Bickslow stopped midway through the act of unlocking his front door to look back at Lucy with an expression that had her asking, "What's wrong?"
"Uh," he started and then looked at the door one more time before looking back at her to finish saying, "just wait out here for a minute."
"Why?" She insisted, suddenly confused and a little suspicious. She had noticed he'd become increasingly quiet as they neared his house and was now visibly nervous. When he didn't answer immediately, Lucy raised a brow and put her hands on her hips impatiently. "Well, what's the problem?" She demanded and then added sarcastically, "Did you have a party and forget to clean up the mess?"
He let out a puff of air before muttering, "Not exactly, but you're not far from it."
"Bixy," she sighed as she dropped her arms back to her sides. "I don't care if your house is messy. Can we just go inside? I'd rather not spend the rest of the afternoon on your doorstep."
"Alright," he said reluctantly, the unspoken warning clear in his tone.
Lucy wasn't sure what she had been expecting since she knew Bickslow wasn't a messy person, maybe just some scattered laundry or a bit of trash. What she actually found left her speechless.
The smell of stale beer hit her before her mind had a chance to process exactly what she was seeing. It didn't take long to locate the source of the smell since it was mostly confined to one area, the coffee table directly in front of his sofa. More bottles than she could count at a quick glace covered the surface, leading her to wonder if he'd done anything other than drink in the last forty-eight hours. A few of the bottles were knocked over, their contents spilled across the tabletop in varying stages of dryness.
It was a good thing her physical state had improved while being in Bickslow's company because if she had still been feeling extremely fatigued, she might've simply collapsed in shock. The fact that Bickslow was fully functional after going on a binge that would make Cana proud was as impressive as it was concerning.
Lucy looked over to see him nervously chewing a thumbnail as he stared at the same mess she had been staring at, his visor flipped up so she could easily see the faint glow coming from his eyes. He quickly dropped the thumb away from his mouth when he realized she was watching him, clenching the hand into a tight fist at his side with enough force to turn his knuckles white. His unusual silence as they walked toward his home now made sense. She assumed he had been trying to devise a plan to get rid of all this before she saw it.
The stunned silence was finally broken when Bickslow said, "Just give me a sec," as his babies zipped off toward the kitchen, presumably in search of a trash bag.
"I guess you couldn't sleep?" She asked as she watched him remove his helmet to hang it next to the door before walking toward the evidence of how he'd passed the time since she'd last been there. Well, now she knew what he'd been doing while she'd been wallowing in self-pity and out on a job with Natsu, but the discovery didn't provide any satisfaction. If anything, knowing he'd been home alone washing away his worries left her feeling guilty all over again. She had known he used to struggle with drinking too heavily in an attempt to quiet the memories that haunted him. She'd witnessed his triumph at finally kicking the habit and feeling like he'd accomplished a goal of sorts. Now, not only had he reverted back to that state of alcohol-induced numbness, but he'd also started chewing his fingernails again – another anxiety-driven habit he'd been proud of leaving behind.
"Not really." His answer pulled Lucy's racing thoughts back to the present, not that it was much of an improvement over the epiphany she'd just experienced. Knowing her actions had thrown his emotional growth back several years' progress tightened the knot of guilt in her chest. Their memory swap had been much harder on him, uncovering many things he intentionally left untouched and forgotten, and she'd left him all alone to deal with the fallout of reliving those tragic moments in the only way he knew how.
The totems returned with a trash bag slung over three of them. As Bickslow shook it open, Lucy joined him in eyeing the mess on the table and then said, "I'll get a wet towel to clean up the sticky stuff."
"You don't have to," he said, still not looking at her. She could practically feel his embarrassment wafting off him, which she knew she would be feeling if their roles were reversed. Looking at his hands, she noticed she had been right in assuming he'd bitten off all his nails. Reaching for one of his hands, she held it in both of hers, running her thumbs across the blunt tips of his fingernails before looking up to find him watching her. "I know but I'm going to."
She stepped forward to wrap her arms around him, sensing how badly he needed the physical embrace. He let go of the trash bag to tightly return the hug, letting his head fall to rest against the top of hers as he said quietly, "I'm glad you came back."
Lucy could feel the way their souls entwined much more clearly than she had before, which she thought might've been because they'd spent so much time apart. As the seconds ticked by while they held onto each other, she could feel more of him, almost like an echo of the pain he'd felt when she left and didn't come back, the way he'd felt rejected by her in much the same way nearly everyone else in his life had rejected him. His quick spiral into old habits made more sense now that she could truly feel how completely alone he'd felt.
The tight thread of guilt in her pulled taut until she found herself apologizing again, though this time tears she refused to let fall thickened her voice. "I'm so sorry, Bixy. I wasn't trying to hurt you. I just freaked out a little."
"I know," he answered, squeezing her a little tighter. His tone switched to light-hearted as he attempted to avoid bringing further attention to his emotional turmoil. "It's been a weird week."
Lucy snorted as she agreed, "It really has." She relaxed her grip on him enough to look up, noticing for the first time exactly how tired he appeared. His red eyes that she usually found so pretty were accentuated by dark and heavy shadows as if he hadn't slept for more than a handful of hours in the last two nights. Even his skin looked a bit gray, likely from lack of proper nutrition during that time. She did her best to cover her concern with teasing as she asked, "I'm assuming the only calories you've consumed have been of the liquid variety?"
"Maybe. You offering to feed me, Cosplayer?" His tongue fell from his mouth and his eyebrows danced, making her roll her eyes with a huff before she said, "Yes, but it will be actual food, not that."
"So, maybe for dessert then? It's been a while since I've tasted some cat."
Lucy's head fell back as she laughed at how ridiculous that sounded. Her voice was still full of amusement as she said, "We'll see what happens, but you need to eat first." She wrinkled her nose before adding, "And shower. You smell like a couple of those bottles fell in your lap and all you did was change clothes."
"Have you been spying on me?" He asked with narrowed eyes. "Because if you have, you should've let me know. I would've given you more of a show."
She scoffed but couldn't keep the smile from her lips. Behind their playful words, the rawness left behind by the past two days was still present, like a heavy weight pulling them down. Lucy didn't know how to undo that, especially since that time apart had been what she had needed to clear her head but Bickslow had needed the exact opposite. She couldn't bring herself to regret taking the time she needed to make a conscious decision on what she wanted with Bickslow versus feeling like their shared souls forced a relationship, but she wished her doing so hadn't happened in a way that hurt him so deeply.
They parted to start cleaning up the mess, tossing the bottles into the bag until it was full, and then getting wet towels while the totems took the heavy bag out to the garbage bin. As they were scrubbing at the spills, Bickslow said, "So, Cosplayer."
The tone in his voice had Lucy looking at him skeptically, knowing something ridiculous was going to come from his mouth next. "Yes, Bixyboo?"
He paused in wiping at a sticky spot on the hardwood floor, looking at her with a wide grin that included his tongue hanging from his mouth as he asked, "Did you hug your pillow tight and pretend it was me?"
She laughed as she threw her wet towel at him, but he caught it and threw it back at her. The towel smacked her in the face, making her laugh harder before finally admitting, "I might have. Just a little."
"Knew it," he said, the grin turning smug. "You're hooked on me."
"How could I not be after years of you telling me how great you are?" Lucy looked back at the spot she was scrubbing on the table as she said dismissively, "Honestly, though, I'm still waiting for you to prove it."
His expression took on a new light as he said, "Don't worry, Cosplayer. I'll prove it to you as soon as you let me."
She bit her lip as she smiled at the table, doing her best not to respond with immediate acceptance. It was still too soon, right? Her curiosity had led to her imagining what it would like to accept Bickslow's advances long before they'd ever ended up connected as they were, and now she had very little reason not to accept. Their conversation beneath the bridge had ended with agreeing they wanted a relationship and nothing about what he'd said since then left any room to doubt how serious he was.
A quick glance at him showed he was still looking at her and seemed to know exactly what she was thinking. She knew he was when he said with a hint of challenge, "Whenever you're ready."
Shaking her head and still refusing to speak for fear of what she might say, Lucy just smiled harder at that sticky spot until he went back to cleaning on his side of the table. As they continued scrubbing, the tension in the air dissipated nearly as suddenly as it had built.
Once they were finished and had opened all the windows to air out the room, Lucy said, "I'll cook the salmon we got at the market while you shower since it'll go bad soon. Unless you cooked it already?" She assumed he really hadn't eaten anything in over a day. Forgetting to eat in the middle of a binge was something he'd done in the past when too stressed to remember the importance of food.
His brief shake of the head confirmed it as much as him saying, "Nope. Didn't cook anything."
"Alright," she said, not pressing him for more since she didn't want to make him uncomfortable again. It wasn't really important, anyway. With a wave of her hand to shoo him from the room, she said, "Go get all the stink off while I cook. I can't let you keep touching me if you smell like that."
As he walked toward his bedroom, he said, "I'll keep that in mind for the future. If I smell nice, I get to touch you."
Only four of the totems trailed after him, with one of them seeming to rebel against his control to fly over to Lucy and twirl in front of her. She stuck out her hand, allowing Pipi to land in her palm, and then lifted the totem up to eye level. If she didn't know it was absolutely impossible, she would swear she could almost feel the soul in the totem in much the same way she could feel a connection with her spirits. It was as if she could feel the soul's impatience with being unable to communicate. Dismissing the thought as a moment of insanity, Lucy patted the totem as she said, "Go with Bixy. You can come back when he's ready to let all of you loose."
The totem did as Lucy said, lifting off her palm to follow after Bickslow. She had already suspected he was keeping them quiet but that confirmed it. Obviously, Pipi had wanted to say something to her but Bickslow wouldn't allow it. Lucy wasn't sure how to feel about that. She knew the souls Bickslow kept control of had a deep connection to him, allowing them access to thoughts and feelings he likely wanted to be kept private. She could completely understand wanting mental privacy, but she didn't like what else that meant – he wasn't ready to open up to her again.
That realization stung as much as seeing the physical evidence of how badly he'd been affected by her leaving. She knew his mental stability became fragile when he couldn't force away the worst of his memories, but she hadn't truly understood it until now. No matter how normal he looked and acted in the past few minutes, he still wasn't ok.
She didn't know what she could do about that now, or ever really, so she decided to just do something else that she knew she could accomplish – cooking the salmon.
They had hardly started eating when Bickslow said, "You really need to start telling me you're not feeling great before your soul looks like you're halfway to the afterlife."
Lucy looked up in surprise to find him staring at her with his eyes glowing and a look of exasperation. Defensively, she said, "I just wanted to wait until we had a chance to eat! You need the food and I'll be fine for a few more minutes."
Rolling his eyes at her, he stood up with his plate in hand to move around the table to sit directly next to her, their chairs now close enough that their thighs rested together when he sat down. "You're not inconveniencing me by asking me to sit next to you."
She opened her mouth to respond to that and then shut it when she realized she didn't know what to say. He had perfectly worded exactly how she felt about her dependency on him without her even fully realizing that's what she was feeling. Instead of denying it, she just leaned a little more heavily against his bare arm, glad he had chosen to wear a sleeveless shirt after his shower. "Thanks, Bixy."
A few moments passed in silence as they ate until Lucy finally asked the question that had been burning in her mind. "So, did I do it right?"
Bickslow chuckled before taking another bite of the rice and chewing it with exaggerated thoughtfulness. He hummed before saying, "Almost. Spend a little more time with me in the kitchen and you'll have acceptable culinary skills."
Lucy rasped an irritated-sounding noise in her throat as she shook her head. "I still don't see what was wrong with the instant rice."
"Everything, babe, everything is wrong with the instant rice," he said so seriously that Lucy could only laugh.
When they finished eating, they left their plates next to the sink to be washed later and walked hand-in-hand to Bickslow's bathroom. Since telling her she wasn't inconveniencing him by needing him close by, he had made a point to not stop touching her. It had the benefit of keeping her from feeling overly fatigued while also easing the insecurities that had been plaguing him. He knew she was touching him because she needed to but her obvious lack of hesitancy reassured him that she truly did want to be next to him.
They stood in front of the mirror in the same position they had been the last time they exchanged magic, with Lucy standing directly in front of Bickslow and their hands clasped together. With a bright smile, she looked at his reflection to say, "I'm kind of excited about this."
"You are?"
"Yeah. Your magic feels so different than mine. You don't think so?"
He shrugged with his mouth as much as his shoulders before saying, "I guess so, but I didn't think you'd be excited about doing this again."
"Of course I am! I'll get to see both our souls." She didn't miss the surprise he tried to hide before covering it by saying, "I'm not the type of man to deny a lady what she wants, so let's do it."
Lucy felt Bickslow's magic meet her palm much more quickly than before, which she assumed meant he was adjusting to using his magic in this way. As he drew her magic into himself, she did the same with his, feeling it course through the inner pathways to her magical core just as it had before. She sent some of the magic to her eyes as soon as she was able, willing them to give her the ability to see their souls.
The blending glow of gold and green filled her vision, making her lips curl slightly in excitement. A glance at Bickslow's reflection showed her he was also watching their souls, though he had a slight furrow between his brows. Again looking at their souls, Lucy stared in search of what he might be seeing as they continued to cycle their magic between their joined hands.
She watched the colors dance together as they had before, blending and separating as the edges of her soul became more solid. Something about the green didn't look quite the same. It was a bit dull in places, tinged with a hue of gray. Focusing on that difference, she looked at the gold of her own soul, seeing that the faint gray wasn't only affecting Bickslow's soul. There was something odd about the way it looked in her soul, though, as if the gray hadn't originated there – which she wasn't entirely certain made sense.
"What is that?" She asked without looking away from the anomaly.
He didn't answer immediately, staring intently before explaining, "Strong emotions can affect the way a soul looks. Emotions take on a color."
A noise of understanding left Lucy as she continued staring at their souls. It came as no surprise to learn the emotional whiplash of the last week had left its mark on both of them. Though, she suspected the gray discoloration was actually rooted in Bickslow and not in her, especially since it became noticeable after he had a deep inner struggle. Their time apart had been emotionally draining for her but she hadn't suffered in the same way he had. If she were correct, that meant his soul's brokenness had seeped into hers, which was alarming in more ways than she could even list off the top of her head. It also made her wonder if the discoloration had always been present in his soul but she hadn't noticed it until now that it was more prominent. She pulled her eyes away from the sight to look at Bickslow's face as she asked, "How do we fix it?"
"I have no idea," he admitted. He was quiet as he considered what to say next, but he knew Lucy's mind was too quick not to figure out the situation. Instead of trying to evade the truth, he decided to admit, "Time will help, it always does when my soul gets this way, but I don't know how to stop the taint of my soul from entering yours."
Lucy chewed her lip as she thought about his words, leaning back further into his chest and wrapping their joined arms around her waist. The drain on her soul had already stopped but she didn't want to end their connection, feeling as reluctant to sever the connection as she had the last time they'd done this. He called the discoloration a taint but Lucy didn't think that was exactly right. His phrasing sounded more like the description of something deadly and contagious instead of emotional wounds. She believed he could heal from those wounds, which would eliminate the need to figure out how to stop the grayness from entering her soul. Eventually, she said, "We'll figure it out."
He hummed and rested his chin against her hair with his eyes closed. A heavy breath left him as he relaxed into the feeling created by exchanging their magic. It was the most wholesome feeling he'd ever experienced and he wanted to absorb as much of it as he could before it ended. Without opening his eyes, he said, "I can feel your spirits more clearly this time. I almost feel like I could talk to Loke if I tried."
"You two caused a lot of trouble together." Her words made him smile, both of them thinking of all the memories Bickslow had from when he and Loke were friends while Loke was a full-time member of the guild. Lucy said, "I feel the same way about your babies. I thought I was imagining things but I'm starting to believe I can actually feel a connection with them."
"That's not good," he said mostly to himself and then added, "Soon, they'll be abandoning me to follow you around instead."
Lucy huffed a laugh as she said, "I doubt it. I think they're insulted you even said that." She was only partially joking. There had been a flare of irritation somewhere in the vicinity of what she felt was his link to the souls. That was as unsettling as thinking about Bickslow being able to call on her Celestial Spirits. She asked, "What do you think is happening to us?"
"Dunno. Remember, you're the one with the ideas and I'm just along for the ride."
She snorted at the innuendo, wondering if he'd ever tire of his own joke. Instead of responding to that, she answered her own question. "I think exchanging magic like this is doing more than just healing my soul. I think it's merging our magics, or maybe changing the magic we have? As if doing what we're doing now, mingling our magic together, is influencing some sort of change." She paused before continuing, finding him watching her again. "Do you think we should stop doing this?"
"If we do, you might die," he said seriously.
"I know," she admitted, lips pursing as her mind raced with what this could mean for both their futures as mages. Her shoulders sagged as she sighed, deciding she would need to talk to Freed and Levy again. "I feel better now so we should probably stop before anything weird happens."
"Fine," he whined, sounding as if someone had just taken away his favorite toy. They cut off the flow of their magic at nearly the same moment but neither of them moved to separate. Bickslow closed his eyes again, feeling the strain of two sleepless nights. Even without their magic circulating between them, being close to Lucy and having her body tucked against his felt amazing. She was so small and soft, but in all the right ways. Her tiny waist felt perfect within the circle of his arms, as did the way her full ass pressed against him. If she would just stop holding out, he could do so many things to her curvy body that would have her begging for more.
His increasingly sexual thoughts were cut off by Lucy saying, "You doing anything tomorrow? We could go to Crocus to get you a new cosmetic charm. That one is almost completely worn out."
A glance in the mirror proved her words to be correct; the lines tracing his eyes that ended in a swirl were hardly visible. "Sure. We can go tomorrow. I need to take you on a proper first date, so we can do that while we're there."
"A date?" She asked happily, her bright smile making him glad he'd made the suggestion. When he nodded, she said, "Sounds perfect."
Lucy released his hands to turn around to face him, wrapping her arms around him as he did the same to her. "So, this is really a thing?" She asked, the happiness she felt at the idea shining in her eyes.
"Yep." He pulled her a bit closer, pressing their bodies fully together in a clear invitation for her to make the next move. She went along with the movement, allowing herself to mold fully against him as she slid her hands up across his chest to wrap her arms around his neck, drawing a smirk from him as he said, "I doubt this will be the epic love story you fantasized about when you were younger," her laughter at the memories of her younger self's fantasies made his grin widen, "but I can promise you'll really enjoy it."
"There you go again with your innuendos. I can guess what you've been thinking about," she said as she rolled her eyes. "Anyone who talks this much about his bedroom game is either really terrible or absolutely amazing. At this point, I'm still not sure I believe your claims of greatness."
He leaned down nearly close enough to kiss her, stopping just before her lips to say, "Let me make you a believer."
She stretched to press her lips to his, feeling electrified as she had when they'd kissed before. Their souls spun together happily, the very essence of their beings excited at the prospect of a full union between them. Bickslow didn't waste time in slipping his hands beneath her shirt to trace up her sides to tease across the outer swell of her breasts before sliding back down to grip her hips over her shorts, pulling her tightly against him. He slowed the tangle of their tongues, pulling away from her lips just enough to whisper, "Yes?"
"Yes," Lucy breathed the answer, giving it to the desire she'd felt for him since long before they'd ever reached this point, a desire she'd hardly been able to deny so many times. She released her hold around his neck to grip the bottom of her shirt, stripping it off over her head with enough impatience to make Bickslow laugh softly before saying, "Slow down. Let me enjoy this moment. Finally getting to take your clothes off is a dream come true."
"Sorry to ruin your fun," she teased, lifting the shirt to ask, "Want me to put it back on?"
His eyes were glued to the way her cleavage spilled out of the bra she wore as he said, "No. Covering these would be a tragedy." He lifted one hand to trace along her breasts before saying with a tilt of his head, "Let's go in there."
Lucy kept a hold on one of his hands as she followed him over to his bed where he sat on the edge and pulled her to stand between his knees. His hands slid up her thighs to cup her ass in his hands as he leaned forward to lick up the line of her cleavage. She bit her lip and closed her eyes as she enjoyed the way he started sucking roughing on one breast and then the other while his fingers traced slowly up her back until they reached the clasp of her bra. The garment fell away as he pulled it down her arms and dropped it to the floor, his hands replacing it in cupping the weight of both breasts in his hands. As his thumbs moved to swirl around the bud of her nipple, he said in an awed tone, "I knew they would defy gravity."
A huff of laughter escaped Lucy, the sound quickly becoming a moan when Bickslow's mouth took the place of one of his hands. His tongue laved across the tender tip before his teeth pinched it lightly, making Lucy gasp in surprise before saying, "Yes, Bixy, do that again."
He switched to the other nipple to do as she wanted while pulling against the back of her thighs until she lifted them up to straddle his hips with her knees against the mattress. She panted as he continued teasing her with his mouth, grinding against his growing hardness as she gripped his hair between her fingers. Pulling his mouth away, she leaned down to capture it with her own, pressing her weight against him until he complied and fell back against the bed. Supporting her weight with one hand, Lucy used the other to trace along his chest and abdomen as she pulled his lower lip into her mouth, sucking it gently before releasing it to kiss along his neck.
It was Bickslow's turn to groan in pleasure at having her mouth on his skin while he cupped her raised ass in his hands. "Take these off," he insisted while tugging at the clasp of her shorts. She complied wordlessly, leaning upright to fully undo the clasp and zipper, allowing Bickslow to slide the shorts down her thighs until she kicked them off and returned to straddling his hips. He put his hands against her thighs to halt her movement, taking in the sight of her dressed in only a thong as she knelt over him, her blonde hair cascading over her shoulders as she stared at him with enough desire in her eyes to put all his fantasies to shame.
"Damn," he whispered, making her smile as he traced his hands as far as they could reach. She bent at the waist to lean over him again as she said, "My turn."
Lucy slid his shirt up, her mouth following its progress until she was pulling it free of his arms. Her lips found his again as he lay back against the mattress. She felt along the defined muscles of his arms and then his chest, reaching down between their bodies to caress the ridges of his abdomen until finding the hardness beyond it. Her fingers wrapped around his length as best she could over the material separating them, giving it an experimental squeeze that had him groaning into her mouth. He thrust against her hand before breaking their kiss to say, "I want to taste you first."
"I was thinking the same thing," she answered with a tilt of her lips, the warm brown of her eyes inviting him in as much as her soul dancing through him.
He shifted their weight until their positions were reversed, rocking his hips against hers, feeling the warmth of her center against his hardness even through the clothing separating them. The inviting heat tested his patience and made him want to throw aside his plans to get straight to sliding inside what he knew would be the best pussy he'd ever found, but he forced himself to wait as he kissed along her body until reaching the apex of her thighs. He pressed his lips to the lace covering the sensitive area, make her inhale sharply as he pulled down the thin, elastic bands holding the panties in place until Lucy was fully bare before him. She didn't show a hint of shyness when he looked up to find her watching him, the blanket fisted in her hands in anticipation. Her voice was hardly more than a moan as spread her knees more fully as she said, "Please, Bixy, don't make wait."
His long tongue fell from his mouth to lick from her entrance up to her clit as he kept his eyes locked on hers, seeing the way they glazed over at the shock of pleasure shooting through her body. Her head fell back when he sucked the sensitive bundle between his lips, flicking it lightly with his tongue in a way that had Lucy crying out in a tone that almost sounded pained. Bickslow watched the way her back arched as he moved to teasing along her entrance, her breasts seeming to reach for stimulation. He reached one hand up to squeeze one of the perfectly full mounds, kneading it in his hands as he shifted his body enough to be able to continue the action while leaning against his other arm and slipping two of those fingers inside of her.
The added stimulation had Lucy moaning loudly as she ground against his fingers while his mouth continued teasing her clit. It felt so overwhelmingly amazing that she could hardly remember how to breathe, gasping for air as his hand moved to work her other breast. She lifted her head to look down at him again, finding him watching her. A grin similar to the one he usually wore split his lips as his tongue stretched to continue flicking at her sensitive bundle. She made a high-pitched sound as she watched, knowing she wouldd never be able to look at that smile without remembering this moment. His fingers curled more purposefully inside her, making her rock her hips again as she panted, "I'm so close. Don't stop."
He pressed his tongue against her more forcefully, moving it in a circular pattern to match the ones his fingers made inside her. With one more pinching roll of her nipple, he heard the beautiful sound of Lucy crying out in climax as her inner muscles clamped down on his fingers. He pulled them free to replace them with his tongue, enjoying the tangy-sweet taste of her orgasm as she ground against his face while he watced the vibrancy of her soul in the heights of pleasure.
As soon as her body sagged under the weight of her release, he moved to slide down his pants and then nestled his hips between hers, rocking his erection against her wetness as she opened her eyes to look up at him. Her hands moved to either side of his face, pulling him down to kiss him deeply, uncaring of the taste of her passion on his tongue and only wanting to be connected with him fully. She could feel the connection of their souls deepening and knew there was something spiritual happening.
Lucy rocked her hips up as she slid her hands down to grasp at his hips, trying to force Bickslow inside of her. Wrapping her legs around his hips, she opened herself up more fully while pulling him against her, Bickslow going along with the motion to slide the tip of his erection inside. Her eyes rolled back and she squeezed them shut as he breached her fully, stretching her inner walls until he was fully seated inside her. "Fuck, babe," he groaned as he began an easy rhythm, "you're so tight."
He kissed along her neck, sucking gently as he picked up the pace of his movement, adding more force to each thrust to reach more deeply inside her. Lucy's hands felt along every part of him that she could reach, memorizing the way his toned physique felt against her hands as he used it to bright pleasure to both of them.
When his mouth left her neck, Lucy opened her eyes to see him watching her with his gaze glowing, prompting her to say, "I wish I could see it."
He slowed his pace a bit as he said, "Maybe you can. Want to try?"
She nodded and Bickslow shifted his weight to lean on his elbows, clasping her hands in his just above her head. He rocked slowly into her as he gently kissed her lips again, trying to focus on directing his magic to do what he wanted it to while he was distracted by the perfection of her body. Once he felt the flow of his magic leave his body, he pulled on the magic she already had waiting for him and was overwhelmed by the sensation.
With their magic, bodies, and souls merged, it felt like they were truly two parts of the same being, as if they were the embodiment of the idea they'd read about two souls being halves of one whole. He forgot how to breathe, how to think, with the only things he seemed capable of doing were circulating his magic with Lucy's and continuing to slowly thrust into her.
Lucy's eyes were locked with his as they started glowing green and she smiled happily at him, the sight of it touching something lonely and cold within him. He didn't look away as he pressed his forehead to hers, feeling and understanding for the first time what it was like to be whole. When his pace faltered, she placed her feet against the bed for leverage to move her hips with him, matching his pace as their bodies rocked together in their shared pleasure.
When Bickslow leaned up on his elbows, they both glanced down at the other's soul, finding they each seemed to have a more balanced amount of gold and green within them. Lucy wanted to ask what it meant but the question was hardly cohesive in her mind and couldn't make its way out of her mouth. Instead, she relaxed the hold on her magic to allow the flow between them to cease and her sight reverted back normal.
She kissed Bickslow again then, trying to pour everything she felt into him through the kiss, wanting to reach every sad part of him and heal it with the growing love she couldn't seem to control. The way he returned the kiss hungrily, she thought maybe he understood on some level and accepted everything she was giving him.
Bickslow shifted one of his knees to adjust his angle, focusing again on the simple joy of sex and doing his best to find the perfect balance to send Lucy over the edge again. He hooked an elbow beneath one of her knees, happy to find her flexible enough that her knee nearly reached her shoulder. Thrusting roughly into her, he circled her clit with the thumb of his free hand, making her moan as her eyes squeezed shut and her brow furrowed from the intensity of her pleasure. Her hands moved along his arms again, feeling the hardness of his muscles beneath her hands as she held onto him. Just as before, she begged him to give her release, giving him all sorts of ideas for denial-based fun in the future. "Please, Bixy, I'm about to cum."
With only a couple more thrusts, her inner muscles squeezed his member, making him close his own eyes at the feeling. Her wetness increased, making her slick heat feel unbelievably welcoming as he continued pumping into her. He was again gifted with the sound of her moaning with abandon as her orgasm rocked through her, her breasts bouncing with each of his continued thrusts while her fingertips dug into his shoulders.
As soon as she relaxed, he pulled out of her to switch positions, sliding into her in one swift movement as soon as he was behind her. He gripped the full globes of her ass, slapping one cheek with just enough sting to make her gasp. The position made it easier to for him to quicken his pace, thrusting roughly enough into her that Lucy bit the pillow as she groaned. It was only slightly painful, the dull aching adding to the intensity building again inside her. A fleeting thought crossed her mind, that Bickslow must've put a lot of thought into combing through her memories to figure out exactly what she liked because, so far, he'd only done exactly those things. When he reached around her to circle her clit, she stopped thinking entirely.
Bickslow could feel the tension in Lucy's body and the way her core tightened around him as if she were nearing another orgasm. Instead of immediately pushing her over that edge, he put a hand against her chest to lift her back against him, pulling her up to straddle his hips as he continued thrusting into her from behind. He thought she would enjoy this, and he was right. She swirled her hips against him, grinding her clit against his fingers as she reached back to pull his head forward, urging him to kiss along her neck while his other hand continued working her breasts. Stimulation in so many places had her head falling back against his shoulder as she cried out, the coil within in her releasing to send her to an unmatched height. She moaned loudly, the rhythm of her hips failing as she gripped his hair almost painfully while she rode out the cresting wave of pleasure.
Before she'd even fully finished, Bickslow urged her to lean forward again as he grabbed her hips to brutally thrust into her, unable to continue denying himself. The way she fluttered around him as she moaned, "Yes, Bixy, I want to feel you cum in me," broke the last of his restraint as he pumped vigorously into her until he reached the edge. His balls tightened as his erection became impossibly hard, shooting his release deep inside her as he rocked his hips erratically. A groan he only now realized was coming from him ended as he sagged beneath the weight of bliss.
Lucy moved forward enough for Bickslow to slip free of her and then she rolled onto her side, allowing Bickslow to slump forward into the pillows. He was breathing heavily as they came together without thought, their limbs tangling until their bodies were as closely entwined as their souls.
"Well, it's official," Lucy said, her voice making his eyes crack open as he replayed the words in his head. He made an inquisitive noise, so she elaborated with a smirk, "You made me a believer."
He chuckled as he hugged her a bit tighter while saying, "That was just a preview."