Summary: She's always been a dreamer, preferring the world of fairy tales and happily-ever-afters to the harsh reality of life. And then one day, she sees him and wonders if he just might be the one. Little does she know, he feels the same way. "I finally got my happy ending." It'll be a story to tell their kids someday. Mira/Laxus AU one-shot.
A/N: I'm on a writing spree. (I really should be studying, but oh well.) I should probably get all this creative juice outta the way first! Anyhow, I wanted to write something mostly light-hearted to balance the much darker tones of the Jelsa fic I just finished. Enjoy!
Enchanted
"I was enchanted to meet you," –Enchanted, Taylor Swift
She falls in love with fairy tales from the moment she could first read them.
She loves how the princess always finds the prince and they fall in love and live happily-ever-after, and she wants that, more than anything.
And then her parents die and she finds herself taking care of her younger brother and sister, tossed from foster home to foster home until they are finally taken in by an elderly couple who gladly adopt all three Strauss siblings, and her world is all right for a little while.
Tragedy strikes her senior year of high school. The (kind, wonderful, loving) elderly couple die from a head-on collision with a truck.
They leave everything to Mira, knowing that she will take care of her siblings.
The first thing she does is officially 'adopt' them. Thankfully, the couple had enough properties and assets and money in the bank to tide them over for a couple years, as well as college accounts set up for the three siblings.
However, Mira immediately gets a job so they don't have to be forced to rely on the money that she's not sure will last them.
She ends up getting a job at the Fairy Tail bar and grill, and Makarov becomes the eccentric uncle/grandfather she's always wanted.
Between school and her job, she becomes too busy to dream about fairy tales and happily-ever-afters, until one day she sees him, and he gives her the most charming smile when their eyes meet, and she finds herself blushing and wondering if he just might be her Prince Charming.
He'll never admit it, but he's had a crush on her since freshman orientation. They were in the same group, but she was so timid she wouldn't meet anyone's eye except the orientation leader's.
The orientation groups are sorted by major, so he's pleasantly surprised she's a fellow business major. He finds out from some friends/acquaintances that she's putting an emphasis on culinary arts (he supposes she wants to open up a restaurant or something related), and he's only a business major because it runs in his family and he needs the proper training to take over his family's various businesses one day.
As a result, they have a lot of classes together, although she's never noticed him until their third year.
And then, all of a sudden, one day out of the blue she runs into him and ends up dropping all of her textbooks and satchel on the floor.
She apologizes, face red with embarrassment, but he shrugs it off and apologizes for bumping into her and helps her pick up her textbooks.
It's ironic that suddenly, after bumping into each other, they find themselves being paired up on multiple projects between classes and once they become acquaintances, it doesn't take them long to realize that their friends all hang out in the same circle. They quickly move from acquaintances to friends, and after that they fall into easy friendship.
The move from friendship to love isn't easy.
He doesn't remember the last time he was so grateful to be swamped with projects, because his partner just so happens to be her, giving him the perfect excuse to ask her to hang out. But between their projects and her work (he discovers, to his delight, that she works at his grandpa's bar, and makes up all sorts of excuses to hang out there. He supposes he's grateful that most of their friends swing by the place from time to time, so it's not too unusual for him to show up and exchange a couple words here and there.), they're usually too tired to do anything but have dinner.
"Go out with me?" He finally asks, one random day out of the blue. More like he blurts it out, but he can't help himself. He's waited for three years, and the more he gets to know her the more he becomes infatuated with her.
She looks at him, her expression hard to read as she scrutinizes him as if trying to see if he's joking. Finally, she looks at him and she bites her bottom lip. "I want to." She finally answers, her voice soft and beseeching.
"But?" He probes, sensing her hesitation.
"I'm so busy between school and work. I – I want to go out with you, Laxus, but I'm always going to take care of my siblings first." There's this sadness in her eyes coupled with such raw yearning, and he finds that he can't bring himself to be the slightest bit upset with her.
"Maybe not now," he concedes, offering her a smile as he suggests as he holds his arms out in a friendly gesture, "but we can still spend time together until you're ready."
He's going to leave the door open until she's ready to step through, and she smiles gratefully, stepping forward into his warm embrace. "I'd like that."
They graduate with high honors.
They meet up with their group of friends at the far end of the field to take pictures and exchange congratulations.
Mira finds herself sandwiched between Laxus and Erza, posing for a picture. The three of them smile for the camera that Lisanna's holding, and the flash goes off. And then Mira notices Erza grinning from the corner of her eye, but before she can ask the redhead what is so amusing, Laxus dips his head to drop a kiss on the corner of her lip.
Later, when Lisanna gives her a copy of the picture, she sees the amused expressions of their friends around them, Laxus' bright grin as he kisses her, and her own face, wide with surprise.
She hangs it up on her wall, butterflies dancing in her stomach, and she can't quite hide the smile on her face.
"Did you know," he begins conversationally, hating the knowing smirks on their friends' faces but he finds that he can't bring himself to care at the moment because what he's going to confess is more important, "that I've had a crush on you from the moment I saw you at freshman orientation?"
Mira tilts her head, adorably confused as she confesses with wide eyes, "I don't remember you."
Amusement fills him. He was right then – she really wasn't paying attention.
"We were in the same group. You were too shy to make eye contact with anyone except our orientation leader. I thought it was pretty adorable. I'm pretty sure that was when I figured I had a crush on you." He grins, and she blushes prettily.
"The first time I saw you was at Fairy Tail. You smiled at me, and I thought about happy endings." She confesses quietly.
Those words stay with him, because when he thinks about happy endings, he thinks about him and her, the two of them, together.
The last time he asks her out, they're twenty-three, two years out of college and working together under Makarov Dreyar, for Fairy Tail.
Elfman and Lisanna are more than capable of taking care of themselves at this point, and they all find themselves working together with their friends for Fairy Tail.
"I have a question for you, if you think you have an answer," he murmurs one night, a couple hours after they come home from work.
Somehow, over the years, despite a few initial mishaps, they discover that they can always make time for each other if they want some one-on-one away from work. They usually end up crashing at one apartment or the other, spending anywhere from thirty minutes to hours together.
That night they're cuddling on the couch. He has an arm wrapped around her waist and she's leaning into his warm body.
The two have grown close over the years, always straddling the line between friends and more, but never crossing it over completely. Three years is a good amount of time to get to know someone, and if anything, it just affirms that yes, somewhere during those years, they have fallen for each other, and fallen hard.
Every time he asks her, there's never a hint of impatience in his voice. He always asks her in a carefully neutral tone, but his eyes convey the warmth of his affection for her.
"Thank you for waiting." She says simply, and murmurs in response, "I'm glad it's you."
He 'hmmm's in agreement, tightening his hold on her and pulling her closer, his breath hot against the curve of her ear as he says warmly, "You're the one for me."
The first time they kiss, fireworks explode and electricity races up their arms.
It's Mira's first kiss, and most certainly not her last.
Laxus enjoys spending time alone together, spoiling and pampering her like a princess. He loves her smile, her childish delight.
Mira enjoys cooking for them on quiet nights in. She makes the best desserts.
A little later down the road, they're surrounded by their friends.
She's wearing a pretty white dress and he's wearing a nice suit.
"I finally got my happy ending," she smiles, and he smiles back.
It'll be a story to tell their kids someday.
FIN.