Author's Notes: Thank you to everyone who reviewed in the last chapter. I honestly feel like StingLu is a dying ship in the world of fandom as you hardly see any new stories with this pair nowadays, which is quite sad. So it makes me really happy to see that there are still people out there who appreciate this crack ship and also my story. Apologizes for any grammatical errors. Again, this story is not beta'ed. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter :) Please leave a review!
-X-
Chapter Three
-X-
The sun filtered through the white lace curtains of Lucy apartment. Lucy groaned, pulling the covers over her head as the rays of sunlight danced lightly on her face. She tossed and turned for a couple of minutes before finally giving up. The blonde sat up and rubbed her eyes sleepily. She yawned and stretched her arms above her head. Glancing outside her window, Lucy pursed her lips in thought. She hadn't been able to sleep well these last few days.
Jason had given her a deadline of the end of the week for her next task, one that she was not looking forward to. Once a month, Weekly Sorcerer magazine always feature a two-page spread of interviews with famous guilds and their members. This month, however, the guild chosen for this segment was none other than Crocus' own Sabertooth.
But a job was a job. If this task was not accomplished then Lucy might not earn enough money to pay her rent this month. She paled at the thought. If she thought her landlady in Magnolia was bad, then the landlord at Crocus was worse. He had absolutely no mercy for people who did not pay their rent on time. Lucy had witnessed personally how he kicked Ayane and Toru, the flirty couple who lived two blocks down from her apartment, out after they were two days late with their rent.
The celestial mage scratched her head in frustration. Of all guilds though, it just had to be Sabertooth. Despite her getting along with Sting and Yukino, Lucy couldn't say that she was too comfortable being around the other members.
The smell of freshly made pancakes wafted through her room. Lucy inhaled deeply and sighed with contentment. She would ponder over this matter over breakfast.
Wait a minute… Lucy froze. Pancakes…?
Throwing the covers off her body, Lucy stormed out of her room towards her kitchen. "Don't tell me…" she muttered under her breath. Her suspicions were confirmed to be true as her eyes landed the White Dragon Slayer transferring freshly made pancakes onto a large plate.
The male sensed her presence and turned towards her with a grin. "Finally awake, I see." He walked towards her pantry. "Do you have any maple syrup, Lucy?"
"Why are you here?" Lucy twitched.
Sting paused in his rummage through her pantry and gave her a pointed stare. "I'm hungry."
"So you decided to come to my apartment to make pancakes?" Lucy asked incredulously.
"Yep."
Twitch. "It's called trespassing, Sting," Lucy grounded out.
Sting gave her a toothy grin. "Lighten up, Lucy." Finally locating the maple syrup, Sting walked back to his pancakes and added a generous amount to the dish. Grabbing the plate, he presented it towards the female blonde. "Here, there's enough for us to share."
"Sting–" Lucy started but was cut off when her stomach released a massive growl, signalling hunger. She blushed lightly when Sting laughed. Lucy gave in to the temptation and thus found herself sitting with Sting at the dining table.
A week had past since Lucy and Sting's first date. True to his words, Sting never failed to dedicate some time for her since that day. Lucy could recall the past few days as clear as crystal, consisting of dinner dates, lunch dates and training sessions together. Sting had also developed an annoying habit of entering her apartment without prior notification, which reminded her sorely of her old teammates. Guess her apartments had a knack for attracting weirdos.
"Oh!" Lucy exclaimed as she took a bite of the maple syrup coated pancake. "This is pretty good."
"Well, of course," Sting boasted slightly. "How else would Rogue and I survive if one of us didn't know how to cook?"
Lucy raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know you guys lived together," she remarked with surprise.
"It's works out a lot easier to flat with someone in Crocus." Sting shrugged. "I've know Rogue for most of my life anyway so we don't mind each other's presence."
Lucy nodded.
Finishing the last bite of his breakfast, Sting said, "I was thinking we should go sightseeing today."
Lucy paused in thought. "I don't think today's a good day, Sting," she finally said.
"Sick of me already?" Sting teased.
The celestial mage shook her head. "I have to work on this segment for Jason…" She drifted off before her eyes widened.
"What?" A slender platinum blond eyebrow rose curiously at Lucy's strange behaviour.
Lucy bit her bottom lip. "I need to do an interview with Sabertooth's core members."
"Oh?" Sting folded his arms across his chest. "That sounds easy enough. What seems to be the problem then?"
"Nothing," Lucy said a little bit too quickly and lowered her head, which Sting did not miss.
A moment of silence passed before the dragon slayer spoke up. "Alright, change of plans then," he said.
Lucy looked up.
"We're going to the guild today."
-X-
"Oh, Lucy-sama!" Yukino exclaimed, taking note of the blonde celestial mage as she set foot into the guildhall.
"Yukino!" Lucy greeted back with a smile.
"What brings you here?" the pale haired celestial mage enquired curiously.
"Well… you see…"
Sting observed the two celestial mages converse. Something about Lucy's reaction earlier to Sabertooth bothered him but he couldn't put a finger on it. He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice Rogue, Lector and Frosch walking towards him.
"It's about time that you showed your face at the guild, Sting," Rogue remarked.
Sting looked away and didn't comment. Truthfully, he had been neglecting his duties as guild master quite a bit ever since getting to know Lucy.
"Sting-kun, you can't afford to be distracted from your duties," Lector added.
"Fro thinks so too."
Sting let out an annoyed sigh. "I get it guys," he grumbled.
Rogue nodded. "Good." Then out of thin air, he pulled out a stack of papers and shoved them into the White Dragon Slayer's hands. "All of these need reviewing and signing."
Sting's eyes threatened to bulge out of their sockets. "You've got to be freakin' kidding me!" he exclaimed.
"These need to be done today," Rogue stated.
The blond let out a small whine but was immediately shut down by Rogue's blank stare. Sting cursed under his breath before accepting his defeat. "Fine…"
Rogue smiled slightly in satisfaction.
"Rogue."
The said dragon slayer glanced at Sting.
"Can you watch over Lucy for me?" Sting said slowly.
The Shadow Dragon Slayer's eyebrow rose slightly at this but did not question his friend. Knowing that Sting must have his reasons, he nodded in agreement. He did not miss the way Sting's eyes lingered on the Fairy Tail mage's form a bit longer than necessary before he retreated to his office.
-X-
Lucy noticed Sting leaving the mess hall from the corner of her eye. A slight surge of panic passed through her, to which Lucy had to take a deep breath to calm herself down. She smiled at what Yukino said, but her mind did not process her words.
Inwardly, she was shaking. She could feel the stares of the Sabertooth members peering down on her. Although she did not sense a hint of malice, only curiosity from the rival guild, Lucy still felt on edge. It was still difficult for her being around the same people who laughed at her misery at the last Grand Magic Games.
"Oh, milady, you're back!" The voice of a Sabertooth member froze Lucy in her thoughts. The blonde turned towards the entrance of the guild, only to find the guild's strongest female mage, Minerva Orland standing at the entrance with Orga Nanagear and Rufus Lore at her side.
"Welcome home, milady!"
"How did the job go, Rufus?"
"You didn't destroy another town, right Orga?" A few members of Sabertooth snickered.
The said Lightning God Slayer glowered at the comment and looked away in annoyance.
Minerva's eyes briefly glanced over the guild, before landing on the tense celestial mage's form. "It's you…" Minerva said slowly, eyes widened.
"Um… hi Minerva," Lucy greeted nervously.
"Minerva-sama, how did the job go?" Yukino asked her fellow Sabertooth guild mate.
"Fine," the raven-haired girl simply stated. Her eyes never left Lucy's face.
"Oh," Yukino gasped. "I forgot to tell you. Lucy-sama's here to conduct an interview with us."
"Interview?" Rufus spoke up curiously.
"She needs to write an article on the members of Sabertooth. Would you be free to answer a couple of her questions, Minerva-sama, Rufus-sama and Orga-sama?"
"I have a couple of things to take care of first, but I shall be back," Rufus spoke before taking his leave.
"Ditto," Orga added, leaving as well. This left Lucy, Yukino and Minerva.
Minerva thought for a second. "I suppose I have nothing better to do."
Yukino grinned. "Great! I'll leave you guys to it then!" she exclaimed before walking off.
"It's… been a while, hasn't it?" Minerva spoke up after a few seconds of silence.
"Y-yeah."
"So you're working for Weekly Sorcerer now?"
"Yeah."
"You got questions for me?" Minerva's tone sounded a lot harsher than what was intended, which startled the celestial mage.
"O-oh, yes! Sorry!" Lucy stammered, pulling out her notepad. "Let's see… Question One…"
The two female mages continued to exchange words, with Lucy asking the questions and Minerva answering. To her surprise, Lucy discovered that Minerva, despite being an absolute savage at the Grand Magic Games, was just as normal as any other mage that she knew. Minerva's favourite colour is blue, favourite pastime is cooking various dishes (and she was good at it from which she boasted) and enjoys learning different languages. Lucy slowly found herself loosening up around the raven-haired girl's presence.
"Alright, that concludes the interview," Lucy exclaimed, closing her notepad. "Thanks, Minerva."
Minerva simply nodded with a slight smile.
"It's nice to see you back here at the guild after what happened," the blonde said lightly with a smile.
The Sabertooth mage's olive eyes widened slightly before biting her lower lip gently. Lucy blinked at the strange actions of Minerva. "S-sorry, did I say something wrong?" the blonde questioned worriedly.
Minerva shook her head. "No. It just made me remember a couple of things." She hung her head down. "I'm sorry about what happened at the games," she said shamefully, looking away.
Brown eyes widened. "Oh… that, huh?" Lucy smiled awkwardly. "It's all in the past now, don't worry! It was a competition anyway," she reassured the mage before her.
"Even so, I overdid it," Minerva said uncertainly. "I'm sorry for the way I treated you, Lucy."
Lucy stared at the raven-haired mage in shock. Never would she have imagined receiving an apology from the Sabertooth lady. Her lips curled up into a smile. Seemed like time can really change a person. Lucy was always known to be forgiving. Seeing Minerva like this in front of her made her heart feel lighter, as if a giant weight had been lifted.
"It's fine," Lucy reassured. "No hard feelings."
Minerva looked up and smiled at Lucy solemnly. "I'm sorry about what happened to Fairy Tail. It was a nice guild," she admitted.
"Don't worry about it," Lucy murmured. "I'm okay now."
As Minerva was about to open her mouth to respond, Lucy turned her attention towards Rufus and Orga who made their return. The raven-haired girl's lips pursed, taking note of the pain that shone briefly through the blonde's eyes before she masked it with a huge grin.
For the first time in her life, Minerva felt pity towards someone.
-X-
With a sigh of relief, Sting set down his feathered quill as he signed the last piece of paper with his name. He scratched his head in annoyance as he let out a groan. If Sting had known that being the master of a guild would involve this much paperwork, he would never have agreed on taking up the position.
A knock on the door caught his attention. His nose could pick up the scent of the person on the other side. "You can come in, you know," he called. "Don't have to knock, Rogue."
A moment later, Rogue entered the office with pieces of paper in clutched his hands. Sting groaned. "Please don't tell me there's more," he cried exasperatedly.
"Just job requests that got mailed in today," Rogue said. "I thought this might interest you." He placed the top page on the desk of the Sabertooth Master.
A slender platinum blond eyebrow rose curiously. Picking up the job advertisement, Sting's eyes scanned over the details of the request. "URGENT! Disappearance of children… kidnapping of women… requesting help from Sabertooth's Twin Dragons." he read. "Location: Oak Town. Client: Gabriel Hooley (Mayor). Reward: 160,000 J… Why is he requesting for us?"
Rogue shrugged. "Who knows," he remarked. "Unfortunately I won't be able to take this job as I've already promised to go on a request with Yukino tomorrow."
Sting smirked at this. "Yukino, huh?" he teased. "You guys seem to be getting awfully close nowadays. Is there something you'd like to tell me, Rogue?"
Rogue closed his ruby eyes in annoyance. "Nothing in particular," he stated blandly. Sting, however, did not miss the way his friend's cheekbones turn slightly pink at his comment.
'I see how it is,' Sting thought, inwardly cackling and gave Rogue a pat on the back. "Don't worry, man. Your secret is safe with me." He gave him a thumbs-up.
Rogue bristled before giving the blond a glare. "You're one to talk, Sting," he stated.
Sting blinked. "What do you mean?" he questioned confusedly.
Rogue shook his head but didn't comment. "So what are you planning to do with that job request?" He changed the topic.
Glancing down at the advertisement, Sting skimmed the details of the paper once again before replying, "I'll take it."
The raven-haired mage nodded, already knowing that he would get that answer from Sting. Sting would never ignore a cry for help. "Perhaps you should get Minerva, Orga or Rufus to accompany you," he suggested.
To his surprise, the White Dragon Slayer shook his head. "No, I have someone else in mind," he said with a slight smile before leaving his office, making his way back to the mess hall.
Rogue watched his retreating back and crossed his arms. "Hmm."
As Sting approached the mess hall, he could hear the sound of chatter and laughter all around. He smiled at this. Sabertooth really had come a long way from the once brutal guild, who never cared for anything else but power. Now with Jiemma's reign over the atmosphere of the guild really had lightened up and Sting couldn't help but feel proud of the way the guild was now.
Entering the mess hall, his royal blue eyes surveyed the sight before him. Lucy was sitting with Rufus at the dining table giggling at something that he said. To his surprise, Minerva was sitting on the opposite side of them at the same table smiling softly. Rufus had removed his signature hat and Sting could see his dark green eyes twinkle with amusement. They were also sitting too close together for Sting's comfort.
The blond did not know why but seeing Rufus and Lucy laughing together made him feel extremely irritated.
Scowling inwardly, he approached the group. Minerva was the first to notice his approached and raised her head to greet him, however his attention was on the two blondes.
"Hey Lucy, let's head out on a job!" he exclaimed loudly, capturing their attention.
Lucy turned her attention from Rufus to the Sabertooth master. "A job?" she asked curiously.
Sting held up a flyer to her face. So close that Lucy had to back away slightly to read. "I don't think I can, Sting," she finally said after taking the details of the job in.
"Why not?" Sting raised his eyebrows.
"I still have to draft up my article, and there's no time left."
The Sabertooth master let out an annoyed sigh. "You can just do that once we get back," he reasoned.
"B-but–" Lucy started.
"We'll be back in a day or so," Sting reassured her with a grin. "Come on, Lucy. It's not everyday we get to go on a job together. Besides, the reward is good." He watched as the celestial mage hesitate. She glanced down again at the flyer, taking in the amount of reward promised before finally sighing in defeat.
"Alright." Lucy gave in.
"Great!" Sting exclaimed. Without warning, he grabbed a hold of her wrist and pulled her out of her seat, ignoring her little yelp. "Let's go."
Lucy sputtered. "Wait, now?!"
"You do want to finish early, don't you?"
"I guess… wait, slow down!"
"Sting-kun, wait for me!" Lector yelled, flying after the two blondes, leaving behind the Sabertooth members, who observed the scene with a mix of amusement and curiosity.
"I don't recall ever seeing Sting like this," Rufus remarked.
"Hm, what an interesting development." Minerva smirked.
-X-
'I should've know this would happen,' Lucy thought as she observed the sight before her.
No matter how strong Sting seemed on the surface, at the end of the day, he was a dragon slayer with an obvious weakness for transportation.
Lector sighed exasperatedly. "To think that the Almighty Sting-kun is reduced to such a weakened state in front of this fairy," the Exceed muttered under his breath.
"Urggg…" Sting suppressed the urge to throw up.
"I can't say I'm surprised." Lucy giggled. "Maybe you should lie down, Sting. You'll feel better that way."
"I-I'll be fine," Sting gritted out, turning greener by the second. The nausea was getting worse. His arms crossed tightly across his chest as he sat straight as a board, trying to appear tough. His royal blue eyes were clenched shut.
Lucy sighed and stared out the window of the moving train. The job that Sting had picked was based in Oak Town, home to the former Phantom Lord guild. From what Lucy had gathered, reading the job flyer the mayor of the town had sent a request to Sabertooth's Twin Dragons. Children and women of the town have been disappearing over the last couple of days and, being the father himself, the mayor was concerned for their safety. Hence the request to guard his children whilst unravel the mystery behind the village children's disappearance was made.
Rogue, to which Lucy learnt, was unable to make it for the mission as he already had one set, hence why Sting took this request.
However…
"Urggg…"
…this was not a good start to the job. Lucy watched the sick dragon slayer with a mix of pity and amusement.
"Hang in there, Sting-kun," Lector said with concern, giving Sting a light pat on the arm with his paw. "Not too much longer till we arrive."
'Can't be helped, I guess,' Lucy thought, pursing her lips. She stood up and walked over to sit next to Sting, who gave her a questioning look. His face was drenched with sweat.
Without warning, Lucy pulled Sting down so that his head was on her lap.
"H-hey! What are you doing?" Sting cried out.
"You'll feel better this way," Lucy cooed. Placing a hand on his head, she ran her fingers through his platinum blond hair gently.
Sting's breath hitched in his throat, paralysed at her actions. To his surprise, he did feel slight relief from his motion sickness. Lucy smiled down at him and he could feel his face heat up in response.
"That's better right?"
Sting could only nod mutely.
They all sat in silence as the train continued towards its destination. Lucy resumed her previous activity of gazing out the window, while Sting decided to use this opportunity to study her closely, whilst enjoying the feel of her fingers drawing circles on his scalp.
Slowly, he felt his eyes flutter shut as he fell into a light sleep.
Lector watched the two blondes on the side curiously. Never in his life had he seen Sting look so relaxed on the train. Was it due to the presence of this Fairy Tail girl?
After another twenty minutes, the train came to a halt. Sting jolted from his peaceful nap as the train stopped. "We've arrived?" he asked hopefully.
Lucy grabbed her pink bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Yep."
The two mages and Exceed got off the train and Sting breathed in deeply, feeling the lingering nausea dissipating. "Thank God…" he muttered.
Lucy giggled.
They made their way to the mayor's residence (after asking nearby villagers for direction), which was located in the centre of town. Oak Town's infrastructure consisted of an old castle build, situated on a hill surrounded by a dense forest. Arriving at their destination, Lucy and Sting noticed that despite being the mayor of the town, Gabriel Hooley lived in quite a small house. Sting step forward and knocked on the wooden door. His sharp hearing picked up the sound of a muffled "coming" before the door swung open slowly.
"Hi, I'm Sting Eucliffe, one of the Twin Dragons from Sabertooth, Lucy Heartfilia and Lector," Sting greeted the man before him. Lucy and Lector waved lightly in response. "Would you be Mayor Gabriel?"
"That is I," the man spoke. Sting took note of the eye bags under the mayor's eyes. Gabriel was a middle-aged man of average height. His flat, light brown hair was streaked with strands of grey, as was his bristled-edged moustache. He wore a dark blue vest over a simple white long-sleeved shirt. His black pants were held up by a silver belt and on his feet were black dress shoes. "I suppose you received my job request." He opened the door wider for the two mages. "Please come on in."
Sting, Lector and Lucy followed Gabriel into his house. The mayor gestured for them to take a seat on the couch. "Take a seat."
"We read that children and women have been disappearing recently," Lucy said, taking a seat on the couch. Sting sat directly next to her.
Gabriel sighed sadly, sitting on the opposite couch. "Yes, unfortunately that's what has been happening."
"And the reason for your specific request for Rogue and I?" Sting asked curiously.
"I'm actually quite a huge fan of the Grand Magic Games," the mayor admitted. "I saw you and your partner's fight against Fairy Tail's Salamander, Natsu and Black Steel, Gajeel–" Sting took note of how Lucy flinched. "–and I knew that you two could be relied on."
Sting nodded, accepting his answer.
"How many have gone missing so far?" Lucy asked, diverting the topic.
"If you count the two last night, that would make it 13 children and 5 women in the last five days," Gabriel said grimly. "I heard rumours of a slave trading group making quite the name for themselves recently… They call themselves Red Crow, but I'm not a hundred percent sure if it really is them."
"Red Crow, huh?" Sting looked down and rubbed his chin in thought. "Do you have a list of the families who've had their children or women kidnapped?"
"Great idea, Sting-kun!" Lector said. "We should probably start by questioning those people for clues."
Gabriel nodded. "I do." He handed Sting a folded piece of paper he retrieved from his vest pocket. "I've written their addresses down for you as well."
"Thank you."
"Daddy!" the sound of tiny footsteps running towards the three was heard. Sting and Lucy turned to see a little girl not older than the age of nine making her way towards them. She had brown hair, two shades darker than Gabriel's, which was tied into two low pigtails and large forest green eyes. She had on a salmon coloured dress with white frills and white shoes. In her hands was a pink rabbit soft toy.
Gabriel's eyes softened and embraced the girl. Picking her up in her arms, he turned towards the two mages, who watched the scene before them. "This is my daughter, Risa. She just turned eight last month. Say hi, Risa."
Risa's eyes turned shyly towards the two mages. "Hi," she said with a hesitant smile.
Lucy smiled back. She always had a soft spot for children. "Hello, Risa-chan," she greeted brightly. "My name's Lucy." She gestured towards her companions. "And this is Sting and Lector. We're mages."
Gabriel released his daughter from his hold and allowed her to approach the celestial mage. Risa's green eyes lit up with excitement. "Mages? You mean you can do magic tricks?" she asked curiously.
Lucy laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck. "I guess you can say that."
"Wow, can you show me a trick?" Risa pleaded excitedly.
"Risa," Gabriel chided lightly. "These three are here for work, not to play around." Risa's face dropped in disappointment. Before Lucy was able to speak, to her surprise, Sting bent down to Risa's eye level and spoke, "you want to see some magic?"
The brunette immediately looked up and nodded her head vigorously. "Yes please!"
Sting grinned. "Alright then." He held his right palm out and summoned a ball of light the size of an apple in front of the girl's eyes and Risa was immediately fascinated. "Can I touch it?" she asked.
Sting chuckled. "Of course. Hold out your hands." Risa immediately did what was told and the blond dragon slayer dropped the ball of light into the palm of her hands. It hovered slightly, not quite touching her palms.
"Wow! It feels warm!"
Lucy smiled at the sight of the excited child and whispered in Sting's ear. "I didn't know you had a soft spot for children."
Sting grinned at her. "You learn something new everyday, don't you?" He winked to which Lucy coloured slightly at.
The mayor smiled at them. "Thanks for entertaining my daughter," he said before his expression turned solemn. "I hope that you can get to the bottom of this case soon as I do not want anyone else separated from their family due to this unforseen circumstance." He glanced at his daughter worriedly.
Sting nodded. "You can count on us," he reassured.
"We'll get to the bottom of this," Lucy added.
"Thank you." The mayor bowed. "If you don't have a place to stay, please feel free to take up residence here at my home. I do have a guest room available."
"We'll take you up on that offer then," Sting said. He turned towards Lucy. "We should probably split up and see if we can gather some information from these families." He turned towards his Exceed. "Lector, you stay here with Mayor Gabriel and Risa."
"You got it, Sting-kun!" Lector pumped his paw. "I'll be sure to keep them safe."
The celestial mage smiled. "We'll meet back here in two hours then."
-X-
"Thank you for your information," Sting said, bowing at the middle-aged couple, who both sniffled at the recount of how their son had disappeared last night.
"Please save him," the woman pleaded.
The blond nodded solemnly. "I promise you," he murmured. "I'll bring him back." With that, he left the couple's residence.
Sting sighed for what seemed like the tenth time in a day. This was the sixth home that he had visited and to his disappointment everyone had pretty much given him the same answers. The kidnappings always occurred in the middle of the night, when everyone while everyone was asleep. Only two families declared that they had witnessed the kidnapping with their own eyes, only to have been knocked unconscious before they were able to step in. They could not recall any of the faces of the kidnappers as they all wore black masks, which covered the lower half of their faces.
The White Dragon Slayer scowled. 'Hopefully Lucy had better luck than me,' he thought, making his way back to Gabriel's house.
On his way, he passed by a bustling flea market. An antique store at the corner of his eye caught his attention. It was unfrequented, compared the other stalls. Sting walked towards the store and nodded as a greeting towards the old woman sitting on the stool. "Welcome."
The blond glanced around curiously, taking note of the items up for sale. Most of them were either household items, which did not interest Sting. One particular item, however, did capture his interest. Royal blue eyes stared at a bracelet laid out on the white clothed table, along with other jewellery. It was a simple gold bracelet with a heart-shaped clasp. There were three differently coloured crystal charms attached. Each of the charm had a unique symbol engraved, which Sting couldn't help but find familiar.
'This would suit her,' Sting thought, thinking about a certain celestial mage.
"Ahh, you have a good eye, young man," the shopkeeper spoke up. "This bracelet here once belonged to powerful mage. Such a beauty, however it's been sitting at my shop for over 9 years now."
Sting raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"
The woman nodded. "You are the first person to take an interest in this," she said. "I'll give you a discount on this one."
"How much?" the blond asked.
"80,000 J is the lowest that I will offer."
Sting inwardly cursed. 'Shit, that's still expensive.' He glanced at the bracelet in thought before finally making his decision.
-X-
The sun had begun to set, signalling the end of the day. The celestial mage was already back at Gabriel's house by the time Sting arrived. Sting observed the sight before him. Lucy and Lector were currently playing with Risa on the carpeted floor. He watched as the two females scrunched their faces up, whilst trying to figure out where the next piece of Risa's puzzle should go.
Lucy hear the sound of the door closing and noticed Sting standing there looking down at them. "How did it go? Did you find anything useful?" she asked hopefully.
Unconsciously placing his hand against the pocket of his jacket, where the bracelet was kept, Sting shook his head. "No," he murmured. "Nothing at all."
Lucy frowned disappointedly. "That's too bad."
"What about you?" Sting asked.
"Well…" Lucy relayed all the information that she found to the Sabertooth master, who took all the information in silently. Pretty much what Lucy had found out was exactly the same information that he gathered. However, Lucy mentioned that a man, whose girlfriend had been taken, had said that he noticed a strange mark on the kidnapper's forehead, which was not concealed by his mask. He drew it out for Lucy, who passed the sketch to Sting.
Sting studied the sketch. It was rough but even Sting could tell clearly who the culprit was. The sketch featured a black vertical line going up with two other lines branching out diagonally from the centre in opposite. The ends of the lines were all pointed, in the shape of a claw nails. Crow's feet.
"Red Crow," Sting muttered. "So it is them."
Lucy nodded. "I did a bit of research as well. It seems like they're an unregistered guild in Fiore, known for multiple kidnapping attempts and associations with those in the black market."
"A dark guild." Sting's eyes darkened. "Most likely mages, I bet."
Lucy looked worried. "I couldn't find any information on any of their members," she murmured.
Risa sat there listening into the conversation with curiosity. "What's a dark mage, Lulu?" she asked. "Are they the bad guys?" Her eyes shone with worry.
Lucy smiled down at her. "You won't have to worry about that, Risa-chan," she reassured. "Sting and I will be here to protect you."
"Yeah, Sting-kun is the strongest, so don't you worry, girl," Lector added.
Risa smiled at this and nodded. "Okay!"
The blondes smiled at each other before their attention was directed towards Gabriel, who had just finished preparing dinner. To their surprise, Gabriel was an amazing chef. He explained, after seeing their reaction, that after Risa's mother passed away three years ago, he had to hone his culinary skills to support his daughter and himself. Lucy felt a wave of sadness wash through her after realizing the fact that Risa no longer had a mother. Just like her back at the Heartfilia Konzern. The only difference was that Gabriel Hooley was a loving father, whereas Jude Heartfilia wasn't. Seeing the loving relationship between the father and daughter before her made her feel happy, but also slightly bitter that she would never have the chance for such a relationship in her life.
Dinner was over and Gabriel directed the two mages to their room. To their shock, there was only one queen sized bed available. Risa had insisted on sleeping with Lector, who looked anything but thrilled, much to the two mages' amusement.
"I apologize, this is the only room I had available. I hope you don't mind sharing," the mayor said apologetically.
"No, that's fine," came Sting's reply.
Lucy whirled her head towards the dragon slayer with wide eyes. Fine he says?
"Alright, there's a bathroom inside with fresh towels. Please help yourself."
"Thank you," Sting said bowing.
The mayor bobbed his head in response before heading off.
Lucy stood shell shock at the entrance of the bedroom until Sting gave her a slight nudge. "Hey, are you just gonna stand there?" He raised his eyebrows.
"Sorry!" the blonde squeaked out. She walked into the bedroom, staring helplessly at the queen-sized bed in the centre of the room. "So, uh, who's going to take the bed?" she asked awkwardly.
"You," came Sting's response.
Lucy looked at him. "What about you?" Her brown eyes darted to the lone wooden armchair at the corner of the room, which did not look comfortable.
Sting made himself at home by lying down on the bed. "I'll be sleeping here too."
The celestial mage gapped. "W-what?" she sputtered. "B-but…"
Sting gave her an amused look. "Don't worry, you'll sleep on your side and I'll sleep on mine. Unless you give me permission, I'll keep my hands to myself," he said cheekily.
A furious blush bloomed on the girl's face in response. She turned away from him quickly, not wanting him to see her face. "I'm going to take a bath," she announced whilst retrieving some clothes from her bag.
Sting followed her movements, watching her walk across the room until she closed the bathroom door.
He remained in his lying position on his side of the bed until Lucy emerged from the bathroom fifteen minutes later. The ends of her hair were slightly darkened, damp with water. She wore a plain baby blue T-shirt, which hugged her figure tightly and exposed her belly button. She had on a pair of skimpy black shorts, which barely concealed her rounded backside. Lucy bit her lips nervously, which Sting could not help but find adorable. His royal blue eyes followed her as she climbed onto the bed and slipped herself underneath the covers. "The bathroom's all yours, Sting," came her muffled voice from beneath the blanket.
The White Dragon Slayer almost laughed but held himself back, knowing that the situation was quite awkward for the celestial mage. He made his way towards the bathroom, closing the door quietly behind him.
Slowly, he allowed his mask to slip from his face. He sighed. Despite teasing Lucy about sharing a bed, he was just as nervous as she was. The only one who he had ever shared his bed with was Lector, who did not count, as he wasn't even human. Knowing that Lucy would be under the same cover as him this very night really tested his self-control. He could not deny that Lucy was one attractive girl.
He turned on the knob of the shower and flinched at the initial spray of cold water before relaxing as the water turned lukewarm. He breathed in deeply, taking in the lingering scent of coconut scented shampoo. Sting almost groaned as he placed his forehead against the marble tiled walls. This was going to be a long night.
Giving his body a quick scrub, he turned off the water and wrapped his lower half in a towel and placed another towel over neck.
He returned to the bedroom to find Lucy shifting about in the bed, clearly stil awake. Sting took a seat on the edge of the bed. Grabbing the ends of the towel around his neck, he started to dry his hair.
"So, how did the interviews go?" he spoke up suddenly.
Lucy tensed slightly before answering, "it went well. I think I've got enough information to write a good article." She turned her gaze towards the White Dragon Slayer, whose back was turned towards her as he sat on the edge of the bed. "You're the last one who I have on my list, but we can do that once we're back at Crocus."
Sting nodded. "Sounds good." He paused before asking, "What did you think of our guild?" His tone sounded almost nervous.
"Eh?" Lucy's eyes widened, not expecting that question from him. "It's great, I think," she finally replied. Taking a small but deep breath she continued. "I like how you guys are now… compared to…" she drifted off awkwardly.
The blond male sighed before chuckling lightly. "Yeah, we were a real piece of work back then, weren't we?" he murmured, gaze downcast. "I can't believe it took this long for us to realize that a guild meant nothing if its members don't treasure their comrades."
The celestial mage sat up on the bed. "But Sabertooth is different now," she said softly. "And it's all because of you. You should be proud, Sting."
Sting turned towards her and gave her a smile. "Thanks, Luce," he said. Unbeknownst to him, Lucy's heart skip a beat the little nickname Sting gave her.
"Lucy?" Sting suddenly spoke, somewhat nervously.
"Hm?"
"I'm sorry too."
Slender blonde eyebrows rose in curiosity. "Huh? What are you saying sorry for?"
"The Grand Magic Games… I was a jerk. I shouldn't have laughed at you during the water round," the Sabertooth master muttered, looking away as he rubbed the back of his neck.
The celestial mage did not respond to his comment and merely stared at him in silence, making the dragon slayer more and more nervous by the second. "Uhh, Lucy?" he spoke up eventually with hesitance. "Am I forgiven?"
Lucy huffed before lying back down on the bed, pulling the blankets over her head. "I'll have to think about it," came her muffled voice.
"Ehh?!"
Unbeknownst to Sting, a large smile was concealed underneath the blanket as Lucy took in his words. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders at his words. Eventually, she felt the dip in the mattress as Sting crawled into bed. He respectfully kept his distance from her, sleeping close to the edge of the bed, as did she. She heard a muffled, "good night" to which she responded back softly with her own.
Slowly, she found herself drifting off.
-X-
For what seemed like hours later, Lucy woke up. She froze as she stared at the face before her eyes. To her dismay, she felt herself blushing as she studied the sleeping face of Sting Eucliffe. They both must have turned over in their sleep, as their faces were now inches apart. Sting's left arm was slipped underneath his pillow where his head rested upon. The other arm hung loose at his side. His mouth was slightly open as he breathed lightly through his mouth. His breath fanned across her face as he slept.
Lucy felt something heavy weigh down on her leg. Taking a hesitant peek underneath the covers, Lucy gave a small squeal. Sting did tell Lucy that he would keep his hands to himself, but he didn't say anything about other parts of his body.
The Sabertooth master's bare legs entangled themselves with Lucy's, much to her dismay. It was only now that she realized she had lost all the feeling in her legs due to the dragon slayer's vice grip hold. Lucy made an attempt to remove his limbs by pulling her legs, however failed miserably to do so. Knowing that it would be a futile, Lucy tried her luck at freeing herself by using her hands to separate their limbs. In the process, her hand brushed past something soft, yet firm underneath his towel. Lucy pulled her hand back in fright as Sting gave off a low groan. He shifted in his sleep, untangling his legs from hers, and turned to face away from the celestial mage.
Lucy sighed in relief before rolling out of bed. She stared at the male. To her surprise, Sting remained asleep throughout this whole process. 'What a heavy sleeper,' she thought.
She could still remember the feel of his bare legs against her own. Swallowing dryly, Lucy decided that a breath of fresh air and some water would be the solution to slow down her hammering chest.
Quietly, she stalked out of the room, closing the door gently behind her. The blonde made her way to the kitchen of Gabriel's home. Arriving at the kitchen, she glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. 2.37am, the hands read.
After a quick rummage, she found a glass and filled it halfway with tap water. Gulping it down, Lucy sighed contently. After washing the cup and placing it on the drying rack, she made her way back to the bedroom.
Her footsteps slowed as she walked. Stopping outside their shared bedroom, Lucy's hand halted on its way towards the doorknob as she found herself lost in her thoughts.
For some reason, the presence of Sting, in the same bed as her, made her feel extremely nervous. Not even Natsu, when he used to break into her bedroom in the middle of the night to have a snooze in her bed, had that kind of effect on her. Clearly, she had not expected Sting of all people to affect her in this way. These last few days of being together, eating, drinking and training really did change her impressions of him. Not to mention, whenever Sting smiled at her, Lucy could feel an interesting sensation in her stomach, one that wasn't unpleasant by all means. It was strange, if not a bit terrifying for her.
There was no denying it anymore. Lucy swallowed at the realization.
She was attracted to Sting Eucliffe.
Shaking her head at the notion, Lucy placed a hand over her chest. Her heart pounded furiously to meet her palm. She took a deep breath. "It's okay, Lucy. So you like him… big deal. Just play it cool," she muttered to herself quietly.
A small gasp, followed by a low thud caught her attention. The celestial mage's head turned towards the direction of the sound, which came from down the hallway. Lucy tensed before slowly approaching the source of the sound. Her eyes widened in realization before she broke out into a sprint. 'Don't tell me…!'
Without bothering to knock, Lucy flung open the door of the room where the sound emitted. "Risa-chan!" she yelled. Her brown eyes darted around the room frantically. Risa's bed sheets were all in a mess, however Lucy could not see the brunette. The only other presence in the room was Lector, who was knocked out cold on the carpeted floor.
"Lector, are you okay?" Lucy said frantically, pulling the red Exceed into her arms. "Please wake up!"
Lector groaned in pain before his eyes opened. "L-Lucy…?"
The celestial mage sighed in relief before asking, "Where's Risa-chan?"
Lector winced in pain, clutching his head with one of his paws. "These people dressed in black came in and took her. I couldn't take a good look at them properly." He pointed towards the opened window. "They escaped through there."
Lucy's eyes hardened. Placing Lector down carefully, she straightened herself. "I'm going after them," she announced firmly.
Lector's eyes widened. "W-What? No, wait you shouldn't! We have to let Sting-kun know about this first!" he protested.
"There's no time for that." Lucy shook her head and looked the Exceed in the eye. "You go inform Sting and catch up with me later. I'm heading out first."
Before Lector could say another word, the celestial mage leaped out of the window in pursuit.
Lucy ran. The sound of her bare feet pacing along the concreted floor echoed through the night. She knew that it was a bad idea to charge in recklessly without a solid plan, but at this point she didn't care anymore. She had to save Risa.
Her eyes widened as she spotted something in the distance. Skidding to a stop in front of the object, Lucy bent down to pick it up. It was Risa's stuffed rabbit toy. "Risa-chan…" she murmured, before looking ahead. She had no idea how far she ran but it seemed like she was now approaching the forest. Fist clenching around the arm of the stuffed toy, Lucy continued her pursuit.
"…should be enough for tonight…" Lucy heard the faint whispers of people deep within the forest. She pulled to a stop to hide behind the trunk of a thick tree. The celestial mage observed the scene before her and her eyes widened at the sight of the familiar figure. 'Risa-chan!'
Risa was blindfolded, tied up, gagged and slung over the shoulder of an unruly guy, dressed in black from head to toe. Only his eyes were revealed. There were two other men with him, all dressed in a similar fashion. Lucy noticed that Risa was not the only child abducted, as there was another girl close to her age held captive. Along with a beautiful black-haired woman, who was in nothing but a tiny red tank top and black shorts. She was also unconscious.
Lucy could see the men of the group eyeing the woman's figure with lustful expressions, much to her disgust. 'I have to do something quick,' she thought, before an idea struck her.
"Open, Gate of the Arch–" Lucy's hand froze in her attempt to reach for her keys, only to realize she didn't have them with her. Lucy wanted to smack herself. 'That's right… I didn't bring them with me,' she thought, inwardly face palming herself.
She glared at the group. 'If I don't have my keys, I can always–'
"Well, look what we have here," a smooth voice interrupted her from her thoughts. "It seems like my boys have brought along a stray kitten."
Lucy turned quickly towards the sound, only to find herself frozen in her tracks. "W-What is this?" she stammered, as her hands reached up to grab her own neck. She struggled against the unknown force which was controlling her very movements, however it was a futile attempt. Her hands clasped around her neck and Lucy winced in pain. She felt the air slowly beginning to leave her lungs as her hands continued to squeeze at her neck.
"W-Who… are you?" Lucy managed to gasp out. She could hear the mage chuckle darkly before stars danced in her vision from the lack of oxygen.
'Sting…!'
Then, everything went black.
-X-
Author's Notes: Thanks for reading! This was probably the longest chapter that I've written for this story so far. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please leave a review and let me know what you guys think. See you guys in the next chapter!
-X-
-Setsuna