Intimate

by Fallen Ark Angel

A word is defined and redefined. - One-shot, set in the Remember Me universe.

If the summer was hot, the winter was fucking freezing and most no one wanted to go out in it. Which would have been the perfect escape for a few elite, lucky mages as Fairy Tail's new Master, Erza Scarlet, prepared her list for who would get to travel to the mythic (and thankfully tropical) Tenrou Island. It would be a hard disappointment, however, for any of the young breed hoping for their chance at it when, as a preface to her her announcement, she revealed her plans for the upcoming trials.

"There will be two," she told the confused masses that had gathered in the hall that day. Standing up on the stage, Erza looked out over them all with a stern gaze and crossed arms, prepared for whatever resistance would be thrown. Going on, she remarked, "With the increasing number of members in recent years, as well as the...negligence by the former master to properly examine those among his ranks, I have come to the decision that I will separate the trials by age to properly gauge the experience level as well as strength. It will help narrow the field and give more of an ample chance to those otherwise overlooked by the former Master. In two weeks, the names read out here will accompany me on the trials. In the spring, I shall take another. It is my hope that this is the tradition going forward. Now onto the list."

It only took the first name to realize it was the older group she would be taking first. And while there were many disgruntled younger members (as well as older ones not named), there was none as pissed off as the former master's oldest daughter.

At no point would she be in the running. Whether a concise list was read out now, or even on the younger one that would be in a warmer month. No. Not after all she'd put the hall through. But it was jealousy that was fueling her anger (for once). Rather, as she tossed open the hall doors and stormed out, she didn't care that she wouldn't be picked for the S-Class trials. She literally never wanted to be. At all.

But her next movements were hinged on someone else being picked. And that was out now until the spring at least.

"She's fucking doing it on purpose."

"Haven-"

"She's getting back at me, Locke. At us. And you're too stupid to see it."

They were alone, luckily, given that everyone else in the hall was actually inside of it for once, either lamenting and sulking or partying it up. It had been a hard few years for the guild and it felt good, finally, to have a competent Master who, while they might not agree with her decisions, at least seemed to have Fairy Tail's best interests in mind.

Locke was one of those people.

Master Laxus had been his master since he was a boy and he respected the man, just as much as he did his own father, but it hadn't exactly been a sudden explosion. No. While his daughter's supposed death had been the final breaking point, since Locke was a kid, Master Laxus had been on a steady spiral downward. Even though he still revered the man for many reasons (he was, you know, kinda involved with the man's daughter) and referred to him as his master, he was grateful to have a new one to lead the hall now.

So while he was disappointed in not having his name read out that day, he still found it hard to feel betrayed by the woman. She'd more or less confirmed it to him, at the end of the summer, when they were rebuilding the hall, that she was going to take him on an S-Class trial and then, assuming he did well, send he and Haven to the boarder on Fairy Tail's honor to assist in the freeing of Bosco. And he didn't doubt her words. No one was more honorable than Erza.

"She said," he told Haven then with a frown, "that she'll take a second group in the spring. I'll be in the second group."

"Fuck that. I'm not waiting around for that."

"Haven-"

"She's not going to let you be S-Class, Locke."

"No one 'let's' anyone be it, Have. You earn it. You-"

"She is stringing us along, moron." She was in his face now, glaring up at him with her hateful blue eyes. "She hates me because I...spurned her son, or because my father kicked him out of the guild, or because you spent all those years bullying him, or I spent all those years tormenting Marin or, oh, damn it, Locke!" She hit his chest then and as he only glared, she turned from him. "How were we so stupid? This whole time? Erza literally has no reason to even like us, much less help us. We're such idiots."

"You're paranoid," he grumbled, kinda made she's struck him as he rubbed at his chest. "Calm down. Take a breath. Master hasn't hatched some huge scheme just to get back at you. I mean, come on, just a few weeks ago, Ravan was here and came to your party. And so did Marin. If they don't hate you, which, I mean, I couldn't blame them if they did-"

"Shut up."

"-then why would she?"

"I don't know." Haven even threw her hands up in the air. "Why does anyone hate me?"

"Because you're mean and hateful and spiteful and-"

"I'm about to just go on my own."

"No, you're not." And he reached out then, to grab her arm and pull her back over to him. She was pissed, shaking with rage, but she didn't shock him like he expected, or shove him away. Just stood there as he said softly, "You're not even ready, Have. You know that. You're just falling back into your powers. And you still haven't figured this demon one out. So you'll keep training and when Spring rolls around, not only will you be completely ready to go help in Bosco, but I'll be S-Class and can go with you."

Huffing, Haven remarked, "It's not like she'd go through all of this just because my powers aren't ready yet."

"No," Locke agreed softly. "She wouldn't. But Haven...not everything's about you."

And that wasn't the right thing to say, as it finally did get him shocked, just enough to release his vice grip on her arm. As the blonde stormed off though and he glared after her, Locke was sure it would be for the better, no matter the reason Master Erza chose. The spring would give him more chances to perfect some of his healing spells and Haven more time to adjust. She still wasn't even a full year back from the dead. Not that she would be in the spring, but hopefully she'd be closer to normal again.

As the winter S-Class trials came to pass and Haven's pouting over what she knew was definitely a slight and she was certainly blaming stupid Ravan for and was definitely going to berate him over, the next chance she got to see him, she and Locke's continued presence in Magnolia was welcomed heavily by their families. While Locke's was more because he'd never truly left home and neither his mother, father, or even Lily were too sure they even wanted him involved with Bosco shit, Haven's was still adjusting to her presence as a whole and weren't too keen on losing it once more.

Not to mention, her return had been nearly immediately followed by the departure of another and he was back now, only had been for a few weeks, and fuck if Laxus wasn't struggling to adjust once more.

Laxus wasn't...well, the past few years, and what he returned to reflected that. His oldest daughter tolerated his presence, but clearly detested it still though she was trying to force herself to stomach it in small doses, while his younger daughter seemed to be stuck on the same tightrope she'd always walked with the man, now less scared of driving him to drink further, but to trip him back into doing it at all. Then there was his wife.

Mirajane.

Sigh.

If his tenure as Master had been on a collision course for the latter half of it, then his marriage had surely been what charted the way.

Somehow, it felt like it would have been easier. To come back and Mirajane not necessarily having moved on, but have come to the decision that she was intending to. If they just separated. Permanently. He'd have felt better about himself, maybe, if that were the case. So he could only continue to drag himself down and not the woman as well.

It was awkward. So much of it. Even before his months of self-isolation, Laxus hadn't really been staying at home with her. He spent his days and nights hiding out in his office up at the guildhall and she'd been alone, at home, now especially that neither of their daughters lived there, and it was just a difficult adjustment. Laxus no longer worked and Mirajane was infrequent took shifts at the hall, and monetarily this wasn't strenuous given their savings and planning for when this day would come, but mentally? Physically? Being around one another this often?

They were driving one another insane.

More so than usual.

It was a graceless dance. Even sleeping in bed together was vexing as they were strung up between trying to readjust to one another and actively being forced into cramped quarters. Mirajane refused to let him sleep on the couch and he was just trying to go along with what the woman wanted, but they laid with their backs to one another most nights and it wasn't out of anger anymore.

Nothing they did was out of anger anymore.

Laxus wasn't mad at Mirajane. He used to be. Or at least he thought he used to be.

He was mad that she wouldn't take his side, that she was constantly annoyed by him, that just couldn't come to terms with the fact that Haven was the way that she was just because that's how she was and there was no getting better because self improvement was a farce and eventually? Eventually you end up right back where you started, only then you were older and more bitter and had even more responsibilities that were weighing you down and you were never going to be able to surpass, to dig your way out of, that stupid hole that you kept falling further into because every impact, every time you slid back down, it just got deeper and more cavernous and maybe you aren't the same shitty prosper you were, a few years before, but that's only because you're even shittier.

Then he stopped drinking.

And that was a battle that he was still fighting now. It was one of the reasons that he didn't reclaim his guildhall. He wasn't sure if he ever would, honestly. How could he ever hang around the place again, when it was just booze city constantly? Just the whiff of alcohol was triggering now. He always thought that he was a strong man, that he was disciplined, that you had to be in order to be a successful mage, but fuck, if he wasn't weak for it.

Sometimes he made wagers with himself. Or at least thought about doing so. If he could just have one drink, prove to himself that he could jusut have one drink, then...then…

Then what?

Huh?

Maybe he wasn't ever mad at Mirajane. Mad at Haven for being difficult. Mad at Marin even just for being born. Maybe he was just mad at himself. Or Ivan, for setting him up for all this. Gramps, maybe, for not preparing him better for it.

Either way, it just all felt numb now. Void. It wasn't like he didn't feel emotions, 'cause he still did, of course he did. He felt shame, when he thought about all the reasons Haven did have for being angry with him. He felt embarrassed, when he thought about all that he'd left Mirajane to shoulder in his absence, not even the most recent one, but also the flight he'd taken the past few years, where he was hardly conscious at all.

Mostly though? Surprisingly, Laxus found himself feeling...happy, a lot. In a way he never had in his entire life.

Marin came by, at first, once a day, but now mostly every other to check in on him it seemed. She'd bring both he and her mother something to eat from the hall and then stay around, talking to Laxus about all that was going on in the hall. She did this under the guise of him soon reclaiming his spot as Master, but while that seemed less likely, her visits continued. Enough so that he expected her. Made sure not to be out around the time he imagined she'd arrive.

He'd never done that before. With Marin. Sat down and had actual conversations. Since she was a little girl she seemed quite scared of him. And though Laxus had always hated this, he hardly ever felt able to bridge that gap. As time went on, his youngest daughter avoiding him felt about on par with how the elder detested him. Eventually, Marin took better care of him at his lowest than anyone else. Even the Thunder Legion. She would come into his office with food and sit him up straight. It was her that at least tried to weather the storm of his lack of care towards master duties and it just wasn't fair.

She was too young to be cleaning up after him like that.

Laxus always wanted to apologize to her. Now he really did. But it would only feel like a step in the wrong direction as Marin seemed intent to forget those days ever existed. As the meals she presented to him now were not only devoured, but done so with her as company, listening to her tales from the bar and actually participating in her life…

This was all Marin ever wanted for her father.

He didn't want to bring up any unpleasantness. Nothing to risk ruining this.

But things just weren't as easy with his wife. Marin had always wanted this fort of father, this sort of attention, honestly, and though Erza had supplemented that paternal interaction for awhile, finally having her father take over was welcomed. And Haven, she couldn't admit to herself, but...she probably wanted some of that too. And Laxus was finally ready to offer it, whenever she came to that conclusion.

Mirajane though was different. Because you needed a father or mother. Craved them. But Mirajane didn't need him. She had to want him. He had to want her. And even though he was pretty sure they both, to some extent, did, they'd yet to jointly figure out how to get back to where they were.

Or even what portion of their married life they wanted to get back to.

Over two decades was a lot to sift through and, unfortunately, he had a bad feeling the majority of it was sour.

It wasn't as if Laxus was the only one considering these things though.

No.

Mirajane had the same unfortunate musings to nag at her throughout these past few weeks. It was on one of these days when Evergreen, once again having a falling out with the woman's brother, came by to bitch about him to poor Mirajane.

It was a good excuse to have a glass of wine...or two...at least.

Laxus was out, as he had been since early that morning. Freed and Bickslow were both home from jobs and, in trying to find new things to do all together now that, you know, drinking was out, the latter had suggested they go out and train. Some serious training. Out in the rugged wilderness.

Mirajane cautioned her husband about overdoing it, what with his cough and all, given the frigidness of the winter, but she also didn't push it that much. She kinda wanted him out of the house. Given that it wasn't the days Marin typically checked in, she planned on getting some cleaning done, but Evergreen showed up before she had a chance to even start and, well...Laxus was out.

She would never drink in front of him again. She'd vowed that. But it felt a bit unfair for her not to be able to in his absence.

"You have to make sure you take the bottle home with you," she sighed to Ever as they took a seat at the kitchen table. "Okay?"

"Oh, please." Ever waved her off, filling a glass for each of them. "There won't be anything to take back home."

Even better.

Out of everyone in her not so immediate family, Mirajane always found herself and Evergreen to be rather distant, but there were rare times, such as these, where it made for an even better time. Though not tied in blood, they were close enough to being so that they would carry one another's secrets, but still far enough away from each other that it was refreshing to hear and consult their opinion.

Given that Ever's gripes with Elfman were rather basic and typical for the two of them, it was easy after a few sips of wine for Mirajane to dominate the conversation and, honestly, the other woman welcomed it. The past year had been a difficult one for their family as a whole and Laxus' reappearance only heightened the drama.

"You know what your problem is?" Ever remarked and Mirajane only hummed, actually somewhat interested, maybe, in what the other woman said.

"You're spending time together," the woman of stone tsked as she poured herself another glass and made a face at Mirajane, "but you're not spending time together."

"I'm sorry," Mirajane replied with a frown, "but am I that drunk? Or are you not making any sense?"

"You know what I mean," Ever insisted with a looking. "Things aren't going to get any better if the two of you don't actually talk about what happened. Everything that happened. I know that you're worried about upsetting him, but...he's going to have to get upset. And so are you, probably. A lot of upsetting things happened. You're not going to get passed that by continuing to pretend like you're just so happy to be around one another again and that you're never going to fight or blow up at one another again. Because you are. So it's better to get it out of the way now."

Mirajane only stared down into her wineglass then, watching the red liquid settle in the cup, before whispering, "Yeah, I know. Time's just...getting away from us, again. It always has."

It was a sympathetic nod that Evergreen gave then as she reached across the table to rest a hand on the other woman's. Looking deeply into her eyes, Ever added, "You guys are going to have to open back up to one another. You know, be intimate and-"

"Oh, gross. Can you not do this while I'm here?"

Both Mira and Evergreen jumped then, looking to the doorway of the kitchen where Haven was walking in, yawning and rubbing at her eyes as she headed to the fridge.

"Haven," Mira remarked with a frown. "What are you doing here? I didn't hear you come in. Did you...sleep here?"

Ugh.

It was a long, annoying story.

Well, not really long, but definitely annoying.

She and Locke had just recently returned from a job together and he was geared up to go right back out, but...she didn't wanna admit that she wasn't up for it, so she made up some bullshit about him needing to go out on his own. To continue to impress for the spring trials. Locke saw through her, as he usually did, but was also pretty good at playing into her and agreed.

Still, before he took back off, he changing some stuff out in his pack back at the apartment, leaving Haven with some pretty gross laundry to wash. Again, all fine. Other than some minor bitching, they were all good.

It was always just the passing remarks that undid them.

"Maybe I'll go out on a job on my own. While you're gone," she said with a bit of a shrug and Locke laughed.

Haven hated when he laughed. At her, of course, but also sort of in general? Just a little?

When she called him out on it, he apologized some before remarking, "You can't even sleep in the apartment alone, Hav. You're not going to go out on a serious job and camp out in the woods by yourself."

"Fuck you."

"For telling the truth?"

At her glare, he sighed some. They were seated together on the couch as he restocked, but finished now, he got to his feet, which meant knocking hers out of his lap, and now she really hated it, because he was standing over her and that might give him the illusion of power. Plus, she'd been comfortable…

"It's just something you should work on," he offered in a kinder tone now. "Hav. You know, before the spring? Part of getting better at controlling your magic again is trusting it. Nothing's going to get you here. Nothing's coming after you. I know that sometimes you still have… I get it. But you have to….get over it, is all, when we head to Bosco. I dunno what we're going to do down there, but I'm pretty sure it'll be some heavy stuff. I won't let you go until you can handle being alone."

"You don't let me do anything," was the best retort she could come up with then, because she was so pissed, so boiling angry at him because, fine, yes, he was telling the absolute truth and it burned her up inside. Jumping up as well, she glared up into his eyes as she threatened, "Locke. I can leave right now if I want. I might even be gone when you get back."

Rolling his eyes, Locke only told her, "Don't do anything you're not ready for, alright? Marin doesn't mind you staying with her. But it's just something to think about, okay? I love you. I'll be back soon." And he stood there. Waiting. But when he only continued to get a glare, he added, "I'm not leaving until-"

"I love you too, damn. Just leave. Idiot."

He beamed then, gave her a kiss (which she reluctantly did return) before heading out. Haven called some unsavory things after him and then totally planned to spend the night all alone in the apartment and it would be fine, of course it would, because she was one of the strongest mages alive, she knew for certain, and nothing could hurt her now.

She'd already beaten death.

What could be harder than that?

Falling back asleep after you woke up all alone in a dark apartment, all alone, and now you couldn't sleep, at all, because you had to lay awake because it felt like you were just laying there again, didn't it, like when you were dead, and you can't remember things like that, no, but that weightlessness and emptiness and it was just easier.

When Locke was beside her and she could feel him there, at least someone there, to drag her back in case death came back for her. Or, when she had to, with Marin just across a hall, usually up getting ready for work around the time Haven usually awoke from her horrible nightmares from beyond the grave.

But now she was trapped all alone in the apartment, to prove a dumb point, and what did Locke know anyways?

A lot.

Locke was great. She didn't think she'd be getting over all of this so quickly if it wasn't for him. And, fine, his stupid father too.

But when she woke up that night, all alone, it was her own father she wanted. Not for any particular reason other than, you know, she convinced herself that if she did die, he could probably use his lightning powers to shock her back to life or, oh, her mother had part of the demon inside of her, right? They shared it, right? So her mom should be able to use it to somehow keep her alive, right?

Or maybe, as Haven snuck back into her old bedroom through the window, just like the old days, she just wanted her mom and dad.

But she couldn't say that. Not even to herself. So as she fell into one of the now just extra beds in she and Marin's old bedroom, she convinced herself of those other reasons for coming back here, to her parents' home, and it made enough sense. Maybe. To her.

Regardless, that wasn't what Haven was most caught up on, that day in the kitchen as she frowned over at her mother and aunt.

"You still can't sense me?" she griped, growling loudly then. "At all?"

"Well," her mother began with a frown, "the air felt different, but I just thought it was humid out. Which was silly, I guess, since it's snowing, but-"

"Am I supposed to be able to sense you?" Evergreen interrupted with a frown, never one for Haven's antics. "Don't you have somewhere to be? Where's your little boyfriend?"

"On job," Haven complained, her voice sounding small then as she thought of him once more. Turning back to the fridge, she felt something close to guilt, maybe, for snapping at him the day before. He's who she really wanted then, more than either of her parents. Swallowing as she settled on some leftover takeout, she added, "Just for a few days."

"Are you okay?" Mira asked then, slowly. "Haven? Did you need-"

"Leftovers?" Ever finished with a half chortle down at her wine as Haven, with little ceremony, dug right into them.

"I just needed a place to sleep." Haven hardly even glanced over at them. "I'll take this to go."

"No, Haven, wait," her mother called with a frown. "Come sit down. To eat at least."

"And listen to you guys talk about having sex?" The thought about cured her hunger. "No thanks."

"That's not what we were talking about," Mira defended with a blush.

Ever only hummed down at her wine as, maybe not, but she was definitely gearing up towards it.

"Imitate doesn't just mean...sex," Mira went on then. "And we don't even have to talk about that. Just come sit down and-"

"Wait." And suddenly, Evergreen found a use for her most useless niece. A grin spreading across her face, she sat up a bit taller as she motioned to one of the kitchen chairs. "Haven, you're a grown woman now. Though your eating habits may suggest otherwise-"

Haven only frowned around her cold noodles, which she was definitely using her fingers to scoop out.

"You even live with a man, now," Ever went on. "You bring just as much to the table as the rest of us. Take a seat. I'm sure you have fascinating insights into all of this.

She really didn't want to. But...she and Locke were actually hard up for cash recently (hence the frequent jobs), which meant hardly any money for booze and, well, wine was hardly her first (or second or third) choice, its strength was in it's concise alcohol percentage. If she was going to have to spend the rest of the day feeling like a cowardly little shit, then she wanted to do it with as little memory of it as possible.

Plus, cold noodles sucked ass. She wanted to heat them up. After putting them on the stove, she found herself falling into one of the kitchen chairs with a bit of a frown.

This didn't make things any less awkward for Mirajane, whoever, who really felt a bit violated by what Haven may or may not have overheard. While she had no problem with her daughter, either one of them, really, crashing at the house (she actually welcomed it), she just wanted some key in to their presence beforehand. She was ready to make this known to her daughter though, but got caught up in figuring how to best go about it without Haven blowing up and refusing to ever come over again (this sounded like a dramatic reaction, but Haven was known for such flair) and missed her chance as Evergreen seized her own.

"So you and Locke," she began slowly, eyeing her niece with obvious ill-intentions. "Fucking like dogs, right?"

"Evergreen-"

"I'm leaving."

"Can neither of you take a joke?" the woman griped then as Haven got about ready to ditch her noodles and Mirajane was prepared to bury Ever in one. Rolling her eyes, Evergreen said, "Your mother's right, anyways. Intimacy is more than...that. It's...little things. Like what you do when you're together. Me and your uncle like to go out every year, at the start of each season, and just spend the night under the stars. Or the way he'll pick me up any of those nice, little figurines he finds around, if he knows I don't have it."

More comfortable now, Mirajane found herself nodding some, reaching for her wine once more. "Sex is physical, but emotional is part of it too. How you show someone you love them."

This sounded like a super boring conversation that Haven wanted no part in. Reaching for the bottle of wine, she was about ready to just take a straight swig from it, but one glare from her aunt and she knew better.

As Haven stood to get a glass for herself, Evergreen turned her attention back to the woman's mother as she said, "Maybe you and Laxus should try going out. Like on a date. It has to have been awhile. Or oh, go away for a weekend. Then just kind of ease back into it."

"Oh, I know," Mira sighed a bit. "It' just hard to...wanna get away."

Rejoining the table, Haven snatched the wine bottle right back up, still unconcerned with the conversations at hand.

"There has to be somewhere," Ever was going on, "between the two of you, that you wanna go. I can think of a thousand places I wanna visit. Only a handful with your brother though."

Mira only sighed as she said, "Laxus will do anything I ask, right now. If I say I wanna get away-"

"Then say it. Soon." Evergreen gave her a knowing glance. "Laxus won't stay this agreeable forever, you know. Have that big talk I mentioned earlier and follow it up with suggesting you guys go on a short vacations. After this year? You guys deserve it."

This got a soft nod of agreement out of Mirajane which gave Evergreen to hone back in on her goal; to bother the hell out of Haven.

"So," she began around the rim of her glass, "you never did tell us, Haven."

"Tell you what?" she questioned back, suspicion laced in her tone.

"About what you and Locke do," her aunt insisted, sounding decently sincere. "To be emotionally intimate."

That sounded super gross and Haven openly rolled her eyes as she said, "Nothing."

"You know that's not true," her aunt continued to goad. "I do happen to know the two of you, you know, Haven."

"So what?"

"I see you," Evergreen insisted. "And am around you. You guys are pretty loving towards- Well, maybe you're right."

"What do you mean?" Sitting up then, Haven had been duped into giving her full attention to the woman, who was certainly going to use it to her advantage.

"Just that, well, you know." Evergreen shook her head. "Locke's always doing nice things for you. Taking care of you. Looking out for you. But, when I think about it, you never do anything for him."

"That's not true."

"But isn't it?"

"Ever," Mirajane intervened with a frown. "Honestly."

"I'm being honest with her," the other woman insisted. "I'm not even the person who should be having these conversations with her. It should be you, Mira."

"This conversation," Haven griped with a frown, "is dumb. Locke doesn't do shit for me."

"Language," Mira muttered before realizing something and frowning over at her daughter. "And you know that's not true, Haven, so don't say it. Locke does a lot for you. Don't be mean to him just to get back at Ever."

Haven was stewing now though, Ever could tell, and as she sat back, victorious, her niece only continued to brew.

"I do plenty for Locke," Haven snapped, finally. "You don't even know, Ever."

"Well, I agree," the woman insisted. "That's why I'm asking you to tell me-"

"I...I… Shut up! What do you know anyways, huh? I don't want my relationship to be anything like yours anyways," Haven vented with a glare. "Either of you. At all. So-"

"That's fine," Ever hummed, "but it doesn't change the fact that relationships are two way streets. Locke was devastated, when you… But he won't be that way forever, you know. And he's not a little boy anymore. Puppy love dies, eventually, Haven. He won't wanna put up with some sour woman who constantly berates and degrades him for no benefit. You're in a real relationship now. An adult one. Eventually you have to act like one."

She'd started out tauntingly, Ever had, but somewhere in her jumble of sentences the jovial tone died out and then they were all just sitting there, the three of them, considering where exactly this advice, or lack of it so far, had gotten them in life.

"I'm sure," Mira eventually spoke, reaching over for her daughter, "that you and Locke have a handle on your relationship. Ever is just-"

"I have to go." Rejecting any sort of contact with her mother, Haven stood then, downed her wine, before (after testing her balance), going to pour the pot of noodles in a bowl and head out. Over her shoulder as she disappeared out the backdoor, she added, "Your wine sucks, Ever."

With her gone, Mira turned a disappointed frown onto the other woman, but Evergreen only shrugged, maybe somewhat remorseful, but still feeling solid in the fact that what she said was true. Haven couldn't just shit her relationship away, putting nothing into it, and expecting something else in return.

And honestly, maybe Mirajane needed to hear that more than her daughter.

It would be easy to throw everything off on Laxus, as far as the crumbling of their marriage went. And, honestly, she was prone to do it, not so much to escape the reality of her own hand in the dealings, but rather because he took the most obvious steps in the dysfunction. His drinking and distance had certainly furthered things along, but her checking out about halfway through, throwing in the towel, giving in and just deciding that it didn't matter, none of them really mattered, that had been the key, the absolute assurance that no one was going to save them.

Not just their marriage, but their family, their daughters, in general.

It was easy to put off Haven's death on Laxus, just like it was easy to put off her entire life trajectory. It could have been read a mile off, honestly, and they all knew, every single one of them, that the outcome they got was always going to be the end result. She was reckless from the time she learned how to wield magic and fine, yes, Laxus wanted to deal with it, Laxus always claimed that he was the only one who could ever deal with it, but gosh, Mirajane was there too. She could have stepped in too. And she knew it, the entire time. Laxus and Haven had a connection, fine, and she cared far more for him than she did her mother, but it was her mother who she listened to. Whose directive she rarely challenged.

While Laxus was the obvious hard-nosed parent, Mirajane was far more the disciplinarian. For sure, he was the enforcer, but she was the one who had to lay down the law. But...when he started to falter, when Haven's issues clearly brought up his own unresolved childhood trauma, why didn't she step in? If she truly could make the man do anything she said, and she was nearly certain she always had been able to, then why was it that she gave in too?

Laxus quit because he had no idea how to go on, but Mirajane just lost the strength to fight. Or was it the will? The interest?

They both gave up.

While what he gave himself into instead was far more damaging and torched a lot more ground, she actively insisted on refusing to release the water supply. What Laxus did was more obvious to outsiders and garnered her a lot of support during the long descent, but she knew better than to ignore her own faults.

Evergreen and any trace of alcohol were gone by the time Laxus arrived back home. Mirajane was in the kitchen, cooking them dinner, and she called out to him to shower off before meeting her in the living room. And though he was sore and kinda wishing he hadn't gone out with the guys, Laxus wasn't dumb enough to not fear those words.

They needed to talk? Talk? He was more freaked than Haven was about that dreaded I word.

The woman came bearing a cup of coffee some odd minutes later when he knew he could no longer hide out in the bathroom and had to face the music. She presented him with it as they sat together on the couch, Laxus frowning down at the liquid before looking around.

"Where's Haven?" he asked. "Did she already take off? Is she gonna spend the night again tonight?"

With a frown of her own, Mirajane questioned back, "You knew she was here?"

"Of course I did." He tapped at his nose. "I could, uh, smell her."

"Right… Well, Evergreen kind of scared her off, so I don't-"

"Ever was here?" He took a deeper sniff then, Laxus did, before nodding. Yeah, probably. "What'd she say to her?"

"Well," Mira sighed, looking away, "I really doubt you wanna-"

"It was that bad?"

"No. It was just about, well, Locke and Haven's-"

"I don't know what to know." He went back to staring down at his coffee cup. "At all."

"See?"

And they sat comfortably then, as they had the past few weeks, together, but still separated by something they couldn't quite describe. They could have stayed in it, this unsteady and yet momentarily stable bubble, but Mirajane couldn't take it anymore. She didn't want to. While the past few years, if not decade, were not how she wanted to live her entire life, this uncertain ease was hardly a way of life either. There had to be more than this.

And if there wasn't…

If there wasn't…

"It really hurt me when you ran off after we just got Haven back."

Laxus blinked, glancing up from his cup of coffee then before staring intently back down at it as he let out a soft, "Oh."

"But I know that I really hurt you, before that, by completely shutting you out after she...after we thought that she...died."

That got him to look up fully then, as well as reach out for her with his free hand as he spoke her name in a tone that begged her to stop, but Mira only shifted further away from him and continued.

"I know it did," she insisted. "Laxus. You don't have to tell me about it if you don't want, but… Just because Haven's back now doesn't mean that we can just go back to how things were. Before she died. Before she left. Things weren't even that good then, anyways, to wanna go back. We can't go back. I'm not telling you that we can or can't go back, but dragon, we...we can't go back. And if you don't want to go forwards with me, then-"

"I do."

"Do you? Or do you just think that you do?" She wasn't letting up. Not this time. "I'm serious, Laxus, because we have to get back on the same page. I'm not okay with this."

"This?"

"All of this," she clarified with a wave of her hands. "I want to be with someone that I love and care about. And I do. Love and care about you. But not how I should. It feels like we're, like, so old or something, but we're not. We're not. And I don't want to be boxed in. Especially now that Haven and Marin are out of the house. I want to live again. Really live. And go out and travel and do things and be with someone who wants to do those things too. Gosh, Lax, I know you just got back, but you won't even tell me if you're going to return as Master or not. I don't want to live a suspended life anymore. I have to know. Are you going to go forward with me?"

Laxus had stayed silent through her entire spiel just about and Mirajane thought that he was holding it all in, to unload back at her, but he only shifted away as well, looking off.

"I've always felt like I fucked something up, demon," he admitted softly. "When I...married you. And had kids with you. I'm not… I just always thought, if I did this one thing, just one more thing, that then my life would make sense. If I just married you, if we just had Haven, if I just made enough jewels, or if I just did well enough at being Master then...then… But it never all came together. I still felt walled off. From you guys. And I think I… I broke Haven. And Marin's fine now, maybe, but… I don't think I'm good for you. Any of you, but especially you. I love you so much, but I don't wanna hurt you anymore. Or hold you back. I'm just not good enough."

She took a breath then before, when she moved closer to him, it wasn't to reach for him, but rather fall into him a bit, her face now held up by his shoulder, into which she whispered, "When have I been good for you?"

"You are," he told her simply, "the good in me."

"No."

"Yes."

"I've spent our entire marriage making you do things that cause you to be uncomfortable or force you into massive life changes just because I think it'll be better for us. For me, really." She sighed then, into the fabric of his sleeve. "I make you do things that I want, for my own benefit, and then lie and get others to believe it as well, that it'll be better for you, but it never is. I'm so selfish and-"

"No, you're not."

"Yeah, Laxus, I am." Lifting her head then, she frowned at him. "And you are too. We both were. This whole time. The second something got hard with one another, we just looked the other way. I should have said something to you, a long time ago, about your drinking, but-"

"I don't want to talk about-"

"Too bad. We're going to."

"Mira-"

"It got worse, after Haven… But it was so bad before that. And I didn't say anything, not because I didn't care, but because… I didn't know how to help you. So I ignored it. And we both did the same thing with Haven." She looked off then. "I'm sorry. Laxus. For blaming you for everything. I did what was easiest for me and it hurt you. I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry too." When she wouldn't look back at him, the man insisted, "I am, Mira. I'm sorry that I made Haven leave. After that stupid S-Class mission shit. I shouldn't have done that. It was stupid and reckless and impulsive. Everything I do with her has always been that way. We both get angry and blow up and I know I'm supposed to be the adult, or I was, but I just… I was drunk. A drunk. Through a lot of it. A functioning one, but one that should have known better. And on the cliff…"

Mira blinked then before trying to stop him with a, "You don't have to," but he only shook his head before continuing."

"I never told you, did I? About what happened? On the cliff? Because it was awful. The whole thing was awful. I just… I got there too late and it had already hit her, the...orb or whatever, sliced through her, and I just went crazy and attacked...stupid fucking monster shit, the summing, whatever, and… When I calmed down, Locke's dumb ass was over her and they were all crying and upset and I know but I kept trying to..." He dropped the mug onto the coffee table then, spilling some of it's contents, but he didn't care. Neither did she. Laxus only held his hands, them sparking a bit as he said, "I kept trying to shock her back awake. I thought… I could feel it, I knew, that she wasn't there anymore, but I thought that if I could just...wake her up, I wanted her to wake up, but she wouldn't and they were looking at me, to do something, to fix it and I couldn't. And then I had to lay her down there, all alone, the ground and...and…

"I see it. Still. So much more now. So much more than I did. Back before. When I drank. But now, every time I close my eyes or my mind starts to drift and… It's dumb. I know. Because she's right here. I can go see her if I want. She's right here and safe and fine, but… And there was so much I wanted to tell her. Then. When… I wanted to tell her how sorry I was, about everything, and how I wanted things to be different and that it wasn't her fault. Not all of it. That I should have looked out for her more and protected her, that I would do things differently, if I could, but then, when she came back, when I had the chance, I… I ran away. Again." His hands dropped and the sparking stopped, but Laxus only sniffled, tears pricking his eyes as Mira sat stonily beside him. Softly, more to himself than her, he went on, "She won't even talk to me. I know I'm just supposed to be thankful that she'll tolerate me, but I'm not. I wanna be close to her. Marin's forgiven me. For everything. I don't think Marin ever hated me. And I've been awful to her. Her whole life. Haven, I...I gave up, but with Marin, I don't think I ever tried. And she's so fucking good, Mira. How'd she get to be so fucking good? It ain't from me. She's so bright and kind and I wish I wasn't a fucking guild master. Ever. At all. If I was a teacher or a carpenter or whatever the fuck else is out there, anything, at all, then she wouldn't have ever wanted to waste her life in my dumb guildhall. She's so perfect and I was horrible for her. To her. To both of them. I don't deserve them."

His head fell that time, into his hands, and he wasn't crying, not really, but he felt like he wanted to. Slowly though, Mirajane shifted back towards him, a hand rested on his back as she rubbed it soothingly. With a sniffle, he turned his head just a bit to look at her.

"I just want you to be happy, Mira," he told her softly then. "You and Haven and Marin. If you can't be with me, then don't be. I mean that. The three of you deserve it. After all that."

"Yeah, maybe, Lax," she agreed, "but so do you."

"I don't even know what it means anymore," he admitted. "I know that I'm happy when Marin comes over. And talks to me. And I've been really happy these past few weeks, just being around you all again, but sometimes I just feel so low and-"

"Then talk to me. Dragon." Reaching out then, she grabbed both of his hands in her own, leaning over a bit so that they could both stare each other right in the eyes. "That's what I'm here for, isn't it? What's the point of marriage if not that? And if you can't, then talk to someone. Freed or Bickslow or Elf or...someone. Anyone. If you don't, then you're not going to stay better. That's just how it is."

Sniffling again, he said, "I just don't think that I'm ready, Mira. To...do all the things that you want. Now. And I don't wanna trap you or whatever, but-"

"Moving forwards doesn't mean picking up and leaving today to travel around Fiore, Lax." She smiled at him, finally, a sympathetic one, but it was welcomed. "It means that every action we take, no matter how small, has to be with that idea in mind. We can't just ignore one another and fall backwards, into how things were before. When I talk, you have to listen. And you can't shut me out. I won't do it to you anymore, so don't do it to me. It's not too late, but we have to actually try. And it doesn't even have to be so serious all the time. Just silly things. Just real things. How it used to be. You used to be my favorite person to spend my day with. I just want that again. Even if my day is confined to this house."

He brought his hands up then, taking hers along with them, and nuzzled gently against her knuckles, the stubble of his cheeks brushing roughly against her delicate flesh.

"You wanna fall in love again?" he asked her then and, when Mira nodded, he sighed some before nodding as well. "I guess I kinda do too."

"Only kinda?"

"If I say that I do," he reasoned then, "that would mean that we fell outta love. And I don't wanna admit that."

"Sometimes things break, dragon." She released his hands then, just so she could move one to his cheek, where she stroked a thumb gently against that same, rough patch that had stung her only moments before. "But that doesn't mean you can't fix them."

It had been so long. Too long, really. Enough so that Mirajane giggled when he hesitated before kissing her, and he only rested his forehead against hers when, before it could go any further than that, there was a knock at the door.

"Ignore it," Mira insisted to him softly, but they knocked again, as well as called out for her and ugh.

Laxus looked pretty snarly, as he sat back on the couch, but Mira only got to her feet in a hurry.

"Evergreen," Lisanna began the second the door was opened, standing on the front porch in her coat and scarf, "said that she thought she made you upset before and I came over to see if you-"

"I don't wanna talk. I'm busy."

"Mira-"

"Lisanna." And she gave her younger sister a heavy stare then that the other woman thought she understood, maybe. "I'm busy."

"O-Oh." Lisanna frowned though she did take a step back. "Well, come by the hall tonight, if you wanna talk. Or drop by the house. Or-"

"Okay. Alright." Mira was trying really hard not to sound annoyed, but the clipping of her tone was rather obvious. "I'll see you later."

Lisanna was hardly back down the porch steps before the door closed and locked. As Mira turned back around though, to address the man on the couch, she found him at his feet.

"She always had," he remarked simply as the woman came back over to him, "the worst timing."

"I used to think she did it on purpose," Mira mused. "But now I'm not so sure."

When she moved to head to the bedroom though, he only caught her arm and reminded the woman, "You have something cooking on the stove."

This made her frown as well before turning to rush off. "I'll let it simmer. You're not too hungry, are you?"

He was starving. Bickslow had neglected to pack a lunch like he assured both Freed and Laxus, who were attempting to finally, after all these years, to give him at least some responsibility.

"Nope." He waited for the woman, in the doorway of the kitchen, as she fiddled hurried around with something in a pot on the stove. Leaning against the wall, he found himself smiling now as well, really, as he assured the woman, "Not at all."

They'd be back around, eventually, anyways, before the night was through. The energy was different though, in the house now, even though it was just the two of them. And they both knew it wouldn't last, not like this at least, and they would have to do more, a lot more, to insure that it stayed this way, but Laxus didn't think it hurt anything, to allow themselves to relish in it for the day.

To be happy about it.

Just for a day.

Before they went to bed truly, Laxus checked to make sure Haven hadn't accidentally locked her bedroom window back, from the night before (that they definitely almost always knew, back in the day, when she was slipping in and out of), to insure she could get back in if she needed. Mirajane though, as they fell in it together, much closer now, assured him that this would not be the case.

"I have a feeling," she yawned tiredly, "that Haven's not gonna come around for a few days."

And she was right.

If Evergreen and her mother were all buddy-buddy now, she definitely wasn't going to be frequenting the house.

Which is why she crashed at Marin's apartment again, in the evenings, her younger sister hardly paying her any mind at all. She could tell that something was up, not by her sister's presence, which was commonplace now, but rather her attitude. She was being kind of snippy and illusive, but she'd been that way since the trial announcement and, paired with Locke being out, Marin figured her sister was still feeling kind of crummy.

She was actually very busy, Marin was, one of the day her sister was over, talking to her best friend Kai on her communication lacrima when Haven knocked at her bedroom door.

"Can I have this?"

Kai, through the lacrima, could only see Marin frown before nodding her head and saying, "Of course, Haven."

"Like, take it home have," the her older sister confirmed. "Back to the apartment."

"I can just buy another one, I guess," Marin said slowly. "Do you...not have any? Or...not use it? Normally? Haven?"

"No. Why? Should I?"

"I mean-"

"I might not even need it. I just want it for when Locke comes back."

"O-Okay. That's… Alright."

"I'll pay you back-"

"No, it's-"

"What is it?" Kai's inquisitive nature was killing him. "Marin, turn me around! I want to see! Haven, is it inappropriate? Or what? Why can't I see?"

Haven narrowed her eyes at where the lacrima sat before Marin, on the bed, before turning on her heel and leaving the teen alone in her bedroom to make faces at the guy alone.

"What was it?" Kai continued to complain as Marin only sighed with a shake of her head.

"It's was just a bottle of something to put in your hair," she told him simply. "You know, in the shower? To make it nice and-"

"Oh. Yes. Cleanliness products. Like shampoo. Or soaps. I definitely use those, now that Erza isn't here to make me. Yep."

"I send you a care package full of soap and deodorant every month," Marin started to complain. "If you're not using it-"

"I think I just proved that I am, Marin."

"Kai-"

"Why would Haven care what her hair looks like?" the guy mused then and, from behind him, Marin could see Lance moving around their bedroom, clearly somewhat annoyed by how loud Kai was being, so late. She could relate. "And for Locke?"

Marin only shrugged. "They're dating, so-"

"So?"

"I could call her back in here and you could ask her-"

"Nope." Kai even laughed a bit. "I'm good."

Marin was glad.

But Kai was right. Kind of. Haven was rare to put effort into looking nice for anything. She could, when she cared, but she rarely cared, and this was still one of those times. She looked just the same, even, when Locke arrived back to the apartment one afternoon to find her hanging around.

"Ah, cool," he remarked in greeting, discovering her watching something on the movie lacrima. "Did you just start this? Or-"

"Shut up." She was rushing to power it back down, anyways. As Locke made a face, she only came over to take his bag from him and harshly toss it right on the ground. As he glared, Haven took his hand. "C'mere."

"I could have had something important in that bag, you know," he griped, but she was hardly listening.

The apartment wasn't very big and it wasn't like he was resisting anyways, so it was easy enough for Haven to drag the man into the bathroom. Releasing his hand then, she only moved to mess with the tap to the bathtub as Locke, still expecting something, some sort of problem that she'd either created or discovered (it was almost always the former), stood over her shoulder, watching. It was over that shoulder though that she glanced up at him.

"Strip down."

Locke made a face before saying, "You're forward."

"Do it."

He huffed some as she went back to filling the tub, but not hesitating as he pulled his shirt over his head and asking, "What exactly were you watching on the lacrima, huh?"

"You're so stupid."

But he was snickering and she was rolling her eyes, she stood once more, the tub plugged up and water rushing in. Locke thought she'd move to do as he was, but Haven seemed to be playing some kind of game, like always, and even though he was tired and mostly just wanted to go to bed, he figured he'd play along.

He was hoping it would lead where he thought it only logically would, but somehow he was standing completely bare and she was just standing there with her arms crossed over her chest, staring down at the tub. When she noticed he was nude, she only gave him a glance before nodding at the tub.

"Get in."

"Are you?" he asked back.

"Do I look like I am?"

Narrowing his eyes, he began, "If you're mad at me over something, Have-"

"If I was mad at you, Locke," she answered back in a snippy tone and he was just ruining it, ruining everything, like always, "then you would know. Now get in the tub."

Locke was a lot of things and, unfortunately, frequently duped by Haven was one of them, so he did as she requested, sitting down on his butt all while still staring up at her.

"Happy?" he questioned, but she snorted before moving to turn the faucet off. Still watching, he added, "It's not too late to join me."

"Yeah, like I wanna swim around in your disgusting filth. Fucking gross."

"I love it when you talk all sexy to me."

Haven left then though, without even a retort, and Locke felt somewhat unfulfilled. For a lot of reasons.

She was back quickly though, with a few different things in her hands, but he hardly had a moment to question this as she literally threw a balled up, clean washcloth at his face, which got a slight complaint.

"Bathe," she said then, but not as an order, more as an incredulous realization that he wasn't doing so without instruction. "Moron. You just got back from a job. Do you want me to tell you that you're gross again?"

"Will you say it in the same tone?"

"Locke-"

"You're being super weird," he pointed out. "And I'm following your directions and doing what you want, so if either of us should get an attitude-"

"Just," she told him then, sounding more calm and perhaps a bit serious, "be quiet, okay? Please?"

Locke complied, but it was with exaggerated expressions that he picked up the soap from the lip of the tub and began to scrub his body. He still thought this was some sort of weird, elaborate setup to embarrass him somehow. Haven loved that. But he couldn't quite figure out how, given it was truly only the two of them in the apartment.

He stilled though, hesitant when she moved to stand behind him, in the tiny space between the end of the tub and the wall.

"Wha-," he tried, but she only shook her head when he titled his head up to stare at her.

"Be," she insisted then, "quiet."

And he decided to listen.

He could tell what she was doing, anyways, as he went back to dragging the washcloth and suds across his chest, as she began to pull down the band that he'd tied his hair up with, causing his tangled and matted locks to tumble all about.

Haven stared down at him, from this strange position they were in, for a moment or two before saying, "Dunk your head under the water."

He didn't want to. He was really starting to get a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach as it was being increasingly clear that, wow, she really wasn't going to join him in the bath. Still, he doubted he'd done anything to deserve electrocution in the woman's eyes and moved to do as she asked, shifting forwards some, so that he had room to submerge his head under the water. He stayed long enough for his hair to become damp, which is what he was figuring she wanted, before springing back up.

Haven reached around him then, to where their usual, shared, generic shampoo sat, balancing preciously on the lip of the tub. Nabbing it, she was quick to dump some out on his head and Locke still wasn't sure he understood, but he decided to just go with it.

No one had ever...washed his hair for him before. Well, maybe his mother or father, probably, when he was a little boy, but that was about it. But when Haven was, uh, gone, back when she thought she was finding herself or whatever, he always found that women were usually interested in it. Giggling and shit when they asked if they could touch it or play with it.

Haven didn't giggle. At anything, really, that he'd ever seen, unless she was really, really drunk, and even then, he had to be on his best game. But he was silent now, per her request, and she seemed to be completely sober.

It felt nice though, once you got passed the weirdness of it. She did like to tickle the top of his head, sometimes, when she'd lay above him, on the couch or bed, and he'd sit with his back up against it, working on some of his spell breaking. This kind of felt like an extension of that, maybe. Just take to an extreme.

Relaxing into it, Locke found it actually kinda soothing and, when she gently pushed at his head again, he knew to dunk it back under the water, slightly disappointed they were through. This time when he sprang back up though, she had something else, the other thing she'd brought in from the other room. A bottle of something. Nicer than their shampoo.

It smelled fragrant and kinda feminine, honestly, when she popped the little cork on it, but Locke knew better now than to make any kind of complaint. Closing his eyes, he leaned his head back some and let Haven do as she pleased, pouring a bit of the liquid on the top of head head and working it through his still rather tangled mass of hair.

Softly, she muttered, "Tell me about your job."

He almost forgot all about it.

Usually retelling something like this would animate him, make him feel like a little kid again, describing, perhaps in too vivid of detail to truly be memories, all that had gone on. But this was different. Just like everything had been, since he stepped foot into the apartment that day.

Haven listened with a reserve she usually didn't have. No matter how he'd done on a job, she always had some sort of comment or critique, but she only made slight noises of listening when he paused, and he found that he missed it, her bravado, interjections, and typical assholery, but...this was good too.

This was really good.

After his head was dunked that time, Haven stood, finished it seemed, and went to wash her hands off in the sink. As Locke watched from behind wet, sticking hair, she only told him over the shoulder to dry off and join her in the bedroom.

He was, of course, quick to follow this command as well.

Still, she seemed to have other things in mind as he strode in, still nude, and disappointed a bit to find her the same. After he slipped on a clean pair of boxers though, Haven's eyes only seemed to beckon him over to the bed and who was he to refuse.

He sat in the middle of the bed, legs crossed, as she sat behind him, his brush in her hands, and running it gently, even when there was a snag, through his hair as Locke sat still, allowing this without question.

"I tried to stay here. Alone. While you were gone."

Haven mentioned this to his back, as she continued to comb through the many tangles in the man's hair, while Locke only made his own soft hum of understanding.

"I got… I'm just going to have to work on it. Okay?"

"Okay."

"I went to my parents'." She found she rather liked it. The stillness. Everything felt so calm between them for once. "I think… I just don't wanna ever be like them. You and me. Get...stuck. Like they are. Or whatever they are. Okay?"

Locke had a lot of other thoughts, both on her parents and his own, and even the two of them, but it wasn't his place now, to voice any of this. Just agree softly rather than rebuke.

They usually went to the hall, after a job, for food, and Locke had earned them enough for it, anyways, but for some reason, when she eventually finished with his hair, he and Haven only found themselves shifted back into the bed, to lay there, beside one another.

"Thank you," he offered. When she gave him a look, he shook his head some. "I'm serious. Thanks. Haven." He held his hand up, between them as they faced one another on their sides. "I missed you."

Reaching out, she poked the middle of his palm, allowing him to close his hand around her tinier one before they both fell, together, back into the space between them on the bed. "Yeah. Same."

Haven had always worn one of two necklaces, and at times both, around her neck for the entirety of her teen years. When she gave them to Marin, or at least allowed her to keep them, during the summer, she neglected to think about how weird it would feel, each and every day. Her hand would come up, to play with something, either a gemstone or a lightning bolt pendant, only to come up empty. Locke had noticed this, of course, many times, and though it would always kind of feel weird, when he saw them hanging from Marin's neck now, he was reverent of the need for change. To put the past behind them.

So he got Haven a replacement, on her birthday, only a few weeks back. It hung there now, shining a bit in the light of the setting sun, shining dimly around the window blinds, and he let go of her hand, just to drag a finger down the chain to where, in the center, there hung a simple blue stone.

She'd questioned him, because Haven could never just be grateful, when he gave it to her, about what it meant or why he'd chosen that one, but he could only shrug, because she was already all wired that night, about having to be around her father, and he didn't wanna make it any worse.

"I dunno," he admitted truthfully then. "I just saw it and thought of you and how nice it matched your eyes."

She cold him stupid and corny and how it meant nothing at all, and she was in a super bad mood that night, but she hadn't taken it off sense and to Locke, that meant more than anything.

"If we don't go get something to eat now," he was telling her that day though, as they laid there in bed, "then we'll never go."

Haven wanted to tell him not to go then, but she knew he'd listen to her and, honestly, she was kinda hungry…

"Your hair looks nice today," she told him as they left the apartment, her tugging a cap over her own while Locke snuggled back into his hoodie.

"Thanks," he told her with a toothy grin. "My girlfriend did it for me."

Zipping up her own coat, Haven told him simply, "She sounds great."

"Well, once you get passed the way she won't just come out and say what she means," he remarked, bringing Haven's mood right back down to zero, "she's pretty awesome."

She held his hand, anyways, on their trek to the guildhall, and when they got there, she went to go get speak with her sister for the both of them. It kinda had to be that way as his father and Pantehrlily, who hadn't seen him in over a week, immediately set in on him.

Locke tossed his father off though, when the man put him in a sleeper hold and tried to rustle up his hair.

"You look like you're in a good mood," Lily remarked truthfully as he fluttered around on his wings, a bit of a knowing smile at his lips.

"You and your woman, eh, Locke?" Gajeel snickered at him and Locke made a face, but only shrugged some, not openly answering.

Haven found her sister very busy behind the bar, but Marin did stop to smile at her and remark on Locke's return. Just as quickly though, she was being called away by someone yelling about a refill and Haven rarely envied her sister in those days.

At all.

She was surprised to find her mother at the hall that night though, actually hanging around her Aunt Lisanna and, annoyingly enough, Locke's mom, which would turn into a whole thing and Haven wanted to avoid them, but Locke was always weak for his own mother and the second he realized she was there, he went right lover to speak with her, which meant Haven to go to speak to her own and ugh…

The spring trials couldn't get there fast enough.

"Did you just get back from a job?" Levy asked her son to which he nodded. She smiled though, remarking, "You look nice."

He snickered, that dumb one he did that sounded like his father, tossing a hand behind his head, while Haven only rolled her eyes.

"I've actually been wanting to see you, Haven," Mirajane was speaking then though, as her daughter stood before the table. "You left the other day so quickly and I just-"

"I told you." Haven nearly as receptive to her own mother. "I had things to do."

"Well-"

"You'd be lucky anyways," her aunt took over then, a glint in her eyes as Mira made a face, "to get a chance to see your mother. This is the first time she's left the house in days. She's just been so busy at home-"

"Lisanna," Mira hissed at her and Levy giggled down into her drink while Locke frowned in confusion and Haven made a face, in equal misunderstanding as well as a lack of desire to understand.

"Maybe I'll be by the house later," Haven offered simply and it felt like something of an olive branch. Turning to walk off, she said, "Before we leave on our next job."

Locke saw some guys he'd been missing the past few times he was in the hall and Haven let him go hang out for awhile, taking her place alone up at the bar instead, to wait on their food. Marin, noting her sister soon enough, was quick to bring over a mug and linger, just for a moment.

"Did you like it?" she asked eventually, getting the blonde's gaze. "The stuff for your hair?"

"Yeah." Haven even allowed herself to smile. "I really did."