Hey all. So here we are. The final chapter. This is more of an epilogue than anything else, and I really hope you all enjoy it. I'll leave another note at the bottom of the chapter to get my thoughts across but thank you for reading until this point. ^.^
As always, thank you so much for any comments and kudos you leave. They mean so much. Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading. ^.^
Chapter Twenty-Six – The End
Date: July 12th, 2019.
Freed had often portrayed his life to be finished. He made people believe he found his place in society, that he had overcome the supposed hardships of his childhood, and had forged a life for himself that he was happy with. It wasn't untrue, exactly, but Freed had never quite believed himself when he said it. It felt as though something was missing, the final piece that would finish the puzzle that was his happiness.
Apparently, that piece was Laxus Dreyar.
He would never say he needed love; he could never depend on another person that much. But, after nearly a year of being with Laxus, he realised that just because he didn't need it, didn't mean he wasn't enjoying it. Because, damn he was enjoying it.
Small things had changed throughout the year. He found himself becoming more social, as previously his interactions with other people usually were over a game of cards and part of a long-standing arrangement. But now, he found himself at a bar with friends or at another social occasion on a somewhat regular basis, which he accredited to Laxus even if the blonde didn't know it. Other things about his life had changed as well, even his expression seemed a bit softer upon reflection, and he long since let go of the rigid hold over what he allowed people to know as they engaged.
The changes hadn't gone unnoticed by the people around him, either. Mirajane had commented how he seemed less uptight and pretentious than before; apparently she hadn't wanted to be tactful that day. Even Bickslow, when he had visited again, made a few comments about how he seemed more relaxed and was smiling more. Freed denied the claims, but the evidence spoke for itself.
He was happier. It was a fact. A fact that lead to Loke's comment as he placed a card on his balcony table.
"You're phasing out again," The words were spoken in a teasing way. Freed looked down to his gambling companion and saw the bachelor grinning. "I can't begin to imagine what strong jawed thing you're thinking of, oh man of mystery."
Freed rolled his eyes a little but was smiling. "I would have thought that, after me and Laxus got together, the comments about his jawline would stop."
"And you thought wrong," Loke chuckled, before grinning. "Although, if you really want me to stop, a threesome might cleanse my pallet."
Deciding not to give that a response – he didn't want to so much as dignify the 'suggestion' – Freed looked down to the hand of cards he had been dealt. They weren't too bad, a little above average but with no certainty of him winning. He pushed a few chips into the pot, deciding to raise it a little but not to the point where he might lose anything significant. He looked to Loke with a raised eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.
The two men were having their monthly poker game, which had only just begun. Throughout the year he and Laxus had been together, they had made an effort to keep their friendships strong. There had been some instances where the relationship had allowed both men to get close to new people – Freed and Evergreen had become quite close after she moved back to Magnolia full time, for example – but they both had made sure to keep time to spend with their friends alone. This worked well for Freed, he was a man who treated the people close to him with loyalty to which Loke had earned a great deal, and he suspected Laxus was the same.
After Loke had matched the pot but not raised it, he presented his cards. Freed smirked a little, presented his own, winning hand, and took the pot for himself. He saw Loke sigh a little as he began to shuffle the cards, while Freed started to stack his chips up.
"You know," Loke began as the cards flew between his hands. "It's not fair that you're still good at this game when you're distracted."
"Perhaps you're just not as good as you thought," Freed smiled a little.
Loke chuckled a little at the teasing, having noticed that it was something that occurred more often now that he was with Laxus. It didn't take a genius to know why; Freed and Laxus teased and mocked each other often in their relationship – without malice, of course – and that form of interaction was coming out more in Freed's daily conversation. Loke wasn't going to complain, Freed was finally become the verbal sparring partner he always wanted.
"Speaking of blondie," Loke continued, starting to deal with cards. "Little birdy told me you've got an anniversary coming up."
The little birdy in question would almost definitely be Bickslow. After Freed had introduced them to each other, Loke's flirty nature and Bickslow's easy going personality had melded together immediately and they were acting like the best of friends by the end of the day. They kept in contact a lot, and Freed wasn't entirely sure what the nature of their relationship was. He found it was easier and better for his sanity not to ask.
"Your informant is correct," Freed said, looking over the hand he'd gained. Not too bad. "Why?"
"Just wondered if you've got anything planned for it," Loke said as he looked over his hand. Freed couldn't decide how good his cards were based on his reactions, yet. "If romantic literature has told me anything, a rich man like you needs to rent out an entire island, explode a country's worth of fireworks and buy him a forest and cover is with his favourite flowers, or you just don't love him."
Freed chuckled a little, doubting Laxus would enjoy having such attention give to him. The blonde always would prefer something more intimate, Freed had quickly realised, and the situation would probably become quite awkward if given the kind of surprise Loke had suggested.
"Well certainly nothing that extravagant," Freed smiled a little. "But I do have a few ideas."
They both added money to the pot, Freed making sure to keep an eye on Loke's expressions as they did to see if he could get a better judge on his hand. As the money mounted up between them, Freed still had no idea who would be the winner, so decided he would simply match the pot the next chance he got and see what had happened; it would either be a relatively unimportant amount of money to lose, or a small amount to win. Either way, it wasn't going to affect the overall outcome of the game too much.
As per tradition, after both men showed their hands – Loke had a flush, so had won – it was Freed's turn to shuffle the cards. His way of doing it was had less showmanship than Loke, as he didn't see the point in pulling card tricks in a professional situation; he was almost sure Loke learnt how to toss the cards as a way to get attention at a bar.
"Speaking of my anniversary," Freed continued, now dealing the cards. "There's something I need your assistance on."
"Sure," Loke nodded, before grinning. "Though, from experience, threesomes aren't a good anniversary present. Made things a little tense last time."
"It's not going to happen, Loke," Freed deadpanned a little, finishing dealing them both a hand. He didn't look at his cards immediately though, neither did Loke. "I just need you to look after something for the rest of the night, and don't let me forget about it, or ignore it."
The gambler reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small piece of lined paper, that had been folded neatly in half. He held it forward for Loke to take, who did and frowned a little as he inspected it. He decided not to open it immediately, not sure what the paper was for or how it related to his friend's anniversary. Instead of voicing this, he placed the paper in his own jacket pocket and looked at Freed with furrowed eyebrows.
"I've told you that, when we play, I sometimes put up alternative odds to give me a reason to take the games seriously, haven't I?" Freed asked, Loke nodding a moment later. "Well, if I end the day with getting more money from you than what you've got from me, I'm going to go through with what I've written on the paper."
Well, that kind of made sense. There was still no obvious connection to what it had to do with his anniversary, but Loke could guess that he had a plan that he was second-guessing himself about and needed to force himself to do. He could probably handle not knowing what that plan was, exactly.
"Can I read it?" He asked a moment later.
So he couldn't handle not knowing. Oh well.
"Of course," Freed nodded, and Loke was pulling the paper out from his pocket a moment later.
As Loke began to unfold the paper and read the promise Freed had made to himself, the gambler looked directly at his friend's face. He was not subtle about this, wanting to fully understand his friend's opinions on what was written. This was important, and if Loke thought that he was making a mistake then Freed wanted to know why he felt that way immediately.
Despite playing a game where the poker-face was a necessity, Loke's face became incredibly emotive. First, the furrowed eyebrows intensified and Freed identified the expression as either confusion or disbelief. Then a small smile, perhaps a show of support from Loke in what Freed had written. And finally, his expression returned to something more resembling how he looked normally, but still a little different. Perhaps a mixture of happiness and confusion, Freed wasn't entirely sure though.
"You serious?" He asked, and the lack of judgment told Freed he didn't think it was a bad idea completely.
"I am," Freed nodded, and his nerves jumped a little at his own words.
"Okay," Loke nodded, thinking through what he was going to say next. He gave Freed a hard time sometimes, but they were pretty good friends and he needed to get this right. "If this is what you want, I'm gonna be completely supportive of it and do anything to help. But this is big, and if you're not sure if you're ready and you're doing this to make up your mind, maybe you just shouldn't be doing it yet."
Freed understood what he meant, and the clarification that Loke was supportive of what he wanted to do calmed him a little. The criticisms were valid, and Freed understood why Loke felt the need to bring them up, but Freed was sure he wanted to do it.
"I know," He nodded. "And I am sure this is what I want. I just… I feel as though that if I do it because I win, then it's as if fate is giving me permission."
He blushed a little as he spoke, and looked down to the cards in his hands rather than at his gambling companion. He knew that, a year ago, he wouldn't have spoken about fate as if it had some effect on his life, but this was the effect that Laxus had had upon him.
Perhaps it was another way that Laxus had allowed him to be less up tight than he once had, giving him the ability to have a sense of wonderment about the universe without worrying about his dignity. Laxus was a large believer that fate had some influence on life, and was an entirely respectable person, so Freed could be the same.
"That's," Loke spoke after a few moments. "That's sweet, actually."
"I'm glad you think so," Freed smiled and nodded a little. "Though I should say, if I find out that you either went easy on me or cheated so that I win, I will buy out your father's company and make you work in the worst position I can find, just out of spite."
Loke chuckled and nodded, placing the refolded piece of paper back into his pocket, and the two men went back to their game. Freed was now playing to win, and his analysis of Loke's expressions could not be wrong. He was considerably more vigilant, stoic and focused than he had been while playing for quite some time. This was the first time in years that there had been anything he cared about as stakes for a bet, and he was going to do everything he could to win.
A nervous energy filled him as he started to raise the pot for his impressive hand. He started to think back to what was written on the paper he had given to Loke, what would happen to his life if he managed to win more than Loke over the next few hours. His future would be held in fate's hand and was written on the small piece of paper.
'In the event that I end the day in a victory, I will ask Laxus Dreyar to marry me.'
Date: August 4th, 2019
Laxus had never had a one-year anniversary. He found himself enjoying it.
He had woken up beside Freed, something that had become a regular occurrence as he was sleeping at the other man's apartment more than his own, it seemed. The two had spent the morning relaxing, having a breakfast of pastries from a local bakery and just enjoying each other's company. The afternoon had been spent on a pseudo-hike around the forests around Magnolia, something Laxus had admitted he wanted to do with Freed month's prior. Now, as evening started to fall, Freed had said they would get dinner together and Laxus smiled a little when he saw where Freed had decided to go.
It was a diner. The same truck stop diner that Freed had taken him to when he as still undecided about if he was going to take the job or not. It was the first time the two had eaten together, the first time they had been relatively social with each other when not drunk. Although it wasn't the bar they had been to for their first date, it still had a large amount of sentimental value to it.
As they walked through the doors, Laxus found himself smiling. It was just as comforting, welcoming and warming as he expected it to be. Given the time of day, it was almost empty other than the staff, which was fine with Laxus as he preferred the privacy.
Freed walked them to the same table they had eaten at before, in the far corner of the diner beside a large window. As Laxus slid into his side of the booth, he wondered if Freed would have pulled out his chair if they had chairs to pull out, or if he would do it for Freed. Knowing their luck, they would somehow manage to both do it at the same time and would stubbornly refuse to sit until the other did; he smiled at the idea.
"You okay?" Freed asked, pulling the menu out from behind it's stand.
"Great," Laxus grinned.
He silently took the menu offered to him. He quickly scanned through what was offered, deciding that, from what was offered, he would probably end up having ribs and fries. It wasn't the most elegant thing to eat, and probably wasn't the kind of thing you were meant to order on an anniversary, but Laxus doubted Freed cared.
As he considered what he was going to drink – probably something non-alcoholic, even though Freed would end up driving – he found his hand straying to the small parcel beside him. It was a simple box, wrapped in brown paper with a small brown string tying it together; Mirajane had been the one to wrap it. It was his anniversary gift to Freed; the gambler had insisted that they wait until their meal until they exchanged them, and Laxus was looking forward to seeing how the other man would react when he saw what it was.
Freed placed his menu down on the table, and saw that Laxus was distracted by his own gift and wasn't paying much attention to him. He took the short moment to reach into his jacket pocked to reaffirm what he already knew.
The ring was still there.
After winning against Loke nearly a month prior – by a significant margin, as well – Freed had faced no doubts that he was going to make Laxus his husband. He had spent almost all his free time trying to find the perfect ring, which he believed he had done. He had also planned what he hoped would be the perfect date for their anniversary, which Laxus seemed to be enjoying so far, and had decided he would end the day with his proposal.
He had expected to be more nervous, but he wasn't. He found himself worried about things going wrong, hence how he had checked for the ring multiple times despite knowing it was there, but felt that there was no doubt that the outcome would be positive. He hoped that his confidence wasn't misplaced.
"So," Freed begun, making Laxus look up. "I know the day isn't over yet, but have you enjoyed yourself so far?"
"Yeah," Laxus grinned. "Really have."
And he had. The morning spent together had been great, simply spending time together without the pressures of working was always something Laxus enjoyed. Having good food and an extra affectionate boyfriend only improved this. And the hike they had been on had been just as enjoyable, allowing him to spend more time alone with his boyfriend and also doing something that he found both relaxing and fun.
"Kinda wish I could have done some stuff for you though," He continued, though was smiling. He really couldn't complain. "Just so you feel like I do, y'know."
"I'm sure you'll manage something," Freed grinned. "And if you want, I'm sure that you can organise our next anniversary."
Laxus nodded and smiled, liking the sound of spending another year with Freed. When that happened – because he had no plans of leaving Freed – he would make sure to put as much effort as Freed had to make him feel the way Laxus did.
Freed soon walked to the counter to order both their meals after asking Laxus what he wanted, and Laxus found himself looking down to his gift again. It was harder than he thought to buy something for Freed, as he wanted to get him something more personal than just showing off about how much he could spend on him; especially because it was well known that Freed made a lot more than he did. He thought that what he had settled on something good and something that his boyfriend would love.
He didn't have any idea about what Freed's gift for him was, he had been particularly secretive with that part of the day. With everything else, he had been willing to tell Laxus a few days before about what he had planned, but Laxus hadn't so much as seen anything wrapped. Still, he trusted the man so wouldn't worry about it.
"It shouldn't take long," Freed said as he returned to their seat. "Half an hour at the most."
"Great," Laxus smiled, looking back up from the gift he had placed to his side on the leather booth. "So, I know you said you wanted to leave it until the end of the meal for you to give me whatever you got me, but d'you mind if I give you mine now? That okay?"
"Of course," Freed nodded. "As long as you don't mind waiting to get yours."
"Nah," Laxus shook his head slightly. "Is it really that important that you give it to me at the end? Not that I mind, just wondering."
"It will make sense, I promise."
Laxus nodded a little, Freed was a romantic guy when called upon and the fact he was being so secretive about the gift probably meant that he had everything planned out to a fine degree. He had quickly grown use to the odd eccentricity that his boyfriend showed him, and he expected that Freed did the same with him. In fact, instead of being confused by it, he found himself more excited about receiving the gift because of the apparent effort Freed was putting into it.
He lifted the brown package and handed it to Freed, a small smile on his face as he watched his boyfriend open it; carefully and slowly, of course. He soon revealed the box that Laxus had put the two gifts in, and Laxus felt his stomach twist a little in apprehension as to how Freed received the gift. He hoped it matched up to what he had gotten him.
Freed looked down into the box to see two things. The first was a large bottle of whiskey, his favourite brand and, upon further inspection, it had been aged for thirty-five years. Freed had only ever justified himself buying the twenty-year version of the whiskey, so to be given an entire bottle of its older, more luxurious counterpart was already exciting to him. He was smiling already at the thought that Laxus had put into the present, and he hadn't yet seen all of it.
The other half of the gift was in a small jewellery case, which he slowly pulled out and opened. Presented to him was a black leather bracelet with indentations spread across it. He carefully brought it out to examine it, and Laxus smiled.
"They're soundwaves," The blonde explained. "I noticed you liked that one song of Bickslow's, 'Demons Water' I think, so that's the soundwaves from it's chorus. There's, erm, if you look on the inside then there's a little something else."
Freed lifted the bracelet to his face, and Laxus was given the beautiful sight of Freed's eyes lighting up as he saw what Laxus had organised. It had taken some time, but he had found someone who could attach a small, engravened plate of metal onto the inside of the bracelet. On the plate, Laxus had written a short message in Anglo-Saxon runes, something that Freed had once admitted to being fluent in.
The message simply stated: My Love, Freed.
Any façade that Freed may have worn – unintentionally or otherwise – was completely depleted now. The thoughtfulness and effort put into the gift was astounding; he had both managed to find out his favourite song without having to ask and had done something so personal that Freed himself wouldn't have thought of, but now realised he loved.
"This," Freed said with a smile. "This is perfect. Thank you so much."
Freed's smile was still present as he leant over the table and pressed his lips against Laxus' for a short moment, and Laxus couldn't help but light up at the fact that he had caused such a joyous expression on his boyfriend's face.
Laxus watched as Freed carefully slid the bracelet onto his wrist and clicked it into place, and Laxus found himself proud that he had made his boyfriend happy and gotten him something that he actually liked, rather than something that was more of a hollow gesture more than anything else. So, even if he felt as though Freed's gift was better than his own, he knew that he had done something to make Freed smile, and that was the important thing.
"I feel a little bad that I can't give you your gift right now," Freed admitted, hand resting on the bracelet.
"Don't worry," Laxus smiled. "I know you well enough, I'm pretty sure that it'll be worth the wait."
"I certainly hope so," Freed smiled.
The food took a short while to arrive, and conversation came easy between the two men as they waited. Laxus couldn't help the bursting sensation that occurred in his stomach the few times that he caught Freed playing with his new bracelet or glancing at it when he didn't realise Laxus was looking. It was a little thing, but the blonde enjoyed seeing it happen.
After their meals were given to them, they ate quickly and finished their conversation. Although Laxus hadn't remembered how good the food had been the last time they had been there, he was surprised as to just how good their ribs had been; he was glad that Freed wasn't the type to be a dick about table manners, because Laxus had eaten faster than he was proud of. In fairness, Freed was also eating his meal – chicken salad with a side of gravy fries – at a pretty impressive speed, so if he did bring it up then he would be a hypocrite.
Laxus gave a small smile of thanks to the waitress as she took their emptied plates away and asked if they wanted anything else; Freed asked for a refill on their drinks. As the waitress walked away, Laxus leant his arms on the table and smirked a little.
"So," He began. "Apparently Ever and Elfman are finally gonna go on a date."
"He asked her?" Freed frowned. He honestly expected their feelings to go unspoken between them for years to come.
"Nah, she asked him," Laxus chuckled. "Well, she told him. Said when he was going to pick her up, what he had to wear, and where he was gonna take her. Did it in front of the bar, poor guy didn't know where to look."
"I imagine," Freed chuckled. "It's for the best, though."
As the blonde went to speak again, he saw that two members of the diner's staff walking towards them. One was carrying a metal bucket, and the other had what seemed to be a bottle of champagne wrapped in a small towel. Laxus looked over his shoulder to see if anyone had arrived in this part of the room without them noticing, but saw no one. His frown intensified a little when he watched the waitress place the bucket of ice onto their table and then place the champagne inside of it. The waitress who had held the bucket also produced two champagne glasses.
He watched in confusion as the waitress asked if the drink was satisfactory, and Freed nodded to her. Both members of staff smiled and walked away, leaving Laxus and Freed alone with the champagne that Freed had apparently ordered without him knowing. He looked to his boyfriend, his frown questioning the arrival of the drink.
"I told you there was a reason that I wanted to leave your gift to the end of the meal," Freed offered as explanation, and his voice portrayed something akin to vulnerability.
Laxus had no idea what was going on.
"We've been together for a year now, Laxus, and I can honestly say that I think I'm happier now than I have been throughout my life," Freed continued, Laxus just watching with slight wide eyes. "It feels as though you prefect things for me. As if, when I'm with you, some kind of burden is lifted from me. I can see things in a new light, with more optimism and happiness than I would have previously allowed. You do something to me that just improves, well… everything I do with you seems better, it feels."
Laxus found himself entranced by his boyfriends as he spoke. What the hell was happening?
"I never expected to find love, if I'm honest," Freed looked down for a second, before meeting Laxus' eyes again. "I felt like it would be a burden on me. But I was wrong, because I am madly in love with you Laxus and I would be willing to do anything to keep that love strong for the rest of my life. That is something I know for a fact."
Holy shit. Why was he saying this?
Laxus felt his heart pounding out of his chest and couldn't find words as he watched Freed slowly stand up. What was happening. The gambler left the booth and walked so that he was standing in front of Laxus, who's hand he took in his own and forced him to stand up beside him. Laxus' eyes widened, and he was sure that he was dreaming.
Then, Freed got down onto one knee.
He reached into his jacket pocked and pulled out a small, velvet lined box. Laxus, still unable to speak, was completely overwhelmed at the situation. This was actually happening, it was actually fucking happening! His throat was dry, body filled with the very same electric feeling that he had always associated with Freed, and his body was covered in wave after wave of chills. Holy fucking shit!
After Freed popped the box open, Laxus could see the ring. It was made out of a dark metal – probably purposefully dulled steel – and was split apart by a series of black diamonds that glinted under the lights overhead. It was beautiful.
Fuck. Fuck, this was actually happening.
"Laxus, I love you more than I thought possible," Freed's voice broke a little as he spoke. He wore such a beautiful smile, and Laxus felt his insides melt. "I can't imagine a life without you in it. A life where I don't wake up knowing that we are together. A life that I don't love you.
"So please, will you do me the honour of becoming my husband?"
Laxus' body was on fire. Every cell burned with electricity, every emotion roared throughout him and he felt a wide smile split apart his face. He knew that tears were forming at the edges of his eyes, but he cared little for his dignity at that moment. He felt as though his whole life had been leading to this moment, as if this was the most important second that he had lived through and, as he looked at the man he adored, he felt no doubt in what he was going to say.
This was his fate. This was his destiny. And it all was going to start with a single word.
"Yes."
Date: September 21st, 2019
Teeth gritted and body tense, Laxus focused all efforts on pushing the weighted bar upwards so that his arms could become straight. It was heavier than his usual weight, an admittedly impressive amount considering it was making the man struggle in a way that he hadn't in years. He closed his eyes, forcing himself to work through the burn that was rushing its way through his overworked arms as he exercised.
The reason for his overexertion in working out was his wedding. Although it had only been a little over a month since he and Freed had gotten engaged, they were both working towards making the day as perfect as it could be. Part of that included making sure they were in shape.
Wedding planning was happening in an… informal way. They had both decided that they would not hire a wedding planner – neither wanted their wedding day to be twisted into some kind of 'statement' because it was between two men by someone who didn't know them and didn't care about what they wanted – and instead they were working with a mixture of online assistance as well as help from their friends; Mirajane had been incredibly insistent that she help in any way that they needed, and both men were incredibly thankful for it, even if she did occasionally get too excited.
One piece of advice they had gotten was to start their wedding diet immediately. Freed had dismissed this, claiming that they were both incredibly healthy and didn't need to worry about their pictures, but Laxus had been intrigued. He liked to push his limits and had somewhat felt he was letting himself go in his fitness – again, Freed disputed this – so he saw this as a good opportunity to see how in shape he could make himself become.
He had decided he would get Elfman's help for this. Laxus knew a fair amount about keeping himself healthy, but Elfman had perfect it. So, with Elfman's help, he could make strives in his fitness and not worry about taking things too far or hurting himself. They'd set a target weight, something feasible that Laxus could achieve well before the wedding date that he and Freed had chosen – they had decided to set it in late January of the next year – and would then maintain it when he had reached it; this plan also took away the stress of having to retailor a suit at the last moment because it couldn't fit.
"Come on, man," Elfman said, brining Laxus' focus back. "Nearly got it."
Spurred on, Laxus seemed to gain a second burst of adrenaline and raised his arms higher, managing to make them straight and hold aloft the heavy weight in triumph. He then placed it on the bar rest, letting his arms loll to the side in relaxation.
"Forgot you were such a hardass," Laxus muttered, sitting up and panting.
"It's what you signed up for," Elfman said, handing Laxus a hand towel to clear his face of the sweat that had formed. "You know it ain't easy to gain muscle, man. You've been going easy on yourself."
Laxus was too busy panting to reply, having forgotten how seriously Elfman took his job. It should have been obvious, considering that Elfman looked as though he had replaced some of his bones with muscles, but Laxus knew that he could handle it. Like Elfman had said, he'd signed up for it himself and he wasn't going to give up because of a little bit of pain.
As he recovered and drained some of his water, Laxus looked the room. It was late now, so the gym was mainly empty, but it was the same as always. The upbeat music was still blasting from the speakers, the bright lights reflected off the blue walls, and the faint smell of sweat assaulted the senses.
If he weren't as tired, Laxus would perhaps chuckle a little. He was almost in the exact same place where he had first laid eyes on Freed – only two benches over, actually – and now he was going to marry the guy. It was funny to think that the guy who had slightly captured the attention of his younger self a few years ago was soon going to become his husband, and the guy who had nearly set them up and could have kickstarted their relationships early was here with him. It really did feel like they were fated to be together, with how close they had come before.
He wondered what would have happened if he had taken up Elfman's offer of getting Freed's number. Any number of things could have happened, maybe they would already be married and living happily as husbands, or maybe the timing wouldn't have been right and they wouldn't have lasted.
That didn't matter, though. Because they were engaged now, Laxus was happy now, and he wouldn't take life any other way.
"Come on man," Elfman spoke up after letting Laxus rest for a moment. "You gotta stretch, or you ain't gonna be able to move."
With a nod, Laxus stood up and walked towards the corner of the room, where both all stretching equipment was stored as well as a series of mats had been set up. Knowing the best stretches he could do to settle the aching in his arms, he didn't wait for Elfman's instructions and instead began immediately.
As he stretched, he heard the sound of running on one of the treadmills beside him. He looked up and rolled his eyes to see that Elfman had taken the chance to use it, despite knowing that Laxus' stretching probably wouldn't take any longer than five minutes; the guy really couldn't go any amount of time without doing a workout of some kind. Laxus wondered if his friend would do this with any of his other clients, or if he was being more lax because they were friends.
"You just can't help yerself, can ya?" Laxus chuckled a little.
"Cardio's important," Elfman said, and Laxus could see he was grinning. "Crap, reminds me. Mira asked if you and Freed are free next Saturday? She's lined up a couple caterers that'll do the food you want, wants you to do a taster day."
"Should be fine," Laxus nodded. "How did doing cardio remind you of that?"
"You're gonna be eating a lot, man," Elfman chuckled. "You're gonna have to do a load of cardio to counter that."
Laxus sighed but nodded, seeing Elfman's point. Cardio was probably his least favourite part of a workout, but he knew the significance and wasn't going to complain about it. And if he got to eat great food the day before, then he could deal with a bit of jogging on a treadmill or whatever the hell Elfman had planned.
Stretching completed, Laxus sat cross legged on the floor as Elfman continued his short burst of cardio. The blonde knew that he could catch his breath better if he was standing up, but Elfman had also put him on the leg press – he didn't see the point in focusing on different aspects of the body on different days, apparently – and Laxus didn't intend to stand for any longer than needed. That was part of the reason as to why he had chosen to workout at night, so he could return home and rest immediately without judgement.
His home was now Freed's apartment. It started off as a temporary thing – the apartment above Laxus' flooded and damaged his ceiling – but after a week of living together Freed suggested they move in together. Laxus had, of course agreed, and most of his things had been moved in within the week. Laxus expected it to feel strange, but it hadn't; Freed was the reason for that, no doubt.
"Sorry about that," Elfman said as he climbed off the treadmill. "Got a couple new clients this week, haven't rescheduled my own work out yet."
"No worries," Laxus said, standing up again and wiping his face with the towel again.
"So," Elfman continued, and the two men started to walk towards the locker rooms. "How's everything going with planning. Heard it can be pretty stressful if you ain't doing it right, or don't have enough help."
"It's been good so far. Your sisters done a lot for us, so has Ever," Laxus said, looking towards his friends. "Basically, for half the things that we've planned, we just told Mira what we want, and she finds out a way to make it happen. Kinda feel bad, like we should be paying her or something, 'cause she's basically acting like a wedding planner."
"You're two of her closest friends getting married, man," Elfman chuckled. "The fact you're involving her at all is like a gift to her. Although, if you don't at least make her a bridesmaid or whatever the guy alternative is, she'll kill you both."
"Yeah," Laxus chuckled. "Definitely."
The topic of bridesmaids – as well as groomsmen – had been something both Freed and Laxus had put some considerable thought into. As there was no bride in their wedding, the traditional way of having a wedding party couldn't happen unless one of them decided to act in the female role, which wasn't going to happen. They had decided that they would both have a best man and a maid of honour, and the rest of the wedding party would be made up of their closest friends, therefore removing any complications from the situation.
The process of choosing who would be their best man and maid of honour had been completed in the previous week. Freed's had chosen Bickslow for his best man, and Mirajane for his maid of hour. Laxus had chosen Ever for his maid of honour and, of course, Elfman as his best man.
Neither groom had asked their respective choices. But Laxus was going to change that.
"Speaking of that, man," Laxus said as he walked into the locker room. "I know you said you had to rush off, but can I talk to you before you go?"
Elfman frowned a little as he opened his locker and pulled out his clean clothes; he hadn't packed a towel because he would shower at home. He placed his clothes on the bench and sat down, nodding to Laxus and inviting him to continue. He didn't know what the blonde could want, though, as their conversations didn't typically have a serious edge to them.
"Well, we both thought that we'd have a best man and a maid of honour, to make it even," Laxus began, sitting on the bench beside Elfman. "I don't have many friends who are guys, and we've been close for years now, right? Well, I mean, you've always been there for me, y'know. I mean, if I took up your offer to get Freed's number, you would've bene the guy that set us up. You're a good guy, always had my back. So, I wanted to ask you – shit I ain't good at this – you wanna be my best man?"
Laxus found himself looking down at the tiled floor of the locker room; he really should have been able to ask that in a less awkward way. He'd gotten better at discussing his emotions with Freed, but apparently he still couldn't easily do it with his friends.
"You serious man?" Elfman asked, voice a little disbelieving. Laxus nodded. "Of course I will, dude. That's awesome, thanks!"
Laxus looked up, and was quickly pulled into a slightly sweaty hug. He winced a little at the two slaps the other man delivered to his back but grinned a little at how well his question had been received. He and Freed had been spending a lot of time together and, while they did make an effort to keep up with their friends as much as they could, Laxus couldn't shake the feeling he might have pushed away someone accidentally; perhaps he still had some lingering abandonment issues.
But still, the fact Elfman so happily accepted made Laxus' doubts calm down considerable.
"It's… thanks man," Elfman grinned as he pulled apart. "You do realise, Mira will be really pissed off if she's not involved now."
"Yeah, but Freed's got that covered," Laxus chuckled.
"Well, looking forward to it man," Elfman gave Laxus a final clap on the back as he peeled his sweat soaked shirt from his body. "Now all I gotta do is make sure you get down that aisle on time with your guy on your arm, and look damn good when you're doing it."
Laxus grinned and nodded. He was going to go down the isle with Freed. Holy shit.
Date: January 30th, 2020.
"You know, you're being awfully mysterious."
Laxus' head snapped up at the words, and his expression settled into a smile as he saw that it was Freed who had spoken. The gambler was slowly walking towards him, wrapped up both in his red coat and a scarf, with hands wrapped around two cardboard cups that Laxus assumed was from Starbucks. He looked amazing.
It was nearing the middle of the night, the air was crisp and the gentle flakes of snow were starting to fall to the ground. The city was relatively silent, and despite the chilling cold that accompanied them, Laxus couldn't stop himself from smiling.
In less than twenty-four hours, he would be wedded to the man he loved.
They had intended to spent their final night as an engaged couple apart from each other; a suggestion made by Mirajane as a way to make their wedding night more of an occasion as well as following a tradition she had found out about. It hadn't gone as planned as, while he was trying to get some sleep in the motel room Laxus had booked himself into, he found himself craving the other man. The excitement for his wedding was too much, and he couldn't bare think about not seeing his husband-to-be until they were walking down the aisle. The sentiment of the idea was obvious, but it was becoming near torturous.
His first attempt to counter this was to go for a walk to tire himself out, so he could sleep the moment he got to his motel room. But, obviously, that didn't work and only made him more awake as he thought about how much he wanted the next day to come. Furthermore, his thirty-minute-long walk had ended right in front of the Magnolian Library, the place where he and Freed had first kissed.
He found himself walking in without thinking, glad that it was attached to the city's university and therefore was open all the time. On instinct, he began to walk up the staircase to the entrance of the rooftop garden. A moment later, he was sitting on the same bench he and Freed had occupied nearly a year and a half ago.
After sitting there alone for about five minutes, looking over the city, the craving for his fiancé began again. He texted him before he could stop himself; asking Freed if he would like to join him despite their agreement to stay away form each other. The reply came almost immediately.
"I'm sorry I took so long," Freed said as he got closer. "For midnight, Starbucks was shockingly busy."
The gambler sat beside Laxus and handed him a large cup of white-hot-chocolate, which Laxus took with adoring eyes and sipped at gently; it was still steaming hot. He leant over and pressed his lips against Freed's jaw in thanks, of course Freed would have known Laxus would be freezing up here and got him something to help with it that wouldn't keep him up any longer.
Both men were silent for a moment, leaning on each other and enjoying the quietness. It was impossible to deny that, despite both men wanting the next day to come more than anything, the last few weeks had been stressful. They not only had to get themselves ready, but make sure that everything they had organised over the last six months was still happening, and thankfully nothing had gone wrong. Even still, it had been a lot of stressing over things and this was one of few calm moments they'd been able to share over the month.
Neither man particularly minded the cold of the rooftop as they sat, the view of gentle snowfall falling over magnolia was more than enough to justify it. The sentimentality of the location just added to the experience. This was the view to which they first kiss, the place that had started their relationship and brought them to this point.
After sitting in silence for a few minutes, Freed turned his head and looked to Laxus. He smiled a little as he saw his fiancé illuminated by the garden lights scattered across the rooftop. He reached up slowly and ran a hand through the man's hair.
"It looks good," He commented, smiling softly.
"You think?" Laxus asked, turning around and looking down at Freed. "Wasn't sure you'd like it."
"No, you look incredible."
Earlier in the day, Laxus had visited the barber's shop that belonged to their wedding stylist: Cancer. As the man was doing both Laxus' and Freed's hair – who would take a considerable amount of time, given the length of his hair – Laxus had his haircut organised for the day before. It had been shaved a little at the sides and, when completely styled, was to be slicked back. He had liked it upon first seeing it, and now knowing that Freed liked it as well, he found himself loving it.
Wearing a soft, tired smile, he looked down to Freed. The gambler was looking at him with slightly tired looking eyes, as if he wasn't focused on anything happening around them. Laxus chuckled a little, having noticed Freed do that more as their relationship progressed.
"Something on your mind?" He teased a little, catching Freed's attention again.
"Just trying to imagine how you'll look in your suit tomorrow," Freed sighed, resting his head on Laxus' shoulder tiredly.
They both knew what the other's suit looked like. They had been designed both by Freed's usual tailor and Evergreen, who had worked together to make clothing that was specifically tailored to both men's appearances. Laxus' suit had a black velvet blazer, a light brown waistcoat and an equally brown tie. Freed's was dark blue, with a black waistcoat and a tie that matched Laxus'. They were both fantastic, and both men looked forward to seeing the other wearing them as they were getting married.
Of course, every aspect of the day was done to their specifications and they looked forward to it all. The venue was decorated to how they liked it, the meal was designed entirely by the two of them, and even the cars they had hired were specifically chosen by their needs.
"Yer in your own head again," Laxus grinned, and Freed looked up to him with a smile.
"Can you blame me?" Freed chuckled. "And don't act like you've been doing anything different."
"Wasn't gonna said I haven't," Laxus smiled.
He lifted the hot chocolate to his lips again and drained some of it. His mind had been straying to the future a lot of late. Not only because of the wedding, though many times he had found himself thinking about it when he shouldn't be, but also about how their lives would be when they were married. They were still planning on moving into a new apartment that would be their married home, and Laxus found himself excited by the prospect of looking for that place with Freed.
Everything seemed to be exciting him, and he certainly wasn't going to have any shame about that.
They sat beside each other for a little while longer, Laxus having wrapped his arm around Freed's waist at one point. Their silence was broken by the loud chimes from Magnolia Cathedral, signifying that the day was over, and the last day of the month had come. Their wedding day.
After the chimes had died down, Freed slowly removed his head from Laxus' shoulder and looked up to him with a soft, tired smile. Laxus wore the same expression, and found a yawn splitting apart his lips as he tore his gaze away form the snowy skyline. Having the thirty minutes with his fiancé had done wonders to his restless heart. It assured him that, no matter what happened, he would be married to the man he loved. If sleep was the only thing between now and then, then he would sleep better than he ever had before.
"Time to go back?" Laxus asked, his words being overthrown by a yawn.
"We can't stay up here all night, unfortunately," Freed chuckled, patting Laxus on the thigh. "It wouldn't look good if we were to be yawning throughout the procession."
"Guess not," Laxus grinned tiredly. "Can I walk ya to your door, though."
"Of course," Freed smiled, standing up and offering Laxus a hand to pull himself up with. "You know, you don't have to stay at the motel if you don't want to. Nobody would know either way."
"You okay with breaking the tradition?" Laxus asked, taking the hand and standing up. As they walked, he kept Freed's hand in his own.
"Well, I suppose we are known for sticking to all romantic traditions, aren't we?" Freed joked sarcastically, walking along side Laxus with a smile. "Come on, the bed was getting cold without you. You're like a damn space heater."
"Hell yeah I am," Laxus boasted playfully. "Gotta make sure my husband is gonna be warm, right?"
"Well you've done an excellent job practicing," Freed smiled, leaning a little further into his fiancé. "I'm sure you'll make a more than fine husband."
"You bet I will," Laxus grinned. "Hey, speaking of tradition, Gramps told me you asked his permission to marry me. You know you didn't have to, right?"
"I know," Freed smiled. "But you're important to each other, I needed to be sure."
Laxus smiled, raising their interconnected hands and placing his lips on the back of Freed's. Thoughtful asshole. He kept walking, keeping pace with his boyfriend as they walked towards the glass doors of the library rooftop. He relished in his fiance's presence, knowing that he wouldn't be able to call him that by the end of the day. No, by the time the day had finished, he would be Freed's husband and damn did the thought send a rush through his body.
Just before they exited the rooftop, Laxus stopped himself. Freed took another step before he realised, and turned around when he did. Their hands were still connected, and Freed was presented with the beautiful sight of his fiance's unburdened smile aimed directly at him. He walked closer to the blonde, wearing the same expression Laxus did.
As Freed closed the gap between them, Laxus wrapped his arms around Freed's waist and looked down at him adoringly. Freed replied to this action by bringing his head closer and lightly pressing their foreheads together.
"Are you okay," Freed smiled a little.
"Perfect," Laxus whispered. "Just thinking, twenty-four hours, and you're gonna be my damn husband. Kinda hard to believe."
"It is," Freed whispered back to him, smile soft and filled with love. "Honestly, I sometimes can't believe that it's been nearly a year and a half since we kissed here for the first time. It feels as though time's flow by."
"People say it happens when you're in love," Laxus grinned a little. "Used to think it was bullcrap but, well, here we are. Honestly, sometimes can't believe that you kissed me back that first time. Guess I'm just lucky."
"I was going to say the same thing," Freed smiled, pushing forward a little more with his forehead.
Laxus leant down and pressed his lips against Freed's, bringing him into a slow and passionate kiss. Freed reached up, leaning into the kiss and bringing his hand into Laxus' newly cut hair, pulling him down to further the kiss, something Laxus was willing to reciprocate.
The moment was beautiful. The two men kissed in silence, the snow falling around them and landing gently on the clear pavements of Magnolia below. The wind blew between them, lifting both their coats as Laxus pulled Freed closer by the coat to deepen the kiss. This lasted for a few moments before Laxus pulled away, keeping their foreheads softly pushed together as they stared into each other's eyes. Both men were completely in love with each other, and neither would accept anything less.
"Twenty-four hours until you're mine forever," Laxus grinned. "No regrets?"
"Don't even suggest such a thing," Freed smiled, leaning up and pressing a final chaste kiss on Laxus' lips. "I love you, Laxus."
"Love you too, Freed."
Twenty-Four hours. That's how long it would take for Laxus' new life to begin.
Date: February 4th, 2020
At a gentle shake of his shoulder, Laxus found his eyes flickering open. He made a small sound of annoyance, having been in a pretty relaxed sleep, but that annoyance died on his tongue when he saw that it was Freed who had woken him up. He sat up a little, smiling at his husband with a small amount of giddiness.
Husband. The very fact he could think that, and the fact it was true, sent a shiver down Laxus' spine.
The wedding had been fantastic. It was relatively small, with only some of their closest friends and family there. Nothing had gone wrong, mercifully. The ceremony had been beautiful and specific to them. The reception had been the perfect mix of romance and fun; the latter part mainly accredited to Bickslow and Elfman's best mans' speech, where the two men had made a shockingly good team. And the rest of the day, the two husbands couldn't stay away from each other.
After the reception had ended, they were driven to the most luxurious hotel in Magnolia. Although their honeymoon took place a few days after the wedding, Laxus had insisted that their first night as a married couple should be special, and organised the hotel without Freed knowing. The gambler had been overjoyed when he found out.
Half of a week later, Freed and Laxus had begun their honeymoon; a luxury cruise around the Caribbean. Despite boarding the ship taking some time, Laxus couldn't stop the electricity flowing throughout him for the entire time. He was going to spend two weeks with his husband in a luxury cabin suit on the Caribbean. He felt as though there was no way that the week could be improved upon, but was quickly mistaken when Freed had awoken him early in the morning.
"What time is it?" Laxus asked, voice croaking a little as he reached up and pressed his lips against Freed's jaw.
"Three in the morning," Freed smiled a little, pressing his lips onto the top of Laxus' head.
"Why're you up then?" Laxus mumbled, resting his back against Freed's chest and allowing his husband to wrap his arms around him. "You didn't need to piss, right. Cause Gramps always needed to piss at three in the morning and wasn't quiet about it. If you're the same, I'm gonna have to leave you."
"You can't leave me, we're on a boat," Freed chuckled. "But no, just a little jetlag. That, and the rain woke me up."
"So I have to wake up too," Laxus grumbled a little, shuffling a little further into Freed's body. "That's low, asshole."
"Perhaps," Freed grinned. "But it's more than just rain. There's a pretty big storm happening across the sea and, if I remember correctly, you quite liked the sound of watching a storm hitting the ocean. But if you'd rather sleep like a little baby, then that's fine."
Laxus chuckled, delivering a weak punch to his husband's chest and sitting up fully. True to his words, when Laxus looked towards the glass doors to their private balcony, he could see lightning striking the sea through the netted curtains. He smiled wide despite his tiredness; on the first day of their honeymoon something had happened that they had promised they would do together at some point. If that wasn't fate's way of showing its support, then Laxus didn't know what was.
The blonde leant up and pressed his lips against Freed's for a short moment, smiling after Freed did the same a moment later. Both men climbed out of the bed, reached for their clothes slung over a nearby chair and slipped on their coats.
Walking through the door to their balcony, they were hit by the cold sea air and a rush of rain hitting them. Neither man cared as Freed closed the door behind them and they slowly walked to the edge of the balcony, leaning against the metal bar and looking across the baron, sloshing ocean presented to them across the horizon.
The lightning storm across the ocean was beautiful. Bolt after bolt slammed across the water, illuminating the darkness and sending crackled of sound across the ocean. It was beautiful, chaotic, and perfect.
Just like the two of them.
Sure, their relationship was far from conventional. Maybe they hadn't gotten together in a normal way, and instead had indulged in a kiss on a rooftop of a library in a party. Perhaps they hadn't taken as long as normal to confess their love for each other; it was their lives and their emotions, and they could say it however they wanted. And yes, maybe some people would suggest that a working romance wasn't logical, but they more than made it work and neither man was going to take heed of any patronising warning by people who didn't affect their lives.
Laxus grinned and wrapped his left arm around Freed's shoulders, pulling him a little closer as he watched the chaotic show before him. He rested their heads together and allowed himself to relish in the love of his husband.
Heh, he still wasn't used to calling the other man his husband. He wasn't going to stop saying it until it lost the magic, which he doubted would happen.
"I love you so much, Freed," Laxus whispered over the sound of crashing waved and powerful lightning. "So fucking much, you know that right."
"I love you too, Laxus," Freed smiled back, face completely showing his emotions. "More than you could possibly fathom."
They leant into each other, lips gently touching in a soft kiss. The rain beat down against them as their kiss intensified, tongues bumping against each other and lips parting and connecting multiple times in a second. They pulled each other closer, pressing against each other and kissing each other with as much passion and love that they could possibly show.
This was his life now. Joy, acceptance and love were in abundance because of the man he had married. His husband. The electricity that Freed sent through him that was once a rarity could now be constant that burned throughout him like lightning. He had taken a risk, rolled the dice and won perfection.
He truly had been blessed with the gambler's luck.
So there it was, the end of my little fic. I really want to thank all of you for taking the time to read this, and for commenting and reviewing it. You have no idea how much they can help give me inspiration, and I'm pretty sure this fic would have been abandoned without them.
This is the first multi-chapter fic that I've managed to complete, and I know it's not perfect. There's probably a few continuity errors and spelling mistakes that I couldn't see when I was reviewing, so thank you so much for looking past them and managing to reach this point. It means the world to me in a way that I can't quite put into words, and I hope the final chapter was a good enough ending.
Although the fic is over, I do plan on revisiting the AU with a few oneshots; mainly things that I wanted to write but couldn't fit in. I've also got another Fraxus multi-chapter fic, a smaller one, already written and ready to publish. It's a samurai AU should be out throughout February as it's part of an event. So, if you want some more Fraxus from me, please think about checking it out.
Again, thank you for reading this far. I love you all. ^.^