Jax was beginning to hate Sara. Her occasional glances of disapproval were maddening, and he had only hated it more after a while. But he didn't care. He got to gaze at Veribex when he joined. Even though Veribex was a year older than him, Jax couldn't help but pine after him.

And then one day Jax finally noticed the bandages on Sara's hands. Whenever a guild mate asked about it, Sara would brush it off with a smile. Why was he the only one who was given disapproving looks? Because he wore dresses? She was no different than his parents!

Finally, Alice demanded to know why Sara was wearing bandaids. Sara tried to laugh it off, but Alice wouldn't accept that.

"Who the hell hurt you?!" She hissed. "I'm always with you! If I failed you, I need to know! I'll get stronger! I always promised to protect you, remember?!"

Sara sighed. "I- I've been…" She smiled awkwardly and whispered the end in Alice's ear. Alice looked dumbstruck.

"Literally? That's all? Man, you suck at that, you know? Why don't you just ask-" Sara interrupted her.

"No no no, I can't. I have to do this on my own, otherwise it won't have the right meaning," Sara grinned. Alice shook her head.

"You're really something else, you know that?" Sara winked. Veribex watched them with hooded eyes from his table. He had only joined a week ago, so it wasn't much of a surprise he glared at them from time to time. "So I'm guessing no quests for a little bit? You're almost done, right?"

Sara nodded. "I just need a few more days. I'm sorry if this is an inconvenience." Alice shrugged.

"We're rich as it is, so don't worry about it," Alice ruffled Sara's hair. "Go on, work on it."

Two days later, Jax hadn't seen Sara. Alice was around the guild, doing paperwork on occasion. The guild master wanted to make Alice to take over in a few years, so he was having her get used to little things like paperwork. Alice could've sworn it was because master hated paperwork. Despite being a dark guild, they had to manage their papers.

The door suddenly burst open and Sara waltzed in. Her cheeks were red and she was sniffling. Was she sick? It was cold outside, being close to winter. Alice immediately saw her, but then saw the bag in her arms and didn't rush over. Sara's eyes found Jax and she stomped over.

Jax had felt too self-conscious the past two days, and wore baggy pants and a hoodie. So when Sara's eyes still had that disapproval in them, he realized it wasn't the dress after all. She thrust the bag at him. And stared at him.

"Open it," she ordered. Man, she was being pushy today. Jax reached into the bag and pulled out -

"A scarf?" He asked. It was pure white. White? Really? She should have realized by now that he liked black.

She smiled brightly at him. "It's some light in your darkness!" Jax scoffed and put the scarf back in the bag. Sara's smile dropped.

"You don't like it?" She asked quietly. Jax shook his head.

"I don't want it. Why'd you even bother? I'm sure it was cheap for you-" Jax stopped. Sara's eyes brimmed with tears and she was tracing the bandaids. He looked at the scarf again. That's… Hand knitted. Amateur work. Did she make this?

"H-hey-"

"What the fuck did you do to Sara you piece of shit?!" Alice yelled. Jax was jerked up by his hoodie as she lifted him up with a snarl. Her eyes were wild.

Jax rolled his eyes. "Why don't you go fuck her? I'm sure she won't mind. It's so obvious to everyone you're in a relationship. It'll cheer her up," he smirked. He closed his eyes, ready for Alice's punch that was sure to come. It didn't. He opened his eyes to see Sara tugging on Alice's sleeve. She smiled sadly.

"It was my bad, Alice," she reassured. Jax's eyes widened. How was this her fault? Was she stupid? "I was overstepping my boundaries."

"But-" Alice started and growled. "You worked so hard on it! You've been working on it ever since he joined! Your hands will have scars! And he has the fucking audacity to tell you-"

"Alice," Sara interrupted her, her voice strong. "It's okay."

Jax was dropped and Alice had sweeped Sara into a hug. Jax scurried away while his guild mates looked at him in anger. What the hell? He hadn't even done anything! What was so special about Sara, anyway? He noticed the fallen bag.

Sara was released by Alice, so she reached for the bag. She was surprised when Jax took the bag first. The other Insomniacs had returned to their previous actions, but Veribex still watched. Dark guilds were still so puzzling to him. This wasn't at all what Cana described, but he had learned Fairy Tail was a light guild.

"Don't worry about it," she smiled. "I'll throw it out." Jax suddenly realized it. The reason Sara disapproved of him was really so simple?

"Did you look at me weirdly because I wore so much black?" He suddenly asked. Sara blinked.

"I - I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was looking at you strangely. It's just.. Too much black. I thought you needed some light," she smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Thanks," Jax said. Sara blinked as he pulled the scarf out and wrapped it around his neck. "It's pretty good, for amateur work."

Sara grinned. "Thanks," before she sneezed. Once. Twice. Three times. She blinked and sniffed. "I'm a little sick though, so I'm gonna go home," she excused herself. Jax grabbed her wrist, not wanting her to leave yet.

"U-um," he said. Sara tilted her head. Alice smirked. Jax had finally realized it: Sara's irresistible charm. "I wanna know more about you."

"Sure. Where should I start?" She asked, deciding to stay a bit longer. Alice left with her smirk, going back to her paperwork.

"How about with your family?" He asked. Sara's eyes grew dark.

"I'd rather not. Next," she replied. Jax blinked.

"Then, uh, how'd you meet Alice?" Sara giggled.

"Oh, that's funny. I had been travelling on my own for a year before I met Alice. This was back when I was a person who was afraid of her own shadow," Sara began. Jax stopped her.

"You used to be scared? But you're so brave now," he said. Sara propped her face up with her hand.

"Enough time with Alice will make one realize there's nothing to fear," she smiled. "I met Alice when I was going through a village, intending to restock. I hadn't counted on the villagers to be nasty to outsiders. Alice grabbed me and took me into the woods, where she practically made me piss myself. You think she's scary now? Back then, she was worse."

"Alice? Worse? Couldn't imagine it," Jax mused. He knew Sara and Alice got along, but this made him realize not everyone just clicks.

"I know. Sometimes I don't recognize the look in her eyes. She used to be so cold, so angry. Anyway, she was about to take me back to the village when a pack of wolves attacked," Sara paused and laughed. She called out, "Hey Alice, remember when you strangled a wolf twice your size with one hand?!" Alice's laughing could be heard.

"I remember! Remember when you didn't listen to the doctor and nearly destroyed your ability to move?!" Sara winced as Jax looked at her questioningly.

"That's… A different story. Well, during our wolf encounter, we discovered we both had magic. I invited her to join my journey, and she agreed when I had been joking. It was surprising to both of us when only one year later, we got along well. We used to hate each other so much."

Jax lightly touched the scarf around his neck. "I'm sorry for being rude to you," he said. Sara shook her head.

"Don't worry about it. I'm used to it! I'm the little girl that follows Alice around. I've seen a lot of stuff," she reassured.

"I feel like I owe you. You and Alice saved me, even if I hadn't realized it then. I don't care if this is a dark guild. It's a big, dysfunctional family," he grinned. Sara smiled.

"I'm glad you finally realize it. This is my happy place," she admitted. She caught Alice's eye from across the room. Alice winked and Sara rolled her eyes.

"Yeah," Jax said, his eyes on Sara. "I know what you mean."

After that, Jax lost interest in pining after Veribex. He'd found someone new to watch. He finally understood what made her special. He supposed he'd always needed some light in his darkness. His light - and everyone else's - was Sara.

He smiled to himself as they continued talking, swapping stories. Jax wondered if one day she'd tell him why her light disappeared when he mentioned her family. He wanted to protect her. Jax wanted to become stronger now. He understood Alice, in a way. Sara drew people to her naturally. It was impossible to hate her for long.

And for him, it was impossible to not fall in love with her.