Adult-FanFiction.org : Anime

Of Lightning and Long Locks	By : Rhov Category: +. to F > Fairy Tail Views: 2451 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail nor do I make money for this fanfic.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Chapter 6
Gaming
When Freed finally left the shower, Laxus was not there. A search around showed that he had taken pants, shoes, his coat, but no underwear, socks, or shirt. Maybe he had gone out into the storm to eat more lightning, or he hit a bar to get drunk and sleep with the first willing woman he could find.
How did this even happen? It felt like a dream, yet Freed's fantasies like this ended in them cuddling, not with Laxus fleeing with a look of guilt on his face.
Freed desperately wanted to believe this was Laxus' secret desire, that maybe he was infatuated and just didn't know how to express it besides aggressive displays and taking what he wanted. That bit of hope warmed him up inside against the stormy coldness of the hotel's leaky window, but he was afraid to hope too much only to be crushed.
He tried to stay up, but an hour passed. He curled up on a couch by a magical heater and read a book while listening to the storm patter against the windows with distant rolling thunder punctuated by flashes and sharp cracks overhead. His eyes grew heavy, but he was determined to wait up for Laxus. They needed to talk.
He had no clue when he actually fell asleep, but he woke up with sunlight filling the hotel room, a pillow under his head, and Laxus' coat draped over him. Immediately in front of him was a letter.
"Sorry for running off. I hope you didn't wait up too long for me, but I know you. You should have just gone to sleep and used the bed. I left with Bickslow to get breakfast and check on the roads. There's coffee. We can talk later. Sorry about everything. Laxus."
Sorry about everything? Had Laxus not meant it? Had it truly been just an instinctive impulse with no deeper meaning? Freed wanted to believe it meant more, but he could not figure out how it could mean anything at all.
Laxus was straight … right? They were just best friends … weren't they?
Freed went into the bathroom and almost screamed when he saw himself in the mirror.
"Oh, right. My hair is short," he said aloud. Yesterday was slow to come back to him. What happened in the shower had washed away thoughts of the fight, little Teddy, the hair curses, everything else.
Freed looked into the mirror and turned his head to inspect the hickey. It was not bad, with any luck it would be gone in a day or two, but it showed what his brain still could not process. Laxus had wanted to jerk off together in the shower, only to turn around and give him a hand job.
Why did he do it? Why did he run off?
He washed, dressed, poured himself a cup of coffee, and was settling back into his book when the door opened. Freed spewed his drink out when he saw Laxus walk in with hair past his ankles and hanging into his eyes, and Bickslow with a blue afro so massive, he got stuck in the door.
"You're up!" Bickslow said in a chirpy voice as he poofed his hair inward to fit through. "Laxus said you were up all night reading."
He looked over at Laxus, who was avoiding his gaze by letting his hair fall in front of his face. "Yeah … good book."
"At least washing your hair is easy. I clogged my shower with my hair."
Shower! Freed looked over at Laxus again. When he had shampooed the blond hair last night, it was barely to his shoulders. It had grown right back overnight. In another hour, it would probably be past his feet again. Was this new hair as soft as what he had felt last night? He wanted to wash all this hair he had not yet gotten to touch.
Bickslow cocked his head to the side. "Are you okay, Freed?"
"What?" he said a little too loudly. Dammit, he needed to calm down.
"Are you upset about that hairstyle? I know it's the same one you had after Laxus left. You shouldn't let it get you down, send you into self-loathing or anything like that."
Laxus spoke up. "He doesn't need to worry." His eyes directly met Freed's now. "I'm not running away."
That simple promise soothed something that had been trembling in Freed's heart, and it made his shoulders relax again. After what happened last night, he had worried that it would permanently destroy their close bond. Laxus was promising that this would not be the case. Freed was unsure what precisely that meant for the two of them, but at least Laxus was determined to work something out to keep their bond of trust.
"Your hair will be fine," Laxus added.
"I kinda miss it already," Bickslow admitted. "You just don't look like Freed with short hair."
Freed nodded to their reassurances. "Luckily, even if that little boy doesn't want to turn us back to normal, Lucy has a Celestial Spirit who has hair magic."
"That crab guy, right?" Bickslow said, and he brought in the breakfast they had bought.
"Cancer, yes," Freed said, helping him to set up a box of donuts and the town's famous fried chicken served with waffles. "After I had cut my hair that last time, I instantly regretted it. I had meant for the haircut to be penance, but it was just a terrible idea, didn't suit me at all, so Levy talked to Lucy, and she had Cancer fixed my hair back to its former length. First, we need someone to undo the enchantment. Cancer might be able to do something about it, but with such a highly complex enchantment, we might need Wendy to help out."
"I just want this damn hair gone," Laxus said, shoving the blond strands out of his face.
"So, are we leaving soon?" Freed asked as he poured syrup on his waffles.
"Fuckin' no!" Laxus growled, snapping into a donut and munching it like he wanted to murder the poor pastry.
"It's from the storm last night," Bickslow explained. "Apparently, it was a lot worse down south. All the main roads from here to Freesia were wiped out due to landslides and flooding. The only way out of town is the train, but all lines are being rerouted east."
"Well, that's totally out of our way," Freed grumbled. "What about alternative roads?"
"If you want to go hiking, maybe, but the only path from Avedaville to the main road is buried in debris. No carts in or out for probably a week. The train is only running because it goes under the mountain through a tunnel and bypasses the landslide."
Freed sighed and reached up to run his hand through his hair, only to realize there was only fuzz left. "What a mess!"
"We can do a train," Laxus said, not sounding like he was keen with the idea.
Bickslow raised an eyebrow. "You know what happened to the last time you were on a train."
"Shut up! I'll deal with it."
Bickslow shrugged and ate a waffle. "If we can get to Clover, we can make our way home. That's still three hours by train. Maybe you can deal with it, but I'm not sure Evergreen can. The psychological effects of the hairstyling are still affecting her strongly. That's why I'm worried about you, Freed. You said the affects hit you pretty hard as well."
"Only at first," he said. "This hairstyle isn't nauseatingly hideous, just … not a hairstyle I like." He could feel Laxus' eyes on him, but he was unable to look over. "Let's look into the train. It's either that or we're stuck here for a week, and frankly, I want to get back to Magnolia and get this hair fixed as soon as possible."
"Agreed," Laxus said.
Bickslow crammed the last of his fried chicken and waffles into his mouth. "Then I'll go buy tickets. Any preference?"
"The sooner, the better," Freed suggested.
Bickslow grabbed a donut before heading off. That left Laxus and Freed alone with a world of awkwardness between them. Freed looked down at his food, wishing that maybe he had thought to escape by going along with Bickslow. Then again, they needed to talk. How, though?
"This town really does make good fried chicken," he said as a starter. Seriously, how pathetic! Talking about food was only slightly better than talking about the weather.
"Freed."
Like last night, that deep voice alone sent shivers over Freed's body.
"I want you to know, I trust you."
Freed looked up in surprise. Trust him?
"And … I want you to be able to trust me."
"I do," he said immediately.
Laxus looked pained by such easy, blind devotion. "What I did last night…"
Laxus did not want to say it was a mistake. It wasn't! It was something he had wanted to do for a long time, so desperately that he could no longer hold himself back. Still, if it ruined their friendship, then that was the mistake. If it in any way lessened Freed's trust, he would wish it had never happened.
"I'm … sorry," he forced out, "if it upset you."
"W-what?"
"I … didn't ask," he muttered. Laxus drew his fingers up into fists. "I didn't ask you for permission. I barely know what was going through my head. It just … happened."
"But you did ask."
"No, I didn't."
"You did! You asked if I wanted you to stop. I didn't tell you to."
"Yeah, but I didn't ask if it was okay to do it in the first place."
He smiled at the awkwardly gruff man. "Laxus, if I had hated it, I would have stopped you."
Laxus knew he was right. Maybe his strength could overpower most people, but he knew for a fact and from experience, Freed was one of the few people who could defeat him. Maybe physically he was stronger, but Freed's magic was so powerful, he had brought Laxus to his knees and sobbing in agony with merely one simple rune. When he got serious, Laxus doubted if even Gildarts could withstand Freed's magic. If Laxus had done something that utterly repulsed him, Freed could have incapacitated him with ease.
That left him with a question, though.
"Why didn't you?"
Freed choked up. Crap! What was he supposed to say? That he did not stop Laxus because it was something he had wanted for so long, something he had dreamed about, pleasuring himself with the thought of it? He couldn't say that!
"I, um … that is … I trust you, and … and that was something you…" That was something Laxus wanted … but was it? He looked guilty about it now. Freed had begun to hope that maybe, just maybe, Laxus was actually attracted to him. The severe look on his face now crushed that tiny seed of hope. "I don't know," he admitted. "I just didn't think to stop it. I … wasn't against it."
Shit! He was all but confessing now. However, Laxus looked confused. Was it not already obvious what he was saying?
"What the hell does that mean?"
Yep, Laxus was clueless after all. "It means, I didn't mind." 'Come on and get the hint already! This is obvious for anyone by now.'
Laxus had a strange look on his face, with his brow creased and his lips curled up. Freed worried if it was disgust. He must have really fucked things up now.
"How could you say that?" Laxus yelled.
The shout jolted him back and shattered his heart. Laxus was angry at him! "I know, I—"
"I fuckin' molested you!"
Wait, what? Molested? Was that really how Laxus saw this?
"No, Laxus. You didn't—"
"I did!" he yelled. "Dammit, don't you dare brush this aside. You don't get to say stuff like I didn't mind when shit like that happens, especially not with me. Goddammit, you're allowed to be mad about this. I broke your trust."
"No. Molesting is when you do something someone doesn't want."
"I fuckin' know what it means."
"And that's why it's not that."
Laxus froze, and his eyes narrowed, looking confused again. "What?"
"I … was not opposed to it." Embarrassment crept up into his cheeks, and his heart raced as he had to confess something he had hidden for so long. Still, Laxus seemed to not get it. Overwhelmed with humiliation, Freed shouted, "Seriously, how bluntly do I have to say this for you to understand?"
Laxus' gaze dropped, and Freed could see by the flinches and twitches to his eyebrows, his words were slowly sinking in. It pained him, worrying that this was going to destroy everything. Still, he had to be honest. It was time to confess.
"It was something you did without asking, yes … and it was something I was not opposed to doing. So it wasn't that you molested me, but that you did something I didn't mind."
Laxus still glared down at a half-eaten donut. "Was it … something you wanted?"
Freed sighed a little as he realized Laxus must have finally figured it out. "It was my choice not to stop you."
His heart was racing. He was so close to just blurting out that he had wanted Laxus to touch him like that, and he wanted more of it, he wanted to touch back, he wanted to take him fully in that shower, or have Laxus take him, he didn't even care what they did, he just wanted more of him. How could he risk confessing all of that so suddenly, though? Admitting even this much made Laxus look so conflicted. Probably, his whole dynamic with the team, and especially with Freed, was being called into question.
"Should … should I have stopped you?" Freed asked in worry.
He scoffed. "Why the hell are you asking me that?"
"Because you seem upset about it."
"I'm worried about you. You're the one who got grabbed."
But he liked it. How could he say it any more bluntly? Freed figured that Laxus truly must be utterly disgusted that it ever happened.
"I trust you, Laxus. Even with something like that." He looked away and blushed. "I mean, you let me shave you yesterday morning. That took a lot of trust. So, while it's not the same, I trust you even with … with doing that."
Freed prayed that Laxus did not ask him to leave the team instantly. He wanted so badly to hope that there was some love to this, a deeper meaning, but his heart hesitated, cautious and terrified that it was about to be shattered.
Laxus' throat was too tense to reply. What was Freed talking about? He trusted him … to jerk him off? What sort of insane level of trust was that? Then again, it had been Laxus himself who asked, if his arms were broken, would Freed attend to any sexual needs while he healed. Maybe Freed took that to mean that he trusted Laxus enough to touch him and not mean anything about it. But that wasn't it at all! It did mean something, at least to him. Maybe it meant nothing at all to Freed. It was a challenge in trust … nothing more.
Laxus pressed a fist to his mouth. Freed wondered what was running through his head. He still looked so confused, and he was unusually thoughtful.
"You … aren't mad?" Laxus asked in a brittle voice.
Was he still racked with guilt? "No, Laxus. I'm not mad at you."
"You were okay … with what I did?"
Sheesh, he was slow at getting it! "I would have stopped you by force if I had hated it."
"You wanted it?" Laxus asked, really feeling uncertain about that question. He watched Freed closely. He needed to know, did he want it? Did he really enjoy it? Or was it something—?
"I didn't mind," Freed said in a faint whisper.
That. Shit. It wasn't that he wanted it, but that he simply didn't mind. That crushed Laxus. He had hoped that Freed might actually want him. Instead, he just tolerated him.
Freed felt his chest heat up at confessing even that much. Did he want it? Oh God, yes! He could close his eyes now and remember how it looked, with Laxus' cock right under his, stroking from the bottom, while that huge, rough, powerful hand rubbed both of them together. He still felt the ache in his neck from where Laxus had bitten him, and he reached up to touch it now. He nibbled his lip, worried that he might start to get aroused if he let his mind wander too far, and Laxus would definitely smell it.
How could he actually say aloud, "Yes, Laxus, I want it, and I want more. I want to rub each other off while kissing and groaning against one another's lips. I want to suck you and taste you pouring into my mouth. I want to feel inside you and hear you moan my name. I want to cuddle you all night and wake up in the morning, to be the first thing you see, the reason you smile although I know you hate mornings, to kiss you when you still taste like stale beer, to make love slowly and sleepily because I know you want any excuse to stay in bed a little longer, and when finally we're spent, to cajole you out of bed and into the shower, where I can wash and kiss every inch of you until you truly wake up and want it again. And then I want to help you pick out something less-garish to wear, to have you brush out my hair and actually style it because you know I don't like braiding my hair, and then you make the coffee extra strong the way you like it, and I make breakfast with toast lightly browned the way I like it, and listen to you complain that you like your toast dark, while I tease that you like coffee strong enough to rouse the dead. I want it, Laxus. I want it all. I want the honor of being the man who can fulfill all your needs, and I want you as the man who would do his damnedest to fulfill all my selfish little desires. I just want you. Always."
There was no way he could confess all that.
Laxus looked like he was thinking over something new now, but at least he no longer looked disgusted. In that moment, Freed just wanted Laxus to stop hating himself, stop blaming himself. He was curious still why Laxus did that, but he was not sure if it was appropriate to ask yet. Laxus must have been sick with regret all night. He had stormed off thinking he molested his best friend. He needed time to get over that guilt.
"Fuck, I need a drink," he muttered. Laxus suddenly stood up and walked to the window. He looked out over the boulevard and all the weird-haired people of Avedaville. "Freed."
He jolted at the boldness of his voice. However, Laxus said nothing else for a while. Freed could not even see his face anymore to figure out what he was thinking.
"Two hours. Gimme two hours to think this through."
Ah, that was his problem. Laxus used to be impulsive, but he had learned better. Now, he over-thought a lot of things in his life. He was also slow at piecing ideas together. His teammates knew, sometimes he just needed time to think.
"Are you angry with me?" asked Freed.
Laxus spun around with an astonished sneer. "Why the fuck would I be angry with you?"
Freed dropped his head. 'Because I all but admitted that I'm attracted to you. You have every right to be angry.'
"No, Freed. I just need to think, blow off some energy. I ate so much lightning yesterday, it's fucking with my whole body."
Freed wondered if that was the reason for what happened last night. Maybe that was Laxus' version of a power surge or short circuit.
"Truth: you okay?"
Was he okay? Laxus was the one who looked like his whole world just got turned upside down. "I'm fine," Freed assured. "Are you?"
"Hell if I know," he muttered. "Look, if I seriously fucked up, then tell me what to do. I wanna make things better with you."
"You don't have to do anything."
Laxus nodded pensively to himself. "Because you didn't mind," he stated, yet still looked confused by the confession.
Freed blushed and looked away. "R-Right."
He sneaked a glance over to see Laxus looking out the window with a pinched brow. He did not speak for a while, and Freed wondered about that severe face. Laxus must still think the whole thing was a terrible mistake, that he fucked up. Maybe he was mad that Freed had simply given in like some sort of slut who let any man touch him. Maybe that stern expression was Laxus being angry with him. Or disappointed. Or repulsed. Or…
"I've gotta get out of here and think," Laxus grumbled.
Freed bit his lip. Just how badly had he screwed up by taking pleasure in some meaningless power surge? "Laxus—"
"Later," he cut in sharply, and Freed snapped his mouth closed. Dammit, he really must be mad at him. It made Freed's eyes burn. Laxus sighed and turned away from the window, shoving his shock of hair out of his face. "I'll be at the dojo. Two hours, then we'll meet up again."
"Where?"
"Here. We shouldn't discuss something like that in public."
"Right," he muttered. "I'll … go shopping … or something. Maybe help Bickslow."
The door burst open. "No need to help."
Laxus glared. "You were standing out there long enough."
The intrusion startled Freed, and he momentarily wondered how much Bickslow had overheard, yet he realized Laxus would not have said anything private if he knew that someone was there. He would have smelled Bickslow coming. Maybe that was why he was at the window, to watch and see when their conversation needed to stop, and that was why he had cut Freed off so abruptly. Bickslow must have already been outside the door.
"Good news: I got tickets," Bickslow said, holding four tickets aloft. "Bad news…"
Freed snatched a ticket out of his hand. "This is for the day after tomorrow."
Bickslow shrugged. "Can't be helped. Trains are the only thing running now, so they're all booked up."
Laxus strode past them both. "I'll tell the innkeeper we'll be here two more nights." With that, he left.
Bickslow watched him go with a frown. "What's got him cranky, besides hair that would make a fairy princess jealous?"
Freed took two tickets with him to stash them away safely. "His hair annoys him. He'll probably go out and chop it off with his lightning again."
"Are you busy?"
Freed looked around in curiosity. "Not really. Why?"
"We're here for a while. I thought we could try to cheer up Evergreen with a card game. Someone needs to get her to feel better. She's locked herself away since yesterday."
Laxus had said they should give each other two hours. That was enough time for a few games of poker.
"Gaming it is, then!" he decided. "Let's convince her that she's still wanted."
He needed to focus on helping someone else, because his own life and future were so uncertain at this point.
A game of strip poker got Evergreen to stop being so worried about her hair and more worried about her body and removing clothes. Freed was pretty certain Bickslow lost on purpose, but seeing Evergreen remove the silk bag from her head rather than her bra was an improvement and showed she was slowly coming to gain control over the magical mind-trap of self-loathing due to her mullet haircut.
After they were done, Freed put back on the clothes he had lost—not too many articles—and went out into town. He wanted to buy a few things before meeting Laxus. The poor man had been hit with quite a shock, finding out his best friend actually liked getting a hand job from him.
His cheeks turned pink just thinking about that. Laxus had touched him like that, and although he had apologized and felt guilty, never did he say, I'll never do it again. Freed could remain a little hopeful, although he knew it was highly unlikely that anything more would ever happen. Laxus had been overly charged up with the storm, resulting in surging hormones, and for some reason he had needed to claim someone. It was a fluke, Freed could accept that it would never happen again, and most importantly, he wanted Laxus to feel at ease again. No more guilt and anguish. He wanted his friend back to normal.
Freed returned to the hotel after two hours, but Laxus was not there yet. Dread began to set into his stomach. How was Laxus going to take the news that his gay teammate liked him? Freed just hoped they could come to some understanding. Maybe they could rearrange the showering order. He had place himself after Laxus so he could gaze upon him. What a perverted reason! He could start fixing thing with that. He should probably stop attending to Laxus in the bathhouses. That would no longer be appropriate. Maybe also stop staying the night at his place. So much he had been doing because he privately took pleasure in seeing Laxus, but now he needed to stop. It was unhealthy to obsess over him so much.
He hated the idea of changing things in his life.
Finally the door opened and Laxus stepped in. He had zapped his hair off again, and the blond strands hung in a choppy mess a little above his shoulders. Freed held still, waiting with dread for whatever judgment was coming.
"Sorry I'm late. I had to go somewhere for a moment." He sat down across from Freed and leaned over onto his knees, slumping with his hands folded and flexing, trying to relax himself. "I've been thinking. I think I get it."
Freed gulped hard. Did he truly understand?
"Still, what I did was wrong. Even if you liked it, I didn't ask for your permission before doing it. I need to make it up to you. I can't do that with words; I'm no good with words. So I looked around town and found a restaurant that serves one of those fancy-ass dishes you really like."
"Uh … dinner?"
"Yeah, my treat. My way of saying I'm sorry and I want you to keep trusting me."
Freed began to blush. This was like a date.
"If, y'know, ya don't want to be around me, just say and I'll—"
"No! No, that … I … I guess that's your way of apologizing."
"Somethin' like that," Laxus mumbled.
"That's … thoughtful. It's also a little like what was on my mind. I felt like I needed to make amends for … for everything."
"You didn't do anything, Freed."
"Yes, I did."
"What?"
He did not want to tell Laxus, he was the one who had taken pleasure in the whole experience. He was the one who moaned so loudly, wanting it, indulging in it, not thinking that Laxus might regret it later. All he wanted was that sensual experience. And he wanted more! That was what made him feel so guilty. Laxus was horrified at what he did, but Freed had to hold himself back from begging for more.
"Anyway!" he said, and Freed pulled out two fancy bags with colored ribbons. "For you."
"Presents?" Laxus opened the first bag, but he could already tell it was a bottle. He lifted it up with an instant grin. "Daaaamn! Is this thirty-year-old scotch?"
"I know you like that type. Also, this." He shoved forth the other bag. "Cigars. I know you haven't smoked in a while, but I saw they had your favorite type, so … a little splurge."
Laxus pulled out the cigar box. "This is the good Bosco leaf. How the hell did a town like this have this sorta shit?"
"I asked around and found the right people."
Leave it to Freed to hunt out high-quality goods in some tiny town that was barely on the map.
"Well, I still don't know what you did wrong, but whatever it is," Laxus lifted up the bottle and looked at the label, "this makes up for it."
Freed sighed in relief. He still wanted to know what happened. Why had Laxus grabbed him like that? Since they were supposed to be talking about last night, he supposed he should ask now. He opened his mouth, but he saw Laxus sniffing one of the cigars. He looked so happy right in that moment. Freed worried that if he asked and probed deeper, he might disrupt this delicate truce they now had. His mouth closed again, and he shut his eyes. It was just some mistake, some power surge with no deeper meaning. He had to shove his desires aside if he wanted to keep Laxus as a friend.
Laxus set the cigar down and stared at the scotch whiskey bottle. Freed must have really put effort into finding these. He, however, still felt guilty.
'I fucking molested him. Why is he apologizing? At least it doesn't seem like he minds, but … would he want more? Can we do it again? Shit, I can't ask! Knowing him, he would agree to touch me, fuck me, anything I want, but only because he trusts me as a friend. He said he didn't mind, but he seemed damned determined never to say he wanted it. I kept asking and asking, and he never answered that it was something he wanted, just that he didn't mind. Which means he didn't want it, right? He only tolerated it, because he trusts me to keep it as something between friends. Fuck. I guess that's where we stand now. I have to accept that. He didn't mind, because he trusts me, and we're just friends. I mean, that's good, I'm glad he's okay, but still … fuck!'
"You wanna do anything?" he blurted out. "Hang out somewhere until dinner?" Laxus knew he needed to get his mind off things. Anything was better than simmering in depression.
"Like what?"
"I saw a pachinko parlor. We could play a bit, maybe see if they have a cinema here, catch a movie." He tapped a nail to the bottle. "We'll enjoy this later … together."
Together! That brightened Freed's heart instantly. More and more, this was sounding like a date, but Freed banished the thought.
"Sounds like fun."
His reply made Laxus grin, which soothed Freed's heart. At least they could still be friends.
Even if both of them secretly wished they could be more.
- 5
- 6
- 7
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Of Lightning and Long Locks