Living With Each Other

Chapter 1

 As a relatively chilly autumn was on its way out, Fairy Tail received a strange mission request. Most missions centered around fighting, investigating, or maybe bodyguarding. This one didn't fit any of those descriptors.

...

In the mornings, Mirajane sorted through all of the incoming jobs and decided which the guild would accept. If they passed, she hung them up on the request board. If they did not, she contacted the person who requested it to inform them that their request was being rejected. The work sounded harder than it actually was; almost all of the jobs went up on the board.

Mira did not reject any of the missions today. She carefully pinned each slip of paper to the board, making sure all of the words were completely visible. She looked over the board once more, double checking her decisions. Specifically, one decision. There was one mission that she was not sure about. Mira thumbed the paper for a moment, thinking it through. She really hated to reject jobs, but...

She sighed, ripping the paper from the pin. She had an idea, but she needed Master Makarov's permission. He and Mira were the only ones at the guild this early. He had a small office in the back of the guild where he typically did the paperwork necessary for running a guild. Request in hand, she knocked on the simple wood door before letting herself in.

"Master?" she called.

Makarov was sitting behind a desk in the back of the office. Despite having a paper and pen in his hands, he did not seem to be working. His reading glasses, necessary for a man of his age, were folded up and resting atop a book to his right.

Makarov jumped when Mira entered, quickly pretending that—despite appearances—he had actually been working. "Ah, Mira! You caught me at a very busy time."

Mira pretended to not recognize the lie. "I'm sorry, Master! It's just that, when I was looking through the incoming job requests, I saw one that I don't think should be put on the board."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but you don't need to report to me if you reject a request—only if you're moving it up to S-class." He paused momentarily as he thought through his statement again, "Or is that what you wanted to do?"

"No, it's not that. It's not overly dangerous, or illegal, or anything, it's just... different." Mira stepped up to the desk and handed the slip of paper to Makarov, "Here."

Makarov finally slipped his reading glasses on before accepting the paper. He read it aloud, "From an old woman in the mountains... she's vacationing and wants one or two wizards to watch over her home for a year to protect it from the harsh mountain climate... there's a ridiculously high reward, too." He put the paper down, "I must agree with you, it is different, but I don't see why it can't go on the board."

"Master, I just don't think it's suitable for everyone. We need someone who is strong enough to fight the weather, but if someone that strong is out of commission for a full year I don't think our expenses can handle it."

"Nonsense!" Makarov waved his hand in the air, "Gildarts is out on long missions all the time, and that doesn't hurt us."

"Gildarts doesn't bring in any money in the first place," Mira pointed out, "Laxus' team has the highest income, and Natsu's team brings the greatest debt from their destructiveness. We just barely pull in enough income to cancel out our debts."

"That's impossible."

"With all due respect, Master, I have been doing the guild finances for years."

Makarov cringed, reminded that he had pushed off that portion of his work a long time ago, "Alright, fine, I believe you. Deny the request, then."

"That's the thing, Master. I had a different idea."