I do not own Fairy Tail.
The Demon Behind the Door
You are the latest adventure/ you're an emotion avenger
You are the devil that sells a/ light or dark fantastic passion
(Darts of Pleasure – Franz Ferdinand)
Chapter 1: She-Devil
Laxus took another sip of his beer, feeling the cold liquid slowly running down his throat. He was sitting in one of the Fairy Tail's main floor tables along with his faithful followers from the Raijinshuu, as Freed talked incessantly about something he wasn't quite paying attention. Forehead frowned and lips compressed in a thin line, he had his eyes fixed on the smiling figure of the waitress that served other guild members.
Mirajane Strauss' face held a natural air of innocence and delicacy while she moved between tables collecting glasses and plates, the waves of her long hair swinging with each step. Her hips, though, were the exact opposite of innocent: they swayed in a sensual manner that made lots of dumbfounded heads turn to follow the hypnotizing moves wherever they went.
Sometimes, Laxus was also part of that group, unable to look away from that perfect body of hers as if his eyes had a will of their own. He could spend all day watching her work, serve drinks and smile at other people, oblivious to her hungry watchers.
In that day in particular, however, his attention towards her was proving to be an inconvenience.
His grip on the mug unconsciously hardened as he found himself incapable of holding his dissatisfaction on seeing her near Wakaba and Macao, who were openly flirting – more emphatically that usual – with her as if they were two youngsters in the prime of their youth. The flirt itself wasn't exactly what was bothering him, for Mirajane was a beautiful woman that naturally dragged a lot of attention, so it was expected that some idiots would try to impress her. In fact, the problem was the condescending way in which she simply smiled at each vulgar insinuation coming from those old bastards instead of unleashing the Demon to teach them a lesson.
But no, the only one punished by any reason was him.
"Laxus." Evergreen called, dragging him out of his reveries. He automatically softened the hold on his mug and turned his head sideways to look for the reason why his attention was being required.
Three young ladies unknown to him were standing in front of his table, watching him expectantly. They were all well-dressed in short and tight clothes and seemed to be civilians. It wasn't unusual for Magnolia's citizens to come to Fairy Tail to drink, after all, every night in the guild was full with alcohol and parties.
His success on S-class missions and his long lineage of powerful mages made his fame rise quickly along the years, spreading even outside of the magic world, so he was used to being occasionally addressed by women at bars, restaurants or even on the streets, though he would normally run away from these encounters in the guild by isolating himself on the second floor. Freed had already told him he was the bearer of the second biggest fan club in Fiore – losing only to Hibiki from Blue Pegasus – but he never cared about that.
Apparently, the constant female harassment got him the reputation of being a womanizer, which wasn't true. Laxus spent most of his teenage years focused on training to become stronger and the rest of his adult life going on dangerous missions that took days, sometimes weeks, to be concluded. He didn't have much time to interact with the opposite sex – except when he was punished, but he didn't want to think about that – and he also didn't feel much interest in the women that approached him. Some were undoubtedly very pretty, but in general they all looked the same, bearing identical haircuts, wearing fashionable clothes and listening only to the music that was playing on the radios. Maybe the closeness with the strong and authentic women from Fairy Tail made him too demanding for the normal patterns of people.
Besides, getting involved with other women resulted in more pain and punishment to him.
One of the girls, a tall and slim blonde, took a step forward to the sound of her friend's giggles while touching her hair to give herself an air of casualness. The Dragon Slayer suppressed a grimace when the strong smell of her cologne invaded his nostrils, his olfactory system being way sharper than the one of an ordinary human.
"Excuse us, Mr. Dreyar." She sang with an overdose of charm in her voice, while batting her eyelashes several times in his direction. "Could you, if it isn't a bother to you, of course, give me the honor of having your autograph?"
And then a piece of paper and a pen popped up in front of him and he signed his name mechanically without pronouncing a word, to the sound of more giggles. All the three of them smiled and thanked him as he returned the paper, but when the blonde girl reached out to take it, she let a small napkin slide on the table. Laxus wasn't surprised to see a lipstick mark and a phone number on it after they were gone. He was also used to get lots of those.
"Smooth, boss." Bickslow congratulated him and those annoying flying things that were always beside the seith mage repeated what their master said. Smooth, smooth, smooth. Laxus grunted, finishing his beer in one swig.
"You're in a bad mood today." Evergreen noted absently while fixing her glasses. "What is the problem?"
Laxus didn't answer her question, though. He intended to raise his glass to ask for a refill, but Mirajane anticipated his wish and came swaying in his direction with a full mug in hands and that ridicule – but astonishing – smile plastered on her face, the same smile with which she accepted compliments from idiots.
"Laxus is increasingly popular, isn't he?" She mocked with an amused wink shot at the Raijinshuu as she traded the empty glasses for new ones. "Your fan club is showing up even here in the guild, now."
Her teasing got him even more pissed. He wasn't able to refrain from the impulse of giving her a fitting answer, not after all the bullshit with those old geezers he had had to witness that day.
"Heh, don't worry about that, Mira." He replied, faking one of his famous smirks. "There'll always be a place for you in my bed."
Several men sitting nearby turned to glare at him, including Wakaba and Macao, that started to scream in defense of 'Mira-chan'. Being a jerk to other people on purpose hadn't been a habit of his for a long time now, but she deserved to be punished for being so lenient with those morons' moves and at the same time so mean to him.
The waitress just sighed at his response, not letting his rudeness affect her, and shook her head lightly while keeping her smile. Grabbing the cloth that was lying nonchalantly on her shoulder, she began cleaning the table like nothing happened.
Laxus decided that he had been bothered enough for the day and stood up, walking towards the second floor to pick the next job. When he crossed paths with Mirajane, however, he noticed a certain glow in her eyes – a glow that certainly no one else saw – and at that moment he knew.
At that moment he knew he was going to pay for that comment. A lot.
.
.
The moon was already high in the sky when Laxus arrived home after three days of nonstop chasing the remaining of an illegal guild. His head hurt and his body was crying out for a good night of sleep, but as soon as he put his feet inside the living room, a demonic hand pushed him violently against the door, slamming it with a loud 'bang' behind his back.
A tenuous vanilla scent invaded his nostrils but he didn't need further clues to know the intruder's identity.
"Demon." He spat the word and long claws scraped the door near his face, leaving permanent marks on the wood.
She was the only person daring enough to break into his residence.
"Have you been running away from me?" Mirajane murmured innocently in her human form but transformed arms, scraping his jaw from the base of his ear until the middle of his chin. He shivered in response, cursing himself for being incapable of controlling his reactions when she teased him in such an insufferable seductive manner. "Did you honestly think that I was going to forget the discourtesy that you threw at me in the guild some days ago?"
Laxus didn't answer; instead, he captured her face with his hands and pulled her hungrily against him, clashing their lips together. It didn't take long for their tongues to initiate a dance towards one another, struggling to secure domination.
His hands slid down her back, tightening roughly around her waist, and he turned their bodies so he could switch sides and press her against the door. However, she had already anticipated his moves and pushed him wildly towards the couch. The Dragon Slayer lost his air momentarily after feeling the clash of his sore back against the cushions, but he didn't have time to recover from her attack as Mirajane was already descending upon his lap, stealing an involuntary groan from him.
"Do you honestly think I'm one of the girls from that little fan club of yours, Laxy? That you can treat me the way you want?" Her voice sounded dangerously low next to his ear, as if several needles were piercing through him, and the growing volume in his pants started to throb when she sat against it. "My my, do I have to make you beg again for you to actually listen to what I'm saying?"
"Screw you." He snorted at the mention of the word 'beg' and tried to grab her by the arms, but Mirajane closed her long and powerful claws around his wrists to immobilize them.
The demonic force of the Take Over made it impossible for him to get away using physical strength. The only way of escaping from the Satan Soul's grip would be electrocuting Mirajane and this was one of the few things he had never gathered enough courage to try, since he couldn't control accurately the voltage of his electroshocks. If he overdid it, he could hurt her seriously.
Mirajane, on the other hand, obviously knew he couldn't do anything, for she smiled devilishly at the sight of his hesitation, pulling his arms up. With her free hand, she slowly slid sharp nails along the masculine neck, stopping at the collar of his shirt.
"Tsk tsk tsk, poor Laxus. Such a slow learner." The sluggish movement suddenly turned into a painful tug and Laxus had to suppress a grunt mixed with pain and pleasure when the buttons of his shirt flew all over the room. Angry red marks emerged on his skin and he knew those were the first of many yet to come.
"If you let me go, I can show you I actually learn very quickly." His voice unintentionally sounded hoarse and lacked conviction, though. Mirajane laughed with mockery because both of them knew that that wasn't going to happen and he cursed, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath as her tongue traced the lines recently carved on his chest until the base of his neck, the cuts burning when in contact with saliva.
The way in which he was completely at the mercy of her machinations was pathetic, he knew it. The first time she had cornered him at the guild's broom closet years ago, stating he needed to be punished for something he hadn't even recalled of doing, Laxus had been numb with bewilderment. Even with Mirajane being a creature of irascible temper at the time, he had never expected that sadistic vein in an underage girl.
Gone the initial surprise, though, it was obvious that he tried to impose his own rules the second time he got cornered, after all, he was Laxus Dreyar and the women were the ones who fell to his feet, not the other way around. However, trying to stablish some rules of his own only resulted in her beginning to use the force of the Satan Soul to immobilize him, making him unable of doing anything that didn't involve transforming her into a carbonized corpse. It was not for fun, she reassured him every damn time. It was punishment.
It was definitely the worst of the punishments, in his opinion, being denied the biggest of the pleasures: to make Mirajane Strauss gasp until she moaned his name.
When he was with her, Laxus saw himself involved in a paradox in which he couldn't escape. He hated to be punished, he hated to feel powerless towards the impregnable grasp of demonic claws, he hated having to watch her ministering her delicious tortures without being able to effectively collaborate. He hated, above all other things, to beg for more, like a little submissive bitch.
However, if he had to choose between having her, humiliation included, or not having her at all, he would choose – but would rather die before admitting it, certainly – one thousand times the torment of looking without being able to touch. Mirajane definitely came directly from the depths of hell, architected by Satan himself to infatuate the most incorruptible of men. Each curve of her body was a trap, the melodious voice a siren song that deceived lost sailors, the expression of the purest of the angels that could transform into the personification of sin in a matter of seconds. Her scent was like an aphrodisiac that contaminated him before he could even realize it and her touch was like hot iron, marked so deeply into his skin that its sensation could last for days.
Mirajane was just plain perfect and that perfection was his Achilles' heel.
"Where's the macho Laxus now, sweetie? Giving up already?"
Laxus opened his eyes to catch a glimpse of the most erotic scene he had ever witnessed: the most wanted woman from Fiore rubbing herself against his hips; the hem of her dress fastidiously raised, leaving the entirety of her soft pair of thighs on display; wet lips half-parted as an invitation to get lost on their sweet taste; and a hot, languid look that made his body automatically light up with sparks, igniting him from the inside out. What was left of his determination unwittingly went down the drain like it had never even existed.
She bent down to brush her lips softly on his, moving away before he got the chance to participate.
"Ask for forgiveness, Laxy, and I'll give you what you want." Her mouth moved to his left earlobe, nipping it with her teeth, and his brain shut down, transferring all the decision making to the member between his legs, which screamed to be released from the grip imposed by his pants. He shifted uncomfortably, with Mirajane's restless tongue sliding through the traces of his tattoo and sharp claws scraping his arms mercilessly.
Shit, if she wasn't so damn hot.
The lightning mage tried to move his wrists once more, but the muscular fatigue from his recently concluded mission prevented him from going too far on his insistence. Not that it would make any difference if the demon was determined to have her revenge anyway.
"Beg, Laxus." Mirajane detected his impatience and unbuckled his belt with a skillful hand. A wave of relief dominated him as he saw himself free of the clothing barriers that separated him from his torturer and he hadn't notice up to that point how much he was panting, yearning for that. Tiny beads of sweat were accumulating in his temples and throughout his body, stinging against his scratch marks.
She lowered herself above his waist once more, pressing her wetness – Heavens, since when she wasn't wearing any panties? – against his erection, and this time he couldn't suppress a grunt.
"Beg."
He begged.
.
.
Here's a fact about Fairy Tail's second floor, restricted to the mages that have permission to execute S-class missions: it was the best place to isolate one's self spatially, but not acoustically. In a normal situation in which the universe wasn't conspiring against him, this problem could be easily solved with his powerful ear plugs, but his SoundPod stopped working inexplicably after slamming against the wall.
And against the sole of his boots. Repeatedly.
As if Natsu's shrilly voice coming from downstairs hammering insistently on his ears was not enough, he also had to deal with the immense discomfort of wearing a long-sleeved shirt in Magnolia's midsummer. The scars still burned on his skin – and mind – and the perspective of having to explain them to curious observers by making up a conceivable story which no one would actually believe anyway wasn't making him somewhat excited.
The Dragon Slayer looked at the empty missions' board for what it seemed to be the thirty-eighth time that day and his patience reached new records of limits as he didn't have the slightest idea how he could stay there for such a long time without throwing himself out of the window. If he had to guess, he would probably say that it was due to the eighty percent of alcohol on his bottle of whatever-he-was-drinking.
He snorted, massaging his temples in a vain attempt to relief himself from the pain stings he felt after an awful night of sleep. That demon would be his death someday.
And speaking of the devil, the one and only have just arrived, swaying in his direction. He felt her scent even before he saw her coming, so when Mirajane stood up in front of him, he was turning his nose up at her, with his face contorted in a sulky expression.
She just found it funny, smiling in the same stupid manner as ever.
"Poor Laxus, looks like you've been hit by a herd of cattle." She said, fake-pouting, as she approached his table in order to clean it and collect his empty glass.
The thermometer of his patience chose exactly that moment to blow up and the Dragon Slayer pulled her to his lap aggressively, immobilizing her with both of his strong arms. The cloth she was holding slid from her hands and fell to the floor as she got crushed by his painful grip, but he couldn't care less with her comfort when he was the one scratched, sore and soaked in sweat.
"Hmm, someone is more diligent than last night." She amusedly sang, without letting her grin fade.
"Witch." He spat back.
"I don't do anything that you don't deserve, Laxy."
Laxus begged to differ. He thought that entering the guild with his boots dirty with clay or dropping some cigar ashes on the table were hardly valid reasons to be flayed alive by the Satan Soul.
"You are destroying all of my clothes." And the door. And the couch. And my sanity.
"If you weren't such a naughty boy, you wouldn't have to be punished." Mirajane shrugged as if she couldn't do anything about that, employing a certain innocence on her voice that only made him angrier.
"Neither Macao or Wakaba seem to be the best example of good behavior." He complained, incapable of hiding his resentment, but regretted it almost immediately, afraid of having given the woman ideas. As much as he hated her punishments, the mere mention to a half-naked Mirajane in the arms of another man was already enough to make his blood boil in his veins.
She, however, just threw her head back against his shoulder and laughed as if that was the most ridicule thing she had ever heard in her life.
"Punishing Wakaba or Macao wouldn't be half the fun that is to torment the all high and mighty Laxus Dreyar." She explained, still chuckling. He – meaning, the alcohol – replied with a smirk, tilting his head so he could brush his lips softly against the outer shell of her ear, which made the laughter on her face fade completely.
"Well, I think" He began, his voice low and husky, provoking a shiver to run through her, which made him satisfied with her reaction. "that it's because you want me, demon."
Mirajane hesitated for a moment, sliding her tongue through her lips to moisten them. That motion didn't go unnoticed by the Dragon Slayer's eyes, who celebrated internally for ending that smug attitude of hers that was being used to tease him.
"And I think you are very cocky today."
"Come on, Mira," He sucked her earlobe and moved his hands down the sides of her body, closing them on her waist. "we both know you are jealous of my fan club."
Now, a very important thing to be noticed here is that if he wasn't so drunk, he would never have mentioned other women. Although he found them tedious most of the time, Laxus was 1) a man, 2) single(?) and 3) eager to prove himself he could make women succumb to his desires. As many of the jobs he took required that he stayed away from the city for long periods of time, sometimes he looked for a feminine distraction at bars – when it didn't walk towards him first.
He didn't feel particularly guilty by having sexual relations with other women, after all he didn't sign any monogamy contracts – if apprehend and lash a human being counted as some sort of relationship to being with – with Mirajane, but he knew she despised it when he got between some other women's legs merely for the fact that it ruined all her plans of keeping him sexually frustrated. Even though he wouldn't say absolutely anything to anyone about these casual encounters, she was still capable of sniffing them as soon as he put his feet inside the guild as if she had the ability to read minds, which resulted in a more violent and painful punishment.
Laxus felt the female body stiffen in contact with his when she heard the word 'fan club' and promptly knew she was pissed. The white-haired mage disentangled herself from his grip harshly and stood up, turning to glare at him with one of her famous demonic expressions. Then, she bent over slowly, resting her hands on his legs.
"What did you mean by that, Laxus?" She asked in a threatening tune, burying her nails on his thighs. Their faces were so close from one another that he could feel their breathings mixing together.
"I meant that you need to stop being a coward." He answered with an equally serious voice, but before she could do any moves, Laxus pulled her by the back of her head and locked lips with her.
The kisses they shared were always rough and urgent, with one trying to subjugate the other, and this one was no different than the others. Mirajane slid her hands up his body in a teasing way until she reached his neck, closing her fingers in the collar of his shirt. She pulled him forward, making him stand on his feet, and led him to the farthest corner of the second floor so they wouldn't get caught by the glimpses of people downstairs.
Laxus was unceremoniously thrown against the cold and hard wall, having to slide his back down a little in order to be at the same height level as her, so she reach his mouth with hers once more. His hands went down Mirajane's spine and stopped at her butt, clutching it in a possessive manner, while he bit her lower lip, making her back arch in response. She slithered her fingers down his pants, unzipping them with dexterity, and slid one hand inside his boxers to stroke him, which created a heat wave that spread through his body like wild fire on dry straw.
The Dragon Slayer pulled her dress up with the intention of taking off her underwear, but the Take Over mage pulled away gently and knelt down in front of his crotch. Before he could understand what was going on, Mirajane put his pants down and involved him with her mouth. Laxus grunted, feeling the wave intensifying until it dominated all of his senses and left him numb.
Without being able to take his eyes off of her even for a single second, he watched as she moved her head forward and backward, sucking him with no trace of hesitation, and when she tilted slightly only for their gazes to meet, the scene got permanently impressed on his mind. Her blue orbs were like two liquefied crystals, innocent like the ones of a maiden, which made the situation a thousand times more indecent than originally. Probably, he would never be able to get an oral from another woman without forgetting the image of Mirajane Strauss crouched between his legs, stimulating him with voracity.
Feeling his heart hammering furiously against his ribcage, the lightning mage grunted once again. His head was completely clouded by pleasure – and maybe a little by the effect of alcohol, but still – and he closed his fingers in her hair with urgency, sensing he was almost at his limit.
And that was when she suddenly pulled away, ignoring the confusion that showed up in his face. Standing on her feet, Mirajane brushed her lips against his ear the same way he had done with her before and whispered, her voice sounding like a warning.
"Don't you ever tell me what to do, Laxy."
Then she walked away towards the stairs, leaving him hardened and panting to solve the situation for himself.
"Oh," She stopped without looking back to face him, seeming to be reminding of something. "I just came here to tell you there will be no S-class missions for today."
Laxus stood still for a long moment, trying to regain his breath and watching her back disappearing downstairs, until full comprehension of what just happened hit him hard.
Seconds later, people downstairs ran and screamed, trying to escape the dozens of lamps that were mysteriously blowing up in their heads.
.
.
People used to think that Bickslow were one of those stupid, inattentive guys with the brain of the size of a pea that were always making jokes and saying idiotic things.
From behind his helmet, however, he watched everything with sharp eyes. He used to notice how Evergreen fixed her hair before entering the guild when she knew Elfman would be there. He used to notice Freed's sighs when the Raijinshuu was out on a mission with Laxus. He used to notice Droy stealing Jet's chips when he thought no one was looking, and he used to notice the exact moment in which Natsu devised a plan to pick up a fight with Gray.
He used to notice, above all other things, when Laxus' bad mood wasn't his usual.
Sometimes, the lighting mage would be quieter and crustier than usual and the Raijinshuu would assemble a meeting in order to discuss the possible reasons for the 'ugliest gargoyle face of all history'. Freed wouldn't have the slightest idea and would cry in desperation with the possibility that his idol's unpleasantness was somehow his fault, and every damn time he cried, Bickslow had the urge to shove that sword of his into his ass so he would stop whining. Evergreen might be suspicious of something, though she never seemed to care much about anything else since she laid eyes on that big oaf, getting out of her erotic daydreaming only to scold him from time to time. Bickslow, however, was sure the problem involved a woman…
Or a wild animal because, for something to be able to cover him with that sort of scratches, Heavens, it couldn't be an ordinary human being. Laxus used to cover them with his usual long-sleeved shirts, but if one looked closely, it was possible to see some red –sometimes purple – marks on his neck, next to his collar. Coincidentally, every time his bad mood showed up along with a powerful wave of alcohol intoxication, it was followed by those mysterious marks.
Boss must enjoy some hard core stuff on bed, he thought, otherwise he would never ever allow himself to be attacked that way. Well, who was him to judge other's eccentricities?
Bickslow was not the type who gave advice and the Dragon Slayer was not the type who asked, so he would merely wait until the moody phase was just gone. Lately, however, he noticed his temper tantrums were only getting worse each time, and the grumpier Laxus would get, the bigger was Freed's exasperation. And the bigger Freed's whimper would get, the stronger was his wish to kill him, set his body on fire and bury his remainings in a ditch far far away from himself.
So, for the sake of the mental health of all the men from Raijinshuu, himself included, he decided to interfere. Indirectly, of couse.
That day's mission hadn't been that hard, only tiresome. They were in charge of investigating an alleged attack on the young wife of an influential merchant, but in the end, everything was forged by the woman herself because apparently she wasn't getting enough attention from her husband. Even though the situation was practically settled, his numerous accomplices in the farce were yet to be detained and taken to the local authorities, so the group focused on that task, despite the fact none of the fugitives possessed enough magic power to be a real threat.
Evergreen and Freed had already gone to bed, leaving only him and Laxus, who was sitting on the balcony with the face of someone who had just eaten something really sour. Bickslow grabbed two glasses and a bottle of whisky, moving to sit on the chair beside him. His babies intended to follow him, but he felt it would be better if he deactivated them for the time being to avoid any incidents.
"Busy day, huh, boss?" He greeted, filling one of the cups up and handing it over to him, who accepted without any thanks. He served himself with the other one. "And all of that because of a crazy woman."
"Hn." Was Laxus' reply as he downed his drink in one gulp.
Bickslow filled both of the glasses once again and they remained silent for a few minutes, swigging their whisky.
"I don't get women." Bickslow continued after four or five shots – he lost count. "I mean, what are they thinking all the time?"
"No one does." Laxus grumbled in a hoarse voice, offering his empty cup to be refilled again.
"If we get off to work, they complain. If we stay, they complain."
"Hn."
"If we open our mouths, we only say the wrong things. If we don't say anything, it's because we don't care." Bickslow started to stumble on his words, not even knowing if what he was saying made any sense, but Laxus kept mumbling and nodding with approval, so he concluded it was somehow working. "But you know, boss, I found out the best way to deal with women is…"
He paused dramatically, trying to make up something that seemed plausible, but his drunken brain wasn't very eager to cooperate.
"Is… to do exactly the opposite of what they expect you to do." Huh?
Laxus frowned while he contemplated the hotel's garden, looking like he was considering what he had just heard. And then, he straightened himself and his expression suddenly changed as he had just had the greatest idea ever. Bickslow's work was officially done.
"Well," The seith mage stood up, with his legs being a bit wobbling. "We should get some sleep. The train's off tomorrow morning."
And he prayed his boss' bickering would be extinguished once and for all.
.
.
It was almost lunch time and only half of the tables were occupied, which made the guild considerably less noisy than usual. Great, he thought, that way he could be easily heard without looking like it was his intention. Scanning the place quickly, he found out that Dumb-Face Strauss wasn't there, which was a bonus, since that big ape could ruin his plan.
Freed waved from the table where the Raijinshuu was sitting when he saw Laxus had arrived, but he ignored his friend and marched towards the bar counter, where Mirajane was wiping a glass absentmindedly. Baby Strauss was at her side, organizing some papers.
"Hey, Laxus," Lisanna was the first to notice his approach (or at least the first to demonstrate it) and greeted him with a wide smile. "do you want to take a look at the requests that just arrived?"
"The S-class ones only." He replied while sitting at one of the benches, and the girl handed him a stack of paper. A cup of coffee appeared in front of him without him even asking for it, but he gladly accepted it, taking a sip as he analyzed one of the jobs in particular.
"Solo mission, Laxus?" Mirajane casually commented, still concentrated at her task. If she found weird the fact that he was there at the bar, chatting normally, instead of isolating himself in some corner of the second floor, she didn't let it be shown. "Freed was eager to go with you."
"Spoiling those children may get them too dependent." The girls found his reply funny, chuckling softly. The Dragon Slayer finished his drink and took advantage of their distraction to look around discreetly. Wakaba and Macao were accommodated at a nearby table to his right, speaking quietly and sometimes spying on him with suspicious glares. To his left, Levy was entertained with some book while Gray and Wendy chatted about their respective tasks for the day. It was time to act.
"Mira, I'll be taking this one." Laxus said in a relaxed way, employing a bit more of strength on his voice to sound more audible, but still in a normal level. He sorted one of the papers out and handed it over to her, pulling a bill out of his wallet and leaving over the counter before standing up.
"You seem well-disposed today." Mirajane stopped what she was doing in order to fetch the book of records, smiling her usual smile but speaking in a provocative tone that he knew it was perceptible only for him. "Was the previous night that good?"
The lightning mage seized the opportunity to bend over the balcony, which aroused her curiosity. As her attention turned towards him, Laxus stared deeply into her eyes with a serious expression, not a single trace of malice showing on his face.
"No, nothing in particular happened… however," He paused briefly to wet his lips. "tonight would be great if you agreed to have dinner with me."
The tables nearby suddenly fell into a heavy silence and the only noises that could be heard were Wakaba's cigar falling on the floor and the small squeak that came from Lisanna. Mirajane's smile plastered on her face, slowly faltering with disbelief.
He successfully took her by surprise. And everyone around them noticed him taking her by surprise.
Laxus could feel her analyzing him thoroughly, searching for any ruses, any diabolic plans to deceive her and get revenge for all the times she had abandoned him with his pants down, but he struggled to keep calm and confident, sustaining her gaze confidently.
A sudden wave of jitters dominated him a fre seconds later, though, with the possibility that his plan would backfire and Mirajane would simply reject his invitation the same casual way she got around other male harassments. He assumed having other people around when he made the proposal in an honest way, leaving no room to be interpreted as casual flirtation, would compel her to accept with no hitches (meaning Demons). But no.
Frankly, the idea sounded way much better in his head when he was dead drunk.
Lisanna, who until that moment was stuck in a perplex state, opened the largest of the smiles and enlaced her sister's arm, breaking the mental debate between them.
"Mira-nee, look at how great this opportunity is for you to take some time off as we spoke the other day!" She exclaimed excitedly and turned to look at him with shining eyes. Gods, thank you, Lisanna. "And Laxus can take you to that new restaurant near home, can't you, Laxus?"
"Sure." He answered without turning his attention away from Mirajane, who was biting her lower lip, still suspicious. Lisanna noticed her hesitation, though, and squeezed her sister's arm softly. The eldest sibling opened her mouth to protest, but gave up in the end, sighing.
"Okay… I guess."
"Great." Laxus tapped the balcony with his fists to finish their conversation, and moved away to exit the guild. "I'll pick you up at eight."
It was only when he turned his back on them and started walking towards the door that he noticed how sweaty his hands were.
N/A: I think I should give some credit to Armageddon Angel's Selfishness since the begging idea got stuck on my mind after I read it. Also, it was kinda hard to proofread it, so if you found something wrong please let me know.