68 Fifteen Years Old

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

May 8, x780.

A few months have passed since Alfonzo took his first S-Class quest. Since then, he has taken one every month. His other quests have all been A-Class. And during those A-Class quests, he has always teamed up with Elicia. More often than not, Cana would tag along as well. They even took quests with the other young A-Class wizards in their group from time to time.

Another thing that happened over the last few months was Erza's fifteenth birthday. On April 7, Erza became an adult, by this world's standards. So, Naturally, almost everyone in the guild threw her a big, typical Fairy Tail-style party at the guild hall during the day, Then, in the evening, the other young wizards in their group and Ur had a second party at Alfonzo and Elicia's house.

With Alfonzo cooking, Elicia making some beautiful new clothes, and everyone else giving her a presents, Erza truly enjoyed the birthday that marked her as an adult. A month later, another party was thrown for Alfonzo and Elicia. However, they made sure to keep it much more subdued. And the reason was simple. Alfonzo would have to do his own cooking for the second party.

Shortly after the party at the guild hall, Alfonzo, Elicia, Cana, Laki, Alzack, Gildarts, Levy, Jet, Droy, Ur, Gray, Ultear, Erza, Natsu, Mirajane, Elfman, Lisanna, and Happy made their way to Alfonzo and Elicia's mansion. Then, while Alfonzo busied himself in the kitchen, the rest sat around the large dining room table, chatting, eating, and having fun.

"It's already been eight years since we met." Cana said with a slight, alcohol-induced flush on her face. "I can't believe how fast time flies."

"You sound like an old lady when you talk like that." Natsu chimed in.

"What the hell did you just say, Natsu?" Cana snarled. "Are you calling me old?"

"Huh? No." Natsu replied sounding slightly panicked. "I just meant…"

At that moment, Gildarts, who was sitting nearby with a bottle of wine in his hand, placed his free hand on Natsu's shoulder, gaining the pink-haired boy's attention.

"Sometimes it's better to just stay silent." Gildarts said, looking as if he were reliving some painful past memories.

While Natsu looked at Gildarts' expression with confusion in his eyes, Ur could not help but smirk at Gildarts' last statement.

"That something you learned from Bianca back in the day?" Ur asked.

"Yeah…" Gildarts murmured. "It was a painful, yet enlightening lesson.

"Really?" Elicia asked, interest shining in her eyes. "What did she do?"

"I'd rather not say." Gildarts said before taking a swig from the bottle in his hand.

"He probably got beaten half to death for saying something stupid." Ur chimed in.

Instead of replying, Gildarts simply looked away and took another swig from the bottle. Meanwhile, everyone else in the room laughed uproariously after seeing Fairy Tail's strongest wizard's current expression.

"*Cough* Anyway, how's the food coming along, Kid?" Gildarts asked toward the kitchen in an obvious attempt to change the subject.

"It should be ready soon." Alfonzo replied. "But, everyone, please don't let that stop you from mercilessly mocking the old man."

"I'm only forty-one…" Gildarts muttered while everyone continued to laugh. "I'm not old."

A few seconds later, the laughter finally died down.

"Alfonzo, what are you cooking, anyway?" Natsu, the most gluttonous of the guests asked with drool leaking from the side of his mouth. "It smells so good."

"Steak and shrimp fajitas." Alfonzo replied. "And like I said, it will be ready soon."

Just like that, the group continued to chat and have fun. Then, after about fifteen minutes, Alfonzo came out from the kitchen with a platter floating behind him. On the platter were several plates full of steak, shrimp, onions, green peppers, shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and flower tortillas.

"Damn, Natsu was right." Gildarts said with an excited glint in his eyes. "That really does smell good. I guess you really went all out for this dinner of yours, huh?"

"Not really." Alfonzo replied nonchalantly. "This is actually a pretty simple meal. Even Lici can cook it."

"Yeah, but it never tastes as good as when you make it." Elicia said, drooling like Natsu.

In response, Alfonzo simply smiled. Then, when he approached the table, he set down the platter before spacing out all the plates so that everyone could reach the fajita ingredients.

"All right, let's dig in!" Natsu cried as he reached for one of the plates.

*Smack!*

"Not so fast, Pinky." Alfonzo said, willing a spoon to smack Natsu on the back of his outstretched hand.

"Why won't you let me eat, Alfonzo?" Natsu whined.

"Because I haven't brought out the food for happy." Alfonzo said.

"Yeah, Natsu, my food isn't here yet." Happy added, visibly excited by the thought of the food that was prepared just for him.

"Hmph! Fine." Natsu sat back with his arms crossed and a pout on his face.

After a few more moments, Alfonzo left the kitchen again. This time, he was holding a small plate with a stack of thinly sliced pieces of raw fish.

"And for the gluttonous cat, salmon sashimi." Alfonzo said, placing the small plate in front of Happy.

"Hey, I'm not a glutton." Happy complained with drool flowing from his mouth.

"Say that again after wiping your mouth, you mangy cat." Mirajane said with a huff.

"Mira~, don't be so mean to Happy." Lisanna said with a small frown.

"Lisanna is so nice." Happy said with a big smile on his face.

"Even if he's a glutton, you don't have to call him mangy." Lisanna continued.

With that, Happy's eyes opened wide, his pupils contracted, and his mouth hung open in disbelief.

"Lisanna… Do you really think I'm a glutton, too?" Happy asked with a crestfallen expression on his face.

At that moment, everyone laughed good-naturedly. Meanwhile, Alfonzo was coming out of the kitchen once again. In his hands were glasses and a platter with several bottles of juice and liquor.

"Oh, does that mean your babysitter is finally going to let you drink like a man?" Gildarts asked, eyeing the liquor in Alfonzo's hands.

"I'm not his babysitter." Elicia pouted. "I just didn't want Fonzie to break the law."

"Exactly." Ur chimed in with a nod. "We don't want him to become a degenerate."

At that moment, everyone's gazes turned toward Cana, who was currently drinking straight from a bottle of ale. After finishing the bottle, Cana noticed all the gazes concentrated on her.

"Huh? What's wrong? *Burp*" Cana asked before unleashing an ale scented belch.

"Nothing at all, Cana." Alfonzo said, combing his fingers through Cana's hair. "Don't worry about it."

Narrowing her eyes in pleasure, Cana decided to follow Alfonzo's suggestion and not care about the stares she was receiving.

At the same time, everyone in the room could hear the sound of teeth grinding. When they looked in the sound's direction, they saw Gildarts trying to set Alfonzo ablaze with his glare.

"What's wrong, Uncle Gildarts?" Elicia asked in a sugary sweet tone with a sweet smile on her face. "You look unhappy, is something wrong?"

Hearing Elicia's tone and seeing that smile, Gildarts shuddered as he felt a phantom pain in his groin. Then, with terror in his eyes, he began shaking his head frantically.

On a side note, this was only the first time Gildarts had ever been allowed inside Alfonzo' and Elicia's home. Until now, Gildarts had refused the conditions set forth for entry. With those conditions being that he had to wear a pair of anti-magic bracelets for the duration of his stay.

Beforehand, Gildarts had refused because he had every intention of unintentionally destroying parts of the house after Cana decided to move in. Unfortunately, Alfonzo's barrier was stronger than he expected, so he was sent flying several times over the last two and a half years.

Finally, when everyone had a drink, juice for some and alcohol for others, and after a toast for the birthday boy and girl, everyone was allowed to dig in. However, they were not completely sure how to go about eating the meal.

"*Sigh* I should have known that none of you had seen this kind of food before." Alfonzo said with a chuckle. "I'll show you how it's done, then."

Alfonzo then proceeded to pick up a flower tortilla. Then, he put a little of each ingredient on it, folded the tortilla in half, and took a bite.

"And that's how you do it." Alfonzo said after chewing his food.

Meanwhile, Elicia, not caring that no one else knew how to enjoy the meal, dug in like she was the only one at the table. Eventually, everyone else joined her and the dinner turned in to quite the joyous affair.

Meanwhile, back at the guild, Makarov was sitting atop the bar in his usual place while sulking.

"Hey, what's wrong with Master?" Macao asked after glancing at Makarov.

"Isn't that obvious?" Wakaba replied. "Alfonzo and Elicia are having another more private birthday party with their friends."

"What's does that have to do with this?" Macao asked in confusion.

"Who do you think is gonna cook for that party?" Wakaba asked, looking at Macao as if he were the dumbest person in Fiore.

With that, Macao widened his eyes in realization.

"Damn, I wanna go to that party, too." Macao said with a frown. "Wait, Gildarts and Ur are there right now, aren't they?"

"They should be." Wakaba replied.

"Why did they get invited and we didn't?" Macao asked. "This is so unfair."

"Well, If I had to guess." Wakaba said, taking a toke from his pipe. "It's probably because they were friends with the kids' parents."

"I guess that makes sense." Macao said with a sad nod.

While Macao and Wakaba chatted, Makarov was drowning himself in alcohol.

'Why didn't they invite me?' Makarov asked himself. 'Haven't I been good to them? Don't I treat them like my grandchildren? Why wouldn't they let me partake in such an undoubtedly delicious meal? Maybe I was wrong for thinking of them as my favorites.'

Back at the mansion, the party had been relocated to the game room after the group finished eating. And while playing the variety of games, Gildarts got Alfonzo to drink more than he intended. And to his surprise, Elicia was helping.

'What is that girl up to?' Gildarts wondered as Elicia refilled Alfonzo's glass again. A moment later, however, his expression turned into a mischievous smile. 'Whatever, I'll get to see the kid embarrass himself when he's piss drunk. Hehehe.'

"I don't know what you're thinking right now, Gildarts." Ur said while shaking her head in disappointment. "But your evil is showing."

"Evil, me?" Gildarts asked, replacing his mischievous smile with a righteous one. "I'm the furthest thing from evil."

What Gildarts did not know, however, was that Alfonzo was not a sloppy or belligerent drunk. In fact, he was the exact opposite. He was probably the happiest drunk anyone had ever met. And that fact was about to become apparent.

"Hey, Unc." Alfonzo said, throwing an arm over Gildarts' shoulder. "When's the next time you have some free time?"

"Huh?" Gildarts was confused by Alfonzo's current demeanor. "Uh… I should be free for the next few days, why?"

"I wanted you to spar with me. Help me figure out some flaws in my fighting style, stuff like that." Alfonzo said with a big, friendly smile on his face. "I mean, you're the best fighter and most powerful wizard I know. It would be a waste to not get your advice, right?"

Not only Gildarts, but everyone in the room widened their eyes at Alfonzo's declaration. He usually avoids sparring with Gildarts like the plague. But he actually asked for it, of his own volition.

"Hey, are you okay, Kid?" Gildarts asked with worry in his tone.

"Yeah, I'm great." Alfonzo said cheerfully. Then, he took his arm off Gildarts' shoulders, mixed two drinks, handed one to Gildarts, then continued. "Anyway, this is a toast to you, Unc. A thank you for all the help you've given me with my training over the years. And my appreciation for you."

Then, without waiting for a reply, Alfonzo threw his head back and downed the entire drink, leaving everyone else in the room in dumbfounded silence, gaping with their mouths wide open. Eventually, the silence was broken by Elicia, who could no longer hold back her laughter, causing everyone, except for Alfonzo to snap their heads in her direction.

"Elicia, did you know this would happen?" Ur asked with disbelief written all over her face.

"I had a hunch." Elicia said, through her giggles and laughter.

"Is that why you kept refilling his glass?" Gildarts asked.

"Yup." Elicia replied. "And it was a good idea. Fonzie's so cute when he's drunk."

Before anyone could ask any more questions, Alfonzo quickly made his way over to Elicia, without stumbling in the slightest, and swept her off her feet in a princess carry.

"Not nearly as cute as you, though." Alfonzo said while spinning Elicia around. "I love you so much, Lici."

"I love you too, Fonzie." Elicia replied with a smile.

From that point on, those who drank, drank more. Those who were playing games, played 'til they were too tired to continue. And those who chatted, had a great time filled with laughter. Meanwhile, Alfonzo, who was completely smashed, went around hugging everyone while telling them how much he appreciated them.

Eventually, the party drew to a close. While Elicia and Cana decided to take showers before bed, Alfonzo showed the guests out. After a few more alcohol-induced hugs, the group bid Alfonzo good night and left. Then, Alfonzo returned to the house and made his way to the master bedroom.

When he finally entered the bedroom, while pulling his shirt over his head, Alfonzo came to a sudden stop when he saw Elicia sitting on the edge of the bed with her legs crossed and wearing a pink, satin bathrobe.

Seeing Alfonzo's expression, Elicia smiled seductively.

"I hope you're ready for your birthday gift, Fonzie." Elicia said in a sultry tone.