Lucy grabbed her backpack before walking upstairs. She was getting really good with the water. It was Monday, and she's been practicing since Friday night. She would work until she almost fell over, drink blood, then start again. Saturday night she went out with Kara to get more blood because she felt bad that she was drinking so much. She could lift the water almost instantly now, so she thought it was worth it. She was going to take a break for a few days and work on killing animals for blood.

"Lucy, can I talk to you?" Yukino asked. She patted the spot on the couch next to her. Lucy set her backpack on the floor and sat down. "As you know, I can't leave the hospital for multiple days, so I have Sting and Rogue do my work now." Lucy nodded. "Well I need your help."

"Of course," Lucy said. "What do you need?" She was glad that Yukino wanted her to help, but she was going to be late for school if she waited any longer.

"I need you to go with Rogue to another town for a few days. I'll watch Kara. I'll have her sit in my office at the hospital until I leave every day if you are worried about her being alone with Sting," Yukino explained. "You'll leave as soon as Rogue gets home, so you won't go to school today, either. I'll right you a doctor's excuse and say you had strep throat."

"What do we have to do?" Lucy asked. She was a little upset that she had to miss school. She was just starting to like it again.

"There's a town not too far from here. There is a real big beast problem over there. I just want you two to go kill as many as you can and get some blood and samples for me." Yukino added a smile for affect.

"I would love to help you," Lucy said excitedly. She was glad that she could repay Yukino for everything she's done, which was a lot. She gave her a place to stay, train, access to all the books she could ever need or want, a blood supply, and a home for Kara. That's all Lucy ever wanted. She knew Kara didn't like traveling around. She wanted friends and a family. And that dreamed didn't seem so impossible now.

Lucy only had to wait an hour for Rogue and Sting to get home. Sting was pulling a wagon behind him, a bunch of boxes stacked on top. Rogue wasn't carrying anything. He did have bright red eyes, though. She looked over to Sting and saw that his eyes were red as well.

"Go take that downstairs and get some blood. Get some for Lucy, too," Rogue told Sting. The blonde quickly did as he was told. Rogue looked over to Lucy. "Did Yukino tell you about the mission?"

"She told me we were killing beasts and it would last a few days," Lucy said. She moved all her hair to one side of her neck and walked closer to Rogue. In an instant he was holding her tight, his fangs deep in her neck. It felt like an eternity before he let her go, simply because Lucy was so excited about telling him about her moving water. Sting handed her her a package of blood, so she had to wait a little longer.

"We'll need to go pack now," Rogue announced. He started walking downstairs, Lucy right behind. He grabbed the black suitcase resting against the one table. She grabbed the red one and followed him. He went into the armor room first. He quickly ran around the room, grabbing things. He handed half the items he gathered to Lucy.

"What's all this?" Lucy asked. She had a large belt, a medium belt, and a tiny belt. They all had different compartments. Instead of answering her, Rogue just led her to the weapons room.

"I want you to fill each slot with weapons. Make sure you have ones that will be beneficial in battle. The smallest one goes on your ankle, the middle sized one goes on her upper thigh, and the large one goes around your waist," Rogue explained.

"Why do I need so much stuff?" Lucy asked. "We usually don't bring any weapons at all. I didn't even know you could use weapons."

"These beasts aren't ones like you're used to." Rogue started making his way around the room. Lucy just took whatever he did. "These beasts will look like humans." He stopped at a large box. He opened it. Lucy saw a bunch of small viles inside. He took a few and put it in the pouch on his large belt. "These contain liquid to attract beasts. We are going to use these to set traps." He grabbed some rope and wire.

After they got all the weapons and tools the needed, they went to the clothing room. "Make sure you pick clothes that cover your belts," Rogue said. "We're trying to look like we are in our mid-twenties, so pick clothes accordingly. Make sure you bring enough. You will probably need two per day. You'll ruin a set every night."

Lucy got two pairs of boots to wear. She figured she could wear those to cover the ankle strap, then wear skirts. She would feel more comfortable wearing skirts, anyways.

Within the hour, they were ready to go. Rogue put almost all of his clothes in Lucy's suitcase. He filled his with money, blood containers, extra weapons, and a few odd containers to put things like beast hair and nails in. Yukino used the weird body parts for experiments, so he always tried to get them for her.

Lucy was a bit surprised when they boarded a train. When they traveled towns they usually just teleported there or ran super fast through alleys. She and Rogue got a cabin in the far back of the train.

"Did Yukino tell you all the details of the mission?" Rogue asked. He made himself comfortable on the one bench.

"She only said what I told you," Lucy said. She sat on the other bench. She wasn't sure what else there was to know. The mission seemed pretty straight-forward to her.

"We are going to Paris," Rogue said with a smirk. He knew what reaction he would get out of her. (A/N: I just made up the town Paris, Fiore. I just wanted to make a town to fit what I needed for the story.)

"Paris?" Lucy asked, blushing. She didn't expect that. "Do you Paris, the love capitol of Fiore?" The mission just got ten times more awkward for her.

"We are going to be newlyweds." Rogue got two rings from his pocket. He put one on and threw the other to Lucy. "We are staying in the newlywed suite in one of the hotels there. That's the only room there with a fridge in it. We'll need that to keep blood fresh. Oh, and whatever I do, just follow along. I may act weird. It's just part of a plan that I probably won't have time to tell you. Everything will sort of be rushed. Just got along with it."

Lucy nodded. She couldn't even imagine what the next few days would be like. It would be full of awkward moments, that's for sure. She was originally wondering why Sting or Kara didn't come, but now she knew why. It would be odd if they came, since it was suppose to be like their honeymoon.

It was almost three in the afternoon when they arrived in Paris. They each held their suitcases with one hand and held each other's hand with the other. When they got to the hotel, Rogue handed the man at the counter the money to pay for the room. He got two keys in exchange. Rogue didn't speak until they were in the room with the door locked.

"We are going to town tonight," Rogue said. He grabbed Lucy's suitcase and threw all the clothes randomly into the drawers of the provided dressers. He threw the suitcase across the room and grabbed the next. He pulled a satchel-like purse and put a few containers for blood and extra things in there. He handed the purse to Lucy. "Alright, let's go."

"Where are we going?" Lucy asked. Rogue grabbed her hand and drug her out of the room. When they got downstairs he laughed as if she said something funny. She could see the man behind the counter smile, thinking they were the perfect couple.

"I thought we might go for a walk and maybe go to the sakura park. How's that sound, Hun?" Rogue asked, briefly rubbing his nose in her hair. Lucy blushed and nodded. A lot of people were around, so he would have to act like they were actually just married. She didn't expect him to be so good at it, though. He was actually making her believe that they were a couple. That's just how convincing it was.

At some point, Lucy saw Rogue casually throw something into an alley that they passed. She faintly heard glass shatter. She assumed that was the beast bait. That meant they weren't going to be on a walk for too long. Actually, it was already dark. She didn't even realize it. She was glad it was, though, since they reached the sakura park. Lights were strung up all over, giving the petals a glow. Parts of the park were decorated as a stone garden. She then understood why Paris was the love capitol of Fiore. It was truly beautiful.

Rogue leaned really close to Lucy as they walked, his face an inch from hers. "I can remember when this city was just another grassland," he said, making Lucy laugh. She wasn't even trying to do it for show. It was just something that Rogue would say. "We should go check the alley now. I'm sure the bait will attract a beast soon." He leaned his face back away from hers. He kissed the hand she had linked with his before going back the way they came. Lucy couldn't believe that he actually did that. She was internally squealing like a crazed fangirl.

The alley was deserted when they got there. Rogue moved her so her back was against the wall. "The beast is getting closer. I have a plan, so just got along with it," he whispered in her ear.

Before Lucy could respond, her mouth was covered by his, his hands wound tightly around her waist. She snapped herself out of her shocked state and put her arms around his neck. She heard footsteps getting closer. Rogue lightly bit her bottom lip, bringing her attention back to him. "The beast," he quickly whispered. She gasped when he moved his one hand to her thigh. She was a little worried about his plan, not even able to imagine what could possibly be going through his head. He moved his hand almost all the way up to her hip. She felt his grab something on her belt. Then she understood what he was doing. It really was a good plan. He let go of her and spun around, throwing the dagger he had in his hands.

"You bastard!" a man yelled, hugging his stomach. The dagger was sticking out of his chest.

"That was way easier than I thought," Rogue said, running a hand through his hair. He went up to the beast and pulled the dagger out. He brought his foot up and kicked the man in the face, using his heal to put him flat on the ground. With the slightest pressure, the man's skull cracked.

"One beast down," Lucy said, walking over. She took her dagger back from Rogue and attached it to her belt again. She handed her satchel to Rogue. He started filling up containers. He took eyeballs, teeth, and even the man's heart. Lucy was starting to feel sick. It was just like that day with Gray under the tree at school. She started coughing up blood and fell to her knees.

"Lucy!" Rogue gasped. He moved her so she was sitting. "What's wrong?" He's never seen this happen to her before, so he wasn't sure what do.

"I just need blood. I'll be okay," Lucy said, coughing again. She wrapped her arms around Rogue's neck and bit him, feeling better almost instantly.

Boy, was it going to be a long mission.


This chapter had a bit of RoLu. Awesome, huh? I loved writing this chapter. It seemed to go very fast, though.

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