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The many, many feelings Laxus has had for one mr Justine

And a very specific one he has for one future mr Justine-Dreyar

This one’s for @fuckyeahfraxus !! Thanks for the request !!

The request was : ’ x moments Laxus realized he’s fallen in love with Freed’. I think a lot is really Freed-feeling centered still, in art and fanfic, like- Freed thinking about Laxus, admiring or swooning over him (and lets not talk about how predictable/stereotyp-y most smut fics still are lmao…) so I think it would be nice to have Laxus’ feelings in the center and how he realized? Freed’s genuine smile, Freed working out, Freed fighting, Freed’s angry eyebrows (LMFAO!), just stuff like that you know?? Whatever comes to mind djefgrrh

(I strayed a bit from this whoopsie)

Curiousity

Laxus would really like to know what sort of backwards kind of logic brought Bickslow to the conclusion that it was a-okay to bring a child, a literal tiny human being, with them on an almost S-class mission. If they didn’t have to take a wretched piece of moving metal also known as a train to get to their destination, he probably would’ve noticed earlier. But alas, that was not the case and now he’s babysitting a toddler while Bickslow is taking a leak. What a fucking dick.

Eyeing the kid in front of him, Laxus really doesn’t know what to make of him. He’s tiny, has blue doe eyes and cheeks still chubby with baby fat. Upon his lap, he’s balancing a leatherbound book that’s nearly bigger than the boy himself. Unlike all the other children at the guild, he doesn’t fawn over Laxus or demands him to fight him. He seems completely indifferent. Sitting there, reading his book as though he’s the poster child of a perfectly well-behaved child.

Awkwardly coughing, Laxus tries to initiate some sort of conversation. He’s clearly the older one in this situation and so, he reasons, he should do the mature thing, like make conversations and stuff. Admittedly, he’s got no clue what adults are supposed to do but he supposes that talking to the kid might be a good start. “What’s your magic?”

Ah damn it, he should’ve asked his name first. How do people normally make small talks? Raising one eyebrow, the boy looks up from his book to give Laxus a flat stare. After some eyecontact that lasted too long for Laxus’ comfort, the boy returns his attention to the pages of his book and settles upon the answer : “Sometimes I write things. Also, my name is Freed Justine, what might yours be?”

Once again there’s an awkward and stilted pause, mainly because Laxus is trying to figure out whether the kid is messing with him or not. Deciding to dismiss his inner doubts, Laxus blurts out. “Dreyar. Laxus. Dreyar’s the last name. I am Laxus Dreyar.” Yeah, totally nailed that. Even his deadbeat father has probably been blessed with more social graces than Laxus himself.

Luckily enough for whatever’s left of his reputation (probably close to nothing), Bickslow returns and ruffles Freed’s hair while talking to him. “Ya still remember the plan kiddo?” he asks jovially, getting a curt nod in return. “Look cute, score a nice room through the power of pity for”, he morphs his face into a sad and forlorn expression, “a poor orphan child.” Within an instant, he has regained his neutral expression and tucks his book under his arm.

“I will probably make some amendments in the plan”, Freed continues casually as though he and Bickslow aren’t planning to swindle someone. “Do whatever you feel is needed, I just want to sleep on a comfy bed tonight”, Bickslow shrugs before waving the kid off.

Once he’s out of sight, Laxus turns to Bickslow and hisses : “Why are you corrupting children?” To which Bickslow vehemently shakes his head. “You’ve got it completely wrong man, if anything, he’s corrupting me!” At Laxus’ flat and disbelieving look, Bickslow sticks out his tongue. “Fine, don’t believe me then. But the first time Freed and I teamed up, he suggested something along these lines and it worked well. We don’t do anything really bad, just sometimes things that are a bit questionable.”

“Whatever.” He leaves it at that and the two of them continue the mission.

The mission, as it turns out, is a little bit more complicated than expected. He doesn’t know where the extra band of rogues suddenly came from, but he does know that they’re too widely spread to take care of in one go and he has no idea where the fuck Bickslow is. While he’s trying to push the enemy back, something in the air shimmers to life.

Purple runes surround them all and for a moment Laxus thinks that the rune knights have arrived. But then he notices that these runes are different. They pulse as though they’re alive and they smell of purpose, gleam with power. Once the sky is fully covered in purple writing, enemies start dropping one by one.

Confused, Laxus looks around and spots Freed, who puts his pen back in his pocket. “Everyone above the age of fourteen will lose consciousness for a period of three hours.” With a toothy grin, he turns to Laxus. “Sometimes I write things.”

Talk about an understatement. Without waiting for Laxus, Freed skips through the streets and along sleeping bodies until he stumbles unto Bickslow a few streets further. “If you guys get rid of those”, he gestures to the bodies, “we can relax at the hotel. I found something nice.”

After he and Bickslow have thrown the slew of bandits into jail, they follow Freed to a hotel that looks far to nice for a bunch of children. “I’d appreciate it if you guys just shut up and follow along.” With that, he raps his knuckles on the door and right before the door opens, his stature changes. Chin raised, back straight, eyes cold and mouth twisted in a bratty sneer.

“Oh young sir, you’ve returned”, the owner of the inn almost grovels in front of Freed, who inspects his wrist. “Nearly a minute. My father will hear about it.” From his angle, Laxus can clearly see that he’s not wearing a watch and he surpresses a laugh as the kid breezes past the man with the air of a fourty year old noble with too much money on his hands.

Within a day of meeting him, Laxus knows that Freed Justine is a complete and utter charlatan, witty and has very ambiguous moral values.

Thankfulness

Sooner or later they would be caught, there was no surprise there. They had all discussed it already, but reality still comes like a slap to the face sometimes. Sometimes quite literally, because Makarov hadn’t hesitated to give his grandson a good old smack around the ears after he found out that he and the raijinshuu had been sneaking S-class missions behind back.

“Laxus Dreyar, what were you thinking? What kind of example are you setting for the younger children in this guild? Don’t you think it might have any effects on them if the master’s grandson goes around stealing S-class missions? Boy, you should-”

“He didn’t”, Freed smoothly cuts in and Makarov turns to the other boy. Laxus wishes he had just shut his mouth. Adults don’t react well to younger kids talking back, but Freed doesn’t seem to learn that. Or he doesn’t care about it. Nervously letting his eyes dart between the two, he decides that he’s grabbing his team and running as soon as he sees Makarov’s stance change in a way he doesn’t like. He’s trained for that sort of stuff.

“Might I speak to you in the privacy of your study?” Freed calmly asks and his poised demeanour seems to work like some sort of damper on his grandfather’s anger. Gesturing for Freed to follow the two of them disappear into the room. Naturally, Laxus plasters himself to the door to figure out what’s going on after sending the others home.

Peaking through the keyhole and thanks to his enhanced senses, he has a pretty great view on the situation. “I stole them and most of the time Laxus didn’t even know they were S-class missions. As you know, I am quite crafty with a pen.” Makarov takes a deep breath. “Why?”

For a prolonged moment they stare at each other, a stern man and a stern boy. The boy gives in. “They take a long time to complete”, Freed whispers, gaze directed at his feet that don’t reach the ground from the chair he’s sitting on. Realisation doesn’t dawn on Makarov’s face until Freed meekly adds : “The longer the missions, the less time Laxus has to spend at his home, where Ivan lives.”

The sentence clearly hits Makarov and he looks older than ever. “My boy, situations so grave should not be your responsibility.” Freed shrugs. “You asked me to take care of your grandson. To the best of my capacities, I am. For some reason, Ivan seems to be untouchable by the law, so I’ll have to find another way. I regret infringing upon your practical rules, but I do not regret following my ethical ones.”

After a deep sigh, Makarov reaches over, presumably to pat Freed’s head, but the boy has already flinched back before that can happen. Seeing the surprise on Makarov’s face, Freed quickly spits out : “You just hit your grandson, I’m not taking any chances.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Only to me?” Makarov shakes his head. “No, what I did to my grandson was out of line as well, I will be speaking to him later.”

“Good.”

With curious eyes Makarov looks at Freed, who stares back with an impressively blank face. It seems as though the old man has a whole lot to say, but he settles on the words : “You’re a good strategist”, before patting Freed on the head. The boy doesn’t flinch at all and gives him a half-tilted smirk in return. “Here.” Makarov shoves a paper in Freed’s hands. “S-Class, long and something I know you guys can take. I’ll scan the S-Class missions as they come in and give you the safer ones. I hope this is enough of a compromise for you. Now get lost, brat.” With a laugh and a wave, Freed moves out of the office, but by then, Laxus has already removed himself from there, not wanting to get caught.

Fondness

There’s three of them now and even worse, they’ve officially become a team. Evergreen’s the newest, spunkiest addition to a team that seems composed out of… good people with a lot of bad ideas. A whole lot of bad ideas, but they’re usually contained by Freed being a responsible captain at fourteen years old.

Today though, he has decided to give in to the demands of the other members of the raijinshuu and Laxus has been roped into it as well. “Icecream icecream !” Bickslow and his babies yell and Evergreen is stomping her platform heeled shoes on time with his yelling and in a softer tone, she also chants : “Icecream icecream !” Freed, who looks like he wants to shove his head in the nearest fountain, weakly chants along as well. The heath is clearly getting to him, as he misses the beat that the other two are sustaining. “Ice…cream ?” Slowly he claps his hands together, looks at Laxus in confusion and Laxus snorts. “Yeah cap, you’re doing great”, he says fondly and Freed pumps his fist into the air. “Woohoo”, he mumbles half-heartedly, but still smiling.

Worry

Evergreen has abandoned her heels and is currently dragging herself through the streets on bare feet. Bickslow’s mask has gotten lost too and although Freed’s hair is miraculously as pristine as ever, the bags under his eyes give away how tired he is. Laxus himself feels like he’s been run over by a train. All in all, it’s their normal state after a mission.

On their way to Laxus’ house (because the three gremlins have sort of invaded it), they happen to run into Ivan and Laxus braces himself for an upcoming shitstorm. Next to him, Freed lets his eyes dart between Ivan and Laxus and cocks his head in a questioning way. “I don’t want to deal with him right now”, he mumbles and Freed nods. “Okay.”

He doesn’t really get what Freed means with ‘okay’ until Ivan turns to Laxus, opens his mouth and Freed steps in front of him. “Do you have any business with my team?”

For the first time in his life, Laxus sees Ivan looking absolutely gobsmacked, until the expression morphs into one of complete and utter rage. “Who do you think you are?” he shrieks and Freed offers him a hand, which Ivan completely ignores. “Freed Justine, captain of this team. My team and I will be gone again tomorrow, so I suggest you voice your complains right now.”

Although Ivan tries to address his son, Freed has a way of redirecting his attention to him, by being perfectly polite but also very down to earth. Not a single second does he give him an opening to talk. The whole ordeal has been going on for nearly an hour, before Ivan gives Freed a hard shove before stomping off.

“Well, there you go. After we’re back from our next mission-” Bickslow and Evergreen whine at that and Freed winks at them. “Don’t worry, Laxus is going to work the hardest. The S-Class tournament is coming up. Anyway, after all that, your dad will have calmed down.”

It’s true, but that doesn’t mean that Ivan will forget the interaction.

Fear

Laxus isn’t unfamiliar with Freed’s dark écriture. Up until this moment, he thought that it was nothing but an extension of normal runes. As the sky turns dark and the wind picks up, he starts to doubt it.

He doesn’t know what had shaken Freed up enough, to make him lose control like this. The village they should’ve been saving, has been completely eradicated and Freed still hasn’t calmed down. His right eye is pulsing and glowing, teeth gnashing and his gaze settles on Laxus. He knows he’s the next target and it makes his legs feel jittery.

But there’s no way in hell he’s gonna put the weight of his death on his best friend’s shoulders. He’s tired beyond belief, but as lightning crackles across his skin, he grins. “Let’s go.”

Respect

Although he’s soaked to the bone, Laxus refuses to climb down from the roof to go inside. Shelter is not that far away, but he’s not feeling like searching for it. He’s fine where he is, bathing in the light of the storm.

A little noise from behind him alerts him of another human being and turning around, he finds Freed. No real surprise there, but Laxus does wonder why the other always seems to pick up on his need for isolation with just the tiniest hint of human contact.

Wordlessly Freed sits down next to him, a black umbrella opened above both of their heads. “Hand me that thing before you get electrocuted”, Laxus says and Freed passes it to him, alongside a thermos filled with warm tea. It’s comfortable there, two soaked men pressed together on a rooftop.

After a while, Freed retracts his head from Laxus’ shoulder (although he didn’t notice the other man placing it there, he does notice the regretful absence of it) and stares him deep in the eyes. “Laxus, I’ve got something to say to you.” Unwillingly, Laxus tenses. He’s twenty-one, but that phrase still makes him uncomfortable.

Of course Freed notices and he spares him a smile. “No need to get worked up. It’s not a declaration that will have any effects, but I’d like to get that weight off my chest anyway. It’s getting a bit bothersome.”

Patiently Laxus waits while Freed takes a few sips from his tea before he confesses. “I am in love with you.” Plain and simple. Should Laxus have been the one stating that, it would’ve been a tumultuous blurting of words, but Freed manages to give even a short statement as that a refined edge. “Oh.” He doesn’t really know what to say to that, doesn’t know what the appropriate reaction is.

Meanwhile, Freed is watching him with growing amusement. “I already told you, you needn’t worry. Do you take me for a fool?” Dutifully, Laxus shakes his head. “Are you in love with me?” A whole lot slower, Laxus shakes his head again. Freed is a wonderful friend, but Laxus isn’t really attracted to him. He does not know what that feels like either. “Well then the problem’s solved isn’t it? We just continue our lives. I just wanted to tell you, that’s all. I’m simply relaying a message, there are no responsibilities tied to it on your part. Thank you for hearing me out.”

“No problem.” Fiddling with his fingers, Laxus looks over at Freed, who has decided to lay down on the roof. He doesn’t look sad at all, in fact, Laxus would describe the expression on his face as content. Freed’s always been a rationalist, so he had probably foreseen this outcome. There’s something admireable about that, throwing your feelings out in the open like that, knowing they’re not going to be returned.

Irritation

“No.” They’re standing right in front of each other, chest to chest and about ready to commence a fistfight. “Are you stupid?” Freed continues, voice icy until he lays eyes on Bickslow, who’s nervously bouncing his leg as he watches their argument go down. Evergreen walks into the room right at that moment and within a second, she already looks uncomfortable. Freed’s eyes soften then and he tugs Laxus with him to another room to tell him in a hushed tone that his idea to become guild master is stupid. It’s annoying.

Surprise

Lately, all three of his friends have been out of it and it’s the sort of opportunity Laxus has been waiting for. He’s been trying to convince them to help him with becoming guildmaster and honestly, he’s been met with more resistance than he’d expected. But it’s alright, as Bickslow has already given in and Evergreen is about to. Yesterday, she’d had a crying fit over something or other. He vaguely knows what it was about, but he can’t bring himself to really care. It’s all whatever.

The only person who needs a little bit of help, is currently ringing the doorbell. Freed comes in, looking troubled and drops down unto the couch. Laxus takes a seat beside him and waits. “I worry about Bicks and Ever”, he says softly, running his hand through his hair. “They have a bit of…”, he pauses, bites his lip for a bit and continues. “Trouble fitting in.” There it is. An opening.

He offers Freed an arm and the other man leans onto him as Laxus traps him in a half-hug. “I’ve noticed”, he answers, copying Freed’s tone. “Why do you think I suggested something like this? Fairy Tail is supposed to be a place for all, isn’t it? Then why not for you guys? You don’t deserve that.”

He pauses to let the words sink in and can nearly hear the cogs in Freed’s head turning. “You know”, Freed speaks up, “I’ve always thought you were a lot like your grandfather.”

With a lot of effort, Laxus is able to keep the annoyance out of his voice as he says : “Oh really? We’re both strong, is that it?”

“I won’t deny that, but I meant it otherwise.” With a little smile, Freed taps Laxus’ chest. “Heart. You’re both very kind.” Then he gives a short laugh and moves back. Gone is the softness and familiarity and Laxus is once again met with very, very cold eyes. “You’re also both bad liars. Don’t try to butter me up, don’t pretend you care.”

With curt movements, Freed moves from the couch and after dusting his coat off, he turns to Laxus. “I will help you”, he says, which comes as a surprise. “I have my own reasons. Don’t back out now that you’ve got a team to help you. You’re opening the door to hell, but I’m the one shutting it behind us. There’s no going back now.”

Guilt

Well that….sure happened. Laxus is currently being exiled and he doesn’t feel sad about it. Or happy. Or anything at all really, because his head is still reeling from everything that they did. Everything he had started, everything he had pushed his friends into. Evergreen and Bickslow are complaining quite loudly and Laxus honestly wants to apologise. He doesn’t yet, because he’d like to apologise for everything he had done and he has the feeling that right now, he is overlooking a lot, because he’s a shortsighted and arrogant fool. Freed doesn’t say anything at all. He has the grace to let Laxus leave with a little bit of dignity and the resolve to be better.

Happiness

The situation is less than ideal, but one way or another, Laxus has found some time here and there to talk to his friends. This way, he comes to know that Freed was eligible for the trials, which is awesome, and that he had thrown his first fight, which was a bit less awesome, but Laxus understands his reasoning.

Nevertheless, Freed and the others look happy and him being there doesn’t seem to infringe on it, to the contrary, his presence seems to lighten their mood even more. After Bickslow had revealed Freed’s … less than majestic plan (and had received a swift kick to his ankles in retaliation), the both of them blabber on about the daily life at the guild. They’re cheerful and he feels content.

Of course, everything goes to shit after that.

Normalcy/Hope

Seven years is a long fucking time and how everyone is coping with this, Laxus doesn’t know. After profusely apologising to everyone that matters to him, he’d been forgiven. Evergreen had dragged him to go shopping with her and he also had to promise her to help her improve her fighting techniques without telling anyone, Bickslow demanded a stack of handpainted dolls (why he asked that is beyond Laxus because he is admittedly, a shitty artist) and Freed had very politely asked if he could shout at Laxus for a little bit. After he had been given permission, he had released a storm of words that had been kept inside for a very long time. It had been a bit overdue, but alas.

Right now, Laxus is staring at the nightsky and wondering. Romeo is big, the old men are even older and everything is not exactly as it was. “Hey.” Freed sits down next to him and places his head on Laxus’ shoulder. Apparently he finds it a comfortable place to be and Laxus would be lying if he said that he didn’t like it. “I’m not sure what to make of everything”, he confesses and Freed hums in return. “Me neither, but we’ll make something out of it.” He covers Laxus’ hand with his own and Laxus turns his hand to give Freed’s a squeeze. “We will”, he agrees quietly and lays his head on top of Freed’s.

Freed-om

Laxus Dreyar would really like to throttle the person who came up with the ungodly idea to have a team share one bedroom. Even worse, they have a day off and no one has left the room. It’s the closest thing to hell on earth.

Somehow, Gajeel has gotten his hands on a guitar and while he’s performing the most awful song Laxus has had the displeasure of hearing, Mira is joyfully clapping the rhythm along while Juvia has plastered herself to the window, mournfully looking outside while muttering nonsense. He doesn’t know what Jellal and Cana are off to, although he can pretty much guess Cana’s whereabouts.

Somebody save him from infinite boredom and irritation, please.

As though he heard Laxus’ thoughts, Freed materialises in a swirl of shimmering purple runes. “Good day sir, how would you feel about accompanying me to the market? There are spices I want to try using.”

Without hesitation, Laxus grabs Freed by the shoulders and yanks him close. Staring the other man in the eyes, he sighs. “Freed, you are an outright godsend and I hope you know it. Let’s ditch this place.”

They spend a nice afternoon at Crocus’ market and Freed shows his uglier sides when it comes to haggling (it’s vicious and scary to watch). He’s not particularly more active than he was in the room, but the company is nicer and if he’s silent with Freed, it’s just comfortable. There’s no need to fill up the silence.

Restricted

The clothes are uncomfortable, the gaggle of girls around him is uncomfortable, the exceedingly high and unattainable expectations of old geezers are also uncomfortable. If anything, Laxus would love to crawl under a rock and live his life like a caveman.

While he’s busy wondering about his cavemanlife to forgot his current unwanted ballroomlife, Freed asks him to dance and Laxus brushes him off as though he’s one of the pesky girls clinging to his arms. He catches sight of the quick flash of hurt in Freed’s eyes before the man apologises and moves away. Ah shit. Ah fuck. That was not his intention.

He doesn’t get to Freed until very late in the evening, when everyone’s blackout drunk. “I’m sorry I should’ve known better than to ask”, Freed says and Laxus doesn’t know how he should put the fact that he does not want to dance in front of all these people in polite words. It’s not Freed that he minds. Instead of saying anything useful at all, he awkwardly keeps sipping his champagne for the rest of the night. Freed does the same. They stand right beside each other, but refuse to properly look at the other.

Protectiveness

When Laxus wanders upon the scene, he was busy thinking about how cute Freed looked with his hair up in a ponytail. Fights were about the last thing on his minde, but like hell Laxus is gonna let this bastard fuck with his family. For once, he has found his way back to the restaurant, only to find out that it has been eradicated. His friends are banged up and his uncle is in mortal danger. Fuck that.

Fuck the consequences even more. Where do people like this keep appearing from? He doesn’t have a lot of time to wonder about it, because he needs to save whomever he can save. The last thing he vaguely remembers, is Freed screaming his name.

After waking up, time passes in a haze of 'I’ve got to save them, I’ve got to save them, I’ve got to sa-“

Eventually, he does it, somehow and wakes up with his friends by his side. When looking at them, he can’t recall why on earth he ever thought this set of people was in any way, shape or form replaceable. On most days, he’s bit bothered by how big his body is, seeing as it makes him seem more oafish than he actually is. Today he’s happy with it, because he can gather those three precious people in his arms all at once. They’re important to him and he wants them to know.

Melancholy

Fairy Tail disbanded. On top of that, when faced with the decision which guild they should join now, Freed had suggested Blue Pegasus and why oh why did he even agree to that.

Laxus despises it and he wonders how Freed can stand being here. Knowing the sadistic streak the man has, combined with the will to always throw down if challenged to a fight, it’s surprising how easily he blends with the Blue Pegasus style of life. He smiles easily and quite prettily too, dresses more casual and at the same time sharper and he looks good in it. He’s popular too and it shows in his guild ranking. Who doesn’t want to accept a drink from a handsome young man, who speaks as though genuine flattery is his native tongue.

Because they’ve been friends for so long, Laxus is able to discern when Freed is being a scheming liar. Lately, he hasn’t seen any of it. Of course, there’s been the little white lies he tells for his job, but beside that…nothing. The lack of misschievous creativity is a bit concerning.

"Are you alright?”, he dares to ask Freed one night and when the man looks confused, Laxus fumbles a bit. “You haven’t committed any crimes lately”, he mutters and Freed barks out a surprised laugh. “What sort of life do you think I lead?” he huffs out between his laughter and Laxus can feel his face getting redder. “One filled with tax fraud?”

“Tax fraud is actually a crime I refrain from, since I have the money to pay sufficient taxes. But now that you say it, I do have a tendency to balance on the edge of the law.”

“ ’S true, but you’re trying to distract me. You’ve got something stewing in your head, fess up.”

Gone is the jovial laughter, replaced by a particular brand of melancholy that Freed gets caught in when he thinks no one’s looking. “If you insist. I have mainly been wondering when you were going to share the fact that you’re still dying with the group. It seems like a piece of information that we’d like to know.”

Oh. Truth to be told, he himself was still trying to ignore that, even though his body likes to remind him on a daily basis. “Sorry”, Freed says after a prolonged silence, “that was unfair of me. You probably don’t like to be reminded of that either. It’s just…” He lets out a frustrated sigh and looks at Laxus with eyes that are weary and drained. “I’m tired. I want everything to be alright. Sure, I want to go on missions with you guys for as long as we can, but right now, I feel like I can’t breath. Like life is trying to choke us all.”

It’s then that Laxus realises why exactly Freed, battle-ready, witty Freed, had chosen to settle for Blue Pegasus of all guilds. What kind of reassurance could he possibly give with a body that is shutting down that very moment? Not a lot. Still, Laxus tries. “Don’t mourn me while I’m still alive, jackass”, he fake-grumbles and bumps Freed’s shoulder. “Don’t give in captain, that’s not your way of doing things. You’re capable and cunning enough to get through this.”

All in all, his attempt at being inspirational is laughable at best, but Freed takes his words to heart anyway. “You’re right. I won’t fail you.” Before Freed can stalk off after that statement, Laxus catches his arm. Freed turns around like a deer in headlights and Laxus catches the glimpses of sadness in his eyes. “This is not a personal mission that I’m assigning to you. I don’t want to you to run yourself into the ground looking for a solution that might not exist. I’m just saying that if anyone could save me, it’d be you.” Freed eyes widen and Laxus lets go of his arm, awkwardly scratching his neck instead. “Let’s make the best of what we got right now.”

Contentment

Their time at Blue Pegasus is the start of rediscovering each other. Before, the time they had to spare had been limited but right now, they’ve got enough space to fill with other little activities.

First on the list are the things he already knew, but is appreciating all over again. Freed working out or sparring with him is a blessing to be honest. Beside the fact that Freed can keep up with him, both because he’s a skilled mage and knows how Laxus ticks, Freed is also a joy to watch. There’s something about his lean, muscle-packed frame that makes Laxus blood go hot. The other man is a refined package of brute strength and Freed is aware of it, if his smirk is anything to go by.

Whenever Laxus manages to make Freed smile, a genuine tilted little thing that always seems to incline towards a smirk, he feels his heart doing things that should not be humanly possible. Romantic attraction has always been a bit of a foreign concept to him, because he couldn’t fathom why people would decide to become a thing with people they didn’t or barely knew. He still cannot imagine how people trust anyone but the people closest to them with feelings that big. Undivided trust is a big factor as to why Laxus feels himself getting drawn to Freed.

As one philosopher by the honourful name of Bickslow once said : “Smart people invent their own kind of stupid.” That phrase is definitely the case with Freed, who’s a bit too competitive for his own good. Does the man realise that it’s ridiculous to do things people told him not to do, because he simply can’t stand people telling him he’s unable to do it? Knowing him, definitely yes. Does it stop him from being a spiteful moron? Definitely not. The telltale sign of impending stupidity, aka Freed raising his eyebrows in an angry but challenging manner is there and if Laxus wasn’t incredibly charmed by it, he might’ve rolled his eyes at the reoccuring situation.

To be honest, Laxus isn’t sure what he’s supposed to think when Freed crawls upon Blue Pegasus’ podium, guitar in hand. He does get unwarranted flashbacks to Gajeel’s performances and when he looks at the rest of the raijinshuu, he notices that they too are undergoing that same brand of psychological torture. To snap them out of it, he asks them a question. “Is Freed drunk?”

“Definitely”, Bickslow laughs and Evergreen rolls her eyes. “Jenny said that there was no way that he could drink Hibiki under the table and our dearest captain saw it as a personal challenge. He won, but then Jenny fake-cried because she said that none of us ever perform and then he cried because he wanted to do his best. Now he’s on the stage and he’ll have to suffer the consequences of his own actions.”

“Not that there are going to be a lot, because Freed’s a good musician.” Evergreen hums in agreement, but Laxus 'ehs’ a bit at that. “No offense, but I’ve seen him 'singing’ his breakfast songs and I wouldn’t describe them as good.”

“Just watch and listen, loverboy”, Bickslow grins and nods at Freed, who’s waving at the audience. Luckily for him, it’s after closing time so there are no real costumers, but these are still the people he has to see on a daily basis. Tapping the mic, he draws everyone’s attention. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen and gentlethem too.” After that, Freed spends a whole minute looking at the microphone, probably contemplating whether that was grammatically correct or not.

“Today I’m going to do my best!” he says raises his fist above his head. The guild follows his lead, whooping and cheering along. Nearly missing the stool on his first try, Freed manages to climb on top of it and strums the guitarstrings. When he redirects his gaze towards the audience, their eyes meet and Freed smirks before he opens his mouth and starts to sing. His normal speaking voice is already nice and deep, but holy shit, Laxus was not prepared to hear it in a singing content. His heartbeat picks up while his knees go weak and attraction to this man comes so, so easy.

Despair/Hope

Alvarez comes and breaks through their barrier, nearly killing the people closest to him. Later, Laxus learns that Freed almost died twice in a span of maybe an hour. He hates it and he hates how hopeless the situation looks. What can you do against someone who lays magic to waste?

You let them save your life. Laxus was right when he said that Freed would be to one to liberate him from his ailment and he still has to execute the plan, but Freed is right here, right now and they both give in to desperate passion for a little bit. He has one hand on the small of Freed’s back, pressing their bodies against each other as Freed does the same, pulling him closer with a too tight grasp on his shirt. If they could get any closer to each other, they probably would. They kiss and liquid fire spread throughout Laxus’ body and if he had the time, he’d properly worship this exquisite man like he deserved to be. But right now he doesn’t, so kisses Freed hello and goodbye and hopes this first kiss isn’t their last. Pulling away, his grip on Freed’s back still lingers on so does the firm grip Freed has on his shirt.

The world is once again going to shit, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. They are going to be alright. They have to.

Love

All is on the road to well. One doesn’t immediately recover after a war across continents, but damn it, they’re trying. They have something together and no fucking thing will be allowed to infringe upon their happiness again. So Freed and Laxus go on dates, although it doesn’t differ much from the trips they used to take as friends. Importantly, they differ where it matters. They differ in the gazes, the kisses, the hand-holding and declarations of love. What they have differs from before because of new or rekindled feelings and the effort they both put into their relationship.

Laxus loves Freed, it’s as simple or complicated as that. He adores him from head to toe and he’s adored right back. There’s ups and downs, but most importantly, there’s them.

Devotion

They’ve been together for two and a half years now and everyone who’s picked up on their relation is subtly, but not so subtly wondering when they’re going to get married. To make matters worse, they only seem to prod him about it and not his actually smooth and suave other half. (It’s unreal how good Freed is at flirting and making Laxus feel like molten jelly).

They’re right, he supposes, they have been dating for a while. It’s only natural for them to get married.

With that thought in mind, he’s sitting in a fancy restaurant, dressed to the nines. Of course, his beloved partner is there as well. Unbeknownst to him, Laxus has a little box with a ring in it and a preplanned speech that he’s still not happy about. He’s so nervous he feels like he’s about to puke and Freed has definitely picked up on it. “Darling (ughhh he’ll never tell anyone but he loves sweet nicknames. Sue him), you’re not looking quite well. Let’s ditch this place and go for a walk.” More than eager, Laxus leaves his chair and follows Freed outside.

During their walk home, Freed suddenly stops, looks him dead in the eyes and flatly says : “No.” Before Laxus can ask what he’s saying no to, Freed points at the pocket with the ring in it and repeats the word. “No. I don’t want to get married.” Once he sees Laxus panicking, he rushes to explain himself. “Love, I am completely and utterly in love with you and I don’t think there’s any force on earth that could change that. The only thing I want, is you wanting me.”

Seeing that he still hasn’t brought his point across, Freed continues. “How do I put this? Right now, you want to get married for the sake of getting married. You don’t really want it, you’re being pressured. I don’t need fancy dinners or nice rings. All I want is for you to look at me and consciouscly decide that you’d like nothing more than spend the rest of your life with me. Ask me again then, but bury you wedding plans for now.”

He feels guilty for feeling relieved, but Freed laughs and kisses his worries away.

One night, the raijinshuu and him arrive back in Magnolia very late in the evening. It’s summer, so it’s still warm outside and a festival is taking place. Music resounds through the streets and people are laughing, dancing and singing full of joy. Next to him, Freed throws down his backpack and gets rid off his coat before extending his hand to Laxus. “Dance with me?” he asks and Laxus takes his hand and lets himself be led across the square.

Both of them are tired and dirty, but nevertheless Freed shines with mirth and the soft gentleness he mostly reserves for Laxus. As they switch leads and Laxus twirls Freed around and draws him back in, their chests bump together and they slow down as the music does the same. He has no eyes for anyone but the wonder in his arms and looking at the man, who’s staring back with the same intimate warmth, he knows why people promise each other everlasting devotion.

“Hey Freed, marry me”, he breathes and Freed smiles. It’s less than elegant, but they can do simple.

“Yes.”

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