Author's note: This chapter is so long overdue, I'm sorry. It's been sitting in my draft for a while and while I'm not really proud of it, I'm just gonna post this and not look back. I hope you guys enjoy it somewhat. Tbh, I haven't been in touch with the fandom at all so I'm just writing the characters on top of my head and hope that they don't seem OOC soo fingers crossed.

7. Unravel

The next day found Mirajane in the kitchen, fixing breakfast for her little family. She hummed a melody as she expertly flipped the last omelet on the frying pan. When the omelet finally turned into the perfect shade of golden, she slid the steaming egg onto Elfman's plate, which the bulky young man accepted with a mutter of gratitude. Mirajane eased onto her own seat, another freshly cooked omelet greeting her on her plate.

When she felt a heavy gaze upon her, she cocked an eyebrow amidst chewing her breakfast, "What?"

"O-oh, nothing. It's just that… you seem strangely happy today."

Mirajane stopped munching, tilting her head in wonder. "I do?"

"Yeah…"

She hummed, then shrugged. "I don't feel any different though. Haven't I always been like this?"

Elfman wanted to point out that she had been humming and smiling all morning which of course alarmed him for obvious reasons. A smile on his sister face usually only meant that she was up to something not good. But the genuine smile he was seeing now rarely ever graced her beautiful face and it seemed foreign and slightly unsettling more than anything. Instead, he chose the safest answer, "I've never heard you hum like that before."

His sister stared at him, seeming surprised herself, "Was I? I didn't even realize it."

"Y-Yeah…" his hand went to the back of his neck, scratching it in discomfort. "You've been doing that all morning. It actually sounds good."

Blush crept onto her pale complexion, and she muttered, "Don't embarrass me like that."

Like a child being scolded by his mother, Elfman straightened in his seat and apologized profusely. But he didn't stop pondering. What could possiblymake The Demon of Fairy Tail with the capital T and Dbe so happy that she started to hum a freaking melody. He didn't even know she was capable of such thing, let alone sounding so good. Perhaps she was simply born with the talent?

Eventually Elfman shrugged, who knows. But if her hum alone sounds that good, I wonder how good she'd sound when she actually sing.

He was still looking at her when his mind decided to take a sudden melancholic turn. Her usually sharp jaw gained some cheek fat, her eyes grew rounder, and her long wavy hair turned short, hanging above her shoulder now and perfectly framing her face. He remembered the cheerful and kind smile that always adorned that face, and he missed seeing it so badly. I wonder if Lisanna hid this kind of talent as well. If only I hadn't killed her, she would have been around long enough for me to find out. She wouldn't have suffered a terrible fate. She wouldn't—

"Elfman."

Mirajane's voice brought his attention back to present, along with a face that was clearly not belonging to his little sister was staring back at him now. Those blue eyes looked deep into his, conveying messages he was able to decipher without her actually saying them. It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself anymore. We're going to be alright.

For that, Elfman was grateful. Lisanna's incident scarred him so deeply he still experienced nightmares and some fallbacks from time to time. But he still had Mirajane, the most precious person he had in this world. A sister who understood him like no other, who would gladly be there for him even when the whole world turned their backs on him. Someone he'd protect at all cost.

She gave him a warm smile, which calmed him in a way, and he returned it with a smile of his own.

Yeah, I think I'm going to be alright.

Natsu watched with unmasked boredom from his seat across Erza as the redhead delightfully scooped tidbit of her precious strawberry cake into her mouth, taking her sweet time savoring it without a care in the world. Despite the relatively small size of the cake slice, it seemed to take her forever and a day to finish it. And Happy—that traitor—magically disappeared from sight the moment he was dragged into his doom.

The dragon slayer let out a loud yawn for the seventh time that morning, in no way hiding that he was bored and tired of waiting for her. But of course, Erza had already drowned too deep in her own pleasure to notice. Even if she did notice, she made no attempt to care nor acknowledge him.

"Oi, Erza, how much longer do you want to keep me imprisoned here?"

Erza settled the fork down and looked up from her dish, shooting him a strange look.

"You have a tendency of dramatizing everything, Natsu," she remarked calmly. "I'm simply taking you to escort me during my daily self-indulgent time, not holding you captive. In fact, you should feel honored that I chose you."

"But two days in a row? Can't you take ice stripper or someone else for a change?"

"That won't do for now. I have some serious business to discuss with you."

"And you couldn't do that yesterday?" he whined exasperatedly.

"No, because yesterday I had no other motive than to simply seek company to the cafe and you happened to be the only person at the guild at that time. But now after everything that's happened, I've been meaning to ask you something."

Natsu sighed but shrugged anyway. "Well it's not like I can go anywhere until you do so shoot."

Erza's face suddenly turned serious and all business-like, her arms folded on the table. "I'm aware that you and Mira are… somewhat involved now. I want to know the truth straight from yourself. Is it true?"

With how serious she seemed right now he thought she was going to discuss a possibility of a wizard world war or something. "Really, Erza? That's your idea of a serious business? Why are you always so dramatic about everything?" he said, shaking his head. "And what the hell do you mean by involved?"

Ignoring Natsu's string of rants, Erza calmly replied, "I don't know if you're aware, but lately people in the guild have been talking about the two of you. Although to be frank, when I saw it myself, I couldn't help but think the same thing. You two seem almost inseparable lately."

Natsu leaned back in his chair, putting his crossed arms behind his head. "We're just hanging out. What's wrong with that?"

"I didn't say it was wrong. It just gives us a certain impression."

The older girl seemed to talk in circles and every word that tumbled out of her mouth only made him even more confused than before. "Just spit it out already, Erza."

There was silence for a few seconds, just for dramatic purpose, before the hazel-eyed girl declared, "We believe that you and Mira are dating."

Natsu sat up in and instant and spluttered, choking on his own saliva. "What? That is ridiculous! Mira only sees me as a friend."

Erza raised her eyebrow at the vague denial. "And how about you? What do you see her as?"

At this, the dragon slayer fell silent. Now that was a good question, he thought. He hadn't had a chance to figure it out on his own either. "A friend? I don't know, really…" he muttered hesitantly, his voice dropping drastically low from his previous high octave shriek.

Humming in interest, Erza's lips curled up into a small smile. The fact that Natsu hadn't directly denied her accusations and choosing vague answer to her question was something highly noteworthy. For all the years she'd known him, never had she witnessed Natsu acting like this in terms of girls. Not even Lisanna. And before this, Erza was near damn sure that the girl was practically his girlfriend, only to be proved otherwise. Erza didn't like being wrong, so she set to seek the truth on her own. After seeing this, it was all very clear to her and she realized Natsu only needed a little push to come into terms with his own feelings and finally submit to it.

"How do you feel when you're with Mira?" she asked, slipping into her interrogation mode.

"Happy. Being around her feels nice," he replied automatically. It was funny how the answer struck him faster than his brain's ability to completely process the question.

"That's interesting. Do you realize not many people in the guild can say the same about her?"

He arched his eyebrows. "Really? Why?"

"In case you didn't realize, Mira doesn't have too many friends since most people claim to find her… too intimidating. I personally fail to see what would make them think so."

"Hah! Are you sure they're not mistaken? I think that sounds more like you."

"That's nonsense. I'm able to interact better with people, unlike Mira who couldn't have a conversation without striking a debate or sounding condescending."

Natsu blinked in surprise, realizing the accuracy of that statement. "Well… if you say it like that, I guess you're right. She was mean and a horrible bully, but she's completely different now. They just have to spend more time with her to see that."

Erza smirked. "You sound defensive."

"I'm not! It's the truth. She really changed."

Even without the dragon slayer speaking for her, Erza already noticed her rival's drastic change in behavior. And she didn't doubt the whole guild have as well. Regardless, it was still entertaining to hear it coming from Natsu.

"Alright, maybe she did change. Is that why you seem to spend more time with her lately?"

"No, we've been hanging out since before that. She might've been vicious, but it's not like she was completely unapproachable."

The redhead nodded, agreeing his point. "What about Lisanna?"

Natsu paused. "What about her?"

"I thought you two were close."

"Yeah, we were. But it was different with her."

This piqued her interest. "How so?"

Natsu shrugged uncertainly. "I don't know. It just does."

Erza was honestly surprised Natsu was willing to disclose this much to her. Maybe it's because he was the type of person who wore their heart on the sleeves and was generally very transparent. And maybe it also helped that she was closer to Natsu compared to most people, making him willing to be more open about his feelings. Erza smiled to herself. This was a very interesting discovery indeed.

The rumor was sadly not true, but it could be soon enough given some time. By now, Erza was more than certain that Natsu harbored some deeper feelings for her rival. The signs were all very clear. She would love to push more until she could knock some sense into the oblivious dragon slayer, but it would be more fun to see him come in terms with his feelings by himself. It would take some time, knowing Natsu, but it's alright. Erza could be an especially patient woman when she wants to.

"Can I go now?" Natsu asked impatiently, jumping on the chance when Erza didn't press on.

The redhead hummed. "Very well. You've served your purpose so feel free to leave."

Natsu didn't need to be told twice.

"You have to apologize to her."

Cana was staring at the Demon sitting with her brother, contemplating the same thing when Levy approached her. When Mirajane and Elfman arrived at the guild twenty minutes ago, she seemed to be just fine and Cana let herself a moment of calm. But who knows, she might just find her name as the newest addition on Mirajane's personal death list. "Was I being too hard on her?"

"If her outburst and the way she left yesterday wasn't any indication, then I don't know what is," Levy deadpanned, taking a seat beside her. "Curiosity aside, what you did wasn't okay, both morally and ethically."

Cana scoffed despite her internal conflict, "Don't be a hypocrite, Levy. I know you're just as curious as the rest of us, if not more. You may pretend to be busy with your book, but you can't fool me, honey."

"At least I never tried to confront them!" Levy huffed, folding her arms. Her cheeks took on a pinkish hue. "It's bad enough that we stick our nose where it doesn't belong but shoving the issue onto their face is another thing. I'm serious, Cana, you really should apologize."

The brunette let out a resigned sigh. She hated when people point out her mistakes in her face, and she hated it more when she started to see some sense in it. But she wasn't sure if that hate was directed at her petite guildmate or herself. "I guess you're right."

Levy smiled, a little too smugly for her liking, but nonetheless proud of her friend for doing the right thing. "I'll be watching from here to make sure you don't do anything stupid again."

There was silence for a moment before Cana shrugged slowly. "Or maybe I can just leave her for a few days until she forgot about the whole ordeal—"

"Cana!"

"Fine, fine, I'm going!"

With a slight push from the petite girl, Cana was on her feet and on her way towards the older girl. She locked eyes with Elfman, conveying a silent message which—thank god—he understood and rose to give them some space. Mirajane looked up upon her arrival, her face blank save for her wary gaze, and Cana felt like shrinking herself smaller.

"Hey Mira…" Cana greeted awkwardly, easing onto one of the chairs. Honestly, she disliked having to admit her mistakes, but she hated it more to find herself being on the receiving end of her teammate's grudges. For this time, she was willing to put her pride aside.

"Listen, I'm really sorry about yesterday," she began, eyes down and fingers busy, looking completely out of her element. "I realized I was being a jerk to you and it's not okay. What you two did together isn't my business and I never should've intervened."

Mirajane's steely eyes were scrutinizing her, enough to make Cana almost wanted to drop on her knees and beg for her forgiveness. Maybe even give her most expensive liquor collection as a peace-offering if that would help. Her palms suddenly felt sweaty. She brushed them against her pants before continuing bravely, "I know I fucked up real bad, but…will you forgive me?"

There was a moment of silence before Mirajane spoke, "Are you though?"

Cana blinked. "Am I what?"

"Genuinely sorry."

"I am! I swear I am."

Mirajane scoffed. "Don't bullshit me, Cana. I know you enjoyed prodding me yesterday. You've been wanting to do that since forever." Suddenly, face darkened and her smile twisted into something sinister. When she spoke again, it was low and almost menacing, "And now that you did it, tell me; did I serve as a great entertainment for you?"

Something rang inside her mind—the rational part of her mind—telling her to back off, you reached a highly dangerous territory. But despite all the venom the powerful wizard was displaying, the emotional part of her was annoyed at the amount of hypocrisy lacing Mirajane's words, so much that she wanted to spat those words back to her face. As much as she's scared of the Demon, Cana couldn't let them slide so easily.

"You think you're better than me?" she retorted slowly, careful not to sound too taunting. "You used to bully people for fun, Mira, you laughed at other's people misery. Tell me if it's any better or any less degrading than what I did to you."

Her hands shook from the courage it took for her to say that out loud to her face. She could feel the eyes of her guildmates staring at them, at her. Some let out an audible gasp, clearly not expecting to see another round of Cana vs Mira shitstorm after just a mere 24 hours. They must've thought she was stupid or downright crazy for riling the Demon up twice, knowing the consequences. But someone need to put this girl in place, make her wake up and realize that the world doesn't revolve around her only. If no one was willing to do that—not even the idealistically stuffy Erza—then the task is up to her.

"How dare you," Mirajane almost growled, her eyes flashing dangerously.

When Mirajane's blue eyes went wide in shock, Cana knew she'd hit home.

"Look," she continued, her tone placating and low. She leaned closer so that only Mirajane could hear her. "What I did wasn't right, and I'm sorry. But you're not the only here who got their feelings hurt. Look around you. Half of the members of this guild has fallen victim for your so-called entertainment, and did you ever apologize to any of them?"

Mirajane lowered her head, her fists balling. The white bangs were hanging and shadowing her face, but Cana didn't need to see it to know that she was ashamed and was silently berating herself. It felt like a long time before Mirajane finally spoke again.

"You're right," she whispered, sounding strained. It was a tone she'd never ever thought would come from the lips of the S-Class wizard. "I never apologized or even felt bad for them. I'm a horrible person, aren't I?"

Cana let out a breath of chuckle. "That makes two of us." Realizing something, she quickly added, "But I do feel bad now. You're the first person who reacted that extreme after all. I guess you woke me up somehow."

It brought a small chuckle to Mirajane as well, albeit a little throaty from holding back her tears. Cana was glad, because she was saved from task of having to console her, which was one of the things she was terrible at. Cana Alberona just doesn't do sappy.

"Just to be clear, are we okay now?"

Nodding, Mirajane smiled. "Yeah."

"Oh, thank god," the brunette sighed, a hand on her chest. "That was pretty intense, wasn't it? I'm glad it's over now. Don't worry, I won't bother you again." She stood, then added as an afterthought, "At least, not for a while."

Just when she was about to walk, Mirajane stopped her by the arm, and she looked back in surprise to find her looking at her earnestly. "Thank you. I needed that wake-up call."

Cana smiled, feeling that she'd achieved something major. "We both did."

They may have gotten on a rough start, but someday, probably far in the future, she could see herself befriending Mirajane Strauss. Today, she learned something new; that the mighty Demon of Fairy Tail and Cana Alberona weren't that different after all.

People may call Natsu dense, but even he didn't miss the slightly stilted atmosphere permeating the air when he entered the guild. He looked around, seeing some of his friends talking in hushed voices, though the others, like Cana and Levy were chatting just as animated as usual.

"Is it just me or the guild is quieter than usual?" Happy quipped, perching on his partner's pink head innocently, as if he didn't just abandon him during one of his most miserable times.

Natsu huffed, showcasing his annoyance towards his partner. "Shuddup, Traitor. I'm not talking to you for the next three hours."

"Mean Natsu! You can't blame me for wanting to preserve my own sanity!"

"What's that? I can't hear you over your betrayal."

Happy folded his paws in defiance. "Fine! Don't talk to me!"

"That's the point," Natsu grumbled under his breath as he went to spot Mirajane and Elfman. The Strauss siblings were housing a table of their own, separated from the others, as usual. They were conversing in low voice, although their group were never known to be particularly loud anyway. That is, until Mirajane was mature enough to hold her calm at least.

"Hey guys," he greeted, easing onto the seat across them. "Soo what's up?"

Elfman looked at him, slightly at loss of words, making him silently wondered if anything really did happen before he got here. But Mirajane's smile quickly erased that thought. "We were just talking about wanting to take a job. It's about time our team make a comeback."

The word job alone instantly made his ears perked up that he missed the way Elfman stiffened in his seat and shot a confused and surprised glance at his sister. "Awesome! What's the job? Can I join?"

"It's still just an idea," she said, chuckling. "But sure, you can come with us. Why don't you and Happy go over the job requests?"

Natsu glanced at his partner with a scowl, who looked back in equal distaste. Both of them eventually shrugged and went to the request board.

"Nee-san, we haven't discussed this. Are you sure about this?" Elfman asked, brows pulled up into a frown.

Mirajane nodded surely. "I'm ready to start over. Aren't you?"

The younger Strauss fell silent, thinking hard on that question. He'd been sure of himself, he'd been ready to face the world once more. But he found that the confidence he had on himself in the morning suddenly evaporated once a real situation was presented before him. He thoughthe was mentally prepared—he was certain he was. But this was much too soon to test that. What if he screw up again? What if he's still not strong enough to protect his family? What if he couldn't control himself? What if—

A warm and petite hand closed around his own, stopping his train of thoughts. He felt a gentle squeeze against it and looked up to see his dearest sister smile, small but sure, once again a silent reassurance to his inner turmoil. Trust, he thought, Mira-nee trusts me. She still does even after everything…

"Yeah," he murmurs, low but sure. "I'm ready too."

Relief was evident on her face as soon as the words left his lips, as well as something that he could describe as pride. Elfman was glad he could once again make his sister proud. He'd failed her once, he'd be damned if he do it twice.

Natsu came back, holding a paper in his hand, and grinned, "Are you guys in the mood to chase some bad guys?"