My apologies for the semi-late update – I was in mourning for the death of my planned timeline for this fic. Also, for some reason it just kicked my ass. So I stayed up late to post it for you guys.
The reviews from everyone have been incredible. Seriously. I love you. All of you.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
Lucy and the others, without Sting, follow a much less circuitous path back to the main area of Sabertooth than they took to get to the office. Yukino leads the way, and the group arrives long before the blonde Guild Master does via his alternate route. Thinking this decidedly odd, Lucy presses her fellow Celestial Mage for details.
Apparently, there are a lot of Anti-Sting enchantments placed all over the guild facilities. Strong ones. Remnants from Jiemma's rule, they have yet to be broken mostly because their discovery and exact parameters can only be determined by Sting walking straight into a barrier of runes. Something he is understandably reluctant to do.
"Where are the cookies?" are the first words out of Sting's mouth as he strides into the room.
Lucy glances at Rogue, about to mention how the Shadow Dragon Slayer had them in his possession.
Except… he isn't carrying them anymore.
His facial expression is nil as he observes Sting's temper tantrum over the missing baked goods. Lucy narrows her eyes at him. It's too… textbook blank, even for Rogue. Based on her limited prior experience, she would think that at the very least annoyance would flicker across his countenance. And yet… there's absolutely nothing. Serenity would not be Lucy's first choice of a reaction to Sting's fit, and its presence here is deeply suspicious. Or perhaps she's seen too many iterations of the carefully bucolic expression from her teammates for even Rogue's impressive poker face to fool her.
Rogue had hidden the damn cookies.
And was playing innocent about it.
He glances at her, aware of her gaze.
She smiles at him, unwilling to expend the necessary effort involved in betraying the Shadow Dragon Slayer to his friend. It was not because she found the small, childish act endearing or, Council-forbid, adorable.
Although she is rather curious about when exactly he'd managed to perform the cookie stashing, and as to just how it is that Sting is apparently unable to sniff them out. She needs to know; a trick for deceiving a Dragon Slayer's nose would come in handy.
Gently, she sets the sleeping Frosch down upon a tabletop and slides onto the accompanying bench. A moment later, Rogue sits beside her. A wave of musk drifts over her and she temporarily forgets how to think as the pleasant scent rising from the man's dark cloak engulfs her olfactory senses – forcing her brain to abort all cognitive functions unrelated to breathing.
For a moment, she feels… safe. And warm. Or possibly that's just her cheeks as the blood-flow to the area increases alarmingly.
'Holy shit, he smells nice. He really freaking does.'
She's starting to understand now just why Sleepy Lucy had fallen asleep on the man.
'Oh, Mavis. What's wrong with me?'
Lucy squashes her thoughts before they try to get out of line at the handsome mage's close proximity. Spacing out and drooling over the way her friend smells would be bad, she suspects. She finds him attractive, sure – but that doesn't mean she's attracted to him. Stupid teenage hormones and pervading nightmares are wreaking havoc on her frontal lobe. Or maybe she has a fever. A fever would explain these delusions.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spies Happy talking to Lector. Thanking Mavis that the meddlesome feline had missed her brain's brief flight to LaLa-Land.
"I might have to conscript you for our next card game at Fairy Tail," Lucy whispers to him in an attempt to distract herself. With Rogue on her side, she might actually have a shot at defeating Cana for once. Not at poker, though. At a game affectionately referred to as 'Gold Fish' ever since Cana had drunkenly slurred Go Fish. It was basically the same as Go Fish – in truth that had been the original game they had been playing. Except Fairy Tail's resident cheating lush had decided to shamelessly lie her way through the game inventing this new favorite.
Rogue isn't following her reasoning, though he suspects she's worked out what really happened to the chocolate confections. So he nods in agreement, grateful she isn't tattling to Sting.
Sting's tirade against the no-good-goodie-thieves is cut short when the guild doors are thrown open and a drenched Orga wanders into the hall. Instead, a wail of despair winds its way across the room, startling Lucy. "Damn you, Orga! I just fucking cleaned this up again!"
The green-haired God Slayer blinks at Sting, befuddled and making no move to shut the doors against the tempest. After a moment, light dawns in his eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about, Sting," he says, walking towards the back rooms. "I've had my fill of lightning for the day; if I eat anymore I'm going to vomit. I'm going to go take a nap now."
The doors are still wide open, a thalassic tide seeping into the guild.
"Ah!" Sting cries. "Orga! Shut the damn doors first! And call me Master! No, wait! Dry off before going to sleep, dammit! You're going to ruin the mattresses!"
Lucy is beginning to understand that messing with Sting is Sabertooth's equivalent to messing with Natsu at Fairy Tail (there is little in Earthland more entertaining than telling Natsu that his scarf is on backwards – the boy would, quite literally, work himself into knots). Messing with the blonde Dragon Slayer is a time-honoured tradition at Sabertooth, and a favorite pastime for all the members. Including Rogue.
A particularly stiff gust of wind enters through the open doors, causing Yukino and Lucy to shiver, and cross their arms over their chests in an attempt to disguise just how cold it really is. Juvia, conversely, is more or less unaffected by the drop in temperature. In fact, she's already begun to creep towards her Gray-sama in the hopes he will cool her down further.
Sting and Rogue scramble for the doors again, although it takes Sting a couple seconds longer to stop staring at the girls' chests and get his rear in gear. Gray is too preoccupied with avoiding Juvia's advances to take note of aught else.
Lucy tells herself that she does not miss Rogue's presence at her side. No way. It's the scent.
…Which only drives home the fact that she might have a problem.
Trudging over to the group Sting flings a soggy arm around Yukino's shoulders, much to the Celestial Mage's dismay. "I give up, Yukino. Get someone else to clean this up while we get changed again, okay? And bring out the alcohol. I think we need to start drinking. Immediately. You're the only one that knows where it is."
"I approve of this plan!" Gray declares, ineffectually endeavoring to pry a certain Water Mage off his arm.
Yukino throws the offending damp limb off her. "Alright, Sting-sama. I'll bring out some snacks for everyone, too."
"You're the best!"
She rolls her eyes at him. "You're only saying that because you're unable to enter the guild kitchens."
Lucy's eyebrows shoot up to her hairline. "There's even a rune barrier around the kitchen?" Thinking this might just be the most fantastic thing she's heard all day. Maybe she can get Freed to set one up around her refrigerator at her apartment. And kicking herself, because how the hell had she not come up with this before? She could've saved so many Jewels in grocery bills.
Sting sighs. "Strongest one in the guild." At her amused expression, he rubs the back of his head in mild chagrin. "I was an obnoxious little piece of shit growing up, Blondie. And Dragon Slayer puberty is a bitch. You're in for it once Wendy-san hits it, trust me. Females are even worse. This typhoon is going to look like a gentle breeze." He shakes his head. "You should have seen some of the shit I put Rogue through."
"And yet, why has that part not actually changed?" Rogue observes dryly. "No, really. Do tell."
Lucy holds back a smile. "Yes, Sting, do tell." Inquiring minds wish to know.
"Because it's fun," Sting responds with the truth. Then he beats a hasty retreat before his best friend can retaliate.
Sting's favorite pastime has always been messing with Rogue.
Lucy declines to drink with the others, mostly because her brain is clearly already Swiss cheese and she would really rather not exacerbate the issue.
Rogue, also, refuses Sting's obstinate, insistent invitation to party. The gleam that appears in Sting's cerulean eyes speaks to trouble in his immediate future for his constraint, however.
While their friends throw themselves headlong into the alcohol – even the normally restrained Yukino getting infected by the mood – the two sit side-by-side at a nearby table. Finally getting the chance to quietly chat. Mostly, they tell each other stories about missions with their teams, and life at their respective guilds. A couple of hours pass thus without either of them noticing.
It's really nice. For the both of them.
Or it was – until Sting decided to make good on that implied promise.
Laughing like a madman, the blonde Guild Master makes his uncoordinated way up to where Rogue and Lucy were sitting. The two pausing in their conversation, they stare up at Sting. Rogue nearly groans at the shit-eating grin on his best friend's face. It could only mean that Sting, true to Rogue's initial fears, had rammed his asshole meter up to its highest setting.
"Blondie!" At the questioning look on Lucy's face, Sting lets out a drunken hiccup. Reaching down, he yanks the female mage off the bench and to her feet. She squeaks as he leads her off in a stumbling gait towards the others – only to forget whatever his original intentions were about halfway to his destination. Startled, yet cheerful, shrieks fill the Sabertooth Guild Hall as Sting drags Lucy around in an impromptu happy dance.
For the first time that he can recall, Rogue is hard put to stop himself from laughing along with the rest of the onlookers. After a couple of minutes, Sting passes her off to Gray and forces both a sloshed Juvia and a tipsy Yukino into being his temporary dance partners. Although dance might be a bit strong of a word for the flailing limbs and uncoordinated teetering taking place.
He's unsure just where this joyful version of drunk Sting came from, but Rogue can't bring himself to be anything other than proud of the young Guild Master. Sting had gone out of his way to make Lucy feel at home and welcome in the guild long before she had even arrived. Once she had arrived – with unexpected tagalongs – he'd tried to make the atmosphere light for his guests.
In this moment, Rogue appreciates Sting's efforts and friendship.
A few of those later, however, is enough to change his mind.
Winding his way back towards Rogue, Sting steals Lucy from her teammate and twirls her around a few times more. Having reached his partner, he deposits the breathless, exhausted, giggling mage down upon the bench. Flushed, she's grinning so widely her chocolate eyes are hardly visible.
To his horror, Rogue finds himself the one being dragged away this time.
Lucy, on the other hand, thinks Rogue's completely deadpan expression as Sting hauls him around is so hilarious, she might actually die. Or pee herself – which is a distinct possibility as she has no clue where the restrooms are in this confusing place.
Although there really isn't any indication of a single emotion on the Shadow Dragon Slayer's face, Lucy thinks she knows exactly what's on the stoic Shadow Dragon Slayer's mind.
'My best friend is a complete asshole!'
With a weary sigh, Rogue sets his quill pen down. He rubs his forehead, a headache starting to form behind his eyes.
A glance at the hall's windows does not reveal the time to him. Although his sight is the same regardless of light's availability, he can't really tell what's going on in the outside world at the moment through the storm that yet rages on.
He yawns, covering his mouth with an ink-stained hand. Turning to look at his companion, his expression softens. Lucy is sprawled out on top of the paperwork littering the table, her cheek firmly pressed into a report. Her eyes are still pinched together as if she were still concentrating hard on some vague point.
After his torture session with Sting had concluded, Rogue had removed himself to his office to attempt to finish their workload for the day. Lucy had followed the irate Dragon Slayer, slipping past him to his desk. Without a word, she'd scooped up a stack of papers and hauled them away. Mood turning to amusement, Rogue didn't have to wait long before she reappeared and the visitor was forced to admit she had no idea which way she'd come from.
She'd insisted that he work out in the main room with everyone if he felt he absolutely must get something done. And then she'd informed him that she would be assisting with the stacks as she felt her visit was why they weren't already completed. Just like with the other blondes with whom he was familiar, there'd been no arguing with her once her mind had been set.
Lucy had also mentioned that she felt bad for laughing so hard at his predicament.
Rogue had been quick to reassure her that was not the case – though he neglected to point out that her bright, cheerful peals of mirth had been the only thing preventing him from giving Sting a beat down he wouldn't soon forget.
It seems that she'd fallen asleep at some point.
A swift perusal of the rest of the unconscious forms scattered about the Guild Hall leads Rogue to conclude that the hour is quite a bit later than he'd thought.
Removing himself from the bench, he stretches. Joints popping with the release, Rogue leaves the room to locate clean, spare guest rooms for the visiting Fairy Tail Mages. It doesn't take him long to locate a couple of suitable ones. Once he's chosen one, he pulls back the covers on one of the beds for the two women to share.
Upon returning, he walks up to Yukino and gently shakes her awake. A groggy, unhappy sound pours from her throat as she wobbles to her feet. She's lurching off to locate one of the other spare rooms after a couple of minutes of dangerous swaying. Similar repetitions of awakening occur with Gray and Juvia who haul a still slumbering Happy with them to the room Rogue prepared.
Everyone else Rogue leaves where they are, though he does stop to turn a few of the inebriated mages on their sides. Including Sting. Rogue had only just finished the final leadership transfer paperwork and would rather not repeat the process should Sting suffocate on his own vomit.
Which left only Lucy to attend to.
She's shaking and whimpering in her sleep when he reaches the table where he left her.
Panicked, he tries to wake the girl, deep in the grip of what could only be a nightmare. "Lucy, wake up." His voice didn't seem to reach and he was at a loss for what to do. Neither shaking her nor calling her name appeared to be working, so he does the only other thing that comes to mind. He shrugs out of his cloak and drops it around her shoulders.
Abruptly, she stills.
Exhausted, Rogue collapses onto the bench next to her.
Lucy stirs and bolts upright, terror shining in her eyes. She turns and stares at him, unblinking. An unfinished report still stuck to her cheek. It peels off under the force of gravity and flutters to the table, leaving inked words behind on her cheek. Before he can even ask if she's okay, her right hand darts out to his face and lifts his dark bangs from his right eye, the strands falling across her guild mark.
Bewildered by the sudden action, he's unable to do anything other than just sit there dumbly as she inspects his full face. "What… are you doing?" he croaks out.
Pain crosses her features and she lets her appendage fall and return to her lap. Shame swims in her eyes as she breaks his gaze. Focusing on the table and her folded hands in her lap, she mumbles, "…Just checking." Her eyes squeeze shut after the admission, and she trembles. "I'm so sorry." Tears gather at the corners of her eyes, threatening to spill over. "I'm so, so sorry."
Confused and concerned for the Celestial Mage, Rogue leans down to grab the cloak that had fallen when she sat up, and repositions it around her shoulders. Her flinch at his light touch shatters something inside of him. With a quiet sigh, he withdraws his hand.
Only to be surprised yet again when she snatches it, holding it on the table between both of hers. Tremors yet flow through her flesh as she grips his, but her mouth is set in a determined line. "You've done nothing wrong," she says, firm. Still, she keeps her gaze fixed on their entwined hands.
So he glances at them, too. He's struck by how her small fingers and palms feel against his much larger counterparts. They're not smooth and soft, like he had expected. Instead, her hands are as calloused as his, with tiny scars crisscrossing her knuckles, palms, and the backs of her hands. They're not limbs that belong to a sheltered girl of seventeen – not even close. These belong to someone who has fought for what she believes in, souvenirs of countless battles for survival and friendship.
They are the hands of a warrior.
He wrenches his gaze away from the digits before his thoughts get away from him. "Are you feeling better?" Rogue asks, peering at her face for any sign of distress.
Lucy opens her mouth, but no words come out. After a second or two, she closes it, giving her head a slight shake and rolling her shoulder.
The Dragon Slayer raises an eyebrow. Communication in general isn't his strong suit and the blonde's response is anything but clear. So he waits. No further response seems to be forthcoming, though. Something gnaws at him about her nightmare, and he can't stop himself from inquiring, "I never saw him. What was he like?" Rogue has a sinking feeling that her earlier actions had a great deal to do with his Future counterpart. He thought that maybe she'd met the man. Natsu had defeated him after all, and Lucy was nearly inseparable from her pink-headed partner.
The Celestial Mage's eyelids flutter shut. Inhaling deeply through her nose, she releases it with a gust from her mouth. Any number of answers are occurring to her as weariness returns to claim her.
'He was terrifying.'
'He was evil.'
'He was insane.'
'He was broken.'
'He was a monster.'
'HE WASN'T YOU.'
However, none of that is what actually came out of Sleepy Lucy's mouth. "He was drop-dead gorgeous."
Out of all possible responses, that was the one that had not occurred to him. Thrown for a loop, his crimson eyes bored into the side of her face. "…Come again?"
Finally, she met his gaze, with a wry twist of her mouth. "He was drop-dead gorgeous," she repeats. Heaving a sigh, she admits, "His hair was prettier than mine." Unbidden, giggles arise out of her, and soon both mages find themselves sharing a quiet, semi-hysterical chuckle over the odd observation. After the fit subsides a bit, she continues, "In all seriousness, though. Rogue, you're not him. Don't beat yourself up for things you won't ever do." She removes her hands from his to cover up a yawn.
Rogue tries not to mourn their loss.
"Would you like something warm to drink?" he offers instead.
Blinking blearily at him, she nods.
By the time he returns from the kitchen a scant few minutes later, she's asleep at the table again. His cloak securely in her clutches.
He waves the hot chocolate under her nose – a move that usually works on Sting. No such luck; she's truly out.
Setting the cups down, he gathers the dead-to-the-world mage in his arms and carries her down the hallway. She's lighter than he thought she would be. Once he reaches the guest room, he places her beside the Water Mage and azure-furred Exceed. The bluenette wastes no time in snuggling up to her, mumbling, "Love-Rival will not escape. Gray-sama is Juvia's."
Rogue shakes his head at the girls. Tucking the covers around the pair of sleeping Fairy Tail Mages, he flicks the lights off as he leaves.
There is no way he's getting any sleep tonight, though.
And there is the next chapter. I will write another segment for this about the next morning/early afternoon before everyone has to go home. Please review and let me know what you think!