Work Text:
The buzzing of the old overhead lights replicated the static that currently possessed Freed’s Justine’s mind. He was lying on a cot in the nurses office, face bruised and swollen, his body covered in cuts and scrapes. His clothes were torn, bandages ripped revealing a bit of his cleavage that he so desperately tried to keep hidden. They cut his hair with scissors, saying that if he wanted to be a boy so bad he better get rid of his girlish locks he kept so well maintained.
But neither hair or clothes made gender, nor what was in between his legs. He knew that, even if everyone tried to convince him otherwise.
Freed winced as he flipped onto his side. He was mad at himself, no, furious that he thought this school would be any different than the last. The bullying was still happening, and now that he was in a public school it was ten times worse. Now the guys picked on him too.
Maybe that’s why he was sent there, to have the trans beaten out of him. It wouldn’t surprise Freed, since his father was never accepting of his identity. The strict business man would not have his child anything less than perfect. It didn’t matter if he got the best grades, was good at sports, won awards. Freed was defective to his father, and the man was determined to make his life as miserable as hell itself.
‘It worked’ Freed thought, looking at his short messily cut hair. He felt grief, his hair was one of the things he was confident about and it was gone in the blink of an eye. It would take years to grow back to its former length.
Freed felt his eyes begin to well. The man hated crying, but with severed hair and ripped bandages he couldn’t help himself. He felt so disgusting, so exposed. The tears came quickly, a flood that Freed was unable to avoid. They overtook him, filling the empty room with his soft sobs.
At least, he thought it was empty. In the middle of his meltdown a voice broke through the haze.
“Hey, can ya keep it down? Heads killin me”.
Freed jolted. He looked behind him quickly to see a man laying on a bed across from him, staring into his tear filled eyes.
Freed quickly brought up his sleeve to wipe his face, not wanting to show weakness in front of the stranger.
“Ah….sorry, I will try to be quieter”.
Silence filled the room once more. The shock of the fact that he wasn’t alone startled the tears right out of him. He felt as if the man’s gaze was piercing through his entire being, those strong blue eyes filled with an emotion Freed couldn’t read.
“Do ya….need Porlyusica?”
The question snapped Freed back into reality.
“No…I am alright”.
“You sure? Those bruises look rough”.
The blonde gestured towards his face. Freed touched the blackness that was shadowing his eye.
“They are quite a sight, I suppose, but Mrs. Porlyusica has done all she can do at the moment”.
“You should be icing it” The man retorts.
“We are out of ice” Freed replies.
“Ah…” The man clicks his tongue. Suddenly his face shifts.
“I have an idea, I’ll be back”.
Before Freed can even get a word in the man stands up from the bed, and walks out the room. He sits up, dumbfounded. A few seconds later the blonde comes back with a bag filled with icicles. Freed stares at it as the man walks up to him.
“This should help” He gently pressed the bag of ice to Freed’s face. He hisses at the contact.
“Owwww”
“Sorry” The blonde dabs the ice around Freed’s eyes, “Tell me if it starts burning ya too bad”.
Freed nods, swallowing deeply as he looks up at the man above him. He was tall, definitely over six foot two, with blonde spikey hair, strong bold muscles, and a scar running down his left eye. The scar is shaped like a lightening bolt, which intrigues Freed.
After a few minutes the man stops, stepping back.
“There ya go miss, all set”.
Freed cringes at the pronoun, Laxus picks up on it and speaks once more.
“Mister”
Freed looks up at him wide eyed.
“What-
“Do you prefer mister?”
Freed blinks at the question. No one has ever asked him that.
“I-“
“It’s okay if you do” the blonde interrupts, “I have a friend, Bickslow, who is non-binary as fuck. Nothin wrong with it, in my opinion”.
Those words. Those words said so causally were words Freed wanted to hear his whole life. The man’s heart pounded in his chest, his face going crimson. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. His eyes flooded with tears once more, suddenly feeling very overwhelmed. The blonde man looked worried and unsure of what to do.
“Did I say somethin wrong?”
“No” Freed replied quickly, wiping the tears from his eyes, “You said everything right”.
He then offered the blonde a soft genuine smile.
“My name is Freed Justine, I just recently transferred here, what’s yours?”
A soft blush rose to the man’s cheeks.
“Laxus….Laxus Dreyar”.
Freed sticks out a hand, “It is nice to meet you, Laxus Dreyar”.
Laxus can’t help but smile back at the man, “Same here”.
—————————————————————————
*3 years later*
The air was warm.
Spring has just started in Magnolia, and today was the first genuinely warm day. When Laxus felt the weather outside an idea popped into his head.
His boyfriend, Freed Justine, was a romantic to his core. They had been together for two and a half years at this point, and everyday for Laxus was pure bliss. Sure, like every couple they went through there rough patches and hardships, but at the end of the day both of them were man enough to apologize and work through their issues. That way, when Laxus’ woke up the morning after, he would always find his boyfriend cuddling in his arms.
It was heaven, plain and simple. Every moment spent with Freed sent Laxus farther and farther into the clouds. He was so proud of the man he loved, he had come so far from where they first met. For example, just under half a year ago, Freed finally got top surgery. It was a journey sure, saving up all that money and finding a doctor who would actually do it, but the result was beautiful. His boyfriend was beaming now, his light shown so bright that it almost blinded Laxus. The flat chest the man always craved gave him such a boost in confidence once he finally had it. The scars were still visible, healing nicely but still there. Freed never minded, he said they were living proof that he was finally who he wanted to be. Bottom surgery was next, but that was still a long way to go.
Freed shifting in his arms brought Laxus back to reality. He had planned a picnic, plain and simple. Laxus wasn’t the best cook but he knew how to make Freed’s favorites, after many attempts of trial and error. After making all the food, he dragged Freed to a secret location, placing a blindfold over the man’s eyes. When they got there, and Laxus removed the blindfold, Freed almost passed out. The view was beautiful. It was on a small cliff at the edge of the city that overlooked the water. Freed loved it, knowing that, Laxus loved it too.
The couple chatted as they ate, talking about school, life, their relationship. By the end of it, Freed was resting against Laxus chest as his boyfriend stroked his hair soothingly. The rough fingers, so gentle against his scalp, lulled Freed to sleep. Eventually, Laxus fell asleep as well, leaning against a nearby tree with his boyfriend in his arms.
If you told the green haired boy, covered in bruises, clothes torn and bandages ripped, lying in the school’s infirmary, that this would be his future, he would laugh in your face.
But now, all these years later, as Freed rested in the strong arms of the man he loved so much, he knew that everything was worth it in the end. Meeting the man of his dreams in the nurses office wasn’t how Freed thought his future would go, but he wouldn’t ask for it to be any other way.