I SWEAR TO GOD if you flirt with me ONE MORE TIME I will hog-tie you to a pole!" I growled, the guild going silent as I fumed at the flirt. Loke just smirked at me, amused at my numerous threats to hurt him. The ginger has been trying for months for me to go out with him, but I wasn't biting. I saw the way he was with girls and I wasn't about to become one of his playthings. I've threatened him every time but now I think he was just getting off on that.
Just to prove my point, I heard someone snicker in the background. "He might be into that, Sakura!" Macao called out in amusement and I turned to glare at the elderly male. He simply raised up his mug that was full of beer and took a sip, that everlasting smirk on his face. Huffing, I summoned up my magic; smirking myself when I heard the male yelp – beer spilling onto his face.
My narrowed eyes turned towards Loke, who was simply watching me with a raised eyebrow. "Leave me alone," I demanded before walking over to the bar, slouching childishly onto the stool. I gave Mira a thankful look when she slid over a mug to me, taking a tentative sip out of it.
"You two would be cute together if you'd give him a chance," Mira stated softly, making me do a spit take. She giggled at my reaction as I gave her a glare. Would you believe me if I said she used to be more hardcore? Now she uses relationships to keep her mind off of things, always trying to be the resident match maker.
I scoffed at that, placing the mug on the bar. "Mira, I love you, but it would never work. Loke is too much of a flirt and a ladies man. I would kill him," I insisted. Loke would flirt with anything wearing a skirt. Hell, I was even sure he swung both ways. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if he was at least bisexual.
"How do you know?" Mira asked innocently as she absentmindedly cleaned off a mug. "You never give the poor boy a chance," she accused, making me shrug indifferently. He'd never get a chance either. The platinum blond sighed at that, placing the mug away. "In case you were wondering, your brothers team went out on a job and won't be back for another month," she informed me, making me raise an eyebrow. That wasn't anything new. Ever since Laxus became S-Class, all he ever took was S-Class missions. Mostly to rub it into my face that I wasn't S-Class yet, but I didn't have to be to take good jobs. There were still good jobs on the regular board without going up to the second floor.
"Why do I care?" I muttered, a frown etched onto my face. Another fact was we didn't get along well. Or rather he didn't get along with me. I've tried on several occasions to try to get back into his good graces, but he wasn't having any of it. It was like we never knew each other – like we weren't close at one point. It was heartbreaking, to say the least. He used to be my best friend and to have him be so cold towards me, give me the cold shoulder was something that just hurt so much. I tried to ignore it, but it still hurt. "Where's Natsu and Happy?" I asked, taking my mind off of it.
Mira giggled at that question. "Oh they are in Hargeon," she answered brightly as she started to clean off another mug. "Someone in the guild gave him intel that Igneel was there." So that was it. Natsu has been looking for his dragon ever since he showed up at the guild. You heard right, dragon. Natsu firmly believed that his father was still out there somewhere, which I thought was doubtful. Dragons were extinct, there was no doubt they once existed, but they didn't in this era.
"I wonder which idiot gave him that idea…" I muttered into my mug, making Mira giggle again at my little quip. We started talking small-talk, having known each other since we were kids we were kind of close. She was the first person to offer going on jobs with her once I had learned enough magic, and we trained together. I knew how much of a powerhouse she was – and she was respected throughout the guild for it. I got to know the Strauss family and before I knew it, the rest of the kids as well. I had been a bit of an outcast before Laxus and Ivan started to do their little outings, and then Laxus turned into the person he was today.
"Sakura," A smooth voice started behind me, making me pause the conversation I was having with Mira to turn to a spiky raven-haired boy with dark blue eyes. This was the one Gray Fullbuster as he gave me a raised eyebrow, taking the seat next to me. Mira gave me a subtle wink before walking away to help a costumer, making me roll my eyes at her. I turned towards Gray who was giving me a look.
"Can I help you?" I asked him as I leaned my elbows onto the bar table, propping my chin into the palm of my right hand.
Gray smirked at me. "I need help on a job. You in?" He asked, handing me a flyer. I paused, raising an eyebrow at him as I glanced down – reading the contents of the job. A grin formed on my face – it was a monster slaying job, a higher tier and I had no doubt that the both of us could handle it. He often asked for my help on jobs such as these, sometimes even Loke or Cana tagged along. We weren't an official team, but it was a known fact that we usually went on jobs together – sometimes even Elfman joining our group.
"Sure, like I'd say no to hitting something in the face," I laughed, high-fiving Gray. Monster slaying missions were some of my favorite missions, as was most of the guilds. We were a chaotic group of mages, but we got the job done. Even though destruction usually comes in our wake, people still wanted us to take care of stuff.
No one could prepare me for what was about to come after this mission, and what a new member would bring to our guild.
AN: So yeah, hi! This is primarily a Gajeel / OC but there will be other ships that will tug at the feels. It'll be relatively slow burn for the main ship, but bear with me on that. Updates will be sporadic. I am working on multiple projects at a time to keep me busy, this being among the pile that I keep piling onto myself lol.
DISCLAIMER – I do not own Fairy Tail. I only own Sakura, her story line and anything else that you do not recognize in the series. Everything else belongs to Hiro Mashima.