Hey ladies and gents, I'm back again. I just wanted to talk to you guys about something really quick! This is pretty important to the story so I'll do a little marker thing down below to make sure that it's easily visible. Well I hope you guys enjoy it but I dunno, talk to me about it, leave a review or pm me, whatever is easiest for you! Anyway! This chapter is really just developing some of the relationship between our couple and I'm experimenting with their interaction. Let me know how you feel. Let's get on with the important thing!
Hey what's up I just want to let you guys know that I'm rewriting parts of the story, particularly the beginning and it's rather large but the story is mainly the same, I just want it to flow better as well as correct some issues with typos. So in order to progress the story, I'm rewriting one chapter as I release a new one so it'll go new chapter, rewrite, new chapter, rewrite so on so forth. First chapter is already done so check it out or don't! That's all!
Under any normal circumstances, Natsu would have won. Natsu should have won. He was fast; fast enough to cross the country in a day or two. He could fly for gods' sake. And yet, he found himself staring at one platinum blonde lounging around under a tree, teasing him about how he lost. As it would appear, he owed her a drink. Alright. There were worse things than that. Mira laughed at how Natsu stared off into space, seemingly baffled by his terrific loss. It wasn't her fault he got distracted. It was his fault for letting her get in front of him anyway. Ah now the question was what she was going to drink. She'd figure it out when she got back. Natsu shook his head and breathed out a puff of fire.
"Alright alright, I guess we should be getting back," Natsu said, clearly still distracted.
"Alright Mr. Dragneel, how do you want to do this?" Mira asked cheekily.
"I would suggest another race, but seeing as how I lost the last one I'm not sure I want to do that," Natsu chuckled, "Well, actually."
"What?" Mira teased, "Did you secretly enjoy having your face shoved into the dirt?"
"Not in the slightest but before that wasn't bad," Natsu said, "Not bad at all."
"I see. I should inform you that flattery will get you nowhere, Natsu," Mira said, putting her hands behind her head.
"You seem comfortable here," Natsu said, plopping himself down on the ground and laying flat on the ground.
"I mean, it's hard not to be. You have this way of making people comfortable," Mira said before mumbling to herself. Natsu laughed and tapped his ears. Mira was none too pleased and proceeded to jump up. Natsu, afraid of what might happen to him if he stayed in the she-devil's way, also hopped up and proceeded to propel himself upwards with a quick surge of his fire while his wings started to properly form.
Mira, not wanting to be left behind (and also wanting to murder the dragon slayer), changed into a Satan soul and raced after him. The two chased after each other, zigzagging across the sky before Natsu dove suddenly. From Mirajane's perspective, he had all but disappeared. She looked around and saw nothing. You'd think that someone with giant red wings would be easier to find!
Mira felt something tap her shoulder and came face to face with an upside down Natsu whose wings were fully extended.
"How are you doing that?" Mira asked incredulously.
"Oh there's an updraft," Natsu said, tucking his wings in a bit and sinking a foot.
"I don't feel an updraft," Mira said.
"Oh well you know how hot air rises? I can just use my magic to heat the air below me and it will rise and bring the air into my wings which keeps me up," Natsu said.
"Let me guess, Igneel taught you that?" Mirajane teased.
"You hurt me!" Natsu laughed, "I came up with it actually. It's unviable for something so large to do it because the amount of magic it would take is enormous. It's like how it's easier to eat a bunch of smaller pancakes than one huge pancake!"
"That makes no sense, at all," Mira said, "But you know what? You're actually pretty smart through that thick skin of yours."
"Hey!" Natsu said, "Wait oh yeah! Thank you!"
Natsu laughed happily before deciding it was time for them to go back. Enough time had been spent fooling around. Mira simply told Natsu to lead the way and he did. It didn't take long for them to break the cloud cover and see the vast lands of Fiore beneath them. After that, it took another good session of flying for them to stop anywhere near their actual destination. Mira, after a while, got tired as the Satan Soul wasn't something to lightly use. It took a lot of energy and concentration.
The two dropped down outside a town on the way. Nothing interesting going on, just people going on with their business. Natsu, being himself, wanted something to eat. Mira wanted a place to lie down as the change in realm had taken a slight toll on her. Natsu found something to eat while Mira got herself a place at the local inn.
Natsu got rather bored after eating and went to find something to preoccupy himself with. Mira was currently asleep and wanted to go and see Elfman again so Natsu figured he'd go and find her a train ticket. The thought of transportation made him a bit nauseous but he controlled it. Igneel had taken a month of their training to try and alleviate his motion sickness but it only somewhat worked. It hurt to move but he could stay up as long as nothing too terrible happened.
Natsu paid for a train ticket for Mira and walked back to where she was staying. She said she was going to clean up before everything, so she would probably still be awake. Natsu was always a quick eater and he found it better to be quick with anything involving transportation as well.
It didn't take him long to sniff out where she was staying as Natsu's nose was quite adept at making out trails. There were other reasons but that was the reason he told himself. He entered the inn and walked straight up to the platinum blonde's room. He knocked (people were big on that it seemed), and waited for her to answer the door. A minute or two passed, or maybe just a few seconds as his attention span was notoriously short, and nothing happened. So, like any other normal person, he opened the door slowly and waited to get punched right back through the way he came.
Natsu's ears perked up to the light sound of steady breathing. He hadn't expected her to be asleep but it was a possibility. She probably wouldn't take it too well if he up and disappeared in the middle of the night with no explanation and a ticket home. Natsu figured he was in for some time. It didn't take him long to survey the room as it was rather small but it was nice. He could clearly make out every little detail of the bed sheets from the opposite side of the room where a small couch and coffee table were. There was a small kitchen sort of thing and a door which most likely led to the bathroom He padded over to the couch and groaned as he sunk into it. He closed his eyes but opened them when he heard the rustling of the blanket only to find blue eyes staring at him, just peeking over the edge of the blanket. So she was a light sleeper.
"Uh…" Natsu trailed off.
"What are you doing in my room, Natsu?" Mira asked, her eyes boring into his own. He got the distinct feeling that there was no right answer, and even if there was one, he might fuck that one up.
"Well, I thought you'd be awake still and then I found you asleep so I figured you wouldn't like it if I just dropped a train ticket on your clothes or something so I sat down and was going to play around with my magic until you woke up."
"Uh huh," Mira said slowly, "So you had to do that in my room?"
"I'm sorry, honestly I didn't think you'd wake up."
"Alright, well you're here it seems," Mira sighed as she sat up a bit, "Since you've disturbed my sleep, I require something of you."
"Shoot," Natsu said quickly, hoping that he hadn't fucked up too bad. He could fix this.
"See I don't really care if you're in my room or not, it was a surprise sure but there are weirder things," Mira laughed. Natsu let out a breath, "Can you just heat my pillow up so the water dries up a bit? Forgot I took a shower and wet pillows aren't super nice when trying to sleep."
"That's it?"
"Were you expecting something else?"
"Erza always demands something outlandish, succeeded by strawberry cheesecake."
"Hate to break it to you Pyro, but Erza and I aren't the same," Mira said, tossing him the pillow. Her old, teen self desperately wanted to take the wheel but she mostly got it under control, mostly, "First off, I'm perfectly fine with fun. Plus, I'm not constantly seen in a tin can."
"That would be tragic," Natsu said. He figured the easiest way to get the water off was to warm himself up so he concentrated just a trickle of magic into his chest and placed the pillow there before wrapping his arms around it and kind of hunching over on it.
"Which part?"
"Both really," Natsu chuckled, "You're fun to be around. I like it. As far as that tin can as you put it goes, it smells like metal and that mean Erza smells like metal. And if you mix metal with any sort of fluid that's not pollish, well…"
"Oh really?" Mira asked before shifting in bed and leaning forward a bit more, "I'll keep that in mind, but when are you ever close enough to her to actually smell her?"
"You always forget about my senses, huh?"
"Only partially, I'm not sure how powerful they are yet, ya know?"
"Even with that little experience I gave you?" Natsu asked as he handed her back the now warm (and dry) pillow. She simply made a throaty sound of acknowledgment before stretching and yawning. She took particular satisfaction in both the warmth and its newfound scent.
"That was great. You should do it again some time," Mira said before laying back down and moving her arms behind her head. There was silence for some time before Mirajane let out a jaw-cracking yawn. "Natsu. Everyone has a smell right?"
"Yeah why? Gray smells like fresh snow on the surface but has a woody, earthy undertone. That same smell is far more prevalent in Droy because of his work with plants. Erza smells like metal, strawberry, and just the tiniest hint of sandalwood which I find somewhat strange but she meditates apparently or something."
"What do I smell like?"
"Oh," Natsu said, pausing for a moment. That question seemed innocent but it had a bit of an underlying tone that made Natsu question it for a second. He chalked it up to her being rather sleepy, "Well, you have a very fresh, airy sort of smell. I think the most prevalent scent is a bit more floral mixed with a hint of amber but there's also a bit of vanilla and just the tiniest hint of citrus. There's a nice undertone of honey and a bit of a warmer scent, though I'm not sure how I would describe it."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, everyone has a distinct smell on the bottom, just how they are. It's the smell that most people notice after being in close contact like a hug, right? You could identify someone based on it."
"So mine is warmer with a touch of honey?"
"Yep!" Natsu chirped, "I quite like it."
Mira simply murmured something before tucking into the bed, "Thanks for the pillow. It's warm."
"I'd hope so, I'm essentially a space heater," Natsu chuckled, briefly letting a bit of his natural heat escape, raising the temperature around him to be slightly warmer.
"That was nice," Mira said, snuggling herself into the pillow, "Bring it back."
Natsu quietly laughed to himself and let himself heat up a bit before he reigned it in a bit. Mira let out a content little grumble and Natsu found himself being suckered into sleep himself. So his errands could wait. He wasn't on any schedule. A small part of him nagged at the back of his mind. He was here to be around his own kind, he could indulge himself in some time off from everything else. Even the dragon in him with its sense of natural discipline found it hard to find any reason to leave. He slumped down into the seat and closed his eyes.
Natsu was surprised to find himself awake in the bed. He had been asleep on the couch, right? He noticed the sound of something crackling and popping and noticed Mira opening a box of food and using a heating lacrima on it. There was a similar, though far larger box sitting on the stand next to the bed.
"Did I-" Natsu said before being cut off.
"Move to the bed in your sleep? No I did that before I left to get breakfast."
"That's good," Natsu said, imagining Mira moving his several hundred pound body into a bed (which, notably, was not an unpleasant thought), "and did you say breakfast?"
"Yeah, eat it now or I will," Mira teased.
"You can take mine if you'd like," Natsu said, before his stomach grumbled.
"That's sweet," Mira smiled, "I don't actually want it, but according to your stomach, you do."
"Always!"
"So you're leaving today?"
"I was going to but I'm not in any rush, plus there are three more dragon slayers that I need to find so there's not much point in doing it now, ya know?"
"That make's sense but what are you going to do now?"
"I'm just going to go back to the guild and do whatever, maybe find a job," Natsu said, "Plus I'm pretty sure Gildarts might still be there which means I get to kick his ass!"
"How strong are you exactly?"
"Oh about as strong as Acnologia?" Natsu said pensively. How did you scale that kind of power?
"And that means what?"
"Let's go with strong enough to kill Zeref?"
"Your brother Zeref. Like the one who created an entire race of demons?"
"Unless you know another Zeref?" Natsu asked rhetorically.
"Well I'm sorry Mr. Everything in my life is a secret, us normal people have to catch up," Mira said cheekily. She watched as Natsu stretched and breathed out a puff of fire. He tossed the blanket off of himself a second later, revealing the rest of him. She took particular note of how he was only in pants now. Mira was used to attractive people, she was a model, but something about Natsu rubbed her differently. He really did look good for four hundred.
"Mhhmmmm," Natsu said as he bent down and stretched a bit more, "I want to shower. Train should come a bit later."
"Good," Mira said, "Eat first. Might as well eat it warm."
"I can just warm it up though," Natsu said, lifting his hand and letting a flame burst to life in his palm.
Mira glanced at him. Natsu registered something dancing playfully in her eyes, "And that's more work isn't it?"
"Ehh I guess?" Natsu said. Mira tossed him his box of food and watched as he opened it and proceeded to scarf most of it down within the minute.
"That eager to get away huh?" Mira giggled.
"Why would I? I just really wanna eat!"
"Sounds like you, food first think later."
"So? You like eating too!"
"So I do," Mira deadpanned as she walked over and poked Natsu's chest, "The thing is, I prefer to think with my brain and not my stomach."
"I don't think with either of them!"
"Oh? I suppose you don't think at all then!" Mira laughed before bringing a hand to her chin with her finger over her lips, "Or do you think with what you've got under your belt?"
"No! I just think with my heart!"
"And my dear Natsu, what is your heart telling you?"
"Eat?" Natsu asked. Mira had to stifle her laughter.
"I don't know if Igneel taught you this, but that's your stomach sweetie," Mira said, watching as Natsu polished off the last little bit of food, "How are you not the size of a house?"
"Metabolism."
"Oh he knows a big word, wonderful!" Mira teased.
"I know plenty of big words!"
"And do you know what they all mean?" Mira asked. Natsu was silent, "Right. Now if you're done, go take your shower."
"Okaaayyyy Mom." Mira glared at Natsu for a second before glancing down at herself. If she was a mom, she supposed she should be proud if she squeezed out something as cute as Natsu.
"I guess I look pretty good for a mom," Mira said, lifting her arms up and swiveling around to look at herself.
"I'll say," Natsu said before mentally slapping himself. Way to go.
"You like the way I look huh?" Mira asked, her voice light and happy.
"How could I not?" Natsu retorted.
"Given that you grew up with dragons, I was afraid you might like people with more scales and a tail," Mira said in mock concern.
"I'm still human ya know!" Natsu said indignantly, "Besides, with your Satan souls, you kinda fit that bill."
"I'm flattered but don't expect me to stay in one just because you want something to look at," Mira said lightly.
"You're plenty nice to look at without transforming."
Mira smiled and tapped Natsu's nose lightly before walking and sitting down on the couch, "Flattery will get you nowhere, Dragneel. I already said that."
"Hey who knows. Maybe we'll be able to do something again some time!" Natsu laughed, "Though given how that went last time, I'm not sure you're ready."
"Impress me some time and we'll go from there," Mira laughed.
