Chapter 4

Bickering

"We're going to be late! Hurry up!" Bickslow banged against the door, groaning loudly.

"Well if you hadn't smashed my alarm clock last night, we wouldn't be in this situation!" She screamed at him, causing him to flinch at such a loud and shrill sound. It reminded him eerily of Evergreen.

"You're the worst roommate ever." He said, causing the woman to audibly huff in annoyance, and making him smirk. She was so easy to mess with sometimes.

Fairy Tail was participating in the yearly parade, and the entire guild was supposed to be present for rehearsal that morning, but they were already 20 minutes late. It really was his fault that they were running behind schedule, since he sat on her alarm clock the previous night, claimed that it was 'fixed and set for the correct time' when it clearly wasn't, and then woke up that morning to her hitting him with her pillow.

He'd planned to wake up early and be her alarm clock to avoid getting in trouble, but that didn't exactly happen.

The wizard took a seat back on the couch, yawning into his hand.

Suddenly the doorknob to the bathroom twisted, and the towel clad women emerged, red and frantic. "Your turn." She said quickly, and disappeared into her bedroom.

A part of him was tempted to peak into her bedroom while she was so frantic, since she likely wouldn't notice him, but decided against it. Part of it laziness, the other part respecting or boundaries, or something like that.

"Get your ass moving!" She snapped suddenly, hitting him over the head as she walked quickly past him, walking around in her pants and bra.

"Nice bra."

"Nice hair." She said, referring to his bed head. He looked even shittier than usual, bags under his eyes from lack of sleep and hair pointing straight up.

1.

"Where have you guys been?" Fried asked, noticing their flustered faces.

"He broke my alarm clock." She said quietly, hoping that their lateness had gone unnoticed by the Guild Master, who was in the middle of a particularly long winded speech. He seemed to be reciting every 'bad thing' that Fairy Tail had done during the festival over the past 50 years, trying to emphasize how important their appearance was for the parade. Given their lack in popularity over the past few years, and their lack of jobs as of late, it wasn't too surprising.

Most of the wizards were already pumped for the festival and knew the importance of it. Some of them would be running booths through the day, some of them doing a bit of advertizing, and at the end of the day, all of them would be part of the parade. They didn't have as many resources as they used to, so they would have to rely on their magic to make up for it.

"Oi, did we miss anything!?" Natsu yelled at the top of his lungs, announcing his arrival and causing both Happy and Lucy to face palm.

"5,000 PUSH UPS!" The Guild Master screamed at him, causing everyone to become terrified by his anger, including the dragonslayer that got on the floor and started counting. "Now, where was I… this year we are not going to catch the other floats on fire because we saw a squirrel." He said pointedly, causing the pink-haired boy to move faster. "Nor are we going to eat someone else's papermache float because it's in the shape of fire."

"Sucks to be Natsu today." Bickslow whispered to Kibo, who nodded.

"And Thunder Legion…" The Guild Master spoke, suddenly turning his attention to the four wizards grouped together in the back. "Let's not attack Fairy Tail and hold the city ransom, hm?"

"Yes, sir!" Bickslow yelled, pulling into a solute with his chest puffed out.

2.

"So what do you do for magic at the parade?" Bickslow asked her later that day after the meeting, as they were exploring the town. Everyone was setting up decorations, laughing and having fun, and it brought back memories for them.

"I usually just stand around and look pretty. I don't really know any flashy magic." She said with a shrug. "After you guys left, we didn't put too much effort into the festival. Macao was so busy trying to pay bills and keep the guild afloat, we struggled to get by."

"So what are you going to do this year?" He asked, his babies repeating 'whatchu gonna do'.

She shrugged. "I don't really have showy or flashy magic. I'll probably do the same as every year and blend in with the others…. Why, what are you going to do?"

"Shoot off my baby's sparks in the sky, of course. The crowd loves it." He said, looking fondly at his floating puppets. "The last time this festival happened, I didn't get to participate."

"Why not?"

"Laxus and the rest of Thunder Legion attacked Fairy Tail, remember? They weren't too happy with us." He told her, and she made a small 'oh' sound, remembering the event. "You could use your blood magic."

"I don't like using it. And besides, there are no 'flashy' blood magic spells. Most of it is just gore and death."

"That is a bit of a buzz kill…" He commented, silently contemplating on what she could do for the festival.

3.

"Matching outfits? Seriously?"

"We'll do a twin act!"

"That's stupid on so many levels I don't even know where to begin." Kibo told him, causing him to pout at her. He was standing in front of her with a smaller, more feminine version of his own outfit in hand, waving it in front of her and trying to portray it as attractively as possible.

"Name one reason why this isn't the coolest idea ever."

"For one, we're not twins, so we can't do a 'twin act'."

"Pfft, the crowd won't know that. I've seen tons of twins that looked nothing alike."

"Name one reason why this isn't the worst idea ever." She countered, resting her elbows against the little island separating the kitchen from the living room. He was on the kitchen side, while she was on the living room side.

"Because I thought of it?"

"Why do you even have a female version of your outfit?" She asked suddenly, noticing that it was specifically made for a girl, and had a dirt patch on one of the knees, indicating that it had been worn before.

"I had an ex that made it… she was kind of weird."

"You two sound like a perfect match." She commented, and he glared, making her beam at him. It was rare to see him genuinely peeved by a comment, which made it all the more entertaining. "I take it you didn't like her very much?"

"She was more of a fan girl than a girlfriend… I made the mistake of dating her, even though she was clearly unstable…" He said, now looking at the outfit again with a new expression. "Why did I keep this?"

She shrugged, and watched as he threw it in the garbage, suddenly hating the idea. "Why are you so excited about this event?"

"Because it's a party, and Fairy Tail is the best when it comes to parties." He said, grinning at her.

"I don't think I went to many of the parties before you guys left… I was too young to drink, so you guys just seemed obnoxious and loud."

Suddenly he stared at her, eyes wide and mouth in the little shape of an 'o'. He looked excited, like he was scheming, and she was instantly worried.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I've never seen you drunk."

"Well, I was twelve back then…"

"Do you drink now?"

"Not really." She said with a shrug. "Makes my magic go wacky. Getting drunk is out of the question."

"Why? What happens when you get drunk?"

"You don't want to know." She said, and again felt uneasy as the familiar glint returned in his eye. Not only was he scheming, but now he wanted information from her, and that was always a bad combination. "Alright, bad things happen. My dragonslayer magic acts up and I hurt people."

"Fairy Tail wizards can handle a little out of control magic. Have you met Natsu?"

"Still-"

"And Wendy will be on stand by. She's great at healing people. Unless you think she's terrible."

"I think she's a great wizard."

"Really? I'm going to tell her that you hate her guts."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because one way or another, you're getting drunk, and it's going to be hilarious."

4.

"It's practically a rule that every member of Fairy Tail has to get drunk at least once. If it'll make you feel better, I'll drink with you!"

"You always drink, Kana." One of the other members chastised, causing the woman to grin as she took a swig from the bottle in her hand. She was sitting in front of Kibo, who was completely sober, with her legs crossed beneath her and hair tied loosely back in a ponytail.

Natsu had overheard the conversation and came up behind Kibo, slinging his arm around the back of her neck and looking at her with a determined expression. "You've never been drunk before?" He asked, and she grinned awkwardly, blushing at the close proximity. She could smell alcohol on his breath, a very powerful stench that encompassed the entire Guild Hall. Fairy Tail parties weren't known to be small or quiet, and since the return of the Tenrou Island group, they were especially loud and spectacular. Fights were breaking out every few minutes, most of which were caused by the man on her shoulder.

"I'm not a fan of alcohol."

"Why not?"

"I don't like the feeling of losing control."

"Come oooon, you're around friends! No one would judge you if you did something stupid!" Kana told her, and then took yet another drink from her bottle.

"Do you drink at all?" Natsu asked, returning his gaze to her.

"On occasion, in small portions. I'd appreciate it if-" She started to ask him not to pressure her into drinking, but the sudden bang in front of her caused her to turn and look at the excessively large bottle of Tequila and shot glass next to it. Bickslow was standing there, in the process of opening the bottle, and grinning at the two of them.

A crowd was beginning to form.

She had a bad feeling.

"Lucy has challenged you to a drinking contest! She called you ugly and claims she can hold her liquor better than you!" He announced, causing the blond nearby to try and yell at him, but was pushed and shoved into the seat that Kana had vacated out of.

Lucy and Kibo looked at each other, both of them uneasy and terrified of the two shot glasses being filled in front of them. "I never agreed to this!"

"You're going to let Kibo get away with calling you a fat whore? Have you no decency?"

"I never said that!" Kibo yelled at him, her face beat red as she felt the stares of everyone around her.

"Come on, it's a party! Woohoo!" Natsu yelled and cheered, briefly standing up and then taking a seat next to her. Levy took a seat next to Lucy, taking the role of being her 'coach'. The blue-haired wizard had already had a few too many, laughing and giggling and encouraging her friend to go through with the contest.

The rest of the guild started chanting and cheering, along with a few bets taking place.

"Come on Biko, you can take her!" Natsu told Kibo, grinning and patting her on the back.

Kibo and Lucy locked eyes, but the blond looked a little more determined and confident. "You're going down!" She said, and grabbed the first shot and downed it, making a grossed out face immediately afterwards.

Bickslow picked up her glass and smiled at her, handing it to her.

Natsu nudged her encouragingly towards it, and she finally reached out and grabbed it, quickly swallowing the terrible tasting liquid.

The crowd cheered, and another shot was poured. "Round two!" Bickslow yelled, and both ladies took the shot.

"How are you feeling?" Natsu asked her, and she grinned.

"I'm alright. It's a little warm in here, though."

"Come on, Lucy, you can do better than that!" Levy screamed at the blond, but her cheeks were already rosy and she only laughed at the shorter female.

After another 3 shots, Kibo felt the effects kicking in.

"I forfeit. You win." She told the blond, causing the remainder of the crowd to 'boo' and 'aaw' at her.

"You sure you don't want to keep going? I don't think you're drunk yet." The green-eyed wizard asked, noticing that she still seemed very composed. "I think you can handle another couple of rounds." He said, already pouring the drink and making the people that bet on her cheer.

"Lucy wins. End of story." She said, and tried to get up and leave, but found herself unable to do so.

I hate peer pressure. The brunette thought disdainfully, her eyes dropping to her hand on the table, suddenly focusing all of her energy on keeping her heart beating.

Because of her blood magic, she usually regulated her body functions consciously, albeit it was usually in the back of her mind and required little focus to do so. It was literally something she could do in her sleep.

Alcohol messed it up though, and made it difficult for her to control those organ functions.

The question of whether she'd die if she lost consciousness suddenly occurred to her.

"I… n…" She tried to speak, but figuring out what to speak and how to coordinate it with her lungs and breathing was proving problematic.

"Are you alright?" Lucy asked, noticing the woman's eyes glaze over and sudden stillness.

"Kibo?" Natsu asked, and Bickslow repeated her name.

The green-eyed mage leaned forward and cupped Kibo's chin, turning it upwards so that he could look at her face. She seemed blank, expressionless, but in her eyes he could tell that she was extremely focused. "Can someone grab Wendy? Kibo doesn't look too good."

"I'll go get her." Happy announced, and went to go find the small wizard.

"You could have told me you didn't drink because of a medical problem, idiot." Bickslow told her, furrowing his eyebrows at her. He reached his hand to her neck and tried to feel her pulse, which was erratic and inconsistent.

"Is she okay?" Lucy asked, now standing next to Natsu and trying to get a good look at her.

"Looks like you win the drinking contest, Lucy. After Wendy looks at her, I think I'm going to take her home." The older wizard stated, trying to sound calm to the young girl, who cheered loudly and threw her hands up in the air in victory. Levy cheered and screamed with her, jumping up and down.

"Good job, Luce." Natsu complimented her, and she turned beat red, blushing at the comment. Immediately she started yelling at him, accusing him of being against him, and then was soon distracted by something else. The pink-haired wizard made sure Bickslow would take care of Kibo before going back to the party, bored with sitting around while others were fighting.

"Do we need to take you to a hospital?" Bickslow quietly asked Kibo, who was still unmoving and silent.

"N… no." She managed to get out, and soon enough Wendy found them, a candy necklace around her neck.

"What happened?"

"She had a few shots, and now she can't speak or move. Her heart rate is erratic." Bickslow explained, causing Wend to look at him in surprise, then at the woman sitting in front of him. His hand was still on her face, keeping her chin up, but now he was sitting in a chair he had grabbed with his foot.

The small dragonslayer turned Kibo's face to look at hers, pulling at the woman's eyelids and checking her pupils. She also reached her hand to where Bickslow's had been to check her pulse. "I think she has some kind of alcohol poisoning. Give her lots of water and if she doesn't improve in the next ten minutes, I'll come back and heal her."

"Alcohol poisoning can do that to someone's heart?" The male wizard asked, having never seen these symptoms from drinking too much. Puking and erratic breathing, sure, but not going into this kind of comatose state.

"No, and normally I'd be worried about it, but I'm guessing it has something to do with her healing magic. Sometimes alcohol can have adverse effects on people that use healing magic, or have had it used on them." She explained, smiling up at the worried wizard. "Either way, she's done for the night."

"God damn it… It's my fault she's like this, so I'll take her home."

About 15 minutes later, after having her sip water and get an 'ok' from Wendy, Bickslow put her on his back and carried her home. On the way back she started to become coherent again, but her sentences were limited. He was too annoyed to keep up much conversation anyway, a mix of guilt and frustration eating away at him, a dash of anger mixed in.

"Did you know this would happen?" He asked her after a while of walking. It was late, darkness encompassing the cobblestone street, and the cloudy skies above them threatened to rain at any moment.

"No…"

"Liar." He huffed, and jumped slightly to reposition her on his back. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Cuz…." She started to speak, having to gulp from the dryness of her mouth. "You're an ass hole."

"I thought you were just shy, not deathly allergic to it or some shit."

"Have you ever felt someone's heart beating for the last time?"

"… can't say I have." He replied, thrown off by the question.

"If I fall asleep before the alcohol leaves my system, I could die."

"Seriously?"

"For cereal." She replied, and started chewing on his hair.

"I was wrong. You're not fun when you're drunk."

"You're no fun when you're drunk." She said, and bit his ear, causing him to yell out in surprise and pain.

5.

"So we have to keep you awake all night?" He asked, finding himself sitting in his usual spot on her couch. She was sitting across from him on the same couch, in her usual position, but a tired expression on her face.

"Yep. Teach you to ever make me drink again."

"But you're drunk right now, right?" He asked, his mischievous grin returning, and she nodded. Her movements were excessively sluggish, and although she could move to some degree, she was mostly still and extremely uncoordinated when she did move.

"Si." She replied, and leaned her head against the side of the couch.

"12 hours to hang out with drunk Kibo…" He spoke, smiling as he looked up at the ceiling in thought. "Do you have a crush on Natsu?"

"I like him." She said with a shrug.

"Want some tea?" He asked, and she nodded. After standing up to go start the kettle, he took his usual wizarding outfit off so that he was in boxers and a black wife beater shirt. It was a common look for him nowadays, and Kibo had taken up similar relaxed habits.

"You're cute." The woman said, and giggled. She was still in her dress, a stunning red and gold fabric with intricate designs, and still adorned her jewelry and make up. She had dressed up for the parade and festival, and even though her hair was extremely simple compared to the other wizards, her unique style set her apart from the rest.

He paused, enjoying the look he was getting from her.

When he made it to the kitchen and started making the tea, he continued asking her questions. "So why don't you like dates?"

"Just cuz I'm drunk… doesn't mean I'll tell you shit."

"You already said I was cute."

"No I didn't."

"Well, I think you're cute." He told her, surprised that her memory was so short. "Have you and Natsu kissed yet?"

"Kissing is gross."

"Have you ever tried it?"

"Pffft," She turned her attention to her hand, which was unusually blue. "Blue… right, circulation. I have to do that."

"You should tell Natsu that you're a dragonslayer."

"I hate being a dragonslayer."

"Why is that?" He asked, but didn't receive an answer. When he looked over at her, waiting for the water to boil, he noticed that her eyes were closed. "Kibo?"

"Do you like Evergreen?" She asked abruptly, looking up at him and blinking her eyes feverously, trying to stay awake.

"No, she's just a good friend. Besides, I'm rooting for her and Elfman."

"Do you like anyone?"

"I like you." He said, but she scoffed, either not believing him or thinking he meant something else. His smile caught her attention, though- whether it was the alcohol or not, she couldn't tell, but his gaze made her think of lust.

She sighed, trying to stop her mind before she began. Being frustrated on top of drunk was not something she needed, given the level of concentration she needed to keep her body functioning. "What happened to your family?"

"I already told you. Sisters died of an illness, parents live up North. I visit them on occasion, but they're not fond of me."

"They don't like tattoos and glowing green eyes?" She asked, smiling, and he chuckled.

"What was the dragon that raised you like?"

"What's your favorite kind of tea?"

"Why do you avoid questions about dragons?"

"Since you're over there, how about you make us some food?" She asked, and although he wanted to question her more on the topic, dropped it for the time being. It wasn't a conversation to have when she was drunk, and if she did reveal anything too personal, he knew she wouldn't forgive him.

He was slowly learning what buttons to press in order to see her react, but he also knew when to back off, and this was one of those times. There was always time to question her later. "Ramen okay?"

"You're making food?" She asked, smiling, and causing him to chuckle. He navigated her kitchen easily, since he'd been living there for several weeks already, and found the ramen in the cupboard. "I wish I liked sex."

Her words caught him off guard, and he almost dropped the package of ramen in his hands.

"Are you good at sex?"

Blue hair sticking up in all directions and green eyes locked on her, he blinked at her, surprised by the forward question. "I'm good with my tongue." He said, winking at her as he stuck out his tongue, Fairy Tail emblem gleaming at her.

She sighed.

"What? I've been told by women that I'm good in bed. I'm hardly a master, but I've got a lot of practice."

She was already thinking about something else, her attention straying back to her hand, which was now returning to its usual shade of pale. "I like elephants."

6.

"This show is boring. Want to make out instead?" Bickslow asked the next day, both of them cuddled up together on the couch. He was sitting at a slight angle, mostly sitting upright, while Kibo had been sleeping on and off with her head comfortably on his chest. Her arm rested across his naked abdomen, while the other was wrapped beneath the pillow he leaned against.

Feeling guilty for the previous night, the wizard had let the woman use him as a pillow for most of the day and watch random tv shows on television. They both smelled like her pomegranate body wash, since he'd taken up the habit of using her bathroom essentials, but given her heightened senses she could smell his distinct scent. She loved it, and despite feeling sleep deprived and tired, enjoyed the day.

After talking and eating for most of the night, they had resorted to watching exciting movies to keep her awake, and somehow ended up in this intimate position. Both of them had taken several naps, not all of them at the same time, and left the tv on for background sound.

"Not really." She replied, nuzzling the side of her face into his chest.

"No sexual tension? None?"

"If you're only here to get laid, then you should leave. I'm not about to have sex for the first time because you're bored."

"I never said sex, I said making out."

"You said sexual tension, which implied sex." She told him, and he chuckled, causing her head to bounce with his rib cage.

"I suppose you have a point…" He said, and started petting her hair.

"I've been waiting my whole life for this… training, studying," He spoke, and held up his arm, morphing it into a giant blade with smaller ones sticking out of it. "Changing, for this battle. I have no blood for you to control."

"So instead of tracking me down to reunite with your little sister, you spent your entire life preparing to kill her?" She asked, frowning slightly with her hands in her pockets and appearing overly casual for the circumstances.

"I saw what you did to our parents…