Chapter Text
"Hey Freed, something came in the mail for you."
Freed looked up from his book, seeing that Bickslow was depositing a letter in front of him. Taking it, he felt a jolt of alarm as he turned it over and found a wax seal on it in green, with the letter 'J' adorning it. He looked around; no one else seemed to have noticed the look on his face, but he wasn't sure he wanted to read the contents of the letter out in the open where anyone could see. He hadn't heard from his family in a very long time, nor was he particularly enthused to be hearing from them at all. Taking the letter, he stood up, pushed his chair in, and removed himself to a more private corner of the guild hall.
Once the letter was open, Freed scanned the page with a critical eye. By the time he was done, he felt ill. With a harsh swallow, he stowed it away in his coat and made to leave the guild hall. He needed some help with this.
"Your family? I thought you disowned those weirdos?"
Laxus raised an eyebrow towards Bickslow, the one who had spoken. To his knowledge, Freed had never spoken up about his family, or indeed his life before Fairy Tail at all. They sat in a circle now, in Laxus' living room, these three around him being the only people typically permitted here. Freed had requested a private meeting space, and this was as private as things in Fairy Tail really got.
"I left home and never looked back." Freed answered, staring at his hands in his lap. He wasn't the kind of picture most people would take for 'anxiety', but it was clear to anyone who knew him as well as Laxus did that he was unhappy. Gone was the ultra-composed, prim and proper Freed; sitting on the floor, hair falling into his face, he looked more like a little kid who didn't know where he should be. "I never made a formal legal disconnection, but I...well, I made sure never to tell them where I was. It surprises me that they found me, our previous conversations were few and far between, and always through communication lacrimas."
"Freed, let me get a look at this letter you received." Evergreen asked, holding out her hand. Freed handed it over, and the boys in the room listened carefully as she began to read aloud.
"Dearest Gottfried..."
Bickslow snorted. Freed closed his eyes and inhaled sharply.
"It is our pleasure to have finally contacted you. Mother was always worried about where you were staying, but when I informed her we had traced you to a town as historied and respected as Magnolia, she was delighted. She will be even more pleased, I think, to see you soon, as we have much to talk about and much that must be discussed in person."
Laxus could guess well before the second sentence was over that Freed came from wealthy upper-class types, which would surprise nobody who had ever looked at him. It was still surreal to hear the words spoken that way, though. After enough of civilian life, you just kind of assumed people that spoke like that were a creation of movies and television.
"As unfortunate as it is, I write to you with ill news. Our grandfather and gracious patriarch of this family, Claude Justine, has been released from hospice care, and is due to die soon. It is imperative that you make your way here so that our family can be as one again, particularly as this may be our last chance to do so, and so that inheritances can be discussed. Though you undoubtedly still remember where we live, I have included the address at the bottom of this letter. Do not worry about train fare, as I've paid for it in advance, simply show the seal on this letter to the conductor and your cabin will be provided for you."
"Well, that's nice. 'Least you won't have to pay for a cross-country trip!" Bickslow interjected, but Evergreen hushed him.
"In addition to the urgency with which we summon you to the family home, we also encourage you to bring an entourage. A business convention will be taking place in town at the end of this month, and father is excited about a potential buyout. Any business partners or up-and-comings that you would like to bring along and introduce to the family are most welcome. Uncle Egon will be present as well, and as I'm sure you know, his connections are top-notch."
Evergreen cleared her throat.
"As long as it has been since we last saw you, please do not believe there is any bad blood between us, Gottfried. We look forward to seeing you again, so please find us posthaste. Your brother, Günther."
By the end of the letter, Freed looked ill. Laxus, whose gaze had remained on him the whole time, was the first to speak up, cutting straight to the point:
"So what did these assholes do that made you cut ties?"
It was a question to which he expected a sober, if hesitant answer, one he expected of someone as close to him as Freed was. But to his surprise, Freed stared at him as if he'd just been yelled at, and then turned away, hiding his face.
"Freed...?"
It was a reaction that disturbed him. All of them had been lonely people at one point, and by now Laxus realized that that was why they had formed their little friend group in the first place, each one of them sensing familiarity with the others' problems. He had to wonder what it was that was bad enough for Freed to want to hide it from him, particularly as Freed considered himself the one closest to Laxus and told him everything. By now, they all knew that the extent of damages caused by a terrible family could be immense. Surely whatever was going on couldn't be worse than anything Laxus knew Ivan to be capable of, right? Or should he be imagining some dramatic story the likes of which surrounded Jude Heartfilia and his daughter Lucy?
"Well, you are planning on going, right?" Evergreen asked, an eyebrow raised. "I understand if things are tense between you and your family, but it would be a travesty if your grandfather passed away without you ever seeing him again."
Laxus finally looked away from Freed, if only briefly, to look at Bickslow, whose mouth was curved in a frown. He'd gotten good enough at reading Bickslow's expressions without eye contact by now to understand that they were thinking the same thing: Evergreen may be taking this a tad too lightly.
"You don't understand the background I come from." Freed said when he finally piped up. "Minstrel's history with magic and magic-wielders is...contentious. Quite a lot of old money, where I come from, is a part of a separate class that looks down on magic. Things are complicated. There are lies I've told, lies I'd have to tell..."
"You're afraid of going back because you'd have to pretend to do something other than magic for a living...?" Laxus asked, brow furrowing. Somehow, he doubted that was all there was to it. Especially given the presence of magic the world over. Though he had definitely heard that some countries on Ishgar treated magically much different than Fiore did, he knew all of them to have a Magic Council of their own. Could an elite class of magic-less people really exist?
"Please..." Freed said, a note of desperation creeping into his voice. "I can't do this alone. If you could just come with me and stay throughout the convention..."
"It's no problem." Bickslow said immediately, and Evergreen and Laxus nodded as well. "That letter mentioned you could bring an 'entourage', right? We'll just go with you."
"Yes, and I did find that strange." Freed admitted. "Families like mine don't normally welcome strangers into their home. But I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, and if you're allowed to come, and there are no objections..."
"We're with you." Laxus said. "I can tell Gramps to excuse us from whatever the guild might require from us until we're back. We have to be there for you the way you'd be there for us."
"And I'm sure we can pretend to be 'business associates' of yours for a short while." Evergreen said, fanning herself. "It can't be that hard. Honestly, it might be nice to be among proper gentlemen for a change. No offense to you three," she said, chuckling. "And I definitely wouldn't mind playing 'rich girl' long enough to catch a real self-made man's eye."
Freed gave a hollow laugh. "There are no self-made men among the wealthy, Evergreen, but if it gets you to help me out, I'm sure the business convention will offer one or two bachelors."
"Then it's settled." Laxus said. "When are we leaving?"
Freed took in another sharp breath. "As soon as I can get the three of you practiced in proper society behavior, and with a good cover story."
It's been a while since we did anything together with just the four of us, Laxus thought to himself. Fairy Tail wizards, having to set aside their association with a guild? A challenge, for sure. But maybe we'll have a little fun along the way.
