Levy was going to be regularly furious, because the man she had feelings for was not only made of iron in the literal sense but also in every other sense. He left without a word whenever the mood struck him, vanished completely, and appeared entirely unbothered by the idea that this might be a problem.
Fortunately his partner was reliable enough to compensate, doing his best to manage the fallout and absorbing whatever portion of the resulting anger he could.
What made Panther Lily even more enviable was that his default state was thoroughly endearing while his combat ability in the moment it mattered was something else entirely. A cat that good-natured and that capable. Who wouldn't want one?
Even from Rhodes's perspective, it was hard to imagine a better partner than Panther Lily, unless someone handed him an actual Tom to go with him.
From the day Gajeel left, another half month passed. In that time a handful of other members applied to step away from the group and train independently, including Gray, Juvia, and a few others.
Cana applied once and was turned down. Her track record suggested that solo time away from supervision would produce growth in alcohol tolerance rather than magical power. He approved the second request. She had looked genuinely serious, and besides, spending every day using earth magic to repair terrain and mountainsides destroyed by training was exhausting.
Better to let her take her destructive energy somewhere else for a while and have her work off any resulting compensation bills afterward.
Levy, for her part, did not go after Gajeel.
Word through the guild's informal channels was that she intended to remain angry for the foreseeable future, and that the anger would only lift if Gajeel came back with a song written for her.
A Gajeel original.
Which was to say, something more lethal than death metal in both technical definition and practical effect. The damage potential was frankly staggering.
Among all the guild members, only three were capable of genuinely appreciating Gajeel's music: Mirajane, Levy, and one member's magic bird, who transformed into a loudspeaker and essentially had no opinion on any song regardless of quality.
Mirajane could appreciate it from a purely musical standpoint. The bird operated as an amplifier without aesthetic judgment. Only Levy actually liked it. Everyone else was simply at a loss.
Rhodes's own routine over those two weeks was consistent. Daily guild business and training, supplemented by extended sessions at the library working through every relevant source he could find. The other constant was finding excuses to bring things home for Wendy, who had relocated there as his personal physician.
He had always been fond of looking after Wendy, and now he brought back pastries in different varieties on a rotating basis. Mirajane's appetite varied day to day, and Elfman had no interest in sweets, so Wendy and Lisanna were quietly eating very well.
It was on one such evening, while Rhodes was contemplating what to bring back, that Lucy came running in radiating pure triumph.
"Mr. Rhodes, Mirajane, I did it!"
She was wearing an elaborate outfit that read as a very large, very deliberate swimsuit: aqua as the dominant color, light trumpet-shaped cuffs around each wrist, the sleeves and skirt trimmed in pale gold, and the chest emblazoned with the wave symbol of the Aquarius constellation. Her hair was mostly loose, with small sections at either side gathered into twin tails, held with aqua ribbons.
Combined with Lucy's current expression of barely contained delight and the way she moved in the outfit, the effect was genuinely striking.
She had spent weeks working toward this and finally had something to show for it. The direction of the new magic was right, it was real and usable, and she had created something that had never existed before. A new form of Celestial Spirit Magic, entirely her own.
The feeling was overwhelming in the best possible way.
And none of it would have happened without Mr. Rhodes and Mirajane's help and encouragement.
So Lucy had run here first, to share it with them.
"Oh~" Rhodes looked her up and down with a comfortable appreciation, then turned and patted Mirajane's arm. "Honey, look at Lucy."
Mirajane had already been looking. She received the gesture, understood it immediately, and said with warm sincerity, "What a beautiful swimsuit."
Lucy blinked.
"Isn't it?" Rhodes said, satisfied. "Lucy has excellent taste. I'll pick one up for you tomorrow."
"Yes, though this style does look rather expensive."
"Don't worry about the cost. As long as you like it."
"Thank you, my love!" Mirajane grabbed Rhodes's arm with a delighted sound and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
Then, as though only just remembering, she looked back at Lucy. "Oh, that's right, I kept forgetting to ask..."
Lucy leaned forward with anticipation. Finally, the actual topic.
"Lucy," Mirajane said, "where did you buy that outfit?"
"..."
Lucy was very close to losing her mind. "That is not the point! Although being told it looks beautiful does make me happy." She dropped her voice for that part. "But this is a Celestial Dress! An Aquarius Constellation Dress! As long as I maintain this form, I can use Aquarius's magic directly without it affecting my ability to summon Aquarius separately at all! My new magic works!"
"Oh, so it can't be purchased anywhere." Mirajane's expression shifted to one of genuine regret. "What a shame."
Lucy went from elated to nearly deflated in the space of two seconds. Mirajane held the expression for a moment longer, then broke into a mischievous smile before composing herself properly.
"Congratulations, Lucy. Everything you put into this was worth it."
Rhodes stopped smiling as well, gave her shoulder a pat, and said, "Congratulations. And keep going. I believe you're going to become the finest Celestial Spirit mage there is."
Those two were absolutely doing this on purpose.
And she had come to them first. Of all the people she could have run to.
Lucy tried very hard to arrange her face into something resembling indignation. It didn't work. The encouragement had gotten in and the smile refused to stay down.
She nodded firmly, enthusiasm winning out completely. "I will! I'll keep going. The Leo Constellation Dress is next!"
She was out the door moments later, the earlier teasing already forgotten, performing a small demonstration of the new water magic on her way.
Lucy really was easy to win over. Rhodes noted this privately with fondness.
Lucy had meant what she said about keeping going. The success of the Aquarius Constellation Dress seemed to have given her a confidence she hadn't quite had before, and in the weeks that followed she pushed harder than ever, coming close to forgetting meals and sleep entirely.
As a result, Rhodes found himself treated to an enthusiastic demonstration of a new Constellation Dress every few days.
Leo. Taurus. Cancer.
Each one had its own character, its own aesthetic, its own corresponding magic. The one consistent quality was that all of them were beautiful. The Taurus one in particular made a memorable impression. Only Lucy could wear something like that and land on the right side of the line without apparent effort.
Rhodes was entirely in favor of Lucy continuing this line of magical development. It was pleasant to watch, and regardless of what he thought of it, there was no risk of Mirajane taking issue. Because it was Lucy.
After ten Constellation Dresses spread across the better part of two weeks, Rhodes found his attention elsewhere entirely.
Because Mirajane's due date was approaching.
By Porlyusica's calculation, it would likely fall around the fifth of March, give or take a few days. Though she had noted that landing precisely on that date was less probable than arriving one to two weeks early or one to two weeks late. Based on Mirajane's condition, early was the more likely direction.
Rhodes was not going to be caught unprepared.
He was, however, caught slightly off guard after a week of careful vigilance with nothing happening, during which both he and Mirajane remained comfortable enough that he allowed himself to relax fractionally.
That was the night Mirajane's voice pulled him up from sleep.
He was still half-dreaming when he registered the slight urgency in her tone.
"I think. It might not be long. It might be..."
Rhodes was awake in an instant.
He was out of bed, across the room, and had Wendy out of the girls' dormitory in her pajamas within seconds.