A few days had passed since Mira and Ryker took over and caused a commotion in the guild, making the new couple the center of attention at that moment. This deeply bothered Ryker, but for Mira he put up with it and underscored the guild's greetings, taunts, and urus of happiness.
After that, everything calmed down and the guild was back to normal, if we can put it that way. The new couple was nothing new and other events were in the spotlight, however none of them knew how to behave with them. There were implications the guild didn't want to think about. Like for example, how would Mira react to other girls who would eventually get close to Ryker or how would he react if he saw Mira crying over some misunderstanding with a guild member. Everyone knew he tended to be protective of her and fear began to spread through the guild mages and many of them avoided making requests to Mira as they did before.
Now, at the end of this day, Lucy was heading back to her house, tired of the busy Fairy Tail. The only thing she wanted was to lie down on her bed and sleep until she couldn't. When she opened the apartment door she cried in defeat to notice that she had visitors, and sure enough it was her pink haired friend.
However, she was taken by surprise. "What are you doing here!?", she asked angrily.
"The usual, Luce. But I think you need to go shopping, there's not much in your fridge", Natsu said indifferently and smiling as always.
"But, but I shopped yesterday! You ate it all, you monster!?" she yelled angrily at her gluttonous friend. Natsu scratched the back of his head, feeling awkward.
"You didn't have any fish, Luce. Why don't you go buy it?", Happy commented in his peculiar way.
"Shut up, stupid cat!" screamed the blonde.
"Natsu! Luce is mad again", little Exceed goes behind the Dragon Slayer protecting himself.
"I'm not angry! And what are you doing here!?", she pointed to the other guy in her room, sitting on her bed, veins popping out of his forehead.
"I just wanted to talk to you," he said.
Lucy stopped and looked at him in disbelief. "Talk to me? And why didn't you mention the guild instead of breaking into my apartment!?".
"I didn't break into your apartment. I walked in through the door, like a normal person, just like before", he explained crossing his arms and looking at her seriously. "It was this idiot friend of yours who broke in," he pointed at Natsu.
"Hey! Who's an idiot!?", the pink hair snapped, looking at him angrily.
"You," he replied.
"Do you want to fight by chance, Ryker!?", he approached his face to his challenging him to a fight. "Because I'm getting excited," Natsu pounded his fists with brilliant excitement.
"Not in my house!", Lucy screamed desperately and gesturing like crazy.
"Don't worry, Lucy. I'm not going to do anything, not even the pink hair here." In one quick move, Ryker caught him and locked him by the neck in a bravo key, holding him to his side. Natsu tried to protest trying to get out of the grip, just to Lucy and Ryker's amusement.
"What do you want to talk to me about?", the blonde asked, as he released the fire mage, who settled down on the floor with a sullen face.
"It's personal and I'd like to talk to you alone", he looked at Natsu who didn't show any reaction. He just sat on the floor looking confused at the two.
"I see," Lucy cupped her chin thoughtfully and looked at the fire mage.
Natsu looked at the two, not understanding the situation. "What is it?" he asked confused.
It took a while for them to make Natsu understand what a private, alone conversation was. But with some effort and some promises that Lucy had to make, Dragon Slayer left them alone for a few minutes and promised not to listen to their conversation.
"Your bed is very comfortable. Now I understand why Natsu doesn't leave his house", Ryker commented, testing the blonde's bed.
"Did you come here to talk about my bed or something?", Lucy asked him with her hands on her hips and looking at him seriously.
Ryker looked at her and rolled his eyes. "You need to relax. She's very nervous," he sneered.
The veins reappeared on her forehead and the celestial mage exploded again. "Want to talk soon!" she yelled.
"Okay, okay!" Ryker held up a hand in defense and surrender. "I wanted your opinion on Mira. I mean, I want to do something for her, but I don't know what," he said awkwardly and slightly nervous.
Lucy was stunned. Did he want advice from her!? About Mira!? "Ryker, I don't know if..."
"Come on Lucy! What would you like to win?" he asked.
"But Ryker…" she sighed in resignation. "Each person is a different person. What I would like is not what she might like. You've been with her a lot since you got here, you must know her tastes", she said and sat down beside him on the bed.
Ryker cringed and frowned. "I don't know if I'll know how to do this."
Lucy looked at him and was shocked. He didn't look like the same Ryker she knew, he was behaving unusually. Usually he was confident, but right now, he looked…insecure. Then she realized that he was either afraid to disappoint the person he liked or was afraid to give something they didn't like. That's how relationships are, full of insecurity but at the same time full of happiness, Lucy smiled at him.
"Well, I've known her for a while, she was always one of my favorite mages. I wanted to be like her when I walked into Fairy Tail." Ryker looked up and looked at her curiously, listening to what she had to say. "I found her unattainable. She was beautiful, strong, elegant, famous and worked as a model", she had a nostalgic air as she remembered her first day at the guild. "But then I found out that she was a cheerful person, even though she had a painful past, she was optimistic, and incredibly simple and humble."
"Yes I know. She's amazing," he was lost in thought as he spoke of Mirajne.
Lucy looked at him and smiled, seeing how important Mira was to him, and how much he valued her. "Many women like romanticism, but that alone is not enough. Many may pretend to be romantic, but then let it go. Love needs to be nurtured," she spoke and Ryker listened to her. "I saw how much you care about her and how much you care for her, in your own way. I don't think Mira is going to want dinner at a fancy restaurant every week or expensive gifts and things like that. Give her something that she values but that comes from her heart, that shows how important she is to you, even if it's simple." Ryker got her point. "She is a person who values the feeling more than the value of the gift."
Ryker smiled out of the corner of his mouth. "I think you are right. I still don't know what to do, but I know how to do it."
"She's special to you, isn't she?", Lucy said looking at him fondly and resting her hand on his shoulder.
"She is. If it wasn't for her I wouldn't be here," he smiled. "She's everything to me," he said contemplatively.
"Then I believe you will know what to do," she smiled fondly.
Ryker looked at her and smiled back. "Thank you, Lucy. It really helped," he got up and ruffled her hair, heading for the door. When he opened it Natsu appeared and looked at them.
"Have you finished the conversation?", he asked with his arms crossed and a bored expression.
"Yeah, she's all yours," Ryker joked.
"At last," Natsu huffed. Ryker walked past him leaving Lucy's apartment when the pink hair beckoned him. "Don't forget about that section…what's it called?" he said confused.
"Sparing section. Leave it, I'll score. And you call the popsicle and the nail head".
"Because they have someone to go too", the Dragon Slayer snarled sullenly.
Ryker rolled his eyes at his childish tantrum. "Why yes, accept and shut up", Natsu frowned even more accepting the inevitable.
"Okay", the fire mage resigned himself. Ryker and Natsu said their goodbyes banging their fists together. The pink hair entered Lucy's room right away.
She looked at them and admired their friendly interaction. "Since when did you guys become friends?" she asked.
Natsu shrugged and smiled, showing all his teeth, she blushed like she always did when he acted like that.
"Thanks for helping me today, Juvia", Mira thanked bluenett.
"Juvia is happy to help Mira-san", she replied happily.
The two were wandering around Magnolia's market doing some shopping to restock the guild with some groceries.
"I see Gray is showing his affection for you lately. Did you finally manage to melt that cold heart?" Mira commented with a soft, gentle smile.
Juvia returned the smile in the same way. "Gray-sama is a shy person, he doesn't like public displays of affection. But he made a bet with Juvia and lost, so now he has to," she giggled.
"A bid? Could I know about what?" Mirajane asked curiously.
Juvia looked at her and blushed slightly. "Gray-sama and Juvia bet on Mira-san's relationship with Ryker-san," she said shyly.
Mira looked at her in surprise for a few seconds. "Oh my!", she said, slightly flushed and awkwardly. "I bet he thought we weren't together", Mira giggled and Juvia laughed along with her. "Gray is too dense to notice certain things." Juvia agreed with her about her boyfriend. There were things even she couldn't deny about her dear ice mage.
"Juvia is very happy with you. She thinks Ryker-san deserves to be happy and I'm glad he found happiness with you," the water mage said smiling happily at Mira.
"Thank you, Juvia. That's very kind of you," she smiled gently.
"Mira-san plans to do something special for him?"
Mirajane stopped and thought for a while, mulling over what she'd said. "I do not know. He's been great to me and I think he's been thinking about something these days, but I haven't really stopped to grieve about it."
"Mira-san! Juvia thinks you should! She always does something special for Gray-sama to feel good and to know how important he is to me", bluenett said looking at her fondly. "Ryker-san would be very happy to receive something from you, which came from your heart."
Mira looked at her and focused on her path as they walked through the city streets. He told her that she had helped him too much, and that if it weren't for her, he didn't know where he would be. But that doesn't justify her settling down and not doing anything for him, and lately Ryker has been doing everything for her.
"Ara, ara! I think you're right, Juvia", she sighed a little sadly. "I don't think I've done much for him. In fact, I've been a terrible companion," she stared at the ground sadly.
"Don't say that Mira-san!", Juvia yelled, taking the other mage by surprise. "Juvia thinks you're fantastic, and she knows that Ryker-san thinks that too and even more. She knows your relationship is very good, she can see it through your eyes."
Mira looked at her and smiled gratefully, happy to be with her. Juvia was a great person to talk to about this type of thing, with so many challenges she had to go through to get her happiness with the person she loves. She should have a lot of experience in this matter.
"Thank you, Juvia. You are very kind", Juvia smiled with thanks.
They continued to shop around the market, choosing the best products and ingredients they could find.
"Mira-san really loves him, doesn't she?", Juvia asked and the mage Take Over smiled in response. "It's just that he looks so closed, that it's hard for Juvia to see more in him than he appears. But she knows he does, otherwise you wouldn't love him, right?"
Mira smiled at the placement. "Nobody knows him, not really," she said. "He's kind, caring, friendly, loving, smart, funny," she dreamily described him. "He's amazing", Mira almost went to the same world as Juvia.
Juvia looked at her with sparkles in her eyes and all the excitement took over her body. "Mira-san loves Ryker-san so much," she said with stars in her eyes. Mira looked at her and smiled, amused at her friend's antics.
"What about Gray?" Mira asked.
Juvia transformed with the question. Hearts welled up in her eyes and a strong shy blush took over the water mage. "Gray-sama is so wonderful, he's basically perfect," she said dreamily. "His sculptural body was made by the gods and he is so kind and romantic, joyful and funny. He has so many qualities that Juvia doesn't know where to start..."
Mira put a hand to her face, looking at her in resignation. "Ara…I don't think she's going to focus on anything else right now", she chuckled to herself. "Come Juvia", Mira pulled her companion by the hand. "Let's finish shopping and go back to the guild and gossip about our amazing boyfriends."
In another part of the city...
"That's very manly of you, Ryker," Elfman said walking up beside him. "Doing something that will make Nee-san happy is very manly!" he yells with comical tears in his eyes.
Ryker looks at him with a bead of sweat on his forehead. "Less, Elfman! Less!", he tries to calm his middle brother.
"What are you going to buy?" Lisanna asked.
Ryker thinks for a while, his expression serious. "I don't know yet, but when I see it, I'll know. And that's why I brought you here, to help me choose."
"Why don't you buy a dress? Women love clothes and like comfortable, simple and discreet dresses", Lisanna advised him.
"This actually," Elfman commented. "Remember how she used to dress before you went to Edolas and we thought you were dead?"
Lisanna chuckled at the memory. Mira used to be a lot bolder, wearing short skirts, long boots and tops, showing off most of her body. "She was a lot bolder," she said, remembering her sister from the past.
Ryker watched the two talking curiously. He knew a little about Mira's past and even saw some pictures, but he never got to know much about it, even if he wanted to.
"What was he like before Lisy disappeared? I know she was a bit of a punk, but other than that I don't know much," Ryker asked.
Elfman and Lisanna looked between each other, if he wanted to know...
"Well, she was kind of moody, moody and not very patient with others, and she dressed like a goth-punk," Elfman described, over the top, what her sister was like in times past.
"And let's not forget your rivalry with Erza," Lisanna recalled, laughing at the events she witnessed. "They fought all the time."
"The rivalry is still there, we just don't see it," Elfman added, and Lisanna nodded.
They shared some stories from the past, embarrassing events, some funny ones. They laughed at the memories and felt nostalgic as they walked through the city's shops.
Ryker listened carefully, it was good to know more about Mira, he would never get tired of meeting her. But on hearing about Stories from the past he felt that he would have liked to have spent his youth with them. She seemed to have been so warm, so happy, that she was even jealous of them. Also, he would have liked to have met his Mira before, even though they were different, he knew they would be each other's.
Lisanna noticed Ryker's expression. "What's it? Is everything okay?" she asked with some concern.
Ryker looked at her and smiled out of the corner of his mouth. "It's nothing, don't worry. I'm just imagining it would be nice to have spent my childhood with you," he replied.
Lisanna and Elfman approached him and they hugged him tightly.
"What the hell are you guys doing!" Ryker yelled annoyed and annoyed. "Leave me you idiots!" The two Strauss released him laughing. Ryker frowned and walked past them annoyed and embarrassed. "Come on, we have something to do," he said walking ahead of them down the street.
"I don't know," Ryker said dejectedly. "There's nothing in this store that's Mira's style."
"Mira nee-san, there are a lot of clothes, I don't think she needs more," Elfman commented.
"I think you're right, Elf. But what else would she like?" Lisanna asked thoughtfully.
"If those of you who know her best don't know, imagine," Ryker said dejectedly.
The three left the clothing store and sat on a nearby bench. They were discouraged, ran through hundreds of stores and found nothing that Mirajane might like. They thought for a long time, until Elfman had an idea.
"Why don't you give her a piece of jewelry?", he said, getting excited.
"A gem!?" Ryker stopped and thought. "But as far as I can remember, I didn't see her wearing any," he questioned him.
"Mira nee, she's a simple person who doesn't like anything extravagant. She has some, but she's not used to wearing them, but she likes them," Lisanna warned him, liking her brother's idea. "And I'm sure if it's given by you she'll use it. Jewelry ends up becoming keepsakes, when given by the right people. They represent something in our lives"
Ryker stopped and thought about it, considering the situation. "If I find the right one, it might work," he smiled slightly.
The three wizards got up from the bench and went to see some jewelry stores around the city. After running through a few dozen of them they were tired and Ryker in a bad mood.
They entered what Ryker swore to be the last store. She was practically like everyone else. The attendants were willing to help him, which irritated him. Couldn't they just sit back and let him see for himself?
He had been seeing everything they had and nothing pleased him, or thought he was at Mirajane's feet, until he stopped at a counter and saw a sapphire pendant, shaped like a heart. It was simple but elegant, discreet and matched his beloved's eyes. It was accompanied by two simple sapphire earrings. He knew, looking at them, that these would be perfect for his Mira. He took them.
"They're beautiful, Mira will love them, Ryker," Lisanna said.
"Yeah, she'll like it, it's Mira-nee's face," Elfman commented. "It was very manly, you getting her taste like that. When do you want to deliver them?".
"Tomorrow or the day after, I think. I'm planning something special."
Elfman and Lisanna looked at each other and smiled at each other. No one could like or be more considerate to their sister than he. They knew she was in good hands.
"But right now, my feet are killing me with so much walking," complained Lisanna. "Someone could carry me, isn't it Ryker", she said sly and tearfully leaning against him and looking at him like a mad dog.
Ryker frowned and looked at her. "Do not look at me. Ask your brother, look at his size".
"You insensitive bastard!" She slapped him and grinned, being carried on the shoulders by Elfman the rest of the way.