When Rogue headed back inside, he found Sting awake, sitting on the bed with his knees up and his chin resting on his forearms. His face was dark and troubled, but when he saw Rogue it broke into a smile. He reached out and grabbed Rogue's hand, pulling him down onto the bed. Erza and Gray were still snoring in their own beds, but sunlight was beginning to filter into the room.
You okay? Sting looked concerned, running his hand gently along Rogue's cheek and then grinning at his ponytail. I like the hair.
Shut up. Rogue flushed a deep red and ducked his gaze, embarrassed.
I'm serious, Sting insisted. It's cute.
I am the Shadow Dragon Slayer. Even Rogue's signing managed to look indignant. I am NOT cute.
"You're adorable, you dummy," Sting whispered, leaning forward and placing a gentle kiss on Rogue's nose. Rogue flushed an even deeper shade of red and grumbled something unintelligible, but Sting could see the hint of a smile on his lips.
The two of them sat in silence for a moment, just holding hands and breathing in sync. Finally, Rogue looked up at Sting.
What are we going to do? Sting sighed, running a hand through his hair and wincing at how the movement irritated his bruised ribs. His hair felt dirty and stiff, and he found himself imagining how good a hot shower would feel.
I'm not sure yet. He rubbed his hands over his face.
They said we could stay. Rogue's signs were hesitant, and he broke eye contact, looking down at his lap instead. Sting's stomach twisted and he flexed his hands several times before answering.
Do you remember when you first joined Sabertooth? There was no response from Rogue except a hitch in his breathing, but Sting could hear his heartbeat accelerating. He reached out a hand and placed it on Rogue's arm.
Of course I remember, Rogue replied. He glanced up at Sting, puzzled by the line of inquiry.
He's gone, but … she isn't. Sting looked miserable. She could still hurt you.
Rogue swallowed heavily and nodded, unconsciously putting his arm around his stomach. Jiemma had always been the biggest threat, but Minerva was insidious.
Their conversation was interrupted by a loud bell outside, announcing the start of the final day of the Grand Magic Games. Gray and Erza both groaned from their respective beds, Erza rolling over and falling to the floor.
"Did her snoring keep you up?" Rogue realized that Gray was talking to him and pointing a thumb at Erza, who glared at him from the ground. Rogue stifled a laugh as she struggled to her feet.
"I slept like the dead," Rogue muttered, slowly struggling to his feet and stretching as much as he could with his limited range of motion.
"You almost WERE dead," Gray retorted, then looked mortified as Erza glared at him. "Sorry, that was an idiot-" Rogue cut him off with a wave of his hand.
"I'm probably STILL almost dead," he said quietly, trying to keep his tone light. Gray grinned at him.
"You're a tenacious bastard, I'll give you that. I don't think I've heard so many curses come from Porlyusica's mouth since that time Natsu accidentally brought a mountain down on me."
Sting snorted. "Are you sure it was accidental?" Gray laughed, rubbing his face.
"He is an idiot," Gray replied, then ducked as Erza raised her hand to cuff him across the head. She stopped, hand hanging in midair, as she saw the terrified expressions of Rogue and Sting.
"I apologize." She dropped her hand immediately and bowed her head to them. "I did not mean to bring up painfu-"
"It's fine." Sting's voice was flat as he pushed himself from the bed, trying to suppress the expression of fear on his face. Rogue reached for him, but Sting snatched his arm away and stormed out of the room, leaving the other three in an uncomfortable silence.
"It's okay, Erza," Rogue said softly, seeing the stricken expression on the red headed girl's face. "He just doesn't want other people to see that he's afraid." Erza nodded, clenching her fist and then meeting Rogue's gaze.
"Nevertheless, you have my apologies." She grabbed an armful of clothing from the bed, then made her way toward the washroom at the other end of the room. "I will refrain from such acts of violence around you in the future."
"Well that's good news for me and Natsu," Gray quipped, gauging the expression on Rogue's face and feeling relieved to see a smile. "She tends to bang our heads together if she thinks we're being too difficult." Rogue winced a little at that, then shook his head.
"I'm sorry," he said, "It's just…difficult. Seeing this – how different – we…" he trailed off, at a loss for how to explain it to Gray. "If Jiemma wanted Sting to do something, he would threaten to hurt me. If he was angry, or bored, or wanted to motivate me, he would hurt Sting." Rogue felt the tell-tale prickling of tears behind his eyes. "We would take these long jobs, so we could stay away from him…but when we got back there was always something we did wrong. And then he would…hurt Sting. Hit him. Punch him, kick him, use magic against him." He could hear Gray's soft sounds of dismay, but couldn't meet the ice wizard's gaze. "I would get sent to our room and I would just…wait. For hours, sometimes." He decided not to mention Minerva's visits during those times. That was a whole other box of pain. "And then Sting would stumble it and it would be terrifying. Was something broken? Was it just bruises? Did he need stitches? One time he was b-bleeding int-ternally and I didn't know h-how to fix it. We had to sneak out to a healer, and s-she wanted to tell s-s-someone, said she h-had to, but Sting said she c-couldn't. H-h-he's been so s-scared for so long and…"
"Can I hug you?" Rogue's gaze snapped up to meet Gray's, who was now standing next to him. "If you don't wanna be touched, I get that." Rogue swallowed heavily, trying to keep the tears from coming. He shook his head at Gray, gaze dropping back to the ground.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "Just too much right now."
"That's okay," Gray said, and when Rogue looked up he could see that Gray was smiling. "Natsu's better at the warm fuzzy stuff than me anyway." He dropped down onto the bed, leaving an acceptable amount of room between him and Rogue. "What can I do?"
Rogue was silent for a moment, running his hands over his face and rubbing his eyes. Eventually he replied, "Be patient with us. Him, especially." Gray nodded. "He's…embarrassed to have asked for help. If it wasn't for me, he would have stayed. He never wants to be seen as weak."
"It's not weak to ask for help," Gray murmured. "Swallowing your pride is never easy. That pink-haired idiot has saved my life on more than one occasion and believe me, I know it stings." Rogue glanced sideways at the ice mage and was not surprised to see a faint blush rising in his cheeks.
"Thank you for letting us stay." Rogue reached out a tentative hand and touched the back of Gray's arm in what he hoped was an appreciative gesture.
"Hey, just means we have six dragon slayers on our team now." Gray stood up and grinned at him. "All we're missing is Cobra and we'd have the whole set! Is there some sort of bonus for collecting you all?" Rogue rolled his eyes as Gray moved back over to his bed and rummaged through his bag. He turned, tossing some shirts and a pair of pants at Rogue. "They should fit, Natsu's about your size so if you wanna go though his stuff feel free. Although he has terrible taste in clothes."
"Fro thinks so too!" Rogue's eyes widened as he turned to the door and saw Frosche running toward him with an enormous smile on his face.
"Frosche!" He scooped up the tiny Exceed in his arms, squeezing them tightly. "Are you okay?"
"Happy gave us fish!" Rogue laughed, petting Frosche's head gently. Frosche's face became serious and they put their paws on either side of Rogue's face. "Is Rogue hurt?"
"A little," Rogue admitted, unable to disguise the bandages or bruises. "But we're safe here now."
"Frosche can stay with Happy?" The little Exceed seemed thrilled by this revelation and Rogue laughed. He was about to reply when he saw Sting standing in the doorway, Lector clutched in his arms.
"For now, yes," Rogue replied, letting Frosche climb back to the ground and run back out the door, chanting, "fish, fish, fish, fish". Rogue walked up to Sting, noting that Gray had changed into his team uniform and was leaning against his bed, waiting for Erza.
Sting's expression was downcast, and he clutched Lector to him like a doll. Lector's fur was slightly damp and Sting's eyes were red, and neither of them looked up as Rogue approached.
Do you feel up to watching the games? Rogue signed, placing a hand on Sting's cheek and ducking down to look into his eyes. Gajeel says we can join the Fairy Tail viewing area, and they can make it so that nobody can see us. He reached down and scratched Lector's head gently, who grumbled in protest but quieted down as soon as Rogue's finger moved behind his ear.
"Are we ever gonna be okay?" Sting asked quietly. He leaned forward and buried his face in Rogue's neck, letting Rogue wrap a strong set of arms around his waist.
"Maybe," Rogue replied. "Maybe not." Sting huffed into his shoulder. "I know that's not the answer you're looking for. But we made it this far, right?" Rogue leaned back again and ran his hands up to frame Sting's face, running a gentle thumb over his lower lip. Sting made an almost imperceptible sound and closed his eyes, smiling into the kiss he knew was coming. It was soft, sweet and chaste, but Rogue pushed as much emotion into it as he could. Eventually, Lector's grumbling about them being "gross" broke them apart, and Sting laughed at the Exceed, ruffling his fur and setting him down on the floor.
"Let's go watch the games," Sting said, catching Rogue's hand in his. "And we'll be cheering for the right team this time."