#reading other people's attitudes towards engagement rings is making me feel insane

[triplecreature]

Idk if this is just really unpopular or what because whenever I try looking up this question to better understand the other side I can't find any satisfying results (or maybe search engines are just dead...) but I really don't get the hype for natural gems vs. synthetic gems in the context of jewelry, in cases where the synthetic ones are like 99.99% the same and nobody would ever know unless you got an expert to peer at it with specialized tools?

Like ok it's kinda cool if it was formed in the ground, I'd probably be willing to pay a little upcharge for stuff that has an interesting origin, but when the natural ones are sometimes TRIPLE the price??? How is that worth it?? Also I'm not saying every mine is a slavery death trap but some people are willing to overlook it if it is?

Everything I see is just like "oh ya the synthetics are the same, chemically it's identical... but yknow, some ppl prefer the natural mined gems, it's just ur choice ^_^" wait but why would you ever choose the overpriced option if it's the same?? What's the reason? This isn't ever explained anywhere and I just don't get it???

The only good reason I've seen: a woman who expresses a lifelong autistic hyperfixation on the processes of minerals forming in the ground. ok. i can understand, because it is extremely relevant to her interests. but this is not most people.

Worst reason I've seen: "so I can brag about the price tag 😏" WHAT! WHY! WHO CARES fsdgkljhlskhg how do you even admit something so shallow so brazenly without shame... especially if it's an engagement ring, is conspicuous consumption all that matters to you about marriage....... also if anyone asks you can just say "none of ur business" or exaggerate, it's not like the receipt is going to be forcibly circulated around for everyone to see?

Weirdest reason I've seen: woman who says that it's important to her that she gets the chance to suck the magical powers out of gems and apparently it only works with mined gems and not synthetics even though they're chemically the same... ok i guess apparently the spilled blood of 3rd world child laborers makes the powers stronger. my bad I did not know that.

[sometimesiwritebadly]

Forever Thoughts (Spencer Reid x BAU!Reader)

Summary: You accidentally overhear Spencer’s thoughts as he plans for your engagement.

Warnings: Some language. 

Notes: you’re welcome for this pure fluff. this is part of my soulmate series if y’all haven’t read the other parts!! 

Word Count: 1.5k

Masterlist

After a year and a half, you and Spencer’s relationship couldn’t be any better. You’ve been through so much together; learning how to control your soulmate connection, meeting each other’s family, working at the BAU together, and worst of all, when you had been kidnapped by a serial killer. The day you woke up in the hospital, Spencer had promised he’d never leave your side again. True to his word, Spencer was rarely more than a room away from you. That’s why you were surprised when Spencer said he had to run errands this morning, instead of wanting to spend your whole day off together.

“Errands? What errands?” You groggily asked. Spencer was already out of bed and dressed, but you had only woken up a few minutes ago.

“We’re deathly low on groceries, I have a care package to mail to my mom, plus Morgan asked me to help with something at the house he’s renovating.” 

“Well when will you be back? We hardly ever get days off, and I wanna spend it with you.” As you spoke, you got out of bed, and pulled Spencer close to you.

“I’ll be back around lunchtime. 1 at the latest.” He promised, kissing you before you could complain. “I love you.” He thought as he deepened the kiss, despite your morning breath.

“I love you more.”

“Not possible.” With that finally thought, he pulled away, before heading out for his day.

~~~

You spent your morning alone in the apartment trying to get stuff done. You cleaned, did yours and Spencer’s laundry, took out the trash; everything that you guys didn’t have a lot of time for during cases. You and Spencer checked in with each other every hour or so, just to make sure everything is ok. As you began preparing lunch for you and Spencer for when he’d arrived home, however, you heard some thoughts that you were sure Spencer hadn’t meant for you to hear.

“Multiply the approximate diameter of her ring finger by pi, she should be a 7½…”

“That diamond is too big. Is that even a thing? Too big of a diamond?”

“Round diamonds are the most popular, but Garcia is always talking about princess cut diamonds…”

Usually, you and Spencer are pretty good at only sharing thoughts you actually wanted the other person to hear, but occasionally, especially if one or both of you were stressed out, some thoughts would fall through the cracks.

When you realized what you were hearing, you got so distracted you nearly let the chicken you were cooking burn. You weren’t even mad about nearly ruining the meal, because, holy shit, Spencer is going to propose to you.

~~~

The next week was absolute hell. Not because of a case, although you had been flown out to Missouri, but because of what you had learned on your day off. You tried your best to stay calm, not wanting Spencer to know that you knew he was going to propose, but every time the two of you were alone, your heart would start racing. Spencer caught on a few times, wondering what had you so worked up, but you were able to play it off on the case you guys were working on that week. 

You’re 100% certain that Spencer had no idea you had overheard his thoughts about the ring. He hadn’t mentioned anything about it to you, and you hadn’t heard anymore thoughts about the ring or the proposal. If he had told any of the team about his plans, none of them let on that something was up; one of the downsides of working with profilers. They’re all good at hiding things.

Right now, the team is on the way back home from the case, which had ended relatively well. They’d caught the unsub, and saved 2 of the people he’d kidnapped. Spencer was knocked out on the other side of the plane, Hotch was filling out paperwork, and Rossi, Morgan, and Prentiss were playing an intense game of poker. JJ sat next to you reading a book you’d recommended to her. You had your own book open, but you couldn’t focus on it. Instead, your leg was incessantly tapping as you looked out a window.

“Ok, what’s wrong?” You head snapped over to JJ, who had closed her book to look at you. You winced, and looked down at your hands. 

“Can you keep a secret?” You whispered, not wanting the others to hear. Luckily, Hotch was completely focused on work, and Morgan and Prentiss were way too busy accusing Rossi of cheating to notice you and JJ. JJ moved closer to you, leaning in.

“What’s up? Is there something going on with you and Spence?”

“Do you ever hear Will’s thoughts, even when he doesn’t want you to?”

“Sure,” JJ said, a bit confused about how this had anything to do with your weird attitude, “When he’s stressed out, sometimes a few thoughts peak through. Why, what’d you overhear?”

You let out a deep breath, then spoke, “Spencer bought an engagement ring, and he doesn’t know that I know.” JJ’s eyes and smile widened immediately, clearly relieved that there was nothing wrong.

“That’s amazing! Why’re you so stres-” She stopped herself, before her voice got serious again, “You’re not gonna say no, are you?”

“No! Of course not, I love him! I just can’t stand keeping this a secret anymore!” JJ laughed lightly at your response, causing you to glare at her. “It’s not funny! If he doesn’t pop the question soon I’m gonna go insane!” You said, jokingly hitting her when her giggling didn’t stop.

“I’m sorry! You and Spence are just both so stressed out about this, even though you both know you’ll say yes-” JJ suddenly realized what she said, and your eyes widened at her slip up.

“You know!?” You sat up, leaning towards  JJ.

“We all do, Mrs. Genius.” You looked towards Morgan, only to find the rest of the team staring back at you. Across the plane, Spencer was still sound asleep.

“What? What do you know, when is he gonna do it?” You asked, only to be met with silence. JJ reopened her book, Morgan, Prentiss, and Rossi picked up their playing cards, and Hotch went back to his paperwork with a light smile ghosting his face. “Are you serious? You guys won’t tell me anything?” After another moment of silence, you huffed in annoyance, before picking up your own book again.

~~~

Finally, the plane landed back in Quantico. The team refused to tell you anything about Spencer’s plans, and once Spencer woke up from his nap, you had to stop asking. Normally, you and Spencer would head straight home, but Spencer had his favorite book in the office and wanted to get it before you left. So, the two of you went into the FBI building, which was empty due to the late hour. When the elevator opened to the floor, however, your breath was taken away.

Spencer turned to look at you as you took in everything. The place was decked out; balloons, string lights, and all over the walls, pictures of you and Spencer.

“C’mon.” He thought, before taking your hand and pulling you out of the elevator. You let him walk you into the bullpen, still taking in everything he’d put together. 

“When did you have time to do all this?” You asked, not understanding how he’d put it together while you were on a case.

“Let’s just say we owe Penelope and Kevin dinner sometime.” He answered, making you giggle lightly. Finally, Spencer stopped right next to his desk. He took a deep breath, and took both of your hands into his hands. You could already feel the tears forming in your eyes.

“I was sitting right here the first time I saw you. Y/N Y/L/N. My soulmate.” His voice cracked slightly, as a tear streamed down his own face. “The first thing I thought was , ‘Wow.’ because I was so taken with you. Before I even knew your name, I knew that you were it for me. That’s why I wanted to bring you here, to where our relationship first sparked…” He put his hand into his pocket, and pulled out the small ring box. “To ask you to continue to let me love you, everyday, for the rest of our lives.” He bent down onto his knee. At this point, tears were freely falling from your eyes, and you were smiling wider than you ever have before. “Y/N Y/M/N Y/L/N. Will you marry me?”

“Yes!” Your answer came immediately, and Spencer immediately stood back up to kiss you. Your hands found his face as you kissed him happily. When you pulled away, Spencer wiped the tears from your face with a smile. Then, he pulled the ring from the box and slipped it onto your finger. “I love you so much.”

“I love you more.”

“Not possible.”

“Congratulations!” You turned your head to see the rest of the team watching cheering, and Penelope running to you and enveloping you in a hug. Your mind flashed back to the very first time she’d hugged you; the same day you met Spencer. You and Spencer hugged every member of the team, and you happily showed off your ring to the ladies.

As the team celebrated you and your fiancé, you could be nothing but excited to spend the rest of your life with Spencer Reid.

~~~

tags: @dr-reid-ismyspiritanimal @la-vie-en-amour1

[eryiss]

Fraxus Week Day 2: Night Out

Summary: The idea of performing a Unison Raid had previously felt unattainable for Freed and Laxus. But after hearing stories of their guildmates managing to perform the spell, the two powerful men make it their goal to do the same.

This is my first admission for Fraxus Week event for twenty-nineteen hosted by @fuckyeahfraxus. This one is nice and fluffy, and follows the prompt 'Night In/Night Out.'

You can read it on Fanfiction, Archive of our Own, or under the cut. I hope you all enjoy it!

Day 2: Late Night Drinks

The night was soft as they walked towards the guildhall, flickering streetlamps illuminating their way and the soft sound of the rippling canal guiding them. In a somewhat unusual display of public affection, Freed was leaning against Laxus, who had an arm wrapped around his waist and a small content smile on his face. Both men were smiling, in fact, and the reason for this was resting silently on the fourth finger of Laxus' left hand.

An engagement ring.

The jewellery piece was minimalistic, perfect for the blonde. The band was entirely black – made of obsidian apparently – and encrusted with small white diamonds across the centre. At the peak of the ring sat two larger diamonds, one yellow and the other purple. Reflections of their magics, Freed had explained, and Laxus kissed him again.

A lot of kisses had occurred between the two men that evening. Freed's proposal had come at the end of a mission the two had been on, happening on a near-empty beach just as the sun was setting, overlooked by the hotel they had just checked out of. Laxus couldn't be sure if this had been Freed's original intention or if he had seen how beautiful the situation was and decided to scrap his original plans and proposed then and there. Laxus didn't care if either were true; the moment had been perfect, and now he was to be married to the love of his life.

After the proposal itself, they had spent some time at the beach together enjoying the moment. The sinking sun glinted on the calm water, the sand was cooled by the darkened sky, and the couple were entranced by each other. However, despite neither wanting to, they needed to retreat to the train station so they could get back home.

It had been Laxus who had suggested that, rather than going home immediately, they should go to the guildhall. Bickslow and Evergreen would probably be there and both men wanted them to know as soon as possible.

"Not the whole guild though?" Freed asked, and Laxus had laughed.

"God no. Not tonight," He grinned, running a hand through his hair. He absently noted the feeling of the ring against his scalp. "They'll go insane. Don't think I can handle it."

"Thank god," Freed grinned, glancing at the ring and feeling his heartbeat slightly faster.

The train ride hadn't taken long, and they soon found themselves back in Magnolia. Laxus quickly recovered from the slight amount of motion sickness he experienced as they walked along the cobbles, the loud clock of the cathedral chiming ten times to signify the time. It was then that Freed had found the blonde snaking his arm around his waist, the ring resting against the rune-mages thigh. It was a nice feeling.

As they got closer to the guildhall, its presence was obvious. As always, it was brighter than the rest of the town and acted like a beacon, with raucous laughter being heard louder and clearer with each step they took forward. Neither man felt nervous as they approached, instead feeling empowered. This was their home, and their engagement would only make it better.

They managed to enter relatively undetected; other than Natsu, who seemed to have a sixth sense on people who he deemed fight-worthy. Ignoring the younger man, they both walked to the bar which Mirajane was attending to. As she was currently busy, they leant against the bar-top and waited. When Laxus placed the hand housing the ring on the aged wood, Freed smiled and intertwined their fingers with an expression of adoration across his features. Laxus wore the same expression himself.

"I should tell you, Mirajane knows," Freed explained as they waited. Laxus looked down at him with a small cocked eyebrow. "She was quite helpful in finding the one I was happy with."

He ran his finger over the ring gently to make sure Laxus knew what he was talking about, while also making sure that nobody who wanted to listen in on them would know what they were talking about. Laxus nodded slightly, resting against his fiancé with a smile.

"She reacted calmly when you told her, right?" He asked with a small grin.

"Oh completely," Freed chuckled. "She squealed, asked me around fifty questions within a minute and nearly passed out because she lost her breath; a perfectly rational reaction."

The two shared a laugh and waited for a little while longer as Mirajane finished serving the rest of the bar, before she came to the newly engaged couple. She smiled politely at them both, placing a wooden tankard under the bar and looked over them both. It was clear by the small frown on her fact that she hadn't expected the two to be there; it was rare that the couple would come to the guild this late, let alone after returning from a mission. There was clearly a reason for this unusual display of behaviour, and she was looking to see what it was.

It took her only a few seconds to see the sparkling ring on Laxus' finger. She looked up at the two of them, her mouth slightly agape with excitement. She brought her hands to her face, a wide smile breaking over her face.

"Before you say anything," Laxus said in a low voice. "We're only tellin' a few people today, so don't go shouting about it."

"Oh, of course," She whispered, still beaming. "But I'm so happy for you both."

Before either man could react, she leant over the bar and pulled them both into a slightly awkward but welcomed hug. Both men returned it as best they could, and the moment they pulled back Mirajane had pulled Laxus' ringed hand towards her and was inspecting it closely. She was hardly being subtle, but the amount of alcohol the guild had consumed throughout the night meant that nobody was paying enough attention to the threesome to understand what exactly was happening.

"It looks so beautiful," She continued to whisper, somewhat wistfully now. "I thought you weren't going to do it until later in the month, what made you change your mind? Oh, was it romantic, I bet you're both super romantic when you want to be?"

Freed chuckled a little, having expected this barrage of questions. It was true that he had originally intended to propose at a later date but seeing the beautiful scene of the beach – and how stunning Laxus had looked in the low, golden light – something inside of him had told him that this was the perfect time to do it. The fact that Laxus said yes told Freed his instincts had been right.

"Sorry," Mirajane cut herself off before she went any further. "You're not making a big deal about it tonight; you probably don't want me asking for every detail. I'm just excited for you both, that's all."

"You needn't be sorry," Freed assured her. "Besides, we'll be telling Evergreen and Bickslow upstairs, so we have some privacy. If you can get away from the bar for a little while, you're more than welcome to join us."

"Really?" She asked, grinning again when Laxus nodded. "Okay, I'll talk to Kinana. And I can get some champagne, on the house, make it a real celebration."

"Thanks," Laxus nodded. "Can you get us six glasses?"

"Six?" Freed questioned. Even with Mirajane, there would only be five of them.

"I wanna tell Gramps tonight as well," The blonde looked down to his fiancé. "You don't mind, do ya?"

"Of course not," Freed assured with a smile, feeling warm inside again.

"He's in his office right now," Mirajane explained, still wearing a large grin and fidgeting somewhat now. "I can bring him up with me, if you want."

"That'd be great, thanks," Laxus nodded.

With that, Mirajane walked down the bar again and began speaking to Kiana, leaving the newly engaged couple to leave the bar and walk towards the upper level of the guild. Freed had made sure that both of their teammates would be at their regular table, the lacrima-call on the train ending abruptly when Evergreen began demanding what was so important that she should be dragged from her home to the noisy guildhall on her night off. Freed knew hanging up on her would be unusual enough for her to do as he said.

As they climbed the spiral staircase, Freed found himself unable to stop smiling. When he had first joined the guild, he had been in the attitude that he needed nobody – both romantically and platonically. So to be in the same guildhall, telling his closest friends that he was to wed the man he loved was something he never expected to happen. It felt great.

Laxus' hand found itself against the small of Freed's back as they reached the upper floor and began to walk to their normal booth in the far corner. Evergreen sat with her back towards them, and she was clearly talking to Bickslow. It was obvious that Bickslow was more awake than Evergreen, as his animated hand movements and wide smiling face was a stark contrast to the slumped posture of the fairy mage sitting across from him. When he saw the couple approaching from the staircase, he clearly grinned wider and waved at them vigorously.

"There's my favourite power couple," He practically shouted, Evergreen looking over her shoulder with a significantly less enthusiastic expression. "Look at you two, coming out after dark. It's been a while; thought you were just a pair of grumpy old men for a little while."

"You two better have a good reason for bringing me here," Ever grumbled. "And for hanging up on me, Justine."

"As you can see, Ever's picking up on the grumpiness slack you two are leaving," Bickslow cackled.

Laughing a little at the comments of their friends, they moved into their regular booth; Bickslow having moved besides Evergreen so that the couple could be next to each other. They didn't let Evergreen's apparent annoyance bother them, they knew that even if she was bothered by being dragged from her home, that would soon go when she discovered why.

As they sat down, Evergreen had worn an investigative expression and watched them both closely. She was curious as to why her friends had been so insistent they meet that night; it was incredibly unlike them. As she watched them, there was some more abnormal things about them. They both had a single hand under the table – Laxus his left and Freed his right – which made her think that maybe they were holding hands under the table. Furthermore, they were both smiling in an almost lovestruck way, something that they would usually only do in their home.

To put it bluntly, they were being all lovey with each other. It was weird.

"Okay seriously," Bickslow almost shouted after a small amount of silence. "You're killing us here, guys. You just gonna leave us in suspense? What's up?" He started to whine at the end of his complaint.

Freed and Laxus shared a look, the latter deciding to speak. "Gramps could take a while to get here. Probably enough time to tell 'em."

"Probably," Freed agreed.

"You wanna do it then?" Laxus asked; he wanted to be the one who tells his grandfather, and also wanted Freed to be able to tell their friends. When the rune mage nodded with a small smile, it made the blonde smile as well.

Freed looked over to their two friends, wearing a calm but happy expression. Both Evergreen and Bickslow clearly wanted to know whatever secret the couple had, so much so that Evergreen's eyebrow was practically twitching and Bickslow was fidgeting in his seat with excitement. He withheld the urge to laugh at the two of them, wondering how their reactions would change when they found out what had happened.

"Since you both clearly want to know, its probably best to just say it," Freed began. "Earlier today, after our mission ended, I asked Laxus to marry me. As you can probably guess, he said yes."

There was a moment of silence. This was when Laxus chose to show the engagement ring.

After the second without speaking, Evergreen seemed to have completely forgotten about how annoyed she was about being taken to the guildhall. A wide smile had broken out across her face, and she couldn't stop her eyes from flickering between the ring on Laxus' finger and the couple. Their clear love-fuelled behaviour with each other had an obvious explanation now, and she felt small tears pricking at the sides of her eyes with how happy she was for two of her closest friends in the guild.

Bickslow was less subtle with his happiness for the two. Droplets of salty tears were already flowing down his cheeks, and his smile had somehow doubled both in size and intensity. If he was fidgeting before, he was practically vibrating in his seat now. Freed had no doubt that, if the table separating them wasn't bolted to the floor, he would have knocked it to the ground and pulled them into a hug.

"Holy fuck guys," Bickslow managed to speak first. "You know you're gonna be like the most powerful married couple in the country, right? D'you think Alzack and Bisca are gonna be pissed that they're not the only married couple? Oh, d'you think you'll have kids? Get a baby!"

Despite clearly being excited, Bickslow must have known that they didn't want everyone to know as his ramblings were relatively quiet. Laxus found himself laughing and Freed wore a soft smile. It was obvious Bickslow was happy for them.

"Leave them alone," Evergreen scolded the man beside her before looking at the couple. "How did this happen? It must have been planned, right? This ring's amazing."

"I decided I wanted to do it about a month ago," Freed began, and Laxus looked down at him with adoration in his eyes. He hadn't heard this yet. "It took a short while to find the right ring – eventually Mirajane found me in a jewellery store and wouldn't stop asking until I told her what was happening – and then she helped me find one that I liked. I've been carrying it around for about a week now."

"So you knew you were gonna propose at the end of the mission?" Evergreen asked.

"Not exactly," Freed smiled a little more. "I knew that I was going to propose by the end of the month, and my original plan was to do it at the harvest festival, but I had also promised myself that if a better situation presented itself then I would take. Which is, of course, what happened."

"You gotta give us more details than that!" Bickslow demanded, almost pouting.

"We can do that when Mira gets up here. She'll probably be pissed if she missed it," Laxus laughed a little, his hand meeting Freed's again. The rune mage found himself stroking Laxus' palm softly, a small gesture that the blonde loved. "And Gramps should probably know before we go into detail about it, he should be up here soon."

"Sure, that seems fair," Evergreen nodded, though she too was impatient to hear about how the proposal had happened.

"So have you guys come up with any ideas about the wedding yet?" Bickslow probed with a wide grin. "I better be the best man. And unless you wanna become some damn handsome statues, you should probably make Ever a bridesmaid."

"That might be a little difficult without a bride," Freed laughed.

Bickslow went to protest because they both knew what he actually meant, but they heard footsteps from the staircase to the second floor. When they looked over, they could see Mirajane at the top of the staircase holding a tray containing a large bottle of champagne and an assortment of crystal glasses. She was still smiling and, when she looked towards the newly engaged couple again, it seemed that her smile grew.

Standing before the barmaid was a slightly dishevelled and tired looking Makarov. The blonde knew that his grandfather only worked in his office when he was overwhelmed by paperwork and was trying to catch up, so he probably was extremely fatigued by the work he had been dragged away from.

As his grandfather approached, Laxus felt a weird sense of nervousness in his stomach. The weirdness came from the fact he wasn't scared about his approaching grandfather, and the nervousness didn't feel as though it was a bad thing. It felt like telling Makarov was the thing that would truly make this engagement real, and that was something Laxus found himself craving to happen. Perhaps it was more anticipation than nervousness.

"I've been told you need to tell me something. You brats better not have done something stupid," Was how Makarov greeted the couple. "I've got enough fines because of Natsu, I don't need another wrecking ball in human form."

"No its… er," Laxus stopped himself. He should have thought about how he'd actually say it. "It's nothing bad."

"I know that my boy, just messing with ya," The old man grinned, expanding his arm to pull two chairs towards the booth that the Raijinshuu and Laxus were sitting at. "I know this guild's a little eccentric, but even we don't get out champagne when we do something wrong. So, what actually do you have to tell me?"

At the question, Laxus gathered his thoughts and took a small breath. His grandfather would be happy for them both, he knew this without a doubt; hell, when he found out that they were dating he had tried to throw the two a party because it had 'finally happened after all these years.' It wasn't unrealistic to think that the old man would start crying in a similar way that Bickslow had when he was told. He just wanted to get this right.

"Okay," He said after a moment. "So, y'know how you treat everyone in the guild as a member of your family?"

"Of course."

"Well, so I guess what I'm saying it," Laxus took a breath to prepare himself. "With Freed, you don't have to treat him like he's a member of the family anymore. Because he actually will be part of our family."

To remove any doubt as to what he was saying – because he wasn't exactly being clear, he knew – he lifted up his left hand to clearly show the old man his engagement ring. Makarov seemed to take a few seconds to completely understand what his grandson was telling him. The second he did, however, a million different emotions seem to flash across his features. It settled on a mixture of pride and happiness for his grandson and new grandson-in-law.

"You're engaged?" He asked, voice showing the same emotion his face did.

"Yeah," Laxus nodded, and his voice cracked slightly over the single word. "Fuck yeah we are."

The blonde wrapped an arm around his fiancé with a wide grin, and Mirajane took this moment to pop the champagne she bad been holding. As she began pouring them all a glass of the expensive alcohol, Makarov expanded his arms again and pulled them into their second awkward hug of the day; at least this one didn't leave them with a bar digging into their hips.

"I'm so proud of the both of you," He said gently, voice cracking slightly in a similar way to Laxus'. "How far you come since you were kids… just so proud of you."

"Thanks, Gramps," Laxus whispered.

"None needed, Brat," Makarov grinned. "Now you remember this. Marriage might not be all roses, but the two of you are your biggest allies and friends. You look after each other, you love each other, and you make sure that you never waste a day together. You both understand me?"

"Yeah," Laxus grinned.

"Of course," Freed nodded.

"You better," Makarov grinned. "Now, you two also have to tell me what happened. An old man can never have too many sentimental stories swirling around in his mind, and I have a feeling this one's gonna stick with me."

With this, alongside some prompting from the others sitting at the table, Freed began to explain what had pushed him to propose at the time he had and what was going through his mind when he was doing it. He recited what he had told Laxus when he was on his knee, and Laxus occasionally chipped in with how he had reacted and what he had been thinking when it had happened. This had made Bickslow and Mirajane cry, while Ever and Makarov seemed unable to stop smiling at the couple.

Freed and Laxus themselves had found comfort in leaving against each other. Freed had his hand resting over Laxus' gently playing with the engagement ring. Anyone who saw them would agree that they looked as content and happy as two men could be, and it warmed Makarov's heart to see his grandson in such a state.

"Right then, a toast," The old man suddenly said, standing up with a smile and picking up his glass. The rest of the table followed his lead. "I'll keep it short, because if I don't, I think I'll start crying, so here goes. I know more than anyone that the people in this guild don't always have the best start in life, and sometimes they come here looking for family and love. And I'm so glad that the two of you have found it with each other, and that your love is so pure and strong that you want to take the next step with each other."

A small chorus of agreements came form the people sitting at the table, other than Freed and Laxus themselves. The couple smiled and leant a little further into each other, smiling softly at each other. Laxus leant down and pressed a small kiss against Freed's lips.

"To Freed and Laxus," Makarov continued, voice slightly louder. "I wish you a long and happy marriage."

The group raised their glasses, clinked them together and went to bring them to their lips. Makarov returned to his seat at the table, going to bring his drink to his lips. It was then that the group realised that the guild had gotten slightly quieter – but by no means silent – the moment Makarov had finished his toast. It took a few seconds for them all to realise why exactly that was.

"Marriage!?" A loud voice shouted from below. It belonged to Natsu. The lack of sound was because he had stopped fighting.

"Laxus-san. Freed-san," Wendy's voice followed after. "You're getting married?"

Makarov grinded his teeth a little, knowing that Freed and Laxus wanted to keep it quiet. When he looked at them, half expecting them to be angry at him for letting it slip by forgetting about enhanced hearing Dragon-Slayers contained, he saw that they were both laughing about it.

"We should have thought about that. Surprised it took that long for one of them to overhear," Laxus laughed, looking down at his fiancé with a soft smile. "You ready for it?"

"Of course," Freed chuckled slightly. "In retrospect, we were probably quite naïve to think we could keep any kind of secret in this place."

The two shared another short, chaste kiss with each other. As they did, they could hear a large amount of the guildmembers below breaking the 'no non-S-Class mage teams on the second floor' rule so they could confront the couple with any questions that had about hoe the two had become engaged. Almost simultaneously, the raised their champagne to their lips and emptied their glasses entirely.

"Good luck," Freed offered Laxus with a smile.

"Likewise," Laxus grinned.

The crowd of guildmates had made their way up the stairs at that point and were already throwing a wave of questions in their directions. Many of them were slightly invasive or overly personal but done so in a loving way that Fairy Tail was essentially known for. And even though the two were usually quite private and would normally take such an affront in a less than kind way, but they decided that today they would just let their guildmates have their fun.

Nothing could bring them down that night. Nothing at all.