Thunder Rolls

Flirting

Freed considered cooking to be his specialty, but making a meal based purely on what they could hunt and gather challenged even him. He probably could have thrown everything into a stew, but that was boring. Laxus deserved the best!

He had brought only a few essentials not easily obtained in the woods around Magnolia: salt, pepper, oil, and a lemon. Everything else was steamed with water from the river and seasoned with herbs found around the campsite. Just as the sun began to sink toward the mountains, Freed leaned back from the fire, wiped his sweaty brow, and nodded in satisfaction.

Laxus walked forward, drawn by the smell. "Is it done?"

"Yes!" he said happily.

"Good. Let's eat."

Freed dished out the plates, and they sat by the campfire on some log stumps. Laxus took a bite and hummed appreciatively.

"As expected, you're the best."

Freed shrank down at the compliment. "I try extra hard for you."

"It shows. This fish is spectacular." Laxus smiled over at him. "Like I said before. You make the best wife."

Freed nearly choked on a mushroom. Laxus' ... wife!

"You make a really cute wife."

Freed's eyes went wide. Wait, was this flirting? Was Laxus actually flirting with him? Freed figured he should pay back the compliment.

"W-w-well, y-you make a handsome husband." He cringed instantly. That was awful! He was never good at flirting.

Still, Laxus laughed softly and ate some more. "I wanna devour anything of yours."

A horribly perverted image popped into Freed's head, and he shrank down in embarrassment. "Um, I ... I'm glad you like it."

"It's delicious," he complimented. "You always satisfy me, Freed."

He poked nervously at his food. Maybe Laxus wasn't flirting at all. Freed was just reading into this too much. Then he remembered his resolve earlier. He wanted to ask Laxus about his intentions. He looked up, about to speak, but then dropped his head with his eyes squeezed tightly. He did not want to bring up a sore subject and ruin the meal's atmosphere. He pressed the concern aside.

"Are you okay?"

Freed opened his eyes and saw that Laxus had moved over right beside him, way too close. He looked deeply concerned as he gazed at Freed.

"You're normally chatty while eating, and you don't look well. Are you tired from all the cooking? Were you working too hard?"

"N-no!"

"You should have told me if you needed a rest. This is your vacation too, you know."

His ... vacation? He had been considering it as just Laxus' vacation and he was along to cater to his needs like always. He wanted to voice a protest, but Laxus suddenly grabbed his fork.

"You should eat if you're not feeling well. If you're tired, I'll feed you." He stabbed a flake of fish and held it up.

Freed felt his cheeks growing hotter. "Really, I'm fine. I can eat on my own—"

"Stop being stubborn and eat it," Laxus scolded.

Freed looked up at him in shock. Laxus ... was going ... to feed him? He looked determined to do so, too. Hesitantly, Freed opened his mouth. Laxus nudged the fork in, and the fish slid onto his tongue. As Freed chewed, the Lightning Dragon Slayer smiled.

"You worked hard today. Relax. I'll take care of everything."

Freed slammed his eyes shut as more perverted images crept into his head. He really needed to learn some mental discipline.

"Open wide."

Freed flushed and looked up at him. Instead of appearing as seductive as his imagination was creating, Laxus simply held the fork with some leeks dripping in cooking oil. Freed obediently opened his mouth again, and Laxus fed him the vegetables.

"Ah, spilled some." Laxus reached out, used his finger to wipe some oil off of Freed's chin, and licked clean his finger. Freed swore he was going to have a nosebleed at any minute. Was Laxus honestly not aware of how sexy he looked sucking on his finger like that?

"Y-you should eat, t-too," Freed said, trembling with desires he felt were inappropriate at this time.

"I guess so. Do you feel better?"

"Yes, thank you," he blurted out. He seriously could not take any more.

Laxus did not scoot away, though. He sat right next to Freed, brought over his plate, and began to eat. He chewed some garlic mushrooms and leeks.

"Mmm! You really are the best, Freed."

"Th-thank you," he muttered.

As dusk set it, they ate quietly, listening to the chirp of crickets and a hooting owl. Freed glanced up at the first few flickering stars and smiled in contentment.

"I want more," Laxus suddenly demanded, having scraped his plate clean.

"There's plenty. Please, eat as much as you want."

Freed crawled over to the skillet simmering with food and scooped out some more. As he handed the plate back, Laxus snatched it away, set it aside, and grabbed Freed's arm. He pulled so roughly, Freed lost his balance and collapsed on top of Laxus. His ear was pressed up against Laxus' chest, and he heard his heartbeat thumping strongly.

"What is that?" Laxus demanded in anger.

Freed scrambled to get up. Laxus had his arm and was looking at a swollen spot.

"Ah. I wanted to make a really good dessert for us. I happened to see a honeycomb. I'm normally really good at extracting a little bit of honey, but I was careless this time and one stung me."

"That's a bee sting?" Laxus shouted.

Freed held still, surprised he was overreacting to just a sting. "It's fine. I'm not allergic or anything. I mean, it hurt when it stung, but it's—"

Laxus leaned over and placed his lips against the inflamed skin. Freed held perfectly still as he felt those warm lips on his arm. What ... what was this? What was going on? Laxus gave the sting a tender kiss, and when he looked up he appeared to be sad.

"You seriously overdo things, Freed. Do you think I want to see you get hurt for my sake? If you ever want something and it's dangerous, come get me. I'd zap every bee that dared to land on you. Now sit, and don't do anything else dangerous or I'll confine you to the bed."

"Oh?" Freed asked arrogantly. "How do you plan on doing that?"

Laxus laughed drolly. "Oh, I have my ways," he said in a low, seductive voice.

Freed's cheeks instantly went hot. If he wasn't sure whether or not Laxus was flirting before, that definitely sounded like flirting. He began to stutter, then looked down at his plate of food and shoveled fish into his mouth so he did not have to attempt to articulate anything.

Laxus eyed him silently, wondering if Freed could guess what was running through his mind. He had kept quiet most of the day, but something was rolling in his veins, a desire he wanted to take, capture, and hoard.

Soon. Soon, he would be able to do it. Very soon.