Catch the Thunder

Laxus, Freed, and Llewellyn walked through halls until they reached an elevator. Laxus thought it was bizarre, having a house so big you needed an elevator. They entered, Llewellyn pulled out a key, and he used it in a slot just below the number pad. Then he pushed for 2B, the second basement.

Laxus' eyes narrowed as he did this. 2B, and a key. This was familiar. He stared hard at Llewellyn, but the man never gave away any hint about his intentions. He stared straight ahead, the sort of stance people took in crowded corporate elevators, listening to the dings as they passed floors.

At last, there was a final ding, and the door slid open. Llewellyn stepped out into a well-lit but plain hallway.

"Here we are," he called out cheerfully.

Laxus stepped out into a hallway that was all too familiar. "Oh God." He looked around, but there was no doubt about it. The lighting, the wallpaper, a stain on the carpet: it was all the same. "Wait." He came to a dead stop, shaking his head warily. "Woah, woah, woah. Wait!"

Freed paused and looked around at him. "What? Where are we?" He glanced around. No windows, no sunlight, just a hallway lit up by overhead lighting. "Are we underground? This doesn't look like either of the basements."

Laxus glared at Llewellyn and growled in a barely-polite warning, "Sir."

"It's all right," he assured both of them. The businessman placed a hand on his son's shoulders. "Freed, you've never been down here. The elevator takes a key to active this floor."

It took Freed a moment to register what his father was saying. This was like something out of a spy movie. "Wow, we've got a secret floor?"

"Pretty much," he said with a smile, glancing at the vaulted hall and all of its locked doors. "Lots of old family secrets down here." He kept walking to a certain door. "This is where I want to take you two."

Laxus sneered. "Sir, no!"

Llewellyn raised a hand in peace. "It's all right—"

"No!"

Llewellyn came up to a door and pulled out another key. Twisting it in the lock, he opened the door and motioned for the two to enter. "Go on in, both of you."

Laxus firmly stood his ground, arms folded, eyes almost sparking with anger. "I don't think so, sir."

Freed glanced between his father's calm visage and Laxus' angry glare. What was this odd exchange between them?

Between ... them...

Suddenly, it dawned on him. He looked into the room as his father flipped a light on. He had seen rooms like this at the fetish club where Laxus now worked. It was a BDSM dungeon! When his eyes shot over in shock to his father, Llewellyn's face was down-turned in shame. Then Freed looked sharply over to Laxus, who was glaring hard at the older gentleman. He was being faced with his old lifestyle and stuck right between a former submissive and his boyfriend. Freed placed a hand on the wall as he felt dizzy.

"Oh God, is this the playroom?"

Neither of them answered him, but it was obvious. The room where his father ... and Laxus ... where they...

"Father! No!" He took a step in front of Laxus, standing his ground and laying claim. He was not about to give up Laxus or share him, not even with his own father. He would rather be disowned than do that.

"No, I'm not coming in with you." Llewellyn handed his keyring to Freed. "This is the key to the elevator. Put the key in, turn it, hit the bottom floor, and it'll take you one level below the bottom." He glanced around the hallway with a mournful expression. "I'm not coming down here again."