With the new year came a whole lot of work. With the guild up and running again, flyers were coming in by the dozen each and every morning. By the end of the first week of January, the job board had been overflowing with requests, and Makarov had put his foot down (quite literally, and on top of Natsu) and told everyone to get off their lazy asses and start taking some jobs. Even Levy had ended up taking a few smaller jobs around town – mostly translating ones – but no matter how unlikely it was for the Script mage to get hurt while translating an ancient tome for the city library's archive, Gajeel had insisted upon going with her on each one. Once the tiny woman's baby bump had started to show, even just a little bit, Gajeel had gotten annoyingly clingy and protective. So had Jet and Droy for that matter.

For Bickslow and Lucy, on the other hand, things just became straight up busy. Between taking jobs with their teams or even with each other (it was a rare occasion for them to actually get the opportunity to take a job together), and then going over to the new house every second they could just to meet up with the old owner and oversee the rest of the repairs, it was a miracle they had time to do anything together at all – although the second Lucy had been willing to actually let Bickslow into her pants again come the end of the Great Flood, he'd been there.

As far as the house was concerned, Lucy was far more excited about the house than Bickslow had been at first, that much he was certain of. Ever since he'd shown it to her after getting back from Crocus, it was all she'd been able to talk about. Of course, once she'd gotten over the initial shock of finding out that the guy had bought her a damn house for Christmas, and remembered that he'd gone and blown his entire savings on something that she very well could have hated, Lucy had most definitely given Bickslow a piece of her mind. When that had happened though, Bickslow had just reminded his lovely bride-to-be that he knew her better than he knew himself, so he'd been pretty damn confident that things would work out.

The workers didn't even return to the house until the second week of January, as per Hamilton's contract with them. The majority of the repairs had been done before Christmas and before Bickslow had even bought it, and after Bickslow had agreed to take on the smaller repairs – like the wallpaper and the repainting and even re-doing some of the wooden floors (surely it couldn't be that difficult) – the only things left to do to get the house in a somewhat liveable state were to rebuild the back wall and get the kitchen in.

It was a Tuesday, and bright on early on Valentine's Day when Bickslow's train was rolling back into Magnolia station. He would've much preferred to be waking up in his own bed, perhaps to Lucy's hair tickling his face as she leaned over him, and not to Evergreen slapping his nose with her paper fan and shouting at him to get his ass up.

"Come on, wake up. We're here," Evergreen said as she stretched her arms up above her head.

Bickslow groaned as he pulled himself up. "Yeah, yeah… I'm up." Functioning though? Not even close. Yawning, he trudged along the train corridor, throwing his cloak back over his shoulders and fastening it after using it as a blanket for the night.

Once out of the station and on the quiet streets of Magnolia, Laxus couldn't help but wince and ask, "Do I even want to know what godforsaken hour it is right now?"

"I believe it's close to seven o'clock," Freed answered quickly. He reached into his coat for the pocket watch he kept there and opened it up. "Six thirty-eight to be exact."

Evergreen snickered quietly along with Bickslow as Laxus just groaned up towards the miraculously clear sky – at least for that time of year. It usually rained all through February. "Freed... Man…" Laxus whined. "I didn't want to know."

"But you—Oh… I see…" The Rune mage blushed slightly in his embarrassment. If his hair no longer smoothly laying down his back hadn't been enough of a clue that he wasn't a morning person in the slightest, then how embarrassed he was from failing to see the rhetoric in his friend's question surely had to make it obvious. But anyone who knew Freed well already knew that he wasn't exactly the most useful when he'd just woken up. "But… Hang on…"

"Hm? What now?" Evergreen chimed in as she looked back over her shoulder to the green-haired man, seeing his brow become furrowed as they continued to walk along through the empty streets.

"Shouldn't you be used to waking up early, Laxus?" Freed asked.

"Eh? Why?"

"Well, because of Jackson, of course. I imagine you'd have to be up early with Mira most mornings to take care of him when he wakes up."

Laxus shrugged. "Nah, not really. Jax has always been a good sleeper," he said. "Besides, the Demon's up before he usually is so she looks after him in the morning. I barely hear him." Jax had been sleeping through the night and right up until 7 a.m. since he'd been four months old anyway, so at just over seven months, Laxus had most definitely gotten used to being able to sleep in himself, as well – well, a little bit at least.

"Aw, you're such a slacker, Sparky," Bickslow chuckled.

"You wanna say that again, Bicks?"

"Don't let Mira do all the parenting," the Seith mage continued to tease as he increased his pace just to fall into stride with Laxus, throwing an arm over his shoulder once he did so and grinning widely. "C'mon, man. You gotta pick up the slack. Wake up first for a change. Let Mira sleep in or somethin'. I'm sure she'll appreciate you a lot more if you quit being a lazy-ass."

Laxus's glare was deadly, but no one else seemed to see it that way. Even Freed smirked to himself as Laxus just tried his best not to electrocute Bickslow. Lucy had told him off for that. "Yeah? And what gives you the right to call me a slacker, huh?" Laxus contended. No one got to call him a lazy parent, thank you very much – well, apart from Mira. "Last I checked, you didn't have kids."

Bickslow winced. "Ouch, man…"

Laxus had instantly regretted his words as soon as they'd come out of his mouth though. "Sorry. Didn't mean to bring that up," he mumbled. Laxus remembered all too well what Bickslow had been like just a few months earlier, right after he'd returned to Magnolia with the rest of the Raijinshuu. It hadn't been the best of times for Bickslow, and it sure as hell hadn't been the best of times for Laxus to have to sit there and feel guilty over the fact that he could've told him about Lucy being pregnant so much earlier.

It didn't matter if they'd all moved past it by then, at least for the most part. Laxus knew it wasn't his place – and certainly hadn't been the time – to have reminded Bickslow of something that obviously still bothered him to some extent. And really, Laxus didn't even blame Bickslow for that. He'd probably be feeling the exact way if Mira had lost a baby as well.

Freed and Evergreen shared a look of concern when the other two mages fell silent. They both seemed to get the impression there was something they were missing, and neither seemed to really like that idea. Cautiously, Evergreen asked, "Is there something we're missing here? Why is Laxus saying he's sorry?"

"Don't worry 'bout it," Bickslow quickly answered. He'd never ended up telling Freed or Evergreen that Lucy had miscarried right before they'd gone their separate ways. He'd never ended up telling anyone, for that matter, just because he hadn't felt like it was his place to. The only people who did know were people that Lucy had told herself – like his sisters, and Wendy, and Levy – or because Wendy just hadn't been able to keep it to herself because of how worried she'd been, like Gajeel and Laxus.

And even if Bickslow did wish that he'd told his team, maybe just to avoid that kind of awkward situation happening again, Bickslow didn't really think it was worth making Freed and Evergreen worry unnecessarily. It had happened so long ago, and Bickslow really just wanted to keep it in the past where it belonged.

Still, Laxus's comment had stung, even if Bickslow knew he really hadn't meant it – then again, he'd been an asshole and practically called Laxus a shitty parent, and Bickslow hadn't meant that either. But serious or not, it stung, and it only solidified Bickslow's desire to just get the hell back home and spend the day with Lucy.

Falling back from where he'd been walking in stride with Laxus, Bickslow rubbed the back of his neck and spoke up while he had the babies begin to form a platform on the ground. "You know what guys?" he began. The other three all stopped and turned to face him. "I think I'm just gonna split. I'm beat, and, well, I can't be bothered walking all the way home so I'll just take the babies back instead."

"Your house is only a few blocks away, isn't it?" Freed pointed out.

Bickslow shrugged as he stepped onto his makeshift platform and began to rise slowly. Sure, his apartment was only a ten minute walk away at the most, but that wasn't important. And he couldn't very well tell his team and Laxus that he wanted to avoid them for at least the rest of the day… "Yeah, well… What can I say? I'm lazy." Bickslow quickly waved and let the babies carry him up towards the sky before his team could question it any further. "See you around!"

Evergreen sighed quietly to herself once Bickslow disappeared behind the row of houses on their left. Although it wasn't unusual for Bickslow to use the dolls for his transport purposes – hell, it was unusual for him to walk anywhere himself unless it was just a few hundred metres – it was, however, strange that he'd done it so suddenly like that. He'd shifted so quickly that Evergreen could really help but worry about him – Bickslow had been the first one to truly be her friend all those years ago, after all.

"Is it just me, or was Bicks just acting really strange all of a sudden?" the Fairy mage wondered aloud.

Laxus was quick to answer, "He's fine." Of course, it was a lie – sort of – but it really wasn't his place to explain anything.

"Are you sure?" Evergreen pressed. "I mean, he did get all quiet right before you apologised – which, still, makes absolutely no sense at all. Why did you even apologise?"

"Doesn't matter why I did."

"Laxus…" Freed cautiously chimed in. "We do deserve to know if there's anything going on with Bickslow."

"Yeah, why you tellin' me that?" Laxus grumbled. He knew that just as well as Freed and Evergreen. The only difference was that Laxus knew what was going on, but granted, it hadn't been because Bickslow or Lucy had trusted him enough to actually tell him. Still, it wasn't his place to tell Freed or Evergreen about any of it, about how Lucy had lost a baby and Bickslow hadn't even known until a year later. If Bickslow wanted them to know, then he had to tell them. But until that happened, Laxus had nothing to say.

"Well, because you obviously know more than we do," Freed said. "And don't you think that's—"

"Just drop it, Freed," Laxus snapped at the Runes mage. Even Freed had to stop dead on the sidewalk for a second – he hadn't been expecting Laxus to react like that. "He's fine," Laxus said again. "So just quit asking about it." And much like Bickslow had wanted to just get the hell out of there, Laxus was feeling the same all of a sudden.

He had better places to be, like at home with Mira and Jax – not arguing with his friends about Bickslow. Muttering under his breath that he'd see them later, Laxus wasn't no time in channelling his magic into his body to disappear into the clear blue sky as a great flash of lightning. Freed merely patted the singed fibres of his sleeve with a distasteful frown once Laxus had left, and stepped over the burnt patch of ground to continue on his way home with Evergreen by his side.

"I do still think we deserve to know what's going on…" he said quietly.

Evergreen nodded in agreement. "I do, too."

Not too far away, Bickslow was stepping down from his babies just outside the front steps to his apartment, and pushing the wooden doors open to enter the quiet first floor hallway. He really was drained, but even more so after the brief yet awkward conversation with his team, and the climb up the stairs to his apartment that early morning seemed to take longer than usual. Finally reaching the door labelled 2A right next to the stairs, Bickslow sighed as he reached up to unclip both sides of his visor before fumbling around in his rucksack for his house keys. Except as soon as he got the key in the door and began twisting to unlock it, it was being pulled open from the inside and Bickslow had a pair of arms being thrown around him before he could even blink.

"Bicks!"

It took all of one single second for him to realise that it was Lucy with her arms around him and her lips pressing to his, and just being home again seemed to make Bickslow feel just that little bit more awake – and that was a feeling he was sure he'd never get sick of. But after a week and a half away, boy, did it feel good to be home. And Lucy was just as glad for Bickslow to back as he was himself. A week and a half wasn't long by any means, but she really did miss Bickslow when he was gone, especially when she wasn't out on her own jobs with Team Natsu.

Bickslow wasn't even the least bit surprised that Lucy was already awake, since she was still usually awake at the crack of dawn. But it definitely made getting home so early in the morning just that little bit nicer. "Well, I could sure get used to being welcomed home like this," Bickslow chuckled against his fiancée's lips. Glancing down quickly once he'd made it through his front door and closed it behind him with his boot, he added, "Just, you know, when you're wearing something cuter."

"Are my pyjama pants not cute?" Lucy teased. She thought they were cute. They had ducklings on them, and ducklings were cute. Therefore, her baby blue flannel pyjama pants were also cute. They were comfy, too, and that was what mattered.

"They're fucking adorable."

"Then I shall greet you in my ducky PJs every chance I get," the blonde giggled. Bickslow could only sigh as he dropped his visor, key, and bag down by the door. He'd lost that one before he'd even had a chance to win. Returning to her breakfast of oatmeal and tea sitting on the kitchen bench, Lucy took a small spoonful of the warm meal before asking, "Why are you back so early though? I mean, not that I'm complaining or anything…"

Bickslow grabbed a clean spoon from the dishrack and stole a bit of Lucy's oatmeal before answering, "Last train got cancelled last night 'cause of a fault with the tracks or something, so we got the first one out at like five o'clock or something." He paused to swallow, then added, "I don't know how you can eat this stuff. It's like all gross and stuff. It's like baby food."

Lucy pouted as she dragged the bowl out of his reach. "Don't eat it then. And it is not like baby food." Although she did wonder just how Bickslow knew what baby food tasted like. But oatmeal was delicious, thank you very much. Especially with apples and honey.

"I'll take your word for it. Now…" He dropped the spoon into the sink then walked around to the other side of the counter. Lucy watched him suspiciously the entire time, but Bickslow didn't give her a chance to ask just what he was doing – or why he was grinning like the devil (which, had strangely become Lucy's favourite saying over the last few weeks) – before he quickly wrapped his arms around her middle and pulled her from the barstool.

She squealed once his arms were around her. "Bickslow! Put me—"

"I'm going to go take a shower," Bickslow finally finished his sentence while slowly carrying his giggling, kicking, and screaming fiancée away from the kitchen and towards the hall, his lecherous grin just becoming wider. "And you're going to join me."

It was Valentine's Day, after all, and Bickslow thought there was no better way to kick the day off than to fight for the hot water with his favourite human. Plus, he usually got something out of showering with Lucy, so that was always worth it, too.

After the shower and breakfast (well, Bickslow's breakfast at least), Lucy headed over to the new house to meet up with Hamilton, with a sleepy Seith mage in tow. At that point, Lucy knew more about the work being done to it than Bickslow did, so when she told him as they walked over at a little before 9 a.m. that the workers were putting the bases of the kitchen cabinets in that day, Bickslow merely nodded, yawned, and said, 'Oh. Awesome.'

He did think it was awesome though, especially since he didn't actually know how the new kitchen would look – all he knew was that there was going to be a lot of cabinets on one wall, the one separating the dining and kitchen from the hall – and to him, that just meant more room for snacks. He had no idea what kind of finish was going to be on the cabinets, whether the counter was going to be laminate, or marble, or granite… Or even if there was going to be an island. Lucy knew all of that, because she'd pretty much taken over the entire thing and honestly, Bickslow didn't even really care. If Lucy was happy, then he was happy. He couldn't care less about what the house looked like once it was finished, as long as it had four walls and a roof and he could raise his kids there.

Well, one day, at least. Since, really, Bickslow had no idea when that would happen, and neither did Lucy. The whole 'maybe, sort of, kind of trying to get pregnant' thing hadn't really changed anything for them. They weren't actively going out of their way to try and get her knocked up; if it happened, it happened, and that would be amazing. It was just the same as it always had been, if anything – minus the few days where Lucy had always tried to avoid fucking him before they'd broken up, just because she hadn't really wanted to risk getting pregnant that much (not that it had done that well, since she'd still ended up pregnant in the first place).

Still, as far as what the house looked like, Bickslow didn't care. All he cared about was how happy Lucy was in it – though he still did stand by his opinion that it was, hands down, the perfect place for them. And thankfully Lucy agreed.

When they finally reached the house, only after Lucy decided to stop in at the little café on the corner of the street to pick up some coffee and croissants for the contractors, the workers were already stuck into their work for the day. Sawhorses and lacrima-powered drills and saws were set up in what was going to be the dining area, and the first of the cabinet frames were being set in their places.

Hamilton spied the two of them before they'd even had a chance to set any of the breakfast items down. "Lucy! Bickslow! I didn't expect to see you two here this morning."

Lucy spun at the voice and beamed at the older man before plucking one of the Styrofoam cups from the holder in Bickslow's hands to hand it to Hamilton. "Morning, Hamilton!" she said. "And, well, you know I like to come spend some time here when I can, plus we didn't have any plans. Right, Bickslow?"

The Seith mage shook his head. "Zero plans," he mumbled tiredly. Although right then, he would've much preferred to be at home and sleeping.

"Well, it's always a pleasure when you stop by," Hamilton said. He took a sip of the coffee and sighed in delight before setting it down on his table. "Mm, best coffee in town, I tell you."

"Definitely," Lucy agreed.

She excused herself then to go pass out of the rest of the coffees while they were still hot and set the bag of fresh croissants down somewhere that they wouldn't get covered in sawdust. Meanwhile, Bickslow decided to take a tour of his home-to-be, and found himself staring at a completely stripped bathroom. Lucy had failed to mention that the bathrooms were getting remodelled. "I don't even think I want to know how much this is going to be costing me…" he mumbled.

"A lot! A lot!" the babies giggled, and Bickslow could only sigh while turning to leave the stripped bathroom behind.

It was a good thing he did a lot of S-Class jobs.

When he found Lucy again, she was sitting with Hamilton and pointing to a selection of grey, white, and black tiles all lined out in front of them.

"Now, the counters have already been ordered, as you can tell," Hamilton was saying as he pointed to the tiles. "But you have full control over the countertops. Personally, I'd go with the white quartz. They'll stand out against the dark cabinets."

Lucy hummed in thought for a moment as she looked between the quartz sample and the painted strip of wood that would be the colour of the cabinets once they were finished – they were going to be a deep, rich, not quite mahogany-colour. And Lucy had to admit the lighter countertops did seem like a good idea. She looked up to Bickslow once she saw him standing in the archway, arms crossed and intrigued by the conversation. "Bicks? What do you think?"

He took the opportunity to crouch down opposite them and he picked up the samples and held each of them up against the painted example. "I like the white, but the laminate would be a cheaper option for quartz, right?"

Hamilton nodded. "The laminate is cheaper than the quartz, correct."

"I was thinking we could go the laminate in the bathrooms though, and then spend that little bit extra in the kitchen," Lucy explained. "I mean, it'd end up costing a few thousand Jewels extra for the quartz or granite or even marble in the kitchen, but in the long run, I didn't think that was all that expensive." Of course, she could see the benefits of going for the cheaper alternative, and it wasn't like either of the choices would be needing to be replaced or repaired – at least not anytime in the near future – but from Lucy's perspective, she thought it would be better to just go for the more expensive and nicer option and just be done with it. They could afford it, she knew that – Lucy herself had been saving so much since moving in with Bickslow, and that was pretty much a first since she'd moved to Magnolia at all. And since it was going to be their home, wasn't it going to be worth it to just make it perfect as they possibly could, as soon as they could?

"Oh, well I guess so." Bickslow shrugged. "Honestly, I don't really care that much."

Lucy's face fell and Hamilton just awkward sipped at the black coffee. "What do you mean?" Lucy whispered. It was the first she'd heard that Bickslow didn't care. And she got it, she'd been more invested in the repairs on the house than he had, but… Did that mean he'd changed his mind on it? Was he regretting his decision buying it? God, Lucy really hoped that wasn't the case… "Are you not interested in it at all anymore?"

And of course, Bickslow knew exactly what his fiancée was thinking, and his eyes widened in terror as he quickly waved his hands in front of himself while trying to explain. "No, no! I am!" he assured her quickly, shrugging once. "It's just that… You know, I don't really care that much about the details. Like the counters, or the colour of the walls, or the fittings on things… I just care that you're happy. So whatever you want, that's fine. That's all I meant."

Hamilton nudged Lucy's arm with a wide grin on his face. "That one's a keeper. You better hold on to that one."

She couldn't help but giggle, partly at Hamilton, and partly at the hint of red appearing on Bickslow's cheeks as he rolled his eyes. "Oh, I'm not letting go, trust me," Lucy laughed. "But are you sure? I don't want to decide on everything myself if you'll end up not liking my decisions… It's your house, too…"

"I know that, baby." Smiling softly, Bickslow stood up just to walk around the row of tile samples to kneel down right beside her, then gentle cup her face before continuing, "And consider this me officially giving you free rein on anything and everything to do with the remodels. Well, within reason. Just, you know, don't go making everything pink or something."

"What about purple then?"

"I can deal with purple."

She craned her head to press a gentle kiss to the Seith mage's lips then shooed him away. "Excellent. Now, since you don't care what I do, you can go home to sleep, since I know how much you want to do that." It wasn't really like there was that much to do that day anyway. Lucy had only wanted to go to the house to talk about the counters, and then talk about the bathroom remodels that would be coming after the kitchen – although that much, Lucy was paying for. She just wanted Hamilton's input since she didn't want to make the house completely different to what it had been before the damage from Tartaros.

Bickslow really didn't need to be there, not unless he wanted to be.

But Bickslow couldn't help but grin. Oh, how he wanted to go home to sleep. Even he could see that there wasn't much reason for him to be there, so he was most definitely going to make the most of the opportunity just given to him. "Love you, Cosplayer."

It was decided later in the day, once Lucy returned home from the new house and Bickslow had woken up from his much needed nap, that Valentine's Day that year wasn't going to be anything special. They didn't need it to be special, and the idea of a quiet night in with take-out and pyjamas had been too good to pass up.

They stopped by the guild a little later in the afternoon, just to check in on everyone and make an appearance, but didn't stay for long, not after seeing Mira as her demon-matchmaker self once again.

Come sunset though, they packed up some bags for the night, headed over to the new house to set up a nice, warm and cosy area in the living room in front of the fireplace, with pillows and blankets to make themselves comfortable, and then quickly ducked back out into town to pick up dinner. They didn't need to go out and spend a fortune on a fancy dinner and a ridiculously overpriced wine when they could have everything they ever needed right at their fingertips at home. Not to mention that they couldn't wear their pyjamas out in public, and, well… That was a deal breaker that night.

Besides, Lucy had gone to the trouble of bribing and convincing some of the workers to reconnect the plumbing and water pipes for the evening, so she was going to make the most of it. A night in the new house would've been just a little frustrating without a working bathroom – at least one of them, anyway, since the second bathroom had yet to be stripped.

So with their pyjamas on, fireplace lit, and their greasy take-out food and wine combination (Lucy had insisted they couldn't do Valentine's Day without wine of some sort), they'd settled themselves in for the night with all of their pillows and blankets, and just enjoyed each other's company. Because that was the important part of it all anyway. For the most part, all they'd talking about was how their weeks had been; Bickslow had heard all about Lucy's week, starting with her simple (yet disastrous) job with Natsu and Happy that had ended with the mayor of Hargeon banning the Dragon Slayer and Exceed from the town for life, and ending with more house talk. And Lucy had heard all about Bickslow's adventures with his team and Laxus. She'd always enjoyed hearing about the Raijinshuu's out-of-town antics, mostly because she'd always found it fascinating to hear about how different his team were when they weren't surrounded by everyone else.

Lucy had always hoped to become close with Bickslow's team, but it had just never really happened. They'd become closer, of course, but she'd always noticed how reserved they'd been around her – and anyone else for that matter. Laxus had changed the most, naturally, but Freed and Evergreen… It had been hard for Lucy not to notice how they still seemed to prefer to keep her at an arm's length those days. At least most of the time, anyway.

Bickslow had always told her not to take it personally, just because they were like that with everyone, and Evergreen specifically had never really been very good at making friends or getting along with other girls. So as much as Lucy worried about whether or not Bickslow's team actually liked her, she had Bickslow assuring her that they really did. They just weren't the best at showing it – and neither was he, for that matter. But really, Bickslow knew for certain that his team loved Lucy just as much as he did. Well, maybe not quite as much, but they still saw her as a permanent (and welcome) part of their little family.

And even then, every time they went out on a job somewhere and settled in for the night somewhere, it didn't take very long for Evergreen to start asking about the wedding plans – or if they'd actually bothered working on them yet (which, honestly, they hadn't). And on more than one occasion, Evergreen had wondered aloud if Lucy would ask her to be a bridesmaid. Of course, Bickslow hadn't told Lucy that part yet, but he didn't really want to, either. He knew how much it would mean for Evergreen to be one of Lucy's bridesmaids (since she'd flat out refused to be a groomswoman, too), but he didn't want Lucy to feel like she had to ask Evergreen to be one. That just wouldn't be fair to Evergreen. And sure, it was going to be his day, but he still sure as hell wanted his other family to be happy, too. If Evergreen was to be one of Lucy's bridesmaids, then it would have to be what Lucy wanted. No one else.

But still, planning their wedding hadn't been all that important to them over those first several weeks of the year. The house had just taken precedent, and even with the wedding date approaching, they'd really just felt like there was no rush to get everything set in stone. And it certainly helped that everyone tended to pitch in when there was a guild wedding, so they didn't need to be planning everything just yet anyway. They had time.

With their dinner eaten and wine almost gone (oh, why had they only brought one bottle?), Bickslow pulled himself up from the thick blanket on the floor, just to step over Lucy and reach the fireplace to add some more kindling to keep it crackling away. Lucy felt the warmth from the fire caress her face and she smiled into the warm glow, pulling the extra blanket up to her chin to keep herself nice and warm while her human-sized body-pillow was temporarily gone. "I'm so glad this house has a fireplace," she murmured. Naturally, it was the first time they were getting to use it since buying the house, but she was already in love with it, even if it did need some minor repairs to the stonework and the mantel needed some sanding.

Bickslow smiled over his shoulder while he continued to poke at the fire with a smaller piece. "Yeah?"

"Mm-hmm! It's so warm and toasty," Lucy sighed. "I can't wait to sit out here every night next winter, reading and drinking lots and lots of hot chocolate… You know what? I might just live out here on the lounge."

He rolled his eyes before throwing in the piece of firewood. "You're not going to live out here on the lounge," he said.

Lucy only pouted at the Seith mage as he scooted under the blanket and wrapped his arm back around her waist and propped his head up with his other hand. "How come?" she asked.

"Because we'll have a perfectly good bedroom for you to sleep in, with a warm and cosy bed and a really great husband for you to cuddle with in the morning."

"Well, I suppose you have a point…"

"Of course I have a point." He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead before shifting his arm just to tug at the blanket and add, "And stop hogging the blanket, you blanket thief. You're the one closest to the fire. I'm surprised your back isn't on fire yet." The room was warm enough, sure, but even with spring approaching in a few more weeks, the cold nights were hanging around. He needed at least a little bit of some kind of blanket, since Lucy's body was doing a damn good job of blocking the direct heat from the fireplace.

Lucy gasped, eyes wide yet full of mischief and a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth as she tugged back on the throw blanket. "Rude!"

"Not rude. It's true. Now share the damn blanket, blanket thief."

"I am not a blanket thief," Lucy insisted. Although already, with them quickly plunging into a fight for the one, queen-sized throw blanket, Lucy was having a hard time keeping a straight face. "And like you can talk anyway, considering you're the one who's usually hogging the blanket in the first place!"

"Oh, I do not!"

"You do so!" Lucy insisted.

"Do not."

"Do so."

"Blanket thief."

"Blanket hog."

And then they heard the rip, and they both froze, the edge of blanket held taut from where they both clutched at it in an attempt to get more of it on their side. Bickslow grinned sheepishly as he loosened his grip on the blanket, as did Lucy, then lifted his arm up just to adjust so it was equally covering the both of them. Honestly, as close as they were, chests pressed up one another and legs entwined under the blanket, there was more than enough to cover the both of them.

Lucy just happened to like having extra.

Ducking his head down just to softly press his lips to the woman's, Bickslow couldn't help but whisper one last time, "Blanket thief." And the sharp nudge to his thigh from Lucy's knee was totally worth it.

"Just be grateful I love you," Lucy mumbled once she slid down to make herself comfortable again, head tucked in against Bickslow's chest.

Bickslow could only grin up to the ceiling as he wound his arm back around her and pulled her in just that little bit closer. "Oh trust me, I am." There wasn't going to be a single day that passed where he wouldn't be grateful for her. He felt like the luckiest guy in the world with Lucy, and he doubted that would change.