Catch the Thunder

It was a boring weekday afternoon, and Laxus was sitting at the computer, searching online for a new job. He had applied to a few places, but his resume looked sorely pathetic. He could not put down the years he had worked as a strip dancer, nor all the client work he did. That meant his work experience was the electrician job he did after high school, followed by a long break in working, and then only a few months at Blue Pegasus, again supposedly as an electrician. He did not have a college degree, and he did not have any good explanation for the long break in work. All he had were some damn good references: Freed, of course, who now graced the cover of Fiore Business Magazine in every grocery store; Gray, who was the newest star dancer at the Magnolia Opera House; and Natsu-frigging-Dragneel, brother of the President. Business, entertainment, and politics. It made some gruff, unemployed man like him look sketchy, even to Laxus.

He clicked one link and read the job description. "Security guard, huh?" he muttered. "Always thought that'd fit me. Hell of a ways away, though. Can I even get there by bus?"

He had started to search the local bus maps when his email dinged. He looked over, wondering if it was Freed. Instead, the email held a different Justine name: Evergreen.

"The hell?" he muttered. "When did she get my email?"

He read the message, written succinctly and properly as if she was composing an essay, as he suspected all of her emails were written. Still, the content intrigued him.

"Huh ... nice offer, lady. I think I'll take you up on it."

That night, Freed and Laxus ate dinner at their little table just off the kitchen. As they cut into chicken, Laxus brought up the message.

"So, your sister sent me an email. Something about a camping trip."

Freed looked up in surprise. "What day is it?" He pulled out his phone and checked his calendar. "Wow, seriously? Already?"

Laxus glared, slightly accusatory. "You knew this was coming up and didn't tell me."

Freed sighed as he put his phone back into his pocket. "It's a family tradition, a week roughing it in Colorado, getting away from hectic city life. Father would say it builds character."

Llewellyn, of course, had already granted his son a week off work. Freed had known for months about this trip and had plane tickets purchased far in advance. The weekend-long BDSM scene had not caused any negative physical effects of sub-drop, but it had made him completely forget about things for the past two weeks. At work, he had to be reminded about projects. He had forgotten about a coworker's birthday and needed to order a present to be delivered that same day to the person's desk. Now this, a yearly family trip planned months in advance, something he had been looking forward to all summer. How could he forget it was this weekend? He rubbed his head at just how much their sensual fun had messed with his memory.

"She wrote about it," Laxus said, "even sent me a map and fliers about the area. Apparently, I'm invited to go camping with you guys." He stabbed awkwardly into some asparagus. "Can ... can I come?"

"Of course," Freed said immediately. "I wasn't hiding this from you, really. I just forgot."

"But this is purely a family thing, right? It won't be some business-related holiday dinner, or a huge social gala garden party. It's just your family, out there camping. We'll all be in a tent, or probably a cabin since it's you guys, right? Fairly close quarters."

Freed chuckled with slight embarrassment. "I know Evergreen called it camping, but I'm not sure you would define it as a camping trip."