#and it's so obvious that his grandparents are letting his anger fester instead of trying to get him and Eddie to talk again

[makorragal-312]

Controversial opinion, but the way people have been criticizing Chris for still giving Eddie the cold shoulder has been rubbing me the wrong way.

Now, the fact that Chris is still icing out Eddie three months later bothers me, too. But we really have to think about the circumstances. We're not talking about a teenager giving his dad the silent treatment because he took away his phone privileges.

We're talking about a young teenager who's still very much reeling from the trauma of seeing his dad kissing a woman who looked like his dead mother. The same dead mother who is the catalyst for his current abandonment issues and created the mindset within him that people are inevitably going to leave him. So much so, that he strung along multiple female classmates into thinking they were dating him.

And don't forget, when Buck went to talk to him before he left, he told him that for a second, he had thought that Shannon had actually come back to him, only for it to not be the case. So for him to see that and his father kissing her while having a girlfriend no less, that probably felt like the ultimate betrayal. And given who his grandparents are, I'm willing to bet that they haven't brought up the topic of what happened for Chris to actually get his feelings out about.

I'm not saying I want Chris to treat Eddie like this forever, but I do think that the kid needs to be extended the necessary grace given the situation.

[eryiss]

Gambler’s Luck - Chapter Eleven

Summary: A drunken night at a bar; that’s how it always starts. A few shots, some self loathing and a decision you would never make when sober. But for Laxus Dreyar, the morning after doesn’t include regret, copious amounts of aspirin and a stranger in his bed. For he only made one drunken decision, becoming the personal driver for professional gambler - Freed Justine. [Fraxus Multi-Chap]

You can read it on FanFiction, Archive of Our Own or under the cut. You can also see the chapter list here. Hope you enjoy ^.^

Chapter Eleven – The Aftermath

"Mom?"

Laxus' head was swirling with a mess of emotions, most of which were less than positive. He felt as though he couldn't move, as if he were being weighed down by the large ball of anxiousness and nausea that had suddenly invaded his stomach. He couldn't make himself blink, let alone move his eyes away from the woman standing before him. The woman who he hadn't seen face to face in the entirety of his adult life. The woman who left him.

He caught himself scanning her, eyes harsh and unforgiving. Despite knowing it was perhaps immature and vain, he was focusing on her physical flaws – such as the fact she looked significantly older here than she did on TV – rather than anything positive. Because, as far as he was concerned, Sophia Dreyar had nothing positive to speak of.

After an overly harsh physical assessment of his mother, Laxus finally looked towards her face.

It seemed that she too was intaking the rare sight, however her gaze on Laxus was substantially less critical than Laxus' was of her. She had an almost soft expression in her eye, mixed with a small amount of what might have been shock. That was justified, the last time she had seen him was when he was a teenager, with only blonde hair and a slightly jagged facial scar to connect the boy he was then and the man he now was. Despite himself, Laxus had to wonder if she was impressed at all with the person he had become. At least, he assumed it was wonderment; perhaps it was hope.

Shrugging that thought off before it could fester, he took a single step forward. It seemed the movement had slightly shocked Sophia. Maybe she expected him to ignore her or walk away, perhaps he should have. Instead, he spoke.

"How d'you know I'd be here?" He demanded, hostility obvious in his voice.

It wasn't the right question to ask, Laxus would conclude in retrospect, but it was one he needed the answer of. He and his mother hadn't had the means to contact each other for years at that point – not even having each other's phone numbers – and the last time Laxus had talked to her he had been living with his grandfather. So, for her to know where he lived, someone would have had to have told her without thinking to consult him.

"I called your grandfather and he told me." Sophia confessed, apparently not effected by the clear hostile tone. Laxus would have been offended by this, if he wasn't grinding his teeth at the fact it was Makarov of all people who had told Sophia his address. "It took a little convincing. Well, a lot, actually. He obviously cares for you a lot."

The teeth grinding continued. Perhaps this was a continuation of his conscious effort to look for the worst of her, but he couldn't help think that she was trying to justify Makarov being his guardian by complimenting him. To Laxus, it felt like she was almost congratulating herself or letting herself off the hook because the person he ended up with was suitable. He opened his mouth, fully willing to voice that, but stopped short and just sighed.

"You know what. I've had a long fucking day and I don't have the…" He closed his eyes for a moment. "I'm too tired for this shit right now."

He walked forward, passing her without a single glance. From his peripheral vision he could see her turning around so her eyes were still on him, and he couldn't help but notice the expression of sadness. His cynicism made it hard to believe the expression was anything but selfish.

As he got to the door to his building and reached into his pocket for his keys, he could hear the soft clicking of his mother's heals against the pavement getting closer. He jaw clenched slightly as he reached inside his pocket, wishing to god he could find his damn key. But, before he manged to fish them out, his mother was standing close to him again.

"Please Laxus, at least let me talk." She said, Laxus not looking towards her. "I know I haven't- I've not been a good mother to you. That's why I'm here, because I want to make it right."

Laxus' posture went rigid, and he had to clench his fist so that he could at least slightly contain his anger. His chest started to obviously expand and retract under the fur lined coat he wore as he turned, a narrow-eyed glare adorning his face as he looked down at the woman.

"Are you fucking kidding?" He all but snarled. "You want to make it right! Seriously. You haven't seen me for twelve fucking years! Twelve years of literally nothing, having no fucking mother, and then you come back randomly. Just as my life is becoming somewhat sane and maybe even good again, and you say you want to make it right. No 'how are you?' or 'I've missed you,' or, hell, 'I'm sorry for fucking off to another shitting continent.' We just go straight back to you. How you messed up and how you wanna make it right, because it's all about you. And, by the way, 'I wanna make it right' sounds like something you read on the dust jacket of some crappy parenting book."

Sophia seemed somewhat shocked by the sudden yelling, which had gotten louder with each word. She went to speak, but Laxus want finished.

"And good job on realising you weren't a good mother. Must have been tough to figure it out." Laxus snapped sarcastically. "It's not like there was any obvious signs, I'm sure most good parents leave their kids under the care of their elderly grandparent who, for all you knew, could have died any day."

"It wasn't my intention to leave you with him for as-"

"Yeah, I know. You only meant to have me live with gramps for a couple months while you were on assignment or whatever. You said that before, when you actually made an effort to keep in touch with me." The blonde was breathing audibly now. "But then, when you realised life without some kid hanging around you neck was something you wanted, you jumped at the chance to duck out and live there permanently."

He had to stop himself from continuing. He was incredibly angry, obviously, but he didn't want to say something he would later regret so needed to stop before that could happens. Instead, he closed his eyes and made an effort to focus on his breathing, unclenching both his fist and his jaw. It calmed him, if only a little.

There was a moment of silence between the two, and Laxus tried not to think too hard about the fact Sophia had yet to deny Laxus' accusation. In the silence, Laxus found himself more aware of his surroundings more than usual. The sounds of the cars passing melded with his audible breathing, he could better smell the dried oil from the nearby mechanics and the rotting fruit from his building's dumpster which had yet to be emptied. He also realised that his neighbours on the lower floor of his building would almost defiantly hear him and would be able to identify who was causing the noise, so he needed to make sure he didn't yell again. His landlord was incredibly intolerant, so even the smallest of complaints from other residents could have gotten him in trouble.

"Laxus, I know I've not been the mother you deserve." She repeated. "That I didn't do the things a mother should have done. And I don't think I'll ever be able to make up for that entirely, but I want to at least try."

He was silent for a moment. The forced calmness, combined with evening atmosphere of the city, gave him a small feeling of level-headedness.

"What does a mother do?" He asked, voice even and unwavering. Sophia looked somewhat confused, perhaps expecting a continuation of the yelling. "Seriously, other than feeding and washing a kid, what d'you think a mother does? And don't give me the boring crap that anyone knows, give me what a real mother does, not just a cliché TV mom."

Sophia opened her mouth, intending to answer, but Laxus felt his annoyance rise up again and cut her off.

"Because here's what I think." A small rise in volume occurred in his voice again. "An actual mother would force me to play a sport I have no interest in as a kid, or help me bake shitty cupcakes for a bake-sale, or give me some awkward talk about not getting a girl pregnant or whatever. The crappy little stuff that you don't think means anything at the time, but you look back on and you just think it was nice or important or something that needed to happen. That kinda stuff I never got."

"I really do understand I could have been a much better parent." Sophia said again, and Laxus had to stop himself from muttering something about her constant repeating. "We could have both tried a little more in keeping in contact, and I can't-"

"What the fuck did you just say." Laxus almost was laughing as he spoke. "We could have both tried to keep in contact? Are you being serious? You're trying to push some of the blame onto me!"

Perhaps Sophia had replied to that, but Laxus had gone passed listening to her. For a short moment, he truly believed that she was trying to be unselfish and really did care more about Laxus than the past suggested. But the suggestion that the breakdown of their relationship – which had been shattered when he was ten years old no less – was in any way his fault told him everything he needed to know. She was just the same as she always had been.

Calming himself down again with the breathing exercises that he had become well versed in at that point, he turned back to his mother and looked her dead in the eye. When he spoke, there was venom in his words.

"You left me in the care of an old man while my father was in prison for doing this to my fucking face." He gestured to the scar covering his eye. "You promised you'd come back and you didn't. I was ten years old, I was confused, and I was vulnerable. And you left me. So don't you dare try and drag me down to your level."

The blonde had to step back, using the small amount of distance between him and his mother to calm himself down further. He ran a hand through his hair and slicked it back, noting that it had been slightly laced in sweat throughout the last few minutes. He paced forward slightly, again trying to focus on all the sounds of the city, knowing that if he began to think through what he had said he might start to regret it or second-guess it. In his heart, he knew he might have been too harsh but what he said needed to come out.

He looked back to see that Sophia was looking at him, perhaps with shock at the bluntness of his words. Although it might have been unfair in retrospect, Laxus wanted his mother to feel guilty and bad at what she had done.

"I just- I just can't do this." Laxus shook his head slightly, looking over his shoulder towards Sophia. "I need some time to think. I didn't have any- I just need some- I can't."

Looking forward again, he turned his back on the door to his building and began to walk away. He needed some fresh air and time to clear his thoughts, and he didn't think his tiny apartment was the right place for either. As he walked, he could hear the harsh clicking of heels against the pavement again, so he stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"Don't follow me, I swear to god." He said, resolve breaking slightly. "And don't be here when I get back because… just don't be here."

His head was hung slightly low and posture was small for his size. He walked forward again, this time not accompanied with the sound of clicking against the pavement. He went to turn the corner away from his building's door but stopped and looked back.

His mother was standing there still, watching with an expression of sadness. He couldn't be sure with the distance between them, but there was a likely chance that she was crying, and he naively assumed that the tears might just be real. He turned around fully and spoke again, the anger that had overtaken his voice now gone.

"I can't do this now." His voice cracked slightly. "I'm sorry."

-----

Mind in a daze, Laxus slowly inputted a code into a keypad, pushed open an expensive looking glass door and walked into an unfamiliar apartment building. He looked around absentmindedly, taking note of the granite floors, extravagant looking elevator doors, multiple different forms of lighting and even the occasional fern. The lobby was a stark contrast to the entrance of his own apartment building, but one he had expected.

He had been wandering around the city for just over an hour, emotions still a swirling mess and the fresh air not doing much to alleviate that. He'd been switching back and forth between overanalysing everything that had happened with his mother to blatantly ignoring what had been said. Neither option was helping.

Over the hour he'd considered doing a lot of things. He was half tempted to call his grandfather or turn up at his place and berate him for what could be considered a betrayal of his trust, but he knew that Makarov was doing what he thought was best. He'd considered calling up Cana or Mirajane and trying to work through it with them, but they had made it clear that they were not to be troubled on their date night and Laxus didn't want to risk their combined rage. He'd even toyed with the idea of going to a crappy bar he walked past and drinking himself into a stupor, but found himself oddly unattracted by that.

So, considering the amount of debate he'd given to every other thought that had crossed his mind, it confused the blonde how he had instantly decided to call Freed the moment the idea came to him.

The conversation was short. Freed had been confused to have Laxus call him so soon after they parted for the day but, despite Laxus' efforts to hide his mess of emotions, Freed had immediately sensed it. He didn't push the issue, but after Laxus was overly flippant about what had happened, Freed had suggested Laxus should visits his apartment so that they could talk, or at least he could be distracted. Laxus hadn't needed much convincing.

Although he had yet to see where Freed lived at that point, he knew the area fairly well. It was closer to the city centre that Laxus' apartment, and he'd actually been there on his garbage run once or twice when someone on that route had called in sick. It was a pretty nice building in a pretty nice area, but he shouldn't have been shocked to see that.

He made a bee-line for the two elevators, ignoring the slightly hesitant look of the security guard from behind the small desk. He supposed it was justified enough, he was slightly dishevelled from both the argument and the walk, so he wouldn't have looked like the usual occupants and guests that arrived at the building. But he had as much a right to be there as anyone else and, as long as the security guy didn't try and kick him out based on his looks alone, there was no point in getting angry. He didn't have the energy for it anyway.

After walking into the elevator and pushing the button for Freed's floor, he leant against the cool metal walls and sighed, relaxing slightly. He ran his hands through his hair and slicked it back again, letting out a small, whispered cuss as he rested for the first time resting since seeing his mother.

"Shit."

The ride to the twelfth floor of Freed's building didn't take too long, and he soon found his way to the apartment Freed claimed was his. After knocking on the door, he didn't have to wait for long until Freed opened it. Since he'd last seen him, his boss had removed his jacket, waistcoat and tie, also having tied his hair higher than what Laxus had seen of it before.

Freed welcomed him in and allowed him inside, Laxus scanning the apartment as he entered. The walls connected to the exterior of the building had the brick exposed and hosted large windows, while the other walls just covered by white paint. Wooden beams stretched across the high ceiling, small spotlights hanging from them to light up the room. The furniture was modern and minimalist, with a small kitchen to the side with the same colour scheme and design choices. Laxus had half expected him to live in some eye wateringly expensive penthouse but, compared to his own apartment, anything was impressive; and the apartment seemed quintessentially Freed in a way that Laxus couldn't vocalise.

"Nice place." Is what he eventually settled on, standing somewhat awkwardly near the sitting room area of the open plan room.

"Thank you. I'm happy with it." Freed said as he motioned to one of the two sofas, Laxus sitting down after. "Would you like something to eat or drink? I can cook you something if you haven't had time to get any dinner yet."

"No need. Got a burger when I was walking around, it'll tide me over for the night." Laxus said as he looked around the apartment further, leaning back on the sofa. Freed nodded but continued to look at Laxus; it took the blonde a few moments to realise why. "Erm, I'll have a bear if you've got one. But if you don't, water or something. Don't mind really."

Freed nodded and walked to his fridge, picking up two bottles of beer and placing them on the counter. As the bottle tops were removed, Laxus took note that it was the same brand of beer that he brought for himself. He flashed a split second smile towards Freed in thanks as he reached for the condensation covered bottle, watching as the other man sat down on the other sofa and took a gulp of his own drink.

A single glance at his boss told him all he needed to know. Freed wasn't looking directly at him, but his body language aimed more towards him than the wall mounted TV, so obviously Freed was more interested in him than anything else; Laxus had realised that you could learn a lot from Freed's body language if you knew what to look for.

"You're off your game." Laxus chuckled, getting Freed's attention. "You'd be a poor man if you were always as easy to read as you are right now."

The look on Freed's face was almost comical. Even if it was just a slight dilation in his eyes and a tiny parting of the lips, the idea of Freed's usually unflappable persona being broken was somewhat amusing. And, even if it was fixed a moment later, Laxus felt a small sense of pride in being able to cause the momentary break.

"You're not a client, I hardly think it fair to treat you like one." Freed said, sipping at his beer. Laxus grinned a little, identifying the weak excuse for what it was. "Besides, being closed off is tiring. Why would I do it now, I've nothing to hide from you."

"Fair enough." Laxus chuckled, before letting out a sigh. "So, I guess you wanna know what happened."

"You don't have to tell me if you're not comfortable." Freed immediately assured, but Laxus shook his head.

"Nah. Came here uninvited, least I can do is to tell ya why." Laxus forced out another chuckle, clicking his tongue against his mouth slightly after speaking. "Not like I've got something to be ashamed about."

The blonde shifted slightly, placing his beer on the floor beside the sofa. He raised an eyebrow at Freed when he did this, silently asking it was okay. Freed gestured that it was fine, which somehow made Laxus feel a little more comfortable. The place was immaculate, almost like a show home, so the fact Freed wasn't overly protective of his floors lessened the stress and made him feel just that little bit more… at home.

What also made him feel comfortable was how Freed had turned entirely towards him and was looking directly at his face. Oddly, he noticed the other mans eyes. He hardly ever got to see Freed's eyes, even at the bar they usually sat adjacent to each other. He hadn't noticed how attentive they were until that point. God, he was assessing his bosses eyes; he really was a mess of emotions.

"Long story short, my mom was waiting outside my apartment." He confessed, Freed silently waiting for further explanation. "Last time I saw her, or even talked to her, was twelve years ago."

"Twelve years?" Freed said slowly after a moment. "So, the last time you saw her was when you were…"

"Fourteen, yeah." Laxus let out a bitter single laugh. "I'm sure you can guess it was kind of a shock when I saw her waiting out there."

"I can imagine." Freed said, swigging her beer again. "May I ask why you have such a… strained relationship with each other. If it's not invasive of course."

"Don't mind telling ya, but it might bore you. And I don't wanna seem like I'm feeling sorry for myself." Laxus smiled weakly, but Freed assured him that he wouldn't get bored and certainly wouldn't feel like that. "Guess I should start from the beginning. God, that sounded really cliché to say, sorry."

Freed had a patient expression on his face as he spoke. "You needn't second-guess yourself so much. I promise I wont judge you on whatever happened."

"Picked up on that huh. You're a therapist in disguise, I swear." Laxus shook his head, Freed chuckling slightly at that.

There was a moment of silence between them both, Freed patiently waiting for Laxus to begin when he wanted. The blonde was now acutely aware that he had only known Freed for a few short months, and that expose some personal stuff about him that may make him seem pretty vulnerable. But, with just a glance into Freed's eyes, he felt the sincerity in Freed's assurance that he wouldn't be judged. He leant forward slightly and continued.

"She's a news presenter. When I was a kid, she was pretty new to it and just got a job on a network show. They asked her to cover some European thing and it meant she would have to be there for a couple months. She couldn't take me with her – I was ten, my school probably wouldn't have wanted me to leave for a couple months – and she claimed she needed to take the assignment 'cause she was new and if she said no she would have been demoted; probably a load of crap she sold me trying to justify what happened, but that's what she says. Sorry, off topic. So yeah, she left for Europe for a couple months and left me living with my grandad, the guy you saw a while ago.

"When she was there, she caught the eye of some local news company or something. She claimed they liked her and wanted to take her on as an anchor full time, meaning she would have to move there full time as well. Not sure exactly what happened, gramps was cagey about it at the time and I cared less and less when I got older, but that's about it. And, basically, she took it."

Another silence fell as Freed allowed a frown to fall on his face.

"She just accepted a job in another country – continent even – without discussing it?" Freed asked after a moment. Laxus nodded his head. "That's… shit. Of her to do, I mean."

"Don't think I've heard you cuss before." Laxus almost laughed at his own response, even if it was true. "But yeah, it was shit of her. Gets even worse as well. She didn't even tell me herself. Called Gramps, explained what she'd decided and that her new job meant she didn't have any days off in months so couldn't come back and tell me herself. Meant she left Gramps to break it to me. Mother of the year, right?"

"That's atrocious. Not only to do that, but to put the pressure on her father."

"Not even her father. Grandparents on that side of the family died before I was born." Laxus took a large gulp of the beer he had picked up again. "But yeah. At the start, it wasn't too bad. We called each other and emailed a lot, with Gramps' help. She started to get busier and I was going through puberty, so communication kinda started to trail off. After a couple years, we only really talked on the holidays and my birthday. Still wanted her to be there, but I was becoming a teenager and getting all rebellious, so wouldn't admit it."

Laxus raised the beer to his lips again, only to find out he'd drained it faster than he had expected. He looked up to Freed, who had noticed the empty bottle and nodded towards the kitchen, silently offering him permission to get another. The blonde took the offer and was soon in the kitchen, also planning to get another beer for Freed after noticing he had nearly finished his own.

In spite of the conversation, or perhaps as a distraction from it, he found himself assessing the kitchen. Not only was it as clean and modern as the rest of the apartment, but it also contained a fully stocked spice rack, various types of cooking equipment, and even an overhead pan rack. When he saw the fridge was fully stocked and perfectly organised, he came to the conclusion Freed wasn't the type to get fast food or go to a restaurant every night. He found himself weirdly wishing he had taken up Freed's offer to have him cook to see how good he was, but it would be an abuse of his hospitality.

Besides, the small respite from the conversation ended when he turned back around. Freed obviously had questions – Laxus couldn't blame him – and perhaps Laxus needed to get this off his chest so he could move past it. He removed the bottle caps, handed one beer to Freed and sat back down. This time, he sat beside Freed on the same sofa.

"You said you haven't spoken in years." Freed said after a moment. "Did that come about naturally or did something happen?"

"My birthday. Was turning fourteen and she said she would visit and actually be there. Would have been the first time she could be in the country on my birthday since she left. She called gramps the night before to tell him she had to cancel – some volcano in Italy was acting up when it wasn't predicted to or something so she had to cover it – but I picked up. She ended up telling me instead, we got into an argument. She claimed I needed to understand her point of view and that I was being selfish, so I cussed her out, hung up and that was it. Until today."

"And after all this time, and after leaving it like that, she just turned up unannounced?" Freed questioned, Laxus nodding. "I'm assuming that went well."

"She claimed she wanted to make things right. We argued, got pretty heated. I yelled a lot, probably pissed off my neighbours." He groaned at the thought, hoping none of his neighbours had been in a bad mood that evening. "She said we both could have made more of an effort to keep in contact, so I exploded at her. Kinda feel guilty now."

"Don't." Freed said instantly with more force than Laxus was used to. "You're her child. And after what she did, it should be entirely her responsibility to make an effort."

Slightly taken aback by the tone of voice Freed spoke in, which was unwavering and without doubt, Laxus had to pause and looked towards his boss. The look he got was unique, most of the people he had told about his mother treated him with pity, but Freed seemed different. Other than the small amount of anger that had seeped into the final thing he had said, Freed hadn't really shown any emotions. It felt as if Freed was letting Laxus be the emotional one, which he felt slightly comforted with.

"I do have one more question, if you don't mind." Freed continued after a moment. "You never mentioned your father. Was he around for you?"

"No. When my mom left, he was in prison. Whenever he was out, gramps kept him as far away from me as possible." Again, he laughed bitterly. He hardly ever voiced his parental issued, whenever he did he always realised how ridiculous it sounded. "Sorry, I know that probably brings up a crap ton of questions, but I don't have the energy to go into it now."

"Oh, of course." Freed smiled. "I'm glad that you're comfortable enough to tell me what you did."

"Surprised you didn't get bored. Sure you've had just as many issued with your own parents."

"Not exactly." Freed chuckled. "I don't have parents."

Laxus paused at that, frowning and looking towards Freed again. His boss seemed somewhat amused by the expression if the grin on his face was real, but Laxus didn't pay too much attention to that. He was too busy trying to process the fact that Freed had revealed, quite flippantly, he didn't have parents. Surely that wasn't the way he revealing his parents had died, he would have done that in a more sensitive way.

Freed chuckled at the obvious confusion at his statement. "I grew up in the care system. I was never adopted, so never had parents."

"Oh, shit." Laxus said, somewhat annoyed that he hadn't thought about that. He then realised something. "Mira, Elf and Lisanna grew up in care, didn't they?"

"They were, that's where we met. Although, they were adopted when me and Mira were teenagers." Freed explained, Laxus nodding along slightly. "In case you're wondering, we tell people we met at school because we both want to make sure we don't accidentally reveal the fact we were in care before the other's comfortable enough to tell someone themselves. Obviously, you now know both of us were in care, so there's no point in being candid about it."

"Glad you trust me enough to tell me." Laxus nodded. "You ever know what happened with your parents?"

"No. I know they were both there when I was admitted to the orphanage, and that I was new-born." Freed took another gulp of his fresh beer. "I also know that at least one of them was alive when I became eighteen. They sent a picture of me to them, its customary. But they never made the effort to get into contact with me, and I've been fine without them."

Laxus quickly realised why Freed had been so certain that it should have been his mother's job to make contact with him, because he himself felt the same things about his own parents. He also felt a sense of guilt that he had spent pretty much the entirety of their time together that night bitching about his own parents while Freed arguable had much bigger issued with his own family.

"Don't give me that look." Freed said. "You're more than justified in being angry at your mother. And I'm not so arrogant that I'll forsake anyone who says anything bad about their family out of spite."

"If you're sure." Laxus spoke a little quieter than before.

Silence filled the room again. This time, it felt as though there was no negativity hanging over them. Perhaps he was overthinking things, but Laxus felt a strange sense of comfort in the fact both he and Freed had crappy parents. It felt as though Freed could perhaps understand him more than most people could claim to, which was something he didn't often experience.

He leant back in his seat and drowned the rest of his beer, groaning slightly as he relaxed. After a moment, he picked up the three empty bottles – Freed was still making his way though his second drink – and brought them over to the kitchen to dispose of. He thought that, as he was imposing himself on Freed and drinking his alcohol, he could at least help keep the place tidy. Freed hadn't said anything about it, so he suspected Freed didn't mind.

Eventually, when both men were sure that the conversation was over, Freed had decided to switch on the TV and put on some mindless quiz show. Laxus was appreciative of this, mainly as it meant he wasn't being kicked out. He was weirdly comfortable in Freed's apartment.

As the evening went on, the atmosphere became more relaxed. They talked over the TV, partly about their work and partly about whatever show found itself on the TV as the night continued. Laxus felt himself becoming more and more comfortable as time progressed, possibly even more so than he did at his own apartment. That was most likely due to the company, sitting in his dingy place in practically silence didn't lead to the most enjoyable atmosphere.

He had noticed that, after their conversation about parents, Freed had almost reverted to his unreadable self that he presented to his clients. He hoped he hadn't been intrusive with his questions but suspected that if Freed didn't want to answer something, he wouldn't have. The fact he had returned to his snarky, quick-witted fairly soon after self also helped Laxus with convincing himself that it wasn't his fault that Freed clammed up again.

"Shit." The blonde cussed as he glanced at his phone. "It's nearly midnight."

"Really?" Freed questioned, looking to the clock he had mounted on his wall. "Damn, that certainly came out of nowhere."

"Yeah. Guess I should go." Laxus said, standing up. "You probably don't want me hanging around your neck for any longer."

"Are you sure you're okay to get there on your own?" Freed questioned, watching as Laxus picked up the coat that had been slung over the armrest of the unused sofa. "It's pretty late and you're a little drunk. You probably don't have the best control of yourself right now."

"If I didn't know any better, I would have though you sounded worried about me." Laxus grinned.

"Of course I'm worried, I know where you live." Freed smirked. "It's one barrel-fire away from looking like The Walking Dead. And you stumbling about, groaning and struggling to get through a door won't help that image."

"You're funny, ain't ya?" Laxus chuckled.

"Of course, it's why you're laughing." Freed's smirk intensified. "But honestly, if you want to spend the night here you're more than welcome to. This is a sofa bed and I'm sure you wouldn't want to trek all the way to your apartment at the middle of the night."

Laxus was slightly taken aback aby that. He had expected Freed to offer to order him a taxi at the most, certainly not give him his living room for the night. Part of him felt as though Freed was only offering out of obligation and if he accepted it, he would be abusing Freed's hospitality. But everything he knew about Freed said that he wouldn't have said something if he didn't mean it, it was a trait he appreciated in his boss. Too many people lied just to be polite, so having someone as blunt as him was something Laxus liked.

He took a few moments to consider the offer. It was true that he really didn't want to walk to his apartment in the middle of the night, and the buzz from the beer was making his vision slightly blurred, so he concluded that it would be best to not risk it.

"You sure?" He asked to make sure, Freed nodding. "Thanks, appreciate it."

"It's no trouble. I'll get you some sheets, you can set the bed up yourself if you'd like." Freed stood up. "You'll have to move the coffee table, I don't mind where you put it. The bed comes out if you pull the switch under the armrest"

Laxus nodded as Freed walked to one of the doors, most likely to his bedroom. Laxus carefully removed the ornaments off the wooden coffee table, lifted it up and moved it so it was adjacent to the dining table, then placing the ornaments back onto it in the same way they had been before; for all he knew, Freed might have had some weird OCD about coffee tables. He then flicked the switch under the armrest of the sofa, having to take a quick step back as it quickly sprung out in front of him. After nudging it to make sure it was stable, he sat down and surmised that, just like the sofa itself, the mattress was pretty comfortable.

Freed soon returned, a large duvet, some pillows and bed sheets slung over his arm. Laxus stood up and walked to Freed, removing the pillows and sheet from his arms and placing them on the mattress. Laxus noticed his boss glance to the coffee table and see it was laid out in the same way, but he didn't say anything so Laxus didn't either.

"I'll leave you to make the bed yourself." Freed said, placing the folded duvet beside the pillows and sheets. "Feel free to get something to drink or eat in the night if you want it. The bathroom's on the left side of the hall. And if, for whatever reason, you need me don't hesitate to wake me up. I might be a little hostile, but the sword on my wall's just for display."

"Thanks, that good of- you have a sword on your wall?"

"I used to fence. I keep my sword as a momentum from it."

"Okay." Laxus chuckled a little. "But seriously, thanks, you didn't need to do this. You didn't, like, give me the sheets off your own bed did ya?"

"I like you, Laxus, but not that much." Freed grinned a little.

"So if you didn't have any you would have left me in here to freeze." Laxus crossed his arms, feigning offense. "That's cold, Freed. Even for your standards."

"Yes I would and yes it is." Freed smirked, also crossing his arms in a challenging way. "And anyway, your coat is large and absurd enough to take the place of a blanket if you needed it."

"My coat ain't absurd." Laxus said with exaggerated offence, before grinning and playing up his hurt further. "I'll have you know it's the most fashionable thing I own."

"Then I weep for your wardrobe." Freed smirked. "See you in the morning, Laxus."

"See ya, Freed."

Freed began to walk towards his bedroom, hearing Laxus shuffle around the room slightly as he began to put the sheets over the mattress of his bed for the night. He glanced over his shoulder as he reached the door to his bedroom after hearing the shuffling stop, seeing that Laxus was looking directly at him. He frowned, waiting for Laxus to speak.

"Seriously, thanks." Laxus said with sincerity in his voice. "Not just for letting me sleep here. Not many people would let me rant like you did, then get my mind of it and salvage the day. So… thanks for that."

"Don't mention it." Freed smiled.

That was all that needed to be said. Laxus went about making up the bed and Freed retired to his bedroom. After shutting the door, Freed let out a small breath that he hadn't realised he was holding in. He walked to his bed and sat on it, removing the tie from his hair and running a hand through the long green locks. He leant back slightly, realising something. He had a problem.

Up until that point, his relationship with Laxus had been entirely platonic. The fact Laxus was attractive in his eyes, something that he had eventually had to accept after Loke initially brought it up, had never been an issue as they were just becoming friends. That changed that night.

Something about seeing Laxus in a more vulnerable state, and offering Laxus a sense of vulnerability of his own, had changed this. It had shifted their relationship from being new and fairly shallow to something much more real. Worse still, this new sense of connection had lead to Freed's positive thoughts of Laxus increasing. Not only was Laxus the trustworthy employee who could also make him laugh, he was now someone who he could almost confide in. Someone he trusted and who trusted him, something that didn't come easily with Freed. It certainly didn't usually come as fast as it had with his employee.

With a silent exhale of breath, he realised that his relationship with Laxus defiantly wasn't just that of a boss and an employee. Nor did it conform to that of a typical friendship, at least not with Freed. He wasn't entirely sure what it was, but he was beginning to get worried about it.

He found Laxus endearing and exciting in a way that was new to him. He had a good idea of what that meant, but the reality of admitting that was much harder than he expected. But there was no denying what it was: the beginning of romantic attraction.

For the second time that day, he cussed.

"Shit."

Hey all. I hope you all liked the angst, some boss and employee bonding and the longest chapter I've written so far. This might have been my favourite part of the story this far in, so I hope you all liked it as much as I liked writing it. And I hope you all enjoy my version of Laxus' mother, she's a little different to what I think most people will expect, but I like her and I hope you do to.

Thanks for reading. Any reblogs and comments mean the world :)