*SLAM*
The silver-haired barmaid of Fairy Tail could only sigh, and then giggle as yet another chair flew over her head and crashed into the wall behind her. She surveyed the rowdy guild that she loved as it lived up to its reputation, her signature beaming smile gracing her features. Yes, Fairy Tail was up to its usual antics today, and she'd have it no other way. Mirajane found herself slightly surprised however, when she noticed that there was a noticeable lack of...pink, in the middle of all this chaos.
"Natsu isn't here today?" she wondered aloud to herself.
Being the person who OK'd all the missions that everyone in Fairy Tail took, Mirajane knew that Natsu had left on a mission two days ago. However, it was a certain someone sitting by herself with her head down on the bar counter that had Mirajane wondering if Natsu was truly still gone.
Or maybe he went home first because of a sickness... Mirajane pondered briefly, before shaking off that thought. Natsu's never sick. With a quick nod of the head, she decided that she was going to get to the bottom of this.
"Hello, Lucy~" the Take-over mage said cheerily, but softly to the blonde-haired girl in front of her, taking into consideration Lucy's rather incapacitated-looking state.
The Celestial Spirit Mage looked up to find Mirajane smiling down at her, and she offered a smile, albeit a weak one, of her own in return.
"Hey, Mira-san. What's -" the blonde started, but she stopped when she noticed the look that the silver-haired beauty was giving her.
"Lucy, you look..." Mirajane stopped herself, trying to find the right word to describe the state that her guildmate appeared to be in. The bags under the Celestial Spirit Mage's eyes were quite concerning for Mirajane's motherly nature.
"Terrible?" Lucy offered with a dry chuckle.
Mirajane frowned at the blonde's suggestion. Lucy was a beautiful girl, and she knew it.
"Not terrible...but extremely tired. Have you not been sleeping lately, Lucy?" the barmaid inquired, as her maternal instincts over her younger guildmate started to take command.
"I've tried!" Lucy whined, like a child to her parent. "But something just doesn't feel right..." she finished, though her last statement was uttered much more softly.
"So you came to the guild to catch up on sleep?" Mirajane asked, emphasizing the location that Lucy had chosen in order to try and get some rest. She didn't want to presume upon anyone else, but the always rambunctious Fairy Tail guild would definitely not make her list of places to nap.
"Oh, I don't know, Mira-san. My apartment hasn't felt right these past few days, and -" Lucy started to explain before a curious barmaid cut her off.
"Past few days? You mean you didn't go on that mission with Natsu?" Mirajane exclaimed, surprised that the Dragon Slayer hadn't dragged along his favorite partner on a mission with him.
"No. And get this, the reason I didn't accept his offer to go along with him was because I was feeling a bit tired from our last mission." Lucy explained as she shook her head. The irony was certainly not lost on her. Mirajane reached down to pat Lucy on the head, trying to comfort her sleep-deprived friend.
"It was a rather difficult mission if I remember correctly." the barmaid pondered, as she began to recall the details of the mission that the Dragon Slayer had taken. "Even that Natsu's going to have a tough time with this one all by himself." she concluded, her voice holding traces of concern for the pink-haired mage.
"Well he did decide to take someone else along in my stead." Lucy commented casually.
"Who?"
"Juvia."
"Juvia?" was Mirajane's rather surprised response. "I would've thought at least someone from your squad."
"Well, Natsu told me that Gray was sick...because he's a 'weak fairy ice princess'" the blonde-haired girl replied with a giggle at her partner's description of their teammate. "And Erza had to attend that meeting with Master. You should know that one, Mira-san."
"Oh yeah. Well I guess I'll let you try to take your na -." The Take-over mage was about to give her guildmate some peace given the state she was in, before a rather...intriguing plot snuck its way into her brain.
Sensing the sudden change in atmosphere, Lucy couldn't help but look up curiously at Mirajane.
"You know, Lucy..." the mage once dubbed 'Demon Mirajane' began. "I think I might have a...remedy for your little problem."
"Really, Mira-san!?" the blonde exclaimed, excited at the prospect of finding a solution to her sleeping problems.
The Take-over mage giggled at Lucy's glee. She's so clueless and naive. It's really quite cute. Mirajane thought to herself.
"Definitely! But first, tell me how long ago this problem of yours began." the barmaid inquired, relishing the opportunity to manipulate Lucy's thoughts. It's for her own good. And Natsu's. Mirajane told herself adamantly.
"Umm..." the blonde began, putting a finger to her chin as she pondered. "Two nights ago." was the time that she arrived to.
"Two days ago is when Natsu left for his mission with Juvia, isn't it?"
"Y-Yeah...what of it?" Lucy asked hesitantly, not quite sure where Mirajane was going with this.
The smile on Mirajane's face only grew wider and more demonic as she leaned in close so that there was no way the Celestial Spirit Mage could miss what she was saying.
"You can't sleep without your little...heat source around, can you Lucy?" the barmaid drawled, making sure Lucy got the full implication behind her words.
Lucy's eyes widened in horror as she realized what Mirajane was getting at the entire time, her face burning red with embarrassment.
"Mira-san! I've slept just fine without that idiot sneaking into my bed before!" Lucy exclaimed indignantly. I knew I shouldn't have told her about how Natsu breaks into my apartment at night! she thought mournfully. Whatever the case, it was definitely far too late to take back that mistake now.
"Perhaps so. But I think your subconscious might be a teensy bit worried."
"A-About what?"
"About who our fiery, passionate Dragon Slayer choose to bring along with him on his mission." Mirajane said, calculating the right adjectives to describe Natsu for this situation.
"Th-that doesn't even make sense! Juvia likes Gray!" Lucy all but shouted, desperately trying to stop the assault on her already sleep-deprived mind.
"Speaking of Gray..." the barmaid remarked with a chuckle. "I don't know how to tell you this Lucy, but I don't think he's really sick."
The Celestial Spirit Mage's eyes widened in suspicion. Why would Natsu lie to her?
"Gray took a mission on the same day that Natsu took his." Mirajane said, adding to her elaborate scheme as she went along. "If I recall correctly, Natsu told Gray that the mission was going to be 'too hard for his ice panties to handle'. Poor Gray stormed off and took a mission for himself after that." the silver-haired girl finished with a shrug, trying her best not to give away her rather poor lie.
"Natsu...and Juvia?" the Celestial Spirit Mage whispered to herself. Don't think something like that! Lucy told herself adamantly, not willing to give in to Mirajane's implications. But he is dependable...and kind...and Mira-san's right, he really is warm...wait, no, what are you thinking! Lucy you idiot!
The Take-over Mage looked down with mirth at her younger guildmate's panicked expressions. She's breaking...
"Oh, Lucy~" the barmaid continued, determined to make one last push to completely break Lucy's resistance. "I think it's adorable that you've found someone who helps you relax at night."
"Mira-san, please!" Lucy whined, not wanting these anymore of these corrupted thoughts of her partner being put in her head.
"I bet you wake up in the morning with his arm over you, perfectly content as you snuggle away in his chest." the Demon mage continued, waving off Lucy's objections. "If I were you, I wouldn't let something like that be taken away from me so easily." she conclude, her smile somehow both blinding and dark at the same time.
If at all possible for Lucy's face to be any redder than it was already was, her ears would most likely have emitted steam. With her mind already slightly impaired due to the last two sleepless nights, Mirajane's words crawled their way easily into the blonde's deeper thoughts. The worst part of it all, for Lucy at least, was that Mirajane's description of her sleeping arrangements with her pink-haired best friend...wasn't all that untrue.
...Natsu can't be interested in Juvia. He's mine!...At least during the nighttime so I can sleep...
A little idea that I had floating around in my head put down in story form! I'm exceptionally pleased with the amount of favorites that my last fic got, despite only being a one-shot. Thanks to all of you guys for that! Anyway, please review, favorite, and follow if you've appreciated this fic. This will be a multi-chapter story, so stay tuned :)