Crushed To Love ↬ Gildarts x Reader

chapter ²⁰

Waking up in the guild's infirmary room wasn't what you expected when you woke up.

According to Wendy, you had collapsed due to an overuse of power on your end. Though, truthfully, you didn't need her to tell you that. You didn't want this to turn into a big deal, so you told her not to tell anyone. Fainting wasn't anything scary compared to what others had been through. The only people who knew were the teammates you had travelled with.

Currently, the lighting dragon slayer was in the infirmary with you, concerned but also amused by this ordeal.

"This is a bit funny." He said, turning away from you to hide his laughing face.

You glared at him for a few seconds and, not being able to keep a straight face, giggled.

"But seriously, don't do that again. We're.. friends, aren't we? You should be able to depend on me."

Laxus was someone who would rarely call others his friends. Usually, he would refer to you as a comrade or a partner. So this meant a lot to you. It was nice to see his kind side in a public setting every once in a while.

"Thanks, Laxus. I will." You hugged him slightly, knowing that he didn't like too much affection.

After letting you hug him for far longer than you expected, he let go and stood up.

"Well, I'm glad you're okay. I'm out. Try not to make Gildarts worry too much."

You gave him a wave and watched as he exited the room.

'This is embarrassing..'

You covered your face with your hands and turned away from the door.

°

You had just one hour left until you could leave the infirmary. What to do with this time...?

You could count the number of tiles on the ceiling. Or count how many slaps you wanted to give yourself for getting into this position.

Lucky for you, you didn't have the chance to do so as Gildarts immediately entered the room.

The air was thicker than it was usually for some reason..

He calmly sat down on the bed and waited a minute before speaking.

"You scared me back there. You okay?"

"Yeah, sorry about that... I'm alright."

"I heard this is because you've used up all your power fighting off those things."

You nodded and looked away from him. You took notice of his bandaged arm, and a sudden urge of guilt washed over you.

He was already injured, and yet he was able to fight perfectly...

"You don't have to overwork yourself, Y/N. You should know your own limits by now. If you needed help, you could have asked. Laxus and I were there, weren't we?"

You stayed quiet and smiled at him. That wasn't the problem.

Sighing, he took a look at your expression, "This isn't the actual problem, right?"

You grinned at him guessing what you were thinking and getting it right.

"Yeah... you're right. I know my limits, but I just... thought I'd be fine this time around."

He asked why and scooted closer to you.

"I just thought I was stronger than this. I've actually been training since I last saw you. With Natsu and Gray. To fight better. It's been a year since then, and I thought I had grown capable enough to take out enemies with more ease."