The Meeting:

For Lucy, meeting Rogue may have been unpleasant, but for Rogue it was downright confusing. Sure, Natsu fascinated him, but the female behind him was unique in her own right.

More specifically, her scent was. It was a strange mixture of strawberry, vanilla, and something else. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. It was a sweet scent that created a warm feeling in his chest and cause his skin to tingle. It made him feel good inside.

He loved it, but at the same time hated it because he had no idea what it was and why it affected him so much, though there was a nagging suspicion in the back of his mind that he refused to acknowledge. He was just thankful that Sting did all the talking. He wasn't entirely sure if he would have been capable of it.

Rogue left that encounter with one mission: Find out what that scent is, even if it means purposely seeking out someone in Fairy Tail.

As she dragged Natsu away, Licy wondered about the two Dragon Slayers. The blonde one - Sting, she vaguely remembered - was more memorable. He talked more, argued more, showed more, yet it was his partner who had caught her eye.

Even though he was quieter and hung out in the background, she couldn't help but wonder about him. In fact, it was the mysterious aura around him that partly sparked her curiosity.

The other part was something she couldn't place. The best way to describe it would be a weird feeling she got whenever she looked at him. It was bizarre, to say the least.

Lucy was brought out of her musings by Natsu complaining. "I'm hungry!" he wailed. All she did was sigh. Typical Natsu, always thinking about his stomach.

"Me too!" Great, now Happy was joining in. "I have some yummy fish at the inn! Let's go!"

Lucy made a vague hand-waving motion. "You guys go on without me. I want to look around the city a bit more, we've still got over an hour left," she told them. To be truthful, it was mostly because she didn't want to have to wash food stains out of her outfit. Again. Never get close to Natsu when he was eating - she'd learned that lesson the hard way.

And so while Natsu and Happy took off toward Honeybone, Lucy found herself wandering the outskirts of Crocus. It was nice - not crowded and still full of blooming flowers.

She stopped at a wooden bridge over a tiny river, almost a stream. The blonde made her way to the grassy bank and sat there, enjoying the peaceful night. That is, until she was interrupted by a tap on the shoulder.

Jerking around, she nearly fell into the miniature river, but was saved by a strong hand gripping her wrist and preventing her from getting a cold dunking.

When she swiveled her head to look at the mysterious person, she was met by a pair of blood-red eyes. It took her a moment to process what was happening. When she did, she just blinked a few times.

Millions of possible reactions ran through her head, the most prominent involving kicking Rogue. "Hello Rogue," she said after a few seconds. Well, he did catch her, right?

Still holding her wrist, Rogue hauled Lucy up until she wa standing right next to him. He didn't let go of her, she noted with interest. The Dragon Slayer didn't even greet her before getting to the point. "What flavor body wash and shampoo do you use?" (A/N: I seriously though about leaving it off right here XD)

Lucy's eyebrows shot up to her hairline and she eyed him for a moment before responding. "I use a vanilla flavored body wash and strawberry flavored shampoo. Why?"

Completely ignoring her question, Rogue ploughed on. He really, really didn't want his suspicions to be confirmed. "Is there any other scent you put on today? Have any other Dragon Slayers told you that you smelled different recently?"

In response, Lucy furrowed her brows and gave him a menacing glare, curiosity changing into anger. "I'm pretty sure the answer to both those questions is a no. And I won't answer any other questions until you tell me what the hell is going on."

Using all the self-control he had, Rogue managed not to panic. "You're my mate then," he told her simply.

"I'm your what?! Would you care to elaborate?"

"No time. It's less than thirty minutes before midnight and my inn is far away. Find a book on it or something," was all Rogue left her with before melting into the shadows and disappearing, leaving Lucy to start jogging to Honeybone Inn and wondering what just happened.

A/N: I got it out today! *celebrates* This turned out longer than I thought it would be. Yes, it's a bit rushed and Rogue is probably a bit OOC, though this is what I think he'd be like before the GMG arc. I just really wanted to get this out as soon as possible. Also, if none of this makes sense, I will explain everything in the next chapter. I do actually have a plan for this, even if it is somewhat vague. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to follow and favorite if you enjoyed!