"So, just to be clear, no one has any ideas on how to get us out of here?" Laxus asked, trying to clarify the consensus of their little meeting. He was frustrated and desperate, and while they knew it wasn't personally directed at them, he'd been in absolutely foul humour the last few days.

"The only way to get to the surface is by boro or sand mage. We have neither," Alma tried to reason with him. It was unfair for Laxus to be blaming them for anything.

"I don't need to be told what we don't have. Or plans that won't work. I need suggestions that aren't a suicidal attempt to blast a hole in the roof," Natsu had drawn his ire on that one.

"I don't know what to tell you, boss, if there's a way out of here, I haven't thought of it yet," Bickslow shrugged. He may have appeared casual but he was as worried as the rest of them. He knew as well that Ali was eager to begin the search for Jera and was trying as hard as she could to distract herself from the very real possibility that the girl was already dead. Bickslow didn't want to entertain an idea of what she'd do if that was the case. He'd watched her shred souls. Tear them apart like paper. And it was an easier process for her than putting them together.

Currently silent, Natsu growled under his breath before stalking off. Trapped underground in a place that smelled more like death every day was doing a number on the Dragon Slayers. Their sanity was hanging by a thin thread. To top it off, the potion that had been released to the air down here hadn't dissipated. As Natsu and Laxus's anxiety rose, so to did their susceptibility to whatever drove the others mad enough to kill each other. Bickslow and Alma could feel it. How close they were coming to losing it.

Back in the training sand Bickslow found himself on his back for the tenth time in as many minutes. It was all he'd spent the last few days doing; having his ass kicked. His apparent attempt to fight her had only left her with the impression that he needed vast improvement.

"You have reach, height, you're not without ability..." Ali planted a bare foot square in his chest. "...so why do you think you're so easy to take down?" She asked him.

"Cause you're like some sexy fucking snake?" Bickslow laughed and she applied some more pressure to his newly bruised ribs. "Fine, you're too fast," He muttered, a painful cough found its way passed his lips and he tasted copper. Maybe they were more than bruised.

She extended him a hand and helped him up and like all the times before, the wounds were gone in moments.

"It's not because I'm too fast. There are ways around it. I make mistakes just like every other fighter does. I'm over confident and I tend to aim for upper body targets when I should be going low. A side effect from when I was taller," She wiped sweat from her head and sighed. "I keep beating you because you don't want to hurt me. Like I'm a wallflower that'll crumple under a fist. You hold yourself back." Her expression was dour.

"Seith magic is about avoiding the fight. Long range stuff. Its not exactly a confrontational magic."

"And I manipulate feelings and impulses, oh, and I sing, your point?"

She had valid concerns. When it came to fighting his tactics were far removed from the close quarters stuff she was drilling him over. But there was only one known Seith mage practicing Human soul possession and he was a member of Fairy Tail, if this job got any messier, his was probably the most recognizable magic. There were plenty of fire mages in Atla and lightning wasn't exactly as uncommon as Laxus liked to believe. His was the only magic that would instantly be trackable. Besides, he could admit she was a good teacher, great even. Observant, methodical, she knew his limits almost better than he did. And he got to spend time with her.

"Then I suppose you'll be seeing a lot of sky," She smiled. "Or getting a good look at my feet."

"There are worse things to be stuck looking at, Ali," He almost sang the words before closing the distance between them and pressing himself close to her. He took hold of her wrist and removed the cuff she was wearing, noticing with interest that when he did, he suddenly didn't need to make physical contact to draw a reaction. Bringing his hands to her hips but not actually touching the skin still made her tremble. Leaning down to her ear he whispered to her.

"You've no idea how much I want to touch you right now," The sound came out a rasping husk. He hadn't been with a woman in very close to a year, and he'd always had a healthy appetite for sex. To now be in a situation where his frustrations, his very almost out of control desire, was one of the things standing in his way was the Universe's most cruel prank yet. They were like magnets now, constantly being pulled together.

It wasn't lost on him that the other day with her had been so productive because he'd been too numb to be the overwhelming presence he currently was. There was always the anti magic cuffs, but they weren't ideal, and they wouldn't help her with this in the long run. Using them when they were close was only going to become a new crutch. She needed to train herself, too.

"Oh..." She grinned at him with eyes clenched tight. "...I know, believe me!" Her laughter rang out. "This is ridiculous," Bickslow felt like pulling his hair out. He could shield her from most of it, but not this. Now, no matter how much he tried to hide it, now, if he was close and she had her magic, she felt that yearning.

"Just a standard case of sexual frustration," He sighed miserably. "I guess I should go cool off, before I become too much of a distraction. I'll see you later," Bickslow found himself saying, punctuating the statement with a dry humourless laugh. His plans also involved vigorously relieving the pressure currently hardening in his pants. For all the good that seemed to do.

"Wait," She said, reaching out and taking his arm. He witnessed the effect touching him had on her. No magic power in his possession could protect her from that once she made contact and when she touched him he had no control over it, his walls toppled like brittle chalk, everything hitting her at once. He could feel her skin practically hum in response to him. "I think I need some distraction," He couldn't read her expression and though her soul was leaking through, its aura was a jumble of confused colours.

She tugged him behind her and he followed her out off the sand, and down the corridors; it took him only a moment to comprehend that she was leading them back to her room and after fumbling uncharacteristically with her own door she pulled him inside and sat him on the bed.

There was a moment of excitement that hit so hard it almost caused his heart to stop beating there and then when he heard the door lock.

"I thought you said its too much to deal with? This?" Bickslow gestured between them, indicating the couple status. He gasped when she climbed into his lap facing him, tugging on his hair, just the right side of too hard.

"Running hasn't worked well for us so far and I think this is only going to get worse if we aren't willing to do something about it."

"Are you sure you're up for this? You look a little shaky?" Bickslow asked, his own voice shaking. He was literally driving her out of her mind right now. He really didn't want her to do anything she'd otherwise regret

"Yes!" She kissed him and he lost all grasp on reason; his energy made her shudder violently, grabbing onto his arms while her senses were assaulted. Ali was dealing with it in the only way that Ali dealt with anything. Directly. Charging in. Now that she already knew her own mind on the subject, knew her own feelings, she was willing to chance this. Like jumping straight into cold water. "I will develop some control, but I'm going to have to know how to let go first."

Wrapping his arms around her lightly, he found he dwarfed her. She was smaller than him, so, so much smaller, it was hard to gauge just how much in person, but whatever magic had made this body for her had constructed something far stronger than most men. Her size was a deception. A dangerous one.

When she gripped him by the shoulders, he really felt it. He wasn't weak, but she wasn't afraid of utilizing her strength and reminding him she was stronger, while he was soft hands and feather touch, she held him firmly. Demanding the same in return.

Under his palms there were thick cords of flexing muscle. Tantalizingly tight. When she moved her hips he could feel the muscles in her upper back pull and push under her skin, ripple outward. He sucked in a heavy, heated breath. Just being allowed to touch her made him weak. This was for him. Only for him. That in itself was a heady concept.

She laughed, kissing him again, and he hissed, pained when she nipped his bottom lip rather harshly. She wasn't a doll that would let him do as he pleased with her, her movements were needy and possessive; small hands digging into his shoulders while, with something very much like experience, she rolled her hips against his rather roughly. Heated and fluid. Bickslow let his head fall back in a low groan very close to losing himself. He felt her presence in a way beyond the physical; could feel things emanating from her while her magic was finally given free rein to run rampant. It didn't just reach out for him, it moved through him.

Her advice to him had been about not holding back for fear of hurting her, and Ali must have realized in a way she'd been doing the same.

Sliding his hands up her torso he tenderly brushed them across her chest before twisting his fingers in the leather straps over her shoulders and releasing her from its confines. He hastily undid the catches on her sides and took the armour off leaving her in a loose tunic. When he brought his hands back up to touch her she bucked forcefully against him, feeling the sensation so strongly, so intensely that the jolt rippled right through Bickslow as well, leaving him panting, suddenly sweaty.

"Sweet holy fuck," He breathed, his face was red and flushed, and he was almost certain if she moved against him again he'd ruin his boxers. He hesitated to touch her for the same reason.

And then she did something he genuinely wasn't expecting, she too his hand in hers and brought them back up to her breasts, face focused and determined, Bickslow knew the instant he touched her hardening nipples because the pleasure she felt at the contact she sent right back through him and he saw genuine stars. He felt himself lose it, clutching at her so tight it had to have hurt, before letting his head fall forward, his forehead left to rest in the her shoulder. His lungs ached with the force of breath he'd taken in, in shock.

She'd just brought him to orgasm without so much as laying a hand on him below the shoulders. What he made her feel, she sent back his way and them some. It crossed his mind that without his defenses, she could theoretically make him climax remotely; make him feel pleasure without even being touched. For a guy that thought he'd experienced it all, the prospect of something so sinfully new was beyond thrilling. He felt the tension he'd been carrying, all the way down into his bones it seemed, deflate and he was left with the urge to sleep for a week.

"Feel better?" Her bright eyes seemed to shine with the question, already knowing the answer.

"Definitely, but now I feel a bit guilty, not really in my nature to leave a woman unsatisfied," He smiled, kissing her again. Slower and less heated than before. He was relaxed, finally, and now that he wasn't driving her crazy with his sexual frustrations she was finally able to catch a breath.

"I can think about satisfaction when we get out of this deathtrap. And I may have an idea on that front."

"And when the hell did you come up with this?" He asked genuinely curious as to when this epiphany was meant to have occurred.

"It came to me between your second and third ass kicking," She noted the expression on his face. "Good at multitasking, remember?"

"You're pretty good at other stuff, too," He leaned in to nip at her throat and she squeaked in response. He pulled her down onto the bed with him before rolling away. "Don't ...move..." It sounded very much like a command, one that got him a rebellious smirk. Bickslow laughed, dropping his pants. "Gotta clean myself up a bit," At this point he would have been expecting a glimmer of embarrassment, most women would flush and look away if a man spontaneously dropped their pants and boxers in front of them. But she didn't. She didn't even look away from his face. There was no reaction.

She caught the flicker of disappointment in his eyes; that she wasn't even intrigued, he was fairly prided in the knowledge that for a man he was well endowed.

"It's a penis. You have one. Would you like me to make a sketch of it and describe it to you in song?" She drawled, humorlessly. "I've found it's generally considered rude no matter where you are to stare at someone's genitalia when you're speaking with them."

"And when did you start concerning yourself with being seen as rude?" He huffed.

"When I was alone in a place filled with people I couldn't trust, a penchant to sleep through literal wars and the likelihood of having my throat cut in my sleep if someone took offense," Her voice and expression were flat.

"I guess that's a good a reason as any to be polite," Bickslow teased.

"I'd hardly call it being polite. And as impressive as your manhood might be to some blushing virgin..." She sat up, propped on her elbows. "I've had bigger," The smirk was back on her face.

"You mean, owned or...?" He left the question hanging unanswered.

"Which one would hurt your ego the least, su'parro?"

His laughter could probably be heard all the way down the hall.

"Oh man, you're really something..." He muttered under his breath, jokingingly. Leaving his ruined boxers on the floor and pulling his pants back on he climbed back onto the bed and lay down beside her.

"You got it all figured out, don't you?" There was a spark in his eyes she couldn't read; he was bouncing her magic back at her when she tried. Defenses squarely back in place.

"I spend the time I'm not talking, thinking. I'd recommend you try it sometime, that's if you can stop that tongue of yours wagging long enough," The way she teased and mocked him was unrivalled. She let him get away with nothing.

The words had barely left her mouth when he rolled over her.

"I don't think you know anything about my wagging tongue," He growled at her letting it loll out of his mouth for emphasis as he settled between her legs. Sitting back he pulled at the waist of her pants, lifting her legs up and taking them and her underwear off in a slow maneuver he enjoyed more than he thought possible, locking eyes with her all the way. She covered herself pretty thoroughly out in public, only rarely exposing skin if she could help it, but she lay there, nude from the waist down, her open collared tunic having slipped off one shoulder, and she didn't cover herself up. He didn't ask any specific details about the lives she'd experienced before this one, but there was Boscan in there he'd swear.

This was the part of her that no other living person had never experienced, ever seen. Every misery Bickslow had ever experienced, it was all but forgotten with the sight of her.

Now that he wasn't overwhelming her with his own feelings she was free to enjoy his attentions just like anyone else. It wasn't a hard stretch to come to the conclusion that a man enamoured with sex wouldn't have spent a portion of his time putting an asset as good as his tongue to effective use in the bedroom. Especially one as unique as his own.

"Gods above..." The sound of that first cry from her had him hardening all over again.

From the blood flow and moisture and heat radiating, practically glistening between her legs, Bickslow knew that he hadn't been the only one feeling the frustration in this particular instance.

It was a skill in observance as much as anything. Especially the first time. Did she like speed or pressure? Did she prefer to be teased or was she as much to the point as her personality might have led Bickslow to believe. He discovered she liked it slow. Generous sweeping motions that lingered and circled when they reached the most sensitive parts. Her hands fisted tightly in his hair before moving to the bedspread when she found herself tugging a little too hard. He didn't have to say anything, she just knew. He felt her writhe against his mouth as she got closer before her hands moved up to her pillow, pulling at it so hard during climax, it ripped in two. She was quiet, even at the end. A gutteral grunt as she bucked off the bed was all he got for his efforts; that and a mouthful of some kind of downy feather that completely covered the room. He wondered if he'd somehow been led on about his skills in the bedroom until her red face lifted to look at him and he saw her grinning like a fool. Flushed and sweaty. Breathing hard.

"And now I see why you have so many stalkers back in Magnolia," Her head fell back to the mattress lifelessly.

"I do not have stalkers!" He pulled some feathers out of his mouth with a chuckle. "I have women interested in a round two," He affirmed glibly. Ali laughed at him, so hard she rolled over onto her side hiccuping.

"I've had a least three death threats from your ex-bedwarmers. You have stalkers, Bickslow," She found the idea amusing. Bickslow suddenly found it terrifying.

"I don't find that particularly funny," The notion that one or more of his previous flings might have actually threatened her made his blood run cold.

"It's very funny."

Slowly, he crawled up over her in the bed, running fingers through her damp hair. She still kept it short. Still in the same style. His was longer now.

"On the subject of round twos," His breath brushed her chin and the implication was clear without drawing her eye to his new erection.

Her face grew serious.

"I don't want you to make a big deal out of this, but...I don't want the first time to be down here," It sounded ridiculous considering how the previous half hour had been spent, but Bickslow saw that there was more to it than that and he'd already ruined one pair of boxers; he couldn't exactly complain.

This place had been her home for months and in hours almost everyone she'd known was dead. Bickslow felt like a jackass for failing to consider the possibility that she might be a little more than uncomfortable down here after everything that happened.

"But you do want there to be a first time?" She tugged his hair and pulled his head back just enough that he was looking into her face.

"Look at me," Her voice was barely above a whisper.

And she didn't mean look at her with his eyes alone. There was currently no magic wall dividing her from him and for the first time since she fought Calus he saw her soul in its entirety. It was like the darkening night sky laced with light and foreign colour. With marbling of golds and reds in various shades. Like a sunrise or a sunset. And then there were the waves of luminous green growing through her; when he touched them he knew these colours belonged to him and that his separation hadn't killed them off; in his absence they'd only grown.

He felt the tenderness she felt for him, but he saw further than that. Snippets of memory flashed through his mind. The day of the BBQ. She'd worn a dress. She'd worn a dress for him. She'd worn a dress and hadn't spontaneously combusted.

She loved him so much she didn't even know what to do with herself. Didn't have the words for it. Barely even recognized the feeling. Her soul sang for him; without him she didn't even have the will to sing. The only times in her life she'd known true bone shaking terror had been when she thought she would lose him.

She'd felt his absence like death. Worse than death.

"Don't think that I'm asking for a family introduction, but yes, a first, and a second and a third. And breakfasts. And any future jobs that involve elderly women who may or may not be soul stealing, bottom feeding hags," He laughed at that. She'd be holding that job over him till the ending of all time.

"My family..." He hadn't even thought about it. Logically, it could be argued that since he got on so well with her, his family would too. But, that wasn't necessarily the case. His home back in Bosco was fairly traditional. True, his father was also incredibly open minded, his job pretty much demanded it, but he was also well spoken, with poise and etiquette. It was pretty standard behaviour for a father to greet a prospective female partner for their son with a hug and a kiss, by complimenting them on their beauty or some visible feature.

Unless it was how well Ali managed to clean the blood out of the intricate hilts on her swords, that wasn't going to be a good first time meeting. She wouldn't be willing to be touched, and Boscans were pretty handsy sometimes. He suddenly had several scenes play out in his head. His father ending up with a black eye and his brothers ending up in a brawl with his girlfriend.

The concern on his face wasn't missed.

"I'm not a complete savage. If I can stop myself from punching Erza while she tries to force feed me cake, I think I can manage them. I'm not going to dump a severed head on the dinner table," The smile on her face told him a part of her was considering the image and she was more than likely intrigued by the prospect.

"Don't go giving yourself any ideas," He left a kiss on her cheek. "Besides, the last time I even saw my father was about five years ago. He's the only member of my family that really spends any time at all outside of Bosco. It's not exactly safe for me to be visiting home," The likelihood of her ever meeting any member of his family were slim. Thankfully slimmer than the chance that they'd like her enough to approve at all.

"Then we'll just have to find a way to make it safe," She said in all seriousness.

He lay down beside her lost in thought over his family. It had been such a long since he'd seen them all.

Considering the situation, the fact that she didn't want to have sex down here; he could live with that. "Okay, I think we got a little sidetracked before but I'll bite, sweetpea, what's this plan or yours?"

"About that...ever done a unison raid?"

Wild boro in Atla were pretty common out in the desert where they spent their days scouring under the surface of the sand, often for hours unseen, looking for prey. They were easily the best transport if you had the coin to hire a beast master to help you. They were fast above ground and almost invisible under.

Without a mage to command them though, they wouldn't willingly venture down as far as the compound. A beast master or a Seith specializing in animal souls could do it but they didn't have either, and Alma could only influence them so far. Getting them this deep down away from the heat of the sun was something her power wouldn't be able to convince them of.

But between her and Bickslow's failings, there was a solution. A combination of their magics might be enough. Bickslow's figure eyes could only work if you were looking at him but Ali's magic was able to reach much farther and animal souls were something she was growing familiar with.

She could find a wild Boro in the sands nearby and give him the reach to get it down to them. Once on the base she could keep it calm enough to hitch a ride out of here. Exposure to the cold would mean its first trip would be straight up to the surface to bask in the sun. Exactly where they wanted to be.

Bickslow thought it was a good plan. Laxus thought it was a better plan than Natsu's and that seemed to clench them for an attempt.

"So have you every done a unison raid before?" She asked him, honestly a little nervous. There was a lot to be nervous of. The backlash to both of them if it went wrong could be pretty unpleasant.

"Nope. Seith magic isn't very compatible with most magics," It didn't even touch on the fact that most people weren't compatible with Seith magic. No doubt it was possible. Hell, Bickslow had seen the Redfox's pull one off, anything was possible, but there was an element of trust and an element of synchronization that he couldn't make work with your standard mage.

The look of confused horror on Laxus's face when he pinched her ass was pretty entertaining. Made even more so when she turned around and gave him no more than an exasperated glare. Bickslow heard Natsu mutter what sounded like 'no way' under his breath.

A simple pinch had just established to the group their new relationship status.

"I'm trying to concentrate, Bickslow. This part isn't easy, especially with those two churning like the little pots of anxiety that they are," She ground out. As much as he liked to kid around, he did understand. To reach out so far she was opening herself up in a pretty vulnerable way. He could see the lingering traces of that potion gnawing on the edges of her mind.

"Sorry, dear," He responded sarcastically.

Her eyes narrowed, almost glazing over.

"Got one!" She reached out her hand and he grabbed it, trying to blank his mind.

Every unison raid was different. Depending on the magic used and the mages using it. This was like nothing Bickslow could compare.

He felt his magic move along hers, intertwined, stretching out through the sand and earth. She was his eyes in this; his direction. When they found the creature it was moving slowly, watchful. Searching for the tremors in the sand above that would indicate its next meal. Bickslow felt her seep her threads into it and his magic followed. Animal souls were so different to human ones. Foreign and strange. It was so much easier to lose yourself in the animal instincts that ruled them. To command them was a process without words and for a moment he almost felt lost. Uncertain how he was actually going to do this. But Ali was there, leading him, showing him how. She kept the Boro calm while Bickslow took control. Time moved oddly for him then. There was a feeling of oppressive weight and a cold so deep if felt like his bones were freezing solid.

When he opened his eyes he found himself batting with Laxus's hands.

"Ali? Where's Ali?" He demanded, unable to sense her anymore.

"Calm down, she's fine," Laxus looked off to the side and cracked a smile. "She's trying to convince our ride to give Natsu back," He laughed.

Bickslow's brain reset over the course of several seconds before he fully comprehended what Laxus said.

"Wait, what?"

And then he saw it, a boro as big as a wyvern curled in the sand, wrapped around a flailing Natsu.

"Just fucking relax! The more you panic the hotter you're getting," Ali was shouting at him.

"THAT'S EASY FOR YOU TO SAY!" He screeched, squirming while the boro indicated its displeasure at his incessant movement, barring a hundred needle like teeth in a low, threatening hiss.

"It's cold, Natsu, the hotter you burn, the less likely its gonna be to let you go," She tried reasoning with him.

"JUST MAKE HIM!"

"Make her, and I can't, not until you cool down."

The room flashed green and Natsu was suddenly unconscious. Now asleep his body temperature began dropping again, the boro losing interest in moments.

It made to snap its jaws at Ali but stopped mid way, a deep rumbling in its torso. It cocked its head to the side quizzically.

"Its gonna start to want to head to the surface soon, grab your gear and get ready," Her voice was strained.

Bickslow was standing, but just barely, his left leg refused to carry any weight and he had no idea why. Laxus had packed supplies for them. Food, water, some essentials. They dressed in enchanted gear to protect them from the sun and tinted goggles.

"It came in thought the wall, crashed right into you two, then zeroed in on Salamander when he decided a fireball was a good repellant," Laxus recounted events but Bickslow couldn't remember any of that.

"Doesn't ring a bell," He said with a short laugh, across the room, Ali was struggling with the boro, trying to attach some rope to the horns protruding from it's skull and encountering resistance. Hers was not beast mastery magic and she was already exhausted; the creature moving continuously while it fought against the calm she was feeding it with, but eventually she managed a secure enough knot and climbed up on its back. She didn't sit up, instead laying forward, pressing herself flat against its scales, indicating they should follow suit.

"You aren't moving as fast you need to be," She growled. The creature was growing impatient. It longed for the warmer sand. The hot sun. It would be leaving soon, regardless of who was riding it.

Laxus helped Bickslow up onto it's back, followed by a still sleeping Natsu. The thing was enormous. Especially by common standards. Most boro would be capable of seating one perhaps two people, this thing took up the entirety of the exit chamber. She had them wrap the line once around their waists and took the rear position tying it of with her.

"Grip with your knees and you should be able to get your finger between the scales. Keep your mouth covered. Head down. Hold on like your life depends on it. I'm not kidding when I say it does."

Bickslow could have sworn she was excited by the prospect of hitching a ride on it, Laxus on the other hand had turned white as a sheet.

When it started moving he wanted to start screaming. It was like trying to keep your balance during an earthquake. It bellowed a noise like a bird and then there was sand and dirt everywhere. Keeping his head down like he was told Bickslow held his breath. He could feel his legs ache, he clenched them so tight, but being buried alive was too terrifying a concept to let go.

He was light headed from lack of air when they finally broke the surface. The sun was so bright, and even through the goggles he was blinded. Once free and clear the boro shook itself, Ali taking the cue to let the rope loose, the rest of them got thrown into the burning sand after her while she laughed hysterically rolling down a sand dune, all the way to the bottom.

"I'm never fucking doing that ever again," Laxus muttered brushing himself off. He pointed at Alma, growling. "Natsu's idea was better! You have no idea how hard it is for me to say that."

Bickslow was happy to be out...but he couldn't necessarily say he disagreed with the sentiment of that statement.

He wouldn't be doing that again and time soon. Notnifnhe could help it.

Notes

Gonna be about a week before the next chapter. Have been quite literally working 18 days straight in my job without a day off so I'm gonna take some to enjoy the good weather. Have no fear, I'll be back at it soon.

Huge thank yous to my reviewers! Weezel474 and Desna and everyone following this!