Cover Girl- Mirajane x Freed

Part 1: At The Start

She always made him think of the stars; Mirajane with her sapphire eyes and hair like light. A distant, luminous beauty that shouldn't be touched by human hands. She was undeniably lovely – seemingly fragile and unthreatening; the perfect face for Fairy Tail, considering their reputation for wanton and random destruction. But, better than anyone, Freed knew the raw power and hidden strength that lay behind the exquisite features and delicate limbs. These days he couldn't look at her without seeing the demonic darkness overtaking the angelic smile; still unbelievably beautiful, even when tainted by the touch of the demon that lurked within.

Pure contradiction – that was all she was; the only reason why she fascinated him. Which was the real Mirajane? Though, he supposed, it hardly mattered; whichever form she took – angel or demon – she was more than capable of holding her many worshippers in spellbound awe. He shifted uncomfortably on the hard bench, willing his eyes away from her and trying his utmost to ignore the tingling at the base of his spine that was sending electrifying currents to all the wrong places in his body. Freed liked order; he followed the rules. Especially his own; and his number one rule was to not get distracted from his goals. If he was to follow in Laxus' footsteps there was no room for distraction, no time to worry about the enigma presented by one small female. He wasn't Macao or Wakaba – he refused to be ruled by his baser desires - and Mirajane decidedly deserved better than another stalker added to the ranks. Though, he firmly reminded himself, his interest was not carnal. Not in the least. Her kindness, her generosity of spirit, her devotion to her guild, her friends and her family, and how these traits reconciled with the incredible power she could wield … that was behind this incessant wondering. No more.

He understood, perhaps better than anyone else in Fairy Tail ever could, the lure of the demon. There was a reason he regarded the use of his own demon magic as the height of forbidden; to be used only in the direst of circumstances. It was too easy to give in, to let the swirling currents of dark power have supremacy. The magic was one thing, using it to aid the transformation, but controlling the beast it unleashed was where the true challenge lay and access to such power did not come without a price. There wasn't a wizard alive who wouldn't have their personality at least somewhat affected by the use of demon transformation magic. Except for Mirajane. Her normal demeanor was as different from the demon takeover as day was from night. So he watched and he wondered; waiting for even the slightest sign that she too wasn't immune -that he wasn't even weaker than he'd thought he was in the aftermath of their battle. But all he saw was the lingering sadness – even after Lisanna's return - and the guilt that, for all her power, she hadn't been able to save her sister. Distantly, he sometimes wondered if his imagination wasn't running away with him. There was no real way to know what went on beneath the serene surface, after all, but some sixth sense, a gut feeling, told him that he wasn't wrong.