Laxus continued to gape slack-jawed at the naked Mirajane, desperately fighting the urge to allow his eyes to wander below her face. He was pulled out of his encroaching dirty thoughts by her silky voice.
"What are you doing here, Laxus?" She smiled sweetly, the faintest of blushes staining her porcelain cheeks.
He fumbled for words and his composure. Obviously, he could not just come out and say "I heard your beautiful singing voice and followed it". He slouched a bit, stuffing his hands in his pockets to look more relaxed despite the millions of thoughts racing through his head.
"Same as you I guess. Was gonna wash off before bed." Well, it's not a lie. His eyes wandered briefly down to her chest, which was now, he noted with a bit of disappointment, covered by her pale and slender arms.
Mira beamed at him, either missing or trying to ignore his curious eyes. "Ah, why didn't you say so? Sorry, I'll get right out." When the lightning dragon did not move, she continued more firmly, her smile dropping slightly. "Laxus, please turn around."
His back straightened once more as he snapped to attention again, moving to comply until something popped into his head. Something so very typical of him, or at least who he had been for so many years. He turned back toward her, smirking.
"Nah, don't trouble yourself. I'll just come right in there with ya." As he started to lift his shirt off, Mira gasped.
"LAXUS DREYAR!" She snapped sharply.
He stopped immediately, his elbows tucked awkwardly in the folds of his shirt as his hands gripped the fabric, his smirk turning into a look of shock- Though it was not directed at the demon mage. It was directed at himself. What the hell was wrong with him? He had tried so hard to change who he had been in the past during his period of exile. He tried to open his eyes and become a good person- One worthy to bear the guild mark as well as its legacy. Someone who would actually make that old geezer, as well as his guildmates, proud. His shoulders and arms slumped as he slowly pulled the shirt back down, smoothing it out and turning away from the shocked and fuming take over mage.
"Er, sorry." The lightning mage muttered apologetically. He heard the water lap against the woman's smooth skin followed by wet feet slapping onto hard dirt. As he heard her approaching, something caught his eye. A fluffy blue towel and a pair of pajamas sat dangling from the tree branch right in front of him. The footsteps behind the muscular man stopped abruptly and he assumed that the demon mage noticed the same thing he did. She let out a heavy sigh, and it was all he could do to not turn around and look at her.
"Er, I can close my eyes." He offered.
"Can you really?" The white haired woman deadpanned.
He could not resist. He really could not.
"Or I could keep 'em open. In fact, I could just help dress you, if that's what you prefer." The dragon mage smirked again, and though she could not see it he knew that it was apparent in the tone of his voice.
A powerful wave of magical power erupted behind him, causing his smirk to drop into a wide-eyed frown. Against his better judgment, the blonde turned around, coming face to face with a very, VERY angry demon. Literally, a demon. Mirajane stood there in her Satan Soul form, wings outstretched, tail swaying dangerously, arms crossed over her now clothed (although barely) chest.
"Leave."
It was not a demand or a question, it was as if she was just stating a fact, something that was going to
happen no matter what. However, Laxus being Laxus, he could not help but grin and raise an eyebrow.
"So why didn't you just do that in the first place?" The demon's eyes narrowed and he continued, his tone turning into one of mockery. "In fact can't you just use yer shapeshifting magic to make clothes appear on you? Could it be that you wanted me to have a peak at that model body of yours?"
Mirajane's jaw dropped. How... How could ANYONE be this infuriating? Even Laxus! She had thought the arrogant blonde man had changed. He seemed so much more mature, more friendly, more caring, since he had come back.
...Though it would not be the first time she had been wrong about him.
"I was treating you as I would a gentleman, giving you the benefit of the doubt, though it was clearly a mistake on my part." The white haired demon glared at the immature man coldly, then turned and walked around behind him to retrieve her clothes.
"Oh? No wild punches to the face? Demon Mirajane from three years ago would have beat the shit out of me for pullin' somethin' like this... Or at least tried." The corner of his lip curled at this last part.
She huffed as she gathered up her clothes, then turned to face the arrogant lightning mage.
"Some people change, Laxus." The demon walked past him towards where she had apparently entered the clearing, stopping again to turn and bore into him with her sapphire eyes. "... But I guess you wouldn't know anything about that."
With that she stormed out of the clearing, too obviously angry to change back into her human form, leaving the blonde man wordlessly gaping after her.
By the time Mirajane arrived back at her camp, she had already resumed her human form and put her pajamas on somewhere along the way. She looked around her campsite briefly, noting that everything had been cleaned up for the night just as Elfman had promised. She heard the sound of his rather loud snoring coming from his large, normally 3-person tent and could not help but smile a little, despite her current mood.
After deciding that everything regarding the state of their home for the next several months was satisfactory, the white haired mage let out a yawn and stooped down in front of the tent she shared with her younger sister. The demon mage delicately opened up the flap so as not to wake the younger girl and carefully eased herself inside and onto her sleeping pad. She crawled up to the top of the mat and very gently pulled down the covers, but as she tucked herself underneath she heard her 'roommate' stir. "Mira? Is that you sis?" Mumbled a sleepy Lisanna.
The mage in question froze, then gently reached her hand out to her younger sister, resting it on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry sweetie. Did I wake you?"
The animal soul mage yawned a little and shook her head. "Well, yes and no. You were quiet but..." She reached her hand up to place it on top of the one her older sister had perched on her shoulder. "Is something wrong? Your aura is a little heavy..."
The barmaid's eyes widened a bit before her expression softened into an apologetic smile. She had forgotten how good her little sister was at reading moods. Ever since Lisanna was little, she had always been able to 'read souls'- It came along with her connection to the souls of animals. It was not that she could read minds or anything like that- she could just sense when anyone, be it human or animal, was upset or troubled.
"I'm fine Lisanna. I just had a little experience with disappointment is all."
The younger girl furrowed her brows together, but the demon mage just smiled sweetly and brushed the girl's bangs from her face and stroked her short and soft white hair.
"It's okay honey, just go back to sleep. I'm sorry for waking you." The older girl kissed her little sister's forehead, then pressed her own against it, smiling reassuringly. "I'll be fine, I promise. It really wasn't anything big."
The youngest Strauss sighed. "If you say so, sis. But please talk to me if anything is bothering you, okay?"The seventeen year old gave the barmaid one last concerned look before she broke out into a heavy yawn.
The eldest Strauss sibling giggled lightly, stroking the girl's hair one last time before pulling the covers more snugly around the animal soul mage's shoulders. "I will Lisanna, I promise. Sleep well, okay?"
The short haired girl nodded sleepily, mumbling out a 'You too Mira' before snuggling down into her covers and falling right back into a heavy slumber. Mirajane smiled fondly and laid back against her pillow, pulling her own covers around herself as she, too, attempted to sleep.
However, sleep would not come to the demon mage quite as easily. She stared up at the ceiling of their tent, her sharp eyes absentmindedly studying the stitches and curves of the dark blue fabric. She knew she should not be bothered or even surprised by the lightning mage's behavior- A couple months of exile could not fix the behavior of someone as stubborn, arrogant, and mentally scarred as Laxus Dreyar. Yet, when he had come back he really DID seem different. He saved all of them from likely certain defeat, probably even death, and even gave up his own power for Natsu, so that someone with the mark of the guild was the one to defeat Master Hades. She also remembered the way he reacted when he saw that Lisanna was alive, a sight that really warmed the barmaid's heart to the very core. He saw the animal soul mage and just sat down in front of her, staring at her for a while before awkwardly reaching out to her- probably to pat her head gently, but being the awkward and proud man he was he instead started pulling at her cheeks and patting her head a bit less than gently. Yet, all the while, he had the warmest, fondest smile on his face. The eldest Strauss could not help but smile at the memory. Then, it hit her.
He started messing with Lisanna because he was being shy, because he really WAS happy to see her alive, but did not know how to properly express it. The barmaid's eyes widened in realization as she tried to stifle the tiny gasp that escaped her lips. She remembered the look of shock on the blonde man's face when he saw her earlier that evening and his attempts to apologize. They were not faked- His bold statements and advances though likely were. The man was never exactly a social butterfly, and, until a little over two years ago, neither was she.
Any anger she had left over all but disappeared, instead molding into pity and understanding, albeit with some apprehension still mixed in. If she ran into him again she would, once more, give him the benefit of the doubt.
Satisfied at her resolve, the white haired demon mage yawned and snuggled down into her covers, a gentle smile caressing her features as she followed her sister into sleep. The blonde lightning mage tossed off his clothes, leaving them in an unceremonious pile next to the entrance of the clearing. He lifted his large, muscular arms into the air, stretching them and causing his muscles to tense and ripple. He stretched them in front of him, cracking his neck side to side, before walking over to the edge of the pond. He grimaced as he dipped his feet into the colder than expected water, wondering how Mirajane had managed to look so calm and keep that gorgeous skin of hers goose bump-free in the frigid lakelet. He made his way further into the star-stained aqua marine waters, settling himself on a boulder under the water. As the lightning mage adjusted himself to the cold and got comfortable on his stone seat, the water reaching to just below his collar bone, he let his mind wander. He leaned against another large stone behind him, draping his arms over it lazily as he stared into the diamond-studded sky.
It had not been long since he had been admitted back into the guild by Gildarts, much to his grandfather's annoyance. In fact it had really only been a couple of weeks or so since the incident at Tenroujima- Okay, technically, it had been seven years, but for him and the rest of the group it had only been two weeks. It was barely enough time to adjust for the anti-social lightning dragon, despite the warm welcome he received from everyone- Everyone except his grandfather, of course.
The two months he was away gave him a lot of insight. Being alone, traveling the country and seeing things in a new light made him realize how spoiled he had been in Fairy Tail, but also how lucky. He was too cocky, arrogant and self absorbed to realize how much he relied on everyone else, and how much they took care of him. Being forced away from all that made him understand that he was not nearly as independent as he had thought, and it was much harder for him to get jobs and take care of himself since he had no guild mark. Yet all that time, there was always something he could count on. When he would camp out at night under the stars he would often recall that night of the Fantasia parade, when the entire guild gave him their signature 'Number One' hand sign. It reminded him that he would not be exiled forever.
That, just as in Mira's song, he always had a place to return to, and people that were waiting for him- Even if it would take some time before that could happen.
Mirajane...
He thought back to his earlier encounter with the white haired woman. He had not intended to chase her away like that. Come to think of it, he was not really sure WHAT he had intended to do. At the time, all he could think about was getting closer to that voice, just as he always had whenever his sharp ears heard it producing a melody. It had been so long since he had heard her sing. He remembered how upset he was when Mira, about a week prior, had announced that she was not feeling well so Gajeel would performing in her stead. It made him feel justified in knowing that he was going to get to clobber the out of tune iron dragon slayer.
But tonight, he finally got to hear that enchanting voice again. A private performance that came with a little something extra, he mused. Sure, everyone had seen her in her bathing suit, but he got to see so much more- even if it was unintentional and the demon was thoroughly disgusted by him now. As he stared up at the stars, the corner of the blonde man's lip curled and he could not help the smirk that crept onto his face.
Well, he could at least say one thing for certain- He definitely was not bored anymore.
