Well, I was going to wait to post this one, too, but I figured it'd make sense to post this chapter now since this part of the story is set around the holidays. Anyway, hope you all enjoy, and I hope you all have had a pleasant holiday season (or if you're like me and don't do Christmas, then I hope you had a good day).
Lucy woke tangled in the sheets, Bickslow's arm draped across her middle and keeping himself close. She doubted Bickslow was awake yet, and with the room dark and quiet, Lucy was certain she'd be able to fall back asleep in no time. So that was what she tried to do, closing her eyes again and snuggling back into Bickslow's side.
She'd barely closed her eyes again before Scarlett started fussing, first a whimper before she really cried. Lucy supposed that was what she got for thinking she could get a little more sleep.
Bickslow groaned into his pillow as he was pulled from his slumber. He'd been having such a pleasant dream, too, one he admittedly hadn't wanted to end.
"I've got her," Lucy mumbled.
If he had the energy to argue, he would have. The best he could do for the moment was grunt something that was supposed to be a thank you, and roll over.
Lucy pulled herself out of bed to drag herself towards the crib, stifling a yawn as she went. "Alright, alright. It's okay, I'm coming," she murmured, as if assuring the two-month-old she was on her way would make her stop crying. Lucy wished it would. She'd had so little sleep the night before that she was already certain she would have to go straight back to bed as soon as she had sorted Scarlett. "It's okay, I've got you," Lucy whispered, scooping Scarlett up from the crib.
The babies floated back towards their master as Lucy ducked into the bathroom to get Scarlett changed. Bickslow couldn't help but smile tiredly into his pillow as the babies nudged him repeatedly, chanting at him to wake up. Apparently it wasn't fair that Lucy was up with his daughter while he stayed in bed being lazy. Mm-kay, I got it… I got it… Jus' gimme a second, babies.
By the time Bickslow did eventually pull himself up and arrange the pillows behind him, Lucy was back and carefully climbing back onto the bed and kneeling down next to him. "Good morning, sleepy-head," she murmured, leaning down for a gentle kiss before handing Scarlett to him.
"Mm, morning," Bickslow mumbled. Really gonna get used to that. "She good?"
"Yeah. We're all good now, aren't we, sweetheart?" Lucy cooed, leaning back in to tickle Scarlett's tummy and poke her little nose gently. Bickslow had given her a bottle when they'd come back in from the pool, so Lucy wasn't worried about going downstairs just yet. She figured Scarlett would have been crying more if she'd been hungry. "I still don't know how you created her. She's too cute for you."
Bickslow snorted as he scooted back down the covers to lie back down. "Yeah, well, I thought we established already that she takes after Katie."
As far as Bickslow could tell, the only thing his kid got from him was his eyes. His mother loved that but Bickslow didn't care much. Still, all babies looked the same to Bickslow, so he really didn't know how Scarlett would turn out. He hadn't really spent a great deal of time looking at Katie to have a picture of her in his head, either.
All Bickslow knew for certain though, was that his daughter reminded him far too much of Lucy. But he wasn't going to say that out loud. At least not to Lucy.
"Now, how about you and me rest for a bit, yeah?" He held the infant up above him for a moment before bringing her back down to his chest and closing his eyes again. She'd taken to smiling a lot lately, and he could swear she'd been laughing at Lucy just a few seconds earlier, and that was probably Bickslow's favourite thing in the world right then. "Daddy needs more sleep."
Lucy watched silently for a few moments with a smile on her face. She felt for him, she really did, but she seriously doubted that Scarlett would go along with his little plan and go back to sleep. She was awake, and those wide, scarlet eyes of hers were staring right at her.
"You too, Cosplayer," Bickslow mumbled.
She giggled quietly as Bickslow laid his arm out on the pillows for her, but slid down to curl back up at his side, anyway. "You know you're not actually going to get her to sleep again, right?" she pointed out, getting herself comfy on his shoulder as she felt his arm wrap around her shoulders again.
"I know." But he didn't really care. It was nice anyway, and that was the only thing Bickslow did care about.
But getting Scarlett to settle down didn't end up being a problem. It was getting Lucy to. Bickslow figured it had only been about ten minutes before she was sitting up and digging an elbow into his shoulder (accidentally, he hoped) and sighing as loud as she possibly could. He got it - once she was up; she was up. He unfortunately didn't work that way.
"So," she began, settling back on her own pillow, "what are we going to do today?"
Bickslow sighed too, rubbing at his eyes with one hand before he tried to open them again. "I have no idea," he mumbled. All Bickslow cared about was staying cool and finding coffee. "Up to you."
"But I don't know what there is to do around here," Lucy pointed out. "You're the one who lived here. Besides, you invited me, so that means you should decide on the itinerary."
"Mm-hmm, sure."
"Now come on, what are we going to do?"
Bickslow sighed again. He didn't like deciding things, let alone thinking that early in the morning. "Well, do you want to stay here, or go out?"
Lucy hummed as she contemplated it like it was the world's most important decision. With how long it was taking her, Bickslow thought it might actually be. Maybe the fate of the planet really did rest on whether they went out that day. "Out," Lucy finally answered. She'd spent the last few days there and the only time she'd seen the town was when they'd been going through it to get there. Her trip would have been a waste if she hadn't even explored the town a little. Well, almost a waste. "I wanna see the town."
"Then that's what we'll do today." He had a few places he wanted to take Lucy to anyway, and he didn't think it was supposed to be that hot that day either. It was the perfect day for sightseeing. Besides, he owed her for ditching her and being a dick.
"Yay!" she said quickly. Bickslow couldn't help grimace slightly at the sickly sweet voice. It was too early for that kind of enthusiasm. "I'm going to go have a shower and get dressed."
"Mm-hmm, you go do that," Bickslow murmured.
Lucy hopped off the bed and Bickslow waited until the bathroom door was closed and he heard the shower running before peeking an eye open and then groaning into his palm. He'd just wanted to sleep a little longer, that's all. He didn't sleep well there and was assuming he wasn't up half the night because it was too damn hot to even try to sleep. But between Lucy being an annoyingly early riser and his kid, Bickslow knew he would not be graced with a sleep-in for a long time.
But as much as Bickslow wanted his sleep right then, he also wanted to make the most of his time with Lucy, because he sure as hell wouldn't be able to spend time with her when she was back in Magnolia. Sleep could come then.
Bickslow couldn't even think about taking advantage of just how long Lucy would spend in the shower before someone knocked on his bedroom door. Why can't people just le me fucking sleep? He got it, he'd done some pretty shitty things in his life, but that didn't mean the universe could make it impossible for him to close his eyes for five goddamn seconds.
He heaved himself out of bed while still holding onto Scarlett, sitting her in one arm so he could open the door and give a piece of his mind to whatever horrible fuckwit was standing on the other side.
"What do you want?" he sighed.
Felix glanced down at his son who looked like he'd just rolled out of bed. "Why aren't you dressed yet?" he asked.
"Clothes are overrated."
Are they? Kids these days. Felix shook his head slightly before continuing, "Well, your brother is downstairs already, so I'd suggest you hurry up and get ready."
"Eh? What for?"
"Did you forget what day it is?"
"No, I know what day it is," Bickslow said. He was fairly certain it was the day after Christmas, assuming he hadn't had some weird memory loss, which meant—oh, fuck. It's the day after Christmas. "Shit. I forgot." And his father had reminded him about it the day before, too. Still, Bickslow couldn't believe he'd actually forgotten about it.
"Mm, clearly," Felix mumbled.
He looked back to his bathroom door and then down to Scarlett, and then his dresser. Lucy was going to be pissed, that was for sure. He almost wanted to just skip that year's gathering just to spend the day with Lucy like he'd promised, but that was one of the things he liked about going home for the holidays. It was a chance to catch up with his brother and his dad and not have to worry about anything else because that's what the day had always been about.
Since the town had first been built and they had established the yacht club, the day after Christmas had always been about men in the family bonding. It had started in a time when alcohol had been prohibited. Men from all the esteemed families of the area would gather; there'd been gambling and girls and plenty of booze, and it had been no secret what went on there.
It had changed over the years though as times had changed. It was still absolute mayhem, but that was kind of what Bickslow liked about it. He didn't care for all the political talk that went on, and certainly not the business talk - but plenty of the best business partnerships had been born at one of those gatherings. All Bickslow cared about was getting absolutely fucking shit-faced with his family.
Still, he had Scarlett and Lucy to deal with that year, which made things difficult. But he'd rather deal with Lucy being pissed at him than miss out on something he'd been doing since he was sixteen.
"Fuck, alright, uh…" He couldn't get ready while looking after Scarlett, because she needed to eat, and he didn't have time to do that. So he passed her off to his father, quickly explaining to the confused man, "Can you do me a favour and feed her please? Great, thanks."
Felix blinked, looking down at Scarlett before adjusting his awkward grip to hold her properly. "I… I suppose…" He didn't really have much choice in the matter, anyway.
"Just let me tell Lucy and get in the shower, and I'll be down in five."
"O-Okay…" Bickslow had closed the door in his face before he had a chance to ask any more questions. He could only look back to Scarlett one last time before turning to head back down the hall. "I guess we should go and get you something to eat, huh?" He supposed he wasn't opposed to having a few minutes alone with his granddaughter.
Letting himself into the bathroom, Bickslow was already kicking off his boxer shorts before he reached the shower.
"Joining me, are you?" Lucy purred over her shoulder.
Bickslow scowled. I wish. No, instead he really just needed to have a fucking shower, and Lucy happened to be in it. "You're going to hate me," he said, closing the glass door behind himself and reaching for the body wash.
"Oh?"
"Change of plans." Bickslow grimaced slightly. "We can't go into town today. And, I know I said I wouldn't do it again, but I've gotta ditch you today."
Lucy frowned as she pulled her hair over one shoulder, watching her hands instead as she continued to lather the conditioner into the ends of her hair. "I see…" she mumbled. She couldn't help but be disappointed. She'd been looking forward to seeing the sights since she'd first arrived there, and now she was having to put it off yet again. And for what? "Well, what do you have to do today instead?" Lucy wanted to asked what on earth could be more important than spending time with her, but clearly there were things that beat her.
"Just… family stuff I forgot about," Bickslow sighed. He felt absolutely fucking horrible for it. Now he really had no clue how he would make it up to her. "Going to the yacht club with Dad and Lex. Used to do it when I was younger. Well, Lex didn't go with us back then because he was still a kid and they let no one under the age of fifteen in, but we all go together now when I'm actually here."
"Oh." Lucy supposed she couldn't be too disappointed if he was just taking part in an old family tradition. It still sucked, but Bickslow was there to spend time with his family and Lucy didn't want to impede that. "That sounds fun."
"It isn't. Well, okay, it is, but it's mostly just a shit show. It's basically just a bunch of old dudes smoking and drinking all day."
Lucy thought it sounded like something her father would've liked to go to at some point in his life. "So you'll be gone all day?" she asked.
"Yeah," Bickslow sighed and nodded as he finished rinsing the soap off his body and grabbed the shampoo quickly. He at least needed to get the chlorine out of his hair, otherwise it'd drive him insane all day. He probably needed to shave too, but he didn't have the time. "Fuck knows how late I'll actually be back, though."
"I imagine you need me to watch Scout then?"
"Please?"
"Alright then."
"Look, if you don't want to, that's fine," Bickslow said. "I can ask Mum to look after her today, and you can—"
"Bix, it's fine. I don't mind," she assured him. Sure, she'd rather be exploring Astrantia, but she'd settle for keeping an eye on Scarlett. She liked looking after her.
Silently, Lucy finished rinsing the conditioner out of hair with her back to Bickslow before stepping out from under the spray. She supposed she didn't need to worry about getting too dressed up if she was just going to be spending the day around the house. She was almost out of clean clothes, anyway.
Bickslow reached out to wrap his arm around her waist when she went to open the glass door and step out of the shower, pulling her back towards him slowly so she didn't slip on the tiles. "Hey. I'm sorry," he whispered.
Lucy smiled softly, patting his chest before slinking back out his hold. "Don't be. Go spend time with your family. I'll still be here."
With the boys gone for the day, Lucy had no choice but the spend the day with Bickslow's mother. Anya and Elaina were seemingly doing their own thing for the day. It wasn't as if Lucy minded either way, but she felt like she'd gotten on well with Anya the day before and she wouldn't have minded being able to get to know her a little more.
That, and… Lucy still wasn't sure she liked being alone with Idelle. She knew Bickslow's mother meant well, but there was something about her that was so intimidating (perhaps it was because she was Bickslow's mother), and Lucy hadn't been able to help be a little worried when she'd finally gone downstairs to relieve Felix of Scarlett and properly start the day.
It had almost felt like Bickslow had been throwing her to the wolves, leaving her alone with a baby and his mother, and Idelle was one proud alpha.
For most of the morning though, Idelle seemed to leave Lucy alone, excusing herself to run a few errands in town and pick up a few items. Lucy'd had the whole house to herself for a couple of hours, although she'd been too afraid of leaving the living room mostly, since she hadn't wanted to get lost. That had been fine, though, since by the time Idelle had come back, it had been time for Scarlett's nap so Lucy had been able to take her back upstairs and not worry about getting too lost on her way back. She'd at least remembered how to get to Bickslow's room.
When Idelle returned though, it meant Lucy actually had to talk to her and be a polite guest. The fact Idelle had returned with food had made it slightly more bearable because Lucy hadn't eaten a single thing all morning and she'd been starting to feel it.
"I've been dying to know," Idelle began, taking another bite of the caesar salad she'd picked up on her way home. "How did you and my son actually meet?" Idelle knew she'd asked them about it at dinner a few nights earlier, but she knew for a fact she hadn't gotten the full story, and she'd already given up on getting it out of Bickslow.
Bickslow was selective when it came to sharing things with her those days, so Idelle had learned that she needed to be smart about how she went about getting information out of him. Considering he'd told her what Lucy was to him, she figured she would have better luck accepting defeat when it came to every other detail, and instead just asking Lucy instead. She seemed far more open than her son, and Idelle would be lying if she said she hadn't been looking forward to some one-on-one time with the young Heartfilia.
"Well, it was, uh… It was through the guild," Lucy answered.
"Yes, yes, I know that much," Idelle said, waving her hand as she took a quick drink. "I just seem to recall Bix saying something about trying to kill you. That had to have been some kind of joke, right?"
Lucy smiled nervously as she pushed pieces of lettuce and tomato around in the bowl. "No, uh… That was a thing…" Although, she liked to think Bickslow hadn't been trying to properly kill her. Just… you know, maybe hurt her, knock her out a bit or something.
"No. Really?"
"Mm-hmm."
Idelle found it hard to believe. She knew he'd had a few rough patches in the guild from the few stories he'd told her once he'd returned to them a couple years earlier, but for her son to try and kill someone? That just didn't seem right. "Did that have anything to do with one of his friends?" she asked, brow creased slightly. "Oh, what was his name again… Laxus, I think?"
"I guess so, yeah," Lucy murmured. She'd never really known much about it. None of them had ever really wanted to talk about it after the fact, and Lucy hadn't been interested in asking Laxus when they'd been together, either. Bickslow had told her a few things, but nothing more than what he and everyone else had told the guild beforehand. As far as Lucy knew, it had just been about a few people being misguided by someone they love and trust. "I think it was just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, at least for me."
Idelle shook her head. She'd never really liked Laxus, at least based on what Bickslow had told, and what that mage magazine wrote about him. She'd told Bickslow countless times that he needed better friends (Freed seemed polite enough), but he'd always insisted that his friends were his family too. "Well, I do hope he didn't hurt you. If he did—"
"Oh, no, he didn't hurt me at all," Lucy said quickly. Her lips turned upwards in a smug smirk. "In fact, I, uh… I actually beat him. And… And hurt him pretty bad, too, I think."
"Good. Hopefully it knocked some sense into him."
Lucy couldn't help but laugh along with Idelle. Perhaps Idelle wasn't as bad as she thought.
"Now… I hate to ask you this as well," Idelle began after, letting silence fall between them and hang uncomfortably for a moment first. Lucy couldn't help but prepare for something horrible. "But… You know, as... As a mother, and a grandmother, too, I can't help but wonder about Scarlett's mother…"
"Of course…" Lucy murmured, eyes cast down to her plate.
"Bickslow won't tell me much about her - he won't tell me much about anything, really - but… But I was hoping you might." Perhaps she was taking advantage of Lucy by asking her about all the things Bickslow wouldn't talk about, but Idelle liked to think that it was within her right to know certain things.
At the very least, Idelle believed she had a right to know far more than what Bickslow had already told her. She was still his mother after all.
Lucy didn't like that she was being put in the middle of it all though. She could see why Idelle would ask, but she could also see that there had to be a reason for Bickslow not telling her anything to begin with. She didn't want to betray Bickslow's trust, even if a tiny part of her did want to just to have him understand what it feels like, but she didn't want to be rude to her host, either.
"I… I don't know what to say, really," Lucy whispered. "I mean, I don't know what it is you want to know."
Idelle wanted to know everything. She supposed that was only fair. "Well… What was she like?" she asked. "Did you ever meet her? What's her name, even?"
"Her name is Katie, and… And I don't know. I only met her briefly…" Lucy didn't think it was wise to mention just how she knew Scarlett's mother, or point out the fact she thought the woman was a first-class bitch. Somehow she had a feeling that would just make her seem slightly jealous.
"I see… And… And Bix? I imagine they were never, you know?"
"U-Um, no, not really."
Idelle nodded. So far, she had learned nothing new, which was really just disappointing. "What about this court issue? I seem to recall Bickslow mentioning something about that."
Lucy shrugged. "She tried to get Scout back, and she lost."
"Really?"
"Well, yeah…" Lucy mumbled, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. It had almost sounded as if Idelle was surprised Bickslow had actually won.
And she was. She found it hard to believe that Bickslow was silly enough to get taken to court over a custody issue of all things, and that he was stupid enough to fight it, too. "Did he not try to come to some kind of arrangement with Katie?" she asked.
"Why on earth would he have done that?"
Idelle gave a small shrug. "Well, because she's Scarlett's mother so I just think Bickslow should've made an effort to come to some sort of agreement that didn't completely cut her out of her child's life." She took a sip from her iced tea, looking away almost guiltily for a second.
Lucy didn't really know what to say. It was like the second she started to think Idelle wasn't as bad as she thought, she went and said something that made Lucy almost want to hate her. She wondered if Bickslow knew that was what Idelle thought, but Lucy quickly realised that he couldn't. He would've said something if that had been the case.
"Bix didn't want Scout with her," Lucy eventually said, pushing her plate away from her slightly. She'd suddenly lost her appetite. "And even if he had wanted to figure out some kind of deal between them, he never got the chance to before Katie got Scout taken away from him and took him to court."
"Honey, I know enough about the legal system to know that you can't just take someone to court like that, especially when children are involved."
"W-Well, that's what happened, because… Because that's what Katie does. She lies—"
"Lucy, please." Idelle rolled her eyes at the woman across from her. "I love my son, but he can be incredibly good at fooling people into believing what he wants them to." She sat back in her chair with a sigh, crossing her leg over her knee before looking out to the manicured gardens beside the patio. "I just think it's a shame he didn't try to work things out with the mother. Although I'm sure things could be mended if he reached out to her once he returned home."
Of all the people to call Bickslow a liar, Lucy hadn't thought his own mother would be one of them. Lucy wasn't sure she could even sit there and stomach hearing any more of it, either. "I… I think I should go check on Scout," Lucy mumbled. She would've taken any excuse to get out of there right then, but checking on Scarlett wasn't even one of them.
Idelle heard her boys get home before they made it into her sights. Bickslow and Alexander were the first to stumble towards her, mindlessly shoving each other and giggling about something while Idelle's husband just headed straight up the stairs to presumably head to bed. Idelle could only shake her head as Alexander collapsed face down onto the sofa opposite her while Bickslow decided her lap would make a perfect pillow.
"I take it you boys had a good day?" Idelle said, sliding her bookmark into the pages and setting her novel down beside her.
"Lex got into a fight," Bickslow snickered.
"Did not!" Alexander mumbled into the cushion, his arm falling down to rest his hand on the rug. "I jus'… punched one of the waiters 'cause he was bein' a twat."
Idelle tried not to shake her head. It was the same thing every year when Bickslow was home. Alexander always seemed to find himself getting into trouble when his older brother was back in town. It was a miracle their family hadn't been banned from the club yet. "And where was your father when this happened?"
"Fuck knows."
"Probably smoking with Mr. Jepsen like he does every year," Bickslow said.
"Mm, probably," Alexander agreed.
Idelle couldn't help but sigh at them. She supposed it was a good thing she only had to deal with them being like that once every couple of years. Although, even that wasn't enough to stop her from wishing she could both her boys there all the time. Idelle was just waiting for the right time to bring up that little idea though.
"How about you boys go get some rest?" she suggested.
"Mm-hmm, sleep sounds good," Alexander murmured. "I'ma just sleep right here…" His room upstairs was too far away, and the couches in front of the fireplace had always been far too comfortable.
Bickslow seemingly had no intentions of moving either, so Idelle only sighed again and picked up her book once more to finish her chapter. She supposed she could stay downstairs for a few minutes longer. It reminded her of when the boys were younger and all tuckered out after playing all day. Things had been simpler then.
"What did you and Cosplayer do today?" Bickslow eventually asked. He would have to ask Lucy how the day went from her perspective, but it was nearly two the last time he'd checked so he figured Lucy would be fast asleep by then. And since his mother was still awake, Bickslow didn't see the harm in asking how things had gone. He still wasn't too fond of leaving them together, but Bickslow hoped he wouldn't have to do it again.
"Well, I didn't really see much of her, actually," Idelle said softly. "I had some errands to run, so I didn't see her until lunch. We talked for a little while then, I suppose. She spent the rest of the afternoon upstairs with Scarlett. I only saw her when she came down to get something for little Scarlett."
"Huh. Weird," Bickslow murmured. "What did you talk about then?"
"Oh, you know, I just asked how you two met again… And then we talked about Scarlett's mother for a few minutes… Nothing too major."
Bickslow didn't like that they'd talked about Katie, but he didn't really have the energy to complain.
"Lucy's good with Scarlett," Idelle whispered. "It's nice Scarlett has someone like her since her mother's not around at the moment."
"Lucy's really great. She's awesome. She'd be a great mother." There was a long pause. Bickslow only sighed deeply against the cushion that was his mother's lap, before mumbling tiredly, "She was pregnant. Before."
"Uh oh," the babies said inside his head.
Bickslow had half the mind to realise he'd fucked up the second he'd heard them. Ah, fuck…
"Really?" Alexander asked, rolling back over and forcing his eyes open.
"I thought Lucy was… you know?" Idelle asked. She felt like she was missing something.
If Bickslow had been sober or awake, he might've questioned just why his mother had whispered it like it was such a horrible thing. He supposed being barren would be a horrible thing in her view of the world, though. "She is. Or, well, was, I guess," Bickslow mumbled. "Think it only works if it's me."
Bickslow really wasn't sure what it was. He didn't really know enough about biology to know how things like that worked, and he didn't know anything about Lucy's situation other than that she just couldn't have kids, for whatever reason. Whether it had just been an unfortunate turn of events, or if that too was related to their stupid bond, Bickslow just didn't know. He had a suspicion it was the latter, though, and that was something else Bickslow hoped he was wrong about.
Idelle wasn't sure how to process the second part of what Bickslow had said, so she decided to just leave it. Perhaps that was just one thing that she was better off not asking about. "Poor thing," she whispered. "I can't imagine what she would've felt."
"I think she was okay. Well, I dunno, 'cause she didn't even tell me herself until last night. But it's just weird, y'know? How there can be a thing one minute, and then just… not."
"You're talking too much," Pappa warned in his head.
"Cosplayer will be mad at you if she finds out," Pippi added.
They were right. Bickslow knew that. He didn't think he'd have any chance of making up to her if Lucy found out he'd told his mother about that, too. But he just hadn't been able to help himself. His mother had always been the person he could tell anything, even when he was mad at her, and ever since Lucy had actually told him she'd been kind of, sort of, somehow pregnant, it had just been an annoying thought floating around the back of his head.
Lucy had made it clear she didn't want to talk about it, and Bickslow thought he'd been fine with that. Apparently he'd been wrong, because it was all he could fucking thing about right then, and he hated it.
"Guess it doesn't really matter much anyway," Bickslow eventually mumbled, dragging himself up to slowly get onto his feet. Apparently even his mother had thought he'd said too much, remaining silent and only looking at him in concern - or perhaps it was pity. Even Alexander, the man who had a comment about everything, had nothing to say. Bickslow knew that as a sign to shut the fuck up and stop talking before he made even more of a fool of himself. "Think I'm gonna go to bed now. Night."
"Oh. Uh, yes. Good night, honey. Sleep well," Idelle murmured before Bickslow got too far.
He dragged himself up the stairs one at a time with a few of the babies digging into his back to keep him going. Lucy would be fast asleep no doubt, and Bickslow didn't want to disturb her. He supposed it wouldn't really matter much anyway since Scarlett would be waking up in a couple more hours for a bottle, and the only way that wouldn't wake Lucy up is if Bickslow managed to get Scarlett out before she started crying. And, well… Bickslow didn't think he'd be capable of waking up on his own. He just wanted to sleep, preferably for the next week.
He entered his bedroom as quietly as he could manage, cursing under his breath when he tripped over some kind of box just inside the room. Lucy must've left that there. Why she was leaving crap by the door, he didn't know.
With the babies settling in Scarlett's crib, Bickslow slowly but surely made his way over to the bed to gently lay down, not even bothering to change out of his clothes after kicking his shoes off the end. As soon as Bickslow's head hit his pillow, he was out like a light.
Lucy realised Bickslow had gotten home at some point in the night when she woke up feeling far too warm thanks to the body curled behind her and to the soft snoring by her ear. She'd expected to have to get up to feed Scarlett, but Lucy certainly couldn't remember hearing her cry, so she was left assuming that Bickslow had handled it after he'd gotten home. It was either that, or she'd have one cranky and hungry baby on her hands, and considering it was still quiet (well, apart from Bickslow's snoring, which was just a little annoying), Lucy figured everything was fine.
She pushed Bickslow's arm off and reached for small alarm clock on the nightstand. It was still only a little past seven but Lucy had no intentions of enjoying the quiet by going back to sleep. She had things she needed to do while she still had a chance to, and after the previous afternoon, the last thing Lucy wanted to be doing was sticking around any longer than necessary.
First things first though, Lucy needed to get out of bed and have a shower. She wasn't too gentle about it since Bickslow would need to wake up shortly, anyway. Lucy did make sure to at least check on Scarlett before heading into the bathroom, but she was still sleeping peacefully as ever so Lucy could finally make the most of her time.
By the time Lucy had showered, dressed, and packed up the few things she'd left in the bathroom, Bickslow had decided to grace the world with his presence. "Good, you're up. Can you do me a favour?" Lucy asked, only sparing the groaning Seith mage a glance as she dumped her bag on the empty side of the bed before turning on the lights.
"Nooo, no. It's too early for favours," Bickslow groaned, picking up the nearest pillow to throw it over his face and hide under it. "Why did you turn on the lights? Jesus, fuck." He just wanted to sleep, damn it. It was bad enough the babies had nudged him for two straight minutes to get his ass out of bed at three that morning to get Scarlett out before she cried and woke up Lucy. His head was already throbbing and Bickslow was almost confident the light was going to burn his eyes if he opened them again.
"Do you think you could get me a ride to the station this morning?" Lucy continued, ignoring Bickslow's complaints. She didn't particularly care for them that morning. "Or at least tell me how to get there if not."
Bickslow blinked under the pillow, his brow creasing as he tried to figure out what the fuck Lucy was going on about. He ripped the pillow away and winced at the sudden light again. His glasses would probably help right about then, if he could be bothered to actually find them.
Rubbing at his eyes, he sat up on an elbow and watched Lucy go about packing her things back up - which, didn't seem to be taking long since it wasn't like she'd really unpacked in the first place. "You're leaving? Seriously?"
"Well, yeah. I was only coming for a few days. That was the plan, wasn't it?'
"I… I guess…" Bickslow mumbled. It wasn't like he'd really thought about it that much. "But, I've been gone half the time so we've barely even done anything together. Come on, just stay a few more days."
It was a shame that things had worked out that way, because Lucy really would've liked to actually spend some time with Bickslow and go out and see where he'd grown up, but… Well, that just wasn't going to happen anymore. "I'd love to, really, but…" She paused, folding up a shirt from the small pile she'd added to the bed and tucking it into her bag and letting out a sigh. "I think it's best I leave."
So, Bickslow knew he hadn't really been the greatest, well, whatever he was to Lucy, over the last few days, between ditching her and blurting out shit he shouldn't have - and oh, god, no, what the fuck is wrong with me? Did that really happen?! Bickslow tried not to freak out about the fact that he was suddenly remembering a very brief conversation he'd had with his mother the night before.
Still, Bickslow was well aware he'd been a shitty person lately. He hadn't wanted to make Lucy want to leave, though.
This is going to be a sitting up conversation. Actually sitting up seemed to be a struggle, but he did it anyway, rubbing at his eyes again and inwardly praying his daughter didn't start crying and demanding a feed like she usually did around that time. "Look, I know I've been really shitty these last few days and leaving you here while I go and do other shit—"
"Bix, it's okay," Lucy whispered. "I… I get it."
"—and I'm sorry for all that. I really did plan on, you know, actually doing stuff with you while you were here," he continued, moving the babies one by one and sit on top of Lucy's bag so she couldn't keep packing. "But I really would love it if you could stay just a little while longer. I get that you probably miss everyone back home, but please. Just a few more days. Let me make it up to you. Properly, this time."
If Lucy had known Bickslow would be that insistent on having her stay, she would've tried to leave before he even woke up. Lucy was sure she would've been able to find the town eventually, and then she could've asked for directions to the station and just waited for the train that went back the way she needed.
But, in hindsight, Lucy supposed she should've seen Bickslow wanting her to stay. He'd invited her in the first place, so why wouldn't he have wanted her to stay? It was just unfortunate that Bickslow thought it was his fault she wanted to leave.
"I would love to stay, honestly. I just… can't. I can't stay," Lucy said softly.
"Why not? At least tell me why you want to leave all of a sudden."
"It… it doesn't matter," she mumbled. As if she could actually tell him why she wanted to leave. She didn't really want to, either.
But Bickslow still wanted to know, and since Lucy hadn't just blatantly said that she just didn't want to be there and that she just wanted to go back home, he figured it could really only be one thing. "Is it my mother?" he deadpanned. He knew his mother, and he knew what she was like. He wouldn't be surprised if she'd perhaps pushed a few of Lucy's buttons over the last few days and that Lucy had just had enough of it. Bickslow took Lucy's silence as answer enough, and he sighed as he rubbed across his forehead with one hand. Why couldn't he just have a single good day there? "Alright, what did she say?"
Okay, so even if Bickslow did know that his mother was ultimately the culprit, Lucy still wasn't going to tell him. "It's not important."
Bickslow thought otherwise. "Well, it is, actually. So can you please just tell me what the fuck happened with you two yesterday? Otherwise I'll go and ask my mother what she said, and—"
"God, okay," Lucy finally conceded. She was sure Bickslow asking his mother would be a disaster waiting to happen, and Lucy just hadn't wanted to strain things between them. That wouldn't have been fair. At least telling him herself, as little as she wanted to, would make Bickslow finally drop it. "She just doesn't like me, okay? There, are you happy now? Now can I please go back to packing my things to leave."
"Babies, stay," Bickslow commanded. Lucy rolled her eyes at him and tried moving the bag out of the way instead, just to have the little totems and fly and get in the way of her hands. "And that's just ridiculous. Why on earth do you assume she doesn't like you? She adores you, moron."
"You sure? Because all I seem to hear is Katie this, and Katie that. She couldn't have made it any more obvious that she doesn't like me."
Now that… That was a definite problem. He could vaguely remember his mother mentioning something about Katie the night before, but nothing beyond that. "What exactly did she say?"
Lucy shrugged. "Not much," she mumbled. She'd already caved and said too much as it was, so it wasn't like anything else could go wrong. "Didn't really stick around to talk to her for very long…"
"Lucy, you're gonna have to be a little more specific than that."
"I don't know, okay? I… I don't really remember. I mean, she asked again how we met, and then she wanted to know more about Katie since I guess you won't tell her anything about her… And then she just kept going on about how Katie is Scout's mother so you should've been trying to keep her in Scout's life and, and that you lied about not knowing she was trying to get Scout back, and—"
Bickslow had been too busy wrapping his head around how stupid his mother was to notice the babies flying over to Scarlett's crib before she started crying. It was really no wonder Lucy wanted to leave. Bickslow kinda did, too.
Lucy went to get Scarlett when Bickslow remained still, rubbing his eyes and hanging his head. Lucy was just reaching in and gently shushing Scarlett when Bickslow finally got up, holding his arms out for her when he got closer. "Give her here. I've got her," he mumbled. It was probably about time he actually looked after his kid. He felt like he'd barely done anything over the last few days. Lucy had taken care of her for the most part. It wasn't as if Bickslow was complaining. It was just that he felt it was time he actually did something.
Besides, after changing her, he'd have to go downstairs to get her fed, and that would be a good excuse to go and yell at his mother.
Passing his mother and father in the dining room, Bickslow carried on his way into the kitchen to get his kid sorted. "Now, Daddy's gonna start yelling in a bit because Grandma has been a real pain," Bickslow said softly, looking down to his daughter in one arm while he used the babies to get the formula measured and mixed. "And you might hear some bad words too, but that's okay, because you're just gonna ignore them and keep having your breakfast. Okay? Okay."
After getting the formula mixed, Bickslow made sure Scarlett was settled and wasn't being fussy with the bottle before returning to the dining room where his parents were still eating their own breakfast.
Idelle looked back up from her paper with a smile. "Good morning," she said again. She'd said it the first time he'd passed, but she assumed Bickslow hadn't heard her then. "Sleep well—"
"What the absolute fuck is wrong with you?" Bickslow hissed. There was really no point in avoiding the question. He had better things to be doing with his time. Like, sleeping, probably.
"Excuse me?" Idelle whispered.
"You do not speak to your mother that way, boy," Felix warned, glancing up from his own newspaper. "Apologise. Now."
"No. I won't." Bickslow remembered all too well what his father's Boscan discipline looked like, but surprisingly, it didn't bother him much right then. He'd probably come to regret it at some point though. He looked back to his mother after quickly making sure the bottle was still right, asking then, "Why the hell were you asking Lucy about Scout's mother?"
"I… I was just curious," she stammered, looking to her husband across the table for support. Apparently all he cared to do was glare. "You didn't tell me anything about her mother and I wanted to know more, so I asked Lucy what she knew. I don't see what the issue is."
"The issue is that it's none of your goddamn business."
"Your child has my name, the name that I gave you and your brother. That means it is inherently my business."
"Then I'll change her name, right after I change my own," Bickslow challenged. He didn't care about names, not as much as his mother did.
Idelle couldn't believe the words she was hearing. It had been a long time since her son had looked at her that way and spoken to her with such venom and hatred. She wasn't sure what had gone so horribly wrong with Bickslow. Idelle had thought that him becoming a parent would finally make her family feel whole again after all those years, but she seemed to only be pushing him away once more, and she just didn't understand it.
"What did I ever do to make you hate me this much?" she asked softly.
Felix set his paper down finally, a frown on his face as he watched how upset his wife became. "Bickslow, that's enough now. You've said enough."
But Bickslow wasn't done, despite the twinge of guilt he felt in his stomach. "I trusted you," he continued, barely keeping his voice calm and even. He wanted to yell and scream at his mother, but he wouldn't. Not then. "You know what Lucy means to me and you still went behind my back and asked her about things you knew I wouldn't tell you myself, and now she's upstairs wanting to leave because she thinks you hate her! All because she's not Katie."
Idelle gave a small shrug, keeping her eyes down. "Well, I don't know why she would think that I hate her," she mumbled. Really, she adored Lucy, even if they had only talked for a handful of moments. "And I thought you said she would only be staying for a few days anyway, not that I mind, of course."
Bickslow rolled his eyes. If he hadn't still been holding his kid, he probably would've tried banging his head on the table. It probably would've been less painful than trying to get through to his mother right then. She wasn't usually that difficult.
"Jesus Christ. What don't you understand about the fact that I want her here? Although if you're just going to keep making her feel like shit, then maybe she is better off going home."
"I would not intentionally upset her, Bickslow. You know that."
"Yeah? Well, that's all you seem to be doing when you talk to her."
Idelle huffed, sitting up in her chair a bit. "Well, I don't mean to," she said. "Although I still don't quite understand why my asking about your child's mother seemed to make Lucy think I hate her. I was merely pointing out that I find it odd you never tried to settle things with her yourself."
Bickslow was, for the first time in his life, questioning his mother's intelligence. Or perhaps it was more that he was questioning her listening ability. He could've sword he'd been over this.
He pulled the chair closest to his mother out from the table, sitting down quickly and taking a deep, calming breath while looking to Scarlett still happily having her bottle in his arms. His daughter could always calm him, at least when she wasn't crying. "Alright. I'm going to say this one last time. After that, I'm done, okay?"
"What does that—"
"Ah, ah, no. Just listen." He would've put a finger up if his hands hadn't been occupied. Thankfully, his mother seemed to get the message anyway and merely nodded meekly. "My daughter's mother is gone, alright? I could never hear from her again and I would not care less. She left a fucking one week old baby outside my house, and then had the balls to come back two months later and drag my ass into a courtroom after being a conniving bitch and getting half of Magnolia's social workers to believe I'd been ignoring her. I hadn't been, for the record. The judge gave Scarlett to me. Not her. Me. Katie has signed over every single fucking right she has to my daughter. She is no longer my child's mother. I do not give a fuck if she carried her or that she's still biologically her mother. I do not want her anywhere near my child for as long as I fucking live."
Idelle stared for a moment, blinking slowly. She'd thought that Bickslow hated her, but hearing the way he spoke about Scarlett's mother was almost frightening. She didn't think it had been possible for her son to loathe someone with such passion, especially someone he was so connected to.
"Do you understand?" Bickslow asked. After all of that, he had to make sure his mother had actually understood his point. It would've been a waste if not.
She liked to think she understood, but Idelle knew she didn't really have much choice in the matter, either. Bickslow couldn't make it anymore obvious that Katie wasn't around. She didn't like it, but Idelle wasn't sure what she could do to change it. "I suppose so, yes," she mumbled.
Bickslow breathed a sigh of relief. Finally. "Good. Because if you so much as mention Katie again, I will leave." And, really, Bickslow didn't want to leave that badly. He wanted his kid to have some kind of relationship with her grandparents, but Bickslow couldn't stick around if his mother was set on making his not-girlfriend feel like shit every five minutes.
"I will do my best not to," Idelle said, forcing a small smile.
Bickslow nodded and carefully stood back up, trying not to disturb Scarlett still nursing on the bottle. Now that his mother had been sorted out (mostly, he hoped), all Bickslow had left to do was try and convince Lucy to stay. So far, his plan for that was shoving a baby in her arms and telling her he needed her there. She could never say no to Scarlett.
Except, by the time Bickslow got back to his room where Lucy was still annoyingly packing her bag, he realised that yelling at his mother just hadn't been enough. So he stood back up from where he'd sat down on his bed for all of three seconds and nodded towards the door while heading back for it. "Come on. Come with me," he said, stopping just out in the hall and waiting for Lucy to follow him.
"What? Why?" Lucy asked.
"Just do it. Come on."
Naturally, Lucy was hesitant and she vaguely felt like she was walking into a trap, but she followed anyway, just a little curious to find out what Bickslow was actually up to.
When he led her downstairs and towards the dining room, Lucy quickly shook her head and turned back around. "No. No, I'm not—" The babies dug into her back and her arms to turn her back around, pushing her back towards the room.
"No running. It'll be quick, I promise," Bickslow said softly.
Lucy grimaced and finally stopped pushing back on the little totems, willingly walking towards what she was sure was going to be the most painful thing of that trip.
Bickslow didn't sit back down at the table, only standing behind the chair and looking down at his mother while waiting for Lucy to actually make it into the room. Idelle glanced between the two, silently waiting for someone to explain what was supposed to happen, before Bickslow finally said, "You, apologise to Lucy. Now."
Admittedly, Idelle thought that was fair. And after Bickslow had gone back upstairs, Felix had decided to finally chime in again and tell her that he thought their son had a bit of a point. Apparently everyone thought she'd crossed the line a little.
Perhaps it was time to reevaluate how she saw things. Bickslow was his own person and she couldn't expect him to share the same ideals as she did. If Bickslow believed his daughter was better off without her mother, then Idelle would just have to trust that.
Still, as much as Idelle knew an apology was in order, she still had to force herself to turn in her chair and open her mouth. Felix giving her a shrug from the end of table didn't really help the matter, nor did Bickslow staring at her expectantly. "I… apologise for my behaviour these last few days," she began, eyes darting around nervously before settling on Lucy who seemed just as uncomfortable as she did. "I see now that perhaps I pried a little too much where I should not have. And… And I am deeply sorry if I upset or offended you, Lucy. Believe me when I say it was never my intention to make you uncomfortable here."
Lucy could only give a small nod, still looking down to where she folded her hands together nervously. Of course Bickslow had gone and told his mother. Still, it was just a little comforting knowing that Bickslow thought his mother was being too much as well.
"Good," Bickslow said, turning his attention to Lucy next to elbow her gently. "And you, fucking stand up for yourself. Call her out when she's being a bitch." He didn't want to get in the middle of those two. He wanted them to get along, or at the very least, sort their own issues out between them.
Idelle certainly didn't appreciate being called a bitch by her son, but she'd allow it. That time, at least.
"I, uh… I should go… back upstairs…" Lucy mumbled, quickly turning away to hide the searing colour on her cheeks.
Bickslow sighed through his nose as Lucy turned tail and ran away. Well, I tried. He'd done a decent job, too, or at least that was what he thought. It wasn't really like he'd expected much else from Lucy, and now that he thought about it, Bickslow was pretty sure she was just going to yell at him when he went back upstairs, and that was something he'd have to do eventually.
"Should probably go up to let her lecture me now," Bickslow mumbled to himself, sighing again. "Seriously though"—he looked back to his mother—"if she does stay, can you just, like, be nice to her? I want you to get along, but that isn't going to happen when you're too busy pissing her off because you want to be nosy."
"I will try."
Taking his time, Bickslow made his way back upstairs once again. He paused outside his door, quickly debating what kind of mood Lucy would actually be in once he showed himself. Somehow, he convinced himself it wouldn't be as bad as he thought and crept around the door frame, just to find Lucy sitting next to her packed back at the end of his bed with her arms folded and a scowl aimed in his direction.
"I hate you," she said firmly.
Bickslow gave her a tight smile. "Aw, come on. That's a little mean."
"What, and that downstairs wasn't?"
"Well, I don't think so." He gently set Scarlett's bottle down on his dresser - she was almost done with it anyway - and took careful steps towards Lucy. Maybe he really was going to have the pull out the big guns to fix that. "I just happen to know how my mother's brain works, and I didn't want her thinking that she could keep being horrible to you. She didn't even know she was bothering you."
"And that's exactly why I didn't want to tell you, because I didn't want her knowing!" Lucy pointed out. "God, I can't tell you anything." And still, Bickslow's family was a whole lot better than the entire guild, because it wasn't like she'd ever see them again. But that was the second time Bickslow had told someone something he shouldn't have, and Lucy was beginning to question her trust in him.
Bickslow supposed it wouldn't be a good time to bring up the fact there was a good chance his mother also knew she'd been pregnant.
But it was really no wonder that Lucy was so mad at him. Everything she'd told him in confidence, he'd gone and blurted out to his mother. He was, officially, the world's worst secret keeper. "I guess I've, uh… said a few things I shouldn't have later," he mumbled.
"You think?"
He winced. "I take it you still want to leave then?"
"Yes," Lucy answered. "Although, at this point it's because of you." All of her problems there had been caused by Bickslow. Well, most of them. If he'd been trying to embarrass her there, then he'd done a marvellous job.
"Ouch. Okay, that hurt."
"Good!"
He took another careful step forward, stopping just in front of her. "Is there any chance of me being able to convince you to stay a little bit longer?" he asked softly.
Lucy scoffed. "Why, so you can humiliate me some more?"
"No." That was the last thing he wanted to do. And as much as he hated that Lucy was so mad at him right then, he knew she had a right to be. "Please, just… Just stay for today, and once it cools down outside this evening, we'll go out and do something that you want to do. Let me make it up to you. Please." He felt like he'd been saying that a lot lately, and he had nothing to show for it. It was like the more he said it, the worse things actually got.
She had half a mind to leave anyway. All Bickslow had done was humiliate her, and she knew that it had all been an accident, but that didn't change that it had hurt her. If anything, she should leave just to teach him a lesson. But… Part of her wanted to see if Bickslow actually was capable of doing something nice for a change.
Besides, it would just be one day. Even Lucy couldn't see the harm in staying for one more extra day. It wasn't like things could get any worse.
"Fine. One more night" Lucy finally agreed, unfolding her arms and letting out a sigh.
Bickslow grinned widely. He could work with one day. He wouldn't stop Lucy from leaving afterwards if that was what she really wanted to do - he wouldn't have tried convincing her otherwise if she'd said no just then, too - but he could still try and give her a reason to stay for a little bit longer.
"You won't regret it. I promise." And Bickslow knew how much Lucy liked promises, and that was one he didn't intend on breaking. "Now, I know you've been watching her a lot here, but could you please take her while I go have a shower?" he asked hesitantly, holding Scarlett out in front of him. She'd pretty much already finished her bottle so all Lucy would have to do is keep her occupied for a few minutes.
As mad as Lucy was at Bickslow, she could never resist Scarlett. She knew Bickslow was well aware of that fact too. "Give her here," she mumbled.
"You're the best."
She tried not to roll her eyes as she brought Scarlett to her chest. "Yeah, yeah. I know. Just hurry up and go get in the shower. You're making my eyes burn." Lucy hadn't really wanted to say anything in case it had been too mean, since he was a new dad after all and he probably didn't always have time to shower when he wanted to, but… He hadn't showered in twenty-four hours, and with that weather, it was pretty noticeable. Maybe not burning-eyes bad, but it was still less than pleasant.
Thankfully, Bickslow didn't need to be told twice to get out of there.
Quick side note: I will be starting to move some more of my stories to AO3 in the new year, just so they're hosted somewhere else in case anything ever happens to a lot of the content I have on here. My username is the same (apriiil), so go and follow me over there if you want to get updates on that end!