I had a tough time naming this chapter.
Special thanks to ChaoticDucky and FallenRavenWing, for letting me bounce ideas off you guys. Thanks a ton. Sorry I couldn't use all the suggestions and ideas we hashed out – next chapter, I promise.
Unrelated note to anyone whose curious: Lucy's injuries are the same ones I myself sustained Saturday night, jumping over my gate (because it was frozen shut and I really needed to pee). My landing was not accomplished with any semblance of finesse. Plus, I forgot that the other side of the gate doesn't have footholds.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
Sting and Yukino were far more enthused about Lucy Heartfilia's impending visitation than Rogue himself was. For the past three days the pair had been running pell-mell around the guild, trying to obliterate every speck of dust that dared to intrude upon the austere building's marble floors. Never mind that Lucy had already seen the Guild Hall in a less than tidy condition – hastily discarded clothes strewn about the Hall in the members' eagerness to utilize the pool unveiled the same day mixed with puddles of water and several guild members in very little clothing loitering about. Also, she's a member of the Fairy Tail Guild. Did they not recall the state of her guild's building? Glass from bottles shattered over other guild members' heads, upturned tables, and the splintered remains of other pieces of furniture along with people haphazardly flying through the air as a result of the guild's daily brawls?
The Shadow Dragon Slayer can understand Yukino's jubilance at the opportunity to see her friend, but he can't for the life of him determine just what has Sting so elated. It probably means that the man is up to something… again. But Rogue is too exhausted to bother with unseating the blonde from his throne of smug.
Rogue, conversely, has his forehead pressed against the cool surface of a table. Feeling very ill at the moment, despite Frosch's attempts to comfort him by petting his hair. He would like to think it's due to a stomach virus, but his rational mind won't allow the assumption. It's nerves. Even he can recognize that. He would prefer to be on an eight-hour train ride than in the guild, spending his day listening to Yukino and Sting babble on about the blonde Fairy's visit. He is well aware of the fact that today is the day of their arranged meet up. He's still not sure he's ready to face her.
Also, he doesn't know how they could have possibly not noticed by now, but there is a typhoon raging outside. Winds howl and keen outside the immense doors, rattling them on their hinges. The only reason they haven't been ripped from their mooring is due entirely to the extensive enchantments anchoring them to the frame.
Rogue despises storms. It isn't as if he's afraid of them, of course; no, he dislikes them for their sheer inconvenience. Merely making his way to the guild from his home was one-half balancing act and one-half test of reflexes. Since Sting as the Guild Master has to be present at Sabertooth, so does Rogue (no telling what the blonde might do without proper supervision).
Storms are also very noisy.
A branch smashes into one of the windows, making a sound like the world was exploding and causing the two Dragon Slayers to nearly jump out of their own skeletons.
The few guild members present seem to find this vastly amusing.
The other reason Rogue would rather be home.
Rogue is fairly certain that Lucy isn't coming today.
Leaves collide with the windows with enough velocity to make the glass shake, and driving rain is hurtling towards Earthland's surface with the force of comets. The sound of the water cascading off the roof echoing around the Guild Hall is close to deafening the Shadow Dragon Slayer for good.
Only an insane idiot would brave the two full hour trek through that bedlam from Fairy Tail to Sabertooth.
The doors slam inwards, crashing into the walls. Gales of wind rush into the Guild Hall, a flood of water sweeping in all manner of debris and completely ruining all of Sting and Yukino's efforts.
As he leaps to his feet to secure the doors, Rogue freezes at the sight before him.
Rogue failed to account for the fact that Fairy Tail is chock full of insane idiots.
And Lucy Heartfilia is one of their most prized members.
He finds himself really hoping that she took the train because if she walked the whole way…
Somewhere behind him, Sting yells, "Dammit, Orga! How many times do I have to – Blondie?!"
The bedraggled blonde looks positively miserable, standing there in the sheeting rain. "Um… Hello?" she offers with a timid wave. "Mind helping me shut the doors?"
The Twin Dragon Slayers rush to assist, pushing the doors shut against the tide of rainwater and flotsam. Their Exceeds watch them from the bar and table with interest.
While they struggle against the wind, Yukino frets over Lucy.
"Really, Yukino, I'm fine," Lucy reassures her as the boys return, soaked to the skin.
"Are you sure?" the other Celestial Mage questions, dabbing at Lucy's face with a handkerchief. A rather futile effort, as Lucy thinks her skin may no longer be watertight after that journey.
Lucy rolls her eyes at the attention. "Really." But it looks like Yukino won't give up or let her go until she delivers the full damage report, so she continues, "My hair is a horrid mess, though. I'm a little bruised. I think I lost some skin, definitely my pride and…" She pauses, looking down at her foot and wiggling her toes experimentally. "…And half a toenail." Judging by the way it feels, maybe more than just half but she's trying to maintain a positive outlook here. "Before you ask, I have no idea how. Otherwise, I'm just peachy."
Sting whistles lowly. "All that just from the train station to here? I'm impressed, Blondie."
She blinks at him. "Actually, I walked from Fairy Tail." Her clothes cling to her like a second skin, so she picks at them for a moment. When she glances back up at them, she inquires, "What?"
Sabertooth's Guild Master is staring at her like she's grown a second head, distinctly Natsu-shaped. "You walked? The whole way?"
"Um… yeah? The trains weren't running." She can't understand why they appear to be having difficulties processing that fact. "It wasn't that hard. I'm pretty good at dodging flying detritus, thanks to my guild and teammates. And I was wearing a raincoat."
Said garment is nowhere in sight.
"I kind of lost it along the way, though. Oh, before I forget," she adds, wringing out her shirt hem, "The bridge over Swift Creek is out."
Yukino finally leaves off the patting as a bad job.
Sting contemplates the other blonde's last statement. "I can send someone out to repair it after the storm passes." It's his duty as Guild Master to make sure the guild did some pro bono work for the benefit of the city housing it. It builds up good will with the city leaders and does wonders for improving Sabertooth's reputation. "So… not to doubt your capabilities or anything, but how exactly did you get across, Blondie?"
Lucy smiles at him. "Fleuve d'etoiles." Like he should know what that is.
It… explains absolutely nothing to the Dragon Slayer, but he nods and responds, "Right."
Rogue heaves a sigh and sits down heavily on a bench, a puddle already forming beneath him. Water dripping from the strands of his hair, he regards Lucy with his crimson eyes.
She shifts in place, fidgeting with her shirt sleeves and uncomfortable under his scarlet stare. Although she's sure her clothes are clinging to her in all the right places, she knows that the dirt smears on her face are unattractive and her hair probably looks like several dozen rats have nested in it. For reasons she's not willing to pursue, she doesn't want to remain in front of him in such disarray.
"You shouldn't have come," he states, ever the blunt one.
Lucy flinches and averts her eyes. Slumping, she says, "I guess you're right. I just… I wanted to keep my promise to visit today. But look at the mess I've made..."
The blonde Dragon Slayer groans at Rogue's ineptitude. "Blondie, it's fine. We can just clean it again. Orga's already ruined it at least three times this morning." He's a little unhappy about all his efforts being ruined, but he can't claim that it wasn't fun going all out in anticipation. "What Rogue was trying – and failing – to say," Sting pauses to shoot a glare at his partner, "is that we would rather you not come than hurt yourself trying to get here. Because you're our friend, and we care about you."
Perplexed, Rogue stares at them. "Isn't that what I just said?"
"No," Sting replies, rolling his eyes. "It wasn't. Also, get off the furniture, man. You're going to warp the wood. This isn't Fairy Tail, and that shit is expensive to replace."
"Fro thinks so, too!"
"See? Even Frosch agrees with me."
"Frosch agrees with everyone, Sting-kun," Lector informs his Dragon Slayer, landing next to Frosch on the table.
"Fro thinks so, too!"
"We just want you to be safe, Lucy-sama." Yukino smiles at her, ignoring the argument beginning behind her.
"Okay. Thanks, you guys," Lucy replies, shivering a little from her chilled skin and damp clothes. Was it really still summer? She rubs her arms to rid herself of the gooseflesh. "Yukino-chan, is there any place I can go to get changed and maybe dry my hair?"
The silver-haired woman smiles. "We have better than that, Lucy-sama! The locker rooms leading to the pool have showers and baths. Let's get you warmed up." Then she turns and gives her male guild mates a stern look, hands on her hips. "You two should do the same and then clean up this mess."
"Okay, okay," Sting agreed. "We'll do that."
As Yukino led her away, Lucy laughs. "It's pretty cool that Sting listens to what you say."
Red creeps into Yukino's cheeks. "He doesn't - not really. In fact, Rogue-sama once called me Sting-sama's enabler."
"I'm… sure he meant it well?" the blonde woman guesses.
"Sting-sama had just thrown ice cream in Rogue-sama's face after wearing a paper-clip chain around town for several hours… So, no… I don't think he did."
After several minutes of attempting to tame Lucy's hair to no avail, Lucy informs Yukino to just give up and get in the tub with her. It takes some serious cajoling, but the bath is huge and Yukino really wants to bond with her fellow Celestial Mage so she succumbs and climbs in. She's apprehensive when Lucy summons Cancer to work on their hair (the poor Spirit nearly had a fit at the state of Lucy's golden locks), but the Spirit is a gentleman whose sole focus in on the condition of both mages' hair.
Virgo appears as the pair climb out, and offers them clothes.
"They match!" Yukino exclaims with delight. "Although, I am curious about how you know my size."
"Should I be punished?" the pink-haired Spirit asks, an eager gleam in her eye.
"No, no punishment, Virgo," Lucy says.
The Spirit seems a bit put out by that.
"But can you retrieve the things I left with you?" requests Lucy as she pulls the new outfit on. She takes the bag from her friend when she reappears with it in hand. "Thanks, Virgo! You can go back, now."
Yukino giggles as they exit the locker room. "Your Spirits really do love you, Lucy-sama."
Lucy grins back. "I love them, too! And your Spirits adore you just as much as mine do, Yukino-chan."
As they step back into the guild proper, Lucy spies someone who hadn't been there before. Nearly dropping her burden in excitement, she shouts, "Gray!"
He turns to see her. "Hey, Luce!"
Before she can reach her teammate to give him a friendly hug, she's intercepted by Sting casually stepping into her path. The man curiously sniffs her bag. "What's in the bag, Blondie? You didn't have it before, and it smells delicious."
Trust a Dragon Slayer to notice the second something edible appears.
Rogue is also eyeing the bag from his place at the table. If the man wasn't dry Lucy would have suspected that he'd never moved. His hair is also pulled back into a ponytail.
Lucy isn't sure how she feels about the brunette's change in hairstyle.
On the one hand, she is quite well aware of the fact that he's attractive – most of the men in her life are, so there's no sense in denying it. With the bulk of his hair no longer obscuring them so much, Lucy can make out more of Rogue's facial features. The style makes him even more handsome – aaaand more like Future Rogue. Logical thought progression dictates for her to conclude that Future Rogue, too, is handsome. And there is absolutely no way she's going there.
"Cookies," she answers Sting, deciding that focusing on the conversation would be a safer choice than analyzing her feelings. "I baked them as a thank you gift for helping out with the cloak situation." It had been a horrible experience, all told. First Natsu had tried to help and had nearly blown up the apartment. Then Lucy realized that she would need the use of the guild's oven until hers could be replaced. Which had entailed confronting Mirajane. Keeping her teammates from consuming all of the baked goods before she was finished had been a chore – especially while fending off Mira's persistent and intrusive questions into Lucy's love life and Happy's constant background you-llllliiiiike-him purrs.
She hopes they like the cookies, because she's never making them again.
"What cloak situation?"
…Oops. Actually, several words other than that one are occurring to her, but she's trying to keep her brain PG lest more curse words slip out in front of Asuka-chan (she's taken to repeating them lately – most of them originally uttered by Lucy during the cooking fiasco).
She'd forgotten Gray was there, and that he isn't aware of the nightmares, scents, and cloaks predicament she's in or Rogue's part in it.
"Cloak situation, Lucy-sama?" Yukino also asks, though she knows full well what's going on.
The little green Exceed sitting beside Rogue on the table tilts its head to the side. "Fro kno – " The rest of the cat's sentence is cut off when the Shadow Dragon Slayer swiftly muffles his partner.
Sting silently applauds Yukino's sneakiness on mere principle, though he decides to come to Lucy's rescue. "You didn't know, Gray-san? Blondie is involved in a clothing exchange thing here at Sabertooth and…"
Lucy winces at Sting's poorly thought excuse.
Gray holds up a hold, suddenly shirtless. "Who do you think I am – Natsu? I ain't the Ash-For-Brains; that isn't going to work on me."
Sighing, Lucy hands the bag to Sting. "Let me talk to Gray and Yukino-chan for a minute. Why don't you pass these out? I made enough for the whole guild, by the way."
Yukino pats her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Lucy-sama. I was just teasing. Sting-sama informed me about what's going on." She smiles kindly at her embarrassed friend. "We'll leave you two to talk, okay?" The Celestial Mage steers Sting away to a polite distance from her friend. Although technically not out of the auditory range of the two Dragon Slayers, Lucy appreciates the pretense of privacy.
"Thanks, Yukino-chan," Lucy mutters. Sitting down at a nearby table, Gray joins her. Just how many times is she going to have to explain this? It's not particularly bad, nor is there any real reason to keep it a secret, but she can't help feeling embarrassed about it. Luckily, Wendy already heard – but she's really not looking forward to a conversation with Erza. The woman likes to slice and dice first and ask questions later when it comes to matters involving any supposed slight to Lucy's honor. And the list of potential slights is extensive.
"Luce? Is something going on?" Gray questions, looking at her curiously.
She sighs again and points at him. "Gray, your clothes."
He glances at himself. His boxers are the only thing he's still wearing. "When did that happen…?" Looking around for his missing clothes, he spots them on the floor some distance away. With a shrug, he turns back to Lucy. "I'll get them later. So what's up?"
As calmly as possible, she explains the situation to him. He doesn't interrupt her, merely watches her small tics carefully for a sign that anything else was amiss. Gray has always been a cool, calm individual (except when it came to Natsu), so Lucy finds it easy to speak with him. To her, he's like how an older brother should be – calm and reliable (Natsu is more the ditzy younger brother she always has to look after, never mind his actual age).
At the end of her speech, all he does is smile at her. "Okay," he says, standing up and offering her a hand. "Why don't we join the others before they eat all the cookies." It's not a request – Gray had been the one she'd had the most trouble keeping out of the kitchen while she baked them.
Snorting at him, she takes his hand and allows him to pull her up from the table bench. "You just want cookies. Didn't you have plenty when I baked them this morning?" In fact, she'd made extra batches for all of Team Natsu.
"But I want more."
Dropping his hand, she walks towards the others, scooping up Gray's clothes as she goes by them. "Why are you here, again? I don't think I caught the reason."
He tenses beside her. "Um… I came to ask Rufus for a rematch?"
"That's… evasive. Are you confusing me for Natsu, now?" Throwing his clothes at him, they've reached the other three.
"I dunno, Blondie," Sting mutters around a full mouth. "You walked all the way here from Fairy Tail in the middle of the worst storm of the season. Seems like a Natsu-san move to me." He swallows. "By the way, these are delicious. Chocolate with chocolate chips. I think Rogue's died of bliss."
Indeed, the unexpressive Dragon Slayer, despite the lack of facial cues, seems almost… happy. He hands a cookie over to Frosch, who takes the treat with far more apparent relish. More indicative of his good mood to Lucy is that he doesn't bother to correct Sting or protest in any way against the assertion.
"Thanks, Sting." Lucy smiles at the Guild Master. Interestingly, she feels no need to address him as Guild Master Sting, like she does with the other Guild Masters. Since he hasn't corrected her yet, she'll keep calling him just Sting. "I worked pretty hard on those – in spite of interference." She shoots a look at Gray, who flinches under the scrutiny. "Your suggestion was a good one. Although, I would like to ask you to please not compare me to Natsu. I've never used Fire Dragon's Iron Fist to open a mayonnaise jar."
Sting chokes on a cookie. "Seriously?"
"I'm never getting my security deposit back."
While they share a laugh at her expense, she glowers. "Okay, Gray, your turn to spill. Why are you here? And how come you're dry?"
Gray points to his mouth, full of cookie, and chews in an exaggerated manner.
"Not going to work forever." The gleam in his eye tells her that he's going to try, though.
After a few awkward moments of him just chewing, she crosses her arms and puts on her best Erza-face. Instinctively, he gulps, and then grimaces once he realizes what she just did. "Fine, alright, you win, Lucy." He shakes his head. "Mira asked me to follow you to make sure you made it safe and sound. An I used several Ice Make: Shields to keep me dry."
"You know," Sting says slowly, suspiciously regarding Gray, "I always suspected that you might be a pervert since you walk around half naked all the time, but now that I know you're stalking cute girls…"
"I wasn't stalking her!" Gray protests. "I was looking out for her!" He points at Sting's attire. "And you're not much better! What is the point of a shirt that short?!"
"What's the point of having one if you never wear it?!"
Sting suddenly wonders why this conversation feels familiar to him. As if he's heard it somewhere before.
'Fiery mouth breather!"
"Pervy popsicle!"
"Can you guys take this fight somewhere else? Please?!"
Both arguing men are oblivious to the growing dark aura surrounding Lucy, but Rogue isn't. He picks up Frosch and the cheering Lector and surreptitiously inches a little further away from the blonde. He's witnessed enough Minerva blow-ups to know when to take cover.
"Gray," Lucy catches the Ice Make Mage's attention and smiles sweetly at him.
All colour drains from his face.
"So you're saying that you followed me the whole way here?"
Cautiously, afraid to make any sudden movements, he nods.
"And you didn't offer to shield me from the rain and flying debris?"
He shakes his head, though he knows it seals his fate.
"And when I dodged that branch, only end up in the puddle, what were you doing?"
Gray refuses to answer.
"Well, Gray? I'm waiting."
He mutters under his breath.
"I can't hear you."
"I was laughing," he admits.
"LUCY KICK!"
Sting watches in abject horror as Gray flies across the room to smash into the opposite wall. The Fairy Tail Mage slides down to the ground, groaning, and revealing a deep impression in the marble where he collided with it.
Although already mostly empty, the guild has gone utterly silent.
Sweat slides down Sting's neck as the girl who just sent a man flying with a simple kick whirls to face him.
That same eerie smile on her face, she remarks, "I didn't realize he would leave an indentation, Sting. Sorry about that. You can send the bill to my address – I'll make sure Gray gets it."
She was planning to make the poor bastard pay for the damage, too?!
Now Sting understands completely why she's on the ultra-destructive Team Natsu, the most hazardous team to ever come out of a guild that had a long history of leaving decimation in its wake. Lucy may not go about randomly obliterating the scenery like her companions, but that didn't mean that she wasn't fully capable of doing so if she so pleased. "Okay," is all he can manage in response.
As she walks away to collect Gray and drag him back by his neck (his shirt having somehow disappeared midflight), Yukino smiles fondly at her fellow Celestial Mage. "How did you two like Lucy-sama's finishing move?"
"It's impressive."
Yukino and Sting both stare at their blank-faced friend after his matter-of-fact statement.
"Fro thinks so, too."
"Not as awesome as Sting-kun's," Lector comments. "But yeah, it was pretty cool. For a Fairy."
Rogue rubs the two Exceeds' heads at the pronouncement.
When it becomes clear that no further elucidation is forthcoming any time soon, Sting shakes his head. "I wasn't aware that Blondie had a finishing move." Let alone that it was a physical attack. She didn't look that strong, so how in Earthland did she send Gray soaring so easily?
Gray appears to have recovered enough to return under his own power, Lucy on his heels. He rubs his neck, cold magic soothing the aches the blonde has inflicted.
Lucy trots on past him, and sits down on the same bench as Rogue and Frosch, intent on conversing with the Shadow Dragon Slayer.
"How's your foot feeling?" he asks as soon as she's settled.
Grinning at him, Lucy replies, "It's okay. The nail should grow back in the next week or so." True to her initial fears, the entire thing was gone.
He tilts his head to the side a bit. "Experience?"
"Sadly… yes."
Eyes narrowed, Gray regards them silently. A few seconds later, he plunks himself right in between the pair.
At his smirk, Lucy nearly growls.
Gray is like an older brother to her – calm, reliable…
And overprotective.
It's going to be a long afternoon.
I had to split this up into two parts, since it was getting super long. I should have the second half up later this week (I have a timetable I'm trying to keep for this fic, but I shall not disclose the particulars… not even if you beg, ChaoticDucky. I mean it).
I promise more things shall be revealed next time…
Please review!