As much as I wanted to BUT, I do not own these characters, nor do I own FAIRYTAIL. :P

I did this as requested by a friend and this is my first attempt to write a fanfic! R&R please! TIA

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Rivals?

Chapter 1

It had been years since she had known this certain someone. The very day this person set foot into the guild, she had instantaneously sensed spirit. Sorrow, determination, loneliness, maybe anger. Yes, a clash of emotions, however, the spirit stayed firm. Interesting, someone who is fit to be a rival.

My rival… right. The silver haired barmaid thought sarcastically to herself

"Mira-"

Mira snapped out of her dazed state at the sound of her name being called and flashed the sweetest smile she could muster. She carefully set the plate down and sat across the mage in armor.

"Best tasting strawberry cake as expected. Thanks." Erza said beaming at barmaid.

"Biased." Mira smiled "of course you'll say so. It's strawberry"

"Ever so modest." The redhead said with a chuckle busying herself with Mira's cake.

Mira smiled inwardly looking away.

Flustered with such simple words? She thought.

Recovering from the sudden rush, Mira leaned forward again not taking her gaze away from her comrade and ever worthy rival.

Worthy. Of course. Erza. An S-class mage. One of the guild's strongest. The youngest to achieve such rank. And was even considered as a rightful candidate to being the next guild successor. Mira made a mental list.

…And she's busy eating the cake I made. Me? Her brow furrowed not wanting to continue on with her list. A small smile danced in her lips.

The two sat in utter silence in that little space as if they own it. Not bothered by the usual commotion of the guild. This had been one of those rare instances where they sat within a close proximity, in fact too close, the only prominent thing that defines the space between them is the bar table.

Brawls often took place in the past. There hasn't been any peaceful encounter whenever the two of them crossed paths. They were very much like Grey and Natsu back then, only a little bit more destructive. And "a little bit" was an understatement. They're competitive levels were so intense, like clashing of fierce foes they couldn't even stand being in a single room together. Why they annoy each other so much, Mira couldn't figure. Whatever the reason was, she grew out of it and she was pretty sure that Erza did so too. It was nothing more than a banter of abilities by immature kids. What they had now was camaraderie in recognition to each other. Mira smiled at the memory of them trying to rip each other's throats. But what she questions more was what she actually had for her. Curiosity itched to take the stage but somehow she successfully beat it back to the corner of her mind. Or not?

Gaps

"I wonder." Mira said loftily "how much further did our differences stretched?" She thought aloud.

Erza stared taken aback. Mira gasped. Unfortunately, what she said was audible enough to baffle her companion.

"Eheheh. I-I mean, you've changed a lot. " She fired instantly. "You've become stronger, gained friends. You're even on a team. And J- I'm just so happy." Mira's words trailed off. Jeez!

"Hey Erza!" Natsu called loudly from across the guild house. "Aren't you gonna watch the next match with us?"

SAVIOR! Mira breathed in relief being spared from the awkward situation she created. I will cook something for him later!

Erza finally stood up and to Mira's surprise, the scarlet-haired mage reached across to pat her shoulder smiling.

"I'm not the only one. You changed a whole lot too. I can tell." Then she turned to leave. "Coming granny?" Erza teased not looking back.

Mira's brow twitched keeping the smile intact. Now is not a very good time to snap. Alright she could still be annoying if she wanted too. She shook her head "Take that smirk off stick swinger or I'll crank you like a tin can." A huge grin played on her lips. Coming back to the old times from time to time wasn't so bad. She watched the armored mage take her leave certain that the other girl was grinning too.

Fumbling with the abandoned fork, she sat smling then eventually cleared the table as thoughts continued zooming across her mind.

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a/n: fixed the typos and other stuff i missed out. key in comments if you spot anything weird heheh. :3 and don't forget to r&r ;)