Disclaimer: All Fairy Tail Characters Belong to Hiro Mashima

When We Take Different Paths
Pairing: Mira x Erza
Prompt: Flirt

Strawberry Basil Margarita

"ERZA, PHONE!" Natsu's annoyed voice pierced through the music she was listening to with her headphones. She looked up in surprise. Who would be calling her?

Her younger brother came into her room phone in hand, boyfriend joined at the hip as always. Neither one of them was wearing a shirt.

"Can you both please wear some clothes?" Erza asked, irritated by their constant disregard for her presence."There are ladies present."

"Where?" Gray, Natsu's boyfriend, grinned at her good naturedly. She wished she could be annoyed with him but he had been a fixture in their lives for so long that she accepted him as a part of their family.

"Here, it's Lucy." Natsu handed her the phone. "She sounds excited about something." He rolled his eyes at his sister and made a gesture with his hand that implied that Lucy had been talking his ear off about something. Their task done, both boys left her room.

"Hello, Lucy," Erza spoke into the phone., "What can I do for you?"

"Erza, want to go out tonight?" Lucy asked, tone hopeful. "There's this club, and Cana said she might be there, but I don't want to go by myself."

"I don't know, Lucy. I have work tomorrow."

"Please. I'll pay for all your drinks." Lucy immediately offered, trying to entice her friend into coming out with her.

"It's not about that Lucy, I just.... I already have plans," Erza hedged, hoping her friend would leave it at that.

"Oh really, what plans are those?" Natsu had come back into the room and was shamelessly listening to her conversation as he ate an apple.

"I..I was going to read that book I'd been telling you about."

"Really, Erza?" Natsu frowned at her. He quickly grabbed the phone from his sister. "What time should she be ready Lucy?" He listened into the phone."An hour, got it. I'll make sure she's ready. Yeah, I've got this. Bye."

"Why would you tell her I was going? I don't want to go out." Erza crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at her younger brother.

Natsu began to sort through Erza's closet as he talked. "Look, I know you're still hurting but you've been hiding in here long enough. Go out, have fun with Lucy."

"I'm not hiding," Erza humphed. "And don't even try to pretend that you getting me out of here is in any way altruistic. You just want to have the apartment to yourselves."

Natsu chuckled. "Please, like your being here has ever stopped us."

Erza's face flared red and she tried to hide her embarrassment by entering her closet and violently shoving clothes aside. She often wondered how on Earth they could be related. Natsu was so blasé when it came to sex and relationships, whereas she turned into a tomato at the mere suggestion of anything remotely untoward.

Natsu laughed at her discomfort and pulled her into a bear hug. "Go jump in the shower, Gray and I will pick you out something good. You're going to go out and you're going to have fun. You deserve this, okay?" He squeezed one last time before letting her go.

"Please don't pick anything too suggestive. I'm just going for one drink." Erza began, but her brother waved her off towards the bathroom, by now used to her anxiety.

"Not too suggestive..." he mumbled to himself. "Has she even seen the clothes that are in here? GRAY, I need you!" Natsu yelled.

Gray came into the room and flinched at the mess his boyfriend was making. "Are you insane?" he hissed, "Erza is going to murder you."

"Help me find something for Erza to wear to a club that is not too suggestive." Natsu made air quotes around the word suggestive.

Gray looked at him in disbelief. "Is she joking?"

Natsu snorted and shook his head. Erza worked as a children's librarian at their local public library. None of her outfits could be considered improper, let alone suggestive. He looked at the pile of clothes helplessly. He found a long sleeved basic black cocktail dress and held it up in front of him. He turned it around looking at it from all angles, his brow furrowed in concentration.

"Scissors?" Gray asked seriously and when Natsu nodded, he ran off to get some sewing scissors and a sewing kit. He returned quickly and handed them over, then just watched his boyfriend work with a fond expression on his face.

Gray admired the results as Natsu finished sewing the hems in and held the dress up to make sure everything was even. He had cut several inches from the skirt so it would now come to Erza's mid thigh and had cut cold-shoulder holes in the sleeves to accentuate her shoulders. Lastly he had brought the neckline down to show off her elegant neck. "It's beautiful, but you do realize she's going to kill you when she sees what you've done."

Natsu did not looked concerned at all, in fact he looked quite proud of himself.

"Natsu Dragneel, what did you do to my favorite dress?!" Erza screeched as she came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel and saw scraps of fabric on the floor and what remained of her dress in her brother's hands .

"Just try it on, I've learned a bunch of stuff since the last time I tried to alter one of your dresses!" Natsu tried to sound confident but Erza could tell he was nervous. "Trust me?"

"Ugh, fine!" She grabbed the dress from his hands and stomped back into the bathroom. She came out a few minutes later, somewhat calmer and looking quite stunning.

Gray wolf whistled while Natsu just smiled at her. "You look beautiful, Erza."

"I'm very impressed, Natsu. You did a lovely job but I can't wear this, I feel naked."

Gray grabbed her by the hand and dragged her over to the mirror so she could look at herself. "You're a beautiful girl Erza, you don't have to hide it. You've moped over Kagura long enough. Go out with Lucy and have fun, make some new friends. You're much too young to be a recluse."

Erza nodded at his words while Natsu approached her with some jewelry he had grabbed from her cabinet. They heard knocking on the door and she immediately tensed up while Natsu went to answer the door.

"You look amazing." Gray assured her as he helped her put on the necklace Natsu had picked out. He kissed her forehead affectionately and with an evil glint in his eye added, "Now get out of here so I can fuck your brother without having to be quiet."

"GRAAAY!" Erza shrieked as she began to chase him around the apartment, jumping over furniture as Gray laughed at how red her face had gotten.

Natsu and Lucy watched, both confused but smiling at the pair's antics. "Wow Erza, where did you get that dress? It's gorgeous."

Erza stopped chasing Gray and said proudly, "Natsu altered my black cocktail dress."

Lucy turned to Natsu. "You did that?"

Natsu nodded as he rubbed his arm shyly.

"Damn, you've gotten really good. Can you do some of mine?" Lucy asked, already excited at the prospect of updating her wardrobe. "I'd pay you."

"Sure, I need the practice." Natsu answered and when he saw Erza go into her room to quickly do her hair and get some shoes he lowered his voice. "Go easy on her tonight, she hasn't been out since the breakup."

Lucy promised that she would be on her best behavior and when Erza was finished getting ready both girls left the apartment.

"You think she'll be alright?" Gray asked Natsu.

"I hope so, she can't continue like this forever." Natsu replied, concern showing on his face.

"Hmm, enough talk about Erza, let's talk about you and how sexy you look when you're working," Gray said as he pulled his boyfriend in for a kiss.

o-o

Erza and Lucy entered the club and headed straight to the bar, since Lucy had said that Cana would most likely be found there. Erza looked around as they walked, taking in as much as she could in the dimly lit room. The music was loud and even though it was good it made her uncomfortable, almost jumpy. She still wasn't very sure she should be here but she hated to worry her brother.

Ultimately she knew he was right, she couldn't hide away forever. She and Kagura were over and nothing was going to change that fact. She needed to rediscover herself, to have some fun. Just because she was here did not mean she was looking for anything, she was just helping a friend out.

"Come on Erza, I think I see some empty stools by the end of the bar." Lucy grabbed Erza's hand and dragged her towards the seats before anyone else could grab them. They narrowly beat out a couple as they quickly sat. Thankfully the music was not as loud where they were sitting and Erza began to relax.

"Hey Lucy, who's your friend?" The bartender came up to them and smiled.

"Oh, hi Mira!" Lucy replied cheerfully. "This is my friend Erza."

"Well hello, Erza, nice to meet you!" The bartender extended her hand out to shake and winked at Erza, grinning as the redhead's cheeks became flushed.

Erza immediately cursed her over-sensitive nature but at least managed to shake Mira's hand without making a further fool of herself. Mira was a beautiful girl with long silver hair and the biggest blue eyes Erza had ever seen before, outside of an anime character. She was very friendly and she definitely seemed amused by Erza's reaction to her.

"What's your poison?" Mira asked.

"Poison, what?" Erza looked confused.

"She means what do you want to drink?' Lucy explained helpfully while looking around the large room for Cana.

"Oh, uhm anything's fine," Erza quickly replied.

"Come on, I'm a bartender, you gotta give me more than that." Mira coaxed. "Anything you want, first drink's on the house."

"Won't your boss be upset?" Erza asked in a worried tone.

"You're looking at her!" Mira smiled. "Now what will it be?"

"You own this place?" Erza asked, her eyes widening in amazement. "You're so young!" When she saw Mira still waiting for her order she blurted out, "I like anything with strawberries."

"Coming right up!" Mira beamed at her and Erza felt the beginning of a stirring in her stomach at the brilliance of that smile.

"I'm going to go look for Cana for a minute, are you going to be okay?" Lucy asked.

"I'll be okay for a little while." Erza assured her. "Good luck."

Lucy smiled excitedly and asked Erza to hold her seat as she hurried away.

"Here you go beautiful, a strawberry basil margarita, on the house." Mira winked at her again and Erza was having trouble slowing down her racing heart and maintaining a normal skin hue. That wink might be the death of her at this rate.

"Basil?" Erza asked with a bit of apprehension, she'd heard of mint in drinks but never basil.

"Yeah, it's a new thing. It's supposed to make the drink classier. Where did Lucy go?" Mira asked. "I forgot to ask for her order."

"She went to look for her friend, Cana." Erza answered absently as she sipped her drink. She was surprised by how strong it was, where she had been expecting a nice sweet taste, the tequila was overwhelming and the basil was not helping at all. She didn't know what to do, she didn't want to insult Mira but she also didn't want to drink the vile concoction.

"Oh dear, that's not going to go well," Mira said worriedly.

"Why not?" Erza asked, wanting to keep the conversation away from her drink.

"Well. Cana is pretty drunk already and when she gets drunk she gets very flirty. Last I saw she was getting very flirty with someone in particular."

"Oh." Erza looked behind her, disconcerted. "Should I go get her?"

"No need, she'll be back here soon enough. I'll have a drink ready. Speaking of drinks, how is yours?"

"Oh, uhm it's uhm....a bit strong?" Erza tried to think of the most polite thing she could, not wanting to sound ungrateful.

"Yeah? Let me see." Erza tried to drink the whole thing before Mira could grab it from her but the strong alcohol going down her throat made her shudder in distaste. She just couldn't do it. Mira grabbed the margarita glass from her and took a sip. She immediately spit it back into the glass.

"Oh dear God, that's terrible." Mira looked horrified and kept sticking her tongue out to try to get the flavor out. Erza couldn't help but laugh at how childish and cute she looked. Mira stopped what she was doing and smiled at Erza.

"You have a lovely laugh, Erza." Mira suddenly looked shy. "I'm so sorry, I swear I followed the instructions." She grabbed two glasses and filled them with water. "How about I get you something in a bottle?"

Erza nodded as she laughed. It had been a few months since her laugh had sounded so light and she thanked Lucy, Natsu and Gray for making her get out of the house. Both women sipped the water to cleanse their palates and Mira got them two wine coolers instead.

"I have to be honest with you, I'm not really a bartender. I usually work in the kitchen, but our bartender called in sick. I couldn't find anyone in such a short time. I figured it couldn't be that hard but I think I now understand why beer sales have been up tonight." Mira laughed, and Erza found the sound to be very pleasing. The way her eyes twinkled in mirth was quite lovely as well.

"I wasn't sure if I should say anything or not," Erza admitted.

"You definitely should, I need for this club to be a success," Mira said, her eyes serious for the first time. She saw some of the customers trying to get her attention. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Erza turned around in her stool so she could scan the club - it was fairly full. She tried to search for Lucy from where she was sitting but most of the people standing around were much taller than her friend so she had no luck. She hoped that things were going better for her than Mira had intimated.

"I'm back!" Mira announced cheerfully as she plopped on the stool that Lucy had been sitting on earlier. "I'm on break," she explained as she took in Erza's surprised expression. " So I have to ask, that dress is amazing! Where ever did you get it?"

"Actually my brother modified it for me before I came here. I have a picture of what it looked like before in my phone somewhere." Erzaopened her phone and sorted through her pictures until she found the one she was looking for and showed it to Mira.

Mira looked from the picture to Erza and back. "Your brother did this? Can you stand up?"

Erza stood up and showed off her dress, her face flushing as she turned, aware of Mira's eyes on her.

"Your brother is a genius. I mean the dress looked good on you before, but now it's just...damn."

"He really did do a good job, didn't he?" Erza practically glowed at the compliment and at hearing her brother praised. Natsu had been working so hard and his progress showed. "What about you, do you have any siblings?"

"I have two, actually, a brother and a sister. My sister Lisanna is a model and she works for a bunch of designers. If your brother has a portfolio maybe she could show it around. They're always looking for interns and assistants."

"I'll mention it to him. I'm not sure where he's at really." Erza hadn't really been paying attention to much of anything the last few months. Life had mostly been home and work, with an occasional movie night with Natsu and Gray when they tired of her antisocial behavior. "I haven't been very there the last couple of months," she admitted a bit sheepishly.

"Well, sometimes life throws us curve balls." Mira fidgeted with her bangs and finally put them up in a small ponytail to get them away from her face. "Anything you want to talk about?"

"No. I just need to put it behind me." Erza said firmly. "It must be very hard to own a business." she said, changing the subject.

"It keeps me busy, what about you? What do you do?"

"Nothing all that interesting, I work at the public library, in the children's section." Erza murmured while looking down at her nails.

"You're a librarian?" Mira looked at Erza in disbelief and giggled. "That's right up there with kindergarten teacher!"

Erza was going to reply that she wasn't anything special when she was distracted by Lucy's return. She looked like she was ready to cry and Erza knew it was time to leave. She felt reluctant to go but she knew it was the right thing to do. She had come here with Lucy after all.

"I have to go," Erza said unnecessarily. It was obvious that Lucy was in no condition to stay. "It was really nice to meet you, Mira!"

She grabbed Lucy's hand and started to guide her towards the exit when Mira caught up to them.

"Hey, the library's not far from here. You should come back here during the week for lunch. I owe you for that horrible drink. I promise, I'm a great cook, I'll even make you my special strawberry cake, no basil!" She grinned as she handed Erza a napkin and winked one last time. Then she went back to the bar and took her place behind it, already smiling at a customer.

Erza looked down at the napkin and saw Mira's phone number with Call Me written underneath and a little heart drawn next to it. Erza grinned like a fool, already more into this girl than she should be. She could bake strawberry cake too? As Natsu would say, this one was definitely a keeper.

Lucy looked down at the napkin in Erza's hand and pushed aside her own unhappiness. She was happy the evening had gone well for Erza - it was just what she needed.. "Well, at least one of us had a good time!" Lucy smiled at Erza, who looked embarrassed by the whole thing, but happily so.

"Shall we go interrupt Natsu and Gray?" Lucy grinned impishly, knowing exactly what kinds of things the two were up to.

Erza laughed and said, "Lead the way." She looked down at the napkin once again. Life was definitely looking up.

A/N This is my first attempt at writing any wlw, I hope you like it. Thank you to everyone at @ftlgbtales for being so encouraging and inspiring. Writing has definitely been more interesting since you guys came into my life! And as for the gratsu.... I needed my security blanket. ;)