Disclaimer: FAIRYTAIL characters © MASHIMA
"It's so easy."
…
"Come with me, son."
…
"… else, I'll take away from you—"
death
and
dream
.
.
XIII
.
.
No.
No—
Laxus sprung out of bed. His eyes scanned his surroundings – desperate, frantic. The skies were dark, but a hint of sunlight was peeling out of the horizon, tainting the far ends of the sea in a bright shade of azure.
But the skies were the least of his concerns right now.
"Mira…"
His main concern was the Demon – the Demon – and she wasn't here. She wasn't here. She was gone. The spot beside him was left empty – there was no one else in the room. He stumbled out of heavy covers of the blanket; Laxus slipped into his pants laid forgotten on the side of the bed and stood up. Right as he did, however, gravity latched itself onto him, pulling him back onto the bed. Aching shots of pain washed over his head – Laxus had to massage his temples before standing back up again.
But still, despite his efforts, the pain lingered.
His vision blurry and unclear, Laxus shook himself to stay focused. He would be running downstairs, but he couldn't feel his legs. Clumsily, he dragged himself to the closest wall, using it as leverage to keep himself standing.
"What the fuck…"
Never had he felt so weak in his life. It was almost as if every limb, ever muscle, every bone was rejecting him, trying to kick his incompatible soul away from this body.
In short, this felt like a fucking hangover.
Laxus gritted his teeth. Frustration pent up within, but he didn't care. For once, he didn't' care how weak he may be appearing. All he knew was that he had to find that girl.
Gathering everything left in him, Laxus dragged his heavy body out of the room, still leaning against the closest wall meanwhile to maintain his balance. Out of the bedroom he went, and glancing at the empty parlour, Mirajane was nowhere to be found.
His clumsy feet brought him to the railing, where he scanned the lower level carefully. It was dark, but he could see and yet, still, there was no sign of the girl. Growling with impatience by now, Laxus made his way to the staircase, where upon he was able to make it safely down without tripping or falling.
But he had no time to be proud of himself – he had to look for her. He had to see her, now.
"Mirajane!" He called out again, seemingly with an angered tone now.
No answer.
"Damn it…"
Did she go out? Laxus put his hands on the head of the sofa, once again to keep his balance. His mind spoke in volumes – heading out alone, especially at this time…
It was far too dangerous. Laxus' fingers clenched onto the leather material of the sofa, so firmly, his nails were ripping the hard fabric apart.
He had no choice – this wasn't a choice – he had to go out. He couldn't just leave her all by herself—
Beep.
The door – it came from the door. It was the sound of it unlocking. Immediately, Laxus ran for the entrance of the suite like an intoxicated, crazed blonde man, all in the while neglecting the pain that was still pounding in his head andhis body's unwillingness to cooperate.
The door opened, and appearing behind it was none other than Mirajane, who was absolutely not prepared to greet the topless man running full speed at her. She closed her eyes, gasping, her natural instincts readying herself in a battle stance. But what hit her wasn't the impact she was expecting. Slowly, Mirajane reopened her eyes and the lightning mage panting and worn out, standing before her, eyes sharp with concern. Never had she seen him like this; she had to blink several times to drown out her surprise, and her mouth hung loose only to stammer, "W-wha…"
"Where did you go?!" He demanded.
Her breath robbed away by his tone, Mirajane stared at him, confused. "Where…? I-I was—"
"It doesn't matter!" Laxus interrupted. He grabbed her shoulders, observing her (might she add, rudely) from head to toe – the amount of concern he displayed still protruding. "Are you hurt?!"
He was literally yelling – no, scolding her, and Mirajane had no idea how to react. People didn't scold her; nobody had the guts to do such a thing! "… I… hurt? I was just—"
"Shut up, you could've been killed!" He cut her off again.
"Killed?" It was Mirajane's turn to get concerned. Not so much over herself, but more so for him, "Laxus, what are you talking ab—"
Laxus held her tightly. "Don't go anywhere without telling me next ti—"
"Laxus!"
He stopped. Her voice was sharp and demanding – it was filled with so much authority that he felt if he did not stop, she would – by all means – make him stop.
To say that she was confused was an understatement. Mirajane looked at him with wide eyes, "I'm okay." She paused to let a calm moment pass by before continuing, "… Really, I am."
He scowled.
"Laxus…" She called gently, "What's wrong?"
Releasing her shoulders, he let out a deep sigh. Just as he was about the back off, the headache kicked in again and he lost the senses in his feet. He fell—
"H-hey!" She sprinted to him, catching him in a not-so graceful manner as he was rather heavy for even the likes of her. "Here, let's get you to the sofa…" Wrapping an arm around his waist, she helped him to the living room, sitting him down onto the seat with much effort. "I'll get you a glass of water—" Just as she was about to walk away, Laxus grabbed her wrist, stopping her.
Mirajane, obviously caught off by surprise, could only blink.
… Well, this was quite an awkward mess he'd gotten himself into. Laxus knew that as of now, even though he wasn't looking at her directly, her face was written with many, many question marks. He knew very well that each of these question marks would need to be answered at some point, and so, taking a deep breath, he began, "You want to know, don't you…? What happened at the ball between me and him."
Mirajane stiffened. Yes, yes she did. But if telling her would mean that it'd make him uncomfortable, then she'd rather stay ignorant. "… You don't have to tell me. I don't need to know."
"No, you do," he said right away, raising his head. "It's…" Caught in her questioning gaze, Laxus instinctively looked away again. "… it could be about you."
"What…?"
His grip on her wrist tightened. Laxus swallowed. "H-he told me that he… he would…"
Mirajane stepped closer, placing her hand on the man's shoulder, with hopes that by doing so, he'd calm down. It wasn't like him to stutter and appear so helpless at all.
Laxus took a deep breath. "He said, he'd take what I treasure most away from me if I don't go with him."
A moment, and then her eyes widened.
Treasure most?
Go with him…?
The two statements were surprisingly difficult to comprehend. For one, Ivan Dreyar wanted Laxus to go with him?! As in, to join Raven Tail? It frightened her, because she could picture it happening.
… And then, the other statement – Ivan would take away from Laxus what he treasured most…? This was quite strange, because Laxus had a lot of important things. He had power, money, authority, the Master his grandfather (although she was quite aware that their relationship was fairy strained), and… many other things… probably, but amongst all of these, he… he was most concerned about her?
"I have no intention of joining a dark guild."
His deep voice echoed in her ears, drawing her attention back to him.
"That's why… that's why I think he might actually do it."
Mirajane could hear her heart pounding in her head.
"He might… take you away…"
As he stuttered, her cheeks heated up like fire, reddening, meanwhile, like tomatoes.
"… f-from me." Laxus mustered the courage up in him to say it fully and completely, without hesitation—"He might take you away from me."
And when he finished, Mirajane could picture smoke exploding out of her head. She felt dizzy – like she could topple over if someone gave her a teensy little push. "W-why would you worry about that…?"
"…"
Smart question, Mirajane! Her mind praised sardonically – she could hear it slow-clapping like a bitch in her would. She sure was a genius when she was nervous! Why, of course Laxus was worried about it, this was—
"Because it's you."
—about her.
… Wait.
Wait. This was happening far too quickly. She was still mentally preparing herself, and yet… he already got to the point! Mirajane tried to swallow, but her throat was probably the driest thing in the universe as of this second. She kept her round eyes on him, heart pounding against her chest like jackhammer as the sound resounded in her ears. "Me…?"
"Come on, Demon," Laxus grunted, rolling his eyes, "Don't make this harder than it already is."
Yeah, she wasn't exactly trying to make this hard. In fact, this was pretty freaking hard for herself. "L-Laxus…" she whispered, her heart still pounding madly against her chest.
What Mirajane was about to ask was perhaps the most complicated question she had ever thought of. It was complicated, yet somewhere deep inside, she already had an answer. It was complicated, but somehow, putting into a simple, easy-to-understand manner had never been… well, simpler.
"… Have you fallen for me?"
He stiffened. Eyes widening the slightest, he looked up. The question he had been asking her all these years never left much of an impact on her, yet this time, because it came out the other way around, it honestly shocked him a bit. Laxus responded quietly, "Why do you always ask me things that you already know?"
Mirajane kept still. Yes, she already knew. She didn't want to be cocky or anything, but she actually saw this coming since that night, back at her house, before they left for the mission. He trapped her against the door, sharp green eyes glaring – searching – at her blue ones. It was as if he was silently begging for her to talk to him – to open up to him.
She was scared, then.
Mirajane was scared that if people saw too much of her, if they knew her, or even if they caught a glimpse of the weak girl within her, they'd break her. If they broke her, then she would no longer have the power to protect her siblings. She would no longer have the power to protect herself. Because that was all she was – weak.
And that was why she didn't let him. That was why she had a wall – a shell – that shielded her. She was a weak, little girl, hiding underneath a shell that she had created for herself. It was her last form of salvation, and if she lost that, she'd really have nothing left.
"I have."
She looked up, startled.
"I've fallen for you," Laxus repeated firmly, confidently. "I don't know how it happened, but it just did."
Mirajane kept her eyes on him – expressionless, she waited for him to continue.
"So just…" He had gone back to his hesitating state, "… don't disappear like that again."
She froze.
And Laxus looked away.
"…"
… She would have giggled (no, really. She actually wanted to, really badly).
Eyes wide, she covered her mouth.
Because who would've thought that Laxus of all people in this universe would fall for her? No, wait. It was funny because she of all people in this universe was the one whom Laxus had fallen for.
Wait, no, no. That still wasn't quite right.
"…"
Chortle.
She chortled.
This was funny – this felt funny because for the first time in her life, she was loved. Not the kind of love she felt from her parents, nor was it the kind she felt from Lisanna and Elfman. This was a strange and foreign… a new kind of love – one that made her feel (and she really had no other way to describe this) butterflies in her stomach.
And she really liked it.
That was why she couldn't stop giggling.
Laxus turned to her, annoyed. "What are you laughing about?" He snapped.
His cluelessness only made the situation more hilarious – that was, only to her, of course. Her soft giggles soon turned into chuckles, and before she knew it, Mirajane had to hold onto her stomach as she was laughing far too hard.
He scowled, growing impatient and, strangely, embarrassed at the same time. Was she laughing at him? Did he say something funny? … Was this supposed to be funny? He didn't know – he never talked to anyone like this before, sohow the hell would he know?! Pissed, he grabbed her forearms, forcefully pulling her down onto him.
Still in the middle of her outburst of laughter, Mirajane let loose, willingly falling into his arms because she could not contain herself. Her chuckles then muffled against his shoulder, and she could imagine the man sweat-dropping under such a situation.
"Stop laughing," he demanded awkwardly.
Took a while, and she really did try, but Mirajane's laughter gradually died down leaving the room echoing with nothingness. She shifted, side-straddling his lap, ear leaning against his bare chest as she listened to his agitated yet strong heartbeat.
"If you're seeing this as a joke," Laxus started in his usual arrogant tone, "Then I'll beat you up, because I was being dead-serious about everything I said."
The girl chuckled lightly this time before answering, "I know you were serious." She smiled at him, "I know – that's why it's so funny."
"…"
Mirajane grinned. She didn't realize it, but she, too, was blushing – perhaps in the same shade of red as the man. "You see, you're always dicking around, so I don't really know when you're being serious or not. Even when you are serious, it's hard to comprehend it… which is exactly what's going on right now."
He grunted, looking away.
"Hey, look at me when I talk to you," she grabbed onto his chin, feeling the rough stubble that had grown overnight. Mirajane forcefully turned him to face her.
The arrogant lightning mage resisted, of course, but could only go as far as rolling his eyes away from her stern gaze.
His childish antics prompted her to giggle then, but Mirajane went on, taking control of the conversation. "So… your father said that he'd take away from you 'what you treasured most'…?"
Laxus said nothing, only nodded.
"And automatically, you thought of me…?"
She was still holding onto his chin, so firmly that he couldn't turn away. But if he tried, he'd break out of it easily – not that he had any reason to, though. "Do you have a problem with that?"
Mirajane's grip on him softened, and so did her expression. "No I don't," she smiled. "But is that really what I am to you?"
Her question in reply to his question silenced him. Laxus' scowl was permanent. He turned away.
And the girl took the advantage to continue on her teasing antics. She mused aloud, "So I am someone worth freaking out for to you…"
His green eyes darted back to her curious blue ones, as if offended. "I wasn't freaking out. I was just—"
"Freaking out," she finished for him.
Laxus gaped, desperately searching for words to counter her but ended up giving up once again. Because really, he had no words.
The warmth in her heart infected every action she did because right now, Mirajane figured, she was acting far too girly for her own good. Geez. When was the last time she felt this way? Maybe, like, never. Whether she liked it or not, this man was leaving far too big of an impact on her. Mirajane loosened up, leaning against his chest again to listen to his strong heartbeat.
"I always knew that you were impulsive," Mirajane closed her eyes, "but… to think that you'd come looking for me…" she paused to giggle, "when you're like this…"
Laxus could picture steam bursting out of the top of his head. Yeah, well, fuck. He freaked out, he wasn't being himself, he was topless. He'd never felt so stupid in his life. But according to the girl—
"It's kind of cute."
Yes, cute—wait, what?!
Eyes wide as he gaped at her for the he-lost-count-th time of the day, Laxus froze.
She smirked.
S-she did, Laxus continued to think, she called him 'cute', and god knows how much this girl was into 'cute' things—
"Shut up." He said without much threat.
Mirajane broke into soft chuckles again. The more he fought, the cuter she found him to be.
But he refused to surrender. Laxus looked away again. "S-so, where did you go?" He felt himself stiffen as he spoke. Must be the nerves, he thought quickly.
"…"
Laxus blinked, looking down at her. "What's with the long pause?"
She darted her eyes away from his, face flushing.
Raising a brow, he nudged her. "Uh, hello?"
Still refusing to raise her eyes, Mirajane reached into the pocket of her cardigan. "I…" slowly, she took out a tiny white capsule, "… I don't want to get pr…"
Laxus, being the impatient young man he was, snatched the capsule out of her delicate grip. "Quit your stuttering, what the hell is—" He glanced at it, reading the description out loud, "—Works like magic. Morning-After-Contraceptive—" the last word took the breath out of his lungs. Laxus' jaws hung agape as nothing else but silence escaped his vocal chords.
"… I don't want to get pregnant, so…"
"…"
"I went out… to buy it…"
"…"
This was it – the ultimate form, the ultimate definition of awkwardness. Mirajane was living it right now, and she felt that each passing second was draining her soul away from her body. "S-say something…!" She blurted, desperate for some sort of sound to break this moment.
It happened instantly – Laxus coughed out a chuckle. "… Y'know, I wouldn't mind it if you do get pregnant."
She jumped. "Laxus, I'm seventeen!"
"Yeah, well, in ancient times, girls get married as early as nine. They start having kids as soon as they reach puberty and—"
"Just…" Mirajane interrupted him, face-palming, "… just stop. I don't need your history lesson."
It was his turn to smirk. Yes, a bewildered Mirajane was quite amusing to tease. "I wouldn't mind having kids with you," he continued.
The girl raised her head, glaring at him.
And he prolonged his smirk. "Do you mind?"
Such a random, absurd, borderline-insane question – it was so random, absurd, and borderline-insane that the thought of it actually clung itself onto the back of her head for a second or two. And the answer?
Obviously, n— "I am not obligated to answer," she pushed herself off—
—but Laxus grabbed her by the wrist once more, pulling the small girl back onto his lap. He hauled her close, forcing her to sit side-straddle again, and he caught her lips.
Mirajane resisted, of course, but only at first. Her struggles soon submitted to his gentle strength. And while she was distracted by his tongue that was trying so desperately to enter her, she felt him adjusting, moving her in place so that she'd straddle his legs in between hers.
Just as suddenly though, Laxus pulled away. Foreheads touching, he smirked, "Seems to me like you don't mind at all."
Perhaps she was intimidated by how daring he was and scared that she may be appearing to be too… conservative? Well, she was sure of one thing – she didn't like that he was making her feel all weird. Yes, that was it. Laxus couldn't take control again (he sure as hell had his share of fun last night), it was her freaking turn! So she tensed, parting her lips to thrust her tongue into his mouth before he could react.
Oh, he couldn't react, alright; Laxus groaned in surprise – surprised that the girl could suddenly be so aggressive. But he merely smiled into the kiss, pleased as he grabbed her hips, lugging her closer so that there would be nothing in between them.
It was strange. How things turned out this way, neither of them knew. Their relationship of what consisted of silly bickering, arguing, or, occasionally, harmless fights over the years had evolved into something so different.
… Okay, maybe it wasn't that different. Like, they were still fighting at this moment – albeit in their mouths.
She could hear herself breathing heavily, shamelessly, and it was getting so erotic, she didn't want to stop – but she was so hot. Holding onto his face, she pulled away slightly – their lips still touching – and she panted, looking into his hazy green eyes with need.
Like telepathy, Laxus understood. He reached up to pull her black cardigan off, and he would proceed to rip that sexy purple tank top off, but the thought was swept away by her lips that crashed abruptly back onto his. He was more pleased than surprised this time, as he realized that he was quite fond of the fact that she enjoyed kissing; it reminded him that even though she carried a demonic persona, she was a sweet, innocent young girl.
And this sweet, innocent young girl was his and his only. No one could take her away from him – no one.
He pulled away from her mouth abruptly and buried himself into her neck, attacking her pearly skin with his teeth.
Nobody was going to have their way with her but him.
Mirajane threw her head back, moaning as the pain dug into her collarbone. She tried to push against him, but his strong arms were holding her close, too tightly for her to resist. She felt him nuzzling along her collarbone, pushing her tank top and bra strap off her shoulder, stopping just to bite her again.
"W-wh…"
Laxus' ears twitched with wonder. "Hmm?" He continued to bite, leaving faint, red marks along her neck and shoulder. "You're trying to say something?"
Mirajane bit onto her lower lip, pushing him away slightly so that she could see his seductive eyes. "Why do you keep biting me…?" She pouted as she asked, "It hurts, stop it…"
As a lightning mage, he shouldn't be affected by electric shocks, but just now, he felt a strong current of electricity run down his spine. It didn't hurt, don't be mistaken – but it felt strange, new, and… hot. The current robbed him of his breath, heartbeat, and sense of reality. He was frozen in time for what seemed to be hours when it really was only less than a second. It was just… her voice. Mirajane's voice – he had never heard her sound so small and sweet and helpless, all together at once.
It was beautiful.
It was enticing.
It was hot.
And he wanted to hear it again.
Laxus' eyes sharpened. He dived back into her neck, biting and then sucking, sucking and then biting again – his strength increasing and his drive becoming more vicious as his hands reached for her breasts, kneading her through her clothes and he took in her moans as fuel.
Yes, her moans. That was it.
"L-Laxus, n… no, please…" Mirajane panted breathlessly. She arched her back as he toyed with her peaks; his thumbs ran slow circles on her in unison, she could feel herself aching in need and desire and… a-and him.
"How long do you think you'd last?" Laxus asked smugly.
Oh god—she bit at her lower lip as more helpless moans tore through her vocal chords—so much for taking control.
Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. He couldn't wipe the grin off his face. A troubled Mirajane was adorable – he had no other way to describe it. Laxus bucked his hips upwards, thrusting his hardness against Mirajane's centre, and – by the gods – the heat was overwhelming. He was afraid that he might not be able to control himself this time, that he might fuck her brainless. Laxus watched her mouth open and close, he listened to her moans and pants, and he revered as their bodies rubbed against each other.
His question suddenly came to her – how long do you think you'd last? – The answer was quite simple, because she wasn't going to last long enough to find out. His fingers were pinching, tugging, and twisting at her nipples torturously through her tank top and bra. It hurt – of course it did, but she couldn't bring herself to tell him to stop. Somehow, she was too focused on moaning his name and bucking her hips against his manhood.
Oh god, and there was that.
It was incredible – he was wearing his pants, she was wearing her shorts, there was no direct contact, but she could feel so good. Mirajane rocked faster and he bucked harder – their movements synchronized with her own voice that was echoing in the suite.
They were grinding, Mirajane's moans going out of control and Laxus pressed scorching kisses along her throat. The material of the sofa cracking sounds of leather stretching unwillingly as they smashed into one another – and Mirajane was hot, so hot as Laxus released her breasts to grab her rear with both hands, rolling himself into her. Still moving fervently against her, he could feel it coming down. Yes, it was all too easy to tell with the beautiful sounds she was making.
Mirajane whimpered and Laxus kissed her hard, his tongue searing her mouth and she lost it. He swallowed her screams of ecstasy as she thrashed wildly, hips pressing frenziedly against his hardness.
"Look at that," Laxus snickered, "I didn't even have to touch you…"
Yeah, yeah… she thought. Without even touching her, she came (and she was actually ashamed to note). Mirajane slumped against Laxus' strong body, spent and warm and feeling entirely in need of a hug. She draped her arms over his shoulders and closed her eyes, gently grinding herself against the lightning mage to ride out the last of the aftershocks.
He felt a little overwhelmed with some unknown, passionate emotion all of a sudden, and felt that it was necessary to return her loving embrace. So he leaned in, pressing gentle kisses on her closed eyes.
Mirajane couldn't help but smile, moving up to return his kiss with her lips – their strength all but tender.
But really, anything mild and gentle applied to Laxus plus Mirajane would only turn into something wild and intense. It couldn't be helped; it was in their character. Laxus soon gave up with just kisses, sucking hard at her tongue to make the girl cry in surprise. He grabbed her wrists, pushing Mirajane down onto the sofa roughly to trap her down. Just for a moment, he gazed into those half-opened blue orbs of hers to remind himself that this was real, that this girl was Mirajane Strauss – and that he was about to tear her apart because he really couldn't hold back anymore.
A bit unsettled by his sharp gaze, she turned her head away. "Stop looking…"
The corner of his lips arched smugly. "And do what?"
Mirajane frowned, "… L-let me go."
"Oh?" Laxus tightened his grip on her, leaning down to lick her neck, from the centre of her collarbone up to her earlobe. Lightly, he nibbled at her soft flesh, whispering, "Come on, now. You don't really want me to do that." Laxus thrust a knee in between her legs to push her thighs apart – whereof Mirajane instantly gasped his name in pleasure. Amused, he kneaded into her, experimenting what she'd like and what she'd not like. His hands, meanwhile, slipped under her tank top to cup her breasts fully; it didn't seem that he minded that she still had a bra on – he just wanted to touch her.
The helpless Mirajane thrashed wildly underneath – not to break free, but to rub herself against his knee that was so obviously teasing her. She was getting so hot, but couldn't take off her clothes as she was pinned down. She sought release, but he was being gentle as hell; she was desperate, but couldn't bring herself to say the words—
"I want to rip your fucking clothes off…" Laxus grunted.
—oh, there. He was thinking the same thing, thank goodness. She moaned to his crudeness as encouragement.
And he understood her wordless language in a beat of a heart, his teeth travelling back up to tear at her mouth as his hands reached the hem of her shirt, not to pull it over her head, but to literally rip it off—
Ding dong
Mirajane jerked her mouth away from his, "Laxus…!"
"Ignore it," he grunted and sealed her lips again.
Ding dong
But she broke away again, "No – stop…"
"It's probably just the cleaning lady," Laxus said between kisses, "… ignore it."
Mirajane really did consider his words, but—
Ding dong
Ding dong
Ding dong
—why would she be in such a hurry?
"Laxus, seriously, stop…" She pushed him off and got up. "If we ignore it, she'll just walk in on us…"
Laxus rolled his eyes in pure annoyance.
Ding dong
It wasn't like she wasn't annoyed; in fact, Mirajane was fucking pissed right now. She trotted to the door, certain that it would take her less than a second to say 'come back later'. But… was it just her, or was the room getting colder all of a sudden? And then there was her vision that was getting blurry, her body that was getting progressively heavy, and… a-and her heart… her heart that was suddenly racing – racing so quickly, it was getting painful to breathe.
She shoved the discomfort aside, opening the door and expecting to see a woman of some sort, but instead—
"Did I wake you?"
Mirajane blinked. "M-Master…?" Her eyes darted up. Beside her short master were two taller mages – one of whom she recognized from the night before.
"Good morning, Miss Mirajane," Siegrain, the wizard saint with blue hair greeted politely.
"Y-you…" she breathed with effort and the different sorts of pain surrounding her intensified with each passing second.
"We sincerely apologize for our intrusion…" the other mage, a pale-skinned woman with dark, raven hair and sharp, brown eyes joined in. Strict and serious at first, her tone suddenly shifted one-eighty degrees into that of playfulness, "… I presume our arrival is rather untimely?" She said, eyeing slyly at the white-haired mage's neck.
Mirajane gasped – damn it, Laxus. She fixed her tank top's strap that was hanging over her shoulder and quickly retied her pony tail. Silently, she kept her eyes on the strange woman, who smiled in response rather… blankly. Then Mirajane began to wonder – who could she be? The woman's voice was deep but truly enticing – her presence alone commanded much respect and authority despite the playfulness in her tone.
"Oh, where are my manners?" The woman caught up with the silence, "Pardon me, I am Ultear Milkovich, Ninth Seat of the Magic Council."
Whilst the woman bowed with respect, Mirajane merely nodded once – not because she didn't feel like being polite, but because her body felt like it wasn't hers…
"Mira, can we come in?" Makarov said, "There is something we need to discuss immediately."
It took her a few seconds to process his question – her senses were just not functioning… "Y-yeah…" she said weakly, but then—"No, wait – no!"
The two male council members blinked, all except for the female one (who was still smiling, by the way).
"Miss Mirajane, is there something wrong?" Siegrain began.
Yes, a lot of things are wrong—"Uh, just… um…" she stammered helplessly, trying her best to bide some time so that she could somehow tell—
"This is urgent," Makarov pushed himself into the room before the girl could go on, "We need to act quick—" he cut himself off, "—what… what the…!"
Mirajane face-palmed.
"Laxus?!"
The lightning mage, still topless, was sitting with his legs crossed, leaning back casually on the couch and scowling with annoyance. "Tch," he turned away from the guests—specifically away from his grandfather.
Makarov didn't know where to begin for his stupid grandson, so he turned around to the girl, thinking that she'd be more cooperative. "Mirajane," he began, his voice low and demanding, "What is the meaning of this?"
She held onto her forehead. "I, uh… forgot to tell you, Master. Laxus and I… we're—"
"—together," Ultear cut in, her voice beaming with excitement and enthusiasm. "You're together, aren't you?"
"WHAT?" Makarov exclaimed.
Mirajane gaped, "No! What—" she spun around to glare at the woman (who shrugged her shoulders and stuck her tongue out innocently), "—no, Master, we're not!" She turned back to the old man, and then back at the dark-haired woman again. She didn't even know her, and yet…! That mischievous little bitch…! "Laxus, say something!"
When all eyes turned to him, he shrugged his shoulders. "See, I told you not to open the door,"
"Drop that," the girl scolded, "I'm telling you to explain to Master our situation!"
"The situation is," Laxus started, "That you opened the door for them, and we can't continue—"
"Laxus!" She shrieked—ohgodohgodohgod—and turned to the short elderly man, "Master, don't listen to him—we weren't doing anything, it's not like we're rooming together because there's something between us, I just… he's just helping me with… a-and then stuff happened and we kind of just kis—" Mirajane instantly slapped her hands against her mouth.
"…"
There could be no other reaction; Makarov's jaw hung open so wide his chin could almost touch the floor. Ultear, meanwhile, coughed gently to cover up her chuckles, and beside her, the blue-haired Wizard Saint tilted his head in confusion.
Finally, Laxus, the culprit in question, was still sitting uselessly on the couch. He blinked in surprise at first, but then gradually, that signature smirk of his reformed on his face. He grinned smugly at the girl, somewhat entertained by her desperate attempts to hide the secret yet feeling guilty at the same time for not helping. But he didn't really mind the guilt, because in exchange for it, he was able to witness an entirely adorable scene. Although, his head was protesting—just kisses?! You little liar, we did way more than that! You bought fucking contraceptive pills for god's sake!—he figured that it was best to keep his mouth shut right now.
Oh, and Mirajane?
… Well, despite feeling overwhelmingly cold and in pain and drained of her strength all at once right now, she knew of one thing – and that was she had never been so embarrassed in her life. At this moment, she was in desperate need of a place to hide. S-Class missions, monsters, Erza, and sometimes cockroaches she could handle—but situations like these? No, not so much—not at all.
Just as she was going to run out of the door, the dark-haired woman walked up and nudged her at the elbow. The lightheaded-Mirajane turned to her, and saw that she had a sly grin painted across her cheeks.
"Nice," Ultear praised, nodding and then finishing off with a wink.
.
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I promise you, if school wasn't such an ass to me for the past two months, I would've updated three times already. Point is, sorry for the delay!
In any case, can't believe this story has so many hits/reviews/alerts/favourites. It really is flattering to see that so many of you are enjoying my fic, you guys are the freaking BEST, so please continue to support Laxus/Mira—UNTIL THE DAY MASHIMA-SENSEI RECOGNIZES THEM AS A REAL COUPLE! :D
Anyway, I'll see you guys soon (hopefully)!
PS: Ultear = favourite character!
PPS: "Works like magic"—can't stop laughing at my own creation :3