Chapter Text
While a lot of pirates had stopped what they were doing to watch the fight, they had their duties to go back to. Laxus had been supposed to catch a few hours of sleep, as he hadn’t really stopped since they had reached Marineford bay, and his crewmates were quick to remind him.
Vista hadn’t waited long to spread the overhead comment on the risk Laxus had taken by casting Fairy Tail, at least to the other commanders.
Blenheim had been the one to raise the issue of the other mage’s lodging. Cobra had immediately said he would find a place on the island—Laxus suspected he wasn’t eager, at all, to sleep on a ship, even one that wasn’t moving—and was fine sleeping in the rough. Curiel started to offer Bickslow and Freed a place in the men’s quarters, and Laxus cut him off before he could get too far in his offer.
“Everyone’ll stay in my room. At least for tonight.”
That gained him a raised eyebrow from Blenheim, and the pirates around them still listening in on the conversation reacted with surprise as well. Some, who had noticed Freed’s clinginess and Laxus’ willingness to indulge him, threw him obvious glance, and the younger mage blushed at the attention.
While no one made any comment out loud, Laxus knew rumors would spread like wildfire, and by morning everyone in the crew would be aware that they had spent the night together, all of them, and various theories about their relationships would be circulating.
“Do you need anything? More pillows, a larger bed?” Blenheim's face was just as stoic as usual, but everyone could see the amused glint in his eyes. He wasn’t even trying to hide his mirth.
“We’ll make do with what we have.” Laxus answered. He refused to try to explain what they had together, and he refused to feel embarrassed by people’s assumption.
“Right. Have an enjoyable night.” The corner of Blenheim’s mouth tilted up in a smirk, which Laxus ignored as he turned away to guide his team toward the Moby.
“He’s totally thinking we’re having a foursome.” Evergreen said as soon as people were far enough not to hear.
“Can’t blame him. Have you seen us? I’d totally have a foursome with us.” Bickslow said with a grin.
“We do look great.” She agreed. “Some of the people here aren’t too bad either.”
The three of them sighed dreamily, and Laxus didn’t need to have Cobra’s powers to know they were thinking about Marco. And his abs.
Freed blushed harder, and with a low noise of shame hid his face behind his hands.
“Come on, let’s not fantasize where Freed can hear you, it’s unfair to his delicate sensibilities.” Laxus teased.
“I’m not delicate, I’m just polite.” He sniffed, affecting a haughty tone. They knew it was for show, but they stopped teasing him anyway.
Ever slowed down when they neared the Moby Dick, looking up at it. It was far larger than any ship they had ever seen before, which made sense given how tall some of the people here were.
“I didn’t think of it before, but… How are you alright being on a ship?” She asked after a moment of contemplation.
“No idea.” He answered. “The Ethernano in this world flows really easily. The power holders here don’t use it directly, but the world still bends out of shape to accommodate their abilities. My best guest is that it makes the disconnect between my Dragon senses and my human ones easier to process.”
“That’s something we’ll have to test.” Freed said.
Laxus wasn’t surprised that they watched his reaction closely when they climbed up the ship, and they relaxed when he didn’t turn green as it oscillated under their feet.
His room, while modest, was still designed to fit people that could reach size twice as big as his easily, and the four of them wouldn’t have too much trouble fitting together on his bed. They had gotten good at squeezing into far smaller spaces.
Laxus’ thumb caressed Freed’s cheek. “You’ll be good for a few more minutes?”
“Do we need runes around the room?” He guessed.
“They wouldn’t enter uninvited, but I won’t put it past some of them to spy on us in the morning in an attempt to catch us in a compromising position.” Laxus answered.
“Alright.” He grabbed his sword, quickly starting writing runes in the air, starting around the door.
Bickslow was already pushing Laxus’ small desk into a corner, freeing enough space for them to move his bed. While he usually slept with it in the middle of the room, it was a sure-fire way to wake up in the middle of the night because someone had fallen off the mattress if they tried with the four of them. Laxus helped him push the bed all the way.
Ever was poking around his closet, and grabbed a couple of Laxus’ shirt. She turned to face the wall as she removed her clothes, not bothering to leave the room or hide further. She knew the guys would be looking away from her to respect her privacy.
Laxus’ shirt was large enough for the collar to hang off one shoulder, long enough to reach down might-tight and serve as a nightdress. She threw the second one she had grabbed at its owner, who caught it before it could hit his head despite not looking her way, and threw it over one shoulder to free his hands.
He caught Freed by the shoulder as he finished his loop around the room. With sure fingers, he sheathed back his sword and unbuckled the belt from his hips, putting it on his desk. He unbuttoned his coat, pushing it off his shoulders, unsurprised when Freed caught it before it could fall to the floor. That much, at least, hadn’t changed, and Freed was still peculiar about his appearance.
He grabbed it and threw it on the desk with less care than he had shown the sword. Freed started removing his cravat on his own, which Laxus let him do without complaint. The complex knot was always too hard for him to figure out. Instead, he took the opportunity to smooth his hands down Freed’s sides, taking in the looseness of his shirt. He slipped a hand under the fabric as Freed slipped his cravat free, resting it against his ribs.
“I wish you would take better care of yourself.” He murmured, fingers exploring each dip between his ribs.
“I tried.” Freed whispered. Despite being done with his tie, he didn’t move to unbutton his shirt. “It’s hard, when you’re not here.”
“I know.” While Freed was thin, he didn’t look emaciated. He knew he could have let himself go much worse, and while he didn’t like seeing him like this he was relieved Freed had at least tried to stay healthy. “I know you did your best.”
The smaller mage tensed when Laxus’ hand slipped out of his shirt and went for the buttons, but didn’t protest out loud. They were all aware that Laxus wouldn’t let him hide himself away, even if he was uncomfortable out of his clothes.
He didn’t make him wait topless for longer than necessary, grabbing the shirt Evergreen had thrown earlier and giving it to Freed to put on. It was big on him as well, despite him being a head taller than Ever.
Laxus liked seeing him in his clothes.
They turned toward the bed, where Evergreen and Bickslow had settled. Bicks had removed his helmet and was down to his shirt and boxers, laying on his back in the middle of the bed. Ever had climbed over him and slithered between him in the wall, laying with her head on his shoulder, watching them.
Freed joined them, laying on Bickslow’s other side, mirroring Evergreen’s position. She offered him a hand, which he grabbed gratefully, joining their fingers together. Laxus settled at the edge of the bed, Freed’s back flush with his torso.
They didn’t always sleep in the same position when they shared a bed, but one constant was that Laxus was always the one on the outside, the one closest to the door. If anyone entered—which was near impossible given Freed’s wards—they would have to go through him before reaching his team.
They had spent months away from each others, but they still fell into sync easily, as if they hadn’t ever been apart. First their breathing, slowing down as they relaxed into a near-sleep state, their heartbeat following suit, all four beating the same rhythm.
Evergreen was the first to extend her magic outward, mingling first with Bickslow’s, then with Freed’s, their magic tentatively coming just shy of meeting Laxus’, then probing it carefully. They checked him for any damage done by casting Fairy Law, felt the changes in his energy where he had grown stronger in their time spent apart. Laxus probed back, and as soon as their respective magic got used to each other they mingled together seamlessly, pulsing in time with their shared heartbeat.
It swelled around them, pressing on their consciousness and easing them into sleep.
~~Fairy Tail~~One Piece~~
“Oh?” Newgate stopped with his beer mug halfway to his mouth, brow furrowing.
Marco made a questioning, sleepy noise. He was sitting on Whitebeard’s shoulder, eyes closed as he rested for a moment, basking in his father’s calming presence.
“Sleep, Marco. I didn’t mean to wake you up.” He soothed.
“‘m not asleep. What’s it?”
“Can’t you feel it?” Newgate asked back.
Marco pushed his haki out, scanning the island and his brothers, not finding anything out of the ordinary. Trafalgar’s submarine caught his attention for a moment, their unfamiliar presence making him take a deeper look at them, but most of that crew was sleeping, and the few awake didn’t have anything threatening in their presence that would have warranted Whitebeard’s reaction.
He made a sweep of the Moby Dick, and a surprised sound escaped him.
“I believe that’s Laxus and his friends.” Newgate said before Marco could tense at the strange sensation coming from the Moby, unlike anything he’d felt before. Focusing on it, he could recognize part of that sensation as the somewhat-familiar feeling of Laxus’ magic.
“Their magic sure is an interesting thing.” Newgate commented.
“What do you think they’re doing in that room?” Marco asked.
“Sleeping.” At Marco’s surprised look, Whitebeard laughed, a low rumble that shook his shoulders.
“That’s not what I heard.”
“You know how your brothers love to gossip. No, I don’t believe their relationship can be defined so easily.” The words weren’t a reproach, but Marco still took them to heart. He knew all about unusual relationship—you couldn’t have lived at sea for your entire life without being a little fucked up, a little closer to your crewmates than you should.
“They’ll fit in right in, won’t they?” He wondered. He had hoped they would when he had heard they were Laxus’ friends, and meeting them had only reinforced that impression, but for the first time he was wondering if they wouldn’t also fit in with the rest of the crew because they needed it too.
“I think they will.” Whitebeard agreed easily.