I still have a couple of older drabbles I wanna upload and this is one of them! I had to change a few small things because man some sentences were horrible lmao but at least I improved a bit. There's more to change but I left it at that and hope you enjoy this playful thing nonetheless!

Right now it was quiet. Right now.

Out of the corner of his eyes Freed was observing the lightning dragon slayer, literally waiting for his next outburst. It was actually a wonder that it had been this quiet for so long!

…Great five minutes.

The two Fairy Tail mages were baking together, Christmas cookies for the guild, after Mirajane had asked the rune mage to assist her with this task because there were still other things to get done and since Freed was fairly skilled in the kitchen he was one of the individuals the eldest Strauss had chosen. Now, and why was Laxus in on it? Simply because Freed insisted to have him work together with him. Though actually, now that he spent some thought to it…Why was that? Why asking him for help? After all Freed knew that Laxus was…basically, an impatient, destructive, raging (though somehow cute) man in the kitchen?

"Fucking..shit..!"

Oh yes, the cuteness in this.

And yet, perhaps, the cute factor won this…Or that was probably what the rune mage told himself when getting inwardly desperate whilst watching the other and attempting not to freak out when one of his utensils broke. Again.

But the longer and closer Freed observed the other, the more his inner uneasiness faded. The anger got no chance to develop because damn, there existed not only a little cute factor but actually a huge one. His turquoise gaze now rested on the blond man as he was trying to prepare the correct mixture for the cookie dough. He appeared so clumsy and the green-haired male was certain that half of the time Laxus didn't even know what he was doing, or what he was supposed to do. This thought along with some similar ones settled in his mind and eventually they managed to tug the corners of Freed's mouth upwards, letting his lips form a chuckle, glancing at the other now in a obvious manner. And thus, Laxus took note of the intense gaze he received, giving a kinda awkward huff as he raised his own gaze from the dough - or rather, what was supposed to be dough - and stared back - or rather, attempted to do so. It became apparent quickly that the slayer felt highly uncomfortable with the situation he found himself in, trying hard to ignore the ever so tiny blush that sneaked onto his cheeks.

"What... are you starin' at?"

The actual tone of the other's voice shook Freed out of his train of thought, making him blink until his eyes pierced the other man once again, their greenish blue color glinting in an undefinable manner. The smile, however, showed no intention to vanish anytime soon.

"Nothing, Laxus."

"Yea, sure."

Another huff on Laxus' part, and a quiet chuckle on Freed's.

"…Could you quit that?"

"…Why?"

Sileeence.

Laxus should have expected Freed not to just stop looking at him like this, they knew each other for too long not to know something like this about the other and yet… It had him speechless. He was not willing to say the words 'Because it makes me feel awkward and I feel embarrassed and perhaps I'm always trying to get something done when being with you in the kitchen because I know I'm not the most skilled but I want to improve to impress you'. Nope, that was not going to work. Years would pass until he would admit this, probably.

"Hmph."

Wow, impressive. Yep, Laxus was going to leave it at that, there wouldn't be more words even though he could literally feel the smirk on Freed's features and he wanted to escape, but of course that was not what he was going to do. Escape? Ha! Never! Especially not escape from a ridiculous situation like this one! And nonetheless he got nervous like a little child. The impatience was nothing new, nor was the bold behavior although he knew that Freed did not approve of him playing… breaking his utensils like this. Either way, silence dominated the situation once again and this time the rune mage assumed that it would linger for a bit longer than before, given the fact that he took note of Laxus' awkward feeling. So maybe the rage would disappear a bit, at last. Albeit, the greenet decided to avert his gaze now, keeping the smile however, and proceed to prepare the dough he was working on. No doubt that this sight of Laxus was adorable, but staring at him for the rest of the day would lead to absolutely no result. If they were done, then there would be time for teasing again…Or surely, every now and then while they were working unless that caused Laxus to get upset to the point at which he stormed out of the kitchen. Granted, that was not was Freed wanted.

Suddenly, though, his fingers were tingling as in idea crossed his mind. A specific action connected with a certain person… Maybe not the best one of ideas… Especially not now… but perhaps it could relax the situation a bit? Or cause the exact opposite. That was for the future to know, and him to guess. To do or not to do the thing, that was the question. Slowly, his head turned to the side to focus Laxus who was struggling with his dough still and apparently he really tried to get something done now, appearing as concentrated as never before. Should Freed really ruin this…? Yes. Yes he would do the thing. Because it was not clear when the two of them would ever bake again, so this chance was not one to be wasted. Thus, his lips formed a fairly apologetic smile this time as he poked Laxus' shoulder to get his attention. And that smile let Laxus' inner alarm bells ring immediately, a frown forming on his features. Rare, such moments. A highly nervous Laxus.

"… What's with that face? Freed?"

A peck got planted on the blond's cheek and after that, the apologetic smile only grew wider.

"Freed… Freed what …I'm tryin' to work 'ere!"

Upon hearing these words and realizing Laxus' actual nervousness, the rune mage had to suppress a light laughter before he finally replied, though probably with no words the other wanted to hear.

"I'm sorry, Laxus."

And orange hues took on the shape of big round golf balls, staring at the greenet in disbelief and fingers clenching.

"Sorry? Sorry for what? Freed tell me, what are you-"

All of a sudden there was a huge difference in Laxus' outward appearance. One he would not approve of though one that finally educed hearty laughter from the rune mage once he had pressed his hand covered in flour against the other man's face. The result: Laxus' face was all white making him look like a huge, grumpy snowflake. Or something along these lines. The warm tone of the laughter resonated through their home while the blond looked everything but amused about this deed. Slowly, one hand reached up to brush along his face that was covered with the white stuff that was actually supposed to be in the dough and not on his face. Well, apparently someone had decided that this was the right moment to change this plan. A certain someone. With green hair.

"…"

At least he had apologized beforehand, Freed thought as he glanced at Laxus, seeing that highly unamused expression he was wearing.

"I.. Uh…"

Now Freed raised a hand, too, in order to hide his mouth so the laughing noise would cease but…without success. Instead, he accomplished a little waving gesture with his hand before taking a step back.

Time to run? Time to run.

So he did, turning around and dashing out of the kitchen, the laughter not dying. Narrowed to slits, orange eyes would observe this action, corners of his mouth twitching before a sound would slip between them.

"… FREED JUSTINE!"

And there he went, chasing after the rune mage, majority of his face still tinted white as it was covered with flour. The difference now, a little smirk was to be seen on the blond's lips this time even if it lasted only for a mere second.

Oh, he would get his revenge.