Hello cutie patooties! I just want you to know, I am incredibly sorry for the mess you are about to read.

[Stay tuned for A/N]

Enjoy~

Today was the day of reckoning; Bickslow was finally taking the guild's resident Celestial Spirit mage on a date. The only problem: Bickslow had no idea where to take her or what to do. Normally he would ask Levy for advice, since the two women were best friends, but Levy was on a mission with her team and since he was not going to ask Erza, he was left with one option: Mira. Sighing, Bickslow made his way over to the bar.

"Hi Bickslow, can I get you something?" Mira smiled as he sat down, his babies hovering over his head.

"No thanks, but I do need your help," he murmured.

"Oh?"

Bickslow looked around the room, making sure Lucy wasn't there, before answering. "Don't get mad, but I don't know what to do for this date with Cosplayer."

"Bickslow," she scolded, "isn't the date today?"

He flinched slightly at her tone but said, "Yeah..."

"In my defense, this is pretty much the first time I've ever actually taken a girl on a date," he confessed.

"You are just like Laxus, you know that?" Mira frowned at him, but sighed and disappeared under the bar, reappearing with a piece of paper. Sliding it across the bar to him she spoke, "Take her to this. I was going to give it to her today anyway, and it's a good place to start a date with Lucy."

Bickslow picked up the paper and read it; it was a flier for a planetarium exhibit that had holograms of all the constellations. "Mira, you are a savior."

"I know," she giggled.

"Lucy! Lucy!" The babies cheered, flying over to meet the blonde as she walked into the guild.

Lucy giggled and patted their heads like always. "Hi cuties!"

She continued towards the bar with the little totems hovering around her, still chanting her name, when a ball of blue fur slammed into her chest. She most likely would have fallen backward if Bickslow's babies hadn't steadied her back. Saying a quick thank you to them, she turned her attention to the blue cat nuzzling his face into her breasts.

"Happy, what's wrong?" she asked, gently pulling his face out of her chest. A very warm and heavy arm was draped across her shoulders before Happy could say anything.

"Hiya, Luce!" Natsu leaned onto her, his usual idiotic grin on his face. "Let's go on a job!"

"Natsu I already told you, I can't," she sighed, removing his arm. "I have plans later today."

"But, Luuuuce," he whined, "I'm so bored! Happy is too!"

"Yeah Lushy," Happy chirped, "we need to go on a job so I can get fish!"

Lucy smiled a little but shook her head, "No can do. Next time we'll take a job with a big reward and I'll buy you all the fish you want. Natsu, why don't you go on a mission with Lisanna?"

"Fiiiine," he conceded, "but you owe me and Happy next time!"

"Right!" Lucy laughed as Natsu and Happy made their way to Lisanna's table, making her own way to the bar with the babies in tow. She sat down next to Bickslow and greeted Mira, "Hi, Mira! Can I have a strawberry milkshake, please?"

"Of course Lucy, I'll be right back!" The barmaid disappeared into the kitchen to make the shake.

While Lucy patiently waited for her drink, she turned to Bickslow. "I thought you were leaving that thing you call a helmet at home?"

"You only said I had to leave it at home on the date," he replied, watching Pip perch on her shoulder. "This is the guild, so I can wear it if I want to."

Lucy huffed, "Fine. What are we doing anyway?"

"It's a surprise," he said with his tongue-lolling grin.

"Of course it is," she scoffed, thanking Mira as her shake was set in front of her. Taking small sips of it, she absentmindedly pet the little totem on her shoulder, causing it to nuzzle into her neck and make a strange sound. She looked at it, surprised. "What's that sound he's making?"

"It's like purring," Bickslow explained, "but with magical energy. They really only do it when they are really happy and comfortable."

"So he's happy that I'm giving him attention?" She smiled at Pip, still patting his head.

Bickslow shrugged. "He's really attached to you. I'm not sure why, though."

"Well it's obviously because I'm amazing," she laughed. "Isn't it, little buddy?"

"Lucy amazing!" Pip declared, moving from her shoulder to nuzzle her cheek.

"See? And souls never lie," she nodded. She paused for a minute to finish her shake. "Well, I'm going to go get ready and whatnot. See you later!"

Lucy gently kissed Pip before setting him next to the other totems and left some jewels on the bar for Mira. She waved at the totems and smiled brightly at Bickslow, practically skipping away from the bar.

Before she made it out the doors, Bickslow turned around and called out, "At 6, Cosplayer!"

Laughing, Lucy gave a thumbs up, not looking back, and skipped out of the guild and towards her apartment. She called out Plue and talked to him while they balanced alone the canal edge, waving off the warnings of the boatmen. Once home, Lucy looked at the time and decided there was time for a shower. 'We're not meeting until 6 and it's 4 so I can take a quick shower.' She quickly washed her hair and body, toweling her hair as she got out. Wrapping the towel around herself, she skipped out of the bathroom and picked up Plue, taking him with her to her closet.

"Hmm, what should I wear Plue?" She held the little snowman so he could look around.

"Pun Puun!" He pointed a wobbly arm at her red jacket. Lucy plucked it off its hanger and held it up, thinking.

"You know, Plue, I might have you pick out my clothes more often," she giggled, kidding the little spirit's forehead. Setting Plue on the bed, she grabbed the rest of the clothes for her date. After she dressed, she stood in front of the mirror, contemplating her appearance. Under the red jacket Plue picked was a plain white spaghetti strap; for once she decided to forego her usual miniskirt in favor of a comfortable pair of skinny jeans tucked into her brown knee-high boots. Twirling in front of Plue, Lucy asked the spirit for his opinion.

"Pun pun puuuun," he said, nodding approvingly.

"Thanks, Plue," she giggled. Walking back into the bathroom she hung her towel and contemplated what to do with her hair. 'I don't really want to bother Cancer even though I know he won't have a problem...' Shrugging, she dried her hair and used a red ribbon to tie it up in a small side ponytail with the rest of her hair hanging loose. She didn't bother putting on a lot of makeup either, using only face powder, mascara, and a pink tinted lip balm.

"Well, Plue, I think I'm ready," she announced, stepping back in front of the mirror to give herself one last assessment.

Plue did his odd wobbly dance, nodding his head fervently. "Pun Pun!"

A knock suddenly sounded at the door, startling the poor spirit. Lucy patted his head and, with one last glance at herself, made her way to the door with Plue clinging to her leg. After a deep breath she opened the door, revealing a helmet-less Bickslow and his babies, all of whom zoomed into her apartment either greeting her or hovering around Plue.

"Hey." Lucy greeted the odd group, smiling at Bickslow and patting the babies as they passed her on their way towards Plue.

"Yo," he replied. Bickslow grinned at her before looking at the spirit surrounded by his babies. "No offense, Cosplayer, but what the hell is that?"

"Plue is not a what," she huffed, picking the little snowman up. "He is the spirit of the Canis Minor, the little dog."

Bickslow laughed heartily. "I hate to break it to ya, but that's not a dog."

"Whatever, he's cute and there whenever I need him so that's what counts," she defended. Gently she kissed Plue's head and set him down next to the babies. Glancing from the babies to Bickslow she asked, "Are they staying here?"

Bickslow shrugged. "Yeah I guess."

"Then I'll leave Plue out for them." She turned to Plue, who was looking at the little totems warily, and patted his head. "It's okay, Plue, they won't hurt you. You just have fun with them and I'll see you when we come back."

"Pun!" Plue nodded and turned to the babies, asking them to play through gesturing.

"Ready?" Lucy asked, straightening and grabbing her purse. Bickslow nodded and reached for her hand, pulling her out of the apartment.

Once the door was locked, Lucy followed behind the Seith mage and finally took in his appearance. Instead of his usual armor, he was wearing a plaid button-up with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, left open over a black t-shirt, and a pair of worn blue jeans with sneakers. Without his helmet you could see his two-toned hair, the three separate mohawks haphazardly brushed back in an attempt to look presentable. His face marking was also visible but was obstructed by the sunglasses covering his eyes.

"You know, the point of not having your helmet was so I could see your eyes," Lucy pointed out.

"Wow Cosplayer, I didn't know you were that into my eyes. You should have told me sooner," he teased, lifting them long enough to wink at her, tongue lolling.

"You're an ass, you know that?" Lucy muttered, frowning. 'He does have nice eyes, not that I'll tell him that,' she thought.

"So I've been told," he chuckled, still holding her hand. "And here we are!"

Lucy looked up as Bickslow stopped in front of the town's planetarium.

"Magnolia's Holographic Star Exhibit?" She read the sign, glancing at her date with a raised eyebrow.

He shrugged. "Stars are cool. And you like them, so why not?"

Grinning, Lucy dragged Bickslow into the building, eager to see what sort of exhibit it would be. As she stepped into the appropriate room, she gasped. Instead of a simple projection of the constellations onto a wall, these were holograms of each constellation. The room looked like a mini-galaxy with all 88 constellations hovering at chest level. Dropping Bickslow's hand, Lucy slowly walked around the room, gazing at each and every hologram in awe.

"So I'm guessing you like it?" Bickslow laughed as he followed the blonde.

"Of course I do! It's not every day that I can look at the stars this close, is it?" She giggled and pranced around the room, stopping at each one. When she spotted a very familiar constellation, she ran her hand around the edge of the hologram, as if caressing it. "Look, Bix, it's Leo!"

Bickslow studied the arrangement of stars and said, "It looks like a bent coat hanger..."

Lucy slapped his arm lightly and began to explain, "It's Leo the Lion, so the constellation is supposed to look like a crouching lion. But it's hard to see if you don't know about it."

"Right," he muttered, still not seeing it.

Eagerly, Lucy continued her mini-lesson. "Going west from Leo is Cancer, Gemini, Taurus, Aries, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, Sagittarius, Ophiuchus, Scorpio, Libra, and finally Virgo. I always thought Ophiuchus' key was a rumor, but Yukino has it."

She continued flitting about the room, pointing out each and every constellation for her keys. When she finally finished looking at each constellation, she blew kisses at the ones she had a key for and turned to Bickslow.

"Finished?" He laughed at her still-ecstatic expression as she nodded fervently. "Are you hungry?"

"No, not really," she said. "Take me to dinner on the next date!"

Bickslow nodded and took her hand again, leading her out of the building and towards her apartment. The two walked in silence for a few minutes before Lucy spoke up.

"You know, there are actually 92 constellations," she chirped, hopping onto the edge of the canal.

"Then why were there only 88?"

"Well," she started, balancing on the canal edge with her arms out, "according to the legend, the constellations for the Elemental keys only appear when the keys have found an owner."

"Elemental keys? Found an owner?" Bickslow questioned, holding one of her hands so she wouldn't fall.

"Yep! The Elemental keys find their own owners," she explained. "A Celestial Spirit mage can't just waltz into a forest and find one, they don't work that way. They key remains hidden from the world until a mage comes along that they deem worthy to hold their key. Having an Elemental key choose you is an extremely high honor; they are the most powerful spirits, second only to the Spirit King."

"But I thought the Zodiac were the most powerful?" he asked.

"Technically, no. But since the Elemental keys have never been seen in hundreds of years, they've been forgotten and the Zodiac are the third most powerful spirits," she answered, running her fingers over her keys lovingly. "I only know about them because my mother told me and I read as many books about my magic as I could find."

"So do you think you'll ever get one?" Bickslow tightened his grip on her hand as she jumped off of the edge in front of her building.

"That's the dream, but who knows," she shrugged, walking up the steps to her apartment door. Unlocking the door, she walked in and was greeted with the sight of all five totems flying around the room with Plue sitting on them. When Plue noticed his master's presence, he jumped off the babies and wobbled over to Lucy. She giggled at the spirit and picked him up, cuddling him in her arms. "Hi, Plue. Did you have fun with the babies?"

"Pun Pun!" Plue nodded happily.

"Good!" She turned to Bickslow, surrounded by his babies. "I'll see you at the guild tomorrow?"

"Yeah," he mumbled, turning to leave.

"Bix." He looked at her.

Lucy gave him a radiant smile and stood on her toes, pressing a kiss onto the man's cheek. "I had a lot of fun today, thank you."

She watched, amused, as Bickslow nodded silently and left. Once alone, she locked the door behind him and wandered into her living room, thinking about her relationship with the other mage. "I really like him, but I don't really know that much about him. What do you think I should do, Plue?"

"Puuun Pun Pun," the spirit sounded, nodding his head sagely.

Lucy giggled, "I think you're right, Plue. If I like him, I should just go with it."

-x- NEXT DAY -x-

Lucy was sitting at the bar taking leisurely taking sips from her strawberry milkshake with Plue sitting beside her, sucking on a lollipop Mira had given him, when the guild doors opened and Bickslow strode in. He spotted Lucy sitting at the bar and sauntered over, his babies flying ahead to meet her.

The settled next to Plue chanting, "Lucy! Plue!"

"Hi cuties, how are you today?" Lucy smiled at the little totems.

"Good! Good!" They chanted cheerfully, doing little somersaults.

"Hey Cosplayer," Bickslow greeted, plopping onto the stool next to her.

"Hey," she responded, slightly disappointed that he was back to his usual wardrobe, helmet and all. "Plue wanted to play with the babies again, he really likes them."

"Yeah, they were bugging me about him on the way here," he told her, shrugging.

They fell into silence, watching Plue and the babies play on the bar, as Lucy drank her shake. After a few minutes she finished her finished her shake and turned to the mage sitting next to her.

"So," she began, "I heard you had to ask Mira for help yesterday, because you didn't have a plan at all."

"What if I did have a plan but wanted to ask Mira for her opinion?" He made a vain attempt at defending himself.

"Because going to Mira would have been your last option. You know how she gets about couples and dates," Lucy remarked. "I'm not mad or anything, but if you really want to apologize for whatever reason, I have an idea."

"An idea?" he repeated.

"Mhm!" Lucy turned and pointed at his head. "The next we go out, not only are you leaving the helmet at home, but you will also leave the sunglasses at home."

"... There's no way out of this, is there?" He sighed as she shook her head, grinning. "Fine, you win."

"I always do, Bixy."

Lol so that ending, huh... This didn't really come out the way I wanted it to but here it is. I know that there is so much OOC, I am so sorry. I'm still getting struggling with the mindset to write FT fics, so this will probably happen for a while... And yes, I am completely aware that the Elemental keys are a complete rip-off of bending. What can I say, I'm just that original (sarcasm).

EmeraldStar-Goddess: I was planning on at least writing the actual date, but whenever I write something I always mark it as complete because I don't know if I'll ever write anything else for it. I definitely would like to keep going with this, just because there's not many Bixlu fics out there, but we'll just have to see where it goes. Thank you so much for your review (and for reading in general tbh), it made me so happy! I hope I'll be able to come up with more in the future c:

Bigr3d: Yeah, I see what you're saying. I originally thought that Bickslow would try to act all cool and fine when he's nervous, but I took it a notch too far with how many times he said it.. Thank you for reading and reviewing, I'm so happy you liked it! ^^

Angelgirl2429 & nature's Nymph: Ahhhh thank you so much! I'm so so so soooo happy you liked it! c:

As always a big thank you for reading and putting up with my shenanigans! Please feel free to tell me what you think, be it positive or negative, I like to know what you cuties think. My PM and Tumblr ask boxes are always open, and you can always leave a review! (No pressure tho seriously, the fact that you read it is enough for me to be happy)

With love,

Lau ( ˘ ³˘)

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