Catch the Thunder

Reloaded

Freed and Laxus were busy talking and laughing, lugging their bags and suitcases behind them as they left the elevator to their condo. Freed looked toward the door down the hallway, prepared to pull out his keys, when they realized there was a man standing there, tall, slim, and dressed in a tuxedo. Immediately, the man bowed.

"Welcome home, young master."

"Bas?" Freed asked in surprise.

Laxus' eyes narrowed. "Why the fuck is your dad's butler here?"

Bas straightened up. "My apologies. I have a message, one that was too sensitive to be delivered over the phone, so I took the liberty of checking your social media to figure out the approximate time you would be home. I miscalculated and arrived here an hour early." He muttered, "I forgot how reliably late commercial airlines can be." He then rushed forward and took the massive suitcase out of Freed's hand. "Allow me to get your bags, young master."

"It's fine, really," Freed said, feeling awkward at being treated as the young master here, in a place far removed from that life, where he and Laxus had been living fairly normal lives. Freed rushed to open the door before his neighbors saw.

When Bas looked ready to take Laxus' suitcase as well, the brawny man tightened his hold.

"I can get it myself."

"Very well, sir."

Laxus walked in, grumbling under his breath, "He's young master, but I'm only sir?"

After they were inside and Bas had secured the luggage, Freed asked, "So, what is it?"

"You must come back to the house."

"And you had to tell me that in person?" Freed shook his head. "We'll drive over there tomorrow..."

"Today, young master. There is a lawyer already waiting to settle some legal issues with the estate."

"What's the rush?" Freed asked suspiciously.

"Master Llewellyn wants you to assume ownership before Christmas."

Freed's jaw dropped. "What? No! I wasn't planning to move in there for at least a year or two."

"Freed," Laxus said calmly. "Maybe we should see—"

"No!" he insisted. "We just got this place. I like it here, just the two of us in a nice place of our own, far away from all of that bullshit."

"Freed." Laxus walked up to him and held his shoulders. "He wants you to take over the house, but that doesn't mean you have to live in it, right?" He glared back over at Bas. "Right?" he growled.

The thin man replied stiffly, "While that did seem to be Master Llewellyn's intention, there is nothing in the trust, will, or other legal documents forcing you to sleep there."

"Exactly," said Laxus. "Rich folks own multiple houses all the time. Hell, your family has that cabin, and apparently some summer house too. The mansion can be our summer house. No one is saying we have to get rid of the condo."

"Not yet," Freed grumbled. "That's absolutely the sort of stipulation he would make at the last minute."

"He hasn't yet. Come on. Let's just go and see what your old man wants."

Freed sighed and sank a bit. "We just got home. We've been on that plane since yesterday. I'm exhausted."

"We can sleep after we get there. You don't want to keep a lawyer waiting. They'll probably sue."

Bas added, "I have the car ready, young master."

"What about your motion sickness?" Freed protested to Laxus. "You kept popping those anti-nausea pills through the whole flight. I don't like the idea of you overdosing on them."