I want to say thank you for all the reviews and for reading my story.
This chapter is full of conversation and kind of prologue for the next couple. We will get more action in the next chapter (and also the conclusion for Ever and Elfman's story). May you also enjoy this chapter :)
And of course all the editing credits goes to my beta reader nalufever!
Miyuu
V - Flowers for My Man (Part 2)
Evergreen pushed Fairy Heart's door open and entered the shop. Greeted by colorful flowers and various fragrance, she looked around for a certain silvery-white haired florist.
"Evergreen?" A voice from her right called her name. She turned to see the person that she was looking for.
"Mirajane."
Mira sauntered to Evergreen, a smile on her face. "Hello. What kind of help can I offer you?"
"I want to buy some flowers, but before that, I want talk to you about something," said Evergreen firmly. "Can we talk in private?"
Mira had a hunch what Evergreen wanted to talk about. "We can talk at the back. Follow me."
They went into the inner part of the shop. Inside the meeting room Evergreen saw Mavis and Erza (they were in the same gang also) sitting around a table. "Erza, Mavis-san, can you leave the two of us alone?"
Erza and Mavis could sense the vibe between Evergreen and Mira. The two got up from their seats without needing to be asked twice.
"We'll be at the front," said Erza while sending Mira a sign with her eyes that if she needed any help she knew where to find her. Mira nodded, understanding Erza perfectly.
"Evergreen," Mavis called the police woman, "do your best!"
Evergreen had told Mavis about her problem before. She didn't have any close female friends. None. And she didn't want to talk about this to her teammates; all of them were men and what she wanted was a woman's point of view. Mavis at least was known for her wise and great insight on many things. She remembered Mavis' words from Fairy Tail's gathering a week ago. "You are not alone. We are all members of Fairy Tail. All of us are friends, you and I are nakama. Don't hesitate to ask for our help if you need something, whatever it is."
Evergreen nodded to show Mavis she understood her message. "Thank you, Mavis-san," said Evergreen gratefully. After that, Erza and Mavis exited the room, leaving Mira and Evergreen alone.
"Have a seat please," offered Mira.
"Thanks, but I prefer to stand," said Evergreen. Although she looked calm, inside she was very nervous. She couldn't sit and act calm. It was a big thing already to come and meet Mira personally. She was fed up with Elfman. He was a man for God's sake! All the manly things that he always shouted about were rubbish, because in the end the things that he had done were not manly. She had to shove all her annoyed feelings down and promised herself to think about them later.
"Let's cut to the chase then," said Mira directly. "What do you want to talk about? Is is about Elfman?"
"Yes, Elfman," confirmed Evergreen. "But before that, there's another thing I want to ask first."
"I'm all ears."
"What do you think about me?"
"What I think about you?" Mira tilted her head.
"Yes."
"What do you want to know?"
"Your honest opinion of course."
"Well," Mira pondered a bit before she answered. "I don't know. I can't give my honest opinion on someone that I don't know personally. We never interact with each other directly even though we're in the same gang. I've heard bits about you from here and there but I don't like to assume something based on rumors. You coming to talk to me here is proof that rumors are rumors only. You're not as haughty as others think you are."
Evergreen was aware of most of the rumors flying about. Saying she was a seducer, always flirting with men, and that being 'queen of police' had made her arrogant and haughty over the people below her, and many more. Yes, she was a seducer and flirted with men, but it was only when she had to do her job. She was proud of her title as queen of police thank you, and the only people that she regarded as below her status were criminals. She could refute all the negative rumors but she didn't. It was too bothersome and it didn't matter what others thought about her, as long as her colleagues and friends knew she wasn't like that.
"It's a pain in the neck to quash every rumor," said Evergreen. "They can think whatever they want, I don't care. All that matters to me are the people that know me; they know that I'm not like that. And thank you for not believing those rumors."
"I'm also a victim of false rumors. I know exactly how deadly and wrong that sort of thing can be. And I also know that Fairy Tail's members won't ever do that kind of thing. Mavis-san would not allow you to join Fairy Tail if you were that kind of person in the first place."
"No wonder he thinks so highly of you." muttered Evergreen softly, a chagrined smile tugging on her lips as she remembered a certain man.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing, just talking to myself. Then Mira, can I say that I'm not a bad person in your book?"
"You're part of the police force, Evergreen. How can someone like you be a bad person?"
"Please be serious Mira. You know what I mean."
"As I said before, I don't know. What I know is Elfman trusts you. And honestly, I also want to know you better. After all you are someone that caught my brother's attention. Someone who has made him think twice what happened three years ago was not his fault. And for that, I can't thank you enough."
"He's someone that I respect. Someone that I admire. I don't want anyone to think badly of him… especially Elfman. I know there must be reasons for the things he had done, even for what he did to you."
"He did. I know he did." Mira reached for her necklace and twined her finger on the chain before she released it. She stared straight at the other woman. "Evergreen, what do you really want to ask me?"
"Mira… I like Elfman," Evergreen said her confession straight to Mira. "And I know Elfman also likes me. Our feelings are mutual." The feelings she'd tried to deny for Elfman had rapidly grown after he became her assistant. Elfman followed each case Evergreen had to handle, whether it was with Raijinshuu or when it was her own case. He wasn't only an assistant for her; he was her right hand man. After three months since becoming her assistant, they had trusted each other enough to watch the other's back. She thought of him not as an assistant anymore. He was her teammate, her colleague... her partner.
And not only that. She couldn't deny the attraction that she felt toward the muscle man. And he felt it too. He once protected her from a stray bullet, pulling her out of the line of fire. She knew that if they were involved in a fight, he would protect her and she felt safe near him. In the station, the ones that dared enough (Bickslow and Freed) would tease both of them about how close they were. They even went on a date!
"But?" Mira could sense the but was hanging in the air.
"But your brother… Elfman doesn't want to acknowledge his feelings. He even dared to tell me that we can only be friends." Evergreen crossed her arms. "He said that me and him make good partners. And he enjoyed working with me. But that's it." Evergreen wanted to strangle Elfman after he'd said she couldn't become anything more to him than a partner. After all the sparks, the tensions, the closeness between them, he dared to say that he only wanted to be friends. "He said that it was manly to know when and where to withdraw and not crossing a line that shouldn't be crossed." A vein popped up on her forehead and throbbed as she remembered a particular conversation. "Manly, my ass!" hissed Evergreen, annoyed.
One day Elfman asked Evergreen to go on a date with him. The date was blissful and she enjoyed that day very much. He even booked a table for dinner at a classy restaurant. Her heart leaped in joy, she thought that Elfman would at long last ask her to be his girlfriend. A wide smile graced her face for the whole dinner. When all the food had been eaten and they were enjoying their wine, Elfman dropped his bomb. He had asked Makarov to be transferred to another department, he'd no longer be her assistant starting the day after. Her smile dropped and turned into a scowl in a second.
"What do you mean?"
"Ever, we can't go any further than this."
"Again, what do you mean? Don't beat around the bush."
"I know about your feelings, I can feel it. And for that I'm grateful. To be someone that you like is an honor to me… But, sorry, I can't return your feelings."
"...Are you joking with me? What kind of bulshit are you spouting right now?"
"This isn't a joke, never over something this serious. But, liking you wasn't my intention in the beginning. I truly admire you as a police woman. Despite being a woman and someone who's his acquaintance, for me you are so manly. When I was being supervised by you as a new officer, you had me hooked with your charm. That's why I asked Master personally to work under you, so that I can learn more things from you. I never thought that we would become this close."
"Not your intention in the beginning, okay I get it. I also didn't want to be involved with you either at first. To be honest, I kind of disliked you just because you're Mira's brother. But you have proven to me that what I thought of you was wrong. Yet, that was in the past. We're different now. You and I have different feelings towards each other. Don't you dare deny it!"
"I won't say anything about that. I have decided to put distance between us and to only stay friends. It's manly to know when you have to withdraw from the line you should not cross. Starting from tomorrow, I will work as a traffic police officer. This is the last time we'll have together."
Evergreen was seething with anger. She got up from her seat and splashed Elfman with her wine. After that she stormed out of the restaurant. Since then she'd managed to avoid Elfman. It all happened two weeks ago.
"He's a coward that couldn't face his own feelings and preferred to run from it. He has made my life a disaster these past two weeks. I really wanted to strangle him for making me this miserable… No, from making me feel this heartbreak." She had never in her whole life liked someone as strong and as much as she'd liked Elfman. As cliche as it sounded, she realized too late that she didn't want any other man in her private life except Elfman. Working together was the most enjoyable time she'd had. All their banter, their arguments, their conversations, their laughter… She missed all of it.
"He said that I was manly. Even though I wasn't happy to hear that I was manly, I knew he was sincere."
"Elfman is a simple and honest person. And I know that he didn't want to acknowledge his feelings for you, mostly because of me…"
"No. Don't blame yourself, Mira. It's not your fault that this buffoon is so stubborn. He decided all by himself. He didn't consider my feelings at all. I was so fed up and angry when I realized that. That's why I came here to talk you, to ask for your permission for something I want to do today."
"My permission for what?"
"To knock some sense into your brother's head! I will show him how manly I can be." Evergreen stared into Mira's eyes, waiting for her answer.
"What if I don't agree?"
"I will still do it. I don't want to have any regret and won't delay it any longer."
Evergreen's words struck Mira hard. If only she hadn't delayed her decision back then, she wouldn't feel any regret eating her up alive - that still was happening up to and including this moment. But before the feelings could overwhelm her, she shoved it to the deepest part of her heart. That was for another time.
"Then, you have my permission," Mira approached Evergreen, taking and holding Evergreen's hands. "I'm aware of your situation and Elfman. But I can't take any action to help you because I am the one of the reasons he did this stupid thing. Lisanna tried to reason with him also, but he was still firm with his decision. The only one that can knock sense and make him realise he's making a mistake is you. So, go to him and don't take no for an answer. But, don't knock him too hard, okay?"
"Mira… is that an okay from you for us to be official?"
"You heard my words."
"I did… Thanks."
"You're welcome," said Mira smiling. "Then the flowers that you want to buy are for Elfman, yes?"
"They are." Evergreen nodded. There's a saying about Fairy Heart that went around Magnolia: 'If you want to make a confession, you have to buy flowers from Fairy Heart.' That's why Evergreen decided to buy flowers from Fairy Heart, not to mention that Mira also worked there in Fairy Heart. She was killing two birds with one stone.
"AH!" exclaimed Mira. "How about I make a bouquet for you? Just think of it as a good luck charm from me. I know the perfect arrangement of flowers to represent your feelings for him."
"Sure." Evergreen agreed easily. Mira exited the meeting room excitedly and Mavis came into the room just a minute after, approaching Evergreen who greeted the short blonde peaceably. "Mavis-san."
"I see that you have made a decision," said Mavis. Talking to Mira was Mavis' idea. It was something that she had considered to do also, but Mavis had given her a push that she needed.
"I will do all I can to get what I want," said Evergreen with conviction.
"Good to know," said Mavis happily. "You need two people to become a couple. If one of them is unwilling to admit their feelings, then the other has to do something for it to become true. And mostly, that role is always the responsibility of us women. Most of the customers that came to Fairy Heart are women that decided to take action to make their love official. And a woman in love is the most loveliest woman in the world." Mavis' eyes turned soft and she continued her little speech. "Being a woman is something special. We can do most of men's work, but not all of men can handle what we can. Being manly while you're a woman is something special in itself. You are the whole package in one person. Elfman has to be blind if he still doesn't want to make you his. But whatever the result, you are still you."
"Mavis-san is right," said Erza, cutting into the conversation suddenly. She'd entered the room and walked towards the two other women. "You are very brave, Evergreen. Despite all the odd things between you and Elfman, you are not giving up on your feelings. Elfman was right when he said that you are manly. Not all men can be this manly to be honest with their feelings."
"You're a special case too, Erza, being a manly woman yourself." Evergreen rolled her eyes but a big smile was also on her lips.
"I know," said Erza smiling just as widely.
A while later Mira came back holding a beautiful bouquet of red and pink flowers. Evergreen's eyes were glued to the bouquet and frankly, she was speechless to see how beautiful a bouquet of flowers could be.
Mira handed the bouquet to Evergreen. "These are camellias. There's a saying that the camellia is the perfect gift for a man. Red camellias symbolize passion or desire, and pink ones symbolize longing. The combination of red and pink camellias express romantic love."
Evergreen accepted the bouquet and inhaled the sweet fragrance. "This is lovely," said Evergreen, blissfully.
"Your passion of wanting to have your man, the longing for companionship, and then your love for Elfman… This bouquet is full of your feelings, Evergreen," said Mavis and Evergreen nodded.
"Go to Elfman and tell him your feelings once again, Ever," said Mira encouragingly. "Go and get your man!"
"Elfman will know that Mira has given her blessing by looking at these flowers," said Mavis, "He can't run away from his feelings, anymore."
"I guess you don't need a card for this," said Erza, "Just speak your feelings, loud and clear."
Evergreen looked at the three florists in turn but spoke to Mira. "Thank you, Mira. I won't waste the blessing and support you've given me."
"I know you won't."
They saw Evergreen to the front but before Evergreen left the shop, she remembered something she'd planned to tell Mira. "Mira."
"Yes?"
"He… Laxus has returned to Magnolia."
Mira stared at Evergreen for a minute before she gave the police woman a thin smile. "I see."
"Good luck on your confession Evergreen," Mavis waved cheerfully.
"You go girl," winked Erza.
"I'm waiting for the good news," Mira gave a sweet smile.
"Thanks guys. See you later." The police woman exited the building, got inside her vehicle, revved the engine and stepped on the gas to go and get her man.
To be continued
