Cabin Fever

For the most part, the changing of the seasons meant little to Laxus Dreyar. They signified the passage of time, of course, but short of that, not much else. The days got shorter then they got longer. It got hotter then it got colder. It rained then it snowed. It burned then it froze.

What else was there?

Oh. Yeah. Snowmen.

Now, there was a lot leading up to that inclusion of such a thing on the list which included Ivan, Makarov, his mother, and a horrible childhood trauma that made for many sleepless winter nights intermingled with all the other mess that he had to put up with when he was young. As he grew he'd been able to bury it beneath many layers and, mostly forget that it even existed. Would spend his winters away from parks, where snowman building ran rampant, and would just avoid looking at them when he did happen to pass one. Didn't even mention the problem to his closest of friends (idiots, stalkers, annoyances), the Thunder Legion.

Actually, outside of Makarov, who was there when the event first occurred and probably didn't have a recollection of it any longer, no one in Fairy Tail knew of Laxus' fare. At all. No one on Earth Land did, probably. More than likely. He was just that good at keeping things hidden. The only thing that he was truly, completely, and utterly fearful of, his Achilles heel was completely unknown to even his closest of allies.

That is, until Mirajane Strauss got involved.

The slip up occurred in the fact that Laxus never once thought that Mirajane was that childish. That she could honestly think of such thing when he's specifically taken her somewhere to be alone, just the two of them, with a cozy fire place and a little cot and him looking all jaunty in his scarf and knit hat that she picked out for him.

Who could possibly think of snowmen in a time like that?

Mirajane Strauss, apparently.

But that was more of the middle of the story. No, to get the full effect, one had to start at the beginning. In which Laxus managed to get Mirajane a whole week off work, saved up tons of jewels, and got them a nice week away in a cabin. It was the dead of winter and not much fun to travel there, but he figured it would be worth it when they arrived. Plus, the further away from civilization they were, the less likely Mirajane would have a chance to go shopping and blow all his money. Or that they would be interrupted.

With the Thunder Legion and her siblings, that last one actually happened a lot.

There was also a lot of shopping in preparation for the trip, as Mirajane claimed that Laxus needed a whole new wardrobe to be somewhere so cold for so long and he just agreed because, hell, she was the demon and he was the dragon. It was much easier to agree than duke it out.

Then came, of course, the trip there, which involved a train and hiking, which sucked, but the demon wasn't the type of woman to bitch and moan over stuff. Rather, she was in a good mood the whole time. Which, while at times was preferable to whining or all around bitchiness, bothered the hell out of Laxus. She was just so upbeat and annoying and happy and gah! Damn if she didn't complete him.

It was going to be the perfect get away for the two of them. The cabin was small, but big enough. They'd stopped on the way into the local town to pick up some supplies for cooking and such, hoping to not have to come back down again. Honestly, if it was up to Laxus, they wouldn't even leave the bed the entire trip.

Anyhow, the cabin was nice, none the less and Mira was overly pleased with her dragon who, honestly, was pretty dang pleased with himself. It was rare that the demon and him even got a day together without being bothered. A whole seven days would be heavenly.

Or lead to their breakup. One or the other. Put their relationship to the test.

They could handle it though, he was sure.

Or maybe not. Either way, he'd get laid at least once and that made it worth it. Sorta.

Heh.

First nights in new places are always the oddest and after traveling all day, neither wanted anything more than to rest for a bit. So Laxus gathered some firewood that he found resting next to the side of the house and got the fireplace going while Mirajane unpacked for them. Then they both went to crawl into the bed and just be for awhile.

Or, well, Laxus just was. Mirajane slept. But that was okay because she was just so cute when she slept.

It gave him a chance to take a shower anyhow, in preparation for, well, the rest of their night. And then he used the communication lacrima to contact Freed and, fine, let them all know they'd made it, but most importantly to reiterate that short of the end of the world, they were not to be bothered. Not if the guild came crashing down (seriously, it happened all the time; he was over hearing about that shit), not if someone had some sort of life-threatening problem that just had to be dealt with by fighting another guild (again, over it, next problem), and definitely not because their lives all sucked without him and his demon (it was just a given). No, unless Makarov, like, suddenly took ill or someone died, they were going to get their full seven days together, rest of the guild be damned.

Or at least Laxus was. He was also going to make sure that if any of those other things happened, Mirajane did not find out about it. Because then they very much so would be going back home, he was sure.

After, he had some time to make them dinner and the demon was very appreciative of that when she got up. So much so that dinner was rushed and, well, the bed was just as great as his one at home, for what it was worth.

But that was the fatal flaw, as it were, as Laxus, true to form, kinda smoked a cigar after, drank a beer, and then hit the hay, leaving Mirajane to her own devices. That would be fine for a few hours, as she went back to bed too. But, used to getting up before dawn for work, that didn't last long. And, stuck out in a frozen forest all alone with a sleeping dragon, she had to find something to do.

Laxus just wished that she hadn't chosen that as that something.

He first noticed it when he took note of her absence, sometime around daybreak when he awoke to a fire-less cabin and no breakfast. Which, fine, it wasn't the demon's job to necessarily make him food, but hey; he'd made dinner and brought her all the way out there. It'd only be courteous.

So he went searching for her. It wasn't hard to find her. No, he could hear her singing outside and, after a quick peak through a window, he was dismayed to find just what it was that she was doing out there.

"Mira," he'd called out as he left the cabin in only a pair of jeans and his boots. He was that panicked. "What are you doing?"

"Dragon, you're up. And severely under dressed. Go put on a shirt, Lax."

He only marched through the snow over to where she was putting the final touches on her monstrosity.

"Why," he growled as she only grinned at him, "are you building that?"

"The snowman?" She glanced at the thing. "Because you were sleeping and said that I wasn't, and I quote, allowed to use the lacrima for any reason short of you dying and me needing help getting your body back to the guild."

"Yes and I meant that, but-"

"So I had to do something," she insisted. "And this was that something. Now go put on a sweatshirt or something, dragon. You're going to freeze to death."

Shaking his head, he said, "Get rid of the...of the snowman. Now."

"What? Laxus-"

"Now." He was refusing to glance at it and was instead completely focused in on her. "I don't want it here."

"But it looks so cute," Mirajane said. "And look. I put one of your caps on it and a scarf and look what I was going to do to the eye."

He refused, but she was reaching up to the face of the albescent beast anyhow. She'd taken some small stones to use as the eyes and nose and leaned towards one of those eyes to press her gloved finger against the snow around it.

"See?"

No. But he knew what she did. She drew a jagged line over and above one of the eyes.

"Now he's Snow Laxus." Mirajane looked proud of herself for some reason. Bleh. "I think he's handsome."

"Great," he grumbled. "Now take him down."

"What? No, Lax. He has to stay up for the rest of our trip. At least." Grinning at him once more, she said, "What do you have against snowmen?"

Only a childhood trauma complete with night terrors and an extreme distaste for corn cob pipe.

"Nothing," he grumbled turning away from her then. The demon was right; it was damn cold outside. "Let's just… Come back in with me. We'll start on breakfast."

"Of course, Lax." Then she giggled. "And bye, Snow Laxus. I'd give you a kiss, but my Laxus might get jeal-"

"Come on!"

"Coming," she sang through more laughter.

Ugh.

In his mind, Laxus had already begun thinking of what just to do with...Snow Laxus. Obviously he was going to have to take him down.

But how?

Mirajane would see him take the useless, yet equally terrifying freak to the ground and want an explanation (and probably also an apology) which was no good. And striking it with lightning, while tempting, would also yield the same result as she would no doubt realize that it was more likely to do with her Thunder God boyfriend than nature and its crazy ways.

Heh.

Inside, Laxus sat around as Mirajane made them breakfast, talking excitedly about this and that as mostly just tuned her out. Instead, his focus was much more on the fact that he could see that devilish snow...creature through one of the windows. His back was to the cabin, but Laxus could feel it watching him regardless.

Shaking his head, Laxus turned away, keeping his own back then to the window. He would just have to ignore it. Pretend like it wasn't there. Maybe he could make it the whole week. Maybe even it would even help with his phobia a bit. Maybe.

"Laxus? Are you listening to me?"

"Hmmm?" Glancing over at his girlfriend then, he nodded slightly. "Of course, demon. Something about the guild or your siblings or modeling or… You know, what you usually talk about."

She blinked and only stared. "Are you okay?"

Shrugging, he came closer then. "You need help with something?"

That was an easy distraction for the demon and gave Laxus some more time to think as he took to scrambling up some eggs. He also got a chance to work on his breathing and, slowly, was coming to terms with Snow Laxus. He could handle it. Really, he could. Hell, he was the Thunder God! What kinda god is afraid of a silly little snowman? Huh?

Then he had to go and glance over and the window and the cold wave of terror fell back over him.

Maybe he could just go out there and tackle it and then just ignore Mira's questions. She'd think that he was just being a grumpy dragon (she called him that a lot, actually) and eventually get over it. And he'd threaten to tackle any one that she made form that point forth and it would be okay. He'd be okay.

Really, he would.

"Are you admiring Snow Laxus?"

Frowning, he looked to his girlfriend. "What?"

"You're staring at him out the window," she said nodding over at it. "You like him, don't you? I love it. It's so cute. I wish that Lisanna was here to see it. She loves snowmen."

Of course she did.

"Mirajane-" he tried, but she was just continuing on right over him.

"I think I'll go put your fuzzy coat on him," Mira mused. "And-"

"No."

"What?"

He cleared his throat. That came out a lot harsher than he wanted it to. Shaking his head at her, he only said, "Don't put my coat on that thing, Mira. I need it. I mean, come on. Who cares about that stupid snowman?"

"Well, I do, but-"

"And I don't. Demon, we can worry about playing outside or whatever it is your little itty bitty demonic brain wants later," he grumbled. "Right now I am far more interested in eating and then spending some time in here, huh? I brought the movie lacrima and I figured we could set it up by the fire and just, you know, hang around some. Me and you. Just be at peace."

"Can we read to each other?"

Now she had his mind completely off snowmen and the like.

"Can we what?"

"Read to each other," she repeated with a slight grin that time.

"Read what to one another?"

"Books, silly," Mira giggled. "I brought some romance novels that-"

"Mirajane."

"Please, dragon? I always dreamed of this."

"Of reading to one another?"

Nodding, she said, "It would be so romantic."

"How?"

"It just is."

He huffed. "Well, are they at least...interesting?"

"Hmmm?"

"You know like...graphic."

"Are there graphics? Like pictures?"

"No, Mira," he groaned. "Never mind."

"No, what?"

"Noth-"

"What, Laxus? They're plenty interesting and-"

"I wanted to know if they were...you know." Then he wagged his eye brows. "Interesting."

Mirajane blinked. Then she frowned. "Ew, no."

"Then I don't want-"

"Either we do it or we go out and play in the snow. And yes, there will be a snowball fight, snow angels, and a hike. Your choice."

Ugh. The demon and her impossible decisions.

So they spent the day indoors reading and watching movies. Mirajane seemed to enjoy it. Laxus let her read to him mostly and just laid around, either on the rug in front of the fire place or in bed, arms behind his head, nodding and responding at the right times. He had to keep reminding himself that the trip wasn't just for him, but for the demon as well. And if those were the sorts of things that she enjoyed then, well, that was her business.

Eventually, in a completely lazy state, Laxus sorta fell asleep during the middle of a movie, there on the rug, with the demon snuggled up to him. His dream consisted of little other than the plot of the movie (which had been dim at best) and when he woke up, most of it dissipated quickly. That had more to do, however, with his desire to find the demon.

"Mirajane," he called out softly as he lifted his head some, looking around. The fire had was smoldering and he knew that the demon had to have ignored it for a bit. "You around?"

Shoving up, he checked the bathroom, but she wasn't there. Realizing she must be outside, his stomach sank. He rushed then, to pull some clothes on, and go outside to see what she'd done.

"Mira," he groaned at the sight of her happily rolling a base for a new snowman. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, Lax." She was across the yard and stopped her rolling to wave at him. A soft snow was falling and Laxus hated it. He hated it all! Why had he been so stupid? Huh? Bringing her there? So, so stupid. "Come help."

"No, Mira," Laxus growled, boots crunching under the snow as he headed towards her. "I'm not going to help. You shouldn't be making another-"

"Just get over here. I'm going to make a Snow Mirajane now," she giggled, going back to pushing, her trajectory leading her right over to the other snowman. "So that Snow Laxus won't get lonely."

"Mira, no, you-"

"Oh, hush. I let you sleep for, like, two hours. It's your fault that I found some other way to keep myself entertained."

"You couldn't have gone and walked around the forest or-"

"I did," she said, still pushing. "And now I'm building a snowman. A snowwoman. A Snow Mira!"

Ugh.

"No." He walked over to her then and, completely annoyed, reached out to grab her, pulling her away from the base of the snowman. The only problem with this, however, was that Mirajane wasn't very balanced and slipped through his hand only to fall down in the snow.

"Laxus," she complained, spitting out a mouthful of snow first. "What is your- No! Laxus, please, don't- "

But he was. He was rushing over to Snow Laxus and tackling him, destroying Mirajane's snowman and happiness in one fell swoop. It also brought out a deep amount of anger. He could tell from one word.

"Laxus Dreyar!" And she was screaming at him then, her voice echoing slightly in the wilderness. "Why would you do that?"

He only pushed up from the ground and glared down at the fallen snowman. Take that!

"You're such a jerk," Mira was still complaining, coming over to shove his shoulder. "Why would you do that? Huh? What difference did it make that I was making those, huh? You big jerk. I hate you, Laxus. You always want to ruin my fun and make me miserable and just ruin everything. Why aren't I allowed to ever have fun? Huh? What's wrong with me just having fun?"

Panting slightly, Laxus glanced at her before shaking his head, adrenaline slowly coming back down. He stared at her and her dark gaze for a moment before saying, "I don't like snowmen."

"And I don't like you! You stupid...you…" Then she shoved him, rather hard, before stomping off for the cabin.

Laxus stood over the felled snow for awhile, just staring at it, as if triumphant, though that quickly changed, as it typically did. He'd go from fearful to angry to resilient to very, very embarrassed. It wasn't until the snowman was vanquished that he realized that how foolish the whole thing was. Snowmen were just, well, snow. Nothing else. And he knew that. Of course he knew that. It was just…

Sigh.

Sparing the cabin a glance, Laxus slowly set his path back towards it.

Time to go deal with the demon.

And boy, she was still livid when he got in there. Waiting on him, it seemed, as she laid into him the second that he walked through the door. She was going on and on and on and gah! What did she want from him?

Oh yeah. To not destroy her snowmen.

"Mirajane," he groaned. "I get it, alright?"

"Get it? Get it?"

"That's what I sa-"

"How can you get it, Laxus, when I don't even get it?" Shaking her head, Mirajane said, "I mean, fine; you're weird. You're quirky. And you're crazy."

"I don't agree with a single one of those, but-"

"But what difference does it make if I build snowmen? Huh? Who cares? I like snowmen. A lot. They make me happy. They remind me of Lisanna. We build them together. Who cares? Do you really hate my happiness this much?"

He frowned then. "Being a tad dramatic, aren't you, demon? I mean, so what? I got rid of your damn snowman. Burn me at the stake."

"I wish I could! You psycho." Crossing her arms over her chest, she said, "You didn't just, like, knock over my snowman, Laxus. You got angry and attacked it! That's psychotic. Why would you act that way?"

"I don't…" Reaching up, he scratch at his head, knocking some of the fallen snow off it. Laxus took a moment to think before forcing himself back into his usual void and detached veneer even though it was the demon, it was just the demon, and he was never that way with her, not anymore, especially alone, but he had to be then. Because, even though he cared about the demon, the last thing that he ever wanted her to know about was...was…

That he was deathly terrified of inanimate snow when rolled into huge mounds and give faces.

"What, Laxus?" Mirajane wasn't backing down though. "Huh? What-"

"I have to...go. I have to go for a walk. Alone. I'm tired of this. I-"

"I'm going with you."

"Mirajane-"

"I'm going too. Wherever you go. Either that or you go out there and help me build new snowmen-"

"Shut up, Mira. God. What is with you and these damn snowmen?"

"What's with you and them? Huh?"

"It's nothing. It-"

"Are you just being mean then? Doing that?" Mira could only stay mad for so long and the time period for it was wearing thin. At that point, she was mostly just watching him with concerned eyes. "Or are you mad at me about something? Because that was just rude, Laxus."

"I'm...sorry, alright?" He was fighting to keep that vacant look, but it was hard. He had been pretty harsh towards the demon. She clearly liked Snow Laxus (for some reason) and he knew how childlike she was. He'd hurt her feelings. "I didn't want to get you all upset."

Mira's arms were still crossed, but she swallowed some before nodding. "Thank you."

"So, let's just-"

"Now go build me another one."

Groan. "Mirajane-"

"I mean it, Lax. I'll help. Come on, let's-"

"No."

"Laxus-"

"I said no," he growled when she only walked over to grab his arm and tug on it.

"And I said yes. So let's-"

"Damn it, woman, no!" Jerking away from her, he glared heavily down into her shocked gaze. "I hate snowmen, alright? I fucking hate them and you're not going to build another one so just drop it. Alright? Damn. I'll never take you on another trip again, alright? Huh? Would you like that?"

"No," she complained. "Of course not. But why don't you… I mean, Laxus, this is a bit much, isn't it? For some stupid snowmen?"

Yes. Definitely. But he couldn't help it. And Mira could tell too as that veneer faded away and his face actually looked worried over the whole thing that there was something more to it all.

"I don't," he told her simply, "want to talk about this. I don't want to do this. So can we please just go back to our nice vacation and forget that it ever happened? Please?"

She watched him for a moment before, slowly, backing off. "Alright, Laxus."

"Thank you."

And it was so awkward from there. Mira avoided him (which was hard to do in such a confined space as a one room cabin), heading outside first to go collect the scarf and hat that poor Snow Laxus had left behind from his destruction while Laxus only went to start the fire once more. Eventually they had to acknowledge one another when Laxus went to fall into bed and Mirajane came to join him.

For a moment they only laid there next to one another. The bed was actually rather big and gave them enough room to avoid touching. Still, Mirajane couldn't deal with such gaucheness and had to say something. It was just in her nature to either fix things or prod at them until they burst.

"I love you, dragon."

He only groaned. "Mirajane-"

"I do. And I don't want to fight. Especially over...snowmen or… I don't get what the big deal is, but fine. I won't build another snowman." She even stuck her tongue out at the end. But, after, she only whispered, "So are we okay?"

Lying there on his back, Laxus stared up at the log ceiling for a bit before slowly saying, "Ivan… When I was a kid and my mother was still alive, Ivan wasn't so bad. He was my dad, you know?"

"Laxus-"

"Hush." Still not looking at her, he went on. Taking in a breath, he let it out slowly before saying, "Anyhow, it was sometime during winter and you know how kids are. I was all interested in the snow and making snowballs and my mother and father was just starting to have problems, right before she left, so she wasn't paying that much attention to me anymore."

Mirajane shifted on the bed, to get closer to him, because she still wasn't sure where the story was going or what they were doing, but still wanted to be there if he needed her. Given the tone and early indications of where the story was going, what with the mention of his usually absent mother, she was pretty sure it wasn't headed anywhere pleasant.

"And my dad was drinking a lot more," Laxus went on, not even sparing her a glance. "But he was going through a lot, you know? And I was always getting sick and it was really shitty of me to expect him to spend time with me. I mean, my mother was leaving and being a bitch and I was always whining. He was going through so much and-"

"Lax-"

"No, Mira." And he'd reserved the hardest glare for then as he turned his head to give it to her. "He was."

"Okay," she gave in. "I'm sure he was."

"He was." Settling back into the bed, Laxus went back to watching the ceiling. "And he wasn't doing it to be mean. He just didn't want me to wanna spend so much time outside. That's all. 'cause it wasn't good for me. Because I was so sickly. And it was really Gramps' fault for always letting me go outside. He'd always take me to play out there and then just expect Ivan to when he wasn't around. So what was my father supposed to do? Huh?"

"What did he do?" Mira asked softly. Laxus took a moment before answering.

"I didn't really realize that it was him that did it for a long time," he told her with the best shrug he could give lying down. "And Gramps just thought that it was a joke. That Ivan had done it to be funny or whatever."

"What, Lax?"

"It was his...Illusion Magic," the man said slowly. "He… I was whining, I guess, about not getting to play outside and he was busy and there was so much snow outside and my mother was upset about something and forced him to take me outside. And Ivan was just so upset that he had to take me that he...that… At some point, my mother and I must have built one of them. Or maybe me and Gramps. You know, a snowman? I remember because we did that thing where he got a carrot for a nose and I was so worried that an animal would take it. That they would eat his nose. But they all told me that they wouldn't and that he was safe. That I built him so well that he might even last all winter. And I was so excited that I kept telling Ivan about it, you know, when we got kicked outside by my mother, and it just got on his nerves. I was a very annoying kid."

"Laxus, what did he do with his magic?" Mira asked. It was obvious that the man was rambling in an attempt to avoid the story and, well, she just wanted to get to it already. "Huh?"

"He made me...see them. Or him, I guess, really, because I'd only built one snowman, but with his illusion, there were a lot. And they had these mouths that… And he was drunk, I know, and he was just annoyed, but back then he didn't tell me it was all just magic! I thought it was real. And they were chasing me and I was screaming and crying and my mother wouldn't come out of the house and he wasn't there and it was so..."

"That's horrible." Mirajane sat up some then. "Honestly, Laxus, that's disgusting."

"It's not that bad," he grumbled. "He just didn't tell me it was a joke. That's all. And I was scared to go outside after that and Ivan just told Makarov that he made a joke or something about snowmen coming to life and Gramps thought it was funny."

"But it's not funny," Mira told him. "And it clearly still bothers-"

"I mean, I get it, you know? Snowmen are just…stupid...snow...balled up to...look like men, but I still just… I just don't like them. I'm not afraid of them or something stupid like that. I just… I don't-"

"It's fine." She reached out to lay a hand on his chest. "Honestly, Laxus, you should have just said something. I wouldn't have, like, laughed at you or anything. I mean, I don't like cockroaches. I know that they can't do anything to me, that there's no way for them to hurt me, but I can't help it. It's irrational. That's why they're called phobias, you know? If they were easy to figure out, then you wouldn't have them because you'd get over them."

"It's stupid."

"It's not stupid and you're not stupid," Mirajane went on. "You know, Lisanna's afraid of-"

"You can't tell anyone," he said suddenly, bolting up. "You hear me?"

"Lax-"

"You can't." That time it wasn't a glare. Just a very, very heavy gaze. "Mirajane, I told you that because I wanted you to understand. Not because I wanted you to blab it to everyone. You hear me? If you tell anyone-"

"Dragon, I would never-"

"I mean it."

"Laxus, we can keep things between the two of us." She moved to rest her head against his. "You're my boyfriend. I love you. If you tell me something in confidence, then it's between us. Just like if I told you something."

"Oh, whatever, Mira. You tell everyone everything about yourself. You-"

"My first time was when I was seventeen right after Lisanna...and it was with this guy that was, like, twice my age and I fell so in love with him and he wouldn't even talk to me after," she said quickly and through a blush. "It was right after Lisanna died and it was so embarrassing. Especially when I showed up at his house and found out he had a wife and kids and… And that's why whenever I'm talking about it with someone, I never mention that. I say that my first time was with this modeling guy that I started dating a few months after."

Laxus blinked. Then he frowned. "What I told you was just weird. That, what you just said? That's actually disgusting. That he would do that to you."

Mirajane only shrugged though and, slowly, the two fell back into bed with one another. Curling up to him, she rested her head against his side before whispering, "You didn't have to tell me, Laxus. About...the snowmen."

"Yeah, I did. You didn't have to tell me about what you did either, but in a way you did. Because we should know these things about one another. I want to be with you for, like, the rest of ever, Mirajane. We should talk more about these sorts of things. It'll only make us stronger."

"I guess so." She grinned slightly then before whispering, "I just never knew that you hated them so much. Snowmen. It's so random."

"I've tried to get over it, but just seeing them freaks me out so much. With their hollow smiles and their stupid pipes and the hats. Damn the hats."

"You're growling."

"Good," he grumbled. "I mean it."

"Poor dragon." Nuzzling against him, she said, "That's a horrible thing to do to a kid. I mean for it to still scar you today-"

"I don't want to talk about it anymore. I just wanted you to get it."

"I do."

"Alright then. Enough." He sparred her a glance before saying, "I think I slept through lunch."

"You did."

"Could you get on that? Or do we need to make up some more first?"

She patted his stomach then before saying, "I made breakfast."

"Hey, I helped, didn't I?"

"Are you asking or-"

"Mirajane-"

"I'm getting up," she sighed. "Just in a minute, huh?"

Tilting his head down, he watched her for a moment before saying, "I shouldn't have freaked out on you, Mira. I know that you like simple things."

"You don't mean simple so don't say that. Call it what you think it is."

"Fine. You like...childish things. But it's what I love about you. You...you're literally my other half. That's what makes what we have so special."

"Awe."

Nodding, he said, "I tried to put up with it, you know? The...Snow Laxus. But I couldn't and I just-"

"You don't have to explain anymore. It's okay." Kissing his chest, she mumbled against it, "What do you want for lunch?"

"Whatever you want, demon." He'd wrapped an arm around her then though and didn't slacken the grip in the slightest. "And maybe one day we can…try and build one together. I mean, I know that they're fake and not real and that they can't hurt me, but I just-"

"We'll do whatever you need." She finally fought her way out of his hold, moving to get to her feet as well. "Right now though, this week, on this trip, we're not going to talk about it anymore."

He couldn't help it; he just had to grin. "You're the best, demon."

"We are having a snowball fight though. You can deal with that, right?"

"Yeah, Mira, of course."

"Well, I just meant that snowballs are just, like, tiny parts of a snowman. I mean really, you could make a tiny snowman out of them, so- And judging by your face, I should stop talking."

Laxus only rolled on the bed then, to bury his head in a pillow. Against it came his muffled reply of, "Maybe we could just hang out inside all week. You think, demon?"

Grinning herself then, she only said, "It's whatever you want, dragon."

Kinda loose on the danger prompt, but Laxus sorta felt like he was in danger. And Snow Laxus was definitely in danger, so...