A/N: I'm not sure what happened with the chapter I posted on Thursday. I think the site failed to send out email notifications that I had published the chapter. So, if anyone hasn't read it yet, go back a page and have fun~
Chapter 47: The Tune You Dance To
It was early afternoon. Dreamer tapped a stack of papers on the library desk and put them in a folder. The records relating to the last few jobs she'd done, as well as all of Piper and Macbeth's reports, since they were for some reason incapable of writing their own. She slid the folder on the table where Freed was doing calculations. He wordlessly set it in a pile to his left. She smiled and left the library.
The clock in the guild hall told her that it was time to go pick Syllestra up from school. She stretched for a moment, spine cracking after sitting in the library for so long. Her fingers went to her jacket pocket, where a card with chibi versions of Macbeth and Jezran was stored. She pulled it out and looked at it with pinched lips. The two of the hadn't called her yet today. They'd been gone for three days now, and not a moment went by where she wasn't consumed by anxiety and worry for them. She fixed her eyes on the cartoonish face of Macbeth, with its oversized red eyes and black smirk. Mindlessly, she touched the face of the card with her pinky, tracing the image's curly hair.
"Hey, Dreamy."
A familiar, gruff voice made her jerk in surprise. She quickly slid the card back into her pocket, embarrassed at the strange behavior. She turned with her biggest and best smile to face Piper.
He stood with his hands buried in saggy jean pockets. He wore a black, sleeveless jacket with no shirt underneath, open to reveal his chest and stomach. Black combat boots, styled blue hair, gauges in his ears, sky blue hair and goatee working to accentuate his green eyes, which looked uncharacteristically nervous.
"Hello, Piper." She smiled warmly at him, despite the way her magic immediately picked up on the strong emotion emanating from him. He was… Scared. Sick. Determined.
"Hey, ain't that the jacket I bought you's for your birthday?" He scanned her over.
"It is!" she grinned and did a small curtsy in the chic, black trimmed jacket.
"Looks good, Dreamy." He grinned right back, but then his cheeks took some color and he quickly looked away. "You's going to pick up Syllest?"
She nodded.
"Mind if I walk with you?"
The power of his nervousness was making her stomach churn. She resisted the call of her magic to absorb it from him, and managed a slight shake of the head. "I don't mind. Let's go!"
He fell in step with her as they exited the guild hall and began to walk east toward the school where Romeo and Syllest spent their weekdays. They were quiet—the afternoon sun baring down on their shoulders.
"You heard from Pops and Mac yet?" Piper asked, as if fishing for conversation.
"Not today," she answered. "But I'm sure they're okay."
"Yeah, they're tough lugs for sure." He cleared his throat. She watched out of the corner of her eye as he nervously scratched the shaved side of his hair. "Yo, Dreamy… I think it's time you's and I had a chat."
She swallowed a lump in her throat. Her suspicions were correct. She knew exactly what Piper wanted to talk about. She kept her eyes forward, down on the sidewalk. "Go ahead," she braced herself.
"I'm just gonna jump right in." He took a deep breath. She sensed his fear escalate into something like a nauseous terror. "You know how I feel about you, right?"
She tugged on the hem of her jacket, feeling her stomach twist at the confrontation. She was glad they were walking and not facing each other. "I—I'm not sure what you—"
"Don't play games with me, doll." He stopped walking suddenly. She took another two steps before she turned to face him. He was looking at her straight on, his jaw clenched, hands still buried in his pockets. "You knows I got feelings for you."
Of course she knew.
"Dammit, Dreamy…" He bit his lip and forced himself to keep her gaze. "You know I love you."
The confession hung in the air between them.
She continued to play with the hem of her jacket, repeatedly rubbing a seam. She stared down at his black combat boots, as if fascinated by the scuff marks on the toes. "…Yes, I know." She swallowed a lump in her throat and made herself look up at him. She forced her signature, warm smile. "I love you too, Piper."
The bitter tug on the corner of his smile spoke volumes. "Yeah," his words were an exhausted sigh. "But you's and me both know you don't mean it the way I do."
Shame colored her cheeks. She'd never known how to deal with Piper's feelings. He was her friend, as close to her heart as Mirajane. They were family, and she couldn't imagine a life where Piper wasn't threaded through every part of it. There was even a time where she thought that maybe, if she tried hard enough, she could return the feelings he had for her. But, she knew it just wasn't possible. And she was afraid to tell him that. Afraid of hurting him and afraid of ruining their family. Still, she always knew the day would come when they had to have this talk.
"I need ta hear you say it, Dreamy." He took a small step closer to her. The desperation shone in his eyes. In fact, they looked moist, like he was fighting back tears. "I gotta hear you's tell me I ain't got a chance with you." His hands bundled into fists in his loose pockets. She had a feeling he was clenching his dice. "When the game's over, I can walk away."
She felt tears welling in her own eyes. She wiped them away with her jacket sleeve. Unable to find the words at the moment, she instinctively closed the space between them, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. She buried her face against his bare chest, and felt the gasp in his lungs. He wrapped his arms around her in response.
"I'm sorry, Piper…" she said quietly. "I've never felt that way about you."
He continued to hold her in the embrace, his hands stroking her shoulders comfortingly. He released a long, slow sigh. Finally, she looked up at him, at the rugged face of a man she truly cared for—but not in the way he needed her to.
"I'm so sorry if I led you on or made you think—"
"Nah." He shook his head, and gently but firmly pushed her away. "You weren't mean, doll." He smiled sadly, but she could tell he felt relieved. "You's were pretty clear how you felt. I just didn't wanna accept it."
"But I do care about you, Piper!" She resisted the urge to hug him again. "I don't know how I'd ever live without you and Pops and Mira. You're my family."
He nodded, averting his gaze again. Another awkward silence ensued. She was glad that the horror she had felt from him earlier had dissipated, but she could still feel rejection, disappointment, frustration. She wanted to use her magic to remove the painful feelings, but she knew this was something he needed to feel. This was inevitable.
Another minute ticked by. She still needed to pick up Syllest. "Pip—"
"You dig him?" he asked suddenly.
She blinked, uncomprehending.
"Mac," he iterated. "Do you dig him?"
There was an uncomfortable fluttering in her stomach. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks, her eyelashes flutter. "I…"
"Tell me upfront, doll." He finally pulled his hands out of his pocket and crossed them over his chest. "Does that freak get you off?"
The crude language of the question took her by surprise. "Piper… don't do that…" She couldn't handle an argument right now.
He sighed and dropped his arms. "I'm sorry." An awkward cough. "I ain't lookin' to pick a fight. I just wanna know if you's dig him, that's all."
Dreamer swallowed. She closed her eyes and pictured Macbeth's face. His pale skin, and eyes the swirling color of blood. His plum-colored lips and the amused smirk that played on them whenever he looked at her. The way they parted, ever so slightly, when he was scared. The way they had drawn close to hers, if only for a moment, in the dark of the guild garden. The soft texture against the skin of her forehead. She thought of his scent, reminiscent of chamomile and metal, the way it made bumps rise on her flesh when it tickled her neck. His hair, so thick and coarse, but amazingly soft. The way the curls naturally wrapped around her fingers. His low voice, when he spoke to her in the quiet. His arms tugging her close as she laid in his bed. The quiet murmuring against her hair as he slept…
"…Yes." She admitted it, in no more than a whisper. I love him. "But please, Piper… Don't compare yourself to him."
"Dreamy, it's okay." Piper smiled, a real genuine smile. "I gets it."
"You do?" she blinked in surprise. "Really?"
"Yeah," he chuckled and started walking again. She stood frozen for a moment before falling into step with him. "I mean, I'm pissed and jealous as hell," he said, "and I don't know what you's see in that sadistic bastard, but… Well, it's like this. I ain't the tune you dance to. I'm bluegrass and he's metalcore. I can't change your taste in music, doll, like I can't change the fact that Mac's the guy you's want."
She let out a breath of relief, amazed at Piper's willing acceptance of her feelings.
"Just do me a solid and keep the flirting with him down to a minimum around me, alright?" He grumbled. "I can't takes seeing you looking at the bastard like you's want his tongue down your throat right then and there."
"Piper!"
"Well, that's the way you's look at him!" he snapped.
"D-Do I really?" She touched her blushing cheeks.
"Yeah, Dreamy. It's like you's got eyes only for Mac." There was only a tinge of bitterness to his tone. It seemed like, for the most part, he'd accepted the situation for what it was.
She blushed deeper as they turned the corner toward Syllest's school.
A moment of awkwardness ensued.
"I could say the same about a certain someone," she said, directing the attention off her relationship with Macbeth.
He glanced at her. "What's that, doll?"
"I can't believe you haven't noticed, Piper," she laughed. "You're denser than Natsu sometimes."
"What are you going on about, Dreamy?" he narrowed his eyes.
"Cana, of course!"
He stopped in his tracks. A bird cawed overhead.
"The hell is that supposed to mean?" he gaped at her. "What about Cana?"
Dreamer sighed and faced him again with an amused smile. "You're the tune she dances to, Piper."
His cheeks flashed red, eyes widening in total shock. "No way, that ain't true."
"Piper." She put her hands on her hips and gave him a look that said seriously? "I specialize in emotions, in case you forgot. Trust me, she 'digs' you."
He scratched his head, looking sheepish and confused. "S-She's my pal. It ain't like we… It's not… Y-You really think she's got the hots for me?"
"I do." Dreamer nodded seriously. "And honestly, Piper, if you realized how happy you get when you're around her, maybe you'd realize that you like her too."
"W-Wha… I don't."
"Emotion. Mage." She pointed at herself.
Piper chewed on his lip, scratched his head, and shuffled his feet, thoroughly embarrassed. "B-But, it ain't…"
"Come on, let's get Syllest." She tugged on his arm. He stumbled after her, in a state of shock. She rolled her eyes and laughed at him—at one of her best friends. She was glad this conversation had ended on a good note. A deep sense of relief washed over the two of them. That was one less thing either of them had to worry about. Now, they could focus on other things.
Like the tunes they danced to.