This is kind of a filler chapter, I guess. Nothing of substances happens, or at least that's what I think. Kind of just fills in a bit of time since this AU has a pretty long timeline for such a short series.

Anyway, this was supposed to be the final chapter, but, again... filler chapter. It kind of got away from me so the next part will be the last. It's about 50% done so I'll probably get that posted in January.

Also, since I kept forgetting to answer in the previous chapters... To the guest who asked what lime cordial was, I guess it's called squash in the US (and other places, but I'm not sure of specifics). It's just that super concentrated liquid you mix with water and it ends up being an obnoxiously sweet, sugary drink. Lime cordial in Australia is ridiculously green and it's kind of refreshing in summer, but it's absolutely full of sugar.

Had anyone seen him that evening as he descended the stairs in Lucy's apartment building, they would've assumed he'd just broken up with her by how miserable he looked. Fortunately, it wasn't even close to being the truth, but that still didn't stop him from letting out a quiet sigh as he finally made it down to the first floor to leave.

It was the fact he was leaving at all that had Bickslow like that.

That was the part he hated the most. And, sure, he liked his house a whole lot more than Lucy's apartment just because he had more room at home, but his house lacked two very important things. His house didn't have a Lucy or a Violet and that was what made going home so horrible.

But, Bickslow knew he couldn't stay at Lucy's all the time. Sometimes he wished he could, but he still had his dogs to look after and he hated knowing that he'd been neglecting them with how much time he spent at Lucy's. Naturally, he didn't want to give either of them up, because even if they were just pets, Bickslow still couldn't imagine his life without his dogs. He couldn't imagine his life with Lucy and Violet, either. If he could have all of them at the same time then it would be fine, but Bickslow wasn't sure if that was possible.

"So, uh… I was thinking…"

Lucy dropped her empty popcorn container in the bin by the door before she turned back to Bickslow following her out of the movie theatre. "…That the movie was so good that we have to go see it again?" she guessed, holding her hand out for him.

"What? I mean, sure, but… No, that wasn't what I was going to say." Lacing his fingers with Lucy's to swing their hands between them, Bickslow took a loud, nervous sip of his soda before speaking again. "I was thinking of cleaning up one of the bedrooms and doing it up a little for Vi, so maybe you and her could stay at my place every now and then or something."

"Wait, really?"

"Well, yeah…" Bickslow mumbled. He'd been considering it for a few weeks now.

In the year he'd been dating Lucy, they'd gotten into a fairly stable routine. On Friday, Bickslow would pick Violet up from school to take her back to his house to play with the dogs, and then Lucy would head over once she finished work a couple of hours later. They usually just got dinner delivered, and then once it was time for Violet to go to bed, Lucy would take her home and that would be it for the night. On the weekend, they usually just all went to the park together, weather permitting, and then they'd go back to Lucy's in the afternoon and Bickslow almost always spent the night. On Sunday, Bickslow stayed at home, and he usually did on Monday as well, but he still spent more time at Lucy's apartment than he did his own house.

Still, while he enjoyed it, he also wanted to spend some more time at his own house – he just didn't want to give up his time with Lucy and Violet for it. So, when he'd been driving home one night, just a little miserable that he was having to head back to his house again, he'd thought about the possibility of Lucy and Violet maybe spending the night at his house for a change.

Although, judging by Lucy's surprise, Bickslow wasn't so sure about it. "I mean… It was just an idea I had," he quietly continued, fishing his car keys from his pocket as they made it outside the cinema. "Just… Just forget I said it at all, honestly. It's stupid. I know." The apartment was Violet's home, so it wouldn't be fair to expect Lucy to move her kid every weekend or something just so they could spend more time together. It was just easier for Bickslow to stay at Lucy's.

"Well, I mean… I won't say it's not stupid…" Lucy said slowly. She only let go of Bickslow's hand once they reached his car in the parking lot just to walk around the other side and get into the passenger seat once the doors were unlocked. Truthfully, Lucy hadn't expected Bickslow to say what he had, but she was more confused by how quickly he was dropping the idea. "It's probably just not the best idea..."

"Yeah, I know," Bickslow sighed. He shook his head and started the car, pulling his seatbelt on. "Like I said, just forget I even brought it up."

Lucy heard the disappointment all too clearly, and a small part of her couldn't help but worry. She really did believe that Bickslow doing up one of his spare rooms to make it more suitable for Violet to stay in occasionally was just a little stupid. Lucy wasn't even going to deny that. But, what Lucy did believe, was that there were better uses for Bickslow's spare room – ones that weren't quite so temporary.

"I wasn't finished," she said, dropping her hand to rest on Bickslow's again so he couldn't put the car into reverse just yet. "What I meant was that I think it would be a waste of time for you to clean up one of the rooms just so Vi can sleep in there every now and then."

"Yeah, I got that. Don't worry about it."

Lucy tried not to roll her eyes. "Again, I wasn't finished," Lucy repeated. That time, she wasn't going to give Bickslow any time to cut her off again. "A better idea would be to just… move in together and be done with it."

"Wait, what?" Bickslow's head snapped around to look at Lucy like he hadn't just heard her properly – which he hadn't. "Say that again?"

"How about we just move in together?" Lucy suggested, shrugging slightly as she tried not to laugh at the gobsmacked look on her boyfriend's face. "I mean, you spend most of your time with us anyway, so financially you'd be better off if we lived together. You wouldn't be spending so much on fuel driving to the apartment all the time, and you wouldn't have to buy any new furniture for Vi since I already have all of that. We'd have less rent to pay between us if we lived together, too."

Bickslow was almost too stunned to speak. He'd only been suggesting they switch things up a little and spend some nights at his house instead of Lucy's, but there Lucy was, suggesting they actually live together. He already liked the idea, but he hadn't been expecting it in the slightest. Quite frankly, he hadn't thought it was something Lucy wanted to do just because she had Violet to look out for, and the last thing Lucy would want is to move in with someone just to break up with them down the track and have to move with Violet again. Granted, Bickslow had no intentions of breaking up with her anytime soon (or so he hoped), but still, he'd never minded that things between them were a little slow at times. He'd just thought actually moving in together would be something they didn't even consider for at least another year.

"Wow. Just… Wow," he managed. He even turned the key in the ignition to shut the engine off again – he definitely needed a few moments to process that. "Why do I get the impression you've been thinking about that for more than a few seconds?"

"Probably because I have been." She'd started considering it as a viable option sometime after Christmas, so it had only been a few months. Lucy hadn't really known how to bring it up though, so she'd kept it to herself and hoped that she'd find time to talk to Bickslow about it one day. It was really just perfect that Bickslow had decided to suggest doing up his spare room for Violet. Sure, actually moving in together was a bit of a leap from what Bickslow had been suggesting, but Lucy still thought it was the better idea of the two. Perhaps she was just a little biased, though.

"I see…"

"We don't have to. It was just an idea," she said. Bickslow's silence was now just a little concerning. Lucy couldn't really help but think she'd said something wrong. "I just thought it might've been a good time to bring it up since you were talking about us staying at your place sometimes…"

"No, no, I get it. I'm just, uh… I'm just a little surprised, is all. I didn't expect you to be interested in that."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, because of Vi." Bickslow shrugged, starting the car again to finally pull out of the parking bay. "I just thought that you'd, you know, want to wait until she was a little older or something, or at least until you were completely sure you didn't really have anything to worry about… Like, her getting hurt and all."

"Are you saying you would end up hurting her?" Lucy asked.

"What? Fuck no!" he quickly said. He couldn't even think of doing anything to Violet. "I love Vi. You know that. I could never do anything to hurt her – or you, for that matter."

"Then what are you worried about? I'm not worried about you, and, well… I don't know if you know this or not, I kind of like you…"

"Kind of?"

"Just a little bit. I tolerate your presence."

Bickslow rolled his eyes as he stopped at the red light. "God, now I know why you and Erik get along so well," he muttered. The more he got to know Erik, the more he realised just how similar Lucy was to him. They were like two peas in a pod. Granted, Bickslow didn't really care much, but there was the occasional moment where he wondered just how much Erik had rubbed off on Lucy over the years – though perhaps it had been Lucy being the bad influence on Erik. "I'm so glad you tolerate me. Appreciate it. Really."

"You're welcome," Lucy giggled. "But seriously though, if you don't want to move in together just yet, that's fine."

"It's not that I don't want to… Because, I mean, I actually kind of love the idea? But I just… I feel like it's something we need to talk about more, you know? Especially with Vi. And probably with Erik, too."

"Bix, I thought we'd passed this whole Erik thing."

"We have." Honestly, he was kind of friends with Erik. But that didn't mean he was just going to move in with the guy's best friend and daughter without seeing if he was actually okay with it. "But out of courtesy, I think we should talk to him about it."

"By we, you mean me, don't you?"

"Well, yes, of course," Bickslow said. Duh. Lucy refrained from rolling her eyes at him. "But even if we don't talk to Erik about it, I definitely think we need to talk to Vi about it. I mean, what if she doesn't want to live with me? I don't exactly want to make a five-year-old girl hate me."

That time, Lucy did roll her eyes. Sometimes he was absolutely unbelievable. Sometimes it was cute when he worried about useless things, but other times, it was just downright annoying. The latter was right then. "If you for one second believe that Vi wouldn't want to live with us together, then you're actually insane."

"I'd still feel better if we actually talked to her about it."

"Fine. I will ask my daughter whether or not she cares if we all live together," Lucy sighed. "And then I'll even ask Erik what he thinks, even though I know for certain that he won't actually care."

Bickslow nodded, hands gripping the steering wheel as he kept his eyes on the road. "Good. I appreciate it."

They got back to Lucy's apartment a short while later, relieving Gajeel of his babysitting duties. Even though it had been a while since Lucy had asked Gajeel to watch Violet for a few hours, he'd still graciously agreed just as he usually did. The only time Lucy did ask Gajeel to watch her those days was when she wanted to go out with Bickslow. They still didn't get much time to themselves, but they tried to make a point of getting at least a few hours out every few weeks. Most of the time they just went to see a movie and picked up something to eat. It wasn't fancy by any means, but it was just enough for Lucy that she didn't feel guilty for leaving Violet with someone else.

Sending Violet to go brush her teeth before bed, Lucy followed Gajeel to the door before he went back into the hall to head to his own apartment. "So, do I even want to know what inappropriate terms you taught Vi this time?" she asked.

"I taught her no such things, thank you very much," Gajeel defended himself. He scratched his forehead before he quietly continued, "Although for the record, if she asks about exploitation and, uh… being a master manipulator, it definitely wasn't me."

"You told her what exploitation means?"

"Nope. Definitely not. I'm totally innocent in this. It was the T.V."

"Uh-huh. Sure it was." Really though, Lucy wasn't surprised. And sure, it wasn't exactly the best, but she could deal with her five-year-old daughter knowing what blackmail, exploitation, and manipulation meant, even if she did have a habit of using them occasionally. There were worse things for her to know. "Anyway, thanks for watching Vi. You know I always appreciate it."

Gajeel shrugged. "I don't mind kids when they're not annoying shitheads. Vi's a good kid."

"Well, I'm glad you think that," Lucy laughed. "Thanks again. Tell Minerva I said hey, will you?"

"Yeah, yeah. Will do. Night, Blondie."

"Good night, Gajeel." She gave him soft smile before he left, and then she was sighing and closing the door after him. Violet was just coming back out with her favourite stuffed dog toy, already dressed in her spotty pyjamas thanks to Gajeel. "Now, Monkey, I hope you and Gajeel didn't get into too much mischief tonight."

Violet shook her head. "No, Mummy."

Lucy didn't believe it for a second. "Well, that's good then. But now, it's time for you to go to bed."

"Bedtime story?"

"Of course. Do you want me to read it? Or do you want Bix to again?"

"Bickso!" Violet answered.

Lucy rolled her eyes and sat down on the sofa with a sigh, reaching down to unzip her boots. "Bix…" she called out towards the kitchen where she knew for a fact Bickslow was already making himself a coffee. The man was a caffeine addict. "You are required."

Bickslow stuck his head around the corner to see what the fuss was about. "Hmm? What?"

Violet walked over him and looked at him with the eyes of someone who definitely knew she was well on her way to being a master manipulator. "Can you read bedtime story?" she asked sweetly.

"A bedtime story, huh?" Bickslow considered it for a moment, tapping his fingers on his chin for emphasis before he quickly bent down to scoop Violet up and spin her around, almost knocking the squealing girl's head on a lampshade. "A bedtime story can definitely be arranged. I vote one with knights and dragons!"

"No! Mermaids!"

Lucy could only shake her head at them as Bickslow carried Violet into her room to find a suitable bedtime story. Sometimes she was convinced Violet actually loved Bickslow more than she did her, but that was fine. Sort of. If she was going to be replaced by anyone though, Lucy could deal with it being Bickslow.

A short while later, after he'd finished reading Violet her bedtime story and once he'd put the book back in the small bookcase in her room, Bickslow returned to Violet's bedside to kneel down on the soft carpet to pull the duvet up to her chin to make sure she was all tucked in. "Want me to go get Mum to tuck you in properly?" he asked softly.

Violet shook her head. "It's okay."

"Are you sure?" Violet nodded that time, and Bickslow let out a quiet sigh as he pushed the sheet under the edge of the mattress.

He'd tucked Violet in plenty of times, read her to sleep just as many times, and even gotten her ready for bed and got her cleaned up just as many times. He really didn't mind it. But with Lucy's proposition still on his mind, he was only thinking that if they were to all live together, he wouldn't really be going out of his way to be that parental-figure to Violet. And it wasn't like he went out of his way anyway, because he still loved the kid and didn't mind taking care of her when Lucy asked him to, but it would be easier if they lived together. Lucy wouldn't even need to ask because it would be expected of him, and Bickslow really didn't mind the idea of rising to meet those expectations.

"Hey, uh, Vi?" His curiosity was seemingly getting the better of him though, and while he should definitely be letting Violet go to sleep, he couldn't help but ask one quick question first. "What do you think of living with me? With your mum, too, of course. But, you know, with me as well, so we'd all live together and I'd get to see you all the time."

Violet sat up and looked at him with eyes full of excitement. "Are we gonna live with you now?" she asked quickly.

"Uh, maybe. We'll see." He gently pushed her back down to tuck her in again. Getting excited right before bed was never good. "We have to talk about it first, but… Maybe. Is that something you'd like, though?"

She quickly nodded. "I could see the doggies every day!"

"Yeah, I guess you could. Now come on, time for bed."

Violet yawned as she laid back against her pillow, hugging her stuffed dog toy tight. "Goodnight, Bickso. I love you," she whispered.

Bickslow was too stunned to say anything for a second. He knew Violet adored him, but she'd never said it like that. And sure, she was still just a kid, but it meant a lot to him. Smiling softly, he leant down to gently kiss the top of her head, then switched off the lamp beside the bed. "I love you too, kid. Get some sleep."

He pulled the door almost all the way closed and went back out to the living room. Lucy turned the volume down on the T.V. and looked up to Bickslow as he sat down next to her. "Wait, she's not already asleep, is she?"

"Well, she's not actually asleep, but yeah."

Lucy sniffed. "I'm actually being replaced." Whenever Bickslow put Violet to bed, he always called her in afterwards so she could finish putting her daughter to sleep herself. But he hadn't done it that night, which meant her daughter was still growing up too quickly and that she was most definitely being replaced.

"Oh, you are not," Bickslow chuckled, rolling his eyes as he wrapped his arms around Lucy and pulled her into his side. "You are completely irreplaceable and you know that."

"Mm… Maybe…" she mumbled. So she probably wasn't ever going to be replaced, just because she was Violet's mother and she'd always be, but it was still just a little annoying that Violet seemed to want spend more time Bickslow than her those days. "Anyway, I ordered a pizza. And yes, I got one half with extra pineapple and olives for you."

"You're amazing."

"I also finished making your coffee, so it's sitting in the kitchen and waiting for you."

"Seriously, have I ever told you how much I love you? You're actually perfect."

Lucy only rolled her eyes as Bickslow quickly got up to go get his caffeine-fix.

When he returned, he sat back down next to Lucy and crossed his legs under him on the cushions. He slowly sipped at his coffee while staring at the T.V., not really paying attention to it. He didn't care much for watching the mindless garbage that called itself reality television. How Lucy could actually tolerate it, he didn't know.

He took another sip before he decided to resume the conversation from not that much earlier. "So, uh… When I was putting Vi to bed…" he began cautiously, getting Lucy's attention as she turned the volume back down to listen. "I asked what she thought of us all living together. You know, if she wanted to."

"I'm guessing she loved it," Lucy said. After she'd brought it up on the way home and after Bickslow had said he wanted to talk to Violet about it, Lucy had planned on asking her daughter about the idea of moving in with Bickslow. But she certainly hadn't been planning on doing it that same night, and she definitely hadn't expected Bickslow to be the one to ask her, either.

"Well, yeah… But... Okay, look." He leant forward just to set the mug down on the coffee table that still had tiny flecks of glitter and glue stuck to it in some places. "I still want to talk to Erik about it, but, assuming he was totally fine with it—"

"Which he will be…"

"—what exactly would we do? I mean, I couldn't move in here with you because I have the dogs," he explained, "and as much as I love you and Vi, I'm not giving up my dogs. No fucking way." Besides, Violet probably wouldn't like him as much if he didn't have his dogs anyway. Still, Pip, Benji, and Inky were all part of his family, and even if they were just pets, he wasn't going to choose Lucy and Violet over them. He'd always choose his fur babies, if he was honest.

"I wouldn't expect you to," Lucy said. Even if the apartment was allowed pets, it was still only just big enough for her and her daughter. Bickslow moving in there with her was just completely out of the question. "I was thinking it'd be at your place."

"My place?"

"Well, I mean, you have the space, and you wouldn't have to move your dogs anywhere," she explained. "Or we could, uh… I don't know… Get our own place together or something…"

"No, no. My place works, I guess." His house wasn't exactly the biggest, but he hadn't really chosen it for the number of bedrooms; the yard had been the selling point on it. But his house was still twice the size of Lucy's apartment which meant it would be the perfect size for the three of them. "Vi's room would have to be painted, though. And I suppose while that was being done, it'd make sense to get the other bedrooms repainted, too."

"If you wanted. I don't think Vi would mind much."

"Eh, the green sucks anyway."

"There is one other thing though…"

Bickslow picked his coffee back up to take another sip. "Erik, right?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah," she sighed. "You already know he usually stays here when he's in town, and that I like him staying with me since he can spend more time with Vi that way, but… But if you're not really comfortable with that when we—if we move in together, then that's fine too." There were plenty of hotels in the city for Erik to stay at if Bickslow wasn't comfortable with him being there, and the last thing Lucy would want is to make Bickslow uncomfortable in his own home.

The worst part though, was that Lucy still had no idea what kind of terms Bickslow and Erik were on. Erik had pretty much refused to tell her just what they'd talked about when they'd gone out for that drink just after Christmas. She liked to think Erik had set her boyfriend straight, but she just wasn't sure.

"Oh. I'm sure it's fine." Bickslow shrugged. "He's only here a few days at a time anyway. He can just, I don't know, sleep on the couch or something. Or he can have the other room for when he's here."

"Wait, really? That's not… That's not going to be awkward for you or anything?"

"I mean, it might be a little weird, but it'd save him money, and Vi would get to see him. You know I have no interest in making things difficult."

"I know," Lucy whispered. It was a good thing, though. She wasn't sure things would've worked out had Bickslow decided he didn't like Erik still being her best friend. "But, if you did find it weird, then I'm sure Erik wouldn't mind having to stay at a hotel for a few days whenever he's here."

"Good to know. Now, what about furniture?"

"So how was school today?" Lucy asked, taking Violet's backpack to put it into the car before she helped buckle her daughter into the seat. "Anything exciting happen today?"

"Not really…" Violet mumbled.

Lucy glanced back to Violet in the rear-view mirror once she'd gotten in the front. "Are you okay? You sound a little sad. What's wrong?"

Violet shrugged. "Erin's birthday on Sunday, and everyone but me got invited."

"Oh, baby, I'm sorry. Did you really want to go?"

"No."

"Oh?"

"Erin mean."

"So why are you sad?" Lucy asked.

"'Cause no one likes me," Violet mumbled. She didn't care so much about Erin not liking her enough to invite her to her birthday party, because Erin was mean and stupid and Violet didn't want to go to her party anyway. But everyone else in her class, including the teacher, had been invited to Erin's birthday party and Violet never got invited to anyone's house, not even for a sleepover. "Why does no one like me, Mummy?"

Lucy honestly didn't have an answer for her daughter. She wished she knew why Violet had such trouble making friends, but she really had no idea. It kept her up at night more than she cared to admit, all because she was worried how her daughter would turn out if things kept going the way they were. The last thing Lucy wanted was for Violet to go through life alone. And as much as she loved her daughter, she couldn't be her only friend.

"Plenty of people like you, sweetheart," Lucy smiled quickly over her shoulder, turning her attention back to the road as she pulled out of the school parking lot. "Don't say that."

"Only old people."

"Hey, are you calling me old?"

"Yes," Violet giggled.

Even if her daughter was insulting her, Lucy couldn't help but laugh with her for a second. Violet's laughter was her second favourite sound in the world, right next to the silence that came when she was asleep after being a handful all day. "Well, how about we have our own little party this weekend anyway? Just you, me, and Bix." she suggested, stopping at a traffic light and looking back up to the mirror. "We haven't done anything fun for a little while. We could have lots of pizza, and we could make some cupcakes together. We could watch some movies and play some games, too. Would you like that?"

Violet shrugged again. "I guess so…"

"Well, it's all set then. We'll have our own party and you'll be the guest of honour."

As soon as they got home, Lucy got about her usual after-school routine, which was mostly just trying to get Violet into her own sort of routine. First, Violet would unpack her backpack and Lucy would make sure she carried her lunchbox and notes folder out into the kitchen, and then Violet would go and play with the dogs outside for a little bit while Lucy got an afternoon snack made up. Afterwards, Violet would get to watch her favourite show for a little, and Lucy would be able to get a head start on some cleaning or even dinner before Bickslow got back from work.

That day, as Violet sat in front of the T.V., eyes glued to the screen as she shoved carrot sticks and grapes into her mouth, Lucy read over the notes that had come home in the folder for the day. Usually, the only thing that Violet brought home from her teacher was her reading journal. That day, however, there was a note about the upcoming Father's Day event.

It was the first time Lucy had ever had to deal with that particular day, at least as far as Violet's school went. Erik had never been able to visit on Father's Day, and as far as Lucy knew, Violet had never minded much. She'd still done her best to get him something every year, even if he didn't get to see it for a few more months. With Father's Day falling on a Tuesday that year, Violet's kindergarten class was inviting all the dads in to talk to the class about their day jobs, and then spend the rest of the day with their precious children, helping them make tacky gifts and no doubt getting covered in glitter, glue, paint, or all three at once.

And, while Lucy wasn't a single parent by any means – not exactly, at least – she still felt a little left out. And surely Violet couldn't be the only one in her class that didn't live with her father. Or maybe every other child at her perfect school came from perfect families, and that was why the teachers had decided to make a point of honouring the perfect fathers in everyone's lives. Lucy just wasn't sure.

Perhaps I should just keep Vi home on Tuesday… It would save Violet feeling left out if Erik couldn't make it, and Lucy already knew that the chances of Erik being able to attend were next to nothing. He was always so busy at that time of the year.

Regardless, Lucy decided to at least talk to her daughter about it first. If Violet wanted to stay home and not ask Erik to go, then that would be fine. Perhaps she could take the day off work and they could go to the zoo. But if Violet did want to go, and Erik couldn't make it, well… Maybe Lucy would just have to bite the bullet and go in Erik's place anyway. Fathers were overrated anyway.

She sat down on the lounge just behind where Violet was sitting on the floor. "Hey, Vi? Did your teacher say anything about this Father's Day thing?" Lucy asked.

"Uh-huh."

"So you know they want you all to bring in your dads to talk and play some games with you in class?"

"Yep."

"So do you want me to call Daddy to see if he can make it to go to class with you?" Lucy questioned.

"No," Violet answered quickly.

"Oh… Okay." Honestly, Lucy hadn't expected her to say no. As much as she was used to Erik never being there, she still never turned down an opportunity to have Erik visit. "So… Did you want to just stay home that day then? Or… Or did you want me to go with you instead?"

Violet shook her head as she turned herself around, leaving her empty bowl down on the carpet beside her. "I take Bickso."

"Huh? You… You want to take Bix with you?" Violet nodded quickly and Lucy had to take a moment to process it. Her daughter wanted to take Bickslow to class on Father's Day. That was quite possibly the last thing Lucy had expected, although she found it brought a smile to her face anyway.

In the roughly eighteen months that Lucy had been dating Bickslow, they'd lived together for nearly three of those months. Violet had probably loved it more than Lucy had so far, and she'd really, really loved being able to live in a house with a yard and no upstairs neighbours to drive her insane in the middle of the night (and the dork she called her boyfriend being there all the time was a huge bonus). Still, in all the time they'd been together, and in all the time Bickslow had known Violet, she'd gotten to watch him grow completely smitten over Violet and see her as his own child. It wasn't really what Lucy had been hoping for, but she loved it nonetheless. But while Lucy had always been aware of how much Bickslow cared for her daughter, she'd never really considered the fact that maybe, Violet actually saw him as something other than the cool guy with the cute puppies.

"Why do you want to take Bix, sweetie?" Lucy asked quietly, sliding down from the lounge to sit on the floor in front of Violet.

Violet shrugged before she gave her simple answer, "Bickso family now 'cause we all live together."

"Is that… Is that the only reason?"

Violet tilted her head slightly, humming as she thought about why she wanted to take Bickslow to class with her. "Bickso like Daddy!" she answered then, face lighting up with a bright smile. "He take care of me like Mummy does. Bickso is new Daddy. I gonna call him that!"

"But you already have a Daddy, Vi. What about him?"

"…I can have two!"

Lucy laughed a little as she nodded slowly. "Alright, then…" There was really no point in arguing with a five-year-old, as she knew all too well. Still, that didn't mean Lucy could just leave it at that. She couldn't do anything about Violet seeing Bickslow as a father figure in her life (not that she really wanted to anyway). What she could do, however, was try and get her daughter to just wait for a little while before saying anything to Bickslow herself, although that was bound to be just a little difficult because Violet was five and five-year-olds didn't have a filter. Still, Lucy needed Violet to wait. "How about you let me talk to Bix first, though, okay?" she suggested kindly.

"But why?"

"Well, because maybe he'll be busy with work and won't be able to go with you," Lucy said. "Or… Maybe he won't want you suddenly calling him dad, either."

"But… Why not?"

Lucy panicked when Violet sniffled and her eyes became teary. "Oh no, sweetheart, I'm sure Bix won't mind," she quickly said, pulling Violet into her arms and stroking her hair. "He loves you so much. Just… let Mummy talk to him about it first, okay? And then you can ask him to go with you on Father's Day."

"Okay…" Violet mumbled.

"Now, how about we get your reading out of the way so you can play with the dogs for the rest of the afternoon?"

Closing Violet's door behind herself, Lucy went to find Bickslow at his desk, dragging his hands down his face in an almost terrifying manner as he stared at his laptop screen. "You alright there?" she asked, laughing nervously as she stepped over the snoozing dogs sprawled out on the floor.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I just got given a whole lot more work to do that all needs to be finished by October. Apparently I don't need to sleep at all for the next six weeks."

"Ouch. Sounds like you need a bit of a break while you can still have one then."

"I… I guess…" Bickslow mumbled. He couldn't help but confused as he felt Lucy tugging his chair away from the desk slightly just so she could walk back around and sit herself on his lap with her legs hanging over the arm of the chair. "I mean, I thought you were just going to suggest I go have a drink or something… I didn't know this is what you had in mind for my break," he mumbled again.

"Oh, shut up." She reached back to shove his shoulder gently before leaning back against his chest slightly. "Although, later, maybe, assuming you come to bed at a reasonable time."

"I will go to bed right now if it means you get naked."

Lucy rolled her eyes at him. "My god, you are a menace sometimes."

"More like all the time," Bickslow corrected.

"Anyway. I wanted to talk to you about something."

Bickslow groaned as he kicked off the ground with his foot, forcing the chair to spin around quickly. Lucy squealed as she was forced to cling onto the chair and to Bickslow, who only tightly wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her cheek as the chair stopped spinning again. "But talking is boring," he complained.

"It is not," Lucy sighed. "But it's Father's Day soon, so we need to talk about that."

Bickslow finally nodded. "Fine. I'm guessing Erik will be coming to see Vi this year then? Is that what you wanted to say?" He knew Erik hadn't seen Violet on Father's Day the previous year because he'd been dating Lucy for half a year by that point, but the whole issue of Father's Day wasn't something they'd ever talked about so Bickslow had kind of just assumed that Erik not being there had been a one-time thing. It made sense to Bickslow for Erik to be visiting Violet that year, and really, he didn't mind. He had no reason to mind, and they'd already finish turning the third bedroom into a guest room for Erik's benefit anyway.

"It's unlikely he'll be here. He's never seen her on Father's Day," Lucy said.

"Wait, really?"

She shrugged slightly. "Vi doesn't mind I don't think, so I don't worry about it. But that's not what I wanted to say anyway."

"Oh. Okay." Bickslow couldn't help but find it a little odd that Erik had never visited at that time of the year, but it wasn't really his place to say anything. "Then what?"

"Well, Vi's class is doing a little something for Father's Day this year apparently, and she wants to take you."

"What do you mean, she wants to take me?"

Lucy shrugged again. Really, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to say when she thought it was pretty obvious. "She wants to ask you to go with her to school on Father's Day, so you can talk to the class about what you do and then spend the rest of the day doing tacky arts and crafts with all the other dads."

"And she wants to take me?"

"Yup."

"Not Erik?"

"Nope."

Bickslow almost didn't know what to say. Violet wanted to take him to her Father's Day class party over her actual father. He still wasn't trying to replace Erik by any means, but knowing that Violet put him on the same level as Erik was just one of the best feelings in the world for Bickslow. He was almost tempted to go get Violet out of bed to hug her half to death (although not really, because that would devastate him).

But, judging by the stupid grin Bickslow had on his face, Lucy had a feeling that he was pretty excited to hear that Violet wanted to take him to school with her. She hadn't really been worried about Bickslow freaking out and saying no, but it was reassuring to see him so stupidly happy and stunned by it. "I told her to wait until I'd talked to you about it, just in case you didn't want to go…" she said.

"What? Why would I say no? I'd be honoured to go!"

"I know, but I know you still don't want to step on Erik's toes with anything, so I had to make sure first."

"Alright, fair enough. But seriously, she really wants me to go with her?"

"Of course she does. I'm still convinced she likes you more than she likes me these days."

Bickslow shook his head. "She just likes me for my dogs, but I'll take it anyway." He was sure he'd be smiling for the next week straight now, and he couldn't wait for Violet to actually ask him to go. He was probably going to agree to it before she even asked and make a bit of a fool out of himself, but that was fine.

"There was one other thing, though…" Lucy said slowly. "And this one you really can say no to…"

"Uh, okay… What is it?"

"I think Vi wants to start calling you Dad."

Bickslow stared idly at Lucy sitting with a nervous smile. He blinked slowly, trying to wrap his head around the words he thought he'd just heard. His brain wasn't cooperating, though. "What now?"

"When I was talking to Vi earlier about the Father's Day thing, she uh… She might've said something about how we're all a little family now because we live together, and that you're like her dad because you take care of her..."

"Okay…"

"…And then she said something about how she's going to call you Dad – well, Daddy specifically because she's five and hasn't graduated to just Dad yet – because I guess that's who she sees you as now…"

"Uh-huh. Right. Okay."

Lucy worried as Bickslow nodded quickly and a dazed look set on his face. If she'd known that Violet wanting to call him her dad would slightly break him, then she wouldn't have brought it up. Lucy didn't really think it was that big of a deal, though. Granted, it was slightly different to going along with her to a Father's Day event, but at the end of the day, it was just a title and titles weren't that important – or at least that was what Lucy thought.

Maybe Bickslow just wasn't ready for that, though, for reasons unknown to Lucy. He basically already acted like Violet's father as it was, but apparently Violet acknowledging that was just too much for Bickslow. Lucy couldn't really help but be a little worried of the future, too, if Violet calling him something other than Bickso scared him.

"Bix, I can tell her not to do it, it's fine," Lucy said. "I can understand if it makes you uncomfortable, and I'm pretty sure Violet will understand too. Well, eventually."

"I… I don't know," Bickslow mumbled. "I just didn't really expect this, you know?" It wasn't like he was completely opposed to it. A small part of him was just giddy over it because he really did adore Violet and he saw her as his own daughter anyway, so it was ridiculously flattering for Violet to want to call him Dad.

But there was a much larger part of him that was worried about what Erik would think. Sure, they were friends (sort of), and sure, Bickslow had started to give him random updates on Violet if something interesting (or stupid) happened. But Erik was Violet's father, not him. Stepping in for some stupid little class party was one thing, but letting Violet call him Dad was something else entirely. Something about it just felt wrong, almost.

"I didn't expect it either," Lucy said softly. "But I think it's kind of nice. She really loves you."

"I know. Just… At least let me talk to Erik first. I might be a bit more comfortable with it if Erik's okay with it."

Lucy shrugged and turned her head to quickly kiss his cheek. "That's fair." It was probably the one time she'd agree with Bickslow when it came to his incessant need to run everything by Erik those days. "But… Back to you going to school with Vi on Father's Day…"

"Uh-huh…"

"You know everyone's going to think you're her dad anyway, right?" Lucy pointed out. Honestly, she wouldn't put it past Violet to actually stand up in front of the class with Bickslow and say Bickslow was her father. She also wouldn't be surprised if Violet just ended up telling everyone she had two dads and thus confused the hell out of her teachers and all the other kids in the room, but really, Lucy didn't care.

Bickslow shrugged, a smile returning to his lips. "I know. I can deal with that."

"Good… And, you also know you're probably going to get covered in paint and glitter at some point too?"

"I mean… She's five, so I figured that was just to be expected." Although as long as Bickslow didn't get any of it in his mouth again, he'd be fine.