The Tape

The walkie talkies were, at first, a joke. A complete joke. The whole thing, honestly, was quite hilarious. Until, well, like most of their daily activities, it became very, very real.

"Bickslow, we can't stay in here," Lisanna hissed to her boyfriend as they hid in Laxus' coat closet. "We have to get out of here."

"You don't think I know that?" he hissed at her before glancing at the walkie talkie in his hand. Though originally a joke, it currently served with their only form of communication with the others that had snuck into the slayer's apartment with him. Pressing the button on the side, he whispered into it, "Stone cold. Stone cold, are you there? What do you see?"

"I," they heard hissed back to them, the volume on their walkie talkie all but turned down, "am not responding to that!"

"Ever, just tell us what you see," Lisanna groaned, taking the communicator back. "Honestly."

Bickslow and her both shared an eye roll then, there in the darkness, as they awaited the response. Ever and Elfman were in the apartment as well, of course, hidden away in the kitchen, backs against one of the walls as they glanced over it at times to peer into the living room, unfortunately bearing witness Laxus and Mirajane…

Well…

Ugh.

The whole thing started a day ago when Bickslow made a big reveal to them all.

"I kinda accidentally might have somehow wound up with a recording of Mirajane and Laxus having sex."

That's literally how the seith phrased it to them as they all sat around over at Freed's apartment, hanging out. Lisanna had a day off from the bar and Elfman wasn't doing anything, so when the Thunder Legion returned from a job there was nowhere they'd rather be than with their respective others at Freed's overly refined apartment.

There were places that Freed would rather they all were, but he was frequently over ruled in such matters. If only he could get himself a damn Strauss maybe they'd start taking him serious once more.

At the man's words, Elfman about snorted out the beer he was drinking while walking around Freed's living room. Lisanna and Bickslow were both stretched out on the couch as Ever sat on the arm of it, mostly making eyes at the muscular man, though he knew better than to fall for that. Ever was like a poisonous plant; strikingly beautiful, but ultimately deadly. He was at her mercy and, unless she initiated anything, it was best to just steer clear.

Freed was just coming back into the room, a platter of snacks prepared, and stumbled over to the coffee table then, to drop it down, his eyes on Bickslow. It was Lisanna, however, that managed to speak, sitting there next to the man with his babies littering her lap, them overly excited to be home and able to see the woman.

"You what?" she hissed, glaring at him. It was, after all, her sister he was talking about. Bickslow only threw up his hands though.

"I didn't record it!" he said, backing away from her some. "It was a… I borrowed a movie from the boss, yeah? It was a long job and I asked him if I could use his movie lacrima that he took along and he said yeah. So I did."

"And?" Ever prompted, still trying to keep her composer. The whole thing was rather embarrassing, even for the ones not involved. In the recent years, it had come to be almost like a family between the Thunder God Tribe and the Strausses. The idea of a mistake of that magnitude occurring was quite mortifying.

"Well..." Bickslow was sweating it out then. He'd changed into street clothes and didn't have his sallet to hide behind. Reaching up to scratch at his Mohawk, he said, "I freaked when I put in the movie and it was… So I rushed to, you know, put the lacrima back, but boss was over at his bag and if he saw what I had he'd have flipped! So I hid the movie in my stuff and planned to replace it at some point, but…"

"Y-You still have it?" Freed frowned. "Bickslow-"

"I ain't done nothin' with it!"

Elfman, who'd stopped pacing, only started once more with a groan. "I'm going to be sick."

"Not on my new carpet you're not," the letter mage retorted to which Ever only snorted. "I mean it."

"So you haven't watch it?" Lisanna insisted, staring hard at her boyfriend. "Bickslow?"

"Well, I put it in, yeah, Lissy, and I saw part of it, but-"

"But you figured out what it was and turned it off," she said. "Right?"

"Right."

Content, Lisanna gave up. Evergreen, however, only stared over at the man with heavy eyes from behind her glasses. She knew her teammate well, after all.

"And then never looked at it again?" she prompted.

"Well-"

"Bickslow."

"i had to make sure-"

"You saw my sister- You're sick!" Lisanna hit him then and Bickslow jumped up to get away. At this news, Elfman had bucked up, but was too busy being sick himself to pummel the man.

"I ain't the one that recorded it, okay?" Bickslow complained. "And I didn't, like, get off on it. It was too weird. Boss has funny shaped-"

"Honestly," Ever tsked.

"Yeah, honestly."

"That's not what she meant, you dolt," Elfman growled.

Freed, however, only took a breath before addressing his male teammate. "You still...have this tape then, yes?"

Lisanna gave him a look. "Really, Freed?"

"What? I do not- I was asking because that clearly means that we're going to have to do something with it," the man huffed, looking off. "I did not wish to view it or anything of the like."

"Sure," Ever sang before rolling her eyes again. "We'll just get rid of it. Obviously."

"Not obviously," Bickslow complained. "Boss is going to realize that he's missing it and, I'm just assuming here, that when people are missing shit like this, they just don't blow it off. And he's going to realize I was rooting around in his bag and then he's going to wring my neck!"

"You deserve it," Lisanna told him, even sticking her tongue out for affect. "Jerk."

"Lissy, I just watched some of it, alright? It's not that big of a-"

"It's a major deal!"

"Yeah, well, it's done, so can we just move past it?"

"It's not done or else you wouldn't have come to us for help!" Then she looked off. "And Mirajane better not have been using our recording lacrima to do that. We use that for important stuff."

Like recording Bickslow jumping off of buildings and doing tricks with the babies. You know, for prosperity.

And that sat between all of them for awhile, Bickslow and Lisanna glaring at one another while Freed only hung his head and sighed. Elfman was still pacing and Ever, never one to be embarrassed for long, asked the very present question that had been rumbling around in her mind for awhile.

"So," she drawled out, lifting her wine glass form the side table that was next to her. After taking a long sip, she asked, "Are they into anything kinky?"

"I'm out." Elfman literally only turned and headed for the kitchen. "I can't deal with- Men don't do things like this, Bickslow!"

"I didn't do anything," he complained. Then he paused. "Err, well-"

"Are they?" Ever insisted as her boyfriend stomped off to the kitchen.

"Ever," Freed complained. Lisanna was shockingly silent, though she tired her hardest to keep her interest buried under contentment for her usual partner in crime, Bickslow.

"It wasn't like a full tape or whatever," the seith said with a shrug. "It was like they edited together different instances or something. Clips, I guess, is what-"

"So you did watch it all," Lisanna accused.

"Oh, be quiet," Freed told her. "You know that he's a freak."

"All the people in the world and you had to watch my sister have sex with Laxus," Lisanna kept up. "I mean really?"

"Hey, in my defense, boss is the one that carries it around with him," the seith argued. "And think about it, guys. If he takes it on trips with him, that means that at some point, as we're out on jobs, he's-"

"Okay, never mind, you guys called my bluff." Evergreen went back to her wine. "I don't want to talk about this. Never mind. Let's…do something else."

"I didn't tell you guys about it so that we could have a conversation about it," Bickslow told them all with a frown. "I did so that we could devise a plan."

"A plan?" Freed was going over to the chair then, to take a seat. His head was spinning. It wasn't unheard of for people with enough money for a recording lacrima to use it for such things, but the thought of Mira and Laxus… Well, mostly Laxus...but…

Ugh.

"Yeah," the man nodded. "A plan. You know, to avoid me getting my neck wrung?"

"I still vote for that to happen, so-"

"Damn it, Lissy, this is serious," he told her.

"Serious!" his dolls howled.

"I mean," he went on, "we could talk for hours about the boss and his creepy lacrima angles that seemed to focus more on himself than your sister, which kinda supports that self-absorbed thing you're always talking about, Lissy. Or the way that he had her transform a bunch and it was kinda shocking at first because I thought, damn, that's not Mirajane, but then I realized it was because I saw her guild mark. And the things he did to her guild mark-"

"Okay, Bickslow," they heard Elfman growl from the kitchen. "You can shut the hell up before I force you to! Men don't talk about such things in the presence of-"

"Of anyone," Freed told them all. "This is clearly a personal recording between Mirajane and Laxus. That is a very intimate thing. They would be mortified to find out that we all know that they...that there are...clips of them… So he is right. About us needing a plan. We must get this back in Laxus' possession without him realizing that it was gone."

Only poor Freed was forgetting that he was dealing with complete and utter imbeciles. That shouldn't be shocking as, in the confines of their group, it was usually split up in a very different way. He was usually in leagues with Mirajane and Laxus, trying to reign in the other four whether it be one of Bickslow and Lisanna's (un)hilarious pranks or Ever and Elfman constant arguments that turned violent. He did not really like being in cahoots with them, but to spare Mirajane and Laxus' the shame they'd no doubt incur otherwise, well, he could do it.

So it was decided that they'd go into the slayer's place while Mirajane and Laxus were out on a date, replace the tape, and get out. Only, for some reason, the whole thing fell apart before it even began. Elfman and Ever were supposed to tail Mirajane and Laxus and, if they got too close to the apartment, stop them, but for some reason, they showed up at the apartment at the same time as the other three. Freed was supposed to hang around the front of the building, to be a last ditch effort to keep Laxus and Mirajane away while Lisanna and Bickslow used the former's key to get into the place, put the tape somewhere, and get the hell out of there.

That, of course, didn't work so well either. Mainly because there Freed was, in front of the apartment building, waiting, when Ever and Elfman showed up. Just as he was getting ready to yell at them for apparently losing Laxus and Mirajane completely and deciding to just show up and help him out, he realized that they'd made another crucial mistake; he still had the film on him.

In his rush to get up the stairs and to the apartment to give it to the other pair, he neglected to tell Elfman and Ever to stay downstairs. Which, for some reason, they didn't realize themselves that they needed to do and took off with him.

Then it was the five of them, in that apartment, trying to find a place to put the film when they heard it; keys in the front door.

So they all scattered. Ever and Elfman, who were in the living room, dove for the kitchen, Bickslow and Lisanna found themselves in the closet, and Freed, poor Freed, still with the tape, went to hide in the worst place of all; the bathroom.

They were screwed. They were all screwed.

"-believe I left the place unlocked," they all heard the slayer complain as he found his door to be so, before coming into the place. "I always lock it."

"Maybe you just forgot," they heard Mira sigh. "But ugh, I'm so glad you said you weren't up for dinner. I just want to relax. Work was so rough."

"I'd imagine," Laxus said as they heard them walk through the place, no doubt headed over to the couch. "Come sit down with dragon, huh? I'll make you feel loads better."

For a good solid twenty minutes, the five that were hidden away in the apartment were just sweating it out, certain that, inevitably, Laxus or Mirajane would venture into one of the places that they were hidden.

The only form of contact they had between one another were walkie talkies that Bickslow had shown up with that morning at the guild, passing one out to each group and telling them all their code names. Ever was Stone Cold, Elfman was The Giant, Lissy was Animal Rights, Freed was The Dark, and Bickslow, of course, he was just Mr. Awesome. Because he was just awesome. It got him chewed out by Freed, about how he was turning the whole thing into a game, but what did they expect?

Honestly?

Anyhow, things seemed to progress at an agonizing rate until, suddenly, none of them could hear Mirajane and Laxus talking anymore. The she-devil had been going on and on about work as the slayer grunted along at all the right places when, suddenly, it was all just...silent.

So they all held their breath before, slowly, Ever stuck her head around the corner of the kitchen doorway to peek into the room.

"Uh," she whispered softly into the walkie talkie, holding down the button as Elfman, who couldn't see, stared at her expectantly. "I think...I think they're gonna have sex."

Oh, they were. Laxus was quickly working the woman out of her dress and her hands were just as busy with the buttons on his shirt. They were moving quickly and, honestly, to a place none of them wanted them to go.

They all knew, of course, that the longer they stayed, the deeper shit they would be in if they got caught. And, from the looks of things, Laxus and the demon weren't going anywhere. They were stuck. Either come out then or ride the entire thing out.

Too fearful for the former, they all found themselves doing the latter.

Which led to Bickslow asking, about ten minutes into it, what exactly it was that Ever was seeing.

"They're...making out still," she reported back softly. "And guys we really need to stop talking. Laxus had enhanced hearing. He might overhear what we're saying."

This had occurred to Freed as well as the fact that the man's other senses were stronger than a normal humans. He was very worried about Laxus' sense of smell. He should have been able to catch their scents, all of them, but for some reason he didn't seem to notice. Perhaps he was just that intoxicated by Mirajane's presence.

More over, Laxus in fact did catch them. He also knew though that all five of them had been at the bar earlier and seen them. Interacted with them. Not to mention Mirajane no doubt did. He was actually assuming the scents were lingering on their clothes. A tad strong for such a thing, but he had no reason to believe that they were honestly hiding in his apartment. That would be just crazy.

If he were in any other group of friends, of course. Considering the company he kept, he should have expected such a thing.

"Bet you wish you could see," Lisanna mumbled to Bickslow about then. "Since you like my sister so much."

He only groaned though. "It had nothing to do with it being your sister."

"It has everything to do with-"

"You're telling me," he asked then, "that if you had a chance to see, like, a sex tape of someone you knew, like Natsu and Lucy or something, curiosity wouldn't force you to look?"

"No." Lisanna almost yelled. "Of course not."

"Oh, right. Natsu." It was Bickslow's turn to be indignant. "I guess I should have chosen someone else."

"You-"

"Dragon," they all heard then, out there in the living room, causing them to hold their breath.

"Mmmm?"

"Do you wanna do it out here? Or in the bedroom?"

Bedroom was the chant then, of them all, as it would give them a chance to escape out the front door.

"Out here, babe," Laxus snickered, voice in this weird octave that none of them were used to. Maybe he was trying to be...seductive? Or something? "I have an idea."

"Well, you know I love your idea."

"Hell yeah I do."

And Elfman couldn't take it. He honestly couldn't take it. He had to get out of there. If he stayed any longer..

"Arg!" He growled as Ever stared at him in shock. He wasn't the only one in shock. "I have to do it! I have to get out of here!"

And Mirajane was struggling back into her dress as he appeared out of the kitchen, rushing out. Laxus was shouting, but he didn't stop. He just headed for the door, shielding his eyes from the sight of his sister and mumbling about how real men didn't force other men that were hiding in their apartments to such tortures.

And then there were four.

"The hell was that?" Laxus growled as Mirajane sat back down, blushing a deep red. "Huh? What was your brother-"

"I don't know, Laxus," Mira retorted. "How could I know? I mean what was he even-"

"If there's any fucking body else in this damn apartment," he boomed as he looked around, "they better show themselves right-"

"Alright, alright."

And they lost Evergreen, who came tearing out of the kitchen.

"Ever," Mira said in slight surprise. Honestly, if her brother was up to no good, it was usually the woman's doing. "What are you-"

"I came here to help Bickslow," she said simply, throwing up her hands, one clutching the walkie talkie. "But I did not come to hear you guys… So fine. Yes. I'm here. But I'm not-"

"What?" Laxus was standing then, from the couch, looking around. Mirajane, now with her dress righted, slowly got to her feet as well. "Bickslow's here too?"

"W-Well-"

"Way to sell everyone the heck out, Stone Cold."

And then, without Lisanna's consent, Bickslow was throwing open the closet door and coming out.

"Lisanna!" Mira glared at her sister, who was still sitting there dumbly in the closet, blinking. It was all happening too fast. "What are you-"

"Stone Cold," Bickslow's babies cheered as they were freed from the closet. "Stone Cold!"

"What the fuck is going on?" Laxus was losing it then as all his blood rushed from down below and straight to his head. "Am I dreaming? What are you idiots doing in my apartment?"

"Funny story," Bickslow said as, with the pair's attention on the seith and Lisanna, Ever made a break for the door.

She was not above abandoning ship. All hands on deck her ass. All for none and one for them damn selves.

It was life or death they were talking about there.

"You got ten fucking seconds to get it out before I fry you," Laxus growled. "One-"

"We was returnin' somethin' to you, boss," the man said. "Honest. And if you have to fry anyone, it should have been Evergreen. Her and Elfman were supposed to cut you guys off from even getting to the apartment. And I never thought that you and Ms. Boss here would be- Na-ah! Not me! See or hear the two of you having- No way! No how! I'm sickened. By myself! That I let it get this far! Not a light that I ever picture the two of you in! Nope!"

They all blinked and Lisanna glared at the seith. Because if there was anything the little creep was good at, it was ratting himself out. Evergreen might take the only lifesaver and make for land, but it was usually Bickslow that began poking holes in the ship to begin with.

"What," Mira asked slowly, speaking to her sister, "is he talking about?"

"I have no idea. You know that he's crazy."

Bickslow nodded. "Completely."

"What," Laxus growled, "were you dopes returning then? Huh? Huh? That was so important-"

"N-Nothin' boss," the seith insisted, "that was that important. Just, uh, well… You know that I'm devoted to you and shit and...and…" Then something hit him. "Please don't hate me for this. Honest, I live for you. But I mighta stole some jewels from you-"

"You what?"

"I's replacin' them! Honest. That's what the big deal was. And then you showed up and we were all here and-"

"And I didn't want you to find out about it either," Lisanna spoke up. "Or Ever. Or Elf. We just wanted to protect Bickslow. That was all. We're sorry. Really."

Laxus was staring hard at them. He could tell, just from their uneasy glances, that there was something more to it, but only shook his head slightly before growling out, "Just go."

"Boss-"

"Now." He reached up to rub at his eyes. "Before I change my mind."

They bolted out of there, Lisanna and Bickslow did, the babies not far behind. It wasn't until they were on the stairs the Lisanna spoke.

"What about Freed?"

"Hell, if he wasn't smart enough to get out of there with us," Bickslow told her, "then that's his problem."

And they'd have their own problems, the two of them, later when they continued to argue over such a stupid thing as Laxus and Mirajane just recording a private act and him viewing it. They'd fight over it for, oh, another day and it'd seem like an eternity, until they had to form a united front against her sister and the slayer when they imposed stiff sanctions on Bickslow for seeing the film.

Because of course, left all alone (why he expected another outcome was beyond him), Freed slowly had to emerge from the bathroom.

Laxus and Mirajane were still just standing there, in shock, before she slowly went to lay a hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright," she said softly. "I mean, they didn't see anything too bad, so-"

"A-Actually," they both heard from the hall, causing them to jump. After all, if Ever had taken the last lifesaver and Bickslow had gotten out on a rescue boat, then Freed was the captain; he had to go down with the ship. "Bickslow might have seen more than you'd have liked."

"Freed." Laxus frowned. "What are you- What's that in your hand?'

"Bickslow took it by mistake, viewed it, and now I must come clean to you because this has all turned to madness. It was an honest mistake and-"

"What is it?" Mira asked. But the letter mage only came further into the room, as bright red as they had been moments before, handing over the film before bowing his head.

"I must be going," he said. "I-"

"This isn't… That's where it was?" Laxus, holding the film in one hand, reached out with the other to grip Freed's arm tightly with the other. "You guys had this?"

"Dragon, what is it?"

"It's our… Damn, I thought I misplaced- Wait, you idiots watch it?" Laxus' grip grew tighter. "Did you?"

"N-No, Laxus, not I! But Bickslow… When you let him rifle through your things for a movie, he pulled this out and-"

"And kept it?"

"That's between the two of you," he said. "Honest. I-"

"It became between you too when you got involved with...with..." Laxus was at a loss for words. "Whatever the hell this is!"

"Is that our..." Mira frowned. "Laxus, did they-"

"I don't know."

"How did they get it?"

"I don't-"

"Did you know that it was missing?"

"Mirajane, just let me-"

"I can see that the two of you have a lot to discuss," Freed said then, shaking free of his idol as the man turned to face his girlfriend. "I'll just be on my way."

"Don't you move," Laxus growled, glaring over at him as he made a beeline for the door. "I mean it. You-"

"There is truly little else I can help with. Bickslow informed us of having it and wanted help getting it over here. That is all that I kn-"

"Freed, wait," Mira said, staring over at him as well. "Did anyone… Did anyone watch it? I mean really watch it?"

He didn't want to do it, but he knew he had to then. Slowly, Freed nodded.

"Bickslow...watched it, he says and-"

Mira let out a weird sound then, that sounded like a cry of pain before throwing her hands over her face, turning, unbelievably, a deeper shade of red. Laxus only growled though, not sure what else to do.

"Who else?" Mira asked, her voice all high and flustered. "Freed?"

"No one," he insisted. "Honest."

"I'll kill him," Laxus said then, rather darkly. "I will. Damn it."

Freed, still uneasy, only nodded his head to them then. "A-As you see fit, Laxus. M-May I go now or-"

Laxus just tossed up his hands and, with that, the letter mage high tailed it out of there. The ship was sunk and he hadn't drowned. Huh. Those that got on that damn rescue boat though, now, they might be in for some trouble.

Hence the unity between the two that would later come.

As it was then though, Mira was still having a little meltdown from mortification as Laxus only seethed and plotted all the horrible ways there were for Bickslow to die.

He'd gotten up to about the twentieth when Mira spoke.

"You said," she complained to her boyfriend, "that no one would ever see it. You said-"

"I know what I fucking said, Mirajane. I-"

"Don't you curse at me. This is your fault. You said it was for you personally-"

"And it is! Bickslow was the one that was going through my things."

"Why was it that easy for him to just get a hold of it? Huh?"

"I said I don't know, okay? Gosh. Give me a damn moment to-"

"Stop cursing at me!"

And then they were glaring at one another and Mira just...she just…

"Oh, don't cry, demon. It's not that big of a deal."

"Yes, it is," she said as Laxus, cautious around the tearful, reached out to pat her shoulder. Sniffling, Mirajane hid her eyes once more, staring down at the ground as she moaned. "He's seen me… I… What tape is it, Laxus?"

"Huh?"

"The… Do you know? What one he saw?"

"Oh." Laxus shrugged. "I think it's a, uh, compilation."

"A what?"

"Err… You know how we recorded all those different times and… I sorta spliced together all my favorite things from them."

"You what?"

"You know, like a, uh, highlight reel? Yeah? Of, uh, our greatest hits I guess you could call it."

Mira wasn't amused. "You what?"

"I mean, I have the full recordings, but this," he said, waving the film in front of her, "is the best of the best. I take it on all the trips with me."

"What's...on it?"

"You know. I skip all that borin' stuff where we're just making out or whatever and get down to the nitty gritty. Where we're, you know, going at it? None of that boring foreplay or- Err, well, some, I guess, if it's really juicy, but mostly just when you start to relax around the lacrima and- And I'm in trouble. More trouble. So I'mma shut up."

Mira only continued to glare. For a long moment, Laxus thought that was all she'd do. Then, just like that, she was storming off to his bedroom and, with a groan, Laxus followed.

"Mira, it's not that big of a deal. If only Bickslow saw, then, well, I'll do damage control, yeah? Beat him into a coma, he forgets when he wakes up, and it's all fixed. Dragon took care of every-"

"It's not a joke, Laxus," Mira hissed, glaring over her shoulder at him as she went to go take a seat on his bed. "At all. I let you record us because I wanted to do it for you. For when you were away or… Not so it could be made into a stupid joke by everyone."

"It's not a joke." Tossing the film on the dresser, he slowly went to join her on the edge of the bed. "Demon, I get it, okay? I never wanted them to see that either. I-"

"It's not the same for you."

"What do you mean? I'm still...embarrassed or whatever. That Bickslow saw me… I mean I'm a tad grossed out that he watched it, but-"

"He saw me naked, Laxus. And when I was… That's… He's my little sister's boyfriend! Now everything's going to be awkward and weird and… I don't know." With a sigh, she moved to fall back on the bed. "I hate him."

Blinking, Laxus glanced at her. "I think that's the first time I've ever heard you say that about someone."

She just shut her eyes. "I do."

"You do not."

"I hate you then."

"No."

"Yes."

He took in a deep breath before saying, "I'm sorry. Really sorry. And, fine, I don't get it. I'm not you. I don't know what you're feeling. Or how embarrassed you are. And he is a freak. And I'm gonna pummel him for this. So don't worry. Your dragon will take care of everything."

Her dragon was the cause of everything was more like it.

Groaning, Mirajane only said, "We're never making another, you know. And I'm getting rid of the others."

The hell she was. Some of Laxus' best performances were captured on those recordings. He was keeping them forever, even if he and Mira, heaven forbid, drifted apart. He was getting older, after all. Those sorts of things needed to be documents. And, if Mira and him did end up together for the rest of eternity (he heard those were the types of punishment one got for consorting with Satan), then surely the times on that film would, eventually, be a distant memory and he'd certainly need to keep those to help him through those times.

Certainly.

"Dragon?"

They were both lying down then, on the bed and, not even glancing at her, he whispered, "What?"

"When you...pummel him..."

"Mmmhmm?"

"I get a swing too, right?"

"Mmmm. No."

"No?"

Shaking his head, Laxus grinned over at her, some of the humiliation dying off then. It was still there, of course, under the surface, but he was certain the more time put between the incident and then, the less he'd be so upset about it.

"I don't," he told her as she curled up to him, "really want him dead, after all."

Mira wasn't so certain, as the mortification was still very much still visceral for her and would be for some time. Of course her and Bickslow would make up eventually, but at the moment, she wasn't sure when that time would be.

"After all."

I have had the idea of Bickslow and Lisanna sneaking around Laxus' apartment as he and Mira are in it with walkie talkies for a long time, but I could never come up with an idea as to why they were in there. Then I was going to write a one-shot where Bickslow accidentally stumbled upon their, err, tape and somehow they found out, but figured it would be better to combine the two. Just the thought of them all hiding in the apartment, as Laxus and Mira are there is really funny to me for some reason.

And it's been a long time since I've seen that scene from the Tower of Heaven arc where Wally's showing Millianna the movie lacrima, so I'm sure I'm not remembering it correctly, but surely they have some sorta type of disk or something to go into the thing, right? And it would only make sense that, if you had a recording lacrima, you'd be able to use it for such things, right? I guess? For the sake of this story, anyhow, I'mma treat it as if it works that way.