I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL!

Mirajane sat cleaning the wounds Laxus had gotten while fighting the dragon. They had all made it out but not without injuries. The seven dragon slayers had taken the worse damage, taking the worst of the attacks to try to protect the others. She gave a small smile as she remembered everyone jumping to the rescue when the last dragon went down. She could see the couples emerging as Lucy cared for Natsu with Lisanna helping, Levy had went to help Gajeel. It was as if the true feelings between them had come out during the war. She was worried about her friends and family, they had all taken hard hits to help not only their fellow guild members but to help protect all the other guilds that were fighting as hard as they could.

"We're all safe." She heard making her turn her attention back to the man laying on the bed in front of her. He was just waking up from the last hit took. "We're all alive. Don't look so upset, it's not the Mira I know." He gave a smirk as he turned his head to look at her and furrow his brows seeing her untreated wounds. "You should worry about yourself."

Mira watched as he pushed himself up with a wince. Taking a breath to try to ease his pain he looked back at her as he reached out to touch the gash on her arm before he moved to gently touch the injury on her abdomen. "I've had worse. You know that." She gave a small smile, trying to calm her body that had jolted at his touch.

"That doesn't mean you should ignore the injuries." He told her as he reached over to grab a wet cloth from the side table. "You need to have them cleaned or you'll get infected."

"I've heard that before." She said softly with a small smile. Laxus looked up at her and gave a smirk as he remembered the first time he had told her that. It was nearly ten years ago. A short time before Lisanna had disappeared when she had come back beaten but refused to have anyone look at the injuries. Laxus sat thinking about the first time he had cared for her wounds and started to feel that tingling feeling in the pit of his stomach that he felt now, looking at her injuries from the dragons.

Laxus followed her out of the guild after watching her argue with Erza and stumble away. He followed the seventeen year old Mirajane until she walked down an ally and leaned against the wall. He stopped at the entrance making himself known and watched as she tried to push past him only to have her knees give way. Laxus caught her and eased her down, feeling her clammy skin, seeing her breathing raggedly. He knew these symptoms, he knew them all too well. He reached out pulling at the half assed dressing on her side to reveal an angry looking gash. He lifted her up and carried her to the apartment he owned on the next block where he cleaned the gash, put antibiotic cream on it and dressed it properly.

Laxus sat in a chair beside his bed watching over the young woman. They had grown up together and they had become good friends over all the years, he knew how strong and stubborn she was. He knew her well but after seeing how much pain she was in at the guild he followed her. He didn't understand why he felt the need to care for her, she had her siblings who were more than capable of taking care of her. So why did he follow her? He couldn't understand it no matter how hard he thought about it.

A groan snapped him from his thoughts. He saw her crack her eyes and look at him. "Laxus?" she asked confused. "What…?" She tried to sit up stopped with a wince.

"Easy." Laxus said as he laid her back down gently. "You have a bad infection. I cleaned the gash and put some medicine on it. You should be feeling better by tomorrow but you should rest for now." He said as she looked at him confused.

"why did you help me?" She asked as he just shrugged.

"Why does it matter? Just go to sleep." Laxus stood and left the room. He couldn't answer her question, he couldn't even answer it himself. All he knew was there was something inside him that just made him move, made him follow her and tend to the wound.

It had been two months since Lisanna disappeared. Mira had refused to go on missions with anyone but she took some of the toughest jobs be herself as some sort of punishment for what happened to her younger siblings. Mira limped into the city limits. She had hurt her ankle on her last job and had managed to burse her body pretty badly.

"At it again?" She heard making her turn around and see Laxus walking up to her.

"What's it matter to you?" She said roughly as she turned away and started towards the city again only to stumble and be caught by Laxus. He set her on the ground and reached to look at her ankle "Why do you care?" She asked him.

He glanced at her but continued checking over her injuries. He still couldn't understand why. All he knew was that he felt himself being pulled more and more, he found himself looking for her and wondering about her when she was on a job. He didn't understand why he felt compelled to care for her. He just knew that there was a feeling inside of him that always took him to her. "Why does it matter?" He sighed.

The two fell silent. She shivered and looked away as she felt his fingers gently run over a welt on her thigh. He gently checked the other welts before he touched the cut on her cheek making her breath hitch in her chest making his eyes snap to hers. Slowly he leaned in and captured her lips with his own. She stiffened for a second before she melted into the kiss. He rested one hand at her jaw and the other sat on her thigh as she reached up at rested a hand on his chest.

The world drifted away. It was only the two of them. Mira leaned back and Laxus followed her, leaning over her as he kissed her neck making her moan. He pulled back and looked down at her. he took a deep breath and pulled away. He needed to stop this wasn't something the grandson of Makarov should be doing and it wasn't close to what the great Laxus was known to be like. She looked at him as he stood up.

"Well you should be fine to make it home. I'm on my way out." He said before he walked off quickly. Mira sat a minute trying to figure out what had just happened. She had never felt that way about a Laxus. Why did he kiss her? Why did she kiss him back? She closed her eyes to collect herself before she climbed back to her feet and wandered home. She had to admit, what ever he had done her ankle only bothered her a fraction of what it had before.

Mirajane sighed as she walked away from the railing, overlooking the guild hall. As she walked back towards the stairs someone wrapped their arms around her waist and pulled her into a side room. "Laxus…?" She asked as she realized who was holding her against the wall of the room. "Wh-what are you doing?" She asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He mumbled before he leaned in kissing her. She couldn't stop herself from leaning into the kiss as he ran his hands up and down her sides. "Mira…" He trailed off as she gave him a smirk and started tugging at his clothes.

"I don't understand but…" She started as he started kissing her neck making her breathing increase as she gripped at his shirt.

"Shut up would you." He grumbled. He didn't let her answer as he pulled at her clothing. She reached to her right and locked the door before she pulled at his shirt, pulling it over his head before they continued. Neither caring what would happen after or what this really meant.

Laxus and Mira sat across from each other looking sadly at the other.

They had been through a lot in the past and it was great for a while but then things started to happen. Laxus father had started putting pressure on the guild and more people contracted Laxus and only spoke to him as Makarov's grandson. Mira had stopped doing jobs and the two had begun to hit walls in the guild that only caused them to fight and argue. Soon Laxus had turned on fellow guild members to let them fend while he went after his father, which cause Mira to become angry when he came looking for someone to heal him. The two separated, vowing to never give in to the other again. Mira took care of the guild and he went on constant jobs, keeping himself away.

Since the s-class fight seven years ago Mira could see something change in his eyes, he held a similar look all those years ago, but there was something else in them. Something she had only seen hints of before. He looked back at her injuries from fighting as he gently cleaned them. He grabbed for the jar of ointment and wiped a bit over the wounds before putting a bandage on them. As he pushed the adhesive bandage on the last one down Mira grabbed his hands and pulled them away from the injuries making him look up at her. Sshe was fighting back tears as she felt her feelings overwhelm her.

Laxus gently reached up and brushed a tear away. "What are you crying for?" She just gave him a smile and shook her head.

"It's nothing. I was just thinking of the past and the what if's." She explained. She gasped as Laxus pushed to stand up making her jump to her own and stop him from falling. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pushing away the pain that surged through his body. "Laxus, you need to sit down-."

"No." He cut her off with his soft tone shaking his head. Mira became worried. This wasn't like Laxus, he was stubborn and a tough guy not some guy who spoke softly, tended to her wounds gently and brushed away tears. "Mira, I was a jackass."

"I know that. Now sit down before you hurt yourself." She demanded.

He smirked. "I hurt a lot of people and never looked back on what I did or said. I never really regretted anything but you've always been the exception." Laxus looked down at her as she looked shocked. "I've regretted hurting you the minute I did it. Mira…" He rested his hand on the back of her head and pulled her closer as he kissed her for the first time in years. He finally understood what he had been feeling all that time. He knew what he wanted and needed to do.

"Laxus…" She was speechless as they stood with their faces mere inches from each other.

"Forgive me?" He asked softly as he felt the pain in his chest spike.

"Of course, I forgive you. Just promise you won't do it again." She said as she tried to get him to sit.

"As long as you promise to be with me." She looked up at him surprised before giving a little nod and he kissed her again. "I'll do everything I can to never be a jack ass again."

She pulled out of his arms and put her hands on her hips confusing him. "Good. Now. Laxus Dreyar, you sit down this instant before you hurt yourself even more." She watched as he sat back on the bed with a small chuckle only to hear someone laughing by the door. Mira turned to see Makarov walking in with his bandaged hands.

"It takes a special someone to make my grandson do something." He laughed as Laxus looked away with a slight blush while Mira's face turned red. Makarov walked closer with a bright smile on his face. "I believe your siblings are looking for you." Mira nodded. She glanced at Laxus with a little smile making him smirk as she left grandfather and grandson alone. "You have a good woman, Laxus."

Laxus' head snapped to his grandfather who stood in front of him with a bright smile still plastered on his face. "What do you want?" He asked harshly.

"Can't a grandfather see how is grandson is doing after fighting a dragon?" Laxus rolled his eyes but Makarov walked over to the seat Mira had been using. "You've grown up a lot. I'm glad to see you moving on."

"We all can't be stuck in the past." He said with a slight shrug. The two fell silent as he looked away again, his mind wandering back to Mira. Slowly he looked back at his grandfather out of the corner of his eyes. "How long were you there?" He asked making the old man laugh.

"Long enough to hear you actually apologize. Now that's something I never thought I'd hear from you." Laxus turned red as he looked away again. "Laxus." Makarov said making him look at him. "You were really great. You protected everyone and showed you can be a true leader in times of trouble. You've grown up into a great man."

"They're family and friends." He said as Makarov gave a nod.

"They are."

The room went silent and the two sat looking at each other. "I realized my mistakes when I was traveling around. I realized what I wanted. I wanted to make things better, make things mean something. I just never realized that things were already amazing. The guild was number one, the members were more accepting than any other guild. I had a position in the very same guild I grew up admiring with my grandfather as the master." He looked back at the door.

"And you had a wonderful woman." Laxus looked back at his grandfather sadly. "Well she's always gone to you when things were tough. You've still got some proving to do but I think she'll let everything stay in the past. You've got one of the greatest women at your side, Laxus, don't take her for granted this time."

Laxus just nodded. "I've learned."

"Rest." Makarov said . Laxus took a slow breath. He was a tough guy, one who was too rough to talk to anyone about feelings but his grandfather was different. He always felt like he could talk to him, whither it be yelling about not being appreciated as himself and not the grandson, or if it was talking about his father. Makarov stood up and started for the door, wanting him to rest. "I don't want to lose her again." Makarov stopped and looked back at him.

"You love her?" Laxus looked at him a minute as if rolling the thought around in his head before nodding. "Then tell her that and you wont lose her." He turned and left. Laxus sat on the side of the bed thinking about what he and his grandfather had just talked about.

He really did love that woman. The feelings that had developed all those years ago had grown and evolved as time went on were now in the open. He wasn't going to let the chance get away. Pushing to his feet he held his side as he stumbled to the door and out into the bustling hallway. He needed to find her. He walked down the hall trying to ignore his pain as he went, at the end he saw a staircase where Mirajane was walking up with a smile. As she turned and looked at him her face changed to fear and she ran up the last few steps and to his side as he leaned against the wall.

"Laxus. What do you think you're doing?" She asked as she reached a hand out to check his wounds on his side and chest.

Laxus grabbed her hands making her look up at him confused. "I need to tell you something."

"And it was so important you couldn't wait in your room? You had to wander down the hall looking for me, risking your health?"

"Yeah." He saw the surprise in her eyes.

"Fine. I'm listening."

He took a breath as he collected his thoughts. Since when was the great Laxus nervous? He wondered before he looked back at her and it fell from his mouth. "I love you." Mira looked up at him speechless. "I was too afraid to realize it all those years ago and I was too much of an ass to be allowed to say it later. I don't want to have a chance to lose you because of something I did. I love you."

"Laxus…" She trailed off as a tear streamed down her cheek and she pulled him into a kiss. Pulling back she looked up with a smile. "You wont lose me, I love you too." He gave a smirk before he wince and grabbed his side. "You need to go back to bed. You can't be up walking around like nothing happened."

"What if I refuse?" He asked and watched as she paused.

"I'll make you any means necessary. Now off to bed with you." She said making him chuckle as she pulled his arm over her shoulder and started back to the room. She set him on the bed and helped him lay down. "Go to sleep. You have to heal." He looked at her and she smiled brightly as she bent down. "I'll be right here when you wake up." She promised and gave him a quick kiss. He finally dosed off with a smile as Mira found a pillow to use in the second bed where she used Laxus' jacket to keep warm.

Makarov smiled from his spot at the doorway. He was glad that after all the pain and suffering Laxus had been through he finally found some happiness, and he was glad that it was Mirajane. Probably the only person who had ever been able to put him in his place. Slowly he shut the door and went to check on the others.