Future Endeavors

"-take me seriously. I'm the best mage to ever live."

"I know."

"Honest, demon, I am."

"I'm agreeing."

"They just don't respect me. No one respects me."

"I respect you."

"Well, yeah, Mira, I know that you do, but you don't count."

"That's not very nice, dragon."

Laxus only sighed, glancing over at her. They were seated on the couch, him stretched out so his feet were resting in her lap as she rubbed them for him.

"I just want some respect," he grumbled. "That's all."

"Awe." She glanced over at him and gave him a smile. "Poor dragon. What else can the demon do to make you feel better? Huh?"

Well…

Figuring he'd ease his way in on that request, he said, "My feet aren't the only thing tired. My back hurts and my arms are sore and I-"

"Oh, dragon." She shoved his feet out of her lap before getting to her own. "Come on then."

Mirajane knew just how to handle her dragon. She led him to the bedroom before going off to get him a beer. Then she slipped him out of his coat and unbuttoned his shirt as he just sat on the edge of the bed, sipping on his drink.

"You can get naked too," he offered to which she only rolled her eyes. "What? If it makes you more comfortable-"

"Don't ruin this."

Believe him; he wasn't trying to. But you never know unless you try.

Once she got his shirt off, Mirajane only moved to get into bed and sit behind him. That was fine, actually. He wanted to finish his beer and get a bit more relaxed before they did anything.

"Comfy?"

"Mmmm," he moaned as Mirajane took to rubbing at his shoulders. "Yeah, demon. You're so good to me."

That got the back of his neck a kiss. "What got you so tense to begin with, Lax?"

Well, that was actually a long story.

"Your stupid sister and Bickslow went out training with me and, when I went to take a sip from my water bottle at a break, I found that they'd put mud in it! Then Freed was upset that I didn't ask him to go, so he thinks for some reason giving me the silent treatment's going to hurt my feelings or something. And your brother and Evergreen were just…themselves, which is annoying and-"

"Poor dragon."

Huh. Maybe it wasn't that long of a story.

"Poor me."

"You just have to stop spending so much time with the Thunder Legion and my siblings," she said before kissing his ear, her hands digging into his shoulder blades at the same time. "And spend more time with me."

Grunt. "I want to, demon, but you're always working. And you never train with me."

"I have too."

"Not that often."

"You don't ask me."

"Yes," he grumbled. "Of course I do." After all, nothing got Mira hotter than watching him work out. "You just always have to work."

"That's not my fault."

"Is too. Take less hours."

"And what, Laxus? Not make a house payment?"

Grunt. Then, "You promise to rub my down like this every night, you can just stay here."

That time his ear got bit, if only gently. Against it, she whispered, "You're being naughty."

"You bring me beers, clean up around the place, make me dinner, I'd let you stay here for free. Never have to work again."

"You could just hire a maid, you know."

"I can't fuck a maid, can I?"

"Not if you want to stay with me, you can't."

"Hn."

"Besides." Her breath was still hot against his ear as she leaned against him, hands running down his shoulders then to rest on his biceps. "You don't fuck me, do you, dragon?"

"Thought I did." He downed some more of his drink. "Mira."

"No, silly." Nuzzling her head against his, she whispered, "That's what you do to people you don't care about."

"No." He paused to take another sip. "It's not."

"How is it not?"

"I don't have to be soft and sweet to show ya how much I love you," he grumbled. "And you know that. When I got you writhing around and you're clawin' me and it's just all so much? That's because I love you too."

"That's lust."

"Same thing."

"It is not."

"Ain't you supposed to be massaging my shoulders, woman?" One last sip. Then, "And I need another beer."

"I am off the clock, you know."

"Yeah, whatever, maid."

"Dragon-"

Sighing loudly, he leaned over slightly, to set the empty bottle on the dresser. "I can lust after you, demon, and love you. Is it just fucking sometimes, with other people? Sure. And in the beginning, it was that way with you too."

"Gee, thanks."

"You're hot," he told her simply. "I'm hot. We should fuck."

"I think you're getting off-track."

Yeah. Thinking about Mira did that to him. It was just so hard to keep focus.

"My point," he said as she took to just leaning against his back, arms stretched over his shoulders so that they hung around his neck, "is that we've gotten closer. And now, yeah, sometimes I just wanna fuck you because I'm horny, but underneath all that is me loving you."

The side of his head got a kiss that time. "That makes no sense."

"Does to me."

"Yeah, well-"

"Massage, woman."

"You're such a brat." Still, she moved to start on his shoulders again. "You're not even tense anymore."

"You relax me."

"Awe."

Shutting his eyes, he said, "Back to you staying home and making me dinner every night-"

"That's not happening."

"I could make it worth your while."

"I'm listening."

"Besides unlimited access to my body-"

"I don't think that has the appeal you think it does," she said. "And I sorta already have that privilege."

"Demon, shush. I'm sweetin' the pot here, yeah?" Rolling his shoulders when she hit a good spot, he said, "I'd even put a little ring on your finger, yeah? Let you spend some jewels. And babies galore."

Mira's hands stilled again. "Wait, Lax, are you…proposing to me?"

"I dunno. Am I?"

Was he?

"You would be the one to know."

"I'm just saying that these are the things you'll get if you move in with me."

"What? You think that that's all I want to do with my life? Sit around an apartment, have your babies, and make you dinner?"

"Well…I mean, you can still play your little guitar and go up to the guild sometimes, but I don't know of any other aspirations you have, no." He turned his head to look back at her in the dark bedroom. "I thought you wanted to have my babies."

"Oh, I do."

Heh.

"But that's not, like, my life goal or anything."

"Everyone should want to have baby Dreyars," he told her. "Look at us. Look at me. I'm perfection embodied."

"Well, except for your eyebrows."

"Eh?"

Nodding, she said, "And you guys sure have some wonky personality traits."

Growl. "Mirajane-"

"And I have yet to meet any of the women in your family. What's up with that? I mean-"

"It's not like you and your siblings are at the top of the gene pool."

"Hey!" That got him a slap to the back.

"It's true. Your brother has a man fixation and your sister clearly has some sort of brain damage. No one spends that much time with the Salamander and his damn cat without it."

"Laxus-"

"But," he went on. "Look at me. A fine specimen, yeah? And you're just amazing all around. Our babies? They'll be super babies. The best babies around. Little demon-dragon hybrids. They'll eat other babies alive!"

"Well, I'd hope not. Cannibal children would be so hard to keep fed."

"Demon."

"You don't really want babies so soon anyhow, do you?" She leaned down to kiss where she'd slapped. "Dragon?"

"I thought you did," he told her. "That's all you ever talk about. Having a family and a house and pets-"

"I do want that," she told him. "But I want to spend some time being married first. Living together. Just being around one another. You know, before we add someone else to that."

"That sounds nice."

"It will be."

"Do I still get beer service and dinners during that time or does that hinge on children? Because-"

"Laxus."

"Mmmm," he hung his head one last time before moving to turn and climb into bed as well. Mirajane giggled, noticing this before, to his surprise, purple tiles appeared around her as she transformed. When they dissipated, she was still herself, but in something far more appealing than her usual dress.

"New lingerie, demon?" he asked, stalking the bed as she scooted back to accommodate him.

"You like?"

"Very much." When he got to her, it was only because she ran out of room to run, the headboard behind her then as he moved to get over her. "But-"

"Hmmm?"

"You," he told her before pressing a kiss to her nose, "are starting to edge in on Erza's territory with these outfit changes."

Mirajane only giggled. "She'll get over it."

Lowering his head, he whispered against her neck, "She's gonna have to."

She only threw her arms around him, smiling at first, when he took to pressing kisses against her soft flesh, before slowly, asking, "Lax?"

"Hmmm?"

"Did you mean it?"

"About Erza? Sure."

"No, silly." When he lifted his head, he also moved to rest his weight against his arms, to make her more comfortable. Staring up into his eyes, she said, "About getting married."

"Oh. Well, yeah. You know I wanna marry you."

"But were you…proposing?"

Grinning widely then, Laxus said, "Baby, I don't gotta ring on me, but sure."

"Really?"

"Demon, there ain't no one better than you. You know that. You're my heart, yeah?" Laughing, he said, "The whole damn guild would be lucky to have you. You think that I would ever let you get away? Na-ah."

Her grin was just as wide. "I never pictured it like this."

"Hmmm?"

"It's just…I always thought it'd be a tad more elaborate."

Laxus blinked. Then his grin fell. "Oh."

"I mean, this is fine, but-"

"No, no. I'll go out and get you a ring and we'll go to dinner and-"

"No." There was some force behind that too. She was still smiling just as brightly as before. "I love this, Laxus. This is so…you. That you didn't even pan for this. You just felt it and you asked it. That means a lot more to me, really. You're impulsive."

"Yeah, but," he corrected lightly, "this wasn't just all impulsive. I have thought about it a lot. I just didn't mean for it to come out today. That's all. I've thought about marrying you for over a year. You mean so much to me though that I wanted everything to be right."

"This was right. Is right, I mean." Then she giggled. "Dragon."

His own grin returned. "Demon."

"Ah-ah." She shook her head. "Mrs. Dragon to you."

Laxus was chuckling then and fell back down on her, though he remedied this quickly by rolling onto his back, arms wrapped around her to take the demon with him, leaving her above him then.

"Dragon-"

"Mmmm." He sighed as she shifted to sit up, straddling his waist. "Got you."

"You do," she agreed, moving to rest her hands on his chest, staring down at him. As Laxus laid his hands over hers, staring up at her with a smirk, she asked, "Are you relaxed, Laxus?"

"Am now," he told her, eyes alight. "You gonna be my woman, huh? Forever and always?"

Bouncing slightly in his lap, she raised an eyebrow. "I thought I already was?"

Hehe. Laxus' silly little demon. What would he ever do without her?

It wasn't until a few hours later, as Mirajane was up, fixing them supper as Laxus sat at the kitchen table, sipping on another beer and running the numbers in his head of how much he could afford to spend on her ring (and wedding for that matter) that something occurred to her.

"Hey, Lax?"

"Hmmm?"

"Did they really make you drink muddy water?"

"Yes," he groaned. "They're horrible to me. No one respects me."

"Other than me," she reminded. And, with a grin, Laxus nodded that time.

"That's right, demon," he said before adding, "and really, you're the only one that matters."