The shower was fast, just to get the grit and grim off both of them, and then they were both tumbling into the bed and it never felt so nice. Not in a long time, at least. Mirajane had never chose someone else, over her siblings, but when she got home, she wanted to be with Laxus and only Laxus, instead of them. They could heal up on their own for a few hours, she check on them after a full day of rest, but for the time being, she just wanted to be with her boyfriend.
Laxus was much the same. He checked on the Thunder Legion, of course, after getting into Magnolia, to be certain once more that they were surely all fine and were able to take care of themselves, and he looked in on Mira's siblings too because he did care about them (somewhat; he cared about Lisanna, anyways), but it was Mira that he wanted to do all his resting up with. Who he wanted to fall asleep listening to the breaths of. All he'd done was worry about her, the whole time, but now it was over.
Now it was all over…
He leaned over then, to press a gentle kiss against her lips, and Mirajane grinned, but he only nuzzled his forehead against hers and whispered, "I love you."
"I love you," she repeated back, blinking up at him. "Laxus."
Letting out a slow breath, he said, "I thought that… You don't have to take so many risks, Mira. You're not-"
"I am one of the people that have to take risks, Laxus. And you know that."
"You could have waited. Natsu was coming. Natsu-"
"Since when do you trust him?"
"When it comes to fighting? Instead of you? Always."
"He was weak, anyways, from-"
"I don't care. I'd rather an enemy get worn out killing him before facing you than facing you head one directly."
"You're ridiculous."
"I'm in love with you," he complained and, with one last nuzzle, he fell onto his side once more. "That's what it makes me. Or anyone. I know that it's not supposed to be that way, but it is that way. You don't feel that way about me?"
With a slight shake of her head, Mira told him, "I mean it when I say it, dragon."
"Say what?"
"That I know that you're the strongest person there is in the entirety of every dimension." She yawned some as her eyes slipped closet. "I believe in you. You don't believe in me."
"That's not true."
"Hush. I want to sleep, Lax."
"I do believe in you," he grumbled, but Mirajane only rolled to press her face into the pillow and, after a big whiff of it, she seemed to conk out for a bit.
Sleep was harder to come by for the slayer and, even after he found it, difficult to keep. His whole body was sore and every time he shifted in his sleep the pain woke him up. Mira though seemed used to her bruises and bumps somehow, which was absurd considering she got far fewer of them in those days than he did.
His mind was racing as well though, which probably caused a lot of his issues.
He just couldn't stop thinking about what could have happened. What he could be doing in that second. Usually, it was all a lot easier to brush off, but Mirajane… She'd opened up his feelings in a special way. He'd never cared so much about a romantic partner before. And to see her nearly die…
They'd talked about life a lot, these past few months. He hadn't gone on a job as the Thunder Legion were feeling pretty lowly recently and Makarov's health was failing. Plus...he was in love.
So he stayed around home and wanted to develop their relationship further. Mira talked a lot about marriage and Laxus considered it more and more. They'd been dating for a good two years, but it had been stunted a lot, by his frequent jobs. Coming up on the third year, he was home more, with her, and getting more prepared for the next phase in his life that he hoped would be ushered in soon enough. Sometimes...they even talked about starting a family.
Mira wanted a big one.
She wanted five kids. At least. And a nice, cozy home. Where they could grow up all close and shit like her and her creepy siblings. Laxus wasn't so sure about that, but he did want at least one kid, that he could train with and love and just be around, in a way he wasn't treated as a young child.
Mira was made for it though. Being around kids. She really thrived in that. Laxus thought that she'd want to wait awhile, until she was a bit older, and only have one or two, considering she'd raised her siblings for so long. But she rebuked this and said it had been one of the best times of her life, though hard, and to live it as an adult would be even better.
While Laxus was unsure if he, personally, was prepared to love five precious little babies, as long as they came in a timely period, he figured he could juggle it. He didn't have a lot of love to go around, but if it was a part of him, who he was more than in love with, he could probably manage. Plus, they'd be partially Mira too. And she was great too.
Heh.
When Mirajane awoke hours later, it was to soreness and a pain behind her eyes, but mostly she was concerned that Laxus wasn't beside her. As she sat up though, she could hear some of his rock music playing somewhere off in the distance and gingerly she began to get out of bed.
He was in the living room, in the dark, with his music lacrima playing. Eyes shut and leaned back, he was pretending to strum along with the riff that felt like it had been going on forever. Mirajane only came to stand beside the couch before speaking, her voice causing the slayer to jump.
"I've tried to actually teach you guitar before and you said it was stupid. Is the air really that much more appealing?"
Staring up at her then, he shrugged some as he tried to hide the fact that he'd been surprised as he replied, "I like my fingers not bloodied and calloused, thanks."
"My father worked hard in the fields to get strong, calloused hands."
"Your father died of a sickness the field work gave him. Now come sit down."
She made a bit of a face, but did fall into his lap and Laxus only wrapped his arms around her, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head as they settled into one another. His chest was battered and bruised though and her weight wasn't welcome to it, but he refused to let onto this. The pain was outweighed by the fact he loved the feeling of his woman in his arms.
He just loved the woman, honestly.
She really did mean so much to him.
"Can't sleep?" she asked while making a face down at him. "Dragon?"
Shaking his head some, he said, "Just wanted to chill out some."
"Away from me?"
"Never away from you."
They kissed then and she smiled into it, but he only let his head fall back, when they broke apart. Blinking up at the woman, he said then, "Are you hungry?"
"Are you?"
Nodding, he said, "I could make something."
"Why do you say that when you know I'm just going to be the one to cook?"
"Maybe I wanna cook."
"Do you want to cook?"
"No."
She made a face, but did give him another kiss before getting up and going off to the kitchen. He listened as she griped about his lack of groceries and the like, but he didn't argue with her. She'd make do. She always made due. No one made something from nothing like her.
The result of her father working hard all day in the field, no doubt.
Whatever the fuck that meant.
He was always too afraid to ask, whenever she brought it up.
After eating Mirajane made him go into the bathroom and let her change the wrapping on his right arm, where he had a pretty gnarly gash. She made him sit still as she poured solutions over it and Laxus only tried very hard not to slip of the lip of the tub.
When they found themselves back in bed, Mira was already thinking about how, in a few hours, she'd head into the guildhall and begin working with the others on clean up while Laxus, finally, found that he was calmed down enough to get some real rest. He wouldn't be up for a few hours, once he finally shut his eyes.
But he didn't want to just yet, because he knew Mira would be gone when he opened them again, and if he could just keep them open…
"I think you're so strong, demon," he found himself yawning as she only played with his hair, giggling. She was in better spirits already. "You know that."
"I know you say that. A lot," she corrected. "But I don't think your really believe that."
"Yes, I do."
"You do not."
"Mira-"
"You might know that I'm strong," she challenged then, "but you don't have faith in me."
"I have so much faith in you."
"Not where it counts as a mage."
"It's just… You don't do that stuff anymore. Very often," he told her as he stared up at the woman. She was letting him rest with his head in her lap as she sat up against the headboard, and he never felt more comfortable in his life. Even with all his current pains. And you're my… I worry, is all, demon. About you. I just… I've never felt like this before. And I know that you're powerful and adept and...you've trained so hard, your entire life, but… I just can't lose something else, Mira. And for me to be out of commission when you needed me-"
"I didn't need you. And you had already taken out so many of the-"
"I would just so much rather that literally anyone else fight other than you."
"Literally, Lax?"
"Literally."
"Well, too bad for you, I'm not just going to sit around at your discretion and watch the world burn when I could help save it."
"I know."
"And you don't really want me to sit by either, do you?"
"No."
"Then what, Laxus? You like when I train or fight or-"
"But not something that could actually hurt you." He frowned up at her. "I guess I hate the idea that you could actually lose. Just as much as I hate the idea when it comes to myself. You're… I don't love things, as much as I love myself. Now though, with you, I… I just want to spend the rest of however long I have with you, Mira. And the idea that it can come to an end any time soon-"
"That's why I have to fight," she insisted as she continued to stroke at his blonde locks. "Why you fight. So that we can have forever together. With our friends. With my siblings and your bodyguards. We fight to uphold that. I have as much of a right to do it as you. I have to do it. If I don't and everything falls… Then what, Lax?"
"I dunno."
"If you love me, then you want me to do my part. I've been Satan Soul far longer than I've been Laxus Dreyar's girlfriend."
"You've never been just Laxus Dreyar's girlfriend," he corrected. "Not now, not ever. You're always going to be the she-devil. You're Mirajane Strauss." Then, he grinned for the first time since it all began, and whispered, "Until you're Mirajane Dreyar."
"Mmmm… Think about this though, dragon. Laxus Strauss."
"No," he said with a shake of his head. "I won't think about that. Ever."
Well then.
Sighing softly, she said, "I lied, anyways, before."
"About what?"
"I worried about you for the whole three days." Mira's smile fell, finally, and she only shook her head. "I thought… Freed and I met at one point, during it, and he didn't think you'd..."
"I had some trouble."
"I heard."
"But I'm okay."
"So am I."
Laxus blinked up at her as he replied, "Yeah, demon. I know."
"But I do trust your power," she told him then. "More than mine, even."
"You're so much stronger than me."
"I am not."
"You are so."
"See, you tell me these things and then spend forever worrying about me at the slightest ounce of danger-"
"It's like I told you before," he complained, "I just love you. Too much, maybe, even. It's ridiculous."
Grinning, Mira leaned down to kiss his forehead before agreeing, "It really is."