When Bickslow put his babies away, so to speak, she'd honestly been a little disappointed. She'd gotten used to having them around her and even though they'd only been around her because they were trying to make her feel better and keep her company, she'd found herself getting attached to them, almost.

But then Bickslow had explained that a week of using their own power (something that had honestly impressed him) had probably pushed their limits a little too far, and honestly, he hadn't felt up to the task of keeping them around on his own magic. So Lucy hadn't really complained about that at all, so she was okay. Mostly.

Bickslow was still a little surprised that they'd stuck by her for an entire week. Sure, he knew exactly why they'd done it, but it still surprised him, just because his babies were, well… They weren't usually ones to willingly spend time with people other than himself.

In a way, Bickslow's babies were a lot like him just because souls often took on certain personality traits of their masters. So, the little guys were basically pranksters at heart, and more often than not, they were all involved in Bickslow's pranks. They were a little bit stubborn and they also liked causing trouble, but, that was only when they used their own power rather than Bickslow's, and honestly, they happened to do that more than they should. But Bickslow never minded.

But Bickslow had been collecting those souls for an incredibly long time. Some of them he'd had since he was a kid and the last time he'd added to his immortal troupe of dolls was when he was eighteen, so he'd had plenty of time to get close to them, and them in turn, close to him.

But that was the thing. His babies only ever got close to him. Anyone else and they just didn't care, and they'd never had to. Lucy though… It was quite clear to Bickslow that the babies actually liked Lucy, and that surprised him because in the months that they'd been together, there had only been a handful of times where they'd interacted with each other.

"So, I was reading during the week…" Lucy mumbled, her head propped up on her hand as she sat curled up on the chair. "Souls and spirits are pretty similar."

A wide grin spread on Bickslow's face. "I know." And he really did know. He knew exactly what it was that made them so and he also knew that those similarities also extended to the mages themselves.

Bickslow had always had a fascination with Celestial Spirit mages just because of those similarities. It was part of the reason he'd been so surprised to find out Lucy was one when they'd first met, considering she was the first the guild had had in a long time. Sure, they'd had an actual spirit, but not a Celestial Spirit mage.

Bickslow had known about souls and spirits being similar since he was a kid. He knew that each saw their respective mages as masters (for the most part), and he knew that each drew their power from their masters, and, when they had deep enough bonds, they were able to use their own magic.

And that's really what it was all about – bonds. Hell, it was the bonds that made himself and Lucy actually quite similar. Well, in a way. Of all the things that were different about them, Bickslow thought it was nice that their magic was one of the only things that was alike.

He'd done enough research into Celestial Spirit magic to know that not only do the mages get their strength and power from their spirits themselves, but the spirits from their masters. So, really, they strengthen each other. It was the same for Seith magic, but instead of spirits, it was the souls. Bickslow's babies made him stronger and he made them stronger in turn.

It was the bonds they shared between their souls and spirits that made them stronger. That's what made them similar.

But of course, he'd never actually told Lucy just how much he knew about her magic, just because it had never really come up. Until then.

"Of course you do." Lucy said with a slight laugh. Because really, it made sense for Bickslow to know about it. After all, he'd been a Seith mage his entire life so he'd have to know practically everything there was to know about it; she was the one who was only just learning about it.

Although, she did have to admit that she was a little surprised Bickslow had never brought it up, considering he'd obviously known about it the entire time. Huh… Interesting…

Bickslow chuckled slightly, pushing himself up onto his elbows and wincing slightly before the pain faded from moving again. "Yeah, sorry," he muttered. "So, you know the whole bonds thing, right?" When she nodded slowly, an eyebrow raised slightly, he continued, "You know the similarities kind of extend to us, right? I mean like, you and your spirits kind of feed off each other, so your magic increases because of them and theirs because of you. It's basically how the babies work."

It honestly took her a few seconds to wrap her head around it before she realised that he was right. That was exactly how her magic worked, and hell, it was exactly how his worked. So it wasn't really just the souls and spirits themselves that were similar, it was their magic in general.

It was all about the bonds, and honestly, it was a little ironic that it was the bonds they'd be, well… bonding over.

"Wait… You know about my magic?" she asked, an eyebrow raised. In the months they'd been dating, she'd never seen him even take an interest in her magic, not like she had with his.

He shrugged as best he could from his position with a smirk. "Always had a fascination with it, to be honest. I know more than you think."

"And you never told me?"

"Did I need to?"

"Well, no… But…" Damn it, he got me there. "Would've been nice to know, you know?"

"Sorry," Bickslow said, sliding back down the bed when he glanced towards the clock on the wall. "Kinda surprised you've never noticed the books in my apartment." He'd seen her go through almost every single book he owned, and that included the ones he had on her magic. Sure, there were only two or three of them, but he'd still expected her to ask why he had them in the first place, just because there were only a few different magic type books he owned.

She furrowed her brow when she tried to recall the books. She couldn't remember ever seeing them and considering she'd alphabetised his entire book collection, she was really confused. She should have noticed something like that, damn it!

"Anyway, you should go and get some sleep. I'm pretty sure you've yawned about twenty times in the last half an hour alone," Bickslow said with a light chuckle.

"But I'm not even tired!" she complained. Shit, have I really been yawning?

"Well, I am, despite apparently sleeping for a week, so please, go home. I'll be here in the morning, I promise."

Lucy only rolled her eyes. So begrudgingly, she got up from the chair slowly. "If I leave and you die, I'm going to find a way to bring you back from the grave just to kill you myself for dying."

"As long as it's to you and not Laxus or Erza, I'm totally fine with that," he said, chuckling when she leant down over him to kiss him for just a moment. "Love you, Lucy. Go home. Sleep."

"Love you too, Bicks," she said with a small smile, straightening up and heading towards the door in the far end of the room before turning to look over her shoulder. "Remember, no dying."

"I'll try not to."

Bickslow had heard from his babies that she'd cleaned his apartment when she hadn't been able to sleep, and he hadn't really cared much. But when he walked in a few days later, he really didn't expect it to the be that clean. Hell, there wasn't a surface in his house that wasn't sparkling.

"Yeah, sorry…" Lucy mumbled as she followed him in. "I couldn't sleep at my house and then I just couldn't sleep here either and I needed something to occupy my thoughts…"

"It's fine. Besides, it's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about anyway," he said, wincing slightly when he fell down to the lounge. Over the last few days, he'd improved considerably since actually waking up, but it still hurt when he did things like that, as he had now learnt. "I mean, you stay here a lot and you're always using Virgo for your clothes and stuff, so I was thinking… Maybe you could like, leave some things here. I mean, if you'd like, that is."

Lucy's face lit up as she smiled, moving from where she sat to straddle his legs, her hands on his shoulders. "You mean like a drawer?" she asked, an eyebrow slightly quirked.

"Well, two actually."

"Two drawers? You're giving me two drawers? Gosh, I feel so special! You must really love me if you're giving me two drawers," she gushed, failing dismally at holding in the laughter that soon followed.

And Bickslow couldn't help but laugh with (and a little at her) her. He'd never been able to stop himself from doing that. Her laugh was one of Bickslow's favourite sounds in the entire world.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her down against him. The pressure on his abdomen was fine and the pain was actually bearable by that point, for the most part. "I really love you," Bickslow said with a small smirk before she leant down, her hands lacing around the back of his neck and tangling themselves up in his hair. "And I would totally give you more drawers if I didn't have so much crap," he murmured, lips brushing against hers.

"I think two is just enough."

His fingers traced gently over the red scar that ran down his side and curved across his stomach slightly, almost running parallel with where the muscles tapered off towards his hips. He hadn't realised the sheet of metal had been curved until he'd seen the mark, but then again, it wasn't like he'd been paying too much attention to it.

After all, he should have died that day, but for whatever reason, he hadn't. Bickslow knew he was a lucky guy - an extremely lucky guy, and for many reasons.

It had been three weeks since it had all happened - since Bickslow had felt like his world was crashing down around him, since Lucy and her team had been pulled into a trap, since he'd almost seen her die right in front of him.

Since he'd almost died himself.

Bickslow would never forget the sound of her screams ringing out across the town, and if anything, they served as a reminder that he was going to do whatever it would take to make sure she never had to experience that pain again.

With a sigh, he twisted, his head going over his shoulder to look at the scar on his back in the mirror. It ran almost parallel to his spine – an inch or so away and on a little bit of an angle. Any other angle and he really would be dead. And honestly, if it wasn't for all of the work Wendy and Porlyusica had done, he'd probably still be bandaged up and not just looking at a scar. Sure, it was still healing, but he was actually able to move without gritting his teeth or wincing from the pain. Though, if he did try to sit up suddenly if he'd been lying down, it hurt.

There had been some benefits to getting hurt and kind of being forced to spend half of his time in bed. Well, sort of. One being that Lucy considered his scar to be sexy, and honestly, he wasn't going to argue with that. He didn't have many scars, just because he was usually out of the fray when it came to combat so he rarely actually got hurt. In his own weird way, he liked his new scar, though that had only been after Lucy explained that in a way, it could be as a reminder that it was his idiotic idea (in her words, not his, because honestly, Bickslow thought it was brave rather than idiotic) that allowed her to get out alive, so he'd basically saved her. Sort of. Two being that she was spending more time on top and getting more confident with taking the reins, and really, Bickslow loved that. Most of the time.

With another sigh, Bickslow switched off the light in the bathroom and padded back over to his bed, curling up behind the blonde who was already curled up into a ball under the blanket, having decided to stay like that for the remainder of the day. Or the week. Whatever.

"There's chocolate in the kitchen somewhere," Bickslow mumbled with a small smirk, fluffing up his pillow to make himself comfortable again.

Lucy groaned, trying to curl in on herself even more. "I would go and get it if my body wasn't trying to murder me from the inside."

Sometimes, she just really fucking hated being a girl, and that was one of those times. The worst part was that she'd really rather be in her own bed in her own home, but no, the world hated her and was making it so that it was near impossible for her to leave Bickslow's apartment, let alone his bed.

She loved the guy, a lot, but there were some things she really didn't want to be sharing with him. Well, sort of. Lucy knew that Bickslow knew exactly why she was in a ball of sort of self-hatred (well, it was only really hatred towards a certain part of her anatomy), but it still sucked.

Apparently the world – the oh so terrible world – and her enemy, mother nature who was otherwise known as Satan, were set on pushing their relationship into the whole 'we're going to make sure that you're aware your girlfriend can turn into a psycho for a few days because you apparently failed to get her knocked up' zone. She'd been able to avoid that for nearly six months. Although, she did have to admit it wasn't as bad as her entire team knowing absolutely everything there was about her, including when she was going to turn into an irritable psychopath. Lucy figured it was really just so Natsu and Gray knew when to avoid her and Erza too.

Bickslow chuckled quietly as he pushed himself up from the bed once again, making his way out to his dark kitchen. If there was one piece of advice that his father had given him while growing up, it was that dark chocolate was the key. It was the answer to everything, and honestly, it would probably put him into her good books. Even Evergreen had told him that chocolate was a godsend.

Bickslow really did know what Lucy was going through. Sure, he didn't understand it – and he didn't really want to either – but he'd grown up with two older sisters who had turned into Satan's spawn every month or so, much like Evergreen. And really, Bickslow was a little glad that they'd stopped their several month long missions and jobs, just because he hated having to put up with the self-proclaimed Fairy Queen, much like Freed and Laxus did.

Lucy on the other hand… Well, she was proving to be manageable, but Bickslow still knew he had to watch his words.

And besides, it meant he got to put off actually becoming a father for at least another month. Even though he knew he eventually wanted kids – with Lucy, no less – he didn't really want that any time soon. Not when he was still twenty-two, anyway. That, and there was the entire issue of him still hating kids for the most part. It was honestly weird. He wanted kids but he still hated him.

He was just a weird person.

"You might be the best boyfriend ever right now," Lucy mumbled when he tossed the bar down just beside her, going back to curl up behind her again, barely wincing.

"Am I not the best boyfriend ever all the time?"

"Well, yeah, but… You know, this is like a new level of being the best, because I'd seriously rather be like, in my own bed. Cursing my body, the usual," she mumbled again, blushing slightly when she reached out for the chocolate. She realised that there really no point of even trying to hide it from Bickslow. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't.

Bickslow chuckled slightly as he propped himself up on his elbow. "You're fine here. I'm totally cool with you, you know… being a girl and shit," he said. "Hey, roll onto your back."

"What? Why? Don't make me move, come on," she groaned, breaking off a piece from the bar of chocolate and shoving it in her mouth. "Moving hurts." Like seriously, if I could stay curled up like this for the rest of the day, I'd be fine. Damn, I wish I had a hot water bottle… or Natsu. Damn it, why can't Bickslow be a human furnace?!

"I promise it will help," e said as the corner of his mouth turned up in a small smirk. When she sighed and rolled onto her back and stretched her legs out begrudgingly, he moved to kneel over her.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked as an eyebrow shot up, shoving another piece of chocolate in her mouth at the same time.

Gingerly, he lowered his hands, his palms flat against her stomach on either side of her belly button. "Truthfully, I have no idea," he said, gently moving his hands in a small circle. "But I've seen Ever do it and it seems to make her stop complaining."

Lucy stared incredulously between his hands that had honestly already begun to work their magic and his face that was staring back at her, an eyebrow slightly raised as he did so - he was watching for her reaction.

With a small shrug, she grabbed one of the pillows on the bed beside her and added to the one already below her head, propping herself up even more. "This is weird," she mumbled, cheeks slightly red. She could already begin to feel the pain and tension begin to fade. Lucy began to wonder why she'd never thought of doing that herself, because seriously, it was absolutely freaking amazing.

"Is it?" Bickslow asked quietly, raising his eyes slightly as he continued to slowly and gently knead small circles. "I don't think it is."

"It's totally weird."

"So… Does that mean I should stop? I mean… If it's too weird for you…" he said, lifting his hands as a knowing smirk came across his face.

"Hey! No!" Lucy mumbled around a mouthful of chocolate. "It helps, alright? It's just… weird…"

Bickslow chuckled when his hands went back down, "I told you it would." When he looked up again, he felt his own cheeks heat up slightly. "Is it really that bad?"

"Are you really asking me about this?"

"Well, I mean… I'm not really an idiot, you know. I'm a mature adult. With two sisters, and a mother. I've spent more time around Ever than anyone should. And, I have an awesome as fuck girlfriend too, so I mean… It wouldn't really be the end of the world if you did decide to, I don't know, fill me in… or whatever. I mean, I still don't find it weird but it could be helpful so I can help you… When you need it… Or whatever…" he mumbled, clearing his throat slightly as he looked back down again. Mature adult. Pfft. And besides, why the hell was he so embarrassed all of a sudden? He didn't even understand it at all.

Lucy was aware that her face was around the same colour as Erza's hair, and even though the drapes were drawn, she knew Bickslow could tell just how uncomfortable she felt. But she realised she was too far gone to even care by that point. Besides, she had chocolate and he was giving her what was frankly the best – and also weirdest – massage ever.

"Uh, well… It's not always this bad… Most of the time," she murmured, still not really able to believe she was actually talking about cramps with her boyfriend. Some things were just a little weird, but it really could be worse.

"Ever said it felt like she was being stabbed with fifty swords from the inside out."

"Pretty accurate," Lucy said, giggling slightly as she took another piece of chocolate, smirking slightly, "I mean, my uterus is only tearing itself apart because you failed to get me pregnant," she prattled on, her smirk turning into a grin when Bickslow looked up, blanching slightly. "Did I mention the tearing itself apart? What about the fact it's twisting and ripping off layers? Like, my body is literally at war with itself. Just… You know, it's not always this bad. But in a way, this is kind of your fault." Sure, she might have exaggerated, just a little bit, but it was nice to see the usually oh so confident Seith mage acting a little awkward.

"Uh… That, um… Sounds pleasant…" Bickslow mumbled, looking back down as he shook his head lightly. In a way, he hadn't been expecting that answer, but it also made so much more sense that Evergreen would quite literally (well, almost) bite his head off or turn him to stone should he say one wrong word. Everything made sense suddenly. But then he remember what else Lucy had said. "Wait, what? This is my fault?" he questioned as he quirked an eyebrow. How the hell is this my fault?

"Like I said, it's because you failed to get me pregnant."

"Do you want me to?"

"W-Well, no…" she spluttered. "But I mean… If I was, I wouldn't be… I'll just stop talking." She quickly shoved another piece of chocolate in her mouth. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

The minutes that followed were probably the most awkward that the two had ever experienced together. Lucy kept eating the chocolate until there was nothing but an empty wrapper which she tossed to the nightstand, looking everywhere around the room but Bickslow. Bickslow just focused on the task at hand, which was making Lucy feel better. Well, trying to, at least. He could do that.

But when the silence became deafening, he couldn't do it anymore.

He moved swiftly, lying back down on his side next to her, his head propped up in his hand with his elbow on a pillow while his free hand continued with the small circles, moving closer to her hip.

"You know I love you, right?" Bickslow said softly.

"So you keep saying."

"Well, I know it's probably not a conversation that we should be having yet, but since you kind of brought it up…"

Lucy turned her head to look to the nightstand, the one facing away from Bickslow. He didn't need to say the exact words for Lucy to know what he meant, and even though it had been a nagging thought in the back of her head since she'd pretty much admitted she wanted kids one day, with Bickslow, there was a part of her that was scared of the conversation.

Lucy could remember Bickslow saying he didn't really like kids, so would that mean he didn't want kids with her one day? Even though they were nowhere near that point, to Lucy, it was the kind of thing that could make or break a future, their future. And even though Lucy had been brought up in a world where she was to be wed as soon as possible just to produce an heir, none of it had ever put her off actually having kids of her own. Ever. She was never going to have a child just to produce an heir for the Heartfilia Konzern, whether it existed then or not. She would have a child because she wanted one, and to that day, she still did.

The only difference was that she wanted that to be with Bickslow and not some man her father had chosen for her.

But… If Bickslow didn't want children, then was there any point of even thinking about any of it?

"I, um… I'm sorry… I didn't mean to… I know you don't—" she mumbled, stopping only when Bickslow cut her off.

"I do want to though," he said, his hand stopping as he lifted his gaze to look at her face as she turned back.

It could mean a lot of things, really. It could mean he wanted to have the conversation. It could mean he wanted to have kids one day. It could mean both at the same time, and really, that's what he'd meant.

"…Huh?"

He smiled softly. "I remember when you said that you wanted to be able to say that there was two people sitting on my back and not mean it as a joke, and… I want that too. Not any time soon, of course, but… one day."

For whatever reason, she could feel the tears well up in her eyes – something that she was completely putting down to her hormones. "But… I thought you didn't like kids…" she mumbled, staring back as her brow furrowed slightly.

"Uh… I don't. Not really, anyway." Bickslow admitted, his smile faltering. "But, you know, our kids would be something else, if it ever got to that point."

"Y-You want kids one day?"

"Yeah. One day," he said softly. But then he began to worry when he heard Lucy begin to sob. "Shit, are you crying?" he asked when she stared up at the ceiling, fanning her face with her hands slightly.

"Y-yeah, I'm not sure why though," Lucy whispered, a breathless laugh escaping. She really had no idea she was crying. She wasn't sad. She was actually happy, but not enough to cry. Bickslow wanted kids, one day. He wanted a family with her, one day. She didn't have to worry about whether he would actually be in her future, because if anything, it meant that he saw her in his, and if they were in each other's, then that's all that mattered.

When Bickslow moved to wrap his arms around her, pulling her against his chest as he rolled onto his back, he couldn't help but smile.

"You still find ways to surprise me, you know?" she mumbled against his chest. She could feel the vibration in his chest as he chuckled. It was something she'd always loved. "I love you, Bicks," she whispered.

"Love you too, Cosplayer," he murmured as he closed his eyes, the smile never leaving.

One day.

One day he was going to have a family with Lucy. Well, it's what he hoped, really. More than anything, that's what he wanted. It had only taken him nearly dying to realise that that's what he wanted more than anything, but maybe that's what he'd needed. It didn't matter anyway. It was just about spending spending the rest of his life with Lucy, and honestly, if that happened, he'd be happy for the rest of his life.

One day…

It just always came back to that dream of one day, and Bickslow was fine with that.