After packing all the things he believed he would need Freed put on his old red coat, buckled up his belt and left the house with his bag. Now he should go buy some groceries. While on his way to the marketplace, suddenly he heard a familiar voice coming from behind him.
"Freed!"
He turned around surprised.
"Good morning Levy and Lucy", he greeted the two girls with smile. "And Plue", he chuckled when seeing the white 'dog' who raised its paw as a hello. "You three are up early."
"Good morning Freed", Levy smiled. "Doing some grocery shopping for Laxus?" she smirked knowingly.
"Maybe", Freed admitted. "He would never buy nothing but beer and pizza if someone else wouldn't take care of filling his fridge."
"That's really sweet, Freed", Lucy smiled. "You're taking such a good care of him. So what are you doing for breakfast?"
"I'm not actually sure yet."
"Aww, I'm sure he'll like everything you do", Levy smiled patting Freed's shoulder. "I've heard that your cooking are delicious!"
"I just do my best for my team", Freed said with a modest nod.
"And to your Thunder God", Lucy chuckled making the man blush slightly. "I'm sorry, we didn't mean to tease you", she assured. "But I really hope I could sometime taste your cooking. Erza told me she once tasted a cake you made and she absolutely loved it! She said she would give anything to have more."
"You're giving me too much credit", Freed smiled. "We have many good cooks in our Guild and comparing skills is pointless when everyone has their own speciality."
"Always so humble", Levy chuckled.
"So where are you two heading?" the swordsman asked curiously. "How come Natsu and Gajeel are not with you?"
"They're still sleeping", Levy explained with a shrug. "This is the only time of the day when we can go somewhere by ourselves without them hanging around and we decided to just walk around. I guess Laxus is a late-sleeper too?"
"That is correct", Freed laughed. "How are Natsu and Gajeel going to react when they realize you are gone?"
"Gajeel usually stays somewhat calm", Levy said and they started walking across the marketplace. "Until someone says one word wrong and then he loses it."
"Natsu just starts to run around the town and yell and be stupid like always", Lucy sighed and Plue just hummed something nonsensical while tiptoeing ahead of them.
"Natsu is unique that's for sure", Freed smiled and bought some ingredients from a booth and they continued on around the market.
"Not sure if that's good or bad..." Lucy mumbled rolling her eyes.
"He cares about you deeply, that is always a good thing."
"How is Laxus going to react when he realizes you're gone?" Levy asked curiously.
"I left a note for him", Freed said. "He shouldn't worry if he happens to wake up before I'm back."
"I did that too with Gajeel and it didn't go as planned."
"Really?"
"Yeah, this season makes them go crazy", Levy said. "They just want to stay close all the time and are suspicious of everything."
"Yeah, they are extremely jealous", Lucy added. "I mean... They don't think that we would cheat on them, but they don't trust other people to keep their hands away."
"I did notice that yesterday... If you don't mind could you tell me more about how this mating season works? I can buy you cups of coffee as a thank you", Freed offered.
"Sure", Lucy smiled. "If you really want to pay."
"You can even order some cake if you want", Freed promised and that made the girls overjoyed.
After shopping they found a nice little coffee shop just beside the marketplace. Since the weather was good they decided it would be nice to sit on the terrace outside.
"Really? He threw your coat away? Just like that?" Lucy asked.
"Yeah, like it was something really disgusting", Freed nodded amused. "If I should guess, I believe it's because I said it was from you and Natsu. If it was just from you maybe he wouldn't have minded that much."
"But since Natsu is another Dragon Slayer, he's more cautious", Levy figured. "Or maybe even if it were from Warren or Jet or any other male he would have acted that way anyway? He doesn't mind girls since he knows you don't swing that way but guys are a threat."
"Could be", Freed nodded. "I'm sorry Lucy, it was a nice gift."
"It's okay", Lucy assured with a smile.
"So... I know it is rather daring of me to ask and it's none of my business, but I don't know who else to ask these things. so.. How are Natsu and Gajeel acting about... Ahem", he cleared his throat awkwardly and all three of them blushed. This was not an easy topic to talk about. "Is there anything I should know so I'm prepared with Laxus?"
"W-well... I guess they are not any different from normal in that sense", Levy answered trying to hide behind her coffee cup and Lucy hid her red face behind her blond hair.
"I'm so sorry I had to ask that", Freed apologized and felt how his own cheeks were burning out of embarrassment.
"N-no, it's okay. You need to know more about this mating season and that is part of it. How about Laxus? Is he acting, um... A-any different that way?"
"Well we haven't actually discussed about the topic yet... He doesn't want to hurry me in any way but I can sense how he is... Umm... Randy or something similar."
Oh god this was really awkward! Freed knew this was important to discuss about but he still felt really awkward!
"Mirajane told me that it is because Laxus is older than Gajeel and Natsu", Lucy said. "It's an instinct, he's old enough to want offspring. That's just something he can't help."
"The very point of mating season is always about having offspring", Freed nodded and he didn't say a thing when Plue snatched a strawberry from his plate. "That can't of course happen in mine and Laxus' case, but the instinct is still there regardless. Dragon Slayers are acting like dragons and for them I believe offspring is an important matter. Dragons live really long lives and mating season happens rarely so every little dragon is precious."
Of course there was that horrific time when they actually had to fight against those precious little dragons but that was a whole different situation then.
"Master and Porlyusica said that we should stay cautious since this is really old and feral magic", Levy said and she was slightly worried. "We don't have enough knowledge about this. There are no books or anything else anymore from where we could find some information. We only have some rumours."
"So... Basically we just need to be on alert and take notes of what happens and all", Freed frowned.
He didn't like this. He never liked it when he had to encounter something new and he didn't have enough information. There were so many things that could go wrong.
"Has Laxus yet mentioned anything about the mark?" Lucy asked.
"Mark?" Freed asked confused.
"Yeah, Dragon Slayers mark their mates. Dragons do that too, it works like a wedding ring. It sounds of course bad but it's nothing serious, a slayer just lightly bites their mate on the neck and leaves a mark that matches their magic. There is no need to even actually... Uh... Do those things."
"Laxus hasn't yet mentioned anything about marks", Freed said and put his finger on the edge of his plate when Plue was trying to steal his cake.
"We have our marks", Levy smiled and turned around in her chair. Freed could see small round mark that looked like it was made out of tiny little pieces of steel. Lucy had her own that looked like a fireball.
"Interesting", Freed murmured. "So now you'll be mates forever?"
"Porlyusica said that's not always the case", Levy said and shook her head. "There are mates and then soulmates. If you're soulmates, the mark will stay forever."
"And if not?" Freed asked now worried.
"Nothing stops you from being together", Lucy smiled. "Regular mate's mark will disappear after the mating season but it doesn't mean there is no love."
"Can a Dragon Slayer have many mates?" The mere thought about Laxus having other mates made Freed shiver and a little bit jealous.
"We don't know that, I guess it's possible. But there's only one soulmate. And when Dragon Slayer finds their soulmate, Porlyusica said that it's quite possible they will remain somewhat possessive, overprotective and like that because Dragon Slayer's soulmate is their most valuable treasure. Their magic bond is really strong, who knows what might happen? Like maybe the soulmate might have some of his Dragon Slayer's power to protect them?"
"Like if you're in danger and then lightning appears to protect you", Levy explained.
"Or Levy might get iron plates to cover her skin", Lucy nodded.
"And Lucy of course might get surrounded by fire."
"That does make sense", Freed agreed. "Dragon Slayers are powerful but their mates might not be as strong. I would never even imagine I could win a fight against Laxus", he chuckled. "Or Natsu and Gajeel if they go serious about it, not a chance. They just simply are in a league of their own when talking about power."
"Yeah", Lucy said and shivered. "But they won't harm us", she smiled. "But they might compete against each other, to see who is strongest and to impress that way their mate."
"And the only way to know if you're true soulmates is to wait until season is over?" Freed asked and the girls nodded.
"That's what Porlyusica said", Levy said. "That's pretty much all we know right now. When Laxus went after you yesterday we had no idea what to do or what might happen. Especially after we heard you were on a date with Rufus."
"How is he by the way?"
"He's fine", Lucy chuckled. "Well, he had three broken ribs but he said he would meet someone to heal him. He won't hold a grudge."
"That is good, I'm glad nothing more serious happened", Freed sighed relieved.
"But seriously, Laxus was scary", Lucy said. "For a second I was almost sure he would kill him."
"Laxus would never kill anyone. No matter what anyone says I know he wouldn't do something like that. But he can cause serious damage."
Freed sighed and finally he let go of the plate and let Plue have the rest of his cake.
"We're sorry we can't tell you anything more about this", Levy apologized patting Freed's hand. "We know how much you hate it when you don't have enough information about something that's happening."
"It's okay, Levy", Freed smiled. "It is not your fault. We just need to take notes now so in the future we are more prepared."
"Don't worry Freed", Lucy said with smile. "I'm sure everything will work out. And we are sure you are Laxus' soulmate", she giggled making Freed's face heat up. "You two just simply belong together like..."
"Strawberries and vanilla ice cream!" Levy suggested cheerfully.
"Or chocolate and strawberries!"
"Strawberries and lemon ice cream!"
"What is with you two and strawberries?" Freed huffed amused.
"Lucy! Levy!" they suddenly heard a new voice and raised their gazes.
Happy almost crashed into their table making poor Plue to drop his remaining cake on the ground.
"Happy? What's with the rush?" Lucy asked surprised.
"Lucy! Natsu is causing trouble again!" the blue Exceed yelled and he looked scared. "And so is Gajeel!"
"What are they doing?" Levy asked and they all stood up.
"They started to argue about something again and now they are fighting and destroying things!"
"Sounds like you two should go", Freed said and he left money on the table to pay their order.
At that moment they could see a large pillar of fire erupting nearby.
"Those two idiots", Lucy grumbled annoyed.
Freed was about to say something but he lost his voice when suddenly there was a bright blast of thunder and ground was shaking.
"Why is Laxus there?" he gasped confused.
"We should go there before they cause more damage", Lucy decided and they all started running.