@ironfanged

     “So tell me.” Gajeel’s had that air of insecurity around him before and now it was hesitation that got thrown into the pool of exposed emotions. Freed wasn’t going to permit it to expand, to give it a chance to linger - thus the abrupt and firm demand easily spilling from his lips. Facial expression would adapt itself to the tone of voice, insistent as a single brow arched up.

      His friend had his utter attention; it might seem silly or pathetic to the iron dragon slayer himself but the captain didn’t wish for him to even think of the idea that his feelings deserved to get treated as though they didn’t bear any validity. They absolutely did. And he would have been lying if he claimed that the way Gajeel acted didn’t remind him of the one or other situation they’d gone through together in the past. He didn’t blame him. No, he understood, and in moments like these Freed felt as though it was important to emphasize this again. “You know that I will listen, no matter what it is.”

@ironfanged

      Ah, an emotional low. Freed let the words sink in; he knew they were spoken under the circumstances of trust and sincerity. Gajeel wouldn’t just expose a vulnerable side of him towards just anyone and at any time. It was something they had in common; perhaps different in the nature but both of the men preferred to guard most of their emotions carefully more often than not. At least the ones they deemed of negative influence.

     “Don’t we all experience this feeling?” At times it was something that existed for only a short amount of time, and at other times this feeling was persistent and refused to vanish. It was urging and forcing itself into focus.

      The captain had to be even more cautious with the words he chose now, for the last thing that he wished for was to push any doubts Gajeel may have or make him feel as though this feeling wasn’t valid. Because it absolutely was. “What do you think is missing? Can you take a guess?” { Do you have any inclination, any idea? } Most people had but unconsciously kept it buried and didn’t permit it to emerge due the fear of exposure.

      Eyebrows curled, turquoise gaze cast down at the dragon slayer that was resting his head on his legs as he had allowed both of them to shift into a position that was more comfortable than the previous one. Freed sensed it; something unspoken lingered in the air between them and he wasn’t certain whether it was only wafting from his own being or Gajeel’s just as much. For there was something he thought of immediately, something they had broached before in the one or other conversation.

      Perhaps it was a person his friend was missing, and a specific feeling deeply connected to them. The craving to feel a certain intimacy on more than one level. It was a cliché assumption, Freed would confess, but one that proved itself to be true in many many cases just as much. He was half-tempted to give Gajeel a reassuring pat to his shoulder, though decided against it for now, hoping that his genuine interest and will to listen would be reassuring in its own sense.

@ironfanged

      Honestly, that wasn’t even an unusual occurrence anymore - Gajeel just flopping down on him. Actually, he could think of at least three people who liked to lay on him every now and then (one of them more than the others, but for a definite different reason); Gajeel, Bixlow and Laxus.

      And Gajeel wouldn’t receive the gesture that his other best friend would’ve drawn from him in all probability (the chance that he would’ve rolled his eyes at Bixlow heavily was high. honestly that seith mage liked to sprawl across his lap sometimes going full on diva, to annoy him and to get his attention).

     So after letting a moment of silence pass between them, he asked. “What’s the matter?”

meme // accepting // @ironfanged

     “Huh.” Short and snappy. Visible brow arched up expressively, he’d verbally as well as non-verbally challenge his friend to elaborate. All in majorly playful nature, of course. “I can explain the lightning, but will you explain the bad decisions?”

meme // accepting // @ironfanged

     “I’d say that’s a pretty accurate one.” Though the sharp curve of his lips would imply the opposite; or at least he hoped that it would. At times he did like to complain about the people that he held incredibly dear but those people knew him, and thus that, more often than not, he wasn’t actually serious.

      The one or other event came to mind, such that could explain where Gajeel was coming from here. One of those was fairly recent. And, truth be told, in the end he wasn’t one hundred percent certain anymore who of the people involved had suffered the worse consequence there.

@ironfanged

      He was just about to greet his friend when Gajeel cut him off before he could even say a word. That sudden exclamation genuinely almost startled him and a wild expression settled in his eyes for but a mere moment as the words didn’t encounter immediate processing this time.

      Shower? Funk?? He wasn’t smelling! Was he? What the hell?

      Words were already on his sharp tongue, ready to give his wonder a voice, when suddenly he stopped mid-thought thanks to something grasping at his attention. Wait- Right- … Ah.

      Dragon slayer senses at it again, huh??

      It was but a natural response that his face heated up just warm enough for an effect to be carried to the surface faintly, though Freed’s expression remained stubborn and almost judgemental as he grimaced at his friend with piercing eyes.

     “Alright. Alright, then I’ll go again-”

      Some muttering ensued but he did turn around and left his bestie’s side again.

@ironfanged

      It was sometime in the middle of the night (or very early morning; he hadn’t glanced at the clock) when he tried to leave their bedroom as soft-footed as possible, not wishing to rouse his husband from what thankfully seemed to be a pretty peaceful and deep sleep. There wasn’t much to hide from enhanced dragon slayer senses, so being a teensy bit extra careful with some things could never hurt.

      Primarily, it had been the simple need for a glass of water that drove him out of the warmth of the sheets but that wasn’t the only reason to keep him up for a few moments longer anymore. After Freed had taken the first few sips of his water, the realization of another energy made itself felt. Perhaps he’d been too contentedly sleepy the first short moments after he got out of bed but now he clearly sensed the close presence of another living being. A mage, to be precise. Magic energy.

      Frowning, he put the now empty glass back on the kitchen counter and made his way towards the front door just to check. His intuition had rarely failed him and this wouldn’t be the first time that somebody showed up on his door step in the middle of the night. Actually- oh.

      Eyes widened barely, not enough to be easily noticeable, but there was a definite change of expression in his look. The breeze outside grazed the bared skin of his torso, cold hitting the warm temperature, but that wasn’t any subject of his focus right now.

     “Gajeel?” Deep voice in clear wonder, he did no longer hesitate to crouch down and lay a palm upon one of the other man’s shoulders. To his immediate relief his friend’s breathing seemed even and no sort of injury was anywhere in sight. But then why was he here? Why was he sleeping before his house? He could have gotten into contact with him, he should have notified him!

      A sigh slipped past the captain’s lips as he gave Gajeel’s shoulder a squeeze before then shaking him slightly. Freed doubted that he’d be able to lift him up and carry him inside without Gajeel waking up from the movement, so he’d be awake one way or another. Okay temperatures or not though, it was never brilliant to sleep outside with nothing to keep oneself warm enough. So this had to change. And then he’d need to ask the question about the ‘why’ again.

     “Oi- Gajeel, wake up-”