A Dragon to Light the Way
Chapter 6
Sting watched as Lucy continued to sleep, a smile pulling at his lips with every soft murmur that came from her. She seemed to be having a good dream, instead of that dream that seemed to frighten her last night. The mission had went smoothly, even though he and Rogue had received a few good hits. If anything, the mission had drained their energy mostly, so when they arrived back at the guild they ate in a sluggish manner, and then headed for their rooms. With Yukino telling him that Lucy was curled up with Lector, after having asked for him before turning in. His thoughts about the blonde Celestial Mage that had stayed at their guild for a week now.
He hadn't hesitated going to his room, and for a minute he could only lean against the door frame and stare at her. She had been resting so peacefully, and he couldn't believe that she was dressed in his clothes. After staring at her for a while, he had grabbed some extra clothes and headed for the shower. After a quick wash, he was standing back over Lucy, not really wanting to wake her but not wanting to push his luck by climbing into bed with her. After giving a sigh, he had been about to reach out to her, but froze when she started to tremble and whimper. He had shook her shoulder carefully as he leaned closer, but had tensed when she suddenly shot upward, colliding their heads together. He wasn't sure what her dream had been about, but was hoping to know when she awoke, although he guessed it had something to do with Natsu. Seriously, that man better pray that he never got a hold of him.
"Sting? What time is it?" Lucy suddenly asked, snapping him out of his thoughts and he looked down with a smile.
"Still early in the morning. Just a little past eight." He stated, watching as she gave a sigh and snuggled against him.
"I need to get up and get ready. My training starts today." She mumbled, causing him to blink before giving a smile. He had promised that him and some of the others would help start her training. He chuckled and shifted away so she could sit up, but moved to sit beside her and wrapped her in a hug. Feeling his heart beat faster when she gave a content sigh and nuzzled into him.
"I need to ask, do you want to talk about the dream you had last night?" He asked, watching as she opened her eyes and pressed more into him. Almost as if seeking comfort.
"It was a memory on something Natsu did." She whispered, causing him to tighten his hold and rest his chin on her head.
"I understand if you don't want to talk about it." He muttered, closing his eyes as he focused on her, giving a smile when she huffed.
"It might sound weird, but I actually feel better when I talk about it all." She stated, leaning back to look up at him.
"It makes some sense. So, you wanna tell me what the memory was?" He asked, blinking when she looked down and inhaled.
"It was a memory about, one of the many times Natsu took me by force. I'm sorry it worried you, and sorry for the headbutt as well." She stated, giving a small giggle at the end of her sentence. He huffed, and shook his head as he carefully brushed her bangs aside.
"You should worry about your head, not mine." He muttered, wincing as he saw a faint bruise and gently rubbed his thumb against it. Watching as she flinched slightly, and then pressed a soft kiss to the mark.
"How is it that you don't even have a mark from it?" She grumbled, swiping her hand across his forehead, and he caught her hand to press a kiss to her wrist.
"Cause I'm to hard headed." He muttered, smiling when she laughed and shook her head. He released her hand, and then leaned toward her. Stopping when there was a few inches between their lips, and looked into her chocolate gaze to make sure this was what she wanted. He saw and sensed no fear from her, and closed the rest of the distance. The kiss was soft at first, a mere molding of lips and him watching for any signs that she wanted to stop. When her eyes slid closed and she gave a faint sigh, he became more bold and moved closer so he could place one hand on the small of her back.
She responded by arching up and pressing their lips together in a more firm kiss, and his heart nearly stopped when her tongue hesitantly pressed against his lips. He opened his mouth and allowed his tongue to play with hers, moving his other hand to the back of her neck, holding her in a position where they both took pleasure out of the kiss. A small mewl of pleasure from her, caused him to pull back and took a deep breath of much needed air, trying everything to control the raging passion that he was feeling for her.
"Wow." She whispered, pressing her forehead against his and stared into his eyes. He allowed himself to get lost in her gaze, and removed his hand from her neck to trace her, now, slightly swollen lips.
"No kidding." He whispered, nudging his nose against hers before pressing another soft kiss on her lips. He pulled back and then sat back as well, smiling at her almost disapproving look.
"As much as I would love to stay here and kiss you all day long, you have training that you need to get ready for." He stated, watching as she smiled at him before giving a nod. He watched as she slid off of his bed and started for the door, blinking when she stopped and looked back at him before looking around the room.
"Do you think...It would be alright if I stayed in your room, instead of in that room by myself?" She asked, and he blinked before giving her a smile and nodded.
"I wont mind one bit." He stated, watching as she gave a large smile before running out of the room to collect her stuff. He gave a huff and ran a hand through his hair, before leaning against the headboard and closing his eyes. He couldn't believe that she was this willing to move on, but at the same time he was thankful for it. For a Dragon Slayer to find a mate wasn't easy, and damn near impossible. When one was found it was a blessing, and it actually caused the Dragon Slayer's powers to increase. Of course, he didn't care about that, it was the fact that he had someone who he knew would love him and who knew he would love in return, and he had found his!
Lucy Heartfilia. The woman who made his life complete, and who he would lay down his life for. The only problem, he had never heard of someone being a mate to two Dragon Slayers. Which meant that rather Natsu had lied just to harm her, or that Natsu wasn't Natsu at all. Which caused him even more worry. If the man hurting her wasn't Natsu, then who was he and why was he targeting Lucy? Not to mention, where was the real Natsu?
"Sting? Are you coming or what?" Lucy called, walking back into his room and pulling him from his thoughts. He looked over at her with a smile, and remained where he was as she placed her stuff near his dresser. Making a mental note to clear out a drawer for her stuff later, and then took in what she was wearing. A red sweater and a pair of jeans, they caused him to frown and lean toward her.
"Are you cold or something?" He asked, watching as she glanced at him in confusion before looking down at her outfit. Pulling at the sleeves of her sweater, and then bit her bottom lip.
"They...hide the older bruises." She stated, and he automatically regretted asking her, and motioned her toward him. Feeling proud of her when she stepped into his open arms without hesitation.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." He muttered, wishing that they weren't old so he could heal them for her, but still hadn't figured out how to heal older wounds yet. He growled softly, holding her tight as she relaxed into his embrace, and rubbed her back.
"It isn't your fault, Sting. I know that you are only trying to help me, and for that I am grateful." She stated, nuzzling into his neck and causing him to blink for a moment. Was it possible that she only kissed him because she was thankful toward him? Sure, he knew his feelings about her, but what were her feelings about him?
"Anything for you Lucy." He stated, feeling slightly depressed that there was a chance that she didn't feel anything for him. It was known to happen, that a Dragon Slayer found their mate, but the one they loved didn't love them. The Dragon Slayer usually went down one of two paths. The first path would be that they slowly go crazy but give the one they love the space they want. Or, kill their mate and then take their own life. He thought a moment, and knew that if she wanted it, he would give her space, but keep a watch over her until she found someone she truly loved.
"Is everything alright Sting?" Lucy asked, causing him to smile down at her and press a kiss to her forehead.
"Nothing Blondie. Just thinking." He stated, watching as she puffed out her cheeks in an adorable way.
"You're blonde too." She replied, causing him to laugh and ruffle her hair before sliding out of bed.
"Yeah, yeah. Why don't you go on down to the mess hall. I'll be down after I'm ready." He stated, grabbing some clothes and started for the bathroom, but stopped when her small hand latched onto his. He turned around to look at her, but blinked in surprise when she went on tiptoe and pressed another kiss on his lips. He was blushing slightly, and saw that she too had a blush across her face.
"See you later." She stated, before turning and heading for the mess hall. He stared after her for a minute, and then gave himself a mental shake before continuing his way back to the bathroom. Only this time, he had a slight issue to resolve.
"You're leaving yourself wide open! Tighten your defense." Sting shouted, wincing as Lucy gave a yelp and hit the mat hard after being hit with one of the many magic abilities that Rufus had memorized. He watched as she groaned and eased back to her feet, and he sighed at how beat up she looked. She had been at this for three hours straight now, and she had yet to even take a break yet.
"Come on Lucy. Why don't you rest for a bit?" Yukino called out, and he watched as she shook her head and got into the defense position that he had taught her.
"Not yet. I still haven't gotten this down." She called back, causing him to sigh and wave Rufus off as he stepped onto the mat. He smiled when she glared at him and held up one hand before she could chew him out.
"I'm your opponent now. I wont hold back, it is rather you get this defense down now, or your training ends here." He stated, watching as she went wide eyed, and lowered her stance for a moment. He had to hold back a smile as a fire sparked in her eyes, and she got back into position.
"Fine." She called, and he started to circle her, looking for the usual opening that he had been seeing, and was impressed that she had closed it off. He jumped forward, but pulled back when she jerked to face him fully, glad that she was getting quicker in her movements. He stayed back a bit, and then decided to go all out to see how she would react to rapid fire.
"Here I come." He shouted, throwing a fist, and watched as she twisted her body and thrust one hand out. Smiling when her wrist connected with the back of his hand and pushed it aside. Using the momentum to throw him off balance for a moment, and then struck out at him. He easily dodged her punch by taking his body low, and smirked at her growl. Only to give a grunt of surprise as he had to do some quick thinking to avoid getting a knee to his face. Giving a curse when he had to jump to his feet and take a few steps back to avoid a full on kick. He watched in awe as she quickly lowered her leg and got back into the defense position.
"Damn woman. You've been holding out." He stated, watching as she breathed deeply and faced him with a smile.
"I know some moves. I just have a problem of knowing when I need to attack or defend." She stated, and he thought back to the mock fights with the other guild members. She had always remained in a defensive position when she had an open to attack, and tried to attack when she should have defended.
"So, the problem isn't your skills, but when to use the. That's a little harder to teach, but it is doable. Although, it's going to be harder training as well." He stated, watching as she blinked and lowered her defense.
"Wait, what?" She asked, and he approached with a smile.
"You are strong Lucy, but you just have some things backwards. No worries, I'll help you get it straightened out." He stated, watching as she smiled and clasped her hands.
"I can't wait to get started." She declared, but he crushed her dreams by shaking his head.
"No more training today. We'll start this training tomorrow." He stated, watching as she puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms. He chuckled and ruffled her hair, but held firm in what he had said.
"Yo, Sting! Got some visitors for Lucy!" Orga shouted, walking into the training room with a man in woman in tow. He blinked as he recognized Gajeel Redfox, and figured the blue haired woman beside him was his mate, Levy McGarden.
"Levy!" Lucy shouted, causing him to flinch at the sudden sound and watched as the woman dashed over to them and embraced the smaller woman.
"Lucy! We've been so worried." The woman stated, hugging her back and closing her eyes. He watched as Lucy pulled away and grabbed the woman's wrist, only to turn and grab Yukino's as well.
"Either way, time for some girl talk with you two. Sting, we'll continue training tomorrow." Lucy called, and he sighed as she dashed out of the room with the other two in tow. He sighed as he watched her leave, and then blinked when a shadow fell over him, only to look up at Gajeel.
"I need to have a conversation with you, about Bunny Girl." He stated, he glanced over at Rogue, who merely shrugged, and sighed again.
"Fine. Follow me to the office." He stated, stepping around the Iron Dragon Slayer and headed out of the room.