Oh, fuck. Did it just get really hot again? This is not good. This is not good. This is not fucking good.

Bickslow shuffled awkwardly in the door frame as he stared back at Natsu, not daring to break eye contact with the Dragon Slayer. He had a feeling as soon as he did so, he'd be on the floor, on fire, or dead. Or perhaps all three at once, who really knew?

A part of Bickslow wanted to just push past the guy and run away - far, far away - but running would just make things worse. He knew that. The other part of him wanted to just try and talk his way out of it, try and make Natsu believe it was just a quick stop-by that morning for a job, or something, but he knew that wouldn't work either. Based on what Lucy had said, Natsu already knew something, and his leaving Lucy's apartment at eight forty-three in the morning was, well… It wasn't good for anyone, really.

So as he fiddled with the visor that he had in one hand, he turned his head slightly, making sure not to break eye contact because he really did value his life. "Lucy…" he called into the apartment behind him.

"What?" Lucy shouted from the bathroom. She'd thought Bickslow had already left, but then again, she hadn't heard the familiar click of her front door closing as she went into the bathroom. After all, it was just a curtain separating the two rooms.

"You uh… have a… visi—" Bickslow was cut off by something hard – and incredibly fucking hot – being pressed into the side of his jaw, and then he was on his back on the floor inside Lucy's apartment. He'd blinked, and he'd been punched by Natsu, or so he could assume. He could vaguely feel the broken coffee table he was apparently laying on, and he was a little glad that they'd moved the empty glasses and the wine bottle the night before, because they would've hurt.

Oh, but his jaw was absolutely killing him. His hand went up to rub at the spot that Natsu's fist had collided with, and it dawned on him that Natsu had gone easy on him. Bickslow had fought Natsu before, and he'd punched by the guy multiple times, but that then… He had been holding back, and it still hurt like hell.

Suddenly, Natsu was over him and had Bickslow pulled up by the collar of his shirt and his other fist balled up a mere inches from his face. He was just itching to punch the Seith mage again – like a lot of people in the guild, Bickslow knew.

At the sound of furniture breaking, Lucy wrapped the large, white towel around herself and rushed out into the main room. She hadn't heard what Bickslow had said because he hadn't had a chance to finish the sentence, and when Lucy saw the Seith mage and her Dragon Slayer of a best friend on the floor (on top of her coffee table which she had only just replaced a month or so earlier), she understood why Bickslow hadn't been able to finish his sentence.

"Natsu?!" Lucy screamed. "What the hell are you doing?"

Both sets of eyes went to the blonde who was standing just in front of the curtain that separated the bathroom and the main room.

She just has to be wearing a fucking towel.

Bickslow's gaze returned to Natsu. A low growl was resonating from his chest and Bickslow knew he'd already jumped to the wrong conclusion. He dropped his hand from his face to raise them both in surrender. "I swear it's not what it looks like!" he pleaded at Natsu who was staring back at him with renewed anger. For once, he was telling the truth.

Natsu's grip around his shirt tightened and his other fist hovered above his face. Lucy's in a towel and Bickslow was just leaving her place. What the fuck is going on?! "You…" Natsu growled.

"Natsu! Stop it! Let him go!" Lucy shouted as she stepped forward, close enough to wrap her arms around Natsu's waist and attempt to pull him off Bickslow.

"Not until someone explains what the fuck is going on here!" Natsu screamed as he looked over his shoulder.

More than anything, Bickslow just wanted to get out of that apartment and away from Natsu. He was fighting the urge to just yell it out to the pink-haired Dragon Slayer that was sitting over him, but Lucy had already decided she'd tell him and Bickslow didn't want to be anywhere near Natsu when that happened. If Bickslow were to blurt it out that he was sort of dating Lucy then he'd probably be sent through the floor and into whoever's apartment it was on the floor below.

But with Lucy coming out in a towel and him being caught leaving in the morning, it had probably just made things a lot worse.

"Just get off of Bickslow, and I'll explain, alright?" Lucy said as she continued pulling with her arms around Natsu's middle. "Please, Natsu."

Lucy felt terrible. Mostly for Bickslow just because he was Natsu's current target. But it got Lucy wondering. If this was Natsu's reaction to just finding him leaving her apartment in the morning, what was he going to think when he found out they were, well… kind of dating? Would he flip out on her? No, no. Natsu wouldn't do that to me.

Natsu's grip on Bickslow's shirt eventually loosened and he stood up, stepping away from him as he shrugged Lucy off of him. Natsu wasn't happy, oh no. Not one bit. He'd come to tell Lucy he had a job that would be perfect for them to do for the day since it was in Magnolia, but he didn't care about that anymore.

No, he just wanted to find out what was going on.

Natsu continued glaring at Bickslow as he got up slowly. "Get out."

This is my chance! This is my chance to escape! Run for your life, Bicks! Don't look back! Bickslow only nodded as he headed towards the door at lightning speed. "Don't have to tell me twice," he mumbled under his breath. Bickslow didn't even remember to pick up his visor that he had dropped just by the door when he'd been sent to the ground. He just wanted to get out of there, and fast.

Natsu stared at the closed door for a while, his fists balled up at his sides. Telling Bickslow to leave was his kindness for the day and all of his thinking put in to one moment. Bickslow was Natsu's friend, but he had a feeling he wasn't going to like whatever it was Lucy had to explain, and he probably would have ended up punching Bickslow a little – a lot – harder, and then he'd have to deal with Lucy.

"Natsu…" Lucy said quietly as she took a seat on her lounge, patting the spot next to her, motioning for her friend to sit down. As she placed her hands in her lap, she realised she was shaking. Why am I so nervous? Telling Natsu will be a good thing. Telling your best friend is a step forward… But if he freaks out even more then maybe it won't be… As she took a steadying breath, she lifted her gaze to meet Natsu's. His eyes were flickering with rage and she could feel the heat coming from him, something she'd come to know as what happened when he got pissed off. "You asked me yesterday if I liked Bickslow," She said as she rubbed her hands together absent-mindedly.

Natsu blinked a few times, his blank expression that he usually wore immediately returning. "Huh? I did?"

Lucy couldn't help but smile weakly. Natsu had his moments, but he was clueless, and Lucy loved it either way. "Yes, silly. You said… You said I smelled different and that Bickslow smelled like me. And that's because I've been spending time with him lately. I… I do like him." She shrugged.

"…Why?" So Lucy does like Bickslow… What the hell?!

"Because…" Lucy froze. She didn't actually know the answer and she hadn't really thought about it either. She knew there were already plenty of things she liked about him, but none of them were necessarily reasons as to why she did. She had never ever expected to actually have feelings for Bickslow, but it had happened, and she didn't know why. "I don't know."

"How can you not know why you like the guy? Are you sure that you even do?"

"Well… Yeah. I've never done this before, but I know that I do like Bickslow. I like him a lot, to be honest…"

Natsu rested his head on Lucy's shoulder as he sighed. "I don't like it," he mumbled. It was the truth. He didn't like that Lucy liked Bickslow, and he didn't like that Bickslow liked Lucy. He didn't really want to accept it, either.

But Lucy didn't lie and he was her best friend. So if she said she liked Bickslow, then she did.

"I know you don't," Lucy said softly. "And I didn't expect you to. But… I'm only telling you now because you already knew something was going on and I didn't want you to find out on your own and get the wrong idea… But I guess that kind of already happened."

"Are you gonna keep hanging out with him?"

"Yes."

"How long have you been hanging out with him?"

"A few weeks, I guess."

A few weeks?! Why didn't I know anything about this earlier?! "When he kissed you in the guild…"

Lucy smiled softly, "No, it wasn't the first time he's done it."

No wonder she wasn't freaking out about it… "Alright, fine, but why was he leaving when I got here?"

"I uh… I kind of fell asleep… on him…" Lucy mumbled as she turned her head, blushing slightly. She didn't know why Natsu was asking so many questions, but she was going to answer them all either way. Questions are better than screaming and jumping to conclusions, right?

Natsu raised an eyebrow as he lifted his head from her shoulder, noticing the blush across her cheeks, "You fell asleep on Bickslow?" Lucy nodded as she looked down at her hands, "Okay… so why are you in a towel?" he asked.

Lucy finally realised that she was still in a towel and she could only assume what Natsu was thinking. Hell, if it had been Erza at her door instead of Natsu, Bickslow would already be dead.

"Because I was about to go and have a bath before you decided to break my coffee table!"

"So you didn't… You know…"

Lucy gasped. "What? No!" she shrieked, shoving Natsu's shoulder.

"Well, he has a reputation, you know!"

"I know that!"

The room fell into silence for a few moments as they both looked down at the broken coffee table. Neither really knew what to say. Lucy was glad that Natsu wasn't really flipping out, not to mention a little surprised that he had even asked whether she'd slept with Bickslow… But to be fair, he did have that kind reputation and Lucy had heard stories. She'd heard Mira complain once when she'd tried setting Bickslow up with someone and he'd declined just as he had every other time, so Lucy knew that he hadn't really dated anyone before her.

But Lucy had forgotten that. She hadn't needed to remember it because at the time, Bickslow was just that guy who was a part of the Raijinshuu and had an interesting personality with even more interesting habits.

That wasn't to say that Bickslow wasn't the same person anymore though, because he was. It was just that Lucy began to wonder why they were dating, sort of. He hadn't even tried to sleep with her, and even if he was, it seemed like a lot of effort just to have sex with one person.

So Lucy found herself questioning if Bickslow did actually like her, even though he said he had at the very beginning of it all.

"And it wasn't me who broke the table," Natsu pointed out. "Technically it was Bickslow who did."

Lucy rolled her eyes as she bumped shoulders with him. "You're the one who pushed him into it."

When Bickslow walked into the guild a little while later, he quickly made his way over to where Laxus was sitting at their usual table. Evergreen was swatting Elfman with her fan as Mira and Lisanna giggled, and Freed was… Well, Bickslow had no idea where Freed was.

"Fuck," Bickslow said quietly as he sat down opposite Laxus, causing the blond. "Is it too early to drink yet?"

"Eh? What's with the clothes?" Laxus asked.

Bickslow looked down at his own clothes when Laxus brought it up. Fuck. Forgot about that too. He hadn't even been to his own home yet; he'd gone straight to the guild and hadn't even realised he'd left his visor back in Lucy's apartment until he'd been walking through the main gates.

"Forget the clothes. I fucked up. Where's Freed?"

"Hm? What'd you do this time? Got someone knocked up?" Laxus asked as he smirked before lifting a piece of bacon up to his mouth.

"What? No. Why do you all keep assuming that?" Bickslow leant across the table to snag a piece of bacon from the mountain of it that Laxus had on his plate.

"Because it's a miracle you haven't yet," Laxus said, sliding the plate away lest he steal any more bacon.

Bickslow considered it as he took a bite from the strip of bacon. It wasn't like Laxus was wrong, because it was actually pretty damn true. But surely, if he ever did manage to get a girl pregnant, they'd come and find him, right? It wasn't like there were many people to confuse him with in Magnolia. But that being said… who would actually want Bickslow to be an actual father? Whether by accident or not? Nah, they'd come find me. Surely. Right?!

With a shrug, he decided Laxus was right. "Eh, true." Shoving the rest of the piece of bacon in his mouth, he mumbled, "Anyway, seen Freed?"

"Nope. I'm only here because he mentioned he found a job, but he hasn't showed up yet."

"Son of a bitch…" Bickslow muttered as he rested his hand in his palm. Damn it, Freed. You're supposed to be my saviour right now!

"So what exactly did you do?" Laxus asked as he leant back on the bench, resting his arms over the back of the chair.

"Do tell," Gajeel snickered.

Bickslow turned his head slightly to see Gajeel take a seat next to Laxus on the opposite side of the table, his usual smirk on his face. Damn it, he's been listening again. "Kind of… stayed at Lucy's last night." he mumbled, just loud enough for the two Dragon Slayers to hear him.

"Damn. Didn't expect you to be irritated about getting laid," Gajeel muttered.

Bickslow raised his head from his hand. "Huh? I'm not… I mean, we didn't."

"Really? Then what did you do, sleep?" Laxus chuckled. "Yeah, sure."

"Yes."

"Aren't you two like dating or somethin'?" Gajeel asked as he leant forward, apparently taking more of an interest in the topic now.

"Sort of? Kind of? I don't even know. Why does that matter anyway?" Why does it matter if we're dating anyway? Even if we weren't, if she got drunk enough she probably woul—No, Bicks. Stop that train of thought. You don't want to do that that way. But what the hell is Gajeel talking about?!

"How many dates have you gone on?" Laxus asked.

"Uh… Like three, I guess?"

"And you stayed at her place…"

"Where the fuck are you going with this, Laxus?"

Laxus and Gajeel shared a look before they both turned to stare at the Seith mage. "You don't know about the three-date rule?" Gajeel said.

"Rule?" What the fuck are they talking about?!

Gajeel shrugged as he leant back on the bench and folded his arms across his chest,. "You're supposed to have sex on the third date, you moron."

"The fuck? That's a thing?" What kind of rule is that?! No, no. No one had any intentions of sleeping together. Apart from actual sleeping, which was an accident.

"I'm surprised you didn't know that," Laxus mumbled.

"Shut up…" Bickslow muttered as he returned his head to his resting position in his palm before he shot up again, looking between the two Dragon Slayers opposite him,/"Wait, hang on. Why the fuck should I be listening to you two anyway?"

"Eh?" Gajeel's eyebrow shot up questioningly.

"You," Bickslow gestured to Laxus with his hand, "Are possibly the most socially awkward person I know."

"Watch it, Bicks," Laxus warned.

"You know less about dating and everything even related to it than I do, which is saying something." Bickslow turned to face Gajeel. "And you. When the fuck are you going to do something about Levy? Jesus Christ, dude. The girl's been in love with you for god knows how long and watching you two avoid it is painful."

"Oi!"

"You know he's right." Laxus chuckled as he picked up another piece of bacon. Gajeel only slouched in the chair as he muttered under his breath about the small Script mage.

Bickslow sat back as he folded his own arms across his chest. "I'm not listening to either of you about my relat—"

"Oi, Shrimp. Come over here for a second," Gajeel said over the top of him, turning and leaning over the back of his chair to face Levy.

The small mage looked up from the book she was reading and removed her gale-force reading glasses, placing them on the table. "Huh?"

Gajeel rolled his eyes. "Just get over here, will ya?"

"I have no idea what's going on right now," Bickslow muttered as he continued to watch.

"What is it? I was reading up on ancient sym—" Levy was cut off as Gajeel suddenly pulled her in by the waist and into his lap. Her squeal was muffled as Gajeel crashed his lips against hers, and the guild was silent for a moment.

Bickslow and Laxus sat there, baffled as everyone in the room turned to watch the Dragon Slayer and the Script mage. Jet and Droy's cries could be heard over the cheering that erupted from the hall, along with Cana's whistle.

Laxus cleared his throat and the two pulled apart. Levy's hands were still laced around Gajeel's neck when she turned at the sound and instantly turned a shade of dark red. Another squeal and she jumped off and ran back to her table, picking up her book and glasses and then hurrying out of the guild.

"Uh… Well…" Gajeel looked around the room a few times, then to the doors, and then to Bickslow and then to Laxus with a wide grin. "I gotta go."

Bickslow turned his head over his shoulder as he watched the Iron Dragon Slayer rush out of the guild. "I'm still not listening to you!" he shouted before Gajeel could leave. Damn. Didn't expect that…

Laxus waited until the guild had returned to normal and then turned his attention back to Bickslow. He really just wanted to know how he'd fucked up, and how it involved Lucy. "So what happened with Blondie?"

"Oh, right… That," Bickslow mumbled. "Well, as I was leaving this morning, I opened the door to leave her apartment but… Natsu was kind of standing on the other side of the door."

Another piece of bacon went into Laxus' mouth as he smirked slightly. "Damn…"

"Yeah. Damn. Anyway, so Lucy is kind of, well, most likely, telling him right now. About us."

"Seriously?"

"He did already know something was going on though…" Bickslow mumbled. "So if you see him coming in through the doors, can you let me know so I can go and run out the back?"

Laxus snorted. "No. You got yourself into this mess. Deal with it yourself."

"Ass."

"Yeah, but Lucy will talk him out of killing you, especially if she actually does like you."

"Hopefully…" Bickslow mumbled as he rested his head in his palm again. Hopefully Freed will be here by the time Natsu gets to the guild… If he comes into the guild at all.

As Natsu and Lucy walked into the guild a little while later, Natsu immediately searched for the Seith mage and grinned wickedly when he saw him sitting with Laxus. Lucy had only told him that he couldn't kill or seriously hurt Bickslow. She said nothing about threatening…

As Natsu veered off to the table and Lucy towards the bar to get breakfast (which was the only reason why they were in the guild that morning anyway), Lucy stopped. "Natsu…" she drawled.

Natsu looked over his shoulder at his frowning friend. "No killing or hurting, I got it." And he really wasn't going to kill or hurt Bickslow. He already felt bad about punching her sort-of but not-really boyfriend, but he would still threaten him. As Lucy's best friend, that was his job, or so he had decided. He still didn't like that Lucy actually liked Bickslow or that Bickslow liked Lucy (because it was Bickslow, and the guy had a reputation for a reason), but Lucy had so bluntly told him that she didn't care, so he'd have to get over it – without killing someone.

So as Lucy finally went off to see Mira to get something before they left for their job for the day, Natsu made his way over to Laxus and Bickslow. Laxus was smirking when he realised Natsu was coming and Natsu's anger level instantly started rising again. Natsu had learnt that out that only the rest of the Raijinshuu, Laxus, and Gajeel knew about Bickslow and Lucy, so he was the last to find out among the Dragon Slayers - well, apart from Wendy. As far as Natsu had been concerned, he should've been the first to know. But he'd had to remind himself that it wasn't really about him. Lucy didn't want him to tell anyone – including Happy, which he thought sucked because he told his partner everything – so he wasn't going to. He'd keep their secret, but he wouldn't be happy about it. That's just what friends did.

"Yo, Bickslow!" Natsu said rather cheerfully as he sat down on the bench next to Bickslow, placing his arm over the taller man's shoulders.

Bickslow tensed when he felt the heat from the arm through his shirt and the familiar voice. Oh, fuck… Am I about to die? No, no. He wouldn't kill me in the guild. "Natsu," Bickslow said nervously.

"Hey, where's your visor?"

Bickslow narrowed his eyes as he turned his head to glare at the grinning Fire Dragon Slayer. "You know exactly where it is."

"Hm…" Natsu brought his fingers to his chin in mock contemplation before his hand shot up in the air as he grinned again. "Aha! Right here!" he exclaimed as he reached into his pocket and brought out the piece of metal, dropping it on the table in front of Bickslow.

Bickslow's hands instantly scrambled to pick it up from the table, pulling his hood up and clipping it on again. It wasn't like he needed to have it on all the time, but he'd had it for so long it was more of a comfort thing. Sure, he was comfortable enough around certain people and the guild for short periods of time, but he always preferred it, especially at times when he didn't want people to read his face or emotions, and right then was a prime example. He didn't want Natsu to think he was scared… But he probably already knew anyway. "Thanks…" Bickslow mumbled.

"Anyway…" Natsu's arm went back around Bickslow's shoulders as he leant in, lowering his voice to threaten him. "If you fuck with Lucy or hurt her, I'll burn that guild mark off your tongue and then make your life a living hell for as long as you live."

"I…" Bickslow's throat felt dry as he tried to form his response and he found himself wishing that he was being killed or at least beat up by Natsu. He didn't think a threat could be so terrifying, but then again, it was from Natsu and it had something to do with Lucy. He realised he should have expected something like that from the Dragon Slayer. "I wasn't planning to," he finally said quietly.

Natsu sat back up straight as he grinned. "Good!" He stood up as his arms folded behind his head and turned towards the bar. "See you around, Bickslow."

"You do realise you basically just got permission from Natsu to actually date her, right? That's as good as it's going to get," Laxus murmured as he turned to look at Bickslow who looked a little dazed and confused.

"Huh…" He realised Laxus was right. Natsu hadn't killed him and he didn't freak out and do something crazy like Bickslow had sort of expected, which meant Lucy had at least talked him down from it and that was a good thing. Because it means she actually does like me – well, enough to save me from Natsu. Even though he had more or less received the Dragon Slayer's 'blessing' to continue seeing Lucy, he was still terrified of him though.

But despite being terrified, he couldn't keep the grin off his face as he leant back and folded his arms.

Lucy liked him enough to keep Natsu from killing him, and that was really fucking great.