Macbeth guided him to an apartment building that sat alongside a canal. The water bulged a little from the rain yesterday, but not enough to flood the streets. From the chatter Cobra picked up as they drew closer, it was a decent distance from the main shopping streets without feeling like you were right in the middle of the noise. A sense of liveliness that fostered connection yet not so much it was overwhelming. Cobra could easily picture himself looking out the windows onto the canal, taking in the voices that passed as a casual comfort.
As the two men began to (discreetly) cross bridges, his fantasy violently ended the moment Mirajane came into view. The barmaid had looked better, given her dulled eyes and frazzled hair. She was standing outside a door leading to the apartment entrance, entwining and untwining her fingers in a nervous pattern.
Before they were fully in view, Cobra pushed Macbeth out in front. "Go break the ice, ok? She's going to seethe if she sees me first, and we'll waste time."
"She's got a good reason to seethe," he mumbled. But, like Cobra expected, he started to pull ahead. The hair twisting returned as he got closer, Cobra trailing behind.
The second she saw him, Mirajane's eyes alighted and she sprinted towards his guildmate, who froze as she embraced him. There was almost no one around, but Cobra still took it as a bold act, even with the guild cloak shielding his face. Surprisingly, Macbeth didn't push her away. Though from the way his hands awkwardly patted her back, he seemed unsure of how much touch to initiate himself.
Cobra could also hear the whispers, even being a dozen yards away. "I'm so glad you're here," she said, and he had to fight the urge to barf. The sweetness and sincerity dipped in those words left him no doubt–she really did like him back. Maybe even more than he did her. The disgusting obviousness of it all still rubbed him the wrong way, as did the romance itself. He tried not to spare it any more thoughts, they had bigger fish to fry now.
He heard Macbeth mumble a few things himself, but he knew they weren't sweet nothings, since Mirajane's head shot up like a firework. Her eyes scoured the landscape in front of her until they rested on something that made her face take on a monstrous scowl.
Namely, Cobra.