Fairy Tail One-Shots

The Pain (Miraxus)

A smile graced Mira's lips as the morning sun shone through the doors. Not many members were in the hall, only a few early birds who were staring at the request board with uninterested looks on their faces. A few had already given up on the job hunt and were chatting with each other, but it wasn't many. Days like these always made Mira's spirits rise, when she could watch the mayhem from behind the bar without having to worry about serving drinks to everyone or cleaning up after the brawl that they were inevitably going to have at some point.

But Mira then noticed someone who wasn't feeling as cheery, who sat by the corner of the bar with a grumpy look on his face and was staring at the wood in front of him.

Feeling safe enough to approach, Mira stepped lightly as she appeared in front of him, "good morning Laxus, can I get you something?"

"Go away," he growled simply, causing a shiver to run down her back and she complied, spotting that a certain fire dragon slayer was walking through the door and started to prepare the food that he was surely going to order.

A worried look crossed her face as she glanced over at Laxus and saw that he had placed his head in his hands, his shoulders tense. She swore she could see the static electricity rolling across him as he sat there, something obviously bugging him.

"Give me ten minutes Natsu and I'll have everything sorted," she told the fire dragon slayer before she walked into the kitchen with unease. What can she do to help Laxus?

Natsu spotted the lightning dragon slayer in his state and strolled over, not seeing any of the red flags or warning signs as Laxus sluggishly lifted his head to stare daggers at him, "what's got your panties in a bunch, Fuse Box?" He asked, a laugh on the edge of escaping his chest.

Laxus didn't bother to reply as he swung out and knocked Natsu in the head, causing the pink-haired man to fly across the room and land on a table. Natsu hope from the spot with a grin, still not getting the hint that Laxus wanted to be left alone, "so you want a fight? Come at me!" He shouted, his body lighting up into flames.

When Natsu pounced, Laxus still hadn't moved. It was only when the flaming fist was inches from Laxus' face did the blonde move and slam him into the ground. Natsu was out for the count.

Mira stepped out of the kitchen at that point to see Natsu knocked out on the floor by Laxus' feet, "what happened here?"

"Nothing," Laxus spat, standing up with a groan to walk over to the other end of the bar and sit down. Almost immediately, he placed his head in his hands and sat like he was before, evidently in inner turmoil.

When she saw that the fire mage was beginning to move again, she placed his food where he could smell it and stomped over to Laxus, "okay, something is going on with you today and I'm not going to let you ruin your own day. Tell me what it is and maybe I can help?" she suggested, placing her hands on the bar as she raised an eyebrow and looked at him.

He didn't reply and Mira resorted to bribery, placing a bottle of beer in front of him, "on the house," she spoke simply.

He shook his head, making Mira stare at him in surprise. Even if he wasn't willing to tell her, she knew that he would have taken the drink anyway so the fact that he was leaving on the bar made Mira certain that something was up.

"Why? You always have a drink at this time?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. Something was really up with this guy.

"Leave me be," he grumbled, sinking his head further into his hands as his shoulders tensed up even more.

Mira sighed and walked away, making Laxus believe that she really was going to leave him alone only for her to return with a glass of water, some painkillers and an ice pack, walking towards him on his side of the bar. He was confused and stared at her as she sat next to him and placed the objects down on the bar, "what are you doing?" He asked quietly.