"So you only want a third as much in here, and then you mix them at this tempo."

Rogue tried his hardest not to yawn while Mira showed him how to make the eighth drink for the day. He'd come to work in a good mood, hormones or not, and she'd decided it was her civic duty to bore it out of him. When Mira wasn't around no one even ordered mixed drinks. People hardly ever ordered them when she was around. Why did he need to be stuffed into a back room for hours learning it all in depth?

"Here, now you try."

What was the first ingredient again? Rogue sighed and scanned the room for something that looked right. Maybe he could smell something familiar… No luck there. Maybe he could just try and listen for any cues Mira might give.

She was perfectly still and silent as he struggled to pick the right ingredient. Couldn't she do something? A small hm when his hand nears the damn thing, or a sigh if he passed over it. He didn't pick up any noise from her, but a faint laugh from the main room reached his ear.

Mira cursed under her breath when Rogue looked to the door, which only made him more certain of whose voice he'd recognized. "Is Sting here?"

"He… showed up an hour or so earlier, but the only reason Natsu's not around is because Master sent him out to run errands. It would be good if he's gone before Natsu can-"

Rogue nodded. "I won't be long."

That wasn't what Mira had meant, but she didn't argue. If Rogue wanted to speak with Sting she could hardly stop him without starting a fight, and the master had ordered them all not to give Rogue any reason to fight. Rogue seemed sensible enough, but he did the same insane work as Natsu, and the longer he had to go without any heavy activity for the baby's sake the more tempted he might become to let loose.

So she followed Rogue out into the main room. Even though he'd stared at the different alcohols for a good five minutes (and there had only been ten different ingredients to choose from) it took less than a second for Rogue to spot Sting and make a b-line for him.

Sting looked up as Rogue got close, beaming, though his smile slipped when Rogue was only a few feet away. Rogue's mild excitement to see Sting faded with it, and the realization that he was going to talk to his recent ex right after consummating his new relationship started to sink in.

They stood facing one another, looking around for something to say. Rogue, who knew for sure, and Sting, who could smell it pretty strongly, both shuffled their feet and wondered if saying a simple hello would be enough to make it obvious that they were thinking of what they were both at least pretty certain had happened the previous night.

"You… look good," Sting said finally.

Rogue nodded. "You too."

Mira sighed in relief. They were finally acting like a couple that wasn't a couple anymore!

"You and Natsu…" On the inside Sting was screaming at himself to stop, but he couldn't quite shut up. "The two of you… are getting close then? All of a sudden…"

"I… yes."

Eyes glued to the ground, Sting said something he regretted even more. "I can stop coming around, if you want?"

It took more effort that Rogue liked to admit for him to maintain a neutral expression at the dejected tone in Sting's voice. He needed to do something to push Sting away, or at least enforce the idea that they were only friends now, but the only word that didn't die in his throat was "Stay."

Mira sighed in disbelief.

Sting studied Rogue, the concern in his eyes, for Sting, for his own loss, all too apparent on his face. The uneasy cracks in his usually even look. He really, truly didn't want Sting to leave him alone. He really didn't, but there was no way he and Natsu hadn't slept together-and not just shared a bed-the previous night. Then why…?

Sting said the thing he would regret most that day. "You aren't rushing things with Natsu just to get back at me, are you?"

Rogue's lips pressed into a thin line, even less pleased to hear that from Sting than he was to have ever thought it himself. "If I am, you just gave me a lot more fuel."

Before Sting could try and backpedal Rogue turned and stormed off, suddenly very determined to figure out how to make that god dammed mixed drink. Sting took a few steps to follow him, but stopped, taking a step back and looking away. Everyone who'd been pretending not to listen went back to what they'd been doing before, so he had relative privacy even when Mira moved forward and slapped him.

"For Rogue, since he seems not to have it in him to give you what you deserve."

"My mouth works faster than my brain…" Sting muttered. "Now I have even more to try and make up for."

Mira's hand, which was raising to slap him again, stopped and fell back to her side. She watched Sting as he took detailed mental note of the floorboards. After he went long enough without making any attempts to defend himself or further harass Rogue, she sighed again and said, "He didn't look like he's in the mood to talk to anyone now, so there's no point in me trying to calm him. Maybe you'd appreciate my company more?"

"Are you going to hit me again? Because if you are, I don't think I'd appreciate that much."

"No. Just talk. The master should be out for a bit, so we can go into his office if you'd like."

-o-

Despite Mira's urgings, Sting had too many bad memories with Genma to sit in Makarov's chair. He settled on the master's desk while Mira took a seat in the cushy swivel chair instead. He'd clearly hoped for a moment of silence, but as soon as they were settled she said "You need to stop making this hard on Rogue."

"I'm not trying to make things hard for him. I'm just… trying to fix my screw ups." And he's going around screwing while I do that. Sting managed to stop himself from saying that just in time, but Mira seemed no more impressed when Sting said nothing bad. "I don't want to hurt Rogue anymore. I've done that enough. I get it. If… if he does stay with Natsu then I can't force him… but I don't want him to think I'm moving on yet-and you can't convince me that he is."

She didn't know if even Rogue thought he was. Mira shook her head and told him, "That's fine, but you weren't doing that. All last week you acted how Rogue said you had to: like a friend. Now you're accusing him of using Natsu to hurt you. That's something a jealous ex would do."

"Right…" Sting pulled his legs up onto the desk, resting his forehead on his knees as he said, "I know… just… Rogue and I were together for so long, but we never got past that 'third date' phase. Kissing and holding hands and all that crap. Just… years and years of us being close, but not going all the way. He hasn't even known Natsu for half a year, and already…" He couldn't finish that sentence without making it about himself. That was a problem on its own. If he wanted Rogue back he couldn't be doing anything that ended up being about himself.

"Whatever Rogue's intentions were, you were hurt," Mira finished for him.

"Which is a shame, but there are consequences for your actions."

Sting started and fell off the desk at the sound of Makarov's voice. The guild master chuckled and walked around his desk, taking a seat on Mira's lap before she could get up for him. When she shoved him off his head collided with the desk, and he pulled himself up onto the chair much slower after she got out of it.

Once he and Sting had both recovered, Makarov cleared his throat and said, "It's not my business, but since Natsu explained Rogue's situation to me several months back I've been wondering what exactly was going through your mind when you decided to kick him out. Since you've returned you've clearly realized that you were wrong, whatever you'd thought before, and since Rogue hasn't completely rejected you, you must not have been horrible to him before that incident."

Sting looked away, wondering if he could make it out the window before either of them could grab him. Probably not. He hadn't seen much of the damage Rogue had reported Mira could do, but Rogue wasn't one to embellish, and the guild master was likely even stronger. And speed was Rogue's thing, not his.

"I just… thought he'd cheated on me. I already told Mira that our relationship was PG. So when he came to me saying he was pregnant… why was I supposed to think the kid was mine?"

"Because Rogue said so," Mira deadpanned.

"W-well sure. I mean… he's not the sort who'd lie, but when I asked how, he just kept insisting that he'd had soooo many different doctors all give the same diagnosis and it had to be my kid. He just knew it. Like some woman who slept around and hoped it was the nicest guy who'd ultimately knocked her up. I saw the test results and… I just got confused and… reacted."

"By which you mean you sent Rogue out in the rain and told him not to come home," Makarov verified.

Sting nodded.

"It seemed clear to us. Rogue was caught in that magic accident during the tournament. The spell resulted in his pregnancy," Makarov said. "He told you all that and you couldn't understand?"

"He didn't tell me all that!" Sting cried. "He left any mention of magic completely out! I was half wondering if he'd never let us go any further so I wouldn't find out he was secretly a girl!"

Makarov and Mira exchanged glances while Sting attempted to calm himself, taking deep breaths as he leaned over the corner of the desk.

"So then…" Mira paused, "I think you're still not telling us a part of the story. Natsu said Rogue avoided you when the two of them went to get his things. How did you find out about the spell?" From us? Just now? But he'd been there to apologize well before then.

"Ah. Well… that… um…" Sting blushed. "I screwed up… with something else. After Rogue… um… left… I got a little reckless. I took some jobs that I could usually only do with his help, and I got captured by a dark guild." He'd probably have died by their hands, but mentioning that would either make him look weaker in their eyes or make it seem like he was fishing for sympathy, so he didn't bring that up. "An independent guild had been trying to take that group down too. I wasn't supposed to mention them to anyone, so I didn't say anything about it to Rogue, but they brought your guild up, so I thought…"

"Rogue is a part of Fairy Tail now," Makarov said sternly, though his voice melted to a gentler tone as he added, "But we haven't told him about or alliance with Crime Sorcieré yet, so it might have been for the best that you didn't tell him either."

That was the group he'd run into. Relieved that Makarov recognized them, Sting nodded. "They pulled me out. The two girls, at least. The boy was just staying back and firing projectile spells when he had to. I thought maybe he wasn't any good in close combat, but when I got a good look at him he was… better built than me. I asked and he got flustered and started explaining how he'd been in this magic accident during the Grand Magic Games and he was pregnant, and I remembered Rogue getting caught up in that spell that went bad and… it clicked."

"That's odd…" Mira said after a moment of silence. "Jellal doesn't usually help any sort of situations, whatever his intentions."

"He did make moving on to Natsu much harder for Rogue, so he is still making things worse if you look at it from that perspective," Makarov pointed out. If he weren't suggesting that so cheerfully, Sting would have thought he meant it.

"So no matter how many times Sting asked how Rogue got pregnant, Rogue never explained it to Sting. I can understand the confusion then, though I still think it was extreme to make him leave on such a rotten night."

Sting grumbled something about not having been able to see the future, which Mira could only assume meant predicting the weather. "I was hoping I could just explain that to him, beg like a dog for his forgiveness, and then maybe… He had always wanted to see the capital of Joya, so I'd thought I could take him there as the start of a real apology… but by the time I'd figured out what had happened and come back to try and make it up to him, he was with Natsu. He never even showed interest in anyone else and I… the less he acts like himself… the more I feel like I'm just not going to get him back. Especially now. For him to actually go that far… I can't imagine Rogue just deciding he wants to sleep with someone he's still getting to know. I shouldn't have said it to him but… I really just can't see it."

It was an invasion of privacy, but it was nice to know why Rogue had been so upbeat that morning. At least, upbeat for Rogue. On the other hand, it did seem strange to her, as the one who worked with Rogue the most, it seemed unlikely to Mira for someone who was usually so calm and reserved to lay down for someone he'd only known a few months. It could just be that Rogue finally felt he was ready period. It could be that he was getting back at Sting. It could be that Natsu was someone he was more meant for. It could be anything. Anything but expected.

"It's condescending of you to think you influence Rogue that much," Makarov decided, "But I can understand how it might look that way. I'll keep an eye on the two and give my opinion of their relationship. If Rogue is using Natsu to try and get over or get back at you, however unintentionally he may be doing that, then considering how it ended with the two of you I won't stop you from pursuing him. It would be good to let Natsu down easy if that turns out to be the case. However…" Makarov's gaze hardened and he began to grow. "If what they have is true, I will not forgive any interference on your part."

-o-

Officially scared off, Sting made his escape while Mira chastised the master for breaking the room-walls, ceiling, floor and all-after having gotten so mad with her over a silly little counter.

-x-

STA: Good news everyone! I was telling a family member about my only mostly decisiveness with whether or not Rogue should stay with Natsu or go back to Sting, or if I should give in and write an ending for both, and I got this suggestions: Leave it open ended.

Yeah. Probably not going to go with that, but if I still can't decide at the end I do like that idea more than giving multiple endings.

Anyway, school started back up and I have a lot less free time, so this and Inhuman should both be updating slower for a little while. I made haste to finish this between classes today because I wanted to get out my opinion of this weeks chapter. Rogue is schizophrenic. I heard someone suggest that Skiadrum is possessing his shadow, but I think he's schizophrenic.