Author's note: It's the first time I try to write something for a ship week and for some reason I don't think this is a suitable entry (is it too angsty? is it too cliché?), but then again that's probably just me overthinking stuff, so I'll just leave the decision to you. Enjoy the reading and let me know.
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.
Goodbye to everything wrong (and to one that was right)
Packing his bag made everything seem all too real. It was all over, his life as he knew it, his time at the guild, everything. His fault, he knew that, even without people reminding him that he had brought it on himself. Laxus sighed, grabbed his bag and walked out his door, locking it behind him, maybe for the last time. He didn't mind. A fresh start was what he needed, it was clear. He was ready for anything his life would present to him. Anything, except her.
"So you really are leaving, aren't you?" Mirajane's voice came from behind him, but he didn't turn. He didn't think he could face her right now. He could have handled her being angry with him; it wouldn't have been the first time. He could have handled the cold rage he had often seen seeping from the Demon. But this time was different. Her voice wasn't cold, or trembling in rage. It was unfeeling, unemotional, the same voice she would have used to ask about the weather. And her question wasn't really a question after all, more of a statement, an emotionless acknowledgement.
"I don't have a choice." Or at least, he didn't think he did. Her eyes narrowed in an expression that could have been mistaken for anger, but he knew better. She wasn't angry, just disappointed.
"You did have a choice. But you chose to ignore it." Her contempt would have hurt if he didn't know she was right. She was always right when it came to him and he hated it.
"It's a little too late for that, don't you think?" He said scornfully, only to regret it the moment the words left his mouth. He was supposed to handle it, to get a hold on himself, that was the whole point, to do something good, to make things better. He sighed shaking his head. "It doesn't matter anymore. It's over. I'm leaving."
"For good?" Her words froze him where he stood. Was she hoping that he would never come back? Had it really come to that? He knew he only had himself to blame for it, he knew he had been wrong, always wrong, about everything, about Fairy Tail, about the old man, about himself, even about her. He had made a mistake, but he was willing to pay for it and if that was what it took, then so be it. He finally turned to look at her, mustering the courage to stare into her judgmental eyes, but all he saw in her expression was hope, whether for him to come back or not he couldn't tell.
"I don't know. But I won't be back anytime soon." He answered. She simply nodded and turned to leave. She wouldn't look back, not even to whisper a farewell, but the thought of her walking away being the last thing he might ever see of her made him act on impulse. He let his bag fall and reached for her hand, making her turn again to face him.
"What is it?" She asked, almost worried at the way he stared at her, with his eyes clearer than they had been in a long time, the way they used to be when they were younger. Laxus didn't answer, thinking to himself that being wrong one more time couldn't hurt. He raised his hand and brushed his fingertips across her cheek, then leaned forward to steal a kiss, and her breath, and what little composure she had left after almost wishing for him to leave. She kissed him back with all the passion she had withheld, with all the tears he had made her shed during the battle and even before that, with resentment and anger and the love she thought she had lost.
"Goodbye, Mira." He whispered on her lips, then, before his resolve faded, he turned, grabbed his things and walked away. There was nothing he wanted more than to look back at her, but it would have been the wrong thing to do, for both of them. It was about time he did something right.