Baby Steps

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Crocus.

July 7, x788.

After Bacchus left and the girls had their fight, all the guilds who participated in the main event of the Grand Magic Games were invited to a banquet at Mercurius, the Flower Light Palace, to celebrate another successful Grand Magic Games.

"You girls did well this year." Elicia said to Kagura during the banquet. "You all got third place, pushing Lamia Scale all the way down to fourth. I bet Old Man Jura is wondering what happened."

"Still, we only got third place again." Kagura said in her usual emotionless tone.

"Yeah, but who would have thought that just Bacchus coming back would have been such a big push for Quatro Cerberus?" Araña said while shaking his head. "I wonder how he got so strong."

"I'm sure being sober had something to do with it." Lucy said. "I mean, it's kinda hard to go through so many complicated events when you're basically floating along with the alcohol, right?"

"Although I hate to admit it, he probably would have done well even if he were still that same drunkard." Elicia grumbled begrudgingly. "I mean, he was able to make S-Class even while he was always drunk, right? So, he would have been able to handle it."

"Then what do you think the reason was?" Risley asked curiously.

"It's probably his new martial art." Elicia replied. "Fonzie asked him about it when he came to apologize last night. And he told us that he learned it from a master martial artist in Seven."

"That must be it, Meow!" Millianna exclaimed. "He would have to learn a super-powerful martial art to fight so evenly with Kagura, right?"

"Definitely." Beth added with an emphatic nod. "Kagura is so strong, someone like Bacchus wouldn't be able to fight with her like that otherwise."

It should be mentioned, during Mermaid Heel's S-Class promotion Exam in x786, Kagura was promoted to S-Class, becoming Mermaid Heel's ace in Yoruichi's absence.

While this conversation was going on, Alfonzo was sitting with a few of the guys from the various guilds and talking about the Grand Magic Games, as well.

"Damn, Guy, you'd been holding out on me when we sparred back at the Leaf Village, hadn't you?" Alfonzo asked. "You actually opened [Seven Gates] during the Games. You never opened more than six whenever we fought."

"That's because those were only friendly spars." Guy said with his usual smile on his face. "Although I intended to let my youth burn brightly, the time for it to explode passionately was on a stage like the Grand Magic Games."

"Still, If I had been in that event, you wouldn't have won." Laxus said proudly. "When it comes to speed, not even Alfonzo can keep up with me."

"Even if that's true, Guy won." Ikaku said with a grin. "And because of that, you almost lost the whole Grand Magic Games. If Bacchus hadn't gotten tied up with that woman from Mermaid Heel in the last event, that title would have been ours."

"Almost only counts with horse shoes and magic hand grenades." Laxus replied cheekily. "Like you said, we still won in the end. And that's what counts."

That statement led to a fierce discussion about who would be the winning guild in next year's games. However, despite the fierceness of the discussion, it was still kept rather friendly. Until Alfonzo spoke up to add his two jewels, that is.

"You guys really need to try harder." Alfonzo said with a smile. "I'm really waiting for someone to bring us down from our lofty perch."

Naturally, this caused all those participating in the conversation to look at Alfonzo with displeasure. While Laxus, Fried, and Bickslow all looked at Alfonzo as if he were a traitor for encouraging their competitors, the guys from the other guilds looked at him with fighting spirit burning in their eyes because they thought he was taunting them.

However, none of them were aware that Alfonzo, Elicia, and the rest of his team were not allowed to participate in the Grand Magic Games until Laxus and his team, or whoever managed to get the right to compete during the Battle of Fairy Tail Tournament, lost the title of Fiore's strongest guild. And by now, Alfonzo was already tired of being a spectator.

Despite the change in atmosphere in that part of the hall, the banquet continued and all the members of the guild got along in a relatively harmonious manner until Toma E. Fiore declared the end of the banquet and wished everyone well for the coming year.

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

July 8, x788.

The next day, all the guilds left Crocus to return to their own guild headquarters. And Fairy Tail was no exception, arriving in Magnolia sometime in the afternoon.

"Finally home." Alfonzo said as he walked into the mansion on the lake with Amar'e in his arms. "It feels like it's been such a long time since I was back home."

"It hasn't even been that long, though." Mirajane said. "I mean, you were home right before you went to the Leaf Village, right?"

"That's' true." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "Still, it feels like it's been a long time because of how busy I've been."

"When are you going back to the Leaf?" Marin asked.

"Some time after Little Man's birthday." Alfonzo replied. "Until then, I'm not taking any quests or doing any jobs for anyone. I'm just gonna stay at home, relax, spend time with Little Man, and enjoy my beautiful life with all of you."

When Alfonzo mentioned all of you, he was naturally talking about his nine wives and Saeko, who was not one of his wives yet, but was also a member of his harem.

"Well then, why don't I help you relax." Shizuka asked with a sweet smile. "If I give you a massage with my [Healing Magic], it should loosen up your muscles by quite a bit."

"Huh?" Alfonzo exclaimed as he turned his head towards Shizuka, inadvertently pulling his hair out of Amar'e's hands and making him laugh as he tried to catch it again. "You can do that?"

As he asked his question, Alfonzo turned back to Amar'e with a smile on his face and gently shook his head to make catching his hair a little harder. And that made Amar'e laugh happily as he constantly reached out for Alfonzo's dreads.

"Oh, yeah!" Sun cheered happily. "Shizuka's massages are amazing. I've had one, too. And my mom gets them whenever she can."

"You're not doing all that for free, are you?" Alfonzo asked in a concerned tone. "I mean, it's fine to give freebees to the family, but anyone outside of our family should definitely pay."

"Don't worry." Shizuka said as her sweet smile turned into one that was very merchant-like. "I charge properly. And I've made the most from Evergreen and Saya, the two who enjoy the finer things the most."

"Good girl." Alfonzo said as he reached out and combed his fingers through Shizuka's hair.

"I feel like Shizuka is being corrupted." Ultear muttered. "When she first showed up, she would have never thought of charging the members of the guild."

"Hey, you can't say it like that, Tear." Cana said with a smile. "She's not being corrupted. Instead, she's being enlightened."

"Cana's right." Elicia said in a firm tone. "Wizards don't work for free, never forget that."

"Whoa!" Marin exclaimed with a playful smile. "Look at Lici being all… Um… What's the word I'm looking for?"

"I think decisive fits in this situation." Lucy chimed in.

"Yeah, that's sit!" Marin exclaimed once again as she pulled Elicia into a hug. "Look at Lici being all decisive."

"What can I say?" Elicia said in a slightly smug tone. "Auntie Bianca and my daddy drilled that notion into me when I was little. And Fonzie made sure that I would never forget it."

"So, you're just using the wisdom of others, huh?" Erza added. "That's quite admirable."

"Exactly." Elicia said as she puffed out her chest with pride.

While the group was talking, they had been walking through the house. Meanwhile, Grayfia, maria, Mey-Rin, and Miyuki took all their luggage to the laundry room to be washed.

Eventually, Alfonzo, Amar'e, and the girls reached the living room, where they all sat down to relax after sitting in the cars all morning long. And when Alfonzo sat down, he put Amar'e on the floor so that he could play with the innumerable number of toys he had received since the day he was born.

And just like that, the group continued to chat while watching Amar'e entertain himself.

About half an hour later, Maria walked into the living room and bowed to all those present.

"Master, Madams, it's almost time for lunch." Maria said politely. "Before we start cooking, we wanted to know if master Alfonzo wanted to cook today or would you be leaving it to us?"

Hearing Maria's question, Elicia's, Cana's, Ultear's, Erza's, Mirajane's, Marin's, Sun's, Lucy's, Saeko's, and Shizuka's eyes all focused on Alfonzo. And the anticipation in their eyes was so great that he realized that saying no was not an option.

"I'll cook." Alfonzo replied. "What ingredients are prepared?"

Hearing that, all the ladies cheered excitedly. Just as Alfonzo felt as though it had been a long time since he was home, they felt that it had been a long time since they tasted Alfonzo's cooking.

"Ai went shopping this morning in preparation for our return." Maria said, beginning her explanation. "And she said she managed to buy a rather large Indigo Salmon as well as an assortment of vegetables."

"Hmm…" Alfonzo hummed as he stopped to think about what he could make.

However, before he could think for too long, his eyes happened to fall on Amar'e. And what he saw made him open his eyes wide. Then, he quickly stood up and pulled his lPhone out of his pocket.

Alfonzo's movements naturally confused the other women in the room. However, when they saw Alfonzo take out his lPhone, they noticed that he was looking towards where Amar'e had been playing. So, they looked in that direction as well. And they, too, widened their eyes in shock.

Currently, Amar'e was next to a toy fort built in the living room for him to crawl around in. However, instead of just crawling around, he had pulled himself up to a standing position while reaching for a toy that was placed on top of the fort.

Unfortunately, Amar'e's arms were a little too short to reach the toy from where he was standing. So, he lifted his little left foot to take a step closer. On top of that, he was not holding onto the fort, as his hands were still stretching towards the toy.

Then, with total concentration, Amar'e put his left foot down and pushed himself a little closer to the toy before raising his right foot to do the same. And with those two shaky, unstable steps, Amar'e was able to reach the toy that he wanted to play with, while being completely unaware of the significance of what he had just done.

Then, with a radiant smile on his face, Amar'e laughed happily while holding the toy. Unfortunately, that broke his concentration and he started to tumble over backwards. But before he could fall to the floor, or properly register what was happening,he felt a familiar sensation, as he was scooped up and held in his father's arms.

"Ahahahahaha!" Amar'e's laughter got even happier when he realized Alfonzo was holding him.

Then, he immediately dropped the toy he just worked so hard to get and started playing with Alfonzo's hair.

"Mar'e~~~~~!" Elicia squealed as she instantly appeared next to Alfonzo in a burst of speed. "Ooh~~~~~! You're getting to be such a big boy. Already walking at a few days less than eleven months old!"

As she spoke, Elicia wrapped both Alfonzo and Amar'e in a hug, making Amar'e laugh even more happily while he held on tightly to Alfonzo's hair.

Shortly afterwards, all the other girls crowded around Alfonzo, Elicia, and Amar'e while gushing over how smart and talented Amar'e was, even though they had no idea if walking before the age of one was all that impressive. But showering a child with praise when they did something good was never a bad thing, right?

Meanwhile, Maria smiled at the atmosphere while she took her own lPhone out from behind her apron and sent a text message to Grayfia, Mey-Rin, Ai, and Miyuki. And that text radiated smugness and pride, despite being only text.

Maria: Young Master Amar'e just took his first steps

Maria: And I was there to see it in person

After sending those two text messages, Maria smiled extremely brightly as she imagined the expression on the other four maids faces while putting her lPhone away.

'Ah! Today is a good day.' Maria thought to herself. 'We're finally back from the capital and I got to see Young Master Amar'e take his first steps. And best of all, I got to brag to the others about it. Oh, even better, Master Alfonzo has decided to cook lunch. And he'll definitely make shares for us, too. Oh, I cant' wait to see the others when we all take a break for lunch.'