Here it finally is, chapter 14! For those who follow this story and didn't read the oneshot I recently uploaded ( 'Marry the Dark' ) I want to say apologize again! I said that I planned on updating way earlier but December was a quite busy month and my motivation was very low, so sorry for that! I'm back now though and I definitely want to keep this story going, so I'll do my very best to try and update every week again or at least every second week!

Apart from this, HAPPY NEW YEAR! 3 And I also hope that all of you have been doing alright and had great Christmas days if you celebrated it!

Thanks a lot for your patience, your support and reviews! 3 So here we go again!

He had no idea if this was a good decision or not… but he could impossibly have left him somewhere else, so here Laxus was once again gazing at the green-haired man who still wasn't awake. The surface of the door really must have hit him very badly so all Cana and the manager could do was to try and cool the spot while getting the man away from the floor of the Club's room.

While doing so he learned one more thing about Freed. This guy was heavier than he looked like and the blond guessed that his swordsmanship training was the main reason for it. His body was slim, his arms a good deal more slender than his Laxus' but apparently with most of it being pure muscles.

But this discovery hardly assisted him now, nor did his mind. Waiting and the silence surrounding him, it was torture and nothing else. His thoughts ran off the track constantly forcing him to mull over what transpired before Cana stormed into the room at his Club. The kiss.

Cana and Laxus found Freed's phone in his trouser pocket but of course it was locked so they couldn't contact any of his friends. The blond somehow didn't want to leave him here either though, so in his mind there was one single option left since he had no clue where Freed's house was located.

Thus here he was, with the green-haired waiter lying on the couch of his own living room.

Laxus barely ever showed anyone where he lived. He was a very very private person, or rather…he'd become one as the years went by. The only people who visited him occasionally were Bixlow, who was the only one who had a key which was actually meant for emergency cases but needless to say the blue-haired man used it for casual visits as well, and his grandfather, Makarov. At times Gajeel or Cana but that was very rare. Most of the time he went to meet them somewhere, or they saw each other at the Donnerhall.

After some more desperate cursing and cooling he had told Cana to go and help Gajeel take care of whatever issue he had before heaving the waiter up and carrying him out of the Club and straight to his home. Definitely one of the moments Laxus was glad that he lived near the building. Ah yes, it had been a good decision…

He was sure that Freed would be perfectly fine. It was a very unlucky situation but nothing serious, he hoped. What he was highly insecure about however was what would be after the greenet woke up. The kiss… Laxus wasn't able to handle it yet. Something inside of him protested, something that was part of the barrier that kept him from returning the gesture as he suddenly felt Freed's lips brush against his own.

Laxus frowned. His eyes laid on the motionless figure on his couch whilst he himself was sitting on a chair he'd gotten out of the kitchen. And how would Freed react once he woke up? Would he remember what happened? If not, should he tell the greenet what happened? Should he lie to avoid awkwardness? And if he remembered, then what would they do next?

There were a few ways this situation could go but at the moment Laxus couldn't think of one single positive one…

Silently he looked over at his phone before he took it and gazed at the screen. Some new messages, and of course they would be from Cana. The brunette had apologized immediately and reassured him that everything would be alright.

Laxus didn't want to tell her yet because he himself hadn't even processed this happening entirely yet, but in a frantic moment he blurted out that Freed had kissed him and for a long moment Cana had just stared at him.

She didn't say anything or commented. Instead what she did was to proceed and try to wake the green-haired male, noticing that despite the blond's attempts to get back his cool facade he had serious inward struggles.

He was thankful that she kept quiet but he also knew that soon she would probably be bombarding her with questions.

What about Bixlow? Should he tell him? Laxus' frown deepened as he thought more about this entire issue, gaze mindlessly wandering over Freed's motionless form still.

When serious Bixlow could give great advice. He was honest and had a talent for seeing situations out of different views which usually helped a lot while Laxus had some difficulties to put himself in someone else's shoes.

His digits twitched but at last he ended up putting his phone aside again. He would think about it some more before telling anyone else about what transpired.

He was not ready yet, was he? God, when was the last time he had to think about such stuff? Did he ever even have been in such a situation? What even was his situation? A crush? On a man? In love? Not him, right? …

…and if yes, then why was he fighting against it so much? Because love was something he'd forced himself to banish out of his own feelings at some point?

He had Makarov… but it wasn't the same as having caring parents. When he needed his mother and father the most they weren't there. Laxus couldn't blame his mother, in fact he even missed her at times. She died at such a young age… But his father? No, this had never been his father. Screw blood relation. He hated this man with every fibre of his being.

Now he had more acquaintances again. People he cared about a lot. His best friend, his grandfather, his staff and friends…and…this green-haired man.

But was he ready for something like a romantic relationship? Not even his sexual desires had been all too strong during the past years. Some flirting for his own ego here and there and…there was this one woman but apart from this, her? Nothing, and most of all never something serious and something that affected him in a high sense.

He was damn 23 years old so why did this subject make him feel like a helpless child? He hated it, and even more that there didn't seem to be a solution. This damn kiss didn't help beside the fact that… Would he have returned it if he was less surprised?

Probably not. He just needed more time.

Sighing Laxus leaned back in the wooden chair, only now noticing that he had gotten slight headaches. He had most likely frowned for too long but who wouldn't have a messy mind after such an occurrence, right? Nothing unusual.

The blond looked aside as he took note of a faint light next to him. It turned out that Bixlow attempted to call him and it instantly made him wonder if, maybe, Cana had told him anything about the kiss and the accident after it.

Of course he had told Cana not to tell anyone else about it and he would be mad if she did it despite of his prohibition. Then again Bixlow was his best friend and moments before he had considered to let him in on the situation.

Still, no. He could handle it on his own for now. What could anyone do for him anyway? This was his mind and his own decisions he had to deal with. Once Freed woke up he would just ask him how he was feeling and offer him to call one of his friends for him. Like hell would he let him drive with something, not if there was the possibility of subsequent secondary effects of the injury.

Not that Laxus would say it like that…

Silently he waited until the calling light and sound broke. Man, Bixlow was being stubborn as always… Or perhaps even more stubborn than as usual. So did he know? He'd learn about this later.

Now Laxus grumbled to himself while rubbing his cheek, standing up as he needed something to drink. He disliked how one single person could cause him such struggles. Sure, he couldn't deny it… he had at least one kind of interest in him, otherwise he wouldn't have visited the Strauss Café for a fairly long time. Something about the waiter was…intriguing. Interesting. He was different.

And now he practically knew that Freed felt the same unless the kiss was just a…spontaneous and confused action, and he… he couldn't give it back. Yet?

Just as he was about to enter his small kitchen ( he never complained, his small apartment was more than enough for himself only… and occasional visits from Bix ) he heard a noise that caused him to freeze in his track in an instant.

A faint cough and then a sound of somebody subtly clearing his throat. Of course it could only be one person, and only the thought awoke slight panic inside of the Club manager. He tried to force it back before it could surface but didn't turn around yet to find a possibly awoken green-haired man.

"I…I'm sorry…"

Laxus had to blink. The voice he heard was a little drowsy but definitely Freed's. Right, how could it be otherwise? But what he said was… He just woke up and apologized?!

"Shut the hell up and stay where you are," Laxus grumbled silently but audible.

So the waiter must have noticed that he was somewhere else… or he just didn't care knowing that he was with Laxus still. And most importantly… he remembered. Why else would he apologize? But Laxus didn't want him to, it only made him feel even worse.

Freed still felt a little dizzy, eyes narrowed as he still laid there motionless. No more words got spilled as he obeyed silently and just kept his mouth shut. Oh he remembered. He remembered what he did and that he didn't get a response. Then he remembered pain. And now he woke up here on this couch and he guessed that this must be Laxus home.

It was good that he couldn't see the blond right now but the amount of awkwardness and regret he felt was more than enough nevertheless. He now knew that it was a fault to just go ahead and kiss the blond Club manager, and maybe the door that knocked him out was just another sign of confirmation or something like that.

Maybe it just shouldn't be. Or he was beginning to overthink things now.

The silence stayed and Laxus was still standing where he had halted as he heard Freed's low voice. He too was glad that he didn't have to look at him right now but he knew that he had to do so in a few moments. He would just try to change the topic as far as possible so at first he went to grab a glass of water for the other and one for himself as he finally stepped into the kitchen.

Staring holes into the ceiling seemed like a good thing to do while the waiter nervously awaited Laxus' return. And in fact the only thing he dared to do. He might as well close his eyes but pretending that he fell asleep surely wouldn't work out. And leaving? …he could walk home. He didn't want to bother Laxus more.

"Here."

Freed almost jumped up at the anew sound of this deep voice. It was nearer now and when he turned his head and snapped out of his thoughts it took him a moment till he'd processed what Laxus was holding towards him.

Almost hesitantly he took the big glass of water, sitting up, and nodded. "Thank you…" But his gaze was still strictly averted and direct eye-contact avoided.

Laxus noticed it. It revealed that Freed most likely felt similar like him, perhaps in a slightly different manner. On the one hand he was glad that the greenet didn't approach the kiss topic straightforwardly but on the other hand both of them probably noticed the thick awkwardness that hang in the air so clearly.

Scratching the back of his head briefly the blond seated himself on the chair that was placed in front of the couch again. Only then he realized that it might be weird for Freed to noticed that apparently Laxus had sat in front of him the entire time.

Part of him just truly worried. Though it was another thing he couldn't and didn't want to state like that. Not yet. It was like the day he thought Freed might have had an accident. He'd been worrying like hell.

"I've wanted to message one of yer friends but couldn't get to one of yer contacts… That's why I brought ya here. Couldn't leave ya there," Laxus explained trying to seem calm and collected what he hopefully managed. He didn't dare to directly ask whether Freed remembered every single detail.

He could talk about anything, anything except for the kiss right now.

Laxus held his glass of water gripped tightly while watching how Freed stared into his own glass in tense quiet.

What both of them had always appreciated was that there had never been too much awkwardness, not even when there was silence instead of conversation. Now it was so much different.

"But I guess ya would wanna go home soon…," Laxus continued a bit hesitantly knowing that Freed was listening even if it didn't seem like it. "So um…here." With his other hand the blond man handed the greenet his phone so he could message or call one of his friends.

Freed took it without looking up. He drank a bit of his water but then finally glanced up and held the glass towards the other. "I'm…still feeling a bit dizzy, sorry. Thank you for the water, I…will message Ever right now so she can pick me up. I don't want to be a bother, it's already enough that you took me here. I apologize for the troubles."

If the circumstances would be different than Laxus would have growled a 'can you stop talking bullshit' now. The green-haired man was obviously striving for a stoic expression but once again Laxus noticed that there was something in his greenish blue eyes that gave him away a little.

The Club manager didn't know what to reply. All he did was to nod. Everything that laid on the tip of his tongue probably tended to make the situation even worse so he let Freed message someone to come and pick him up like he said.

But wait…this meant that yet another persons was going to know where he lived and Laxus wasn't sure if he wanted this. Though maybe… if he was really going to figure out a…thing with Freed at some point then he would also be in connection with his best friend. And from what he knew his best friend was Ever. Evergreen, for him.

Apparently Freed now realized the same thing.

He looked up from the display of his phone, fingers stopping to type the message as he noticed that a piece of important information was missing.

"I…need your address."

"Yea…" Laxus nodded again and looked at the two glasses he was holding in his grips before meeting the other's eyes, telling himself not to be such an idiot and at least try his best to act like nothing happened. Nothing at all. "It's-"

"Or I could walk over to your Club…if that's a better idea…"

Freed had already noticed that Laxus was a very private person as it took said man some time to give him his last name. He just really didn't want to mess up more than he already had. To him it was a wonder that the blond even took him here, to his home. Especially after his rushed move. He dearly hoped that he hadn't caused too much inconvenience.

He knew little about the blond's sexuality although he had always guessed that he wasn't gay, most likely didn't even have a preference for men like he himself had. Maybe Laxus was still not sure? After all it had taken Freed some time too until he noticed he was a good deal more attracted to men than to women.

But with the kiss he had crossed a line.

He knew that he would find out where he was anyway if he chose to walk to the Club. He had to know where he was, Though perhaps it was better to wait over there then cause more awkwardness here, and maybe it made Laxus feel better if he didn't have to directly tell his address.

Did this sound weird and like a bad excuse?

…yes, definitely.

Laxus was frowning yet again. He was able to assume a tiny part of what could be going on in the greenet's mind. To accept his offer or stubbornly insist that he stayed here, giving him his address? The easy but awkward way? Then again both was pretty awkward and resulting into pretty much the same.

Yet…Yet…

"Yea, ya could do that too… Maybe 's easier to find. The way from here to the Donnerhall isn't so hard, though." Once his answer was out he immediately regretted it as he saw how Freed's lips turned into a small but somehow sad smile.

"That would be great. Thanks, Laxus."

The conversation was slowly turning into a forced one, a fact both of them hated. The awkwardness got ignored desperately but what they were attempting right now, to ignore the facts and try for a usual talk so hard, really wasn't better.

And now Freed was thanking him again. Narrowing his eyes a little, orange eyes becoming a bit harder, the blond nodded before he told him his address and watched how the greenet finished messaging Evergreen.

Laxus shrugged. "And stop thankin' me. Ya didn't have a jacket, right?"

"No," Freed responded and shook his head lightly. He sat up straight, stroking the spot on his forehead a bit before gaining back the seemingly forced smile. "That was a stupid incident. Sorry again, I didn't want to upset anyone." He clearly didn't only mean the accident with the door, that was impossible to miss, and as Laxus watched the waiter slowly getting up he finally raised from his seat as well but only to put away the glasses.

Once Freed had left Laxus needed painkillers…and something to clear up his damn mind.

"Ever will be here in a few moments," the greenet commented observing the other putting the two glasses on the table in the small living room. "I…will find the door by myself I think."

Laxus hesitated but then nodded slowly.

Freed nodded in return despite knowing that Laxus couldn't see it.

One unspoken question was hanging in the air. For a moment all Freed did was to stand there and gaze at the taller man's back. Neither of them could stand how the current situation developed but at this very moment there was nothing else they could do.

Apart from addressing the topic clearly like damn adult men, both of the males thought before Freed turned at last and walked towards the door he assumed must be the front door.

Laxus just listened in silence, fingers slowly curling into fists. He could do at least this much, and perhaps indirectly answer the question that was lingering.

"…message me once ya have arrived home."

The voice cut through the tense air clearly and let Freed pause, his hand already placed on the door knob. There was another short while of silence but Laxus knew that Freed still wasn't gone, and he knew that he had heard him.

Then finally, and again despite knowing that Laxus wouldn't see, the greenet nodded with the tiniest of smiles. This time a little less forced one. "I will."

Then he went outside.

That's it again for now! I'm not quite sure how it will continue. I've a couple of ideas in mind but haven't decided yet - so it'll be a surprise for me, too. Let's see how these two dorks handle it.

Oh, also always feel free to contact me on tumblr! It's where I'm online the most, so it's easier to catch me on . or . !

Greetings, Sel 3