The worst idea
"Fuck" Freed swore panting on the grass. He was muddy, naked, the rain kept beating on him, the wind was blowing hard and he didn't give a damn. He was still lost in pleasure after having perhaps the most incredible sex of his life. He turned his head wearily to Gajeel and smiled to see him in the same condition. The boy was sweating, dirty and with rain-soaked hair. His torso was full of marks and scratches Freed had left, and his chest rose and fell with each heavy breath.
"Fuck it was great," Gajeel said turning his face to Freed. He smiled blissfully and kissed him. They were both exhausted, so the kiss was sloppy and only lasted a few seconds. Also because now they were both starting to feel cold given the states they were in in the midst of the storm.
"I think we should go home before we get sick," Freed said, forcing himself to sit up and Gajeel did the same. They looked at each other for a moment as thunder rumbled above them and the rain poured down. Neither of them bothered to get dressed, also because half of the clothes had ended up torn and the other half was lost in the storm.
Gajeel tilted his head to the side and grinned.
"This was the best idea I've ever had." Freed had nothing to argue.
That had been the worst idea Gajeel had ever had. Freed knew this. He had known it from the moment the boy had proposed it. He had also said it: having sex in the middle of a storm was a crazy idea. A crazy idea that only that beast of his boyfriend could have. Yet Freed had accepted.
He had been an idiot, because Gajeel had instigated him on purpose by saying that a little-prince like him wouldn't have taken the blow. Freed hadn't been able to help himself at that point. He knew it was a clear instigation and he knew he would regret it. At that moment, however, he had wanted to prove to Gajeel that he wasn't a fucking little-prince.
And ok, maybe he had also given up because Gajeel was hot at that moment. Very hot. God, if only Freed thought back to what his boyfriend had looked like with his soaked hair and wet tank top attached to his body, he could get hard again. Especially if he thought about how it ended later, rolling in the grass tearing each other's clothes off.
He had been stupid. Only Gajeel could drag him to do something like that. And now Freed obviously had a fever.
Fuck.
If Gajeel had found out he'd have teased Freed to no end, repeating that he was weak as a little-prince. Freed wanted to avoid that situation at all costs.
That's why he hadn't told anyone he was sick, not even Bickslow or Evergreen. He had shut himself up in the house and filled himself with healing herbs. Luckily, he had a lot of them in stock. He just hoped that no one would ask questions and that it would pass quickly. In any case, he could have said that he had been busy with some ancient and complex translation.
Freed thus spent three days barely standing. He ate little, slept most of the time, and stuffed himself with healing herbs. When Evergreen came to his house to find out why he was no longer in the guild, Freed managed to calm her down by saying that he'd had stressful days. It was a lie, but for a good purpose. Neither he nor Gajeel wanted to go public with their relationship yet, they were both very reserved. Besides, he certainly couldn't tell her that he had caught a fever after having sex in the storm. The girl would look at him as if he had gone mad. Maybe he really was since he had started dating Gajeel.
In any case, the three days passed and Freed began to feel better again. So, even though he hadn't fully recovered, he returned to the guild, hoping he hadn't raised any doubts in that beast of his boyfriend.
But when he arrived in the guild, Gajeel wasn't there. At first, he thought he was in the library with Levy or doing some stupid challenge with Natsu. But the two wizards were there, while there wasn't even a shadow of Gajeel. And he couldn't even have taken a mission, since Panther Lily was there too. In fact, it was strange that the Exceed was there without the Dragon Slayer.
Freed tried not to think about it and spent the afternoon with Bickslow and Evergreen, until curiosity got the better of him and he approached Panther Lily, finding him in a moment that he was alone.
"It's weird not seeing you with Gajeel," he said pretending indifference. The Exceed looked up at him and smiled slightly.
"He's home with a fever," he explained. Freed was surprised for a moment and Panther Lily widened his smile becoming amused. "From one night he came home soaked and scratched. He must have had an intense fight with a demon," he added derisively. Freed remained silent again, hoping that the warmth he felt in his cheeks wouldn't turn into an intense blush. So Panther Lily knew. It wasn't even that strange, he lived with Gajeel and he wasn't stupid.
"I understand," he said.
"Well, I'm going fishing with Happy today. Hope someone will take care of Gajeel" said that, Panther Lily stood up and walked away towards the blue cat. Freed stood for a moment motionless. Had he just told him to go look after Gajeel? He hadn't been with him for a long time yet, they didn't have all that confidence, and proud as he was probably Gajeel would have kicked his ass out saying that he didn't need any help.
Freed smiled. It would have been fun.
When he got to Gajeel's apartment, Freed had to knock three times before the boy came to open the door. As soon as the Dragon Slayer saw that it was him, he was obviously surprised. Freed hadn't gone to his house often, and they usually went together when they knew Panther Lily wasn't there.
"The fuck are you doing here?" Gajeel asked in a snarl. Freed looked at him, he wasn't in his best status, but since he continued to be arrogant, he didn't even have to be that bad. At that point he didn't feel the slightest guilt about making fun of him.
"Panther Lily told me that a little-prince lost a fight to a demon and got sick," he replied with a provocative smile. Gajeel grunted.
"I'm not in the mood," he growled. "And you didn't win any fucking fights, you bastard," he added and started to close the door. Freed put his arm on top of it to keep him from slamming it in his face and was surprised to feel that Gajeel wasn't pushing as hard as he was. Maybe he was worse off than he showed.
"I haven't won any fight, but in the end you're the sick one. Come on, I'm here to take care of you," he said.
"I don't need help," Gajeel grunted. Freed at that point raised the bag he was holding in his hands and gave a small smile to calm him down a bit.
"I've a soup with a mixture of metals that you might like," he said. That seemed to be the trump card because Gajeel, after sniffing a bit, gave up.
"Good," he grunted and turned and headed for the kitchen. Freed, finally satisfied, entered his apartment and after closing the door behind him, followed Gajeel. The Dragon Slayer took out a saucepan and placed it on the stove, then took the container from Freed's hands and spilled the contents inside.
"I'll do it, you go lay down," Freed said.
"I only let you in to eat and for some company," Gajeel clarified grumpily. "I don't need any help," he repeated. Freed raised an eyebrow. It was evident that Gajeel wasn't in the best condition, probably his head was spinning and he just wanted to sleep. He knew the boy was proud, but he really wanted to help him.
"Well, unfortunately for you mine isn't a request, it's an order. Go sit down and don't complain. I cooked this and I bet you don't even know how much you've to heat it, with the amount of metal I put in it, you could make a disaster" he said categorically. Gajeel started to reply, but then, maybe out of weariness, maybe because he didn't want to argue, he turned around and without saying anything went back into the living room.
Freed then heated the contents, mixed a little and poked around in Gajeel's cabinets, adding some spice that the Dragon Slayer would have liked and that wouldn't have made the soup too heavy. Once it was ready, he went back into the living room and noticed that the boy was sitting with his head leaning against a pillow and a grimace on his face. He was paler than before and Freed decided to drop the jokes on the tip of his tongue.
"Here," he said, sitting next to him and handing him the soup.
"Mpf, hope it's good," Gajeel muttered taking the plate and Freed snorted lightly.
"A thank you is enough," he muttered but he knew from experience that Gajeel wouldn't thank him. Gajeel began to eat and Freed smiled slightly as the Dragon Slayer muttered that it wasn't bad.
"I didn't know you told Panther Lily about us," he said after a while.
"I didn't. That damn cat found out for himself," explained Gajeel. "And he saw me when I came home naked that night. I told him I had fought a monster, but he didn't believe me," he added. Freed chuckled slightly.
"He really told me you fought a demon," he said. Gajeel pursed his lips in a grin.
"Well, at least now we can kick him out of the house whenever we want," he said and walked over to him, running an arm around his waist and pulling him over him. Freed didn't object but turned his head when Gajeel tried to kiss him, so that his lips rested on his cheek. "Don't tell me you're afraid of getting a fever, little-prince," the Dragon Slayer derisively commented.
"Yes, and here the little-prince is you, since apparently you're the sick one," Freed retorted, giving him a light tap on the head. Gajeel snorted.
"Tsk. Shut up".
Freed widened his smirk.
"Weren't you the one who said only a spoiled little-prince could get a stupid flu having sex in the middle of a storm?" he teased him by repeating the exact words Gajeel had said to him four days earlier.
"Oh, fuck you," Gajeel snapped and Freed laughed at his pout.
"You expected me to be the sick one, tell the truth," he said. Gajeel gave him a dirty look.
"Well, you've a bit of a cold or am I wrong?" he retorted. Freed frowned slightly, but shrugged.
"Are you comparing a mild cold to horse fever? There's no story" he said and got up from the sofa to take the thermometer. He tried to take his temperature but Gajeel pushed him badly away.
"I don't need that stuff, I'm fine already," he said dryly. Freed rolled his eyes.
"Good heavens, stand still and measure your fever. I need to know how high it's".
"It's practically over already," Gajeel grunted.
"God, I don't think I've ever known anyone more stubborn than you," Freed snapped and forced the thermometer under his armpit, sitting astride him to hold him still and blocking his arm with the hand. Luckily for him Gajeel looked really tired, because he didn't object too much. He knew that if he did, they would start fighting and never finish.
Gajeel scowled at him for a while and Freed challenged him to rebel, knowing full well that in his current states he wouldn't be able to. After a while, however, Gajeel grinned.
"Well, this position isn't bad," he said amused.
"I won't do anything with you sick," Freed clarified coldly.
"Asshole".
"Stubborn".
The thermometer rang and Freed pulled it back and observed that the temperature was quite high. More than 38 and a half degrees, and that idiot was still pretending to be fine. He shook his head in resignation and pulled himself off the couch.
"To bed," he ordered.
"The fuck, I told you I don't need to sleep," Gajeel grunted. "And you certainly didn't come here to sleep."
"I already told you I came here to take care of you. Now shut your mouth and go to bed," Freed snapped in exasperation. Gajeel grunted but got up a bit shaky and Freed was immediately beside him. Luckily, he didn't refuse his help and luckily in a few seconds he took him to his room. Gajeel stretched out on the bed and snorted, then clapped his hand on the mattress.
Freed took a few seconds to realize it was a way to ask him to lie down next to him, and he obliged. He lay down beside him and pulled the blankets up to cover them both.
"Do you want another blanket?" he asked noticing that Gajeel occasionally had some thrills.
"I want you to stop being so annoying," was the grumpy reply.
"Why do you have to complicate things like this," Freed muttered. If he was an asshole, Gajeel was offended, if he was nice, he was offended just the same. He loved his boyfriend, but sometimes he was really unbearable. Gajeel didn't answer and Freed assumed he had fallen asleep. At least he was resting now, it was for the best.
Freed smiled slightly as he listened to his heavy breathing and ran a hand through his hair. There were few sweet moments between them, Gajeel was certainly not a man who loved fuss. And Freed didn't make things easier. They spent their time mainly making fun of themselves, practicing or otherwise always had something to do. But he found himself loving those few moments of peace, before falling asleep with him or after sex. Unless the sex was the wild one they'd had a few days earlier in the middle of a storm.
He smiled in amusement at the memory as he gently ran his hand across Gajeel's arm. He had to admit that ever since he started dating Gajeel, he had really started doing things he never dreamed of doing. He had once let Gajeel drag him to a music festival and, even though it wasn't his kind of man, he'd had a lot of fun.
"No one has ever taken care of me," Gajeel said suddenly, interrupting his thoughts. Freed frowned a little, surprised both by the fact that the boy wasn't sleeping, and by that sudden statement.
"What do you mean?" he asked in a low voice.
"I was raised by a dragon. Not just any dragon, Metallicana. And when he left, I spent my whole life alone. I'm not used to… someone like you. I'm an independent man," he explained briefly.
Freed remained silent, not quite sure what to say. He understood what Gajeel meant, even Freed had experienced loneliness for a period of his life. While he had met Evergreen, Bickslow and Laxus, however, Gajeel was left alone until he entered Fairy Tail.
He continued to run his fingers through Gajeel's hair in a calming gesture.
"The fact that I take care of you doesn't mean that you aren't independent or that you're weak. You're a strong, proud and skilled man and I know it. That's why I like you. Moments of weakness happen to everyone and precisely because I love you, I want to take care of you when they happen" he said calmly, while a blush filled his face. Gajeel smiled slightly at admission. "And that doesn't make you a little-prince, even if you fell ill in my place," Freed added in a slightly amused tone, popping him a kiss on the lips.
"Love you too, even if you're an asshole," Gajeel murmured. Freed just smiled without saying anything, completely in love with the man in front of him and that strangely sweet situation between them. He liked knowing that they could share moments like that too, and that Gajeel felt comfortable enough to talk to him about things he had never told anyone.
"You got a fever too, right?" Gajeel grumbled after a while and Freed frowned slightly.
"Are you delirious?" he asked.
"No" Gajeel smiled without opening his eyes. "But you came here after four days. Knowing your bullshit, you would've been here after two hours not seeing me in the guild, just to fool me for as long as possible," he explained. Freed laughed softly.
"What if it were?" he asked him.
"You remain the little-prince," Gajeel replied tightening his grip on him. Freed would have liked to argue that at least he was healed after three days, not like Gajeel who was still in bed. Eventually, however, he decided to let it go and curled up against his chest.
"As you like" he murmured and closed his eyes falling asleep next to him shortly after.