It was only once Mira and Cana had asked just what she'd be introduced as to Bickslow's parents that Lucy became aware of just how fucking weird it was that she was spending the holidays with Bickslow and his family. After agreeing to go with Bickslow, she'd gone to the guild to tell her team about her new Christmas plans. It had mostly been out of courtesy, but really, it had just been to make it so they didn't think she'd disappeared off the face of the earth all of a sudden. Her team hadn't really cared much, although they had been surprised when Lucy had told them.

Everyone else, on the other hand…

Everyone else had had a fucking field day with it, it seemed. Gajeel had snickered with Juvia beside him, who'd seemingly only just registered the fact that Lucy was so totally into Bickslow's dick (as Gajeel had so elegantly explained to his girlfriend). Levy had made her own little comment about how Lucy meeting Bickslow's family was an exciting step in their non-existent relationship. Wendy had literally fucking told Lucy to be safe, which had honestly just mortified Lucy. Evergreen had choked on her drink when she'd overheard it at the bar and spent the next fifteen seconds slapping Elfman's arm as she tried to breathe again. And, Cana and Mira had of course just decided to be annoying and ask whether Lucy was going to be introduced as a friend, a babysitter, or Bickslow's girlfriend.

Lucy's face had gone bright red and it had taken her a good few seconds to eventually splutter that it wasn't anything like that and that she would most likely just be introduced as Lucy.

Still, Lucy hadn't been able to stop thinking about it for the rest of the night. She'd spent most of the rest of the evening wondering if she should even bother going at all after that too, since, well… It was weird. Super weird. And it wasn't like she hadn't noticed how Bickslow had been just a little awkward once she'd said that she'd like to actually go, because she had. At the time, Lucy just hadn't thought much about it. Later, Lucy had been totally convinced that it was because Bickslow thought it was fucking weird, too.

Whatever the case for Bickslow's awkwardness was, though, Lucy still got out of bed at six o'clock the next morning just to shower, eat, get dressed, and meet Bickslow at the train station a little after seven. It was a ridiculously long ride to Astrantia, and there was usually only one train a day that headed that far north – or more accurately, northwest.

Once they'd boarded the train and gotten themselves as comfortable as they could, they both did their best to avoid the fact that they were both very much aware of how weird the whole thing was. If anything, they didn't really talk at all. Lucy spent most of her time reading, and Bickslow spent most of his time doing his best to keep his daughter from crying and making everyone else in the carriage hate him.

Unfortunately, over the course of a nearly eight-hour train ride, Scarlett definitely cried a few times. Bickslow had mostly had it handled though.

By the time they were just half an hour from their final stop, Lucy had already started to grow warm. Bickslow had told her to make sure to wear something she could easily take off once they got closer to that part of Fiore, so all she'd had to do was remove her sweater to be reasonably comfortable again. Except, the comfort hadn't lasted for long. Before she knew it, the train had been pulling into the station and Lucy had definitely been regretting her decision to wear jeans. Bickslow really hadn't been kidding when he'd said Astrantia was hotter than the deepest pits of Hell.

The worst part though, much to Lucy's surprise, was that Bickslow's house was still another thirty minutes away, and with all of their luggage (which had mostly been Bickslow's), the only way there had been by a literal carriage with the least amount of air possible.

"I told you to wear something lighter," Bickslow chuckled to himself as Lucy fanned her face with her hand.

"Shut it," she muttered. Honestly, at that point, she was almost tempted to just strip right there in the tiny carriage. She decided against it though. The downside was that Lucy was also sure that she was literally going to melt into a puddle on the horribly uncomfortable leather seat.

She went back to fanning herself as best she could while looking out the small window. The carriage was taking her through the town, and with the little Lucy could see, she was honestly already in love with the place. The buildings were all tightly packed together, some with large storefront windows, and all made of the same white and beige bricks. Narrow trees were dotted along the paths, and vibrant flowers hung in pots on every column and behind every fence.

At some point, the elegant shops turned to elegant townhouses as the carriage turned down another street. They were going slow enough that Lucy swore she read Redfarrow on the brass plate just outside one set of iron gates. "Did that sign just say...?"

"Probably." Bickslow shrugged. He knew roughly where they were since it was the same route as always, so he knew that they'd probably just passed the white townhouse that his family did in fact own. He just didn't really have the heart or the energy to tell Lucy that it was the same house that they would've been living in together right then had they actually been married all those years earlier since it was presently the house his brother and his own family resided in.

Lucy tried not to be surprised. For the most part, she wasn't sure why she was at all since she knew what Bickslow's family was to that town (and what they had, which was a lot). She supposed it was more to do with how odd it was to actually be seeing the town that Bickslow had grown up in. Knowing it and seeing it were two very different things, as she was quickly realising.

The closer they got to Bickslow's family's home though, the more Lucy began to worry. She couldn't get how weird it was out of her head. "This totally isn't weird or anything, right?" she asked Bickslow hopefully. "I mean, visiting and all…"

"What? No. Of course not," Bickslow scoffed.

Lucy nodded. "Right… Okay…"

Bickslow could only glance back to Lucy for a second before he felt the last of his resolve and sanity leaving him and he quickly said in one breath, "It's super fucking weird." Honestly, it was really weird. He'd tried telling himself otherwise, but no, it was definitely weird. Super weird.

"I knew it! Oh my god… Oh god, this is bad…"

"Why the hell did you even agree to come with me?! It's weird!"

"Because you suggested it!"

Bickslow sank back into his seat and nodded to himself, brows furrowing slightly. "Right. I did that. Fuck, why did I do that?" he mumbled. At that point, he really wasn't sure what he'd been thinking, but then he remembered that he hadn't been thinking at all. Well, guess it doesn't matter now. Because Lucy was already there, and Lucy was freaking the fuck out and Bickslow really didn't want to deal with that. "Anyway, it's fine. Don't worry about it. Totally cool."

"It's fine?!" Lucy repeated, her voice reaching a pitch that made Bickslow grimace. Everything was definitely not fine. She had no fucking clue why she was there, Bickslow had no fucking clue why she was there, and Bickslow's parents were definitely not going to have any fucking clue as to why she was there. "I'm meeting your goddamn parents!" She paused for a moment before adding softly and quickly, "Although technically I have already met your father, but I was only fourteen so he's probably not even going to recognise me anyway… Oh god, they're going to hate me."

"Why on earth would they hate you?"

"Because… Because we were… You know!"

"Cosplayer, that's definitely not a reason to hate you." He wasn't sure what his parents would actually think once they found out who Lucy was, but he was certain they wouldn't hate her.

Lucy nodded. "Of course. Who could hate me anyway? I'm me," she laughed nervously. I'm going to fucking die.

Bickslow couldn't help but be slightly convinced that Lucy had lost the plot. The guild was going to hate him. He just told himself it was the heat making things worse. "Right… Yeah…" he mumbled.

The carriage came to an abrupt halt all too soon and Bickslow swallowed. He looked out the small window to see his childhood home, and for the second time in his entire life, he was actually terrified of walking in there. The first time he'd felt that way was when he'd gone back for the first time at twenty. He'd been terrified of facing his family again, since the last time he'd seen them was then he'd been telling them all to get fucked for trying to control him.

That time though, Bickslow was terrified of facing them because he knew how disappointed they'd be in him for getting someone he didn't even know knocked up.

"Oh my god, you actually lived here?"

Lucy had gotten out of the carriage as soon as she could, and despite the afternoon sun making her feel like her skin was quite literally on fire, she'd needed the air, as hot as it had been. Seeing Bickslow's house though… She'd thought her house had been grand, but hers had been nothing compared to the Tuscan mansion that stood in front of her.

Bickslow grimaced as he finally climbed out, lifting Scarlett out in the carrier. "It's… not as big as it looks," he mumbled. Really, it wasn't. It just looked big from the front since it sprawled across the front of the property. He didn't even have the energy to make a 'that's what she said' joke about his own words.

"No? How many bedrooms then?"

"…Ten."

"Mine only had eight," Lucy sighed.

The driver of the carriage helped carry their bags to the front door that was up the steps. Lucy desperately tried to cool herself off as she walked across the clean courtyard lined with neat shrubs. She was sweating so much from the heat that she was positive she resembled a melting ice-cream, and that was definitely not a good look, especially since she was about to meet Bickslow's parents.

"Totally fine, right?" she asked as she followed Bickslow into the large foyer, looking around anxiously at the lavish room. There was a flower arrangement bigger than her head sitting on one of the tables.

Bickslow nodded all too quickly. "Yep, totally fine," he said, although it was probably more for his own benefit.

As the driver finished arranging their bags just by the curved staircase and excused himself back outside, a woman in a calico blouse and capris appeared at the top of the stairs from behind a wall. "Bixy!" she squealed, and Bickslow had to refrain from turning around and running back out the door. This was the worst part. It was always the worst part.

"I am so, so sorry…" Bickslow mumbled as his mother rushed down the stairs as quickly as she could, hand sliding along the polished railing.

Lucy didn't get a chance to ask just what Bickslow could be apologising for before the woman shouted back up the stairs, "Felix, it's him! I told you he'd be here today! And he brought a friend!" She'd been about to rush forward to wrap her arms around Bickslow as she usually did whenever he visited, but then stopped when she saw the little baby in the carrier. "…And he brought a baby, too."

Bickslow rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Ah, yeah…"

His mother hesitated for a moment, looking down to the baby and then to Lucy for a moment, before she just stepped forward and hugged Bickslow as tight as she could manage anyway – although it was difficult since he was so much bigger than her and she still only went up to her son's shoulders. "I'm so glad you could make it again, Bickslow," she said softly, smiling warmly once she stepped back and squeezed his arms. "It's always so wonderful when you're home."

"Idelle, stop smothering him already."

"Oh, you shush. I'm not smothering him," she muttered. "Right, hun? I'm not smothering you, am I?"

"…A little bit," Bickslow admitted. But, that was always what happened. His mother would hug him way too tight and go on about how happy she was when he visited, and Bickslow would just stand there and deal with it. "Hi, Dad."

Idelle pouted and crossed her arms. "Fine, no more smothering you," she mumbled. And in that moment, Lucy definitely had no doubts about the woman being Bickslow's mother. They had the same childish pout. "But you, on the other hand…" Idelle set her sights on Scarlett and crouched down to pull her out of the carrier. "Who's this little one?"

Bickslow cringed once again. "That would be, uh… My daughter. Scarlett."

"Daughter?" Felix repeated.

Idelle's eyes went wide for a second. She'd assumed that the baby was his child, but it was still surprising to hear that her son did, in fact, have a child at all. She looked to Lucy as she cradled Scarlett in her arms. "You must be her mother then, yes?"

"O-Oh! No, no… I'm not…" Lucy shook her head. "I'm not her mother."

"No?"

"This is, uh… This is… Lucy," Bickslow mumbled. "She's my, uh… The, uh… Um… babysitter." He cringed so hard that even his parents noticed it. Lucy was definitely not going to forgive him for that. Not at all.

Felix reached out to shake Lucy's hand. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Lucy," he said. "Although you look familiar. We haven't met before, have we?"

"Uh…"

Bickslow coughed into his hand as he quickly added, "Heartfilia. She's… a Heartfilia." It was bound to have come out eventually anyway.

"Heartfilia, you say?" Idelle said, lips curling up into a slight smirk. She really hadn't expected the holidays to be so interesting, but now here her son was with a daughter and a Heartfilia by his side. Bickslow definitely had some explaining to do. But first, she supposed it would be better to let her son and his babysitter get a little rest after their journey. "Well, we didn't know you'd be bringing a guest so we don't have any of the guest rooms set up at the moment…" she said to Lucy, gently passing Scarlett back to Bickslow. "Although that won't be a problem anyway if you'll be staying with Bickslow…"

"Oh. No, that's—"

"That's fine," Bickslow interrupted. He didn't really think much of it until his mother raised her eyebrows at him and Lucy actually made a noise that resembled a squeak. "I mean, uh… I don't really care either way, but… It's your call…" he continued quietly. Either way, he knew he was fucked, and he knew his parents (or really, his mother) weren't going to let him forget it.

"I think another room would be best…" Lucy whispered.

"That settles it then," Idelle said. "Now, Bix, honey, how about you show Lucy to one of the rooms, and I'll send someone up with some fresh linen and towels. Oh, and I imagine you'll be needing something for Scarlett too, yes?"

"Uh, yeah, kinda," Bickslow said.

"Felix, do we still have that crib from when Elaina was a baby?"

"It should still be in Alex's room," Felix answered.

"Ah, of course. Well, we'll bring something up for you shortly," she said. "Now go, go relax and cool down!"

Bickslow rolled his eyes as his mother quite literally shooed him towards the stairs. "Fine… Going…" he mumbled. He already had the babies' souls in all of their bags so taking them to their rooms would be a piece of cake. Once Bickslow picked up Scarlett again though to finally head upstairs, Lucy was quick to follow.

Only once they had both disappeared up the stairs and into the corridor did Idelle turn to her husband who looked just as confused as she did, and asked, "Did he really introduce her as the babysitter?"

"So… Do you care to explain just how you have a daughter all of a sudden?" Idelle asked from where she sat at one end of the long dining table, taking a sip of her wine before she dug her fork back into her meal. "And why her mother isn't here instead of Lucy? No offence to you dear, of course."

Lucy shook her head. "None taken." It was a fair question, after all.

"Her mother left her on my doorstep two months ago and told me to deal with her," Bickslow answered. "That's how I have a daughter."

"She's not actually your child then?" Idelle asked.

"Oh. No, she's definitely mine. I, uh… I did actually make sure of that."

"What about her mother then? Where's she?"

"Honestly, I couldn't care less."

"Bickslow…" Idelle said softly. "Don't say that."

"No, I mean it. I really don't care where she is," he insisted. "She left the kid I didn't even know about on a doorstep, and still dragged me to fucking court to try and take her away from me when I was the one who had actually looked after her. So, really, I don't give a shit where she is after what she did. I'm the one who has custody of Scout, not her."

Idelle opened her mouth to say something, but quickly closed it again and looked back down to her dinner plate. She was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that her eldest son had a child, much less with a woman that seemingly hadn't been part of his life for more than one night. But now hearing that he'd had trouble with keeping custody of Scarlet… It only made her worry.

But, she couldn't say that. She couldn't really say anything about it because she didn't want to risk pushing her son away again. Idelle still knew all too well how Bickslow felt when it came to others trying to tell him what to do.

She realised that she had no choice but to accept that Bickslow knew what he was doing. At least for now.

Bickslow pushed his chair back from the table after a few moments, rising to his feet to announce that he was going to go check on Scarlett. She hadn't slept as much as she usually did, being that they'd all spent most of the day on a train, so he'd wanted to have Scarlett get just a short nap in before her evening feed.

Lucy was almost inclined to follow him, since she was the apparent babysitter, after all. But instead, she only remained in the dining room, sitting as still and quietly as she could while pushing the leftover green salad around on her plate. With how uncomfortable she was, she couldn't help but regret going there. And right then, the fact that she was supposed to be staying there for at least a few more days just made her want to curl up in a ball and hide.

Thankfully, Bickslow returned a few minutes later with Scarlett held over his arm and a bottle of the formula in his hand. He had been smart enough to actually bring some with him, but he definitely hadn't brought enough to last him nearly a month.

His parents seemingly knew better than to ask about Scarlett again when he sat down. Instead, Felix looked up from his own plate and asked, "So how do you two know each other then?"

"Oh, yes! Excellent question!" Idelle agreed.

"The guild," Bickslow answered.

"You're a mage too then, Lucy?"

Lucy nodded and smiled politely. "I am."

Bickslow couldn't help but frown slightly. He got that Lucy was uncomfortable as all hell, but that didn't mean she had to limit all of her answers to one or two words. "Lucy's a Celestial Spirit mage," he said before either of his parents could ask anything else. "A really fucking great one, too, since she's kicked my ass twice."

"I'm not… I'm not that great…" Lucy mumbled, cheeks and ears burning as she visibly shrunk in her chair.

"Shut up. You are."

Idelle had to hide her smile against her wine glass. "Well, Celestial magic sounds interesting. Perhaps you'll be able to tell me more about it before you leave?"

"I… I guess so…" Lucy said. She wasn't really sure why Bickslow's mother would actually want to know anything about her, but she supposed it would be rude to turn her down.

"How long have you been a member of Fairy Tail then?" Felix asked.

"Uh, a few years now, I suppose. Although I guess it would be about a decade now if I include the time where I was kind of, uh… frozen."

They knew all about the incident on the island. Not long after Bickslow had returned and announced that he'd become a guild mage, they'd bought a subscription to Sorcerer Magazine to try and keep tabs on him. The magazine had reported the apparent deaths of the mages, although they'd never printed any names. The only reason Idelle and Felix had known Bickslow had been involved was because he'd sent them a letter, telling them how excited he was to be going and helping Freed because the trials had made them all feel like they weren't really outsiders anymore.

What they hadn't known, however, was that Lucy had been caught up in it as well. But it seemed to make sense, seeing as Idelle would've had one hell of a hard time believing that the woman sitting at her dining table was actually nearing the end of her twenties.

Still, if Lucy had been on the island as well, then it would mean she'd known Bickslow for a few years at the very least, and something just wasn't quite adding up for Idelle. "I see…" she said softly. "But, that means you've known our Bixy for a little while as well, correct?"

Lucy nodded. "A few years, yeah," she answered.

"Even before you were, uh… frozen?"

"Not very well, but… Yes."

Idelle frowned. "He never mentioned you at all." Granted, Bickslow had only visited and spoken to them a few times since he'd first left, but Idelle still thought it would've come up in some kind of conversation.

Bickslow rolled his eyes. How he hadn't seen that coming, he had no clue. "I never said anything because I never saw the point in it," he explained, scowling at his parents across the table as he adjusted the small bottle for Scarlett in his hand. "Not like I knew you were trying to set us up anyway. I just figured it was a random coincidence."

"Nonsense. Of course you knew it was Lucy," Idelle scoffed.

"Ah, well, actually… Now that I think on it…" Felix chimed in, a sheepish smile on his mouth as he looked to his wife. "I might not have told him that…"

"What?"

Felix shrugged. "You knew he wasn't interested in anything to do with it. Seemed like a waste of time telling him anything about the merger and who it was with."

"See? Thank you. Dad didn't bother telling me so I didn't know you were trying to get involved with the Heartfilias," Bickslow said before he continued quietly, "Besides, even if I had know, I don't think you would've wanted to hear that I technically tried to kill her when I actually met her."

"E-Excuse me?" Idelle spluttered.

"It's a long story."

With her husband having retreated into his study for the rest of the evening, Idelle went off in search of her son. The last she'd seen he'd been heading outside with Scarlett, so that was where she was going to look first.

She found him a few minutes later on the swing at the back of the main garden, just barely rocking under the large oak tree from the hint of the breeze that night. Idelle wasn't surprised to find Bickslow there since she'd lost count of how many times she'd found him in that same spot practising with the babies or doing god knows what else with them when he'd been younger. Now though, he had his actual baby, and Idelle found that she enjoyed the image.

Bickslow pulled his feet down from the other end of the seat when he looked up and saw his mother, making room for her to sit down beside him. She smiled down at the infant tucked peacefully against him for a moment before she quietly asked, "How old is she again?"

"About nine weeks."

"I remember when you were that small," Idelle recalled fondly. "You were such a horrible baby."

Bickslow rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks," he mumbled.

"Oh, come on. You know I love you." She reached around just to squeeze his shoulder, sliding towards him on the bench just to look down at Scarlett with a soft smile. "But, really, you were the worst," Idelle continued, tucking the loose strand of chestnut hair from her bun back behind her ear. "You were such a fussy baby. And you cried all the time. No one could ever figure out what was wrong. Even the doctors we visited couldn't figure it out."

"Maybe I just really liked making you suffer."

"Honestly, I'm fairly certain that's what it was." But that was fine. She still loved him all the same, even if he had almost made her decide to never have another child again. "There was this time though, where you just cried all night. I think you were about five months old at the time. I'd tried absolutely everything I could think of, but you still cried and you still screamed. And, of course, my parents were staying with us that week, so your grandfather walked in at one point to find me curled up on the floor with a pillow over my head, just to tell me to quit crying over it, go to sleep and let you cry it out."

Bickslow raised an eyebrow at his mother. "Seriously?" While he thought the image of his mother on the floor with a pillow over her head was a little entertaining, he also knew that his maternal grandparents were not exactly the nicest people, at least when it came to children.

"Yep. And do you know what I did?"

"…You went back to bed?"

"No. I politely told my father to go away, and went back to trying to get you to stop screaming at me."

Bickslow couldn't help but laugh quietly to himself for a second. He could only imagine what his grandfather's reaction had been, but he knew that whatever it had been, it would've been ten times worse had it been Felix telling him to fuck off – in those exact words, too. His father and grandfather had never really gotten along, as far as Bickslow knew. "How'd you get me to stop then?" he asked.

"I never really figured that out, either," Idelle sighed. "I was tempted to just let you cry yourself back to sleep, I was that tired. But I eventually just picked you up again and you stopped almost instantly. You didn't really cry much after that night, either."

"Huh. That's odd," Bickslow mumbled. "But, anyway… Was there a point to that story?"

Idelle gave a small shrug. "Not really, no. I guess I just… I see you with your daughter and it brings back all these memories from when you and Alex were young…" It was strange though, since that hadn't really happened when her first niece had been born. She'd told Alex his fair share of embarrassing stories from when he'd been a baby, but it was different with Bickslow.

She knew she wasn't supposed to play favourites with her children, but she did anyway, even if she really hated it. She adored them both to pieces, but Bickslow… Bickslow had always held a special place in her heart. She'd never been able to tell what the reason was, though. Perhaps it was because he was her firstborn, or perhaps it was because he'd done the one thing she'd spent half of her life fantasising about and actually made his own life.

Whatever the case was, Idelle still couldn't help but find it a little strange that Bickslow had a child. When Alex and his wife had welcomed their daughter into the world, she'd been nothing but thrilled for them. With Bickslow though, she was more concerned than anything else.

She tucked her foot under her knee on the bench and watched them carefully for another moment. Scarlett yawned and squirmed but Bickslow didn't let her wriggle out of his grasp. "Was she really just left by your door for you to find?" she asked.

Bickslow nodded. "Yep. In a basket and all," he answered, mindlessly stroking one of Scarlett's little hands. "Dropped her off with a letter saying I'd ruined her life and that the kid was my problem now."

"Scarlett's mother?" Idelle asked, and Bickslow nodded. She let out a little sigh. "The poor thing." She couldn't understand how anyone could do that to a child, much less one they'd carried for the better part of a year.

"I guess it was just a good thing I was actually home."

"I suppose that's true. But, Bix…"

Bickslow tipped his head back against the wooden bench and sighed heavily. "I knew this was coming. I knew it." He was kind of surprised it had taken that long at all.

"Knew what?" Idelle wondered.

"You're going to ask me if I'm sure about it, and if I know what I'm doing and if I'm really serious about keeping Katie out of Scout's life for as long as I can." Idelle pursed her lips and remained silent. "You're disappointed in me, I know that," Bickslow added. He'd told Lucy his parents would be disappointed once they knew, but she'd just said that he was being stupid. But he knew his parents. He knew what they thought and what they still partially expected of him, and everything with Scarlett… They'd raised him better than that, so they were bound to be disappointed.

"I'm not disappointed, Bickslow," Idelle said softly.

"Come on. Just be real with me for once."

Bickslow had always been perceptive. Idelle had liked to tell herself that it was because of the magic he'd developed. And while she'd always supported that and him, there were times where that particular trait had been one she almost hated. It was mostly because it went with his stubbornness. Right then, he was being stubborn in his belief that she was disappointed, and the worst part was that it was another time where he wasn't exactly wrong.

But, while she wanted to deny it, he was an adult and he deserved better, so Idelle knew she couldn't lie to him. She had to be truthful, even if she risked pushing Bickslow back away that little bit more.

"Fine," she sighed. "Am I disappointed that you were reckless and just plain stupid, and that you got a woman that I'm assuming you didn't even know the last name of pregnant? Yes, I am. I hoped you'd be a little more mature and you'd be in some kind of lasting relationship before you had any children, if you did at all."

"…It wasn't like I wanted it to happen…" Bickslow mumbled.

"I know you didn't. But, Bix, I just want what's best for you. I want what's best for your daughter, too. I just want to make sure you made the right decision. That's all."

"I'm trying to be that for her…"

"Okay then."

"Okay?" Bickslow repeated.

Idelle smiled softly at her son. "I'm not here to tell you what to do. I'm here to support you," she said. Did she doubt Bickslow? Sure she did. But she had to give him the benefit of the doubt and believe that he knew what he was doing and that he hadn't just gotten himself into something that could potentially ruin his life. She still wished that Scarlett had come to exist under different circumstances, but there was nothing she could do about that. "If you believe you can handle raising her without her mother, then so be it. I believe in you, and I know your father does as well."

Bickslow still didn't really believe he could do it, regardless of Katie, but Lucy believed in him and that was enough for him. His parents not making it outwardly obvious that they were disappointed in his fuck-ups just made it easier for him, because their reactions to Scarlett was one of the things he'd worried about the most.

"It's lovely name, though," Idelle mused after a moment. "Scarlett. It's very pretty."

"Yeah… I guess…" Bickslow agreed. "I usually just call her Scout though. It's kind of stuck now."

"Oh, no. Scarlett is much nicer than Scout," she scoffed. Though she knew why Bickslow had it stuck in his head. "Did you choose it? Or did her mother?"

"Lucy chose it."

"Is that so?"

Bickslow grimaced slightly as he shied away as much as he could on the swinging bench. He knew that look, that mischievous glint that sparkled in the deep red eyes that he'd definitely inherited from her. Bickslow had seen it multiple times over the years, and multiple times that night alone. It terrified him. "What? Why are you making that face? Don't make that face. It's weird. Stop it."

Idelle rolled her eyes and a gentle peal of laughter slipped past her lips. "Oh, shush," she laughed. "I'm just curious, is all."

"…About?"

"Your babysitter."

Bickslow had been waiting for that, too. "Oh god. Please don't," he groaned.

"What? Just tell me how Lucy fits into all of this." Aside from the fact that Idelle was very much convinced that Lucy wasn't just Scarlett's babysitter and that she was probably more important than Bickslow cared to let on, Idelle was genuinely curious about her. How was it that Lucy Heartfilia of all people had come to give her new granddaughter her name?

Idelle could accept them ending up in the same guild together and becoming somewhat friends as just one hell of a coincidence, but she knew that there was something more to it.

"I don't know…" Bickslow mumbled.

"You are a horrible liar and you know it."

"I am not!" Okay, so maybe, he was. But that wasn't the point. "What do you even want me say anyway?"

"Well, for starters, why did Lucy choose Scarlett's name?" Idelle asked.

"Because I couldn't think of anything and she needed a name, and Lucy suggested Scarlett and I liked it." It wasn't exactly a big deal or anything. Anyone could've suggested a name for all he cared.

Idelle nodded. "Alright then. How about why she's here then?"

"I, uh…" Fuck. Still, he didn't really have an answer, and Bickslow sure as hell wasn't going to tell his mother that he'd technically invited Lucy because he'd been scared about the stupid tether causing problems. He would rather die that tell his parents, especially his mother, that the girl they'd been trying to get him to marry a decade earlier was also his literal fucking soulmate. "I just wanted her here," he answered. Fuck, that's weak. "Sorry, I guess… It was kind of last minute so I didn't really have time to let you know that I was bringing someone and—"

"Bix, I wasn't asking for an apology. I don't mind that you invited her. You know we have the space. I just wanted to know why."

Bickslow shrugged. "Like I said, I just wanted her here."

"But why?" Idelle pressed. "And I swear to god, if you say it's because she's Scarlett's babysitter, I might actually slap you."

He was really never going to live that down. Bickslow was sure the only reason Lucy hadn't already slapped him for it herself was because they hadn't had a chance to talk by themselves since they'd arrived. Still, he needed an answer for his mother to get her off his back. "Because… Because I just like having her around." It's not like it was a lie. "And I don't want to talk about this."

Idelle suspected there was a reason Bickslow was being purposely vague, but she decided to leave it. "Hmm, okay..." she hummed. "Where is she anyway? I haven't seen her since dinner."

Bickslow hadn't really seen her either. He was kind of worried about it, too. "I think she went to bed," he said. "Or at least that's what she said she was doing. I don't really know."

"I see… Well, you did spend a lot of the day travelling, and she's probably not used to the heat up here as well. An early night isn't such a bad idea – for you as well."

"Yeah, I was planning on going in soon," he mumbled. "Just wanted to wait until Scout had settled a bit." He'd fed her just before heading outside where it was cooler so she wasn't due for another bottle for a few more hours. It was about Scarlett's usual bedtime anyway.

"That's fair enough." Idelle stood from the swing carefully and then gently patted Bickslow on his shoulder. "Well, I'm going to head back in. Dad'll no doubt need some help with the order forms again…"

"Duh."

"Anyway, don't stay up too late. It's going to be warmer tomorrow. You'll need a good night's sleep."

Bickslow nodded. "I won't. Good night."

Eventually, Bickslow made it back inside to put Scarlett to sleep in the crib his parents had brought in for him. He almost decided to just finish unpacking his clothes and get ready for bed himself, but instead set the babies into the crib with Scarlett to keep an eye on her while he went to see Lucy. It had really only been a little over an hour since Lucy had said she was going to bed, and while she actually could've gone straight to bed, Bickslow doubted it and assumed (and hoped) that she'd still be awake.

Her room was the guest room closest to his own, just a few doors down the hall. When he reached the door, Bickslow had to remind himself not to just walk straight in. He figured Lucy would be wanting her privacy right about then, especially since she'd made a point of disappearing for the night. Bickslow didn't really blame her for it, though.

He knocked on the door gently before he pushed it open a fraction. "Cosplayer?"

"Mm, come in," Lucy mumbled.

Bickslow pushed the door the rest of the way open and then closed it behind himself again. The large bed sat to the right of the door and Bickslow had a perfect view of Lucy propped up by the outrageous amount of pillows that were usually sitting on it. The lights on either side were still on, so Bickslow knew she hadn't been asleep. Besides, no sane person could actually sleep the way she was sitting anyway, curled up on her side at an awkward angle thanks to all the pillows surrounding her.

"I thought you said you were going to bed."

"I said bed, not to sleep," Lucy said. She lifted up the book she had open on one pillow beside her to point it out for Bickslow to see. "It was too early to go to sleep."

"Ah, right." Bickslow nodded as he moved a couple of the small cushions out of the way to climb up onto the edge of the bed, prying the book from Lucy's fingers and setting it down on the bedside table so he could take the place of the pillow she'd been resting it on. "So it was just so you could avoid people. Got it."

"That's not… I wasn't—"

"Relax. I know you hate it here," Bickslow said softly. He settled himself down into the way too soft pillows and wound his arm around Lucy's shoulders, pulling her into his side. "It's fine."

"I don't hate it here…" Lucy mumbled. It took her a moment to relax again, resting her head against his chest and bringing her knees up.

Bickslow rolled his eyes at her. "Fine, you don't like it here," he corrected himself. "You're uncomfortable being here. I know that. And I'm sorry for bringing you." He still didn't quite know what he'd been thinking, and he certainly didn't know what Lucy had been thinking when she'd agreed to it, but either way it was his fault.

"You're not the one who needs to be sorry for anything. I'm the one who agreed to it," she said. "But it's just… It's weird…" She felt ridiculously out of place, like she didn't belong there at all, and it was horrible. The worst part was that she just couldn't figure out why. That wasn't even taking into consideration the fact that you usually didn't take friends home for the holidays to meet the parents.

"I know it is. If you want to though, you can go back to Magnolia in the morning. I'll… buy your train ticket and organise a ride back to the station so you can leave first thing."

Lucy shook her head. "No, it's okay. That'd just make things worse anyway. Your parents would know something was wrong then and I don't want to be rude."

"Are you sure? I really don't think they'd mind."

"I'm sure." It wasn't worth risking it, and the last thing she wanted was to insult Bickslow's parents. They'd already been so gracious with her already. "It's just for a few days anyway. I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Well, if you say so." He preferred Lucy to stay, so he was glad that she'd stick it out until after Christmas.

"Anyway. Where's Scout? Shouldn't you be looking after her?" Lucy asked.

Bickslow shrugged a little. "She's asleep in my room. I have the babies watching her so I know she's fine," he answered. She was still fast asleep, and strangely enough, he had left her in a room by herself more than a few times. He didn't need to be watching her every hour of every day. Sure, she was cute, but she was also kind of boring to watch when she was sleeping. "Unless… That was a hint that you wanted me to leave you alone…" he continued carefully.

"Oh. Well, I don't really mind…" she mumbled. "You can stay if you want, although I'm not really sure if I'll be great company right now… I kind of have a headache and I was just going to try and read for a little while longer…" Although if Bickslow just sat there in silence, Lucy wouldn't have a problem with it. She just wasn't sure if that was something he wanted to do. She figured that he was there to talk if anything.

Bickslow only reached for the book again to hand it back to Lucy. "That's fine. You can read," he said. "Do you want me to get you some water? If you have a headache then you're probably dehy—"

"Bix, I'm fine, but thank you."

He was hesitant to accept it, but he did it anyway. He'd just have to do his best to remind Lucy to stay hydrated for the rest of the time she was there. The last thing Bickslow wanted was to have Lucy passing out on him.

Lucy could only read a few pages of her book before she found herself re-reading the same sentence for what had to be the tenth time. She really didn't mind Bickslow just sitting there – if anything, she found it quite nice – but she couldn't bring herself to stop worrying about something she was sure was absolutely pointless.

"Hey, uh… Bix?" she began softly, closing her book over her hand and tilting her head up slightly. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Earlier today…"

Oh no. Oh god no. Not this.

"When we first got here, and you were introducing me…" Lucy continued slowly. Bickslow grimaced and braced for the worst. "I mean, I kind of expected your parents to assume that I was Scout's mother, and that's fine, but… Then you said I was her babysitter, and I just…" She paused to consider her words, biting her tongue before she finally continued, "That's not all I am to you, right?"

It really wasn't like she'd been expecting him to say she was his girlfriend or anything, because that really would've been stupid. But the babysitter? It was half true, but Lucy had just thought that Bickslow saw her as more than that. Now she wasn't so sure.

And, while Bickslow had been able to drop the subject with his mother, he couldn't do the same for Lucy. He didn't really want to, either, especially now that Lucy was thinking he'd actually meant it.

"No, god no," Bickslow said. He gave her arm a gentle squeeze as he pulled her back into his side. "You're way more than that." Was he going to tell her just how much more she was to him? Fuck no.

She gave a small nod, knowing that there was truth to his words. Even if it was true though, it didn't explain why he'd said it at all, and that still worried her. "Why did you say it then?"

Bickslow shrugged. "I panicked. I didn't know what else to say, and then I just… said that."

"You could've just said I was your friend…"

"That wouldn't have done you justice." In hindsight, he wished he's said friend instead, but it still wouldn't have quite been enough anyway. All he had left to do was fix it, although Bickslow did find it just a little amusing how just one word had caused so many problems. "If it makes you feel better, I'll tell them in the morning that I was just kidding when I said you were Scout's babysitter. Although, I'm not really sure that'll even do much since my mother just threatened to slap me if I called you the babysitter again…"

"Did she actually?"

"Oh yeah. Definitely."

Lucy smiled fondly to herself as she dropped her head back to Bickslow's chest. "I think I like her," she mused. Although she was just a little concerned about what kind of conversation Bickslow and his mother had been having, since clearly, she'd been the topic of it.

"Yeah, I bet you do," Bickslow mumbled. Now that he thought about it though, he was sure Lucy would get along with his mother, perhaps even too well. It was a terrifying thought. Better not leave those two alone. They'd probably gang up on him. "Well, I should probably back anyway and let you get back to your book." He made to pull himself away from Lucy and get off the mountain of pillows when Lucy dropped her book and threw her arm over his middle to keep him there.

"Wait. Just… stay. Just for a few more minutes." She still didn't care if they talked, but for a little while, she wanted to just lay there with Bickslow and basically do nothing. It almost felt normal, like they were just back in Magnolia and were sitting up after watching one of Bickslow's stupid horror movies, and Lucy just wanted to savour that for a moment.

She only hoped that the rest of her time there would be a little more comfortable.

A much short chapter this time around. I was planning on holding onto this until December, but I figured it'd be a while before I updated this anyway so I decided to post it now. I planned on making this a little longer, but I thought it ended in a reasonably nice spot, and since Astrantia is kind of its own mini-arc in this AU, I thought a shorter chapter would be nice since it's more of like an opening for it. Make sense?

Anyway. BixCo Week starts Tuesday! I've had all of my chapters done for a while now so I'm excited to post them... Especially since three of them tie into some other AUs. The prompts/opening chapter are already posted on here.

As always, reviews are appreciated. Thank you to those who have left them over the last few chapters!