Chapter 4: Meet my parents

"Lucy!? You're the new student?" Rogue said, shocked.

"Yep!" Lucy smiled.

"So you two already know each other?" Sting asked. "That's not fair Rogue. You should have mention to me that you met a real beauty before I did."

Rogue just ignored what Sting just said and he just quickly took hold of Lucy's hands and dragged her out of the room. Rogue and Lucy were given weird stares as they past every student in the Sabertooth section.

Rogue continued on dragging Lucy until they arrived at the rooftop where no one could hear or see what they're going to talk about. Rogue quickly closed the door so that no one will come out.

"Is there a problem, Rogue-kun?" Lucy asked.

Rogue sighed before he started to talk.

"Lucy, why are you here?" Rogue said, having a serious look on his face.

"Why? Do you have a problem with me being here in your school?" Lucy questioned. Lucy kinda felt hurt when she was questioned by Rogue about her presence in the school.

"I don't have a problem, actually. I'm just worried that some people will try to find and kidnap you again. This school isn't for the wealthy people so it's not the school's responsibility if you may get kidnap or killed," Rogue explained.

"B-but… I wanna stay near you," Lucy fidgeted.

Rogue was completely speechless yet he still has some questions in his mind that he wants to ask so he continued talking after a brief moment.

"Why me? And how did you know which school I go to? Don't tell me you use some of your people to know where I go to," Rogue said as he crossed both of his arms in front of his chest.

"Actually, I used the second best option to know your school's whereabouts," Lucy said.

"Second best? And what would that be?" Rogue asked.

"Your brothers," Lucy chimed.

~~~~Flashback~~~~

"So what about him?" Alzack asked.

"Can I know which school he goes to?" Lucy asked.

"He goes to the same school as we do," Romeo answered.

"Oh. Which school would that be?" Lucy asked again.

"Fiore Academy. It's a private school located at the Eastern part of Magnolia. Why did you ask Lucy?" Alzack said, drinking a glass of milk.

"Well, I was thinking of transferring there," Lucy answered.

"Really, neechan?" Romeo asked in excitement.

"Is the reason why you want to transfer there is because you want to get closer with Rogue?" Alzack teased.

Lucy blushed at what Alzack just said.

"Really? It's because of him? I was just trying to tease you," Alzack said.

"Well, I just think that if I go to a normal school, I won't get into too much trouble," Lucy explained as she fidgeted her fingers.

"Is that so? Well, I think it's a good idea for you to transfer but what about your parents' opinion about this?" Alzack said.

"I'll take care of that myself," Lucy smiled. "Thanks for telling me. I gotta go back now. Rogue's waiting for me."

~~~~End of Flashback~~~~

"Those guys can't really keep a secret about me," Rogue said, a bit annoyed.

"I should have asked you myself, shouldn't I?" Lucy said.

"Hn… it's fine if you asked my brothers but you should at least try asking me first before asking other people," Rogue said. "How did you convince your parents anyway?"

"Well, it wasn't really easy for me to do so but I still did it," Lucy explained.

~~~~Another Flashback~~~~

"Lucy, do you know what you're trying to do?" Jude said.

Lucy didn't respond to her father's question. She just stayed quiet until it was a good time for her to answer back.

"You know, that if I transfer you to another school someone might try to kidnap you again," Jude reasoned out to his daughter.

"Dear, your mother and I only want you to be safe. Now that you told us about the kidnapping, I'll report to the school to hire extra people to guard you," Jude said.

"Dad, even if you made them hire extra guards, there still a possibility for me to be captured," Lucy said.

"And transferring you to a new school will not?" Jude answered back.

"It won't! There's a student there who saved me yesterday while I was being chased after the kidnappers. He even defeated them one by one," Lucy reasoned out to her stubborn father.

Jude was intrigued to hear the said boy so he didn't said a word just yet.

"After he defeated them, he even let me stay at his place so that I won't get in trouble again. He just met me and he risked his own life for me to be safe," Lucy continued. "And also, if I'm studying at Fiore Academy, I'll be like a normal girl than being known as the mafia princess. It will be a perfect disguise."

"I see. Okay Lucy, you've convinced me but there will be conditions for you to be transferred," Jude offered.

"What will that be?" Lucy asked.

"Two conditions, actually. The first one is that we must meet this boy immediately and the second one is that he must be always there to guard you, okay?" Jude said.

Lucy was having second thoughts on this. She wasn't really sure if Rogue would be able to accept her father's conditions but Lucy had faith in Rogue so she accepted her father's conditions.

~~~~End of Flasback~~~~

"Okay," Rogue said out of the blue.

"Huh?" Lucy said in confusion.

"I'll accept you father's conditions so that you can stay here. So you can have a normal life for once," Rogue smiled.

"Rogue…," Lucy said being overjoyed.

"Thank you very much, Rogue," Lucy said as she hugged Rogue.

Rogue blushed at Lucy's sudden gesture but he still hugged her back. It was a good thing that no one was around to see them. But that thought was erased when the door was opened by someone.

"Good thing I got a spare key to the rooftop. Oi Rogue, whe…," Sting stopped as he saw the two hugging each other.

The three went silent as they didn't know what to do next.

"Gomenesai. This must be the wrong rooftop and you must be just Rogue and Lucy's look-alikes," Sting said, closing the door.

After a few minutes, Sting opened it again.

"What the heck are you two doing!? And why did you lock the door, Rogue!?" Sting said while pointing at the two.

Lucy let go of Rogue and started to explain to Sting.

"And you see, I just tripped and fell into his hands," Lucy said, finishing her explanation.

"Okay, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, Lucy-chan," Sting said.

"Hey Lucy, we should invite Sting when I go to your house to meet your parents so that he won't get curious again," Rogue whispered to Lucy.

"Good idea," Lucy whispered back.

"By the way, Sting would you and Rogue like to come to my house this evening? I would like you to meet my family since you're both my closest friends here," Lucy said.

"Sure thing Lucy," Sting answered quickly.

"I'll come with you, too," Rogue said.

"Great! Well, we should get going now before we're late for class," Lucy said heading towards the door.

~~~~Timeskip~~~~

"We should get going now, shouldn't we?" Lucy said, finishing packing her things.

"I'm set. How about you, Rogue?" Sting said.

"You two go ahead at the gate. I need to inform my brothers that I won't be eating at our place tonight," Rogue said.

"Okay," both Sting and Lucy said.

It has been 15 minutes since Sting and Lucy were waiting for Rogue to go out of the school. Sting was getting impatient if it weren't for Lucy, he had already bailed.

"Where the heck is Rogue?" Sting whined for nth time.

After that last whine, Rogue suddenly appeared.

"I'm really sorry for being late. I had to find Romeo and Alzack," Rogue said, catching his breath.

"Then why didn't you contact them through your cellphone?" Sting asked.

"Romeo left his at home as usual and Alzack's phone is in silent mode but don't worry, I found them and told them already. We should go now, right?" Rogue said.

Both blondes just nodded and the three started to walk to Lucy's house. On their way to the Heartfilia house, Sting suddenly thought of a question.

"I almost forgot. How did you two even meet?" Sting asked.

Both went stiffened. They didn't really think this through.

"Um… w-we…," Lucy stuttered, trying to think of a good excuse.

"We met a bookstore. She almost fell down with the tons of book she was carrying so I help her out. We talk for a little while and that's the story how we met," Rogue said nonchalantly.

"Okay then," Sting said.

"We're here!" Lucy said, stopping the two boys.

Both boys had the same expression as they laid their eyes on Lucy's house.

"What are you two waiting for?" Lucy asked as she walked in to the now open gate.

"Coming Luce," Sting said, snapping out.

As they were finally inside, Rogue and Sting were more amazed. The furniture of the house was a mixture of modern and antique. Chandeliers were hung up on the ceiling and exquisite paintings were hung on the walls. As they entered the house, they were welcomed by two lines of maids.

"Wow, Lucy! I never really knew that you were this rich," Sting said, being impressed.

"Not really," Lucy said. "Let's go to my room for awhile. My parents won't be arriving until another 30 minutes."

The two just agreed to her and followed her until they arrived at Lucy's room. When Lucy opened the door, it was somehow the same style as downstairs but it had a little mixture of an ordinary teenage girl's room. Sting, without hesitation, jumped on Lucy's bed and was quite glad to do so.

"Lucy, you're bed is really soft and it… it smells just like you," Sting said.

Lucy blushed when Sting said that sentence.

The room went quiet. Lucy didn't really know how to respond to Sting's sudden compliment. Rogue was just simply sitting on Lucy's white couch on the side, not saying a single word ever since he came in. The silence continued on until there was a knock on the door.

"Excuse me, hime," a pink-haired maid said as she poked in from the door.

"Uh… is there something wrong, Virgo?" Lucy asked as she looked at the maid.

"Nothing at all but I just want to inform you that your parents are here earlier than usual," Virgo said.

"I see. Well, we'll be there in a little while," Lucy said.

The pink-haired maid bowed to Lucy and left the room.

"We shouldn't keep your parents waiting. It's better if we already meet them right now," Rogue said, standing up from the couch.

"Yeah," Lucy respond.

As they arrive downstairs, they spotted Virgo again. She looked like she was waiting for them to go down. When Virgo saw the three coming down, she pointed to a room. It was the dining room. The three didn't have to ask her anything; they just walk past by Virgo and went straight to the dining room. As Lucy opened the doors of the dining room, they were welcomed by a huge buffet in front of them. Three chandeliers lit up on the ceiling. On the end of the buffet table, Lucy's parents were quietly sitting and waiting for them. The three walked to the other side so that they can eat near Lucy's parents.

"Welcome Lucy's friends. I'm Lucy's mother, Layla," Layla said, smiling and waving at them.

Layla was a complete look-alike of her daughter. They had the same hair color, the same skin tone and the same eyes. The only difference between them right now were the hairstyles since Lucy's hair was tied into a small ponytail to the right side of her head while the rest of her hair were loose free meanwhile Layla's hair was tied into a bun. It made Rogue and Sting stare at Layla for quite some time.

"What are you two still standing up for?" Jude asked.

The two boys were unaware that Lucy had already sat down, leaving them both standing.

"As you may already know, I'm Lucy's father, Jude," Jude said.

Jude looked like a middle aged man who had a trimmed beard above his mouth and had a rather serious face when compared to his wife.

"Now that we introduced ourselves, may you two tell us what your names are?" Layla asked nicely.

"I'm Sting. Sting Eucliffe," Sting introduced.

"I'm Rogue Cheney, ma'am," Rogue said.

"What cute names. It really suits for two handsome, young lads," Layla chimed.

"Lucy didn't only inherit her mom's looks. She even got her attitude," Rogue thought to himself.

"Since the introductions are done, we should eat now," Jude said.

~~~~After eating~~~~

"That was the most delicious food I ever eaten. Thanks a lot for inviting us, Lucy," Sting said.

"It's no problem at all, Sting. I've always wanted my parents to meet you two," Lucy smiled.

"If you can excuse me, I would like to talk to Rogue in private," Jude said, standing up from his seat.

Rogue didn't ask a single question since he already knows why Lucy's father wanted to talk to him in private. Rogue just followed Jude out of the dining room.

"I wonder what that was about," Sting said to himself.

"Oh, Sting. Don't mind them. Have some chocolate cake while waiting," Layla said, trying to distract Sting's thoughts.

"Aye!" Sting said, raising his hand as if he was trying to answer a teacher's question.

Meanwhile…

Rogue just continued on following Jude until they arrive to a room. When they entered the room, Rogue was quite amazed with the books that were stored in the room. He presumed it was the Heartfilia's private library. Inside the library, there was a portrait. It was a beautiful picture of a family. Rogue took a closer look and saw that it was the Heartfilias who were in the portrait. Lucy, Layla and Jude were there but there was another guy in it, too.

"That guy must be Lucy's big brother. They do have some similarities with each other," Rogue thought.

Rogue's thoughts were interrupted when Jude started to talk.

"You're the one who saved my daughter, right?" Jude asked.

Jude was now currently standing in front of a huge window. The window had a great view of the starry night outside and because of the moon's light, the room didn't really need lights to see.

"Yes sir," Rogue answered.

"Then you must already know about my daughter's status, right?" Jude asked in a serious voice.

"Yes, she told me while she was spending a night at my house," Rogue answered.

"How about the conditions?" Jude asked again.

"She told me at school just this morning and I accept both conditions," Rogue said nonchalantly.

"Do you know what you are getting yourself into?" Jude asked.

"I'm fully aware of my actions. I would accept this for Lucy's sake," Rogue said.

"I hope you know what you're talking about, Rogue," Jude warned.

"I already know what I should do. I'll protect and keep Lucy safe so that she can finally have a normal life," Rogue answered back.

Jude just smiled at Rogue's words. Rogue was really persistent on protecting Lucy. Not much ordinary people would accept this conditions if it was for a person like Lucy.

"That will be all, Rogue. You can go back now to your friends," Jude said, turning around from Rogue's presence.

"Just so you know, Mr. Heartfilia, I'll even risk my life so that she can finally be free from her lonely past," Rogue said before going out of the door.

When Rogue left the library, Jude spoke.

"He really reminds me of you… Leo," Jude said to himself as he watched the moon.

As Rogue returned to the dining room, he was surprised at what he was looking at. Sting was on the floor, begging for help.

"Rogue… please get me out of here… they're keeping on feeding me," Sting said as he crawled down the floor.

"Ugh…," Rogue just kept on pointing at Sting as he was looking at Lucy and her mother.

"Gomenesai Sting-kun. I think I overdid it this time," Layla giggled.

Lucy walked towards the two and bent over to Sting so that she can help him stand.

"I think it's time for you and Sting to go home now. I'll lend you two one of drivers so you won't stumble on the way home," Lucy said as she was eyeing at Sting.

"Thanks a lot, Lucy," Rogue said.

"Rogue… are we there yet?" Sting said unconsciously.

"Baka! We just arrived at the car," Rogue said as he was carrying his friend.

"Goodbye Rogue. Sting," Lucy said as she closed the door for Rogue.

On their way home, Sting was getting a little dizzy not only because of the food he ate earlier but it was also because of his motion sickness. Rogue also had the same motion sickness but he wasn't like a wreck when compared to Sting. Rogue just kept on looking at the moon to subside his motion sickness. As he looked at outside of the window, he suddenly remembered the portrait that he saw at the library.

"I think I'll ask Lucy who exactly was that guy in the portrait," Rogue thought.

There you go minna! I finally finished the new chapter...I hope you like it!

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P.S. As much as I enjoy getting new reviews, I would at least let you know that if I get another complaint about my story being too short my only excuse is it's really hard for me to make a story if I don't have an inspiration to do it. In the last chapter, I apologize if it is short but my only excuse for the shortness is because I have a life out of the computer and I want to enjoy it. Again, I'm sorry if my sorry doesn't sound like a sorry at all.

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That's all...Reviews anyone? (OwO)