Phoenix

Sting

"Laxus, can I come in?" Emi quietly asked as she stood at the door to his room.

She heard footsteps and the door slowly opened. He poked his head out and looked at her standing there holding her blanket and pillow. He opened the door wider and waved her in. She padded over to the bed and slowly curled into the empty space. Laxus noticed her change in demeanor and looked at her worried.

"You okay?"

She stayed silent for a minute before she lifted her head and sadly nodded. Laxus raised his eyebrow but didn't push, cautiously walking back towards the bed.

"Am I always gonna be like this?" Emi suddenly cried. "Am I always gonna be that girl with no memories?

Laxus sat on the bed and turned towards her, soothing, "You'll get them back. You just have to give it time."

"It's been over two years and I still can't remember anything!"

She let out a frustrated scream as she yelled into the pillow. Laxus rested his hand on her head and rubbed in circles. She seemed to calm down slightly, but she was still angry. Laxus stood up suddenly and walked over to the floor where his shirt was and put it back on.

"Let's go. Get your cloak."

Emi raised her head and looked at him in confusion, reminding him that she was still in her sleep clothes.

"Okay, then get changed and meet me downstairs."

WIth that, Laxus exited the room and went downstairs. Emi stared at the door momentarily before she slowly walked back to her room and changed, grabbing her cloak and stepping down the stairs.

"Where are we going? It's late."

"We would need to leave tonight to get there in time."

"Where?"

Laxus guided her through the forest, just barely making the last call for the final train of the night. They sat in the back, as usual. Emi couldn't help but giggle when Laxus started to groan. She scooted so she was next to him and pulled his head to her shoulder and stroked his hair.

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"You still won't tell me what we're doing," Emi mumbled.

They had just arrived at their destination very late at night. She looked around, but she was having a hard time recognizing anything since it was so dark out.

"It's Magnolia," Laxus laughed as he noticed her confusion.

"Why are we here?"

"Well, you see," Laxus started, "there's something called the Fantasia Parade that happens every--"

"No way! We're actually gonna see the parade? That's so cool!"

Laxus smiled fondly as he saw her happy demeanor return.

"When does it start? Where does it go? How long does it last? Where--"

"Easy, Em. It's not until tomorrow afternoon. I just figured we'd get here so that we could get a jump on the crowds."

They checked into an inn for the night and fell asleep once Emi stopped rambling excitedly. The next day came and Emi was jumping on the bed so Laxus would wake up. He grumbled and groaned when Emi jumped on his back.

"Hey, quit it. I'm up."

"The parade is today! We have to leave."

Laxus stretched as he sat up and tossed Emi's cloak at her before fastening his own.