Catch the Thunder

The Best Sub

After dinner, they went back to the car. Freed settled in, but he saw Laxus had his phone out, apparently texting someone.

"Something up?" he asked.

Laxus quickly put the phone away. "Nah, just a friend trying to chat."

Freed frowned. That seemed suspicious. Just a friend? How many friends did Laxus even have? As far as Freed knew, he did not hang out with other people on his own. He let it go, though.

"We should sleep a bit. It's a really early flight," Freed said as he buckled his seat belt.

"Nah, I plan on staying awake through the night so I can sleep on the plane. If I sleep now, I won't want to wake up, and if I'm awake on that airplane, I'll just get sick."

"Do you have those pills?"

"Yeah, yeah. Both the ones for nausea and the ones to keep me knocked out for eight hours." Laxus glanced over as Freed began to pull the car out of the parking lot. "Hey, would you be okay if we stayed up a little longer?"

"Did you want to go somewhere?"

"No, back home, but ... well, I have a little gift for you."

Even with the blue glow of the dashboard lights, Laxus saw Freed blushing. "I told you, my ass shouldn't hurt for such a long flight."

"Not that, you slut." He chuckled that Freed's mind actually was rather dirty. "You'll see. I just don't promise you'll be getting to bed early."

Freed bit his lip to hold back his intense curiosity. However, as he began to drive, Laxus fell quiet, putting a fist to his mouth to fight the sickness.

They drove back to the condo. Laxus pulled out his phone and sent another text. Now Freed was really curious what that was about, but Laxus shoved the phone back into his pocket without a word. They went up the elevator. At the door, Laxus put a hand on Freed's shoulder.

"Close your eyes."

He let out a small huff. Dramatic a bit? Still, he shut his eyes.

Laxus waved his hand in front of Freed's face. "Okay. Keep them shut." Then he leaned into Freed's ear. "That's an order from your master."

Instantly, Freed's heart began to race. Laxus was setting up something, a new scene, and it was going to be special, Freed could already sense that. As Laxus guided him forward into the apartment, Freed sensed something was different. It was warmer, there was the smell of cologne and alcohol, and he thought he heard noises. He really wanted to open his eyes, but Laxus had given him an order. He kept walking, and now he heard a sniffle to the side.

Someone was there!

"Okay, open them."

When Freed opened his eyes, he instantly gasped. There was a party set up and a group of people.

"Surprise!"

Natsu bounced forward, grinning wildly at Freed. "One year! So awesome, you two. Congrats."

"N-Natsu?" Freed whispered.

Gray came up next with a drink in his hand. "Yeah, I'm surprised you lasted this long with the big lug, but I'm glad you two are happy. And thanks for inviting us," he added to Laxus, tipping his drink to them both.

"Thanks for coming, all of you," Laxus said to the small party inside the apartment.

Freed looked around more. Hibiki from the Blue Pegasus fetish club was there, playing music behind a small DJ setup. He also saw none other than Bob the Drag Queen standing by a folding table full of bottles of alcohol. Did Laxus really hire Bob, of all people, as a bartender? Two guests he only vaguely recognized as the Twin Dragons from the South Pole Club, dressed in leather jackets from their motorcycle gang. Then his heart froze.