It was a tearful goodbye for Lucy and Wendy. There were lingering hugs between the two women and promises of seeing each other soon. Midnight embraced his longtime friend in a firm hug with Midnight giving Cobra a mental pep-talk about embracing whatever direction his heart takes him. Cobra just pushed him away and uttered "whatever" under his breath.
Wendy hugged Bickslow tightly and wished him well, but before breaking away from each other she told him, "Take care of those two, and make sure Cobra doesn't give you too much of a hard time." Wendy winked as she finished her words.
Lucy sat and watched everyone through tear-filled vision, While Cobra turned toward Wendy, Midnight knelt in front of Lucy. "Please, take care of yourself, and remember, you are in very good hands."
Lucy smiled in return and reached her arm out to invite him in for a hug. It was firm and comforting and she couldn't wait to get one from the man when she wasn't awkwardly restricted by casting.
Wendy looked at Cobra and wrapped her arms around his chest. She squeezed him tightly and mentally thanked him for what he did with Carla. She also thanked him for not killing her best friend. It was what she said after that would stick with him for a long time coming. "Don't fight it, more than one person can be meant for you."
Cobra pulled back with a questioning look and Wendy just smiled as she turned to walk over to Midnight who was embracing Bickslow in a brief hug. Bickslow and Cobra walked their friends out and Bickslow's babies bobbed and weaved their goodbye.
Once they were out of view, the two men stood for a moment longer turning their attention to each other. Moments passed in a silence that wasn't exactly awkward but it wasn't entirely comfortable. Cobra tried to hear the man's soul but only got fuzzy feedback. He frowned at the Seith Mage. "They're gone, cut it out."
Bickslow tilted his head slightly to the side, "Cut what out?" he asked in a voice that held innocence but also laced with a hint of sarcasm.
"They are gone, you don't have to dampen those little shits anymore." Cobra huffed.
Bickslow frowned, he was afraid to drop his walls, afraid that the slayer might hear his internal struggle. He didn't want to interfere with the budding relationship between his friends. However, he was growing tired of constantly being on high alert to keep his babies controlled more and his soul masked from the Poison Slayer.
As he let out a breath that he didn't realize he was holding in, Bickslow's shoulders fell. "Fine, but.." he looked up at Cobra almost imploring him silently not to snoop. After looking at the man, he knew it was useless, everything was useless. He was fighting so hard to keep himself in check that he was wearing himself out mentally and physically. All in the name of not letting Cobra know just how much he was into him or his best friend recovering in the other room. He shook his head as he looked down at his feet and walked inside after uttering, "Have fuckin' at it."
Cobra wanted so badly to listen in on the man's soul but something about his defeated nature stopped him. He followed Bickslow indoors and went straight for the room that he and Midnight were sharing to clean it up a little. Bickslow went into his room to do the same.
Lucy remained blissfully unaware of what transpired outside and proceeded to take her nap now that Taurus had carried her back into her bed. She felt the gentle pull of her magic when Virgo came out to tidy up. It was a reminder to Lucy that things were getting better, like she was on some road to normalcy.
While Lucy slept Virgo had taken it upon herself to give a small token of appreciation to the Poison slayer. She had made poisonous tea for the slayer and added a few special celestial poisons to the mix as well. She left the small package of pre-made packets on the counter with a small beautifully hand-lettered note to Cobra.
For the Seith mage, Virgo wanted something meaningful, she decided to wait and think a little bit more on what would be perfect for the man. Lucy's spirits felt a special bond to Bickslow now, especially after the other day.
It was unusual, but the Celestial realm felt the connection immediately when Bickslow took over her soul to help Wendy heal her broken limbs. This was the first time they ever experienced something of this nature and were curious as to why their Princess was turning the Seith Mage's connection into a two way street when it very distinctly was meant to be one way.
Leo was already researching the matter with Grandpa Crux. This information had not been shared with their master yet because, for all they knew, this was something that happened when a Celestial Wizard fell under the control of a Seith Mage. There had not been a recorded incident of this happening that they could recall so they were looking deep into the celestial libraries.
Lucy woke sometime later in the day to the sound of quiet whispering and distinctly male giggling. She smiled before opening her eyes, the laughter is infectious. She knew it was not Bickslow because she'd had her fair share of giggle fits with the man. Curious about what was so funny, she opened her eyes to see Cobra sitting cross-legged at the end of the oversized bed with Papa in his lap. She lifted herself a little and just stared in bewilderment. She may not have known Cobra well but she knew for a fact the man didn't giggle. Silently in her mind, she called for Virgo to get Bickslow. Lucy was pretty sure he would want to see the Poison slayer in such an odd state.
"Cobra?" Lucy asked with a smile on her face. She wasn't sure what was happening but she knew it was not something normal. She wondered if he was inebriated with the way she had found him.
"Hey Bright Eyes, Papa here was just telling me a few stories about Mr. Marionette."
Papa flew out of Cobra's lap and approached Lucy, "Your pink masochist gave sour snake good shit." Papa answered Lucy's unasked question, again giving her a moment of pause as to what was actually happening.
She raised her eyebrow at the small totem and gave a pointed look at the slayer. "Cobra, what did you have recently?"
"Iron Maiden there left me some tea, so I made some. It was fuckin' delicious." he laughed some more and leaned forward as if he were going to tell the blonde a big secret. "I am high as fuck right now."
Lucy just laughed at the obvious statement, "I couldn't tell Cobra, when did you have that tea?"
Cobra lifted his arm to look at a watch that didn't exist on his, he sniffed in deeply trying to regain some composure, "About half-past a monkey's ass." he snorted with laughter at his horrid joke.
Papa floated back over to the slayer, "Lame ass joke snake boy"
Cobra nodded his head in agreement while still laughing extensively, "I know right?"
Bickslow entered the room, unsure of what he would find. The last thing he expected to see was Cobra sitting criss-cross applesauce with Papa tucked into his arms laughing uncontrollably. The overwhelming moment of joy at the sight before him rang right through to the inebriated slayer and immediately caught his attention.
"BICKSLOOWWWWWWW" the slayer bellowed.
"Well howdy everyone, what kind of party am I missing out on here?" Bickslow asked with a light-hearted tone as he approached the oversized bed.
Lucy beamed back her smile, "Apparently Virgo made some kind of poison tea for Cobra. Some of which were from the celestial realm."
Popo interrupted as she floated toward Lucy, "She collected the most poisonous for giggle-snake, she wants to please him, like she likes to please you!"
Lucy looked thoughtfully at the small totem, wondering how on earth the soul would know that information. She directed her attention to Bickslow, "What is up with Popo lately?"
Bickslow shrugged as he sat on the bed in the middle of Cobra and Lucy, "The hell if I know."
Before any response could be made Papa commented on Bickslow's choice of seating, "Daddy, snake boy has the best seat in the house for you."
Cobra gave a heated look toward Bicklow and wiggled his eyebrows, "Damn right I do."
Bickslow felt his face heat up at the overt flirtation and quickly dismissed it, "My ass is too boney."
Lucy watched Bickslow's cheeks pink up, noting mentally how cute he looked, being the one teased instead of being the teaser for once. Her attention being brought to his ass at the mention of it. She knew for a fact that his ass was far from boney. It was muscular and well defined from years of acrobatic training. She thought about how it would feel to grasp it.
Cobra snorted loudly, "Well someone sure as hell doesn't think it's boney." He laughed as both companions sported blushing cheeks.
Lucy shot the slayer a look that could freeze hell over, "Quiet you. You're the one thinking about him sitting in your lap."
Cobra's voice dropped into a rougher quieter tone, "And you're the one who was thinking about how good it would feel grabbing it."
Lucy's mind could not think of a response; she was too focused on how sexy Cobra's voice just sounded. She spared a glance to see that Bickslow was also looking at the slayer the same way.
Papa chuckled, "Saucy snake sounds sexy sexy."
Bickslow had no idea what was happening. Papa was mimicking his thoughts about how damn sexy the slayer sounded. It blended with the comments about sitting in his lap and Lucy's apparent thoughts about how shapely his ass was.
The babies floated around chanting, "Daddy's broken!" while Lucy chuckled and Cobra also broke down into a fit of laughter.
Bickslow felt like he entered an alternative universe for a moment. He was puzzled why these two individuals were thinking about him in such a fashion. After all, wasn't it just the other day that he witnessed their souls reaching and twining together in a fashion that just screamed they were meant to be together. That left him wondering where he stood in this situation, maybe he was wrong with what he saw. Granted his soul seeing has never been wrong.
Cobra interrupted his train of thought, at some point he had stopped laughing, sobering up slightly after listening into Bickslow's soul ruminate on what was happening.
"You must have been seeing things wrong, 'cause you two are some kind of Mozart level shit together."
Lucy's grin slipped from her face as she looked from the Seith Mage to the Poison Slayer. "What are you talking about?"
Cobra looked at her with a defeated glint in his eye, "You're the woodwinds to his percussion section sweetheart."
Bickslow looked to the man, not understanding what he was saying. Not even sure what to ask.
"Look, forget I said anything it's nothing. I'm kinda tired so, g'night." Cobra stood abruptly and walked uneasily out of the room leaving Lucy and Bickslow in a confused state.
Bickslow looked to Lucy, "Is he going to be OK?" he asked since he was unsure of what exactly he ingested.
"He should be, Virgo wouldn't give him anything he couldn't handle, I'm sure." The mood in the room had dropped significantly in the room.
There was a long quiet moment as the two friends replayed Cobra's words in their head.
"Hey Cosplay, what do you think he meant by percussion and woodwinds?" At this point, Bickslow was scooting up further on the bed getting comfortable beside the casted up blonde. Before the incident, she and Bickslow would sometimes have movie marathons that ended with them cuddled up together. So it was almost second nature for Bickslow to make himself comfortable.
"I think it may have something to do with his magic." she thought for a moment before turning her head to the man next to her, "he can hear souls, so I suppose that every soul gives off some kind of sound or music."
Bickslow hummed his agreement, "I suppose your right. Apparently, we harmonize pretty well." he turned to his side and gave Lucy an exaggerated eyebrow wiggle.
Cracking a smile at his antics, "I think it just means that we get along really well together, but we already knew that." she smiled brightly at him before continuing, "I wonder if it is similar to how you see souls."
The topic of seeing souls made Bickslow flinch slightly, he was afraid to look at their souls again to see if they were still co-mingling together. He absentmindedly answered her, "Maybe, I guess." he tone sounded more somber than he intended. He looked at the blonde to see that she was indeed watching him and he prayed that she wouldn't pick up on it.
Lucy looked at him and grabbed his hand, squeezing it gently, Lucy may have had a horrific year but her intuition did not suffer. He looked down at their connected hands, knowing in his heart of hearts that it felt so right to be connected to the recovering woman next to him. At the same time though he was conflicted about the pull he had for the slayer. All the while he wondered where the woman next to him stood.
Lucy smiled warmly at the man next to her, "Hey, I know you like him."
Bickslow looked up at her with a hint of surprise gracing his features, his mouth opened and closed, unsure of what to respond with. "I… I don't know." he finally said defeated. He did not want to say any more on the matter mostly because he was afraid that he would push someone away if he admitted to anything.
Lucy just looked for a moment and saw the moment that Bickslow locked up whatever was bothering him. He turned his attention to Lucy, "Look, sweets, never mind me. You need to focus on getting better, and we need to focus on helping you get there." He squeezed her hand one more time before reaching over to kiss her forehead.
Lucy closed her eyes and relished the gesture. The feel of his semi-dry lips pressed firmly to her forehead. It was comforting and thrilling and left a warm flow of energy traveling her body. As he moved to pull away she reached out for his hand. She did not want to lose the comfort and warmth. She had missed it for so long, she didn't want to let it go.
"Stay here tonight, you know, like we used to do. Before…" her voice trailed off because she couldn't bring herself to make even the slightest mention of the last year.
Bickslow smiled down at her and nodded his head, "You got it." He nestled down under the covers. The bed being so large that there was room for another person between them without even being close to rolling out. It didn't matter to Lucy though, just him being there near her. She was comforted by the rhythm of his breathing as she fell asleep.