Guess who got a new beta! K. A. Carlyle has agreed to give me an extra hand with the grammatical errors and such for my stories. Definitely a big help with making my chapters flow a whole lot better. Please remember that K. A. Carlyle is not in the Fairy Tail fandom and doesn't know of the series, so any mistakes for that is all on me.
Natsu couldn't help but pace back and forth in the airport terminal, his hands sweating profusely as he continuously wiped the sweat on his pants. With a grunt, the salmon haired man lifted his dark green eyes and made a mad dash for the nearest bathroom.
Cupping the cool water in his hands, Natsu threw the water against his face in hopes of calming his nerves. The businessman, usually calm, couldn't help but feel a prickle of nerves crawl up his spine as he slammed his hands against the marbled bathroom counter and let the water drip off his face and into the sink.
"What's wrong with me," Natsu mumbled, glad the room was empty as he continued to talk to himself. "Why do I feel so ashamed, like I did something wrong? I didn't, though; I stopped her and all we did was talk. Men and women can talk without cheating, right? I love Lisanna, and that's that. Plus, it's not like I'll go back ever again," Natsu finished, a strong conviction in his voice as he looked up into the mirror.
"You love Lisanna, and she loves you," Natsu shouted at his reflection, earning some weird stares in the process. With a slight cough, the businessman grabbed for a paper towel and swiftly wiped his face and hands before bursting out the men's bathroom without pause.
Feeling his nerves calm immensely, Natsu allowed himself to grab a cup of coffee, which he sipped generously from now and then as he continued looking out at the large windows, waiting for his fiancee's flight to finally touch down.
"I see the flight hasn't come in yet," a voice observed with an amused lilt in her tone. Not even glancing at the owner of the voice, Natsu unconsciously nodded in response, taking a large gulp of his coffee.
"Yeah, flights always come in late in the afternoon. I wonder why they can't ever come in early?" Natsu said with a chuckle, earning a light giggle from the mysterious person from his right.
"Mhm, it would seem that the airports live to make us suffer. But, what can you do? It happens." Natsu nodded as he finished his cup of coffee, ready to get up and throw away the white cup.
"So who are you waiting for-," Natsu started, trying to kill time by starting a conversation, but his voice paused in a hitch as he finally noticed the woman's appearance. "Lisanna?"
"Actually, yes, that is who I'm waiting for. I thought I would surprise my sister while my work day was slow. Sometimes it's a relief working in the evening instead of the typical nine to five. I get to enjoy all the sun in the afternoon and then party at the night," Mirajane said with a slight smirk. "But where are my manners? Why don't you throw that away before introductions are exchanged," she said with a beaming smile, almost blinding the pink-haired man as he quickly sprinted away to find a trashcan.
Taking as much time as he possibly could, Natsu practically dragged his feet as he slowly approached the bright-haired woman. Taking in the woman's appearance, Natsu couldn't help but mentally comment that the woman was pretty, in a glamorous sort of way. Her bright blue eyes had a spark all too similar to Lisanna's, making it near impossible to deny the two were related. Even though the woman smiled with a bright smile, Natsu could sense a strange essence surrounding her, like she was hiding something.
"You really shouldn't act like a stranger. Come sit by me so I can get to know my future brother-in-law," the woman beamed, breaking Natsu out of his thoughts. Hesitant, and a bit frightened by the woman's commanding undertone, Natsu approached the seat directly to the her left and strongly made eye contact.
"Alright, who are you?" Natsu asked, using his 'let's get down to business' voice. The woman laughed slightly, her eyes twinkling with mirth.
"My, you do know how to charm a lady. I can see how the business life suits you. I'm Mirajane Stratuss, Lisanna's older sister." Mira said with a smile, her hand outstretched. Unconsciously, Natsu took hold of the pale woman's hand and gave a firm handshake before dropping her hand almost automatically.
"Natsu Dragneel. Mirajane, why haven't I heard of you before?"
"Mira is fine, Natsu. Don't you recognize me?"
Natsu shook his head no. Stunned, Mira stared at him for a few moments before letting out a girlish giggle.
"Well, I guess that would make sense since yesterday was your first time," Mira mumbled, "I'm the mistress of Fairy Tail," the blue-eyed beauty mock-whispered, covering her mouth in a giggle."But don't tell Lisanna that you know," she finished with a wink. Wide-eyed, Natsu started to turn red as yesterday's events replayed back in his mind.
"Y-y-you? H-h-how?" Natsu sputtered, only earning a smirk from the silver-haired beauty.
"Now, Natsu, you and I both know that everyone is entitled to their secrets. I will tell you, though, Lisanna wasn't all too proud of Elfman's career choice, or of mine. If she could avoid it, she'd never mention us, but don't think it's because she hates us. She's just embarassed by us," Mira finished with a shrug, "But enough about me; what were you doing at Fairy Tail? I may be the mistress, but I am a sister first."
Natsu couldn't help but shrink under the elder Stratuss' heated expression. Giving a little cough to break the awkward silence, he gathered his bearings and calmly looked towards the blue-eyed mistress.
"I didn't do anything yesterday. All Celeste and I did was talk, nothing else." Mirajane nodded, as if anticipating that answer. "I expected as much. Celeste actually told us of your...dirty secret this morning," Mirajane mock-whispered, before going into a fit of giggles. "Well, Natsu. It was a pleasure meeting you, but I better go before Lisanna sees me with you," she finished before getting off the bench and turning to leave.
"Wait! Aren't you going to tell Lisanna what I did? Why aren't you staying to say hi to her?" Natsu asked in a confused tone, his mouth pulling into a slight frown as his eyebrows started to pinch together.
"Well, we are entitled to our secrets. I think I should know this more than anyone," Mira said with a slight wink. "Besides, Lisanna doesn't want to see me or Elfman, remember? She's embarrassed by our occupation. It was nice meeting you, Natsu!" Mira finished with a wave, her light pink sleeve waving in a girlish flutter as she skipped away and out of sight.
Stunned by the elder woman's sudden movement, Natsu slowly moved his hand in a slight wave, still shocked by the sudden event. Almost as soon as he put his hand down, a familiar, girlish squeal rang in the pink haired man's ears.
"Natsu!"
Natsu turned and barely had enough time to stand as a pale, curvy figure threw herself into his frozen form. Lifting his arms to steady the girl, Natsu broke out into a grin as he suddenly spun her into a complete circle, not even caring of the dozens of stares they were receiving.
"Lisanna!" Natsu proclaimed before setting the girl down carefully. "How was the trip? Did you bring me back anything? How was Happy?" Natsu questioned with a childlike glee, only earning a giggle from the short-haired animal specialist.
"Calm down, Natsu. Of course I brought you something back! What kind of fiancée would I be if I didn't bring you something? The trip was fine, and Happy was wonderful; he finally got use to using his legs and now he can't stop jumping on things. It's almost like he's flying, or something," Lisanna smiled, referring to the cat both she and Natsu found while in Guatemala, who had been badly injured due to a bunch of kids abusing the poor thing. Because of Lisanna's connections in the veterinary world, she had been able to get the cat to a good pet clinic and save him.
"Speaking of Happy, guess who I brought back," Lisanna said in a sing-song voice. Wide eyed, Natsu started to fidget as he tried looking behind the slim girl, letting his childlike innocence shine through like a beacon.
"I don't have him with me, silly. They wouldn't let me keep him with my carry on, but they ensured me that they'd take 'perfect care of my cat'," Lisanna finished, rolling her eyes before breaking out into a wide smile. "So come on; we can't keep Happy waiting."
I want to thank K. A. Carlyle for agreeing to beta and you all for reading and reviewing, it really makes me happy knowing you guys like my work. I hope you all enjoyed reading so far. Leave me a thought before you go. Please remember to vote, if you didn't already, on my profile. The winning story gets to have my main attention until finished. So this means that the winner would most likely get updated more often. Voting ends in December and you all get a chance to vote a total of two times. I own nothing, Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima. Oh, and I'm prolonging voting for another day. So it'll now end tomorrow night at eight, my time. Be sure to get in your votes!
