The sun had not yet risen from the horizon. From the window, in the distance, one could see the glimpse of dawn, a timid glow on the horizon breaking the darkness of the night with the starry sky. Mira woke up and stretched before standing up in her silver silk robe. She tied her hair up sloppily and left the room heading to the kitchen downstairs. As usual she would prepare all the breakfast.
She had barely been in the kitchen for 30 minutes when she felt strong arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her towards a large body behind her. "Good morning, Mira," Ryker greeted her and kissed her cheek.
"Good morning, Love", she replied smiling.
"What are you preparing?", he asked, still wrapping her in his arms.
"Nothing much," she replied. "Just homemade bread, which is already baking in the oven, a cake, which is also in the oven, and coffee."
Ryker had no idea how she managed to do all that in such a short amount of time, it was a complete mystery to him, one of the many things he admired about Mirajane. "You are incredible. You know I could help," he kissed her neck, making her shiver.
"You help me at the guild," she placed her hand on his head as he continued kissing her neck.
Ryker stopped kissing her and smiled and kissed her cheek. "Now I can go do some work", he said, breaking the hug and going to sit at the kitchen table. "Will there be anything interesting today?"
Mira pouted and frowned, frustrated when he stopped. She went to the table and sat down with him. "We can see. But, you could have gone somewhere already."
"There were difficult jobs in the last few days. I wanted something calmer to start with," he explained.
Mira put her index finger in her mouth thoughtfully, looking very cute in her boyfriend's eyes. "I think some interesting things arrived yesterday. I didn't have time to put it on the quest board yesterday, so when we get to the guild I can take a look."
"That would be really nice," said Ryker. "But I don't want to be privileged by my girlfriend."
Mira looked at him and smiled, shaking her head. "Ara, ara, Ryker! I would not do that. I always try to help anyone who asks me," she said.
"You mean I'm not special to you," Ryker said, smiling.
"You Silly", Mira replied smiling.
They laughed and continued talking until everything was ready. Ryker helped Mira set the table and they ate breakfast, leaving the rest ready for Elfman and Lisanna. After they got everything in order they went to the guild, where Ryker helped her organize everything, as always.
Throughout the morning Ryker stayed at the bar talking to Mirajane and Lisanna, as well as other people who passed by. He hadn't seen anything appropriate on the quest board and started to get a little frustrated. He wanted to start his life over again and have something to contribute to the guild and help Mira and her brothers, after all he was living in their house again, and he didn't want to be a burden to them.
By early afternoon, Ryker had almost given up on trying to find a job for himself, hoping that the next day something new would come along. That was when Mira came to meet him. "Babe, what do you think of this one?", she sat next to him at the bar and handed him a mission leaflet.
He looked closely and smiled at what he saw. "They need wizards to protect a bridge while they finish building it. At least one week of work with all expenses paid. It looks perfect," he cheered.
"The pay isn't bad either," Mira pointed to the reward. She was happy to see her boyfriend's excitement return.
"True, it's a good start," he looked at Mira, smiling. "Thank you, Mira", he thanked her, to a slightly blushing and shy girlfriend.
"We can leave tomorrow morning," she said.
Ryker looked at her in surprise. "You are coming with me?".
"It is clear! You said you wanted me to go with you on your first mission, plus they need two mages. Who better than us?", she was excited about the first joint work she would do with him in a long time.
"It's true, you're always a great partner," he replied.
Mira smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered in his ear: "One week, just you and me", she bit his earlobe, making him feel a shiver that ran throughout his body.
"Wh... what are you up to, Mirajane Strauss?", he looked at her with a mischievous smile.
"Just do our job, Love. Don't think nonsense", she smiled like an angel.
"Of course…" he smiled out of the corner of his mouth. She was definitely the 'She-Devil'. Throughout the rest of the day they stayed together and talked.
The next day, Ryker and Mira were traveling to the city of Albury by train. They left early and there was still a long way to go and to be more comfortable, they decided to stay in a private cabin, even though this ticket was more expensive.
Ryker was looking out the window, with a slight smile and a calm, nostalgic expression. Mirajane looked at him and smiled. "Looking at anything interesting?", she asked amused.
"Just enjoying the scenery," he replied. "It's strange, I've never missed anywhere. But I felt happy when I returned to this city."
Mira approached him and wrapped her delicate arms around him. "It's because you made Magnolia your home. For the first time in your life you have created a bond with a place, with the landscapes and with the people."
"Maybe," he looked lovingly at the woman hugging him.
Mira, looking at him, smiled mischievously and bit her lower lip. She moved and sat on his lap, facing him, staring deeply at him. Her eyes showed desire with an intense fire. Ryker sighed breathlessly, mesmerized, seeing her like that. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. They could feel the heat emanating from each other's bodies, which only increased their desire for each other.
"We still have four hours until we get to Albury ," Mirajane commented, almost as if she was proposing something indirectly.
"That's a long time," he replied.
"What should we do?", she asked teasingly, biting her lower lip and looking at him provocatively with those big, beautiful blue eyes.
Moving his hands down to Mira's hips and lowering them a few more inches, Ryker reached her ass and gently felt it. "I have some ideas," he said to his now blushing girlfriend. She, in one quick movement, kissed him and put her tongue in his mouth, which he reciprocated immediately. They kissed passionately.
As they kissed, Ryker slid his hand over Mira's body until he felt her skin. Then he moved his hand up her leg, under Mira's skirt, feeling her delicate white skin and then her ass. He felt her hair stand on end at his touch, making them deepen the kiss even more. They were practically devouring each other and Mirajane was moaning into his mouth.
The couple was curled up with each other, caressing and touching when they heard a knock on the door. Frightened, they immediately moved away and sat down like well-behaved people, before the door was opened. They did their best to hide the redness on their faces and any indication of what they were doing.
"I'm sorry for bothering you," a train employee said.
"Imagine, you don't need to apologize", Mira said smiling as always.
"Oh, thank you," he replied awkwardly. "In that case, you could share this cabin with this man. Unfortunately, more tickets were sold than we had space for and he was left with nowhere to stay", a middle-aged, bald man with a mustache, wearing a shirt tucked into his pants, which at any moment would explode due to the pressure exerted by his huge belly, a blazer and loose formal jacket and well-worn shoes. He smiled happily and carried light luggage.
"To divide!? But, but aren't there other cabins?" Ryker said exasperatedly.
"Unfortunately not. They are all full, this is the only one that has space. I apologize for the inconvenience", the employee apologized again.
"No problem. It will be a pleasure to welcome you", Mira said.
"Well, thank you for that, miss," he said gratefully and gave way to the man to sit on the other bench, in front of where Ryker and Mira were sitting.
After he got comfortable and the employee closed the door, he looked at the two of them with a happy and spontaneous smile. "Well, my name is Pablo. And you are?"
"I'm Mirajane, but you can call me Mira and this one is Ryker," she replied politely. She was smiling as always and Ryker had a closed and not happy expression, as always.
"Oh, Mirajane! Wouldn't it be the famous wizard from Fairy Tail?" Pablo said excitedly and Mira confirmed, making him even happier. "I never imagined I would meet someone so special. I can cross that off my list now," he laughed.
"Ara, ara!" Mira laughed, slightly blushing and putting her hands on her face shyly.
"Well, I'm sorry for this inconvenience. I hope I didn't interrupt anything, young couple", Pablo apologized.
"Wha, what!?" Ryker said in surprise.
"I know a couple when I see them," he said, and both Ryker and Mira blushed awkwardly. "The hormones of youth... I remember when I was your age", he said nostalgically. "Any place was a place for..."
"Where do you plan to get off?" Ryker asked, interrupting him before he could say anything that could embarrass them further.
"In Echuca , it is a very pleasant town at this time of year. You should know it, even though it's a little far from here", he replied smiling, strangely smiling.
Ryker turned to Mira and whispered. "Is this town before or after Albury ?", he asked her.
"Much later," she replied, whispering sadly.
Pablo was that really happy person, who likes to talk and talk about everything, even when you don't want to hear or talk to them. And he talked and talked and talked, renting the two wizards the rest, or their entire trip...
If they wanted to take advantage of that work to have time alone and miss each other, that beginning was a bad omen.
"Mira! Ryker! It was a pleasure to meet you!" shouted Pablo through the train window. "I hope I can meet them again. Who knows, maybe we'll arrange something together…" he shouted as the train left the station.
Ryker sighed tiredly. "I swear if I had to put up with this guy one more minute I would kill him."
"Ara, ara, Ryker! Come on, it wasn't that bad," Mira said with that beautiful, innocent smile he loved.
"Don't even try, Mirajane Strauss!", he snorted and she laughed at him angrily. "Come on, we have to find...?", he looked at Mira, she was the one who knew the contractor's name.
Mira looked at him confused for a while until she realized he was waiting for her answer, which she knew. "Oh... oh my!", she giggled cutely. "I know who we should find. Hehehe! I forgot I knew," Ryker rolled her eyes and she picked up the paper from work. "We have to meet with the construction manager, Luca."
"Ok! Let's go then," Ryker said and the two left the station on their way to the construction site.
The city was small and bucolic, there were no tall buildings. All buildings had a maximum of three floors, but were well maintained despite being old, in the Mediterranean style. There was a lot of beauty in the simplicity of that place, small well-kept squares, flower beds in the middle of the street and in every window, benches everywhere where residents could sit and enjoy the outdoors, talk or read their newspaper in peace. Some cafes and restaurants had tables and chairs outside for customers who wanted to have their meal served outdoors. However, it could be seen that this was not a rich city, people dressed simply and did their best to keep their city welcoming.
Along the way Ryker and Mira asked locals where they could find the bridge work and where they could find Luca. They discovered that those residents were helpful, attentive and cordial, always ready to help, even if they were strangers in that city. With the information, it didn't take long for them to cross the entire city and find the construction camp.
It was a bridge that connected two cities over a wide river that meandered through a wide valley. Its banks had cattle farms and orchards of the most varied fruits. It was a beautiful landscape, with mountains in the background and hills beyond the river plain, covered by forests and woods.
"We are looking for Luca. Do you know where he is?" Ryker asked one of the workers for information. He pointed to an elderly man, but strong and short in stature and with a prominent belly. He was talking to some workers at a makeshift table where there was paperwork with the bridge projects.
The two wizards approached Luca and Ryker caught his attention, calling him by name. That man turned around and saw Ryker and Mira in front of him. "Yes. What is this about?" he asked in a hoarse voice.
"We are Fairy Tail wizards. I'm Ryker and she's Mirajane," Ryker replied.
Luca was immediately happy to see them. "Excellent! I didn't think they would arrive so soon, or even that they would accept this job," he said, smiling in true happiness and relief.
"We always accept a job in demand. It will be my pleasure to help," Mira said happily.
"Can you tell us exactly what's going on?" Ryker asked.
"Yes of course. As you can see, we are building this bridge to connect our city with Lavington , on the other side of the river. This will allow trade between the two cities to be facilitated, and we will be able, by joining our forces, to trade with other larger cities and reach other markets. It will be a great advance for our region", Luca explained.
"That's very good, but you said you're afraid that criminals will interfere with the work, right? Why would anyone want to harm, if it seems to be so advantageous?", Mira asked intrigued.
"If you look over there, you'll know why," Luca pointed down, on the other side of the river. There was a small port with a ferry.
"What does that ferry have to do with it?" Ryker asked.
"The owner makes a lot of profit from the crossing of products and people. He will be the biggest loser with the construction of the bridge", replied Luca. Ryker looked at Mira who nodded. "Well, I have work to do. I will let my son, Mateo, guide you and give you the rest of the information." Luca shouted and called his son who, in the distance, heard his father and came running towards him.
"This is Mateo, my son. He will take care of everything now", Luca introduced his son to the mages, as soon as he arrived at them. "Mateo, this is Ryker and Mirajane, they are wizards from Fairy Tail who are here to help us."
When Mateo arrived and saw Mira, he was frozen, looking at her as if a deity was there. He admired her intensely, his heart raced, he felt heat rise to his chest and he sweated and swallowed, not knowing how to react. Mira noticed him looking at her and smiled affectionately, which made him blush intensely. He had never seen someone as beautiful and graceful as her. Ryker, on the other hand, noticed his indiscreet look at his girlfriend and frowned, looking at him with some irritation.
"Mateo! Mateo! MATEO!", shouted Luca, making his son break out of the trance he was in. "Want to pay attention!" he shouted.
"I'm…sorry, Dad," he said awkwardly. Mateo was an extremely handsome man, tall and young, around 27 years old, well built and with a toned, well-defined body. His face was square and well-formed, as if he had carved it by hand, with curly brown hair, green eyes, and tanned skin. His smile was charming and fit his face perfectly with his perfect, well-aligned teeth. Mateo was the type of person that people immediately liked him, attracted by his positive energy and simple, friendly and charming manner, always smiling and in a good mood, regardless of the situation. He was always willing to help anyone in need without asking for anything in return, happy to bring some happiness to others in need.
"I was telling you to take care of whatever they need. I have a lot to do", said Luca.
"No problem, dad. I know everything you need," Mateo said nonchalantly.
"I hope so," Luca turned to the wizards and said goodbye.
Mateo said goodbye to his father and turned to the magicians in front of him, smiling he went to greet Mira. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Mirajane," he took her hand and kissed it gently. Mira blushed at the gesture and Ryker started to get seriously irritated.
Mira quickly pulled her hand away, feeling embarrassed and flattered at the same time. "The… the pleasure is mine. It's nice to meet you too," she smiled awkwardly. Mateo was amused by her shyness. Ryker didn't like it at all.
"But I'm nobody. You, on the other hand, are one, if not, the most powerful mage in Fairy Tail, famous throughout Fiore," he said with a kind smile.
"We are all special, Mateo. I'm sure you have your purpose and admirable qualities", she said, smiling kindly.
"Yes, yes, it's true," he said, scratching his head sheepishly. "I couldn't expect anything less from the fabulous Mirajane," he smiled graciously. Mira couldn't help but blush at his smile. They looked at each other shyly for a few seconds.
Ryker, on the side, coughed, catching the two's attention, breaking them out of what seemed like a trance they were stuck in, completely ignoring him. "I'm Ryker," he stretched out his hand to shake Mateo. As soon as he caught it, Ryker squeezed his hand, making him groan in pain. Mira saw what he did and caught her boyfriend's attention, who let go of Mateo's hand. He held his sore hand, with a slight pained expression on his face. "Oh sorry. I think I exaggerated, I always greet strong men, so…"
"Is everything okay, Mateo?" Mira asked worriedly. She gently took his hand to see if everything was okay and looked straight into his eyes to make sure he wasn't hurt.
"I'm fine, do not worry. I just wasn't prepared, I'm sure he didn't mean to", Mateo replied smiling and with a blush on his face.
Mira looked at him and smiled, relieved that he was okay. When looking at her boyfriend, however, she gave him a disapproving look. Ryker shrugged, as if he hadn't done anything big. "Come on, Mateo. Tell us everything," she asked.
He nodded and called them to accompany him to the work. As they walked, Mateo said that they had been trying to build that bridge for years, but Carlos, the boat owner, was lobbying the mayors to stop the construction.
Carlos bribed the mayors of both cities to stop the construction of the bridge. Mateo said that with a lot of sacrifice, the people of the two cities came together and began to build the bridge with great difficulty. However, even so, Carlos did what he could to prevent it, as a result of which the bridge is taking years to complete. Now, with it almost finished, Mateo and his father suspect that Carlos hired bandits to attack them and prevent the bridge from being finished. He said they have received threats and seen strange men roaming the region in recent days.
"They think they can intimidate us, but they can't. Let's show that we are stronger than them and will not give in to his threats. Let's finish this bridge no matter what it takes and see our region's prosperity finally arrive," Mateo said with vibrant determination.
Mira smiled happily and took his hands, looking him in the eyes with a happy and proud expression. Mateo sighed, his heart skipped a beat and he felt butterflies in his stomach and blushed at her proximity and with her looking at him so intensely and being kind to him. Those blue eyes almost made him drown and the touch of those soft, delicate hands on his rough ones made him suffocate.
"I knew you had it in you, Mateo. You want to protect and take care of your friends. Don't worry about anything, we will help and your bridge will be finished," Mira said confidently.
"Th... thank you, Mirajane", he was blushing and didn't know where to look, showing his shyness. Mira thought he was cute and smiled in a way that made him feel more at ease. He scratched his head awkwardly and laughed, Mira giggled too. They were facing each other smiling, with her holding his hands. They were comfortable with each other at that moment.
"You can call me Mira", she said finally, smiling wide and kindly.
"Ri...right. Mira", he blushed and they remained silent for a few seconds. "Oh, of course! You must be hungry. There is a very good restaurant in the city center, it will be a pleasure to take you and have your company", he said finally.
"It will be a pleasure! Isn't that right, Ryker?", Mira said excitedly.
"But of course," Ryker said through clenched teeth, holding back his anger. There was blood running down his clenched fists.
Mirajane and Mateo were walking side by side on the way to the restaurant, they were talking and there was always a smile and joy on their faces. At no point did they look away from each other. Ryker didn't seem to exist at that moment to Mira, she completely forgot about his presence. He didn't know what was happening.