Mira frowned as she idly polished a plate. The day was just about over, and most mages had gone home for the evening. Natsu was taking her on a date that night as soon as she closed down the bar, and rather than bother her as she performed her final tasks as barmaid, his eyes had drifted over to their scarlet-haired Master once again, who seemed to be sharing one last moment with her boyfriend before they parted ways for the night. Apparently, Jellal had an S-Class assignment, and he needed to set out early in the morning with Meredy.

Suddenly, a hand clapped Natsu on the shoulder, causing him to leap in his seat a little in surprise.

"You really were absorbed in watching them, weren't you?" Cobra snorted in amusement as he took a seat next to his fellow Dragon Slayer. His eyes panned over to the couple oblivious to their audience. "Gotta say, tuning into you has been pretty depressing for a while now, but it's nice to finally see you getting out of that funk. Depression doesn't suit you."

Natsu cracked a ghost of a grin and went back to watching the couple himself.

"Rejection makes a man stronger. If you can't move past it – as Elfman would say, you're not a real man."

Cobra rolled his eye as the Pyro said this with a serious face.

"Coolness doesn't really suit you either. You don't try to force it – coolness just happens, Salamander."

"But it's the truth, isn't it? We're all about making them happy. Our happiness is kinda secondary."

"… Maybe." Cobra allowed with a light frown. He didn't like to admit it, but Kinana was the whole reason he joined Fairy Tail after Crime Sorciere disbanded; he didn't want to push her away anymore after they encountered one another again shortly after the war with Alvarez ended. She really was Cubelios… as much as he'd tried to deny it at first. Her smile was truly something to behold. Cobra stared at Natsu out of the corner of his eye. "Even so… you haven't exactly followed your own advice."

Natsu smiled ruefully as he shrugged his shoulders and chuckled.

"I'm working on it. I've only been dating Mira for three weeks; it's kinda hard to drop habits that I've had for months at the drop of a hat."

"Fair enough." Cobra got back to his feet and slipped a hand in his pocket as he half-turned to face Natsu. "Though if you want my advice, you should talk to her and get everything out in the open. I'm not saying she'll get all weepy and leap into your arms, but at least you'll finally vent your frustrations. Maybe then you can finally move on for real."

Natsu winced slightly but nodded his head.

"I know." Was all he could really say to that. Mira had been kind enough to not bring it up yet, but he didn't need to read her mind to know that she wanted to take the initiative for him and speak out against Erza. While Natsu was worried about his girlfriend hurting the redhead with a good tongue-lashing, he was even more worried about what kind of pain he would bring the scarlet knight if he just… let everything out. Natsu could control his fire so that it didn't burn others, but he wasn't too sure he could keep his powers in check let alone his words if he were to confront Erza in the near future. The Pyro shook his head. "So, you gonna take the S-Class Trials next month?"

Cobra rolled his eyes again at the amateur deflection. He tried allowing everyone at Fairy Tail a modicum of privacy despite his unique hearing, but people like Salamander had the tendency to think/feel 'loudly', true to his personality. Even after all these years, the Pyro was too dense to do anything but wear his heart on his sleeve. … But maybe that was a good thing when it came to the dating scene. Strauss had no reason to suspect he was cheating on her, and would never need to doubt him.

"There's not really much need for a friggin' title when the Master approves you taking S-Class Quests without a mage of that level tagging along. It's just an unnecessary formality." Cobra suddenly smirked as he eyed the Pyro. "Although… if you were a proctor, I might consider participating. I still need to get you back for busting my eardrums way back when."

Natsu returned his smirk. The guy wanted an encore performance? He'd give 'im a roar he'd never forget!

"We'll see how Erza arranges everything. Though I don't need a Trial as an excuse to kick your ass! I'll take ya on whenever you wanna go!"

"Che." Cobra grunted at the pink-head's bravado. He bid his fellow Dragon Slayer farewell, as Kinana wrapped up her own barmaid duties and was ready to go.

Natsu didn't miss how Erza and Jellal had left some time while he was focusing on Erik – er, Cobra. The Poison Dragon Slayer didn't let just anyone refer to him by his real name; not unless you were Kinana or anyone from Crime Sorciere. So don't test him. Not if you didn't wanna be lying on the couch for a week 'cause of a stomachache of unknown origins. Don't bother trying to look into it – Cobra was good at covering his tracks, and you never knew when he struck. Just be thankful it was only a stomachache.

"Ready to go?" Mira asked as she donned her coat for the crisp fall air outside. Natsu finally noticed that about everyone had left now, so he just dumbly nodded his head. Time flew when you were havin' fun… or whatever you wanted to call what that was just now.

"Natsuuu!" Lucy cried as she ran up to the Dragon Slayer a few days later. Hysterically, she took him by the shoulders and started crying rivers of tears. "My rent's due, like, yesterday! Gray and Juvia keep wrecking stuff and beating people up for stupid reasons so the reward gets slashed every time! I need an S-Class Quest with really good pay!"

Let it be known that despite all of her past heroics, the blonde Celestial mage had not made it to S-Class yet… In fairness, there had only been two S-Class Trials ever since the Alvarez Empire fell; and in those Trials, only Natsu, Jellal, and Gray had gotten their promotions. Erza was trying to rework the system so that more than one mage could make it to the big leagues, as evidenced by promoting Natsu and Gray at the same time, but it was tough going. There were just so many of their friends that deserved the rank, and none of them particularly wanted it to be handed on a silver platter. Even after everything, they still had pride as mages – Erza, Mira, Laxus, and Gildarts all passed Trials to achieve their rank, so there was no reason they couldn't do the same. And Natsu and Gray had indeed done so.

In the meantime, there were some mages in Fairy Tail that were allowed to take S-Class Quests without a mage of that rank supervising – Cobra being an example of such. If you didn't have the Master's approval, however… Well, it basically didn't matter how skilled you were. Lucy usually needed to work with others, so she didn't have Erza's permission. She was just in the same boat as Levy. Respected, but not quite 'S-Class' material.

"Levy's out with Gajeel again… isn't she?" Natsu deadpanned as the blonde continued to shake him down. He wasn't surprised at Lucy's depressed nod. As much as he and the Celestial mage were still really good friends, their dynamic had changed after the blonde confessed her love for him and he couldn't really return her feelings. Him avoiding taking missions with her and Gray 'cause of memories of Erza was just another blow to her already broken heart, and so she simply took missions with Team Shadow Gear whenever she could.

Lucy musta really been desperate if she wanted to take a mission with him for rent money. He was way worse than the Stripper and Juvia combined. … Although it must be said that his preference in S-Class Quests allowed for gratuitous amounts of destruction and mayhem, so he was raking in the cash a lot more than he did with the ordinary Quests. Mira tagging along with him more frequently did not affect that at all, either – despite being a Demon to any monsters or Dark mages they came across.

"Lucy… You're not throttling poor Natsu… right? My poor Natsu, by the way." Both Dragon Slayer and Celestial mage shivered at the deceptively sweet tone of the Demon-in-Angel's-clothing that had seemingly materialized right behind the blonde. Lucy didn't need to feel the hot breath of the silver-haired Takeover mage on the nape of her neck to know that death was nigh… Or, well, at least Punishment. Mira didn't have to kill you 'cause she had far worse methods at her disposal to make you wish for death.

"Wah! I'm so sorry, Mirajane!" Lucy quickly straightened Natsu and dusted off his shoulders hysterically. Had to make him spick-and-span. Had to make him spick-and-span. Theeere… Aaall better.

Mira giggled as Lucy finished her rush 'cleaning' job and then backed up several meters from the pink-head and stood ramrod straight. The Takeover mage didn't need to be all possessive about Natsu and forbid him from going with Quests with other girls; if her reputation in conjunction with her proclaimed relationship with the Dragon Slayer didn't get the job done, then Natsu could stop anything from… 'happening'. And should a girl make any bold advances… Natsu need only give a name and a vague description, and Mira would take care of everything. Whether they were a mage or a pampered princess, Mira would take care of it all.

Just do not inquire into the details.

"Now… You are in desperate need of rent money?" At the blonde's hurried nods, Mira brought a pointer finger to her cheek as she seemed to 'think about it'. "Well, I have no problem with you tagging along, but the Quest might make you feel… awkward…"

"I'll do anything!"

Natsu opened his mouth to say two words – just two words – but Mira instantly clamped a hand over his lips and smiled serenely herself.

"Well. Let's get going. Lucky for you, I have your required uniform, so you don't need to pack."

"Great!" Lucy grinned, oblivious to what was in store… Like history repeating itself.

Natsu tried to speak up again, but Mira slapped a piece of duct tape over his mouth and dragged him out of the Guild by the scruff of his scarf. Happy held two paws over his mouth to stifle his laughter as he stared at the blonde Celestial mage before floating after his best friend and crazy girlfriend. That burst Lucy's oblivious bubble, as that face never meant anything good when Happy made it.

"Happy, why are you making that face?! HAPPY!"

The four of them returned to Fairy Tail the next day – three of them looking highly amused while the fourth one…

"I swore I'd never do that again… and that bastard was worse than Everlue!" Lucy shrieked with a fiercely blushing face. She waved her arms frantically as she glared at Mira, who was unable to contain her laughter. "And why the hell did I have to wear a maid uniform like that abomination! That had to be the skimpiest uniform I have ever had the misfortune to wear!"

Combine that uniform with the underwear she usual wore, and Lucy might as well have gone up to that snob's house in the buff. … Which he probably would have enjoyed immensely, given how often he tried to cop a feel. Why, if Mira hadn't swiped her Gate Keys…

"You performed masterfully, Lucy!" Mira winked at the blonde before letting loose another bout of laughter. "Natsu and I were able to freely roam his home while you kept him busy; you did so well, he ignored all the times his staff tried to alert him! We were able to recover the artifact he stole and get evidence of his theft so that he'd go to jail for a long, long time…"

"He tried… to take me to bed…" Lucy seethed as she made strangling motions with her hands. Except she couldn't afford to try it for real, because she was Mirajane Strauss, and Lucy still needed to be able to take the reward money to her landlady…

But Lucy's attempt at 'threats' only made Mira clutch her sides and fall on her back in peals of laughter. Lucy glared moodily down on the Takeover mage, wanting to kick her while she was down, but even that might've incited the Demon's wrath, so… the blonde settled for taking the bag of Jewels from a sheepish Natsu and storming home. Natsu stared down at his girlfriend with a mixture of amusement and exasperation. That was a bit mean, making Lucy handle Mira's originally designated part of the Quest.

"Ya done?"

Another bout of unrestrained giggles was his answer. A few moments later, Mira tried reining herself in.

"Y-Yeah… Just about…" Mira wheezed out and tried to sit up before falling back and kicking her feet up as laughter overtook her again. That… had been a treat. Nothing in the request had said the billionaire that owned the mansion couldn't have been injured in the process of acquiring the artifact and the evidence of its theft, Mira just hinted it was 'inadvisable', and Lucy did not disappoint in how professional she was… Really, Mira would have beaten the guy to a pulp if he tried even a fraction of what he had with Lucy, but this had been helluva lot better than some beatdown.

Was it mean? Maybe a little. Was Lucy reimbursed for the ordeal? Natsu and Mira just gave her the whole reward, which amounted to about half a year's worth of rent. Neither of them really needed the cash currently. Mira had selected the Quest 'cause she wanted to seduce Natsu a bit, but then sweet Lucy had entered the picture, and the Demon couldn't help but have a few jollies…

"What's wrong with Big Sis?" Elfman strolled over and crossed his arms as he looked to Natsu for answers.

Natsu sweatdropped.

"Seduction Quest… Lucy… Heehee…" Mira tried to answer her brother, but wasn't quite able to form sentences at the moment, stuck on the floor as she was.

"Mira picked a seduction assignment, and Lucy happened to need rent money." Natsu deadpanned as Elfman's face had scrunched together at his sister's less than adequate explanation. "She might've fudged the truth a little when explaining to Lucy what she had to do, and, well, um… Let's just say Mira had a great time, while Lucy was traumatized a bit."

Natsu continued to laugh nervously as Elfman scrutinized him. That was all that had happened…

"Okay… as long as that was all the fun you had…" Elfman stated suspiciously before turning to walk away.

"Ohhh, but Natsu would be oh so much fun in bed! I want kids, Natsu! Seven devious little Pyros! So cute!"

Natsu tried to shush her, but Elfman was already looking over at him warily again. They'd already had that overprotective big-little brother talk! No need for an encore!

"Miiira!" Natsu whined and tugged at his hair as Elfman began dragging him off for another round of that discussion. Better safe than sorry, right?

Damn the Demon was making a comeback…

Author's Note: Another lighthearted episode. I did not anticipate this hobby piece to be so well-received… I really had no big plans for plot or anything; just a loose plan to eventually bring Erza around. But now I kinda feel obligated to put more thought into future chapters… So it might be a bit before the next update, sorry guys. ^^;

I will reiterate that this will likely remain NaMiZa, and no others. If only because I don't want Natsu to be a chick magnet and steal every Fairy Tail girl from their beaus or potential beaus. I've nothing particularly against such harem fics; the ones I tune into are usually humorous and pretty well-done. But for now I'll keep it NaMiZa, 'cause that's what I'm most 'confident' working with for now…

I guess I won't close the door fully, just don't get y'all's hopes up. Ya hear? lol Regardless of whether or not I bring in other girls, Lucy will never, ever be a part of the harem. Ever. The word Nalu isn't even recognized by my word processor (and will never be), so that should tell you how I feel about it… Jerza is much the same. It's why I haven't given them much detail in their relationship. :P

Hope you enjoyed it a little!