An: I want to firstly apologize for this extremely late update. My life had kind of turned upside down for a while. I finally had the courage to leave my abusive relationship with my fiancée. I am doing much better now, but since it was a nasty breakup, I am now writing from my iPhone until I can hope my parents get me a laptop for Christmas lol. So updates will be slower for a while, but I love this story too much to give up on it. (:
With as quickly as the Dragon Slayer fell asleep, he didn't stay that way for long. It was only an hour later when his mind decided to start functioning again. He hadn't opened his eyes yet, but the Dragon Slayer's mind was already running at a mile a minute.
The first thing on his mind was what he was going to with Lucy tonight. He wanted to make this night the best night they've had together, but he wasn't too sure how to do that. He had heard some of the teenagers in the Library talking about The Starlight Festival that was going on this weekend.
He wasn't sure what the festival was, but it sounded cool. He picked up his phone and started to look up more details on the festival. The more that he read, the more excited he got about tonight.
The other thing that plagued his mind was the book that he got from the Library. That book had opened his eyes to the the world of Dragon Slayers that he should've known of a long time ago. It explained a lot of things that happened while he was growing up. He decided to pick up the book off of the nightstand, opening it to where he left off.
After finishing the book, he wasn't sure if he understood what it was telling him. It was then he decided to grab his phone and text Gajeel. The Iron Dragon had a habit of getting up early to train, he hoped he could catch him before he leaves.
Laxus: Hey lightning rod you up?
After a few minutes, he smiled as he heard his phone beep.
Gajeel: What the hell do you want Sparky? I was about to go train
Laxus rolled his eyes at the name he had given him before he thought about what to say. The Dragon Slayer knew that Gajeel would never pass up on a chance to train with him;There was no way he was getting back to sleep anyway.
Laxus: How about I join you? It's been a while since I've given you a good ass kicking.
Laxus set his phone on the night stand before gently rolling out of bed. He walks over to his suitcase, grabbing a tank and a pair of sweat pants. He quickly gets dressed and goes over to his phone, seeing another text.
Gajeel: I thought you were on a mission with Lucy? How in the hell will you get here? Won't she know you're gone?
Laxus: Leave that to me, meet me at our normal spot.
After sending him that text, Laxus puts his phone in his pocket and makes his way toward the door, he looked at Lucy before deciding to leave a note on the nightstand for her. Unable to help himself, Laxus leans across the bed and kisses her forehead gently. Leaning his forehead to hers, he smiled and whispered to her. "Get some sleep baby, I've got a big day planned."
After getting off of the bed, Laxus made his way to the door. He took one last look at the beautiful blonde in the bed before heading out of the hotel. He quickly goes behind the building and made sure no one saw him before he used his magic to teleport to their training spot.
Gajeel jumped at the flash of lightning that came from the sky, honestly forgetting that the Lightning Dragon Slayer could use his magic to teleport him wherever he wanted. "What made you decide to want to be here instead of with Lucy?" He asked curiously.
"We only went to sleep an hour ago." Laxus says with a lecherous grin before continuing "I just couldn't fucking sleep for some reason." The Dragon Slayer sighs and looks down at the other, knowing he was going to ask sooner or later. "I also kind of came to make a trade with you. A training session for information; While we were at the library I read a book on Dragon Slayers and their magic. Although it explained a lot of things, some of them were too vague for me to understand."
Gajeel looked at the older Dragon Slayer, he looked like a lost puppy trying to find a home. It reminded Gajeel of himself before he met… oh shit.. I should've known he wouldn't know about the mating ritual. "What kind of information? Does this have something to do with the blonde back in the hotel?" He asks with a smirk; even though he knew this was serious, he couldn't help but tease him.
Laxus sighed and rolled his eyes. "So what if it does? I get that she's supposed to be my mate, but that book didn't explain how that was supposed to happen for shit. I figured you'd be a better source of information because you were actually raised by a Dragon."
Smirking at the older Dragon Slayer, Gajeel straightened up and started to stretch. "You're right, I can explain it to you. But you're gonna have to beat the information out of me Sparky, I'm not giving it up without a proper fight."
Laxus smirks and walks toward the younger Dragon Slayer. "Bring it lightning rod." He says before joining him in his stretching.
Three hours and two hot showers later, the two Dragon Slayers flop on Gajeel's couch. Although they were both pretty drained, that was one of the best training sessions they have had. After a few minutes of enjoying the comfortable couch, Laxus spoke. "Alright, did I beat you enough to get the info I need?" He says with a chuckle, seeing multiple bruises starting to form on the Iron Dragon.
Gajeel chuckled and rolled his eyes, looking back at Laxus. "I was going to tell your dumb ass anyway, you need all the help you can get when it comes to knowing about what to do in this situation." He says with a smirk.
Laxus groaned and glared at the Iron Dragon. "Watch it lightning rod."
Gajeel's smirk softened into a smile as he looked at Laxus, knowing this must be confusing for him. He just can't help but push his buttons. "Alright I'm sorry… let's get back to what you need to know." Gajeel says before he gets up and goes to a small bookshelf. He grabbed a small book that looked extremely worn. He comes back over to the couch and sits down, tossing the book gently into he other Dragon Slayer's lap.
Laxus gave him a questioning look as he picked up the book he was given. "What is this?"
Gajeel smiled and looked at the book in his hands. "It was given to me by Metalicanna, it was how he explained mates and things like that to me. He knew I loved books so he wrote one for me as a gift, I had to transcribe it so that it was actually legible to other people though." Gajeel says as he watches Laxus flip though the pages of the book with interest.
"He gave me that before he left me, along with two necklaces. After reading that book I found out that the first necklace was mine, an iron chain with a dragon entwining the chain." Gajeel takes the chain out of his shirt, showing it to Laxus before continuing.
"The second necklace was for the mate that you had chosen. Giving it signifies the beginning of the Mating Ceremony, which isn't as big of a deal as it sounds." Gajeel says, trying to reassure the Dragon Slayer who looked a little scared. "It's not as big of a deal as you can really come in handy when your mate is on a mission with her team or if you're away on a mission with your team. It can help you feel when she is using a lot of magic power, so that you can go and help if you're needed. You also have them incorporate their magic into it as well, like with Levy's it's a book and pen with a dragon entertwined, like it's protecting it." He says observing Laxus for a moment, he was completely enthralled with what he was saying.
"The feeling after she puts her necklace on is absolutely breathtaking." Gajeel sighs, a blush taking over his cheeks as he thinks back to when Levy put on her necklace. Being able to feel her magic around him helped him become a calmer person. It's like always having a piece of her with him. He knew that it would make him go less insane every time she went off with her two dumb ass partners.
"Oi! Lover boy, quit daydreaming over there." Laxus says with a small chuckle as he saw the Iron Dragon Slayer nearly jump out of his seat from his statement. He must have mated with Levy… that explains everything. Laxus thought to himself as he waited for Gajeel to gather his thoughts again.
Gajeel just rolled his eyes and tried not to make eye contact since he was caught red handed. "Oh shut your damn mouth, you make it sound like you've never just started thinking about a certain blonde while we let training together." He says giving Laxus a glare before continuing.
"As nice as the feeling is, it can be extremely overwhelming to your senses. I wouldn't give her the necklace until you are ready to mate with her within the next day or so after. The first week or so after putting on the necklaces, you aren't going to want to get enough of each other. Lucy is a super strong wizard, but I don't know if she's strong enough to take you at full strength unless you're mated together."
"With me saying that, Metalicana also told me that if only the Dragon Slayer wears the necklace until the mate is ready for the responsibility of becoming the other's mate, it's possible to wait. But I don't know if I'd go off that information. It sounds like it could end badly."
It was then that Laxus was beginning to notice old marks on Gajeel's body, along with new piercings and a significant bite mark in the crevice of his neck.
"The next step is when you claim your mate. It's a time when the both of you are ready to take that next step in your relationship. For Levy and I, we decided that we were done waiting for what should've happened a long time ago." He says with a small smile on his face.
"Anyway, after you put the necklaces on, sex becomes a lot harder for you to control yourself. I don't know if you've gone all out with blondie or not, but it's going to make it hard for you not to. You're going to want to claim her if you keep the necklace on. You can take it off whenever you want, but you're not going to want to." He says with a chuckle. "That's the main reason why Dragon Slayer's don't wait long. The feeling of the necklace on is too good and you don't want to take it off. This results in them claiming their mate the first time they sleep together after their necklaces are put on."
"In order to claim her, you'll bite each other, you can bite her just about anywhere, but ours has to be right on the fucking neck." He says with a half-assed eye roll. You could tell he was irritated, but not enough for him to actually be upset.
"After biting her, the claiming process begins. Over the course of the next few days you'll feel you and your mate become more powerful. You'll notice some markings on her body to indicate she has been claimed. In Levy's case, she got a few iron piercings added to her already gorgeous face." He says with a small smile.
"Every Dragon is different, so I don't know what Lucy's will look like until after it's happened. Anyway, you'll also notice that you're going to become more emotional over the next week or so after, that's because you can start feeling your mates thoughts and feelings and that is one hell of a fucking different experience." Gajeel says with a dark chuckle. As much as he loved this part of the mating it definitely had its downfalls.
"It's like experiencing her joy and yours all at once. Once you feel how she feels, it makes understanding women so much easier." He says with a smirk. "But, I understand now why Metalicanna always told me to be careful when choosing a mate. There was one time Levy was angry at me for something and I thought I was going to be ripped apart." He says, letting one of his hands run through his mane of hair. "I could feel she was hurt and knowing I was the one that accidentally caused it and it ate at me for days after she forgave me." He says as he shakes his head.
"Anyway, the next step takes place during our mating season, which is about six months away. The day before the season begins, A special ceremony is held to basically commemorate our union together before we try to have children. It's kind of like a wedding for dragon slayers." Gajeel says with a big eye roll. "I don't get the point, but who am I to argue with tradition, a wedding would make the Shrimp happy anyway. I'm just not about having all of the attention being on me… but Levy's my entire world, and I'd do it for her." He says with a small smile.
"Isn't that sweet of you to say baby." Levy says as she comes out of the bedroom, startling both of the Dragon Slayers on the couch. Laxus was unaware that she was here, Gajeel on the other hand didn't think the shorty would wake up early enough to see them here.
Levy finally looks to see who the other person in the room was. Her eyes widened as she saw Laxus sitting with Gajeel. Wait, that was Laxus that Gajeel was talking about mating stuff to? Does that mean? "Laxus, what are you doing here? I thought you were with Lucy on a mission." Levy asks before she goes to make some tea.
Of course she would be worried about that. Laxus couldn't help but chuckle as he looked at the blue haired girl in one of Gajeel's oversized shirts. "I'm just here talking with him while she sleeps. She went to bed at like seven this morning, I think she'll be out for a while." He says with a chuckle. "In the meantime I'm glad you're here actually. I planned on asking Lucy to-" his voice was silenced by a squeel that made even Gajeel cringe.
"YOU'RE GOING TO ASK HER TO BE YOUR WHAT? MATE?! GIRLFRIEND?!" Levy jumped excitedly over to the two boys and plopped right into Gajeel's lap, smiling at the Lightning Dragon Slayer.
"Holy shit shorty, slow the hell down." Gajeel says as he starts to play with her hair. "He only found out about all of this, I'm sure that he would like to think about it for a little bit longer, isn't that right?" He says as he gives Laxus a stern look.
Laxus rolled his eyes at the younger Dragon Slayer, he knew he was right, but he didn't need to give him the dad look. "Yea yea, I know I need to wait. Besides I just planned on giving her something, and to ask her to be my girlfriend. But I don't have a necklace like you do Gajeel, how am I supposed to do that? I didn't have a Dragon to raise me like you did."
Gajeel thought for a moment, remembering what he had read. "The books that I have read all say that the necklaces come with the lacrima the Dragon Slayer is implanted with." He felt the bluenette in his lap stiffen, coming to the conclusion before Gajeel. He looks at Laxus, unsure of how he was going to take the news he had to tell him. "That unfortunately probably means that your dad has them." Gajeel looks at Laxus, seeing his face contort in anger as he nearly stormed out of the house.
"Before you do anything rash Laxus." Levy interrupted. "You may want to go talk to your Grandpa, he could have information on them before you go off and just start punching first and asking questions later." She says with a concerned face.
The thought of what his father could've done with those necklaces made Laxus sick. He could feel his hands shake as he tried his best to control his temper and simply nod to the small bluenette, knowing she was right.
He got up and walked to the middle of the room. He turned and smiled to the couple, thanking the both of them for their advice. Laxus smiled warmly at Levy "I'm sure Lucy will need some help getting ready, you think you're up for it shorty?
Finding the old man wasn't hard, he was sitting at the bar with a drink in his hand like always. Laxus quickly looked past everyone and made his way toward his Gramps. "Hey old man, I got something I gotta ask you." He says as he comes up to the bar, standing next to the bar. "Preferably somewhere a little more private." He could feel his hands shaking from the thought of having to go try and find those necklaces, knowing Ivan he probably sold them or something.
The Master could tell that his grandson meant business, but he had no idea what was putting him in this mood. He had never seen his grandson more determined, he could tell he was about to go on a rampage, but he wasn't sure why. The two of them quickly make their way to the Master's office.
Once they were both behind closed doors, Laxus couldn't help but spill the information he just found out. "Lucy is my mate. Even though I'm a Second Generation Dragon Slayer, I still have all of that mating season and finding a mate shit that happens and she's it. Apparently there are a pair of necklaces that came with the lacrima that He implanted in my head." Laxus stopped for a moment to let his Gramps process that.
Before Laxus could keep going the Master got out of his chair and went to his chest in the corner of the room; surprising his Grandson. It took him a while to find what he was looking for. He pulled out a long wooden box. "A long time ago I found this box with a pair of necklaces and a hole where the lacrima used to be. I nearly immediately recognized the dragon emblems and I knew that I would need to save it for you. I took it from your father and to this day he had never asked me about them."
"If you're sure that you want to take this step with Mrs. Hartfilia, then please take these necklaces. I'm so glad that you have finally found someone that makes you happy. Not that the others weren't lovely as well." He says with a chuckle before taking the necklaces over to his grandson. He gets to his desk and nearly sits down before he heads the opposite direction. "Before I forget, I modified the necklace already with a replica of a key." He says before he turns to see his grandsons wide eyes. The master chuckled and shook his head "Yes, it's made of diamond, but so is the key that matches it."
Laxus wasn't sure what to say, but the one question that was burning in his mind was "Where is the actual key that matches this thing? What kind of key is it?" He asks.
The Master laughs at the question he asked, knowing she was his drive behind the question. "It's a special key that the Celestial Spirit King has given me for Lucy. The reason I haven't given it to her yet is because she hasn't been strong enough to sense that it's in my office." He says with a small smirk on his face. "There's no doubt in my mind that after you two mate, she will be able to sense this key. It will be considered his wedding present to her in a sense." He says with a serious look, knowing his grandson shouldn't rush this.
Laxus chuckled and rolled his eyes at his grandpa, he was so old fashioned."It's a little different for Dragonslayer's Gramps. We have the ceremony after we mate, it's kind of like a wedding. So you'll still get a huge party like you want…" He says with a small smirk. "By the way, have you seen Gajeel around?"
"I haven't seen the two of them in a few days now that you mention it." The older man stated as he thought back to the last time he saw the dragon slayer.
"Well when he gets back, you might want to congratulate him on finding his mate as well." Laxus chuckled at the look of surprise on his grandpa's face. It was amusing to see him taken so off guard.
"It's about damn time that happened and you know that as well as I do." Makarov says with a chuckle after he composed himself. "Now the real question is how are you going to give her the necklace?" He asks with a smile."
Laxus smiled and pulled his phone out "I'm not sure yet, but you changing the necklace definitely gave me the perfect idea." He says with a smile before he takes the necklaces, disappearing from the guild hall once again.
This time, he reappeared next to his car by the hotel. Putting his necklace on and hers in his pocket, he pulls out his phone and immediately goes to his contacts. Once he finds the number he's looking for, he texts it and looks at the time. It was already 1:00 in the afternoon, he wondered if Lucy would be up yet? But if she was she would've texted him.
Laxus: Hey little cub, mind coming to Earthland for a while? I have a little something planned for Lucy and would like your help. Maybe your maiden friend as well if she could come.
While he was waiting for an answer, as it usually took Loki forever to answer his texts; Laxus began to walk the streets of the small town, taking a look at the things that were set up for the festivities today. There were tons of food and game vendors set up already, there was a place set aside for a band to play. Lucy is going to love this… I hope. The Lightning Dragon thinks to himself before he felt his phone go off in his pocket.
Loki: I'm actually on Earthland helping get ready for the Starlight Festival a little ways away from Magnolia. Mind coming this way and we can talk? All of Lucy's spirits are here helping and I'm sure they'd all love to help.
Well aren't I lucky? Laxus thought with a smile on his face before he texted him back.
Laxus: Well isn't that a coincidence, I'm in town with Lucy and I planned on taking her to the Starlight Festival tonight. I'm right next to the stage that's set up.
It didn't take long for Leo and Virgo to get to the Lightning Dragon. Once they were over there, they smiled brightly at him before Leo spoke. "What is that you have planned for our Princess?" He asked with a smirk as he saw Laxus glare at him.
"I planned on asking Lucy if she would take this necklace, it's the Necklace that starts the mating ritual for Dragon Slayers. Last night I heard her talking to her mother, you could feel a strange energy in the air so I believe she was there with her. She told her mother that she was in love in with me and I knew then that she needed to have this. I can't go another day of my life without her" Laxus felt his friends eyes on him, trying to see if what he was saying was true.
After a moment Loki looks at Virgo and watches as she takes a good look at the Dragon Slayer before nodding. Loki smiled and looked back at his friend. "Alright… what do you need us to do?"
Laxus smiled happily before thinking. "I was going to take her to this festival tonight and give it to her, but I don't really know what this festival is about." He says with a shrug "I've heard locals talk about how beautiful it's going to be, but they haven't really said what it is."
Virgo smiled at the tall blonde before speaking. "The Starlight Festival happens once every 50-100 years, well the True Starlight Festival anyway. In the real Starlight Festival, the skies light up with shooting stars, the festival is basically honoring the fallen stars and the spirits that they may or may not represent." Virgo says before she looks around at all of the festivities. "The years that the stars doesn't happen, the community sets off lanterns, as if to remember the stars that had fallen and in a sense they feel like they're putting the stars back where they belong."
Laxus smiles brightly at the maiden, thanking her for her explanation. "This sounds like the perfect place to take Lucy." His plan was starting to come together perfectly. "Virgo do you think you could pick out an outfit for Lucy? And maybe go and wake her up."
"The Princess still isn't up?! It's well into the afternoon." Virgo says with a stern look on her face. "Why did you let her sleep in so late?"
Laxus felt his cheeks heat up as he thought of the real reason she's still sleeping. "Uhm well we had a long night, so she's just getting some extra sleep." He says, noticing the look of approval on Leo's face. Virgo just gave him a devious smirk before disappearing. The Lightning Dragon Slayer chuckled nervously and turned toward his friend. "Do you think you could show me around? Where are her other spirits?"
Leo smiles at Laxus at how excited he seemed to be getting. He could tell the pieces were coming together in his head. "They're all around the festival helping out, ill show you around and see how they can help you with your plan." He says with a smile on his face. He could tell how serious he was about Lucy, making Leo feel great about helping go through with his plan.
Gajeel sighs and looks at Levy who was at Lucy's apartment. He knew that it was a bad idea to be coming in here unannounced, especially when no one was home; but Levy insisted it was okay. grabbing her bag, attempting to shove her massive makeup collection into it. The Iron Dragon Slayer could feel how excited Levy was to surprise Lucy with coming to see her and helping her get ready. He couldn't help but smile at her before shaking his head. "I guess I can't stop you… hurry up and grab all of your stuff shorty I'll be in the car." He says as he puts in a pair of headphones and let the music blare in his ears.