The Return

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Akane Beach.

January, x 781.

Ten days after Alfonzo woke up, he was finally stable enough to make the trip back to Magnolia. Naturally, he was not the one behind the wheel of the Escalade. Instead, Elicia was the driver. While Sun sat in the front seat with excitement in her eyes, Alfonzo shared the back seat with Erza.

"Alfonzo, should you ever feel tired…" Erza said while the Escalade flew down the roads of Fiore. She patted her thighs as she continued, "you can use my lap as a pillow."

"Next time I'm definitely teaching her how to drive." Elicia muttered after hearing Erza's statement.

Alfonzo on the other hand could only smile wryly.

"It wouldn't be bad to have someone else who knows how to drive." Alfonzo said, maintaining his wry smile. "But you'll have to teach her in your Z3."

To that, Elicia started to seriously reconsider. As destructive as Erza can be, there was a good chance that her Z3 would end up little more than a crushed piece of metal by the time Erza's driving lessons were complete.

Instead of paying attention to the subtle jabs at her, Erza reached over and pulled Alfonzo to lay down on her lap. Then, she started running her fingers through his hair with a smile on her face.

"See, isn't that more comfortable?" Erza asked.

"Yeah, I gotta admit that this feels pretty nice." Alfonzo replied with a content smile.

'Even though she's really quite muscular, it's amazing how soft her body is.' Alfonzo thought to himself as she hifted a little and made himself more comfortable.

Rolling her eyes at the display of affection she could see from the rear-view mirror, Elicia focused bon the road again. Although there were clear hints of jealousy in her eyes, she was not jealous of Erza in the way one would think. Instead, she was jealous that Erza got the chance to pamper Alfonzo while she was stuck driving. A few moments later, she spoke to the last person in the vehicle, Sun, who was more than content just watching the scenery pass by though the window.

"So, Sun, your mom didn't seem all that bothered that you were leaving." Elicia said. "But your dad wasn't there when we left, how is he handling things?"

"Well…" Sun said, turning her head toward Elicia while she thought about the last time she saw her father, which was last night. "I think he'll be okay?"

"Why is that phrased like a question?" Alfonzo asked from his spot on Erza's lap.

"Because he cried last night… A lot." Sun said in a slightly confused tone. "But in the end, he wished me the best and told me that I wouldn't be lonely."

"Why do I get the feeling we're gonna have new neighbors soon?" Elicia asked from the driver's seat.

"I had the same bad premonition." Alfonzo replied.

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

Later that day, shortly after sunset, the wizards of Fairy Tail, who were not out on quests, were gathered in the guild hall eating, drinking, and telling stories of their most recent successful quest completions. At one table, most of Alfonzo and Elicia's friends were gathed as usual. Although Laki, Alzack, and Bisca were out on quests, the rest were present and having, with Cana worrying about the safety of her best friend and boyfriend.

"This is the longest Fonzie has ever taken on an S-Class quest." Cana said with a mug of ale in her hand. "Do you think everything is okay? Maybe we should ask Ur to go and check on him."

"He's not the only one on the quest, you know." Ultear replied. "But still, it's almost been two weeks."

"Hmph!" Mirajane snorted. "I bet it's because they took Red with them. She probably made a mess of things and now they have to clean up after her. I can't believe she got to S-Class before me."

"Mira~." Lisanna said in a chiding tone. "Why do you always have to fight with Erza?"

"Because I'm better than her." Mirajane replied as if it were the most obvious thing. "And I'll prove it."

"But we're all on the same side." Lisanna said, exasperated by her older sister's behavior.

"Lisanna, there's no point in arguing." Elfman said in his usual timid tone. "Nothing we say will get through to her."

"I'm sure they'll be fine." Gray said, interrupting the girls' conversation. "Alfonzo, Elicia, and Erza are strong. There probably is nothing they can't handle if they work together."

"The streaker is right!" Natsu shouted. "Oh man, I cant wait 'til they get back. I'm gonna challenge them all to a fight. Then, I'll show them that I'm the strongest."

"What did you call me, Flame Brain?" Gray asked with a snarl.

"I called you what you are, Streaker." Natsu replied. "Why, you wanna fight about it?"

"Damn right I do!" Gray replied, standing up from his seat.

"Oh, it looks like Gray switched from briefs to boxers." Cana said with a drunken chuckle. "It looks like the little boy has grown up, huh?"

"Huh?" Gray exclaimed as he froze in place. Then, he looked down at himself. "Ah! What happened to my clothes."

"Hurry up and put your clothes on." Natsu said, already in his fighting stance. "Then, I'll kick your but."

"Just you wait…" Gray muttered as he gathered all his scattered clothing.

While most of the people in the group could only look on with a sigh at the common sight, Cana looked at Ultear with a smirk.

"You know if you picked up that habit too, maybe Fonzie would pay more attention to you." Cana said with a drunken slur.

"Cana, what are you talking about?" Ultear asked with a slight blush on her face.

"Seriously, Cana, what are you saying?" Levy said while shaking her head. "Ultear's crush would end before it even had a chance to start if she did that."

"Levy! That was supposed to be a secret!" Ultear shouted with her face getting even redder. "You promised you wouldn't tell anyone!"

"Oh, please." Mirajane said with a scoff. "If that was a secret, it was the least guarded secret ever. I'm pretty sure even Alfonzo knows."

"Just like he knows how much you love~~~~ him, too?" Happy added with a happy smile.

"What was that, Cat?" Mirajane growled.

"Lisanna, save me!" Happy immediately spread his wings and flew into Lisanna's embrace.

Mirajane also stood up from her seat and dashed over toward Lisanna with her arms outstretched, trying to grab happy while Lisanna shielded him from her grasp.

"Mira, don't bully happy." Lisanna said, reprimanding Mirajane once again.

"Besides, I bet you like him too, Levy." Ultear said, trying to shift everyone's attention away from her secret that was just exposed.

"There's no way!" Jet interjected.

"Yeah, tell them, Levy!" Droy added in a pleading tone.

"I'll admit, I do like Alfonzo." Levy said calmly without a hint of blush on her face. "But not like the rest of you. He's a magic item crafter. Which means he uses sigils, a kind of [Word Magic]. So, I like to bounce ideas off him."

When Levy first started talking, Jet and Droy almost cried when she admitted that she liked Alfonzo. But their nerves calmed quickly when she explained the way she liked him. They still would do everything they could to keep Alfonzo from getting to close to Levy, though.

'Tch!' Cana clicked her tongue after chugging the remainder of the ale in her mug. 'I gotta do something to keep the number of girls around him as low as possible. I bet Elicia somehow managed to get Erza to join us while they were away on the quest together. I've been feeling like something I don't want to see has happened for more than a week now, after all.'

Just as Cana had that thought, the doors to the guild opened. At this time of day, the only ones who would show up at the guild hall were those who had just returned from a quest and had to report on its outcome.

Naturally, everyone who noticed the doors opening looked in that direction to see who had returned. And when they saw three familiar youngsters, they raised a cheer. Alfonzo, Elicia, and Erza had returned.

"Come on, you two." Alfonzo complained. "My legs are fine; I can walk on my own."

With their arms wrapped around his waist as they entered the guild hall, Elicia and Erza were doing their best to help him walk.

"We have to make sure you don't put anymore strain on your injury." Erza said in a tone that would not take no for an answer.

"Erza's right. Hehe." Elicia agreed with a mischievous chuckle. "Just let us take care of you."

"They're only trying to help, Alfonzo." Sun said from behind the trio. "What's wrong with that?"

Seeing the spectacle as Alfonzo, Elicia, Erza, and Sun entered the guild hall, the more observant members of the guild, including Alfonzo and Elicia's friends narrowed their eyes. Almost immediately after laying their eyes on the group, they noticed that Alfonzo's left arm was missing.

"Alfonzo, what happened to your arm?" Ur asked from the bar.

"Don't worry about it, Aunt Ur." Alfonzo said with a smile. "I'll have an even better one in a few days. Besides, you should see the other guy."

"Don't call me aunt, Brat!" Ur shouted in frustration. She then began leaking her magic power subconsciously, putting pressure on the group who just returned as she continued. "And now's not the time for jokes. Tell me what happened, right now?"

While Alfonzo, Elicia, and Erza were unbothered by the pressure, Sun quickly hid behind Alfonzo and grabbed the back of his shirt.

"Calm down, Ur." Gildarts said, patting Ur on the shoulder. "You're scaring our guest."

"Indeed." Makarov said with a nod. "Besides, I'm sure they'll tell us what happened during their report. For now, why don't you introduce us to the young lady you brought back with you."

"Sure Gramps." Alfonzo said while he and the others made their way over to the bar. Then, when they were next to the bar, he continued. "This is Sun Seto, the daughter of the chief of the Seto Group. Sun, this is Makarov Drear, Fairy Tail's guild master."

"It's nice to meet you, Sun." Makarov replied with a grandfatherly smile.

"The pleasure is all mine." Sun replied with a polite bow and tone.

"MY, aren't you polite." Makarov said with a chuckle.

"It's only natural, I cannot bring dishonor to my future husband." Sun said in a serious tone.

At that moment, Makarov's smile froze on his face. But Makarov was not the only one to freeze. Everyone in the guild, as if Sun had been speaking to them directly, heard her response and froze just like Makarov.

"What the hell, Kid?" Gildarts asked, the first to recover. "My Cana wasn't enough for you? And what does she mean future husband? Did you knock her up and now you're taking responsibility?"

For the next few minutes, Gildarts continued to scold Alfonzo while heaping copious amounts of praise on Cana. Meanwhile, Alfonzo, Elicia, and Erza looked on with board expressions while Sun wore a contemplative one.

"So, is this what my dad looks like when he gets all riled up?" Sun muttered to herself. "From the outside, this is really embarrassing."

*Smack!*

*Bang!*

Before Gildarts could go on for too long, he was smacked upside the head and slammed face first into the floor. Looking behind Gildarts, everyone could see Makarov with his hand having grown massively.

"Shut up for a minute, would you?" Makarov asked as his hand returned to its normal size. "Give him a chance to explain, why don't you?"

"Man, that never gets old." Ur said with a chuckle as she looked down at the twitching Gildarts. "But she's from the Seto Group, huh? I bet they talked the Kid into a marriage alliance."

"Well… It's something like that." Alfonzo replied, scratching the back of his head as he spoke.

Naturally, Alfonzo could not tell most of the guild about the real reason why he ended up engaged to Sun. He would have to make sure to tell Cana, though. Especially because he could feel her glare from all the way across the guild hall. And she wasn't the only one.

'Oh, it looks like Ultear's mask is slipping.' Alfonzo thought as he glanced at Cana, Mirajane, and Ultear. '*Sigh* Being this awesome can be a curse at times.'

"Well, how 'bout you let us give our report." Alfonzo said. "Then, you'll know how I lost my arm."

"Very well, come with me to my office." Makarov replied. Then, he let his gaze wander over Gildarts and Ur. "You two should come as well. And Sun, I assume you intend to join Fairy Tail with Alfonzo, right?"

"Yes." Sun replied with a smile.

"Then, you should come, too." Makarov said. "We'll get you the guild mark to make it official."

Just like that, the group of seven made their way up to the third floor of the guild hall, where Makarov's office is located. However, while they were climbing the stairs that led to the second floor, Alfonzo could only smile wryly and nod after coincidentally making eye contact with Cana, who mouthed a few words to him.

"You. Will. Tell. Me. Everything. When. We. Get. Home."