#froke

drabble request - Freed x Loke

requested by anonymous

"Holy shit, you two look... divine. Divine as hell in your case, baby," Bickslow teased winking in Freed's direction. The rune mage just rolled his eyes, contradicting the visibly content smile on his face.

Gray, getting curious because Bickslow had kind of been hogging the pages, snatched the magazine from his guild mate's grasp and scanned the photos that had been the result of last week's photoshoot.

"Oi oi, not so greedy. How 'bout ya get a copy of your own, huh?" But Gray either ignored him or he was instantly charmed by the pictures and if that was the case then Bickslow couldn't blame him for it. Their buddies, Freed and Loke who were sitting across from them right now, looked charming and hot as fuck at the same time.

For some time the Weekly Sorcerer had been forced to pause surveys and articles like the 'Top 10 Wizards I'd like to have as boyfriend' because the growing issues in the wizarding world had a huge impact on the entirety of society. But now that the peace had been restored for the most part, the more fun parts of the weekly magazine could return as well.

Loke and Freed had both been part of the ranking the second last time it was published. Back then, Freed had dropped in rank seemingly because he cut his hair and now that it was long again he had climbed up in the ranking again. The people seemed to love his long hair, really. Loke wasn't allowed back in the ranking because of technical reasons (him turning out to be a celestial spirit did influence the one or other thing) but he returned for a photoshoot as ex-ranked wizard. The crowd still loved him to bits, and that wasn't at all surprising.

Bickslow watched as Gray's eyes ran over the pages. His facial expression didn't reveal anything about how he was feeling about the pictures but he could feel that it wasn't leaving the ice mage's soul completely unaffected.

Speaking of souls... There was something interesting about the aura of the two men across from him and he was gonna find out what it was.

"Didn't expect it, but you two are a fuckin' good match," Gray muttered after a moment and put the magazine on the table, leaving the double page spread on display.

As it was Cherry Blossom season the photographer had decided to take the pictures in a Cherry Blossom setting. Loke and Freed were leaning against the rail of a bridge, Cherry blossom trees in the background. Single flowers were flying around them, highlighting their features, and the two of them managed to not only look absolutely elegant but charmingly casual at the same time. Both men were wearing dusty pink suits with white button up shirts but while Loke was wearing a bow tie, Freed was wearing a long tie partly hidden under a waistcoat. Since Loke was often spotted with a long tie and Freed with a cravat, the photographer had thought that it would be a good idea to switch it up for the photoshoot.

And it undoubtedly was.

"Why thank you Gray," Loke grinned, satisfied with his own pictures and that he could charm his friends. "But I knew that Freed and I would look stunning together. With so much style and good looks, what could have gone wrong?"

Bickslow raised a brow and looked back and forth between the celestial spirit and his captain. Loke was the king of flattery but there was definitely something else going on. He could feel it. Their souls were fluttering.

"Well... I thought the heart gesture was a bit too much," Freed pointed out with light chuckle, referring to the heart he was instructed to form with his runes, having them float above one of his hands while giving a flirty smile into the camera.

"What? I thought it was fancy, and much more special compared to the flowers I was given," Loke mused out loud and frowned. "But my wink looks on point, as it always does."

"I suppose only the Trimens can rival you in charm in spades." Freed shook his head and Bickslow became even more suspicious.

"Oh you think it's too much sometimes? No, you don't." Loke concluded immediately after asking the question and smirked at Freed who just barely raised a brow and then quickly turned his attention back to Gray and Bickslow.

"When does your photoshoot take place, Gray?"

"Next week. Kinda glad it's with Lucy."

"Bet if Natsu had been present in the ranking they would've paired you and him together." And Bickslow thought this to be a quite amusing sight to behold, actually. Gray just grimaced and Loke laughed. "Ya know, going over the rankings there's either spots for flirt machines-"

"That does sound kinda rude-" Loke chimed in, muttering.

"- or the mysterious calm guys. Example A and B." Bickslow gestured at both Gray and Freed while finishing the sentence. "These rankings discriminate the lively sunshine type, like Natsu and myself. That's rude."

"You call yourself a "lively sunshine type"?" Freed asked in disbelief, leaning back in his chair with crossed arms.

"You should know it best, baby." He joked and mirrored Freed's posture, just in a more lounging way. He had been known Freed for years, his light and his dark sides, and just like that Freed had also experienced Bickslow's most happy and most sad times. It was true that Bickslow was a loud and chaotic nature and generally positive nature, but sometimes it served as defense mechanism just as well. To bury other parts.

They knew as good as everything about each other as best friends, so there was barely anything that slid past Bickslow's recognition. And yes, his soul magic did assist him in some aspects.

"Well, you could count Sting as lively sunshine type, I guess. Both Rogue and him are in the ranking again," Gray continued to argue and shrugged, not really caring.

And that was the moment Bickslow lost track of the conversation for a moment because there was something much more interesting to focus on. By now, Loke had leaned back in his chair as well and not only that but it looked as if he had slid a little closer towards Freed. Their shoulders were touching now and he was sure that they hadn't before.

Now it wasn't something unusual for Loke to seek physical contact and gain comfort from it, but for Freed? Usually he didn't easily accept physical closeness and if he did want the physical contact then he'd often be the one to initiate it. There was a casualness about the two men that Bickslow had never noticed before. Perhaps because... It hadn’t been there until now? What had changed?

The seith mage tried to restrict himself from doing soul deep dives too often but this time the curiosity got the better of him.

There was a strong sense of contentment, no sign of discomfort. Definitely not on Loke's part but also not on Freed's. Bickslow found himself paying attention to more of their body language and noticed how there was always a light sway towards Freed coming from Loke, and Freed welcomed it.

Comfort, connection... Sensuality?

There were questions forming in his mind and he almost couldn't keep his lips from spouting a bolt comment.

Breaking his state of mesmerisation, Bickslow took a look to the left. Should he ask Gray if he had noticed something different about Loke and Freed later? After all Gray and Loke had been best friends for quite a long time as well.

Just then the conversation ended and Freed was looking at him, almost in a probing way. Oh no, had his scanning been too obvious? "Are you alright? You suddenly went awfully quiet."

"Oh, me? Yea, I'm fine," Bickslow reassured and grinned before abruptly changing the subject. "You two have somewhere to be, haven't ya? Ya better get going."

There was a pause and Bickslow felt Freed's piercing gaze on him before he answered. "You're right, we should head off before we miss the last appointment. So," Freed stood up and fixed his shirt before turning towards Loke, "shall we?"

"Oh, we shall."

The look Loke and Freed exchanged was anything but subtle or maybe that was just because Bickslow had excellent observation skills (or was he really seeing something that wasn't there?). The pair dismissed itself and then he wondered if Gray saw what he saw in the moment Loke turned around.

Hah, subtlety his ass! Did they really think nobody would notice? Or did they not realize that the evidence was right there? Evidence for what Bickslow thought what it was, at least.

He had no idea if there was a similar exemplar somewhere on Freed's body but at this moment the blaring hickey on the back of Loke's neck was all the confirmation the seith mage needed.