So, a few days ago I decided that I was going to try and get into the habit of writing every day. I don't write nearly as much as I should, and it's mostly out of laziness. I want to fix that. Anyway, instead of forcing myself to work on projects I maybe don't want to work on at the time, I thought I'd try tackling something smaller, and that is writing a drabble each day, using the Word of the Day from Merriam-Webster.

We'll see how long I can last.

Unfortunately, the words don't get updated until around 6pm or so for me, so updates will probably be late, or even a day behind (for me, at least). It shouldn't make too much of a difference. Also, since they'll all be short, I figured I'd just post them all in here since this is what this collection is for.

Alas, I hope you all enjoy, and happy new year! Here's to a better year with more writing and completed stories (S&S and APS will be making that list, I promise).

Handsel

"A gift made as a token of good wishes, especially at the beginning of a new year."

Bickslow had never been a gift-giving person, at least outside of events such as birthdays and Christmas.

He'd always found it difficult to give gifts to the people he cared about, and it had always been something he'd felt guilty for, especially when his team, the family he cared about more than anything in the world, would give him the most thoughtful and exquisite gifts year after year. They always said they didn't mind when all they received back were small, comparably meaningless items, but that didn't change how Bickslow felt.

But it was a new year, and after almost losing the guild and so many years of his life on Tenrou, Bickslow knew it was time for a change. He wanted to be a better person, one his guild mates liked having around. Even Laxus had come back and was making an effort, and if he could, then Bickslow could too.

He'd made himself a list; things that needed to be changed and people he needed to make amends with.

He started with his team and Laxus. They'd put up with so much from him over the years that he couldn't bear the thought of ever losing them. They were all he had left in that world after all. After that, he'd started on cleaning up his own life, going as far as moving into a new apartment, one with more light and a shower that wasn't constantly dripping or running cold. He even started taking care of the babies' totems again, sanding out the scratches and repainting the little details. And once all of that was done, Bickslow finally moved onto the guild.

Bickslow didn't know what he'd do without the guild. It had given him so much - a home when he'd needed it, friends and a family when he'd had none - and he'd almost lost it all.

There were a few people in particular Bickslow had wanted to speak to. But Bickslow wasn't really that great with words, at least not when he was trying to be serious, and Bickslow didn't really want to go into the guild one day and make a fool of himself - well, a bigger fool of himself than normal.

He saved Lucy for last, for whatever reason. Evergreen has teased him all week about it, saying that it was because he had a crush on little Lucy (he didn't) and that it was adorable. Really, he'd just been trying to think of what to say and what to do. He'd gotten by with mumbled, shaky apologies for Makarov and everyone else he'd needed to speak to, but he'd felt Lucy had needed more than that. Perhaps it was because he'd already sort of apologised, before Tenrou. Or maybe it was because he still harboured far too much guilt. Bickslow wasn't sure.

But, he decided at some point he needed to give her something. Something that was actually meaningful, or wasn't just some random trinket. And Bickslow had no hope in hell of buying something for a woman he knew hardly anything about, so he didn't bother. Instead, he made her something. And he'd never made anything for anyone in his entire life, not unless the bodies he'd given his souls counted.

Bickslow couldn't speak to her in the guild though. There were too many over-sensitive ears in there. He waited until she was on her way out for the night, bidding goodnight to his own group to catch up to her outside.

She hadn't gone far when he called out to her, "Hey! Uh, Cos—Lucy, wait up."

Lucy pulled her coat tighter around herself as she stopped and turned. "Oh. Evening, Bickslow," she said softly, offering a polite smile as he stopped just in front of her. "Heading out as well?"

"I, uh… Yeah." It wasn't all that late, but Bickslow supposed getting to bed at a reasonable time would probably be a good change. "I, um… I actually wanted to give you something," he said, reaching inside his cloak to pull the slim box from the deep pocket.

"Really? What for?"

He held it in his hands for a few more moments before reluctantly holding it out. It felt stupid, now that he was actually going through with it. Why he'd let Freed and the babies convince him it wasn't a bad idea was beyond him. At least he still had his visor to hide the fact he was having a hard time keeping eye contact. "Well, I just, um… I know that we talked a bit about it before… You know, before the trials and all that happened, and—"

"Bickslow sorry!" the babies chirped for him.

He grimaced. Thanks, babies. "Yeah. I'm, uh… I'm sorry," he finally admitted.

Lucy raised her eyebrows at him, slowly prying the lid from the box to peek inside. "What are you sorry for?" she asked.

"Just… Picking on you that one time…" Bickslow mumbled. "I know I apologised ages ago now, but I still just… I felt like it wasn't enough, you know? That was just… That was a mistake. All of it. And I guess I feel bad, too, since you were new to the guild back then, and I remember what it was like when I joined the guild and everyone was so awesome and welcoming, and… And that's what it should've been like for you as well. From me—well, from my team, I mean."

It felt like so long ago that Lucy had nearly forgotten about all of it. She hadn't known it was something that had still bothered Bickslow. She wondered if it was the same for the rest of his team. "I thought we'd all put that behind us, but thank you. I appreciate you saying that. And thank you for calling me Lucy for a change, too!" Bickslow grinned sheepishly at her and Lucy couldn't help roll her eyes before looking back down to her gift. "You really didn't need to give me anything though," she said.

"I wanted to. But, uh… I'm not really that great at this whole gift thing, so it's fine if you hate it—"

"Did you make this?" Lucy interrupted, carefully pulling the carved wooden block from the nest of pink tissue paper. It was just a bit larger than her hand, an open book with a quill sitting across the pages.

He nodded. "Um, yeah." It hadn't taken him long, a couple of nights at most. He hadn't the slightest idea what to actually make until he'd asked Freed if he knew anything about Lucy. "I heard from Freed that you like to write and were trying to write a book, and, well… I really hope that works out."

All the blood rushed to her cheeks as she looked away bashfully. Lucy was sure the whole guild knew her dream at that point. "I doubt it'll happen, to be honest…" she mumbled.

"It will. I believe in you."

She blushed even harder, glancing up to see Bickslow grinning down at her. She'd never had anyone make her anything before. She'd never really had anyone say they believed in her, either. Lucy was sure she'd be smiling all the way home. "W-Well, thank you. And this is beautiful. I love it," she said.

"Wait, you do?" Bickslow asked.

"Absolutely. I mean, I don't know where I'll put it just yet, but I'll find a special home for it."

Bickslow's own cheeks warmed up. Perhaps it hadn't been as stupid an idea as he'd thought.