note: Can you even imagine Laxus as a kindergarten teacher? Because it takes me three cocktails to do so. But when I do, it's magnificent and adorable. This big, burly man with a giant tattoo under his button up shirts talking about shapes and numbers and eating one of those cliché teacher apples? FORGET ABOUT IT. IM SOLD. This is for Ika.

this chapter is not related to the first chapter

sandbox bullies

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Jesus, kids were cruel. It wasn't the first time the thought had crossed Laxus' mind. Maybe before his surprising career in early childhood education took off, he'd never given much of a shit about the mannerism or general existence of anyone under 10 years old but now, with an almost regular exposure to them, he could say a lot of them were a nasty bunch. They were kids, he knew, and they might outgrow being bullies but it didn't make tolerating any injustice in his class any easier.

Yukino Strauss was a girl that was tiny in every sense of the word: a small child with a small voice and a small self-esteem. There were kids in every faction of his kindergarten that especially liked to pick on her and make her do their share of classroom chores.

Minerva, a chief in her austerity, was particularly troublesome in this regard. She had a rich father and thought she could do as she pleased and there would be no consequences. Minerva's unkindness ran the gamut from breaking Yukino's pencils to putting dead squirrels into Yukino's lunch box. Mean, mean, mean kid. More than Laxus cared for, he'd caught Minerva making young Strauss do all the cleanup work by herself as the assigned group just watched. Laxus spent a good fifteen minutes of his lunch with his ulcer simmering as he told them off and sent them to do their work.

"Yukino, come here," Laxus called from the nap corner just as everyone was vacating the class room. Yukino was always the last to go, always terrified of the shit she'd have to deal with in the playground. Laxus was just about at his wits end trying to figure out to put a stop to it without making more trouble for the girl.

Yukino approached, her steps short and quiet, about as unimposing as a gentle breeze. "Sorry, Mister Dreyar."

Laxus sighed. He hated the sad look in her eyes and couldn't bear to look at it. He sat on the ground with his legs crossed instead of crouching or bending because deny it as he might, his neck had kinks on top of kinks. He hated it much like he hated how he had to wear reading glasses orhow he had to take baby aspirin now. "You have to say no to them, okay? I know they're making you do it and they're being mean about it. I'm going to do my best to put a stop to that but you gotta help me, okay? You have to tell the mean kids no. You have to say no when you want to."

He'd sent her off and left the matter alone for now. He could see Yukino being joined by Sting from the other class, a sulking Rogue in tow. She'd be safe until the bell rang.

Mirajane tried to make things work. Sometimes, she told herself, that was the absolute best you could do. Maybe before she got pregnant and had to raise a child all by herself, she had time to do her hair or do more than wash her face for skincare or use fabric conditioner on her sheets. Maybe before she gave the boot to her scumbag of an ex, their combined incomes would allow them to hire some help. Maybe if she didn't insist on moving to the other side of town away from her family, she'd have a better support system. It was a lot of maybes. A lot of could've beens, too.

So far, Mirajane doesn't mind all those maybes and could've beens. She liked her new life here. God knew she needed this job paying an associate salary since having a child was only bound to get more expensive as the days passed. Working on a standard auditor's schedule was better, too. It was eight hours and you clocked out. No overtime, no fixed schedules. She made her rounds when she wanted to, as long as she clocked those eight hours in. Mira worked like a dog, but not enough to complain. She never gave herself the indulgence of self-pity, since she had bills on top of bills to pay.

She knew Yukino, too, struggled to adjust and it damn near broke Mirajane's heart to see her so, but she was confident they would find their footing. No great things happened when people stayed in their comfort zones, anyway. This was going to be a good move for them. No more drama, no more of just barely scraping by.

Mirajane watched Yukino finishing her dinner in breakfast nook. Did other parents just look at their child all the time and never get sick of it? Mira thought she could watch Yukino sleep a whole 8 hours, and then the rest of the day seeing every frown, every tentative smile, every glossy-eyed yawn and not tire of it. Yukino was a peach. Even from birth, she never gave her mommy much trouble. Now Mira only worried because Yukino wasn't making any friends in her class and the other kids were bullying her. Just today, Mirajane got an email from Yukino's teacher to meet at any convenient time tomorrow so they could discuss it. She'd make time for it, and they'd work on a solution for it. Her child was there for an education, not harassment.

"Sweetie, will you finish your beans so we can clear the table and do the dishes? You need to be in bed soon."

"I don't like beans, mama."

You and every other child in the planet, Mirajane wanted to say, but she shook her head instead. Yukino knew she couldn't get up until she cleared her plate. "Finish your vegetables or you're not leaving the table."

Mira could see Yukino's lower lip tremble. She was always so quick to cry when she thought her mother was upset with her. "I don't want to." Yukino said in a voice so quiet, Mirajane almost missed it.

"Well, you have to. I don't want to argue, baby. You know you need to eat your veggies."

For a while, Yukino didn't open her mouth again, and Mirajane thought that was that. But after a moment of what looked to be contemplation, Yukino spoke again. "No."

"What do you mean 'no'?"

"NO!"

Mirajane's eyes widened. She couldn't say she heard that word much from Yukino, who always did as she was told, despite not liking it. "Oh no. You're not going to sass me over veggies, missy."

"No! Mister Dreyar said I have to say no when I want to."

There was a time when Mirajane Strauss was called a demon for the expression of cold rage her face made when she was angry. Mister Dreyar was Yukino's teacher. She'd meet him tomorrow and give him a piece of her mind. Right now, she was too tired for any arguments. "I don't want you to yell at me again Yukino. That's not nice. Eat your beans and then get ready for bed." Mira rose from the table, collecting dishes for the wash and food for the tupperwares. By the sink, she could see from periphery Yukino stuff the beans into her mouth, chew ruefully, and chase it down with some water before leaving the table with a grimace.

She'd scheduled the parent/teacher meeting for after class so she could pick Yukino up and take her to the supermarket in one go. She'd met Mr Dreyar before, but not long enough to have a personal conversation like this. He always did look out of place among toys, alphabet posters and toddler-sized tables and chairs and that opinion didn't change now, as he let her into the classroom, to his desk smartly facing the floor to ceiling window that gave them a view of the playground where Yukino played with the two boys from the other class.

"Right, I know you're busy Mrs Strauss, so thanks for coming down." Laxus said the moment they were seated.

Mirajane appreciated the no-nonsense tone. "I'm not busy enough for this. You said you had progress on the bullying?"

"Yes." Laxus took a form out of his desk drawer, a carbon copy from the registrar's office. "I want to move Yukino to the other class. She has friends there, and they're good boys. They stick up for her and make her laugh. It won't be very awkward for her to transition into the new class with friends like that. The other teachers and I are on the same curriculum so she won't be behind or ahead. We've discussed it, and they're willing to take her in and keep an eye on her just in case."

Not quite expecting such an efficient solution so quick, Mirajane could admit that this was a pleasant surprise. "And the bullies?"

"I have more meetings with their parents this week to discuss punishment. Believe me when I say I won't stand to see the kids undisciplined, Mrs Strauss. I will update you on what actions have been taken as soon as the parents sign off on it."

Nodding, Mira stowed the reg form into her purse, ready to move on to another topic. "Last night, Yukino yelled at me. She's never done it before, so it surprised me. She didn't want to eat her vegetables and yelled 'no' and said that you told her to say no."

Professional enough not to say the 'what the fuck' that was on the tip of his tongue but not enough to keep the frown off his face, Laxus replied, "I never told your daughter to not eat her vegetables or yell at her mother, Mrs Strauss. I told her to start saying no to kids who toy with her."

All the fight just bubbling up in Mira's throat died down. That's what she got for being strung out and jumping to conclusions. "Oh. I suppose I didn't get the context…"

Laxus rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry if she misunderstood. I just didn't want her to let the other kids push her around, Mrs Strauss. I don't teach my kids to disrespect their parents."

"It's miss."

Laxus barely heard the small admission. In that moment, she reminded him so much of her daughter, how they spoke low when abashed. "I'm sorry?"

"It's miss Strauss. You keep saying missus." Mirajane waited a breath to see the realization in his eyes. "I'm not married."

"My apologies." Damn it. Keep up, Laxus. He squashed down the nervous impulse to scratch at the back of his neck again. "I didn't mean anything by it."

Mirajane nodded. A momentary silence passed before she spoke. "If you don't mind me saying so, you don't really look like a teacher." Much less a kindergarten teacher.

"I get that a lot. I have a good background in education. I used to think I wanted to teach Ukranian lit like my mom did. I guess the wind just blows you places and you have to ride along with what it has planned for you." Laxus shrugged, not particularly bothered about it anymore. "It's not like it was a very tough decision anyway. I like kids."

It made Mirajane smile, how easily he admitted to that. She disliked men who hesitated when proclaiming their fondness for children. "So do I. Do you have any?"

"No. My grandfather keeps reminding me how he wants to spend all his retirement money spoiling babies before he dies, but I think it's not my time yet." The memory made Laxus grin. Makarov just started being wheelchair bound three months ago and already he was making noise about how he was going to die without any great grandchildren.

"I think you'll be great at raising children."

"You'd think that, seeing as I teach them. But I go home every day feeling more out of my league trying to teach kids the basic concepts of human socialization through papier mache group projects than I did writing my dissertation on the Bukovyna Women's Movement." Struck by immediate relief and a sense of security, Laxus decided to end the meeting before he could say something stupid. "In any case, thank you for coming down today, Ms Strauss." He offered his hand as both of them rose. She shook it in a firm grip.

"Mirajane, please." She brushed wrinkles off her slacks and hefted her handbag. "I do appreciate all the help. I hope you'll keep me apprised of any progress?"

Mirajane. It rang so lovely, even in his mind. "Of course. We can also integrate Yukino into the other class as soon as the paperwork gets done. The principal's administrator will be calling you about that."

When she smiled at him, he could feel his expression mirror hers. He felt too old to be experiencing this kind of pulse-raising when a pretty girl smiled at him. Get it together.

Thankfully, he showed her out without opening his big mouth and embarrassing himself. But one of these days, he'd have to figure out a way to ask miss Strauss out.

note: One of my old college friends from educ was on the path to be some sort of scientist/professor hybrid for our government. Forgive me if this isn't actually a thing, but I think she was studying mutant biology (?) last I heard and she had all these awards and she was already a doctor but it stressed her out so much that she just shifted to teaching kids. Tbh im so happy for her because she looks so zen and she just got married. Kinda inspired this whole thing. I'm sorry if I don't know much about educ that this sounds weird. I'm not actually close enough to that girl to ask 'hey tell me about your career history I need it for fanfiction'.

Anyway. I feel like there will be a part two for this. Maybe. I need Laxus in glasses asking Mira out. Or them hooking up during the out of town field trip that she help chaperone. Who knows!