The Good Tails

Do You Like Him?

  "Oh Lisanna! ~"

The white haired witch turned to see who called her — albeit with much displeasure. Whether from anger or embarrassment, there was already a blush on her cheeks. Lisanna watched with displeasure as Lucy came closer and shooed away Lisanna's partner in conversation; Bickslow. Even without knowing, Lisanna could see a slight mischievous look on Lucy's face.

Whining, Lisanna made her feelings known. "Lucy, what was that for?"

"Lisanna, did you tell Natsu that I loved him?" Lucy demanded.

Lisanna immediately looked away. She couldn't look Lucy in the eye when she still had a blush on her cheeks. Under the pressure, Lisanna squirmed, trying to think of how to get back to her previous conversation. "Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't It was kinda obvious..."

Lucy shook her head. "No, it wasn't. At least not for romantically dense Natsu it wasn't."

Lisanna shrugged, and tried to slyly head back to her previous conversation. After all, if Lucy already knew it why should Lisanna have to confirm it? But Lucy grabbed her arm to stop the white haired witch from leaving. Lisanna hid a groan. Lucy had that devilish smile on already.

"Lisanna, do you like Bickslow?"

"Eek!" As Lisanna's eyes grew wider, she could only hope that Lucy had dropped her voice enough so that no one else could hear. She especially looked to make sure a certain masked mage didn't hear it. And to make sure that no one saw the blush furiously getting brighter on her cheeks. As Lisanna looked back to Lucy, she asked in a hushed tone "Is it that obvious?"

Lucy laughed, starting to turn around. "Don't worry. I'm sure Bickslow is as romantically dense as Natsu. Who knows, maybe Mira will help you two out."

Lisanna began to fret as Lucy left her alone. Once more, she glanced around for the masked wizard who was nowhere to be seen. Lisanna tried to catch her breath and cool her face. But all she succeeded in doing was making it worse. Then something caught her eye.

As she was turning around, Lisanna saw a small wooden object trying desperately to stay behind her back. It didn't take long for her to recognize it. The small barrel shape, with dark wooden wings and a tiki looking face. Lisanna's heart sunk as she understood. Bickslow.

The masked man revealed himself from behind a nearby pillar. The other three of his 'babies' flew around him, relaying info from the other one. Even without seeing his eyes, Lisanna could see the huge grin on his face. She hung her head in defeat. Bickslow wasted no time in going up to her. He kept his grin as he crossed his arms. The one separate 'baby' joined the other three — flying around Bickslow's head.

"So. Lucy's dropped your little secret."

Lisanna could hear a tiny hint of malicious entertainment in his voice. And it made her heart drop. All she could do was stare at the floor. She didn't dare look up — for fear she'd see him laughing at her.

Bickslow looked at the youngest Strauss. Sure, she was looking at the ground, but she hadn't said a word. And for some reason, that irritated him to no end. He leaned forward just enough to be at her level. Her eyes snapped back down to the floor when she noticed him looking at her face. Bickslow grinned, and removed his mask and hood.

"You're suddenly quiet." He teased. "Very, very, quiet."

Lisanna tried not to look up at him. But his bright green eyes were boring holes into her. Finally, at the end of her wits, she looked him in the eye. And he grinned.

"There we go, you've got some fire in you after all."

Every part of her being screamed at her to look away, but Lisanna puffed her cheeks in defiance. "I don't have to say anything."

The grin left Bickslow's face. He walked closer to her, and in response, Lisanna walked backwards. He kept pushing her backwards until she couldn't anymore. With a small look of fear, Lisanna saw her back up against the bar of the guild. She could only be thankful that Mira was busy for the day and not there. But Bickslow didn't stop. As soon as he could, he put either hands on the bar surrounding Lisanna. He put his face eerily close to hers. And he smelt the slightest trace of perfume.

"You don't have to say anything?" He growled. "Really? Is that really how you want it? You want to have your secret spilled by Lucy and have nothing to say on the matter?"

Lisanna tried to lean back, but her back could only bend so far. "So what? Is there anything else I could say that she hasn't?"

Finally, a grin was back on Bickslow's face. "You know, it's very different to hear it from the girl's friend, rather than from the girl herself."

Lisanna scoffed with disbelief. "You're going to make me say it?!"

With a small laugh, Bickslow replied. "Yes. Because I want to hear you say it."

And the blush was back on Lisanna's face. "What— what do you mean by that?"

"Isn't it obvious? I want you to say you like me."

"Fine. I'll say it — but why is it so important to you?"

Bickslow leaned farther forward. By now, his face was inches from hers. She could feel his breath on her face. "Just say it first, then I'll tell you why."

"Okay! I like you, Bickslow."

A huge grin took up his face. And he placed a small peck on her cheek. "I like you too, Lisanna."

Lisanna turned whiter than her hair. "Really?"

"Yup." Bickslow replied. "Really."