"Would you all mind if I joined you?" All eyes at the table redirected up to the dark-haired, handsome man standing over Freed, Lucy, Natsu, Cana, and Loke. Nobody said a word, but Mest was already planting himself between Freed and Cana. The man of the night flashed a smile over everyone, with the majority (Only Loke and Lucy, slightly Freed) being welcoming of his presence. Cana readjusted herself in her seat, clearing her throat and pushing her martini up to her lips, and Freed dropped his head down to his fiddling fingers to avoid Mest's all too bright smile directed at him. "Mr. Justine, wasn't it? I met you when I met Lucy and Ms. Alberona, correct?"

Freed shifted between looking up at Mest and staring down at his feet a couple of times. "Oh! Y-yeah...Um,, you can call me Freed."

Mest seemed quite pleased with that. "Freed, right! What an interesting name. What are your parents' celebrities or something?" Freed's whole body jolted, Lucy and Natsu snapping their heads over to save the poor boy. Mest picked up on the reaction and cocked his head to the side. "I'm joking! Joking! You know how celebrities always come up with crazy names for their children."

Freed cringed. "C-crazy?"

"Uh, well-"

Cana rolled her eyes, pushed Mest a drink menu, and shot him a slight glare. To Freed, she gave him a sympathetic smile. "Freed, your name is fine. I think it suits you well."

Freed gave his brunette friend a thankful smile yet still reverted to twiddling with his thumbs.

"So!" Lucy said, loud and dramatically, "Mest? Where were you working before FHA?"

Mest redirected his attention from Freed and Cana over to Lucy. "Oh, I was a private investigator for the East Fiore Police Department ." Everyone blinked back in silence.

"O-oh," Lucy said awkwardly with a flat laugh. "What made you want to join FHA?"

Mest tucked his top lip in and drifted his eyes off to the side. "Well-"

"Gryder!" Everyone shifted towards the left, finding Wakaba and Chief of the inspections department, Gajeel Redfox, walking over to their table. Wakaba strutted over and clapped Mest into a firm handshake. "Welcome aboard, man! Have you met Redfox yet?"

Cana took in a deep breath and glanced over to Lucy and Natsu, mouthing, "Oh my god."

Natsu mouthed back, "Private investigator," knocking his eyebrows together in confusion. Everyone stole glances at one another as Mest joined back in the conversation.

"Sorry, sorry. What were you saying again?"

Loke chirped in then, clearing his throat. "Maybe your background as a private investigator got you in without any experience." Lucy pinched his thigh underneath the table, making him softly yelp in pain.

"You know what, most likely. That or Erza really liked me during the interview." Mest laughed at his own joke, only Loke joining him out of politeness.

Freed was so over this conversation already. He could already figure out from this small interaction with Mest he wasn't really a fan of him. Freed pulled his phone out and peaked at the time, catching it already a quarter to seven. He leaned over the table around Mest, trying to gain Cana's attention. "Um, Cana, I'm gonna be leaving a little early, okay." The other woman waved back at him, flashing a thumbs up. Freed wondered if she really heard him, seeing as she was a bit preoccupied watching Mest interact with Sting and Rouge. Freed glanced over to Lucy, and she gave him a smile waving him goodbye.

"I'll tell her if she asks where you are." Freed smiled back and quietly dipped away after telling Natsu and Loke goodbye. If he drove just a few miles over the speed limit, he'd make it in time to catch Gray's performance. He just hoped he wouldn't miss him.

From across the restaurant, Laxus glanced over, finding Freed standing to leave, and raised an eyebrow. Freed hadn't told him anything about leaving early, and watching how quickly he exited the restaurant perked his interest. Maybe he'd follow a little just to see where he was going...

Cana stole glances at Mest all night. It wasn't like she tried to; somehow, her eyes kept finding their way back to him. Her eyes even followed him as he walked off for a cigarette break. It was only then that she noticed her green little secretary gone. She stood, excusing herself from the table, and walked around the restaurant for him. Cana even checked outside to see if his car was still then, but to her surprise, Freed was already gone.

Mest was standing by the entrance, his boot-covered foot kicked up to the brick wall. "You saw Freed leave?" She asked, walking over with a raised eyebrow.

Mest peered up at her from his phone, eyeing her up and down quickly. "He's been gone, sweet-pea. He left around seven."

"What?" Cana puffed out a sigh and ran a hand through her hair. That asshole! This is the second time Freed ditched her after he was supposed to be at the dinner with her. Se could only snort, wondering if he was with Laxus again, seeing as he was also gone.

Mest flinched back a little when Cana snapped her hand out to him with a hip poked out. "Give me one," She said, nodding to the cigarette in his mouth. " I need it." Mest obliged, swiftly popping the pack out of his pocket and passing it to her. She leaned forward into his lighter and allowed him to light the end.

"Boyfriend ditched ya?"

Cana took a long drag before letting it out with a loud sigh and swung her head over to Mest. "Second time he's done it." Mest hummed at this.

"Doesn't seem like your type, sweetheart." Cana rolled her eyes, "But I assume you've heard that before."

"He's not my boyfriend. We're just-"

"-fooling around?"

"-Friends." Cana lifted an eyebrow up at him. "We're friends." Mest shrugged his shoulders.

"Now that, is a little bit more believable."

"Just so you know," Cana quickly shot back, "Freed would be an amazing boyfriend. What's your problem with him?" To say Mest was caught off guard by how defensive Cana was of Freed was an understatement.

Mest put his hands up in surrender and waved them a bit, so Cana knew he had no vendetta against Freed. "I'm sorry, nothing personal. I'm just a jokey kind of guy. I mean no harm." Cana eyed him for a long moment before turning away and dragging through her cigarette.

So Cana and Freed were close friends? Mest could use that to his advantage, really. He just has to get on Cana's good side. He was only there to map Freed out after all.

"Wanna ride?" Cana snapped her head over to Mest and raised a calculative eyebrow. Mest jerked his head over to a brightly red motorcycle parked on the curb in front of them.

"Wait-that's yours?" Mest smirked and nodded. "Hell yeah, I wanna ride!" Bingo. Mest walked over and unhooked his helmet on the right handlebar, and passed it to her.

"If papa asks, tell him you were drunk, and I kindly took you home."

Freed made it to the lounge with only a few minutes over seven. He hoped that Gray was performing at seven-thirty and that he hadn't missed him, but to his disappointment, Gray was already outside waving Juvia goodbye for the night. Freed quickly parked and jogged over to Gray, still standing by the entrance. "I'm sorry! I missed it, didn't I?" Gray gave him a small smile and clamped a hand on his shoulder.

"You did, but it's okay. I stuck around to see Juvia off home, and I knew you were coming." Freed gave him a sad look and played with the hem of his cardigan.

"I'm sorry. I really did try to make it." Gray looked over to a path by the side of the Lounge building and motioned towards it.

"Want to go for a walk?" Freed tails where he motioned to, following the path down the business center. Freed had never paid attention to where it led, and he was delighted to find out it was a small community park. He and Gray walked silently along the path all the way to a swing set on the far corner of the park. "How was the dinner?"

Freed took a seat at one of the swings, letting his legs dangle over the dark red mulch beneath them. "The new housing analyst came and sat at our table." Freed blushed at the sound of saying "our" table.

"Oh yeah," Gray said, completely unfazed. "I bet Cana loved that."

"Cana?" Gray chuckled, pushing himself back on his own swing.

"You hadn't noticed how flirty those two have been? He joined us for lunch yesterday, and they were making passes the whole time. Me and Natsu felt like third wheels."

Freed laughed at that. "No, I wasn't really paying attention. He seemed a bit much to me. I also left pretty much when he sat down." Freed pursed his lip. "I'm sorry again you had to perform alone. It probably wasn't fun without any of us watching."

Gray finally dropped himself down into a full swing. Leaning back and rocking back and forth until he picked up some speed. "Juvia is always there to watch me perform. I don't think I've ever seen her at a company dinner anyway."

Freed slowly nodded his head, watching Gray swing to and fro. "Are you interested in Ms. Lockster?" That made Gray stop. He abruptly sunk his feet down into the mulch, stopping himself completely. Freed realized what he said and quickly hid his face in his hands, embarrassed that he even asked that.

Gray didn't mind, though, shrugging his shoulders a bit. "We don't really have that kind of relationship. We keep things pretty casual. I care about her; she's always there for me, you know? But something past a physical relationship had never really crossed my mind." Freed's blush darkened now, knowing the nature of Gray and Juvia's relationship.

"O-oh." There was a slight ping in his chest, knowing that Gray and Juvia were actually at least a bit physical. Lucy had made it seem like Gray didn't even really acknowledge her. Then again, he had a slightly similar relationship with Laxus. They just hadn't gone that far.

"You kind of surprised me yesterday," Gray said, pushing himself back into a swing. "Being with Lucy and all."

"Oh." Freed smiled warmly, thinking back to his afternoon with the blonde. "She's been helping me a lot lately."

"I'm glad you two have gotten close. You two are perfect for each other." That jolted Freed. No! He hoped that Gray wasn't trying to match them together. As wonderful as Lucy was, Freed couldn't possibly see a relationship with her.

"W-we, um...We don't have that kind of relationship...Uhm. We're just friends." Freed quickly covered. Gray immediately began laughing, his raven hair flopping over his face as he swung.

"I already figured that. It's pretty obvious to everyone that she and Natsu have a thing going on. They've messed around here and there since I've met them, and no telling how long before that. " Freed relaxed. He was grateful there wasn't a misunderstanding between the two of them.

Kicking himself back, Freed joined in, swinging right alongside Gray in unison. He hadn't ridden on a swing set in years, but he allowed himself to indulge a little in his childish side for just a little while, really enjoying the way the wind whipped his long verdant hair about. Gray grinned from beside him, twisting his swing and tapping Freed's leg in a play fight. Freed chuckled himself, twisting his swing over and wrestling with Gray. They played like that for a while, just like children. And to Freed, it was so refreshing to just be happy. A wave of happiness that was pure and that he didn't have to feel guilty about. He wished younger Freed could have enjoyed moments like this without the shadow of his home life hovering over him all the time.

After a while, Gray walked Freed back to his car at the lounge. As Freed was pulling his keys from his pocket, Gray spoke up. "I really appreciate you trying to make it to my little performance. It's only a karaoke show, and you tried so hard to make it. That makes me pretty damn happy."

Freed finally pulled his keys out and turned to Gray with a smile. "It's still important to you. I know how much you love to sing, and that translates into your performance. I love watching you."

"I'll be singing again Sunday. I'd love to see you there." Freed nodded firmly and unlocked his car.

"I'll be there." Awkwardly Freed opened his door and glanced down to his feet. "Um, well. Goodnight, Gray."

Gray leaned over and pulled Freed into a hug. It jostled Freed, making his breath hitch in his throat. But then, as suddenly as the hug came, Freed's awkwardness melted away. Maybe it was by how warm Gray's embrace was? Or perhaps it was from how he cradled Freed's head gently, tucking it perfectly into his shoulder. With soft sprinkles of snow dancing down on the late December streets, Freed felt...peace. So calmed that his eyes fluttered close, and his arms wrapped around Gray's back.

There was no telling how long Gray held Freed there, just enjoying how his body fit perfectly into his. But eventually, he had to let Freed go; it was getting pretty late. Gray pulled back softly, ripping Freed's eyes open. Gray smiled, cupping Freed's cheeks. "Be safe getting home, alright? I'll see you Sunday."

Freed tried to speak, but words could only fail him. So instead, he nodded as Gray let him go. Freed climbed into his car with a short wave before starting the ignition and pulling away.

Gray stood there for a moment, watching Freed's retreating vehicle, when a truck also pulling from the parking lot caught his eye. In fact, Gray coincidentally had been seeing that truck all night. While he and Freed were at the park, it was conveniently stationed in the parking lot just behind the swings. It even looked slightly familiar.

So Gray pulled out his phone.

Within two rings, Natsu picked up. "What's up?" Gray could hear Lucy in the background, obviously drunk and whining for Natsu to drive slowly.

"You guys on your way home from the dinner?" Gray asked.

"Yeah, we just left about ten minutes ago; how was the show? Freed make it?" Gray watched as the large black truck peeled away from his eyesight. He turned then, jumping into his own car.

"It was fine, and he didn't, but we still hung out and talked a little. While we were out, a truck kept following us." Another whine from Lucy for Natsu to stop running stop signs.

"I'm trying to get you home before you puke all over my car!" Natsu groaned back. To Gray, he grunted, "What kind of truck?"

"GMC. Black, dark tinted windows, chrome trim."

"Oh!" There was a shuffle, and then Lucy's voice kicked in. "That's Laxus's Truck! I rode in it before."

Gray could practically feel Natsu's anger flare off the phone. "You what!? When!?" As the two got into a small argument on the other line, Gray's mind went elsewhere. Between Laxus randomly picking Freed up to now. There was no doubt about it. Freed and Laxus were definitely seeing each other. And Gray didn't like that one bit.

Still reeling from the excitement of the motorcycle, Cana hopped off of Mest's bike, giggling maniacally. "Holy shit, that was awesome!" She gasped in excitement as Mest kicked out the stand and got off himself. "You just fulfilled something off my bucket list." Mest backed up against his bike and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well, I'm glad to have serviced you." It immediately got quiet the moment Cana fished out her house keys. They stood there silently, with Cana fiddling with the plushie dangling from her key set.

"I had you marked kind of wrong." She finally pushed out. "I thought maybe you were an asshole."

Blunt, but Mest was fine with that. "Well, I am an asshole; I just tend to be more lenient towards beautiful women." Cana snorted.

"You don't have to pretend for me. We all have a little tiny jerk in us." Cana dropped her hands and faced Mest head-on. "But you're not half bad. You just seemed to have a target on Freed, so I got defensive." Mest slowly nodded his head.

"I was interested in him. Since I joined the crew, I haven't had any interactions with him. So I just wanted to strike up a conversation. Didn't go how I planned."

"Freed's awkward like that, don't take it to heart. When I first met him, he flat out ignored me for about a week until he realized I was his trainer." Cana smiled at the memory. "He's also pretty ditsy, so he probably didn't pick up you were trying to talk to him. Be gentle with him, Okay?" Mest gave her a smirk.

"I promise." Cana was silent again, this time gazing out towards her front yard. Mest wanted her to talk more, but he was still trying to figure her out completely. It was the moment she peered up to him that he felt himself lock in on her golden-brown eyes. They stared at each other for a long time. There was this instant attraction that Mest found in her. From her long eyelashes and round face, he couldn't peel his eyes away from her. And Cana was the same. There was no doubt the two of them had chemistry. It was electric when they held prolonged eye contact. Cana felt like a little school girl again, pinning after a man she felt was a little out of her reach. It was ironic that he was only inches away, practically feeling the same.

Mest was lost. This wasn't in no way a part of his job of looking over Freed, but right then, at that moment, he wanted to kiss Cana. He knew he shouldn't, but his body reacted all on its own the moment Cana slowly pulled herself in closer. They both weren't expecting it. It was like a magnetic pull. They were doomed the moment they caught eyesight. It was over before either of them even knew what was happening.

Mest gripped the back of her neck, angling her head up towards him, and melted into their kiss. What was supposed to be a peck goodnight turned into a kiss of goodbye and then into a tangled string of hellos only spoken with tongue. And then, it was faded as Cana opened her house's front door, and Mest stepped in, all in a trail of forgotten clothes.

Freed made it home around ten. He could see Bickslow's car parked out at the front of the apartment complex in his usual spot. The moment he saw it, there was a soft pull in his chest. He wanted to talk to his best friend so bad. While it was nice he was becoming good friends with all his co-workers, he missed that bond he had with his childhood friend. Freed made a note to himself that if Bickslow was awoke when he stepped into the house, he'd try and talk to him, even if Bickslow was still mad.

So when he pushed his front door open and found the other man's light on, Freed was happy. He dropped his keys onto the key rack and quickly tucked his shoes underneath the shoe rack. Then he paddled down the hallway to Bickslow's room. His door was slightly ajar, and freed found him hovering over his bed, stuffing some clothes into a suitcase. Alarmed, Freed pushed the door open rather roughly, making it bounce off the back walk and jolt Bicslow.

"S-s-sorry!" Freed quickly said. "I didn't mean to scare you. I just saw the suitcase...are you leaving?" Bickslow let out a sigh as he realized it was just Freed and gave his friend a soft smile.

"Just for the weekend. I have...erm, a business trip for the shop." Freed slowly nodded, but he was relieved it wasn't anything dealing with him.

"O-oh. I see..." Bickslow zipped up the suitcase, pushed it down onto the ground beside his bed, and patted the space for Freed to come and join him. Freed practically hopped over and took a seat beside Bickslow.

"How have you been doing?" Bickslow said lightly. It felt awkward even asking Freed that. He always knew how Freed was doing and what he'd been up to. But now, it was like he didn't even know Freed.

Freed gave his best friend a smile. "I'm doing quite well. Work is going really well."

"Yeah? What have you been up to? You come home a lot later now." Freed dipped his head a little.

"Uh, yeah, a lot has happened. I still go to appointments with Mira, and then after I go out with... um...Laxus." Freed was expecting a reaction from Bickslow mentioning Laxus's name, but there was none. So Freed continued, " I also started hanging out with some of my co-workers. I made friends with a woman named Lucy...She's pretty amazing. I um...told her about my interest in make-up." That surprised Bickslow.

"Oh yeah? How'd that go?"

"Well," Freed smiled, "She's teaching me how to apply everything on my own. I want to one day not be so dependent on Mira." That pulled a genuine smile out of Bickslow. He was proud that Freed was making his own attempts at becoming more independent and that he was making friends. It's been over twenty years that Bickslow had known Freed, and he'd never made a friend on his own. Freed wouldn't have even known Evergreen or Elfman if it weren't for him. Bickslow was excited for Freed, honestly happy he was doing well for himself. But then, there was this feeling of sadness. It was almost as if he could feel a wall being drawn up between the two of them. If Freed didn't need him anymore, would they even be as close of friends as they were? Freed wouldn't look to him for support; he could find it somewhere else. In Lucy, or even...Laxus.

"That's good, Freed; I'm glad things are going well for you." Freed nodded,

"I also have been going out to see My co-worker Gray and Loke perform. They're so talented! I went to see Gray perform tonight...um, well, I didn't make it in time, but we still hung out and talked for a little while."

"Gray and Loke? Gray Fullbuster? Loke Regulus?" Freed blinked back in surprise.

"O-oh! Yes! They both work at FHA." Freed cocked his head to the side. "Do you know them?" Bickslow chuckled and shook his head.

"Yeah, a little. They both went to FSU. I had a few classes with them." Freed knew this. He remembered Cana and Gray having a discussion about it.

Freed fumbled with his cardigan. "Um, so do you know Cana Alberona?" Bickslow nodded again.

"Yep, she would hang out with them. Wow, all three of them went to FHA? Small world."

"I'm friends with Cana too. She was actually my first friend there." Bickslow let out a little laugh.

"Can't say I was expecting that. I could remember how wild those three were back in college. I'm surprised you felt relaxed enough to have a conversation with her." Freed laughed as well.

"Well, at first, she scared me, so I ignored her for a while, but then I found out she was my trainer, and we ended up getting along well. She's always helping me. She's probably the one I'm the closest with. I think we're so close people mistake us to be in a relationship." Bickslow snorted.

"And I bet that shocks the piss out of everyone." They both grow quiet again until Freed feels a buzz from his pocket. He pulled his phone out and looked down at a message from Gray.

3662249986

(Maybe Gray)

Hey, It's Gray. I got your number from Lucy. Wanted to make sure you got home safely. Also wanted to tell you Goodnight.

Freed smiled, and Bickslow leaned over to read the message. "Oh wow, that was nice of him."

"Y-yeah." Freed quickly shot him a text back before tucking his phone back into his lap. It was then that Freed got an idea. "U-um...Bickslow? Would you like to see my pictures with Mira?" Bickslow's heart surged.

"I would love to." Freed smiled and opened his phone back up before handing it to Bickslow. Bickslow sighed in happiness as he finally saw Freed, the real Freed. "You look amazing, Freed. I'm so proud of you." Bickslow could feel his eyes tearing up. "So, so proud."

Freed felt his eyes water himself. Words of praise were so foreign to Freed. He had never heard words like this unless they were spoken by Erza at work. Hearing Bickslow say them right then made his heart chirp with pure joy. His heart surged, making him hurl his arms around his best friend, throwing Bickslow off guard and knocking him back.

"F-Freed?"

"I missed you!" Freed yelled into Bickslow's shoulder. "I hate fighting; I don't like not being able to talk to you!" Bickslow went to console his friend, but he could barely breathe behind all of the snot and tears building up. His hands were shaking as he patted Freed's back.

"Hey," he said softly. "It's okay. We don't have to fight anymore. I promise. Listen-" But he froze.

He wanted to tell Freed so bad. Bickslow wanted to get everything off his chest. Everything about Laxus, Lisanna, and...Uta. Bickslow wanted to tell Freed all of it. But as his lips moved to form the words, his mind flashed back to those gray times. The darkest point of his life that Freed knows nothing about. And then Uta... Freed knew nothing.

He would hate Bickslow. Freed would hate Bickslow for keeping everything away from him for so long. For everything that Bickslow has done behind his back. Freed would hate him.

So he couldn't do it.

He wouldn't.

Not yet.

Bickslow gently pushed Freed back and wiped a tear from his eye. "Hey, stop crying." Bickslow smiled as Freed sniffled and fought back more tears. "Listen...When I get back from my trip, I'm going to set you down and tell you everything." Freed blinked a few times before realizing what Bickslow was referring to.

"O-oh. Okay..." Bickslow smiled, laying a hand on Freed's head.

"Anything you want to know, I'll tell you, I promise." He just needed time. Time to prepare.

Freed could hear Gray's words float around in his head. " Even as friends, we have rights to things we want to keep personal, whatever the reason. Then sometimes, we hold things back without even realizing it. Whether it's because it's just a subconscious thing we do to ignore it or because we're just trying to protect ourselves, we hold back even our deepest secrets from the ones we love."

"Bickslow," Freed said, looking up into his best friend's eyes. When he had his attention, Freed continued. "No matter what happened, we will always be friends. I won't judge you or hold it against you." Those words were far from comforting to Bickslow. As the image of Uta flickered into his mind, her long leafy-green hair and beautiful bright blue eyes, Bickslow knew, the moment Freed found out about the truth...he would never forgive him.