I'M LATE but in my defense I didn't know it was Bixlu week... Anyway this is my very first time participating in a ship week! So be gentle!

Day 1: Fix

Lucy burst through the double doors of the guild, cradling a small wooden object in her hands.

"Laxus!" She ran up to her older brother. "Where's Bickslow?"

"At home, why?"

Lucy didn't waste time providing a reason for her brother. She whirled around and ran out of the guild, turning her sights towards Bickslow's home. The only reason she knew where Bickslow lived was because she had been to his house once before with Laxus, when they first decided to come clean about their kinship to their teams.

The wooden object in her hand made a distressed whimper and Lucy ran harder down the street. She weaved in and around groups of people, yelling out multiple apologies. Finally the familiar building came into sight and Lucy pushed her legs even harder.

Coming to an abrupt halt at the door, Lucy carefully held the wooden object in one hand and raised her free hand to bang her fist on the door insistently. She listened her a few seconds and not hearing anything, she banged on the door again harder.

"Bickslow!" She yelled as she knocked. She considered kicking the door when it suddenly swung open, revealing a half-naked Bickslow with a towel around his waist.

Bickslow slicked back his wet hair and looked down at his unexpected guest. Lucy was breathing hard and there was a fine layer of sweat on her face. "What?"

"I need," she huffed, trying to catch her breath. "You're help!"

Lucy held out her hands and showed Bickslow what they held.

There was a small wooden bird resting in her palms; one of its wings was cracked and barely hanging onto the rest of the bird.

"What is this?" Bickslow eyed the strange wooden creature.

"I found this in the forest when I was walking," Lucy explained breathlessly. She tried to ignore the fact that Bickslow was wearing nothing but a towel. "I think it's got a soul in it because it keeps making noise."

As if on cue, the wooden bird whimpered again as if in pain. It tried to pick itself up and hover but it ended up falling back into Lucy's palms pitifully.

Bickslow sighed and moved to the side, waving Lucy in.

Lucy smiled in relief and stepped over the threshold into Bickslow's house, trying not to brush against him. She stood in the living room, taking in the space around her. Of course she remembered what his house looked like, but it took her breath away just as it had the first time she'd been there. There was wooden carvings everywhere, decorating every empty space they possibly could. Lucy knew that Bickslow had done these carvings himself.

"So I'm going to put some clothes on, just sit tight," Bickslow mumbled as he disappeared down the hallway and into a room.

Lucy looked down at the bird in her hands and stroked its beak lovingly. "It's gonna be okay," she whispered. "Bickslow will fix you."

A few minutes later Bickslow emerged back into the living room in a t-shirt and pajama pants. He led Lucy down the hallway and into another room that looked like a workshop.

Lucy set the small bird on the table carefully where Bickslow indicated with his chin and stood back to watch the Seith mage do his work.

Bickslow pulled on a pair of gloves and picked up the small bird, examining it thoroughly.

"Where did you find this little guy?" He asked.

"Um, in the clearing near Laxus' house?" Lucy tried to remember exactly what she had been doing when she heard the small bird's whimpers. "I was talking a walk and I heard an odd noise so I decided to check it out."

"Hm..." Bickslow hummed thoughtfully. Eventually he set the small bird on the table and sighed. "Well I can't fix its wing, but I can make a new host for the soul."

"Really?" Lucy perked up, excited. "How does that work?"

"I'll show you," he promised. Bickslow gestured to a shelf in the corner. "Pick out a new host, will ya?"

Lucy studied the carvings littering the shelf carefully. For some reason it was extremely important to her that the soul have the perfect new host. Finally she picked out a smaller version of Bickslow's own babies.

If Bickslow thought her selection off, he didn't say; he simply took the new host and set it next to the damaged bird. Closing his eyes, Bickslow focused his magic into the new host.

Lucy watched as the mark on Bickslow's face glowed bright green along with both of the wooden carvings. She heard Bickslow mumbling under his breath but was unable to make out anything he said. After a few minutes the glowing light faded and Bickslow sat back.

"It's done," he announced.

Lucy slowly approached the table and watched as the small totem's eyes glowed a pale pink. The small totem then hovered above the table precariously. It tried to fly towards Lucy but ended up falling to the ground half way.

"It's alright," Bickslow told her as Lucy made a distressed noise. "The soul has just gotta get used to its new host. It won't take long for it to."

"Do you know what kind of soul it is?" Lucy lifted the new totem up and it nuzzled into her cheek.

Bickslow was silent for a moment, unsure of whether he should tell her. Finally after watching Lucy interact with the soul, he decided that she needed to know.

"Do you feel a strange connection to that soul, Cosplayer?"

Lucy blinked. She realized that she did and nodded.

Bickslow took a deep breath. "That's because it's your mother's soul," he said in a rushed voice.

He waited with baited breath as the knowledge sunk in. Bickslow could see the exact moment when it finally struck Lucy that he now held her mother's soul in her hands. Her dark brown eyes shined with tears and she looked at the new totem with wonder and love.

Suddenly Lucy was sitting in Bickslow's lap with her arms tight around his neck. She buried her face into his neck.

"Thank you, Bickslow," she whispered into his skin.

Bickslow grunted in response and slowly wrapped his arms around Lucy when it was clear that she wasn't getting up anytime soon. He close his eyes and buried his nose in her hair, breathing in the sweet vanilla-strawberry shampoo she used.

"You're welcome, Lucy," he mumbled into her hair.

What Bickslow didn't know was that he had just fixed a part of Lucy that had been broken ever since her mother's death. But now that she had that part back, Lucy was determined to never let it break again.

Lmao so I don't really know what this is... Like does it even fit with the prompt?/ Lmao I don't fucking know. Anyway here's day 1!

With love,

Lau