Last Month
Chapter 1
"Okay, babies," Bickslow began as he walked down the road, arms full of his belongs. "What are the rules for staying the night at Lissy's?"
"Slow," Pippi called out. "Slow, slow, slow!"
"That's right," his papa said, nodding his head. "You have to move around slowly. You can't rush around in there."
"No break, no break," Puppu spoke up next.
"Yep. You guys are, like, such good listeners," he complimented. "You can't break anything. At all. Now what's next?"
"Quiet. Shhh, shhh," Poppo offered. "Shhh, shhh."
"That's right! Inside voices. We don't want to disturb anyone, huh? We're not there to be nuisances. Just some poor vagabonds, needin' a place to lay our heads, yeah?"
Peppe was next. "Nice, nice."
"Right. You say nice things to people. Like, whoa, Elfman, you're such a man. Or wow! Mira, you clean up nice. Great rack. Or Lissy, really diggin' that great haircut. Simple, huh? Only…maybe leave out the rack remark."
It was Pappa's turn then, the little wooden doll flying happily along in the back, blissfully unaware of this fact…until he realized that none of the others were talking and were waiting for him.
But…but…
It wasn't fair! They had already taken all of the rules and…and…
"Papa," he cried out. "Papa!"
"It's okay, buddy," Bickslow assured him. "I know that you know the rules too. Doesn't he, babies?"
"Pappa knows," the others agreed. "Pappa knows."
"'And pretty soon," he kept up. "We're going to be at Mama's house. And she'll keep us until we figure out a new living situation, yeah? That dirty landlord. Tryin' to make me pay my rent. Never!"
"Never," the other agreed.
"Sayin' just 'cause I put a few holes in the wall that I'm in the wrong. Does he not know who he's messin' with, babies? Apparently not."
"Not," they all chanted. "Not."
"Well, no more!" He nodded his head decisively. "Onward to Lissy's house."
"Onward!"
Upon arriving at the house, Bickslow grinned. "My kid lives swanky, huh?"
Then he shifted the boxes and things in his arms around some so that he could press that doorbell.
"Mama," the babies called out. "Mama."
"Wait a sec, guys. She's gotta answer- And it's boss! Hi, boss!"
Laxus stared bleary eyed out at the seith, a frown playing at his usually void face. "What," the bare-chested man grumbled, "do you want?"
"Nothin' to do with you, actually." Bickslow slipped right under the arm that Laxus had outstretched, barring the door, and into the place. "Boy. Lissy rarely invites me over, so it's always breathtakin' to come over. Mira really does a nice job decoratin'. Remember that, babies. It'll replace the nice rack thing."
Growling, Laxus slammed the door shut, the wooden dolls hurriedly floating in, not wishing to get left behind.
"I asked you a fucking question," he growled at Bickslow. "It's seven in the morning. What are you doing here?"
"I just told you, huh, boss?" Bickslow looked around the spacious living room before going to set his box of things down on the coffee table. "I'm here for- And there she is! Lisanna! My kid. M'lady. I love you, kid. I-"
"Bickslow," she yawned as she came walking down the staircase, rubbing at her eyes the whole time. "What are you doing here? And why so early?"
"Well, I'm takin' you up on your offer, of course, kid," he said as his babies went to swarm their 'mother' with cries of joy. They always got excited to see her.
"Offer? What are you-"
"Once, a year ago," he began, "I told you that I was havin' problems with my landlord. And you suggest I move into the dorms. And I said that I couldn't because even the rent there is too high. And you said that if I ever need a place to stay-"
"Bickslow, that was before I moved," she said with a frown. "When I was still living with Elf and Mirajane. Or our old house, at least. Now I live with Laxus. In his house. Which even I'm trying to move out of. I can't just invite guests over to stay."
"Damn straight you can't," Laxus grumbled, glaring at him. "No way. I just got Elfman the hell out of here. And the only reason Lisanna don't gotta go is because she's going to be helping Mirajane out when the baby comes. So-"
"You're not letting me stay?" Bickslow's grin fell for the first time and the babies, who had been going to land on Lisanna's head and shoulders, read the tone as a bad one. Slowly, they came back to him. "I mean, guys, I'mma single father here-"
"Not this again," Laxus groaned.
"I am, boss! And…and… I just got kicked out an hour ago. Big fight with my landlord and he was yellin' and I was yellin' and I was mad and he was mad and then he found out about how I repainted the entire place blue, and well, let me tell you, he was more than a little ticked-"
"What kinda tenant are you?" his idol asked with a frown.
"A good one! Sometimes…"
"Bickslow," Lisanna groaned. "I don't know what you want me to do here."
"I want you to let me stay here. I need you, Lissy. Please?"
She looked to her brother-in-law. "Laxus-"
"No."
"But-"
"What are you guys all doing up so early?"
They heard one of the doors upstairs open and close then before Mirajane appeared in the little area that overlooked the downstairs, looking down at them in the living room. At the sight of a guest, she grinned and waved.
"Hi, Bickslow," she greeted before heading to come down the stairs. "Wow. What are you doing here? Are you-"
"Demon," Laxus grumbled. "Go back to bed. We've gone over this, remember? You only got one month to go, yeah? You're not going to work this morning."
"And who says that I am?"
"The fact that you're up, oh, at the same time you usually are when you go into work?"
"That's because you guys woke me, silly."
Grunt.
"And, hey, Bickslow," she said as she finally made it to the bottom of the stairs, bypassing her sister to come hug the seith. "Have you been here since I redid the kitchen?"
"I don't think so."
"Come look at it! It looks really fancy. I'll make you an omelet."
"Mira," Laxus complained. "I told you-"
"Laxus, I can't just sit up in my room all day."
"Yes," he insisted. "You can. I bought you books and magazines and that stupid little puppy-"
"He is not stupid. And right now, he's still sleeping upstairs, but I'm sure he'd like to see Bickslow too." She was already taking the masked man's hands, dragging him off towards the kitchen. "Lisanna, can you go wake Raijin?"
"His name is not Raijin," Laxus grumbled.
"Yes, it is."
"I think it's a fine name, boss," Bickslow offered up.
"You stay out of this!"
"'kay," Lisanna said slowly, turning to head off to go do so. Laxus only stalked after his wife.
"Mirajane," he grumbled out. "He is not staying here."
"Staying here?" She hadn't heard about that yet. "What's going on, Bickslow?"
"I got evicted. Somethin' about nonpayment of rent or somethin'. I think it was unjust."
"Did you pay your rent?"
"Did I what now?"
She only sighed, letting the man's hand go once they made it into the kitchen. "Well, you are Lisanna's boyfriend."
"I am."
"So I guess you can stay."
"Thank-"
"What?" Laxus was glaring at her then. "Mirajane, this is not the time for guests. We're finishing up on the nursery and you're supposed to be resting and-"
"And? Bickslow can help out with all of that. Can't you, Bickslow?"
He stood straight then before saluting her. "Yes, ma'am! If I had only known that you needed it before, why, I'd have come immediately. You're carrying the little boss around in you. And look at ya! You're Mrs. Boss now. Of course I'll help you."
She giggled. "See, Laxus? He-"
"Okay," they heard Lisanna call out then as she came into the room, a little golden puppy scampering along behind her. "The Thunder God's up."
"The Thunder God has been up," Laxus grumbled as the dog came immediately over to Bickslow to sniff at the man's shoes.
"The Thunder Prince," Mira corrected, pulling out a carton of eggs. "He- Ooh."
"See?" Laxus crossed his arms as she quickly sat the eggs down so she could rub at her stomach. "This is why you should be upstairs. Resting."
"I'm fine, Lax," she said. "The baby just moved funny is all. She hears her daddy being a grouch and doesn't like that."
Grunt. Then, "Fine, Bickslow, you can stay."
"Alright!" He fist pumped as his babies cheered. "This is so great. Me and Lissy'll stay up all night sharin' scary stories and-"
"What?" Laxus frowned. "This isn't a…sleepover."
"Heck yeah it is." He went to high-five his girlfriend, who did so with a giggle. "What else would you call it?"
"Raijin needs to go potty, Daddy," Mira was saying then as her stomach settled some and she was able to get back to breakfast.
"That's why I put in the damn doggy door."
"It's scary, Daddy. You have to go push it open and let him peek outside first. He's still getting used to it."
To his girlfriend, Bickslow mumbled, "They always like this?"
"Annoying? Yeah, a little."
Laxus only growled. "I'll shove him through the damn thing."
"And after breakfast, he needs his walk," she reminded. "So-"
"Mira, no."
"Yes."
"I wanna go back to bed."
"Too bad. He needs a walk. Unless you want me to do it-"
"No," he groaned. "Lisanna-"
"I'm filling in for Mirajane down at the guildhall," was her easy excuse. "Remember?"
His eyes fell to Bickslow then who only waved when he noticed the man's gaze.
"Bickslow," he ground out.
"Sir, yes, sir!" He stood to attention, saluting and all. "What do you require of me?"
"Just take the dang dog for a walk after you eat," was his simple command as he went to shove his poor puppy through the doggy door. "And if you stay, that's fine. But you're going to help the demon out. I'm leavin' on a solo job for-"
"Which I hate," Mira spoke up. "I mean, Laxus-"
"It's only for a few days, demon."
"Yeah, but-"
"And you're to stay put in this house," he told her. "No going to the market or the guild or whatever other silly thigns you like."
"They're not silly."
"You're allowed to go for walks around the block, but not much else. You're about to pop here."
"And? So? Women used to-"
"I ain't interested in women from the middle fucking ages. You're my wife and you're gonna be taken care of. By…Bickslow and Lisanna. Huh. On second though-"
"Mira will be fine," Lisanna told him. "I mean, what's the worst that Bickslow and I could do? Lose her? And the baby? Come on."
Laxus frowned. "Now that you mention it-"
"Go back to bed, Laxus," Mirajane said with a slight smile. "If you're really going to go out of town, then you need your rest. I'll wake you later, when it's time for you to catch the train."
He gave Bickslow a cold stare then before turning to walk off. It wasn't until they all heard him make it up the stairs that the three adults took to laughing.
"He's so cute," Mirajane said as Bickslow went to, finally, hug Lisanna. "He just loves me. And Raijin."
"Boss don't seem to take well to that name," Bickslow told her.
"Well, it's his name. He's the son that Laxus always wanted."
That was Mira's reasoning when she conned Laxus into getting her the dog.
"Please?" she had begged when they passed him in a pet shop window. "If you really want me to stay home more, Laxus, now that I'm pregnant-"
"I do."
"-then I'm going to need something to do."
"Then learn to crochet," he'd complained.
"Laxus-"
"Dogs aren't relaxing," he said as they stood in front of the shop, the puppy standing with his little paws against the glass, barking soundlessly out at them. "That's what I want you to do. Relax."
"I will. I-"
"No, Mirajane," he said. "You won't."
"Lax-"
"They chew things up, run around, pee in the house. That's not what you need to be dealing with right now."
"But Laxus-"
"Demon-"
"I won't ask you for anything else. Never ever."
Considering she'd gotten a ring, wedding, house, and baby out of him by that point, he wasn't sure how much more she could possibly want.
"Mira-"
"Please?"
He was caving then. "Fine. But not this one. He'll cost too much. I'll go to the pound and-"
"Daddy," she complained. "You can't walk away from your baby like that."
That was the first time she'd called him that and it kinda creeped him out. "Uh-"
"What if this baby were to be expensive?" She took the hand that was holding hers and laid it against her tummy. "Would you send her away?"
"Mirajane," he said. "That is not the same thing. And besides, this baby has cost me a lot. And she ain't even here yet!"
"Daddy-"
"Stop it." He slipped his hand from hers. "You're grossing me out."
"That's what I'll call you though. Around the baby," she said. "Because that's what she's going to call you. And around the puppy too."
"No, you won't."
But she would. Because she was weird. And his demon.
"Awe," Mira cooed when they left the pet shop a few minutes later, the golden dog cradled in her arms as Laxus got stuck lugging around his cage, water dish, and chew toys. "He just loves his mommy so much. And he'll love his little baby sister too. Won't you, Tenjin?"
"What the hell did you just call him?"
"Tenjin."
"The guy in the pet shop said that his name was-"
"Tenjin," Mira said. "That's his name. The Thunder- Ooh, no! Raijin."
"Mira, no."
"Yes, Daddy."
"Stop calling me daddy!"
And that was how Laxus ended up with yet another annoyance added to his life. Raijin was in actuality the son that Laxus never ever wanted. He didn't like children. Or other humans.
Grunt.
Oh, and by the way, did he mention that though he'd been promised the dog was crate trained, that he wasn't? Nope. He slept up in bed with Mirajane and him most nights. Finally, Laxus broke down and bought him a little doggy bed to put next to the cage (putting it inside just made the dog resistant to it), which alleviated the problem…sometimes.
Mira though loved her dog. And her house. And her ring. And the wedding had been amazing.
Of course, that came with drawbacks.
Laxus went away all the time on S-Class and SS-Class jobs, sometimes not coming home for months. She was rather lonely then, but she'd gone into it knowing how it would be. Laxus loved jewels. And having a wife only seemed to push him to gain more.
The second he knew he was having a kid, he thought even bigger.
"Laxus," she'd giggled when they first looked at their new house. "This place is huge. We don't need all this space."
"The hell we don't," he'd grumbled before reaching over to gently pat her stomach. "You got a Dreyar in there, yeah? Boy or girl, it's gonna need a lot of space to learn it's magic. To grow. And I want it to have that. I'll get it anything it wants."
"It's gonna want you though," she reasoned. "And this place costs so much that-"
"I'll manage."
"Laxus-"
"You don't like this place? We'll look at another. And another. And another. Until you're happy." He'd moved to pat her head that time then. "I love you, demon. I'mma give you everything I possibly can. Bleed myself dry if I have to. That's just the way it is. So don't question it, huh?"
She tried hard not to, but sometimes it was just a lot. He was a lot. But…it was kinda nice to be spoiled.
"Did you really get kicked out though?" Lisanna was asking then, Mira tuning back into the other people in the room. "Bicks?"
"Yep. I'm a wild guy, huh? Can't hold me to rules! I know no such thing as rules."
"Well," Mira cut in. "Here, there's going to be a few."
"Oh, yeah? I'll take 'em head on from you, boss," he told her. "Err, Mrs. Boss. And baby boss. Ain't nothing you tell me not gonna get done. Want me to rub your shoulders? On it! Do the laundry? Done! Take out the trash! Quick as a flash. Clean the chimney? I don't know how, but I'll figure it out!"
"Right now, I think you should just take to be quieter," the woman suggested. "Laxus isn't in the best of moods these days."
"It's true," Lisanna agreed, making a face. "He's a real pain."
"He's just stressed," Mirajane reasoned. "He's about to be a father, Master isn't doing well, and, of course, Raijin can be a tad annoying at times too."
"A tad?"
"That point is," the woman's older sister kept up, "is that Laxus does a lot for us. All of us. And we can at least let him nap for awhile, can't we? Please? Before he goes away? For…forever and…and…"
'Oh, Mira, don't," Lisanna sighed.
"Why are you crying?" Bickslow glanced around. Boy, they sure flew through emotions quickly in the boss's house. "Mirajane?"
She was leaning over the counter then, staring down at the bowl of eggs in front of her. "I don't know! Because I miss my husband and he doesn't love Raijin and if he doesn't love his son, why would he love our daughter?"
Lisanna gave her sister a strong glance before shaking her head. To Bickslow, she said, "You better go move your stuff into the guest bedroom, yeah? I can handle-"
"No way, Lissy," he said, holding up his hand to her before crossing the room over to the barmaid. "I got this. I told the boss I'd look out for his woman and, damn it, I will!"
Once he got over to her, Bickslow only patted Mira on the shoulder. "There, there. Let it all out."
She sniffled. "It's just so much. He doesn't get that I love to work! And that I love our puppy and our baby and our life and him and everything else in the world ever."
"I know," Bickslow said sympathetically as the dolls crowded around the woman, as if in an attempt to comfort her. "I-"
"What the hell did you do to my demon?"
Laxus was back. Gulp. Bickslow and his dolls all dove away from the woman then.
"N-Nothin', boss! She started doing that all on her-"
"I'm fine, Laxus," she said through her tears. "Not that you care! You never care."
"Oh, shit, this again?"
"You're mean to Raijin, you curse at me, you track your muddy shoes through the house-"
"Does no one else see the variety of severity in those three things?" Lisanna asked. "Anyone? Just me?"
"Ah, demon," he complained, coming to hug her then. "I do care. And I love the dog. Where is he? Raijin? Come here, boy. Come on. Laxus loves you, buddy."
"Daddy," Mira mumbled against his chest.
Clenching his jaw then, Laxus got out, "Daddy loves you. Now come back inside, Raijin?"
They heard something hit against the door.
"You have to go push open the doggy door for him, Lax," Mira sniffled.
"Of course."
"Don't that defeat the purpose of it?" Bickslow asked his girlfriend.
"Shush."
"There you go." Laxus lifted the rambunctious puppy in his arms when it finally figure out how to get back into the house. "Look at him. He loves me, Mirajane. And I love him. So don't cry, huh?"
"I can't help it."
"Well, why don't you go upstairs and I'll run you a bath and then we can try to start the day again then."
"I have to make Bickslow an omelet."
The stare that the boss man was sending his way then, Bickslow might as well have died on the spot.
"Uh, not necessary, huh?" he offered up, grinning at Mirajane. "I'm not too hungry anyways."
That sent her into another round of tears.
"What now?" Lisanna asked slowly.
"I already cracked the eggs! And no one's going to eat them and they're going to go to waste and-"
"Come on, demon," Laxus sighed, going to sit Raijin down before wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Let's go relax some, huh?"
"Will someone eat the eggs?"
"Someone will. I promise."
Raijin let out a yap at Bickslow and Lisanna before heading after his mother and father, not wanting to be left behind. Then it was just the couple and their own babies of sorts.
"Well," the man said slowly as Pappa came down to land in Lisanna's waiting palm. "I'm out of here. So-"
"Bickslow-"
"Y'all are crazy. What's in the water around here?"
"Mira's just at, like, the height of her pregnancy," Lisanna said with a shake of her head. "This is an everyday event."
"And we gotta care for her until he comes back?" Shaking his head, the seith said, "I'mma leave. Live out on the streets. Me. A single father of five. Just to get out of here."
"No way. You already made a deal with Laxus," Lisanna reminded. "You're gonna go back on it now?"
"W-Well-"
"You're stuck here, Bicks," she told him with a slight grin. "So deal with it."
"I guess I'mma have to," he sighed, kicking at the ground. "I've trained for this though."
"Trained? For this? Pregnancy?"
"Nah. As a knight! And knights are trained for high pressure situations, as you very well know."
"Uh-huh."
"Hehe," he snickered. "This is right in my expertise."
"Really now."
"Yep. Along with sword swallowing and fire spitting."
"I have never seen you do either of those."
"Yeah and you ain't ever watched me take care of your sister neither, but here we are."
"At least it'll be fun, I guess," Lisanna sighed. "You staying over."
"Just like a sleepover."
"Yeah. Just like a sleepover."
For some reason though, giving it that label made it a lot less appealing…
Upstairs, Mira and Laxus were having their own conversation of sorts.
"You know that I love you, demon. Why do you always gotta question it, huh? I love you and I love our little girl growin' in you and I love…Raijin."
She only sniffled as they stood in the bathroom, waiting for the bathwater to warm. The puppy was in there too, resting on the tile floor as he panted slightly, tired after running up the stairs. He was such a little thing, after all.
"I just get upset sometimes. That's all."
"I know." He'd gone over to the sink, inspecting the bottles in the cabinet beneath. When he found some of her bubble bath, he went to pour a capful in the water. "And hey, you want me to take a bath with you? Huh? Or you wanna relax alone?"
"Alone."
"Okay. I'mma go lay down, huh? You need anything else?"
"No."
He pressed a kiss against her head before he left. "I'll be napping. Wake me up when it's time for me to go, huh?"
The dog followed him out, heading over to the bed with the man.
"Na-ah," Laxus told him as he laid down. "I ain't picking you- And you found another way to get up here."
It wasn't hard. He just jumped up on the wooden chest at the end of the bed before jumping onto the bed itself. Then he curled up in between Laxus and Mira's normal spot. He was most comfy there.
"You're a rotten little thing," Laxus told him with a frown. "And you're not my son. I don't have a son. You're just a mutt, huh?"
When he put his face a bit too close, the puppy only licked at his father's nose. Laxus didn't like that and rolled over, giving the dog his back.
"Worthless animal. I'm the fuckin' Thunder God. Ain't got time for you. You ain't worthy of being named after me."
Raijin yapped at him before laying down to rest himself. Stupid mutt.
"So," Bickslow said slowly as he sat at the table with Mirajane, both just watching the other. "What exactly do you do all day now that you don't gotta go into the guildhall?"
"Well," she began, thinking for a moment. "Raijin and I like to go play out in the yard, but he's chewed up all his balls now, so I have nothing to throw around for him."
"You want me to go out and buy more?"
"No," she said as the dog in question busied himself by chasing around Bickslow's babies, who seemed less like they were playing and more like they were fearful for their lives. Err, souls. "That's overdoing it. I mean, really, you can just go, Bickslow. I-"
"Nope! On knight's honor, I promised the boss that I'd care for his woman, so that's what I'mma do." Then he winked at her. "Not to mention, with Lissy workin', what else am I gonna do?"
Mira smiled at him. "I really do like the two of you together. You make Lisanna so happy."
"Yeah. I make me happy too."
Mira blinked. "Oh."
"I'm pretty snazzy." Then he grinned. "So! What do you wanna do now?"
"Well," she said slowly. "I have some things for the baby that still need to be organized in her dresser upstairs. You wanna come into the nursery and help me out with that? Just some last minute things."
"Sure."
"But you can't mess anything up, okay?" Mirajane got to her feet slowly, resting a hand over her slightly extended stomach while she was at it. "I want everything to be perfect when she gets here."
"Of course," he said. "If I ever had a kid, I'd want it to be great for her too."
Giggling as they headed from the kitchen, Mirajane said, "Laxus just loves the baby. Already. So much."
"I'm sure."
"I was scared, you know? Because I thought that he wanted a boy. But he told me that was silly. And now look! He has Raijin."
Bickslow only scratched at his head. "Boss don't seem like the type, but… You know me! I get it. I got all my babies right here, yeah? And I love 'em. Just as much as I would if I made a real baby."
Apparently, that wasn't the best thing to say to Mirajane.
"What?" She turned on him real fast. "You and Lisanna are…trying to have a baby then?"
"What? No. Ew. Gross. No. Babies are nasty and then Lisanna would, like, blow up and-"
"Are you saying that I've blown up? And that my baby is nasty?"
"What?" He shook his head. "You're crazy, Mira. I never said-"
"Oh, so now I'm crazy?"
"I am saying absolutely none of this." He glanced around at his souls. "Babies, back Papa up here."
"Crazy," they sang. "Crazy."
Mira was boring holes into him then and it just wasn't fair. He was trying to relate to her. Trying to…to…
"Gah! They do not have this in the knight training course that I totally went to and don't dare listen to Lisanna when she says otherwise."
The she-demon only continued to glare. "I'm not crazy. And you and Lisanna-"
"I agree with you! Sheesh. This must be why the boss is always trying to spend as much time away from this place as… You know what? Me and the babies are, uh, just gonna go. Live on the streets. Streets that are far, far from here."
She grabbed his arm when he tried to run off. "Oh, no, you're staying. And you're going to help me put away the baby's things. Then you're going to take Raijin for another walk in the evening. And help make dinner."
Bickslow hung his head. "Yes, boss."
Needless to say, when Lisanna got home after a seemingly never-ending day working as a barmaid, she got to hear about the torture her boyfriend underwent.
"It was horrible."
"It doesn't sound so bad," Lisanna told him. "I mean, I only do all that stuff every day."
He just laid there though, on Lisanna's bed, staring up at he ceiling. "She made me wash the dog's paws off before he came in from the park. And then clean up the poop he made out in the yard. I swear, that dog has it made. She even fed him most of her dinner. And she forced me to call her my boss-"
"Forced you?"
"Well."
"Mmmhmm."
"Welp," Bickslow said as he pushed out of Lisanna's bed. "I better go."
"Go? Where?" She was over at her dresser still, removing her jewelry and getting ready for bed.
"To the guest room."
"Bickslow, just stay in here."
"No way, Lissy."
"No way, Mama," the babies agreed as they followed him out the door.
"Why not?"
"Your sister, like, threatened me. Somethin' about how if I got you pregnant, she'd-"
"Ew, gross. Who would ever want to get pregnant?"
"That's what I'm saying!"
"And it's not like I would. I'm on-"
"The boss told me to stay in the guest room," he said simply. "So I'mma stay in the guest room. Her words are as final as the real boss."
Lisanna only frowned as he closed the bedroom door behind him. What exactly had her sister done to him?
"Mira," she complained as later, after finishing getting ready for bed, she went to check in on her sister (and complain a little). "Can I come in?"
"Yes," she heard from the other side of her sister's bedroom door. Opening it, Lisanna found her already in bed, Raijin with her, as she stared down at a communication lacrima that was up there as well, Laxus' scowling face staring out.
"Laxus was just saying goodnight," Mira explained. "Say hi, Laxus."
"Hi," was his gruff response.
Rolling her eyes, Lisanna said, "I came in here to say that Bickslow and I aren't children. We can sleep in the same room if we-"
"No you can't," Laxus grumbled from his end. "I don't want you freaks having sex in my hosue."
"Ew," Mira giggled. "Me either."
"You said he could stay here," Lisanna pointed out. "And-"
"And he can," her sister agreed. "But in the guest room."
"And only until I get back," Laxus grumbled. "By then he better have something worked out. I ain't a tenement. You guys are really pushing my boundaries here. And, Mir, it's late. Get some sleep. If I'm not busy with this job tomorrow night, I'll call on you again, okay?"
"I love you. And so does Raijin. And the baby."
"Yeah. I love you guys too."
Then the communication went dead and Mira held the lacrima out to her sister to put back in it's place.
"Why would you guys wanna sleep in your cramped little bed together anyhow?" Mira asked. "When we have a perfectly good guest room?"
"You know why."
"Lisanna-"
"We wouldn't do anything," she defended. "That would be, like, totally gross. You're right down the hall."
"Uh-huh."
"We wouldn't!"
"Can you turn off the light?" Mira apparently wasn't interested. "And stop yelling. Raijin's sleeping."
He was too, right there in Laxus' usual spot, no doubt getting his slobber all over the man's pillow. Not that Mirajane cared. Or thought that Laxus should care.
"He's our son," was what she'd always say when Laxus complained about the dog licking him. "His spit is our spit."
"He's not our literal son!"
He did look kinda cute at the moment though, Lisanna decided as she went to do as was asked of her. "So are you fine for the night? You don't need anything?"
"Other than for you guys to stop acting like I'm, like, disabled or something? Nothing."
"We just care about you," Lisanna told her simply as she headed out of the room.
"Yeah, I know."
"G'night."
"Night."
The second that she was out of her sister's room too, Lisanna headed right down the upstairs guest room…only to find that Bickslow wasn't there. With a groan, she headed downstairs.
"Why would you stay down here?"
"Ah! Lissy! I'm dressin'!"
"You're undressing, you mean," she said as she walked into the bedroom. "But why would you stay down here?"
"Why not? The bathroom's right across the hall and since you all stay up there, I get it to myself. Then I'm right near the kitchen, so that's great. I'm pretty much set, yeah?"
She only went to lay down on his bed with the then dormant babies. "But it makes it so much harder to sneak into your room."
"There is no sneaking," he said as he was left in only his boxers, leaving his sallet on the dresser as he came to glare down at her. Pointing to the door, he said, "I was given an order."
"You cannot be serious."
"I am, Lissy. I'll see ya in the mornin', but right now, you gotta get out."
"You guys are crazy," she complained, shoving out of the bed with a frown. "Seriously."
He only snickered after she left, knowing that he'd be visiting her room later, after she cooled down and the boss was sleeping. It was just so much fun to get her all riled up first.
"Welp, babies, you like your new home?" Bickslow went to lay down in bed, with his dormant dolls. "'cause I got a feelin' that we'll be here for a long time."
Bleh. With Lost and Found finished and Wedding Wars on it's last chapter, I figured I'd start this while I try to get back into Fast Forward (seriously, I'm working on it). It originally was a one-shot about Bickslow being evicted and coming to stay with Lisanna, who happened to live with her siblings. Then Ever was going to show up to spend the night with Elfman and Laxus was going to have been staying with Mira and hate that they were all there and Freed was going to get jealous and come to try stay too. Then Mira wasn't going to make any of them leave and Laxus was going to be miserable.
Then this happened instead. And I've never really written a story about Mirajane being pregnant other than, like Remember Me, but that was literally for one chapter, along with Firsts, so here we are. I might go back and do that one-shot later though because I just think it'd be cute. Anyhow, this one should only take five chapters, but like always, ten if I have to and fifteen at the most. Really thinking just five would be fine this time.