Another chappie! 3264, and sorry if it's a bit late. I had a bit of trouble. I just remembered that I suck at writing about drunk people, and hostage situations and kiss scenes. Yeah, this really isn't my forte. The whole chapter's been a big challenge for me.

I hope you like it!

A few hours passed and Freed was starting to feel restless. Evergreen has yet to contact them and Mira was getting ready to go home. Lisanna and Bixlow were constantly glancing at him with confused looks but Freed had no idea what to tell them. Had something gone wrong? But if that was the case then Evergreen would have called them to ask for help. Maybe Cana was just having trouble putting the potion on Laxus' drink. But still, it shouldn't have taken them this long.

Freed sighed which didn't go unnoticed by Kagura.

"Something bothering you?" she asked. Kagura and her companions had been catching up with Erza who arrived not too long ago.

"You could say that." there was no need to lie since she'll probably see right through him and cause her to get unnecessarily suspicious.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

The rune mage hesitated at this. "I was just thinking of what Ever is up to. I haven't seen her all day and she only stopped by the guild for a while today before heading off again."

"Oh, Elfman went on a mission with her." Kinana answered, serving them some drinks. Freed's eyes widened at this.

"Wh- Wait, he did?" Freed tried not to look surprised. Keyword being tried. "Sh-she didn't mention anything about that."

"Oh, well Elfman picked the job and for some reason wanted to do it with Evergreen. I heard he spent the whole day trying to find her so they can go on it together."

"As sweet as that sounds, why would he suddenly want to go with her? From what I recall, they're trying to stay as far away from each other as possible to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings." Freed was desperately trying to act natural.

"Oh, well I believe I was responsible for that, along with Mira." Kagura said, almost triumphantly. "She and I decided that their relationship needed a bit of a push so we persuaded him to go on a job with her."

Freed was speechless, his eyes darkened at what she just said. "And when did this happen?"

"This morning."

"I was with you the whole time."

"It happened when Millianna ran off then you and Kai went after her." Kagura answered, starting to feel a bit suspicious at all his questions. "Is something wrong?"

"N-no, it's nothing . . ." he said before walking off towards Bixlow and Lisanna, trying to look like he wasn't in a hurry. Kagura stared after him.

"I wonder what that was about."

"Ignore it, he's probably just concerned about his team mate." Kai said, trying to hide his smirk. Looks like things were about to get a lot more interesting.

Meanwhile, Freed was filling the other two up with the new bit of information.3

"What?! Ever went on a date with Elfman? At a time like this?!" Bixlow asked in disbelief.

"I don't mind the fact that they went on a date but couldn't they have scheduled it for another time?" Lisanna complained.

'I am beginning to regret going along with this.' Freed massaged his temples before replying. "They were forced to go on a mission. So I suppose that's the reason she hasn't contacted us yet."

"But even if she's with Elfman, I don't think that's much of a reason to not inform us of something so important." Lisanna said.

"What is that woman doing?" Bixlow muttered.

Meanwhile . . .

"Give me back my communication lacrima already!" Evergreen yelled while they were on the train.

"Like I said, I can't do that, woman!" Elfman yelled back.

"Why not?! You idiot, this is an emergency! Give it to me right now!"

"It looks like the only thing keeping you here right now is because I have your lacrima so if I just give it to you, you'll probably run off." Elfman said. "A man doesn't run off from a job! I'll definitely meet Nee-sama's expectations!"

"Why you little . . ." Ever grumbled.

Back to the guild . . .

"In any case, Cana has probably done her job by now. We can't just stop halfway through so let's just finish this." Bixlow said.

"Alright, I'll go get Mira-nee." Lisanna said, running off to the bar. "Kinana, where's Mira-nee?"

"Oh, she left to take care of something." she answered. "It seems like someone from our guild is drunk and is causing trouble around town so she went to take care of it."

Lisanna's blood went cold. Most of the people in their guild had already went home, somebody had most likely caused a ruckus while they were on their way. Well, it would have been expected from someone at their guild. "And where is that exactly . . ?"

"Hmm . . . I'm not really sure, she didn't tell me. Why? Is something wrong?"

"N-no! It's nothing, I just needed something from her." Lisanna waved it off before running back towards their little group frantically. "Guys! Mira-nee's gone!"

"What?!" they both yelled in unison.

"Apparently, someone from our guild is causing a ruckus."

"Where is she?" Freed asked.

"I don't know, somewhere around town."

"Tsk, then I guess we're gonna have to look for her."

"Seriously though, who would be drunk enough to cause a commotion at this time of night?" Bixlow asked.

Meanwhile . . .

Laxus' booming laughter echoed throughout the small bar as another man collapsed in the midst of their drinking contest. Cana was beside him, laughing just as hard.

"That was so pathetic!" Cana said between bouts of laughter.

"What, is that all you got!?" Laxus asked standing up. He was so drunk that he can't even control his own magic so bits of lighting were radiating around his body, shocking people nearby. Although for some reason, Cana wasn't affected by it.

"Man, if I knew it was gonna be this fun having you as a drinking buddy then I would've done this a long time ago." Cana smirked, still clutching the small cloth bag Evergreen gave her.

"Oh c'mon, he's already the sixth guy to challenge me! Isn't anyone gonna try to beat me?" Laxus yelled out loud, accidentally shooting a bolt of lightning at a nearby table, scaring everyone in the building. The owner of the bar had contacted Fairy Tail to have them take care of the problem but they still haven't arrived so he was left cowering in a corner.

Honestly, this guild caused trouble wherever they went.

It wasn't long though before Laxus felt his eyes begin to feel heavy due to exhaustion, and even in his drunken state he knew he'd better leave than pass out on the floor of some cheap bar. So he stood up to leave, much to Cana's confusion.

"Where ya goin'?"

"Home, better go before I pass out now." he said. "Not like anyone's gonna be able to beat me here . . ."

Cana was about to stop him when someone caught her eye and she grinned. "Bacchus!"

"Woah, you sure don't take any breaks when it comes to drinking!" he smirked walking up to her. Cana smirked back and completely forgot about her drunken guildmate who took this opportunity to leave.

Mira sighed in exhaustion. Honestly, sometimes she felt like a babysitter than a barmaid. She was the one who always made sure that they stayed out of trouble and sure she didn't mind but she'd appreciate it if they'd learn to take more care of themselves.

Mira had been so absorbed in her own thoughts that she hadn't even realized a group of dangerous men with ill intent following her until it was too late. The barmaid hadn't seen it coming, before she knew it a long rope lassoed around her body, restricting her movements. Mira's eyes widened, turning around to see a group of men smirking at her.

"Well would ya look at that, this's a pretty big catch we 'ave 'ere." one of them, who seemed to be the leader, smirked. He was the one who was holding the rope that was wrapped around her. "If I'm not mistaken, yer feared around 'ere as the Demon Mirajane, aren't ya?"

"I find it funny that you had the guts to attack me when you knew exactly who I am. You must be either very brave or very stupid." Mira said before she started transforming to her Satan Soul form. But to both her shock and horror, she found that for some reason she was unable to. "Wh-wha . . ?"

"Surprised?" the leader smirked. "I dunno if ya heard of us, but we specialize in weapons that cancel out yer magic, so ya won't be able to transform into anythin'."

Mira grit her teeth in frustration. She couldn't believe she had been so careless! How could she not sense any of them when they had probably been following her for a who-knows-how long? Her eyes narrowed. This was bad, she had no means of defending herself and the rope that was tied around her was making her weak by draining out her magic. And it was doing it real fast, to the point that she was almost about to pass out but she struggled to keep her eyes open.

"No use fightin' it, this 'ere material will drain you out. Not enough ta kill ya but enough ta make even someone as strong as you helpless."

She started glaring at them. Do they plan on abducting her? Well this certainly wasn't good. Not to mention the fact that she was already so weak that she couldn't even struggle properly. Just what is this material made of?

"Alright boys, we better get goin' 'afore someone spots us."

"Too late." a deep voice spoke before most of the men were promptly electrocuted at the same time and passed out, leaving the leader the only one standing. Naturally, he started panicking and looking around for the source of such an attack.

"Let the girl go." Laxus spoke again, walking towards them. Mira felt a mix of various emotions during that moment. For one thing, she was of course very happy to see him. Now there was somebody to help her and she was so grateful for that. But she also felt a bit of annoyance from being called a girl, she was already a grown woman! Is that how he views her? Mira felt her heart sank but tried to convince herself that this wasn't the time to meddle with her feelings.

She also felt worry since the opponent can use magic-cancelling devices, but convinced herself that this was Laxus she was talking about. He wasn't so careless and shouldn't be underestimated. But then she noticed that he wasn't walking steadily, staggering and his voice had also been a bit slurred. Was he drunk? Mira's eyes widened in horror at the thought. He must have been the one causing trouble, but if that was the case then he was in no position to be fighting. Although Mira really couldn't be sure since she never saw him drunk. Unlike the other people in the guild, he can manage to control his alcohol intake and usually stopped drinking when he felt even a little tipsy.

Meanwhile, the leader of the group was starting to panic, seeing all his men out cold in an instant. He didn't even realize that the lightning mage was drunk and just acted fast. The man ran towards Mira, pulled out a knife and held it against her throat. Mira was too weak to even do a thing about it.

"S-stay back! O-or else the girl gets hurt!"

'Again with being called a girl . . .' she thought, annoyed.

Meanwhile, Laxus just stared at them, letting the man's words process in his brain. "Hurt . . ? Mira?"

" 'At's right! So ya better stay back!"

His eyes started lingering at Mira. Even in his drunken state, he could still tell that she was weak. Why, he didn't really know or care. You can only expect so much from a drunken man who, not to mention, had his drink spiked. Right now, he was only focusing on Mira. Time seemed to stop as he observed her. Her long silver hair, white skin, eyes as blue as the ocean. She really was a beauty even if you compare her to the other girls in the guild. It was especially more so whenever she was smiling which was very often. But for some reason, she wasn't smiling right now.

That's no good . . .

He was then reminded of the words the man had just spoken and his eyes landed on the blade on her throat.

This man was going to hurt her.

He can't let that happen.

"Oi . . ." he finally said, taking a step forward but almost losing balance. The leader obviously didn't miss this strange behavior and quickly came to a realization.

"Huh, so yer just some drunk fella causing trouble, eh?" he smirked. "Now I don' want any trouble so if ya just go run along now . . ."

"Hey you . . ." Laxus didn't seem to have heard him as he continued to walk towards them, making the man hold the knife closer to Mira's throat.

"Stay back I tell ya!"

"Laxus . . !" she whimpered. But the lightning mage maintained eye contact with the man, glaring at him intensely.

"You . . !"

"Stay back!"

"Laxus!"

"DON'T YOU DARE HURT HER!" Laxus yelled, sending lightning towards the man from below. It all happened so fast that no one, not even Mira had time to react. The man cried out in pain before fainting. Once the grip around her loosened, Mira struggled away from his grip and stumbled forward. The last of her strength disappeared, but before she could hit the ground Laxus was there to catch her.

Laxus immediately removed the ropes that were draining her strength- not that he knew that. Mira's strength didn't return just like that, of course. But she felt a bit better now since she was just about to pass out with only a drunk Laxus to be the one to help her out. She was also relieved that she was no longer in any sort of danger, so she let herself be held by the blonde. He did just save her and it wasn't like she had the energy to push him away, so why not? She was just going to rest until she regained enough energy to stand up and walk on her own, then afterwards she'll help Laxus get home in return. And no, she was not enjoying the fact that the man she may have feelings for is practically embracing her. He was really warm though. Well, if she was going to be embraced by the man of her dre- *ahem*, well, she might as well savor the moment.

The fact that she was being embraced by a drunk man completely left her mind and she practically snuggled against him.

Laxus, on the other hand, enjoyed simply observing the barmaid while she looked as if she was about to fall asleep. She looked so cute and peaceful. He was glad she was safe.

"You know I like you, right?" he suddenly said, making Mira snap her eyes open and blush.

"Wh-wha . . ?"

"You're really beautiful . . ." he trailed off, bending down and capturing Mira's lips with his own.

Mira's eyes widened and she froze. A million thoughts ran through her mind, and her heart was racing. She was at complete loss as to what to do because for goodness' sake, the man she loves is kissing her! And he's completely drunk! Mira had only now realized the strong scent of alcohol on the man, but that didn't help the situation. After a few moments, Laxus pulled away and stared back at her eyes which were still wide with shock.

Not bothering to say anything else, he got up only to fall back to the ground completely unconscious.

It took Mira some time to register what had just happened. She had been walking down the street a few minutes ago . . . then she was attacked and Laxus dealt with them. Laxus rescued her and then kissed her. But now he fainted . . .

"Laxus!" she cried out when she finally snapped out of her trance, hurrying to the man's aid. But deep in her mind still lingered the memory of the kiss and she could still feel his warmth on her lips.

"Geez, I knew you should have just headed home." Lucy sighed after the train they boarded started moving and Natsu was once again hit by his motion sickness. It was already really late at night so Happy had already fallen asleep. Lucy on the other hand had wanted to do the same, at least take a short nap, but the dragon slayer was preventing her from doing such a thing.

Natsu only grumbled, resting his head on her shoulder. "But Lucy . . ."

She sighed. "Hang in there. Do you want to rest on my lap?"

"I- I'm good." he resisted the urge to gag and Lucy sighed again, ruffling his pink locks in an attempt to comfort him before they rested into an uncomfortable silence.

He really didn't have to come with her since she can take care of herself so Lucy wondered why he bothered to tag along. Well, maybe he thought they were going to end up walking since they had barely managed to catch the last train for the day. But still, he really didn't have to bother. Honestly, sometimes she wondered just what was going on through his head.

A few minutes passed and it looked like he'd already fallen asleep so Lucy let her head rest against his. With their bodies so close to each other, she can strongly feel his warmth that strangely provided her comfort. She smiled softly, seeing him look so peaceful despite the fact that they were at the last place he would ever prefer to be at. She really hadn't wanted to trouble him, but he insisted on coming with her. She was touched and appreciated his concern. But sometimes she just wished she knew just what was going on inside this idiots head because . . .

"Because if not, I may start to fall for you . . ." she unintentionally spoke out loud before her hand shot up to cover her mouth. Natsu started shifting which made her freeze, but luckily, he was just shifting to another, more comfortable position. Lucy sighed in relief.

"Mmm, 'ey . . . rushi." Natsu grumbled in his sleep. Lucy just stared at him in confusion before she realized that he just said her name.

'Is he dreaming?' she wondered.

"Lucy . . ." he said more clearly this time, snuggling closer to her. "Mmm . . . I'm glad I invited you to join the guild."

The celestial mage blinked in shock before smiling softly. Carefully, she tipped Natsu's head a bit to plant a kiss on his forehead.

"I'm glad I met you that day too . . ." she said, recalling the events that happened which led her to meet Natsu. "Thanks for everything."

With that, she rested her head against his once again before drifting off to sleep.

Seriously though, how long has it been since I've written fluff? Actually, it's been a while since I've read fluff because my reading list has been occupied by tragic love stories so you know. This isn't really my thing but I TRIED. I think I did okay.

Yeah, I'm sorry.

Review?

~ RnR ~ !

~ RnR ~ !