Catch the Thunder

To Guys

Loke dropped a heavy box and straightened up with a groan as he rubbed out his back.

"Well, this is the last of the stuff," he said.

Freed set a box down beside him. "Thank you so much, Loke."

"It's no problem," he smiled at the green-haired man. "Although I don't get why you'd take all of this out of storage now. It's not like you can't afford the monthly fees, and this new apartment was really clean. It's like moving in all over again, except without the professional movers."

"Yeah, I ... I couldn't use them," Freed muttered, looking around at the mounds of boxes. "If my father checked my credit account and saw that I hired movers again, he'd ask."

"So? Tell him you were moving Laxus' stuff in."

Freed glanced down at his ring. "I ... can't. I can't mention Laxus, not to my father."

"I see," Loke said awkwardly. "Daddy disapproves, huh?"

"Daddy actually gave his blessing," Freed smiled, thinking about the key to the playroom that he still had. "What Daddy doesn't know is ... is that I'm ... um..."

"That you're waiting for him?"

Freed looked up sharply.

"Hey, it's me," Loke said with a friendly smile, holding his arms out nonchalantly. "I've been your roomie for almost four years. I knew right away. I also know the real reason you moved away before finals. Staying in the dorm with me was too much. You lost your V-card on that bed."

Freed blushed. "Shut up. That wasn't the reason, either. I had already signed the lease before Laxus said he was leaving."

"So then it really was all the late nights with chicks and smell of condoms, eh?" Loke laughed.

Freed knew he was joking, so he decided not to tell Loke that all the distractions with Loke's prolific sexual activity really was the reason he moved out early. Then again, knowing Loke, he knew that was the true reason from the very beginning.

Loke went to the kitchen and grabbed two sodas. "Even crammed full of crap, this place is huge. It's big enough for two people." He handed one soda to Freed and straddled the arm of a couch. "Hell, maybe I'll move in, keep you company, liven things up around here."

Freed shuddered. "I don't think so, Loke," he said softly.

The ginger laughed good-heartedly as he cracked open the soda. "Kidding! I need my own place, strike out, build a love-nest for the ladies," he said with a wink. "We're working men now, you and me. Thanks a bunch for getting me that job, too. Sheesh, I was turned down everywhere. A diploma means jack-squat these days."

"I'm glad I could help you out," Freed said, and he took a drink of the soda to cool off the summer sweat.

"Like they say: it's not what you know, it's who you know. Being college roommates with the CEO's son has some perks," Loke grinned. Suddenly, he jolted as he realized what he had just said. He raised his hands up defensively. "Not that I'd abuse that. Hell, I just wanna pay off the student loans. If I can work my way up the corporate ladder, all the best, even if that means leaving you for a competitor one day."

"No company loyalty?" Freed chuckled with a joking scowl.

Loke stood, walked over, and clasped a hand on Freed's shoulder. "I'm loyal to friends, not to corporations. I've got your back, Freed. Being thrust into the role of a junior manager must suck, so if you need time to chill out, forget your duties, I'm always up for a night of drinking and debauchery."