Meilin: One more week of school! I have exams this week that's why I haven't been on FFic lately. I've been trying to get all my homework and paperwork done to turn it before I go into cave mode and study my brains out. Okay so here is my schedule….After Thursday I will be on my "summer break." This break only last 5 DAYS before I have to start summer semester. So in those five days I will update as much as I can!
Natsu: Only 5 days for summer break?
Meilin: Sadly, yes. I'm going straight through college until 2015 so I can graduate faster and go into "graduate school" or specialist school.
Happy: Will you have time for us?
Meilin: OF COURSE I WILL! I'm going fishing in my free time, so I'll bring you back some fish Happy. :)
Happy: Yosh! I'm all fired up!
Natsu: Hey, that's my line!
Meilin: No arguing! This story hasn't been updated since a month and a half ago! On with the story!
Oh my goodness, please excuse all the mistakes. I know there are a lot and I will fix them when I have the chance. Thank you!

BROKEN BIRTHDAY BONDS: Episode 5

It was another lively day in the famous Fairy Tail guild. Mira was behind the bar as usual, Elfman was blabbing something to Wendy about being a man, Levy was reading a book with her red spectacles, Gajeel was eating some iron bolts, and Cana was– well you can probably guess.

"Natsu, you idiot, give me back my underwear!"

"Muwahaha! Come and get them back if you can!"

"G-gray sama!" squealed a blushing water mage.

Those three…, is there really a need to explain? You know how it is.

Lisanna came through the front doors with her bright smile and purple dress. She walked to the back of the guild and sat down on a stool in front of the drink serving station. The eldest take over mage pushed a drink near her and said,

"We need to talk, Lisanna."

"Mira-Nee, what is it?"

"I want to talk to you about that flyer that was on the job board last week."

"Flyer?"

"The one from Sabertooth."

"…Oh."

"Why did you convince Lucy to take that job? You knew it was from Minerva's guild. Lucy could be in danger."

"Lucy has her celestial spirits, she can take care of herself," Lisanna explained. She stood up to leave, not wanting to be interrogated by her sister any longer.

Grabbing ahold of her wrist, Mirajane sternly looked at her younger sister. "Lisanna, I know you are my little sister, but Lucy is a part of the Fairy Tail family too. I can't just let this slide by. I have to make sure that she's safe."

The little sister yanked her arm from the grip and forced a smile upon her face. "Lucy is fine. She is the only one who can go on this mission and successfully complete it. I know she's a member of the guild so I would never do anything to put her in harm's way." After telling her that, Lisanna walked away.

…

"State your name and business here," a guard at the gate announced.

"We are Sabertooth. We've come to escort the princess like the job description has requested."

"And your name is?"

"Minerva, daughter of Sabertooth's master."

"Please, enter and wait for the king and princess."

The six of us entered the castle gates and stood before the throne of the king. About ten minutes later, two people cloaked in royal robes appeared before us. The princess and her father had their hoods up so I wasn't able to see their faces. The only things that were visible were the blonde wavy hairs that peeped out from her hood and the king's mustache and beard.

"Sabertooth, my daughter is the most precious possession I have. I have hired you to escort her from this castle to the mansion she grew up in. If there is even a single scratch on her body, you all will pay dearly. Is that understood?" the king commanded in a low voice.

"Yes, your majesty. Be rest assured, there shall be no problems. I can guarantee you the princess' safety while in our hands," Minerva boldly stated. "Now, let's be on our way. We have no time to lose."

On our way to the mansion, the princess always traveled guarded by us. Minerva was at the front, the princess was behind her, Sting was to her right, I was to her highness' left, and Rogue followed silently behind.

I scooted in a little closer to hooded woman, "So, what's your name?" I asked politely.

"That is none of your concern," she said in a low voice.

Okay…? Did I get on her bad side?

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. I'm Lucy Heartfilia, by the way. Just let me know if there is something I can do for you." I distanced myself from the girl and guarded her like I was supposed to. I didn't know her story, so there might have been a reason why she didn't want to tell me her name.

We seemed to travel at a decent speed through the villages. For some reason, it feels like I've been here before, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I remember. I stopped walking for a moment when I remembered where I was.

"Oi, blondie, stop daydreaming. We've got places to be."

I understood that it was Sting who spoke to me, but I didn't comprehend anything he told me. I ran from the group, my feet bringing me through the flea market to the familiar building that sat a couple hundred feet away from me. I came upon a building with a pink sign that said "Love and Lucky."

"Hey, where do you think you're going, you stupid fairy!" he yelled after me. "Tch."

I calmly walked through the doors and spoke to a brunette with a button nose and a green vest. "Excuse me," I said. "I'm looking for Jude Heartfilia. He is a member here, isn't he?"

"Um, would you perhaps be Jude's daughter?" she questioned with a worried look on her face.

"Yes, that's me."

"Um…"

"What? Has he quit already?" I joked.

"Um, It pains me…to have to tell you this, but, Jude passed away about a month ago. I'm truly sorry for your loss."

No, this is… I didn't remember leaving the building, but here I was outside, sitting on the front steps staring at the ground. Everything around me just seemed to disappear.

x.x.x Sting POV x.x.x

"There you are! Are you seriously trying to make us miss our deadline?" I snapped. I wasn't one to care for much, but when it came to a mission our duty to perform came first.

The blonde just sat there as if she didn't hear me. "Oi!"

She looked up at me slowly, her eyes like a hollow chocolate shell; no life, emptiness, sadness. She got up lifelessly from her sitting position and apologized.

"Sorry, let's keep going." She only took about eight steps past me before stopping again. Her head kept hanging low and her face never regained that dumb smile she always had on.

x.x.x Lucy POV x.x.x

Minerva stood before me with a slightly frustrated look on her face. "We're going to take a break. Everyone, meet back here tomorrow morning at 8 sharp!" she commanded.

Thank you, Minerva. I thought. I wasn't really in the condition to be traveling, especially if we ran into some monsters or something. I was too distracted. I walked away to somewhere other than here. It was dark by the time I realized that I had stopped by a river. There was a small bridge connecting from one side of the river to the other, but I stood underneath the bridge.

My father died…I wasn't sure if I was sad. I definitely was not happy, but I didn't know what I should've felt at the time. I sort of felt like crying, but no tears were coming out, so I sat on the ground and threw pebbles into the water.

…

"Man, why are we taking another break? What was Minerva thinking?" Sting bellowed out.

"There was a reason," the shadow dragon slayer inputted. The white dragon slayer looked quite confused.

"I think she was upset," Rogue answered.

"Fro thinks so, too!"

"Maybe we should go find her and cheer her up," Lector suggested, putting his two cents in.

No one seemed to say anything after that. They all just seemed to sit in less than comfortable silence.

"Why are you all staring at me?" Sting shouted. "I didn't do anything!"

All eyes looked away, and again, nothing was said. His jaw dropped slightly, but he regained his composure. "Tch, I'm leaving…but not to find that dumb fairy!" Slamming the door on his way out, the stubborn dragon slayer mumbles incoherent words to himself as we followed the scent of the celestial mage.

He found her not too long afterwards wading her hand around in the water, watching her own reflection get disrupted by the ripples in the water.

"What are you doing way out here by yourself?"

She looked up at the voice standing on the bridge above her and sighed. "I just needed some time to myself."

He jumped from the bridge and landed smoothly on the ground beside her. "Rogue said you were upset."

"Is that so?"

"Um, so…what's got you down in the slumps?"

She didn't answer him for what seemed like hours (but only ten seconds in reality) and it made him kind of nervous. He was Sting, the White Dragon Slayer who could destroy anything in his path; the man who slayed his dragon parent with his own two hands! Yet, here he was trying to console this fragile girl and he had no clue what he was doing or how to do it.

"Y-you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he stuttered, getting a little flushed in the face.

"My.."

He waited for her response.

"I just found out that my father died. That building I was sitting in front of, that was where he worked." There was a slight pause before she continued. "I'm just not sure how I should be feeling. I mean, my dad and I didn't exactly leave off on the right foot. The last time I saw him was when I told him to get lost and leave me alone."

"You know what I think?" he announced, throwing a rock into the river. "I think you're angry that he died. You wish that you could see him one more time so that you could properly apologize, but now that he's gone you don't get that chance."

She stayed silent. Was he right?

"You're sad he died, who wouldn't be? But you're angry with yourself. Let me tell you something Lucy, you don't have to hate yourself for it and bottle it up inside. It's okay to cry for things like this."

In that instant, the celestial mage burst into tears. She wiped her flowing tears with her arms but nothing seemed to dry fast enough. Sting Eucliffe extended his hand outward and placed it on her head. He gave her a slight pat without looking at her directly, and then she cried even more while clinging onto his shirt like it was the last lifeline.

It wasn't until daybreak when Lucy woke up. She opened her eyes and took in her surroundings before she noticed that she had fallen asleep on Sting's lap. Quickly, she got up and caught the sleeveless blue jacket that fell from her shoulders before it descended into the waters.

Smiling, Lucy hugged the vest close to her person and stared at the dragon slayer. He looks just like a little boy when he sleeps. Not waiting one moment more, Lucy poked Sting's cheek with her finger a few times.

"Oi, Sting, it's time to get up."

He grumbled a few times before his eyes met the shinning rays of the sun. He was still in a slight daze.

"Geez, Sting, if you don't wake up, Minerva is going to be mad at the both of us for being late." She dipped her hand in the chilly morning water and splashed a handful at him to wake him up.

"H-hey!" he protested. "I'm up!"

Giggling at his out of character state, Lucy smiled gently at him and handed him his boa-styled jacket. "Thank you, Sting, for yesterday. I feel a lot better now."

He snatched his coat from her hands and turned away to put it on. "Whatever," he said obviously embarrassed. He turned back around to look at her and she still had that stupid grin on her face. "G-go wash your face in that river, Lucy, your eyes are all puffy and red."

She had a look of shock on her face.

"What?" he asked annoyed.

"You called me Lucy again." A shade of coral pink tinted his cheeks and he looked away at nothing in particular.

"You're just delusional. I think you need to get your ears checked. Hurry it up or I'll leave you behind."

Sting began walking away and Lucy quickly splashed some water on her face before catching up to him. She was slightly hesitant at first, but seeing as she was caught up in the moment, the spirit mage grabbed Sting's hand and walked a little faster, pulling him forward. He was taken off guard as well, but wrapped his fingers around her hand, nonetheless.

Meilin: Waaa! Do I sense a new pairing?
Natsu: NO!...wait, what is Lisanna planning?
Lucy: Is Sting falling in love with me?
Sting: O-oi! You were all over me, not the other way around!
Happy: You liiiikkkeee her!
Meilin: Thanks again for sticking with me! I hope you are all still out there! But I do have a question for all of you…There are 135 people on story alert, 81 people on story favorite, but only 73 reviews, don't you see something wrong with that ratio? Come on Fairy Tail lovers! You guys are the ones who make the story happens.
Show the FAIRY TAIL GUILD SOME LOVE! See you next time!