Toys, Tubs, and Transitions

It was a thoroughly dreary day outside. She could hear it from all the way in the fourth floor apartment she was currently in. It was storming like mad, lightening striking and thunder rolling constantly. If she didn't know what Laxus and Mirajane were out on one of their stupid vacation weekends, she'd have thought that he was the cause. But alas, Lisanna was left all alone with her thoughts.

Thoughts. She wasn't having many of them that day. She'd just woken up in a bad mood, two hours ago, and hadn't been able to shake it since. Not even as she laid out on the bed, head hanging over the edge, hoping a blood rush would fix her attitude.

It didn't.

"Lissy?"

Great. Bickslow was home. She thought she'd heard him fumbling around in the other room, but was kinda hoping she hadn't.

"What?" She didn't move in the slightest, still hoping for some vertigo or something. "I'm busy."

"Busy with what?"

"Busy, Lissy?" his dolls sang as they came in behind him.

"I'm just busy," she told them.

"Hanging your head off the side of the bed qualifies as busy now?"

'Today it does."

"Well, anyways," he began as he turned from her and headed over to their tiny closet. "It's raining, so training's off."

"Why?" she asked with a frown.

"What do you mean?"

"If you never train in the rain, then what happens on a battle when-"

"Ever just got her hair done. I have a feeling though, rain or no rain, that she was canceling." He let out a long sigh as he began to disrobe, taking off all of his usual getup. When it was just the two of them, he'd usually wear a pair of shorts only, maybe a shirt if it was cold. That day was no different as he stayed shirtless and pulled out a pair of athletic shorts.

"Well, I'm too busy to play with you guys today."

"You're never too busy for me and the babies."

"Today I am."

"Lisanna-"

"I don't want to do anything," she told him. "I wanna be lazy today."

"That's fine." He left his helmet on the dresser as he came over to the bed. "We can be lazy together!"

"Bickslow-"

"We're together, kid, so you might as well scooch over."

Frowning, she did so, giving him enough room to get up on the bed and lay on his back as well, head hanging upside down next to hers. Their babies only came to rest on their stomachs and the bed, laughing because they just loved being around their parents.

"You constantly wanting to be around one another is annoying."

"Your attitude today is annoying," he told her as he let his tongue fall from his mouth as well. "Something happen, Lissy?"

"I just woke up tired, okay? Of everything and everyone."

"Hmmm."

"And, no, I don't want to play a game or go somewhere fun or do something cool. I just want to lay here, in silence, and hope that a rush of the blood to my head kills me."

"Mama," the babies cried.

"You're scaring them, Lisanna," Bickslow told her.

Groaning, she said, "It's like I can never just be depressed for just one day."

"But why are you depressed?"

"If I knew, Bickslow, then it wouldn't be being depressed. It would be being sad."

"Huh."

"Huh," the babies mimicked.

"I think you're too smart for us."

"Too smart."

She only rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know."

He only shut his eyes. "Just for that, Lisanna, I'm gonna smother you with my love today."

"No," she whined.

"Oh, yes. I'm going to follow you everywhere and do everything with you. You won't even be able to take a shit without me in there."

"Bickslow."

"Well," he said slowly. "Maybe you can do that one. But peeing I'm totally there for!"

"Don't make me push you off the bed."

"You couldn't if you tried."

When she moved to start shoving at him, he quickly added, "If you somehow do though, I'll only pull you down with me. Togetherness!"

"Togetherness!" the babies cried.

"I'm going to kill you all," she groaned as she moved to slide off the bed, knocking the babies on her stomach off first. "Seriously."

"You can't run away from us, Lissy," Bickslow warned, though he didn't move from his spot on the bed. "This is meant to be! We're meant to be."

"Meant to be," the babies agreed as two of them, Pappa and Pippi, left him behind to follow her. "Lissy."

"Yeah, yeah," she grumbled, going immediately into the bathroom. They followed her in there, as she didn't close the door as she only went over to the tub to run some bath water.

"Aw, cool! We get a chance to play with some of our new action figures."

Lisanna hardly glanced over her shoulder at her boyfriend as he appeared in the bathroom, immediately digging around under the sink for the box they kept under there.

"I was taking this bath to relax," she told him.

"What's more relaxing than playing with toys, Lisanna?" He came up with the box as well as a bottle of bubbles. "Make the water real hot. We're going to be in there awhile."

"Bickslow-"

"Togetherness," he reminded with a shout.

"Togetherness!" the babies agreed, all of them finding their way in there then.

"Yeah, that's all well and good, babies, but I meant me and Lissy…so…" He forced them out then before shutting the door. "Go to sleep or something, huh? Me and Mama are busy."

Hanging upside down was looking real appealing then to her.

Once they tub was filled, Bickslow only overturned their box of action figures, dumping them all into the bath. Then he went to filling the tub with bubbles.

"I haven't even had a chance to reenact my latest mission," he said as he took to dropping his shorts. When he saw her still fully clothed, he made a face. "Lissy?"

Why was she being so mean to him anyways? She really didn't know. And he was trying so hard…

"I get to reenact my last mission first," she told him then as she moved to pull her shirt over her head.

"No fair."

"I'm the girlfriend. I don't have to be fair."

They ended up how they always did, on opposite sides of the tiny tub, sorting through all their toys. They had a doll for all their friends. Natsu and Laxus and people like them actually had ones that they were able to buy in the souvenir shop, but for the bad guys or some of their less popular friends, they had to find actions figures that at least somewhat resembled them.

Or in Ever's case, use this ugly toy monster with a snarling face and green, oozing skin.

It embodied her pretty well, they both agreed.

"Okay, so you be the monster, huh?" Lisanna said as she handed Bickslow one of their less used toys. "Me and Elf took him out real fast. Then we can listen to your boring retelling of some stupid adventure you and the Thunder Fraud Tribe went on."

"God. Laxus is the Thunder God."

"Laxus is annoying and bratty and-"

"Aw. You just love your future big brother, don't you?"

"Shut up, Bickslow."

It was so cramped in the tub that when he shifted some, all the water swished around and Lisanna got some bubbles in her eyes.

"Your foot's getting awful close to somewhere I don't want it," he warned at one point.

"Keep being mean to me and you're really going to hate it."

She drug out her reenacting her and Elfman's last mission, just to tick him off. She knew how impatient he would get about things like that. He loved her and he liked listening to her talk, but when he wanted to be the center of attention (which was ninety percent of the time), her feelings or words were only things to hold him back. He was an entertainer to the fullest. Even when she was the only member of the audience.

Especially when she was the only member of the audience.

So of course, in retaliation, his turn lasted twice as long. He went into every detail of their job. And she knew that it was all bull too, when he got down to detailing how the battle scene against some sort of guy that was running an underground business that they shut down went. Mainly because Ever and Freed had next to nothing to do with it and it was all about him.

"You're not lying to me again are you, Bickslow?" she asked, as she always did.

"Lying?" He gave her a look. "I don't lie, Lissy. Never."

"Well, that right there is a lie."

"You know, kid, you sure are distrusting today."

They stayed in the water so long that the water got cold, the bubbles dissipated, and their skin got all wrinkled. Not to mention the babies were whining outside the bathroom door about not getting to be in there with them. They did that a lot.

"You ever think that maybe, and hear me out about this," Bickslow said as they both took to drying off, "that we don't have to get in the tub to reenact battles?"

"What do you mean?"

"I like it and I think it is loads of fun," he assured her. "But we always get all pruney and the babies can't play."

"And?"

"And," he went on. "I think that it'd be cool to just, you know, play with them out in the living room. On the floor. Instead of in the tub."

Blinking, she turned to glance at him. "But that would be weird."

"You think?"

"Yeah, it would just… No, it'd be weird."

"Hmmm."

"Dry all of them off," she reminded him then as she wrapped a towel around herself before heading out of the bathroom to go find some clothes in the bedroom. "Then put them back in the box. Last time you didn't and I forget they were in the tub and stepped on them."

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled, tongue falling out of his mouth as he watched her walk out of the room. The second the door was open, the babies rushed in there to greet him. 'Your mommy's a tricky vixen, guys."

In the bedroom, a quick check out the window told Lisanna that the storm was mostly over. The sky was still overcast, but night would be fast upon them soon anyhow. She wondered if it was raining where Mira and Laxus were. She sure hoped not. Mira really did like going places and she didn't want a storm to ruin that for her.

The weaning storm didn't help her mood any though. She'd felt good in there, goofing off with Bickslow, but she was right back to being sour again, just like that.

Suddenly, Bickslow came running into the room, taking a diving leap from the doorway and landing perfectly into the bed. He only did the same thing, oh, every freaking day.

"What's there to eat?" he mumbled against the mattress as the babies dove from the air after him, thudding against the bed as well. Lisanna only finished getting dressed before addressing him.

"I don't know, Bickslow. I'm not hungry."

"Wanna have sex?"

"Bickslow-"

"You could just say no," he grumbled as he rolled slowly onto his side, the babies shifting as well so that they could rest against his chest. "'stead of making it sound like I was so outlandish for askin'."

With a groan, she went to join him. "I just feel like not doing anything. All we do is the same stupid things with the same stupid outcomes. I'm bored."

"Like…in our relationship? Or-"

"No," she sighed as she rolled onto her side before snuggling against his. "I love you."

That made him smile, but only slightly. "Then-"

"I just… I don't know. I don't even have fun hanging out with Natsu and Lucy anymore. Or Levy. And going on jobs with Elf is still the same, but I just…" She cuddled closer. "I want to do something else now."

He sat up some then, the babies sliding down his chest slightly, making them all cry out in joy.

"Like you wanna…leave Fairy Tail?"

"Don't say it like that."

"Like what?"

"Like it's a bad thing," she said. "Like it's so outrageous. Everyone leaves eventually. Or else you end up like Gildarts. Or worse, Macao and Wakaba."

"They are kinda annoying…"

"I just meant that I don't want to stay here forever. Do you?"

"I can't leave the Thunder Legion, Lisanna. I-"

"Never mind." She closed her eyes. "You don't get it."

"What don't I get, Lisanna? Huh? I know what it's like to wanna go places. Or to be bored with doing the same things constantly." He laid back down. "I'm just…surprised is all."

"At what?"

"That you'd wanna leave," he said. "I mean, your brother and sister really missed you while you were gone and-"

"And what? I'm held hostage here forever because they-"

"That's not what I meant. I just didn't think that you'd ever wanna leave them. Or that they'd ever want to leave you."

"Everyone grows up, Bickslow."

"Have you though?"

"Yeah, I have."

"Then where do you wanna go? Huh? Give a place and-"

"And what? We'll just go?"

"Not just go," he said with the best shrug he could give her laying down. "But we'll go spend week or two wherever you pick, check out the place, and then decide."

"But I thought you said that you can't leave the Thunder God Tribe?"

"I can't," he told her. "But… Are you serious? That you wanna…leave Magnolia?"

"I'm just thinking about it, yeah. I even…I mean, if I went, I'd wanna go far away. Like…out of Fiore."

"Lisanna-"

"Joya sounds nice. Or-"

"If you wanna move, Lisanna, that's a big step. I mean, do you wanna join another guild?"

"Maybe."

"I'll go with you," he told her then, shutting his eyes. "Me and the babies."

"Really?"

"I love you," he told her. "And… I love my team too, but they'll always be my team. If I let you go without me, you might not always be my girl. And my babies really like you as their mama. Changing it up on them now would just be crazy."

"But-"

"It's me and you till the end, Lisanna. Us and the babies." He peeked an eye open to glance down at her. "If you can leave your brother and sister behind, I think I can go without Freed and Evergreen. And it won't be forever. Fairy Tail will always be our home. Right?"

"Right."

"'sides," he said as his tongue fell from his mouth. "Great as we are, there needs to be a spread the wealth kinda thing. Other provenances need the greatness of Bickslow and Lisanna, huh?"

She giggled, finally, before saying, "Then…we can start planning for it?"

His throat felt dry as he said, "Yeah. It'll be fun. I haven't even thought of leaving since…since ever! This is actually kinda exciting."

"It is, isn't it?"

"Even just thinking about it. It'll be super fun. Me, you, the babies. We'll meet all sorts of people. And do all sorts of things."

"Yeah, like-"

"Just don't tell your brother though. Or your sister," he said. "Until everything's decided."

"How come?"

"They might think this was my doing and try to kill me or something." He only shook his head. "'cause I love you, kid, but you ain't worth being murdered by Sitri and Beast Soul. Just ain't part of the agenda."

"I think you could handle them," she told him. "I mean, considering you just do so much when you're out on jobs with Ever and Freed-"

"I might embellish some of those. Just a tad."

"Just a tad," Lisanna sighed.

"A tad," the babies agreed.

"When…when were you thinking about doing any of this?"

"I dunno," she told him. "This is the first time I've actually told anyone."

"We can sit on it for a bit then? Maybe a few months?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I don't, like, wanna leave tonight or anything. Just…soon."

"Soon," he agreed. He was grinning though and that nervous feeling that had bubbled up at the start of the conversation was actually beginning to feel nice. "Real soon."

And Lisanna's own dumpy feeling she'd had since getting up had dissolved, just like that. She hadn't even really known that she was holding all of that in until that moment. It was out then though and…and…

She couldn't wait.

I still think that the thought of them reenacting their battles with action figures is pretty cute and had to borrow it from Bells and Tales. It just seems like something Bickslow would be into.