Hi! It's Merikatori again ^^~
I bring you new chapter :D Thanks for reading, following, making it your favorite story, and reviewing :D I put my reply at the end of the chapter.
Special thanks to my beta - Iza - she's rock ^^~
A/N: I'm not sure if I could bring you another chapter in June or not, I have to study because I'm about to go to college, no matter how lazy I am XD. So probably I won't update until July. I'll try, but no promise :D
Anyway, enjoy ^^~
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.
Pure
Chapter 18 - You and me
Sting unlocked the door and nearly stumbled on his step for his vision was blurred because of alcohol. He didn't drink so much that he couldn't make out the Oxford high heels on the platform. He thought that Lucy had gone home so why were her heels still here? He frowned.
Lucy hasn't come home yet?
He glanced at his watch, it was already over 12AM.
Sting took off his shoes and went upstairs. He felt sleepy and just wanted to go back to his bed as soon as possible. However, when he was about to go in his room, Sting looked over at Rogue's room.
Lucy's in there?
He approached it slowly and knocked softly. There was no answer. Still, Sting opened the door gently, stepping in and staring at two laying figures in front of his eyes.
Lucy was sleeping contentedly, her head was resting on Rogue's chest and her arm was hugging his stomach. Rogue, with his eyes closed, put an arm securely around her waist. The windows were opened and the moonlight flooded in, embracing them both dimly, but brightly enough to expose their peaceful faces to Sting.
Sting unconsciously clenched his fists and a tingling feeling tugged his heart. He stared at Rogue, long and hard, like he was waiting for something. After a minute, Sting raked his hair and let out a long sigh.
I'm being ridiculous.
He walked towards them, closing the windows to avoid them catching a cold because of the wind, then pulled the blanket to cover Lucy's entire body. He laid a kiss on her hair and looked at Rogue again.
He nodded at no one in particular and started walking out, as silently as he walked in.
"Good night." – He said.
As soon as the door closed behind the blonde, Rogue's eyes opened.
[Friday – Weisslogia's house – 3PM]
"Sting Eucliffe, please tell me that you're kidding or else I will kill you this instant." – Lucy glared at Sting who was sitting next to her on the couch, munching a piece of pizza.
He blinked at her and grinned (almost) innocently, but didn't answer.
"Well?" – She raised an eyebrow.
"I'm serious. So in order that you won't kill me... I think I'll keep my mouth shut." – He nodded at himself.
A vein popped on her forehead and she wanted nothing more than choke him to death right at that moment.
"You call this a date?" – She asked, her voice lowered to a dangerous tone.
Sting carefully swallowed his food and a lump that had formed in his throat. - "Wait… Before you jump into any conclusion, please hear me out."
Lucy folded her arms, waiting for him to continue.
Lucy, how do you imagine a date?" – He turned his body halfway to face her.
Lucy knitted her brows together to think and figure out what he was trying to get at.
"I don't know. I thought that you would take me to a theme park, or for a dinner, or on a movie, or something…" – She shrugged.
"Right, how do you call a date like that?" – He asked again.
She frowned. - "How do I call a date like that? A... normal date?" – She hesitated.
"Exactly…" – Sting nodded. "A normal date… There's nothing special about it if we just do the ordinary things like that, right? So, to make it more special, we should just do the ordinary things that people usually don't do on a date." – Sting said casually and Lucy's jaw dropped.
Was he really serious? What kind of explanation was that? Lucy looked at him like he was an alien and he showed her an euphoric smile like he was a genius.
Lucy's expression turned back to normal… Well, not exactly normal. It turned to the kind of face people made when they wanted to kill someone.
His lips stretched, but his smile immediately faded when he saw Lucy slowly approaching him with a murder intention in her eyes. He gulped harder and slowly backed away from her.
"Wa-Wait, Lucy… I mean… It's not… I mean… GAAAHHHH!" – He quickly scrammed when she started chasing him with a broom appearing in her hands out of nowhere…
It had been a week since The Sport Congress. The real match between Sabertooth and Fairy Tail had been really intense. Although Sabertooth'd been rather confident, they couldn't beat Fairy Tail twice. The final score had been 36 goals to 38. Once again, the winner of the most fascinating sport in Fiore'd been Fairy Tail. Despite losing, Sabertooth hadn't hold any grudge against their rival. It was their last year and they had finally admitted that their opponent was simply excellent. The other sports had gone on smoothly and the Sport Congress' curtain had gone down with most of the gold medals in possession of Fairy Tail. Sabertooth had taken the second place, Blue Pegasus'd been the third, and the last one had been Mermaid Heel...
"Lucy, listen to me! Please, STOP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" - Sting was barely able to dodge her broom as she kept trying to hit him with her weapon.
A week had passed calmly after that event. The relationship of Sting and Lucy worked perfectly, considering that they always found something in each other to their taste. They spent more and more time together. However, from the outside, their friends could hardly find any difference in their relationship. Because in their eyes, the two of them always acted like an item already.
Yet, if they took a closer look, they would be able to realize that their eyes seemed to linger on each other longer than normal and there was a softer tone in them. What's more, they held hands more often and they exchanged those innocent kisses with increased frequency.
"Okay, Lucy, you're the person who hates violence, right? So stop being so violent with ME! - Sting shouted, then ran to the bathroom on the first floor which had a shortcut to the laundry.
He hid behind the big washing machine.
Sting heard her footstep outside the corridor and held his breath. The male didn't hear anything for a while so he sighed in relief. Yet, he knew that he couldn't hide in here forever. Sting quietly made his way to the door, hoping that he could have the chance to escape the house safely by running fast enough to the front door. He held his breath again and turned the knock, peeking through the chink...
"Hi, honey!" - Lucy smiled brightly on the other side of the door.
"KYAAAA" - Eyes widened in horror, Sting tried to close the door, but Lucy was faster; she used her whole body to push the door open.
The young girl was the perfect example when people said that you should never piss off a woman, because she could be strong like a buffalo when she was angry.
Sting ran to the bathroom since the laundry room had just been occupied by his lovely girlfriend. Lucy quickly followed him and he opened the door to made it to the corridor again... Wait, I remember having a backup plan... He thought.
"You said that you would take me on a date, you made me spend hours rummaging through my closet to find a perfect dress, and then you told me that our "special date" would be just like an "ordinary day"? I would be damn if I let you get away with THIS!" – Lucy yelled and dashed at him with the broom in her hands.
Sting let out a scream which was not very manly and quickly ran to his room to hide from her rage.
Well… Maybe that day was not a very good day for Lucy, but a date with Sting like a normal couple was something she had looked forward to for a whole week. But then, when that day came, Sting just had to bring her back to his home and decided that they should just stay in the living room, watching movie, eating pizza or something, and that was enough to make a date "special".
It went without saying, Lucy was pissed off to the point that she just wanted to cry while hitting him senselessly.
Lucy slammed the door open and looked around to find her "boyfriend", who was grinning from ear to ear, standing on the other side of his bed. Lucy glared at him again and was about to brandish the broom to hit him, but Sting halted her by presenting to her a small creature from behind his back.
Lucy froze, looked at it, and blinked for 5 seconds, then dropped the broom.
"KYAAAA! Oh my God, it's so cuteeeeee!" – She squeaked and quickly cuddled the little bunny in her arms.
She pet its ears and the bunny crunched his nose, looking at her with its big, black eyes. Lucy nearly melted at the very sight of it.
Sting chuckled. He knew that she would be mad once he told her about his "ideal date", so he made it up for her with something he knew that she would like.
Lucy continued to stroke the cute animal before she felt Sting's eyes on her. She looked up and he smiled dearly at her. Lucy narrowed her eyes.
"Still, it doesn't mean that you could get away with this date." – She huffed.
"Of course…" – He snickered.
A comfortable silence settled in and it was not until Lucy looked around again that she realized she was in his room.
It was not until Lucy looked around again that she realized she was in his room. Nostalgia invaded her insides again and she tried to ignore the tingling sensation that slowly crept its way to her hand and shoulder. The doctor had cut the threat of her wound yesterday. They left pretty deep scars on certain parts of her arm.
Suddenly, Lucy heard screaming in her head and a hollow laugh from someone that she couldn't remember.
Sting's expression changed back into a serious one as he was watching his girlfriend carefully. It looked like she was deep in thought and he decided to let her mind wander a little. He saw the way her feet were slowly and carefully moving around his room, searching for something. Her eyes landed on his drawer and without hesitation, she pulled out the third till in which he kept his mother's remembrance. Her hand dipped inside and he knew she was touching his mother's locket. The day she fell out from the balcony, he had come back home the next morning to find the locket lying on the ground where some of her blood was still present.
He saw her shuddering and he wondered if she remembered anything.
"Luce?" – Sting asked. She didn't answer him, still looking at the locket.
"Lucy?" – He called louder this time; the girl turned to look at him and it took him everything not to scowled hard in worry at her blank eyes.
"Lucy, are you okay?" - He approached her, but she unconsciously took a step back.
The man gulped, his heart was beating like crazy in his chest. He knew that once she remembered everything, she would also recall what she had found out about his past. He was too worried about her well-being to care about it before. But now, when Lucy was in his room, facing him and looking like she was about to get back her memories, he started to feel scared.
"Lucy?" – Again, Sting repeated quietly.
Lucy blinked a couple of times at the gentleness in his voice. She focused her gaze on his face and warmth was once again in her eyes.
"Sorry, I was zoning out again. I thought that I had remembered something, but clearly it still needs some time for it to fully recover." – She said, petting the bunny again and giving her boyfriend a gentle smile.
For a whole minute, none of them talked or moved. Sting looked deep in her eyes and she looked back with the equal intensity as his.
"Are you…okay?" Are you sure? – He asked quietly, with hesitation lacing his tone.
Lucy titled her head and smiled again. - "Yes, I'm okay." – She said decisively, like she was reassuring him.
Sting's eyes softened, he rushed to her and pulled her in a tight hug. Lucy buried her face in his chest and patted his back slightly in a soothing way.
"Thank you." – He mumbled.
Lucy nodded slightly, she didn't need to ask him what was wrong.
Sting released her after a minute. He gazed at her face and she gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. He smiled.
She looked around his room again. - "What day is it today?" – She asked nonchalantly and he blinked at her.
"14th." – He answered briefly.
Sting saw the way her eyes widened a bit before they came back to normal size. She nodded.
"Alright, since you're not going to take me anywhere on this "special date" today…" – She said and rolled her eyes, making Sting chuckle. – "I'm going home." – She shrugged.
He looked at her in mild surprise. – "What? Oh come one, it's Friday, spend time with me…" – He pulled her closer, planting feather kisses on her face.
Lucy giggled. - "I've already spent a whole week with you, remember? You'll survive." – She pushed his face away from her and quickly moved to the door.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure." – Lucy smiled.
"Are you sure that you're just going home?" – He asked again, more specific this time. Looks like I don't have to remind her about today.
Her hand remained on the door knock when she looked back at him over her shoulder. He was staring at her with his hands in the pockets. His eyes held a mysterious glint that she couldn't read.
"Of…course." – She said.
Sting smirked. - "I can take you there…" – He folded his arms.
Lucy saw something crossed his eyes and she shook her head.
"Then why didn't you do it in the first place? Why did you have to wait until now?" – She arched an eyebrow.
Sting chuckled. – "I have my reasons."
"You forgot, huh?" - She rolled her eyes.
Sting shrugged. - "Kinda... When I asked you out... And don't blame me, you was distracting me with your mouth and your tongue..." - He smirked.
Lucy pulled on a smirk to match his. - "Well, you know you liked it."
Sting chuckled. - "I do."
"You won't come?"
"Nahhh, not this time." - Sting murmured the last part while Lucy looked at him quizzically.
"All right..." - She smiled and nodded after a minute. Their conversation seemed off, but only two of them knew that it wasn't.
"C'mon, let's get you home first." – Sting put his arm around her shoulder, leading her out of his house to the backyard where his motorcycle was waiting.
"Hai, Layla-san… No, she's not drunk or anything. She just wants to stay here for tonight… Okay…" – Rogue hung up his phone, looking down at Lucy's face. Her head was on his lap again. She took the phone from his hand and started to play with it.
"You're lucky that your father is so busy that he doesn't come home tonight, or you would be in trouble if he found out you're here." – He flicked her forehead. Lucy pouted.
"Don't talk like you don't want me to be here." – She mumbled.
Rogue just smiled and reached to the drawer to pull out a book. For a while, he was silently reading while stroking her hair. Lucy allowed herself to enjoy the peace which she hadn't felt for a while. She wondered if Sting was having fun.
"Hey, how is your wound?" – Rogue asked, eyes still glued to the book. He remembered her mentioning the follow-up examination with her mother's private doctor.
"It's got better, very much. Seems like I'm recovering pretty fast." – She answered. He hummed in response. Good to hear that.
Lucy hadn't felt this good since she had woken up. It was funny that just one good event could erase all the bad incidents that happened before.
Lucy took a photo of herself and set it as his new wallpaper, his old one looked so boring. She opened his directory to take a peek. There weren't many names in it, since he was like an anti-social person sometimes. Talking about anti-social, Lucy pondered on why he was always quiet like this. Was that because of something that happened back then when he was still a child? Or was he … just like that? She wanted to ask, but it looked like he was concentrating on his book. His eyebrows knitted together, maybe in confusion.
Lucy gazed at his face; his hair were covering one of his eyes and she felt an urge to tug it back behind his ear. Lucy thought back at Sting and she wondered how Rogue would react when he found out about the two of them. Could it be the same among them? The question couldn't stop wandering in her head and she had to hold back a sigh.
"What's wrong?" – Rogue asked.
He could feel her eyes on his face and he wondered what was she thinking. His hand laid on her forehead, slowly brushing along her hair.
"Nothing…" – She answered and to stop him from pressing on the matter any further, she asked. - "Could you sing me a song?" – Lucy smiled when his eyes left the book to stared at her.
"No." – He said casually.
Lucy frowned. - "Why?"
"Because I don't like it." – Came his reply.
"Why don't you like it?" – She asked again.
"Singing is not my thing, you know that."
"I'm having an amnesia, of course I don't know that. And why?" – Lucy insisted, trying to work him up.
Rogue sighed. Seriously, if he were someone else, he probably would go crazy for being near this girl and listening to her questions all day long.
"I just don't like it." – He replied, giving her a look.
"Why?"
Rogue groaned. – "I don't know, okay?"
"Okay, but why?" – Lucy giggled when he closed his book to glare at her.
"Would you stop that?"
"Stop what?" – She looked at him innocently.
"Stop asking why."
"Why?" – Lucy laughed and rolled out of his reach when he tried to pinch her cheeks.
"Aw, c'mon, sing me a song and I'll leave you alone with your book." – She bargained. It was fun teasing him like this.
Rogue stared at her, contemplating his choice. Well… Better entertain her while she was here.
"Fine, but…" – He halted to give her a firm look. – "Not a single noise, understand? I won't sing if you don't keep silent." – He said.
Lucy nodded eagerly. He cleared his throat several times and Lucy giggled at him.
"Juuroku de kimi to ai; Hyakunen no koi wo shita ne; Hirahira to maiochiru; Sakura no hanabira no shita de…" – He looked at their hands lacing with each other, avoiding her eyes.
Lucy gaped at him while he was singing. His voice was a little small, but the atmosphere was quiet so she still could hear him clearly.
"Suki de shita suki de shita; Egaosakisometakimi ga; Bokudake ga shite ita; Migigawayawarakana ibasho…" – Rogue felt her eyes on his face and she was making him more and more self-conscious. He lowered his voice even more, but didn't dare to look up at her. She always did that and he always felt like this when he was singing her a song.
"Kimi to boku to "sakurabiyori"; Kaze ni sottoyomigaeru; Kimi mo imadokoka de miteru no kanaa; Ano hi to onajimomo-iro no sora…" – He finished his song, waiting for her response.
When he didn't hear anything from her, he looked up and regretted his choice immediately.
Rogue sighed, grabbing his book and began (more like tried) to read again. – "Go ahead…" – He grumbled.
And that was all Lucy needed before she busted out laughing. Her stomach hurt from holding it back when he was singing. His voice sounded like a drake with pitch in a jumble. Lucy didn't know how to describe it, but his singing voice was probably worse than Orga's, no matter how bad Orga's singing ability was.
"That's why I didn't want to sing in the first place, you're always laughing at me when I finish." – He grunted, trying to prevent her giggles from reaching his mind.
"I'm… so… sorry. But…" – Lucy took a deep breath to calm down and grinned at him. – "Sorry, but… that was so hilarious…" – She looked at his sulking face and snickered again. Ah…
"Now I'm satisfied." – She beamed and laid her head back down on his lap, closing her eyes to look for some sleep with a smile on her face. She felt relaxed after laughing like that.
Rogue smiled, she usually would say that after she heard him singing. He didn't know why, but Lucy rarely told Sting to sing her a song although he sang so much better than him. Rogue only hummed some times, never singing for anybody but her.
Lucy and Sting had first discovered his "talent" when they first played "truth or dare". It was an embarrassing memory that Rogue never wanted to repeat again. After that, Lucy was the only one that had the privilege to hear him sing. Although he complained a lot after a song, deep down inside, he didn't mind that much. If his voice could make her laugh like that, then it was okay with him, as long as she was the only one around. Lucy knew that so she only asked him to sing her a song when there were only the two of them.
Although she was having an amnesia and couldn't remember most of her old self, but something about her never changed.
[Friday - 7AM]
The motorcycle skidded to stop before it crashed into a car in front of him.
"Watch where you're going, punk!" - The driver shouted at him angrily, then drove away in fume.
He nearly crossed the red light.
Rogue took off his helmet, calming his own breath. DAMN IT! He screamed in his head and hit his handlebars in frustration. His mind just kept going back to those memories and because of that he couldn't concentrate on the road.
[Last night]
"What?" – Rogue asked, staring at Sting. They were sitting across each other on the dining table.
Sting sighed. – "I said I wouldn't be able to join you tomorrow, neither would Lucy." – He said and halted just to continue a few seconds later. – "You will be okay on your own, right? Doctor said that melancholy things aren't good for someone who is recovering like her, she needs to enjoy herself." – He shrugged.
Rogue shook his head. – "I don't get it, it's just an anniversary, how come it's a 'melancholy thing'?"
"Still, it involves death, so it's worth considering to be a melanchoic thing. I don't want to risk her health." – Sting replied coolly.
Rogue narrowed his eyes and snorted. "That's lame. Admit it, you just want her all for yourself."
"I don't know what you're talking about." – Sting said nonchalantly. Rogue's accusation didn't make him flinch.
"Don't play dumb with me. You've had her for a whole week and I didn't even complain a tad. The kids want to see her and you're gonna drag her away from them with your stupid excuses?" – Rogue asked coldly.
Sting shrugged indifferently.
"What happened between you and her?" – Rogue asked, folding his arms.
Sting looked up at him and put down his chopsticks to return the gesture.
"I told you, nothing happened." – Yes, he knew what Rogue was talking about.
"Don't lie to me, Sting. I know something happened and I wanna to know why you're hiding it from me." – He glared.
Sting inwardly smirked. He never saw Rogue being this annoyed with him. He didn't say anything for a minute, letting Rogue glare at him as much as he wanted. He knew how to get under that guy's skin.
"Fine…" – He took a deep breath, pretending to sigh in defeat. – "Me and Lucy are dating…Like a real couple." – He put emphasis on the last word and picked up his chopsticks again.
Rogue's eyes widened slightly. - "What?"
"We're dating…"- Sting replied again, louder this time.
Rogue was taken off guard and he couldn't find his voice for a while, he just kept staring at Sting.
Sting cocked his head aside at his face. – "What? Isn't that you want? Isn't that what you always tell me to do: asking her out? I did and now we're a couple."
Rogue continued to gape at him. The chopstick almost fell out of his hand. There was a lump in his throat; he gulped, but it wouldn't slip down. It suddenly felt so hard to inhale in the room, his breath slightly quickened.
His insides were back to normal after a minute and he put on his usual blank face.
"Why did you have to hide it? Why didn't you just tell me?" – He demanded.
"I don't know…" – Sting answered and Rogue's eyes darkened.
Sting paid no mind to Rogue's turmoil, he finished his meal and wiped his mouth with the napkin. He stood up.
"Oh and now you know what happened, maybe I should tell you the truth… I'll take her out on a date tomorrow. She's been looking forward to it for a whole week, so… You'll be fine on your own, right?" – Sting asked, smirking.
Rogue stared at the meal before him, he had already lost his appetite.
"Yeah, you know I'm always fine..." - He said. Sting nodded, ignoring his sarcasm.
Sting was right; Rogue had always been the one who encouraged him to follow his heart, to overcome his past and take the happiness that he deserved. Sting did what he told him to.
But then again, why did it feel so painful when he heard it? After Sting'd left to his room, Rogue had sat back and thought about what the blonde said over and over again. He had calmed his breath and told himself that it was good and it was okay. He was happy for them, right? He clenched his fists.
Stupid feelings… They chose the perfect time to disturb him.
For a whole week he had seen some subtle changes in both Lucy and Sting, he had his own suspicion. Rogue wanted to ask Sting or Lucy about it so many times, but he'd always found an excuse to decide against it. Deep down inside, he didn't want it to be true, no matter how many times he had told himself that he wouldn't be sad, he wouldn't be jealous and that was what he wanted.
Rogue sighed, checking his phone, it was 7 in the morning. He could have just set off after school, but he needed some time alone. He couldn't bear looking at them, knowing that he now was just an outsider. He ditched school today, packing his back and leaving his home when the sun didn't come up yet… Sting had her now and it was just a start of showing his possessiveness over her.
"You know, I always feel peace when I'm with you." – Lucy mumbled after a while.
Rogue had abandoned his book and laid down with her on his bed, gazing at her smiling face.
"Uh huh, how so?" – He said quietly, trailing his index finger from her eyebrow down her chin, making her feel ticklish.
Lucy closed her eyes, snuggling closer to his warmth. Sleep would be coming soon, but she couldn't stand silence so she had to think of something to talk.
"You and Sting… are like yin and yang. You complete each other." – She mumbled.
Rogue dragged his finger down her lips, lingering there longer than necessary and left them when they moved as she spoke.
"When I'm with Sting, I feel like I'm on an adventure, with all kinds of trouble and drama…" – She giggled softly.
He just smiled. If only he could plant a kiss on those rosy lips.
"But when I'm with you, everything is once again quiet like it had never been aroused. Serenity is the only thing that I feel." – Lucy muttered, her tone was heavy with sleepiness.
Rogue pulled her closer and buried his face in her hair, inhaling her scent.
"So which one do you prefer?" – He whispered, stroking her hair again.
She was already asleep. But it was not like he wanted to hear her answer, for he was scared to hear it.
The vibration of his phone pulled him out of his thought. Rogue took it out to see it was a message from Sting.
'Have a good trip' – It said.
Rogue heaved back a sigh and looked at Lucy's mischievous face on his wallpaper. He gripped his phone so hard until his knuckles turned white. The man turned it off, putting on his helmet to continue the ride and to reach his destination.
[Friday - 5.30PM]
"Rogue-san, Rogue-san, it's time for dinner." – A little girl grabbed his sleeve while he was sitting on the bench in the garden. He adverted his eyes from the sky to fix them on her when he heard her voice.
"Oh? Okay. C'mon, let's go inside." – He said and picked the girl up in his arms.
She giggled and used her index finger to poke at his face.
"Ne, Rogue-san… When will Lucy-san be here? It's been a while and I can't see her anywhere." – She pouted.
"She's… busy…" – He murmured. – "But don't worry, just be nice and she'll come back soon. Have you been nice, Asuka?" – He questioned, trying to distract the girl from asking more about Lucy.
"Uh huh, of course I've been nice. Mama and papa said that I'm the nicest person in our family." – She said proudly and Rogue chuckled.
Of course, she was the nicest one in their family. Asuka was a cute little girl whose parents took care of this orphanage with an old woman. Rogue walked into the kitchen in which almost 15 kids were running around.
"Okay, sit down and be nice kids, play-time is up." – Porlyusica said firmly and the children took their seat immediately. Rogue smiled a small smile at her, but she just 'tsk-ed' and mumbled something under her breath, then started to serve the meal to those little brats. Rogue silently gave her a hand, but she just shooed him away, saying that he should just sit down and not mess up things.
Rogue didn't mind, though. She was always like that since he was a little kid. This orphanage was where Rogue originally grew up until he was adopted by Weisslogia family. Porlyusica was Skyadrum's mother and Skyadrum was like a father to him, so Porlyusica was like his grandmother. Rogue looked around and the kids grinned when they caught his eyes. He paid them visit once in a while. He could be busy at some point of his life, but he never missed this day - his godfather's death anniversary.
Porlyusica was always narrowing her eyes at him when she saw that he had come, asking why he was still coming back here after he'd already got a nice family. And Rogue would just answer by a shrug, saying that was what he wanted and she would still see his face sometimes whether she liked it or not. She then would glare at him for being a smart ass and ordered him to do something helpful, if he didn't want her to kick him out of there for being lazy. Rogue always chuckled and obediently did what she told him. Despite all those things that she had said, Rogue knew that she wanted to see him.
Besides Porlyusica, there were two other people who helped her taking care of this place, they were Alzack and Bisca. They also had grown up here, had gotten married with each other, had had a cute child, and had decided to live here to devote their life to where they considered their home. They could have left, they could have chosen not to come back here – to forget the unneeded feeling that their biological parents gave them away, they could have just found another life in another place like so many other orphans when they got adopted in no one's family… But, just like Rogue, they couldn't do that, whether they could find a better place somewhere else or not.
When Rogue had come this morning, the kids were so happy to see him again. He was like a big brother to them. He would teach them origami or play with them, things Porlyusica never taught or Alzack and Bisca were too busy to do with them.
"Rogue-san, Lucy-san still couldn't come?"
"Rogue-san, did Lucy-san forget about us?"
"Rogue-san, where is Lucy-san?"
They had asked when they saw him this morning and he was not sure what he should tell them, so he settled for the easiest one: "She's busy". The kids would just beamed sooner or later when they saw all the cool stuff he showed them, although he knew they felt down.
Skiadrum had passed away 4 years ago because of leukemia. And on this day of every year, Rogue would come back to visit his grave. Weisslogia had taken him, Lucy, and Sting to his used-to-be hometown when they were 13 and they had been going on their own when they had hit 15, well…Sting and Rogue did. Lucy had stopped coming because she was abroad for 2 years. The kids always mentioned her when they didn't see her with them. Lucy was like their sister. She created all kind of pranks to play on Sting and him. And some times, spending all day at the orphanage would drive him and Sting crazy, all because of her. This year, neither Sting nor Lucy would come because they 'were busy'. Rogue didn't know how he should feel about that. Should he be angry? Should he feel abandoned? Should he feel betrayed? Really, he had no idea.
Rogue was deep in thought when there were knocks at the door. It sounded urgent… Rogue glanced at the clock, Alzack and Bisca were home so soon? Rogue quickly stood up before Porlyusica got a chance.
"Coming…" – He said.
Rogue opened the door and his eyes widened at the person standing in front of him.
"Lucy?" – The girl beamed and threw herself at him, giving him a bear hug.
"Rogue!" – She rubbed her head against his chest and sighed in content, leaving Rogue standing there completely motionless and with a dropped jaw.
"Finally, I can see your face for the first time of today!" – She exclaimed happily and without a word moved pass him to go to the kitchen.
"Kids!" – She called.
The kids became startled and looked at the person calling them. Their face lit up when they saw her face.
"LUCY-SAN!" – They squeaked and rushed at her. She laughed softly and hugged all of them, creating a disorderly small crowd, then told them to get back to their meal. Lucy turned at Porlyusica, she smiled at the old woman and the old woman nodded in acknowledgement at the young girl.
Rogue, after he regained his composure, went back to the kitchen. He looked at her in confusion.
Sting told her that I was here?
Lucy joined their dinner, laughing and chatting with the kids. All the time she could feel Rogue's eyes on her, but she didn't say anything.
"Lucy-san, Rogue-san said that you couldn't come." – A girl exclaimed.
Most of the kids were around 12 and the youngest one of them was Asuka. Lucy smiled at her.
"Well, I was busy, Wendy. But the plan changed more or less 91 minutes ago, so…here I am." – She grinned.
"How long are you two gonna stay here? It's late and you're not planning to just go after dinner, are you?" – Porlyusica said and gave Reiner a disapproved look when he spoke with his full mouth.
Lucy put her finger on her chin to think.
"I don't know, Porlyusica-san. That depends on Rogue. If he stays, I'll stay…" – She turned to smile at Rogue and he blushed slightly.
Wendy quickly caught that and she stared at Rogue, then giggled. She put her mouth close to Zenna's ear, the girl sitting right next to her, and whispered something. Zenna did the same with Reiner and Reiner did the same with Haru…
"Ehm... I was going to go home tonight, but since you've just arrived… Maybe we should stay here for another day." – Rogue said calmly, fighting back the blush on his cheek.
Lucy grinned and looked at Porlyusica for permission, silently asking if it was okay with her. Porlyusica nodded. She could arranged a small spare room for them. It would be dangerous if they went home late at this time.
Lucy looked back at Rogue and caught him staring at her again.
"What?" – She smiled, cocking her head aside and batting her eyelashes innocently.
"Wh-What?" – He flinched and stuttered. Rogue inwardly slapped his face.
Not long after Wendy started murmuring something to her best friend that all the kids around the table turned to look at Lucy and Rogue; they snickered as they watched them closely.
"You just keep staring at me. Is there something wrong?" – She said.
"N-No." – Damn it! Rogue cleared his throat. – "Nothing." - Why the hell do I have to stammer?
"Rogue-san, why is your face so red?" – Asuka suddenly asked, beaming at him.
The kids concentrated their eyes upon him and Porlyusica sent him a knowing look, unsmiling.
"What? Really? Rogue, are you okay?" – Lucy asked worriedly, she put her hand on his forehead and leaned on his face, making him redder even more.
He unconsciously leaned away from her and Lucy frowned at his strange behavior. The kids giggled and Rogue swore he saw each one of them just developing a pair of small devil's horn, Asuka even had a tail.
"No, I'm fine, Lucy." – He mumbled, taking a few deep breaths to calm his nerves and getting back to his old self.
"O…kay?" – She said when she saw his face went back to normal. She shrugged and started eating again.
Rogue looked back at the kids and they wriggled their eyebrows at him. He glared at them, but they just stared back with (fake) innocence.
Sting sat in his room. Father hadn't come home yet, so he enjoyed his dinner alone. Sting chewed his food slowly, his phone was feeling in his hand. He had just called Porlyusica a minute ago. He wanted to know if Lucy had already arrived, safe and sound.
Porlyusica said that she had come and she was having fun with the kids. He had apologized to her for not being able to come. Even though she didn't ask, he knew she was curious.
Sting stared at a picture of three of them on his desk. It was a summer season when they were 13 and were playing at a local pool. Rogue stood with his grumble face, Sting and Lucy were hanging on his back, smiling and making peace sign with their hands so Weisslogia could take a picture.
Sting touched the picture gently and smiled.
"Urgggg… Finally, those kids have completely drained out my energy." – Lucy groaned as she laid on the bed, face down. They had fun nonetheless.
After dinner, Rogue taught them origami again, this time something harder like a crane. They made a lot of cranes after that and hung them around their room.
"You mean…draining out my energy?" – Rogue grunted behind her.
Lucy turned around and she broke into soft laugh again at his face. Lucy and those evil kids had used him as their 'object' when they tried to paint his face with Lucy's cosmetics and tied several knots as well as braids to create a new look for him. He fought in protest (of course), but finally gave in when a bunch of small kids and a big kid succeeded in pinching him on the ground. After almost two hours of torture, they finally let him go. But then, they… made him play the part of a scary monster with his face like that to play tag. Lucy had laughed really hard at his face when he chased after her and the kids around the house. If a real monster existed, then he would be ashamed in the name of the all monster species…
When it was late, Porlyusica told them to go to bed. That was the time when Rogue was able to rest. Alzack and Bisca had gone home just a while ago. They were greeted with Rogue's face and they had to try their best to stifle their laugh for his sake. They were also very happy to see Lucy again.
It was already almost 11PM when Lucy and Rogue had come to their room to rest. Lucy turned away so she wouldn't laugh nonstop at his face again.
Rogue groaned, then went to the bathroom to wash his face. Unfortunately, it was not easy to make the redness of his cheeks drift away. He went back to stand beside the bed and glared at her. She tilted her head at him again, amusement dancing in her eyes. He pointed a finger at his face, silently asking 'What the hell I'm gonna do with my face like this?' She snickered loudly and pulled him to sit down on the bed. She took a piece of cotton wool in her bag, wetting it with make-up remover liquid and starting to wipe his face. Her smile never left her face. A comfortable silence embraced them both.
Yet, Rogue broke it with a question. – "Sting told you that I was here?"
Lucy halted to look into his eyes. No, actually… - "Yes, he reminded me." – She didn't know why she just blurted it out like that, but she had a feeling that she should say yes.
"Why didn't he come?" - How was your date?
Lucy shrugged. - "He's... Not feeling well." - She said quietly.
Rogue inwardly scoffed. Right.
Rogue looked at the ground while Lucy was wiping his face. When they were at the dinner table, he had so many questions in his mind, but now… Suddenly, he didn't know where he should start or should he start at all. He sighed.
"What's wrong?" – Lucy said quietly, touching his face tenderly like he usually did to her when he caught her sigh like that.
He stared at her face, then slowly shook his head. - "Nothing."
Lucy smirked at him. – "Ahhhh, I know… You missed me, huh? That's why you acted strangely."
Rogue rolled his eyes playfully. – "Yeah right, keep telling yourself that."
"Awww, he's shy…" – She cupped his face in her palms and pouted at him playfully. – "Don't worry, I'm here with you right now~" – She said in her sing-song voice and he eyed her like she just hit her head somewhere. She released his face and grinned.
"Oh, c'mon, really? Didn't you miss me?" – She asked, nudging slightly at his ribs.
"Nope." – He lied nonchalantly.
She gave him puppy dog eyes. – "Not one bit?"
"Not one bit." – Came his cool reply. Lucy chuckled, she could see through his façade.
"Well, too bad... Because I did…" – She stood on her tip-toes and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek, then ran off to the bathroom to brush her teeth, leaving him blushing again.
End of chapter 18
Phew~
So... Good? Bad? Tell me what you think :D Thanks for reading :D
My gratitude to who had reviewed: rolulove4ever, XxZoruraTheEpicsxX, not-in-use-dont-read, Guest, Little Ms. Pumpkin, Guest
zin-chan-luvs-u: haha, no wonder XD Well, here's your new chapter *gasp* I hope it's not too late :))
NatashAurel: Sorry for the wait :D I've been busy (I'll still be busy for the rest of the month TTvTT) Some RoLu moments for you in this chapter XD Until next time, RivaMika shipper :))))
bluefrost15: Haha, about Loke :)) You'll find out later, hope that you don't mind waiting XD
I'm . such . a . geek: Such strong emotions :))) I'm happy that you like my story TTvTT
Guest: Some RoLu for you ^^~
Shouko Heart: Ahh, yes, BFF XD I have a BFF too, she talks a lot and she's a little weird =)) just like your BFF. I'm the normal one between two of us =))))))
Mandy422: Oh you got it right XD I usually update once every two weeks on Sunday, or Monday, sometime Tuesday when my beta's too busy :D Sorry that new chapter couldn't be here until July TT^TT Here's your new chapter :D (and sorry again because Sting did catch them XD)
Crimson Witch: Aww, thank you ^^~ I'm glad you like it :D