Morning had risen at Fairy Tail Castle. Mirajane awoke from her bed, feeling refreshed after the events that transpired last night. As she sat up and stretched her arms, she noticed that her black dress no longer lay at the foot of her bed. Instead, there was a bright green dress in its place. There was also a small cart sitting next to the bed containing a bowl of oatmeal, a glass of milk, and a banana.
"Good morning, Mirajane!" the wardrobe Juvia Lockser greeted cheerfully. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yes," Mirajane replied, getting out of bed and smoothing down her white nightgown. "Juvia, have you seen my dress?"
"You mean the thing you were wearing before?" Juvia asked. "I had it sent to the laundry room for some cleaning and stitching up."
"Juvia thought you'd like this one better," the footstool Happy appeared in front of Mirajane, standing on the bed. "She picked it from her drawers. I'm Happy, by the way. A humble servant of Fairy Tail, at your service!"
"It's very nice to meet you, Happy," Mirajane said. She then held up the green dress and admired it, "It's lovely. It has a very nice pattern, too. Not to mention, the breakfast."
Happy explained, "Erza prepared the food herself. I brought it here. Master Laxus requested a tray brought to your room."
"He said that?" Mirajane asked in surprise. "Wow… that's very thoughtful of him." She then smiled, "He's finally opening up to me." Taking a spoon from the tray, she sat back down at the bed and began eating her oatmeal.
Juvia whispered to Happy, "Maybe you can put her feet up in case she wants a foot message."
Happy agreed with a nod, "Aye."
After breakfast…
Mirajane, dressed in the green dress Juvia gave her, decided to venture out into the castle grounds. She was amazed to see how different everything looked in the daytime. It wasn't as dark as the first time she entered the castle. In fact, the weather and atmosphere was kind of pleasant. Looking around, she spotted the stables where her horse Parakeet was staying.
"Hello, Parakeet," Mirajane petted her horse's head. "Feeling better today?" Parakeet neighed cheerfully in response and nudged Mirajane's face, causing her to laugh. She led the horse out of the stables and into the castle grounds.
Mirajane was unaware that someone was watching her from outside. On a balcony, Laxus the Lightning Beast looked on with Natsu the candelabra and Lucy the feather duster alongside him. Seeing how gentle Mirajane was with Parakeet, Laxus placed a hand on his bandaged shoulder, which had gotten a bit sore since last night but was otherwise healing well. Seeing the beautiful look in Mirajane's eyes and her bright smile struck a wave of emotion deep inside Laxus. A pure feeling, indeed.
"That's strange…" Laxus whispered to himself, still clutching his bandaged shoulder.
"Are you hungry, Boss?" Natsu asked. "Or maybe it's gas?"
"No, it's just that…" Laxus shook his head. His eyes kept focusing on Mirajane, "I've never felt this way about anyone. No one has ever shown me kindness before." An idea formed in his head and he clenched his fist with a smile of resolve. "I want to do something for her. Something to make her happy." But then, his smile faded, as he realized he couldn't think of anything. "But what?"
Lucy suggested, counting off on her feathers, "Well, there's the usual things you want to give her: flowers, chocolates, poems, love songs, promises you don't intend to keep…"
"C'mon, Lucy. She'll need a little more than that," Natsu smiled playfully. "It has to be something very special, something that sparks her interest." Just then, an idea struck him. "Wait a minute!"
A moment later…
Laxus had led Mirajane to a particular set of doors. He said, "Hey, Mirajane?"
Mirajane replied, "Call me Mira."
"Mira, okay," Laxus nodded. "Um, just to make up for what happened last night, there's something special I want to show you." He began to open the doors, but closed them and told her, "But first, you have to close your eyes."
Mirajane asked skeptically, "Why?"
Laxus answered, "It's a surprise." Intrigued, Mirajane obliged and closed her eyes. Laxus waved his hand in front of her face to make sure she wasn't peeking. Smiling, he opened the doors, took Mirajane's outstretched hands, and escorted her inside.
"Can I open them?" Mirajane asked.
"No, no, not yet," Laxus said, having led Mirajane to the middle of the room. "Wait here." He ran to the large window and pulled open the curtains, allowing light to flood into the room.
Mirajane smiled as she felt the beams of light on her face, and started to become excited. "Now can I open them?"
"Alright," Laxus smiled, walking up behind her and facing her in one direction of the room. "Now."
As Mirajane opened her eyes, she let out a gasp and clamped her hands over her mouth. The room she was standing in was a gigantic library, filled with countless shelves of books that covered every inch of the walls and reached as high as the ceiling. Never before has she seen a library of that size and magnitude. The sight nearly overwhelmed her.
"Oh, my gosh! I can't believe it!" Mirajane cried, looking around the room. "I've never seen so many books in my whole life!"
"You like it?" Laxus asked.
"Like it? I LOVE it!" Mirajane exclaimed. "This is the most wonderful thing I've ever seen."
Laxus smiled, "Then it's yours."
Mirajane paused and turned to Laxus with a shocked look on her face. "What? All of this will be mine?"
Laxus explained, "I figured you liked books, so I decided to give you the library. All the books are yours to read. Of course, if you think that's too much—" He was cut off when Mirajane rushed forward and threw her arms around him, pulling him into a big, tight hug. Surprised and caught off guard by her reaction, Laxus blushed with red cheeks until Mirajane loosened her grip on him.
"Oh, Laxus… This is the most wonderful gift anyone has ever given me. Thank you so much," Mirajane smiled at Laxus, before hugging him again. Immediately, Laxus's feelings won him over as he returned the hug. He was so anxious, but mostly relieved and happy to have found a new friend for the first time in his lonely life.
Outside of the library, Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Wendy, and Happy watched the scene, while Romeo was struggling to look. The group was in an enormous state of excitement, shouting repeatedly with cheers and high-fiving each other.
"Ya see that, guys?" Natsu cheered. "I told you it would work!"
Wendy cried happily, "I can hardly wait! This'll be the best day of our lives!"
"Aye, sir!" Happy added.
"Huh?" Romeo asked, trying to see through the crowd. "What works? And what's the best day of our lives?"
Gray grinned, ignoring Romeo, "Yep, this is very encouraging."
"What's encouraging?" Romeo asked, trying to hop in between the group.
"Ooh, this is so exciting!" Lucy gushed, jumping up and down in excitement. "Don't you agree, Erza?"
"What's so exciting?!" Romeo asked loudly.
Erza agreed with Lucy, "Yes, very much so. But enough spying for now. We must get back to work."
Everyone nodded in agreement and started walking towards the hall, except for Romeo, who was looking aimlessly around and starting to get frustrated. He shouted, "But I didn't see anything!"
Macao the hat-hanging stick appeared and found his son Romeo, "There you are, kiddo! Been looking everywhere for ya. C'mon, there's lot of chores to do."
"But what's everybody talking about?" Romeo asked Macao as he followed his father. "What's going on? C'mon, Dad!"
The next morning…
Laxus and Mirajane were sitting together at the table, eating hot cereal. As Mirajane reached for her spoon, she gasped when she saw Laxus eating his cereal like an animal (He's still a beast, look it up!). That is, until he stopped and looked awkwardly at her. Wendy and Romeo laughed a little to themselves. Mirajane looked away, trying to pretend she hadn't seen anything as Laxus wiped his face with his hand. Romeo quickly nudged a spoon to Laxus, who took it and tried to take a spoonful of cereal with little success. This made Wendy and Romeo laugh again, until Erza quieted them with a scolding look. Finally, Mirajane had an idea. Putting her spoon down, she picked up her bowl and raised it in a toast. Laxus did the same, and the two sipped from their bowls.
Later, outside…
Amidst the fields of snow, Mirajane opened a bag of seeds and threw some to feed the birds, and then poured some into Laxus's hands. She watched as Laxus knelt down to feed the birds, but they just kept on flying away from him, no matter how hard he tried to give the seeds. At the same time, Mirajane was thinking about how different Laxus had been since they first met.
Mirajane: There's something sweet
And almost kind
But he was mean
And he was coarse and unrefined
But now, he's dear
And so unsure
I wonder why
I didn't see it there before
Seeing Laxus was having trouble feeding the birds, Mirajane knelt down and poured more seeds into his hands, along with a trail of seeds towards them. One bird came and hopped down the trail and ate the seeds, before it landed into Laxus's seed-filled hands and ate away at them, much to his surprise. Laxus looked back at Mirajane, who was holding another bird on her finger. He could feel his heart race every time he made physical contact with her. He loved it even more when she looked at him with those beautiful eyes of hers.
Laxus: She glanced this way
I thought I saw
And when we touched
She didn't shudder at my paw
No, it can't be
I'll just ignore
But then, she's never looked at me
That way before
As the small bird flew away, Mirajane looked back at Laxus, who seemed to be watching her every move, despite all the birds flying around him. Instantly, her heart started to race and she began blushing. Quickly, she moved behind a tree, looking a little doubtful. She wasn't sure why Laxus cared for her all of a sudden, but she was sure it had something to do with his new change in behavior. Every time Laxus stared at her, a strange feeling would overcome her. She was wondering where these new feelings came from.
Mirajane: New and a bit alarming
Who'd have ever thought that this could be?
True that he's no Prince Charming
But there's something in him that I simply didn't see
Mirajane came out from behind the tree and almost laughed when she saw Laxus's whole body covered in birds. When all the birds flew away, Laxus instantly got hit in the face by a snowball. Wiping it off his face, he saw Mirajane standing behind the tree, giggling at him. Smirking, Laxus gathered up a lot of snow with his arms to create a big snowball. He was about to throw it at Mirajane as payback, but Mirajane threw another snowball at his face, causing the big snowball to fall on his head with a splat.
Thusly, a fun snowfight ensued, with Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Erza, Wendy, and Happy watching happily from the windows.
Natsu: Well, who'd have thought?
Lucy: Well, bless my soul
Gray: Well, who'd have known?
Erza: Well, who indeed?
Wendy: And who'd have guessed
They'd come together on their own?
Happy: It's so peculiar
Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Wendy, and Happy: We'll wait and see
A few days more
There may be something there
That wasn't there before
Later, Laxus took Mirajane's coat off, and the two sat on the floor together to read books by the fireplace. Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Wendy, Romeo, and Happy quietly observed from the doorway.
Gray: You know, perhaps there's something there
That wasn't there before
"What?" Romeo asked, trying to get a better look.
Erza: There may be something there
That wasn't there before
"What's there, Miss Erza?" Romeo asked Erza.
Erza smiled warmly, "Let's just say… it's the start of a new friendship. Come. Let's give those two some privacy." With that, they gently closed the door.