i'd rather be a riot than indifferent

6. disappointment and reconciliation

Freed and Laxus meet in real life, but it doesn't go the way Freed had hoped.

tw for transphobia and misgendering

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Nine and a Half Years Ago

"Freed! Stop flirting with your boyfriend and give me a hand!"

Freed glanced up from their phone and shoved it hurriedly in their pocket, saving the rest of Laxus' messages for later. They peeked their head around the stairs and looked down to see Ever glaring up at them.

"He's not my boyfriend," Freed said petulantly, sliding around the bannister and taking the steps down two at a time. Ever gave them a look and rolled her eyes affectionately.

"Sure he isn't," she said, gesturing for Freed to grab the end of an enormous dog kennel that she was trying to pull into the house. "You moped for days when he went to that town with no wifi and couldn't message you."

"I wasn't moping," Freed insisted, pushing their hair out of their eyes and grabbing the end of the kennel. Between the two of them, they managed to maneuver it into the far corner of the living room.

"So, how is he?" Ever asked, setting the kennel down with a sigh and stretching her arms up until her bellybutton piercing showed. Freed shrugged. "You're such a teenager," Ever complained, and Freed glowered at her. "Alright, go write sappy messages to him. But Bix is gonna be home in an hour with Lily and we're having dinner together, alright?"

"Yes, mom," Freed grinned at her, letting her hug them briefly before dashing back up the stairs and into their room.

The spare room had been converted into an actual bedroom, complete with a double bed and a small desk for Freed to do their schoolwork. Bix had managed to get them into an 'alternative learning program' to help them complete high school – even though they were technically not a Canadian citizen – and over the last six months they'd nearly finished their diploma.

Freed flopped onto their bed, digging their phone from their pocket and swiping to Laxus' most recent message.

greasedlightning . 27m
Sorry I haven't written much. Dad's been really nosy lately so I've been writing to you from the bathroom of the RV. If he found these messages... well, it wouldn't be pretty. I can't wait until we're not on the road anymore and I can get more time away from him. Waking up in the same place every morning will be nice, even if he's still around.
I hope things are okay for you. How's your schoolwork? I think about you every day.
Love, Laxus

Freed sighed, frowning as they pictured Laxus hiding from his father in a tiny washroom. Over the last six months they'd messaged each other nearly every day, and Freed had slowly started to realize that they were more than a bit infatuated with Laxus. They couldn't remember the first time one of them had signed their message with 'love', but it still gave Freed chills to see it.

runique . now
I'm sorry your dad is such an asshole. I wish you could come here and...

Freed shook their head, deleting the message and starting over again.

I'm sorry things are shitty with your dad. It's exciting that you're finally going to stop somewhere for a while – hopefully it's somewhere warm and sunny! The beach here is beautiful right now and I think you'd like it...

Freed groaned, dropping their phone on the bed and burying their face in the pillow. Everything they wrote sounded idiotic. What was wrong with them? It wasn't as if Laxus was going to end up here – Canada was an enormous country, and the chance of them even being in the same province was astronomically low. But every time Freed's phone buzzed, something flipped in their stomach, and their cheeks flushed red. They liked Laxus, and even though he migh-