[21/02/2021]: Reconstructed the hell out of this chapter, same storyline and all just better wording and sentences and hopefully less grammatical mistakes. Also tweaked some minor actions and conversations a bit to fit the scenes better (and to make it look less cringy).

Prologue

Year X778

"Hey! Who the hell did that?"

Twelve-year-old Natsu Dragneel shouted after a wooden chair mysteriously knocked him on his head. He rubbed at the lump that's starting to form on his head as his eyes roamed around the guild hall angrily, until he finally spotted his rival sitting on a chair across the room. The way his head was lazily supported by has palm didn't indicate that he was the culprit, but Natsu was beyond reason to care.

Without second thought, Natsu confronted him. "Hey, Ice Prick! You tryna pick a fight with me?!"

Gray was undeterred, only looking back at him with jaded eyes. "Whatever you think I did, it wasn't me, Flame Brain."

Natsu stomped angrily to him, feeling the beginning of itch to beat his rival's butt off. "Say that again, Ice Princess!"

Losing his temper as well, Gray stood up. "I said it wasn't me, Flame Brain."

In a blink of an eye, Natsu's small body lunged forward to pounce on his rival, thus marked the start of the guild's daily brawl. It didn't last long though, because the self-proclaimed guild disciplinary Erza witnessed the whole situation with hands on her hips and a furious scowl on her face. She hastily grabbed both boys' shirt, effectively stopping the brawl.

"What did I tell you about fighting each other?" she hissed dangerously.

Both boys could feel the way uneasy sweat trickled down their face, but Gray was brave enough to defend himself, pointing an accusing finger at Natsu. "I-I didn't do anything! Ash Brain started it!"

"H-He's lying! He threw a chair to my head!"

"I already told you it wasn't me!"

"Both of you shut up!" Erza had had enough of these two's nonsense. She knocked their heads onto each other's without even so much as holding back, earning a series of painful groans. That's what they get for rudely interrupting her time with her delicious strawberry cake. She sent one last glare at the sprawled boys before returning to her cake.

"That hurts!" Natsu cried, his already swollen head would surely grow twice its size by tomorrow.

"Aww, is little Natsu crying?" Through glassy eyes, he saw thirteen-year-old Mirajane Strauss approaching him with a glint in her eyes. He must have made a pitiful picture for her too coo at him the way she was right now and pinching his cheek hard. "You're adorable when you cry."

"Ow, ow, ow, Mirajane! Stop!" He swatted away her merciless hand which only made the Demon laugh hard.

"It was me, Natsu," she suddenly said.

"What is?" he asked, rubbing his sore cheek as he got up.

"I was the one who threw it, not Gray."

Natsu's eyes widened in realization. "So it's you! You wanna fight with me, huh? You could've just asked like a normal person! It doesn't need to involve throwing a damn chair to my head!"

Mirajane flashed him a devilish smirk. Oh, she was so enjoying riling Natsu up. "Come on, where's the fun in that? "

Natsu's eyes lit up with excitement at the thought of fighting a strong and worthy opponent. "Alright then, let's fight!"

"Bring it on, brat." The Demon resumed a fighting stance, motioning her index and middle finger to goad him to make a move. A cocky smile on her face, fully knowing and certain of the only outcome of this fight.

The small dragon slayer charged at her, his fist in the air ready to strike a punch. But his speed was simply no match for her as she merely sidestepped to dodge his attack. His body fell abruptly as his fist met nothing but air and Mirajane showed no mercy by kicking him hard on the gut, sending him across the room not before breaking tables and chairs on the way. Just like that, she singlehandedly ended the match.

Mirajane dusted off her hands, chuckling haughtily at the sprawled body. "You still got 20 years ahead of you before you can defeat me, little punk."

His response was a mere groan.

"Nee-chan! Stop hurting Natsu! He's got enough already!" Lisanna appeared, rushing to the pink haired boy.

Mirajane merely watched as her little sister fussed over him and helped him to get up. "If he's a real boy he can handle it. Let him be, Lisanna."

The youngest Strauss barely heard her sister, pouring all of her attention to the dragon slayer. "Are you okay?"

Natsu definitely was not, his body felt battered and aching in all places. His head was pounding painfully as if it was going to burst any second and he could feel the way dark bruises would appear all over his body by tomorrow. But Mirajane was right. He was a boy and he could handle it, so he nodded and wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt.

"Yeah… I'm alright. That damn Mira—"

"LISANNA!"

The hard and commanding tone startled both of them, the whole guild even. The youngest Strauss forced her attention to her sister, seeing the deadly glare on her face was more than enough confirmation that she had royally pissed her off. Lisanna would've been scared shitless if she didn't know her better.

If looks could kill I would've been dead long ago, Natsu thought, cowering in fear.

Without a word, Mirajane turned on her heels and slammed the guild door open, stomping away angrily.

Lisanna let out a breath she'd been holding. Even if she knew her sister, it still didn't stop her from growing tense from her outburst. She turned back and gave Natsu an apologetic smile. "Please forgive her, Natsu! She could be mean sometimes but she's actually really nice. I have to catch up with her, so I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, s' fine. Bye, Lisanna."

They waved each other goodbyes and Natsu watched her until her figure disappeared down the streets.

Only then, he muttered to himself, "Stupid Mira."

Year X781

"Big fish!" Happy exclaimed happily as he watched Natsu caught his favorite food with his rod. They had by far caught five fishes in total, but this one was the biggest. Happy was practically drooling all the time.

Fifteen-year-old Natsu raised the fish high in the air in triumph, no less enthusiastic than the blue cat. "Yes! We're gonna have a feast tonight!"

"Huh, nice catch."

Both of them spun around at the feminine voice to see the infamous Demon of Fairy Tail looking comfortable leaning against the tree, arms crossed. From the looks of it, she had been there for quite a while now.

Sixteen-year-old Mirajane had grown into a more mature girl. She had thankfully ditched her tendency to bully the people around her and pick out meaningless fights and had grown a lot calmer. Her fighting frequency with Erza had gradually lessen, though their fierce rivalry didn't subside. Despite that, she would still pull some pranks and tease people every now and then with Natsu being one of her regular victims. Seeing him cry still brought her a certain degree of joy Natsu could never understand. Not much had changed in that unfortunately.

"M-Mirajane? What are you doing here?"

The white haired girl just shrugged and nodded at the way she came from. "I was training over that forest when I hear familiar voices from around here. I see it was you guys."

"Oh yeah, Happy and I are just fishing for dinner tonight."

"Yeah, fish!" Happy chirped in, still jumping up and down in excitement.

Mirajane furrowed her eyebrows. "You can cook?"

"Ah…" Natsu scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Not really. We're just gonna roast them as usual."

"Like what? Burning them with your fire?"

"Yeah!"

Mirajane's frown deepened as a mental image of Natsu and Happy eagerly wolving down poorly scorched fish comes to her mind. It wasn't a pretty image and she had to suppress her disgust from appearing on her face. Mirajane looked back at the fishes, seeing that there was enough, and decided that she was feeling rather generous today. It had been a while since she last had seafood anyway.

"How about you bring those fishes over to my house? I can put together something decent for us," she offered casually, nodding at the fishes. "You can't possibly finish all of them by yourselves anyway."

"Wait, you're serious?"

"Really?!"

Natsu and Happy said simultaneously, stars in their eyes as they looked at her hopefully. All those attentions slightly overwhelmed her, but she didn't want to lose her cool so she nodded. The blue cat immediately lost himself in his own world, while the dragon slayer did a victory dance.

Clearing her throat, she added, "But under one condition. You both have to help clean up the dishes afterward."

Natsu saluted like a soldier to their leader. "You got it ma'am!"

Followed by Happy. "Aye sir!"

Mirajane smirked and gestured them to follow her. "Come on, it's going to be dark soon."

They happily followed her.

By the time they reached the Strauss' residence, Elfman and Lisanna were already waiting in the living room and were more than surprised at the additional guests their sister had in tow, let alone knowing she had invited them over for dinner. Lisanna was ecstatic regardless, having her best friend for the first time inside her house.

"Yeay, Natsu will join us for dinner! Natsu will join us for dinner!" she chanted around happily while the dragon slayer grinned. "You're the first guest we had in our house, you know."

Natsu's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really?"

Lisanna nodded. "Mira-nee doesn't like it when other people come here. She said it has something to do with intruding people's private space or something. But she's the one who invited you, so it's okay! You're more than welcome here!"

Natsu was surprised, though knowing Mirajane, he really shouldn't. He merely shrugged and grinned at her. "Well, I don't know why Mira suddenly decided to invite me, but I'm glad for it! There's no way in hell I'm gonna pass the chance to eat good food!"

Happy's small paw tugged at Lisanna's dress. "Lisanna… When is the fish ready?"

"Oh, it will be ready soon! Just wait for a few minutes, okay?"

As if in cue, Mirajane's voice rang clear from the kitchen. "Lisanna, help me clean these fishes!"

"Coming!"

Once Lisanna left, there were only Natsu, Happy and Elfman in the room. Happy flew around a for a while, checking every knicks knacks the Strauss owned in that room, before eventually growing bored.

"I'm going to check out Lisanna's room. Which one is it?" he asked, turning to Elfman.

"It's the second door upstairs. You can go to my room as well, but keep out of Mira-nee's room," he warned seriously, and Happy knew better than to disobey.

"Aye sir!" he said before flying upstairs.

Natsu's keen nose caught the delicious smell of food coming from the kitchen and he could feel his stomach growling in instinct. He wanted to take a peek and maybe he could steal something to snack on while waiting for the real deal. He started to tiptoe his way there but was promptly stopped by Elfman.

"I say you'd better stay here."

Natsu whined. "Why? Can't I just at least peek?"

"Mira-nee is serious when cooking. She won't forgive any unnecessary interruption, or you'll suffer the consequences. Trust me, I've been there before." Elfman shuddered as he remembered that one time he messed around in the kitchen while his sister was there and had his ass chewed on—figuratively—and his head hit by a frying pan.

Well, there goes his plan to steal some snacks. Natsu loved challenges but he was also not suicidal, so that left him with nothing to do but wait. It was certainly better than dying.

"Ahh, so good…" Natsu patted his full stomach happily once he finished, a content smile on his face.

Both him and Happy were the ones who take up most of the portion, stuffing the food with so much appetite one would believe they hadn't eaten in days. It was a rather amusing scene for the Strauss siblings, except for Mirajane who had to remind them to keep their calm on the dining table every ten seconds.

"Mira, I would come here every day for a meal like that," the dragon slayer said again, still patting his belly.

"I told you Mira-nee is the best cook in the world!" Lisanna chirped in proudly.

The sudden flood of compliments made Mirajane's cheek grew warm. "S-Stop it, I'm not that good. And you also helped me there."

"Cleaning the fishes was hardly any help, Mira-nee."

"Anyway," she cleared her throat, pointedly changing the subject. "You two still have chores to do."

"Chores? What chores?" Elfman asked curiously, looking between their guests.

"The only reason I brought them here is so they can help with the dishes. It's only a fair trade seeing how much they enjoyed my cooking," Mirajane explained, smiling smugly.

Natsu slapped his palm across his forehead. "Damn, I totally forgot about that!"

The Demon's smile grew wider. "Remember, a promise is a promise."

Natsu sighed dejectedly. "Alright, alright. Come on buddy, let's get these dishes done." But when he turned to the blue cat, he found that he was already fast asleep with a drool lingering on the edge of his mouth threatening to fall.

"Happy, wake up!"

No answer. Happy kept on dozing.

The dragon slayer was about to shake the hell out of his tiny body when Lisanna stopped him. "Don't do that! Let him sleep, he's probably tired. It's good for his growth, you know. Don't you want the best for our child?"

Lisanna's words made him splutter inelegantly and his cheeks grew red. Why did she have to mention that in front of the others? It's embarrassing! From the corner of his eyes, he could see the way Mirajane hid her smile behind her hand and Elfman raising his eyebrows. Natsu let out a defeated groan.

"Fine. I'll do it myself."

"Whatever. As long as someone cleans them." Mirajane shrugged and left the room, followed by Elfman who excused himself to retire to his room.

"I'm going to my room as well. I'll take Happy with me, is that okay?" Lisanna asked, cradling Happy in her arms.

"Yeah, yeah. Sure."

They exchanged goodnights and then she left, while Natsu walked over to the kitchen sink to find an overwhelming amount of dishes waiting for him. He sighed loudly, but started washing anyway, unaware of Mirajane who was leaning against the doorway, watching him amusedly.

"Here, I'll help you," she said as she approached him.

Natsu was surprised, not expecting her presence at all in the kitchen, let alone offering to help him. Since when did Mirajane started to become nice to him? Is this the 'Kind Mirajane' Lisanna described her as?

He didn't realize he was staring at her for too long until she all but barked at him, "What?"

"N-Nothing," he stuttered, straightening up and resuming cleaning the stain off the plate he was holding.

"Tell me about Lisanna," Mirajane suddenly said, her hands busy wiping the plates.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you really like her?"

"Like her like what?"

"Stop throwing questions back at me!"

"Alright, I'm sorry!"

And silence fell upon them.

Mirajane had to physically restrain herself from hitting his head, so she counted to ten before asking again in a calmer tone, "So, what do you say?"

"Lisanna? Well, she is my best friend. Of course I like her," Natsu replied without missing a beat.

"I'm talking about real feelings, not just buddy-buddy affections."

The pink haired only blinked dumbly.

That's it. Unable to restrain her patience any longer, she grabbed the nearest frying pan and hit his head with it without even so much as holding back, savoring the way Natsu yelped painfully at the action.

"Ow! The hell, Mira?!"

The Demon flashed him an unforgiving smile, feeling relieved to finally release her pent up anger. "That's for your dense brain. Maybe it will help to get it to work properly."

"You're crazy!"

"And you're an idiot. Finish your job and you can go home."

Grumbling something about something insane and Mirajane having serious anger issues under his breath, Natsu continued with the task at hand. All of Mirajane's earlier nice impressions completely vanished from his mind. Evidently, she was still a hundred percent the same old Demon of Fairy Tail.

Natsu was too preoccupied with his thoughts he didn't realize that all of the dishes were clean. He whistled in surprise. "Wow, things sure are faster done when together."

"That's the point. I helped you so you could finish and get out of my house sooner."

"Aw, are you trying to get rid of me? Come on, I like it here!"

Mirajane's eyebrows shot up, surprised that the dragon slayer still admitted to enjoying his time there even though she practically exploited him and even physically abused him. "Are you kidding?"

"'Course not! What's not to like when I get to eat your fantastic cooking?"

Another sudden compliment about her cooking, which only made her cheeks pink again. This boy was far too honest with his words it was almost embarrassing. "S-Shut up, dumbass." Mirajane glanced at the clock on the wall which showed that it was already a quarter past nine. "It's late. You should go back now."

"But what about Happy?"

"He'll be fine with us. It won't make you cry to sleep one night without him, right?" Mirajane smiled mockingly, feeling her mischievous self came back.

"O-Of course not! I can totally sleep on my own!"

The way he was spluttering only made her chuckle. "Good then. Now, shoo."

Despite the way she sent Natsu away, Mirajane was considerate enough to walk him to the front door, something she found odd herself. But she chalked it up as a silent gesture of gratitude for having helped with the house chores, even though he was the guest. Mirajane was actually half joking when she first made that offer and was surprised when the boy had agreed so eagerly. Regardless, she appreciated the gesture, even if she didn't really show it.

Natsu lingered by the door, turning back to the oldest Strauss and scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Umm… Do you mind if I, you know, hang around here again some time?"

Though slightly surprised, Mirajane was able to mask it away, feigning indifference by folding her arms. "Why? So you could have another free all-you-can-eat feast?"

"Yes—Uh, I mean no! I-I want to play with Lisanna here."

She cocked an eyebrow. "Really? Are you sure you don't want another taste of my quote unquote fantastic cooking?"

Knowing he was busted, Natsu grunted in defeat. "Ugh, fine. I want to join you guys on dinner too."

Mirajane's lips twisted into a sly smile as an idea to further exploit this chance popped inside her head. "Alright, you may."

"Seriously?"

"Only if you agree to help with around the house again. Maybe you can try sweeping the house next time."

"Awesome!" Natsu bumped his fist into the air. "As long as I get to eat good food, I don't care what it takes!"

"It's a deal then," Mirajane declared, extending her hand for a handshake.

And Natsu firmly sealed it. "Deal."

Since then, the dragon slayer started to visit the Strauss' residence more often. His visits grew from twice a week up to four times a week, to a point where he spent more time there than in his own house. Sometimes he simply played around with the siblings—Mirajane was no exception—and some other time he would stay later to have dinner with them, even staying overnight on several occasions whether by accident or on purpose.

Growing up alone, the warmth he felt when he was spending time with them was something he had never felt before. The laughter and cozy atmosphere that he always felt when being around them blanketed him with a sense of comfort he never knew he needed, making him feel like he actually had a real family.

Year X782

It had been a week.

One week since the guild had lost one of their youngest and beloved guild members, Lisanna Strauss. Her death was so sudden and unexpected, affecting and wounding the guild deeply. Everyone hadn't stopped mourning since then, especially those who were close to her.

One week ago was the last time everyone saw the remaining Strauss siblings. People assumed that Elfman was too guilty to even make an appearance in the guild. He couldn't stop blaming himself for what happened to his sister, even though no one was putting the blame on him. Mirajane was another issue. She was silent during the funeral, not even shedding a single tear nor uttered a single word. Throughout the whole ceremony, she stood still like a statue, looking at nothing but Lisanna's gravestone. Her face showed no emotion, only looking bleak and her eyes looked almost dead, her stare dull. When people approached her to show their condolences, she would return it with a polite yet empty smile.

Natsu walked down the streets of Magnolia with Happy floating slowly above his head, neither of them said anything.

Lisanna's death still affected them in many ways. While Happy would still cry and mourn over her every once in a while, Natsu was fast to recover. It took him a whole day to cry over his childhood friend, and by the next day he no longer did. It didn't mean he was over it—no, far from it actually—he just chose to shift his attention elsewhere, prioritizing his main concern right now, that being Mirajane and Elfman. He hadn't seen them since the ceremony and he was worried.

As they reached the guild, Natsu hoped to find the familiar faces of the Strauss siblings among the grim faces of Fairy Tail members. And he found one.

"Hey, Elfman," he greeted, sitting next to him on the table he was occupying. Happy settled on top of the table.

Elfman looked up, only offering a slight nod as a response.

Natsu tried to lift the grim aura surrounding him by grinning widely and rubbing the bigger guy's shoulder. "It's good to see you back, man. How are you?"

Elfman shrugged weakly. It took him a while before he could voice his thoughts. "I just can't stop thinking about it. I'm a man. I should've been able to protect my family, but all I did was hurt them."

"Hey, nobody blames you for what happened, you know."

The big man let out a deep and heavy sigh, almost like physically letting out even half of the burden he was carrying inside him. "Every second I think about what would have happened if I wasn't so reckless. None of this would happen and Lisanna would still be here with us, alive. I'm such a failure of a man," he sobbed quietly, tears starting to pour down from his eyes and he covered them with his hand.

Natsu frowned. He was sympathetic but seeing Elfman looking so weak and vulnerable also felt so wrong. He knew this was just his grief talking, but he didn't like it. Elfman was supposed to be the pillar and foundation in their household, his presence always strong and steady. If he crumbled down like this, he didn't want to imagine how Mirajane was doing right now.

"Stop it," Natsu bit out, a bit harshly than he intended. Elfman looked at him through teary eyes, still hiccupping.

"You claimed to be a man all the time and yet you're nothing like one right now. You won't get anything by sitting here and blaming yourself over the past that can't be undone. Lisanna's gone not because it was your fault, but because it was her time, and you can't change that. So what you gotta do now is live in the present, wipe that tears out of your face and smile. Lisanna wouldn't want to see you mourn over her endlessly, it would make her feel like she was a burden for you. She'd want to see you smile, remember that you haven't completely lost her because she will stay in your heart forever."

The dragon slayer paused as he remembered the way his childhood friend used to smile warmly at him, and it brought a smile to his own face. "For her sake, we have to continue to live on so she could rest peacefully knowing that we're alright."

Elfman was stunned at his speech, never had he imagined that it would be Natsu of all people to be the pillar and support he needed right now, even though he knew deep down Natsu was also mourning the loss of his best friend. He never knew Natsu could be so wise underneath that childish exterior. His words alone managed to knock some sense into him. Natsu was right, he would try to live on as best as he could. Maybe he couldn't really be the way he used to, trauma changes people, but he would have to believe that he will be fine, for Lisanna.

A newfound determination appeared within him, lifting his spirit just slightly as he was able to see things from a new perspective. From now on, he would try his hardest to get stronger so he could protect his family; his sister and his guildmates.

"You're right, Natsu. I should've been more considerate of Lisanna's feelings," he sniffed, wiping his tears away. For the first time in the last week, he managed a sincere smile. "Thank you."

Natsu grinned, happy that he was able to help someone, especially Elfman. "We'll be okay, big guy," he replied, patting him again, then his eyes scanned the room for one more person. "Where's Mira?"

At the mention of his remaining sister, Elfman's expression turned grim once more. "Mira-nee hasn't been feeling well these last week. She's been staying inside her room all the time, not even coming out to eat. She refused to talk or even see me, always brushing it off when I asked about her. I'm actually really worried about her."

Natsu was expecting this kind of reaction from Mirajane. People obviously handled their grief differently and this was her way of coping. That didn't mean that he wasn't concerned about her. He needed to see her now. "I'll try to talk to her."

Elfman gave him a wan and tired smile, looking much older with the grief still weighing him down. "I'd really appreciate it, Natsu. Bring her back, will you?"

The dragon slayer nodded firmly and rose to his feet. "Stay here, I'll be back soon," he told his exceed before leaving the guild.

The Strauss residence was in a completely different condition since his last visit. Somehow, the place had gotten darker and messier as opposed to its usual bright and clean condition. The lively atmosphere that used to surround the house was gone, replaced by something much gloomier and bleak, perfectly matching the current feelings of its residence. It saddened him.

Natsu ascended the stairs toward Mirajane's room, knocking on its door. "Mirajane?" he called.

There was no immediate response. He waited for a few seconds before knocking again.

"Who is it?" A small reply came from the inside.

"It's Natsu. Can I come in?" He waited for a reply, but when there was none, he took it as an approval and permitted himself to enter. "I'm coming in."

Mirajane was sitting on her bed, arms hugging her knees protectively, her eyes following his very movements warily. She looked paler despite her already fair complexion, lacking its usual healthy glow and dimmer instead. The fact that she hadn't eaten for days was physically apparent. She was wearing a mini black satin nightdress, the length didn't help in covering her long legs and arms and only accentuating how skinny she looked now, especially in her current position. Her platinum locks were tousled, not tied in her usual ponytail. She let them flow freely against her back which was a new sight for Natsu. Despite holding the title of the Demon of Fairy Tail, right now she looked almost angelic.

Strange enough, even with the way she was now, Natsu found himself admiring her beauty, something he didn't do normally. Never once had a girl's look caught his attention because in his eyes, they were all the same. No beauty had ever stood out in his eyes, yet now Mirajane, who wasn't even her normal self, dressed in a simple nightgown, face bleak and hair messy looked surprisingly attractive to him. He didn't know which one sounds crazier; getting the idea of Mirajane being beautiful or getting the idea of Mirajane being beautiful given the current situation.

This whole idea made absolutely no sense for him. Natsu couldn't fathom the feeling he was currently experiencing. He had seen her everyday for years now. Her usual attire wasn't definitely what one would call decent or proper by any means, so why would a simple nightgown make any difference? Why did he start looking at her that way? Why now, of all times? Was it because Mirajane wore her hair down? Or was it because she looked so fragile, so innocent and very un-demon like?

Natsu hadn't realized he had been holding his breath all this time, so he released them. "Hi, Mira," he said softly.

"Hi, Natsu," she replied, her voice small. She flashed him a faint smile but it was gone before he knew it. "What are you doing here?"

"Just want to see how you're doing." The dragon slayer smiled as he walked over to sit across her on the bed.

"I'm fine. Why would you worry about me?"

"Mira… I know you're not, and it's okay. I understand that you lose someone very dear to you and grieving is normal."

Mirajane tensed ever so slightly, burrowing her face deeper into her knees. "I just told you that I'm fine."

The Demon was choosing to bottle her grief inside her and it's unhealthy, acting as if nothing happened. Natsu was scared of what she would do to herself if she's left to her own device for longer than it already was. He put his hands on her shoulders and said, "Mira, please stop it."

"Stop what?"

"Stop pretending to be fine when you're not." Natsu stared back at her firmly. He hated to see her like this, he would rather deal with and got beaten by the Demon Mirajane everyday than seeing this weak and fragile Mirajane. "None of us are okay, Mira, and it's normal. We just lose someone very precious to us, and I can't even imagine the pain you're feeling right now as her sister. Don't deny what you're feeling because it's unhealthy for yourself, I can clearly see how not okay you are right now."

I know you might feel like you're alone right now, but you're not. You have me, Elfman, and the others at the guild. We're here for you and we want to help. If you want to share your feelings, then I'll gladly listen, or you need a shoulder to cry on? I'm here, Mira, and I'm not going anywhere. Just please, don't close yourself off and act like her death didn't happen. It kills me to see you like this."

Hearing Natsu's words made Mirajane felt like being splashed with a cold bucket of water, snapping her out of the trance-like state she had dissociated herself into for the past week, like being woken up from a daydream. It was easier than facing the harsh reality where her beloved little sister was no longer here with her. A sharp pang of various emotions hit her all at once and it was too much for her to handle when she was getting used to feeling numb all the time. An involuntary fresh tear rolled down her cheek when she couldn't hold it anymore, and she threw herself at him and sobbed hard on his shoulder.

Although he was a bit taken aback at the sudden action, Natsu tried his best stay calm, wrapping his arms around her and rubbing her shaking back soothingly. Natsu didn't know how long they stayed like that. It might be minutes or hours, but he didn't stop his ministrations until her shaking had lessened and her sobbing had stopped. Even then, she still clutched onto his shirt it like it was her lifeline. He didn't mind though, he didn't realize he needed this as much she did.

Regaining her bearings, Mirajane finally pulled herself and Natsu had to reluctantly let her go. He realized that even though her face was all red from crying with her eyes puffy and wet, she looked much better now. More alive and human. She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand and looked at him straight in the eye for the first time today. What happened next was something that he never thought Mirajane was capable of doing; she gave him a genuine smile. Not a smirk or a playful smile. It was as if she laid herself bare in front of him, trusting him with the most vulnerable part of herself. Natsu liked it though, he decided. He wanted to see Mirajane smile like that more often. It was the kind of smile that radiated warmth he could feel spreading inside his whole body. It made him feel comfortable.

"Thank you," she said, almost like a whisper. Her voice was slightly raspy from all her crying. "Honestly, I-I just… I didn't know what to do. When Lisanna died, a part of my soul died with her as well. She's my baby sister, the one and only. Losing her felt like losing one of my limbs; I'll never be complete without it."

Mirajane smiled sadly, and it strained his heart. "But you're right, I can't be like this forever. You brought me back somehow from a pit so deep I wasn't sure how I could bounce back from, so thank you. You're a good friend, Natsu."

Natsu smiled too. "I'm really glad I could help. Next time, please don't shut yourself out of everyone again, alright? You had me really worried there."

Mirajane chuckled weakly. "Yeah… sorry."

"Now let's get you something to eat. Elfman told me how you haven't been eating lately," Natsu said, rising to his feet when he felt a weak grip on his wrist.

"Not now, please. I'm not hungry. I just want you to stay here with me," Mirajane whispered, her eyes were fixed on his chest.

Natsu was a bit reluctant, but he complied anyway, "Okay, if you say so."

When he moved to sit back on his original spot, Mirajane shook her head and patted the vacant space beside her. Natsu obliged, and she lifted the comforter so both of them could slip their legs under it. He leaned against the headboard, but instead of doing the same, Mirajane scooted closer to him until she could rest her head comfortably on his lap. Then she closed her eyes, looking ready to sleep.

Natsu felt himself flushed all of a sudden. "Uhh… Mira?"

The Demon only hummed, feeling herself beginning to feel sleepy. The dragon slayer's lap was surprisingly comfortable.

When he saw how comfortable Mirajane seemed to be, Natsu decided to let her be. Whatever it takes to make her feel good right now, he would do it without a doubt.

Natsu spent the next minutes observing Mirajane's sleeping form, which sounds a little creepy, but there wasn't anything much left for him to do anyway. She was facing away from him, giving him a spectacular view of her platinum locks, looking shiny in the darkness of the room as if a silk was draped over her. From his position, he could also see a tasteful amount of her cleavage. He found his gaze lingering a little too long on that particular part before he snapped himself out of it and tore his eyes away, mentally chastising himself for acting like a pervert.

Her breathing had evened out now, indicating that she had fallen into a deep sleep. Natsu would never have thought that the fierce Demon would look so peaceful in her sleep. If he didn't know better, he wouldn't have believed that this angelic looking girl was the Demon of Fairy Tail at all. The platinum locks looked tantalizingly soft, inviting him to touch them, so Natsu reached out tentatively, afraid that he might wake her up.

Mirajane stirred in her sleep, burrowing her face into the gap between his thighs. Natsu froze, feeling her breath tickling his skin. He was suddenly hyperaware of the way their bare skin made contact against each other and it made his cheeks warm. When he was sure Mirajane would no longer move, Natsu placed his palm on top of her head, his fingers finally met the amazingly smooth platinum strands. They felt softer than they looked, if possible, like touching pure silk. He started stroking her head slowly, sometimes tangling his fingers between the strands, hoping that somehow the action could bring comfort in her sleep. She looked like she was long overdue for a nice and peaceful slumber.

As minutes passed, Natsu's eyelids grew heavier, but he willed himself to continue his ministrations. But when he felt like the sleepiness had called to him, he surrendered to it.

The next time he opened his eyes, Elfman had somehow appeared and he could never forget the look on his face when he found them.