Catch the Thunder

As Angry As a Bear

Finally, they exited the forest and the massive cabin came into sight. Laxus went in and immediately headed to the bathroom, just to play along with his lie that he wanted to return to take a dump. Freed went about putting the camping gear away. All that preparation, and they hardly used it.

"Sooooo..."

Freed rolled his eyes as soon as he heard Bickslow's voice. Glaring over, he saw his brother in the doorway to the kitchen with Lisanna right behind him.

"Are you okay? Your ass sore? Or is that why Laxus ran to the bathroom so fast? Damn, Freed, ya gotta be more gentle with your boy toys."

"Bickslow!" Lisanna scolded with a titter.

"None of your business. I don't ask you about Lisanna."

"Well, if ya wanna know..."

Lisanna gasped. "No!"

"Not interested," Freed shouted, clapping his hands over his ears.

"Hey!" Evergreen yelled from the kitchen. "If we have two more mouths to feed, how about one of you help me with this stove."

Lisanna immediately bounded back. "Oh, I'll help. I love to cook."

Bickslow came up to Freed and lowered his voice. "But seriously, is everything okay? Laxus looked a little weird."

"Weird?" Freed asked in concern. "How?"

"Paler than usual. Maybe ... angry? Scared? It's hard to tell on that guy. His resting face is a solid 'piss off, I'm drinking.'"

"Maybe he ate something bad," Freed mused. If he was pale and wanted to race to the house, it could be intestinal. "I wonder if it was the s'mores."

"Maybe you two can go out again later this week." He jabbed Freed in the ribs. "I hope you at least got in a little fun while you were out there, all alone, just the stars and the animals to watch you."

Freed smirked and walked past him before he had a chance to blush. "Again, none of your business."

Still, the night before played through his mind, along with things Laxus had said. It was obvious he was plotting something. What? Freed wanted to know, and he also wanted to be thrilled by the surprise. He decided to leave it to Laxus. As a dom, he took great pleasure in planning scenes for Freed to enjoy. Freed just hoped it was something on the same level as his weekend as a pet. He still shivered inside whenever he thought about that.

He shoved those fantasies aside as he entered the kitchen and saw Lisanna and Evergreen at the stove, the petite girl obviously at ease with cooking while his sister looked ready to flee the kitchen altogether.

"Take a rest, Ever," he said. "Since I'm the one who came back without warning, I'll do the cooking."

Evergreen bolted away from the stove and collapsed into a chair. Although she looked flustered by her inability to cook, yet determination to not look foolish, she also had no problem leaving the work to others.

"Why are you back?" she asked.

Freed shrugged. "Laxus said he wasn't feeling well."

"It wasn't my food," she insisted.

He laughed as he tried to rescue some hash browns she had started up. "No, probably too many marshmallows. I just hope he didn't drink any of the stream water. The last thing we'd need is a Legionnaire's Disease breakout."

A few minutes later, Laxus came out. The family said nothing about his stomach or what happened. Breakfast was done, they all sat at the table, and Freed and Lisanna catered to everyone.