Catch the Thunder

Watches and Stones

Audio Drama: https://chirb.it/nDM88h

August burned through the days with heat waves and back-to-school sales. Laxus realized that his and Freed's anniversary was fast approaching.

He had been planning this for two months. Their actual anniversary was on a Thursday, which was awkward with Freed's job. He had already taken time off for the camping trip, so he could not risk missing even more work. Still, they planned a trip for after the anniversary day. Laxus already had plane tickets to Italy, although it was actually Freed who bought them. It would only be four days, so they had to plan smart. They found a flight that left very early Friday morning in order to touch down in Rome by noon. With an eight-hour flight, they would simply sleep on the plane and hopefully be rested for a day of madcap tourism, a "greatest hits" exploration of Rome.

They would stay Friday night there, and Freed really spared no expense. Since this would basically be their belated "anniversary night," he booked a suite at a luxury hotel.

On Saturday, they would take a train down to Positano, spend a romantic night on the beach with fine food and lots of historic places to explore. They chartered a boat to sail them to the isle of Capri on Sunday. Then they would take a train to Naples, have a few hours to explore, only to fly eight hours back home to Magnolia, sleeping on the plane, touching down very early Tuesday morning, so Freed could have enough time to shower and get to work.

As for Laxus, he had plans of his own. He had reservations for Le Sirenuse, a high-end restaurant in Positano with the best reviews on Yelp—he figured if it was good enough for the internet, it was good enough for him. He also hired two photographers, one in Rome for some touristy-romantic pictures around the ancient sites, and one in Capri, a photoshoot on the beach to commemorate their year of love. When he had mentioned that idea to Freed months ago, he really seemed to like it, and Laxus always kept that in mind. A photoshoot in Italy!

Laxus had just bought a bespoke suit at the mall, and now he was browsing through stores. These were all romantic ideas, but he felt that something was missing. After all, Freed paid for the plane tickets, the photographers, the suit that now draped over his arm, and Freed would likely be the one to pay for the meals.

What could Laxus do that was just from him?

The mall was crowded with people in summery attire. Parents walked with unruly kids, teens hung out with their friends while they still had free weekdays, and serious bargain shoppers went store to store looking for the best back-to-school sales, with cash registers cha-chinging away. Laxus hated shopping, and the mall was the worst. Still, it was the only place with a bespoke shop that was also on a bus route.

Not being able to drive seriously sucked sometimes.

He paused by a jewelry store and glanced in. Two ladies were fawning over earrings. A couple hanging on each other's arms were in serious discussion with a diamond expert while trying on engagement rings. A man was scanning the watches, holding his chin with a serious expression to mask the fact that he obviously had no clue what he was looking for.

Laxus drifted in, hoping to be inconspicuous, although that was impossible when you stood a head above everyone else and had a scar on your face that no one ever forgot. He was drawn to a display of rings for men, brightly lit so the jewels in the rings flashed in rainbows.

He saw one ring made of white gold, with a giant emerald surrounded by dozens of tiny diamonds, studded around the emerald and down along the band, lighting up the green gem in the middle like dozens of spotlights shining on a featured star. It was so elegant, an art deco style that he just knew Freed would like, and the huge emerald reminded him of Freed's hair.