Hana no Yōna Egao 花のような笑顔

by Her Pretty Smile

Synopsis: [Expanded version] She doesn't show her vulnerable side to anyone except her siblings; it's frankly common knowledge. But then, one day, he makes her smile using some mere yellow art paper cut into flowers, and that's the day when their unique relationship began. LaxusღMirajane.

Warning: Unbeta-ed; may contain mistakes or any of the sort.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Authoress' Note: Now I present the expanded version of 'Flowers For You' which is now entitled 'Hana no Yōna Egao 花のような笑顔' whose meaning is mentioned below. So, basically, this fic will focus on Laxus and Mirajane's relationship pre-canon, canon, and post-canon. The pre-canon part will only last for about two chapters, though, while the canon part will take up five chapters at most. Lastly, the post-canon part will be three chapters.

So, all in all, this'll be ten chapters. I hope you'll all enjoy. :)

Hana no Yōna Egao 花のような笑顔

'Smile Like A Flower'

Chapter 1

A Daisy, A Bracelet, and A Smile

SHE LOOKED AT HIM in badly-concealed surprise. "What? You want to spar with me?" she asked in mild suspicion and disbelief, eyeing the blond-haired teenager who was leaning against the wall, looking at her with an air of nonchalance.

"I won't repeat what I said," he said monotonously.

She huffed in annoyance. "Fine. But I warn you, I won't go easy on you just because you're that old geezer's grandson."

As soon as she said it, a dark look came upon his face and her eyes widened slightly.

"I am not anyone's grandson," he said quietly, though she could detect a hint of anger in his voice.

Feeling a bit intimidated but too proud to admit it, she changed the subject. "Okay… so can we get this over with already? I'm hungry."

He straightened up. "All right. This'll be quick."

-;-

THEY WERE SURPRISINGLY ON par with each other. It had already been two hours and the victor had not yet been declared.

She was panting heavily, clutching her right shoulder in pain. "No wonder… you're S-Class… too…" she breathed out.

He wasn't in good condition either. "Why? Were you underestimating me?"

She smirked haughtily. "Of course I was… idiot."

He scowled at her in distaste. "You have the gall to insult me when you can barely even stand."

"Ha! Look who's talking. You yourself are limping!"

He shot her a glare. She stared at him triumphantly, feeling very satisfied with herself that she was able to push him this far.

"Anyway, why do you want to spar with me?" she asked conversationally, taking out some bandages from her pocket and wrapping them around her wound.

He arched an eyebrow, looking mildly surprised at her sudden friendliness. "Because you're… skilled," he said slowly, apparently not used to talking much with people.

After dressing her wound, she handed out the rest of her bandages towards him. "Here," she offered.

He took it from her, and as he did, their fingertips brushed, sending a tiny tingle of electricity through her. Frowning, she tried to comprehend this foreign feeling and sent a glance at him. He was looking at her, and the look in his eyes told her that he had felt the same thing, too.

"…Thanks," he said briskly before awkwardly trying to wrap the bandages around the significantly large bruise on his leg. She still had some wounds on other parts of her body, which meant that both of them really did a number on each other.

After a moment of staring, she finally gave in (though with occasional mutterings under her breath about things that could have made him electrocute her in an instant if he heard) and grabbed the bandages, albeit not harshly. She then proceeded to wrap them around his bruise.

She didn't know much about tending to wounds, but she knew a little by watching Lisanna cleaning her up after a particularly good brawl with Erza. Her little sister, though young, was knowledgeable in this kind of field, not her.

"You sure you're doing that right?" he asked suspiciously.

"Oh shut up and have a little faith."

He scowled, but kept his mouth shut and waited for her to complete her... well, whatever it is she's doing.

After a moment, she finished, and she regarded her work proudly. "There," she said, her sapphire eyes lighting up in satisfaction.

He looked at her. "You should smile more often," he said hesitantly, but disinterest mostly coloured his tone.

"I do smile," she said, feeling slightly offended by his remark.

"You smirk. That's not a smile," he pointed out flatly.

She frowned. "It's hard to smile when there's absolutely nothing to smile about."

His lips parted slightly as if he were about to say something, but then a sudden gust of wind blew past them, causing the daisies in the field to be blown away. One landed deftly on his neck, and one promptly fell on her hair.

Silently, he took the daisy in his hand, its petals tickling his skin, and inspected it closely. "It sure is pretty," he muttered, "and fragile."

A wide smirk curled her lips. "Who'd have thought that you have a fascination for flowers, huh, Dreyar?"

"I don't. And quit calling me that. You're just a kid."

She bristled at that. "I'm thirteen!"

"Still a kid." His eyes landed on her hair. "Oi, you got one there."

Grumbling in annoyance, she grabbed the daisy form her hair and looked at it briefly before it suddenly turned black.

He watched in mild surprise. "It withered," he stated flatly.

She avoided his gaze. "That's because demons can't touch flowers," she mumbled.

"But you're not in your demon form," he pointed out curiously.

"It doesn't matter if I'm in my demon form or not. I've used my magic almost everyday that it had partly fused with me."

After that, silence blanketed the field except for the gentle rustle of the leaves.

Having come to a decision in his thoughtful state, he walked over to her wordlessly, and, to her surprise, tucked his daisy behind her ear. As expected, it withered almost instantly.

"I told you already," she said exasperatedly. "I can't touch flowers, you know that." A melancholic look fell upon her face as she said it, and she tried hard to hide it from him. She wasn't about to let him see her looking so vulnerable.

Unfortunately, he noticed this, to her dismay.

But then he said something that made her raise her head at him.

"It doesn't have to be real ones, you know," he said with indifference.

Then, he turned his back on her and left, leaving her to wonder what he was talking about.

-;-

SHE OPENED THE DOORS to the guild the next day, feeling fired up for another brawl with Erza.

While she was marching over to her rival, however, she spotted him in her path, and she unconsciously slowed down her pace.

"Nice spar yesterday," she grunted in acknowledgement to him. Then, apparently deciding that he wasn't going to acknowledge her back with a reply, she prepared to walk past him.

But then he surprised her by grabbing her arm, albeit gently. The touch of his skin on her own sent warmth flooding through her. Despite this, she looked at him questioningly, wondering what he was about to say to her.

"What?" she asked, and she was surprised at how her voice came out of her lips. Her tone was like a soft whisper, something that she didn't know she was capable of.

Looking into her eyes for a moment, he reached into his pocket and took out a flower bracelet. It was made of yellow paper and seemed nicely made. "Here." He placed it on her hand. "Now it won't wither."

And he walked off, leaving her staring at the bracelet in her hand. It was… kind of sweet of him to do this for her, yet it made her confused. Why would he make her something like this?

"You should smile more often."

His words to her back at the field came to mind. Absently, she slipped the bracelet into her arm and looked at the direction to where he was leaning against the wall, apparently listening to music from his headphones.

"Hmph," she muttered. "At least just wait for me to say thank you, jerk."

Despite that, her lips curled up into a soft, gentle smile.

-;-

EIGHT YEARS HAD PASSED, and she still wore that bracelet. It reminded her of sunflowers, and sunflowers somehow radiated a cheerful aura. Whenever she looked at the yellow paper flowers, she felt the urge to smile.

Because it reminded her of the man, the once indifferent, uncaring, arrogant man with a good heart, who had given it to her.

She would treasure it always because he was the first person except for her siblings who had made—even if it's subtle—an effort to make her smile.

Chapter 1—END

A/N: Well, I kinda got this idea when I saw the bracelet Mirajane was wearing. It sort of looks like yellow paper flowers, right? Though I'm not really sure, but what the heck, I already wrote this, so... Sorry if it's lame or full of mistakes. I just wanted to share this.

NOTE: The last part is a snippet of the future. :)