"It became obvious…just like me, you're doing this for love."
Mirajane watched Perse's jaw tighten into a grimace. After everything the woman had just spouted against her, hearing that line in particular would likely give her an ulcer.
The threads at her side tightened. Mirajane kept her breathing steady, even as she could feel the magically sharp threads dig into her sides. It was likely that Perse's mental state affected the tension in the threads. If so, she needed to be careful in any antagonization, lest she be sliced somewhere vital. It already seemed like she was being quite lenient in their strength. Maybe she did have a soft spot…
Mirajane brushed away the thought. She didn't want to sugarcoat it. Perse couldn't stand her. The fact that she hadn't already tried to cut her down must be for other reasons.
She told herself she'd deal with the hurt later. Right now, she had other priorities.
"I'll admit I have an overly inflated view of love. It makes it…difficult when reality doesn't match my expectations." Unbidden, thoughts of Macbeth sprung up in her mind. The way that had gone…she tried her best to keep her face neutral as she continued. "I see sparks when really there's nothing there. Or I misinterpret things for my own pleasure because it's more fun that way, more enjoyable than reality is, at times."
"Then I'll have to insist that you misinterpreted again," Perse said icily.
Mirajane only shook her head. "I wish I had Perse. Because the reality is…your love is a sad one. One I'd never want to put on someone voluntarily."
For the first time since they started talking, Mirajane thought she saw Perse's eyes drop in intensity. Like having acknowledged what Mirajane said, it was beginning to sink in. This made Mirajane press on.
"When I said I was doing it for love too, I didn't just mean coming here either. When I first thought up the Love Doctor booth, I did want it to be a place where I could keep tabs on my friend's romances. That's true. But when it came time to actually start putting it together, my reasons had changed. I still wanted to look at romance, but now…I had a friend I wanted to support." Perse stiffened at the mention. Mirajane had talked about Lucy before, vaguely, one time when she and Perse hung out. "I thought I would be helping her gain confidence in taking on jobs again. I said it would be partially for her sake…and then I fear it almost made her regress again.
"I could say I was doing it for love, for friendship all I wanted…but in the end, I think I was still just doing it for myself." Her eyes turned downcast. "I never…said us doing it for love was an inherently good thing. I don't want you to have the same regrets I do Perse. I don't want you to feel trapped in doing this. I want you to be free…to make your own choices."
Perse looked away at this. The threads slackened. If Mirajane were to exert even a little of her magic, they would be easily snapped off. But she didn't want to frighten Perse. So she stayed rooted in place.
"You still don't get it," Perse replied. "I'm not doing this for any love. It's just my job."
"If it was only about doing your job, you would have quit a long time ago. That's the sense I get from you, Perse. You wouldn't have spent all that time with me, hating every second, for something as frivolous as a job. You did it for someone. Someone special. Someone that you cared about more than your feelings of uncomfortableness. Someone you wanted to be happy. Someone that made you blush when we went dress–"
Perse's eyes snapped back on her at that sentence, and immediately, Mirajane could tell she'd spoken in error. The threads clamped tighter than ever, the added pressure causing her to finally lose her balance and fall forward.
She was able to roll just in time to avoid smashing her face on the wooden floor, but now her side hurt. She groaned as she heard Perse speak, voice low and cold. "Like I said before, I don't want to hear about our time together. It seems no matter how much I insist, you're always going to see things your way." Softer, almost on the verge of breaking, "In a way, I wish I could do what you do, see things in a way they couldn't be, and be happy. Because now, I'll probably have to kill you, and I know exactly what he'll say when he hears of it."
Something…snapped inside Mirajane. A piece of her that hoped it wouldn't come to this dissolved with the heat of her anger from before. As Perse murmured more words and the threads tightened around her, she gave in to the same despair Perse was no doubt feeling at the moment as well.
By transforming.
