It was well after noon when Mirajane woke up. She looked to her left and smiled, admiring her boyfriend sleeping next to her. For a while she stood looking at him and caressing him affectionately. She lay on top of him, resting her head on his right shoulder as she ran her fingers down Ryker's chest. Slowly he woke up, feeling his girlfriend's touches. He turned his face and looked straight into her big blue eyes, she smiled when she saw him awake.
"Did I wake you up?" she asked.
Ryker stretched and shook his head, yawning. "No no. I was already waking up," he replied. Wrapping his right arm around Mira, he pulled her closer to him and hugged her, wrapping his left arm around her, while caressing Mira's back with his fingers. She settled on top of him, braiding her legs between his and snuggling into his chest. "What time is it?", he asked, playing with Mira's white hair.
"I don't know, but it's after noon," she replied.
Ryker groaned tiredly and took a deep breath. "We don't need to get out of bed yet, do we?"
Mira giggled. "No love. We can stay a little longer. It doesn't even feel like I rested," she commented.
"I can't imagine why," he laughed and Mira slapped him.
"Ara, ara! You know very well," she pouted. Ryker smiled and pulled her into a kiss that was promptly returned. For a while longer, the two lay in bed hugging each other until they finally got up. They took a shower together, a long, hot shower...
They were very hungry, so they decided to leave the hotel and look for a snack bar to eat something. After they ate, they walked around the city and stayed in a park enjoying the rest of the day. They were sitting on the grass in front of a lake watching the water birds and that warm but beautiful late afternoon. Mira then remembered that he had mentioned a bar with live music the day before.
"Where is that bar you mentioned, Love?", she asked.
"Ah yes, I had forgotten," he said. "It's in the city center from what they said," he replied. "But it's still early, it doesn't open until later."
"In the meantime, we can see what else is in town," she suggested and Ryker agreed.
They got up and started walking hand in hand aimlessly through the city. As they got closer to the center, Mira noticed that on one of the streets there was a fair with artisanal products. Mira fell in love and if Ryker hadn't restrained her, she would have been able to buy the entire fair, but she ended up opting for just a few items and some souvenirs. They walked around the center, which was very charming and had many shops. Delighted Mirajane wanted to go from store to store looking at everything they could and buying what they didn't need. At that moment Ryker discovered that his girlfriend liked to buy unnecessary things by observing her happy and amused looking at all the windows and wanting to enter all the stores. Despite the money spent he didn't really care, if she was happy, he was satisfied and he liked seeing her excited like that with every thing she bought. There was no greater reward for him than seeing that wide, beautiful smile and that happy face she had.
At one point, Ryker saw a jewelry store and thought about what Mateo had told him, that he didn't know that Mira and Ryker were a couple. That kept nagging at his mind until he decided to take action. Mira had gone to the bathroom and he was waiting for her. As soon as she returned, he called her.
"Mira, I've been thinking that... that maybe we should embrace our relationship for good," Ryker said awkwardly.
Mira looked at him confused, she didn't understand what he meant. They had already assumed, after all, what else would be needed. "Like this? We are already in love," she said.
"That's not it!" he exclaimed. "I... I want the whole world to know that we're together," he explained.
"Ara, ara! But everyone already knows", she replied.
He sighed and held her by the arms, looking at her deeply. "Not everyone knows, Mira. I want the world to know, I want everyone to know that you are mine." The way he spoke and the way he looked at her, Mira felt her heart race and her cheeks heat up. It was so intense and determined that she thought she fell in love with him again at that moment.
"How... how are you going to do this?" she asked shyly.
"First, we can wear a promise ring and then we can… we can give… give an interview to… to… Jason," he replied, feeling deep disgust in the second part.
Mira laughed at his unpleasant way of talking about the reporter, but she liked the idea of the promise ring. He then explained his idea when seeing the jewelry store, Ryker told her that lovers wear rings as a symbol of the commitment they have made to each other and that the relationship is not a joke, but something more serious and meaningly. Mira smiled happily. They entered and he let her choose the ring, on which their names would be engraved. Some time later, the two left the store with a silver ring on the ring finger of each of their right hands. Mira admired her ring and how they were taking a big step that day. She was moved and felt like the most special woman in the world, Ryker just admired her and was happy to see her happy by his side.
The couple returned to the hotel, it was late and they wanted time to get ready before going to the bar that Ryker spoke about. They showered and rested a little beforehand. Just before they left, Mira was getting ready, while Ryker was already ready. He watched her get ready, admiring her perfection. He would never understand why she needed to dress up so much, she was beautiful anyway, to him. He shrugged knowing he would never understand and got up going towards her and got into the chair where his girlfriend was sitting and getting ready. Mirajane, despite complaining about her boyfriend's behavior, ended up sitting on his lap with a silly smile on her face. He took her comb and started combing her hair, he loved that hair.
"It's not common for a man to comb a woman's hair," Mira commented. "I should be worried," she joked.
"Maybe…" he laughed lightly. "I like your hair. It's beautiful," he continued touching her hair gently. Ryker ended up tying her hair into a ponytail. "You look beautiful like this," he whispered in her ear and kissed her shoulder. He went up and started kissing Mira's neck, who moaned softly with the caresses.
"Love... if we do that, we'll be late", she protested without much resistance.
Ryker continued to kiss her and sought her mouth. They kissed for minutes, ending with a series of kisses and him caressing her face. "You are right. We better go, otherwise we're going to be late", he said, almost without the strength to leave her without overpowering her and without taking her to bed. Mirajane, too, had almost no willpower to leave him without undressing him right there. Finally, they overcame their carnal desires and left the hotel towards the bar.
"This is the one," Ryker said when they reached their destination. After crossing half of the city, on the outskirts of the center, there was a bar with a bright sign and an infectious atmosphere.
They entered, it was a relatively small bar with a small stage in the corner, lit up. The atmosphere was dark and pleasant with tables everywhere. The two chose a table facing the stage, they didn't know what kind of music would be played there and the expectation gave an even more special atmosphere to that night. As they hadn't had dinner, they decided to order something right there, as well as drinks to enjoy the night.
When the music started, it was clear that it wouldn't be a specific band that would play, but several musicians would play and several different rhythms and musical styles would be presented, which really pleased Mira, who had a very eclectic musical taste. She loved listening to many different rhythms and styles of music and loved discovering new types of music. Ryker, in turn, was less eclectic, basically liking Rock'n Roll. As the night progressed, Mirajane was enjoying and appreciating the musical diversity more than her boyfriend, however he was satisfied with just distracting his mind and enjoying the atmosphere and the drinks and some snacks and especially her company.
Mira was enjoying some music and looked at her boyfriend and remembered something she wanted to talk to him about. "Ryker," she called him. "I remembered that I discovered something very interesting in your apartment when I went to collect your things," she said with a mischievous expression.
Ryker looked at her worriedly. "What did you think?".
"Your guitar," she said, looking at him mischievously. He reacted and just scratched his head awkwardly, as he knew how much she liked music. "Why didn't you tell me you played?", he questioned.
"Well, Mira... See, I'm not that good, I just practiced a little. Nothing much, and the way you sing and play, I didn't think I was up to telling you", he explained.
Mira stared at him for a while and smiled then she wrapped her arms around him and leaned closer to him. "It's okay, I'm not upset about it. But, who knows, maybe we can play together when we get back."
"Maybe", he said, looking at her affectionately. "Alice taught me a little, I think I improved. Perhaps I might be worthy of accompanying you."
"You fool," she said and they kissed. Mirajane placed her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her. Ryker ordered a few more drinks and some snacks for the rest of the night. They enjoyed the music, the atmosphere and each other's company until the bar closed and they returned to the hotel.
Ryker entered the room carrying Mira in his arms kissing her, he went towards the bed and laid her down carefully, lying down next to her and kissing her. The caresses increased and it wasn't long before they had hot sex sessions. Several rounds later, Mirajane was on top of Ryker, disheveled and with her body covered in sweat, running her hand over his bare chest, enjoying the beautiful view, in her opinion.
"You lost weight," she commented, a little worried.
He looked at her and stroked her hair, admiring her beauty. "Bother you?"
"Not if you're healthy," she replied.
"I'm fine, don't worry. Soon I'll return to my old form, if you don't waste all my energy", he smiled mischievously.
Mirajane blushed and hid her face with her hands, cutely embarrassed. "Oh my! Don't say things like that!", Ryker laughed at her reaction.
"We better sleep. Tomorrow, we have to go back home and to reality," he said.
Mirajane made a cute pout in annoyance. "I wanted more," she said slyly.
"We'll have plenty of time later Mira," Ryker replied smiling.
"But I miss you, Ryker," Mira said, bringing her lips to his and whispering. "It was eight months. Eight months!" she said emphatically. "Not just me, but everyone misses me. They want you too, desperately", she said in relation to her Satan Soul forms.
Ryker wrapped his arms around her and closed the distance with a kiss. He turned her over, getting on top of her and pinned Mira's arms above her head. Mira looked at him with wide eyes and he smiled with a dominant expression. "Tell them to wait," he said in a commanding voice. "Until I finish with you, they won't have a chance", Mira blushed and felt her heart speed up and heat rise throughout her body. She swallowed and nodded. "Now, for now, let's rest. Tomorrow, in Magnolia, in your bed, we'll finish," he kissed her deeply, leaving her in suspense.
When Ryker pulled out of Mira's mouth, she looked at him passionately. "I love you," she whispered.
Ryker smiled satisfied and kissed her again, letting go of her arms, which soon wrapped around him, pulling him close to her. They settled down and fell asleep in each other's arms.
In the early afternoon of the next day, the two arrived at the guild. They opened the door and, to no one's surprise, there was a full-blown fight taking place. Ryker and Mira soon intuited that it had been started by the same people as always, that is, Natsu or Gray or Gajeel, more likely the three of them together. Ryker was exasperated by the situation, while Mira found it all very amusing. There were things about her and the other mages in that place that he would never understand.
"We come back from work and we can't even have a moment's peace," Ryker complained.
"That's what our guild is like," Mira replied.
"Careful!", he said and caught a glass bottle that had been thrown by someone, towards them and almost hitting Mirajane. "These idiots would be dead if they hurt my Mira," he yelled.
"Awww! You're getting cuter and cuter", she commented in love.
Ryker blushed embarrassedly. "It's your fault," he said.
"Ara, ara! You're the one getting sappy," she smiled, much to his displeasure. "You better pay attention," she said, taking two steps to the side.
"What? Why...?", he couldn't finish the sentence when Natsu hit him with a punch to the face, which made him stagger back. "What the fuck, Natsu!", he shouted.
"Do not complain! You shouldn't let your guard down in a fight," Natsu said.
"You fool! I wasn't even fighting with you!", he shouted angrily.
"You idiot! If you're in the guild, you're automatically in the fight. I thought you knew that…"
Ryker looked at him disbelieving his ears. Before he could speak, Natsu was hit by Gray, who was thrown away by Elfman, pushing the Dragon Slayer onto Ryker, knocking him down. So, another fight started between Natsu and Gray, Ryker was caught in the middle of it, without even wanting to participate. Mira laughed at everything and before anything happened, she went to hide behind the bar, where Wendy, Lisanna, Levy and Lucy were taking cover, too.
"Welcome back, Mira-nee," Lisanna greeted her.
"Hello Lis, Levy, Lucy, Wendy", she greeted them cheerfully, as always.
"How was work?" Wendy asked.
"Everything went well," she replied.
"But wasn't it a week's work? It's been almost two weeks since you two left," Lisanna asked.
Mirajane looked away and blushed, putting her index finger to her mouth in thought. "Oh really! Well... situations occurred and we had to extend the mission" Mira replied.
Lucy was looking at her and noticed a shiny object on the ring finger of Mira's right hand. She looked at it and realized it was a ring, a promise ring. "Oh my God, Mira!" she exclaimed, catching the attention of all the other girls there. "Is that a promise ring?", she asked and the other girls immediately looked at Mirajane and her hand, being surprised. Mira blushed and was embarrassed, with a shy but happy smile.
Lisanna noticed the ring on her sister's finger and happily went to her side and hugged her. "You're getting married, Mira-nee!" she exclaimed. "It means I'm going to be an auntie soon," she said.
Wendy looked at Mira and blushed violently. "Mira-san is pregnant!?" she exclaimed.
"Ara, ara!" Mira smiled with amusement. The white-haired mage looked at her hand contemplatively, smiling happily at the ring. "We're not getting married and I'm not pregnant. Ryker and I made our relationship official", she explained, but even so the girls let out a scream that almost stopped the fight in the guild, while Wendy smiled with rosy cheeks, she was certainly more restrained among them.
"You have to tell us everything, Mira", Levy demanded excitedly.
"Exactly! Don't hide anything from us, Mira-nee", Lisanna said, and Lucy agreed, wanting to know all the details.
"Oh my! Okay, okay!" Mira blushed and felt embarrassed. She started to tell the girls everything and with each word, their eyes shone with love. Mirajane told them about Ryker's jealousy of Mateo, the conversation they had and, finally, his proposal to make their relationship official. Those girls were gossiping the whole time until all the guild fighting ended.
"Nii-chan must have tried very hard to take that action, Mira-san", commented Wendy.
"I must agree. To be honest, I can't imagine him being that cute," Lucy said.
"In fact, it's quite strange," added Levy. "Although he was always kind to me. He even split the reward for the work Gajeel and I helped him and Mira finish."
Mira looked at them with a bit of disapproval, she didn't like them speaking badly about her boyfriend. "He's not like that, so insensitive and rude. In fact, he is quite affectionate."
All the girls looked at her with wide eyes. At that moment, Ryker sat at the bar, after the fight in the guild had ended. He huffed, exasperated and annoyed at being caught in the middle of that mess. "What a thing this guild is! They can't stay a day if they get into trouble," he muttered. Ryker put his hand on Wendy's head, greeting her, and looked at the other girls. For a moment, he felt uncomfortable and uncomfortable, with the strange looks everyone was giving him. "Girls!" he greeted them. "Are… what are they doing?" he asked carefully.
"Oh, nothing much. Just talking, you know... girly stuff", Lucy said looking at him mischievously.
Ryker looked at Mira for some kind of response, but only saw her shy and slightly blushing. "So, Ryker, you finally decided to come out to my sister, didn't you!?", Lisanna said indiscreetly. He looked at her startled, only to see her pointing at the ring on his finger.
"That was no big deal. Just the natural course of things. I don't understand why there's so much drama about it," he said.
"Playing hard to get", Levy teased him, earning laughter from the other girls.
Ryker snorted and fumed at them. "You didn't exaggerate anything, did you Mira?", he knew that she was the one who told everything. Knowing how she liked romantic things and couple things, Mirajane would never keep quiet about them.
"Sorry love. I couldn't help it", she smiled and that was enough to calm him down.
"All good. As long as you control your friends so they shut up and don't bother me..."
"But I can," Lisanna grabbed his neck, smiling and teasing him, "isn't that right, brother-in-law?" Ryker huffed in exasperation, much to the amusement of everyone around him.
Mirajane and Ryker were sitting on his bed in the guest room of the Strauss house. She had fetched the electric guitar she had kept and returned it to him, who was holding it while talking to his girlfriend. They were sitting side by side.
"Then I want to see what you can play," Mira said.
"Don't be disappointed," warned Ryker.
"I doubt it, I'm sure you'll surprise me"
"Ah, I don't doubt that," he said mockingly. Mira approached him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him on his left cheek. They stayed glued to each other talking about everything, until Elfman entered the room and coughed, catching their attention.
"Don't you think you're too close to each other?" he asked indiscreetly. "That's not manly at all," he made a disapproving expression.
"Come on, Niichan! Don't disturb them", Lisanna came after him taking him out of the room.
"But, Lis... they're not even married! There's no virility in that," Elfman tried to retort.
"Be quiet brother and leave them alone!" she said. "Enjoy your night," she said to the couple, leaving the room and closing the door.
Mirajane and Ryker looked at them and she laughed at her brothers. Ryker shook his head in exasperation.
"Jason should come for the interview tomorrow," Mira commented.
"But already!?", Ryker was surprised.
"Lucy worked at Sorcerer Weekly for a while, so she has his contact. She spoke to him and he said he could come tomorrow. He's very excited about these things."
"I hate reporters, but what to do...?" Ryker resigned.
"Don't worry, everything will be fine," Mirajane reassured him.
Ryker nodded, but didn't believe it, he felt like something wasn't going to go right, one way or another. "If you are saying. But in the meantime, why don't we do something more exciting?"
"Like what?" Mira asked, her cheeks turning red.
Ryker placed the guitar on the floor and pulled Mira onto his lap, making her sit facing him. "I have some ideas," he said and kissed her. Mira wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening that kiss. You can imagine the rest...
The next day, Ryker and Mira were at the guild waiting for Jason to show up. The sooner would be better for Ryker, so he would get rid of this nuisance as quickly as possible. It was no secret that he didn't like reporters and even though everyone spoke highly of Jason, that wasn't enough reason for him to like him. Responding to Mira's requests, he promised that he would be pleasant and polite to the reporter and that he would behave during the interview.
It was mid-morning when Jason arrived, excited as ever, much to Ryker's dismay.
"COOOLLLl!", Jason shouted entering the guild.
"Does he have to be like this?" Ryker grumbled.
"Calm down, Love. You were the one who wanted this interview, even though I said it wouldn't be necessary", Mira said.
"Tsh! Whatever! I hope this doesn't have a bunch of men flirting with you anymore", Mira giggled at her boyfriend's jealousy.
"Mirajane... So coollll!", Jason approached, standing next to her and Ryker.
"Jason, it's good to see you," she greeted him, Ryker, on the other hand, just waved.
"My dear model. Don't tell me you're going to pose again?", he asked excitedly and hopefully.
"No, that's in the past," she replied.
"That's a shame. Readers would love to see you again on our pages. It would be so COOOLLL!", Ryker began to get irritated by those insinuations and the thought of other men appreciating his girlfriend's body in skimpy outfits irritated him. Not that he would ban it, but he didn't have to like it either. Or maybe he should prohibit it, after all they agreed not to do anything that would cause any discomfort to the other.
"Well, let's get down to business and not make this nonsense," Ryker interjected.
Jason looked at him for a moment. "Oh yes. Lucy told me you wanted to tell me something. What would it be?", he said to Mirajane.
She smiled. "I wanted to reveal my relationship status."
"COOOLLLL!", Jason shouted in excitement. "So finally, Mirajane Strauss and Laxus Dreyar will start dating!" Ryker turned red with anger and Mira felt embarrassed. "There were bets on when the two of you would take on the relationship once and for all. We were so hopeful and rooting for you two. Where is he? I would like to take a photo of the two of you together. It will be a tragedy for women and men. These two sex symbols committed forever and ever. But it's so COOLLL!" he cheered. "I bet they are a wonderful, powerful couple. The strongest Take Over mage in the world with one of the most powerful Dragon Slayers and a hero, who helped free us from the threat of Acnologia and Alvarez. You must be so happy, I can hardly imagine."
"It's nothing like that!", shouted Ryker, catching the attention of everyone in the guild and taking Jason and Mira by surprise.
"What? But isn't it about Mira's relationship? Because if it's not about her and Laxus, what a beautiful couple by the way – congratulations Mirajane –, I don't know what it could be about" Jason said confused.
"It's about her relationship! But not with that spark!", Ryker was more than irritated, I must say.
Jason looked at him even more confused and disbelieving. "Now I'm lost. What's going on, Mira?" Ryker huffed in anger.
Mira was finding this all very amusing, but she better intervene before her boyfriend freaked out completely. "Well, I'm dating, but not with Laxus."
"Really?" Jason said, looking disappointed in Ryker's eyes. "But then with whom?"
"With Ryker," she hugged her boyfriend next to her and kissed him on the cheek, and it was enough to calm him down, momentarily.
Jason looked at the two of them and, really disappointed, freaked out. "WHAT!?" he shouted. "But why!? When? Where? As? WHY?".
"He really doesn't like that I'm dating her," Ryker thought.
So, she patiently explained and answered all the questions Jason asked her. It seemed like an eternity to Ryker, but the conversation didn't last more than a few minutes. Jason asked all the questions and listened carefully to their story. At the end of the interview, he took a photo of the couple, despite Ryker's protest, who left with a forced, irritated and horrible smile. Jason said that in the next issue of the magazine the interview and that revelation would be published. After all this he left, sad, it seemed.
"It wasn't so bad, was it?" Mira asked, after Jason left the guild.
"Tsh!" Ryker grunted. "Why is Laxus always involved with you?" Mirajane looked at him and laughed at his jealous look and sullen face.