Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima

Chapter 3: Truth

The sun overlooked the Fairy Tail bar, the light penetrating the small cracks in the building's old exterior. Nobody noticed the small cracks in the building though, as all the patrons in the bar were too busy talking with each other, clinking their glasses together. The owner of the establishment, Makarov was nowhere to be found, his grandson, Laxus, was just chilling out by the counter while Mirajane was cleaning some dishes.

"I'm bored," Laxus grumbled, as he put his empty glass on the counter. It was a fine day outside, a Saturday afternoon, but there was absolutely nothing for him to do. He never thought he'd say it, but he was actually hoping that Freed or even Natsu would come busting down the door to entertain him.

"Don't worry, it's still early. I'm sure they'll come soon enough, given time. Natsu and the others, I mean," Mirajane smiled, as he took Laxus' glass for cleaning. It was as though she was able to read Laxus' mind. The blonde man didn't seem amuse though as he let out an irritated grunt.

"Who cares if they come or not? Things are more peaceful without that pink haired guy around anyway," Laxus said, half heartedly. He wasn't really lying, things really peaceful without Natsu making a ruckus, but then again, Laxus always thought peace was overrated.

Before Mirajane could respond, someone had bolted through the door, catching her and Laxus' attention. They both turned around to see Natsu frantically looking around. Gray was standing beside him, a bored expression on his face. Lucy was there too, trying to calm down the pink haired boy.

"Oi, Laxus, are you here? Let's fight. For all time's sake," Natsu huffed, finally managing to spot Laxus by the bar. "There you are!" Natsu let out a roar as he charged at Laxus. A wide grin appeared on Laxus' face for a split second, as he flipped Natsu, causing him to crash over the counter. Mirajane looked down at the downed Natsu.

"Are you okay, Natsu?" she asked, extending out her hand to help him up.

Natsu began to rub his head, as he looked up at Mira. "Still no good, huh? You're still damn strong, Laxus," he commented, as he took Mira's hand and allowed her to elevate him back up. He stared down at Laxus, who was checking something on his phone. He was wearing headphones. "Hey, hey, are you even listening to me?" Natsu muttered, as he pulled Laxus' headphones off.

Laxus looked at Natsu, a scowl on his face. "Give me back the headphones, Dragneel," he told him, in a low, threatening voice. Natsu, on the other hand, couldn't help but grin, as he leapt up onto the counter and ran towards the other side of the bar.

"Sure, but only if you can catch me!"

After a couple of minutes of chasing Natsu around, much to the amusement of the bar patrons, Laxus finally managed to catch the spunky, red haired student. He grabbed the headphones from Natsu, before positoning them around his own neck. "What's the big idea, making me exert my energy like that?" Laxus muttered, as he took his seat.

"Jeez, Laxus," Natsu began as he sat down beside him. "You're not as fun as you used to be. You know that? The old Laxus would have pounded me a little bit. Did you get soft during your time in Hargeon?" he murmured, stroking his chin with genuine concern.

"I decided to stop hanging around with punks like you!" Laxus snapped, as he thumped the back of Natsu's head, reacting rather comically. Mirajane thought it was strange, seeing Laxus, who was normally so cold, act like this.

"That's the Laxus I know..." Natsu groaned, as he formed a thumbs up with his right hand, while touching the back of his head with his left hand. "That's gonna bruise later," he mumbled.

Mirajane couldn't help but giggle, causing Laxus to turn his attention towards her. "Something funny, Mira?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. There was an irritated expression plastered over the big man's face.

"Nothing like that. I just always thought you were a cold person. But it looks like you can be warm... sometimes. Especially when you're with your friends," she answered, in a hushed tone. The angelic softness of Mirajane's voice didn't seem to calm Laxus down at all. If anything, he looked even angrier.

"Friends? I don't consider this pest a friend," he replied loudly defiantly, pointing towards Natsu, who didn't seem to take any offense. He then let out a quick, but troubled sigh. "Well, not that it matters. Can you get me a drink?" he asked, the volume of his voice had decreased.

"Oi, Laxus, wanna fig-..?" Natsu piped up randomly, springing up, but before he could finish his sentence, Lucy had silenced him with a single fist to the head. Gray simply nodded approvingly, patting Natsu on the pack as if to commend his efforts. He turned to look towards Mirajane.

"I gotta apologize about flame brains over here. He doesn't have a normal bone in his body. We've been classmates for quite some time, but we've never had a proper conversation. My name's Gray," Gray said, feeling compelled to introduce himself. It was needless, of course, as Mirajane already knew his name.

"But Mira, you're so bold! I had no idea you had a boyfriend, let alone a guy like this..." Lucy suddenly said but she trailed off when she realized that Laxus reacted strongly to her 'guy like this' comment.

"B-boyfriend? N..no.. you've misunderstood. Laxus and I aren't like that," Mirajane corrected her, her face turning bright red. She turned towards Laxus, hoping that he'll back her up, but he simply sat there. His face was also slightly red.

"That's a lie!" Natsu roared, as he sprang up onto the bar counter. For a second there, it looked like Natsu had fire coming out of his mouth. He pointed accusingly towards Laxus and Mirajane. "I saw you two walking home together. If you guys aren't lovers, why else would you meet up after school like that?!" he chided.

Gray's face suddenly lit up as he held up his hand for a hand five with Laxus. "My man!" he said energetically, expecting Laxus to return the gesture. However, instead, Laxus simply grabbed Gray's hand and forced it back down.

"It's because we had a common destination. Just because you saw us walking together doesn't prove anything. Don't jump to conclusions like that!" Laxus scolded, but it didn't seem to have any effect.

"Actually," Lucy started. "The thing I'm surprised about most is that you're working in a bar, Mira. Isn't your father the chief polic commissioner in Magnolia? And here you are, working at a place like this," she wondered.

Mirajane looked away, avoiding eye contact with Lucy. "Well, that's... you see..." she mumbled, not really sure how to reply. She took a second to collect her thoughts, before opening her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Only stutters.

"If your dad is a bigshot like that, then you wouldn't need to work here to go to collge, would you?" Laxus inquired, surprised. However, the big man wasn't half as surprised as Mirajane was.

"How did you know that I was only working here for that reason?!" she questioned.

"Isn't it obvious?" came the reply.

Mirajane sighed. "It's complicated. Well, you see, yes, it's true, my father could pay for my college education. Thing is, he doesn't really want me to go..." she began. "He wants me to stay at home and take care of my younger siblings. I do that already, but if I go to college, I won't be able to. And both my parents are too busy so..." she suddenly stopped. There was no need for her to say anymore.

"Hey, hey. I've seen your brother. He's not the kind of guy that needs taking care of. Elfman, right?" Gray commented. A faint smile appeared on Mirajane's face.

"That's totally unfair! You're good at studying. You're talented, so you should be allowed to use them. It's just not right for him to deny you that opportunity," Lucy threw in her own opinion.

"Not that it matters, right? None of us here will tell Mirajane's pop, so it's fine, right?" Natsu said, looking towards Lucy and Gray, who nodded. Natsu turned to Laxus, who had distanced himself slightly from the group. "You too, Laxus? You won't tell anyone, will you?"

The blonde man looked at Mira, who was looking at him with pleading eyes. Both of their eyes met, and Laxus couldn't help but turn a little bit red. He hadn't realized it before, but looking straight into her eyes was like drowning in a sea of crystal blue. Cliched, true, but there was no other way to describe the sensation.

He looked away. "Tch. It's got nothing to do me,"

A/N: You guys waited a long time for this, but unfortunately, this is one of the shorter chapters. Even so, I hope you'll enjoy it. As always, feel free to review! It's Exam Week, so once I'm done with those, I'll be back in full force!