Yay another update so quickly!
There is no set pairing for the moment, this is mostly about Lucy's time during the seven year gap! I love to write romance so I threw in a little Lyon action, but nothing is set in stone. You guys don't really think that Lucy would go seven years without any relationships, right? If you're looking for a proper romance in this story, I'm sorry to say but that's not gonna happen for a while. There is a couple I have planned, but nothing will happen anytime soon. Sorry!
The two bedroom apartment that Lucy was shown was perfect, and it was only an extra twenty thousand jewel. She made a new contract with her Landlady to move in within the next few months just in case someone else came and took it. Her Landlady knew that she had recently taken in another kid and she was being very understanding. Maybe she had a soft spot for kids? Lucy never even asked if she had kids before, she would make a mental note to do that sometime.
It was now three days after their incident, and Rogue seemed to be getting more comfortable in their home. She was happy to have Sting back, and her heart grew with more love towards the Shadow Dragon Slayer. He was still a brand new addition to their family, but the way that the two young boys acted made it seem like Rogue had been around forever. She had no idea how they bonded so quickly, but she was excited for Sting to have a friend his age.
Now here they were, walking to the guild with each Slayer holding their exceed partner and Lucy leading the way with an easy smile on her face.
"It can get a little rowdy sometimes, but they're pretty nice." Sting says to Rogue as Lector tries to climb on his head.
"It's not even close to how crazy it got before." Lucy scoffs. "Fire everywhere, frozen food, and swords sticking out of every pillar. You'd be lucky to not get hit by a stray flying body." She chuckled at the memories. It still hurt, but she found it to be easier to talk about the past then it used to be. As long as she didn't talk about the island, she did pretty well on the subject of her missing friends.
"Was Gajeel like that too?" Rogue asks curiously.
She glances at him with a small smirk. "Ohh, a Gajeel fan huh?" She teased, laughing when he blushed lightly.
"We knew each other when he was in Phantom Lord, I didn't expect him to join the guild that beat him." He then frowned. "He would always talk about how much he hated Fairy Tail, I just don't understand why he would join." It's not that Rogue hated Fairy Tail, he just wanted to understand how a man like Gajeel joined a guild that was completely different from him.
Lucy hummed in thought as she slowed her steps to match Rogue's, looking down at the confused boy. "He said it was because he needed work, and we are the number one guild." She then stops, causing the two boys to stop as well. She gives a gentle smile and pats his head. "I think it's because he wanted friends. He changed a lot since Phantom, and that's coming from the person he beat half to death." She winked with a small giggle. She remembered how hard he fought in Edolas, it definitely changed her view of him.
"Friends, huh?" Rogue looks at Sting, his heart swelling when the blonde boy looked at him with a grin. Phantom Lord was a scary place, there were no friendships or family to be seen. He had no idea why his heart yearned to be close to Sting, but he wouldn't fight it. He was excited to have a friend.
She placed her hands on each of their shoulders and lead them along towards to guild once more. "Gajeel isn't the most liked in our guild, of course, but he's gotten better. Did you know he likes to sing?"
Rogue gaped at her statement, stumbling slightly in his steps. "Really? What does he sing?"
Lucy laughed at the memory and held out her arms, lowering her voice to imitate the Iron Dragon. "Shoo-be-do-ba!" She sang out, grinning at the four different giggles. "He can also play guitar and harmonica." He definitely didn't look like the musical type, and especially not that genre of music. Guess he's not a total metal head. She snickered at her thought.
"What about Natsu, does he have any talents?" Sting asks excitedly.
"He was very talented at pissing me off." She laughed, ruffling Sting's hair when he pouted. "He doesn't have any special talents like singing or dancing, but he can sniff out an enemy faster than you could even say hello to the person. Even if it's a stranger being friendly, he can always tell if they're tricking us, it's quite impressive. For an idiot, he's pretty clever."
Sting nodded happily, a smile on his face. His idol really is super cool, he can't wait to meet Natsu. "Do you think he'll like me?"
Lucy stops just outside of the guild and looks down at him. "He likes anyone who's willing to fight him, I'm sure he'll love you." She chuckles, pushing open the large doors.
"Welcome back!" Kinana calls from the bar, waving at them.
"How was the mission?" Macao asks as they stroll up to the bar. His gaze moves to the unfamiliar timid boy hiding behind her and he raises an eyebrow.
"Oh wow, Lucy had another kid? She really likes to get around." Droy laughs from his spot at a table before taking a bite of his food.
Lucy whirled around with a fierce glare. "They're not really my kids, dumbass!" She yells, sending him flying into the wall with a hard Lucy Kick. She huffed as she watched him fall heavily to the ground with a groan, turning back to the bar and walking over to the two boys again. Sting was snickering and she flicked his forehead to make him stop, Rogue staring at her with wide eyes of disbelief.
"Did you take in another kid?" He then noticed the small green ball of fur sleeping in his arms. "And a cat?"
She nods and places her hands on each of their heads, ignoring Sting's glare as he rubbed the red spot on his forehead. "I asked him to move in with us, yes." She gently pushes Rogue forward, smiling softly at his nervousness. "This is Rogue and Frosch, I found them after my mission." She then pushed Sting forward, snickering when he stumbled and glared harder at her. "These four would like to join Fairy Tail."
Macao smiled widely and stood, patting Sting on the shoulder but not noticing how the boy flinched at the contact. "So you finally came around, Sting, that's great! We're more than happy to have you four join us."
Sting stepped back so Macao's hand was no longer resting on his shoulder, shuffling closer to Lucy. "Yeah." He mumbled, holding her shirt when her arm moved to block him from view.
"Still shy even after all this time? It'll be nice to see you open up one day." Macao laughed. He then turned to Rogue, reaching forward so he could ruffle the boys hair.
Lucy quickly grabbed his wrist before he could make contact, tightening her hold slightly when Rogue flinched. "I'm sure they'll come around eventually." Her smile never faltered as Macao looked at her in confusion.
"Uh, right." Macao said, pulling his hand back and rubbing at the redness around his wrist. He leaned over to get a better look at Sting, confused at his sudden nervousness. He had always been a shy boy, but he had gotten out of his hiding phase a while ago. "Sting-"
"He's tired, you can talk to me." Lucy interrupts, leading Rogue behind her as well so the two boys could find a little comfort with each other. "If you give your approval to allow them to join the guild, then I can place the stamp on them." She holds out her hand expectantly.
"Lucy, did something happen on the mission?" Macao asks, his brows furrowing in worry.
"It's none of your concern, just give them time." She bobs her hand in the air to motion him to hurry.
"I'm the Master, which means it's my responsibility to- ack!" His eyes widened in surprise when her outstretched hand fisted his collar before yanking him forward roughly.
She glared heavily at the older man, his eyes filling with fear when her lip curled in anger. "Give me the fucking stamp, Macao. You know damn well that being the Master doesn't mean shit, I don't know if you think I'm stupid or if you're just that stupid. Mira gave me mine, so it doesn't matter who does it. If you touch either of these boys one more time I will put you into early retirement." She seethed quietly, his small fearful pants puffing against her face. She shoved him away, her smile returning as he stumbled back. "Now then, can I please have it." She holds her hand out once more, ignoring the sudden silence in the guild when they witnessed her grab Macao.
He stared at her in shock, his back against the bar. She had been genuinely angry that he touched them, but why? He used to tease Sting before, what the hell happened on that mission? He cleared his throat and stood straight, fixing his clothes as he moved. "Alright, I'll go grab the stamp." He sighed, turning and making his way towards his temporary office.
She watched him walk away, her hand dropping to her side. The noise in the guild slowly picked back up as her eyes never left the retreating man. She was already upset when he didn't notice how uncomfortable Sting was from the physical contact, seeing him attempt it again with Rogue was her breaking point. She loved her guild, but they seriously needed to learn some boundaries. Her gaze finally broke away from the man when she felt a small tug on her shirt, turning around and frowning at the two. She whispered to Macao, but she already knew that they heard her. Sting looked surprised and Rogue looked worried.
"Lucy, why are you so angry at the Master?" Sting asked, confused by the potent smell of her anger.
"Because he's dense." She pulled them both in for a hug, sighing when they relaxed. She could tell that they were afraid of grown men at the moment, and she didn't blame them. She then leaned down and gave them a gentle smile. "I'm not gonna let anyone touch you, remember?" Her smile grew when they nodded, and she placed a kiss on each of their foreheads. She knew that she was a little forceful with Rogue in her affection, but he was more nervous than he was scared. She felt the way Sting trembled after Macao touched him, and it made her furious. Not at Macao, but at Neerus. These two boys would be scarred for life because of his disgusting actions. Her rage for Neerus came tumbling out when Macao didn't notice their fear, she didn't really mean to get so angry at him.
"So, uh, what kind of magic does Rogue use?" Wakaba spoke up from his seat at the bar, trying to ease the tension in the hall.
Lucy stands straight and turns to face the Smoke Mage. "He happens to be a Shadow Dragon Slayer. Pretty cool, right?" She grins, placing her hands on her hips.
His eyes practically bugged out of his skull. "No way! How do you keep finding all of these Dragon Slayers?" He shouted in shock, staring at the timid boy.
"Amazing, who would have thought that there were so many in the world." Alzack chimed. "And he's got an exceed! What the hell is with Dragon Slayers and exceeds?"
Max nodded enthusiastically as he observed the small scene. "That makes seven Dragon Slayers now, right? Do you think there's more?"
Lucy shrugs. "I have no idea, all I know is that I can't get away from them." She jokes with a small laugh. First Natsu, then Gajeel, then Wendy, and now she had two that lived with her. They were always finding her. She didn't really count Laxus and Cobra as she barely spoke to either of them. Though, that didn't stop Laxus from trying to get with her multiple times. She really hoped that his journey was helping him realize what a dick he was.
"What does a Shadow Dragon Slayer mean? Does he control them?" Max asks.
"I think so. I haven't actually seen him use his magic before." Besides the large burst he created, of course. She looked down when she felt Rogue shift, revealing more of himself from behind her.
"I can, um, control them, make them, and-" He flinched slightly when the three men looked at him. "I can turn into one." He finished quietly.
Max smiles at the nervous boy. "That sounds totally awesome! Imagine how useful that would be."
Alzack and Wakaba nod in agreement. "Definitely, that would be great for stealth missions." Alzack says.
"A lot better than a gun, that's for sure!" Wakaba laughed when Alzack gaped at him.
Rogue blushes softly. "R-Really? You think it's that good?" He was nervous around people, but these guys seemed really nice.
"It's so good, actually;" She grins at the men and places her hands on each of the Slayer's heads, "that I bet either one of these boys could wipe the floor with any of you."
Macao chuckles as he makes his way back over to the bar. "Hey now, no need to boost their ego too much." He places the stamp on the bar top before sitting on one of the stools.
"It's not an ego boost." She smirks at the Guild Master. "It's just a fact."
Macao shakes his head with a laugh. "They probably couldn't even beat Nab together." He grinned at the distant "Hey!" That came from the request board.
"I'll fight!" Sting jumped out from behind Lucy, his fear replaced with excitement. He's always wanted to fight a Fairy Tail mage, then he could get an idea of what Natsu will be like to fight!
Lucy looked down at him with raised eyebrows. "Are you sure?" She was worried about him, she didn't want him to push himself too much.
He nods at her with a smile. "Yeah! I really wanna fight them, then I can test out my new strength." He had thought about the whole situation a lot for the passed three days. It was really messed up what Neerus did, but Sting did walk away stronger. He knew that Rogue didn't feel the same way, he was still scared of a lot of people and his magic. Sting wanted to show him that they survived, and they should embrace their new power and use it out of spite. Neerus would never get their power, and they were walking proof of that.
"I don't know..." She sighed. He seemed really happy about the fight, and she didn't want to take away his happiness, but she was so worried. He was fine now, but would he really be okay after fighting a man? When Sting gave her his pleading eyes, that's when she caved. "Fine, but don't push yourself. You haven't tested your new power yet." She huffed.
Sting nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! I promise I'll back out if it's too much." He smiles widely.
She smiled gently down at him, patting his head. He reminded her so much of Natsu. "Let's start you off easy. How about..." Her eyes scanned the guild in thought, thinking over each of the member's magic. When her gaze landed on a man on a table, she grinned. "Vigeeter!" The said man looked over at her and she waved him over.
Small snickers ran through the group as Vigeeter made his way over. The poor man had no idea what Lucy just said. "How about a little sparring match?" Macao asked after his chuckles subsided.
"With you? I suppose I could dance my way through it." Vigeeter struck a pose.
"No no, not Master." Lucy smiled, gently pushing Sting towards the lean mage. "Sting."
Vigeeter blinked down at the happy boy, surprised to see him interacting with the other members. "I'd feel bad for beating a kid."
Sting pouts and Lucy laughs. "Don't worry about him, you won't even need to hold back." She smacks Sting back and her smile turns a little malicious. "Sting won't hold back either."
Lucy leaned down in front of Sting as they stood outside of the rune barriers. "Vigeeter's magic isn't very strong, but he's pretty quick. Just don't let him get behind you." She ruffles his hair and gives a bright smile. "Kick his ass."
Sting grins and nods. "Got it!" He was both very excited and nervous to test his new strength. He knew that they were all professional mages and would help him if his magic got out of control, but he didn't want to seriously injure someone. He would do some smaller moves to test his magic before going all out.
"Isn't it bad to fight your comrades?" Rogue mumbled from beside Lucy.
She stands straight and wraps an arm around his shoulders. "It's a friendly match, friends do that all the time." She watched as Sting hurried to the middle of the area where his opponent was waiting. "Well, in Fairy Tail we fight for fun." She chuckles.
"Will I have to fight?" He asked nervously.
"Only if you want to." She reassured him.
Sting was smiling widely as he stopped in front of the dancing man. "Thanks for agreeing to fight me!"
Vigeeter looked at him curiously as he struck another pose. "You're welcome, I would love to teach you the true art of dance! It's so nice to see you finally dancing with everyone!"
Sting slowly nodded in confusion, he still wasn't used to Vigeeter's weird antics. "Sure." He took a few steps back and watched as Vigeeter did the same. He could hear Lucy and Lector cheering for him as Macao readied the match. He just had to keep his eyes on his opponent and he would be okay.
The match started and Sting gasped when Vigeeter was gone in a flash. He spun around in surprise and was suddenly kicked across the field, landing with a small grunt. He looked up at the man and saw that he was dancing in his spot that Sting was just at. He slowly stood, brushing the dirt from his black pants. Lucy wasn't kidding, he really is quick. Taking off his long blue vest, he tossed it aside so he could feel less constricted in his white T-Shirt.
Sting ran forward, light covering his hands as he swung at Vigeeter, growling when he kept dodging. Sting was able to jump away from another kick that was sent at him, and he gathered more magic in his hands before sending it to the dancing mage. It missed and Vigeeter jumped away, gracefully hopping from place to place. Sting furrowed his brows in concentration as he tried to figure out a way to slow him down. He couldn't try his stigmata since he wasn't able to even land a hit on the guy. He groaned in pain when he was struck again, rolling in the dirt a few times before he sprang back up. There was only one way he would be able to get him to slip up.
With magic gathering in his palms, he pressed them together and focused on the warmth in his hands. Even if they were small divots, anything would help. The magic in his hands kept growing, and he was surprised at its intensity. He was definitely stronger than the last time he fought someone, which hadn't been since he was first captured.
"Holy Ray!" He shouts, stumbling slightly when the magic burst from his palms. The pressure was almost too much, but he held firm, smirking when the spears of light shot towards his opponent.
Vigeeter jumped around quickly, shocked at the strength of the young mage. The last time he saw Sting use that move in the training grounds it was much smaller, how did he increase his power so fast? His arm was struck by a spear of light when he didn't move in time, hissing in pain at the burning it left. His eyes remained on the grinning blonde when the dust cleared, tensing his body to ready himself for another attack.
Sting was thrilled at the power he dispersed, he had no idea he was that strong now! He then sprinted forward, internally laughing when Vigeeter did the same. He turned before he got too close, running away from him. He then quickly spun around before Vigeeter could get too close, taking a deep breath and feeling the magic gather in his throat before he crouched down with his hands on the ground to brace himself. "White Dragon's; Roar!" The large laser shot from his mouth and towards the dancing mage as the power pushed Sting back slightly, his shoes digging into the ground to stop him from losing control.
Vigeeter's eyes widened, quickly jumping out of the way before the breath attack could hit him. He gasped when he suddenly stepped in a hole, causing him to trip and land face first in the dirt. Before he could get back up, Sting was suddenly standing over him, his glowing hands held too close to his face. He swallowed and shakily lifted his hands in the air. "I surrender." It was when the glowing hands left that he finally noticed all of the holes in the ground. It must have been from his Holy Ray, that sneaky little Dragon.
Sting grinned widely and turned to Lucy, pumping a fist in the air. "I won!" He called.
Lucy smiled brightly and ran towards him with Rogue. She threw her arms around him and tackled him to the ground in a tight hug. "That was amazing, Sting! You finally mastered your Holy Ray!" She sat them both up, brushing the dirt from his face.
"That was really cool, I didn't know you were such a good fighter." Rogue crouched down with a small smile.
"Sting strong!" Lector cheered, dancing around with his green friend.
"Strong!" Frosch giggled.
"That was incredible, I had no idea he was that strong!" Macao said as he walked over to them.
"Quite the strategist too." Wakaba nodded.
"He's always been super clever, he helps me with mission plans all the time." Lucy says as she helps Sting to stand.
"That was a wonderful match." Vigeeter smiled, holding out a hand to the shorter blonde.
Sting nervously looked at the hand, stepping closer to Lucy. "Yeah." He mumbled.
"And he's back." Macao chuckled at his usual shyness.
Lucy grins at Sting and ruffles his hair. "How about some ice cream to celebrate?"
Sting smiled brightly and nodded. "Yes!"
She giggled and led the two boys and their exceed friends back into the guild, Sting and Rogue happily chatting about the fight. She was so proud of Sting for taking that step, she had no idea if he ever wanted to fight again after that awful day. But she was proven wrong, his excitement for a fight outweighed his fear of people. He really was like Natsu.
I know that the last chapter made it seem like Cobra would be in this one, and I apologize. He'll come soon, I promise! I love Cobra, if he wasn't a villain then he would be taking Lyon's spot as Lucy's potential love interest hehe.
Next chapter is already completed and is under editing!
Drop a review, Dude!