Author's Note: This is the first Mirajane/Laxus (Miraxus) fanfic I've ever written. As Miraxus is one of my favourite pairings of Fairy Tail, I really don't think there are enough fanfics around, so I decided to write one, and will probably write more in the future, if all goes well. Hope you enjoy this one.
Summary: After Makarov retires, Laxus becomes the new Master of Fairy Tail. Mirajane is there to help him cope. Who would have thought he had a fascination for flowers?
Fairy Tail Garden
Chapter 4:
Look Passed Those Thorns
I'm not very good just yet, but…I'll try my best…
It was now 8:00 am in the morning. Laxus pulled out the big red chair in front of the desk in front of him and sat down, waiting for Makarov to finish taking out some files he had stored inside his desk drawer. He yawned.
"Hmm… here it is. Just what I was looking for" Makarov said finally, pulling a folder out of the desk and handing it to Laxus.
"What's this?" asked Laxus, as he flipped through the pages. "It's a couple of documents I need you to sign." Makarov stated. "I've already signed it myself…basically it's a file that once signed, by you and me, confirms that you have become the new guild master. I won't get into the petty details; you can read up on it yourself later."
"Oh…I see." Laxus looked disappointingly at the files in front of him. He then took the stamp that lay on the right side of the desk and stamped each place that needed to be signed. He wasn't the least bit in the mood, but Laxus couldn't help but admire it. The stamp was a rare magical item in Magnolia. Depending on who is in direct contact with the stamp at any given moment, the name on the stamp would change instantly to the user's name. So, in other words, right now, the stamp had said "Laxus Dreyar". He put the stamp back on the desk.
"Are you still not happy with the way things turned out?" Makarov stared intently at Laxus, rubbing his chin.
"It…it's not really that. I just don't know if I'm ready to face everyone." He looked away with a regretful expression.
Makarov chuckled, and Laxus looked up at him. "You were always one who was easily misunderstood…and in return, misunderstand others."
Laxus looked on in silence. "Soon, you'll come to terms with your own feelings and realize that if you want people to reach out to you, you'll have to reach out to others too." Makarov smiled. "Open your eyes, Laxus…don't let other people's mistakes and words hold you back from getting what you really want."
Laxus opened his mouth about to say something, and then closed it again, looking back down at the desk.
"…Speaking of that…he's here, you know." Makarov said with his eyes closed.
"…What?" Laxus looked up at Makarov, shocked.
"He's…your father...is back in Magnolia" Makarov opened his eyes and started at Laxus with a serious, yet concerned expression.
"What?" Laxus said angrily as he jolted out of his chair. "Why...why would that man be back here of all places…" Laxus gritted his teeth.
"…I heard news from the magic council that he was let out of jail…two days ago…also, it seems Gajeel saw him only yesterday roaming around the streets. What he was doing though, he had no clue." Makarov rubbed his chin again, as he thinking deeply about something.
He looked at Laxus with a serious expression again. "You should be very careful…just in case. I don't know what that man has up his sleeve, but knowing him, he can't be trusted."
Laxus clenched his fist before punching down at the desk, knocking over some papers that were taken out of the file, and Makarov looked on in surprise.
"You…you know how much I can't stand him…after…after what he did. He should have on right to show his face in public again." He said, and Makarov just stared at him calmly.
"I assure you…I still have yet to figure out why the magic council would let him out after the type of crimes he's committed. It makes me more than angry, Laxus…I'm furious." Makarov furrowed his brows deeply and his eyes darkened, almost clenching his fists as well.
" But now…" he walked around the desk to rest his hand against Laxus' fist. "…is not the time to lose your cool. You are now that new master of Fairy Tail…one who can't afford to stain his reputation. You must remain calm in this type of situation Laxus…" He paused. "For…you are not only fighting for yourself anymore, but for the guild…your family and friends as well."
Laxus shivered violently for a moment, and then, finally let his body relax. "I…I know." He said. "I'm sorry."
Xoxoxo
Sigh. Lucy sat at the bar with her chin resting on the counter top, as her arms dangled on either side of her body, with a look of depression. She sighed again.
"…Is something the matter?" Mirajane turned around with a spatula in hand, and stared at Lucy in pity.
"It's Natsu." Lucy muttered.
"Oh, again? You two seem to be getting along fine." She said as she smiled and turned back to the frying pan in front of her. She had woken up pretty early to get things ready for the ceremony of Laxus becoming Master, and had not had time to cook anything yet for herself. So, she decided, while the guild was still a bit empty, to help herself to some well-deserved breakfast.
"We do! We do but…sometimes…today, after the ceremony ended, I went home to have a relaxing shower and head back to bed, since after waking up so early, I still felt a bit sleepy…" Lucy explained.
"Mhmm" Mirajane nodded her head, listening calmly, as she spoke.
"Well…I got out of the shower and finished changing my clothes. As I was about to lie down in bed, I noticed Natsu had already been in there sleeping like it was his own bed!' Lucy exclaimed.
"Oh my…" Mirajane said, as she smiled at Lucy comfortingly.
"It was so embarrassing, and it's not as if it's the first time it's happened too! Mira-san, do you think he does this on purpose just to annoy me?" Lucy pouted; chin still resting on the countertop.
"Well, if it happens often…maybe he feels as if he's already so comfortable around you, he can do things like sleep in your bed. You guys are really close friends, right?"
"Don't say it like that as if it's normal!" Lucy fumed, as she lifted her chin off the table.
"Are you saying if you had a close friend like that – who is also still a boy – sleep in the same bed as you?" Lucy asked.
"Of course" Mirajane smiled softly as she set a plate of scrambled eggs and toast on a plate in front of Lucy.
"Yea right~" Lucy pouted, but took the plate of eggs and toast gratefully. "Wow, thanks Mira-san." She smiled up happily at the barmaid.
"No problem" she replied as she set a plate for herself, as well as brought two mugs of hot cocoa and set them down on the counter before she sat down. "Though, maybe Natsu really likes you?"
"Huh?" Lucy said as she bit into a piece of toast. "I doubt it. Why do you always say that?" Lucy blushed fervently and looked away. Mirajane just smiled.
"You know…speaking of that, Mira-san. You always come up with the craziest assumptions about our love lives, but I never seem to hear about yours." Lucy smirked. "Why are you keeping it a secret?
"Hmm? I have no idea what you're talking about." Mirajane said as she drank some of her hot cocoa.
"Really? Don't you have a boyfriend? Or at least someone you really like?" Lucy probed.
"I won't deny or confirm that." Mirajane stated simply eating her eggs.
"What?" Lucy said with her mouth agape. "If you don't, just say it. But then why do you always bother us about it?"
"Hmm…because I think it's sweet." Mirajane smiled.
"What? I'm confused." Lucy gave up and continued eating her toast.
Mirajane just smiled back at Lucy happily, and then closed her eyes. "I think the thought of falling in love is really sweet. Every girl wants to experience that fairy tale type of love feeling, you know? I'd like to know how it is to experience that type of feeling forever…" she paused and looked down. But for someone like me, she thought. "Well…" she looked back up at Lucy and smiled again.
"Mira-san…" Lucy said softly, and couldn't help but blush. "I think that's beautiful." She smiled.
Mirajane smiled back. "Mm. That's why I always pester you about Natsu."
"Eh? But last time you said that Gray has a secret crush on Cana, even though he didn't…" Lucy pouted. "You also said they'd make a great pair…though, Juvia wasn't too happy about that." Lucy chuckled as she remembered the incident.
"Ah" Mirajane replied. "Maybe you can ask Natsu to the party then."
Lucy blushed fervently once more. "Again with the Natsu thing. I…I guess I still don't know who I'm going to the party with. Maybe…" she breathed out. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to try." Lucy said nervously.
"Good." Mirajane smiled, and then turned to see that people were starting to come into the guild. "Ah, looks like I'll have to get back to work soon…"
"Oh?" Lucy turned around too, and as soon as she saw Natsu come into view, her face got heated again.
"Oh...Mira-san…I have to go! Thank you so much for the breakfast." She pushed back her stool, turned around to smile and waved awkwardly back at Mirajane before she headed straight for the guild entrance, until Natsu stood in front of her.
"Hey Luce! Where are you off too? Let's go on a mission together!" he beamed.
"Aye!" Happy agreed as he flew around them.
"Wha…" Lucy looked up at him for a moment before looking back down and blushing madly again. "Y…you idiot! Who has time to go on a mission when you know there's going to be a party tonight?"
Natsu looked down questioningly at the girl in front of him. "Oh, I know that. What's wrong? We could always come back in time for it." Natsu smiled.
"Well, unlike you, a girl takes time to prepare for these things…" she fidgeted uncomfortably under his gaze. "I…I'm going home to get some rest." She said softly as she walked passed Natsu to go towards the entrance again. Though, before she reached outside the door, she stopped, and turned around. "And don't even think about following me this time!" she yelled and then ran off.
"What's with her?" Natsu blinked, oblivious to the situation at hand.
"If only you know…" Mirajane said out of the blue.
"Isn't it obvious? She liiiiikes you~" Happy smirked and giggled behind his tiny paws.
Xoxoxo
Sigh. I'm so tired, she thought as she walked through Fairy Tail Garden once more. It was now 5:00 pm, and Mirajane had just finished an early shift at work after taking care of most of the orders. She was on her way home, but decided to take the path through the garden as it was a much faster path to her house.
She sighed again as her heavily lidded eyes fluttered open and shut and open again as she tried to stay awake. She didn't want to end up fainting from exhaustion just as she was about to get home.
She continued to walk lazily towards the back gate until she heard a low voice behind her say "Going home already?"
Mirajane shrieked, being taken out of her sleepy state, but turned around to see it was only Laxus standing behind her, with a small smile on his face.
"Oh, Laxus…it's only you." She said groggily as she yawned. "You scared me."
"Wow, sorry. Didn't know you were expecting a parade" He said jokingly, but noticed how teary her eyes were. "You okay?"
"Huh? Oh yea, sorry, just a bit tired." She looked at him and smiled. "I had a short shift today because I had to wake up early to prepare for the ceremony, but still…" she rubbed her teary eyes a little.
"Ah, I see. Yea, I guess the ceremony got everyone really worked up, didn't it?" He said, staring at her intently.
"Yea…" she replied softly.
"Mirajane…" Laxus started, but was interrupted when she said "Mind if we sit for a bit?" she stared sleepily at the bench in front of the rose bush.
"Oh…sure" was all Laxus could reply, and sat down on the bench beside her, awkwardly with his arms crossed.
She yawned again, but stared happily at the view in front of them. "You know…I never get tired of seeing them. For some reason, I find myself drawn to them….such a beautiful flower." She smiled gently.
Laxus looked down at Mirajane and then looked back at the rose bush again. "Yea…." He replied.
Trying to recollect his thoughts again, Laxus didn't understand a lot of things. He didn't understand why his guild mates had cheered him on after he became master, despite what he did to them. He didn't understand why Makarov had put such a heavy responsibility in his hands, despite making him and the guild suffer, but most importantly…
"I don't understand…why did you recommend me to become Master?" He blurted out suddenly.
"Huh?" Mirajane looked up at him surprised. "Oh, that." She looked back at the rose bush and smiled gently again. 'Because I believe in you, Laxus"
"Huh? What does that mean?" Laxus looked down at her confused, blushing a little.
She just smiled again, before getting up and picking a rose from the bush. Laxus just blinked at her as he watched her sit back down again with the rose in her hand.
She brought the rose up to her nose and inhaled, taking in the scent of the flower. Laxus just looked at her speechless, wondering if she was going to answer the question or not.
"Just take a look at this rose, for example." She said, looking at it tenderly. "Its thorns can mean anything." She gently touched the thorns on the stem of the flower with her hand. "For example…a person can be just like this flower; beautiful, but someone who hasn't forgiven themself, someone with past mistakes." She closed her eyes and said softly. "But…just reach out, touch them carefully, look passed those thorns, and you can enjoy the wonders of that beauty too." She looked up at him and smiled. "I did it, and so can you." She handed him the flower and Laxus blushed furiously.
"Uh…mm" He stuttered, for that was all he could muster after he took the flower out of her hand, and turned his head, away from her gaze. Just what was that, he thought. And what does that have to do with me becoming Master? Am I the rose? Does she believe that I'm beautiful? Is that why I should-
"Laxus…?" Mirajane asked, knocking said person out of his thoughts.
"Oh…yea, sorry" He said softly, without looking at her.
"I just wanted to know who you were going to the party with…"
Just as Laxus was about to find the courage to turn around and look at her, he felt something soft against his arm. It was Mirajane, with her head resting against his shoulder, fast asleep.
Laxus just blushed more in embarrassment, as he looked down at the girl beside him, afraid to make any more sudden movement.
"What are you doing, Laxus?" he heard a voice say.
Laxus tensed up even more as a cold shiver went down his body. He turned around to see that it was Evergreen walking down the path through the garden, staring at the two with her mouth agape.
"It's…it's not what it looks like!" Laxus exclaimed as he looked back at Mirajane to Evergreen again.
"Really? Then what exactly is it then?" Evergreen smirked as she blushed. "…Because it looks like you two are pretty darn close there" she looked at the sleeping Mirajane and smiled mischievously.
Laxus just looked down at the sleeping beauty, and sighed, not knowing what to do. "She…she just fell asleep." He frowned. "We were talking…and she just fell asleep…" He slowly smiled now, gently, and contently looking at her peacefully sleeping face.
Not going unnoticed by the self-proclaimed queen of fairies, Evergreen watched Laxus intently and she wondered if she had finally found out the answer to her previous question; just who is Laxus Dreyar in love with? And she wondered if it were indeed, with Mirajane.
There's beauty in everyone.
End of Chapter.
Hmm, lots of Miraxus stuff happening here ;) Even I'm excited for the next chapter. :3 Those oblivious cuties...tell me what you think!