She stepped through the door and reached up. This time he did not flinch as she softly touched the short stubbles above his ear.
"It is somehow befitting of you, to do a thing like this." She whispered, "But it will take people time to get used to the sight. Now let me help to make you look somewhat decent again."
He bowed his head and led her to the bathroom, wordlessly handing her the scissors while he sat himself down on the edge of the bathtub.
She did not speak either, but with quick hands cut the remaining peaks until he looked slightly more normal.
"Thank you." His voice sounded hoarse and trembled a little, he did not trust himself to say more.
Mira put down the scissors and sank down next to him. "You're not alone in this Freed."
He averted his eyes. "It is I who have to live with what I have done."
"Freed, we all make mistakes. Nothing happened that cannot be undone."
How he wished that he would be able to hide in his long tresses now, but his face remained exposed and he no longer had the energy to walk away.
His expression must have spoken volumes, for Mirajane put an arm around him and held him tight as she repeated, "Freed, you followed the man you love. While I will not say that you are without fault, we understand why you acted as you did."
He shrugged off her arm and rose, despite his fatigue. "That is where you are wrong Mira. I did not just follow Laxus."
He had taken only a few steps when her hand caught his shoulder and squeezed it hard. He cried out and felt his knees buckle. She caught his elbow before he could fall and confusedly he looked up.
"Surprised that I remember where I hit you? I figured that your shoulder must have been in a pretty bad state." She said with a grim expression, "I know you did not just follow him, for that you are far too intelligent. But neither was this all of your own choice. I know what it feels like, Freed Justine. The magic we wield is inherently difficult to control. I never meant to hurt you, and yet I obviously did."
"But you did not want to kill." He whispered in return.
"Do you really think so? I tell you, when I had you pinned down, I nearly did kill you." She let go of his elbow. She turned away and Freed saw her shoulders slump. "It was the memory of Lisanna that stopped me. I too could have killed today. Don't you understand? We are all the same."
He sighed, moving his hand over his eyes, "Let's go and sit down, I'll clean up this mess tomorrow." Kicking the tangled bundle of green hair aside, he moved to the living room and turned on the lights. He squinted against the sudden brightness and sagged down on the couch. He did not look back to see if she followed, he knew she would.
True enough, she came in only a few minutes later, composed again. "I just came here to tell you that you are not as alone as you think you are, Freed." She said as she sat herself down in a comfortable chair.
He stared into nothingness and remained silent for a long time.
"And I am not talking about Ever and Bix, who obviously are worried to death. I understand why you're trying to protect them as much as you can, seeing how much they look up to you. I'm talking about others who respect and maybe even understand you better than you think." She added.
"Do you really believe so, Mira?" he softly asked. "You might be right that you understand more than most, but would you as well understand it if I say that I have already forgiven Laxus?"
"That honestly does not surprise me a bit. I have never doubted that your hardest task would be to learn how to forgive yourself, not him." She hesitated, "You did not go with him just to punish yourself, didn't you?"
He sadly smiled, "No Mira, I am not that bad. I did not join him because like me, he needs to find his own way to forgiveness. However much I would want to protect him, I cannot help him this time and he knows that."
"Are you not afraid that he will not come back?"
Freed sighed, "Yes, I am afraid, but I trust him. He will return when he's ready and when he does, I'll be here waiting for him."
"Laxus is a fool not having seen what he had." Tears were streaking Mirajane's cheeks, "he will realise that soon enough, now that he is truly alone. I just wished it would not have had to come to this."
"It is not a bad thing to be alone, Mira."
She looked at him, wiping away her tears, "How can you say that Freed? It's when people realise how lonely it is being on their own, that they start to become kind."
He stared at his hands. "Maybe you are right. Laxus was the first person who ever saw me for whom I really was. He saw through the shields I had built around me at that time."
"At that time? What about now?" She gently asked and he had no choice but to reluctantly nod.
"There have been days that I managed without, but not these last years. Somehow they returned when Laxus started to be so obsessed with strength." He felt how his own tears started to fall again. He had known that he had strayed from his path lately, but it was still hard to admit.
"Freed, please try to let us in. Just for once try to see how much we do care for you. I know how hard it can be, but it is worth it." She hesitated a moment, "For me it changed everything."
He closed his eyes, "I will try, that I promise." She would understand his careful reply, he never broke a promise.
"Good, start with coming to the guild tomorrow. Waiting will only make things more difficult."
"I will be there, I want to apologise to the master."
As he let her out, sometime later that night, he softly closed the door and went to his bedroom. Despite his tiredness he could not sleep, but instead kept thinking about the Mira's questions.