Like old times

Freed, Laxus, Bickslow and Evergreen entered the apartment and Freed immediately hurried to his room. Before he could lock himself in, however, Laxus put a hand on his shoulder.

"Can we talk for a moment?" he asked. Freed nodded and opened the door waving him inside. Then he locked them both in and sat on the bed. Before he could ask what he wanted to talk about, Laxus anticipated him. "You can't stand Rufus, do you?" he asked. Freed looked up at him, considering whether to ignore it or be honest. He didn't want to admit that he was jealous.

"Well, we never got along very well in high school," he then said. "And I didn't get to know him better." Honestly, he wasn't even interested in getting to know him better.

"Yeah, well, anyway… he's not that bad," Laxus said, peering at him. Freed narrowed his gaze. Wasn't he bad? He would have had a lot to say. Rufus was haughty, presumptuous beyond belief, he thought he was the best just because of his fortune of having an eidetic memory, he shot bullshit just to be told how clever and cultured he was, but the truth was that despite his fucking memory he couldn't make a reasoning that would take him from A to B.

Of all the things he had in mind Freed said the stupidest.

"I still remember that time he told the professors he saw us playing truant," he said. Laxus laughed loudly.

"Yeah, I remember. However, he looks like you, I thought you'd get along with him," he said. Freed looked at him skeptically and honestly very offended.

"That's the worst insult you can give me," he said between his teeth and Laxus chuckled slightly. That made Freed even more nervous. "Where would we look alike? Explain yourself" he told him even though he didn't want to listen.

"Well, you're both refined, you've similar tastes, you like to read and...".

"Ok, no," Freed snapped. He didn't really want to listen. "He's a fucking conceited, and all night he has been flirting with you and he has also been instigating me to fight, with those fucking questions and those shitty jokes. And we don't have similar tastes, he doesn't like to read. He just likes to boast that he's the best when he clearly feels inferior to everyone because his only ability is to have a memory that he cannot use to make the most elementary reasoning" he blurted out without being able to restrain himself. Laxus looked at him amused.

"You're jealous," he said. Freed stiffened.

"No," he grunted.

"No?" the blond asked, arching an eyebrow.

"No," Freed repeated. "After all we're just friends. What should I be jealous of?" he hissed then nervously. Laxus' smile disappeared and the blond came over and placed a hand on his knee.

"Hey, I'm sorry."

"You've nothing to be sorry about," Freed growled.

"Well, I've some. I didn't push Rufus away because I wanted to know if you were really interested in me, and I pushed that too far," he admitted. Freed looked at him in surprise. "Look, I'm sorry, I don't want to mess things up between us. I just wanted… it was stupid," he said, shaking his head. "And I wanted to tell him that there was more between the two of us but... I couldn't have explained exactly what is between us. You're not just a friend, but… I don't know how to define us," he explained. "It's… I'm sorry, really," he said genuinely repentant.

"Ok," Freed said calmer this time. Laxus wasn't completely wrong, it was difficult to explain to people what was between them. They were trying to recover a friendship and build a relationship. Not even he would know how to define them. "Next time maybe avoid flirting with him in front of me," he added. Laxus smiled and tightened her grip on his knee.

"Actually, he flirted with me. Anyway, I already told him at the end of the night that I'm dating another guy. Not that there was ever anything between me and Rufus, it was a disengaged relationship, we only dated twice," he reassured him. Freed nodded feeling better and Laxus smiled. "All right?".

"Sure," Freed replied honestly, smiling at him to reassure him.

"Good," the blond said. "So you're not angry?"

"No, that's okay," Freed said. Laxus nodded and pulled his grip off his knee. He stood up and went to the door, but at the last he turned to him and resumed his arrogant smile.

"You weren't jealous, huh?" he asked ironically.

"Oh shut up," Freed snarled and Laxus left the room giggling.

Freed and Laxus had passed out of town to Freed's mother's house. The woman had wanted to see Laxus, since the blond had spent so many afternoons at their house. Beverly had remembered with them all the damage they had done to her. Such as the time the two had disconnected the car antenna, or the time they broke the microwave, or the time when they had destroyed several flower pots while playing football. They had done quite a few when they were little, but remembering them now was fun.

"And that time you took me home a stray dog? Really, I didn't know what to do with you two," Beverly said, leaning back comfortably on the sofa.

"It wasn't a stray dog," Freed objected. "And we weren't doing that much damage."

"Anyway, it was all Freed's ideas," Laxus defended himself with a polite smile as he took another cookie.

"This is not true".

"Yes, I know that Freed dragged you into his follies, but you weren't a saint either," the woman said, giggling. Freed rolled his eyes but smiled. The idea of going to see her with Laxus hadn't been bad at all. Though he still thought it was more Laxus who drove him to bullshit, rather than the other way around.

"It's getting late, I think we're going home," Freed said glancing at his watch. They had been there for lunch and all afternoon. His mother nodded and got up from the couch. She hugged them both in a hug, leaving them two kisses on the cheeks and then escorting them to the door.

"I'm really happy to see you again, Laxus," she told the blonde.

"Me too," he replied and went out into the driveway, passing the gate and reaching the car. Freed started to leave but his mother hugged him again in a hug.

"Mom, we saw three days ago," he pointed out.

"You're really cold" she said, loosening her embrace and then smiled broadly. "You know, Laxus has become such a handsome boy."

"Oh god, no," Freed said ready to escape.

"I'm serious. He was a beautiful child, and now he's even better. And then you've always been so close".

"Bye mom," Freed greeted not wanting to talk about that at the moment.

"Just tell me if there's something new I need to know," his mother insisted. Freed hesitated for a moment whether to tell her they were going out, then he thought his mother was too pushy and gossipy and he changed his mind. When it would become serious, he would tell her.

"There's nothing, we're friends".

"Mm... I'm not convinced" commented the woman. "Oh, if you care, I found your old skateboards in the garage." Freed greeted her for the umpteenth time and joined Laxus near the car.

"What was she telling you?" the blond asked.

"Old skateboards, she found them in the garage," Freed said. "I didn't know I still had yours," he then added. The blond shrugged.

"Anyway I was only going to skate with you" he said "Let's go and see them?".

Freed nodded and the two boys walked to the garage. They entered and immediately saw the two skateboards leaning in a corner. They approached and removed the dust from above, gazing at them with two smiles on their faces and a little nostalgia. The color had faded a little, but they were still in good condition.

"Damn, I still remember the afternoon I finished decorating them," Freed smiled.

"I remember it too, because then I got to the bar first," Laxus said, turning the black one in his hands.

"You remember badly, I was first," Freed retorted.

"No, you cheated because you left without warning me" Laxus objected. "So I won." Freed laughed slightly and put the skateboard on the ground, climbing onto it. "Do you remember how to go?"

"It's like riding a bicycle, isn't it? You never forget" the boy replied.

"So, another challenge? Up to the square and then back to Magnolia" Laxus suggested. Freed laughed and nodded, then the two boys left, darting like in the old days to the center of town.

Laxus glanced at Freed as the boy chatted with Makarov. In the last few days they had been out a lot and that weekend they had decided to go to his grandfather. Anyway Laxus would go see him and since he had asked him about Freed, he had taken advantage of it.

He was happy to spend some quiet days with his old friend, even though he noticed how their relationship had changed since high school. As much as they got along and as easy as it was to talk to Freed, Laxus knew there were some thorny topics. Like Rufus. Although Laxus felt a certain warmth in his stomach knowing that Freed was jealous, at the same time he feared that talking about him might piss Freed off.

Besides, Laxus had a great desire to take him in his arms and kiss him. Or to get a little closer, share some food or find any excuse to be closer to him. But he was afraid of making mistakes and going too far, as he had done in high school. And the last thing he wanted was to repeat the mistake and screw everything up again.

"Ah, so it was you who let the rabbits escape," Makarov said suddenly.

"Well, it was an accident," Freed said.

"You told me it was the neighbor!" exclaimed the old man. "All this time I accused him and I hated him for something he never did," he blurted out.

Laxus and Freed exchanged a knowing glance, smiling. They still remembered how it had happened, it had actually been an accident. They had crashed into with Makarov's old moped and opened the cages, and then all rabbits had escaped. They had searched for them for hours trying to bring them home, but they had fled.

"Anyway, the neighbor is unbearable all the same," Laxus commented.

"I really hope you two got your head right," Makarov told them. "Are you staying for dinner?" he then asked. Laxus and Freed looked at each other again and understanding each other instantly nodded. "Well, now I'm going to talk to Polyushka for a moment. You see not to do any more damage in the meantime," he said greeting them and leaving the living room.

"We're no longer children," Laxus objected, but as soon as his grandfather was outside, he suggested Freed go upstairs.

So they went up the stairs and into Laxus' old room. It had changed a lot from years ago. There were no more posters of his favorite bands, and the old stereo was full of dust. On the other hand, all the CDs were still on top of the shelf in order. Freed walked over to the shelf and grabbed one.

"You still keep them," he observed.

"I'll never throw them. I don't care if in a few years no one will listen to more songs on the stereo," he replied as he approached Freed. He opened his desk drawer and found what he was looking for under some papers. An album that Makarov had made for him and that Laxus hadn't seen for years. He opened it and Freed approached curious.

"You have... all our photos?" he asked surprised.

"Yeah," Laxus smiled wistfully as he watched two eleven-year-old boys eating on a blanket lying on the lawn. "At the time I hated that my grandfather took pictures of us," he commented.

"I remember that," Freed said, reaching out and turning the page. The gesture brought their hands together and Laxus tried not to dwell on that contact. They both sat on the bed and began to browse together, remembering what they had done together.

There were the photos Freed's mother had taken of them when they were in Hargeon, on the beach, or at a water park. There were the photos that Makarov had taken of them when they were taking walks in the woods or in the countryside. Photo of the two of them in the snow. There was everything and they were easily lost in memories, laughing together at the funniest ones.

"Sometimes I wish I could go back to those times," Freed revealed. Laxus looked up at him and smiled.

"Me too," he admitted. Those times were completely different, they didn't have the stress of exams, or work, they didn't have thoughts. They had fun and their relationship was genuine.

Well, more or less, Laxus thought as he moved his gaze to the bed and remembered how they'd made out there once too. They had taken a bottle of their grandfather's wine and drank it in two, just to have the excuse to kiss and touch. Maybe that was where Freed had made the first one ... he banished the thought before he even finished it, feeling himself flush and looked away. It really wasn't the time to think about it. Not with Freed nearby.

He glanced at his friend, lingering on his lips and wondered once again if it was too soon. After all, they both admitted they were in love, right? He could close the gap and rejoin their lips. He didn't ask for much, just a little contact. Laxus was about to place a hand on his friend's knee when they heard the doorbell ring.

Laxus snorted in annoyance as Freed looked up in surprise.

"Your grandfather?" he asked.

"Probably yes," Laxus commented, getting up from the mattress and leaving the room to go and open the door.