They hadn't seen much of one another recently.
Mirajane was busy with work, he was off on jobs, and even when both were free, or could make themselves so, well…
It wasn't that she didn't like Laxus.
Because she did.
A lot.
So much so that she was becoming increasingly concerned with the level of attraction she felt for the slayer. In frequent dates had quickly turned into a two week venture off to the coast where she never saw the beach and other than for food, neither left the hotel room.
It was the best time of her life.
But it was scary.
Mirajane didn't rely on men.
For anything.
She was not only a self-made woman, but also very prideful about that fact.
Somehow, dating Laxus wouldn't feel that way.
In the short few months they'd been seeing one another, he'd more than lavished her with gifts and had even been offering up another vacation.
"You know," he'd grinned toothily, "actually see the beach this time?"
And she'd agreed then, because they were in bed and his hair was messy and she thought he looked so cute, when he was pleased with himself. And he was then, because she was beside him, agreeing that yeah, they'd have to set something up.
But then she got to thinking.
She did it too much some times.
The others all thought her to be dim, or at least playing up this quality, but Mira often found herself lapsing into silences or default giggles and smiles as she internally mulled over new information.
Dating Laxus had slowly taken over her social life.
It was all anyone asked her about anymore. How her and Laxus were doing. If she was still seeing him. Wasn't it weird, when he wasn't around that much? What was he like, anyways? Away from the guild? He'd long fallen into his silent shtick after his excommunication, but surely he wasn't like that out on a date? Right?
"What's he like in bed?" Cana asked around a mug of ale and a sharp, piercing gaze. As Mira blushed, she'd only insisted, "Don't lie to me."
"Electric," Lucy, who sat beside, answered, but when both Mira's heavy eyes and Cana's surprised ones hit fell to her, the blonde was sure to shake her head and explain, "I was just kidding, Mira!"
Mirajane had never had a man be the focal point of their relationship.
She wasn't even sure if Laxus really was.
She'd always been the more attractive partner. Not the reacher. And she wasn't reaching for Laxus either, now, she was pretty sure, but his closed off persona left people with few access points to the man's inner workings. Even Evergreen, Freed, and Bickslow sat around the guild after the woman was known to go out with the slayer the night prior, in hopes of picking up any juicy gossip dropped as she relayed the events to her friends.
Laxus had built an enigma.
One Mira found alluring, but somehow hated once it was blown.
The slayer wasn't what they all thought he was.
He still was the man she was attracted to, magically gifted, strong, handsome, and witty, but there wasn't as big a mystic as others hoped. Away from the hall, away from others, Laxus wasn't as mysterious.
In fact, the man was quite open.
He told her plainly about whatever happened to his mother, anyways, and what his thoughts were on his father's current location. Just a few strokes of his hair, a few nights of intimacy, and he was telling her all about how the others didn't get it, Makarov hadn't always been so nice, his father hadn't always been so bad, and snowmen were vile creatures that shouldn't ever be made.
Only the last one really threw her for loop, but the woman had only grinned, nuzzling into crook of his neck to hide.
He told her about all the other women he'd ever been serious about.
There weren't that many.
Just two actual relationships spanned over his twenty some odd years of life that felt significant.
He told her about all the other women he hadn't been serious about.
The ones who'd been serious about him.
He told her about his sickness, when he was a boy, and Ivan spending all their savings on that Dragon Lacrima.
It felt too soon.
All of it.
But it wasn't really, she knew, as it was nearing a year since they'd first began dating, but spread across their tight schedules…
Sometimes she felt impossibly close to the man.
Others, distanced.
It was scary for her too. Being with someone for so long. Even without exclusivity, she was rare to see the same man as often as she found herself bunking at the slayer's place.
Everything felt so sudden.
Everything felt so slow.
"I don't think I can go on the trip, Laxus."
The man frowned some as he stood out on the Strauss' household's front porch. He'd come by for his usual date with Mira (every Tuesday night he wasn't out of town, he could always count on her giving him her free night away from the hall), but rather than being met with a kiss and suggestion for where to dine, Mira started with letting him down not so easily.
"The trip?" He frowned. It had been something they'd been talking about for a few weeks, at first abstractly, but on a whim the week before, he'd bought train tickets and booked a nice villa for him and the demon to inhabit for a little over a week. When he'd told her about it, she'd seemed happy, but cautioned him that she still had to figure her work schedule out. "If this is about the length of the stay, you can always go back home early-"
"I don't want to go at all."
Laxus let out a short huff of breath. "Mira-"
"It's just…" She shrugged. "Not the right time."
He frowned. "What does that mean?"
Laxus didn't understand. Her words. Their meaning. Intention. He'd been whistling, even, on his walk over, thinking up ways to convince the demon to spend the evening at his place and, even if not, to let him crash at hers. She was all he'd thought about, on the short job he'd taken last week, and had made sure to be home in time for their date.
Mira now treating him so coldly melted his brain.
The woman shook her head some as she said, "I just don't wanna go."
"Well," Laxus grumbled with a frown, "I'm not going to lose the money I already sunk into this, Mira."
She looked away. "I know."
He took a step forwards. "Then-"
"Then," Mira said as she took her own, back towards the door, "maybe you should go with someone else."
"W-What?"
"It's not like we're exclusive, Laxus." She shrugged. "You can-"
"I never," he griped, "said we were."
"Why does it have to be me that goes?" she asked and he thought he figured it out then.
Her game.
She wanted him to tell her plainly how much she meant to him, was that it? Huh?
His stricken look turned to a glare as he retorted, "It doesn't," because Laxus Dreyar didn't fucking play these goddamn games.
But Mira's expression didn't change at his assertion, only remarked, "You have plenty of time to figure it out."
Laxus swallowed. "I don't think I wanna go out tonight. Mira. With you."
Her lips parted and she sucked in a breath, but his words weren't enough to change her mind.
"That's fine." She even yawned softly, hand now on the door knob behind her as she said, "I'm pretty exhausted."
"Yeah?" He snorted, turning his back on her as he started down the porch steps. "I'm fucking not."
"Laxus-"
"I'm going to go out."
"Good for you."
"I'm gonna go get fucking laid."
"Perfect."
"And," he finished, "I'm gonna invite whoever the fuck I pick on that trip. Fuck all night. Every night. Take her out to dinner, buy her-"
"That's great, Laxus." Mira turned the knob and though she wouldn't turn around fully, did slip back into the house. Her eyes were still on the man though, watching as he stormed off her property. Softly, and mostly to herself, she insisted, "Exactly what I want."
He did go out that night.
Go really fucking drunk.
And then went to Bickslow and Freed's place to whine on their couch about how awful Mirajane was and how she was playing some sort of satanic trick on him, he was pretty sure, anyways, and why didn't she want him?
Huh?
The next morning brought a headache and the doting nature of his two closest friends, but Laxus shoved off their concerns as he headed straight to the guildhall. Mirajane was there, of course, already pretty busy with her mid morning tasks, but he could tell she noted his presence from the way she stiffed and tries to causally glance back at the guildhall doors the second he graced them.
Laxus knew better than to interfere with her work though. Especially if he was hoping to reconcile.
So he took a seat at his usual table and awaited the woman to bring him his beer and a meal.
Only, Kinana was the one to do so, something that wouldn't be a problem a year ago, but now? Now the demon took time out to see him, no matter how busy. Giving up his table to Kinana felt personal.
Intentional.
If she was going to be petty though, he could be the same.
Even after finishing his meal and two mugs of ale, Laxus refused to move on from the hall. Not even when the Thunder Legion, all three, begged him to go training with them that afternoon.
"Can't," he grumbled as he only glared down into his third mug. "Busy."
Mirajane wasn't stupid.
She knew he was waiting for her break.
And, rather than lead the man on any further, she approached him at the start of it and asked to speak somewhere alone.
It was empty out behind the guildhall as Mirajane and Laxus made there way there, walking in silence around the building. Only once they were certain there were no others in the vicinity catching their words did either speak.
"I went out last night," was the first thing the man said, looking away from the woman as they came to a stop together in time. "But I didn't...sleep with anyone."
Mira shrugged, blue eyes trained to his regardless the avoidance. "We're not out here about that, Laxus."
No.
They weren't.
Unable to deny her gaze any longer, his eyes returned to hers and the man broke, if only because he found the coolness of the previous night still lingering and fuck.
"What did I do, Mira? Huh?" He didn't mean to sound so pathetic. Honest. But… "I thought that we were happy."
"We are happy," Mira insisted, but it caused the man to snort.
"I'm not," he griped. "Not if you're not going to come with me on that trip."
"I'm not going to, La-"
"Then-"
"It's not anything you did, Laxus." She rubbed awkwardly at one arm. "It's me. I… I need a break."
"A," he repeated, "break."
"Things are moving too fast." Mira shook her head. "Maybe, if you're in town next Tuesday, we can-"
"I'll be on a job." His expression changed, back to void and blank. Taking a step backwards, he shrugged some and offered instead, "Maybe I'll see you around. After."
"Yeah." Mira turned as well, not to head back around the guild, but to walk further out onto the property and waste her break on a stroll. "After."
But they didn't see much of one another.
They didn't go out on another date.
Laxus did stop by the hall in a better mood the following week, flirting openly with her when she teased him on how long his most recent job took. He only grinned and remarked that maybe he took some stops along the way and Mira knew what he was implying, but refused to rise to the bait.
"Oh?" she asked, coy. "Stops to do what?"
But the pain that had allowed him to be so cavalier about his exploits the other night was dead now.
He wouldn't tell Mira about that shit.
"Just," he said back with a shrug of his shoulders, "stops."
She didn't press and it wouldn't have mattered if she did.
Laxus had never told her of any of the women he was actively dating. Only past relationships. It had never been an issue before as, if he had been seeing other women for the past few months, she was out of the loop on it.
She assumed, but never asked or prodded.
Now though, as the proposed trip drew closer and Laxus didn't even mention taking her, Mira for the first time felt as if she were making the wrong decision.
Or, at least, didn't like the thought of him off in some quaint little beach house with some other woman.
What if they hit it off?
What if she wanted him and only him?
What if she was ready to get married and have his babies and grow old together?
What if he still wanted to see Mira on the side?
She really had to get control of herself, she knew, but found it very difficult as the day drew near.
Laxus was by the day before, still casually joking with Mira as she took her break at his table. He'd been eating when she sat across from him and the man easily offered her some of his sandwich and chips in exchange for her company.
"Guess I'll have to get my own lunch," she remarked in what felt very leading to Laxus as well as very draining. "Since you'll be gone."
"Yeah." He looked off. "Gone."
Mira wouldn't ask though and Laxus wouldn't tell.
He couldn't.
The next morning, Mira actually already had the day off and had intended on moping in bed, caught somewhere between missing Laxus and resenting him.
She'd had men try to move too fast before.
Try and lock her down.
Promising her things they knew were unattainable.
In her heavy modeling days, she would even occasionally get a proposal in the form of a letter or once, even, a random man showing up to the bar.
Rather than viewing any of this as flattering though, Mirajane quickly began to build up her defenses. After a few harsh heartbreaks, she found that though being sought after heavily could be fun, it being based entirely on her appearance only lead to hurt.
She knew Laxus' initial attraction was probably the same as any other who hit on her, but over the past few months…
Nothing had ever fizzled between them.
For all the nights they spent tangled up in one another, they equally spent them sharing thoughts.
Nights where Laxus would stretch out and she'd sit beside, legs crossed, strumming at her guitar as they idly chatted over all that had gone on since they'd last been together were some of the best she knew. The man had schmoozed her at first, or at least tried, with fancy dinners and traveling to other towns for plays, but quickly found the woman much preferred his attention.
Or at least his ears.
Laxus listened to her in a way that normally partners didn't. She imagined it came from the fact that he did see her as more than the eye candy the others hoped her to be. Though he didn't seek it often, he did value her opinion on things relating both to the guild and even his own training.
He considered her an equal.
It felt gross to award him for this fact, but Lisanna insisted later that morning as the sisters discussed the issue over cups of coffee that maybe Mira was being a bit hard on the guy.
"You can't use it against him that other guys are dicks," Lisanna pointed out with a frown. The pair were seated at the kitchen table, toast before the younger along with her coffee, but nothing for her older sister. "I mean, Laxus is probably one too, but-"
"No," Mirajane sighed to her cup. "He's really not. He just… It's scary, Lisanna. To me. I don't… Being…"
"Committed to Laxus?" her sister tried to help, but this brought a bright blush to Mirajane's normally pale cheeks.
"No one's even talking about that," she insisted with a frown. "But-"
"But," Lisanna prompted, "going away with him on another trip feels like a step that way, doesn't it?"
Shaking her head, Mira brought her mug up to her lips, blowing at the pipping hot coffee before replying, "It doesn't matter now, does it? He's off with someone else."
Shrugging, Lisanna suggested, "Maybe she's not his type. And they won't hit it off. And he'll come back and you can start over."
"Or he'll fall in love." Mirajane finally took a sip of her coffee, adding after she'd swallowed, "Get married to her. Move away."
"Or cheat with you," Lisanna reminded with a sip of her own coffee. At her sister's frown, she reminded, "You're the one that said that."
Or at least spiraled to that point.
Time for the sisters to gossip was ended though as Elfman arrived back home in a huff.
"Evergreen's left me," he informed the two women as he burst through the backdoor and came barreling into the kitchen. "For another man."
"Oh, Elf." Mira was quick to take to his side, but Lisanna only frowned, not rising from the table.
"Since when are you and Ever even a thing? Again?" the youngest Strauss sibling asked. "Is that where you've been for the past few weeks? With Ever?"
"No," he sniffled miserably. "I was on a job and got back and thought I'd stop by her place first, you know, since it's so early? She likes to go to the market early, before the crowds, and I thought she'd like to go with me and maybe I'd even get something for dinner tonight, big sis, but then I got there and she had a bag packed and told me she was running off with another man because I'm not enough of one!"
By the end of his sentence, Elfman's tears had dried. Anger burned inside him now, at the thought of some other man moving in on his sometimes girlfriend, usually biggest agitator. While he was off on a job at that.
What kind of slimy piece of shit did that to another guy?
"I should go down there," he growled as, turning away from Mirajane's comforting arms, he tossed his own up. "Show that guy what a real man looks like."
"N-No," Mira said slowly. "Elfman, don't. If Ever wants to be with someone else, you really shouldn't-"
"Wait!" Lisanna did jump up then. "Mira, do you know when Laxus' train leaves?"
"What? No." The other woman shook her head. "I never asked."
"He could be at the station right now," Lisanna insisted, "with that other woman."
"He left you too?" Elfman looked to Mirajane. "That scoundrel!"
"Let's go," Lisanna insisted gleefully, juicy drama enough to salivate over. "We'll bust them! Both of them!"
"Lisanna," Mira tried, but Elfman was already sold on the idea and there was no way that she was going to let him go down there and make a scene alone.
If there was anyone who could calm the man, it was his older sister.
But even then, only sometimes.
Honestly, Mirajane kinda hoped that Laxus had already left and that she wouldn't have to catch glimpse of her replacement. If she ever saw the woman with him again, it would only drive home his interest in another. She'd claimed to not be bothered by it, before, and she wasn't fully convinced she was, but the idea of Laxus possibly choosing someone over her was too much to bear.
Which wasn't what he'd done, but to see him out on a repeat date with her…
She was so prepared to be blown away by the other woman's beauty and grace that she was absolutely floored to find Evergreen at Laxus' side on the trian station platform.
There was a bag at each of their feet, Laxus' between the two of them even, and though there was no obvious tension between them, Lisanna was disappointed (but not surprised) to find that both Ever and Laxus weren't with people they were clearly attracted to.
"I can't believe it! Laxus! Ever! Who does this to a man!"
Elfman, however, was not so good at reading situations.
Just the sight of Laxus there, with his girlfriend, made the big guy see red.
"Oh no," Evergreen groaned, not even turning to glance at them. Do to this, she didn't note the other Strausses. Just hers. Still facing the tracks, Evergreen unfurled her typical hand fan and hid her face. To Laxus, she insisted, "Don't acknowledge him and maybe he'll just-"
"Mirajane." Laxus left Ever's side immediately, heading over to the trio of siblings. "What-"
"I thought we were close, Laxus," Elfman growled, unconcerned with the glances they were getting from others gathered about the platform. "You know that I love Evergreen. How could you do this to me? The mother of my future children? What kinda man are you? Not one at all!"
Lisanna grinned at Laxus' confusion, adding, "How could you? Leave my sister for my brother's future children's mother? Disgusting."
Growling, Laxus look between the two of them before replying, "I don't know what you think, Elfboy, but I don't fucking want Ever."
"Good!" Elfman returned the slayer's glare. "You're not man enough for her!"
"Yeah?" Laxus snorted. "Last I heard, neither are you."
"Laxus!" Mirajane was tired of being ignored. "Behave."
Huffing, he looked to the Strauss he wanted finally, questioning, "What are you doing here, Mira? Huh? Did you really think Ever and I-"
"Of course not." Then she frowned. "I mean, I guess the two of you could-"
"As," Laxus scoffed, "if."
"Hey!" Elfman was still agitated with him, so it was easy to transfer over to a different reason. "Evergreen is a catch! A beauty! You'd be lucky to have her."
"Elfman!" Finally, his true wrangler decided with a groan to head over to the group. Evergreen did not look happy to see the man, which was just crazy to him, because Elfman couldn't imagine anything more romantic than showing up at a train station to stop a woman who declared her lack of interest in you. Stomping over, Ever's hand flew to her glasses and oh, man, how nice would the station look with a big oaf statue. Toying with the frames, she questioned, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to get ya back, Ever!" He took a step forward. "What do you want this loser for, huh?"
"Loser?" Laxus griped.
"I'm not...with Laxus." Ever huffed, crossing her arms as she looked off. "I just wasn't expecting you and he asked me not say anything because you might mention it to your gross sisters."
"Gross?" Lisanna complained, but Mirajane was caught on something else.
"Why did you not want me to know you were going with Ever, Laxus?" Mira asked with a frown, but it was one of misunderstanding. Realization came to her suddenly and, glare joining her frown, she accused, "You wanted me to think that you were out with some other woman-"
"I could be!" Laxus returned the glare. "Here with anyone. Anyone I want." But when she only continued to glare, he lost his intensity a bit, adding, "You told me to, Mira, so-"
"Then why," Lisanna whispered softly, tone not so jokey as she definitely wanted her sister with the man (her brother, maybe not Ever…), "aren't you? Laxus?"
"Yeah," Mira echoed, glaring dying off as she considered this now too. "Why aren't you?"
Narrowing his eyes, Laxus wanted to say something snarky. Mean. She deserved it, getting him all worked up, all three of them did, but shit it was hard to be mad at the woman.
Too hard.
The harshness in his face gave way to discomfort as the man scratched awkwardly at his cheek. Taking a step towards Mira, he asked, "Why are you here then? Huh? Mira?"
To stop her younger brother from murdering innocent man initially, but now she was nearly certain her fated purpose was to save Laxus from murdering Elfman.
And yet…
"Because I messed up, Laxus," she admitted softly. "I got scared and-"
"Of," he asked softly, "what? What did I do? That's all I've wanted to know, Mira, the whole time. Whatever it was-"
"Nothing," she assured him. "It's me, I… I'm sorry, I know you're trains coming, but-"
"Fuck the train." He quickly moved to tug a ticket and some other papers relating to his intended rental property. Turning to Elfman, he shoved them off on the man as he said, "Go fuck your girlfriend on my dime, huh?"
"What?" Evergreen dropped her jaw. "No, Laxus, don't-"
"I get called creepy," Lisanna complained, "and I don't get anything, but Elfman gets his girlfriend back-"
"He," Ever insisted, though the grin was beginning to be harder to hide, "does not."
"-and," Lisanna continued, "he gets to go on a vacation? I'm the only reason we're here right now?"
"Holy shit, just shut up," Laxus growled, digging further into his pocket for some jewels. Shaving the cash off on her, he insisted, "Go get ticket for the train and you can go too."
"Lisanna," Mira complained, "Don't- And Elf, you and Ever cannot- You guys don't even have clothes!"
"I'll figure it out," Lisanna retorted over her shoulder, disappearing into the crowd as she hoped to get to the ticket counter before it was too late.
Eyes watering, Elfman looked to Laxus with a sniffle. "This is a real manly thing to do."
"Yeah, well- Hey, don't hug- Mira, get him off me! Ever!"
It would be another twenty minutes before the train for the opposite coast took off, but Laxus quickly grabbed his bag and took off with the demon the second he had the chance. Mirajane wasn't pleased with her siblings acceptance of Laxus' overly generous gifts, but as he slung his bag over his back, he explained her concerns away.
"Now," he said as they left the station together, "I know for sure they're gone. For a whole week. All while Bickslow and Freed think I'm gone, so they won't be looking to bother me either."
Still, Mira pressed further, "What are you saying?"
"You wanted to talk?" He gestured about. "We'll have all the space to do that. Wherever you want. Your place, my apartment; we can just go somewhere and hunker down for a while. I-I mean, if you wanted-"
"You," she cut him off, "wanted to go on vacation and spent all of that money-"
"I wanted to be with you, Mirajane." He frowned down at where she walked along beside him. "I didn't care where. Fuck, is it that hard for you to believe that I just really, really fucking like you? Cause I do. I don't give a shit if we just talk this week."
While his words up to that point gave her butterflies, his final declaration did finally call him out a bit with, "You don't mean that."
No.
He didn't.
"Please just take the days off, Mira." He didn't like how much it sounded like he was begging her and cleared his throat before clarifying, "Or at least give me today."
"To," she questioned teasingly and, at the tone, he felt nearly all the tension in his body dissipate, "talk? Or-"
"Demon-"
"I know I've been torturing you," she admitted then. "These past few weeks."
She had no idea.
Really, she didn't.
The only reason he chose to take Ever over Freed or Bickslow was in hopes that she could talk him through Mira's mind games.
"But it wasn't intentional," she swore to the man. Sighing some as they came to a stop at a street corner, the one that determined if they were headed to his place or hers, she admitted, "I felt overwhelmed."
"By what?" Laxus turned to face her. "Me?"
Shaking her head, the woman told him, "Of actually getting serious. I… I'm not that kind of person. I know I talk a lot about romance and weddings and how much I'd love to be married and start a family and-"
"Do you?" He frowned. "You don't talk about that to me."
"W-Well-"
"You talk about how much you'd like to see other people do that," he replied slowly. "You always talk to me about how you wanna get your guitar and tour. Get big enough to tour other Kingdoms."
"That's just a dream, Laxus." She blushed, hearing it spoke aloud, in the light of day. They were the only two on the corner, but it felt as if her inner thoughts were being exposed to the world. "And it's too late, anyways. I-"
"It's never too late, Mira." He smiled, his real one, and it made her return it in full. Reaching over, he wrapped an arm loosely around her shoulders as he said, "Not for something you care about. And definitely never for you. You can do anything."
Mira was glad he couldn't catch her blush as he turned then, finally having a destination picked it seemed as he took the left turn to head back to the Strauss household.
"Laxus," she asked softly, "wouldn't you rather go to your place?"
"You kiddin'?" He shook his head. "If I'mma be having all these conversations-"
"We are not," she griped lightly, finally tired of the joke it seemed, "going to be talking that much."
"-I'm gonna need some musical accompaniment."
"Laxus, what?"
"You haven't played a song for me in nearly a month." He grunted, glancing down at her. "I wanna hear something. Anything. Long as you're playing it."
Mira knew things weren't fully settled between them and imagined the next few days, of which she would try to get out of work for (with Lisanna gone, Kinana was about to have the hardest seven day stretch shift of her life; maybe she'd ask Lucy to help…), would be spent thoroughly figuring that out. Rather than just talking around it, as they had the past few months.
In fact, she intended on insisting they do so.
Something about the mornings venture told her the man intended the same.
"You know," she yawned late that night as her guitar playing was long done and she found herself stretched out over her bed as well, eyes trained up at the man as she rested partially on his chest, "I think I really, really like you too, Laxus."
"Oh yeah?" He angled his head down so they could look into one another's eyes. "Enough to spend another week with me?"
"Yeah," she agreed with a giggle and, as he leaned down to press a kiss to her head, she thought maybe even longer.
This came from a request over on Tumblr for Mirajane taking Laxus for granted, which I'm not sure this is, but it was the only way I could see that playing out.