Dragon Instinct
Chapter Sixteen
Author's Note: This chapter is a bit more lighthearted than the others. However, it picks up seriousness in the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it.
"It looks like the group from Fairy Tail is here," Eve said looking out the window.
"Great, then we can finally get around to planning our regroup." Freed said smiling a bit.
They were waiting in the sitting room of Blue Pegasus. Laxus had raised hell when Freed suggested leaving the infirmary and he'd had to compromise by agreeing to rest on the couch. That'd been hours ago, and Laxus had been fretting over him ever since. Freed was half tempted to slap some sense into the Dragon slayer. So far he'd had glasses of water forced on him, blankets placed over him, and even pillows spread out around him. Evergreen and Bickslow seemed content to let it happen and crack abouts about them, but Freed was going crazy. He hated feeling helpless and the way Laxus was treating him definitely made Freed feel helpless.
Freed took a relaxing breath as he heard the group walking down the hall. He'd expected to see Natsu's team walk into the room. In fact, he'd been hoping that was the group that Evergreen had contacted. He knew just how strong Natsu, Erza, and Gray were. Together the three were definitely more they dangerous, they could be practically lethal. He knew that if Natsu, Erza, and Gray showed up then they would most likely be followed by Lucy and Wendy. Seeing those five walk into the room did not surprise him. However, he was surprised when he saw Gajeel and Levy walk into the room. That was, until he realized what was going on. He knew exactly why Levy was there, and he was not going to sit back and let it happen.
"Levy! Hello!" Freed said with a smile before turning to Laxus, his smile going from genuinely happy to something more predatory and dangerous. "Why exactly is Levy here Laxus?"
"I thought she could help us with Runes when when go back up against Serpent's Tongue," Laxus said quietly, not meeting Freed's eyes.
Freed paused, sitting up straighter, forcing Laxus to meet his gaze.
"And, where would that put me?" He asked with a false sweetness.
"With it being Freya we're facin' off against, I thought you might be too much of a target."
Freed stared at him quietly for a moment feeling his anger build.
"You don't think I might want to have a hand in bringing my sister home?" He asked, voice turning icy.
"I was just thinkin' bout your safety. Freya seemed pretty focused on takin' you outta of the battle."
"So instead you do it for her?"
"Uh oh," Bickslow muttered under his breath looking at Evergreen who shook her head.
"I wasn't thinkin' like that. I just thought it would be best if you sat this one out."
"For the love of God Laxus, will you stop?!"
Laxus paused turning to Freed in surprise. He opened his mouth to respond, but closed it again when he couldn't find the words he needed. He wasn't the only one, everyone in the room was staring at Freed in shock. No one in Fairy Tail had ever heard him raise his voice before, and the fact that it was Laxus he was angry with left them speechless.
Freed sighed reaching up squeezing the bridge of his nose feeling a headache begin to form.
"Laxus, I love you more than anything, but if you keep this up I may just have to kill you. I am not a child. I know how to protect myself."
"Perhaps we should give them a moment," Levy suggested quietly.
"I kinda wanna see this," Natsu said with a smirk.
"Come on flame brain," Gray said grabbing his arm pulling him from the room with the rest of the group.
Freed watched them go before standing up beginning to pace the room. He knew he was probably overreacting, but Laxus was beginning to drive him up the wall. He could look out for himself. He didn't need anyone hovering over him.
Laxus watched him quietly waiting for Freed to clear his thoughts. He wasn't exactly sure what he did to anger the Rune mage but whatever it was he'd gotten pretty rattled.
"Laxus, we've fought side by side since we were twelve years old. We've been team mates longer than most the teams in the guild. We were team mates before Evergreen and Bickslow joined us, and all that time you've trusted me to look after myself," Freed said coming to a stop in front of him. "What makes you think that now all of a sudden I can't handle myself?"
"It ain't like that. I know you're strong. Hell, if we didn't know each other I'd be scared of ya."
"Then why don't you want me by your side this time? Is it because I screwed up? Is it because we're dating? What changed?"
"No, Freed, I..." Laxus sighed taking a moment to compose his thoughts. "I just want to protect you. It's my job to look after you, and I screwed up. And when you got hurt, I could feel it."
Freed paused looking at him confused.
"What do you mean?"
"When Freya had you under those enchantments, I could feel that you were in pain."
"While we were in battle?"
"Yeah. Soon as you started screamin'."
Freed blinked stepping back.
"Well, that could be a problem."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I'm assuming that's a product of being mates, which means it probably goes both ways and I'd know if you get hurt. That could be a real distraction in a fight, since you always throw yourself into danger."
Laxus frowned looking at him.
"You still plan to fight this battle."
"Well, it's my battle to fight. Freya is my sister. If anyone has a right to go after her, it's me. I'll be careful Laxus. You just have to trust me."
Laxus sighed nodding, sitting down slowly. Freed's words were doing little to relax him. He knew he was overreacting but he couldn't help it. It nearly killed him to see Freed in so much pain. When he'd heard Freed scream in pain during the battle, he'd nearly lost his mind.
Freed smiled walking over to sit on the table across from him putting his hands on Laxus'.
"Just relax Laxus, in a couple of days we'll be back home with Eliana."
"I know," he said scrubbing his hands over his face with a sigh. "I just want this to be over. It was supposed to be simple. None of us were supposed to be at risk. Especially not you."
"Laxus, we all know the risks when we go against other guilds," Freed said sighing. "You're going to have to have faith in me and know that I can handle myself. I'm not going to stop fighting at your side. I started the Thunder Legion remember?"
Laxus sighed nodding.
"Alright, alright, I'll drop it. Don't mean I have to like it."
"Good. Now, let's get back to planning."
"Fine, fine," Laxus said with a sigh standing. "I'll go get the others."
He left the room running his fingers through his hair with a groan. He'd known Freed wouldn't be happy when he suggested sitting out during the next fight, but he hadn't expected him to raise such hell. He'd really screwed that one up. He paused before turning the corner when he heard raised voices.
"You put bets on it?!"
"Why not?" That was Erza's voice. Of course it was, she was the most competitive person in the guild. "Things were slow at the guild and Laxus was acting strange. We all know how Freed has felt about him for years. I just wanted to make things interesting. What's surprising is that Natsu bet right."
"Course he did," he heard Gajeel grunt. "He could smell it the minute they hopped in bed together."
"That's cheating, you flame brain!"
"How's it cheatin' if I can't control my nose?"
"Give that money back!"
"Make me ice princess! Hey! That's mine."
Laxus stepped around the corner crossing his arms with lightning flickering around him. It was almost comical the way way Natsu and Gray stopped mid fight to stare at him. Almost, until he remembered that they'd been making bets on his relationship with Freed. He could only imagine that's what they were talking about.
"Uh, hi Laxus," Natsu said slowly.
"Everything okay?" Levy asked him slowly, stepping slightly closer to Gajeel.
"Do you think he heard us?" Lucy tried to whisper to Erza.
"I'm a dragon slayer, what do you think?" Laxus asked turning to Lucy.
"O..okay, that's kind of scary."
"Freed want's to get back to plannin'. Come on." Laxus said turning to walk away from them.
"Oh a scale of 1 to 10 how pissed do you think he is?" Lucy whispered to Erza behind him.
"Oh, I'd say about a 15," Gajeel replied easily. "I'd be pretty pissed if I was in his shoes."
"Will you guys just shut up? You're givin' me a headache."
"You know, you're not all that scary Laxus. You're kind of like Gajeel. You don't want people to know you have a soft side," Levy said quietly. "Eliana kind of ruined that for you. We've all seen you with her."
"Levy, not so sure it's a good idea to antagonize him. He seems pretty pissed off," Gray muttered.
"He's just embarrassed," Erza said shaking her head.
Laxus turned raising an eyebrow at her stepping aside to let them through the door. He didn't trust himself to speak at the moment, not if he wanted their help.
"Laxus," he heard a voice behind him say softly.
He turned to see Wendy holding her cat in her arms looking up at him nervously.
"Yeah kid?"
"Don't let them upset you. I think it's great that you and Freed found each other, and I think it's amazing that you're trying to protect him."
"Thanks kid," he said putting his hand on her head affectionately. "They ain't botherin' me, I just don't want them upsettin' Freed."
She smiled hurrying into the room, Laxus following her quietly.
"I managed to use Archive to find the most likely spot for Serpent Tongue's base," Hibiki was saying as Laxus sat down beside Freed.
Natsu looked at him confused from the side of the room crossing his arms.
"What're you doin'?"
"Strategizing," Freed said.
"Strata-what?"
"They're planning the mission out," Erza said leaning against the wall. "They're trying to figure out the guild's strengths and weaknesses so that way when we face them we know exactly what we're getting into."
"Kinda takes the fun outta things," Natsu muttered.
"Not everyone likes being beat on flame brain" Gray said sitting down in one of the chairs.
"Gray, where's your clothes," Freed asked quietly, taking a drink of tea Laxus forced into his hands earlier.
"Oh god damn it, when the hell did that happen!"
Freed sighed looking back at Hibiki while Gray hunted for his shirt.
"So, where do you think their guild hall is?"
"It's just a few hours away from the one you guys found," Hibiki replied. "It's much larger, from what Archive has discovered Serpent's Tongue really has close to 100 members. Though, we're not sure how many of them are members by choice and how many were forced, like Freya."
"Freya?!" Lucy exclaimed looking at Freed. "Your sister?"
"Yes, we discovered that while she's alive, she's currently under some sort of mind control." Freed answered softly.
"Then I suppose our top priority is getting your sister back as safely as possible."
Freed gave Erza a small smile nodding.
"Thank you Erza."
"Of course." She said with a smile. "So, I assume you have maps of the area surrounding the guild on Archive Hibiki?"
"Oh, yes of course."
They sat back as Hibiki floated a large map of the woods surrounding Serpent Tongue's guild in front of them. Erza stood up, walking around the glass looking at the details, taking in the lay of the land. Freed watched her curiously, wondering if she was seeing things he hadn't, because he'd already seen three weak points that if he were giving free reign, he could already see three weak points on their grounds. So they sat around the table planning quietly. Everyone suggesting a different tactic, or different placements of the team members. Natsu that in the corner staring at the ceiling. Freed almost felt bad for him, it was obvious the Dragon slayer didn't plan out his missions. He could imagine how hard it was for Natsu to sit there and listen to them talk out their battle plan. Natsu was not someone who could sit still for long, and he'd managed to sit with them all day long.
After it was clear they'd discussed every possible route and tactic they could, Freed sat back with a sigh and stood up.
"Thank you guys for coming on such short notice," he said quietly.
"It's not often your team needs help from others," Erza said quietly. "They must be dangerous."
"We just didn't have the right information, or else we would have never faced them on our own. We expected them to have a quarter of the members they have, and we didn't expect Freya to be just as talented in Rune Magic as I am, if not more."
"How is that possible? Your sister didn't use any magic when she was staying in Magnolia," Gray asked surprised.
"I trained her," Eve said quietly. "She's extremely powerful, and the fact that she is being controlled by the wizards of this guild is worrying for sure, but I think we should be able to stop her. Hibiki is looking for ways to break the magic that is manipulating her as soon as we get her back."
"Then I suggest we get some rest before we go into battle."
"Aw man! I was ready for a fight!"
"You're always ready for a fight," Gray said rolling his eyes.
"Somethin' wrong with that ice princess?"
"Not if you like getting your head bashed in every day."
Freed groaned walking out the room with Laxus. He could see where this was going and he wasn't looking forward to seeing another Gray and Natsu fight. He'd seen more than his fair share of them while he was at Fairy Tail, and he'd learned to be weary of the furniture that would inevitably wind up flying around the room.
"Is it safe to leave them in there?" Eve asked him softly.
"Safer than tryin' to break them up. Better to let them fight it out." Laxus said quietly.
"Great...I'll let Bob know we're going to need new furniture."
Freed watched him walk away before turning to Laxus with a small smile.
"You look like you feel better."
"I do. Look, I'm sorry for exploding on you. I just don't like being treated like I'm incapable of doing things."
"I should have realized I was upsettin' you. I just, I wanted to take care of you. You're always takin' care of me."
"We take care of each other Laxus," Freed said slipping his hands into his giving them a squeeze. "But, that doesn't mean we have to hold each other back. That means looking out for each other when we go into battle, and helping each other heal when we get injured. We're fairy Tail wizards, danger comes with the territory."
"I know, I know," Laxus said with a sigh. "Just, promise me you'll be careful."
"I promise."
Laxus smiled at him slowly, pulling him into his arms, holding him close.
"You better be," he said sliding his fingers through Freed's hair. "Or else I'll make sure you regret it."
Freed laughed softly burying his face in Laxus' chest relaxing slowly trying to push all thoughts of the next day's fight from his mind.