~Okay so I am currently without a laptop and I'm SO SORRY about all the grammar weirdness and editing bullsheezy. I tried to read through it on my phone after I typed it but like you can only stare at tiny screen with tiny words for so long before you go crazy.

Fun Fact about this one, I had the ending in mind before I wrote the rest of this little gem so like, I hope you like it. I was thinking about continuing this one for one of the other days. *shrugs* I dunno, but I hope you like Day 2!~

Lick- Zen/Lu? Mostly just Lucy Fluff

Bickslow's family had been in Magnolia for a week already and Lucy was starting to feel a little unwanted seeing as how most of her female guildmates and even some of her male guildmates had stories to tell about the gorgeous family made of supermodel quality mages. As if that wasn't enough, each of them was a powerhouse in their own rights and each had an impressive resume filled with titles and commendations abound and yet here she was three daiquiris deep at the bar and not a single one has even so much as flirted with her. Sure they were nice and polite towards her, but distinctly not flirtatious. It was starting to give her a complex.

As she grumbled over her drink, stirring the half-melted frozen concoction with a fervor so excessive, it pulled Mira from her conversation with Elfman to take in the dark aura looming around her favorite blonde.

Excusing herself from her younger brother, she crossed the bar to duck her head and catch Lucy's eye to make her silver hair hang like a curtain around her cheery face. "Lu-chan, what's wrong? You've been trying to mix your daiquiri to death for the passed ten minutes and I know you never waste a good strawberry beverage."

Letting out a tired sigh as she slumped down to lean her face on the bartop, her arms hanging loose at her sides as she huffed out of annoyance, "Me, Mira! I'm what's wrong! I've been trying to hardest to make myself available without being too available and nothing! Absolutely nothing...I think I'm just not attractive to the men I'm attracted to. That's gotta be it, right? I mean, I work out, I eat relatively well, I have a pleasant personality and I can hold intelligent conversation most of the time so why for all the stars in the sky, have I not had any action at all from the hoard of virile Boscans?"

It took a minute for Lucy to realize the oldest Strauss was actually laughing at her.

Snapping her narrowed, questioning gaze to the silver-haired beauty, she asked in an accusatory manner that all tipsy, insecure women wield so well, "Do tell what's so funny about me being a spinster for the rest of my life?"

Shaking her head as she leaned on the bar and brushed the stray curls from her high ponytail back out of her face to where they belonged, Mira couldn't help but put the poor girl she saw as a younger sister out of her misery with a motherly tone. "Oh, Lu. There's nothing wrong with you. It's those boys of yours that are the problem. At least four of them gave their own special versions of the 'stay away from Lucy Heartfilia' speech to each of Bickslow's brothers. If I would have known you didn't know they did it, I would have told you sooner."

A calm so still took over her body, Mira's smile fell into a look of almost regret before Lucy seethed out, "Who."

Looking around for anyone that could help her calm the intoxicated woman, neither Levy nor Cana could be seen and Mira gulped quietly before clearing her throat and trying to placate the slow-catching fire that was Angry Lucy. "I can just talk to them for you, Lu. You don't have to worry about anything but having a-"

"Mira." Lucy's voice was edged but not unkind yet. "Who told them to stay away from me? I want names."

It took another ten minutes before the Takeover Mage finally cracked and she gave up the poor souls about to get an earful from the Light of Fairy Tail. All of which were currently spread about the guild hall in blissful ignorance of the storm heading their way.

On a mission to correct the wrongs done by the well-intentioned idiots in her life, she chugged the rest of her watery drink, spun around on her barstool and locked in on her first target; the future guildmaster of Fairy Tail shooting the breeze with the current guildmaster of Bosco's most famous and highly recommended guild, the White Sea and second oldest Pradesh Mindbender Mage. Taking in the spikey head of yellow-blond hair and getting tunnel-vision, she made a path to the S-Class lounge on the balcony.

As if his dragon could sense the ball of aggro heading straight for him, the hair on the back of Laxus' neck stood on end and he turned his head just in time to catch the pissed off look on Lucy's slightly flushed face before hissing out, "Fuck me, she looks like she's on a warpath."

Kaleb let out a deep chuckle before grinning knowingly and adding just as he took another drink from his mug, "Heading right your way, Lightning Bug."

Shooting the white-blond a harsh look, he hadn't even gotten the chance to get more information from the mind-reader before Lucy had come up beside him, hip cocked and arms crossed over her chest to test the material of her high-collared tank top, to all but glare him death.

They stared at each other for a moment before Kaleb let out another choke of a chuckle and Lucy asked indignantly while her arms shot out to convey just how done she was with him, "Well?! What's your problem Laxus?"

Pulling his steely eyes from hers to glance at Kaleb's lavender ones for any help at all, maybe get any context st all only to get none, he focused back on the seething Celestial Mage and offered neutrally, "You'll have to be more specific than that cause I'm not sure what problems I have at the moment."

"How about the kill order you put on anyone who thinks about hitting this," her hands gestured down towards her body in a jerky, angry motion before her irritation came steamrolling out of her mouth and over him. "What gives you the right to act like some big bad protector, huh? I'm a grown person who is capable of making decisions for myself and since when was it a crime for me to get some action?"

Laxus didn't quite know how to handle the situation he was in. Here Lucy was, pacing and ranting like a madwoman and he just wanted her to shut up and leave him to his beer.

"I can't believe the four of you. You and Gray I get. You're like brothers to me, but Cobra and Bickslow? Really? Really."

Most of her anger was melting away into the sticky pull of despair as she flopped across the table from the hulking blonds and sighed with a finality that had both men raising brows at the sad mess of a woman in front of them, "I'm going to end up a sexless hermit because I'm surrounded by neanderthals."

Without sparing a glance to the Lightning Slayer next to him, Kaleb's velvety smooth voice sounded from behind his mug once more, "If you're trying to get the ban lifted from your head, all you have to do is talk to Bixy. Once he gives the go ahead, you'll have my brothers swarming."

Watching her face light up at the new revolution, the touchy-feely woman let out a short squeal of joy before bouncing up and asking expectantly as her hand reached across the table to take his hand in hers, her eyes filled with a drunken wonder that had even him curious about the previously-forbidden Celestial Mage, "Really? You mean it?"

"Absolutely. Last I saw, he was about to head out-"

Before he could finish his sentence, she had come around and wrapped her dainty hands around the thick muscle of his biceps to cheerfully bubble out a, "thank you so much, you're a lifesaver," and press a kiss to his cheek before she was humming under breath and practically skipping to the first floor to find her mohawked salvation.

It took her another ten minutes before she just barely saw the blue of his top hawk head towards the front door and she ducked and dodged her way through the sea of bodies on the dance floor to hopefully cut him off and meet him there at the door before he escaped for the night.

A few elbows to the head later, she finally emerged from the crowd with a hand cradling the side of of her head that took the most painful hit only to lose her balance and trip just as she broke through the final wall of people. Her eyes squeezed shut as she waited for the pain to hit her face as it met the unforgiving and unfortunately familiar wood planks of the floor only to instead be caught by a very capable set of toned arms attached to a very devilishly handsome Pradesh. Peaking her eye open to take in the supple leather of Vander's sleeveless shirt stretched to hug his swimmers build perfectly, she took in the feel of his pecs absently before pulling back and giving him a winning smile. "Thanks for saving me from kissing the floorboards."

His slow-curling grin held the promise of devious unpredictability as his delicious wine eyes met hers with a cheeky wink. "If you were looking for a kiss, I could be of better service to you, sugar."

Her arms stayed pressed into the muscle of his chest as his hands kept their hold on her arms, his thumbs running over the smooth skin of them in wandering aimless motions that were already sending goosebumps up her arms and down her back.

Was it getting warmer in here or was that just her?

The moment was broken by the man she had originally set out to find as his usually light and playful voice held just the barest of sharp edges. "Cosplayer! What can I do for a babe like yourself?" His tongue lolled from his mouth as his brows waggled playfully, completely at odds with the unfamiliar gleam in his eye directed passed her to his Shadowquip brother.

Giving Vander's chest a few pats as if to say goodbye for now, she turned her attention up towards Bickslow's smiling face, her voice an excited rush of information matching the exhiberant motions of her hands and arms. "Bixy! I was hoping to catch you before you left since Kaleb said you were about to head out and I need to talk to you about lifting the 'ban' from my head. Kaleb said as long you gave the go ahead, everyone would stop treating me like a leper. Or a hag. Either way, I'd like to change my 'no vacancy' sign to 'vacancy'. I'd really, really, like to get to enjoy some of the perks Bosco has to offer." Her hands were laced together in front of her body to push her chest together as she near pleaded to the openly gaping Seith Mage.

Rubbing the back of his head, he shot his very smug younger brother a look of warning before letting out a breath. "Isn't Kaleb just being super helpful today?"

The sarcasm of his words flew over her head completely in her tipsy emotional state and her face lit up once again and she gushed, "He is though! Good thing too since Laxus wasn't any help at all."

The younger Pradesh cut in with a mirthful tone and a sly grin, much to the blonde's delight and the blunette's chagrin. "If I'm understanding right, you're trying to say that our dear Bixy has unfairly taken you out of the game. Is that right?" Just as he finished, his hand reached out to run his knuckles over the skin of her arm to make her shiver just slightly at the brief contact.

Nodding her head enthusiastically to Vander, Lucy could hardly hide her relief. Her mouth dropped as she was about to give thanks to yet another Pradesh for helping her out, Bickslow's even tone sounded instead. Forced to pay attention to the Seith Mage, Lucy's lips snapped shut as her eyes narrowed out of irritation for being interrupted.

"Listen, Cosplayer, I'm not trying to-"

Unable to keep from snapping, Lucy's voice was curt as she checked her nails and pointedly lost eye contact. "Trying to what, Acrobat? Not be dick? Not be a total asshole? Because I have to tell you, things aren't looking good for you right now on either account. Maybe I wanted to-"

In a rare moment of exhaustion in the Seith Mage, he laid his hands on Lucy's shoulder's and his voice was tired, something that Lucy found herself disliking even more than sitting at the bar alone. "Lucy, holy shit, I'll explain. I'll explain. Van and I were about to meet Cris for dinner, you can just come with."

Mulling her options over, her stomach was starting to hit that rumbley point where she either needed more booze or real food and she would get the explanation she charged down here for. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad either, having dinner with Bickslow and his brothers.

Fixing her slightly twisted skirt, she gave a short nod of her head before crossing her arms and heading straight for the front door to leave her two escorts behind. Both were staring after with opposing looks of dread and desire.

Leaning towards Bickslow with his usual devious smile, his voice was light and easy as he elbowed into his brothers side, "Who do you she'll land on first? Cause I'm really hoping she picks me. What do you think, bro? I got good odds or what."

Shaking his head with a slow-forming smile, he gave Vander a hearty clap to the back before laughing out, "Good luck to whoever does. As much as I'd like to say it was for Lucy, totally just looking out for you idiots. Woman eats men up and spits them out."

When Bickslow looked back down to say something else to Vander, something along the lines of 'that wasn't supposed to be motivation', he was already halfway through the door with a charming smile plastered on his face.

Muttering mockingly under his breath as he ran a hand through his mohawk, Bickslow already regretted bringing the Celestial Mage with him. "'Just come with', it'll be such a great time for me to explain that you're a fucking beast and at least one of my brother's is guaranteed to fall for you. I just have to keep her away from Zen which would be a lot easier if we could find him."

XxXxXxX

The whole way to the little late-night cafe on the canal, Lucy talked herself sober and found herself actually very much enjoying her company now that she wasn't focusing on the fact that they weren't offering to fuck her right where she was standing. She was actually starting to think that maybe she needed to just scratch the itch herself so she could be a normal functioning person again and not some neurotic sexfiend.

Looking up to take in the bulkier frame of Cristoff, she gave him a soft smile seeing as the two spent most of the second night they were here talking about anything and everything while Cana and Vander did very questionable things on the barstools down the bar from them.

"Hey, Cris," was all she could get out before Vander slung an arm over her shoulder and gave the raven-haired Lunar Slayer a brow waggle that rivaled Bickslow's.

"Guess who just got off the no-fly list? This gorgeous lady right here. How nice of Bixy-boo to finally get over himself and let the girl have some fun, don't you think, my great big moonbeam?"

Cristoff's rich chuckle hit her right in the chest as his brows raised towards Bickslow to confirm the validity of their youngest brother's statement before Bickslow gave a another reluctant nod of his head and gestured for them to actually sit at one of the outside tables so they could order. He was really hoping to get a chance to at least talk to Cris and Van about Zen alone at some point sooner than later. They were doing an excellent job so far at managing to keep the Archangel and Celestial mages apart but if being a Fairy Tail mage has taught him anything, it's to expect the unexpected.

Halfway through their laughter-filled meal, Lucy excused herself to go to the bathroom to give Bickslow the opportunity he needed with his brothers.

Leaning back on the metal chair to stretch his back out before speaking, the Seith wasn't all that worried about where Zen had gotten to, he just wanted to make sure he wasn't anywhere near them. "Can you find Zen?"

Van shrugged his shoulders as he took another bite of his massive hamburger as his only response.

"Seriously, dude?"

The Shadowquip gave a muddled 'what' with another shrug of his shoulders to try and convey how delicious his burger was and how much he did not want to move away from it.

Motioning his open palm after the blonde long gone now, he spoke as if trying to convey a point to a toddler, "Well, I don't know if you forgot but we have another brother who uses Archangel magic, old stuff, very intense, and she," stopping again to point more aggressively towards the bathroom, "is a Celestial Mage, very tricksy and very attractive to users of Archangel magic. I would like to prevent the unlikely but just likely enough to make me nervous event of the two becoming stuck with one another without them really knowing what they've done. Need I remind you what happened when Zen went to the Sea for the first time?"

Both younger Pradesh boys remember the ordeal very well and neither liked to rehash the horrible few months their brother was essentially a slave to his magic and the Celestial Mage that held the leash.

Giving his deep wine eyes a roll, Vander wiped his mouth before settling back into his usual playful manner. "You better save this for me and get me a really special dessert for when I come back. I'm supposed to be on vacation right now, you know."

"Woe is you," was all Bickslow facetiously drolled before the Shadow Mage was gone and Cristoff was left with a crevice between his brows so deep Bickslow might have been concerned for his little brother if it weren't for the curiosity shining in his deep blue eyes.

It took another few seconds for the bulkier of the two to finally speak up but his voice was its usual easy-going lilt. "Wait, so if you were just worried about her with Zen, why tell the rest of us to steer clear?"

Noticing the golden head of hair on its way back over to them, he hunkered down and rushed out in a semi-successful whisper as his hand went to block off the other side of his mouth as if that was going to keep Lucy from hearing and not the fact that she was inside the building and they were outside, "I'm just trying to look out for everyone involved here. She's got incredibly high standards and when someone finally meets them, she holds on."

"You're telling me, you're keeping her from us because she'll like it too much? Isn't that kind of the point-"

"Shushshushut up." Bickslow's hand was near smashed over Cristoff's face as Lucy came back out to the patio and sat down to start into her own house special sandwich before realizing there were two sets of eyes keenly watching her. "What? Is there something on my face," before wiping at her face to take in the fact that there was a person missing completely from the table and her head cocked to the side, "Where's Van?"

Without really thinking about it, Cristoff answered honestly, "He's going to see where Zen got to."

"Ah," her face lifted as she continued, the hand holding one of her french fries waving around without any real aim, "the mystery brother I've yet to meet. You know? I'm starting to think you Pradesh's just don't like me." Munching down on the fry with a smirk working the corner of her lips, she waited to see which brother would answer since Cristoff was now avoiding her eyes and Bickslow was rubbing his palms into his eye sockets.

After a short groan, her fellow Fairy Tail mage moved to meet her mirthful gaze, his voice just a shade dimmer than its usual energy. "Zen's just not good with people and you're the type of people he especially isn't good with."

Pulling back as if his words were a cold splash to the face, her face twisted into something mixed with uncertainty and offense. "I am? I'm sorry… I think? Did something happen to him?"

Her words were earnest and caring and that was just the type of thing that would get them stuck. She was too genuinely nice of a person to not want to help Zen and Zen was the type to just love her unique mix of soft femininity and hard morals. Not to mention they were both hilariously good looking individuals and his older brother seemed to favor blondes.

As if his little brother could sense the conversation needed an intervention, his lithe body appeared just behind Lucy's chair. His hands were gripping the back just on either side of her head but his voice was tight as his eyes stayed upwards towards the fading light of the day. "So Zen's on his way and he's pretty adamant about that so I'm gonna take stargirl and we are gonna go somewhere else."

Lucy would have objected to being kidnapped but as soon as Vander mentioned Zen was on his way to them, both men stiffened and immediately started scanning the skies as well. It really made her feel like maybe she didn't want to stick around to meet the other Pradesh.

So nodding her head, she calmly got up from her seat and asked what he needed her to do which Vander gave her an easy smile before taking her in his arms and asking her to keep her eyes shut; no matter what, she needed to keep her eyes closed.

XxXxXxX

Zen Pradesh was not having a good night even in the most general sense of the word. He's been getting less and less sleep the longer they stayed in Magnolia and his appetite has diminished to nearly nothing. The combination of the two made him jumpy, irritable and standoffish at the best of moments so he stayed inside Bickslow's house and tried to keep himself preoccupied with the books and movies he had.

That had worked for awhile until he felt a sharp pulse in his chest that drove him to the edge of snapping completely before a strangely sweet vague scent filled his senses just enough to tease at maybe something floral before he needed to move. His wings burned to spread out and his brain was going haywire, trying to get more of the intoxicating smell.

Unable to fight his instincts any longer, he barely made it out the back door in time for his massive set of midnight wings to snap out and give him a better vantage point.

He managed to land on one of the taller buildings Magnolia boasted when Vander literally poofed in beside him, the sweet scent haunting his senses lingering over him like his little brother had been in contact with whatever is producing it.

Trying to keep his deep baritone in check, he offered his annoyingly intuitive Shadowquip brother an easy, "Can I help you."

Ignoring the serious tone coming from the towering mahogany-haired ex-gladiator, Vander put his hands behind his head and casually answered the non-question, "You're not supposed to be flying around where people can see you, big bro."

Rolling the gold-flecked deep plum of his eyes back towards the streets, he gruffed out, "Tch, and you're on vacation right now, pup." Though the nickname was more of a dig thanks to his questionable role in Bosco's army, it held the faint edges of affection.

"I'll have you know I have been on vacation from the moment I returned my very confused and lost friend back into the proper authorities and you're actually ruining a perfectly good dinner. Bixy wanted to check on you."

"Bix needs to worry about something other than me for five minutes."

Vander was probably not the best to deal with the testy mage but he pressed on in true younger brother fashion, his voice lilting with a playful teasing quality that grated on his older brother, "Tell me about it. Here we all were, enjoying fantastic food at this little cafe by the canal when mister mohawks sends me away from a woman desperately needing my skills."

"And how many women have you already assisted today?" Zen was quickly losing patience but he needed to know if the woman he was just with was the reason he smelled like the heavenly jolt that set him off.

Putting a hand to his heart at the accusation, his lips curled into a devious smirk before answering, "A lady never talks conquests to big boorish brutes like you. Plus, Lucy's not quite like the others."

Vander had no way of knowing that Cristoff had told Zen all about Lucy and how amazing her relationships are with her spirits and how well she treats them which gave away her Celestial roots but no one had outright told him who the Celestial Mage was to begin with so putting all the pieces together, Zen's sleep-deprived brain puzzled out that the scent must be coming from Lucy, Celestial Summoning Wizard, and he was more than happy to find her and take her somewhere so he could finally get some peaceful sleep.

Taking off to find the cafe along the canal that held the key to his sanity, he left his brother behind and didn't bother to see how long it took him to realize what he gave away.

XxXxXxX

Which is how Lucy ended up clutching Vander in the middle of Bickslow's house trying to shake the creepy feeling Vander's shadowstepping left her with.

She felt his hands loosen around her to rub her back in soothing circles while he spoke quietly to her with a cheery tone, "You can open your eyes now. We're at Bixy's house and you're safe."

Popping one eye open to check her surroundings and confirm that she was actually inside the Seith Mage's living room, she let out a shaky breath before leaning her forehead on Vander's chest and sighing out, "I have this weird feeling like this is only putting off the inevitable."

Conceding to the curvy blonde, he gave a nod of his head before saying, "Probably. I think you're right but at least it gives me some time to tell you what's actually going on cause keeping the two of you in the dark was a little juvenile and is no longer working."

Steering her slumped frame towards the leather couch to have a sit-down chat with her, he sat them both down with Lucy tucked away under his arm before he cleared his throat in a dramatic show and launched into the origins of Zen's Archangel magic and how they are naturally drawn to Celestial magic users to work as a symbiotic relationship where both mages gain an immense boost of power based on the Celestial Mage's specific type of magic and base power level before they mated. Yes, mated. Like dragon slayers, except there wasn't just one special person it would work on; any Celestial user could mate an Archangel and bind them to each other. To be bonded and mated would make both essentially immortal as long as they stayed together but it's also hard to make a decision that permanent when your magic is driving you to bone like bunnies. The contact between the two magics is magnetic to begin with but take into account centuries of being without Archangels, it made the connection undeniable and primal.

Lucy sat back into the suede cushioning of the couch to process the information she had been given. Her arms were crossed over her chest deep in thought when her chocolate eyes looked up filled with the odd mix of wonder and confusion. He watched her lips as they pursed together for an instant before she asked, "Do you think I could get hurt?"

Vander gave the question honest thought and shook his head as his fingers played with the curls at the end of her long ponytail, "No, I don't think he'd hurt you. The relationship is more gear towards a role of protector, a knight almost. Except for the sex part of it, that's pretty self-explanatory so I don't think you have anything to be afraid of there."

Catching some of the Shadowquip's infectious personality, she threw her head back and cried out in a dramatic, over the top show, "Finally! Someone to ease the ache of my loins!"

Silence fell before Lucy lifted her arm to peak at Vander and the two burst into fits of belly laughs.

He could hardly contain his long enough to grit out between breaths, "What kind of ye olde bullshit was that?"

Wiping a tear from her eye with a wide toothy smile on her face, she also had to push through her erratic breathing from the bout of giggles. "I read a lot of classics."

Unfortunately for the two, their good time lasted about thirty seconds longer before a thud sounded from the roof and Lucy gave Vander a look to give her best at looking less freaked out than she felt while his arm almost instinctively shot out to protect her.

"How long do you want to run from this," was all he asked her as he listened to another softer thud to mark Zen's entrance into the house through one of the windows upstairs.

Lucy's wide brown eyes were following the pathway the other Pradesh was walking from her spot below him as she answered softly but the emotion in her voice was resolute. "I've never really cared for running, Van."

His lips split into a genuine smile as he shook his head with more mirth than either of them were expecting. "Well, let's see how this turns out then. How much you willing to bet Bixy-boo tries to get me killed after this?"

Lucy let out a scoff of a laugh before patting his shoulder reassuringly, "Don't really think Bix can blame you for this one."

Zen's heavy bootfalls were at the top of the stairs making their descent as Vander and Lucy waited just off the landing for him.

Her hands were shaking with what she thought was just nervous anticipation but it was the reaction of her magic to his at being so close. It was like the uncontrollable urge to scratch an itch except all over her body and it was starting to make her squirm. It got so bad before Zen came into view, she let out a rough groan and started pacing, her back away from the one person who could help her.

Zen's Archangel magic was having a different reaction to the bright warmth Lucy's magic brought him; his limbs were starting to get heavy as were his eyelids as the giddy feeling drowsy bliss took over. The closer he got to that infuriatingly perfect smell of burnt sugar and jasmine, the more he was ready to curl up at her feet and revel in the way she drained his body of all his tension and replaced it with soothing heat.

He faintly registered the smaller form of his youngest brother before Lucy finally turned around to face him, her hair fanning around her flushed heart-shaped face and he felt his heart stop. This wasn't like the other meetings he's had with Celestial Mages.

She couldn't help they way her jaw dropped when she took in the nearly six and half foot beast of a man soaking her in like she was the sun. His skin was scarred with more stories than she could count and his face was a younger, almost sharper version of their fathers handsome features. Even the long length of matching mahogany hair was a mirror of Arman's but Lucy couldn't take her eyes of the shining flecks of gold catching the light from above to make the purple surround them seem deeper.

In a hushed breath, Zen spoke more to himself than either of the other people there, "Finally." His magic was already tugging at him to close the gap between them and his feet were following suite, ready to end the madness he'd been dealing with from her absence.

All of Vander's warnings were running through her head and she was trying to keep a level head but he was the most beautiful person she'd ever seen and he was giving her gooey, melty eyes that were working wonders for the tremors in her muscle. So instead of fighting it, her hands searched for him and her feet moved to meet him.

When they came together, everything seemed to freeze in a tentative moment of pure uncertainty between the two strangers before his rough hand came up to cradle her face the moment her hand traced over the black lines of his feather-like tattoos covering much of his arms and shoulders, bare from the unexpected use of his wings.

Just as Lucy was about let out a dreamy sigh of epic proportions, Zen had scooped her up in his arms with the goal of laying her down in the closest bed and finally, finally, falling to sleep.

Lucy, however, was not in the loop and her eyes went doeish as she looked up to really look at the missing Pradesh's face. What she wasn't expecting to see on his handsome face were dark circles under his bright eyes, the weight of eyelids obviously getting the better of him as they fell to half-lidded. It eased her of the thoughts that she was about to get her wish and break the dry spell she had been going through without actually having spoken to Zen.

The Archangel had managed to make his way into one of the spare rooms meant for another of his brothers but he had little care about where they ended up and set the doe-eyed beauty on the edge of the bed that had to be Kaleb's by the messy way he left the bed. His voice was clearly on the cusp of exhaustion as he knelt to tug off her boots, "I need to sleep and apparently, I need you to do that. I'm Zen and it would be really great if you would sleep here with me."

By the time he finished, he had already gotten one of her boots off and was working adeptly at getting the other of them off before she could even respond with a slow nod of her head, "Lucy, and I have no desire to leave," as she lifted her foot to help him with her shoes.

There was something awkward about the ease of the whole situation that Lucy just couldn't quite place as she scooted herself backward and the massive bulk of muscle crawled over to her and laid his head right over her heart, the rest of his body half laying on her, half sprawled over the bed before he soundly fell asleep without any further prompting.

Her arms were still suspended on either side of her from when she moved them to let him get comfortable as she mapped the softer look on his face, one hand moving to comb through the silky length of dark hair and the other reaching to grab another pillow to give her something to put under her back to make her position a little more comfortable seeing as how she wasn't moving until he did.

She had almost managed to fall asleep when she heard lazy footsteps heading towards her bedroom for the night and it pulled a yawn from deep in her lungs as she rubbed her eyes to try and see in the dark of the night.

Squinting as the lithe frame leaned in the doorway, she could tell they were holding something in each of their hands and her head tilted.

The easy drawl that only Vander could wield so masterfully sounded from his post at the door and Lucy felt a relief wash over her and her shoulders relaxed once again. "So I found an all-night ice cream place and you'll never guess what flavor they had on special."

She gave the unpredictable man a smile as he crossed the room to unabashedly flop on the other side of the bed with them to hand her a swirly pinkish cone, his voice just a hair softer as he answered his own question, "Strawberry Shortcake and I am a sucker for strawberries. I've noticed you also tend to favor the sweet juicy strawberry as well. Go on, just take a lick and you won't regret it." Nudging the cone just a little closer as his brows waggled playfully down at her, he took a drawn lick of his own half-eaten cone with a dirty moan, "Gods, this is orgasmic, Lucy. You're really missing out."

His ridiculous antics caused airy giggles to bubble from her lips as she took the thoughtful treat. "Thanks, Van. I wasn't really tired when Zen...laid down…? And I was starting to boredom sleep." She paused to lick her own melting ice cream cone before her own satisfied moan rumbled her chest and her eyes when wide, a blush crossing her cheeks as she squeaked out, "Yeah, that's good."

Now having a hand free, he braced it behind his head as he continued to tease the blonde, "I guess I should just start calling you sis now, huh? Probably would be inappropriate to make a move on you now." He went back to lapping at his cone while he eyed her with a devilish gleam in his eye.

"Yeah, probably not the best time," gesturing down at her lap full of happily unconscious Archangel mage whose arms had wrapped around her like a stuffed animal while his face stayed nestled in her breasts.

He gave another shrug before poking her side and making her jump from the intrusion of her sensitive, ticklish sides.

Shooting him a harmless glare, she moved to try and poke him back when she realized she hadn't been taking care of the dripping cone in her hand and watched in horror as two, three, four fats drops fell right on Zen's chiseled cheek. She looked to Vander for help but he was halfway backed out of the room when her pleading eyes met his.

Hissing out as quietly as she could, "Vander...Vander don't leave me like this...Van! Vander!"

He gave a casual wave over his shoulder before chuckling out as he made his way cheerily down the hall, "Sorry sis, have fun dealing Zen and try not to wake him up!"

Without having much choice, she tried to throw the rest of the messy cone in the small trash bin beside desk at the foot of the bed and managed to hit the side of the plastic trash can to make the whole thing tip and fall over. The crash was apparently just enough to jostle the former gladiator into a sleepy form of consciousness he didn't ask for.

Trying to soothe him as best she could with one hand covered in the sticky remnants of her strawberry shortcake ice cream and the other working double time to keep his hair out of her mess on his face, her voice was soft and lilting as his droopy eyes met hers, "Sorry, big guy. My clumsiness sort of overflowed and your face took the worst of it. It's just a little ice cream drippage that I can easily get-"

"Just lick it off and lay down, woman," was all he was saying about the matter as he rolled onto his back, scratched at the impressive set of ripped abs he had and waited for her to come to him.

Lucy just blinked for a minute before looking at the mess in her right hand and the pink slowly making its way down Zen's tanned jaw and resolving in getting up to get ready for bed properly. Before she could reach the edge of the bed, his calloused hand wrapped around her arm in a tender motion that pulled at her chest in ways that made her want to stay in the bed despite the idea being impractical.

"I'm just going to wash up then I'll be right back. Does that sound okay?"

She heard his body settle back over to where he had rolled over before he gruffed out, "Be quick."

She debated whether or not she wanted to try and find a shirt to sleep in but ended up just washing her hands, cleaning her face of what little makeup she wore and stepping out of her little skirt to leave her in the high-collared tank top she started the night in and a pair of silky grey panties with sheer lace at the hips.

She carefully made her way beside the bed with a warm washcloth in hand to clean up the fast-asleep Pradesh before setting it to the side and curling up on the other side of him. Like before, his body turned to wrap her up in him and a relieved sigh left them both before the dark behind her eyelids finally took her too.