Chapter 10.

Close Enough to Touch

Several days have passed since the ball at the Palace and everyone got back to their respective guilds. Vivien and Victor decided to stay in the capital for a few more days which meant that Amelia and Zoe were staying as well. Rufus was really looking forward to their return, as Zoe promised him to drop by and get his long-awaited translation done. Obviously, Rufus was not the only one who was excited about the girls' return. Not only Sting, but the whole guild seemed to fancy the new dragon slayer and her exceed, hoping that one day they can welcome the girls as their new guild members. Amelia was really excited about joining a guild and she talked to many people during the ball to explore their possibilities. Sting could see that Zoe was not a big fan of the idea but he knew what it is like to do something only to see the happy smile of their friends. Especially when it came to their exceeds.

Realising he was just staring and smiling at his paperwork for quite some time now, doing nothing useful, he decided to take a break and get some fresh air. He felt really diligent since they got back from the capital and was able to get loads of work done in the last few days. The others either went on missions or just chilled in the guild, but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and that made their guild master feel really happy and proud. He felt that he accomplished something his predecessor couldn't. Still, something was missing and he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

He couldn't, but everyone else in the guild had a pretty good idea what their master was missing. Rather, who he was missing. After discussing the possible match-making ideas, Minerva was the one who decided to help Sting make a move, or at least help him realise what he should do. As she saw their guild master enter the main hall, she set her plan to motion. Well, it was not entirely her plan, it was actually a combination of her, Yukino's and Rufus' plans. Maybe Rogue helped out a bit as well but he would never actually admit that. Currently, he was on his way to get some ice cream for Frosch and Lector, just to make sure the maroon exceed was not at the guild when Minerva talked to Sting. As Minerva, Yukino and Rufus were sitting together, Minerva softly nudged Yukino's shoulder, nodding to both her and Rufus.

"Hi, Sting. How are you doing?" asked Yukino kindly, turning to Sting's direction.

"Hey" he answered, looking around to find his exceed friend. "I'm good, thanks. Have you guys seen Lector?"

"Frosch and him got really excited about this new ice cream parlour" said Rufus smiling. "Rogue offered to take them there, if my memory serves me right."

"Oh, I see" said Sting thinking. "Guess I'll just go after them. I could use a walk or something. Feels like I'm going crazy behind the four walls" said the guild master letting out a small chuckle.

Minerva couldn't believe this. It was as if Sting knew what she wanted to hear and said all the right words. With a small smile, Minerva grabbed the book from the desk and stepped next to Sting.

"Well, if you want to take a walk, maybe you should help poor Rufus out" she said holding out the book for Sting to take. "I've read that Vivi and Victor are already home, so Zoe and Amelia should be back as well."

She meant that she was 100% sure they were back as she went to the inn they reside and checked if they've returned or not. Also, seeing that only Zoe was home she hoped her guild master had better chances in having enough courage to ask the dragon slayer girl out. Looking at her with a weird expression, Sting hesitantly took the book.

"I don't even know where…"

"Here's her address" said Minerva, giving a small piece of paper to him. "I'm not sure about the room number but you can just ask the owner, right?"

"Um… Thanks?" said Sting, unsure of what was happening.

"You're welcome" replied Minerva, already pushing Sting through the main door. "Now go and get her, Tiger."

"Wait, what?" asked Sting, turning back toward his friends. "Did you guys plan this out?"

"I can't hear you" said Minerva, walking back to the silently smiling Yukino and Rufus.

Sting was just standing at the guild entrance, dumbfounded. His own guild mates betrayed him in the most cunning way possible. He wasn't ready for this, yet, he couldn't just walk back to them now. He made a mental note to somehow punish these three in the future for this. He nervously scratched the back of his neck, then with a loud sigh, he made his way to the address Minerva gave him. He felt extremely nervous. What was he supposed to say to Zoe? And Amelia. They will think he's a creep for showing up at their place, especially that he's going there to ask a favour. For someone else. He seriously doubted that his guild mates thought this through properly. He also cursed himself for letting them deceive him so easily, but there was no way he could go back. Minerva would most definitely kick his ass for being too scared to talk to a girl. But if he thought about it, Zoe was not just a girl. Not to him, at least. Seeing how easily Natsu, Gajeel, Gray and the others talked to her during the ball he started to wonder if there was something wrong with him. Something that made him unable to properly express himself in front of Zoe. Then he remembered what Rogue told him after their first meeting with Amelia and Zoe.

"Oh man" he muttered to himself.

Checking the address again, he realised how dangerously close he was to a possibly really awkward encounter with the girls. Given that they were home. A part of him hoped that wasn't the case. Not that he didn't want to see her pretty face, mesmerising eyes, cherry lips, silky brown locks that seemed to be always falling just perfectly… Stop that, Sting. That's not helping, he thought to himself, as he felt a strangely pleasant feeling deep inside.

~v~

Preparing herself the best white coffee she could manage, Zoe lazily stared out the window watching the busy city streets. She was getting a bit bored and lonely all alone, but she needed to take a few days off from life after the ball and the days spent with Vivien and Victor. Those guys weren't able to sit in place for more than 5 damn seconds. They always had to do something or go somewhere, no matter what. During their short stay in Fiore, they dragged her and Amelia around half of the country. Obviously, Zoe wasn't really a big fan of the continuous carriage rides but the Samdé kids were never ones to use their legs. They had to be carried and taken to everywhere they went. And beside all the rides Zoe had to endure, they had to visit crowded places. Where they could meet some interesting people. For some reason, when someone told Zoe that something was interesting, she immediately assumed that the mentioned thing was in fact not interesting at all. She felt like it's kind of like false advertising. She ranted about that issue when they were on a tour with Amelia a few months ago but she didn't seemed to share her views. Anyway, the last few days included just way too much human interaction for her, especially considering all the new people she had to meet and talk to. Also, Amelia told her not to wander off alone until she is completely healed. She was feeling just fine but Amelia insisted on making her rest for at least a few more days. And, to be honest, Zoe didn't mind staying home, reading, taking long baths, she even started practicing on the ukulele she got during their travels. It was such a funny little instrument and it sounded really cool. She still preferred playing the piano, but there was no way she could fit one into this little place that a) wasn't their own, b) they lived in for free and c) had so many neighbours who would probably get pissed about the noise.

She felt like going out today. Though, only to get some groceries. After a relaxing bath, she started making a list about the things she needed to get. Coffee, obviously, some of those fish-sticks Amelia liked, eggs, do we have any paper in here? That's right. She should drop by at Sabertooth someday but probably only with Amelia around. Zoe was brought up, at least partially, by a dragon, she had fought against unspeakably powerful, terrifying monsters and beasts; she had been on the verge of death more times that she would admit. Yet, she was simply creeped out by the idea of going out to meet people without Amelia around. The idea of attending that ball was a complete nightmare to her. The only thing that made it more tolerable was that Sting was with her all night. And Amelia, of course.

"Dammit" she said with a sigh.

This guy's turning her world upside down and she wasn't sure that it's a good thing or not. Well, she felt rather pleasant when he was around but she knew that she was putting him at risk. Not just him, his whole guild. And if something happened to any of them, she would be the one to blame. She was starting to regret her decision in agreeing to join a guild. Great job in risking so many people's lives, Zoe. You leave nothing but destruction behind no matter where you go or what you do. But just thinking about joining a guild made Amelia feel so happy. Suddenly, there was a silent, unsure knock on the front door and she smelled a familiar scent in the air. Her mind must be playing tricks on her. Why on earth would Sting come to her place?

"Coming" she shouted.

~v~

Sting was contemplating on the origin of all the thing he could smell in the inn. It seemed that the weirdest kinds of people were residing here so he didn't understand what Zoe and Amelia would do in this place. Asking the lady behind the counter for the room number, she even offered to give him the keys with a wink and a sly smirk. With a nervous laugh, he just thanked her kindness and made his way to the first floor. The door on the far left side was Room 106. That's it. He wasn't sure that him being here was a good idea but now was not the time to back out. Or maybe it was just the best time to back out. Come on, Sting, you weren't this nervous when you fought against an army of dragons. That was a scary situation. Compared to that, this is just a nice walk in a park. Working up the courage, or something like that, he raised his hand to knock. Maybe he shouldn't disturb them. What if they're in the middle of something important? They might not even be here. He should've asked that lady if they're home. That's enough, you dumbass, he thought as he finally knocked on the door and the sudden answer startled him.

"Coming" he heard Zoe shouting.

That was the moment he started panicking. He had no idea what to do or what to say. He was not prepared for this situation. He suddenly forgot how to breathe properly and he was getting light-headed. His mind went black, he felt his stomach twisting and the colour draining from his face. As the door opened, and unfamiliar, yet extremely nice smell filled his nose. And there she was. She had a white tank top and denim shorts on. Her hair was slightly damp as she stood there barefoot. And her scent was the most heavenly thing Sting has ever experienced. She looked at him with a surprised but happy face and he felt all his worries melt away.

"It's nice to see you again" Sting said with a confident smile without thinking.

"I… Um…" said Zoe struggling with her words. "Yeah. It's nice to see you, too. Come in."

"I hope I didn't interrupt you guys" said Sting with an apologetic tone as he stepped inside.

"Amelia's not home" replied Zoe as she closed the door and showed the way to the living room area. "And I wasn't doing anything important. Have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?"

"No, thank you. I just wanted to drop by to see how you're doing" lied Sting.

Well, it wasn't particularly a lie. Though, he was kind of pressured to do so before he could muster up the courage to do it on his own. He was thinking about her a lot. Daydreaming, rather.

"Come on. You came all the way just to check on me and won't even let me make a tea for you?" asked Zoe in an over-exaggerated sad voice, making Sting nervously chuckle with his eyes downcast. "Have you ever heard of Dragon Well Green Tea?"

As she casually strolled into her small kitchen area, which was actually part of the living room stopped divided by some counters and a table, Sting followed her to the series of counters. Resting his arms on one of them, he closely watched her every movement. Not that he was particularly interested in tea making, but he just couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"You can just leave it in there" she said looking at the book in Sting's hand.

"Oh, right. Thank you" he said. "On Rufus' behalf, as well."

"He must be pretty excited about it" she said, smiling. "So, how are you guys doing?"

And to answer her question, Sting started to talk about everything that came to his mind. He told her about the recent jobs his guild mates were on, some of the things he had to take care of as guild master, how poor Frosch almost got lost when they went to get some arrangements done to get the heating in the dorm repaired and basically everything that happened to him and his friends in the last couple of days. And she just listened to all his stories watching his eyes glisten with excitement and happiness. As he was in the middle of a story about one of the possible improvement in the guild's infrastructure he was thinking about, they've heard a soft scratching noise coming from the window.

Before they could prepare for the incoming attack, several fist-sized smoke bombs penetrated through the windows and walls of the room, making part of the room's structure collapse and filling the air with dust and a smoky yellow gas. Feeling dizzy and weak, both dragon slayers fell to the ground as they slowly lost consciousness.

Sting was awakened by the force of two pairs of hands pulling him out of the remains of Room 106. He felt dizzy, really nauseous and it felt like every muscle of his body hurt. It took him a few seconds to realise what was happening around him. He heard some familiar voices calling out, but his brain didn't seem to function properly when it came to distinguishing the voices from each other.

"Dammit" he grunted as he was helped to his feet by Rogue and Orga.

"Sting?" sniffled Lector.

"Are you okay?" he heard Yukino asking in a concerned voice.

"What the hell happened here?" asked Rogue.

Sting looked around, confused. Yukino, Lector and Frosch were standing in front of him while Rogue and Orga were still next to him, making sure he's capable of standing on his own. He saw that the room was a mess, most of the ceiling fell down and the walls with the windows collapsed. Thinking back, he remembered continuously talking to Zoe and then everything went yellow and then black.

"Where is she?" Sting asked. "Where is Zoe?"

"I guess it's up to you to find her" they heard Amelia's comment.

Turning to her direction, they saw her standing in front of a still intact wall with a sign written with red paint:

'CAN YOU FiND HER iN TiME?'