43rd: Friday

Summary: Friday was their day. End of story.

There was this woman in his guild. The one who had been a bully the last time he had seen her. Now, she had changed into everybody's darling, always smiling and helping. They used to be more alike, he concluded. They used to be two socially slightly awkward but magically extremely gifted people (she even more so than him) and now, she had been shattered when her sister had died.

She had broken his heart in a way because her fate showed that even the strongest would be broken sooner or later and that there was no escape. She had played her part well, exceptionally well. She had played the game by the rules and she had still lost. He wondered for a moment why the rules hadn't protected her from this undeserved punishment.

And now he waited for her in the guildhall. He waited for her – the woman who had changed but survived. She had lost but she hadn't been defeated. He admired this about her. He admired a lot of things about her. Her beauty and her raw strength which slept underneath her sunny smile … her voice and the way she would laugh about everyone's antics. He also liked the way she would ask him if she could brush his hair when they were alone – and always grinned smugly when she complained that his hair was silkier than hers. He also loved the way she told no one that he could play the piano because she was secretly jealous of him for this reason. She had once told him that she would have loved to learn how to play the piano but that her mother had told her that it was smarter to play the guitar because the latter could be easier transported. (According to Mira, Madame Strauss – Mavis bless her soul – had been a really gifted musician and an even better mage but a … very weird mother because she had been too lost in her arts.) But Fried loved Mira for the way she carried herself – this elegance was sometimes nearly to much for him though. He also admired the way she tried to help everyone. Sometimes he wondered how she managed to be this strong with all the ill-timed events which had nearly broken her.

Since their fight during the Battle of Fairy Tail and his apology, time had passed. The time when he had thought of her during crucial moments – Evergreen had called it daydreaming – at quests the Thundergod Tribe had taken was thankfully over – instead he went through the last nice memories of her which bothered Evergreen even more.

Sometimes – when Evergreen was especially paranoid and Bixslow's babies were just too annoying for him to bear – he really wished that he had chosen his Mira as his teammate so many years ago. With her, he wouldn't have minded it when a job went downhill and everything would be terrible.

Maybe it was because he loved her but of all his nakama, she was the most important person to him – even more important than Laxus even though it was probably treason to think like this.

Finally, she appeared with a smile which reminded him of dying flowers in winter. He didn't have to be a genius to figure out that something had happened.

"Mira," he said calmly as he sat down at the bar. "Are you okay?"

For a moment, she hesitated before she lowered her head. "No," she admitted. "I am too worried for Cana. You know that the S-class exams are approaching again and well, she knows this too. She had turned down eight missions for card mages last week. Eight!"

He awkwardly patted her shoulder. "It's not your life she is ruining," he said in an attempt to calm her down a little bit. "Cana-san is a responsible woman. She knows what she is doing, I am sure of this. And you, Mirajane-san, you need a break."

She looked up at him. "Who will cover for me?" she asked. "I have a job to do."

"It's Friday," he said with a shrug. "No one would be mad at you if you'd take a day off. Most people are on missions anyway and those who are here … well, they are the more relaxed guys. Erza and her … team are in Era as far as I am informed…"

They were dating after all and to take her out on a stressful day seemed to be the right thing to do. He held out his hand and after a few seconds, she took it and allowed him to lead her out of the guildhall and into town.

"It is nice to be out of the guild building for a change," she admitted as she clung to his arm.

"So you don't regret saying yes?" he inquired as they crossed a crowded place. "That's fine. I was worried that you might be mad at me for talking you into abandoning your post."

She chuckled as she finally released his arm. "No, I am completely happy with that decision," she said as they went down a calmer street. "You are right, Cana's problems aren't my own … but I cannot help but worry that she might do something foolish this time."

"You are no fortune teller. You cannot know what she might plan right now," he replied.

"I know … but you know my amazing imagination," she muttered quietly. "Anyway, it's Friday and we should celebrate the fact that you finally made it home on a Friday."

"Friday is our day after all," he sighed. "I am sorry but … Ever has the strange idea that your brother is smuggling love potion into her drinks and so she forces us to stay away from Magnolia as much as possible. Still, you are right: we belong together on Fridays."

She smiled as she took his hand. "When you leave on Mondays, the day I long for is the Friday of your return," she admitted before she threw him a glare. "Should you ever repeat that, I will go all Satan Soul on you, understood?"

"Sure," he smiled. "Just like I said: Demon Mira is only asleep and waits for her return."

"Right … and you of all people should know better than to wake her up," she smirked.

"Yes," he nodded. "And you should know that it's date time today."