Prologue
Laxus had always liked Mirajane.
In a, "Hey, we're both super strong and should just stay the hell away from one another," kinda way. Not to say he didn't tease her at times, back before her sister...but Laxus teased everyone. And when Lisanna did die, he certainly left her alone, for a good gestation period of, what? A year?
Still, random ribbing was nothing compared to the torment he saw fit to inflict on many others throughout the course of his rebellious teen years. A lot of this had to do with Mira's apparent understanding of their arrangement. She had her little bitch fest of a hate/hate more relationship with Erza and, therefore, saw Laxus of little interest.
Perhaps, even, she feared him a bit, if only because of his size over her and the other children in the hall's obvious weary attitudes towards the nearly grown man. He was much bigger than Mirajane and though her power was growing at an exponential rate back in those days, he still seemed far more imposing.
Their interactions were limited and fleeting and it was best kept that way.
It wasn't until his excommunication and subsequent return that Laxus really gave her any real consideration. And even then, it was merely because he felt...happy for her. Honestly. The second he saw Lisanna there, stupid little Lisanna, all grown up, he didn't know...what had happened, but he knew it was something. And fine, he wasn't much one for emotions or caring about others, but he did understand loss.
Damn, if Laxus' didn't understand loss.
And if he could get back even just one of the family members that had been taken from him…
To see it happen to someone else, someone so deserving, that took care of the only member of said family still living for him while he was out finding himself, made Laxus feel…
Good.
Seeing Mirajane get a second chance with Lisanna made Laxus feel good.
She was happy to see him too, of course, find his own happiness. Perhaps not in what he'd always coveted, but in other ways. If Erza was the keeper of the troops, Mirajane was very good at holding things down at home base. Considering their home base was a bar, she got to see the members interact in many instances. It was drastic, really, the way Laxus went from sitting up on his lonely upper deck of the hall to actually having a beer or two with them, in that tiny one they were using before being gifted back their guildhall by the township Magnolia.
They'd both matured, perhaps her a bit before he, but was that not typical of boys and girls? They'd watched one another shed their hawkish behaviors for more suitable attributes that the elders of a guild should have. The temporary truce of their youth had blossomed ever slowly into an intense respect both held for one another.
Laxus saw Mirajane as a worthy member of the guildhall and she'd seen him grow into a fine gentleman, poised to perhaps one day lead said guildhall.
With that being said, the familiarity with one another was hardly mistaken as friendship. Perhaps more than affable but certainly nothing verging on two people who truly knew one another. Occasionally, when he'd see her around the hall or Magnolia, it'd hit Laxus that the two them, why, out of everyone, they could have truly friends, back in the day. Her damaged persona would have meshed so well with the one he sported that it was almost a shame, really, that those years had been wasted in contempt rather than camaraderie.
But life was busy and, truly, neither was at a loss for company. Atop her siblings, Mirajane was considered by many the friendliest of the Fairy Tail 'inner circle' while Laxus was no longer just the devotion sought by the Thunder Legion, but truly closer to their big brother then more than ever.
There was no need, honestly, for Raijin and Satan to converse outside of the typical guild garb.
Which is why it shocked him so much when Mirajane approached him one day at the hall. He had it poised on his tongue, to tell her that he didn't require a refill, he'd be heading out soon enough, that she shocked him when she asked something else entirely.
"Hey, Laxus, can you stick around after closing? I need to talk to you about something pretty important."
This shocked the slayer into silence as Mirajane only filled his beer up with the pitcher in her hand without asking, and picked up the empty plate in front of Freed, who was seated with him, not even waiting for an answer. She'd spoken so fast and it was so noisy in the place that Laxus was almost convinced that he'd misheard her, but there was no way that Freed felt the same.
"Why," he asked as Laxus only blinked, "would Mirajane wish to speak with you? And about what?"
"Dunno," the slayer muttered as his eyes followed the mage as she made her way across the hall, far away from him. Scampering off, honestly. "I haven't even spoken to Mira outside of ordering drinks in… Fuck, has it been a year?"
"I speak with her, occasionally," Freed remarked, glancing after her also. "Perhaps she's confusing you with me."
"I highly doubt," Laxus grumbled as, slowly, he moved to take a sip from the beer he hadn't honestly even wanted refilled, "that anyone has ever made that mistake."
Freed coughed a bit uncomfortably before looking off and agreeing, "Yes, of course, Laxus. Forgive me."
But he was hardly listening to the other man then as he continued to ponder just what waiting around for closing would get him.
Because he definitely was doing it.
What sorta choice did he have? She hardly even gave him one, just walking away like that.
The evening was fast approaching though and Laxus had nothing to do, truly, that night, so it wasn't really a true inconvenience. Plus, though he'd never let on, Laxus interest was piqued. Mirajane wasn't one to ask for help often and certainly not from someone she hardly considered a friend.
"I could stay with you," Freed offered to the man, as the time grew closer. "If you wish."
"Why would I wish that? What? You think the woman's gonna jump me or something?"
"N-No, but-"
"She probably just has some sort of late night delivery coming," the man remarked. "Needs some help lifting them."
"But wouldn't ask her brother because-"
"Damn, Freed, I don't know. I'm just thinking."
"R-Right, sorry."
It took a bit for the place to clear out and Mirajane came up to him to request they wait until then to speak.
Kinana was still around, cleaning up around the bar area, when Mirajane came and drug Laxus off to the enclosed pool where they could speak in private.
"So," Laxus said slowly as they stood there, only the sounds of the pool's filters and drains making any noise, "what exactly is it that you-"
"Do you ever come to the pool?" Mira, who had been facing him, turned then and began to walk around the perimeter of it slowly. Laxus didn't move to follow. "I don't ever see you in it."
"Not my thing," he said simply. "What was it that you-"
"Not mine either. I guess when you have to clean it all the time, you kinda don't wanna get in it, you know?"
"Don't shit where you eat."
"What?"
"Mira, what did you want from me?"
She was still walking the length of the pool and glanced over her shoulder at him, their eyes locking across the tile flooring before, with a breath, she looked forward again.
"You know we're getting older, right, Laxus?"
"Older?" He snorted, not even considering what she could possibly be speaking on. "I'm in my prime."
"Don't you turn thirty in a couple of months?"
"Prime."
"And without Master Mavis freezing time that time-"
"What do you want, Mirajane?"
"I just...I don't care, you know? If I'm a barmaid for the rest of forever."
He'd taken to crossing his arms, when she began picking at his age, but let out a slight breath when she said this.
"Do you think I...what? Said something about it? As if you did or something? Because I didn't, if that's what you think. I don't care if you're a...barmaid or what you are-"
"Thanks, but I really didn't care about what you thought about the situation."
"Then-"
"I just… Can you just listen? Like quietly?"
"You make me wait hours past when I wanted to leave to have a conversation you won't key me in on what's about, but-"
"Please, Laxus."
His eyes rolled quite heavily, but Mirajane only waited for his slight grumbles to die down before speaking again. By that point, she was coming back towards him, on her journey around the pool, and he stared straight at her face.
"I just always thought that I'd, you know, have, like, already started my life by now."
"You're only, what? Twenty something? You-"
"You'd say you'd be quiet."
Actually, he didn't say anything, but whatever.
"My parents died, you know? Super young. After working their entire lives, just so that they could have me and my brother and sister. And I don't… I always thought I'd have tons of kids by now."
"Tons?"
"One or two. Three."
"Huh."
"At least, like, a steady boyfriend or something, you know? But I always end up dating guys that aren't, you know, into that. And that's fine, I don't care, but-"
"M-Mirajane," he muttered, scratching at the back of his neck as he finally looked away from her. "Why are you telling me all this? Because, not to be rude or whatever, but I really...don't give a shit. I can try to, I guess, but this is-"
"I wanna ask you something."
"To what? Hook you up with guys or something? Because, I don't know if you noticed, but assholes kinda attract assholes."
"What?"
"So," he kept right up, "you should ask someone else and just-"
"That's not even what I'm asking."
"Then what are you asking?"
She'd made it back to him then and, apparently, the walk around the pool at eased her nerves a bit, as she stood directly in front of him, her deep blues locking with his dark irises.
"Laxus, this is really personal and serious and if you don't want to, fine, but please don't go around and tell people that I asked-"
"What?" He was growing annoyed. "Mira? It's late."
"I know, but..."
"Just spit it out."
It was silent though, the pool still making all of its noises, as well as the sound of Kinana calling out to Mirajane that she'd closed out the register and was heading home; she'd see her in the morning. The loud, reverberating bang of the thick, wooden doors at the entrance to the hall as the other barmaid finally escaped the guild for the day.
Mirajane's eyes shut and she took a deep breath while Laxus only continued to stare, watching, waiting.
Wondering if maybe the woman had taken him out to the pool to do some sort of surprise attack and murder him and Freed had been right.
Then, eyes opening slowly, Mirajane whispered, "I wanted to know if you'd be the father of my baby."
And that's how Laxus found out that you should never, ever be nice to other people.
Ever.
They might not kill you when you least expect it, but they'll definitely try to get you to have a heart attack.
"Laxus, are you okay?"
Or cause you to faint.
Heh.
This has been reworked so many times in my head, going from a full-blown story to a one-shot to a two-shot, to finally whatever...this is gonna be. Five chapter minimum, but I'd lean towards more, most likely. It's gonna be a bit more serious than some of the Laxus and Mirajane stuff I do, more in the vein of Dragon's Love than anything else.
On that note, I have finally decided where I want to go with the next chapter of Accidents and Incidents and hope to get back to it sooner than later. Closure has still stuck on a bit of a snag, but I'm sure I'll wiggle my way back around to that one soon.