Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail - Hiro Mashima does.
"I'll leave you be, alright Lucy?" Minerva said.
"Yes, thank you for taking me to him!"
"No problem. Just tell him what you need." As if she can read Lucy's thoughts, the Saber reminded her before turning her back to leave.
The blonde mage stared at her retreating figure; smiling softly, "I will."
She turned her attention to the blond man sitting comfortably at a nearby bench. His eyes fixated on Lector and Frosch, as they play along the park. Silently, she approached his figure; slowly, as if calculating every step she makes.
Lucy knew he knew—though he refused to look at her. She knew that the moment she and Minerva arrived, Sting already caught their presence. She knew he can hear her deep breathing, and the pounding on her chest.
The Celestial mage took a deep breath, "Can we talk?"
"What happened?"
"What?" Rogue asked, raising an eyebrow at Minerva's direction.
The Saber hastily sat beside him, turning her body to face the dragon slayer.
"I just came across Lucy! She asked me to take her to Sting!" She waited for any sign of emotions from the stoic dragon slayer—only to roll her eyes at the lack of it. "Did you confess already? What could she need from him and not you?!"
He remained quiet, as if telling her not to push the conversation.
However, Minerva wasn't having it. "Tell. Me."
"I don't know," he simply said.
"Of course, you know! You've been out of it since the party!" Though her volume was increasing in each word, he remained still. Minerva sighed deeply, "It's affecting you. It's not 'I don't know'."
The dragon slayer looked at her, expressionless. He remained unmoved—as if suppressing any trace of emotions that would grace his face.
"It's nothing, Minerva. Drop it," he simply said. Again.
The lady sighed deeply, she wasn't going anywhere with him. "Fine then, if you won't talk," she approached him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Don't regret. Do what you need to."
With that, she left the stoic mage who remained expressionless—except that his grip tightened on his coat.
"Lucy…" Sting breathed, staring directly at her brown eyes.
She gave her a small smile, trying to ease the tension. "Hi, Sting."
The man merely nodded, completely at loss for words.
Awkward silence fell upon the two. No one spoke a word.
"The sky looks so clear today," she breathed. Trying to ease the tension. Sting merely grunted in agreement. The blonde sighed, "I need… to talk to you about what… happened."
The Saber didn't utter a single world, nor did he made a move. He merely sat—listening to her.
She took his silence as a cue to go on. Lucy took another breathe; really, she was so much of a nerve-wrack these past days to even function properly. "I'm glad, and thankful that you like me, Sting. It's an honor to be liked by Saber's guild master," she giggled softly. "I'm really thankful for the sincerity of your feelings. I don't deserve it—yet, you've given me attention. You've given me such a sincere emotion—for that, thank you… But…" Lucy trailed, feeling her tongue backtrack.
"—But you don't like me the way that I do, right?" rather than ask, he stated it—as if he was just affirming something he thought long ago.
Lucy nodded, "I'm sorry, Sting…"
"It's cool," he softly said.
The blonde Celestial mage looked at him with concern all over her face. He stared back, as if memorizing the details of her face.
"D-Don't look at me like that!" he stuttered, blushing all of a sudden—causing Sting to place a hand to cover his face. "I mean it, Lucy. I won't hold it against you. I just said what I feel about you—I just want to be honest with you. It doesn't mean that I'm expecting you to return it," he chuckled sadly. "Actually… I was expecting you to turn me down right there and then."
"…Why? Don't get me wrong, Sting. I like you… but not in the romantic sense."
"I know that. I knew from the face you made that it wasn't going to turn out favorably—well… for me." He paused for a moment, letting his words sink to the blonde beauty. "Besides… I knew—rather, I noticed for a while now… you like someone else, right?"
Lucy whipped her head to face him—as if he hit a bull's eye. Her face turned bright red, being caught off-guarded with the sudden question.
"W-Wha… What are you saying?!"
The blond dragon slayer chuckled at her, amused. "What am I saying, Luce?"
"How… How did you know…?" she bit her lip, before continuing, "I only understood the extent of my feelings not too long ago… How come you've noticed?"
"I'm not an idiot!"
The unconvinced look on Lucy's face caused him to glare at her half-heartedly. "Mean!"
The blonde giggled, "I'm just kidding. Go on."
"I've noticed how you look at him. You have a specific smile directed only to him, Lucy! There's this specific, gentle smile that seemed to make your face glow—and all of that is directed only to him."
The Fairy blushed a deep shade of red. Feeling her face burn from embarrassment, she covered her face with her hands. "Stop it, Sting!" she whined.
He only laughed in return.
Lucy harrumphed. After some moment, once Sting calmed down, she whispered, "…Am I that bad?"
The man smiled, raising a hand to pinch the lady's cheek playfully.
"Yes."
