Arrivals

"Wow, dragon! You went all out, didn't you?"

"Yep," Laxus said as Mirajane grinned at the lavish table he'd had set, complete with place mats, silverware, water and wine glasses, along with the floral arrangement. "Only cost me-"

"It looks so perfect," the woman giggled as she pranced around the long dining room table. "Professional."

"Well, it should," he grumbled slightly as she still didn't even present him with a hug. Just a bunch of giggles. Sigh. "It was done professionally. And you look great, by the way."

"Thanks. I-"

"I mean," Laxus went on as, giving up on Mirajane showing him any sort of affection, he headed out of the dining room of his apartment, off to go put on his suit, "you only hogged the bathroom for the past-"

"You could have used the guest bathroom."

"It's my apartment!"

"That's debatable."

"Given who signs the rent checks, no, I don't think it is."

"Besides, Laxus," Mirajane called out to him as he headed to go use the master bathroom himself. "You had to stay and make sure the caterers got everything right. This is important, you know."

"No, I don't know."

"It's the night that Bickslow's going to propose to Lisanna," the woman insisted. "That makes it important."

It was a whole thing that, of course, she was at the head of. Bickslow had mentioned that he was thinking about it and, of course, Mirajane couldn't let her little sister get proposed to in some sort of simple, trashy way, could she? No. It had to be nice. And fancy. And she totally had to be there to witness it.

She just had to.

Why she suggested Laxus had to pay for it, he had no idea, but, honestly, expected no less. She seemed to think that his S-Class status meant that he was just bouncing around from pricey job to pricey job and, fine, maybe that was true, but they were his jewels…which is why the dragon typically spent them on his demon.

Heh.

But the only problem was scheduling. If Mirajane was going to be there and it was going to be fancy, then there had to be a good cover. Not to mention Elfman caught wind and insisted that he and Ever should be invited and then that meant that Freed had to come and, hell,when Happy found out from someone (Mirajane, totally Mirajane) that there was going to be an engagement, he was coming too. And the dang cat didn't go anywhere without, of course, Natsu, who wasn't nearly as thrilled, and Lucy, who was completely.

That many people with such busy lives, however, did not offer up for an easy planning. Mira's first thought, back when they weren't all involved, was for Laxus and her to take Bickslow and Lisanna out to dinner. Classic. Totally classic. But with so many moving parts and people at that point, they never could get a date or a reservation all timed out, so that left another option.

"My dining room is for important events, Mirajane," Laxus complained when she suggested it. "You should just tell the others no and then you and I go out to dinner."

"You, I, and Lisanna and Bickslow. Remember, dragon?"

Meh.

"But that won't work," she told him simply. "So your dining room it is."

"Do you really want-"

"Yes."

Sigh.

And that was that.

And also he was catering the dinner. It only made sense, Mirajane insisted, as the pretend idea behind the dinner was his birthday.

"Normal people don't pay for their own birthday party, Mira."

"Maybe in your little circle of jerk friends who stick others with checks you don't," she told him simply, "but-"

"Do not," Laxus groaned. "Use those words next to each other."

"What words?"

"Circle and-"

"Besides," she'd insisted with a roll of her eyes. "After the proposal, they'll realize that it really wasn't for your birthday and we'll celebrate it another time. I'll take you out to dinner. My treat."

It actually worked well, really, in theory, as the dinner party for his birthday (the proposal) was actually to take place a week before the anniversary of the birth of the greatest mage to ever grace Earth Land and beyond. After all, it was the only day that they were all free on.

Mirajane stressed too, to them all, that it would be a very swanky affair (which led to many jokes purposely misusing the context of affair from Bickslow, but since he was marrying her sister, Mirajane let it go) which meant that they all should dress for the nines.

"The tens even," Bickslow suggested once, as they all planned it up at the hall. "Boss's birthday and all. Eh, Lissy?"

"Mmmm. Is there going to be beer?" was all the youngest Strauss asked. And Mirajane, with a knowing smile, told her they could have anything she wanted.

Ugh. She just couldn't wait to plan Lisanna's wedding!

Sure, she'd always pictured her with someone more...well...not Bickslow, but at some point, beggars just can't be choosers. Besides, if they weren't soul mates, that would just mean that Mira would get to plan Lisanna's second wedding to whoever actually was!

It was a great plan, actually, when she thought about it. The execution was flawless as well. There she was, in her boyfriend's overly munificent apartment, in a gorgeous gown and her hair done just right (you know, with her bangs down, the way the dragon liked it; she had a good feeling she'd be putting out that night, after all, given what he'd shelled out for the occasion), as well as convinced her dragon to coordinate with her, the colors of his tie fitting well with her dress.

Actually, when she thought about it as she went to peek into Laxus' kitchen and check on dinner preparations, the man had a bit too nice to her recently. Just how much was she going to have to do for him when the others went home…

Shaking that right off at the sound of a knock at the door, she rushed off to go answer it. Then she found out who was on the other side and tried to mask her disappointment. Not that it mattered; the pair was in the middle of a heated debate anyways.

"Damn it, Ever, I didn't do that!"

"Yes, you did."

"I didn't."

"I know you did."

"You listened to someone else tell you that I did-"

"Which is basically first hand knowledge."

"It is not! And I'm a man! I do whatever manly things I wa-"

"Knock it off," Mirajane told them both with a frown as the two only stood out in the hallway, glaring at one another. "Both of you. Seriously, Elf, this is Lisanna's big day. You too, Evergreen. Even if you don't care about Lisanna and Bickslow's engagement, Laxus still spent a lot on us having a nice time tonight. So could you just both try and behave yourselves? Please?"

No. But then again, what was she expecting?

As they headed over to the couch to delve deeper into their disagreement, Mirajane went to check on Laxus and how he was doing. And, mostly, to make sure that he was following her requirements for his suit. They were going to match whether he liked it or not.

"I don't look my best in blue," he told her with a frown as she helped straighten his tie.

"No," she agreed softly, "but I do. And besides, dragon, it might not be your best color, but you certainly put others to shame in it."

Damn straight.

"Of course I do," he said with a frown. "But-"

"This day isn't about you," she added, giving him a hard stare. He liked blue much better on her. He was more of a purple, honestly. "So stop trying to make it that way."

She thought she'd get a snarky response of how it wasn't about her either, but all Laxus did was snort before stepping away from her so that he could glance back at the mirror.

"I do clean up pretty well, I suppose."

"Of course you do," Mirajane agreed as he leaned against the sink, completely enthralled with himself. "And ooh, dragon. You trimmed up your beard just right."

"Hell yeah I did."

"And left all the little hairs in the sink," she added, glancing down at it. "Haven't we gone over-"

"At your place? Sure. We went over those rules. But this is my place. And my bathroom. And I'm still getting ready." He shooed her right back out the door. "Go entertain your guests, woman." Listening for a moment, he heard Ever still very much so screeching at Elfman. "Or at least try to keep them from strangling one another."

Heh.

Mirajane really had to go, anyways, as there was another knock at the door then and she rushed to go answer it.

"Freed," she breathed at the sight of him because, honestly, he was the only one that could possibly calm Ever and Elfman down. "I'm so glad to see you."

"Yes, well," he said as she welcomed him into the apartment, the man toying with his cufflinks while he did so. "It is quite the occasion, after all. Something to see."

"I guess so."

He noticed Ever and Elfman then, arguing over on the couch still, and frowned slightly before saying, "Is Laxus around?"

"In his bathroom," Mirajane said. "But-"

"I shall go check on him, yes?" Freed even bowed to her before rushing off, leaving Mirajane, once more, alone with Evergreen and Elfman. The two had taken then to just sitting there, on Laxus' black leather couch, refusing to stare at one another. Sighing, the takeover mage headed over to sit between them.

"So," she began slowly. "Are you guys as excited as I am? I mean, this is pretty great, right? Lisanna is going to be, like, so surprised. And I'm so happy that dragon went through all this for them. Sometimes he acts like he doesn't really like Bickslow and Lisanna together."

Leave it to Mirajane to force Elfman and Evergreen to share a look.

"Uh, sis," the muscular man tried. "That's sorta because he doesn't."

"What?"

Evergreen was quick to nod. "He's been very vocal about that, actually."

"He just says that because he cares," Mira tossed them off.

"That doesn't even make-" Ever tried, but Elfman only shook his head. It wouldn't be worth the argument.

"Anyways," her brother went on. "What sorta manly dinner did you plan for us?"

"I really don't know," the woman admitted. "Laxus sorta planned all this. I just showed up. See? All that he went through just for Bickslow and Lisanna? That's called love."

Evergreen had to hold down an eye roll. "Sure."

Humming, Mirajane said, "Did you guys want something to drink or-"

"Yes. Please. Anything with alcohol."

"I want a beer. Like a man!"

"Okay," the woman giggled, getting to her feet. "Just let me- Ooh. The door."

Ugh.

That time it was the man of the hour accompanied by the completely wrong woman.

"Lookie who I ran into," the seith greeted Mirajane as Lucy only made a face at the man's babies, who circled around her in interest. "Louie!"

"Lucy," the woman complained, as the seith only shrugged.

"Eh, whatever." Then he walked passed Mirajane. "Lissy ain't here yet?"

"Nope," Mirajane sang as Lucy, at the sight of her, grinned a bit. "I am so pumped for this. Aren't you guys?"

"More than you know," Lucy gushed. "I've never really watched someone propose to someone. And in such an extravagant way."

"Well, Bickslow just has a flare for such a thing."

The celestial wizard glanced over at the man who, at the moment, was busy explaining to Evergreen and Elfman just how hard tying his bow tie had been and how he'd wished he'd had a clip-on.

"You chump," they all heard from the hall as Laxus walked into the room, toying with his cuff links while staring over at the man. "A bow tie? Who are you trying to impress here?"

"Ah! Boss! You tease." The seith snickered. "A man should look his best, right? When he's offering himself to a woman?"

"Can we not say it that way?" Ever asked with a frown. "For the duration of the night? If not forever?"

"I look dapper, thank you very much," Bickslow said as Freed only came over to him to straighten said red bow tie. "Jaunty. Dashing. Like a dark knight who's slowly learning to-"

"If he gets to speak this way for the entire night, then I reserve the right to drink," Elfman complained, getting to his feet before turning to head over to where Laxus kept his display of liquor. "A lot."

Laxus only snorted, slowly coming to stand at Mirajane's side, giving Lucy a once over as well. He had to make sure, after all, that none of the women looked better than his demon; less he'd have to hear about it for the rest of the week from Mirajane and, probably, go out and buy her a few new dresses to top the others on the next occasion.

Heh.

"You can drink my liquor, Elfboy," the slayer grumbled. "But just this once. Since your sister's gettin' engaged and all."

"Real men drink whatever they want."

"I'mma show you a real man in a-"

"Now, dragon." Mirajane patted his chest gently. "How about you go check on dinner, huh? And have you even greeted everyone?"

He just growled though, before walking off to the kitchen, repeating in his head that he was doing it for Mirajane. He just had to remember that. It was all for Mirajane.

While he was gone, there was the final knock at the door, at which, of course, Mirajane found Lisanna as well as Natsu and Happy.

"Wow," she exclaimed at the sight of the Exceed who fluttered in. "You look really stylish, Happy. By far the best dressed."

"I know," he said, landing on the ground just to show off the tiny tux Lisanna had helped him pick out. "All for, uh, Laxus' birthday. Which he totally invited us to because him and Natsu are so close!" Then, to keep himself from revealing too much, the cat looked to Lucy. "Forget to dress up, did you?"

"Shut it, cat," she hissed as he only took to the air once more to land on her head. "And knock it off! I just did my hair!"

"Not well."

"Look, cat-"

"Oy, Hap," Natsu complained as he followed Lisanna into the house. "Don't get us kicked out before I even get my fight with Laxus."

"You are not," Freed told him with a frown, "touching Laxus."

"It was part of the deal."

"There will be no fights," Mira reminded them all loudly after hugging her sister. "At all. There was no deal, either. We're just all here because we love Laxus and, finally, we're all mature enough to have a nice, simple birthday party in which we can dress eloquently and drink wine without throwing any drinks in someone's face, starting a food fight, or making inappropriate jokes about one another, leading to someone storming off."

Lucy frowned. "What sorta parties do you guys usually have? I always assumed you guys were these elite group of friends that had, like, these amazing get togethers."

Bickslow, who at the moment was busy bugging the hell out of Lisanna by continually reaching over and giving her a nuggie, only frowned. "What would have given you that sorta idea?"

Before she had a chance to speak, however, Laxus was coming back into the room. At the sight of Natsu and Happy, he frowned, but only clapped his hands together to get everyone's attention.

"Mirajane said," he began as they all stared, "that since some of you haven't been here before,that I should give you a tour. So the can's that way, the bedroom's there, the dining area's this way, you're in the living room, and I have a nice little study over that way, and an extra room for my weights in that room right there."

"Laxus," his girlfriend complained once he finished pointing all of that out, mostly for Natsu, Happy, and Lucy's benefit. "You-"

"Great tour," Happy said with a nod of his head. "Superb. Real mature."

Holding down a growl, just from the sound of the Exceed, the slayer asked, "Now what, Mirajane?"

"Now," she said slowly, glancing at all of them, "is time for introductions."

"Intro- But we already know everyone," Elfman complained. "This dinner party ain't too manly. I-"

"Yeah," Bickslow cut him off, though it was in agreement. "Like how this is Lissy and you're Mirajane, that's Natsu and Happy, there's Louie-"

"Lucy," the woman complained to which the seith only stuck out his tongue.

"Perhaps," he suggested then, "introductions are in need."

"You-" the celestial mage tried, but Mira cut her off.

"Great," Laxus said then. "Even better. All introduced. So let's head into the dining room now, huh?"

"Lax-" Mira tried, but Ever only cut her off.

"The sooner we get to the wine," she said loudly, though her eyes were on Freed, "the better."

This was originally going to be a long one-shot, but I figured I'd go ahead and break it up into a five chapter story. Just short little chapters. Nothing special.