Strands of Scarlet and silver

Saturday Sunshine

Erza smiles at Mira's sleeping face - her friend - just as she would any other day, pretending the feel of Mira's lips against hers isn't still fresh in her mind, that her lips don't still tingle at the mere thought, that Mira's name didn't slip past her lips when she had touched herself the night prior, in her bathroom, with hooded eyes and visions of her best friend on display in her mind's gallery, biting her lip to keep from moaning too loudly. She pretends she doesn't see Mira in a bikini whenever she looks at her. She pretends she doesn't imagine waking up to Mira's beautiful smile every morning, the sun's rays gently showering each of them. She doesn't see Mira standing in nothing but Erza's High School sweatshirt and white lace panties as she cooks omelettes for the the both of them, that same perfect smile in place - directed at her. Erza chokes on her imagination, feeling the tears that try to well up in the back of her eyes as she stands up, carefully stepping over each of her friends as she makes her way to the nearest toilet.

She doesn't see Mira following knowingly.

And neither woman sees Ultear frowning as she watches both women head towards the toilet.

Ultear opts to ignore it for the time being, walking to the kitchen to get glasses of water and pills from the nearby cupboard to deal with the hangover that will soon hit each of them.

Erza walks into the toilet after hastily opening the door, feeling her breath quicken. She leans over the sink, throwing up, feeling the alcohol and the disgust at herself forcing herself to empty what's left in her stomach. Green filling the sink, her eyes glaze over, and as she looks up at her reflection in the mirror she swears she sees someone she doesn't even recognise.

She feels gentle hands pull her hair back from her face, pulling her red locks into a hurried ponytail and then those hands rub her back and caress her sides and she hears the soothing voice of the woman who has been plaguing her thoughts non stop.

She senses more than feels herself relax under Mira's caring touch, gasping in a raspy voice, "I'm fine."

It's an obvious lie but Mira doesn't point it out but neither does she let go, in fact, Erza's almost sure Mira held her tighter.

"Let's get you something to eat."

Everything after that is but a blur. Erza's conscious enough to realise the others have awoken with pounding heads. She's conscious enough to drink and eat something with the others, laughing along as though she's paying attention. She's conscious enough to hear what the others are doing for the day and wave each of them goodbye. And she's conscious enough to realise Mira stayed behind.

"Erza..." Mira's voice is hesitant as she addresses her friend. She's not sure what to say. She knows what she wants to do and she knows that she can't. Instead she moves a little closer, placing a hand on her arm gently. "You should shower and brush your teeth. Hygiene is important."

Erza laughs, a hollow laugh that sends shivers down Mira's spine. "Always the mother, huh?" Erza smiles at her, the happiness not reaching her eyes. She stands up slowly, still in a daze, and tugs on Mira's hand, gesturing for her to follow. "We should head to the park."

Mira smiles at her as she follows. "Yeah, okay. Sunshine will be good."

"A good distraction from our student council work you mean?" And this time, as Erza laughs, there's a little bit of honesty within the sound, as though she can finally see once more. Erza turns to Mira, a soft smile on her face. "Sorry if I scared you. I just, needed time."

Mira stares at her for a second, hearing her heart throbbing in her ears, "understandable," and she means it. She means it with every fibre of her being. She's resolute in what she needs to do now. Her own wants don't matter, because Erza needs her.