A/N: I wasn't planning on keeping/adding any other notes to my revised chapters, but as this chapter was where the M rating came in, I felt like it was necessary. So for those who are uncomfortable with smut, feel free to just skip the first half of this chapter. (Also, just a general reminder, this chapter was originally written in 2015, and while I did heavily edit this chapter, it's still not the greatest.)

When Lucy had said she wanted to go home, she didn't mean hers, because that would involve being alone and that was the last thing she wanted.

So as she lay there, curled up against Bickslow as his hand lightly traced up and down her back, over the grey and pink Fairy Tail shirt that was basically hers by that point anyway, she was content. Watching the way his chest rose and fell with each slow breath, feeling how he'd every so often press his face into her hair. There was no place she'd rather be in that moment, because even though Bickslow had hurt her, he was also the one who was making her feel better.

And Bickslow really had no intentions of ever letting go of the woman in his arms. Not unless she really wanted him to, and she didn't. He knew that. Even though he knew he wasn't good enough for and he probably never would be, with her there with them, he felt like he was, even if it was just a fleeting thought. But that didn't matter, because Lucy wanted him either way. She chose to stay after the day he'd put her through, and he honestly couldn't have been happier about that.

"You're perfect, you know that?" he mumbled into her hair, because really, he didn't think she knew just how perfect she was.

"And you're stupid," she replied lazily.

"Harsh…" But granted.

She sat up slowly, a smile spreading across her face as she moved to sit over him, her legs on either side of his waist as she leant down, taking his face in her small hands. "But," she whispered, "You just so happen to be a stupid idiot that I care about a lot."

And she brought her lips down to his, trying her to best to convey just how much she cared about him into one single kiss. One slow and drawn out kiss that got so filled with emotion so quickly. As her hands went up, tangling in his hair like it usually did, Bickslow's went to her waist, pinning her against him before he could roll them over, his knee between her legs.

As he hovered over her, one hand on her waist as the other held himself up, he pulled away slightly. "You know I'm probably never going to let you go now, right?" he murmured

She smiled as kiss after kiss was placed against her jaw and neck. She'd missed that, missed him doing that. "Fine with me," Lucy murmured.

Bickslow sat up suddenly, sitting back on his knees as he looked down at the tangled sheets they were sitting on. "Promise me something," Bickslow whispered, almost sadly.

She sat up slightly to lean on her elbows as she looked up at Bickslow, seeing how his hands were fisted over his knees. "Anything."

"Promise me… That if I ever hurt you; if I ever break your heart again, you'll leave, and you won't look back." Bickslow didn't want to believe that he could ever do that again, but he would. One day. Because he was stupid and he did stupid things. He didn't want to believe that he could ever be stupid enough to leave her again or even consider leaving her again.

And Lucy didn't want to believe he could do it again either, but she could see just how painful it was for him to even say it. It meant that in the scenario where it did happen, where she got hurt again, he would rather her leave and forget about him altogether. He'd rather see her move on and deal with the pain himself. He didn't think he'd ever deserve her forgiveness, not again at least.

That's what Lucy saw in Bickslow then, and in a way, she didn't want to make that promise, because she didn't want to believe that she'd ever have to make true on it. But she saw that Bickslow needed it. She knew that he needed her to say the words. So, quietly, she did. "I promise."

And then, when he felt her hands just above her wrists, he looked up from the sheets. "Promise me that you'll forgive me." Because if anything, that's the one thing he needed. Because if she could forgive him, he could forgive himself. Eventually.

"I promise," she said again. That was one she didn't have to think about, because already, she'd forgiven Bickslow. Mistakes were easy to forgive.

Somehow, Bickslow felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders and he knew that everything would be fine. Everything would get better and they'd get to a point where nothing hurt and they were fine again.

It didn't take him long to be back over her and pushing her back into the mattress with his lips pressed firmly against hers. He needed to feel her beneath him, because god, had he missed that so much in just a week. But Lucy had the same idea, and that was all that mattered to him in that moment.

Just the feel of their mouths moving together with determination was enough to make him forget everything, because none of it mattered. The feel of her tongue brushing against his with each timid movement and the way her hands always traced up his arms and down his sides. He'd missed it all, and only in a week.

But then Bickslow was back lying on his back with her over his hips and her hands tangling themselves up in his hair. He'd always hated people touching his hair, but not her. His hand ran up and down her thigh slowly, enjoying the feel of the silky flesh beneath his fingers as his other went to her hip, pushing the fabric of the shirt up and out of the way.

When she rolled her hips against him he couldn't help but moan into her mouth. He'd come to simultaneously hate it and love it whenever she'd done it. She'd always done it just to torture him because she knew exactly what it did to him.

Her fingers trailed down over his bare chest, slowly tracing over every ridge between every muscle, rolling her hips again and eliciting yet another moan from the man. And down her fingers went until she reached the waistband of his boxers again. Lucy knew exactly what she was doing and she knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted Bickslow, plain and simple, and he was right there below her.

As she moved back on his legs and hooked her fingers under the elastic and sat up slowly, Bickslow grabbed her wrists, stopping her from going any further. "We don't—"

He was cut off as Lucy leant down again, kissing him softly and just for a second. "But I want to," she whispered, ignoring the way her heart was pounding in her chest. "I… I want you. All of you."

It was enough for Bickslow to forget how to speak, not that he thought he could at that point anyway. He had no argument for it and he couldn't even try and say that he didn't want her, because god, did he. So instead of words, he could only nod as he let go of her wrists. Suddenly, he was the one who was nervous. When he'd pictured how it would all play out when they finally got to that point (and he'd definitely pictured it), she was the one who was nervous, not him.

Lucy's hands hooked under the band once more, and when she slowly started pulling the fabric down she had to steady her breathing when she felt like her heart was going to stop just because it was beating so fast. She was nervous, but she wasn't scared.

When his boxers were thrown to the floor by the bed, Bickslow sat up on his elbows, watching as the blonde's hand slowly came up and she palmed down the hardening length before he threw his head back, "Oh, fuck… Lucy…" he groaned. Just one touch and she already had him pining. It was almost embarrassing.

She got bolder, wrapping her hand around him with her fingertips only just touching, running up and down his length a few times. She had no idea if what she was doing was right but the way he'd moan her name made her think she was doing something right.

And even though Bickslow could have stayed there in a mixture of awe and shock and bliss, he needed more. He caught her hand, pulling it away from himself as he lifted up her shirt, up and over her head before throwing it to the floor. He pulled her down against him, his cock pressed between them and the friction was enough to drive him insane. His hands brushed up her sides and back, needing to feel over every inch of her, before grazing the sides of her breasts and back down to her waist, flipping them over in an instant.

He had to sit up for a second, just to admire the woman sprawled beneath him in just the bright blue lace panties – something he'd come to learn she had many, many pairs of. But fuck, was it a sight. He might've died and gone to heaven. Her slight blush that was barely visible in the dim light from the single lamp on in the room, and the way her chest rose and fell quickly with each quiet breath. It was all it had taken for something to switch on inside him. All nervousness he'd thought he had before was gone. This was what he could do, and he knew he was good at it.

Bickslow leant over her again, capturing her mouth instantly and pushing hir tongue past her lips as she moaned quietly, arching into the way his hands were cupping and massaging each breast. Never had she ever thought hands could feel so good.

And somehow, it was like Bickslow had heard that thought and his hands went back to her waist, squeezing both sides gently as he trailed kisses down her neck, lingering when she tilted her head back with quiet whimpers. Every touch, however brief it may be, was driving her insane and Bickslow loved that. He loved that he could do that to her.

He was teasing her, drawing it out, doing anything to make that moment last as long as possible. Bickslow wanted to cherish it, almost. It wasn't just some random woman he'd met at a bar and wasn't going to see ever again. It was Lucy, he never wanted to not see her again. He was taking his time, something he never did.

His hands trailed downwards, over the lace on each side of her hips and down her thighs and up again, over and over.

"Oh, fuck…" Lucy moaned as his tongue flicked over a nipple, pulling it into his mouth, a hand roughly fondling her other as he held onto her leg, keeping it bent as he leaned over her.

And then he moved himself up, drowning out the whimper she made from the loss of contact with his mouth as his hands pressed into the mattress, holding himself up. "Not too late to stop," he murmured, watching her face for any flicker of doubt. But it never came and as she shook her head, his lips captured hers again and his hands began roaming lower and lower, ghosting over her stomach before running over the thin fabric of her panties.

Pulling his mouth away from hers, almost reluctantly he shuffled down the bed as his hands found her hips. Slowly, painstakingly slowly, he began to trail kisses down her torso, the valley between her breasts and down her stomach. Each one made Lucy feel like her stomach was doing somersaults. Bickslow had to fight the urge to just rip the thin blue fabric from her body as he hooked his fingers under the sides, rolling them down and over her hips slowly, never once stopping the trail his mouth was set on.

Lucy sat up on her elbows, and as she raised her hips just enough for Bickslow to finally pull her underwear down over them, she caught the slight smirk as he raised his eyes. Her heart stopped, just for a second, because there, in Bickslow, she saw a glimmer of his usual self. And after their day, she'd needed to see that. She'd needed to know that it was possible for Bickslow to get back to that because seeing him depressed and hating himself hurt her more than him breaking her heart. She needed to know that he'd be able to forgive himself, and just from a small smirk, she knew then that it was possible. And even though it was only a small part of her telling her so, she knew she was going to be part of the reason as to why he could.

As the small piece of lace finally slipped down over her ankles, Lucy became aware of just how exposed she was. But she wasn't embarrassed, because the way Bickslow had looked at her made her realise just how much he wanted her. There was no doubt, no voice screaming in her head to stop, nothing. Just desire.

She arched her back as his fingers ran up her folds, moaning as he pulled his mouth away from her neck, because her neck was not where he wanted his mouth to stay. So he slid down the bed, nestling his shoulders between her legs as he kissed down over her stomach again, and lower. Lower until it was his tongue running over her slit rather than his fingers, and she overwhelmed his every sense.

Fuck… He closed his eyes, hooking his arms around her legs and pulling her closer. More. Honestly, if it wasn't the actual fucking part Bickslow loved so much, it was that. The way women would scream his name as he sent them over the edge, usually just with his tongue alone. He knew it was weird that he got such a rise from it, but none of that really mattered anymore. So when he finally pulled the sensitive bundle of nerves into his mouth and she moaned his name, cursing under her breath something about his tongue, he chuckled, only eliciting another moan from the blonde from the vibrations that ran through her.

If she'd thought his hands her good, his tongue was even better. In a league of its own, she realised.

Slowly, he eased a finger into her core, reaching places his tongue couldn't. Her breath started to come in short, shallow gasps and he knew she was nearing her end already. A second finger as his mouth focused on her clit, working in time with each thrust of his hand.

Lucy wasn't even aware of what she was saying anymore, either incoherent words or curses or his name, or a mix of them all at once. She couldn't even hear anything over the sound of her own heart in her ears and the sound of her breathing. Her hands fisted into the sheets as another moan escaped her throat. So close.

She didn't think she'd ever felt so good in her entire life. She was just stuck in a state of euphoric bliss and even though she didn't want that feeling to end, she wanted to reach her end, and she knew her body enough to know how close it was.

And as his fingers curled inside of her, finding something she hadn't known was there, her peak came running up at her. "Oh, fuck… Bickslow…" she screamed as he drew out her climax, replacing his fingers with his tongue yet again as she shuddered, warranting another low moan from her as she tried to catch her breath.

"Jesus Christ, you're loud," Bickslow muttered as he crawled back up, brushing his lips across her jaw before up to her mouth. He honestly felt a little sorry for his neighbours. They'd been able to sleep in peace for a month and a half, only to most likely be woken up at 2 a.m. by an orgasming blonde. Not that he was complaining.

"Shut up…" she replied breathlessly, blushing when she realised just what she was tasting on his tongue. "Not my fault."

"I'll definitely take full responsibility for that," Bickslow chuckled as his hands found her hips, rolling them back over again so she was back on top, a light moan escaping as her sensitive core rubbed against him. "We really don't have to go any further if you don't want to," he said softly, arms wrapping around her to pull her chest flush against his.

A small smile made its place on her mouth before she leaned down, kissing him lightly as a hand slid down between their bodies, brushing over his cock as she sat up again to roll her hips against him, enjoying the sounds that she could make him make, just from a roll of her hips. "No, we don't have to… But I want to, and you want to…"

Bickslow didn't think Lucy understood just how much he wanted to – wanted her. If it was anyone else, Bickslow would have already had her on her back and be in the middle of fucking her senseless, because that's just what Bickslow did, and he'd never had any complaints.

But not with Lucy. He wanted to take his time with her because it was her and not anyone else. He wanted her to remember it. Hell, he wanted to remember it, too, and that was something he usually didn't care about at all. But it was Lucy's first time, so Bickslow didn't really want it to be horrible.

He sat up on an elbow, one hand still rubbing smooth circles over her thigh as she raised herself up to line him up at her entrance.

She took calming breaths as she braced herself for the pain she'd heard so much about as she slowly lowered herself down, gasping slightly each time she paused. But there was no sharp pain like she'd expected. When she finally reached his hips again, Bickslow tipped his head back in his pillow and tried not to moan.

Lucy leant forward slightly, her knees on either side of his hips as her hands rested over his stomach, feeling it rise and fall slightly with each breath he took. Everything was so new to her, from the fading discomfort of having Bickslow completely inside her, to just the feeling of being so close to someone.

Everything leading up to that moment had been in small steps, but finally reaching that pinnacle wasn't a small step. Tt was more of a giant leap forward, one they'd perhaps needed to take. Because to Lucy, her innocence was something she'd wanted to hold on to until she knew it wasn't just a game to Bickslow, and that she wasn't just part of something that was fun until he got bored and decided he'd had enough.

Bickslow doesn't date. She was always reminded of that. And yet, he'd dated her. Lucy realised that it was never a game to Bickslow. She was never something to just kill the time. Somehow, she knew that Bickslow had always been serious about her. Serious enough to do things he never didd, all for her, because he'd wanted her and to be with her.

After a moment, she slowly raised herself up, only wincing slightly as she sank back down and her walls continued to accomodate his thickness. Over and over she did the same thing, each time feeling better than the last.

Bickslow's brain had more or less shut off by that point and all he could do was quietly moan at each movement she made. She was wrapped around him so tightly he wasn't capable of thinking about anything else. He had to fight the urge to grab her hips and slam her down, but the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, so instead he just rested his hands on her, for once enjoying something slow, because he knew that was what Lucy needed, and he couldn't help but enjoy it.

When her pace faltered and quiet gasps turned into soft moans and hums and her breaths became shorter, she realised just how hard it was to keep a steady pace. Bickslow caught on and gently rolled them over again, never completely leaving her before he buried himself in her core again.

Over and over he snapped his hips, never too hard and never too fast as he held on to just his last bit of control. Her moans got louder and louder, only silencing them when he leant down, crashing his lips to hers as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, keeping him there.

Even though the uncomfortable feeling never quite left her, Lucy couldn't deny that what she was feeling was unmistakably amazing. With each passing second, she could feel that tension growing low in her belly. "Oh… God, please…" she whimpered, throwing her head back as a sudden wave of pleasure ripped through her at the way Bickslow had angled his own hips. She was so close, and Bickslow knew that.

He dropped his head to her shoulder, holding himself up with one elbow as his hand smoothed down her side, stopping at her hip. The way her walls clenched around him was driving him insane and was sending him towards his own end. But he needed to feel her come apart around him first. The hand on her hip moved lower to where they were joined, fingers deftly seeking out the bundle of nerves at her apex as his thumb brushed over it.

"Fuck, Bicks," she cried out. His mouth latched onto her neck to suppress his own groan as she tightened around him even more. Then, one thrust was all it took as Bickslow pushed himself back up, one hand gripping her hip as he continued rubbing circles over her clit, and cried out again, her head going back as she dissolved into the overwhelming feeling of absolute ecstasy that ran throughout her, forgetting everything as her mind went blank. "B-Bicks, o-oh… Oh god…"

Her moaning his name as she fell apart and her core clamping down on him was enough to send Bickslow over the edge as he fell forward onto his elbows, burying himself in her completely with one rough thrust. "Oh, shit… Lucy…" he groaned, feeling her chest rise to meet his with each breath as he stayed firmly buried within her, still feeling her walls contract around his cock.

The only sound in the room was the sound of their ragged breaths; Bickslow trying to recover from his orgasm and Lucy still coming down from her own. She winced slightly when he withdrew himself and collapsed onto the bed next to her, still panting.

He still wasn't able to put his thoughts into a logical order, but the only thing he could think of was how surprisingly amazing it had been. Bickslow had had bad sex, good sex, great sex, and anything and everything else between. But never amazing. Not enough to make him almost want to collapse, anyway. And he didn't know what it was. Maybe it was because it was her and he'd wanted it for so long, or maybe it was because they'd waited and it had been special. It was something, but he couldn't even begin to comprehend it.

From all of the stories she'd heard from Cana and even Levy, Lucy had always expected her first time to be horrid. She'd expected it to hurt, too, but it hadn't. Not really, at least. She supposed to might be because she had nothing to compare it to, and that was why she thought it had been good. She didn't really care though, because she knew there wasn't any point in questioning it. It had felt good, and that what mattered.

She rolled to her side, leaning her head on Bickslow's chest as his arm went around her, smoothing small circles over her back as he pulled the sheet up.

"You okay?" he asked quietly, still catching his breath.

"Mm-hmm," she hummed, her hand resting over the chest and ignoring the thin layer of sweat they were both covered in. Capricorn is always trying to get me to exercise more anyway… But she was okay. The slightly dull pain that she hadn't noticed before was fine, she could live with that. She was okay because she was happy, and she realised that's what mattered. No doubt, no regret, just happiness.

And as long as Lucy was happy, Bickslow was happy.

It took a few days for Bickslow to leave his apartment and return to the guild. That first night they'd had together was only enough for him to forget everything for just that, the night. When morning came around and he awoke with Lucy curled up against him again, he was as happy as he always was when he was around, but he'd soon gone back to hating himself and wondering just why she could put up with him.

He was never going to be able to forget things he did that hurt her, he knew that. But it wasn't a case of forgetting them, as Lucy had told him one afternoon when she'd sat curled up on his lounge with the book on Seith magic. It was just about being able to move past it. He had to learn from his mistakes and that's what everything he'd done to her in the past had been. From the Battle of Fairy Tail and Fantasia chaos to him being an absolute idiot and thinking leaving her was a good idea. All of it had just been a mistake.

But he still had to forgive himself, and that was something Bickslow knew was going to take a while, because he knew deep down he didn't deserve Lucy. But she'd still stayed. She stayed the entire three days that he didn't want to leave his apartment, but then, it was the on the fourth day that she all but dragged him out the door, claiming he needed to go and see his team before her team started looking for her. Because without a doubt, Natsu would seek Bickslow out first.

And maybe she was right. Maybe Bickslow did need to go and see his team, just to try and get back into his usual routine instead of lounging around in bed like he'd been doing for half a week.

So he made his way over to where Laxus was sitting with Gajeel and Levy, or maybe it was the other way around by the way Laxus was glaring at Levy, ducking under the table that came flying towards his head from Natsu and Gray fighting again.

"Look who decided to show up today," Gajeel muttered, his chin resting on a pile of books.

Laxus watched as Bickslow slid into the seat next to him. "Please tell me you didn't do something stupid," he mumbled.

"Today or in general?" Bickslow replied, the corner of his mouth upturned in a small smirk.

"You know what I mean."

And the smirk faltered, if only for a second, before he lifted up his mug. "Ah, yeah…" Bickslow mumbled. "Almost?"

"Almost? What the fuck does that mean?" Gajeel asked, suddenly taking an interest. "What did you do?"

"Rather not talk about it…"

When Lucy walked through the guild doors a little while later with a smile on her face, finally being able to see her friends, she had to decide which area of the hall to visit first. She could go to the bar to talk to Mira and Lisanna, but that would involve more of the Strauss' never-ending questions about who it was she was dating, and Lucy really didn't want to deal with that since she still had a few fading bruises on her neck and shoulder that no matter what she tried, were not fading. She just had to be grateful her hair could hide them.

So then she wondered if she should go and see Levy. After all, the woman would want to know about the events that transpired over the last few days. But… She couldn't really do that either, since for whatever reason, she was sitting with Laxus and Bickslow, and even though Levy being at that table would give her a reason to go over there, Lucy didn't want to risk it.

So she decided to just go and sit down with her team who seemed to be in the middle of a heated argument.

"I'm telling you, we need to be out there looking for her!" Erza shouted, slamming her fist down on the table.

"No we don't!" Natsu screamed back, rolling his eyes.

"Uh… Guys? What are you yelling about?" Lucy asked as she nervously sat down next to Gray who was shaking his head along with Wendy.

Erza gasped as when she saw Lucy. "Lucy! Thank heavens you're okay!" she said, quickly pulling her in to a bone-crushing hug that gave her an instant headache.

"Erza… Please…" Lucy choked out, feeling like she was about to burst from the pressure the woman was exerting around her middle.

"I told you she was fine," Natsu muttered as he slumped back down on the bench, picking at the plate of food in front of him.

When Erza finally let go of Lucy, she turned to Gray as she rubbed the side of her head where she was certain a lump was already forming from where it had hit Erza's armour. "What are they talking about?" she asked.

Gray shrugged as he leant back with one arm over the back of the bench. "Erza got worried when you didn't show up, and you weren't in your apartment and she couldn't find you," he said. "Figured you'd just taken a solo job or something."

Oh, crap. She hadn't really considered anyone coming to look for her in her apartment, but then again, it made sense that they would since after all, she was in the guild almost every single day she wasn't out on a job (that, and to her team, her apartment was like their own second home). She herself had only stopped by once over the three days she stayed at Bickslow's and it had only been to get her Seith magic book and clothes instead of having to get Virgo to do it.

"Ah, yeah," she laughed nervously. "Sorry I forgot to tell anyone. It was kind of a spur of the moment thing."

"All is well," Erza replied. "Anyway, I've lined up an S-Class mission for us. It's part of the reason I wanted to find you."

Lucy perked up at the talk of an S-Class mission. They always had the highest pay and their shares were still pretty large, even after the damages got deducted. "When do we leave?" Lucy asked.

Erza smiled. "First train out tomorrow. The weather in Protea Valley around this time of year is a little chilly so pack some warmer clothes. I expect it will take us three weeks to complete." The Requip mage stood from the table as she looked over her team. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some things to wrap up before the end of the day, so I'll meet you all at the station tomorrow," she said.

Wendy slid the job flyer across the table as Erza headed for the doors and Lucy skimmed over it, her eyes going wide when she saw just how much the reward was. Hopefully it won't be too difficult. Because if the reward was that high, then it was going to at least a little troublesome.

"Princess, wake up."

Lucy groaned at the soft voice coming from next to her. She was a morning person, but after spending the night at Bickslow's again, she'd had to get up earlier than normal just so she'd have time to go by her own apartment before she met her team at the station.

"Go away, Loke," she mumbled into the pillow, pulling the sheets up over her more because there was no way she was letting the lion see her naked. Bickslow, yes, but not Loke. Ever. Not intentionally, anyway.

Bickslow opened an eye, squinting slightly at how bright the room was. I swear those curtains were shut…

He instinctively pulled Lucy closer by the arm he had wrapped around her waist, nestling his face in her hair before he remembered just what it was that had made him open his eye in the first place. And at that, both eyes shot open and he sat up slightly. Strangely enough, the pesky lion spirit was not what he'd expected, nor wanted to see, first thing in the morning. And definitely not when Lucy was wearing nothing under the sheets.

With a groan, he lifted his arm just to roll over to his other side. It was too early to deal with that. Her spirit, her problem.

"Fine, I'm awake…" Lucy muttered as she sat up from the bed slowly, rubbing her eyes with one hand as the other held the sheet up over her breasts. Lucy glared at Loke when she realised he had no intentions of moving. "Loke, as usual, thank you for being my alarm clock when I need it, but don't make me force your gate closed," she said with a sigh.

"Are you sure there's nothing I can assist you with this morning, Lucy?" Loke asked. He turned his head slightly to narrow his eyes at the Seith mage's back "Or has Bickslow got that covered?"

"Watch it, lion cub," Bickslow mumbled. It was way too early for him to even pretend to be civil with Loke.

With a sigh, the spirit pushed the glasses up his nose before turning back to Lucy. "I'm always here if—"

"Loke," Lucy warned.

"Of course, fine…"

Lucy fell back to the bed with her own sigh as her beloved lion spirit returned to his own world, only after muttering something about how he was the one who deserved Lucy's love. When Bickslow rolled back over, his arm going around her waist again to pull her side to him, she turned her head on the pillow to look at Bickslow who was pushing his face into his own pillow as much as possible. "Are you two ever going to get along?"

"Not when we're both after the same girl," Bickslow murmured. "He should know by know that I always win against him though."

She pushed Bickslow's arm off of her as she sat up, moving to the edge of the bed and taking the sheet with her (only after Bickslow gave up his hold on it and instead pulled the blanket up). Before she could close the bathroom door behind her, she stopped and looked over her shoulder and back at the bed. "Who says you've even won?" she asked with a slight smirk as she finally pulled the door closed after dragging the sheet with her.

Me, Bickslow thought. I say I've won.

By the time Lucy was done getting ready enough to head back to her own apartment so she could finish up there, Bickslow was on the verge of falling back asleep. He was so far from being a morning person it wasn't even funny anymore. Yet every morning she was still there, without fail, she'd gotten him awake before eleven o'clock. He was never going to get used to it.

"Alright, I really have to leave now," Lucy said as she walked around the other side of the bed, leaning down to press a kiss to his cheek.

"But do you really have to leave?" he mumbled as he pushed himself to a sitting position, rubbing his eyes with one hand as he once again got used to the light in the room.

She smiled. "Yes, I do. It's only three weeks though. I'm sure you'll be fine." Because over the last few days, she'd noticed that each day he really did get a bit happier. She had to believe he'd be okay with his team for three weeks.

"That I will be," he replied with his own smile, even though he didn't quite mean it. In reality, Bickslow didn't want her to go, but as members of wizard guilds, that's just what they did; it was how they made their living. He couldn't just expect her to give up on jobs just because he wanted her all to himself. He'd never expect that of her, just like he wouldn't expect her to do the same with him.

But it wasn't just that he wanted to be selfish. The only reason he'd been able to even smile over the last few days was because she'd been there with him. It was almost too easy to forget everything, even though that was the entire problem in the first place – he had forgotten everything. But it was different with her now, because he knew he couldn't entirely forget about it, and he knew he never would. He was still nowhere near being able to forgive himself, but it was almost as if Lucy being able to forgive him was enough.

"In that case, I'm off," Lucy said with a sigh before giggling as Bickslow pulled her down as he fell back to the bed, his arms around her waist as her lips pressed against his.

When she almost hesitantly pulled away from the kiss and finally stood, Bickslow sat back up slowly. "Don't get yourself hurt."

"Don't do anything stupid," she called over her shoulder before she disappeared into the hall.

So when he heard his front door close, Bickslow fell back down to his pillow with a sigh, pulling the blanket over his head since he was too lazy to get up and close the curtains.

It's going to be a long three weeks.