Lucy paced back and forth in her living room, staring up at the clock on the wall every minute or so. She found herself standing in front of her mirror once again, fretting and fiddling with her clothes once again. Oh god, what if this isn't nice? What if it's too fancy? What if it isn't fancy enough? Bickslow had only said something nice, and that wasn't a lot to go on, so after going through six different outfits since getting home earlier in the afternoon, she'd finally settled on the navy halter dress with the beige heels and cardigan.

Lucy fiddled with the sleeves on the cardigan, pushing them up to her elbows and pulling them down to her wrists over and over, wondering which would look the best. You look fine, Lucy. Calm down. When she began to fiddle with her hair again, tucking loose strands behind her ear and then pulling them back out to frame her face, she sighed and forced herself away from the mirror to stare up at the clock again.

Seven forty-six. That means he won't be here for another fourteen minutes, if he really did mean eight o'clock. Oh god, what if he's one of those people who get to places early? No, no. That can't be him. He made a point of getting to the train station at the last possible minute.

Pushing herself up from her lounge, she walked over to her kitchen, filling up a glass of water before sitting on her bench, staring mindlessly at the ground between sips as she tried to calm herself down.

Relax, Lucy. It's just a date. With Bickslow. A date… With Bickslow.

Lucy didn't know whether to be excited or scared about that, but she had a feeling she should feel more excited than anything. After all, she had agreed to it, and she had been nervous about it all day before she left the guild.

Everything will be fine.

Bickslow knew he was running early when he'd left his house. It hadn't entirely been intentional, but he'd been too nervous to sit in his apartment so he'd decided to just leave and walk the long way to Lucy's apartment. Somehow, he still found himself walking along Strawberry Street a few minutes later, apparently having walked faster than he had originally planned.

What if I'm still too early? What if she's mad I'm too early… "Do you think I'm too early?" he asked the babies, crossing the bridge over the canal.

"Early! Early!"

Bickslow sighed as he stopped and looked up at Lucy's building. He figured it was about time to put the babies away, just in case, so he lifted up one arm slightly and balled his hand into a fist. The white glow emanating from the centre was barely escaping between his fingers as he moved the souls out from each of the dolls, their bodies disappearing into his magic space toy box with just the hint of a flash. Finally, with them all he away, he climbed the steps to Lucy's building and walked in.

Reaching Lucy's floor, Bickslow stood outside her door, staring at the wood-grain and the strange scorch marks before looking down to his watch.

7:53 p.m. That's fine, right?

He looked down at his clothes once more, smoothing out the tiny creases in the burgundy dress shirt he had under his jacket. For the most part, he'd honestly been surprised that he even owned the clothes, since he never cared much for suits and fancy shirts.

Nodding to himself, he looked back to the door before rolling his shoulders and lifting a hand to knock lightly on the door. Alright, you can do this. From inside the apartment, he heard what sounded like a small shriek, followed by a thump, and then the door opened quickly with Lucy standing in the doorway and blowing a strand of hair out of her face.

Bickslow couldn't help but grin as he looked down down at her. "Hey. You, uh… You look great." Good. Fantastic. Awesome. Perfect? Yeah, let's stick with great.

"Thank you," she said softly. Damn, he owns a normal suit? Where was that at the Grand Magic Games ball? "You look pretty great yourself."

"Are you ready to go?"

Lucy nodded as she stepped back into her apartment, picking up her keys and her small back bag before stepping back into the hall and locking the door.

"So, where are you taking me?" Lucy asked once they were outside, stepping up onto the canal.

"A small restaurant not too far from here," he answered. He watched her balance on the side of the canal for a moment before he asked worriedly,"Is that even safe, Cosplayer?"

Lucy couldn't help but giggle. "It's perfectly safe. And are you ever going to stop calling me Cosplayer?"

"Never."

Bickslow pulled out a chair for the blonde once they reached their table at the restaurant. "Such the gentleman," Lucy teased.

"Like I've said before, aren't I always one? And do you not want me to be one?" he countered, shrugging off his jacket and rolling up his sleeves as he sat opposite her.

"No, I like it."

Lucy smiled as she looked out over the water. The restaurant was right on the edge canal, with their table pushed against the ivy-lined fence. Bickslow really couldn't have picked a better spot for their first date. A waiter came out a few moments after they had sat down, placing their menus in front of them and filling the empty glasses with white wine before turning away from the table.

Lucy looked up from her menu to take a sip of the wine before her gaze flicked over to Bickslow who was still looking down and reading his own menu. Despite the only light in the outdoor area coming from the candles that sat on each table and the few street lamps on the canal, she could see the darker bruise around his nose before it blended into the mark that sat between his eyes, and it reminded her of the one question she'd forgotten to ask during their game on the train.

"Is it a mark or a tattoo?" she asked, quickly closing her menu and setting it down.

Bickslow looked up from his own menu and met her gaze. "Huh?"

"The figure on your face," she said. Bickslow ran a finger down his nose as he realised what she had meant, ignoring the sting from the damage earlier. "Is it a mark or a tattoo?"

He leant back in his chair, folding his arms and giving a small shrug. "It's not a tattoo," he answered. "Apparently I was born with it, so I always assumed it had something to do with my magic."

Lucy nodded as she picked up her wine glass. "I see. So do all Seith mages have similar marks?"

"From what I can tell, no." He paused as he picked up his menu again, only after looking back up with the corner of his mouth lifting into a small smirk. "But I figure that's what makes me all the more awesome."

After dinner, their conversation carried them over to one of the parks in Magnolia, where Lucy made a beeline straight to a bench after stopping to pull her heels off. In the middle of the night, the park was empty and it was quiet, giving Lucy a perfect opportunity to just lean back and look up at the stars. But the sky was as empty as all the streets, with the moon hidden behind the clouds and as well.

Sitting down next to her, Bickslow wasn't sure what was so fascinating in a dark and empty sky, but he continued to stare up at it anyway.

"Bickslow?" Lucy said quietly.

Bickslow sat back up to face her. "Yeah?"

"I was just…I just noticed that you seemed a little uncomfortable whenever the waiter came over to the table at the restaurant," she said softly, sitting up slowly. "You wouldn't speak much and you seemed to always look away or down at the table whenever someone came over."

"Sorry," he mumbled. He didn't think Lucy had noticed that.

Lucy frowned slightly as she watched Bickslow lean forward, staring down at the grass. "Was it because you didn't have your visor?" she asked. "I was just wondering… Just in case it was my fau—"

"It wasn't your fault," Bickslow said quickly. "It never could be your fault." How could she think it was her fault?

"Oh… Well, if you don't want to talk about it then that's okay." Lucy pushed herself up from the bench, holding her shoes in one hand as she held the other out to Bickslow as she smiled softly. "Come on, you can walk me home." She wanted to know the answer, but she didn't want to force it out of him.

Bickslow nodded as he took her hand and rose from the bench, and began walking back towards Lucy's apartment slowly. He didn't realise until they were nearing her street that he was still holding her hand, and he couldn't help but smile to himself for a moment. This feels… nice. Maybe I should let her hand go though… He didn't want to scare her away after all. So he loosened his grip slightly, just enough so Lucy's hand would be able to slip free if she wanted it to, but instead Lucy just gripped his hand a little tighter as she stepped back onto the edge of the canal. I guess this okay then.

"Alright, I have one more question," Lucy said, breaking the silence between them as they continued to walk slow along the illuminated straight.

"You're full of questions tonight, Cosplayer," he chuckled.

"Is that a complaint?"

"Nope. What's the question?"

"How come I haven't seen those dolls of yours floating around you lately?" she asked. She stepped off the ledge and back onto the path as they passed the bridge, only to step back onto the canal once they were past the bridge.

"Hmm," Bickslow hummed, scratching the back of his head with his free hand. "You mean these ones, right?" His five babies seemed to drop down from the sky to hover around his head before they moved to fly around Lucy.

Lucy jumped slightly as one zoomed right past her head, and another between her legs before they all fell into formation behind Bickslow's head.

"But in answer to your question, I guess I just don't find myself needing them around me all day anymore since I'm spending more and more time at the guild," Bickslow answered, taking a moment to move the souls back out of the dolls and sending the tikis back.

Lucy frowned as she watched him disappear. "Do they have their own names?" she decided to ask. "Or are they just the babies?"

Bickslow nodded. "They have their own names. I'll tell you them another time," he said. Looking back down, he saw that she was still frowning and he stopped as he held onto her hand. "Hey, come on, stop frowning. I only did that because I'm pretty sure this is your house."

"Fine," Lucy sighed. She supposed that was fair enough.

Hopping down from the ledge, she crossed the path to climb up the steps to her building. She couldn't help but roll her eyes as Bickslow quickly jumped in her way to open the door to the building for her, flashing another one of his wide grins.

Once outside her apartment door, Lucy dropped her shoes on the ground as she fished for her keys in her bag.

"So, how did I do?" Bickslow asked.

"Are you asking how well you did on the date?" Lucy laughed, pulling the door key from her bag as Bickslow shrugged. "You did fine."

Bickslow took a step forward, a grin spreading on his face as he towered over the blushing blonde. "Well, is that fine as in I get a second date?"

"I-I suppose so…"

"Good."

Quickly, Bickslow wrapped his arms around Lucy's waist and hoisted her up, holding her close as he ignored the burning pain in his side from the pressure. His grin widened as Lucy's blush grew darker, and then he was gently pressing his lips to hers, leaving them still for a moment as Lucy's hands came to rest on his chest and she closed her eyes.

She felt his arms tighten around her, pulling her close, and she ignored the ache in her back as Bickslow's lips slowly began to move against her own, because she wasn't sure she'd be able to stand on her own. She drowned in his scent, taking in the same warm cinnamon from his cloak, and when Bickslow decided to pull back, Lucy almost wanted to whimper and pull him back to her. But she didn't.

"Much easier this way," Bickslow murmured, still holding her close.

Lucy found herself smiling softly. "Well, I don't think you're supposed to do that on a first date…" she laughed gently.

"Is that a complaint?"

"N-No…" She felt the warmth creep up on cheeks again as she glanced down to her hands still flat against his shirt. "But can you put me down now? It's kind of hurting my back to stay like this…"

Bickslow almost instantly lowered her to her feet, straightening up as he brought his hands back to his sides. "Oh. Crap, sorry. I… I forgot. Are you okay?" In an instant, his grin was gone and he only watched her with a look of worry.

"I'm okay," Lucy whispered. She bent down to pick up her shoes as she turned to place a hand on the door, just barely turning the handle to push it open. "Thanks for tonight, Bickslow."

He brought a hand up to the back of his neck, rubbing it awkwardly. "Y-Yeah." Did I just fucking stutter? "Well, it's late so… I'll be off… I guess."

"I'll see you tomorrow. Good night, Bickslow."

"Night, Cosplayer," Bickslow said softly. He waited until Lucy was back in her apartment before he turned and carried himself slowly down the stairs. He couldn't help but shake his head and run a hand through his hair once he was outside once more and heading home. "Fuck," he whispered.

I'm going to end up falling for her one day.

And then he realised that he had no idea what that meant, or what that was supposed to feel like, or if he already was falling for her. He just didn't know.

Fuck.

Lucy sat at the table with the rest of her team with her legs crossed as she slowly sipped away at the strawberry shake in her hand. Natsu had come back early that morning and was resting his head in his open palm, picking at the pile of bones on the plate before him from the lunch he had just devoured.

"Erza, come on, I'm bored!" Natsu whined, head falling and hitting the table with a loud thud.

Erza shook her head as she lifted her tea-cup to her lips. "No, Natsu. You only got back two hours ago."

"Yeah, even you need to rest sometimes," Gray chuckled. He turned his attention to Lucy then. "And where did you disappear to yesterday? You left earlier than usual."

Lucy froze. Oh, you know. Just on a date with the guild's resident pervert, who – as it turns out – is actually not as bad as it seems.It was only just occurring to her that she hadn't come up with any kind of excuse - not that she was sure why she needed one, but she didn't think her dating Bickslow was something she wanted to talk about just yet. "Uh, my back was starting to get a little sore from the benches and I guess I didn't get much sleep the night before, so I decided to have an early night," she said with a smile. It sounded believable. It sounded more believable than her going on a date with Bickslow, at least.

Gray huffed, unfolding his arms as he leant forward slightly. "Are you gonna be coming with us on the next job then? It's not the same without you."

Lucy nodded.

Bickslow walked into the guild late in the afternoon with one hand over his mouth as he stifled a yawn, and the other holding a guitar case. He had spent most of the day walking around Magnolia looking for a music store that stocked guitars that weren't pink or purple, and while they'd been tempting, Bickslow had figured that Gajeel wouldn't appreciate being given a hot-pink guitar.

He spotted Gajeel sitting next to Levy once he was inside. Levy seemed busy deciphering something, while Gajeel only sat on the other side with Pantherlily eating a kiwi fruit. Bickslow walked up to the table with a grin, slamming the guitar case down on the table before Gajeel. "Done. One guitar," he said.

"Guitar! Guitar!" his babies echoed.

Gajeel narrowed his eyes, staring up at Bickslow for a moment before looking down at the guitar case, flicking the locks up and opening the case. He nodded slightly, seemingly surprised that the case actually contained a guitar.

"What? Not even a thank you?" Bickslow frowned.

Gajeel opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, Levy chimed in with, "Gajeel, play nice." Gajeel grunted in response as his mouth closed, turning his attention to the guitar as he lifted it out of the case to examine it.

"Yeah, listen to your girlfriend," Bickslow chuckled.

"I wonder what yours would think if she knew you were getting yourself into more trouble," Gajeel said quickly.

"Huh? Whose girlfriend?" Levy asked, quickly looking up again and between the two mages.

"No one's," Bickslow snapped. He only scowled under his visor as he joined the rest of his own team at the next table. He could still hear Gajeel snickering as he sat down, and he glared over his shoulder once more. She's not even… Damn it, Gajeel.

Levy's brow creased as she looked between them again. Clearly she was missing something. "Who were you talking about?"

"Nothin'. Don't worry, Shrimp," Gajeel snickered, already working on tuning each string of his new guitar.

Lucy sat on the bed in the hotel room with her legs crossed under her, hugging her pillow and resting her chin on it. Wendy sat on the end of another bed as she brushed her long hair, and Erza sat on another, polishing her armour until it shined perfectly.

Lucy sighed into the pillow. All day, she'd been thinking of Bickslow and how their date the previous night had gone. She'd hoped to see him again that day, but Natsu had dragged them all out on another job before Bickslow had arrived at the guild so she hadn't had a chance to see him. She felt bad for it though, especially since she'd said she'd see him tomorrow, but still, she kind of missed him, and she wasn't entirely sure why.

It had only been one date. And sure, Lucy was inclined to think that it had been amazing, but it also wasn't like she had anything else to compare it to. She'd never been on a date before then. Ignoring that though, Lucy knew she shouldn't really care so much. She'd no doubt see Bickslow again in a few days and everything would be fine. It was just that she really did miss him, and she knew she shouldn't.

Sighing into the pillow once more, Lucy glanced to the small alarm clock on the nightstand. "Guys? Can I ask you something?" she began softly.

Erza looked up from her armour in her hands. "Yes, of course."

"What do you guys think of Bickslow?"

"Why do you ask?"

Lucy shrugged, hugging the pillow tighter. "I don't know… When we went on that job the other week, I guess he just seemed different, and it was making me curious," she said softly. Sure, it wasn't the whole truth, but it was close enough. "I'm just wondering what you guys think of him. Since, well… You probably both know him better than I do. I mean, Erza, you've been in the guild since you were a child, and Wendy, you've worked with him before. "

Erza looked back down to her armour, beginning to polish the shoulder-plate again. She found it an odd question, but she'd do her best to answer it anyway. "Well, he never really seemed to be in the guild very often. None of the Raijinshuu were in the guild much, I suppose," Erza said. "But, after the incident at Fantasia, I suppose he seems like he's made an effort to be better towards his comrades. Like they all have, really. I know he's a strong mage, much like the rest of them, and I suppose he's grown to care about others as well. I don't know all that much about him. I don't think anyone does. But he does seem to be a little… odd."

"I guess. What about you, Wendy?" Lucy asked.

Wendy placed her hairbrush down beside her as she picked up her pillow. "He was quieter than he usually is in the guild when we worked together, but he was nice to me. He got himself hurt to protect me." She hugged the pillow close to her. "I don't know much about him either, Lucy."

"I thought as much," Lucy sighed. She set the pillow back down and climbed into her bed, pulling the covers high as Wendy did the same in her bed. "I guess it's good, though."

"What is?" Erza asked as she finished packing her armour away.

"That they all made an effort to open up to the guild after Laxus was excommunicated," she said. "Even though it was technically so long ago now, I think they all seem troubled by it sometimes." At the very least, she knew Bickslow was still bothered by it. "I don't know. I guess I'm just glad that everyone forgave them and they were able to become part of the guild again."

Erza smiled into her pillow as she laid down, switching off the last light in the room. "Family will always forgive family."