Early Mornings

Mirajane woke up alone. This wouldn't have been so shocking if she knew for a fact she hadn't gone to bed that way. Still, it only took a moment for her mind to drift back to the reason she was so alone, making her smile slightly and snuggle back against the warmth he left when he, well, left.

She knew that she should go home soon. Lock up his place and go back to her own. Not that he would care, but it would just be for the best. She had more clothes to pick from at her place and, not to mention, if Lisanna awoke and found she wasn't home, she'd tease Mirajane relentlessly about sleeping over at Laxus' place.

She liked to do that.

Still, his bed was too warm for her to get up just yet. And it smelled so much like him. And even though before she went home with him that night she knew that he'd be leaving in the middle of the night for some job request, part of her had still wished that he'd oversleep so they could wake up together.

He hadn't. He never did.

When she finally did sit up in bed, she took a stock of the room, seeing if there was anything she needed to take with her back to her home. She could go into Laxus' place when he was out, of course she could as she had a key, but she rarely did. It just didn't feel right. Like an unspoken rule. So she tried her hardest not to. Which, of course, meant getting everything she left over at his apartment back to her house so she wouldn't be without it when she was, well, without him.

The floor was cool underfoot as she went around, picking up things that she would need. About halfway through though, she decided that she didn't want to leave just yet and wanted to take a shower. Back at home, she had to juggle her bathroom usage with Elfman and Lisanna's. Sure, she was ultimately the oldest and strongest, so she could basically do whatever she wanted (it didn't hurt that Elfman was a big softie and Lisanna practically idolized her), but still. It was nice in Laxus' apartment, having the bathroom open to her whenever she wanted.

She didn't feel like turning any lights on though for some reason and left the bathroom door open so the moonlight coming in from the window in the adjoining bedroom would stream into the bathroom. Just enough so she could see, but not enough to blind her.

His shower felt odd without him. He almost always ended up in there with her. Same with the tub. When they were around one another, it was hard to let the other do something alone. She couldn't even making him breakfast without him sitting at the kitchen table, overseeing.

She went ahead and used his shampoo even though she kept a bottle of her own in there, wanting to smell like him for as long as possible. He was supposed to be gone for a month. It was an extensive job and, as he explained it to her, one with a big commission cut. She knew that he had been saving money for some reason recently and secretly, she was hoping it was for a ring.

…Not that she ever mentioned it to him. In the past she'd ask him if he'd ever get married and he hadn't been shocked when she told him that she really would like to be. He would only ever say that eventually, yeah, he'd get married. He just wanted to be more settled first.

Not that being settled matter to Mirajane. It was just the idea of being married, of throwing it in Erza's face, that excited her.

…Okay, so maybe she still had some issues to work on, but so what? Every woman's a little crazy when it came to that sort of stuff. Right?

After her shower, Mira got dressed against slowly before heading out of the bathroom to check out his room again and make sure she wasn't leaving anything behind. Then she went into his living room to check it too. It was then that a scent hit her nose.

It smelled like…bacon?

Going into the kitchen, she found just that. And eggs. And toast. It was on a plate sitting on his counter (he had no table because, as he put it, "Tables are for losers, Mirajane, who actually sit down to eat." Yeah) with a note sitting next to it. It was still rather dark, but there was a tiny window in the kitchen that gave off enough light for her to, after setting her things down, read it.

Morning, demon. Didn't wanna wake you. Remember to lock up my place. Take any food in the fridge with you or throw it out. I won't be back for awhile. Made you breakfast. Might have to warm it up some though. Not sure when you'll get up. Just stay safe, demon.

- Laxus

She sat the note back down with a giggle. Laxus was so cute when he wanted to be.

So she sat down at, oh, four in the morning to eat the breakfast he made her. She knew there was no way she'd go back to bed when she got home, as there would be too much of a chance she'd oversleep, so she figured she might as well take her time. She still had a few hours until she had to get to the guild.

It wasn't until about an hour later when she got home and was picking up around the place, trying to pass some time before she went into work that she laughed slightly. A month. He'd be gone for a month.

And he hadn't even let her say goodbye.

The guild had been heck that day. Though it had felt that way for the past, oh, seventeen days. You know, since a month had passed and she hadn't so much as gotten word from her boyfriend.

Not that she was surprised. It had been a pretty serious job. And he wasn't alone. He went out with his body guards. But still. It didn't stop her from worrying. It was her right after all, as his girlfriend.

"You finally home?"

She only moaned against her pillows as her bedroom door opened. Lisanna stood there in the darkness, staring in at her.

"You okay?"

Another moan.

"I can make you something to eat if you want."

Finally lifting her head, Mirajane smiled over at her baby sister. "No, Lisanna, I'm fine. Just…tired."

"You sure?"

"Mmmhmm." Shifting, she moved to lay down. "So unless you need something-"

"Nothing, Mira."

"-then I think I'mma just go to bed."

"If you're sure."

When she was left alone again, Mira only rolled over again, facing the wall, before shutting her eyes. She only had a few hours before she had to be up, anyhow.

It was around two that morning when she found that she had even fewer.

She was sleeping rather deeply, actually having a pretty pleasant dream for once, when she felt something rubbing against her lips. Even unconscious this confused her, enough so that her eyes flew open.

It was then that she found herself face to face with Laxus, who was rubbing his thumb gently against her bottom lip. The panic that had filled her drifted away, though she was still hesitant.

"L-Laxus?" she whispered as he pressed harder against her lip, staring at it. "What are you doing?"

"Missed you," he mumbled, still rubbing gently.

"But why are you-"

"Your lips never chap, huh?" He removed his thumb then before looking into her eyes. "Mirajane."

With that, she smiled before giggling far too loudly of the time of night it was before moving to wrap her arms around his neck. "Laxus! What are you doing here?"

"Got into town and didn't wanna go be alone at my apartment."

"How'd you get in though?"

He moved to kiss her head. "Babe, you guys have gotta learn to lock your doors."

Giggling then, she shifted back some to look at his face. "You think someone could ever hurt me, Laxus?"

"I know that I just snuck in here and undressed, and then spent some time rubbing your lips before you even woke up."

She made a face. "Oh, and by the way, that was a weird thing to do, so don't do it again."

Just to prove a point, he reached out and rubbed his thumb against her lip again. "I can do whatever I want. I'm the strongest wizard to ever live. I'm fucking Laxus Dreyar. You know that?"

"I've been told as much."

Grinning, he moved to nuzzle in between her shoulder and her neck, making Mirajane tense up and squeal.

"Laxus-"

"Who are you, Mira? Huh? I'm the strongest wizard to ever live. What are you?"

"Mmmm…the second strongest?" she asked, trying to figure out the game that he was playing.

"Nah." He kissed her cheek then. "You're my little baby demon. Okay?"

Giggling, she said, "'kay."

Her head got a kiss then. "You know who else you are, Mirajane?"

"Who?"

He buried his head against her neck again. She thought that he was trying to initiate something, but then he started talking again, hiding his face and muffling his voice.

"Mirajane Dreyar. Wife of the strongest wizard to ever live." He paused and she wasn't speaking, so he shut his eyes tightly. Maybe she wasn't-

"L-Laxus!"

He knew that tone. Letting out a breath then, he nuzzled her neck one last time before pulling back to look at her.

"If you wanna be, I mean," he said, looking in her eyes. "Not that I'm begging or some shit. 'cause I ain't. I-"

"Don't ruin being sweet by being an asshole right now. Please. I put up with it every other time, but not when you're proposing."

He grinned then, fully, really, as she giggled again. "Then-"

"Did you get me a ring?"

"Did the strongest fucking wizard ever get his woman a fucking ring?" Snort. He sat up then before slowly getting out of bed. "Yeah. It's in my bag. Hold on."

Mira couldn't though. She jumped out of bed and went to stand over his shoulder as he got down on his knees, digging through his bag.

"Made a little stop on my way back to Magnolia," he was saying as he searched. "See, about nine months ago, I was hanging around in this little shithole of a town and found this old merchant shop. And I saw, mind you I don't say this word, but it was beautiful, this ring was. The price reflected that.

"You know though, babe, that I got money. You know this. Whatever you want, I get you. But…it just wouldn't be wise for me to spend this much at once. So I struck a deal, see. Made payments. And my cut of commission for this last job was finally enough to make the last payment."

"Laxus." She giggled. "You didn't have to do all that. You know that I wouldn't care if-"

"How the hell are you gonna brag to Erza if you ain't got the prettiest ring in all of Fiore?"

More giggles. "You know me so well."

"I know." When he stood again, she didn't protest. Laxus didn't bow down to no one and she wasn't expecting him to do so for her. They were equals. Then he tossed something at her that she caught easily. "Here, demon. Hope it's the right size. I-"

"It's perfect!"

When she jumped him, he couldn't help but fall back, as she did so from the side and he was completely unprepared.

"Mira-"

"I love you, Laxus!" She was holdfast against him as he stumbled back and hit the door with a bang. He only laughed though, that fizzy feeling in his stomach slowly fading.

"I love you too, demon."

Letting him go, she slipped the ring on her finger before turning to admire it. "Oh, this is all so great, Laxus!"

He tried to go back to being gruff, but it was hard. He felt…good about making his woman so happy. His.

Suddenly, the door behind him started to rattle as someone banged on it.

"Mira! Are you in there? Sis, are you alright?"

Elfman. Rolling his eyes, Laxus finally found the annoyance that usually dictated his mood creep back up. Mirajane just jumped around him and went to open the door.

"Elfman! Laxus is here and-"

"Well, close the door! I don't want a part of that!"

"No, silly," Mirjane giggled as she reached out to grab her brother's arm and pulling him into the room. Thanks to the light on out in the hall, she was able to show off the ring to her brother. "He proposed!"

"What?" Elfman looked happy for a moment before the news set in. Then the waterworks began.

"E-Elfman!"

"I'm just so happy, big sis!" He held his hands over his eyes as he cried. "Marriage is so manly!"

"What's going on?" Lisanna was coming out of her room then too, confused by all the noise. "Mira?"

"Lisanna!"

Kill him. Groaning, Laxus went to go sit down on the bed and wait for all the theatrics to be over. No way he was walking her into the guildhall later. Not if she was going to act the same way.

"Look!" Mira was extra bouncy then as she held out her hand to her sister as well. "He was super cute about it too. He-"

"Mira," Laxus said slowly, having to be a little loud to be heard over her and Elfman, who was still sobbing. Loudly. "Not to be, you know, rude over here, but I just got home. I'm sort of hungry. You think you three could do this in the kitchen as you make me something to eat?"

"Oh, of course, L- Mr. Dreyar." She winked then. He decided not to explain to her that he had always been Mr. Dreyar. She was the one that was going to change her name. Not the other way around. "Come on, Lisanna."

"Ooh, now I'm going to have two brothers," Lisanna said, glancing at Laxus. He gave her a look back, but she only giggled.

"No, you're not," he grumbled.

"Yes, I am," she insisted. "Bye, big brother Laxus!"

"I'm not your brother!"

Once they were gone, Laxus was hoping to be alone, but no. Elfman was still there. He glared at the other man, but he was unaware. Then, suddenly, he removed his hands and looked at Laxus.

"Y-You're gonna be good to her, huh? To Mirajane?"

Frowning, Laxus said, "I'm not good to or for anyone."

More tears. Ugh.

"Elfman, look. Mira wants this, I want this. And I'd take care of her if I needed to, but I don't. Mirajane takes care of her own self. So just stop talk- Hey! Let me go!"

Elfman couldn't help it though as he went over to Laxus before bending down to gather him into his arms and begin hugging the hell out of him. It was even more awkward when you considered Laxus was only in his boxers and Elfman was shirtless in a pair of sleep pants. Laxus could break the grip, fine, but he was trying to be nice.

See what being nice gets you?

"We're gonna be brothers now, man," Elfman was going on as Laxus reluctantly patted him on the back. "Me and you. Brothers. And our kids are gonna be cousins. And you're gonna be my sister's husband. Husband! I just…I…"

More tears. Gah! And it wasn't even the fucking wedding yet.

"There, there," Laxus said in the most unaffectionate voice ever. He thought after proposing Mirajane would be so happy with him that he'd get a blow or at least sex. Having Elfman hugging him was a bitter substitution. "Don't cry, Elfman."

"I know. I'm just so…happy. For sis. And for you. And for me too!" He let him go suddenly as his crying ceased. Flexing then, Elfman said, "I've never had a brother before! This is gonna be great! We'll stay up all night, watch scary movies together, talk about girls-"

"Yeah, no." Laxus turned to walk around him and out of the room, off to see how his food was coming along. "But…you can have the addresses of all the women I used to fuck if you want."

"Ha! That works too!"

Rolling his eyes, Laxus headed to the kitchen where he found Mirajane hadn't even started on his food. She and Lisanna were hugging and laughing. With a growl, he said, "I didn't propose so you could be a piss poor wife from the get go! Make my food, woman!"

Mira looked over at him, though she didn't release Lisanna, and said, "You're cute," before going back to gushing to her sister. Ugh.

"I'll make my own damn dinner then, demon, if you're going to be-"

"Oh, Laxus, stop it." That got her to let go of Lisanna. "Just go sit down and wait. I mean, honestly."

Grunt. When he went to go sit at the table though, he was dismayed to see Lisanna coming over to sit with him.

"What do you want, kid?" he grumbled.

"Just to talk with my new big brother."

"I'm not your brother!"

"Ooh, Mira, you know what I just realized?" Lisanna called over as Elfman came into the room again. The second he saw his sister, he began to bawl again.

"What?" Mira asked as she began pulling things out of the fridge.

"You're not the oldest anymore!"

"Oh, hey, that's right." Mira giggled. "So no more asking me for stuff, guys. Or having me clean up after you. Or make you dinner. Laxus will now! 'cause he's the big brother."

"Yes," Elfman agreed with a fist pump, his tears gone. "And he agreed to hand over all his women to me."

That stopped Mirajane. As Laxus grimaced, he watched her turn from that sweet, naïve woman that she played off to be and to the demon that she'd always truly been.

"What women, Laxus?" She turned to face him and, even though she wasn't in Satan Soul in that moment, he sure felt like she was.

Groaning, he took to glaring at Elfman who was oblivious. If that's what it was like to have a little brother, he didn't want one.

"Clearly the women that he knew before you guys got together, Mirajane. Don't be so crazy already." Lisanna smiled at her sister before at Laxus. He glanced at her before relaxing some. See? Little sisters were always-

"Oh, and side note, Laxus?" Lisanna leaned across the table then to stare him in the eyes. "Mirajane won't let me go out of town without her or Elfman, which isn't fair, so I'm going to need you to come with me next week, okay?"

"Come with you where?" he asked slowly, frowning.

"Natsu and Happy are going to go see this band play in-"

"We already told you no, Lisanna," Mira said as she continued to glare at Laxus.

"But Laxus is going with us now. Aren't you, Laxus?"

"If you wanna hear music, listen to Gajeel play."

"Ew! No. Laxus is taking me to a concert. Me, Natsu, and Happy. And Lucy. And Gray. And probably-"

"I'm not a fucking baby sitter, kid!"

"Please?" Lisanna gave him sad eyes. "Mira says I'm not allowed to go anywhere without her or Elfman. You know, because they're mean and-"

"We lost you once, Lisanna," Elfman said. "But hey, if Laxus is going, I'll go too. Since we're brother!"

"No. I never said I was going," Laxus complained.

"Well, if Laxus and Elfman both go, you can go," Mirajane said slowly. "Have fun."

"Wait a minute-" Laxus tried, but it was drowned out by Lisanna cheering and Elfman beginning to cry over the fact that he had a brother to go to things with.

Maybe marrying Mirajane wasn't such a good idea… Moaning, he moved to rest his head on the kitchen table with a groan.

"Mira," he called out softly, somehow being heard over all the commotion. When she glanced over at him, he said, "When we get married, we're not living here."

"Of course we are. With Elfman and Lisanna. I have to. This is my house, after all. And we can't kick them out, silly."

Groaning, he shut his eyes. Silly. He was so silly.

Mirajane only went back to cooking though, listening to her sister and brother gab about their now upcoming trip. She knew eventually she'd tell them to lay off some, that they might scare Laxus off, but for the moment, she figured she'd let them be happy. Because she knew, somewhere deep down, Laxus must have wanted a family too. He knew that she loved her brother and sister above anyone. There's no way that he didn't. Secretly, he must have wanted to be part of her family.

"Would you guys shut up?" Laxus finally yelled, his normal attitude making it's way back to the surface at the sound of Lisanna and Elfman talking loudly. He had let it go on long enough. "Shut the fuck up! Both of you!"

Lisanna blinked at him and Elfman frowned. Mirajane, used to that sort of attitude, just kept cooking.

"I mean, seriously. You guys are annoying me," Laxus complained. Then, pointing out of the kitchen, he said, "Go back to bed. Both of you. And be quiet about it!"

The command had kinda just come out of nowhere and he wasn't expecting it to work, but slowly, Elfman scratched the back of his head before mumbling sorry and heading out of the room. Lisanna glared at him and stuck her tongue out, but then rushed out of the room, never one for being reprimanded. Then it was just Laxus and his girl- err, fiancée.

"Wow, Laxus," she complimented as she glanced over at him. "That was quite the performance."

"What are you talking about?"

"And to think," she went on. "This is only your first day as a big brother."

He blinked at that. And then his head fell back to the table. Maybe tables weren't for losers. They were for older siblings. To bang their heads against.