Author's Note

This story takes place between the Battle of Fairy Tail and the Oracion Seis arcs.

It is intended to cover the prompts for both Day 1 and Day 2 of MiraFreed Week 2017: (1) Angel/Demon; and (2) Raijinshūu & Strauss Siblings.

First Steps: I Will Love Your Darkness

Freed wasn't around Fairy Tail much after Laxus was banished. There were many reasons, of course.

For one thing, he and his team, the Raijinshūu, needed money to help pay for repairs to both the guildhall and the town of Magnolia. Nobody had asked them for the money; rather, Freed had spoken to Master Makarov the day after the battle for Fairy Tail to say that his team would pay the necessary amounts as soon as possible. Makarov had glared at him, knowing that most of the damage for which they would be paying was attributable to Laxus. But unlike many people, the master of Fairy Tail never forgot that Freed was the leader of the Raijinshūu and entitled to make decisions on their behalf. He also knew Freed.

"You take too much on yourself," Makarov had grumbled. But when Freed had simply nodded politely, that had been the end of it.

For another thing, the wounds caused by his team to the other members of Fairy Tail needed to heal a little before true peace could be restored. Makarov had not condemned the Raijinshūu as he had Laxus, but neither could he force his members to extend forgiveness to those who had harmed them. This was especially true for Freed, whose dark magic had caused them to harm each other. The physical wounds from Laxus' failed attack had been gone within a matter of days; the intangible damage to pride, trust and friendship would take much longer to repair.

The third reason for avoid the guildhall was the least obvious; it was, in fact known only to Freed, or so he'd thought. But when he, Evergreen and Bixlow had returned from their first post-conflict mission, he'd found Elfman waiting for him, and it hadn't been an easy meeting.

"I need to talk to you," Elfman had told Freed curtly, for once not pausing to greet Evergreen, whom he openly admired.

Elfman had been one of the worst hurt during Laxus' take-over bid. He'd tried to break the rules of one of Freed's rune wards, despite being warned against it. Freed's dark magic was tied to the demon within him, and it had insisted that Elfman pay the full price for his transgression. That price was to be tortured to the point of insanity and death. Since Freed accepted that the demon was a part of him, he was in agreement with the popular view that he had tried to kill Elfman in a particularly horrible way.

Freed had assumed—had hoped—that Elfman wanted to punish Freed in some way for what he had done. Unfortunately, the white-haired man had a big heart like his sister Mirajane, when it came to harm done to himself. He'd made his own mistakes, and although he respected strength and courage above all else, he was a good man. He was very protective when it came to his sister, of course. His younger sister had died under tragic circumstances. His older sister was his last living relative and he adored her.

Mirajane had once been one of Fairy Tail's most powerful mages, but at the time of her sister's death she had effectively locked away her power—her demon soul—in order not to cause harm to others. She had withdrawn from participating in missions, and had instead become Fairy Tail's chief bartender (and some said matchmaker). Mirajane was also one of the country's most successful models, and only seemed to gain in popularity each year. It wasn't just her brilliant white hair and beautiful blue eyes, or even her perfect figure that brought her admirers; rather, it was the way that each of those superficial attractions was enhanced by her extraordinary kindness to others.

Freed's attempt to kill Elfman had caused Mirajane to loose her demon soul—not to preserve herself, but to preserve her brother. Demon against demon, they had fought each other with every means at their disposal—and with killing intent. Mirajane had been the victor. And yet… she had not killed Freed. Instead, she had crouched over his bruised and beaten human form and forgiven him. Injured in body and soul, Mirajane Strauss had told Freed that neither of them should be fighting an ally. She had insisted to Freed that they were both still members of Fairy Tail.

So when Freed had told Evergreen to collect their reward for the mission, and had gone to a more private spot outdoors with Elfman, he had expected some kind of challenge. He'd already made up his mind to accept whatever abuse was offered, verbal or physical. After all, he deserved it. That's when he'd found out that his secret reason for avoiding the guildhall wasn't so secret after all.

"I want you to stay away from Mirajane," Elfman had told him, bluntly. "As a Man, I can get over what you did to me. But I've seen the demon inside you now—the one that tortures people—and I don't want it too close to my sister. Don't try to deny it: I've seen how you look at her when she looks away."

Freed had been taken aback. Not even Evergreen had commented on his carefully hidden, not-yet-to-be-spoken-of feelings for Mirajane.

"I think everyone looks at Mirajane, Elfman—she is very beautiful, after all." Freed had kept his poise, tilting his eyebrows up slightly to indicate confusion.

"I know. Make sure that's all it is."

He could have left it there, but that would have been a lie of omission to Freed's careful way of thinking. He was trying to avoid lies with people at Fairy Tail, in order to start rebuilding their trust. So, very reluctantly, he'd pressed further:

"And what if, some day, it's more than that?"

Elfman's arms were already crossed angrily over his broad chest, but now the top hand clenched into a fist.

"Just don't. She doesn't need another demon in her life. She's more angel than demon now anyway, in my opinion. If you think you care about her, remember that."

"I'll remember," Freed had told him, careful to be polite, but not deferential or apologetic. It was a fine line to walk.

The big man had stared at him hard, trying to gauge what he meant.

"I wish you hadn't fought her like you did," Elfman finally said. "She's too nice to people and she felt sorry for you."

"No," Freed had replied immediately. "She offered me friendship—or reminded me of it. And she felt compassion, because she knew that I was going to suffer either way—whether Laxus won or lost. It wasn't pity, it was understanding."

"So you did fall for her. I thought so. Well, I've said my piece." With a last scowl at Freed, Elfman had stalked back into the guildhall.

Freed had wished that he could set things straight, but it was still too soon. More time needed to pass. The wounds were still too raw.

He didn't even try to talk to Mirajane, except in passing, until returning from the team's third mission after Laxus' banishment. It had been more difficult to wait than he'd expected, because she had been puzzled and hurt when he had avoided her. The problem was that the attraction didn't only go one way. Maybe Elfman had understood that—maybe that's why he'd been so concerned—but just in case he didn't, Freed wasn't going to enlighten him. Not until people were better prepared to respect how Mirajane felt. Freed's feelings in the matter were secondary.

After the third mission, though, he'd decided that enough was enough. He couldn't balance everyone's needs indefinitely. He considered speaking with Elfman ahead of time, to warn him that he wasn't going to "stay away" any longer. However, while this approach would be honourable from one point of view, it would be wrong to speak to the lady's brother before the lady herself.

This time, once he had turned in the proofs for the mission and collected the team's reward, he had gone over to the bar and waited for Mirajane to be free. It didn't take long, since he'd deliberately come when things weren't busy.

"Hello, Freed. Staying for a drink today? That's unusual."

Her voice was quiet and held a trace of sadness. Freed was suddenly anxious to straighten things out as quickly as possible.

"I'm not here for a drink…"

"Oh? Meeting somebody, then?"

"Ah, yes, in fact—"

Their eyes met, blue looking up into lighter blue, and there was a moment of near-perfect understanding. Mirajane brightened.

"Shall we go for a walk?" she asked.

"Yes…" replied Freed, smiling a little. He hadn't wanted to smile in a long time.

Mirajane didn't even try to find somebody to cover the bar. Instead she gestured to Freed to follow her out a back-way that opened onto a tree-shaded lane.

There was nobody around, but Freed waited until they had left the track and walked some ways from the guildhall before saying anything. Then he stopped and faced Mirajane, his face serious. Without fanfare, but with considerable grace, he took her right hand in both of his.

"I care about you a great deal, Mirajane. I hope you'll believe me."

"I was beginning to think I was wrong…"

"I was worried that it was still too soon."

"Why?" Mirajane asked the question quietly, but with considerable force.

"Because of… many things. What I did to your friends and family was terrible, and there is still a lot of resentment around. If nothing else, I make other guild members uncomfortable. You're sensitive to these things and might want me to keep my distance for a while longer. But even just between the two of us you might have thought it was too soon…"

Freed tilted his head thoughtfully as he tried to explain. "You might be worried that your attraction to me is just sympathy invested with the trappings of something more significant. Or you might be concerned that my feelings are merely the result of enchantment, and lack depth. That would trouble you, since one tends to wake up from enchantment."

"Enchantment?" Mirajane's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What do you mean?"

"You demonstrated overwhelming power and then unstinting compassion. Anyone might be enchanted by that."

"Why is that a bad thing?"

"You want me to explain it to you?" Freed was honestly surprised. Before Mirajane could snap at him, though, or draw her hands away in irritation, he just nodded. "Alright… It would be a bad thing because feelings based on enchantment tend to evaporate the moment the enchantment wears off. Worse, the enchanted person feels as though they have been tricked when their idol doesn't live up to expectations. The difficulty is that you are used to enchanting people; you know that you do it. You have been adored for many years now. I think that has made it difficult for you to distinguish between genuine, romantic affection and infatuation."

"Do you mean love? If you do, then use the word. It won't hurt."

"…Mirajane, the word 'love' can hurt in many ways." Freed's expression darkened and grew distinctly uneasy. He took words very seriously.

Mirajane held up a hand. "I take it back. You're right. It's a messy, dangerous kind of word, isn't it?" All at once she looked rather forlorn. "Please finish what you were going to say. I have a feeling that I'm just trying to put off hearing the truth. I've seen others do it often enough—ask the question but not really want the answer, I mean."

Tentatively, Freed brushed some wayward strands of white hair back from her face, and then renewed his clasp on her hand. His own hands were strong, and the right one bore callouses from using a sword, but the overall impression was of long, elegant fingers and well-defined bones and tendons. Mirajane focused on his fingers as he spoke, finding it unsettling to be the one seeking rather than dispensing understanding. Vulnerability made her a shy, she realized.

"Before you were Mirajane the much beloved, you were Mirajane the Demon. I remember the Demon quite well. You were often angry and destructive, and rightly feared by just about everybody. You never realized how closely I watched you then, understanding your fear of the creature inside you—the one that Master Makarov insisted was just a type magic, no different than any other type except perhaps in power. Being able to shut away that frightening and frightened girl after—forgive me—Lisanna died must have been a relief."

Mirajane shivered slightly, but otherwise didn't comment. Seeing that she wasn't going to respond, Freed continued.

"Because of your past—having been so much feared and even disliked—you know better than most how wonderful it is to be universally adored."

There was a small puff of laughter from Mirajane: "Almost universally, Freed. Erza and I still have our moments."

"The point is that you only allowed the Demon to come back as an absolute last resort to keep me from killing your brother. You were probably terrified as well as enraged. So…"

Mirajane sighed. "So it's fair for you to worry that I might not be ready for—how did you put it—'genuine, romantic affection' when it comes to the person who forced me to uncage the scariest part of myself."

"You won't be getting away from demon magic around me," Freed said simply. "I don't want either of us to live as pale shadows of what we really are."

"I'd rather be loved than be powerful."

"As you have proven, but… Why not try for both?"

Mirajane finally looked up, straight into Freed's intent blue eyes.

"That was implied use of the really messy, dangerous word, you know."

Freed sighed and put his hands on Mirajane's slim shoulders.

"Mirajane Strauss, I think I'm in love with you. I know I said—when we were in battle—that it takes a demon to master another demon. Well, I doubt that this demon"—he indicated himself—"can master you, but he is going to try very hard to love you for everything that you are, both the light and the darkness. I'm not sure if anybody but a demon could do that."

Leaning down, Freed kissed the soft lips of Fairy Tail's darling angel, and dared her to become his demon lover.

[EPILOGUE]

"I told you to stay away from my sister," grumbled the tall, white-haired man, arms once again crossed over his muscled chest.

"True," agreed the slim, green-haired man standing beside him, apparently unintimidated.

"And you didn't."

"Your sister's wishes were and are more important to me than yours, which is as it should be. Also, she needs me."

"Why?"

"Because I am at ease with her darkness, even when she isn't; she doesn't have to be perfect for me. Also, unlike you and the rest of Fairy Tail, I want a lover, not a mother."

"WHAT?!"

Freed gave Elfman a smile that was charming, if not apologetic. "I meant that figuratively, of course."

"Like hell you did!"

"You are going to have to decide whether you want what is best for her, or what is most comfortable for you."

"If you hurt her…" Elfman mumbled, still unhappy with the situation but starting to give in.

"I can assure you that I will be either dead or damned by that point—but you are welcome to jump on the pieces if it will help."

Elfman pondered this briefly, and then he held out a massive hand. "Yeah, I think it might, actually. Deal?"

"…Deal."

[END]

A/Note:

Your feedback and encouragement would be greatly appreciated! Please leave a review—even if it's just a few words—if you enjoyed the story. Or send me a question or comment by PM or message on fanfiction or tumblr if there something that you would prefer to ask about or mention to me that way. I hope to write at least one more piece for MiraFreed Week 2017. They're challenging characters, but worth exploring.