Author's Note: Sorry I haven't posted anything in such a long time. I was really busy and then I got out of the habit of writing fanfiction for a while. I've been working on the next chapter in "The Raijinshuu Let it Snow" and hope to have some new stuff up soon. In the meantime, enjoy this… whatever it is… inspired by a writing prompt. Happy Valentine's Day!
Laxus slouched over the table and turned up his music. Why the guild was being so noisy at seven in the morning, he didn't really understand, but they were certainly in a good mood. Through the sounds from his headphones, he heard some kind of cheering.
At first, he perked up thinking maybe- just maybe- the Raijinshuu had gotten back a few minutes early, but checking the door, his hopes faded. There was no one walking in, no curious crowd blocking his view, and no pesky greeting from his followers who would've made sure he was the first to know of their return, whether he gave a crap or not. It was weird, waiting around for them.
The cheering turned into general yelling and someone crashed into his back. When he turned to check who it was there whoever it was had gotten back into the action- apparently there was no such thing as 'too early for a bar fight,' and one had broken out a few tables away. As tempting as it was for one of the guild's strongest members to go end the annoyance, it was really beneath him if no one he actually liked or wanted to hit was involved.
He took his headphones off and let his head slide down onto the table. Being left behind was boring and annoying and something else he couldn't quite figure out yet. The air being clear of Bixlow's winged dolls, Evergreen's unmistakable attitude being a missing presence in the chaos around him, and a certain sense of the creeps from Freed's hovering over him leaving a big empty spot in his gut, Laxus wondered if maybe the last thing he was feeling could be lonely.
At the entrance to the guild, Evergreen pushed open the door and called out, "I'm back!" Nobody looked. Behind her, Bixlow snickered. Everyone in the guild was too busy with the fight to notice their arrival, and even if somebody wasn't, it was too loud for them to hear. She was about to get angry, but before she could start yelling, Bixlow tapped her on the shoulder.
"Look." He pointed to Freed, darting quickly from shadow to shadow, between the tables, and finally to where Laxus sat sulking.
"Do you think Laxus is okay," she asked, panicked. Bixlow smiled. "He missed us."
Behind Laxus, Freed crept up carefully. At first he moved slowly to avoid attracting any attention, reaching out toward Laxus's stomach. Then, in a flash, he wrapped his arms around his Thunder God and squeezed. "We're back," he said, looking to Bixlow and Evergreen.
Laxus jumped on impact, then grimaced when he realized what was happening. "Good for you," he said flatly, trying his best to seem bothered by it.
"Everyone missed you, did you miss us?"
He looked at Freed like he was crazy. "It was two days! Quit hugging me!"
Evergreen and Bixlow started to run over. "Wait for us!" "Group hug!" they shouted.
Laxus made a face like he was in pain. "Nooo," he groaned.
"We missed you so much," his followers cooed, globbing onto him.
"Get off…" They hugged him tighter, and although he would never tell anyone, he actually kind of liked it.