Lucy's eyes slowly fluttered open as the sunlight streamed through the open curtains above her bed, and a soft smile graced her lips as she stretched her arms above her head. Lucy slowly sat up on her bed, the familiar pink duvet pooling around her hips as she reached to push the curtains back even more, and she fiddled with the sticky lock on the window until she could push the two panes open.
She took in the street below her with a content sigh, lowering her chin to rest on her folded arms on the sill. The townhouses that surrounded her, the quiet Sunday morning streets, and the flowing canal right below her. It was the same one she'd walked along almost every day, and the same one she saw every morning. As the men in the boat floated past then, whistling a quiet tune that drifted up to her window, she let out a quiet giggle.
She was home, and even though she'd only been back for a week, she'd been far happier than she had been while travelling and living in Crocus. Magnolia would always be home to her, and no amount of time away would change that. Sure, there was still a little something missing – or someone, really – but she couldn't dwell on that. She couldn't dwell on how much she still missed Bickslow, because right then, it was the thing that hurt her the most.
As much as Lucy really did feel like she was home, she knew it just wasn't the same without Bickslow, and it would never be the same. But… Things were getting better, and she was still trying her hardest to live a life full of joy, because it was what Bickslow had wanted for her. She'd promised she'd try and have that life, and she'd never stop trying.
But she had to stop thinking about how much she wanted Bickslow there with her, because seeing all of the places that they'd been together over the course of their relationship just made her heart ache all the more. Walking past Bickslow's apartment for the first time in nearly a year had had her on the brink of tears. It had been more of a home than her own apartment had been in the months they'd been together, and all the memories that had been made and shared in that same apartment had come crashing back. But no matter how much they hurt her heart, to know that Bickslow wasn't there and it was bound to be covered in dust, from the story hanging on the wall above his bed to the book on Seith magic she'd accidentally left on the nightstand, and that they were all just things in the past, they still made her smile. There'd been so many things that she would never forget.
It was the good memories that made it possible for Lucy to stay in Magnolia though, because they made the bad ones hurt just that little bit less. And it wasn't like there were as many bad memories to good, because coming back nearly a year later, Lucy could see that there really weren't as many as she had thought. And as she looked back on all of them, she wondered if it was all because she was doing her best to find those small glimmers of happiness within in terrible memory, and turning them into ones that could make her happy.
She was doing what she'd told Bickslow to do nearly two years earlier, and the concept still held. Because for Lucy, within each terrible memory, there was always something in them to make her smile. It was like that day on the rooftop where she'd fought Bickslow. She hadn't wanted to do it, even when she hadn't known him at all and all he'd thought of her then was something she'd spent months trying to convince him to stop feeling guilty for. It was, as a whole, a terrible fucking day. But it made her smile, because that same terrible day was also one of the best of her entire life. It was the day she'd first met Bickslow, and if Lucy couldn't smile about the time the love of her life came into her life, then she didn't know what she could smile about.
And maybe it was the author in her that made her believing some crazy things, but there had always been a part of her that wondered if things ever would have happened like they had if they'd never met on that day. Fate, destiny, luck, fortune… Hell, call it whatever the fuck you want. She just wanted something to believe in, and she wanted to believe that she'd had the best year of her life with the only person she could or ever would love, because all of that had happened. That was what she smiled about.
But she had plenty of other things to smile about in Magnolia, too, other than her memories. She had her friends and the family she'd missed too much to put into words. Well, she had most of them, anyway. Before leaving Crocus, Lucy had barely had enough time to quickly write a letter to Cana, just telling her that she'd be coming home. She'd never quite expected to see the guild's resident drunk and half of the guild on the rubble that had once been their building, but it had just been another moment in her week where she'd been on the brink on tears.
To see everyone again after so long… it had been brilliant. But, there were still just a few people missing to make it all complete. Gajeel and Levy hadn't arrived until a few days later, much to Lucy's surprise. Laxus and Mira had been too busy with their newborn son to really get out, and according to Lisanna, they still had no idea Lucy or Natsu were back. Erza, Gray, and Juvia arrived around the same time Gajeel and Levy, but still… It was the Raijinshuu she missed the most. They would have made it feel complete, but Lucy knew she had to deal with it all.
So with a hum of content, Lucy finally sat back on her heels in amongst the tangled sheets and closed the window, leaving the curtains open. It really did feel good to be home, and that first night she'd spent in her old apartment – that she was still a little confused as to why her landlady had kept it open for so long – had been the best night of sleep she'd had in a very long time.
But it was another day. It was a start of a new week and she needed to pay someone a visit. She was looking forward to surprising her friends, and more than anything, she hoped her morning wasn't going to end with her running out of her friend's home in tears.
She slowly climbed the few steps to stand in front of a red door, and with a steadying breath, she raised a hand to knock on it three times. Lucy waited for what felt like an eternity before it finally opened, and as soon as the familiar blond who lived in that house opened the door, Lucy's face split into a wide grin.
"Hey, Sparky," she said quietly, giggling at Laxus's shock.
The Dragon Slayer could only stand in his doorway and stare at Lucy, and for a moment, Lucy was wondering if she had broken him. But then he had moved almost impossibly fast and wrapped his arms around her, only lifting her up slightly. "What the fuck are you doing here?!"
She shrugged when Laxus put her back down on the ground and she followed him into the hall. "I moved back," she said.
"You what?"
"Well…" Lucy paused when she took a seat on one of the lounges in the living room, and she looked down at her hands as Laxus sat down opposite her. "I realised that I'm not going to get what I want in Crocus," she said. When she looked back up to see Laxus moving his son, Jax, from a bassinet just to the side of the lounge, she smiled softly. Don't cry, Lucy. Don't cry. "Magnolia is always going to be home, and I can't just run away from all of my problems, and that's what I did. I ran, because it was what Bickslow wanted me to do, and I promised him that I would try and put it all behind me."
Laxus frowned as he leant back on the lounge and cradled his son, only glancing up to the other blonde in the room. "You know Bicks is going to come back too eventually, right?" he asked. He'd honestly heard rumours over the last few days about getting the guild back together, but now that he knew Lucy was back home, he knew that they weren't just rumours. If anyone could organise something like that, it would be her.
"I know, and I really want him to," Lucy said sadly as she folded her hands in her lap. "I… I need to see him. I need to tell him…"
"About the baby?"
She nodded and her heart ached with the memory as she looked at Laxus and Jax. "I know that he'll hate me for sure once I do, but I need to tell him about it. He deserved to know a year ago, but I just… I couldn't then." She took a shaky breath as she forced herself to look back up with a soft smile before standing, and then quickly moved past the small coffee table and sat down next to Laxus. "But anyway. At least I get to meet this little guy now that I'm back, right?"
Laxus watched as she smiled down at the newborn in his arms, but it was a smile that was full of pain rather than joy. He could see that, but he could see what she was doing. She was trying to get past everything; she was facing her demons head on, and in all honesty, he had to commend her for it. Even Bickslow would be proud of her for it, because most people really would run and never look back. She'd had the opportunity to start over and live a life without pain and loss, and hell, did Laxus know she deserved that more than anyone.
But… She'd chosen to come back. She'd left the life she was building and come back to the one she'd had. She'd come home - or to what was left of it, really. But she wasn't running anymore, and Laxus could see that.
"Here," he said as he slowly sat up and gently moved Jax in his arms and towards Lucy.
She looked up in shock then as she almost hesitantly took the baby. "A-Are you sure? I mean… Newborns are so…" she whispered, glancing back down to Jax as she brought him in close with one hand behind his head.
"Don't worry 'bout it," Laxus mumbled as he sat back again. "I've dropped the kid more times than the demon knows. He's fine."
Lucy giggled quietly as she made herself comfortable on the lounge and continued to look down to the wrapped up bundle of nothing but joy in her arms. She really couldn't help but smile, even if she was doing her absolute best not to cry and focus on how it could have been her life. It hurt, especially knowing that her own child would've been just a tiny bit older than Jax was, but she was going to push past it all, and if that meant starting with holding her best friend's newborn son, then she would. Baby steps.
"He's beautiful," she whispered before glancing up again. "Where is Mira, though?"
"Out with Lis or something." Laxus shrugged. "Anyway, Blondie. How long you been back?" he asked.
"About a week. Natsu and I left—"
Laxus sat up suddenly. "Wait, hold the fuck up. Natsu's back too? What?" He could only see his life getting a whole lot more frustrating if Natsu was back. Especially if the guild was reforming.
"Yeah, he is," Lucy laughed. "He kinda crashed the last day of the games. Totally wiped out the guild who won in a matter of seconds, and managed to destroy the arena."
"Of course he did…"
Lucy nodded. "But then I had to explain that the guild had broken up just after he left. It's kind of why I'm back at all, really," she said, sitting back and crossing one leg over the other. "Planning on getting the guild back together in the next few weeks."
"I did hear a few rumours about that," Laxus muttered. "It makes sense now though. But, Gramps is going to take some convincing to come back too. Pretty sure he's off with Granny on some tropical island or something." He shuddered at the mental image.
"I'm sure his favourite grandson—"
"His only grandson," Laxus corrected, a smug smirk on his lips as he turned to the blonde.
"—could convince him to come back once we're rebuilt," she finished. "I think Erza said we could start construction at the end of this week though, so that's good. If everyone pitches in as usual, we could be up fairly quickly."
Laxus nodded before his brow furrowed. "Bicks would've been helpful," he muttered. "I mean, with those damn souls. Makes it a whole lot easier to move the beams and all."
"Yeah…" Lucy whispered sadly as another painful throb of her heart had her chest tightening.
Laxus suddenly became aware of his words and what they'd done then, and his eyes went wide as he sat up again. "Shit, sorry," he mumbled. "I didn't—"
"It's okay," Lucy said. "It was a fair point."
"But still…" He paused when Lucy didn't lift her head and just looked down to Jax who was sleeping peacefully (still) in her arms. "If the guild is getting rebuilt, then he'll probably want to come back. Ever and Freed will at least. They mentioned something about looking at joining Blue Pegasus a few weeks back, actually…"
"Blue Pegasus?" Lucy snorted as she began to laugh quietly, and Laxus could only smirk. "Can you imagine those three in Blue Pegasus? Seriously?" She could see Freed doing well, to an extent, and maybe even Evergreen. But…Bickslow? She just couldn't see it. He'd be so out of place that it would be almost painful, even if he did happen to look far too good in a suit.
"Not at all," Laxus chuckled before he cleared his throat. "Which is why I need to ask you if you'd be okay with him coming back." He wasn't going to mention that he wouldn't be bringing up Lucy being in Magnolia when he wrote to the Raijinshuu, because he'd be lying if Mira's matchmaking tendencies hadn't worn off on him. He wanted to at least see his best friend and someone who had essentially become his little sister at least talk it out, because there wasn't a single person in Fairy Tail who didn't think that the two belonged together.
Just half the shit Bickslow had written in his letters – or what Freed and Evergreen had said about him – over the months had Laxus wanting to tell Lucy just how miserable he still was. He knew Lucy was still miserable too – at least on the inside – and Laxus knew it was because they weren't together. It didn't matter that Bickslow had thought he couldn't make Lucy happy anymore. Granted, it really had made Laxus want to shock some sense into the guy, because it had been one of the more idiotic things he'd thought and done in his life. But the fact remained that no matter what, only they could make each other truly happy again.
And Laxus knew that they each had come to realise that, regardless of what they'd thought nearly a year ago. The entire thing had been a huge lapse in judgement, and it annoyed Laxus more than he cared to admit. He couldn't help but think that things wouldn't have ended the way they did for the two if they'd actually talked to each other.
But it was in the past, and Laxus really was determined to see Bickslow back in Magnolia. Sure, the guy was probably going to be mad at him for a little while once he realised he'd been tricked into coming back, but it was okay. Mira's optimism had almost worn off on him.
Lucy smiled as she looked up then. It wasn't something she needed to think about at all. She wanted to see Bickslow, and she knew Laxus would be able to get him to come back. "It's fine." And it was mostly fine. It was going to hurt, and she was expecting it to hurt a lot once she told him everything that had happened the year before, but it was okay. She needed to tell him, and she hoped that telling Bickslow about the baby would help her move past it.
She needed that weight to be lifted off her shoulders, and telling Bickslow could relieve almost all of it. It didn't matter that she was worried about what would happen if Bickslow did end up staying in Magnolia for the guild, and she really hoped he would; she knew it was going to be torture to be in the same town for a while until they could sort things out. She just couldn't think about that though, and that's why it didn't matter.
It would matter eventually, but for now, all she needed to do was focus on getting the guild rebuilt and telling Bickslow, all while hoping that he came back in the first place. She could worry about where they'd stand with each other after she'd told him everything she'd been keeping to herself for far too long.
"Good heavens!"
Bickslow arched a brow from where he lay on his bed, and he let the tiki doll he had in his hand fly away to join the other four zooming around the ceiling. He looked to Freed in confusion as he sat up slightly and propped himself up on his elbows. "What now?" he asked.
Freed looked up from the letter he had in his hands, and quickly glanced to Evergreen who was coming out of the small bathroom to the side of the room, then to Bickslow, and then back to the paper. His brow was furrowed as he read it again. And again. "Laxus says the guild is being rebuilt," he mumbled.
"Well, after the stunt Natsu pulled at the games, is it really that surprising?" Evergreen asked as she began to dry her hair with a towel.
"That is a fair point," Freed said before he looked to Bickslow again. "But would we be returning to Magnolia for Fairy Tail?"
Bickslow quickly looked back between the two when he realised they were both staring at him, and he let his mouth hang open slightly as he tried to think of a response. He knew what it was about though, even without them saying it. They wanted to know if Bickslow was ready to go back to Magnolia, and in truth, Bickslow just didn't know if he was.
They hadn't even been anywhere near the town in the months they'd been travelling Fiore, and it had been because Bickslow had wanted to avoid it. There was just nothing left in Magnolia for him and he didn't want to go back and be reminded of that. And sure, he owed it to Laxus to go back for just a day or two every now and then. The guy was his best friend after all, and he kinda had a baby to meet, especially since he'd essentially become the kid's uncle, as well as a godfather.
Of course though, Bickslow was left confused as hell as to why Laxus and Mira would ever trust him to raise Jax in the unlikely event they both died. The worst part about it all was that they named Lucy the godmother, meaning that if Laxus and Mira did die, they would be forced to raise Jax together. Because the two were evil mother fuckers. According to Bickslow, anyway. He just had to hope that if they died, it was after the kid turned eighteen, because he was already so over trying to explain that things were over between himself and Lucy, and it was because of him.
He'd made that call, and every day, he still hoped it had been the right one. He had no idea where she was, and honestly, whether she was happy or not, but he really did hope she was. Bickslow knew she had her job with the magazine as a reporter, and though it wasn't exactly what she'd wanted to do, it was close. Surely she had to be at least a little happy. It was what he told himself, anyway.
But… If the guild was being rebuilt, then he had just a small reason to return to Magnolia. They'd discussed joining another guild, and Blue Pegasus had been the best option, but Bickslow hadn't been interested in it. Between the Trimens, Ichiya, and Master Bob… He could only shudder at the thought. Blue Pegasus had not been his idea at all; there was no way he was going to be comfortable in a place like that. Not after all the years he'd spent in Fairy Tail.
The only reason they'd talked about joining another guild at all was because they needed the jobs. It was hard being a freelance mage those days, even with the reputation their team held. They just needed a place to settle down again, and Bickslow hated that idea.
And sure, Bickslow could see that Freed and Evergreen would both love to go back and help with building the guild back up, and he knew it would be unfair to stop them. The only problem was that he was scared of going back. He didn't want to be reminded of the things he'd given up on, and he sure as hell didn't want to run into Lucy there, regardless of it being the one thing his heart wanted.
He didn't even know if she would be there though, but he had to know. Lucy would ultimately be the deciding factor.
"Can I see?" Bickslow mumbled as he got up from the bed and padded over to where Freed sat on an armchair, and he reached for the letter before he quickly skimmed over it.
Blah blah blah, family update, blah, Natsu set fire to the arena. Was there, saw that. Blah. Natsu is back in Magnolia for the guild, Gajeel and Levy back from the council, blah blah blah… Nothing about Lucy.
His brow became furrowed as he read over it again, and then again. He didn't know if that meant Lucy was still off living her life and enjoying her grand adventure, but if she were back in Magnolia, Laxus would have mentioned it… Right? He would have had to, because that was something definitely worth mentioning.
Still, Bickslow didn't know if he was ready to go back to Magnolia. The thought of the guild getting back together was pretty damn amazing, and a part of him would love to be there for it, but he was truly just scared of what would happen to him if he went back. He just really didn't know if he was ready to face everything he'd let go of and left behind.
Lucy shook her head as Erza pulled Natsu by his scarf and away from the pile of support beams and over to another part of the construction site where he was actually required and could be of use. Lucy could hear the Re-quip mage scolding the fire-breathing idiot, and she smiled softly as he navigated the mess.
She ducked under a heavy beam that Elfman was carrying, and she stepped over a smaller bundle of planks when Max dropped them, and then around two other members who were doing their best to carry another beam over to where it was needed. Everyone was doing their part, and even though construction had only begun a few days earlier, the amount of people helping had doubled, and with each day, Lucy saw even more familiar faces. Word had quickly spread around Magnolia and the surrounding towns about Fairy Tail's upcoming grand re-opening, and Lucy absolutely adored just how many of the original members had returned to help out.
"How's the paperwork, Levy?" she asked with a bright smile when she finally made it over to where the Solid Script mage had set up her temporary office. When it came to filling out the legal documents that would make Fairy Tail a legal guild once again, there weren't many people who were capable. And, given that Levy had worked for the magic council over the months she'd been away, she knew better than anyone there as to how those kinds of things worked.
It didn't help that no one really wanted to fill out the near hundreds of pages of documents, either. Lucy included.
"Boring," Levy sighed as she dropped the page she'd been reading onto one of the two stacks in front of her. "I'm beginning to see why Master never did any of the paperwork. I never had this much when I worked for them!"
Lucy giggled as she gently placed her own stack of paper down – flyers for around town that would feature the date the guild was finally re-opening, and the details for the celebration – on the edge of the table. "Aw, come on. I'm sure it's not that bad."
"I suppose you're right, but it's still frustrating and I'm bored out of my mind."
"Just think, Levy," Lucy said as she ducked slightly, just missing the plank that went catapulting over her head when someone behind her warned her of it. "You only have what? Thirty pages—"
"Seventy-three."
"—to go, and then we'll be a legal gui—"
"Laxus!"
Lucy suddenly spun around, pausing mid-sentence when she heard two distinct voices coming from where the half-built gates were, and her eyes went wide as she saw none other than Freed and Evergreen bolt across the construction site and over to where Laxus and Mira sat with Jax.
She could hear her heart beating in her ears, and she could feel her hands begin to shake. Everything around her got drowned out, and all she could do was watch the two run to Laxus, just like everyone else was doing.
Slowly she tore her eyes away from them, and she looked back to the gates before she quickly began to search the area, turning her head every which way. The first thing she felt when she realised Bickslow was nowhere to be seen was worry, and her gut twisted when her mind automatically assumed the worst. She couldn't stop herself from reaching for the ring that hung on the chain around her neck, her hands clasping it as they shook.
What if something had happened to Bickslow in the last few weeks? What if he got hurt, or worse? She couldn't bear to stomach that thought, and she was honestly beginning to feel ill. But surely she would have known if something had happened to him in that time. Surely Laxus would have told her if that were the case. That's what she told herself, anyway.
But where was he? Evergreen and Freed were there, and she could assume it was because of the guild. Laxus would have told them that. Lucy was sure of that. But maybe he wasn't coming back with the rest of his team. Maybe he thought she'd be there and that was enough to have him avoid it all, and just thinking about that possibility had Lucy feeling guilty. She didn't want things to be that way, where Bickslow though he had to avoid Lucy, especially when it meant he'd essentially be losing his team. That just wasn't fair.
"Lucy."
Her head snapped up then, and suddenly, the blood rushing in her ears wasn't as loud and everything slowly fell back around her. She could see everyone slowly going back to what they were doing – Erza once again dragging Natsu away from one section, Gray and Gajeel nailing long screws into some of the beams to connect them, and Lisanna busily flitting around and handing out refreshments – and she could see Freed talking to Mira. She could see Laxus watching her though, and when she slowly turned her head to the side, she saw Evergreen smiling at her softly.
"How are you going?" Evergreen asked softly before pulling Lucy into a hug. Evergreen could feel the blonde shaking in her arms, and she could feel how tense her muscles were. She knew what it was about, too, and she didn't blame her.
"I… I don't… Is he? Where…" Lucy mumbled. She couldn't have formed a proper sentence right then if her life had depended on it, and she wanted to curse herself for it. Her emotions and thoughts were an absolute mess, and had it been about anything else, she really would hate herself for being in a state.
But it was because it was about Bickslow's wellbeing and location that she couldn't. She just had to know something, and after knowing absolutely nothing about him or his team, she just needed something. She needed Evergreen to give her that.
So when Evergreen pulled away and kept her hands on the blonde's shoulders, she smiled softly again. Lucy wouldn't have had to say anything at all for Evergreen to tell her where Bickslow was. Just from seeing her, she knew that's what she needed. And she didn't blame her for it, because had Evergreen known where Lucy had been over the months, she would have told Bickslow.
"Hargeon," she whispered. Just one word. It was all she needed to say for Lucy to know, and all she did was nod before running off.
Lucy couldn't have stopped herself from running if she'd tried to, and she had no intentions of doing so. She knew where he was, and she had to be there. She had to see him, and she needed to talk to him. She'd promised herself that when she saw Bickslow, she would tell him everything, and that moment was finally there.
Her hands were shaking as she slowly walked along the quiet street in Hargeon, and when she saw the familiar industrial building with the stained glass windows that looked out over the water, she had to take a deep breath to calm her nerves.
She was so close, and she was absolutely terrified. But she was also excited. She was terrified, excited, nervous, worried… Plus every other emotion you could feel, most likely. Calling herself a mess wouldn't even come close to describing how she felt, but she was an emotional mess.
When the doors were right in front of her, she lifted the long chain from where it usually sat hidden below the neckline of her shirt, and she looked to the diamond ring on it. Her fingers closing tightly around the band, sucking a deep shaking breath into her lungs. Glancing back up to the doors, she took another steadying breath. You can do this, Lucy. She needed that reassurance, even if it was just from herself.
So after staring at the doors for what felt like an eternity, Lucy finally gently lowered the chain from her trembling hands to let it fall against her chest again, and instead reached out for the heavy steel doors right in front of her, and slowly, she pushed them open.