Notes: So, this was gonna be a two-shot and then I got an idea for one more little bit, which means it'll actually be a three-shot (is that a thing?).

I've rewritten this approximately 3 times already so I'm just going to give up now and hope it's not awful. Sorry for the lateness of the update.

still with feet touching

…

It had been a month since Lisanna had returned to Magnolia, and everything was going great. Her friends had welcomed her back with open arms – and a few tears – and she'd even managed to secure a job at Fairy Tail, with help from Mira of course.

The only dark splotch in her life was Bixlow … or the lack thereof to be specific.

It wasn't like they weren't trying. They texted constantly and planned, but every single time something came up and the plans fell short. First it was a sudden illness, then it was an unexpected work shift, and on and on the excuses went. It was getting to the point where she was tempted to just go to his apartment, plans be damned. Unfortunately she didn't actually know where he lived, just the general area, and she had a feeling his neighbors wouldn't appreciate her knocking on their doors in search of him.

So she waited for his next text, hoping that this time things would go right.

She glanced down at her phone with a sigh. She'd texted him earlier, asking if he'd want to do something after she got off work, but he hadn't responded yet. She sighed again and shoved her phone in her pocket. She wasn't going to obsess over it. She wasn't.

Of course twenty minutes later she was checking her phone for the fifth time, unable to stop the sigh when she saw that there were no new messages.

As she was staring at the screen, the phone vibrated in her hand and she almost dropped it in surprise.

A smile suits you better.

Her brow furrowed and she glanced up from her phone with a frown, but when she saw Bixlow at the door the frown melted into a smile. He grinned back and all she could think was, damn he's beautiful.

Then he was cutting through the crowd and her heart skipped a beat. He didn't even seem to notice the appreciative glances from the women that watched him walk by, his eyes attention focused solely on Lisanna.

She ignored the way that made her chest ache.

"You never responded to my text," she said when he was close enough to hear her. He laughed and leaned against the bar, his lips curling with a smirk.

"Decided I'd respond in person."

She dipped her head to hide her smile and glanced at him from beneath her bangs. "Well I hope you didn't come all the way here to reject me, because that would just be mean."

Before he could respond there was a woman at his side, her arm thrown over his shoulders as she leaned against him. Lisanna blinked in surprise and the woman watched her with a cool stare.

"Buy me a drink, Bixlow," she said, although it was more of a command. "I wanna get drunk."

Bixlow laughed and rolled his eyes. "Getting drunk won't solve your problems." When she just glared up at him he laughed again and glanced at Lisanna. "Can I get an appletini for the lady?"

Lisanna quickly mixed the drink and had barely set it on the bar before it was gone.

"You're Lisanna." the woman said, eyeing her. It wasn't a question so Lisanna didn't bother answering, just stared back.

"And you're Evergreen."

They kept staring, Bixlow looking between them with a raised brow, until finally Evergreen dipped her head, a small smile curling the corners of her mouth.

"Not bad." Then she turned to gaze out at the crowd and Lisanna glanced at Bixlow. He lifted his shoulder in a shrug and she breathed a laugh.

I guess I've been approved.

"So, about what we were talking about before we were so rudely interrupted," Bixlow said, shooting an annoyed glare at Evergreen. There was no heat in it though, and she just shoved his shoulder lightly, not even looking away from her hunt. He turned his attention back to Lisanna and smiled. "We should totally do something when you get off."

She licked her lips and tried to ignore the way her heart thrummed in her chest. "Any ideas?"

He tapped his chin thoughtfully and she moved down the bar to help a couple of customers that had appeared. When she got back to him he was still thinking but Evergreen had turned around and was watching her.

"If you leave it up to him he's going to say something stupid like video games," she said. "Just a warning."

"I like video games."

Bixlow's face brightened and he grinned. "Then how about that? You can come over to my place and we can play whatever you want."

Lisanna laughed when Evergreen groaned, but she nodded. "That sounds great."

"Pathetic," Evergreen muttered and Lisanna pressed her lips together to keep from laughing again.

"Y'know," Lisanna started. "I couldn't help but notice you were here alone …" She trailed off and Evergreen's lip curled with annoyance.

"That asshole actually thought he could cheat on me without me finding out. And when I did he tried to get me to have a threesome! Can you believe that?" She snarled and Lisanna poured her a shot of vodka. Evergreen tossed it back and slammed the glass back on the bar with a glare.

Suddenly she sat up straighter and tossed her hair over her shoulder, and a second later Elfman was at the bar. He barely glanced at Bixlow at Evergreen, his attention on Lisanna.

"Mira told me to tell you she probably won't be coming home tonight," he said.

"Well, I might not be either." She nodded towards the two at the bar. "You remember Bixlow, and this is Evergreen. I'm going to hang out with them after work."

Bixlow's eyebrows inched up but she shook her head. She wasn't in the mood to clean his blood off the floor and with the way Elfman's eyes narrowed when he saw Bixlow, she knew there would be blood if he had any inkling that they would be alone.

"Hey bro," Bixlow said, nodding. Elfman snarled and Lisanna sighed.

"Don't start anything," she snapped. Elfman shifted, but thankfully he didn't lunge at Bixlow like she could tell he wanted to. She loved her brother, but he needed to let her date who she wanted to. Not that she was dating Bixlow … at least not yet.

A slight flush covered her cheeks and she shook her head, only then noticing that Evergreen had gone silent. She was staring at Elfman with wide eyes and Lisanna blinked in surprise. She glanced at Bixlow who looked between the two with a wicked glint to his eyes and Lisanna had to press her lips together when he lightly shoved Evergreen's shoulder, sending her sprawling into Elfman. The two flushed and Bixlow grinned.

"Whoa Ever, you gotta be careful. I think you've had a little too much to drink."

"What? No I'm fine," she said, pushing away from Elfman a little too forcefully and stumbling. He reached out to catch her arm and she flushed darker.

"I don't know," Lisanna said, tapping her chin. "You're looking a little pink there. Elfman, why don't you take her to your table and let her rest there for a bit."

"I'm fine," Evergreen repeated, but Bixlow shook his head.

"Maybe she should dance it off," he suggested and she glared at the two of them. Poor Elfman just looked confused.

"It'd be a big favor for me if you helped her out," Lisanna said, fluttering her lashes at Elfman, and as usual that was all it took. He grunted and led Evergreen away from the bar with surprisingly little objection from her.

Once they were out of sight Bixlow erupted in laughter, falling against the bar as his shoulders shook.

"I thought Evergreen was going to blow a fuse," he said after he managed to collect himself, although a few chuckles still slipped through. "I don't think I've ever seen her face that red before." He wiped at his eyes and shook his head. "I almost feel bad for Elfman."

Lisanna tapped her chin thoughtfully, looking through the crowd at where they were seated. "I don't know … I think they make a cute pair." Bixlow barked a laugh and she glanced at him. "He'll be good for her."

Then her phone beeped and she glanced at it. "Oh, time to go." She looked back at Bixlow with a smile. "I'll be right back. Wait here?"

He plopped onto one of the stools and she stared for a heartbeat longer before turning and scurrying out from behind the bar. She had to wind her way through the crowd and it took her longer than she would've liked to get to the back and clock out. She passed by Laxus on her way back to the front and paused long enough to tell him she was leaving, he just waved her away not even looking up from his paperwork and she smiled, ducking back into the crowd.

Bixlow was where she'd left him, tapping his fingers against the bar. When he saw her he grinned and slid off the stool, holding his arm out for her. She took it and together they moved through the crowd and out the door.

The air outside was cold compared to inside and she shivered under her light jacket. Summer was beginning to shift into autumn and the wind was crisp.

"You okay with walking?" Bixlow asked.

"Yeah," Lisanna murmured, her eyes shifted from the sky to Bixlow. She smiled. "It's a beautiful night."

"That it is," he agreed, and she had a feeling he wasn't just talking about the night. Warmth gathered in her cheeks and she ducked her head.

It wasn't a long walk and Lisanna learned that Bixlow only lived five minutes away from her. He led her up to his apartment and she felt nerves gather in her stomach like a swarm of butterflies. She hung out alone with guys all the time, just last week she'd gone over to Natsu's for an impromptu movie marathon, but this … this was different.

She glanced at Bixlow as she slipped her shoes off. He seemed to be unaffected by whatever it was that was getting to her. He bounded down the hall and she followed after him at a much slower pace. Pictures dotted the walls and she paused at one of them, smiling softly. Bixlow stood behind Evergreen, his arm thrown over her shoulders, and his smile blinding. Next to him stood Laxus and even he had a smile on his face. The man next to Laxus with the long green hair had to be Freed, the roommate she hadn't met yet. They all looked young and happy and she wondered what the story behind the picture was.

"Are ya coming in or not?" Bixlow called and she shook her head, hurrying down the hall. She stepped into the living room and her eyes widened at the set up.

"Who needs a TV that big?" she breathed, stepping further into the room. The TV had to be at least 60 inches and it was surrounded by speakers. The wall next to it was covered by DVDs and games and she shook her head.

"Impressive I know," Bixlow said, smirking. He motioned towards the large collection of games. "Your choice."

She moved closer so she could see the titles and ignored the warmth that she could feel coming off of Bixlow.

"How about this one?" she said, tugging it off the shelf. He glanced at the game with a grin and took it from her.

"Good choice." He turned towards the media center. "Get comfy on the couch, this is gonna be a long game."

She chuckled and sat on the couch, curling her legs under her. After he got it all set up he joined her and handed her a controller and then the game began. She'd never really been a very competitive person, but she had to admit there was a certain joy to wiping the floor with Bixlow, especially when he snarled and demanded they do a rematch.

After he beat her the second time they decided to switch games. He ignored her warning that she was no good at first person shooters, but with him telling her what to she managed to make it through the level without dying more than twice. Although she had accidentally shot Bixlow's character more than once, thankfully there was no friendly fire.

She didn't know how much time had passed, it only felt like minutes but it could've been hours and she started when she realized that sometime during their playing they'd slid off the couch and were sitting close. Bixlow's warmth seeped into her side from where he was practically pressed against her and she felt a flush crawl up her cheeks when she felt his foot brush hers.

An explosion on screen had her jumping and her eyes widened at the fiery carnage she saw.

"Oops," she breathed, glancing at Bixlow with a smile. "My bad."

"Completely your fault," he said, turning to look at her. His eyes widened when he realized how close she was and she didn't miss the way they flicked her mouth and away. He licked his lips and cleared his throat. "You—uh, you owe me a drink now."

"Okay," she murmured, her own eyes dropping to his mouth. He was so close she could practically taste him already.

Only inches separated them. All she had to do was lean forward …

"Men!" She nearly leapt out of her skin when the door slammed against the wall and she scrambled backwards. Bixlow groaned and dropped his head to the floor, not even bothering to look up when Evergreen stormed past. "Men are the worst. The absolute worst!" Another door slammed and Lisanna glanced at Bixlow, licking her lips. He was staring up at her and when he saw her looking he gave her a humorless smile.

"Well that moment is totally ruined," he grumbled and she released a shaky breath.

"Yeah," she agreed, shifting slightly. "Yeah." Then she shook herself and got to her feet, her hand brushing against Bixlow's back as she rose.

"I'll go make sure she's okay," she murmured, shooting Bixlow a final smile. Then she turned and headed down the hall, pressing her hands against her cheeks.

They were still warm.