Fraxus Week 2021, Day 3. Prompt: Sunrise/Sunset.

Autumn bath

They had just completed a mission. It had been simple enough compared to the missions they usually took, they had only had to free a rare species of dolphins that had been captured by traders in black. It had therefore taken them very little time and now Freed was sitting on the beach watching the animals as they moved away from the shore, finally free to swim. Evergreen, Bickslow and Laxus had already returned to the inn for dinner. On the other hand, they had done well, it was really getting cold.

"Are you going to stay here all night?" came a voice behind him. Freed didn't even turn to recognize who he was. Laxus joined him without sitting down, the rune mage smiled.

"No, I'll be back soon" he replied, standing still to listen to the waves of the sea, and the winter air, while the sun was lowering on the horizon. He liked to have a few moments of calm, especially after spending the whole day with his teammates. He heard a thud and turning around saw that Laxus had dropped his coat on the sand.

"What are you doing?" he asked with a frown.

"Don't tell me you can't get there alone," Laxus said with a smirk that only meant trouble. Freed arched an eyebrow wondering what idea was going through his mind and vowing to say no to whatever he asked. It was really getting late and he had stayed there just to get some peace of mind. Laxus, however, took off his shirt and Freed realized that he wanted to swim in the sea.

"It's November" Freed pointed out "You're completely out of your mind, can't you feel the wind? And the water will be frozen".

"Oh, come on, is Freed the Dark afraid of some fresh water?" Laxus teased him as he approached the sea.

"You'll get a fever and we have to go back to the inn," Freed insisted. He wouldn't give in. That was a completely crazy idea, no matter how much Laxus insisted, Freed wouldn't accept or follow him.

All those thoughts were thrown away when Laxus dived into the sea, re-emerging a few seconds later and showing himself in all his beauty. Freed really tried to resist, but how could he do it? He simply couldn't, not with Laxus practically naked with droplets of water running through his muscles. The last rays of the sun were reflected on his abs and on his face making him look even more handsome than he already was. His wet boxers barely hid his body, and his arrogant smirk definitely won over the runic wizard.

"Come on, draw that heat rune and go in," Laxus urged. Freed didn't really have the strength to say 'no' and drew the rune, then undressed himself and went into the sea, gathering his hair in a bun so as not to wet it.

"If I get a fever, it will be your fault," he muttered and Laxus laughed heartily, swimming farther out. Freed smiled slightly, he couldn't really be angry, not when he saw Laxus so happy and when he heard his loud laugh. With a few strokes he caught up with him but he had come to a point where Freed couldn't touch the sand. He aimed his gaze at the sun which was lowering more and more, so he didn't notice the dangerous grin on his friend's face, and when Laxus grabbed him by the head pushing him underwater, Freed was completely taken aback. He squirmed and managed to free himself by surfacing and spitting out salt water.

"You're a bastard" he said "I tied my hair just to not wet them, what the fuck" Freed snapped, but Laxus continued to grin satisfied.

"What a pity" he said sarcastically. Freed narrowed his gaze.

"You won't have war, if that's what you're aiming for," he chilled.

"Let it bet?" said the blond, widening his grin and Freed knew that that meant trouble. With a single stroke Laxus was close to him, grabbing him by the shoulders and throwing him back under. Freed, disadvantaged by his height, was unable to rebel and felt the blond man fiddling with the elastic of his hair, removing it and untying his hairstyle, and then stuffing something between his locks. Freed emerged running a hand through his hair and noting with horror that Laxus had taken a sticky seaweed.

"You're dead" Freed hissed and threw himself on his friend's shoulders, trying to throw him under, but it was useless. Laxus was much more muscular than him, in fact with a quick gesture the blond threw him back. At that point Freed decided to use his magic and with a rune he teleported some algae and sand directly above his friend. When he saw the result, he smiled smugly.

"You play dirty," Laxus snapped as he tried to pull the stuff off of him.

"We've never established any rules on the use of magic," Freed replied and then erased the rune of heat from Laxus and the blond began to tremble and cursed. Freed laughed. "Is the great Laxus Dreyar afraid of a little fresh water?" he mocked him as his friend had done before.

The blond shot him a grim look and began to swim towards him. Freed immediately swam to shore and then ran, but the blonde caught up with him and grabbed him by the shoulder and in the heat to escape his grasp, Freed staggered and fell to the ground, with Laxus headed over him. Freed swore as he saw his hair getting dirty with sand, and heard the blond's loud laugh in his ear.

"I won even without magic," he said arrogantly. Freed didn't reply as he felt his face begin to warm from the proximity of their bodies.

"Good, now get up" he dryly trying to get up, but Laxus only made him turn him, and Freed found himself in an even worse position than the previous one, with his friend still lying on top of him who was raised on his elbows. Laxus was staring at him with a victorious grin and Freed could see his chest rise and fall with each breath as he felt the grip of Laxus' hand on his shoulder. A hand that after a while climbed up to reach his neck. His friend's expression softened and Freed remained motionless for a moment, not knowing how to react and feeling his heart pounding.

Laxus tilted his head to the side, running his hand over his fringe, pushing it away from his face.

"Your hair is really a mess," he commented hoarsely and Freed tried not to shiver at that closeness and touch. He just stayed silent, peering into Laxus's gaze and noticing that he too was blushing. Or maybe it was the sun's rays. He had no idea, but he was sure that his friend was getting closer and closer.

And in fact, a moment later he kissed him. Freed closed his eyes and let himself be drawn into the kiss. He reached behind the blond's nape and pushed him to intensify it. He could feel Laxus' hands rising through his hair and the taste of salt between their lips. It was beautiful. When they parted, they stared at each other in silence for a few seconds, both red-faced and out of breath.

"Well..." Laxus started awkwardly but stopped probably not knowing what to say. Freed smiled running a hand through his damp hair and pushed him back on him. They kissed a second time, more intense than the first, and when they parted, they both sat back down on the beach, both with smiles on their faces.

Freed look at Laxus. In that moment and with those reddish lights he looked even more handsome than usual. Only after a while did he realize that his friend was shivering with cold.

"We better go inside," he said at that point. Laxus turned to him and nodded and then giggled in amusement. Freed frowned.

"Nothing, it's just that your hair is in a mess," he said. Freed raised a slightly frown and amused eyebrow at the same time.

"You know how to be romantic after the first kiss," he commented ironically and Laxus blushed slightly. "Really," Freed continued "It's the perfect atmosphere, first kiss, sunset, beach, and in any case, you manage to ruin it by making me notice my hair dirty with sand and seaweed" he continued to tease him, while Laxus stared at him in an embarrassed silence.

"You know I'm not good at these things," he replied in a mutter. Freed at that point smiled and stood up, extending a hand making him rise from the ground.

"Yes, I know," he said softly as Laxus stood up beside him. Freed felt his cheeks blush, although he already imagined his friend's response. He just hoped that Laxus didn't notice it, and that he blamed the sun's rays. "Would you like to go out on a date tomorrow?" he asked him.

The answer was obvious.

Freed heard a door slam and woke to hear Laxus swear from the inn hallway. Freed yawned and turned to see what time it was, almost groaned to see it was 5.30 in the morning. Why was Laxus already awake? He knew Laxus woke up early but that was too early even for him. He decided to ignore it and turned in bed, slipping even further under the sheets. He just wanted to sleep, he had already had to stay awake until three to finish reading a book. He heard footsteps walking down the hall again and then sneezing. Freed opened one eye fearing that Laxus had caught a fever.

"I told him it was a bad idea to take a bath now," he thought. He almost decided to ignore him, but eventually pity got the better of him and he reluctantly got up, put on his slippers and took some healing herbs. He left the room. After taking a look around and seeing that no one was there, he walked towards Laxus's room. He knocked softly and heard a grunt.

"What are you doing awake already?". Obviously with his developed senses Laxus had recognized him. Freed walked into his room and closed the door behind him.

"You've a fever, right?" he asked wearily, barely holding back a yawn. He got no response and this time Freed yawned without bothering to hide it. "I told you," he muttered as he approached the bed.

"I'm fine," Laxus snapped, but one glance was enough for Freed to see that this wasn't the case. He was cold, and placing his hand on his forehead he also felt that it was warm. He sighed wearily and took a glass of water, dissolving some tablets inside and passing it to him. "I don't drink that shit," Laxus said immediately. Freed wasn't really going to fight.

"Do as you like, as long as you don't complain if your fever doesn't pass," he muttered. Laxus then sat up on the bed and threw down all the contents, making a face. Freed yawned again and the blonde patted him on the shoulder.

"You don't need to stand up, you know," he told him.

"I'm awake by now, I won't be able to go back to sleep," Freed replied with a slight smile. Laxus snorted.

"I think our date is postponed," he muttered in a bad mood and Freed looked at him softly.

"No problem," he replied with a slight blush. He was pleased to know that the blonde really wanted to go out with him. Not that he didn't already know, but it was nice to hear that. Laxus snorted evidently in disagreement and glanced at the terrace window. Then he stood up and grabbed Freed by the wrist forcing him to follow. The boy didn't object and watched Laxus open the window and go out.

"Laxus, don't you think you've already caught cold enough?" he asked feeling the fresh morning air and wrapping his arms around his body. Why did he have to fall in love with an idiot who didn't learn his lesson?

"It can't get any worse now," Laxus said and then told him to follow him. Freed at first wondered where, but then he saw Laxus turn into lightning and climb onto the roof of the inn. "But what is he thinking of?" Freed wondered, without asking questions decided to follow him. Anyway, he surely wouldn't have fallen asleep by now. He went up to the roof and sat down next to Laxus.

"Why did you want to go up here?" he asked. Laxus glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and Freed saw him blush slightly, but then saw his lips curl into a slight smile.

"You said I can't be romantic, right?" the Dragon Slayer asked. Freed didn't understand and stared at him silently, still half stunned. Laxus nodded to the sky and the magician finally looked away from his friend to observe the first light of dawn. He found himself smiling spontaneously as the pink lights illuminated the city. It was truly a wonderful sight, especially for him who usually got up late and hardly ever saw dawn. There was a surreal calm, only the first birds could be heard chirping and the waves of the sea behind them.

"It's wonderful," he admitted and turned to his companion, who in turn turned to him. They looked at each other for a moment and under his gaze Freed felt his face warm up. Then he took courage and pushed himself slightly forward. Laxus did the same and immediately after the two boys joined their lips in a sweet and short kiss. When they broke apart Freed could feel his heart leap and a tiny smile formed on his face. Several times he had thought about what it was like to kiss Laxus and that… well, that was perfect.

He turned back to look at the sky, and rested his head on Laxus's shoulder. He felt the blonde wrap his arm around his shoulders and the smile on Freed's face widened. Fever or not, that moment was just perfect.