A/Ns: Wow. I've been going a little crazy lately with all of these one-shots and short chapters, huh? Two one-shots written in one day, and I only posted the last HWHL chapter less than two weeks ago. Granted, they're kind of about the same thing, so I guess the latest chapter of Brother, Sisters, and Unfortunate Husbands is what made me want to write this particular story today and not do it at some point in the next million years.

Anyway... I'll update the HWHL order at the end so you can see where this one is set, even though it's pretty obvious if you read the last HWHL chapter (Spontaneity). Now, on to the story, I suppose!


Things had been going well for Bickslow and Lucy following their marriage that no one knew about. They'd been married for a little over three months so far, and no one had suspected a thing. Nothing was different, except the fact that they were married, and god, did Bickslow love that.

Even if it really fucking sucked that he could still rarely spend time with her. It was getting increasingly more difficult not to just blurt it out to the guild so he could just walk up to his wife in the guild and just hug her. He almost wanted to be able to do the domestic things too, but he couldn't. There was something about just the idea of being able to walk up to Lucy in the guild during the day and say, 'hey, I was thinking we could go out for dinner tonight instead. What do you think?' Or be able to kiss her cheek when they left on jobs for the day or week and tell her that he'd see her at home when he got back. They weren't living together, because of obvious reasons, but he couldn't wait for them to be. Bickslow had accepted that it would take some getting used to, actually living with her, but that was fine. He was very much looking forward getting to wake up next to that particular blonde every morning.

Or most of them, anyway.

But if things had been going well in their relationship, considering all things, things hadn't been going so well for Lucy herself. Something had been off with her, and Bickslow had been worried for the last few weeks. He watched her in the guild a lot, since the visor allowed him to get away with it, but over the last few weeks specifically, he'd just been watching her to see if she was okay. He knew she wasn't, but with the few chances he'd had to actually ask her if she was, she'd said she was fine.

She was just coming down with a cold or something. Nothing major.

But colds had never had her shaking her head at one of her favourite comfort foods and not being able to finish a single strawberry and banana smoothie before pushing it as far away from her as she could manage. Bickslow had seen Lucy with a cold, since she'd stayed in bed for only two days with one at the very start of the year. If Bickslow was certain of one thing, apart from his undying love for the insane blonde, it was that it was not just a cold.

Did he know what it was though? Nope. He had not a single clue, and neither did Lucy.

She wasn't always like that though. Of the days he'd seen her in the guild, some days she did manage to eat or drink something, and she seemed a little energetic and upbeat sometimes. Mira was just as worried about her as Bickslow was, as were her team, and if it hadn't been or those people picking up that something was off with her and doing their best to make her feel better, Bickslow would have been over there in a heartbeat and been the one to give her the multitude of cuddles she'd been receiving from her team over the last few weeks.

She was okay, considering all things. She had people making sure of it.

It was just a few days after he'd come back from a job though when Bickslow actually began to worry about just what Lucy's mystery illness was. Honestly, he was on the verge of begging her to go see a doctor. The last thing Bickslow wanted was for her to be dying of some mystery disease. He at least wanted to be married to her for a year before she died. That was fair, wasn't it? Sure it was.

Lucy had managed to convince her team to go on a job without her, not that it had taken much considering Lucy hadn't gone into the guild for the last two days for more than a few hours before going home because she wanted to pass out somewhere. Her team had been more than happy to let Lucy skip that one, and so had Bickslow, considering it meant she was able to stay at his place and he always loved it when she could do that.

Just… Not so much when she woke up in the middle of the night suddenly, literally climbed over him and pulled him from his own slumber, and ran to the bathroom off to the side of the room. Just a cold? Yeah, sure. Bickslow wasn't believing that for a second. He'd stopped believing that about a week and half earlier, and when Bickslow was woken up the next morning by the sound of her vomiting, he was totally convinced that it was definitely not just a cold.

She was dying. She had to be. He was the one who was supposed to die, leave her a widow and leave her everything he owned, not the other way around, damn it. He didn't have anyone else to marry (or anyone else who was in love with him, as far as he knew) after she died either.

…So maybe she wasn't dying, but still.

Bickslow was more than a little worried about her, and even when he had quite literally been the one to pick her up from the tiled floor when she didn't have the energy or strength to do it herself, she still insisted that she okay, and that maybe, just maybe, it was a stomach bug of some sort. And because Lucy was stubborn, he had to just drop it and let her go home since she couldn't spend her day in his apartment, as much as she had wanted to.

So when Lucy went home that morning to just go sleep some more, Bickslow went to the guild. He really hoped his team hadn't found a job or anything, because he honestly didn't think he'd be of much use if he was worrying about Lucy's health. Thankfully though, they hadn't, and it was just like a normal day. Evergreen was with the Strauss siblings, Freed was probably down in the library if not taking a simple solo job, and Laxus was sitting and drowning himself in booze and talking to Gajeel, and Bickslow was going to join them like he usually did.

It was just a few hours later when Levy joined them. Her fanboys were out on their own job somewhere, which meant she was sitting with Gajeel that day, since Lucy was no doubt staying at home. When the blue haired woman sat down next to Gajeel, dropping her heavy book down on the table with a sigh, Gajeel arched a pierced eyebrow and asked, "Where have you been, Shrimpy?"

"I was at Lucy's," Levy replied wistfully, and Bickslow pretended not to be taking too much of an interest in the sudden topic change. "I wanted to go and see if she was feeling better since I know she's been a little under the weather lately, but she said she won't be coming in again today either."

"Why doesn't she just go see a doctor or something then?"

She shrugged. "That's what I said. But she just keeps saying she'll be fine. If I knew she wasn't with anyone, I'd guess she was probably pregnant and it was mostly morning sickness."

Bickslow choked on his drink then, and he sat up as a hand went to his chest. Pregnant? Morning sickness?! With everyone looking at him, Bickslow cleared his throat and meekly said, "Wrong pipe." He certainly hadn't just choked on his drink because he was now thinking that Levy had an unfortunate point. Not at all.

Glancing at the visored Seith mage curiously, Laxus took a sip of his own drink and dropped the glass down to the wooden table. "Don't you know, Levy?" Laxus joined the conversation quietly as his mouth twisted into a smirk. "Blondie's got a secret boyfriend. She probably is knocked up."

"No, she doesn't," the Script mage argued. "Trust me, I'd know if she did, so she is most definitely not pregnant. It's practically impossible."

Yeah, it's really not that impossible… And honestly, Bickslow was really only thinking that it was entirely possible. Too possible, even, because they'd been just a little lazy with actually trying to prevent it from happening. Before they'd been married, it had been a rare occurrence that they ever forgot some kind of protection, but after they'd been married, and especially with the last couple of months… They tended to forget. More than they should, anyway.

But it wasn't like she was definitely pregnant. It was entirely possible that it was just something else. Definitely not a cold, but it could just still be some virus that was taking its time to go, or she really was dying. Who knew, really? It could be anything.

But oh, did Bickslow want to know what it was. If he could leave right then to go and see Lucy, he would have. He would have run out the fucking door if it had been possible, but he couldn't, because that would be too suspicious considering the conversation topic, and that was the last thing he needed. What was just a little strange to Bickslow though as he remained silent and stayed out of the conversation, was that they actually kept talking about it. Laxus was still convinced Lucy had a secret boyfriend, Levy was sure she'd know if that was the case (sorry, Levy) and that she was most definitely not pregnant because she was still under the impression her best friend was still as pure and innocent as she had been a year ago (sorry Erza… And Levy) since best friends apparently talked about that kind of stuff, and Gajeel was just trying to figure out how anyone was insane enough to actually date Lucy, and in secret too, and then maybe even want kids with her. He didn't have anything against the blonde, but she was just a little crazy and her kids were bound to be just as insane.

Bickslow didn't mind that though.

So instead, he just tried to bide his time and hide the fact he was internally freaking the hell out, because it was entirely possible that his wife really was pregnant. He'd just have to wait to talk to her.


It was the second night in the row that Lucy was staying with him, and that made Bickslow incredibly happy. He hadn't been able to leave the guild that day until it was late, and he'd left around the same time Levy had, and then when Bickslow had wanted to go visit Lucy, it had turned out that Levy was wanting to go check on her again.

But then Lucy had shown up at his door a little later than night, and that had been perfect, because all she'd wanted to do was end a horrible day by cuddling and falling asleep next to her husband. It was perfect, really, and within half an hour of getting into bed, she was fast asleep.

Bickslow wasn't asleep though. He was wide awake, and staring at the blonde who was curled up against his side with her head on his shoulder. How was he supposed to sleep when all day he'd just been thinking about whether or not she was pregnant and that it would mean he'd be a dad? That was a terrifying thought, really, because they truly were not ready for children. In a few years, maybe, he'd imagined, but not when they'd only been together for not much more than a year at that point. Bickslow would be lying if he said that he hadn't thought about what things would be like down the track once everyone knew about them and they were older and everything was settled and such. Kids were definitely in the picture he'd conjured up in his head. Hell, kids were literally just the entire picture. Not because he wanted an army of them, because he did not want that – maybe one or two – but because that's what he knew he wanted with Lucy, and he had for a while. They'd only ever talked about whether they'd ever have children (assuming neither died, obviously) in their future once, and it had been the night they got married. It had been a semi-serious conversation that had lasted all of ten seconds, if that.

"I guess this is probably the time I should ask you if you ever want to have kids though, right?"

"Of course I do."

It had been over as quickly as it had begun, because that's all they'd needed. They both wanted kids, eventually, but… Not yet. Definitely not yet.

But if she was pregnant, and it was a whole lot earlier than they'd both ever thought, then Bickslow would still be happy. How would he not be? He loved the idea of them having kids, and when he just felt himself growing just a little too excited over the prospect of them actually having a baby, he had to tell himself to tone it down a little. He couldn't let himself get excited until he knew if she was – if she knew she was – and he definitely couldn't let that excitement show if Lucy really did not want a baby just yet.

With that thought in mind, Bickslow gently pulled himself away from the blonde so she was lying on her side with one leg forward and had her head on the pillow instead of on him. He needed to see, and he was basically a walking pregnancy test anyway, so if she was pregnant, then Bickslow would definitely be able to tell (and honestly, it was a long story as to how Bickslow had come to realise that babies' souls formed pretty early on, and he really had no intentions of ever telling Lucy just how he'd figured that one out. It had been an accident, really). Looking to see if she was still asleep, because Bickslow really did not want to be having to explain just yet why he was being just a little creepy and using his magic when she was sleeping, he slowly looked down to her stomach as he gently lifted up the blanket that was up to her waist, and then carefully began to channel his magic to just be able to see the one thing he needed to see.

And then it was there, and Bickslow was sure he stopped breathing. Sitting low, past the waistband of her shorts, was a soul. Not like hers, which was higher, larger, and brighter and by her heart; but small, and not even half as bright as an adult's or even a child's soul, and it was white.

All Bickslow could do was stare at the tiny faintly glowing orb that was his child's soul, because it was such a beautiful thing. He'd always loved the beauty of souls and the ability to see them, but this… This was different. It was more than beautiful, and it was something so small, but it was something so small that made Bickslow happier than he thought it would. He was honestly terrified, yes, but he was so far past overjoyed he didn't know what to do other than just finally roll back and drop the blanket to rest against them again, and stare up at the ceiling with a wide grin.

He really wasn't going to be getting any sleep that night, he knew, because he was far too busy thinking about the fact that he was going to be a dad.


When Lucy woke up the next morning, it thankfully wasn't to go and empty her already empty stomach. No, she was actually feeling slightly normal, and that was a good thing. Maybe I'm finally getting better? Hey, a girl could dream. When she'd spent the better part of her week not wanting to eat because everything seemed to make her want to throw up, she was very much awaiting the end of whatever bug she'd caught.

Stretching and opening her eyes, she only noticed that she was in Bickslow's bed alone, and she blinked up at the ceiling for a moment before sitting up and looking around. Lucy knew it was early, because she always got up around the same time every day, but Lucy also knew that Bickslow's preferred wake-up was somewhere around five hours after she usually got up. But for some reason, Bickslow was already awake.

Lucy pulled herself from the bed, and then quietly padded out into the hall. She smiled when she saw Bickslow going about his small kitchen, and she could only think about how much she loved him when she saw that he had cooked bacon. Bacon she could always eat, no matter how sick she felt. "You're up early," Lucy said as she made her way into the kitchen.

He looked over his shoulder and grinned when he saw the blonde. He knew she'd be getting up soon, and since he hadn't slept at all, Bickslow had decided that cooking her breakfast for when she did get up would be a good way to have her start her day. It didn't help that they really needed to talk, and even though she would usually be leaving around that time too so she could get home without being seen leaving his building, Bickslow really hoped she would stay at least for a little while.

Lifting an arm, Bickslow reached out and pulled her into his side and quickly kissed the top of her head before looking back down to the pan in front of him. "Couldn't sleep."

"Did you get any sleep at all?" she asked once she saw the dark circles under his eyes.

"Nope." He lifted up the large mug of coffee just from the other side of his stove and grinned. "Coffee is my friend right now."

"Mmm, coffee sounds good." She needed some coffee. Or some tea, maybe. But she wanted coffee more, so she stepped away from Bickslow and reached up for the cupboard that was just next to his fridge, and reached for one of the mugs sitting in there so she could get her own.

But then Bickslow quickly turned when he remembered something about how pregnant women weren't exactly supposed to have that much caffeine, and he gently took the mug from her hands and smiled down at her softly. Just to be safe… "How about some juice instead?"

"Okay…"

Pouring her a glass of orange juice from the fridge, he handed it to her, and then quickly took the pan off the hotplate once it was done. Being up all night, Bickslow had had plenty of time to think about just what it was he would say to Lucy, but now that she was standing right behind him and no doubt sensing that he was really quite nervous all of a sudden, Bickslow had no idea what to do or say. You weren't exactly supposed to go to your wife and tell them that they were pregnant. It was supposed to be the other way around.

But… Their relationship wasn't conventional, just like their life, so it seemed fitting that their first child together would be Bickslow surprising Lucy with the news.

He really just needed to get it out there though, because despite having kept his relationship with the woman a secret for more than a year, Bickslow was terrible at keeping secrets. He always got too nervous, and said things he shouldn't have, and this was one thing that should not be kept a secret from Lucy of all people.

Not even finishing plating up their breakfast, he turned to the blonde, and quickly said, "We need to talk."

She arched an eyebrow as she chewed on a piece of the bacon from one of the plates. "Can we eat first?" She was honestly starving.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Bickslow mumbled, before he quickly shook his head and closed his eyes. "I mean, no. We really need to talk like right now."

"Okay…? What's up?"

There was literally no good way to begin that conversation, and Bickslow knew that, and twisting his hands together nervously, he looked back up from where she had placed her glass on the counter and picked up another piece of bacon. "So uh… You know how we haven't exactly been all that safe or careful lately?" he began.

"What? You think someone knows about us?" Lucy mumbled with her mouth half full.

"That's not what I meant." When she only stared at him in confusion, Bickslow said, "I meant sex, Cosplayer."

"Oh. I… I guess. But that reminds me actually."

"What?"

"I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon," Lucy explained, pausing to take another bite. "I was going see if I could go on the pill. You know, just in case."

"Oh, Jesus Christ…" Bickslow was realising that Lucy honestly had no idea at all. She didn't even suspect that she might be pregnant, let alone was, and there she was, talking about going on birth control just in case. It was just a little late for just in case, but she didn't know that yet, and honestly, Bickslow was beginning to see that telling her was going to be just that more of a shock to her. Dropping his hand from his mouth and to his side, Bickslow found it in himself to remain slightly calm, and began again, "Okay, so… You know how I can see souls, right?"

Laughing at her husband, Lucy arched an eyebrow in amusement and said, "Um, yeah. I've known that for a while, Bicks."

"Well uh, babies have souls too, obviously, since they're humans and all… But they form way before they're born. Like, usually around the same time, or just a bit before, I think, that all those fancy things in the hospitals can pick up a heartbeat and all that."

"Okay…"

It was almost cute how oblivious she was, and Bickslow was sure she would have gotten it by now because she was a very smart woman. He was only thinking that she was still half asleep or something, but because of that, Bickslow needed to make it really obvious, and there was only one way to do that. "Jesus, Cosplayer. You're pregnant."

Lucy gaped at Bickslow for a moment, and she only saw the unwavering certainty and seriousness on his face. He really wasn't kidding or messing around, and she was glad she'd already finished the piece of bacon she'd been chewing on, because she was sure she would have choked on it. But then, before she could even say anything (not that she was sure she would be able to at all), Lucy quickly began to feel like the room was spinning around with her in the middle of it and making her lose her balance, and then her grip on the counter was slipping, and she vaguely realised she was falling in some direction.

And honestly, Bickslow felt like a horrible husband right then, but he was just not able to stop himself from laughing. That was after he'd stepped forward to somewhat catch her, just because she'd been right next to the counter and he really hadn't wanted her to hurt herself, but once he'd gently lowered her to the kitchen floor in all of her unconscious glory, Bickslow had realised that he was heading towards the floor himself, just because he'd been laughing too hard and too much to keep himself standing.

He'd expected her to think he was joking, and maybe even throw something at him and tell him it wasn't funny. Or maybe she'd cry. Or scream. Or just flat out deny it. But she'd just looked at him in absolute shock, and Bickslow had seen the way how her eyes had changed and told him that she knew he was right and that she was really pregnant, and then just fainted.

Already, Bickslow's day was proving to be eventful, and as he sat there on the kitchen floor, drinking his coffee and leaning against the cabinets with Lucy's head resting on his lap, he was smiling.

When Lucy finally regained consciousness, just a few minutes later, Bickslow was still smiling down at her. She remained silent for a few moments as she tried to regain her bearings, and she didn't move as she tried to put it all together in her head. Honestly, it made too much sense for her to be pregnant, and Lucy was berating herself internally for not even suspecting it. Literally the signs had been right in front her, but nooo, she hadn't seen them. She hadn't even considered it a likely possibility.

But that didn't matter, because likely or not likely, she had, well… She'd probably lost against the odds, or won, depending on how you looked at it, and wound up pregnant. Blinking slowly as she looked back up to Bickslow, she whispered, "So I'm… I'm pregnant?"

Bickslow nodded. "That, or you have some weird soul thing going on that's new, which is like, practically impossible."

She smiled softly. "You saw its soul?"

"Yup. Right…" He gently lowered his hand to rest over her lower abdomen and her clothes, and said, "Here." When her hands folded over his own, Bickslow quietly asked, "Are you okay? I mean, I know that it wasn't supposed to happen and we're probably nowhere near being ready for a kid, but are you… A little happy? Maybe?"

Lucy sighed as her eyes flicked back up to Bickslow's face above her. She was honestly still wrapping her head around it because she really had not expected her morning to go like that, but she was okay. She was fine, she was brilliant, she was perfect. So it was way earlier than she knew they both wanted, and expected, and kind of planned, but that was still okay. They still had time to prepare themselves (and everyone else) for that huge change, and that was what Lucy was counting on.

But was she maybe a little happy? Nope. "I'm more than happy."

"Really?"

"Mm-hmm. Though, I'm also terrified, and really nervous, and I'm also starting to feel like I'm going to throw up any minute now, but I guess I know why now… But I'm also really, really excited."

"I'm really glad to hear that," Bickslow said softly, grinning as Lucy sat up and rested her forehead on his. "Well, not the part where you're gonna throw up, because I really don't want you to do that on me. But the rest of it I'm glad about, because I'm really excited too."

Pulling herself to her feet as she laughed quietly, Lucy said, "Well, I'm going to go throw up in the bathroom, before I actually do on you then."

"Greatly appreciated."

"And then, I'm going to go jump around on your bed and act like a five-year-old."

"And I will join you, because that sounds like a great idea," Bickslow chuckled. And so as he stood up himself and picked up his coffee cup from the ground, Bickslow really couldn't get the smile off his face, not even if he'd tried to.

Lucy was happy about it, he was happy about it, and they were having a baby. It was so unplanned, but they were happy about their little accident. Not that he would ever call their baby that… Unless they turned out to be a menace. Maybe. He wasn't sure honestly, but Bickslow was already realised that he hoped it was a girl for some reason. Bickslow just had a feeling that if their first was a boy, then they'd be in for a wild ride as he got older.

But there was just one more thing that Bickslow was realising, and it had him shaking his head as he made his way down the hall to go jump on his bed with his wife and act like the idiots they were. And that, was that just three months earlier, he'd only joked about getting her knocked up before anyone in the guild knew they were together and married. If he'd known that that was how it would have ended up, well…

Nah. He probably wouldn't have changed or done anything differently. Bickslow loved his life too much the way it was, and he wouldn't change a single thing about anything in it.


A/Ns: Yay! So, yes. This is set three-ish months after they're married, and about two months before the starting story, We're Telling Them. And now, I can cross this one off my list of one-shots to do! Honestly, there's so many... So so many.

As promised, here is the updated list to make it easier:

1. How It All Began
2. Pride
3. Spontaneity
4. Not All Accidents Are Horrible

5. We're Telling Them
6. The Job Boycott
7. Here We Go Again
8. Sleeping Arrangements
9. The Bet
10. Trick or Treat
11. 2AM

Anyway. I hope you enjoyed this! It's getting late, and if there's any ghastly errors, I'll fix the last of them in the morning. I think I got them all... Maybe.

And, because I'm posting them in all of my stories lately... I go back to uni at the end of this month, so my updates will slow down for all of my stories. I'll still be working on them, but I won't be posting and updating as often, and I definitely won't be able to get this many updates done as I have been with these shorter chapters and stories.

Review/favourite/follow if you liked it! I'd love to know what you thought!

Until next time.

- April