Chapter Text
Chapter One – The Night Before
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Six shots of tequila, two tankards full of ridiculously frothy beer and three quarters of a double rum, neat… and some citrus filled cocktail, the name of which escaped him. The combination of those drinks spread across three hours - had it been that long already – had gotten Laxus into the hazy, somewhat sweaty state that was slumped in a wooden stool and leaning against a bar top, actively ignoring the concerned and pitying look that Mirajane was sending him.
Well, he wasn't sure it was concerned and pitying, as he was ignoring it, but he was pretty damn confident it was.
That was, of course, the issue in having a regular bar; specifically one that has an overly empathetic and slightly too involved owner. On the nights that you want to spend some time alone and perhaps even drink until you forget why you arrived in the first place, the aforementioned owner tries to figure out what's gotten you in such a mood and what they can do to get you out of it.
Laxus was very quickly finding out that Mirajane was quite excellent at finding out what had caused him to come to her bar in such a mood. As of yet, though, she had done little to actually help the situation. Unless concerned and pitying glances were an unadvertised breakthrough in therapy and Laxus wasn't feeling the affect just yet. That was unlikely, though.
"I mean, I'm screwed, ain't I?" He groaned, shifting to rest both forearms on the bar. "Who gets fired from being a fucking trash man?"
"You weren't fired, Laxus. They just had to let someone go and-"
"And they looked at me and thought 'out of everyone here, he moves peoples old shit and rotting food onto some truck the worst.' Y'know, in a weird way, I would have rather been fired." He ran his hands through his hair, sighing.
"At least you get a severance check and a pretty good reference." Mirajane smiled, taking the empty glass from the Limoncello Sangria that Laxus had ordered and placing it under the bar to clean later. She patted Laxus' hand, prompting him to grunt and gestured for her to leave him. She sighed, but did.
"Yeah, bet it'll be great." Laxus muttered sarcastically. "I mean, who wouldn't hire me? I'm the guy that moves trash to a replaceable standard."
Expecting the continuation of pitying glances, Laxus looked back down to the bar top and picked up his quarter filled drink. After the shots, all the drinks were starting to taste the same. Maybe that had been why he got the cocktail, an attempt to get a little bit of flavour with his alcohol. It hadn't worked, obviously, as he was still nursing a flavourless rum instead of something that gave the slightest hint of stimulation to his tongue. Either way, the alcohol was the main priority tonight, so he lifted the glass to his lips and drained the remaining rum in a single gulp.
Now left with an empty glass, he began to slowly twirl it around with his finger. After a few moments of silence, other than the gentle scratching of glass against wood, Laxus let out a loud and agitated groan. He ran his hand through his hair, pushing the glass forward. Mirajane glared when she was forced to stop it from falling off and smashing. Perhaps it was the drink, but Laxus noted she looked kind of like Makarov with that expression
Shit. Makarov.
It had been a mistake to tell his grandfather, he knew that now. But the old man had just called him up randomly, asking if he wanted the glass cake stand he had drunkenly brought from eBay of all things, and noticed his mood immediately. Without needing much convincing, Laxus confessed to what had happened. He now regretted it.
"You know, gramps told me he kept the money I give him instead of spending it." Laxus spoke again. "He said I can have it back until I get another job."
"That's good, isn't it?" Mirajane smiled, whipping down a glass.
"No! I gave him that money so he doesn't have to overwork himself." He exhaled loudly, dragging a bowl of peanuts towards him, picking a few up and tossing them into his mouth. "And the check those bastards gave me is fucking tiny, won't last me a month. So, I'm actually gonna have to take it back, like I'm a teenager again or some deadbeat bastard."
"But if its your own money then surely-"
"That's not the point." Laxus groaned. "I don't wanna rely on him for help. I'm twenty-fucking-six, I shouldn't have my grandfather wiping my damn ass." He picked up another handful of peanuts and ate them. "Another rum, please?"
Mirajane sighed, nodded and turned around. She was humming gently as she prepared Laxus' drink – or was the alcohol distorting the music playing through the stereo, the sounds were getting somewhat unintelligible now. Either way, it was a pleasant enough sound and caused enough of a distraction so that his mind didn't wonder to a place of stress and worry about paying bills and rent. Of course, thinking about how he shouldn't think about those issues lead him to actually thinking about the damn issues.
He pushed the bowl of peanuts forward again, not appreciating the taste after all the booze he'd drunk. He picked up a leather bound menu that was standing on the bar top and began to slide his fingers up and down, feeling the indentations of 'Strauss Tavern' that was on the front. It was simply a distraction, something to occupy his hands with while he waited for Mirajane to finish the drink.
She was taking her time, it was only a damn rum.
Carding a hand through his hair to further busy his hands, he payed no attention to the sound of the door opening and gently tapping against the wall that it was connected to. He played just as little attention as the new patron removed his coat, hung it beside the door, and pulled out a stool further down the bar, sitting down without saying a word. He did, however, glance up when he glimpsed Mirajane turn around, hoping to see his drink being placed on the bar. Instead, Mirajane was looking towards the new person in the room.
Laxus didn't focus on what she said, but she sounded happy. She walked towards the new guy, Laxus following her with his eyes. She was leaning over the bar by the time his gaze caught up with her, smiling at the guy who had come in. Was the guys hair green? He wasn't that drunk that colours changed, was he?
Uninterested by the newcomer, he looked forward again to the wall of bottles behind the bar. There was no sign of his rum being poured, other than a glass filled with ice. He didn't have ice in his drinks; Mirajane's customer service was slipping. If he leant forward, he could probably reach the bottle and the glass from where he was. But if she caught him, she'd get mad and cut him off for the night. He could wait, probably.
"Oh, I should introduce the two of you. Laxus," When Mirajane said his name, Laxus looked up. "This is Freed, we knew each other as kids. Freed, this is Laxus, one of my regulars."
Laxus raised a hand, somewhat lethargically, to greet the other man. Freed sent him a small smile and returned the raised hand gesture. At least, that's what Laxus assumed happened, his vision was still blurred when he moved his head too fast.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Freed said, his voice almost chocolatey. Which didn't make sense, as chocolate wasn't a sound. Still, it was a comparison Laxus would stand by.
"You too." Laxus grumbled, nodding. He looked back to Mirajane. "Can I get my drink now, Mira."
"Sure." Mirajane smiled. "One second, Freed."
When Mirajane turned back to make Laxus' drink, the blonde dragged the bowl of peanuts towards him, suddenly craving the taste again. As he threw a small handful to the back of his throat, he glanced towards the other man in the bar. He frowned, turning his head fully to see that Freed was looking at him. Well, it was more like a stare really.
The frown still present on his face, he looked towards Mirajane as she finished his drink and placed it in front of him. He lifted it to his lips and gulped down half of it, pulling a face as he identified it as a rum and coke instead of straight rum. When she started changing his drinks orders to something less alcoholic, it meant she was trying to sober him up slightly, so she could close up without felling guilty for sending him home completely drunk. She probably wanted to close up early to talk to the green haired guy. It was fair, but Laxus couldn't help being a little offended.
Speaking of the other guy, Laxus snuck another glance at him. He was still staring at him for some reason.
"Something wrong?" He grunted, possibly more aggressively than he intended.
"Ignore him, he's in a bad mood today. Lost his job today." Mirajane smiled, patting Laxus' hand when he glared at the now public announcement that he was unemployed. "D'you still drink blended malt, Freed?"
After Freed nodded, Mirajane reached up for a bottle of his favoured drink, glaring at Laxus when he muttered his annoyance about how Freed gets the drink he desired while he's stuck with a diluted, overly sweet version of his. Laxus would have been pissed if, when he checked his bar tab, he got charged for a double rum when he didn't get one. Unless the double rum was cheaper, in which he would have been annoyed if he had to pay for a drink he didn't order. Either way, he would have been pissed if he had to pay for the more expensive drink.
Almost the moment Mirajane placed the drink in front of Freed – the drink he ordered, no less – the door to the bar opened again. This time, it was considerable harder to ignore who came in as there was a lot of laughing, screeching and general loud, obnoxious noises. When Laxus glanced to see why they were being so loud, he saw a large group of women wearing pink sashes, one wearing a crappy, plastic tiara. A bachelorette party. Fantastic.
By the exasperated, unimpressed look on Mirajane's face, she was just as annoyed by the group of women walking towards the wide corner booth at the far end of the bar. Whether it was because of the noise they were making or the probable chance that she would be working later than expected; Laxus didn't care. He was too busy coming to the realisation that a bachelorette party was a much better deterrent than a rum and coke.
"Guess I'll go and deal with them." Mirajane sighed through slightly gritted teeth. "You two, play nice."
She was walking from behind the bar and towards the group of women before either man could reply. Laxus sighed and glanced towards Freed, who was sipping down the drink he had been given. Laxus picked up his glass and did the same, the sweet flavour tasting a little better on his tongue now. He could deal with sound of the women, at least until he finished his drink.
He glanced towards Freed again, who was now looking down at his phone while tapping his fingers against his glass. Why had he been looking at him before? And, perhaps more importantly, why wasn't he looking at him now?
Apparently, the guy had managed to hear what he had thought. As Laxus began to frown at him, Freed turned his head and looked directly towards him with a smile. He clearly noticed the frown and the fact Laxus had been looking at him for a few seconds, so Laxus didn't bother trying to pass it off as a random glance.
"Something wrong?" Freed mirrored Laxus' words, with considerably less aggression. Laxus laughed, somewhat bitterly.
"You kidding? I lost my job, I've barely got enough to pay rent on a crappy apartment and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have to start relying on my fucking grandad for money again." He groaned, turning his body to face Freed. "And I've got no fucking idea why I told you any of that. Sorry."
"It's fine. I'd rather listen to you that the…" He glanced towards the group of girls, who were now loudly relaying their orders in unnecessarily loud voices. "Celebrations. So, if its not too invasive a question, what did you do before today?"
"Garbage collector." Laxus chuckled without humour. "As a kid, you never think you'll be sad about not being able to haul bags of trash into a truck, do you? Life's a bitch."
Freed gave a sympathetic chuckle and picked up his drink, throwing a bit of it to the back of his throat. Laxus did the same, the two of them falling into a comfortable silence – ignoring the laughter from the corner booth of course. Both men watched as Mirajane returned to the bar, pulling out a large number of glasses and bottles from the illuminated wall of alcohol. Given the unamused expression on her face and the amount of drinks she was going to be making, both men thought it would be best for her to be left alone.
The silence remained for a short while longer, Laxus slowly draining the glass of the diluted alcohol. When the glass was empty, other than the remaining ice cubes, he considered leaving. But the thought going to the crap apartment he may soon be leaving wasn't an attractive one. Not when he still had a lot to get off his chest, and a guy seemingly willing to let him do it.
"I'm not even qualified for anything." Laxus groaned, Freed looking towards him. "I mean, I've got my LVG licence, or whatever the hell its called. The one that lets me drive the truck. So I guess I can drive, do UPS or FedEx or some crap like that."
"You don't seem too enthused by that idea." Freed took another sip of his drink.
"I dunno. I like driving, and I'm fine doing it for a job, its just…" He trailed off, leaning on his hand in exasperation. "Garbage collecting was always meant to be the job I took until I got something better. Going around the city, delivering books or pallets or whatever UPS deliver just seems like more of the same, just with a different uniform. And I swear to god if you suggest being a taxi driver…"
"I wasn't going to." Freed chuckled slightly. "Do a lot of people suggest that?"
"All the damn time. And I don't care if it pays well or whatever, I'm not gonna drive around the city so I can end up driving with, well, that." He nodded towards the group of cackling women.
Again, the two fell into silence. Laxus absentmindedly played with his glass, gently swirling it around his finger and listening to the melting ice clinking together. From the corner of his eye, he could see Freed drain the rest of his own drink and place it on the bar top. He didn't seem as if he wanted to leave just yet, most likely so he could have another drink. Mirajane was still serving the group of girls, so he wouldn't be getting one anytime soon.
Just as he opened his mouth to speak, his phone began to vibrate in his pocket – or maybe that was just when he noticed it. He groaned, pulling it out of his pocket to see his grandfather's name on the screen. He cancelled the call, not wanting to seem like a drunk as well as unemployed.
He placed his phone back into his pocket and leant on the bar, half tempted to reach over and get a little more booze into his system for the second time that night. Mira would kill him if she found out, or just charge him for whatever he drunk. He wasn't sure exactly which was worse, so didn't risk it. Instead, he looked back to Freed, who was frowning at him.
"My grandad." He explained. "Apparently he saved the money I sent him to put into a retirement account. Wants to give it back to me. Don't know why, but it kinda makes me feel worse than if I were struggling without his help."
"I'm sure he has good intentions."
"Maybe." Laxus grumbled. "I just think that I'm at the point where I should look after him, y'know. Not the other fucking way around." He groaned again, leaning on his hand to look at Freed. "You ever had to deal with this?"
"I can't say I have." Freed chuckled.
"You're lucky." Laxus muttered. "I just feel so fucking useless today, y'know. Can't keep a stable job, can't live without having to take handouts from family, can't even handle the same amount of booze I could five years ago." The last statement was accompanied with a spiteful chuckle. "And now I feel like I'm repeating myself, you probably didn't even give a shit the first time. Probably some big company exec who wanted to get away from people bitching about work. Sorry."
"Its fine, honestly." Freed assured him. "And, I do sympathise, not having work can be hard."
When Laxus didn't reply, Freed looked at the other man with studying eyes. Laxus frowned slightly, not sure what Freed's judgmental eyes were looking for, but he didn't say anything. He was just gonna wait for Mira to return from serving the drinks, say goodbye, promise to pay his tab when he was sober and leave. Freed and his analytical eyes would be a hazy memory overthrown by the splitting headache of a hangover Laxus would have to endure in the morning.
Freed, seeing Laxus' eyes flitter towards the door behind him and predicting what that meant, sat up straight. As intended, it got the blonde's attention.
"You said you don't enjoy taking handouts from your family, correct?"
"Yeah." Laxus grunted in reply.
"What is your opinion on taking a, perhaps misguided, offer from a stranger in a bar?" At Freed's question and small smirk, Laxus sat up also.
"The hell are you talking about?" Laxus frowned.
"I'm in a financial position to pay someone a decent salary, I travel a lot and I don't particularly enjoy driving. You need a job, you want a step up from your last one and said you enjoyed driving. To me, the logical step is to offer you the position of being my chauffeur." The other man's smirk widened, Laxus leaning forward slightly in attention. "So, what I suppose I'm asking, Laxus," Freed's smirk settled into a grin. "How willing are you to take a gamble on me?"