Solace

Chapter 4

No one in the guild had been in a good mood in days. They couldn't even be happy about their victory, Natsu couldn't even show his excitement over, once again, protecting the guildhall, because Mirajane was still hurt. Mirajane was dying. And how could you be happy with that sort of casualty?

But as all people, the members of Fairy Tail were no different. Grief came in waves and though they weren't in any way over what had happened, they were resilient and eventually found themselves having fun again. Laughing again. Not that they weren't very conscious of the fact that up above them, in the infirmary, Mira was hardly hanging to life. No, they didn't forget that. There just wasn't anything they could do about it.

The one that got over the situation the fastest was, of course, Natsu. Even he knew though better than to act out too much down in the guildhall. So most of his time was spent away from it. He, Happy, and Lucy even took a small job, once, that only lasted a day, just to stay away. Lucy thought it was best to keep Natsu far away, as she didn't think he was a very good person to have around should Mirajane take a worse turn. She just picture him being murdered by an enraged Laxus and that just did not go well with her.

At the moment, however, she and Natsu were at the guild, seated at a table, talking softly to one another for once. He was asking about how much she needed to cover the rest of her rent that month. She was explaining that if they just too another small job and went as just her, him, and Happy, she'd have enough and then some. While she was doing that though, Gray came over to sit next to them.

And that wouldn't have been note worthy, had he not sat on the box of cookies that Natsu had picked up for Lucy. And she was fine with it, only told him that it was clearly an accident when he tried to apologize.

Natsu, however, took it as a slight towards him for some reason and accused him of doing it on purpose. So that quickly escalated into the two of them getting into a fist fight. It had been so long, after all, since they'd had a good one and they could hardly help themselves.

It really wouldn't have been that big of a deal, as Elfman wasn't there to be offended, and Lisanna only sat at a table with Bickslow and watched with disinterest. And Makarov, who was up on the top of the bar, only shook his head and shut his eyes once more. Yet other than Lucy, no one moved to stop them, as Erza wasn't around to help.

But it was the sound of heavy footsteps coming down the stairs to the second floor, the distinct thud of thick soled boots against the wood, that made most everyone's breath catch. Except for Natsu and Gray. They were more focused on one another, honestly.

Still, Lucy heard it. And at the sight of him, Laxus, there looking quite disheveled as he hadn't had a shower in a good few days, much less a decent night's sleep, her breath caught and she took a step back. If Natsu and Gray wanted to be killed, that was their deal.

Suddenly though, Makarov's eyes were opened and Lisanna's head was lifted, but neither moved to stop Laxus as he came closer, over to where Natsu was still wrestling with his friend/nemesis.

And no one breathed then, the only sound those thick boots on the wooden floor intermingled with Natsu cheering for himself as he finally pinned Gray to the ground. He didn't realize, however, that Gray had caught onto what was going on and was just trying to get away from him and the situation as fast as he could. Even Juvia, who was standing off to the side, ready to cheer her man on only moments before, didn't raise a hand to stop Laxus.

"Dragneel."

The name had been spewed before, at times, by the nastiest of fiends, the dirtiest of crooks, and the darkest of evil villains. But the growl in Laxus' cadence, the deep side of his tone, and the overall feeling of disgust that came from it topped all of those.

Finally, Natsu remembered where he was and, at the sound of his name, froze, allowing Gray to finally escape his hold and rush away, not wanting to be drug down with the Salamander. No way he wanted Fullbuster to crawl through his lips the same was Natsu's last name had.

And Natsu only stared at him, too shocked to speak, as he hadn't really seen Laxus since the whole thing happened. Though he was an idiot, he knew how he'd feel if someone was having a good time while Lucy or Lisanna were hurt. After Lisanna 'died' that time, it took him weeks to recover, if not months.

Even the time that Lucy had been too sick to go to the Sakura Festival, he had a hard time watching everyone sit around and play bingo and have a good time. He got it. He really did. It was hard to watch your best friend or girlfriend go through something horrible. It really was. To see them miss out. To…to lose them.

But that did not mean that he was ready to get his butt kicked either.

"L-Laxus," he stuttered uncharacteristically as he got to his feet. "I's only-"

And then there was a hand between them. Laxus'. He was holding his hand out, towards Natsu. The Salamander only stood there for a moment, glancing at it before back to Laxus' void face. And everyone waited for the blow up. For Laxus to do something to him.

But when Natsu took the other man's hand, all he got was a strong grip and a slight shake of it. Then he and Laxus were just staring at each other and through those same lips that had been growling only moments before came a few words.

"Thank you," were the first two. Then, "For saving Mira."

And Natsu didn't know what to do or say. Just as quickly the moment was over and Laxus was letting his hand go and turning to walk away. Natsu could only watch along with everyone else as Laxus headed over to where Lisanna was sitting. He only leaned down to whisper something in her ear, something very soft, to which she only nodded, too shocked still at what she had seen to speak. Then Laxus was patting her gently on the head and heading right out of the guildhall.

"What'd he say?" Bickslow asked Lisanna and Lucy went to lay a hand on Natsu's shoulder, no doubt glad that he hadn't been killed before his time. "Lissy?"

"Lissy?" his babies, who'd been hanging around her as always, repeated. "What'd he say?"

"That he had to go out," she whispered, still just staring at Natsu, who had clearly been sweating it there for a minute and was glad to find that he was, yes, still alive. "And would be back. If I needed him, try his apartment."

Bickslow's tongue was in his mouth as it had been for the past few days.

"You think we should go check on him?"

She turned then to glance at the guildhall doors. Then, slowly, she shook her head and got to her feet.

"No," she sighed. "He's fine. I'm going to go sit with Mira though, okay?"

"You want me-"

"No." She grinned slightly, sadly, before leaning down to kiss his cheek. "I want to be alone with my sister, huh? And tell Elf when he gets here that he can come up. That Laxus is gone."

"'kay," the seith agreed as his dolls completely ignored him and headed after their mother. Lisanna only let Pappa and Peppe land on her hand, carrying Pippi in her arms, as the other two followed along, apparently not caring if they came along or not.

He figured they brought her the same comfort they had given his as a child.

"Close one," Gray was saying then as he too headed over to Natsu. The guy only took to sniffing the hand that Laxus had shook.

"What are you doing?" Lucy asked her boyfriend, making a face. "Natsu?"

"Making sure that was Laxus," he said, still sniffing. "Smelled like him, but-"

"Just consider yourself lucky," Carla, who was coming over with Happy, said as the blue Exceed came to rest in the pink locks of his best friend. "Very, very lucky."

"Hey, little buddy," Natsu said. "Why didn't you come to my aid, huh?"

"It was one or both of us, I figured," Happy told him. "Besides, you had Lucy to defend you."

Natsu glanced at his girlfriend before saying, "Yeah, sure."

"I can hear you," she complained.

Then Natsu only grinned and went back over to take his seat once more. And Juvia was hanging off Gray while Carla only went back over to where Wendy was sitting with Romeo. And it would have been a normal day, had everyone not noticed the very plain sight of it only being Kinana behind the bar and the fact that Bickslow, who was around for once, was not only without his babies, but also only resting with his head against the table.

Eventually, Freed came to join him, but neither friend spoke to the other. They only sat there in, not so much grief for Mira, but for their boss. Because yeah, Bickslow liked Mira, and he loved Lisanna, but Laxus…

They'd completely lose him, both men were certain, should things not turn out well. And the way they were panning out, there was very slim chance of any miracles happening.

After seeing the near apocalyptic handshake of the Salamander and Thunder God, it was pretty clear to both of them that the end was near. Very, very near.

The wind had a sharp chill to it as the woman stepped off the train and out onto the platform. She honestly wasn't looking for anyone as she walked at a fast clip passed the other travelers, never glancing long at their faces. In one hand was clasped a single sack, while the other fell to her side. She honestly didn't even notice the man until he stepped directly in her path.

"Laxus," she greeted, as if in shock. "I did not think that you would meet me at the station. I-"

"I had to get out," he grumbled, looking off. His arms were bare as he wore his usual sleeveless shirt, but usually his heavy coat would accompany it. For once it wasn't swinging off his shoulders and the woman knew that it must have been left behind, back where it'd been all that time, in the infirmary with the man's girlfriend. "Stopped by my place, saw the time, and came here."

She only nodded slightly as he turned and began to walk away, expecting her to fall in step. Of course she did, heading right behind.

"Did you get it?" he finally asked after they'd been walking for a few minutes and were some way away from the train station.

"I did," she agreed, nodding her head. "It is what is in this sack."

"I assumed."

"It was not easy to locate. There was a small village on the mountain, just as you said, where I was able to buy it off some locals."

"Whatever works." Then he paused. "Did it run you all the jewels I gave you for it?"

"About those," she said slowly before bowing her head. "I cannot accept them. I used my own-"

"Damn it," he growled at her. "How much did it cost you? I-"

"It is not about who spends the most on her, Laxus. Who buys the cure. It is just her getting better."

'You-"

"I am doing this as not only a nicety towards you, but also Mirajane," she told him. "I… We might not always have been close, but I want her well just as much as you do. All of us in Fairy Tail would do anything to protect one another. Especially Mira. She is the most loyal of any of us. And you are going through enough right now. So accept me not only finding it, but buying it as a token, yes? And do not think of it again."

He took to grumbling then, shifting his hands into his pockets, eventually getting out a, "Whatever," before falling silent again.

Laxus had stopped at his apartment before going down to the train station. While he was there, he'd taken a quick shower because, honestly, he would be the first to admit that he needed it. Then he kinda muddled around, just staring at one point when he found Mira had left him a covered plate of cookies, no doubt from the batch she'd snuck into his duffle bag and probably placed when she and Lisanna had snuck in and gone snooping. It made his chest hurt and his eyes sting, but eventually he'd found it in himself to head into the bedroom.

And it was obvious to him in there that Mira had been in since he'd been gone. His bed was made, which only happened when she was around, and when he opened the drawer where he kept that ring hidden, he saw that things had been disturbed. Usually she was better at covering up her probing, but she'd no doubt gotten over excited upon finding the exact ring she'd been asking for since, oh, forever.

He felt cheated. Out of everything.

Taking the little black box out of the drawer, he went to sit down on the bed and just held it for awhile, stroking it, before eventually finding himself opening it to stare down at the ring. And then he was picking it up and slipping it into his pocket. He didn't know why. He just did it.

And when he pulled back his sheets, he found that Mira hadn't changed them before making the bed. She did that sometimes. Washed and changed his sheets without asking first. That was more due to the fact that he never did it himself and would never bring it up.

But as they were still the same ones, when he laid down on Mira's half of the bed, he could smell her. She got the right side of the bed usually. Even though he liked that side better, he gave it to her because, well, she was his demon and that was his only option, really.

He'd probably never be able to sleep on that side of the bed again, no matter what. He'd been conditioned otherwise.

At the moment though, he was walking down the road, closing in on the guildhall, and he only thought about one thing. That sack in the hands of the other Fairy Tail member. And she seemed just as determined as him.

It had been Wendy who'd mentioned that she'd heard of such a thing. It was some sort of herb that was only grown on a specific mountain range, far from where they were. When she mentioned it in Laxus presence one day, Porlyusica immediately shushed her and told her that the mountain was a near death mission and that its effects had never been proven to revive someone from a comatose state. Only rumors.

So Laxus, who knew he could never leave Mira's side, went to one person and only one person. Not Freed or Bickslow or Evergreen. No. He trusted them with his life, fine, but there was only one person he truly thought could pull off the mission.

And she accepted. Even after he explained the risks. The danger. And she refused to allow anyone to come with her.

"They would only slow me down," she said. "And Mira would hate herself, should anything happen to anyone because of her. You know that."

So he let her go alone. They spoke of it to no one else. He only supplied her with an overabundant amount of jewels, not knowing if she would be able to locate it raw or have to buy it off someone. It was a crapshoot to begin with, but he'd throw as much money at it as need be. Whatever got him his girlfriend back.

"Here's to hoping," the woman with him whispered as they made it to the guildhall gates. He only went through them, keeping his head down. The second they entered, it was not him who was greeted, but rather her.

"Erza!" Natsu was happy to see the scarlet haired mage, but upon seeing who she was with, he was hesitant to run up and greet her. "Where ya been?"

She only ignored him, even Lucy who called out to her as well, and let Laxus lead her up the stairs to the infirmary. The only ones in there were Lisanna, who was at her sister's bedside with Bickslow's dolls floating over head, and Porlyusica, who seemed shocked for a moment to see both of them.

"Great," she grumbled. "More of you."

When Erza took to explaining to her what they came bearing, the healing mage was even less ecstatic and took to critiquing them for their lack of respect to her wishes. Laxus only went over to Lisanna, who was holding her sister's hand while staring at her, never once looking up.

He only laid a hand on her head though, stroking the similar locks to his girlfriend until the girl looked up at him. He wouldn't look at her though. Only reached into his pocket with his other hand and pulled out the ring. Then he laid it on the bed next to Mirajane, remembering not only all the times that she mentioned that ring, but also all the times she'd gone over that moment.

"I want you to propose to me at the guild," she'd say sometimes. Though it was quickly followed up with, "No, at a restaurant!"

Then there was her usual, "Let's just elope. Won't that shock everyone?"

She'd always come right back out of that though because, honestly, Mirajane loved attention. And that would be dramatic, fine, but she'd miss out on that being the center of attention for a day thing.

"I dunno, Mirajane," he told her one day as they relaxed in the large bathtub at her house. She was resting back against him, all those damn bubbles she liked all around, as he mostly focused on not running the moment by getting too horny. He had a feeling that Mira just wouldn't take to that in that moment. He was normally pretty spot on with his feelings too. "About having a wedding and all. I ain't much of a suit wearer."

"What are you talking about?" She'd dunked her hair under water earlier, getting it all wet, and it made her look different. Less familiar than when her bangs were up. But she felt nice even still, resting against his chest. "You look great in a suit."

"You kiddin', woman? I look great in everything."

"That's what I'm saying," she agreed. "And I've only dreamed about this moment forever, Laxus."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Hmmm."

"You've never thought about your wedding?"

"Before you," he told her softly, "I never planned on getting married."

"Well," she said. "That is not a ringing endorsement of faithfulness, but I thank you for your honesty."

"You kidding, demon? Ain't a man with big enough balls to cheat on Satan."

And she had giggled and he had only grinned. But it was more than that. What woman would even come close to Mira? He'd had his fair share and didn't need to shop around any longer. He'd found his and wasn't letting her go any time soon.

That was why, as he laid the ring next to her and Lisanna let go of her sister's hand before moving to grab the one he had on top of her head instead, he just let her. Because taking Mira meant taking her siblings too. Even the annoying, unmanly one.

Lisanna was expecting him to pull away, but he only squeezed her hand slightly, never looking at her. With a sniffle, she kept down her tears because he hated weakness, and just sat there, watching her with him, both ignoring Porlyusica as she grumbled about having to prepare the herb for Mira and Erza, who came to stare down at her past rival as well.

"You gotta wake up, Mira," they heard from behind them suddenly. Glancing behind them, no one was shocked to see Elfman coming up the stairs. He'd gone home to rest, but was back and apparently hydrated, as there were fresh tears in his eyes once again. "You're too much of a man not too!"

And as Erza was traded for Elfman when she decided it was a family moment and left, Laxus only held his tongue. He even, as a show of good faith, patted Elfman on the back when he took to full on sobbing and Lisanna had to get up to comfort him.

But he was right. Mira did have to wake up. The only other choice was her leaving Laxus with those two all alone and, well, that just wasn't acceptable.

One more chapter and then that's it. Sorry this is a little late by my normal standards, but I spent most of last week on one-shots for Miraxus week and then on my other story Firsts. But it's here now, so that makes up for it, huh? And on Christmas no less.