The following text is a fanfiction. I do not own any of the characters or places mentioned except Jeanne and her family. Flames, comments, and critiques are accepted, but one will be fed to Natsu. This story contains spoilers about the show, though minor. "Fairy Tail" is owned by Hiro Mashima.

"Tadaima!" I cried, swinging the guild doors open.

"Okaeri!" came the reply.

I walked over to Mira, who was cleaning glasses at the bar. "Okaeri, Jeanne-san. How did your mission in Clover go?"

"Fine," I sighed. "It was just a paranoid rich girl. And her boyfriend wasn't cheating, he was preparing to propose. She was so happy, she raised the reward another hundred thousand jewels."

"Oh, that's fantastic, Jeanne-san. And how much of it do you plan on giving away?" she teased, knowing how I gave some of my earnings to my parents.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Not very much, since my parents refuse to accept more than ten percent of what I make. For some reason, they insist I need it more. Rita and I are thinking of moving out. That should help lower electric, water, and food costs, at least a little."

"That's thoughtful of you, Jeanne-san. Have you considered Fairy Hills?"

I barked out a laugh. "Not a chance, Mira-san! I've seen the rent on that place, and it's ridiculous, even if Rita and I split the cost! We're actually going to check out this really nice place on Strawberry Street, by the canals. It's more like a studio, but it's not like Rita and I aren't used to sharing a room."

"Hmm," Mira mused, "I think I overheard Lucy mentioning that same place."

I frowned in consternation. It might be better to just allow Lucy to take the place; certainly, it'd be the generous thing to do… But could Rita and I afford to be generous? The market wasn't exactly forgiving.

Mira broke through my thoughts. "Oh! Speaking of Lucy, you'll never believe what happened yesterday!"

"She beat Natsu in a fight?" I joked, thinking of the most unbelievable option.

"No, Erza returned."

"Oh, that's good news, she was gone for a while. But that's nothing unbelievable."

"True, but how about the fact that she asked Natsu and Gray to form a team with her?"

"Quoi?!" I gasped.

"I know," Mira cried excitedly. "That might be strongest team! Isn't it exciting?"

I put my hand to my head. "More like terrifying! The three of them, together? I can't even begin to imagine the damage they'll do! Plus, Natsu and Gray, working together? Seriously?"

Mira laughed. "Yes, that did trouble me a bit, so I asked Lucy to follow along, to help keep them in line. Between the four of them, I'd call them the strongest team in Fairy Tail."

I thought a bit. "I dunno, Mira-san. Strong as each of them are, I'd say Laxus and the Raijinshuu would probably have them beat. They just have more experience working together."

"Oh?"

I froze. Mira sounded slightly dejected. I could feel the approaching moment she'd break down into tears. 'Ah, merde! Quick, change the subject!'

"Does Master know about this? Where is he anyway?"

Mira's aura warmed up. "He's in Clover right now, for the Guild Masters' Meeting. I've sent him a message."

"Oh, if I had known that he was gonna be there, I'd have stayed longer and just traveled back with him. I don't really like travelling alone." We were both silent a bit, conversation exhausted, before I stood up. "Well, I only came to let you know I was back. I'd better get going now, before Rita gets impatient enough to look for me."

Mira smiled. "See you around. Or not," she added.

"See ya!" I replied, with an eye roll as I turned, before I smacked straight into a mountain of muscle, falling on my butt and knocking off my glasses.

I didn't even have to look up to know who it was; only Laxus had that combination of large muscle mass and high amounts of magic power. "Sorry!" I cried, forcing myself to look at his feet as I reached for my glasses. I did not want to look at his past, again.

Once I put my glasses on and looked up, I was unsurprised to see that it was indeed the Lightning Mage, with a face of annoyance and disgust, arms crossed.

Okay, annoyance, I understood; I did just smack into him, forcing him to wait a bit to get to wherever he was headed. But why would he wear a face that was clearly meant to make the observed feel like utter garbage? I was aware how he thought that Fairy Tail should be reserved for the strongest mages, and I most certainly was the weakest in the guild. But that did not give him the excuse to be so rude!

With both his face and his disregard for basic etiquette, I guess it's really no wonder why my old self suddenly slipped out.

"No, it's okay, I can get myself up, don't bother," I said, lathering my voice with sarcasm as I stood up again.

Laxus looked a little surprised before resuming his usual glare. Determined to keep up the facade, I held his gaze with a scowl of my own. But on the inside, I was screaming, 'Oh, mes dieux, did I just talk like that to Laxus?! Merde, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, je vais mourir!"

Laxus stalked past me, with a 'tch,' and headed up to the second floor. Weak-kneed, I stumbled back to the bar stool."Merde, I thought he was gonna kill me..."

"If you're that scared of him, then maybe you shouldn't challenge him," Mira gently berated.

I went back to being angry. "I couldn't help it, Mira-san! I had said sorry, didn't I? He could've at least helped me up."

Honestly. I've always respected Laxus, and looked up to him. In a way, maybe I still do. He was arguably the strongest mage in Fairy Tail, and I had been in awe about that since I was six. But did he have to be so snobbish and arrogant about it?

"All right, now I'd really better go. Rita's gonna get angry at me." I stood up once more, and headed out the doors.

"Oi."

"Kya!" I shrieked.

Laxus was outside the building, leaning on the walls.

"How did-? You were in- But now you're right- Wha-?" I couldn't even finish a simple sentence! Mentally, I had no problem with that.

'Why is he here? What could he possibly want? Oh, merde, what if he does want to kill me?! Well, good luck with that, buddy! I'm an expert in running away! And you know else? I'm still pretty irked with how you treated me inside!'

Laxus smirked. "What happened to all that bravado you showed earlier?"

I took a deep breath to gather my thoughts. "Slowly coming back," I answered.

"Oh?" He raised a brow.

My confidence in telling him off grew a bit. If it really came to it, there were around a hundred people inside who'd come to my aid. Even Laxus would find it difficult to fight off everyone.

"Yeah, actually. That was kinda rude, you know. Do you always just stand there when you knock a girl off her feet?"

"I don't always realize when I swat gnats away."

I glared at him for the unnecessary insult, and was about to continue walking, when his smirk suddenly disappeared, and he straightened up.

"It's a thousand years too early for you to speak to me the way you did." Aaaand there went my bravado again. "However, I might forgive you, if you tell me why you refused to look at me until you found these things." He tapped the lenses of my glasses, causing me to flinch.

I stepped back. What was I supposed to say? I used to have a readied response for questions like that!

"Looking at stuff farther than reading distance hurts my head like crazy. Besides, I'd like to find them before they get crushed. You never know if guild fights will-"

"Bull," he whispered. He took a step toward me, and bent down so that we were eye-to-eye. I froze up. I didn't know what to do, what to say.

"Why do you refuse to look at anyone without those glasses?"

I panicked.

"Conceal Magic: Flash!"

There was a flash of bright light, causing Laxus to cover his face and stumble back, and I was invisible. This was a get-away ruse I'd used when I first started out: blind my enemies, then get the heck out of there. However, I couldn't bring myself to run this time. So I just stood there, like an idiot.

'Maybe I should start taking hand-to-hand combat.'

Laxus blinked a few times before saying, "I know you're still here, I didn't hear you run."

I didn't say anything.

"You've always had such a pitying face when you looked at people before you got those things, and ever since you got 'em, you tend to avoid looking at people without them."

"What's the point in having glasses if you don't use them? Especially when you need them?" I cried in exasperation. Laxus snapped his head to where my voice came from. I slowly and quietly moved behind him.

"I. Want. To know. Why."

He sounded so serious, so determined. I was scared, and confused. Why wouldn't he just accept my answer? It was a perfectly reasonable one! Why would he suddenly push the matter?

Suddenly, it hit me.

"You already know, don't you?" I said, undoing my magic. Laxus spun around to face me. "You know why, or at least suspect, and you want confirmation!" I pointed an accusing finger at him.

Laxus kept his glare on, and I could feel the air around us tingling. He was getting pissed.

"Keep talking that way, kid, and you'll be the first to go when I'm the Master."

'When he's the Master? Wow, someone's gotten a little ahead of themselves.'

"It's my business why I do what I do, Laxus-san, not yours, not anyone else's." I turned away, and started walking. "Besides," I muttered, "I really don't need to see your weakest moments again."

"What?"

I froze. He heard that? Since when did he have sensitive ears?! I felt, more than saw, the air getting thicker, electrifying all around us.

"Jeanne-nee!"

I looked up. Marguerite, my sister of thirteen years, was running up to the guild.

"I thought I'd find you here. I've been waiting forever, let's go!"

She saw Laxus behind me, and moved closer to me, clearly terrified. Well, that was just great! As if she didn't already have an exaggerated fear of strangers; seeing Laxus like that would put her off people for months.

"Désolé, Rita-chan," I said, hoping our parents' language would help calm her. "Laxus-san and I were talking, and I lost track of time." I turned around with a smile that I knew would be fake. "Jaa ne, Laxus-san. Thanks for the chat!"

Rita and I hurried away, leaving him in a very foul mood.

'That's it, I can never be in the same room as him again.'

"Why? Did he find out?" Rita asked.

I blinked. I didn't think I had spoken those thoughts out loud. "Yeah, he did," I sighed. "Rita, what am I gonna do? I can't avoid him forever, we're guild mates!"

"Imbécile," she replied, flicking my head. "You're an expert at hiding, I'm sure you'll find a way. But," she added, with a mischievous grin, "are you sure you want to?"

I narrowed my eyes. 'This better not be going where I think it's going.' "What do you mean?"

"That was Laxus-san, right? The Laxus-san you've talked about since forever?"

I blushing, I just knew it. "I don't talk about him any more than I do the others."

"Mais bien sûr."

"Tais-toi, gamine."