Lucy and Levy had laughed until they were both unable to. Both Gajeel and Sting had burst through the door only to trip one another and fall on top of each other. The two couples were walking toward the festival that was taking place in the center plaza of Magnolia; the males were sulking. They were upset that they had been "un-cool" on their first date. Lucy made eye-contact with Levy and they smiled. They were so cute. Lucy had been taken aback when she was finally able to really look at Sting. He had come dressed in a yukata, something she thought he wouldn't ever wear. It really did suit him. It was a periwinkle blue and it was tied loosely so she was able to see a large part of his toned chest. She blushed faintly. He had nice slightly-tanned and smooth looking skin. She had wanted to take her hand and run her fingers over his chest. They had stared into each other's eyes for a long moment that was only broken when Gajeel cleared his throat. They both had looked away quickly and Sting rigidly held out his arm towards her. She had taken it with slight hesitation. She was anxious and weary. She didn't know what the future would bring and she found herself desperately wishing for a good outcome.

Gajeel and Sting would huff and look away whenever they looked at each other, blaming the other for the failed entrance. That changed as soon as Sting saw the cotton candy stand. He took hold of Lucy's hand, and dragged her along to buy two gigantic cones that were larger than Lucy.

"Sting," Lucy started, "are you sure you can breathe?"

Sting's muffled response sounded something like a yes. The two cones were in his arms, being devoured so quickly Lucy could only hope it would stay in Sting's stomach the entire night. Maybe some water would be good…

"I'm going to get us some drinks, okay?" Lucy began to make her way to the nearest food vendor but another stifled sound from Sting made her pause and look back only to burst out laughing.

"Wait, Lucy!" Sting exclaimed

Sting had eaten a hole straight through both the cones and had stuck his head out. It was absurd, absolutely absurd and she couldn't stop laughing. The great and might Sting Eucliffe looked like a colorful lion…no…like a fluffy flower. It was as if he had dandelion fluff all over his head.

His cheeks reddened, "It's not that funny…"

"It is," Lucy approached him, "but it's also adorable."

That caused his cheeks to burn bright red. Lucy bit her lip to keep herself from laughing again.

"So, what did you have to say?" She asked, her giddiness settling

"I…uh," Sting's eyes shifted to the ground, "…I like raspberry flavored water…"

Lucy crunched her face in confusion but then understanding dawned upon her. Raspberry flavored water was women's favorite drink. She winked at him, "I'll make sure they give it to me in a blue bottle."

The smile of relief was the best reward she could have asked for. His eyes twinkled whenever he was happy. No, not just happy. Truly happy. She had barely started to get to know him but he was so easy to figure out. He reminded her of Natsu. She didn't know how he had ever been the cold-hearted, mean-spirited, power-hungry Sting of the GMG. She knew Sabertooth had had a cruel master and it explained a lot of their behavior, however, she wanted to know Sting's reasons.

"Two flavored water bottles, please." She ordered absentmindedly

"What flavors?" the young male asked, giving her a lopsided smile

An uncomfortable embarrassment flushed her cheeks, "Cherry and raspberry, but could I have the raspberry in a blue container?"

"Anything for a cute customer." He winked at her, turning to fill the bottles

"Here you go," he handed her the bottles, slipping a piece of paper in between them, "On the house."

"I…,"Lucy began

"How about you take the damn money and find another girl to hit on?" Sting growled, slamming the money on the counter

The young man stared at Sting in bewilderment; Sting still hadn't taken off the cotton candy and did not look intimidating whatsoever. Lucy grabbed the two bottles and muttered a thanks to the man. Sting followed her a few feet behind her. She didn't know if she found it endearing or slightly irritating…Sting had gotten her out of an unwanted advance but would he do it with every man that approached her? That would be a little out-of-hand, wouldn't it?

As if he knew what she was contemplating Sting said, "I could smell his arousal."

Lucy slowed down her pace to allow Sting to catch up, not saying anything. Oh, so not only had Sting heard the conversation but he had also smelled it.

"I'm not really the jealous type, Lucy," he turned to her, "I can't help myself if the man smells like that when they talk to you."

Somewhat relieved she replied, "I'll believe you. I was worried for a minute that you would be, but I get I now."

He smiled, his smile lopsided, but unlike the vendor's it sent little jitters down her back and to her stomach. She handed him his bottle without looking at him, unable to. It made sense that as a Dragonslayer he would be able to smell arousal and the idea of it hadn't crossed her mind before. Her cheeks heated again.

"Well," she started, picking her words carefully, "I guess there's no use hiding it from you, right?"

His devilish smirk was all the response she needed.

They wandered around the festival not holding hands but standing close enough for their arms to brush against each other and Lucy would be lying if she said she didn't feel the electricity between their skins. It left her with a pressure building up inside of her that made it hard to breathe near him. Furtively looking around she spotted a familiar game. She quickened her pace and called Sting over, "Look!"

Sting didn't need to be told twice, he paid the vendor and both him and Lucy grabbed hold of a miniature fishing net They crouched next to the tub filled with water and inspected the fish swimming around in the clear water.

"They're all so beautiful." Lucy whispered

"That's because," Sting paused watching loose strands of her hair fall forward as she peered into the tub, "…they're enchanted."

She met his gaze, "I know."

Again, they stayed looking into each other's eyes until the vendor discreetly coughed to hurry them up. Scratching the back of his head, Sting tried to focus on the shining and colorful fish in the tub below. It was difficult. He could see her reflection and it took all he had to not reach over and tuck her hair behind her ears.

"Sting?" Her light voice questioned

"What…," Sting froze, his free hand had a strand of her hair

Her face was tinted a faint pink but she took hold of his hand and slowly, oh so very slowly, guided it, tucking her hair behind her ear. He retracted his hand, immediately missing the warmth and softness of her hand. He gulped and quickly caught a brilliant pink and white goldfish. Ah, it's a goldfish but it's not gold…haha... He stood up awkwardly, and placed it in one of the bags held by the vendor. The knowing look in his eyes did nothing to settle Sting's nerves. A minute later a little yelp of triumph came from Lucy. She had caught a blue-green fish.

And they were walking again. Coughing, Sting moved his fish over to his other hand and tried to work up the nerve to grab hold of Lucy's hand. He inched his hand closer to hers.

Painfully slow. Lucy could feel his hand crawling closer to hers but it felt like it was taking an eternity. Bracing herself, she took the initiate and grabbed his hand. Their fingers blundered until finally their hands were entwined. How could he be so shy to hold my hand when just yesterday he… The memories flooded her conscience, sending heat to her core. We are not going to think of that, Lucy.

"What did you name your fish?" She asked, trying to distract herself from the memory of how his hands felt against her abdomen

He took a moment to reply, "She's called Periwinkle."

"Periwinkle?" His fish wasn't anything close to blue!

"Very original, dontcha' think?" He grinned at her

She couldn't help but return the smile, "Mine's called Opal."

"Opal sucks," he stuck out his tongue, "your fish is blue-green!"

"You're the one who named his fish 'Periwinkle' when it's obviously anything but blue!" She retorted, sticking her tongue out right back at him

Before putting her tongue back in her mouth, Sting swooped in and bit the tip of it, smirking. She pulled back, covering her mouth with her hand, heat pooling to her face and…some down under.

"W-w-what was that?!" She mumbled through her hand

He shrugged, the teasing smirk still playing on his lips, "I'm a Dragonslayer. I have weird kirks."

That wasn't an answer. How did he go from being a timid little boy to a sex-loving fiend in such a short time span?!

"Lucy?"

She turned at the familiar voice, inwardly groaning at the mess things were just going to become.

"Hi, Natsu."

"Natsu-san!"


Hi guys, it's been such a long time. I'm really sorry. ): I get out for Summer break tomorrow! I should be updating this more often. No promises...I'll be honest, I'm thinking this will be a short story since it originally was a one-shot. I'd say maybe 10 chapters but that might be pushing it. Anyway, thank you for reading and sticking with it!(: Thanks for the reviews too! :D I'll be working on chapter 5 right now since I owe it to you guys so expect an update soon! I want to say tomorrow...anyway I'll be back later to write some more here to explain a little bit more!