Finally, we have the next installment, and let me tell you, this one will be the one to really propel this story forward. I won't say any more so I don't give anything away, but I can't wait to hear your reactions and predictions! I'm so excited for the next chapter!

As always, Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail.

CHAPTER 42: WALK THE LINE

The room was quiet and dark - not a sound to be heard, even from the guild hall housed on the floor below. It was a testament to my leadership that it was the middle of the day and the room below packed with mages, and yet not a single one was getting out of hand. It was perfect, precisely the way I liked things - neat, tidy, and every little worm held tightly under my control.

Smiling at the accomplishment, I looked down at my desk. Not even one complaint from the magic council, just as it should. I had no interest in drawing their attention to my guild. Though the pathetic bastards wouldn't stand a chance against the guild I'd built in a fight, it was far more profitable for me to keep a low profile. Too many variables to concern myself with.

Especially now with this tedious situation with Rogue.

Immediately, the proud smirk fell from my face. The man hadn't shown up even once in the last week or so, not even after I'd specifically instructed Sting to have him return. It was a mark against my rule, a failure I hadn't foreseen in my plans for the guild. And, considering his usual reliability, it was completely unlike him. Of his partnership, Rogue was the more sedate one, the one who appeared to carry the larger portion of intelligence of the two; and still, despite all that, he seemed to have forgotten just who was in charge here.

It was...unsettling.

His continual dismissal of my commands were beginning to make me restless. I'd been patient because, of all the mages I possessed, he was one of the strongest. Together, he and his partner were a force to be reckoned with. Nowhere close to my level of course, but that combined strength had earned them a bit of leeway. However, my patience was at an end.

He'd succeeded in pushing me past my limit, and now, I was well on my way to complete and total fury. Strong though he may be, he was making me look like a fool. I could see it every time I ventured down the stairs. My mages - the spineless pissants - were looking me in the eye, sitting a little straighter than they had before. They watched me like a hawk surveying prey, their gazes knowing, almost arrogant.

It all but screamed dissent. Disrespect. And I would never tolerate that.

This was my guild, my building, and each of their disgusting lives belonged to me. They were at my mercy, and over the last few days, I had been forced to remind them of that fact. It was nothing I couldn't handle. Reeling in a gang of unruly beasts was nothing to me.

It was simply that it should have never happened. I could no longer view Rogue's persistent disobedience as anything other than a challenge to my authority, and there was only one way to handle that. Violence. My father had taught me that. Fool though he may have been, he was right about the need to rule with an iron fist. And that was just what I intended to do. I would show Rogue that I was not one to be denied. He would pay...in blood.

Suddenly, a light flashed, effectively drawing my attention to the communications lacrima on the edge of my desk. I reached for it, pouring in the scantest bit of magic to activate it, and felt my eyebrows wing up at the sight of a Magic Council representative staring back at me.

"Good afternoon, Master Orland. I am Claude Crane. I hope I'm not disturbing you."

I subdued the desire to roll my eyes and feigned a smile. Until I knew just what the man on the other end of the connection wanted, I would play nice. "Of course not. What can Sabertooth do for you today?"

"The Council has tasked me with informing all of the guilds in Fiore about an recent incident in Magnolia. A mage of Fairy Tail, Lucy Heartfilia, was attacked by a man..." He paused, looking down at a paper in his hand before continuing, "...one Tatankan Gnaskiyan. It was quite...grizzly. Poor girl." He shook his head, then looked up once more. "Anyway, the Council has asked that each guild be made aware of the situation, as the culprit has not yet been caught, and also to inform us if any of your members come across any further information on the matter."

I tipped my head, about to agree to his request when he flushed and began to stammer. "Oh goodness. You probably know all of this already. I'm sure Rogue has already notified you considering he's the one who found her." He gave a little laugh. "I feel so stupid now. I apologize for taking up your time with information you already had."

"It's...not a problem." I sat there stiffly, trying in vain to keep my expression clear of the fury building up inside me.

The man didn't appear to notice my less than happy reaction to the news he'd just delivered though, and I suppose that was just as well. The Magic Council didn't need to know that I'd had any objection to Rogue's interference in the matter. There would be too many questions later on after I got my hands on him.

The Councilman smiled one last time. "I must admit I was surprised at Rogue's insistence on staying with the girl. With the rivalry between Sabertooth and Fairy Tail, I would have thought that Rogue would be gone the instant he dropped Lucy off at the hospital, but he's gotten along remarkably well with her and the rest of Fairy Tail. And from what I hear, he's been a great help to the girl."

"Wonderful," I said, barely managing to force the words out through bared teeth. I could only hope the fool on the line interpreted the action as a smile because that was about as close as I was going to get.

Another nod and a smile later, the man was offering his goodbye, and finally the light died on the lacrima in front of me. It took everything I had not to throw the device across the room, but that would only serve as further proof that I was losing control. And I'd be damned before I let that sniveling little runt wreck everything I'd put into place.

My hand shaking with the need to exact my revenge, I placed the lacrima back on the desk and stood to my feet. Rogue thought he could play me like a fool. He thought he could dick around with those pathetic Fairies, and I wouldn't find out, that I wouldn't do anything about it. Well, he was dead wrong. He would pay for his insolence, and when I was through with him, there'd be nothing left for the authorities to find.

It was only an hour before dark when I slipped into the guild. My plan was to get in and out without anyone really noticing me. It was probably a long-shot, but if I could just get by without Minerva catching me, I'd consider it a success. I knew she was chomping at the bit to know what was going on with Rogue, and I sure as hell didn't want to have tell her that I had no idea when he'd be back.

He'd made it perfectly clear the last time I'd seen him that he had no intention of showing up any time soon. Basically, as long as there was a chance Blondie would try to off herself again, he wasn't going anywhere. And considering what had happened the last time he'd left her, there was no telling if he'd ever be back.

I couldn't even believe I was thinking that way, because that just wasn't Rogue. At least not the Rogue I knew. Honestly, if anyone had ever told me that Rogue would get so hung up on a girl, I'd have laughed. The man had always seemed so unaffected by women in general. And now, he couldn't seem to stand the thought of leaving this one behind. So, just how the hell had Rogue gotten in so deep with her so fast?

I couldn't figure it out, but at this point, I wasn't even sure I cared. It didn't matter that his blonde obsession was a Fairy and Sabertooth's rival. All that concerned me anymore was covering my own ass. Cause if Minerva ever found out that Rogue had been at Fairy Tail this whole time, or that I'd helped him look for the guy who'd attacked Lucy, Minerva would have my ass...and probably my head too.

There was no doubt in my mind that she'd kill us both for defying her orders. And most likely in the most painful way possible. The woman was a fucking psycho, and for some reason, she had a major hard-on for Fairy Tail. Since the Grand Magic Games, she'd been extra pissy when it came to them, even going so far as to declare them all off limits to everyone in the guild.

In her words, "They're not your friends, not your dates. They're not even your Friday night fucks."

She was deathly serious about the whole thing, and now that Rogue had gone out of his way to help them, we were as good as dead. If she found out, that is.

And that was exactly why I was sneaking like a fucking neebie into the guild so late at night. Usually this time, she was holed up in her office, settling the books or counting the money the guild had made that day...or whatever the hell the bitch from hell did when she was alone.

The important thing was, she was busy, and that made this the perfect time to zip in and snag a job without having to deal with her crazy ass. I just needed two minutes to skim the job postings. I'd done it so many times, I'd become a pro at it. Of course, what I picked usually ended up being a bit more involved than I'd originally thought, but it had never been an issue because Rogue was with me.

Only now, he wasn't with me...about anything.

A flash of sadness burst in my chest at that thought, and I drew in a long breath. It was hard to believe things had changed so much between us. Not too long ago, we'd been best friends, and I'd known everything there was to know about him. But lately, I didn't feel like I knew a damn thing. He was different now, fully focused on his new friend and completely unconcerned with me or the importance of saving both our asses. All he could think about was that girl.

Why did she suddenly matter so much to him? They were practically strangers before her attack. So how the hell could they be so inseparable now?

There had to be more to the story. There had to be some other reason he'd turned his back on me and our team. I couldn't help but remember what he'd said at the hospital that day. Not again. What had he meant by that? Had he seen something like this before? Had he known another woman like Blondie?

It was the only thing that made sense...except for the fact that he'd never said anything to me about it. We were best friends. Why wouldn't he tell me if something like that had happened to him? Especially after finding Lucy? I'd asked him why he was doing it all, and he'd said nothing. Not one damn word.

Seemed like something a best friend would want me to know. Unless we weren't actually as close as I'd thought we were.

Now thoroughly depressed, I slipped into the guild, doing a cursory scan of the main hall before glancing up to the second floor. No one was even looking in my direction. Maybe this would actually work.

I made the short trip to the mission board without incident and had finally started to relax when I was heading back toward the door with a job picked when someone called out my name. The voice had me freezing in place, my stomach dropping with dread. I'd been caught, and by none other than the wicked witch herself.

I turned with a grimace, the closest thing to a grin I could manage. "Minerva."

"Where are you running off to in such a hurry? Don't you want to hang out with your guildmates?"

She studied me with a slight smirk and an unhealthy amount of sadistic glee, and I found myself swallowing hard. It was a trap. I didn't know what kind, but there was a definite aura of trouble around the black-haired demon.

"I uh...just needed to pick up a job. Running low on money, you know?" I laughed shortly, trying like hell to keep from giving anything away.

"Oh, I see. And is Rogue also going with you on this job? He hasn't been on a job in a while either, so I'd imagine he's pretty low on jewels too."

And there it was. The trap was about Rogue. No matter what I said now, things would be bad. If I told her no, she'd want to know why. With our habit of taking at least one decent-paying job a week, it would be hard to explain why he was turning me down. Then again, if I told her he was going with me, she could easily verify who had taken the job when the requester contacted the guild to say that the mission had been completed.

Either way I looked at it, we were screwed.

Tension roiled in my gut as I stood there, scrambling for an answer to her question. I watched her lips lift into a cruel smile and knew I had to do a better job of bullshitting her. She thought she had me. I could see it in her eyes. The trap was closing in around me, and if I didn't come up with a story soon, I was dead in the water.

Putting a little steel in my spine, I lifted my head and shrugged, affecting an unconcerned look. "Who the hell knows. He's been emo as hell lately, and I didn't really even tell him I was coming by. So he might go with me...or he might just come get one of his own. You know how he is."

A smirk lit her face at that, and she took a step closer. "Yes...yes I do."

Her words were simple, an answer anyone might give, but there was an edge to them as if she knew something I didn't know. A chill worked its way down my spine, and I felt my heart start hammering in my chest.

Could she have found out where Rogue had been all this time? Did she know about him and his little Fairy?

I'd always known there was a chance of her finding out. I'd warned Rogue, but he was stubborn. And now, I had no way of knowing just how screwed we actually were. It was entirely possible that Minerva was fucking with me, hoping to make me accidentally spill something she could use against us, but I wasn't born yesterday. I wasn't about to offer our heads on a silver platter to her Royal Bitchness.

"Alright...well, I'm gonna head home to pack and find out what Rogue wants to do."

With that, I turned to leave, hoping to make an exit before anything else could happen. But two steps from the door, she called out again, and once her message registered in my mind, I felt dread settle deep in the pit of my stomach.

"Let me know what he decides so I can tell the requester who to expect."

I took the stairs two at a time, intent on getting to Lucy and straightening this whole mess out before it could go any further. Had I known that telling her about Mara would cause her to believe that she wasn't important to me, I would have never said a word. I'd have rather died than hurt her in such a way. And she was hurt. Regardless of all the airs she put on to convince everyone that she was fine, I knew the truth.

There was a connection between the two of us, and just today, dealing with the wall Lucy had put up between us, I'd felt worse than I had in a long time. It was a pain in my chest, a punch to the gut to know that I couldn't just sit with her and talk, that I couldn't put my arm around her when she was upset. That division had hurt me, and I knew it was the same for her.

Now, I just had to get her to believe it.

Walking into the room, I found the two women perched on Lucy's new bed talking, and without preamble I called out to the brunette. "Cana, could you please give us a moment?"

Lucy gawked at me for a moment, stunned that I'd essentially excused her guest when she'd clearly been having a conversation with her, but the other woman met my eyes with a knowing expression and smiled. "No problem. I'll come back later, Lucy."

"But..." The moment the door shut behind Cana, Lucy shot me a dark look. "Why did you do that?"

"Because we need to talk, and I would rather do it now than later so you can't find a reason to avoid it."

She opened her mouth to deny what I'd said, but just as quickly closed it. It was just as I'd suspected. She couldn't or wouldn't lie to me about that. Nodding my head in satisfaction, I moved to join her on the bed and felt a pain in my chest when she scooted back to put more space between us. "I wish you wouldn't do that, Lucy."

Her throat shifted as she swallowed and looked away. "Do what?"

"Lucy, you know precisely what I'm talking about. It's beneath you to pretend you don't." I was done playing this game with her. We were getting this fixed, and we were doing it now. When she said nothing in response to what I'd said, I scooted forward and sighed when she veered away again. "Do you still wish to act like you're ignorant of what you're doing?"

Air rushed from her mouth as she turned to look at me. "I...I don't feel like talking about this right now. Maybe we can do this some other-"

"No." It was a declaration, a demand, and I had never put demands on her. I had been by her side and supported her. I'd let her guide when and how she progressed. I had never tried to push my own wishes upon her, but in this, I would. I refused to continue on this way. This one time, we would do things my way. "I want to know now why you think I don't care about you."

My words seemed to stun her into silence, her eyes wider than I'd ever seen them. She licked her lips nervously, then glanced toward the door as if hoping someone would come and distract me from this conversation. But what she didn't know was that Gray had my back this time. He would keep anyone from disturbing us. I was sure of it.

Reaching out for her hand, I softened my voice and tried again. "Lucy please. Talk to me."

Her eyes watered, and for a moment, I thought she'd finally decided to tell me what was going on inside her head. But all at once, she turned her head aside and pulled on her hand. It hurt more than I'd thought possible that she was still pushing me away. I couldn't help but consider that maybe she didn't trust me, but I tried not to let it get to me. From what Gray had said, Lucy believed I was here out of guilt in regards to Mara, and if that was true, then it wasn't a matter of trust. It was her thinking she wasn't important to me in her own right.

Trying another tactic, I tugged her hand back toward me and brushed my fingers across her knuckles. "Lucy, do you know why I told you about Mara?"

She stilled at that, slowly turning her head to look at me with shining eyes. "No."

"I don't talk about her, to anyone. Not to Sting or Frosch. No one. You're the only one that I've ever told about her, and that's because...because I trust you." It took a moment for me to push past the lump in my throat, but this was important, and I wouldn't let the past keep me from making things right with Lucy now. "Because you're important to me, and I wanted you to have a choice. You deserved to know what I'd done back then, and you deserved to choose whether to keep me with you."

As I talked, I watched a single tear slip down her cheek, and by the time I'd finished, they were trailing out in streams. "Rogue..." Her voice cracked as she shook her head. "I always wanted you with me. I just didn't want you to feel like you...like you had to keep doing this. I...I'm sure this has been hard on you after everything you went through with Mara, and I didn't want to h-hurt you anymore." A sob burst from her mouth, and she moved to cover her face with her hands.

"Lucy, the only time you've ever hurt me was when you pulled away. Today, when you refused to talk to me, when you wouldn't let me close to you...that is the only time you have ever harmed me."

I reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her hand away from her face. "Look at me, Lucy." I waited until she raised those tearful brown eyes, and then I brought my hand up and swiped a thumb across her cheek. "Have I ever lied to you?"

She drew in a shuddering breath but shook her head. "No, but...you might not even realize why you keep helping me."

A soft chuckle fled my mouth at that. "Do I really strike you as a man who does things by accident? I won't tell you that I didn't think of Mara when I found you. I won't say she didn't cross my mind when I found you ready to end your life. That would be a lie, and I wouldn't disrespect you in such a way." Her bottom lip trembled at my admission, and fresh tears spilled down her cheeks. "But, that's not the only reason I've helped you, Lucy. Truthfully, I would have helped anyone in that position. I think you know me well enough to know that. I didn't even realize it was you that night until you said my name."

"But that just proves my point!" she cried, her face contorting with agony. "You didn't help me. You helped a woman that reminded you of Mara."

It killed me to see her this way, to hear her belittling what we had built together. All the time we'd spent together, all the ways we'd trusted each other, and she was chalking it all up to a delusion on both our parts. Somehow, she'd gotten it into her head that I'd fooled myself into believing I cared for her when the only one I really cared about was Mara, and she'd just been tricked by her own need for someone.

"So you're saying I have no idea how I feel, that I have so thoroughly deceived myself that I can't differentiate between you and a girl that died long ago?" I waited for her to agree, albeit tearfully, and then I continued, "Then what about you? You needed someone, and I just happened to be there at the right time. So...that would mean that you don't actually care about me specifically. You simply care for the random person who filled that particular position. Is that right?"

She gasped at my statement, her hand moving up to her chest as if to cover a pain I'd just caused, and then she gave a violent shake of her head. "No! That's not right! It's not true!"

I was being cruel. I knew it and hated it in equal parts, but I also knew it was the only way to get her to see the truth. "Why not? It makes as much sense as your theory about me."

"No, it doesn't. Rogue, you have to know that's not true!" Her eyes poured as she latched onto my hand with her own. She sat up straight, her body shifting closer to mine as if the lack of distance could somehow convince me she was telling the truth. "You know I care about you. You've been there for me during the w-worst thing that's ever happened to me. You gave me strength when I had none left." A heartbreaking sob broke through her words, and she fought to pull herself together enough to finish. "You're not just some guy to me! You...you mean the world to me!"

I glanced down at our joined hands, then back up at her, finally feeling like I was making progress. "If that's all true, then why can't it also be true for me? Why can't you believe me when I say that I care for you? You, not Mara. Not a replica, not a replacement. Why can you not trust that I know what's in my heart and mind?"

She paused, biting her lower lip as she studied my face. It took all I had not to close the gap between us and take her into my arms, but I knew it had to be her choice. She had to understand that her fears were all in her head, not reality. I couldn't force her to accept my words as fact. I could only give her the truth and hope she could push past her insecurities enough to believe it.

"You mean that?"

Her softly uttered question caused my heart to flutter against my rib cage. Maybe I had gotten through to her. "You know I do."

It took only that for the dam to break, and with a high, keening wail, she pushed up from the bed and threw herself into my arms. It was reminiscent of the numerous other times we'd done this, and I couldn't help but smile. She was back. We were back, and it felt good. The last several hours had taken more of a toll on me than I'd realized, but none of that mattered. Now that Lucy wasn't shutting me out, everything was alright.

She pulled away several minutes later, her eyes ringed in red and guilt marring her face. "I'm sorry, Rogue. I n-never wanted to hurt you. I was just so afraid."

"There's no need to apologize," I said, pulling her back in against me and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I'm just fine now."

And it was true. I'd never been more fine than I was in that moment, and it seemed the same way for her. She snuggled into my chest and gave a soft, shuddering sigh. I closed my eyes, content to just enjoy the moment with her, when a voice broke through the silence.

"Now, that's more like it."

Lucy raised her head and looked over my shoulder, finally cracking a smile. "Oh shut up, Cana."

The blonde leaned back, wiping her eyes and sliding back against the headboard. I worried for a moment that she might revert back to keeping space between us now that other people were around, but the moment she slid to the side, I knew she hadn't. I couldn't keep from grinning at her silent invitation, and I stood up and shifted into the open spot beside her. She scooted closer, letting her head fall against my shoulder, and I felt my smile grow.

I knew I must look ridiculous, but even with Cana and Gray staring down at us with a matching set of knowing grins, I couldn't really find the energy to care. As far as I was concerned, I'd earned the right to my happiness, and since all was right with the world, who cared if everyone knew it?

I was relieved. There was no other way to put it. The entire day, I'd had to fight my natural inclination to include Rogue in everything I did, every thought I had. It had been harder than I'd anticipated, and seeing the way he looked at me, the confusion etched across his face had made it even worse. He hadn't had a clue why I was avoiding him, and I'd hated every moment of it.

Watching him struggle to figure out why I was treating him so strangely made me feel awful, made me question myself, but I'd been so sure it was for the best. I didn't want to hurt him or upset him, but if he was here out of some need to correct his past mistakes, to make things up to Mara, then it had to stop. I wasn't strong enough to be around him, not when every waking moment was filled with a desire to be close to him. It would have hurt too much.

Now that we'd talked, I felt foolish. And completely elated. I don't know what I would have done if I had succeeded in pushing him completely out of my life. It would have destroyed something inside me to see him go. I don't think he had any idea just how important he'd become to me, but I did. He was the quiet I needed in my soul, the strength I needed to fight the fear in my mind. He was the air I needed to breathe.

But I couldn't say that. How ridiculous would that sound? The amount of time I'd known him was a drop in the bucket compared to what a normal person would expect for my feelings to be so strong.

So I kept the thought to myself. We'd just gotten past this mess I'd caused, and I wasn't about to toss a wrench into things again.

I snuggled in against him and looked up, finding a wide grin on his face. It was something I'd seen so rarely on him that for a moment, I was stunned speechless. He looked happy, and I felt the corners of my lips curl in response. Was that because of me? Was he that happy just because we'd worked everything out?

Looking across the room, I found Cana and Gray eyeing us. Neither appeared all that repentant at interrupting a private moment, but considering who they were, that wasn't all that shocking. The two of them were notorious for doing that very thing, but as good as I felt, I decided to let it go.

Fighting to smother the blush on my cheeks, I demanded, "What are you two grinning at?"

"Oh nothing," Cana hummed, a giggle pulsing up from her throat. "Just glad the happy couple is back together."

I gaped at her, completely astounded at what she'd said. Gray had been eluding to that earlier, suggesting that Rogue and I were more than friends, and at the time, it had hurt so much because I'd been so certain he hadn't even cared about me as a friend. Now though, the whole thing just stunned me. Where on earth had she gotten such an idea?

Before I could so much as think of an intelligent response, Rogue sighed, "I thought we'd already addressed this."

Head jerking in his direction, I asked, "We did?"

"Yeah, yeah," Cana laughed, totally ignoring my question in favor of nitpicking Rogue. "I still say I'm right."

I was so confused. I'd obviously missed something, and if it was about me, shouldn't I know about it? Turning to Gray, I sent him a quizzical look. Unfortunately, he just lifted his hands helplessly and laughed. "Sorry, sis. I'm with her."

Now it was Rogue's turn to gape, his mouth falling open in a moment of complete shock. I wasn't sure I'd ever seen him so flummoxed. The poor guy stared across the room at Gray with a look of profound disbelief. "So you were hoping I'd answer differently."

I looked between the three of them, a frown creasing the space between my eyebrows. "Would someone tell me what's going on?" I hated being in the dark like this, especially when it was obvious it concerned me.

Rogue dipped his head to mine, his eyes rolling, but before he could utter a single syllable, a loud chirp sounded from over on the far table. A flash of light accompanied the noise, and Rogue rose to cross to the other side of the room and pick up his communications lacrima. A moment later, Sting's voice was filling the room.

"Rogue, I need to talk to you."