The Center Fold

In which Laxus and Mira discuss her career at Sorcerer Weekly.

Here's the MiraXus I promised! For the record, I started this the same day I uploaded the Gruvia shot, it's just… Dang, dialog is hard.

And this is a long update, so there!

WARNING: MIRA IS REALLY IMMATURE FOR CERTAIN PARTS OF THIS FIC, BUT THERE ARE REASONS FOR THAT.

BEAR WITH ME ON IT.

Beep, beep, beep, beep.

The Lightning Dragon Slayer reached up and turned off his alarm clock. 5:00 am. He kicked the covers off and got up to do his usual morning workout:

One hundred and fifty push ups with an extra hundred pounds strapped to his back, two hundred sit ups and five hundred jumping jacks.

Before Breakfast.

This having been done, Laxus then showered and set about preparing his morning meal. After thirty minutes, five eggs, a banana, two slices of multigrain toast, and a cup of black coffee, he was out the door and headed to the guild. The sunrise had turned the early April morning sky into a beautiful masterpiece. Ya know, if ya cared about that kinda thing.

It wasn't until he passed a newsstand a few blocks away from the guild that the Slayer's day started to leave a sour taste in his mouth.

Because that was when he realized it was Sunday. Which meant that the latest edition of Sorcerer Weekly had hit the shelves.

He almost didn't look. He tried to keep walking, but he had to check it. Hesitantly, he picked it up and turned to the Center Fold. Just to see what kind of trouble he was going to have with Mira's admirers this week.

And there she was.

Very provocatively, even by Sorcerer Weekly's standards.

In that instant, he'd enjoyed himself. Until he remembered that, with a few exceptions, like Natsu,(who was clueless) Gray, (Who didn't see scantily clad women as something to be all excited about) Gajeel, (He and McGarden were really serious, it seemed,) and Elfman (Because only sickos seek out, ahem, pictures of their siblings) all the other "mature" guys in FairyTail read the magazine.

"Oh, Hell no!" He murmured. "Not while I'm breathin'!"

Of course, he'd always hated how the other mages went crazy over Mira anyway, but this

This crossed the line.

Nobody was allowed to look at his Mira like this.

On a possessive impulse, Laxus bought the entire stock of SW. The salesman looked at him quizzically, but he didn't turn down the jewels the blonde shoved at him.

The Dragon Slayer detoured back to his apartment and deposited the stack on the dinning room table. He opened the top issue back up to the center fold. Ripping it out with a swift tug, he stuffed the paper under his mattress, and threw the rest of the offending material into the fireplace, along with the other copies, burning them to ash.

Needless to say, he was extremely bothered when he reached the guildhall, an hour later than usual…

To see that all of the guild's SW readers…

Already had a copy.

The young man gritted his teeth out of sheer and barely controlled rage.

"Good morning, Laxus!" Called a cheerful Mira from behind the counter.

At her voice, his vision tunneled, and he walked over and sat at his usual place at the bar. Plopped at it, really. "Good morning, Mirajane." He replied, trying for her sake to achieve something akin to a cheerful tone himself.

"What's on your mind?" She asked.

"Nothing," he replied, not looking up, "just tired."

"Oh, so that's why you're late this morning. You must have overslept" She reasoned, and Laxus let it pass without a comment.

You see, Laxus definitely wasn't the type to wear his heart on his sleeve. This being the case, he had not told Mira anything about his feelings for her, ever. It hadn't even crossed his mind. He certainly wasn't about to voice his opinion on her latest photoshoot.

He didn't wanna even think about it. He just sat there, head resting lightly on the counter, wrapping and unwrapping his fingers from around his mug of cider. Something inside him wouldn't let him move otherwise. He was subconsciously enjoying the fact that the whole bar smelled like Mira, and he didn't move until she spoke to him again.

"Oh, Laxus?"

"Hhmn?"

"Do you have anything planned for this afternoon?"

He picked up his head. "No… Why?"

"I just have to go out, and I was hoping you'd watch Cana and make sure she doesn't drink the bar dry while I'm gone."

"Oh… Yeeaahh, sure…" He tried to sound indifferent.

"Thanks. I should be back in a few hours." She gathered up her purse and coat, and wandered out of the guild, stopping every so often to chat quickly with Lucy and some of the other girls around the room.

Laxus sat there for a few minutes after Mira's exit. He rose, and decided to stay close to the bar so that he could still breath in Mira's wonderful s- ah, to keep an eye on Cana! Uh, yeah, that was it! To keep an eye on Cana!

He found the bikini clad mage sitting with Macow and Wakaba, drinking and not paying attention to her companions. Which was evidently fine with them, as both men were throughly engrossed in...

You guessed it.

The latest edition of Sorcerer Weekly.

Stay calm. Be cool, the Lightning Dragonslayer reminded himself. But still… He had to invent a reason for them to get rid of their magazine.

He refilled his mug and and wandered over.

"Hey Laxus," said Cana as he sat beside her, across from his true targets.

He nodded in greeting. Then turned in reaction to the first moderately loud noise from across the guild, "accidentally" knocking over his cider, and spilling it all over Macow, Wakaba, and more importantly…

Their SWs.

"Oh crap!" He said, feigning surprise. The blonde reached over and grabbed a towel of the bar and mopped up the mess, scooping up the soaked magazines and depositing them into the nearest garbage can.

This started the Dragonslayer off on a mini crime spree through the guild. Inventing reasons to dispose of the material he inexplicably had become so protective of.

It wasn't long before Elfman caught on to what Laxus was trying to do, and started to do the same. (He hated Mira's continuing appearances in the publication as well.)Together, they slowly but aggressively purged the guild.

As one might imagine, it was only a matter of time before a huge fight broke out between the pair and Sorcerer's disgruntled readers. The blonde wasn't sure were McGarden was, but at some point, Redfox joined the fray, ripping the serial to shreds, just to be one of the underdogs.

As the dust settled, Laxus snatched one of the last magazines from the clutches of a fallen brawler.

Mirajane was standing in the doorway.

She was not happy.

The rest of the guild held it's breath.

"Ah, shit…" Laxus found himself searching for an explanation, but couldn't find one the take-over mage would have found acceptable. "Um…"

The white haired woman picked her way across the battleground and stood before the blonde. Where the Hell was Elfman, anyways?

"Well?" Asked Mira, gesturing to the chaos. She took the booklet from him. "A magazine, Laxus?!" She demanded, raising her voice for the first time. "You.." Her voice lowered to normal once more, "nearly brought the guild down over a magazine?"

The Dragonslayer remained silent, but he still held her icy gaze. "I-"

"You know what?" She interrupted, "I don't want to hear it." She bent down, picked up a stool from the floor, and set it upright. She crossed the room to the bar and retrieved a broom, sweeping up the shattered glass of one of the windows.

"Well? Why are you all standing around? Let's get this mess cleaned up." She had addressed everyone, but her eyes remained fixed on Laxus. He found himself filled with the nearly overwhelming desire to kiss her angry face and pray that that changed her mood. Wait, what?

The rest of the guild began to move to restore order. Makarov appeared at the railing of the loft.

" I need to see all Dragonslayers in my office immediately, please!"

"Oh, come on!" Natsu yelled. He and the rest of his team had apparently just returned from their most recent job. He stood in the doorway, surveying the carnage. "I DIDN'T EVEN GET TO FIGHT THIS TIME, GRAMPS!" He joined Laxus, Gajeel, and Wendy in the trek up the stairs.

"What happened?" Natsu whispered.

"Shut up." Laxus shot back.

"Oh, you're the one he's mad at. Whatcha do?"

"Shut… UP." The Lightning and Iron Dragonslayers growled.

"Ah, both of you…" Their Fire counterpart murmured as the group filed into the room.

"Natsu, please?" Begged Wendy, her small frame trembling in fear of the unknown.

"Everyone take a seat." Said Master, and they, of course, obeyed. The old man walked over and sat behind his desk, the majority of which was covered by a massive, ancient tome with a crumbling binding.

"Been reading your old diary Gramps?" Natsu asked with slightly hesitant laughter. "Any good poems about Porlyusica in there?"

Makarov gave him a nearly crippling stink eye. "This, if you will kindly pay attention," he said in a manner as short as he, "Is the Book of Mystic Beasts. It chronicles the lifestyle and history of many creatures. Including Dragons." He paused with a slightly dramatic air.

"Wait," said Laxus, sitting forward in his chair, "you mean this isn't about me nearly destroying the guild?"

"Be assured," Makarov warned, "Your shenanigans play a role in this. In fact, this may do more to explain them than you are capable of."

His children waited expectantly.

"This particular passage, for instance," Makarov continued, "Speaks of a strange phenomenon that occurs in all Dragons, once they are of age." He looked down at the page and read aloud, " 'During the Spring, for about one moon's time, Dragons, and by extension, Dragonslayers, experience heightened emotional responses to various situations. This is especially true of romantic situations. Dragons and Slayers are similar in many ways, one of which being their lifelong monogamous commitments.' "

At the mention of romantic situations, Laxus and the other three Slayers blanched.

" 'At this time of year, adult Dragons and Slayers enter into a period commonly called their Mating Season, as their heightened emotions largely center around the person of their mate. Examples include affection, protectiveness, and desire to please, to degrees that may surprise them, particularly if this is their first such experience.' "

Saying this, the old man looked up from the text and looked at Wendy. "How old are you now, my dear?" He asked her.

''I'm fifteen, Master." She replied.

"Ah, then this would be the first time for you." He said, almost to himself.

"What does any this have to do with nearly tearing down the guild?" Laxus asked, growing impatient.

"Was destroying the only real home you've ever known your design?" asked Makarov, "Or was something else your goal?"

"Hold it." Said Gajeel, speaking for the first time since they'd entered the room. "I know what you're sayin' old man, but then, why would I get involved? I mean, Mira's nice and all, but I like Shrimp jus' fine. For Elfman, it makes sense, he's her brother. But me… Normally I couldn't care less, but…"

"Your instincts," Gramps replied, "made you keenly aware of your fellow Slayer's suffering. You knew how you would react under similar circumstances, and came to Laxus's aid."

The studded Slayer nodded in understanding.

"So, you called us up here to give us a history lesson and to tell us to amp down?" Asked Natsu.

"To the first, yes. To the second, partially, and thirdly, I also wish to warn you."

The others waited. Makarov turned his gaze back to the volume before him and continued to read to them.

" 'As this season progresses, affected Dragons and Slayers' attachment to their mates becomes more extreme. To be separated from them for lengthy periods, or for their mate to be displeased with them in any way, for any reason, causes the Dragon and Slayer alike to experience high levels of nervousness, short temper, and in some cases, depression, leading to self harm and even suicidal tendencies.' So you see children," he looked at each of them in turn, but fixed his eyes on his grandson, "It is imperative that you behave wisely during this time; for your own safety as well as the safety of those around you. My first priority is the wellbeing of my children." Makarov rose from his chair. "Go on, get back downstairs and help with the clean-up."

Gajeel and the other two rose and milled out of the office, Natsu still complaining about having done nothing wrong, but Laxus stayed seated, his head in his hands. Master placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder.

"She hates me, Gramps." The Dragonslayer moaned.

"No, I don't think that she does." He replied. "I think she's angry because you confuse her. You need to come clean with her. Tell her why you did what you did, and hope she understands."

"That's kinda a gamble, dontcha think?"

"Yes. But that's love, my boy." Said Makarov sympathetically.

"I guess." Laxus rose, absentmindedly wiped his hands on his jeans. He made his way down the stairs with a kind of sullen apprehension.

Downstairs, cleanup was in progress, and Laxus went around quietly setting tables upright and mopping up spills.

It took only a couple minutes for the young man to realize that Mirajane was not anywhere to be seen. He wanted nothing more than to drop his work and go find her to apologize, but he knew it would mean more to her for him to, for the moment, keep his distance.

He was headed past the ladies restroom, in search of the mop, when he heard Lisanna's voice say: "…just a big dummy, Sis. It'll be okay."

Laxus pressed his ear to the door of the bathroom, listening intently.

"Yeah," came Lucy's voice, "They all are. You never really know why guys do anything. He probably didn't mean any real harm."

Then came Mira's reply, her voice so fragile and tight from crying, Laxus froze with a heart full of self-loathing.

"If he had a problem with it, why didn't he talk to me about it? Why is this the first time he's done anything about it? Why does it suddenly matter to him?"

Laxus was about to walk away, let her calm down before he approached the subject. But then she added, "Do I even matter to him, or does he just like the control of leaving me hanging and confused?"

Before he knew what was happening, the Dragonslayer burst into the ladies' room. The three girls screamed, Lisanna and Lucy standing on either side of Mira, who sat on the counter, all their eyes wide in shock.

"What do you want?" Asked Mira, resuming her icy tone from earlier.

Laxus bit his lip a second before answering. "That's not fair." He said.

"You know what I don't think is fair?" She demanded, "Tearing your guild-mates apart over a magazine that you suddenly decided to hate."

"It was anything but sudden."

She raised her eyebrows. "So you've never supported me in that? Because I seem to recall you buying quite a few copies for somebody who hates my work so much."

"Is that what you think? You think I don't like it? I love it. You look good!"

"You bastard." She spat.

"Um, Sis…?" Lisanna tried.

"SHUT UP!" Mira bellowed, not even looking at her.

"I think," said Laxus to the other two young women, "it would be in the best interest of the world at large for the two of you to let us finish this in private." They took the hint and left.

Returning his attention to the beautiful demon before him, the Lightning Slayer braced himself. "Alright," he told her, "What've you got? I'm ready."

The white haired woman scoffed. "First off, you don't have to treat me like some ill behaved child. You're the one who is ill behaved. Second, I am extremely upset with you because I thought I could trust you to be in charge while I was gone into town, and instead, I come home to the sight of you, Gajeel and Elfman inciting a massive brawl over a magazine, acting like twelve year old bullies stealing other kids comic books. Yeah, real mature."

Laxus decided to let that pass without comment. "And then…?"

"THEN," she continued, "I get really confused, because it makes no sense to me as to why you would suddenly do this. The others reading Sorcerer never bothered you before."

"Oh, it's always bugged me." Said the blonde.

"You never said anything about it!" She yelled, sliding off of the counter. "And why, if it bugged you so much, would you go on reading it? And why are you allowed to read it, but no one else it?"

"Because-"

"Because what, Laxus?" She was getting into his face now. Her close proximity caused him to twitch a little as he tamed the urge to reach out and hug her until she hugged him back, even if it took a thousand years. He drew in a breath of her scent and bit back a curse.

Of course! He hadn't noticed it this morning, but as she stared him down with a glare that made most men cower and beg for mommy, he realize why she was being so… Difficult.

She was on her period. He was sure of it.

He could smell the pheromones she was giving off much more clearly than he'd been able to earlier that day.

"Why?!" Mira demanded again. She was so close, their noses were nearly touching. "Why do you hate me so much, you take some kind of sadistic pleasure in confusing me?" She was tearing up again, and Laxus did the only thing he could think of.

He kissed her.

Hard.

"Understand now?" He asked when they parted, "Or would you like me to elaborate?"

She stared, dumbfounded.

"I'm sorry." The blonde started. "I'm sorry that I let you down when you trusted me. I'm sorry I'm so confusing. Trust me, half the time, I didn't even understand."

She didn't move.

"I'm going through some Dragonslayer thing Gramps called 'Mating Season'. We become really protective of things that are important to us… especially The ones we love. And I love you Mira. I don't know, but I just couldn't take the other guys getting to look at you like that anymore. I've always be bothered by it, but this whole 'season' thing has made that jealousy unbearable. My brain shut off, and my instincts came on and…. And…''

He trailed off because a smile had slowly stretched across her porcelain face.

And wonder of wonders… She kissed him back. She slipped her perfect hands into his jacket and across the young man's chest. Laxus wrapped the flaps of his coat around them both tightly, deepening the kiss. Every fiber of the Lightning Dragonslayer's body heaved a sigh of relief.

"I love you too, Laxus." She murmured as they parted for air.

"I'm glad, because if you didn't, I would have just made a fool of myself for no reason."

She giggled a little at that, (she had a friggin' adorable giggle,) and then seemed thoughtful.

"What's that face for?" The blonde asked.

"You said this was a Dragonslayer thing…" Replied Mira.

"Yeah, why?"

"It's just that that means everybody else… Natsu and Lucy, Gajeel and Levy, oh, and Wendy! This is so fantastic, I'll finally be able to see my beloved-"

"Don't even start!" Laxus warned. "You are not to interfere with the others' relationships at all!"

"But, but… My OTPs!"

"Will come together with or without your help." The blonde supplied. "The same things happening to me are happening with them. They will take care of it themselves."

"But you mean I can't matchmake at all?" Asked Mira indignantly.

"Not even once. Just sit back and watch." He pulled her as close he could, and Mira rested her head against his chest, fiddling with the collar of his partly unbuttoned shirt.

"You're no fun." She complained.

"But you love me anyway," Laxus pointed out.

"I guess you're right." Said the white haired woman.

He smiled and tilted her head up to kiss her lips once more.

Maybe this Mating Season thing wasn't such a bad idea.

DANG, DIALOGUE IS HARD!

Ok, obviously, this was a Dragon Mating Season fic. I plan to do at least one focused on each of the Slayer ships.

Again, I'm sorry this one was late, BUT DID YOU NOTICE HOW FREAKISHLY LONG THIS ONE WAS?!

HAPPY BELATED HALLOWEEN.

Lala Salaam,

Mwali-chan