I do not own Fairy Tail
Rogue POV
Success! Lucy had fallen into his trap! Now he had to figure out a way to beat her gracefully in a fight. He was pretty confident in his abilities and if this worked out the way he was hoping it would then beating her in a match would bring her one step closer to being his mate. He wanted to see her smile and laugh. He wanted to take care of her. He craved the feeling of her skin against his to hear her moan his name. He needed-
"Orga! hic Another bottle!" She cried waving the second empty bottle.
He needed to get her out of the bar.
Shaking his head he held a hand up to Orga. The green haired God Slayer looked at his guildmate and then at the girl. He didn't know what Rogue was playing at but he figured he might as well go along with it.
So Orga turned to Lucy, "Sorry, Blondie. You're done for the night. Go dry out." Lucy glared at him but he held firm and then she pouted. Orga cleaned up her glass and bottles and left Lucy sitting there pouting. Sting was still nearby looking thoroughly confused. Rogue grabbed his arm and pulled him a short distance away, out of Lucy's hearing range. Not that she was really paying attention, she was trying to coax Orga into giving her more liquor. Sting rounded on him.
"What the hell man?" His fellow dragon slayer demanded.
Rogue shrugged. "You and Yukino wanted her to join anyway. This way she will and we can help her."
"Help her?" Sting asked. "Help her with what? Besides a serious drinking issue."
Rogue stepped to the side so Lucy was directly in Sting's line of sight. "Look at her, really look." Rogue said. "See anything familiar?" Sting studied the blonde woman who was currently attempting to reach over the bar herself to get another drink. Orga was helping another guildmate but he, almost absentmindedly, sent back a small shock to keep Lucy out of the alcohol. Sting shook his head
"She's drunk man. That's all I see."
Rogue frowned. Why can't he see it? The Shadow Dragon Slayer wondered. For that matter why can't Orga see it either? He's a slayer too. Rogue shook his head, his interesting observation wasn't top priority right now. He needed Sting to back him.
"Look Sting she lost her entire guild. They didn't just disband they scattered. Even we haven't heard anything about any of them." Rogue decided to play dirty. "Aren't you the one always saying we need more girls in the guild anyway? If she joins then that will take some of the unwanted attention off of Yukino. Not to mention, Yukino herself would be very happy to have a close friend join us." Rogue smirked as he practically saw the wheels in Sting's head turn.
"Well it would make Yuki happy." Sting nodded to himself. "Yeah sure win the fight and we will make Blondie one of us." Sting smiled. "But first you might want to stop Orga from killing her."
Rogue turned to see that Lucy had gotten behind the bar, but his guildmate had found her and was holding her up by the collar of her dress, while she struggled vainly to get down. Orga looked bored and mildly annoyed as she squealed a string of slurred profanities at him. Rogue raced over to them. He held out his arms and Orga dropped the raging drunk girl into them. Rogue caught her and shifted so he held her bridal style and he began to leave the café.
"Rogue Cheney you put me down this instant!" Lucy cried. " So help me I will kick your ass right now!" Rogue chuckled as she continued to issue threats. He paused for a moment though as he realized that he wasn't sure where to take her. Rogue would not take Lucy to his room, that would be completely inappropriate. Especially since he hoped to court her properly once she joined the guild. As he stood there contemplating, Lucy continued to grumble and shift restlessly.
Suddenly a bright light flashed and a man stood before them. Rogue blinked rapidly to clear his vision and he growled, taking a defensive stance.
"Peace Dragon." The man said, cleaning a pair of glasses. "I came, only, to check on my Princess."
His princess? Rogue was thoroughly confused. This mans scent was off somehow, though that was not all that was strange. His copper hair was spiky and gave the appearance of cat ears. He was wearing a black suit with a white shirt and black tie. Something about his scent though was familiar.
Lucy however had no such issues as she clearly recognized the stranger.
"Loke!" She cried, wiggling to get down. Rogue placed her on her feet gently and steadied her, though he felt disappointed. Was this man Lucy's boyfriend? She hadn't mentioned one that he could recall...
"Hello, Beautiful." The guy gave Rogue an assessing look. "I see you've found yourself another slayer to run around with." The guy hugged Lucy and smirked at Rogue over her shoulder.
"If you win she joins Sabertooth."
Rogue picked Frosch up and carried him to his little cat bed Rogue had had specially made for him. It was made with extra padding and the outer layer was a dark blue fleece material with pictures of frogs and lily pads. There was also a heating pad inside it so after Rogue had placed Frosch in the middle he flipped the switch activating the heat lacrimas inside the beds padding. Frosch began to purr as he settled into his bed.
Rogue stripped down to his boxers and climbed into his own bed. He flipped the switch to the light lacrimas in his room leaving him in pitch darkness. Though as the Shadow Dragon Slayer the dark held little secrets from him. He crossed his arms behind his head and thought of Lucy and their upcoming battle.
He also thought of her "infection" as her spirit had put it. It concerned him and confused him. Why could no one see the shadow but him? Loke had said he could feel it as could her other spirits. Was it magic somehow? A toxic dark magic somehow brought on by Tartaros?
Rogue knew he wouldn't get any answers here in the dark of his bedroom by himself. He decided to think better thoughts of the blonde woman... thoughts of claiming her as his mate. They calmed him, somehow soothing his inner dragon. He fell asleep and fell into dreams of blonde hair, soft skin and the sweet sound of her voice in his ear moaning his name.
XxX
Lucy POV
Lucy awoke to find herself curled up on the floor of an unfamiliar bathroom. She looked around and saw the door behind her was open. She attempted to stand but found the attempt to difficult and simply crawled on her hands and knees into the dark room. She felt around until she came into contact with something hard and used the thing to pull herself up. It felt like wrought iron and she figured it was probably a bed frame as she came into contact with what she was sure was a mattress. Hauling herself up and onto the bed took more effort than it should have.
As Lucy moved to the head of the bed she felt blindly along the wall hoping to find...
"Aha!" She muttered as she flipped a switch. The room was immediately flooded with light. She covered her eyes until they adjusted. When she could see again she looked around the room. It was sparsely furnished just a bed, dresser and a night stand. There was a large window on the wall to her right, covered by thick white curtains that matched the white blanket and the white paint on the walls. The bathroom was in front of her and a door leading into somewhere on the wall to her left. A bright flash and Virgo appeared before her.
"Punishment?" She asked quietly. Lucy smiled over joyed to see her friend.
"Virgo! Oh thank Mavis! Where am I?" Lucy started to get up but the room began to spin so she stayed put. The maid spirit approached her mistress and placed a stack of clothes and towels next to her.
"You were quite drunk last night Princess." Virgo responded. "Your new dragon brought you here. Big Brother and I came to check on you and Leo said you would probably want to bathe and change." Lucy looked down at herself and realized that she had been smelling something sour and gross since she had woken up. She had vomited all over herself, ruining her dress. Just the smell was making her feel ill all over again. Lucy had to get away from the smell. She struggled to pull of her dress until Virgo came and helped her to stand. Virgo undressed her rather briskly and with all the emotion of white washing a fence.
Lucy was grateful though as her spirit helped her back into the bathroom so she could take a shower with the soap and shampoo Virgo provided for her. Virgo had also placed a midnight blue toothbrush with Lucy's preferred toothpaste on the sink. When Lucy exited the shower she wrapped herself in a towel and gratefully brushed her teeth then rinsed her mouth with water. Lucy reentered the bed room and Virgo helped her to dress. She might smell better but the room was still spinning a bit and she felt weak. Lucy crawled into the bed and looked at the pink haired maid.
"Whose place is this?"
Virgo looked at her with her usual blank expression. "Rogue-san said the entire apartment was yours to use freely. He said he would send Lady Yukino to check on you later today."
"Wait it's Saturday already?!"
"Very early, it's 4 am but yes Princess it is Saturday. Would you like to punish me for not waking you sooner?"
Lucy was alarmed. She barely remembered the previous night. She remembered Rogue insisting she watch the movie with Frosch and then she went...
"Oh no. No no no no no no!" Lucy began to panic as the night slowly filtered back to her and she remembered accepting Rogues challenge. Lucy looked up to see Virgo dissolve into gold light only to be replaced with Loke.
"Loke!" Lucy grabbed his suit jacket and pulled him close to her. Loke embraced her and rubbed slow circles on her back. She began to cry. Loke held her until she finally fell asleep. He knew her concerns but Loke knew she also needed a support system. One that could help pull her out of her destructive tendencies and help Lucy regain her confidence. Lucy had been training quite a bit and had developed new techniques but she still felt Aquarius' loss as freshly as the day she had sacrificed her.
Now that Lucy had fallen asleep, Loke laid her back against the pillow and covered her with the blanket. He sat back against the headboard and pulled a book from his jacket pocket, settling himself in to guard his princess' dreams. The darkness liked to torment her with nightmares. Every so often she would whine or cry out in her sleep. Loke would hold her hand and murmur soothing things.
Remembering Rogue's comment about seeing the darkness that plagued Lucy, Loke would observe her carefully whenever she became distressed. He never saw anything but through his magical connection to his key holder Loke could feel the darkness. Cancer described it as similar to the way his bond had felt with Lucy's mother, Layla, after she had become deathly ill. The thought terrified all of Lucy's spirits. They all loved their princess dearly. Loke was several hours into his guard when he heard a knock on the front door.
Loke left Lucy's side and the bedroom approaching the front door. Before he could ask who was there a soft voice called out.
"Hello? Lucy? It's Yukino, are you there?" Loke breathed a sigh of relief and threw open the door.
"Why my fair Lady Yukino! How lovely to see you again!" Loke gave a sweeping bow, stepping back to allow Yukino entrance into the apartment. She came in quickly and Loke closed the door behind her. Yukino had a bag over her shoulder and Loke held out his hands. "A fair lady such as yourself should not be burdened with heavy things." He stated grandly. Yukino laughed as he meant for her to.
"How is Lucy? I understand she drank quite a bit last night. So I brought her some things." Yukino opened the shutters on the window between the kitchen and living room. She placed her bag on the counter on the back side of the wall and began to empty its contents. She placed a bottle of a blue sports drink and a take out container on the counter. She also pulled a bottle of aspirin out of her bag.
"I also brought her some clothes. I can put them in the room with her." Yukino said.
"Thank you very much Lady Yukino." Loke said sincerely. "Lucy's spirit, Virgo, has provided her with clothing but thank you truly for your kindness."
Yukino smiled brightly. "I had forgotten Virgo could bring her clothes. Also there's pineapple in that container." Her smile turned shy. "I know it's odd but Blue Frost Gatorade and pineapple is my hangover cure. Works every time for me." Loke laughed and nodded approvingly.
"Hey Yuki. What are you doing here?" The two in the living room turned to see Lucy staring sleepily at them from the hallway.
"Oh Lucy! Oh dear you look terrible." Yukino grabbed the Gatorade and the aspirin. She handed Lucy the drink and shook a couple pills from the bottle. Lucy drank from the proffered bottle heavily and accepted the aspirin gratefully. After taking them she saw Yukino holding a container of fresh pineapple chunks for her to eat. Lucy raised an eyebrow in question and Yukino giggled.
"Do not ask questions just eat a few pieces and then go back to bed." Lucy did as Yukino bid and then allowed Loke to lead her back to bed. Once Lucy was settled Loke returned to the living room to find that Yukino had made herself at home on the couch and was flipping through channels on the tv lacrima. She looked at him steadily for a moment.
"You must be quite exhausted from staying so long in the human world." Loke started to protest but Yukino held up her hand. "Go rest. I will watch over her for now. Don't forget I have my own spirits and this is my guild. She will be quite safe I promise." Loke nodded once and disappeared in a flash of gold light. Yukino resettled herself on the couch and found that one of her favorite shows was running a marathon. She kept the volume low so she could hear Lucy if she needed to and watched her show for some time.
Well next up comes the big fight to determine whether or not Lucy will join Sabertooth. The pineapple and frost Gatorade is my personal hangover cure so I felt it was appropriate to add into my story. Also just so y'all know I type this up on my phone using the app and it's being weird and changing my fonts and making entire paragraphs bold or italic or both so my apologies for the seeming weirdness. Hope you liked the chapter!