In the Winter they would cuddle next to the fire watching scary movies. An idea from Sting mixed with an idea from Rogue. You could probably guess whose idea was whose.
In the Spring, Sting would paint Rogue all over his body, since he was always too bored to actually paint the eggs like an normal person would on Easter. Rogue let him gladly, but paid him back by having him pick flowers. Since Sting also ate his special flower picked by Frosch, Rogue had Sting pick him well over fifty more flowers. All white of course.
Summer was probably Sting's most favorite time of all. Shirtless Rogue in the morning, shirtless Rogue in the afternoon, and then his favorite shirtless Rogue at night *wink wink nudge nudge*.
But nothing was probably better than the beautiful season of Fall. All of the colors blending together to make a gorgeous scene just for the two of them. Hand in hand they'd walk back from their missions and remember that day when they noticed their first Fall as partners.
~~~
Sting remembered going on and on about how weak and pathetic their enemies were to Lector. Being the cute and loving exceed he was, he supported Sting all the way. Rogue on the other hand could care less. Frosch agreed to everything, so he at least stayed in the conversation for him, but he could care less about Sting's rowdy talk.
"They practically pissed their pants!" Lector cackled along with the dragon slayer. The same pattern of emotions after a successful mission. All of it.
The exact same.
"Yeah! They were hilarious! All begging for forgiveness and crap!" Sting lifted his chest with pride, just as he did his chin. "They were pretty scared of us huh Rogue?"
And just as always, the shadow dragon slayer was always oblivious to the blonde's attempts to chat. If he could, he'd yell everything at Rogue just to get him to pay attention. It was always bothersome to talk and then just be ignored.
But Rogue didn't always ignore him. In fact, he was happy listening to Sting being enthusiastic. Most of the time anyway. Sometimes it really did get boring.
"Yeah." Was all he answered with.
Sting got loud again. "Oh come on! We could've had them kissing the ground we walked on if we wanted!"
And here he goes. "Not interested."
Sting manages another pout he so desperately needed to let out. Lector tsked at Sting and continued on their conversation as always. Rogue, well he just spaced out and thought about the usual.
What he was going to eat for dinner, his plans for tomorrow, and whether or not he should train when he got home. But for now he was constantly being interrupted by those thoughts, so it was hard to think of anything but the scenery.
The town they were in was windy as all Hell. After the infinite and torturous train ride, they finally got into their beloved town and walked the streets back to the guild. Everyone was out and about, talking and shopping and going on with their day.
The air was cold and the wind only barely blew here. It blew just enough for Sting to notice Rogue's hair and how it had gotten even longer since their last job. His wide eyes surprised Lector, so he quickly shook the thought out of his mind.
But at that same moment the wind blew, Rogue also noticed something.
The sound of Autumn leaves scattering onto the ground and their small piles piling up even more. It was all around them and it was beautiful.
It felt like millions of different colors surrounded them. Just one long street and the four of them walking down into a long pathway of color and joy. The sound of the leaves crackling underneath their shoes added to the sounds of the dried up leaves hitting each other and the ground. Then there were the trees and their alluring branches losing more and more green by the day. Those branches sheltered their path carefully so every ray of sun shone in every perfect corner.
"Woah..." Rogue turned to see Sting in awe over the display. He's never seen or heard Sting shut up and pay attention to anything but his own ego. So this... was a new development.
His own heart throbbed for a moment. It actually throbbed and he couldn't stop it for the life of him. He had to pinch himself to get out of his own delusions. And Sting? He payed more attention to Rogue than the scene, he just wouldn't let Rogue see him peeking.
Lector lifted his little exceed eyebrow and watched the strange new development transpire. Frosch... got distracted by a worm passing by in a muddy pile of leaves and well, mud.
Sting just couldn't stop looking at the flushed Rogue who just couldn't stop looking at everything around him. Sting needed a distraction, but what he got was butterflies in his gut.
Was Rogue always so pretty? Not like a girl sort of pretty, but a gorgeous and breathtaking sort of pretty. A perfect sort of pretty. Absolutely perfect. His perfect hair, sparkling and absorbing eyes, and those flushed cheeks just made him look all the more attractive.
Rogue couldn't handle it. All this heat coming to him in a place where the wind and it's chill were picking up. He needed a calm presence, yet he had the rowdy Sting. But Sting was being as silent as a mouse.
And just when Rogue was about to cease his freak out, Sting scooted his way over and snaked his fingers in between Rogue's.
Rogue could feel the warmth, even through Sting's protected and gloved hands. Sting felt a strong hand that's been used to fight in battle along side him... all this time... why hadn't he felt the strength of this hand before?
"Sting?" Rogue questioned the blonde after a long moment of silence and discomfort. Not exactly discomfort, but it's well around that area.
Sting shut his mouth for once and only grinned and shrugged. Rogue was use to following Sting's lead, but this was different. Sting's lead would take him to somewhere he hasn't thought of being in.
"Sorry," Sting whispers. "Can we just stay like this? Just for a little while?"
Rogue didn't notice they had stopped walking. They were frozen in the middle of the street where anyone and everyone could see and hear them. And he was okay with it.
He coughed. "Only for a while, got it?" And he started walking.
Sting, Lector, and Frosch followed. "Got it."
~~~
"You got that Sting?"
"Huh?"
The spaced blonde felt the shadow boy's eyes on him. Disappointed ones, but beautiful blood-colored eyes nonetheless. "You're such an irresponsible master you know. What'll we do if you stop paying attention like this all the time?"
Sting was still spaced a little. He was more focused on the warmth of his boyfriend's hand. His boyfriend was holding guild documents in the other hand and pretty much paying all his attention to those.
"If you can't handle master-related things, I'm not doing them for you." Rogue's face said disappointed, but the playful attitude in his voice said, "You're a dumbass but I love you anyway."
Sting smiled and rubbed the back of his head with a shrug. Rogue rolled his eyes with a smile. "Honestly you-"
"Hey Rogue."
Sting's interruption got Rogue nervous for a moment. Sting's smile put him at ease in an instant to help push his nerves away. "What?"
"Look," Sting nodded to the scenery in front of them.
That same street, this very season, a different moment, and the same two boys.
"This is where I first held your hand." Sting says with a soft smile.
Rogue looks around and remembers the walkway in front of them being longer. "I remember."
Sting squeezed his hand. "Rogue," He whispers.
Rogue leans over to him and hums. "Hm?"
In a sneak attack, Sting steals a soft kiss from the love of his life.
"I love you so much."
Rogue smiles. "I love Autumn."
"What the Hell man! You just ruined the moment!" Sting pushes Rogue's chest as he fits out in laughter. "Besides, who's favorite season is Autumn?!"
"Mine. And you know why?" Rogue holds Sting's pouted cheeks in his hands before kissing his nose. "Because that's the season I first held hands with you." Rogue then kisses his boyfriend's soft lips gently. Not gently enough because he was still hot tempered.
"Yeah, but Autumn?"
"You sure are something Sting."