Cover Girl- Mirajane x Freed

Part 4: Rest

She moved surprisingly quickly through the darkness; a paler shadow announced only by the glow of her hair and the sound of her heels on the cobblestones of the streets. Freed followed silently in Mirajane's wake, debating if he should point out that she would fall if she wasn't careful, but deciding to stay silent when he caught sight of the determination shining from her features, as she looked down a side-street they passed.

"Please hurry," she called over her shoulder as she lengthened her stride to nearly a run.

Silently he complied, speeding up until they were nearly jogging through the quiet streets. People had already retreated into their homes for the night; dinner long over, as they settled to pre-bedtime activities, and they met no one in their rush to the outskirts of the town. Suddenly the road ahead stretched into the dark trees, only a few meters of it visible in the night, trees lining it in clumps of darker shadow. Mirajane stopped, gasped a few quick breaths, and once her breathing slowed down, she pointed into the trees.

"If we follow along this road we should be able to see signs of Elfman if he passed this way," she gulped, "he likes to cut through the trees whenever he leaves Magnolia, though he's usually careful to not venture too deeply into the forest."

"Mirajane," how he hated the hesitance in his voice, "what makes you think that Elfman wasn't just caught up in a job that took a bit longer than anyone projected?"

She whirled around, quickly suppressed fire blazing from her eyes, "I - I don't know. I can't explain it. I just have a really bad feeling about this. Please, you have to believe me, but even if you won't I'm going on ahead and you can't stop me." Defiantly she raised her chin, challenging gaze meeting his own firmly.

Freed shook his head slowly, "I believe you. I promised to help you search for your brother and I will not go back on my word. Only, it might be easier in daylight. We could fly low over the trees and see if there's any sign of a disturbance."

"I can't wait until then, Freed! I'll go mad if I have to wait another second!" she started off down the dark road, without waiting for either a reply or for him to follow and, with no other choice left, Freed sighed as he cautiously began to make his way through the darkness.

It was a long night. Cold and stiffness set in, and Freed could clearly see the way fatigue was beginning to slow Mirajane's steps, as they carefully picked their way through the trees. First one side of the dirt road then the other, always careful to never let their only link to civilization out of their sight; theirs would be a useless rescue endeavor if they only managed to get themselves lost too. The first pale fingers of dawn spread across the sky before she would concede to a small break, and they drank some water as they rested underneath a big, gnarled, old tree, both too tired to be hungry.

She sat next to him, legs carefully crossed in that curious double-jointed way of women that he'd never quite managed to master, leaning her head back against the tree.

"Maybe I'm being silly," doubt crept into her tired voice and a long sigh puffed past her lips, "we've searched all night without any sign of anything being amiss." Slender fingers threaded absentmindedly through the dewy grass beneath them and before he could properly analyze the action Freed reached out and captured her hand, stilling her cold fingers by wrapping his own around them.

"Even if nothing has happened to Elfman, no one can blame you for caring enough to worry," he stated softly, "we'll rest a short while and then continue the search until you are satisfied."

With a quiet huff of assent Mirajane pulled her hand out from beneath his and turned slightly. Tension ran rampant through his body as she, quite naturally, as if she did this all the time, rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Maybe just a quick rest," she murmured tiredly, her breath brushing softly against the skin of his neck.

Mirajane had already fallen asleep; the soft sound of her breathing the only noise in their silent clearing, before Freed relaxed enough to carefully lean back against the tree so she could rest comfortably.