Author's Note: Hi! Sorry for the delayed update! I've had a hectic life. -_- I do not recommend being a caregiver. In my case, it involved violating a person's body against their will (under orders from the company I work for), being screamed "bitch" "queer" "son of a bitch" at nightly, dodging/not dodging hits, being underpaid... it hasn't been fun. My client for a book I illustrated also died, so I'm out $1,000 and a future book commission.
*But*, I got my hours changed, so I'm going to have more time to work on my writing, illustrations, art, and graphic design. That includes updating this. I'm hoping to get back into the routine of updating this every two weeks. My rent is cheap and I've made enough money to pay off my school loan, so finances shouldn't be quite as dire now and I'll be able to take commissions.
Thank you everyone soooo much for the reviews, faves, and follows! I've loved getting all of those notifications, and it makes my day to know that people like my writing. I love hearing feedback on what you think of the story, so don't be afraid to review!
Thank you so much for reading this, and I hope you have a lovely day! 3
Walking Cliché 21
Everyone Loves Claire
"You look rather dashing this morning. New glasses?" The seith mage asked, taking a seat across from the fairy woman. She looked up from her magazine, giving him a pensive look before going back to her page.
"Someone got lucky last night."
"Hee hee," He snickered, not bothering to deny it. He had also gotten 'lucky' again that morning, and he felt like he had died and gone to heaven. He felt good, his relationship was good, his friends were good, his babies were good. The only thing missing was the breakfast that Mira would be delivering him shortly, and he was starving. "Do you want to do a job today?"
"We've already been requested to do one. The little old lady that tried to jip us."
"Eh? The same job?"
"No, she's still undecided about the house. It's an escort mission for her family to a festival in the East. She's hired a wizard for every member of her family going."
"So we're going to be bodyguards? How many people are we talking?"
"10 total. Team Natsu will be joining us."
"Nooooo, why are they doing that? That is way too much firepower for such a simple job."
"Can't be helped. They were requested, and they accepted."
"Dude! Weird fire chick!" They heard Natsu yell on the main floor, as his voice was loud enough to carry through the entire Guild Hall. He was yelling to the checker woman at the bar, who was chatting with Mira. The entire Guild Hall stilled for a second, remembering the fire and chaos that he resulted the night before. Although Claire had the ability to control what her fire burned, Natsu didn't, and more than a few of them were sporting blistered skin from the night before. Namely the fire mages had the worst burns, as they had attempted to 'eat' fire like them in their drunken state, and had red marks around their mouths.
"What?" Claire yelled back, amused by the fact that he still didn't know her name. Well, either didn't know it, or pretending to not remember it. He was bounding towards her with a wide grin their guild mates were beginning to recognize. Their eyes widened.
"We're going on a job together! Isn't that great!?"
"Totally, dude!"
"What?! No way! Nuh-uh!" Lucy yelled, her eyes wide as she ran over to them.
"Eh? Why not?" Claire asked, leaning against the bar.
"Yeah, don't you like her? That's pretty mean to say you don't want to do a job with her." Natsu told the blond.
"My feelings are hurt, Luce." Claire added.
"Do you two even remember how much damage you two caused last night!?"
"Not really." They said in unison, and then grinned at each other. "Jinx!"
1.
"So, uh… why do you need so much fire power, Ms. Scattle, if you don't mind me asking? Isn't this a little overkill for just going to a festival?" Evergreen asked the old woman. They were currently on the train to the 'Fairy Festival' in the east, and her coworkers were scattered in different sections of the train with their watch.
"There's no price I won't pay for the safety of my family. I would pay to have all of my guards by S-Class, but Erza was the only one available."
"Are you expecting any trouble?"
"No, but I've heard of sketchy things happening at that festival. I don't want anyone in my family exposed to drugs or sex."
"So we're babysitters?"
"Call it what you want." She said with a frown.
Meanwhile, in another section of the train, Claire and Lucy found themselves sitting across from each other in a train car. They were tasked with guarding the women next to them, Stacey and Mary, who were chatting away about various topics. The entire car was filled with excited chatter from the family and wizards.
Claire and a few others were nursing their hangovers with thermoses of warm liquid, flinching at the occasional yell from Natsu or Elfman.
"Dude, how do you not know her name?" Bickslow asked the pink-haired boy, sitting next to the hot head. He would rather be sitting next to his girlfriend, but alas, he was stuck sitting next to Natsu and across from his guard. The overweight man was chatting away with the man next to him, who was similarly overweight. Both of them reeked of cheetos and weed.
Instead of answering, the fire mage stared at him with the stupid, blank look on his face.
"Wait, I've heard you say her name before. Do you just have selective memory?"
"How are your kids doing?" Natsu asked with a grin, and from beneath his visor, the seith mage glared. He is totally fucking with me right now.
"… They're great."
"Glad to hear it! How old are they now?"
"80, 45, 19, 12, 54, and 6."
"Wow, you guys have been busy."
Lucy overheard part of their conversation, and smiled at the checker woman. She and Erza were in bad shape from the night before, and both of them looked like they wanted to kill everyone on the train for being so loud.
"So how are your babies?" The blond asked her, and the fire woman glared when the women next to them squealed loudly in excitement.
"You have kids?!" They asked in unison, and Stacey grabbed her arm. "Why wasn't it mentioned in the magazine?! Oh my gosh, please say they're with Natsu. That would be so adorable."
"Fire babies!" Mary squealed, her body squirming animatedly.
"I have never given birth to a living child." Claire told them, but they were too far gone.
"They're not with the guy you were coupled with in the magazine, right? That was just a joke?"
"Fire babies!"
"How many kids do you have?!" They both instantly turned to her, grinning widely.
"Why are you guys so excited?" She asked, both annoyed and confused by their avid high-pitched voices.
"You were in Sorcerer Weekly, and the infamous Thunder Legion!"
"Not to mention you were awesome in the Grand Magic Games."
"Are you and Laxus secretly married?"
"How many kids do you have?!" They repeated, their hopeful eyes wide and expecting.
"They have 5 kids." Lucy answered, and Claire glared at her. "Or is it 6, including the fire one that follows you around?"
"You have 6 kids? Seriously? How is your physique so great?"
"I have never given birth to a child." The fire woman stated, and slouched further in her seat, wanting to disappear.
"So you guys adopted? That's so wonderful of you!" Stacey told her with a wide grin.
"How long is this train ride?" Claire asked the mage across from her, who was grinning from ear to ear.
"5 hours."
"CLAIRE!" Natsu yelled in her ear, and she punched him in the face, not expecting the loud sound.
"Why doesn't everyone just shut up?" She asked, and looked over her seat to the middle of the aisle, not entirely surprised that Natsu was unconscious. How many times have I told the idiot to not startle me like that? That's the 5th time this has happened….
"What are your kids like? Who are you married to?"
"I'm not married to anyone and I don't have kids."
"They would be hurt if they heard you say that." Bickslow spoke, and Claire turned to her side, seeing that the seith mage was bending over to pick up Natsu by the back of his jacket.
"Then it's a good thing they're not going to hear about it." She seethed, suddenly wishing she had brought the extra pain meds with her. Or anything to knock her out for this long trip.
"Peppe heard, and he's devastated." He mocked, now leaning against the side of her seat and joining the conversation with the girls. Natsu hung limp from his hand, and he held him up like he was nothing.
"How old is Peppe?" Stacey asked.
"He's been with us for a few months now. He's six." Bickslow answered, and the fire woman rolled her eyes.
"So you two are dating?" Mary asked.
"Yes ma'am. Almost a year now." The blue-haired man said with the most charming smile he could muster. He was currently wearing his more formal attire, consisting of his cloak, recently polished visor, and purple pony tail. He looked akin to a knight, which is what he was going for.
"You're a lot… nicer in person. You seemed kind of creepy in the magazine." Mary commented awkwardly.
"I get that a lot. It's part of my image as a wizard." He told her.
"So you two have 6 kids?" Stacey asked curiously, and he shrugged.
"It's complicated."
"Do you have pictures?"
2.
"Why the hell did you do that?" She asked him that night, nudging his arm with her elbow rather roughly. They were sitting at a large dinner table with their friends and the Scattle family, and somehow they had managed to sit next to each other.
"Do what?"
"Make people think we have kids together."
"I dunno. I never lied, and when they see our babies, their expressions will be priceless. And your expression in the moment was even better."
"What next? Slap a ring on my finger and pretend like we're married?" She asked sarcastically, and her eyes widened it looked like he was contemplating it. Again, she nudged him with her elbow, wishing that he wasn't wearing so much damn padding.
3.
"So are fairies actually real on this world?" Claire asked the brunette, and she looked at her confused for a moment. "I've been on this world for less than a year. On my world fairies don't exist. Neither does magic."
"Right, I forgot about that." She commented. It was their first day of the Fairie Festival, and there were men and women of all ages dressed in wings and throwing glitter everywhere. They had been there for less than 10 minutes and Claire had identified it as, what she called, a 'hippie festival'. Living in Portland they were relatively common, but she hadn't found one so similar before. Crazy costumes, glitter, music down every pathway- it felt like home.
"Most people do." Claire spoke, and the brunette giggled.
"There hasn't been any concrete evidence of fairies, but there are countless first hand experiences dealing with them. They're very elusive."
"Interesting." She said, but her attention was on a rather attractive naked man flying over the crowd, throwing glitter at everyone, and he got a mix of both very approving and disapproving reactions. "So nudity is a thing here?"
"Yep. It's the real reason that my grandma wanted bodyguards." She said, and the woman chuckled. "Have you had sex before?"
"… if I said yes, would it get me fired?"
She merely smiled and looked away, and Claire had no idea if that was good or bad. Rolling her eyes and hoping that that was the end of their discussion on the topic, they continued down the dirt path, exploring the festival. Arts and crafts, music, fairies everywhere… the smell of weed everywhere….
She was tempted to tell their client that she was sleeping with Bickslow, just so that she wouldn't be stuck in this place. The nostalgia was puke worthy, like the assault of smells on her annoyingly sensitive nose.
And then a pair of hands on her arm caused her to stop, and she looked to the source. The brunette was gripping her stomach and looked on the verge of puking.
Twenty minutes later, Claire was whistling while leaning against a tree and picking at her nails. Stacey was nearby in one of the port-a-potties puking her guts out. If the smell wasn't so bad in those small spaces she would be with her, pulling back her hair to make the process slightly less miserable for her.
As it was, her job was to protect her, not nanny her. Once the brunette was done puking she would help her out and take her back to the condo at the lake.
In the mean time, when she wasn't picking at her short nails, she got the very nice view of half-naked (and sometimes full naked) men and women of the festival. A smile tugged at her lips.
4.
After carrying the sick woman on her back to the condo, they spent most of their afternoon laying around. Claire would bring her water and crackers to eat, and when she wasn't puking, would rub her back while lounging on one of the beds reading a magazine. The fire woman had suggested taking her to a hospital, but she insisted on not going, and instead curled up next to mage on the twin bed.
"I'm…" The voice caused Claire to look down at the shaking brunette, and she pulled the blanket back over her shivering form. "I'm sorry for ruining your fun at the festival."
"Don't worry about it. I'm not a fan of crowds, anyway."
"Then why did you accept the job?"
"Good money. Easy work." She said with a shrug, looking back to the magazine on her lap. Her back was currently propped against the headboard of the twin bed, a soft pillow cushioning her back from the hard wood, and her legs were extended and crossed at the ankles.
"What kind of jobs do you usually do?"
"S-Ranked jobs, mostly. Facing my mortality every other day. That kind of stuff."
"Your family must get worried about you a lot."
"Eh, not really. My brother is the one that trained me to do them, and the rest of my family is either dead or trying to kill me. They didn't really adjust to this world very well."
"No, I mean your kids."
"Oh…" She muttered, recalling the practical joke that Bickslow pulled the previous day. Instead of just verbally explaining it to her, she reached over to the nightstand and picked up Sky's vessel, summoning him to it. "Bickslow uses human soul possession magic, which binds wandering souls to the vessels he chooses. He considers them family, so he refers to them as his babies. Since they call me 'mom' all the time, and I kind of adopted this little guy, we refer to them as 'our' babies."
"Hi! I'm Sky!" The fire vessel spoke, and if the woman had had more energy, Claire didn't doubt that she would have fallen off the bed in fear.
"But to answer your original question, I worry them all the time. I've gotten injured a lot over the past half year."
"Mommy's not good at dodging."
"So that's… your baby?" Stacey asked hesitantly, looking up at the firey, floating, creepy object.
"Like I told you on the train, I've never given birth before. I consider them like my children, but they're not my children in the traditional sense."
"I died last year." Sky spoke, and Claire chuckled at the terrified expression on the sick woman's face.
"I'm pregnant." The brunette stated loudly, and both the floating soul and fire woman stared at her for a moment, not expecting the announcement.
"… huh. Who's the dad?"
"Johnny… or Jeremy…"
"Oh my, my!" Sky spoke in a rather feminine voice, and the brunette hid her face in the blankets further curled up to Claire's leg. There wasn't much room on the twin bed, so the embarrassed girl found herself hiding between her bodyguard's thigh and mattress.
"So you have a thing for 'J' names, huh?" Claire asked, chuckling.
"My family is going to kill me."
"They're not going to kill you… well, I don't know them all the well, but I'm guessing you won't. Are you sure you're pregnant?"
"I took a test yesterday."
"How far along are you?"
"1 month."
"Huh. What are you going to do? Do you have any friends or family to talk to about this?"
"I have friends back home…"
"Good. Try not to make any major decisions until you talk to them, alright?"
5.
They had a family bonfire by the lake that night, complete with campfire stories and roasting marshmallows.
Stacey stayed pretty quiet for the night, not surprisingly, as the others talked about their day at the festival. They talked about the music, the costumes- some complaints about the nudity-, and the creative fairy-themed performances and acts through the day.
"Who's up for ghost stories?" Bickslow asked with a grin, and Evergreen groaned.
"No."
"What, you scared?" He asked, waggling his tongue at her. She rolled her eyes at his childish behavior, but the other guys were intrigued.
"Ghost story!" Natsu cheered.
"Yeah, dude, I'm up for a ghost story." Arnold, Bickslow's watch, added.
"I guess you would be pretty good at those, huh?" Gray asked, and seith mage nodded with a proud grin. Claire could sense his souls nearby, and smiled, knowing that he would probably use them in his story telling.
"Gh-Gh-ghost?" Lucy stammered next to the checker woman.
"A ghost saved our lives once, remember?" Claire asked her, but the blond still stared at the seith mage with wide brown eyes, already frightened before he even started the story.
"Have any of you heard the story of Jason?" Bickslow asked all of them, and they shook their heads. "This is story is actually about the first job I did with Claire, and the horrors we witnessed that night. Do you mind if I tell it?" He asked, looking over to his girlfriend. "We're only a few miles from it, so it'll be perfect."
"I don't mind, but are we really that close to it…?" She asked, and then looked at a magic map of the area, her shoulders slumping when she realized he was right. "Damn it."
"According to you, as long as we don't go to the lake itself, we should be fine." He reasoned, and she nodded. "Everything I'm about to tell you actually happened. 80 years ago, on this very evening…"
6.
Claire woke up that night from someone nudging her shoulder. Opening one of her eyes, she could make out the vague form of three figures around her. As her eyes adjusted to the lack of light, they started to become more clear, and she realized it was the women she was sharing the room with.
"Did it a-actually happen?" Mary asked.
"Did what happen? What time is it?" Claire asked groggily, and sat up, searching for a clock.
"It's midnight." Lucy answered. "We can't sleep."
"Can we sleep with you?"
The checker woman tiredly looked between the three women, who were jumpy and shaking as they held onto each other. Damn it Bickslow….
"We can't fit 4 women on one twin mattress, and Lucy, you're a Fairy Tail mage. Act like it."
"W-what if we put all the m-mattresses on the floor to make one really big bed?" The blond asked, and the other girls gasped, nodding frantically.
"It'll be like a slumber party!"
"Let's do it!" Another said, and Claire grunted as she fell back on her bed, suddenly having a lot more appreciation for her fairy obsessed teammate. At least she would pretend to not be scared and suck it up in situations like this.
"Come on," Stacey spoke, pulling at the fire woman that was trying to go back to sleep. Making a whining sound as she was pulled to her feet, she tiredly followed the woman over to the two beds that had been dragged to the middle of the room, carrying her pillow along. She plopped down on one of the mattresses, laying on her back with her pillow comfortably under her head.
Two of the girls, still shaking, lay down on either side of her and clutched at her pajama shirt, anxiously looking around the darkness.
"Go to sleep. If anyone tries to hurt you guys, I'll torch them with my fire magic. Happy?" Claire asked, already falling back asleep.
Not even ten minutes later, she was shaken awake again, and groaned at the sudden bright light.
"We can't sleep."
"Why the hell not?"
"Watch your language." Mary told her, and then hid behind Stacey at the death glare sent in her direction.
"If you don't want me to fucking curse, then don't fucking wake me up in the goddamn night, twice, because you're scared of a fucking monster. If you're scared of anything, it should be of me." Claire seethed, and Lucy laughed awkwardly nearby.
"Why don't we get some hot chocolate to calm our nerves, and maybe a midnight snack?" Lucy asked, and the other girls nodded excitedly.
"Why don't you just go to sleep?" Claire groaned, but against her wishes, she was hoisted out of the bed by her arms. The three women, or scared little girls, huddled around her as they pushed her along, making her open the door and serve as a shield for any monsters or ghosts they might encounter. They jumped at any sound they heard, and even sounds they made, clutching to the half-asleep fire woman for dear life.
Once in the lit kitchen, they loosened up a bit. Lucy got started on the hot chocolate while Stacey and Mary went to the fridge and started making snacks. Claire sat on a stool at the little 'island' in the middle of the large kitchen, resting her arms on the table and placing her head in them tiredly, blocking out the sounds of the busy women.
They chatted about this and that as they moved around the room, nervously trying to fill the eerie late night silence.
Claire grunted when she felt a nudge on her shoulder again.
"We're moving into the dining room to eat. I made you hot chocolate." The celestial mage said with a grin, and the checker woman looked up at her from the nook of her elbow, eyeing the extra cup of hot chocolate in her hand. Begrudgingly she moved from her stool, following them into the dining room and taking a seat next to Stacey, the steaming hot liquid set in front of her.
"So Claire- what do you think of this world?" Mary asked across from her, and popped a piece of popcorn into her mouth.
"Eh." She replied with a shrug, and brought the warm liquid to her lips, meanwhile further heating up the delicious drink with her hands.
"It must have been barbaric without any magic. I can't imagine living a world without it."
"My world is at least 50 years more advanced than this one in terms of technology. Coming here is like living in the Stone Age." Claire informed her, suddenly extremely homesick. Her new Galaxy S5 android… she'd only had it a couple of days and spent way too much money on it….
"Without magic?" Mary asked in disbelief.
"Chya. You guys are way behind. You don't even have a cell phone equivalent. No internet, no Netflix, airplanes are practically nonexistent here… Your lack of technology on this world has probably been the most difficult thing to adjust to." She rambled, half asleep. "Don't get me started on your lack of cameras, movies, and youtube. God I miss Youtube."
"So, in a way, you had a magic equivalent of things." Lucy asked, and she shrugged.
"Sure. Why not? On the plus side, this world hasn't been as damaged by humans, probably because of all the monsters and whatnot. Not nearly as much pollution. Your air is tons cleaner."
"So how long were you on this world before you started dating Bickslow?" Stacey asked between bites of her sandwich.
"Uh… about two months, I think. We hung out a few times before that, and when I was homeless, he let me crash on his couch. Then after Tenrou Island and he lost his apartment, I let him crash on my couch. Now we live together."
"Don't tell grandma that." Mary said with a smile, and the checker woman shrugged.
"How've you been holding up since your dad?" Claire asked Lucy, who was munching away at the bowl of popcorn with her watch.
"It's hard, obviously, but Natsu and the others keep me busy." Lucy answered, her posture caving slightly at the change in conversation topics. "It's weird not having him around… I spent my whole life hating him, and just when we were starting to get along, Tenrou Island happened…."
"What about your mom? How is she holding up?" Mary asked.
"She died when I was young."
"So you're an orphan?" Stacey asked with wide eyes, and the blond nodded, looking down at her hot chocolate.
"We should start a club." Claire joked dryly.
"You lost your parents, too?" Stacey asked.
"Most of the wizards in Fairy Tail have. It's part of the reason everyone is so protective of each other in the guild." She said with a shrug. "Shit happens."
"How did your parents die?" Lucy asked, looking up at her with watery eyes.
"It's depressing. You don't want to know."
"Were they murdered?" Mary asked, and the intrigue in her eyes made Claire want to stab her. What is wrong with her? You don't act happy at the idea of someone's parents being murdered.
"Have either of you two lost family?" Claire asked instead, looking between Mary and Stacey. They both shook their heads.
"What-"
"AAAAH!" The girls screamed at the sound from the door, and when they turned to look, screamed again at the sight of none other than Bickslow. He was dressed in a faded green t-shirt and black pajama pants, and had jumped back in alarm at the sudden screaming.
"What the hell is with all of this racket? All of you are clothed, so I'm guessing it's not a naked pillow fight…" He asked, still standing in the doorway and leaning against the frame tiredly.
"This is your fault." Claire glared, and took another sip of her hot cocoa.
He raised one of his eyebrows, and with it one of the small arms of his soul tattoo.
"You scared the bajeebers out of us!" Mary exclaimed, her hand over her heart as she tried to calm down. "And who the hell are you!?"
"'Bajeebers'? Really?" The seith mage asked with a grin. "I guess you haven't seen my face yet, huh? I'm Bickslow."
"They won't let me sleep because of that stupid 'scary story' you told." Claire told him, watching the corners of his lips pull to the sides of his face, and the prideful glint in his eye. She was not a morning person, nor a woken-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night person.
"Don't tell him that." Stacey whispered, her eyes wide as she pleaded to the annoyed fire woman.
"And that wasn't even our 'scariest' job together." Bickslow spoke.
"I know."
"And I even left out some of the scariest parts."
"I know. Please lie and tell them none of it happened so that we can go back to sleep."
"What's all the noise about?" Gray asked as he walked up behind the seith mage, rubbing his eyes tiredly and peering into the lit room.
7.
Claire didn't like staying still for very long; unless there was alcohol involved, and even then, it was difficult for her.
After a night of no sleep and plenty of jumpy ladies screaming at the slightest provocation, she was glad for the peace and quiet, but wished she could have slept in that time like the others. Instead she was sitting wide awake and watching over her young female companions, sitting on the sidelines and keeping an eye on their sleeping forms.
Since her companions were tired from the previous night (no surprise there), Mary had suggested that they go to the meditation center and take a nap. It was actually a nice little space, with silent charms cast around the area to allow people to meditate without interruption, as well as other silent activities like yoga and Tai Chi. The floor was mostly cushions and pillows, and there was a light purple wall guarding them from the curious eyes of 'fairies' walking down the pathways. There were twenty or so people present aside from their little group, and given some of the sketch individuals of the fair, Claire didn't feel safe falling asleep with them. So she volunteered to keep watch, sitting near the door and sipping away at her caffeinated and slightly alcoholic beverage.
Lucy at least attempted to look like she was meditating, with her legs crossed beneath her and eyes closed in a classic meditation pose. Her watch, Mary, was the complete opposite- as she simply sprawled out on the ground upon their arrival and immediately fell asleep. The last one, Stacey, did as her cousin but was slightly less obnoxious about it. She currently lay on her side, curled up, and taking up very little space.
Like the day before, Claire found herself enjoying the view of her fellow fair-goers. In particular was a trio of very attractive naked men close to her age doing yoga, and on the other side of the meditation center were two women practicing a form of Tai Chi, also nude. The checker woman tried to not be obvious in her ogling by 'reading' the Fair Festival Guide, but it the thin booklet was so utterly preposterous that even pretending to read it was painful. Back on her world she would have been entertained by a place such as this, but in her time on this world, her opinion changed. It seemed frivolous and stupid now.
A smile came to her lips, still pretending to read the pamphlet, as she wondered if Bickslow was enjoying the fair. Fairies weren't his cup of tea either, so she wondered if he'd resigned to enjoying the view like her or found something else to entertain him. From what she observed he'd been forced to spend time with Natsu, which the man had admitted to have a loathing hatred for.
She snuck another glance at the males in the corner of the room, only to find one of them openly staring back at her. He winked, moving into a very suggestive yoga pose with his leg in the air, and she went back to her magazine with a smile and blush.
Bringing the cup of liquid to her lips, she awkwardly tried to keep her eyes locked on the pages of the guide.
'Fairie Drum Circle: 12:00-1:00 PM, Sparkle Fire Pit
Fairie costume contest: 2:00-2:30 PM, Main Stage
First-hand encounters: 1:00- 4:00 PM, Wing Circle
Fairie…'
The next few hours were awkward and uneventful, as she simply sat around avoiding eye contact with the nudists and drinking. About an hour into her watch she summoned Sky, so that he could keep an eye on them while she left to get a refill and buy a book to read. The only book she could find that wasn't about sparkly fairies, at least in the short time that she searched, was a romance novel.
When she returned to her original spot nothing had changed, and she sent Sky away again. Curled up against the wall with some comfy pillows, she took another sip of her drink, and opened the book to the first page.
'Once upon a time, there was a beautiful fairy by the name of Edna…'
Realizing that the merchant had lied to her about the contents of the book, she barely suppressed a groan in the silent space. Torn between laziness and her newfound dislike of fairies, she decided to first skim the book for any 'naughty' scenes she could make fun of before making a final decision.
The novel was just over 500 pages, and otherwise was rather average in size and appearance. As she skipped to random pages and read occasional chapters, she couldn't help but smile at how poorly written it was.
Taking another sip of her drink, she prepared herself for a few hours of suppressed laughter at the book's expense.
8.
While she tried to sleep that night, the other girls giggled and talked into the late hours of the night. Mary and Stacey had bought a few new outfits at the festival, so they excitedly put them on and showed them off in the room. The celestial mage tried to keep them relatively quiet so that they wouldn't wake up the tired fire mage with no success, and the next day was a repeat of the previous one.
As she sat at the breakfast table the next morning, Claire barely kept herself awake.
"Why do you look so tired? Did you not get any sleep last night?" Bickslow asked, nudging her awake. She'd fallen asleep on her hand, arm propped on the table next to her bowl of cereal. Upon the nudging her eyes reluctantly opened, looking over at the seith mage.
"Huh?"
"Tired?" He asked with a sympathetic smile, and she nodded.
"The girls wouldn't shut up last night, so I didn't get any sleep. Again."
"Why don't they look tired?"
"Because they slept at the mediation center yesterday, and probably will today as well."
"There's a meditation center?" He asked, and she nodded.
"The only consolation is that attractive naked people do yoga in there."
"What time will you be in there? Maybe I can come and visit for a while." He asked, letting his tongue hang out.
"Bickslow, I thought you weren't going to do that at the table while we're here?" Evergreen asked across from him, the old lady at her side glaring in pure hatred.
"I agreed to not do that at the dinner table. This is breakfast." He said, waggling his tongue at them. Claire chuckled at his side.
"It's the same table, you idiot."
"But we're eating breakfast, so this is rightly the breakfast table until lunch time, when it'll become the lunch table. Last night I agreed to not do it at the dinner table."
"Can you please not stick your tongue out at this table at any hour?"
"Where's the fun in that?"
"Eating breakfast isn't supposed to be 'fun'."
"Not the way you eat it." He replied, keeping his tongue hanging out all the while. The other girls at the table were quietly giggling at his antics now, unintentionally egging him on. Of course Claire was the only one he was listening to and cared about. Of course.
"How does sticking your tongue out make it more 'fun'? It's gross for everyone else."
"It's not gross when everyone does it. Have you ever tried it?"
"Of course not."
"Then you're missing out."
9.
"You're gonna get fired if you keep it up." Claire whispered when he arrived at the Meditation Center, but he merely stuck his tongue out again and took a seat next to her. Arnold, the man he was supposed to be watching, made a beeline for the group of nude women doing Tai Chi, asking to join them.
"Nice to see you too, Checkers." He whispered back, criss-crossing his legs beneath him and grabbing a pillow to cushion his back. After shifting around and getting comfortable, he looked back to his girlfriend, who was looking up at him with a smile. He leaned down to place a small kiss on her adorably cute lips, and went back to leaning against the wall. "You can nap for a while. I'll keep an eye on everyone."
"Thank you, honey." She whispered, and shifted to lay on her side, using his lap as a pillow. Watching her face relax and her body finally sleep, he was glad he had managed to convince Arnold to come here. It didn't take much, as the mention of 'sexy nudists' and 'yoga' had him practically running here.
This job was supposed to be easy money, but Claire was too much of a softie to make the girls let her rest, which was making it a lot more difficult than it needed to be for her. It would take her a while to find a balance between strict and leisurely, so he planned to help her find that balance the best he could.
Discovering that their surroundings were boring as hell, (much like the rest of the festival) he reached for the book that Claire had been reading.
I didn't know that she was into this kind of stuff…. He thought as he read the first paragraph. Maybe I can get a few tips from this….
Two hours later, Mary and Lucy awoke and headed out, and only an hour after that Stacey woke up as well. Although he wanted to let his girlfriend sleep longer, since she looked so gosh darn comfortable, he had to wake her up. Arnold had been occupied by the nudist ladies for most of their time, but he'd gotten bored and had been giving Bickslow annoyed glances every few seconds for a while now.
"Sorry babe, but you've got to get up." Bickslow whispered, and gently caressed the side of her face. Normally she would protest and roll over to hide her face, but she had enough awareness to simply sigh and roll onto her butt, rubbing her eyes tiredly and reaching for the caffeinated/alcohol beverage. "I'll see you later." He said, and kissed her cheek before getting up. He nodded to Stacey who was now standing in front of Claire expectantly, and then gestured for Arnold to leave with him.
Claire yawned tiredly in her hand, and then slowly put her book in her large purse. The brunette in front of her held out a hand to help her back on her feet, and the checker woman accepted, drink in her other hand.
The little brunette kept their hands locked, leading her bodyguard out of the Meditation Center and into the busy pathway. Claire's senses were abruptly assaulted by an array of smells, scents, and sounds, but in her tired state it all blurred together in a haze of mush. She didn't really pay attention to where they were going, as the shorter woman led her through the crowd and to various booths for her to see. It was common to see people holding hands, especially of the same sex, so their hand-holding went unnoticed to the other festival-goers.
When they were noticed for something, it wasn't the contact.
"Ma'am, empty your pockets." There were two people that approached them, both of them wearing tie-dye shirts with the words "FAIRY FESTIVAL SECURITY" on it. Instantly waking up, the fire woman straightened her posture and looked at them, and then to the woman next to her, who they were staring at.
"Excuse me, what seems to be the problem?" Claire asked, and while the man turned to her, the other kept her eyes on Stacey.
"We've been getting reports of her shoplifting around the fair, and just saw her put several earrings in her pocket. I'm sorry but I'll have to ask you to do the same." He instructed her, his rainbow meditation beads around his neck contrasting greatly with his demeanor.
"Stacey, did you actually shoplift?" Claire asked, turning to the brunette. She was looking away, her eyes cast downward and posture caving in on itself. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she was guilty, as she was terrible at hiding it. "She'll pay for everything she took. Her family is loaded."
"Are you her friend?"
"I'm her body guard." She told him, and handed him her bag. "The only thing in there from this festival is a book that I purchased, and the receipt is in the front cover."
10.
"Why the hell did you shoplift from a bunch of broke hippies? We're lucky that this isn't going on our permanent records." Claire asked, narrowing her eyes at the brunette. They were currently sitting in a very large jail cell, which housed not only them but 20+ other women that weren't in Fairy Festival gear. Even though the officers weren't going to press charges, they were taken to the county jail cell where they would spend the remainder of the day.
"I… I don't know." Stacey muttered, looking at her fidgeting hands in her lap. She was dressed in a light orange dress covered in sparkles, and her large, beautiful matching wings were on her lap, being picked at.
"Have you ever shoplifted before today?"
"… a couple of times…" She muttered, still not looking at her.
Claire rolled her eyes, sighing as she folded her arms and leaned back against the cement wall, looking around the room. Her eyes locked with a particularly violent looking bunch, all of whom were in torn up clothing and had bulging muscles. They were looking back at her, and she couldn't help but smirk. "Sup, ladies? How's it hanging?"
"We don't appreciate that offensive language." One of them glared.
"How is that offensive?" She asked, scrunching her nose up in confusion.
"'how's it hanging' infers that we have male genitalia and further enforces the patriarchy in our society."
"Really? So, if I asked how you assholes are doing today, that would be more politically correct?" Claire asked with a grin, entertained by their hostile faces. "You girls look so cute when you're mad."
"What the hell are you doing?!" Stacey whispered, watching the fire woman stand up, hands in her pockets and looking smug as hell.
"Having a little fun." She replied, and winked at the girl sitting down. The group of 5 women circled her, looking ready for a pounding. One of them ran forward with her fist aimed at her face, but Claire easily side-stepped and kept her foot out, effectively tripping her. "That was terrible form."
Two of them attempted to grab her arm to hold her still, but she easily burned them and sent them flying back with a hit to their solar plexus. Another tried to sucker punch her while the other tried to kick from behind, but it was all too easy to spin and grab her leg, latching onto it and throwing her into the other woman. The woman she had tripped earlier ran at her again, only to be tripped once more and hit her head on the cell bars.
"Is that the best you girls got?" She asked, smirking down at the groaning women on the ground. When none of them looked ready to challenge her again, she looked around to the other woman in the room. "Anyone else feel like fighting? We've got, what, 5 hours of time to waste?" Claire asked the woman she was supposed to be body guarding, only to realize that the brunette was on top of another woman... making out. "Pregnant, shoplifting, gay… you're just full of surprises."
"You feel like fighting, huh?" A voice questioned, and upon recognizing it, a chill went down her spine. Turning towards the source, she smiled awkwardly at the requip mage, her earlier cockiness gone.
"Sup Erza? How's it, uh… going?"
"Not too bad. You two got kicked out of the festival as well, I see." She spoke, glancing at Stacey on the bench.
"She got caught shoplifting, so we're stuck here until the festival is over. Whar are you doing here?" Claire asked, eyeing the red head as she visibly tensed.
"I, uh… was shopping, and had a miscommunication with a merchant owner, and one thing led to another…"
"How much of the festival did you destroy?"
"Only 5 booths. Natsu and Gray took down a few others as well. They're currently in the men's jail cell."
"Only 5? I had guessed you would take down half the festival." The checker woman joked, although the other mage wasn't as amused. She yawned, still tired. "So, fighting… want to show me a few moves? Preferably ones that don't involve a broken limb?"
"Where's the fun in that?" Erza said with a confident smirk, and Claire hoped she was joking.
11.
"Heeeey, Wendy…" Claire spoke as she approached the young mage, causing her to look up at her with wide, curious, brown eyes. She was dressed in an adorable light pink dress, and Carla was standing next to her with a matching one. The fire mage had found the small group in the living room of the condo, and the rest of the guests were scattered through the house and yard. "Could you heal me up?"
"Of course!" She said with a cute grin, and instructed her to sit down on a nearby couch with her.
"What happened to you?" Lucy asked, taking a seat near them and watching the dragonslayer heal her. Witnessing her unique healing magic was always fascinating to observe, and it wasn't long before they had a small crowd.
"Erza and I bonded." She replied with a grin. Flinching at the blue-haired mages tiny hands, Wendy briefly stopped her healing magic to visually look at the damage.
"Wendy, when you're done with Claire, would you be willing to heal me as well?" The red head asked as she entered the room.
"You hurt Erza?" Lucy gasped.
"It wouldn't be the first time… although most of them cheap shots." Claire spoke awkwardly, grinning at the feel of Wendy's magic. It tickled, not entirely unlike Laxus's magic.
"I wouldn't say they were all cheap shots. Well, one of them definitely was, but the others were just good hits on your part. Don't sell yourself so short." Erza complimented, taking a seat next to her. Since they had left the jail, she had changed back into her fairy outfit, decked out in a flowing white dress and beautiful silver wings.
"I can't believe you guys were acting like that. It was embarrassing." Stacey said with a grimace.
"You're one to talk, rug muncher." Claire retorted, smirking as the girl's face instantly turned beat red. In her short time with the woman, she'd realized something- Stacey was brilliant at playing the 'innocent girl' act.
Once the fire woman was healed up, she moved from her spot to let the requip mage take her place. Still standing in the middle of the room and about to move to the side, blackness suddenly encased her sight and fabric shielded most of her body from the others. A pair of strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her close to an all too familiar body, his scent filling her nostrils.
"You guys didn't see anything." Bickslow spoke from behind her, and the strong arms picked her up (keeping the cloak around her) and started walking in a mystery direction.
"What are you doing?" She asked, and was hushed by the large man.
"I'm stealthily kidnapping you."
"I don't think that word means what you think it means." Claire informed him, but was hushed yet again. His arms around her midsection wasn't entirely comfortably, so she hoped that they would get to their mystery destination sooner rather than later. "Where are we-"
"Sssssh," He hushed again.
"This isn't comfortable."
"'Sssssh' does not mean start talking. We're almost there." He informed her, over theatrically pressing himself against the wall or ducking into corners whenever he heard someone nearby. Eventually they made their way out of the house, and when they were safely out of sight from the others, Bickslow set her on her feet but kept the cloak around her.
"Are we there yet?"
"Nope. Start walking, and I'll tell you when we're there." He informed her, to which she grunted but complied, just glad to not be carried anymore. Wendy had healed most of her wounds, but she would still be sore for the next few days.
In order to keep from stepping on her feet, it took a few tries to get walking in sync. After about twenty minutes of walking they eventually arrived at the secret location.
"Okay, close your eyes." He instructed, and she obeyed, becoming further curious about whatever was going on. As he removed the cloak, he peered at her face, making sure that she wasn't peaking. While the fabric slid across her exposed shoulders his hands moved to her waist, resting comfortably on her curves. "Surprise~"
"Can I open my eyes?"
"Yes ma'am." He replied, and as her eyes blinked open, felt his head drop down to the nook of her neck. After a moment of staring around her, she tried to find anything remotely interesting or out of the ordinary about the area. It was a relatively secluded spot in the middle of the woods, and was a very small clearing, like a camping spot, with only one pathway leading out of it.
"… Uh… what am I supposed to be looking at?"
"I just wanted to… nom, nom-" He spoke in her ear as he slobbered over it, gnawing softly at her flesh as she squirmed in his arms. He tightened his grip and continued his onslaught, earning a combination of 'aaw, gross!' and giggles from the young woman.
"Knock it off!"
"Nom, nom," After a few more 'noms' he eventually let her spin in his arms, although never leaving his grasp, and beamed at her annoyed expression.
"What was that for?" She tried to get the saliva off of her ear, rubbing it with her hand and trying to get her shirt to soak up some of it.
"For picking a fight with Erza. Idiot." His tongue hung out as he spoke, and his grip loosening slightly when her arms came up to snake around his neck. He loved the feel of her hips in his hands.
"But I was bored, and I asked her to not break any bones."
"Did she?"
"Well, yeah, she broke my arm… again… but Wendy healed me. Is that really the reason you had to run off with me the way you did?"
"No. I just wanted to abscond with my girlfriend for a little while. When I found out you picked a fight with the most powerful woman in Fairy Tail... well, the noms seemed like a reasonable reaction."
"It wasn't a real fight. I asked her to teach me some moves, so we did some hand-to-hand combat stuff."
"You've been fighting a lot lately, though. I just worry about you."
"So when you 'nom' my ear, it means that you're worried about me?"
"Mmhmm~" He hummed, and leaned in to kiss her on the lips, slithering his tongue out to play with hers.
12.
They were greeted by knowing smirks and winks when they returned. Ignoring the people on her way upstairs, she went straight to her bed, wanting to sleep. She could hear the muffled words of Stacey, her grandmother, and a few others in a room on the third floor.
Lucy was already napping when she arrived, so she didn't have to worry about anyone trying to wake her up.
"So how'd it go, man?" Arnold asked with a knowing smirk, and seith mage refrained from shuddering at the older gentleman. Bickslow wasn't usually so prejudiced against larger men, but his personality was so repulsive that he couldn't help the insults that popped into his mind whenever he spoke. The man was in his late thirties, dark hair styled like he'd just gotten out of bed, and always wore a stained t-shirt and jeans. He was the kind of guy Bickslow pictured sitting on his ass all day ordering his wife around like a servant, and made lewd, immature comments about women like a prepubescent teenager.
"We hiked around the lake for a while and talked about our day."
"Did you… you know." He wiggled his eyebrows for emphasis and nudged him with his elbow. "'Do the deed'. Get lucky. Boppin' squiddles. Corking the onion. Doodle-bopping."
"Dude, stop- you're embarrassing yourself. And no."
"A guy and a girl alone together only means one thing. Come on, you can trust me."
"Believe it or not, I actually enjoy spending time with my girlfriend outside of the bedroom."
"Then she told you about how she got arrested, right?"
"Yeah, that's where she and Erza fought." Bickslow replied smoothly, suddenly wishing that he had asked her a brief summary of her day before coming back. At least it made sense now why she was bored enough to fight Erza of all people- he knew from experience that people acted differently when forced in a jail cell together. The how or why she ended up there was a mystery, though.
"You should have seen my mom's face when she found out. She started screaming at Stacey and Erza, and plans to rip Natsu a new one for destroying half the festival. The rumors of you Fairy Tail wizards destroying entire cities wasn't exaggerated."
"It's mostly Team Natsu that does that."
"But anyway, tell me more about your little randavez with the girlfriend. She's pretty cute." He said with a wink and standing entirely too close for the seith mage's comfort. His belly fat was touching the mage's arm. "How long have you guys been doing it?"
"None of your business."
"Come on, don't be such a square."
"Don't be such a nosy Nancy." Bickslow countered, sticking his tongue out at the man.
Upstairs, Claire was jolted awake by a screaming old woman hitting her, and barely refrained from using magic when she realized who it was. Her client, Mrs. Scattle, was absolutely livid about something, and the fire woman was confused as hell by the sudden hostility. She was screaming at the top of her lungs incomprehensibly, and curses flowed from her mouth in random order that made no sense. For a little old religious lady, her language would embarrass a sailor.
"What are you yelling at me for!?" The checker woman asked, holding up her arms to protect herself from the violent small woman.
"OUT OF MY HOUSE!" She screamed, the first comprehensible sentence she'd put together thus far. Sleep deprived and confused as hell, Claire grabbed her duffel bag from the floor and jumped to her feet, avoiding further thrashing from the woman.
"Claire, what's going on?!" Lucy asked with wide eyes, sitting up on her bed with a matching startled expression.
"I don't know, I just woke up to her screaming at me to get out." She said, and slung her bag over her shoulder as she was shoved out of the room and towards the stairs, slightly disoriented from her rude awakening. Heading to the stairs, she was happy to see her knight in shining armor at the base of the steps, and quickly hid behind him once she'd reached him. "Help."
"Oi, oi, calm down." Bickslow spoke, finding himself stuck between a scared girlfriend and an enraged client. He tried to restrain her arms to keep her from hitting them, but she screamed bloody murder whenever he did so, and he was about to use Figure Eyes on her when Evergreen thankfully showed up.
"Mrs. Scattle, please calm down and tell us what happened." The brunette spoke, crouching down to eye level with her and instantly calming her down. Well, a little, at least. With how contorted in rage she was, her winkles were amplified and showed her true age.
"That little witch touched my granddaughter, and blackmailed her into doing despicable things."
"Nuh-uh." Claire spoke, still hiding behind Bickslow and peering over his shoulder at her. She had to stand on her tip toes, and clung to the fabric of his cloak. Usually she would never even consider using someone else as a human shield, but he had enough padding to handle himself.
"Mrs. Scattle, I'm sure that this is just a misunderstanding. I've been working with Claire for a long time and-"
"There's no mistaking it. I'm paying you people good money and I want her out of my HOUSE!"
"Look, why don't we calmly talk this over in the living room over some tea, like civilized people?" Evergreen asked, and when the woman was reluctant to say anything, she continued. "If you don't, the entire Thunder Legion will terminate our contract with you and ban you from requesting jobs from our guild, as well as make your name known to other guilds to recommend not working for you. Do you understand?"
With a huff, and extra glare in Claire's direction, she crossed her arms and stomped into the living room.
"You okay, sweetie?" Bickslow whispered over his shoulder. She responded with her usual whining sound, resting her forehead against the back of his shoulder.
"How about I take Claire to the kitchen until you guys need us?" Lucy asked stepping forward. The others were all hustling into the living room, curious about what the conflict was about and giving Bickslow glances on their way. Natsu, Wendy, Elfman, and Cana were all hiking around the lake with the people they were guarding. Gray, Erza, and Evergreen were in the living room now.
"That's probably a good idea; we'll let you know when we need you. I have a feeling that it'll take a while to get her side of the story." He spoke, and took an experimental step away from the fire woman, feeling her hands reluctantly let go of him. "Don't worry, we're going to get this sorted out."
"Come on, let's go get some hot chocolate." Lucy said sweetly, and guided the shaking woman down the hallway. There were two paths to the kitchen from their location, one of which led through the living room, and the other the dining room. The blond took them through the dining room and into the kitchen, preparing some hot chocolate.
"She's not allowed to eat any food here." The mages looked to the door, realizing that Mary had entered from the living room.
"Under contract, she said that she would provide me food." Claire glared, her racing heart beginning to slow down.
"That was before you molested her daughter."
"I didn't do anything to her."
"Then why is Stacey crying her eyes out upstairs? She's terrified of you for what you did."
"She got us arrested for shoplifting and I'm the bad guy here?"
"Hey, Mary?" Lucy asked awkwardly. "These packets are only like, 30 cents each, what if we left money for it on the counter? Or replace them tomorrow?"
"Nope. I'm in here to make sure that she doesn't eat any of grandma's food." The girl said decisively, parking herself on the side of the wall closest to the door, leaning against the counter with her arms crossed. "You can have some of her food, but she can't."
"What if I gave her some of my food?"
She shook her head, and the blond frowned for a moment, but then smiled.
"Fine, I'll just have Virgo bring us something."
Back in the living room, the Fairy Tail mages quietly listened to the 90 year-old's rantings about their comrade, trying to hear her out. Most of the strange stories were so obviously fake they wondered how she believed what she was saying, and the others were undoubtedly false, just from knowing the checker woman so well. Given that Evergreen had the most success talking to her in the past, she did most of the negotiating and talking.
Once the woman was done explaining what her granddaughter told her, set down her tea and looked her client in the eye.
"I'm sorry that your granddaughter is in distress. From what you've told us, it sounds like she's very upset."
"Damn straight, because of your-"
"Please, let me finish." The brunette spoke, holding her hand up. The client instantly silenced, her mouth forming a thin line. On either side of her were her sons, Arnold and Darwin, and to the side was Arnold's wife, Elsa. "From what you've told us, and if your granddaughter is in as much distress as she is, it's possible that she was drugged at the festival without her permission. I've heard stories of people every year getting sprayed with water bottles laced with LSD and other drugs. It's rare, but it happens."
"Why the hell aren't you interrogating that… that monster in there!? She hurt my little girl!"
"Mrs. Scattle, please understand. Most of your claims are simply impossible to have happened, so unless your granddaughter is directly lying to you, I can't think of any other possibility to explain what she has told you."
"This is unbelievable. You-"
"Claire is a member of the Thunder Legion, and we don't let just anyone bare that title. Regardless of what she's accused of you treated her poorly, without getting her side of the story first, when she's working to the best of her abilities for the past 4 days. This is also the second time that you have either lied or tried to terminate our contracts prematurely, wasting our time."
"You're calling me a liar?" She seethed, narrowing her eyes at the brunette. The fairy woman didn't bat an eye, sitting with perfect posture and elegantly crossed legs.
"Last time you requested a job with us you did, and I don't believe Claire is guilty of any of the things you accuse her of."
"Then what if I gave you evidence?"
"What kind of evidence?"
"My granddaughter has a hickey on her neck, and she sure as rain didn't give it to herself. It's on her neck."
"Actually," Erza spoke up, sitting similarly to Ever. "When we were in jail today, she found herself rather… tangled up with another woman. When Claire and I were practicing martial arts, your granddaughter was having relations with another woman."
And just like that, their client was in hysterics again, so far gone that not even Evergreen could calm her down.
13.
"Well, at least we all had fun at the festival." Evergreen spoke with a grin, and got a mix of responses from the other wizards on the train.
After over an hour of trying to reason with Mrs. Scattle and her family, they had eventually given up, simply stating that they would bill her for their time and add cancelation fees to it. As a result they doubted that they would get paid anytime soon, seeing as they would likely need special collectors to get the money from her, but at least they had the deposit that would barely cover Lucy's rent.
Once the hiking group returned to the condo they made their way to the train station, ready to go home.
"Yes, I got some amazing new outfits." Erza agreed, sitting next to the fairy woman. It was a miracle that they weren't fighting yet, and Bickslow just hoped that their peace would last at least most of the long journey.
The seith mage absently stroked Claire's checker hair, occasionally petting and massaging her ear and neck. She was laying on her side and using his lap as a pillow again, using the extra seat to her left to put her feet up. Once again she was attempting sleep, although this time she hoped that Bickslow would protect her.
"Have you ever had such a difficult client?" Evergreen asked Erza, and she shook her head.
"I've had my fair share of difficult clients, but none quite like that. I expected her to be upset over the destruction at the fair, but not at Claire."
"It was pretty rough. I think that was the first time I've ever seen her actually scared of someone." Bickslow spoke up, although trying to keep his voice low to not wake the sleeping woman. "I've been on the receiving end of pissed off parents… they're pretty terrifying."
"What if we did a girls night when we got back?" Lucy asked, sitting next to the requip mage and across from Bickslow.
"That's pretty random." Ever commented.
"Well, since this job didn't go too well, why not do something fun to cheer us up?"
"There's a cool bar on the edge of Magnolia I've been wanting to check out," Kana spoke, appearing from behind Bickslow and Claire's chairs. "Drinking, dancing- a girls night sounds rad!"
"Are you guys free tomorrow?" Lucy asked Erza and Ever, and they both nodded.
"Hey Gray, up for a guys night?" Bickslow asked, tilting his head back. As predicted, the ice mage appeared over his chair, buck naked.
"Sure, why not?"
"Yeah, a Man's Night!" Elfman cheered, jumping up from his seat.