Laxus and Freed began through the hedges with a steady tread. Each time they came to an intersection or fork in the path, Laxus would suggest a direction, and Freed would agree. They walked for hours, both growing hungry and both growing thirsty, both with aching legs that didn't want to walk anymore. But Laxus revealed none of this, so neither did Freed. I won't let Laxus down, Freed told himself. If Laxus continues, I continue.
"So, what do you think the weaknesses of the other groups are?" Laxus asked Freed with a smile. "So many to choose from, it'd be exciting to see how this challenger uses them. I bet the guy'll try to get Gajeel or Natsu to lose their tempers. Or make Lucy actually fight something. Ha! Picture Cana: she's had hardly anything to drink these past few days—she must be so sober!"
Freed smiled softly. He was confident in the guild. If they had weaknesses, they overcame them: thus was the Fairy Tail way. But he didn't want to speak against Laxus so he only mentioned, "I think Macao's trying to get Cana to drink less… for her health. It was because of him that she only had one barrel yesterday and didn't drink at all the day before while they were on a request together."
"If Macao's trying to get Cana off her barrel, he's got his work cut out for him."
Freed just nodded, grinning. Just having Laxus there with him—just thinking about him—was enough to make him grin. However, it was also enough to make him feel saddened. Laxus will never return my feelings. Freed felt he could understand how Juvia often felt about Gray: she loved him, but he only saw her as a friend. But at least Gray knew Juvia liked him. Freed's worst fear was that Laxus would learn of his feelings and shun him for them, embarrassed to be felt of in that way.
"Laxus," he called, "you tired at all?"
"No," Laxus said. "Are you? We can stop for a minute if you want."
"I'm fine. Let's keep going," Freed said, waving Laxus forward, but the hand he held to the cramp in his side showed different.
Laxus looked at him skeptically. "Well, I want to rest. If you want to keep moving, you can."
Freed was shocked when Laxus took a seat on the ground, questions running through his mind. Laxus had said he wasn't tired, so could he be resting for Freed's sake? The thought that Laxus might like him crossed Freed's mind, but he pushed it away, not wanting to get his hopes up.
"Laxus, freeze!" Freed shouted just as Laxus was about to lean into the hedge.
"What?" Laxus asked, snapping back up. "What's wrong?"
"Look," Freed gestured to the ground directly at the edge of the hedge. He tapped it with his sword. A line of ancient letters written in purple appeared before them. "Runes."
Laxus was breathing heavily from the shock. "What do they say?"
"Death," Freed told him grimly.
"The maze is rune-based then. Makes you a pretty valuable partner after all."
Freed chuckled and blushed. "Thanks, but more than anything, this perturbs me. Whoever set these runes is giving rune mages a bad name."
Laxus stood and shrugged off his flowy, fur-lined coat. "Wouldn't want it to be blown into a rune."
"Maybe if you put you arms through the sleeves, there'd be less of a danger," Freed joked. Laxus shook his head, letting only a small smile show, and dropped his coat to the ground.
They proceeded forward, Freed sensing the area for runes, and Laxus pointing out how Macao seemed to care for Cana.
"It looks that way," Freed speculated. As I care for you.
"What about you? Anyone in particular catch your eye, Freed? Eh?" Laxus teased, elbowing Freed in the shoulder and seeing his discomforted stiffness and reddened face. "Ha! Who's the lucky one, then? If it's Ever, you'd better wish you don't catch her eye!" Laxus roared with laughter at his own joke, but Freed tried desperately to turn his thoughts off the subject. When Laxus finally calmed down, he wiped his eye and said, "Of course, if you do catch Ever's eye—and it doesn't turn you to stone—you're in a good place indeed."
Laxus tossed Freed a suggestive glance, making a lump catch in his throat, his palms sweat, and his eyes bulge. "Y-y-y—ahem—you and Evergreen?" Freed stammered, distraught inside by how much love Laxus gave others, but never him. And right before his eyes too.
"Oh course! It was long ago, and we didn't make a spectacle of it as some people do. You didn't notice? Bixlow caught on right away, and we were sure he either told you or you did the same."
"How long ago was it?"
Laxus thought for a moment, calculating. "We first got together five or so years ago, and the last time we hooked up was a few years after that. It wasn't anything serious; we weren't some kind of couple. We were just fooling around, you know?"
Freed couldn't breathe. Laxus had hooked up and fooled around with Evergreen for a few years. The idea couldn't be fully processed in his mind. But, of course, Laxus has been with other people, Freed tried to rationalize. "Hold up," Freed said, holding an arm out to stay Laxus. "Runes."
He traced his sword on the ground in front of their feet, and again the ancient letters showed up in purple. "Well, what is it?"
"Serpent."
"We could beat a serpent easily," Laxus shrugged.
"But we don't have to. I don't think this is the right path. We should go back and try a different way," Freed said without thinking about what he was really saying until it was out of his mouth.
"What makes you think that?"
"These runes are meant to make us think this is the path, even though it isn't. The runes that will test our weakness will be on the true path, somewhere else."
Laxus stared at the runes. "You can read the intention of runes too?"
"No, only the ones we've seen here in the maze," Freed explained, just as puzzled by it as Laxus. "There's a connection I feel with these runes that I can't explain."
Turning around and following different lines of hedge, Freed and Laxus walked, and Laxus talked about his time away from the guild. Before long, they came across more runes.
Freed drew his sword to reveal them and read, "Pleasure."
"This can't be the one meant to weaken us," Laxus scoffed. "Come on, let's go another way."
"No, this is it. I suppose this guy thinks it would weaken us to be happy."
Laxus was stunned. He picked up a rock, tossed it into the runes, and waited. Nothing happened.
Freed smiled at Laxus's cute stupidity. "A rock wouldn't feel pleasure, Laxus," he said gently. "And if it did, we wouldn't see it."
"Fine, then. I'll try it." Without hesitation, Laxus walked across the line of purple letters. Freed watched, petrified.
Just as the two were starting to think it'd had no effect, the hedges stirred. First one, then two, then three four five six women slinked out from the hedges. They were scantily clad and certainly beautiful: fit bodies, soft skin, large chests, small waists that led into round hips and long legs, smooth hair, big eyes, and an admiration of Laxus that showed on all of their faces.
He was soon surrounded by them, and Freed—heartbroken—could describe the look on Laxus's face with just one blood-curdling word: pleasure.
You always were such a player. Unable to bear it any longer, Freed turned and ran back through the maze as fast as he could.
"Freed!" Laxus called after him. He tried to follow, but the women clung to him, carrying an aura of lust along with them that threatened to suffocate him. "Freed, wait!"
But Freed didn't listen. He ran and ran and ran, turning through the hedges until he couldn't run anymore, and then, he found himself a dead end and sat in it, crying. Laxus will never love me.
It took hours for Laxus to find him, and when he did, Freed feel apart all over again. "You aren't here to make sure I'm okay," he got out. "You're only here because we need all thirteen of us to disable that magic."
Laxus just stood, showing no emotion. "Freed… I don't know how to talk to you. There are times when there are things I wish I could talk about, but the words don't come to me."
The image of himself as a child formed in Laxus's mind. "Daddy!"
he'd called one morning when he was eleven years old. "Daddy! Come with me into the forest! That new girl, Mirajane, threw my brand new head phones in there!"
"And why can't you go find them yourself?" he saw his dad demand in a stern voice.
"I-I'm scared of the forest," Little Laxus had whimpered. Truth was, he'd thrown the headphones himself and only wanted to see his father show a little compassion for once in his life. He never did get those headphones back.
"Don't fear anything, Laxus. Crying like that will only lead you to grow up to be just like your kooky grandfather. Do you want that, Laxus? Huh?"
The same scenario played out whenever Laxus's father caught him expressing any great emotion. Sadness, fear, love, frivolity, worry, sympathy: they were all condemned. The only emotions Ivan seemed to accept from Little Laxus were anger and satisfaction.
"I'd hate to see you turn out like that old man!" he would tell him near every day until the atrocious emotions broke out of their cells no more.
"Laxus!" Freed screamed, snapping him back into the present. "I try so hard every day, but nothing's good ever good enough, is it? Is it? Do I have to be S-class before you'll love me? Ever's not S-class! I'm more powerf—"
"Freed—"
"Laxus, why won't you love me?"
"Freed, shut up!" Laxus yelled, and Freed immediately composed himself. "Ugh, Freed. Don't… don't do that. Why do you have to do everything I tell you to and agree with my every word? The only time you've ever shown your own will or opinion was during the battle of Fairy Tail, and you'd been right!" Laxus put a frustrated hand to his forehead. He was his father's child. "Freed, I'm sorry. I just don't know how to describe what you are to me. I mean… I want you to be happy, and when you're sad, it makes me sad. But it's not like… ugh… it's more than that, I just… I don't know how to say it, and it's hard for me to show," Laxus stammered.
By now, it was dark in the maze. Freed stood and put a hand on either of Laxus's shoulders. "I understand, Laxus. Let's go."
Laxus smiled and slung an arm across Freed's shoulders. They walked back through the maze and soon passed the area where the pleasure runes used to be. Not far beyond, there was an opening. A light shone into the maze, and they walked out to see a circular clearing with a clock on the ground that read nine fifteen.
Erza stood in an archway in the hedge on the other side, a maze behind her and 9:00 written in light pen above her head. A murderous glare filled her eyes, which were trained on Freed.