Forever's Not Enough

A/N: OMG IM SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE! Anyways, here's the 7th chapter! Sorry, again! I made it super duper romantic on the last part. I made three surprises. I made a lot of changes. Plus I didn't mention Kerlei, Seira and Mielle's spying scene last chapter. So here :))

Enjoy the fluffiness of this chapter. I made the third surprise extra fluffy for you!

Chapter Seven - Three Surprises

The First Surprise

As soon as Greg left to give Sting privacy, the blonde dragon slayer got in Lucy's room. Greg agreed to his plan, and decided to keep it as a secret. Once inside, Sting panicked. He forgot all his courage and bravery to apologize because Greg interfered. Huffing some air in, he relaxed himself. It was quiet at Lucy's room...Too quiet for someone asleep. He can't hear any soft snores. He can't hear a ticking clock as well, which is suspicious because Sting has sensitive hearing, and he should be able to hear even the smallest amount of noise. Then again, Sting knows that Lucy is in the room, asleep.

"What are you doing here, Sting Eucliffe of...Never mind, state your purpose..." said a stern voice from behind. Sting turned around, only to face a tall man with orange spiky hair, almost like having a lion's mane. He's wearing a black suit and has azure tinted sunglasses. His hazel eyes staring intensely at him, like a lion gawking at its predator.

Sting smirked cockily. "It's none of your business, lion. Who the heck are you to talk? Can I ask what you're doing here as well, lion?" he mocked him. A growl was heard from the orange-haired man in the suit.

"I'm the Celestial Spirit Leo, you can call me Loke. But I guess you calling me a lion is no insult. I'll let that pass. And I'm here because I sense someone about to pounce on my princess. I'm Lucy's spirit so I have the right to know your business here, Eucliffe. Now that I told you my purpose, what about yours?" asked Loke.

Sting hesitated. "If I tell you, you would ruin the surprise. So I insist not to tell. Besides, it would be for the good of both me and her situation right now. So if you'll excuse me, I need to say my regrets" Sting said quickly, walking towards Lucy's bed, which is two meters away. Loke, of course, blocked his way through, glaring daggers at Sting. The dragon slayer went into his fighting stance, so did Loke. They were about to brawl when Lucy opened the lamp beside her canopy bed.

"ROAR OF—!"

"REGULU—!"

She stifled a yawn and saw Sting and Loke about to beat up each other inside her room. Is she angry? No. Is she going to be sorry for them? No. Is she furious? "Sting...Loke...What are you doing in my room, late at night?" said a very sleep, yet booming voice. Lucy gave them a glare a hundredfold better than Mirajane and Erza's combined. The two gulped, hugged each other and begged for their lives spared.

Please standby while a ruckus is going on...

Three pairs of eyes are peeking through the door. Sting left it open, and the three mischievous mice were looking through the small space left. If they move an inch closer, the door would shut. Seira was beaming with pride, for their mission is half-accomplished. Mielle just stared at the new cute orange haired guy, fighting with Sting. Kerlei's eyes were glued to Sting, and she was silently cursing Loke for getting her Sting to trouble.

"Mission, half-accomplished! For now we retreat! The plan is we spy on them tomorrow night! I'm sure Sting-sama would try to sneak in again! But we better watch out for that Loke guy. He's the obstacle at this rate! Let's go, Greg-san would be looking for us in an hour from now!" Seira whisper-shouted. The two other maids agreed and they tiptoed back to their quarters.

They safely got inside, without anyone awake to suspect where they've been. Seira grabbed a notebook and a pencil from her small drawer. "Okay! We will list all the things that we saw and heard! First Sting-sama went out of his bedroom, leaving Lector inside. He tiptoed, too, so he must be secretly planning to make out with Mistress Lucy!" Seira announced her theory, making Mielle and Kerlei sweat drop.

"Seira, that's too much! They barely know each other and I'm sure they're too young for that. We're too young for that. Although, it's kinda suspicious! If they were to plan on making out in the middle of the night, shouldn't Mistress Lucy be awake?" Mielle tried proving Seira's hypothesis wrong. Kerlei agreed to Mielle's statement.

Seira grinned evilly. "Maybe she just fell asleep! But no, they would not make out! Sting-sama bumped to Greg-san, and as we all heard, Sting has a surprise for Miss Lucy! And the bathroom incident was all an accident. I knew Sting was innocent and he just needed some explaining to do! Sting also mentioned he found a place as his apology for her tomorrow! So tomorrow, we follow them. But for now, we listen to their breakfast conversations! I heard they only talk during meals and free time" Seira said, putting all the information in one page. "It's about time to show them that we made Late Master Jude's wish come true!"

"Explain yourselves!" Lucy demanded, as she closed the curtains of her bedroom. The sun's already high and it already entranced to Lucy's room. The two men, rubbing their so-called handsome faces, closed their eyes in desperation. Lucy couldn't do anything more but sigh because of them. She really wanted to have a peaceful sleep instead she got two insane morons interrupt. She was about to call it a very dreamy sleep...

Loke was first to explain. "This guy sneaked into your room last night. We asked each other's purpose and I told him mine, without hesitation, when this bastard didn't agree to say his reason onto why he was there in the first place. He ignored me and walked towards your bed and I blocked his way. We're about to fight when you woke up and rewarded me for protecting such purity of yours with some beating" Loke said, still rubbing his beautiful face. Or at least, that's what he told the author to write.

"Tch...It was supposed to be a surprise! Now that it's morning, I can't manage to..Gah, whatever, blondie! I'm going back to my room! Lector might be looking for me!" Sting yelled in frustration, and exited the room. Lucy was confused...Surprise? And what can't he manage to do? Before anything else, she shrugged it off and prepared herself for breakfast.

"Sorry...I'll go. See you later, princess" said Loke, disappearing in a puff of smoke. Lucy gave him a nod when he left, and finally had some time alone. Some time to think and ponder...What was Sting up to and why the heck is he in her room?

The Second Surprise

Lucy sat at the table for breakfast, Sting at her right and Lector at her left. It was quiet, unless you count the noise of the plate and silverware clashing. Lector ate quietly as he nibbled at the fish. Sting sat there, mind blank, and was toying with his food. Lucy ate gracefully, with no flaws or no words that came out of her mouth. As she swallowed, she was about to ask what Sting was up to when he spoke first.

"So...Um...Blondie...Sorry about last night and earlier that night. Didn't mean to..." he said, puffing his cheeks like a mad tsundere would, "So I was wondering...To...Um...Atone...for my sins...And receive no further...um...punishment...Let me at least take you somewhere as my apology. I wouldn't take no for an answer. So we'll go on to my surprise tonight. Don't worry, I'll do all my assigned tasks before the day ends" Sting added quickly, raising Lucy's curiosity.

Lector stared at Sting, asking if he could go with his eyes. Sting shook his head a little, and glanced at Lector with apologetic eyes. The mere exceed actually understood. And he knows where his partner would take Lucy. It has something to do with flowers...dancing...waterfalls...and...as Sting described it, it's more of a hidden paradise, which he is absolute that Lucy doesn't know. And he has a secret with the flowers, he had been there with Lector when they wandered off. More information about his discovery would be explained later.

"Okay...then..." Lucy said, not taking her eyes off the food. Awkward silence filled the atmosphere. They all noticed it, but they were all too scared to say something first. Not really scared, they're just insecure of the possibilities that might happen. What if they brought out a wrong topic? Or a topic that jumps to another topic which shouldn't be conversed about? Lector sighed, he decided he would break it.

"Mistress Lucy! There's someone looking for Sting-sama! He's a mage and he said his name was Rogue Cheney of Sabertooth!" Kerlei barged in the dining room, panting. "And he's cute, too!" she added clumsily, blushing. Two more maids came in, Mielle and Seira, dragging Kerlei out of the room. Sting stood up, excitement in his eyes, Lector, too!

Lucy just nodded at them with a smile, and they rushed out the mansion to see Rogue. He stood there, giving a soft smile at Sting, with Frosch on his shoulders, waving at them. "Sting-kun! Lector! Fro misses you so much!" Frosch said, flying towards them. Sting grinned at Rogue, who high-fived in the air.

"How'd you find me here?! How are you, bro?! And look! You're smiling!" Sting said, like it's some sort of miracle. If he wasn't a guy, he would definitely hug Rogue. But it's a sign of immaturity. "Man, I haven't seen you like forever! So how's life? How's your relationship with Yukino?! Hey come on in, you're my guests, right?!" Sting bombarded Rogue with questions, but he's pleased that Sting missed him. He thought Sting would hate him for not being much of help when he was beaten up by Sabertooth.

Rogue just gave a faint nod. "I heard about you working for the Heartfilia Konzern, so you would definitely be here. And I'm good..I left Sabertooth because of their lack of camaraderie" he said, before going inside the estate, "And no, Sting. Please stop asking about my lovelife. I clearly don't have one..." he added. Sting laughed at this, and told stories about him and Lector's adventures in the mansion. He even told Rogue about the accident last night, clearly forgetting that he has to settle things with Lucy tonight.

"You must like her by now. Maybe even love..." Rogue commented as they were about to enter the dining room. Frosch and Lector nodded in agreement. Sting denied it, though it was pretty obvious.

The Third Surprise

The day passes by and Lucy said Rogue could stay here for free as long as Sting does all the work. Sting whined about this and complained. Rogue just offered to help Sting in his difficulties and he reluctantly agreed. Sting, proudly saying he doesn't need help, declined and just asked Lucy to give a task to Rogue. Seeing that he is capable of silence, Lucy lead him to the library. Rogue stared in awe at all the books he could read, which made him energized to arrange all of them.

By one hour, a lot of maids barged in the library just to stare at Rogue, which crept him out. But then there's Greg, who would shoo them away and made very good friends with Rogue in a matter of seconds. Sting's maid fan girls forgot all about him and turned their attention to Rogue. It was much help though. He couldn't just escape a mob of angry tsunderes and yanderes.

During dinner, Sting reminded Lucy about his little surprise. And Lucy just rolled her eyes and said she would go. When she left the dining room, Rogue couldn't hep it but question Sting about what he said earlier. "So where are you taking her? I sure hope I wouldn't be called 'Uncle Rogue' after nine months, Sting...And since when did you eat so clean and mannerly?" Rogue said, with his stoic expression on.

Sting nearly chocked on his dinner, making Frosch and Lector laugh. "What?! No! We are not in a relationship! I would take her to a secret place, so it's not much really to talk about. Oh and I got these gentleman-like eating skills since I stayed here. It's been just a few weeks, then Greg-san taught me how to eat like Lucy does...So I did" Sting replied.

Rogue nodded and finished his drink. "Well that explains it. Good luck. I'm going to the shower..." he said softly and exited the dining room. Sting stifled a laugh. At any second now he would return and ask for a map of this house. He got last the first time. And as if on cue, Rogue came back in. "Where's the bathroom?" he asked Sting.

Sting laughed. "Thought you'd never ask.." he answered with a grin.

It was 10:00 PM in the evening, Lucy and Sting were walking to what Sting said was his surprise. "I'm tired! How much more do we have to walk? And it's cold...I'm hungry...Gah...Are we there yet?" Lucy complained impatiently. Sting hated her whining and she's being a whiny baby every time they go out as pairs. What I mean by 'go out' is literally go out...They go shopping and he was always there to accompany her. Sting was more like Lucy's butler, but Greg would be the house steward.

They were in the middle of nowhere when Sting stopped, took out a handkerchief and blindfolded Lucy. He quickly grabbed her arms and dragged her to some sort of forest. "Hey you idiot! Slow down! I might trip!" she whined. Sting ignored her and ran towards where his surprise might be. Sting carefully removed her blindfold.

Lucy got an irritated look, but that slowly faded away when she realized she was in a paradise. Surrounding her were beautiful white flowers. There were blue fireflies whirling in the air. She looked up and saw a clear view of the night sky. The stars twinkled as if they were pieces of glimmering diamonds in the sky. The trees, they were sublime! There were rabbits and squirrels surrounding the area, their beady eyes staring at them.

"It's so beautiful!" Lucy commented with a gasp, one hand covering her awe. Before she could add more, Sting did his White Dragon's Roar among the flowers, and made them glow beautifully. "Oh my...They're so...majestic!" she nearly screamed. She stared at the glowing flowers with amazement and to the fact that she was already mesmerized.

Before she could do anything, a soft melody played. And to Lucy's surprise, the animals were humming. Sting bowed before her, "Shall we dance?" he asked like a gentleman. And to his surprise, he did very well with the lines.

"Hmm..fine...as you wish..." Lucy replied, winking at him. Both blushed to her actions.

They started dancing around the flowers as the blue fireflies circled them. The flowers glowed even more, the animals hummed the melody a bit faster than before and then there was the moon. It shone brightly, creating a spotlight on both of them as they danced. Sting started the conversation.

"I wanted to say sorry..." he started, "For that accident. I think it brought shame to both of us. What could have the servants thought?"

Lucy chuckled. "Nah, it's fine...We're cool. And just make sure it won't happen again..."

"Then I guess this 'surprise' of mine was worth all of it then? Do you like it?" he asked.

The blonde girl nodded and they both stared into each other's eyes. "I think it's more than enough. Thank you..." she whispered in his ear. They danced and danced, until the melody stopped. And they both fell to the grass, laughing.

"That was fun!" Lucy said cheerfully.

"Glad you like it..." Sting replied, panting.

Lucy smiled and looked up the stars. "Who knew the great and mighty Sting Eucliffe can be a gentleman in just a few weeks?"

"Heh...It's the great and mighty Sting Eucliffe after all..."

And cut! I wrote too much. Sorry for the late update! I just have to add this idea that suddenly formed in my mind. Plus a lot of people asked me where the heck is Rogue, so there you go. Rogue's there and will he be connected to the story? Why, yes of course!

Can you feel the love tonight?

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