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“You are impartial.” She mumbled aloud, staring at the boy lining her bar incessantly. He was talking about something the others didn't agree on. “That's not that bad.”
He wasn't in the best of moods, his bout with Erza and Grey didn't do well in his head. “Stress makes you ugly Natsu, stop frowning.”
He looked at her, frowning even sharper. He held out his glass, she stared at him like he was crazy. Surely not, he doesn't really think she'll indulge his drinking habits.
“You want more?” He was angry, fire seeped from his slightly parted lips. On the edges.
He sighed, puffing out the hot air and letting it dismiss with the wind. His glass heated red, but didn't shatter. His fingers didn't burn and she didn't smell smoke.
Only heard the sizzling cries of the leftover liquid sitting on the lip of the cup. It smelled like burning liquor.
Burning, boiling, steaming away.
She watched his lips, and then his tongue struck out and wiped them softly. “Ugh.” He slid the glass down the bar a little bit and laid his forehead against the granite tops.
“What did you say anyways?” She asked him, she didn't want his forehead against the table, it's dirty. “Lift your head up Natsu.” She tapped the back of his head.
He groaned and sat up, she placed a towel where his head used to be. A clean white one, it was still warm.
“Thanks.” He mumbled and picked it up and wiped his face.
“What did you say?” She took out another towel and dried glasses. Tall cylinders, the ones Gajeel tries to drink from thinking he's special or whatever the fuck. “To Erza and them?” He grimaced and sighed.
He shook his head, “I'd have to know to tell you.” He shoved his head deeper into the white towel.
She frowned, what ever was said, it hurt him. “Talk to me about it, yeah?” She didn't want to push, she didn't want to make it seem like he had to tell her.
If he wants to stay silent, then she'll let him. She'll hug him until he smiles and stay awake until he sleeps, he did it for her before.
“I guess.” His finger singed the end of his glass, he bought that cup a few years back. Only thing that could handle his fire.
She takes it home and cleans it in her sink, and doesn't forget to bring it everyday either. “Erza and I were talking.” She nodded, egging him on. “I think I said something about everyone needing to be protected.”
Sounds like him, she smiled. “Then she started talking about women, Lucy overheard and joined in, you know.”
“Yep.” She pooped the P, Lucy does mind other people’s business pretty often. No one really cares, everyone’s opinions were pretty similar. Nothin’ to gossip about.
“Then I said that women should be protected more…I think she took it as me calling her weak?” Erza is fragile, even when she shows herself covered in metals able to tank a dragon.
“I tried to tell them that's not what I meant, Erza is strong.” She frowned, he licked his lips and blushes. “Almost as strong as me.”
He brought his empty glass to his eyes and powered inside. “So why would I call her weak? Then it all went to shit, Erza was already angry from earlier…Lucy just wanted to talk, Grey spoke up…and I just left.”
Then he sauntered over here, ignoring the calls of anyone but her. Happy was still with Carla, looking over here continuously.
“They're loud.” She replied and put the towel down and picked up a bottle and poured some in his cup.
“Ha,” he snorted, “I can hear them too.” His hearing was great, she knew that. That's how she and Lisanna always lost playing hide and seek with him.
Back when they were kids and her sister was still around.
She sighed, and pulled up a stool out on the other side of him. Her elbow propped her head up. “What?” She looked at him intently, his eyes were alluring. “Am I ugly?” She rolled her eyes and snorted, covering her mouth immediately.
“Natsu Dragoneel, ugly…” she paused intentionally. Waited till he lost his luster, “not even if he tried.”
“You're blushing Mira.” She was blushing madly. Her eyelashes furrowed softly as she blinked, she looked away. “Hahaha,” he mocked, “even the great Mirajane Strauss has such feeble emotions.”
He puffed his chest out and deepened his voice, she blushed harder. “Only for you.”
“Who else but me?” He was confident, Natsu always starts off as confident. Then she breaks him apart, letting him drop his armor and show him her skin.
“Me…always myself first.” He leaned forward and sat like her. Her chest shook, her hands itched, and her eyes blurred.
She feels her magic bubbling up, “you wanna fight me?” His teeth showed, his fangs were jagged, pointy. She'd let him bite into her, he's done it before. “I beat Erza, you wanna go at the great Natsu Dragoneel?”
He flexed his magic, her eyes watered from the heat. He warmed the inside of her nose that once froze with the freezing guild since Natsu slowed down for the day.
She reached out and her index finger touched the top of his lip. “You can't take me.” Her fingernail elongated and poked his nose.
He laughed, took her hand from his face and slipped his fingers between hers. Her claws retracted, she couldn't focus. “I can take a lot of things.”
Soon though, he let her hand go and she stood back up. Her stool slid back under the bar.
“Are you hungry?” She turned her back and ducked down in the cupboards for some ingredients.
He tapped the table loudly, his fingernail prominently made that tacking noise. She heard it often, when he'd sit and talk with her for hours, or let her read to him.
“No, not at all.” His tapping stopped. She put the stuff back in the cabinet and stood up.
“You just want to talk?” Natsu comes to her often…though, not quiet. Not since the guild grew. Mira chuckled, “what has ‘The Great Natsu Dragoneel’,” she puffed her chest and said deeply.
“So worked up?” And her chest fell, he rolled his eyes. “Other than what they said?”
“Not much.” Mira closed the cabinets and stood back up, his eyes were so crestfallen. Seeping into the back of his skull.
Lack of sleep.
Or sleeping in a bed that wants to drown him dead. She thought of Lisanna just then, briefly. “I-actually, I am hungry.” She grinned and her cheeks flushed pink.
“You just want to see the back of me?” She shook her head naughtily, “you're not slick Natsu.” He grinned.
“The moon is beautiful.” She covered her mouth.
Her eyebrows wiggled childishly, Mirajane leaned her hands on the counter and got in his face. Her cheeks were hot, boiling. “Why not the sunset, don't you think it's nicer?” She asked, fluttering her eyebrows.
Though, she already knew the reason. “The sunset is beautiful?” He shook his head and stood up. His stool knocked back behind him. “I'm not giving you up.”
She rolled her eyes and leaned back.
-He's going to go back to them soon…sucks. But Mira knows better than anyone, maybe not Happy, that he'll always come back to her.
Whether from the fallout of Lisanna’s death or the numerous amount of figjts he ended up in. “I guess…you'll be back soon?”
“Do you want me to stay?” She stared at him without replying. She didn't want him to go back to that Metal Made Knight, nor the Self-Proclaimed Spirit Queen.
Not at all, “you won't stay long?” She leaned back forward and took a hand to his collar. “Right?” her hands fixed his scarf. “You stopped coming by.”
Insecurities fell dead on her lips, choosing to abstain from his untimely departure from her heart. “Got too big for my little ol’ bar? I am hurt.” He took her hands from his scarf with both of his own hands.
One was laid against his burning lips, her magic sprouted into the ground like a tree. His actions are slowly logging away at her life.
“I'll stop by soon, and I've-” he kissed the back of her hand, right below her knuckles that led to her fingers. “-never grown too big for you.” Mira felt him come.closer, she closed her eyes tightly.
But he hugged her instead, and nearly lifted her.over the counters. “Love you Mirajane.” He rubbed her back.
She hugged him back, as tenderly as he hugged her. “Yes you do.” Her breath just left, exiting her budding body. She put her ear on his shoulder and stared at his neck.
Covered with old and new scars hidden by his scarf. Mira frowns, but he hugs her again. “I do.” He chuckled and hugged her tighter. “I really do.”
Natsu sighed and let her go, she fixed his scarf again…he looked sad. “What's wrong?”
“I'll tell you tomorrow, yeah?” His large and hot hand sat against the skin of her forehead. She looked him in the eyes, but no words were shown.
“Okay Natsu.” He kissed her forehead, she closed her eyes and hummed. “You're such an adult now.” As soon as it came, it left, faster than she could grasp his godforsaken wings.
…Then tomorrow came…and then her face was covered in fake smiles.
In front of her bar stood Fairy Tale’s four dragon slayers. They were talking with Master Markarov. Apparently they had a mission, they'll be gone for two years.
Mira forces her hands on the sink to hide the clenching sponge. She's not crying, forcing the tears down.
Natsu would look at her every now and again, biting blisters into his lips. She'd meet his eyes with a smile…and then turn to hide her frown.
He-They always leave her. Behind. Forgotten behind the bar.
The Bar’s Maid.
“Mirajane, could I get a bottle over the flakes?” Markarov asked as he placed his glass down on the table.
She took it without saying a word,. didn't dare look up. Poured his glass added the ice and peppers and handed it back
Mira didn't look up at Natsu.
Eventually, the old man was finished with his instructions. He handed each Dragon Slayer a packet of what she assumed to be the mission details. They split up…Natsu tried talking to her.
She didn't look up. “Well…you heard Master.” He stuttered and pulled out a stool to have a seat.
“...yeah.” First Lisanna, then Elfman, the Erza, and now Natsu…it's not fair. “Two long years, you'll be eighteen by then…a real adult.” She mocked, the dishes were still getting clean.
And she still hid her face.
“Sorry for not telling you earlier.” Dryly, she laughed.
“But you told them,” she heard him tell Erza and didn't even tell her. “You told them and not me.” She wiped her eyes with her arms. She heard his shoes clack against the stone tile as he walked around the bar.
His hands rubbed her shoulders and squeezed her arms. She didn't like that her little boy was taller than her. “You never tell me anything first.”
She was being immature, he doesn't need to tell her first, just unnecessary jealousy.
He hugged her from behind, slid his hands down her arms and in the water. Her fingers slipped with his. He leaned against her back and kissed the back of her head.
“Everyone but me.” She stuttered again and watched her tears fall into the bubbly water. “Why? What did I do wrong?”
They dropped harder, she was crying quietly. The guild might hear. “It-” his head graced the clothes on her shoulder. “-I, no, you didn't do anything wrong…I'm just a coward.” He whispered into her ear.
“I didn't know how to tell you, I didn't mean to make you sad-”
“But you did.”
He backed up and turned her around, “I know.” She looked down, he buckled his knees and got in her face. Mira looked away. “I know I hurt you.” His thumbs rubbed both sides of her jaw. “I'm a coward.”
Then she looked at him, “you're leaving for two years.” Her murmurs were barely heard by her own ears as Gajeel and Laxus' arm wrestled in the back. “And you were too scared to tell me?”
She rolled her eyes and shook him off, “yeah right.” Mira grabbed a towel from the rack and wiped her eyes.
He wasn't scared, yesterday, he wasn't scared. Not to tell her something, not for anything shallow. She walked to the back with a tray of clean dishes.
Natsu followed behind her. She set the dishes down, and instantly, his hands were on her hips and she was placed on the countertop.
“Nat-” just how she interrupted him, his lips moved.
Against her own.
Nothing like hers.
Her eyes were wide, he stared at her as his lips rubbed against hers. He leaned away, she covered her lips.
Her magic was getting out of control.
“I love you.” He said that yesterday. In her ears. To her face. Softly. Hot. “I love you.” And he kissed her again, her tears had seeped to her lips. He didn't seem to care about the saline water.
Then he pulled back again. “I told Erza earlier…because I didn't know how to ask you.”
“Ask me what?” Now that she thought about it, asking Erza about her made sense. Second to Elfman, Erza knows her best.
“Master Markarov said we could bring one person…”
Her head flooded with emotions. For once in her life since the death of Lisanna did someone want her to come along. “...and I was just nervous because you work here and everyone would hate for you to-”
Interrupting him was attractive, “yes.” She kissed him, their teeth clashed, “a million times yes.” She hugged him tightly, squeezing his ribs.
She was crying, she was hurt he'd go talk with someone else about her. She was hurt that it took him forever. She was hurt that she was crying.
She was hurt-she was in love.
Taken over by his heart. “For real?” She heard his heart rage like a train, raging and pulsing in his large chest.
He said it quietly, unbelieving. “Mirajane, this isn't funny if it's a joke.” She laughed, “I'm serious.” He didn't hug her back, and she laughed harder.
Her head nuzzled into his ribs. “I'm for real Natsu.” And then he hugged her back.
….he told her about the mission.
They're going to be wiping out dark guilds. A few, fifty-one hundred. Slave traders, drug dealers, contraband sellers. Illegal things.
And their penalty is death.
She sat in his lap as the train rolled, he was groaning in her ear. His nails scratched her stomach lightly.
Her feet swung and he hugged her closely. “Ugh,” Gajeel hurled loudly. “Lovey dovey.” She rolled her eyes and Natsu flicked him off.
“You're just jealous.” Her boyfriend mumbled through hurls…Gajeel proudly mocked him. And Mira laughed the entire ride.