Hello all! I am back from my long and unexpected absence over the summer and decided to try and get back into the swing of writing with this one shot I promised a fellow MF ORT-er back in the spring. So I dedicate this RoYo semi-romantic fic to Gokuzeross of MangaFox, the original RogueXYukino fan and the motivation behind what you are (hopefully) about to read.
Disclaimer: The following story may seem OOC, but I tired to make it as in character as possible while sticking to the possibility of romantic attachment between Rogue and Yukino. As always, I do not own Fairy Tail, or it's characters as they are the the property of Hiro Mashima, but I thank him for their use in my own creative expression *bows*.
Yukino walked up the stairs to her hotel room slowly, careful not to fall on the uneven and broken steps. Her hotel was cheap, but even though she had been a member of Sabertooth, Fiore's number one guild, she didn't have that much money and she didn't know how long it would be until she could earn more. For the last few hours she had been walking around Crocus and wondering what she should do now. What a difference a day made, this time yesterday she was in her room at Sabertooth's temporary Crocus headquarters, hoping that she would get a chance to prove herself before Minerva's return and the loss of her spot on the team. She had no idea that she would be so outmatched by her opponent and that because of that she would lose it all, even her own life. It had been a rash bet that she never should have made, but it could not be undone now and she had to live with her mistakes. After being stripped naked and forced to remove her own guild mark in front of everyone she had been in too much shock to think straight. The first thing she did was go to Fairy Tail and Lucy Heartfilia, the only other celestial mage she knew that was left. If she was stupid enough to lose control of her life in battle then she had to make sure that her spirits wouldn't suffer because of it. Giving her golden keys to Lucy had seemed like the best idea at the time but after Lucy explained why she couldn't just take the keys Yukino knew she was right. And then there was what Natsu had said to her outside on the street afterwards. A guild that makes their fellow member cry cannot call themselves a guild. She had been sitting on the ground in a puddle of tears, momentary lost in her own misery after being treated so kindly by people she didn't even know or who didn't owe her anything when those words hit her. She realized then that even though she had been a part of Sabertooth for more than a year, they had not considered her an equal member. She was weak, easily replaceable and when given the chance to prove herself, had failed miserably. Now that all of her goals and dreams had been shattered she needed to pick herself back up and start again, tonight she would mourn the loss of her life as she knew it, but tomorrow would be another day.
She finally arrived at her small room on the top floor of the hotel, everything in Crocus seemed to be built up to the sky and the rooms got smaller and smaller the higher you went. She took out the old brass key to unlock the door and was surprised when the latch clicked open before she could even put it in key slot. Alarm rose in her body as she hesitated before placing her hand on the door knob in silence. I had to get robbed on top of everything else that happened today, she thought to herself bitterly and with that her fear turned to anger. She pushed the door open so hard that it banged against the wall and nearly slammed back on her, but she stopped it with her arm before yelling out into the darkness. "Whoever you are, you better not still be here or you are going to be sorry!" She lifted the hand with the room key in it, ready to gouge someone's eye out if she had too. Thankfully she always carried her celestial keys with her and so she had them for protection if she needed it, but in the small space of the hotel room she didn't want to risk extensive damage she couldn't pay for or hurt innocent people in the rooms next to hers. Her threat was met with silence and she blinked into the darkness, trying to let her eyes adjust to the little bit of light that was coming from the hallway. After a full minute of nothing she sighed with relief, whoever had been there had come and gone, probably when they realized that other than a few changes of clothes she had nothing of value to followed the wall until she hit the corner where she knew there was a small table by the bed with a lamp on it. Even after she managed to light it the room still seemed too dark and gloomy with long shadows along the walls. She saw the reason why when she turned back to close the door. Rogue Cheney, former fellow Sabertooth member and Shadow Dragon Slayer was leaning against the farthest wall from the bed, his arms crossed with his face tiled towards the floor. Even in the light he was covered with shadows and Yukino could not see his face, not that it would have made much of a difference because she knew it would have that stony indifference expression that he always wore.
"Rogue," she gasped, trying and failing to keep the surprise out of her voice, "What are you doing here?"
"Shut the door," came the clipped reply and even that sounded like it was being muffled by the dark shadows surrounding him. Yukino moved to obey him slowly, wondering if she should just escape through the door and abandon her suitcase and clothes. Instead she shut the door and then bolted it, whether it was to keep whoever else that might be out there from getting in or from what was going to happen inside the room from getting out, she didn't know.
She turned to face him again and leaned against the door for support, deciding to cut to the chase. "What are you doing here, Rogue?" She repeated, trying to make her voice sound firm.
"Don't worry," he replied in the same cold tone of voice as before. "I am not here on official business; actually, nobody knows I'm here, not even Frosch."
"Oh," Yukino heard herself reply and she let out a breath that she hadn't been aware she was holding.
"She was greatly affected by your banishment and I thought it would be best to let her sleep," he continued as if she hadn't spoken. Yukino's heart pained at the thought of the sweet little Exceed being upset on her behalf and that explained why he was alone, but not why he was there to begin with.
"Why are you here then?" she repeated for the third time and hoped that he would give her a straight answer.
Rogue turned his head away from her slightly, even though she couldn't see his face in the shadows anyway. "I'm not sure." His response surprised her even more than finding him here had, she may not have gotten to know him well but she knew that he was too shrewd of a person to do things for no reason.
"Well then, how did you find me?"
"I tracked your scent from the temporary guild hall; I know you went to Fairy Tail's lodgings. I almost expected you to be there with them." Yukino glanced at him in confusion, his voice had started to take on some emotion and it sounded almost resentful.
"Why?"
"It doesn't matter; I just needed to see that you were alright."
His response made Yukino blush a little bit and she turned her head away, the awkwardness of the situation began to hit her. She was here alone in her room with a man she barely knew, who had not only witnessed the most embarrassing moment of her life earlier that day but had indirectly been a part of it. "Well, I'm fine now so you can leave."
When he didn't move from the wall, Yukino felt her composure slipping again. "Look, either tell me why you're here or leave. If you've come for more retribution because of my loss you are wasting your time, there is nothing you can do to me know that would compare with what was done at the guild already, so do your worst." A single tear fell down her cheek, but she was proud of herself for not breaking down again like she had on the street in front of Natsu.
Rogue's head lifted until he was looking directly at her for the first time and she peered into his hard red eyes. The shadows around them seemed to lengthen and start to pulsate but he made no physical move towards her and the silence between them grew. "That is not why I'm here," he replied in the same cold voice as before.
Yukino couldn't take it anymore. "Then get the hell out!" She screamed at him, no longer caring about making him angry, she would rather have that than the cold and indifference that she was getting from him now.
"You are blocking the door."
Yukino felt her cheeks get even hotter, she stomped across the room to stand beside the small bed, crossing her arms angrily. "Now leave," she ordered him, trying to make her voice as cold as his was.
Finally he moved away from the wall, slowly but purposefully he strode to the door and unlocked it. He had his hand on the doorknob but hesitated before pulling it open. "You asked me why I was here and I said I didn't know, that was a lie," he said softly just before he was about to pass through the doorway.
"Then why did you come here?" she asked for the final time. Unable to look at him anymore, she turned her head towards the dark window.
"Because guilds take care of their Nakama."
Startled by his response, Yukino whipped her head back around to face him but he was gone, the door shut firmly behind him. She resisted the urge to chase after him to ask him what he meant; Sabertooth doesn't think that way about their guild mates, she had learned that the hard way already. Not to mention that she was no longer a member of the guild anyway so he was under no obligation to come there out of concern. It was all so confusing, she longed to just close her eyes and wake up like today had never happened and it was all a bad dream. Not even bothering to change out of her clothes, she took off her shoes and climbed into the small, hard bed, blowing out the light before settling in. Her last thought before she drifted off into an exhausted sleep was how odd the shadows danced along her wall.
Stepping back out from the shadows in the hotel's hallway, Rogue tried to ignore the twinge of uneasiness at the thought of breaking into Yukino's room twice in one night. He twisted the doorknob slowly and was surprised to find it unlocked, the room was dark but that made hiding himself in the shadows much easier, not that he needed to now. He could hear Yukino breathing softly and evenly in sleep from the bed and he was glad since he didn't really want to face her again. Rogue still didn't know what had compelled him to come here in the first place, other than the words Dragneel had said as he was leaving the guild after breaking in and challenging their Master.
"Because guilds take care of their Nakama," he repeated to himself so softly it was almost inaudible. He moved until he was standing directly over her curled up body on the bed. "I'm sorry for failing you, Yukino," and before he knew what he was doing he leaned over and gave her a shadowy kiss on the forehead. Her face twitched and she mumbled something in her sleep before rolling over into the pillow.
Rogue pulled back quickly before she woke up, even though he knew she would never see him when he was in shadow mode. He turned to leave and didn't look back, pausing only to use his magic to relock the door. Then he made his way back to Sabertooth's Crocus headquarters before they realized he was missing, he didn't really feel like explaining to Sting or anyone else why he had come here when he couldn't even fully explain it to himself.
Yukino woke up the next day feeling groggy but well rested. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, glancing out the window and noticing that it was full daylight outside. The noise from the busy street below was starting to filter through the poorly sealed window and from the sounds of it the crowds where gathering as they made their way to the Grand Magic Games Arena. That was the last place she wanted to go today and she knew what she had to do. She got up, changed her clothes quickly, a little disappointed that she wasn't able to wash herself before but she couldn't take the time to use the one shower for the entire floor and it was probably better that way. She packed up her bag and made her way out of the room, pausing in confusion at the locked door. She couldn't remember re-locking it last night before crawling into the uncomfortable bed, but she must have.
As she walked down the endless flight of stairs she thought her dream from last night, of the two red eyes surrounded by darkness, of Rogue's eyes. Recalling it made her shiver uncomfortably, that part of my life is over now, she said to herself firmly, it is time to forget and move on. She gave her key back to the front desk and made her way out into the street, turning to head towards Crocus' main train station. She would take the next available train wherever it was going and start again, maybe someday even joining another guild like Fairy Tail, one that would appreciate her strengths and accept her weaknesses. As she was walking she overheard someone mention Sabertooth and she stopped suddenly in her tracks.
"It seems like the place Sabertooth is staying at was attacked by someone," one mamade n was telling another.
"Starting a fight with Saber? What kind of a moron is that…"
Only one name popped into her head. Natsu? No, it couldn't be, right? Suddenly Rogue's explanation for his late night visit made more sense. A guild that makes their fellow member cry cannot call themselves a guild. Because guilds take care of their Nakama. Had it been Natsu?Was he was the reason for Rogue's unexpected visit?. Yukino smiled to herself, even though she didn't know why it made her so happy. She continued to make her way to the train station, feeling much happier, starting over did not feel quite so scary was almost there when she was stopped by one of the city guards.
"Miss Yukino Aguria?" He asked her, his voice even sounded official.
"Yes…" she didn't know what kind of trouble she was in now; would Sabertooth try and blame her for Natsu coming to their guild last night? But they wouldn't get the guards involved because of that, they would handle it themselves.
"If you will please come with me now, someone needs to speak with you." He placed his hand on her arm gently, but she knew that if she tried to move away he wouldn't let her.
"Who does? What is this about?" She couldn't stop the slight panic from coming into her voice. "Am I being arrested for something?"
The guard shook his head, "No, ma'am, but you need to come with me." He pushed lightly on her arm to steer her in the right direction and she followed guard let her towards a dark covered carriage with the City of Crocus' insignia painted on the side. Curiosity overtaking her uneasiness, Yukino wondered who could be inside and why they would want to talk to her.
The guard opened the door and offered her his arm to boost her up into the carriage. "But my bag," she clutched the suitcase handle tighter, its contents might be next to worthless but it was still all she had besides her keys.
"I'll take that." Another guard appeared from somewhere and took the suitcase from her.
"But- ahh!" The first guard lifted her up and nearly tossed her into the carriage and then closed the door with a snap. When Yukino had collected herself she realized she wasn't alone in the cab. In front of her was a huge man that she had never seen before, with black hair and a squared nose. He smiled at her and Yukino didn't know whether or not she should be afraid.
"Miss Aguria," when he spoke there was something about his voice that sent chills up her spine. "I am Sergeant Arcadios of the Fiore Army and I need to ask you for your help…"
There you go! I hope you like my interpretation of what happened that night and how Yukino found her way into Fiore's Army and a possible hint of romance between Rogue and Yukino :)
PS- I also realize that I wrote Frosch as a girl. His/her gender has not yet been confirmed in the Manga and it is my own possible opinion that she is indeed a female exceed because, come on, someone that cute could not possibly be a boy! RoYu FTW and thanks for reading!