Author's Note: As always, thank you for the follows, reviews, and faves!
B Chapter 7
Hostages
When they finally got home, Bickslow was exhausted. His back hurt and his joints had been aching since the night on Kibo's mat. As his eyes made contact with the couch, he groaned, missing the feel of an actual mattress.
"What?" She asked, moving past him and putting her stuff in her room.
"Can I sleep on your bed?" He asked, following her into her small room and plopping down on the mattress, not waiting for an answer.
"Only if you shower first. You stink."
He grunted, not wanting to move, but then sighed in annoyance. "So I can sleep with you if I shower? Your standards are that low?"
"They're gonna get higher if you don't move your ass." The brunette said, and at those words, he pushed himself back onto his feet and made his way to the bathroom, but paused in her doorway. Turning to face her, he had a cheesy grin on his face.
"Are you going to shower too?"
"After you, yeah. I don't want to dirty my sheets."
"Any chance you want to…?" The man said hopefully, but then shook his head and muttered a 'nevermind' as he turned and continued to his destination. He didn't want to push his luck with her, since she seemed just as tired as he was and could easily rescind her decision if he'd pushed the invitation. Even if she was up for the idea of sharing the shower, he'd realized that he wasn't energetic nor awake enough to pop her cherry properly.
"Try not to use up all the hot water." She told him, and he grumbled, already planning to use cold water.
1.
The next morning, despite falling asleep on opposite sides of the bed, Bickslow found the woman back in his arms. Just like the other morning, she was squirming to get free, and he was strangely adamant about keeping her still. "Nightmare?" He mumbled tiredly, having no idea what time it was. Since the room was so dark he assumed that it was still night, and it felt like night, but since the curtains were closed there was no way to know.
"Headache."
"The sensing, overwhelmy thingy?" He grumbled, arms in the same position as last time, and both of them wearing the same 'pajamas' as before.
"Yeah." She replied, and upon remembering his plan for this, brought the back of her shoulder closer to him, and then bit down as hard as he could. Drops of blood filled his mouth as his teeth sunk into her flesh. Under any other circumstance he would never bite a lover this hard, maybe an enemy if the situation was right, and heard the woman give a startled cry. His lips gave the injury a light kiss, and then his tongue licked up the metallic tasting liquid from her skin.
"Better?" He asked, voice low and gruff from not being entirely awake.
"… much." She said, and relaxed against him, sighing as her back melded into his torso.
"Is that good, or do you need another bite?"
"Another bite would be nice, if you're willing." Kibo said, and without hesitating, he latched his teeth next to the other bite, a little closer to her neck. Since she was expecting it this time she made no noise, and like last time, he gave her a kiss and licked up the excess blood. "Thanks."
"No problem." He grumbled, and soon enough, they both drifted back to sleep.
2.
Shortly after arriving at the Guild Hall that day, they wished that they had stayed home.
Fairy Tail was being robbed, held at gun point while every member was chained to the wall. The metal was a special magic draining substance that left each wizard helpless, only able to keep their mouths shut and watch the scene unfold. Every time they pulled at the chains a powerful electric current would shock them, in most cases knocking them out.
On the wall above each person was a number representing the amount of magic they possessed. In the corner of the room was a large, balloon like object that was holding all of the magic from the Fairy Tail wizards.
In the middle of the room was a terrified Wendy, shaking in fear at the gun pressed against her temple. Around the Guild Hall, wizards watched in fear and anger, only barely able to stay quiet. For some of the louder mages in the room, it was especially difficult to keep their temper down.
Once the group had been settled and everyone chained, armed men stationed at key places in the room, the leader had sent Makarov to get them ransom money. If he didn't return in 30 minutes with the specified amount of money, they would kill the hostage.
"Help me switch places with Wendy." Kibo whispered to Bickslow, who gave her a 'no way in hell' look. She tried to be as inconspicuous as possible as she talked to him, but the angle was difficult. "My healing magic is still working. If they shoot me, I won't die. But Wendy will."
The man thought for a moment, sitting up straighter and noticing someone walking towards them.
"Oi, what the hell were you whispering about?"
"My friend here was arguing how stupid you guys are." Bickslow spoke, a cocky smirk on his face. "She also called yo momma fat."
"A fat whore." Kibo corrected, watching the man's gun point towards her.
"You tryin' to get yourself killed?"
"What the hell are you doing?" Romeo asked from her other side, watching with wide and unbelieving eyes.
"I mean, using a kid as a hostage, really? How stupid is that? I mean, I understand why you'd use her to get everyone in their places, but after that you need to replace her with someone no one cares about. Once you kill the little girl, it's game over." She spoke, her voice uncharacteristically loud and confident.
"You better shut-"
"Gary, move," An authoritive voice spoke behind the man, causing him to visibly stiffen and quickly step out of the way. The movement allowed Kibo to lock eyes with the leader of the group, who was much leaner and taller than the rest. Like the others he wore a black wife beater shirt and cargo pants with two belts of bullets across his chest, and a gun in his hand. His hair was greasy and tied back in a small ponytail. "And who do you think would be a better choice? You?"
"Kibo-" Romeo tried to whisper to her.
"Since I only joined a few days ago, probably. I'm the newest recruit."
"Only a few days, huh? It's quite the sacrifice for a Guild that you just joined."
"If the Guild Master gets back here in time, I'll get major brownie points with the guild members. If I die, at least it'll be to protect a little kid. Probably one of the better ways to go out." She told him, surprised when the man started laughing. Kibo felt the stares of the entire guild on her, silently wondering (and hoping) she had a plan. Natsu growled in the corner, and the blond next to him leaning against his side, trying to calm him down.
"Your magic is lower than the average person. Why the hell are you in a wizard guild?"
"What I lack in magic I make up for in martial arts and knowledge."
Again, the man laughed, and gestured the man holding Wendy to let her go. "Looks like we're switching girls. This one has spunk."
During the switch, Kibo managed to lock eyes with the growling dragonslayer and wink at him, hoping that it was enough to sooth his nerves a bit. It didn't, but at least caused his growls to quiet.
The man now guarding her, a man referred to as 'Pinky', pushed her into a chair and then used a simple padlock to lock her wrists together. Since she already had metal, magic sucking cuffs on, it was all he needed to bind her.
Pinky stood next to her with the gun pointing at her head, looking uncomfortable and awkward with the situation. Kibo could sense an abnormality in his brain, and after further listening, realized that he had a brain tumor. Strange chemicals were flowing in his system, which she could only guess was medication for it.
When he grabbed her arm previously, to shove her into the chair, she used the contact to send small amounts of her blood magic into his hand. Once magic left her body it was immediately drained by the devices in the room, but her blood magic worked so long as it was inside someone's body.
If she could get within physical contact of all the guards, she could take them out without casualties.
Gun drifting slightly behind her, because the man was too distracted with something his boss was saying, Kibo made sure the angle of the gun wouldn't hit anyone. Using the blood magic in his finger she pulled the trigged, flinching at the loud sound so close to her face.
Cries rang out, and Pinky pointed his gun at the ground, his eyes wide. He stared at his boss who approached him.
"Kibo, are you alight?" Erza asked nearby.
"I'm fine." Kibo replied, but then watched in surprise as the boss raised his gun to Pinky's face and pulled the trigger.
Another cry rang out from the Fairy Tail wizards, and when the man pointed it back at the crowd, they quickly hushed.
"You'd kill your own comrades!?" Natsu asked him, getting electrocuted for the fiftiest time as he leaned too far forward.
"He was on probation. I told him that if he showed any sign of the tumor in his brain taking hold, that I would kill him."
"That's still not right!" The dragonslayer yelled, and ground his teeth as the gun moved to point at Kibo, who was still staring at the man before her in shock.
"I think I'll take over watching the hostage. She's such a cute little thing, after all." He said, chuckling darkly and laughing at the mage's expression. His brown eyes shifted to lock onto Kibo's, the expression in his eyes unfamiliar to her, but oddly creepy.
Large boots stomped loudly around her, and his free hand combed her hair, but then grabbed it roughly.
"You don't seem very scared, girl." He commented, yanking her head back and staring into her eyes.
"I've been in worse situations."
"Is that so?"
"You have a hostage, there's no reason to torture her." Erza spoke nearby, and then gasped when the man reached over and shot Kibo's foot. The brunette closed her eyes and took a deep breath, jaw clenched.
"Open your eyes. I want to see your pain." He ordered, smirking when she complied. "Most people would be balling their eyes out right now."
"I'm not most people." She replied, her voice even and not showing a hint of pain.
"You're fun." He announced, and then leaned in close to her, letting his lips stop just a few centimeters from her ear. Stale cigarette smoke and alcohol stained his breath and clothes. Kibo jerked her head away from him, but the grip on her hair was too tight to move.
"I tell good knock knock jokes." She said sarcastically, responding to his comment.
"Instead of killing you, I may just take you to the back room for-"
"You're not taking her anywhere, pervert!" Gajeel yelled, seemingly undeterred by the electricity flowing into his body as he lurched forward.
Another bang caused everyone to jump, the bullet going through Kibo's shoulder and into the wall behind her, between Gajeel and Erza. The brunette managed to keep her mouth shut for this second bullet, but not for when he pressed his hand against the wound and agitated the hell out of it. "God damnit!" She cursed.
"Have you still experienced worse, girl?"
"Yes." She gritted out, glaring at him.
"Then I guess I'll have to try harder." Hoisting his leg over his lap, he took a seat on her knees, straddling her. Gun continuously pressed against some part of her head, Fairy Tail could do nothing but watch, fearful of saying anything else to get her hurt. "Oi, Arnie, how much time does the short guy have left?"
Blood pooled around the woman's foot on the floor, and the added weight on her leg increased the pain.
"15 minutes."
"15 minutes…" The boss repeated, a smirk on his lips. He then returned attention to the girl under him, and returned his hand to her hair, keeping her head in place to lock lips with her.
"Get off of her!" Bickslow yelled, straining against the shackles and ignoring the current flowing through him.
The gun rose, but this time instead of aiming for her, it aimed for his head.
"No!" Kibo muffled into the kiss and bit down on the older man's lower lip, causing him to yell out in surprise and miss the shot, and then aim the gun for her thigh. As the bullet shot through her leg she let go, hissing in pain.
She looked over at Bickslow to make sure he was okay, seeing that the bullet missed by several feet.
Pain in her scalp increased as the boss pulled her head back, pressing the gun against her neck. "Now there's a look I love to see. Is that your boyfriend over there?"
"Just met him today."
"No, that look in your eye says differently. You love him."
"If you shoot at anyone in this guild again-"
"You'll what?"
"Destroy you." She gritted out, breath hitching as he moved his leg to rest over the fresh wound.
He smiled, watching her squirm. "Tell me about the time that was worse than this."
An estranged laugh escaped her lips.
It continued to become more than one laugh, but several linked laughs that were equally dark and unlike anything they had heard before. The sound caused chills to run down their spines.
"What's so funny?" He asked, surprised by the sudden change.
"I just realized who you remind me of." She said with a grin, still chuckling and giggling.
"And who is that?"
"You're not leaving until you kill all of us, are you?" She asked between laughs. "You're not here for the money. Hell, this guild is broke. You're here for the bloodshed."
"I have a little interest in both." He said with a grin, trying to not appear unnerved by her laughter. "Not that you can do anything about it."
"You see, here's what's funny." She said, her laugh suddenly disappearing. The room was filled with an eerie silence as they waited for her to speak, utterly confused by her behavior. "I've been putting up with your shit to avoid bloodshed. But if you're insistent on death, I'm going to make it yours."
The flying balloon smashed into pieces, the boss's body mangled within as it fell. At once the entire room jumped into life, the wizards leaping to their feet and attacking the armed men trying to flee.
Testosterone filled the air as men pummeled the guards, and although Kana and Erza got some good shots in, they were soon overshadowed.
Kibo sighed, closing her eyes and enjoying the lack of force on her head. When she wasn't moving, the bullet wounds didn't hurt as much. Before healing she sat there for a few moments, letting Mira and Lucy cry and hug her while she rested.
Gajeel was nice enough to stop and break the padlock on her wrists before joining the fight.
"What the hell were you thinking!?" Evergreen asked in front of her, causing the brunette to open her eyes and blink at the woman. "Why did you let yourself be taken hostage like that!? He could have killed you!"
"I'm sorry for worrying you guys. If I'd known-"
"Worried? You could have been killed!"
"I was never in any real danger. My… healing magic was still working through the ordeal. I didn't-"
"You were reckless!" Evergreen chastised, and started hitting her on the head with her purse, causing the other women to panic and tackle her.
3.
That night the guild was pretty quiet, since most people had gone home after the hostage situation. Kibo was asked to stay, since the others were worried about her, and she reluctantly complied.
After she healed most of her injuries she was tried, emotionally and physically, and just wanted to go home.
"That was brave what you did for Wendy." Erza commented, watching the woman drink her second beer. Kibo would probably be getting free drinks for the next week after what happened.
"I would have done it for anyone in the guild. It's really not that big of a deal."
"If your magic was working, why didn't you take them all out at the beginning?" Gajeel asked curiously.
"Like you guys, once magic left my body, it stopped working. The only attacks I could do were from skin on skin contact. I had hoped to infect all the guards before acting to reduce the chance of someone getting hurt. Actually, I had hoped that Makarov would get back before it resorted to violence."
"I'm sorry." The guild master said, sulking yet again on the end of the table. Kibo felt a pang of guilt as she saw the sadness encompass his features, knowing that he felt terrible for the ideal.
"I'm sorry, that was uncalled for. I know you did everything in your power to help us. I'm just a bit tired."
"Getting shot three times will do that to someone." Bickslow commented from her side, gingerly sipping his beer.
"I'm so glad that you're okay." Makarov sobbed, causing everyone's eyes to widen.
"Don't feel bad, Guild Master," Mira said behind him, trying to comfort the old man.
"What the hell happened here?" The new voice caused everyone to turn, surprised by the new presence. Laxus stood there, and after eyeing the blood stain still on the wall, approached the small group.
"We got robbed today. Well, kind of." Bickslow told him, glad that the older mage was there.
"Kibo here saved the day." Erza stated, patting her on the back and causing her to wince. "I thought you were healed up?"
"Mostly. My shoulder won't be completely healed until tomorrow."
"A hero, huh?" Laxus asked, grabbing a chair and pulling it over to the group. He had the back facing the wizards, so that when he sat his arms rested tiredly on it.
"Some thugs came in here and drained our magic." Gajeel spoke, taking lead in explaining the story. "They held Wendy at gun point, but Kibo managed to switch places with her. She got shot to hell before using some bad ass magic on him and breaking the damn balloon thing."
"'Balloon thing'?"
"It controlled the magic flow in the room." Erza explained, and the blond nodded in understanding.
"Is Wendy okay?" Laxus asked.
"She's shaken up, but she'll be okay. Their boss shot one of their own guys in the head, and it was pretty traumatic. And then watching Kibo get hurt… well, it was a bit traumatic for everyone, to be honest." Mira told him, and took a seat next to the guild master, still trying to comfort him.
"I leave the guild for one day and all hell breaks loose." The blond joked, and then looked over at Kibo, who was busy looking down at her drink. "How are you holding up, Kibo?"
"I'm alright. I think everyone else was more freaked out than I was." She said with a grin.
"You scared the hell out of us." Bickslow said, lightly punching her uninjured shoulder.
"Were you the only one hurt?" Laxus asked, and she nodded.
"Yeah. Well, in the guild, at least. I killed the boss with my attack and everyone else pummeled his goons. I guess some people got shocked by the shackles, but it didn't do lasting damage, I don't think." The brunette explained awkwardly.
"What kind of attack did you use on them? I don't think I've seen your magic yet."
"Now that you mention it, I haven't either. How did your magic not get drained?" Gajeel added, watching the young woman curiously.
"It's a kind of magic that I don't like to use… or talk about." She said, looking back down at the drink in her hands.
"Well whatever magic you used, it saved our butts today." Erza said, patting her on the back roughly and making her cringe.
4.
Bickslow kissed her as soon as they entered the apartment, closing the front door with his foot and pushing her into a wall. Their lips separated for only a moment before he reclaimed her, almost smothering her as he licked her teeth for entry and let his hands roam the side of her body.
She sighed tiredly against him, slowly reaching her hands up the sides of his chest and resting them on the back of his neck. He desperately pulled her into him, pushing his tongue into her mouth at the slightest opening and searching the slimy crevice.
A small sound escaped her as he made a particularly rough gesture, and he reluctantly pulled his head back. Frustrated, he knocked his forehead into the wall next to her, causing her to jump in surprise.
"Y-you okay?" She asked, unsure of what he was doing. To be honest with himself, he wasn't sure himself.
The image of that creep kissing her kept flashing in his mind.
He took a deep breath, still looming over her in their current position. Their skin hovered only an inch or less from each other, and his body wanted to close the gap again. Fingers pulled at the back of his hood, and he let the metal visor and fabric collect around his neck. Despite the gesture he stayed still, afraid of what he might do if he moved.
Kibo slowly let her fingers move into the base of his hair, and comb through the blue locks. The sensation was oddly calming, but the anger in his chest was still there and threatening to spill through.
"Are you mad at me?"
He sighed, hating the sound in her voice. Reaching a hand up to the side of her face, he gently cupped her cheek, brushing her soft skin with his thumb. She leaned into his hand, making his lips crack into a small smile.
"What are you thinking about?"
They had been standing like this for some time, possibly several minutes, and he silently mused about how weird this must be for her. "That creep kissing you."
"He shoots me three times but it's the kiss that bothers you?"
"Your wounds will heal."
"You were really that upset by it?"
A sigh escaped his nostrils, jaw clenching as the image flashed across his mind again.
"You're the only person I have eyes for, Bixy."
"Good." He said, and pressed the side of his head against hers, his hand still on her cheek. "Because you're mine."
"Yours?" She asked, and he couldn't help but chuckle at the tone in her voice. He couldn't recall a time that he ever 'claimed' someone as his, other than Kibo. Something about her evoked strong emotions from him that no one else could. "I don't recall seeing your name on me."
"It can be arranged." He joked, and turned his head to kiss her free cheek. "Sorry if I was a bit rough a minute ago."
"It's okay. I'm going to head to bed, though, if you don't mind. I'm pretty tired."
"I'll join you in a minute." Bickslow stated, and pecked her on the lips.
"I never said that you could sleep on my bed again." She said, sticking her tongue out at the mage. He gently bit her tongue, causing her to blush at the strange response.
"Don't be mean. We both sleep better when we're together."
"My bed, my rules."
"Oh come on, isn't there a way I can change your mind? We can sleep on opposite sides. No contact."
"That's not what happened when we started that way last night."
"Can you blame me? You're hot."
"Good night, Bixy." She said, and moved out of his grasp, disappearing into her room. The male frowned, disliking the prospect of sleeping on the couch again, especially after sleeping so well on her bed the night before. Using soul possession on her briefly crossed his mind, but he pushed it out of his thoughts, knowing that it not only wouldn't work but would just piss her off.
"Night." He muttered, making a face at the closed door.
1.
The next morning, Bickslow woke up to an annoyingly loud bang on the door, and rolled off the couch in surprise. Too tired and lazy to get up and go to the door, or actually get back on the couch, he simply wrapped the blanket back against his half naked body and lay on his side.
After a moment, another knock came from the door, just as loud as the first time. "Go away." He grumbled, not loud enough for them to hear.
"We're not going away, Bicks." An all too familiar voice spoke, and the male grunted, rolling onto his back. The door to Kibo's bedroom opened, and the seith mage looked over to see her freshly showered and already dressed.
"I'm not decent. Don't answer it." He told her, and she looked over at him, noting that he was laying on the ground clad in only boxers.
"And whose fault is that? If you're embarrassed, go get changed in my room." She said, and he rolled onto his back and jumped to his feet, grabbing his duffel bag before hightailing it to her room.
Sighing, she opened the door for his team.
From Kibo's room, Bickslow listened to the conversation, realizing in embarrassment that he probably should have gone to the bathroom to chance instead of her room. He didn't smell too great, and he'd have to cross the living room in order to reach the shower.
"What brings you guys over?" Kibo asked them as they entered, letting them into her somewhat messy apartment for the first time.
"Have you heard of the Grand Magic Games?" Evergreen asked, not surprised when she looked at her with the same expression as the other non-Tenrou Island guild members.
"You mean the games that we've been getting dead last in for years?"
"Yeah, that one."
"We're competing this year." Fried spoke as he wandered around the apartment, admiring her tribal artwork. "I never took you for a tribal person."
"You guys know that the games aren't all fighting, right?"
"Now that the strongest wizards of Fairy Tail are back, the games will be no problem. We're all going to train for the next 3 months to prepare for it, and thought we'd extend the invitation." Laxus told her, causing her to blink at the tall man in surprise.
"What kind of training?"
"Whatever we feel that we need to work on. Hand-to-hand combat, strength training, meditation to increase magic. We're going to some temple ruins in the north."
"Sounds fun. Count me in."
"Bickslow, get your ass moving." Evergreen ordered.
2.
"Would you stop messing with my hair thing?"
"But it's so entertaining." Kibo told him, continuing to bat the purple hair thing on the back of his hood. They'd been walking on a trail for close to an hour now, and she'd only recently picked up the game, finding a strange amount of job in it.
"You look like a cat." Evergreen commented, smiling as the young woman happily continued playing with the object. She had to admit, she'd wanted to bat the purple thing on his head multiple times, since it was so odd looking. Despite the seith mage's annoyed expression, she could tell that he was enjoying the attention from the woman.
Since they had returned from Tenrou Island, Bickslow and Kibo's dynamic had changed considerably, and seemed to be continuing to evolve. Whenever Evergreen feared that Bickslow was taking advantage of her or being too controlling, Kibo would turn the tables in an instant, leaving the seith mage uncharacteristically speechless. The fairy woman had somewhat enjoyed watching their relationship change over the past few weeks, having started a game with Fried to guess what they were doing behind closed doors.
"Do I look like a cat toy to you?" Bickslow asked, narrowing his eyes at the fairy woman.
"Your giant, puffy, purple thing does." Kibo said behind him, snickering as he redirected his glare to her.
"At least my outfit is cooler than yours."
"At least I don't look like a giant cat toy."
"Would you guys knock it off? You're giving me a headache." Laxus ordered from the front of the group.
Kibo reached over to bat the purple thing again, much to Bickslow's annoyance, so he grabbed her arm and shoved her in front of her. She turned and stuck her tongue out at him, but he merely nudged her forward, so that she would walk in front of him.
3.
After they put their belongings in their rooms, the team found themselves sitting at a table eating food that Fried had prepared. Kibo would have preferred the seith mage's cooking, but since it was free food that she didn't have to cook, she wasn't about to complain.
"So how'd you guys find this place?" The brunette asked, interrupting a long silence.
"My teacher used to live here. The monks that built this place abandoned it, but I don't know the details."
"Evergreen thinks it's haunted." Bickslow added from her sided, causing the fairy woman to glare.
"Shut up!"
"There are a lot of strange sounds at night." Fried added, sitting much more composed than his companions. "But that's to be expected from such an old temple."
"The only person I know to have died here is my teacher's daughter. I buried her down the hill." Laxus added, and Kibo looked up at him in surprise.
"Oh? What happened to your teacher, then?"
"Shortly after I finished my training with him, I came back to visit, and found this temple in shambles. When I explored further I found the body of his daughter, but not him."
"I'm sorry to hear that." She spoke, looking back down at her food.
"The guy picked so many fights, it was bound to happen sooner or later. I just feel bad for the girl. She was only 8 years old."
"Can we talk about something a little more cheerful?" Evergreen requested, unaware of the floating hand behind her. When it landed on her shoulder, she screamed, and continued to get up and run several yards away while Bickslow laughed hysterically.
Kibo continued eating her food, quietly looking down at her plate while memories haunted her thoughts.
4.
Laxus found himself wandering around the old temple grounds, enjoying the cool night breeze and familiar grounds. On occasion he would hear Evergreen scream, or Bickslow laughing, and each time he couldn't help but crack a smile.
He had spent a lot of his teenage years here. The overgrown vines and plants, along with the damage caused by whatever his master fought, made it difficult to navigate at times, but he always managed to find a piece that he remembered. It was almost like a maze with all the twisting and turning hallways, and sometimes the hallways or stairs were so damaged that he had to turn back.
Every once in a while he half expected the little 8 year old to come bumbling down the hallway, giggling and laughing as she usually did. Given her isolated upbringing, he'd always hoped that she'd leave to become a powerful wizard like her father, and maybe join a wizard guild like Fairy Tail.
After the sounds of his team died down, he decided that it was probably time to head back to his room. However, on his way back to his room, he got lost.
Luckily he smelled a familiar scent nearby, and easily navigated to it, finding the person standing on the edge of the courtyard. The side she was standing on overlooked a steep hill and gave a beautiful view of the valley below, along with the lake and stars shining brilliantly above them.
The blond walked towards her, curious as to why she'd separated from the group. Now that he'd located the courtyard he could get back to his room, but figured he'd have his first one-on-one conversation with the woman.
She didn't acknowledge his presence, but he suspected she knew he was standing next to her.
"It's a beautiful night out." Laxus told her, breaking the silence. The cool night air felt nice on his exposed skin, and he inhaled the fresh scent of pine from the nearby trees.
"It seems like I'll never escape my past." She spoke, her cold words surprising him. He couldn't think of a time he'd ever seen her other not smiley or happy.
"Troubles in paradise?" He asked, taking a guess that it had something to do with Bickslow. When it came to women, he found that it usually had something to do with men.
She chuckled. "You mean with Bickslow?"
"Yeah. You two seem… weird." He said, unable to think of a better word.
"To be honest, I haven't put too much thought into it. Whenever I do, I get a headache." Kibo told him, causing him to laugh.
"Bickslow's a good guy, but I can't see him dating anyone."
"After you did the Battle of Fairy Tail…" She spoke, catching him off guard with the abrupt topic change. "Did you feel bad about it?"
He paused for a moment, watching her somber gaze stare out into the distance. "… yeah. I felt pretty bad about it. I learned from the experience and grew as a person, though. In that respect I'm glad it happened."
She seemed to contemplate his answer, deep in thought. As he stared at her, he noticed a darkness in her eyes that he had never noticed before.
"Why do you ask?"
Her brown eyes briefly met his gaze, but then returned to the scene before them. "Just debating on how to deal with my demons. It's been tough having you guys back."
"How so?"
She sighed, seeming to try and find the right words. "It feels like everything is changing. I'd finally gotten a grasp on things, and now it's going haywire."
"Do you wish we hadn't come back?"
"No." She replied quickly. "It just… I dunno. It seems like everything is happening at the same time."
"Life does that sometimes." He commented. "Best way to deal with it is to roll with the punches. And when you fuck up, do your best to make it right. Even if you can't, it's the effort that counts."
"Easier said than done." She told him, and he chuckled, shifting the weight on his feet.
"Yeah."
"Oi, where have you guys been?" Laxus turned to face his friend, smiling at the new presence. "Fried and Evergreen went to sleep, so I'm bored out of my skull."
"I was just planning to call it a night." Laxus stated, and as he walked past him, patted him on the shoulder.
"It's not even midnight yet…" Bickslow whined.
"Night." The blonde spoke, and the blue-haired mage replied in kind.
Bickslow waited until the dragonslayer had left the premises before walking up behind Kibo. He slowly snaked his hands around her waist. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her flush against him, and kissed the edge of her ear. "Enjoying the view?"
"Yeah. It's beautiful here." She replied, sighing and melting into him. He gazed out at the valley and starry night, and having seen it many times before, wasn't quite as captivated by it.
"You've been acting weird since we got here. You okay?"
"What Laxus said about his teacher brought back some bad memories for me. I'll be okay."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
She paused, and he took the time to nuzzle the side of her head, feeling particularly affectionate at that moment. Her body heat felt especially nice as well, since it was such a cool night. "I've seen too many children die in my lifetime. No matter how hard I try to forget that fact, it always bubbles to the surface."
Bickslow quietly listened to her, touched by the sadness and sincerity in her voice. It was the first time she told him about her dark past regarding her village or dragonslaying days- something truly personal, and it almost tore his heart in two.
He nuzzled his face into her neck, and placed a small kiss on her sensitive skin. "Ever since my brother started appearing, I've been forced to remember the terrible things I had to do. And… I don't know what to do now."
"I'm here for you." He spoke against her neck, and as his gaze happened downward, he realized that she wasn't wearing a jacket. Goosebumps had formed along her skin, and looked extremely pale against the moonlight.
She took a deep breath and exhaled, tilting her head back. "Thank you."
"Anytime." Bickslow replied, and gently moved his arms so that they were covering more of her bare ones. "Aren't you cold?"
"Not particularly. Are you?"
"A little."
"Want to head back inside?"
"Yes and no. If I wasn't sharing a room with Fried and you weren't sharing a room with Evergreen, I would love to cuddle up to you in a sleeping bag."
"You seem super cuddly right now."
"Mmhmm." He hummed into her skin, moving his nose along up and down the side of her neck, effectively nuzzling her like a cat. The sound of her giggle made him smile, happy to cheer her up a little. "You're not alone, Kibo." He whispered to her, thinking back to her earlier words. "I can't imagine the hell you went through, but remember that you have friends to look after and help you. We all love you."
"You're being so mushy and cuddly… who are you?" She joked, and giggled as he nipped her ear playfully.
5.
"Bickslow, wake up."
"5 more minutes…"
"Everyone is waiting for you. Get up." Kibo spoke, nudging his stomach with her foot. She'd been elected to wake up the sleeping seith mage, and since everyone had already eaten and were ready to go on their hike to the training grounds, she was antsy and wanted him to hurry up.
"10 more minutes…."
"You've had an hour. We've already eaten without you."
"Just go on without me. Save yourself." He grumbled, turning around in his sleeping bag to face the wall.
Nudging his back now, he grunted.
"2 more minutes…"
"Come on, it's not like I got much sleep either. We went to bed at the same time and I've been awake for the past hour and a half."
"How are you alive right now?"
"To my knowledge, lack of sleep doesn't kill people." She told him, and heard him grumble something, but couldn't make out what it was. She nudged him again, but less gentle. "Get up."
"NoooooOoOooooooOo…"
"YeeEeeEeeeeEeees." She mocked, and this time pushed his shoulder so that he was now laying on his back, squinting up at her. "How does your team put up with you?"
"Alcohol." He replied, causing her to chuckle, despite his serious expression.
Something grabbed her ankle and toppled her, causing her to fall back. When she looked over to see what had grabbed her, she found herself face to face with Bickslow, who was climbing over her. Before she knew what was happening he'd latched onto her in a hug and pulled her to the ground.
"Damn it, Bickslow, you're doing it wrong."
"Nope."
She grunted as she tried to get him off, surprised at how much muscle was necessary to remove him. He was so strong that she had to hit him in the face to make him let go, causing him to curse and fall back.
"Fine, I'm up." Bickslow finally stated, and sighed as he pushed himself onto his feet, and then took his boxers off to change into his training outfit.
Not expecting him to change, she unfortunately got an eyeful, causing her to turn her head and blush madly. "A-a l-little warning next t-time?" She stuttered, staring at the wall.
"Oh, uh… haven't you seen me naked before?"
"Nope."
"… huh."
"I'll meet you in the courtyard with the others." She said quickly and ran off, leaving a tired and half asleep seith mage standing there.
6.
"What the hell did you do to Kibo?" Evergreen asked, glaring at the seith mage. They'd been walking for some ten minutes, and the brunette's face still hadn't returned to its normal shade of color, nor would she make eye contact with Bickslow.
"Huh?" He asked tiredly, walking in a zombie like state and rather oblivious to his surroundings.
"I'm fine. Nothing happened." Kibo said, looking at the trees above them and trying to get the image out of her head.
"… eh?" Bickslow muttered, glancing over at the woman. Upon further inspection, she did seem odd, and it took him a moment to remember what happened that morning. "Oooh… You're still upset by that?"
"I'm not upset."
"What did you do?" Evergreen asked, still glaring at the man.
"None of your business." He snapped.
"I knew we shouldn't have sent Kibo to wake you up. You probably stripped in front of her, didn't you?" She asked, causing the brunette to blush even further and Bickslow to smile awkwardly.
"It was bound to happen sooner or later. I'm surprised it hadn't yet, since I've been crashing at her pad so much lately."
"She's probably scarred for life. I know I was."
"We've all been scarred by Bickslow's nudity." Fried added, earning a glare from the blue-haired wizard.
"Whatever. You're all just jealous."
"… just how many people have seen you naked, Bickslow?" Kibo asked curiously, causing the embarrassed wizard to blush.
"Uh…"
"Too many." Laxus spoke, causing a chorus of laughter at their teammate's expense.
7.
The rest of the day was pretty uneventful; full of training drills and reflex exercises. By the end of the day everyone was tired, and in order to unwind, they built a small fire and made marshmallows. A bottle of fireball whiskey was making its rounds through the wizards.
"Wait, you can't drink." Bickslow stated right before handing it to Kibo, who blinked at him in surprise and confusion. "Last time you got sick and stuff."
"I'm okay with a few sips. I just can't do several shots of tequila in a row." She said, sticking her tongue out and taking the bottle from him.
"Fine, but if you get sick again, I'm not taking care of you." He said, sticking out his own tongue as she took a swig from the bottle. Afterwards she silently passed it to Fried on the other side of her. "So Ever. How's Elfman these days?"
"How the hell would I know?" She huffed, turning her attention to Fried. "Did you by chance bring that awesome healing cream?"
"I brought a small amount for emergencies. Didn't you buy your own?" He replied, giving her an annoyed look.
"I left it at home. Please Fried? This burn is really bugging me."
"Well you'll have to deal with it."
"Oh come on. We have a healer with us for emergencies, anyway." She said, referring to Kibo's powers.
"Didn't it hurt like hell when I used it on you?" Kibo asked curiously, watching the woman's expression change drastically. She grimaced, remembering the experience all too well.
"Oh yeah… I assumed that was because of how severe my injuries were, though. Could you heal my burns?" She asked, turning her body towards the young woman.
"My healing magic would hurt like hell no matter the injury. I could heal a papercut, but it would feel like a stab wound in the process."
"… nevermind, then." She said with an awkward smile.
"Couldn't you figure out how to make it less painful?" Bickslow asked, leaning back on his propped arms. "What was the point of learning it if you don't plan to use it?"
"There's no point in making it hurt less if I don't plan to use it."
"Healing magic is extremely rare. I'm surprised you don't use it more often." Fried commented, setting the whiskey bottle on the ground between him and Laxus.
"I use it for dire emergencies only. It's far more effective than the average healing magic, not to mention painful for both parties."
"Anyone have a good ghost story?" Bickslow asked the group, sensing Kibo's discomfort on the topic.
"No ghost stories!" Evergreen told him, and punched him in the shoulder.
"Well if you're scared, sure, let's-"
"I'm not scared. I just don't feel like listening to a ghost story right now."
"Well I do. Have you heard any good ones lately, Laxus?"
"As a matter a fact, I heard a pretty intriguing one recently." The blond spoke, holding back his amused smile at Evergreen's misery.
8.
"Where are you taking me?"
"You'll see." Bickslow replied with a wink, tugging her along through the dark woods. His souls glowed softly ahead of him, allowing him enough light to navigate, and quietly echoed his words to her.
Kibo sighed tiredly, but nonetheless let herself be guided by the man. Their hands were intertwined, and he couldn't help but smile at the contact. After the stress of the day, his body was sore, and the gentle sign of affection felt nice.
When they reached their destination, Bickslow unrolled the blanket from his free hand onto the ground. Before sitting down they both looked out over the lake, admiring the beautiful reflection of the stars above it. Fireflies were drifting along the water's edge, making it an even more serene setting.
"Want to sit?" He asked, gently squeezing her hand. She nodded, smiling at him.
Once they sat down and started to get comfortable, they continued staring out into the majestic scenery, until Bickslow finally broke the silence.
"When you were taken hostage, why didn't you use your magic on him when he kissed you?" He asked, intentionally catching her off-guard.
"I didn't want to make any hostile action if I could avoid it."
"So you let him kiss you."
"I practically bit his lip off, doesn't that say anything?" She asked, and looked over to see that his face was merely inches from hers. The male watched as a soft blush crept along her cheeks.
He powered down his souls so that the fireflies and crescent moon in the sky were the only sources of light.
"What are you doing?"
"You only bit him when he tried to kill me." He spoke softly, and then moved closer to her, not surprised when she inched away. He easily guided her back to the ground and reached his knee to the other side of her waist, effectively putting his large body over hers. As he'd been lowering her down, she'd put her hand on his shoulder, gently putting pressure on it but not enough to make him stop. "If he hadn't made that shot, would you still have bitten him?"
Her eyes stared up at him in confusion, likely trying to figure out what he wanted to hear. Cold air brushed along her exposed arms, and as he trailed his finger tips along the smooth skin, felt her goosebumps rising. "Probably not."
"How should I feel about that?" One hand next to her head while the other rested on her hip, he lowered his face just below her neck. His breath heated the cool skin of her collarbone, and he resisted the urge to lick the soft pink flesh. The woman took a deep breath, and he mentally debated how far to push this little game of his.
"You're technically not my boyfriend, so I have no idea what you should be feeling." Kibo replied after a moment, and the man chuckled. He bit down on her collarbone, enough to leave a faint bruise but not nearly as hard as last time, and heard her gasp in surprise.
"I'm not your boyfriend so I can't feel things for you?"
"I never said that."
"You implied it."
"I did not, and you know it." She retorted, and again he chuckled, now placing a kiss on the bruise he made.
"Are you hinting that you want me as your boyfriend?"
"It would make things easier to deal with, given our recent…" As she spoke, Bickslow trailed the tip of his long tongue along her neck, licking up the salty sweat from the day's training session. "Situations." His tongue reached the base of her ear.
"What about Natsu?"
"He's in love with Lucy."
"So why'd you make out with him? That's two other guys you've been kissing." He whispered in her ear, and felt her face radiate with heat.
"I didn't. I gave him a hickey so that Lucy would get jealous. It was Natsu's idea."
"I'm sure it was." He spoke, enjoying the annoyed sounds she was making. As his hand on her hip teasingly dipped under her shirt and stroked her skin, her breath hitched. "Why would I want to date someone that plays the field so much?"
"You're the one that set me up with Natsu."
"On the first date." He said, inching his hand a little higher, but not enough to make any significant distance.
"Do you have any interest in dating, or just toying with me?" She finally asked, and he moved so that his face was just above hers, looking into her eyes with their noses barely touching. Their eyes had since adjusted to the darkness, so although they couldn't see too much, they could make out each other's features.
"Both." He said with a smile, staring into her wonderfully brown eyes. Fingers trailed from his shoulder to his chin, where she slowly cupped the side of his face and caressed his cheek with her thumb. "If we did decide to officially start being a thing, I think it would be good to keep it secret for a while. Fairy Tail is a gossip mill with this kind of thing."
"That's a good point. It would be awkward to involve the guild and then we don't work out."
"You think we won't last?"
"I don't have the best track record with relationships. If I recall, you don't either."
"So you think we'll fail?"
"I hope not. It would break my heart if we did." She said and reached up, meeting his lips with hers.
9.
"'Don't break her heart', Bixy." Laxus teased the next day when they were alone, smirking at the glare resulted.
"You were eavesdropping on us? Not cool, man."
"I have good hearing, remember?"
"We were too far from the temple grounds for that for that bullshit."
"I was out on a stroll last night. If I had been in my room, I would have been out of range." The blond told him. "Don't worry, I'm not going to tell the others. Just stop being so mushy with her here. We're here to train, not flirt."
"What's wrong with doing both?"
"Because if you two have a fight, and you will, it's going to affect the rest of us."
"It's gonna be fine, dude. Don't worry about it."
"YOU CAN BELLYDANCE!?" Evergreen screamed at the top of her lungs, midfight with Kibo. Everyone on the sidelines turned to face them, surprised by the outburst, and looking at them in rejuvenated interest.
Kibo punched her in the face, effectively knocking her out.
"Yes. I can." The brunette muttered, and looked over at the green-haired mage. "Want to fight next?"
"Very well." He said, and set his sword to the side, since they were doing non-magic battles.
"Belly dancing, huh?" Bickslow asked from the sidelines, snickering at the look that Kibo gave him.
10.
About a week later, they received a surprise visit from their Guild Master. The old man walked up to the group in the courtyard with a soft smile on his face.
"Guild Master!" Evergreen said happily, a similar expression on most of her colleague's faces.
"What brings you all the way here?" Kibo asked before picking up her waterbottle. The group had just decided to take a break for lunch, so the old man had great timing.
"We were just about to break for lunch. Will you join us?" Fried asked, mimicking Kibo and grabbing his waterbottle.
"Sure. I have things I hoped to discuss with you guys." He responded with a grin.
Once lunch was set up and food was being served, the older man started talking about the Grand Magic Games, and what he was planning for it.
"I was hoping to get your opinions on the matter for who I should send. We're allowed to send in two teams to compete."
"Two teams?" Kibo asked in surprise, and he nodded.
"You've competed in the Games a few times now, haven't you?" Makarov asked her, and she grinned.
"Yeah. Still lost, though."
"How many times have you competed?"
"4. First year I had the unfortunate experience of fighting Bacchus. It sucked."
"Whose Bacchus?" Bickslow asked curiously.
"He's a master at drunk martial arts. We'll probably see him competing again this year." She said with a frown, looking at the clouds as she recalled the experience.
"What do you recommend when forming teams?" Makarov asked, watching her turn to him and blink in surprise.
"Uh… well, since the games change so drastically every year and we never know what the challenges would be, it's probably best to diversify the teams as much as possible. Sabertooth wins every year, and since they have two dragonslayers as their main muscle, it would be best to have all of our dragonslayers competing."
"I agree. What would you think of Lucy competing?"
"Considering how rare celestial wizards are nowadays, she would be a great choice. Despite being physically weak, she's proven to be a very powerful and competent wizard. She'd also be great back up for Natsu."
"What do you think would be a good team, Laxus?" Makarov asked, turning to his unusually quiet grandson.
The blonde looked at him, surprised by the change in attention, but nonetheless swallowed the bite of food in his mouth to answer. "For one of the teams, having S-ranked wizards would be best. Me, Mirajane, Erza, Gajeel, and Juvia. They may not have passed our s-class trials, but they were some of the best in their previous guild."
"I had similar thoughts. I'm planning to make one of the teams be Natsu's group, which includes Erza. Leaving one spot open." He said. "Any other suggestions?"
"Anyone in the Thunder Legion would be a good choice." He said with a shrug.
"What would you say to having another shot at Bacchus, Kibo?" The guild master asked, getting yet another surprised look from her.
"You want me to be the fifth member?"
"But she barely knows any magic." Evergreen spoke.
"I have a theory that she's a lot stronger than she lets on." The old man spoke with a glint in his eye, ignoring the annoyed sigh that the brunette made. "So, will you do it?"
"… I won't let you down." Kibo told him, a grin on her face.
"Good, then it's settled. Team A will be Natsu's group, consisting of Erza, Gray, Natsu, Lucy, and Wendy. Team B will be Laxus, Juvia, Gajeel, Mira, and Kibo."
"Why are we 'Team B'?" Laxus asked, narrowing his eyes at him.
"Because I'm not going to tell Natsu's group about you." He said with a mischievous grin.
11.
"You excited to be competing in the games?" Bickslow asked the girl in his arms, and waited patiently for a response. When several seconds rolled by, he carefully peered over to look at her face, finding that she was sound asleep.
Given their change in training tactics, he couldn't blame her. Laxus decided that since she was also competing, both of them would work twice as hard. At several points in the day it was Thunder Legion vs. Kibo, or everyone vs. Laxus, and both of them were pretty beat up by the end. They had planned to do an early morning meditation together tomorrow, though Bickslow suspected that the brunette would sleep through it.
The pair was in the same spot as the night before, gazing out into the silent lake for long periods of time with light discussion topics. He had been tempted to tease her about her training, but given her exhausted state, figured he wouldn't get much of a reaction from her anyway.
Even if he couldn't talk to her, he still enjoyed having her in his arms. He was the only person in his team that wasn't a morning person, so while they all planned to do their meditation at ungodly hours in the morning, he did them at night. Meditation helped strengthen his magic, along with his bond with his souls, making it an extremely useful training exercise.
Kibo had been nice enough to humor him the past few nights, doing both the morning exercises and keeping him company at night. The strain of getting so little sleep was beginning to affect her day to day training.
Training for him wasn't out of the ordinary, and he enjoyed it immensely. He'd also been training with his team for years, which made him not only more comfortable with the group but already catered the exercises to benefit his style of fighting. As he watched Kibo fight, he admired that she tried so hard to keep up with them, but ultimately she was struggling. They used completely different magic than she did, and although it allowed for her to think outside of the box, it also had her at a complete disadvantage.
Warmth radiated from her body, and when a cool breeze chilled his skin, he pulled her closer to him.