Day Nineteen – Learning (By The Roadside)
Being in a relationship, you're constantly learning about the other person. This was something that Freed had experienced with Gajeel multiple times. He had learned large things, like how he grew up in a care home and was adopted as a teenager. He learned small things, like he had originally shaved his eyebrows for a bet and liked the look. And he had learned things that were only relevant to him, such as how he needed keep far away from Gajeel and his alarm clock as the other man woke up.
Once, he had been between them for some reason, and Gajeel had absentmindedly slammed his fist out to turn it off, only to land a swift blow in Freed's groin. The asshole had laughed over an apology, and Freed had let out a series of cusses.
Today was a day they would both learn something knew about the other. Gajeel would learn that Freed didn't know anything about mechanics, and Freed would learn that Gajeel enjoyed gloating.
It had happened in some country road, where an unavoidable pothole had apparently burst one of the front tires of Freed's car, and he had been forced to stop where he was. The tire was beyond repair, with a large rip that nothing could seal, letting air out. He looked at the deflated rubber with a sigh, clicking his tongue absently as he decided what to do. Because, despite being a relatively practical man, he had never known how to change a tire. He had always lived in cities where potholes weren't an issue, and he didn't drive often, so the issue had never really arisen.
He had either two options. Either call his insurance and ask for help, which would be humiliating for such a prideful man, or call his boyfriend, who happened to be a mechanic.
Gajeel and him had only been dating for a few months, and they were still in what was often referred to as the honeymoon part of the relationship. Freed wasn't entirely sure if he had the right to call him in the middle of the day and ask him to leave his job to help him. But, the idea of being confronted with a tow-truck driver who would almost definitely complain about entitled youth was off-putting, so he had hoped his boyfriend would be amenable and called him.
It took Gajeel about forty minutes to find Freed's car, the revving of the mans motorbike alerting Freed to his presence. Freed had found the spare tire by that time, and had attempted to remove the ruined one without success.
"Hey handsome," Gajeel greeted with a grin, voice cheery. "Heard there was a damsel in distress."
"Call me a damsel again and I'll punch you in the face," Freed said, his tone equally cheerful. His was sarcastic, though.
"I can go if ya want," Gajeel taunted, though climbed off his bike and walked towards Freed's car. He hissed at the tire. "Did you slash the thing? It's fucking wrecked."
"Apparently country people don't fix their roads," Freed muttered, nodding to the pothole. Gajeel winced a little.
"Well, it shouldn't take long to change it," He grinned, pulling out the tools he needed from a small box attached to the back of his bike.
Freed watched the man as he leant down, holding a metal tool of some kind which he assumed would he used to undo the bolts that were keeping the tire in place; something Freed had attempted with a slightly too large wrench he happened to have in the back seat. He made sure to pay attention to what Gajeel was doing, so he could change a tire himself if the situation ever called for it.
On the final bolt, Gajeel attempted to remove it how he had before, but it wouldn't move. He readjusted his position slightly, and Freed saw his muscles bulging slightly more. With the added strength, the bolt began to turn.
"Why's that one tighter, Freed?" Gajeel asked, and the smile was evident in his tone. He knew.
"I had attempted to loosen it myself before you got here," Freed said, reddening slightly.
"You realised where you went wrong then?" Gajeel was grinning now. "If you wanna untighten it, you go anticlockwise. Sorta common knowledge really. Shocked you didn't figure it out."
"Shut up," Freed muttered, looking away.
"Anything else I should know about?" Gajeel grinned, taunting him further. "You didn't try and turn the AC on by setting fire to the engine? Open the trunk by welding it shut?"
"You're very funny," Freed deadpanned. Apparently Gajeel was more perceptive that Freed gave him credit for, as the questioning look he gave him showed that he knew Freed wasn't mentioning something. "I got annoyed and kicked it, if you must know."
Gajeel cackled out a laugh then, and Freed gave him an unimpressed look that only worsened the larger mans laughter. He stood up, wrapped his arms around Freed's waist and pulled him closer. The laughter turned into a quiet mixture of giggling and chuckling as he rested their foreheads together, and Freed seemed to have been calmed by the gesture, leaning in and pressing their lips together in a chaste kiss.
"It's not that funny, you know," Freed commented, and Gajeel smirked.
"It ain't," He agreed. "But you're always so fuckin'… capable, always have an answer and a solution; which I really fucking like about ya. I don't want some needy guy. But, it's kinda nice to know you have a flaw. I used to be, I don't know, kinda intimidated by ya. And the fact your flaw is what I do for a living… it's kinda funny."
Freed shook his head, but smiled. He hadn't known that he had been intimidating to Gajeel – it certainly hadn't been something he wanted to do – but he was glad that the feeling had lessened. Even at the death of his dignity.
"Well, I'm glad you're here and can help me," Freed admitted. "It's nice to know that you'd come if I needed you."
"Always," Gajeel promised.
They shared a short kiss again, and then Gajeel began to change the tire again. It didn't take long, and soon the new tire had been applied. Freed walked towards his car, and Gajeel noticed a small limp in his walk. He smirked, realising what had caused it.
"You hurt your foot when you kicked the car, didn't ya?" He asked, grinning.
"Shut up," Freed muttered, and Gajeel fell into loud and impassioned laughter. Despite himself, Freed joined in.