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Freed was reasonably sure that it was Laxus who had once made a throwaway comment about Freed returning the favour one day after the Dragon-slayer had pulled him back to himself after his demon had made a bid for freedom. He had half a mind to remind the other man of that – once he had him back of course. Although he had a feeling that his mate hadn’t expected it to happen like this, he admitted to himself. Carefully picking a path through the rubble that was all that remained of the eastern part of the town, relieved that it the townspeople had evacuated before it had got this far. It was one less thing for Laxus to blame himself for, and one less for Freed to worry about, which was a good thing, as right now he was more focused on the towering form that had settled in the middle of the rubble, lightning crackling around him, and the sky above their heads dark and thundering.
Golden scales rippled with each movement the Dragon made, glistening as though caught in direct sunlight, even though not even a single beam was making it through the storm clouds right now. It was a beautiful sight, Freed thought, pausing for a moment as Laxus shifted, spreading enormous wings – the backdraft from the motion making him stumble. Clawed feet crunching rock and other debris underfoot, as the Dragon turned towards him, glistening blue eyes focusing on him. And terrifying, he added feeling the weight of that gaze, not sure if it was recognition he saw in those wild eyes, or something more dangerous, wishing the bond between them was open so that he could get a clearer read on what his mate was feeling. However, it was as though the storm clouds had rolled in there too, and all he could feel was the anger that had triggered this…transformation? Loss of control? He wasn’t entirely sure what this was, and that made him even more nervous, and he swallowed before moving forward again.
He ached all over, and he was fairly sure the wound that had taken him out of the fight and resulted in this chaos was still bleeding, one hand resting over his chest, pressed against the torn flesh. But he didn’t stop, worried about what would happen if he didn’t bring Laxus back to himself and soon. Would he remain like this? Would the tiny flicker of humanity that he could still feel through the bond disappear entirely? Is this how Laxus feels whenever I lose control? He wondered, feeling nauseous at the thought. He had never liked losing control or leaving it to his mate to pull him back, but the fear and doubt he was feeling right now, the sinking feeling of ‘what-if’ left a bitter taste in his mouth. For now, though he needed to focus on Laxus and bringing him back to himself, and he just hoped that he could.
“Laxus…” He called as he continued to approach, voice low and soothing as though approaching a wild animal, and maybe he was. He wasn’t sure how much of Laxus’ consciousness remained just yet, and until he knew, he was being careful. He’d already had a demonstration of what Laxus could do in this form, the ruined town was a testament to that, and before he’d lost consciousness he had seen more than one of the mages that they had been fighting go flying through the air, and he wasn’t eager to become the next one. “Laxus, can you hear me? Can you understand me?”
A rumbling noise greeted his questions, and for a terrifying moment, he thought that Laxus was growling at him, especially as the Dragon’s head shifted towards him. He’s huge, Freed thought, swallowing nervously as the great head moved towards him, fingers twitching with the urge to draw runes, even though he wasn’t sure if that would be enough if Laxus decided to attack him at this range or if he had enough magic left to do more than a basic defence. Then it was too late, and warm breath that smelt of ozone washed over him, the breeze of it blowing back his hair and making him stagger a little just before Laxus nudged him.
It was clearly meant to be a gentle nudge, but Laxus had clearly forgotten two things – one he was much larger than usual, and what would have been gentle in his human form was enough to knock Freed off his feet in this form, and two, that Freed was injured. Agony blazed through the Rune Mage’s chest as he fell backwards, and he couldn’t have held back the cry of pain if he’d wanted to, and there was a roaring sound in his ears as his vision whited out for a moment. He doubled over on himself, trying to protect the wound, but that made it worse, and he straightened with a cry, shadows dancing across his vision, and for a moment he was certain that he was either going to pass out or throw up or maybe both.
Belatedly, he realised that the roaring noise wasn’t just in his ears, and he blinked, urgently trying to clear his vision, breath catching as he looked up to find that Laxus had reared back on his hind legs, snarling and growling as the sky above them darkened further.
And the bond…
The bond was flooded with so many emotions that it made Freed even dizzier, each one whizzing past almost too fast for him to register, and amplified, as though Laxus was feeling everything more keenly in this form. And maybe he was because right now there was no balance between his Draconic side and his human side, everything tilted towards the Dragon.
A Dragon who however unintentionally had just hurt his mate.
“Laxus!” Freed tried to shout, but his voice cracked and broke, and his eyes watered. Gods, that had hurt, but Laxus was still snarling, and as the Dragon reeled, its tail swept out finishing the destruction of another house and Freed knew that he had to stop him now. “LAXUS!” He shouted as loud as he could, both aloud and through the bond, fire rippling across his chest from the effort, and he could feel himself listing to the side, sheer stubbornness keeping him upright as Laxus’ gaze snapped back to him. Fear and worry, tinged with guilt flooded the bond now, but more importantly, Freed could feel Laxus – not the Dragon, but Laxus… The man who insisted on sleeping curled around him regardless of where they were or whether the bed was big enough for both of them. Laxus who had got so flustered about admitting his feelings – even before Natsu had triggered his draconic side – that he had blasted a hole in the guild wall with his nervous energy. Laxus, who trusted his strength, knew that he was more than he looked, but was always there when Freed’s stubbornness had got the better of him.
However, it was the Dragon that lowered its head towards him once more, moving with exaggerated caution this time, like a child who had been told to be careful. It made Freed smile despite everything, especially when Laxus lay his head on the ground beside him, snuffling and clearly desperate to touch and move closer, but afraid too, a fear echoed in the bond. “Laxus,” he murmured, cautiously shuffling closer, biting his lip to stop himself hissing in pain and blinking to try and clear the shadows from his vision. He wasn’t sure what would happen if he passed out just yet and unwilling to risk it. Reaching out, he pressed a hand to Laxus’ snout, hoping that his mate wouldn’t register the trembling, realising belatedly that his fingers were bloody just as Laxus caught the scent and rumbled low, and angry in his chest. “I’m okay,” he lied, trying to sound reassuring, and the bond blazed bright with frustration just as the Dragon growled, and this time, he knew that it was at him. “All right, I will be okay…?” He offered instead, lightly stroking Laxus’ nose, surprised by how soft the scales were to the touch, and that seemed to mollify Laxus just a little as he huffed and pressed into the touch.
Laxus was warm and soft, and now that he was settling the storm was clearing, sunlight breaking through once more and now he really was breath-taking, scales shimmering in the light. Freed wanted to stay like that, admiring him and feeling Laxus calm both beneath his hand, and through the bond, more and more humanity shining through although the Dragon was still dominant. However, now that the immediate threat was over, he could feel himself beginning to slip, the pain rising again until each breath left an ache in his throat and chest. Despite his best efforts, he knew it was starting to colour the bond too when Laxus stiffened under his touch, tilting his head to peer at Freed. That distracted Freed for a moment because the look in the Dragon’s eyes right then was so human, so close to the one that greeted him whenever he found himself in the infirmary that it took his breath away. He’s still Laxus… He hadn’t really doubted, how could he when the bond hummed strong and bright between them, even when Laxus had been more Dragon than human, but the confirmation released a knot that he hadn’t been aware of in his chest.
It wasn’t enough to fight against the rising pain, or the growing pull of unconsciousness and Freed found himself listing further now until he was falling. Bracing himself for the agony that would come when he hit the ground, but Laxus moved faster, pressing in close so that Freed landed against the side of his nose, and Freed let out a breathy laugh that became a cough, and then a low moan as he patted Laxus. I think now would be a good time for you to come back to me, he thought through the bond, eyes beginning to close, and he was only distantly aware that Laxus had reached for him, carefully wrapping a large, clawed foot around him to stop him falling. I’m sorry, he added, wishing that he could have done more to bring him back to himself, even as his fingers curled against golden scales, and he felt warm breath against his face again… please come back to me.
He was almost gone, sinking deeper and deeper into the shadows, when the bond crackled with thunder and lightning in the back of his mind, and he felt the clawed toes holding him shift, soften and melt away… then he was falling again, not to the ground, but forwards until he came to rest against a warm body, even as arms came around him taking his weight and swinging him up off his feet as though he weighed nothing at all. “Freed?” It was the rumble of a human voice this time, and it was that more, than the burst of emotion that replaced the storm in the bond, that had him fighting to open his eyes again. Just a sliver, that was all he could manage. Still, it was enough to reward him with a glimpse of Laxus - human once more. Albeit for a scatting of golden scales across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose, the dragon still too close to the surface and likely to remain there for a while – peering down at him with worried eyes. Freed smiled, just the barest curving of his lips, all that he could manage as he pressed trembling fingers to Laxus’ chest, right over his heart, before letting go completely.
You came back to me…