"I should have known..." Natsu grumbled as he glared out of the train window at the few people still milling around on the platform. "Why can't these jobs ever be located within walking distance..." he sighed. He had his elbow propped up on the seat's arm rest, and his cheek smushed against his palm. The poor dragonslayer had a few more minutes before the train would start moving.
"But it would take us weeks to walk to Clover Town, silly." Mirajane pointed out, shaking her head fondly. "As much as I enjoy your company, Natsu, if we spent all that time walking, our targets would have plenty of time to move on to a totally different region!"
The two of them were sitting across from each other in a fairly quiet train car, with a booth all to themselves. Natsu spared a glance at Mira and noticed what she was wearing for the first time.
She had opted for something a little bit more practical than her elegant pink and bergundy dress, while still retaining the stylish and pretty look that she had become known for. She wore a tight tank top in the same colors as the dress she was normally seen in. The fabric was thin and form fitting, a soft cotton material that stretched in a flattering way around her curves. The neckline area had a tasteful, pink lace trim and the hem of the tank top didn't quite make it all the way down, often exposing a little bit of her toned midriff.
Below that was a pair of white, low waisted skinny jeans that hung off her hips in a flirtacious way. She wore some stylish boots on her feet, though they were mostly covered by the pants legs that weren't tucked in at the bottom.
In addition to her usual girly bracelets, she also took a page out of Cana's book, and had a pair of silver bands around her biceps. To top it all off, she wore a pretty silver necklace with a blue gemstone pendant that matched her eyes.
By contrast, Natsu just had on same outfit he always wears. He did have his new jacket that covered everything except one arm though, at least.
Natsu sighed again, "Couldn't you just do your takeover spell and fly us there?"
Mira shook her head, "That form requires tons of my magic energy, I wouldn't be able to get us very far, and I'd be exhausted by the end of it." She then started rummaging in one of her backpack pockets for something. "Besides, if we don't take the train, I won't have a chance to test out my little present for you."
Natsu turned his head to look at her, eyes widening slightly "You got me a present?"
Mira giggled as her fingers finally wrapped around what she was looking for. She pulled out a small bag full of what looked like hard candies. "Calm down Natsu, it's nothing too generous." She then picked one out of the bag and reached across to place it in Natsu's outstretched hand.
"Candy? Oh gee, thanks, I'm sure It'll taste great when I end up throwing it back up again in a few minutes." He rolled his eyes, with a huff.
Mira bit her lip and gave him a firm but, playful kick in the shin. "It's supposed to help with motion sickness, smartypants!"
Natsu's eyes widened, he was so surprised by the idea that he didn't even react to Mira's kick. "Really? Like Wendy's Troia spell?" He eagerly popped the lozenge in his mouth, but made a face as soon as he registered how awful it tasted.
Mirajane's eyes widened in concern, "What's wrong?"
Natsu stuck his tongue out immediately, balancing the 'candy' on said tongue to show her. "This thing tastes like a wet fart in solid form!" He loudly proclaimed after closing his mouth again.
"Natsu!" Mira scolded assertively. "You take your medicine like a good boy and stop complaining!"
Natsu huffed and crossed his arms, before looking out the window again. He did as he was told, quietly sucking on the lozenge with a very unhappy look on his face. "Thank you, Mira," he mumbled bitterly.
"That's better." Mirajane added, crossing her legs again with a satisfied smirk slowly spreading across her lips.
At that moment, the train slowly started moving. Natsu closed his eyes in apprehension and Mirajane looked at him, eager to see if her 'medicine,' had any effect. It didn't take very long for him to lean his head against the window and start to pale.
"Oh no, it didn't work?" she frowned.
"It's... it's helping a little bit..." Natsu replied breathlessly. "I don't feel like dying as much as usual... at least..."
This made Mirajane's big cheerful smile return, "Well that's something! Does that mean you'll actually be able to talk and keep me company?" Another short laugh escaped her.
"Yea... maybe..." Natsu had beads of perspiration on his forehead at this point, but had opened his eyes with a look of determination. He could do this, he could hold it together.
Mirajane gave him a quick glance before she reached back into the main pocket of her backpack and pulled out her folded up jacket. As the train started to approach its top speed, she stood up and moved to sit beside Natsu, holding the soft jacket in her lap. "Alright, come on..." She cooed quietly, patting the makeshift pillow.
The sick dragonslayer rolled his eyes over to her before lifting his head off the glass. With a WHUMP, his upper body teetered over towards Mira, and his head landed comfortably on the jacket in her lap. "This is Erza's thing..." Natsu quietly muttered.
"I know it is." Mirajane answered, and started gently raking her fingertips through his pink hair. "She and I have been collaborating on how to look out for you for years..."
"Really?" Natsu was able to keep his eyes open and stay relatively composed at this point, thanks to whatever wonderful chemicals were in that 'candy.' All the attention certainly didn't seem to be hurting, either. His eyes were half-lidded, comfortably, and the rest of his body seemed to relax. "She's great... the guild is really lucky to have you two to care and look after its members so thoughtfully."
"Thank you, Natsu."
"I'm really glad that you stopped being so scary, too..."
Mirajane flicked his ear in response, a devious grin on her face. "You don't think the Satan Soul takeover is scary?"
Natsu's eyes widened and he paused in thought, considering her response. "Ok yea. You can still be pretty scary, but I'm just glad the real Mira became so sweet."
"Aww... Natsu, are you trying to butter me up for something?"
"No! I'm just sayin'! It's the truth! We don't get much time to talk anymore, either..."
Mirajane's voice softened, and she was glad that Natsu wasn't looking up to see the slight blush that had started to form on her cheeks. "You know... I love Elfman and Lisanna more dearly than I could ever describe... but besides them, you and Erza are my closest friends... you in particular, after everything we've all been through... you're practically family."
Natsu smiled softly and closed his eyes, letting Mirajane continue.
"We all had a pretty difficult time when we found each other at Fairy Tail... those years were difficult for everyone." She paused, taking a moment to collect her thoughts. "All of us joined the guild feeling completely alone in this world, at a total loss for what to do with ourselves..." She hesitated again, sighing. "I suppose what I'm saying is... I really do regret how terribly I treated Erza... and how mean I was to you, just for being friends with her..."
Natsu's voice remained calm and level, adopting that caring, protective tone that he sometimes used. "I'm sorry I teased you about it earlier... you really shouldn't beat yourself up over it, Mira. It's like you said, we were all having a really tough time adjusting during those years." He sighed, "You guys had just lost your parents... I had just lost Igneel... Erza had just got out of that nightmare at the Tower of Heaven... Gray had lost Ur, and felt responsible for what happened to her... Cana had just lost her mother, and was apparently struggling with telling Gildarts that he was her father..."
Mirajane sniffled just a little bit, "Yea..."
Natsu continued, frowning at the sound she'd made. "Besides, we were all pretty terrible kids, anyway!"
This made Mirajane giggle a little bit, pushing back the wall of emotion that was starting to weigh on her. "Little balls of hate."
"I mean it! Even Erza was obnoxious with all her bossiness and know-it-all attitude."
Natsu turned his head and opened his eyes to look up at her, seeing the blush and the glossiness in her eyes. "Oh no... now I've done it... I'm sorry!" He started trying to sit up, but Mira pushed him back down again, assertively.
Mirajane sniffed a little bit once more, but otherwise held it together. "No, you're fine, I'm good." She managed to smile down at him, keeping her palm pressed against his chest. She wouldn't be breaking into full on tears anytime soon.
Natsu turned his head back over to the side, allowing her to return to gently running her nails along his scalp in slow circles. "I'm just glad that... despite all the sadness you've had to go through in your life... you still eventually let your walls down so that everyone could see what a great person you really are."
His last comment was too much for her, and Mirajane just started laughing softly. "Ok Natsu, you're being very sweet right now, but cut it out already! I can't take anymore..." She giggled a little bit more, looking away, before continuing. "Why don't you tell me more about your fights on Tenroujima? I want to hear the full story."
The dragonslayer glanced up at her with a smirk, and noticed that her face had become even more red. "Alright, fine. But afterwards, I wanna hear more about yours, too! Deal?"
"Deal."
