Each step Laxus took towards his room seemed to say you fucked up. You fucked up. You fucked up. And once in a while, it's change and say, you're fucked up.

You're all fucked up.

Why did you do that to Mira, he wondered at his door. It had no answers for him, a blank, white pillar. He hadn't thought of Mira like that in years, back when she was still a mean girl and he was a stupid, cocky boy looking to be crushed. It was like when he'd been standing in front of her, he couldn't help himself.

He fumbled his key out of his pocket and slid it into the lock. The door clicked open and he nearly fell into the room. He leaned against the sturdy wood for a beat, eyes shut while he focused on breathing. A scuffing noise had his shoulders tensing and his eyes opening once more. There was a girl standing in the frame of the hallway, in front of his bed. He recognized her immediately, she was the one with the drugs. Julian's lap ornament.

He checked around the room to make sure he wasn't anywhere he wasn't supposed to be. There was his bag pushed against the bed and his clothing strewn across the furniture. The housekeepers had come in at some point and removed the mashed out cigarettes and empty liquor bottles, but there was no denying this was his room.

"How did you get in here?" Did he let her in? He didn't think so, but there were a lot of things he didn't know at the moment.

She wiggled a key between her thumb and forefinger.

"Oh," Laxus said inadequately. "...Why?" "Mr. York sent me to say good job on your successful delivery." She had a nice voice he was able to see now. Low and sultry.

"He did?" He felt sluggish.

"Yes." She grabbed the strap of her dress and pulled it down. "He also said to make sure to reward you for not looking at the note."

His palms sweated. "He said that?"

"Yeah." She pulled the dress down past her breasts. They were full and heavy. He had a hard time looking away.

What's wrong with this place?

Everything.

And nothing.

She sauntered forward and kissed him. When her tongue slipped over his she passed something small, round and bitter-tasting into his mouth. He almost spat it back out, but her fingers slipped into his hair and he forgot. The pill melted on his tongue, chemically and hot.

A heat built in his veins; his body hummed with magic that didn't belong to him. She'd given him Magicfire.

Laxus hissed when the first drop of flame leaked out of his skin. It fizzled out before it reached the floor.

"That was tricky," he said lowly.

She smiled into his mouth. "Sorry. I thought you were having fun tonight."

"Earlier."

"Well, it looked to me like you wanted to keep going."

He couldn't deny her words—they were true enough, but…

"We're going to burn the place down."

"Let's move some place harder to raze, then, shall we?" She threaded her fingers though his and pulled him into the washroom then into the shower. When the water came on and pattered against his chest he realized he was still in his clothes, but so was she. He closed his eyes and unashamedly hallucinated a very different girl in his room, one with snow-white hair and a sharp, cutting smile.


"Holy shit," said a familiar voice. "Next time when I'm knocking on your damn door, answer it. I thought you fucked up, man, I thought Julian saw right through you. I expected to come in here and see a damn body."

Laxus sucked damp air deep into his chest. It was hard to move. To think.

A rough hand tapped his cool cheek. "Get the hell up." Then something cottony was thrown over his chest. "And cover up, too, no one wants to see that."

Laxus cracked an eye and looked into Griswold's craggy face.

"Oh, there's princess sunshine." Griswold shoved his shoulder hard.

"Fuck off."

Griswold snorted. "Wake up, it's almost four."

"What?" Laxus asked in confusion. He was incredibly uncomfortable and cold. His legs were cramped, his back and neck hurt, and his skin felt damp. He rubbed his hand over his face. "What's happening?"

"What's happening? You tell me, you're the one sleeping in the bathtub. Rough night?"

You'll be too fucked up to remember.

He also said to make sure to reward you for not peaking at the note.

Broken fragments.

"I don't know; I guess," he said honestly.

"Get up." Griswold left to give him some privacy.

Laxus made himself stand; he felt much older than he was, his body was stiff and his muscles were in knots. He wrapped the towel Griswold had thrown at him around his waist then searched for his clothes. He found a pile thrown on the floor though when he touched them they were dripping wet. He lofted the dark shirt carefully. It was also burned through in several places.

Fire.

His head felt all cobwebby.

Laxus dropped the shirt back where he found it and came out of the washroom. The carpet around his bed was singed in a wide ring. Griswold sat on a plush armchair, cigarette hanging out of his mouth and two paper cups of coffee in his hands. "Here," he thrust the coffee at Laxus then went rooting in his pocket for a crumpled package of cigarettes.

Laxus almost refused the smoke but when Griswold stood, struck a match, and held it to the cigarette tip he puffed a cherry into existence.

Griswold said, "This shit's bad for you, you know?"

Laxus breathed out a cloud of blue smoke. "Yeah, and you're the pusher."

"Drink your coffee."

He did as he was told. It was strong and bitter, warm as is slid into his stomach. He tucked the smoke into the corner of his mouth and went searching for a pair of pants. "What are you doing here?"

"Making sure you're still alive, kid. I take it you didn't look at the note?"

Don't peek.

"I guess not."

Griswold nodded. "Good thing. That's his move. You know what it said?"

"How could I? I just told you I didn't look at the damn thing."

Griswold smiled. "Neither did I, but I can tell you exactly what was in it. It said 'Dear Eli, find out if this fucker looked—if he did, sink him in the deepest part of Scarlet Lake then burn everything he owns. Wipe. Him. Out.' the end."

"Nah," Laxus rebuked. It had to be something more, something more important.

"Yeah, you're damn right." Griswold nodded vigorously.

That was disappointing. "It was a test?"

"Of course it was a test, you idiot. I told you Julian wasn't just going to let you walk in there and start doing business for him. You gotta earn his trust. I take it he sent Natalie over after?"

Brown eyes, flashing teeth, too-pink smiles.

"The brunette from Noir?" he managed.

"Yeah, that's her."

Laxus found a pair of blue jeans crumpled beside the bed. Before he yanked them on he took another draw of the orange filtered smoke then set it down right on the nightstand.

Griswold watched him intently. "She shared some 'fire with you?"

"Yeah." He wanted to feel his palms get hot again.

Griswold saw the look of longing and recognized it. "I know it's great fun, but mind yourself, Laxus."

"I'm fine."

He snorted. "Yeah."

Laxus heard himself ask, "Does it always feel like that the morning after? Like someone's scooped you out with a spoon?"

"No doubt. Magicfire is intense. So's Natalie. Julian knows it, too, sending his best girl over with his best crop, trying to twist you up and get you addicted to his stuff."

Laxus pushed his hair off his forehead so he could see Griswold clearly. "Why?"

"No one's more loyal than a druggy… He gets you hooked and suddenly you need him more than he needs you, so just watch yourself."

"I'm fine," Laxus said again.

Griswold sipped his coffee. "For now."

"I won't take any next time."

"You will if you don't want to be killed on this job. It's almost non-existent but there is a narrow line you have to walk. Take Julian's drugs when he hands them out so he's not suspicious, but never take enough to get yourself hooked, alright? That shit last night, whatever Natalie had us smoking? That was potent. Magicfire isn't like that—that was something new."

Laxus still felt kind of weird. "I'll keep my eye out for it."

"Good." Griswold sat back. "Now tell me, who's the chick? The one with the hair."

Laxus' stomach dropped into his shoes, thinking about Mira. "I don't know." The lie came out easily.

"Bullshit you don't know. I saw the looks you two were sharing. Who was she? Truth now."

"Seriously, she's no one."

Griswold said, "I hope for your sake you're telling the truth—Julian's got his sights set on that girl—he liked her last night and if he finds out you're fucking around with her—"

"I'm not." Just a different girl wearing Mira's face, panting his name with rose-red cheeks.

He swallowed against the memory, uncomfortable. That was Mira. Mira. Except, it wasn't.

"That's good, because when he finds one he really likes he doesn't typically like to share."

"I thought Natalie was his."

"Yeah, and she's a special case. Julian's trump card. All the other girls play by the rules and doing otherwise can get a person in trouble."

Laxus spoke up immediately. "Mira's not his." She was a person. She didn't belong to anyone.

Griswold gritted his teeth. "Don't mess with me, Laxus. I don't give a shit if she belongs to Betty fucking Goose—If Julian says he likes her then back off."

He bristled. "Mira isn't interested in guys like Julian York."

Griswold raised a gray brow. "That doesn't sound like a guy that doesn't know her."

He bit his tongue hard. Stupid. Besides, how the hell do you know what Mira likes? And, more importantly, what do you care if she's hanging around Julian York?

He just did. Guy's like Julian York used up everything good in a person.

Griswold looked at Laxus uncertainly. "If you're gonna mess this up over some dame—"

Laxus picked up his cigarette again. It was mostly ash now. He took another puff, the smoke coiling in his lungs, then dropped the butt into an old glass of water. "Everything's fine. Julian was talking about having me come back tonight." He vaguely remembered that. And something else. Julian knew something he wasn't supposed to. Something dangerous.

But Laxus couldn't remember what.

He tossed back the rest of his coffee—it was nearly cold now. "If I want to get back into Noir, I just go through that bar?"

Griswold laughed and shook his head. "Not unless Julian told you to. Just lay low for a bit, I'll contact him, see what he thought of you. Maybe he wants you back, maybe not. That stunt you pulled with him, trying to be funny wasn't fucking cool."

"What stunt?"

"'Everyone's got secrets.' You think you're poetic, man? You're just lucky he didn't decide to beat those secrets out of you. He'd have a lineup of people just waiting to do it, too."

Laxus grunted. "Doesn't fight his own battles? Sounds like a coward to me."

"Hey, just remember, he didn't get to the top because he was a coward—he just plays smart now. Don't underestimate him, he's slippery."


Laxus had another shower after Griswold left. Afterwards, he dressed and slipped out into the hall. In five meters he was in front of Mira's door. He stood there for a long time, fighting with himself. He needed to talk to her, but could barely get around the shame. The stuff that came before Natalie, and the stuff that came after was clogging his head, that moment when he was in the thick of the Magicfire and he imagined it was Mira kneeling before him under the cooling spray of water. It was such a vivid hallucination that he could make out the individual strands of her gleaming hair, he could feel the damp locks when he ran his fingers through it, and when Natalie moaned around his body it was with Mira's voice.

He bullied down the pang of arousal that had his body heating and knocked on Mira's door with authority.

The doorknob jingled a second later and Mira stood before him. Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail and her eyes were lined with dark kohl. The blues of her irises looked electric. She wore a short, long sleeved dress blacker than night and a pair of cherry red tights. He made a concerted effort not to stare.

"Laxus." She sounded cautious, to his chagrin. "What are you doing here?"

He uttered words he very rarely dabbled with. "Can we talk?"

She pursed her lips and he thought she'd say no. "Get in here then."

Laxus moved past her. It smelled nice in her room, like vanilla. He turned on her and said, "I wanted to apologize for last night."

Mira was quick to give him an out. "You weren't yourself."

"No, I wasn't."

She nodded and stepped away from the door, as if that was all the explanation she needed and she'd like him to leave.

Laxus stayed where he was.

"What now?"

"Is it just us in here?"

"What?"

"Yes or no, Mira."

"Yes."

"Follow me, then." He led her to the bathroom. She joined him, though there was plenty of side-eye to go around. Her space was cleaner than his, littered with body lotions and scrubs and not old clothes and cigarettes.

Mira closed the door and faced him. "So?"

Laxus just spat it out. "I know we talked about this before, but you need to quit Casino Noir."

"No."

"Yes. We were almost found out last night. That guy I was with, Adam Griswold? He knows something's up."

"If he's suspicious it's because of you, not me."

"I don't care who is fucking up," (he did, very much. Laxus Dreyar didn't make mistakes.) "it's safer if you're not around."

"For you or for me?" she asked sharply.

"For both of us. Please Mira."

"Who's going to save you from your bad compulsions?"

She could have been joking but Laxus didn't think so. "I'm fine."

"Don't forget, I lived through last night, too."

When he wanted to yell he took in a calming breath instead. "Just please, call in and tell Julian you can't make it. In fact, forget that, just get on a train and head back the way you came. Find Lisanna and Elfman and don't come back here. Forget you saw this place, and whatever you know." He hoped it wasn't much.

Obstinate Mira didn't flinch. "Why?"

"You've caught Julian's eye." He had a good imagination and saw only Mira leaning against Julian instead of Natalie, sultry with blank and red-rimmed eyes, soft and gently parted lips, too-short skirts and glitter.

"He likes the way I sing." Mira's voice cut into his dark fantasy.

"If you think that's all then you're an idiot."

She snorted. "Whatever, I can handle him."

She had a familiar stubborn set to her jaw. Laxus leaned his head back against the door, searching his mind for another solid reason why she should leave. "There's something else…"

"What?"

"I… I can't remember, but it was really important. Julian said something to me… about you." Fuck… what was it?

"You don't know?" The look she gave him was scathing.

He knew it sounded pathetic. "Last night… was weird, alright? All I remember is sitting on the floor, and the smoke, and then you, and there was this girl…" he trailed off, neck heating. "It wasn't a great night for me. Some things fell out of my head."

Her voice was deadpan. "Sounds like a good night to me."

He tried another apology. "Anything I said or did—"

"Yeah, I get it, you weren't yourself." She sounded pissed.

"Would you rather that I had been?"

Mira ran her hands through her hair. "Just forget about it, Laxus, alright? Nothing happened, so it doesn't matter."

It sort of looked like it mattered.

"Mira—" He trailed off, not knowing what to say or how to say it or what she even wanted.

"Just drop it. Tell me what you're doing at Casino Noir instead. Julian's part of your job, isn't he?"

"I can't talk about that," he said automatically.

"Laxus—"

"I told you, Mira, no questions."

She huffed. "Whatever. If I can't ask anything then are we done here? I have stuff to do before I go in for work."

"Come on," he groaned. "Didn't you hear a thing I just said?"

"And ignored it." Mira reached around him and grabbed the door. "Get going."

"Mira," he bit his tongue, unsure of how to proceed.

"What?"

"Don't let him get in your head, okay? Don't let him try to sell you out. I don't care what kind of money he offers you—"

"What are you saying?" her voice was razor sharp.

He sweated. Her ire was in the air, palpable. Still. He made himself say, "He's got a lot of girls working for him and he can be charming and persuasive and—"

"Are you suggesting I'm going to be one of those people standing at the edge of the casino selling myself?" Mira asked hotly.

He winced. "I'm not saying—"

"Out." She grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him toward the door.

"Mira, wait, I didn't mean that you were a whore or even that you wanted to be, just—"

"Thanks for your concern." She didn't sound particularly grateful.

Laxus shrugged off her grip. When she tried to grab him again he wrapped his hands around her wrists and pinned them together. "I am concerned," he said bluntly. "You don't have to be in this, you can walk away."

"And leave you here."

"Yes." Now she was getting it. "Exactly."

"You're stupid if you think I'm going to do that."

Yeah. Mira did things the way she did them and nothing would change that. He knew better, honestly. "Meet me tonight, then."

She furrowed her brow. "What?"

Laxus ran with it. If he was bringing her back to her room after, she wasn't attracting weird attention at the bar. "When are you done work?"

"I don't know."

"I'll wait for you, then." He had no idea what he'd be doing tonight. Maybe try to talk to Julian, maybe play those tables like he talked about. That sounded good.

Mira wiggled her wrists in his grip and Laxus loosened. She asked, "Why do you want to meet up?"

Laxus pulled away from her and her complex expression. "Just to make sure you're alright."

"That's it?"

"Is that how we're going to be now? Awkward? I told you, I was fucked up."

"Girls must feel special when you hit on them and then tell them the next day it was because you were fucked," Mira cut.

"Is that what your cold shoulder's about? You're pissed I didn't hit on you when I was sober?"

Her hand clenched around the doorknob and her entire aura changed; there was a she-devil lurking beneath. "You should really go, Laxus."

"You'll meet me?"

"Are you for real?" she hissed.

Laxus collected himself. "Julian's crooked and Griswold thinks he's got his sights set on you, I just wanted to make sure he doesn't get any weird ideas."

She rolled her eyes. "In Fiore, men run from me and women hide and you're worried about me in this civil casino?"

Noir and Gomorrah were a lot of things but not civil. "Humor me. Please."

"Fine," she said after a moment's thought.

Laxus almost collapsed with relief. "Thank you. I'll wait around Gomorrah's bar."

"Are we back to not knowing each other?" she asked.

Laxus said, "Best play it cool while Griswold's watching us. Act like you don't really remember me or something."

"You're pretty forgettable."

"Haha."

"I'm hilarious." Mira delivered her sarcasm completely deadpan, making Laxus uncomfortable.

"For sure. I gotta go." It wasn't exactly the truth, but he didn't want to stay there anymore, trapped under her peculiar gaze and living half-in and half-out of fake memory,

"Bye," Mira said and opened the door wider for him. Laxus exited. It was colder in her bedroom; they had been talking in the washroom for some time. An unwelcomed shiver rolled over his skin. Mira leaned against the washroom door. Laxus felt her gaze between his shoulder blades all the way out into the hallway.