Another origin story for the HWHL universe.

IrishMaid, if you're reading this, I hope you enjoy it since it was your review on Sleeping Arrangements that inspired this one-shot. I'll clear up your other question in the next one-shot. :)

To everyone else, though, thank you all for the reviews, and I hope you enjoy this one as much as the rest.

Bickslow had a bit of a problem.

Not a bit of a problem. It was a full blown problem. An annoying problem at that.

And he had no idea how to deal with it.

Well, that was a bit of a lie; he knew exactly how to deal with it, it was just that he didn't really want to. Because, you know, his pride was at stake, and Bickslow loved his pride as much as he loved his reputation.

Bickslow's problem was that he'd been unable to stop thinking about the goddamn blonde since Valentine's Day.

For a month, he'd made a point of being on the opposite side of the guild to Lucy whenever it was possible. Of course, there were some times where he'd been unable to move away, just because it was too obvious and he really didn't want to make things even more awkward than he already felt they were.

With Mira only recently having stopped the incessant questioning on just who it was he spent his Valentine's with, he was doing everything he could to make things appear normal. He didn't need the demon breathing down his neck again.

If his stupid team hadn't decided to take a break from jobs (after himself and Freed had complained; something he was seriously regretting), Bickslow realised it probably wouldn't be so frustrating. But hell, with nothing else to do, Bickslow was in the guild almost every single day of the week. And who else was in the guild almost every day of the week?

The same goddamn blonde that he couldn't stop thinking about.

So as Bickslow sat at the bar, waiting for Laxus or Freed to show up, sipping away at his drink while his babies hovered just above him, he thought about how so far, his day had been pretty good. Of course, it probably had something to do with the fact that Team Natsu had been out on a job for a few days, so Bickslow didn't have anyone to avoid. Or try to avoid.

Bickslow was certain that the rest of the day was going to be a great, just because it was another day where a certain blonde wasn't in the guild.

"Oh! Good afternoon, Lucy!"

His eyes went as wide as dinner plates under his visor as Mira moved to stand just in front of him with a glass and rag in her hands, polishing the already sparkling clean glass as she smiled brightly at the blonde who was apparently standing right next to Bickslow.

Well, looks like his day wasn't going to be as good as he hoped.

"Hi, Mira," Lucy replied just as cheerily, sitting down on the empty stool next to Bickslow. Then, when she turned to face the visor-clad man beside her, she said, "Hi, Bickslow."

"Cosplayer," he mumbled, not bothering to turn his head or even lift his gaze from where it was set on the bar. He'd never found the wood-grain of the counter so interesting before.

Lucy frowned slightly as Mira turned to head down the other end of the bar to talk to Kinana. She wasn't an idiot, despite her hair colour. In fact, she was quite smart, and it hadn't taken long to figure out that Bickslow had been avoiding her whenever he could. It wasn't even like he was being discrete about it, because it was really obvious. Hell, at one point, she'd almost run into him in the street and as he looked up and saw the blonde heading towards him (well, in his direction), he'd quickly bolted down a side street just so he wouldn't have to walk past her. Of course, Bickslow had assumed Lucy hadn't noticed, but she had. She just chose to ignore it even though it confused the hell out of her.

But there were still a few times where she'd made a point of catching him off guard so he was forced to at least greet her or acknowledge her presence or something before he made up an excuse to leave.

Today was one of those times.

"So… how's your day been so far?" she asked quietly, glancing towards Bickslow as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Uh… fine," he mumbled. Damn it. Why the hell is she talking to me? Damn it. Damn it. Damn it. "Yours?"

She smiled. "Good, good. I just got back from a job, actually. Natsu and Gray got into a fight and ended up destroying an entire café," she said quickly before she inwardly cursed herself. It was like she couldn't keep her damn mouth shut as soon as she actually got a chance to talk to the guy. It was driving her insane, even though it had only been a handful of times.

His brow furrowed. He didn't know why she was talking about her team. It wasn't like he didn't find it slightly entertaining, because he did; it was just that he still didn't understand why she was making an effort to make conversation with him. Hell, conversations weren't what they did.

Not really, anyway.

"Sounds like what usually happens on your jobs," he mumbled, taking a sip from the mug again.

Lucy frowned again. She was making an effort to talk to the guy, yet he never really gave anything back. It really was frustrating, and it had only been like that since their somewhat unconventional sort of date, that was apparently an actual date. Lucy knew it was a little weird that she was disappointed about the fact that she only actually got one date out of Bickslow (not that it had been planned, either), but she couldn't help it. She really had had a good time that night, and she still kind of wanted another night like that. She wanted to go on another date with Bickslow, but god damn it, the guy was making it really hard and she was really beginning to wonder why she was still trying to get him to talk to her.

But hell, she kinda liked him. And she didn't really know why (well, she did, and it was because she'd had a great time on their date and he was actually pretty damn cool). It was just that Bickslow was practically oblivious to it.

That, or he knew Lucy liked him (a little bit, at least), and was just trying to let her down easy or something without straight out saying that he didn't like her back and didn't want to go on another date. Or anything.

Subtle hints, maybe?

But with the damn visor and the lack of communication (less than usual) between them, it was really hard for Lucy to tell.

She could still try though. She didn't give up easily, and for some reason, she became a lot more outgoing when she talked to him. Sure, she was still incredibly nervous, but she couldn't stop her mouth from running and rambling about things she knew wouldn't interest him.

She just wanted him to notice her, and it was weird.

"Yeah, pretty much," she giggled, and when she saw Bickslow slightly turn his head towards her, she inwardly high-fived herself. Movement! Progress! Wait, was that a smirk? But of course, he'd turned to face the counter below him again and she'd never know the answer to that question. She just hoped it was a smirk. So after glancing towards Mira at the other end of the bar to make sure she was still occupied with Kinana and her siblings, she turned to face Bickslow again and let her chin rest in her palm with her elbow on the edge of the bar. "Come on, Bickslow. No insults or smartass comments about Loke yet? Not even going to make any lewd jokes? This has got to be a new record for you or something. I mean, I'm quite literally dressed as a cheerleader right now, and nothing?"

Bickslow couldn't stop himself from turning to see if she was in fact dressed as a cheerleader, and when she started laughing again and he saw that she was dressed like she usually was, he could only shake his head as the corner of his lips pulled up into a grin. She'd tricked him just to get him to look at her, and hell, Bickslow couldn't even be mad. He was a little proud for some reason. And amazed.

She'd tricked him and that amazed him. No one tricks Bickslow. No one.

But when it came to the lack of jokes and smartass comments, well, it really just came down to Bickslow not really being able to come up with any. Sure, he wanted to, just because that's what he usually did when he talked to Lucy. But since their date and since he'd been unable to stop thinking about her, he couldn't. Hell, there was a reason he was avoiding her most of the time and that was because she made him too goddamn nervous.

Bickslow wasn't a nervous person. At all. He didn't get shy.

But when he was around her, he was shy and he got nervous, and he didn't like it. At all.

It was almost impossible to say something even remotely intelligent around her, just because he got so goddamn tongue-tied, and that was something that never happened. It was part of the reason there'd been a lack of quips. The worst part, though, was that she'd decided to tease him with that. Sure, she didn't know the reason, but she was teasing him.

She was teasing him with the fact that he had a goddamn crush on her and he was incapable of making fun of her. Not that she knew that, of course.

"Damn, Cosplayer. That's cruel."

"It got you to look at me though."

And at her response, Bickslow glanced up again as he arched his brow, only to see her face forward again, except she was blushing.

Hell, Bickslow was more confused than ever now. First she tricks him, and then she basically says she wants him to look at her? What the hell was that about? Bickslow just had no idea. At all.

So quickly, he downed the rest of the drink with a light shake of his head as he slammed the cup down gently. He needed to get out of there. The conversation had taken a turn for the weird and he needed to think. About the conversation. And about Lucy. And what she'd said.

And what he was going to do about his little problem.

Hell, if his pride wasn't such an issue, he probably would have asked her out on another date right then and there like he'd wanted to for weeks. That, or kissed her, which was something he'd thought about way too many times in the last month. His mind was getting weird.

Well, weirder than usual.

"Right, well," he mumbled, getting up from the bar and glancing towards Lucy when she turned back to face him. "I need to go… find Freed… or something…" Yeah, because that's so not weird or awkward or anything. "Later, Cosplayer."

And as Bickslow left the bar and headed towards the door, Lucy sighed as she turned back to the bar, leaning forward to rest her chin on her folded arms. She was trying, she really was. It was just that it was really hard to keep trying. Hell, Bickslow was being weirder than usual and it was only when he was all but forced to talk to her, even if it was only for a few minutes.

But by that point, Lucy was convinced she was just terrible at flirting. But, it wasn't like she was making it really obvious either. Sure, she'd quite literally blurted out that she had in fact wanted him to just look at her. She wanted his attention, but damn, he really was frustrating her because he was ignoring and avoiding her way too much.

Damn it, why did she have to like Bickslow? Because really, she was sure her life would be a lot easier if she didn't and she wasn't so determined and persistent. Lucy wasn't going to give up, not until she at least managed to get an answer as to why the guy was being so weird around her.

Bickslow had positioned himself at his table just so he could look towards Lucy's table without drawing suspicion. She was driving him absolutely insane, more so than usual, and she didn't even know it.

Well, maybe she did. Bickslow didn't think she did, though.

It was just that for the rest of that afternoon and night, he'd been in a constant internal argument with himself about what he was going to do about his problem. He was quite certain he was actually going insane, because he could quite literally feel the goddamn demons on his shoulders. No angels, just demons, whispering stupid things in his ears and trying to convince him to go and do something stupid.

But hell, his crazy mind had done a pretty good job of convincing him. Even though he was almost certain he was going to get shut down, he was going to ask her out. Bickslow needed Lucy to decline it just so he could go back to feeling somewhat normal again, because if she said no, then Bickslow would know for sure that Lucy did not want to go on another date and did not like him.

Under any circumstances.

Because if she did that, then he'd know for sure he'd just gone insane; he'd let his mind wander and let himself believe that there was a chance that maybe she wanted to go on another date, and hell, maybe she actually liked him too.

After all, she'd said she'd had a really good time on their slightly impromptu one on Valentine's Day, and then there was the teasing and the awkward conversation from earlier…

Nah, nah, nah, Bickslow told himself. There's no way in hell she likes me.

But damn it, what if she actually did? And what if she actually said yes to going on another date?

Fuck.

Bickslow was letting himself think about it too much again.

All he had to do was wait for Lucy to leave the guild that night and then he could go and sort out his little problem, his pride be damned.

Lucy hummed in content as she walked along the canal, one foot in front of the other and her arms outstretched. She'd left later than usual and there were barely any people out in the streets as she walked home, so it left her alone with her thoughts.

Her thoughts of Bickslow.

And how she really, really wanted to know if he liked her as much as she liked him. Because if he did, then it would make her life a lot easier. But of course, it was impossible to tell when it came to Bickslow.

Bickslow was the one who had called their Valentine's Day date an actual date in the first place, and he seemed like he'd enjoyed himself (like Lucy had), so would he really be so against the idea of another one? Surely not, Lucy thought.

All Lucy could think about was whether or not Bickslow liked her and every scenario her mind could come up with, all involving whether or not she got the second date she wanted and what she'd do if he actually did like her.

"Cosplayer."

Lucy jumped at the voice, suddenly looking up from where she'd been staring at the ground as she walked. It was only when she realised that Bickslow himself was in fact standing in front of her and she wasn't just imagining it (hell, it wouldn't have surprised her all that much if it had actually been a figment of her imagination. After all, he'd been the centre of her thoughts for weeks), that she rapidly became aware of the fact that she was falling.

But then she wasn't, because Bickslow had suddenly stepped onto the ledge and caught her with one arm around her waist and the other on her hip, keeping her from going into the cold water of the canals that ran throughout Magnolia.

Lucy was aware that her face was a bright red; hell, she felt like her face was actually on fire, that's how much she was blushing. The only problem was that she couldn't really move from where she was leaning over the water with her arms around Bickslow's neck – something that she hadn't actually done on purpose. Neither was making an effort to move, and that was really all because of Bickslow.

The guy had practically frozen in place.

He hadn't even really meant to catch her – especially not like that, because seriously, the position was making it incredibly hard to stop himself from leaning down just a tiny bit more to kiss her.

Fucking hell, Bicks. Stop thinking about kissing her! You can kiss her if she says yes.

Wait, no. Don't do that. That's a bad idea.

Shit. Just stop thinking already.

His mouth was dry as he stared down at the blushing blonde. He'd literally forgotten how to move and he had no idea how to talk. He could barely even put his thoughts into a logical order, because all he could think about how damn cute she was, in all of her blushing glory. Hell, it kind of made her cuter.

"Are you going to um… let me stand up on my own now?" she asked quietly, pulling her bottom lip into her mouth as she stared up at Bickslow nervously.

It was like a light bulb went off inside his head and he suddenly remembered how to move; his brain working again, to an extent. Quickly, and gently, he pulled her back upright and all but jumped back, folding his arms across his chest as he looked down at the ground once he was an acceptable distance away from her.

She smoothed down her skirt quickly as she stepped off the ledge. Looking up to see her house in the background, she raised an eyebrow in her curiosity before looking back to Bickslow. "So… was there a reason you were standing outside my building?" she asked quietly, folding her own arms.

Lucy was actually curious as to why he was standing in front of her building. Hell, he'd only said her name (well, his nickname for her), but Lucy realised it was the first time he'd actually started a conversation instead of going out of his way to avoid her.

"Uh, no. No reason. Nope. No reason at all."

"Oh… okay…" she replied, her brow furrowing in confusion as she slowly headed towards the front door of her building, walking past Bickslow as she did so.

Damn it. I'm an idiot, he thought as he shook his head quickly. "No, fuck, I mean… shit, I meant yes," he said quickly as he turned around, crossing the distance and standing just before the stairs as Lucy stopped on the last step before the door.

"Okay…?"

"I uh…wanted to talk to you… well, I actually kinda wanted to ask you something, but I mean, I couldn't… do it in the guild… because it would be weird if I talked to you in the guild… and uh…" Shit. Words, what are you doing?! Stop rambling!

She felt the heat creep up in her cheeks again as she turned away from the door. Bickslow was almost stumbling with this words and it was something she'd never seen before, and Lucy would be lying if she said it wasn't at least a little entertaining. Something quite obviously had him out of his comfort zone and she couldn't help but wonder what exactly it was.

But… he'd been standing outside her apartment, waiting for her, because he wanted to ask her something. And as Lucy thought about that, she could feel her heart rate pick up and the butterflies that she got in her tummy whenever she talked to him returned.

Was he going to ask her what she hoped he would?

"What did you want to ask me?" she asked quietly, stepping down to the next step slowly.

And Bickslow froze again, his mouth hanging slightly open. He was too nervous it wasn't even funny anymore. Bickslow couldn't remember a time where he'd ever felt like that in his entire life, but now, standing in front of Lucy, he was more nervous than he'd ever been.

And it was all because he wanted to ask her out on a date.

Damn it, Cosplayer. What are you doing to me?

The only problem was that he couldn't bring himself to do it. Screw his pride, it was his courage that was the issue. Or, the lack of it, actually. So after staring at her for what felt like the longest few seconds ever, he lightly shook his head as he forced himself to smile, just a little bit. "Uh… I um… actually… you know what? It doesn't really matter," he mumbled, looking down suddenly. "I'll uh… see you around, I guess…"

God fucking damn it. Why is it so hard to ask a girl out?

And as Bickslow slowly turned away, Lucy felt her heart drop just a tiny bit. She'd so been expecting him to say the words she wanted to hear, but no, it apparently wasn't going to happen.

But hell, she wasn't going to give up yet. No freaking way. She wasn't going to give up until she got a date or she knew Bickslow didn't like her, and right now, she didn't have either of those. Lucy was determined to get at least one of them from the man.

So putting her aside her anxiety and ignoring the searing heat on her face from her blush and her heart that was beating way to fast for its own good, she called suddenly, "Will you go out with me?"

Because if he wasn't going to ask her, then she was going to ask him.

It was a slur of words, but it made Bickslow stop and turn back again and take the few short paces to stand at the foot of the stairs again. Did she just…?

He'd lost the ability to talk again, and all he could do was stare back at Lucy with his face a mask of confusion under his visor.

The burst of confidence she usually got when she tried to get his attention was long gone and there was a part of her that was regretting her words. So whether or not Bickslow was going to respond to her question, Lucy wasn't going to let him, because suddenly, she felt like she had a whole lot more to say and she was quite literally unable to stop the words from coming out of her mouth.

"Like on a date, I mean. Because I had a really good time on the last one, and you basically said it was an actual date, right? So I mean, I just wanted to know if you maybe wanted to go on another one… like an actual proper date that wasn't really just a chance thing because of Mira or anything, because… I… I really like you, and I really want to go on another date, but I mean, if you don't, then this is goi—"

She was silenced by another set of lips on her own. Bickslow had leant forward over the stairs to take her face in his hands to kiss her so quickly that she hadn't seen it coming at all. So when he pulled away, Lucy was left in complete shock.

Complete and utter shock.

"Why did you just kiss me…?" she asked quietly, still staring at a blank space just next to Bickslow. Hell, it wasn't like she was mad (the opposite, really), she just didn't know why. It really had come out of nowhere.

"Because you needed to stop talking, and I kinda wanted to…" he replied, mumbling the last part as he remembered how to use his words. And really, Lucy had needed to stop talking. She had been rambling, and really, it just gave Bickslow an excuse to kiss her.

Even if it really was mostly just to shut her up.

But hell, Bickslow had planned on Lucy shooting him down to a date, but she'd been the one to ask him out just because he couldn't do it. Sure, it wasn't like how he'd expected it to happen, but hey, he wasn't going to complain.

Not at all.

Because Lucy liked him.

Suddenly, Lucy began to giggle quietly, partly because she was suddenly aware of how absurd the situation was (to her, anyway), and partly because she needed to do something to break the awkward tension in the air surrounding them. And it seemed to work, because Bickslow's mouth pulled up into a grin.

"So, uh… does that mean it's a yes to another date…?" she asked carefully, trying her best to hide how hopeful she sounded.

Bickslow rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Uh, well… considering it's why I wanted to talk to you in the first place, so yeah, it's definitely a yes to going on a date," he chuckled.

"I was hoping that's what you'd been planning to ask."

"Well, it was," But of course, he'd been too scared to actually ask her and had been planning on just ignoring it until it went away on his own, but that didn't really matter anymore. "Anyway, when were you free?" he asked with a grin.

"I'll be free Tuesday night," she replied.

He nodded. "7PM okay?"

"7PM is great."

"Awesome," he said, not even caring that Lucy could see how excited he was. So then, after another short of moment of slightly awkward silence with Lucy shuffling slightly on the steps, Bickslow cleared his throat and mumbled, "Well, it's late, so I should probably get going and all…"

Lucy nodded with a small smile, looking up again to gaze at Bickslow. "Yeah, probably," she agreed.

"In that case, I will see you on Tuesday. At 7PM."

"That you will," Lucy laughed. He was drawing it out, doing anything to just make their conversation last longer.

And Bickslow really was doing exactly that. But, there were only so many things he could repeat before he made it even more awkward than it already was, so with a devious smirk he quickly leant forward again to press a kiss to her cheek and murmured, "You should probably tell Loke to back off for a bit though." The sprites on his shoulders had gotten the better of him, yet again.

Lucy giggled again when Bickslow turned away slowly, that same smirk still on his face as he looked over his shoulder. "Good night, Bickslow," she said, turning slightly to push the door to the building open slowly.

"Night, Cosplayer."

As Lucy found herself in the safety of her apartment building, she really did jump for joy that time. She'd stopped herself after the first date, but now, she was definitely not going to stop herself. She was too happy to care, because she got the second date she wanted.

It was at this point that Lucy began to realise just why Bickslow had been avoiding her for so long and why he'd been acting so weird. It was because of her, and she could only think that it was because of how he felt about her.

But from just knowing Lucy liked him back, Bickslow was able to go back to his old self. She'd teased him earlier, and by that point of the night she'd figured out why there'd been a lack of quips, but Bickslow was back; he was able to tease her again like he usually did, just because he knew it had always made her blush, and hell, it was cute when she did.

And so as Bickslow made his way back to his own building, he couldn't help but think about how much of a turn things had taken. Lucy wasn't supposed to have asked him out on a date; hell, she wasn't even supposed to like him. But she did for whatever reason and it made Bickslow incredibly happy.

So sure, his pride had come out a little scathed, but he didn't care all that much. All that mattered was that he was getting a second goddamn date with Lucy Heartfilia. Hell, his pride was already well on its way to being restored, just from thinking about the fact that he wasn't as completely insane as he'd thought he was for having a crush on her.

As usual, any errors and mistakes I miss when proof-reading will get fixed in a couple of days most likely, because there's almost always some that I miss. Every time.

I hope you guys enjoyed this one. It was fun to kind of have their roles reversed for this, so I hope it shone through.

Remember to review with what you'd like to see in future one-shots for this universe! Who knows, I might just write them.

And as you already know, I love you guys, so thank you for being awesome and reading my stories.

- April