Author's Note:

This story was written for a request I received on Tumblr: "Would you mind writing something about Kinabra, please? A kiss would be nice, but you choose^^"

It took me a while to get to, but I've been thinking about it since I got the request, and finally got it written up.

I hope you enjoy it!

A Kiss for Kinana
by request

The Fairy Tail Guild had hosted an all-guilds ball for Valentine's Day earlier in the year. [1] The decorations had been magnificent, the food had been superb (Erza had chosen the desserts), and the drinks had been almost-but-not-entirely-free from magical shenanigans.

As usual, the antics of the rowdier mages had been spectacular. Kinana, who had been diligently acting as wait-staff throughout the evening, had even heard that Gray-san had somehow stolen Lyon-san's specially-hired canal boat and then turned it over to Guildmaster Jellal and Erza-san for the rest of the evening. That sounded improbable at best, which meant that it was likely true. In any event, Kinana had been surprisingly uninterested in all of strange (i.e., usual) goings-on. The thing was… well, the thing was that Erik, the dragon slayer also known as Cobra, had arrived at Fairy Tail along with his guildmaster and colleagues. Kinana had known him immediately.

When she had last seen him, he had been taken into custody by magical law-enforcement officials before she could talk to him properly. He had insisted that he wasn't the one who had been calling out to her for some time previously, but she'd known better. She had abided by his clear wish for her not to become embroiled with his problems, and she had watched him go. They had shared a smile then that had seemed to hold a promise - or at least a sliver of hope - for the future. So why had she not seen him since? True, he had been imprisoned for some time, but eventually, Jellal-san had formed Crime Sorcière and he had somehow been released.

Somebody - Wakaba, perhaps - had explained that Crime Sorcière was not like other guilds. They were a guild of loners and misfits; people making up for past crimes that were not easily forgiven or forgotten. Kinana had nodded as though she understood, but she had still woken most mornings wondering if today was the day that he would finally be able to come to the Fairy Tail guildhall so that they could finally be together again, in some as-yet-unknown way. It had been very odd to sense him approaching the hall on that February evening; even stranger to see him looking somehow more whole than he had before - healthier in both body and spirit.

She had waited patiently for him to come find her, knowing without words that he didn't want every interaction scrutinized by the mingling throng. It had finally happened when the expected brawling had begun - and only after Erza-san had departed with Guildmaster Jellal.

Thank you for waiting. I'd promised the others to do my part to make sure Jellal finally took a break and, uh, spent some time with Erza.

The incredible relief at hearing the longed-for for voice in her mind had almost overcome her then, but she had finished serving her customer before requesting a break from Mirajane that was promptly allowed. With a sigh and a slight shiver, she had stepped out the back door of the guildhall into the frosty air.

"Not really warm enough for you here, I'm sorry." Erik's voice - Cobra's voice – had been at once entirely unknown and perfectly familiar to Kinana. It had been disorienting, but she had moved closer to the man nonetheless.

They had studied each other in silence for some time. Kinana had been unsure what to do, or say, and Erik had seemed content to just stand there with her. Eventually, he had given her a rather twisted smile.

"I guess I should let you get back to work – and get out of the cold, too." And then, even before she could react to the terribly common-place and therefore hurtful words, he had flung up a hand and added: "No – wait! Ah, I knew I'd be terrible at this…"

Kinana had stared at him wordlessly, unsure for the first time whether she was wanted. Before, even while he had been imprisoned, even while he had stayed away, she had known with certainty that he wanted to be with her, although the shape of the relationship had been unclear. Somehow that had changed, just over the course of this evening.

"It's like this." Erik had fidgeted briefly with his elegant jacket before meeting her eyes. "We met once, late at night, with the sky practically unravelling around us and chaos everywhere. I was injured and you were exhausted – honestly, what I remember most is your white face and dark eyes. But, see, in my mind you are – you were – a giant snake, even though I had finally begun to get it – that you weren't exactly a snake at all. When we met, before they locked me up, it was so clear to me that you were both a girl and my former companion, who was the being I… trusted most."

Hesitantly, because she spoke relatively infrequently, even under normal circumstances, Kinana had asked: "A-and now you aren't sure who I am? I don't understand. I know who you are even though I don't remember you."

Erik had run a lean, scarred hand through his red hair and looked away. "I just didn't expect this. I didn't expect you to be a quiet, pretty girl and I didn't expect to have this weird double-vision thing going – like, I know who you are too, even I though I've only seen this you once before." He had made a sound between an exasperated huff and an angry hiss, and Kinana had automatically put her hand on his shoulder in sympathy.

She still hadn't quite understood the problem, but that was nothing new. She had always been unusual, she supposed – it had frustrated Mirajane and Cana several times that she had no interest at all in the men and women around her except as friends or colleagues or people who wanted drinks. What she had sensed in that moment with Erik had been something like that same frustration, and it had pained her to be so awkward.

"I can see that it is easier for me," she had told him. "You haven't changed, but I have."

"You're wrong about that, though – I've definitely changed. Still don't have much patience for idiots who get in my way, but… yeah, I'd like to think I'm a bit better than I was."

"I think," Kinana had said slowly, choosing her words carefully, "that you must always have been kind to me, then."

"Hah! Yeah, there is that. I guess from your perspective things are a little different. But you suffered right along with everyone else when things went crazy here, remember? And that was partly my fault."

Kinana had stared at him stubbornly. "It doesn't matter." She shivered involuntarily; she had never handled the cold well.

Erik had reached up and gently taken the hand that lay on his shoulder. He had squeezed it tightly for a long moment, and she could feel the rough, dry skin and the many heavy callouses. Once again, it had been unknown but familiar.

"You need to warm up – and I mean it. Cubellios or Kinana – snake or girl – you sure don't like the cold." He hesitated and then with an odd, rueful smile, he pulled her close, wrapping his arms tightly around her shoulders.

The warmth of him was very pleasant, Kinana had decided. He felt right and smelled right and sounded right.

"Give me some time to think about things. I promise I'll be back to see you one way or another, okay? And if you, um, find some guy – no, scratch that. No guys. Or girls. Just – I don't know how long I'll be, since Jellal can be such a tight-assed slave-driver and we don't exactly take a lot of time off. No rest for the wicked, as they say."

"I can wait. Please… please don't let Jellal-san keep you away for longer than you need to be…"

"I'll do my best, Cu-Kinana." He had released her rather abruptly, suddenly aware that she had pressed herself tightly against him when he had spoken of leaving. "I promise, okay? And I don't take promises lightly, even if I'm not the sweetest guy in creation."

"You are you," Kinana had responded, unanswerably.

They had gone in after that – or rather, Kinana had gone back in through the kitchen and Erik had rejoined the guests in the main hall. For the first time, Kinana had felt forlorn as a variety of couples had danced and kissed and slipped away together. It had never really bothered her before, since she had been quite sure of the person for whom she was waiting.

Six months passed. The quiet-spoken, purple-haired girl had gotten a little quieter, but she still smiled at her friends and did whatever she could to support the guild through all their crazy mishaps. She didn't notice Mirajane give Cana a thoughtful look, when she became more prone to abstraction, nor did she hear Cana murmur to Erza that although she—Erza—was looking happier, apparently other people hadn't been as lucky during Crime Sorcière's Valentine's Day visit.

When Erik did return, it was entirely unexpected, and Kinana was taking a turn at the bar while Mirajane served guildmembers. For a moment, she felt almost dizzy. His slightly reptilian eyes went immediately to her when he walked in, and he gave her an oddly cautious smile. Erik was not usually one for cautious smiles. Wild grins, mocking smirks… that was more his style.

He spoke briefly with Mirajane, who nodded vigourously and all but pushed him toward the bar. Again, Kinana was surprised—to let Mira know about something, even indirectly, was to let the world know (more or less). Erik kept his eyes on Kinana, as though making sure she wasn't about to disappear. When he reached the bar, he found Macao waiting for him, although he hadn't noticed the slightly older man there when he'd entered.

Erik didn't really need to read the man's mind to know that he was concerned about Kinana. He was a little surprised to find out how much the guy cared about her though—apparently he felt responsible for her and figured that since he'd looked out for her this long he shouldn't stop now. Macao didn't say anything, though—he just gave Erik the kind of long look that in the past would've pushed all of the poison slayer's buttons. With an effort, he kept his hands at his sides and his voice level.

"Mirajane says it's okay to take a break, Kinana"—no getting her name wrong this time!—"so I thought maybe we could go for a walk."

With a quick, reassuring smile at Macao, Kinana quickly came around the bar to join Erik. She could feel the smile starting to widen when he gestured at the front door. No hiding this time. That was more than she'd hoped for, really. No, that was a lie. Ever since Valentine's Day she'd wanted something more than just recognition.

It was awkward, leaving the big hall together, knowing that people would talk because they always talked. By the time the big doors closed behind them, Erik could feel his usual cold smirk firmly in place, and he realized that he was forcing Kinana to half-run to keep up with him.

"Come on, let's head out toward the forest," he growled, before shaking his head to clear the residual annoyance of having people staring at him. "I mean… fewer people, better chance to talk, right?"

"Sure."

Erik reduced his stride to accommodate the petite Kinana, taking some pleasure in discovering that his memory hadn't lied—she was very pretty. Not that looks really mattered to him, mind you. It was just a nice bonus.

Once they were well away from town, the poison slayer slowed down even further and started to tell Kinana about his most recent mission with Jellal and his guild. It had been a pretty ugly adventure, start to finish—the dark guilds that got targeted by Crime Sorciere were always the strongest and usually the vilest. His companion listened in silence, although she seemed grateful for his hand around hers during the worst of the story. Eventually he wound down.

"So, yeah—that's pretty much what we do. The truth is, the stuff we see really isn't too far off things we've done ourselves in the past…"

"I see."

"And we don't have a pretty guildhall like Fairy Tail or the others."

"That makes sense."

"Are you listening to me?"

Kinana looked startled. "Yes. Always."

Her companion stopped and turned to face her with a short bark of laughter for the tone of surprise in her voice.

"So. You haven't changed your mind."

It was a statement, but she answered anyway. "No, of course not."

"… Tell me one thing, then. What can I do for you? I don't think life'll be easy for a few more years yet."

"Oh…" Kinana gazed up at him wistfully, thinking that his shock of rusty hair and slightly draconic—or snakelike—eyes were very intense, and dramatic in a way that nobody else could match. "Well, there is one thing, actually." She gathered up her courage. "If you are—I think you are?—saying that we could be a-a proper couple… then I would very much like a kiss."

Very few people ever caught Erik off-guard, for obvious reasons, but he blinked several times before repeating: "A kiss?"

"Yes?" Kinana began to redden further.

Very gently, Erik took her face in his hands, cradling the soft skin like porcelain. He bent his head, inhaled slightly, and then carefully, but firmly, kissed her lips. After a moment, he let one hand slide down her neck to embrace her shoulders, so that he could pull her more tightly against him.

It was surprising, he thought, that happiness could sometimes be so simple.

[END]

[1] This is a not-so-oblique reference to a previous work, The Valentine's Day Community Relationship and Bonding Soirée. That story is best described as a wild romp, concocted between DancesWithSeatbelts (nalufever on tumblr) and myself over the course of several late nights. Not for the faint of heart.

A/Note: As always, reviews and comments are much appreciated! I hope I did justice to your request, Anon!

~Impracticaldemon