Borrowed Helmets and Spilled Soup

"I don't get how you wear this thing. It's so annoying. It's, like, looking behind bars or pillars or something."

There Bickslow was, trying to unwind after returning for a month long mission, when his girlfriend decided to be annoying as heck.

"Mama," the babies cheered as she walked around with Bickslow's helmet on. "Mama is Papa."

"Really, Bickslow," she was telling him as she continued to walk around their tiny living room. "And it smells in here."

"Well, babe, I do this silly thing called sweating."

"And your hair gel probably-"

"Lissy," he called then, still flung out on the couch in a rather awkward position. He had been waiting for her to join him, but the second he stripped down to his boxers, she'd taken off with his helmet, suddenly finding the sallet very interesting.

"Hmmm?" At the moment, she was standing with her hands on her hips, watching as his babies circled around her head.

"Could you c'mere? Please? I want some attention."

"Some attention," the babies agreed.

"Or are you going to keep playing dress up?" he continued. "Because-"

"You can get some attention with me wearing this, huh?"

"Why would you ever want to wear it?"

"I dunno." She pushed up the visor then, glancing over at the back of the couch. "Because it's cool. And you're cool. And I want to be cool too."

Blink. Then sigh.

"Lisanna, just come here."

When she got to him, he only shifted to lean against the arm rest, groaning slightly when she slid into his lap to straddle him.

"You like it?" she asked when she was face to face with him. Err, face to mask, that is. "I want one now. Wouldn't that be fun? Then we could match!"

"Mama match Papa," the baby's agreed. She giggled while he only rolled his eyes.

"Go to bed, babies. You worked hard all month. Good job. Go rest." His hands found their way to Lisanna's hips. "Mommy and daddy are busy."

They didn't want to leave, it was obvious, but after calling out a few goodbyes to their 'Mama' they were gone, off to the bedroom.

"Why'd you do that?" Lisanna complained, resting her hands against his chest as she stared at him with the visor down, over her eyes. "I thought we were playing?"

"We are," he said, grinning at her then. "Now take that off."

"No way. It's, like, my new thing now. You totally are gonna have to buy me one."

"Lissy," he complained, reaching up to take if off her head. She didn't fight him, but did pout a little bit. "It's been a month, alright?"

"Yeah, and you should want me for more than just that," she told him with a slight frown. When he dropped his helmet off the side of the couch, she said, "No one will play with me. Not the way that we do. Everyone's so busy with their own lives. I don't get it."

"Get what?"

"How Mira and Laxus can, you know, just be fine with only going out to dinner or hanging out at the house. Me and you, we do all sorts of cool things. Like go places, like on adventures and stuff. With the babies. And we go to see bands play, go to the theater, buy silly things. We have fun. They're just so…boring."

"Not everyone's like us, Lissy," he was saying then as he started to push her shirt up slightly. "Not everyone has fun the way we do."

"I guess so." She shivered slightly then as he pulled her shirt over her head. "But, I mean, while you were gone I hung out a lot with Mira and Laxus. They only, like, either spend the night taking care of their kids, or just sit around and talk. Bleh. I never want to be that grownup, you know? That that's considered fun?"

"We ain't ever gonna be like that," he assured her, grinning as he tossed her shirt aside before working on her bra. His hands were cold though and made her giggle. "Even when we're, like, sixty, we're gonna still go out and have fun. Go to waterparks, ride roller coasters, all those sorts of things. Promise."

And then he got her to giggle by leaning towards her and nuzzling her neck. It was so easy to distract her sometimes.

In fact, it wasn't until later that night, when they were all snuggled up in bed with his babies littering the mattress all around them, that she spoke of something like that again.

It was while she was curled up against his side, stroking his bare chest. Pippi and Puppu were lower, on his abdomen and sometimes she'd reach down to rub their smooth tops, even though it really had no effect on them.

"Bickslow," she'd whispered about then as he just laid there, breathing softly as he started to drift off.

"Mmmm?"

"What you said before, about how…how we're not gonna ever change and all that…you meant, huh?"

"Of course, kid," he grumbled slightly, his one hand coming up to stroke her head gently. Up on the pillow with him was Pappa and Poppo, but they were both dormant. He could see Peppe behind Lisanna, snuggled up to her back. He'd have to move when she finally shifted away from him. "This is us. Me, you, and the babies for the rest of our lives. You cool with that?"

"Super cool," she whispered, her hand stilling then, against his chest. "I love you."

"What's up, Lissy? Hnmm? Something happen?"

"I just…I don't want this to be any different. Than it is now. I don't-"

"Did you do something, baby?" He was moving to sit up some then, to look down at her. "What? Just tell me. What did you-"

"Nothing, Bickslow. Seriously, just lay down."

"Then why-"

"I just missed you," she said then.

"Missed Mama," some of the babies yawned then as Bickslow slowly moved to lay back down. He was clearly still hesitant though.

"Well," he said slowly then. "I'll probably sleep for most of the day tomorrow, but when I get up, we can go out, huh? Wherever you want. Even out of town. I just have to run by the guild first, huh? To see Laxus. Then we're free for, oh, the rest of the week at least."

"Good. I won't take any jobs either, huh? And we can just, you know, do whatever."

"You wanna go somewhere?" he asked her then. "I was thinking that you, me, and the babies could go stay in another place, away from Magnolia. Any town would do, huh? And that last job pulled me in some major jewels. You wanna go hiking? Or, ooh, you know what we could do? We could go-"

"Bickslow," she said softly then as she moved to shift away from him, reaching behind her first to pick up Peppe before laying him up on his daddy's chest as well. Then, she rolled onto her back as well. "Right now, I think I just wanna stick around Magnolia. You know? We never do that anymore. Every time we're together, we're off, trying to find something fun to do. It's like you never get to relax anymore."

"Guess so. But you were the one saying a minute ago that-"

"We can still do fun things, can't we? Here?"

"It's whatever you want, Lissy. You know me and the babies; just striving to please Mama."

She grinned as Pippi took off from his abs and landed gently on her stomach.

"I just try to please you guys too."

"Then I guess we're a match, eh?"

"Mmmm."

He could still tell that there was something, that something was bothering her, but she wouldn't say what and he was too tired to fight her on it. Besides, there was always tomorrow.

"You really gonna wear that from now on?"

Lisanna only continued to hum as she stood over at the stove, scrambling eggs. She didn't have to glance behind her to know that Bickslow was standing there, no doubt in only his boxers. She'd heard him come out of the bedroom, the few babies that hadn't gotten up with her earlier following.

"I like it," she said, knowing he was talking about the fact that she was, once again, sporting his helmet. "But it's too big. Get me one, huh?"

"Yeah, right," he grumbled as he came closer. "You making breakfast?"

"Mmmm. Lunch, really. It's two in the afternoon."

He only let out a long sigh then, going to get himself something to drink. "How long you been up?"

"Oh, for awhile now. I ate breakfast, went out to go see Natsu and Lucy-"

"You had time for all that?"

"I told you, Bickslow, it's two in the afternoon. Almost three."

"You go out in that?" he asked then as he poured himself a glass of orange juice. "My helmet?"

"Oh, no. It doesn't match my outfit very well."

Snort. His chick was something else.

"Well, I still gotta go down to the guild after breakfast, huh? And a shower. Then we're free for the day."

"Was there something you wanted to do?"

After taking a sip of his drink, he said, "I told you, kid. It's whatever you feel up for. I'd just as easily lay around the house all day."

"If that's what you want to do-"

"Nah. You said you missed hanging out. So let's go do something, huh?" Then he slammed his glass down on the counter, perhaps a tad too hard as the noise made Lisanna jump. When she glanced over at him, he merely said, "Hey, since you don't wanna go stay out of town for the week, what if we just blow the money?"

"B-Blow the money?"

"Yeah," he said then, grinning over at her, tongue stuck out of the side of his mouth and all. "We haven't done that in awhile, huh?"

"That's really irresponsible though and-"

"That's what you were afraid of, huh? Growing up to be overly responsible citizens or something?" He winked at her when she met his gaze. "Save enough for rent and food for a few weeks, but all the rest of our money, let's just blow it."

"Bick-"

"I can make it all back," he told her then with a nod of his head. "Real fast. Two jobs. Swear it."

"I… We'll talk about it, huh? Later? We can eat lunch, go down the guild, and then just go hangout around town."

"Come on, Lissy. You don't want me to buy you anything? There has to be something you want."

"N-Not really," she said slowly. "Was there something you wanted?"

He grunted. "A new helmet, apparently."

When they finally got down to the guild that day, Lisanna was still acting kinda funny. He just ignored her though, because he knew after a shopping spree, everything'd be a-okay.

Lisanna and the babies went off to Mirajane when they entered, but Bickslow really did have some things to take care of. So instead, he headed over to the table that Laxus and Freed were at, leaving Lisanna to her own world.

"Did you tell him?"

"Mira, be quiet," her sister ordered, blushing as she came over to the bar. "And no. So don't say anything, alright?"

"Okay," Mirajane practically sang, giving her a slight wink.

"No, Mira. I'm serious. Do not say anything. I mean it."

"But-"

"You're not allowed to. I mean it."

"Alright, alright," she sighed, going back to wiping down the mug she had been cleaning. "I won't say anything."

"Promise?"

"I promise, Lisanna. Trust me. I won't ruin this for you."

"Thank you."

"Thank you," the babies agreed, Pippi and Puppu going over to Mirajane then and landing on her head. The barmaid only giggled though.

"Did he have a good job?" Mirajane asked.

"It was long," Lisanna said simply as she slid into a stool. Pappa and Peppe took to her shoulders while Peppe just continued flying around. "But he's here now, I guess, and that's all that matters. It's lonely, you know? Up at the apartment without him or his babies."

"I know what you mean," Mirajane agreed, nodding her head slightly then. "I hate it when Laxus is gone too."

"It's different for you."

"What do you mean?"

"You guys are married," she said, making a face. "And you don't do anything fun anymore anyhow."

"What are you talking about? We do plenty of fun stuff."

"Do not," Lisanna said. "You just sit around and talk. Bleh."

"You just wait, Lisanna. Everything's about to change for you," she told her. "Then you'll get it. Talking can be plenty of fun. Trust me."

That was what she was afraid of.

"Aunt Lisanna!"

And then she was having to lift Mirajane's oldest child into her lap and pretend as if she wasn't totally freaking out.

She knew that change was the only constant in the world, but did it really have to happen so quickly?

"Hi, Haven," she said, giving the child a kiss on the head. "I didn't know you were here."

"Mmmhmm." She sat up real tall then while Mirajane only grinned at her. "I was playing with Locke, but then he had to go. His dad took him home."

Hearing about Gajeel and Levy's son was not helping things. Taking a deep breath, Lisanna moved to set Haven on the ground before standing.

"I-"

"Where's Marin, Haven?" Mirajane asked suddenly, staring down at her daughter. "I thought she was playing with you and Locke?"

"I dunno. She's a big baby," the five year old blonde said then. "So we ditched-"

"You what?" Mirajane frowned then. "Haven-"

"There she is, Mira," Lisanna said, nodding over at the table that Laxus was seated at. "With her father."

Sure enough, the little girl was seated up in the Master's lap, cuddled up back against him as he spoke to his bodyguards. What they were guarding him from now, considering he was Master, was beyond everyone, but sometimes, labels just stick.

"No fair," Haven complained then, glaring over at her sister. "She wasn't supposed to go sit with Laxus."

"Well, you were playing with Locke," Lisanna told her. Haven kept glaring for a moment though before heading over there. Mira only sighed though, shaking her head as she went back to work.

"Well, you should tell him tonight, at least, Lisanna," Mira was calling over to her. "And then tell me tomorrow all about it."

"Mira, be quiet," she complained which only made her big sister giggle. Ugh.

Haven was over to her father's table by the time Lisanna got there, Bickslow's babies following. She only went to stand behind her boyfriend's chair, leaning against it slightly.

"Would you both knock if off?" Laxus was complaining as Haven tried in vain to shove her younger sister out off her father's lap. He was holding tight to Marin though. "Seriously, Haven, cut it out. She was here first."

"Daddy," Marin was whining as Haven only shoved harder. Little brat. Laxus was hers first!

"Haven, come here," Evergreen, who was at the table as well, sighed as she got to her feet. "I'm about to go meet with your uncle. We were going to go to a movie, but if you want, you can come with us."

"Elf?" Haven thought about it for a second before looking to her father. "Can I go, Laxus?"

"If you behave," he grumbled as he kissed Marin's white hair. "And if you apologize to Marin."

"Sorry, Marin," she said as she rushed over to Evergreen. Easily reaching out to grab the woman's hand, she whined, "Let's go."

"Ha," Bickslow laughed as Evergreen was drug off. Tilting his head back to look up at Lisanna, he said, "Looks like we got out of that one. Take that Elfman and Evergreen. That's gonna ruin their day."

Lisanna tried to smile, but it came out wrong. The babies, his babies, were crooning then, repeating his words as they flew around.

"I would have watched her, Laxus," Freed spoke up quickly, nodding his head while he was at it. "In fact, I will watch this one. It would be an honor. I-"

"Chill," Laxus grumbled as he stood up, keeping Marin in his arms. The little girl only giggled, glad that her big sister was gone as she wrapped her arms tightly around her father's neck. "Meeting's over. I got important shit to deal with."

With that, he walked over to the bar to talk to Mirajane. So important. Right.

"Then that leaves us then, I suppose," Freed was saying then to Bickslow. He still had his head tilted back though, staring up at his girlfriend while Lisanna tried hard to judge the moment. When should she tell him? It seemed like a big deal to her, but maybe he wouldn't think so? Or what if…what if he didn't…but…

"That just leaves you, buddy," Bickslow said as he got up from his chair then. "Me and my chick are gonna go take the babies shopping, huh? You like that, guys?"

"Like that," the dolls all assured him, fluttering around him and Lisanna both.

"How 'bout it then, Lissy?" He threw an arm around her then as they walked out of the guild. "You wanna go shopping? Bet we can find at least one thing you want, eh?"

"Yeah," she agreed softly. And maybe it'd help to get his mind off what was going on. "Maybe."

"Maybe," the babies called out as they followed along, Pappa coming to land on her hand and Peppe wanting to be carried in her hands. That was fine with Lisanna though, as they did bring her some comfort. Because if Bickslow could take care of them, he could take care of and love anything…right?

"You want a beer?"

"No," Lisanna replied softly as Bickslow removed his arms from around her shoulders and headed into the kitchen to get himself one. "Can you just get me a glass of water?"

"If you want," he said with a shrug.

"You want," Poppo said as he followed Lisanna over to the couch. "Mama."

She only smiled softly, going to take a seat on the couch, allowing him to come rest on one of her knees while the other babies fluttered around or found their own places to sit.

"Here you are then," Bickslow as he came back into the living room, a glass in one hand, a beer in the other. Handing the water off to his girlfriend, he took his own seat next to her before reaching up with his then free hand to knock his helmet off. Lisanna picked it up when it landed on the couch.

"Lissy," he complained as she put it on. "Seriously?"

"What?" She giglged at him slightly. "Do you not like me in it?"

"I do. I just-"

"Then why can't I wear it?"

"You can." He shifted on the couch then as Pippi came to join them, sitting in his daddy's lap. "It's just really sudden."

"I like it," she told him. "Really."

Then they were just sitting there, him sipping on his beer as she tried hard not to seem too eager or nervous. Over in the corner sat their bags for the day, containing the few things they'd purchased while they were out. It ranged from a deck of cards, a new pair of shoes for Lisanna, and a couple other things. Nothing serious. He'd tried a few times to buy her different things, but she was mostly resistant.

It was while they were sitting there though that there was a knock at the door. Before she could get up, Bickslow was, taking his beer with him.

"Laxus," he greeted. "Thought we talked about everything at the guild today?"

"We did," he grumbled, coming into the apartment, his bouncy wife following. Lisanna glared at Mirajane then, from over at the couch, but she was oblivious. She knew exactly what they were doing there. "But Mira-"

"I made some soup," she said as she stood there in the apartment, a bowl clasped in her hands. "And I thought we'd bring you guys over some. So you didn't have to make dinner tonight."

"That's cool," Bickslow said then, unaware that Mirajane always had double motives. Always.

"Aunt Lissy," Marin was coming over to her then, climbing right up on the couch. Lisanna only grinned at that because, as annoying as her sister was, she really did love her nieces. Both of them. Even if Haven was a butt. The girl in front of her though just giggled, pointing at the visor her aunt had on her head.

"Where's your sister, Marin?" Lisanna asked as some of Bickslow's babies came to greet the little girl. The three year old only giggled.

"With Elf."

"Still?"

"She's spending the night," Laxus grumbled as he stood by the closed from door, clearly wanting to leave already. "Mira-"

"You ain't expecting us to baby-sit too, are ya?" Bickslow asked quickly. "'cause-"

"No," Laxus told him with a frown. "We just came to drop off that soup. Mira, let's-"

"Your babies look very happy today, Bickslow," Mira said then as she walked closer to him. Lisanna turned her attention from her niece then to glare at her sister once more. She only held out the bowl of soup to Bickslow though.

"Thanks," he mumbled, taking it with one hand. "But they're no different, I don't think, if not a little dirty. I haven't made them new bodies since I got back, so-"

"Babies are just so much fun, right? And-"

"I think it's time to go, Mirajane." Lisanna stood then, taking Marin in her arms while she was at it. Handing the child off to her mother, she said, "Thank you for dinner. I'll see you tomorrow."

"But- And what are you doing in that thing, Lisanna?"

She blushed then as her sister gestured to the helmet that was still perched on her head. Her brother-in-law saved her then though.

"Come on, Mira." Laxus moved to take Marin from her mother before setting her on the ground. The little girl immediately moved to grasp one of his hands, to which he responded by gently squeezing it. "It's getting late. Marin needs to go to bed."

"Bye, kid," Bickslow said, waving down at her. Marin only giggled though, hiding her face from him. Whenever he had his helmet off, she got a little scared, as his face tattoo was rather eerie to her. Still though, when he grinned at her, she couldn't help, but to smile back.

"Bye, kid," his babies echoed making her shriek some and bury her face further in her father's jeans.

"Lisanna-" Mira was trying to say again, but her sister only shook her head.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Now goodnight."

After they were finally gone, Bickslow turned to go into the kitchen and set the bowl of soup down.

"Real nice of them, eh? To come all this way just to bring us dinner?"

"Something like that," Lisanna mumbled as she followed him. "Hey, Bickslow?"

"Mmmm?" He'd taken the top off the soup to inspect it. If it was vegetable soup, it would be going straight down the drain.

"You like Marin, huh?"

"Course," he agreed, nodding his head slightly as he glanced over his shoulder at her. "Why?"

"Nothing. I just-"

"Look, I just didn't want her spending the night's all. When she does, I get stuck making a fort and playing games and-"

"I said it wasn't that, okay?"

"Then what?"

She only shrugged, coming closer still. "You like Haven too, right?"

"She's alright, I guess. But I really just don't-"

"Would you ever…"

"Would I ever what?"

"Ever what?" the babies asked her as they floated around, Poppo coming down to rest on his papa's shoulder. "Mama?"

She had her arms wrapped so tightly around herself then that her whole body was rigid. Then, turning, she headed off, back to the living room.

"Nothing. Never mind."

Groaning, he left the soup behind (not vegetable, he was happy to report) and headed after her. "Hey, kid, just tell me, huh? I mean, I'm not too good at these things, but I do know that something's wrong. Or off. So what? What's up?"

"Bickslow-"

"Lisanna," he cut her off as she sat down on the couch. He was standing in front of her then, his face barred as she stared at him through the visor. "Tell me. What-"

"I'm pregnant, okay?"

And then it was out there and it was over and she could tell, she could just tell that he was going to-

"You're what?"

"Pregnant," the babies all cheered, as if he hadn't heard her. Bickslow wasn't listening to them though, as he only fell then, to sit down on the couch. Lisanna shifted away from him then, sighing slightly.

"Bickslow-"

He only groaned though, leaning down to rub the palms of his hands into his eyes. "You're sure? Like really sure? You've been…checked out by a doctor? Or taken a test or something?"

"I'm pregnant. Trust me."

He rubbed harder at his eyes then. "And that's why you were so-"

"Yeah."

"And why-"

"Yeah."

Then he was taking a deep breath. "I thought you were on something?"

"I was, but-"

"No." Slowly, he lifted his head. "No, never mind."

"What do you-"

"We're gonna have a kid. It doesn't matter why." He stood then, running a hand through his hair, ruining the Mohawk. Then, glancing at her, he said, "We're having a baby. Huh?"

"Yeah," she whispered. "We are."

"And…and… We're need lots of stuff!"

"B-Bickslow-"

"And we can't have a baby here," he said, gesturing around to the apartment then.

"What do you-"

"We need a new place. A bigger place. A house. With a yard."

"I don't think-"

"And pets. A dog. And a cat. And-"

"Would you stop-"

"We need money," he concluded then. "Lots of money."

"You do realize that we still have a few months for all this, right?"

He only ignored her, turning to walk away then. "I need to take jobs. Lots and lots of jobs. I gotta get down to the guild. I-"

"Bickslow-"

"Come on, babies. We need jewels."

"Bye, Mama," they all called then, following him out. Lisanna, who had worked the whole thing up into a dramatic moment, only sat here in shock after he was gone. She thought he would be angry or upset or would yell at her or-

Then the front door was opening back up and Bickslow was marching back into the apartment, the babies trailing behind.

"We forgot the helmet," he said, coming over to her then to snatch it up. She let him take it off, but still only stared up at him afterwards.

"Bickslow," she said softly.

"Hmmm?" He was putting it over his own head then.

"You're not seriously about to go try and take a job right now, are you?"

"Of course I am, kid. We need-"

"Bickslow." She stood then, to stare at him. Reaching out, she pushed up the visor so they could stare into one another's eyes. "We're having a baby."

And then, as he stood in front of her, he slowly blinked a few times before saying, "A baby."

"Yeah. Us."

He pulled the helmet right back off then and let it fall to the floor as he moved to rest his forehead against hers. Lisanna only stared up at him, giggling because she just felt so happy. Because he wasn't angry or blaming her or any of the horrible things she had envisioned the past few weeks while he'd been gone. And as he rubbed his head gently against hers, she sniffled slightly.

"We're having a baby." He moved then, to wrap his arms around her. "Lissy."

"Yeah."

"Mmmm." He nuzzled her neck then. "I love you."

Giggling, she whispered, "I love you too."

"Love you," all his babies sang until they were both laughing, her giggling and him sounding slightly maniacal.

"You guys ready to be older siblings? Huh? You ready to help us take care of the new baby?" Bickslow was laughing really hard then. "Guess you guys aren't babies anymore. You're toddlers now, yeah? Or kids?"

Lisanna only reached down then, to pick up his helmet. Then, staring at him, she said, "You still wanna go on a job, Bickslow?"

"Not tonight," he said, rubbing the back of his neck then. "I was just sort of, you know, excited. Shocked."

"It's a lot to take in," she agreed. "I didn't wanna believe it for a few days. I just-"

"Didn't wanna- How could you not? This is great. This is… This is the best thing ever, kid."

And then he was lifting her up, her crazy little seith, carrying her with him to the bedroom. He didn't shut the doors until his dolls were in there. Then he went to drop her gently on the bed while Lisanna just shifted to lay the helmet down on the nightstand.

"Gah," he said, still laughing slightly, as he moved to get into bed with her. "This is just-"

"Mama!" the babies cried as they dove for the bed in their over excitement. There was a good chance that they didn't fully grasp the situation, but rather were worked up over the way their papa had been acting.

"No," Bickslow told them, glaring as they came crashing onto the bed. "Behave."

"Bickslow-" Lisanna started, but he only continued to glare at his babies.

"Seriously, guys," he said, wagging a finger at them as he shifted onto his side next to his girlfriend. "You can't, like, slam into Mama's tummy anymore or nothing like that. Huh? She's delicate enough, but now that your brother or sister's in there-"

"Bickslow, knock it off." Lisanna pushed his head, though she was giggling some.

"Say sorry," he went on, ordering the babies. They immediately began to chant sorry at her, Pappa flying up before gently landing on her stomach. Lisanna only shook her head.

"If you're going to be like this the whole time," she began. "Then I'm taking one of those long jobs and won't come back for-"

"Job? Are you kidding, kid?" He shook his head. "You ain't going on any job. At all."

"What? Bickslow-"

"Not as long as my kid's in you, you ain't," he told her, nodding his head in a mater-of-fact like fashion. "It's dangerous! Anything can happen."

"I-"

"No." He moved to snuggle her some, the babies that laid across the bed with them laughing again. "I'll just go on some extra jobs, huh? Make some more money. And you won't have to do a thing. Promise."

"You're not letting me-"

"And no more wasting money on stupid things, Lisanna. Honestly. We're parents now."

"Me? You're the one that bought-"

"Parents," He kissed the side of her head. "We're parents now."

"Not yet," she told him softly. When he shut his eyes though, ready to go to sleep, she smiled slightly. "But soon."

"Mmmm."

"And hey, one of us needs to go put that soup in the fridge," she reminded him. "And I am sort of hungry."

"Kid, if you're going to be like this the whole time, I'm going to take one of those long jobs and-"

"Hey." She flicked his head. "Knock it off."

Her head got another kiss before he was pushing up and out of bed. "I'll go make us some soup then, huh?"

After he was gone, Lisanna only sat up in bed some, Pappa falling off her stomach though he just as quickly moved to lay on the pillow. She only smiled at all of them before moving to pick up her boyfriend's helmet from the side table and once more placing it on her head.

It brought her some sort of comfort for some reason as she grinned. Bickslow didn't just know; he was actually happy. Ecstatic even.

"Hmmmm." She ran a hand over her stomach then. Maybe things would all work out after all. After all the horrible things that happened so frequently in her life, it'd be nice to, for once, have a good moment.

"Soup, soup, soup. And a beer for me. None for you though, kid."

She only sat up in bed as he came into the room, carrying a single bowl of soup. After handing it off to her, he left the room before coming back with his own, as well as a beer.

When they were both finally sitting next to each other, eating a bowl of soup, Lisanna couldn't help but to grin. Bickslow was able to keep himself from laughing though, which was a good thing because she did not feel like cleaning up spilled soup.

"So when is it, huh?"

"When's what?" she asked, frowning at him then. What was he talking about?

"The wedding."

She blinked. "Whose?"

"Ours, kid. Ours."

Then, after a moment, she looked back down at her soup, blushing slightly. "You haven't asked me yet."

"Thought that's what I was doing?"

"Not without a ring you're not."

That made him laugh, but luckily, he didn't spill his bowl. The babies began to giggle too.

"So what then? I gotta get a ring and then what? Make a big show of it? In front of everyone at the guild or-"

"No," she told him then with a snicker. "Of course not."

"Then-"

"I would be, like, so embarrassed," she told him. "Just… I would just want you to here. Alone. With the babies. Me and you."

"Tomorrow then."

"No, Bickslow. No tomorrow."

"No?"

"No."

"Then what-"

"It has to be a…a surprise. Shocking."

"Lisanna-"

"It has to, Bickslow."

Groaning, he turned to set his bowl on the dresser. "A surprise, huh?"

"Yeah, it- What are you doing?"

"You want a surprise, kid?" He tumbled out of bed then before heading over to his dresser. Opening one of his drawers, he dug around, under his boxers before pulling out a little black box.

"B-Bickslow-"

"I was planning on this for awhile. Contemplating. Glad you said that you didn't want the big guild thing, because that's what I was going to do. In front of your sister and all. But hey, if you want private-"

"How long have you-"

"Me and babies picked it out before we went away, on our last job. Great timing, huh? But I just couldn't find the right time, before." He was coming over to the bed then and stopped when he made it there. Lisanna was still in bed though, just staring at him in shock. The babies were laughing again and floating around. Slowly, she reached up to knock the helmet off, because there was no way that she wanted it to ruin the moment.

"You wanna get married, kid?" He winked at her. "Me and the babies, we ain't so bad, huh? And you're already their mommy. They love ya. And I do too, kid. So just…just make it real, huh?"

She was less interested in his words and far more concerned with the ring. When he finally opened the box, she squealed and moved to jump out of bed and throw her arms around him…and totally ruined the bedspread in the process.

"Nice going, kid," he complained as they ended up on the couch that night, as the soup had completely soaked the sheets.

"Nice going," the babies mimicked.

Lisanna only snuggled up on his chest though, the babies laying around on armrests and next to her on Bickslow's chest. She kept staring at her finger though, as if to be sure that it was real. It was. Her engagement ring was way nicer than the one that Mirajane had gotten, back in the day from Laxus. Totally.

And, just for the record, her kid was going to be better too. Lisanna loved Haven, but come on. Her and Bickslow's son or daughter would roast her in a magic battle. She just knew it would.

Yeah, I totally referenced some OCs from my story Remember Me, but it's not necessary to read that to get it. It's just the children taken from the other story. Guess I have Haven and Marin on the brain.