After everything is done, with Sting hanging from the clothes line next to the house upside down, Lector and Frosch done with their bets (Lector, of course, always votes for Sting, so he lost), Rogue breathing better, and the blush finally off of Lucy's face (it took a while after she went to Sting's room to get something and found his collection of magazines. The pile was, surprisingly, slightly larger than what she suspected Gildarts' to be), they decided to sit down and eat dinner.
She neglected to remember that they were Dragon Slayers, so the fact that they have a whole room as a fridge scared her a bit at first. Then she realized how much Dragon Slayers eat, so it got a little bit easier to handle.
But the creepiest part about waiting for Rogue dinner had to be Frosch.
Frosch was like: "Fro wants a life sized Barbie™!"
But then again, Lector was like: "Sting is the best! Sting is great! Sting is the most powerful person EVER!"
... if that was true, everybody in the world would be screwed.
"Frosch, Lector, why don't you two go to Yukino's house and ask of her help with Sting as he is currently being suffocated by a snuggie."
The exceeds take a hint and get the hell out of there, and it leaves Rogue finishing up cooking and Lucy curled on the couch.
"I apologize for Sting", Rogue said nonchalantly. "He's just...how to explain?"
Lucy shakes her head. "There isn't any need to."
Then her rape face pops through.
"Rogue Cheney: the Shadow Dragon Slayer virgin".
Rogue makes a sound between a growl and a whimper. Something metal clashes to the floor, and a silent curse is uttered as it's picked up.
"Considering the parentage I've went through, you'd probably like to put off anything like that too", he says quickly. "Right now Father is scouring the city, so I'll cook since we can't really go out, and I've made it so he can't sneak inside the house with the shadow moving thing he uses in element form. Somehow the last place to look for him is always the house".
He doesn't talk. She's pushed a limit.
"You cook", Lucy observes, mesmerized by his hands working in the kitchen.
"Sting tried to boil an egg once; he set the water on fire. I have no idea how. I've cooked ever since."
Lucy makes a mental note to ask Juvia if that's even possible.
"Sting's not much of a basic life functions kind of guy is he?"
Rogue shakes his head. "He is very hard to get used too, and harder to ever really know. I'm probably the only one who really knows who he is and such. He's my polar twin, and I guess we sort of just stuck together through all the stuff we've been through. Sure he's violent at times..."
Lucy notices that thin the slightest bit of chest that is exposed, an angry red mark is visible.
"He could have been a lot worse. He rarely drinks as much as this," he points towards the newly healed skin, "And he's improving a lot in the social skills category. To be honest, in day to day aspects of life, if all is normal, I make sure he is in line. Without me he's just drunk, homeless, and the magical water-on-fire Sting."
Lucy notices how he speaks so fondly of the brotherly figure. They fight, they're polar opposites, but they're family.
Lucy realizes that in whatever net Rogue is wrapped in, she wants to get tangled in too.
"Skiadrum must have really been a crazy dad for you growing up", she says.
Rogue nods, filing the plates. "He's pushy, demanding, and wonders how he ever raised such a passive son, but somewhere deep down below the obsession with human infants, the big Oaf cares."
He looks at her intensely while setting the plates. "Your family? I know your father is dead, but is your mother?"
The question is innocent and blunt enough, but Rogue immediately knows he's in the blocked off part of Lucy, and she is probably going to kick him again.
"My mother has passed. It's kind of hard to really relate."
Rogue looks at her, surprised. "And I don't have any lost family?" He questions. He's sympathetic, and he decides it might be okay if she is slowly learning things about him that Sting doesn't know.
"You said you had Skiadrum, you know, male father figure?"
"And a mother." He says placing down cups. "She gave me the name Ryos remember?"
Lucy mentally face palms. Listen to him Luce!
Rogue gently pulls out her chair as she is about to take her seat.
"My mother named me that. It means to the dragons something along the lines of survive or excel".
And it clicks in Lucy's head very quickly and fascinates her. Rogue was raised by two dragons. That meant many things, like Rogue somehow turned out to be a decent person. He's seen both sides of a relationship closely, and he'd know how to treat a woman. (Well, if it was a real relationship.)
What happened to his mother? Did she disappear in X777 too? Why wasn't she back? What kind of dragon was she? What was she like? Curiosity killed Lucy, but it seemed such a touchy subject already. She had know though, something told her inside she had to ask.
The only she really knew was that once, long ago, the Shadow Dragon named Skiadrum had a mate.
"Uh... can you tell me more about your mother? Erza doesn't really remember hers, Natsu had Igneel, and Gray... well, I can't talk to him anymore without getting a bucket of water to the face by Juvia. I might've been able to talk to Wendy, but she's been attached to Romeo lately..."
She doesn't elaborate anymore into it. Rogue doesn't need to know half of the threats Juvia has told Lucy, and Rogue has probably seen Wendy.
In that moment, he decides that he'll do it. He'll show her a part of him that the perverted Sting, shy Yukino, getting better Minerva, slightly creepy Rufus, or the attempted musical Orga has never seen.
"She just... disappeared one day. I was picking up daisies from a field of flowers, and they were watching over me when she erupted into sparkles. We haven't seen her since. I'd like to think that she's one with the stars, now."
Of course, she always was, but now she's sleeping with them.
Rogue seems to have mood change, and Lucy decides to shut her mouth. She doesn't expect the last little end of their subject.
"The irony in the situation was that she was the Celestial Dragon, and I have fallen for you".
Lucy flushes. So that's why all this "Shadows and Stars' thing was going on.
They begin normal conversation.
"How does Frosch feel about this?"
Rogue chuckles. "She is practically making fanfiction with her Barbies, and she insists that you're her new mommy. She so simple and adorable, but I really do worry sometimes". He thinks a bit. "Well, most of the time. I'm petrified if I leave her alone for five minutes she's probably going to stumble on a drug smuggling ring and somehow become an exceed mob boss".
Oh dear god. Considering how their world was, that was a likely possibility.
"I'm also afraid, she has some very valuable information her little head, and that damn blue cat will probably get it out someway or another."
Lucy nearly chokes. (Although it isn't the food. It's actually quite good, and a lot better than many meals she has eaten. It's like he materialized the notion of 'amazing' on her plate) It's the fact that Happy might have a possibility of knowing intricate details of Lucy's love life, oh god she's never hear of it at the guild.
And of all things, he's a dragon slayer.
Wait, didn't Mirajane...
Lucy abruptly stands up, palms pushing down on the table.
"I thought that Mirajane wanted me to end up with Natsu or Gray!? Why did she spend so much effort to get us together!?"
Rogue's ears pick out two specific words.
"So, we're officially together?"
"Um..." Damn, he's making her blush. "I don't know... I mean, do you want to be, because I guess I'm fine with anything as long as it's - err - I mean, I really want to spend time with you and um... Well, you're really pretty and sparkly eyed and stuff, and I really like you and all and - err - I mean, I think that you're nice and - Well, you're pretty cool, but - I DON'T KNOW!"
A blushing Lucy rant. A true classic.
But she complimented him. Several times. It seems that blushes are contagious.
"Sorry if I made you uncomfortable", he says, clearly blushing himself. He's put off by her reaction, and to be honest, what outsider wouldn't?
"No Rogue it's not like that...just...it's Mira and everything gets twisted when you try to figure out something that deals with her and she's had all these bets on me and Natsu or me and Gray-"
Those sparkly eyes flash with jealousy, Lucy sees as Natsu's and Gray's names are mentioned. It was oddly Juvia-like.
"Are you jealous?" she asks abruptly.
Three cheers for straightforwardness!
Rogue turns red and nervously rakes through his hair.
"It's not like I'm crazy or anything...just you know with the dragon slayer magic...I'm like dragon so...oh curse Skiadrum!"
Rogue suddenly whirls around in a circle, look at every corner of the room.
"Thank God he didn't hear me," Rogue whispered.
"What was that?"
He turns to face Lucy again.
"What?" He asks.
"What you whispered."
"I was keeping sure that Skaidrum isn't here... He wants us to have sex."
"I've gathered that much."
"Oh yeah..." Suddenly, he notices - "Frosch! Get down from the ceiling fan! Don't touch the shorter string! I'll go get a step ladder!"
He quickly leaves to his shed where he spends several minutes searching for a step ladder. When he finally finds it, he brings it in.
He enters the dining area room to find Lucy cooing Frosch to sleep. (Like a mother. But that's off topic so he only spends a few seconds on that thought.
"How'd you get her down?"
Lucy points to a chair.
Rogue points to the ladder.
"I do things the conventional way." He says.
"I do things the typical way."
Zeref have him, he really needed to work in common sense and life skills. He currently ranked negative three.
"She's going to be mad at me when she wakes up", Rogue tells the celestial Mage.
Lucy raises an eyebrow, mouthing 'What?'.
Rogue smiles. "I don't talk to Frosch about what happened when I was raised by Skiadrum, even though she asks."
Lucy nods understandingly. Imagine if that was Natsu on the ceiling fan...he would have defiantly handing in to a blade being propelled in a constant circle while his barf gave the room a full coat.
Oh Mavis.
It looks as if Roguz wants to take Frosch from Lucy, but he sees how much Lucy is cuddling her and cooing to her, Rogue just can't take it. His two favorite things are compatible!
"Where does she sleep?" Lucy whispers.
Rogue nodded over to his room. "She usually shares my bed-"
Lucy proceeds to his room, much to his surprise. Soooooooooooo many ways this go, at least in his head.
Rogue follows her into the room, and gets there to see Lucy setting Frosch bundle in blankets on the left side of the bed. As she gets up, she's smiling and looking at her feet.
Which means it isn't surprising to Rogue when she lands on him.
"Gah!"
Uh...
Um...
The two ended up in a very... compromising position...
From the edge of the bed, an apparently fast moving Exceed screams as she covers her eyes.
"THE LAST OF FROSCH'S INNOCENCE HAVE BEEN TAKEN!"
Lucy practically jumps off of Rogue (accidentally kicking him in the face in the process) and rushes to Frosch whispering soothing words into her ears.
Rogue gets up slowly, still wondering about whatever the hell just happened.
Lucy looks at him briefly (completely disregarding the footprint on his face) and does this nervous smile/blush thing.
He was still lost. But it was pretty cute, so he won't think too deep into it.
"No Frosch! It's not like that!" Lucy starts to comfort.
"FRO DON'T WANNA KNOW! FRO DON'T WANT TO SEE BABIES MADE!"
Oh god.
As the exceed starts furiously shaking her head as if in a seizure (Fro logic: Shake head and memory will fall out) the window starts shaking violently.
Rogue looks, and on the windowsill there was a black mask splotched on the window like a squished fly, two white eyes visible. It looks rather like a starfish molesting the window.
"Oh god Dad saw all of that!" Rogue said with his hands covering his eyes, while Fro hides behind Lucy screaming that Mommies and Daddies do not make babies in front of other babies.
Lucy wonders exactly what Lector told Frosch.
Rogue tried to block out his father's whispers.
"Copulation failed..."
Suddenly, there's a knock at the front door.
Lucy and Rogue exchange glances, unsure of whether or not to answer for fear of Skaidrum coming in, too.
"Let me in!" A muffled voice screams.
Upon deciding it safe (-ish), Rogue walks to the front door, opens it, quickly grabbing the person's arm and pulling them in. He then swiftly closes the door to see who entered.
"Don't speak, human. I have lost my umbrella and it's raining outside. If you have it, I will take it by force." Mard Geer says in a bored tone.
Rogue narrows his eyes at the demon. Rogue hated this guy with a passion.
For one, they tried to kill each other.
Also, Mard Geer kidnapped Rogue's girl. ROGUE'S girl.
"Get your own umbrella, you ugly bastard!"
"I do not believe in beauty, so I feel flattered for you to say such a thing."
"I thought you talked in third person."
"It's been outdated."
"Since when?"
"Since I tried apples. Those things are delicious. It's an addiction, like how humans become addicted to liquor.
Rogue thought about it for a minute, contemplating apples, when he realized that his viewers might've been tired of waiting and wanted an update, so just stopped mid-sentence like a -