This is a silly little thing that came about from a simply misspelling of Rogue's name on Shattered. Triplet craziness ensued, as per usual with me and GemNika, and this one-shot was born. And really...who can have too much RoLu?
Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail.
A ROGUE BY ANY OTHER NAME
It had been years since Fiore had last hosted a guild convention, and since that time, numerous guilds had sprung up across the country. Seeing as many had yet to meet the rest, it was decided that it would be a good time to resurrect the old tradition. Therefore, the massive endeavor was set forth, and guilds from every corner of Fiore were instructed to send a handful of representatives to mix and mingle at the capitol.
And that was precisely what had brought Sting and Rogue out to the large stately building at the edge of the capital gardens.
By the time they arrived, things were already well on their way to a Fairy Tail sized affair. Every inch of the place was packed, and the two Sabertooth mages barely managed to sign in and get their customary name tags before the woman at the front desk had packed it in for the night and headed off for a drink. Which of course left Rogue in a situation that could annoy even a saint...and no way to fix it.
When Sabertooth had received notification of this event, they'd been instructed to send in a list of who would be attending, and with Rogue busy with the end-of-the-month finances, Sting had volunteered to take care of it. At the time, Rogue had been grateful for his consideration. Hell, he'd even congratulated the man on finally growing up. Now that he'd seen what his praise had earned him though, Rogue was sorely wishing he'd had the presence of mind to do it himself. Or at the very least, shadow the sly bastard to ensure he'd done things correctly.
Honestly, Rogue should have known better. He was an intelligent man, easily one of the smartest in his guild, and yet somehow, he'd managed to once again be trumped by his immature guild master.
"I cannot believe you did this again, Sting." Rogue glanced down at his name tag, then back up with a scowl. "Could you not restrain yourself this once?"
Thoroughly unapologetic for his actions, his partner cranked out a laugh as he scanned the room around them. "Hell no. It was too good to pass up!"
It should have been no surprise. The fool could be counted on for a lot of things, but good behavior was most certainly not one of them. And quite frankly, since he'd become guild master, he'd gotten even worse. Pranks, jokes, elaborate schemes. The man had become incorrigible, especially when it came to Rogue. In the interim, Sting had developed an insatiable need to piss him off, and for some reason Rogue had yet to figure out, it usually involved the misspelling of his name. Writing checks the wrong way or giving him an award with Rouge plastered across the top...nothing was sacred to the bumbling buffoon.
This time though, Rogue couldn't help but feel he had gone over the line. This was a government sanctioned event, and as the head of their guild, that should have garnered Sting's deepest respect. Instead, he'd used it as another way to make Rogue look like a fool.
Already he'd gotten a handful of looks, each one more infuriating than the last. Women who'd given him the eye, obviously finding him attractive, had then moved onto his name and suddenly lost interest. It was so annoying, and not because he'd come here looking for a woman. He could get a date on his own, thank you very much. He just hated being subjected to the opinions of such shallow women.
Worst of all however, was the fact that Sting insisted on following him around the entire night. Rogue had no doubt it was simply to extend his own amusement, and he found himself wondering once more why he continued to be friends with such a man. The blonde was clearly a moron, and Rogue, as an astute, discerning being should have had more sense than that.
At just that moment, a trio of new faces joined him and his partner, and Rogue fought to offer a smile. He just knew this conversation would go the way of the dogs and decided to do a preemptive strike in the form of giving a verbal clue at his real name. Perhaps these three would be more perceptive than the last.
But true to his nature, Sting exuberantly jumped right in and cut him off. The idiot threw his hand out, introducing himself and his dark-haired companion...only he never actually mentioned Rogue's name. He simply announced him as his partner and a fellow Saber, leaving the mages from Desert Rose to look to his name tag for his designation.
Once more, Rogue watched their expressions falter, and before he could explain the mix-up, the first one started giggling. All three women stared at him with matching looks of sympathy, and if that wasn't enough, one even moved to pat him on the hand. Eyes rolling, he folded his arms across his chest. What a bunch of simple-minded twits! Was there no one here bright enough to perceive a simple misspelling?
Excusing himself from the group, he headed toward the bar, and to his immense displeasure, he found that his guild master was right on his heels. Could the man not leave him alone for even a moment?
"Well, that was rude," Sting said, his voice only barely managing to hide a laugh.
Rogue shot him the look the comment deserved. "Considering the things I wished to say, it was far kinder for me to leave than to stay. The three of them were idiots. Kind of like you, come to think of it. Perhaps you could form a cult."
"Oh! The claws come out!" The blonde-haired doofus howled at his own joke, then made it even worse by explaining it. "See what I did there? Sabertooth? Tiger? You get it?"
How the man came to be selected for the position of guild master, Rogue would never know. It made absolutely no sense to hand the reins of an entire guild over to the dim-witted imbecile standing beside, and yet the Magic Council had decided it was best. The only thing Rogue could even consider a viable option was that they had done so because Sting was about as far from their last guild master as anyone could be.
Shooting Sting a bland look, he asked, "You do realize you're a complete and utter ignoramus, right?"
"Huh? Is that another language?"
Rogue found himself sighing once more. His patience was nearing its end, to the point where he was longing to shift into the shadows just to get away from the other man. "No, it isn't. Perhaps you should invest in a dictionary. Your vocabulary is that of a simpleton."
Sting arched an eyebrow at him. "You sound like an old man, dude. Might help if you dragged that pole out of your ass."
An aggrieved groan flew from his mouth as he turned to face his friend - and he used that term lightly at the moment. "I wish you would find someone else to antagonize. You're getting on my nerves faster than Natsu could set himself ablaze."
"Someone say Natsu?" a new voice piped in, and Rogue turned his head to see Lucy Heartfilia easing her way through a space in the crowd to join them.
"Good evening, Lucy," Rogue said, dipping his head in greeting as Sting smirked and called out, "'Sup cutie."
The blonde woman eyed Sting with all the interest a beauty queen might have for a bug, and then turned a bright smile in Rogue's direction. "Evening Rogue! How have you been?"
And just like that, the night became tolerable. Finally someone who could hold their own in a conversation! And if Rogue was right, someone who would fall into his partner's ridiculous trap.
Sadly, this was Sting, and the would-be jokester wouldn't be deterred as easily as all that. His lips quirking, he moved closer to the blonde newcomer, throwing an arm around her shoulders before nodding in Rogue's direction. "I believe you called my friend by the wrong name."
The Celestial mage took a graceful step out of his grasp and firmly argued his point. "No I didn't, and stop touching me. It's weird."
Rogue had to smile. It was a rare thing to see a woman rebuff Sting, especially after he was appointed to the position of guild master. It seemed all of the flighty females wanted a connection with such a powerful man, so it was with great pleasure that Rogue got to see the reverse.
Sting pouted. "Aww...come on Blondie. You know you like it."
Sting shot her what he called his million-dollar smile, and Rogue nearly snorted when Lucy frowned at the head of Sabertooth and leaned in to whisper, "You alright, Sting? You looked a little constipated there for a minute."
The dragon slayer's face fell, and it was easy to see he was thoroughly confused as to why his usual attempts at flirting weren't working with her. The poor guy hadn't ever had this much trouble getting a woman's attention, but this wasn't just any woman. Lucy Heartfilia wasn't the type to fawn all over a man. She had dignity and class, something Sting hadn't quite figured out yet.
Women like Lucy weren't drawn to a man's 'game', as Sting called it. They were more mature than that, and that was precisely why Sting didn't have a chance in hell of winning over Lucy. But Rogue...Rogue wasn't a fool. In this, he had the upper hand...and the knowledge required to use it.
A smile bloomed on Rogue's face as he eyed his partner. This night had already turned around, their roles reversed, and the shadow dragon slayer couldn't be happier. Lucy had come along and made Sting the butt of the joke.
His mood lifted, he faced his female counterpart and found himself uttering a small laugh as Lucy's hair shifted. There, taped beside the low cut neckline of her shirt was her own name tag, complete with the misprinting to match his own. "Luigi? Natsu's doing, I imagine."
The blonde beauty gave a good-natured roll of her eyes. "Of course. He's just like your toddler."
Rogue laughed at that. Now this was a woman who got him - who knew the struggle and could honestly sympathize.
Lucy tipped her head, studying Rogue's tag, then turned to the now silent Sting with a question. "Sting, I'm curious. Do you even know what rouge is?"
"Um..." He paused, gnawing at his bottom lip for a minute, then shrugged. "No?"
Rogue, taking pity on the man, answered in his place. "Rouge is a red cosmetic powder or cream that women use to color their cheeks or lips."
"A cosme- what?"
The other brain in the group stared dumbfoundedly at Sting. "It's makeup, dumbass. Red makeup."
"Oh!" The white dragon slayer grinned. "Why didn't you just say so?"
"Holy shit, you weren't kidding. He really is just like Natsu," Lucy mused, once again pointedly ignoring Sting.
Rogue nodded, his lip curling in amusement. "Natsu 2.0, that one."
They shared a laugh as Sting sputtered, "Hey! I am not like that jackass!"
"Of course you are," Lucy readily disagreed before a thoughtful look crossed her face. "You know, now that I think of it, you and he would have made a far better set for the Twin Dragons than you and Rogue."
The dark-haired male burst out laughing when Sting shot her a withering glare. "Can you imagine the damage though?"
"Oh, good point. And honestly, who would come up with all the brilliant plans if you weren't there?" she asked, sending an approving smile his way.
"Hey I have good ideas!"
Ignoring the incensed man at his side, Rogue smiled back at Lucy, feeling his interest pique even higher. "I've heard you're quite the strategist as well. Perhaps some time, we could...compare notes."
Sting shot him a look of disbelief, one Rogue had no intention of dignifying with a response. He had something rather extraordinary this night, and he refused to allow anything to distract him from cementing a connection between Lucy and himself.
"I do believe I'd enjoy that, Rogue." A grin pulled at Lucy's mouth as she eyed the dark-haired man, and then she winked. "Oh, excuse me. I mean...Rouge."
Rogue laughed. "Rouge indeed, Luigi."
"Well in that case..." She paused, her tongue running lightly along the underside of her top teeth as she shot Rogue a heated look. "If you're Rouge tonight...perhaps you'd like to accompany me to the restroom so I can rub you all over my face."
The shadow slayer felt an answering heat rise within him, and as Sting's mouth dropped open in disbelief, he stepped into Lucy's personal space and lifted her hand to his mouth. "I believe I just might jump on that, Luigi."
Hand in hand, the two made their way out of the busy room, leaving Sting to stare after them, speechless. It took several moments for his tongue to start working again, and even longer for the words that spilled from his mouth to make actual sense.
"What the fuck was that?"