I'm sorry, this ended up taking way longer than I planned. I got about halfway through the chapter and my brain just hit a wall. I lost all motivation all of a sudden, but luckily, Laxus being a badass helped bring it back a bit. So, this is the last chapter, just for the Laxus x Mira fans out there. :D I might do an epilogue if I find the inspiration for one, or a little side story/one shot to expand on the end, but as of now I'm calling this story complete.

I want to thank all of my reviewers again, you're kind words and support really kept me going. Even if I didn't respond to everyone, just know that you all mean a lot to me.

Disclaimer: I still don't own Fairy Tail, the belong to the amazing Mashima-sensei.

Tucked away at a table in the corner of the guild, two women sat in shadows, drumming their fingers and sighing in annoyance. Their final plan was falling apart. It was as simple as that.

Two months had gone by. Two months since the group had returned from the mission Mira had set up. Two months since they had successfully gotten 'revenge' on Gray and, indirectly, Erza. Two months since they had handed over their special enchanted perfume to the white haired barmaid. And lastly, two months since Laxus had been in the guild at the same time as them.

Levy and Lucy were not going to give up until they got those two caught in their trap, especially after learning about the lightning mage's involvement in Mira's plan. The only problem was the S-class mages seemed to suspect they were up to something, and went out of their way to avoid them as much as possible.

Shortly after Gray's 'punishment,' Laxus went out on a long mission. They had waited patiently for him to return, but at some point Levy had to do a mission with her own team, and without her, they couldn't lay their trap. So only two weeks after he had left, Laxus returned, right in the middle of Levy's own mission. By the time she got back, he was walking out of the guild, right passed her, waving back with another mission flyer in hand.

Two weeks later, Mira left for a very rare mission with her siblings; that alone told the two girls that she was suspicious of them. During that time, Laxus only came back long enough for a drink with his team before heading out again, this time perfectly coordinated with Mira's own return. The pattern only continued for the next month, neither mage staying in the same place for long.

Something was definitely going on, they knew that much. Lucy had made it perfectly clear to Gray that Mira was not to know the circumstances surrounding the start of his relationship with Juvia, yet it seemed somehow the demon mage had put it together and knew that they had had a hand in it. How she knew that their other target was Laxus was beyond them, but she definitely knew.

"I think we might need to enlist help," Levy finally admitted after glaring at Mira scurrying around the bar for the last hour.

"I think you're right… But who?" Lucy agreed; sighing as her head sunk to the table, feeling completely defeated.

"Lisanna and the Raijinshuu," the bluenette answered with a nod, turning her now determined eyes on the group in question that just happened to be sitting together a few tables away.

"I'm sure Bixlow and Evergreen would be willing to help, considering they're the ones who started the rumor about Laxus liking Mira, but I can't see Freed or Lisanna working against either of those two."

"Oh, don't worry; Lisanna is just as much a sucker for romance as her sister- she'll help. As for Freed… we'll just have to find a way to convince him."

"Come on Mira-nee! Just join us for one drink!" Lisanna begged her sister, tugging on her hand as she tried to pull her to the table she was sharing with the Raijinshuu. Laxus had just returned from yet another mission, and had been literally tackled by his self proclaimed body guards and forced to join them for a few rounds. Lisanna and Elfman were already hanging out with them, so, of course, the only one missing from the group was the eldest Strauss sibling, and the youngest wasn't about to let that go.

"I have to work, Lisanna," Mira tried to argue while balancing a full tray of drinks that she had been taking over to Cana's group.

"No one will mind if you unwind for just a little bit," the younger girl whined, pouting at her sister in the hopes it would soften her resolve.

The barmaid quickly glanced at the table her sister was trying to lead her to, turning away as soon as she caught Laxus' cautious stare.

"Maybe later," she waved off before pulling away to serve her drinks. Unfortunately, Lisanna only followed, obviously not willing to give up on the matter.

"Cana!" Lisanna suddenly called as they approached the card mage's table. "Don't you think Mira-nee needs to take a break and have a drink with us?"

"Huh?" Cana questioned drunkenly, taking a break from her keg to grab the tray loaded with mugs and bottles from the other woman. Lisanna only sighed in annoyance before gesturing with her head towards her sister and then the table her group was seated at. The brunette seemed to realize what the girl was getting at as she immediately sobered up long enough to smile knowingly at Mira. "Oh yeah! Mira you definitely need to get off yer feet for a bit! I think I'm good for a few minutes, and if I need anything I'm sure Kinana could grab me something."

"You're not the only one drinking, Cana," Mira pointed out sweetly, though the girls could discern an icy tone to her words as she continued to try and get out of the situation.

"Hmmmm…" Cana hummed in thought, narrowing her eyes as she looked around the guild. When she broke out into a grin, Mira knew the woman had an idea that she wasn't going to like.

"OI! Ya lazy drunkards!" The brunette hollered out, ignoring the grumbled comments about her being the laziest drunk there. "Mira's gonna go on break now! So let 'er have a drink with 'er family in peace! Got it!"

The guild merely cheered in agreement, everyone raising their mugs in understanding. Everyone except for Laxus, who seemed to be looking for an escape route, but couldn't get away as Freed and Evergreen literally draped themselves over him, while Bixlow stood behind him, laughing hysterically with his arms crossed. One glance at the elder Strauss sibling, and he could see she felt the same thing. They were officially trapped.

One was never to underestimate the power of Mira's ability at gathering information. The moment she saw Gray walking hand and hand into the guild with Juvia, a day after watching Gajeel literally scare the man into running over to her place, she knew who was responsible. Mira was also quite wary about the perfume she had received from Lucy, supposedly a gift of thanks for helping her and Natsu finally get together. She had learned that Erza and Juvia had also received a bottle. If it had only been Erza, she wouldn't have thought anything of it, but after hearing of Juvia's present that was followed up almost immediately with an official relationship with Gray; she quickly began to doubt the innocence of the concoction, and refused to wear it. She was also just as aware of the rumors started by the Raijinshuu as everyone else, so she of course deduced that they would target Laxus along with her, something which became all the more certain after Levy had learned of what happened to her teammates.

Laxus wasn't about to question the guild's queen of gossip and information, so when she told him to keep away from her for as long as possible, he listened. On a personal level, he didn't entirely mind the fact that the two new couples were aiming to possibly set him up with Mira, but he knew that whatever they did probably wasn't going to be very enjoyable. He'd much rather win over the cover girl on his own, anyway, and there was a good possibility that any pressure on her could end up hurting his chances in the end. The lightning mage wasn't about to let a silly revenge plot screw up months of building trust and friendship with the woman, and take away his chances at getting even one date out of her.

Once Lisanna had successfully gotten Mira to the table, she proceeded to pull the older woman into the seat next to Laxus, Evergreen having suddenly abandoned it to sit with Elfman on the other side. The younger Strauss then quickly took the seat on the other side of her to make sure she didn't make a run for it. As Evergreen pushed a mug at the other woman, Bixlow moved to wrap his arms around the two S-class mages' necks, laughing as he squeezed the two together with his hug.

"This is going to be fun!" The seith wizard proclaimed, his dolls repeating his announcement as they flew around them.

Mira immediately tensed before turning to once again lock eyes with the blonde man next to her. Laxus didn't look any better, but he seemed more capable of hiding his unease with the situation behind an annoyed scowl. She was somewhat surprised, though, when he merely lifted his mug in cheers to her before turning back to converse with the others. The gesture worked well to calm her, lessening the pressure of being so close to him with the knowledge that Levy and Lucy were aiming for them. With his attention off of her, she decided to relax a little bit and enjoy her time with her family, but the demon mage wasn't about to let her guard down completely; she made sure to keep a very close eye on a certain pair of couples sitting a few tables away.

"It's working!" Lucy whispered to her best friend, barely able to contain her excitement as they watched Lisanna and the Raijinshuu corral the two S-class mages into the designated area. "I can't believe that this is finally it!"

Levy nodded excitedly beside her, practically bouncing in place as she saw her well laid trap get sprung after two long months of waiting. As she had thought, the youngest Strauss sibling and Laxus' teammates were quite willing to help them in their plan. Freed didn't even take nearly as much convincing as they thought he would, apparently his high regard for Mira made him more than happy to set her up with his beloved leader.

The girls didn't even care if their intentions were as plain as day at this point, they knew Mira and Laxus had figured them out months ago, so it would only be a waste of time, and an insult to the two older mages, to play innocent in the whole matter. As such, they stared quite openly at the table hosting the would be couple, even as Mira turned to look at them, the supposed innocence of her gaze not enough to hide the deadly promise in her eyes. The silent threat certainly sent shivers down their spines, though they maintained their excited grins the whole time.

"I'm starting to wonder if you two have a death wish, or something?" Gajeel grumbled from next to Levy, sitting with his back turned to the scene with the hope that if he didn't see Mira's rage, he might endure its effects on his psyche. Unfortunately he could still feel her glare penetrate his very soul, so he had no idea how the girls were managing to hold up while so openly watching.

"It'll be fine, Gajeel…" Levy reassured him calmly, before trailing off into a mumbled 'hopefully' he just barely caught.

The iron dragon snorted in amusement at her forced confidence, he was pretty much prepared to make a run for it, with her tossed over his shoulder, of course, should things get out of hand- which was sure to happen knowing this guild. He had to admit, though, that he was surprised they even managed to pull this off, he figured they would have given up once they saw Mira knew what they were up to.

"Let them have their fun, Gajeel," Natsu mumbled from beside him, "we'll get out of here as soon as they see this thing through."

"Should probably go on an extended vacation for a while," he answered back with another snort of amusement, "lay low until those two calm down."

"Well, that resort owner did say we were welcome to come back and stay for free, if we wanted."

"Gi hee, it'd be nice to actually go and enjoy myself the entire time."

"Yeah, now maybe you won't be so wound up and ready to strike," Natsu reasoned before narrowing his eyes as a thought came to him.

Without warning he threw a quick punch at Gajeel's face, knocking him out of his chair, and crashing into a table next to them.

"What the hell was that for, Salamandar?" The iron dragon slayer hollered, rubbing the side of his face where the flaming fist made contact.

Natsu cackled in amusement for a bit before answering, "that's for punching me in the theater!"

Gajeel jaw dropped to the floor in astonishment, he remembered punching him then, along with twice while in the caves, but he wasn't exactly expecting Natsu to have forgotten, let alone seek vengeance two months later.

"Seriously, after two months you decide to punch me back?" He growled while getting up from the floor, prepared to start a good brawl with his rival dragon.

"Well, up until then we were pretty even, figured I owed you one!"

"Gi hee, well, I still got a lead on ya, and I don't plan to give that up."

"Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me," Natsu said with another laugh before launching himself at Gajeel again, somehow managing to land another hit before he could react. "One more and we're even!"

"Oh ho… like hell I'll let ya get me again," Gajeel growled, cracking his knuckles before finally launching himself at the other mage and making it an all out brawl. They quickly forgot what they had been doing in exchange for enjoying another good fight to determine who was at the top, of course it rapidly went out of control once Gray jumped in, followed only moments later by Elfman after he escaped from their table.

The girls, despite the chaos erupting around them, continued to watch the group across the guild act as if nothing were out of the ordinary, attempting to relax the two targets enough that they let their guard down. In reality, now that both Laxus and Mira were at the table, it didn't matter if the others did anything else, the trap was already sprung, and soon enough they would realize it. Eventually their cohorts would scatter away, something Elfman had already begun as he jumped into the 'manly' brawl, leaving the last two mages alone, and that's when it'd finally happen. Months of waiting and planning were finally coming to a close, and they could finally go about life as they normally would.

Mira sat with her sister, pleasantly chatting with Evergreen, while trying to ignore the fact that Levy had finally won, she knew it was only a matter of time before she and Laxus had no other choice but to fall to whatever scheme the script mage had come up with. Elfman had suddenly jumped into the fray that had broken out on the other side of the guild, and not long after Bixlow and Freed let themselves follow, joining the ever growing fight. Laxus was left behind with the girls, as he rarely gave into the chaos of pointless fighting.

For the most part everything seemed normal, at least to anyone who didn't know what was going on. Even as Evergreen suddenly left the table to berate Elfman for his constant shouts of manliness, Mira would have sworn nothing was out of the ordinary, though she, of course, knew better.

Laxus was focusing all his attention on his beer, ignoring the conversation between the sisters beside him; at least he was until he reached the bottom of his mug, which somehow drew Lisanna's attention.

"Oh, Laxus! Let me go get you another drink!" Lisanna suddenly called out, not even bothering to hide her true intentions as she bolted away before anyone could protest, indiscriminately pocketing a small purple bottle as she ran off.

With that, Laxus and Mira were finally alone, and trapped. In the middle of a crowded guild, it was like they were their own island, a pocket of empty space surrounding them as everyone sat back and watched what would happen next.

"What in the world could they have planned?" Mira whispered to the man next to her with a sigh of annoyed defeat.

Laxus shrugged before pulling himself up from the table, "I don't know, and I don't care to find out. I'm getting out of here before they can do anything."

As the lightning mage began to walk away, he found himself stopped dead in his tracks after only a few steps, an invisible wall blocking his path. Releasing a growl of annoyance, he turned to look back at the barmaid sitting at the table behind him, obviously aware of what was happening. He was surprised by how much he disliked the look of defeat on her face; obviously she wasn't too happy with what they may have to do to escape their confinement.

"Damnit," he growled again, turning to search out his most loyal teammate so he could convince him to break Levy's runes so he wouldn't have to deal with an unhappy Mira. "Where the hell is Freed?"

"I saw him sneaking out of the guild as soon as Lisanna left the table," the eldest Strauss informed him, the frown marring her face matching the sad tone she spoke with. "I'm guessing he knew you'd try to get him to free us, and since he can't say no to you, he left so he wouldn't have to."

At this point everyone had stopped what they were doing to see what would happen, even Natsu and Gajeel brought their fight to a halt, mid-swing, to watch. As soon as Laxus gave an aggravated kick to the rune wall, the requirements for their escape flashed to life amongst the runes, eliciting loud cheers and hollers from the audience. Just as Natsu and Lucy had to do in the gardens, Mira and Laxus would have to kiss to release the barrier.

"Shit, real original," the blonde man groaned, turning to Mira to see her staring wide eyed at the instructions. "Let's just get this over with, Mira."

Mira was startled out of her staring by Laxus leaning down in front of her and grabbing her chin. Her eyes only got wider as he quickly covered her lips with his own, kissing her chastely before pulling away. As he stood there staring down at her stoically, she could only gape at him, blinking owlishly as she became aware of her surroundings again, the boisterous cheers making her realize that they were still in the middle of the guild.

"Way ta go, Laxus!"

"Mira's actually speechless!"

"Get a room you two!"

The shouts and catcalls got Mira to her feet, the shock giving way to embarrassment and anger. With a quick glare sent at Levy's group, she turned on her heel and stalked off to the storage room, glad that the short kiss was enough to take down the runes. She hid her face from the rest of guild as she made her escape, only Laxus and those responsible catching sight of her pink cheeks and slightly teary eyes.

"I'll deal with you guys later," Laxus growled at the now wide eyed group of mages behind their entrapment, before quickly following after the barmaid.

"So… who's up for that resort trip?" Levy suddenly called out, turning to a rapidly nodding Lucy next to her.

"Yeah, I think that's a great idea!" The blonde girl agreed, just as enthusiastically.

With a spared glance at each other, Gajeel and Natsu didn't waste any time in picking up their respective girlfriends and running out of the guild as fast as they could. As the guild doors closed behind them, everyone erupted in laughter before returning to their normal activities, drinking away the night as if nothing had happened.

In the storage room, Mira curled up on top of a crate, leaning against the wall as she tried to bring some order back to her mind.

She knew it was bound to happen eventually, she even saw this coming a mile away, yet she was still shocked and mortified that someone had successfully gotten her at her own game. The worst part was the fact they had made it so public; if they had kept it private, she would have still been angry, but at least she wouldn't be feeling this overwhelming embarrassment.

"Come on, Mira, it's not like you to sulk like this," a deep voice echoed through the room, drawing the woman's attention to a scowling Laxus standing just inside the door.

"Leave me alone, Laxus."

With a drawn out sigh, the tall man closed the door behind him and made his way across the room to the girl. Ignoring Mira's glare, he sat himself beside her and put a reassuring hand atop her head, the gesture having the desired effect of melting away her anger in an instant.

"Was it really so bad?" He mumbled, looking away as she curled back in on herself, though he kept his hand on her head.

"Yes…" she answered with a pout, "they didn't have to do that in the middle of the guild."

"So you wouldn't have minded so much if we were alone like this?"

"Well, I still would have been mad…" she trailed off as she spoke, not feeling entirely comfortable with where the conversation seemed to be heading.

"But?"

"…"

When she didn't answer, Laxus could only sigh and remove his hand, turning back to look at her again, moving her body around so she would look at him.

"You already know I'm interested in you," he said firmly once he caught her eyes. It was a statement of fact, and she nodded to reaffirm it, just as he knew she would. "So… tell me again; if we had been alone, how would you have felt then."

"I don't know…" Mira answered honestly, keeping eye contact even as she frowned at him. "I mean, you're Laxus; you've always been the biggest jerk I've known…"

"But…" He prodded as she once again trailed off, sensing that there was more she had to say.

"But… you've changed. You're still as arrogant as ever, but you've mellowed out, you've learned to appreciate the others in the guild. You've done a lot to show everyone that you care about this guild, and who's in it."

As Mira spoke she allowed her body to unfold itself so she sat facing him, her form more relaxed. Laxus didn't miss the fact that she was becoming more comfortable with him, and leaned closer to her as she continued to talk, sorting out her own thoughts and feelings aloud.

"I mean, I never really gave my feelings for you or anybody any thought. You've really helped me out a lot lately, and you've been a lot of fun to hang around with at the guild, along with our teammates, of course."

"Of course," he idly agreed, drawing Mira's attention to how close the blonde man had gotten to her as she spoke, his face just close enough that their noses brushed.

"I… I guess…" she began to stutter, but didn't get much farther as he sealed her lips with another kiss.

This time he didn't pull away, this time he continued to kiss her until she melted into his embrace and returned the gesture, something that didn't take nearly as long as she thought it would. As soon as she began kissing back, Laxus let out a low groan and leaned in more, laying her back against the crate as he coaxed her mouth open to deepen the kiss.

Only a few minutes later, Laxus pulled away, but didn't go too far as he leaned in to whisper in her ear, planting a few kisses behind the appendage as he spoke.

"Your sister sprayed something on you earlier… you smell amazing, Mira."

"What? When?" Mira gasped out before releasing a moan as the large man continue his assault on her neck, letting his answer out between nibbles.

"When she got up… to get me another beer."

Mira went slack jawed as she realized what had happened. During Lisanna's spontaneous offer earlier, she vaguely remembered feeling something tickle her neck, but brushed it off as a rush of air as the younger woman jumped up from her seat. She had no doubt that her sister had gotten her hands on that perfume she was so suspicious of, and now she fully understood why she didn't trust that concoction.

Unfortunately, she didn't seem to have any way to fight off what was happening to them, instead letting Laxus return his mouth to hers, and letting herself give in to his embrace. As both of their hands started to wander, clothes tugged off, Mira made sure to make a mental note to interrogate Levy on what the perfume did exactly, and if she couldn't find Levy, she knew that at least Juvia and Erza knew. Until then, though, she just gave in to the sensations and enjoyed this unexpected tryst with the overwhelmingly powerful Laxus Dreyar.

Outside the storage room, five mages sat and listened to the couple inside as they talked, silently praying that things would work out so they wouldn't have to fear for their lives. When they heard the first moan, the Raijinshuu and Strauss siblings gave a round of high fives to each other before quickly escaping before things got more heated.

"I'm so glad for Laxus," Freed quietly said, wiping a tear of joy from his eye as he celebrated the formation of what should be the guild's most powerful couple.

"I know, right," Bixlow agreed before turning to grin devilishly at his other teammate and Elfman walking behind him. "I'm sure Ever and Elfman would have loved to be in that position."

"Shut up, Bixlow!" The pair in question hollered in unison, gaining laughter from the seith magician, as well as the youngest take-over mage walking with them.

"We might want to be prepared for when they come out, still," Lisanna remarked, knowing full well that her sister was probably still going to be on a war path after everything. "How about we all go on a nice long mission?

With one last glance back at the closed door leading to the storage room, and their respective team leaders, the mages let out a collective shout of agreement before rushing for the job board. If all went well, the two frightening S-class mages might be calmed down enough in a week or two, thus making it slightly safer for them to approach again.

All in all, Mira's plan was more of a success than she originally expected. Instead of only two couples coming out of it; four new Fairy Tail couples came to be- five if you include Erza after she came back from a rendezvous with Crime Sorciere, the bright smile on her face telling all that her perfume seemed to work quite well, too.

Levy and Lucy were put to work as Mira's personal slaves for a day after returning from their impromptu vacation; they figured they got off easy since Erza had kindly explained how the perfume worked. Lisanna and Evergreen also ended up becoming her slaves for a day once they got back. The men in both groups, dealt with the same treatment at the hands of Laxus, only Freed didn't seem to mind the punishment. The result with the boys, though, was a lot of fighting, with a lot of property damage, which meant more work for Mira's own slaves.

Eventually everything settled back down to normal, or at least as normal as Fairy Tail could be, well, that is until Master Makarov learned that his grandson had begun dating the guild's cover girl.

Again, thank you all!