Sting had been intrigued by Melody since the day he had met her, the day she and Gildarts stole their banner, and every chance he could, he would visit the Fairy Tail guild just to see her. He always came up with some kind of excuse to drop by, but he always made it a point to talk to her.

One day while Melody and Lucy were enjoying a cup of coffee, Sting stopped by the guild to speak with Makarov about something special. Melody raised a hand in greeting, blushing a little when he smiled. After speaking with Makarov, Sting approached the table where Lucy and Melody were sitting.

"Good morning, ladies." He said, smiling. "Fine day today, isn't it?"

Lucy looked at him suspiciously. "You've been coming to Fairy Tail quite a bit, lately. What's your game, Sting?"

"Game? There's no game, Lucy." Sting said, looking at her innocently. "It just so happens that we have a lot of business with Fairy Tail lately." He looked to Melody, blushing a little when he noticed her hair had a cute little braid running across the top of her head and tied with a bow. "I, um..." he cleared his throat. "I actually came today to personally invite Fairy Tail to a gathering that we're having at our guild hall." He smiled at Melody. "I'd love to see you there."

Melody blushed a little. "I'd love to come."

Sting's smile grew. "Great. It's in two days, semi-formal, so wear something nice." He bowed to her. "I'll see you then."

Melody's blush grew and she watched as Sting turned to leave. Cana and Mira Jane came over to join them.

"Sabertooth inviting Fairy Tail to a party, huh?" Cana looked down at Melody. "So? What're you going to where?" She asked, throwing her arm around Melody's shoulders.

Blushing a bit, Melody shrugged. "I don't know..."

Mira clapped her hands. "Time to go shopping!"

Melody stood with Lucy, Mira, and Cana as the rest of the guild filed into the Sabertooth Guildhall with the other guilds. She looked down at the dress she wore- a floor length sleeveless gown with a slit up to her mid thighs on both sides coloured a deep navy blue. It was form fitting, a soft flowing fabric. Her heels matched the colour of the dress which was a stunning contrast to her slightly tanned skin.

"Melody, are you ready?"

Melody looked up at Mira and nodded.

Cana smiled. "It's alright to be nervous, girl." She looked her up and down approvingly and smiled. "You look great, so don't worry."

Melody took a deep breath and smiled back. "Let's go."

Following the girls inside, Melody stepped into the Sabertooth guild hall for the second time. She looked around in awe, the guild hall looking very stunning. While the others went to settle into the party, Melody took the time to actually look around the guild hall. The last time she had been there, she had barely enough time to scale the wall to the second floor to retrieve the Sabertooth banner.

She walked to the large windows overlooking the forest outside and looked out at the moonlight.

"Wow..."

Melody looked to her right and smiled.

Everyone began filing into the guildhall and Sting found himself anxious. He stood with Rogue as they watched each of the guilds mingling.

"You're more anxious than I've ever seen you." Rogue noted. "All this for the Raindancer?"

Sting cleared his throat and tried to hide his blush. "It's just a formality to build relations with the other guilds."

Rogue chuckled. "You're a terrible liar, Sting." He patted his shoulder and smiled. "I'll go greet our guests while you go find Melody Cross."

Sting felt his cheeks burn a bit more as the Shadow Dragon Slayer left him alone. 'I should go find her.' he thought and began his search.

Along the way, he greeted their guests as he searched for the one person he wanted most to see that night.

"Sting!" Cana called to him as he passed by. She walked over to where he stood. "Great party, by the way."

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

Cana nudged him, smiling drunkenly at him. "You know, Mel used to be really shy, but she's been all smiles and she's really opened up since she met you."

"Really? I would have never guessed."

"Mmhmm. She's really opened up and bonded with our guild since she met you." Cana pointed down the hall. "If you're looking for her, she went that way."

Sting thanked her and headed in the direction Cana had pointed. He found himself getting more and more excited to see her, his heart racing the more he thought about her. And when he found her, it felt like his heart stopped.

Standing by the eastern windows of the guildhall stood Melody Cross gazing out at the moon. The moonlight shined down on her, illuminating her slightly tanned skin and teal hair. Sting stared at her, taking in her image. She wore a sleeveless, form fitting, floor length deep navy blue dress with mid thigh high slits in the sides and matching heels. The upper half of her hair was pulled up and partially braid, a braid running along the top of her head, and the rest hung down in teal cascades that reached the small of her back. She wore blue crystal drop earrings, and a circlet of light gold and blue crystals with a matching necklace. She was breathtakingly beautiful.

"Wow..."

Melody turned to face him and smile. "Hello, Sting."

Sting felt his cheeks burning and he found himself speechless.

Melody's cheeks began to burn and she clasped her hands in front of her. "What? Is there something on my face?" She reached up to touch her cheek, but Sting shook himself out of his trance and stepped forward, taking her hand in his.

"No, there's nothing." He offered her a smile. "Forgive me for staring, Melody, but you're just so gorgeous I couldn't help it."

Melody looked up at him, her cheeks burning even more. "T-Thank you..."

Sting smiled, then presented her with a light blue rose. "This is for you."

Melody smiled and took the rose. She reached up and situated it in her hair between the braids. "How does it look?"

Sting smiled. "It looks wonderful." He still had her hand in his, so he took it and placed it on his arm. "Would you like a full tour of the guildhall?"

Melody nodded. "I'd like that."