Laxus' POV
With my rucksack on my back, I've been wandering around Fiore for three months.
The first couple of weeks were rough on me emotionally. I know I did wrong, but at the same time I was only trying to help the guild become stronger so that we weren't attacked again by dark guilds and thugs.
I had enough money to stay at a hotel in Magnolia for a couple of days, but then I realised that I would need to work or try to budget, something I'm not usually used to since I'm capable of completing high paying guild jobs.
During my first week of expulsion, I considered joining my dad in his new guild, Ravens Tail; however, I was very conflicted on this decision.
If I did join the guild, I would have a roof over my head, I would get plenty of money for jobs and maybe I would be where I belong. On the other hand, after all the shit I've just been through, trying to follow in my dad's footsteps since I thought he had the right idea on how to run Fairy Tail, I realised that I would lose my soul entirely if I joined my dad and bended to his will.
Plus, if I were to ever get Freed back, I need to cut my dad out of my life for good and I need to remember what my life was like before I got overtaken with power and wanted to become stronger. Furthermore, I need to repent for abusing him.
I wander into a deep forest in East Magnolia, searching for a large tree covered in moss by a lake that I had heard about from Master Makarov. The only trouble with this description is the fact that there are lots of large trees covered in moss! In the distance, I see smoke rising and I speed up my walking to follow the smoke.
I emerge from the bushes and see the tree I was searching for and the smoke rising from a small makeshift chimney sticking out of the tree trunk, signaling that there must be someone inhabiting it.
I knock on the door and await for someone to open it. As the door opens, an elderly lady with pink hair and a red cloak greeted me with a not so friendly welcome. This is Porlyusica.
"You! What on earth do you think you are doing here!" Porlyusica exclaims as she grabs her broom and starts hitting me with it.
"I know I know! I'm sorry! I just need to talk!" I shout back as I try to stop the broom from touching me.
Porlyusica stops and holds the broom by her side. She gives me a disapproving glare.
"Your Grandfather almost died because of you and you've caused so much trouble for the guild as well as for the magic council, you should be grateful that Makarov didn't hand you to the magic council." Porlyusica explains.
"I know all that. I truly am sorry for my actions, that's why I came here." I reply dolefully.
"You know by now that I don't like having guests." Porlyusica states grumpily.
I get down on both knees and look up at Porlyusica.
"Please. I'm desperate." I beg.
Porlyusica continues to stare at me like an unwanted piece of crap on her shoe, until she sighs and walks towards her home.
"Come in and have a cup of tea." Porlyusica says with a begrudging voice.
I get up from the ground and duck my head down as I walk through the front door into the tree house.
Inside, there are bottles filled with herbs and liquids. There are tubes, round bottles, slim bottles, pots, pans, Bunsen burners, all sorts. The fireplace is burning as I sit down on the burgundy sofa and observe the hundreds of books on her shelves, the texture of the tree trunk that acts as the four walls to her house and the ceramic paving stones on the ground.
Porlyusica has been a long time friend of the guild and of Master Makarov. She is a medicinal mage and looks after the health and wellbeing of the guild members when they fall ill. The only down side to her is that she isn't fond of humans, she thinks that we just like to fight to solve a problem... although I think that's only true of Fairy Tail.
I get handed a cup of green coloured tea from Porlyusica before she sits down opposite me.
"What sort of tea is this?" I question as the tea isn't what most of us normally drink.
"Don't be such an ungrateful brat! Just drink it!" Porlyusica exclaims as she wacks me from afar with her broom.
"AH! Sorry..." I complain as I start drinking the tea.
"So, what did you come here for, sympathy?" Porlyusica asks in an uncaring way.
"If I'm really that much of a bother to you I can just go." I reply grumpily as I put my cup on the coaster.
"I just don't see how I'm going to be of any help to you unless you're injured." Porlyusica states.
I sigh as I pick up my cup and take another sip of my tea.
"As you know I have nowhere to go or anyone to talk to who's close to me. Also, as you probably already know, running to my deadbeat Dad isn't gonna solve my problems." I explain as I cross my left leg over my right knee.
"Well, at least you are smart enough to figure that out." Porlyusica replies with a small smile.
"Yeah. I just don't know where it all went wrong. Initially I hated my Dad for what he did to me and my Mum, then I got angry when he was kicked out of the guild because he's family and I only grew stronger because of him. To fuel the fire even more, I tried to become a better guild member and offered to help Gramps run the guild and before I know it, I'm enraged and power hungry and hurt Freed on quite a few occasions. How can I bounce back from all of that?" I question.
Porlyusica stares at me momentarily. Normally at this point she'll just shout at you for being stupid and kick you out, but this time she's thinking.
"I can understand to a certain extent why you lashed out the way you did. You've never truly had a stable role model to follow, the only person who comes close is Makarov, but he's stubborn and thinks he knows it all and can do everything himself just like you, even in his old age. I think he should've given you a chance to take on some of his workload for experience; however, I do agree with him on the point that you weren't ready to become guild master, you hadn't matured enough, and the actions you committed towards the guild was solid evidence of that." Porlyusica explains.
"I realise that now. I just wish I could be forgiven and accepted into the guild again, not for me, but for Freed. I seriously let him down." I reply with sincerity and remorse as I feel like I want to burst into tears.
"Ah, Freed. I remember him now, I treated him when you were younger. You're still really close friends?" Porlyusica asks.
"We were, then we realised we were in love with each other and entered a relationship together." I answer.
"Hm, so that's how it is these days. I must really be getting old." Porlyusica comments.
"You're not the first one to say that." I reply.
"I presume you have split up then." Porlyusica says.
"I had to break it off with him, it's part of my punishment for the way I treated him. I was disgusted at the way Ivan treated my mum, and yet I practically did the same thing to Freed, it's like I was cursed." I respond.
"You are nothing like that piece of scum, Laxus. All you did was make a huge, silly, string of mistakes and in the end it was a case of three strikes and you're out. Did you apologise to Freed?" Porlyusica asks.
"Yeah." I reply.
"Did he accept your apology?" Porlyusica questions further.
"Well, yeah." I answer.
"Then what's the problem? I'll tell you what the problem is since you haven't figured it out already. The problem you have is yourself." Porlyusica states.
"I knew you would say that." I grumble.
"I haven't finished. The problem is yourself; because, you losing Freed was initiated by you even though you had patched things up with him. Although you have been chucked out of Fairy Tail, instead of moping around doing nothing, why don't you try to help the folk 'round Magnolia to regain your reputation and give something back. Makarov won't stay mad at you forever and he knows that you're not an evil asshole like Ivan is. If he hears good things about you from those in town then he might consider reinstating you. Does this answer your existential crisis?" Porlyusica asks with her arms crossed and her blood slowly boiling from frustration.
Overwhelmed by Porlyusica's harsh but wise words, I take time to absorb it all. I recognise that what she said is true and that maybe I have been acting like it's the end of the road for me. If I can just regain trust with the townsfolk, then maybe I might just be able to prove myself to Gramps as well as Freed.
I stand up and approach Porlyusica, towering over her. I grab her in my arms for a hug of gratitude, until she starts hitting and kicking me.
"Get off me!" Porlyusica shouts.
I release Porlyusica as I head towards the door quickly, before she has a chance to batter me with her broom. I leave the treehouse and turn around to see Porlyusica standing in the doorway with steam coming out of her ears.
"Thank you for everything. Anytime you need a favour, I'll be there!" I shout to her before jogging through the forest towards Magnolia town.
Porlyusica had a small grin arise on her face as she leaned against the door jam.
"Crazy kids. Makarov, I hope you know what you are doing." Porlyusica mutters to herself.
Normally, mediocre and small chores don't appeal to me when it comes to job requests, my lightning is meant for more than that, but maybe it's a sign that I need to learn to be humble rather than act like top dog all the time, I think it's something that Freed has been telling me subtly for a long time.
I draw up a sign, grab a wooden crate to sit on and wait in the centre of Magnolia town for people to ask me to help with any jobs they need doing that requires electricity and lightning.
Bored, I've been waiting around for an hour, but finally, an old lady approaches me.
"Hello young man, haven't I seen you before?" The elderly lady asks with her sweet but frail voice.
"Probably, I'm the Master of Fairy Tail's grandson." I reply.
Usually, this question would get on my nerves, but I just have to accept it for now.
"Yes, Laxus isn't it. Well Laxus, the electricity in my house hasn't been working for a couple of days now and I'm starting to run low on candles and other means of powering my appliances." The old lady explains.
"Well, you've come to the right wizard. Let's have a look." I reply.
I follow the elderly lady to her house and she points out where her electricity meter is. As I observe the various dials, switches and whatnot, I notice that one of the cables has been cut in half... chewed through to be more concise.
"I think you have a rodent problem." I state.
"Oh dear, I'll have to find a humane trap to catch the sneaky little things. Is there anything you can do to fix the cable?" She asks.
"I think it's gonna require a professional to replace the cable, but I can offer a temporary solution for the time being." I reply.
In my rucksack, I take out a crystal lacrima and hold it in the palm of my right hand. I generate the lightning in my body and concentrate it to the lacrima, filling it with lightning magic energy. I place the lacrima into this small crater on top of the electric meter and the house lights begin to turn on.
"Oh! Thank you so much young man." The old lady says graciously with a big smile on her face.
"No worries, this should last you for three to four days, so I suggest you ring up an electrician now and get them to fix your cable as soon as possible." I respond.
"You are a true blessing. Here is 100 Jewel, it's not a lot considering what you usually get for your jobs, but I just hope it'll show my gratitude." The old lady says as she hands the money to me.
"The bright smile on your face is gratitude enough, thank you." I smile.
"Ooh, you flirt. It's nice to know there are still gentleman around in the younger generation, you will make a fine guild master one day. Keep up the good work." The old lady says kindly.
"I will, take care now." I say before leaving the house and returning to my post in Magnolia town.
Since completing that one task, I started getting requests from lots of people, from supplying electricity to households to making a kiddie ride operate. I felt an enormous sense of pride and I felt really good for helping out all of these people who I once resented and wanted to hurt.
Third person POV
"There you go sir, hopefully that's enough magic power to get you to Hargeon on that bike." Laxus says.
"Thank you Laxus, you've been a massive help." The middle aged man replies.
Lucy, Natsu and Wendy walk along the canal and see Laxus helping the townsfolk.
"Is that Laxus!" Natsu exclaims.
"I thought people said that he left town, I can't believe that's actually him." Wendy replies.
"I've been hearing rumours that he's been helping everyone in town with small jobs to say sorry." Lucy says.
"Laxus, doing small jobs? That's not the Laxus I remember." Natsu laughs.
"Don't be so mean, I think it's nice that Laxus is trying to reform. I feel sorry for him that he's still been kicked out of the guild." Lucy explains.
"Doesn't Master Makarov love Laxus anymore?" Wendy asks.
"It's been complicated. Master still loves Laxus, but after what he did I think it really hurt his feelings." Lucy replies.
"I think he's being a fool. I really want to challenge Laxus at the S-Class trials this year, I bet Gramps won't let him back in before that." Natsu complains.
"You don't even know if you're in the trial yet." Lucy replies.
"It won't be long, apparently they're announcing the competitors tomorrow morning." Natsu says excitedly.
"Why would you want to fight Laxus? I thought he was really scary." Wendy asks.
"Don't pay any attention to him. Laxus isn't that bad, he may appear tough and intimidating, but I think he has a good heart, he just made a costly mistake." Lucy answers.
"He's still family in my eyes, hopefully Gramps will see sense and let him join the guild again. Let's go." Natsu adds.
The three Fairy Tail members walk away as Laxus continues searching for good deeds to complete.
Laxus' POV
It's been almost two weeks since I've been helping everyone around town and it's been really good for me, I feel like I've grown a deeper appreciation and bond with those that we are meant to protect and it's made me rediscover what the Fairy Tail guild stands for and what I should be doing as a member if I were to be accepted again.
The only thing missing for me, is seeing Freed's beautiful smile every morning when I wake up, his scent, his long, green hair resting over my arm, his gentle lips caressing mine when we kiss and his good hearted nature. I would give anything to see him again. I miss him terribly.
I travel to Hargeon for another job as a merchant needs help loading his stock onto a boat heading North of Fiore. It's not a job that requires my magic ability; however, there have been some jobs where people have required my brute strength.
I reach the harbour and meet a young man that is of a similar build to Freed. He has dark green hair that reaches the bottom of his nape and he's wearing a wine red, ribbed jumper with black trousers and cream coloured boots. Oddly, he reminds me of Freed.
"Hi, my name's Tim." Tim smiles as he extends his hand to me.
"Laxus." I reply as I accept Tim's handshake.
Holding Tim's hand, it gives me goosebumps. I've not felt like this in months.
"Cheers for helping me today, it must be nice having big, toned muscles like yours. You must work out." Tim mentions as he starts loading the smaller crates on the boat.
"Yeah." I chuckle lightly.
As I grab one of the boxes, my eyes are drawn to Tim's ass as he is bent over to place the boxes in the boat. Tim turns around and I quickly avert my eyes as I realise what I'm doing. I can't help but blush. I don't know what's come over me.
"You okay Laxus? You look a bit hot." Tim says.
"Oh. I might be coming down with something. I'll be alright." I reply.
"Don't pull the wool over my eyes, let me check your forehead." Tim says as he puts his hand against my head, causing me to flinch initially.
"You are a bit hot, but fortunately I don't think it's a fever, it's probably because of the work you're doing, I must admit I'm getting a bit warm myself." Tim states.
Tim removes his jumper, which causes him to lift up a bit of his t-shirt underneath, revealing a hint of his abs.
All I want to do is just make out with him like crazy. He's so fit.
"I wonder if he's gay." I mutter.
"Excuse me?" Tim questions, chuckling awkwardly.
My face is as red a blood as I realise what I just said. This isn't like me at all!
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to say that..." I stutter.
"It's fine, I'm not offended. I'm quite open about my sexuality." Tim replies.
"So, you are gay?" I question as I continue loading boxes onto the boat, what I should've been doing in the first place.
"I'm actually bisexual, but I tend to steer more towards men than women. If I'm gonna be perfectly honest, I really fancy the pants off you right now." Tim jokes as he helps shift the boxes around on the boat.
Warning signs flash in my head, someone is making a move on me. I become flustered as I'm unsure of what to say. What would Freed think? Actually, would it even matter right now? It's not like we're together anymore.
"Thanks... I kinda feel the same way about you actually." I respond with a small smile.
Tim gets off of the boat and approaches me. He wraps his arms around my neck and draws me closer to him. My heart pounds faster as our faces are literally centimetres away from each other.
I place my hands on Tim's waist and like the feel of his well toned body.
"I think we have chemistry, Laxus. Shall we prove that theory?" Tim asks.
Adrenaline rushes through my body as my lips come into close contact with Tim's. I can't stop myself, it's like I'm in a trance.
BANG! BANG!
Me and Tim pull apart from each other suddenly as I try to figure out where the noise is coming from.
"What was that?" Tim asks.
"I don't know." I reply.
I walk along the boardwalk as far out as I can to try and locate the sound. I close my eyes and I feel like I can sense something...
"I wish Laxus were here, we could really use him right now."
I hear someone almost trying to communicate with me, like they're whispering in my ear...
"I love you..."
I hear more words, the same faint voice, it's so familiar to me...
"Freed!" I exclaim.
Tim runs up to me and places his arm around me.
"What's up?" Tim asks.
After hearing Freed call out, I snap out of my almost hypnotic state and quickly push Tim's arm off of me.
"I'm sorry. I have to go now, but also, there's someone else in my life. I thought things were over between us, but I realise that I still love him and he feels the same." I explain.
I get ready to run off of the boardwalk and transform into my lightning state before Tim grabs me suddenly by my wrist.
I turn to look at him as he offers me a disappointed but kind smile.
"The guy you love is very lucky. Thank you for helping me." Tim says with slight melancholy in his voice.
"I'm glad I could help and don't give up, you are a really lovely guy, there will be someone out there that will be head over heels in love with you." I say positively before shooting across the sea as lightning.
I try to travel as fast as I can to Tenrou island, knowing that Freed is in danger alongside everyone else in the guild.
"Hold on you donut, I'm gonna save you no matter what." I mutter to myself.
As I get closer to the island, I notice a floating ship as well as the remains of coloured smoke falling towards the ground. Something or someone must've disrupted the S-Class trial.