#i love how quickly lu goes from happy and celebrating to frowning and in the opponent's face the moment shai is unhappy

[jrueships]

lu we GET IT, he's your little princess, omg, girl, go away 😭 the maple mafia's got a fucking enforcer

[superfreakerz]

TDDUP 31

AN: Idk  who’s still active considering I haven’t uploaded this story in almost 2 years but hopefully someone will enjoy it! :)

Chapter 31

Under the Mistletoe

Natsu grinned to himself as he tacked the decoration just underneath the door frame to the bedroom. With its white berries, beautiful green leaves, and the red ribbon tied around the stems, he was sure it was going to bring a smile to Lucy’s face when she saw it. And if she somehow missed it, then he was more than happy to point it out to her since it meant stealing a kiss from her.

“Natsu? What’s that?” Lucy’s voice called out.

Turning around to face the girl, he gave her a grin. Grabbing her hand, he quickly pulled her close to him. 

“Look up,” he said, planting his hands on her hips.

Lucy glanced up, her eyes landing on the mistletoe that hung over them. Her lips curled into a small smile, her cheeks tinted pink having been caught off-guard. 

“Mistletoe? Where’d you get that?” she asked with a laugh.

“Borrowed it from Cana,” he answered, peering down at her with a toothy grin. “In her words, it was going to ‘get me laid.’ Figured I would test her theory out. So? Whatcha think?”

Lucy playfully rolled her eyes. “I think that we still have a lot more decorating to do before the others get here. But…” Leaning towards him, she pressed her lips against his in a chaste kiss. Pulling away, she smiled up at him. “It’d be breaking tradition if we didn’t kiss.”

Natsu watched as Lucy headed back to the living room to continue decorating for the Christmas party they were throwing. Lucy, wanting to be festive for the holiday, wore a skimpy Santa suit that Natsu couldn’t tear his eyes away from. Not only did it show a nice amount of cleavage, the dress was so short that it barely covered her bum. Another nice touch that spurred his desire was the white fluff that hemmed the edges, giving it a real Christmas vibe. She also wore white knee-high socks, which always brought his attention to her creamy legs. To top it all off, she wore a Santa hat. 

Natsu’s pants felt tight just looking at her.

Following her out into the living room, he wrapped his arms around her from behind. He could tell that she felt him hard against her from the way she jumped.

“Can’t we just take a lil’ break and do something else?” Natsu asked. He brushed Lucy’s hair out of the way and softly nuzzled the shell of her ear. Her body melted into his as he ran his hands up her sides and over her breasts. He was about to slip his hands underneath the cloth when she jumped away from him.

“No, Natsu,” she said, narrowing her eyes at him. Her face was flushed with heat as she continued, “We can do that later but for now, we have to finish decorating. They’ll be here soon.”

Natsu huffed, crossing his arms with a pout. “Why are we celebrating over here anyways? It’d be easier to just meet them there. They already have a bunch of decorations up.”

“I don’t want to intrude during the holidays.”

“What do you mean? You aren’t intruding. You’ve been there tons of times by now!”

“I’ve only been there a few times, for your information. And I just don’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable.”

“Who would feel uncomfortable with you coming?” Natsu asked, arching a brow.

“Well, Mira for one,” Lucy answered, her lips tugged into a small frown. 

Natsu immediately understood, rubbing the back of his head. “Look, don’t take it personally. Mira’s just… different. It doesn’t have to do with you. She can’t really handle bein’ around mortals much. That’s why she’s the only one who turns down her chances of going to the outside world.”

“I know it’s nothing personal,” Lucy replied. “But it doesn’t matter. I’m not offended or anything by it. It’s just that she deserves to feel comfortable in her own home on Christmas. I’m okay with just having you guys over. And I’m okay with you going over there to celebrate too.”

Natsu frowned, uncomfortable with the thought of leaving Lucy alone for even a minute on Christmas. He promised her months ago that he would spend the day with her, how could he just leave?

“You know I don’t hafta go,” he said. “The others can go back without me. I’ll stay here with you.”

Lucy smiled and shook her head. “Thank you, Natsu. I appreciate that you’d do that for me, but you should go back later with them. I’m not the only person who wants to spend Christmas with you, and I’m not going to be that girlfriend who keeps her boyfriend away from his friends. It’ll just be for a couple of hours, so you’re going. And when you get back, we can exchange presents.”

Before he could argue, she grabbed some more decorations from the box, gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and went to hang  them up.

About ten minutes later, there was a knock at the door. 

“Merry Christmas, Lucy!” the rest of the gang shouted the moment she opened the door. 

Lucy beamed at them. “Merry Christmas, you guys! Thanks for coming over!”

As everyone headed inside, Lucy noticed that she wasn’t the only one dressed for the holidays. Juvia adorned a beautiful blue dress covered in snowflakes and sparkles, a little tiara resting on her head. 

“Juvia is an ice princess,” the girl said when she noticed Lucy staring.

“You look beautiful, Juvia!” she replied. And it was true. The blue complimented her hair and fair skin perfectly. Her eyes moved over to Gray. He wore a top hat and some black jeans. As usual, he was without a shirt. “What’s up with the hat?”

“The guild always makes me dress as Frosty the Snowman on Christmas,” he replied, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“So you wore a hat? Or was there more of the costume that you stripped away?”

“There was more, but they’re long gone by now.”

Lucy nodded, moving her gaze over to Erza and Jellal. While they weren’t fully dressed up like Juvia and herself, they wore cute reindeer headbands. 

Levy, on the other hand, wore an adorable elf costume. It was red and green, which although contrasted her hair greatly, still managed to look amazing on her. Her leggings were striped in the same green and red, and her hat had a bell at the tip. 

“You look so cute, Levy-chan!” Lucy gushed, wrapping the petite girl in a hug. 

“You too, Lu-chan!” the girl replied. 

Gajeel pushed past the two girls, allowing Lucy to see his costume. He was dressed in a Santa costume, his hair spray-dyed white. A scowl was plastered to his face as he grumbled, “Damn Shrimp, makin’ me dress up like this.” 

As soon as he was out of earshot, Levy cupped her hand around her mouth and whispered to Lucy, “I didn’t make him dress up like that. He woke up hours before everyone else so that he could get ready.”

Lucy covered her mouth with her hands, trying to stifle her laughter. Just the thought of Gajeel happily getting ready to dress up as Santa Claus had her nearly hunched over in laughter.

“Your apartment is so festive, Lucy,” Erza’s voice called out to her. 

“Thanks!” she replied, her smile as bright as the lit-up Christmas tree she had Natsu put in the corner of the living room. Lights were strewn across the ceiling, decorations were tacked to the wall, and she even woke up early in the morning to bake Christmas cupcakes. To say she loved Christmas was an understatement. She hadn’t been able to really celebrate the holiday in a long time, so now she was going all out.

“Can we open presents already!?” Natsu asked, bouncing excitedly in his seat.

“We just got here, idiot,” Gray said, rolling his eyes. 

Erza chimed in, “I agree with Natsu. We should open presents now.” Even though she kept a straight face and was still in her seat unlike Natsu, the twinkle in her eye made it obvious she was looking forward to presents just as much as he was. 

“Presents it is then,” Lucy said with a laugh. Everyone sat in the living room, presents sitting in their laps. With how big their group was, they decided to do a secret Santa exchange to save money. “Who goes first?”

“I will!” Erza exclaimed, a bright grin settling over her face. “Whoever got me, step forward!”

Lucy stood from the couch. “That would be me!” Handing Erza the gift, she watched as the redhead tore away the wrapping paper in an instant, revealing a rectangular box. Lucy watched anxiously as Erza removed the tape from the box’s sides. She may not have known Erza long, but she thought she knew her well enough. Though the redhead tried to hide it, there was a girly side to her. 

Erza opened the box, pulling out a violet dress. It was made of silk and was long enough to reach the floor. The sides were slit to reveal her legs, giving it a sexier feel.

“This dress is gorgeous, Lucy!” Erza said in awe. She grabbed the tag, her eyes bugging out of her head as she read the label. “HK!? This must’ve cost a fortune!”

“It wasn’t too bad,” Lucy replied, waving her off. Though in truth, that dress alone cost most of her allowance. Still, it was worth it to see her friend smile. 

Erza stood from the couch, holding her arms out in front of her for a hug. Lucy winced, knowing how rough the redhead could be. Knowing it was rude to turn it down, Lucy went in for a hug, praying that she wouldn’t bruise from it. Sure enough, Erza smashed her head down on her chest in what only she would call a hug. 

“Thank you, Lucy!” Erza said.

“D-Don’t mention it,” she replied. She sat back down on the couch, her head dizzy.

“Her hugs hurt, huh?” Natsu whispered in her ear.

“So badly,” Lucy replied with a nod. She then watched as Erza handed Juvia a small box. The wrapping paper was crinkled, and looking closely, Lucy could see that there were some extra scraps taped on, probably because she ripped the bottom layer. 

Gently tearing the wrapping paper away, Juvia opened the box to find four slips of paper. Confused, she picked them up and read the words printed on them. Immediately, a bright smile graced her face. 

“Oh, thank you, Erza!” she exclaimed.

“Wait, what is it?” Levy asked, unable to see what they were from where she sat. 

Juvia held up the slips of paper. “They’re two train tickets to Crocus and to the Crocus Garden!” 

“No way!” Lucy shouted. “I heard that they have a rainbow sakura tree over there! I’ve always wanted to go!”

“Well, the extra ticket was meant for Gray, but I suppose you could bring Lucy instead,” Erza said with a shrug.

Lucy laughed at the panic that washed over Juvia’s face. “Don’t worry, Juvia. You don’t have to bring me. It sounds like a fun date for you and Gray!”

The blue-headed girl heaved a sigh of relief. 

Natsu nudged her lightly. 

“I didn’t know you wanted to go there,” he said.

Lucy smiled at him. “Yeah. I’ve never been to Crocus before. I would love to see the rainbow sakura tree someday.”

“Then I’ll take ya there!”

“The train ride is over six hours long. I don’t think you’d last, Natsu.”

The boy glared at her, crossing his arms with a huff. “If you wanna go there, then I don’t care how long the train ride is. We’re going!”

Lucy giggled at his pouty face, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you, Natsu. I’m looking forward to it.”

Turning her attention back on Juvia, she watched the girl hand Gajeel his gift. It was kept in a tiny gift bag, small enough to make Lucy wonder what could possibly fit in it. Reaching inside, Gajeel pulled out what looked like a receipt. His eyes scanned the printed words before his eyes grew wide.

“No fucking way,” he said, whipping his head towards Juvia.

The girl nodded quickly, her smile wide. “Yep! Juvia bought you an electric guitar! Juvia left it back home though because it was too hard to wrap.”

Lucy’s jaw dropped on its hinges. An electric guitar? That blew the cost of the designer dress she bought Erza out of the water! How Juvia could afford to even buy it, she didn’t know. 

She watched as Gajeel- the boy who was usually a snarky hardass- turned into a weeping mess as he thanked Juvia and showed Levy the receipt. 

Lucy was surprised that Juvia would spend so much money for someone that wasn’t Gray, but after hearing from Natsu that the two were best friends since before even joining Fairy Tail, she couldn’t say she was too surprised. They must’ve known each other for decades- hell, depending on how old they were, maybe even centuries. He always stood up for her when people made fun of her for speaking in third person, and she was the one that dragged him from heading down a dark path and into Fairy Tail. Their friendship was strong, and Lucy admired that.

Lucy was brought from her thoughts when she heard Gajeel and Natsu arguing. Apparently Natsu was teasing Gajeel for crying. Before a fight could break out, Lucy and Levy forced their boyfriends to sit down by pulling on their ears.

Gajeel grumbled to himself before handing Jellal his present. 

Jellal’s brows rose. “You didn’t have to buy me a Christmas present. You just bought me a birthday present a few weeks ago.”

“Yeah, yeah. You say that every year. You should know by now that people are still gonna get you a Christmas present,” Gajeel replied, rolling his eyes.

Jellal smiled before ripping away the wrapping paper. Inside was a leatherback journal along with a calligraphy set. 

“I know Erza retrieved your old research journal from a museum or whatever, but I figured you could use a new one. And Shrimp here told me that you like to do calligraphy too.”

“I do. Thank you, Gajeel. It’s very thoughtful.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

Lucy chuckled. “What a tsundere.”

Gajeel turned red in the face. “Shut up!”

Jellal grabbed a perfectly wrapped gift- much different than the gift his wife had wrapped- and handed it to Natsu. The pink-haired boy lit up like the Christmas tree, snatching it with a quick word of thanks before ripping into it like his life had depended on it. He uncovered a box full of different snacks, hot sauces from all over the world, and gift cards to fast food chains. 

“I truly did not know what else to get you besides food,” Jellal admitted. “After you caught the basement on fire with the pyrotechnics kit I bought you, I was prohibited from making that mistake again.”

Natsu grinned, grabbing a bag of chips and tearing into it. “Hey, this works for me!” Grabbing the wrapped gift at his ankle, he tossed it to Levy. “Oi, catch!”

Levy squealed, fumbling as she just barely caught the present. “I’m assuming this isn’t fragile.”

“Nope. But it did cost an arm and a leg to get it, so you better be glad!”

Levy perked a brow before opening the present. Inside the box was a stack of papers, stapled at the top. Her eyes scanned the words, confused as to what it could’ve been. 

“What is it?” she asked. It appeared to be a story, though there was no covering to it. 

“It’s a Heartfilia original!”

Levy’s eyes nearly burst out of their sockets. She whipped her head between Natsu and Lucy, the latter blushing. 

“Lu-chan wrote this?”

The blonde nodded. “It’s the very first story I’ve written. I started that way back during my first lifetime and I recently finished it. When I told Natsu about it, he said that he wanted to give it to you for Christmas. You’ll officially be my first reader, just like I promised!”

Levy burst into a fit of tears before tackling Natsu and Lucy to the ground. “I’ve been waiting for this day for forever! Thanks, you guys!”

Natsu laughed. “Don’t mention it!”

“And don’t show it to people either! It’s embarrassing!” Lucy added. 

Levy nodded, eager to read the story when Gajeel reminded her they were still in the process of Secret Santa. 

“Oh, right. Here you go, Gray!”

The boy thanked her as he accepted the gift. It was in a small gift bag. Reaching his hand in, he pulled out two slips of paper. 

“H-Holy shit!” he shouted. “These are concert tickets to see Lyra! They’re my favorite band!”

Natsu stood up, grabbing a ticket to see it himself. “No way! You gotta give me the extra ticket!”

“Why the hell would I wanna see a concert with you!?”

“Not like I wanna see one with you either, but I love Lyra too!”

“You can give the extra ticket to whoever you want,” Levy said with a shrug. Truthfully she wanted Secret Santa to end as quickly as possible so she could hurry up and read Lucy’s story. “Anyways, you’re next, Gray!”

   Gray handed Juvia the tickets for safekeeping- mainly to make sure Natsu didn’t steal one. He stood up and headed towards Lucy, the last person left in Secret Santa. 

“I got you, Lucy,” he said, his lips curled into a small smile.

She mirrored his expression, accepting the gift. She assumed he wasn’t good at wrapping since it was in a bag. When she reached inside the bag, she realized that he didn’t even use tissue paper to hide the present. 

Her fingers brushed against something smooth. Grabbing the object carefully, she pulled it out of the bag. It was a beautiful wooden box, its edges intricately carved. The top was painted a stunning starry landscape. She went to open the box, only to find a heart-shaped lock keeping it shut.

“The key is in the bag too,” Gray said, noticing her confusion.

She fished inside the gift bag for the key, inserting it into the lock and opening the box. The inside was lined with velvet, and the top had a small mirror glued to it. Lined pads were in the box, clueing Lucy into what the box was.

“It’s a jewelry box,” Gray said, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I made it myself.” Smiling over at his girlfriend, he added, “Juvia painted the top though.”

“Thank you, Gray!” Lucy exclaimed, jumping up from the couch and hugging the boy. “It’s beautiful! I can’t believe you made it yourself!”

“Don’t mention it. I figured it’d be better than leaving your locket in a tampon box. That’s what the lock is for. Now you can keep it somewhere clean and safe.”

Tears pricked Lucy’s eyes. He made it so that she can hide her locket? Throwing her arms around the boy, she thanked him again, all the while wondering how she managed to find such great friends. She also made sure to thank Juvia for the beautiful painting she did on the box. 

         As the group split up into pairs to gush over their presents, Lucy excused herself to go to the restroom. When she was finished, she was surprised to find Natsu waiting outside the door. 

  “What are you doing?” the girl asked. She had known him long enough to recognize that mischievous glint in his eyes. 

   Instead of replying, the boy simply pointed up. Following his finger, Lucy found mistletoe taped in the doorway of the bathroom, hanging above them. Natsu’s hand slid up her thigh below her skirt. 

   “Are you crazy?” Lucy whispered, peering over his shoulder to make sure nobody was coming. “Everyone is here right now! We could get caught!”

   “Good luck being quiet then,” Natsu replied with an evil grin. He slid his hand up to her rear, giving it a squeeze. Pushing her hair out of the way, he sank his lips over her neck. 

   Lucy gnawed on her lower lip in hopes of staying quiet. “You know, a mistletoe is just for a quick kiss on the lips, not this.”

   Natsu shrugged, continuing his exploration of her neck. His hands slowly grazed her curves until brushing against the side of her breasts. Before he could grab them, Lucy reluctantly pulled away from him with a glare. 

   “Not while our friends are here!” she said, smoothing out her dress. She lightly smacked his hand away when he tried to reach out to her again. Sticking her tongue out at him playfully, she scurried off to join the rest of their friends back in the living room. Natsu chuckled before following after her. 

   Eventually, the group cleaned up the apartment as it was time to head back to Fairy Tail for the next Christmas party. 

   “Are you sure you don’t wanna join us, Lucy?” Gray asked. 

   Lucy nodded, faking a yawn. “Yeah, I’m a bit tired now. But I’ll see you guys tomorrow!” The only person she told about the real reason she didn’t want to go to Fairy Tail was Natsu. She didn’t want the others to worry and try to reassure her. She was fine with them going to celebrate with the rest of the immortals. She was happy enough with the time she got to spend with them. 

   The group nodded, saying their last goodbyes before heading out the door. Natsu stayed behind. 

   “Are you really sure about this?” he asked. He still hated the thought of leaving her by herself on Christmas.

   Lucy smiled. “Yes, Natsu. I’m fine, I promise.”

   “We can just stay in my room the whole time if you’re that worried about Mira!”

   “No. I want you to be able to celebrate with everyone. And I’m sure they’re looking forward to celebrating with you too. I’m fine, Natsu. Now shoo.”

   Natsu sighed in defeat. “Alright, but I’m coming right back here later tonight, okay? And if you change your mind, let me know and I’ll come walk you to Fairy Tail. Or if you get lonely I can come here.”

   “Yeah, yeah, I understand. Now go. You’re already late enough as it is.”

   Natsu gave her a quick kiss. “I’ll see you later.” 

   Before he could change his mind, Lucy waved and quickly shut the door, locking it so he knew she was serious about wanting him to have fun with everyone else. Staring at her empty apartment, admittedly the girl did feel a pinch of loneliness. Regardless, this was the best Christmas she’d had since her first life, she could deal with a couple of hours on her own. Grabbing a cup of hot chocolate, she curled up in a thick blanket and turned on a Christmas movie. The loneliness she felt quickly faded away. 

   Natsu cheered with the rest of the immortals, clinking his glass of spiked eggnog with everyone else. They had just finished the annual Fairy Tail Secret Santa. For this Secret Santa, he was assigned Cana, who was by far one of the easiest people to shop for. Give the girl a bottle of booze and she’s indebted to you for life. 

   He had also gotten a gift from Juvia, who was his Secret Santa. It was a hoodie from his favorite band, along with their newest CD. He still had to give Lucy her gifts later, and was eager to see what she got him as well. This year was shaping up to be the best Christmas ever. 

   When the party died down and people started heading to their rooms, Natsu decided that it was time to head back to Lucy’s. He went to his room to grab the gift he kept stashed away so that she wouldn’t find it. 

   “You heading over to Lucy’s now?” Gray asked after entering their room. 

   “Yep. Just had to get her present first.”

   “So, what’s the real reason she didn’t want to come over here? She wasn’t really tired, right? Is she still feeling nervous around everyone?” 

   “Kinda,” Natsu answered, rubbing the back of his head. “Truthfully it’s just Mira.”

   Gray winced. “Oh. Yeah, that makes sense.” 

   Mira was a nice girl, one of the nicest he had ever known. Unfortunately, her past with the mortals was the most traumatizing story he had ever heard. It was one that everyone knew not to ever bring up, for they knew the girl was haunted by it everyday. Nobody could blame her for keeping her guard up around Lucy, nor could they blame her for being the only immortal to turn down a chance at seeing the outside world. 

   “Yeah. I told Lucy that it wasn’t personal and that Mira was a bit different than the rest of us, but she still decided to stay home. She didn’t want Mira feeling uncomfortable on Christmas.”

   Gray smiled. “Lucy’s a really nice girl, huh.”

   “Yep,” Natsu replied with a grin of his own. “Anyways, I’m out of here.” 

   With hurried steps, the boy rushed up the stairs of the basement and out the door. He made sure to lock the doors to the pub behind him since the immortals were free to roam the top floor on Christmas. 

   Excited to see Lucy and still feeling guilty for leaving her, Natsu wasted no time in unlocking the door and closing it behind him. What he saw when he turned around made his jaw drop to the floor. 

There in the living room stood Lucy, practically naked. She still adorned the Santa hat she wore earlier, but she had discarded the dress. Instead, she had a Christmas bow taped to the middle of her collarbone, the ends flowing and covering her nipples. She also wore red underwear with white trimming on the edges. 

   “Welcome back,” Lucy said, her hands behind her back. 

   “How long were you waiting there like that?” Natsu asked, nearly choking on his tongue while he ogled her. 

   “Not too long.” Lucy lifted her arm above her head, revealing a mistletoe in her hand. “Well? Are you going to join me?”

   Natsu nodded his head so fast it felt like it was going to fall off. He ripped off his pants and rushed towards her, nearly tripping in his haste. Grabbing her by the hips, he crashed his lips upon hers. 

   “I take it this is my Christmas present?” he asked with a grin, lightly tugging the end of the bow that was taped to her. 

   “Yep. Wanna unwrap me?” 

   Natsu’s hands eagerly ripped the bow off of her before carrying her to the bed. Dropping her on the bed, he quickly tore off his shirt. Lucy squirmed below him, anticipation filling her fingertips as she tugged on his boxers. Without wasting another second, he took them off along with hers. 

   “You are so hot, Lucy,” Natsu said as he pressed his face between her breasts. He always enjoyed the feeling of being between them. 

   “Oh yeah?” Lucy replied with a smile. His praise always managed to turn her on. 

   “Mhmm. I mean, you were practically naked when I got here.”

   “Because I’ve been looking forward to this all day. Now, are you going to get me off or am I going to have to do it myself?”

   Natsu grinned before grabbing her breast in one hand while nuzzling the other. He could feel Lucy moving below him, trying to guide his cock to her folds. In his haze, he remembered the last time they had sex. 

   “That’s right, I have to repay you for last time,” Natsu said.

   “Hmm?” Lucy absentmindedly hummed out, too focused on the work he was doing on her breasts. 

   Instead of using his words to explain, Natsu trailed kisses from her breasts down to her navel, then to her thighs. He left feather-light kisses over right thigh, hovering over her folds before moving to her left. He stifled a laugh as he could feel Lucy getting impatient every time he neared her folds. Unable to hold himself back for too long, he pressed his lips against her flesh, slowly sucking on her skin. 

   Lucy nearly screamed at the sudden pleasure that raked her body the moment Natsu’s lips touched her sensitive skin. Her breaths grew louder as his lips worked over her. When his tongue suddenly grazed her clitoris, she let out a harsh breath. 

   “Fuck,” she said, covering her mouth with one hand while the other gripped the sheets. 

   Natsu glanced up at her with a proud grin. Grabbing her wrist, he pinned it to her side. 

   “I wanna hear you,” he said before returning his lips to her flesh. His tongue circled around her entrance before delving into her. Since he stopped her from covering her mouth, she opted for grabbing his hair instead, finding that she had to do something with her hands. His mouth was driving her crazy. 

   “N-Natsu,” she breathed out. “I’m not going to last long at this rate.”

   “That’s fine,” he replied, his breath warm against her flesh. It sent a shiver down her spine. “I want to make you cum like this anyways.”

   Not bothering to wait for her reply, he dragged his tongue over her clitoris before giving it a hard kiss. Lucy screamed out in pleasure, thrusting her hips and grinding his face. Switching from kissing and licking, he knew that Lucy was about to break, judging from her quick breaths and the way her legs shook around his neck. In seconds, she shuddered against him, her grip tightening on his hair as she moaned out his name. 

   When it was clear she was done, Natsu laid beside her with a grin. 

   “Well? How was it?” he asked. Though, he could tell from her flushed cheeks that it was more than good.

   Lucy tried to regain her breath as she replied, “We’re definitely doing that again sometime.”

   “Sounds good to me.”

   “Well, it’s your turn now!” Lucy exclaimed, sitting up. She positioned herself between his legs, stroking his hot shaft. 

   Taking a quick peek at him, she found his eyes squeezed shut as he enjoyed himself. Not wanting to keep him waiting, Lucy dragged her tongue against his cock before shoving it in her mouth. She started slow, still not used to this yet. When she started to feel more comfortable, she pushed herself further, allowing his whole shaft into her mouth. 

   “Fuck, Lucy,” Natsu ground out. 

   Knowing that he enjoyed it, Lucy picked up the pace while still going as far as she could. Tears pricked her eyes, but she ignored it in favor of pleasuring him the way he did for her.  

   Natsu tried to control his breathing, but the way Lucy’s hot mouth tugged on his cock had him nearing sweet release. 

   “L-Lucy, I’m about to cum,” he warned. 

   The blonde only nodded. That only made the fire in Natsu burn hotter. 

   Lucy, feeling adventurous, decided she wanted to try something new. Something that she had read about in a mature book once. 

   Instead of shoving his cock as far as she could in her mouth, she went halfway down his shaft. Using her hand, she pumped the lower half while sucking the top. 

   In seconds, Lucy felt something hot shoot into her mouth as Natsu shook beneath her with a groan. She allowed him to ride out his orgasm before eventually withdrawing. Not knowing what to do with the liquid in her mouth, she quickly gulped it down. 

   Natsu winced. “Sorry, was it gross?”

   Lucy shook her head. “Not at all, no need to apologize. I wanted to do it.” 

   Natsu smiled. The two laid there in a content silence, their bodies tired. When they finally regained their energy, Lucy stood up from the bed and grabbed something from the closet. Turning around, she smiled while holding a neatly wrapped gift. 

   “You got me a gift?” Natsu asked, his voice laced with childlike excitement. 

   “Duh! You didn’t really think sex was your only gift, right?” Handing him the gift, she watched as he tore off the wrapping paper and quickly opened the box to reveal a painting of him and Igneel. 

   Natsu looked up at Lucy with watery eyes. “W-What… How did you do this?”

   “I commissioned an artist to paint it for me,” she answered. “I noticed that the picture you have of you and Igneel was old and a little torn, probably because of how much time had passed since it was printed. I didn’t want it to get ruined since it’s your only picture with Igneel, so I had someone recreate it. A canvas is more durable than a picture, so hopefully it’ll-!”

   Lucy’s words were cut short as Natsu pulled her in for a tight hug. She could feel the light tremors of his body. Smiling, she wrapped her arms around him and allowed him to cry onto her shoulder. 

   “Do you like it?” she asked. 

   Natsu pulled away, wiping his eyes before smiling at her. “I love it. Thanks, Lucy. Oh, I got you a gift too.” Grabbing his previously discarded sweater, he pulled out a long, velvet box from the pocket. “Sorry, I didn’t have time to wrap it. And it’s not as good as the gift you gave me…”

   Lucy lifted his chin to meet his gaze. “I’ll love it. Don’t worry. Can I see what it is?”

   Natsu nodded, handing her the box and watching as she opened it. Upon doing so, Lucy gasped, one of her hands flying up to her mouth. Inside the box was a beautiful necklace with dangling diamond charms of constellations. 

   “Natsu, it’s beautiful!” she exclaimed. She gave him a worried look. “This must have cost a fortune!”

   The boy shrugged with a laugh. “Don’t worry about that. My housing and tuition is free, so I have a good amount of money saved up. You like it?”

   Lucy nodded, wiping a tear from her eye. She had never received a Christmas gift from a boyfriend before, and his knocked it out of the park. 

   “Of course I do! It’s beautiful! Thank you so much, Natsu!” 

   “I’m sorry mine isn’t as sentimental as yours. I probably should’ve put more thought into it. I just know you really like stars, so I wanted to get you something related to that.”

   Lucy grabbed his hand with a smile. “Do you know why I love the stars?” After he shook his head, she continued, “It’s because of my first mother. We used to stargaze every night, and she taught me about a bunch of constellations, all of them being on this necklace. This necklace is plenty sentimental. Thank you, Natsu. I love it so much.”

   They hugged again. 

   “Merry Christmas, Lucy.”

   “Merry Christmas, Natsu.”

[lu-undy]

Happy birthday, Solitude But Two!

Here is a bonus Chapter!

"You guys will be alright, yeah?" 

"Of course, Micky, it's not the first time you leave the kitties with us." 

"But it's gonna be more than an evenin' this time. Also, before I forget, I put one of Lu's shirts in the bag, they need it to sleep, don't forget it or they'll harass you until you give it to them."

Perle was gladly following Caroline around while Soot lay on Mike's lap, purring as the old man gently massaged the black cat. 

"Bah, we raised you and we used to have cats as well as dogs."

"Your Mum's right." Mike answered from the sofa. "We'll be fine. You go and have fun with Lucien. Did you tell him by the way?" 

"Nah, not yet. I'm keepin' it a surprise for him. Speaking of, I really gotta go or we’ll be late. He’s waitin’ to have lunch with me before I take him." 

"You arranged everythin'?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah, almost. Right, you guys take care, alright?"

"We will, Micky, you go and have your fun with your Lu'." Caroline answered as Mundy opened the front door.

"Meow!" Perle came trotting to her father and Soot jumped out of Mike's lap to join her. 

"Oh, sure, baby, c'mere you guys…" Mundy squatted down and dealt headbutts and scratches left and right to both the felines. "You behave with Grandma and Grandpa, yeah?" 

"Meow." 

"Good babies." He left a kiss on their heads and pushed himself back to stand up. "See ya!"

"See you in a few weeks, Micky!" 

A few moments later, the Aussie was on his motorcycle, racing through the streets and in his own mind. He had been preparing this for a while now. 

It had been one year. 

One year since he had put a ring on Lucien's finger and vice versa. Well, it would be one year exactly in a few days and this was what it was all about, celebrating the first anniversary of Lucien and him being… well… husbands? 

Of course, their legal status remained single but in their hearts and their heads, they were very much taken and faithful to each other. Mundy never did attract a lot of attention from ladies and gents, but Lucien… 

Every time the couple was having dinner outside, or enjoying a party with the few friends they had made, one person would walk to Lucien and hit on him. The first time it happened, it was a woman but Mundy nonetheless felt the itch to show her the rings, Lucien's and his. As he came close to his lover, he heard Lucien chuckle at the poor woman's attempt to pull her into her bed. He remembered it with a smile now…

“Oh, here you are, Mundy.”

“Hey, Lu.”

The woman had raised her eyes to the Aussie. 

“This your friend?” She asked. 

“More than that…” Lucien put a hand on Mundy’s chest and leaned on him. “Please meet my everything, Mundy. Mundy, this is the charming Amanda.”

“Hey there.” Mundy had stuck to being cold but polite, a defensive hand went to grab his Lucien and pull him to himself, almost defensively. 

“What d’you mean, ‘your everything’?” She chuckled with a raised eyebrow, confused and slightly mocking. 

“I mean this.” Lucien answered and pulled Mudy’s neck down for the Aussie to be at his lips height. He pushed a loving kiss on his lips and released him. Mund opened his eyes again, his mind still on the kiss even though Lucien’s lips had parted from his. 

Amanda’s jaw hung low and wide. 

“He is my husband, look!” Lucien went on, uphased. “This is the ring. It has only been a few months, mind you, time flies, but we love each other as if we were half our ages… Oh? Amanda?”

The woman had spun on her heels and left, leaving Lucien to chuckle and turn back to Mundy. 

“So, mon loup, are you enjoying your evening?” 

[My wolf]

“Uh… Y-yeah… Wasn’t she hittin’ on you?” Mundy nodded in the direction of the woman. 

“She was, very much.” Lucien answered. “But for some reason she left now. I cannot think why… Women shall remain a mystery!”

“Maybe that’s cause you snogged me like there’s no tomorrow in front of her?” Mundy answered.

“Oh, that? Maybe.” Lucien answered and leaned against Mundy’s shoulder again. He stared at the woman refilling her glass with whatever strong alcohol she could find before he raised his light blue eyes to his lover. 

They exchanged a smile. 

“You’re a devil, you know that?” Mundy said. 

“Maybe, but I am having great fun.”

“Why did you do that to her? You could have just said that you were already with someone.”

“And miss this laughter we shared? For nothing in the world. This ring that she chose to ignore,” Lucien raised his hand to Mundy. “It means that I vowed to make you happy. You did laugh, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I did. “

“Then I am upholding my vows. Très bien.”

[Very well] 

 “You’re mean, Lu’. Look at her now…”

“I am not mean. If anything, she was.”

“What?!” Mundys eyebrows jumped in surprise.

“I am wearing my engagement ring and she still chooses to approach me. She knew she was taking a risk and she liked the thrill of it. Well, let this be a lesson for her: not all the risks are worth taking, Madame Amanda.”

“Well, if you put it that way…” Mundy agreed. 

And Mundy reached his destination, which pulled him out of his daydream. He parked the motorcycle safely and entered his house. 

“Mon loup, c’est toi?”

[My wolf, is that you?]

“Oui, mon amour.”

[Yes, my love.]

Lucien rose from his armchair and met his love at the front door. 

"Your accent when you speak French is delicious…" He said before pushing himself to the tip of his toes and kissing Mundy. 

"I'm makin' progress, aren't I?" Mundy laced his arms around Lucien's waist.

"Oui, but please, never lose your accent." 

"If it goes like it does with you, I'll still have my accent in a hundred years."

"Are you saying I am old?" Lucien frowned in an exaggeratedly sad way. 

"I'm not the one spendin' my time sayin' 'You'll see when you get to my age', eh!"

"Pfff…" 

They chuckled together.

"You ready?" Mundy asked. 

"Where are you taking me for lunch?"

"Where d'you think?"

"Hm…" The couple exited the house and Mundy locked the door as Lucien thought out loud. "Maybe the new Lebanese place that opened in town? I am told it is exquisite and very reasonable in price." 

"Since when d'you care about the price of things?" Mundy smiled. "Oh, no, no, Lu', we're not goin' with the bike. I called a taxi." 

"Oh? This means that you intend to get drunk, so maybe the Irish pub? But isn't it early to get drunk?"

"Never too early to be with you, baby." Mundy raised his arm for the taxi to stop while Lucien's blush took a moment to fade. 

They both embarked in the taxi. 

"Where to, Sir?" The driver asked. 

"Where I told you on the phone, please." Mundy answered. 

"Alright." The driver let his foot press on the gas pedal and off they all went. 

"Tu me caches des secrets?"

[You are holding secrets from me?]

"Oui." Mundy answered. 

"Dis-moi où tu m'emmènes." Lucien asked.

[Tell me where you are taking me.]

Mundy shook his head and took a glance in the inside rear view mirror. The driver was busy. Good. The Aussie slid his hand to take his lover’s. 

“C’est une surprise, doll.” He answered with his accent. 

[It’s a surprise.]

“D’accord.” Lucien smiled and nodded.

[Very well.]

And the ride took them away from where the usual restaurants the couple frequented used to go. Lucien straightened his back and looked through the window. He started frowning when he saw the control tower of the airport, the same one he had landed in, a few years ago now. And it got him thinking. What if he could go back and see the Lucien that disembarked on the plane that day. Would the slightly younger Lucien believe him if he had told him what he would become? What would he even tell him? 

Tu rencontreras l’homme de ta vie et ta vie basculera. Tu ne demanderas plus comment ni pourquoi. Tu vivras l’instant, tout simplement, comme quand tu avais vingt ans. Tu vivras et aimeras, comme quand tu avais vingt ans. Tu seras heureux comme jamais tu ne l’as été. 

[You will meet the man of your life and your life will flip upside down. You will not wonder how or why anymore. You will live the instant, simply, as you did when you were twenty. You will live and you will love, as you did when you were twenty. You will be happy as you never were before.]

Would the younger Lucien believe him or would he laugh at him, scornful and disdainful, before he would realise that perhaps, the older him was senile, old, and out of his mind? 

Pff, in the end, Lucien did not even care. He smiled at that version of himself. The bitter, cynical and lonely old man. He was now even older, but so much happier…! 

"Lu'?" 

Mundy's voice broke the Frenchman's train of thought. 

"Oui?" 

"Je t'aime." 

[I love you.] 

Mundy said those words with such honesty in his eyes that Lucien's cheeks turned pink on their own. 

"Moi aussi."

[Me too.]

He smiled back at him and clenched his fingers a bit harder between Mundy's. 

"Alright, we're gettin' there, Sir. Which door should I drop you at?" The driver asked. 

"Departures, please." Mundy answered, his eyes sealed on Lucien's and the Frenchman's eyebrows jumped. 

"Departures?" He repeated.

"Yeah."

"Are we… travelling?"

"Yeah." 

"But Mundy, we haven't taken any luggage with us?" 

"Don't be silly." Mundy gently chuckled as the driver parked. 

Both men exited the car and Mundy winked at Lucien. 

"C'mon, Lu', keep up! We don't wanna miss the flight��!"

"W-wait!" Lucien caught up with his lover. 

The airport was as busy as an anthill. People coming, going, running, pushing carts, holding their hats on their heads as they ran. 

"Mundy, were you serious?" 

"Course I am! We're goin', c'mon!" Mundy glanced up at a screen and quickly spun on his heels to change direction. Lucien followed, sometimes even trotting after his lover. 

"But where are we going?" 

"Told you, and in French at that, it's a surprise." 

"You cannot keep the surprise going forever, I will soon know." Lucien answered. 

"Yeah, but meanwhile, I'm likin' this whole 'Lu' doesn't know what's happenin'' business." Mundy smirked and looked down at Lucien, which he knew the Frenchman had a weakness for. 

"I shall find out myself!"

"Alright, good luck, Sherlock." Mundy winked and Lucien smiled. 

They walked through halls and corridors. 

"Uh, uh, uh! Gimme what you took from my pocket back!" Mundy stopped walking and turned to Lucien

"How could you possibly know?!" Lucien stopped. "I made every effort for you not to feel it!"

"You stole somethin' from my back pocket." Mundy said and opened his palm flat. "Give it back…" 

"How did you know?" Lucien frowned. 

Mundy sighed with a smile. He took the step that separated him from his lover and bent slightly such that his lips were next to the Frenchman's ear.

"I felt you touched my butt, and I liked it."

"Ah…" Lucien lowered his head and raised the plane tickets that he had taken from Mundy's back pocket. 

"Thank you, now stop bein' a spook and follow me."

They went on following sign after sign and looking at all the screens they met. 

"Here, that's the search thingy. I hope you don't have your blade with you." Mundy said as they queued. 

"What do you take me for?"

Both men started undoing their belts. Mundy removed his glasses and his hat. When the Aussie finished, he walked through the metal detector and soon after, his lover followed him. 

BEEP! 

"Ah, oui, I must explain myself." Lucien calmly said and Mundy observed the scene. "This is my passport. If you run a check on me, you will understand." 

The security employee took the passport and disappeared for a while. He came back and his colleague stopped him. 

"Hey, don't let him go, he had a knife in his belongings!"

"No, we have to let him go." The man handed Lucien his passport back. "With the knife and all. Have a good day, Sir, and sorry for the inconvenience." 

"No problem, you are but doing your job, Monsieur." Lucien took his belongings back and left the area. "Mundy? Are you coming? I do not know which gate we should head to."

Mundy had been standing there, his belt half put on, half still dangling down. His jaw had dropped as he watched. 

"Uh, y-yeah."

"Mundy." Lucien stopped him. 

"Yeah?" 

"Maybe you should finish putting your belt first?" Lucien tilted his head on the side and Mundy looked down at his waist. 

"Ah, uh, yeah…" 

A few moments later, both of them were standing in front of a screen. 

"Well, this is the moment where you'll see where I'm takin' you, doll." 

"Oui, it is. So? Which gate shall we go to?" 

"Forty-five." 

Lucien's eyes scanned the screen. 

"Oh… Mundy, but… Why Paris?" 

"Because I love you, and I wanna see what it's like over there."

"I…"

"C'mon, let's go." 

When they sat on the metallic, back-breaking bench at the gate, they chose a corner where they could be alone and in peace.

"Mundy, why go to Paris, honestly?" Lucien looked up at his lover. 

"Told you. I wanna see what your life was like when you were there. I mean… I know you told me you're not from there. But still… Besides, you've been livin' with me in Oz for a while, you've seen me and my life, I wanna see yours."

"I have indeed seen the Bushman in his natural habitat." Both exchanged a chuckle. 

"Look, if you don't want it, we can go back home. I don't wanna force you, baby." Mundy cast his eye around and dropped his hat on his thigh. He then slid his hand and pulled Lucien's underneath it. The Frenchman felt Mundy's thumb brush against the back of his hand.

"So, what d'you say?" Mundy asked.

"I say we go and I will show you the city where I grew up." Lucien answered. 

"You sure?" 

"We are about to board, Mundy, it is rather late to turn and go back home, non?" 

"No, not at all. If you feel awkward or anythin', we can go back home. I wanted to make it a surprise for you but the point's not for you to feel weird about it." 

"Non, Mundy, you are right. I should show you." Lucien clenched his grip on Mundy's hand. 

"You sure? I mean, are you happy to do it?"

"Delighted."

And Mundy took a second to stare in his lover’s eyes. Was he lying just to please him? To not make him feel awkward? The Aussie slightly squinted. He looked through the crystal clear irises to see the soul beyond them. Were Lucien’s lips deceiving the Aussie? Bah, it wouldn’t be the first time but… When was the last time that Lucien had lied?

Hm. 

Oh! Yeah, Mundy remembered it, it was… 

At the lake, almost exactly one year before, the wig. Lucien had worn a wig because he thought his lover could only look at him with the eyes of love when he made himself more feminine. It was obviously wrong and Mundy had tossed the long-haired lie away. That was Lucie’s last one.

Mundy blinked and his eyebrow relaxed. Lucien was not lying. He was looking up at the Aussie with eyes that screamed his limitless love for him. 

“Alright then, doll. Glad you’re happy to show me around.”

“Of course.” Lucien answered. “I am surprised by this trip but welcome it warmly. I think we should probably have done that before but I suppose we did not stop to think about it.”

“Yeah, that’s true. Got any ideas on what we should see?”

“Apart from the classics like the Tour Eiffel, the Arc de triomphe, and other tourist attractions? Hm, I shall think about it.”

“Can I ask you to show me some stuff in particular?”

“But of course. What do you have in mind?”

“Where you lived, where you worked, places you liked to eat at, that kind of thing.” 

"I will."

They exchanged a conniving smile and the call to board the plane interrupted them. 

"Ready, baby?" 

"Oui." 

"Right, let's go and queue." 

A few minutes later, both found their seats in the plane and Mundy looked through the window. The sky was blue despite the relative cold of winter. Well, once in Paris, it will be summer… The plane took off and when the couple was higher in the sky than the clouds themselves, Lucien looked up at Mundy on his left. 

“I am surprised.”

“You’d better. Been hidin’ evidence of everything.”

“How did you do it?”

“Gave the tickets and everything to my Mum.” Mundy smiled. “I even tried to not think about it. I never know with you; could turn out that you can read my thoughts or somethin’.”

Lucien chuckled. 

“I could indeed.” He confirmed with a lingering smirk on his lips. “However, I choose not to.”

“Why?”

“The Lucien of the previous life used to read minds because he needed it.”

“And now it’s just a hobby?” Mundy chuckled. 

“Almost.” Lucien answered. “Non, I value my relationship too much with you to not give you the same privacy that you give me. It is a question of respect. However, it is cute to see you try to read me to see if I lie sometimes.”

“Ah, uh, well…” Mundy scratched the back of his head. “Sorry...  I don’t want you to think that I don’t trust you…”

“Not at all. It gives me the impression that you really want to know what is going on in my head, which I appreciate.”

“Really?”

“Oui, I like this side of you, the side that wants to read all my fears in my eyes before I am fully aware of them.”

Mundy blushed. 

“Yeah, well… Sorry, can’t help it.”

“It is a gift and a blessing, thank you for being so.”

“You’re welcome, baby. But uh, Lu’?”

“Oui?”

“Why did you say you were surprised?”

“Ah…” Lucien chuckled before he even gave the answer. “I did not take you for the business class ticket kind of a man.”

“I was gonna go for the economy thing, but then Mum said that in business we’d get a booth and we wouldn’t be bothered by people givin’ us looks. So I can do this…” Mundy reached for Lucien’s hand and took it. “And no one’ll look weird at us.”

“Cutely thoughtful of you, mon loup.”

“You can thank my Mum for that.”

Both chuckled and Lucien leaned his head on Mundy's shoulder. 

“I will, but in the meantime, thank you, mon amour.”

Minutes passed that turned into hours and the sky naturally darkened. After the dinner they were handed in, the couple closed their eyes. 

“Mornin’, luv’.”

“Bonjour, mon amour.”

[Good morning, my love.]

Both yawned, woken up by the bright morning sun above the clouds. 

“Slept well?”

“I think my neck will hate me for a few hours only. What about you?”

“My legs…”

“How long do we have left until we land?”

“Uh…” Mundy checked his watch. “A few hours…?”

“Mundy.”

“Some number of hours…?”

“Mon loup.”

“Alright, ok, we got three hours left.”

“That isn’t that bad, actually.” Lucien answered, surprised.

“Yup. Oh, Lu’, I just thought about something.”

“Oui?”

“Uhm… Y’know how I told you I wanted to visit your workplace?”

“Oui, I remember.”

“How’re you gonna do it? I mean you're supposed to be dead for the Ministry back there, aren’t you?”

“Indeed, I am. You will have to call me by my second name when we get there so as not to raise suspicions.”

“But you still look like yourself. People will recognise you, won’t they?”

“Non, they will not. I was once a spy: entering places I shouldn't be while being someone I am not was my occupation for decades and not a trade easily forgotten.” Lucien raised his eyes to Mundy. “Do not worry, I will show you the Ministry.” He smiled tenderly.

“Alright, I trust you. But if you think we can’t make it or somethin’, there’s no shame in sayin’ it.”

“Non, absolutely not, you are right. But this will be easy.”

A few hours and a nap later, the pilot announced the imminent landing. Mundy looked at the city below the plane. He could see a river flowing, zigzagging through the capital. 

“C’est la Seine.”

[It is the Seine.]

“Oh…”

“Ca, c’est l’île Saint-Louis… Et ça ? tu peux me dire ce que c’est ?”

[This is the Saint-Louis Island… And this? Can you tell me what it is?]

Lucien pointed and Mundy squinted to see better. 

“It’s… Oh! C’est la Tour Eiffel, non?”

[It’s the Eiffel Tower, isn’t it?]

Mundy answered in French and Lucien looked at him as he always did, yet each time, the Aussie couldn’t help but fall slightly deeper for his lover. 

“Oui, c’est la tour Eiffel.”

[Yes, it is the Eiffel Tower.]

Lucien confirmed. 

“It’s the real thing? It’s tiny…”

Lucien’s smile vanished. 

“I beg your pardon?”

“It’s tiny! I thought it was supposed to be very tall!”

“Well, you will climb it using the stairs and I swear to God your thighs will make you regret these words!” Lucien answered and Lundy burst into laughter. 

“I’m jokin’, you sensitive, patriotic old baby…”

“Hm, joking now, aren’t you…? I will still make you climb to the top of it on the stairs.”

“How many steps is it to the top, d’you know?”

“One thousand six hundred and sixty-five. It takes between half an hour and forty-five minutes to climb it to the second floor which is not even the top.”

“You're pulling that out of your arse, aren’t you?”

“You shall see….!” Lucien leaned back on his seat with a smug smile on his lips. 

“Hm… Hold on, we aren’t gettin’ closer to the ground, the Eiffel Tower’s still tiny…”

“It is because it is forbidden to fly over Paris.”

“Are you serious?”

“Oui, I am, it has been so since the Second World War, if I remember correctly.”

“Woah… You guys know no Germans are gonna come and bully you again, don’t you?”

“We know. But we would rather keep our sky blue and free of planes.” Lucien answered. 

“Fair enough. Makes it more calm I guess."

When the plane landed and both made it through, Mundy held Lucien back in front of the airport's closed doors. 

"Hold on, before we step into actual Paris…"

"Oui?"

"I love you, Lu'." 

Lucien smiled. 

"I love you too."

"Alright, now, we can go." 

They took a step more and the doors slid open. The first rays on the Parisian summer sun hit their skin warmly and the lightest of breezes grazed their cheeks before rolling up to the sky. 

“Here we are then, eh? Paris.” Mundy said looking around him.

“We are outside of the city itself but I guess you booked a hotel inside?” Lucien asked.

“Actually, I didn’t.”

“Oh?” Lucien raised surprised eyebrows. 

“I was kind of counting on you to know where to go…?” Mundy admitted with a half ashamed smile.

“Oh, of course. I have recommendations.”

“You choose then, Lu’. I looked up the hotels and stuff but there were too many of them and I didn’t know which one to pick.”

“It is fine, let us call a taxi, I know where we should go.” Lucien smiled.

“Thanks, Lu’.”

“My pleasure.”

After half an hour inside a taxi, both stepped out in front of a hotel and Lucien waited for the car to disappear behind him. 

“Welcome to the Ritz.” Lucien said and Mundy looked up to take the large three-floor building in. The architecture was nothing like he had seen so far. At the end of a flight of stairs hidden by a red carpet, the doors stood wide and tall between spiral-trimmed slim plants and equally fancy dressed porters. A French flag was flying above the double door that put a slight proud smile on Lucien’s lips. The walls were all made out of light beige stone and on each floor, rectangular windows were neatly and equally spaced. On the first floor were slim balconies adorned with a golden plated logo of the hotel. As Mundy’s eyes followed the column of clean stones, jumping from one window to the one above, he noticed that high up, the roof was covered in dark slate with windows surrounded by smoothly moulded, light beige stone.

“Gosh…”

“Come on, we both need a shower at least.” Lucien smiled at how absorbed Mundy was by the looks of the building. 

The couple decided to take a few days of rest and let the jet-lag fade away slowly. They had their clothes bought and delivered to them at the hotel and enjoyed their meals either in their suite or in the restaurant downstairs. 

“What did you say the room we’re in was called?”

Lucien chuckled. 

“It is not a room, but a suite, mon amour, and it is called the Coco Chanel suite.”

“Funny name…”

“It is the name of a prestigious designer. She designed the room herself.”

“She was French?”

“Oui, she was.”

“Ah, guess it makes sense… How much is it per night?”

“A price that pales next to that of your company.” Lucien poetically answered. 

“Thanks, Lu, but I meant in Francs?”

“About a hundred…”

“Oh that’s quite cheap for a suite.”

“... Thousand Francs per night.”

“WHAT?!” Mundy almost spat his coffee out.

Lucien burst out laughing, catching his breath in the short little snorts that Mundy fell in love with. 

The next couple of days were spent visiting all the tourist-heavy places: the Eiffel Tower, the cathedral of Notre-Dame, the Palace of Versailles… Mundy saw more paintings and sculptures in those few days than he did in his entire life.

“Stop.” 

Lucien’s voice was firm, too firm and cold to be addressing Mundy. The Aussie turned and saw Lucien with his hand on a young man's wrist. 

“Hold on, that’s my wallet in your hand…!” Mundy snatched it back from the stranger's hand. 

“La prochaine fois que tu pick-pocket quelqu’un, choisis mieux ta cible et ne regarde pas autant que ça à droite et à gauche, on te voit venir à des kilomètres.”

[Next time you pickpocket someone, choose your target more carefully and don’t look so much left and right, you are telegraphing all your moves.] 

The young man opened wide eyes and as soon as Lucien released his wrist, he darted off. 

“Attends.”

He stopped and turned to Lucien, a few metres away from him. 

“Tiens. Et tu n’es pas mauvais, tu devrais en faire quelque chose.”

[Here. And you are not bad, you should do something out of it.]

Lucien handed him a note. The young man took it and left. 

“You gave him money?” Mundy asked. 

“Oui.” Lucien resumed his walk and Mundy followed him. 

“Why?”

“Because stealing is rarely a hobby. If one does it, it is out of necessity. Throwing  this young man in a cell will not help him at all. On the other hand, helping him such should.”

Mundy fell silent for a moment. 

“Besides,” Lucien started speaking again. “I was once this young man, only I never got caught.”

The next day, the couple woke up normally. Good, the jet-lag had finally passed. 

“Mundy?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you want to visit the ministry today?”

The half woken up Australian opened wide eyes in a flash. 

“Sure. Uhm, how are we gonna do this?”

“I have an idea. But I need to call Maurice first. You go and take a shower, I will telephone him and will let you know.”

“Alright.”

A couple of hours later, both men stood in front of an elegant building in the heart of the fifth district of Paris, or as Mundy liked to call it ‘the fancy one”. 

“Shall we?” Lucien asked. 

“I’d follow you but ho ‘re we gonna go through these soldiers?”

Two military looking people were guarding the entry and checking everyones credentials. 

“As easy as just follow me.” Lucien answered with a smile before he took the flight of stairs up and met with the soldiers. 

“Bonjour, Messieurs. Nous venons de la part de Maurice de Ronzières, en Australie.”

[Good morning gentlemen. We come on behalf of Maurice de Ronzières, in Australia.]

“Je dois vérifier.”

[I must check.]

“Faites donc.”

[Pray do.]

Both men waited at the door and when the guard came back to them, he let them in. 

“Gosh, Lu’ - I mean, Louis… We’re in…”

“Oui, welcome to a place that they redecorated and I barely recognise…” Lucien shook his head disappointedly as he held his hips.

“That means we can’t visit it cause you don’t know where stuff is anymore?”

“Non, non.”

“Then why d’you look uh… not happy with it?”

“Because they redecorated and made it is ugly!” Lucien raised his arms in the air before letting them drop again. “Had I been still alive, I would have given the Minister of Defense a piece of my mind…!”

“Hold on…!” Mundy caught up with his lover and walked through the corridors. 

They abruptly stopped walking in front of a small door hidden under the stairs, on which Lucien gave a few knocks. 

“Qui est-ce?”  A muffled, old man’s voice asked.

[Who is it?]

“C’est moi.” Lucien answered and the door opened.

[It’s me.]

“Grand Dieu, Maurice a dit vrai…!”

[Good Lord, Maurice spoke the truth…!]

A short, skinny, old man emerged from what Mundy understood was the broom closet. He had lost most of his hair on his head and wore round, thick glasses.

“Comment allez vous, Georges?” Lucien opened his arms and the old man took a step forward and hugged him.

[How are you, Georges?]

"Ça doit faire une éternité! Les cheveux gris vous changent, Louis, mais je vous reconnais bien.”

[It must have been an eternity since last time. Grey hair makes you look so different, Louis, but I still recognise you.]

“Parlez-vous un peu d’anglais?”

[Do you happen to speak a bit of English?]

“Oh, j’ai les rudiments, à force d’entendre tout ce qui se passe…!”

[Oh, I learnt the basics on the fly here, as I’m forced to hear bits here and there…!]

“Then,” Lucien naturally switched to English. “Please meet my husband, Mundy.”

Mundy blushed beyond his ears. It was so uncommon for Lucien to introduce him as his husband straight away. 

“And Mundy, please meet Georges, the ultimate spy.”

“Nice to meet you.” Mundy extended his hand and the old man shook it with a smile. 

“Does he understand French?” Georges asked, his accent so thick that next to him, Lucien sounded like a native…!

“Bits, oui, I have been teaching him.” Lucien answered. 

“Then, mes félicitations, mon garçon!”

[Congratulations, my boy!]

“Oh, uh, thanks… But how are you the ultimate spy?” Mundy asked. 

“We can chat as we walk, boys, come on, follow me!” The old man pulled a trolley of rags, dusters and all kinds of cleaning products out of the closet before he started pushing it. Lucien and Mundy followed him. 

“Georges here is responsible for the cleanliness of everything you see. He also happens to have the keys to every room in this building apart from a very select few of them. And all of that makes Georges the best guide to this place." Lucien explained as the trio walked through the corridor. 

The old man pushed his trolley through the corridors, making sure to take all the stair cases that nobody usually takes. 

"And I forgot to say," Lucien added through Georges' explanation of the rooms and corridors. "This man here is invisible to everyone meaning that if we stick to him, we become invisible too." 

"And so you don't break your cover… Ah, I get it…" Mundy nodded to himself. 

"Georges, could you take us to the portrait room, please?" 

"Yes, I can. They didn't move it cause they say history can't be changed." The old man answered, the keys jiggling from his belt loop.

"Ah, perfect." 

Georges took a second to unlock the door and push it open. 

"You have ten minutes, fifteen tops, before my colleague comes here to dust everything off. I'll try and buy you some time but he's young and finds I talk too much so he usually just leaves me alone to do his job. Counting on you, boys, be careful with the time!"

"We will be. Merci infiniment, Georges." 

[Thank you infinitely, Georges.]

"Avec plaisir." 

[My pleasure.]

Both men entered and Lucien shut the large, wooden double doors after them.

“Wow, what’s this place? Who’re these people?” Mundy said as he found himself in a room surrounded by painted or printed portraits. The oldest were black and white engravings while the most recent ones were coloured.

“This is the portrait room. It contains the photograph, painting or engraving of every man who made a decisive contribution to the establishment or security of this country.” Lucien explained. “Please, do have a look.”

Mundy started walking in what felt more like an art gallery than a room. He admired the faces, sometimes commenting on the military attire or the old style moustaches and beards. Lucien tried his best to recall the bits of history he knew about those important figures of the country, mentioning a few anecdotes when his memory allowed him to. 

“Golden frames for everyone, eh? That’s fancy as all hell…” Mundy said. 

“Indeed it is.” Lucien answered. “I am told that nowadays, when young spies finish their training, they are brought here and come out of this room with the hope that one day, their face will be on thiese walls.”

“Yeah, I can get the enthusiasm.” Mundy said. “Oh, Lu’... Hold on… Is that…?” Munddy squinted in front of a photograph and took a step forward. His eyes zigzagged on that of the man with light eyes and coal black hair. “Bloody hell, isn’t that you?!”

Lucien chuckled. 

“Guilty as charged.” The Frenchman said. 

“How old were you on this? You look half the age of the others!”

“I started my career early and abruptly. Some would say I even started without knowing it myself. But to answer your question, I was in my early twenties in this picture.”

“Bloody hell… You look like an angel back then already.”

Lucien smiled. 

“Merci.”

“What did you do to get your face up there?”

“I helped in the Résistance to free France from the Germans. I started as a courier boy, delivering messages until I grew up and understood that my, ahem, ease to approach women could be an asset for the country. Countless Nazi were caught through their wives and their mysterious lover.”

“You…?”

“Mh-hm, me. I broke a lot of German hearts back then, even before France’s liberation.” Lucien chuckled.

“Wow… Id love to take a picture of it.”

“We could take it back, if you want.”

“What?! You wanna steal it?!”

“It is my face and I am dead. I can claim it back.” Lucien shrugged.

“Hm.” Mundy fell deep in thought. “You know what?”

“Mh?”

“Leave it there.”

“You have changed your mind?”

“Yeah, leave it there for folks to look up at you and remember you. You changed my life, yeah, but you also changed an entire country before that. Let them have a souvenir.”

Lucien smiled. 

“Very well, mon loup.”

The next day, the couple woke up with the first rays of light, wrapped in the satin sheet of the Coco Chanel suite at the Ritz.

“Lu’?”

“Oui?”

“Uhm, there’s somewhere I wanna take you today.”

“Oh?” Lucien’s surprise was obvious. Mundy wanted to take him somewhere? Where? Why? And above all, how? The Aussie had spent the past week or so following his lover blindly and complaining that he did not know how Lucien could know where he was going. “Sure, when do you want to go?”

“This evenin’, if that’s fine with you too. We can go have dinner somewhere and then we’ll go?”

“Perfect for me, Mundy.”

And for the entire day, Lucien kept on thinking about it. Where would Mundy take him…? Until of course it was time to go. He followed his tall lover through the streets. The Aussie stopped only a few times to check his map and make sure they were heading in the right direction. 

“Alright, should be after this street.”

They stopped when they reached beautiful dark blue, wrought-iron gates. 

“A park? You wanted to take me to a park?”

“I uh… I don't think it’s any odd park.” Mundy answered and Lucien frowned. They both entered and wandered inside, following the yellow narrow roads. 

“Why did you want to bring me here, Mundy?”

“I think you guessed why.” Mundy answered. “You know we’re not in any park.”

“Indeed, I do, so why here?”

“Because it’s part of you and it’s important.” Mundy answered before he stopped walking. “Now, you gotta guide me.”

Lucien took a deep breath and let it all out in a long sigh. 

“Très bien.” He started walking and it took a few minutes of silence before they reached their destination, under a tree. 

“Is it here?” Mundy asked. 

“Oui, it should be.”

“Gimme your blade.”

Lucien took it from his inner pocket and passed it to Mundy who went down to sit on his knees and started digging. The Frenchman waited, his arms wrapped around himself. He felt slightly cold even though the day had been scorching hot and he evening was still warm. 

“Here we go...!” Mundy unearthed a small tin box. “Let’s go back to the hotel.” He stood up and dusted his knees off before both him and Lucien headed back. 

When they were in their suite and alone, Mundy headed for the bathroom. He cleaned the box of all the soil on it and brought it back to the living-room on a towel. Lucien had been sitting on the sofa, his stare blank. 

“You alright?”

“Oui,” He shook his head as if to land back into reality. “I was just lost in thought.”

“C’mon, ask me.” Mundy said and Lucien sighed. 

“Why did you do this?”

“Because you told me that everythin’ that was you before was in a box, that you had buried it in a park in Paris as the rain was pouring down in the middle of the night. You told me that it has all sorts of things like pictures of you, maybe even of your family and everythin’.” 

Mundy took a deep breath and took Lucien’s hand in his. 

“It’s been one year of you and me bein’ a solid thing and it’s been even longer of us just spendin’ all our time together, and even longer of me lovin’ you to bits.” Lucien blushed at the last part and smiled shyly. “And today, it’s been exactly one year of us being a thing. I put a ring on your finger and you put one on mine one year ago exactly. I just… I don’t wanna make you feel bad at all, I love you, I just wanna see your life from before and beyond that, I want you to be at peace with what you were before.”

“Hm.”

“I don’t care what you were, I just want you to accept whatever's in that box as a part of you. It doesn’t need to be buried down in the ground, it shouldn’t be there. It should be with us, with our pictures and memories.”

Lucien had sat silently through his lover’s speech. 

“You understand, baby doll?”

Lucien raised his eyes to his lover. 

“You are right, Mundy.” He took the box and put it on his lap before gently opening it. “This is the only photo album I have ever bought in my life, before we got ours. The oldest pictures are of my parents, then me as a baby and a young boy. The next picture is when I was officially made a spy, after the end of the Second World War, during which I served in the Résistance.”

He flipped the pages and pointed for Mundy to follow.

“Wow, you were already gorgeous back then.”

“Thank you.” 

The Aussie wrapped an arm around his lover to pull him close and Lucien leaned on him.

“Mundy?”

“Yeah?”

“How did you know which hpark it was?” Lucien asked. “I don’t think I mentioned the name of it.”

“I asked Maurice for the park where we could spend some quality time that would mean something for you.”

“Ah, I see.” Lucien turned the page. “This is the few pictures of Marie and Jérémy that I have.”

“She was real pretty.”

“Oui, she was.” Lucien smiled at the pictures. 

“And Jeremy kind of looked like you a bit, I mean, his hair’s lighter than yours but…”

“He was born blond like the sun.” Lucien said. “His hair darkened as he grew up and was dirty blond before he passed.”

“Oh, I see.”

“This is us, all together.”

“Look at you bein’ a dad… You look so comfy handlin’ the baby. I’m always scared when I’m handed a kid. Always scared to drop them or hurt them or somethin.”

Lucien smiled with nostalgia.

“You should not. They are indeed very fragile but you are very strong.” He turned his head and pushed his lips on Mundy’s. 

“Thanks, luv’.”

“Thank you.” Lucien put the photo album aside. 

“There’s more stuff in the box?”

“Oui. Here, this was my first ever blade.”

“Oh, you kept it?”

“Oui, as a souvenir. When I was in the Résistance, I never thought that doing what I was doing would turn me into a spy, get me a job and a life that is reasonably put together. I just did it because I could and I was told I had a gift for it.”

“And you went on to become the best spook ever.” Mundy said, recalling the portrait at the Ministry.

“Something like that.” Lucien smiled. “Here, this is all black and old, but it used to be silver and shining bright.” He handed a thin, yet very old string of metal to Mundy. 

“It’s a bracelet?”

“It bears my name on it. It is a common gift that young children are offered here. I kept mine because it reminded me of my mother, whom I loved beyond everything else. Oh and this is a very old and worn out thing now, but I used to wear it to cover my mouth and nose, for people to not recognise me when I worked to liberate France.”

“It’s a black bandana?”

“It used to be Burgundy red.”

“We could give a polish to your bracelet and a good wash to your bandana. I’m not good with clothes but I’m sure there’s ways to bring it back to life.”

“I think so, oui. Ah, there it is… Although it is broken, this used to be the bracelet that I offered to Marie, when we first started to meet each other regularly.”

“It’s a pearl bracelet?”

“Oui, I have always liked pearls on women, I think it might be because my mother used to have a pearl necklace that she treasured more than anything else. It was a gift from my father. I remember as a child, I one day found it as I was prying into whatever I could lay my hands on in the house and she told me off for touching it.”

“Oh, wow…”

“Wow indeed.” 

Mundy took a second to look at the way Lucien was looking at his belongings from another life. His eyes were almost dreamy and his gaze, very soft, filled with nostalgia and bittersweetness. And soon, the smile widened and it was not an awkward listing of antics but objects that threw the Frenchman’s mind back when pictures were only black and white, when uniforms were compulsory at school, when with a Franc, you could buy a mountain…

“Oh, I am enjoying this actually, Mundy.” Lucien raised his eyes to his lover. “Thank you so much, mon chéri.”

[My darling.]

“You're welcome. See? It’s better to acknowledge everythin’ and even if it's bad things or mistakes that you can only blame yourself for, so be it. The only way to repent I guess, is to not make those mistakes again.”

“You speak truth and wisdom. May God keep you by my side for as long as we want.”

“Amen, baby.”

“Thank you for… Well… Half-forcing me to do this. I realise that I should have done it long ago.”

“How d’you feel?” Mundy asked. 

“Better, lighter in a way.” Lucien wiped a silent tear. 

“Hey, you sure you good?”

“Oui, it is not tears of sadness. It is… The intensity of all this. Finding myself in the Ritz again, but this time, not on duty, not for business, just for our enjoyment, the breakfasts, lunches and dinners here now taste so much more flavourful, I never realised that their food was exquisite. I knew it but I never felt it as much as I have in these past few days. And the outings with you, seeing the sights, guiding you through Paris, telling you her story. It is better than a dream come true.”

Mundy smiled compassionately.

“Lu’?”

“Oui.”

“Happy first anniversary.”

“Oh…” The Frenchman dived head first into his lover’s chest and let the tears run down his face. 

“It’s ok, Lu’, I’m here.”

“This is why you wanted to take me to Paris?” Lucien pulled himself out of his lover's embrace.

“Yeah, for our anniversary.”

“Je t’aime, Mundy.”

[I love you, Mundy.]

Lucien took his handkerchief out and wiped his face. 

“Je t’aime aussi, mon Lucien.”

[I love you too, my Lucien.]

[dragonrajafanfiction]

The Wedding (Part 1) The Trap is Laid

Oh yeah... It’s all coming together... @rurifangirl

Thanks to an entire bottle of vodka you slept soundly. The sun was well up on the horizon when you crawled out of bed and took your time in the Jacuzzi. Your heart was beating fast both with excitement and nervousness.  But you had to stay in character. You loved Chime. He was wonderful, sweet, shy and beautiful, so beautiful. You dressed in a comfortable robe and reminded yourself of Z’s advice on the night of Chance’s death. Ignore everyone and speak to no one unless absolutely necessary. 

You open the shades to the windows over Tokyo and gasp.

Hydra’s minions had all left last night. The owner of the Takamagahara had a 75% stake in Hydra assets. If she sold it all, she could bankrupt the entire organization in an instant. So she had forced them to hold off on their assault for 24 hours.

But the Hydra were still the owners of Tokyo itself. Hydra still blockaded the area and controlled the subway station from the outskirts a few kilometers from here. The vast majority of merchants cooperated with them and the streets were desolate. This is called ‘clearing the area’, clearing out all the irrelevant people before the important people meet. After the clearing is done, Takamagahara will become the lone store on the street. If the negotiations failed, Hydra could go on a killing spree. The police department won't care about it, and there won't be anyone on the street to bail you out.

The streets were deserted, businesses were closed. There were signs on the doors saying "Sorry for the suspension of business". The police have set up barricades at both ends of the road so that cars without special permits cannot enter.

Taking advantage of the empty streets, the staff had lined both sides with garlands of roses, lilies, poppies and baby’s breath. Ribbons were tied to every tree. Ice sculptures of famous romantic scenes from classic literature were on the way. They were setting up stations with booths for food and souvenirs. Huge banners announcing the marriage between the “Dragon Lord Chime Gen and his Dragon Lady MC” hung over every major intersection. It looked more like a fairy tale royal wedding than a meeting between the Yakuza leaders of Japan.

Your heart beats faster and you hurry out of your executive level bedroom and head to the first floor where redecorating was in full swing! With the help of the construction team they had dressed it up as a night scene of the Shinjuku district, with neon signs of all sizes and an elevated bridge spanning from above.

“I hope everything is to your liking?” Su Enxi, the owner of the Takamagahara smiles smugly behind you.

“This is amazing! It’s like Tokyo Nightlife has come inside!” 

“We chose the theme of a Yakuza wedding! So everyone here will be dressed as gangsters.” She held out one of the fancy invitations. The art was in the style of a Yakuza Tattoo with dragons, koi fish and tigers crawling in that traditional Ukiyo-E style that the Hydra Executive Board were famous for. On the inside was a lot of Japanese text you couldn’t read, but the art depicted shadow figures standing in a desolate alley.

“I love it!” You hand it back to her.

“Good. Here’s the guest list.” She hands it to you.

You blinked a bit. You didn’t recognize any of these names. 

“We didn’t know who you would like so we invited pretty much every major powerplayer and celebrity in Japan. Only women of course.” 

“These are all celebrities?” You stare at the list trying to find at least one name you knew.

Enxi frowned slightly and you flinched. How should you know? You were born nearly 40 years ago and you didn’t know any of these people from Adam. She expected you to be impressed. “Oh, right! Yes, I … yes I”m happy they’re coming!” You say, trying to recover.

It didn’t work and she takes back the list with an annoyed huff. “Don’t worry about learning their names. They’re only here to serve as shields and bargaining chips. The Hydra won’t be able to clear the area quickly if these celebrities are having a great time. If they try, it will be too much of a propaganda scandal.”

“I see.” You nod sagely. “Thank you.”

“Now go upstairs, eat, and get to the salon at 4 pm.” She checks her watch. “Guests will start to arrive at 8 pm tonight.”

“Where’s Chime?” 

“The groom? Hiding. It’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding.” She doesn’t even look at you as she walks away and claps her hands. “Chop! Chop! Let’s get moving!”

You return to your room with breakfast and hear a soft knock on the door. You open to Caesar who steps inside. “Ready for your big day?”

He was dressed casually again, just jeans and a muscle shirt. After all, he was going to work soon and probably wanted to relax.  He looks over at the bottles of vodka and the bit of cigar you’d left on the table and raises an eyebrow. It looked like you had guests last night. “Did you party without me?”

“You can say that. Just some old friends.” You walk over to the massive floor to ceiling liquor cabinet and open the door. “Can I get you something?”

“I’m good.” He pauses again. He didn’t follow you. He’s staring at you.

“What?” You stare right back.

“Aren’t you going to ask about Zero?” Caesar asks.

You frown and close the cabinet. “Oh, that girl? Is she recovering alright?”

“She is. Lu Mingfei is looking over her for now. I’m surprised you didn’t come down to visit?”

You bat your eyes innocently. “Did she ask for me?”

Caesar turned away and walked over to the dining table, dropping the subject. The man was sharp. No doubt he saw the photo of Renata and immediately recognized Zero. When you met Zero, he likely noticed your reaction. He didn’t understand but he would drop it for now since it was clear that despite your obvious past affection you weren’t going to talk about her. “I want to say you came through again with this sudden wedding. I did not think you would go this far. How did you convince that Gen brother?”

“I just framed it as a way to convince Chisei. Is it extreme? Yes, but he’s that desperate.” You deliberately avoided mentioning anything about King General and moved away from the liquor cabinet to make tea instead. “Have you talked with Chime?”

“He’s still asleep.” Caesar picked another cigar from the box and lit it. “I trust you’ve thought through all the implications for going through with this?”

“Yes.” You say, putting the tea kettle on and waiting for it to boil. “I’ll start with the implications if things go badly. Let’s say that Chisei is a bigger idiot than we thought and he does kill Chime. As his wife, I won’t be spared. This marriage puts me not only in the Devil Clan officially but also in the upper rankings. At best, I’ll be imprisoned forever. But more likely I’ll be killed as a Devil.”

“Should our special guest arrive and I can’t use my love effectively, hundreds of people could die, all of them top celebrities. More importantly, I’ll lose my entire world even if I do manage to survive.” Everyone you ever knew was here. Z, Renata, Caesar, Chu Zihang, Lu Mingfei and Fingel. If they all died tonight, you would be desolate with nothing left.

You return with the tea and sit down across from him. “If things go right, then a lot of things will be in your hands, not mine. You’ll be negotiating my place in Japan with Chisei. Once all the things are completed, I’ll be in a position to help run the Devil Clan just by my position alone as his wife and I'll be easily installed as Japan Branch lead should Chisei and Chime follow through on their desires to vacate those positions.”

Caesar nodded slowly but then he shuddered. “So cold.”

“What?” You look up.

“If you marry that guy I won’t see you for quite some time. You won’t be coming back with us.”

You smile over your cup. “Oh don’t give me that. An old friend is better than two new ones. As the saying goes.” You quip, slyly referencing Chime’s split persona. “I still have your wedding to attend. And I consider you my best man at this wedding.”

“Brides can have a Best Man?” Caesar asked.

“It’s my wedding. I do what I want.” You rest your chin on the heel of your hand.

Caesar took a deep breath and took the cigar with him as he stood. “Well, I gotta do what I gotta do. There’s going to be shows before your appearance and I'm in one of them.”

“Break a leg.” You say as he leaves.

You still feel uneasy. You want to talk to Z. You stand up and leave that room and go to the bathroom, a spot Fingel had described as a blind spot. The bathroom was empty when you got there but when you turned to the mirror, Z was standing behind you. 

You whirl, with a ferocious look.  “Stop doing that!”

“Why? It’s fun!” He’s dressed in a tuxedo with golden cufflinks in the shape of dragons. “Why are you the only one who gets to have a good time? Enjoying the festivities?” He asked coyly.

“Yes I am. You’ve really outdone yourself. Thank you.”

Z suddenly frowned. And then he smiled again. “Hahaha… you almost had me there.”

“Yep! I hate you. You didn’t tell me Renata was alive. Go find a city bus to lay under.” You wink, but your words are serious.

“I’ve got my finger in so many pies right now. It’s not even funny. Show some respect. I just stopped by because I’m just so excited for this!” He held up a poster.

“I can’t read that.” The poster was of an evil man with a white rose in his mouth and a blood-stained sword across his chest, his eyes fierce, yet irresistibly sultry.

“It’s a wanted notice for the dangerous Ruri the Midnight Ripper!” He breathed excitedly, reading the poster. “The dangerous killer Midnight Ruri is active in the nights of Tokyo. He has killed countless young women, and the yakuza clan has offered a reward of 10 million yen for his head. Every woman going home tonight should be careful. It is said that he only attacks the most beautiful women, so the most conservative dress is the safest.” Z licked his lips and chuckled.

“Ugh. That’s insulting to the groom! Why would you do that?”

“It is the groom! You marry one, you marry the other!” Z laughed incredulously, slapping at the poster with his hand. “Did you forget? Or do you think it doesn’t matter who he kills so long as you’re alive?” He gives you a long glaring smile.

You gaze at him silently while he rolls up the poster. “It’s a beauty contest! All the ladies will read this and get excited. They’ll say ‘I’m the most beautiful. I hope to get targeted by Ruri!’ They will dress provocatively in hopes of attracting the attention of Ruri the Ripper. The venue will be loaded to the brim with delicious tempting targets!” He lets out another bird-like ‘ke-ke-ke’.

You can only scowl because you can’t argue.

“I didn’t tell you his true nature when you fell in love with him, I just told you not to do it. So… you can be forgiven for that. But this? Oh no, sweetheart. This is on you.” He points the poster at you. “But, don’t back out now!”

“I won’t. A lot is riding on this.  I feel like there’s a dagger at my back if I don’t go through with it…” You trail off, eyes lowering to the dagger that Z always kept at his side.

“It’s a hot, sexy dagger right?” Z swayed his hips and then turned around. “You kids have fun playing dress up. I’m going to get back to work.” 

He took one step and vanished.

You would spend the rest of the day in the beauty salon. Your dress was pure white, embroidered with pearls and diamonds that gave off the impression of scales, as though you were dressing up as the White King Izanami herself. Your hands were covered with elbow length princess gloves to hide the black veins on your skin, but then they stuck jewels in a mask like pattern on your face, trading your real scales for artificial ones. Your hair was piled high on your head in a traditional Japanese bun with silver sticks resembling horns.

The night fell and the desolate streets flooded with hundreds of Tokyo society elites as well as Hydra elite warriors. It turned out that Enxi used her financial clout to grant traffic passes to all the guests. Traffic was bumper to bumper. Every guest invited showed up to this wedding that shut down a major part of the city for an entire day. No one wanted to miss such an exclusive event.

The Takamagahara was filled to the brim with sleeveless and backless dresses, fishnet stockings in high heels, dangerously short skirts and perilously low cleavage.

The waiters wear black uniforms. They roll up their sleeves to reveal dragon and tiger tattoos. To light a customer’s cigarette they will draw out a waist pistol. The muzzle of the gun produced bright flames. It was impossible to tell who was armed with the real thing or with these toys. Because everyone was dressed as a Hydra Yakuza, it was hard to tell the Hydra members from the guests! 

The men and women shouted and played craps. The wine flowed endlessly. Occasionally the Whale came on stage to say two silly and majestic words, followed by a performance. Diamond was here to do his sexy rodeo strip show. There were popular shows such as BasaraKing's "Cleopatra" and Ukyou's "Sakura Falling on Itsuru Island". Armani was here to entertain guests with card tricks. Calypso dazzled a few of the younger guests. 

The sound of a powerful engine drowned out the music. A Harley Davidson motorcycle pulled into the middle of the dance floor. Caesar was dressed in a tight leather jacket, all covered in silver chains, with a shiny Desert Eagle stuck in his belt. He took off his sunglasses and threw them at the guests, "My engine is burning hot, are you ready?"

“BasaraKing! BasaraKing!" Hundreds of roses were thrown onto the stage.

White rose petals fell from the sky, and Chu Zihang, wearing a red leather trench coat with a skull mask, crashed from the sky to the center of the stage. Caesar drove his motorcycle towards Chu Zihang, and the two faked a fight, as if they were performing some kind of gangster stage show.

You watch from a hidden spot near the stage. You still have not seen Chime and Chime hasn't seen you. But it was almost time for the main event. Your wedding. All of this celebration was a luxurious trap for the King General and you searched the crowd looking for him. But if he was here, he wouldn’t be in the crowd. He’d be somewhere where he could see you. You were his target. You were his prey.

After a few rounds of fighting, Chu Zihang had picked up Caesar's dropped Desert Eagle and shot him through the chest, but then he suddenly swooped in and hugged Caesar, who was about to fall down.

The scene is about a pair of mob brothers, Caesar as the unruly brother and Chu Zihang as the lonely and sensitive brother. They grew up alone, but determined to be the best of the best. The brothers heard that politicians and gangsters must cooperate with each other in order to go higher and higher. So the two brothers drew lots, one to grow up as a gangster to defeat various gangs as the king of the gangsters; one to go to the University of Tokyo as a famous lawyer, and then enter the political world as a great politician. The result of the lottery is that the unruly brother Caesar is going to be a politician. While the sensitive brother Chu Zihang is going to break into the difficult underworld.

But they obeyed their destiny, and the two agreed not to contact each other again. But they always helped each other in critical moments. No one knew that the brother of the mob boss was a rising star in politics, and no one understood why the brother's gang always survived in the anti-gang operations.

Twenty years later Caesar’s politician character became a member of parliament and became even more headstrong, wanting to be the overlord of all Japan. So he set off a storm of anti-gang raids, and all the gangs were badly hit. Chu Zihang’s character had to intervene to stop the brother, saying that the yakuza had a long history in Japan and many people depended on them for their livelihood. If the yakuza were destroyed, it would be impossible for the brother-led government to support so many of the underprivileged in society, which would be tantamount to destroying the underprivileged in society. But Caesar’s character said that there is no such thing as the yakuza in his future plans, and it doesn't matter if he sacrifices some people's interests. Everything has to make way for his political future.

Finally, the brothers meet under the Over-Sea bridge in Tokyo Bay and duel in the same way they did at the place where they first drew lots and parted ways. In the end, it is the Gangster who shoots through the Politician brother's heart.

Chu and Caesar are acting out the ending of this ski.  Caesar is dying when he finally tells the truth. Because he has a terminal illness and can no longer protect Chu Zihang secretly. He fears that after his death his introverted brother will not be able to control so many yakuza gangs, so he sweeps the yakuza with his own iron fist.

"Remember our original agreement to be the number one yakuza emperor of Japan!" The brother's last words, "My brother will be number one in Japan!"

The applause was deafening and the guests were in tears. The play actually was acted very silly. Chu Zihang's mouthful of second-hand Japanese looked like he learned it off Duo Lingo, but the women who came here either loved BasaraKing and Ukyo or both, and those flaws were overlooked. 

A sad song started playing as the cherry blossoms fell over the two brothers. It was a popular song, only marginally appropriate, and the gist of it was two people who declare to each other how much they truly mean to each other, only after it was too late.

You didn’t know they were going to put something on like this. It was clearly directed at Chisei. Even though you were the main act, Caesar and Chu Zihang were supporting you and Chime in their own way.

Once the stage was cleared. The lights went up. Caesar hurried backstage. “Hey!” He whispers. “Knock ‘em dead!” 

You give him a grin and a thumbs up.