Chapter Text
“Let’s all spend harvest day together next year, okay?”
The words rang through Freed’s mind for perhaps the millionth time, coupled, as they always were, with the image of Mirajane’s battered but smiling face. The brief conversation which had taken place after their battle was one that he would never forget. That conversation had taught him that he was not alone, that he had all of Fairy Tail to rely on. While entire conversation was burned into his memory, those last few words had always held special significance. Freed hadn’t realized why this was the case until much later: those words marked the exact moment when he had fallen in love with Mirajane Strauss.
Love was a complex emotion and not one which he had ever trusted. It was too intense, too unpredictable and, most importantly, too frightening. To truly love one needed to give up a part of themselves to their beloved, namely, their heart. The heart was a delicate, precious thing, one which was easily broken.
In essence, love necessitated a degree of vulnerability. Vulnerability was not a luxury that Freed could afford, not even for the beautiful, Mirajane Strauss. And so, he had kept his distance from her, hoping that, given time, the feelings would fade.
They didn’t.
To his credit, it wasn’t as though he had done nothing about his affections. He had attempted to ask her on a date twice before. Both attempts had ended in failure.
***
The first time he hadn’t even managed to speak the entire request aloud.
He stepped up to the bar, setting his palm against the smooth cool surface to brace himself. “M-mirajane...” He cut himself off, hating the nervous quiver that laced his voice. Why on Earthland would Mirajane agree to go on a date with him if he presented himself as nothing more than a weak besotted fool? No, he needed to be strong. He needed to be worthy of her. He steeled himself and tried again. “Mirajane,” he said again, louder, this time attracting her attention.
“Yes, Freed?” she asked, turning the full effect of her blue eyes on him. She was standing behind the bar, absent-mindedly polishing its already gleaming surface with a white towel.
“I was w-wondering if you would, perhaps...” No, no, that doesn’t sound right... “I mean, if maybe you could do me the honour of...” Honour? What is this? You’re not asking her to marry you! Tone it down. “Did you maybe want to...” ‘Did you maybe’? That isn’t even decent grammar! Fool!
Mirajane watched patiently as Freed continued to mentally berate himself, a faint frown creasing her brow. “Freed?” she questioned.
The sound of her voice knocked the last vestiges of his nerve right out of him. “Would you go...get me a drink?” he finished, lamely, blushing red.
“What? Of course! That’s what I’m here for, after all,” Mira replied in her usual sweet way. “What would you like?”
He ordered a beer. He didn’t normally drink and, to his untrained mouth, the liquid tasted terrible. He choked on his first sip and barely managed to excuse himself before he went into a coughing fit.
***
Freed was far better prepared the second time around. His request was carefully scripted: Mirajane, I was wondering if you wanted to join me for dinner tonight. He had picked his words carefully to ensure that it was neither too casual, nor too formal. It expressed his interest in clear terms, leaving no doubt that he was asking her on a date. Moreover, the phrasing ensured that that he didn’t sound neither desperate nor overtly nonchalant. It was perfect.
It was a shame that she never managed to hear them.
“Mirajane,” Freed had begun, in greeting.
“Hello, Freed,” she turned her sweet smile on him. His stomach flip-flopped uncomfortably, but he wasn’t about to be undone this time.
“Mirajane, I was wondering if—“
“Squinty-eyes!”
“Flame-brain!”
“Ice princess!”
The rest of his request was drowned out by Gray and Natsu’s bickering. Freed barely managed to duck in time to avoid getting hit by one a stray ice lance. A quick sidestep later and he was not only out of range of Natsu’s flaming fists, but Mirajane’s earshot as well. Besides, the white-haired woman was too busy pleading with the two boys to pay attention to him anyway.
***
The third time he asked her was shortly before the Harvest Day Festival. Exactly one week prior, to be precise.
“Let’s all spend harvest day together next year, okay?”
He knew that she wasn’t talking about them specifically when she had said that. It was not a suggestion on her part. But Freed could hope, none the less, that Mirajane would remember that moment, remember what she had said. If so, there was a small chance that Mira would not be, at the very least, disinclined to spend, at least a portion, with him.
He stepped into the guild and took a careful look around. Natsu and Gray were nowhere to be seen. He breathed a small sigh of relief. At least their fighting wouldn’t interrupt him this time. He paused at the guild’s large double doors, taking a moment to watch Mira as she worked. Her movements were graceful and calculated. She attended to everyone with equal devotion, greeted each guild-member with the same sweet smile.
Perfection.
“Freed!”
Evergreen’s brusque voice jolted him from his trance. He blinked at her, momentarily disoriented. “Yes?”
“Laxus and Bickslow are waiting, hurry up,” she caught hold of his arm as she walked by, pulling him back out of the guild hall.
“I’m sorry?”
Evergreen stopped long enough to fix him with an impatient look. “Our mission?” she asked, annoyance colouring her voice. “Don’t tell me that you’ve forgotten?”
He had. He had been so distracted by thoughts of Mirajane that he had completely forgotten his prior commitment. He cursed himself internally. This obsession of his (and indeed, it could be classified as nothing less than an obsession at this point) needed to be resolved in one way or another. It was as though his feelings for her were eating him up from the inside, leaving him as a mere shell of what he was.
He hated this feeling, but he loved her.
“Perhaps I’m losing my mind,” he thought, somewhat bemused at the state of his conflicted feelings.
“Hold on there’s something that I have to—“
“No time! The train leaves in twenty minutes, let’s go.” She emphasized her point with a final tug on his arm. Freed relented, allowing himself to be dragged off.
***
The mission wasn’t as smooth as they had expected it to be. The enemy was stronger than their intelligence had suggested. Laxus and Bickslow had suggested that they spend an extra day in the village to regain their strength before they begun the journey back to Magnolia. However, that meant that they would have arrived mid-way through Harvest Day. That simply wouldn’t do. Freed was anxious to return to Magnolia as soon as possible. The later he waited to ask Mirajane, the more of a chance there was that she would already have plans with someone else. Granted, they had been gone for nearly four days. The chance that she would be otherwise occupied was still there.
Though, despite the ticking clock that he was working against, Freed was hesitant to suggest as much, worried that his fellow members of the Thunder Tribe would pick up on his affection for Mirajane. He could only imagine the relentless teasing that would follow.
He was saved from having to say anything by Evergreen, who, oddly enough, seemed to share in his desire to return early. “We’re not staying here,” she declared, “We’re going back tonight.” Clearly she shared none of Freed’s hesitancy in speaking her mind.
“And why’s that, Ever?” Bickslow asked, “Are you rushing back to meet with a special someone?”
“Special someone!” Bickslow’s ‘babies’ echoed behind him.
She shifted uncomfortably but none the less managed to shoot a nasty look Bickslow’s way. “I simply don’t want to spend another day in this rundown place, that’s all,” she said. ‘Rundown’ was an overstatement at best. The village was tidy and well-kept and the beds that they had been offered in thanks for their services were plush and warm.
“Maybe that Strauss boy?” Bickslow continued, somehow managing to smirk with his tongue still hanging out of his mouth, “What’s his name? Elfman?”
“Elfman!” the dolls behind him chirped.
The stricken look on her face was answer enough. She lunged to her feet, fan in one hand raised in an attack. “Oh just lay off! I’m leaving. You all can stay here.”
“It isn’t safe for you to be travelling by yourself,” Laxus pointed out.
“She won’t be,” Freed said, catching Evergreen’s wrist smoothly before she could throttle Bickslow. “I’ll go with her.”
Three pairs of eyes regarded him curiously, “What? If we split up then everyone gets what they want. I’m strong enough to keep going, so it’s only natural that I be the one to accompany Evergreen. That way we can all rest assured that she’s reached Magnolia safely...”
Evergreen raised an eye at that. “I’m not some damsel to be protected,” she said, indignantly. “However...it would be faster if we flew there,” she eyed Freed’s back pointedly. “Slap on a pair of wings and we’ll get going.”
“You two can join us when you’re rested,” Freed said.
“Fine by me,” Bickslow stated, leaning back in his chair. Laxus said nothing but continued to watch them curiously. Evergreen’s intentions were clear. Freed wondered if his own were beginning to show.
***
It was late at night when they had made it back. Freed dropped Evergreen off at the steps of her apartment before using the last vestiges of his strength to fly back to the guild. Mirajane was always the last to leave the guild at night. It stood to reason that she might still be there.
Upon seeing the light pouring out from the windows, Freed relaxed. He landed on the front steps, his elegant fingers closing over handle of guild doors as a sudden wave of exhaustion rolled over him. He half pushed, half clung to the door, throwing his weight against it to open it.
“Oh, hello, we’re just closi—Freed!” Mirajane spun around to look at him, small hands lifting to her mouth as she took in his sorry state. “Your face!”
Blinking, Freed raised a hand to the cheek not covered by his hair, feeling sticky, dried blood. Of course. He had taken a cut to the side of his face during his mission. He had taken care of the wound once the battle had been won, dabbing off the blood and bandaging it the best he could, given his meager abilities as a medic. The wound must have re-opened on his way back.
“It’s just a scratch. I assure you, it looks worse than it is.”
She was at his side in a flash, looking up at him with concerned blue eyes. “Come in, sit down. Let me take care of that,” she wrapped her slim fingers around his wrist, drawing him inside. She brought him over to the bar, helping him up onto a stool before ducking behind the counter and returning with a first aid kit.
She peeled back the ruined bandage and shook her head. “Didn’t you have somewhere to rest before you came back to Magnolia?” she asked, gently dabbing at the blood with a soft towel, cleaning the wound. “You shouldn’t have pushed yourself.” She continued to fuss over him as she applied ointment and then re-covered the cut with a fresh bandage.
“Evergreen insisted,” Freed said, feeling somewhat guilty for pinning the decision on Ever’s shoulders alone. “I think she wanted to get back in time for the Festival and spend more time with...someone.”
Mirajane giggled. “That ‘someone’ wouldn’t happen to be Elfman, would it?” she asked, eyes twinkling. “Your friend wouldn’t happen to have impure intentions towards my little brother, would she?”
“She insists otherwise, but we’re beginning to be suspicious.” His eyes fluttered shut as she pushed his hair to one side, checking him for any further injuries. Her hands were soft, her fingers slightly cold to the touch. He shivered as they ghosted down his neck. Clearing his throat, he pulled back, shying away from her touch. “Would it really be so bad if it was?” he asked, suddenly, blue-green eyes opening once more.
“Would what be bad?” Mirajane asked, tilting her head to one side in confusion.
“If Evergreen really did have feelings for Elfman,” Freed explained. “And...if he returned them. If they were together. Would that really be so bad?” he questioned.
“No, of course not. Why would love ever be a bad thing?”
“But we...we’ve done so much...Caused so much harm...” Freed looked away, suddenly unable to meet her gaze.
“Are you talking about last year? Freed, please. We’ve all forgiven you, you know that.”
“But—“he opened his mouth to protest and found a single, pale finger pressed against his lips, silencing them.
“Water under the bridge,” Mirajane insisted. Her eyes were hard and she spoke in a tone of voice that dared him to argue with her.
Freed smiled, taking her hand in his. He marveled at the size of them. They were tiny compared to his own, and yet they held so much strength and could accomplish so much. “Mirajane...”
“Mira,” she corrected.
“Pardon?”
“My friends call me Mira,” she told him sweetly.
“Mira...” he breathed the name out like a prayer, mind still caught up on what she had said. With the correction, Mirajane had effectively called him a friend. Friend! His heart swelled and then deflated somewhat seconds later. He didn’t want to be her friend. He wanted to be much more than that.
Friendship....at least it was a good start.
“Mira,” he began anew. This time he would ask. This time no one was around to interrupt him. He strengthened his voice and continued on. “I was wondering if you wanted to spend Harvest Day with me.”
She blinked twice, as though processing the request. Then her eyes widened. “You mean, like a date?”
Freed blushed and looked away. “Erm, yes...but, it doesn’t have to be. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to. As a date, I mean. Of course I would rather if you did, but...” his mouth continued to rattle on without input from his brain, which was quite understandable given that the only two phrases which were circling around in there were: She doesn’t want to and She’s going to say ‘no’.
Her quiet, tinkling laugh was what finally made him stop his tirade and look back at her with wide eyes. “You’re cute when you’re nervous,” she stated, words which caused him to blush deeper than he already was. “And I would love to spend Harvest Day with you. As a date.” She affirmed.
“T-thank you, Mira,” Freed breathed out, relief washing over him.
“Don’t thank me. You make it sound like I’m doing it as a favour. I’m not. I’m doing it because I want to.” She pressed her lips together, thinking for a moment. “I’ll be busy for most of the day with preparations for the Miss. Fairy Tail contest and the parade...But there’s always the party which comes after that. We can go together! And that way, you’ll have enough time to rest and regain your strength before then.”
“You’re very considerate, Mira,” Freed said as he slid off the stool. He looked around, hesitantly, unsure of how he should proceed, now that the question had been asked. “Uhm, are you finished your close?” he asked.
Mira hummed an affirmative as she gathered up the medical supplies which littered the counter, placing them back into the first aid kit. “All I have to do is put this away and...done!”
“In that case I insist on walking you home,”
“Freed, you don’t have to,” Mira said, taking in his tired form with concerned eyes. “You’re tired as it is. You should go straight home.”
“I insist.”
“I can take care of myself, you know.”
“Your abilities are not in question, Mira,” Freed said. “I still have some scars to prove it.” The two faced each other, both with arms stubbornly crossed across their chests. Mira relented first.
“Fine,” she sighed. “Since you’re so insistent. I have a feeling that you’ll come with me regardless of what I say.” Freed smiled and offered her his elbow. With a slight roll of her eyes, she linked her arm in his. They left together, Mira shutting the lights on her way out.