Before you get into this great story, I just wanted to send out a HUGE Thank you to StarryFire14. It has been an absolute blast to write this with her so far and we have so much more planned.

Just to say it again...we do not own the Pradesh Family (Also a humongous shout out to Desna for her genius), nor do we claim any rights to Mashima's Fairy Tail Characters, only the shenanigans we make them get up to and, boy, do we plan to make the get up to a lot.

Enjoy and please review.

We are starved for validation lol

Also...If you read my other stories...I haven't forgotten about them, they're just severely neglected. It's my bad, really.

Sometimes life changes, in it's own time, but it always does eventually. Even for those who had been absolutely certain it never would. It's an inescapable aspect of life.

There had been a time when they were an inseparable team, but people change and they grow. Their priorities shift. It doesn't mean anyone did anything particularly wrong, it's just how life goes.

They were revered all across Fiore, and they specialized in taking down dark guilds, but now the war was over. The light guilds had emerged victorious, and there just weren't as many dark guilds to take down. A good thing for the world, most definitely. But it changed things.

The Thunder Legion had struggled to find jobs that held any interest for them, for quite some time after they'd returned home from Alvarez, each of its members used to the high stakes of their usual missions. They used to make a living eradicating, swiftly and unapologetically, those influenced by Zeref's dark magic. Now that he was gone, the world freed from his malicious presence, they had to find other ways to get by.

Never had they considered that successfully wiping the darkest mage in history off the map would be anything but glorious, but here they were.

Laxus had decided to step into the role his grandfather had once held, when it started to become clear that maybe Erza wasn't cut out to be the master of the guild. She was fierce, loyal to a fault, and the embodiment of what a Fairy should be, but she just couldn't shake her need for adventure. All those years trapped in a tower made her eager for movement, for the ability to forge her own path, for danger, even, and the excitement that can bring. That kind of freedom just didn't come with the title of 'Guildmaster'.

Evergreen, like usual, was the opposite of Titania. She was all but done throwing herself into terrifying missions, trekking through harsh landscapes, and putting her life on the line on a daily basis. It's not that she couldn't do it anymore, she just didn't want to, and that was fine. Her team understood. Lately, she'd been taking on smaller, but still challenging, jobs with Elfman and they'd honestly never seen her happier. They were sure that someday soon, she'd admit her feelings to the man. Then again, they'd been sure of that for years. Still, this time was somehow different.

Freed was seemingly in denial that things were changing so rapidly. The man had grown up in an environment that hadn't changed in centuries, so it was understandable. His nose was always buried in a book, or five, researching…something. Bickslow wasn't sure if Freed even had a goal or if he was doing it just to bide his time. He had a sinking suspicion it was mostly a distraction, something to occupy his genius mind enough that he didn't have to consider the implications of his team falling apart around him.

These were all things Bickslow had been observing about the people most important in his life. Frankly, he was feeling similarly to Freed. For the last eight years of his life (not counting their stasis on Tenrou), this group of people - the Thunder Legion, his team - they'd been the only family he had access to. The thought that maybe things were deteriorating was pretty terrifying, especially for someone who'd effectively lost one family already.

He supposed things would likely feel more serious and suffocating if it weren't for their guild's Celestial Mage. Just as he'd watched life affect his team, Lucy had watched it do the same to her own.

Jellal's head had finally been pulled out of his ass and put it back on his shoulders, undoubtedly the product of the combined efforts of Lucy and Meredy. He'd finally confessed his true feelings to the famed Requip Mage, and as soon as she'd handed over leadership of Fairy Tail to Laxus, Erza gave into her desire for freedom (as well as her desire for the Heavenly Body Mage) and made the tough decision to leave her guildmates behind to start a life with the one person she'd loved since early childhood. Although her official resignation from Fairy Tail had been a painful reality to face, no one faulted her for it and she left on good terms - to roam Fiore with Crime Sorciere. She still stopped by for a visit every once in a while, but the visits were few and far between.

Gray's life had also headed in a different direction and this shift had led him to be absent from the guild more often than not. Even after the Alvarez conflict had ended, he'd yet to master his Ice Devil Slayer magic - something that both frustrated and worried him. The effect that magic had on his mindset was concerning and even though he hadn't always been the most positive person, he could feel a darkness looming in his thoughts that wasn't his own. Since he couldn't be rid of the magic, nor did he want to be, he vowed he would find a way to still be himself while he used it. In his final moments, his father had entrusted it to him, and he'd be damned if he made a mockery of that trust. After some convincing and reassurance from Lucy that she would be fine, Gray had decided to take a sabbatical from the guild to train with the lost magic.

He wrote to Lucy when he could, but it wasn't the same as him actually being there and it was taking a real toll on her, though she'd never admit that fact to the ice mage. She knew he'd come running back, despite his best interests, and she couldn't be the reason he lost himself to his inherited magic.

First Erza, then Gray...at least she knew she'd always have Natsu, but then he had drifted away, too.

Though he'd been the last person anyone expected to change, they all watched as it happened;

Natsu had, albeit slowly, grown up. Harsh lessons, and even harsher truths, about who and what he was made him realize that perpetual childhood wasn't all it was cracked up to be. And with that realization, he started craving more from life than living from one dangerous mission to the next, eating whatever enormous pile of food found its way in front of his face, and sleeping wherever it was he fell down.

He had a mate out there somewhere, and the day he decided to find her was the exact day that he had.

Mellie, a cute little brunette wind mage from an up and coming guild called Wyvern's Wing, had literally run right over him as Happy was desperately trying to drag the dragon slayer's poor, motion-sick body from the train on the way back from a mission. He'd been courting her every day since then. He'd managed to convince her to join Fairy Tail, which she'd done happily several months ago, and he was working on gathering the courage to ask her to move from her tiny apartment on the edge of Magnolia and into his home. Lucy was supportive of the idea, but insisted he, at least, clean the place before he made her a key...and maybe finally fix that goddamn hole in the roof.

So Erza was gone, Gray was awol, Natsu was disgustingly in love, Laxus was running the guild, Ever was finally opening up to Elfman, and Freed was in denial.

That left two lonely mages from the two most successful teams in the guild's long history as the odd ones out.

Bickslow and Lucy had surprised just about every single person in the guild when they became, honest to Mavis, best fucking friends.

There had been a day almost a year ago that Lucy nervously approached Bickslow and asked him to help her complete a two person job she wanted to take, and he didn't have a single reason to tell her no. Afterall, he hadn't been doing anything and it wasn't like his team would be going anywhere any time soon. So he'd accepted and they left the guild soon after, leaving the curious eyes of their guildmates trailing after them.

That job had been a huge success. It had been challenging and a little bit intense, but they couldn't have known just how well they would work together. How they'd never considered how similar their magics were, they'd never know, but it became apparent when they found themselves in their first battle together - well, their first battle where they weren't fighting on opposing sides, anyway. Lucy's magic had always revolved around strategy, and she was stronger and more experienced than she'd ever been. She seamlessly folded him into her battle plan, trusting him on the same level as she did her spirits. He blocked attacks she didn't see coming, launching his own from a distance while his babies danced around them both. She switched easily between fighting mid-range with her whip, to equipping her close combat-oriented stardresses and getting in the thick of it, her spirits and his babies supporting them both all the while. He switched easily between long range attacks, defense, and mid-range combat. They covered each other, but neither did the heavy lifting alone. It was more of a partnership than either had previously experienced, each having spent years with their insanely powerful and often reckless dragon slayers.

Only a few days later they had returned to the guild, high in spirits and enjoying their effortless companionship. They'd celebrated their easy connection with a couple rounds of drinks and happy smiles, toasting to their success. They quickly agreed to take more missions together, clinking their glasses as they did so, and a natural partnership had formed soon after.

Now, where one found Bickslow, it was likely Lucy was not too far away, and vice versa. Not to mention that Bickslow's babies absolutely adored Plue and the little dog spirit could often be seen causing mischief with the five little totems around Magnolia - something the locals had quickly come to love, as all six magical beings were verifiably adorable. Plue had more lollipops than he'd ever know what to do with, while the totems often found their way back to Bickslow carrying various small toys and begging to be moved so they could 'play' in them.

Much to Laxus's chagrin, they had become some sort of Fairy Tail Mascot Troupe - or so they were dubbed by Sorcerer Weekly.

It had taken some adjusting, but the guild had accepted the new friendship rather easily. Mirajane, unsurprisingly, had started a betting pool on when they'd get together. A fact that still caused eye rolls from both mages when it was mentioned (though only Lucy's could be seen, unless she'd convinced her partner to remove that stupid visor on the day in question).

They both knew it was never going beyond friendship, and they much preferred it that way. They had no desire to be anything else. In fact, they often played wingman to each other when they were outside Magnolia and looking to relax. Neither had any desire to settle down, and if they did, it wouldn't be with each other. Sure, Lucy thought Bickslow was attractive, and she loved the guy, but the thought of kissing him weirded her out. She was sure he did all kinds of great things with that tongue of his, but… she never wanted to find out. No, thank you. And the same went for the Seith mage. Anyone could see that Lucy Heartfilia was gorgeous, and brilliant, but it had never been about that sort of thing between them.

Cana had been the biggest supporter of their newfound friendship, not surprisingly jumping right on the 'BixLu' bandwagon (or so Mira called it). She had gone so far as to get them fancy, matching flasks engraved with 'Mr.' and 'Mrs.', thinking she'd have her proof that they were in love if they used them. Her plan was thwarted when Lucy summoned Caelum, a new addition to her spirit family. The chisel constellation, under direction from his keyholder, had promptly scraped away the engravings, and etched 'Best' and 'Friends' in their place instead. They had, of course, argued over who got to be 'Best', but Lucy won in the end. She nearly always did. They used the flasks to this day, much to Cana's annoyance. Lucy kept hers strapped to her thigh at all times, filled with an aged whiskey she could only afford due to the lack of destruction in her newfound partnership. Bickslow hid his somewhere in his armor, filled to the brim with top-shelf Brandy. Even Lucy hadn't quite figured out where on his person it was stashed and, anymore, she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

It was only after months of partnership that they began opening up to each other. It started with Lucy, the day he'd caught a glimpse of an odd scar on her collarbone she'd always covered up. They had gone to a combined-gender hot spring, and Lucy had decided she didn't care if he saw it. She trusted him, and if he asked her about it, she'd tell him. It was long past time to talk about it, anyway.

Of course, he did ask. Almost immediately, "Oi, Cheerleader, when did you get ink?"

His tone had been playful, like it usually was, but when all she did was sigh dejectedly, he eyed her curiously as she sunk into the water across from him. He'd never seen it before, but it didn't look fresh. Normally, he wouldn't really question it, either, he did have a huge person-shaped mark in the middle of his face, after all. Now though, now that it caught his attention he realized she'd long since abandoned her low-cut shirts in favor of clothing that would keep such a mark hidden; he wanted to know why.

She didn't answer, seemingly lost in thought, so he prompted again, "Cosplayer, you gonna talk to me?"

"Yeah."

He grinned at her softly, "You gonna, maybe, do that at some point today?"

She gave him a long-suffering sigh, again, and finally met his red-eyed gaze, "It's not a tattoo, Bix. It's a punishment." A few moments passed by in an inquisitive silence, "How much do you actually know about my contracts?"

"Well," his eyes turned from crimson into a soft, backlit green as he focused his magic to examine her soul, "Shit, Cosplayer," he looked at her with a horrified expression, "you broke a soul bond? ….how do you even…?"

He'd phrased it as a question, but it wasn't one, really. He could see it, the damage, the frayed ends of her soul that didn't quite stretch over the massive hole that existed where a bond once had. Though, he didn't actually know how she had managed it. Once they were made, soul bonds were nearly impossible to sever. In the case of celestial spirits, they could nullify a bond, but to actually tear it to pieces, to pull it from a soul without first ending their contract? That… shouldn't have been possible. And it was most certainly not healthy, the toll it had taken on her was...extensive.

His knowledge on Celestial history wasn't the greatest, but as far as he knew, the gate keys had always been a connection, simply a way to reach the gate. The contract, though, connected the mage and the spirit on a deeper level. Some celestial mages always held tenuous connections to their spirits, but Lucy's had always run incredibly deep, with all of her spirits. This one, in particular, had ripped the bright soul, one he'd greatly admired since the first day they'd met, so deeply it was nearly in pieces. Even though it didn't exactly seem like a fresh fracture, he was amazed she wasn't a crying, whimpering mess on the floor.

After all, damage to the soul hurt. Deeply. And not just emotionally or mentally, it was actually a physical pain, and it wasn't just a one-time thing. The soul echoed through the whole body, that's why Erik was able to hear thoughts and predict movements, and with a trauma so severe the soul would project that all-encompassing pain until it began healing. It's what made Seith Mages so dangerous. If you got caught in the gaze of a Seith Mage of any decent caliber, they could cause excruciating, unbearable pain with minimal effort.

"What the hell happened?"

Scooting closer to the stunned mage, Lucy leaned her head lightly on his shoulder, "...I broke a promise to protect one of my spirits, and there were...repercussions."

"I'm sorry, but could you try to be a little more vague? You're painting a little to much detail into this picture here, Cosplayer," he said sarcastically, though more than anything, he sounded concerned.

"...Do you remember when we fought Tartaros?"

"Why do you keep asking me dumb questions, when you're supposed to be giving me answers? Of course, I remember...I almost fucking died."

Suddenly, she stood up and took steps away from him. The ends of her hair just barely met the water as she clenched her fists and looked into starlit sky, refusing to look at him as tears fell from her eyes.

"Well…?"

"Shut the fuck up and give me a second, Bix," she said, taking a deep, shuddering breath. He heard the tears in her voice, though he couldn't see them on her face. She wouldn't look at him.

Several moments passed as she tried to get a hold of herself, and when she finally did, she didn't answer him. Not with words anyway.

She turned to face him, and that tattoo he'd caught sight of earlier glowed a soft gold, her eyes did too, as the water around them started to move to her will. She didn't do anything with it, really, apart from twirling it around her fingers, watching it play in the air and along her skin with the saddest, most pained version of wonder he'd ever seen.

"Aquarius, Bixy." she began to shake, "I sacrificed Aquarius, to summon the Celestial Spirit King, to defeat Mard Geer Tartaros and release everyone from the curse Alegria," her voice broke, and the magic fell, the water splashing back to settle at her waist, "Her last act on Earthland was to 'bless' me with this mark, with her water magic...but it feels like a curse. Almost worse than the curse she saved us from."

Moments passed in tense silence while Bickslow came to terms with what his recently-appointed best friend confessed to him.

"...Well, fuck, Lucy…"

She gave a bitter laugh, "...yeah."

Standing, he called out to her, "Bring it in, Cheerleader. Bixy's got ya," he told her softly, reaching out and pulling her into his chest by his grip on her wrist.

After a few moments of silence, he called out at the sky, "...I don't even know who's ass I'm supposed to kick about this…" he admitted, and he almost swore he could see the water bearer's constellation twinkle just a little brighter than before.

And for the first time since that fateful day, Lucy was able to laugh and remember Aquarius at the same time.

-:-:-:-

I almost want to post a conversation between us at the end of each chapter… Like the one below. It's funny.(Starry)

Well, Mavis fucking knows there's plenty to choose from. I'm game. (Redfoxed)

We can call it...

"Behind the Scenes Dramatics"

Starry: AHHHHHHH so excited. ...let's… post it…?

Redfoxed: ...we need a summary

Starry: Redfoxed and Starry are the fucking best, and they did this awesome fucking thing, so fucking read it. The end.

*Random conversation ensues*

Starry: Okay, real summary time. Not my bullshit.

Redfoxed: ^^*Leaving here for motivation*

BOTH:

Zeref's dead...what're they gonna do now, grow up? Sure, some of them, maybe. What happens when life comes calling and Fairy Tail's Celestial and Seith mages are left alone to deal with their shit? Join forces, of course, and become Honest to Mavis, 'Best' fucking 'Friends'! Includes Desna's Pradesh Fam and Mashima's Fairy Tail. A Collab Work between Redfoxed & StarryFire14.

Redfoxed: I like it. I'd read it.

Starry: Me too but I read everything. I'm starved for content.

Redfoxed: Me and you both, I've already admitted to myself I might have a problem but idc

Starry: I def have a problem. It's not going to go away anytime soon, I'll just enjoy it.