Chapter Three – Swindling Cities
Year: 1539x. Luna-cycle: 9. Day: 9.
He wouldn't admit it, but Laxus found himself incredibly intimidated.
A month had passed since Laxus had been exiled from Magnolia, and three weeks had passed since he had agreed to travel with Freed until they reached a city that Laxus could make his new life in. It had taken twenty-two days of near constant traveling – with only one night spent in an actual bed after they had stumbled across a town with a vacant inn – but they had finally arrived at the city nearest of Magnolia. And Laxus found himself very taken aback by it.
After spending his entire life in a village, a city was an entirely foreign experience. The buildings seemed to expand indefinably; the shadow of the towering castle located in the centre of the city was cast over half the buildings; and even from the entrance Laxus knew that the multiple alleys would make for a hellish labyrinth for anyone new to the city. Including Laxus.
"We should find somewhere to sleep for the night."
Laxus snapped his head to look towards Freed after he spoke. The other man seemed more at home than Laxus, though that wasn't surprising. Over the three weeks together, it had become very clear that Freed hadn't just travelled to Magnolia on a whim; he was a well-versed traveller and had probably seen every corner of Fiore.
Over the three weeks of traveling, their relationship had become almost exactly what Laxus had expected. They couldn't be categorised as friends, that would be too far, but the hatred that Laxus still slightly wanted to feel towards him wasn't right either. Tolerance was probably the most accurate term, but even that seemed a little too clinical for Laxus' taste. They could hold a conversation as they had three weeks prior, but it had felt like they were just filling silence whenever they did.
They were civil to each other. That's all Laxus could be sure of.
"I know of a cheap tavern here, the owner's fond of me so I can perhaps negotiate some long-term habitation for you," Freed continued, looking over his shoulder. "Unless you have any objections, of course."
"No, that'd be fine. Great actually, thanks," Laxus nodded a little. "You really think you can do that for me? Not exactly sure when I'm gonna get some money to pay for it. Probably not an easy sale for ya, is it?"
"If you're willing to do some physical work for them until you get a job, lifting beer barrels and such, I'm sure it'll be fine."
Although he wouldn't say it, Laxus was thankful. Not only was he completely overwhelmed by the city and knew he wouldn't be able to adapt on his own – not immediately – but he had also worried about what he would actually do when he found a place to live. If Freed could make good on his promise, then Laxus would not only have somewhere to stay for a little while but, if he did end up working for his stay, he could potentially turn that into a full-time job. It wouldn't be glamourous, but practicality was all Laxus needed.
The way Freed had offered his help was something Laxus was appreciative of as well. Despite Freed outwardly admitting he was taking pity on him before, Laxus felt a silent respect had formed between them. Nothing near admiration, just respect. So, while he could have been patronising towards him, he had simply offered Laxus a way to survive on his own.
"The tavern is a fairly long walk away," Freed continued. "There's a market on the way and I'm running low on supplies. I can point you in the right direction form there if you don't want to watch me shop."
"No, if I'm gonna spend time here, might as well get to know what it's like soon," Laxus said, not admitting that he also expected he would get lost in the city even with directions.
Freed nodded and started to walk towards one of the many alleyways that Laxus could see. They soon had merged into the busy crowd, something Laxus was thankful for. Even in the town's they had come across, they stuck out, so it was nice to have some anonymity. Well, they weren't entirely faceless in the crowds, Laxus only had one outfit other than the kamishimo that he had been exiled wearing, and it consisted of barely fitting clothes that were unwanted by the town's tailor as they couldn't be sold. The black pants, purple shirt and fur lined coat was a mismatch of colours that attracted the eyes of some passers-by.
Laxus hadn't yet admitted to himself that he had grown fond of the cape-like coat. This hesitance to admit it was only partially because Freed had insisted that he buy it whereas Laxus had been resistant to it.
They walked in silence, and Laxus tried to memorise the streets as best he could for future use. The seemingly endless rows of almost identical buildings made this difficult, as did the copious amounts of side streets and alleys that Laxus had lost count of multiple times. Laxus assured himself that he would get used to the new place in time, but something in his gut said that he was only kidding himself. He tried to shut that voice out.
After what Laxus guessed was fifteen minutes of walking, the relatively cramped streets opened up into a fairly large town square. It was shadowed by a cathedral and the cobbled ground was covered by a busy, bustling market town. People were eating, buying whatever wears they needed and talking with each other.
It brought a smile to his face. Although the memories faded slightly, this reminded him of how market days in Magnolia used to be before Ivan. Full of chatter and happy people. Looking across the almost familiar sight, Laxus found himself missing Magnolia for the first time since joining Freed.
"It shouldn't take long, I know my way around this market-" Freed stopped himself as he looked to Laxus. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, fine," Laxus looked towards him, snapping himself out of the daze he didn't know he was in. "Just got caught up in my thoughts. What are you looking for?"
"Not much. Some food, and my knife's starting to dull," Freed continued to walk again, going towards the busy market with purpose in his stride, as if he'd been there before. He probably had. "Is there anything you need, I can direct you to wherever you need to go."
"No, think I'm fine," Laxus replied, looking around with a small amount of intrigue.
The market, though slightly resembling the one that had taken place in Magnolia, was on a much grander scale. White stalls seemed to fill the entirety of the town's square, people seemed to cover all of the cobbled streets, and the intoxicating smell of the food vendor's goods wafted across the air and towards the two men. Laxus tried not to let his stomach grumble, he'd been hungry since leaving and this was the first-time real food had been attainable.
He shadowed Freed as he walked throughout the market, not seeing any point in interacting with anyone. The food was nearest the clocktower, then it faded into wears such as knives jewellery and such; and ended up with clothes and fabrics. Fairly easy to remember.
As Freed inspected a selection of knives that would make both a butcher and a warrior feel inferior, Laxus found himself tempted by the suddenly domineering scent of a roasting pig at a stall only meters from where he stood. He'd only eaten the cold food that Freed kept with him, not having requested anything cooked on the few instances where it was possible. Freed would have had to pay for that, as Laxus had no money, and the blonde refused to be in the man's debt any more than was completely necessary.
Soon the smell would get too much, and his stomach would start grumbling, so he tore his eyes aware from the food market and looked back to Freed. He had picked up a small dagger and was holding it against the tip of his finger, inspecting the blade with slightly narrowed eyes and a frown across his features.
"I'll have this," Freed eventually settled, looking to the vendor. "How much is it?"
"Three gold," The vendor's voice was gruff, leaving no room for argument. Freed clicked his tongue but reached into a coin pouch and handed in the money; obviously the dagger was worth it in his eyes.
"Thank you," Freed nodded. The vendor just nodded and looked away.
Again, Laxus only watched as Freed slid the newly acquired dagger into his belt. Freed seemed to be perfectly content with not speaking and allowing Laxus to follow him as he made his way around to the food part of the market. The blonde tried to focus on anything other than the pig slowly being turned atop an open flame, which was practically screaming at his senses and begging to be devoured… ignoring it wasn't going well.
Thankfully, a distraction from the food was offered in the foreign sound of a laugh. He looked towards Freed to see that, yes, Freed had indeed laughed. Furthermore, it seemed as though he had laughed at Laxus, if the amused expression aimed towards him was to be believed.
Before he could ask his travelling companion what he thought was so damn funny, Freed started to walk again. This time, he walked in an entirely different direction to where he had been going before, this time walking straight towards the hog-roast that was the subject of Laxus' desire. Confusion now undeniably obvious on his face, Laxus followed Freed and allowed his question to die on his tongue.
Almost as soon as they reached the food stall, Laxus' stomach got the better of him. An annoying grumble sounded and Laxus winced, purposefully not looking towards Freed as he almost knew he would receive a patronising smirk if he did.
"Two rolls, please," Freed said after a few moments, causing Laxus to look back towards him.
The vendor of the stall made quick work on their order, hacking away at the meat and filling bread rolls with generous helpings. He handed them both to Freed, and Laxus found himself unable to look away from the cooked meat that would – unless Freed truly was sadistic – soon be eaten by him. The idea of eating any hot food seemed fantastic after living off the bare essentials but having flame cooked pork was simply faultless.
"Fifty silver," The vendor requested, and Freed paid for it without complaint.
Soon, one of the rolls was handed to Laxus, who looked down at it with a small amount of confusion despite his desperate want to eat it like a wild dog. But he and Freed hadn't acted like this with each other; there had been no small favours, so why now.
"Eat it before it goes cold," Freed instructed with amusement in his voice. "It's not poisoned, if that's your concern."
"No. Erm, thanks," Laxus still was frowning towards the food. His confusion got the better of him. "Why?"
"To be honest, I was wondering how long you could go without asking," Freed said, annoyingly not answering Laxus' question. The smirk on the man's face was grating against Laxus' nerves as well. "Subtlety is certainly not one of your strong points, Laxus."
"The hell are you talking about?"
"Your looks whenever there's hot food nearby, the little sighs whenever you have to eat the same food for a third time in that many days, and a whole assortment of small things that you've been doing to show how much you need something hot to eat. You thought I hadn't noticed?" Freed chuckled. "I just wanted to see how long your pride would get in the way of you asking me to buy something for you."
Against his will, Laxus' face reddened a little. He hadn't realised he had been so obvious with his want for something other than cold meat pies, bread and the occasional fish. To be caught out and mocked because of it was not enjoyable.
"You know I would have brought you something if you wanted, don't you," Freed continued, still obviously amused. "To be honest, I thought about stretching your limits. I was half tempted to get a full meat breakfast at that inn to see if you'd want some for yourself or if you'd just sit and watch me eat. But perhaps that would have been too cruel."
Laxus knew he should have been annoyed, but he wasn't. He didn't waste time wondering why.
He simply brought the food in his hand to his mouth and took a large bit, savouring the flavour of heavily buttered bread, perfectly cooked meat and crispy wisps of fat as he ate. He all but moaned as the warm food set his taste buds alight, the first thing to do so since his last evening meal in Magnolia.
The two ate as they walked, and were back on track to where Freed was initially leading them before their detour. By the time the foot had been completely demolished by the blonde, his stomach felt more satisfied than it had in over a month.
"Worth the wait?" Freed said almost immediately in a mocking – or perhaps teasing was the better word – tone. Laxus was pretty sure he had been waiting to say it, with how quickly the words left his mouth.
"Asshole," Was his only reply.
"Perhaps," Freed agreed, still smirking a little. "But you brought it upon yourself for not being forthcoming. And, if you can handle me in a fight as well as you did, I think you're more than strong enough to handle some gentle teasing."
Ah, so teasing was the right term. Good to know.
They continue to walk through the market, Laxus no placated by the warm food he had tasted as well as the promise of something of a regular life on the horizon. He still found himself slightly intimidated by the busy market as they walked – the contrast was near impossible to believe – but he hoped he did a better job at hiding it than he did his need for a real meal. Freed didn't mention it, so he expected that he wasn't doing too bad of a job.
Still focusing on memorising the market for future use, Laxus saw a stall that Freed was walking towards and almost rolled his eyes. It was a preserves stall, therefore a jam stockpile. So Freed wouldn't be staying in the city for long then. Laxus probably should have expected that.
As they got closer, Laxus saw a young man standing at the stall who seemed to gauge their approach and smiled widely towards them. He could also see what he thought was Freed frowning a little, but it was from the corner of the blonde's eye, so it was entirely possible that he had misinterpreted what had happened. Either way, they continued to walk forward, and the stall's owner continued to look at them.
"Mr Justine, a pleasure to see you," The man greeted with a smile and fondness in his voice. "And a guest, fantastic."
"Rustyrose," Freed said, voice almost monotone. Laxus' brown furrowed a little. "Isn't your father here?"
"He's retired, I'm afraid. You can't expect an old man like that to work the cold mornings of the winter, that's practically medieval," The man – Rustyrose, apparently – said with an unneeded amount of flair. "I'm sure I'll make more than a good enough replacement."
"I doubt it," Freed said, picking up a jam and inspecting it. His voice sounded uninterested. "Your father is a man I respect. You're an intolerable cretin."
It took a considerable amount of self-restraint, but Laxus managed not to snigger. The expression on the stall-keeper's face was priceless, and it soon faded from a look of shock to one of annoyance. Freed looked up from the jar of jam and made direct eye contact with the man, almost challenging him to be offended. Rustyrose didn't take up the challenge.
"So," Freed continued. "I assume your prices are the same as last time?"
"Oh," Rustyrose suddenly perked up, voice overly dramatic again. "I'm afraid times are hard, and with father-dear not working we need all the money we can get just to keep him alive," Laxus had to doubt that. "So our prices may have inflated a little. I am sorry."
He wasn't. Neither Freed nor Laxus thought he tried to be sincere.
"How much are they?" Freed sighed. "And without the theatrics, if at all possible."
"The small jars are one gold and fifty silver, the larger ones three gold and twenty-five silver."
Laxus faltered a little. The same size jars from his town would have been more than half the price in Magnolia. He perhaps had expected a small price rise in the city, but certainly not this much. And, by the almost full glare on Freed's face, the other man hadn't expected the prices to be increased by this much either. At least that meant that Laxus wasn't completely naïve to the world outside Magnolia in this respect.
"Yer kiddin', right?" Laxus said, possibly cutting Freed off.
"Ah, he speaks," Rustyrose gleamed, looking towards Laxus with a grin on his face. "And I think the prices reflect the quality of the product."
As he spoke, Rustyrose motioned towards a sign that had been nailed against the back of the stall, which claimed 'the best preserves the imagination could conceive.' Laxus almost snorted at the claim; assuming he had been eating the man's products while traveling with Freed, he could prove quite easily that Mirajane's products were considerably better quality. He wasn't going to voice that though, as Freed's actions caught him off guard.
The other man pulled out his coin pouch again and fished out the appropriate money for two of the large jars. Laxus didn't exactly know why, everything he knew about Freed lead Laxus to believe that he wouldn't entertain the idea of paying for such an obvious scam. He couldn't really think it was worth the money.
"Raspberry and apricot," He demanded, voice portraying his annoyance.
"A fine choice, sir," Rustyrose sneered, and turned to pick up the correct jars.
Laxus watched, trying not to let his mouth drop a little at the interaction. Surely Freed wouldn't just accept that fact he was being grossly overcharged for some jam. It wasn't possible that this was the only place in the city that sold the damn jam he wanted. And why was he getting those two flavours? He always seemed to favour the strawberry one, Laxus had noted.
Why had he noticed that?
Despite Laxus' disbelief, the situation played out as if it was any other transaction. Rustyrose gave Freed what he wanted, Freed paid for it, Rustyrose gave them both a clearly snide goodbye, and they walked away. It took exactly seven steps before Laxus let his curiosity out.
"You seriously happy paying that much?" He grunted. "And from that guy? He was clearly an asshole."
"He was," Freed agreed.
"Then why the hell d'you let him win," Laxus turned towards the other man. "Guy needs an ego boost even less than you do."
"I know," Freed smiled a little. Laxus noted he didn't seem bothered by the insult. "That's the point. His ego got in the way."
"Yeah, this vague bullshit ain't explaining anything," Laxus muttered.
"He was too busy feeling proud of himself because he thought that he'd won our interaction, he wasn't paying attention enough to see a slight depletion of his stock," Freed said, fully smirking.
Laxus looked down when Freed opened the small bag that he kept. Sitting beside the two glass jars that he had paid for were two other jars, both filled with strawberry jam. Laxus continued to look down, processing the fact that Freed had stolen them, before he looked at his travelling partner with a small frown on his face.
He really hadn't expected Freed to be the stealing type. Sure, Rustyrose deserved it, but that didn't make it any less unexpected. Still, Laxus knew that the money didn't come from nowhere and a traveller could only do so many small jobs. Cutting costs down needed to occur, Laxus just hadn't thought about it until that point. It led him to wonder if Freed had stolen anything else while they had been traveling together. He obviously was good at it, given Laxus hadn't noticed and he was standing right beside him.
"I'd recommend we keep walking," Freed continued. "They tend not to like it when we don't pay."
Laxus didn't say anything, but he nodded slightly and the two continued to walk towards the nearest exit to the market. The blonde wanted to increase his pace, but Freed made sure not to let that happen. Most likely so they didn't look suspicious, they didn't need to stick out any more than they already did.
Their exiting nearly went well. They had managed to make it nearly out, but eventually heard the shrill exclamation that obviously belonged to Rustyrose; his voice really did carry. Laxus, probably against his better judgment, looked over to see the man looking directly at them.
"Shit," Freed whispered, looking forward.
Following his gaze, Laxus could see three men who were obviously guards looking towards them. He looked back over his shoulder to see another guard looking at them, as well as Rustyrose pointing at them furiously.
The guards started to walk towards them before either could do anything. The stalls made barriers either side of them, and the crowd was parting to let the guards through, so there was practically no escape that Laxus could see. The blonde looked down towards Freed to see the man's teeth were clenched and his expression slightly stressed, so obviously he couldn't think of a way out of this situation either.
This wasn't good. And the guards were getting closer.
"Show your hands!" One of the guards yelled. "NOW!"
It took Laxus a few moments to process the instructions, and he was only snapped out of the small trance when he saw Freed's hands raised in the air, the bag on the cobbled streets. The blonde slowly copies the action, not expecting this to have been their plan of action.
The guard's moved quickly after that. They went for Freed first, with the closest guard storming forward and slamming his fist into Freed's stomach. As the man was winded, the guard quickly brought him to the grown with neither finesse nor mercy. The traveller's head was brutally slammed against the cobbles, enough to cause a nasty bruise by Laxus' estimations.
But he had no time to think, as he was soon given the same treatment. One of the guards punched him in the stomach, hard. He then was given a kick to the back of the legs – from the guard that was behind them, probably – and he was then forced to the floor.
He blinked a little, head slammed against the cold stone. The force left him dizzy, and he was almost sure a bruise would be there to commemorate it.
Soon, he felt frayed rope wrapping tightly around his wrists, tying them together with no wiggle room. He was still being held down, both his stomach and his head being pushed against the cobbles as he tried to make sense of what was happening. From his position, he could only see the bottoms of the stalls and some boots of people who were watching, but he could hear that Freed was also getting his hands tied together by the guard.
As he heard the guards talking to each other, they said that the two prisoners – the name given to him and Freed didn't fill Laxus with hope – were to be taken to the local jail and their fates would be decided by the lawmaster. The blonde felt his stomach drop.
Freed was right. Shit, indeed.
Laxus had observed that many things in the city were more luxurious when compared to Magnolia. The market was bigger and had considerably more stock, the buildings were presented as spotless and clearly designed with an artist's eye, and the atmosphere just seemed to be more pleasant. Almost everything was an improvement, with a few small exceptions of course. One of which was the jail cells that Laxus found himself in.
Because of course that's where he would end up on the first time in a city.
The walls were damp and made of cracking, moss covered stone. The wooden benches were worn away and purposefully uncomfortable. The light flittering through the small, barred window highlighted the heavy layer of dust in the room. It was the antithetic of luxurious.
Laxus had been taken to the jail cells of Magnolia a few times, though never having been a resident of them. Ivan had taken him there to both intimidate the prisoners and to show Laxus is superiority over the rest of the town. Magnolia's cells were almost identical to the ones that Laxus found himself in, only the city had significantly more of them. He and Freed had somehow managed to be placed into the same cell though, which acted as a little comfort to the blonde as he sat and tried to rationalise the situation that he was in and calm himself down.
It didn't work. But it was nice to give himself the illusion of any control over what was happening.
He glanced to his left to see that Freed was sitting on the bench beside him, eyes closed and posture more relaxed than he should be, considering the situation. Laxus quickly got the impression that this wasn't the first cell that Freed had found himself in. Given his reaction to the guards back in Magnolia, Laxus probably should have guessed as much.
The blonde had to wonder if Freed was actually planning to do something. The moment he and Laxus had been shoved into the cell – with all the care someone might give a rabid dog – Freed's eyes were everywhere. He focused on the lock, the bar-covered window and the long corridor of cells that they had just walked down. And now his eyes were closed, and his expression suggested that he was in deep contemplation.
But he couldn't be sure. And the possibility of Freed somehow dealing with the situation didn't do much to calm his nerves. Not after the delighted way that the guards informed them both that the lawmaker of the town was close friends with Rustyrose, and that she was incredibly unhappy with their apparent disrespect to him.
Needless to say, the situation wasn't looking good for them both.
"So," Laxus eventually spoke, the quiet getting to him. "You wanna tell me how many times?"
Freed frowned and looked towards him. "Excuse me."
"How many times you've been in here, or bee in any fucking jail," Laxus grunted a little, still looking forward. "You ain't panicked at all, just kinda acting like it's just a nuisance that'll pass in a couple hours. So, how many times?"
The traveller beside him seemed to think for a few moments. Laxus watched from the corner of his eye as Freed leant the back of his head against the cold stone that made up the walls of the cell. After a few seconds, still with his eyes closed and expression filled with contemplation, he looked back towards Laxus with a neutral expression.
"I assume it won't be a comfort to tell you I may have lost count," Freed chuckled a little.
"Not really," Laxus laughed with a small amount of humour. "How did you manage to get locked up that many times. Other than today, you ain't really done anything that'd piss off a leader. Well, my dad I guess, but he gets pissed at anything."
"Really? He seemed like such a level-headed man when we met," Freed chuckled. "And I don't make a habit of breaking the law, but it sometimes becomes needed."
"Huh?" Laxus looked towards Freed, still wearing a frown.
"I started to travel when I was thirteen, and I haven't spent any substantial amount of time in the same place since I left," Freed looked emotionless as he thought back. Laxus wondered why. "I took some funds with me, but they could never last me forever. I try to do small jobs in towns and cities whenever possible, but sometimes I won't have the time for that nor the money to get myself food, so I sometimes had to steal it.
"It didn't go well at the start, and I got caught most times. Thankfully, lawmakers can be easily manipulated by a teenager who they think is down on their luck – which technically wasn't a lie – so I never spent more than a night in a cell. As I got better, I was caught less, so the cell time depleted."
Laxus nodded a little, glad that there was at least justification to Freed's breaking of the law. Although, it probably wouldn't matter if Freed was just a criminal for the thrill of it – or any other similar reason – as they probably wouldn't see each other after Freed left the city and Laxus started to create a life for himself here. So he wouldn't be traveling with him, knowing that he was a criminal for fun.
Although, he had to admit the idea of doing that was interesting.
Wrongly, Laxus had assumed that Freed was pretty much a square. Sure, he had pissed off Ivan when they had met, and had obviously proven himself to good fighter, but Laxus had just assumed that Freed was adapting to the situation because he had to. Knowing that Freed had a habit of being imprisoned, that put a different tint on their time together.
Maybe Freed had been behaving himself, for Laxus' sake. If that was true, the blonde had to wonder what their travels would have been like with this other side of Freed being shown to him. It was an amusing thought, one he kind of wanted to explore.
Huh. He was second-guessing himself.
But no, that wasn't the plan. The plan was to get to a city and live there from now on. Freed almost defiantly wouldn't want him for any longer than needed; he'd probably diminished the mans food reserves more than he realised, as well as making him spend twice as much on the inn they'd stayed at. No, he couldn't travel with Freed for any longer than needed, he would simply have to unleash his curiosity when they had the chance. And locked up together was as good a time as any.
"When was the last time you got arrested, then? Not including Ivan," Laxus asked, body now shifting towards Freed.
"A while, actually. Over a year," Freed smiled a little. "Shockingly, I'm not nostalgic about it."
"Shocking," Laxus mimicked with a small grin. "I'm gonna guess that part of the reason we ended up here today is because of me, if it's been that long."
"I couldn't possibly say," Freed chuckled a little, standing up and walking to the bars of the cell. Laxus couldn't see a reason for his sudden movement, so just assumed he needed to stretch his legs. "Would I have acted differently if I were alone, perhaps. Would I have been caught, almost definitely not. But don't feel like you're to blame for this."
Laxus rolled his eyes a little when he saw the smug, teasing grin on the traveller's face. The blonde was grinning a little as he muttered. "Asshole."
Well, at least he was teasing and willing to joke about the situation. Laxus would rather that than have Freed angry at him for getting him there. He wasn't entirely sure what would happen if Freed was genuinely angry at him.
Conversation trickled off a little, wit Freed still leaning against the metal bars and Laxus looking around the cramped cells. The fact that Freed had said he'd only spent the night in a cell when he was a kid as if it were a small amount of time, it probably meant that they would be there for considerably longer than that. He might as well get used to the place that would be his home for a short time. Hopefully not too long, though.
Eventually, Freed walked back from the bars and sat down on the cell's bed; well, is a wider wooden bench with a ratty pillow and a blanket could be considered a bed. He sat opposite Laxus directly and grinned.
"Well, I think we've been in here long enough to learn our lessons, don't you?" Freed was smirking.
"I guess," Laxus frowned. "You just gonna walk out? Don't think they'll like that."
"Probably not," Freed chuckled. "But I can get us out, if you want."
Laxus frowned and sifted a little so he was leaning forward. Why wouldn't he want that, unless there was a risk of making things worse for them both. "The hell are you talking about?"
"There's two things we can do, from what I can tell," Freed begun, Laxus leaning forward a little further. "We can stay here for as long as it takes, probably have some kind of punishment from the lawmaker, and we'll eventually be released. They'll also probably keep everything they confiscated from us and, somewhat ironically, we'll probably have to steal some food to survive. Adversely, you can go along with my idea and we'll be out in less than an hour."
"And I'm guessing there's a risk," Laxus sighed.
"There's a chance it wont work. Minimal, but a chance," Freed looked down a little. "And, for the first few weeks of living here, you might need to keep your head down. You will have escaped from a jail, so making yourself known will bring you back here."
"I can do that," Laxus nodded, leaning back against the wall. "So, what do you need me to do."
"Just follow my lead," Freed smiled. "And, in advance, you have my apologies."
With a frown at the last sentence, Laxus watched as Freed stood up again. Confusion was painted in the blonde's expression as he watched the other man shrug off his coat and placed it on the wooden bed, undid the buttons of his cuffs and pulled his sleeves up to his biceps. His confusion doubled when Freed instructed him to do the same, but he did as he was told, placed his coat alongside Freed's, and slid his sleeves up as well.
As he went to sit down on the bench again, Freed grabbed him by the arm and stopped him. Still confused, he allowed Freed to position him in the middle of the cell so that they were facing each other. Laxus really wasn't sure how removing their coats was going to get them out, and he was starting to think that Freed was just playing with him to pass the time.
"Again," Freed said, voice quiet. "I'm sorry."
And then the fucker punched him in the face.
Laxus staggered back a little, grabbing his jaw where Freed's punch had landed. It had been merciless, and Laxus shouldn't have been shocked by the power that was behind it. He knew the guy was strong, evident from both their fight upon meeting and the obvious muscles in his bare arms.
"What the fuck!" He yelled, looking to Freed while still cupping his jaw.
Freed didn't reply, instead he walked forward quickly and planted another vicious punch, this time in Laxus' stomach. Again, he stumbled back, this time winded. Now slightly hunched over and grabbing his stomach, he looked towards Freed with a mixture of anger and confusion on his face. Freed waited for a moment, and then he rolled his eyes a little and stormed forward, his expression going from a small amount of exhaustion to one of anger. It was honestly almost terrifying to see the expression aimed at him.
"So now you're quiet!" Freed suddenly yelled back. "But when a guard's around, you just love making noise!"
He grabbed Laxus by the throat and pushed him against the wall, the anger still in his eyes. The blonde grabbed the arms that were clasped around his neck, not sure if Freed was actually intending to crush his windpipe. By the strength he was holding him, there was every chance that was his intention.
However, when he looked back to Freed's face – which was uncomfortable close to the point where he could feel the man's breath on his lips – he saw the expression of anger was gone. In its place, Freed was looking directly into his eyes with a clear expression of purpose. When his eyes flickered towards the bars of the cell, Laxus followed them and saw a single guard sitting at the end of the corridor.
Just follow my lead.
When a guard's around, you love making noise.
Ah. Okay. They were getting the guard's attention. He could do that. Maybe this could be some overdue catharsis for when they first met.
With a small nod to show he understood, he placed his hands-on Freed's chest and shoved him back; he made sure not to hold back in the same way Freed had. The two looked at each other, both panting a little, and Laxus could have sworn he saw Freed smirking before his expression turned back to the look of anger. He decided not to think too much about why that happened, and instead got his mind back on the task at hand.
He thought back to how he felt when he first met Freed. The expression his father had worn when he lost the fight. His fucking father.
The punch was flying before Laxus knew it.
Slamming his fist into the side of Freed's jaw was weirdly satisfying, but he only felt that happen when he saw Freed grin again. Yeah, this was certainly going to be cathartic, even if it wasn't against the man he thought it might.
Mind now on the 'fight' occurring, Laxus grabbed the other man's shoulders and pushed them down, bringing his knee up at the same time to slam it directly into Freed's gut, winding him in the same way that he had previously been through. Again, once he saw that Freed had recovered, he felt a sense of enjoyment flow through him.
"Loud?" Laxus yelled again, hoping to get and maintain the guard's attention. "Maybe if you stopped fucking about being cocky, we might get shit done!"
"At least one of us has something to be cocky about," Freed retorted, voice a little croaky. Laxus was sure that it took a few seconds longer for Freed's smile to slip away than it had before. "Unless you think stumbling around is something you be proud of, you fucking ogre."
Throughout the jail cells, it was quiet. Previously, there had been the quiet sounds of other conversations or movement of other inmates. Now, all attention was on them. Laxus decided not to reply to Freed, instead listening to the row after he thought he heard the sound of wood scraping against the stone floor; the stool the guard was sitting on. In the silence, Laxus could hear boots walking towards them.
"He's coming," Laxus muttered, taking the break to catch his breath.
"He'll try splitting us up," Freed whispered back, chest heaving slightly. "When he's in the cell, focus on him."
With a nod, Laxus launched himself forward again and wrapped his arm around Freed's neck, pulling him down into a brutal headlock. He felt Freed struggle a little but kept his grasp firm as he heard the guard getting closer.
After Freed slammed his elbow into his stomach again, Laxus released him and stumbled back again. The elbow had landed in exactly the same as the punch from before, leaving him winded and trying to catch his breath. When he saw Freed glance outside of the cell and watched his pupils dilate a little, Laxus knew that he wouldn't be given this break and the fight would have to continue immediately if it were to look real at all.
The punch delivered to his face confirmed his suspicions.
"Asshole," He yelled.
This time, he grabbed Freed's hair. With a firm grasp, he dragged the other man to the wall of bars and forced his head against them. Now with an unhindered view of the corridor, he could see the guard only a cell away. He was looking directly at them. Good.
As Freed broke out of Laxus' hold again, Laxus stepped back to see the guard reaching for his keys. When he saw that the two men had stopped fighting for a few seconds, he obviously hesitated in unlocking their cell. Freed must have seen that, as he lurched forward again. Laxus only had time to wince before he felt the clenched fist against his cheek again. The fucker had a good punch.
"Hey," The guard yelled, key in the lock now. "The hell d'you think you're doing?"
"Giving this moron what he deserves," Freed practically spat. "Just leave us alone, you'll have one less person to deal with at the end of the day."
The door to the cell swung open, and the guard opened his mouth to speak again. Freed and Laxus, however, simply shared a glance and an almost unseen nod. A moment later, they lurched forward and Laxus slammed his fist into the guard's stomach. He stumbled back a bit, and couldn't stop Laxus from grabbing his head and slamming it into the bars with more viciousness than he had with Freed.
Huh. He didn't have to wait to see if the guy was okay before he felt satisfaction from the attack like he had with Freed.
As Laxus kept the guard occupied, Freed had reached around and grabbed the key that was still in the lock. He then quickly reached for the guard's belt as he was grabbing his stomach and pulling out the knife that was kept there. Laxus could only watch as Freed moved quickly, forcing the blade against the man's adam's apple, which bulged at the blade that was now in danger of cutting it. The speed in which Freed had moved reminded Laxus of how they had fought back in Magnolia.
Looking back to the guard, he saw the young man's eye dilate and his posture turn rigid. It was pretty clear that he wasn't going to put up much of a fight.
"This is what's going to happen," Freed spoke with the same tone that he had used when addressing Ivan. Velvet smooth yet somehow threatening in a way that was hard to describe. Laxus hadn't been able to appreciate it before. "We're going to walk very calmly and quietly to the inventory room, we'll get our belongings, and we'll be on our way without so much of an issue.
"However, if you have any ideas of trying to fight back, I'll cut your throat. Then I'll lock you in that cage and we can see how caring your colleagues are," Freed smiled a little and forced the knife up, making the guard look directly at him. "Do we understand each other?"
The guard nodded, and Laxus was left to wonder if Freed would carry out that threat if needed. He thought it best not to ask, instead he picked up both their coats and simply stayed silent.
As the three men started to walk down the corridor, with the knife still resting against the guard's, Laxus could see the other prisoners watching them. He tried not to pay any attention to the eyes watching them as they passed, instead looking straight ahead and following the directions of the guards; even if they were stuttered and said out of fear. The blonde just wanted to get out of the place as soon as he could; the situation was just too foreign for him.
Thankfully, they soon found themselves in what Laxus assumed was the inventory room. Laxus quickly grabbed everything that he recognised was there's that had been taken when they were arrested. After he'd taken anything back, he looked to Freed for guidance.
"Well, my friend, I think it's time for us to depart," Freed chuckled, looking to the guard as if he was enjoying this. He probably was. "I assume that you won't cause us any further trouble."
"N-no," The guard stammered a little.
"Good," Freed smiled, and then released the knife from the man's throat and handed it back to him. "I wish you a good day."
Freed was quick to leave the room, and Laxus followed suit. The confidence in which Freed moved was somewhat comforting, and it seemed the other man had no worries about being caught by another guard so Laxus tried to replicate that.
Apparently, that confidence was not misplaced, as they soon left the building without any trouble at all. Either the guards in a city just happened to be lax on that day, or maybe Ivan was more regimental in his treatment of the guards than Laxus had thought, because walking out of the jail was easy. Perhaps it made sense, without being able to trick the guard into walking into their cell, the two of them would still be there and no guard would be required outside.
As they walked away from the building – at a pretty quick pace, Laxus noted – the blonde found his mind wondering. Wondering about how he would manage to live here after escaping jail, about how he was still a stranger to real society, about how he would probably not see Freed again after he left. It all left him feeling… wrong.
"Hey," Laxus muttered after they merged into a crowd, allowing them to slow down their pace. "I know you said you'd get me a place here, and I'm thankful for this," The blonde's cheeks were slightly red as he spoke. "But, I dunno, maybe this place ain't for me."
Freed paused and looked towards him, a small frown on his face. "You don't?"
"Just doesn't seem like my kinda place, y'know," Laxus found his hand had reached the back of his neck, and he couldn't seem to look Freed in the eye. "And, if the guards are gonna be looking for us, doesn't make sense being here. Not exactly the most subtle guy, am I?"
"I suppose not," Freed chuckled.
"Yeah," Laxus looked down. He knew he was just going to have to ask, dignity be damned. "Look, d'you mind if I stick around with you for a little while longer. I know you probably don't want me hanging around you or anything, but-"
"I enjoy the company," Freed cut him off. "Besides, it's a large choice to make, you shouldn't rush it. I'm sure you'll find a place you're comfortable with soon enough."
"Yeah," Laxus said, though he found himself unsure of his words.
Freed gave him a small nod, and they both continued walking down the busy street and towards the inn that Freed had spoken about. Again, as they walked, Laxus found his mind wondering. This time, however, his mind was entirely occupied by the man he was walking beside. And, unlike before, the feeling in his stomach was that of warmth.
A month ago, this man had turned his life around for the worse. Now he was traveling with him, and glad of it too. In fact, Freed really wasn't that bad of a person to be around; he was good company and pretty similar to Laxus. And, if Laxus was honest, not bad looking too.
Huh. That was new.