i'd rather be a riot than indifferent

5. a difficult decision

Freed agrees to meet their parents for dinner, but insists on coffee alone with their mother first.

a/n: all of gray and freed's dialogue in italics is them speaking french

tw for misgendering and transphobia

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"I don't know what to do."

Freed sighed as Gray looked over at them, sprawled on the couch of the Pride Center, tablet resting on their stomach. They felt miserable. Gray stood up from the table where he was working, stretched, then moved to sit on the couch next to Freed.

"You mean about your parents?" Freed covered their face with their hands and grumbled something unintelligible. Gray sighed, nudging Freed until their head was resting in his lap. "You wanna talk about it?"

"Mmf." Freed turned, snuggling into Gray's stomach and pulling their baggy hoodie tighter around them. Gray tugged at the sweater.

"Bad today?"

"... yeah." Freed hummed as Gray ran a hand over their hair. "I was... I thought I was fine, and then I just..."

They shivered, trying not to think about the awful feeling that they had woken up in a body that wasn't theirs. Baggy sweaters had been a staple of their teenage wardrobe, but they'd been so much more comfortable with their appearance over the past few years. Ever since the incident with their mother last week, though, looking in a mirror had been... difficult.

"Did you talk to Ryos? When's he getting here?" Gray settled himself deeper into the couch.

"He said he'd be here in half an hour with coffee, remember?" Gray blinked in confusion and Freed rolled their eyes at him. "You stayed up and called Natsu last night, didn't you? You look exhausted." Gray's cheeks flushed pink.

"Well, I..." He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, yawning. "Yeah, I did." He sighed. "I really miss him. And I worry about him." His voice was soft and sad.

"I know," Freed said sympathetically, thinking of the news segment he and Laxus had watched last night about the fire. Over a thousand homes had been destroyed, and nearly eighty thousand people evacuated. People in smaller communities were being airlifted by the RCMP to Magnolia, and the flames were growing big enough to create firestorms. Gray had every reason to be concerned. "He's back on Friday though, right? Only five more days?" Gray hummed in agreement, eyes closing as he tipped his head back.

"Then they'll send him back out again next week," he said quietly, rubbing his temple with one hand. "It could take... months to get this under control." Freed squeezed Gray's arm sympathetically.

"How much sleep did you get last night?" they asked.

"...some?" Gray replied, opening one eye and glancing down at Freed. They frowned at him and he groaned. "Okay, two hours, I think? But once Ryos gets here with the coffee, I'll be..." He was caught off guard by an enormous yawn that brought tears to the corners of his eyes. "...fine," he finished lamely.

"Go to sleep," Freed said, laughing and pushing Gray back into the cushions. It was only six-thirty, and the Center didn't open until ten on Sundays. They had come early to work on camp materials, but it wasn't particularly time sensitive – July was still four months away.

"You too," Gray mumbled, hovering his arm over Freed's stomach and waiting for a nod before wrapping an arm around Freed. Freed shuffled a bit until they were comfortable, tucking one arm behind Gray and the other under their head. "You look like hell."