CHAPTER 2

So, I know that everyone hates original characters, but . . . I put one in *cringes* Please don't hurt me!

I REWORKED THIS BECAUSE IT TOOK OUT ALL OF MY THINGIES I USED TO MARK SWITCHING TO DIFFERENT STUFF (IT LOOKED REALLY CONFUSING SORRY 'BOUT THAT GUYS), AND I NOTICED THAT I COULD DO THIS A BIT BETTER. THANKS Child at Heart Forever FOR YOUR AWESOME REVIEW AND JoltsBot AND Evan FOR YOUR SUPPORT. :) YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME. ADDITIONALLY, THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO FOLLOWED AND/OR FAVORITED THIS STORY; GajeelIronSteel, aball147, alexbelles, bloodmooneclipse, love everything girl, AND luvsmarchingband2much.

Bixlow charged through the streets of Magnolia, deftly avoiding some of the more unsavory characters that liked to come out at night (but there was a pretty close call with a drunk citizen who thought he was King Arthur). Although it was not nearly as busy as it would be in full daylight, he still couldn't go fast enough for his liking, finally hopping up on his 'babies' and surfing over the street-lit buildings to Ever's apartment.

Ever spotted a dark shape moving quickly toward the window she had been pacing in front of. She opened it and barely had time to move out of the way before Bixlow and his 'babies' spead through it and tumbled onto the carpet. Normally, she would have reprimanded him for coming to her house in an unorthodox way and at such a late hour (ladies didn't have strange men climbing through their windows during odd hours of the night and Bixlow definitely qualified as 'strange' no matter how many years she had known him) but these were definitely not ordinary circumstances.

"I'm assuming from that spectacular entrance that you also got a letter from Freed?" Ever asked. Freed had mentioned in her letter that he left his sword with Bixlow, so it was safe to assume he had also written a letter to explain why it was there.

"Yeah, you got any idea where he went?" Bixlow knew Ever wouldn't have stayed in her apartment dicking around if she knew where he was for a definite fact. He also knew she had probably been waiting for him to show up, so that they could cross ideas of where he would go, and coordinate their search. Ever may not look it or act it all the time, but she was actually pretty smart when she put her mind to it.

"I have a few ideas, but all of them seem kind of like long shots."

"Doesn't matter. The sooner we find him . . ." He trailed off, but the last part of his sentence still hung in the air, the less likely Laxus will know about it.

"Yes. Hopefully Laxus never finds out. I'm thinking he didn't send Laxus a letter because the city is still standing, and Freed isn't that stupid. So that gives us at least until morning, through the day if we say he is doing errands, we may even have a week if we can get Mirajane on board to say he left for a solo mission early in the morning and didn't want to wake us. I'll talk to Mirajane and try to track down where he is currently living and stuff, you check where he generally likes to hang out. See if you can figure out where he's been recently. Lets get started. Oh, and do you mind putting that sword and these letters somewhere hard to find? We don't want Laxus to find them."

After a few days of searching, Ever and Bixlow met again in Ever's studio apartment.

"From what I understand, he joined Sabertooth officially around midday, and left for a job immediately afterward. I couldn't get the Sabertooth guild members to say more to me then that." Ever said exasperated. "I mean really, you would think they would give up more information to someone who has been his friend for years when they've only known him a few weeks! Well, at least Mira won't be lying when she says he's on a solo job. And we do have other ways of tracking him down . . ."

"Ever!" Bixlow laughed. "I think he would murder us if he ever realized we had a tracking mark put on him without his knowledge!"

"You were there! You know how bad his sense of direction is when it comes to unfamiliar cities! It took us hours to find him!"

Bixlow giggled, his dolls echoing the laugh. "Yeah, I know . . . but it was kinda funny how we found him upside down in that vat of jelly! I don't even know how he could have thought that our hotel was down there!"

Ever rolled her eyes. "Aaaany way, did you find out where he lives now?"

"Yeah, it's a couple blocks from Sabertooth. Hey, do you want to hunt him down or wait for him to show back up? I've always wanted to try that thing where you wait in the dark for a person to show up in a fluffy armchair, and when they do you flip on the light and start twirling your obsessively long and well-groomed moustache."

"Why would you want to wait in the dark? And let me make this clear, I WILL NEVER, EVER, EVER HAVE FACIAL HAIR OF ANY SORT."

"Never say never, Ever. Hey! that rhymed!"

Ever sighed dramatically, but before she could say anything else, Laxus burst in.

Freed walked up the steep path to his fiancee's cabin, puffing as he smiled happily. It had been so long since he had been able to see her. He kept trying to visit in between jobs, but even when the Raijinshuu weren't off fighting monsters, it was tough work being their Captain. He always had to balance the books, wright apology notes (there was this one time the entire town had been leveled and he swore his hand was still aching from the strain), and generally make sure things went smoothly. It really wouldn't have been all that difficult, but . . . well his team had a way of making things complicated. He winced a little as he remembered to add the 'ex' in front of 'team' before shaking it off and focusing on the bright side. He would get to see Laini more often!

He could barely remember the engagement; it had happened so long ago.

Flashback:

He sat perfectly straight on the chair. His feet didn't reach the floor, but he knew it wasn't an excuse not to sit up properly. It was a hard chair (the finest mahogany money could buy, but it did not, unfortunately, have a seat cushion), and he was tempted to squirm, but he knew the consequences of what would happen if he did. His body shuddered to think about it.

"Dear?" his mother asked. "Are you cold? We can have a servant fetch you a sweater."

"No, mother."

"And is your young lady cold? We must always be polite mustn't we? She is to be apart of the family, you know."

"Yes, mother." He turned to the equally proper-and-uncomfortable girl beside him. "Are you well, miss?"

"Yes," her voice and tongue carefully creating each syllable. "I am perfectly well."

"Aaron, might the children go outside and get to know each other while we finish up the paperwork? If you don't mind?" His mother inquired cooly of her husband and the young lady's parents. His mother knew that his father had made the chair he had to sit on extra uncomfortable for 'training' in discipline. She also knew that her little one wouldn't be able to keep still much longer. And that would be very bad for him.

"I'm sure we don't mind, do we honey?" The little girl's father smiled at her mother in a condescending way.

"We do not." She miffed, and stuck her nose in the air. The three year old boy rather thought she looked like one of the penguins he had been reading about in the library earlier that day.

"Well then, darling, why don't you show your little bride-to-be the rose garden? It's beautiful this time of year." His mother said softly.

"Yes, mother." He slid awkwardly off the chair before helping the girl down from hers. From his father's flashing eyes, he knew he would pay for that single moment of gracelessness later. One simply did not show weakness in front of others. Even if that weakness was only getting down from too-tall uncomfortable chairs.

He took her to the rose garden, as he had been told. It really was beautiful this time of summer, the bright red blooms fully open and stretching toward the bluest sky the world could offer. The garden was a circular maze, with the tall rose bushes forming the thorny walls.

"Would you care for a walk in the maze, Miss?"

"If you wouldn't mind terribly."

"Not at all."

It was like any other conversation he had ever had. Short, polite, to the point. Even when his father was punishing him, it was still controlled. His father never shouted. He offered her his elbow and they walked slowly through the lightly-scented summer air. It was near midday, and the sun was high in the sky. The little girl's frilly pale pink dress swished softly as she moved. She looked like a doll, all dressed up in that frilly pink dress with an equally frilly and pink bonnet. Then again, he didn't look any less dolled up (though his outfit was, thankfully, not pink or frilly in any way). They didn't speak, walking stiffly. When the reached the center, the girl suddenly stopped short.

"Oh." She let slip a small gasp, her delicate lips falling open.

He could understand why. The perfectly round lawn stretched before them, bright green grass cut to perfection. At it's center stood a fountain, on a small pedestal in a koi pond. It was a statue of the greek god Zeus, ruler of the sky, king of the gods. His eyes glared towards the heavens, as though accusing the sun of shining too brightly. He wore a toga, the swishing fabric frozen in stone. One hand held a bolt of lightning, poised to smite whatever it was he felt like smiting, the other loose at his side. Water bubbled up from under his feet, flowing into the pond below him. The statue oozed power, the sculptor had been a master.

He liked that statute. Nothing bad had ever happened to him in this rose garden, and he couldn't help but feel that nothing ever would. This immortal thunder god would protect him from all that would try to hurt him here. If only his protection extended to the house.

Benches lined the outside of the circle of grass, and he asked the girl who still stood gaping, if she would like to sit.

She looked around carefully before responding, hazel eyes darting. "Is there anyone watching us here?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"No . . . ?"

"Good!" She exclaimed, much louder. "Let's play!" Giggling, she tossed her bonnet to the ground at ran across the lawn, blonde hair whipping freely. "Catch me if you can!"

He grinned the biggest smile he had ever smiled in his short life and ran after her. When they thought they may be summoned again, they took a few moments making themselves presentable once more, before walking just as stiffly back through the maze.

The rest of the day went as quiet and politely as the first part, but when he wished good-bye to his fiancee, she shot him a small smile full of light (and more than a little mischievous) when no one was looking but him. He quickly smiled back. He really hoped she would be able to visit often.

End Flashback

Laini had been his first and best friend. She had helped to make his childhood a bearable one. They had never been anything more than friends, though. He had been twelve when he lost his family and home, but afterwards, he had still tried to visit her occasionally. It was on one such visit that he had told her he was gay, and on the same visit that he realized what a great friend he had, as she had accepted him completely. It's not like we're still getting married anyways, she had told him. And don't worry about it. I never saw you as more than a friend. So, you got any crushes? Her parents couldn't break the engagement as it had been sealed with his father's magic (which was quite similar to his own, though not completely the same) but they had made it very clear that their only daughter was not going into a marriage that could not give her anything.

She had lived with her parents until they started trying to match-make her with other boys, whom she said were "douchebags of an uptight world in which the slightest squeak of a fart would bring your downfall". She renounced her parents and her inheritance when they were sixteen, and was currently living in a cottage in the wooded mountains near Magnolia (the reason that he was gasping for breath as he trekked up the steep trail). Really, he thought. Did she HAVE to live like a recluse like Porlyusica? And even Porlyusica isn't as hard to get to as this.

After a few more minutes, he finally saw her cabin. It was in a clearing, a bright glen that reminded him ever so slightly of the lawn in the center of the rose maze (no benches or fountains or statues of Zeus, though). He ran the last few steps to the cottage, eager to collapse into a chair with a cool glass of water.

The door flew open before he reached it.

"AAAHHH!" Laini squealed as she tackled him in a bear hug.

He laughed as she sent them in a sprawling mess to the ground. He thought he heard a gasp from behind him but when he glanced over, but nothing was there. He figured it could have just as easily been the sound of his ribs cracking from Laini's crushing hug.

"Can't. Breathe." He managed to gasp out.

"Sorry!" She said while untangling herself from him. She helped him off the ground, chattering brightly to him as they walked, arm-in-arm, back towards the little house in the woods.

A Few Hours Before Then

"Laxus!" Ever and Bixlow cried out as the enormous blonde burst in through the door.

"Did you two kill Freed or somethin'?!" He yelled at his cowering body guards. "'Cuz Mira said he was out on a solo job, but Freed would never take on a solo job that took longer than a few days, and when I asked her about the job Freed took 'cuz I thought he might be in trouble, SHE said YOU two said to tell me that he was on a job. SO WHAT IS IT THAT HAS HAPPENED THAT YOU NEED TO LIE TO ME ABOUT WHERE HE IS?!" He waited a few moments for a response. When no one moved to say anything, he ground out "Well?!"

"Er . . . Laxus," Ever started awkwardly.

"Yes?"

"Freed left." She winced and turned her face away in preparation for the spit that would probably be flying through the room in a second as Laxus (understandably) freaked out.

"What?" His face was screwed up in confusion. "So he did leave on a job?"

"Ummm, no." Bixlow interjected. "Freed left."

"Wait. Feed left. Like Freed left left? Like left the Raijinshuu?" He said disbelievingly. He had never really been without his captain by his side for an extended period of time besides when he had to leave Fairy Tail since they had first met. But he had still been Captain of the Raijinshuu even if Laxus wasn't there. And sure, Freed was kinda annoying sometimes, but . . .

"Well . . . yeah."

"WHAT?!" Laxus finally exploded they way they had expected him to since he first bust through the door. He was sparking all over and Ever's hair started to float, crackling with static electricity. The very air started shocking them, and the room smelled like ozone. Laxus punched the wall, and his fist went into the plaster, sending zipping bits of electricity outward. All the light lacrama exploded, raining crystal shards down on them. Why did this have to happen in MY apartment?! Ever thought desperately.

"Laxus, calm down!" Ever yelled at the dragon slayer.

"WHY SHOULD I CALM DOWN?!"

Because you're wrecking my house, that's why! She thought but instead said, "Well, you're not going to be able to find him until you're calm! And I am SO not writing the apology letters if you level the city!"

Laxus took a deep breath and quieted his magic. "You're right. We just need to find him. What do you know?"

Ever and Bixlow breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Laxus was still sparking occasionally, but the worst seemed to be over. They told him what they knew.

"Alright. So our two options of how to find Freed are to beat it out of those Sabertooth fuckers or use the tracking mark. Since I don't feel like starting an all-out guild war, I think we should use the tracking mark. Freed can be mad at us as long as he's with us."

"Ok. All we have to do to find him is kick Laxus in the balls," said Bixlow. "Kick Laxus, kick Laxus!" his babies copied.

"What?"

Ever rolled her eyes. "No, we just have to say a key phrase. I wrote it down here." She handed Laxus a slip of paper. "Should take us right to him."

"Eeeeeverrrrr!" Bixlow whined. "Why do you always have to spoil my fun? We could have done it and he wouldn't have even hit us back!" ("Spoiler! Spoiler!")

"No, I would have kicked you back," Laxus said as he looked at the paper. "Makarov is not looking at those cute girls in bikinis like a creep."

There was a flash of light as they appeared just in front of a cottage in a forest.

"We wanted to make sure it was something we didn't accidentally say," Ever explained quietly. "So, I guess we knock on the door?"

Just then, they saw Freed bolting towards the cabin. They all started forward, wondering what kind of horrible beast could be chasing him.

The cabin door slammed open, and a young woman about Freed's age was suddenly attacking him, screaming a war cry of "AAAAHHHHH!" They fell, tumbling to the ground, wrestling.

At this point, Laxus, Bixlow and Ever were running top speed to help when Ever realized that Freed was . . . laughing? She gasped and stopped short, arms flung out to stop Laxus and Bixlow from coming any closer to the couple sprawled on the ground. "Back up, back up!" Ever hissed at the other two as they ran back to the treeline. They hid themselves just before Freed's head turned their direction.

"What was that for?" Bixlow asked quietly ("That for, that for!"), but his question was answered as the woman helped Freed up and they made their way happily to the little house.

"I think there is a bit more going on than he told us . . ." Ever's eyes narrowed.