Bickslow's eyes widened in surprise as Lucy kissed his cheek. He blushed lightly before turning and kissing her full on the mouth. She flushed and pulled away.

"Still not quite forgiven," She scolded him, a soft smile on her face.

Bickslow grinned, knowingly. She could say that all she wanted, but he knew better. Lucy wasn't one to hold a grudge for very long, she was too sweet for that. He winked at her but didn't press for another kiss, knowing that pressing would make it take longer for him to get back into her good graces. She looked away, but he could see the blush tinting her cheeks and hummed in amusement.

"I won't press you, Lucy," He said softly, letting go of her hands. "Besides, you have Gray to take care of you now and I won't get in the way of that. Just know that I'll always be here for you, waiting with open arms."

Lucy looked at him in surprise, forgetting that she hadn't said anything about the mutual break up with Gray.

"Actually, um, Gray and I are no longer seeing each other," She answered, her face turning even redder as she stared at her feet.

"What?" He demanded. "I thought you two were happy together."

She smiled one of those goofy smiles that would be bitter if it didn't have a little warmth behind it, "I did, too. We were happy, until I realized that I couldn't just let you go. I might hate you right now, Bickslow, but I can't seem to get rid of you."

He stared at her, his heart leaping in his chest. She still cared. If she couldn't let go of him then she must still care and he would take any little bit he could and stretch it as far as it would go. His face split into a quick grin before settling into a composed mask.

"I'm sorry that things didn't work out between you two," He said.

She laughed, hitting him lightly, "No you're not. You're delighted, but it's okay, it was a mutual breakup. Much easier than my last one."

Bickslow's eyes fell to his lap and Lucy knew she had struck a low blow. If it didn't still hurt to think about, she might have even felt a little bad for saying such a thing. As it stood now, however, her heart still clenched at the thought of their breakup and she could still feel tears filling her eyes. As if sensing her mood, Bickslow jumped from his spot and grabbed her hand.

"I want to show you something," He announced before pulling her out of the apartment.

"Where are we going?" She asked, allowing herself to be led by the prankster.

"Just trust me, Cosplayer, alright?" He winked at her as he tugged her down alleyways, calling her by his old nickname for her. "There's something I gotta show you. Something I think you will like."

A few minutes later they stood in front of the Amusement Park and Lucy looked at him in annoyance.

"You do realize that I already knew about this place, right?" She asked with an edge in her voice.

Bickslow just grinned at her as he led her inside, "Yeah, but I bet you didn't get a proper look at your shelf before running out of here like a scaredy cat earlier."

"I wasn't scared. I was angry and hurt and confused," Lucy retorted as she followed him into their room, allowing him to switch on the lights as she made her way to the case.

Tears filled her eyes as she read each and every description on the prizes. Some of the prizes she recognized as being from his own personal store, while others she couldn't be quite sure of. She was surprised that he could remember all of the little things that had happened between them, even more at the ones that she had all but forgotten. She turned once, looking back at Bickslow, who stood leaning in the doorframe.

"You remembered all of these?" She asked, fingers lingering on the doll that she had just read.

He nodded, "Each and every one. My failings never leave me."

Lucy shook her head, "You are wonderful, Bickslow."

He grinned, before gesturing back at the shelf, "There's still a lot more to read."

Lucy nodded, "I see that."

She turned back around and continued on, but she couldn't stop the tears that escaped from her when she read the last one. She whirled around, and before either of them knew what she was going to do, she was in his arms, tears streaking down her face as he held her close, trying to soothe her.

"I'm sorry," She whispered. "I didn't realize that you were hurting, too."

He forced a smile as he looked down at the blonde, "I didn't realize it would hurt this much. I love you, Lucy Heartphilia - always have, always will."

She leaned forward, this time she would be the one to kiss him.

His eyes widened in surprise before they closed, kissing her back tenderly. After a few moments they pulled away, both of them knowing that right now was not the time to try to take their relationship back to where it was before the break up. He wasn't even sure if she would want to have a relationship with him again, but he could tell that she was seriously thinking about it as she took his hand gently in her own.

"I can't guarantee anything right now," She whispered. "But maybe in a couple of weeks we could go on a date? Try to start over?"

Bickslow nodded, resting his head on hers, "I think I would like that a lot."

She grinned before kissing him on the cheek, "Okay, well, I'd better go."

He watched as the girl he loved walked away once more, but this time at a normal pace, with a slight swagger in step. He couldn't help the grin that spread over his face, either, as he realized that Lucy had pretty much told him that she was willing to start over with him.