January 1, X791.
Overcast skies. A light snowfall drifted down over Magnolia.
The gray, chilly weather carried that lazy feeling that made people want to burrow under their blankets and drift half-asleep.
Rhodes and Mira were exactly like that, though in their case, they genuinely hadn't gotten much sleep.
They hadn't done anything last night, but strangely both of them had suffered from insomnia. They only managed to doze off around three or four in the morning.
Tradition said the bride and groom shouldn't sleep together the night before the wedding, but with no elders to enforce that, they'd simply stuck to their usual habits.
Thump, thump, thump.
The knocking jolted them from their half-sleep. Mira groaned, rolled over, and hugged Rhodes, rubbing her cheek against his chest in search of a cozier spot to squeeze in a few more minutes.
Rhodes didn't open his eyes either. He simply hugged her closer, stroked her silver hair, and placed a light kiss on the top of her head.
Until Lisanna's voice rang out from outside the door.
"Mira-nee! Brother-in-law! It's almost time! Mira-nee!"
Both of them shot up immediately. Today of all days, they absolutely could not oversleep!
They scrambled to throw off the blankets, hurriedly straightened their pajamas, and only opened the door once they looked somewhat presentable.
Lisanna stood there with her hands on her hips, puffing out her cheeks.
"Honestly, it's your wedding, and I'm the one who has to come wake you up."
Rhodes offered a sheepish smile.
"We couldn't sleep at all last night."
Lisanna narrowed her eyes slyly.
"Oh~ Was it because you were excited, or because you were doing something you shouldn't?"
Rhodes flicked her lightly on the head.
"Where do you pick up these ridiculous ideas? We were nervous."
"Ah no!" Mira suddenly cried out from the dressing table. She was staring into the mirror, horrified.
"I have dark circles under my eyes!"
Lisanna leaned over to glance at Rhodes and nodded seriously.
"It's true. Brother-in-law has them too."
Mira's panic doubled.
"What should we do? Should we go boil eggs and press them on our eyes right now?!"
Rhodes slipped behind her, pulling her into his arms.
"You can if you want, but don't worry. You'll have makeup on anyway."
Even though his tone was calm, Mira could hear the faint tremble in Rhode's voice. That only made her more nervous, yet at the same time, it was a little funny.
Lisanna quickly waved her hands.
"Alright, alright! I don't want to see any more of this. Hurry and wash up! Mira-nee, stay here and wait for everyone to come pick you up. Brother-in-law, get your things together and head to the guild. They're already waiting for you there."
The house bustled into motion. Before long, both bride and groom were washed, dressed in casual clothes, and packed with their formal attire ready.
Rhodes left with Elfman at his side, carrying his suit.
But as soon as they opened the door;
They froze.
Because the entire bridesmaid squad was already gathered at the entrance!
Erza, Lucy, Levy, Cana, Wendy, Juvia, Laki, Kinana, Chico, Evergreen, every single one of them was there, carrying bags, faces glowing with excitement. They looked ready to change right there on the spot.
Rhode's eyes immediately landed on Erza, because she wasn't in her usual armor at all.
She was wearing a full wedding dress, complete with veil and bouquet.
"Erza, what are you..."
But Erza didn't look embarrassed in the slightest. She lifted the edge of her skirt slightly with practiced grace and asked in complete seriousness:
"How do I look?"
It wasn't a question of how suitable Erza looked.
The problem was that she was standing in his doorway, in a full wedding gown, bouquet in hand, acting like it was her big day.
Rhodes rubbed his temples.
'Did Mira push her too far yesterday? This feels like Erza's been overstimulated.'
Lucy let out a weary sigh.
"Erza… today isn't your wedding."
"Haha!" Cana cut in with a loud laugh, already tipsy despite the early hour. She swaggered up with a bottle in hand, slinging her free arm over Rhode's shoulder in mock camaraderie.
"So, how's it feel marrying two brides at once? Happy?"
Rhodes wrinkled his nose and shoved her back.
"Why do you reek of alcohol this early? Don't tell me you're planning to pass out in the cathedral?"
Cana tilted her head back with a proud smirk.
"Ha! Looking down on me, are you? Watch closely!" She tipped the bottle and chugged in long, loud gulps, glug, glug, glug.
Lucy, the only voice of reason in the crowd, quickly stepped in.
"Cana, stop it! There's a banquet at noon and a dance in the evening, you'll miss it if you drink yourself under now."
Rhode's face was caught somewhere between frustration and despair. Levy noticed and gave him a reassuring smile.
"Go on ahead to the guild. We'll… keep an eye on them."
Wendy tugged gently at his sleeve, lowering her voice.
"Lisanna-san already told us, looking after them is part of the bridesmaid group's duties."
Rhodes nodded. His sister-in-law was thoughtful, but… he wasn't sure if this particular group was capable of keeping itself in check. And hearing Wendy call it our bridesmaid group still sounded surreal.
"Let's go," he said at last, turning to leave, only to catch Elfman and Evergreen exchanging glances. Both of them were red in the face for reasons he didn't want to know.
Rhodes had a sudden idea. He waved Evergreen over.
She jumped slightly, fanning herself with her usual flair.
"Wh-What is it?" she asked, feigning composure.
"I have a favor to ask."
Evergreen straightened, and a self-satisfied smile spread across her lips.
"Oh, I see! Don't worry, even though my beauty is unmatched in Fairy Tail, I'm not the type to outshine the bride. At the very least, I won't steal Mira's spotlight."
Rhodes blinked. There were too many problems with that sentence to even begin correcting. He sighed.
"That's not what I meant. Just… keep an eye on them. If things really get out of hand during the ceremony, you could always, turn them to stone for a bit."
Evergreen froze, her fan trembling in her hand.
'Seriously? Only Rhodes would think of petrifying his own guildmates, at his wedding!'
Rhodes waved it off a second later, realizing how insane it sounded.
"Forget it. Just… do your best. I'll leave it to you."
And with that, he motioned to Elfman. Together, the groom and his best man finally managed to leave the house behind.
As the bridesmaid group swarmed into the house behind him, Rhodes hadn't gone far before he thought he heard Lucy summoning Cancer inside.
He chuckled knowingly. 'Of course. Lucy's Celestial Spirit really is perfect for the job today.'
On the streets of Magnolia, it was impossible for the groom to walk unnoticed.
"Mr. Rhodes, congratulations!"
"Saint Rhodes!"
"Best wishes to you both!"
"When does the show start?!"
Passersby who had already caught wind of the inside news waved, cheered, and shouted their blessings. Rhodes responded with polite smiles and nods until he finally reached the guild.
The moment the main doors swung open;
"Attention everyone! The groom has arrived!" Max roared into a microphone.
Bang! Bang!
Streams of colorful confetti exploded overhead. Romeo and Asuka, standing on either side of the entrance, gleefully twisted open handheld cannons, showering the hall in glitter and ribbons. The guild erupted into whistles, applause, and laughter. Nobody stirred up excitement quite like Fairy Tail.
Rhodes raised a hand, smiling helplessly.
"Thanks, everyone… but the wedding hasn't even started yet."
Max grinned.
"A rehearsal is necessary! Besides, Asuka insisted on trying out the confetti!"
Asuka's tiny arms flailed as she shouted proudly in her childish voice, "Congratulations, Big Brother Rhodes! Daddy told me to say that!"
"Thank you, Asuka. I'll be counting on you today." Rhodes scooped her up under the arms and swung her gently through the air, sending the girl into a fit of giggles that made the crowd laugh along with her.
Then his gaze landed on the shrunken figure of Romeo. Rhodes smirked.
"So, how does it feel being a child again?"
Romeo gave a sheepish smile.
"It's fine… but Dad insisted on turning me into this."
When Rhodes had suggested Romeo and Asuka act as flower children together, Macao protested that Romeo was too tall, saying it would look awkward. His "solution" had been to use magic to shrink his son into a six-year-old, conveniently recreating the cuteness of Romeo's childhood years for Macao's own nostalgia.
Rhodes could only sigh inwardly at that, though he was grateful all the same. He reached out to ruffle Romeo's now-small head.
"Endure it for today. I'll teach you a fun flame magic later."