A/N: I intended it to be a one-shot, but I have decided to make it a multi-chapter story because of the fairly moderate demand for me to do so. I also think that it would be quite good to continue from where I left off. After all, you can't have the whole story if you only know one side of it, right? I'm a bit edgy because I don't think I caught Laxus' attitude well enough because it's a bit difficult giving out his arrogance and apathy whilst telling his side of the story.
I didn't actually reread this, but I promise I will early in the morning! So once again, should you find any errors, then please do not hesitate to inform me.
This is for the people who have reviewed, and to all the Laxus x Mira fans out there lurking around. I know you guys are over lurking somewhere, you are not alone! :)
It was already evening when a blond-haired man walked through the opened doors of the guild. He scratched his head, brushing through his SoundPod magical headsets in the process. He skimmed through the whole place and sighed; it was another usual day for the Fairy Tail guild – albeit not too many people were around, the place was still filled with a extraordinary presence of merrymaking coupled with smoke from a couple of guild members puffing a cigar, and the heavy smell of booze.
He could see some of his guild mates fighting with each other amidst the fiasco, and he figured that they were probably fighting over trivial matters yet again. From all the chaos brought about by the fight, his gaze caught sight of a pink blur which only meant one thing for him – "Natsu is causing trouble again," he said. "Why is it so noisy every time I come back from a job?" he stated, sighing in the process.
He walked through the guild, successfully avoiding being part of the silly commotion. His search for peace had been in vain, as in his way was a dragon slayer, with fists clenched and a grin plastered onto his face.
"Laxus, fight me!" the pink-haired dragon slayer exclaimed with flames bursting out from his mouth as he blurted his challenge. The S-class mage could only shake his head in annoyance as Natsu charged at him with his fist on fire. Laxus nudged the dragon slayer's upper arm just as he was about to hit him, changing the course of his punch. "Not today, Natsu," was all he said as he punched the pinkette, fist charged with lightning, straight in the gut, careful not to hurt him too much yet strong enough to send him flying through to the wall, leaving a dent on it. The other guild members just stared wide-eyed at Natsu who only uttered a weak, "I surrender" before passing out.
"Well that certainly shut him up," said a completely naked Gray before turning to the blond mage, "Oh, and welcome back, Laxus".
Laxus nodded in acknowledgement, still lazily strutting towards the bar while his other companions welcomed him back. He sloppily sat down one of the bar stools, just beside Lucy whom he assumed was trying to stay away from the whole fiasco. The Celestial spirit mage took notice of his presence immediately and greeted him, earning a nod of acknowledgement from the other blond-haired fellow.
The sudden tense movements by Mirajane, who was manning the bar, did not escape her eyes. She felt an awkwardness that stung the air around the two, which she was sure that she would not have been able to notice had she not known of their past from the barmaid. Lucy had to inwardly admit though, that they were both very good at hiding their discomfort, as to an untrained eye, it would seem that they were still the same. She decided to save them both the trouble, she turned to Laxus and asked him, "Had a rough day due to your job?" to which he grumbled in response.
"What can I get you, Laxus?" asked Mira smiling after seemingly being able to collect herself after the surprise drop-by of her past lover. Lucy watched as the man's eyes slowly rose towards Mira's, "Oh my God, I feel like I'm watching a suspense-filled drama on television," she thought.
"Just a shot of tequila will do. Thanks."
"Alright then," the barmaid smiled and started preparing his drink.
The interaction almost drove Lucy insane; the awkward air that loomed around the two affected her so much that she just decided to excuse herself, mentally uttering an apology to Mira for leaving her in the awkward situation.
"Have you heard from the Raijinshuu?" asked Laxus, breaking the silence. He had not seen his team since he left for his S-Class job a week ago.
"They left shortly after you did, they're looking after Wendy," replied Mira as she served the artificial dragon slayer his drink, complete with a small amount of salt and sliced lemons. "They took a battle-oriented mission in hopes of giving Wendy a little bit more experience in battles. They went off to eliminate a fiend lurking in the outskirts of Fiore, just at the intersection leading towards Bosco. It's quite far, so I assume it will take more than a week before they arrive back into the guild."
He uttered a quick 'thanks' before he consumed his drink in one go. Silence seemed to have engulfed the both of them as they seemed to have been stuck amidst and empty white space, just the two of them. Mira stood in front of Laxus, but her back turned against him as she wiped a couple of glasses clean while the man just observed her, deep in thought.
"What's on your mind right now?" asked Mirajane, turning around to face the blond.
Laxus, surprised by the sudden question that broke his contemplation, leant on the bar counter and replied with another question. "What makes you think that there's something..?" he smirked arrogantly, masking his emotions.
Mirajane answered him without faltering, staring straight into his eyes. "Well, for one… you don't usually drink tequila… in the past, you only downed them when you have something bothering you."
Laxus turned his head to the side, his smirk turning into a slight smile. "So you still remember my habits even after all this time," he mused to himself. His train of thought was once again interrupted when the white-haired beauty asked him, "So what is it? Anything I can be of help with?"
He stood up and smirked once again, "If only you knew…" he said to himself.
"I'm just a bit tired from the job that's all," he lied before walking out of the guild, leaving the barmaid shaking her head disapprovingly at the man's pitiful escape tactic.
It was late in the evening already when he set foot outside. Time seemed to pass by quickly whenever he was around her, he noted as he continued to walk aimlessly around town, trying to take in a breath of fresh air before heading home. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep anyway even if he did go home early, as his mind drifts off onto subjects that he'd rather not face, specifically Mirajane.
He took a trip down memory lane, and remembered how his relationship with her began and ended. He was doubtful to call it a relationship, as thought that perhaps, the relationship itself meant nothing, and that it never really began in the first place. "Why would something that does not have a beginning have an ending?" he contemplated.
It was merely a game for both of them that he pulled out of his sleeve after Lisanna died, and she was still trying to cope. He had been rather attached to her younger sister as well, and he thought that perhaps it would be good to use each other's presence, in order to help her to supplant the loss of Lisanna, and in order for him to somehow deal with his darkness of being overshadowed by his grandfather. It all backfired on him as he did not know that he would end up falling deeply in love with her in the process.
Eventually, she started being distant for an unknown reason and it pained him more than it should. He did not bother ask why, nor did he say anything about it. He had his own troubles, after all. He thought that perhaps she had no need for him anymore, and that he was in too deep with his own problems, that he felt that he should not concern her with it any longer. In the end, his problems ended up consuming him, and changing him into someone he never really wanted to be.
It has been too long since their little game ended; the fact that he still felt a sense of longing for her, and the fact that the countless what-ifs that he had to let go off still haunted him years after, was something that remotely frightened him.
Without even realizing it, he reached his apartment. Laxus scratched his head in frustration at the annoying thoughts that overcame him. He sighed in resignation, thinking that the reason of his deep contemplation on the matter was perhaps because the shot of tequila got to him really badly due to his exhaustion. He went into his apartment and decided to rest for the day, with the thought of finally confronting Mirajane of his unresolved feelings plastered at the back of his mind.
A/N: There should be one or two more chapters after this, but I'm unsure as to when I would update next. Please do leave a review, tell me what you think about this chapter.