A/N:I wasn't originally going to write this out but due to a review from TitanXyz, I felt that I should. Also I apologize for not uploading a chapter yesterday. It has been a hard weekend wherein I almost lost my dad and I just needed a day to recharge. Again, yay! Two new followers, and as always I love you all!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OC. All events and cannon characters belong to the great Hiro Mashima.
Bickslow stared at the green haired mage in front of him in a state of shock. "What do you mean you've never been with a woman before?" he asked slowly.
Freed couldn't blush anymore after telling his complete story. He didn't know how the other man was supposed to help him and he wasn't quite sure why he was sitting here so calmly speaking about his feelings for the girl. Let alone telling the man about his . . . history.
Bickslow blinked a few times at the younger mage, unsure just how exactly to take this unexpected news. He had never been one to discriminate between the sexes but then he always did the plugging, no matter who it was. Eventually, he just shrugged and blew out a long slow breath, knowing that his usual reaction of laughing at something like this wouldn't be appreciated by his friend now.
"Welp," Bickslow said, drawing out the word and popping the 'p', "Please don't tell me I need to explain the birds and the bees on how it works with a female." He said it as a joke, hoping to lighten the mood. If Freed was desperate enough to spill his guys to Bickslow, he might be serious about this girl, however little time she'd spent here in Fiore.
Freed glared at Bickslow, wondering if he should just get up and leave before the situation got any worse. The older Mage sighed a bit and reached up to take his helmet off, setting it on the table beside their cups of coffee before running a hand through his mohawk.
"Alright, alright," Bickslow said, waving his hands as if to wave away the joke, "all serious now, I promise." He sat forward in his seat a little more, looking at the green haired man. "Look, does she like you? Do you even have a chance with her?" he asked, on eyebrow raised.
Freed bit his lip and looked away. "It's not like I can read her mind or anything, but yes, she does seem interested. She looks at me . . . I don't even know how to describe it. But then sometimes I feel like a little boy with his first crush that doesn't know exactly what to do to get the girl to notice him," he said, his cheeks unable to heat anymore.
Bickslow looked down at his hands and bought himself sometime as he tried to figure out the best course of action. He'd only been partially serious when he said he would give the man advice. Heck, what did he know of anything beyond one night stands? Not like I'm Mr. Smooth over here, I can't even get Lisanna to look in my direction, he thought glumly. To shake himself up he cracked his neck back and forth and resumed looking at his friend. "Alright, well, first things first. She knows all about you since she comes from that other world, yea?" Bickslow asked.
Freed winced at the thought. "Yes, a little too much. They know all about the Raijinshuu and . . . what happened before . . ." he trailed off.
"Hmm," Bickslow sighed, "That seems damning, but you said that she still seems to like you anyway?" At Freed's nod, Bickslow continued, "Then maybe you shouldn't worry about it so much. Besides if she knows all about you, all about us, then there's not really anything you can do to surprise her. Be yourself. If that's what she liked in the first place then don't change it," he ended with a shrug.
"But what am I supposed to do about . . ." Freed asked, a touch of panic rising in his voice, "Things, like . . . physical things?"
Bickslow snorted. "I'm pretty sure she's just as new to all of that as you are. And even then, you have more experience under your belt than she would." He leaned forward and tilted his head to the side to finally make eye contact with the green haired man. "You'll learn just like every other man had to. Hard earned practice and lots of mistakes, which, if she's a good enough woman for you, she'll forgive you for."
Freed looked up at him, chewing on the inside of his lip slightly. "You think she would? She wouldn't hate me if I messed up her first time?"
The Sieth Mage fought the urge to roll his eyes at the younger man. "Dude, she's probably a virgin, and if she is, then that means her first time ain't gonna be a pleasure cruise anyway. If you remember back to your first time, I bet it wasn't the most enjoyable thing in the world, now was it?"
Freed felt the flush return to his cooled cheeks as he thought back. The man hadn't been too rough with him and he'd tried to make it as enjoyable as possible, but Bickslow was right, things had gotten better, more pleasurable, since then. For the first time in what seemed like a long while, Freed sighed deeply, letting the stress go that he'd kept holed up in his body. He smiled gently and slumped back in his chair, letting his head rest back against the wall behind him.
"There ya go," Bickslow said, his signature grin invading his face once more, "A little pep talk and you're good as new, better even. You don't seem as tense and uptight as you usually are!"
Freed snorted, raising his head to look at the other Mage with a small smile playing at the corners of his lips. "You're right, I am less tense. I'm . . ." he sought through his immense vocabulary for the correct adjective, "I'm happy." He grinned, "Very happy. And not just because I like her. I'm happy because she knows about what happened. And she says that no one cares anymore. No one holds a grudge against us."
Bickslow blinked at Freed, raising an eyebrow. "You really care that much about it?"
Freed suddenly sat forward and grabbed Bickslow's forearms, startling the Seith Mage. "I have regretted it every day since it happened. I tried to calm Laxus down, tried to get him to see reason, that it wasn't a wise choice of action. But I would follow my leader to the ends of Earthland if that's what he wanted. So, I didn't stop even thought I knew it was wrong. It took Mirajane all but killing me in her Satan Soul form for me to realize that, I do not know it all. We are not much more powerful than the people in our guild."
Freed sat back, staring at the table, eyes glassy as he wasn't really looking at the table, he was looking more into himself. "I want what the others have. I want the friendships that they hold so dear. Sure, I have you, and Evergreen and Laxus. But I want the others in the guild to accept us back, like they used to before we got into that mess. I don't know why Willow made me see this. I don't why it all matters so much more now that she's here than it did before. But I don't care. I'm glad she sees me for me. And even if the guild doesn't ever see us the way they used to, at least I know that one person cares."
Freed smiled to himself, imagining Willow's face. She seemed to have invaded his life and broken down the barriers to his world and the walls he'd put up around his heart to guard himself against everyone's opinions. And she's done nothing except be herself, he thought, her wonderful self. She'd come into his life like a blast of Natsu's fire, reading with him and just being. Freed had never known someone so like himself, except not. Willow had never backed down. Many girls would have cried in her position, the way they had treated her in the beginning. But Willow had taken it all and barely shown her fear. She'd gained his respect. And he suspected his heart when she'd disappeared so quick.
Suddenly, his desperation to get her back all made sense. Willow fit with him like a missing piece. Spending the day together, he'd not been so lonely. They'd read together and laughed. The guild was full of passionate people, none who he would give up. But they were raucous and violent usually. Willow was . . . demure but not hesitant. She always wore her emotions on her face and she seemed like she would fit in with his family at Fairy Tail. Freed had fallen hard for the girl whom he barely knew. His emotions and thoughts so scattered from the little whirlwind that he didn't know where to start picking back up the pieces of himself.
Vaguely, Freed wondered if this was her magic, getting people to let down their guard in such a way that they couldn't hide from their true selves. Never had he heard of such a magic but it was the only explanation that made sense. Certainly, the Raijinshuu had never suspected Laxus and Mirajane might have a thing. But once Willow had come to Fiore, there they were in bed together.
Freed's thoughts halted and he pondered that idea. Could there be such a magic that allowed someone to take away metaphorical barriers that people had erected around themselves? A magic that, at its core, stripped away the layers people built up around themselves and allowed them to see what really mattered? What they really wanted?
The Rune Mage stood suddenly, moving so quickly that the chair fell back onto the floor with a clatter behind him and the other man looked up at him in surprise. But Freed didn't care, he was lost in thought, wondering if the library in this town was any good, if they would even be open, wondering if they would have any type of documented magic like what Willow might have.
If her magic could be evolved, could it be used as a weapon to distract her opponents? Could it be used to break down physical barriers as well as mental ones? Would her magic ultimately drive someone insane if used incorrectly or left unchecked? Thoughts flew through Freed's knowledge seeking mind, with few answers there to quench his never-ending thirst.
Bickslow's hand shot out and grabbed Freed's wrist. "Dude, what happened? Are you okay?" he asked, looking more than a little concerned at his friend's state of mind. One moment he had been talking up a storm and freaking the Seith Mage out. The next moment he had been mumbling to himself about different types of magic.
Freed snapped out of his thoughts at the feel of his friend's hand on his arm. "Huh?" he murmured, looking up, blinking slowly at Bickslow as his mind slowly came back to the present.
The Seith Mage grinned his iconic smile, tongue and all at Freed. "This girl has you all tied up in knots and you haven't even kissed her yet!" he laughed.
Freed blushed at the thought, his mind back to racing a mile a minute as he wondered how he would ever get up the nerve to do even attempt to kiss Willow.
Bickslow raised his eyebrows, "Wait, you haven't already kissed her, have you?" he asked with another signature grin.
Freed blushed all the way to the tips of his green hair. "NO! No . . . I just . . . I'm not sure if I'll be able to try and initiate that . . ." Freed said, his voice getting softer as he looked away. He was saved more embarrassment, for at that moment Mirajane made her way down into the small café, Willow trailing, albeit reluctantly behind her. And Freed's breath stopped.
Her unruly brown curls had been left to frame her face, her glasses perched on the edge of her nose as she looked at him for approval. Mirajane had given her a plain white off the shoulder dress that just barely made it to her midthighs. It had puffy short sleeves reminiscent of the pirates of old. And over top the dress she wore a form fitting purple vest that did nothing to hide her bare shoulders. The vest had several gold clasps down the front that started mid bust line and made their way down to her waist where the vest stopped. Her legs were bare from midthigh down to her knee where a pair of plain brown lace up boots finished her outfit.
"Well," Willow said hesitantly. "What do you think?" she asked as she gave a small twirl, the soft breeze blowing up the back of her skirt probably a little more than she had intended.
The last thing Freed heard before he hit the ground, fainting from blood loss south and out his nose, was Bickslow laughing his ass off.
