Love Sick

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Strike of Love

When they got to the guild they found it already decorated. Freed felt his face flush as he could do little more than stand there with his perfect posture. He heard Laxus grumble under his breath.

"So much for telling people on our terms" the blond sighed. The rune mage nodded. "Maybe I'll be able to get someone to give me a free beer at least" The dragon slayer said. 

Freed let himself be lead into further into the crowd and party. He felt nervous being the center of attention but he thought that the spotlight looked good on his companion. 

...

Laxus spent the night partying. He drank possibly too much. Engaged in arm wrestles and other short fights with some of the other men. As a show of good faith and celebration he even got Erza to go a round or two. For him it would be a night remembered by laughter.

He didn't interact too much with his lover because the green-haired man wasn't as public and he wanted to respect him. That didn't stop him from circling back round to him every so often to check in, maybe steal a drink of the other's beverage, and an invitation to do something stupid. He did manage to get a dance! 

But then his eyes would meet those of the iron dragon slayer. It felt like taking a cold shower. He knew he should have had the conversation before everyone knew,  when there was an opportunity for everything to smooth over quietly. He could argue with himself all he wanted that it wasn't his fault because he wasn't the one who made their relationship public. Because that didn't make him sound any more moral.

...

Freed was sitting at the bar, contently watching his dragon slayer, when Ever slide up beside him. "I know you want to be closer to him, why are you sitting all alone?" She asked as she scrutinized the scene before her. He chuckled sadly. 

He could see the tears and cracks in his delusion. Some of the threats of his fantasy had been pulled loose. It was a sick and twisted form of torture. His personal hell.

"Because he doesn't want me to be closer" he sighed out. Her eyes widened comically and then she looked angry. "What? What did he say? If-" Freed cut her off but laughed at her antics all the same. "We're not fighting or anything. It's just in general" he clarified. 

"Did he say that?" She asked skeptically. "No. But he hasn't exactly asked me to get closer" He shrugged. Evergreen put a comforting hand on his thigh. "Sweetie. He's probably just scared of rejection. You rejected him before, remember?". Except he didn't. He couldn't remember anything that he said that could have sounded close to a rejection.

"Here's a thing. Porlyusica got it wrong. He rejected me" He took a long drink from his wine glass. "Oh" Ever said, dumbfounded. 

...

When Laxus woke up the next day he had a skull-splintering headache. He shielded his eyes from the harsh lights but he knew that his bedroom light wasn't bright enough to warrant that reaction. He was hungover.

He was definitely in his own bed, how he got there, well, he wasn't exactly sure. Most likely Freed's doing.

Opening his eyes, he found a glass of water on his bedside table. And then his attention snapped to the slight movement by the door. Freed was leaning against the doorframe and he looked a little worn out but Laxus would bet good money that he looked a million times better than he himself did. 

"Finally awake" the green-haired man said with a reserved smile. "Yeah. God. I promise that I'm not gonna drink like that. I'm really sorry" he said. Freed shrugged. "I believe you. And you don't need to apologize, really. Last night was special, you should have celebrated. You did celebrate" he comforted warmly. 

Laxus wanted to tell him that it wasn't yet time for celebrations and that there was one final matter that they needed to talk about but he was in no mood to talk and it became difficult to keep up with his resident busy-body.

...

The lightning mage went on a walk, likely trying to sober up. This left Freed at home alone. He felt a weird bubble in his chest when he reffered to it as being his home too. 

He hadn't cleaned too thoroughly during the storm as Laxus didn't like him being too close to the window and the previous night had been filled with so much excitement that he had put it off but he figured that now since he had the free time, why not. Cleaning was something that he was good at. Something that was therapeutic to him. 

Freed didn't expect to find what he did.

He had been dusting one of the side tables in the living room when he had accidentally knocked over a stack of Laxus' books. He cursed himself as he was usually so careful and not at all clumsy. Now, in a foul mood he leaned down to pick them up when one of them fell open. 

It was one of Laxus' notebook, the one that he wrote in and was all secretive about. He felt for looking at it but he felt some weird force him to look at it. 

The page was strange and confusing. There was a list of one word questions. Freed felt cold and like he was watching everything from a lacrima screen as he realized that the list was meant for him.

Questions ranged from thoughts of marriage, kids and other commitments. But then at the bottom of the page was a very scribbled "cure?". 

He sat down and and could do little more. What did that mean. What did that mean?! A cure. For soulmates?

...

Freed was still unmoving when Laxus came home. It was creepy and doll-like almost. "Freed?" He questioned gently. And Freed who was still suffering from heartbreak, responded coldly. 

"What do you mean by a cure?"

Laxus felt his heart sink as he spotted his notebook. He wanted to be the one to tell Freed. He didn't want his friendship to be ruined because the rune mage thought that he was being held hostage in the relationship.

"I was going to bring it up to Freed, I promise. I only found out about it recently myself" the blond admitted. He pressed on. "It's something Gajeel told me about. A way to break the bond between us" he said.

And even though his heart was continuing to crumble, a part of him felt relief for his Thunder God. A way out. "And that is?" He asked quietly. He would do anything, anything to make this magnificent man happy. 

The dragon slayer took a deep shaky breath before he dared continue. "I would have to fall out of love for you" he admitted, ducking his head. Freed sucked in a breath. 

"Y-you're in love with me?" He stumbled over the words. Slowly, the taller man nodded. "Then I don't think we need that cure" he said with a slowly forming smile. Orange eyes snapped up to meet his. The question was left silent but still hanging in the air. 

"Because I have always loved you"