The characters belong to Hiro Mashima. The OCs I introduce belong to me.
FF .net has been giving me issues. I'll continue updating here but I'll be more active on AO3 so keep in touch there if ya can. Thanks :) Oh, There's also some smut I dare not put on here.
This one is definitely more slow going than TTG & TCG. I know where I want to go with it, it's just a matter of getting there while keeping it flowing nicely throughout. Here we'll get a little insight into Lucy's past.
TRIGGER WARNING: SPOUSAL PHYSICAL ABUSE AND IMPLIED RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT.
Chapter 6
Lucy is running through the hall on her way to find her parents to ask them if they can go out and do something. She makes it to her father's office and hears him yelling.
'I told you Lucy will be homeschooled.'
'Jude, she needs to be around kids her age. We can't-"
Lucy hears a smacking sound and a whimper. 'J-Jude?'
'I said no. You'd do well and listen to me.' Her daddy growls.
'I'm sorry Jude.'
'Get over here and show me how sorry you are.'
'Yes Sir.'
Lucy slowly walks away from the office. Once she's made it out of earshot she dashes down the hall to her bedroom. Once inside she goes to her bed and cries. She has never heard her daddy yell at her mama like that or sound so mean.
Mama did nothing wrong, she was only asking if Lucy could attend school with the other children. She's been lonely and wants friends.
It's all her fault. If she hadn't bugged her mama her daddy wouldn't have hurt her. She wonders if that's the first time he hurt her mama.
Lucy runs into her parent's bedroom when her mama calls for her. She finds her mother muttering to herself and roughly jamming clothes in a suitcase.
'Mama, why are you packing clothes?'
Layla doesn't look at her but continues gathering things, 'We're leaving so go to your room and pack your things dear.'
Lucy tilts her head, 'Where are we going?' She doesn't remember anything about them going somewhere.
'It's a surprise.' Layla grabs something from the back of the closet. She opens it up, nods her head, and takes the box to the bed.
Lucy's curious about what's in the box but doesn't question her mama instead she asks, 'Can I bring Michelle?'
Layla discreetly removes what's in the box to her travel bag, 'Yes sweetie, now go pack.'
'What should I pack?'
'Anything.' Layla walks to the bathroom to gather toiletries.
'But-'
Layla turns around to yell at her daughter, 'Lucy! Go pack!'
Lucy's bottom lip quivers, 'Okay Mama.' She begins to cry. Mama has never yelled at her before. Father has but never Mama.
'Wait, Lucy!' Layla runs to her and pulls her into a tight hug. 'I am so sorry Lucy.' She cups Lucy's head so she can kiss her on the forehead, 'We're on a time limit so we need to hurry okay?' Layla asks her calmly.
Lucy nods her head, 'Yes Mama.' She runs to her room, starts packing pretty dresses, and thinks it might be a good idea to pack some play clothes Mama got her. Mama takes her to the park though when he's at work. It's their little secret. Daddy must never find out, he doesn't like it when she plays with other kids. She doesn't understand why. It's so much more fun having friends!
He used to be a really, really nice daddy. He would run around in the yard with her and Mama playing tag or hide and seek. He smiled and laughed a lot but lately, he's been mean and she doesn't understand why.
She's tried to make him happy but he just yells at her and destroys the things she made for him to make him smile. Just yesterday she made him a riceball for lunch. He didn't only yell at her though, he smacked her too. She doesn't understand why-
'Lucy?' Layla sees tears coming out of Lucy's eyes and hugs her, 'Sweetie I didn't mean to yell at you. I'm just in a hurry and don't have time for questions.'
Lucy shakes her head against her Mama's shoulder, 'it's not that.'
'Then what is it?' She pets Lucy's hair and rubs her back to calm her down.
'Why is daddy so mean?' She sobs harder soaking her mother's shirt.
'Honey... Can we talk about this in the car? We must get going.'
Lucy pulls away from her mother, 'Yeah.' She goes back to packing and her mother helps her. She tells Lucy that she can say Grandma Anna and Grandpa Itchy will be with us.
Once done she helps her Mama take everything to the car. She gets inside and buckles herself in while waiting to go on their adventure.
Lucy is hanging out with her Grandpa Itchy while her mama and Grandma Anna talk on the back deck. When he receives a phone call she heads their way and stops in her tracks when she hears her Mama crying.
'I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner.'
Grandma Anna has her Mama wrapped in a tight hug, rubbing her back. 'Shhh….'
'It shouldn't have taken Jude slapping Lucy for me to finally get the strength to leave.'
'What matters now is that you got yourself and Lucy out of there.'
'I couldn't risk his abuse towards Lucy to escalate to how he's been treating me. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if it went that far.'
'Has she ever seen….' Grandma Anna's question trails off.
Mama shakes her head and sniffles, 'She's seen him hit me. As far as forcing me to… I don't think she has, I pray she hasn't.'
Lucy wonders what her mother means, he did more than hit her. What else did he do to hurt Mama?
A phone rings and Layla pulls hers out, 'It's Jude.'
POUND POUND POUND
The sudden pounding on the front door causes everyone to jump out of their seats in the dining room.
'I know you're all in there, someone open this door right now!'
Lucy huddles behind her mom, whimpering. 'Mama?'
POUND POUND POUND
Layla crouches down in front of her and whispers, 'Lucy, I need you to quietly go through the back door and run. Run as fast as you can.'
'Why mama?' Lucy says just as quietly.
'Open this door right this instant!'
Layla turns her around and gently nudges her forward, 'Now sweetie. Run and don't stop for anything. You keep running and get far away from here.'
POUND POUND POUND
Lucy cries, 'I can't leave you.' She watches as Grandpa Itchy slowly and quietly goes into the kitchen and comes back with a gun. Her eyes widen and she trembles in fear. Is it that unsafe that her Grandpa has to pull out his gun? He once told her it was only meant for bad guys who were out to hurt someone really badly.
He tussles her hair, 'I love you Little Lucy, now be a brave girl and listen to your Mama.'
Her Mama and Grandma Anna both hug her tightly.
POUND POUND POUND
'You have until the count of three. One!'
Grandma Anna releases Lucy, 'I love you. Now do this for us and be brave.' She stands up to join her husband sneaking into the living room.
Her father isn't really going to hurt them badly right?
'Two!'
With one final squeeze, Layla hugs her daughter, 'I love you, Lucy. Promise you won't stop until you're far away from here.'
Lucy wipes the tears away and nods, 'I promise. I love you too Mama.' As she runs out the door she hears her father shout 'Three!' and then she hears a CRASH!
Lucy shoots up in bed. She's broke out in a cold sweat and tears are running down her face. Her heart is beating erratically from the nightmare. She wipes away her tears and attempts to calm her breathing and heart rate.
"I haven't had any nightmares in a while now. Why are they returning?" She hasn't done anything that would trigger them then she remembers she didn't take her medicine to help with her nightmares. Now that she thinks about it the last time she took them was the night before she slept with Bickslow. 'Huh, both nights I slept beside Bickslow I didn't have a nightmare.'
Despite that, she makes a mental note to remember to take them. She doesn't want him to see her in that state because she's not ready to open up that can of worms with him yet. Yet? Why is she thinking about opening up to him? She never opened up that wound with Ren. 'Because he easily shared parts of him with you.' Is that why she is comfortable with the thought of talking to Bickslow about it?
Laxus had once told her that Bickslow had it bad growing up and Bickslow didn't know about his past with anyone but Laxus. Is that why he went along with Mira's scheme? He knows everything about her past as well as Bickslow's.
"Ugh, it's too early for this." She jumps when her phone rings.
Lucy reaches out to grab her phone and instead knocks it to the floor. "Son of a bitch," she grumbles and groggily gets off her bed.
*Ring Ring*
"Yeah, yeah. Hold your damn horses." She picks it up and sees not only is it Mira calling her but it's seven in the morning. Normally Lucy is a morning person but for once she's able to sleep in. Irritable Lucy answers, "What the hell are you doing calling me this early in the morning?"
"Well, good morning to you too," Mira chuckles.
Lucy plops down on her bed, willing the unwelcome memories away. "Good morning Mira. Now, why am I being woken up this early? For once I can sleep in." Lucy whines.
"Well… our photographer canceled."
"Well, shit." Lucy scrubs a hand down her face. She can already see where this is going seeing as how Mira knows that she's done photography. She hopes Bickslow won't be upset about not being able to spend as much time together. She shakes her head 'He wouldn't be. This is his best friend's, her brother's, wedding. He'll be more than understanding and it's not like they're dating.'
"Lucy? You there?"
"Yeah, sorry. My brain is still booting up. So, you want me to take over and take photos?"
"Yeah, like I said, I know it's last minute and-"
"It's okay Mira, I'll do it."
"Thank you so much, Lucy!"
"Of course, Mira."
"Oh! I know you're Bickslow's date, but don't worry, he'll be fine with it."
"How did you know? He just asked me last night!"
"Gramps told me about you two keeping him up. So, of course, I talked to Laxus about it who then got a hold of Bickslow. At some point in their conversation, Bickslow mentioned you're his date."
"I forgot about the fucking grapevine," Lucy mumbles. She forgot about how much her friends and family love to gossip.
"What was that?"
"Nothing Mira." Thankfully the woman hasn't told anyone about her and Bickslow but it's only a matter of time. She's already anticipating everyone bombarding her about Ren. At the moment she doesn't want more on top of that when what she wants to do is catch up with everyone and forget about that damn nightmare.
"Do you have any plans for the day? I was hoping we could go to the spot where Laxus and I are getting married. Give you a good idea of what you have to work with."
"I need to wake up and get ready for the day first."
"You have time. I'll come over to make you and Gramps breakfast."
"We're not completely helpless.
Mira chuckles, "Yeah, okay. See you soon!" then hangs up.
Mira walks up to the lake, "The altar is going to be about twenty feet from the lake."
"This is beautiful!" Lucy looks around in awe at the spot they chose. They're in a big clearing on the other side of the lake from the orphanage.
"This is where Laxus and I had our first date."
"It is?"
Mira nods her head and smiles, "Yeah. It was so romantic. He set up a picnic late in the evening. We ate and talked all night. We cozied up to each other on the blanket and stargazed together." She giggles, "The only constellation he was able to pick out was the Big Dipper."
Lucy chuckles, "He tried to learn them, he really did." She's so surprised that her brother planned something that sweet, then again he's always loved and adored Mira.
They talk more about the wedding and Mira tells her there's going to be tents put up for the reception. She explains she'll get ready elsewhere and will be driven up. Lucy gives her a good idea of where she would like to photograph the wedding party.
As they walk back to the car Mira asks, "So… are you going to see Bickslow again tonight?"
"I don't know. I haven't talked to him yet, he's busy at work."
"What do you think of him?"
"He's great. He's funny, sweet, understanding, and fun to be around."
"But?"
"I have a mess with Ren and Sherry to sort out. I would also like to spend time with my friends while I'm in town. It's bad enough I dropped them for my career. I can't drop them for a guy I just met. Do you have any idea how shitty I feel?"
"Aww, it's okay. Everyone understands. What matters is that you're here now. I know! Let's go shopping. Gray and Juvia started a clothing store a few years ago and they just got a shipment of cute summer dresses."
"Sounds fun!" On the way there Lucy is lost in thought. About Ren and Sherry. About her job. About her nightmare. She needs to talk to Gramps, Laxus, or her therapist about it. She revisits the thought of talking to Bickslow
In three days he somehow managed to stir something in her that Ren never had. It's more than just the sex. Though she does admit to herself, he is better in that department than Ren. Hell, anyone she's ever been with, but he's so different than what Laxus has told her about the man. Granted that was years ago and people change over the years.
Bickslow is just so easy to talk to and she feels like she can trust him with the stuff she has buried deep inside her. The only people who know about her past are Gramps, Laxus, and the therapist she saw. She also feels like he has his own demons he's battling and she realizes she wants to be the one he leans on, and confides in. She reminds herself not to fall for the man. She's only in town for three weeks which reminds her she needs to get a hold of her boss and her co-workers and explain everything to them.
"Lucy, are you alright?"
"Huh? Oh yeah, just thinking about what I'm going to tell my boss. I'm not sure she'll accept my reasons as an excuse."
"Well, you've worked for her for a long time and you've been a model employee. You're reliable, you work hard, and have always done what was asked of you and hardly took time off. Yeah, you'll be in trouble but I don't think you'll be fired."
"I suppose you're right." They arrive at the store and instead of shopping Lucy spends her time getting caught up with Juvia. She finally gets to meet four-year-old Greige who is just a little cutie.
Bickslow is beyond bored. He's done with the paperwork and has sent Erik home due to it being a slow day. Not that the man has far to go. Bickslow is renting out the studio apartment above the store to him and Kinana.
He debates whether or not to text Lucy and decides against it. He doesn't want to come across as clingy so he'll wait for her to text him. Instead, he shoots Gajeel a quick text.
Bickslow: Hey man, you busy today?
While waiting for Gajeel to text back he swivels on the stool and mentally goes through everything in the storage unit. The stuff he doesn't need he can sell or give away, the sentimental things can stay at his place and he'll find a spot for it.
Gajeel: Nah, fer once I don't have a major job scheduled. Whatcha need?
Bickslow: Would it be a problem clearing out my storage unit? Just need it all packed up and taken to my place.
Gajeel: What am I, your bitch?
Bickslow: Fuck off. You can use my truck and I'll pay ya.
Gajeel: I'll be by around noon. Yer buyin' me lunch.
Bickslow: Of course, you are my bitch after all
Gajeel: Fucker. See you then
At 11:30 Bickslow calls the deli next door to make up a few subs. At five to twelve he walks over to pick them up and as he's walking back out Gajeel arrives in his Chevy Eclipse. He whistles, "Nice ride man, when did you get that?"
"Gihi, a few days ago. I needed something a little more, me, but can still haul the kids around."
"What happened with the suvan Nissan Rogue?"
Gajeel grabs his subs and follows Bickslow into his store, "Kept it for Levs, it's about time we got a second vehicle."
They both eat at the counter and shoot the shit, talking about miscellaneous things. Hearing Gajeel's adventures with his children makes him in no hurry to have any anytime soon. He's gotten lucky and hasn't knocked a woman up, he's always made sure his dick was wrapped up tight, except for Lucy. 'I wonder if Lucy wants children.' He's definitely not in that place at the moment if their relationship heads in that direction.
After they've finished eating, Bickslow pulls out his truck keys and tosses them to Gajeel. "If you can't get everything today that's fine. Recruit Romeo if you want, I don't care but be careful with the bike, I plan on giving that to Sonny."
"Who's that?"
"Sanyo. The kid who's always asking questions about mine."
"Alright, I'll do what I can."
After Gajeel leaves Bickslow's thoughts turn back to children. He really hopes a condom hasn't broken and knocked up some chick and she hasn't said anything. Fuck. That would fucking suck if a random ass woman all of a sudden showed up at his doorstep with a kid. He prays to every being out there that that doesn't happen.
After a slow day consisting of people coming in to browse and a couple coming by to pick up their new bed, it's finally time to go home. When he pulls up to his place Gajeel and Romeo are loading up his garage. He gets out and helps before thanking them and paying them before they head out. Looking around his garage he realizes there was a lot more in that unit than he realized and is going to have to clean out his spare room if he wants to be able to pull his truck in the garage. But first thing first he's got to make dinner.
As he's getting ingredients out for a chicken stir fry his phone goes off notifying him of a text. The feeling he gets when he sees it's Lucy is a foreign one but not unwanted.
Lucy: Hey! How was your day?
Bickslow: Slow and boring, maybe you should have visited me after all.
Lucy: Maybe I will tomorrow if I have time 😉 I made plans to hang out with the girls to spend the day together though.
Bickslow: No worries, catch up with your friends they've missed you.
Lucy: Talked with my boss today. That went over well.
Bickslow: In any trouble?
Lucy: Made a three-way call with her, Leo, and Virgo, my co-workers, and explained everything that happened. Even though she's pissed, this is my first infraction so she told me to go ahead and take the time off, but it better not happen again. Oh, and Leo made sure to threaten Ren to not come out here. He also scheduled to have time off for the wedding.
Bickslow has a little surge of jealousy go through him. How he wishes he was the one to be able to threaten that piece of shit. He has to navigate this so she doesn't catch on to that so he asks about both of her co-workers
Bickslow: What do Leo and Virgo do?
Lucy: Leo is the fact checker, makes sure everything is accurate, and Virgo is my assistant.
Bickslow: Your bitch?
Lucy: ASS! She is not my bitch, she's my friend.
Bickslow: I was talking about Leo haha
*Ring Ring*
"Hey-"
"There's no need to be jealous."
"What?"
"If you're anything like my brother, it's bothering you that you couldn't be the one to threaten Ren."
"Fine, you caught me."
"If you're worried, there's no reason to be. Leo makes it well known he's a playboy and has no intentions of settling down."
"You know I was the same way."
"Key word: Was. You've made it known that you would like a relationship even though I don't know when I'll be ready for that."
"I can wait. So what did you do today?"
"Mira woke my ass up at the crack of dawn. The photographer canceled so she took me out to the location to give me a good idea of what she wants when I take pictures."
"I got a similar call but from Laxus."
"So I've heard. Listen I'm sorry my family-"
"Likes to gossip, I know."
Lucy laughs, "Yeah anyways afterward we shopped at Juvia's new clothing store and I got caught up with her. Hers and Gray's son Greige is such a cutie!"
"He can be a little shit though especially when he's hanging out with Iggy."
"I heard they're the opposite of their father's. Instead of fighting each other, they get into trouble together."
"Lucy! Dinner is ready!" Gramps shouts in the background.
"I thought you and Gramps should stay out of the kitchen."
"Relax, it's just grilled cheese and tomato soup."
"And be prepared to get your ass kicked in Scrabble!"
"Yeah okay, Grandpa!" Lucy shouts back. "I got to go. Can I call you later?"
"Of course. Have fun!"
"Oh, I will."
Lucy hangs up and Bickslow chuckles. He used to have nights like that with Axel and Marlene. They might have been an older couple but they were a lot of fun, a helluva lot more fun than his old man.
He finishes up cooking and eats before heading to the spare room to clean it out which doesn't take long since there's not much. Only a spare bed, a weight bench, and some other random stuff. As he's bringing stuff in, he reminisces over some of it. It takes him to the better times of his childhood, the times when he wasn't so bitter and angry at his biological parents and his father's girlfriend.
I will share more of Lucy's memories, and they will be in her P.O.V. I'll touch base on Laxus and Gramps too.
When the time is right, we'll even get more insight into Bickslow's life. I know in the previous chapter I touched base on his and there's a good summary on it but I plan to add both good memories and bad ones.
If you're wondering suvan is what I call my Nissan Rogue. It's an SUV but also looks like a van.
