I don't own fairy tail or any of it's characters.

"Ladies, there's a reason I invited you all to meet me here today. . ." Erza began.

"You wanted to eat cake!" Cana interrupted.

Erza frowned, "Well I did but. . ."

Cana didn't let her finish, "You're thinking of starting a softball team."

Erza's eyes lit up, "Actually, that wouldn't be a bad idea."

"But Miss Lucy, I don't like softball," Wendy whispered to her former boss.

Lucy smiled and whispered back, "Don't worry Wendy, I'm pretty sure this is because of stuff for the wedding." Erza had invited all of the women to Lucy's bakery, insisting it was top secret. The girls were taking up the two back tables, enjoying cake and coffee that Erza had graciously purchased for all of them. Lucy was thankful she had Yukino to cover the back, because if Cana kept this up they would be here all day.

"Oh I know! You need a kidney and are looking for a match!" Cana said in triumph.

"I really think it was the cake one," Mira said, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

Erza rubbed her temples, "Ladies, please let me finish!"

"Yes ma'am!" Cana replied, giving Erza a cockeyed salute.

Erza sighed, "The reason I asked you here today is I would like to ask all of you to be my bridesmaids." She clasped her hands and gave them all a big smile, pleased when Mira, Lisanna, and Juvia all clapped their hands in joy.

"Really? Even me?" Lucy asked in surprise. She hadn't expected to be included since it hadn't even been a year since she had met Erza.

Erza just smiled and nodded, "Of course Lucy, you are practically family already. If Natsu has his way I'm sure we will officially be sisters soon." Her face turned serious, "but not until after my wedding is done."

Lucy felt a small shiver and she laughed nervously, "Of course no worries, it's not like we're even engaged or anything. I doubt it's even entered Natsu's head."

"I don't know about that Lucy," Lisanna smiled slyly.

"Yea, he's not very good at taking his time in anything," laughed Cana. Then she said snidely, "I bet he's terrible in bed," grinning when Lucy flushed bright red, "or maybe not. . ." Cana winked.

"Ladies! Let's get back on task," Erza clapped. "Now, Cana will be my maid-of-honor."

"Yes!" Cana cheered in celebration. "We'll have the best bachelorette party in history bitches!"

"What! What about me?" Mira exclaimed in protest.

"She's the tallest, this way I can arrange you all in height order," Erza explained.

"What about if I get married, could I be matron-of-honor then?" Mira asked.

Erza shook her head, "Sorry Mira, it will have to be Bisca, she's taller. She couldn't make it today because she had an appointment for Asuka."

"Sister! You can't make Laxus marry you just so you can be matron-of-honor anyway," Lisanna exclaimed.

"Juvia thinks that's romantic," Juvia swooned.

Meredy raised a hand, "Do I have to be a bridesmaid Erza? I think there's a little too much crazy in this group for me."

"Of course you do," Erza frowned "without you I don't have a pink haired bridesmaid."

Meredy raised a brow, "I don't think that's a real reason. . ."

"Anyway, the reason I wanted to meet with you all today is to prepare for our first task, getting a dress," Erza smacked a fist into her palm.

Mira clapped, "Oooh are we going to go to one of those places that serves champagne?"

"No, we are going to the running of the bride's next weekend," Erza went into her bag and began pulling out packets of paper.

Levy looked up from her book in the corner with a raised brow, "Isn't that the sale where woman attack each other for super on sale dresses?"

Erza smiled and gave a Curt nod, "yes."

Levy went back to her book, "Yea, I'm not doing that. I'm too pregnant."

"I wish I was too pregnant," grumbled Meredy as she took a paper packet from Erza.

"Yea, can't you just get a cheap dress online like a normal person?" Cana said, taking her packet.

"No, I deserve a beautiful designer dress, this is the only way I can afford it," Erza said, handing the last packet to Wendy.

"I think it sounds fun! I can't wait to take out some bridezillas!" Mira cheered.

"In this packet you will find all the things that I am looking for as far as type of fabric, sleeve, skirt, etc. Be sure to study it so that you know all of it by heart. We will meet in front of the address listed on the first page at six am sharp," Erza said.

Cana groaned and fell forward on the table, Mira crinkled her nose, "I take that back, I'm not excited anymore."

"We have to get there early or we won't get a good spot by the door, speed is key here ladies!"

Erza said, clapping her hands to bring back their attention. "I'm counting on you all to help me here. After we are victorious, I will treat you all to pizza!"

Juvia was looking through the packet when she asked, "What if say Juvia finds a dress Juvia wants?"

"That is fine, as long as you don't let it deter you from the search for my perfect dress," Erza crossed her arms.

"Is there something you need to let the rest of us know?" Mira asked Juvia, wiggling her eyebrows.

Juvia flushed and covered her face, "Oh no Mira! Juvia would just hate to miss out on a deal, especially if it was the perfect dress. Gray-sama is nowhere near proposing!"

Mira pouted, "Aww, a double wedding would have been so cute!"

Erza scowled and pointed at Mira, "There will be no double weddings!" She dipped into her bag one more time, "And one more thing ladies," she pulled out a large ball of red fabric. She tossed part of it to each of her bridesmaids. "We will wear this for the dress search."

Cana held up the shirt, it was a scarlet tank top that read, "team Scarlet." She raised an eyebrow, "Really Erza?"

Erza crossed her arms, "This way I will be able to find all of you in the sea of white."

Mira smiled while looking at hers, "I think they're cute!"

Meredy slumped in her seat while she looked at hers, "Seriously Erza, you are going to owe me after this."

That following Friday, Natsu looked at the rod iron blocking his way and swallowed deeply, "You didn't tell me your house had a gate!"

Lucy rolled her eyes, "Well it's not as if we spend hours discussing the layout of my family home. Push the button for me." Natsu pushed the button and secretly smelled her hair when she pulled herself across him to get her face closer to the speaker.

"May I help you?" came a voice over the system.

"Hey Berro, it's Lucy. Can you let Natsu and me in?" Lucy called out.

"Oh! Miss Lucy, of course! Your father is expecting you," continued the voice. With a click the gate slowly began to swing open into the property.

Natsu tried to act normal as they made their way up the drive. This place even made Jenny's place look like a hovel, it blew his mind that Lucy grew up here. "So how many miles to the house?" he joked.

Lucy snorted and then quipped sarcastically, "Don't worry Natsu, it's just another hour to the gate."

Natsu tried to hide that he was feeling completely out-of-place here. It didn't look like a house, it looked like a palace. "So where do I park, is there a special garage or something?"

Lucy shook her head, seeming completely oblivious to his discomfort. "Just pull in front and park there. We're the only ones coming tonight so it's not like we'll be blocking anyone."

Natsu parked his truck in front of the house. When he climbed out he had to chuckle in amusement at how absurd his dirty truck looked out front of the mansion. He might as well have parked a UFO out front. He shook the feeling off and went to help Lucy out of the car, needing her touch to give himself a little bit more confidence. He had to admit he was feeling slightly intimidated, he did not care for it. It didn't help that he was wearing the polo shirt Lucy picked out for himself, it wasn't uncomfortable but it was weird. He didn't know how he felt about the collar. He wished he had his scarf, then he could hide in it, but it was definitely too warm to pull that off.

They were greeted by a small elderly woman who gushed over Lucy while taking their coats, "Oh Miss Lucy, you are more beautiful every time I see you. You should come more, we all miss you you know!"

Lucy hugged the woman with a smile, "You know I would if I could, I'm just so busy at the bakery these days."

Spetto took Lucy by the arm and Natsu was stuck following after. The old woman looked at the blond out of the corner of her eye and frowned, "You don't look like you've been working in a bakery Miss Lucy. What do you sell there, health bars?" She reached over and patted Lucy on the cheek, "You're practically skin and bones Miss Lucy! You need to eat more, you're wasting away!"

"I am not!" Lucy said, waving Spetto off. Natsu smiled deciding he really liked this tiny old lady.

They were led into the dining room where Natsu noticed only three place settings, "Are you not eating with us Spetto?"

Spetto laughed loudly and patted Natsu's cheeks, "Oh look at this one, handsome and funny! Oh Miss Lucy, I like him! Your father will be right down, I will tell Aed you all are here." Then she wandered off into the hall, chuckling to herself the whole way.

Natsu sat at his place and grinned up at Lucy, "She said I was handsome."

Lucy smiled and sat at her place across from him, "Wouldn't put too much stock in that, Spetto doesn't have very good eyesight."

Natsu looked down at the table. Oh god, there was actually three forks. Why were there three forks? One was for salad right? Another for dinner? What was the last one for, dessert? Appetizers? Combing his hair like the little mermaid? Stabbing himself in the eye? He looked up at Lucy, she was giving him a weird look. He made a large grin and picked up the tiny fork, "Is this for the second miniature course?"

Lucy sighed and shook her head with a smile, "No Natsu, that's a cake fork."

His eyes and smile widened, "There's going to be cake!"

Lucy grabbed his hand across the table, "Thank you . . . for doing this."

Damnit, why did she had to go and say something like that. Now this felt really serious, they were just having dinner with her dad and she made it sound like he was giving her an arm and a leg. He leaned back and scratched the back of his neck, "You don't have to thank me, we can spend time with your family, you certainly spend enough time with mine."

She squeezed the hand she was still holding and smiled, "I know," then she took it back.

Natsu and Lucy stood when Jude entered the room, Natsu taking his hand and Lucy giving him a warm hug. They sat down to dinner and Natsu held in a sigh. It was going to be a long night.

Cana pouted and stared at the door. It was still early, so the restaurant was just starting to fill up with patrons. Soon the tables would be full and the bar's empty seats would start attracting customers who were unwilling to wait. The bar was all prepped, so for now she had nothing to do and it was boring.

"How come your pops hasn't been around in a while?" asked Bacchus from behind her.

Cana stood up straight and regarded him with surprise. She must have been really zoning if she missed his approach. "He's gone for work, left while I was at the beach. He probably won't be back for a few months."

Suddenly feeling the urge to do something, she turned and made herself a seltzer and lime, just barely keeping herself from adding a shot of vodka. Mira preferred Cana to be sober for the dinner crowd.

"He just left out of the blue like that? What kinda work does he do?" Bacchus asked.

Cana leaned over, taking a sip from her drink, "It's typical. He does military contracting type stuff, so his jobs are usually out of the country and they pop up last minute. He was nice enough to leave me a note."

"Hmmph, tough work. That sucks, it's going to make it really quiet here for a while," Bacchus said, leaning up against the back of the bar and crossing his arms.

"It will be a relief," Cana slumped dramatically, "he's bugging me all the time, it's so annoying."

Bacchus laughed, "You say that Cana, but I see your spirit, it's down. I know you liked having that crazy old man here, you don't have to act tough for me."

Cana tilted her head and wrinkled her brow. She had been working with Bacchus for a few months now and, true to her word, she had keep everything friendly. No more hook ups or late night rendezvous, no sex in the backroom after work. Just friendly flirting and sexual tension. Things before they worked together had always been very light and fun, no strings attached. Now that she was forced to be in the same room as him for long periods of time, most of which she spent sober, she was finding him irritatingly insightful about what was going on in her head. It was not making her happy.

Just as she was about to make some snappy reply, a silver blur caught her eye. Laxus and Freed had just walked into the door and Mira came barreling through the restaurant to leap into Laxus's arms. Cana couldn't help but snort in amusement at Laxus's surprised and embarrassed face, he was going to have to start getting used to his girlfriend's displays of affection.

"Not very professional Mira!" She called out, loving when Mira's face turned bright red. Teasing her was so easy sometimes. The embarrassment didn't last long, Mira laughed, gave Laxus a kiss, then led him by the hand towards one of the open tables for four.

"When did that happen?" Bacchus asked motioning with his chin to the couple.

Cana leaned on the counter, and rested her head on her hand. She took a sip of her drink and smiled at the happy scene of her friends finally getting their act together. "I don't know, I can't remember when it wasn't happening in some way."

Natsu couldn't keep his mouth shut as he looked around Lucy's childhood bedroom. He was pretty sure it was bigger than his current house. It made doubts begin to take root in his heart. Could Lucy truly be satisfied with the life they were building together? He was pretty sure that no matter how many hours he worked, he would never be able to afford a place like this. At least he knew he could build the furniture here, that side table was a piece of crap. Seriously, how did Jude let something like that in here.

"I'm sorry Natsu, I swear that book I wanted was around here somewhere. Just give me another second," Lucy said, pulling yet another bin out of the armoire and throwing her things around her.

Natsu felt antsy, he couldn't stay in here anymore or he'd be forced to take apart that side table. Just looking at its poor leg design was pissing him off, "You know, how 'bout I meet you out front. I need to stretch my legs."

Lucy looked up at him and smiled, "Okay, do you remember which way to go?"

Natsu rubbed the back of his neck and scrunched up his face as if insulted, "Of course I do! Jeez Luce, it's not like this is the Taj Mahal or something."

Lucy laughed and returned to her search. "Alright Natsu, if you say so. I'll see ya in a few."

Five minutes later and Natsu was lost. He was starting to think the house was magic, because he was pretty sure he had passed that picture three times already. He always had a great sense of direction, how could he be going in circles? He stopped for a moment and looked up at the portrait. It looked like Lucy, only slightly older, she had the same honey blond hair and chocolate brown eyes. She wore an extremely ornate dress and had a secret smile on her lips.

"That's Lucy's mom Layla," came Jude's voice from behind him.

"Oh, of course, Lucy looks so much like her," Natsu said, admiring the artistry of it. Even the frame was fantastic; hand carved with leaves, flowers, and birds. The whole thing must have cost a fortune.

"They were alike in more ways than just looks," Jude said fondly, taking a place next to Natsu to look up at the frame. "Both strong and smart, and of course extremely stubborn." Jude breathed out deeply and looked at Natsu for a moment, a considering look on his face. "You know Natsu, I have to admit I was extremely apprehensive about you at first."

Natsu raised his brows and turned to look at the older man, "Is that right?" He felt all the muscles in his back tense as he waited for the backhanded compliment to arrive.

Jude turned back to the portrait, "Now that I've gotten to know you, I'm happy Lucy found you. She needs someone with backbone, who's not easily intimidated. Someone who isn't afraid to be honest even when it's not what you want to hear. I always thought her last boyfriend was the most appropriate match for her. He could give her what she already had, she would want for nothing. It turns out she wanted for a lot, since he was always telling her what he thought she wanted to hear, and then just doing what he wanted behind her back, thinking he was saving her feelings. I'm glad you guys were able to come for dinner, it's so good to be able to see Lucy again."

Natsu didn't know how to respond. This conversation was just so . . . strange. Lucy's dad was just as weird as she was. Natsu chose to respond with silence, noting that Jude was still staring at the portrait and didn't seem to be expecting a response.

"Look at me, rambling like an old man," Jude smiled. "Can I walk you to the door Natsu? I'm sure Lucy is there by now."

Natsu raised a brow, "She sent you to find me didn't she."

Jude smiled, "No, no, of course not," but he chuckled as he motioned for Natsu to follow him down the hall.

Wendy laced her arm through Lucy's, "Is it weird that this is slightly terrifying?" She looked around them at the massive group of women milling in front of the store.

"No, that's an appropriate reaction to the sight of a mob of women waiting outside a sale, I won't be surprised if this gets ugly," Lucy smiled.

They found Cana and the Strauss sister's leaning against a wall towards the outer rim of the crowd. Lucy pushed her way to them, handing them the bag of goodies from the bakery and passing around her massive thermos of coffee.

"Oh thank god, you are life saver!" Cana said, taking a greedy sip of caffeine. "I can't believe Erza wanted all of us here at this ungodly hour!"

"Where's Erza?" Lucy asked.

"She got here super early with Juvia and Meredy, the three of them were lucky enough to get a spot right near the door," Lisanna motioned to the front where Lucy could obviously make out the bright red, pink, and blue heads.

Mira stretched big, "She wasn't even happy that we got here at the time she wanted. It's insane how many women got here early!"

"Yea, I'm not looking forward to her wrath, but at least I was able to get over to you guys!" Lucy said happily. "We sort of have an excuse . . ."Lucy started.

Wendy giggled, "Natsu turned off Lucy's alarm this morning."

Lucy face palmed, "He said he was doing me a favor because it was stupid to get up this early for a dress on my day off. I told him I planned on letting Erza know of his sabotage."

Cana laughed, "Erza is gonna kill him, dead."

"Let's hope she'll be too distracted with the dress buying to even notice we're late. Juvia is the one who is going to take this the most seriously anyway and she has a front row seat."

"What do you mean?" Lisanna asked tilting her head.

"Yea, we're totally ready to fight some bitches for dresses," Came Mira's sweet voice. To emphasize their point, Lisanna and Mira punched their right fists into their left hands.

"How can you guys be so adorable and frightening as the same time?" Lucy said in awe.

Cana rolled her eyes, "I'm just going to find a place to hide and sleep."

Suddenly there was a commotion near the front of the crowd. Wendy jumped up so she could see. "Miss Lucy, they are opening the doors!"

Cana grinned real big and yelled, "Lets get ready to rumble!" Mira and Lisanna bounced around behind her like they were getting ready to enter the ring.

Lucy grabbed Wendy's arm and bent down to say in her ear, "Remember how you said you found this slightly terrifying?"

Wendy looked up at her wide-eyed, "Yes."

"I now find this extremely terrifying," Lucy admitted.

Wendy smiled and gave an exaggerated nod, "Sometimes the girls we hang out with are a little bit scary." Lucy and Wendy huddled together tightly, shuffling their way towards the room of silk, lace, and certain doom.

Erza was on a roll. She and Juvia had already sorted through half of the racks in the front portion of the store, with Meredy standing by to hold all good finds. She hoped team B in the back was holding up their end, this place was absolute chaos! She liked it.

Unfortunately, she still hadn't found a dress that matched all of her requirements. Erza had found multiple ones that would be suitable, but none of them were perfect. She hoped this didn't mean she would have to settle. She clicked through a new rack, shaking her head rapidly at all the gowns that wouldn't suit her needs. Then finally, there it was. It had the right sleeves, it was the right shade of white, it had the perfect skirt and embellishments, this was her dress. However, when she went to pull it out, there was a pull from the other side.

"This is my dress, whoever you are. Drop it or live to regret it!" she called to whoever was hidden on the other side.

Kagura's head slowly popped up above the rack. She laughed humorlessly, "I thought I heard your voice Detective Scarlet. You think you are going to make me regret this? Show me what you've got!"

"But, but, you aren't even getting married! Why are you even here?" Erza cried, startled to see her coworker.

"I heard you talking about this at work and I thought it would be a good idea to look," Kagura said.

"Are you even seeing anyone right now!" Erza exclaimed.

Kagura narrowed her eyes, "I don't see how that is any business of yours."

"I'm actually getting married you psycho! Give me my dress!" Erza yelled.

"It's mine!" Kagura yelled back and the two woman began a vicious tug of war. Back and forth the dress was pulled, the women working their hands further and further up the dress until they were practically nose to nose. Just when they were beginning to snarl at each other, strong hands grabbed both of their faces and roughly shoved them apart.

"Mind if I play too? It looks like the two of you have found my dress." Erza snapped to look at the interloper, could it really be Minerva? Gray's dark haired ex stood there, watching them both with a malevolent smile.

"Back off hell beast, this dress is mine. I'm not sure who you tricked into marrying you with your succubus ways but, I can assure you, it will not be in this dress," Erza warned.

Minerva laughed, "Still some anger there? Over poor Gray? Hasn't it been four years now? Really Erza, you would think I dumped you!"

"You are a heartless bitch and you don't deserve this dress!" Erza declared.

Kagura interrupted their standoff, "Enough talk, if you two want this dress, come at me!"

All three woman pulled with all their might, gritting their teeth and kicking when they became too close to each other. Just when it was starting to feel like there would never be a victor, there was a loud tear. The dress pulled apart causing all three to fall to the ground.

Lucy and Wendy searched through the aisles, trying to stay small and inconspicuous. Some of the women shopping today were vicious. They made it halfway down the second to last row when a hand reached out and pulled them in.

Cana sat crossed legged in the middle of the double rack, a smile on her face and a flask in hand. "Cana! It's like nine in the morning!" Lucy scolded.

Cana waved her off,"Oh, lay off me, I've been awake for way too long and dealt with way too many crazies here to not have something. Do you still have some food left?" Lucy rolled her eyes and pulled the paper bag out of her purse, making Cana squeal with glee. "Lucy, you are the best, have I ever told you that?"

Lucy smiled, "Not really."

Cana reached out and honked a boob, making an appalled Wendy grimace. "You have nice honkers too."

Lucy sighed and brushed Cana away, "You have definitely had too much for this time of day." Her attention was caught by the dress behind Cana. "Oh my god!" She exclaimed, raising on a knee to unhook it off the rack above Cana and ignoring Cana's grabby hands finding her chest for the second time.

"What is it Miss Lucy?" asked Wendy.

Lucy ran her hands over the fabric, "This dress is like the dress of my dreams!" She looked at the tag, "And it's in my size!"

"You should get it," said Cana giving her a wink.

"Oh no, I couldn't. I'm not engaged and it's two hundred and fifty dollars," Lucy frowned and held it up in front of her.

Wendy looked at the tag, "It's two hundred and fifty but that's down from nearly three grand, that's a pretty good deal Miss Lucy."

"It really is, isn't it," Lucy looked down at the dress again. This was crazy, she shouldn't buy this, where would she even keep it?

"Yea! Get it! We should all get dresses! We could wander around from bar to bar in them, scaring drunk men!" Cana cheered.

Lucy scrunched up her nose and held the dress close to her chest, "That is definitely not what I'm gonna do with it."

Suddenly Mira head popped in between the dresses. She gave them a big smile, "Hey ladies, we're going to have to go, Erza is getting kicked out."

Her sister's head appeared above Mira's, "Yea they are nice enough to let us check out first, but they won't let Erza stay long."

The three woman pulled themselves out of their hiding place and Cana gave Lucy a big pat on the back. "It's now or never Tits Magee, you should buy the dress."

Mira's eyes became wide, "You found a dress?"

Lucy held it out in front of her to show them, while dropping her head in shame, "Yes, I shouldn't get it though. It's not like I'm going to get married any time soon."

Lisanna and Mira danced around it. "Oh Lucy, it's beautiful! It would look so good on you!" Mira exclaimed.

"Just get it, we'll help you hide it from Natsu," Lisanna said.

"We can store it at the restaurant for you!" Mira clapped.

Lucy threw her head back and sighed, "Okay, I'll get it." The other woman cheered and they all headed to the counter where Meredy, Juvia, and Erza waited for them. "I can always sell it on ebay if I change my mind right?"

"Exactly," said Cana putting her arm around Lucy's shoulder.

When they arrived at the bride-to-be, Erza appraised the dress in Lucy's hands and said, "What is that? That wouldn't look good on me."

Lucy turned red, "I decided to get it, it's my dream dress."

Erza narrowed her eyes, "You aren't planning a coup here, are you?"

Lucy put her hand up defensively, "No, I swear." She wiggled her left ring finger, "No engagement."

Erza relaxed, and gave Lucy a smile and a nod, "Alright, then I approve. It would look very nice on you."

"What happened? Why are we getting kicked out?" Cana asked while stuffing the flask back into her purse.

"Well," now it was Erza's turn to blush. "I fought with Kagura over a dress."

"Kagura?" exclaimed a confused Meredy, looking around the store.

"Yes, and then Minerva came, and between the three of us we ruined a very nice dress," Erza started playing with the hem of her shirt.

"Minerva! Who would marry that skank," Cana sneered. "I wish I had seen you, I still have some pent up anger I would like to unleash on her ass."

"That's not the worst part . . ."Erza bit her lip.

Juvia held up the dress in her hand triumphantly, "Juvia also found Erza's dress, except in Erza's size!" Juvia then held up another dress and said in an excited whisper, "Juvia also found a dress for Juvia."

Meredy covered her face with her hand and huffed out in frustration, "Seriously, what am I doing here with you lunatics!"

Rogue couldn't help but be amused as he watched his friend attempt to look into the bakery without being noticed. They had gone out for lunch at their usual place; and now, like every day before, they were walking by the cake bakery. They were almost passed it now, and it was obvious that Sting had not found what he was looking for. Keeping his fingers laced behind his head to give off the appearance of nonchalance, he started bending backwards, so far that he looked like he was going to fall over. The further he bent, and the longer he searched through the window with no avail, the larger his frown grew.

"She's not there," Rogue said.

Sting looked at Rogue out of the corner of his eye. He stood up straighter but didn't move his arms from behind his head, "Huh? What are you going on about?" asked Sting.

"The cake baker with the short hair, she doesn't work there anymore," Rogue said shrugging his shoulders.

"Who said anything about a cake baker," String frowned and jammed his hands in his pockets. Then his eyes widened and he turned to Rogue suddenly, "Wait, did you say she doesn't work there anymore? How do you know that?"

"They told me," Rogue knew he was being difficult but he couldn't help but tease him.

Sting threw his hands in the air in exasperation, "What kind of an answer is that? Who told you? Why did they tell you?"

"Well you look for her every day when we come down here for lunch and you always seem so disappointed when you don't see her. It was getting pathetic. So I went in and asked them where she was because my friend is hopelessly in love with her and wants to find her." Rogue made a small smile.

Sting's mouth dropped, "You did not!"

"Well I couldn't very well tell them I was hopelessly in love with her, that would be extremely embarrassing," Rogue said dryly.

Sting crossed his arms and scowled, "Sometimes I can't tell if you are being sarcastic or not."

Rogue sighed and mumbled to himself, "Neither can I."

Sting ignored the comment and grabbed his arm, "Well, did they say where she is now?"

"No, actually they were extremely rude. Said she was fired because she was terrible at her job and that you would be better off without her. Seemed like a horrible place, she's probably better off without them," Rogue wrinkled his nose slightly. He had speculated the place was as such when he had helped Rufus set up his wedding cake through there. They were lucky to have Yukino picked to handle their job, her coworker's egos were disgusting. She had been so kind and sweet, a real rose among the thorns.

"Well maybe she did something wrong, or she was rude on the way out," Sting mused.

Rogue slightly narrowed his eyes, barely giving away his desire to smack his friend in the back of the head. "Unlikely. You remember when she was working with Rufus, he was terrible, constantly changing his mind when he would see something new. She was always accommodating and polite. The final cake was spectacular and exactly what he wanted. Besides, her former coworkers show themselves to be extremely unprofessional if they gossip about former employees to strangers off the street."

"Hmm, I supposed you're right." String groaned and pulled slightly at his hair, "Argh, and just when I was working up the courage to go in there and say hi!" He returned his hands to his pockets, and huffed out a sigh.

Rogue gave his friend a supportive pat on the back, "Maybe we'll run into her again somewhere else. She probably stayed in the area somewhere."

Appearing revived, Sting threw and arm around Rogue's shoulder and threw a fist in the air, "Yes, I will find her! Victory shall be mine at any cost!"

"Except not to a creepy stalker level," Rogue added with a small smile. He knew Sting could get a little too enthusiastic about these things.

Sting threw his fist back in the air, "Yes! I will find her . . . but not stalk her!" The two men laughed and continued up the street.