Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fairy Tail or Blue Exorcist

Researching was boring. At least, that's what Rin was thinking as they spent weeks doing little beyond research. More interesting things happened in town, there was an odd festival that ended with Laxus trying to take over the guild, and even then, Rin just kept working on finding a way out. Mira would help as much as she could, giving him advice on what books to read and telling her what she'd learned from her studies. Yet, nothing seemed to fit. He had read all the books on teleportation, or at least as many as he'd been able to handle. He'd found maybe two books theorizing the existence of other worlds…but nothing beyond that.

"We can go to another library, Rin. Fairy Tail might have a decent collection of texts on magic, but it is by no means a full variation of it." Mira was trying to cheer him up, walking through the streets. She'd often do this, when Rin was losing hope with their research. Since he was now living on his own, spending time with her was actually where he got most of his social interactions. Sure, he'd try and spar with Natsu on occasion and get dragged into guild fights, but it wasn't quite the same now. They'd started asking him questions about why he wasn't using his gravity magic anymore, or why he'd started carrying his sword in a sheath on his back rather than in his pocket dimension he used to have. Rin wasn't able to answer, so he'd dropped out in favor of trying to keep himself hidden just for a little while longer.

"Sounds like a plan!" Rin tried to perk up, grinning at her. Yet, when Mira laughed at him, he knew he had failed. "Come on, I was trying to be excited! I'm just tired of all this reading and sitting around. I want to do something for a change."

"Well, you did take that bandit hunting job last week."

Shrugging, Rin nodded. He needed to make some money to take care of himself now, after all. "Yeah…but that was boring. I mean, who is going to expect to be facing down a half-demon with blue fire?"

"Most people don't have anywhere near an accurate guess as to what kind of magic they're dealing with when facing a wizard, Rin. You can't exactly call that an advantage in comparison to others."

"So?" Rin glared at her, and Mira only chuckled again. "Whatever. I'm plenty surprising. I can do a ton of things that they never see coming."

"I'm sure you can, Rin." Mira ruffled his hair playfully, making Rin's cheeks turn pink. "Now…if you're really feeling that adamant about it, I suppose we can go take a little bit of a break today." He stared at her, blinking for a moment. Was she agreeing to let him stop reading for today? He slowly began to grin widely, his pace quickening at her words.

"Really? That's awesome! I heard there's this cool circus coming to town, and I've been dying to go see it. They've got these acrobats that use wind magic, so when they do tricks, they can stay in the air for so much longer and—"

Mira was already laughing, smiling brightly at him. "It sounds like you already had plans made after all!" She nudged him, making Rin stumble slightly. "You sneaky little demon. You tricked me into letting you off for today!"

"But—but I planned to invite you along, Mira!"

"Hmm…" She eyed him carefully, getting an odd glint in his eyes that made Rin wonder if he'd missed something else. "I might choose to forgive you…if you get me dinner afterwords as well."

"I'll make it even better and actually cook instead! None of the restaurants in town know how to make decent rice." She raised her eyebrows at that, but Rin didn't let her take her promise back now. Grabbing her wrist, he ran off down the streets, away from the library before she could object. "Now come on, or we'll miss the show!"

He hadn't been this excited for something in a long time. Rin didn't know what it was about the performance that really had his heart beating so quickly with anticipation, or why he was feeling so warm and bubbly when he took his seat by Mira, his shoulder brushing against hers due to the cramped space inside. No, he just knew that he wanted to enjoy his time here…before he went back to Yukio. The tickets had been cheap anyway, and it wasn't like he was worried about not affording rent or anything. He'd done a ton of jobs last week, to make up for his neglect while he'd been researching. Sure, they'd been small jobs, but they still paid. So, he could afford to relax now after all that hard work. In fact, Yukio and the old man would probably tell him to relax after all that. It was technically his first real job, since he hadn't been able to hold down any of the others.

The performers began to come out, and Rin watched with excitement as the show started with a simple mime, stuck in a box like the classic story. The sight made Rin think for a moment about that door from the island…but the image quickly faded away as more performers came out. The mime was literally shoved out of the stage, while jugglers took on the scene. They coordinated with each other, sometimes trading balls in the process of their performance. Yet, that still wasn't what he'd been eager for from the flyer. No, that was the trapeze artist, who came out for the finale at the end. He grinned widely when he saw them, grabbing and squeezing Mira's hand by his side. "Here they are! I told you, this is gonna be awesome."

Mira's gaze was on him, smiling softly and nodding. "I hope you enjoy it, Rin." She was quiet, but he didn't respond. No, he was watching as the performer used his wind magic to add speed to the trapeze, making it twist in turn in ways a room without wind just couldn't manage. Plus, he did all the tricks on top of it, twisting around the bar, jumping into the air and landing back down, and showing off pretty much every athletic talent Rin was lacking in. Sure, he could fight…but by no means was he flexible or capable of something like this.

He joined the applause at the end, rising to his feet with Mira joining him soon after. Walking out, he was still grinning, with Mira following after. "Did you see the way he actually got the bar to hover like that in the air? And then he just dropped down, and the magic dropped with it, and then he was swinging back and…" He broke off, seeing Mira was quiet, her head lowered and facing the ground. "What's wrong?"

She looked up, meeting his gaze with a smile. Yet, her cheeks were moist. Had she been crying? What had he said wrong? Ring tried to think of what he'd done, but nothing came to mind. "It's nothing Rin. I'm fine." She walked by his side, shaking her head. "You said you were going to make me dinner tonight too, right? After all, that was the deal to make up for neglecting our work."

He nodded, still frowning faintly. "Yeah…I mean, if you still want. I don't want to force you if you aren't having fun…or if you have something else to do."

"I planned to spend the entire day in the library, goofball." He chuckled, shaking his head.

"Well, then you need to thank me for giving you a much more entertaining day!"

Mira laughed this time, but she still seemed off. Rin was quiet, trying to think of how to cheer her up as she followed him to his small apartment in town. It had a main living area, with a small kitchen in the corner. There was a room for the bathroom, and one for the bedroom, but for the most part it was fairly small. Mira sat down on the couch, while Rin walked towards the kitchen. "Are you in the mood for anything specific?"

"I'm fine with whatever you want to make, Rin."

Nodding, Rin smiled and got to work. He loved cooking, and having someone to cook for made it even better. Usually, it was just him in the house for meals. Unlike Lucy who had a team to constantly break into her house, Rin didn't have a set team to follow him around. Occasionally, he'd join other members on jobs, but he wasn't a constant in anyone's team. So, having Mira over was a rare thing, and he almost wished he'd cleaned up bit before inviting her here. There were still some dirty dishes in the sink from last night, and he knew his room would look like a disaster if anyone walked inside. Deciding they'd keep the meal out here, Rin finished cooking quickly and walked over to the living room with Mira, setting it out on the coffee table since his apartment didn't exactly have a dining room.

"Tada!" It wasn't anything complicated, just a basic curry dish. Yet, Mira stared at it with wide eyes. "Enjoy."

She picked up her plate, slowly starting to eat quietly as Rin did the same. It was…weird. Mira had been acting weird this entire time, after all. He didn't understand what it was, and even the food didn't seem to be cheering her up. Even after she finished and Rin went to take care of the dishes, he still didn't get it. So, finally fed up with the silence, he marched over to her with a scowl and his hands on his hips. "Are you ready to talk now, Mira?" She blinked at him, and Rin sat down on the floor in front of her, crossing his legs. "You always tell me to talk to you about stuff, so now it's your turn. Stop just ignoring me and pretending like everything is okay when it clearly isn't!"

She blinked, her eyes widening as she stared at him. He watched her, still glaring, and then he noticed she was starting to cry again. Blinking, he realized exactly how he'd sounded when he yelled at her…oh crap. "Wait! I, uh, I didn't mean it like that! Mira, you don't have to cry, just…" He glanced around, rushing and grabbing a box of tissues from his room before returning, making sure the door was shut to hide it from view. "Here."

She took the box, smiling at him and wiping her cheeks. Rin avoided her gaze, staring at his lap in silence. He'd screwed up. Mira probably was mad at him for not focusing enough like he should. This entire plan to go out and have fun for a day…it was stupid. "Thank you." She handed him the tissues back, and Rin just set them by his side. "And I'm sorry. I really didn't plan on it being so obvious…but I guess you are better at reading me than most people at the guild. Usually, people don't think much of it so long as I'm smiling."

"Well, just because someone smiles doesn't mean they're happy."

Mira nodded, staring down at her lap. "It's just…days like today, they really make it sink in, Rin. How much I love having you around the guild, being around someone who has gone through so many of the same things as me…it makes me feel like I have someone to talk to as well, if I ever want to." Rin looked up, frowning at her. She hadn't exactly talked to him about her problems before. "Not that I'm willing to talk about them anyway…but the option is there, and it feels…nice. But…you're not planning on staying, Rin. You're going away…back to your world, and when you do…that'll go away. It'll be quieter, there won't be anyone who gets excited over things like circuses coming to town, or magic almost everyone has seen already…it'll be boring again, and I'll have to get all of my entertainment solely from trying to get our guild couples together and nothing else." She seemed to try and make a joke out of it, but Rin had an odd feeling that she'd be doing exactly that. He'd heard quite a bit about Mira's constant insistence on who would be a cute couple at the guild. Strangely, she'd never given him any comments about it, though.

"You still have Elfman."

"True, but he's my brother. He's…great, but it isn't the same as having a friend, Rin. As having…" She trailed off, closing her eyes. Then, she sighed, looking away. "Really, I guess it doesn't matter either way. No matter what I feel or say, it isn't right for me to complain. You belong with your family, Rin…and if it were me, having a chance to get Lisanna back…I can't say I'd let anyone talk me out of it. I'd do anything to see her again, so that's exactly why I know I have to help you. It's just…I wish it didn't mean you had to go. I wish…that you could stay, and bring your family here, instead."

Yukio…didn't know a thing about this place. Rin hadn't seen him in years, and had no clue what kind of life his brother had. For all he knew, maybe Yukio was married now with kids. He couldn't just tear his brother away from his life, not like that. Yet…as he stared at Mira, he felt his heart pound painfully in his chest. Reaching forward, he took her hand, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Rin. Like I said…I'd probably do the same."

He still kept her hand in his, focusing on how smooth it was. Mira was a gentle person at heart, and she cared with everything she had. He'd been so focused on just having fun and getting back to his family…that he had forgotten how much the people he met here worried about him as well. "I…I wish it could be that way too." He spoke quietly, leaning forward and letting his head fall against her legs. He was going to cry again…he could feel it. Yet, he swallowed, trying to fight it back. Mira hadn't moved away, and Rin just wanted to keep his face hidden from sight right now. "I don't want to leave you guys. Natsu's crazy, but he's a lot of fun to hang out with. Plus, he never gets angry when I pick a fight with him. And Gildarts did so much to bring me here…Makarov too, giving me a place that feels like home…everyone. They're all a part of my life now…but…Yukio probably has a life of his own too. What kind of a brother would I be, if I just took him away from that because I didn't want to leave? I…I need to see him, but I don't want to leave…" He closed his eyes, trying to fight away the burning sensation.

Eventually, Rin felt a hand brush against his hair, rubbing it gently. "Is it wrong of me to say…that I'm happy to hear that?" Rin could hear the thickness in her voice, and he heard her sniffle slightly. "I'm glad you care about us Rin…because it means that one day, you might fight to come back and see us. And if you don't…then we'll always live on in your memories, just like you will in ours. We aren't going to be separate, not really Rin. So…just promise you'll keep us in mind. Fairy Tail wizards never forget each other…that's a requirement for anyone leaving the guild, after all."

"I promise." He didn't even need to think hard about that one. He reached over, grasping her hand tightly as he rested where he was. Her hand kept stroking his hair gently, and he found himself feeling warm and comfortable. His heart pounded in his chest, and oddly, it felt like it had when he'd gotten into the circus earlier today. Yet, he didn't think much of it. After all, he was happy to be here with Mira, to build up more memories to hold onto when he could no longer see her every day.

Writing this chapter...made me realize that I pretty much never write fluff. This is likely the closest to fluff I have written for a story, even if it did get emotional towards the end. Still, I had a bit of fun with it, since I think Rin can be somewhat amusing when he gets excited over little things like this. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thank you to the guest that reviewed as well. It means a lot to hear how much you've enjoyed this story, and I am more than happy to keep writing more of it (at least until I reach the end. I don't usually write sequels.). For everyone else, please review and tell me what you think!