Waiting For My Mate

Chapter 47

It was a really cold early morning. There were dark clouds in the sky, shooting down sleet all around the town, making everything wet and slippery. There was no signs that the clouds would disappear at the rest of the day, so it was probably wise to just stay inside today.

Makarov put the newspaper on the table after reading it. Just then, the kettle on the stove announced that the water was boiling by a soft whistle so he hopped down onto the floor. He climbed on the stool and took the kettle from the stove, pouring the water in the teapot. He had his coffee, but he knew Freed wanted a cup of tea in the morning so he made it ready for him.

It had been a rough couple of days... It had been six weeks since the Thunder Legion had returned from their last mission. Bickslow was doing great, all thanks to Wendy and Porlyusica who managed to heal him completely back to normal. He did have big scars though, but it seemed like Bickslow didn't care about it which was good.

Everything went really well until last week. Freed was lucky that his pregnancy didn't yet show, at least not when he wasn't wearing shirts too tight-fitting. He was able to still come to the Guild and not fear that someone might notice before he could tell Laxus. Makarov was worried he might get bored, not being able to go in to missions so he had given the rune mage some of the paperwork where he could help him. Of course, it was obvious that if Laxus would be the new Master of the Fairy Tail, Freed would probably be the one helping him as much as he could so it was a good thing that he get to know what kind of a paperwork there would be.

The old man sighed, while waiting for the tea to brew. The moment that started this downhill was when a week ago Erza had returned back to the Guild. Of course Freed was just as happy as everyone else when the red haired mage returned, but that seemed to make him think that Laxus would probably appear anytime soon too. He was so eager to see him, waiting patiently and hoping that Laxus would step inside the Guild Hall at any second.

That continued three days. When Freed finally realized that Erza's return didn't mean that Laxus would return soon too, he got depressed. When he didn't show up in the Guild on the fourth day, Makarov went to see him and found him from the Laxus' house and it pained him to see how the proud, strong man looked so utterly sorrowful and lost.

It was now obvious more than ever that the dragon slayers weren't the only ones to suffer because of their dragonic instincts, their mates had their own share as well through the link that soulmate's mark created. Freed seemed so sad and fragile when his soulmate was away and he did the best thing he could: He looked for the safest place he could find, where he could wait.

So here they were in Laxus' house and Makarov had decided it was probably for the best if he stick around as well until Freed would feel better. Freed was obviously doing bad, not sleeping well and not eating enough. The old Master of Fairy Tail was worried that if he weren't there to make some food, Freed would starve himself. Maybe dragons could go without eating through the whole pregnancy but obviously humans couldn't.

Of course, Evergreen and Bickslow were also worried about the situation. But there was not much they could do. They tried to talk with Freed, cheer him up but there was hardly anything to make the swordsman even smile a bit. Most of the time Freed just laid on the bed, maybe not sleeping but he didn't want to get up or go anywhere.

Makarov poured the tea on the cup and put it on the small tray. Then he headed towards the bedroom, knocked the door and opened it. The room was dim and he saw the lump on the bed, as Freed had snuggled himself under the covers, leaning against the pillows. Like nesting, Makarov thought silently. Guess it made him feel more safe so it was good.

He walked next to the bed and put the cup on the night stand. He looked at the breakfast he had done earlier and saw that at least Freed had eaten few bites of it. That was good also, he was worried he wouldn't even touch the plate.