They'd decided not to tell anyone.
It was a joint decision between the two of them. Somewhat unspoken. Basically, Mirajane had so much on her plate already, the last thing she needed added up at the bar was nay potential drama the news might bring her and, for him, he was a pretty private guy in general, so he really wasn't up for the losers down at the hall knowing his business. Why should they be allowed? Huh? To know about the two greatest mages alive hooking up? Short of them needing to bow at their feet and beg to be saved when the rapture occurred because Earthland wasn't able to handle such a magnificent union, he really didn't see why those morons should bother them in any way.
This probably actually solved their relationship a short death as with most precious things, the less people involved, the better. Mira was prone to emotions and gossip already, so it wouldn't be hard for someone, perhaps not even with intent, to cause a rift between her and the slayer. Then his Thunder Legion, boy, he sure cared about those three, but the second they caught a whiff of something romantically involving him, they knew just how to fuck it all up. Laxus was a tad curious how the addition of Mirajane Strauss, who Freed revered, Evergreen resented, and Bickslow maybe kind of stalked occasionally, would affect their natural desire to either keep the man single or, if involved with anyone, one of them.
However, he wasn't so interested that he sought to find out.
No.
The man in recent times did not keep many things from the little group of birdbrains, but this was just something he couldn't let them touch.
He found out that Mirajane felt the same way about her siblings.
Elfman, that big oaf, he'd ruin everything. Laxus knew. He just knew it. He'd either hate Laxus immensely for fucking his sister or think that they were immediately brothers. Manly brothers. Gross.
And Lisanna. Heh. Laxus liked Lisanna. He liked her a lot. More than he'd admit. She wasn't, like, on the same level as Freed, Ever, and Bickslow, but she was definitely above some of her cohorts. He thought she was smart and witty and...and her death had certainly affected him more than he cared to admit, back when they were all so much younger, but at the same time, he knew that she had a habit of messing with her sister's relationships as well.
Mira had told him as much, anyways. About how she'd want to hang about and could be quite imposing when she saw it fit to be. Annoying.
No.
No.
Things were best as they were.
And the last person that Laxus ever wanted to find out about him and Mirajane was Gramps. Ugh. That fucking codger. Makarov, above all else, would be the one to try and purposely sabotage what they had going on. He had a weird thing with Mira that Laxus couldn't quite place (and was too disgusted to really try), but even without that, he probably would hate the idea of Laxus messing with his guild. Because that's what Mira was. She was the guild. Same as Erza. Makarov himself. They held the place together.
And Laxus was kind of well-known as attempting to tear it apart…
They were better alone. He liked them that way. Mira liked them that way.
There was something thrilling about it, anyways. Knowing, just the two of you, something that everyone else in the entire guildhall didn't. Nothing devious or of malevolent, but just special. Something between you.
As he sat around the guild that day, at a table all alone, he listened in somewhat on the hushed conversation Freed, Ever, and Bickslow were having one table over (well, Freed was having; Evergreen was busy making eyes at Elfman and Bickslow seemed to be lost in his own world with his dolls), but his eyes continued to follow Lisanna around the hall. She was supposed to be getting ready to take over the shift form Mirajane. IT was important that she did this. So Laxus and Mira could both head on out on their date, leaving the guild at different times, of course, and meet up at his apartment. But every time her sister tried to beckon her over behind the bar, Lisanna insisted she just needed a few more minutes, as she was very busy.
Busy with what, Laxus wasn't too sure. She was bouncing around from the table Natsu was snoozing at while Happy ate and the one Levy was reading buried in a book at. It was getting on Laxus' nerves though and he was hoping his heavy gaze would at least strike some sort of fear in the woman, though she probably wouldn't understand why, and get her to cut it out. Get about her job.
But as always, Mira was too meek towards her dearly reunited sister and only let this go on for far too long. He gave her look sometimes as well, but only got some 'What am I supposed to do?' ones in return.
Sigh.
Eventually though, nearly an hour past when they were supposed to switch shifts, Lisanna seemed content in whatever she'd gotten done and headed right over to Mirajane to tell her she could head out. And Mira did too, quickly, hardly taking the time out to say goodbye to anyone or close out her tables.
Laxus had to stay though, for a few extra minutes, of which he spent a good amount of time glaring at Lisanna. Not that she cared. She was far too busy standing there with her serving tray, at Natsu's table, doing shit all.
He eventually had to literally call her over to close out his tab. While she was there, she started telling him all this crap about how she was gonna be planning a bit party for Juvia, as some sort of birthday surprise or some shit? He wasn't sure. But she wanted a headcount of everyone that was actually gonna show up. To which he countered if she really wanted that, then why did she spend all day hanging out with literally two people? She then corrected him to three people, because Happy was a person too. She didn't seem to appreciate him claiming he was counting Levy and the cat.
And anyways, she insisted, they would be the ones helping her the most. He didn't have to be a big jerk all the time, he knew. Of course he knew, he just didn't care. He wanted to tell her off. About how she should respect her sister and her time. And herself, even. Planning parties and shit when she should be working on her magic. They weren't children. Did she even want to keep up with her siblings?
But he didn't say this. Because that was one step towards caring about her, which would only happen if she knew about their relationship and there was no way he'd ever hear the end of it if the Thunder Legion found out that he told someone like Lisanna about that sort of thing and not them. It was all just a tangled mess.
No one even knew they were together and, already, they could fuck around with things.
When he arrived at his place, he'd been hoping for a chance to at least shower, but Mira was already there, waiting on him. She seemed really concerned about the fact they were now off schedule and missed the train they were going to take (though he wasn't too down on that fact) and now what were they going to do?
But Laxus only shrugged, invited her in, and led her straight over to the couch. She was still talking about how they wouldn't have time to catch the next one, because then they'd be stuck in the other town, and besides, she had work in the morning and she didn't want to stay out forever. He grunted some, as he disappeared into the kitchen. Mira no doubt thought he was just getting drinks, or didn't care what he was doing, as she continued to complain some about her sister making them so late.
Laxus hardly heard her and was kind of surprised she was still blabbing away when he returned, a single plate in one hand, stacked with a few sandwiches, and a glass bottle of some sort of drink in the other. This got Mira silent finally as he came to set the plate down on the coffee table before the couch and pop the tab on the drink with his canine. Usually Mira would scold him for the latter thing, but that time, she only smiled at him, finally, truly, and seemed to relax some.
"This," he said after a swig of the drink and moving to set it down, "is what we're doing, demon."
He knew that it wasn't as fancy as the dinner they were gonna go out to. Wasn't as nice. He knew it was annoying that Lisanna had screwed everything up and that Mira was unable to rebuke her sister when she did these sorts of things. But if the ease that washed over the woman told him anything, it was that she was exactly where she wanted to be in that moment.
And he had to say, so was he.
They both knew if the others had known they had somewhere to be, together, then Lisanna wouldn't have been so flippant about her sister's time. She wasn't heartless or completely selfish, after all. Just sometimes unaware. That was all.
But if the others did know, then there was a good chance Mira and Laxus wouldn't have anywhere to go. And if they did, together, then Lisanna would probably be trying to get Kinana to work her shift so she could go along, Elfman and Ever would be sanctioning them into some sort of awkward double date, and Freed would be being schooled in Bickslow's mastery of stalking as they couldn't be left out either.
Then there was Gramps who'd probably make Mira work, just to get under his grandson's skin. Or to try and save Mira from him, at least, probably.
No.
They'd decided not to tell anyone. Not a soul. Their relationship was theirs and theirs alone.
And as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and Mira reached to grab one of the sandwich halves, he knew they'd made the right decision.
Mostly he just hoped that she did too.
