I do not own Fairy Tail or any of the characters. I'm redoing the beginning...probably quarter, of this story. I don't remember what I was thinking about at the time, but I can definitely do better than that, so I'm fixing it.

Broken

Sado stepped into the jewelry store, the store's owner and sole employee, an elderly woman about three feet tall and with her hair in a bun, smiling up at him.

"It's about time you got here," she said. "I almost sold it to some young couple who were here yesterday."

"My job yesterday turned out to be more of a headache than I expected," Sado shrugged, smiling as the woman shook her head, grinning and walking to the back and coming back with the necklace Sado had custom ordered, as well as helped make.

The necklace was a braided rope with more than a dozen diamonds woven into it and a single golf-ball-sized lacrima sphere, which was as clear and smooth as glass, woven into the center of the necklace with a tiny flame flickering in the center of it. The flame was his contribution. One created by his Fire Magic, which would burn endlessly, thanks to the lacrima, until he died, at which point it would disappear.

"So, when are you going to ask?" she asked.

Sado stared at the ground, face sinking as doubt began to set in. "I'm hoping soon. But…I guess we'll see."

"Well, with your incredible luck, she'll probably ask you before you can get that out of your pocket," she said. "Now go on. Get out before I decide to hire you."

He laughed. "See you around. And thank you."

He left the store, walking toward the guild hall. He brushed his light brown hair to the right with his fingers and sighed, looking up as the guild hall came into view. He smiled at the emblem on the face of it. The guild definitely didn't lack for pride. In fact, they were frequently in trouble for being proud. Proud of their guild, proud of the destruction they caused. Makarov would probably have a heart attack soon if Fairy Tail kept getting in trouble with the Magic Council. He certainly wasn't getting any younger. Sado smiled as he recalled his time being raised by Makarov, opening the door and looking around, only to frown when he didn't see the silver haired beauty that he was hoping to give the necklace to today. He walked over to the bar where the guild's most intimidating member, and also the only person who Sado would admit was arguably as beautiful as the girl he was looking for, was seated, sipping at a beer. As he walked toward her, she looked up at him, spotting the necklace in his hand and grinning.

"Well well, he comes bearing gifts," she grinned.

"Hey Erza," Sado smiled, slipping the necklace into his pocket. "Have you seen Mira?"

"Actually no," Erza said. "Cana's been serving the drinks all morning. I was actually hoping it was her when you opened the door. It's not like her to be late."

"Does Elfman know?" Sado asked, looking over at the behemoth of a man that was Mira's brother.

Mira, short for Mirajane Strauss, was Fairy Tail's poster girl, in a very literal sense, and was the Kingdom of Fiore's top swimsuit model. She was also the best friend Sado had ever had, and had been since she had found him wandering, scared, confused, and alone as a child with no memory. As a child, Mira had been…tough to handle at times. At least to everyone else. She had been the bully of Fairy Tail for many, many years, using her ridiculously powerful Takeover Magic, known as Satan Soul, to make basically anyone except Makarov do what she wanted. Well, except Erza. Erza had been just as strong as Mira and had been her rival. But Mira had never been mean or rude to Sado. She had always been kind to him and looked out for him while he was learning to use his magic. Now, he was proud to say he had become powerful. Though, not too proud, considering all that had happened. He had forced Mira to change, after all.

On a quest, there had been an accident that no one spoke about anymore, especially Sado, and it had scarred Mira so heavily that she had lost the will to fight. She stopped being a bully, and eventually went on to become a model and the waitress of the guild.

Elfman, on the other hand, was kind of the opposite. He was a sweetheart, deep down, but he hated to admit it. He had been weak magically growing up, and his Takeover Magic, Beast Soul, had never worked right, leaving only his right arm able to transform. Whereas Mira's magic allowed her to take the form of she devils, which earned her the moniker of Fairy Tail's She Devil, Elfman could change his arm into any kind of beast or monster, as long as he used the magic to more or less copy it first. Or absorb it, dependent on the situation. In order to make up for his lack of magical strength, and so that Mira wouldn't feel so obligated to protect her younger brother, Elfman had trained his body to the point of excess, becoming a behemoth of muscle. He had also taken to calling himself a real man, and constantly talking about things that he deemed manly. Now, however, Elfman was glaring down at a cast-iron mug of beer that he seemed to be actively trying to crush, his glare holding more venom and malice than Sado had ever seen in his expression.

"I asked him, but he said he didn't know either," Erza said. "And he's mad about something. I don't know what's gotten into him, but he's absolutely fuming about something."

Sado hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe she's talking to Master Makarov?"

"Nope," Erza said, pointing to a table off to the side where Makarov, a two-foot-tall man in his eighties or so with grey hair, a bushy grey beard, and a long list of terrifyingly strong types of magic, was drinking. "Trust me, I've thought of everything."

"Obviously not, or else we'd know where she is," Sado said, glancing at Cana, one of their friends who could drink multiple kegs of beer in minutes and still be sober, and who always wore black pants and a blue bikini top with her wavy brown hair hanging behind herself. "Can I have a soda, without alcohol?"

"You're so boring," Cana groaned, handing him one.

"Trust me, you don't want to see me drunk," Sado said.

"I'm not sure I believe you," Cana said. "The only one who's ever seen you drunk is Mira." Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Are you a really affectionate drunk, and the only reason why she's the only person you drink around is that when you're drunk she lets you cop a feel?"

"No, Cana," Sado said. "I'm more of a…time bomb when I drink. More than usual, at least."

"Oh, your temper can't be that bad," Cana laughed.

"It is," Erza said seriously. "Few of us have ever actually seen it, but it is that bad."

Cana sighed. "Why does everyone but me get to see the dark side of Sado? I was the one with the huge crush on you growing up."

"You know, you bring that up a suspicious amount," Sado said.

"Well how else am I supposed to drop hints?" Cana asked. "Ever since you were little you've only ever payed attention to Mira, unless someone else was basically throwing themselves at you, and then you only payed enough attention to turn them down."

"Then why do you still try?" Erza asked.

"I have nothing better to do," Cana shrugged.

Sado sighed, shaking his head. "Sorry Cana. My answer's not going to change. And I'd appreciate it if you could find a new hobby."

Just then, the door opened and they all looked over as Mirajane walked in, wearing a red dress cut low in the front to show some of her cleavage, with light pink frills along the edges and in four equally spaced rings below Mira's waist. Her silver hair fell behind her smoothly, and she had her bangs elastic-banded into a sort of ponytail, as always. However, behind her was Sado's least favorite person in the guild. Laxus Dreyer, grandson of Makarov Dreyer, the guildmaster. Laxus had short, messy, blonde hair swept backward, a pair of magic-powered headphones with a spike sticking outward over his ears, a lightning-bolt-shaped scar on his right side, down across his eye, though not damaging it, a high-collared purple shirt, open halfway down his chest, a black, fur-lined coat hanging off his shoulders, though he didn't have his arms through the sleeves, Lightning Magic, and a nasty attitude of believing he was better than everyone, and if they weren't him, they were insects. He was the kind of person who could walk into a room and instantly decide he was the strongest person in that room, and that it was beneath him to associate with everyone else. Unfortunately, he was also such a powerhouse that he had the sheer power to prove himself correct, at least for being the strongest in the room, in most cases.

"Oh great," Erza grumbled. "Laxus is back."

"Why couldn't he just stay away?" Sado sighed. "Christ. I hate dealing with him."

"Maybe he won't bother you this time," Cana said.

"So, you're still allowed to hang out in here, huh freak?" Laxus sneered, stopping in front of Sado and glaring at him, despite the smirk on his face.

"Laxus," Sado grumbled. "Always a pleasure."

"Sado!" Mira cheered, running over and hugging him, Sado allowing himself a brief smile before she pulled back.

"Do you have a couple minutes, Mira?" Sado asked.

"Absolutely!" Mira smiled. "I'll be right back to get to work, Cana!"

"Yeah, sure," Cana said, waving a hand. "I'm sure it's more important."

Mira beamed at her before walking up the stairs to the S-Rank quest board. Sado followed and stopped once they were out of sight and mostly out of earshot. He slipped his hand into his pocket, closing his fingers around the necklace.

"I'm glad you wanted to talk, I actually wanted to ask you something too," Mira said.

"Oh, really?" Sado asked. "Alright, sure. You can go first."

Mira smiled and nodded. "Will you walk me down the aisle?"

Sado froze just as the necklace slipped out of his pocket. He blinked before his arm fell to his side, brow furrowing. "What?"

"Laxus and I are going to get married in a few days," Mira explained. "I know we never told anyone we were together, so it's going to be a huge surprise, but we decided to get married, and I wanted you to walk me down the aisle."

Sado stared at the ground as jagged bits of glass pumped through his veins with each heartbeat. This had to be a joke. Or a bad dream. This couldn't be real. Married? He was that late? And to Laxus? Of all people, Laxus?

"I…why me?" Sado asked.

"Well, you've been looking after me ever since…I stopped fighting," Mira said. "You've become more like my big brother, even though you used to be like my little brother who I used to take care of."

Sado felt his body tremble and his throat close off, but clamped down on his, forcing himself to remain under control. He couldn't cry. Not yet. Not in front of her. But…how could he not? All this time of seeing what he thought were signs that there was a chance, and not only was she in love with Laxus, of all people, but also saw him as a sibling. He was a joke. An idiot. A freak. Maybe everyone was right about him after all back then.

"I asked Elfman if you could both do it, but he…" she was saying, then trailed off for a moment, sadness filling her angelic features. "He said he couldn't accept the marriage."

Sado swallowed hard. That must have hurt Mira. Her entire life, nothing had mattered to her as much as her siblings. To have one of them refuse to give their blessing, it must have broken Mira. He glanced up from the floor at Mira, seeing hurt beginning to leak into her face as he remained silent. Guilt swept through him, beginning to war with the pain.

"It's alright," Mira finally said. "I'll have Master Makarov do it. I'm sure he'd be-"

"I'll do it," Sado finally said, Mira stopping, staring at him in surprise. "I…I'll walk you down the aisle."

Mira's face evolved into one shining with so much joy that it burned the shattered remains of his heart, sending even more pain rocketing through him with every beat. "Thank you!" She grabbed him in a bone-crushing hug and spun, then set him on his feet and stepped back, beaming. "You have no idea what this means to me!"

"Yeah," Sado said, a tiny bit of frailty invading his voice. You have no idea what this means to me either.

"So, you wanted to talk to me about something?" Mira asked, then cocked her head to the side as she saw the part of the necklace that had come loose from his hand when she spun him, dangling in view. "What's that?"

"What?" Sado asked, looking down at the necklace he had forgotten he was holding. "Oh. It's…It's just a…" he stopped. What was he going to tell her it was? Or why he had it? "It doesn't matter." He slipped it back into his pocket. "Anyway, when's the wedding?"

"Saturday morning," Mira said. "Is that okay? I'm sure we can move it if-"

"It's fine!" Sado interrupted more harshly than he had meant to. "It's fine. I'll be ready. And…I guess I'll meet you at the chapel?"

Mira nodded, smiling gratefully and hugging him again. "Thank you Sado. You're the best. I love you so much."

Sado's heart, what little of it had remained intact, shattered. "I…yeah…same."

Mira smiled, pulling back and heading back down the stairs. Sado stared at his hands in silence as flames flickered from his palms every few seconds, only to almost immediately die out each time.

"So, you actually agreed, huh?" Laxus asked, reaching the top of the stairs. "I could have sworn you'd have tried to give her an ultimatum. Guess you're even more of a pussy than I thought."

"You don't deserve her," Sado said.

"So?" Laxus asked. "She's all mine. And now that she's going to marry me, she's going to be mine in every way. All I have to do is make a good enough argument tonight, and I won't even have to wait until the wedding night. Finally. Christ, it took forever to get that chick to spread her legs for me."

Flames erupted to life on his fists, but he held himself in check. No meltdowns. No anger. No fighting Laxus. Not now.

"I've got some bad news for you, Laxus," Sado said. "She won't go through with the wedding if I decide not to agree to it. If I walk her down the aisle, then say that I don't give my blessing, you'll be left standing at the altar." He turned toward Laxus, his rid irises glowing. "So, you had better work hard to prove to me that you deserve her, or I'm going to do exactly that. It'll hurt Mira, but it'll save her from marrying an arrogant bastard like you."

"You little shit!" Laxus snarled, grabbing him by the throat and lifting him.

Bad move. The moment Sado was off the ground, he snapped. Both hands and feet snapped forward, each blasting Laxus point-blank with a fireball. The fireballs exploded, and Laxus sailed backward across the suddenly silent Guild Hall, exploding outward through the front doors. Sado walked down the steps after him, the flames on his hands now reaching up to his shoulders and burning ten feet into the air above him.

"Try that shit again, you little freak!" Laxus invited, standing.

"Stop it!" Mira shouted, stepping in front of Sado, halfway glaring at Sado, halfway confused. "What are you fighting for?"

Sado glared at Laxus's smug expression over Mira's shoulder for a moment before exploding into the air on a column of flame, exploding through the roof of the Guild Hall. He flew to a cliff overlooking their beautiful city of Magnolia, then landed just as his flames went out completely and he fell to his knees, his will finally snapping, sobs beginning to roll out of him, his body shaking as he did. He tried to make himself angry, or calm himself down, or anything else to stop himself crying, only for the pain to get worse, so he pressed his forehead into the ground and laced his fingers behind his head, trying to bury himself in the ground, as though doing so would make this all a bad dream. Finally, after long enough that Sado's throat hurt and his eyes burned, a pair of feet landed beside him and light enveloped them for a moment, swapping the dark armor covering them for light silver armor. Erza, with her signature magic Requip, which allowed her to change her clothes between any outfits she had stored with her magic, using it to select different magic armors.

Erza knelt, resting a hand on his shoulder and gently pulling him up into a hug. "I'm so sorry."

Sado began to sob anew and Erza squeezed him gently, trailing her hand over his back as she held him. He hated being weak. He hated crying. It was pathetic. But in that moment, he couldn't have stopped himself if Mira's life had depended on it. He just hurt too bad. After about another hour, give or take, Sado finally managed to stop and they both headed back into Magnolia, back to the guild hall and to the bar. Cana held out a soda but Sado brushed it aside, reaching over the bar and pulling a bottle of liquor from the shelf, taking off the cap and taking a long few swallows.

"You shouldn't," Erza said. "Not right now."

"You're right," Sado said, taking another drink. "I definitely shouldn't."

"Sado, are you really just going to accept this?" Gray, a black-haired Ice Make wizard who had a nasty habit of stripping to his underwear without even realizing it, asked.

"What else can I do?" Sado asked. "She sees me as a brother. Even if I told her, it wouldn't change anything. She's marrying Laxus. That's all there is to it." He moved to take another drink but Erza took the bottle, Sado glaring at her.

"You can't let her marry that asshole!" Erza snapped. "Tell her you don't approve! Tell her how you feel! Do whatever it takes to break them up!"

"Yeah Sado!" Cana agreed. "There's no way Laxus deserves her! He's a horrible person!"

"He's probably cheating anyway!" Gray said.

"Or he's only with her for sex!" Cana said.

"Or-" Erza stopped abruptly as Sado's fist crashed down on a table beside him, shattering it.

"That's enough!" Sado snarled. "Mirajane is going to marry Laxus. There's no way around it and there's nothing we can do to stop it. If there was, don't you think I'd be figuring out how to use it instead of sitting here drinking?"

The others remained silent.

"This is Mirajane's choice," Sado said. "And my feelings are none of your business. Just stay out of it!"

"But Mira doesn't know she has a better choice!" Cana said.

"I am not a better choice!" Sado snapped, flames exploding out of his back for a moment before stopping. "Laxus is a conniving, womanizing, son of a bitch, but at least he's…"

Erza's eyes widened as Sado trailed off. "Sado, that wasn't your fault. Neither of them were. You couldn't have known-"

"Just stop, Erza," Sado said. "All I've heard, my entire life, is people making excuses for what I've done. I'm done listening to it. It's my fault. I was responsible, and because of it…"

"No one blames you!" Erza said sternly.

"You're wrong," Sado said. "I do."

He took his liquor back from her and left the Guild Hall, draining it as he walked through the streets. He smashed the bottle against a wall before staggering into a tailor shop and sitting down heavily in one of the chairs, head in his hands.

"You look like shit, Sado," the tailor, a man with combed back black hair, a thin back mustache, and very little patience, greeted him. "You need more fireproof clothes?"

Sado shook his head. "Tux." He raised his head. "Mira's getting married. I'm supposed to walk her down the aisle."

The tailor regarded him in silence for a moment before nodding. "Take off your shirt and pants and step up on the stool."

Sado nodded and climbed up onto the stool, swaying dangerously. The tailor took his measurements and turned to several rolls of fabric and thread hanging on the wall, a spell circle glowing from his hands. Instantly, the materials came alive, flying off their rolls and spinning themselves together, forming a complete tuxedo in minutes, which he then put in a garment bag and handed to Sado once Sado had managed to struggle back into his clothes. Sado thanked him and paid, then left with the tux, heading back to his apartment. He collapsed onto his bed, the tux falling to the floor before he curled into a ball, begging the world to go away and leave him alone. He needed to be left alone, because he didn't want to accept reality. Reality was too cruel.

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