The Proposal

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

February 28, x781.

The next morning, with the bed in the master bedroom covered in the dried, sexual fluids of the three, Alfonzo, with Elicia and Cana snuggling up to his right and left sides, respectively,, slowly opened his eyes. When he did, he felt a dull, comfortable ache in his waist. On top of that, the two soft bodies pressing into his sides brought a happy smile to his face.

Looking down at the short black hair on his right and the long dark brown hair on his left, Alfonzo's smile turned gentle.

'*Sigh* I don't know what I did to deserve having these girls to love me so much. Originally, I only agreed to this harem plan of Lici's for no other reason than to make her happy.' Alfonzo mused as he began combing his fingers through the two girls' hair. 'But I've seriously come to love Cana over the years. And then, there's Erza, too. I'm not sure if I have what it takes to make these girls happy… But… I'll do everything in my power to do so.'

The resolution behind Alfonzo's gentle smile was on full display by the time he ended his thoughts. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, neither Elicia nor Cana was awake to see it. If they had been, at the very least, Elicia would have pounced on him for another round. Cana, on the other hand, would have definitely wanted to as well.

"But seriously, We went at it for like eight hours." Alfonzo muttered to himself as he untangled himself from the bodies of the two women in his bed. "IF Cana can walk at all today, she's a real beast."

After freeing himself from the tangle of arms and legs, Alfonzo made his way into he bathroom to wash off the scent of last night's activities. Then, after about twenty minutes, he was on his way to the kitchen, dressed in a loose white t-shirt and a pair of royal blue pants.

When he arrived in the kitchen, however, Alfonzo was both amused and horrified in equal measures. Amused because Erza was currently in the kitchen and panicking at how wrong her attempt to cook had gone. And horrified because, from what he could tell, Erza was only trying to make a few boiled eggs. Yet, somehow, the water she was boiling, was on fire.

Immediately, Alfonzo dashed forward, pulling Erza back against his body with one hand and turning off the stove with another. Immediately after that, he created a metal cover that he clamped down on top of the flaming pot to smother the fire.

"Alfonzo?" Erza exclaimed after she realized that she was now in Alfonzo's arms. "You're awake already?"

Erza's shock was not unwarranted, either. It had only been about four hours since the moaning that echoed through the mansion had stopped. So, she expected Alfonzo, Elicia, and Cana to sleep for a while longer.

"Yeah, I don't really sleep much after a long night like that one." Alfonzo replied with a smirk. "I find it quite therapeutic."

Immediately, while still in Alfonzo's arms, Erza blushed and lowered her head.

"I see." Erza said in a small voice.

"More importantly, though." Alfonzo said, raising Erza's face so that he could look into her eyes. "How did you manage to set a pot of boiling water… on fire?"

As Alfonzo spoke, the disbelief in Alfonzo's tone grew in intensity, causing Erza's face to somehow redden even further, now embarrassed for a completely different reason.

"*Sigh* I honestly do not know." Erza replied after managing to push down her embarrassment. "I just wanted to cook something simple for myself since I thought you would be sleeping in. But this happened somehow."

"Well, it's a good thing I was here to help." Alfonzo replied with a smile.

"Indeed." Erza replied, returning a smile of her own.

"Anyway, I was going to make breakfast." Alfonzo said. "Is there anything you'd like?"

"A stra---" Erza started to say excitedly.

"Anything other than a strawberry shortcake." Alfonzo cut her off with a wry smile.

Erza's blush returned as she pouted and turned away from Alfonzo.

"Fine… Something simple will do." Erza replied, still not looking at Alfonzo.

In response, Alfonzo could not help but laugh uproariously. Then, after a few moments, with Erza growing even more embarrassed, he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her toward the refrigerator.

"Alfonzo, what are you doing?" Erza asked ass he was dragged along.

"I'm gonna teach you how to cook something simple." Alfonzo replied as he rifled through the available ingredients.

Then, after choosing the things he wanted, and setting them on a metal plate he created and had float next to him, he pulled Erza to a nearby counter. Once there, he pulled Erza so that she was standing in front of him, with her back pressed against his chest. Then, he held her hands gently as he walked her through the preparation of eggs over easy, bacon, and toast.

"I know we ended up together in an abrupt way for an equally stupid reason." Alfonzo said with his chin resting on Erza's right shoulder while he used her hands to flip the eggs. "But now that you're with me, I really do want to make you happy."

Erza had already been blushing slightly due to the close physical contact. However, when she heard Alfonzo's affection-filled words, her blush intensified while she lowered her head shyly.

"Don't lower your head, Erza." Alfonzo said. "You have to watch the food to make sure it doesn't burn."

Immediately, Erza raised her head and continued looking at the food and the cooking process as a whole.

"So, just like you did with Lici, don't hesitate to tell me about myself if I ever start to do something you can't agree with." Alfonzo continued once Erza was focused on the task at hand. "Although it may lead to some disagreements, it's better to let me know if there's something you don't like regardless."

"You needn't worry about that." Erza replied. "Being honest with how I feel is one of my best qualities. Though, you'll need to forgive me if I end up slapping you as I had Elicia."

"Something tells me… If you end up slapping me, I probably deserved it." Alfonzo replied with a chuckle.

"I would hope that would be the case." Erza said with a smile of her own.

Like that, the couple continued cooking with Erza nestled against Alfonzo's chest. When they were finished, and Erza was excited about her first successfully cooked dish in the last six years, they sat down at the kitchen table and had breakfast together.

After that, Erza took their dirty dishes to the sink to wash them. Meanwhile, Alfonzo started whipping up two more plates of the same meal. Then, once he was done, Erza headed upstairs to get dressed and go to the guild to accept a quest while Alfonzo took two plates into the master bedroom for Elicia and Cana.

*Sniff!* *Sniff!* *Sniff!*

As soon as Alfonzo entered the room, he could hear the sound of a nose sniffing at the air. Looking over to the source of the sound, he was not surprised that it was Elicia doing so. A few moments later, Elicia's eyes shot open as if she had not been sleep just a few moments ago. Then, she looked in Alfonzo's direction, more specifically, at the plates in his hands.

"Breakfast in bed… Nice." Elicia muttered as she sat up and stretched her body.

Naturally, Alfonzo's eyes were drawn to her curves and smooth skin, as the sheet that was covering her slid off when she sat up.

"Good morning, Lici." Alfonzo said as he approached the bed.

"Morning, Fonzie." Elicia replied with a smile. "What's for breakfast?"

"Eggs over easy, bacon, and toast with butter and jam." Alfonzo replied as he climbed into bed.

Taking a seat between Elicia and the still sleeping Cana, Alfonzo leaned his back against the headboard. Immediately, Elicia followed suit and leaned against his right side. A moment later, Alfonzo pulled Cana up to lean against his other side, as well.

"Stop it, Fonzie…" Cana muttered, still half-asleep. "I'm still sleeping."

"Cana's so cute when she's sleep." Elicia said, reaching over Alfonzo and poking Cana in the nose.

*Click!*

Wrinkling her nose for a moment from Elicia's poke, Cana quickly opened her mouth and tried to bite down on the offending finger. Luckily, Elicia reacted quickly enough to pull her hand back before Cana's teeth could close around it.

"Okay, that wasn't cute at all." Elicia said with a pout.

"That's what you get for messing with a sleeping person." Alfonzo said with a chuckle.

"Shut up! Stupid Fonzie." Elicia replied with her pout deepening.

Cana, on the other hand, frowned from the pain of her teeth clashing together. Then, she slowly opened her eyes. When she did, the first thing she saw was Alfonzo smiling at her, which made her smile as well. A moment later, she saw Elicia looking away with a pout on her face, making her wonder what happened.

"Fonzie, were you bullying Lici?" Cana asked while looking between the two.

"Nope." Alfonzo replied with a smile.

"Then why is she pouting like that?" Cana asked curiously.

"That doesn't matter." Elicia said with a huff. Then, she smiled brightly and pointed at the plates of food. "More importantly, look! Fonzie brought us breakfast in bed."

Elicia's statement was enough to draw Cana's attention away from the pouting. Then, as she looked down at the two plates of food, her stomach made its presence known.

*Growl!*

However, Cana did not blush in the slightest as she continued to stare at the plate like someone who had not eaten in days. Considering how many calories she burned last night, it was no surprise, either.

Unable to wait any longer, Cana snatched a plate when her stomach growled for a second time. Then, she started eating just as ravenously as Alfonzo and Elicia expected. A moment later, Elicia also took a plate and started eating as well.

"Well, I guess my plan to feed the two of you went up in smoke, huh?" Alfonzo asked with a wry smile.

That statement caused both Elicia and Cana to pause for a moment. However, they started eating again, soon enough.

"Maybe next time." Cana mumbled while continuously stuffing her face. "I'm way too hungry for that right now."

"Same here." Elicia added. "But it was a really sweet gesture. Thanks, Fonzie."

In response, Alfonzo only shrugged his shoulders. Then, when Elicia and Cana were completely focused on their food once again, Alfonzo used his magic to silently open the door to the magic power regulation panel on the opposite side of the room. Then, he levitated two small boxes from inside toward himself before closed the door just as silently.

Opening the two boxes, Alfonzo quietly waited for the girls to finish eating, which did not take long.

"*Sigh* That hit the spot." Cana said, patting her belly. "Thanks for breakfast, Fonzie."

"Yeah, that was good." Elicia added. "Thanks, Fonzie."

As Elicia finished speaking, she turned to give Alfonzo a peck on the cheek. However, she froze before she could do so.

Cana, expecting Elicia to give Alfonzo a kiss, turned her head when she did not hear the sound, freezing as soon as she did so as well.

The reason the girls froze was simple. It was because of the open boxes Alfonzo had positioned so that they would be the first things they saw when they turned toward him.

"Fonzie…" Elicia muttered after she came back from her shock.

Though Cana did not say anything, it was clear from her expression that she was just as shocked.

In front of the two were open ring cases. In Alfonzo's right hand, was an intricately carved orichalcum ring with a pink diamond socketed into it with the letters "A" And "E" made with white diamonds on either side of the pink diamond. And on the left was a mithril ring with a teal diamond between an "A" and a "C" made from white diamonds.

"I know I should have asked the two of you earlier." Alfonzo said in a serious tone. "You know, with me getting engaged to Sun, and all. But it took me a while to make these."

With the sound of Alfonzo's voice, Elicia and Cana were finally able to tear their gazes away from the rings to look at Alfonzo.

"And logically, my mind is telling me that it would have been better to ask you separately." Alfonzo continued in the same tone but with a gentle smile on his face. "But my gut is telling me that now is the best time. So, Elicia Taylor, Cana Alberona, will you marry me?"

"I will!" Elicia shouted without hesitation as she flung her arms around Alfonzo.

Alfonzo had expected such a reaction from Elicia. They were engaged in their past life, too. Unfortunately, they had that car accident before they could have the ceremony.

Cana, on the other hand, was hesitant.

"I'm not sure I'm ready to get married so young." Cana said while returning her gaze to the ring.

"Neither am I." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "This ring only signifies a promise for the future. We can get married whenever we're ready. We don't' even have to do it all together. But as long as you wear that ring, it means the promise still stands."

Hearing that, Cana breathed a sigh of relief. Then, she raised her head and made eye contact with Alfonzo, smiling brightly.

"In that case, I will." Cana said, finally replying to Alfonzo's proposal.