Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
November, x785.
Two days have passed since Alfonzo and the other young men of the guild had their fishing day. And today was the day that Elicia would be discharged from the hospital. Because of that, Alfonzo and Cana decided to skip training with everyone else to come get her.
"Ah~~~!" Elicia exclaimed while stretching just outside the hospital's front entrance. "It feels so good to be out of there."
"*Sigh* I'm really sorry that happened to you, Lici." Cana said with guilt in her expression.
IN response, Elicia turned towards Cana. Then, she pulled her into a hug and rested her head on her best friend's shoulder.
"How many times do I have to say this to you, Cana?" Elicia asked as she tightened her hug. "I know you didn't do it on purpose. Besides, we were in the middle of a match. Stuff like that happens from time to time."
"Yeah, but…" Cana stammered.
"No buts." Elicia said in a decisive tone. "It was an accident. Besides, I did most of that to myself."
"Lici's right, Cana." Alfonzo said as he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around both women. "There's no point beating yourself up over this."
Not knowing what to say, Cana simply lowered her head.
"Anyway, now that Lici is out…" Alfonzo continued.
"That's right, I'm out!" Elicia shouted happily. "And I ain't never going back!"
"Lici, you got out of the hospital, not prison." Cana said with a smile making it onto her face, despite herself.
Seeing Cana beginning to smile, Elicia smiled happily. Then, she tightened her hug once again.
"That's more like it." Elicia said. "You're much prettier when you're smiling."
Letting her smile fully bloom, Cana finally returned Elicia's hug.
"I'm glad you're okay, Lici." Cana said softly.
Letting the warm atmosphere persist for a little longer, Alfonzo finally began speaking again. And the topic he brought up was decidedly less happy.
"Anyway, like I was saying, we need to talk." Alfonzo said. "And I mean all of us. What Cana said before the match needs to be addressed."
Hearing that, Elicia nodded her head. Though, it was clear she did not know what to say. Meanwhile, Cana clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. Though, she was not angry. Even most of the jealousy and discontent she was feeling had disappeared when Elicia got hurt. Still, she knew she needed to talk about it. Letting it fester in the first place is what led to Elicia getting hurt, after all.
"*Sigh* I'll go to the guild and get the other girls." Elicia said as she unwrapped her arms from around Cana.
"Nope." Alfonzo replied swiftly. "We'll all go. Even though it will make the spectacle bigger, it will show how serious the situation is."
Though reluctantly, Elicia accepted Alfonzo's opinion. Then, she, Alfonzo, and Cana started walking towards the guild hall.
About twenty minutes later, Alfonzo, Elicia, and Cana arrived at the guild hall. Though, they arrived too early for the end of training. So, while most of the wizards in the guild were training, Alfonzo decided to use the kitchen to make breakfast for the three. He also made a little something for those who were not training, like Macao, Wakaba, Gozaburo, Ren, Masa, and Shizuka. And because he was so happy that Elicia had been released from the hospital this morning, he did not even charge them for it.
Eventually, the wizards who were training came down from the higher floors to use the showers. And when they did, they saw Elicia sitting at her usual table with Alfonzo, Cana, and Shizuka chatting happily.
"Lici, you're back." Laki, the first to arrive in the main hall, said with a smile. "How are you feeling. Did they fix you?"
"Yeah, I'm good as new." Elicia said while flexing her slender arms. "And I feel as strong as a bull. I can't wait to get back to training, though. I feel really rusty."
"I bet." Ultear said as she followed behind Laki. "It's been a little more than two weeks since you got hurt. You probably have a lot of rust to knock off."
"Yeah, I definitely can't take any quests like this." Elicia said with a nod. "But at least I was able to keep up to date with my clothing designs and custom orders while I was in the hospital. Otherwise, I wouldn't know what to do."
"They actually let you use your magic while you were in the hospital?" Meredy asked in a curious tone.
"Yeah, I know what you're thinking." Elicia replied. "I thought they would stop me, too. But as long as I didn't move… at all… I was allowed to use it. Luckily, I don't have to move my fingers, hands, or arms to use my [Thread Magic]. But the hand movements do help me focus."
"Then, I guess your control should be better than ever now, huh?" Alfonzo asked with a smile.
"Yup!" Elicia exclaimed excitedly.
"Still, not that I don't' trust the doctors in the hospital, I think you should let Shizuka or Ren give you another checkup to make sure." Ultear said, a bit of worry seeping into her tone.
"Yeah, you should come with me and let me give you a checkup." Shizuka said, her usually sleepy expression replaced by a quite serious one. "On top of that, if you have any scars from the burns, I can see about taking care of those, too."
"You can do that?" Mirajane, who approached with her siblings and Juvia, asked curiously when they were near the table.
"If they aren't too bad, it shouldn't be a problem." Shizuka replied with a smile. "Why? Do you have any scars you want taken care of?"
"Oh, she most definitely doesn't." Alfonzo said with a smile as he licked his lips. "You can trust me on that."
Hearing that, Shizuka tilted her head cutely. Meanwhile, Mirajane swatted Alfonzo on the shoulder with a slight blush.
"No, I don't have any scars." Mirajane said while glaring at Alfonzo. "But it's nice to know just in case."
Nodding in response, Shizuka turned her attention back to Elicia.
"*Sigh* I've had enough checkups over the last two weeks to last a life time." Elicia said while shaking her head. However, when she saw everyone looking at her, she eventually gave in. "but if it will make all of you stop worrying, I'll do it."
Hearing that, Alfonzo, Cana, Laki, Ultear, Mirajane, Elfman, Lisanna, Meredy, and Juvia smiled. Then, Shizuka stood up from her seat and gestured for Elicia to follow her.
"Come on, Lici." Shizuka said as she started walking. "It won't take long, I promise. Then, we can all go and play at your house. I wanna eat some more of Fonzie's cooking today."
At the same time, Team Natsu, minus Natsu, stepped out of the elevator just in time to hear what Shizuka said about Alfonzo's cooking. And while Erza and Lucy weren't too bothered, Gray and Wendy, along with everyone else who had come downstairs after training had their eyes open wide.
"God damn it, I told her not to tell anyone." Alfonzo muttered as he felt the gazes from the other wizards of the guild zeroing in on him. "And this is why."
Meanwhile, Alfonzo's girlfriends, fiancées, and wife could only smile wryly at Alfonzo's plight. However, before requests for Alfonzo's cooking could start flying, Alfonzo turned to Cana.
"Alright, Cana, let the others know what we talked about on the way here." Alfonzo said as he stood up from his seat. "I'll go home and get some snacks ready for our talk."
Then, as soon as he finished speaking, Alfonzo was covered in a flash of violet light. And in the next instant, he was gone.
"Damn it, he's getting away." Elfman said as he looked towards the guild hall's sliding doors. "I didn't even see or hear the doors open."
"I guess he finally learned how to do what he had always been jealous of Yoruichi about." Ultear muttered to herself. "But seriously, how do you leave a closed room without making a sound of any kind?"
With that, the rest of the Fairy Tail wizards trickled into the main hall after their training came to an end. Then, when everyone was finished cleaning up, and Shizuka finished examining Elicia, all those living in Alfonzo's mansion left the guild hall to talk about what was bothering them.
Fifteen minutes later, Elicia, Cana, Ultear, Erza, Mirajane, Marin, Sun, and Lucy entered the front door of the mansion.
"Fonzie, we're back!" Elicia shouted.
"Okay, come to the dining room, I just finished setting out the snacks." Alfonzo replied.
Following Alfonzo's instructions, the ladies made their way through the house to the dining room. And when they did, they found a table full of all kinds of cakes and cookies waiting for them while Alfonzo sat at the head of the table with a smile on his face.
"Welcome home, everyone." Alfonzo said, looking rather proud of himself. "And especially you, Lici. Welcome home after your extended stay in the hospital."
In response, the other girls also welcomed Elicia home. Unfortunately, they all knew the happy atmosphere would not last.
"*Sigh* As much as I'd like to celebrate, I know we have something important to talk about." Elicia said as she took a seat at the table on the end opposite Alfonzo. "So, let's talk."
Hearing Elicia's tone, Cana, Ultear, Erza, Mirajane, Marin, Sun, and Lucy exchanged glances. Then, with solemn expressions on their faces, they all took seats at the table, as well.
"*Sigh* I know Cana was not the only one who was unhappy with my decision to marry Lici first." Alfonzo said while looking around the table as the others took their seats. "But she was the first to say something. So, were there any other concerns or issues that need to be addressed?"
In response, Cana, Ultear, Erza, Mirajane, Marin, Sun, and Lucy all exchanged glances. Meanwhile, Elicia watched the others as calmly as she could.
Eventually, Mirajane was the first to open her mouth in response to Alfonzo's question.
"I didn't exactly have an issue with Lici going first." Mirajane said calmly. "But I am confused why you picked her to be the first one after everything that happened."
Nodding his head in response, Alfonzo then made eye contact with each of the other girls.
"And what about the rest of you?" Alfonzo asked.
"I feel the same way." Ultear replied. "Like Mira said, I wasn't upset. I was just… confused."
With that, Marin and Sun also mentioned their confusion at Alfonzo's choice as well.
"And what about you, Erza and Lucy?" Alfonzo asked after acknowledging the other's feelings with a nod.
"I trusted your judgement." Erza said sternly. "And because I know I will get my turn eventually as well; I was not concerned with who went first."
"It didn't really bother me, either." Lucy said. "I mean, I only became a couple with you earlier this year. So, I wasn't even ready for marriage. Though, if you asked me to, I wouldn't say no."
As she continued to speak, Lucy's face reddened more and more. As a result, everyone smiled at her sweetly, which caused her blush to intensify.
"And then we have Cana, who thought it was unfair that I married Lici first, which I can totally understand." Alfonzo said. "I mean, from the outside looking in, it looked like I was rewarding Lici for what she did, right?"
Although slight, Cana nodded her head in response. IN fact, ever since she accidentally hurt Elicia, a lot of her resentment had completely disappeared. Still, she could not understand why Alfonzo chose to marry Elicia first.
And with that, Alfonzo made eye contact with Elicia from the other side of the table. And they had a conversation via that eye contact. A moment later, the two broke eye contact. Then, Alfonzo opened his mouth to explain.
"I'm sure this should come as no surprise to any of you." Alfonzo said. "But I've loved Lici for as long as I can remember. Even before I could tell anyone what love meant to me. And from the moment I laid my eyes on her, I knew she would be my wife."
Hearing Alfonzo say something like that, the girls, other than Elicia, were taken aback. However, after seeing the look in Alfonzo's eyes, they felt that what he was saying was true. Elicia, on the other hand, while the other girls were focused on Alfonzo, could not help but roll her eyes. Even though she thought what Alfonzo said was probably true in their past life, he definitely was not aware of it from the beginning.
"In fact, as you all know, I didn't even want to have any other women other than her at the beginning." Alfonzo said. "But it was Lici who made me change my mind about that. And I'm grateful for that. Otherwise, I wouldn't have all of you in my life the way that I do now."
That caused the other girls to turn their heads in Elicia's direction. And when she smiled at all of them, those who were confused about Alfonzo's choice could somewhat understand why he chose her.
"Now, I'm not going to pretend that Lici didn't hurt me with that stunt she pulled with Yoruichi." Alfonzo said. "But I have forgiven her. On top of that, she's the reason I have all of you in my life, as well. So, in a way, I guess I was rewarding her. Though, not for what she did back in March. Instead, it was everything she's done for me over the years. She was there when we lost everything. She was there when we came to Fairy Tail. She was there when I met all of you. And she was there, pushing me to accept all of you into my heart. So, if it seems unfair that I married her first, I'm sorry you feel that way. I truly am. But I don't regret what I did. And if you can't accept that, then I don't' know what to say."
When Alfonzo's words ended, the room fell into silence. No one knew how to retort to Alfonzo's heartfelt words. However, the silence was eventually broken.
"*Sigh* I guess I was being selfish again." Cana said. "I know without Lici, I would have never been able to be with you, Fonzie."
The other girls nodded in response.
"And when you put it like that, it kinda feels like we should all be marrying Lici instead of you in the end, doesn't it?" Ultear said, a bit of a teasing tone making it into her speech. "I mean, from the way Alfonzo put it, this is more like her harem than yours, isn't it?"
Despite themselves, the other girls could not help but chuckle.
"Anyway, I'm sorry for making such a big deal about this." Cana said as she bowed her head in apology.
"Don't apologize, Cana." Alfonzo said sternly. "The only way for this relationship, that we've all committed ourselves to, to work is for there to be proper communication. So, if anything is bothering you about it, and I mean anything at all, you should talk to us. Otherwise, it will just fester and eventually become a tumor."
Once again, everyone nodded in agreement with Alfonzo's words. Alfonzo, on the other hand, looked around the table at the expressions everyone was wearing.
'Well, that went much more smoothly than I thought it would.' Alfonzo thought to himself as he made eye contact with everyone, one by one. 'I just hope they remember this conversation whenever something bothers them in the future.'
"I have a question." Erza said, breaking Alfonzo out of his contemplations and drawing everyone's attention onto herself.
"Yeah, what's up, Erza?" Alfonzo asked in a curious tone.
"Can I have a slice of that strawberry shortcake now?" Erza asked, her eyes focused on the strawberry shortcake laid out with the rest of the snacks Alfonzo prepared for the conversation.
Smiling in return, Alfonzo could only shake his head at Erza's fervor. Then, he looked around at the others with the question, "Any other questions?" in his eyes. Then, after each of the ladies shook their heads, Alfonzo turned back to Erza.
"Sure." Alfonzo said as he materialized a knife in his hand. "Now, that the serious talks are over, let's celebrate Lici's return from the hospital."
With that, Alfonzo stood and cut a slice of the cake for Erza. Then, he served everyone else their favorite snacks, as well. Eventually, all their friends arrive to join in the festivities, too. And they all spent the rest of the day just having a good time.