Had a pretty rough week so I wanted to work on something different, and I've been really wanting to work on this AU lately so here we are. I can't believe the last part of this AU came out in 2016. Anyway, I hope you enjoy. This particular chapter takes place pretty shortly after the last one, The Adopted Child, i.e where Bickslow befriends a bat. I'll have the complete story timeline at the end for convenience sake.

Chace had only been six months old the first time they'd talked about having another baby.

Bickslow had taken his first overnight job since their son had been born. Bickslow had hated leaving more than Lucy had—she'd wanted the bed to herself for a night—but the job had only been a few towns over and Laxus had practically all but dragged him out of the apartment come time to leave in the morning. Lucy had been all to happy to lock the door behind them, too.

Lucy had enjoyed the alone time with Chace. She hadn't even gone to the guild that day. She'd just been catching up on all the baby cuddles and overdue laundry and there hadn't been a single thing wrong. But then the night had come. And Chace's bedtime had come. And Chace had decided that he just wasn't going to sleep that night; that he would just cry, and then cry some more, much to the displeasure of all the other residents of the building, Gajeel included.

At one point, Lucy had thought that maybe Bickslow was the favourite parent. Because, sure, she had the boobs and food and the softest cuddles ever, but… Even Lucy had to admit that Bickslow made bath time look fun. And reading time. And, well, most of what he did with their son, actually. Lucy had accepted the fact that she wasn't necessarily going to the fun parent though. She'd realised that it was a lost cause when they'd figured out that sometimes, the only thing to get Chace to stop crying was to have him watch Bickslow yell at the babies when they were being jealous little lost souls.

But after a while, Lucy had just thought that maybe Chace just really missed his dad. Nothing else had seemed to make him happy again, and Lucy had tried everything she could think of. Even Gajeel, at four o'clock in the morning, having had no chance of sleeping when his neighbours had the demon child from hell, had tried his best to get Chace to stop crying.

Nothing had worked. And no matter what Lucy did, she just hadn't been able to get Chace to stop crying for more than a few minutes at a time. Not until he'd just tired himself out so much that he eventually went to sleep early in the morning.

But it was when Bickslow came home that afternoon, finding Gajeel on his couch and watching Chace play on the mat, and then Lucy curled into a ball on their bed, that they'd first talked about whether they'd have another baby.

Because after that hellish night (one Lucy did, in fact, later realise the cause for), Lucy hadn't been sure she wanted to go through that again. Chace had been a nightmare from the moment he'd been born, and as loved as he was, the kid had nearly broken her in one night.

So Lucy had proposed that maybe they don't have another baby at some point down the track. Maybe they just have Chace and have their perfect, albeit chaotic little family. And Bickslow had agreed.

But it was when Chace was two that they talked about it again. Because as much of a handful Chace was, Lucy hadn't been able to help but start to look back on all those firsts she'd been to see and remember how much she'd loved them. So she'd brought up the topic again then, over breakfast one morning as Bickslow had been getting Chace's food ready.

There'd been no suggestion that time—no telling Bickslow that she probably did want to have another kid at some point. It had merely been a question. Because they'd already both agreed that there wouldn't be another, and it had been so long since then that Lucy hadn't know if Bickslow still felt the same.

So she'd asked him, over the slices of apple and banana and burnt bits of toast, if he still thought that their family was perfect the way it was.

And Bickslow just hadn't been sure at that point.

But it was when Chace was nearly four, that Bickslow decided he wanted to revisit that fated conversation once more.

It had been a month since they'd released Georgia the bat back into the wild, and Bickslow still couldn't help but visit the tall trees by the cave every now and then to see if he could maybe spot his beloved sky puppy. He knew better, of course, but a part of him still hoped that he'd look up one evening and see his favourite leathery-winged-friend hanging from a branch and maybe waiting for him.

It was morning, though. Chace was still asleep and it was quiet and Bickslow didn't want to do much else other than just lay there silently, enjoying the comfort and serenity of home until he actually had to get out of bed.

Lucy pressed a kiss to his cheek before curling around him, and Bickslow smiled softly, keeping his eyes closed still. "Good morning," she murmured. "The big three-oh today. Happy birthday, baby."

"Mm-hmm. Thanks, Cosplayer."

"Did you want to do anything special?" Lucy asked. She sat up on an elbow slightly, rubbing small circles on his chest with her other hand still. "We could take Chace to the park, have a picnic or something."

Bickslow liked the park. "That sounds perfect," he mumbled. He breathed slow and deep, just enough that he was sure he'd fall back asleep if he was even capable of sleeping late those days. His wife's touch and soothing voice kept him awake, though.

"Chace will be up soon. Do you want something to eat?"

"No…" Bickslow sighed, only moving to stretch out his toes and his arms above his head. "I want a baby," he mumbled. Maybe he was still a little too asleep.

"A baby?" Lucy laughed, a gentle sound to his ears. "You can't eat a baby, Bicks." Or maybe he could. But she'd be deeply disturbed if he did. Unless, that was just his weird way of asking he wanted a super weird baby-shaped birthday cake or something—at which, Lucy would still be disturbed by if it was the case.

"No, not food."

It took Lucy a moment to click, but then it did. Her hand stopped moving in the small circles on her husband's chest and her smile quickly faded. "Oh."

He hadn't meant to bring it up right then. Soon, maybe even later that day, but not first thing in the morning. But caring for the bat the last year had made him miss how much he'd loved Chace when he'd been little.

When they'd gotten married the first time, and even when he'd found out Lucy was pregnant with Chace, Bickslow had always pictured their family together as something a little… bigger.

He'd forgotten that at one point, not long after Chace had been born and it had all been so chaotic and horrible, and for a brief moment in time, Bickslow had regretted them having Chace at all—a fact he wouldn't admit to anyone. But it had been years since then, and Bickslow liked to think he was a better dad than he had been back then. He could deal with the chaos.

If Lucy could, at least.

He finally moved, rolling onto his side to face Lucy who could still only stare at him and process the kind of bombshell he'd dropped on her. "It's been a while since we've talked about this."

"Well… We've been busy," Lucy said, although it wasn't an answer she was sure of and the silent question mark at the end didn't go unheard.

"No, we haven't."

"You had Georgia."

Bickslow would give her the point for that one. Looking after a bat probably did count as busy. "Fine, but I don't anymore. So are we going to talk about this?" Because Bickslow wanted to talk about it then. Even if he got completely shut down, it was still better than not having that conversation at all.

But it was Lucy's turn to be unsure. It had been hard to think about whether or not another kid was something she wanted when she'd had to deal with a bat flying around the apart every damn day for a year. And then even with Chace getting older, he was still a menace might as well have been a pet tornado, and Lucy's only time to herself those days was when she decided to go and take a job by herself for a night or two.

But Lucy had never minded that. She tried telling herself she had, especially after the last conversation where she'd mostly taken Bickslow's maybe as a no. Another baby would mean another nine months of being host to a parasite that had every chance of being just as much of a nightmare as Chace, if not worse.

Or they could be the most adorable, sweetest baby in the whole world and perfectly fill that second child shaped void in the family picture in her head.

Really, Lucy didn't care which. They were the same to her.

She just didn't want to be let down, and the last thing she wanted was for Bickslow to be the one to realise that Chace really was all they'd needed after she'd already gotten her hopes up.

"No," Lucy said before quickly correcting herself, "I mean, yes, of course. I want to talk about this. Really, I do. I just… I don't think now is the best time, is all."

But Bickslow didn't see that. "Not the best time to talk about it, or not the best time to be pregnant?" he asked. "Because those are two entirely different things." And it wasn't like he'd said anything about wanting another baby right away anyway.

"To talk about it." She needed at least one cup of coffee in her to have that conversation properly.

And if the tiny footsteps just outside were anything to go by, Lucy would wager that the conversation was about to come to a screeching halt anyway.

Chace ran in squeezing his bat plushy. "Mama, I hungry!"

Bickslow tried not to roll his eyes too hard when Lucy gave him just the hint of a proud smirk, knowing full well she'd gotten herself out of the rest of it.

"You're hungry?" Lucy gasped dramatically, clicking her tongue. "Well, we can't have that! I suppose we should go and get you something to eat, huh?"

"Uh-huh."

"But first…" She sat up against the pillows, leaning forward and curling her finger to beckon Chace closer. "Why don't you come up here and—"

Chace wasted no time and bounded up onto the bed, climbing over them both settling into the gap just big enough for a nearly four year old to fit. Bickslow quickly pulled his son into a tight hug, tickling his sides and kissing his head as he squealed and giggled loudly.

"You know, it's Daddy's birthday today," Lucy said. She smiled as she watched them; smiling seemed inevitable whenever she watched them together. "Are you going to say happy birthday?"

"Happy birthday, Daddy!" Chace beamed. "You old now?"

Bickslow tried not to be hurt by his son's innocent question, but it stung, just a little bit. "Why, thank you! And I am old. Can you guess how old I am?"

"Nine?"

"…Close enough." Bickslow shrugged. Not that Chace could count much higher than that, but still, Bickslow would take it.

Lucy stayed for a few more moments before finally pulling herself out of bed, grabbing her dressing gown to wrap it around herself first. Breakfast needed to be made, so she couldn't just sit in bed with her favourite boys all day.

Bickslow couldn't quite help himself though. So when Lucy got up, he didn't miss the chance to quietly get in, "All I'm asking is if you want to have another one day. And we can talk about the rest of that after." Because that was still all Bickslow needed right then. He just wanted to know if it was something he could maybe look forward to.

"I do," Lucy answered.

Lucy just about skipped down the hall after putting Chace to bed. She'd been waiting all day to be able talk to Bickslow properly. At one point, she'd considered telling him her news in the guild, just to watch him freak out, but try not to freak out too obviously and cause people to ask questions, and see what kind of nonsense he could come up with on the spot.

He was in the living room, tiny tins of paint sitting on an old sheet on the coffee table and the babies' wooden forms all laid out next to them and drying. If the floating plushies and toys above his head were anything to go by, Lucy suspected he'd borrowed some of Chace's toys earlier so he at least had something to house the babies in until the tikis were all shiny and new again.

"So," Lucy began, sitting down next to him on the sofa. "I have some good news. Well, maybe good news."

Bickslow glanced to her as he continued carefully moving the thin paintbrush dipped in red paint along the carved wood. He was just a little worried about her expression—that nervous smile and her hands compulsively squeezing her own knees wasn't exactly reassuring when he had genuinely no idea what Lucy was about to tell him.

"Yeah? What?"

Lucy took a deep breath, announcing quickly, "I think I might be pregnant."

That explains it. Bickslow's head snapped back to her, quickly forgetting the wooden doll in his hand and the paint slowly forming a drop at the tip of the brush. "Wait, for real?"

He'd heard that before, though, only a few months earlier. They'd decided to wait another year or two before trying to have another baby after they'd properly talked about it after his birthday, but then Lucy had been late, and it had been just slightly disappointing when it had been nothing more than a false alarm. So their plan had gone out the window, and now there they were, with Lucy telling him again the same thing she had months earlier.

She nodded. "Well, I think so." Lucy hoped so, too.

"But… You know, last time you thought that—"

"I know, I know," she dismissed him quickly, rolling her eyes. "This is different, though." It wasn't like she told him every time she was a day or two late anyway. That would just be stupid. She knew better than to jump to unlikely conclusions. There was a difference between days and weeks, and Lucy liked to think she knew her body well enough to suspect if she was knocked up or not.

Bickslow knew better than to question her judgement, even if he refused to let himself indulge on the excitement that his wife was clearly feeling then. "I mean, okay. Uh…" He finally set the tiki and the paintbrush down, briefly looking up to the babies zooming around the ceiling. "Well, what's next then? I mean, have you taken a test, or—"

"No, not yet, but…" Lucy shrugged, offering Bickslow a sheepish smile. "That's what you're for!"

"You want me to look?"

"Well, duh." Lucy wasn't sure why she wouldn't. Bickslow had the ability to do something she could only dream of being able to do.

And sure, Bickslow had loved being able to find out about Chace, although maybe not before Lucy had herself, but that had been different. Finding out about Chace had been… weirdly relieving, mostly because it just meant Lucy hadn't actually been dying of some mystery illness. Then, though? Bickslow just didn't want to not see, well, anything. He didn't want Lucy to be disappointed again.

But he couldn't really say no to her then, either. They had to find out at some point.

So he turned on the sofa, tucking his foot under his knee and moving the cushion out from behind him to get comfortable. "Fine. But, you have to promise me that you won't hate me if I don't see anything." And he doubted Lucy would hate him, but still. That was his price.

"Bicks, I promise," Lucy said softly, reaching out just to squeeze his hand briefly. She had to admit that the pessimism was getting just a little frustrating. She'd wanted him to excited, not worried about every tiny little detail. "If I'm not pregnant, then we just keep trying. That's okay. Now hurry up."

Bickslow sighed loudly, taking just a moment to tell himself that it would be fine no matter what he did or didn't see. "Eyes, then," he mumbled. Lucy quickly covered her eyes with her hands, only peeking through her fingers for a second before covering them back up after a frown and a glare from him. And then he looked, blinking quickly as his eyes adjusted again. He saw Lucy's soul first, before looking down to where he'd seen his son's once, and… "Oh."

"Oh?" Lucy echoed. She tried not to peek again to try and see what kind of expression her husband was wearing right then. But she could already feel her heart sinking just from one little syllable. "Bicks? What did you—" She reached out with one arm, blindly reaching for him while keeping her eyes covered with her other hand. "I'm not pregnant, am I?" she asked softly, right as Bickslow caught her hand.

"No, no… You are," Bickslow chuckled almost nervously as he rubbed his eyes. There'd really been no denying the fact that she was pregnant—something that was beginning to make him feel just a little giddy and exactly like how he'd felt when he'd seen Chace. "You can open your eyes again though."

"Wait, I am? Oh, god… Then… Why did you say it like that?!" she shrieked, grabbing a cushion to throw it at him. Somewhere at the back of her mind she realised she should be questioning just what it was Bickslow had seen, but for a moment, Lucy was just going to ride the relief and excitement because she was knocked up and that was totally the entire point.

"Because, there's not—Cosplayer." Bickslow swatted the pillow away before grabbing hold of it and stealing the soft weapon away, grabbing Lucy's shoulders to hold her steady. "It wasn't just one soul."

Lucy's eyes widened as she stared back at the growing grin on Bickslow's face. "You mean…"

"Uh-huh."

She only continued to stare in silence and shock for a few more moments before she squealed so loud it probably woke up her son. "Twins?!"

The babies zoomed and chanted above them as Lucy jumped and threw herself onto Bickslow's lap, laughing almost hysterically with him through a tight embrace.

But then it seemed to properly sink in, that Chace wasn't going to be a big brother to just one new sibling. She pulled away, panic quickly growing. "Oh god. We're having twins. Can we even manage that?" The questions came from her lips as soon as they appeared as thoughts in her head. "Oh god, do you think Chace will hate us? Oh, and the babies!"

Bickslow's face fell just as quickly. "I mean, sure, of course. We'll be fine! We'll make it work. I think. Yeah? Yeah, we'll make it work. Chace will be fine," he said, nodding and trying to reassure himself from than anything. They could handle two babies, plus the kid from hell. They were them. It would be fine. Right?

But then Bickslow remembered the babies. The babies that, when he looked up, were circling a little too close to his head and far too menacingly.

"Babies, no. Don't you—"

Lucy was smart enough to take the opportunity to flee right before the babies began their bombardment on their master, curled up on the lounge and enduring the onslaught. Apparently they weren't too happy about having to share Bickslow's attention with another two human babies.

So, yeah, I've had this chapter planned for as long as this AU has been a thing. Always feels good to tick things off a list.

As for the timeline, here it is:

1. How It All Began
2. Pride
3. Spontaneity
4. Not All Accidents Are Horrible
5. We're Telling Them
6. The Job Boycott
7. Here We Go Again
8. Sleeping Arrangements
9. The Bet
10. Trick or Treat
11. 2am
12. Jealousy
13. The Adopted Child
14. Double Trouble (this one!)

One day, probably when I'm done with this AU, I'll host them all in one collection over on AO3 so I'm not double posting them here. For now, you can find all these stories by checking for [HWHL] in the story summaries. Also, since I get asked about this a lot and in case some of you forgot:

HWHL = Happy Wife, Happy Life. So, again, any stories part of this AU can just be found by the [HWHL] tag in the summary, like on this one.

Until the next update!