A/N Hi! I know I haven't been active on this site, but I really wanted to contribute something to the ever (hot) crack pairing, Sting and Lucy. I'm a bigggg Gray and Lucy fan but ever since the lack of moments, I hopped on to an entirely new ship. This is a one-shot at the moment, but I'd definitely update this once I have inspirations for this story. Maybe people can help by giving prompts? (: Thanks for reading!

Prompt: Home

He remembered her clearly. Too clearly, in fact. She had been the weakling that Fairy Tail seemed to fuss over. In all due honesty though, he didn't thought she was that weak.

Her fight with that weird girl from Raven Tail proved her abilities. But she lost the match anyway. Such were the embarrassment she had to face.

Then there was the fight between herself and Minerva. Whilst it was true that Minerva was far too strong, the girl definitely didn't deserve to be humiliated like that. But did he care?

No.

In fact, he was one of the few backing Minerva up when the thrash from Fairy Tail proceeded forward in an attacking stance. Forget protection; he laughed at her damn it.

Come on. It was amusing to see those weak thrash of Fairy Tail getting overpowered. Really, it was. Everything was amusing to him. Everything.

And then Lector… disappeared. Died. Gone forever.

Minerva promised him that she'd return his friend to him. But it was a lie. It was only after when the Grand Magic Games ended (and Fairy Tail had won) did he realised that she had been using him.

Stirring his emotions and using it to her absolute advantage. He loathes her tenacity. He despised her attitude. He hated her altogether.

Only then did he realised that he was alone. Cut off from the world. At least Rogue still had Frosch, some way or another, right?

For Sting himself, he had no one to call home. Not even Sabertooth. He quitted the guild together with Rogue right after the competition. It was suffocating.

And so when Fairy Tail came to know of such news, Makarov had decided to welcome the duo dragon slayers; his reason being that of to guide lost young children. He remembered Rogue agreeing instantly. Anything to be close to Gajeel, the man said.

But Sting had his pride. His egoistic pride for goodness sake. The pride that should have been long gone after Lector died. He remembered telling the master that he'd consider the option. What a fool he was.

Sting was a fool. If he'd accepted, he'd be close to Natsu…. And that girl.

He can't remember her name. She was just an insignificant weakling to him in the past. But he realised something.

Her presence brought laughter to those around her. She was contagious. It was impossible to not be near her. And when he'd met her one day, he didn't know what to do.

"Y-You're S-"The girl stuttered, obviously surprised at his presence.

"The great Sting Eucliffe." He replied with a smirk, before turning into a quick frown. "Or was great."

"You've changed quite a bit, I see." She remarked. Was she trying to piss him off or what?

"Yeah whatever. Honestly, I have better things to do than to be talking to you right now."

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Now why was she such a curious little kitten? Wait; did he call her a kitten?

"Like be on my way home."

"B-but I t-thought…"

"Thought what?" Now this girl definitely angered him with her long winded words.

"I thought you were kicked out of Sabertooth."

"I quitted. That's a very big difference." Sting hissed.

"O-Oh my bad then." The girl apologised. "But if I may ask, where exactly do you live, Sting san?"

The man stopped to think for a moment. Where did he live? Unlike Rogue, he had no place to call home. He had been on his way to Fairy Tail, that's for sure. Sting had told the old man that he still needed time to think.

But where was he headed next? Where was the place he called home?

"It's none of your business." He replied hastily, pushing himself past the blonde girl.

"You're heading to nowhere, aren't you?" The girl called out to him; loud enough to have him stop in his tracks.

"I know." She continued. "I heard Master offered you a place in Fairy Tail. But you turned him down. At least at the moment."

"What's it to you?" Sting clenched his fists together.

"You're alone, aren't you? I mean, even Rogue san is a member of Fairy Tail now. And your cat…"

"Lector…"

"He's gone too, right?" He sensed the girl nearing him. "Don't go."

Sting turned around and was he surprised to see the girl at such a close proximity. His heart beats fast, not because he was embarrassed, but because of how much truth her words hold.

"Trust me. I of all people should know what it feels like being all alone." He noticed how her head hung low before quickly looking up at him.

"But that's not a valid reason to go away, Sting san. Why go when you have friends here?"

"I… I don't know." He felt his tears falling. Lector, Rogue, Frosch… They were all his friends, were they not? Friends… what exactly were friends?

"Stay." The girl smiled brightly at him. "If you still need that extra time to think, you can head over to my house. Though I do warn you, it's only for this one time."

"I-I see." Sting wiped away his tears. He was embarrassed that he showed his vulnerability in front of a weakling like her. But yet, her kindness….

"Well?" The girl patted her companion's shoulders. "Are we going to stand here all day, or are we going to get home?"

"H-home?"

"Y-yeah. And it looks like it's going to rain soon. Let's hurry!"

Her hands felt soft when they touched and the girl sure felt strong for a moment; especially when she dragged him across the walkway.

"B-by the way, I didn't catch on to your name." Sting realised at long last.

"It's Lucy." The girl laughed at her companion. "Lucy Heartfilia."

And in that moment, Sting realised something he shouldn't have. The power of emotions was definitely a force to be reckoned with. He finally understood where Fairy Tail were coming from all this while.

Home was where Lucy was.