Love Sick

Chapter Four: The Crackle Between Us.

Hope was dying out. The rest of the guild wasn't are of the entire situation but they had been able to pick up on the tension and had figured out that Laxus being missing was a serious issue. 

There were two possibilities, one more likely but the other was much happier. They would like to believe that reality sunk in for him and he had rushed to go get close to them without the pressure and pity he expected. But they truly believed he had gone to be at peace with his death. 

...

Mirajane had been helping the master with some of the responsibilities of the guild, if he had his way she would probably be doing less. But she wanted to allow him the time to take care of the ongoing family issues. 

She had been looking through the job completion notices when she noticed one that stood out. The one Freed just took and had apparently finished. 

Immediately she stopped what she was doing and ran up to Makarov's office. He looked sleep deprived and angry. "What is it?" He grumpled. "Oh, I'm sorry to bother you master. The statement saying Freed has completed his last job and recieved payment just came in" Mira explained. "And?" The old man urged. 

"Well, there was a discrepancy. It said two wizards completed it" Mirajane said. Makarov's eyebrows shot up. "Wasn't it taken as a solo mission?" He asked. The white-haired wizard just nodded her head solemnly. "And the description of the second wizard matched Laxus" she said in a small voice.

He was overwhelmed with emotion. He was angry and hurt but also relieved that Laxus had been spotted and wasn't dead somewhere. Scenarios played through his head as he wondered why Freed would take the sickly dragon slayer on a job. 

"Let me know as soon as Freed gets back to the guild"

...

Freed and Laxus decided to take a detour to Freed's apartment to shower before going to the guild. Plus it was something to do so they wouldn't suspiciously arrive together.

When Freed got out of the shower he still had a couple stray water droplets left in his hair and not wanting to waste too much magic he had to go on a hunt to find where he last put his hair dryer. 

On his hunt he passed Laxus and involuntarily froze. He was a mess, he didn't want his crush to see him like this. And the blond was staring at him, staringbat his still wet hair. All the rune mage could think about was how silly he looked.

Out of pure embarrassment he decided to forgo the hair dryer and just hope his hair would dry on the way to the guild. He was nearly put of the door when Laxus caught one of his slim wrists with his hand. 

"Not gonna say goodbye?" Laxus asked with a hopeful look. "I'll probably see you again in less than an hour. Plus I- I don't want to say goodbye. Not to you. Not right now. It's bad luck.  So instead I'll say, don't take too long in the shower" Freed said. The smile he got from that was genuine and a little mischievous. 

It was a smile the men of the Thunder Legion often shared when they had teased Ever about her crush. The smile hidden behind palms as they secretly watched Bickslow prepare a prank. It was a good smile.

"I'll see you soon Captain" the blond said. 

The rune mage ended up dancing down the street, looking into the beautiful summer sky smiling. Of course he stopped just short of the guild to compose himself. Once he could have a straight face he continued on his way. 

The mood still had not been lifted since the last time he was in the guild, in fact they had gotten worse. But Bickslow and Evergreen were happy to see him and had looked close to tears as they welcomed him. That was enough of a distraction for him to not notice how Mira snuck away from the bar. 

"Freed, I'm glad you're back. I'd like you come to speak to me up here" Master Makarov asked. 

...

Freed felt nervous and he kept smoothing down his lap. The master had been silent since he had lead them into the office. 

"So you just got back from your job, isn't that right?" Master Makarov asked. Freed nodded his head, unsure of where the conversation was going. "I just wanted to-" the master got cut off by the sound of his door being slammed open. 

It was Natsu and Happy. "Gramps! Laxus is back! He just walked in!" He excitedly announced before the duo ran back to the rest of the guild. 

Freed looked back to the older wizard. "If you don't mind, I think she would cut this event" he said before he stood up. 

...

Laxus looked better than he had before he ran off. Both Makarov and Porlyusica noticed. It greatly confused the healer when the lightning mage let her look him over. 

And with the help of his grandfather, the blond S-class wizard announced to the guild the cause of what he was suffering from and his ultimate decision. In that moment Freed watched the other dragon slayers. 

Erza rested her head against the top of Wendy's, a comforting gesture meant to disuade her fear of the future. Lucy hugged Natsu from behind and he held her hands. Wordlessly Juvia put a hand on Gajeel's shoulder and nodded at him when he looked over  and Levy pressed herself against her side.

This was not taking away from Laxus. This is the realization of how cruel the world is. This was wanting to hold onto the ones they care about in case they disappeared just like this dragon slayer would.

Natsu was the first one to break the mournful silence. "Hey! He's not dead yet! We need to have a Fairy Tail send off! Celebrate while you still can" He encouraged. Laxus couldn't hide his fond smile.

During the celebration the master came up to him once more. "I know Laxus went on that job" he admitted. It might have been the wine he was currently sipping but he didn't have it in him to be embarrassed about that.

"He asked to. One last job before the guild knew. It's kind of like Natsu suggested, celebrating your life while you still can. Laxus looked so happy on that job, so content, so unburdened. I don't regret it. If I could I would spend the rest of my life making him happy. Guess I'll settle for the rest of his" Freed said sadly.

"Freed! Come dance!" Evergreen shouted. With a dopey lopsided smile, he didn't want anything more than to comply.