately. Even so, she decided to return fire. So, she turned towards Alfonzo and raised her right hand. Then, she stroked his cheek.
"Well, that all depends on you, doesn't it?" Lucy said in a flirty tone. "If you play your part well, you might be rewarded."
The moment after she finished speaking, not only Alfonzo froze in surprise, but even Lucy froze, as she had surprised herself.
'O.M.G. What did I just say?' Lucy asked herself as her face reddened even further in embarrassment. 'I'm not such a loose girl. But what if Alfonzo thinks I'm some kind of floozy after saying something like that? Oh my God, what is wrong with me today?'
'Holy shit, I wasn't expecting that.' Alfonzo said to himself while making sure to keep the car steady. 'I've seen Lucy try to be seductive several times in the anime, to no effect. So, I didn't think anything of it. But holy hell, that was fucking sexy.'
While both young people's thoughts were racing, the Vanquish's interior fell into an awkward silence. However, around the time they reached the town gate heading towards Hargeon, Alfonzo had broken the ice again. Then, for the next two hours, they chatted happily, if not a little awkwardly, until they reached 8-Island in Hargeon.
Earth land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Hargeon.
"Well, we're here." Alfonzo said as he took the key out of the ignition.
In front of the Vanquish was an average sized, two-story building. On top of that, it was quite close to the harbor.
"it's smaller than I thought it would be." Lucy said while looking through the front wind shield.
"That's what she said." Alfonzo muttered.
In response, Lucy glanced at Alfonzo with a helpless expression.
"Anyway, let's head inside." Lucy said as she reached for the door handle.
"Don't touch that handle." Alfonzo said sternly.
Looking back, Lucy gazed at Alfonzo with confusion. Then, she watched as he quickly opened his own door, climbed out of the car, closed the door, walked around to her side of the car, and opened the door for her. Then, with a bright smile on his face, he offered her his hand.
Blushing slightly, Lucy accepted Alfonzo's offered hand and stepped out of the car. Then, once Lucy was clear of the door, Alfonzo closed it. A moment later, he offered his elbow.
"Shall we?" Alfonzo asked with a smile.
"Let's." Lucy replied with a smile of her own as she linked arms with Alfonzo.
Like that, Alfonzo and Lucy made their way toward the restaurant's entrance.
"So, Levy told me that the food here is supposed to be almost as good as yours." Lucy said with a smile. "What do you think about that?"
"Well, it makes sense." Alfonzo replied as he reached for the restaurant's front door. "Gramps asked me to help Yajima with the recipes, after all."
"Seriously." Lucy asked with a shocked expression on her face.
"Yeah, but I never got to taste the finished products." Alfonzo replied. "So, I don't know how close Yajima got to my standard."
At that point, Alfonzo and Lucy had reached the front doors. And just as Alfonzo pulled the door open and held it for Lucy to enter, Lucy spoke once again.
"Now, I'm even more excited to try the food here." Lucy said excitedly with anticipation shining in her eyes.
"Good evening, and welcome to 8-Island." A familiar voice said as soon as Alfonzo and Lucy walked through the door. "Table for two, I assume."
Hearing that voice, both Alfonzo and Lucy froze up. Then, like machines needing oil, they slowly turned their heads towards the restaurant's hostess. And at the end of their lines of sight was a fair-skinned, blue eyed woman standing at about 5'6" with long, wavy white hair and a an upward styled ponytail in the front wearing a frilly, orange, strapless, thigh-length maid dress that revealed her shoulders and a healthy amount of cleavage with the name of the restaurant printed on the front, a white collar with a maroon ribbon tied around it, a white apron tied around her waist, and a pair of white stockings.
"Mira? Why are you here?" Lucy asked in a confused tone.
'*Sigh* For some reason, I feel like I should have seen this coming.' Alfonzo thought to himself while shaking his head in exasperation.