With Lucy expecting to be gone for the next week, Bickslow had been tasked with packing up the apartment and doing his best to get some of their boxes over to the new place. It was mostly ready by that point, with all the new flooring in and the walls painted the perfect shades that Lucy had chosen. All of the shelves in the lounge room and the kitchen and dining room had been put up, and now all they had left to do was to actually move in.
With the morning mostly gone, Bickslow decided to finally pull himself out of bed and get ready for another arduous day of packing up everything. The books had been packed up weeks earlier, so Bickslow decided he'd just start packing all the odd trinkets and random pieces of junk they had lying around the apartment.
He was already onto his second box when he came across a stack of papers in Lucy's desk drawer (which, under normal circumstances he didn't go near, but Lucy had told him she didn't care what he went through when he was packing). He rifled through the papers just out of curiosity, and it only took Bickslow a few seconds to realise what Lucy had sketched on each sheet.
Each sheet was for a room in the house. There was one for the lounge room, another for the area off to the side that Lucy was adopting as her study, one for their bedroom, and even what appeared to be a room for the baby they'd yet to even conceive. And, admittedly, Lucy was probably the worst artist on the planet, but she was good enough for Bickslow to be able to tell what she'd been trying to do.
She'd been picturing how she wanted to decorate the new house, complete with little arrows and notes with ideas she'd jotted down afterwards. According to one note with six exclamation points, they desperately needed a row of succulents to sit on the windowsill in the kitchen. Bickslow honestly had no idea what the fuck succulents even were, and while he could tell what was supposed to be a lounge and a rug and a table, he could definitely not tell what the little green and yellow and pink dots on the windowsill were supposed to be.
Still, finding Lucy's sketches did give Bickslow an idea. It was probably a horrible idea and he doubted he'd be able to pull it off, but he could sure try. If he enlisted the help of his team, getting everything out of the apartment and into the new house would be a piece of cake.
Maybe.
Really, it wasn't like Bickslow was known for having the best ideas, but that was fine. Mostly.
Setting the pages down back in Lucy's desk drawer, Bickslow went to quickly get out of his pyjamas and into some more acceptable clothing, and brushed his teeth too before he locked up the apartment to head to the guild. Laxus was already in the guild, playing with his son at a table while Mira staffed the bar as usual.
Laxus looked up from his eleven-month-old playing with the empty wooden mugs and to Bickslow coming towards him. "Morning."
Bickslow made sure to quickly wave to Jax and let the babies go twirl around him before setting his attention to Laxus. "You busy?" he asked.
"Uh… Just a little," Laxus scoffed. He had his son to keep occupied that day. "Why?"
"I need some help with something. But, don't worry. I'll see if—"
"What do you need help with?" Laxus asked. If it was something simple, he could probably help Bickslow and just take Jax with him. Otherwise, he could probably just convince Lisanna to babysit him again. She always liked babysitting the kid.
"I want to try and get moved into the house before Lucy comes back," Bickslow answered. It wasn't going to be easy. Getting the furniture out of the apartment and over to the house was going to be the biggest problem, but that was really the part he needed the help with the most anyway. Once the furniture was out of his apartment, he could just put the babies' souls into them and move them across town that way, but he couldn't do that until he'd gotten the furniture out by hand. He needed manpower for that.
Laxus glanced down to his son still playing with the mugs and now Bickslow's babies. "I can probably get Lis to watch Jax for a few hours without Mira getting mad at me…" He didn't think Mira would mind if he told her it was to help Bickslow move. Even then, it had been six months since Bickslow had bought the house. It was about time he moved into the damn thing.
"Are you sure?"
"Why not?"
Bickslow nodded. One down, two to go. "Well, I still want to find Ever and Freed to help too. Do you know where they are?"
"Haven't seen them all morning. Want me to check Freed's apartment on my way over to yours? I've still gotta go convince Lis to watch Jax."
"Yeah, that works." Bickslow got up from the bench as Laxus crouched down to pick Jax up off the floor. "I'll go see if I can find Ever then." She was no doubt at Fairy Hills, so Bickslow didn't think he'd have a hard time finding her.
Once everyone had arrived, Freed had suggested they continue packing up the rest of the smaller items in Bickslow's apartment and get those over to the house first, just so they'd have more room to manoeuvre the larger items of furniture. The dining chairs, table, barstools, and some other boxes Bickslow had already packed had been flown over to the house with the babies already as well, just because they'd been small and relatively easy to get out.
Freed had decided to start packing up the kitchen with the help of Laxus, and Evergreen had offered to do the bathroom, so Bickslow got a start on the dresser and the wardrobe.
"So… How's the wedding planning going?" Bickslow asked, pulling out the top drawer of his bedside table just to tip the contents out onto the bed before pulling out the second drawer. Sure, it felt weird to be asking how the planning for his own goddamn wedding was going, but he didn't really talk to Lucy about it much. He'd given her free rein to do what she wanted.
"I think it's going well," Evergreen replied.
"Yeah?"
"Mm-hmm! Lucy finally has an appointment next Thursday to choose her dress. I've been trying to get her to go to a boutique since she asked me to be her maid of honour, but she just kept putting it off!"
Bickslow continued to slowly sort through the piles of rubbish sitting in the middle of his bed, grimacing when he came across a pile of condoms that had been sitting at the bottom of one drawer. Like those are any good now. Naturally though, Bickslow knew why Lucy had put off choosing her dress, but he couldn't exactly tell Evergreen that. "I just don't think she cares much about the dress at all, to be honest…" he mumbled. So it was a lie, but that was fine.
"But she has to care! It's her wedding day! She has to look her best!" Evergreen insisted.
"She could wear her pyjamas for all I care, and she'd still look great."
"And that's why she put it off for so long." Evergreen shook her head as she finished folding up the shower curtain. "She'll be lucky if she's able to get a dress made and fitted at this rate. She should've chosen all of this months ago."
"Well, we've had a few more important things on our minds. Cut her some slack."
"Like what?"
"Uh… Just things." Bickslow made a point of walking out of Evergreen's line of sight from where she stood in the bathroom. He'd already said too much. Way too much. Bickslow would be considering himself lucky if Evergreen hadn't already figured out what he'd been talking about. She was smarter than she looked. "Anyway. What else has Lucy decided on?" he asked then, clearing his throat forcefully as he returned to his bed to finish stacking everything in either the box, or the large bag behind him that was going straight in a bin.
Evergreen decided not to question what Bickslow had meant, only letting out a small sigh as she continued on with her own task. "Well, Mira asked if Lucy wanted a specific menu for the day, just so she'd have time to order everything she needed," she said, taking all of Lucy's perfumes and placing them neatly in the box with the old towel. "But I think for the most part Lucy is just going to leave it as the usual guild menu, just to keep everyone else happy."
"Whatever works."
"Oh! She booked a florist last week, though."
"She still having the calla lilies?" Bickslow asked. Lucy had mentioned those before.
"Yup! Purple and white."
"Of course." Bickslow knew how much Lucy liked the lilies.
For the most part, the wedding that Lucy wanted didn't require much planning at all. It was going to be behind the guild, just on the grass, and a lot of the guild members had already offered to help where they could. Laki was building a large canopy frame that was going to be covered with large sheets on the day, and it was going to be big enough to fit most of the tables, as well as a small dance floor. Droy was going to go overboard on the vines and greenery. Cana was going to deal with ordering most of the alcohol, just because she'd claimed to be able to get a good price on it. And then Warren, Max, Nab, and a few others had offered to get there early in the morning to get everything set up.
If it hadn't been a guild wedding, Evergreen knew that Lucy would be having to rush a whole lot more than she currently was to get everything sorted. At that point though, the only big thing that needed sorted out was the dress, which was going to be dealt with when she got back from her job.
As far as what Bickslow needed to sort out, however… "How about you though?" Evergreen asked. "Have you chosen your groomsmen yet? Or picked out the rings? What about a suit?"
Bickslow looked up, blinking slowly as he stared to Evergreen still in the bathroom. "…Uh, not yet, nope, and no."
Evergreen's sigh was so loud that Bickslow heard it clearly from where he stood. "Bicks…"
"What? I don't know what the fuck I'm supposed to do." That was also partly why he'd left it all to Lucy. Bickslow genuinely had no idea about any of it. He'd kind of just expected Lucy to remind him to do those things…
"Well, you could at least hurry up and choose who your groomsmen and best man will be."
"Why? It's not like they do anything. Why do I have to choose them so early?"
"Oh my god." Evergreen balled her hands into fists at her sides, and exhaled through her nose. Oh, if only she had her fan still… Bickslow was more than deserving of a few slaps from it right then. Calmly, Evergreen said, "Bickslow, they're not just there to look pretty. At least not most of the time. The best man specifically is supposed to help you choose your tux, and he keeps the rings so people like you don't lose them. And they plan your bachelor party, too."
Bickslow groaned. If he'd known getting married involved that much work, he probably wouldn't have bothered proposing. Although… That was a lie. It was Lucy, after all, so he had to marry her. Still, there was just way too much work involved.
"Fine, fine…" he mumbled. Thankfully though, two of the men he'd been planning on having as his groomsmen were in his kitchen at that very moment. Dropping an old alarm clock into the box on his bed, Bickslow went to go find Freed and Laxus still emptying the cupboards in the kitchen, just to announce, "Ever's on my back about choosing groomsmen. You two are groomsmen. Okay? Deal?"
Laxus only gave a shrug. "Well, I figured as much."
Freed gave a small smile in agreement. "I assumed you would leave it until later, but yes, it was fairly obvious you would ask."
Bickslow shook his head. Stupid Ever. Freed and Laxus had the right idea. He was going to ask Gajeel as well, or maybe even Gray or Natsu if Gajeel didn't want to, but Bickslow would do that later. The issue of the best man, of course… It was down to Laxus or Freed, that was something Bickslow knew for certain just because they were like his brothers, but Bickslow wasn't quite sure who to choose.
He looked between Laxus and Freed, both of them staring back at him with looks of confusion. But then Bickslow focused on Freed, and said, "Freed, you're my best man."
"Eh? What about me?" Laxus asked.
"Freed is more responsible."
Laxus considered it for a moment as Freed gave a small shrug, and then sighed and pulled a stack of plates down. "Fair point."
"Well, I'd be honoured, Bickslow," Freed said.
"Great. Glad we got that sorted out." Bickslow nodded once before turning on his heels for his bedroom. "Ever, are you fucking happy now?" he shouted.
"Extremely," Evergreen replied.
Checking Lucy's sketches one last time to make sure he'd put the furniture in mostly the right places, Bickslow left to meet Lucy at the train station. They'd talked on the communications lacrima a few days earlier, just so Bickslow had been able to ask Lucy to call him when she was nearly back in Magnolia so he would know when to meet her.
Getting everything into the new house had been a little tricky, but Bickslow had managed to pull it off. Laxus had only been able to help on the first day, but Freed and Evergreen had helped him for the rest of the week. The last three days had been spent unpacking everything after moving all of the furniture over, and if it was one thing Bickslow had quickly realised as he'd been moving the furniture around and getting it into place, it was that he didn't have enough furniture.
But, that had been expected anyway, since the house was a whole lot bigger than the apartment.
He got to the station just a few minutes before Lucy's train arrived. Even in the shade by the tracks, Bickslow felt the sweat form on his brow. Summer had well and truly arrived in Magnolia, and it wasn't fun. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long before Lucy's train arrived and she piled out of the carriage with the rest of her team and passengers.
She stretched her arms above her head as she stepped out onto the platform, following behind Erza. "It's good to be back," Lucy groaned, finally dropping her arms back down to her sides.
"That was a long one," Gray mumbled.
"Yes, but it was rather rewarding, don't you think?" Erza said. It hadn't paid very much, but it had still been a great experience. A team that gets kidnapped together and thrown in an alligator pit together, is a team that stays together.
Natsu finally staggered out of the train and joined them on the platform just to mumble, "No. It wasn't rewarding at all. You're fucking crazy, Erza." Even he had his limits, and he'd reached one.
Erza sighed and shook her head. "We'll have to agree to disagree," she said. "Anyway, shall we head to the guild now?"
"Nah, I need to go home and shower," Gray said, lifting his hand from his pocket just to wave back to them. "Catch you guys later."
Lucy smiled apologetically as she sidestepped away from her team. She'd seen Bickslow when she'd gotten off the train, and as much as she loved her team, she didn't really want to make him wait any longer than necessary. "Bicks is already here, so I'm going to head home with him," she said.
Not even Natsu was heading towards the guild that evening, and so when everyone went off in their separate ways, even Erza decided to just head home herself, too. The bath at Fairy Hills would most likely be free, and even she needed to relax occasionally.
When Lucy reached Bickslow, she looped her arms around the back of his neck just to stand on her toes and press a soft kiss to his lips. "I missed you," she murmured. "Were you waiting long? It's hot out here." It had been a little cooler on the western coast, where her job had taken her, but Magnolia just felt stickier in comparison.
"I missed you too. And no, not long. Just a few minutes."
"Good." Their fingers threaded together between them as they slowly walked back through the gates of the station and out onto the street. It was that time of day where it was still light, but there was just the hint of an orange glow all around to warn of the impending sunset. It was Lucy's favourite time of day, right after the calm that always came before the sun rose in the morning. "So, why did you want to come meet me?" Lucy asked as they walked.
Bickslow shrugged. "Figured I'd still be around and have nothing else to do, so I thought it'd be nice to meet you there so we could walk home together," he lied.
Lucy had a feeling it wasn't the truth, but she'd play along anyway. "How kind of you to spend time with me when you have nothing else to do," she teased, just to get an eye-roll and a gentle nudge from her fiancé. "Well, do you want to go pick up something to eat before we get home?"
"Nope. I'm cooking."
"Excuse me? You? Cooking?"
"Oh, come on. It's not surprising."
"Bicks, honey. I love you, but you don't cook. You can't cook either," Lucy said, trying not to laugh.
"You're the one who bought me a cook book for Christmas," Bickslow reminded her. "And I'm not that bad, thank you very much. I'm getting better." He'd only smoked out the kitchen in the new house once while Lucy had been gone. That was a new record for him.
Lucy rolled her eyes. She had to admit that the few times Bickslow had cooked, the food had actually tasted pretty nice. Practice definitely does make perfect in Bickslow's case. "Fine. You're getting better. But what's on the menu for tonight then?"
"It's a secret."
"You haven't decided yet, have you?"
Bickslow hesitated, glancing down at her and then back to the street so he didn't tree or walk into someone. "I… have decided," he eventually said. "It involves a salad. I know that much."
"And what else?"
"Okay, so I haven't completely decided on dinner yet, but—hey, stop laughing!"
Lucy couldn't help herself. He was just so completely ridiculous without even trying to be sometimes, but she loved it all the same. Bickslow wouldn't be himself unless he was ridiculous and sweet all at the same time. "I'm sorry," she giggled. She noticed Bickslow's pout, but it didn't last long anyway. "But, wait… Why are we going this way? The apartment is in the opposite direction." Bickslow had been leading them and Lucy hadn't really paid much attention to the streets they'd actually been walking on, but now that she was paying attention, she realised that they were probably closer to the house than the apartment.
His lips turned up into a knowing smile as he pulled her down yet another street. He had been wondering if she'd catch on eventually. He was just surprised it had taken that long. "You'll see," was all Bickslow said.
A few minutes later, they arrived out the front of the house and Bickslow reached into his pocket to grab the keys to unlock the door. Lucy had already suspected that Bickslow was taking her to the house instead of the apartment, so she wasn't surprised to end up there. What did surprise Lucy though, was instantly seeing the furniture from the apartment in the rooms that had been empty the last time she'd seen them.
"What… What did you do?"
Bickslow shuffled on his feet as Lucy darted into the living room on her left, before coming back out into the hall to rush into the dining room, looking around at how everything seemed to be in the perfect place. "Well, that wasn't exactly the reaction I was hoping for…" Bickslow mumbled. Lucy was just more shocked than anything, and while it made sense, Bickslow had just been hoping for a little more excitement. He'd worked hard, damn it. "And… I moved us in during the week."
"You did?"
He finally followed her into the next room, shrugging when Lucy turned back around. "Everything was finished here, and I found those drawings you did so I asked my team to help me get everything over here to surprise you."
Squealing, Lucy ran straight towards Bickslow just to jump up and throw her arms around him. "You moved us?! We live here now?!"
"Well, yeah…"
She kissed him firmly on the lips once, holding his face between her hands. "God, I love you! I love you so damn much, oh my god. I… Bicks…" At a loss for words, she just kissed him again before managing to put herself back on her feet and going to explore the house some more.
Lucy had been more than excited to finally get moved into the house. She knew it had been getting the finishing touches added over the last few weeks and it had basically been ready for them to move in to, but the whole moving process had been going so slowly that Lucy honestly hadn't known when they'd be able to live there. She'd hoped they'd manage it before the wedding, but Bickslow had gone and done it all by himself while she'd been gone and she couldn't be happier.
The boxes were a little annoying to see, and all the empty spaces on the walls were just as bad, but that was fine. Lucy was definitely looking forward to being able to really turn it into a home though, because it just wasn't quite there yet.
Bickslow only watched Lucy bounce around from room to room, squealing like some kind of child who was getting to visit Ryuzetzu Land for the first time ever. It was exciting for him just to see how excited Lucy was, and it made his tiring week worth it.
Lucy's birthday party ended up doubling as a housewarming party, and it had been completely accidental. Lucy hadn't even wanted a party at all, but Bickslow had insisted on having a little celebration with just a few people since it was her twenty-first and it was kind of a milestone. Unfortunately, their small get-together ended up turning in a full-blown party when half the guild invited themselves. Fortunately, though, they had the room to host that many people, now that they'd settled into the house and gotten everything organised and unpacked. They'd even bought a bit more furniture to fill in some of the spaces and make it cosier.
Seeing Bickslow slink away from the awkward game Cana had started at the dining table, Lucy followed him over to the kitchen where he began to fix himself a drink. "Do you want me to make you one?" Bickslow asked when he noticed her.
Lucy shook her head, coming up behind Bickslow just to wrap her arms around his middle and rest her cheek against the back of his shoulder. "No thank you. I'm good for now."
"Are you enjoying yourself then?"
"I guess so…" While she enjoyed her friends being there and celebrating with her, socialising just wasn't what Lucy would've preferred to be doing that night, especially since it happened to be that time of the month again. Simply, Lucy just had better things to be doing. Specifically, her fiancé. "I just hope they all go home soon…" she murmured.
"How come?" Bickslow asked, putting the cap back on the bottle before lifting his glass up to his mouth to take a sip.
"Because I want you to fuck me until cum is dripping down my legs."
Bickslow had to cover his mouth with his hand before he spat his drink out everywhere. It wasn't exactly the first time Lucy had said something along those lines, but it was definitely the first time she'd said it while there were other people around them. And judging by the stunned look Gajeel was suddenly giving him from across the room, Bickslow wasn't the only one who had heard Lucy's words.
He didn't even need to try and glance back to Lucy behind him to know she had the most wicked of smirks on her lips, and Bickslow figured it was probably a good thing that he didn't need to see it to know it was there. Just the words and the mental image that came with it were making him just a little too turned on for his comfort, especially considering they had guests. Seeing that kind of smile would probably just be pushing Bickslow into kicking every single person out just so he could go and make his fiancée and very, very happy woman.
For the time being though… Bickslow wasn't going to do that. Lucy could be patient for once.
Clearing his throat, and well aware that his face was the same shade of red as the roses sitting in a vase on the bench, Bickslow slowly unfolded Lucy's arms from around his waist to pull himself free. "W-Well, uh… Okay. I definitely wasn't expecting that answer, but… Uh… Let's get a raincheck on that. You know, until later. When people aren't here."
Lucy couldn't help but giggle quietly to herself as Bickslow ran away to talk to someone who wouldn't purposely try and turn him on.
Apparently, that person ended up being Gajeel, who only muttered, "You totally ruined her."
Bickslow had no intentions of disagreeing. He had, without a doubt, been the worst influence ever on Lucy. But she'd been a great influence on him so he liked to think it evened out.
Lucy stared at the back of Bickslow's head for a good five minutes when she woke up the next morning. She had a busy day ahead of her, getting her dress fitted and then going to choose the bridesmaid dresses too. As far as Lucy could tell, she'd still be fertile for another day or so, so even if there was still time to try and get pregnant for that cycle, Lucy still preferred to try as much as she could, almost whenever she could.
She just wasn't one for wasting opportunities.
But, while Bickslow was hungover (or so Lucy suspected, judging by how much he'd had to drink the night before), he wasn't just going to stay in bed all day and do nothing. Lucy didn't really care about that, though. He could sleep literally all day for all Lucy cared, as long as he woke up and helped her first. Because, strangely enough, she did actually need him in order to get pregnant.
If she could do it on her own, then she probably would have.
Sliding forward finally, Lucy pressed herself right up against his back and let her lips trail over the back of his neck. "Bicks…" she whispered. "Are you going to wake up?"
Bickslow groaned into the pillow, just an acknowledgement of the fact that he had heard her.
"Come on, wake up," Lucy giggled. She sat up on an elbow as her other hand lightly trailed up his spine under his shirt, just barely grazing the raised scar on his back before brushing over the matching scar on his stomach. "I know you can hear me…"
Oh, he could definitely hear her. He probably would've been quite happy just mostly ignoring her and going back to sleep too, but then her hand slipped into his boxer shorts and wrapped around the base his shaft, and Bickslow had to actually move to push Lucy's hand out and away. "Not now," he mumbled.
Lucy was just a little surprised that Bickslow was actually turning her down, because it was probably the first time he had ever done so in the nearly two years that they'd actually been together all up. But, she was convincing herself not to read into it too much. He's just grumpy and tried. That's it. It wasn't like she hadn't dealt with that before anyway.
Still, Lucy was persistent. "Bicks, come on," she laughed again. "You know that I'm—"
"Seriously, Lucy, stop it. I'm not in the mood." He pushed Lucy's hand back when it crossed his side again, and made a point of rolling onto his stomach just to avoid her.
It had all been fine until Lucy had decided she wanted to really try and make the whole baby thing happen. But since then, it had just been getting progressively worse. The only time Lucy seemed to want to have sex those days, was during that brief window where she had the highest chance of actually getting pregnant. Bickslow hadn't really minded it at first, just because it hadn't been so bad and he'd occasionally be able to talk her into fucking him other times.
But now? Now it was just whenever Lucy wanted, and Bickslow hated it. He'd honestly never thought that he'd see the day where he actually hated sex. But Lucy had turned it into a chore, and it wasn't fun anymore. He was tired, and he was sick of being woken up every morning for half a week straight just to fuck her.
That time though, Lucy did take it personally, and she sat back quickly. It surprisingly hurt, and Lucy knew it shouldn't, because she knew it wasn't a big deal. But it still hurt.
"Oh. Um… Okay. Sorry…" Lucy whispered, pulling herself out of bed to just get on with her morning.
Try as Bickslow might, Bickslow couldn't just go back to sleep. He knew he'd somehow managed to offend Lucy by saying no (honestly, how, he had no idea), and he couldn't just leave it. He had to go sort Lucy out before she started assuming that he wasn't attracted to her anymore or something stupid like that, because with the way her thought processes worked, Bickslow knew it was bound to happen.
She was weird like that.
With a heavy sigh, Bickslow kicked back the blanket and sluggishly pulled himself out of bed. He really would love to just lie back down and sleep his slight hangover off, but Lucy was slightly more important than getting some more sleep. Besides, sleep could come later. He could hear the shower running before he even got into the bathroom, and when he walked in, Lucy only stuck her head around the shower curtain for a moment before she ducked back inside the shower and ignored him. She continued to ignore him even when he stepped into the shower behind her.
He couldn't just say he wasn't in the mood for anything and then get in the shower with her five minutes later. It didn't work that way.
"Lucy, I'm sorry," Bickslow said softly.
"Why are you apologising? It's fine. Don't worry about it," Lucy responded, finishing rinsing out the shampoo and reaching for the conditioner next.
Bickslow reached around her to set the bottle back on the shelf. "Well, it isn't fine. I know that." Still, he thought it was weird that it was like that at all but he wasn't going to say that to Lucy. "Because I know that it upset you and I didn't mean to do that."
Lucy gave a small shrug as she turned around slowly, just so she didn't slip and fall in the tub. She felt stupid for letting it bother her at all, but Bickslow saying he was sorry just seemed to make her feel worse.
His hands clasped behind Lucy's waist just to pull her towards him, ducking down to press a soft kiss to the top of her head and making his lips just a little numb from the apple shampoo she was supposedly using that week. "Baby, I love you, and I know how badly you want to be pregnant, but… You've kind of ruined sex lately. You've taken all the fun from it," Bickslow admitted, wincing only slightly because he knew how horribly Lucy was going to take it.
"How can I? Am I… bad?" she whispered.
"Oh. God no. Trust me, you're fine."
"But you just said I ruined it…"
Bickslow let out a quiet sigh before he asked, "Have you noticed that the only time we sleep together now is when you want to, because you think it's the right time to conceive and all that?"
"What? No it's not. We do it all the time."
"Nope."
"Come on, of course we do," Lucy insisted. Bickslow had to be dreaming or something. Although as Lucy thought about it, which was difficult since it wasn't exactly like she kept an internal log for each time they did have sex, she could see that, perhaps, Bickslow was onto something. She looked away in her embarrassment just to mumble, "W-Well, it can't be the only time we sleep together…"
"Yup. It is."
"No. Can't be."
"Never used to be," Bickslow said. "But for the last couple of months it has been."
Lucy just really hadn't noticed. But, she could see why Bickslow would say she'd managed to take all the fun out of it. And, admittedly, Lucy knew she'd probably be just as frustrated if Bickslow had done the same thing to her, even if it was over something as stupid as how often they slept together.
"I didn't know that I was doing that… I'm sorry," Lucy murmured.
Bickslow gave a small shrug. "I assumed you didn't. But it's not a big deal anyway. It's fine." Now that Lucy knew what she'd been doing, Bickslow didn't really have anything to worry about. And, really, he knew all of it could've been avoided if he'd just gotten over himself and fucked her, but he liked to think that actually saying no for a change had been a good thing.
"But… It is kind of a big deal. I feel horrible."
"Honestly, Lucy, don't worry about it. Just forget I said anything."
Lucy shook her head and carefully pulled herself free slightly. "No, I'm glad you told me," she said. "But I just… I feel as if I was almost using you…" It wasn't a pleasant feeling to say the least, and if Bickslow hadn't told her how he saw things, then Lucy knew she probably would've just kept doing what she'd been doing.
"Come on, you weren't using me," Bickslow sighed. "And even if you were, I'm pretty sure trying to get knocked up is a pretty good reason to do so." He paused for a moment, brows creasing as he grimaced and added, "Actually, that is pretty creepy when you think about it."
"See! Even you think it's bad."
He sighed again and pulled Lucy back towards him. "Lucy, it's fine. Really. Stop worrying about it. It was… It was an accident. It's fine."
"I guess so…" Lucy mumbled after a moment. She supposed Bickslow was right. There was no point in worrying about something she hadn't even known she was doing, and it had already happened so it wasn't like there was much she could do.
Still, she was thankful that Bickslow had even told her, because she knew all too well that he had a habit of keeping smaller details from her if he thought it'd keep her happy. And as much as Lucy wanted a baby already, she didn't really want it under those circumstances, where she felt like she was just using Bickslow for her own gain. As silly as it all was, Lucy still hated it.
"Good. Glad we got that sorted out." Bickslow pressed another quick kiss to the top of her head, and then reached back around Lucy for the conditioner bottle to hand it to her. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to bed."
"Fine…" Truthfully, it didn't even surprise Lucy. If she thought about it, she was more surprised that Bickslow had even bothered getting out of bed to talk to her about it all in the first place. She already had the conditioner in her palm and had been about to massage it into her scalp before she remembered that Bickslow's family would be visiting in another week. "Oh! Wait!" Lucy stuck her head back around the shower curtain just as Bickslow picked up his clothes from the bathroom floor. "Don't forget that you need to put together the beds this week," she said.
Bickslow groaned at the reminder. He'd definitely forgotten that, not that he was entirely sure how. "Right, yeah… Later…" he mumbled on his way back out of the bathroom. Sleep was more important right then. Putting together a couple of day beds for his niblings would be a reasonably simple task, at least with the help of the babies, but that was only once he'd gotten a few more hours of sleep.
"Mm, yes… Right there…" Lucy could only let out a gasping breath as Bickslow's tongue delved deeper into her core. She would've let out more than that had Bickslow's nephews and niece not been asleep just down the hall, and with the door open no less. But since they were asleep, Lucy was just having to settle for keeping a little quieter than usual.
She wouldn't have had to bother at all if Bickslow could keep his hands (or, perhaps more accurately, his mouth) to himself, but it wasn't like Lucy was much better herself.
She had to bite her lip when his hand circled around her hip just to rub tight circles over her clit. Another sharp breath and Lucy lifted her head with the intentions of peeking back down to Bickslow under the sheet and between her legs, but movement in the corner of her eyes caught her attention first and she saw the bedroom door swing the rest of way open to reveal Layla in the doorway, rubbing her eyes with one hand and holding onto one of the babies in her other.
"Aunt Lucy?" she whispered.
Lucy would've brought her legs back together if she hadn't had Bickslow's head still between them. Thankfully, the sheet kept her (and Bickslow) more than covered. "L-Layla? What are you… What are you doing up?" Lucy asked, scrambling to sit up and keep what was left of her dignity intact. If Saskia and Xander heard that Layla had walked in on them, then they'd definitely never be able to babysit the children again.
"Where's Uncle Pixie?" Layla asked quietly in turn.
Bickslow was quick to peek his head up from under the sheets, only after managing to carefully pull the bottom of Lucy's nightgown back down over her hips. "Here, Layls." The childlike interest on his niece's face only made him grimace and rack his brain for some kind of explanation. "I was, just, uh… Helping Aunt Lucy find an earring she lost!"
Lucy's hand flew up to one ear, where her small studs were still sitting. "R-Right! Yes! He's found it now so not to worry." Lucy could only praise her fiancé's quick-thinking skills as Layla seemed to accept the explanation. Now all Lucy hoped was that she didn't mention it to her parents. "Did you have a bad dream, Layla?" Lucy asked softly then, turning her attention back to the issue at hand. The girl gave a small nod and Lucy sighed quietly to herself before she pulled herself out of bed as quickly and as carefully as she could manage, then reached for Layla's hand once she was at the door to lead her back out into the hall. "How about I heat up some milk for you and read you a story then."
It didn't take very long for Lucy to get Layla back to bed, but it had been difficult since she hadn't wanted to wake Jasper and Damian up in the process. Thankfully, the boys slept like logs and hadn't so much as stirred when Lucy had been tucking Layla back into bed and reading her a short bedtime story.
Pushing the door almost all the way closed, Lucy returned to her own bed where Bickslow was sitting up and waiting for her with an almost smug smirk on his face. "Did you get her to fall asleep?" he asked as he slid down beside Lucy once she'd climbed under the sheet again, and he made himself comfortable.
"Mm-hmm, I did. The boys are still completely out too, thankfully," Lucy murmured. "Now, tell me what that smirk is about."
Bickslow shrugged as best he could with Lucy shifting to rest on his shoulder. "I'm just thinking about how great of a mother you're going to be when we have our own kids." It wasn't the first time he'd thought it, but after watching her with his nephews and niece for most of the day, he was convinced of it. She was kind and she was caring and any child they did have, whenever that may be, was going to be completely adored and Bickslow knew that Lucy would do her best to offer them the world.
He'd do it too, of course, but the thought that Lucy would do that was far more appealing.
"And you're going to be a great father."
"Yeah, maybe, but… I still think you'll be amazing at it," he insisted. "You're good with them. The kids, I mean. Especially with Layla. And I keep thinking about how you'll be with our kids one day, and I just… I really love it."
Lucy smiled softly to herself before she sat up slightly just to press a gentle kiss to Bickslow's cheek. "I know you do," she whispered. She had to admit that she'd enjoyed having Layla and the twins there that day, and as chaotic as it had been at some points (like, when she'd had to try and get Jasper and Damien to not eat the petals off the flowers she'd been planting in the garden with their help), it had all made her long for her own family all the more. "But… Who knows, maybe we got lucky this time…" It was already the end of July, so Lucy wouldn't even be surprised if it ended up being yet another month where she wasn't pregnant, but she had to have some kind of faith that it would happen at some point.
There was no just point in trying if she gave up.
"Yeah, maybe," Bickslow agreed. He was beginning to have his own doubts, but he still hoped they'd get there.
Bickslow's sisters had already returned back to Crocus before August came around. It had been a short trip, but since they'd all be returning for the wedding at the end of the month, no one had expected them to stay for long anyway.
Soon after, Bickslow left for what he supposed to be his last mission before the wedding, which left Lucy free to clean and organise the house to her heart's content. It had been a tradition of hers since she'd been living on her own to take at least one day of every month, usually towards the beginning, to deep clean and get everything in order. Having lived in the new house for a little while, there wasn't a lot that needed to be done, but that didn't stop Lucy from working through her usual list of chores anyway.
She started with the washing, getting all of the sheets and quilt covers and pillowcases in the house washed and hung out in the sun to dry. Next, she swept, and then it was onto dusting every single shelf and surface in the whole house. She even took items off shelves just to make sure everything had been touched. She watered the garden and planted the last of the flowers in the small flowerbeds, and went through every cupboard in the kitchen just so she could write a detailed shopping list, complete with the number of new storage containers she'd need to pick up just so she could have everything neatly arranged in the pantry.
It was only after she'd gone and done the shopping, gotten everything packed away in the pantry and the fridge, and then folded and sorted the washing, that Lucy had the chance to sit down and take a break. It didn't last for long though, because she still had things on her list that needed to get done.
So, she headed to her large desk between the bookshelves with a rubbish bag in one hand, and sat herself down to get back to work. Old letters, drafts, and bills that had been stacked in the corner or in one of the drawers all went into the bin. The empty glasses and cups were carried to the kitchen to be washed later. She refilled the ink in the inkwell and set it back on the shelf where it belonged, right next to the rainbow quill that she thought was too pretty to actually use. She even managed to get all of her notes for her novel in a somewhat logical order, but she'd written them out so haphazardly that it still wasn't perfect. And once her desk had been tidied and was neat again, she set aside the nearly over-flowing bag of crumpled up paper just to pull out the small desk calendar and get all of her appointments and dates for the next month in order.
But, it was as Lucy was figuring out the dates for her next fertile window with the intention of marking them down on the page, that she realised something: she was already four days late, and that had only ever happened once before.