Laxus generally thought medicine was stupid and also useless, but he had to admit, a few hours after he'd taken Freed's medicine, that, combined with Porlyusica's stuff, was making him feel a lot better. He was still kind of nauseous, and felt weirdly tired for a guy who'd gotten a pretty normal amount of sleep, and he didn't want to so much as think about using his arm. But he also felt properly conscious for the first time in at least a day or two, and sitting up didn't make him dizzy, so that was good, at least.

Freed was in the kitchen doing some Freed shit - Laxus wasn't exactly sure what it was. He'd hovered awkwardly around the living room for a while after giving Laxus his medicine, and while Laxus never really minded Freed's presence, he was also glad to have some breathing room.

Or at least, he was for a little while. After a bit, it got kind of awkward. He was sitting in Freed's house, fully conscious for the first time, and he had no idea what to do. He didn't want to use Freed's television lacrima, because that seemed kind of rude even for Laxus. Freed's (numerous) books were out for the same reason, but also because they all looked really thick, and mostly boring.

Eventually, Laxus grabbed his headphones one-handed from his backpack where Freed had placed them and popped them into his ears. He turned up the sound almost as high as it would go, shutting the world around him out and just focusing on the music.

It was an old trick, but it worked. Without the sounds of Freed doing whatever Freed did in the kitchen, Laxus started to feel less awkward and tense. He wasn't quite to "relaxed" yet, but he was getting there.

Laxus turned up the volume a little more and began to look around at Freed's living room. Subtly (kind of), in case Freed came up behind the couch.

It was still pretty sparse, probably because all of them had lost a fair amount of their possessions in the seven years they'd been sealed on Tenrou. Honestly, Laxus would have expected it to be even a little more empty. Since they'd returned, Freed had clearly put an effort into redecorating.

He'd started with the books, which Laxus figured was unsurprising, if a little weird. He wondered which one was Freed's favorite. And then, he wondered why he didn't know.

Apparently, Freed read a lot of murder mysteries, which Laxus…hadn't seen coming. If someone had made him bet, he would probably have guessed nonfiction.

It was starting to become pretty clear that Laxus didn't really know Freed very well at all. That…was kind of embarrassing, since Freed was without a doubt his closest friend.

Had Laxus really forgotten to ask Freed any personal questions during the entire time they'd been friends? Looking back on it, he thought he probably had. Either that, or he didn't remember the answers, but Laxus thought it was probably the first one. He hadn't cared about what people thought of him, or how well they knew him, in a very long time. Laxus hadn't really wanted to let anyone get that close, not even the people he thought of as his friends.

He wondered when that had changed. Now, he kind of wanted to know what Freed's favorite book was. Maybe he should ask him.

Or maybe that was the drugs talking. Laxus shook his head and looked away from the bookshelf, around the rest of the room. Freed had a lamp that looked older than most everything else - maybe something he'd managed to keep since before Tenrou. It was black metal. There were flowers on the table, which were kind of wilted but alive enough that Laxus was pretty sure Freed must provide some care for them.

There was a small framed picture of the Thunder Legion in one corner. Laxus wasn't smiling, but he didn't look miserable, anyways. Not much was visible in the background of the picture, but Laxus could tell the day had been sunny. Warm, too, since he wasn't wearing his coat. He had an arm around Freed and an arm around Ever. Bickslow was giving Freed bunny ears.

Laxus had no idea when the picture had been taken. It felt like a life that didn't belong to him.

Freed looked happy though. Laxus could definitely see why he'd kept the picture.

There was a coat stand against one wall, and hanging on it was a red coat identical to the one that Freed was currently wearing. Laxus vaguely remembered Freed telling him that he had a few copies, as it was his favorite thing to wear and he didn't want to be without it if it got dirty or damaged. Laxus was glad to know he at least remembered something. He was still kind of embarrassed that it was only that much.

Laxus probably would have kept looking around, and was honestly not too far off from actually getting up to snoop, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Even though Laxus knew Freed was in the house, and had been working in the kitchen, and had promised to check on him every so often, Laxus still jumped about a foot in the air. His music could really drown out anything, and he hadn't heard the sound of Freed's footsteps.

Laxus took his headphones off and placed them carefully around his neck, looking up at Freed.

"Hello. Sorry," Freed said. "I didn't mean to scare you. I didn't expect you to be…so easy to scare?"

"Music was loud," Laxus said by way of explanation.

"How are you feeling?" Freed asked.

"I'm…," Laxus paused to consider briefly, "feeling better than before. I think."

"That's wonderful to hear!" Freed reached out a hand, and Laxus bowed his head slightly, consenting to have his forehead touched. Freed's hand felt cool and dry. "Your fever has gone down some, I'm pretty sure. Do you need anything?"

"I don't think so…?

"What are you listening to?"

Laxus did not want to have this conversation. He had no idea what type of music Freed listened to, but he was pretty sure that it wasn't the kind with heavy guitar and loud, vaguely shrill vocals about fighting. That did not sound like Freed's style at all. Freed would probably hate it, and then he would think that Laxus's taste in music was stupid, which for some reason seemed absolutely mortifying to Laxus.

"Um, I…you won't like it," Laxus said, trying to sound cool and aloof rather than embarrassed.

"Try me," Freed said brightly, and took one end of the headphones.

Laxus immediately reached for his player, trying frantically to skip or pause the song, but he was clumsy from the drugs and Freed moved faster. Laxus watched with expectant horror as Freed put the headphones up to his ear, right as the song moved into a drum solo that Laxus really liked, but was admittedly two minutes long and very loud. His volume was still turned up high enough that sound was spilling out of the other side of his headphones, loud enough that Laxus could hear every lyric that Freed would probably hate.

He'd kind of expected Freed to give up after ten seconds, but Freed listened to the whole thing before handing Laxus his headphones back.

"I liked that," Freed said with a nod. Either his poker face had improved, or he was actually telling the truth. "The lyrics were well-crafted."

Laxus blinked at him, pretty much dumbstruck. Personally, he thought the lyrics were pretty solid too, but they were mostly about punching people, something Freed didn't tend to care about as much as Laxus did.

Freed really was pretty damn cool. He didn't know why he hadn't really seen that before, but that was probably his own fault. Most of the stuff that had happened before he'd been kicked out had been.

Of course, there was always the chance that Freed was just straight up lying to him. In a way, Laxus almost thought that would be even better, if Freed was lying to him just to be nice. Most people didn't bother with stuff like that, at least not for him.

"Glad you liked it," Laxus managed, carefully winding up his headphones and putting them back in his pocket. "That's…pretty cool."

"I've always been interested in what you were listening to," Freed said sincerely. "It just never seemed like the right time to ask."

Freed had listened to a song Laxus enjoyed, and he had complimented it, and then Laxus had looked so stricken and confused that Freed was pretty sure he was coming on too strong. He had retreated to the kitchen for a few minutes, where he had pretended to put dishes away and given Laxus a few minutes to collect himself. Then, he had emerged with two glasses of water, hoping the energy between their interactions had had time to satisfactorily reset.

"Drink this," Freed said, shoving one of the glasses into Laxus's uninjured hand. "You're probably dehydrated."
"Oh," Laxus said, and obediently took a sip. He still wasn't arguing with Freed much - strange. Maybe their energy hadn't reset as well as Freed had thought. He seemed kind of strung out.

"Are you…feeling better?" Freed asked cautiously.

"Um…yeah. Kind of. I guess. Yeah."

"Would you like something to eat?" Freed asked. Laxus was gigantic, and he normally ate as much as three Freeds put together. It was strange to see him go this long without food. It didn't seem like it could be good for him.

"Maybe," Laxus said. "Yeah, I guess I could eat."

"Are you…bored?" Freed asked. Laxus was still acting a little strange, and Freed wasn't totally sure what was wrong. Since Laxus clearly wasn't going to tell him, it was the best Freed could do to simply throw guesses at the wall.

Laxus considered, and then nodded slightly.

"Okay," Freed said. "I'm going to get you something to eat, and then we can…watch a movie?"

Laxus nodded again. Freed was still kind of weirded out by how little he was protesting any of this.

Five minutes later, Freed was settled next to Laxus on the sofa. Not too close, obviously. But Freed thought…this might be the first time he and Laxus had sat casually side-by-side like this. It was sending little prickly, electric feelings up and down Freed's spine.

Laxus had a piece of toast, which he seemed to be enjoying more than the banana. Which was to say, he'd started nibbling on a corner, instead of outright rejecting it. But that had to count for something.

"Sorry," Freed said apologetically. "I don't own many movies. I'm not sure what you'll like."

Laxus shrugged carefully. "It's okay. Just pick your favorite."

Freed's favorite movie was an operatic musical, and he was not about to show that to Laxus. That was more of a seventh to tenth "casual friendly hangout" movie, definitely not a first.

Freed scanned through his movies, trying to project the aura of a man looking for his favorite tough action film that had somehow slipped behind the comedies and art house films. Eventually, he found a rom-com that, in his opinion, was more com than rom, and therefore would hopefully meet with Laxus's approval.

"How about this?" Freed asked, and showed it to Laxus. Laxus gave it a cursory glance and nodded, leaving Freed unsure as to whether or not he'd read the description.

Hopefully, Laxus wouldn't hate the movie so much that it ruined their friendship. Freed told himself firmly that that was unlikely, if not downright ridiculous, and loaded the movie into his lacrima player. Then, he sat down next to Laxus (there was that electric feeling again) and pressed play.

After they'd watched about half of it, Freed was shocked that Laxus hadn't asked him to turn it off yet. He also wasn't asleep, and didn't even seem to be heading that way. He was still sitting on the couch, occasionally nibbling on some toast, and even chuckling at all the right parts.

Freed was struggling to remember the last time he'd felt so proud of himself. He was aware that that was a little embarrassing, but it couldn't be helped. Laxus was notoriously difficult to get to know, and he'd always been the best at drawing him out, and apparently even Laxus's three month absence from the Guild hadn't changed that.

By the time the movie was over, Freed felt almost drunk with success. Laxus sank back into the couch cushions as the credits rolled, smiling a little. Freed knew that for Laxus, that expression was as good as one of Natsu's gigantic grins.

"I didn't expect you to like that movie," Freed admitted, once again very aware of his proximity to Laxus on the couch.

"How come?"

"You just don't seem like that type of guy," Freed said evasively.

Laxus shrugged, turning a little bit towards Freed with a sort of half-smile that made Freed want to rip his hair out. "I might surprise you."

Freed realized suddenly that he had forgotten how to breathe.

Laxus wasn't completely sure if he was flirting. He hadn't flirted much before. But he thought there was a chance that he might be, which was…strange. Was it weird to be flirting with Freed? Was that…was that really what he was doing?

Was it something he wanted to be doing?

Laxus was surprised and almost embarrassed that the answer was a firm maybe.

Whatever he was doing, Freed seemed to be liking it anyways, and at core, Laxus really did like Freed, and he liked making him happy. The guy had started flushing red about as soon as they'd finished the movie, and it didn't look like he was going to stop anytime soon. Laxus couldn't believe he had the power to make Freed do that. He'd always thought he was pretty bad at talking and stuff, and now here he was making Freed blush.

It was about here in the train of thought that Laxus realized he didn't feel so good. He was pretty sure his fever had started climbing again. He had the same achy, queasy feeling that he had had that morning, and he was definitely either too cold or too hot.

Worse, he felt like he was kind of having trouble thinking. His thoughts seemed to be blurring together, refusing to crystallize. Was that why he was flirting with Freed? He found himself vaguely hoping that it wasn't. He didn't really want to be taking advantage of Freed's feelings just because he was sick.

He decided to just keep up talking to Freed the same way - it kind of felt right, and he was a little too sick to fully think the implications through.

"Did…I miss anything cool?" Laxus asked, once Freed had turned off the lacrima and got Laxus more painkillers and a glass of water. Laxus was sprawled out on the couch, and he was feeling sort of sleepy and for him, almost chatty.

Freed's eyebrows drew together. "In the movie? No, Laxus. The movie ended a few minutes ago. Are you feeling-?"

"Not the movie. I mean…while I was gone."

"Oh. Like in Fairy Tail?"

"No, Lamia Scale. Yes, Fairy Tail."

Okay, that hadn't been flirting. Laxus wondered if it was possible to backtrack.

"Did you…did you do anything cool?"

Freed's eyes lit up, so that was definitely a win.

"A few members of our Guild took down the Oracion Seis! Although…I suppose I wasn't really involved in that. And I did visit an alternate dimension, but…I was trapped in a lacrima for the majority of the time."

"Oh," Laxus said. Mostly in confusion. Either Freed wasn't making much sense, or Laxus's brain wasn't, but he wasn't confident enough on which to be able to figure it out.

Shit. Did that make it sound like he didn't think Freed was cool? Probably, because now Freed was turning red again, and his blue eyes were widening, and Laxus was pretty sure that he'd fucked up.

"You got chosen for the S-Class trial," Laxus pointed out, trying desperately to think of cool stuff that Freed had done. "That's pretty awesome."

Freed did actually brighten up at that, which was good. So Laxus wasn't totally inept at this, more like fifty-fifty.

"That's true! I did…lose in the first round, though. But that isn't a true reflection of my skill, because I chose to cede the battle to Cana. It was a matter of honor."

Laxus blinked. Privately, he thought that sounded kind of stupid. When he'd been up for S-Class, he'd pretty much pulverized anyone who dared to stand in his way. Of course, he'd also ended up being kicked out of the Guild, so maybe Freed had a point about "honor."

"That's different," Laxus told him. "Next year."

"Very possibly," Freed said, sounding happy again. "And even after the trial was over, the whole Thunder Legion acquitted themselves quite well in our respective duels against the members of Grimoire Heart. I think you missed those, but they were very impressive."

Laxus nodded sincerely. He hadn't arrived on Tenrou until about halfway through the battle, but he knew the reputation of Grimoire Heart. In his opinion, it was extremely impressive that Freed had gone up against any of them.

He hoped that was showing through on his face, because he wasn't entirely sure how to put it into words.

"Oh, that reminds me," Freed said with sudden surprise. "I meant to ask. How did you know to find us on Tenrou? You really did come at exactly the right time."

Laxus shrugged with his right side, making a face before he could stop himself. "Kind of a long story."

"Please," Freed said. "I'm desperate to know! Did the Master have some way of contacting you? Evergreen and I have a bet to settle."

"Nothin' like that," Laxus said evasively. Things had been going so well. Laxus did not want to be having this conversation. He wanted to hear more about the cool stuff Freed had been up to while Laxus had been gone. He wasn't really sure how to steer the conversation back to that, but….

"Did you just…know?" Freed asked.

"I wish."

"Stop being cryptic, Laxus! I'm sure everyone in the Guild is curious to know how you ended up there at the perfect time…."

"I'm not telling everyone in the Guild, I'm telling you!" Laxus said. If he'd been feeling better, he might have gotten loud, as it was, it was more of just a hoarse whisper. "I don't…love talking about this."

Freed's face seemed to withdraw into itself. "Oh, well you don't have to…."

"My dad found me," Laxus burst out all at once.

"What…?"

"I was…drunk," Laxus said slowly. The only person he'd told this story to so far was the Master, and Makarov had refrained from pressing for too many details. No one else had even asked him how he'd ended up on the island - so much had gone on since they'd gotten back from Fairy Tail that it had presumably slipped everyone's minds.

"Laxus, I was serious, you don't have to-"

"It's fine," Laxus said roughly. "I…I'm fine with telling you. I was drunk a lot during those months. Sometimes really drunk. I would stay in one town for a few nights, sometimes as long as a week, and I would drink, and I would usually do some small, unofficial jobs for money. Clearing out monsters, taking down bandits, stuff like that. Easy stuff. I guess my dad found out where I was somehow. He came to find me."

"To…try to help you?" Freed asked hesitantly.

"Nah," Laxus said. If Freed had looked less serious, Laxus may have laughed at that idea. "He wanted to get me drunker, at first."

Freed didn't say anything, just looked at Laxus with big, round eyes. Laxus cleared his throat and kept talking, trying to fill the silence.

"He bought me a couple, well, a lot, of drinks. Once I was pretty much gone he asked for some dirt on Fairy Tail. Guess he figured I'd be more likely to spill, that way."

"What did you say?" Freed asked solemnly, and so quietly Laxus almost didn't hear him.

"Nothing, obviously," Laxus said, then grimaced. It probably wasn't that obvious, at least not to most people in the Guild. But Freed was staring back at him, nodding like it was obvious to him, too, and that made Laxus keep talking.

"He didn't like that much. Tried to threaten it out of me, the usual, and then when I wasn't saying shit he told me I might as well tell him, 'cause Grimoire Heart was moving on Tenrou to wipe out the Guild in one go. That's when I left. Figured you might need my help. Even if you didn't, I couldn't exactly just sit back and let it happen."

Freed sat in stunned silence for about a minute, long enough that Laxus wondered if he had said something wrong. He shifted uncomfortably, trying to identify what it might have been, so he could walk it back or straight up contradict himself, if he had to.

"I'm sorry," Freed eventually blurted out.

Laxus blinked at him. "Sorry? For what?"

"That that happened to you," Freed said, looking vaguely wounded. "That your father tried to use you like that. It's absolutely horrible. I would never treat someone who was important to me in such a manner."

Laxus hadn't really thought about it that way. Dealing with Ivan was pretty much always "absolutely horrible," and had been since Laxus was young. Honestly, he'd figured that the Tenrou incident, on balance, had been a win. Whether Ivan had meant to or not, he'd given Laxus valuable information and Laxus hadn't even had to pay for it that much.

But maybe Freed was right. Laxus had told him pretty much the whole story, a little sugar coated even, and it had upset him. In general, Laxus trusted Freed a hell of a lot more than he trusted his dad, and he should probably trust him about this, too. That wasn't how you were supposed to treat people that you care about. Freed would certainly never treat Laxus that way. Even in the beginning, when they'd barely known each other, he hadn't acted like that.