Demons and Uncles

It wasn't like it was supposed to happen. It just sort of…did. Everyone else in the guild was more or less pairing off and, though it seemed like an odd attraction at first, he grew to rather like her.

Honestly.

Lisanna was…fun, in short. In long, however, she was so many different things. Before then, he'd only ever seen her as the one who died or as Mirajane's little sister. And later, he just thought of her as Laxus' sister-in-law who had this annoying habit of, well, annoying Laxus. And that was never fun.

But one day, there was hardly anyone in the guild and Mirajane was out, taking care of one of her kids, and Lisanna was working the bar with Kinana. And Bickslow was drinking and Lisanna was bored because she'd just broken up with some guy, Arik or something, and complaining about how everyone was having babies and getting married and not caring anything about the same things as her.

And he was totally getting wasted. She was really just rambling as far as he was concerned. Freed had taken a solo job and Evergreen never wanted to hangout anymore because she was always either fighting or loving on Elfman. Yuck. It used to be fun, when they were younger, to tease her about it, but watching Ever actually become committed to freaking Elfman Strauss was…well, in a nutshell disturbing.

Finding himself with Lisanna Strauss, however, was not nearly as bad.

She was actually pretty funny. And that very night, as he was too drunk to get home, instead of leaving him alone in the guildhall all night, she stayed up there with him, just the two of them. And his babies, though they went dormant after awhile. Then it was just him and her, sitting down on the floor, with their backs against the wooden bar behind them, him still drinking and her still complaining about change.

And at some point, he found himself the only one awake as she somehow fell asleep on his arm. Bickslow only tossed back the rest of the bottle of whiskey in his hand before shaking his head and falling asleep too.

It was Mirajane who found them the next morning and seemed rather shocked by it. Bickslow was hungover though and only struggled to his feet, grounding out for his babies to follow him. And Lisanna only assured her that when she closed up that night, he had been drunk and she was only being kind, sitting with him. And Mirajane bought it, because it really was the truth, and that should have been the end of it.

Except Bickslow kinda felt bad that he'd put her in that situation of having to sit with a drunk him. Especially considering that they weren't even friends or anything. So he offered to take her out to dinner a few days later, as a way of making amends.

And gah! Lisanna was even better when he was sober. It was then that he was able to find that she was really smart and witty. Two things he never thought she was. And they liked some of the same music. Not to mention the babies loved her because after dinner, she went for a walk with them and let him show her all the cool tricks he was able to make them do.

Then she was giggling and he was grinning with his tongue hanging out, a real big one and before he knew it, they were making plans to hangout again, when she got back from some job she was taking. And then another date after that (he begun to admit that it was more than just hanging out) and before he knew it, he saw her nearly everyday and not just as a barmaid.

As a date. They were dating. Frequently.

Laxus was quick to warn him, when he caught wind of it, that under no circumstance was he allowed to get serious about Lisanna. Because he knew Bickslow and knew that 'serious' with him was fleeting. Lisanna was his baby sister, Laxus said. And that Arik guy had hurt her. She was just rebounding. But if Bickslow hurt her too, well, he just wouldn't stand for it. So no letting her get serious either.

But it was just so hard. Because she was so perfect. And she cooked real great. And cleaned. And her apartment was nice too, when he stayed the night over there. Except she didn't have any hair gel for his Mohawk the next morning, which was always awkward. But the next time he came over, she'd bought some without saying anything. Even the same brand he used. Which just made her even more awesome.

The babies thought so too. They really liked her. She put up with all their different moods (most people didn't notice, but they were pretty temperamental, his babies were), let them sleep in bed with them when she slept over or he slept over at her place, would play silly games with them like hide and seek (they loved that one), and even would sit around and talk to them for extended periods of time. Tell them stories. They seemed to like hearing about Edolas.

And eventually, after Mirajane told him to, Laxus let up on Bickslow about keeping things relaxed with Lisanna. He even eventually agreed to go on a double date with them, though that was more because Mirajane made him. Not that it changed anything between Bickslow and Lisanna. It was all still fresh and there were no distinct lines. Just that when he got home from a job, he'd go to the guildhall to find her and she'd act surprised that he would seek her out and then somehow they'd spend every day after together, bouncing back between their apartments.

Vice versa too, when she'd be the one with a job. It was just so much fun to be together. To hangout. And even when it wasn't fun, when the effect wore off after about two months, it was still nice. They weathered their first fight and their second nicely and actually been able to resolve both of them.

He was getting pretty set on her being his. It was around month three, however, that it happened.

"Crap."

That word was what he awoke to as well as the sound of Lisanna getting out of bed. It was too early. Did she not know that it was an off day? Neither of them had a job and she didn't need to be down at the bar.

"Unless you meant you have to take a literal crap, kid," he grumbled sleepily as she went around the room, getting dressed. "You better come get back in bed. Except if you're making me, like, breakfast or something. Then-"

"You have to get out, Bickslow. Or at least up."

"Wh-"

"Now."

"What? Your other lover 'bout to come in or something?"

"First off, ew. I hate that word. Secondly, just get up and get dressed."

"I got boxers on. How much more dressed I gotta be?"

"Just get up. And preferably leave."

"Lisanna-"

"I'm doing it for your own good," she told him. "I'm babysitting today."

Oh. She did that a lot, actually. Mirajane had two kids, Haven and Marin, the latter still only being a baby. Since she worked up at the bar, when Laxus was out on jobs, she usually asked Elfman or Lisanna to watch the kids.

"I'll lock up when you leave," he told her. "I-"

"Over here. I'm babysitting over here."

"What?"

"Yeah, so get up."

"Why?" he complained, rolling onto his stomach. "I'll just stay in here and sleep. I-"

"Because, Bickslow, I always let Haven sleep a little when she comes. It's only, like, six in the morning. So you have to-"

"Make the kid sleep on the couch."

"Bick-" And then the doorbell was ringing, causing her to groan before heading off to answer it. Mirajane did have to get down to the guildhall, after all.

"Stay," she told him as she closed the door to her bedroom before making the trek through her tiny apartment over to the front door, calling out coming while she was at it.

Upon opening it, she found a sleepy three year old and her overly joyful mother.

"Hi, Lisanna," Mira greeted cheerfully as Haven, who was holding tight to her mother's hand, released it and reach out for Lisanna to pick her up. When the woman did, the blonde child only wrapped her arms tightly around her neck and yawned.

"Hey," she said, taking a step back. "Did you wanna-"

"No. I have to go." Then she moved to press a kiss to Haven's head. "Lisanna will take you home later, alright? I love you."

"Love you," was the muffled reply the child gave before yawning once more. Then Mira was scurrying off and Lisanna only moved to close the door behind her with a sigh.

"Haven," she began as she went to drop the child off on the couch, slipping the backpack of toys she was wearing off as well and laying it on the ground. "Can you sleep out here, on the couch, sweetie?"

"S'eepy."

"I know. And I'm going to make you a bed out here on the couch, huh?"

Haven ignored her though as she got to her feet and head off towards the bedroom. "Go s'eep."

"Haven-"

But she was over at the door then and was reaching up to open it. Then she padded into the room while yawning loudly.

"You are bad," Lisanna scolded as she followed her. She'd left the lamp on the side table turned on, which allowed the child to see the man sleeping in bed. As he hadn't fallen asleep yet, Bickslow only stared back at her.

"Uh-oh," Haven said, just staring at him before looking up at Lisanna. "S'eepover?"

"Yes," Lisanna sighed. "I…I had a sleepover."

Bickslow smiled at Haven. "Hey, kid."

They knew each other in a very basic way. She knew that Bickslow hung around her father a lot and that he had those cool looking dolls, but other than that, he was just another person up at the guild. He didn't have any children for her to play with and therefore wasn't worth her time.

"No go wid Laxus?" Haven asked as she went over to the man's side of the bed and just stared up at him. "Bick'o?"

"Nope, kid, not this time."

"Bickslow, can you go sleep out on the couch?" Lisanna asked him then. "Please? She really wants to sleep in here for some reason and-"

"Yeah, sure, Lissy." He moved to get out of bed then, apparently having been kind enough to pull on his jeans while Lisanna had been out of the room. "Just-"

"Ooh." Haven was climbing up into the bed then and noticed Bickslow's dormant babies lying there. Puppu was the closest to her and she easily lifted him up, cupping the dolls in her palms for a moment or two before shaking him.

"P'ay," she complained at it, but the doll didn't awaken. Bickslow stopped upon seeing this and turned around.

"You wanna play with my babies, kid?"

And just like that, Puppu was awake, along with all the others, flying out of Haven's hand before taking to traveling around her head. The previously drowsy child was suddenly as animated as the dolls, reaching out to try and grab them. This of course amused Bickslow, who quickly went to grab a shirt and pull it on.

"Come on kid," he said, picking up his helmet as well. "You wanna play with the babies in the living room?"

Upon his command, the dolls headed away from Haven and towards the door, making noises the whole way. Haven saw this and moved to chase after them.

"P'ay!" she demanded, chasing after them. Lisanna gave Bickslow a look, but he only gave her a kiss on the cheek before tossing his helmet on his head. "Come back."

"She's supposed to sleep until nine, Bickslow," Lisanna complained. "Now-"

"Now I'm gonna go play with the kid. She likes the babies, Lissy." He gave her one last kiss before heading out there.

"Hey, kid," he called out to the child. "You know how to play hide and seek?"

"Hide'n'seek," she cheered along with his babies, who began to chant it to. Groaning, Lisanna figured she'd better go back out there. Honestly, she was banking on Haven sleeping so that she could sleep.

That went out the window quickly. It wasn't so much that she didn't trust Bickslow to watch Haven alone. It was just...she'd never seen him care for a child before, other than his babies, and he forced those to fight for him in battle, so really, that was no ringing endorsement.

Not to mention, Haven was a handful. She was in a good mood at the moment, fine, but as Lisanna tried to warn Bickslow at one point, when he decided they should all go to the park, she was always quick to change.

"What? Nah. Look at her," was his only reply, nodding over at the child who was happily introducing his dolls to her own, which she got from her backpack. "Kid's an angel."

"She's a demon," Lisanna told him. "Remember that."

"Potty trained though, right?"

"Yes, Bickslow," she sighed.

"Perfect."

She made them breakfast before they went anywhere. And, as Lisanna didn't have a table, they ate on the floor, Bickslow and Haven did, with the babies circling around. And he made a big show of making her laugh frequently by telling silly jokes or making funny faces. And she liked pointing at his face tattoo and giggling.

Once she was sure that they were fine, and that yes, Bickslow was competent enough to watching the girl, Lisanna headed off for a quick shower. A very quick one. Then Bickslow had to go and style his hair and they were finally able to head out.

Haven loved piggyback rides and Bickslow didn't mind giving one. He didn't even wear his helmet out of the apartment like he usually did, because Haven wanted to be able to see his Mohawk. And the babies laughed and repeated Haven's words the whole way, which just excited her more. Lisanna only yawned though, following along at a slow pace.

It would be a long day.

They stayed at the park for awhile, Haven and Bickslow playing tag and hide and go seek and all sorts of other silly games, the babies involving themselves as well. Lisanna mostly just watched and waited. Because she knew. Oh, she knew. The happier Haven was, the bigger the meltdown would be later.

They stayed at the park so long that eventually it became lunchtime. And Bickslow, since he was in such a good mood, offered Haven to go eat wherever she wanted to. He even gave her another piggyback ride.

"This is great," he told Lisanna as they sat down at the restaurant, Haven being entertained by his dolls. "Babysitting's a piece of cake."

"Yeah, sure."

"I'm serious," he said, leaning back in his seat as he stared at him. "Where's the other kid anyhow?"

"Ever and Elfman have her," Lisanna said as she watched Haven happily talk to Pippi about something. "It's easier to watch them separate. If we can, I take one and they take the other."

"How come?"

"Haven has a tendency to, well, be mean to Marin."

"What? This kid?" he asked as he gestured to the blonde at the table with him. "She's mean to someone? Yeah right."

Again, Lisanna only shook her head. He'd have to learn all by himself.

When they arrived back at the apartment later, Lisanna was ready to set out on getting Haven down for her nap. The second the child said that no, she didn't need one, Bickslow joined the fight.

"If she says she ain't tired, Lissy, why would we make her sleep? Huh?"

"Huh?" Haven mimicked.

"Huh?" the babies repeated.

She gave in rather easily. If Bickslow wanted to be the fun, great babysitter, she figured she'd just let him. It would be a big lesson in the workings of taking care of a child, she figured.

And boy was it. Because when Haven flipped out, she flipped out.

"I warned you," Lisanna said as the three year old stomped her feet over Bickslow's refusal to go out and buy her some candy about two hours later. "You never, and I mean never, skip naptime."

Boy, did he wish he'd listened. The kid was a monster. She started throwing things at him and hitting. Not to mention the biting. Eventually, Lisanna tried to intervene, but Haven was having none of it. The only thing that calmed her down was the threat that when Laxus got back from his job, he'd be hearing all about how bad she'd been.

"Not bad! I'm not bad!" She literally collapsed then, falling back on her butt and sobbing loudly. "Don't tell Laxus! Laxus! I wan' Laxus! Mommy!"

And she cried like that for awhile as Bickslow and Lisanna tried to get her to be quiet. His babies were going crazy at that point, flying around the apartment in a panic over the way Haven was acting. Then, just as randomly as it had begun, it was over. Haven only fell down onto the floor and shut her eyes.

"Is the kid dead?" Bickslow asked after staring at her in shock. "'cause-"

"No," Lisanna sighed, rolling her eyes as she bent over to pick her up. Haven whined a little, but didn't fight her. "She's tired. She just finished a tantrum."

"Huh." He scratched at his head before cautiously coming closer. Peering down at the child, he asked, "You alright?"

Haven snapped at him. Literally. He only took a step back while Lisanna sighed and took her into the bedroom to get her all settled. She'd tell Mirajane about the issue, of course, but she didn't feel like getting the child fired up by yelling at her in that moment.

After getting the toddler to sleep, Lisanna headed back into the living room to find Bickslow flaked out on her couch, his babies either on the armrests or his chest.

"Uh," she began. "You alright?"

"No. That was torture, Lisanna. Torture!"

"Keep it down," she told him. "You might wake her again."

"Ugh. Lord, I hope not," he grumbled. "This was seriously the worst day of my life. The worst."

"An hour ago it was, like, one of the best."

"Yeah, before the kid did that," he said, gesturing to the toys scattered around. "How could a kid be so…so…"

"Demon like? I'll give you one guess."

"Bleh." He sat up some then, shaking his head. "I ain't cut out for this uncle stuff."

Lisanna paused then, just standing there for a moment and staring at him.

"Uncle?" she finally asked with a slight frown. "Who said anything about that?"

Bickslow only got this is feet though, picking up his helmet from where it was sitting while he was at it. Then he was headed to the door, calling out for the babies to follow.

"I'll see ya tomorrow, Lissy," he told her. "This was just too much for me. Seriously. I gotta go, like, shower and relax for a bit. Do something to get the sounds of her screaming out of my head. Seriously. Brutal. See you later."

"Bye," she whispered as the babies bid their farewells also, following after their master as he left the apartment. Then, slowly, Lisanna went over to the couch to rest also, if only for a minute. But she knew she needed to get the toys cleaned up and start dinner. She'd take Haven back home around the time the child went to bed, where Evergreen and Elfman would be waiting.

They'd gotten the easy job to the day, after all. In fact, they always rotated between who got which kid, just because, if left to choice, they'd all choose Marin. Not that they didn't love Haven. 'cause they did. A lot. She was all of their first baby, really, as they'd helped care for her since birth. But still.

No one in their right mind would choose Haven over Marin. Maybe Laxus, but then again, he'd married a demon. Not shocking he'd choose to spend all his time around another one.

Never knew I'd end up shipping Bickslow and Lisanna when I finished Remember Me, so this is kinda to bridge the gap of how they became involved, considering they're together in most of the connecting one-shots. But compared to Elfman, I figure that Bickslow would definitely be the fun uncle. Definitely.