Chapter 35
It was loud, long and bleak, the fight for the Lacrima.
The enemy guild seemed to grow larger in numbers as they fought, destroying the abandoned port and the outer woods of Folkirk. The dark guild had factions not unlike Phantom Lord, and they all seeped into the city to protect their stolen prize; a dangerous dragon slayer lacrima, powerful enough to utilize without a body to control it.
It sat at the center of the now destroyed dark guild, floating in a giant, intricately built structure of gold and marble. It shined brightly, and it gave power to a large cannon above. It rose above the rubble, above the lacrima and pointed itself at the city center miles away. Below the canon, members of the dark guild, and members of Fairy Tail.
One of the fairies had been captured, strangled tightly by one of the larger members of the guild.
"Fuck-guh-!" Gajeel spat up blood, struggling in the large man's grip.
"Gajeel!" His guildmates cried. One of the dark guild's member's laughed.
"You lot look a bit sick!" He said, smirking, "And yer' runnin' out of time. You want the city's precious lacrima back? Or do you want your friend? Frankly I see them as equal worth to our cause. You caaaan tryyy to take out the lacrima before it fuels the cannon with enough magic to decimate the city in, lets say, five minutes! But I think you need your whole team to get through all of us, hmm?"
"Tch…!" Laxus ground his teeth. They separated Gajeel during the tussle in the city and caught him as he was defenseless. What could they even want with him? He had nothing to do with the lacrima, nothing to do with their guild. As the man brought up the proposal, as he watched Gajeel be choked by the larger wizard Laxus' fists clenched so tightly they bled. The mission or their guild mate? Their job or Gajeel's life? Fuck the money! Fuck the city! Staring at Gajeel's battered self as he wiped blood from his own nose, he spat, "Real cocky for someone who's about to get their face punched in."
"What the fuck are you doing-!?" Gajeel yelled out, held back by the large man, still, "Just leave me, damn you-!"
"Oh! Scary!" The mage smiled, fixing his long blue hair. "Then if that's the case for the rest of you…"
He watched as they prepared for a fight. A final fight, it seemed. He smiled, tilting his head towards Gajeel.
"How nice," he said, "Seems they care about you more than I thought. More than all of those inoccent people out there. How nice, and what a damn shame." He stared daggers at Laxus. Laxus fucking Dreyar. He tore through the guild to get to Gajeel once he was caught by one of their strongest wizards. For the sake of their guild master, he could not afford to lose this treasure. Neither of them.
"Cannon fires in three minutes. Kill them."
Gajeel looked worn, standing over the man who'd captured him before. He collapsed. He couldn't move anymore. Everything was blurry, and his ears were ringing. Did the cannon fire? Did it fucking fire? Those idiots, how could they choose him over the city?
As he struggled to keep his eyes open, he found his guildmates staring down at him. Erza…Cana…Laxus…Laxus? He was holding him up. Erza said something about the lacrima, but he couldn't make it out then. Laxus…was talking to him. Why would he speak to him? They spoke sometimes, but they were never close. At least, Gajeel didn't think so.
He asked if he was okay.
"I-ugh-" Gajeel tried to say, "Face hurts. Th-the city. The city-! Why would you-!"
"Gajeel stop!"
"Fuck-!"
Gajeel nearly faints, falling back into Laxus' arms as he's dizzy. His head hurt. His face hurt. Was something broken? He couldn't even tell, part of him felt numb. Gajeel slumped, his head rolled back up to face Laxus who was looking up at the lacrima. He looked…worried. What was wrong? What had they done?
"Hey, Gajeel," Cana said, "The city's okay. Everything's fine now."
"W-what?" Gajeel blinked.
"It's just, uh. The lacrima. Well."
"...th…what about…it?"
"It's been destroyed." Erza confirmed, "Laxus shot a heavy blow to the enemy 'S-Class' mages, and it hit the Lacrima. It blew it up right before it could power the cannon enough to fire and destroy the city."
Laxus frowned, Gajeel only stared with his mouth slightly agape as he took everything in. The enemy guild was in fact defeated, and the cannon was stopped. He was rescued. The lacrima was destroyed. The city's safe, that's great. Laxus being the one to destroy the lacrima was surprising, he'd expected Natsu to do such a reckless thing…he used his magic. Gajeel was unharmed by Laxus, despite the power it must have taken to simultaneously defeat the guild and-
"Gajeel."
The lacrima they needed to bring back to the mayor unharmed was destroyed.
Why? Why Why Why Why Why Why Why Why Why?
They could have left him, prioritized the lacrima over him. What would it have mattered? The job was completely soiled now so why would they do such a thing to save Gajeel's life? Why would Laxus do such a thing?
"Gajeel?"
He feels angry. He feels powerless. Unable to move and too exhausted to truly speak his mind about his life being spared. The city needed that damn lacrima and now it's gone because he wasn't strong enough to not get captured. Gajeel could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He couldn't bear to be this weak, couldn't take it any longer. He could only think about it as he fainted.
"Gajeel. Wake up."
The gentle voice was familiar. He felt warm, and as he awoke he knew his body was floating. Something was before him, something large, glowing. Looking at him with some concern.
"Do you still not sleep well?"
"...I never did." Gajeel admitted, groggily.
"I'm sorry, Gajeel," she said, "I can see you hide a lot of pain. You hide it from the people you love most. It does not help."
"..."
"And, neither has our recent predicament. I want to tell you that you are out of the woods, Gajeel. He is no longer in your head."
Gajeel exhaled, his shoulders relaxed as he thought about his recent nightmare. It wasn't about Cadaver this time. It was about the past again…right before he and Laxus…Gajeel frowned, turning away from the Spirit Queen recollecting the conversation he'd fallen asleep during. Their "anniversary." Cheesy, he thought, but he found himself blushing as he thought more about it.
"C-Cadaver's…" he stuttered, "He's…"
"Out of your head. You destroyed his weakened spirit, Gajeel, and I must commend you for it. Even I couldn't do it, not in the state I was in."
This means nothing. Was she avoiding a simple yes? Gajeel's eyes twitched. His head filled again with the memories of Spirit Park, being trapped under the catacombs and in Cadaver's lair. Shut him out already, he's gone. He's Gone.
"I've been told about your anniversary?"
"My anni-oh. R-right." Gajeel turned away again, "You spoke to him too. Did he tell you about us, huh?"
"No," She laughs, "I can see you quite well unlike your guildmates. The both of you…he's very sweet to you, you know. I remember watching him fight for you. These past twenty years I have watched humans-living humans-closer than I'd ever thought to. Humans who both respected and feared me. He fought with a force I've never seen out of anyone for the sake of someone else's soul."
He couldn't look at her, not once. Couldn't marvel at the bright blue space they were in, the plants surrounding them, the spirits freed from Cadaver's curse drifting about, or the magic particles everywhere. He could not hold his head up.
"I'd do the same." He said. Was that sincere? It didn't feel sincere. All the things he'd done for him that he could never make up for. Laxus saved his life twice now and he'd surely do it a million times. What could Gajeel do for him?
"You already do."
Under his chin there is a warm, gentle touch. Two giant blue fingers graze his head and hold him up to face her. The queen looks beautiful, shining in the space they shared. This was her realm, wherever they were, and she was healing in it.
"Laxus boasts about you." She laughed again, "He says he doesn't get to talk about you to many people, doesn't get to talk about you to anyone. But he loves you. That he'd throw himself away for you. He tells me you've lit up his life in a way he'd never expected, changed his perspective of love entirely…Gajeel…you and Laxus have only been in this kind of relationship for less than a year, but you two have a powerful connection. A strong bond. I can see that you care for him just as much as he cares for you. You're willing to do whatever it takes for him, bring yourself to your limits for him. But you do not need me to tell you that he loves you regardless.
"We are both liberated from Cadaver's curse thanks to his perseverance and your will. As these next few years pass…I don't want you to live it in fear. You are free from your prison, but now you must untie your own binds."
The room is quiet. The window was open, and the curtains moved with the light breeze. Gajeel stared up at the ceiling, his body completely swaddled by Laxus, half the lightning dragon slayer's face buried into his hair. The sun had just risen, its light nicely shining through the window just enough to light the room, shining on the bed. He could not see the clock, as most of his face was in Laxus' chest, but Gajeel had guessed it was around seven in the morning. He didn't want to get up-and couldn't as Laxus held him rather tight, but he was unbothered. Gajeel instead nuzzled the man's chest, wrapping his arms around his waist and quickly fell back to sleep.
August would pass. The end of summer was spent training, on Gajeel's part, with Pantherlily to regain his muscle and his ability to use magic. The mages of Fairy Tail went on their usual jobs with their usual partners, although Juvia was now almost always going on jobs with Cana, at least publicly.
News about the destruction of the brand new Spirit Park inevitably broke, and it was revealed that it was at the hands of both Fairy Tail and Sabertooth. However, strangely, the owner was completely missing without a trace. There was no one directly affected by the damages and the loss, and no one to potentially sue or press charges against the guilds. Makarov understood the risks of sending his guild to the amusement park, but he was quite relieved in the end that this park and this Vincent turned out to be what they were, in this case of course. To the shock of many tabloids and journalists, the guilds would go unpunished, and the information they would give regarding this incident would be lacking.
Gajeel couldn't stand it. He couldn't stand being surprised by paparazzi and asked about Spirit park and "what they'd done to it" whenever he was trying to get to and from the guild. It startled him every time, fearing that they'd come back asking him something new they shouldn't know about at all. He was thankful for Pantherlily's large form, acting as a guard between him and lacrima cameras and microphones.
"Fuck off," Gajeel would say, and the vulgar statement would mean nothing to them. He wondered what Laxus was being asked. He was sure he was smart enough to stay silent. Gajeel chuckles as he imagined. It's probably normal for that asshole, he thought about the S-Class mage.
He wanted it to be the 22nd. He worked countless jobs saving money for their trip, feeling as though it were his first vacation ever. Gajeel would be away from Magnolia, up in the mountains at a quiet resort. The more he thought about it the more he wanted to jump and swing his arms in pure glee, and the more he wanted to run to Laxus and make the lightning mage take him there now, but he knew it was best to wait. He couldn't believe how happy he was, right after engaging with the press, just thinking about being alone with Laxus that week, that day.
And that day would come. The leaves would begin to change color, the air would grow cooler, and the week of the 22nd of September would arrive. Gajeel had his bags packed-helped by Pantherlily, naturally-and the two made their way through Magnolia to the train station. Gajeel spotted Mirajane, Cana and Juvia walking from the direction of the guild. He turned to see the Raijinshuu speaking to Laxus. He was unsurprised they wanted to give them a final send off.
"Gajeel-kuuuun!" Juvia calls him, excited. He places a hand on his forehead.
"Juvia," he grunts as he walks over, quite embarrassed. She led the others to crowd around him now. Just what he wanted, what a wonderful send off.
"Juvia will miss you so much!" She grabs his cheeks, "Are you really going to the mountains? So exciting!"
"It's one week, Juvia," He laughs, "It really isn't that long-"
"Could be longer."
Gajeel raises his eyebrows as Laxus approaches, "Depends on how we feel," he continued.
"We already went on a nice loooong job with Sparky, so he's all yours now~!" Bickslow teases, grinning widely.
"Shut the fuck up," Laxus says, gritting his teeth. Gajeel smirks.
"Just let us know if he gets into trouble, okay?" Evergreen smiles at the iron dragon slayer.
"Or if he gets lost trying to get back to his cabin." Freed says, "He's prone to that, you know."
"You can shut it too," Laxus exhales, shaking his head and turning to Gajeel. "They're a lot. Sorry."
"I know," Gajeel mouths, chuckling.
"ALL ABOARD! DIRECT ROUTE TO TECCUMOUTH AND ENVISTA HIGHLANDS! ALL ABOARD!"
Interrupted by the conductor, Laxus quickly grabbed his own and Gajeel's luggage, to the other's surprise. He tilts his head at him, but Laxus only shrugs. "Are you ready?"
"Mhm."
Their goodbyes cut short, Laxus and Gajeel wave back at the group of mages before they climb aboard the train. It was a train that didn't come too often, but a train with a direct stop below the mountains where they intended to stay, in a village below the Spa Town. Not only had they been established for decades, Laxus and his troop had been there before, as well. So. Nothing dangerous, Gajeel figured as he slid into one of the seats, propping his feet up on the other seats in front of them.
Laxus sat beside him and rested his elbows on the table. He watched his boyfriend stare outside. The man groaned as the train moved, and he pressed his head against the glass. Laxus smirked, pulling the other dragon slayer back and against him, allowing him to rest on his shoulder.
"How long's this ride?" Gajeel asked, huffing.
"Longer than our last trip. It was either this or taking a ship to their port, and that would've taken much longer."
"And it've felt damn worse." Gajeel muttered, closing his eyes.
The train was cold, air flowing through as though it weren't as chilly as it was outside. Laxus, thankfully, was warm. Gajeel could feel himself falling asleep against him again. The bastard put him at ease like it was nothing. He looked at the train floor as he held his head down; it was unusually clean. This was not a typical train they'd see at Magnolia's stop, and it did not come often. If they'd missed it, They probably would have few chances in the day to catch it again or they truly would have to take the dreadful ship. But it was quite luxurious, made for longer trips like these.
Laxus was dressed well. He regularly dressed quite formal for a mage, at least Gajeel thought, but today he wore a very nice outfit. He felt the creases in the man's pants, the fabric not coarse but very soft. The brown scales of his belt weren't bright but contrasted nicely against his pants, and the dress shirt he wore had a subtle pattern, which he also traced with his fingers.
Gajeel didn't have much to wear so he didn't pull out any stops, but he tried for the sake of making himself look decent at such a resort. Though he himself insisted it was not necessary, Laxus seemed to bring his best. Laxus was doing a lot for him again, Gajeel knew, but instead of worrying about it-instead of spending the entire vacation letting it bother him-he'd let it be. After all, Gajeel simply wanted Laxus, and Laxus simply wanted Gajeel.
Sleep became difficult to fight and his hand fell to Laxus' lap. He felt another warm touch against his fingers, something wrap around his hand and hold on. His eyes were closed and he was nearly asleep but he was comforted in knowing it was Laxus. He squeezed, just slightly, for a moment before sleep took him and Gajeel relaxed further against Laxus.
The view outside was beautiful, but it was difficult keeping his eyes off Gajeel. Laxus kissed his forehead, resting his head back against the seat as he watched his partner sleep peacefully.
- END -
A/N This has been a journey, but Holding Hands is officially complete \( ^0^ )/
To those who took the time to read, thank you very much! Remember to leave a review if you enjoyed it!