A/N: This is the sequel to "Sanctuary". You don't *have* to read "Sanctuary" first, but I would recommend it.

"…he's breathing…the other one…another healer…"

A roaring sound filled Sting's ears, fragments of conversation passing through the sound and filtering into his brain.

"…is awake, get over here."

The voice was unfamiliar, and Sting tried to open his eyes. He found himself staring up at a dark-haired man with a deep scar down the side of his face, crouched over Rogue's body. A faint circle of magic was beginning to form under his body.

"That's too far, you'll never make it to Magnolia." Another voice, this one farther away and blurry. Sting struggled to sit up, and the scarred man turned to place a hand on his elbow.

"I have to try. Hold on." The last part was directed at Sting, who frowned in confusion but grasped the man's arm. The scene around him was resolving slowly, and it began to come back to him. The Eclipse Gate, dragons, Future Rogue…

"Rogue!" He tried to shout, but his voice came out as barely a whisper. The man squeezed his arm.

"You'll be alright. Just hold on."

There was a sickening tug deep in his stomach, and then everything was bright and hard, and someone was screaming. Sting managed to turn away before vomiting, and he grunted at the pain as his chest tightened.

"…boy needs a healer…head wound…friend hurt too…" The words and the voice they were attached to felt far away, like they were traveling through some sort of maze before reaching his ears. Everything around him stretched and contorted in dizzying ways, and Sting planted his hands firmly on the ground, trying to steady himself.

A gentle hand on his lower back made him flinch, tumbling backward against a wall.

"Don' touch," he mumbled incoherently. "Wh's R-gggnnnnh." His chest was on fire and he clutched at it desperately. A figure stood in front of him, hand outstretched, magic flickering from their fingertips.

"…going to put him to sleep…"

Despite his feeble attempts to slap the hand away, whoever was behind it pushed through his defenses and placed a hand on the side of his face. He shuddered, then felt the cool magic flowing through his body and let himself succumb to the darkness.

"Who's next?" Doranbolt appeared next to Lahar, hands on his knees, panting and out of breath. Lahar jumped a bit, startled.

"You made it there and back?" Doranbolt grinned up at him. "You should probably rest."

"I can make it once more, I think," he replied, slowly catching his breath. "Maybe twice. Who else needs immediate attention?" Lahar glanced around the group. They had moved everyone into the castle, carrying some wizards on stretchers if they weren't able to walk. Luckily, most of the injuries were superficial or able to be treated by the healers amongst his knights.

"Someone help!" Lahar looked around and his gaze landed on the pink-haired dragon slayer, looking desperate and kneeling next to another young man. A healer rushed over to them, and Lahar and Doranbolt followed.

The healer knelt down next to Natsu, and peered into Gray's face. His eyes were unfocused and his breathing was rapid and shallow. The healer placed her hands above Gray's chest and they began to glow with magic.

"He won't answer me," Natsu gasped frantically. His hands were on Gray's shoulders and he shook him gently. "Gray, c'mon, its me. Look at me. Please." Gray's eyes drifted slowly to Natsu, brow furrowing in confusion.

"N-natsu?" He mumbled. His lips had taken on a bluish hue.

"Right here, you idiot," Natsu murmured, touching the ice mage's face. A smidge of red remained on Gray's cheek, and Natsu stared down at his palm, stained by the blood soaking through the bandage around Gray's waist. The burn running up Gray's chest was blistering now, and Natsu suppressed the urge to gag. "Stay with me, okay?"

"'S Rogue…okay?" Gray's words slurred together, then his eyes rolled upward and he gasped. "H-hurts."

"I know," Natsu said, gripping Gray's hand as tightly as he could. "I know it does, it'll be okay. We did it. Rogue's alive and the dragons are gone. Just focus on me now, okay?"

"Mn," Gray murmured, and his arm stiffened. His chest began to spasm erratically, and his eyes rolled back again.

"I can't do any more," the exhausted healer said apologetically. "He's lost too much blood."

Doranbolt knelt down beside the two boys, placing his hands on their shoulders.

"I've got this," he said, squeezing Natsu's shoulder reassuringly before porting them all away.

Waking up from the magically induced sleep was like drowning in reverse. Sting gasped around the weight in his chest, struggling to pull himself back to the real world.

"Hey, calm down, you're alright." A familiar voice, bright pink hair…Sting blinked a few times and tried to sit up, breathing heavily. "Morning, sleepyhead." Natsu was sitting in a chair next to his bed, looking exhausted but otherwise unharmed. They were in a small, plain looking room with a wide window overlooking a large city.

"Where…" Sting coughed, his voice raspy. "Where are we?"

"The hospital in Magnolia," Natsu replied, passing Sting a cup of water. He downed it gratefully, then stretched and rubbed his eyes. "Not far from the guild. You've been out for a couple days."

"Days?" Sting asked, confused. The last thing he remembered was a burning city, fighting a dragon, and Rogue's cold body in his arms. He gasped, feeling the memory like a punch in the stomach.

"Hey, it's okay," Natsu reassured, reaching out for Sting's wrists. "Take deep breaths."

Sting felt himself losing control, unable to form words. His chest tightened and he felt his breathing turn shallow and desperate. Rogue's body, lying on the ground. Pressing kisses to a cold, still face. Crying into his hair. Grasping at his hands as Natsu pulled him away from Rogue's body. His body. Oh god, he was so still and everything inside Sting was so broken and-

"Sting." Natsu's voice floated through his nightmare. "Sting, it's alright, Rogue is alive." He had been so still. Sting couldn't hear his heartbeat and he'd known that Rogue was gone. "Sting! Look at me." The pain had been unimaginable. Not physical, but something deep in his chest that tried to claw its way through his ribcage.

"Sting, look beside you." The words were firm, and the pressure on his wrists increased. "Look, Rogue is right there. He's…alive." A small part of Sting's brain registered the hesitation in Natsu's voice, but the rest of him ignored it as he turned and saw Rogue.

He was lying in a bed just like Sting's, bandages covering the right half of his head, dark bruises under each eye. Sting scrambled from his bed, tearing his wrists from Natsu's, and reached out to Rogue. A faint, rhythmic heartbeat fluttered underneath his fingertips, and he collapsed to the floor, sobbing in relief. Rogue's hand was warm, and he clutched it in his own, pressing it against his face as he cried.

Natsu settled himself onto the floor next to Sting and carefully placed an arm around the other boy's shoulder, pulling him into his chest. Sting buried his face in Natsu's shoulder, stomach clenching at the familiar position. But this time it was relief, not grief, that was driving his tears.

They sat on the floor together for some time, until a healer came in and insisted on checking Sting to make sure he was okay. It took all of Sting's willpower not to snap at the man not to touch him, but he managed to sit still until the healer told him that he was physically fine, other than a few scrapes and bruises. The pain from Ultear's spell had vanished, causing no lasting damage.

"How's Gray?" Sting looked over at Natsu as the healer left, feeling like an asshole for not asking sooner. He knew Rogue wasn't the only one who had been injured, but it was hard to remember when Rogue took up so much of his heart.

"Not…great." Sting was surprised to hear a catch in Natsu's voice, and he reached out a hand. "He, ah, he lost a lot of blood and ended up having some kind of fit. We got here pretty quickly, someone from the Magic Council teleported us, but they didn't think he was gonna make it." Sting squeezed Natsu's hand. "It's been a long couple days. He stopped breathing twice and his heart stopped once." Sting felt his heart sink. "They did what they could, but the, ah, burn's gonna leave a big scar. He's sleeping now."

"I'm sorry," Sting whispered, and Natsu gave him a weak smile.

"Mister Eucliffe?" A young woman stood in the door, holding a clipboard and smiling at him. Sting nodded. "Looks like you're cleared to head home." Sting blinked. Home?

"What…about-"

"Another healer will be in soon to explain Mister Cheney's condition. You can stay with him until dusk, but we don't allow visitors overnight." Sting's head was swimming, but Natsu squeezed his hand.

"You're staying with me and Happy," he said, and Sting blinked at him. "My place isn't very big, but you can sleep on the couch for now." Sting's stomach tightened, then he sat up straight.

"Wait, where's Lect-"

"Him and Frosch are already at our place," Natsu reassured him. "Happy found them after the battle, they're both fine." Sting sighed in relief, running a hand over his face.

"Fuck," he muttered, not sure what exactly he was cursing at, but feeling it was necessary. Natsu hummed in agreement.

Natsu's house was small and cluttered, but Sting didn't care. The second Natsu opened the door, a red ball of fur flung itself at Sting and clutched at his shirt, bursting into tears.

"Lector," Sting said softly, pressing his face into the top of the Exceed's head and stroking his soft fur. "I'm so glad you're alright." Lector shook his head and continued crying into Sting's chest.

"Fro misses Rogue." The little pink and green Exceed stood in the doorway looking distraught and Sting felt his heart breaking. Frosch probably had no idea what was going on.

"I know, buddy," he said, scooping Frosch into his arms. "How about we go visit him tomorrow?" Frosch's eyes brightened. "He's still asleep though, so he can't talk to you." Frosch looked despondent again. "The healer said he might be able to hear us though, so we can read him stories, okay?"

"Fro misses Rogue," they repeated sadly, then jumped down from Sting's arms and retreated into the living area. Lector let go of Sting's shirt and wiped his nose on his arm.

"Is he gonna wake up?" Lector asked, whispering so that Frosch didn't hear. Sting sighed.

"They...don't know." His chest ached. They had spend the afternoon talking to healers, each with their own opinions on Rogue's prognosis. Rogue probably won't wake up. Rogue might wake up. Rogue could wake up, but he won't be the same. Healing the body is different than healing the mind. It made his head spin, and Natsu had restrained him from punching at least one of the healers. "But I believe he will." He mustered the energy to smile at Lector.

"Hungry?" Natsu leaned out from the kitchen and looked at Sting quizzically. Erza and Lucy had brought them lunch at the hospital earlier, but neither of them had been in the mood to eat much.

"I think I'm just gonna sleep," he replied, and Natsu nodded.

"There's blankets on the chair, do you need anything else?" Sting shook his head. Natsu gave him a half-smile, then disappeared into the bedroom with Happy. Sting collapsed on the couch and immediately the two Exceeds clambered up next to him, snuggling into his chest. He smiled softly and closed his eyes, but felt a nervous energy running through his limbs that kept him from sleeping.

Sting tossed and turned for several hours, eventually forcing Lector and Frosch to move onto the chair instead. He sat up, growling in frustration, then tilted his head when he heard a faint whimpering.

"Natsu?" He called softly, standing and moving toward the boy's bedroom. The noise stopped, but Sting could hear a rapid heartbeat behind the door. "Are you okay?" There was no response for a moment, and then the door slowly swung open. Natsu looked out at him with reddened eyes and shook his head.

"I can't – I cant get it out of my head," he admitted, running a hand through his hair. "Seeing him…the blood and the…fit…I thought he was gone..." Natsu choked on a sob and looked stricken. Sting reached out and pulled Natsu toward him, and the boy melted into him, tears flowing down his face and soaking Sting's shirt. "I don't…I cant…I j-just"

"Shhh," Sting whispered, slowly maneuvering them until they were sitting on the edge of Natsu's bed. He ran his hand through the fire dragon slayer's hair, trying to remember how Natsu had comforted him when he was grieving. He wasn't used to being…kind.

Eventually Natsu's breathing grew even, and Sting realized with a start that the pink-haired boy had fallen asleep leaning against him. He let out a puff of laughter, then maneuvered Natsu until he was lying with his head on the pillow. As Sting stood up to leave, a hand darted out and grabbed his wrist.

"Stay?" Natsu's voice was thick with sleep, but he opened one eye blearily and looked at Sting. "Please?" Sting hesitated for a moment – he'd never shared a bed with anyone but Rogue – but he was so tired, and his heart was so full of grief. He nodded, slipping into the bed next to Natsu and letting out a sigh. Natsu shuffled over until he was lying with his back to Sting's stomach, and dragged Sting's arm over him.

"Bossy even when you're sleeping, huh?" Sting whispered, feeling sleep pulling at his eyelids. "'M gonna tease you 'bout bein' little spoon t-mrrw…" his words slurred together and he felt Natsu huff.

"Shaddup 'n g' t'sleep," Natsu muttered, and Sting did.

A/N: I am taking *great* liberties with Doranbolt's teleporting abilities. I'm sure it's not possible to teleport that far, but ~*~magic~*~.

Also, this fic will once again heavily feature comfort via non-sexual touching. I know that some would consider bed-sharing as "cheating", but I don't.