Rogue

How can this be. No. None of this is true. This can't be. There's no way in the world... Eventhough I'm in denial, what I see remains the same. Nothing changes. Nothing will change what stands before me. My one and true love... the one I'd died to save. The one who'd been killed in front of my very eyes. The one woman I'd mourned for days, weeks, even months is now standing in front of me holding the very man who'd been the cause of my misery and sorrow. I'm utterly stupefied.

Minerva stands uncomfortably in the guild hall still holding Sting's corpse seemingly unable to let go. No one moves. No one understands. No one knows what to do, how to react to what they're seeing in front of them. We stay there staring at each other, the silence daring anyone to break it but no one says nor does anything. We just...stare.

"Min...er...va?" I hear my broken voice croak out from my throat shattering the silence. I clear my throat repeating her name with a stronger voice. "Minerva." As I approach her she sets Sting's now slightly paled body down.

I extend my hand towards her and she takes it wearing the brightest smile on her face. That's all it takes. A genuine smile from my former now revived girlfriend and without a second thought I throw myself at her, holding her tight.

To able to feel her live body under my touch again knowing that this time...this time I can cry out all my tears and she will move. She will move to comfort me, tell me everything is alright, she'll kiss me and hold me. The tears stream out of me. I begin to shake uncontrollably but nevertheless I hold onto her with all my might. Promising I won't let her until I get a reaction from her.

"It's alright." I hear her say and I know this time she's the real deal. The Minerva I loved was back. She runs her hand along my back comforting me as the happiness keeps flowing out of me. Later that night we organize a banquet for the return of Minerva. Orga, Rufus and a group of other mages leave to clean up Sting's body before we organize his funeral. To be honest I can't care less about him anymore. He's gone, Minerva's back and that's all that matters now.

When the banquet's over Minerva and I take some alone time to go walk on the beach the way we used to. Holding hands, playfully bumping into each other, and splashing one another in the water. We finally settle down to gaze at the stars while listening to the sound of the ocean waves hit the sand.

"Minerva, I love you." I say for the millionth time, kissing her cheek as she giggles happily. I missed you so much. If only you knew how much I love you. It's too great to put into words.

"I love you too, Rogue."

"When I lost you I thought I'd lost everything. Our hopes and dreams, our life together, our future. The pain of losing everything was simply too much to bear." I hold her in my arms as we stare at the starry sky.

The sky that watched over me while I was in distress, misery, sorrow, and my depression. The dark blue sheet spotted with bright spots shone there for me with the sole purpose of giving me hope, making the world all the more bearable for my broken self. Connecting me with my one and only love. Minerva. I can feel my eyes watering again. I don't care to wipe my face of these tears for they mean so much more than just salty drops of water running from my eyes. These tears are washing away all the bad times, my horrible past, making way for a new and a better life. "We can finally start to fulfill our dreams and fantasies as one." I hug her tighter never wanting to let her go. She squeezes my arm in return and we both enjoy each other's presence once more.

"Minerva, I'm so happy we're together again. It's just...it's just too much." I breath in the fresh air mixed with the sweet scent of her hair. I feel her shuffle uncomfortable under me as if something is bothering her.

"Minerva is something wrong?" I ask in a reassuring tone, letting her know not to hesitate to express her concerns or worries.

"Rogue... I would like to address...what happened on that day."

"Minerva, please, let's leave all that behind..."

"No. Rogue, I would like to address this now. What happened between Sting and I... he did it for a reason other than mindless jealousy and revenge."

"Please Minerva, we both know full well that he had every intention of doing out of revenge. Besides why would he be jealous of you? We were best friends. We were always there for each other and I never hid anything from him. We were like brothers." How can she possibly say that Sting did this for me. I'm slowly getting pissed off.

"Rogue, listen to me. He didn't do it for the reasons you think he did."

"Then what did he do it for. Why did he decide that killing you was the best option. Wasn't there another way?" My voice starts to reflect the anger growing within me but Minerva doesn't drop the subject.

"Rogue, he did what he did out of love. He loved you like we love each other...he loved you more anyone else. It was unfair. Unfair to him. It was his only chance. The only way for him to express his love without neglected was to do what he did. It was his last choice." She looks me in the eyes but I can't stand it. He's finally gone. I have everything I've ever wanted, yet here I am listening to my girlfriend try to justify her murderer's actions. Great. Even after his death that bastard found a way to fuck things up.

"Minerva stop. I don't understand. Why are you defending Sting. He's the one who killed you remember?" I search her eyes for the old Minerva. The one that I saw leave this world at the hands of that bastard. All I wanted was to be happy. With my girlfriend. Is that too much to ask? Even though it's the same pair of blueish grey eyes I love to gaze at. Even though everything was the same...something's different. I feel I'm staring at a pair of eyes that shouldn't be here. Her hard and dignified expression doesn't change. She's still the Minerva I know on the outside, however when I look harder in her eyes I notice the difference which sends chills down my spine. Those eyes aren't hers. They're Sting's. Minerva's decomposed eyes were replaced by Sting's dying one's. The next words that come out her mouth shut me down completely.

"Sting was right. We're not meant to be."