You're the Best Piece of Me
Warnings: Sexual References
Rogue looked up from his thick novel. The screaming children in the park were starting to get on his nerves. Exhaling, he returned to his book, biting his lip in concern for the characters.
After reading another few chapters, he carefully placed his bookmark in the spot he finished and closed the book. He tucked the novel into his navy blue messenger bag and slowly stood up.
Rogue smiled softly as he admired his surroundings. Most of the kids had gone home, and the sunset cast everything in pretty shades of orange and red and pink. The tall trees surrounding the open green cast long shadows. Summertime sunsets were Rogue's favourite thing.
He looked around himself again and started walking away from the bench he was lounging on. The black-haired boy took the long way out of the park; he walked on the path around the outside of the centre green and took the long, winding path out to the main street.
There were tons of people out on the cobblestone streets. It was the nicest day of the summer so far, and there were lots of events going on tonight. There was a small festival in town, so there were little dorky games for kids to persuade their parents into letting them play. There were lots of street vendors selling things from necklaces to fried carnival food to balloons. Most of the restaurants in town were having specials thanks to the great weather. Rogue heard the vague sound of a concert on the other side of town.
Pulling off his heavy cloak and draping it over one shoulder, the mage continued weaving through the streets to get to the guild hall. After another few minutes, he saw the building at the end of the street. A slight calming sensation came over him for a reason unknown to him.
He carefully pushed open the heavy wooden doors. The guild was mostly empty, which didn't really surprise him, considering the beautiful weather. However, the Shadow Dragon Slayer knew one person who was certainly still in his office.
Knocking lightly, Rogue eased open the frosted glass door, revealing a blonde-haired teen lounging in a rolling chair. He had a wooden clipboard resting in his lap, and the pen in his hand wasn't moving. He breathed in and out at a constant pace, ruffling the papers on the clipboard ever-so-slightly.
"Sting," Rogue whispered, grinning a little bit.
When the boy didn't respond, Rogue stepped around the large glass desk and placed his hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Sti-ing," he tried again. There was still no response, so the black-haired mage resorted to desperate measures. Excruciatingly slowly, he leaned in towards the guild master. Then, he just barely brushed his lips against his partner's and took a few steps back.
He was surprised when Sting didn't respond immediately. Furrowing his brow, Rogue stared at the blonde and observed him for anything strange. His face looked normal, his hair was unruly and slightly spiky as usual, and he had a stack of unfinished paperwork on his desk. Nothing's weird, so…
Suddenly, the blonde shot out of his chair and lunged at the black-haired dragon slayer. The pen and clipboard that were in his lap crashed to the floor. Sting slammed his lips against Rogue's with so much force that he had to step back a few times until Sting had him pinned against a filing cabinet. Rogue's heart was pounding, but after the initial shock, he relaxed and got into the kiss.
A second or two later, he realised what had happened, so he managed to distract Sting just long enough to switch their positions by running his hand lightly over Sting's arm. Rogue pulled back, a fire in his eyes. Slamming his hands on either side of his boyfriend's face, he stared into Sting's eyes.
Sting had a lazy grin plastered on his incredibly handsome face. "Problem?" he breathed.
Rogue wanted to say something smart back, but he couldn't bring himself to get angry at the White Dragon Slayer. Rogue took a few steps back and allowed himself to calm down and laugh.
"There's the man I love."
"Mm-hm," Rogue replied, gazing at the blonde lovingly. "You'll pay for that later."
"I'll look forward to it," Sting replied with a devilish smirk.
Rogue's face flushed a bit, but he kept his cool. "Come on. Forget the work. I have some plans for us this evening." The black-haired boy offered his hand.
Taking the hand, the blue-eyed male questioned, "Do any of these plans involve just the two of us and the bed?"
Rogue let his head fall a little bit forward, shaking his head. "No, but later on they can."
"Ooh. That's sounds like a lot of fun," the blonde mage admitted with a sly grin as he followed his lover out of the guild office, leaving all of his unfinished paperwork for another day.
Gazing affectionately into each other's eyes, they weaved through the streets, eventually ending up in the centre of all the action. They were in the centre square of the town, surrounded by masses of people.
As Sting shot his mate a confused look, Rogue gently turned the blue-eyed man's head towards a balcony at the far end of the square.
Sting's eyes widened. "You didn't," he hissed in shock.
"I did," Rogue smirked, observing his work.
Standing on the balcony was a petite white-haired girl holding two small creatures: one a golden brown colour, the other a dark chocolate colour. They both had wide eyes, and their ears were flopping in the light breeze.
Sting took off towards Yukino's apartment, Rogue close on his heels, happy that his surprise had worked. The blonde busted into the apartment, not bothering to knock.
Waiting in the Yukino's living room were the two puppies they saw on the balcony. Both raced up to the blonde, yipping and smiling. Sting lowered himself to the ground and let the dogs leave slobbery kisses all over him.
"So…?" Rogue asked.
"Thank you thank you thank you!" Sting shot off of the floor, careful not the step on the puppies, and launched himself into Rogue's arms.
"Happy anniversary," the shadow mage said affectionately.
Sting smiled and pecked Rogue on the cheek. Then the blue-eyed wizard paused. "I didn't get you much, though."
Rogue smiled softly, shaking his head. "It's good. You didn't need to get me anything."
It was Sting's turn to surprise his mate. "Hey, hey, hey. I didn't say I didn't get you anything. I just said I didn't get you much, but I'm hoping it'll be enough."
Rogue took a step forward and pulled Sting in close. "You being mine is enough."
"Well, in that case…" Sting stepped back and pulled an envelope out of the inside of his fur-trimmed jacket. Beaming, he offered Rogue the blue envelope.
The black-haired boy cautiously accepted the item, glancing at Sting, confirming that he could open it. He carefully tore the corner of the envelope and slowly tore it down the side.
Inside was a single card.
The card was handmade. Rogue could tell that Sting must've taken hours on it, because the quote on the front was beyond romantic, and the small doodles around the edges of the cover were simple and looked really nice. A small smile already on his lips, he opened the card. The inside of the card was plain white with Sting's slightly chicken-scratch-like handwriting in blue ink on it.
Rogue,
Happy fifth anniversary. These past five years have been the best of my life, and the ones when I first met you were just as amazing. I wouldn't give up us for the world, or even to see Weisslogia one more time. I wouldn't be the person I am today without you – you're my better half. And that's why –
Confused, Rogue flipped to the back side of the card to see that it was blank. The tears starting to form in his eyes threatened to fall when he saw what was in front of him. Sting was kneeling in front of him, a single white rose in his left hand and an open ring box containing a simple silver ring in his right hand.
Sting looked up at his boyfriend with loving eyes, tiny tears in the edges of his eyes as well. "I'd like to know if you'd spend the rest of your life with me. Rogue, you're the only person who I want by my side in my dying days, and I don't want to be without you. I love you so much. You're the best piece of me. Rogue, will you be my husband?"
Crimson eyes wide, Rogue couldn't stop his tears. This is actually happening. "Sting…" Breaking out into the biggest grin, the red-eyed dragon slayer nodded. "Yes. Yes. A million times over. Yes."
As Sting slid the ring onto Rogue's left ring finger and wrapped him in a fierce embrace, Rogue suddenly remembered the puppies, which were dancing around their feet. Giggling, he buried his face in Sting's shoulder.
After a long time, Sting released his fiancé.
"Yukino!" Sting called.
The white-haired female slid open the door to the balcony and entered the room. Frosh and Lector walked in, close behind her. She smiled at the pair, questioning.
"He said yes!" "He loves them!" The couple said in unison.
Then, they turned to each other, confused expressions on their faces. "Wait, you were working with Yukino?"
The girl giggled. "Yeah… Sorry, Sting-sama, Rogue-sama. I really wanted to help both of you make this special. So, congratulations!"
"Yeah, Sting, good job! Congratulations! You guys really are the best couple," Lector said.
Frosh then agreed, "I think so, too!"
The boys grinned ear-to-ear and gazed into each other's eyes.
They were both thinking the same thing: You're the best piece of me.
After bidding Yukino goodbye and thanking her for agreeing to watch the dogs and the Exceeds for the night, they started making their way back to the apartment. The pair chose to take the long way home. They managed to get away from the crowd of the festival and onto a less-populated street.
"Sorry my present doesn't measure up by any standard," he apologised, admiring the ring on his finger.
"Like you said, you being mine is enough. As long as we're together, we're good, and there's no need to apologise for loving each other. That's what I think about us."
"I couldn't agree more," Rogue admitted.
The sun had long-since gone down, and as the two walked hand-in-hand, they couldn't think of anything more perfect. Except…
Rogue smirked evilly. "You still need to be punished for earlier," he growled as the entered their apartment.
"Only if you can catch me," Sting replied, sprinting towards the bedroom.
Rogue raced after him, slamming the door shut behind him.
A/N: So there's another fluffy and adorable proposal one-shot. Hope you guys liked it!