Third Save:

Letting out a tired sigh she hopped up onto the edge of the canal, balancing precariously as she made her way to her apartment.

Today the guild had some random celebration, busting out the booze and partying harder than before and though she had barely drank any alcohol it still seemed to slip her mind exactly why, even with her attempts to actually remember. Of course it was probably due to the fact that her brain was currently sleeping and she was basically running on autopilot.

Her arms soon stretched out as she began to sway toward the canal, not really in the mood to go for a swim, especially in that water. Continuing her walk the blonde paused upon hearing the sound of voices coming in her direction and easily spotting three males who looked rather inebriated. Hoping to avoid contact with them she kept her attention forward carefully picking up her pace to get to her apartment.

Holding her breath as she passed them, grateful to be no more than a meter from standing in front of her apartment, however just as she moved to jump off the canal someone caught her arm.

"Careful there" He leaned close, the blonde turning her head away in repulsion. "Don't want to fall into the canal now do you?" Pulling her arm free the stellar mage stepped back only to bump into another one of the males, not sure when he moved ahead of her.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing out alone on a night like this." The man to her left spoke.

"J-just walking home" She stepped away from the man she bumped into, turning to step off the canal she found her path blocked by the third man leering at her. Swallowing the blonde could feel her heart race and her panic begin to rise, unsure how to get out her current situation.

"What for?" The first man inquired. "It's still early; you should come spend some time with us." Trying to scoot away from him, she shifted her feet when she began to lose her balance.

"No thank you, I just want to get home."

"Aw, come on, we promise to show you a good time." The second spoke, reaching out to grab hold of her.

"I said no thanks." She shuffled, moving to try to step off the canal only to remember that her path was blocked. Biting her lip she wondered if maybe she could kick the guy away and make a run for it however before she could put any plan to action the man on her right grabbed her wrist.

"Don't be like that." He tugged her closer and Lucy used it as an opportunity to give him a firm knee to his groin, tugging her wrist free. When the guy on the ground made a move toward her she sent her leg out giving him a swift Lucy kick before making her attempt to get off the canal's edge, panicking when the second guy gripped her wrist, jerking her back.

Lucy stumbled backwards, just barely managing to keep her balance. "Let go of me!" She yelled trying to pull her wrist free.

"Come on, we told you we just want to show you a good time. Don't ruin the fun."

"I said no." The blonde snarled stomping on the man's foot and digging her heel into it, smirking in satisfaction with his yelp of pain, her wrist free Lucy began another attempt to make a run for her apartment.

"Damn it, you little bitch." He growled out, reaching out for her and barely managing to get hold of her once more. The stellar mage felt her body jerk backwards, shifting herself in attempt to regain her lost balance however the man had pulled too hard and she wasn't able to recover her footing in time. The man suddenly released her wrist to keep himself from falling into the canal as well. Lucy quickly closed her eyes and took a quick small breath of air before being submerged into the water of the canal.

The blonde's eyes slowly opened, confusion settling in upon feeling something hard digging into her back, her brows furrowing slightly when she realized there was more than one object. She struggled not to panic when she began to float up and away from the canal before landing in a pair of semi familiar strong arms and a protective embrace.

Looking up her brown eyes met with the sight of five little totems floating in the air, knowing just who had saved her. Turning her orbs to the seith mage she took in the slight downturn of his lips, watching them as they began to form words but what he was saying she didn't know. She remained silent for a moment and when she saw the frown again she realized he must have been asking her something. Clearing away her confusion she looked up at his grilled visor, finding herself wanting him to remove it. "Huh?" She replied the fog in her brain clearing a bit more.

"I asked if you were okay cheerleader." She blinked before slowly nodding her head.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you." She replied softly, now trying to fully comprehend the situation. One second she was being attacked by three males and about to fall into the canal and the next thing she knew she was in the seith mage's arms.

Lucy felt him hop down, carrying her over toward her apartment and she glanced behind him surprised to see the three men in a heap on the ground looking like someone had just kicked the living shit out of them. In seconds her brain processed the information and she realized that Bickslow had beaten the three males up and had saved her.

She felt herself lowed to the ground, and for an unknown reason she wanted to protest her leaving his arms.

His hands held onto her briefly to steady her and she found herself looking up at his mostly covered face before he released her and stepped away. He cleared his throat. "You know, you should be more careful." He lightly reprimanded her. "Try not to walk home alone at night, especially because you don't know what kind of creeps or perverts may be out."

Lucy felt herself smiling at his concern, giving him a nod. "Yeah, I probably should be." She agreed. "But you know, I don't think all perverts are bad." Her smiled widened just a bit as she noticed the way he tensed slightly. "Thank you for saving me, Bickslow." She looked up at his totems. "And babies" Giving the seith mage one last smile she made her way inside of her building feeling her cheeks flare as she entered her apartment still feeling the warmth from his embrace and the desire to feel those arms around her once more.

Letting out a shaky breath the blonde moved away from her door and began changing, sitting down at her desk to write a letter to her parents as she usually did at the end of the day, but tonight she couldn't find the will to write, her mind too distracted with thoughts of a certain blue and black haired man. Standing from her desk she clicked off her light and slid into bed, covering herself up as she lied there for several long minutes staring out her window.

Natsu wouldn't be breaking into her place tonight so she knew she would be able to sleep in peace except now her thoughts took a turn for the worse suddenly wanting someone else to break into her apartment and sneak into her bed to sleep next to her just so she could feel his arms around her again. Blushing furiously the stellar mage turned away from the window, pulling het blanket up and over her head, a soft whimper escaping her.

Sighing softly Lucy shifted in her bed once again to get comfortable, uncovering her head she stared into the darkness of her apartment, biting her lip as a smile spread across her face. "I think I like Bickslow." She whispered, her smile widening at her own admission. Closing her eyes the blonde snuggled into her mattress, a content sigh leaving her as sleep began to consume her. "Stupid pervert" She mumbled slightly before passing out.