A/N: Just a 'lil bit of smut in this first scene. Nothing too major. I wouldn't even call it smut, to be honest.
"Bicks… Come on," Lucy whined as she nudged the Seith mage awake. "It's already eleven. Time to get up."
Bickslow smiled into the pillow as he felt her eternally cold feet pressing all down his spine, then his thighs, and his ass just for good measure. Annoying as it was that Lucy's preferred method of waking him from his slumber when she was bored of being the only one awake until noon was pressing her feet against him, he still loved it.
Well, it wasn't really so much that he loved his girlfriend – no, fiancée – pressing her feet into his back and not so gently nudging him awake; it was that he loved her being there. That was the first time in over a year since he'd woken up in that bed with Lucy there beside him, and as simple as it was, Bickslow absolutely adored it.
"Not yet," he mumbled. If he could just stay in bed for the rest of the day with Lucy, he would. He couldn't think of anything else they needed to do that day. They'd got the entire guild and announcement thing done the day before, so a day in bed or on the lounge was much needed. Just one day where it was them and no one else.
Lucy sighed as she picked up one of the spare pillows against the headboard, and she brought it down on the side of Bickslow's head with a quiet laugh that sounded at the same time as his surprised grunt. "Right now," she insisted with another laugh.
"But I have no reason to get up today."
"Yes you do."
He peeked an eye open suddenly as he tried to remember if he really did have a reason to get up and be somewhat close to productive, and as he felt Lucy's bare chest pressed up against his back and her chin coming to rest over his shoulder, Bickslow remembered the reason for getting up. He was suddenly feeling full of energy and a wide grin split his mouth. "Oh, right!" he suddenly exclaimed.
Quickly, he slid out from under Lucy as he untangled himself from the black sheets, and he stood just as he looked around the room for the nearest form of clothing. At some point in the night after they'd talked about Lucy being in Crocus and everything, their clothes had been lost and scattered around their bedroom floor. Granted, it wasn't that surprising in reality, he'd woken up in that bed with Lucy and without clothes more times than they had with clothes. So pulling on a random pair of boxer briefs from a drawer, he quickly exited the room and headed towards the bookcase that took up the far wall of his living area.
It was as they'd laid in bed before they'd fallen asleep, sated and blissfully content with everything, did they have a slightly strange conversation. Knowing that they both definitely wanted to have kids together one day, and hopefully reasonably soon, they'd been able to seriously talk about it. Or as serious as they could get, at least.
They'd decided that they'd have at least two kids, if things turned out. Lucy knew what it was like to grow up an only child and to live an incredibly lonely life, and Bickslow had been always been the youngest in his family having two older sisters. They didn't want their kids to grow up alone, but they also didn't want them to grow up and ever feel like they weren't really as wanted or loved as a sibling. Even if it would never be the case, Bickslow had, as a child, always suspected his parents might have loved his sisters just a little bit more than they had him, but he'd grow up and realised it was a childish thought. It had taken Bickslow thinking about how much he would love his own children with Lucy when they existed to realise that he would love each one the same and nothing would change it – no matter how many there were.
Two, for Bickslow and Lucy, seemed like a good starting point, if anything. If they ever got to the point where they felt like they wanted another baby, well, they'd discuss it then.
After hearing about Bickslow's dream that might not have really been a dream, Lucy had loved the idea of them having both a boy and a girl. But in reality, she just didn't care. She could have all girls or all boys and she just wouldn't mind, and that was something Bickslow had agreed with. But, he had to admit that a girl and boy was really appealing, and if it turned out that way, he would really be the happiest man alive.
It was as they talked about their future children and their family that would exist one day, and after they drifted from the possible genetic combinations to whether or not they'd be able to use magic did the conversation suddenly get strange. Of course, when Bickslow said things wouldn't be as simple as whether or not their kids would end up with blue hair and brown eyes or blonde hair and red eyes, and either one of their magics, Lucy was more than confused. It was at that point Bickslow only smiled and said he'd talk about it in the morning.
So there Bickslow was, quickly looking for a particular book on Seith magic on his bookshelf. Technically, Bickslow could explain it all himself, but despite the book quite possibly being the worst book on Seith magic in the entire world, it was the only one with a decent explanation of what happened when a Seith mage had children. Plus, Lucy liked reading, and Bickslow figured she'd have a better chance of understanding it if she read it instead.
Finding the specific book he'd been searching for, he pulled it from where it was on the top shelf with the rest of his books on various magics, and he turned on his heels to head back down the hall and into his bedroom. "So I know it…" Bickslow trailed off when he looked up from the cover of the book in his hands and to the bed just in front of him. He almost had to pick his jaw up from the ground when he saw the way she was tangled up in the sheets, the black material wrapped around her every curve.
He really hadn't thought anyone could look good in a sheet until he'd meet her, but oh did that sheet truly look amazing right then.
"You alright there?" Lucy asked as she lifted an arm up to rest on the pillow above her head, an amused smirk on her face as she looked to her fiancé.
Bickslow nodded. "Uh-huh." He only slowly moved back into the room as he kept his eyes on the blonde beneath his sheets, and he gently placed the book down on his nightstand before he knelt on the edge of the bed with a slightly lecherous smirk. "Thank you, gods," Bickslow began as he looked up to the ceiling with his hands held together.
"Bicks…"
"For letting my future wife be the most gorgeous woman in all the galaxies and universes," he continued. Slowly, he leant forward over the bed until he was over the blonde, and as he hovered over her with his hands and knees on either side of her, he brought his head down to murmur, "And thank you for letting her be the sexy blonde I've been head over heels for since our first date, and thank you so very much for letting me have this wonderful, amazing woman a part of my life once again and letting her be the most forgiving and kind-hearted person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting."
Lucy sighed with a tired smile as she rolled just a fraction as he began to tug the sheet away from where it was almost clinging to her, pulling it away slowly as his lips trailed slowly over each new part of exposed flesh. "Hey, I was wearing that," she complained as his fingers ghosted over the quickly healing gash over her hip.
"I know. And you looked good in it… But you look better without it."
"But you say that about everything I wear just so you can get me naked."
Bickslow lifted his head from where he was over her stomach, and the corner of his mouth lifted up into a smirk. "It works though, doesn't it?"
She hummed in thought for a moment before she quietly answered, "I suppose, but sometimes I wish it didn't work so well."
"Liar."
"Not lying."
He chuckled as he moved up her form again, and her hands slowly came up to lace behind his neck and tangle in the locks at the nape of his neck. "You are lying," he murmured against her lips. "You enjoy being naked as much as I enjoy seeing you." Of course, if she decided to permanently lose the clothes when she was at home, then Bickslow would have no problems whatsoever. He knew Lucy wouldn't have any problems with it either, if it wasn't for the fact they would not be productive in the slightest. Lucy would be more worried about their lack of productivity than Bickslow ever would be, that was for sure.
So of course, maybe Bickslow was right, but she wasn't exactly going to tell him that. Oh no. Regardless of the fact he knew exactly what the truth was, she just wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of getting what he wanted. Not that time, anyway.
"Maybe so," Lucy replied. "But…" Her eyes fluttered close and her back arched ever so slightly as his fingers brushed over her core when he brought a hand between them. "Now you're just getting distracted though."
"I am, aren't I?" He finally eased his fingers into her dripping core just as her back bowed into him again, and a shaky moan escaped her lips. "But in my defence, it's hard not to be distracted by you, especially when you just so happen to still almost take my breath away every single time I see you."
Lucy could feel her heart beating erratically in her chest as her eyes finally closed, and as quickly as he'd always been able to, she could feel herself beginning to spiral towards her end as he almost painfully slowly worked his fingers in and out of her. The temptation to just let Bickslow work her over the edge was far too strong, but her curiosity would have to win out. There would be plenty of time for her to be a distraction later, because right then, she didn't want to let herself get distracted.
It took the blonde all the self-control she had left to have her eyes snap open and she bit her lip as he brushed against that sweet spot that had her shuddering lightly within his hold. He was, and always would be, the death of her and her distraction. But she still wasn't going to let him win. "B-Bicks…" Her voice came out weaker than she'd intended, and she only barely registered the heat on her face as she looked to the near wicked grin on his face.
"That would be my name."
"As much as I love distractions, and as much as I love how you make me feel like I'm on top of the world sometimes…" Like he always did, if anything, because he knew exactly what to say and what to do to make her feel like she really was the only person in the entire world he even matters too. Reaching down to lightly wrap her own fingers around his wrist, Lucy ignored the part of her that screamed at her for making him stop, and she said, "I'm much more interested in why you brought that book on Seith magic in."
"Well I thought I was your world, so maybe you should get on top of me?"
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Lucy giggled.
A hand slipped under her waist to pull her up to him, his chest flush against hers before he quickly rolled her sideways with him until she was sitting over his hips, and he was more than glad he'd decided to lose the rest of his own clothes in the process. He didn't even know why he'd put anything on in the first place. It wasn't like he hadn't walked around his apartment naked before. "I'd more than like it," he chuckled.
At that point, Lucy was definitely having a difficult time not giving in to the temptation to let herself be distracted. She wanted to, and she definitely knew Bickslow wanted to, but she wasn't going to cave. She wanted to know what Bickslow knew and she didn't about their future kids, and it was because that's what it was about that she was trying her best not to cave.
There was still time for distractions later.
So ignoring Bickslow's hands that only slowly trailed up and down her back and her thighs, she leant forward just enough to pull the heavy book from the nightstand and then gently place it on Bickslow's chest. He couldn't help but sigh in frustration when she opened up to look to the preface, and he lifted his hands just to fold them behind his head. "This is just cruel," he muttered.
"Patience, Bicks."
"I don't have any right n—oh god, you're positively evil." Just the slightest movement of her hips was enough to be absolute torture for him, but he'd be lying if he said he hated it. He was usually the one to tease her to the point of wanting to hate him, but right then, Bickslow was sure she'd be doing it to him. But he could never really hate her anyway.
Lucy hummed in agreement before she began to slowly turn the pages of the book. The sooner Bickslow explained whatever it was he needed to explain, the sooner Lucy could cave. "Now," she began firmly as she slowly flicked the pages over. "I seem to recall you saying this book was one of the worst ones on your magic, so why exactly am I currently looking at this?" It was actually the first book she'd read on Seith magic, and the one she'd been too enthralled in to put down the first time she'd ever stayed at Bickslow's for the night. She remembered all too well the conversation that had followed when she'd first started to learn about his magic.
"Right, well, I still stand by what I said, because this book is terrible." Bickslow knew there was nothing he could do about his distraction, so he figured he might as well just get on with what he'd got up to do in the first place. Turning the book around so he could turn to the section he wanted, he turned the pages a few at a time as he said, "But anyway. Now that we both know we're going to do the entire kid thing eventually, or at least we'll try to, I guess, I feel like there are a few things I should let you know about. It's not really that they're super important, and they shouldn't really change anything, but I still feel like I should tell you, because I know you don't know."
"So it's more about you wanting to make sure I know everything about your magic?"
Bickslow nodded. "Pretty much, but it's not really just my magic, because it's yours too."
Lucy arched an eyebrow as Bickslow turned the book back around so it was the right way up for Lucy, and she looked back down it as she mumbled, "My magic?"
"Yup. So… You remember how our magics are kind of similar as far as the whole bonds and then the souls and spirits thing goes?" Lucy nodded as she turned a page, and Bickslow lifted a hand to put it behind his head once again as he made himself comfortable as both a table and chair. "Well, it means they're kind of incompatible because they're apparently too similar."
"What? Like zodiac sign incompatibility?"
"No. Incompatible when it comes to passing it on to our children."
Her brows drew together as she looked up from the book she'd only been skimming, and she stared at the blank face of her fiancé. "Okay… You've kind of lost me. How can two different types of magic be incompatible? I would think that the more dominant one, assuming it can even be passed on to the next generation, would be the one that's most likely to come out." she said slowly.
She knew that Seith magic was one that tended to run in families so she'd always been aware that there was a chance any children she had with Bickslow would end up with the same magic. That chance was the same as their children ending up with her magic too, because Mavis knows there was enough Celestial Spirit magic running in the veins on her mother's side of the family.
If anything though, Lucy just didn't care what type of mages their children would end up being. Seith, Stellar, something else, or just not at all. They could be anything and she wouldn't care, because regardless, they'd still be her children and she'd love them unconditionally.
But how their magics would be incompatible, Lucy just had no idea at all.
"You'd think that would be the case, because that would make the most sense, but it's not that simple," Bickslow sighed. "So obviously, Human Possession Seith magic and Celestial Spirit magic have always been the most closely linked just because of the similarities, but you knew that already. The problem with my magic specifically, is that there are apparently many types of magic that just won't exactly be compatible with it when it comes to a Seith mage having kids."
She looked down to the page as he turned the page for her, and her eyes went wide when she saw a table that took up more than half the page; all of them apparently magics that's weren't compatible with Seith magic. And not surprisingly, Celestial Spirit magic was right at the top of that list. "I'm still lost though."
"I figured as much." He didn't blame her for not getting it, because for a long time, Bickslow hadn't either. He'd always known about it, because he'd read almost every single book there was on Seith magic as he'd been growing up, just because he'd been the first in his family to be a Seith mage in a very long time. No one was around to teach him how to control himself or to find souls or to do anything. He'd had to figure it all out on his own
It wasn't until a few months before he'd broken up with Lucy did he come back to it. Until then, it had just been something in the back of his head that he hadn't thought about much. It had only been when he was entirely certain that she was the one person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and have a family with one day did he finally come back to it, because he'd wanted to know more about it. He'd wanted to know what it meant if (and when) they had children of their own. Luckily for Bickslow though, it was something that was in a lot of the books on Seith magic. For whatever reason, it had just never been covered in the one he'd given Lucy.
Sighing again, he gently flicked the page over to the next one, and he asked, "Have you ever heard of hybrid magic?" The look of sheer confusion on her face clued him in then, and he took it as a no. He didn't blame her for that either, because not many people knew of it. "It's basically when a person is able to use more than one type of magic, but more often than not, they're incomplete. It's a little like the second generation Dragon Slayers, which is what Laxus is, remember? So primarily, he's a lightning mage, but the lacrima in him allows him to use the Dragon Slayer magic with his primary magic, but since it's second generation, it's not quite the same as Gajeel's or Wendy's. It's incredibly rare, so there's not that much on it."
"Right," Lucy said thoughtfully as she compartmentalised everything in her head. It sounded familiar, but it was only ever something she'd read about once. "But… How does our magic come into that?"
"Well, you know Seith magic isn't something you can just pick up a book and learn because it's something you're born with that develops over time, where Celestial Spirit magic can be learned, but also passed down. Like with your family."
"Yeah…"
"But the problem with ours together is that neither one is more dominant than the other when you think about it genetically, and, you know, the chances of passing either on to the next generation. That's what makes them incompatible."
Her brow became furrowed as finished reading a short passage in the book in front of her that said the same as what Bickslow had said. "So what does that mean exactly?" she asked softly.
"For us, it means that theoretically, when we have a kid, they could be born a hybrid mage," Bickslow answered. He'd run it through his head a million times, and he'd read everything he could on hybrid mages (ones where Seith magic or Stellar magic was involved too) and incompatible magic. Bickslow knew exactly how crazy it sounded, but it still made sense to him. Clearing his throat as he saw Lucy only staring at him in complete shock and confusion again, he quickly mumbled, "But of course, there's still the possibility that they could end up getting mine, or yours, or neither and then who knows what." That was always a possibility.
It took Lucy another moment before she had finished processing everything. The similarity of their magics was what made them incompatible, and because of it, there was a chance that they could have a child that was both Seith mage and Stellar mage. It was crazy, insane, and absurd. But it was also incredibly exciting.
"So you're telling me," Lucy began slowly as a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "That when we have a baby, there is a chance that they'll be born with not only the ability to see and control human souls, but to open gates and control spirits too?"
Bickslow nodded as he grinned up at her. "It's possible, yeah," he chuckled. "But since most hybrid mages don't have complete magics, it could end up being a case where they'd only be able to see souls and not really have Figure Eyes, or they'd only be able to use silver keys or something. Anything could happen."
"Why didn't you ever tell me about this before?"
"Because I didn't really want to maybe scare you away from the idea of having kids with me one day or anything like that."
Lucy smiled softly as she closed the book sitting on his chest and placed it back on the nightstand, knowing she could go back and read that section in its entirety later. "Aw, Bicks," she whispered, leaning forward to rest against his chest with her hands slowly running through his hair. She had to stomach her own quiet moan as she shifted, but Bickslow did nothing of the sort and Lucy was back to fighting the temptation of the distraction that was right between her legs. "You know that's silly. This doesn't change anything."
"I realised it was silly later," he sighed. At the time, he'd truly been worried about what Lucy would think, especially when he hadn't done a lot of research into the whole thing. At the time, despite knowing he wanted to be with Lucy, he still hadn't really been that set in stone about wanting kids. If they had them, great. If not, well it wouldn't have been the end of the world.
Now though? Now, things were different, and Bickslow knew that they were on the same page about wanting to start a family together, and that was truly exactly what he wanted. Still though, part of Bickslow not wanting to tell Lucy earlier was being he didn't think it was that pertinent to them having kids in the first place. He still thought that. He just wanted to tell her anyway. "I'm glad this doesn't change anything for you either though," he said softly as his arms slowly came down to wrap around her waist. He wasn't exactly surprised none of it changed Lucy's decision to have children, because regardless of who they were and what magic they did or didn't have or use, they'd still be their kids and they'd love them no matter what. "But I just wanted to tell you anyway, because you know, I actually thought it was pretty cool and when we were talking about like what our kids would be like and look like and all that, which, I might add, could possibly end up being a little more complicated too. But I just remembered all of this stuff I'd read about a while back, and I just… I knew that I needed to tell you."
"Okay, well… Firstly, what else is complicated now?" she giggled, sitting up slightly and rolling her hips just enough to cause her core to graze lightly over his arousal.
Bickslow grinned. "I'll explain that one another time."
"Uh-huh..." Slowly, as her hands trailed down over his chest and against the hard planes of his stomach, Lucy lifted herself just enough to reach down between them to line him up at her entrance. "Secondly," she murmured, slowly easing down on the thick shaft with a quiet moan. "I'm glad you told me, because I love it, and I almost wish we weren't going to have to wait so long."
It wasn't so much the wait until they were both ready to start trying to get pregnant (again) that bothered Lucy, because they hadn't even come close to discussing it yet. She figured it would come up soon, but not right then when they'd just gotten back together. Instead, it would be the wait until their future children showed any signs of their magic developing, whatever that magic may be. At best, it wouldn't be until they were a few years old anyway, and when there was a possibility it would be something entirely new, Lucy was far too excited to see just how things would turn out.
His hands gripped her hips as she just as slowly slid up his length, and he only said, "So do I, but that's really not what I want to be focusing on right now." He was quickly becoming as distracted as Lucy obviously was, and the sultry smirk she gave him then only made him all the more certain of what was going through (or not going through) her mind.
"Uh-huh…" she mumbled again. If anything, she wasn't really sure what Bickslow had said. She'd heard the words, or at least she'd heard most of them, but right then, Lucy was just a little distracted to even really consider paying attention to anything else.
Four days.
That was how long they spent in Bickslow's apartment – or technically their apartment, even though Lucy hadn't begun moving in yet – doing nothing but talking about anything and everything that had happened in the last year or just completely random things, talking (or Bickslow talked and Lucy listened) about their future family, sleeping, and having a lot of great sex. By the third day in, they'd had a bet on how long it would take before Lucy's clothes were on the floor somewhere.
It wasn't that much of a surprise that Bickslow won though, especially when he said thirty seconds and only proceeded to push her up against the bookcase and try his best to tear what little clothing off that she'd had on at the time. He just couldn't help himself at all, and his argument for not being able to keep his hands off his fiancée was that they had a lot of catching up to do.
On the fifth afternoon though, Lucy stood in the bathroom, quietly humming to herself as she decided on what to keep and what to throw out. Bickslow really had kept everything of hers, so all of her shampoos and lotions and everything else of hers that belonged in a bathroom were all stowed away in either the drawers or the cabinets that were hers.
For the last four days, she'd sparingly tried to use (or just flat out avoided using) some of her soaps or her lotions, just because of what had happened the last time she left a damn bubble bath for seven years. She wasn't risking that shit again, even if it had only been one year. No way in hell. It was why she'd dragged Bickslow into one of her favourite stores in Magnolia after they'd finished getting groceries that morning, because she had needed to restock their bathroom with a million different scented soaps that Bickslow secretly loved using.
Bickslow walked into the bathroom when he finished putting the groceries away in the kitchen. It had surprisingly been the first time they'd ever gone grocery shopping together. For a long time, it had just been Bickslow in that apartment, and he'd only ever had to buy the things that he needed, liked, or wanted to eat. Even when Lucy had practically lived there for the better part of a year and probably used his kitchen more in the space of six months than he had in the nearly six years he'd lived there, they'd never done it together. He'd only ever made sure to buy the foods that he knew for certain she loved.
Like strawberries and practically anything strawberry flavoured (literally anything), a whole lot of dark chocolate, and chocolate chip cookie dough ice-cream. He'd stopped counting how many times he'd come back from a job late at night just to find her tucked up in bed with the entire tub of ice-cream sitting half-melted in her lap and in tears over a book, or having girl talk with Levy, Erza, and Wendy.
But that day, they'd done it together because they did things together now. They were moving in together, getting married, and going to eventually start trying to have a baby and start their family. For the rest of their lives, they would be together. Plus, there was the entire issue where neither really wanted to go anywhere without the other, even if they'd only be gone for a little while. Not to mention having someone to argue with about what type of milk to buy was just a little fun… Strangely.
So he leant against the doorframe and looked around the bathroom with every single drawer and cabinet open and every surface (including the floor) covered in bottles, tubes, tubs, boxes and anything else that contained some sort of… Well, anything. Shampoos, conditioners, lip balms, bubble baths, moisturisers (and let's not forget the differences between the ones designed for her face, her hands, and then her body), and a whole fuck ton of makeup.
"Do I even want to ask?" he chuckled as he watched her pick up one bottle, read the label, open the cap and tip it upside down over the sink just to grimace as she watched something slightly watery trickle from it, and then drop it gracefully into the overflowing garbage bag that was hanging from one of the open drawers in front of her.
"Maybe," she shrugged as she threw another bottle into the bag. "I'm just doing some spring cleaning."
"It's still summer though. That means you don't have to start throwing things out until the end of the week."
She looked over her shoulder with a smirk just as she pulled a small towel from where it was sitting on the counter under a large number of beauty products, and she tossed it to the grinning Seith mage. "Don't be a smartass."
Bickslow chuckled quietly as he pushed himself away from the wall and stepped into the bathroom and over the floor littered with bottles and containers, and stepped up behind the blonde to drop the cloth back on the counter. "But baby, it's in my nature to be a smartass," he murmured, bringing his head down rest his chin on her shoulder as his arms wrapped around her from behind.
"Oh, I've realised." She looked up and to the mirror after dropping an old lip gloss in a shade she loved into the garbage bag, just as Bickslow's hands began to slowly move up and down her waist and her hips. He'd had an uncanny ability to get her distracted in a matter of seconds over the last few days, but it wasn't going to work then. She had a bathroom to organise. "Bickslow…"
"Mm-hmm?"
"Don't you have something better to be doing? Or somewhere else to be?"
His gaze lifted to look to the scowling blonde in the reflection, and his wide grin was hidden against her shoulder as his lips slowly brushed over each light mark marring her fair skin. "You know for a fact I have nowhere else to be," he said thickly. "And I'd really much rather be doing you anyway."
"And I'd rather stay in my clothes for more than five minutes."
"You look better without them."
"So you've said," she sighed. She'd heard it too many times to count in the last four days alone, and then four times that day already. Or… Technically it was now five times. Lifting up the jar with one of her old favourite lotions, she twisted the lid from it, and only quickly screwed it back on when she realised it was nearly empty anyway. "But the goal was to go for twelve hours today, remember? So the clothes stay on."
He groaned into the back of her neck. "That's so far away though. I've still got another…"
"Seven hours."
He groaned again. "Oh god… Seven hours. Why are you doing this to me, Cosplayer? You're supposed to love me!" he whined.
Lucy giggled as she grabbed hold of the counter when his arms completely laced around the front of her stomach and he tried to pry her away from the counter. She completely failed though, and when he instead picked her up off the ground and started walking backwards, surprisingly not stumbling over too many bottles, she was instead just a giggling mess of flailing limbs in her fiancé's arms. "Because I'm trying to teach you to have some self-control again," she laughed.
"Well, it's really just going to be a waste of time, isn't it?"
She arched a brow and turned her head to look to Bickslow who was now beside her after falling back to the bed, his head propped up with an elbow on the mattress, and his other arm still tightly around Lucy's waist. "How so?" she asked curiously as she picked her feet up from where they were hanging over the edge of the bed, and let them rest on the edge of the mattress instead.
Lucy wasn't sure how teaching her soon-to-be husband some self-control when it came to her would be a waste of time. With the way things currently were, she wouldn't wear clothes ever again, and neither would he. In fact, they'd probably never go on any jobs again, or leave the damn apartment. He would, as he had stated many times over the last few days, rather enjoy making love to the hottest cosplayer the world has ever seen every day until he was seventy-five. At that, Lucy had only been able to roll her eyes and go and have a shower – and make sure the door was locked so Bickslow couldn't join her in it again.
"Because... If we're gonna make a baby, then we're gonna have to be having a lot, like, a lot of sex."
"That's not really how it works, you know."
Bickslow shrugged. "Yeah it is." Of course, Bickslow had figured out that that really wasn't the best way to go about it. He'd come to the realisation that if they were really going to try and get pregnant, then it would involve some planning and some strategising… Plus a lot of sex. That was just a given though. The rest he was just going to leave to Lucy for obvious reasons.
It didn't help that he really did have absolutely zero self-control when it came to Lucy now, and even if he'd had some semblance of it once before, he was sure it wouldn't be the same. Not when she'd be his wife, and oh, was Bickslow having a hard time wrapping his head around that little detail. Luckily, he had another fifty-one weeks to do that though.
"But seriously," he said softly then as he dropped his head to rest by hers on the mattress, his other arm wrapping around her shoulders beneath her. "I know it's not just about sex, surprisingly, and I know I've probably said it a million times so far, but I really can't wait until we start trying. Well, I can wait, because we'll wait until you're ready to start, but I just mean that I'm really excited for all of it."
Lucy smiled as she whispered, "You really can't wait to start our family, can you?"
"Not at all. I almost wish you were pregnant now, or that we had a baby already or something." His brow became creased before he mumbled, "I'm beginning to think that I'm more excited about having a baby than you are, to be honest…" Bickslow felt he was though. He was just far too excited and way too impatient to start his family, and he really did wish that they could already start. He couldn't even put into words how much he wanted a baby, because with just the last week, it had just gotten so out of hand.
Lucy had seen it too, and she absolutely loved it. There hadn't been a day over the last few where Bickslow hadn't brought up something about them having a baby, and granted, most of those times had been when their clothes had been on the floor, too.
She'd be lying if she said that Bickslow's enthusiasm wasn't wearing off on her though, because it really was. It was just a little annoying that he was making her want a baby more and more each day (already), because it was just messing with her plans. Of course, she didn't really mind that much, because she was realising waiting to start a family until after they were married was an incredibly long time to wait, and that was what she'd thought would be the best way to go.
Move in, plan the wedding, get married, and then start a family. They would be, if anything, saving the most stressful for last.
But now? Now, Bickslow's excitement, enthusiasm and impatience was quickly wearing her own patience thin. It was contagious, and she really did love it. He was like a kid on Christmas Day, and Lucy was sure that when they were eventually pregnant and she told him, his reaction would be sure to blow her out of the water.
Of all things to be contagious, excitement was one of the best, especially when it was about starting a family. It was only when that crossed her mind as she shifted in her fiancé's arms so she was on her side and facing him did she realise something, and Lucy couldn't hold in her laughter for more than a second.
"Oh honey…" Lucy lifted a hand from where she had it resting on Bickslow's side and pressed the back of it to his forehead, much to his confusion. "Are you feeling okay?" she asked softly.
Bickslow could only wonder what was going through his cosplayer's head when he saw that gleam in her eyes and the smile on her lips. Did she know something he didn't? "Uh… Of course. Why?" he asked, his brow slightly furrowing as he became worried. Am I sick? Oh god… And what is she laughing about? Why is she laughing about me being sick?!
"Because I think you might have baby fever," she giggled.
He blinked at her. "Baby… What? What the fuck is… Huh?"
"Baby fever," she said again, biting the inside of her cheek as she tried to stop herself from bursting at the seams from laughing too much. She was sure death by laughter was a thing, especially when she had an adorably dorky Seith mage as her future husband. Calming down some when Bickslow tried his very best not to laugh along with her, even though he was confused as all hell, she explained, "It's when you really want a baby, and it's close to the point where you're obsessed about having one."
"Is that… an actual thing?"
"Yup. But… It's usually the girls who get it," she said quietly with a permanent smile on her face. "You know, they'll spend time around babies and they'll long for their own or just another baby to have and to hold…" Oh, it was just so adorable picturing Bickslow having baby fever, that she really couldn't get the idea out of her head.
So he might not have been near any babies recently – she knew he hadn't been near Jax, but Lucy hoped he would be now – but he still was obsessed over having his own. He badly wanted a baby, and Lucy found it absolutely brilliant. Her jokester, prankster, pervert, idiotic Seith mage of a husband-to-be had baby fever, and it was perfect.
His mouth twisted into a tight line and he only gave what was a half-assed attempt at a scowl. Bickslow realised he couldn't be mad about having this so-called baby fever, because he found himself strangely liking it. In fact, he would have his baby fever with pride, thank you very much! "So I'm a dude… With this baby fever thing," he mumbled, just trying to get his head around what it was he actually had.
"Guys can get it too. Don't worry," she replied. "And it's really quite adorable and sweet. I'm seeing that it's contagious, too."
His lips pulled up into a wide grin then. "Contagious, huh?" He wasn't worried about it being adorable or sweet or any other word she wanted to use. Not at all. He pulled Lucy closer to him to nuzzle the side of her neck, and murmured slowly, "So how would I manage to pass on this horrible, terrible sickness?"
Lucy sighed. "I'd say just keep doing what you're doing."
"What? Fucking you every chance I get?" he laughed, only to get a slap to his shoulder when he lifted his head again.
"No," she said, rolling her eyes. "Just daydreaming and fantasising and just talking about it. I love how excited you are already, and you're kind of making me almost want to be having a baby right now, too."
"But you're not ready yet. I know that, baby," he said softly. "And like I said before, I'll be ready when you are, whether it's two weeks from now, or three months, or six months, or even a year. It's all about you."
She ducked her head against his chest as his arms wrapped completely around her waist, and she sighed in content. "There's no way I'm waiting a year now. That's for sure," she muttered. A year was truly too long to even wait to get started, and then there'd be all that time where they'd be trying, and what if it takes them a long time then? What happens then? Lucy just didn't want to be having to go down that path where she worried about them not being able to have a baby.
And right then, she didn't even want to think about it.
"I am so glad you said that," Bickslow chuckled.
With that, Lucy only smiled once again before she quickly pulled herself away from Bickslow (with Bickslow only sighing in frustration and pressing his face into the bed instead), and stood up with the intent of heading back to the bathroom to finish sorting out all of her things within the bathroom. If anything, Lucy wanting to clean everything out wasn't entirely because she didn't want to be using year-old products, but also because she needed to make room for everything she kept in her own apartment and had been using frequently over the last couple of weeks and months. Plus, not to mention all of the things she'd left in Crocus in her apartment there.
There had only been one downside to leaving Crocus so quickly, and that was that she hadn't really packed anything at all. A good portion of her clothes and almost all of her belongings were still sitting covered in dust, and they all needed to be sorted out at some point. She'd managed to save enough with her odd freelance jobs and her work at the magazine to get the rent covered until the end of the year, so everything was untouched there… Including the mail she knew would be piling up by then.
The only problem with it all was that it was on the opposite side of the country, and she'd need to be there for a few weeks so she could find someone to take everything she couldn't bring back to Magnolia.
"Hey, Bicks," Lucy suddenly called from the bathroom as her mind drifted off to how and when she'd find the time to go to Crocus. Hearing a muffled grunt from the Seith mage, she said, "Did you hear back from your sisters yet?"
After realising that Lucy had accidentally met Bickslow's sisters just a few minutes before he'd been reunited with them, they'd talked about meeting up with them, and if anything, surprise them by showing up together. Lucy had wanted to get to know them a little better, and Bickslow had needed to meet his nephews and niece, but then they'd both come back to Magnolia, and meeting the rest of the Alderwood family had just had to wait. For both of them.
But now that they were back together and getting their lives back on track and sorting out everything, going and seeing Bickslow's sisters was one of the things on their to-do list, along with a million other things. So it was exactly why Bickslow had sent them a letter (being the only one who actually knew their addresses) just a few days earlier wondering when it would be a good time for him to visit now that he was settled back in Magnolia. Of course, he hadn't mentioned that he was back with his ex and he was now engaged to her, because that was supposed to be a surprise.
"I did, actually. It came this morning," Bickslow replied. He quickly pulled himself to the edge of the bed, then made his way over to the bathroom and leant against the doorframe once again. "They said we could go whenever. They live pretty close to each other and their main store isn't too far from them either, so we could leave in a few days if you wanted to, or we could wait until you've moved in completely or whatever."
"Well, I actually need to go to Crocus since I need to sort out my apartment there and get a lot of my things anyway, so it would actually be better if we could go before I move in. At least that way I'll be able to properly sort out what I'm keeping and what I'm donating or selling and it will make me moving in just a little easier."
Bickslow shrugged. "It's up to you. We could go next weekend then, if you want? Get it all out of the way quickly."
"That works." They still had another week up their sleeve if they waited until the next weekend, and in that time, Lucy could at least begin sorting out all of her belongings in her apartment in Magnolia, and of course, put off talking to her landlady, who was still terrifying, for just a little while longer.
"In that case, I'll let them know that we'll be up next weekend," Bickslow said, a wide grin on his face as he went back to idly watching Lucy clean up the mess she'd made in the bathroom. It was only then did he become incredibly curious as to why she was doing it in the first place, and so as she dropped yet another bottle filled with some strange pink liquid into the trash bag, he asked, "Okay, seriously. Why are you doing all of this? And don't say spring cleaning."
The corner of her lips pulled up into a smirk as she looked over her shoulder. "Because the last time I used something that had been left in a bathroom for more than a year, I ended up turning invisible, and I was forced to walk around the entire town without any clothes, just to get to the guild to try and turn back."
"You mean… You were naked and invisible in the middle of the guild?"
"Uh-huh."
Bickslow was at a loss for words as he tried to picture a very naked and very invisible blonde running around town and the guild, but of course, his version of it had her very visible. He could only mutter a "huh," as he walked away, because that was all his brain could come up with as he cursed his team for being out on a job, because Bickslow was positive he'd remember an event like that happening, and he would never have let her live it down if he'd know.
Not a chance.