October always brought a slight chill to Fiore as they reached the middle of autumn and winter slowly got closer. It was that same chill that kept Bickslow awake and feeling somewhat refreshed that night; the crispness in the air and the almost deafening silence was all that surrounded him.

He quietly walked across the ground, trying to make the snap of the twigs beneath his feet as quiet as possible with each gentle step. Bickslow had no idea what time it was, but he knew it was late. Evergreen and Freed had been asleep as he'd silently crept away from their camp for the night as they travelled between towns. Most nights they spent camped out in the woods somewhere, just enjoying each other's company as best they could, instead of spending their nights in some fancy hotel room. But Bickslow liked that. He liked just spending time with his team, staring down at the crackling fire until it was nothing but a small flicker upon the embers. It felt like the old times, and even if it would just be for the briefest of moments, he felt something close to happiness.

But it was just that: the briefest of moments.

Bickslow wasn't happy at all. He was miserable, and he felt sorry for his team that they had to put up with him, but he hadn't expected to be happy when he'd left Magnolia, nor had his team. They'd done their best to cheer him up, to remind him that he'd done the right thing, but every day, Bickslow just wanted to go back.

He had his team, his best friends, yet he was lonely. He'd never felt so alone in his entire life. Something was missing in his life, and it wasn't really a something, because it was a someone.

It was Lucy.

And Bickslow knew he was always going to feel that way; he was always going to have that hole in his heart that only Lucy could fill, and he was always going to miss her. He was always going to miss her and it because he was never going to stop loving her, even when he didn't know where she was or what she was doing with her life.

No matter what, he would always love her, and nothing was going to change that. No matter what, he was always going to be in pain, but he had to live with that. He'd been the one that decided to leave – not Lucy, not anyone else. Him. He'd brought that pain upon his self, and there wasn't a thing anyone could do about it.

But he didn't want anyone to do anything about it, either. He wanted to live with that pain, and he would. He would embrace how much it hurt, just because he knew that what he felt would all be worth it one day.

One day, Lucy was going to be able to smile again. One day, Lucy was going to go and live the life she wanted and deserved. One day, Lucy was going to get the family she deserved. One day, Lucy was going to be happy.

And it had always come down to that one dream of one day. Ever since the beginning, it had been about the premise of one day.

One day, Bickslow was going to fall in love with her.

And he had. He'd fallen completely, hopelessly, irrevocably, whatever fucking word you wanted to use next, in love with her, and he was always going to be in love with her.

One day, Bickslow was going to ask her to spend the rest of her life with him.

But that one… That one he hadn't done. He couldn't have done it, because he'd known he'd have to leave.

For Lucy.

It had always been about Lucy. Everything he'd ever done had been for Lucy and to make sure she was happy. It was that alone that made Bickslow want to deal with the pain forever, because one day, Lucy would be happy somewhere, and as long as Lucy was happy, Bickslow could be somewhat close to happy.

He hoped.

He hoped that Lucy's happiness, no matter where she was at the time, would be enough for himself to be happy once again, because ever since leaving, he couldn't help but think that it wouldn't be enough. He wanted to believe that her being happy would be enough, but somewhere deep down, he knew it wasn't. Bickslow would need Lucy in his life to be truly happy, so maybe, without that, he wouldn't be happy.

It wasn't like it mattered anyway. His own happiness was almost irrelevant, because even then, it was still about Lucy. It would always be about Lucy. Everything he'd done – all the pain he was willing to put himself through for the rest of his life – was for Lucy.

So as he sat down on a fallen tree by the edge of a large pond not too far from their camp, he sighed and tried to pull his cloak in tighter around himself. Usually, Bickslow had never been one to feel the cold – nor the heat – but as the end of the year grew nearer, he began the feel the cold even more. The chill in the air, he felt it in his bones.

Hell, he felt it in his very soul.

And he knew exactly why; it was because he felt empty. Without Lucy, he was empty. His life was almost meaningless, dull, void of everything. Void of everything but pain and hurt from something he'd done.

But again, he was always constantly having to remind himself that he'd done the right thing. Because one day, Lucy was going to be happy, and hurting himself, and Lucy, would be worth it. Well, as worth as it's going to get.

So after a while of listening to nothing but the chirping crickets and the rustle of the trees and brushes around him in the light breeze, he reached into the heavy cloak that no longer smelled of Lucy from all the times she'd worn it over the year, and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

It was a letter from Laxus, because no matter where they were, their fearless leader always had a way of sending letters and getting in contact with them.

As he slowly unfolded the paper and stared down at the dull paper in the moonlight, he reached up with one hand and unclipped his visor, letting it fall to the ground beside his feet in amongst the leaves as he pushed his hood back and ran a hand through his hair.

It was the first letter any of them received since they'd left Magnolia, and even though Bickslow had received it that morning, it was the first time he was reading it. He couldn't have brought himself to read it during the day, because he'd known it would be about Lucy. He knew reading it would make him feel even more miserable than he already was, because it would be information as to what Lucy was doing, and he couldn't do that to his team; he couldn't be even more of a mopey bastard than he already was.

At least at night, he was alone. No one had to see him at his absolute worst, because the nights really were the worst for Bickslow.

So angling the paper so he could read the nearly illegible scrawl in the moonlight, he focused his eyes on the words and began to read.

Bickslow,

I could probably sit here and write about what I've been doing in the last month and what's been going on in the town with everyone that remains, but I know you're not interested in that, so I'll cut to the chase.

Lucy finally left last week. I have no idea where she went or where she is now, but she's gone. She knows not to come back, not for a while, anyway. I made sure of that.

She said she's going to write once she gets settled into a new place, so assuming these goddamn pregnancy hormones don't turn the demon into actual Satan (oh yeah, we're having a baby, apparently), then I should be able to pass on small bits and pieces every now and then. I know it's probably not the wisest idea, but I also know it will help you to know that she's moving on with her life.

But I hope you're moving on with your own life, Bickslow. As best you can, anyway.

Give Ever and Freed my best.

Laxus

The corner of his mouth lifted up slightly as he read the letter again and again. Lucy finally left Magnolia, and ever since he'd left himself, he'd wondered whether she'd left or not. She needed to move on with her life, and she needed to leave to do that.

But she had, so it was a start. She'd taken that first step to getting the life that Bickslow wanted for her; she'd taken the first step to getting the life she deserved.

"Still can't sleep, huh?"

Bickslow turned at the soft voice to see Evergreen gently sitting down on the log next to him, pulling her own coat tighter around herself to warm herself up. As he handed her the letter to read, he shook his head, looking down at the fallen leaves and dirt beneath his feet.

Sleeping was hard, as silly as it was. He'd barely been able to sleep as it was when he'd still been in Magnolia and Lucy had been pulling away with each day that passed. But… That had been different. Now that he was actually gone, it was near impossible to sleep. For so long, he'd fallen asleep with Lucy right beside him, and even if they weren't tangled up together and were on the opposite sides of the bed (which was more common), he still knew she was there. He'd get to wake up to her bright smile every morning she was there, and he'd always loved that. She'd always made his day instantly better, even when he'd just woken up.

But now that he was gone and alone, he just couldn't fall asleep anymore. He couldn't get comfortable, even if he had the world's best mattress or a million pillows around him. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't even shut his brain off, because as soon as he got even remotely close to comfortable and maybe drifting off to sleep, he'd start worrying about Lucy. He would think about where she was, what she was doing in that exact moment, and whether or not she was getting better, plus a million other things. He just couldn't stop.

And it wasn't like Bickslow wanted to fall asleep, either, because he didn't. He hated sleeping, as much as he needed it, because when he did fall asleep, he dreamt of Lucy and the life that he wanted; he dreamt of the life with Lucy that he'd given up. For Lucy. All he saw when he did manage to fall asleep from sheer exhaustion alone was the life he wasn't going to get - the wedding, the kids, her. None of it. It was all gone.

But Bickslow still hoped that Lucy would get all of that. One day, she'd get all of that with someone else. One day, someone would come along and they'd care about Lucy as much as he did, and she'd get the perfect life that she deserved.

The perfect life that Bickslow couldn't have given her.

"So Laxus and Mira are having a baby?" Evergreen asked quietly as she handed the letter back to Bickslow and he tucked it into a pocket on the inside of his cloak again.

He nodded. "Apparently," he mumbled. "Can you imagine Laxus as a dad?"

"I'm having a hard time doing so, but… I think he'll be a good dad," she said quietly.

"Yeah, so do I." And Bickslow did think that. Laxus had always had a heart under all of that muscle and hidden behind that scowl. Always. Though he never showed it, he'd always cared, and Bickslow knew that it was why Laxus would make a great father. He'd make a great father because of what his own had done to him.

And even though the guild would have been long gone by the time Laxus and Mira's baby was born, they would still grow up as being a member of Fairy Tail, because even when the building was gone, the guild lived on within them. That's just what it meant to be in Fairy Tail.

They were a family, and you never lose your family, no matter where they are.

But then, after a while of just listening to the rustling of the leaves in the breeze and the occasionally disturbance of the pond in front of them, Bickslow said quietly, "You should go back to sleep. It's late."

And Evergreen could only nod. She knew Bickslow had come to enjoy his solitude during the night, if you could even say that it was enjoyable for him. Really, it was probably just more of a preference over sleeping, and she couldn't blame him for that. Herself and Freed both knew he was having a hard time – an incredibly hard time – but they also knew that there wasn't much they could do to cheer him up. They could remind him that he'd done the right thing, and that it was all going to be worth it one day, but they could see it wasn't really helping. Even if one day Lucy really was happy, they didn't think Bickslow would be. They didn't think Lucy's happiness would be enough for Bickslow, even though he still hoped it would be.

No matter what, whether Lucy was happy or not, Bickslow was still going to be miserable. It might get better with time, or it might not. Nobody knew what would happen.

So as she slowly turned and headed for the camp where Freed was still sleeping and the fire was just a small pile of embers, she looked over her shoulder, and quietly, she said, "She'll be happy again, Bicks." Whether it's because of you or someone else… She'll be happy. But Evergreen wondered if it would happen, because without a doubt, everyone knew that if they could be with each other again, then they'd both be happy.

"Yeah, one day," he whispered.

And when Bickslow could no longer hear Evergreen's footsteps over the rustling of the leaves and bushes around him, he twisted on the log and laid back to look up at the stars, with his arms folded behind his head and his feet flat on the ground on either side of it.

One day, she'll be happy.

One day…

Lucy sat down at her desk with a sigh as she reached out to switch on the lamp that sat in the corner, illuminating the surface just enough to see what she was doing. Looking up to the window just next to her desk, her lips pulled up into a small smile at the slowly falling snowflakes just outside.

Christmas was just a week away, and even though she wanted to be glad about the thought of having a white Christmas – something she hadn't seen in the time she'd been in Magnolia – she wasn't. In truth, she wasn't excited about Christmas in the slightest, because even though she'd only shared one Christmas with Bickslow, it was the first one where she wouldn't be with him, and she'd never once expected to spend another holiday season without him.

But Christmas was special. The 25th was the date they'd been out on their first date, and in December, that date marked the first time Bickslow had ever told her that he loved her, and he'd told her a million-and-one times since that day.

Lucy just couldn't look forward to Christmas, because she just had nothing to look forward to. She told herself that the next year would be better, that she'd go into the new year with a positive outlook on life and try her hardest to move on from what she no longer had, because even though it had been months since Bickslow had left and everything had happened, Lucy was still in pain. It had gotten easier, but only barely.

So with another sigh, Lucy finally tore her gaze away from the window and looked back down to her desk where a blank piece of paper sat. She'd promised Mira she'd write once she'd settled into a new place, and she'd been in her new house in Crocus since the beginning of December. She had a somewhat decent job, and she had a new house that wasn't quite a home - not that she would ever expect it to be a home. But she was settled enough to write to one of her closest friends.

Besides, she'd promised, and Lucy never went back on her promises.

Reaching for a pen from the drawer, she finally began to move her hand delicately across the paper and write the words she'd been struggling to find all day.

Mira,

I know it's been a few months, but I only recently got settled in and couldn't find the time to sit down and write to you.

I found myself in Crocus not too long ago (can you believe it?), and ended up running int o Jason from Sorcerer Magazine, and he offered me a job. Granted, it's not the kind of job I'd ever pictured having if I managed to work for them, but it's a start, I suppose. One day, though, I'll have an article published. For now, well… You'll just have to wait until the next issue… Hopefully it's not too bad, though.

I hope the weather is a little warmer in Magnolia than it currently is here. It's been snowing all week, so it looks as if we're in for a white Christmas this year. As much as I love the snow, I think I'd always choose Magnolia's Christmas over Crocus'. I guess I'll just have to get used to it, though.

How are you and Laxus doing? I hope he's still taking care of you. And the baby, too.

Lucy dropped the pen to raise both of her hands to her eyes then to try and dry them. That was still a painful subject for her, but she knew she had to be at least a little supportive of her friends and their growing family. It would appear just a little bit odd to Mira if she didn't bring it up in her letter. Laxus would understand, but Mira wouldn't.

It had only taken her a few weeks after leaving to make Lucy realise that she wished she'd actually told people about her baby, and more importantly, she wished she'd told Bickslow. She knew that he really did deserve to know, and it was unfair that she'd kept it from him. After all, it hadn't just been her baby, but it had been his, too; it had been their baby. Even though all she'd wanted to do at the time was keep Bickslow from knowing the pain that she'd felt – and still did, for that matter – she knew that it had been wrong of her to do so.

Maybe she'd been scared of Bickslow hating her and blaming her more than she already blamed herself and left regardless, or maybe he'd have understood why she'd been the way she had all those months ago, and maybe he'd have ended up staying; maybe she wouldn't be spending her Christmas alone.

But none of that really mattered anymore. What's done is done; Bickslow was gone, and she was gone. Everything and everyone was gone, and she was still trying to get over that. She had to build her new life, and somehow manage to do so without the one person she loved most in the entire world. It was going to be a struggle, but she'd find a way. Eventually.

She'd promised Bickslow that she'd do that, and Lucy never broke her promises. Ever.

But there was one promise she'd never made to anyone but herself. Lucy had promised herself that if she ever saw Bickslow again – whether it be in two weeks, months, years, or even decades – then she would tell him what happened. She'd tell him about the family that they were going to have, and she'd hope that telling someone would actually make everything just a little bit more bearable.

Maybe she'd tell Mira one day, and maybe she'd tell her best friends. Who knows, really.

Maybe telling people would just make it that little bit easier.

So with a shaky breath, Lucy picked up the pen once again after she'd calmed herself down, and went back to writing her letter.

I know I said I'd come and visit one day after the baby is born, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to. Right now, I just need to stay away from Magnolia. I know I never told you this before I left, but there's just too many bad memories there at the moment. One day I'll be able to come back. Maybe it will be when I'm a best-selling author and I'm on a book tour (oh, how I wish), or maybe it will be when Crocus just makes me miss my home too much and I can no longer stay.

I just don't know.

I want to come and visit one day though, I really do. It just won't be for a while, and I hope you understand, Mira.

Laxus, I know you're reading this, too, and you're probably scowling at it as you read it, but that's okay. I'll be okay to come back one day, when everything is easier and I can face the bad memories again. I just hope you won't be too mad to see this blonde walk the streets of Magnolia again one day.

I hope you all have a great Christmas and new year. Give my best to everyone.

I miss you all.

Lucy

And so after reading over her letter to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything or said too much, she pulled an envelope from the top drawer of her desk and folded up the letter neatly to place it in the envelope.

Lucy knew that Mira wouldn't like finding out that she wasn't able to return to Magnolia – not in the foreseeable future, anyway – but she also knew that Laxus would be able to find a way to make Mira see that it was all for the best, and that it was the right thing to do. Lucy trusted Laxus to do just that.

So after making sure she had the right address written on the envelope, she got up from her chair and trudged on over to her bed that was just behind her desk and after ridding herself of her skirt and singlet she'd worn that day, she reached for the grey and pink shirt that was sitting on the end of her bed, and she pulled it on over her head, letting the fraying hem fall to lightly brush against her thighs as she finally climbed into bed to stare at out the snow falling just outside her window.

It was the same grey and pink shirt she'd worn almost religiously for the last year, and even though there were a few holes in the fabric and the stitching was fraying, it was still her favourite article of clothing in the entire world. It wasn't even really her shirt, even though it had become hers from the first time she'd ever slept in it, but it was really Bickslow's. It had always been Bickslow's, and it was the one thing she'd ended up taking from his apartment before she'd left.

She'd left everything else there in his apartment - her clothes in the drawers and in the wardrobe, her soaps and shampoos on the shelves in the bathroom, her favourite cereal in the kitchen cupboard. Everything that was hers was still there. She just hadn't been able to bring herself to take any of it back, because she couldn't help but think that it all belonged there.

But the shirt was the one thing she had been able to bring herself to take. If anything, she'd just wanted it as a keepsake to sit in her own drawers, but it had never been that. The shirt had been the one thing to allow her to fall asleep when Bickslow wasn't there, and it had been like that even when they'd still been together. She'd gotten so used to falling asleep next to someone that it was near impossible falling asleep alone, but after everything had happened, it had gotten even harder.

And it was still hard to fall asleep. Most nights, she didn't get that much sleep. She'd toss and turn for hours, only to finally fall asleep as soon as she had to get up to go about her day.

But as silly as it was, the shirt helped. It was the one thing that had always helped her fall asleep when she couldn't, but just like Bickslow did, it made her feel just that little bit safer.

So as she stared at the slowly falling snowflakes just outside her window, with one hand balled up in the fabric of the shirt she was wearing, she thought about what Bickslow was doing in that moment. Maybe he was staring out at the night sky just like she was, or maybe he was up and laughing with his team and enjoying himself. She hoped he was, because she hoped that he was happy.

Evergreen and Freed quickly looked up from the magazine they had between them when they heard a key being turned in the door to their hotel room, and just as Bickslow walked in, they quickly scrambled to hide the magazine under a pillow and smiled up at their friend who was already beginning to doubt their innocence.

"So," Evergreen started, bringing her legs up to fold under her on the soft mattress of her bed. "What did you end up getting?"

Bickslow unclasped the front of his cloak to let it fall from his shoulders, and then threw it to drape over his own unmade bed as he crossed the room to place the large paper bag he held in one arm on the small table by all of the beds. "Well, apparently this town has morals or something, so the only things open on Christmas are liquor stores," he said while reaching into the bag to unpack everything. "So I got booze. A lot of booze, actually, because I plan on getting so drunk that I pass out."

Evergreen and Freed shared a look of concern for their friend before they got up and walked over to the table, Freed reaching for the bottle of peach schnapps and Evergreen for the raspberry vodka that she loved way too much. "So just like old times, huh?" she said with a smile.

"Just like old times," Bickslow echoed.

And it really was just like old times. Before everything with Lucy, that's how Bickslow had spent his holiday season. Drinking with his friends – his family – and forgetting the world around them just for one night. None of them had ever particularly had a reason to celebrate anything, and even if they did, none of them had ever wanted to.

But then Lucy had come into Bickslow's life, and for the first time in a long time, he'd had a reason to celebrate Christmas. It had been the first time he'd told her that he'd loved her, and he'd always remember that day. He'd remember how it was the first time he'd realised that he didn't want to spend another day where she wasn't in his life, because even back then, after only four months of dating, Bickslow had known that he was never going to love anyone like he loved Lucy.

Because Lucy was something else – she was someone else. She was the centre of his world, and the only thing keeping him grounded when everything just got too hard. She just was his world, and Christmas had finally found a new reason to be celebrated for Bickslow, because it had become a time to be thankful that he had Lucy in his life.

But he couldn't be happy that year, not when he was gone and he'd given Lucy up. He'd willingly given up his one reason to be happy, and it still hurt like hell. But that was okay, because it was all going to be worth it one day. That's what he had to keep telling himself.

It was the fact that he wasn't happy that holiday season that was making it like the old times, because it had taken Lucy coming into his life to make Bickslow realise that he hadn't ever truly been happy. He'd always been missing something, and that something had been a someone all along; it had always been Lucy.

So as he finished unpacking all of the drinks and food he had managed to pick up, he crumpled up the bag and tossed it to the bin that wasn't too far away. Reaching for one of the crisps from the bag that Freed had opened, he quickly shoved it into his mouth and crossed the room to Evergreen's bed. In one smooth movement, he'd lounged on his back and grabbed the magazine that had been hiding under the pillow. "Now," he mumbled around the mouthful of food. "Why the hell did you decide to hide the Weekly Sorcerer when I came into the room?"

Oh, yes, he'd seen it. Though he didn't know just what it was they'd shoved under the pillow as he'd come through the door, he did now, and he didn't understand why one of the trashiest magazines in Fiore was something to hide.

"Oh… No… No reason at all," Evergreen said as she quickly went and snatched the magazine from his hands before he could even open it.

Freed nodded as he began to pour his own drink. "Nothing interesting in there anyway," he agreed. "It would be a waste of your time to read such a thing."

Bickslow arched a brow as he sat up and leant back on his hands. "Oh, come on. Freed, you know for a fact that I have nothing better to do with my time." He turned to face Evergreen who was avoiding looking at him. "And you, Ever, stop looking so suspicious. What the fuck is in it?"

"Nothing…" she muttered.

"Ever."

"Nothing you'd particularly want to see," she corrected herself.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Freed looked at Evergreen in concern, his brow furrowed slightly. "Evergreen, I know what you're thinking, and it's a bad idea."

She turned to look at her green-haired friend. "Well, you know he's not going to drop it!" she said with exasperation. "And I mean, he's bound to hear things about it eventually—"

"It's possible he will not."

"I'm right here, guys," Bickslow chimed in, rolling his eyes.

"He will," Evergreen insisted, ignoring Bickslow's comment. "It's not like their entire relationship was very low-profile after they decided to tell the entire fucking guild about it!"

"But I still don't think it would be wise to allow Bickslow to see it."

It didn't take very long for Bickslow to figure out the basis of what they were hiding in the magazine from him, especially after Evergreen's comment. She was right though, because some time just after Christmas the previous year, Jason had come bursting through the guild doors to do a piece on 'Fairy Tail's newest, hottest, and weirdest couple.' But it was just one day, and as much as both himself and Lucy had hated that they'd had to spend an entire day with the reporter who had an issue with saying a certain word, it had to be done, otherwise the guy was going to pester them and the piece on them in the magazine would end up being one that was mostly fiction. That was the last thing they wanted to happen, so they'd gone along with it and let the magazine publish a piece on them, on their own terms.

And it had all blown over once it had been published. Sure, they'd heard the odd comment from people about just how they managed to work together, but for the most part, they'd been able to go about their life privately. Well, as private as the guild would allow.

But as soon as Evergreen had said that, Bickslow knew it had something to do with Lucy, or even him, or something along those lines, and he needed to see it. He needed to know what it was truly about.

So as his two best friends continued to argue, completely unaware that the subject of their argument was still in the room and listening to their every word, Bickslow got up from the bed with another roll of his eyes and quickly reached out to pull the magazine from where Evergreen was holding it behind her back and began to flick through the pages.

Evergreen shrieked as she turned, having been taken for surprise as the magazine had been taken from her. "Bicks, don't…"

"I have to see whatever it is," he mumbled.

Freed sighed with a small nod. "I know, Bickslow," he said quietly. Just because he was worried about his friend's feelings because of what was in the magazine, doesn't mean he didn't know that it was something Bickslow needed to see. He knew it was something he could only keep from the man for so long, because like Evergreen had said, he was bound to find out about it at some point. They were the Raijinshuu – people knew them all over Fiore, and unfortunately, people knew of Bickslow and Lucy's relationship because of a certain magazine. And, just as unfortunately, anyone who read it was now aware of their split.

When Bickslow finally found the page (or pages, as it were) he was looking for, he tilted his head to the side slightly as he peered at the glossy pages, his brow furrowing the longer he did. When he'd told Lucy to go and do something she loved and made her happy, he'd never once expected that something to be become an underwear model… for the Weekly Sorcerer, of all things.

In the centre of the two pages was the blonde, sitting on her knees in the middle of a bed with rumpled sheets, and with her arms folded behind her head. The lacy red lingerie she was in did nothing to help Bickslow miss her any less, and if anything, it just made him miss her more – because damn it, his girlfriend (or ex-girlfriend, rather) was hot as hell.

But then he focused on the white words in the bold print that sat on the far left of one of the pages and over the Christmas tree that was in the background of the image. As he read them over in his head quickly, he slowly moved backwards until the backs of his legs had hit the bed, and slowly lowered himself to sit before he read the words on the page aloud, mostly just to remind himself that it was all real.

"I know what's on my Christmas wish list this year," he mumbled quietly, reading from the short paragraph. "With boyfriend Bickslow of Fairy Tail out of the picture, the eternally beautiful, once Celestial Spirit mage of Fairy Tail, Lucy Heartfilia, is back on the market. With heart in pieces after her recent break-up, who will be the lucky one to piece it back together, and maybe spend every Christmas hereafter with her?"

"Bickslow?" Evergreen said softly as she sat down next to him on her bed, gently taking the magazine from his hands and tossing it behind her. "Are you okay?" she asked, even though she knew it was a ridiculous question, because Bickslow hadn't been okay for a single day after leaving Magnolia.

But he nodded regardless of whether he was or not – which he wasn't. Ignoring the worry-filled looks Freed and Evergreen were sending him, he got up from the bed and grabbed his cloak from his own and quickly threw it over his shoulders, fastening the clasp with one hand. "I'm good," he lied, heading straight for the table where Freed was sitting. Picking up one of the bottles, he turned and began to walk towards the glass door on one wall that led to the small private balcony. "I think I'm just going to get some air for a while or something…" he mumbled, pushing it open. "Just… enjoy yourselves, or whatever. Don't wait up for me."

And before either of this friends could question just where he was going, Bickslow had slid the door closed behind him and stepped onto his babies as the slowly lined up just in front of him. There'd been so many times in the last few months where he'd opted to be alone than with his friends, that they knew there was no point of trying to stop him. They didn't know whether being alone at times was helping with cope with it all, but they knew it wasn't getting any worse, because in truth, they didn't think it could get any worse for Bickslow.

So with a sigh, Bickslow plopped himself down on the edge of the roof to their hotel and let his legs dangle over the edge as he stared at the tops of the buildings surrounding him.

"Miss! Lucy!" the dolls chanted quietly, a hint of sadness in their usually chirpy voices as they hovered in front and around Bickslow.

"I know you do, babies," he mumbled, taking a swig from the bottle. "So do I."

And he was always going to miss her. Bickslow had accepted that fact, and after seeing the magazine and reading the short paragraph in it, he'd accepted that there was nothing he could do about any of it. Because essentially, it was all right. He'd broken her heart because he'd left her – and he'd known he was doing so – and there was eventually going to be someone else in her life that her heart would belong to. It didn't matter whether he'd still love her, because there was going to be someone else that she would fall in love with, and that person would love her back and be there for her when Bickslow wasn't.

That's what it had always been about – it was about Lucy moving on from him and finding love and happiness again. Bickslow had to accept that it was going to happen. One day.

But just because he'd accepted it, it didn't mean he liked it. In truth, he hated it.

With the bottle of what was apparently scotch in one hand, and the babies hovering around him, just as depressed as he was, he leant back on one hand to look up to the unusually dull sky. "Merry Christmas, Lucy," he muttered. "What I wouldn't give to be spending it with you."

"Happy birthday, Lucy!"

The blonde smiled at the elderly woman who lived in the apartment just next to her, and uttering a quick thanks, she continued on her way up the stairs. She was so busy those days, having finally scored a job with the magazine that actually had her writing instead of posing in lingerie (and honestly, Lucy was still incredibly mad over the Christmas edition), and with the Grand Magic Games starting in just a few days, she had even less time to do the simple things, such as greet her elderly neighbours.

Over the months, the girl had been cheering up just that little bit more. She'd been writing to Mira and Laxus every other week, as well as the occasional one to Cana or Levy. She wished she had more opportunities to write to her friends though, because she still missed them as much as she had the year before.

She still missed Bickslow more than anything in the entire world though, and she wished that he was still there right beside her, but she'd come to accept that she'd probably never get to see him again. He was god knows where, doing god knows what, and Lucy preferred that, honestly. She liked not knowing where he was or what he was doing those days, because she felt that if she did know, there would be no way in hell she could stop herself from going to wherever that may be.

But just because she'd finally accepted that Bickslow was no longer part of her life, it didn't mean she liked it. She loathed it, but she had still been doing her very best to move on and start a new life. A co-worker of hers had set her up on a date on Valentine's Day, and even though she'd only really gone on dates with Bickslow before, it had been the worst one she'd ever gone on. She just wasn't interested in the whole dating thing anymore. She didn't want to find anyone just then, and thanks to that horrendous Christmas edition of the Sorcerer, every guy who came across her felt the need to ask her out, thinking that she so desperately needed a man in her life. The truth was that she didn't.

Well, she did, but none of them were Bickslow.

But she'd indulged her co-worker, and she'd indulged her Valentine's Date for the night, just because she'd had nothing better to do with her time. She'd also indulged her rather annoying need for something she'd realised she'd been missing in the months that Bickslow had been gone, but, you know, turns out only the love of her life could get her to writhe in pleasure, no matter how many times she'd tried (and her short list of partners had tried) to make her feel that same way. Hell, not even her own hand could make her feel that amazing. That wasn't supposed to happen.

Regardless, though, Lucy just wasn't interested in settling down. Not any time soon, anyway. She didn't need someone to love her, and she sure as hell didn't want to love anyone else. She didn't think it would be possible until she'd fallen out of love with Bickslow, and even nearly after a year of being separated, Lucy was still very much in love with him.

But that was okay. She'd accepted that, too. He was the love of her life, and the one person and thing she loved more than anything in the entire world. It wasn't something she could just forget about overnight.

Nor could she forget about the fact she'd also lost her chance at a family with him. She'd told Levy about the baby in one of the few letters she'd sent the Solid Script mage, but no one else. She still wasn't ready to tell people about it, no matter how much she'd accepted it or moved on from it. Besides, was it really something that the entire world needed to know about? It was in the past, and as much as telling someone else about what had happened had made it easier for Lucy to get over the pain, she still didn't think that everyone needed to know. Of course, she'd tell her closest friends, should it ever really come up, but until then, she realised she was fine with keeping it mostly to herself. It was easier to deal with now that she was focusing on her work and getting to where she thought she wanted to be.

That didn't mean she'd tell Mira any time soon, though. Mira would find out eventually, but with her son being born only a week earlier, Lucy knew that the time to tell the once demon barmaid was not then. And even though she was happy for her friends, she was still a little envious of their small family.

She was envious… but Lucy had come to realise that it wasn't what she wanted at all. She didn't really want the family with the kids anymore, because she'd wanted all of that with Bickslow. She just didn't want any of that with anyone else. Of course, it didn't help that she was terrified of falling pregnant again – to anyone and with anyone, for that matter – just in case it did end with the same unfortunate circumstance. Lucy didn't think she'd be able to cope with that.

But she really was okay with taking children out of her future life. As much as she'd wanted them before, they were the last thing she wanted now. She just wanted her family with Bickslow, and that was never going to happen.

So with a sigh, Lucy quickly opened and closed her apartment door, turning the lock before she went over to her dining table to drop her bag, keys, and the box she held under her arm. She could see it was from Magnolia, and that it was from Laxus and Mira. She'd specifically asked for no birthday presents, but of course, one of them hadn't listened. Probably Mira, she noted.

She tucked her long hair behind her ears before she went over to her kitchen to pull a knife from one of the drawers, and returning back to the table, she carefully ran the tip of the blade along the tape that held the box sealed. Once it was cut along the length of the top, Lucy gently placed the knife down on the table and pried the flaps at the top of the box apart, only to find a small chest within the box, surrounded by hay to keep it from getting damaged. Opening the box up further, she lifted the small chest out and placed it on the table, and she carefully took the folded up letter that had been stuck to the top of it.

It's not from us.

Happy birthday, Lucy. Hope you have a great day.

Laxus, Mira, and Jax (who should be here by the time you get this).

Lucy's brow became furrowed as she looked down to the small black chest in front of her. "Huh?" she muttered, gently placing the letter from Laxus and Mira on the table before she reached out to open the chest in front of her. She didn't understand who it could be from, yet have been sent to her through Laxus and Mira.

Opening the chest, she found yet another box – a box the size of a ring box, nonetheless – and another letter, and when she saw her name written on the front of the folded piece of card in the messy scrawl she hadn't seen in so long, she felt her heart begin to race and the tears sting her eyes.

She couldn't stand, her legs were shaking as much as her hands, and as she picked up the card from the chest, leaving just the smaller box in it, she fell down to sit in one of the chairs at the table. Without even reading it or seeing what was in the box, she knew it was from Bickslow. She knew that handwriting anywhere, and even though the first thought that had run through her mind was one where she questioned how he could do such a thing – send her something when he was so far away – because it was just so unfair, that same thought was quickly lost, because more importantly, she was glad. Not knowing where he was, when she'd been tracking everyone else just to see what they were up to, was something that had made her worry so much. His entire team had almost gone off the radar completely, and even when she did hear bits and pieces about them on jobs over the months, she'd never known where they are.

Just because he wasn't there, doesn't mean she didn't constantly worry about whether he was hurt or okay.

So with a shaky breath, Lucy carefully unfolded the note and began to read it silently, not even caring that it was getting hard to see through the tears that were slowly beginning to fall.

Happy birthday, Lucy.

I know it's been so long, and I know I shouldn't have even sent this in the first place, but I couldn't help myself. Ever and Freed are probably going to kill me once they found out what I did, and Laxus too once he decides to snoop (and yes, Spark Plug, I know you're reading this, too, even though I specifically asked you not to).

I've been carrying that thing around for nearly a year, and each time I see it, I just feel worse than I already do. It was bought for you, so you might as have it. Keep it, sell it, throw it away. It doesn't matter what you do with it, because it's yours and it was always going to be yours.

I miss you more than I can even put in to words, and even now, I still love you as much as I did a year ago. Probably shouldn't be saying that, but oh well. It's the last time you'll ever hear from me, so hopefully just knowing that will help you move forward just a little bit more.

I still hope you're aiming to get that life you deserve, and more than anything, I hope you're happier than you were the last time I was with you.

Enjoy that life of yours, Lucy.

Bickslow

The letter slipped from her hands and floated gracefully down to the floor by her feet, and instead of curling up in a ball on her bed right away with her favourite shirt on, she pulled the small black velvet box from the chest, and when she opened it and saw the sparkling diamond ring, she choked on her sobs.

Before everything had happened, he'd wanted to propose. And Lucy had always known that he was going to propose, but it had just been a matter of waiting for that day. She'd been looking forward to it in the few months leading up to their one-year anniversary, because she'd hoped that he'd do it then, but then everything had changed, and she hadn't been looking forward to anything.

Even though Lucy knew she should have been absolutely livid with Bickslow for sending her such a thing, on her birthday, nonetheless, she wasn't. It didn't matter that it was just a reminder of what could have been, because even when he was a hundred miles away, or maybe even just one mile away, she still would have said yes to marrying him if he'd asked. Without a single moment of hesitation, that's what she would have done.

But it really was just a reminder of what could have been. Still, though, she didn't think she had the capacity to just throw it away. Leaving the letter on the ground and the chest on the table, with one hand, she wiped her eyes to try and clear her vision, and with the other, she took the ring with the twisting bands out of the box. Lucy slowly made her way over to her vanity to where her jewellery box sat, and opening it, she pulled out a necklace she'd kept for so long yet hadn't worn, and taking the pendant off of it, she slid the ring over the end of the chain before slipping the long necklace over her head, wearing it along with the same eight-pointed star necklace Bickslow had bought her on their first and only Christmas together.

She couldn't throw it away, but she couldn't wear it, nor could she let it sit in a box where it couldn't be seen. Granted, the length of the chain kept it hidden as it disappeared below the neckline of her shirt, but she knew it was there, and that's what mattered.

With the Grand Magic Games having begun, Bickslow and his team had found themselves in Crocus to celebrate and watch along with the fair majority of Fiore. It wasn't the same without the main guilds – namely Fairy Tail and Sabertooth – but it was okay. The atmosphere in Crocus was bright and filled with enthusiasm, and as miserable as Bickslow was, he did enjoy being surrounded by so many people who were bursting at the seams with energy.

It was the last day of the games, actually, and on that particular morning, Bickslow and his team were enjoying what Crocus had to offer. It was a miracle Evergreen and Freed – and Laxus, for that matter - hadn't skinned him alive for what he had sent to Lucy for her birthday. He'd meant what he said to her in his letter, though; he couldn't hold onto it anymore. He'd needed to get rid of it, because each time he saw it in his bag, he just got reminded of the fact that he never got the chance to ask her to actually spend the rest of their lives together, and he was never going to get to ask that. He just couldn't toss it away or sell it, because he really didn't think it belonged with anyone other than Lucy.

So as they walked through the crowded streets of Crocus, they found themselves stopping at almost every little market stand that had been set up; food, drinks, trinkets, clothing – there was everything imaginable and unimaginable in Crocus then, because everyone flocked to the city when the games were on.

Evergreen and Freed were chatting away, discussing what they could get for Laxus and Mira as a gift for their newborn son, Jax, while Bickslow remained silent as usual. He'd had a lack of interest in the entire subject for months, and regardless of how happy he was for his best friend at having a family, he just… didn't particularly care. Laxus had never seemed to mind that he didn't care, and Bickslow wasn't entirely sure why. He'd just never asked, either.

But as his friends chatted away, Bickslow suddenly stopped in the middle of the street when he could have sworn he'd heard a certain something over the noise of the hundreds and thousands of people around him. He ignored the complaints of the man who had bumped into his back when he suddenly stopped, and he ignored the questioning looks that Freed and Evergreen were giving him as they turned around, realising that their friend was no longer walking with them.

All Bickslow could do was turn his head to look out over the sea of people around him, using his height as an advantage. He could have sworn he'd heard a laugh – Lucy's laugh – but he didn't know which direction it had come from. He knew her laugh anywhere, and he'd heard it enough times to know it off by heart.

But as he looked around, he couldn't see that blonde hair on anyone, and he couldn't hear anything over the sound of people talking and yelling, mixed with the footsteps of the thousands of people on the street.

Lucy still had a small amount of time before she had to meet Jason for the last day of the games, and much like the citizens of Fiore and Crocus, she was out enjoying what Crocus had to offer. Even though she'd lived there for seven months, seeing the city when the Grand Magic Games were on was something else. She hadn't had a chance to experience any of the festivities going on outside the arena during the day the last two times she'd been in Crocus, because both times, she'd spent more time in an infirmary bed to avoid any further injury to herself.

But on this day, she was free to see what went on in the eternally busy streets of Crocus.

Smiling at each of the little stalls with the trinkets and the themed dishes, Lucy found herself coming to stop in front of a small stand that was covered in snow globes of various sizes, each of them with different landmarks from around Fiore and the neighbouring countries.

"Oh my gosh! It's her!"

"I know!"

Lucy looked up suddenly at the hushed whispers between the sales clerks on the opposite side of the small table. A perfectly threaded brow was arched as she stared at the two women quizzically, holding a small snow globe with a miniature version of Kardia Cathedral in the middle of it. "Are you talking about me?" she asked.

The two women both turned shades of pink as they turned back to her, and as they turned to face her, Lucy couldn't help but feel like she'd seen them before. They were twins, each with a dark shade of blue hair, and looked to be in their early thirties. There was something about them that was familiar, yet she couldn't place it.

One of them smiled brightly as she reached across the table, a hand outstretched, and Lucy hesitantly shook it as she put the snow globe down. "Oh, sorry!" the woman exclaimed, a nervous laugh flitting out. "We just… We're just… we know of you from the Sorcerer. You're Lucy Heartfilia, right?"

"Yup, that's me," Lucy replied, shaking the other woman's hand. "Are you sure we haven't met before? I feel like I know you from somewhere…?"

The twins turned to face each other before they turned back to Lucy, and the one who hadn't spoken before finally smiled at Lucy. "We definitely haven't met, but… Uh…"

"Our brother was in Fairy Tail, too," the other woman finished.

Lucy's brow rose in her curiosity. "Oh? Who was your brother?"

"Bickslow," the two said in unison, each with somewhat guilty looks on their faces.

Lucy was glad she'd placed the snow globe back on the table, because she was sure she would have dropped it. She could see the resemblance now as she stared at the twins. Their hair was the same shade of blue, they each had slightly almond-shaped eyes, and the strikingly high cheek bones.

She had almost completely forgotten that Bickslow did in fact have twin sisters, both of which would have been in their early thirties by that point in time. They'd rarely come up, and on the few occasions he'd talked about his family, he'd only mentioned that he had no idea where they were. He hadn't even known if they were in Fiore anymore.

But that wasn't the case, apparently, because they were standing right in front of her, and slowly, a wide grin split her face once she got her thoughts into a somewhat logical order. This was amazing! She never thought she'd get to meet the rest of Bickslow's living family, and it was something she'd always wished she could do. Even though she wasn't with Bickslow anymore, she was still so excited to be standing in front of the famed twin sisters.

"Oh! Oh my gosh! Of course! I can totally see it!" she beamed. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry though, I don't actually know your names!" Lucy's cheeks became tinged with pink as she stared at the grinning women. "I'm not sure why he never told me, I mean I did ask—"

"He never really was the best younger brother," one of them said, cutting Lucy off, much to her relief. She didn't like that she was rambling, because she felt she was making a terrible first impression.

The other woman sighed. "No, he never was, was he?" She began to giggle along with her twin sister for a moment before they both turned back to Lucy, and with a bright smile, the woman with her hair in two braids said, "I'm Sara."

"And I'm Saskia," the other one said.

Lucy reached out to shake both of their hands again energetically. "It is so nice to meet you two!" she said. "How long have you even been in Crocus? Have you been here long, or have you been here the entire time? Oh, I just have so many questions!"

The two laughed again, apparently enjoying Lucy's frantic manner. "It's nice to meet you, too," Sara said while Saskia quickly dealt with a customer and a sale just beside her. "And we've only been in Crocus a few years. Until then, we were in Veronica."

"So you were here for the last two games?"

Saskia nodded as the customer she was serving disappeared back in to the sea of people walking by. "We saw you and your guild in the ones you participated in."

"We didn't particularly take an interest in you until last year's games, though," Saskia added. "We did cheer for you though. We'd always rooted for Fairy Tail, even though you were the underdogs and no one suspected you of winning two years in a row."

"You took an interest in me?" Lucy asked, her brow furrowing slightly again.

"Of course!" the twins said together.

"You were dating our baby brother," Sara said. "Even though we haven't seen him since he was seventeen, he's still our brother, and when he just so happens to start dating someone like you, well, of course we're going to take an interest."

Saskia sighed before Lucy could respond. "We were hoping you'd be joining our little family, but then you two broke up and we were so devastated," Saskia said as she carefully wrapped up a snow globe for another customer in some tissue paper.

"Yeah, well…" Lucy looked down to the array of gifts on the table briefly. She, too, had been hoping she'd be joining their little family, but alas, that ship had sailed long ago. "Wait..." she said then, her brow furrowing even further. "Someone like me? What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, drawing back when she couldn't help but think it was an insult.

The two laughed again. "Oh, nothing like that," Sara said, sensing Lucy's apprehension at their words.

"We just meant that you're you, you know? You're beautiful, seriously, and from what we've heard about you, you're a lovely person. It's just surprising that someone like you would end up with someone like Bicks. Then again, he's probably changed a lot since we've last seen him…" Saskia explained.

Lucy blushed slightly. "Oh, thank you," she mumbled, looking back down. "And, well… Trust me, I never exactly planned on falling in love with him, but you know, probably the best thing that ever happened to me…"

"Aww! That's so sweet!" the twins chorused, making Lucy blush even more.

"Oh, shush…" Lucy mumbled as she tried her best to hide her smile. "Now, tell me." She looked back up. "Has he always had that habit with his tongue?" It was something she'd always been curious about, and in all the time she'd been with Bickslow, he'd never actually given her a clear answer. She was only left guessing whether it was something he'd done his entire life, or something he'd picked up in all of the years he was in the guild before Lucy had joined and seen what he was like.

"Oh god, he still sticks his tongue out when he talks and laughs?" Sara said, one hand clutching her side as she tried to hold in her laughter, before she turned to her twin who was in a similar position. "Oh, Sas, do you remember that time he got his tongue stuck to that pole in the middle of winter?"

"Oh my god! Yes!" Saskia replied. "Oh, that was the best day ever, I swear. He so had it coming."

Lucy arched a brow in amusement at the laughing twins. "He got his tongue stuck to frozen pole, I'm guessing?" she asked, and when the two nodded and tried their best to form words, Lucy began to laugh with them. She'd gotten used to not being able to stay silent once Bickslow started laughing, but now his sisters, too? Was it a family thing, or something? "Well, I guess children will do stupid things like that," she giggled.

"Pfft, children," Sara snorted.

"He was sixteen," Saskia finished, only to cause the three of them to laugh even more, and Lucy was left with a mental image of sixteen-year old Bickslow with his tongue stuck to a frozen pole. How he'd managed to do that was something she couldn't begin to understand, or want to understand.

Suddenly, though, Lucy lifted her arm just enough to look down to small watch on her wrist, and her laughter ceased almost instantly. She hadn't had much time to explore what Crocus had to offer, and with the last day of the games starting incredibly soon, she had to get across town and back to the arena to meet her boss and get ready to report the day's events.

"I'm so sorry, guys," she said apologetically, both of them turning back to her then. "I wish I could stay here and talk to you some more, because you two are really incredibly lovely, but I have to go back to work." Lucy reached into her bag quickly and pulled out a small card and handed it to Sara. "I really would love to get to know the two of you some more. You know, if you'd want to, even though I'm no longer with Bickslow—"

"Oh, that doesn't matter. We could so sit and get coffee some time," Sara said.

"And we'd love for you to meet our families," Saskia added. "My daughter has absolutely adored you since last year's games. Of course, she doesn't know that you were with Bickslow. She just thinks your spirits are adorable."

Lucy smiled. "I'd love to meet her," she said. "I'd love to meet both of your families, actually. But my address is on that card, so you know how to find me!"

Sara tucked the card into her back pocket as she nodded. "We'll send a letter tomorrow or the day after with our addresses. That way, you'll know where to find us!"

"I look forward to it," Lucy replied with another bright smile before she slowly began to turn. "I must be off, though," she said, lifting an arm to wave to the grinning twins. "It was lovely meeting you!"

"Likewise!" the twins chorused, watching the blonde disappear into the sea of people and towards the arena, which was where almost everyone else was heading.

Lucy had never expected something so amazing to happen that day when she'd woken up that morning, but boy, had it lifted her spirits. She honestly hadn't been looking forward to the end of the games, just because all of it had been so boring with no decent guilds being entered, all of them ones that she'd never heard of before. But now, there was just no way her day could be ruined by that boredom.

Instead, she could only think it would get better, somehow. She just had a feeling, and she didn't know where it had come from.

After a few more seconds of looking over the crowd, Bickslow was convinced his mind had just been playing tricks on him. There was no way that Lucy could be only a few feet away from him, in Crocus of all places. It was impossible; things like that didn't happen.

"Sorry," he mumbled, quickly pushing past the few people in front of him to catch up to Evergreen and Freed. "Thought I heard something."

"Heard what?" Evergreen asked, pulling off a large chunk of the pastel green cotton candy in her hand as they continued to walk with the crowd.

"Nothing," he replied, the corners of his lips pulling up into a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it—"

"Bickslow?!"

He once again stopped, this time along with Evergreen and Freed, and looked around to see where the voices had come from. First he was hearing Lucy's laugh, and now he was hearing women screech his name? What the hell was going on?

"Over here, you moron!" only one of the voices said that time.

And that time, Bickslow could pinpoint where it had come from, and he quickly turned around to look in that direction, and when he saw just who had shouted his name and called him a moron, he quickly pushed past everyone who stood between himself and the small stall in line with the rest of the other stands along the streets. Evergreen and Freed could only stare in both amazement and confusion as they watched Bickslow push past everyone and suddenly pull two blue haired women into a tight hug.

"Sara?! Saskia?!" he said quickly, pulling back just to stare between the equally as overjoyed women before him. "Holy fuck, what are you doing here?! I haven't seen you since… Since I was, what, seventeen?!"

"Hey, kiddo," Sara said with a bright smile. "Been a while, huh?"

"Longer for you, obviously," he replied with his own grin as he pulled off his visor and pushed his hood back.

Saskia slapped his shoulder while glaring at him through the light green eyes they'd each received from their mother. "You calling us old, huh?"

"Well, I mean, you kinda are—okay! Okay! You're not old!"

The twins nodded in satisfaction to themselves before Saskia turned to serve another customer, and Sara took a step away from the table to get just a little bit further away from the almost deafening noise of thousands of people heading in the same direction on the same street.

Bickslow turned to face Evergreen and Freed then, and quickly motioned them over. "Guys," he said once they'd come to stand just next to him. "So, this is Sara," he gestured to her and she waved at the other two mages, and then to Saskia who did the same thing before turning back to her impatient customer. "And that's Saskia. The twins from hell."

Freed was the first to piece together the information, having remembered talking to Bickslow about his family just after they'd joined the guild, and his eyes went wide when he recognised the names. "As in, your sisters?" he asked, looking back to Bickslow, and when he nodded with his wide grin in place, Freed turned back to face Sara and he quickly thrust his hand out, reaching for hers to shake it vigorously. "Oh, wow, it such such a pleasure to meet you, Sara."

"Likewise," she replied. "And you must be… Freed, correct?" Sara turned to Evergreen when Freed nodded. "So that makes you Evergreen?"

Bickslow paled some. There was only one way his sisters knew the names of his friends, because there was only one place in the entire world where they were published, and that was in the Sorcerer. "Oh god, you read the Sorcerer, don't you?" he muttered, instantly losing his smile.

"Of course," she replied. "Who doesn't?"

And it was a fair question. The majority of Fiore read it, but ever since Christmas, Bickslow had had a hatred for the magazine. He'd never particularly liked it in the first place, but after that first edition that featured Lucy, he'd despised its existence. But even though he hated it, he couldn't bring himself to stop reading it every now and then, not when Lucy occasionally had articles published. Everything else in the gossip-filled pages he just ignored, because the only things worth reading were the things Lucy wrote. Of course, he was extremely biased, but still, he hated the magazine with a passion.

"So you uh… You know about…" Bickslow left the question unfinished, hoping that the younger twin by four minutes would know what he was talking about. They read the magazine, and if they'd been reading long enough to know the names of his team, then there was a very high possibility they knew about Lucy.

"You mean Lucy?"

As Bickslow nodded, looking down to the ground briefly, Saskia came back over to where they stood and lifted a hand to smack the upside of Bickslow's head, forcing him to look up just enough to stare into the disappointed faces of his sisters. "Yeah, we know about her," Saskia said, dropping her hand to rest on her waist, just like Sara had. "We know you were awkward when it came to girls when you were younger, but we hoped you'd have enough common sense to hold on to someone like her!"

"Hey! It was a little complicated, okay?" he defended himself, rubbing the back of his head before he turned to glare at Evergreen and Freed beside him who were sniggering quietly. "Oi, shut up," he muttered.

"Sorry, sorry," Evergreen said, taking another bite of the green cotton candy. "Just finding it hard to picture you as being awkward around girls."

Freed nodded slightly, the corner of his mouth lifted up into a smirk. "It's a rather amusing picture indeed," he added.

"You two are fucking horrible," Bickslow muttered again as he folded his arms across his chest before he turned back to Sara. "Anyway, how long have you been in Crocus?"

She shrugged as Saskia went back to the front of the stall. "A few years. We ended up travelling for a bit after you left, and then we found ourselves in Veronica after a while. They sold Sorcerer Weekly at a few places around town, so we always stayed up to date with what was going on in Fiore. But then we just got bored, and decided to see what Crocus was all about, and then we found ourselves here."

"You should have come and found me or something if you knew about me," Bickslow said.

Saskia came back over then and shrugged. "We talked about it."

"But we decided against it," Sara finished. "You had your own life, and we had our own families to look after. We're not just three years apart anymore, Bicks. As much we wanted to come see our baby brother, it was just going to be too hard on everyone."

Bickslow sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, nodding slightly. He had to admit that it was fair. While he'd been frozen on Tenrou, they'd been living their lives with their own families. It really did make sense to just continue going like that. "Families?" he echoed. "You guys have kids?"

"I have a daughter," Saskia said with a smile. "She's six this year."

"And I have twin boys who just turned four," Sara answered. "You think we were bad? These two are a nightmare already."

"Something tells me that's actually true," Bickslow chuckled. "I'd love to meet them all though. I mean, if I could. It's up to you. If you want me to stay out, then I will."

The twins smiled at each other. "Yeah, we could arrange something. They know of you, but nothing else. We were never sure if we'd ever run into you, but hey, it happened!" Sara said.

"Small world, huh?"

"Very small indeed," Saskia said, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "But anyway," she clapped her hands once. "I have a feeling the games are about to start soon, and I'm assuming you're in town for that, so I would suggest leaving so you can all get seats."

"What? No, I'd rather stay—"

"Bicks, we can talk later," Sara interrupted, her hands on either side of her younger brother's arms. "Besides, you're kinda making it hard for us to do our jobs."

"Harsh."

"But true," she said with a smirk that apparently ran in the family.

Bickslow sighed. "Alright, fine," he mumbled before quickly pulling both of them into another hug. "You two better be here later."

"We'll be here until sunset," Saskia laughed before she pushed him away, much like Sara was doing. "Now go! We'll see you later!"

"Okay, okay, I'm going!" he said, turning and following behind Freed and Evergreen with a grin on his face. Even though he'd once thought he could live without never seeing his actual family again, he'd come to realise that he probably couldn't. They were his family by blood, and even though they weren't the most important people in his life, and he mostly hated them, they were still his sisters and they always would be. He'd never once expected to run into them in Crocus of all places, but hey, it was a small world.

He was honestly sure as hell glad he had though, and as he walked towards the arena, he felt happier than he had in months.

And as the three disappeared into the crowd, the twins returned to stand at the table covered with their wares and went back to their quickly growing impatient customers. Once they'd thinned out and they were no longer swarmed with customers, Sara turned to the older twin and quietly asked, "Do you think we should have told him we just met Lucy?"

"Nah," Saskia replied, swiftly wrapping up a snow globe in the tissue paper. "I don't think it would have been for the best. Something tells me that he's still in love with her, though."

Sara sighed as she handed some change to a man before her. "Yeah, I think you're right," she said quietly. "She really would have made a great sister-in-law, too."

"That she would have."

Lucy smiled down at the sleeping Dragon Slayer in her lap before she looked back up and out through the window of the carriage. It was the middle of the night, but she was wide awake. She knew she should be sleeping since she was in for a long journey, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She was far too excited and nervous to even think about sleeping, because through that window, Lucy watched Crocus disappear into the dark horizon.

She'd never expected her day to end the way it had, but she'd never expected a lot of things to happen at all. She'd never expected to come across Bickslow's sisters in the middle of Crocus, and she'd never expected to want to get to know them, especially when she wasn't with Bickslow anymore. She'd also never expected Natsu of all people to crash the Grand Magic Games, almost completely destroy an arena in a matter of seconds, and almost manage to melt her clothes right from her body. And along with that, Lucy had never expected to be sitting on a carriage with him and heading back to Magnolia.

But as she sat there with her best friend snoring in her lap, she knew it was the right thing. She'd had a feeling that her day had been going to get better, but she'd never expected such a turn of events. To say it had gotten better would be an understatement, because Lucy was almost in a state of bliss, just from having such an amazing day.

Lucy had never expected to be heading back home so soon, not when it hadn't even been a year since she'd left, but seeing Natsu in that arena had made her so painfully aware that she really wasn't going to get what she needed by staying in Crocus any longer. Natsu was going back to Magnolia – to the guild that no longer existed – and Lucy knew she needed to go with him.

Magnolia was her home. It had always been her home and it would always remain her home. No matter how many painful memories were there, it was always going to be her home.

But it had been long enough that Lucy was ready to face all of those bad memories again, and the only reason she felt ready to do that, was because she was going to take her own advice. Once upon a time, on a rooftop in Magnolia, Lucy had told Bickslow that he needed to take the bad memories and turn them into good memories. Lucy was going to do just that, because Magnolia held more good memories than bad memories. It was those good memories she wanted to relive and remember forever, and she didn't want them to be overshadowed by the bad ones.

They were things in the past, things that she had and was still trying to move on from. It didn't matter where she was, because as long as she remembered they were in the past, then she would be able to stand in Magnolia and smile.

Lucy had realised that what she'd been living in Crocus wasn't the next chapter of her life like she'd thought. It wasn't the next chapter that she'd begin alone, and it wasn't the ending. It wasn't the beginning, either. It was an intermission, of sorts. It had been a break from the reality she realised she'd been running from by leaving, and Lucy had never been the type of person to run from her problems, even though it's what everyone had wanted her to do. And for a time, Lucy had been fine with that. She'd thought that running from Magnolia was the absolute best thing for her, that leaving behind all of her good memories, her friends, her family, her home – everything – was the best idea. But then, seeing Natsu and talking to her best friend, it had made her realise just what she'd been doing, and she didn't want to do that any longer.

It was why Lucy was completely fine with running from the life she'd been living in Crocus. She would gladly leave all of that behind – the job, the house, everything – because none of it meant as much to her as Magnolia and everyone who remained in Magnolia.

She was just so excited to finally head home, and further away Crocus got, the more excited Lucy got. She just couldn't wait to finally step into the streets she loved and missed so much.