HEYYY GUESS WHO'S BACK
MISS "OH I CAN DO THIS"
MISS "OH THIS WON'T BE ANYTHING LIKE GAJEVY"
I'm really, really sorry! I got a horrible case of writer's block last night and was bribed by Robin Hood ;;A;; in any case, I'll be uploading BOTH prompts 2 and 3 today. So look forward to it!
Also, it makes SO much sense that in a Gruvia Week entry, I actually have equal amounts of Gruvia and Miraxus. Because Mira is awesome, and Laxus definitely is head over heels for her ;)
This one is dedicated to lonestorm! She's the one who got me into shipping Miraxus. There's even a reference to her story The Keys of Fire in here (I think). Speaking of which, I'm re-reading it... again...
Bring Me Home
Prompt: Eyes
Mirajane was having a field day.
First of all, her brother had finally summoned to courage to ask Evergreen out on a date, which had resulted in Freed and Bixlow presenting said manly man with a "contract for dating Ever, so read all two hundred fifty-one rules carefully and sign your name at the bottom". Then, Cana had disappeared for the afternoon, to the great surprise of many, only to reappear with a blazing red complexion and a bouquet of deep purple roses (granted, Mira was a little disappointed when the card mage refused to say who gave them to her, but before she could run from the guild's waggling eyebrows, the barmaid's sharp eyes spotted a fancy golden B emblazoned on the greeting card she was holding). Last (and sweetest) of all, Wendy had shyly given Romeo a birthday present - a blue hand-knitted scarf.
In other words, Mirajane's wallet and heart were both brimming with happiness.
And now, her next target (because when had she not let an opportunity pass by like sand in the wind?) had just taken a seat in front of her and sighed through his nose.
It was all in the eyes when it came to matchmaking, Mirajane thought smugly as she set down a plate of fresh-baked pie and some ice water before Gray's slumped figure. It was always in the eyes. Feelings, thoughts, everything. Eyes were truly the window to the soul - and the jackpot to her bets.
And currently, Gray's eyes were telling her right now that he was in deep, deep turmoil.
"Have some pie," she said kindly. "It's apple and cinnamon, with a sprinkle of heartache and a dash of denial."
"It's what now?" Gray's head shot up in horror and Mira smiled back at him innocently.
"I said it's apple and cinnamon, with a sprinkle of sugar and a dash of salt," she replied quizzically, tilting her head to the side. "What did you think I was saying?"
An ungraceful snort to her left prompted Mira to hurl another slice of pie at the offender. Dusting her hands lightly, she turned back to a gaping Gray and pushed the plate a little closer to him.
"It's on the house, so don't worry."
Gray had pretty nice eyes, she had to admit. Dark blue, brooding, seemingly icy but actually quite warm. Always hiding his emotions from prying eyes with a veil of indifference. They were incredibly different from Juvia's: bright, innocent, and open for the world to see. Yet at the same time both of them displayed the same steadfast courage that made Mirajane laugh under her breath. Gray always insisted with a frantic stutter that he and Juvia were as different as night and day, but they were in truth two sides to the same coin. Both with their own troubles, both with their own joys.
And both, together, with much money to be gained and lost upon, apparently, as Mirajane observed quietly.
So different from the pair of half-lidded, crinkled golden eyes currently watching her every move like a hawk.
"Thanks," Gray said in a dull voice, pushing his hand through his hair restlessly. Mira only beamed brightly in response; her mind was already miles away, analyzing every little detail of Gray's movements. Agitation literally oozed from the boy; even though most of it was cleverly concealed, Mirajane took in his impatiently jiggling knee and clenched jaw with a brief nod. Coupled with the nearly imperceptible tint of red on his cheeks and the ever-growing crease on his forehead, she was now absolutely certain that the object of Gray's fidgeting was none other than Juvia Lockser.
She put together the actions of the last few days - he'd stared at her a moment too long, moved too rapidly to pass her the dipping sauce, jolted back as if burned when her hand touched his briefly - and nodded again. It was glaringly obvious that Gray was - how had Gajeel put it? - whipped. Yes, that was the word.
The eyes, Mirajane reminded herself abruptly, chiding herself inwardly for jumping to happy conclusions. She needed more evidence than that to be able to assume that Gray was completely smitten.
So she did what she did best.
She meddled.
"Are you worrying about Juvia, Gray?"
There. A twitch.
Gray wrinkled his nose and shuffled his feet like a little boy cooped indoors for too long. Mira's smile grew when his gaze darted upwards uncertainly: those serious blue eyes were nearly brimming with confusion, bewilderment, stress, anxiety - nearly every emotion on the spectrum of the human heart. It only took a few seconds, but Mira's instincts finally caught on what she was looking for in the ice mage's irises -
Love.
"Bingo," she whispered triumphantly to herself.
"Juvia's out shopping with the other girls, but she'll be back by around noon," the inwardly squealing barmaid informed him, patting his shoulder reassuringly. "I can tell her you're looking for her when they get back, if you want."
A stifled cough to the left made Mira glare furiously at the innocently smiling (but annoying nonetheless) person's direction.
She sighed in defeat (some people really didn't know how to stop), pinched the bridge of her nose, and turned back to Gray.
Sometimes, emotionally confused ice cubes with no experience in dealing with their own feelings needed a nudge in the right direction. And Mira was definitely more than willing to be the one to help him out.
Gray's jaw dropped dramatically for a moment, and he started to stammer incoherently at her offer, but he soon reasserted control over himself and clamped his mouth shut.
"Uh… sure. Thanks," he managed to blurt out, complexion turning remarkably similar to a beet's. "I - uh - she - see you around."
And with that, Gray Fullbuster, 100% guaranteed lovelorn beyond the point of no return, got up and hurried away as fast as his two legs could carry him.
Mirajane pressed her hands to her mouth and allowed herself a small victory hop. It really was in the eyes. Who would've guessed (other than her), really? Gray hadn't been completely unaffected by Juvia's affections. And now she had definitely proof - AND several new ideas for the Gruvia betting pool!
Everything would've gone a lot smoother if it hadn't been for some irritating person, though, Mira thought. Her mouth twisted a little crankily, and she swept her hair away from her face impatiently. Tucking her little book of placed bets into her pocket, she exhaled slowly and counted silently from one to five.
"Quit smirking at me, Laxus Dreyar," she said coolly, turning around to give said dragonslayer an uncharacteristically dark stare. "It's distracting."
"Make me," Laxus drawled back, resting his chin in the palm of his hand. He took a long draught from his mug and sat back, his expression growing amused - much to her chagrin. Unconsciously, Mira shivered slightly at his cocky little grin. "And what part of it exactly is distracting, hmm, Miss Mirajane Strauss?"
"Nothing," Mira replied, lifting Gray's plate of uneaten pie to wipe the wooden surface beneath. She fixed Laxus with a long, blank look. "And what exactly is so funny about this to you?"
"You wouldn't tell me I was distracting you if I wasn't."
Standing and leaning dangerously close to her - so close she could nearly taste the coffee on his breath - he smiled, his gaze still locked on her. "I think it's funny that you always look at a person's eyes before zeroing in on them. In a way, it's very..." He searched for a word slowly, tongue swiping across his lips in thought. "It's very you."
Do not show any further irritation… do not show any further irritation…
Ha! Zeroing in on people? Mira didn't do zeroing in on people. Laxus was the one who liked to do such a thing!
Case in point, she thought in resignation, as she tore herself away from the looming dragonslayer and began to put some dirty tankards into the sink.
"It's all in the eyes, you know," she said, not bothering to spare him a glance. "I've trained myself to read people through their movements, words, and eyes. Everything adds up to one important thing in the end."
"And what might that one thing be?"
His fingers grazed her jaw (how'd he reach that far-?) and she frowned at him pointedly, only to receive a low, bemused chuckle.
"A happy couple," came the short, taut response. Mirajane cleared her throat firmly and began to move away - preferably closer to Cana, who was bound to start a conversation - but large, warm fingers caught her wrist in a rough yet gentle grip.
Electricity raced up and down Mira's spine in a quick rush of suppressed energy, and she bit the corner of her lip. Hard.
"And can you tell me, oh wise one," Laxus's voice whispered raggedly in her ear, eyelids sinking low and mouth curling in confidence, "what my eyes are telling you?"
The female mage let her voice hitch audibly and grinned to herself when she saw a smug smile make its way across the dragonslayer's face. Abruptly, she tugged her hand away, placing it on Laxus's chest, her other hand putting a gentle finger over his lips to silence him. Something sweet and devious played at the corners of her mouth as she brought her face mere millimetres away from Laxus's, and she scanned his golden irises with a flick of her gaze. Pleased with what she was seeing, she brushed her mouth slightly against his forehead and with a slow intake of breath, she whispered in a soft, deadly voice,"They're telling me I have lots of money to earn from my ships this week."
With a sharp push, Laxus landed quite hard on his chair, a stunned expression freezing his features. A cheerfully humming Mirajane slipped a forkful of pie into her mouth, dress swishing behind her as she marched away.
She let herself smile wickedly at no one in particular, mentally tallying up how much money she was staking on Gray and Juvia. Maybe they wouldn't happen as soon as Cana and Bacchus (and the chance of them getting together was certainly higher than the chances of her marrying Laxus - which was zero, by the way), but it wouldn't take long. The corners of her mouth lifted even further at the delayed hiss of disappointment (and the hazy crimson cheeks) from Laxus's direction, and the memory of the struggle in Gray's eyes as he sat before the plate of steaming pie.
No, it wouldn't take long at all.
Extra note: his eyes were saying, "Mirajane, you're beautiful and sweet and clever, please marry me already". And have I mentioned that I love writing bada** Mira? I was literally grinning while writing the last couple paragraphs.