The last day of the Grand Magic Games dawned slowly, the sun peering its way through the curtains and warming Rogue's cheek. He took a deep breath, testing the pain in his chest, and smiled when he noticed a hand resting on his stomach. Sting was still pressed against his back, cheek nuzzled into his hair, breath tickling the back of Rogue's neck with each soft snore. Rogue covered Sting's hand with his own and entwined their fingers.
Looking around the room, he could see that Gray and Ezra had snuck in at some point during the night and made it to their beds. Natsu and Wendy were nowhere to be seen. Rogue vaguely recalled Natsu mentioning something about saving Lucy the night before, and wondered if he had gotten himself into trouble again.
Rogue slowly slipped out from Sting's embrace, moving shakily to his feet and standing for a moment before taking a step forward. Everything still ached, and he felt stiff everywhere, but he could breathe well enough and his legs worked. Seeing that he was only wearing the remnants of his pants, he looked around and grabbed a spare shirt from Natsu's luggage. Tugging it on, he shuffled out of the small room.
The Honeybone Inn wasn't large, but had another room for the rest of the team members, plus an extra room for the guild master. Both of those doors were closed, but the washroom was open, so Rogue pushed the door open and stepped inside.
His reflection in the mirror looked terrible. In addition to the bandages from his fight with Natsu, more bruises were beginning to bloom across his left cheekbone and temple. His entire torso was wrapped in bandages, and one ran down his left arm, covering a deep gash on his bicep. He sighed, running some water and splashing it onto his face, then running a hand through his hair. It was tangled and still had dried blood in some spots, so he ran it under the water and rinsed it as best he could, then pulled it up in a ponytail. He rubbed his eyes, feeling slightly more human, then stepped out into the corridor and collided with what felt like a solid brick wall.
"Watch where the hell you're goi-" A deep voice started to chastise him, then stopped when it realized who he was. Gajeel stared down at him, piercings running down his face and wild hair held back with a bandana. "Ryos, huh?" Rogue scowled.
"Rogue," he mumbled. After all those years of idolizing Gajeel, meeting the man in person was a bit overwhelming. That combined with the pain from his chest made Rogue stagger a little, and Gajeel reached out to steady him. Panicking, Rogue tried to wrench his arm from Gajeel's grasp, but the taller man didn't let go.
"I'm not gonna hurt ya," he grumbled in an oddly gentle voice. "C'mon, you look like you need to sit. And I'm sick of that lightning idiot's snoring anyway." He shot a dirty look back at the second bedroom, then guided Rogue outside of the inn, sitting down on the front step and pulling the younger man down next to him. Rogue leaned his arms forward on his knees and took a few deep breaths.
"Thanks," he said softly.
"Ya need the healer?" Gajeel asked, looking concerned. Rogue shook his head and Gajeel nodded, then turned back to face the city. The sunlight peered through the buildings, burning away the morning mist and drawing colour back into Crocus. Windows began to open, people shouted their greetings, and Rogue felt a strange sense of satisfaction at the idea that the world was still the same.
Gajeel and Rogue sat in a strangely comfortable silence for a few minutes, watching the dawn and letting the cool morning breeze ruffle through their hair. Finally, Gajeel broke the silence.
"If Sting hadn't already killed the guy, I woulda done it." Rogue looked up at him, surprised. "Well, I'm sure the flame brain and the ice princess woulda fought me to get there first. Erza was ready to go full Heaven's Wheel on 'im too. And I'm pretty sure Lucy coulda convinced all her spirits to join in."
Rogue looked at him incredulously.
"Why?" He asked softly, bunching the fabric of his pants into his hands. "We are – were – rivals. You don't even know us." He took a deep breath, envisioning the combined strength of Fairy Tail incinerating his old guild.
"Hitting kids ain't right," Gajeel replied, looking sternly at the ground. "One thing to throw down in the arena – and you ain't bad, by the way – but kickin' a kid around cause you don't like how he looks at ya…" The older man trailed off and turned to Rogue, finally making eye contact. Rogue's face was red with embarrassment.
"I didn't think there was anything different," he whispered. "After Skiadrum…" He stopped, running a hand over his face. Gajeel nodded, not saying anything.
"You don't think you deserve a second chance." It was more of a statement than a question, and Rogue frowned at Gajeel. "I didn't either. I attacked Fairy Tail. Tried to kill the girl I – a girl here. Destroyed the guild hall, did a lot of bad shit. But after it was all said and done, the first thing they did was forgive me, and ask me to join them."
"Why?" Rogue asked. It was the question that had been plaguing him since they arrived here, since he woke up in Natsu's bed with a Fairy Tail healer helping him, no questions asked.
"They believe in us, kid." Gajeel shrugged, then stood up and reached out a hand to Rogue. He took it and let himself be pulled to his feet. "You two've got something." Rogue blushed and started to stammer, but Gajeel waved his words away, laughing. "I'm not talking about the lovey-dovey garbage, that's between you and him. I mean loyalty. How many hits did he take for ya? And how much would you risk for him?"
"I would do anything to protect Sting," Rogue whispered. Gajeel nodded solemnly.
"That's what Fairy Tail is. Doing anything to protect the ones you love." Rogue looked up at Gajeel, who immediately looked uncomfortable and crossed his arms. "Anyway, c'mon kid. It's time to watch me pound your old guild into the dirt."