Chapter 29: Home

Jellal left the group first. The Magic Council had arrived in the area, and Erza was quick to convince him to become scarce. He promised to stay in touch, before he flew off. Rogue saw that Erza wasn't remotely happy about him having to leave, but knew she would be okay as long as she knew the powerful, enigmatic mage was safe.

Blue Pegasus came next. The group had arrived at Master Bob's manor in no time, and the Trimens decided to remain there and contact the rest of their guild to help repair the Christina.

From there, Fairy Tail and Lamia Scale went there separate ways. Gray and Happy said goodbye to Lyon, while Jura asked Erza to give Master Makarov his regards, to which she agreed. Lucy and Sherry had developed a sort of rivalry over the course of the past few days, and separated on somewhat friendly/unfriendly terms, but Rogue had trouble deciding which it was.

Wendy left with Fairy Tail, deciding she wanted to meet the other Dragon Slayers and help them find the lost dragons. She seemed very excited at the prospect of joining a big guild like Fairy Tail, and chatted with Lucy and Erza nonstop about it.

Rogue smiled when she told him how happy she was to be working with him, but his thoughts were actually on someone else entirely.

/\/\/\/\/\

When the wizards from Fairy Tail finally got home, it was late at night again.

The guild was empty for the most part, but Master Makarov was still there, and he congratulated them on a job well done. He then went on to say they would have a party tomorrow to celebrate the group's safe return home, and to welcome Wendy and Charle into the guild. Since the little girl and the white she-cat had nowhere to go, Lucy offered to let them stay at her place, to which they happily agreed.

The girls then left to go home, with Happy following close behind. Gray also turned in, saying he would see them all tomorrow. Erza stayed to give Makarov a more detailed briefing on the mission, but Rogue decided to go home as well. He walked through the empty streets of Magnolia to his apartment, which wasn't that far from Lucy's in fact.

The Shadow Dragon walked with the girls for a while until they reached Lucy's place, but then he remembered the Gemini key he had with him. He gave that to Lucy with a quick thank you, and from there, he walked a few blocks down the side of the river to his own home.

Rogue opened the door quietly, and stepped inside. The Dragon Slayer took his boots off at the door, and set his katana against the wall, the three Gate Keys on the end clinking slightly.

As he did so, he head soft footsteps running to the door and looked up to see Yukino come around the corner in her light blue nightgown. The girl ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck. Rogue put his hands on her waist, pressing her soft form against his. Her hair was damp, as though she had just taken a shower.

Yukino mumbled against the material of his shirt, "You're back."

He smiled into her hair and agreed, "I'm back."

They stood there for a while, drinking in each other's presence. Yukino pulled back after a bit and stared at his face, eyes searching. She frowned when he didn't say anything and asked worriedly, "What is it?"

Rogue searched for the words to say. He was nervous about how she would react to the news about Sorano. The Dragon Slayer wasn't sure if she would be angry at him for what he'd done to her sister, and he was afraid she might not want anything to do with him once she did know.

On a sudden impulse, Rogue cupped her cheeks and kissed her for a long, long time. Yukino was surprised for a moment, but she quickly melted into him, placing her hands gently on his shoulders. He let himself get completely lost in the feel of her soft lips until he felt his head spin.

When they finally separated, he leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers, his hands once again at her waist. Yukino hummed quietly, sensing the confused tangle of thoughts running through his head in an attempt to calm him. She didn't need words to know something was bothering him.

Rogue let her go and turned to his katana, removing the Gate Keys from the end. He faced Yukino again with tension, showing her the black Ophiuchus key between the two gold ones.

Yukino stared at them for a moment before her eyes widened in realization and she gasped.

Rogue took her hand and placed the three keys in her palm, closing her fingers over them gently. The Dragon Slayer looked away and tried to speak, "Yukino, I…"

"Shhh..."

He stopped as she placed a finger over his lips, eyes soft. Yukino leaned up slightly to kiss him on the cheek, before she hugged him, smiling into his neck. Her tone was soft, and comforting, "It's okay. You kept your promise. That's all that matters."

The girl could sense immense relief flood through Rogue's body and aura, and the Shadow Dragon hugged her back. She kissed his neck softly, feeling him shiver slightly from the contact.

Yukino pulled away after a while and smiled at him, "You look tired."

Rogue smiled back, "I am."

She laughed and took his hands in hers, "Go get cleaned up, and get to bed. I'll be there in a little bit, okay?"

He nodded and watched her walk off before he went to take a shower.

/\/\/\/\/\

Once he was done, he put on some long, dark pants and walked to the bedroom. On the way there, he saw Frosch sleeping beside her frog costume on the couch.

Yukino was already underneath the covers, and she smiled as he walked in. Rogue got in on the other side. It took a few moments, but they came together like two halves of the same whole. Rogue wrapped his hands around the small of her waist and drew her to him. Yukino snuggled into his chest, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

"Good night." she murmured.

Rogue smiled into her hair and replied softly, "Good night."

They fell asleep to the rhythm of their partners breathing and slow, steady heartbeats, completely at peace now that they were together once again.

/

Lucy walked into her apartment with Wendy, Charle, and Happy in tow. "Okay, I'll take the couch, so you three can have the-EEK!"

The blonde girl shrieked when she saw that Sting was snoring in her bed. Without further ado, she took off her sandal and smacked him on the chest.

"Oof!" The White Dragon protested as he was woken up. He blinked for a moment, then stretched and looked around. Lucy looked pretty mad, Happy looked normal, and Wendy and Charle looked a little shocked and maybe scared at him.

Sting scratched the back of his head and grinned at them, "What's up, Lucy? Who're they?"

Lucy smacked him again, this time on the head, and her tone was clipped, "They're new members of the guild. More importantly, what the hell are you doing in my bed? Actually scratch that, how did you get in here in the first place?"

Sting yawned at her, "What's it look like? I'm sleeping. As for how I got in here, Mira let me borrow the spare key to your house, so I just walked through the front door."

The blonde girl chewed her lip for a moment in exasperation, "And what, exactly, made you think it would be alright to sleep in my bed in the first place?"

The Dragon Slayer shrugged at her, "Well, I was training all day with Gajeel to use Dragon Force better, and your house is way closer than mine, so…"

"Dragon Force? You're a Dragon Slayer, too?" Wendy interrupted the conversation with big eyes. Sting raised an eyebrow at her and nodded before he gave Lucy a questioning glance.

The blonde girl clapped her hands together, "Oh, right! Wendy, this is Sting, he's a White Dragon Slayer. Sting, this is Wendy and Charle. Wendy is a Sky Dragon Slayer."

Sting's eyes widened and then he grinned at her, "Is that right? Well, it's nice to have you with us, Wendy. You too, Charle."

Wendy smiled at him and Charle nodded curtly.

Sting stretched again and lay back down on the bed with a cheerful grin, "Well, goodnight!"

Lucy smacked him on the chest once more, "Sorry, buddy. Wendy and Charle are sleeping there."

The White Dragon sighed and got out of bed, "Okay, then I get-"

"Oh, no you don't! I get the couch!" Lucy ran over to the couch to claim her territory, but Sting flew across the room before she could do anything. In seconds, the Dragon Slayer was lying on the furniture with a satisfied look on his face.

Lucy smacked him with her sandal again and yelled, "Really?! Do I own ANYTHING in this house anymore? Get off!"

Sting opened one eye and grinned at her, "I didn't hear the magic word. Could you say that again?"

The Celestial Mage glared at him and took a deep breath, "PLEASE get off my couch."

"Don't wanna. Maybe later." The White Dragon replied with a straight face.

The room was silent for a moment.

Then Lucy exploded, "GET THE HELL OFF OF MY COUCH!"

Sting hugged his sides as he roared with laughter, "The look on your face!"

The Dragon Slayer couldn't breathe as Lucy yelled at him. Off to the side, Wendy and Happy giggled a little while Charle just sighed, "Males."

Sting finally recovered from his merriment attack and, to everyone's surprise, got off the couch. He grinned at the blonde girl and ruffled her hair with a hand, "Nice to have you back, Lucy."

With that, the White Dragon walked to the door and left the apartment.

Happy broke the awkward silence, "He liiiiiiikkkkes you!"

"Sh-shut up cat!" Lucy retorted, her face slightly pink.

/\/\/\/\/\

The next day, Lucy walked to the guild with Wendy and Charle. Happy had left a little while after the event with Sting to go home, so it was just them. It was late in the morning, so a good number of people were already at the guild. Lisanna and Mira were at the bar, having a chat with Makarov and Erza about the party. Lucy called them as they walked over to the bar.

Lisanna smiled at her, "Welcome back. This must be Wendy, right? And Charle?"

Wendy smiled at her shyly and Charle nodded. Mira clapped her hands together, "Oh, they're adorable! I'm Mirajane, it's nice to meet you! This is my sister, Lisanna!"

Wendy's eyes brightened and she gasped in delight, "You two are the Fairy Sisters! It's so nice to meet you, too!"

Mira smiled brightly at her before walking around the bar to them, "Come with me, I'll get your guild stamps sorted out."

Wendy looked at Lucy uncertainly, but the blonde girl nodded encouragement, so the little Dragon Slayer left with Charle and Mirajane to get her guild stamp.

Lisanna laughed, "She'll fit right in. I guess the Dragon Slayers got a sister to add to that crazy family of brothers."

"Well, she and Rogue got along great earlier, so it shouldn't be too big a shift." Lucy chirped.

Erza nodded agreement. Makarov jumped off the bar to give Wendy a tour around the guild, so the three girls chatted together for a while about the mission.

Lisanna's eyes widened when she heard about Rogue reaching Dragon Force, "Wow, so he's caught up with Sting and Gajeel, huh?"

Erza chewed her lip thoughtfully before she replied, "I'm not sure about that. From what Jellal told me, he can't hold the form as long, but his power is considerably greater than the other Dragon Force's I've seen."

Lisanna raised an eyebrow, "I don't know, Sting's got Dragon Force down to the letter these past couple of days."

Lucy laughed nervously, "Just don't encourage them. They'll destroy the whole city if they start fighting with Dragon Force."

The ivory-haired girl shuddered as she imagined the damage that could cause, "Now that you mention it."

They chatted for a while longer, when Sting, Rogue, and Yukino walked into the guild together with Happy, Lector, and Frosch. The three cats immediately flew over to Wendy and Charle for introductions, while the Dragon Slayers and Yukino walked up to the bar.

Lucy smiled at the White Dragon, "Morning!"

Sting grinned back at her, "Morning. So, I heard something about a party for Wendy and Charle? When does that start?"

"Right now, white boy!"

He was suddenly punched away by Gray, who ambushed him with evil smile on his face. "I've been waiting for this mission to end so I could kick your ass! Come on, squinty eyes!"

Sting got up with an irritated grin, "You're pissin' me off, droopy eyes."

At that moment, Gajeel burst through the door with a yell. "Someone said something about a fight? And you didn't invite me?!"

Lucy groaned, "Oh, please! It's not even noon, and you're already fighting?"

Lisanna laughed, "Welcome home, Lucy!"

With that the guild exploded into the familiar chaos.

Sting, Gray, and Gajeel were locked in a frenzied tangle of punches, kicks, and yells, but apparently that wasn't enough. Sting broke free of the fight for a moment and looked around, grinning when he saw Elfman sitting at a nearby table.

Without a second thought, the White Dragon grabbed Gray by the ankle, and threw him at the big man, scoring a bullseye on the back of his head. Elfman got up with an angry shout and flew at him, but Sting jumped away.

Gajeel grinned at him, "Good thinking!"

The Iron Dragon turned his arm into a steel pole and tripped an unprepared Jet and Droy. They were always willing to throw a few good punches at Gajeel, so they quickly got up and joined the brawl.

At this point, there was a large circle in the center of the guild where the mages were fighting, so everyone else walked around it. Jet and Droy were knocked out a few seconds after they came in. Elfman followed soon after, and then Gray as well. After that, if anyone got too close to the fighting Dragon Slayers, they would be dragged into the fray and defeated mercilessly.

Wendy had already gotten her guild stamp with Charle, and walked back to the others at the bar. She looked up at Rogue pleadingly, "Shouldn't we stop them?"

The Shadow Dragon shook his head with a smile, "No, they're just letting off steam."

Yukino looked over at Wendy from Rogue's other side, "It happens a lot with the Dragon Slayers in this guild. In fact, it happens almost every day."

Wendy looked a little scared at the prospect of fighting her senior Dragon Slayers like that, and Yukino laughed, "Don't worry. As long as don't provoke them, they won't attack you."

Rogue snorted a little, "Those two are more like dogs than dragons."

He said it loud enough for most of the people nearby to hear, getting several laughs out of some bystanders and causing Wendy and Yukino to giggle.

Sting and Gajeel's ears twitched simultaneously. They then proceeded to jump in unison at the Shadow Dragon, grab his arms and drag him away.

Sting growled at him, "Dogs, huh?"

"I think my little brother needs a lesson in manners. Gee-hee!" Gajeel laughed.

Rogue grinned darkly, "I need manners? You two need to start acting civilized around those two bookworms you keep drooling over before you start talking to me about manners."

That was the final straw.

The Dragon Slayers became a screaming mass of limbs, and it was impossible to tell who was who. On occasion, a beam of light or an iron rod would get loose and blow something up or knock out an unfortunate bystander. Sometimes they would get covered in shadows and disappeared before it dissipated and they became visible again.

Wendy hid behind Yukino to avoid getting hit, "I didn't think Rogue would jump in, too!"

Yukino laughed happily, "It's not something he usually does, but I think he missed this sort of thing while he was gone."

Wendy stared up at her in question as she continued, "The Dragon Slayers are a family. Maybe a really crazy and dysfunctional one, but a family nonetheless. They're all brothers, so that makes you their little sister."

"Don't forget, you're a part of that family too." Lucy walked up and gave Yukino a sly wink.

Wendy gasped, "That's right! You and Rogue are…so does that make you my sister-in-law?!"

Yukino's face was flushed bright red at this point, but she laughed, "I guess it does. Just remember, the guys will listen to you, even if they don't act like it."

The little Dragon Slayer looked from her to Lucy. She nodded encouragement and Wendy smiled, "Okay!"

Wendy watched the male Dragon Slayers fight for a little longer, before she stammered nervously, "Maybe not when they're fighting."

Lucy chuckled, "Yeah, probably not."

The fight was getting a little out of control. Sting and Rogue had activated their respective elemental drives the second Rogue had been dragged into the brawl, but now Gajeel started using Dragon Force.

The Iron Dragon tch'd, "What a pain! You little brats need to learn who the top dog is!"

His younger brother smirked as black scales appeared on his body, "I don't care if you want to be the top dog, so long as I'm seen as the top dragon."

"Both of you can suck it, I'M the strongest here!" Sting declared and also activated Dragon Force.

As they charged each other, Wendy held her hands up in surrender, "Hey guys! Calm down-eek!" She shrieked as Lector and Frosch lifted her and Yukino up and hid them behind the bar.

Happy, meanwhile, grabbed Charle and hid behind Lucy with a yell, "LUCY JINXED US!"

The blonde girl shrieked as the Dragon Slayers flew at each other, "WHY ME?!"

Sting, Rogue, and Gajeel were inches away from each other when a giant fist appeared and squashed all three of them at once.

Makarov bellowed at them, "You little fools! This is a party, not a fight to the death!"

He let them go and the three disgruntled Dragon Slayers sat up, a little deflated.

Lucy was relieved, "Thanks, Master-"

"If you're going to fight, at least get drunk first!" The little old man grabbed a mug of beer and lifted it into the air, causing the guild to cheer.

Yukino and Wendy laughed behind Lucy as the blonde girl sighed, "Oh, great. He's encouraging them."

Sting suddenly popped up out of nowhere with a huge grin on his face, "Come on Lucy, lighten up! Let's join the party!" He grabbed her hand and lead her away into the thick of the action.

Rogue left the crazed people and went back to the bar, chuckling quietly to himself. Lisanna smiled at him, "Happy to be home?"

The Shadow Dragon nodded. Happy was sitting on the bar, watching Sting and Lucy party in the center of the hall with the others, frowning to himself in thought. Rogue raised an eyebrow at him, "Something wrong?"

The little blue cat shook his head, "No, it's just…Ah! Wait here a moment!"

He flew off to the guild's record hall, and came back with a picture. Happy grinned as he held the picture out for the others to see, "Don't they look kind of like Sting and Lucy?"

Lisanna leaned over to look at the picture he had, and her breath caught in her throat. It was a picture Reedus had drawn two years ago, of a similar scene to the one present. In it, Lisanna had Natsu's hand and was leading him off to god-knows-where.

Wendy cast a glance at Lisanna and then back at the picture, pointing at Natsu, "Who is that?"

Gajeel walked over from the action with a mug to see what had their attention. He saw the spiky haired boy in the picture and raised an eyebrow, "Ain't that the Salamander? What a crazy head of hair!"

Lisanna puffed her cheek out in mock anger, "Says the guy with a mane on par with a lion's."

Gajeel grinned, "Why, thank you."

Wendy tilted her head in question, "Salamander?"

Charle narrowed her eyes, "You mean Natsu Dragneel, right? Where is he, anyway-?!"

She stopped as Rogue covered her mouth with a hand. Lisanna had already turned away to bite her lip, so he just shook his head.

The white she-cat's eyes widened as she looked back from him to Lisanna, and she stuttered, "O-oh! I see! Um…I'm sorry."

Lisanna smiled a little and glanced back to her, "It's okay. To be totally honest, we don't know where Natsu is. He's been missing for almost two years…"

The girl trailed off, but Gajeel picked up from there, "But we have found out some good information recently about where he could be. It shouldn't be long before we bring him back to the guild."

Lisanna flashed him a grateful look. It wasn't often the Iron Dragon said anything nice to anyone, or at least said it straight. But when he did, he meant every word. And for once, he was right.

But not even Gajeel knew just how right he was.