I'm so sorry I haven't posted anything for like a month! I've started working on my Multichap fic 'Coffee to go' again though, and I promise that the next chap will be out this Friday! Meanwhile have this cute Fraxus, another oneshot I didn't post on here yet!


You want to meet him like this?"

Unmistakable disbelief was shaking in Mirajane's voice, quite unusual her tone was, as she spoke and let her blue eyes scan the man in front of him once more. To be seen was Laxus Dreyar in a yellow shirt, blond spikes more or less an utter mess and the expression in his orange hues changing with every second that passed. As unusual as the tone of the barmaid's voice was, just as unusual seemed Laxus' appearance to be for a reason, no indifferent mien but no grumbling either nor calm. He was…

"Shit, I can't do this!"

Two palms reaching up as he rubbed his own face. For a brief time he even forgot that he couldn't show himself like this – being this nervous and helpless. The guild hall was calm, and not for no reason. The she-devil had shooed almost all of their guild mates away so they could have all the space for themselves; it was needed. Lisanna sat on a bar stool watching the scene currently in silence though was giggling to herself every now and then. Who could blame her? It was rare – sometimes it seemed even like something impossible and non-existent – that one could behold the blond S-Class mage in such a condition.

"Are Evergreen and Bixlow with him?", Mirajane asked while rushing behind the bar to get a glass of water for the lightning dragon slayer who was now walking from one side to the other and back again, just like a tiger in his cage, restless and with no destination.

"Yeah."

Brief answer. Had to be enough. It was sunny outside, one of those days at which it seemed as if it was not possible to be in a bad mood – of course there would always be exceptions, just as it was the case with everything else. But while the sun was shining bright, there was a little storm raging inside Laxus. Or, a maybe rather well a big storm.

"You can."

By now, the barmaid's voice was a lot softer again, the disbelief had vanished and a typical smile could be spotted on her countenance as she walked towards the nervous man and literally thrust to glass into his hands, making sure that he took a hold at it so it wouldn't fall to the floor and shatter to pieces.

"Can what?"

Confusion as the tall male looked at her, having forgotten about the exclamation he had made moments before already.

"Ask him.", Mira responded more cheerfully and folded her hands before her body, tilting her head a little. It was a mystery that they had managed to keep the plan a secret – to this one certain man. Oddly enough, everyone else seemed to be informed about what would happen this night and eventually Laxus had discovered that no less a person than Happy was the source of this highly dangerous circumstance. Everyone knew that he was a tattle tale, just as Bix was though probably even worse. He didn't want to imagine what would be if Freed would have found out! Everything would have been for nothing, his entire surprise, blood and sweat! Well…perhaps that was exaggerated but taking a closer look…Was he really sweating right now!?

"That's not manly!"

There was only one male who would state something like this. And the Strauss sibling would earn a hiss from Laxus, orange eyes shooting a glare at him. Under different conditions he would maybe just ignore it, however this time he couldn't help it. Everything was simply an utter mess.

"You'll be fine, I'm sure. Well, as soon as you have changed and fixed your hair."

With furrowed brows Mirajane let her gaze roam over the blond's appearance once more. He looked like he got himself ready in the dark.

"Watcha mean with that?"

Lisanna now standing at her older sister's side he gave him the once-over as well before both of the women just glanced at him with a rather intense gaze what didn't exactly help Laxus' nervousness.

"W-What? Damn, what is it!?"

"You look like a mess.", Lisanna responded quicker than Mirajane and chuckled afterwards.

"Why? And what the hell is funny about that?"

"We just never saw you like this before, that's kind of amusing."

Right, and on his tombstone there would be the inscription: Cause of death, nervousness and two white-haired females pointing it out. Yes, the youngest Strauss sister's remark helped a lot.

"Fuck, I'm bad at stuff like this. I'd rather fight a damn bloody demon than doing this, I bet that's a lot easier."

And Laxus let himself plop onto a chair, muscular arms conjoining across his chest as he leaned back and bobbed his right foot without even noticing that he was doing that, not noticing the small chuckle on Mirajane's face either however he looked up at the three Strauss Siblings again.

"Well Laxus, see in one way Freed is a demon, too, so you will manage it. As I said."

At this, Laxus didn't come up with anything to reply, he just kinda stared at her with lips parted ever so slightly before he exhaled deeply and grunted softly until he felt gentle hands tugging at his coat heavily..

"What—?"

"We have to hurry now. You have to change your attire and I'll make your hair. Lisanna will help and Elfman takes care of this important little case."

And again there was no time being left for the blond S-Class mage to argue as both of the white-haired females dragged him out of the guild hall. Dusk.

—–

All day long Ever and Bixlow had entertained him with more or less senseless activities and conversations and he had started to get suspicious already, though kept his mouth about said suspicion which was lingering inside of him. Freed was sure that they were hiding something, he had been sure about this from that moment on at which they had dragged him back to Bixlow's apartment. And what only served to let his suspicion grow that the seith mage's babies hadn't been floating around him the entire time – if anything, they weren't even here. Well, now they were again and he could observe his best friend whispering something to them, then to Ever before they turned around and walked towards the rune mage.

"So, what is all this secret-mongering about, huh?"

Evergreen froze at this question – the entire day they had managed to keep Freed quiet as for inquiries like this one and they couldn't lose at this point! The female member of the Raijinshuu was about the reply, but it was Bixlow who actually took over that task and wrapped an arm around the green-haired male's shoulder, wearing one of his typical grins.

"Ya'll find out soon enough, baby. Or ya could guess."

Hearing the latter of the tall man's sentences, Evergreen became quite alarmed though it was not necessary at all since Bixlow had considered that Freed despised all forms of guessing most of the time, so the answer he expected was a negative one. And indeed.

"No thank you, I'm really not in the mood for guessing games, Bix."

Good, perfect. Nightfall had progressed and a moderate breeze was blowing as the three Fairy Tail mages finally reached their targeted building – the guild building.

"What on—"

A low displeased noise slipped out of the jutsushiki mage's mouth as palms took his vision, Bixlow covering his eyes with his hands and Evergreen opening the guild doors once it was done, in the hall's heart the sound of silence.

"No Bix really, what is this about!?"

Was impatience getting the best of Freed at last? Or was it the slight discomfort the entire situation brought up, nervousness as well perhaps?

"No shut yer lovely mouth, Freed, will ya? I promise ya'll like it."

And Freed did as he was told whilst his friend was leading him cautiously into the guild hall, many curious pairs of eyes awaiting him and glancing at him as soon as they were capable of seeing the rune mage of their guild. Among them, one special orange pair of hues as well. No one dared to make a sound, to even move or breathe too loud with the only low disturbance being the low noises those six feet created whenever they made contact with the floor. Laxus' hands were shaking lightly even though he desperately tried his best to keep them from doing so; his nervousness hadn't declined in the slightest. Though his appearance had changed awfully well: He was now wearing a purple shirt – one of his favourites and he knew that Freed liked it, too – but this time mixed with a decent black neck tie and simple but proper pants, black as well. Safely in his hands he was holding the tiny case Elfman had promised to take care of while Mirajane, Lisanna and himself had disappeared to his apartment to change his garments and oh, his hair! It now looked less messy than usual, actually really brought in order however had still kept a bit of its orneriness. Losing the case would not have been the end of the world but it surely would have had its impact. Albeit there was no need to think about the infamous 'what if' anyway. Then again it was not like Laxus was able to concentrate on anything else than his shaking hands, the chaos in his mind and Freed who was now standing right in front of him. Glancing around quickly he could see all of his guild mates rather smiling at him, even Natsu was quiet though shoot a wide grin at him, not a teasing one though. And as he looked back he could spot the same expressions on the faces of two of his closest friends, maybe a bit softer. At last he gave a small nod, the sign for Bixlow that he could remove his hands which were still covering the rune mage's eyes. Now there was no turning back. And the worst case that could happen was that Freed would say 'no'.

"E-Eh?"

Turquoise eyes almost immediately widened at the sigh which presented itself right in front of the green-haired man and he couldn't help the astonished sound which escaped between his lips. The lights in the guild hall were almost dimmed completely, the main source for light being candles which were spread all over the tables and the bar. His eyes got stuck on the person in front of him, not realizing the other's nervousness but feeling his own increase with every second that passed. For a moment he managed to detach his gaze from Laxus who was just observing him in tensed up silence, knowing that the Captain of his team would want a moment to scan the situation a bit. And Freed did. Letting his gaze wander over all of his guild mates though feeling as if it wasn't reality he found himself in but a dream. The suspicion grew further and further as well as the nervousness and quickly he decided to turn his back – or actually it was not really a decision. The sight was breathtaking and if he was honest he had no idea what to say or how to deal with it even though he had still not realized what exactly would happen within the next couple of moments.

"W-What is…W-What are you—"

But without his actual wish he interrupted, holding his breath as he watched Laxus going down on one of his knees and at the same time gently took one of his hands in his own, blushing deeply and the hand still shaking slightly, however Laxus was truly lucky that the red shades on his cheeks could not really be seen due to the gloaming. Yet his eyes hadn't found Freed's, instead orange shades were sticking to the hand he was holding before he gulped and found the courage to look up, telling himself that he shouldn't act foolish now, that he couldn't allow himself to chicken out in the last second. And in any case…He was sure that he wanted this. That he wanted this man. Only this one man. He could see the unmistakable astonishment looming across Freed's features, his eyes widened yet again and lips pressing onto each other as it was obvious that the rune mage wasn't able of releasing words anymore. He was speechless. And at this, Laxus caught himself while chuckling inwardly at this. Bestowing a lack of words on Freed? An utter success, for sure. But this thought left his mind very fast and the struggle of his current reality snapped back in, letting Laxus gulp heavily before he found the last spark of courage that was needed to raise his voice.

"Shit okay you know I'm not the biggest talker but I want to do this so—"

Barely hearable at first but after a moment growing louder to a comfortable sound level. He had even tried to create a little speech but actually he had known that he would only end up improvising anyway.

"I'm…To be honest I wasn't sure if it is to early for this but you know, I sat down and thought about it and…"

Another brief interruption and Laxus giving a low sigh, but looking squarely into Freed's eyes which he noticed had begun to glint a little more by now.

"…We know each other for years now, like…It's not like we got to know us only recently and started datin' each other and…Hell, no it's damn 8 years. For this long we know each other already. And if I…remember correctly it's 6 months an' a couple of days now, isn't it? It must be, yes, and…6 months of us being a…c-couple."

6 months huh? Oh how complicated their start had been…Indeed, it had taken them some time until Freed had confessed. They started out as friends, as the rune mage entered the Fairy Tail guild. They grew to best friends for a long time and at some time…at one evening everything received a new touch and they became…what did people call it? 'Friends with benefits'? Yes, a lot of unspoken thoughts and pleasant touches. In the end, nothing but temporary bliss no matter how you looked at it. Until the last step was taken and their relationship turned into one of a couple. Last step…that's what they thought back then.

"I'm not one to love easily, I know you noticed. But I know you are actually not much different, so…Ah I cannot even put all the words together. Ya know maybe I was just hiding for too long or something. You see, I know what I'm thinking but it's like the words won't come out, so here I am looking like a fool.",he continued exhaling and scratching one of his cheeks with his free hand, the case placed next to him. Followed by a little awkward laugh.

"You're better at talking."

It was strange. There had been moments at which both of them thought it couldn't get worse with their heartbeat, yet they were here now feeling their hearts bumping like mad against their chests, just as if it wanted to jump out every moment. And the curve of Laxus' lips which had been created by the tiny laughter vanished, his expression now all serious again.

"You know…Everything about you…I really…I love you, Freed. I mean…The way you smile, the way you laugh, the way…you are you…It all leaves me…hm…breathless, hm I…Look, I…you are important to me, but you know all of this already, right? You are the one I want to keep…f-forever."

He was cursing himself for stuttering and stumbling over his words, but this irritant quickly left his mind as he looked down for a mere second and took a deep breath before lifting his gaze again, glancing up squarely into the other's eyes which were glinting even more. He could observe Freed twitching his nose and noticed the slight shaking of him in his hand, everything and everyone existent around them quiet.

"S-So, I want to ask you…Will you marry me?"

Badump badump badump – heart beating furiously in his chest, Laxus didn't know that Freed felt the same way right now. For these moment everything else had faded out, did not reach the rune mage's realization at all. The only think he could do was to stare at the half kneeling man in front of him. It was the man he loved and the man he would never let go again. Freed had to wonder if this was real, if he did not just started to hear things he actually was not able to hear…to see things he actually was not able to see…But soon enough he could tell with certainty that all of it was real. His comrades. The room. Himself. Laxus. And this moment was the moment at which his glinting eyes turned out to be the source for the first tear which would rush down his face this evening, his expression drowned in suspicion, disbelief and astonishment now replaced by a happy one, a wide smile formed on his lips and more than one firm nod given as he was still not able to offer a verbal answer yet. Lips trembling as he didn't care and allowed more teardrops to run down, tears of joy and he now he could feel Laxus warmth, his hand squeezing his own for some moments and again shaking lightly as well.

"Y-Yes! Y-Yes, Laxus!"

His fears were taken away at last and his facade dropped even though he had told himself to remain 'strong' – as the waves of happiness he felt right now were overwhelming, he just didn't care anymore and felt his eyes wetting, too, sniffing quietly to himself and smiling as bright as never before as he took the case which was resting next to him and opened it, revealing two engagement rings. Both of them relatively plain though with a purple diamond placed in the middle, their names engraved with a twirly writing. They were beautiful. The lightning dragon slayer had set his wits to so many things, considered so many failures he could reach but in the end it was all good. And he was about to take Freed's hand again but instead he felt a touch at his arm and was pulled up what caused him to blink in surprise before he was already by a soft pair of lips as the shorter male literally pressed them onto his, cupping his face with his palms and squeezing his eyes shut, sobbing lightly by now. Yet, still a kiss he would return happily as now a few tiny little tears would find their way down Laxus' face as well, arms wrapped around the other and tugging him closer, not wanting to let him go. Ever. He was his, only his.

And that was also the moment when the silence was destroyed completely, loud cheering sounding from all around them at last, coming from their treasured comrades, all of them wearing a smile, a grin and some of them having wet eyes as well, one of them being Evergreen. One thing was for sure: All of them were precious. They would party all night. And Laxus was still alive and right now, one of the happiest persons on earth and so was Freed. A day never to forget.


Also, HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL! I hope you had great Christmas days too and have been alright! Thank you for each review, they really make me damn happy and keep me going! And thank you for your patience! Talk to you again on Friday! 3 Or if anyone wants to message me, you can always find me on my tumblr account(s)!