Fate Decides

Chapter 23

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"I hate you." Bisca glared at Levy who was smiling, leaning back against Bix who was fairly surprised she was willing to considering he had just returned from a job and was filthy.

He'd come to the guild to find her talking with Bisca and Lisanna. "No, not even once so far, no morning sickness." Levy shook her head. She knew she was lucky, had no idea why, she'd always had a somewhat sensitive stomach but now, at 7 months into her pregnancy, her tummy huge, aside from some heartburn she felt fine.

Bickslows sister Xally had come to stay with them, to help look after Levy while Bickslow was away on jobs. The woman was a midwife and an accomplished healer, so Levy was very glad to have her there. Incredibly, Cristoff had come too, not to help with Levy, but after finding out several of the strongest members of the guild were off on an extended mission, he had come so Bickslow could take S-class missions. Cristoff, Bickslow, Evergreen and Elfman, sometimes with Natsu too, had been taking jobs as a temporary team.

Makarov had talked with Arman, who had been willing to uproot one of his other sons too, Kaleb, Master of his own Guild called White Sea and send him with Cristoff and Xally but Makarov felt that Xally, being a powerful light healer, and Cristoff being an S-class Lunar Dragon Slayer, was asking enough of the Pradesh family.

Arman insisted Xally would come regardless to help with Levy and Cristoff was there to help his brother get enough jobs done that money would not be a problem for the couple after the baby was born for a while, so Bickslow could stay home with his wife and child comfortably for the first few months. "So really, I sent Xally for Levy, Cristoff insisted on going to help his brother, Kaleb would be the only child I would send just to help you Makarov." Arman had said.

But Makarov had said no, for now. They knew that Nightmare had a team pass through Magnolia last month. Levys hair had been dyed purple by Xally and she hadn't been allowed out unless Xally and at least one other mage was with her but there was no indication any of the team had recognized her, and of course they didn't know Bickslow, who was always in some form of his work gear now when he wasn't at home.

He'd had a new set made in dark blue and silver, made of material similar to his work out clothes that breathed a hell of a lot better in the summer heat. Levy absolutely loved it because it hugged his body a lot more than his black and striped sets did.

The new silver gauntlets, bracers, greaves and pauldrons were lighter weight too, but durable, and he'd had Redus paint them so they kept with his skull theme, ignoring Evergreen and Levys pleas that he let them just look noble instead of strange.

"I gotta be me...you know you both love it." He'd grinned.

The pale grey over skirt that protected his legs was also made of a lighter material, still bore the alchemic symbols for souls though.

At the moment the set was torn in a couple places and filthy since he had just gotten back into town and had decided seeing Levy was more important to him than getting showered and putting on clean clothes on his priority list.

Cristoff sat on the edge of the table by his brothers elbow, long legs stretched out in front of him. His standard black jeans tucked into knee high black boots and a short sleeved wine colored t-shirt stretched over his body like a second skin had a couple of the women bumping into things as he leaned back on one arm while nursing a beer with his free hand.

"You should sit like a normal person." Bickslow gave his younger brother a disgusted look "Your ass is too damn close to my beer."

"I can't stretch my legs out crunched up on the bench, we did a lot of walking damn it, my legs are sore." He griped and Bix jabbed him in the thigh making him finally stand "Your sore because you didn't get any sleep because you had those twins in your damn room and were fucking them all night making it seriously hard for the person in the room next to yours to get any sleep you ass."