Eventually, they had gotten 'Lucks' down for a nap. At some point that morning, Bickslow had started calling the child Lucks for some stupid reason. When Lucy questioned it, he had simply shrugged and said it was just the 'Lu' from Lucy and 'cks' from Bickslow, and that's how the name Lucks came to be born.

Bickslow had been messing around in the kitchen while Lucy had a shower. He'd figured out that the 'giant steel box thing' held cold food, while the drawer at the bottom froze food. The 'smaller rectangular box thing' heated up food as it spun around in a circle, and the 'white jug thing' that sat on one of the other counters boiled water if a button was pressed. The only thing left to figure out was the stove, but Bickslow had already half figured that out since it was the only thing a kitchen would still need. Things were just so different in that world. It was scary.

But the point was that he'd figured out how to make coffee, and that made him incredibly happy. He would have spiked it with something, but he had yet to find where they hid the alcohol, if they had any at all.

Down in the bedroom, Lucy only stood in the fluffy towel with her hair dripping down her back and staring at the open wardrobe in front of her. One side seemed to be hers, and the other Bickslow's, but the first thing she noticed was that all of the clothes were weird. Well, they weren't that weird, but they weren't what she was used to wearing.

But it wasn't like they were bad, and she had to get dressed, too. It just took her a while to pick out what to wear.

It was only when she was pulling on her shirt as she looked in the mirror that Lucy noticed that it was not her body. She knew it well, so she was fairly confident that this was not the body of an eighteen-year-old – well, probably. She doubted she was still eighteen in that world anyway, considering she was apparently married and had a kid… But her usual flat and toned stomach wasn't as taut, and for just a small thing, Lucy had to try not to fall over or start crying, because it meant that they were in the bodies of their counterparts, or something like that. And the figure that she worked so hard on (most of the time) was gone. If only Capricorn could see her then…

But it seemed to really occur to Lucy then, that in that world, she'd had a kid. In that world, she'd been pregnant, probably not even a year earlier, and had given birth to her, too. The thought made her shiver and want to cry. But then again, Lucy was just glad she hadn't had to do it.

"Alright, so what do we know so far?" Lucy asked as she sat down on the lounge and stared up at the keys framed on the wall.

"The Bickslow and Lucy of this world are married, and they have a kid," Bickslow said, taking a seat next to her and staring up at the tikis on the shelf.

She nodded. "Right. So there's no magic in this world either, and somehow we ended up becoming the Lucy and Bickslow of this world."

"Which explains why my mark is gone…"

"Right." Lucy turned on the lounge to look around the room again before eyeing the pin-up board that was next to the desk on the other side of the room. "Find out anything else about her?" she asked, pushing herself up from the lounge and heading over to the desk.

"You mean Lucks?" Bickslow questioned, following behind her.

"Her name isn't Lucks!"

"But what if it actually is?"

Lucy rolled her eyes. "I seriously doubt that. There's no way the me of this world would let you name our daughter Lucks."

He froze. Our daughter. Genetically and biologically it was correct – probably – but it wasn't them. Bickslow shook his head, folding his arms across his chest as he leaned against the counter and watched Lucy begin to go through the folders on the desk. "What are you looking for anyway?"

"I don't know. There has to be something here about her. Name? Birthday? There just has to be."

Bickslow lifted his hand to look at the watch that he'd found on the nightstand while he had been getting dressed. Seeing that it read 10:34 a.m., he sighed. This was definitely way earlier than he was used to getting up, and he really didn't like it.

He moved over to stand before the pin-up board behind Lucy as she continued rifling through things. There were a few pieces of paper on it, most of them bills or receipts for things, he figured, but he didn't pay much attention to them. Amongst the bills there was a single photograph, though, and that drew Bickslow's attention. He removed the pin, pulling the photo off the board and looked at it closely. It was Lucy holding who he presumed was Lucks (whatever her actual name was), but smaller. And red. A tinier and redder version of Lucks. Lucy was smiling as she held her in her arms, and she looked tired. Like how you look when you've run from one end of Magnolia to the other. Twice.

But she was still smiling, and she was smiling at the tiny human. Bickslow looked to the bottom corner of the photo, seeing the orange date that was stamped on it: 21/09/2014. Maybe that was the day she was born? People were supposed to be happy when they have kids, right? And Lucy sure looked happy.

"Hey, look at this," he mumbled as he handed her the photo.

"Is that…?" She looked up at Bickslow before looking down at the photograph in her hands again.

Bickslow nodded. "I think so. But look at the date in the corner."

"2014? How is that even possible…" she murmured. "So that must be her birthday? Do we know the date for today? That way we'll be able to find out how old she actually is."

"I honestly have no idea what day of the week it is half the time, let alone the actual date."

"That's… sad," Lucy sighed as she shook her head, placing the photo on a pile of papers she had already gone through.

Bickslow shrugged as he turned and started heading towards the lounge again "That's what Freed is for—" He was interrupted as there was a knock on the door to the apartment, and they both turned to stare at it before each other. "Who the hell is that?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Lucy hissed as she hid behind him.

Bickslow got to the door, his hand resting on the handle as he peered through the small peephole and out into the hall. The distorted image of a woman with long black hair who looked to be in her late fifties could be seen. He looked over his shoulder to the blonde hiding behind him. "It's an old lady."

Lucy straightened up slightly, blushing as she realised that she was scared of who or what could have been on the other side of the door. "Oh." She cleared her throat. "Open it, then." She figured it might be one of the neighbours or something.

"If you say so…" He pulled the door open slowly, revealing the smiling face of the woman.

"Ah, good morning, Bickslow and Lucy!" The woman looked over the two, noticing the apprehension on their faces. "Oh, you two. Don't look like that! I only came to see if you were done with that dish from the lasagne!"

"Lasagne?" Lucy blinked. "Ah… Yes, of course. I can't remember where I put it, though… You'll have to forgive me," she said sheepishly, looking down at the floor for a moment.

"Not a problem," the other woman said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Do you mind if I come in and search for it?"

Lucy looked to Bickslow who seemed to just be standing motionless in the doorframe, and she didn't think he'd even blinked once since the door had opened. She forced a smile and turned to face the woman again. "Sure, Mrs…?" She blushed, realising that she didn't know her name. "I'm sorry, my memory as of late has been terrible. You know, kid and all…" Lucy stepped aside, pulling Bickslow so the woman could enter the apartment.

The woman laughed as she headed straight for the kitchen. "Not to worry, Lucy. I couldn't even remember my own name half the time when mine were that young. I take it Ingrid has been keeping you up again?"

"Ingrid?" Bickslow finally blinked as he closed the door, watching the woman curiously as she moved to the cupboards below the sink. Who the hell was Ingrid?

"Oh, not you too!" she laughed again. "I keep saying that Mark and I are able to watch her occasionally when you two need to get some rest, and it looks like it's much needed! You two are beginning to worry us, you know." She pulled out a red rectangular dish from the dishwasher that neither of them knew existed. "Ah, here it is!"

Ingrid… "Oh, you mean Lucks?"

The woman rolled her eyes as she looked at the blonde. "Lucy, you're not still letting him call her that, are you?"

Bickslow just about choked on the air he had been breathing. So he did call her Lucks after all! Interesting…

"No, I'm not. He can try, though..." Lucy said, shooting Bickslow a stern look as he made an effort to look at the ceiling. It was at that moment Lucy had a brilliant idea, though. The woman seemed to know about the Lucy and Bickslow of that world, and she seemed to be friends with them (I mean, she was giving them lasagne), so why not get to learn about themselves and the mysterious woman in the kitchen at the same time? "Would you like to stay for tea or something?"

It was Bickslow's turn to look at Lucy, giving her a look as if to say 'what are you doing?' but it went unnoticed. She was planning something and he knew it.

The woman's eyes lit up. "Oh, that would be lovely! We haven't had a chance to do that for a while!" She placed the dish on the counter next to the sink. "Do you mind if I go see Ingrid for a second? That little face of hers is such a delight to see."

"She's asleep right n—" Bickslow had started, but as if on cue the tiny human started crying, leaving Bickslow to drop his head in defeat.

Lucy headed towards the nursery but the black-haired woman jumped in her path quickly. "Please, you look exhausted. Let me get her, Lucy," Another bright smile and the woman headed off into Ingrid's room, leaving both Bickslow and Lucy dumbfounded in the living area.

As Lucy began to get mugs from one cabinet, Bickslow only leaned on the counter next to her and asked in a hushed tone, "Alright, what are you up to?"

Lucy shrugged. "She seems to know the us of this world, so maybe we can find out more about it? And besides, we now know that her name is Ingrid, so you can stop calling her Lucks."

They all sat on the lounge a little while later. Lucy was pretending to understand what the woman whose name she had yet to find out was talking about, while Bickslow sat on the floor with his back against the lounge. He had apparently been tasked with watching Ingrid – he really did prefer Lucks – while she played with a small stuffed rabbit. He watched while she made the weird noises that babies do, trying to figure out how repeatedly hitting a stuffed rabbit on the floor – when she managed to pick it up for a second – or pushing it around could be entertaining. Babies are weird.

Lucy looked down at Ingrid for a moment before she turned back to the woman next to her. "I feel incredibly stupid and embarrassed about this, but your name appears to have slipped my mind today…" She blushed as she lowered her head, looking down into the almost empty mug in her hand.

The woman laughed. "Lack of sleep really does a number on you, huh? And I prefer Claire, dear. Remember?"

"Right… Claire. Of course. I'm so sorry about that…" Lucy mumbled.

"Anyway, I hope you two managed to get some quiet time at some point yesterday, unless that's why you were up all night."

Lucy looked up just in time to see Claire wink with a sly grin on her face. "Huh?" What is she talking about?

"Oh, come on. You're young, and it was Valentine's Day. I was young too… Once."

Bickslow actually choked on the air that time, only deciding to stare out the window until he regained his composure. Valentine's Day. Quiet time. Sex with Cosplayer. Damn it, Bicks. The one time you shouldn't be thinking of sex with Cosplayer. Well… at least this world's Bicks managed to get with her. Wait… I've become this world's Bicks. Oh god. Stop thinking already.

"Oh…" was all Lucy managed to get out. She didn't want to think about what Claire had just insinuated. Not at all. The only good thing that had come out of that was the date, so they at least knew a little about the tiny human on the floor.

"Changing subject, please…" Bickslow muttered as he turned to watch Ingrid.

"Not like you to get shy and embarrassed, Bickslow."

"Yeah, well..."

"Anyway," Claire turned to face Lucy again as she placed her empty cup on the coffee table. "We're having a few people over for dinner next Friday so I thought I'd invite you over if you're not busy."

Suddenly, the loud ring of a phone from down the hall was heard. Both Bickslow and Lucy turned to face the hall as they both wondered what it was. The blonde turned back around, not realising what to do about the sound, and she shrugged and forced a smile as she said, "Uh, yeah. Maybe. I'll let you know if we can make it."

"Fair enough." Claire turned to Bickslow with an eyebrow raised. "You know you can go and answer it, right?"

"Huh?" Bickslow turned. Answer it? What is she talking about?

"The phone…"

"Phone?"

"Oh my gosh, are you okay, Bickslow?" Claire laughed quietly. The two were definitely being odd that day. "Someone's phone is ringing down the hall. It's okay."

"Oh… Right." He got up and made his way down the hall quickly, realising the sound was coming from the bedroom. Phone? What the hell is a phone?!

Claire turned to face the blonde once again once Bickslow was no longer visible in the hall. "Are you doing okay, Lucy? You two seem almost like different people today."

Lucy sighed when she saw the genuine concern on the woman's face. She was obviously a friend in this world. Lucy didn't know how to answer the question, though. It wasn't like you could just say, 'oh, you know, we're not actually the same people. We're actually the Lucy and Bickslow of a completely different world.'

"Yeah, sorry. Just a little tired, I guess," she answered instead. It wasn't exactly far from the truth, because she was tired. She had no idea how long she had slept for, and she hadn't really managed to get back to sleep after the early morning wake-up call.

Bickslow walked into the bedroom since that was where the sound was coming from. He walked over to the nightstand and spotted the small rectangular object that was vibrating on the table whilst flashing. He picked it up carefully and looked at the lit-up screen. There was a picture of a lightning bolt with the words 'Boss Man' under it, and then a green rectangle with 'Accept' and red with 'Decline'.

Boss Man? Lightning bolt? Fuck it, I'll press the green one.

Bickslow pressed the green button on the screen, but he didn't know what to do with it so he continued staring at it. The screen had changed, showing a timer and a few other buttons with 'Speaker' and 'Mute'.

He heard a familiar voice coming from the object after a moment. "Bicks?"

"Huh? Laxus?" Bickslow stared down at the black object in his hand.

"Put the fucking phone to your ear, you moron," He shouted, making Bickslow flinch slightly. Yup, definitely Laxus.

Bickslow moved the phone to his ear. "Laxus?" he said again.

"Yeah. I'm guessing you're just as confused about this as everyone else is. Where are you now?"

"Everyone else? And I have no idea where I am. All I can see are these giant buildings if I look out a window." Bickslow moved to the large window in the bedroom.

"Right. Anyway, can you see a sign that says 'M. Banking' anywhere?"

"Uh…" Bickslow looked at all of the buildings. There were a few with billboards or signs on the top of them, and there were a few that he couldn't see the top of. "Hang on," he mumbled as he walked out of the room and headed towards the lounge room again. Ignoring the look that Lucy was giving him, he moved over towards the windows in the room. It was mostly the same as the other room, but he could see more towards one side. In the distance, he could just make out the sign he was looking for. "Yeah, I can see it."

"So we're in the same building then. Anyway, we need to talk and figure this whole thing out. Come up to the top floor now."

"Top floor?" Bickslow asked as he walked back towards the bedroom, taking a seat on the bed as he continued to listen.

"We're in an apartment building, you moron. These ones are just a lot bigger. There's a lift in the hall. Just go to it and go to the top floor, okay?" There was a beep as Laxus hung up, leaving Bickslow slightly confused as he moved the phone from his ear and stared at the screen that had the time and a picture of Ingrid.

"Yes, boss…" he muttered under his breath as he stood up, placing the phone in his back pocket and remembering just how uncomfortable the jeans were – he questioned why he would wear jeans so tight, and there seemed to be about twenty different pairs in the drawers with the rest of his clothes. He had honestly been a little disappointed at the clothing choices. If he could, he would have gone with what he usually wore, but of course that was nowhere to be found.

He was about to walk out the door to the apartment when Lucy looked up from where she sat on the floor next to Ingrid. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"To talk to Laxus."

"Wait, our Laxus?" She raised an eyebrow.

"The real Laxus, so yes."

"Is that who was on the… phone?" Bickslow nodded "Hold on, I want to go too, especially if it's about this," she said. Lucy stood up then leaned down to pick up Ingrid, holding her against her chest as she looked over Lucy's shoulder, seemingly interested in the new view.

"O-kay…" He opened the door before he turned to face Lucy again. "Well, he said to go to the top floor once you get in the lift, so I'll see you there, I suppose."

Lucy rolled her eyes as Claire stood up and made her way over to the door after Bickslow had already left. "I guess that's my cue to leave!" she smiled.

"Sorry about that." Lucy spied the keys that were sitting on a small table next to the door and picked them up, hoping that the key to the door would be one of the many keys there. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

Lucy pulled the door closed behind her, holding Ingrid tight with one arm while she fiddled with the keys in the door until she found the right one. Hearing the 'click' as it locked, she turned to face the smiling woman. "It's probably going to be a weird question, but…" She bit her lip before continuing, "What exactly do you know about us? I mean like… Bickslow and I, and Ingrid, I guess."

Claire looked down at the rectangular dish in her hands as they both made their way over to her own apartment which was just across the hall. "Certainly is a weird question…"

"Sorry… It's a bit of an interesting situation right now, and it's hard to explain. You don't have to answer if you don't want to. But just, say you were trying to describe us to someone who didn't know us, I guess, if that helps."

"No, it's fine." Claire paused as she considered the question. "Well, I guess I don't know everything about the two of you. If my memory serves me correct, you moved in just after you got married which was nearly two years ago now, I think. You told me how you two first met and how he proposed, and oh, it was so sweet. Then Ingrid came along last year… Anyway, you have somewhere to be so I shall not keep you waiting any longer!" The woman pushed open the door to her apartment as she smiled once again at the blonde. "Bye-bye, Ingrid!" She waved as the door closed behind her, leaving Lucy standing in the hall.

"Right…" Lucy mumbled as she looked up and down the hall. Bickslow was gone, but she could see a sign pointing to the lift. so she headed towards that. Bickslow, sweet? Yeah, right. Maybe in this world. The Lucy of this world would have to be insane to marry that idiot anyway.

A/Ns: To Kurahieiritr JIO, let's just say the 'other' Bickslow and Lucy are freaking out. I haven't planned to do a chapter/any parts with them, but we'll see how it goes, I guess. It could be interesting. They'll be mentioned in later chapters for sure, though. (Edit for the updated chapter: there will be a side-story at some point that does focus on the 'other' BixLu.)