A/N: So there was this thing on tumblr that I saw because of LittlePrincessNana. A 30-day drabble challenge by hawkwardeye. Write something for every single day, with different prompts. I figured, why not? Except, I'm not going to stick to the traditional drabble distinction of 100 words. We all know I can't do that lol.
These won't be connected, I don't think. They might even be different pairings for each one. I won't know until I write them. I'll be sure to put the pairing and rating on each one, though.
Now, even though I have all 30 prompts, these will take a little time to write. The updates might be sporadic, but all of them will eventually be written. Pairings in the description will reflect the most recent posted chapter.
So, let's get started. You can thank Leoslady4ever for this pairing.
Beginning
Bickslow x Levy
Rated T
He hated libraries.
Bickslow hated them so much, he had been tempted to burn a few down just so he wouldn't be stuck like he was right then. He didn't care if this was a part of the guild, or how old some of the books were. He wanted them all gone.
And the fact that he was considering arson, and that his inner monologue probably sounded a whole lot like Natsu's really didn't faze the Seith mage. Because he was sure that anyone would be ready to set some books on fire if they were trapped in a chair by Freed's runes, unable to leave, with no one to even fucking talk to for the next few hours. The asshole even took his babies when he'd left, saying that they could enjoy some time away from the library and all the research the team had been doing for the last two days straight.
It wasn't like Bickslow was even helping to begin with.
And he definitely wasn't helping right then. First off, he didn't want to. This was Freed's part, his forte, not Bickslow's. Second, his hands were practically fused to the damn chair with runes winding around them, up his arms, across his chest and even down his legs. He couldn't even tap his fucking feet! And the worst part of it all was that Freed had made a special rule so that he couldn't speak unless spoken to; specifically, unless he was asked a question.
His mouth was sealed shut.
Okay, so maybe asking questions every few seconds had gotten on Freed's nerves. And just maybe he should probably have avoided licking the inside of Freed's ear when he'd been ignored. It wasn't a sexual thing, it was just… Bickslow really didn't like it when people ignored him. Sure, Freed was reading something and it was most likely stupidly important to their upcoming job, and yes Evergreen and Laxus were both reading as well, and there had been a stack of books that Bickslow had been assigned… But was it really his fault that he just didn't like to read?
This wouldn't have been so bad if he could watch a clock or something. But all he could see were books. And more books. He couldn't even turn his head to look somewhere else, and if he had to read the spines from A. Halifax through F. Kortenwald one more time, Bickslow was going to lose touch with his sanity.
The door opened and closed. Soft steps padded closer, lighter than Freed's or Laxus' and lacking the clack of heels for Evergreen.
Who else actually came into the library? He was pretty sure no one in the guild really knew the damn thing was here. With how many times the building had been destroyed, even he was surprised it was still standing.
"Oh! Um… Sorry."
God, he wished he could just move, just turn his head and look over his shoulder to the quiet feminine voice that he really couldn't place. It wasn't Wendy, he knew that much. But it was definitely quieter than Erza or Lucy.
He probably looked like a fucking lunatic, just sitting here and staring at the stacks.
Oh well. People thought he was a lunatic already.
"Uh… alright. I'm just getting a book, so I'll be out of your hair in a minute." She laughed quietly. "Of course I'm getting a book… this is a library."
Oh, how he wanted to say that she could be looking for a good time. Or for a knight in shining armor. Or visor, in his case. Bickslow listened as her footsteps receded off to his right. She was going to the end of the alphabet, then.
He wasn't sure how long went by with him simply listening to quiet shifting off in the distance, books sliding from shelves only to be put back. The soft scratch of a ladder over the dusty floor, then how she stepped onto it for a moment and got back down.
By the time she returned, Bickslow realized he needed to pee. And when she walked in front of him, he realized it was Levy. Freed's fellow bookworm. And the guy's ex-girlfriend.
That would explain why she'd acted that way upon seeing him in the library. Levy most likely thought Freed was around here somewhere, and Bickslow knew that she'd been trying to avoid the Rune mage since their breakup three months prior. From what he'd gathered - through Evergreen, of course, because it would have been weird for Bickslow to show any interest in that - Freed ended the relationship. There had also, apparently, been lots of crying from Levy over the whole thing.
Levy searched the stacks again and again. She paced back and forth in front of him, and he couldn't really stop himself from watching how her slim fingers brushed away a few errant strands of hair. Or how her dress rode up a little bit when she reached higher.
Bickslow's eyes strayed higher to her slender shoulders. He could just picture letting his lips trail across her pale flesh toward the white guild mark on her shoulder blade, tracing it with his tongue. Damnit all, he couldn't think about that! There was no way for him to hide a boner if he couldn't move.
"Oh, where is it?" Levy huffed. "I knew it was here a couple days ago."
If only he could ask what she was looking for.
She turned and screamed when she saw Bickslow still sitting in the same place. She couldn't see his eyes past the slats of his visor though, so the Script mage had no idea he'd rolled them at her reaction.
He wasn't that scary.
"Bickslow, I forgot you were there."
He was silent, but really, he wished he could just say something already.
"Um… Okay." She frowned at him in confusion then turned back toward the books. Another few minutes passed with him simply watching her and trying not to fantasize about laying her out on a nearby table and sticking his face between her legs. Finally, she whirled in place with her hands on her hips. "Alright, stop staring at me," she said. "I can feel you doing it."
He still said nothing.
"This is really creepy, Bickslow," Levy said. "Did Freed put you up to this?"
"No." Damn, he'd been hoping he could get a little more out than just the one word, since she'd asked him a question. Fucking Freed and his stupid fucking smart brain! There had to have been a rule in there that made it so Bickslow could only answer what he was asked, nothing else.
"Then why are you just sitting there?"
"Freed did it." God-fucking-damnit. That was the perfect question! Why hadn't he said more than that?
"Well, cut it out," Levy said, turning back to the books again. "If you don't have anything to do, then just go somewhere else."
Bickslow still said nothing. He didn't move. Instead, he got to watch Levy disappear from his line of sight, still looking at the books, then return several minutes later with her hands covering her face in what he was sure was sheer frustration.
"Well, if you're just going to sit there, you could at least help me," she sighed.
"..."
"I need to find Questing for Quibbles: Quixotic Queries."
"..." If she'd ask him a goddamn question, he could help!
"I'm just looking for some light reading." That was bullshit, he'd seen that fucking book and it was huge! "And someone told me it was a great read."
Which meant Freed told her about it. The Rune mage had held onto that book for two months before finally bringing it back to the guild's library.
"Bickslow, do you think you could help me find it?"
"Definitely."
She smiled then. God, he'd always thought her smile was breathtaking. He might not have recognized her voice right away, but he wasn't obsessed with her. Levy was just beautiful to him. He'd spent more time than he cared to admit looking at her from across the guild. Always with her nose in a book, much like Freed.
"Well, let's go," she said, walking back toward the stacks again. "It's probably somewhere I can't reach, and you're tall enough to be able to get up to the higher shelves without a ladder, so-" Levy paused and peeked around the shelves, frowning when she saw that Bickslow still hadn't moved. "Are you coming?"
"I can't."
"What?"
"I can't come."
"Um… why?"
Oh, thank fucking god! "Because Freed used his runes to tie me to this stupid chair."
She laughed and made her way over to him. And even though Bickslow could just picture her turning into a little sex kitten and taking advantage of his bound body by stripping him and riding him right there, he knew she wouldn't. Levy was too innocent for things like that.
"You poor thing," she laughed. Her smile fell when he didn't laugh along with her, when his tongue didn't loll from between his lips. "Oh, I didn't mean to upset you, Bickslow."
"..."
"Should I just leave you alone?" she whispered.
"Please don't," he sighed.
Levy bit her lip and came closer, taking a seat on the table just beside him. He couldn't turn his head to look at her though. "You must have really aggravated him, huh?"
"That's an understatement," he smirked.
"Well, I hope you'll still help me find that book."
"..."
"Bickslow, why do you do that?"
"I'm only allowed to answer questions," he groaned. God it was painful having to follow these stupid rules.
"So if I don't ask you a question, then you're stuck?"
"That's the slim jimmy of it," he said.
"Well, do you know where I can find that book?"
"Yes."
Levy waited, then laughed quietly. "Okay, so where can I find that book?"
Bickslow let out a heavy sigh, his gaze lifting to the top shelf. "Up there under G. Hortenshertz."
"Why do you know that?" Levy giggled.
"I've been sitting here for three hours and I can't move."
"Well, if I get you out of this, will you help me?"
"If you get me out of this, I'll kiss you." He wasn't kidding either. Bickslow was desperate to get out of this damn chair. And he definitely wanted to kiss the little blue-haired mage.
"O-Oh, you don't… Um…" He would have laughed when her cheeks flamed. "That's just silly. Just a thank you is enough."
"..."
She paused, biting her lip one more time. "Bickslow?"
"Yeah, Levster?" He definitely didn't miss the shy smile she tried to hide by ducking her head.
"Freed told me something, and I want to know if it's true…"
He would have told her that Freed wasn't a liar, so if he'd said something to her, then it was most definitely the truth.
"He said he had to break up with me, because of you."
Oh, Freed was a rat fucking bastard! Also, Bickslow was definitely glad that he had not said a thing about Freed not lying.
"He told me that you were interested in me, and he didn't feel right being in a relationship and forcing you to watch us being together," Levy said. "Is any of that true?"
And even though he could have said something, Bickslow was silent. He knew by the look in her eyes that she wasn't going to drop it. One of the things he liked about Levy was how smart she was. He might not have been interested in books in the slightest, but he was definitely interested in her.
"Bickslow, I know you can talk when I ask a question," she said. "So, is it true?"
"I don't know why Freed broke up with you, Levy," he said.
"Is what he said about you true?"
"..."
"Would Freed ever lie to someone?" she asked, though he missed the cunning smirk on her lips.
"Of course not. Freed's not a liar."
"So he told me the truth about you liking me," she giggled. She knew he couldn't say anything, but she didn't need him to. Instead, Levy took out her magic pen and started undoing the runes keeping Bickslow from speaking. Once it was finished, she sat back and smiled at the Seith mage. "Try talking now."
Bickslow licked his lips and smiled. He stuck out his tongue, stretching it to its full length and fighting not to laugh at Levy's quiet squeak. "Thanks, Levster," he said. "You're awesome."
"Sometimes," she laughed. "Now, tell me what happened to make him lock you in this trap. It seems a bit extensive for your usual silliness."
Bickslow wouldn't find out until months later that Freed had done this as a way to force him to confront his feelings for Levy, because he knew she would be in the library that day. Just like Bickslow wouldn't find out until the following week that Levy wanted to date him, and that this was their beginning. So, while he was still tied to a chair, he told her the story of what he'd done to get in that position.
"Well," he said, forgetting all about the ache in his bladder, "It all started with Laxus and…"
.The End.
