XxXxXxXxX
I would like to take a moment to recognise my kid sister and the bantering inspiration she provides. I hate you, sis.
So there is this... thing in my head. It is not something I would have chosen to write but it has crawled into my head and is starting to fester. If you don't see me for a little while it's because I'm carving it out of my head so I can focus on If It Looks Human. It will be published as a one shot under the title The Viper's Light. No worries though, I will be right back. Really. Right back. Promise.
angelMwings. I felt like the group needed balance. Someone might have died without her to even out the seesaw.
Unoyoko94. I wish we saw more of Meredy. She has so much potential. I think she is underused because she lacks flash.
RosesMcKellar. We saw a little bit of ornery in Meredy when Ultear was still around, but I always thought she was going to gave to grow some once Jellal roped in the Seis. I'm trying to display that.
Hiro Mashima is the demigod behind Fairy Tail.
XxXxXxXxX
"Wakey wakey princesses and psychos of various types and colors! The stars are fading. Time to get moving!" Groans came from both tents at the call.
"Fuck you stupid lion!"
"Shut up ,Kitty!" *slippery kitty, monster kitty, slippery secret, stupid secret monster kitty, yeah shut up.
"Give it a rest babies." Lucy grumbled. "Loke why are you here? The sun isn't even up."
"I thought you had to call him? Did he come on his own?"
"Yeah, he does that."
"Well excuse me, Princesses. I'm here to save your asses from Erza. Remember her? Red hair, temperament to match, slices first and asks questions later, violently objects to Lucy spending time with males unsupervised by her?"
"Ugh. Fine. We are awake." Even as grouchy as she was feeling from being awakened at this hour, Bickslow's voice made her smile.
"Please tell me you brought coffee." She called as she rolled out of her blankets.
"As a matter of fact Virgo sent breakfast you all can eat on the go as well as large cups of coffee with me. She said she will be here, on her own power, to pack once you are all out of your bedrolls. And for the record, Lucy, the sun is on its way up. I can see the glow and it is light enough to walk now." He sounded distracted. "Bickslow! Why the he'll are your babies all up in my space?"
"Be nice to my babies, Loke."
"Stop trying to steal my babies, Cosplayer."
"Im holding their affection hostage untill I have time to make contracts with the keys in your pocket."
"If you would wear cloths you could carry them in your own pocket, Tits."
"Shut up, Slither Bat. Loke just ask the babies nicely what they want."
"Do you need something...babies?" *coffee, coffee, slippery kitty give. Lucy smiled as she shoved her pajamas back in her bag. "Umm... You want to take them their coffee?" *help, take, coffee. Meredy started making faces at her to describe how cute she found the conversation outside their tent. "Ok. Who wants Lucy's?"
"Pipi will take Cosplayer's coffee! Pupu can take Candy Girl's Coffee! Girl tent girl thing!" Snorts and chuckles were heard coming from the boy's tent. Giggles escaped the girls as they finished dressing.
"Girl thing huh? Ok then."
"Somebody want to take this one to the dragon before it kills someone? Virgo put about every warning symbol she knew of on here. It might be radioactive."
"Pepe, take Cyclops his bad coffee. I will stay here and watch the Slippery Kitty while Papa helps daddy." Lucy tried not to laugh, but when Bickslow and Cobra started to she couldn't help it. Poor Meredy looked at her as if she was worried for her sanity.
"Ok guys! That's not funny anymore! It wasn't funny in the first place, but now it really isn't funny."
"Its fucking hilarious, Kitty."
"Shut up you stupid lizard, or I will tell Virgo to stop poisoning you."
"Since when does she listen to you?"
"Go fuck yourself, Disco Princess!" Meredy was beginning to look very concerned.
"Isn't it a little early to be getting this... worked up? Are they always like that?"
"It's a guild thing, Meredy. They might hurt each other, but nobody ever dies."
"Really?"
"Yeah. You have Cobra and your guild is still alive. It's kinda like that, only with more of us." The girls crawled out of their tent and all but attacked Loke for the pastries he held.
"Watch it, Tits. Just because nobody is dead yet doesn't mean it will stay that way." Lucy just rolled her eyes as she shoved cinnamon roll in her mouth.
"I volunteer the kitty."
"I can't die. I'll just go to the spirit world, heal, and come back pissed. Are you aware that I have an anchor to the guild and can pop in there anytime I wish, including before you get there, Disco Princess? I wonder how Laxus is doing?"
"Shit! No. I take it back. Kill Candy Girl instead."
"What did I do to deserve to die?" It was pure luck that the kick Meredy threw at their tent connected with some part of Bickslow, drawing a yelp.
"Well I refuse to nominate Cosplayer and I'm sure not volunteering myself. That leaves you." Loke threw an arm around Meredy.
"Don't worry beautiful. I'll protect you."
"Umm... thanks?" Meredy leaned away from him, but his arm stayed. Lucy scowled at the boys tent. Bickslow's yelp had come from far to close to the ground.
"Are you two even up yet?" Silence. "Get your asses moving before I call Aquarius."
"We're up!" She could hear them both moving.
"She would just attack you too anyway, Tits."
"It would be worth it!"
XxXxXxXxX
Their morning set the tone for the rest of the day. Lots of bickering. A couple small fights. Loke stuck around for a bit and got Lucy Kicked in the head when he started to say something less than kind about the more recent additions to their parts. He also managed to pick a one on one fight with Popo that Bickslow swore to Lucy he had nothing to do with.
Lucy put her foot down after that one saying that the next being of any kind that attempted to bring physical harm on another was going to get it. No-one knew what IT was, even Lucy and by extension Cobra, but not a single one of them wanted to risk it. After that the only things exchanged between party members were words, mixed with the occasional growl and a very generous measure of laughter.
Virgo brought out a walking lunch and swapped with Loke to stay for a couple hours and play with the babies. Lucy overheard a small portion of her spirit's discussion with her fellow pinkette about the relation between pain receptors and pleasure sensors. She wished she hadn't. It was... disturbing. The babies took both cotton candy topped girls on a short flight just before Virgo returned home.
A few minutes after Virgo left Cobra made one to many comments about the mental state of Lucy's spirits. Meredy slapped them both with a sensory link, but Lucy spent the next hour tossed over Bickslow's shoulder when she tried to attack him anyway. She calmed down as soon as he tossed her up there. Cobra was the only one who knew that she kept pretending to go after him just so Bickslow wouldn't put her down. He snickered at her but didn't rat her out.
Sunset saw the Fairies flying ahead to set up camp again. Virgo provided hot wraps for their feet since they had been on them all day. Cobra spanked her. Both pinkettes swooned, though for very different reasons. Lucy threw herself off her log to land dramatically on her back and loudly declared that the whole lot of them were hopeless. Bickslow just about killed himself laughing.
They made even better time the next day. The whole party felt that once they boarded the train in Shirotsume they would no longer have to worry about emotionally unstable S-class wizards catching them. At least till that train reached Magnolia. Cobras announcement as the sun set that he could hear the ticket booth clerk complaining about a delayed train had them leaving the road and finding an out of sight spot for Lucy to summon a golden key.
XxXxXxXxX
The last train left Shirotsume after full dark that night. Gray was looking strait up depressed instead of his usual broody. His midnight hair hung shaggy into his face as he slouched in his seat. Anyone who knew him would have noticed that he was very overdressed, and more shockingly, staying that way. Juvia seemed to be all sorts of excited about everything, accept her very neglected Gray-sama. It wasn't very unusual to see Lucy tired after a mission. What was unusual was the fact that once she began to nod off next to him a gently smiling Bickslow tucked her under his arm and ran his fingers through her hair as she slept on his chest.
Anyone from Fairy Tail would have instantly been distressed to the point of violence. Crime Sorciere would have been whispering to each other of Zeref's influence. Members of the guilds closest to Fairy Tail would have been suspicious enough to watch them untill they exited the train and reported strait to Makarov that something was very wrong. Unlike the Rune Knights, who did a last check of the train before it departed, noticed nothing amiss. Such as the fact that 'Gray' had only one eye and pointed ears.
XxXxXxXxX
"Cosplayer."
"Hmm" She was mostly asleep, and the only parts of her that were awake were busy focusing on how safe she felt tucked against his side with his homey molasses and cedar scent filling her head.
"I think we may have forgotten something."
"Virgo never leaves anything behind." She snuggled tighter to him.
"No I mean... It's nearly midnight."
"Uhu."
"So we aren't going to the guild."
"Of course not." It was the middle of the night. Why would they go to the guild?
"Where are your new pets going to sleep?"
"I can share my bed with Meredy and Cobra can crash on the couch."
"What about Natsu?" Stupid Natsu.
"He can go sleep in his own house tonight."
"Doesn't he crawl in your window and sleep in your bed?" Yeah, but...
"I'll kick him out tonight."
"Before or after he sets Magnolia on fire because he found Cobra in your house?"
"Shit!" She sat strait up. "I hadn't thought of that."
"How about I take them home with me?"
"If the flaming retard is at her place when she gets there he will smell us on her anyway."
"I'm sorry, Cobra. We didn't mean to wake you."
"Its fine. I'm a light sleeper. Years of kill or be killed will do that to you. Unless you're Midnight. That's the whole point of him having magic. So he doesn't have to wake up."
"How about you just come with us, Cosplayer? I've got the space. My whole team used to life in that house till they started... sleeping elsewhere. We can all go to the guild together tomorrow after Cancer sets those two strait again. Hopefully your brain can come up with something to traumatize Mira enough to leave us alone by then." Lucy giggled and melted back into him.
"Well is sounds better than camping, even if it's just my bedroll on the floor."
"I wouldn't do that to you, Lucy. You get to sleep in a bed tonight. I promise."
"Mmm. You're so sweet, Bix." He chuckled. She could feel it rumble through him. It was nice.
"Thanks, Cosplayer."
"Wake me up when we get home."
"Ok baby." She smiled as sleep dragged her under again.
XxXxXxXxX
Once the train stopped they walked through Magnolia as quickly and silently as possible. They all expected Erza, Jellal, or Lucy's hyperactive flaming partner to burst out of every dark shadow they past. Meredy almost screamed when a cat came streaking out of an alleyway. Cobra's hand over her favce was the only thing that stopped her. It wasn't untill Bickslow locked the heavy oak door he had ushered them through that they relaxed, collapsing onto the living room furniture.
"That was terrifying." Meredy squeaked.
"Grow some balls, Taffy Head."
"I'm female it doesn't work that way."
"Don't make me separate you two." Lucy didn't know if she could manage that right now. She was tired.
"Cosplayer, te you two." Lucy didn't know if she could manage that right now. She was tired.
"Cosplayer, if you can keep the kids from killing each other, I can make us some hot chocolate to settle our nerves. I'd spike it, but the last alcoholic winding down we were involved in didn't go to well." She didn't want him to move since she was using him as a human hot water bottle, but chocolate sounded amazing.
"I got this, Bix." He pressed his forehead to hers before standing and leaving the room." There was silence in the room as they listened to Bickslow move about the kitchen.
"Hey, Tits, I think we may have a problem."
"What now, Slither Bat?"
"Blondie, what the hell are you doing in my house in the middle of the fucking night?" Well shit. If they survived this Bickslow was in so much trouble. She tipped her head up to stare at the man looming behind her.
"Hi, Laxus."
XxXxXxXxX
To be continued