nkersey111. Thanks.
SailorTardis498. Deal. I wasn't going to, but... letting Lucy ask about it will be cute. Not all of it, but a little.
NinjaKitten93. Natsu is brilliant. You see it when he fights. He just has a Really short attention span. You can't have the enhanced senses of a Dragon and not... know stuff. I just think he doesn't find most things important enough to think about. Priorities. Fight. Food. Family. If it isn't one of his three F's why waste time on it. Lol. He is female aware, despite what people say, it's just not one of his three F's. And human relationships can be really complicated.
RosesMcKellar. No. At least not exactly. Lucy does everything unique, especially with Bickslow. Natsu is just so content in the moment. Lisanna is a jump in with both feet girl. I mean who goes from not being able to use her magic for years to 's-class exams here we come!'? Lisanna that's who. I figure she would approach their relationship the same way.
Hiro Mashima made Fairy Tail awesome.
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"I can't believe we broke Gray!" Lucy squealed, clapping her hands. Bickslow chuckled as he unlocked the door and let them into his house.
"I can't believe Natsu didn't kill me." *fiery death, the flaming terror. 'Babies can you sleep for a while?' 'Yes. Night daddy.' The babies settled on their shelf.
"He did singe you though." She tapped his chest. Sure enough, when he glanced down he could see where all five of Natsu's fingers had been during their little chat. This shirt was ruined. "Cobra likes you." What did that have to do with Natsu?
"Umm. That's creepy." She rolled her big brown eyes at him.
He draped an arm over her shoulder and led her back to his bedroom.
"No, I mean , I'm pretty sure he thinks of you as a friend. He doesn't seem to have many of those, so it's nice."
"Cobra hates everyone, but his girlfriend, and you, because you are quite impossible to hate"" He released her to fall back on his bed and close his eyes. "If anything he hates me just a little less because I'm not screaming in his ears all the time." He felt her settle on the bed next to him, but she didn't touch him.
"Right. The super secret seith silence thing." He laughed softly.
"Its not really a secret, babe. It's just impossible for anyone who isn't a seith mage to do it."
"Oh?" He opened his eyes to see the questions shining in hers as she leaned over him. She wanted more. She wanted him to share more of his magic with her, more of himself. It was uncomfortable, but for her he could do it. He didn't want to talk about it, but he made himself do it anyway.
"It's an old seith on seith battle technique. From back when there were more of us. Sometimes a bad apple would pop up and... A black seith mage is a terrible thing, Cosplayer. The things we can do if we don't have a conscience to hold us back... whole towns were wiped out, and once a seith goes bad only a very powerful mage or another seith can put us down. My magic gets stronger when I have more souls linked to me, just like yours. Difference is..." He took a deep breath.
"Someone has to die for their soul to be linked to you." She looked like she might cry at the idea. He closed his eyes again.
"Yeah. Imagine if a wizard didn't care how many people died to make them stronger? If killing off their guildmates and the townspeople one by one wasn't something that bothered them. None of my babies came to me that way, but..."
"You could couldn't you? Your magic could pull someone's soul to you and it would kill them and make you more powerful. Not you, because you wouldn't, but a dark seith mage." He nodded.
"The quickest way to end a dark seith mage is to send in a light one..."
"A soul tug of war..."
"As long as someone if actively trying to tear your soul from your body you don't really have the ability to focus on other things. Like forcing the souls you bound to you against their will to continue to obey you. A light seith's linked souls will keep helping them without direct commands to..."
"Love and trust. But if the souls didn't love the mage they wouldn't help them."
"Right. But the instant that tug of war started the light seith would be putting their own soul at risk. So they learned how to tighten the bonds with their linked souls. They draw closer and hold on tighter. Keeps anyone else from getting in. Like a shield. Takes more magic, and it makes the babies louder in my head, but it keeps Cobra out."
"Wow. That sounds exhausting. Have you ever had to... use it before?" He opened his eyes. She was still just curious. He couldn't find any judgment or fear in her. He remembered when he told her about Papa. She had understood.
"Not in battle. Just when it was taught to me." She was silent. She seemed to understand that this was hard for him. "I've only met one other seith mage. He... well let's just say he got me out of a bad place. Taught me everything he knew before he died. His body... cancer I think. I was to young to really understand so I tried to keep him with me in the end." Her eyes widened as she realised what he was saying. She placed a hand against his cheek and he leaned into her warm touch, and took a shuddering breath. "He wasn't old yet, or injured, just sick. Eight year olds don't understand how being sick can kill you. I held on to long. Wouldn't let him go. So... Popo stayed."
Lucy threw herself on top of him and wrapped her arms around his neak. He felt tears begin to escape his eyes as he shifted them so he could curl around her. He held her tight and let the feel of her, warm and soft against him, ease the sharp ache he felt at the memory of his teacher's passing. He hadn't cried when Popo came to him. He was young at the time, yes, but Popo was his third soul, and he was to over exposed to death for him to mourn, as any healthy eight year old should have.
"I... was ten... when my mom died." Lucy seemed to be forcing her words out. He almost stopped her from talking about something that obviously hurt her so much, but then he realised she was doing the same thing he had just done. Sharing a piece of herself with him. "She was sick too. The doctors could never say what it was. She... It was slow. I don't think she really suffered. She just seemed to... fade. My dad... I think when mom died his heart died with her. He was never the same after that. I had the servants so I technically wasn't alone, and she left me her keys too, but... It wasn't the same. Until I ran away and Natsu brought me to Fairy Tail I just wondered the house. Alone. Lost." He tightened his hold on her.
"Never again, Lucy. We have friends now. Your team, and mine. Fairy Tail is our family and they will always find us. No matter how lost we might feel." He ran his hands over her back and she nuzzled into his chest. "You will never be alone again. If you ever feel like you are, you tell me, because I'm obviously not taking care of my Cosplayer like she deserves and need her to kick me through a wall." She giggled.
"So... I'm Your Cosplayer huh?"
"Is that ok?" He didn't call her that intentionally. It just happened the first time, and it sounded so right he just kept on saying it.
"Yeah." She pulled back to look in his eyes. "As long as you are mine too. I really don't want to share my Soul Doctor."
"Have I told you yet how much I love it when you call me that?"
"No." She smiled. "I figured it out though. Know what else I figured out?"
"Well, you are really smart, so probably a lot of stuff." She rolled her eyes.
"This isn't what I found out," Her grin was ornery. "But sometimes you are a dork." He gasped in mock indignation. He knew that. He actually put a great deal of effort into hiding it under layers of bat shit crazy. "Its ok though. I like it. Especially when you blush like that." Having it pointed out only made it worse. He hid his face in her neak. "The thing I found out was, that you really like it when I do this." She ran her hands through his hair and her fingertips barely scraped over his scalp.
He let out a light groan, it might have been a whimper, but he wasn't going to admit that, even to himself. If he hadn't already been lying down he would have melted into a pile of delighted goo. It was such a simple gesture on her part, but it sent waves of happiness washing through him. As long as Lucy was there he was where he belonged. He was home.
He had never really had one of those. He had a house now, but he had never thought of it as home. He had wondered for years with the man who taught him to make jokes to hide the pain. Before that he and Popo were on the run, and before that he was... where he was running from. The further back he went the less it felt like home. Now though... Lucy made him feel so... safe, so... cared for.
"Lucy..." She hummed and continued to play in his hair. "I... would you..." He couldn't find the words. Words weren't really his forte. He could pull off cheesy jokes and pervy comments like nobody else, but real meaningful words... He tightened his hold on her. "Stay, Cosplayer. Please."
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Lucy smiled. She wasn't sure what was going on in his head, but it was obviously some heavy shit. The man was deep, and complicated once you got past the pervy jokester he wore as a mask. He had been through hell. She had a feeling that what she knew of his past was only scratching the surface. If her just playing with his soft blue hair got this kind of reaction, and her kisses could heal his soul, then she was definitely sticking around. He needed her, and she was starting to think she needed him too. She had never felt as safe and as... not alone, as when he held her.
"Well I'm not going to just up and move in with you just yet, but how about we say we are dating and slap an exclusive label on each others backs? Sound good to you?" His overenergetic, playful self jumped up and bounced onto his knees hard enough to send her bouncing too. His big grin made her giggle.
"If it means I get to call the sexiest girl in Fiore my girlfriend, I'm so down with that." His eyes were glowing again. She couldn't contain her smile. He made her heart feel so... full.
"I have two boyfriend rules. We kinda already talked about all this but I'm just going to strait up say it." She held up one finger. "No lying to me. I understand not wanting to talk about stuff, and that's ok, but always tell me the truth." She held up a second finger. "I'm not sharing you. I know you wouldn't, but for the sake of saying it, I'm saying it anyway. As long as you are with me you will not touch or be touched by anyone else." His eyes grew serious, and she could tell her words had hurt. She hadn't ment it that way.
"Cosplayer, I would never..." She reached up and placed a finger to his lips.
"I know, Bixy. You would never hurt me. I just refuse to operate under assumptions. That's just asking for one of us to get hurt." His eyes said he understood. "I hold myself to the same standards. Just..." A terrifying idea suddenly occurred to her. "Don't turn into Juvia. Please. You know Gray and Natsu are like my brothers." He laughed and dropped down so his hands were braced on either side of her head.
"I know." Mavis, that smirk was strait up sexy. A flicker of what might have been worry passed through his eyes. "Do me a favor. Trust in my judgment and your sexiness enough to not imitate Baby Straus." She blinked. Umm. Ok.
"What the hell did Lisanna do that I'm supposed to avoid doing?" And what did it have to do with whether she was sexy or not?
"She decided their relationship wasn't moving fast enough so she attacked Natsu."
"What! Why would she do that?"
"She was naked at the time and he was in his bed." She just knew her face was turning odd colors.
"...oh... Wow. Ok. Umm... I can... not do that." There was a glazed look in his eyes she thought she might share. While Lisanna's actions were... extreme, Lucy couldn't deny that the idea of stripping naked with Bickslow was very appealing.
"Good, because I think that might kill me." A laugh escaped her.
"Seriously, Bixy?"
"Hey, don't mock me woman. You've been teasing me for, like, a week. Don't underestimate my current horniness." She wanted to hide. "Yeah, I noticed. I thought it was my imagination at first, because... well. Hello! Why the hell would Lucy Heartfilia be coming on to me, of all people? Then I realized you were absolutely crazy." He let himself down to his elbows and his forehead came to rest against hers. "I really like your brand of crazy, Cosplayer. Like really, really like it." She let her hands glide up his chest and over his shoulders to rest behind his neak. His eyes slid closed and he hummed. She grinned.
"I like your crazy too, Disco Princess." His eyes opened again and she could see the happiness in them.
"How much?"
"So very much. Do I get the rest of my kiss now?" His eyes lit up. Literally. They started glowing their beautiful, bright, spring green.
"Absolutely." The first brush of his lips against hers was so sweet and gentle she could have cried just from the sheer beauty of it. It didn't stay that way for long. His hands found their way to her hair and he tipped his head to the side to deepened the kiss. She buried her fingers into his hair and they all but melted together. It didn't take much for him to coax her mouth open, and wow. Cana was right. His tongue was amazing.
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To be continued