By the time they reached town the following day, Lucy was more than ready to get off her feet and sit down on anything cushy. Her shoulder hurt, and she had a kink from sleeping on the ground beside Sting for the past week. All she wanted to do was relax, and hopefully get a good shower in.

Or better yet, a bath. She wasn't sure she could convince Sting to sit around for that, but she'd give anything for one right about now.

Now, if Sting could learn how to be quiet for a second, she might be able to come up with a plan on how to achieve that.

"What do you mean Dobengal tried to destroy my throne?" Sting screamed, practically coming unglued as he stared into the lacrima. They'd gotten separated from the group earlier when he stopped to take the call, and at least there was no deadline to meet up tonight. They had until tomorrow before meeting with the group again to head out again. "I thought you would keep things under control!"

Minerva sighed, her feelings towards Sting's favorite chair apparent. So far Lucy hadn't noticed any sadness towards the near-destruction of Sting's seat. "I didn't actually let him destroy it. I said he tried to destroy it."

"It's the same thing!"

Lucy grinned, finding Sting's distress somewhat amusing. They'd barely been in town ten minutes before Minerva called, relaying the issues Dobengal caused since they left. It didn't seem like she was having a problem, but listening to Sting slowly lose his mind was definitely worth the detour.

She hadn't seen him this worked up in a couple days, and while he was tense from the implication of Dobengal causing a scene once more, she could see that the lighthearted issue was a nice break from the past week.

"-being handled," he continued, Lucy catching the end of his sentence. "Just make sure he doesn't cause any more issues. I can't come back anytime soon."

"Sting," Minerva chirped, pointedly ignoring Lucy during the conversation, "I think I can handle one little boy. He's just moody, don't worry about it. He's only been at the guild once since you left."

"I guess that's good."

"I'll let you know if he does blow up your chair," she laughed, winking before the message cut out. Sting grumbled something under his breath, glancing towards Lucy when he pocketed it again.

He scowled. "It's not funny."

"Please, it's a little funny," she argued, tugging on his arm. "Come on already! I waited for you to do that lame call; you promised we could go to the room."

Sting smirked, his sour expression melting away. "Does that mean you're hinting at something?"

Rolling her eyes, she began dragging him towards the hotel. He hadn't made any jokes in the last few days, but apparently that was over. "No! I haven't had a proper shower in a week – and don't even try telling me the lake was a real substitute. I want bubbles."

"No way, you are not girling-up my arm with bubbles."

Lucy scowled, stopping in her tracks. "I'm not 'girling' you up! Come on Sting, you beat me there with the crop top."

"Why you-" he began, only to be cut off when Lucy turned abruptly and started dragging him the other way again.

"No, I don't think so," she whined, shaking her head, "I want a real bath! I need to wash all this filth off of me. Come on already, it's not like we have anything else to do right now."

"Oh, food," Sting agreed, matching her pace, "I can't wait for the buffet!"

Groaning, she shook her head. "I can't believe we picked our hotel all because of a buffet."

In theory, a bath should be easier than a shower. Lucy could bathe while Sting could sit instead of stand, and if things went well they could even talk while she soaked before they had to head downstairs to eat.

They still hadn't gotten to talk about all the things Sting wanted to, but that didn't seem to matter right now.

Things were not going well, and he seriously doubted this bath was a good idea.

"I don't wanna sit on the floor," he pouted, letting Lucy drag him over to the tub. She'd already drawn the water, and was presently preparing to undress. Her hair was pulled up from her face, a few stray strands hanging down.

"I didn't want to go to the buffet in the middle of the afternoon," she argued, glaring up at him, "but I did, and you ate like a pig. Now I'm getting my bath. So yes, you're going to sit on the floor."

Sting rolled his eyes, giving up. He'd known this was coming, but the idea of sitting bored on the floor for an unknown amount of time didn't appeal to him. "Fine, but I'm gonna complain the whole time."

Lucy smirked, making a shooing motion with her hand. Turning his head away he waited patiently for her to undress, ignoring the tugging on his arm as she did so. If he thought about it too much his interest would outweigh his need for self-preservation, and he might chance looking.

He didn't need anyone to explain to him about why that was an awful idea.

Without a word Lucy tugged on his arm, indicating that he should move towards the tub. He obeyed, used to the silent signals by this point. The soft sound of her touching the water and then the base of the tub told him he'd be able to at least sit in a minute, and a few seconds later the shower curtain shifted. "Okay, we can sit now."

Once seated, he stared at the wall blankly. Her fruity bubble bath was incredibly distracting to his senses, and without the sound of running water this was a lot more awkward than when they showered.

Lucy seemed to pick up on that too, almost immediately beginning to talk. "So uh… so, we should be in town for tonight and maybe tomorrow depending on how getting supplies goes."

"Seems that way."

She shifted, pulling his arm a little bit deeper into the tub. Sting's head snapped around to stare at the appendage disappearing behind the curtain, staring at the sheer white fabric separating them. His fingertips grazed the water before he managed to rip his arm back to its prior position. "Don't do that," he growled, attempting to clear his throat.

She stilled, and he wondered if he'd upset her. "What?"

Tearing his eyes away from the curtain, he tried again. "Don't do that; don't pull my arm in there."

"I'm not trying to but I have to reach the soap-"

"God blondie, stop right there." He really didn't need a play-by-play from her right now. Taking a breath her bubble bath assaulted his nose again, and he swallowed hard, banging his head back into the wall.

This was a god-awful idea.

When it grew quiet again, Sting wondered what type of personal hell he'd stumbled into. There was a beautiful, soaking wet girl was on the other side of the shower curtain, trying to explain to him that she was going to cover herself in suds. He figured he must've done something truly repulsive recently to receive a punishment befitting this.

And she acted like she didn't even know what her actions did to him! He was still a guy, he still had basic reactions. But he'd gotten enough threats from enough people, and couldn't possibly imagine even joking with her right now. It would probably shred what little of his self-control remained.

How did he let himself get talked into this? He knew it was a bad idea. Usually he could block out what was going on when they showered, they were a lot faster. But without the sound of running water every little sound was intensified, and he wished anything else would fill the silence.

"Sting?" Lucy asked, slicing through his thoughts again. He glared harder at the wall in front of him, forcing his gaze to remain there.

"What?" he replied, clearing his throat again. He should've brought something in there to do, or at least attempted a nap.

She hesitated, and he wondered why he was being such a dick to her. She wanted a bath instead of a shower, so what? The principles between them didn't change, only now the sound of water didn't distract him and drown out the sounds of her subtle movements. It was a whole lot harder to remain oblivious like this.

"Do you think we'd talk if it wasn't for this?" she asked, giving his arm a shake. "Do you think we would've even met up again?"

Frowning, he looked towards the curtain despite himself. She hadn't brought up anything he'd expected. "I don't know, maybe? We haven't talked a lot before this."

"Exactly," she agreed, shifting around. A bit of the tepid water splashed against his skin, and he arched an eyebrow. It couldn't have gotten cool already. "It's almost laughable that it happened. If Lector didn't slap that bracelet on you, and if Natsu wasn't messing around and put one on me, and we hadn't crossed paths at that moment, this wouldn't have happened. We would've gone on not talking to each other, and I'd probably be on a job right now instead of a mission."

"I could be sitting on my throne," he muttered, glancing disdainfully at the floor. The mat beneath him was painfully unsuccessful at padding the hard surface.

Lucy laughed, her voice echoing in the small space. "You and that throne, I swear."

"A master is supposed to have a throne," he argued, his lips pulling into a frown. "It's sensible."

"Sure it is."

He rolled his eyes, focusing on the wall again. "What does it matter anyway? We're here now, and we're in it for the long haul until we can figure out how to get these off, or at the very least disconnected. Talking about what-if's makes no difference."

"That would make things easier," she agreed, shifting around. Half a second later Sting's nose flared, the onslaught of whatever soap she'd opened assaulting his senses. The bubble bath was strong enough, he didn't need anything else distracting him.

If he kept talking he might be able to draw his attention away from the smell. "Why do you ask?"

Lucy paused what she was doing and shrugged, the action carrying over to his arm, his wrist barely shifting upward. "Just thinking. It's funny how fate works sometimes."

"You think this is fate?"

"I think if it is it's the only reason we are talking now. Without these bracelets, there's no telling how long it would've been before our paths crossed again."

Sting frowned. "I'm sure it wouldn't have taken that long. One way or another you and Yukino would've wanted to see each other again."

"Oh, and you and Natsu wouldn't want to get into another fight?"

"Of course! I'll beat him this time."

Laughing, she replied, "You keep telling yourself that."

They faded into silence, nothing but the sound of gently splashing water filling the air. He really couldn't focus on the wall anymore despite his best efforts, finding the girl behind the shower curtain much too alluring.

Against his better judgment, he spoke again, "the water is lukewarm."

Pausing, he heard her set down something on what had to be a shelf in the shower. "This hotel sucks. I couldn't get it any hotter, and you saw me running the water forever. I finally gave up."

"Isn't a halfway cold bath kind of a letdown?"

Lucy huffed. "That's an understatement."

Biting his lip, he tried and failed to keep from speaking again. "I can warm it up for you."

She froze, even her breathing halting for a moment. Sting knew he was treading dangerous waters after all the not so subtle hints he'd gotten about Lucy's past, but he didn't think that it was that bad of an offer. The heat that radiated from his light magic would heat the water easily, and at least it would make the whole damn experience worth it if one of them was happy.

"That would be okay," she replied, her voice soft. He knew without asking that they were crossing some sort of boundary, he just couldn't quite determine what that boundary was. "Just not too hot. Natsu used to heat the water too much."

Ignoring the way Natsu's name brought a spike of annoyance, Sting shifted and let his fingertips drag across the surface of the water. It didn't take a lot of effort, the liquid immediately beginning to warm.

Lucy let out an audible groan at the difference, and he nearly lost it. Clenching his opposite hand, he was suddenly glad for the curtain separating them. "That's perfect."

Retracting his hand like he'd been slapped, Sting swallowed. "Great."

"If I knew it'd be this good I would've asked before," she continued, sinking further into the water. "It feels amazing."

He resisted the urge to bang his head into the wall. She had to stop doing that.

Clearing his throat, he tried to think of everything imaginable to get his head out of the gutter. "You know, if you'd let me show you how to control some of my magic you could do that yourself. If you can get good at it, it may help keep you warm as we head north."

There was a brief pause, and Sting wondered if she was just going to ignore him again. "Really?"

"Well, yeah. I figured out how to summon Loke-"

"-which was an accident remember-"

"-and I got the scorpion to come out too-"

"-Scorpio-"

"-so I figure I can teach you how to intensify the magic you're putting off," he finished, giving her arm another tug. "And how to channel it. It's probably better if you don't just randomly blast people."

"That was one time," she argued, "and it only happened recently. You called out two separate spirits on our walk to this town! I only blasted one guy."

"Technically it was someone trying to ambush us," he agreed. "I'll give you that one. Still, the white light magic I use is powerful and it generates both heat and light. It would be better if you had some idea of what you are doing just in case something else happens. We're going to have to figure out what to do about it soon."

"Well it would be nice to warm up my own baths whenever I want," she replied, and he could hear the joy in her voice. "So maybe it wouldn't be bad to try it after the bath-"

"-I thought we were going to dinner after your bath," he argued, pouting.

"We just had lunch!"

A grin pulled at one side of Sting's lips. When chaos wasn't going on all around them and he actually got a few moments to really get to know the blonde, he found he actually enjoyed talking to her. She was right, without the bracelet incident they had no specific reasons to cross paths and talk. Maybe – in some twisted, backwards way – this hell was a good thing. Now that he wasn't so angry at Natsu, it was nice getting to know his friends. Lucy was definitely the highlight of that group.

"How do you do it?" she asked, interrupting his thoughts again. "You just channel your magic and sometimes use a special attack, right? It can't be all that different from the magic I use."

"Mine has heat."

Lucy shifted around again. "I don't think that should matter so much. It's the same principle. This shouldn't take so much practice-"

"It'll take a lot of practice," Sting argued, sounding annoyed. "Dragon slayer magic is rare for a reason."

"So is celestial spirit magic," she countered, her tone smug. "I bet you I could learn how to handle your magic faster than you can mine."

Sting perked up at the tone in her voice. "Is that a challenge?"

"You have about as much patience as Natsu," she laughed, her lighthearted tone bouncing off the narrow walls. "You're not going to learn to harness magic the way I do. And you're forgetful! You'll forget to even reach for my keys."

"Please blondie, you're giving me an excuse to play grab ass. Of course I'm going to remember."

She sputtered, and he knew he'd successfully managed to get under her skin. "T-that's not the point! You're never going to remember in a fight to grab for my keys. You're too focused on physical attacks."

"It is kinda part of the dragon slayer magic," he shrugged, feeling her pulling on his arm again. At least while they were talking about this he was distracted again. "I still doubt you'd be able to use my magic."

"I blasted that guy, remember?"

"One guy, and it was an accident."

She scoffed, splashing around behind the curtain. "I could do it again! Obviously I can harness it since I was able to blast him."

"No, you'd reach for your keys. It's instinct. You'd only use my magic by accident."

Lucy huffed, and he could feel her moving her arms around more erratically. "My instinct is to use my keys, but both of us being able to use each other's magic might be extremely helpful for when we finally get north. Otherwise we might be at a disadvantage."

Sting's eyebrows shot up, thinking of his attempt to practice with her and her repeated disagreement to actually try such a thing. He opened his mouth to argue, cutting off when he realized it was getting warmer.

"Are you practicing?"

"I'm just heating up the water a little," she replied smugly. "I told you I could get the hang of your magic faster."

"Don't burn yourself," he laughed, shaking his head. "It's not fire like Natsu's magic, but there's still heat with the light. But I thought you didn't want to practice with each other's magic?"

Lucy sighed, and he felt her arm moving again. "I don't know. If it's something we can do while connected it's practical, but I don't think it's something I'm necessarily excited for."

"Even though you just used it to warm the bath?"

"I should get out," she replied, shifting behind the curtain. "It's stupid to heat up a bath twice, even if it did start out cold."

He followed her movements when she stood, pulling the curtain open a hair so their arms had more room. The water was draining out, and in a minute she'd join him again with that stupid fruity soap stinking up the place, but at least she wouldn't be soaking anymore.

Reaching behind him, he grabbed for one of the towels, and moved to toss it to here. "Dry off-"

"Do you think I could do that steaming trick you do?" she asked, the towel hanging in his outstretched arm. "The one you keep using to dry me off?"

"It's just raising your body temperature, same as Natsu. But I wouldn't really suggest that being your first attempt," he cautioned, remembering the first time he tried to expel magic energy from his body and accidently burnt his clothing off.

"It can't be too bad," she argued, ignoring his sentiments. Sting knew Lucy was headstrong, and typically she was known for figuring out problems where she could. But he didn't think challenging herself in the shower was the ideal situation. If anything, that bath relaxed her too much and she was being careless.

Sting's lip twitched, his hand tightening on the outstretched towel. Was she trying to downplay his magic or something? "Lucy-"

She shrieked, jumping back harshly into the side of the shower as the thin curtain separating them burst to life. The white light that emitted off the material moments before it burst into flame from the heat lit up the bathroom in a way the artificial lights could not, and seconds later the burning divider was falling between them.

Dropping the towel, he twisted around to painfully hit the falling material, keeping it away from Lucy's skin as it dissipated with the help of his additional magic. As quickly as it happened it was over, the remains of the shredded, burned curtain falling to the stone floor.

And there was nothing left between them.

Turning, he intended to ask if she was alright but the words died in his throat, finding the very naked mage behind him. Before he really got the chance to appreciate the sight before him she struck out, managing to slap his cheek hard enough to send his head spinning.

"Don't look!"

Sting swore quietly, wondering why this was happening to him. Instead he jerked his head back around, managing to grab the second towel in the process and thrust it into her awaiting hand, keeping his eyes level with hers. "Then don't burn the curtain!"

"I wasn't trying to!"

"You haven't wanted to practice each other's magic for days, and now you think the best time to is in the middle of a god damn bathroom?" he continued, narrowing his eyes. "What is up with you? You've been acting strange for days, and that's saying a lot when I don't even know you that well, blondie."

She managed to wrap the towel around herself, Sting maintaining focus only on her face. When she succeeded she met his gaze again, cheeks a brilliant red. "I'm not acting strange."

He raised an eyebrow, his gaze dropping to her trembling hand clenching the front of the towel. "If we're actually going to try it we should be outside when we do."

Lucy nodded, but the movement was jerky and uneven. She scrambled out of the shower, brushing quickly past Sting. "Come on, I wanna get dressed."

Staying quiet, he let her drag him out. It could've gone drastically different, but she was so off for the majority of the conversation he decided it wasn't a good idea to keep asking questions. He really did want to practice interchanging magic, which would definitely throw off opponents in a battle and they wouldn't need to stand on the sidelines again. It wouldn't do to cower the entire way to the northern city.

Still, her actions weren't making any sense. She'd been strange since they ran into that guy Dan, and he figured he wouldn't be finding out anything else about what happened there unless Lucy felt like sharing. But he knew Dan wasn't in this city, at least not close enough to be a problem. Even if he didn't come close to Lucy, Natsu would know something was wrong if he caught the scent too, and it would be difficult to avoid two dragon slayers.

Hell, if Rogue knew, there would be three.

Turning when she requested, he waited for her to get dressed. There would be time to pick her brain about things, but now wasn't it.

"You look as bad as I imagined you would."

Sting glanced up when Rogue entered, the shadow dragon slayer finding it funny how perturbed the blond man looked. Lucy was passed out beside him, the blankets thrown haphazardly around her.

Lector sat by her head on one of the extra pillows, fiddling with something Sting must've given him. The exceed stopped by an hour or so ago, letting him know that Rogue intended to come by and talk to him. He planned to talk to both of them, but maybe it was better that she was asleep.

"Do you always lay like that?" he asked, sitting at the cramped desk. Sting rolled his eyes, glancing at the sleeping blonde.

"We take turns," he replied, shrugging. "She fell asleep first, so I figured I would give her arm a break for now."

Rogue nodded knowingly, looking at their position. "And you always end up stuck on top of the blankets?"

Sting sighed. "What do you want Rogue?"

Glancing at the girl once more, he cocked his head to one side. Frosch rested beside him on the desk, eating a cookie he'd gotten the exceed on the way. "Rufus called me earlier when he couldn't reach you two. They found out something else about the bracelets."

"That's the point isn't it?" he scowled, his free arm crossed over his torso. He appeared grumpy, like something hadn't gone his way. Since the group didn't meet for dinner, Rogue imagined the pair had plenty of time to get into some sort of argument.

Shifting on the chair, Rogue met Sting's eyes. "I believe Levy called and told you two about the pair of mages who were shocked by the bracelets, and one of the wearers died? The survivor was overcharged yesterday by the magic conducting through the bracelet and died instantly. They couldn't get the bracelet off and it killed him."

Frowning, Sting sat a little straighter. "So if you get the damn things off you automatically die?"

Rogue shrugged. "That's the story so far. There's another pair who experience intermittent shocks between them when they use too much magic."

"Why shocks?" he asked, glancing at Lucy. "That type of attack wouldn't work on someone who uses any sort of magic that conducts lightning or electricity of any sort. Hell, I use light, it may not even work on me."

"It's just a theory. Using too much magic could cause the bracelets to malfunction. They obviously have their defects." His eyes traveled to the sleeping blonde, his brows slowly pulling together. "No one fitting that description has been affected by the bracelets where the theory can be tested. There's another mage in a different group who uses electrical shocks as part of his magic; he might not be affected. The same could be said for you if your bracelets malfunction too."

Sting's eyes flashed, his one arm clearly tensing. "I wouldn't hurt her on purpose."

"I didn't say you would," Rogue replied, backtracking. "But if you two use too much magic at once it could happen. At least you haven't tried to fry it yet or it could've already happened."

Tilting his head, Sting arched an eyebrow. "Do the others know?"

"Rufus and Levy have worked closely on investigating; if Rufus knows, Levy knows." Clearing his throat, Rogue reached out and gently rubbed the top of Frosch's head. "Since this is a little sensitive, they decided Levy should tell the others. We all found out a little bit ago on our lacrima's, and I was volunteered by Yukino to come tell you. Natsu wanted to come up here and tell you two instead, but we could tell Lucy was asleep from the hallway. He didn't feel the need to be the one to tell you if she isn't up. You'll probably end up telling her later."

Rogue watched Sting's expression immediately sour, slouching down in the bed again. "That's not going to make anything easier."

"What do you mean?"

"How are we supposed to be of any use if we have to limit our magic?" he spat. "That'll make us next to useless in any sort of fight, and I need to use my magic to keep warm as we head north. If Lucy could learn how to maintain it she was going to use it too."

Leaning forward, Rogue's eyebrows drew together. "What?"

He waved a hand. "Never mind, nothing. It's going to be extremely hard to not use magic. We'll have to find a way to work around that."

"Really, you're going to work around something that could get one or both of you killed? You're being rash Sting, even for you."

Lector finally piped in, jumping to Sting's defense. "The great Sting Eucliffe can handle anything!"

"That's not the point," Rogue groaned, shaking his head. "Some chances aren't worth the risk."

Sting hesitated, biting the inside of his cheek. He clearly had more to say but thought better on it, glancing at the girl once more. "Yeah, I guess they aren't."

A/n: Well… it's only been a month and a half since the last chapter. Hopefully this one is good enough to make up for the delay! I'm hopeful with the New Year that I'll get more chapters out, but I've been promising that for so many updates now it probably sounds empty. Anyways, happy new year to all!

Also, I want to let all of my readers know I have officially signed with a self-publishing company to help produce my first original novel, which I'm hoping to publish in June 2019 (tentatively). So if you're interested please keep me in mind! My understanding is the book should be available worldwide, so I will be delegating a lot more time to that than anything else. If you're interested in seeing my original work stay tuned and I will keep everyone informed! Until next time.