Catch the Thunder

Childhood Bedroom

At the Justine mansion, the late afternoon sun streamed through the tall windows of the gaming room, casting a golden glow over the polished surface of a pool table where Laxus played solo. The sharp clack of the cue ball echoed in the otherwise quiet room as he sunk another shot, though his mind was not entirely on the game. Freed had been in a meeting with the family lawyer for hours.

Finally, the door creaked open, and Freed stepped in. His usual poise had been replaced by visible exhaustion. He leaned against the door frame for a moment, as if the weight of the day threatened to topple him.

Laxus immediately abandoned his game and crossed the room in a few long strides. "Hey, sit down before you fall down," he said, gently guiding Freed to a nearby leather armchair. "I'll get you a drink. Water or something stronger?"

"Make it a bourbon," Freed murmured, sinking into the chair with a sigh. Laxus went to a small bar in the corner with bottles of many types of alcohol, poured a tumbler glass of bourbon, and returned quickly. Freed gratefully accepted it and took a sip, smiling at the sweet, fiery taste.

"How'd it go?" Laxus asked, crouching in front of him, his hands resting on Freed's knees as if to anchor him.

Freed exhaled deeply, took another sip, and set the glass on a nearby table. "We worked out some of the legalities. I signed a mountain of paperwork." He gestured vaguely to the room, his expression somewhere between disbelief and resignation. "This is all mine now. The house, the estate, everything."

"Congrats," Laxus chuckled, though he could tell Freed was still grappling with the reality of it all.

Freed gave a faint smile. "I know this was the plan all along, but making it official feels... surreal. I keep thinking someone's going to say, 'Just kidding, gotcha good.'"

"And moving in?" Laxus asked, shifting to sit on the armrest of Freed's chair.

"The lawyer assured me that my father can't enforce any sort of residence requirement. Father didn't want to, anyway. The house is in my name, but I can live wherever I want." Freed's gaze softened as he looked at Laxus. "So we can stay in the condo."

Laxus grinned and patted Freed's shoulder. "That's great news." He added with a smirk, "Not that I don't enjoy hanging out in a mansion, but I like our place. Less people around, so I can have you naked all night long."

Freed laughed in exhaustion, too tired to even scold him. "Still," he said, his voice turning thoughtful, "it might be easier to stay here for a while, at least as we figure out the details. Father's coming back in a couple of days to finalize the paperwork, so we'll need to stay at least that long. I'd rather not bring lawyers into our condo."

"Hell no!" Laxus snapped. "Besides, I didn't know y'all had a pool table. Been ages since I played."

Freed blinked in surprise. "I never showed you this room?"

"Bickslow took me to a gaming room upstairs when we were at the garden party, but it was mostly Legos and gaming consoles. Have you really got two gaming rooms?"

"One was for us kids with video games and snacks, one was for adults with pool and a bar." Freed muttered in shame, "Did I really never show you around?"

"Well, we were busy exploring a different room," Laxus said with a low chuckle, his mind on the sex dungeon somewhere under their feet. "We've never stayed long enough to look around. Gotta admit, it might be nice to see the place."

Freed's face lit up despite his fatigue. "Then it's settled! We'll stay for the weekend, and I'll give you the grand tour. It's ours now, so you deserve to see the whole place."