Nox was aware of the unease she caused. She didn't care. She didn't mind. Those humans could not understand what she went through on a daily basis because of those fairies. No, Nox didn't care what the people of Fiore thought.

However, she would not be able to bear it if Sting and Rogue looked at her like the others.

She stepped into the hall of the hotel she shared with Sabertooth. Many people were in the lobby, and she could almost sense their excitement after the games. People were talking about the fights that they had seen, most of them whooping at the mention of Midnight Fear. Nox smiled under to hood of her cloak and made her way to her room. She was on the seventh floor of the hotel, and her room was one of the few to be on that level. She had a panoramic view on the city as well as on the stars for her ceiling was transparent. She had left Yukino there this morning and given the girl the code to the lacryma vision so she could watch the Grand Magic Games.

When she entered her room, she heard Yukino's voice and five other, talking casually. She pushed the door open and stepped without making a noise into her room. Rogue, Sting their Exceeds and a woman she recognized as Minerva were talking with her. Nox stood there for a moment, before she nodded to them and made her way past them.

"_if they annoy you, tell me Yukino and I will kick them out."

"_thanks for taking her in, Nox. I know I should have warned you first but there was no time and..."

She held her hand up.

"_I don't mind, Rogue. Yukino is a nice girl. She is not a bother. I believe I haven't met Minerva yet." She extended her hand to the woman, who replied with a polite hello and both shared a handshake. Half way through the greeting, Nox caught Rogue's eyes onto the woman and looked at him with amused eyes. She then straightened up and took a closer look the Minerva. A smile appeared on her face when she noticed the bell hanging around her neck, chocker style. She laughed as Rogue cut her off from mentioning anything, saying;

"_don 't even dare to think about it." She had an amused smile on her face and unclasped her cloak.

"_if Sting and Rogue trust you guys, I can do so as well. My name is Rezef."

Minerva smiled at the woman, and both hit it off very quickly. They were both incredibly alike and often found themselves having the same opinions on thing. Finally, after about an hour of chatter during which Sting had not uttered a word, she turned to her dragon slayer.

"_what?"

He exploded.

"_what on earth were you thinking?! What if Fairy Tail tries to kill you? Or if the magic council decides to lock you up? Or what if that Raven Tail guild tries something dirty to get you out of the game or..."

She cut him off by placing her hand on his arm.

"_Sting. I am a big girl. Yes? I can take care of myself."

He slumped onto her couch.

"_I know... we are just worried." Frosch sat on Nox's shoulder whilst Lector went over to his Dragon.

"_Frosch is worried as well. Frosch thinks that people could hate Nox now, and Frosch doesn't want that."

Nox scratched the little cat under the chin before plopping her down and saying to her friends;

"_I don't know about you guys, but I am starving."

.

Minerva and Yukino had come along to get the food with the trio under the insistence of Nox, who had really taken a liking to the two women.

"_you see," she said "I have been living with those idiots for three months now... I am starting to miss a lady's company."

To her greatest surprise, Minerva, Sting and Rogue did not agree with Yukino being kicked out of the guild. They thought that nakama had to be there for one another and that the true strength of a guild was not in their magical power but in their love for one another. Nox had smiled at the thought. She knew Sting sometimes thought of the person he would have become had his path not crossed Nox's. She had sometimes heard him discuss it with Lector. Not long ago, Sting had told his Exceed that he believed if he had not met Nox, he would have laughed at the torture the fairy was put through by the redhead during the first day. That he would have been brought up to hate everything around him that was not strong magically. Nox had opened his eyes to another type of strength. And he was grateful for that.

Nox often also thought about where she would be now had she never met them. She imagined herself with a colder heart, a burning hatred animating her actions. She would have slowly withdrawn herself from the world until her vengeance had been completed.

In blood.

.

After the food, Nox, Yukino and the Tigers had decided to take a walk around the town they were in. The boy's Exceeds were starting to get rather tired, and Rogue volunteered himself to bring the little ones back, blushing when Minerva excused herself to accompany him. Nox had winked at the woman, and she had replied by poking her tongue out. Yukino had stayed for a little longer before leaving them at the entrance of their hotel. The remaining two had waved her goodbye and made their way to Crocus' park. Nox and Sting were talking light heartedly when they entered the green area.

The night was frisk. There was a chilly breeze in the air, but it failed to make any of the two shiver. They were far too warm. Sting closed her eyes and inhaled in the air of the night.

She could smell the fresh scent of pine trees from the forest nearby and the wetness of the grass around. The gurgling sound of water reached her ears. There was a river nearby, if she remembered correctly from the map she glanced at earlier. She smiled bitterly. It s not as if she could really forget it. She drew her hood back to enjoy further to coldness of the night.

"_what s the smirk for, Rez?"

And there was Sting. His smell was the one of warmth. She could smell the beast exuding from him, the odour of warmed up stones in the summer sunlight. She instinctively neared him.

"_nothing for you to worry about, Blondie."

"_oh really, now?"

She felt his finger tickle her side. She squirmed under his touch, and he chuckled. She tried to replicate with an attack of her own, when they both fell to the ground. They were in heaps of laughter by the time they starting rolling down the gently sloping hill, and their speed increased slightly. Rezef was clinging onto him, as suddenly, she felt herself fall. With a short yelp, the both of them fell in the water.

Sting surfaced an instant later, a laughing Rezef clinging to him. She let go of the charming dragon slayer whist he got out, and extend her hand, pouting. He chuckled softly before grabbing her hand and hoisting her out of the water. She grabbed his arm to steady herself and let go of the man with a cold shiver. Once wet, the breeze was far chillier. Sting grabbed her thighs and hoisted her up on his back. She laughed as her favourite dragon slayer starting giving her a piggyback ride to the hotel. Her arms sneaked around his neck, as she buried her face in the wet mass of his hair. She could feel the heat he radiated, as her nose nuzzled his neck. His breath hitched.

Her fingers were so cold. He knew she wasn't human, let alone alive, but her body had the cadaveric cold of a dead body. He squeezed her thighs tighter and was rewarded with a peck on the cheek.

"_we will be there soon."

.

Their hotel was one of the most expensive in the town, curtsey of the Magic Council. Rezef's room was on the top floor, and she loved the view she was given from up there. Sting and her entered the lift chuckling, as he pressed number three. She pouted slightly.

"_come to my room!"

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"_I know we shared a camp for months, but are you sure that s a good idea?"

"_at least get cleaned there so you don't wake Rogue up." Seeing the logic behind that, he nodded and the woman and she pressed the number 7 of the lift. She snuggled closer to her friend as she felt the cold. He lightly sneaked an arm around her shoulder to warm her up a little. She closed her eyes and dropped her head onto his shoulder. She was tired.

The ting of the doors opening shook her out of her daze as she lifted her head from Sting's comfy shoulder and staggeringly got out of the lift. She looked around her pockets before remembering that she had given her key to Yukino. Luckily, the girl had left the door open. The celestial mage had left her keys in the little bowl on the counter, and she mentally made a note to thank her. She was walking into her own room when she froze and backtracked, walking into Sting. She grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the room, making sure not to close the door fully.

"_Rogue is asleep in there. With the two Exceeds. And Minerva. Can I tag along in yours after I get my stuff, please?"

"_sure, like the old times" she cracked him a smile as she tried to open the door.

Key word here : tried.

The door was locked. And the key was inside.

"_well, maybe getting my clothes will be harder than I thought..."

He chuckled, threw an arm around her shoulder and dragged her back to the lift.

"_looks like we'll get showered in my room then."

.

"_why do you think Rogue was in your room?" asked Sting to break the silence in the lift.

"_dunno. Most likely he left without you giving him the keys..."

A light bulb went off above his head, and Rezef smiled. Sometimes, he was just too cute.

Closing her eyes in content, she groaned when the doors opened. She was just getting comfortable.

.

The scalding water that ran down her body was a welcome change to the cold of her skin. She could feel the bite of the warmth and see her skin turn red from the attack. The soap had long washed out of her hair and she was just standing there, doing her best not to fall asleep but too tired to move. She finally had the strength to pull herself away from the hot water when she thought of Sting standing on the other side of the door, waiting. She pulled the white curtain aside, as her voice crossed the door.

"_huh... Sting?"

"_yeah?"

"_what towel should I use?"

There was a blank moment, during which she could picture Sting blushing as he said:

"_just grab any. There is 50% chance you won t get mine."

She smiled. That was so Sting like. Grabbing the one the folded in the tidiest fashion, she quickly dried herself before turning to her clothes.

There was a puddle under the iron bar she had hung them on, and everything, to the last piece of underwear was dripping. She held back a curse just in time, as she hung everything properly, instead of the half-messy pile she had created and made sure none of her undies were showing before going out of the bathroom, clad in a towel. Sting was sitting on his bed, his boots coat and top off. His trousers had been thrown carelessly onto the floor and he was only in his boxers. Not fazed by the amount of muscle he was showing, Rezef went over to him.

"_could I also borrow clothes? Mine are dripping wet."

He merely nodded, motioning for her to help herself in his suitcase. She grabbed a t-shirt that was too large for her and a pair of –clean- sleeping boxers. Slipping them on once he was in the bathroom, she lain down on the bed and fell asleep instantly.

.

Polite, soft knocks on the door shook Rezef awake the next morning. She could feel beside her Sting slowly waking as well as he shifted his body away from hers, his arm leaving her stomach in the process.

"_get it Rez..."

"_mph..." his voice was so deep Rezef found it hard to resist. Throwing a jab at him as to not appear too obedient, she climbed out of bed. She quickly grabbed a pair of pants and pulled them on before opening the door.

Rogue was standing there, staring at her clothing. Behind him, the two Exceeds were making kissy noises. Her brain slowly kicking in gear, Rezef stepped aside to allow Rogue access and slapped both cats behind the ears as soon as they passed nearby. Sting was still in bed when Rogue stepped into the room and he went over to his friend's bed, shaking the blond up.

"_come on, you were meant to be at breakfast half an hour ago. Sorry for crashing in your room, Rez, but Sting had the key..." he said apologetically to the girl, turning to face her.

"_not a problem; I stole Sting's clothes. Where is Yukino by the way?"

"_ Frosch fell asleep onto your bed whilst we were chatting, so she took Minerva's room."

"_oh, okay. I'm gonna go change now. See you guys later!"

She quickly entered the bathroom, hoping her clothes were dry. Bad luck, only her underwear was. Sighting, she picked the wet clothes, folded them and pulled the dry one on. Putting the trousers back on, she called out to her friends.

"_could someone lend me a shirt please?"

Almost immediately, a pale hand she recognized as Rogue's slipped in and she quickly grabbed the dark beige fabric before closing it and locking the door again. She pulled the shirt on, sighting unsatisfied when it stopped under the breast. She groaned and kicked the bathroom door open.

"_hey Rez, have you seen my shir..." Sting turned around, looking at the girl that was wearing his clothing.

Damn, he thought. She looks hot in it.

"_ask Rogue." She replied, sticking her tongue out. "I'll be going back to my room now. Can I have my key, Rogue?"

The shadow dragon slayer laughed and handed them over to her, whilst she gathered her things. As she was about to cross the door, Sting's voice echoed through the room:

"_hey! Don't change out of that outfit! You definitely look hot in my clothes!"

Rezef laughed and waved the dragon slayer goodbye.