Winter Bloom

A Non-Canon LaNei Fanfic.

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Cold Embraces

(PG16 || Non-Canon || One-Shot || Romance)

Dusk had long since set over the city of Magnolia and the young night was choking her breaths, the icy nip in the air filling tired lungs. She drew her hood tighter to her ears in hopes of protecting them from the rather unforgiving whistle of the wind between buildings, but the effort seemed in vain. Looking over her shoulder while dressed the way she was made her look awfully suspicious, but she'd rather look suspicious than have one of her guildmates sneak up on her unexpectedly. With a startled whine, she quickly caught the flap of her cloak before the wind could carry it too far from where her bloodied bandages were visible to onlookers.

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She was later than expected… really late. She'd had a terrible feeling rolling around in her tummy that told her that her brother would be waiting in her room when she got home; sitting on her bed, those protective crimson eyes searing a hole straight through her as he demanded to know the reason her brain seemed to be void of common sense that night. She quietly admitted to herself that she might've regretted giving him a key to her house, but even if she hadn't of, he would have found a way to get by without. He always had.

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Normally, she wouldn't have cared. Since she was a child his company had always been welcomed, comforting, encouraged. But recently, she had been ignoring his requests to accompany her on work-related escapades. She was no stranger to working alone; she had done so since she was fourteen and her brother was sealed from her reach for seven years on Tenrou Island. But it didn't seem to matter how she spun it, Gajeel wasn't the happiest that Team Blacksteel had been put on the fence. Facing the fact, Gajeel wasn't the happiest that his little Shadow had grown up while he was away.

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She'd known that he liked to be at her side - to look out for her. In fact, if she had of divulged in her objectives before leaving on every request she'd accepted, she knew he'd follow her whether he made his presence known or not. In his eyes, she was still the frightened child she'd always been, hiding from the thunder and painting in the rain. She was still frightened, a part of her wondered if she might always be, but she wasn't a child anymore. She was ready to be brave, ready to be strong like her big brother, like her guild.

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She bowed her head in solemn reflection, frigid fingertips fluttering over the numbed guild mark painted on her left breast peak. Ever since she'd almost lost to Natsu the day that four dragon-fairies clashed, she had set a personal goal to herself to grow stronger. If it hadn't been for her partner in the spirited confrontation, she would have failed entirely. She didn't need to grow stronger just for herself; she needed to do it for them, all of them... and the impending conflict between her and her enemies.

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The unfortunate part was that it was no easy task. She was almost willing to go out on a limb and admit that her body just couldn't handle the magic power that she'd possessed. It was discouraging, to say the least. In earnest, the reason that she'd worked alone and avoided the presence of company was simply to keep from causing her pride the same damage her body endured on what seemed like every narrowly completed mission. She wasn't as strong as her friends, which meant she wasn't strong enough to protect them from her enemies.

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She'd rounded the final corner of the long and jagged trajectory she'd mapped so to avoid open areas upon her return to the city. Harbouring thoughts of home could never have warmed her more after a long and arduous journey. She was exhausted in mind and body, both aching equally as unpleasantly. Her toes were numb from the cold and even though she tried to warm them with fantasies of a nice hot bath upon her return, they still tingled every time they connected with the ground.

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The ground…

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The surface that had locked with her gaze through the entirety of her trudge wasn't snowy white with the evening's snowfall anymore. She slowly rolled her gaze upwards, knowing full well that the shoes in front of her were far from the boots she used to steal and hide from her brother when she was a child. Her throat had already hurt for her fatigue, she didn't need a sharp and frigid inhale chasing out another weak cough like the one it had ended up forcing her to expel. Her brow knotted, more in dismayed anger than intrigue, but she would later admit that she certainly hadn't expected him to meet her on her front doorstep.
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She quickly collected her hooded cloak around her to bashfully conceal her wounds, taking the moment of silence between them to gather herself for a defence. "What are you doing here?" Her impatient gaze sharpened as it rose to her visitor's, her tone cold and as impaling as the icicles sliding over the fascia boards of the houses nearby. Although she'd tried her hardest, she was having a hard time stifling the malice dripping from her fangs when addressing a man who had, not long before, all but ground her heart to dust against the rough pave stones at her feet.

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He didn't seem to take her sugared insult, but that was a good thing. That meant that in her next attempt, she could try harder. "Makin' sure you're still alive; if that's ok with you, princess." His low rumble was quietly callous and without apology. Noticing the stray flakes dusting his line of vision, he abruptly shook the snow from off the top of his head like it had offered him an insult, his nose wrinkling to the subtle tickle of their presence.

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This time her knotted expression was for her intrigue. Her tone grew less abrasive and morphed evenly into a sarcastic drawl. "How long have you been standing here?" It appalled her with how weak she sounded, but after the brutal beating she'd received after exhausting all her magical energy, she'd figured she had a decent excuse.

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"Well," he initiated. He brushed the layer of snow away that had formed on the shoulders of the coat he refused to wear properly, his tone softening with her inquiry. "How long has it been snowing?"

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Neirah craned her neck backwards when she curled up one side of her upper lip with his modest curiosity. "All night," she griped dismally.

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He tipped his chin towards his chest with a sly grin and closed his eyes. "Then I've been here all night."

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"Ok," she almost growled. "Then let's try it this way. Why have you been standing on my porch all night?"

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And not even the covered part.

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There was no forgiveness in his stern expression as he redirected it her way on the offensive. "Because that thick-headed brother of yours hunted me down and accused me of 'kidnapping' you."

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Neirah's body shuddered at the very thought of her brother standing against the wizard before her offering a challenge. Scarred by their first encounter, she was inclined to worry about the state her brother had found himself in for his transgressions. "…what…?"

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Laxus diverted his chastened expression to one side to avert their connecting gazes. "Yea. Checked under my bed and everything."

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She immediately regretted the crack of her palm hitting her face when it didn't hurt. Obviously, when she thawed out it was going to sting… a little.

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"I figured if he was worried enough to bug me at all, it musta been serious." He smoothed his palm over his nape as he rolled out the stiffness that had come from lingering for so long on her doorstep. "I wasn't gonna chase you down or anythin' like that, but I figured if I waited here long enough I'd at least be able to let him know you made it back home the next time the asshole dragged me out of bed." He rolled his lethargic gaze back towards her as she panted out angry puffs of crystallised breath. "Not like the fresh air was gonna kill me."

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Neirah cocked a brow with the well of amusement threatening to curl her lips pleasantly for his dry humour. "Dragged?" She couldn't help but snort her amusement when she tried to picture the sight of her big brother blacksteel trying to 'drag' Laxus Dreyar from his bed.

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"Alright so I was already up, but he still owes me a door," he mocked dryly. "Iron dragon breaking and entering isn't nearly as stealthy as a shadow dragon breaking and entering."

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Neirah's cocked both brows as she willfully fought against the smile desperately trying to crack her stony expression. She wanted to hate him, she wanted to be uncomfortable, short, stern, but something about his dedication to being a heartless prick really made it hard not to smile. "Speaking from experience, Sparky?" Her snarky taunt was crooned smoothly as she reached for her house keys.

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He pushed forward with their unsympathetic banter, trying not to linger too much on the pet name that he'd hated having ever been bestowed upon him. "You know, I don't mind the half naked pictures of you all over my walls, but next time you roll around in my stuff? Try not to smell so flowery?"

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She passed by where he still hadn't moved, her head spinning as it tried to determine which part of her body hurt more. She admitted to herself that if Laxus kept talking, she'd likely have to go with her head. She'd wondered if he carried the same sensation for the pressure build up that came with containing his monumental ego. "Well, if Screwball bugs you again, you can tell him that I made it home safe and sound… as usual," she murmured gently. She sighed her fatigue and attempted to pick her key off its ring with trembling fingers. "You know I can take care of myself…"

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Laxus' brow creased with the weak hitch in her voice, a quiver, almost. "I know," he assured her faintly. He quietly abstracted his gaze to where he'd caught the sight of her bandage's tail fluttering in the beating wind. His gaze sharpened and immediately darted back towards her juddering hands. "It's him that's havin' a hard time gettin' it through his thick skull."

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"Look, I'm alive," she added in an accelerated tone. She was more frustrated that she couldn't get her key in the lock of her own front door than with his actual presence. "You can leave now."

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He remained fixed and firm. "Yep."

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Nothing but his gaze moved as he watched the woman hit the boards of her porch with a lifeless thud, not a whimper or a whine toward her discomfort. He breathed out a heavy sigh of annoyance before stepping towards her and picking her key back out of the snow. He unlocked the door and shoved it open a little more impatiently than he would have liked to display. Luckily, she had found herself unconscious and without the comprehension to chastise him. He was spared her patronising at least once that night. He groaned as he bent down to scoop Neirah's dainty figure up into his arms. "How is it that when you get yourself into trouble, I'm always the one that's gotta bail you out, huh?" His breathing hitched as he stilled it in his throat, a sheepish grin on his face as he stepped through the doorway and kicked it shut behind them. "Yea… don't answer that."

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Neirah whimpered softly as she came to, only momentarily delighting in the comfort of her bed sheets around her. The moment was brief, however, because as soon as her thoughts came back to her, she flew upright and bared her fangs. "LAXUS! I swear to infinity if you don't stop undressing me in my sleep I will-"

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"Throw me out the window?" He finished her sentiment from a chair nearby, his elbows supported on his splayed knees as he sat quietly by her bedside. "Yea, we've been over this."

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"Then why do you keep doing it?!" she demanded feverishly. She clutched her pyjamas flush to her skin, and would admit to herself later that it felt like heaven doing so, but she was too infuriated to let that adjust the rage she displayed in her tone. At least he'd always picked one of her more modest pairs of PJs when he decided he'd be helpful.

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"Because you may be able to kick a dragon's ass, but you're kind of a ditz when it comes to water," he admitted grimly. He turned his nose up to the weaponized finger that jutted at him like it might pierce his hard exterior.

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"What?! When was I even near water?"

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"Ok well this time it was a snowbank, but when the snow melts, it's wet," he reasoned. "And like I tell you every other time we end up in this situation, your brother would kill me if I let you get sick."

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"I'm always sick! Sick is kind of my thing," she defended irrationally. "But what I can't wrap my head around is how it's always us ending up in these situations!"

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Laxus averted his attention meekly with an exhausted sigh. "Yea well when you come up with somethin' you let me know, cause' I've been asking myself the same damn question for a year now." He sharpened his tone to let the suspiciously tender sentiment bleed from his callous words. "Especially when your brother seems so keen on lockin' you out of harm's way." He didn't exhaust much effort in raising his hand to push her back into bed when she attempted to stand. "Stay," he commanded. "Even before you blasted me for bein' here you were hot."

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"I don't give a damn if Natsu lit me on fire! I need tea-" She flinched as he threw his arm out, still refusing to open his eyes as he directed her attention to the cup at her bedside.

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"I figured that'd be the first thing you said when you woke up," he taunted. He'd paid attention when she'd dragged her groggy backside into the guild first thing each morning. Mira had always had a pot ready just for the occasion. He returned his arm to where it folded into the other against his chest in casual stride. "Guess tearin' a strip off me is the only thing more important."

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Neirah looked down at the steam rolling from the liquid prepared for her. But then, she'd just supposed the essence was rolling out of her ears by the result of her fury. "Y-you… made tea?" She sputtered her statement out uncertainly, drawing the cup up in her hands to see if the offering was as tangible as it looked.

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He opened one cautionary eye to leer back at her sharply. "Tell anyone and I'll put you out your own damn window."

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"Hm..." It was becoming increasingly difficult to hide the smile itching to surface in his presence. Her tone was airy with contentment. "Fair enough." Setting her cup back into its saucer chased a delighted sigh of appreciation from her chest. "Mn, you have no idea how good that feels…"

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She'd caught her tone as quickly as she'd heard herself emit it, her eyes widening as she felt the tips of her ears warm with her embarrassment. "The tea." She slid her gaze to where he was watching her expectantly and then quickly returned it to her cup. "Yep… Kay. Didn't mean for it to come out like that," she rushed out frantically.

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He sighed restlessly and closed his eyes again. "It's fine," he assured her supportively, if not a little idly. "I know you're nuts about the stuff."

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She smiled humbly to herself with his admittance. She could do that; since he wasn't looking. She moved to set her cup back on her night table when her attention was drawn to her mother's journal opened like it had recently been browsed. Her gaze brightened with bemusement as she turned his way. "Hey… did you-"

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"Yea, sorry," he muttered gently. "It took you a bit to come to." He turned and looked back at her with a slightly sheepish grin. "I was bored."

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Neirah caught her gentle laugh in her throat before it could fully breach her lips as she reached down to scoop the book up in place of her tea. "Can...? Can you read Alra'Bekthian?" She really did try her hardest not to make it sound like she was mocking him by entertaining such a thought. But, by chance he could read the ancient script, it would have really helped her and Levy to decipher it in its entirety.

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"I was just lookin' for pictures," he admitted shamelessly. "Thought maybe seein' as how you like to draw, your mom might've put something cool together of the old lizard."

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As usual, Neirah found her temperament growing gentler as the time extended between them. She laughed at the irony of the open book in between her palms. "I've drawn many pictures of Ryverika," she assured him kindly. "I guess I just didn't realise it piqued your interest." She turned and looked at him with a humble grin. "I can show you if you want."

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A gentle smile curled his lips. "Maybe some other time, little lightning," he suggested casually. "You really shouldn't be up and around lookin' the way you do."

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Neirah caught her breath in alarm when she realised that in undressing her, he would have come across the wounds she had sustained in her late battles. With the epiphany, she heaved a heavy sigh of guilty expulsion. "You saw that, huh?"

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She'd scold herself for being so obvious later.

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"Saw it?" He scoffed with his entertained response to her remark. "Tsk, look, I know you like animals and whatnot, but it looks like you tried to feed your leg to a bear."

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"Well, you know, those hungry eyes," she played. "I just can't resist."

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"You're kiddin'…"

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"Yea," she admitted softly. "A bear would've been kinder."

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"Now that, I do believe," he approved modestly. He watched her fidget in her lap for a moment before continuing. "So, care to explain what you're doin' taking all the hairy S-Class missions on your own?"

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She turned to face him with a startled look in her powerless, azure eyes. "How did you know that's what I was doing?" She certainly hadn't expected him to pay such close attention to her actions on a daily basis, or any attention at all, for that matter.

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He diverted his observation and rested his elbows back on his knees before starting to fidget with his fingers between. "Mira said somethin' about it the other day. Said she was worried about you."

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"So that's why you're here," she concluded with thinly-veiled disappointment. "Mira sent you-" She moved her lips to continue but she was interrupted.

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"No, your brother really did pop by to interrogate me," he ascertained. He folded his hands in front of him and stared past her bed towards the window frosting with the storm outside its delicate panes. "I know the old man's decided to be lenient since Natsu's little trip to Galuna, but that's Natsu. He's not exactly gifted in the common-sense department," he dismissed grimly. "Not sayin' I don't think you can hack it, but Mira says some of them are pretty rough. I don't even know how you ended up with the stats to do that in the first place."

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"I promise I only try to take the easier ones…" Neirah looked down into the lumped sheets around her feet with a solemn expression. "I just… When my brother was trapped on Tenrou Island with the rest of you, I worked really hard to find him in between jobs. At first, nobody would accept the few S-Class missions we were given, and it started looking pretty bad for the guild. Especially because we used to have so many powerful wizards among us. So, I convinced Macao to let me take them on instead."

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"In other words, you really did pull a Natsu."

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"Hey!" She mellowed the tone of her outraged demand as she continued. "Just what would make you think I stole it?"

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Laxus tipped a finger out from behind his folded hands, diverting his lacklustre gaze with a slow roll. "One, because there's no chance in hell Macao would let a kid take on something like that by their lonesome." He flipped out another finger during his listing. "And two, it's easier for a Shadow to get away with theft than a talking, flying, blue cat."

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Neirah sighed dismally with his point. "Fine, you win," she agreed bashfully. "Everyone has to prove themselves somehow, right? I stole my first one, and although it beat the hell out of me, I got it done." She coughed out a weak laugh and rubbed her arms sheepishly. "But I made a pretty big mess of things while doing it and didn't actually end up making anything off it for the guild." She turned and looked back at him with a pitiful grin. "I suppose I really did pull a Natsu."

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"Yea, I get that…" he argued sympathetically. "But I don't understand what went on in your head to convince you that it was a good idea."

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"Well, for starters, when my brother disappeared, I didn't really have a place to stay and the guild looked out for me after he up and vanished. I felt like I owed them at least something for their time and effort. But to be honest, those jobs usually gave me an excuse for being furthest from home," she stated gloomily. "The newer the places I explored, the closer I felt to finding my brother… I didn't expect that he was right under my nose the entire time."

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"You do an awful lot for that hunka scrap, don't ya?"

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She closed her eyes and bowed her head as she expelled a curt scoff. "Of course, he's my brother. He means everything to me," she assured him proudly. "I'm just sorry that he's got it out so bad for you."

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"It's not a big deal. I had it out for him worse when we first met," he confessed shortly. "I guess since after our little bout with Natsu and your brother when Mira started referring to us as a team he just assumed that I was lettin' you tag along with me." He rolled his gaze suspiciously to one side. "Though considering what he thought we were fightin' in my room is a little disturbing…"

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"I don't even know where he gets that from. No offence, but you're the last person I want to hang out with." She sighed vexation and dropped her head. "But here I could be going grocery shopping and he could think I was tagging along with you."

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"That's a bit of a stretch, even for him. By the looks of it, it's no wonder why you're so scrawny." He closed his eyes and ignored her frantic flailing. "It's a wonder you're even still alive."

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"I'm little! I eat little foods," she demanded with a bashful pout on her puffed cheeks.

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He snickered darkly and gave her a sly, indirect glance. "And you wonder why your lightning's little."

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"THAT'S IT-"

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Neirah's breath was forced back into her chest as she met his palm once again upon rising. "I said stay," he reiterated sternly.

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"What were you doing going through my cupboards anyway?" Her interrogation was humble as she returned to sipping her tea.

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"Tea, remember?" His stern reminder forced her to choke on her next swallow. "Though it wasn't hard to find. I've never seen anyone with an entire cupboard dedicated to tea before." He snickered to himself at the thought. "And to make things easier, I didn't even have to try and guess which one to make. Just grabbed the one that said 'Sick'."

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Neirah blushed as she cradled her half-emptied cup. "And here I thought it was a lucky guess."

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With a quiet smile, Neirah returned her tea in order to draw her mother's journal back into her lap, unaware of how intently Laxus was observing her change in expression. The intensity of his expression faded dismayingly as he watched the way the tops of her cheeks coloured while they were prominently encouraged to rise with the sunny smile she displayed. It wasn't a bright smile, but it was filled with a heart-warming expression of love. It was beautiful. "Y'know," he rumbled softly to draw her attention. "When you hold that book, you get the same goofy look on your face as when you're talkin' about that brother of yours."

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Her smile morphed sinisterly before she'd let her sharp tongue take care of the rest. "I suppose a smile would seem foreign to you, wouldn't it, Sparky?"

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"Tsk…" He turned away with a narrowly concealed self-conscious pout, folding his arms over his chest. "Shoulda left you in the snow…"

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"Why aren't you like this more often?"

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Taken back by her tender interrogation, he redirected his humbled attention her way.

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Growing nervous with the meeting of their gazes lingering for a moment, she quickly dropped hers to the fiddling of her hands in her lap with the old pages of her mother's tome. "I mean… it's rare that we're in the same room together for so long where I don't wish you dead." She stilled with an eerie chill when she turned to meet his impatient scowl. "Ok, well aside from when I first woke up, but at least they were merciful deaths this time."

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He sighed shoddily in response to her rattled assurance. "Gee, well that's a relief."

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"Seriously though," she assured him quietly. She adjusted herself more comfortably under her covers to save her wounds from further irritancy. "It's almost like you might actually… care."

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Laxus stared across the room for a long time before he bothered to offer her a response. "Well, obviously I care," he admitted shortly. He ignored Neirah's startled flinch and flushing skin with his remark. He sighed and tried to deny the warmth intensifying in his cheekbones as he continued. "I mean, you're always getting yourself in up to your neck and then, somehow, I always end up gettin' blamed for you being reckless. Most days I'm the one who feels like the big brother."

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Neirah smiled discreetly to herself and fiddled with a strand of her hair that she'd pulled over her shoulder. "That's all?"

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"'Fraid so," he murmured vacantly. He turned the entirety of his guilty expression away from her inquisitive expression. He denied the peripheral sight of her disappointment as he slowly rose from his chair to avoid the interrogation in her eyes. 'That's two, old man,' he thought disappointedly. 'Don't say I never paid attention.' He drew a deep breath to calm his nerves before swinging to face her again. "Want anythin' while I'm up?"

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She flinched with the sincerity of his compassion. "I- you're not leaving?"

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"Wasn't going to," he assured her cautiously. "Somebody's gotta make sure you take it easy for a bit, keep that scrawny ass in bed. I figured I'd babysit until the tin man finally figures out you're here." He looked over his shoulder at her deviously. "Why? Kickin' me out already?"

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Neirah thought on his insinuation for a long moment, wondering if maybe it would be best for him to leave. It was a little irritating that she couldn't bring herself to say so. Instead, she timidly held out her teacup and saucer to him with a pleading smile.

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She stifled a giggle as he retrieved her offering and headed out of the room, but not before muttering something about a needy brat during the rolling of his eyes. She turned her gaze to the windowsill by her bed, a candle flickering brilliantly against the frosty pane. 'He must have lit it to help keep the room warm,' she thought affectionately to herself. She watched the light scamper across the glittering frost circling the small thawed section of the window near the lively flame. She pulled the covers up to her chin with a rosy smile. "Liar," she whispered gently.