"This feels like the end of an era, dude."

Gajeel rolled his eyes as he dropped another box by the door. "Barely," he mumbled.

"Oh, come on," Bickslow complained. "It's been like five years. You didn't even kill me, too. It's a goddamn miracle." That, he knew Gajeel would agree was a little bit of a miracle.

But it really did feel a bit like the end of an era. Five years they'd spent in that tiny little room together. Five years of countless late nights discussing the differences between human biology and animal biology, forming coffee addictions, movie marathons, binge watching the most ridiculous T.V. shows they could find on Netflix instead of studying, getting so horribly drunk on the last day of the semester and once they'd both finished their exams and then insisting they hadn't been consuming alcohol inside their dorm room when they got reported by their neighbours for being too loud…

All of that was done though. The semester was over, exams were done, and all they had to do was wait for the exam results to be posted and wait for the graduation ceremonies in a few months' time. Then they were done.

If Bickslow had to be perfectly honest, he was going to miss that shoebox of a room. It had become his home. Sort of. Hell, he was going to miss Gajeel, too. The guy was his best friend, and had been for so long that Bickslow didn't really know what he was going to do when they wouldn't even be in the same ZIP code. He was probably going to have to spam the guy's phone when he was in Crocus – well, assuming Bickslow even got into med school there, which he really hoped he did. He'd applied already and gone through everything over his senior year, and he had a short internship lined up somewhere in Hargeon (thankfully) for winter and spring… He was just waiting to find out whether his first choice school was interested in him or not.

It was making him permanently nervous.

But Gajeel was already moving out of the dorms, just like Bickslow was doing over the next few days himself, and it was a little depressing. They were growing up and kind of starting their lives. Bickslow didn't really like it.

He sighed as he sat down on his bed. "I can't believe you and Levmeister and moving in together though," Bickslow mumbled.

That was mostly why Gajeel was already moving out already and not waiting until it was closer to graduation, like most people who lived in the dorms and were graduating soon were doing. He'd already scored a job at an animal clinic in Hargeon, the one he'd spent some time at over his last two semesters, and Levy was apparently planning on spending another few years at university anyway, and somehow the two had decided it would be a good idea to get an apartment together in Hargeon since they'd be staying there anyway.

Though really, Bickslow had to admit it was a pretty decent idea. He just still found it kind of hard to believe that it was happening at all.

"Ah, you're just jealous," Gajeel smirked. "Wait, no. Envious. Shrimp taught me that one."

"Am not," Bickslow scoffed. Okay, maybe just a little. But not really, because it was literally impossible for him and Lucy to move in together. To begin with, Lucy still had another semester left and she was still in the sorority, and Bickslow had less than zero intentions of getting his own place until he knew what he was doing and which goddamn city he'd be in, so he was only moving back in with his mother, anyway. Lucy could most definitely not move in when he was there. He didn't want her to, either.

Sleepovers were fine, sure, but moving in was so different.

But Bickslow not knowing what he'd be doing, when he'd he doing it, and where he'd be doing it was a problem in itself, and the worst part about it all was that it involved Lucy. He just really didn't want it to.

"Sure," Gajeel snickered. He knew better. "Heard back from any med schools yet?"

Bickslow sighed. "Nope. Doubt I'll hear anything until after Christmas though."

"Told 'Lexa you put off your application 'cause of Lucy?"

"Nope…"

"Told Lucy you're stickin' around mostly for her?"

Bickslow threw a paper ball at the opposite wall. "Definitely not." He had no intentions of having either of them find out, though. Not yet, at least.

It wasn't that big of a deal, anyway. The school he wanted to go happened to have two starting dates, and the fact his girlfriend just happened to graduate right before he would like to move to Crocus (hopefully) for the second starting date was purely a coincidence.

Sort of.

It was just that if he'd started his entire application a little earlier, he might have already been accepted and the next few months wouldn't be so stressful, because he'd be moving right after his own graduation. Well, apart from moving across the country. That was stressful.

It still wasn't the worst thing to happen that he'd planned on taking the first six months of the year off regardless of what happened. If anything, it probably made things better for him, and the way he saw it, improved his chances of getting in at all because of his internship. Med schools liked those kind of things on applications. They made them look all sparkly and fancy, and his grades and recommendations were pretty enough, but he needed more sparkles (there can never be enough sparkles0. Besides, he'd just spent the last five years at university, rather than four, so a break seemed like a brilliant idea. The worst that could happen was that his half-year break would turn into a full year. That wasn't terrible.

But, sure, Lucy still having a semester left was part of why he'd put it off at all. He couldn't exactly tell his girlfriend that he was staying in Hargeon for a little while because the last thing he wanted to do was break up with her – he loved her too much for that.

And really, Bickslow was pretty sure his mother would kill him if she knew just why he was taking a break. He figured that she had at least guessed it, but still…

"Are you gonna tell either of them at all?" Gajeel asked.

Bickslow shrugged. "Don't plan on it."

Gajeel shook his head as he zipped up one bag before throwing it over his shoulder. He wasn't going to get involved with those two. Levy already had enough, so he'd learned over the last year, and Gajeel really didn't want to be in the same boat. "Whatever man," he sighed. "But come on, be useful and carry one of these boxes."

Bickslow groaned as he got up. Be useful? Pfft. It was his car Gajeel was borrowing. Wasn't that useful enough?

Apparently not.

Olexa knocked on the door first before she tried opening it. Ever since Bickslow had moved back in and Lucy had started spending even more of her spare time there (not that Olexa had ever really minded Lucy being there, though), she'd been cautious when it came to walking into her son's room. It was only after she'd unfortunately walked in on them one morning that Bickslow had started locking the door, but even then, Olexa still made it a habit of knocking first. She most definitely did not want to disturb them ever again.

When a groan was heard from inside the room that morning, Olexa hesitated. A groan could mean many things. But then she heard what sounded like a 'we're wearing clothes' from Lucy (it had become a bit of a joke though, really), and she carefully turned the handle to peek into the room. The fact it wasn't locked at all put her at ease... Sort of.

Though when she saw Bickslow looking far too comfortable still, one arm draped down the side of the bed with his fingertips touching the ground, and Lucy on the other side of the bed, apparently having taken ownership of the blanket and the sheets, Olexa frowned a little. It was nearly eight o'clock; Bickslow had to get up and go to work – his internship had lasted all of two months before he'd quit, claiming his supervisor was 'the biggest douche the planet had ever seen that wasn't Laxus' – and Lucy no doubt had things she wanted to do that day, like study for the upcoming exams… They couldn't just stay in bed all morning.

"Bickslow, get up," Olexa sighed. "You've got to go to work soon."

He groaned into his pillow again. He didn't want to get up. Nuh-uh. He was too tired.

"And Lucy, don't forget I'm running that workshop today at five," she added. That was really only why she'd wanted to go in there that morning, because she'd wanted to remind Lucy of the class.

Plus, since they were both there so often, Olexa had really just gotten used to the two of them running around in the morning and getting ready together, and when they were both having a sleep-in for a change, she felt odd leaving without saying anything to them in the morning. Three people in the one small house made it just a little cramped and chaotic at times, but she really didn't mind it at all. Lucy had most definitely become a part of their little family over the last year and a half.

"Oh. Right," Lucy said as she sat up slightly. "Thanks for reminding me, Olexa."

"It's no problem at all." She stepped back then and only sighed at her unmoving son again before letting go of the door. "Make sure he gets up, will you?"

"Mm-hmm. I will," Lucy mumbled. She fell back down onto the pillow as Olexa went back down the hall, shaking her head no doubt. When Lucy heard the front door close, she rolled over to face her still half-asleep boyfriend, and moved one leg forward to push him out of the bed. Well, she tried, anyway. But he was taking up most of it anyway, not that she cared much since she mostly slept curled up anyway and it was his bed, too. "Get up," she groaned.

"In a minute."

"No, you gotta get up now, dork," she insisted. She couldn't kick him out of the bed, so she gave up on that front. But she could be annoying and just keep nudging him. "You gotta get ready for work."

Bickslow sighed into the pillow before he cracked an eye open to stare at the time on his phone. It was only 7:42. He didn't start until nearly nine, so he still had a little bit of time left before he needed to actually get up. So he only quickly rolled over and threw his arm over his girlfriend before he all but collapsed on top of her. Well, half on top of her.

Lucy rolled her eyes and pushed his head away, just so it was on the pillow rather than her. "Oh, get off me, you idiot," she said, trying not to giggle.

"No. Your boobs are too comfy."

"Yeah, well I'm not comfortable."

He shifted a little – reluctantly, of course. Then, "Better?"

"Bearable," she answered. Though really, she would prefer it if he wasn't on her at all, but she couldn't have everything she wanted. Lucy just figured that was what she got for trying to annoy the man that could not be annoyed.

"Fantastic," Bickslow mumbled, and he sighed into the pillow again before asking, "You staying here tonight?"

"Can't. Roommate keeps whining about how I'm apparently avoiding her, so I have to stay there for the next few nights to make her calm down."

"But… You are avoiding her," Bickslow pointed out.

Okay, fine – so Lucy was mostly staying with Bickslow and Olexa a lot those days because her new roommate, since Levy had already graduated and moved in with Gajeel, was whiney and annoying. She was a freshman, apparently, and she was entitled and a spoiled brat (according to Lucy, anyway), and Lucy really didn't like her. But she didn't really want her roommate finding out she was actually right all along. She had to at least make the girl think she liked her.

"That's not the point," she grumbled. "Besides, I don't get to do this"—she turned to quickly press her lips to his—"if I don't stay here."

"Mm, I suppose that is pretty great…"

"I also don't get to ask you if you slept at all."

And there it was. Again. It wasn't the first time Lucy had asked him that over the last few weeks alone, which was basically when he'd stopped sleeping much anyway. Bickslow hated that Lucy had noticed, though. Because when she noticed, she worried, and when she worried…

"I know there's something bothering you, Bickslow," she whispered, taking his silence as his answer. "What's wrong? Come on. Tell me, please."

She pried.

But Bickslow couldn't tell her what was wrong. He couldn't tell her that ultimately, she was what was bothering him and the reason he wasn't sleeping properly. He just couldn't tell her anything at all, because if he did that, he'd have to tell her he'd lied about just why he'd put off his application for medical school.

His mother had already found out – she'd assumed it all along, anyway – and had yelled at him for days about it. But Lucy had no idea. All she knew was that he'd wanted to wait a little while, take a bit of a break, and start at the end of the summer. It was bad enough that Lucy knew he'd already been accepted, having finally finished all of his extra application work and had his interviews, and was supposed to be looking for a place to rent in Crocus and a part-time job that he could actually manage…

But as far as Lucy was concerned, he'd already accepted his offer to go to school in Crocus. And he had, of course, because he'd gotten into his first choice school with the best program with the best hospitals in the country. But what Lucy didn't know was that he could still change his mind.

But Bickslow couldn't tell Lucy any of that, because he couldn't tell her that she was what his entire world was revolving around, including his career.

Not yet, anyway. He still had too much thinking to do.

So he just shrugged as he pulled himself out of bed. "Just got a lot on my mind. Don't worry about it." He was aware that Lucy knew he was just avoiding it, as usual, but he couldn't do anything else. "Anyway." He only quickly leaned back to kiss her cheek before he said, "Gotta get ready for work."

Lucy only sighed as she made herself comfortable again, not having a reason to actually get out of bed yet herself. She had a feeling she knew what was bothering Bickslow, and the fact he wouldn't talk to her about it only made her more certain of what was to come. But, she didn't know what else to do, because she didn't want to make things worse by forcing Bickslow to talk to her. "Have a nice day," she called, but Bickslow had already left the room and pulled the door closed behind him.

"Come on, come and get something to eat," Olexa said softly, peeking into the room.

Bickslow shook his head and continued staring at his laptop screen on his lap. "Not hungry," he mumbled.

"Bix, you're never not hungry." She had hoped it would at least get half a smirk from him, but she hadn't even gotten an eye roll. Sighing, Olexa stepped into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. Gently patting his knee, she only said, "Alright, tell your mother what's wrong."

He kept staring at the screen. "Nothing's wrong."

"I raised you to be a terrible liar, remember."

"Congratulations."

"Hey, don't get snarky with me, Mr. Drama Queen," Olexa smirked, leaning forward to try and flick his ear. At least that got a bit of a smile out of him. "But seriously. I know something's wrong, Bickslow. I'm your mother and it's my job to know these things, you know."

Bickslow shrugged.

Olexa sighed again. It didn't surprise her it wasn't going to be easy getting him to talk about what was bothering him, and had been for months, really. Getting him to talk about anything at all over the last few weeks had been near impossible, and she knew why. Sort of. At the very least, she knew it involved Lucy, because she knew that he was really only still in Hargeon because of Lucy, and now that Bickslow's time there was quickly running out with Lucy being in the middle of her exams, it wasn't hard to figure out what was making her son so unlike himself.

She leant forward and peeked over the top of his computer screen – Crocus real estate listings. "Haven't you found a place yet?" she asked, hoping it would ease him into telling her what was wrong.

"No. Found a few places I like that are close to the school and the research lab, but… I don't know yet."

Bickslow knew he should have organised his apartment weeks ago, just to make things easier for himself, because the way he saw it, he really was going to Crocus either way – Lucy would kill him if he stayed because of her – but it was strangely difficult looking for somewhere to live when he would rather not be doing it on his own. He'd found a job there; one he could manage for at least the first couple of years before he went on clinicals, and one that would ultimately help him out in the long run.

But there was just two months left until he was supposed to leave, and not knowing what would happen with the most important person in his life, next to his mother of course, was making it extremely difficult to finalise everything.

"What about Lucy then?" Olexa asked with a sigh. "She's pretty much done now. Any idea what she's doing after?"

He shrugged. He did know what she wanted to do after she graduated, but that was it. "Don't know."

That was it though. Olexa had given up already. She couldn't keep asking questions and get nowhere. It was time to pull out the big guns.

…And by big guns, she meant taking his laptop and setting it down at the end of the bed, and sitting down next to him so she could give him a hug instead. Because he really needed a hug and a shoulder to quite literally lean his head on right then, and that was okay to Olexa. That was her job. "Now," she began, once her son's head was comfortable resting on her shoulder. "If you don't tell me what it is that's got you not wanting to eat your favourite food, I'm going to call Gajeel and get him to get it out of you." Was she condoning torture? Not at all.

Not unless it was Gajeel and Bickslow was the one that would be tortured.

"He already knows," Bickslow mumbled.

"Well, I want to know, too. So tell me. Please."

Bickslow shrugged. "I just… I don't want to choose," he admitted reluctantly.

"Between what?" she asked.

Another shrug. "Crocus. Lucy."

It didn't surprise Olexa to hear those two words. Not at all. It was worrying, but not surprising. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know, that's the problem."

On one hand, he really wanted to go to Crocus, because he really wanted to go to med school and become a doctor and a surgeon, and it was what he'd wanted to do for a really long time.

But on the other hand, he really didn't want to lose Lucy. More than once, Bickslow had considered choosing her over everything else, and he knew that if he ever got put on the spot and got told to choose between his career and his girlfriend, he would choose the latter. Every time.

Bickslow knew that was stupid though. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't choose her. He was smart enough to know that Lucy would never forgive him if he did that, and then his mother would be so disappointed in him, too…

Plus, it was just a stupid idea. Even he knew that.

Yet knowing that didn't make it any easier, because that only left moving to the opposite side of the country. And that was a really big thing.

"I mean, I… I really want to move to Crocus," he began, still leaning his head on his mother's shoulder. "But I don't want to lose Lucy, you know? Because I really, really love her…"

"I know you do," Olexa said softly.

"And if I move, then we have to break up, and… And I don't want to do that."

"Long distance?" she suggested.

Bickslow shook his head. "Won't work."

"Why not? You haven't even tried it."

"Don't need to try it to know it'd fail. Long distance rarely works out, and even if we did try it, it wouldn't work for long. I'll be at school and working, and she'll be working too, and we'd both be too busy to even text each other." He'd already considered long distance, like he'd considered practically every other scenario, and it was just one of those times he wasn't optimistic about anything at all. He'd been optimistic about them working out only a few months in, and he'd put off doing his entire application because of it… But this, he couldn't be optimistic about.

It was like no matter how Bickslow looked at it, he'd still end up without Lucy anyway.

But he still had absolutely no idea what to do. Because he still wanted to try and find some kind of solution where he didn't have to choose between them.

And Olexa wished she could give him the solution to his problem, too, but she couldn't, for she just didn't have it to give. If there was even one to be found, Bickslow had to find it himself anyway, because it would have to be something he was willing to do – or not do, maybe.

"Well, my little drama queen…"

"You do remember I'm twenty-four this year, right?" Bickslow smirked.

Olexa only squeezed him a little tighter and gently kissed the top of his forehead. "You're always going to be my little drama queen," she pointed out. "But, I know you'll come up with something, too. You'll think of something to do, because you always do, because you're smart."

"Debatable sometimes," he mumbled.

"Still… You'll do the right thing. I know that, Bix. You'll figure out what the right thing to do is. But for now, you need to eat, okay? So are you hungry?"

Bickslow shrugged. "A little bit…"

He sat, bouncing his knee out of sheer nervousness and restlessness as he stared at the front door. He just kept waiting for it to open and for Lucy to walk in, because there were things he needed to say to her. So many things. Important things, too. Important things that he really, really hoped she said yes to, because her saying yes to a couple of things was his solution.

Granted, it was a solution he probably should have thought about first (sort of) instead of worrying about whether long distance could work or if Lucy would hate him if he stayed for a little while longer or something. But Bickslow was just telling himself that what mattered now, was that he'd thought of it at all.

It was a great solution, too. Or at least Bickslow thought so. It was a solution that would hopefully make it so he wouldn't have to ever choose again, because if Lucy was in Crocus with him, he'd have the two things he wanted most. He figured it was okay to be a little selfish and not want to lose the love of his life (which he had realised Lucy was, obviously) if he was becoming a doctor and all.

He had to ask her that night, though. Even when he knew she was busy, since it was the night before her graduation and she only had a few more days to be out of the sorority house, he had to ask her that night. He was leaving for Crocus in a week, and he still had a few more things to sort out before he left, so he just didn't have the time to wait and ask her another time. And even if Lucy did want to go with him, Bickslow knew she wouldn't be able to leave in a week. That was too soon. But that was okay, because really, all he needed to know was whether or not she would want to be there with him at some point in the near future.

But waiting was just making him so nervous.

But then the door opened, and Bickslow got up so quickly he almost tripped over the coffee table in front of him. "H-Hey!" he said, trying to pretend he was somewhat calm as he hopped over the boxes in the living room that his mother was supposed to be shipping off to Crocus after he'd left.

"Hey yourself," Lucy replied. She set her bag down on one of the boxes and let herself be guided over to the lounge. "Sorry I'm late, by the way. I know you said eight, but the sorority was having their own ceremony and I couldn't get away."

"It's fine, really. Don't worry about it. But look, there's, uh… There's something I want to talk to you about."

Her face fell, though she tried to hide it. She knew what was coming – what was happening right then – and as much as she'd been trying to make herself ready for it, she wasn't. Lucy had hoped it wouldn't have to happen at all, that Bickslow would ask her to go to Crocus with him; but she'd waited and he never did, and that only left one thing. She didn't expect it to be right then, either, but maybe it was for the best that it was. It would probably make their goodbye a little easier if they just got it over and done with now, rather than when he actually left for Crocus in a week…

She only nodded and looked down to her hands held between Bickslow's. She had been in a good mood, being excited about graduating… But now, not so much…

Bickslow wasn't really looking forward to what he had to say – not the first part, anyway, since it meant telling her that he'd lied, sort of. But he had to do it. "I just um… I just want you to know that I really love you, okay? You know how much I do," Bickslow began. "But I kind of lied to you, I guess… And I'm really sorry for that, Lucy. I just… I couldn't tell you before because I still didn't know what I was doing and I wanted to have some kind of plan before I talked to you about any of it…"

Lied to me? How? "Bickslow… I don't understand," she whispered.

"I… put off my application for med school intentionally."

"I know that—"

"Because I wanted to stay here. With you," he admitted. He didn't give Lucy a chance to say anything before he continued, "And sure, I know I shouldn't have because we'd only been together for a couple of months when I should have started applying, but I'm just… I'm an optimist. You know that."

Lucy did know that… And she wanted to be happy – strangely – that he'd believed they'd work out even back then, but she couldn't right then.

"But then it worked out anyway, I guess," Bickslow continued. "Because by the time I graduated and got in, I couldn't leave. I couldn't move to Crocus because you were here."

But he was moving anyway. And that hurt Lucy, because she didn't really want him to but she knew it was what he had to do.

"I thought about staying, too. You know, I thought about not moving and just staying here with you after you graduated, or just… Or going with you back to Magnolia or something, if that was what you wanted to do. Because I thought about choosing you. Over everything, I would've chosen you. Every time."

Lucy shook her head. "You can't," she whimpered. Bickslow couldn't choose her over moving. That just wasn't fair.

"I know I can't," Bickslow said softly. "Because I know you'd hate me if I stayed, because that's not fair. But it's what I'd do, because I don't want to leave you, and I know that if I moved, even if we tried doing the whole long distance thing, it wouldn't work out, because that kind of thing never does."

"I-It's okay. I… I understand…"

It was only then that Bickslow picked up on the fact that she was crying. When had that started? He wasn't very good at dealing with tears, but right then, it was just so much worse. "Jesus, Lucy… Come on, you're not supposed to be crying." He only quickly looked around the room for the tissues before spying the box on the dining table behind the lounge, then got up and climbed over the back of it to grab them and hand them to Lucy. "Really, you're not supposed to be crying right now," Bickslow sighed as he sat back down and wrapped his arms around her. "Tell me why. Please."

She sniffled as she reached for another tissue. "B-Because I know we h-have t-to break up, because y-you're moving a-and you can't stay, and I don't w-want you to stay b-because of m-me—"

"Wait, wait, hold on." He pushed her away suddenly and only stared at her with a confused expression. "Who said anything about breaking up? I'm asking you to marry me, you nerd." Well, that was where he'd been getting to, but still. That was the entire point of her being there right then. Though to be perfectly honest, he was half expecting her to say no, because it was coming so out of the blue, but that was fine. It was just one of those things he had to go all in on, and it was something he knew he wanted.

But if she said no to that, he wouldn't be devastated. He was more interested in asking her to move with him first.

"You… W-What?" Was she hallucinating? Daydreaming? Probably. She was just a little giddy from being so close to graduating, but there was just no way she'd heard that.

He scratched the back of his head and grimaced. "Yeah… That wasn't exactly how I'd planned on saying that," he mumbled. "Also, now that I think about it, I guess it kinda does seem like I was breaking up with you… But I'm not, I promise! Or at least I hope we don't, 'cause, you know, I really, really love you, and I know we've only been together for like, two years now, but I've loved them. I really have. Even when you assume the worst of me sometimes. Like now, because really, do you actually think I'm capable of breaking up with you? Come on, that's impossible."

Well, it wasn't like she would be capable of it, either… "I suppose that's true…" she said with a watery laugh, because she kind of had just assumed the worst again. She did that a lot, admittedly.

"But I, uh… I don't want to have to choose, you know?" Bickslow said. "Because if I could, I really would choose you. But I know I can't, and I know you don't want me to, so I'm not. I'm not going to choose between you and moving to Crocus because I just can't do it. That's why I'm asking you to come with me."

"To… To Crocus?"

Bickslow nodded. "And I know it's a lot to ask, especially now since I'm leaving in a week either way, but… But if you did want to come with me, you wouldn't have to come right away. I know you'd have things to sort out here, and back in Magnolia since I know you have all of that stuff in storage still… But it's Crocus. You know, you could do anything and be anything there. You could… You could be an English teacher like you said you wanted to be, or maybe even go back to school and get your master's or something if that was what you wanted." He dropped his hands from her cheeks to pat down his pockets, then turned for the coffee table to lift papers and move things around, looking for the damn ring he had had like ten minutes earlier. "And um, I just figured that since I was bound to eventually ask you to marry me anyway – well, if you moved with me, I guess – that it was a good time to ask you that now. I got a ring, too, because I'm a bit of a moron but I just had to. I just… Where the fucking hell did I—"

Except Bickslow didn't get to finish his sentence before he found himself landing painfully on the floor between the lounge and the coffee table, and with Lucy, of course, on top of him, and the cause for him being on the floor at all.

"Lucy, what the—"

"You mean this one?" She managed to sit up slightly once Bickslow had shifted beneath her and wasn't uncomfortably contorted on his side (her fault, she would admit, but it had just been so necessary), then tucked her hair back behind her ears and held up the small box she had apparently been sitting on – she'd wondered why the cushion had been a little pointy.

"Ah, yeah. That one."

"It's gorgeous," she whispered, sniffling again. The guy had nice taste in jewellery, apparently. "My answer is yes, by the way."

Bickslow blinked. "Wait, to what?"

"To both, of course." How could she not say yes? It was like the simplest question with the easiest answer in the whole world to her. She'd been wanting him to ask her to move with him, because she had wanted to go to Crocus with him, so how could she refuse to go when it was offered to her? And marrying him… Well, that was just a given, because Bickslow was her family and Lucy couldn't imagine anything nicer than marrying him and having their own family.

Well, at some point.

She didn't want to be breaking up with him. Not even close.

"But I… I didn't even really ask!" he pointed out. "Well, I mean I asked you to come to Crocus, but I didn't exactly get to ask you to marry me. I had a whole speech thing planned, too, you know."

Lucy shrugged and threw the now empty ring box back onto the lounge, the ring sitting very comfortably on her finger. "Then tell me your grand speech, Bix," she whispered.

"I've basically forgotten it now anyway," he mumbled. And it wasn't grand at all. It was really just some nonsense (well, not nonsense, but it was generic) about how he loved her and wanted to be with her because she was the love of his life. Pretty boring stuff. And really, considering she'd already said yes, was there really any point of saying any of it? Probably not. "But you… You said yes."

"Problem?"

Bickslow shook his head as he sat and leaned back on his hands. "Nope. Not at all. I was just going to say that you didn't have to give me an answer right away. I really just needed to know if you'd move to Crocus with me."

"Of course I would go with you," Lucy said softly, letting her hands fall over his shoulders. "And I really don't need any time to think on it. I will gladly marry you, you dork." There were worse ways to spend one's life, anyway.

From the hall, Olexa only silently peeked around the corner just as Lucy lightly pressed her lips to Bickslow's. She was taking that as a good sign, though she was stopping herself from just running in and asking if it meant Lucy did say yes (and teasing her son about blonde grandbabies again). She'd known not to interrupt, so instead, she'd only eavesdropped as much as she could.

But still, there was just one thing she wanted to ask… "Why are you two on the floor?"

Graduation was done and dusted, and Lucy was finally the proud owner of one degree. Her time at Hargeon University had come to a close, and she was really so very happy about it. She had much bigger and better things to look forward to now.

Only fanning her face lightly with her hand – sitting in a black gown in the sun for a couple of hours was not nice – Lucy weaved her way through the crowd in search of her makeshift family. It would've been nice if her own parents had been alive to see her graduate, but she knew they were proud of her – or at least they would be. But she had the Almas now, and that was enough.

She spotted Bickslow first (it was hard not to, he was so tall), then she saw that he was talking to Gajeel and Levy, and by the time she was reaching them, Olexa was joining them from the opposite direction. "I'm free at last!" Lucy exclaimed dramatically, hands up above her head before her heel got stuck in the grass and she almost tripped.

"Watch yourself, Cosplayer," Bickslow chuckled. She'd already almost tripped going up the stairs to the stage with everyone else, and he'd had to put a hand over his mouth just to stop himself from laughing out loud. He only wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her forehead before taking the file from her hand when he turned. "Proud of you though, you smartass. You know I'm putting this shit on the wall though, right?" Of course he was going to put it on a wall when she graduates with a higher average than he did. Honestly, he was really fucking proud of her.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "No, you're not."

"Try and stop me."

She stopped listening once Bickslow started going on about how there was apparently a really nice exposed brick wall in the apartment that would be perfect for it – although she did hear Gajeel tell him to just shut up – and instead just let her soon to be mother-in-law hug her. Lucy had come to like Olexa's hugs over the last two years.

"Well done, sweetheart," Olexa said softly. "You know how proud I am of you. And it has been an honour and a pleasure teaching and knowing you for the last three years. Truly." She couldn't even imagine a better person to be her daughter-in-law… But Olexa did find it just a little entertaining (Bickslow, not so much) that she had known Lucy longer than Bickslow himself had.

"Thank you, Olexa. I couldn't have asked for a better teacher, either."

Olexa excused herself then – professor duties and all – and Lucy turned to face Levy with just a small and slightly sad smile. It wasn't the same as it had been when Levy and the others graduated, and Lucy knew that Levy knew that too. Back then, it hadn't felt quite so much like a goodbye, and it hadn't been at all because none of them had been going anywhere. But now it felt like a goodbye, because it kind of was one. All that was left was just a few weeks before she'd be a thousand miles away from her best friend.

"You're moving to Crocus with Bix, aren't you?" Levy asked almost sadly once it was her turn to hug her best friend. She'd been wondering what would happen once Lucy graduated – whether she'd stay or go with Bickslow – but she'd just been so busy over the last few weeks that they hadn't even really had time to talk to each other.

"Yeah," Lucy answered. "Not for a few more weeks, though."

"I want to say that I wish you weren't going, but I'm happy for you, I am! I'll miss you, though, Luce…"

Gajeel rolled his eyes. "Shrimp, come on," he sighed. "It's a two-hour flight. She's not moving a goddamn lightyear away."

"I know, I know…"

"And besides," Lucy began, smiling at the woman when she stepped back. "It's not like we won't ever see each other again. I'll call you so much you'll be glad I'm gone. I'm going to need a maid of honour, too, so you'll have to come visit and help me plan—"

"Wait, what? Maid of honour? You… No! Really?!"

Gajeel only gave Bickslow a look as their respective partners started giggling and squealing about weddings. Bickslow shrugged then. "What? Don't judge me."

"Not judgin' you…" Gajeel mumbled as he shook his head. "But you were gonna ask me to be your best man though, right?"

"…Probably."

"Good."

"But anyway," Lucy said once she and Levy had somewhat calmed down… Sort of. "I know you two were busy today, but I'm so, so glad you could make it."

Levy smiled softly. "Like I'd miss my best friend's graduation."

Gajeel shrugged. "Levy dragged me—" An elbow to his side from Bickslow had him quickly changing his tone. "But I guess you're kind of like a sister-in-law to me now so…" And when Lucy hugged him, he just sighed and let it happen.

"I still know you have other things you need to be doing right now, but I just wanted to thank you for being here, because I love you both and you're like family to me. So thank you," Lucy said kindly. She knew Levy was a little behind in her study, and she knew Gajeel was supposed to be working that afternoon, but she was really just glad that she'd gotten to see them at all, even if it had just been for a few minutes. "For now, though…" She looked up to Bickslow beside her as his arm went around her middle again. "I believe you promised me ice-cream before you said you'd come help me finish packing my things here."

"I did, did I?" Bickslow murmured.

"Mm-hmm."

"Well, I suppose we should go and get ice-cream then."

And so after saying goodbye to their friends, they made their way through the still gathered crowd of now alumni. It had really just seemed fitting to Bickslow that the very first thing they'd done when they'd started dating would be one of the last they did in Hargeon together before moving.

Plus… It was ice-cream, and when her Dork Lord was offering ice-cream, who was Lucy to refuse? She hoped there'd be nice places in Crocus to get ice-cream together, too.

I know this one chapter felt a little rushed, especially the ending, but... That's just how it turned out. There was a lot to get through, kind of, and I didn't want to make it super long (plus I was incapable of doing so).

I wanted this to be the actual ending too, rather than the epilogue, so here's hoping it kind of worked out. Anyway, for those that have read my other stories, you can probably guess what the epilogue will entail. Because I'm predictable. I hadn't exactly intended on this fic going down this particular route in the end, but I just couldn't help myself...

For now, I, as usual, hope you enjoyed this chapter.

- April