It didn't take very long for Natsu to finish stuffing his face, but he did have to make multiple trips back to the buffet table in order to get his fill. Once he was finally done, the dragonslayer leaned back against the cushions and nursed his swollen belly, with a dazed, content look on his face.

"Ughhh... Stick a fork in me, I'm... stuffed..." Natsu groaned.

Mirajane's melodic giggle filled the immediate area, and she covered her mouth with her hand as the mirth escaped her. "I'm pretty sure the expression is done, not stuffed."

"Huh... expression, what?" Natsu's eyes rolled up to the sky, he felt so full that he could barely move.

"You're supposed to say; 'Stick a fork in me, I'm done.' It's a pun about cooking meat." Mirajane kept her eyes on Natsu with a fond smile at his goofiness. "You know, like a well-done steak."

"Ughhh... don't say steak..." Natsu looked down at his stomach and continued with his melodramatic act.

"You big doof." Mira finished the last bite of her cookie and gave him a smirk. In contrast to the way Natsu practically collapsed on the cushions from his fullness, Mira sat upright, maintaining a proper posture. She kept her knees together and tucked her legs beneath herself, crossing one ankle over the other. Her poise never seemed to falter.

Natsu couldn't muster the energy to argue over whether or not he was indeed a 'doof.' Instead, he just briefly glared at her with narrowed eyes, before going back to his pitiful wallowing.

The party continued to wind down as the night went on, but there were still quite a few people who remained to enjoy the pleasant venue. The band continued to play, and a few of the younger party guests enjoyed their act on the improvised dance-floor in the middle of the garden. The music was slow and relaxed, played on acoustic guitars and drums. Many of the band members sang at the same time, harmonizing expertly.

After a few minutes passed, Natsu gradually started to return to his old self, the effects of the feast were unable to keep him down for very long. "Why don't you take the stage, Mira? You can sing better than all those guys!"

"Thank you, Natsu. That's sweet of you to say, but I think they're great! Plus, I think I've had enough attention for one night." Mirajane had sat up a little bit by that point, crossing one bent leg over the other out in front of herself. She clasped her hands together and held onto one of her knees as she swayed from side to side along to the music. Her head bobbed a little bit and she wore a happy smile. "That lead singer is pretty cute..."

Natsu continued to perk up a little bit at a time, sitting up enough to lean back on his palms. He stretched his legs out in front of him as he glanced around the party. For whatever reason, his protective instincts kicked in after hearing Mira's last statement. He didn't understand why, but he just did not like hearing that she might be attracted to some unknown guy outside the guild. "I guess they're alright... the songs are pretty boring though."

"They aren't boring, they're just well suited for being heard in the background." Mira corrected him, raising her index finger to help explain her point. "They're creating atmosphere. It's different from just putting on a concert."

"Well I don't get it! What's point of music if you can't even dance to it!?" Natsu added, tilting his head so that he could give her an expectant look.

"You can dance to this!" Mira countered, offering an amused (and slightly bemused) smile.

"No you can't! Not the good kind of dancing!" Natsu's voice rose a little bit, holding his typical stubborn agitation.

"Yes you can, Natsu." Mirajane reached over to poke his knee, signaling her own refusal to back down on the issue. "Lucy showed you how to dance a few weeks ago, didn't she?"

"Well... yea but..." Natsu looked hesitant. "That was all slow and formal and... awkward..."

"Tell you what, Natsu..." Mirajane pushed herself up and rose to her feet, before holding her hand out to offer to help Natsu up. "Come dance with me. If you can be patient with the slowness, we can dance in a way that isn't formal or awkward. Deal?"

Natsu looked up at her with surprise, his eyes widening when he met her fond gaze. He started reaching out towards her, then hesitated, stopping his hand short before it could reach hers. "I dunno Mira, it seems kinda weird..."

Mirajane furrowed her brows and gave him a displeased look, placing both hands on her hips. "Weird? What's weird about it?"

"I dunno..." he pushed himself up on his own and glanced around the party again, doing anything to avoid making direct eye contact with her. His shoulders slumped submissively, and the volume of his voice dropped to match his discomfort regarding the issue. "Isn't that the kind of thing couples do?"

"You and Lucy aren't a couple, are you?" Mira reached out to tap the underside of Natsu's chin with her finger, turning his face to look at her.

"No, she's my teammate and my friend!" He folded his arms, returning to his stubborn, more confident self. The issue seemed so black and white to him, he didn't understand why everyone always seemed to think that they couldn't just be great friends.

"Well, you two danced together, didn't you? It's just a dance, Natsu, it doesn't have to mean anything else." This time it was Mirajane's turn to look away, pouting slightly and looking genuinely disheartened by his refusal. "I've really enjoyed spending time with you on this mission, dummy. Didn't think it was that much to ask."

Natsu couldn't handle sad Mira. He'd seen Gray and others make her cry before by hurting her feelings, and felt grateful that he had never been responsible for it before. He certainly didn't want to make her sad on their night of celebration.

After sighing in defeat, Natsu reached out his hand and offered her the most genuine smile he could muster, his voice taking on his rarely heard sincere tone. "Alright, Mira. Show me."

Mirajane immediately looked back at him with a grin, taking his hand without hesitation. Her sudden change of demeanor indicated that she might have just been playing him to get her way. "Good boy."

After letting Mira lead him out to the dance floor area in front of the band, Natsu immediately took up the same position that he had been taught for ballroom dancing. He held onto Mira's right hand with his left while they faced each other, lifting both hands fairly high up into the air. His right hand carefully rested on her side, in the safe zone just above her waist. Mira reached across with her left hand to gently grasp Natsu's shoulder, resting her arm on top of his. She gave him a bright, supportive smile once they were in place.

When the two began to actually dance, they moved with very careful, wooden steps, Natsu keeping a flat expression as he led them around in the same way as he had been originally taught. Mira's attempts to make things less formal just involved her smiling and moving with more enthusiasm, rocking her hips a little bit to the beat and moving with a little more energy.

Natsu didn't seem convinced that this was any more enjoyable than his first experience with partnered dancing, and after a few minutes he turned to look at the band with a helpless look of despair. His voice cut through the air in the middle of one of the quiet songs, "Come on, man! Gimme somethin' lively!"

Everyone at the party suddenly stopped and looked at Natsu after his loud outburst, including the band. The music cut out, and Mira squeezed Natsu's shoulder hard to chastise him, digging her nails into his exposed skin. "Natsu..."

The lead singer must have been feeling pretty grateful to the heroic pair too, because he then smiled and turned to the rest of his band. The group muttered amongst themselves for a moment before the lead turned around and nodded at Natsu in acknowledgement. "You've got it, bud!" His voice was smooth and relaxed, using a typical 'cool guy' tone every time he spoke. "I think we've got just the thing..."

After the band leader looked back at his buddies one more time, he counted them into the next song. The sudden change was incredible. The next song they played had lively percussion, fast tempo, and an exciting riff. Even the flute player in the group had his chance to shine, and all of the singing members broke out into very fun, enjoyable harmonies as they sang. The song was about as awesome as anything you could possibly imagine being played in Fiore.

[A/N: The music has a very 'ska' feel to it, and you can imagine the third and sixth Fairy Tail opening songs as points of reference. I always liked those because they felt like music that could actually exist in their world, and the kind of thing I can imagine the characters dancing to.]

Natsu cheered and let go of Mirajane's hand so that he could raise his fist high in the air. "NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT!" He immediately let go of her and took half a step back so that he could start dancing the way he wanted to dance. His whole body moved along with the rhythm, pumping his arms and stomping his feet wildly to keep up with the exciting tune. It looked like a victory dance stretched out to last the duration of an entire song, which was fitting considering the circumstances. He looked pretty goofy, but the dragonslayer's genuine enthusiasm and fun seemed to make it work.

Mira was surprised at first, but couldn't help but be equally excited by the fun change of pace. She danced along right beside Natsu, shifting her hips and shoulders with the fluid confidence of a natural entertainer. Her arms lifted up above her head in a languid stretching motion while her hips moved. Occasionally she ran her fingers through her long white hair before letting it fall flirtatiously back into place.

The two of them never strayed far from each other, and even though they were no longer holding onto one another, they were still clearly dancing 'together.' As time went on, more fun songs were played and they grew more comfortable dancing as a pair. Mira occasionally turned around and leaned back against Natsu, either against his back or his front. There wasn't anything too suggestive about the way she moved, but she certainly seemed content to look possessive and playful with her dance partner. Natsu was a little unsure of these kind of moves at first, but soon found himself warming up to them. He played off of her moves as best he could, occasionally holding onto her hips or hands when necessary.

Other dancers that were still present moved together with similar energy and enthusiasm, and everyone at the party seemed to be having a blast.

A few more songs later, the band apparently ran out of fast songs and went back to playing the calmer, slower music again. Natsu didn't seem to mind this time, having already spent most of the energy that he had left. The exhaustion of the day's battle (especially when coupled with the full belly of warm food catching up to him) started to make the young dragonslayer start to feel a little on the sleepy side.

Mira smiled warmly after the music change, with a noticeable blush on her pale cheeks. She didn't let Natsu get away, quickly reaching up to rest her elbows up on his shoulders before lacing her fingers together behind his neck. She leaned in close to him, starting an entirely different kind of slow dance. Her eyes remained trained on his face as she started slowly swaying to the new music.

"So this is the less formal dance you were talking about..." Color rose on even Natsu's cheeks at their sudden intimacy. His hands found their way to the safe zone above her hips again, moving instinctively. He didn't mention that things still felt awkward, at least to him. However, their closeness clearly made Mirajane happy, so it seemed worth going along with. He didn't mind the thought of being close to her like this at all, it was just a strange, intimidating notion that he would have to adjust to.

Mirajane just nodded and rested her cheek against his chest, much like she had after their big battle. After a brief pause, she spoke up again, using a quiet voice that still rumbled softly against Natsu's ribs. "It was a dramatic little adventure we had today, but overall I'd say I had fun."

"Me too." Natsu added, quietly.

"It makes me wish I hadn't let myself be helpless and useless for so long..." Her voice was wistful and sounded detached from the situation.

Natsu tried to correct her "You were never helpless or usel-"

"Still." Mira interrupted assertively. "If I hadn't taken so much time off... you and I could have been teammates..." She sighed quietly, "And that makes me sad."

"Don't be. We still get to see each other, and..." Natsu paused with hesitation. "Maybe it's not too late, we could still be teammates?"

"We don't really get to see each other, and your team is crowded enough as it is, Natsu. You don't need me in there, even if Erza and I do get along these days." Another sigh escaped Mira. "This little gimmicky mission idea of the Master's was the only way we could get together for this kind of thing."

"Well, you do make a good point about the team size. As much as those guys like me, and I them... maybe it isn't all that smart to keep all of the best wizards in one place." Natsu added with a surprisingly thoughtful sounding tone. "What if we split the team the team in two? You, me, Lucy and Happy in one. Erza, Gray, Wendy and Carla in the other."

"I think Wendy would miss having you around a great deal. Especially as a dragonslayer, you're like a big brother to her. Erza would miss you as well, probably even Gray too, deep down."

Natsu sighed, growing frustrated by the problem. "I don't know the answer. Maybe for now we can just try to hang out more when we're both around, and aren't all off fighting some big group of bad guys together."

"When we get back to Magnolia, you should come over to our house for dinner. I'll cook, we can play games, Elfman and Lisanna will be there if they're back from their missions, it'll be fun!" Mirajane pulled back with a hopeful look, waiting for his response.

"You'll cook? Count me in!" Natsu beamed excitedly. It certainly was an easy decision for him. "That sounds like a great time! Hopefully Happy will be back by then too."

Mira smiled wide as the two finally finished their slow dance. The rest of the party had almost completely emptied by this point, and the band started to pack their gear away. It was already a few hours past midnight, and they had been through a long day to say the least. She looked Natsu up and down one more time, then wiped down the front of his shirt again just because. "Alright, hero. I think I'm just about partied out. I'll sleep well tonight for sure."

Natsu nodded in agreement, "Yeah, ready to head back upstairs?" The band offered a few goodbyes and waves as they departed, which Natsu happily returned.

"Mmhmm." Mira nodded before turning to head back towards the inn, swaying her hips a little more than usual without even realizing. She glanced back over her shoulder at Natsu with a smile just before heading in through the door.

Natsu glanced one more time around the near-empty garden, seeing some of the inn staff cleaning up after the party. He gave a friendly, thankful goodbye to the innkeeper before heading back into inn as well.

That night, long after the two had turned the lights out, Mirajane silently got out of her bed in order to crawl in beside Natsu. They just slept soundly, with her resting her head on his chest just like she did during the battle aftermath. Natsu was completely awake to witness the move too, and didn't mind it one bit.

[A/N: I don't remember hearing or seeing any definitive evidence of where Mirajane, Elfman and Lisanna live. All I know is that the OVA suggests Mira and Lisanna don't live in the girls dormitory. Therefore in the next chapter I will write about the three siblings all living together in a fairly nice house/cottage. It seems pretty likely to me that they'd want to stay under one roof. If anyone has heard or seen anything canon about the living arrangements of those characters, please let me know.]